Finally.

Prime Minister Perry Christie, in the face of unrelenting public pressure, has stated unequivocally in Parliament that his government would reject a proposal, which would see the Chinese becoming equal partners in The Bahamas' fishing industry.

It took Christie 20 days to make a definitive statement and calm increasing fears, both locally and internationally.

Mind you, this is the same proposal that Christie's minister, V. Alfred Gray, said in writing to Bahamas Ambassador to China Paul Andy Gomez was "progressive".

In making his declaration last Monday, Christie acknowledged, no doubt unwittingly, the total incompetence of Gray in this matter.

That Gray would think such a proposal was even worth pursuing is startling.

Christie told the House of Assembly, "We are fundamentally opposed to foreign fishermen in Bahamian waters, and that is why Bahamian fishermen today are saying this is the best year they have had in many years because of the defense force being able to protect our waters.

"We are not going to compromise and no discussion will lead to a conclusion that this government would have contemplated or agreed for that to happen."

He said the proposal would be "rejected outright".

On the surface, it appears Christie and Gray had been singing off two different hymn sheets.

But we find it difficult to believe that the prime minister would not have been briefed on this proposal by his ambassador or by the minister.

We would be surprised if Christie learned about this for the first time when The Nassau Guardian broke the story on November 1.

That just does not seem plausible to us. If he did know about it prior to the story running, did he encourage Gomez to pursue the plan, or did he tell him what he told the public through Parliament -- that there is no way his administration would approve such an initiative, notwithstanding that his hapless minister viewed it as something progressive?

If Christie truly did not know what Gray and the ambassador were discussing, then that is also concerning, given the magnitude of what was being proposed.

How could the prime minister be in the dark?

Faced with the furor that erupted over The Guardian's revelations on this matter, Christie and other PLPs resorted to their old, tired approach of obfuscation.

They have sought to shift the focus to what they said was a "secret deal" the FNM administration entered into in 2009 with China Shandong Expressway Investment Holding Company Limited for an agricultural development involving 10,000 acres of land in Abaco free of charge.

Christie said he has asked the House of Assembly to determine whether that file has been tabled.
"If it hasn't been filed then I will lay the document," he said.

The whole point of his statement, and that of his minister, Gray, before him on the matter is that the Free National Movement ought not criticize the Christie administration on the agri-fisheries proposal with the Chinese, because while in government it agreed to an agricultural development with the Chinese that involved Crown land.

In bringing this purported FNM deal to the fore, Christie and Gray have again reminded us that they missed the point of the outrage over the "progressive" proposal the ambassador is pursuing.

Firstly, that outrage is sparked primarily by the element of the proposal that calls for the Chinese to be involved in The Bahamas fishing industry, as 50 percent owners of the 100 companies that would have been formed.

Fifth grade research would reveal the detrimental footprint the Chinese have left on marine environments in various areas of the world.

That the minister saw the proposal as "progressive" showed that he at least saw Chinese entrance into our fishing industry as a good idea, notwithstanding his repeated statements, and that of the prime minister, that foreigners would never get licenses to fish in The Bahamas.

The other fundamental point here is that if Bahamians find the "secret deal" signed under the FNM offensive, then that does not ease the outrage over the current proposal the agriculture and marine resources minister thought was worth pursuing.

Recall that Gray initially claimed the story outlining the proposal was "utterly false".

After Christie told Parliament the proposal would be rejected, Gray did not deny that a proposal existed. He could not as we have made it public.

He said, "...for the Bahamian people the words of the prime minister ought to be a final position."

He also shamelessly suggested that Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn, who raised the matter in Parliament, was being "intellectually dishonest" for "speaking to some agreement with the Chinese".

But Gray exists blindly in the world of make believe. No one -- not Lightbourn, not the media -- ever said any deal was finalized.

In pointing to some "secret deal" they insist was signed under the FNM government, the Christie administration ought to be reminded that voters roundly rejected the FNM at the polls in 2012. Hubert Ingraham and the FNM were made to pay for failing to meet the expectation of voters in the last term. And if Christie and Gray have some "secret deal" signed by the FNM then what's the cat and mouse game all about? Just make it public.

We are entirely exhausted by this unprogressive style of politics and approach to governance.

Governments should be accountable for their actions, not point a finger back at a past administration to justify some action they are taking that the public finds completely unacceptable or offensive.

It is a far-from-mature approach to politics, and one that so many Bahamians abhor.

Public relations
The government's reaction to the unpopular proposal submitted by the ambassador has amounted to a disastrous public relations effort.

Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller may have thought he was helping the government's public relations on this matter when he told Parliament on Monday that Gomez recently asked him his advice on the proposal, which calls for the establishment of 100 companies to be owned 50-50 by Bahamians and the Chinese and the lease of 100 acres of Crown land with the option for another 100 acres (to each company).

Miller seemed almost contradictory in his thought process when he said he did not see why Gray had faced such criticisms, while also saying he (Miller) had told Gomez there is no way such a proposal would fly.

While Gray tried to convince us that the proposal was something Gomez pulled out his own mind, Miller revealed that the Chinese approached the ambassador about investing in The Bahamas' fishing and agriculture sectors.

"He said to me that he had gotten some feedback from local Chinese businessmen in China, not the Chinese government, but business people in China who had an interest in the fishing industry in The Bahamas, who had an interest in forestry in The Bahamas and who had an interest in farming and animal husbandry," Miller said.

He said Gomez asked him if he would be interested in having discussions with certain businessmen out of China to pursue this effort in regard to fishing and farming in The Bahamas.

"He asked what do I think as a former minister of agriculture and marine resources," Miller said.

"I told him 'you can pursue it, but I can tell you one thing, the Christie government will not entertain any proposal that is definitively not in the best interest of the Bahamian people'. And I said, 'as far as fishing in The Bahamas, that won't happen in your lifetime or mine'. I made it clear to him."

Gray, meanwhile, has attempted to draw a distinction between Chinese being on fishing boats, and Chinese being 50 percent owners of the companies that own the boats.

There is no real distinction there. That explanation does not hold water. And while government officials seek to portray the backlash over this proposal as hatred for or fear of the Chinese, they should perhaps take some time out and do their own research on China's fishing practices.

There is nothing about those practices that we should seek any association with. This is not about shunning foreign investment. This is about standing up to a government that has long betrayed its own commitment to 'Believe in Bahamians'.

It is why Bahamians turned up by the hundreds on Friday to send a strong message to the government that enough is enough - Bahamians must be first in The Bahamas. We must be respected by the people we elect to handle our affairs, not treated with the kind of disdain we have been experiencing.

Recently, a foreigner in The Bahamas who is playing a prominent role in a key sector, asked us about Bahamians' apparent xenophobia in their response to this issue. He questioned how we think we could survive without foreign direct investment, and noted that the strong presence of the Chinese in the local economy is not unique to The Bahamas.

We explained to that person that Bahamians are not opposed to FDI. It is an important element of our economic growth and development. What sensible Bahamians in large numbers are opposed to is the mismanagement of our precious resources by a government whose interests in many instances clearly do not align with the interests of the people it serves.

Candia Dames, Guardian Managing Editor

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