The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

We have all heard the old adage, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. This describes the current situation of Andre Rollins. A young politician who portrayed an eagerness to make a difference for the betterment of our country, but is clearly on a path to self-destruction.

Andre Rollins was given the opportunity that most aspiring politicians could only dream about. That is membership into a major political party with the full support and endorsement of the leadership of that party; a nomination in the general election shortly after accepting membership to that party; the endorsement of the sitting member of parliament in the constituency he was nominated in; a victory at the election polls in his constituency solely due to his affiliation of his party membership; a fully paid constituency office, and finally the full support of his branch members.

Despite all of these gifts on a silver platter, Andre Rollins managed to achieve the following: remove himself as the party whip because he failed live up to the responsibilities of that job; being fired as the Chairman of the Gaming Board; abandoned his core duties as the representative of his constituency to the point where his branch is insisting that they be given another candidate in the next election; insulting the leadership of the party who fought the status quo to accept him as a candidate in the last election; implied that the government was corrupt then had to back-peddle that implication; and has become the attention harlot of the media and the opposition by virtue of his continuous emotional and ill-advised rants. In other words, Andre Rollins or better yet Ranting-Rollins has created his personal hell and has failed as a politician who has found himself no man’s land.

Both the constituents of Fort Charlotte and the council members of the PLP have repeatedly told Rollins to be more guided in actions and public statements. They made it clear that he has a right to disagree with decisions of the party, but he has a responsibility to respond in a mature and appropriate manner that does not insult his constituents – because they are the only reason that he has been given the privilege to serve in the halls of parliament. Rollins stated in his latest press release, “I was referring to the principles of ministerial and collective responsibility as defined by the Westminster system of government”. If only he would refer to this when dealing with other matters he would understand that the first responsibility, his responsibility, is to his constituents and not to SELF!

The learning curve of young politicians is very small and can be very brutal, but one has to be willing to learn from their mistakes and the missteps of others. Yet it appears that Rollins’ ego is so big that he refuses to take sensible advice or make the necessary adjustments to succeed in public life.

Rollins will learn the hard way that the price of wilfully ignoring and insulting the people who elected you and the leaders who supported you will only lead to a swift end of one’s political career and a disappointing squandered opportunity to serve the people of this great Nation!

ERECIA HEPBURN

Nassau,

September 27, 2014.