Some people aren’t very bright. That would cetainly describe the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, who is also so shallow in morals that he didn’t see anything wrong with accepting gratuities from a company trying to get government approval for a large LNG project.
Despite the PM’s lack of ethical clarity, thousands of Bahamians were shocked last week at Mr. Christie’s non-chalant acceptance of tickets to a sporting event from one of the LNG companies seeking approval from the government. It was a “gift” that many would consider a bribe, albeit it a small one.
But the size of the gift is not relevant. The fact that he accepted it was wrong… dead wrong. And it makes many people wonder… if he would accept such a small gift with absolute impunity, how much more would he accept larger gifts.
After all, Mr. Christie had no problem appointing George Smith to a high-level position even though Mr. Smith accepted “gifts” from the notorious drug kingpin Carlos Lehder, back in the 80s. Mr. Smith was later condemned by a Commission of Inquiry.
And there still has not been an adequate explanation regarding a $400,000 “gift” that financier Mohamed Harajchi was allegedly to have given the PM for improvements to his home.
It was also reported yesterday that drug dealer “Pedro” Smith told DEA officers in the US that he gave seperate $500,000 gifts to two different PLP Cabinet Ministers. Mr. Christie probably doesn’t see anything wrong with that either. After all, they were just “gifts”.
All this leads many to wonder exactly what is behind the generosity of the Chinese Government with its offering of a $30 million “gift” to build a national stadium in the capital. Of course, Prime Minister Perry Christie said there is no “special strategic reasoning” behind the hefty donation, but he said that about the basketball tickets from the LNG company as well. Wise men know that few gifts of this type come without strings attached.
During a state visit to the People’s Republic of China last August, the Chinese Government offered Mr Christie a grant in the amount of US $30 million to design and construct a national stadium in the capital. At the time, Mr Christie announced that the gift was among the largest nation-to-nation gifts ever received by The Bahamas and a US $4 million agreement was also signed to accept the first portion of the gift.
Mr Christie recently explained that the Chinese Government now has the fastest growing economy in the world and the country can tout “extraordinary” economic stories. He further stated that China has made investments on other islands in the Caribbean and their generosity to The Bahamas is not an isolated case.
“If you go to some other islands you will see the same thing [Chinese investment], although you might not see it as grand, and you might not see it as big.
“The Bahamas from an economic point of view is the closest offshore country to the United States of America, so there could [also] be some advantages by placing businesses here in terms of getting into the American market maybe, but you know, they are dealing in terms of billions of dollars and one doesn’t come to really appreciate that in this new kind of information age, that there needs to be any kind of special strategic reasoning behind making a contribution of this kind,” the Prime Minister told a local newspaper. Despite Mr. Christie saying that, only a fool would believe it.
Meanwhile, a design, engineering and architectural team from China arrived in the capital last week to lay the groundwork for the construction a 15,000-seat, state-of-the-art national stadium. The government anticipates the stadium will be completed in two years.
The Chinese technical team will remain in The Bahamas for approximately one month.
Mr Christie indicated to the Chinese that he would like the stadium to ready before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, so Bahamian athletes could have somewhere to train. He said the stadium will be designed immediately.
The design team is also expected to work along with a Bahamian technical committee appointed by the government. Mr Christie said he also asked the visiting Chinese experts to review the government’s plan to overhaul the entire Queen Elizabeth Sports Center to ensure that the country receives the full benefit of Chinese “sports expertise.”
According to Mr Christie, the new stadium is expected to include a multi-purpose center that would house thousands. It will also include areas to play basketball, volleyball, massage rooms, offices and enough space to hold concerts. The size of the stadium will be larger than the existing Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium by far, Mr Christie revealed. He further mentioned that when the design team leaves the capital, plans would have already been completed, with construction beginning shortly thereafter.
Source: The Nassau Guardian
