By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
THE success or failure of the Baha Mar resort will determine Prime Minister Perry Christie’s legacy, Free National Movement deputy leader Peter Turnquest said yesterday as he insisted that the nation’s chief ought to be more involved with the negotiations.
Following Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirilian’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing in an American court last month, Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson has on two occasions led the Bahamian delegation to Beijing, China, to put the government’s position.
Before the first visit, Mr Christie said that he would not attend the meetings because there was insufficient time to satisfy the People’s Republic of China’s protocol requirements for receiving Heads of State.
Mrs Maynard-Gibson returned to Beijing this weekend. This has left Mr Christie open to criticisms from those who insist he has removed himself from the situation.
Mr Turnquest said: “It is an interesting development that he now wants to take a back seat. He has decided that he will make this his legacy and as such the success or failure of the negotiations rests with him and his government. So he ought to be intimately involved.
“At this point I believe that negotiations have reached that point where some final decisions need to be made and only he and his Cabinet make those decisions. So I think it was an interesting development that he sent the Attorney General to China.
“I believe it is now time for the Prime Minister to be upfront in this and putting forward the position of the Bahamas in respect to what is our final position as to how it will go forward.”
Mr Turnquest further questioned the reasoning for the government’s second visit to China, saying it was a waste of time and money.
“Before they left they knew that the basic issue was that the Export Import Bank of China needed a guarantee from Mr Izmirilian. If they did not have that then why go back to China to do the same thing over again? I think it again shows a lack of commitment (and) a lack of thought in this whole process.
“From where I stand there are only two solutions here. One, they are going to wind up and go into receivership and hopefully a qualified receiver will be able to somehow secure the funding to complete this project in a timely manner which is not an easy thing to do.
Because, if you think about it, if the China EXIM bank is requiring a guarantee from Mr Izmirilian then wouldn’t they expect the same guarantee from a receiver or whomever is going to step in to takeover? Why would they all of a sudden free up on this money?” Mr Turnquest asked.
Ha said all parties involved will need to make compromises as there are mutual interests at stake.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years, 9 months ago
Is Perry really so small minded that he would tie the legacy of his long career in main stream politics to the irrational, vindictive and malicious misconduct of the ever so spiteful and greedy Maynard-Gibson? For Christie, his legacy is the most valuable thing he has right now that will survive him in the minds of all Bahamians for generations to come. Is Bernadette going to let it all come crumbling down around her man because Maynard-Gibson continues to suffer from too many of her well known hissy-tissy fits and is therefore unable to think straight? Now is the time Perry to reach out to minds much bigger, wiser and more level headed than the small minds that have been yapping away at your ears to date. Oh well, time will soon tell whether you can be possessed of statesman-like qualities when you need them the most.
realfreethinker 8 years, 9 months ago
His legacy is already in tatters. He needs to see if he can clean some of the stench off now
TalRussell 8 years, 8 months ago
Comrade lkalikl, either you are on a first name basis with nation's PM, or you are being disrespectful towards our nation's current office holder.
Reality_Check 8 years, 8 months ago
Tal has apparently forgotten that it was none other than Tal's beloved Lynden Oscar Pindling (LOP) who equated his (LOP's) great dislike of Perry to his (LOP's) great dislike of "vomit"; hence, Perry being more affectionately known in many quarters of the Bahamas as Perry "Vomit" Christie!
TalRussell 8 years, 8 months ago
Comrade sometimes lacking in Reality, to the contrary I found it difficult to understand the role members of the Pindling administration played in the drug trade. I also fully understand why and what Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie did in their opposition to the closeness of members of the Pindling administration had with the drug trade. Should some have been arrested, charged and jailed, absolutely. But unlike you, I do believe whatever names Perry Christie might have been called back then, were "honourably" earn.
I guess if Pindling thought of Perry Christie as "vomit", he must have thought of Hubert Ingraham as being, da "puke's producer?" But being the PM Christie cynical blogger you are, obviously you would be disinterested in telling the whole story, a story that involved not one but the two former law partners.
banker 8 years, 8 months ago
CriscoButt doesn't deserve respect. It is earned.
ThisIsOurs 8 years, 8 months ago
Oh boy:)
sheeprunner12 8 years, 8 months ago
His legacy (nickname) was set a while ago ......................... VOMIT
And that is what he will end up swimming in by 2017 .................. VOMIT
Emac 8 years, 8 months ago
You ain hear what Tal just say above ay? Yinna better stop disrespecting we nation's PM hear? This man will go down as the greatest Prime Minister that very held office in the Bahamas. (Wow so that's how it feels to sound like a PLP minion, someone who lookin' fer hand out without actually doing anything.)
ObserverOfChaos 8 years, 8 months ago
Funny about all this talk about "wind up" and or going into receivership of a private company when there are ABSOLUTELY no existing laws that cover this in the bahamas......will be fun watching the courts on friday miraculously rule on a law(s) when they don't exist in present state of laws here...but this just continues the dumbness of the bahama government...
sheeprunner12 8 years, 8 months ago
Sorry ........... but the courts of The Bahamas will not be the final arbitrator of this case between Bahamar, the Chinese and the Bahamas ....... this will end up in HM Privy Council ........... will be a long drawn out case
ThisIsOurs 8 years, 8 months ago
Christie's legacy is already set. He let his people rape the country while the Bahamian people suffered and he simply did not care.
Craig 8 years, 8 months ago
Perry gotta be a man and stand to up to the Chinese and tell CCA go home and stop this winding up nonsense. That way Baha Mar can spend the $400mil they promised with the local contractors to complete the work. An injection of that much cash in the local economy would be a tremendous boost for a lagging economy and create hundreds of jobs. That's the best course of action here but Perry don't have the cahouners to take that approach.
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