As of late I must admit I have been surprised by a lot, especially by the Progressive Liberal Party, indeed, their actions surprise and amaze me on a daily basis, so why should today be any different as Bradley Roberts, Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party(PLP) addresses the Official Opposition, Free National Movement’s (FNM) position and concerns over the recently signed ‘deal’ at Baha Mar.

“Roberts slams FNM over position Baha Mar” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article; “Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Bradley Roberts has branded the Free National Movement a deeply divided party as the organization is perceived to have taken two positions over the unsealing of documents related to the new deal to open $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort.

On Sunday, the FNM announced that it was collecting signatures for an online petition to demonstrate the level of public displeasure with the sealed deal.

However, on Tuesday, FNM Senator Carl Bethel told The Tribune that legally there is nothing the party can do to force the judiciary to unseal the records.  He explained that this is no legal basis for the political organization to assert a right to know in court in connection to the matter.

These two differing positions, Mr. Roberts said was the latest clear example of the ‘woefully deficient’ decision making and judgment of FNM Leader DR. Hubert Minnis.”

Let me get this straight, the FNM party launches an on-line petition to demonstrate the level of displeasure with the ‘deal’ and Senator Carl Bethel saying that there is no legal basis to force the judiciary to unseal the ‘deal’ is a sign of deep friction within the Free National Movement? 

In this case, the ‘quiet war’ being waged against Alfred Sears as he now sets himself to challenge the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie for leadership of the Progressive Liberal Party, suggesting that the PLP leadership is ‘lacking’; is an all out sign of ‘the great divide’, then?

Of course, Mr. Roberts is simply attempting to deflect away from the ‘woefully deficient’ decision making and overall judgment of the PLP Leader and Prime Minister, Perry Christie; that brought the $3.5 bn Baha Mar resort to a stand still for over a year, having many lose great investments and now looking for the government to help them recoup some of this lost, only to find out it may not be as simple as the Prime Minister and his government outlined.

So as the Chairman of the PLP continues to throw excrement against the wall in an attempt to see just how much he can get to stick; I say if the Free National Movement cannot get the ‘deal’ unsealed due to legal reasons there is always another option; which would be to form a ‘committee’, like the one being formed to look into matters related to the recent ruling handed down by Supreme Court Justice Indra Charles involving Marathon Jerome Fitzgerald and his blatant violation of another person’s constitutionally protected right to privacy; to look into the particulars of exactly why this ‘deal’ has been sealed.

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

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I am sitting here giddy as a little school boy as the beautiful and popular girl school is about to come and say something to him; it really does not matter what she says, but I’ll piss all over myself with delight at the very thought that thought that would acknowledge me, I imagine this is how we must/should feel as the government releases more details from the secret ‘deal’ struck over Baha mar.

“Baha Mar details revealed” – The Tribune

Excerpt form this article; “James Smith, former Minister of Finance, head of the committee overseeing payouts, said yesterday that creditors owed up to half a million dollars are ‘likely’ to be fully paid what they are owed.

“How much money those owed more than half a million dollars receive, however, will depend on how many eligible creditors come forth with claims, he said.

Some people may decide to stay out and pursue other means of getting the money, he told The Tribune. “Also, some creditors might have gone out of business or left the island.  So we have to see what response we get to the notice (before saying how much money those owed more than half a million dollars are likely to receive.”

So it has began…….that language that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government uses when it has done something and not put enough thought behind it; “…….creditors owed up to half a million dollars are likely to be paid…..”, “How much money those owed more than half a million dollars receive, however……”, that language of confusion, chaos, disorder and uncertainty.

Somewhere in that language of uncertainty, it is intimated that some creditors who are owed money may receive a higher payout because some of the original investors involved in the Baha Mar project may have already ‘folded up’ and gone out of business; many losing all of the money that they invested in this venture; is the government now willing to admit that due to its sheer and utter incompetence and ineptitude, that it has put Bahamian owed companies out of business and more people on the employment line? 

I wonder how the person faired that had the contracts for the pools, just thinking out loud.

But with all said and done, with all who may be getting paid or not getting paid, all who may be getting a full return on their investment, one question was answered fully and that wads he source of the money but we knew this, right?

“Mr.  Smith could not say how much money will be paid out overall but he expects the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to deposit the money to the committee by mid-September”, so is ‘the committee’ giving CEXIM a figure to payout or are we divvying up whatever is deposited to ‘the committee’ from CEXIM by mid-September?  Is the government’s position still that CEXIM and/or China Construction America (CCA) 0r the ‘new owners’ will not be given any greater concessions that were awarded to Atlantis?  Just exactly how will CEXIM recover the money paid to creditors and ‘borrowed’ from them to complete the Baha Mar resort?  Will this money be in the cost of the resort to the ‘named buyer’ and how are ‘they’ actively selling a resort without having figure oh the full pay out?

I apologize for thinking out out loud; I know the act is greatly discouraged by some in the first place.

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

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We now ready ourselves for another week/round of nonsensical ramblings; irrational apologies and promises from a Progressive Liberal Party government that now wishes to think it has done the Bahamian a great favor by correcting the Baha Mar situation/crisis/saga, choose your adjective.

Minister of Labor, Shane Gibson, was heard boasting this past weekend when he suggested that as in the old western movies, when all seems lost and the music begins to play; he and his government will ride in like ‘heroes’ and rescue the people of the Bahamas not only on Baha Mar but on all other promises that they have failed to deliver on but what about the past four and a half years Mr. Minister?

Yes, the minister and his government are set to ride in and save us all from a mess that they have created through their ineptitude, laziness and greed but now expect us; the people, to thank them for.  This is utter nonsense but as expected the nonsensical ramblings and irrational apologies and promises keep coming.

“PM: Govt. have been told Baha Mar buyers name” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article; “Prime Minister Perry Christie said she he and a government delegation that traveled to London, England, to meet with investors last week were informed about the identity of the anticipated buyer for the beleaguered Baha Mar resort, however he could not name the group because of the delicate stage of negotiations.

His comments were aired on ZNS News last night and came about a week after he suggested on a local talk show that the government did not yet know who the prospective buyer of the $3.5 billion resort is.”

All I would like to say is that each and every time that I hear the name Hutchison Whampoa, I get nervous, but then oh yes the prime minister has still not given us the name of the buyer yet, still holding onto ‘key details’ for the ‘sealed deal’, he ‘spoon feeds’ the citizens of the Bahamas.

Well, we will have to wait until the Prime Minister deems it appropriate for us to know the details of this ‘deal’ that he has struck on our behalf and in our best interest, by this time maybe, just maybe, the will also share with us just how much this deal is costing us taxpayers.

We now know one thing for sure; it has already cost us the airfare to fly the Prime Minister and his delegation of ‘negotiators’ to London.

Just some random questions; did the China ‘partners’ not only direct the Bahamas government and courts what to do in this matter but also directing the government on whom the buyer should be?

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

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“Fitzgerald suprised at Baha Mar concerns” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article: “Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald said yesterday he is surprised by the ‘level of unhappiness’ some Bahamians have expressed at news that the government has struck a deal with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to pay creditors and employees of Baha Mar and restart work on the resort.

In wake of Prime Minister Perry Christie’s announcement of the deal last week, reactions have been mixed.

Some have expressed relief and gratitude while others have knocked the Christie administration for not disclosing key details about the agreement.”

I know that it is part of a politician’s job to spin facts in the favor but when you spin them with nonsensical statements, when they become implausible then this is a totally different case and sadly this is point which the Member of Parliament for Marathon has reached with this statement; it is so far beyond the asinine that even if you were to squint and look at it sideways it still does not look credible, much like the person making the statement in this case.

Minister Fitzgerald claims to be ’surprised by the level of unhappiness’ that some have shown over the deal struck between the Bahamian government and the Chinese over the completion of Baha Mar; I have not seen anyone express ‘unhappiness’ but I have heard a lot of people have expressed great concern and have become very leery over the fact that the minister and his government have attempted to convince the people of the Bahamas that CEXIM is willing to complete the Baha Mar resort and put it up for sale out of the ‘goodness of their hearts’; that is without any expectation of some sort of reciprocation.

I also find it surprising that the minister and his government can spend so much time on this exercise of attempting to convince people of what ‘great works’ that they have done in striking this ‘secret deal’; while only correcting a disaster of their very own making through the mishandling of this situation in light of the recent downgrade of our credit rating right about ‘junk’ status; the third credit rating since this progressive Liberal Party came to power in May of 2012.

So as the minister expresses ‘surprise by the level of unhappiness some Bahamians have expressed over the news of the ‘secret deal’ that he and this government has struck over Baha Mar; which is really grave concern, he may actually be surprised at the level of ‘unhappiness’ being expressed by many Bahamians in the performance of the Progressive Liberal Party as a government.  As former Cabinet minister Loftus Roker has come out and characterized the county’s leaders as a ‘tainted bag of apples’.

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

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In a style that only Bradley Roberts, Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) can manage to pull off because no one really expects any better from him, he sets out to attack Opposition Leader, Dr. Hubert Minnis, based solely on deceptive assumptions and flawed conclusions to feed to the people of the Bahamas, further showing his desperate state of delusion and dare I say delirium?

“FNM wanted Baha Mar to fail – Roberts says Minnis unfit to serve” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman, Bradley Roberts said yesterday the Free National Movement (FNM) heavily criticized the government following the announcement that it had reached an agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to complete Baha Mar because the party was ‘hoping against all odds’ that the Christie administration would not come to a resolution.

‘To me, it [is] a distraction,’ Roberts said at a press conference at PLP headquarters.

‘The FNM was shocked beyond words that [Prime Minister Perry] Christie was able to reach an agreement.”

At this time, it is my understanding, that there is a ‘deal’ in place, the details of which are unknown and sealed.  The only details being released so far are that the Bahamian creditors are being paid some or maybe all of the monies owed to them after the Progressive Liberal Party needlessly forced the $3.5b resort into receivership, putting over 2,000 Bahamians out of work and having their livelihoods hang in the balance for over a year while they [the Progressive Liberal Party government] scrambled around desperately in attempts to correct a disaster purely of their making.

While Mr. Roberts talks about the Prime Minster sitting down all ‘parties concerned’ to reach this agreement, it is strange that the developer, Sarkis Izmirlian is no longer considered a ‘party of concern’ in this matter; the only parties being the Bahamas government, the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM), China Construction America (CCA) and an unknown buyer, who Prime Minister Perry Christie says is a decision to be made by the ‘bank’, so why would there be any surprise that an agreement has been reached?  It would appear as if the Christie administration is surprised and relieved that the Chinese has finally given in but at what cost?

There are questions about this ‘secret deal’ that the governing Progressive Liberal Party has been asked to answer by the Opposition and concerned citizens, and for the Chairman of the PLP to then intimate that the mere action of requesting accountability from this government is a sign that you would have wanted this project to fail is disingenuous, utter rubbish; nothing more than lies and deception by the Chairman to distract from their ineptitude and incompetence when handling this matter but it seems that the PLP Chairman’s job is to throw enough feces at the wall in hopes that some sticks and he has shown this just may be his greatest political talent.

It is my opinion that anyone that expresses shock or surprise that the Christie administration and CEXIM FINALLY came to an agreement to complete Baha Mar is not fit to serve but we the people would like to know what has been given up to have CEXIM come to this ‘agreement’ after over a year of the project sitting dormant, because we all know that the Chinese do not do anything ‘on air’, to borrow some street jargon.  So while the Chairman continues to shoot excrement, we the people will wait to see just how much this ‘deal’ is costing us.

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

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In politics perceptions goes a long way and with that in mind one should be very careful of who is sent to deliver certain messages; some may not be perceived as believable when delivering certain messages to the masses.

It would appear that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has lost a handle on this concept or have just reached the point where they just do not care anymore.

“More Baha Mar details Monday – Fitzgerald promises specifics of sealed deal.” – The Tribune 08.27.2016

Excerpt from this article; “Marathon MP Jerome Fitzgerald yesterday said as early as Monday additional details regarding the agreement signed by the government and the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) that will see the completion, sale and opening of the stalled $3.5 billon resort Baha Mar project, will be released to the public.

Fitzgerald was one of the government’s lead negotiators involved in Baha Mar remobilization talks.

“Over the next couple of weeks we will outline how it is to proceed,” Fitzgerald said while a guest on Guardian Radio 96.9 FM’s Talk Live with Carlton Smith.”

It has already been my prediction that  as was the case with the Letter of Intent issue; their being two and the “Murder for hire” plot of the Save the Bays members case; their being two affidavits in that situation; there will also be two sets of ‘details’ outlining the specifics on the ‘sealed deal’ at Baha Mar and who better to present these ‘details’ to the public other than the Member of Parliament for Marathon who is now infamous for finding ‘relevant’ information in his political ‘garbage bin’ and hiding other specific details of other matters from his very own constituents even when their health and lives hung in the balance?

What makes Minister Fitzgerald even more suitable for this task, is the fact that he is the Cabinet Member that has been entrusted with presenting the Freedom of Information Act to the House of Assembly so that it could be tabled.  When the Free National Movement demitted office in 2012, a FOIA had been prepared and was ready to be tabled, then Minister Fitzgerald and the PLP government claimed that the bill was lacking and promised to ‘fix’ it and table it; it has now been over four years and we still wait but yet the government would now task this very same man with ‘spoon feeding’ the ‘details’ of the Baha Mar deal to the public, really?

It is news to me that Minister Fitzgerald was deeply involved in this Baha Mar process, by the way, and now I have a better understanding of why the ‘deal’ went ‘sideways’.

Why does this government really think that we will trust this man now?

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

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On Monday evening of this week Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie gave the nation the ‘good news’ in a nationally televised press conference; his first in some time.  The Prime Minister’s news was that an agreement had been reached between the Bahamian government and the Export-Import Bank of China for them to complete the stalled $3.5bn resort. 

The Prime Minister said 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 but missing from the announcement were certain key details, such as how much will be borrowed to complete the resort and who the new buyer was.

Later on during the week, then pressed for certain details, the public then found out that the particulars of the ‘deal’ had been sealed by the court for ‘commercial reasons’, whatever that means in this case.  Members of the public and the Official Opposition, Free National Movement (FNM), questioned the sealing of the ‘deal’ made by the government on behalf and best interest of the Bahamian people; questioning the secrecy  and lack of transparency of the government.  The Prime Minister quickly retorted, lashing out at critics of his government and this ‘secret’ deal, intimating that anyone that would expect openness and transparency from his government is not fit to serve the people as an elected official.  The Prime Minister then went on to explain that if the people could understand the huge amounts of monies being transferred between the parties involved in the deal then they would appreciate the need for the sealing of the particulars of the ‘deal’ and why the people whom he represents will be kept in the ‘the dark’ until him and his government sees fit to let them know what the ‘deal’ entailed; I would just like to interject here that we, the people, still await the particulars of the BTC deal to get the ‘2 percent’ back.

One thing that the Prime Minister does not seem to appreciate is the fact it is because of the amounts of money that the people realize that must be involved is why the people are demanding that the details be outline and why they want to know exactly who are these ‘parties’ who are a part of this ‘deal’.

Yes, they want to know the details of the ‘deal’ and who these ‘parties’ are that the Prime Minister refers to.

The greatest insult to the Bahamian people, in my opinion, then becomes in the wake of a total lack of details of this ‘deal’, the Prime Minister and the Progressive Liberal Party now wishes for the Bahamian people to commend them for a job well done, after they have ‘corrected’ a problem totally of their own making. 

I am simply shocked, amazed and appalled by the fact that the government and its supporters actually except the Bahamian people to give them ‘kudos’ fro finally correcting a monumental wrong created and brought about through their sheer incompetence, ineptitude, laziness and greed.  This failure to be proper stewards of the peoples affairs has cost the Bahamian people millions of dollars to correct, lost in investments, lost revenue, and money spent in negotiating this ‘deal’ to correct this wrong, which has also come with a credit ratings downgrade.

In no way shape or form should this government be congratulated or expect to be praised for bringing about this situation and then ‘fixing’ it; they [the Progressive Liberal Party government] should instead be made to apologize to the Bahamian people for the hardships brought on them [the Bahamian people] though their incompetence in bringing this situation about; unless as theorized, this entire situation was all brought about to force the Developer, Sarkis Izmirlian, out and hand the project over to the Chinese; in which case they should be made to pay in the greatest way possible for endangering the lives and livelihoods of the Bahamian people for their own selfish greed.

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

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The Prime Minister, yesterday, chastised public officials/figures that have criticized him and his government’s decision to keep ‘secret’ parts of ‘the deal’ struck between the Bahamas government on behalf of the Bahamian people and the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) concerning the completion of the $3.5bn Baha Mar resort.

The Prime Minister suggested that anyone expecting openness and transparency, especially from his government, is not fit to serve the people of the Bahamas as an elected official.

“PM: No secrecy over Baha Mar – Christie questions fitness of opponents to serve after criticism” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article; “Prime Minister Perry Christie said yesterday there is ‘nothing secret’ about Baha Mar and that lawyers have instructed him not to divulge relevant details because of the sensitivity of the matter and the amount of money being transferred among parties.

He criticized public figures yesterday, questioning whether they are fit for public service in view of the governments limited revelation of details surrounding a recently struck deal with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to get Baha Mar remobilized.”

Indeed, Mr. Prime Minister, there are those among us that are very much interested in the amount of money being transferred among parties to get Baha Mar remobilized and completed and who these parties may be and we are sorry about bothering you and your government as we enquire about the people’s business.

Mr. Prime Minister, you have a great propensity to mislead the people when defending yourself against what the people see as being utter nonsense.  You would get up and say “…..that I would get up announce something that wasn’t true; the naivety of people in public life amazes me to the point where I question their fitness to serve”, well as you seek to speak down to your critics you are misleading the public because no one has said that you have lied; yet, but rather question the terms and concessions of a deal that has now been cloaked in ‘secrecy, maybe never to see the light of day, Mr. Prime Minister we know you well, and maybe just a little more than we would like to.

No one has called you stupid, Mr. Prime Minister, although this is the second time that I can remember that you have accused persons of just a transgression; it has led me to believe that it is a mental thing with you, but I tend to digress as the issue here is the details surrounding this ‘deal’ and the lack of transparency involved as the government now seeks to use some sort of legal privilege to put off the  disclosure the details, well have them revealed at this time, the question of if the Prime Minister is stupid; this is another debate for another day.

Let us say that we concede the point that the details are too sensitive to disclose at this time; when will we know the details, when we are being forced into camps and being taught Mandarin?  I believe that the Chairman of Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation. Gowon Bowe says it best when he suggests that if the government was not prepared to fully disclose all of the details regarding the new deal to open Baha Mar, they should not have publicized movement on the negotiations until they were fully prepared to act transparently but then this is the Progressive Liberal Party that we speak of, and the people still await the details of the deal that got back two percent of BTC; which really turned out not to be two percent

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

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On the back page of one this morning dailies is a full page ad promoting the Progressive Liberal Party’s initiative “Stronger Bahamas”, the ad asks “How are we building a modern Bahamas?”  This is a very valid question and quite ironic in light if the recent developments at Baha Mar.

“FNM: Why hide Baha Mar deal? – Opposition hits out at sealing of court documents.” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article;”Free national Movement Shadow Minister of Labor Loretta Butler-Turner castigated the Christie administration yesterday over the decision to seal the court documents relating to the new deal to open the shuttered $3.5bn Baha mar resort, branding this as ‘deceptive’ and ‘irreprehensible’ on all levels.

This, she said, only serves the selfish interests of Prime Minister Perry Christie and his government.

Also weighing in on the matter yesterday, FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said the Opposition is ‘shocked and dismayed’ the government sanctioned the decision to seal the documents, adding only dictatorial  and corrupt governments carry out the work of the country in the dark of night.”

My question is how do we build a stronger and more modern Bahamas when the government still seeks to act in a way that shuns openness and transparency?

We have been asked to trust the Prime Minister and his judgment but was it not the Prime Minister and his judgment that caused the work at Baha mar to come to a complete stop  for the past year and forced it into receivership, while many lost their jobs and many lost their investments in the property?

Now we see have to wait to see what are the ‘details’ included in a deal struck in the best interest of the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. 

I make this bold prediction; just as we saw two LOI’s surface between the government and Stellar Waste and there were two affidavits in the ‘Toogie and Bobo’ matter; there will be two versions of this deal by the time that it is ‘released’, if it is ever released.

Where is a Freedom of Information Act when I need one?

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

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While everyone is ‘overjoyed’ by Prime Minister Perry Christies’ announcement that the persons owed monies when this government mishandled the Baha Mar situation and forced it into receivership causing the work at the $3.5 bn  Baha Mar resort to come to a complete stop over a year, will be paid and that work will commence in short order and the facility will be opened by the winter season; some of us are caught up in the news of another Moody’s credit ratings down grade and the ‘nothing to worry about’ attitude that persons in the government responsible for finance have taken.

“Govt. not worried – Halkitis: Govt. knows that to do to prevent Moody’s downgrade” – The Nassau Guardian, July 5^th 2016

Excerpt from this article; “Minister of State for Finance, Michael Halkitis, said yesterday that the government is not worried by an announcement by ratings agency Moody’s that it is looking to downgrade the Bahamas’ credit rating within 60 days.

Halkitis said the Christie administration knows what to do to address concerns raised by Moody’s and it is committed to doing it.

‘This is one of things he said.’

‘We think we are at a point where we have stabilized things.  Our forecasts show that the debt –to-GDP ratio will begin to decline going into next year.”

Well, we left the Minister of Finance, the Minister of State for Finance and the entire Progressive Liberal Party to do what they said they know that they had to do and after a meeting with Moody’s by the Minister of Finance and his ‘team’ we got;

 “PM: We did the best we could do in Moody’s meeting” – August 24^th 2016

Excerpt from this article; “Moody’s Investor Services has meet with the Christie administration and heard the administration’s presentations on the likelihood that the country’s economic growth prospects will improve, debt metrics will stabilize and the government policy will effectively address its macroeconomic and fiscal challenges.  Prime Minister Perry Christie’s verdict on those meetings’ we did the best we could do in the circumstances.”

Well the Minister for Finance/Prime Minister said that ‘we did the best hat we could do in the circumstances’; do not know what ‘circumstances’ that he is referring to but yet we have been downgraded; keep in mind that the Minister of State for Finance said “…the Christie administration knows what to do to address the concerns…….and it is committed to do it.”  Now either the commitment was not quite enough or the Minister of State for Finance and his government did not/ do not know what is needed to be done but never the less be thee of good cheer as there is nothing to be concerned or worried about , so let us look at this from a positive perspective.

“Halkitis: Silver lining in Moody’s downgrade” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis said yesterday despite the downgrade of the country’s credit rating by Moody’s Investor Services on Monday, he is relieved, as there is a ‘silver lining’.

“As you recall, when Moody’s issued a review, they put us on review and they indicated that it could be one or two notches,” Halkitis said.

‘In all the circumstances, we are relieved that you know, we only went down one notch”, really Mr. State Minister for Finance?

What happened to being committed to doing what had to be done to prevent the downgrade in the first place?

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

END