By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe accused the FNM yesterday of using former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham to prop up Michael Pintard’s leadership.

He also argued that Mr Ingraham has no formidable record on immigration and that the Davis administration has taken stronger enforcement action than previous administrations.

Mr Munroe made the comments after Mr Ingraham raised concerns about the number of foreigners allegedly found with fraudulent Bahamian passports and other government-issued documents.

“You judge somebody on their record,” he said. “Mr Ingraham has no record to talk about immigration. Brave Davis has a record to talk about immigration, settling down entries by whipping the Royal Bahamas Defense Force troops with more interceptors in repatriating, deporting more people than any other administration has in history, including Mr Ingraham.”

Mr Munroe also attacked Mr Pintard’s leadership, suggesting the opposition’s use of Mr Ingraham showed a lack of confidence in the FNM leader.

“I understand that they feel that Mr Pintard can't do it on his own, and they have to bring back the old war horse,” he said. “I think that just sets out what everybody knows, that Michael Pintard isn’t fit to be prime minister of The Bahamas, and if he needs to be propped up by Hubert Ingraham, so be it.”

Responding to Mr Ingraham’s criticism of the PLP’s so-called lack of outrage over forged court documents and passports, Mr Munroe said the government had focused on arrests and prosecutions rather than rhetoric.

“The difference is this, they did nothing about it,” he said, referring to the FNM. “That was happening during their tenure, during Ingraham's tenure, during Minnis tenure, you did not see the efficiency in detecting it and prosecuting them.”

“You know how I prefer to show my outrage about you having a forged document? I prefer to show it by locking you up, by putting you before the courts and sending you to jail.”

“That's how we should demonstrate our outrage to people who do that, and we've committed that after we succeed this election, increasing the penalty for public servants who participate in that sort of activity.”

“They're good at outrage, which is theatrics. We're good at action, which is catching the perpetrators and calling them to account. My cousin Pintard is an actor, so he's big on theatrics.”

Progressive Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell also dismissed Mr Ingraham’s appearance at FNM political events.

“He is seeking neither the Office of Prime Minister nor any other public position,” Mr Mitchell said. “At this stage, what he says or does is best characterized as tedious irrelevance.”

Mr Mitchell said the FNM’s use of Mr Ingraham reflected poorly on Mr Pintard’s leadership.

“Michael Pintard is running for prime minister, not Hubert Ingraham,” he said. “It says a great deal about the state of the FNM that they have had to bring someone back from the FNM graveyard to save their political souls. The man who sold BTC in a fire sale, resulting in lost jobs, poor phone service, and one of the worst phone systems in the Caribbean, can hardly prescribe public policy for our country.”

He added that Bahamian voters had already judged Mr Ingraham’s political legacy.

“The Bahamian people took a chance on Hubert Ingraham three times as Prime Minister,” Mr Mitchell said. “Having tried unsuccessfully to block Brave Davis from becoming prime minister, he is now engaged in another bitter exercise, seeking to block others from that office. Michael Pintard should stop hiding behind the ghost of Christmas past and defend his own worthless, jingoistic policies.”

PLP spokesman Latrae Rahming also accused the FNM of leaning on Mr Ingraham.

“Instead of presenting a clear vision for the future, they are borrowing credibility from the past,” he said. “This election is about who can lead The Bahamas through uncertain times, protect progress, and move the country forward with steady leadership.”

“The FNM knows this election cannot be won on Michael Pintard’s leadership alone. That is why the focus keeps shifting everywhere else except him.”