By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

LONG Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner yesterday blasted the Christie administration saying it has proven to be “spectacularly incompetent”, “delusional” and asleep at the wheel in dealing with the unopened mega resort, Baha Mar.

While insisting that an urgent strategy is needed to open the $3.5bn hotel, she chided Prime Minister Perry Christie for failing to provide steady, deliberative and competent leadership. Mrs Butler-Turner is the Free National Movement’s shadow minister of labour and social development.

She went on to criticise the prime minister for continuing to rush to make public statements about the impasse, branding this as poor leadership with a view to scoring points rather than working in an intelligent manner to assist in opening the project as soon as possible.

This follows Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian’s letter last week, sent to the president of the EXIM Bank, asking that he accept an offer to complete and open the stalled resort. The developer also promised to rehire Bahamian employees while ensuring that the bank does not accept a discount on its debt.

In response, Mr Christie has said Mr Izmirlian is “deserving of every consideration” regarding his newly submitted plans.

“The Bahamas cannot afford to allow the largest single hotel development in its history to sit idle and unopened for much longer,” the former FNM deputy leader said in a press statement yesterday.

“With fanfare and delusion, on more than one occasion the prime minister rushed to announce the opening of Baha Mar. He has made all manner of rash statements.

“He has offered confusion and delusion where clarity of purpose and thought were required. Clearly, Mr Christie did not have a full grasp of the state of affairs at Baha Mar.”

She continued: “The government dramatically failed to monitor the construction of Baha Mar. During the initial development of Atlantis on Paradise Island, the then FNM administration provided vigorous oversight of developments at that resort.

“Mr Sarkis Izmirlian, the developer of the mega resort, continues to express interest in opening the resort and reaching a satisfactory arrangement with creditors. His ideas should be reviewed and given a fair hearing by various parties. Mr Izmirlian clearly continues to have a great interest in the project and a continued interest in The Bahamas.”

“Mr Christie and his government failed to provide similar oversight at Baha Mar. His government proved disastrously negligent.”

Following such failure and incompetence, the MP said the Christie administration, in one of the greatest blunders in modern governance, placed the resort in liquidation. She said this has had disastrous consequences.

“Various observers warned that liquidation would be a grave mistake. But a delusional and incompetent prime minister would not listen.

“At the time, various government ministers made unnecessary and ill-advised remarks which frightened potential foreign investors in respect of immigration policy and about the government’s approach to the protection of private property.

“It is highly likely that the Baha Mar impasse would have been resolved had the government not acted so unwisely and precipitously. The decision to place Baha Mar in liquidation has had dire economic and foreign policy consequences.

“There were other approaches the government could have taken instead of the liquidation process. When good and steady judgment were required, the Christie administration made a colossal mistake for which the country is paying a terrible price.”

She said resolution of this matter will require intense and unrelenting diplomatic efforts with the government of the People’s Republic of China.

Mrs Butler-Turner said the Christie administration should consider the appointment of a highly respected senior official and special envoy to assist the country’s efforts in negotiating with various parties in China toward the resolution of the impasse at Baha Mar.

The government and the Official Opposition should work in a collaborative and mature manner to facilitate the opening of a project of great consequence for the medium and long-term prospects for The Bahamas, Mrs Butler-Turner said.

The Supreme Court placed Baha Mar into receivership last October, at the request of the Export Import Bank of China.