By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr Hubert Minnis last night blasted Prime Minister Perry Christie’s explanation on how his administration handled the $1.14bn in value added tax (VAT) revenue accumulated during 2015 and 2016, accusing the government of having a “pile of money” and wasting it.

Dr Minnis also pledged to introduce a “rent to own” housing policy to help aspiring homeowners achieve their dreams, committed to putting air quality monitors in place and deal with oil slicks in waters off western New Providence, among other promises if elected to office.

He also poked fun at Mr Christie for appearing to recently fall asleep at a public event, saying: “How can we have a prime minister that when he speaks to investors, he falls asleep?”

Addressing a massive crowd of supporters gathered at Arawak Cay for the party’s western New Providence candidates launch, Dr Minnis warned that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) had now resorted using “false stories” to discredit him in an effort to shift the public’s focus away from its inefficiencies in governance.

The Killarney MP told the exuberant crowd: “I see Christie saying he can account for the VAT money. Well, let me say this. They collected about $1.4b in VAT money. They borrowed over $1.8b.

“So, I have to ask again: Where the VAT money gone? The PLP didn’t build a single school. Where the VAT money gone? They haven’t finished hospitals in the Family Islands. Where the VAT money gone?

“The PLP built no major infrastructure. Where the VAT money gone? They abandoned Grand Bahama and the Family Islands. Where the VAT money gone? They did not double the national investment in education as they promised. Where the VAT money gone? Roads across this island are filled with potholes and are in disrepair. Where the VAT money gone? If they get five more years, they will waste billions more.”

He continued: “The PLP is so desperate that they’re lying about me. You see that untruthful ad on TV. It was the PLP who commenced a contract for office space for a company I owned. Maybe the PLP should run an ad on PLPs like Allyson Maynard-Gibson and her conflicts-of-interests at Baha Mar.

“Can you imagine that the very person who Christie is relying on to get a new deal at Baha Mar, had family business interests at the resort? This is the same PLP who gave contracts for construction at BAMSI to people who didn’t even legally qualify for these contracts.”

In addition to addressing the Christie administration handling of national revenue, Dr Minnis used a large section of his 20-minute address to detail the journey of his life from a Bain Town paper boy to one of the country’s prominent physicians, asserting that unlike Prime Minister Christie, who he branded as “entitled,” he understands the struggles and the stories of those striving for a better life.

Dr Minnis went on to label the senior members of the PLP as “arrogant elitists” who operate with a sense of entitlement.

“They think that only certain people from certain backgrounds can aspire to lead our Bahamas. They think they are better than me and you. They don’t think you and me should even have certain dreams. They believe that only certain well-connected people should have access to certain opportunities,” he said.

Thursday’s mass rally officially launched the candidacies of Southern Shores candidate Frankie Campbell, Fort Charlotte candidate Mark Humes, Golden Isles candidate Vaughn Miller, Mount Moriah candidate Marvin Dames and Dr Minnis’ bid in Killarney.

For their parts, Mr Miller, Mr Humes and Mr Campbell all addressed the quality of life in the communities they hope to represent.

The candidates all launched poignant attacks at their respective opponents in the upcoming general election, with Mr Humes calling return of former Attorney General Alfred Sears in the Fort Charlotte constituency a “tale of a visionless leader wanting another shot at glory.”

Meanwhile, Mr Campbell took current Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett to task over his inability to improve environmental conditions of those he represented, going as far as insinuate that Mr Dorsett has spent the last five years only aiding residents when the opportunity offered some form of political notoriety.

Mr Miller, in spirited address, called on the residents of Golden Isles to walk with him on a journey that he said, would result in them having their “voices maximised” in the House of Assembly.

Presented as the party’s “heavy hitter” of the night, Mr Dames used his address to “hold the government to its record” while in office, arguing that the Christie administration was unable to meet the promises it set for itself prior to 2012 general election.

The retired deputy commissioner of police said voters ought not to mistake the party’s recent “rush to get something done” as true governance, but should viewed as call for the nation to demand more.

Mr Dames laid the blame for country crime statistics and financial woes at the feet of the PLP, urging voters to see that party for what it is and “vote them out.”