Marsh Harbour, ABACO ﾗ Seven months ago he relinquished his seat in the Senate after claiming that Prime Minister Perry Christie had refused to act upon receiving information regarding corruption in his cabinet. Then one week later he severed ties with the party he had fought for (even at the risk of his life) for over 30 years after reading what he perceived to be a physical threat posted on the pro-Progressive Liberal Party website: bahamasuncensored.com.
Now Edison Key is speaking out in support of Mohammed Harajchi ﾗ the Iranian-born billionaire who sent shock waves through the country last week when he held a press conference to reveal details on his multi-million dollar funding of the PLP 2002 election campaign.
“When you help a government like that, I can’t see them stabbing you in the back,” said Mr Key. “But I can understand because I know what they did to me after 30-something years of hard work, dedication and loyalty, and I’m not surprised at all.”
‘Lack of appreciation’
Speaking with the Guardian on Tuesday at his Abaco home, Mr Key said he believed “every word” Mr Harajchi said about the $10 million he had given the party and individual ministers (then candidates) in the run-up to the election.
“Just think of Mr Harajchi: [He] gives financial support for the party and then he is called a criminal, a terrorist… And just like myself, the situation with me, everybody else is a liar except them (members of the Christie administration).
Mr Key said Cabinet Ministers who called for the revocation of Mr Harajchi’s permanent residency in The Bahamas were making “a terrible mistake. I think that will not send a good message [and] cause other investors to look negatively at The Bahamas.”
Implications
The way the government treats Mr Harajchi could have serious global consequences, said Mr Key.
He said it was a shame that after two commissions of inquiry, corruption was a stigma the PLP could not get away from, and “the Harajchi incident did not help.” The former PLP senator said the information Harajchi revealed was damning for the government in that it erased any doubt from the minds of Bahamians who did not believe him. “The man put a cheque on the wall there for $100,000 and indicated that 90 per cent of the ministers came to him for help including the Prime Minister!” he said.
However, Mr Key said, much of the money given by Mr Harajchi and other contributors did not go toward the 2002 campaign. “And they did not have money for persons like myself. Not one penny to help me in my campaign, not one penny. So where did all the millions of dollars go? Where did it go? In time I guess people will understand.”
No regrets
Mr Key said he did not regret resigning in the fashion that he did and if faced with the same situation would repeat his action. “It was my duty to bring that(corruption in the cabinet) to the attention of the Prime Minister. What really shocked me was the way I was treated after that. I was no more,” he said.
As he has done since his controversial resignation Mr Key maintained that he had documents to support his claims. “And Mr Christie knows that.”
He said he had not responded to the Prime Minister’s challenge “to put up or shut up or go to the police,” but that he remained positive that the amount of money that the questionable contract entailed was $38 million and not $15 million as Mr Christie had claimed.
“Greed and corruption” were now the call words of the present government said Mr Key, adding that good governance meant helping the small man and not seeking personal wealth. “But I know this is not the PLP I once knew, this is a new PLP ﾗ ‘The New PLP’. And if you notice they don’t deal with anything less than a billion dollars. This is a billion dollar government, a billion dollar project. But eventually it will catch up to them.”
Mr Harajchi claimed last Wednesday that he provided $10 million in campaign financing for Prime Minister Perry Christie and 90 per cent of his cabinet in the run-up to the 2002 election, but left open the question of whether he gave Mr Christie $500,000 to renovate Mr Christie’s Cable Beach home. Mr Christie later denied the suggestion, threatening to cause an inquiry into the billionaire’s personal accounts .
Meanwhile leader of the opposition Free National Movement, Senator Tommy Turnquest has called for Mr Christie to make public his own banking records in the wake of the allegations.
Raymond Kongwa, The Nassau Guardian
