Prime Minister Perry Christie hit out at Free National Movement leader Hubert Ingraham yesterday, describing the former prime minister as “immature, in his response to the opposition’s most recent round of criticisms of the Progressive Liberal Party government.
Mr. Christie responded to the comments, made in his absence at the FNM’s mass rally last week, during a press conference held at the VIP Lounge at Nassau International Airport, immediately after his return from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta.
“I will not rest, I will not allow any misstatement, misrepresentation to be made by anyone without a direct and specific response and I am always prepared to take you head on, one-on-one,” said the prime minister.
Mr. Christie admitted that he got a “little bit upset,” but said that he thought he should respond to Mr. Ingraham, who blasted the government over a wide range of issues, from race to the state of the economy.
In a response to Mr. Christie’s statements yesterday afternoon, Mr. Ingraham released a statement of his own last night, and suggested that the prime minister “not lower the standard of public debate by labeling his opponent and likely replacement as ‘immature’ or ‘irresponsible’.”
The prime minister responded specifically to the opposition leader’s remarks about the Izmirilian family, who is developing the $1.6 billion multi-use resort on Cable Beach.
Mr. Ingraham said that the PLP had “deep-sixed,” or shelved, the first Izmirlian application for permanent residency in 1990, but the FNM government had granted permanent residencies to both Mr. Izmirlian and his son.
Mr Christie said that it was “immature” for Mr Ingraham to raise the issue of the permanent residencies for the Izmirlians.
He said, “(Mr Ingraham) talks about ‘I gave him the residency permits,’ therefore everything that he does after that, ‘I could claim.’ Well that means from here to eternity. Come on, what country do you see engaging in such debates, for goodness sake?”
The former prime minister also accused the PLP of keeping the public in the dark on the Baha Mar project.
But Mr. Christie said that no investment transaction has ever been so “transparent.”
“I will tell you that the information, and what amazes me is that I am able to without fear of contradiction, say there has not been any investment transaction that has been so complete in its transparency, accountability and the provision of information, than the transaction of Baha Mar,” Mr. Christie told reporters yesterday.
“There has been either a gross or irresponsible misunderstanding on the part of the former prime minister or clear negligence on his part of being attentive of national events.”
The prime minister noted that the transaction was signed in April and that the Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe delivered a 16-page communication on the Baha Mar development in the House of Assembly on May 25, citing all of the details, and tabled a copy of the Heads of Agreement, which sets out all of the details of the project.
“The agreement makes it clear, sets out the details, schedule of activities, when buildings would go down, stipulates what is going to happen to the land,” said Mr. Christie.
Mr. Christie also noted that the Bahamas Hotel Corporation published the full text of Mr. Wilchcombe’s remarks in double page spreads in the three daily newspapers, over a two-week period.
A meeting for stakeholders and people living in the Cable Beach area was held to update residents on how the project would affect the area, said the prime minister.
And, according to Mr. Christie, the Izmirlian family met with opposition leaders to outline the project and Heads of the Agreement. He said that Mr. Ingraham was invited to the meeting, but did not attend.
Mr. Ingraham denied that he was invited to the meeting and said that Mr. Christie’s claim that the Baha Mar deal was transparent was “untrue,” adding that “in due course the facts will be laid bare.”
Regarding the road changes for the Cable Beach area, Mr. Christie said that a revised master plan was still a work in progress, but emphasised that no road diversion would take place other than West Bay Street, and even after the revised master plan comes before the government, wide consultation would take place and all avenues will be explored.
In response to Mr. Ingraham’s accusation that the government had handled the Royal Oasis Resort situation badly, Mr. Christie said that the resort was experiencing problems when the PLP came to office, and reiterated that in the “not too distant” future he would be able to speak on the resort that was closed earlier this year, leaving hundreds unemployed.
But Mr Ingraham said that under the FNM’s watch government preserved the jobs of the employees of the Royal Oasis.
By: Erica Wells, The Bahama Journal
