The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) said it is willing to help the 'incompetent' Ingraham administration negotiate with international creditors in a bid to save thousands of jobs at Kerzner International's Paradise Island properties.
News broke yesterday that Brookfield Asset Management, the Canadian conglomerate that agreed to take over Atlantis and two other Kerzner properties in a $175 million-debt-for-equity swap, pulled out of the deal.
The cancellation of the Brookfield deal leaves the fate of the resort unknown. It came after a group of other Kerzner lenders took legal action against Brookfield, intended to block the takeover.
In a statement released last night, the PLP leader chided the government for its handling of the Brookfield/Atlantis deal.
"The prime minister and the government have shown extraordinary incompetence when it comes to dealing with our nation's largest private employer," Christie said.
"Working in secret behind closed doors, they approved a takeover by a junior creditor without first securing support from more senior creditors, who went on to pull the deal under, leaving the future of Atlantis uncertain.
"Despite repeated calls from the PLP, the (Free National Movement) FNM has never shared the details of that agreement with the Bahamian public."
Christie said his party wants to work with the government to lobby lenders and do all that is possible to ensure that the more than 7,000 workers at Kerzner's Bahamian properties are not let go.
"This is not a game," Christie said. "Bahamians must have an effective representative at the bargaining table. The PLP is willing to assist the FNM going forward. The Bahamas must now reach out to all creditors, assist in new negotiations, and work with all stakeholders to preserve the operations of the resort, protect Bahamian employment, and avoid foreclosure or insolvency."
Christie told The Nassau Guardian that until the Ingraham administration makes a full admission on the deal, employees and others who depend on the economic stimulus Atlantis and the One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island bring are left in limbo.
"We don't know and that's precisely the point. Until such time as the government makes the disclosure on the matter and advises us to the full implications of this we have a problem, we are operating in the dark," the PLP leader said.
In the House of Assembly on November 29, 2011, Ingraham suggested that Kerzner's debt problems came about because the Christie administration allowed Kerzner to borrow against its Bahamian assets for international developments.
"The reality is Kerzner International in The Bahamas is a very profitable company," Ingraham said.
"It has nothing to do with whether Atlantis makes enough money.  It has more than enough.  It has more than $100 million in cash.
"It just happened to have too much debt piled up on top of it for all things that weren't done in The Bahamas and it did so with your (the Christie government's) blessing and support."
Last week, The Nassau Guardian revealed that Brookfield had been sued by other creditors who financed Kerzner's $2.5 billion loan.
The group claimed Brookfield negotiated a "sweetheart deal" that benefited the Canadian conglomerate and Kerzner.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian