Leave Baha Mar deal alone

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who spoke up on the Commercial Enterprises Bill.

As of Thursday, July 6, 2017

By RASHAD ROLLE

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

SARKIS Izmirlian is “dead wrong” calling for a moratorium on the sale of Baha Mar, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said yesterday.

During a Rotary Club of Southeast Nassau meeting yesterday, Mr Ingraham said the Minnis administration should do nothing that would disrupt Baha Mar’s ability to open as quickly as possible and begin employing thousands of Bahamians.

His comment came nearly two weeks after Mr Izmirlian, Baha Mar’s original developer whose family invested hundreds of millions in Baha Mar, called for a moratorium on the mega resort’s sale to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd. Mr Izmirlian also called for an investigation into the concessions the Christie administration offered to Chinese investors for the efforts in remobilising construction last year on the troubled resort.

“The completion of Baha Mar and its operation is of critical and essential importance to the economy of the Bahamas and the people of the Bahamas,” Mr Ingraham said. “The government must do nothing whatsoever to stop it from being completed; it must do whatever it can to facilitate the completion of Baha Mar because we need the jobs. We need to ensure that we are not downgraded (by international credit rating agencies) even further and that we get upgraded. So, I’m not aware of what Sarkis said but if he said that he’s dead wrong.”

Mr Ingraham’s reaction to Mr Izmirlian’s statements was more emphatic than the Minnis administration’s reaction.

Both Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Attorney General Carl Bethel have said the government won’t interfere with Baha Mar’s sale. However Dr Minnis appeared defensive when questioned about the controversy last week.

While in opposition, Dr Minnis pledged to execute a “real sale” of Baha Mar “to a qualified and respectable purchaser who believes in Bahamians; a purchaser who will utilise only Bahamian labour to complete the resort, and will put Bahamians back to work with real jobs as quickly as possible.”

Two weeks ago, nonetheless, Mr Bethel said there was nothing in the recently unsealed Baha Mar agreements that would make the government renegotiate the deal.

Mr Ingraham yesterday reiterated his view that the Christie administration erred in putting Baha Mar in liquidation in local courts rather than let Mr Izmirlian pursue his Chapter 11 avenue for settling his dispute with Baha Mar’s contractor, China Construction America (CCA) in the United States.

Mr Ingraham said he does not know if Mr Izmirlian can receive any remedies for the millions he invested in Baha Mar.

“I think the government was dead wrong when it put Baha Mar in liquidation,” he said. “It should never have gotten involved with that aspect of the dispute. That would’ve left Mr Izmirlian and the Chinese to fight their battle out in court or through arbitration. Once the government put Baha Mar in liquidation, it removed from Sarkis Izmirlian and his father and those, any rights they had to contest what had happened.

“That was a very wrongful decision on the part of the government. I told that to the prime minister in writing and personally, that that should have never happened. Whether or not the present government is able to right that wrong without interfering with what I say is a fundamental need that is for Baha Mar to be concluded and opened and operated, I don’t know; but that’s a challenge that they have, to cause redress for Sarkis’ grievance and at the same time be focused on what the public interest is and that is to complete Baha Mar, hire the thousands of people and let’s get on with it.”

BahamasForBahamians 6 years, 9 months ago

Hi Sarkis, Whats next?

Maybe fund the DNA for 2022?

Lesson to foreigner: Never meddle in Bahamian politics, they are all one in the same.

sealice 6 years, 9 months ago

these fools think that fixing Bahmar is going to fix the country...... called putting the cart before the horse....

John 6 years, 9 months ago

Hubert Ingraham is RIGHT!! The government should not meddle in Bah Mar as far as the sale of the property is concerned. But what the government MUST DO is stop the Chinese from 'sissying around" and missing deadlines and not masking a real and concerted effort to get the property opened. Fully open. In fact The government should be benefiting from the penalties levied against The China Construction Company because one third of the assets of Bah Mar are from the people of the Bahamas with the understanding that the hotel would be up and running and provide jobs for Bahamians and stimulate and grow the Bahamian economy. the Chinese must be made to account. . 中国人必须做到这一点！ Zhōngguó rén bìxū zuò dào zhè yīdiǎn!

TalRussell 6 years, 9 months ago

Comrades! The Head Ghost from the Red Shirts '3rd governing regime's past' Coopers Town's Papa Hubert was and remains “dead wrong” when he first started giving the same exact sales pitch to justify the beginning of the Izmirlian soap opera after he took's flight out LOP Airport for the purpose calling on The People's Republic of China - with 8100 signed and sealed Chinese work permits neatly tucked away inside his keep Top Secret from the Bahamalander People's Prime Ministerial briefcase. I'll just leave it there - except mention Papa must've borrowed that loud shirt from his former law partner? These two old trouble making ghosts from Cable Beach's past - both needs sit small - unless they both feel tis they who were chiefly responsible for brungin Minnis to power.......and they is owed?

licks2 6 years, 9 months ago

I think you are just playing stupid. . .you really don't rember who it waas who left the Bahamas with that deal with them plenty Chines workers dem aye? So you mean that Papa was running the country when the PLP was in government. . .

ThisIsOurs 6 years, 9 months ago

Nice shirt Mr Ingraham! :)

TalRussell 6 years, 9 months ago

Comrade ThisIsOurs, I hope his former law partner - dry cleaned his colourful shirt for Papa wear to Rotary.

ThisIsOurs 6 years, 9 months ago

Washes presses um?

Well_mudda_take_sic 6 years, 9 months ago

This ugly oaf Ingraham is the idiot who brought Red China to our shores in 1992 by adopting the One China Principle that effectively told Red China that our country was for sale by corrupt politicians like Hubiggity and Vomit.

sheeprunner12 6 years, 9 months ago

HAI has warts .................. but he was far better than SLOP and Vomit

concernedcitizen 6 years, 9 months ago

You can see and touch the things HAI built w our money ...

Well_mudda_take_sic 6 years, 9 months ago

Yes, and those feely touchy things you speak of should have cost us one-third at most of what we actually ended up borrowing to pay to the contractors concerned....especially the Argentine road paving contractor!

concernedcitizen 6 years, 9 months ago

The roads were needed to be done for years and when they were dug up a lot of the water works had to be repaired ,,,400 Bahamians worked on the roads ,,and JCC did NOT make 200 million ,,maybe 30 million profit after payroll ,fuel for vehicles ,tar , vehicle etc etc .,,Thus a lot of the money circulated here ,,400 million in the airport I can touch ,the harbor for bigger ships and the fill for awarak cay.. Keynesian economics you spend on infrastructure during a recession and try to keep taxes low to stimulate growth ..He knew we needed to broaden our tax base b/c we were only getting 40% of customs revenue ,but did not do VAT during a recession ..Say what you will but things got done w/ HAI ..The money for the roads was a very low interest long term IDB loan b/c we still had good credit then ,,unlike now.The PLP started the roads w/ Bethel trucking btw 2002 and 2007 and the IDB yanked the loan ,,HAi had to use a foreign firm ..

licks2 6 years, 9 months ago

Bran please explain yourself. . .1992 to Bahama. . .no wonder ya party can't get out of the gate. . .you really don't know what happened in 1992 or you just being Bran. . .making no sense as usual!

birdiestrachan 6 years, 9 months ago

The FNM Papa was right there front and center when the FNM in their quest to win the Government gave the man comfort. some folks voted for them because they believed the FNM as they say would give him back his hotel just as simple as that give him back his hotel, The FNM papa and son roc with doc said the PLP had done a grave injustice now their song has changed . The devil and his demons are in the details

banker 6 years, 9 months ago

Silly you, Papa's son een Doc, it's Zhivargo! (sip sip)

Publius 6 years, 9 months ago

I have not heard how CCA is going to be held accountable for all it has done in and to The Bahamas via this project. At this rate, this hotel is going to open as a museum; a wax one.

242 6 years, 9 months ago

Birdiestrachan. What are you talking about he is saying what Christie did was wrong and he wrote it in a letter . But interfering at this time would only delay the completion longer.

TheMadHatter 6 years, 9 months ago

In other words he could have said more simply "Don't yall be uppity niggahs. Eat ya corned beef and grits and be quiet."

banker 6 years, 9 months ago

I takes rice wid my fire engine, not grits.

TheMadHatter 6 years, 9 months ago

Banker you in luck cause wit dese Chinese soon all we gah have is rice.

SP 6 years, 9 months ago

So Mr. Izmirlian is supposed to simply walk away from his investment because it just happens to be of integral economic importance to the Bahamas, although Hubert agrees that his bankruptcy actions were indeed proper as deemed by the U.S. bankruptcy judge and Perry Christie and the Chinese obviously colluded in shanghaiing him?

Why should it now be Izmirlians’ responsibility to take the fall and suffer loss because of decades of mismanagement, political stupidity, and corruption, which led the country to where we now find ourselves caused by Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie?

HELL NO SARKIS! Take your fight before the Privy Council for resolution and sue the lot of them!

licks2 6 years, 9 months ago

Finally an answer with some semblance of thinking skills. . .his only hope is to take the CCA et al to court. . .as for asking Doc to "stop, review and cancel" on Baha mar . . .something he will get his tail chipped if he tries in any other country!!

concernedcitizen 6 years, 9 months ago

No where does he say Sarkis should take legal recourse to try and recoup financial damages ,,what he says is don,t stop the sale

Porcupine 6 years, 9 months ago

If we were lead by jackasses, voted them in ourselves, then we will end up paying for OUR stupidity and corrupt government. Most everyone seems to think that The Bahamas economic problems can be solved by continuing down this road of screwing others. Time for justice. Sarkis should be made whole. Someone has to pay. Chinese or Bahamians. I hope their are enough honest judges in the world to right this obvious wrong. I am beginning to believe that BahaMar, like BAMSI, was simply a way for politicians to enrich themselves at the expense of the people.

MonkeeDoo 6 years, 9 months ago

Sarkis needs to bring a case against the Bahamas Government, EXIM Bank, CCA, and PGC & AMG for whatever money he lost PLUS damages. Don't bring it here though. Too much crooked shit to contend with.

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