Former Baha Mar Director Dionisio D'Aguilar said the government is operating with a "veil of secrecy" as it relates to the recent agreement made on Baha Mar.
On Monday, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced that an agreement made between the government and the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) would lead to the completion and sale of Baha Mar to a world-class hotel and casino operator.
D'Aguilar speculated that the unknown buyer could be a Chinese company or a Chinese businessman.
"Who is going to buy this other than a Chinese company? I can't see a Western company buying this," he said.
if his speculation is accurate, then the Chinese would end up being responsible for a large amount of The Bahamas' gross domestic product (GDP).
However, the name of the potential buyer has not been disclosed.
In addition, the government and CEXIM requested that the Supreme Court seal the documents related to the agreement to prevent public access to the deal.
Baha Mar's receiving manager Raymond Winder said, "Until we have completed the process, I don't think it would be correct to have the information in the public domain."
D'Aguilar told Guardian Business yesterday the deal is good news for the contractors and former employees, but bad news in terms of transparency.
"The contractors are going to be paid and the project is to be redone. But, there is a whole heap of bad news. There is no transparency in this agreement; we have no idea what concessions we had to make in order to get this deal.
"The government once again is operating with a veil of secrecy. They just presented us with what they got and have not illustrated what it cost us," said D'Aguilar.
The CEO of Superwash argued that the deal would ultimately cost taxpayers significantly. "So it would be nice if Bahamian people could see both sides of the deal," he said.
D'Aguilar also questioned Christie's mention of the government extending appropriate concessions to "facilitate the construction and promote the successful future operation of the resort".
"What additional concessions in excess [of what] you gave to Sarkis Izmirlian, did you have to give them?" D'Aguilar asked.
Xian Smith, Guardian Business Reporter
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