Branding the bill that would allow for the gambling referendum as a "payback bill", former Works Minister Neko Grant suggested in the House of Assembly yesterday that the government is reimbursing the numbers bosses for favors they did for the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) prior to the general election. But Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald dismissed that claim as a "silly and nonsensical argument". In fact the minister claimed that the Free National Movement (FNM) received donations from the numbers bosses. During his contribution to debate on the Constitutional Referendum Amendment Bill yesterday, Grant said he does not support the legislation.

"I will not support this bill as in legalizing the present web shop operations, the Government of The Bahamas will be aiding and abetting criminal activities and the laundering of ill-gotten gain from an illegal enterprise," he said. "The social cost in terms of dysfunctional families, addiction, increased crime and poor working habits is greater than the benefits to the Bahamian people. "The inability to assure transparency and fairness in the operations of these web shops is of grave concern. The failure of the government to provide reliable data on which to make a considered rational judgment is unacceptable," he continued.

However, during his contribution to the debate on the bill, Fitzgerald accused the opposition of making "reckless, baseless comments with not a thread of truth to them". "They know that this has nothing to do with payback. We told the nation what we were going to do and we did it." Fitzgerald added that while in opposition, the PLP promised to bring a referendum on gambling, and the people voted for the party in overwhelming numbers during the general election. Fitzgerald said the PLP made its position clear prior to the general election. He noted that those on the other side did not accuse the PLP of payback then. "In fact," he added, "they said if they won they would do the same thing."

Grant said when the former FNM government granted business licenses to web shops, it was under the impression the owners were carrying out a legal activity. His statement came as a surprise to many members of Parliament, who voiced their disbelief from their seats. "Before proceeding let me clarify the position of web cafes or web shops as we know them," he said during his contribution to the debate. "The intent was to provide computers and access to the Internet for persons who for one reason or the other did not have computers in their homes. "These were legal businesses that received business licences under the FNM administration. They were subsequently turned into full-fledged illegal gaming rooms."

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