Executives of the AES Corporation, which is jockeying for approval for its project, wants the government to clearly articulate its policy on how investors are to be treated when they bring their business to The Bahamas.
AES Project Director Aaron Samson was in Nassau Wednesday to meet with Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller. Mr. Samson is reportedly seeking reassurance from the Minister that the government is serious about its red carpet treatment for investors.
This comes as Keod Smith, the Mount Moriah Member of Parliament who heads the Bahamas Environment Science and Technology (BEST) Commission, fights against the project.
There are actually three companies that want permission for liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations, but Mr. Smith believes that the government ought not approve any of those projects because he says the necessary legislation is not in place to ensure that the environment will be protected.
AES executives are concerned that their proposal could be derailed if Mr. Smith continues to make statements in this regard.
The BEST Commission chairman said in parliament week before last that foreigners like Mr. Samson should not be allowed to operate any business in The Bahamas.
Those were statements he reiterated in parliament Wednesday on the same day that Mr. Samson was in town.
Following Mr. Smith’s press conference last November on the various LNG proposals, local reporters called Mr. Samson for a response.
Mr. Samson said essentially that as far as he is concerned, his company has already convinced the government that their project is environmentally-friendly and he was dealing with Minister Miller on the matter.
Mr. Samson was also quoted as saying that what was most irritating is that Mr. Smith had not participated in the process at all.
Mr. Smith, as reported recently by the Journal, saw this as a sign of disrespect.
He said, “Luckily for [Mr. Samson] it is not up to me to determine what happens with his proposal. If it [were] because of his transgression, I would tell him to turn away and go and come back no more.”
Minister Miller, meanwhile, fully backs the AES pipeline project, saying repeatedly that the company, which has an aragonite mining operation on Ocean Cay, has been a good corporate citizen and is on the brink of getting approval.
The government is expected to reap significant benefits from the $600 million project as a result of various taxes and fees.
The prime minister also touched briefly on his government’s commitment to foreign investors while speaking in the House of Assembly Wednesday.
“The next election must be held by 2007,” Prime Minister Christie said. “I tell investors that it is up for them to make a determination that this is a stable country. I tell them ‘You can be assured that for the next eight years, at the very least, you are dealing with this prime minister.'”
The Bahama Journal
