The Nassau Guardian
FNM: PM showed lack of confidence in Greenslade
Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Darron Cash said yesterday that Prime Minister Perry Christie threw Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade under the bus when he told a crowd that his legacy would not be tied to a reliance on the police and its leadership.
Cash also said it is time for National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage and Minister of State for National Security Keith Bell to be fired for the
“grossly and shamefully negligent manner in which they have handled crime and other issues concerning national security”.
When contacted for comment yesterday, Bell dismissed the call and said the FNM can either work with the government or stay quiet.
Cash said, “At a time when Bahamians are concerned about their personal safety and that of their family, the number one thing on the prime minister’s mind is his legacy,” Cash said in a statement.
“He was unusually honest when he proclaimed that he did not want his government’s current failures on crime to make him look bad.
“Consequently, the only thing he could do was point the finger of blame at the commissioner of police and the police force. How very sad. The PM’s comments came across as small and self-serving.”
At an Urban Renewal luncheon at Montagu Gardens last Friday, Christie said his administration will not compromise in its crime fight as it seeks to prevent a “culture of killing” in The Bahamas.
“There is no compromise in me in that, and as I’ve told the minister for national security, I am not prepared to have my own legacy, my own reputation, tied to a total reliance on the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and the leadership of that force,” he said.
“To the extent that I am leader of the country, I am going to be intrusive in ensuring that the system that we are operating under is accountable to the people of this country, and I have the position where I have to require them to be accountable to the people of this country.”
In recent years, crime has remained a major national concern.
There were 120 murders in 2013 and at least four recorded for the new year so far.
On December 27, seven people were injured and four killed during a drive-by shooting in Fox Hill.
In response to the increase in murders, Christie announced more than 20 initiatives Cabinet has agreed to as part of the government’s effort to “escalate” the war on crime.
Chief among the initiatives are plans to increase police saturation patrols in crime hot spots and possibly reinstate the 12-hour shift for police officers.
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