The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribuen Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney said his 2011 decision to leave the Free National Movement was “not made lightly” and came after months of watching the then governing party fail to enact policies to rescue the country from its struggles.

Mr McCartney yesterday in a letter to the editor aired out the circumstances that led to his very public split with the political organisation that introduced him to frontline politics.

He said despite being heavily criticised by FNM supporters and members of the wider public that interpreted his actions as selfish, hot headed and even disloyal, today he is confident he made the right choice.

Mr McCartney asserted that in the years since the formation of the DNA, he has also been accused of being impatient, power hungry and “incapable of waiting his turn for leadership.”

However, he said, the claims couldn’t be further from reality, stressing that his motive for the FNM was on the basis of becoming a catalyst for real change.

“My decision to leave the FNM was not made lightly; in fact, it is perhaps one of the most important choices I have ever had to make. In the months ahead of that choice, I watched as our country continued to spiral downward.”

The former Bamboo Town MP said the party he once loved and supported appeared ill equipped and unprepared to develop innovative policies that would propel the country forward.

“Leadership failed to make prudent financial decisions which would benefit the country as a whole,” he stated. “Our citizens were being continuously neglected and not offered the basic civil right of a sound education.”

Mr McCartney said much of what he took issue with prior to his departure has come to fruition. He insisted that at the time of his resignation from the FNM the country was not headed in the right direction.

“With our current crime, economic and social woes, I am sadly convinced that our country is crying out for help.”

He said recent “widespread” calls for change of leadership in both the PLP and FNM parties confirmed that he made the right decision back in 2011.

“It is proof that now, more than ever Bahamians are ready to embrace change and embrace a government which respects the will of the people who elected them. That is what Bahamians deserve, and that is what the DNA will bring to the future governance of this country.”

Mr McCartney said he realised then, what many Bahamians are now coming to understand, “in order for our country to see real progress, fresh ideas and young progressive leadership is needed.”

“The Democratic National Alliance was founded on that premise,” he added. “Since inception we have continued to work tirelessly to be the kind of political organisation that the next generation of Bahamians can be proud of. The kind of organisation that understands and values the input of those that came before, but is unafraid of taking the kind of deliberate action which will be needed to secure our country’s future.”

“Through the DNA we have a collective opportunity to hit the reset button, the chance to set a new course bound for safety, prosperity and a better Bahamas.”