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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Nassau, Bahamas - The following is a statement by
Senator Michael Pintard:
The PLP hopes to distract the public from the litany of errors they made in handling the Baha Mar meltdown. Their latest attempt has been to focus on the leader of the opposition by highlighting a matter that has been addressed repeatedly to the satisfaction of successive governments.
The PLP chairman continues to threaten to release information on the leader of the Opposition, which he claims to have in his possession relative to the period that Dr. Minnis served as Minister of Health. The leader of the Opposition is a junkanoo man and I’m certain would say to Mr. Roberts, “Don’t sing it! Bring It!” The PLP Chairman should have one of his colleagues lay the files on the table of the House since he is unable to do so in person given what may be on his file.
The PLP wish to shift the conversation from their multiple blatant conflicts. The fact is that while Dr. Minnis declared his interest in Stat Care and spoke candidly on the floor of the House of Assembly on more than one occasion regarding this matter. The month-to-month contract held by Leechez Investments started in May 2005 under the PLP (Before Dr. Minnis was in active politics) has straddled two administrations and continues now month to month under the PLP. In contrast, the Attorney General’s family's interest in Baha Mar became known in greater detail only after the FNM expressed alarm.
Dr. Minnis was not conflicted as long as he did not demand a higher standard of behavior from PLP Cabinet Ministers. Any reasonably minded person would ask whether the PLP is saying that they made what they knew to be an inappropriate decision to maintain the Stat Care contract ? Are they now criticizing Dr. Minnis because they only now thought to raise make the allegations because the leader of the opposition criticized the Attorney General’s role in the Bahamar negotiations given her family’s business ties to the very development she is representing the government side on?
Cabinet protocols require that Ministers disclose to the Prime Minister or Cabinet any interest which they or their immediate family may have which conflicts or might reasonably be thought to conflict with his public duty. Even more so the Minister should recuse him or herself from any decisions that relate to their enterprise. I, as Chairman, and we as FNMs believe that our leader is on good grounds in this regard. If Bradley Roberts, whose reputation is at best questionable, know things we don’t then he should put up or shut the hell up! At the same time, Mr. Roberts should explain to the Bahamian people why the PLP Attorney General did not abide by the Cabinet Protocol that required her to avoid situations in which her private interest and that of her family might reasonably be thought to conflict with her public duties.
And while he is pulling Dr. Minnis File please pull the file that covers his time at Ministry of Works and his oversight of Water and Sewage Corporation and BTC. He should authorize the release of his personal file relative to accusations that continue to circulate in the public domain relative to his private conduct. Mr. Roberts should also pull the AG’s file relative to Baha Mar and all her family’s links directly and indirectly to the parties involved in the dispute. Finally, pull the following files: Renew Bahamas; Stella Waste; Urban Renewal; BAMSI; Bank of The Bahamas; Carnival; Rubis; Simms Point in Lyford Cay; Development of the gaming legislation; Possible Visa Sale in Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and I can go on
The fundamental difference between the FNM and the PLP is that the FNM officials believe that it is their obligation to explain their actions or inactions. PLP officials feel no obligation to be transparent and accountable. Recall the following questions asked by the FNM of the government that got no answer:
1. What accounted for the Noli insued by Minister Jerome Fitzgerald relative to the gun possession matter
2. Does any PLP Cabinet Minister have loans with the Bank of The Bahamas?
3. Were their other contracts issued at BAMSI where the contractors did not satisfy the requirements including having a valid all risk insurance contract?
4. Why did the Attorney General elect not to allow Alfred Gray to answer questions of interference in a judicial matter in a court of law
5. Why did the Cabinet of the Bahamas agree to conceal the Rubis Report detailing the grave risks to residents and customers in the Marathon area
6.Who owns the garbage trucks being operated by the Ministry of the Environment and what happened to those left in place by the FNM
7. How has the Urban Renewal massive budget been spent over the last three years?
The PLP Cabinet does not feel that they must comply with the rules that the rest of us must live by. The FNM has long been held to a different standard and we accept that responsibility.
We in the FNM will not sit by idly while leaders with questionable character attempt to smear the opposition and private citizens who dare demand accountability from the PLP. We will not be bullied or silenced but will push back.
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