EDITOR. The Tribune.
This morning’s newspapers reports that the Prime Minister has expressed “major concerns” over the delay in the opening of the Baha Mar Resort. As a result, he says that he is in discussions with the developer, Sarkis Izmirlian and the leadership of the China Construction with a hope of getting a firm date for the Resorts opening. He noted that the delayed opening was placing the employment of as many as 2,000 young Bahamians into jeopardy.
Well, I suppose we should be grateful that the Prime Minister has finally woken up from his three-year slumber. Mr Christie needs to explain to the Bahamian people why the missed Fall 2014 opening for the Resort did not trigger his concern.
He needs to explain why he, as Head of Government, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the National Economic Council which approves all foreign investment in the country, did not understand that the Government’s refusal to pay its agreed contribution of $45.3m toward the cost of the construction of the new connector road corridor to JFK Drive would impact Baha Mar finances and its ability to meet its obligations to its Construction Company. Surely, he would have understood the impact of the introduction of VAT on the cost of construction for that project.
The Prime Minister needs to explain to us how it was possible for him to tour the Baha Mar project site repeatedly, with cameras in tow during the past three years, and to drive pass the site twice daily – at a minimum – as he moved between his residence and his office, and not see that the project was seriously behind schedule.
It’s a little late for the Prime Minister to be rousing himself on Baha Mar though this is par for the course. The Prime Minister is similarly oblivious to the impact on employment and investment levels in our country caused by his miserable record in office over the past.
Violent crime, which he and his Party claimed to have the magic cure for in 2012, is now at record heights and climbing and confidence in Government is at an all-time low. The Government has failed to deliver on its most significant promises made during the 2012 campaign – to reduce crime and create jobs; and it has reneged on two other important commitments: to abide by the wish of the people on the Gambling Referendum and to bring mortgage relief to working families.
Confidence in the Government is further battered by repeated scandals and missteps which the Prime Minister seems incapable or unwilling to address – whether the Waste Management Letter of Intent debacle at the Ministry of Public Works, the financial mess at the Bank of Bahamas, the fiasco at BAMSI, the calamity of non-response by the Government to the Rubis oil leak, or the threat to judicial independence because of the actions of a Cabinet Minister.
What is most worrying is that in the face of all this the Prime Minister’s grand plan to move our country forward is to throw a carnival – just Jump in the Line and Party!
MARGARET COOPER
Nassau,
May 8, 2015
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