At the very moment that Prime Minister Perry Christie delivered the ‘good news’ that an agreement had been reached between the Bahamas government and the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) for the completion of the stalled $3.5 bn Baha Mar resort; wherein the Prime Minister stated that that under the agreement/deal, former employees and unsecured creditors would be paid ‘a significant’ part and ‘possibly’ all of the outstanding money owed to them; there was the question of exactly what were the terms of the arrangement/’deal’ and how would it work?

With those questions being asked the details of the ‘deal’; arrangement/agreement were called upon to be sealed but according to the Prime Minister it was the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) that wanted the details sealed, not many people believed him and as the terms and agreements of the ‘deal’ continue to unfold, the Prime Minister’s words and credibility are being called into question.

“Baha Mar claims: No Guarantee on payments” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article: “The Claims Committee responsible for administrating pay outs to former employees and creditors of Baha Mar updated its website Friday with additional information about the claims process, including a warning that not every creditor is guaranteed to be paid. 

In the updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the website, claimsspv.net, the committee states: “There is no assurance that you will receive any payment at all.

‘No creditor has any legal entitlement to the fund being administered by the committee.  However, the committee has been formed to review claims and offer payments for valid claims at the committee’s absolute discretion.  Priority will be given to Bahamian creditors on the basis that the fund has been provided in consideration for concession and consents from the government which must benefit the Bahamian people.’

James Smith, the former state minister for finance who heads the Claims Committee, said these statements are made to empathize that pay outs are being made on an ex gratia basis, meaning outside any formal court-supervised liquation process because the money is a gift from the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM).

First, I would like to ask exactly what constitutes a ‘valid claim’?

Well one minor detail has been revealed, we now know that the money being used in this process is a ‘gift’ and not a loan, with this being the case and the process not being a ‘court-supervised liquidation process’, why all the secrecy and was the ‘sealing’ of the deal by the Supreme Court not only necessary but also was it legal?

The Christie administration has a lot of explaining to do to the people of the country as more details of this ‘deal’ come to light because with the statement “No creditor has any legal entitlement to the funds and being administered by the committee”, it would seem that the government is telling those that will be paid that they are fortunate to have been favored in the first place.

Indeed, each and every ‘process’ that this government has been involved in on behalf of the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas has come under question because each and every one has been ‘shady’’.

So as the Progressive Liberal Party government now prepares itself to ration out this ‘money gift’ to deserving Bahamian creditors, will it also compensate others that were not so fortunate to have ‘their names called’ but were unfortunate enough to have believed in this government and as a result suffered substantial loss all due to their incompetence and ineptitude?

The Progressive Liberal Party fails for one reason, it is their nature.

END