Many years ago, when the Hon. Paul L. Adderley was a cabinet minister and Attorney-General in one of the old PLP administrations, he was alleged to have said that if he were to do his duty, via-a-vie, the recommended Prosecutions made by a Commission of Inquiry, he would never again be able to get a PLP nomination. He never distanced himself from these alleged remarks, in a public forum.
Needless to say, there appeared to have been ‘selective’ Prosecutions and no one ever went to jail or was even convicted. Adderley is now creased right up there with the new PLP and is co-chairman of the Constitutional Commission and apparently, an unofficial advisor and confidant to Mr. Christie.
Back in the 1980’s Sir Lynden had cause to fire both Christie and Ingraham for insubordination and a refusal to tow the party line. A. Loftus Roker, an enigmatic Minister of Immigration under the old PLP, boldly stated at a convention that: “Corruption is rocking the PLP to its very foundation……” Roker is now history. Sir Lynden has crossed over the Jordan.
Christie now holds sway as Primus Inter Pares, and some of the figures mentioned in Commission of Inquiry are prominent in his new administration.
Crime and punishment should and must know of no discrimination. Double standards are the cause of severe sociological dislocation in The Bahamas today. The boy with a joint of marijuana gets a year in jail but the DEU and some of its rogue officers cuddle the known dealer?
Christie made the most telling and profound statement at an airport press conference. In responding to allegations of drug money funding the PLP’s campaign, Christie said that he wished that Turnquest would leave such allegations alone because he, Christie, did not want to bring up the allegations against Turnquest “as he is married to my cousin…..”
We were shocked at this unguarded admission. Does this mean that a drug dealer, who may be Christie’s cousin or relative would not be touched by the police because of familial connections?
Is the possibility of ‘ cloaking’ one’s political friends and relatives a part of the modus operandi of both the old and the new PLP? What has his familial connection, albeit through marriage, with Turnquest got to do with the price of grits?
If Christie and Bradley Roberts (the latter was all over the place hollering about corruption when in opposition) know of evidence of possible corruption against they are obliged, as persons sworn to uphold the law, to go to the police. No more, no less. Let the chips fall where they may.
Christie is to be roundly condemned for his statement. We The Small Business Agency, fear no man and we look for no political favours. In short, we sill hold Christie’s feet to the fire even if we get ‘scorched.’
Yours, etc.,
Godfrey Collie
A Letter To The Editor, The Nassau Guardian
