By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
FNM LEADER Dr Hubert Minnis claimed yesterday that the UK consultants hired by the government to advise them on the upcoming referendum are accountants with no expertise in the gaming industry.
At a press conference yesterday Dr Minnis said Prime Minister Perry Christie is doing a “disservice” to the Bahamian people by receiving non expert advice on a matter of such grave importance.
“The Prime Minister asserts that he has received advice from what he calls ‘our international gaming advisor’s. The truth of the matter is that the government’s advisors have no professed
expertise whatsoever in the gaming industry. Those advisors are the British Accounting Firm, Dixon Wilson, whose published field of business is limited to accounting and tax advice. Their Internet web site specifically states that ‘we provide all the accountancy, audit and tax services you would expect.’ Nowhere does Dixon Wilson claim to any have expertise in advising on the gaming industry,” he said.
“Anyone can look up or Google the firm on the Internet and see that they do not anywhere claim to have any expertise to advise anyone on the issue of gambling. It is a disservice for the Prime Minister to receive non expert advice on a matter of such national importance and intricacy, as whether, and if so, how best to legalise and regularize web shop gambling or how to implement a national lottery. Such an undertaking calls for a responsible government to obtain the best advice possible from experts in the gambling industry, not from a firm of tax accountants, whose halting presentation on television could not inspire any confidence that they had any degree of familiarity, much less expertise in the gaming industry.”
Dr Minnis also criticized the government for failing to enforce existing Bahamian law and regulate web shops he claims are infringing upon the National Security of the Bahamas by having “quasi-banking operations.”
“The failure of the PLP government to enforce our laws in the face of this new development of the use of ATM machines and money transmission capacity by web shops is simply inexcusable,” he said. “There is no need to hold a referendum to prevent money laundering. All the government has to do, and can do as of today, is to take steps to apply existing Bahamian law. The failure of the government to do so is inexcusable. It is an absolutely unacceptable dereliction of duty on the part of the Prime Minister, his Attorney General and his Minister of National Security.”
When asked why the FNM government never enforced those laws Dr Minnis said: “That’s why you all throw us out!”
The FNM leader is also calling on the government to immediately appoint a nonpartisan National Consultative Commission on Gambling.
“The committee will look into all matters connected with web shops, the present social and economic impact, positive and negative, of illegal gambling, the likely future social and economic impact of legalized web shop gambling and a National Lottery and to present options for change ranging from the closure of web shops to differing possible options for their legalization or regularization as well as options for the possible implementation of a National Lottery,” he said.
Dr Minnis called for the government to immediately abandon the referendum until the Bahamian people have a impartial expert assessment of what a ‘Yes’ vote could mean for the country.
Comments
TalRussell 11 years, 5 months ago
Comrades whatever political causalities PM Christie's governing party may suffer from messing with this "thing" his, it will be a personal matter between the Bahamian people and the PM, with no political benefit at all coming the way of the red shirts, who we all must remember were removed from power and with damn good reasons.
I'm afraid Comrade Minnis, but your party's sudden pretend to be any different than the PLP, over the licensing of the numbers "bosses" ain't going wash with Bahamians.
Why is it Bahamians are being asked to believe that despite Hubert's well known reputation of knowing it all when it came right down to his seemingly knowing what was going on within his red shirts party and with his ministers, yet he was surprised to learn that his own election candidates, candidates who never could have been contesting had he not personally sanctioned their candidacy, were in fact penetrated with campaign juice from the deep pockets of the numbers "bosses?"
Comrades then there is also that other cloudy issue of government workers under the red shirts regime, who by the way were paid their salaries by the public treasury, who although having conducted some type of feasibility study on the numbers rackets, but yet mysteriously it never worked it's way into the cabinet room or the PM's office, or it appears not even read by any cabinet minister?
Truth is few Bahamians have much stomach when it comes to listening to anything the former red shirts regime has to say, who's "Best Before Dates" done come and gone, with their two memorable by-elections losses in Elizabeth and Cooper's Town, and throw in the important all but wiped-wiped as a party in the 2012 General Elections, and the staleness remains, regardless of any "avoidable" missteps now being made by PM Christie, over his "thing."
Yep, PM Christie would have mess-up many more times, before the red shirts will have any hope in hell of singing their "new and improved" way to ever again regaining Bahamaland's government. It may work for Tide, not to clean the dirt out the red shirts.
I think, Therefore I blog the truth. You decide for yourself, What is truth?
by TalRussell
bahamian242 11 years, 5 months ago
That is no lie! I totally agree w/Dr. Minnis on that!!!
egambling 11 years, 2 months ago
... and it continues South African experts on internet gambling legislation! Internet gambling is illegal in South Africa.
For what purpose? Surely if the legislation gets the go ahead at the upcoming legislation then it's in the interest of all to ensure the risk riddled aspect of internet gambling is properly regulated.
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