THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 9, 2016, PAGE 3
Pintard ready to fight for Grand Bahama seat By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
FORMER Free National Movement Chairman Michael Pintard has come out in support of the embattled party, insisting yesterday that the recent decisions of several ratified candidates not to run in the next election does not signal disarray within the organisation’s ranks. “There is no concern,” Mr Pintard told The Tribune on Thursday. He has been relatively quiet on both national and FNM matters since announcing his resignation as party chairman and senator on March 21 over questions stemming from his involvement in a controversy that involved fashion mogul Peter Nygard. Many political observers have speculated that the fiasco spelled the end for Mr Pintard’s career, with some in the FNM reportedly recommending that he remain on the sidelines to avoid further hampering the party’s chances of winning the 2017 general election. However, Mr Pintard said that during his time away from front-line politics he had not given up his efforts to be elected as the FNM’s standard-bearer for one of the Grand Bahama constituencies. Mr Pintard said he remains committed to strengthening both FNM and the nation. “There is no reason I would not offer myself,” he said. “As I said before, and will continue to say, there is no concern, I am very clear on why I have been active in national life
since I have been a teenager. The decisions of others doesn’t affect mine, I think the FNM is a prime place, the best place if you ask me.” Mr Pintard’s sentiments come as the FNM continues to grapple with the loss of several candidates and rumblings of even more departures. On Tuesday, the party’s South Beach candidate Howard Johnson cited “personal and private family matters” as he dropped out of the race. That move came less than week after Bain and Grants Town’s candidate Leonard Sands announced that he was officially ending his candidacy for the constituency and after North Eleuthera MP Theo Neilly announced that he wasn’t seeking re-election. In addition to these moves, there is uncertainty over Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn’s future with the party and rumours that St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman may not be renominated as well. Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner has also been the subject of a critical petition by some of her constituents who want the FNM to choose another candidate for the area. Mrs Butler-Turner, Mr Lightbourn and Mr Chipman were among six FNM MPs who pushed FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis to have an early convention. They also criticised him in a strongly worded letter to the FNM’s Central Council earlier this year. Expressing some level of apprehension over discussing the current turmoil in the FNM, Mr Pintard maintained that a unified and fo-
cused party is what would be needed to succeed moving forward. “I am confident that if we work as a team and if we are responsive to the voices of the people we will be a strong force in the upcoming general election,” he said. Mr Pintard argued that the PLP has failed the Bahamian electorate and as a result, needed to be voted out of office. Shifting the focus to the incompetence of the government, he pointed to the PLP’s failures with the 2016-2017 budget, the establishment of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) without a legal framework and Baha Mar’s problems as the reasons voters are weary of the government. “The government lacks transparency and has proven on several occasions that they must not be trusted. The people of the Bahamas can’t sustain the mishaps of the Progressive Liberal Party any longer,” he said. “This government is one all for theatrics. The government had no reason to pat itself on the back for the Baha Mar action announced recently by the prime minster. The matter was exacerbated by them. Their action is what brought the entire Baha Mar matter to this point. How does one want credit for addressing a problem they have caused? “Politicians tend to be the stumbling block for improvement,” Mr Pintard said. “And that proves to be the case in this matter. While most of the elements of this agreement are still up in the air, myself, like every other Bahamian is waiting patiently to see how
this all plays out.” The claims process for the stalled resort’s long list of creditors is underway with officials expecting reconstruction efforts to reconvene later this month.
DAMIAN GOMEZ NOT RULED OUT FOR CANDIDACY IN NEXT ELECTION By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Progressive Liberal Party has not ruled out making Central Eleuthera MP Damian Gomez a nominee for the party in the next general election, Chairman Bradley Roberts suggested yesterday. It is not clear if Mr Gomez is being considered for renomination in his current constituency, but Mr Roberts said Mr Gomez “has appeared before the Candidates Committee and will appear again.” “I can’t say more,” he added. His comments came after Mr Gomez told The Nassau Guardian that Prime Minister Perry Christie asked him TO step aside as the PLP’s candidate in the Cen-
tral Eleuthera constituency. Mr Gomez had previously told The Tribune that it was unclear if he would be renominated in that constituency as the PLP was considering where he could be placed to benefit the party most. His revelation about Mr Christie’s request of him and the suggestion that he was being asked to leave the political scene caught some by surprise given his desire to run and his status as a respected lawyer in the country, one who was appointed a Queen’s Counsel by the government last year. A decision to remove him from the frontline of PLP politics would raise eyebrows. However, he said yesterday that there’s “nothing unusual” about the process the PLP is now taking with
POLICE HOLD TWO MEN OVER DRUGS DISCOVERIES
ROBBERY SENTENCING DELAYED FOR A WEEK
POLICE arrested two men for possession of dangerous drugs in separate incidents in Gregory Town, Eleuthera on Wednesday. The two men were arrested by officers conducting an anti-crime operation in Central Eleuthera that targeted persons involved in criminal activities, persons wanted for outstanding court warrants and drivers operating in breach of the Road Traffic laws. Police said the two men were arrested after a search of their vehicles allegedly revealed marijuana. Police also arrested 12 people during an operation by the Southeastern Division. They were arrested for a number criminal offences including house breaking, stealing, threats of death and causing harm.
By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
A WOMAN must wait another week before she has a sentencing hearing for her role in the robbery of a web shop manager in Long Island. Daphne Knowles of Cartwright’s, Long Island, was due to appear before Justice Bernard Turner yesterday for the penalty phase of her trial relating to the events leading up to the death of Andrea Carroll in 2014. However, a probation report requested by the court was not ready and the matter was further adjourned to September 15. Knowles initially stood trial before Justice Turner charged with murder, robbery and conspiracy to
respect to his future in the organisation. As for his next appearance before the PLP’s Candidates Committee, which is headed by Mr Christie, he said he is waiting for the party to get back to him on that matter. As a PLP parliamentarian, Mr Gomez has been unique in his advocacy for greater transparency and accountability. Since the resignation of Dr Andre Rollins and Greg Moss from the governing party, he is one of the few people willing to criticise what he perceives to be lack of progress the government has made on those issues. He has repeatedly urged the government, for instance, to enact a campaign finance law and to establish a registry system requiring
commit robbery. Knowles was alleged to have killed Carroll between November 28 and 29, 2014. It was further alleged that Knowles conspired with others to commit robbery and actually robbed Carroll of cash belonging to Bowe’s Web Games Ltd. Caroll was found dead with cuts, bruises, a broken neck and a broken spinal cord. The prosecution produced witnesses who alleged that Knowles, a fired employee of Carroll, approached them about a plan to rob the web shop manager. Knowles, when interviewed by police after Carroll’s death, denied that $14,000 found in her possession had belonged to the web shop. She said that
parliamentarians to publicly register the identity of donors giving to their constituencies and the amount they give. He told The Tribune earlier this year that he received a poor response from other parliamentarians to his request when he asked them. “I asked, but people don’t want that sort of information out,” he had said earlier. “That might explain why certain people get contracts and some don’t. Almost 200 years of behaviour is being challenged.” Mr Gomez was appointed state minister for legal affairs by Mr Christie in 2012, but resigned last year, citing the need to take care of a legal issue involving financial issues connected with a commercial loan from the Bank of the Bahamas.
as a drug trafficker she did not need to rob and murder a web shop manager for money. Her defence, however, was not completely sold on a jury. While the jury returned a hung verdict of 7-5 on the murder charge, which is not acceptable in law, Knowles was unanimously convicted on charges of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. Knowles would have faced the death penalty if convicted of the murder. The 12-member panel returned the verdicts within an hour after being excused to deliberate on three weeks of evidence. Knowles was represented by attorney Sonia Timothy. Cephia Pinder-Moss and Basil Cumberbatch prosecuted the case.
FORMER FNM Chairman Michael Pintard, who yesterday spoke out in support of the FNM and said he may yet run in the next election. Photo: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff