By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

AGRICULTURE and Marine Resources Minister V Alfred Gray launched into a vigorous defence of his reputation and that of Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday amid allegations of corruption because of his party’s ties to billionaire Peter Nygard.

During the House of Assembly mid-year budget debate, Mr Gray portrayed the allegations, which arise from Supreme Court filings by Save the Bays directors last week, as a scheme Opposition Leader Dr Hubert Minnis is promoting to destroy the government.

“I hate the thought that my decent prime minister has to answer to people like the leader of the opposition trying to take advantage,” he said.

“That my brother is why – I ain’t putting no mouth on you – but you will never win. God don’t bless evil and I don’t know what the intention was but I guarantee you it was to bring (the prime minister) lower in the eyes of the people.”

Mr Gray’s comments centre on allegations that the PLP government made promises to Mr Nygard and that Mr Nygard gave the PLP $5 million as a campaign donation.

On Monday, Dr Minnis said the “grave” allegations that Mr Nygard was promised a lease for Crown land along with “compromising” allegations against Mr Christie and Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis warranted a full explanation from those in power.

Yesterday, Mr Gray called on the opposition to be specific about their claims rather than paint the entire PLP with a broad brush, stressing that he has never taken any money from Mr Nygard.

“Sometimes my family raise hell because I give of my salary to people,” he said, arguing that altruism has been a major component of his public career.

“I give more every month to people I don’t know. I do it to see whether I could wipe a tear from an eye. The more you give the more you get. My mother instilled in me the value of hard work, the value of being honest and I have been blessed not being worthy of it…but he has favoured me and everything I have touched in my lifetime turned out to be successful, politics, law, pilot, teacher, administrator. If you do the right things God will bless your efforts.

“I am not afraid to go anywhere, anytime but I speak to those men and women who make up this august body, they would say anything to see whether they could get a political advantage. That has never been my style and it never will be. I don’t have to talk badly about anybody to win because that’s not what my mama taught me.”

Dr Minnis never rose to dispute Mr Gray’s comments even as the MICAL MP repeatedly directed his criticism towards him, saying at one point: “The leader of the opposition don’t mess with my name; that’s all I got.

“I don’t know what people’s money look like. Nygard, (Save the Bays Director Louis) Bacon, nobody has given me anything in my lifetime and I know how I got every cent. I challenge the commissioner of police, the deputy, go look at my bankbook. I don’t do foolishness when it comes to my integrity and for them to make these broad statements about ministers…call names if you got it because when you say two ministers the unsuspecting public could easily assume it’s Gray, especially if they don’t like you.”

“I’m in the twilight, perhaps sunset of my political life and I’m not going to let leaders, the chairman, nobody mess with my character. I’ve always tried to work with good conscience and clean hands.”

Last week, several Save the Bays directors filed a 410-page affidavit from John Joseph DiPaolo, an investigator hired out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida which alleged a murder for hire plot orchestrated by Mr Nygard against those opposed to the expansion of his property at Lyford Cay.

A series of secret video recordings of Mr Nygard and two self professed gang members were filed in support of the affidavit. In those recordings, Mr Christie and Mr Davis are repeatedly mentioned. In one video, Mr Nygard suggests he “pissed away” $5m to the PLP. He also said he was promised a Crown land lease nearly 25 years ago, which he did not receive, and lambasted the prime minister in curse filled rants for making “fake promises.”

In the court filings, it was also alleged that the two men Livingston “Toggie” Bullard and Wisler “Bobo” Davilma were sent to Mr Nygard by Mr Davis to protect the billionaire’s local interests as a major campaign backer of the PLP.