The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

SOUTH Beach MP Cleola Hamilton yesterday said she did not “feel safe” in the House of Assembly in the presence of Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins, due to his “spontaneous outbursts and erratic behaviour” in Parliament.

She also questioned Dr Rollins regarding the source of his funding when he campaigned in his constituency at the 2012 general election.

In the House yesterday, Ms Hamilton urged Dr Rollins to reveal to the Bahamian people who sponsored his campaign, suggesting that it was Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard who footed the bill.

“The spontaneous outbursts and erratic behaviour orchestrated by the member is cause for great concern,” she said. “The law guarantees me safety in my work place. Mr Speaker, I don’t feel safe in here, I don’t. I don’t feel safe in this place.”

She added: “I ask the member for Fort Charlotte, who sponsored your campaign for Fort Charlotte? You (Rollins) claim, Mr Speaker, that Mr Nygard paid for the t-shirts for the PLP. Are they the same t-shirts that you used to campaign in? Tell the Bahamian people then who sponsored your campaign,” Ms Hamilton said.

However, Dr Rollins denied knowledge of the source of funding while he campaigned, saying that he did not learn Mr Nygard purchased the party’s shirts until after the Progressive Liberal Party won the election.

However, the MP said the t-shirts worn by his team with “Andre Rollins Fort Charlotte Force” printed on them were personally funded. He added that Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller was also unaware of the source of the PLP’s campaign funds.

Ms Hamilton said: “On the morning of Friday March 18, 2016, during the national news, a live television interview with one Peter Nygard, Mr Nygard said on the national news that ‘I gave the PLP donations to help with the campaign and I gave the FNM donations to help with their campaign’.

“We play political games and we should not be doing that. Not at this time. Too much people are out there suffering for the foolishness that goes on in this place and I am sick and I am tired of it. The FNM is in a difficult place and no amount of ranting and raving by this member will change it,” Ms Hamilton added.

“The FNM has a record when their backs are against the wall of manufacturing and sensationalising stories to distract and smear the PLP government’s record and to create doubt in the minds of the people. They tried it twice before and this time they have become more inventive. This time it backfired and we have to call it what it is.”

Dr Rollins responding by claiming ignorance as to the source of funding of the party’s t-shirts because no member of the PLP informed him of Mr Nygard’s involvement as he was campaigning for the 2012 election.

“I want the record to reflect that the t-shirts used by me and members of my campaign team that had Andre Rollins on them, Fort Charlotte Force, those were t-shirts that were purchased by myself for that campaign.

“Now I did not know at that time as a new member of the PLP the source of the t-shirts. After the fact, after the election, I did learn about Mr Peter Nygard’s purchase of these t-shirts for the PLP’s use during the course of the campaign. I plead ignorance because the members of the party, if they knew, I surely was not one of those individuals. I am told by the member for Tall Pines that he did not know that Nygard purchased these t-shirts.

“But you know if she wants to blame me because the party did not see fit to advise of Nygard’s influence, I’ll have to accept it. But those that had my name on it they were paid for by me,” Dr Rollins said.

Dr Rollins joined the FNM last year.