Sidney Collie, Chairman of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement regarding the continuing Baha Mar debacle:
“Almost a month ago the Prime Minister stated publicly that after meeting with developer Sarkis Izmirlian he was encouraged about Baha Mar’s future. Now, just last night we learned that Mr. Izmirlian declined to enter the formal sales process, saying it ‘makes no sense’.
“This is more of the same from this Government – lots of empty rhetoric and broken promises – but little to no progress on getting the country turned around. Not too long ago they were promising to get Baha Mar open and 5,000 good paying jobs would come with it. Yet Baha Mar still stands vacant and abandoned – a hulking testament to the continuing failures of this Government.”
“The Prime Minister never shies away from a press opportunity to paint his rosy picture and provide false hope, but then he never follows through on the promises he makes. And it’s the people who suffer for his and this Government’s failures. Countless Bahamians are out of work, looking for the jobs that were promised to them. Countless tourists are disenfranchised, their vacation plans pulled from under their feet – looking elsewhere to spend their vacation dollars. All this as our taxpayers are still on the hook for the annual utility costs of the vacant Baha Mar that runs in the tens of millions a year.”
“The Prime Minister and this Government should worry less about nice photo ops and more about getting concrete plans to get our economy growing again so our communities can finally have the economic security they deserve. The time for action is now; the people have had enough of this Government’s empty rhetoric and broken promises.”
