The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance (DNA) Deputy Leader Chris Mortimer yesterday denied claims by Bahamas National Coalition Party (BNCP) Leader Wesley Campbell that the DNA has allegedly taken ideas from the BNCP’s 25-year development plan and passed them off as its own.

Mr Mortimer, in an interview with The Tribune, said Mr Campbell should “stop trying to utilise the DNA’s name to get some sort of public traction for his party.”

Mr Mortimer further said the policy initiatives contained in the DNA’s Vision 2017 and Beyond document were developed by “experts in the field” whom the party paid “significant funds” to in 2016 to formulate, and said “no one” in the DNA “has looked at anything that (the BNCP) has done”.

Mr Mortimer was responding to claims made by Mr Campbell during a press conference at the fledgling party’s headquarters yesterday morning.

Mr Campbell claimed that a lot of the “declarative statements” the DNA has made with regards to its policy initiatives were allegedly derived directly from the BNCP’s 25-year development plan.

In particular, Mr Campbell accused Mr Mortimer of allegedly “quoting” the BNCP’s 25-year development plan while speaking at an event at the University of The Bahamas.

“If you look at the actual documentation of both parties, the DNA has been (allegedly taking) a lot of our information and putting it out as if it is theirs,” Mr Campbell alleged. “If you were at the last meeting at the University of The Bahamas, the debate that was taking place, the deputy leader of the party was actually quoting our 25-year development plan as their solution to issues affecting The Bahamas. If you go on the streets you see declarative statements that they have made, those statements come straight from our 25-year development plan.

“The DNA does not have the solutions that The Bahamas needs at this current time,” Mr Campbell added.

When contacted yesterday on the matter, Mr Mortimer said in response: “First and foremost, stop trying to utilise the DNA’s name to get some sort of public traction for his party. Nobody in the DNA - I know I certainly have never seen - no one has ever seen his so-called 25-year plan and the policies developed by the DNA were developed by experts in the field for which we have paid significant funds over the course of 2016 to develop our ideas and plans that have formed part of our vision 2017 and beyond document.

“No one has looked at his stuff. In fact, no one has looked at anything that his party has done, so I would appreciate it if he would not try to utilise the DNA’s name to try to create some sort of buzz or interest in his party.”

The BNCP recently announced its list of candidates to contest the upcoming general election, namely Mr Campbell for the Englerston seat; Reverend Andrew Stewart for Free Town; Obrian Knowles for Carmichael; Denice Wilmore for Marathon; Lorraine Arthur for Centreville; Don Lockhart for Pinewood; Ann Marie Rolle for Seabreeze; Leroy Butler for Mt Moriah; Rodney Rolle for Garden Hills; Kendal Lewis for Yamacraw; Angela Cox for Fox Hill; Barrington Usher for North Andros and the Berry Islands; Fredrick Anthony Rolle for Tall Pines; Randy Rolle for Fort Charlotte and Paul Rolle for Nassau Village.

“I think at the outset that the BNCP’s candidates need to be congratulated for showing the courage to stand up,” Mr Campbell said. “The fact that we put 15 out there is indicative of the BNCP keeping its part of an arrangement we had with several coalition parties. The fact that we have done that, and we are in strategic locations, speaks well for the party going forward.

“It’s no question that the party’s platform is an alternative to the direction the country is going. The support we’re getting from the ground indicates that there are going to be some surprises in this general elevation. In one way or the other there’s going to be a need for party’s like us to have a say in governance because it’s clear the people want not just change, but a fundamental change. And we are the only party who has put forth and articulated an alternative message for the Bahamian people.”

The BNCP was formally the Bahamas National Citizen Coalition (BNCC), an activist group established in 2013. In 2015, the BNCC transitioned to a political party and later changed its name.