The Tribune

PRIME Minister Christie keeps reassuring Bahamians that he is working in their best interest to get Baha Mar completed and opened. Now is the time to prove it.

So far, the impression is that Mr Christie has been bending his knee and bowing his head to the wishes of Beijing. After all, when Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar’s creator realised that - thanks to the foot-dragging of CCA Bahamas, the project’s contractor - the uncompleted resort was about to fail, he quickly filed an action in Delaware’s Bankruptcy Court under Chapter 11 to save the enterprise and the jobs of thousands of Bahamians.

CCA Bahamas Ltd and the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China - both Beijing-controlled entities - quickly filed a motion of objection to the Delaware court. They felt that if a case were to be brought, it should be heard in the Bahamas. On the same date of his filing in Delaware, Mr Izmirlian’s company filed an originating summons in the Bahamas Supreme Court “seeking recognition of the Chapter 11 cases and a stay of all legal proceedings involving the debts pending the completion of the Chapter 11 cases”.

Government - instead of taking a back seat and letting the law take its course - immediately muddied the waters by announcing that to have the matter heard in Delaware would be an affront to the sovereign interest of The Bahamas. On learning of this, bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey of Delaware, although acknowledging that Chapter 11 would have been the best route to solve Baha Mar’s problems and protect all of its creditors, decided to dismiss the case so that it could go through insolvency proceedings in The Bahamas. It was obvious that because of government’s announced “sovereignty”, the Bahamas court would not co-operate with the Delaware court. As that was the position, Judge Carey was not about to waste his court’s time.

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who felt it was a “fundamentally bad decision” for the government to put Baha Mar into bankruptcy in The Bahamas, said he wrote two letters to Prime Minister Christie warning him that he was making a mistake. Earlier this year, Mr Ingraham said that Baha Mar would have been much further ahead had Mr Izmirlian been allowed to go ahead with the Delaware proceedings. These many months of confusion have proven him right.

Of course, it would not have been in the best interest of Beijing to have the case heard in Delaware as Bahamians would then have known what part, if any, CCA had played in throwing Baha Mar under the bus.

We often wonder if our politicians know what they are doing. As retired lawyer and investment banker Richard Coulson pointed out in his column in The Tribune on Monday, September 5, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald’s announcement that the payment of Bahamians’ small claims would take preference over all other claims would be in violation of The Bahamas’ law of liquidation. All claims should be treated equally.

In the meantime, EXIM Bank of China has purchased Baha Mar’s assets, leaving behind its obligations. It is understood that it will complete Baha Mar and then sell the hotel to another Chinese entity, whose identity is being kept secret. This is not wise. Already tongues are wagging about the proposed purchaser, and if what is being said is true, it does not bode well for The Bahamas.

In a letter to Liu Liange, President of EXIM Bank of China, and copied to Mr Christie, Mr Izmirlian has suggested that they put all their differences behind them and for the future of Baha Mar his company was prepared “to move forward immediately with a final formal offer at a price in excess of the current undisclosed offer”. His company will pay 100 per cent of all substantiated Bahamian claims and all monies owed to Bahamians and expatriate employees. It will drop all of its appeals and legal action in effect in Bahamian courts upon acceptance of its offer. Mr Izmirlian said his company had the full funding necessary in place for such a purchase price.

“My team,” said Mr Izmirlian, “can conclude this transaction with CEXIM with the fewest surprises in the shortest period of time. We can complete Baha Mar with the soonest opening of all other options. We are in the best position to re-engage the people of The Bahamas as passionate supporters of Baha Mar and its stakeholders. And we can pay the highest price for the benefit of the bank and all its stakeholders.”

When the liquidators consider this offer they must remember that they are legally bound to get the best value for their receivers. However, The Tribune was told by someone near to the receivership camp that they considered Mr Izmirlian’s offer a publicity stunt.

Well, if that is the case, why not call Mr Izmilian’s bluff? It is now time for Prime Minister Christie to show whose side he is really on. Bahamians would certainly have more confidence with Mr Izmirlian directing Baha Mar - after all it was his creation.

Mr Christie, for you the die is now cast. Which shall it be - Izmirlian, whose heart is in The Bahamas, or EXIM Bank that takes its orders from Beijing?