By RICARDO WELLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
rwells@tribunemedia.net
TALL Pines MP Leslie Miller yesterday implored senior PLP members “to do all they can” to jumpstart the stalled Baha Mar project, suggesting that without it the party could be entering the 2017 general election as “lame ducks”.
Mr Miller characterised Baha Mar as the “rope that might end it all for us”.
He told The Tribune that “every negative factor known to this county has merged into one zenith” and as a result, the PLP has to prove to voters that it has the necessary plans to “right the ship”.
“It is not easy to run a country,” Mr Miller said. “Hell! It isn’t easy to run a single, straight-forward business. The small details make the difference and at this time Bahamians throughout the length and breath of the country are hurting and looking for answers and if we aren’t ready or able to supply those answers there is a big chance that we lose this upcoming election.”
“The spotlight shines bright and hot when you are in government. A lot of these things that have gone wrong haven’t been because of the PLP, but when you are in this position it is your job to fix things. No, it is not an indictment of (Prime Minister) Perry Christie. God knows he is trying his damn hardest, but when people are hurting they don’t want to hear that someone is trying, they want you to fix it and if you can’t, you better believe they will elect someone to do it.
“No matter where I go, there is always someone who needed that job. How then am I supposed to look at that person and have the guts to ask them to support me in an election? They see us as the reason it is so bad, the reason they can’t pay their bills; no way in hell do they see us as the answer.”
When asked if it would be best for Prime Minister Perry Christie to step down as leader of the PLP to prove to voters that the party was serious about making changes, Mr Miller said the only person that could make such a call was Mr Christie himself.
Mr Miller said he wasn’t bold enough to do so. He said Mr Christie is the leader of the party and would remain in the post until defeated at a convention.
“He is our leader. We deal with our matters behind closed doors. Not out in the street. I believe a lot of people want to see some changes because they are hurting, but that is a matter that will be resolved at our next convention. Not in the press, not in the gossip circles,” he said.
Asked his level of confidence heading into the upcoming general election, Mr Miller said he was “somewhat uneasy.”
Mr Miller predicted that the 2017 election would be the “toughest” in the history of the country.
“Bahamians will punish you. They will vote you out in a heartbeat and not think twice about it. That is the nature of the beast in this country,” asserted the Water and Sewerage chairman.
Mr Miller said there is even a possibility that he could lose his seat in next year’s general election.
“I am confident that I could win, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it. We are in Tall Pines everyday talking with the residents and they are brutally honest with me. But they know they have their ‘Potcake’ that will go above and beyond the call of duty for them. That is the key for me in Tall Pines, the love my people have for me and my work.”
Last Wednesday in the House of Assembly, Mr Christie revealed that two firms were shortlisted as options to acquire the West Bay Street resort, but didn’t name the groups.
Mr Christie would only say the final decision would be up to the receiver managers, confirming they were in Beijing, China last week negotiating a contract to remobilise and complete the project as soon as possible.
Baha Mar was first expected to open in December 2014 but has faced numerous setbacks.
Comments
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 9 months ago
"TALL Pines MP Leslie Miller yesterday implored senior PLP members “to do all they can” to jumpstart the stalled Baha Mar project"
What is "all"?
"Mr Miller characterised Baha Mar as the “rope that might end it all for us"
What is "it" and who is "us". Clarification "everything possible" must be done that is in the best interest of Bahamians for generations to come. Anything else isn't worth it. Stop selling off our country
PastorTroy 7 years, 9 months ago
Words spoken like a true 1980's politician; every sentence is me, me, me, I, I, I, we party, we must win, we must do this to win, hey! get your head out of your dinosaur butt!! IT'S ABOUT THE BAHAMAS AND PEOPLE OF THE BAHAMAS NOT YOU AND YOUR CRONIES PARTY WINNING ANOTHER ELECTION!! Ironically, choosing to use the colloquial "Potcake" based on the last definition that I remember, is exactly what you're admitting Tall Pines constituents and the people of The Bahamas are to you and your party, JUST POTCAKES; you only seem to know them now that it's getting close to election year and YOU NEED THEM, AGAIN! Politically speaking, I must agree, this WILL be the toughest election for politicians in The Bahamas, the U.S.A, the U.K and many other countries around the world, especially since Brexit, while my opinion on Brexit is 'middle lane' I hope Bahamians are waking up to realize what politicians are really about, and how much power we have to make change, they're all scared now. It's quite evident now, that more and more of our politicians in The Bahamas are succumbing to the highly orchestrated, unapologetic, global capitalist greed ideology that is leaving 'Main street' bankrupt and suffering worldwide. Bahamians, if you are hurting and YOU decide to vote the same corrupt dinosaur back into office for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th time, SHUT UP AND TAKE IT WITH NO VASELINE! NONE! rather, for doing the same thing over and over again because of party affiliation, and/or colors expecting a different result, ADD SAND INSTEAD OF VASELINE! When proven defunct politicians like Alfred Gray and others have been re-elected over and over again for 20+ years and you're still using outside toilets in 2016? YOU DESERVE THOSE MOSQUITO BITES! It's time for young people to wake up to this 'Master and Slave, divide and rule politics' that's being viciously played by BOTH FNM & PLP for 40 years; quite frankly it downright appalling and treasonous to those who know better! The 'good book' says: "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is Slave to the lender." keep borrowing to pay bills and one day our credit will run out, then what? MASS POVERTY! and who we're borrowing from? GANGSTERS! don't mind the fancy names, that's part of the game, just waiting for us to default so they can finally claim this sought-after prize, The Bahamas, just like they're doing to Jamaica. Majority rule is failing, simply because the very effective weapon our government (both FNM & PLP) have been and still is using against their own citizens is POVERTY! a vicious, predatory, keep them uneducated, keep them poor, divide them by party/colors and rule them strategy. This is our Bahamas people and we CAN take it back! WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS! #PLP&FNMexit2017 #TheBahexit
BMW 7 years, 9 months ago
Well said Pastor, imagine representing an area for 40 years and they are still using outhouses today, all you say is true. Bahamians wake up.
sealice 7 years, 9 months ago
Leslie don't try give you and your crony's too much cred by calling them Lame Ducks they're alot worse than that and you know it......
asiseeit 7 years, 9 months ago
This government is criminal and has hurt The Bahamas and Bahamians to no end for THEIR gain. Perry backed the Chinese to the detriment of every Bahamian. The only reason he backed the Chinese was to cover HIS ass. How much where the contracts for the pools, waterways, and roof at Baha Mar you f#@King scumbag? What other contractas would have been made public if Chapter 11 was sought in the U.S.? F#@K the PLP, they are the Bahamian Mafia!
SP 7 years, 9 months ago
.... PM Christies Chinese to unleash a new level of corruption never seen in Bahamas ....
Wherever there is big money, political corruption proliferate!
Chinas' ability to influence PM Christie to stop Sarkis Izmirlians' legal suits are prime examples that no one is safe at any level from political influence peddling and corruption.
This is par for the course for Bahamas, adding China to the mix is unimaginable.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/articl...">http://www.scmp.com/news/china/articl...
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-300...">http://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-300...
Mark Hanna, famously said - “There are two things that are important in politics. The first is money, and I can’t remember what the second one is!”
http://abcnews.go.com/International/w...">http://abcnews.go.com/International/w...
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/20...">http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/20...
Bahamas deep roots of unbridled political corruption coupled with Chinas history of corruption at the highest levels, impels thinking Bahamians to question whether China is a colleague in helping to build a better country, or super powerful instigators manipulating long established corrupt norms in our country to the detriment of our country and people.
SP 7 years, 9 months ago
........................ Opening 3 Baha Mar Size Resorts Cannot Save Christie! ...................
There is NOTHING PM Perry Christie can do to repair the damage, pain and decimation of Bahamians.
This attempt at preconceiving the notion that opening Baha Mar will redeem Christie is another PLP smoke and mirror scheme to "pre-suggest" in the minds of the electorate to vote for Christie if he succeeds in opening Baha Mar.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
Perry Gladstone Christie is an absolute failure in every sense of the word who deceived the electorate with promises of "We believe In Bahamians" & "Bahamians First".
"Baha Mar" has absolutely nothing to do with Christies "election 2012 contract" with the electorate!
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