Beginning with the resignation of a Progressive Liberal Party Senator in January, to the current allegation of rape against a Cabinet Minister, the various political controversies and scandals of 2004 rocked the core of the PLP Administration and the country.
While some scandals sent shock waves through the country and later simmered, most matters dominated the headlines throughout 2004. As the criticisms leveled at the government mounted, the Prime Minister’s ability to lead often came into question.
The official Opposition and other parties criticised the Prime Minister for his slowness to reprimand PLP Members of Parliament for their actions and behaviour which seemed to have lowered the integrity of the Government and went totally against its 14- point Code of Ethics.
Political Controversy #1 ﾖ Senator Edison Key Resigns
The first controversy to kick off the New Year, 2004 was the resignation of Progressive Liberal Party Senator and Stalwart Councilor, Edison Key on Jan. 10. Mr Key had been a member of the PLP for 34 years.
His seven-page resignation letter, marked “strictly private and confidential,” had reportedly never reached Prime Minister Christie. The Abaco businessman accused the government in the letter of “lacking direction” and “blacklisting” him after he came across information that would suggest corruption.
Mr Key outlined that he came into possession of confidential documents which indicated that a major contract of some $38 million annually, or $190 million over a five-year period, was about to be awarded by one of the key government ministries and there was a proposed scheme in the contract to defraud the Bahamian taxpayers and the Public Treasury of millions, with the cooperation of a cabinet minister and one of the government’s “cronies.” However, in March, Mr Christie branded Mr Key’s claims as “absurd, false and rubbish.”
Mr Key had personally delivered a document to the prime minister indicating a proposed corrupt deal, but rather than dealing with the allegation, he instead was punished for reporting it.
Mr Christie admitted that Mr Key had informed him that a minister and a political Abaconian colleague were entering into a contract with a prominent U.S.-based firm in return for a “corrupt advantage,” but based on his “intimate knowledge” of the ministry’s bidding system, Mr Key’s belief was completely mistaken, Mr Christie said.
“The document was all that Mr Key had to go on and frankly, it was odd that Mr Key thought that it lent support to his belief,” the Prime Minister said.
The Key-Christie wrangling had spawned the Opposition into calling for the formation of an Ethics Committee. However the 12-page document in question was never laid on the table of the House of Assembly by the Prime Minister, although he discredited the contents of Mr Key’s letter. Mr Key never released the document to the public, and after nine months of being vacant, Mr Key’s senate seat was filled by Grand Bahama businessman, Caleb Outten.
Political Controversy # 2 ﾖ Sidney Stubbs declared bankrupt
With the corruption claims of former Senator Edison Key somewhat simmering, the bankruptcy order slapped on Holy Cross MP Sidney Stubbs on March 30 resulted in a re-wagging of tongues.
Already allegedly caught up in matters of victimisation at The Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation before resigning as Chairman in 2003, the embattled Holy Cross MP was said to owe a nine-year-old debt of $55,000 to Gina Gonzales, the daughter of deceased businessman, Cecil Gonzales.
In recent reports, Mr Stubbs acknowledged his indebtedness, but disagreed with the bankruptcy order. He told The Guardian that the bankruptcy label placed on him was technical and that he is was not bankrupt. In April, a notice of appeal was filed to have the bankruptcy order lifted, but it was later claimed that Mr Stubbs was not served a bankruptcy petition in a “proper manner.”
Speaking on the issue in the House of Assembly in April, Prime Minister Christie said Mr Stubbs should be given the “benefit of the doubt” until the bankruptcy claim was settled in court. However, on July 17, the Supreme Court rejected Mr Stubbs’ appeal on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Reappearing in court on Sept 27, the Supreme Court declared there was no provision in the Court of Appeal Act or the Bankruptcy Act for a bankruptcy appeal to be made.
Exhausting all avenues of appeal, a special application was made to the Privy Council in October, appealing the Court of Appeal’s decision against hearing his appeal against a bankruptcy declaration.
An extension was also granted to Mr Stubbs in the House of Assembly on Sept. 25, when Parliamentarians moved a resolution to grant him an additional six months to have his bankruptcy matter determined, having exhausted all extensions given to him by House Speaker, Oswald Ingraham. The move did not sit well with the Official Opposition which lead a protest in Rawson Square the same day and called for Mr Stubbs to resign.
Meanwhile, as Mr Stubbs was absent from the House of Assembly with no intentions of resigning, other political parties began to gear up for a possible bye-election in the Holy Cross Constituency. Former FNM Holy Cross MP, Carl Bethell assured that he would contest the seat if a bye-election were held, while BDM leader, Cassius Stuart announced himself as a candidate in July and George Wilson, businessman and political activist, announced in November that he would also be a candidate.
Mr Stubbs’ last appearance in court was on Nov. 24 at which time he was said to be in a “neutral” position, as the order handed down in July by Justice Jeanne Thompson stood until it was found to be erroneous. Mr Stubbs is being represented by Mt Moriah MP and the Ambassador for the Environment, Keod Smith.
Political Controversy #3 ﾖ Korean Fishing Boat matter draws to a close
The on going wrangling of the Korean Fishing Boat scandal which initially surfaced in October 2003 was finally brought to a close in August, when the boats were taken out of the country by its original Korean owners. Before being totally removed, the rightful owners had to satisfy the court and the government with an invoice to prove that they actually owned and brought the 16 boats. It was reported that some of the boats were shipped to the United States, while some were sent to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
“Blown out of proportion,” the controversy surrounding the 16 vessels came to a head late last year when the boats were brought into the country by Netsiwill Holdings Ltd, a claimed Bahamian company owned by Earlin Williams, a former consultant at The Bahamas Agricultural Corporation. It was reported that Mr Williams secured a $2.5 million mortgage from Koreans for the vessels which the Koreans turned ownership to him for $1.
The Customs Department revealed that the full duty, an estimated $675,000, was never paid by the boats owner, therefore the boats were detained. The company’s permit and the registration certificate for the vessels were also revoked by the Dept. of Fisheries. However, Mr Williams insisted that his company legally owned the boats, but was told that Customs duties would no longer be accepted from him; he would have no duty free privileges and would not be granted a fishing license. In turn, Mr Williams threatened to sue the government. Fisheries Minister, Alfred Gray said despite Mr Williams’s intention to sue, he did not submit any “proof” to show that he was the rightful owner of the impounded Korean vessels.
The boats were eventually ordered out of the country by Prime Minister Christie, but Mr Williams said the government did not put in writing under what authority it was acting when it said that his boats had to leave the country, therefore, for almost 10 months, the boats remained docked in Morgan’s Bluff, North Andros although the removal deadline had long passed.
Political Controversy #4 ﾖ The Harajchi Affair
The allegations made by Iranian business tycoon, Mohammad Harajchi against the PLP Government on Aug. 11, questioned the integrity of the PLP’s entire Cabinet.
Holding a “tell all” press conference at his palatial Paradise Island home, Mr Harajchi alleged that he funded the party during the 2002 election campaign to the tune of $10 million; however he produced only a canceled cheque in the amount of $100,000, to support his claims. He also made allegations against the Minister of Works and Utilities, Bradley Roberts, Deputy Prime Minister, Cynthia Pratt and the Minister of Housing, Shane Gibson, and claimed that he offered assistance to 90 per cent of the PLP Cabinet.
The former owner of the now defunct Suisse Security Bank and Trust Ltd insisted that his revelations were not an attempt to reinstate his revoked bank license. He spoke of how he financially and strategically positioned the PLP, in addition to offering sound financial advice to high profile individuals affiliated with the party. He also produced copies of written documents, cheques and even a copy of a lie detector test to support his claims.
Mr Harajchi said in addition to financially assisting the party, he helped the PLP strategically and assisted with renovating the PLP headquarters on Farrington Rd. He claimed that he also funded campaigns and paid for fireworks and entertainment, of which copied documents were also issued to the press to support such claims.
Meanwhile, the PLP did not deny that Mr Harajchi was a donor to the party. Works and Utilities Minister, Bradley Roberts even outlined at one point that no member of the PLP placed a gun to Mr Harajchi’s head to make a donation to the PLP campaign. He also mentioned that during the 2002 election campaign, the party thought Mr Harajchi was a “rational” person.
At the time of Mr Harajchi’s revelation, the Prime Minister was making a five day state visit to the People’s Republic of China, but a statement issued from the party outlined that Mr Harajchi was a donor to the party’s electoral campaign, but its records reflected that the amount of the donation was much less than what Mr Harajchi alleged, and is but a small fraction of the alleged $10 million.
Meanwhile, upon is return to the capital, Prime Minister Christie at the Nassau International Airport denounced his financial involvement with Mr Harajchi in regard to renovating his Cable Beach home. He did state, however, that the party accepted a donation from him during the 2002 election campaign, but it was only some three million and not $10 million as stated by Mr Harajchi. He also outlined that the PLP had two financial accounts that were managed by individuals other than himself.
Mr Christie also noted that it was lawful for any party to accept donations and such a trend had been carried out for generations. He also mentioned that his government would address the issue in a very comprehensive way by legislation and the government would take all accusations made against the party, “hold it up before them and move on.”
A few weeks later on Aug. 24, Harajchi’s lawyer, Derek Ryan said he intended to sue Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt if she did not publicly apologise for defaming his character. Mr Ryan, said the second most powerful woman in the country called a private resident of The Bahamas a “liar” and it was important for her to apologise. Mr Ryan further said although Mrs Pratt claimed she never took money from Mr Harajchi, such claims were untrue. At the time, he also produced copies of cheques issued to Mrs Pratt to pay constituency workers and to put burglar bars in her constituency office.
In response, Mrs Pratt said she never approached Mr Harajchi at any time for monies to put burglar bars in her constituency headquarters and she was seeking advice from her lawyer on how to deal with Mr Ryan’s accusations.
Political Controversy #5 – Bradley Roberts allegedly accused of rape
With the House of Assembly adjourning for the holidays and not much being heard from politicians, the alleged claim of a 47-year-old woman of being raped by Grant’s Town MP, Bradley Roberts has sent a final shock wave throughout the country for 2004.
The Punch, a bi-weekly tabloid, named Mr Roberts after stories circulated last week that a woman had been raped by the high ranking and always outspoken Cabinet Minister. Last Thursday, Mr Roberts maintained that the story was untrue and expressed that he was offended by the absurdity of the allegation and categorically denied that such an act took place. He said the matter had been turned over to his attorney and he was prepared to cooperate with the police on the “baseless and false” allegations.
The victim’s attorney, Wallace Rolle, told The Guardian that his client was disappointed that the police had not questioned Mr Roberts more than three weeks after the alleged rape was reported on Dec. 4. Assistant Police Commissioner in charge of Crime, Reginald Ferguson, also insisted that the police were not dragging their feet with the investigation in order to protect Mr Roberts.
However, on Tuesday night, Mr Roberts announced that he had presented himself to the Criminal Detective Unit earlier that day to be interviewed. He said he answered all questions asked and he was confident that he would be exonerated. He said he went to the police to bring a quick resolution to the “sad” state of affairs and to bring relief to the discomfort caused to his family, colleagues, constituents and friends.
Meanwhile, following the rape allegations brought against Mr Roberts, the Action Group of the Free National Movement called for the resignation of Mr Roberts and National Security Minister, Cynthia Pratt.
By TAMARA McKENZIE,Guardian Staff Reporter tamara@nasguard.com
