Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis charged on Saturday that the layoffs at Baha Mar are a result of the government's "incompetence" and "highhandedness" and questioned whether the Christie administration has another buyer for the project waiting in the wings.

Approximately 2,000 workers have lost their jobs due to the "perilous financial position" of Baha Mar.

"It is painful to think of what this latest evidence of government incompetence can mean in terms of loss of dignity and hope for those who can't find new work in our tight job market," Minnis said in a statement. "God forbid, but down the line, we will surely be looking at increased anger and increased crime in a society already depressed and hamstrung by crime and the fear of crime."

Given the devastating trickle down impact that the mass layoffs will likely have on the economy, Minnis said he fears the government would seek to facilitate the cheap sale of Baha Mar in an attempt to save face.

"Who can blame the suspicious among us who believe that another startling announcement is hovering in the wings, waiting to take center stage and sing the Bahamian people another false PLP lullaby," Minnis said. "Who can blame anyone who thinks that the next media blast will bring the news of a buyer who will get the hammers ringing again and the 2,000 Bahamians back on the employment rolls at Baha Mar before the sun sets on the day of the new announcement?

"If the Bahamian people feared loss of sovereignty before, we can be assured that we will soon be surrendering the freedoms our mothers and fathers fought so hard for and sacrificed to win. My fear is that our sovereignty is on sale, cheap to a buyer already at hand. What will the proceeds of the sale buy? Not progress, dignity and peace for the Bahamian people, but certainly a banquet to feed an already inflated ego, golden opportunities for highly placed greed and, just maybe, it will buy another election."

On Thursday, when the news of the layoffs broke, Prime Minister Perry Christie said he is disappointed at the provisional liquidators' decision to implement a redundancy plan at Baha Mar. But Minnis said Christie should have seen this coming.

"While the rest of us grieve, the prime minister's only insulting response can be that he is disappointed at the outcome," he said. "How can he be disappointed when it seems that the crisis appeared to be the product of a heavy-handed attempt to force a solution tailormade to secure the greatest benefit for government and their new best friends?

"Ego was injected into the Baha Mar negotiations and impending disaster has been the settlement."

Minnis warned that the layoffs will have a multiplying effect on the economy.

"We can be very sure that the government's highhanded dealings with Baha Mar has caused us significant loss of credibility in the international marketplace," he said. "If the chain of destruction is not broken, this country could be looking at loss of credit and devaluation.... The Baha Mar gold dust has turned to sawdust."

In a letter to employees, the joint provisional liquidators said following a review of the financial affairs of the companies, "it is clear that the companies would not have sufficient cash available to continue to meet all operating costs, including maintaining employment at existing levels".

On Saturday, Christie said he is "supremely confident" that Baha Mar will be complete and open for business not too long from now.

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