With demands for Marathon MP Jerome Fitzgerald to be fired for soliciting lucrative contracts with the Baha Mar resort from then Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian, Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said at a rally in Carmichael last night that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) remains a "greedy and grabalicious" organization filled with "out of control, arrogant, disrespectful and all-for-me-baby" Cabinet ministers.
He said this is the fundamental difference between the FNM and PLP.
Minnis, who stressed The Bahamas could not survive another term with the PLP, pledged to hold his ministers responsible if the FNM wins the government.
"Jerome Fitzgerald knew that Christie's Cabinet could do whatever [it] wanted.
"These people are bold in their bad ways.
"He (Fitzgerald) blatantly went about begging for contracts at Baha Mar."
In emails dating back to 2013, Fitzgerald solicited Izmirlian for brokerage, trucking and limousine contracts with the resort.
Fitzgerald later admitted to "seeking his assistance" for "some work" on behalf of his father, the founder of Bahamas Cargo & Logistics Ltd.
He also requested Izmirlian provide a recommendation to approach the hotel brands that make up Baha Mar.
Fitzgerald has maintained he has no shares in the family business and has no contracts with Baha Mar, now owned by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) -- although he repeatedly used "we" in his emails when referring to Bahamas Cargo & Logistics Ltd.
Minnis said Fitzgerald has violated Cabinet rules of conduct and standards, but charged that the PLP had "little to no standards left".
"They are greedy and grabalicious," he said.
"Jerome didn't just want a little contract.
"He wanted to hog up the limousine business.
"He forget that everybody has to eat in this country and put bread on the table.
"His mindset was clear: I don't care about the taxi and limousine drivers in this country and their families, just like I don't care about the health of the residents of Marathon.
"Jerome is just like many of them in that PLP Cabinet. They just want to hog up, hog up.
"Don't forget Allyson Maynard-Gibson (attorney general).
"She wanted her and her family to hog up business at Baha Mar.
"If you let them back in, you can kiss our country goodbye."
But Minnis said what was truly disgraceful was Fitzgerald's response when the matter was revealed.
The FNM leader said Fitzgerald did not apologize or express regret, but instead danced around on Nomination Day.
Minnis said the prime minister's silence on the matter makes it worse, but it is indicative of his government.
"The PLP's message is crystal clear -- to hell with the Bahamian people," he said.
"And you know what? If they win, Christie will put Jerome right back in the Cabinet so he can beg someone else for contracts.
"FNMs, Bahamians everywhere. The FNM is different. The PLP has brought back the same tired ... out of control, arrogant, disrespectful, all-for-me-baby crew."
Minnis said he would never allow his minister of financial services to "negotiate a lucrative deal and job with the very industry he is supposed to oversee, and who will have business before the government".
"Christie even bragged about what a sweet deal Ryan [Pinder] was getting," Minnis said.
Elizabeth MP Ryan Pinder resigned as a minister of financial services in December 2014 after he accepted a "mind-blowing" offer at Deltec Bank.
Minnis said the PLP, through greed and poor governance, has brought the country to its knees, and this election is about "hope and opportunity, nurturing the dreams and unleashing the talents and energy of the Bahamian people, especially our young people".

Contracts pledge
The FNM leader promised to be a transformational leader.
As part of his commitment to transparency and accountability, Minnis said upon becoming the government, the FNM would publish all major government contracts in local newspapers.
A notable contract that remains under the seal of the Supreme Court is the August agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China, which saw former Baha Mar employees and Bahamian creditors paid.
It was revealed through information leaked to the media that the government traded tax concessions equivalent to the $100 million in payouts.
Minnis also pledged to appoint a press secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister to ensure the media are regularly briefed.
Additionally, he said he would ensure FNM MPs hold frequent town hall meetings with their constituents.

Pretender
Minnis said Prime Minister Perry Christie is a great pretender and has pretended to care about the will of the people, but his government has ignored it.
He said this was demonstrated in the January 2013 gambling referendum when voters overwhelmingly rejected the questions, but the government went ahead and regularized the web shop industry.
Minnis said Christie has pretended to care about Bahamians' health, but the government has failed to introduce a comprehensive National Health Insurance (NHI) plan.
Enrollment was launched this week.
Primary care services under NHI is expected to begin on May 1, four years after Minister of Health Dr. Perry Gomez said it would be implemented.
Gomez admitted this week that the government still does not know how it will pay for the scheme.
Furthermore, the public insurer for NHI is not in place, despite officials insisting this will not impact the program.
Minnis said the May 1 introduction of primary care services under NHI is more about "public relations than reality".
He said an FNM government would support a workable and sustainable NHI plan, introducing a Catastrophic Health Insurance plan.
Minnis also said the prime minister pretends to respect the Bahamian people, but has produced his middle finger in public and uttered obscene language in front of students.
Christie later expressed deep regret about the gesture.
"Emperor Perry Christie is a great pretender," Minnis said.
"But, I am real. And I will be real with you.
"Unlike the PLP, I am not going to promise things my government cannot deliver.
"I have a clear philosophy of leadership and some guiding values and principles."

A Supreme Court jury yesterday convicted a man of an armed robbery and attempted murder that stemmed from a home invasion.
Adrian Stubbs, of Fleming Street, claimed that he was at home with his girlfriend's mother and brother around the time that two gunmen broke into Judith Blair's home at Chapel Street, Blue Hills Estates, on February 11, 2014.
Despite his claims of being elsewhere, police lifted Stubbs' fingerprints from inside the home and he was identified by Judith Blair and her son, Marvin Blair.
Ms. Blair was home-schooling her grandson when the intruders appeared.
They took $2,100 in cash, a laptop, cell phone and the grandson's bag.
Stubbs, who was identified as the gunman, shot Ms. Blair twice, her son once, and fired at the grandson, the court heard.
Stubbs was arrested on February 21 and picked out in separate identification parades by the elder Blairs the following day.
During his testimony, the prosecution pointed out that Stubbs' alibi had changed from the one he had provided at his arraignment.
At that time, Stubbs claimed he was home babysitting his nephew.
But in his evidence, Stubbs said that he babysat his son during the morning until he took him to St. Barnabas Day Care and remained home with his girlfriend's mother and brother.
The mother backed up Stubbs' claim that he was at home, but she said that he was not her grandchild's father, although the boy called him daddy.
Justice Bernard Turner will hold a sentencing hearing on June 8, as his lawyer, Damien White, requested a probation report.
Floyd Moxey and Bjorn Ferguson prosecuted.

Dear Editor,
Daniel 4:17 says, "The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men." God did that in the time of King Saul and chose the young boy David as the new king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:1-13). God did it again during the fall of Babylon and the rise of the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:25-30). And now God is about to do it again.
On June 7, 2016, the handwriting appeared on the wall for the PLP government and the verdict was given: "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." Daniel 5:27. That verdict will be carried out on May 10, 2017.
For all of you who are on God's side, and may have some uncertainty, James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God." Jesus also said, "Ask and it shall be given you." Matthew 7:7.
So Bahamians, pray, pray, pray and allow God to direct you in selecting the new government of The Bahamas.
"God has spoken, let the church say, amen."

- Pastor Jeremiah Duncombe

The establishment of the Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality (BBSQ) could eventually assist The Bahamas in lowering the instances of food imports that are unnecessary.
A presentation by BBSQ consultant Graham Holloway revealed that the implementation of standards and quality will assist in pushing forward the substitution of certain imported products for locally grown options.
It is said that the country imports about $1 billion worth of foodstuffs each year.
"The BBSQ will mean the reduction in the volume of unnecessary imports of basic food and other products, and the substitution of good quality local products, thereby resulting in greater job creation," Holloway said in the presentation.
"The creation of an environment that encourages and rewards innovation, especially in the identification and development of other products that can gain access to export markets."
As the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Sciences Institute (BAMSI) moves forward, the BBSQ will likely become an important resource that helps to manage the entry of BAMSI products into the consumer market.
One of the BBSQ's focuses, according to Holloway, will be the facilitation of growth
in the national agricultural production and exporting sector. It is also focused on the "growth of intra-regional cooperation in quality infrastructure matters", which Holloway said could lead to enhanced trade opportunities.
The BBSQ was created to bring The Bahamas in line with the rest of the world in logging and enforcing quality checks and standards for goods and services this country provides. While this process could be long and tedious, and cause some disruption in the status quo of business operations, it is essential for The Bahamas if the country is to increase its trade.