By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

FORT Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins yesterday remained defiant in the face of a possible suspension from his party over his public criticism of the government and Prime Minister Perry Christie.

Dr Rollins said the focus on today’s expected outcome of his disciplinary hearing was trivial by comparison to national issues. He spoke to the media following an informal meeting with Mr Christie at the House of Assembly.

Mr Christie told reporters that he was “re-establishing connections” when he spoke briefly with Dr Rollins and Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells during parliament’s lunch break.

Dr Rollins said: “Any matter pertaining to me is trivial if it involves any kind of censure or punishment for anything I might have said in the House of Assembly because at the end of the day we have far more pressing issues and concerns to deal with and address.

“I don’t want to pick a personal fight between myself and the prime minister,” he said, “some people get the impression that my whole objective is to undermine the prime minister, that’s not what it is.

“But don’t expect me to all of a sudden go quiet, and not speak critically on issues of public concern. I’m not going to do that. If they are expecting me to just remain quiet or be passive, which would be a departure of my style up to this point, that’s not going to happen.”

Several PLP MPs yesterday said they did not expect the party’s National General Council to accept a recommendation for Dr Rollins’ suspension because it was feared that the decision would politically elevate him as a martyr. Others pointed to Mr Christie’s own turbulent past with the organisation, suggesting that the prime minister was empathetic of Dr Rollins because he had been cast out of the PLP for taking an adversarial stance to then leader Sir Lynden Pindling.

Dr Rollins’ explained that his critical approach stemmed from his desire to push the party and the level of political discourse to greater heights. He charged that the prime minister was “well served” by his contributions, and warned that the party would suffer at the polls if his observations were discredited or ignored.

“We have a duty to promote the interest of the Bahamian people,” he said, “and we should always remember that their interest supercedes the interest of trying to appear to be a team player. Because the public has views sometimes that are counter to the policies of the government, and when you express those public views, we have the duty to be the voices of the people we represent.

“Our job is to try and get the government to fashion a policy that is going to maximise its success,” he said, “and to maximise the fortune of the Bahamian people. You are never going to please anybody, but you want to know that you did as much as you can to improve the quality of life for as many as possible.”

Dr Rollins added: “I just don’t think in the overall scheme of things that disciplining me is nearly as consequential or important as the government dealing with the most pressing concerns as determined by the Bahamian people.

“The Bahamian people, I don’t believe are concerned about me being disciplined. I think they care about the high rate of unemployment, the high rate of crime, the high cost of electricity, and until we deal with those things adequately then really all that this amounts to is just a lot of unimportant discussions really.”

During his contribution in the House of Assembly yesterday afternoon, Dr Rollins continued to hold his party to account. He insisted that politicians must deliver on the promises made to voters and cannot be satisfied being reelected to office when it has not fulfilled its pledges to the electorate.