Although he has been publicly criticised for “dragging his feet” when it comes to making important decisions, Prime Minister Perry Christie will not rush to give an explanation of how Members of Parliament (MPs) Keod Smith and Kenyatta Gibson have been or will be reprimanded, a high-profile political source said yesterday.
While it has been widely reported that both MPs resigned late last week following a reported fist fight more than two weeks ago, the government has remained silent on those reports and has refused to comment.
“Sometimes it is not in the best interest of a leader to rush to the finality of a decision,” said a high-profile political source with close ties to Mr Christie on Monday. “I am satisfied that Mr Christie knew his decision [on how to reprimand Messrs Smith and Gibson] a long time ago, but he won’t rush the finality of this decision because if he doesn’t deal with this matter in a decent and respectable manner, to a point where the guys are at least satisfied with the process, could you imagine would what happen?”
Since the altercation between the two MPs, there have been numerous unconfirmed reports that Mr Smith, Ambassador for the Environment, and Mr Gibson, Chairman of the Gaming Board, were asked by Prime Minister Christie to resign from their posts or be fired. But none of those reports have been confirmed by the Prime Minister or any party official.
Last week, Mr Gibson, the MP for Kennedy, denied a report that he had resigned his post as chairman of the Gaming Board.
And Mr Smith, MP for Mt Moriah, has refused to comment on a report that he had resigned his post as Ambassador for the Environment.
Gaming Board chief B K Bonamy told The Nassau Guardian yesterday that he had not seen Mr Gibson since last Friday.
He did not deny or confirm the reported resignation of Mr Gibson and referred The Guardian to Prime Minister Christie or the Minister responsible for the Gaming Board, Obie Wilchcombe, for comment. Mr Wilchcombe, however, could not be reached and attempts to reach the Minister of Energy and Environment, Dr. Marcus Bethel, for comment on Mr Smith’s reported resignation, also proved fruitless.
According to the high-profile political source, Messrs Smith and Gibson reportedly tendered their resignations last Thursday. The source claimed that Gibson made a “foolish” move by announcing in a brief press statement that he did not resign.
“That was stupid, absolutely stupid, political immaturity,” the source stated. “For two big grown men to get to the point where they could have a public fight or disagreement, or whatever you want to call it, is embarrassing. When he [Gibson] issued his public apology, I told his advisors that my view was that he had not gone far enough. These fellas do not understand politics. If they had apologised and resigned immediately, their future in politics would have been OK in my view because people would say ‘they made a mistake, they did the right thing, how far should we go.’ I think people in the party would say ‘fine, they did what we deem is right and they don’t have to necessarily go’ but when you apologise and don’t take it all the way, what are they thinking?
“The political issue now is about the leader and when you put your leader in that position you are not a team player, you are not a fella who is interested in safeguarding the party’s interest,” the source claimed. “You are interested only in your own interests and that is the saddest thing about all of this.”
Messrs Smith and Gibson have since apologised to the Bahamian public for their actions but have denied that their exchange, reportedly about a personal matter, escalated into a fist fight.
The high-profile source said because the PLP does not want to create any “unnecessary enemies,” the Prime Minister reportedly asked the junior MPs to resign, rather than fire them outright.
“He [Mr Christie] must ensure through the process that they have their dignity in tact and he does it in a manner where they [Mr Gibson and Mr Smith] could say in their good conscience that they are satisfied with this rather than creating unnecessary enemies, given the time in which we know we are going to be in over the next couple of months,” the government source explained.
“You can’t just say make the decision today, there is a process and the process becomes very important because all of us live in a small society. We must have some dignity. At the end of the day the PM is that kind of fella. He will not cause undue embarrassment to anybody – PLP or FNM – and I think this is his guiding view that the process had to be right. He knew what the decision was but the process of getting to this point had to be right, so that is the way it was.”
Meanwhile, the government source said when the Prime Minister is ready to make any public statement on the reported bust-up between the two MPs and what actions would be taken, he will do so.
“Nobody knows what is happening behind the scenes,” the source said. “You can’t assume that nothing is happening behind the scenes. As far as I am aware, they have resigned from their governmental positions. I assume that an announcement is coming shortly from the PM.”
By: TAMARA McKENZIE, The Nassau Guardian
