Wednesday, March 15, 2017
By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
A Cabinet Minister yesterday again hit out at Free National Movement (FNM) leader, Dr Hubert Minnis, over his recent pledge to find a new purchaser for Baha Mar, accusing him of seeking to “wreck” the Bahamian economy.
Jerome Fitzgerald, minister of education, science and technology, who was one of the Christie administration’s lead Baha Mar negotiators, said Dr Minnis’s statement was not a good signal for investors.
The FNM leader, in a recent posting on his Facebook page, suggested that the party, should it win the upcoming general election, would undo Baha Mar’s sale to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) and instead seek a different buyer for the $4.2 billion development.
“It appears that he is a ball of confusion and ignorant of the facts as it relates to Baha Mar,” Mr Fitzgerald blasted “The Government doesn’t own the hotel and has no interest in it with regard to a legal interest, and therefore cannot dictate who the hotel is sold to.
“The second point is with regard to the statement about approving a new buyer; we’re already past that point. The Government has indicated that it has approved the sale to CTFE, and CTFE has indicted that they are in the process of finalising the purchase price.”
Mr Fitzgerald added: “At this point, employees have been hired, and thousands of employees will be hired in the coming weeks and months as we move towards a soft opening which will be in April as scheduled.
“It’s a poor statement to investors. He is obviously trying to wreck the economy. Those irresponsible statements are not becoming of anyone wanting to lead this country. Those comments are baseless and have no basis in facts. He knows that and is still trying to create fear and confusion around the issue.”
Comments
Reality_Check says...
The Bahamian judge in the Baha Mar local legal proceedings should have long ago ordered that all of the transcripts, documents and reports filed with the court be unsealed, i.e made available for inspection by the public, in particular the news media. The judge's failure to recognize the public's right to have access to this information in the run up to a general election is frightening to say the least. It certainly appears the court is wrongfully interfering in the upcoming general election by concealing information the present government does not want to be made public. There have been many proper demands made for the information to be put in the public domain because there is no justifiable national security interest for not doing so. The court's continued willingness to wrongfully withhold this information from the public points to a lack of independence that is most harmful to our country's democratic processes. The fact that the Chief Justice has not weighed in or intervened by now in this matter is also of great concern to the public at large. These are all very serious matters. But "NO!" we will not hear a peep out of Jerome Fitzgerald's mouth about these matters!
Posted 16 March 2017, 12:46 a.m. Suggest removal
Craig says...
What a joke that Fitzgerald would speak of wrecking the country. He wrecked his company RND which is practically worthless. Words from such a terrible businessman is meaningless!!
Posted 16 March 2017, 1:25 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
The worst indicators to investors were, Bahamar taken away from Izmirilian and the downgrade to junk status, none of which Dr Minnis had anything to do with.
Posted 16 March 2017, 2:35 p.m. Suggest removal
happyfly says...
Fitzgerald could play some Balderdash !
Posted 16 March 2017, 4:11 p.m. Suggest removal
The_Oracle says...
Minnis will have nothing but pieces to pick up from the already ruined economy!
Sensibility says jump right, The jump left every time!
Disgraceful. The end is nigh.
Posted 16 March 2017, 5:01 p.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
Yep ............ this is 1992 all over again!!!!!!!!
Posted 16 March 2017, 5:56 p.m. Suggest removal
Emac says...
Man why election don hurry up come so we could get rid of this bumble bee nose idiot. The only way the Bahamas can ever recover is if the PLP is eradicated during this upcoming election! But I dare to dream big!
Posted 16 March 2017, 6:24 p.m. Suggest removal
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