PM "happy" as Damian Gomez to quit

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie yesterday suggested all his Cabinet ministers were “happy” as he insisted that Bahamians could trust the solidity of his administration one day after it was revealed that Minister of State for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez tendered his resignation from his Cabinet post.

The Central and South Eleuthera MP reportedly made the decision for financial reasons.

Mr Gomez confirmed his resignation yesterday, but told reporters that he was asked by Mr Christie not to speak on the matter until the conclusion of today’s Cabinet meeting.

Mr Gomez added that he still supported the prime minister and plans to seek a nomination to run on the PLP’s ticket in the 2017 election.

He is the second Cabinet minister to resign this term, following the departure of former Minister of Financial Services Ryan Pinder who quit his post last December to take up a senior executive job at Deltec Bank & Trust.

While Mr Gomez’s resignation has yet to be formally accepted, Mr Christie suggested that the move was understandable. He said for 30 years MPs have not received a pay increase despite making “incredible sacrifices” to carry out their state responsibilities.

Mr Christie said he believed MPs were deserving of pay increases but added that officials were hesitant to face the issue for fear voters would not accept it.

Mr Gomez was paid $60,000 per year for his Cabinet post, with an additional $28,000 for being a member of Parliament.

Asked if Bahamians should be concerned about the solidity of the government due to Mr Gomez’s resignation, Mr Christie replied: “Do I look unhappy?”

“Do they look unhappy,” he asked, referring to the Cabinet ministers flanking him, during a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister.

A decision has not yet been made on who will take on Mr Gomez’s portfolio, Mr Christie said.

In response to questions from The Tribune he said: “He and I have an agreement that I’m not going to talk before he meets with me.

“Ministers have not had a pay increase for 30 years in this country. There are some ministers who are doing it with incredible sacrifice. Ryan Pinder went for economic reasons. Damian Gomez has gone for economic reasons and they have obligations. If you would research it properly you would see what those obligations are.”

He added: “I am saying for 30 years they have not gotten a pay increase. Do I think they deserve a pay increase? Yes. I mean we have always thought so but for political reasons we have hesitated to do anything about it. So nothing has been done about it and so challenges have come about on some ministers and they have to surrender to those challenges.

“Damian has given notice of resignation. It has to be accepted (and) we have to move on. That is how it is right now.”

Rumours of Mr Gomez’s impending resignation from Cabinet have been brewing for months following his continued criticism of the government.

Last week, the MP slammed the government over its National Health Insurance public relations campaign, telling the Nassau Guardian that he was in the dark about the specifics of the health plan.

In August, he said the government was not serious about battling outright corruption by serving politicians.

Mr Gomez has maintained that as a result of political corruption, the public perception is that the government does not take the matter seriously.

In January, it was reported that Mr Gomez considered leaving Cabinet because he felt progress was not happening quickly in his constituency.

According to a well-placed source in the Progressive Liberal Party, Mr Gomez was not happy as a junior minister and reportedly expected to be appointed as attorney general. The source added that Mr Gomez left a lucrative private practice to become a junior Cabinet minister but has several financial obligations to meet.

Comments

ohdrap4 says...

are these businesses staying open into the night for the christmas season?

Posted 12 December 2015, 12:46 p.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

Doesn't seem to matter..most of the incidents happened during the day

Posted 12 December 2015, 1:38 p.m. Suggest removal

Emac says...

Wow that was a robbing spree! It's the same old same ole: During the Christmas season you will always see lazy bastards looking for fast cash to buy lavish gifts for their materialistic girlfriends. It is a vicious cycle and it is not an easy fix. We Bahamians should now face the reality that we are living in a failed state. What compounds the problem is that everyone is stealing from the top to the bottom, from churches to the government and even outreach programs such as Urban Renewal are not safe from thievery. So there is no guidance for our young men; I guess they are saying, "everyone getting theirs, so I gatta get mines!"

Posted 12 December 2015, 2:14 p.m. Suggest removal

Tarzan says...

Starts right at the top. Our political leadership who pontificate and hand wring about the loss of values among our youth, have pushed their faces as deep in the trough of corruption as they can go. No transparency. No consequences for glaring theft of public funds. Promises of inquiry reports to be tabled in Parliament, go long forgotten. Referenda held and ignored. Graft unabated. Do they really think these street thugs don't know what is going on at the top? Do they really not know the rot starts at the head?

Posted 13 December 2015, 8:14 a.m. Suggest removal

Voltaire says...

Indeed Emac. Everything you said. 100% agreed.

Posted 12 December 2015, 8:26 p.m. Suggest removal

Franklyn says...

did Perry Christie assault Kyle Walkine while covering the Damian Gomez Resignation from Cabinet, yesterday? Or was the uniform senior police officer being overly aggressive.

Photo Frames of the encounter shows an angry Perry Christie leaving the House of Assembly and what appears to be an encounter with the reporter (Kyle Walkine) while a senior police officer appear to come between the 2 men.

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2015…

Posted 15 December 2015, 7:20 p.m. Suggest removal

sansoucireader says...

Yes,I saw that on NB12 News @ 7:30pm. Senior Police Officer overreacted if you ask me. Looked like an eagle about to swoop in for the kill. What, these MPs/government officials so high and mighty they can't be interviewed?

Posted 15 December 2015, 9:59 p.m. Suggest removal

sheeprunner12 says...

Gomez committed the cardinal sin in a PLP Cabinet .......... he wanted to investigate and expose corruption in government (tongue in cheek) ........... and he said it in public

Posted 15 December 2015, 8:20 p.m. Suggest removal

GrassRoot says...

don't overthink. He leaves for personal and ethical reasons. What sounds heroic is very simple, he was offered a very lucrative mandate by some private individual or corporation, that was specifically targeting him to be the lawyer bcz of his closeness to the decision makers in this country, but taking on the mandate while being a member of the Cabinet would have put him into hot water. So the ethical reason will be nothing more or less than a substantial conflict of interest, and the Bahamian he is, he choses money over glory (for now). Not to worry, the revolving door is always open in the Bahamas.

Posted 16 December 2015, 1:07 p.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

*Asked if Bahamians should be concerned about the solidity of the government due to Mr Gomez’s resignation, Mr Christie replied: “Do I look unhappy?”*

Does Damian Gomez look unhappy? He's the one who left.

Posted 16 December 2015, 5:35 a.m. Suggest removal

GrassRoot says...

time for Munroe to come in as a member of the Cabinet.

Posted 16 December 2015, 1:08 p.m. Suggest removal

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