The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

THE Whistleblower predicted in this daily some weeks ago that the Free National Movement would win at least 29 seats in Parliament.

His projections were off by at least six seats as preliminary results show the FNM having won a staggering 34 or 35 seats.

Perhaps the most astonishing development in this election is the unofficial report that former Prime Minister Perry Christie has lost his Centreville seat to the FNM’s Reece Chipman - a seat he has held since 1977.

Christie is said to have worked the grounds in his former constituency, even to the point of handing out bags of grocery to Centreville residents.

It also appears that the only PLP Cabinet ministers to have been re-elected are Philip “Brave” Davis, Glenys Hanna Martin and maybe Dr Perry Gomez. The PLP Cabinet was virtually wiped out. This is the first time a sitting PM has lost his seat.

The people have spoken. They were simply fed up with the myriad allegations of scandals and corruption by the likes of Allyson Maynard-Gibson, Shane Gibson, V Alfred Gray and Jerome Fitzgerald. They felt that Christie and his corrupt administration were only catering to the Chinese, Peter Nygard and the ‘Numbers Boys’.

They lost trust in a government that could not adequately explain where their hard-earned VAT money had gone. They became suspicious after allegations surfaced that Social Services, Road Traffic, BAMSI, the Passport Office, Public Hospitals Authority and the Ministry of Finance were missing collectively tens of millions of dollars, at a time when so many Bahamians cannot find employment. They were rightly peeved at Christie for not taking disciplinary action against Fitzgerald for begging Sarkis Izmirlian for lucrative contracts and Maynard-Gibson for her glaring conflict of interest at Baha Mar.

They were angry about the Rubis gas leak saga.

They were angry that a Cabinet minister issued a nolle prosequi for former clients of another Cabinet minister.

They were angry that a Cabinet minister read the private emails of Bahamian citizens in Parliament.

They were angry that the same minister got up and arrogantly said if you touch one PLP parliamentarian you touch all.

They were angry that a Cabinet minister interferred with a judicial matter.

They were angry that his only punishment was having one of his portfolios taken from him, even though he would collect the same hefty salary for less work.

They were angry that Christie failed to abide by the 2013 gaming referendum.

They were angry that a PLP Cabinet minister called the late Dr Myles Munroe stupid.

This election reminds the Whistleblower of the 1997 election, when the FNM won 34 of the 40 seats. T

he people have spoken loud and clear. They have chastised the PLP. They have shown them who is boss. Christie’s legacy will now be etched in the annals of Bahamian history as having presided over two scandal-ridden administrations. This PLP government nearly destroyed this country. They did not care about this country. Good riddance.

THE WHISTLE BLOWER

May 10, 2017