Minister of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis' defense that the no laws were broken when Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper signed a $70 million loan agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development is "nonsense", Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Michael Pintard said yesterday.
"Instead of doing the right thing and offering a heartfelt apology for them breaking the law yet again ... Minister Michael Halkitis, according to press reports, doubled down by suggesting that Deputy Prime Minister Cooper was the acting minister of finance at the time he reportedly signed the $70 loan agreement for the airport in Exuma," Pintard said in a statement.
"Minister Halkitis, like every Bahamian, knows that the DPM only acts as prime minister and minister of finance on occasions when the PM is out of the country and, importantly, when the DPM himself is inside The Bahamas. This was not the case in this instance.
"So please, do not attempt to insult the Bahamian people with that nonsense."
Last week, Halkitis said the government understands how the law operates and it complies with the law.
Asked if Cooper made a "preliminary signing," Halkitis responded, "I don't want to comment on that directly because I wasn't there. From time to time, DPM acts as minister of finance. When the agreements are concluded, they will be executed properly."
Asked to respond to the opposition's claim that the government broke the law, Halkitis said, "That seems to be the opposition leader's [refrain]. Every time he gets up he says laws were broken.
"No laws were broken."
On September 27, the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, in a press statement, said that Cooper "will sign a major loan agreement with extremely favorable terms from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas for the construction of airport infrastructure in the Family Islands that will advance the tourism sector in The Bahamas and the country's gross domestic product".
In a separate statement that day, the Saudi Fund for Development said it signed two development loan agreements - one with The Bahamas and the other with Mauritius - totaling US $140 million.
"The first development loan agreement, worth $70 million USD, was signed with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation of The Bahamas, Hon. Isaac Chester [Cooper], to fund the Family Islands Airports Renaissance Project, which aims to develop and raise the capabilities of airports in the Exuma Islands and increase the number of visitors to the airports from 237,000 to 285,000 visitors annually."
Cooper and other government and tourism officials were on a trade mission to West Asia, that began with a stop in Qatar and then on to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where the agreement was signed.
Shortly after the signing, Pintard argued that the government broke the law by having Cooper sign for the loan agreement.
He said only the minister of finance - who is currently Prime Minister Philip Davis - can borrow money on behalf of the government, as laid out in the Public Debt Management Act, 2021.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
