The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

KNOWN for his political quips and acerbic attacks on his opponents, Bradley Roberts will go down in the annals of history as a fierce defender of the Progressive Liberal Party.

Born on Christmas Day in 1943, Roberts first emerged in public life in the 1977 general election as a candidate for the now abolished Shirlea Constituency opposing the late Sir Roland Symonette.

While he did not win that race, he emerged victorious in a by-election following the death of Shadrach Morris, the incumbent in the old Grants Town constituency in 1982, and remained a member of Parliament until 2007, when he did not seek re-election.

Roberts was sworn in as minister of works and utilities on May 7, 2002 – five days after the PLP’s victory in the 2002 general election, an election he was instrumental in helping his party secure.

Roberts retired from front-line politics in October 2017 and was elected chairman emeritus during the PLP’s special PLP convention on July 28, 2018.

His heyday was the second term of the Ingraham administration after his party’s landslide defeat in the 1997 election made him one of the most senior PLP members of Parliament.

Known for his fiery contributions and leaks of damaging information about the FNM, he was appointed PLP chairman for the first time in 2000 and gained his familiar moniker, “Big Bad Brad,” during that era.

Opposing former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, Roberts wrote in his 2016 autobiography, galvanised him during that period.

“In many quarters, I was described as the ‘one man wrecking team’ of the Free National Movement,” he recounted. “It became my passion… anytime I got up to speak, supporters had attached the theme music, ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ to my attacks on the FNM, and suddenly I was given the title, ‘Big Bad Brad!’

“This stuck after radio personality Steve McKinney, in a bombastic and powerful tone, described me as such one fateful day.”

Not only was he known for his keen political sense, but he was a successful businessman.

It was the 1970s when Roberts, along with other black businessmen, established themselves as “The Sunshine Boys” and it was then that he was thought to have started to amass great wealth.

His autobiography also states: “The 1970s was just all right for The Sunshine Boys” although much of the group had dropped out and a fortune had been lost before the first dollar of profit was made.

“When we formed the Sunshine Group, our commitment to certain philosophies almost cornered us,” Roberts wrote. “We ran the risk of being held hostage by our politics. So I said to the guys ‘you know we need to identify other strategic partners on the other side of the political divide so that if the government ever changes, we will have partners on both sides who can protect our interests, no matter the political climate.’ This was just good business sense.”

He said their pattern had been no different from some of the fraternal orders, which pooled resources and went into business together in a pre-recession United States.

The group first started with the Twin Theatre on Blue Hill Road, an original business concept in the Bahamas.

Later “The Sunshine Boys” acquired land on Carmichael Road where the late Pastor Myles Munroe built his church, and took over the Golden Gates Theatre from George Wilson.

Roberts wrote that two of the groups endeavours were successful and the group went on to invest in other smaller ventures around town.

“Despite all the political polarisation and rancor leading up to independence, it resulted in a profit boom for many who though despising PLP policies, were quick to take advantage of the new spending power of the emerging black middle class,” he wrote.

“Bahamians now had better jobs and increasing amounts of disposable income to spend around town. The Sunshine Boys saw the potential and soon other business opportunities presented themselves to us.”

He gained work experience at The Bahamas Telecommunications Company and at Caribbean Motors Ltd, before entering the beverage industry, where he was a senior executive for 37 years.

He held a directorship of Burns House Ltd, Commonwealth Brewery Ltd, Associated Bahamian Distillers, and Autos Breweries (1979) Ltd, Bethel Robertson & Co Ltd, Arawak Homes Ltd, Eleuthera Properties Ltd, Sunshine Holdings Ltd, Freeport Oil Company Ltd, In-flight Kitchen Ltd and a number of other Bahamian companies.

He also served as chairman of Sunshine Holdings Company Ltd, president of Burns House Ltd, vice-chairman of General Bahamian Companies Ltd, and vice-president and director of Freeport Oil Ltd.

Mr Roberts was a member of the Royal Eagle Lodge and a member and past president of the Rotary Club of West Nassau.