The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

There appears to be a growing epidemic of nonsense affecting members of the PLP Government which has also been contracted by two members of the Baptist clergy in The Bahamas, Bishop Simeon Hall and Rev. Philip McPhee. They are all seemingly incapable of distinguishing the difference between decency and indecency when it comes to people of wealth.

So Prime Minister Christie, challenged to explain the familiarity exhibited between Peter Nygard and members of his Government, responds by noting that a former Prime Minister of The Bahamas was known to socialize with Sol Kerzner and the Aga Khan.

If I did not know better I could be led to believe that Mr. Christie did not know that Sol Kerzner is an international hotelier and casino operator of good repute, the owner-developer of Atlantis Resort which today employs directly and indirectly more than 7,000 Bahamian citizens and whose organization has given huge sums of money to charitable and sporting organizations during its 20-year presence in The Bahamas. His investment in The Bahamas in the early 1990s is credited with launching the rebirth and expansion of a tired, spent Bahamas tourism sector.

I would also be forced to believe that Mr. Christie is unaware that the Aga Khan is a multimillionaire philanthropist, and current religious leader of some 15 million Ismaili Muslims living in 25 countries around the world.

The Aga Khan heads a network of development agencies, the Aga Khan Development Network,(AKDN) which carries out philanthropic work in a multitude of areas including the environment, health, education, architecture, culture, microfinance, rural development, disaster reduction, the promotion of private-sector enterprise and the renewal of historic cities. AKDN agencies conduct their programmes without regard to faith, origin or gender.

Apart from his investment in a private island in the Exuma chain, the Aga Khan lent the expertise of his health organizations to the Public Hospitals Authority while that agency developed plans for the expansion and upgrade of hospital facilities in The Bahamas.

To compare either gentleman to Mr. Peter Nygard is beyond silly, it’s preposterous.

For while it is true that both Mr. Kerzner and the Aga Khan, as wealthy men developed reputations for lavish lifestyles and interest in beautiful women, neither has ever been seen parading about town with a bevy of scantily clad women or hosting licentious all-day and night parties where guests cavort in reckless abandon.

Really, comparing these responsible and socially conscientious men to Mr. Nygard would be equivalent to comparing the publisher of Hustler Magazine to the publisher of The Economist.

Please Mr. Christie, you should know better than that even if Shane Gibson and your Deputy do not.

KIRKLAND 
TURNER

Nassau,

July 18, 2013.