The political system belongs to the Bahamian people and must not be allowed to be “prostituted” and all contributions to political parties should be controlled and capped, it was said yesterday.
Lawyers Fayne Thompson and Paul Moss said Prime Minister Perry Christie’s “So what?” response to Iranian businessman Mohammed Harachji’s claim that he donated $10 million to the PLP’s election campaign was not good enough.
Mr. Moss said that Harachji’s allegations were “very damaging to our country”, and Mr. Thompson said the controversy highlights an issue that requires urgent action.
Both were speaking on Love 97 FM’s Issues of the Day programme.
Mr. Moss said that to put an end to the matter, the government needs to carry out an immediate investigation and an audit of its accounts. “You can’t put it to rest by doing nothing and saying you did nothing wrong,” he said.
But Mr. Thompson suggested that if the PLP were to disclose all the details they would be “some of the most embarrassed people in the world.”
Mr. Thompson said he was not convinced that anyone in a position of power would have the will to address the problem. He said he was disppointed at opposition MP Brent Symonette’s comment that the matter should be “put behind us”.
“The reason why it is being dealt with so casually by politicians is because they benefit from it,” said Mr. Moss
Source: Robert Bain, The Tribune
