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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Nassau, Bahamas - Remarks by Bradley Roberts, National Chairman, Progressive Liberal Party
at the national general council monthly meeting Lynden Pindling Center
on Thursday, 22nd September 2016:
Good evening fellow councilors.
The amount and angle of the myriad of commentaries in the public domain on any number of national issues proves that we are in the middle of the silly season.
The positive news of the payments to over 2,000 displaced Baha Mar employees and more than one thousand unsecured Bahamian creditors augurs well for the future strength and growth of our economy. The Director General of Tourism said recently that the new owner of Baha Mar will be announced by the end of this month. This too is good news councilors.
In this fair commonwealth there are two stories: There is the story of success beyond anybody’s imagination and then there is the story of failure, bitterness and sour grapes.
The FNM never expected Prime Minister Christie to deliver on Baha Mar and they were hoping against hope that he would failed, but they were dead wrong.
The leader of the FNM Dr. Hubert Minnis supported the bankruptcy in Delaware where the developer was only able to guarantee $15 million out of the $600 million needed to complete the project. The case was sent back to The Bahamas because the Delaware judge ruled that Baha Mar was a Bahamian asset that had to be adjudicated in The Bahamas; so Minnis’ policy proposition for Baha Mar was a dismal failure with no payments, no buyer, no path to finish the project and no prospects of getting the property open; there can be no question about that.
Dr. Minnis was a total failure on Baha Mar, a watershed moment for him to prove his judgment, his leadership and political chops but he flopped and fell flat on his face.
Now that the leadership and tenacity of Prime Minister Christie has created a silver lining and a clear path to victory for this challenged project, the FNM and their surrogates are all over the place spewing gloom, doom, spreading xenophobia and sour grapes at what is clearly a success story and a win win for the Bahamian people.
One of their most vocal and bitter surrogates and potential candidate is Dionisio D’Aguilar who was quoted in The Bahama Journal of the 20thSeptember 2016 saying that the Government of The Bahamas was “throwing workers a bone” as it relates to the Baha Mar employee payouts. This is the same D’Aguilar who by the way became wealthy on the backs of Bahamian employees and customers but was in Freeport at a chamber function disrespecting these same Bahamians by calling them dumb, stupid, shiftless and lazy.
D’Aguilar has no respect for Bahamians, limited public service and all indications are that his only interest in front line politics is to represent special interests and not the interests of the Bahamian people.
D’Aguilar continues to dishonestly blame the Government of The Bahamas for the delay of the opening of the Baha Mar project in an effort to deflect attention from the real culprit which is the developer Sarkis Izmiralian and the board of which he was a member.
Many announcements were made by the developer that Baha Mar was on schedule and within budget. This was found to be untrue.
We are advised that Mr. Ismirilian made some 1500 change orders during the course of the construction. Additionally he failed to take out adequate insurance for construction deficiencies (which is a normal process for a project of this scale)
These change orders added considerably to the cost and the delay of the project which then resulted in the developer seeking the assistance of the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister in mediating between himself and the construction company.
The Prime Minister and his team was gracious to intervene and announced publicly that the team thought it had reached an agreement with the parties concerned.
Like a thief in the night, without advance notice to the Prime Minister, the China Export Bank and CCA the developer of Baha applied for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the US, and initiated legal action in the UK against China Construction America (CCA).
We have subsequently found that the filings for chapter 11 had taken place several months before this.
The developer declared in his filings that the resort was 97% complete and no substantial work had been carried out since its opening that was planned for March 27th2015 and thereafter postponed indefinitely.
The Government of The Bahamas and the China Export Bank refused to accept the Delaware courts as a proper place for adjudication as The Bahamas is an Independent and Sovereign nation.
Action was then taken in the Supreme Court of The Bahamas and subsequently the courts in Delaware made it patiently clear that the Bahamas Supreme court was the proper place to settle the dispute.
For reasons best known only to Mr. D’Aguilar and other surrogates for Sarkis Ismirilian still continue to viciously perpetrate a damnable lie that the Government of the Bahamas and the courts in Delaware were wrong.
Leader of the opposition Dr. Hubert Minnis has apparently has hitched his political fortunes to the bandwagon of Sarkis Ismirilian and has now parachuted several former Baha Mar employees into the FNM’s leadership as candidates in the upcoming general election. This is unprecedented in Bahamian politics. FNM supporters turned the party over to Dr. Minnis and he quickly turned it over to Izmirlian.
Dionisio D’Aguilar is allowing himself to be used as a lackey, an apologist and a revisionist of the facts; this is most unfortunate.
Another issue I wish to quickly address is the disingenuous statements made by both Loretta Butler-Turner and Sidney Collie in the wake of the nolle prosequi in connection with Sandals.
I wish to state for the record that a nolle Prosequi is a legal tool provided for in the constitution to be used at the discretion of the Attorney-General to serve the public good and to protect the integrity of public institutions.
We are advised that the Bahamas Hotel Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (BHMAWU) also initiated civil proceedings against the hotel executives and the Office of the Attorney General determined that it was an abuse of the judicial process to have the matter simultaneously litigated in the criminal courts, thus the Nolle Prosequi.
In our view the Office of the Attorney General is correct in its judgment and the Progressive Liberal Party supports the decision. When all of the PR, the political spin and posturing are said and done, it falls on the government to ensure the integrity of the country’s duly constituted public institutions.
This shameless and inexcusable attempt by the FNM to use the constitution as a political football is to be roundly condemned in the strongest terms!
I wish to quote just some of the powers conferred upon the Attorney General under Article 78, paragraph (1) subsection (4) of the constitution as regards the Allocation of Portfolios to Ministers:
“In the exercise of powers conferred upon him by this article the Attorney-General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person and authority.”
Section 1c allows the Attorney-General to “discontinue, at any stage before judgment is delivered, any such criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by himself or any other person or authority.”
These decisions are taken by the Attorney-General in consultations with his or her senior legal advisors and on occasions, legal opinions have been sought in other jurisdictions before a decision is rendered. The constitution allows the Attorney-General to act with a measure of independence, separate from the cabinet to avoid the pollution of politics, collusion or forces that can corrupt the decision that is intended to protect the public interest and preserve the integrity of the judicial process and other sacred public institutions.
This rank hypocrisy, this blatant duplicity and this reckless campaign to bastardize the constitution for cheap political gain while willfully deceiving an entire nation in the process is intolerable and must be rejected nationally. Loretta Butler-Turner is wrong in law and Sidney Collie, a supposed attorney is also wrong in law.
The FNM clearly does not have a problem with the provisions of the constitution regarding the powers of the Attorney General because their Attorneys General exercised those powers liberally during their time in office. Sir Orville Turnquest issued a nolle prosequi in the murder case of Mosco and John Delaney issued a nolle prosequi in the private criminal prosecution advanced by Peter Nygard. They did so because they determined that it was in the public’s interest to do so. Use of this constitutional provision cannot be right when the FNM uses it but a fabricated scandal when the PLP uses it.
The devil is a liar. The FNM is engaged in a diabolic campaign of hypocrisy and deceit and a spade must be called a spade.
Councilors you will recall a few months ago the Gang of Six FNM MP’s headed by Loretta Butler Turner issued a very damming letter against the FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis where they boldly declared that Minnis was a failed leader and that Minnis could not be trusted.
Dr. Minnis survived the onslaught at the FNM convention led by Loretta Butler Turner and the entire Bahamas expected a fall out in the ranks of the Official Opposition notwithstanding the warning issued by Brent Symonette that it would be a mistake for Dr. Minnis to block the nomination of the gang of six.
You will recall I predicted that Neko Grant MP for Central Grand and Theo Neely North Eleuthera would not seek re-nomination and so said so done. Dr. Rollins MP Ft. Charlotte who declared if Dr. Minnis won the Leadership race he would bow out. MP for Montagu Richard Lightbourn was denied his nomination. The nomination of Hubert Chipman is pending and is likely to suffer the same fate as Richard Lightbourn.
The nomination of the remaining member of the Gang of Six Loretta Butler-Turner was approved but she failed to attend the Nomination Rally last week on Mackey Street.
Strong messages and signals sent by Dr. Minnis’ surrogates that Loretta Butler Turner is to suffer the ignominious defeat as former FNM MP James Knowles when a group led in part by former MP Tennyson Wells and Independent candidate Larry Cartwright led a vicious insurgence against Mr. Knowles. Will lighting stick twice Long Island? I advise you to stay tuned in.
My sources in Long Island tell me that Loretta Butler-Turner has lost considerable support and the nomination rally is Salt Pond was poorly attended. Loretta was booed with the chants that ridiculed her for apparently not paying her bills on Long Island. FNM Chairman Collie acknowledged that Party executives heard rumblings of dissatisfaction and were approached by persons who said they no longer supported Butler Turner.
Will Dr. Minnis’ final move to rid his Party of the failed leader of the Gang of Six work?
The FNM has now embarked on a new course with the parachuting in of surrogates of Sarkis Izmirlian.
On a housekeeping note Councilors, I am aware of the challenge with parking here at our Party Headquarters and pleased to advise that I hope to announce at our next meeting possible arrangements for the provision of additional parking space.
With that I turn my attention to the business of preparing this party for the next general elections. Our ratification process continues and tonight I present to you three fine sons of the soil, new generation leaders, a sports leader, community leaders and youth leaders.
Councilors tonight we present Dr. Kendal Major, Speaker of the House and current member for Garden Hills; Renardo Curry, Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister in Abaco and the member for North Abaco; and Senator Gregory Burrows, Executive Chairman of the Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority.
Without further ado, I invite Party Leader and Prime Minister Perry Gladstone Christie to present our nominees.
© Copyright 2016 by thebahamasweekly.com
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