By Eric Rose, Bahamas Information Services
NASSAU, The Bahamas – In his Communication to the House of Assembly, giving a Baha Mar project update, September 16, 2015 Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie stated in response to the decision of the Bankruptcy Court in Delaware of dismissal of the U.S. Chapter 11 Bankruptcy cases brought by Baha Mar group of companies — “the Government is pleased that the Bankruptcy Court in Delaware shares the Government’s view that the future of the Baha Mar resort should be determined not in or by a court in Delaware but rather here in The Bahamas by our own Supreme Court, especially now that the court here has appointed provisional liquidators.”
Prime Minister Christie pointed out that the Government’s principal objective throughout the process has been, and continues to be, the completion of the Baha Mar Resort — such that it can open for business with a full complement of Bahamian workers “as soon as humanly possible”.
“This is of vital importance to the continued growth of our national economy,” he said. “My government, therefore, continues to regard the early completion and opening of the Baha Mar resort as a matter of the highest national priority.”
The Delaware Bankruptcy Court’s decision advances the government’s objective in the foregoing regard considerably, Prime Minister Christie said. He added that it recognizes that the interests of the Baha Mar entities and their creditors will be best served if the issues between them are litigated in the courts of The Bahamas and/or are resolved by negotiations between them.
“Also, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court agreed with the Bahamas Supreme Court when it stated that ‘…many stakeholders in the Project would expect that any insolvency proceedings would take place in The Bahamas, the location of this major development Project’,” he said.
“One of the reasons that the investment climate in The Bahamas remains strong is that investors, be they Bahamian or Non-Bahamian implicitly and explicitly repose confidence in the independence and competence of our Courts, which have for decades resolved complex commercial litigation and the decisions of which have been upheld by the Privy Council, the highest court of The Bahamas.”
Prime Minister Christie said that, in these circumstances, he was pleased that both the decision of The Bahamas Supreme Court appointing the provisional liquidators, and the decision of the Delaware court dismissing the Chapter 11 proceedings the day before, have supported the course of action foreshadowed in his July 16, 2015 National Address and proven that the Bahamas Government was right to proceed in the way that it did.
Prime Minister Christie referenced that earlier National Address and quoted the following section: “I am absolutely convinced that we are on the right path, one that will lead to the completion and opening of Baha Mar in the near future. While it is true that there are still major obstacles to be overcome, I remain extremely optimistic about the end-result, one that will not only ensure the employment of thousands of Bahamians but the emergence as well of a resort destined for great success in the tourism industry of The Bahamas and of the region.”
He added that his current optimism for the successful outcome is infinitely greater in the wake of the court rulings both in The Bahamas and now in Delaware, as well.
“My Government, therefore, looks forward with confidence and in optimism to the prompt resumption of negotiations between interested parties who will, I am sure, co-operate to the fullest with the provisional liquidators so that an early resolution of this matter in the interests of the Bahamian people and all stakeholders can be achieved as quickly as possible,” Prime Minister Christie said.
