Former Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Bradley Roberts has called Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis “a hypocrite” for what he said is an about face on his position about Baha Mar.
Mr. Roberts issued a statement after the Prime Minister gave the welcoming address at the opening of the SLS at the Baha Mar resort on Friday.
Mr. Roberts said that everything the PLP had promised about the details of the deal with the buyer of the resort Chow Tai Fook was true despite assertions made by Dr. Minnis earlier this year.
“In case Bahamians were wondering, that was in fact Prime Minister Minnis at the official opening of the SLS brand luxury hotel at Baha Mar this weekend, after doing everything in his power to destroy that project for narrow political gain; so much for building up the common good.
“Bahamians, that was not a hologram or a PR stunt, that was the hypocrite in the flesh; live and in living colour.
“The opening of the casino hotel, the convention center, the golf course and club house under the PLP were not actual official openings, but PR stunts staged by the PLP government, this according to Minnis and the FNM while he served as Opposition Leader.
“Apparently Baha Mar is only open when the FNM says that it is’, said Mr. Roberts.
He said “the facts however, tell a totally different story. Former Prime Minister Christie outlined in meticulous detail the strategy and timeline for the phased opening of Baha Mar in a Heads of Agreement, at press conferences, from the floor of the House, in multiple media interviews and from the rally stage.
“To date, everything announced by the PLP surrounding the rescue and opening of Baha Mar turned out to be true and are coming to pass just as the former Prime Minister and former AG outlined them,” Mr. Roberts said.
In the lead up to the May 10th General Election Dr. Minnis had pledged to execute a “real sale” of Baha Mar to a purchaser that had the Bahamian people’s interests at heart, should the FNM win the general election.
In a statement back then, Dr. Minnis said “despite the many pronouncements from the then PLP government, the sad reality remains that Baha Mar is not completed, still not opened, and there remains much uncertainty as to if or when this will occur.”
However in June, shortly after winning the election, Dr. Minnis indicated that the government had no intention of “interfering” with Baha Mar.
He said “we will follow the law. We are a law-abiding government. We, like the Bahamian people, would like to see Baha Mar functional and working so as to create more jobs.”
