There is no such thing as a 'real democracy.' There are so many variations of democracy too numerous to count. That being said, the rule of law and justice are important components of any democracy and that is what I believe should be more representative of the integrity of a nation. The problem with everything in the Bahamas it seems has some stench of national politics. People keep bringing party politics into this. It is quite silly to do so and the discussion of national development has much more to do than with the individual party. And to your point about freedom of speech. Yes, we have freedom to speak and voice our opinion but as for everything in life there is a price. So my solution to many of the problems in this mess is that people should speak less and listen more. Sarkis can speak as much as he chooses but all I'm saying is that it doesn't appear to be helping his situation. So why bother? I repeat, everyone shut up and get the project finished. A bunch of public posturing is unnecessary.

I'm no expert in law so I cannot say which process is better. But I do feel the developer went about it incorrectly and that is the point of contention with the government. If they were looking to operate in good faith for Jesus sake you are telling me the PM which whom you seek support from you do not even give a warning. I will say it before and say it again. There is no one wrong party in this mess. It is disingenuous for Sarkis to make some of the statements he's been making. Equally appalling is the government's approach to all this. There is a lack of professionalism and leadership all around. I don't know why Bahamians are giving Izmirilian a free pass on this. He is to blame just as much as the government and CCA.

And so it continues. I guess as much as we ask for civility the more we get the opposite from the parties involved. Sarkis should learn to reserve comments and so should Fred. In real terms, whether the developer is here or not the show must go on. We are Bahamians and at the end of the day we have to live with how we want our country to be developed. I personally was against this mega project drive by the government. Cable Beach should've been designed as a beautiful coastal village of boutique hotels, all with their unique character and form, it is more personal and it safeguards against this mass loss of jobs in the event the economy slows. It could be a beautiful little destination with it's own distinct character. More importantly it would've allowed for the possibility of small Bahamian hotel brand development. Why don't we the so called stars of tourism have our own hotel brands like breezes or sandals. We have to start thinking broader and believing in ourselves.

That's why Bahamians should've been doing majority of the work there. Yes, some foreign labour is needed but the result of a project that size could have been the development of several small Bahamian construction firms and the development of skilled labour. I wonder how many Bahamians actually learned anything from the foreign engineers. I really hope that the young people on those jobs learned some skills which they can use to build themselves and this country. Let's hope for some good things out of this whole mess.

Stop taking Tal seriously. His undying need to begin every communication with the 'Comrade' indicates his robotic, conscript way of thinking. Put him in with the real comrades and guarantee he wouldn't last a day.

You know it's interesting in this saga that every executive of Bahamar somehow finds it UN their remit to say something publicly. I think it is the duty of the CEO and perhaps PR to deal with press issues. But I see Dunlap running his mouth and so is the HR lady running on with BS. First of all there are qualified Bahamians to do her job so she should tread light and speak soft. I have no problem with criticism of the government but these people run right out. Then Sarkis talking about the Bahamian voter. Well how he get next to that? Be critical yes, but no need to walk the fine line and impose yourself in Bahamian politics.

Easy to solve. Just don't pay anyone. If you don't want to be pawns then their are consequences. Bahamian or non-Bahamian I say the government should never have set the precedence for such nonsense.

Oh great. Can we please just shut up about who's to blame and move forward? So tired of this back and forth. All the government has to simply say is "there was no resolution and that all parties are working on it." Why engage in who didn't show up and who's at fault etc? There's enough blame to go around already so simply work on getting the shit opened.

@This Ours. You know what gets me is that people have been laying the blame on CCA which I believe in large part is warranted. They are the general contractors so it is to be expected. But many have been talking about western standards etc. But as I recall there were several US and British engineering firms who were consultants and actively onsite during the building of this project. So all this time these folks didn't sound the alarm? I mean these were huge international firms like Mace out of the UK. So it isn't just CCA. All of these suckers came to Nassau to live well for a few years. They drove around in company cars, rented nice villas on the cable beach strip and were living the good life. When shit started to hit the fan they were gone.

Loose lips sink ships. Both of these parties just keep running on and on. It's one thing to blame our government but it appears as though critics lay none of the responsibility of the contractor or developer. They are both f#$@in stupid. Constantly in the media running on with nonsense. Just shut up get in the conference room and solve the problems. These are the same people who say they wanted to keep things out of the media. Yet they are responding to everything. Again, just keep your traps shut and deal with the issue.