By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

LONG Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner yesterday reignited accusations of a conflict of interest involving Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday as debate began on the Petroleum Bill and the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill in the House of Assembly.

Mrs Butler-Turner questioned whether Mr Christie, then opposition leader, was paid handsomely by the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) when it was a client of Davis & Co where he served as a consultant.

Davis & Co is the law firm of Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis.

This sparked a heated row in the House with several government MPs defending Mr Christie before he stood to refute the claims. The prime minister repeated statements he made in 2012, telling the House he served as a consultant for Davis & Co while in opposition, but said he ultimately advised BPC to seek the expertise of another law firm. Mr Christie said he regretted the imputation against his reputation.

He further suggested that issues of this kind only arise when people of colour are elevated to areas where their expertise is in high demand. Mr Davis also denied any wrongdoing and said he disclosed to Cabinet his private interests as is required by law.

The Long Island MP also castigated the government for moving the legislation that will allow oil drilling in the country without first holding a referendum.

The Progressive Liberal Party had promised while on the 2012 campaign trail that it would hold a referendum on oil drilling.

Mrs Butler Turner said: “Is the prime minister afraid that the people might reject this horse that he has in this particular race just as they rejected the last horse that he didn’t have in the referendum debate?”

“Why are we debating legislation on oil exploration before the referendum? Has the PLP abandoned such a referendum? Is this yet another major broken promise? The PLP is once again making a mockery out of our democracy, an absolute mockery of our democracy.

“They promised right here Bahamians first and the Bahamas first but now they are acting first and foremost on behalf of certain interests.”

Mr Christie stood and passionately refuted the allegations saying he resented Mrs Butler Turner’s words, which he viewed as calling his integrity into question.

He said: “Mr Speaker, she has referred to the member of Parliament for Centreville in the context of a conflict of interest. I regret the imputation. I regret the assertion. I was a consultant to the law firm Davis & Co and amongst the clients was an oil company among any number of clients including oil companies.”

He then inferred that members of the former government were culpable of conflict of interest, because BPC later sought legal advice from law firms that were connected to Cabinet ministers in the Ingraham administration.

“The advice that I gave that particular company was to go to another law firm and that is the law firm of Higgs & Johnson. The company was also acted for by (firm) Graham Thompson where another attorney general served.

“With respect to conflict, let me tell you what conflict is. Conflict is when someone serves in a capacity as a minister and then immediately after elections serves as a consultant to the company he gave favour for….that’s what conflict is,” referring to a former Free National Movement Cabinet minister.

He continued: “I resent that member speaking to my integrity in a loose way. That’s the point I am making. It happens when people of colour act in a capacity, in my case as a consultant for a law firm dealing with many issues.

“The law firm availing itself of my experience and in that capacity I gave certain advice which included a recommendation in the interest of the company they go to another law firm, that’s the record. That is why the company is no longer with the firm associated with the member of Parliament for Cat Island (Mr Davis).

“So if they want to speak to integrity, Mr Speaker, (they should) speak to that.”

House Speaker Dr Kendal Major then cautioned the Long Island MP to keep her remarks impersonal and be careful not to cast aspersions.

However, Mrs Butler-Turner went on to suggest that Mr Christie’s argument implied Elizabeth MP Ryan Pinder was in a conflict of interest. Mr Pinder quit his Cabinet post of minister of financial services last year to take up a position at a private bank.

However, outgoing Minister of State for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez said Mr Pinder never dealt with regulatory matters associated with participants in the financial services industry. He said those issues were handled by the Office of the Attorney General.

Additionally, Mr Gomez said that over the last three and a half years Deltec Bank had not made any application to the Cabinet or the government.

Concerning the government’s intent to regulate the petroleum industry, Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett said the Christie administration had not abandoned its promise to put the issue to Bahamians through a referendum. He said, however, it was the Christie administration’s intent to ensure that there was oil in the county in commercially viable quantities before it held a costly referendum.