Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Bradley Roberts told Free National Movement Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis to “stop hating” on Prime Minister Perry Christie and try to “match him in the coliseum of governance.”
Roberts’ comments came in an open letter written yesterday to Dr. Minnis, where he responded to statements made by Dr. Minnis during a press conference on Monday.
In his statement Dr. Minnis said Prime Minister Christie “will go down in history as the worst prime minister with the worst government and his legacy will go in the archives.”
According to Roberts, Dr. Minnis’ statement sounds envious.
“How do you justify attacking a prime minister whose policies after policies continue to attract approval and credibility in the international community?” Roberts asked.
“When you attack Christie, you come across as the one lacking credibility or vision.”
He said Dr. Minnis, who has been the FNM’s leader for more than 30 months, has yet to articulate one viable and alternative public policy after admitting that the FNM government left the Bahamian economy in a “wheelchair.”
“Meanwhile, during the same 30 short months while you (Dr. Minnis) were fiddling, opposing and deflecting, Prime Minister Christie was busy reforming and transforming this country, confronting every major challenge and enjoying game changing success,” Roberts said.
He also highlighted some of Christie’s “game changing successes” and urged Dr. Minnis to show Bahamians what he can do because he haven’t said anything of value.
According to Roberts, Christie’s “game changing” Fiscal Consolidation Plan continues to draw wide acclaim and approval from the World Bank, Standard and Poors, Moody’s and more recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“See Minnis, you cannot just make these wild statements when reputed international organizations with no political axe to grind are endorsing, praising and approving the policies being advanced by Prime Minister Christie and by extension his leadership. You come across as lacking credibility when you do that,” Roberts said.
He reminded Dr. Minnis that it was the FNM that ran up the country’s debt then denied and opposed everything since May 2012.
The PLP chairman noted that the prime minister’s “game changing” policy and legislation on gaming reform saved the second largest industry in the country, financial services.
“Had Christie not acted, the $700 million unregulated web shop industry would have so threatened and endangered the regulated financial services industry that The Bahamas would have faced sanctions and increased pressure from the U.S. State Department in their country review, and possible blacklisting from the FAF, the FATF and the OECD,” Roberts said.
“The result of inaction as you (Dr. Minnis) were suggesting would have been massive capital flight from The Bahamas and a destruction of our finance sector because the country would not have been able to satisfy the international community that its financial services sector was sufficiently protected from capital that were the proceeds of crime.”
Roberts also noted that Dr. Minnis approved a Cabinet paper conceding that the FNM government was unable to shut down the web shop industry largely because the business transactions are conducted via the internet and by accepting fees from them, the FNM government legitimized that unregulated industry.
He said while in opposition, Dr. Minnis flip flopped and said that he opposed the regulation of web shops.
“The consequence of your policy position is a blacklisting and eventual destruction of the financial services sector because you conceded that the police could not shut down the sector,” Roberts told Dr. Minnis.
“Additionally, based on the policy you publicly proposed, The Bahamas would miserably fail the litmus test of ‘probity’ during a country audit of its financial services sector by the CFATF or the OAS because web shop gaming operations had to be a part of the national audit.”
The PLP chairman added that the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) is another “game changer” for The Bahamas.
He reminded Dr. Minnis that BAMSI has been endorsed by the Food and Agriculture Organization and CARICOM agriculture ministers, who want their citizens to be educated at the institute.
“This is yet another Christie policy that has secured credibility on the international stage,” Roberts said. “They all saw the burnt dormitory but were able to understand the vision and far reaching national developmental impact a BAMSI would have on the future of The Bahamas.”
Roberts explained that Dr. Minnis is not “up to scratch on the salient issues facing the country” and as a result, he claims that people who support him do not understand the risk that Dr. Minnis poses to this country by the reckless positions he take.