EDITOR, The Tribune.
The simple fact of the matter is that we need a solution to the Baha Mar blowout, and fast. But the way in which the Bahamian government is going about themselves is not the answer.
We should not send people to China to mediate when persons close to them have contracts with Baha Mar. This is a conflict of interest on a gross scale and should not have been overlooked. Yet it was. To then send the same person a second time is inexcusable.
I was horrified to read Fred Mitchell’s comments to the United Nations, in recent statements, and local speeches. Yes we are in difficult times, but that is not how one should behave. Comments like that should not be made at the United Nations, or in public or even appear on a draft copy of a speech.
Fred Mitchell brings shame on our nation by acting like a child. We are proud people, but we are losing the reason and the right to our pride. We cannot in one breath state that investors need to be managed and threaten to revoke their citizenship simply because we don’t like how they behave. And in the next breath ask someone to believe in our country and to invest on our soil.
Mitchell cries out for respect. Respect for our country and our government, but I ask him where is HIS respect? Where is his respect for our country and our Bahamian people to try and find a solution to this issue? Where is his respect for all the past, current and potential future investors in our country that have been successful? Stating that they need to be “‘managed”. Treating them like a tool for him to use as he sees fit. Yes investments and projects such as Baha Mar need to be managed. But surely processes should be put in place from the start to manage the project. And I mean project, rather than an individual. People are not puppets. Checks and controls on quality should form part of any agreement. These should also be followed up on and monitored during the course of the build with certain penalties if controls are not met. Respect needs to be earned, and by my count the government isn’t trying that hard.
When it was announced that Baha Mar had filed a Chapter 11, The Bahamas government stated that they would join talks with Baha Mar, Export Import Bank of China and China Construction America to find a solution. The purpose of the negotiations were “aimed at the early completion and opening of the Baha Mar resort”. All I have read though are countless occasions of name shaming and mudslinging. This is not the way our country should behave. It is unbecoming, and it is ugly.
We cannot become a nation that threatens to revoke citizenship because someone did something that a Member of Parliament disagrees with. We cannot threaten removal of citizenship because someone is deemed to have disrespected the country by using his right to free speech. If that is the one basis for such a comment then should Mitchell’s citizenship be revoked?
If a thief steals from a tourist should his citizenship be revoked for bringing harm to our tourist trade?
Should we revoke the citizenship of all members of the government for failing time and time again to set a date and stick to it for the woman’s equality referendum? Should we revoke their citizenship for failing to introduce the Freedom of Information Act which was recommended to be put in place before VAT was implemented?
What are we teaching our children; the next generation of Bahamians; what are we showing the world? That when we don’t like how someone behaves we banish them and strip them of their right to live in our country? This is not Pre-school. This is not Reception. This is real, this has lasting repercussions and this affects our country as a whole.
Perry Christie please, I beg of you; act like a Prime Minister and bring your ministers into check because this is an embarrassment. And to members of the FNM, DNA and independent parties, stand up and demand better. You say you want to represent The Bahamas and our people? Well, if you won’t stand up for our country now, then when will you?
There are troubled times ahead and we need to work together.
FP
Nassau,
August 6, 2015.
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