Either Prime Minister Christie finds it impossible to tell a straight story, or once again he is the last to know what is happening in his government!
The Chief Executive Officer of Cable & Wireless, Tony Rice breaks news while the Prime Minister Christie’s continues to hide the truth!
The Chief Executive Officer of Cable & Wireless, Tony Rice was very straight forward. His team is preparing our telephone company, BTC for cellular competition. Why is Prime Minister Christie still in denial?
According to an article in the business section of The Tribune dated July 29, 2013, Mr Rice is reported to have said that BTC “is not anticipating an extension to its existing monopoly, and is preparing to go head-to-head with a rival cellular competitor” before the end of 2014. This is an important declaration, but as is the case with Mr. Christie’s Cabinet Ministers’ the Prime Minister seems to be the last person to know what is going on.
In today’s Nassau Guardian, Prime Minister Christie continues what can now only be described as a campaign of deceit, smoke and mirrors. He continues in his dogged determination to convince the Bahamian people that the BTC 2% buy-back “gig” is not up. A right-thinking observer is forced to conclude that the Prime Minister is either delusional or intentionally insulting the intelligence of his Bahamian people. The Guardian news story reports the Prime Minister as saying that “negotiations” are completed, but “he is awaiting a final response from CWC on the matter.” Rice’s response seemed fairly “final” to us.
The Prime Minister did not get the Rice memo but he at least acknowledges reading the story in the paper like the rest of us. How is it that Mr. Rice is able to state almost unequivocally that no extension is to be gotten and he expects competition, when the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance is trying to tell us that he is still waiting for an answer? Someone is not being truthful.
The PM’s waffling comments demonstrate that he has been caught once again hiding information in order to avoid embarrassment. He can take comfort that most keen observers already knew that this is exactly how this song and dance would end. It is just sad that all the way to the bitter end the Prime Minister could not bring himself to come clean with the Bahamian people.
From The Office Of The FNM Chairman,
Darron Cash
