The new restaurant at The Pointe.
By NICO SCAVELLA
Tribune Staff Reporter
DEMOCRATIC National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney yesterday slammed the Christie administration for the workforce deal it struck with The Pointe’s Chinese developer, charging that the government “prefers” looking after the interests of foreigners than that of Bahamians.
Mr. McCartney hit out at the government for having the “audacity” to grant nearly 500 work permits to China Construction America (CCA) and reportedly agreeing to a minority participation for Bahamian workers in the face of the current unemployment rate, which has risen according to the latest statistics.
Furthermore, Mr. McCartney questioned the government’s rationale behind deciding to grant CCA the permits, given the Chinese contractor’s involvement in the construction of yet another hotel project: the stalled $3.5b Baha Mar resort. Mr. McCartney also blasted the government for not taking the 2,000 Bahamians jobs lost due to the Baha Mar controversy into consideration when negotiating with CCA.
He spoke days after The Pointe’s Director of External Affairs Leslie Pindling told reporters the agreement with the government called for 60 per cent Chinese workers and 40 per cent Bahamians, but only during the development’s super structure phase or start up construction. However on Wednesday evening, during a media reception at The Pointe’s newest restaurant, Mr. Pindling backtracked from those comments.
Mr. Pindling said on Wednesday: “Contrary to popular belief, at this property right now we have 321 Bahamian workers. . . that work for the property.
“We have 135 Chinese working on the project at present. So therefore that brings us in line with what we are supposed to be doing with the government, which is a 70/30 split. Seventy per cent Bahamian (and) 30 per cent Chinese and we fall within the demographics of that.”
On Monday Mr. Pindling, the son of the late Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling, said the construction workforce for the project is presently 49 per cent Chinese, with Bahamians accounting for another 47 per cent. No mention was made of the nationalities of the remaining four per cent. However, Mr. Pindling promised that the local labour component would increase once The Pointe neared the closing stages.
Mr. McCartney’s statements are the latest in a controversy surrounding claims that there were too many non-Bahamian workers at the Bay Street site. The Department of Labour has been asked to probe the ratio of Bahamian workers to foreign workers at the development, Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell said in January.
“The government failed to stand its ground, failed to look after the interest of Bahamian people like they do every day,” Mr. McCartney said yesterday. “They prefer the interests of the Chinese, they prefer the interest of other people, of foreigners, but not Bahamians.
“When you just had 2,000 plus people from Baha Mar lose their job because of the government’s lack of intervention, because of the government’s failure to make sure that the Baha Mar project was successful.”
He added: “Man if you coming to my country… you got the best land in the country and can I say the best pieces of property in this region. Cable Beach, you got that, that’s the Chinese. No 1 Bay Street, you got that. And now you coming and taking the jobs for Bahamians? Man come on government, stand your ground for the Bahamian people, man. Stand up for them.”
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