By DANA SMITH
Tribune Staff Reporter
dsmith@tribunemedia.net
FOLLOWING opposition criticism for not yet releasing the gambling referendum questions, Prime Minister Perry Christie said Bahamians will be appraised of the questions “in the very near future”.
A decision has already been made on what the question or questions will be, Mr Christie continued, and there is “no doubt” that Bahamians will fully understand the referendum on voting day.
He explained he had to consider whether a national lottery should be a separate question from web-shop licensing and gaming.
The Prime Minister was responding to comments from Zhivargo Laing, former Minister of State for Finance, who was quoted in news reports as explaining the referendum question should have been released to the public by now.
Mr Laing, who announced his resignation from the Senate earlier this month, told the press that as Mr Christie had recently announced the referendum for January 28, if the details are not released to the public soon, Bahamians will not have enough time to consider them before voting day.
This disregards the point of delaying it from December 3, he explained.
Speaking yesterday, the Prime Minister said: “Firstly, I have to say to my friend Zhivargo that I thought he was out of politics, but I guess that’s effective December that he is resigning form the Senate.
“Having said that, you would recall that I had taken a position that the lottery was not going to be in it. When I took the position, the question as framed – ‘do you agree with the regularization of web-shop licensing, regularization of web-shop gaming’ – it now has to be lottery added to it and the question is whether or not there will be one question with web-shop and lotteries or two questions with web-shop and lotteries.
“I have made the decision and am going to my colleagues with the decision because it’s cabinet government and I will have the Bahamian people apprised of the question.”
There is “absolutely no doubt whatsoever” that voters will know they’re voting either against legalising or for legalising, Mr Christine declared.
“They are going to know what they’re going in to vote for and I have no doubt about that. So it’s full stop for me. They will have plenty of time to do it. The referendum is on January 28 and most certainly, in the very near future, they will know the question or questions,” he said.
Comments
TalRussell 11 years, 4 months ago
The art of the PM, his cabinet and sitting PLP MP's with lots of forthcoming help from some members of the clergy, vocal and written, is to adjust their language to attempt to get Bahamians to be support the rushing though for their pitch for legalization of the number "bosses," by counting on your inability to distinguish between its promoted positive virtues and not its deadly negative virtues?
Comrades the legalization of the numbers "bosses," as the PM has so fondly taken to calling them, is no way for PM Christie to demonstrate strength of character to our youth.
Who knows maybe members of this ruling PLP government are banding together because they really believe the web shops advertising slogans like. "Winners Live Here," "We Pay Out More?"
Maybe they know that the PM ain't going to send no policemen to arrest them, their workers or customers, when they now boldly advertise that not only has "Playing Just Gotten Easier,' but "Bye The Law Gone."
Now they boldly advertise that among cash and other goodies you can also win a spanking brand new Car, or even a House?
PM tell me something. Can't the Police Commissioner ask a Judge for an Court Order to send he police to "seize" that Car and Home, from whoever wins them, "knowingly" won from wagering on "illegal" numbers? Yes, unless the law is an ass I think the Comish can seize?
by TalRussell
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