The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

DPM Philip ‘‘Brave’’ Davis is the presumed successor to PLP Leader PM Perry Christie. While he is an uninspiring speaker and lacks charisma, he is nonetheless very popular among hardcore PLPs, particularly the aging party stalwarts who elected him deputy leader at the PLP’s 51st National General Convention in October 2009. These PLP hardliners see him as PM material. The Whistleblower begs to differ.

Davis’ character is not the issue here. From the Whistleblower’s vantage point, Davis is a decent, law-abiding family man. Based on his head-scratching statements he has made in the past, the Whistleblower believes that Bahamians had better think long and hard before voting for a Davis-led PLP.

Contrary to what PLP hardliners think, the Whistleblower isn’t convinced that Davis is PM material.

His success as a barrister-at-law hasn’t translated to success in the first two years of his Gold Rust administration. Davis seems to have a severe case of foot-in-mouth disease. He is prone to making statements which are downright silly.

Just recently, Davis said that MPs should be given a pay raise in order to curtail the temptation of doing things that are not right.

Davis owes the 37 MPs an apology for suggesting that they might engage in embezzlement to supplement their already hefty monthly salary of $2,333. If the MPs cannot survive on $2,333 a month, then it would mean that they are not fiscally prudent. And if they are not fiscally prudent with their individual finances, then that would mean the Bahamian people cannot trust them to manage the Treasury.

This is probably why the PLP is blowing through millions of taxpayer dollars with very little to show for.

If nothing else can be made of Davis’ statement, one can only surmise that he believes his colleagues lack moral character. Based on his statement, rather than being content with their wages, they might steal.

If the MPs are not satisfied with their pay, why did they offer themselves to the electorate in the first place? If they are not happy with what they make, then they should demit office forthwith. It’s not like their performance has been spectacular anyway.

This recent bonehead statement came on the tail-end of other bonehead statements he has made. Several weeks ago, Davis said at an Urban Renewal 2.0 event that the media is guilty of sensationalising crime. This coming from a man who wholeheartedly approved of the PLP’s reckless decision to place huge murder banners throughout New Providence, especially in tourist hotspots. After the banners were wisely removed, due to their potential to ruin our economy, Davis accused the then FNM administration of engaging in strong-arm tactics normally associated with dictatorships.

It was Davis who stated in public before the 2012 general election that a PLP government would create 10,000 jobs within its first year. Even in a robust economy, any Bahamian government would face insurmountable challenges in creating that many jobs in a one-year period.

But Davis decided to go out on the limb by pledging that the PLP would be able to make good on the 10,000 job promise while The Bahamas was wallowing in a devastating recession.

Davis was well aware of the severe economic challenges facing the country when he made that head-scratching, incredible promise.

The Whistleblower believes that Davis was only interested in winning the election and that he really believed the many infeasible promises in the Charter for Governance. Or could it be that the man who wants to be PM was having another bout of foot-in-mouth disease? The Whistleblower believes it was the latter

THE WHISTLEBLOWER

May 19, 2014.