By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

WHILE accusing the Free National Movement of “plagiarising” a portion of Jamaica’s People’s National Party’s manifesto, incumbent Golden Gates MP Shane Gibson sought to free himself from the perception of malfeasance explaining to supporters his spending of $125,000 on various community initiatives including $50,000 each year on scholarships to constituents.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Perry Christie pleaded with members of the armed forces voting in today’s advanced poll to support the Progressive Liberal Party, remembering the people who fought for them to have the right to vote.

The early vote comes just days after hundreds of officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Royal Bahamas Defence Force were promoted to higher ranks in their respective organisations.

The PLP’s mega rally at the Golden Gates Park took on a party atmosphere with not only local artists taking the stage, but a performance from Trinidadian soca artist Farmer Nappy. An elaborate fireworks show followed when Mr Gibson took the stage to dismiss allegations levelled at him recently.

While he did not mention his relationship with Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard, Mr Gibson explained his spending in Golden Gates.

Last week, The Tribune reported that Mr Gibson received $94,000 from Mr Nygard through a Bank of America account.

He did not immediately own up to the claims, but later said he spent the money in his constituency when he was informed by The Tribune of documents, which verified receipt of the money.

Outside of releasing a press statement when contacted by the media, Mr Gibson was up until last night silent on the matter, despite numerous attempts by the press to question him further.

“That other party says ‘It’s The People’s Time.’ But everything about the FNM is fake,” Mr Gibson said. “And their platform? That’s fake, too– look at this. That right there is the platform of a political party in Jamaica, and word for word, that right here is the Fake National Movement’s platform.

“What you think about that? Copying word for word,” he alleged. “If you were in school, you’d get in trouble for that.”

He later provided The Tribune with copies of screenshots from both platforms, where the wording appeared similar on promises for culture and sports.

“No matter what lies they spew, when I walk around in Golden Gates, people know what’s real: the $50,000 we donate for scholarships for deserving Golden Gates students each year – that’s real.

“The $15,000 we spend every year to give Golden Gates kids a merry Christmas – that’s real.

“The $22,000 we spend to show parents we appreciate them every Mother’s Day and Father’s Day – that’s real.

“The $10,000 we spend to prepare community kids for back to school each year – that’s real.

“The $8,000 for our marching bands, the $6,000 for food assistance, $5,000 for the computer lab, $4,000 for after school programmes, $3,000 for basketball tournaments, and $2,000 for our fun/run walks and health fairs, that’s real.”

For his part, Mr Christie went on to speak to plans included in the PLP’s 2017 action plan, saying “anyone could call anyone a thief” but the PLP will tell you the plans for your children.

The document features a cap on loan interest rates for government workers, a free electricity plan and skills training for older persons.

He also criticised FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis for having to bring back former FNM politicians to help him draw crowds at party rallies. He was referring to former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham speaking at two FNM rallies in Abaco this week. Former Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette also reentered front line politics and is on the party’s ticket for next week’s election.

He cautioned supporters to avoid voting for the FNM at the risk of it stopping things to look and see if they are right. He said a vote for the FNM was a vote in favour of jeopardising the country.

“It’s your party that gave you a dignified existence in your own land,” Mr Christie told supporters.

“And no matter what they say about Lynden Oscar Pindling, he is the architect and seen to be the architect of the modern Bahamas.

“Therefore the work done by those who came before us it gives us our strength and determination, it give us our belief in a better tomorrow. It gives us a strong sense of purpose and that’s why we didn’t hesitate to do the things we did as a government. We knew how important it was to focus on education. We knew how important it was to take the College of the Bahamas and lift it up to the University of the Bahamas. Your government did that and as you drive along University Blvd or University Commons let it be known that the progressive liberal party gave our children this wonderful wonderful opportunity to say where you went to school… ‘University of the Bahamas.’

“As we stand here this evening we know there is still work to be done. I owe so much to the people who campaign for me Centreville. They know it’s been difficult for me because of the obligations as party leader to walk throughout the streets of Centreville. They knew I started Peter Street and had to stop to fly last night. They knew I had to fly back to Grand Bahama today and they know we are going to resume tomorrow and we are going to do our best to let the people of Centreville know that the leader of the PLP has this pressing obligation to ensure that he leads the way for his colleagues.

“We want you to believe in your heart and soul that this is the most important thing in your life. There is nothing more important. We are making decision now for children yet unborn.”

He also said: “We have an action plan and this is an action plan for moving forward and I believe it’s a nice action plan only difference is I should (have) lose some weight before I took that picture.”

“We need to help those of you who are struggling with consumer debt. So in our plan we are proposing a cap on interest rates for government workers. That’s going to help many many Bahamians just drowning right now in interest rates, unable to keep their heads above water. No matter how hard they work because interest rates are killing them,” he added.