The recent claim by Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Sidney Collie that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) is using taxpayer money to fund its election campaign, drew the rebuke of Prime Minister Perry Christie and Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis, who were asked to respond to the accusation yesterday.
Pointing to a Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) ad that appeared in several newspapers, Collie said the government has "treated our tax dollars as if it were their own personal slush fund".
Speaking to the media during a tour of the Fox Hill Community Centre, Davis said, "It's nonsense.
"I think [that] those who spout such foolishness ought to be able to discern between what is government and what is politics.
"Again, [it] just demonstrates the level of either ignorance on that side, or just deliberate distortion or lies or facts to be able to promote their own political agendas."
Davis said the opposition has politicized BAMSI.
"They have made BAMSI political because they have not embraced it," he said.
"In fact, they would prefer to point to anything negative coming out of it than the positive it is contributing to our upliftment as a people.
"And so, if they make it political, it is one of the signature initiatives by this government, so why should we not tout it as such?
"It never crossed their mind.
"In fact, the agriculture section was ignored completely by the previous administration.
"We in our Charter for Governance of 2012 indicated that we would pay attention to this sector of our economy and we have done so.
"So why should we not let the Bahamian people know what we have done and not only what we have done, what we intend to do?
"And so, what worries me is whether they will stop and cancel that initiative that was started by us, which has proven to be a great initiative on the part of this government."
The BAMSI ad features a woman placing stickers on bananas supposedly produced by BAMSI. There is a large PLP banner at the bottom.
A sponsored ad for BAMSI has also been circulated frequently in recent weeks on social media.
Also insisting that Collie's claims were "falsehoods", Christie, who was also in Fox Hill, told reporters that Collie of all people should know the "maturity of the government".
"We are the government of The Bahamas," he said.
"If in fact they put out false information and fake news on the Progressive Liberal Party, it is the government of The Bahamas that must defend itself.
"The government of The Bahamas was elected by the people, who we would wish to protect when it comes to our revenue, but part of the protection is not allowing lies to be institutionalized through fake and false information, and so the balance...must exist in our country.
"We feel good about it; we are a mature party.
"Mr. Collie should know, he should know personally, him, he should know personally the maturity of this government.
"Let him hear me say that. He should know personally the maturity of my government."
Yesterday, Davis was also asked about calls for campaign finance legislation. He said, "Those calls have always been there and I think it is something that we ought to be addressing, but unfortunately no one has gotten around to it.
"This is something that has been talked about from time immemorial and we always seem to put it on the side and it is always heightened at this time of the year, particularly depending on who is in government.
"When we [are] in opposition, we call for it.
"...It's always the cry and it's a debate that [will] continue until we deal with it."
In July 2012, during a parliamentary conclave, Christie committed to addressing the issue.
His statements came a day after he told the House of Assembly that two international groups which monitored the May general election called for the government to create laws that would limit campaign spending. No such laws have been passed.

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