The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

IT is “insulting” for anyone to think that the former Christie administration was irresponsible in its Baha Mar negotiations, former Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday as he expressed “confidence” that none of these talks resulted in a breach of Atlantis’ most favoured nation  status.

Mr Davis said in all Baha Mar related talks in which he had participated, the former government conducted itself within responsible parametres and obligations.

The Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP said he would be “surprised” if any conditions of the most favoured nation status (MFN) were breached by the former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) administration because it was always in the forefront of discussions.

This comes after The Nassau Guardian reported on Thursday that Atlantis officials intended to push to have the Baha Mar sale deal unsealed with a view to seeing whether its MFN status was upheld.

Mr Davis said: “It’s insulting to think that one would have thought that the previous administration would be so irresponsible. (We) would (have) known our responsibilities, we would (have known) our obligations and in everything that I participated in, we worked within and we conducted ourselves within the parametres of our responsibilities and obligations.

“So I would be very surprised that any conditions of the favoured entity status granted to Atlantis would have been breached by us in our negotiations with Baha Mar because that status was always in mind in all the discussions I may have been engaged in with respect to anything that they may have gotten.”

Asked whether he could say with confidence that there was no breach, Mr Davis said: “Not that I am aware of. I am confident as I am aware that in each occasion that any discussions were held in my presence, the question of the status of Atlantis was always in the forefront our discussions.”

Several days before the May 10 general election, the Christie administration released the heads of agreement signed between the government and CTF BM over Baha Mar. CTF BM is a subsidiary of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd, Baha Mar’s proposed buyer.

The document, signed April 25, revealed that the government committed to contribute $4m a year for eight years to market the West Bay Street resort. However, the 2017-2018 budget outlines a $9m allocation for Baha Mar.

When asked if this could be a breach of the MFN, Mr Davis said it would depend on whether the clause with Atlantis embraced marketing funds.

“I don’t know whether it (the MFN) did. If it did then I am certain that we would not have done more for Baha Mar than we have done for them (Atlantis) and recognising as well that my recollection of marketing subsidy it’s always had a sunset clause so it wasn’t a perpetual arrangement where you would be getting marketing funding (indefinitely).”

Under the MFN, the Bahamas government cannot agree to any terms more favourable with an investor than those agreed to for the Atlantis resort.

The Baha Mar heads of agreement outlined a number of concessions granted to the new buyer of the beleaguered resort, including value added tax (VAT) exemption for the project’s completion until the end of 2019 and write off of $10m in casino debt.

And while stressing that there must at all times be “continued efforts” to maximise Bahamian employment at the resort, the government has allowed for the granting of up to 300 work permits for non-Bahamian workers in senior management positions, those with technical or specialty skills including brand management, “where there is a demonstrable need and lack of qualified Bahamian applicants.”

The agreement notes that after the first 18 months of operation of the resort and casino, work permit numbers are projected to drop to 200.

The resort will also be exempt from the payment of real property tax for 10 years “commencing on the date of opening for business of each facility within the project.”

The heads of agreement also commits the government to solving the long-standing issues plaguing the New Providence Landfill and addressing the issue of unreliable electricity supply in the capital by the end of this year.

Baha Mar held a soft opening for its first phase on April 21.