The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

As a follow-up to the Christmas Carnival caper we now have the Dubai Debacle. The back-to-back mini-disasters by the PLP government are very revealing. We have a seemingly giddy, frivolous, non-serious prime minister who seems to like showmanship and hanging out with celebrities instead of substance.

The PLP and Prime Minister Brave Davis do not appear to be taking COVID seriously. First of all, certain people in the PLP thought it would be okay to have a mega-super-spreader like a carnival. Even as many world leaders are staying close to home, Mr. Davis is collecting frequent flyer miles even quicker than Fred Mitchell.

Now during a serious COVID wave, with the second highest number of hospitalizations, Mr. Davis abandoned the country with a gussiemae delegation for a luxury trip half way around the world.

While many Bahamians are getting sick and many can’t make ends meet, the prime minister is in Dubai on a joy ride, living the good life in first class and luxury accommodations as Bahamians are catching hell.

The Bahamas should be represented at the World Expo. But the delegation is way too big and the Minister of Tourism and Investments, Chester Cooper, would have been a better choice to lead our delegation. This is not a trip the prime minister had to make.

In my opinion this is a trip of excess. It demonstrates more poor judgment by Mr. Davis. So, who is in the delegation? Well, there is Press Secretary Clint Watson and members of his choir. How many choir members? Are they getting paid for their singing? Is there a conflict of interest here? Mr. Watson has some explaining to do.

While we cherish our religious beliefs, so do other countries. Is a Christian Gospel choir the best choice to send to a Muslim country, where proselytizing is forbidden.

Why didn’t the government send our world-class Bahamas National Youth Choir, who would sing traditional Bahamian folklore and just about every genre in the world? They would have been a better choice for the country. I’m glad we do have a Junkanoo contingent and members of the Police Force band.

Are there other choices that also would have been a better representation of our culture instead of some said to be on the trip who are not the best people to put on the world stage.

Meanwhile, the PLP have almost nothing on their agenda. The prime minister’s Business Outlook speech had little by way of accomplishments or vision to get our economy back on track.

Where is the legislative agenda the government promised? Where is their economic plan? Why do they have so little to show more than 100 days in office? Despite his talk about our economic situation, Mr. Davis found money to finance a lavish trip to Dubai.

Who is in charge? Why does the Office of the Prime Minister seem so chaotic and disorganized? Mr. Davis seems overwhelmed by the job. Maybe this is why he leaves the country so much. Maybe he’s trying to escape.

Mr Davis doesn’t seem to be paying attention to detail and isn’t advancing substantial ideas to get our country moving as COVID continues to damage our economy.

Mr Davis used to call Hubert Ingraham “Papa Clown”. Well, he is now acting like Clown-in-Chief. As the line from a song goes, “Send in the clowns… don’t bother they’re here.”

After a short four months, we now see exactly what the Brave Davis PLP is mostly about. God help us if this is what we have to deal with for five years.

The way this trip was handled is disgraceful. The prime minister’s judgment is going from bad to worse. Even many PLPs are getting more and more upset with Brave Davis.

TNR

Nassau,

January 17, 2022.