Attorney General Carl Bethel said yesterday there is no need for the government to go back on the recently unsealed Baha Mar deal as there is nothing objectionable or questionable in its contents.
"What was said during the campaign was that if there was anything objectionable or contrary to the interest of the Bahamian people then there may be some need to go back," Bethel told reporters outside of the Senate when asked his thoughts on the agreement.
"I don't think anybody has found a reason.
"People may argue about well, [there are] all these work permits or whatever, but is there anything fundamentally unconscionable? No.
"I'm afraid it could not be said that, that is so."
He said, "The factual statement that was made was that if there was something objectionable, OK?
"There's nothing objectionable."
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis released the heads of terms the former government signed on August 22, 2016, with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM), Perfect Luck Claims Limited and Perfect Luck Assets Limited regarding the sale of Baha Mar, which revealed that the Christie administration agreed to issue up to 1,200 work permits to China Construction America (CCA) to complete the resort.
The government also agreed to waive stamp duty and value-added tax (VAT) on the transfer of assets from the Baha Mar Ltd. (BML) group of companies to Perfect Luck Assets Limited.
The controversial deal, which the Free National Movement pledged to unseal upon coming to office, also reveals that the government agreed to "(split 50/50) all agreed expenses and fees (including the fees and expenses of the provisional liquidation) of the JPLs (joint provisional liquidators) and/or any liquidators who may be appointed in relation to the liquidation of the BML Companies".
The government and the bank also agreed that, "Bahamian citizens owning and holding shop leases and concessions in the project will be permitted by CEXIM and the proposed purchaser to continue to hold them on the same terms and conditions as currently exist".
Back in March, Minnis pledged to execute a "real sale" of Baha Mar to a purchaser that has the Bahamian people's interests at heart, should the FNM win the general election.
"Your Free National Movement government will engage and execute a real sale of Baha Mar to a qualified and respectable purchaser who believes in Bahamians; a purchaser who will utilize only Bahamian labor to complete the resort, and will put Bahamians back to work with real jobs as quickly as possible," said Minnis.
When asked his thoughts on the comments, Bethel maintained that there was nothing contrary in the Baha Mar deal.

Concerned but prepared
Bethel said the government has to respect and honor the recently released heads of terms concerning the sale of Baha Mar despite concerns about some of its agreements.
"I don't think that a contractual arrangement by one government with another entity is a matter of a judgment whether this is good," he said.
"We are concerned, and the prime minister has expressed it, with the levels of exemptions from taxes that have traditionally been given.
"The thought is that we need to strike a slightly better balance in the arrangements, whether they get the full range of exemptions, but concede a bit on the work permits; these are judgmental matters.
"All I can say is that any legal agreement entered into lawfully by a former government ought to be respected and honored by its successor in office.
"Going forward, yes, we will look to find ways to strengthen the, shall I say, Bahamian quotient in any agreement, our ratio, what we get out of it, to improve what the Bahamian people get out of these heads of agreements or heads of terms with international investors.
"But at the end of the day, it is a trade off."
Bethel also pointed out that The Bahamas is not the only country entering similar deals.
"Let's accept the reality that not only countries like The Bahamas, but major cities in North America, in Europe, they do exactly the same thing," he said.
"They provide tax and investment incentives to spur and encourage investments in their cities.
"It is not only something done in The Bahamas or this region so it is not anything we should be ashamed of.
"That's the nature of business."

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