Hocus pocus: "Meaningless talk or activity, often designed to draw attention away from and disguise what is happening."
Battered, bruised and politically bloodied by the spectacular collapse of Baha Mar, mostly the result of the blistering arrogance and endless incompetence of him and his feckless government, early last week Prime Minister Perry Christie attempted to go on the offensive and to change the narrative about the stalled megaproject.
He may have also been attempting to obscure or downplay Moody's downgrade, which was also the result of his poor governance and gross mishandling of the Baha Mar brief, which has resulted in pain for thousands and the loss of hundreds of millions for the country.
Emperor Christie announced all manner of supposed good news about Baha Mar, though he failed to offer critical details.
Bahamians soon discovered that many of the details were to remain sealed. Given his and the PLP's history of non-transparency on Baha Mar and the tabling of heads of agreements, few are surprised by the current opacity.
By the Thursday after what Christie thought was a home run, the Bahamian people rendered a searing negative judgment, adopting a wait-and-see attitude. It was an indictment of Christie's shattered credibility, which is like thousands of pieces of crushed glass someone is trying to repair with Elmer's Paste.
Talk radio was brutal as was the reaction in the print and social media, with few giving Christie and his government the benefit of the doubt.
Not only did Christie fail to change the narrative. He reinforced the collective judgement and storyline that he and the PLP are primarily responsible for the Baha Mar imbroglio and deserve little credit for cleaning up their own fetid mess.
While the government may have something of a deal, the majority of Bahamians no longer trust Christie to do the right thing for the country. Many wonder what further treasure the country may have to give away to secure the new deal, after having already given away so much.
Concessions
With rumors going viral about new and seemingly outrageous concessions, Christie was left in a defensive crouch as he denied that certain concessions were given.
Clearly upset by the negative reaction to what he thought was a home run, Christie, as is his custom, inappropriately and self-absorbingly used an event - this time a dedication at BTVI - to launch a political attack on his critics.
The angry and petulant emperor threw a tantrum, screwing up his face and railing at those who dared question the supposedly magnificent emperor prime minister. He reached into his magic bag of logical fallacies.
The fallacy this time was the Courtier's Reply, which Wikipedia helpfully defines as "a type of logical fallacy... in which a respondent to criticism dismisses the arguments of the critic by claiming that the critic lacks sufficient knowledge, credentials, or training to credibly comment on the subject matter".
Granted, most Bahamians don't fully know what new deal the emperor has struck. But informed Bahamians are not so collectively stupid as to not have grave questions on the parameters and details of the latest deal, including how much it may cost the country.
The subtext of the emperor's rant was: How dare anyone question my words on Baha Mar. Christie is blinkered and blinded in an impenetrable fog of delusion and absurdity if he truly believes that Bahamians will reflexively trust him. That ship sailed long ago, has already sunk and is unsalvageable.
In another example of absurdity, Christie said there was "nothing secret" about the Baha Mar negotiations right before admitting that lawyers have told him not to divulge certain matters. Hmm!
Translation: I'm wearing a purple tie but I'm not wearing a purple tie. See also: When Christie noted that as prime minister he was speaking to the finance minister about VAT. Hocus pocus, abracadabra, well mudda sic!
Alice would enjoy such Wonderland gobbledygook and farce. Perhaps further down the rabbit hole we might discover the truth about the Renward Wells LOI.
Proverbially, Bahamians long ago knew that the emperor had no clothes on. What is shocking is that the emperor and a few obsequious sycophants alone seem not to realize that everywhere he goes Bahamians see him for what he is: a babbling and blustering leader whose words are heard as mostly gibberish and as manufactured and empty confection.
Incorrect
Having repeatedly made statements about Baha Mar that proved incorrect, including when it would open, Christie now seemingly wants Bahamians to trust his every utterance on the megaresort.
When Christie had to be backed up by Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson, he should have realized that he was in trouble, given the low credibility and mistrust many have in her.
She noted the hand God played in the new Baha Mar deal. Really? Might she elaborate in detail on what God said to her or Christie during the negotiations? Or is this secret and been sealed by a Higher Court? Does God have a specific buyer in mind for the resort? Has he communicated this to the government?
Were they following God's lead when they insisted on helping to push Baha Mar into liquidation? Did God have a word with her when family members were negotiating leasing space at Baha Mar for luxury stores? What name brands or luxury items does God prefer? Perhaps Gucci sandals for Jesus?
She spoke in her clipped manner about how Christie could be trusted and what a masterful part he played in the negotiations. Again, really? If Christie and Maynard-Gibson were so dammed capable in handling the Baha Mar crisis in the first instance, we would not be in this current mess.
The delightfully amusing part of watching an interview with Maynard-Gibson is that one gets the sense that she knows that others know that she knows that she's really not believable when she makes certain remarks.
This week has not been without more comedy. The government announced on Sunday "a committee to administer the claims of Bahamian and other creditors of the Baha Mar group of companies".
Someone should have advised former State Minister of Finance James Smith that he was on the committee before he heard about it on the day of the appointment.
This journal reported on Tuesday, "In fact, Smith ..., said he had not even spoken with anyone from the government officially about his charge prior to the announcement."
Such incompetence and poor coordination is par for the course with the Christie administration. Tellingly, Smith was open and blunt about not being advised of his new assignment.
Sovereignty
Today, the notion that the PLP is the great protector of Bahamian sovereignty is shredded beyond repair, given that Baha Mar and prime Bahamian land at Cable Beach are now owned by an entity of the Chinese government, which will decide to whom Baha Mar is to be sold with The Bahamas playing second fiddle to a foreign government.
One can only imagine the loss of respect for Christie and his government in Beijing, despite the niceties and diplomatic language which may be expressed.
From the moment the Christie administration set on a path that would lead to Baha Mar going into receivership, the settling of the Baha Mar matter became as much or even more of a political matter than an economic issue between China and The Bahamas.
Christie and the PLP were desperate for a deal, which means that their negotiating position was generally weak, both politically and economically.
The weakened position can be seen from what the country has already lost at Baha Mar. In its recent August 16 edition, World Casino News reported: "The Baha Mar casino resort has faced numerous challenges along the way and is yet to be opened. An economic impact report spanning the last 18 months was recently released, highlighting the fact that the government has lost as much as $315 million in revenue due to the delay in opening the casino.
"The study estimated that the resort had lost around 800,000 stop over visitors during this time, where each visitor would have spent an average of $576 each day.
in casino tax winnings; $25 million in stamp conveyance fees with a rate of 10 percent; $13 million in departure tax; $33 million in National Insurance Board contributions; $81 million in occupancy and value taxes and $114 million in import duty.
"The study also stated that the government lost $48 million in government utility payments; $451 million in salaries and wages for direct and indirect employees..."
Having already done tremendous damage to the country, Christie and the PLP now need to quickly ensure the payment of funds to creditors and former employees, many of whom are hurting badly because of the government's gross incompetence.
The administration also needs to lay out the facts of the new deal so that Bahamians can render a judgment on what is being done in our name and with the considerable taxes we pay.
o frontporchguardian@gmail.com, www.bahamapundit.com.
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