The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

NEWLY independent Fort Charlotte MP Andre Rollins will not make any sudden moves to join the Free National Movement as the dust settles on his explosive resignation from the governing party.

Reflecting on his tortured run as a member of the Progressive Liberal Party and political future, Dr Rollins said he still found the official opposition lacking and shot down rumours that he was in talks to “hitch his wagon” to the FNM.

However, he revealed that he was contacted by persons whom he believed had the intent of co-ordinating a meeting with the FNM’s leadership.

“I did not have any discussions with the FNM in terms of giving anybody any assurance that I would be joining them,” he told The Tribune on Wednesday night, following his resignation. “I did express to some persons that I knew that I was on shaky ground, but I told them that I was going to continue to fight from where I was.

“I refused to convene with persons who were in the leadership of the organisation for the mere fact that I did not wish to be used, not suggesting that they were certain to do that, but I didn’t even want to put myself in a position where I could be accused of having met with someone privately in the leadership of the organisation, because the PLP deserves to know that I’m not doing anything to undermine their position.”

During his fiery contribution on Wednesday night, Dr Rollins repeatedly underscored the need for a stronger and unified opposition; however, he clarified that this did not signal his intent to join such a movement, as he considered himself an independent.

While he welcomed the solutions presented in FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis’ budget contribution, he cautioned that the opposition leader could not expect to “just watch the governing party implode” and then stand with his party as beneficiaries of its demise.

“From my point of view I’m not going to be immediately joining the FNM, I like many other Bahamians want to see some positive things start to happen,” he added.

Dr Rollins insisted that he was only compelled to resign during his budget contribution on Wednesday night after government members attempted to “shut him down” – a move he said will haunt the party.

As Speaker of the House Dr Kendal Major was leaving Parliament Wednesday night, Dr Rollins interrupted his interview to openly thank Dr Major for allowing him to speak.

That night the government had moved for an abrupt end to the budget debate, causing Dr Rollins to rise in protest because he had not made his contribution.

Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis, who put the question to end the debate, stressed that under House rules the motion could not be stopped.

Government members also maintained that Dr Rollins had missed an earlier opportunity to speak because he was absent from the House.

After a heated standoff, Dr Major sided with Dr Rollins and said his heart would not allow him to deny a member the opportunity to speak in Parliament.

Dr Rollins said the Speaker demonstrated that he was prepared to “buck leadership” for the sake of democracy, and proved that the system was far more important than partisan politics.

“I think it made them look very weak, and it also hurt their image far more than it was already damaged in the eyes of the public,” Dr Rollins added.

The Ft Charlotte MP said he had no regrets concerning his decision to abandon the National Democratic Party, formed in 2008, and become a standard bearer for the PLP in 2011. He said it was his divine fate and that the circumstances were ordered by God. He proclaimed that he has no skeletons to hide in the face of nasty verbal attacks against him. He cautioned hopeful young Bahamians aspiring to public service to not be discouraged by the dirty antics of some politicians.

“I genuinely thought when I joined the PLP that there would be an opportunity for me to effect change,” he said.

However, the embattled MP said he was dogged by the distrust of party members who felt that he was not a “true PLP”. Paired with constant accusations that he was complicit in the leaks of confidential party information, Dr Rollins said he opted to abstain from attending parliamentary meetings – a decision that was then interpreted as an attempt to distance himself from the party.

“I refused to go to any more meetings because if there were any leaks I wanted no part of the blame for how they ended up in the press, so people may have thought it was my way of distancing myself from the party and not having anything to do with the party.”

“I really was uncomfortable with this notion that people felt I could not be trusted because I was not a true PLP,” he said.

“If the Progressive Liberal Party is not prepared to accept new persons into its organisation, and they are only relying on people whose history from generation to generation has been that of one in alignment with the PLP, then they are not going to be a formidable institution going forward.”

Reflecting on his temperament, Dr Rollins referred to remarks by the late Dr Myles Munroe on a local talk show.

“One day he (Dr Munroe) said that to be a leader you have to be angry. Anger is good because anger means that you have a passion and you feel as though you have a purpose to make things happen and to effect change.

“So yes, I’m angry, but I’m angry for all the right reasons.”