Prime Minister Perry Christie has strongly defended his integrity after recently coming under fire for accepting an invitation to attend an NBA game in Miami with key Florida businessmen, including officials of Florida Power and Light.
FPL has teamed up with Tractebel and El Paso corporations and is seeking approval from the Government of The Bahamas to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in the northern Bahamas and lay an LNG pipeline to Florida to meet the sunshine states growing needs for energy.
According to Mr. Christie, the game between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers ﾖ Mr. Christie is a big Laker fan ﾖ was just another night in his life as a prime minister.
He referred to it as extending his office and ﾓdoing things in pursuance of the country.ﾒ
But his detractors see things differently.
In fact, some charge that it was inappropriate for the prime minister to have accepted the invitation, which has been branded by some in the Free National Movement as simply a bribe.
Mr. Christie disagrees.
ﾓTo suggest that I am infringing some basic rule of corporate governance takes this to a new level of nonsense,ﾒ he told The Bahama Journal. ﾓAm I to not go to lunch with the Grand Bahama Port Authority or to these cruise ships or any type of function? This is just absolute nonsense from my point of view.ﾒ
He added, ﾓItﾴs a normal everyday function. It is something that bothered me a great deal because I take pride in my integrity.ﾒ
He explained that for some time the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its office in Florida had been pressuring him to respond to an invitation from the publisher of the Miami Herald to attend a game at the Miami stadium, he explained.
ﾓI accepted the invitation. I had been invited by the owner of Carnival Cruise, the owner of the Miami Heat and Florida Power and Light, who is a part of an LNG group. I went and I sat in the box with the Miami Herald. There has been this effort to ensure that The Bahamas government and the Herald have a good relationship.ﾒ
Mr. Christie further explained that during the game he was expected to perform certain tasks for the Ministry of Tourism ﾖ host a press conference, make a speech and throw out the first ball ﾖ which had just signed a contract with the Miami Heat.
However, the prime minister said he declined to make the speech and allowed his wife to throw out the ball.
ﾓIt so happened that when I met with the Florida Power and Light officials at the game, their lawyer, my brother-in-law, came down to the box where I was sitting and reminded me that I had agreed to pay a courtesy call to see them,ﾒ Mr. Christie said.
ﾓAnd so I walked down to where they were, sat with them and they told me that my government had just refused their application at South Riding the day before and that the [Bahamas Environment Science and Technology] Commission had just told them that we would not approve the site at South Riding.ﾒ
Recently, the prime minister said the government will not approve LNG proposal for the Freeport Harbour because authorities had determined that it was not a safe site. It meant that the group of companies was left to find another location.
Mr. Christie said his attending the game meant canceling a speaking engagement in Exuma, after he was told that his absence would be harmful for the countryﾴs relationship with the Miami Herald.
ﾓI am a promoter and people know that there is no undue influence here,ﾒ he said. ﾓI take every effort to promote our country to make sure that investors feel comfortable. But my distracters cannot beat me or undermine me with these matters of integrity. I am too committed to that. I try to focus on issues that are important to me.ﾒ
By Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
