Prime Minister Perry Christie.
By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Chief Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Perry Christie yesterday sent a strong message to sidelined Free National Movement MPs Richard Lightbourn and Hubert Chipman to “resist with all your might” any attempt by the party’s leadership to end their careers.
Mr Christie told the MPs, both of whom have not been offered a renomination, that no one person should be able to dictate whether their political careers were finished, adding that the decision should come from the electorate.
He also accused Opposition Leader Dr Hubert Minnis of keeping the pair in the dark on nonpartisan hurricane relief efforts organised for their constituencies, a move he attributed to Dr Minnis’ political agenda during his closing remarks in the House of Assembly yesterday.
Mr Chipman represents St Anne’s and Mr Lightbourn represents Montagu.
Mr Christie said: “The intention was to put you in the position where your constituents would have seen you delivering supplies, information, doing all the things you should do. The intention was to strengthen the delivery of services in this country.
“I directed NEMA, based on personal experience, that every member of the Parliament should have a new team assembled, a multifaceted, multidisciplinary team assembled, and to call the leader of the Opposition and advise.
“[Minnis] had three and he didn’t tell his members. Now I understand there’s infamy here in the ranks, clearly he did not count the member for Montagu and he did not count the member for St Anne’s.”
Mr Christie added: “When we said that we wanted to establish the teams, it was a nonpolitical decision to be able to empower the member of Parliament to lead the way, to be able to bring quick relief, and to move out of any thought of political manoeuvring because the MP would have the carriage of what is happening in there.
“Much to my surprise, I’m in here having to listen to members tell me they didn’t know, that’s not fair to the government, not fair to the process, that is wrong,” Mr Christie added.
Standing on a point of order yesterday, Dr Minnis said he immediately called persons responsible to ensure that constituency association chairmans sent the relevant individuals. The Killarney MP said that he was informed that his instructions were carried out, and as such, did not know why the information did not get out to the respective MPs.
Yesterday, Mr Christie said: “Leadership is required here. I have not been to Centreville because I thought it important to go every other place with my colleagues in their constituency. I then thought when I was out there watching two social workers come out with a couple pieces of tarp, that we have to do better, a more organised approach.
“Let us empower the leader of the Opposition to put his colleagues in the position to do it. But I am not surprised when I think of it. The leader [Dr Minnis] has other plans for St Anne’s and Montagu.
“I have been in that position before in my life,” he said.
“Resist with all your might,” he urged the opposition MPs. “No one ought to be able to arrogate unto themselves when your career is finished. The people must do that.”
Mr Chipman and Mr Lightbourn are among six FNM MPs who threatened to have Governor General Dame Marguerite remove Dr Minnis as leader of the Official Opposition if the party did not set an early convention date.
They - along with Loretta Butler-Turner, Neko Grant, Theo Neilly and Dr Andre Rollins - also wrote a memo to the party’s Central Council earlier this year outlining Dr Minnis’ weaknesses and failures as a leader.
Comments
sealice 8 years ago
Mr Christie told the MPs, both of whom have not been offered a renomination, that no one person should be able to dictate whether their political careers were finished, adding that the decision should come from the electorate.
WTF Chrispy the electorate has already told you to carry ya hip on more then 1 occasion and yet there you are still getting fat off the public treasury. You should listen to the electorate and step down!!!!
Honestman 8 years ago
Mr. PM, don't you think you have enough to concern yourself with without having to comment on FNM matters? The electorate is sick and tired of you and your failed government. Bring on May 2017.
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years ago
This arsehole Christie continues to play dirty politics as usual at a time when many people are struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Crooked Christie tells his lackey John Rolle at the Central Bank to relax protective lending restrictions imposed on the local banks so that all public sector employees (and only such employees) can receive new loans of up to $5,000 (possibly even more) without each borrower having to demonstate a need for the new loan as a result of their home or other personal property having been damaged in significant way by Hurricane Matthew. Here we see Crooked Christie favouring one group of Bahamians (public sector employees) over all other Bahamians in an effort to corruptly buy votes at the expense of the honest hardworking employees and employers in the private sector (assuming these loans will be made by the banks with the support of some kind of government guarantee that they will be repaid). This is a gross abuse of our Westminster Parliamentary System of Government!
Reality_Check 8 years ago
You have only touched on the surface of the real problem my friend. Most public sector employees are buried in debt thanks to the partnership that exists between our corrupt government and the major consumer lending banks like Commonwealth Bank, Fidelity Bank and Bank of The Bahamas. Ordinarily a borrower's total monthly payments in respect of all loans received should not exceed one-third (33%) of their total monthly income. This rule of thumb in most civilized developed countries is often referred to as the debt service ratio. But our corrupt government, our Central Bank and our greedy consumer lending banks have conspired over the years to allow public sector employees to take on grossly excessive amounts of consumer debt, with the current average debt service ratio of a civil servant being well above 60%. The greedy consumer lending banks are content to take on this grossly excessive lending risk because the government has committed to them that the loans will be serviced and repaid by way of direct salary deductions and the borrowers will be kept on the government's payroll until the loans have been fully repaid. This is one of the key reasons why our country suffers from a very bloated public sector headcount.....our government cannot even fire known abusive and non-productive employees as long as they are heavily indebted to the consumer lending banks, and our civil servants are well aware of this fact; hence their willingness to take on much more debt than they should as it provides job security. The government of course sees all of this as a way to "buy" loyal votes from employees throughout the public sector. For their part, the greedy consumer lending banks reap enormous profits from the outrageous interest rates they charge on their consumer loans to public sector employees. In our system of government the Central Bank was intended to play a independent regulatory role free of government interference whereby borrowers would be protected from the predatory lending practices of the consumer lending banks. But that protective mechanism failed as a result of successive weak and incompetent Central Bank governors like James Smith, Wendy Craigg and now John Rolle, all of whom remain loyal lackeys of the corrupt Christie-led government to this day. To hear John Rolle recently announce the further relaxing of debt service ratios that should be imposed by the Central Bank on the consumer lending banks made me wince! This great conspiracy explains too why the local banks are willing to insanely extend additional credit facilities to our essentially bankrupt country in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew and why they can continue charging all of us exorbitant bank charges and other bank fees. AND THAT MY FRIEND IS THE ENTIRE BIG PICTURE BEHIND THE GREAT CONSPIRACY OF GREED AND CORRUPTION THAT EXISTS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT, THE CENTRAL BANK AND THE MAJOR CONSUMER LENDING BANKS.
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years ago
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DDK 8 years ago
WOW!! Frighteningly enlightening.
arussell 8 years ago
Wow!! every informative ....
TalRussell 8 years ago
My Dear Torn Over The PM's Comments, PLP and Red Movement Comrades. Until the nearest to a UBP old guard constituency MP Montagu's Richard, learnt of the prime ministers tubal reversal surgery offer, I'm willing to offer greater than numbers odds that Richard had done in-private concluded that his chances for ever running for any political party come the 2017 General had been eliminated...then comes along an offer from none other than the leader of the governing PLP party.
You know what I keep saying. Who of sane mind could have possibly made the one up, whereby the PLP PM and the most UBP's Montagu's Richard, would be running together on the same party's ticket come the 2017?
Talk about peddling your back from the political graveyard! Minnis missed his political boat on this one. He should have offered to put Richard in back seat his car to personally deliver the member for Montagu to the Churchill Building.
http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2016…
OMG 8 years ago
On the other hand surely responsible adults and professionals like teachers should be able to adjust their spending and borrowing within sensible limits but to often they purchase to have that shiny new expensive car or the annual cruise before paying their bills. Granted easy loans cater to the less fiscally minded but the banks can't be entirely blamed for consumer overspending.
sheeprunner12 8 years ago
True sign of a deluded person ............ unbelievable!!!!!!!!! ............unthinkable!!!!!!!!! How many careers have been wrecked by the PLP in the past 50 years?????????
John 8 years ago
Perry Christie is only trying to cover his ASSets. He has more riding on Election 2017 than any other Bahamian inside or outside the Bahamas. Adding Lightburne and Chipman to his team increases his chances of being prime minister for another five years. Giving him time to do whatever he feels he needs to do to 'fix his legacy' and not go out as the most fumbling and bumbling prime minister in the history of the Bahamas. The prime minister who administered over the most corrupt government in the modern history of the Bahamas. Bah Mar is still there as testament. Among other things. in the the main time Minnis is as lost as a jay bird in the snow. A Bahamian in Minnesota in a snow storm. He is still cuttingcomrades legs off at the knees. Rather than rallying the troops and getting them battle ready for election he is still cutting them off at the knee. And making babbling publicly. To the point that even die hard FNM's and questioning his ability to lead, especially into an election.
TalRussell 8 years ago
http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2016…
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