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Gray backs Christie over Lightbourne intervention

As of Thursday, March 20, 2014

RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

MICAL MP V Alfred Gray yesterday saluted Prime Minister Perry Christie for intervening with a local bank to help value-added tax coordinator Ishmael Lightbourne save his home.

Last week Mr Christie revealed that after learning about Mr Lightbourne’s financial situation, he called the managing director of a local bank and asked her what he “as Prime Minister” could do “to stop (Mr Lightbourne) from being put out of his house today?”

In response, critics and opposition members condemned his intervention as an inappropriate “abuse of power,” one that is not done to aid other Bahamians who face home repossession.

Mr Gray, responding to that criticism in the House of Assembly, said: “If the Prime Minister saves one mortgage owner from losing his house, that ought to be praised and not to be condemned.”

His position was  challenged by Montagu MP Richard Lightbourne, who asked: “I want to know if the member for MICAL is suggesting the Prime Minister is offering to give that same offer to the thousands of people in the same position as Mr Lightbourne?”

“If we as MPs are be honest with ourselves,” said Mr Gray, “we know that constituents come for help and sometimes we do offer whatever assistance we could.”

He added that Mr Christie did not go out seeking to help Mr Lightbourne, but was near him when a “bailiff came with papers” concerning Mr Lightbourne’s matter.

“The Prime Minister,” said Mr Gray, “didn’t go out looking to help. The bailiff was there and he said what can I do to help? If that is not a good Samaritan attitude, you tell me what is. How can that be wrong? He wasn’t going looking for anyone in particular. He responded as any compassionate man would respond in that circumstance.”

When he spoke in Parliament last week, Mr Christie said: “I knew he was challenged and didn’t have any money. I knew he had descended to the bottom, one who had been at the top and I knew he was entirely to blame for the error of judgment that he made. But this is a man with a wife and children, a wife who was grievously ill. I called the managing director of the bank and asked the managing director, she was travelling, I said please call me. She called me. (I said) what can I do as prime minister to stop this man from being put out his house today?”

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Comments

proudloudandfnm 10 years, 7 months ago

Man are these guys just stupid? If we had impeachment procedures Perry would be at trial right now....

realfreethinker 10 years, 7 months ago

My sentiments exactly. They just dont get it . No one is accountable for their actions> Anything goes with the regime

bookiedread 10 years, 7 months ago

Wow. Wouldn't all the people whose homes have been repossessed and those who don't qualify for the government's mortgage relief program (That's everyone), wish they had a friend like Mr. Christie. The PM's actions are shameful.

spoitier 10 years, 7 months ago

Christie wasn't around when the Balif should up at those people house, so there is a difference. Birdie would agree with this.

CANDACESCOTT 10 years, 7 months ago

they dont care and will support each other maddness...Bahamians are on their own. I expect not else from these men!

CANDACESCOTT 10 years, 7 months ago

Gray them so full of themselves. But the only one to blame for their attitude are BAHAMIANS, who show love for these people about themselves and their children.

spoitier 10 years, 7 months ago

I was wondering if he came up for air after making that statement.

B_I_D___ 10 years, 7 months ago

Anyone speak to the bank manager? Hearing rumors head office in Toronto has recalled her...chances are high she will lose her job. Guess that is one less foreigner working in the Bahamas...job well done Mr. Christie!

B_I_D___ 10 years, 7 months ago

What gets me even more now that more info is coming out on this is that it wasn't just a bank threat...they had gone to court...the COURT sent the bailiff to repossess, he directly intervened in a court ordered legal action. Outrageous!!

B_I_D___ 10 years, 7 months ago

Willing to bet that Mr. Lightbourn is on that 'special list' that was discussed in another tabloid so that he doesn't have to pay his utility bills...

Honeybun 10 years, 7 months ago

Unbelievable...unthinkable!

Honestman 10 years, 7 months ago

PGC said "what can I do as prime minister to stop this man from being put out his house today?”

This is precisely the point - there is nothing he should have been be able to do IN HIS CAPACITY AS PRIME MINISTER. His role as PM is to serve the country - not individuals. Mr. Christie still doesn't get it and clearly neither does Alfred Gray. Hardly surprising, the order of the day within the PLP is stick up for the Party regardless of the rights or wrongs of a matter.

CANDACESCOTT 10 years, 7 months ago

sadly the PM think he was boasting about something good....totally and completely clueless!

spoitier 10 years, 7 months ago

Because he have a high percentage of people who doesn't see the wrong in it.

moncurcool 10 years, 7 months ago

I can only surmise that these guys are trying to get Perry kicked out. I find it hard to believe that they seriously believe that what he did was acceptable as a leader of a country.

TalRussell 10 years, 7 months ago

Comrades what have we learned from MP Alfred? If you is broke and your name happens be Ishmael and the Bailiffs are going be showing up with papers to repossess your home, make damn certain they show up and interrupt while you are in a meeting with the prime minister of Bahamaland.

realfreethinker 10 years, 7 months ago

WOW

digimagination 10 years, 7 months ago

This is a HUGE mistake on Christie's part, and it will come back to haunt him. What is he going to say to some other (poor) Bahamian 'in difficulties' who comes a-knocking on his door asking for assistance?

Bahamianpride 10 years, 7 months ago

Wow.. I find his comments offensive, he's calling us all idiots to even attempt that defense or spin.. He could have just put the mic to his ass and farted something better.

JohnDoes 10 years, 7 months ago

Very disturbing. We must be honest with ourselves that, Alfred Gray will never oppose Christie. He is part of PGC's government/entourage. They are just beating around the bush, talking about all of this 'good samaritan' bull skate. This is outrageous, why do these PLP's encourage the atrocious/embarrassing actions of PGC? Is he that arrogant that he cannot accept sensible advice from hmm, the 'people' that he 'serves'? There needs to be a limit to the amount of terms one can serve as head of a government. It is obvious the effects of PGC's stroke and age is now catching up with him, he's slipping. This government is narcissistic, plain and simple. It dont take a smart person to see where PGC is wrong, so why does he feel the need to engage himself in such trivial issues? If he is going to intervene and clear Lightbourne, there is no doubt in this world as to why he should not do the same for every last Bahamian citizen in the same position. You dont just select and choose who you help. You make decisions that is supposed to benefit everyone as a whole. Many persons are without jobs, that possess the same or similar qualifications as Mr. Lightbourne, and he could easily be replaced. If Lightbourne cannot take care of his own priorities, how does it make him fit for his current position in the Ministry? This is more proof that cronies saturate the government, and they will never give an 'honest' man a chance and they will never be honest with the people. All the PLP does is cover up their mistakes with lame excuses, and we are the alleged 'fools' that will never ever know the TRUTH because there is no FOI.

sheeprunner12 10 years, 7 months ago

Perry, VAlfred Gray and the other "merry men" of the Cabinet belong in the same outside toilet hole somewhere in the back of the Government House.

birdiestrachan 10 years, 7 months ago

This is a typical case of follow the Leader. Minnis says it is wrong so it is wrong. Mr. Christie talked about Mr. Lightbourne on the house floor , because he was being crucifed in the press. Mr. Lightbourne must have made arrangement with the bank as to how he will pay for his property. You can not save persons property if they do not have a plan as to how they will pay.

ThisIsOurs 10 years, 7 months ago

No birdie, ethics rules say it's wrong. You know, standards, principles?

sheeprunner12 10 years, 7 months ago

Perry, VAlfred Gray and the other "merry men" of the Cabinet belong in the same outside toilet hole somewhere in the back of the Government House.

jlcandu 10 years, 7 months ago

The Opposition and the people of this country should be screaming out for the PM's resignation as well as his band of merry men, since they obviously don't understand what "conflict of interest" means nor do they understand what "ethics" means.

Since this PM is clueless how to conduct himself or what the office of PM represents, he needs to do the right thing and resign. If not, the idiots in the House, in order to save face, need to have a "No Confidence" vote in the PM and remove him immediately before he does any further damage to this country and its reputation.

spoitier 10 years, 7 months ago

Screaming out for what? To loose your voice and get horse, I would say if it is one thing all Bahamians could come to a common agreement on is no PM will resign for any reason in the Bahamas, unless they just get tired of the job and decide too.

TalRussell 10 years, 7 months ago

Only one thing stands in the way of PM Christie remaining in office long enough to qualify for his PM's pension.....Ishmael.

All4One 10 years, 7 months ago

This is truly troubling. Firstly, because Mr. Christie thought nothing of appointing a person of questionable character like Mr. Lightbourne to such a pivotal role in the first place; simply because he was a part of his inner circle - a trend we continue to see over and over again - Stephen Seymour, Leon Williams, Sean McWeeney, etc. Secondly, after Mr. Lightbourne's background came to light, rather than taking the opportunity to correct his initial error, he jumps to his defense and further maligns his OWN character in the process. Moreover, Mr. Christie seems to believe he was portraying himself as the hero of this entire farce. Could he really be that clueless??? Finally, and perhaps most disappointing for me, is that V. Alfred Gray saw fit to defend this unethical behavior. I had hopes that Mr. Gray was one of the few MPs who was less inclined to be swayed by this ridiculous tendency to support his comrades' actions, no matter how asinine (a la Bradley Roberts).

Unfortunately, this flagrant disregard for the law and basic ethics, speaks to the character (or lack thereof) of our elected officials, not just to our citizenry, but to the world at large.

spoitier 10 years, 7 months ago

Only in the Bahamas, you would think that if a person have financial problems, they shouldn't have anything to do with leading any task that involve money. If the blind lead the blind we all know what is going to happen.

birdiestrachan 10 years, 7 months ago

This is much :"ado about nothing" but I suppose you all need a cause so carry on. this is not a criminal matter. No crime has been committed..

newcitizen 10 years, 7 months ago

In any real democracy, this is a crime. This 'much ado' is about corruption and the unethical dealing of the people who are supposed to be leading this country.

TalRussell 10 years, 7 months ago

I am not against the PM quietly going about to help a fellow Comrade Bahamalander or even a resident. It's more about this entitlement mindset which seems so prevalent among some PLP government members and hang-oners. I sat in Pop Symonette's shipard office during a private visit while he was Premier and listened as he made a call to a bank manger to stall an immediate loan recall on a constituents small business. I also sat in cabinet minister Milo Butler's office on East Bay Street during a personal visit when he called PM Pindling, asking the PM if you could intervene over the politics being played-out with against a UBP constituent obtaining their business license. But Pindling and Pop Symonette never stood up in the People's House of Assembly to boldly tell all about their actions.

Emac 10 years, 7 months ago

Very interesting bit of history Tal. This shows that you have been on both sides of the fence. How in god's name did you end up supporting these modern day pirates or the People's Lousy Party?

ThisIsOurs 10 years, 7 months ago

Perry has a self aggrandizement problem. I'm almost certain Lightbourne did not appreciate his personal business being bandied about in the house so that PGC could present himself as a saint. He did the same thing at a funeral a few weeks ago, publicly proclaiming how he was helping the family...the family don't want their personal business on the street...???? the visit to the pope, all about him, the visit to Washington, all about him. People who do good for doing good sake have no desire to tell of their good deeds in the public square.

JohnDoes 10 years, 7 months ago

dont forget those grands of our money paid in Atlanta to be recognized for Civil Rights.

sheeprunner12 10 years, 7 months ago

This is just shameful.................... can you imagine Perry standing up and delivering a speech on ETHICS in the Cayman Islands after what he has done since May 2012?????? gambling, Bimini, police, VAT, Ishmael, BTC, NIB, BEC, ZNS, etc ...................... SHAMEFUL

ThisIsOurs 10 years, 7 months ago

Shameless...from the church yard to Nygard

EasternGate 10 years, 7 months ago

I don't expect anything principled from Alfred (riding Miss Daisy) Gray. He wants to remain in charge of Local Government so that he can travel all over the islands free of charge, and also meet "friends". The government has a policy that in order for one to secure a Government contract, one must not owe NIB or any other govt dept. A family islander cannot get his business license if he in arrears by $200.00...........How in hell can these bastards justify a shit like Lightbourne owing govt for decades, awarding him $120.00 a year?

JohnDoes 10 years, 7 months ago

The cronies of course! No FOI or transparency. If we the people knew these kinds of things before hand many in government will not be there.

ThisIsOurs 10 years, 7 months ago

Riding Miss Daisy??....was she the lady in the back seat of the car?

JohnDoes 10 years, 7 months ago

I cant believe wikipedia, credits this man as implementing a Mortgage Relief Plan when it clearly failed. I know wiki is submitted by users and we all have the ability to edit this information, however, Im afraid if anyone tries, the Police will be knocking down their door in the morning for treason.

ohdrap4 10 years, 7 months ago

Wikipedia right, it was successfully implemented for one constituent; Ishmael lighbourne

sheeprunner12 10 years, 7 months ago

This government is a poor example of the Westminster system............. someone please give our Head of State a call

jackbnimble 10 years, 7 months ago

The Westminster System is what has us in this mess. The people who voted the Government in cannot recall them.

pablojay 10 years, 7 months ago

I have blogged on this subject before and was extremely critical of the prime minister, but i have had a change of heart, albeit temporarily,depending on the result that i obtain. Hear me on this: almost three years ago i was called in by my supervisor and told that the new early retirement age ,which previously was at sixty,has been reduced to fifty seven, which i was at the time and that it was voluntary. I told him that my last son had one more year in high school, with college to follow ,so i therefore was not prepared to accept it at that time (understandable i think). He said that if i wanted to stay it was okay ,since it was completely voluntary.Within ten days,i was called to the office and told that i was being laid off and was given my severance package. Fast forward to 2014, son in college, unemployed, funds dwindling rapidly and this Ishmael Lightbourne thing came up. A LIGHT WAS BORN in my head! I have a relative who knows the PM personally! I will tell her to call the PM and inform him of my predicament ! ONE PHONE CALL AND I WOULD HAVE MY JOB BACK ! WOW! All she has to do is remind this swellheaded guy who he is and that he can do all things and also remind him of his middle initial .He would then smile ,stick his nose up in the air and say, "yes, Perry God Christie."

proudloudandfnm 10 years, 7 months ago

So. Perry call the bank AS PM to stop a court ordered eviction of a lying, 20 year tax dodging, can't afford 500 dollars a year, ex senior partner at a world famous financial firm, that was appointed as lead man on tax reform, and is currently a financial consultant to our government. And Perry is giving a speech at a forum on ethics and corruption in government? What channel does this TV show come on and when again? I gots to watch this..... Wait. This is real.... Damn....

Reality_Check 10 years, 7 months ago

Well, now you can call or write in public that the PM, Bradley Roberts, Alfred Gray, Sean McWeeny, Alfred Sears and many others like them are nothing more than common criminals, amongst other things, and not have to worry in the least about the Privy Council ever supporting a finding of libel or slander against you. What crooked SOBs - All of them!

Stapedius 10 years, 7 months ago

@ThisOurs. I absolutely agree that PGC has a self aggrandizement problem. It is shameful for him to present himself as some saviour in all this. I'm beginning to question the mental faculties of the PM. He has made some of the most amateur political mistakes I have ever seen. He walks right into stupid situations and doesn't appear to know how to resolve them. In both his administrations the Cabinet has been out of control. No one says you must be a dictator, but for crying out loud keep these people in check. Everyone saying what they want, when then want.

asiseeit 10 years, 7 months ago

The perception that The PRIME MINISTER is giving special favors to a few good friends is intolerable, the office would be totally discredited. In the Bahamas, our PRIME MINISTER brags about giving special favors to his good friends. Lets defend him! The question is, are you a good friend? If not, like 85% of the Bahamians out there, do yo think you stand a chance at getting a government that has the Nation at heart?

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