By Guardian Staff Reporter, Guardian News Desk

Members of the former Progressive Liberal Party government either shied away or chose to ignore allegations of not being accountable to the Bahamian public on Thursday, after it was reported that they attempted to keep debate on the land transfers needed for the proposed $2.6 billion Baha Mar resort outside of the House of Assembly.

When The Guardian made a call to the party's leader Perry Christie yesterday, he was said to be off the island. A message was left for him to return our call but he never did. Former Investments Minister Vincent Peet and Opposition leader in the House of Assembly Dr Bernard Nottage could not be reached for comment, and PLP chairman and former Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna said she had not read the article and could not respond. Several calls were also made to Sir Baltron Bethel of the Hotel Corporation of the Bahamas, but up to press time last night those calls were not returned.

A Tribune article reported yesterday that the exchange of letters between the former government, Baha Mar and Sir Baltron just before the May 2007 general election, revealed that both Baha Mar and the PLP government did not want the land transactions for the proposed $2.6 billion Baha Mar project to be debated in the House of Assembly.

According to the article, the former government agreed to use the device of granting a 99-year lease, rather than conveying full ownership of the land to Baha Mar, in order to avoid public disclosure. The article further noted that, using provisions of the Road Act, the land could be leased for 99 years by the Treasurer with the approval of the Governor General, but for a grant of title in fee simple [complete ownership] it had to be debated and passed in the House of Assembly.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham claimed earlier this week in the House of Assembly, that the PLP did not understand that every time they approved projects that were poorly structured, or not funded, they risked the transfer of large parcels of land to foreign ownership.

"When such developments were not realized the land concerned is sometimes blocked from development by others including Bahamians," the Prime Minister told parliamentarians. "That is not new. That is an old PLP policy. The first PLP government followed it religiously. That is why even today there are large tracts of land all over our country owned by foreign entities that, once upon a time, had a great idea for a development project that regrettably never got off the ground."

The Prime Minister, who was giving his communication on several land transfer resolutions for investment projects throughout The Bahamas, said this kind of land policy, coupled with the reported mismanagement of the country's tourism sector and the "negligence" in managing the public purse, brought the country to its knees by 1992, before the FNM stepped in to remedy the situation.

According to the Prime Minister it really did not matter how many "fairy tales" the PLP wanted to spin of how the economy grew between 2002 and 2007, or what number of development projects they wished to claim as their own, because the record shows that the PLP fixed what was broken in The Bahamas prior to 1992, and when they assumed office in May 2002 they received "a very good inheritance".

Ingraham further noted that when the Free National Movement came to office, the economy of The Bahamas had experienced negative growth of three percent in 1991 and two percent in 1992. By 1997, he said the economy was growing by five percent, and during the period 1993 through 1997, the economy achieved cumulative growth of 12.1 percent for an average annual growth rate of 2.4 percent. He said during the next five years under the FNM administration, the economy achieved cumulative growth of 15.8 percent for an average annual growth rate of 3.2 percent.

"During the five-year period 2002 to 2007 under the PLP administration, notwithstanding the billions of dollars of investment projects unable to exit the much publicized investment pipeline, the cumulative economic growth of 11.3 percent was below the levels of 12.1 percent and 15.8 per cent achieved in our two terms," the Prime Minister said.

"Furthermore, the highest rate of economic growth under the FNM's first term between 1992 and 1997 was 4.2 percent which occurred in 1996. The highest rate during the FNM's second term was 6.8 percent and it occurred in 1998."

The Prime Minister highlighted further that under the PLP's term from 2002 to 2007, the highest rate of economic growth achieved was 3.4 percent in 2006, exactly one half of the highest rate achieved by the FNM.

This economic performance, according to Prime Minister Ingraham, is reflected in other hard economic data. He said between 1992 and 1997, 20,555 jobs were created. Between 1997 and 2002 an additional 17,435 jobs were created for a total of 37,990 new jobs for the 10-year period 1992 to 2002.

He noted, however, that during the PLP's term between 2002 and 2007, 15,370 jobs were created, less than what was created during either period of FNM leadership.

"What stands out in all of this is that the considerable volume of foreign direct investment of which the previous administration continuously boasted, did not of itself result in any discernible benefit to the Bahamian economy. The benefits to the economy resulted mostly from the continuing impact of a major project begun under the FNM administration," the Prime Minister said, adding that the PLP encountered a "wonderful experience" when they came to office in 2002 as there was a growing economy, single digit unemployment, hundreds of millions of dollars in direct foreign investment, Kerzner on Paradise Island and Hutchinson in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

"In 1992 on the other hand, we reaped a whirlwind, double digit unemployment and two major resorts up for sale. Resorts International on Paradise Island was in bankruptcy and Crystal Palace on Cable Beach was on the market for sale at a bargain basement price. And the government was the owner of 20 percent of all hotel rooms - run-down hotel rooms," the Prime Minister said, adding that in 2002, the PLP set out to "reap what they did not sow".

"They are no longer where they want to be because the people could see that they were once again taking our country to ruin," Ingraham said.

The Prime Minister said the Member for North Andros Vincent Peet reportedly told House members that they signed Heads of Agreements to create jobs but Androsians are still waiting for the jobs he claimed to have created.

The Prime Minister also stressed that while the former administration claimed to have brought $20 billion of direct foreign investment to The Bahamas during the past five years, the FNM government has looked for it and cannot find it.

"We did find a number of Heads of Agreements completed by them for a number of projects," the Prime Minister said. "In fact we caused a number of them to be tabled in this place. We can only surmise that they were not brought here previously by the government that entered into them because they believed it not to be in their political interest to do so at the time that the agreements were signed."

He continued, "With the exception of the Phase III expansion of Kerzner International and a billion dollars in land sales to international persons (GINN, Kerzner, and the Abaco Club), we have not been able to find the billions of dollars which they claim to have brought to our country. And with the rising unemployment which they left behind we did not find the jobs either."