Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Perry Christie last night condemned Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's recent criticism of the opposition's failure to construct the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium during its last term in office.
The 15,000 seat stadium, which opens tonight, is a $30 million gift from the People's Republic of China.
Christie accepted the gift when he was prime minister but was voted out of office before his adminstration could oversee its construction.
At the opening of the PLP's Garden Hills constituency office, Christie charged that Ingraham is now seeking to take sole credit for the construction of the huge stadium.
"I proposed and negotiated the stadium. I worked to ensure the Chinese would increase the size and scope of their initial investment so that the final result would be an even bigger and better stadium. The Chinese bought into that and they built it according to our vision," said Christie.
"But there's Ingraham acting like it was all his idea. Acting like he wielded the shovel himself. How small-minded do you have to be to deny it's a shared accomplishment, a national achievement of which every Bahamian ought to be proud?
"This small-mindedness - this worship of petty politics instead of the national good - it doesn't just cheapen and degrade him - it hurts The Bahamas. It sets us back as a people."
On Thursday night, Ingraham blasted Christie and the PLP, claiming that when the opposition had the opportunity to "do something for Bahamian athletes and sportsmen they spent their time talking, holding ceremonies and destroying existing facilities".
"[The PLP] broke down the Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium leaving no place for seniors to play baseball. Then, they tore down the Churchill Tenner-Knowles National Softball Pitch. And, if that was not enough, they then dug up the Anthony Curry Practice Field," said Ingraham at the opening of his party's Tall Pines and Southern Shores constituency offices.
"They did all this in preparation for the construction of a national stadium, but they didn't manage to ever complete the design for the stadium. Instead, they permitted the first delivery of building materials to rust on what looked like an abandoned site."
Ingraham said if the Free National Movement (FNM) wins another term in office, it will transform the 450-acre sports center into "the best athletic complex in the region".
Despite Ingraham's castigation, Christie said he is excited about tonight's opening.
He said that the country will finally have a stadium that "lives up to the greatness of Bahamian competitors".
"When I negotiated with the Chinese for that stadium, I was thinking about our amazing Bahamian world-class competitors, and how a new generation of athletes deserved a facility that honors their talent and determination," he said.
Christie also suggested Ingraham has resorted to "gutter politics" in an attempt to retain power.
He said the PLP believes the election should be about reducing violence, creating jobs, reducing the cost of energy, securing the country's borders, investing in Bahamians and putting Bahamians first.
But he claimed the FNM will do "almost anything to avoid those issues [and] avoid their record of failure".
"You know, I'm almost - almost - starting to feel bad for the fellow. There's something terribly sad about what Hubert Ingraham has been reduced to," said Christie.
"The meaner he gets, the more he reminds Bahamians what a nasty bully he is when people are looking for a statesman. The more low-down his insults, the more he offends Bahamians who are trying to raise their children with old-fashioned values. The more he recycles old and discredited [stories], the more obvious it is how desperate he's become. It's sad, isn't it? Fifteen of the last 20 years he's been prime minister - but he never met a problem he couldn't blame on someone else."
 
 

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