Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Bradley Roberts criticized the Free National Movement leader’s national address, calling it “sloppy” and “inaccurate.”
Following Dr. Hubert Minnis’ televised national address on Sunday, Roberts said the PLP is “amused by the FNM leader and the inaccurate and sloppily repetitive content on the events surrounding Baha Mar.”
During his national address, Dr. Minnis discussed the circumstances surrounding the Baha Mar debacle and he urged the government and parties involved to settle the dispute outside court.
But, Roberts believed Dr. Minnis was “clueless” and “disengaged” throughout his address.
“If in fact the leader of the FNM actually cared about the Bahamian people and met with the prime minister when invited, he may have been able to intelligently discuss the Baha Mar issue and avoid his disjointed, embarrassing and incessant babbling that he attempted to pass off as a national address,” Roberts said.
Despite Dr. Minnis’ message, Roberts explained that Bahamians are advised and will be dismissive and reject the “misinformation, political posturing and bluster” of the FNM leader.
He said Dr. Minnis “has proven to be ignorant of the facts surrounding Baha Mar” and “has proven that he has no interest in finding out the facts” which shows “that his only interest in this is to exploit the same to further his narrow political interests.”
“This is disgraceful and unseemly. Minnis is clueless and out of his depth as a leader,” Roberts added.
However, Roberts expressed that the PLP stands with the government and Bahamians, who believe Baha Mar must open.
The PLP also agree that Bahamian land, government concessions and the monies owed to Bahamian creditors and contractors should be litigated in The Bahamas jurisdiction.
“We also support the government’s decision to pay the salaries of the Bahamian employees of Baha Mar during the process so that they are not disadvantaged by being used as pawns during these legal maneuverings,” Roberts explained.
He indicated that the facts surrounding the Baha Mar debacle are transparent.
“The facts are that the developer, the general contractor and project financier have all asked the prime minister to intervene in this matter, effectively reposing their trust and confidence in the government of The Bahamas and its leader, the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie. Putting Bahamians first, the government’s latest strategic move is designed to facilitate the completion and opening of the resort in a timely manner,” the PLP chairman explained.
“Further, every policy decision made by the government on this Baha Mar issue is a matter of public record.”
He noted that under the winding up petition proposed by the government, the provisional liquidator will replace the developer in managing the completion and opening of the resort in a seamless manner under the supervision of the Bahamas Supreme Court.
“The PLP applauds the government’s strength of leadership and decisiveness and supports this latest policy position as being the best course of action for the future of the resort, the wellbeing of the Bahamian people and is a positive step in protecting the international reputation of The Bahamas,” Roberts said.
