It's about time that former Baha Mar foreign workers get paid what they're owed in salary and severance. End the discrimination. It looks bad that Bahamian workers were paid, but not foreign workers. There are more than 200 expat employees who were promised payment in 2016. We're still waiting.

I totally agree!!! Everybody that worked should be paid, not just Bahamians because the government wanted their votes!!!!!

With the old Government your chances were slim & none---With the new Government maybe you've got a shot!

@THOMAS MOORE RICKARDS IV...You are obviously either feigning total ignorance as was then PM Hubert Ingraham in 2011 of dozens of successful, high-end resort destinations coexisting with multiple major casino operations and literally 1000's of rooms, or purposely being mischevious for some underhanded, stupid, political agenda.

http://www.casinocity.com/casinos/

Certainly, not many computer literate people are ill-informed enough to make such nonsensical statements!

Firstly, even a totally brain dead individual would have sense enough to understand a resort developer would carry out exhaustive, extensive market research before committing to a $3B development.

The Bahamas is way behind where it should be in resort developments. The single biggest impediment to resort development in the Bahamas is decades of corrupt politicians demanding a piece of the action as did Jerome Fitzpirate with Sarkis.

This phenomenon explains how and why the Bahamas fell from the #1 Caribbean resort destination position regionally, to not ranking at all in the top 10 as serious developers, like Sarkis, refused to "roll over" to demands of corrupt politicians and simply took their investments elsewhere.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersCh…

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis mandate to tackle corruption and subsequent immediate photo op with Sarkis was intentially and strategically calculated to send an exceptionally strong signal to investors that the Bahamas is now a business friendly country and safe to invest in.

40 years of massive political corruption stagnated growth, leading to the country being grossly underdeveloped, just because a handful of small-minded individuals greed far exceeded their care for country and people.

For the first time in my entire lifetime, I truly **"feel"** that we are finally on the right track and tremendous opportunities are with-in reach for future generations of our people.

I hope you are right.

Minnis,Turnquest, Dames & Symonette have a daunting task to reassure the foreign investors that they will recalibrate the Bahamian government machinery, improve the culture of doing effective business with Bahamian partners and providing a safe operating environment for owners/employees/patrons ............ And they have a short time to prove their abilities

The PLP Cabinet 2012-17 have set the bar LOW to match ....... but HIGH to solve the problem

"Bahamian partners" are keywords! Many countries require foreign investors to partner with locals.

The Bahamas would benefit most if Bahamians were intrinsically involved at some level with all foreign investors, which would translate to more local entrepreneurs being created and more money reinvested in the local economy instead of having all profits repatriated by foreigners as locals diversify or buy additional shares in foreign-owned investments.

Many developing countries used this strategy to help "build wealth and national ownership" from with-in.

http://www.healyconsultants.com/blog/re…

http://www.insideafricalaw.com/publicat…

China also quickly mushroomed to become the world's manufacturer by pushing joint partnership initiatives in as many areas possible.

To address the points in Mr Moore's letter - we now find ourselves with a white elephant that could bankrupt the country (via non collection of fees and taxes), thanks in no small part to the interference of the previous government.

Whilst I agree with SP's point that market research would doubtless have been carried out extensively by the original developers, I am not so sure that the present "owners" care all that much about Baha Mar's future. They (China as a whole) have received the monies for construction, plain and simple. In effect, they seem to have used Peter (Bank) to pay Paul (Construction company) In future they will only be interested in making sure that Peter gets repaid from future operations, and to hell with its effect on our nation. With such massive repayments due, I don't expect there will be too much left over to carry out site redevelopments, upgrades, repairs as they are needed.

China is well known for building ghost towns, or Potomac buildings, in their efforts to keep a major industry going and spread their global influence. This has led to the present credit crunch they are experiencing.

More worryingly for us (as Mr Moore points out) we have as yet no idea what the effect will be on our infrastructure. Imagine for one moment thousands of tourists descending on the streets and beaches of Nassau in a typical day, on top of the usual cruise ship passengers - ugh!! And then, after a few months or years of utter congestion, bookings at Baha Mar begin to drop off. What then?

Remember in the 1980s when the huge hotel at Cable Beach was first opened, and sucked the nation's coffers dry? That megaresort (for its time) began to wither and die after only a decade or so. Not having learned our lesson, the new phoenix rising from the ashes is a replica, only on steroids, and one which I do not think that our Chinese overlords know how to tame..

It is refreshing all those commenting on my Letter to the Editor, save one, used critical thinking, and are cautious or dubious about the full-scale Baha Mar ever operating at a profit.

Many casino projects eventually prove too large for any city. I think all readers should look first to Las Vegas. More than a dozen multibillion-dollar projects sit unfinished or idle today (World Trade Center, Harley Davidson, Playboy, DeVille, the Fontainebleau, and many others), created by the hubris of the original Developers. Looking at Atlantic City in New Jersey is beyond sobering.

I and all the people I know wish Baha Mar the greatest success. But this writer fears it is too large, it is now many years behind schedule, and was constructed for markets that have simply disappeared, if they existed at all.

I'm sure most readers will have noted the first five star hotel opened yesterday in Cuba. If their and the U.S.government someday drops Cuba travel restrictions, the results will be instant and negative for the Bahamas.

Again, it is refreshing that most Bahamians can look at Baha Mar objectively, with intellectual concern, not emotional name-calling.

RICKARDS