Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03NASSAU1066
2003-06-03 20:54:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nassau
Cable title:  

POWERS BEHIND THE THRONE IN THE PLP GOVERNMENT -

Tags:  PGOV PINR BF 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NASSAU 001066 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2013
TAGS: PGOV PINR BF
SUBJECT: POWERS BEHIND THE THRONE IN THE PLP GOVERNMENT -
PROTIGIS OF THE COUNTRY'S FIRST PRIME
MINISTER


Classified By: DCM Robert M. Witajeski, Reason 1.5 (B) and
(D).

Summary
--------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NASSAU 001066

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2013
TAGS: PGOV PINR BF
SUBJECT: POWERS BEHIND THE THRONE IN THE PLP GOVERNMENT -
PROTIGIS OF THE COUNTRY'S FIRST PRIME
MINISTER


Classified By: DCM Robert M. Witajeski, Reason 1.5 (B) and
(D).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) In two separate meetings May 27 and 28, DCM and
POL/ECON section chief met the two individuals outside of the
Bahamian government considered to have the most influence on
Prime Minister Perry Christie's government. Wealthy
businessman Frankie Wilson, a prominent campaign contributor
and friend of the Prime Minister's, offered us a spirited
defense of the former Pindling administration's drug record,
gave his perspective on various recent ambassadors, and
defended the Christie administration's record of inaction by
saying repeatedly, "But you have to understand where we have
come from." Bishop Neil Ellis, the controversial pastor of a
large evangelical church whom Christie refers to as his
"spiritual adviser", expressed his desire for closer
relations with the Embassy, bemoaned his treatment in the
press, and offered a fascinating intimate account of how he
came to publicly endorse Christie in the last election. Both
power brokers humbly -- and unconvincingly -- denied having
or wanting any real influence. End Summary.

Frankie Wilson
--------------


2. (C) Frankie Wilson is The Bahamas' most prominent, and
probably wealthiest, black businessman. The owner of Arawak
Homes and Sunshine Insurance Company, as well as many other
businesses, is an original member of the "Sunshine Group", a
group of black businessmen who were actively supported by
former Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling as they created
their empires in the 1970s and 1980s. Pindling supported
them as a way to break the economic power held by the "Bay
Street Boys" (the country's traditional white elite),who
with the support of the United Bahamas Party (UBP) had ruled
The Bahamas both politically and economically for decades
until majority rule arrived in 1967. Wilson is very proud of
his rise to meteoric wealth and, during the course of the
meeting, repeatedly referred to his humble past, when, as the
youngest of 11 children in a working class family, he had to
sleep on the floor until his older sisters grew up and moved
out of the house and a bed opened up for him. He is

fanatically devoted to Pindling, who identified him, became
his godfather, and opened the doors that allowed Wilson to be
successful. That loyalty has transferred to Pindling's
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP),and today Wilson is a major
financial contributor to the party and close adviser to Prime
Minister Perry Christie. In fact, when we arrived, Wilson
summoned his own son and Perry Christie's son (both of whom
work for him) into the office for the meeting. Wilson, who
served for the PLP in Parliament from 1992-1997, was defeated
in 1997, has declined to take several positions offered to
him by the Pindling administration, insisting they would take
too much time from his business concerns.

Pindling the Hero
--------------


3. (C) Wilson, a bombastic speaker who frequently cuts
others off in conversation, spent much of the hour and half
meeting offering a passionate defense of the record of Sir
Lynden Pindling. He insisted that allegations of narcotics
corruption against Pindling were completely unfounded and
claimed that the Commission of Inquiry bore him out on this
point. He brushed aside questions about how Sir Lynden had
amassed his obvious wealth during his years in office and the
influence of notorious Colombian narcotics kingpin Carlos
Lehder, and said that the stories about Pindling were the
result of jealousy and ingratitude, a plot orchestrated by
former U.S. Ambassador Carol Boyd Hallett and former Prime
Minister Hubert Ingraham who "wouldn't have been anything
without Pindling." Wilson claimed "no one has cooperated
more" with the U.S. on drug interdiction than Pindling, and
said that seizure statistics bear him out on this assertion.
He expressed great scorn toward Hubert Ingraham for betraying
Pindling and then setting out to destroy his reputation after
Ingraham became Prime Minister, which Wilson claimed
destroyed Pindling's health and led to his death (this is
also the opinion of Lady Pindling, Sir Lynden's widow).
Wilson said that only when Pindling neared his death did
Ingraham "repent" and seek reconciliation with Pindling on
the latter's death bed. Wilson claimed that the impressive
sendoff given to Pindling by Ingraham's government when he
died in 2000 was proof that Ingraham felt "remorseful" about
what he had done to Pindling's reputation. (Ingraham would
say that the impressive funeral was appropriate for the man
who, whatever his faults, was the country's "founding
father", and that the kind words offered by Ingraham then
were simply an example of not speaking poorly of the dead.)
Wilson believes that the seeds of the PLP's 2002 election
victory were laid at that funeral, as the state ceremony and
effusive eulogies allowed the PLP to escape from its image of
corruption.

Wilson's Take on Diplomacy
--------------


4. (C) Wilson offered his opinion on the performance of
former U.S. ambassadors here. He singled out Ambassador
Carol Hallett for scorn, blaming her for demonizing Pindling
and dragging his reputation through the mud. He said that
she "played the game" politically and was very shrewd, but
that he despised her for her actions. Wilson alleged that
she interfered directly in Bahamian internal politics for
reasons he failed to understand, offering tangible support to
Hubert Ingraham and the FNM - support Wilson claims they
could not have won the election without. He reserved his
highest praise for Ambassador Sydney Williams, saying that he
had a quiet style and didn't make waves. Wilson said that
Bahamians prefer that style of diplomacy, and do not like
confrontation.


5. (C) Wilson also pleaded with us to engage constructively
with The Bahamas and support Foreign Minister Mitchell's
desire to play a more prominent role on the world stage. He
said that, as a country with shared democratic and capitalist
values, the Bahamas could help the United States a good deal
in international fora, and that the U.S. should take
advantage of that.

"To Understand Where We Are, You Have to Understand From
Where We've Come"
--------------
--------------


6. (C) In response to various questions about issues of
concern in The Bahamas, such as overcrowding, lack of
investment and urban planning, Wilson kept coming back to the
same theme. Essentially, he dismissed current problems by
saying that regardless of their gravity, The Bahamas, and
more specifically, black people in The Bahamas, have come a
very long way since majority rule. He spoke proudly of the
way the Pindling administration broke first the political and
then the economic monopoly on power of the Bay Street Boys,
and declared his optimism about the future. He dismissed
foreign investor concerns about the PLP's program of
"Bahamianization" saying you had to view it in the context of
Bahamian history, and that the PLP government welcomed
foreign investment, pointing to the recent signing of the
Atlantis expansion deal. He wondered why it was a South
African who brought that kind of investment to The Bahamas,
rather than an American.


7. (C) Wilson confidently predicted the PLP would win
election again in 2007, and dismissed the FNM as disorganized
and poorly led. He also said that for the first time in
2002, the PLP was "competitive" in terms of campaign
financing. According to Wilson, the PLP spent approximately
$7 million on the 2002 campaign (the FNM claims to have spent
about $4 million, but neither is required to provide any
accounting for campaign contributions or expenditures, so
both figures are suspect). That would amount to close to $70
per registered voter. He dismissed questions about whether
or not this was an excessive amount for such a small country,
and did not elaborate on where all this money came from.

Bishop Neil Ellis
--------------


8. (C) Bishop Ellis, the pastor of a large Baptist church
(6400 members) in a working class neighborhood of southern
Nassau, is one of The Bahamas' most controversial figures.
He publicly endorsed Perry Christie during the 2002 campaign
and reportedly told his congregation from the pulpit during a
religious service that they must support Christie if they
wished to remain members of his church. Ellis also held a
huge religious revival featuring a renowned U.S. evangelist
that was a magnet for criticism about the reported
"greediness" of its fundraising appeal. (Establishment
religious figures now sometimes preface fund-raising remarks
by noting that the funds "will not be used to build a
vacation house in Bimini" to distinguish themselves from the
self-proclaimed bishop. The press hounds him constantly
about his flamboyant personal lifestyle and open political
preferences. Ellis was another protigi of Sir Lynden
Pindling, who identified him as a promising young man growing
up on the small island of Bimini and brought him to Nassau to
complete his education. He is affiliated with the Full
Gospel Baptist Church headquartered in New Orleans, and is
its "bishop" for international churches, theoretically having
all Full Gospel Baptist churches in The Bahamas under his
leadership. Prime Minister Christie has openly referred to
Ellis as his spiritual adviser, and many Bahamians assume
that his influence runs deep within the administration.


9. (C) POL/ECON section chief arrived at Ellis' Mt. Tabor
Full Gospel Baptist Church, and was met by the first of
Ellis' personal assistants, who passed me to the second, who
entertained him while Ellis finished a meeting with his seven
associate pastors. Ellis then received Emboff in his nicely
appointed (bordering on lavish, but not quite passing over
into poor taste) office. He was dressed in a loud magenta
clerical shirt with gold and diamond cufflinks, a thick gold
chain, several large gold rings and a gold Rolex watch.
Ellis is a thin, energetic man of middling height, in his
early forties. He is married and has three adopted
daughters.

Anointing of the King
--------------


9. (C) Ellis described for POL/ECON section chief the
remarkable story of how he came to endorse Perry Christie in
the 2002 elections. According to Ellis, he barely knew
Christie before the run up to the election in 2001. At that
time, he says Christie began seeking an appointment with him,
saying he needed to speak with him for several hours. Ellis
says that he kept putting Christie off, both because he
didn't have that time to spare and because he had a bad
initial impression of him. Ellis said that this bad opinion
dated from the PLP leadership battle Christie won against
B.J. Nottage after the death of Lynden Pindling. Nottage was
a friend and former congregation member of Ellis and harbored
a lot of ill will toward Christie because of his loss.
Christie was persistent in his pursuit of Ellis, whose church
membership has definite PLP leanings (Three PLP MPs,
including two Cabinet ministers, call it their home church),
however. Finally, according to Ellis, he agreed to take
Christie along with him on an evangelical trip to the U.S.,
promising that if Christie attended all he services he
preached at, Ellis would give him the time in between to
listen to his appeal. Ellis said that, when given the
opportunity, Christie and Ellis spoke for 13 hours straight,
about both secular and spiritual matters and that Ellis
progressively became more convinced that Christie had been
"sent by God" to lead The Bahamas. The meeting ended,
according to Ellis, in a scene reminiscent of the Biblical
story of Samuel's anointing of Saul, with Christie coming
around the table they were seated at, going to his knees and
requesting a blessing from Bishop Ellis. At that time, Ellis
reported "the Spirit came upon him" and told him that he had
to endorse Christie.


10. (C) Ellis, on the one hand, denied having or wanting any
political influence with Christie, but on the other hand went
to great lengths to explain how close their relationship is
and how often Christie calls on him for spiritual guidance.
For example, Ellis recounted that Christie had presented him
with the names of his Cabinet nominees before they were
announced and asked for him to pray over them and give his
opinion. Ellis says that, although Christie has offered him
several government positions (most recently The Bahamas'
Ambassador for Religious Tourism) and other rewards such as
free government land to build a new church, he has turned it
all down and wants nothing from Christie or the government
(or at least nothing they've offered yet).

It's All Just Jealousy
--------------


11. (C) Ellis claims that, ever since Mt. Tabor started to
grow and he began to be seen as a successful pastor, he has
come under attack by others, including other pastors, who are
jealous of his success. As a result, Ellis claims he has
been unfairly vilified in the press, particularly the
scandal-mongering tabloid The Punch. Ellis says that during
one stretch The Punch printed negative articles about him in
95 consecutive editions, beginning with an unsubstantiated
rumor that he was carrying on a homosexual affair with a
member of his congregation. In addition, Ellis has received
heavy criticism for the large salary he draws (reportedly a
tax-free $180,000 a year),and his penchant for luxurious
living. Recently attention has focused on the impressive
house he is building for himself in one of Nassau's more
exclusive neighborhoods, reportedly costing $1 million.
Ellis claimed that the stories were exaggerated, but made no
excuses for his lifestyle, implying it was only fitting for
the pastor of such a large and thriving church.


12. (C) The one press story that he claimed hurt him the
most, however, was the one published by leading daily The
Tribune shortly before the election, claiming that Ellis had,
from the pulpit, instructed his congregation to vote for the
PLP, saying that if they didn't, they should "haul hip" out
of his church. Ellis said he was most hurt by the fact the
Tribune did not contact him prior to publishing the story for
his version of events. According to Ellis, a rival pastor,
Bishop Simeon Hall, a strong FNM supporter, was the source of
the story. He sent a tape recording of some of Ellis'
sermons to all of the papers. Ellis admits that the tape --
which he claims contains selectively edited portions of three
different sermons -- could easily lead you to believe he had
instructed his church how to vote, but he denies this.
According to Ellis, his comments were taken out of context,
and that while he did officially endorse Christie and the PLP
from the pulpit on several occasions (doing as he says the
Holy Spirit moved him to do),he never tried to tell others
how to vote or threatened anyone if they didn't vote for the
PLP. He blames the whole issue on poor journalism and the
jealousy of other, less successful pastors. Ellis claims the
Tribune is biased against him because he signed an exclusive
deal with the rival Nassau Guardian for all of the church 's
considerable printing business, in exchange for a full-page
platform in the weekly religious section.


13. (C) As a consequence of his on-going bad press, Ellis
has vowed not to respond to any of the allegations against
him. Doing so, he said, just legitimizes those allegations
and gives them more life. Many in his congregation, he says,
have disagreed with this policy and urge him to publicly lash
out at his critics, which he admits is tempting, but he
continues to maintain his silence, preferring to let the
criticism pass.

Comment
--------------


14. (C) Wilson and Ellis, each in a different way, wield
considerable influence in the Christie government, despite
not being members of that government. Wilson is one of the
financial mainstays of the party, and the PLP needs his money
to counteract the FNM's traditional fundraising advantage
with the traditional white business elite. Ellis openly uses
his pulpit in one of Nassau's largest and fastest growing
churches to advance the PLP's political agenda, and by
allying himself so closely with Christie, has surpassed many
of his more established (and perhaps more respectable)
religious brethren in influence. Both are outspokenly
passionate in their support for the party, having been
nurtured by Lynden Pindling from an early age, and both will
probably remain active and influential in PLP circles for
many years to come. Both have substantial power, profound
influence, and no accountability.
BLANKENSHIP