A pox on both their houses for this PLP/FNM petty politics is killing our psyche and country as a whole. So let me follow the logic what some of you're saying is: as long as the corrupt PLP's (code word Afro-Bahamians) straw company don't get 49% and use foreign expertise to manage BTC it was okay for the FNM to do a back door deal with a foreign entity by selling off controlling equity stake of 51% and giving complete management control of a sovereign strategic asset for dirt cheap? WOW!

When will a greater cross section of Bahamians demand they become real economic stakeholders in their economy not just go around selling off the country for token holdings and few lower level jobs. We are turning our country in to a Billionaire economic and living play ground with no real role for the vast majority of us to play.

Only this tragic theatre of the absurd with the established local oligopolistic merchant class dominating most key profitable industries or selling off the land to foreign interest, the self-serving political class going around pontificating and posturing like they in charge of something, the professional class living above their means while acting as mere facilitators of wealth accumulation of foreign investors that is immediately repatriated out of the country and the mass of Bahamians left to struggle to eek out an existence with: most property/housing out of their reach, 11+% usury rates offered by the banks, $5+ gas, $6 Milk and astronomical electrical bills. May God have mercy on our souls if we continue on this mindless suicidal path.

Even though this is a much needed expenditure I only have one question: with ever increasing budget deficits, growing debt balances, a broken tax system that doesn't generate enough revenue and a private sector that like everyone else looks to a hostaged government to build out infrastructure and doesn't nearly support the College/University of The Bahamas or provide scholarships for specialized study abroad to the level it should who's going to pay for this?

Concerned, we like all countries need direct foreign investment, but we should negotiate with them from a position of leveraging our strengths so as to be treated as equal partners at the table while crafting these deals. For without us they don't have the beautiful crystal clear turquoise waters, white sandy beaches, amiable friendly English speaking natives within a stable democracy, with little to no taxes that gives them free reign to repatriate all their earnings with no foreign exchange risk only 30mins-2 1/2hrs flight time for over 100+ million of the worlds wealthiest citizens to put their damn hotels. Your attitude is the same broken spirit colonialized inferiority complex that got us in to this second class citizen mess we’re in today.

I can only speculate that the rift between these two who were very close since the Izmirilian family came to our shores has a lot to do with after 5 years of negotiating and dealing with Hubert "Give Away The Farm To Foreign Investors" Ingraham the Izmirilians aren't in the mood to bending or yielding to a new regime’s desire to cut in on the dance with all the sweet deals that went to the established local merchant class or God forbid any revisiting of another one-sided deal they already have in hand. Why should they be? For once again similar to Atlantis the people of the Bahamas will be on the hook for $100M’s in infrastructural improvements (roads, water & sewage, electrical, airport etc…) marketing & promotion specific to this resort, subsidizing airlift, dealing 100’s of the recently or soon to be laid-off more costly older current employees, finding meaningful employment for the dozens of rejected or displaced local university educated professionals to make way for another influx of expats with pay and benefit packages to die for; all for a few new lower level jobs and pennies in taxes all while $ billions in profit will be repatriated to foreign accounts over the coming decades.

I am still in the process of gathering accurate relevant facts and case study information on the true benefits, drawbacks and possible unintended consequences of implementing a VAT for The Bahamas. One thing I do know that going about our business as we have the last 40 years will lead to financial disaster eventually. We have a tax system that is so inefficient and patently biased against the lower income earners in our society it should be considered criminal. If left in place successive governments will continue run up ever increasing budgetary deficits attempting to modernize the country’s infrastructure and provide basic services to a growing population. Any credible attempt to address this dysfunctional tax regime we currently have is worth seriously exploring people; not merely shooting it down offhand for personal aggrandizement or cheap political gain. The only people who are advocating keeping the status quo tax system are the oligopolistic local merchant class, extremely wealthy expat residents and foreign investors who benefit the most from having a disproportionate amount of our tax dollars spent on their personal and business interest while enjoying some of the lowest effective tax rates available globally.

Concerned my apologies it should have been Ms. Turner, as I said before sometimes multi-tasking does create unfortunate hilarious mistakes. Firstly let me say childish insults are uncalled for, and if you disagree with me or any other poster kindly present a reasonable fact based or logical argument for doing so.
I can assure you I have only given deep impartial thought to this issue, and research before I put my words concerning this down. Myself as a committed non-gambler by personal choice, I don’t wish to impose my position on anyone. I do believe this issue truly hinges on whether the conflicting tenants of our constitution that on one hand that says no law shall entail inequality and discrimination and on the other does so blatantly do just that in regards to gambling with in the same document.
I unlike you and the author of this ill written piece see it as failure of our society as a whole to participate in the democratic process not just this or any other administrations failure to definitively resolve the hypocritical unenforceable current gaming laws. If the No’s had lost at the polls they would have filed as friend of the court for a similar injunctive relief or challenged the constitutionality of any laws arising from it. So now as our slow moving legal system will take hold all the way to the Privy Council perhaps we may finally address our antiquated constitution conundrum; mean while let the games continue.

Ms. Robinson kindly educate yourself before you put pen to paper. Unlike a general election where regardless of the turnout the results stand a referendum normally carries required certain minimum levels of participation and/or certain percentage of voters approval to be considered successfully passed. Otherwise a handful people could hijack the process and change constitution or block progress at every turn by advocating non-participation. Granted this was a glorified opinion poll that was non-binding, so if the supporting Yes or opposing No camps wanted to gain a level of absolute influence on the governments actions afterwards that you believe these results should now have, they should have been able to bring out an overwhelming majority of eligible Bahamians to support their opinions.
Barring that one can only take a look at the statistical facts as they are. From which no sensible politician should dear extrapolate that there is a clear majority of opinion as to whether web shops should be regularized or a national lottery should be created by majority of the electorate. I know a large number of people who abstained from voting because they thought the government should just have gone ahead passed legislation to do it rather than waste time with a glorified opinion poll. Yet for all of the belly aching about the process that I believe lead to the lackadaisical turnout on Monday nothing was gained. It just gave the current administration an easy way out to leave it up to the courts that could take years to resolve. I wonder now if those who advocated non-participation in the referendum realized this was the ugly unintended consequences of their foolish position. Bahamians need to live with this lesson and learn from it. Remember the next time no matter unsavory your choices on the menu may be if you’re too lazy to choose one you can't complain about what the waiter serves you.

I knew that re-negotiating this deal with the devil would lead nowhere. As I stated in 2007 do-boy Hubert Ingraham ONLY was brought back to office by the foreign investors and ruling merchant class to ensure that those of us of African descent would never gain real control of the economic engine of this Bahamas land that was created to serve their interest from day one.

I fully support privatization and thought that the winning entity should have had some local participation in their equity structure with international expertise and knowledge helping to guide the re-development of BTC. So now what’s left for us?

The only logical next step is to allow Digicel partnered with a local business entity or entities into the market (they are the only regional competitor who will be interested), because a wholly local owned start-up would have to raise $100M+ just to build out a network to even begin to compete with a BTC monopoly. Please don't give me Cable Bahamas (although they will probably get a license too) as a Bahamian option; for those who understand corporate ownership structures know that is another bamboozle of my people and is a Canadian owned and controlled company at the Preferred Stock level where it counts.

Welcome to the New Plantation brothers and sisters.

Brent stop sucking up to get an official team press liaison position on a future Olympic delegation. Let me first correct some mis-information revisionist history you're putting forth: even though his "reign" may have been in charge for too long, but he wasn't overthrown or disposed by this current executive body, for he didn’t offer himself for re-election. It was his own executives that tried to circumvent the new IOC rules to hold on to the BOA, and Sir Arli who fought it so the current group of sporting body officials could even become the new executive body. Secondly Sir Arli’s administration left $100s in the coffers when they left and never had to make last minute pleas for corporate donation to send any teams to an Olympics, Pan Am or Commonwealth Games as this current laughable group had to do in June of this year. Thirdly the name change is also a misnomer since if go to the IOC’s website they still recognize them as the BOA. Fourthly the accomplishment of Bahamas House was a no-brainer since this was the first games to be held in nations capital a city with a Bahamas embassy building and large enough ex-pat community of Bahamians to help support such. I think the overwhelming cost of duplicating the same in Rio will probably prevent it from happening there. Lastly the current administration has a long way to go in acting maturely towards all the TEAM; for it was the current Secretary Knowles who said if we hadn't won the 4x400 gold this past Olympics would have been a failure. Not recognizing the accomplishments of our tiny nation to qualify or even get to semis and finals are something to be proud of too. My sources inside the BOC are telling me that these guys wasted a lot of monies in London with extravagant stipends, also by taking far more officials than athletes 41 to 26 and are continuing to do so paying the President and Secretary salaries that were never done under the old BOA.

Congratulations gentlemen we finally did it. It shows that hard work and perseverance pays off; after coming in second so many times before to the US you continued to push forward. I am also glad that David Charlton finally took counsel and put his ego aside for once to run the A team in the semis to guarantee us getting in to the finals this time (unlike last year at World Championships where we finished 9th) and reshuffling the line-up to take advantage of each runner’s strength.