Amid a fiery exchange in the House of Assembly over the controversial proposal for a $2.1 billion China-Bahamas agri-fisheries project in Andros last night, Prime Minister Perry Christie declared that if such a plan came before Cabinet it would be "rejected outright".
Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources V. Alfred Gray, who gave Bahamas Ambassador to China Paul Andy Gomez approval to pursue the proposal last month, had called it a "progressive" initiative.
The issue was raised by Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn, who Gray inferred was being "intellectually dishonest" in his comments on the matter.
Christie made the declaration after Lightbourn accused the government of trying to divert attention from the public furor over the matter by moving for the establishment of a select committee to investigate the Ingraham administration's sale of a majority stake in the Bahamas Telecommunications (BTC) to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) in 2011.
The prime minister suggested that the opposition was using the matter of the agri-fisheries proposal to "exploit emotions" of the Bahamian people.
"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 a year because of the defense force being able to protect our waters," Christie said.
"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.
"But a minister in association with anyone could explore opportunities for The Bahamas, but he has to bring that as a proposal to his colleagues who have to make a determination as to whether they will agree.
"If one wanted to truly explain this to the Bahamian people one would have to say what the member of the Parliament for Montagu should accurately do is to say if the government of The Bahamas had agreed this; this would have been the result.
"The government of The Bahamas did not agree to any such proposition, did not consider any such proposition, it did not come before the government as a proposal and it would not have reached the government because it would have been rejected outright.
"We do not do that in The Bahamas; we do not do it."
The proposal which Gray wanted the ambassador to pursue further, calls for the incorporation of 100 companies to be owned 50-50 by Bahamians and Chinese for the project, which would involve fishing in Bahamian waters and farming on Andros.
Each company would be granted 100 acres of leased Andros farmland with an opportunity to access 100 additional acres.
Throughout the exchange, Lightbourn asserted that the suggestion was not being made that the agreement was approved, but questioned why Gray would even partake in the discussion of the deal if there was no intention to see it through.
"When you have a letter written by the member for MICAL (Gray) in which he speaks about an initiative with the Chinese government and he is satisfied that this proposal will have a very meaningful impact on the economy of this country, saying the proposal is vey progressive; members opposite want to sit back and say that the Chinese are not allowed to fish on the boats so they think that the Bahamian people should be happy that no foreign person is allowed on this boat and that in of itself suggests that the Chinese and any other foreign government or people are not benefiting from this."
But the prime minister stressed: "The Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas has worked out no arrangement with the Chinese government, Chinese companies, in furtherance of any memorandum or exchange of memoranda between the minister of agriculture.
"Specifically, the government of The Bahamas has never been put in a position to give consideration to any agreement and as far as the record would reflect, the only memorandum of understanding signed by the Chinese government and the Bahamian government was done by the Free National Movement."
Christie was refering to a "secret" deal Gray claimed 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.
Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis challenged the government to make public any evidence to prove such an agreement was reached under the previous administration.
The prime minister said, "They said we should file it. I'm reading it now and I've asked the House of Assembly to determine whether it has been filed in the House of Assembly; if it hasn't been filed then I will lay the document."
Christie did not table the document.
Speaking again about Gray's green light for Gomez to develop the proposal further, he also said, "It is important for me to indicate that every minister in terms of constitutional government has the right in furtherance of his work as a minister to explore opportunities to advance the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
"I do not know when [the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation] began their discussions with the Chinese government (over the reported Abaco deal), whether ministers in the FNM government knew, the fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, a minister can do that just as the minister of investments can entertain investments for $10 billion, but it has to go to his Cabinet for them to make a decision."
Gray weighed in on the debate nearing the end, indicating Christie's take on the issue was the final say.
"The prime minister has spoken and I rest with respect to what I did and, Mr. Speaker, it is very clear that the letter I wrote was to our ambassador to China," Gray said.
"The member for Montagu continues to speak to some agreement with the Chinese government. Mr Speaker, I know he is a lawyer and I expect him to at least be able to interpret what's written. Just interpret it. He doesn't have to expand on it and I think when you are intellectually dishonest Bahamian people know.
"...I don't know what we need to say here that they have not said for us and, Mr. Speaker, I hope that not for this group in here, but for the Bahamian people the words of our prime minister ought to be a final position.
"There is nothing discussed; there is nothing to be discussed; there is nothing to be agreed and so it can not and will not happen, bottom line. They are his words and I adopt them."
Sloan Smith, Guardian Staff Reporter
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
