CCA: Baha Mar ‘tied our hands’ in payment row
China Construction America’s (CCA) Bahamian subsidiary is alleging that Baha Mar “tied our hands” over resolving a $755,000 payment dispute, which was placed on the back burner due to the $3.5 billion project’s “implosion”.
Contractors: Lien law absence puts us at ‘great disadvantage’
Bahamian contractors are “greatly disadvantaged” by the absence of lien laws, which they believe would force developer clients to negotiate settlements to outstanding payment disputes.
Gov’t ‘won’t compromise’ on Baha Mar contractors
Prime Minister Perry Christie says he has warned the China Export-Import Bank that the Government will not compromise its position that Baha Mar’s Bahamian contractors must be paid the total $74 million owing to them.
‘Bated breath’ on energy reforms
Businesses are waiting “with bated breath” to see if the Government’s reforms can deliver lower energy costs, with the Chamber’s chairman emphasising that implementation is key.
Contractors call for arbitration specialists
Bahamian contractors have called for more attorneys to specialise in construction arbitration, suggesting that provisions for such forms of dispute resolution be made mandatory in their contracts.
PwC NHI ‘funding gap’ $38m ‘under-estimate
PricewaterhouseCoopers (Pwc) projections for the National Health Insurance (NHI) ‘funding gap’ are almost a $38 million under-estimate, due to the plan’s basic coverage expanding to a $400 million package.
Data breaches increase 20-fold
The Data Protection Commissioner says there has been a 20-fold increase in complaints to her office since she assumed the post in mid-2013, including allegations illegally-recorded conversations.
S&P cuts Bahamas 2016 growth to 1.5%
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) yesterday slashed its 2016 GDP growth forecast for the Bahamas to just 1.5 per cent, and warned that “material benefits” from the Baha Mar project are more than two years away.
Sarkis hit with $300k legal bill
Attorneys representing creditors of the sole Baha Mar company still in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection are demanding that Sarkis Izmirlian pay them almost $300,000 to cover their legal fees and expenses.
$20m BEC clean-up ‘not even band aid’
The Government’s promise to spend $20 million on cleaning-up the Bahamas Electricity Corporation’s (BEC) legacy pollution was yesterday branded as “not even a band aid” by environmental activists, who are forging ahead with the imminent launch of legal action.
$1bn investments ‘not turning into economic growth’
Almost $1 billion worth of ongoing investment projects are failing to “translate into economic growth”, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) warned yesterday, with the inevitable tourist market “adjustment” upon opening further delaying Baha Mar’s impact.
Aircraft registry can ‘parallel’ civil aviation reforms
The Government was yesterday urged by an aviation law specialist to develop a Bahamian international aircraft registry “in parallel” to its overhaul of the local industry’s regulatory oversight regime.
Union opposition to Cable’s mobile licence bolstered
The Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) yesterday received backing from a second trade union over its opposition to Cable Bahamas receiving this nation’s second mobile licence.
Training Agency: More than half of graduates get job
The National Training Agency (NTA) has assisted ‘more than half’ of its 2,000 graduates to-date to find full-time employment, its director told Tribune Business yesterday.
BEC union expects to meet PowerSecure during December
The Bahamas Electrical Workers Union’s (BEWU) president said yesterday he was quite satisfied with the information received from the new Bahamas Electricity Corporation Board (BEC), although the unions have yet to meet with its new manager or see the business plan.
