The stench from the scandal involving Jerome Fitzgerald and his shameless abuse of power; conflict of interest; and greedy, self-serving, unscrupulous actions as a minister in the Christie administration is intensifying with each passing day as he refuses to acknowledge his breach of the codes governing the conduct of members of the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Perry Christie remains disgracefully silent amid calls for him to demonstrate his previously stated commitment to ensure his ministers adhere to the highest standards in public life.
His entire government and the campaign of the Progressive Liberal Party are being smeared in this sordid affair, adding fuel to the fire that these are not the people we need to put back in charge.
The wheels are falling off for the PLP.
Credibility is lost.
And nails are being hammered in their political coffins with increased frequency and heightened fervor as the call grows for a national cleansing and renewal.
There is a need for clean and good governance.
It is clear that, that will not happen with the Progressive Liberal Party under Christie's leadership.
He and his entire government deserve condemnation. They are unfit to lead us any longer.
They must go.
If the Bahamian people needed a strong example, in the waning days of this term, that Christie is more concerned about protecting scandal-ridden ministers than he is about doing what is best for the country, its people and our international reputation, then they got it last week when The Tribune revealed a series of damning emails between Fitzgerald and Sarkis Izmirlian, who was the Baha Mar developer.
The emails reveal Fitzgerald to be swimming in the swamp, a cesspool of avarice and shadowy dealings, as he sought to secure contracts for his family business.
We should all be embarrassed that a minister of our government would demonstrate such shady, unethical behavior in dealing with an investor.
The brazenness of Fitzgerald's multiple emails to Izmirlian asking for personal favors while he sat in Cabinet is stunning on multiple levels.
The emails remind us that while so many Bahamians are working hard to make ends meet, pushing back from a plunge over the financial cliff, there are others who were put in power to protect the interests of the Bahamian people, who are using their offices for personal enrichment and advancement.
It is sickening and reprehensible behavior worsened by the prime minister's refusal to even acknowledge it.
Fitzgerald is a disgrace as a minister of the government. Christie is a disgrace as prime minister of The Bahamas.
Fitzgerald is a disappointment as a so-called new generation leader, who demonstrated such promise a few years ago when he entered frontline politics.
Back then, he was raising hell over what he perceived to be an attempt by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette to facilitate the enrichment of a special interest group with the Arawak Cay Port development.
In 2009, Fitzgerald said, "Bahamians are now left to wonder whether the prime minister has acted as a facilitator to the deputy prime minister and whether he is complicit in this conspiracy to secretively enrich a special interest group at great expense to the government's purse, the environment and the property value of hardworking Bahamians."
But hardworking Bahamians were not foremost on Fitzgerald's mind when he lobbied on behalf of his family's business to lock in contracts.
He wanted the money to flow in his family's direction.
He wanted big money, big contracts.
Today, Fitzgerald and Christie both demonstrate why there is a desperate and urgent need for rescuing our country from the hands of those whose primary focus does not appear to be on bettering the lives of the Bahamian people.
There is need for a shift in the quality of governance we are getting today.

Insult to injury
In his emails to Izmirlian, Fitzgerald sought to secure lucrative contracts for limousine, brokerage and trucking services.
In an email dated May 18, 2013, Fitzgerald says: "As indicated, we are ready to start brokerage and trucking for the Baha Mar project and remain the brokers after opening.
"I am aware that interior materials have began to arrive for the hotel. I would really appreciate it if we could be appointed your official broker for June 1, 2013.
"Also, with regard the limousine business, we are ready to meet with your people anytime. As indicated, we really only cater to high-end customers and are the official agent for LimoLink in The Bahamas."
In another email on July 7, 2013, Fitzgerald says: "Just a note to say two things. Firstly, my dad is now back home from hospital in Florida and doing well.
"He still requires 24 hour care by trained nurses which is costing 15k per month and meds another 5k.
"Secondly, I really need to know when we can expect to begin work for the brokerage and trucking of the furniture fixture and fittings.
"Also, if the other hotel brands are doing their own hotels then I would like their contact person and number and a recommendation from you."
There was more begging from Fitzgerald who wrote Izmirlian on another occasion.
These revelations by the Tribune were explosive.
Firstly, the minister is in clear breach of Article 40(b) of the Cabinet ministers' code of conduct, which states that a minister must not "solicit or accept any benefit, advantage or promise of future advantage whether for himself, his immediate family or any business concern or trust with which he is associated from persons who are in, or seek to be in, any contractual or special relationship with government".
Again, the prime minister has said absolutely nothing.
Fitzgerald's response made an already deplorable situation worse.
Clearly seeking to project an image that he was unconcerned about the revelations, and that there is nothing for anyone else to be concerned about either, he showed up to nominate last Thursday, flailing his arms as he danced awkwardly in an arrogant stupor.
Refusing to answer reporters' questions about his solicitation of Izmirlian, Fitzgerald said he would release a statement. He declared that victory was ahead as supporters cheered him on.
The statement he released later in the day added insult to injury.
There was no acknowledgement that he had erred.
There was no regret expressed.
There was no demonstration to the Bahamian people that he respects their intelligence in learning of his actions.
Instead, he said, "Sarkis Izmirlian and I have communicated on any number of matters over the past eight years, either in person or by email.
"Prior to my father's illness, he had engaged in discussions with Baha Mar to get some work.
"After my father's illness I wrote to Sarkis to follow up on those discussions and seek his assistance.
"Nothing came of it and that remains the case today."

Twisted logic
Fitzgerald seems to suggest that because "nothing came of it", he is to be excused for the solicitation.
This is incredible.
It is twisted logic.
It is disingenuous.
And it is dangerous thinking for a minister of government to view a situation like this in the way he has, as if it is not a problem because he didn't get contracts.
What that demonstrates is he has no understanding of his role and responsibility as minister of government and someone tasked with the responsibility of moving The Bahamas forward, moving the Bahamian people's dreams forward and building a better country.
A minister's role is to protect and advance the interests of the Bahamian people -- not to advance the interests of himself and his family.
While he said he does not own shares in Bahamas Cargo & Logistics, a read of the emails shows that he portrayed himself as being intimately involved in the company, repeatedly using "we" in referencing the company while trying to lock in work.
In a January 5, 2014 email to Izmirlian, Fitzgerald writes (after providing an update on his father's health), "Unfortunately despite all efforts by you and promises to me by Daniel Liu (senior vice president of China Construction America) that we would receive the brokerage and trucking work, we have not, apart from a one time deal to move 40 containers. I do not know why, I am disappointed but I have accepted it and moved on.
"I know that the interior furniture and fittings should begin arriving shortly, and I would really wish to now establish a relationship between Baha Mar and Bahamas Cargo and Logistics Limited (BCL) where all ports of entry can be advised that BCL is to collect the paperwork and clear shipments for Baha Mar.
"It is my hope that the relationship will continue when the hotel opens and we will again be the broker and trucker for this property as we were for so many years."
While Fitzgerald said in his statement on Thursday that "nothing came out of it", his email shows otherwise.
Did he think that Bahamians overlooked the fact that he confirmed in that January 5, 2014 email that the company he was lobbying for received "a one time deal to move 40 containers".
He also writes about personally wanting to establish a relationship between Baha Mar and BCL, which he claims he has no shares in.
His actions are contemptible and stink to high heaven.
Those actions and the revelations raise very, very serious concerns.
At the time Fitzgerald was soliciting Izmirlian, Baha Mar was being developed. Its general contractor was China Construction America (CCA), which also became the owner of The Pointe, a $250 million downtown resort development currently being constructed.
It is worrying that Fitzgerald claims in the email that Liu, a CCA official, had made certain promises to him about contracts for his family business.
Liu and CCA have remained silent in the days since the publication of the emails.
Fitzgerald sought a personal recommendation from Izmirlian and contact information to get deals with the hotel brands on Baha Mar's property.
We also have to question whether he used his position as a minister to gain knowledge of developments at Baha Mar -- like when furniture and fittings would begin arriving, etc.
The small man cannot catch a break in this Bahamas; yet a minister of government is abusing his power to ensure his family is financial set.
This is contemptuous.
Fitzgerald's action was seedy and shameless. It was embarrassing for us as Bahamians to see this in writing from someone of that generation, begging for contracts.
It felt foul.
The more we read those emails, the more our skin crawls.
And we wonder why some investors treat and view Bahamians a certain way. People like Fitzgerald are on the front lines and they set the tone. They give investors the impression that we as a people have no virtue and compass, and our hands are out.
If those who are responsible for leading us are behaving like this, so cheaply, so shamelessly, so classless and low, what are these investors to think of the rest of us?
Crony capitalism and self dealing are not good for development. They are not good for The Bahamas. And they raise the cost for the Bahamian people and lock out opportunities for others who are capable of sharing in the pie.
Fitzgerald appears to have been elbowing everyone else out of the way as he lobbied for contracts.
His greed is nauseating.

Conflict
The minister is wrapped up in conflict. Yet he expects his egregious actions to be overlooked.
What makes the saga even more disgusting and wretched is that after Izmirlian filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015, Fitzgerald became a lead negotiator for the government.
The conflicted minister was an official spokesperson on the matter.
As Izmirlian fought to keep ahold of Baha Mar, Fitzgerald advised in 2016 that Izmirlian never demonstrated he had the money to do what it is he claimed he would do.
"(Mr. Izmirlian) never, never brought one red cent forward," Fitzgerald said.
"Never a letter from a bank, never a guarantee, just words. The government of The Bahamas is not working on words when it comes to this matter. We are working on money where it is located, where we can specify it and where we can see it.
"Mr. Izmirlian has never, ever done that, and if he can send you something where he showed the government that he is able to come up with a couple hundred million dollars to ensure the creditors are paid and that he can finish the project, then you print it."
Sensible Bahamians recognized that it was inappropriate for Fitzgerald to seek personal contracts with a developer while a minister of the government.
It was also inappropriate for him to be the minister appointed to negotiate the agreement to complete Baha Mar and get it sold.
Throughout this term, Fitzgerald has been smeared by controversies.
Early in the term, he signed off on a controversial nolle prosequi, ending the gun case of former clients of Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson.
He will long be remembered for remaining quiet after the government received a report that warned that Marathon residents could potentially be exposed to health hazards due to a Rubis fuel leak on Robinson Road.
Fitzgerald, the Marathon MP, infamously declared he would have been fired from Cabinet had he warned his constituents what was in the report of consultants.
For more than a year, the government sat on the report, making it public only after residents expressed anger at a town meeting upon learning of its existence.
Now the disgraced minister is dancing before the cameras and asking us to accept that his begging for personal contracts is an acceptable thing for a minister to do.
Meanwhile, most of his colleagues remain quiet on the matter.
Their silence makes them all complicit.
Their silence demonstrates that they are more concerned about political expediency than doing what is right and honorable.
They are demonstrating what Fitzgerald said in Parliament last year as he shamelessly read the private emails of Save The Bays members: "When you touch one, you touch all."
Fitzgerald said he got the Save The Bays emails out of his political garbage can. He read them on the floor of the House of Assembly in an attempt to demonstrate that the group, funded by wealthy Lyford Cay resident, Louis Bacon, has launched a campaign to destabilize the Christie administration.
A judge ruled that he had violated their constitutional rights.
He and his colleagues remained defiant in the face of that court ruling.
In Parliament, Fitzgerald was vociferous when any suggestion was made by the opposition that the government is corrupt.
One time he went as far as bragging that he made his money before entering politics, as if to suggest he is financially set.
He has vowed to defend his reputation.
He has presented himself as a minister who adheres to the highest ethical standards, who operates above board at all times.
We now know that not to be the case.
He and his colleagues are an arrogant bunch who know no shame.
They are determined to protect each other at any cost.
This was obvious when we did an interview with the attorney general and Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis during the reception on Friday to mark the opening of Baha Mar.
The two refused to address the Fitzgerald matter directly. Instead, they deflected and danced around the questions.
"He is our candidate, and we expect him to win that seat," Davis said of Fitzgerald.
The prime minister, meanwhile, refused to take any questions from reporters, as if the matter would fade if he says nothing.
He has been ducking reporters since the emails were revealed.
By his silence, Christie is protecting Fitzgerald, and in the process damaging his already frail legacy in what has shaped up to be a disastrous term in office.

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