Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis' call for the government to make public an agreement it signed with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to complete and open Baha Mar is "irresponsible" of someone who desires to lead this country, according to attorney Wayne Munroe, QC.
The Supreme Court approved and sealed the agreement at the request of the parties.
Munroe represents the Gaming Board, one of Baha Mar's many creditors.
"I have listened to these comments and it is as if people did not bother to get the views of an insolvency practitioner," Munroe said.
"If you are going to say that you want to lead a country, you just can't run around, running your mouth on what you think.
"To be responsible, you ought to consult an insolvency practitioner.
"And the first question is, is there anything unusual about this order, sealing these provisions, and the answer would be no."
"If that is your answer, then apart from [inciting] the public, why are you calling for something that you know is usually not done, and cannot be done?"
Minnis has said the prime minister signed an agreement on behalf of the Bahamian people and has an obligation to make the agreement public.
He labeled the documents "secretive".
But Prime Minister Perry Christie has denied any secrecy about the agreement, despite substantive details being left to speculation.
Christie said suggestions that the government provided "unusual concessions" are false.
However, Minnis lashed back that the prime minister has attempted to redefine the word, secret.
Baha Mar's receiver-manager Ray Winder originally indicated that both CEXIM and the government requested that the documents be sealed.
But Christie said on Wednesday the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) made the application to the Supreme Court to seal the deal to allow the bank to finalize "sensitive negotiations" for a new buyer.
There has been mounting speculation about what the government conceded to facilitate the agreement.
Munroe pointed out that the former administration ushered in Chinese investors and Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian for the project.
He said the Ingraham administration provided $1.5 billion in concessions to facilitate the project.
"It failed, and it happened to fail during the currency of this administration, which now has to deal with it" Munroe said.
"So, I hear these things and I wonder if people stop to think.
"You have to have some idea that if the previous concessions were exactly at the Atlantis rate because you can't give anyone better, if you stopped and thought, you would probably know exactly the scope of the concessions.
"And you can't use as an excuse what they (the opposition) are using if they are going to be representing us as a government."
Under the agreement signed last Monday, China Construction will resume work on the project this month.
CEXIM will put up the capital to complete the project.
The bank is expected to cover "a significant part, and possibly all of the value of claims" of Bahamian creditors.
The casino, casino hotel, convention center and its hotel, and the golf course are slated to open before the end of the 2016/2017 winter season, according to Christie.
As per the agreement, CEXIM will also pay former employees money owed to them.
Lease holders at Baha Mar will also continue their contracts.
Christie said last week all key elements related to the agreement will be made public in the "coming days".
Since then, the government announced the establishment of a committee, chaired by James Smith, a former minister of state for finance, to process claims of all of the creditors and outline a timeline for when it hopes claims will be settled.
The government expects former employees to be paid by the end of September and for all other creditors to have their claims settled by the end of December.
Christie said he has no doubt "history and the Bahamian people will judge us kindly", insisting that the outcome will be good for The Bahamas and Bahamians.
Royston Jones Jr., Guardian Staff Reporter
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