The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

In October 2008, the then newest political party in the Bahamas was registered. This party was called the National Development Party (NDP) and Dr Andre Rollins was elected as its first chairperson.

Rollins gained notoriety during the 2010 Elizabeth constituency by-election following the resignation of Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Member of Parliament Malcolm Adderley. He paid his $400 deposit in $1 bills and this caused quite a stir. He was able to garner less than 100 votes in the by-election but he did deepen our democracy at the time because he was successful in having the candidates participate in a political debate, something unheard of in Bahamian politics. If my memory serves me correctly though, Dr Dwayne Sands of the Free National Movement (FNM) was not allowed to participate in the debate. Rollins was also able to disrupt a possible victory by Sands, who only lost by a handful of votes.

Rollins was, and is, still known as a fiery orator who passionately speaks up for the people. On many occasions before leaving the NDP he publicly berated then Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and then Opposition leader Perry Christie on their dismal performance in guiding and managing the Bahamian economy for successive periods of governance.

The run-up to the 2012 general election was fast approaching and in February, 2011 Rollins, who swore to never join the PLP or FNM, issued a prepared statement that he had joined the PLP. In his statement Rollins said that he was following his convictions. He also quoted: “I am also confident that notwithstanding the PLP’s imperfections, this groundbreaking party still possesses the capacity for change.”

Even though a lot of people were disappointed with Rollins leaving the NDP and being a newcomer to the PLP, he was still able to secure a nomination over long standing members and win the constituency of Fort Charlotte.

Since becoming a Member of Parliament, Rollins appears to have always spoken his mind, even when he was not in full support of his party’s beliefs. Before the gambling referendum, he criticised the process and was reeled in by Christie. He then spoke on Value Added Tax (VAT) and other pertinent issues facing the country and his conclusions were sometimes inconsistent with his party’s views.

But the straw that broke the camel’s back was two-fold. Rollins publicly criticised Christie’s leadership and said that he was tired of Christie quoting the Bible. This cost him his job as Chairman of the Gaming Board. Furthermore, he chastised the PLP and said that if the Prime Minister fired Renward Wells for signing the Letter of Intent (LOI) with Stellar Waste-to-Energy, that he would reveal the names of others just as deserving.

This caused quite an uproar in the PLP and even forced a council meeting where the Prime Minister said it was decided that Rollins has to issue a public apology to the PLP. The inference from this comment is that if Rollins does not apologise publicly then there could be consequences.

Now there are two possibilities here. Either Rollins will swim in the valley of “vomit” as his leader Christie has done before and publicly apologise or continue to follow his convictions by trying to get laws passed that are fair to the Bahamian people regardless of party lines.

Remember Rollins has already backtracked on his previously threatening language to the Prime Minister and is now saying that he does not have any information about other PLP members who might have acted inappropriately with regards to the LOI. This is a cause of grave concern for many Bahamians who had already knighted Rollins as possibly the Bahamas’ next “Moses”.

I say to Rollins that if he were to publicly apologise he would accomplish five things.

(1) a distrust by free thinking Bahamians even though this appears not to be a bad thing in Bahamian politics;

(2) a sigh of relief for the PLP who do not need any more bad press from its members;

(3) continued distrust amongst PLP parliamentarians and other high ranking PLP officials who would have to continue to work with Rollins;

(4) Rollins past criticism of the Prime Minister would come into question;

(5) Rollins would have diminished his political stock.

Secondly, if Rollins were not to apologise and remain on his current course of championing the rights of citizens, he would gain political mileage, but this will not live beyond the next general election as the PLP and the FNM will conjure up a way to end his political career. Bahamians might support Rollins now, but when the music and party starts and election season is in full mode, the mighty resources of these ingrained political parties will overwhelm Rollins and others.

Rollins was in the trenches for over two years with the NDP and he knows how difficult it would be for him to reinvent himself if he were not a part of the two major political parties. He knows the odds are stacked against him. One problem Rollins faces though is that he does not appear to have retained the admiration of his constituents and as such he knows that leaving the PLP right now would be certain political death. This is a reality that Rollins is not prepared to face at this time.

I think he gravely miscalculated the penalties for his actions and now his political life will come to an end if he does not play the right card. The veteran politician Christie has played a trump card on Rollins and Christie has the upper hand for now.

Instead of ousting Rollins, which could cause a bigger political fallout, Christie has now put the ball in Rollins’ court, with an ultimatum attached. I say that Rollins will apologise publicly as the Prime Minister and the PLP council wishes.

And he will learn how to swim in the valley of vomit.

DEHAVILLAND MOSS

Nassau,

September 26, 2014.