The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE island of Grand Bahama has two PLP MPs, Obie Wilchcombe and Dr Michael Darville. In terms of the political pecking order, one would think that Wilchcombe is ranked higher than Darville, due to him being minister of tourism in addition to being a 15-year veteran in the House.

Darville is presumably the chief of Grand Bahama. Or so it seems. Grand Bahamians are of the view that the top government official on their island is neither Wilchcombe nor Darville; it is Michelle Reckley, head at Urban Renewal. I dare say that Reckley is the most powerful government official on that struggling northern island.

Whereas Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling is the figurehead and matriarch of the PLP, Reckley is the undisputed Iron Lady of the party with tremendous clout. Grand Bahamians whispered that there were rumours of a power struggle between the Iron Lady and Darville.

If true, it further confirms the rumours that Reckley, with PM Perry Christie’s tacit approval, wields more power than the two Cabinet ministers on that island.

The kind of influence she wields was amply demonstrated when her choice for the Central Grand Bahama nomination, Senator Julian Russell, was selected over perceived front-runner Ginger Moxey. Her political invincibility was clearly on display when she blatantly missed a scheduled meeting with Urban Renewal Co-chair Cynthia “Mother” Pratt in early 2013.

Grand Bahamians are also of the view that the Iron Lady has so much political clout, she can hire in the civil service. All in all, Grand Bahamians are angry at the blatant abuse of power that has been exhibited over the past five years by the Iron Lady and her party on their island.

They are afraid to publicly voice their disapproval of the Iron Lady for obvious reasons. They are afraid of her. Even business owners are scared stiff of her. FNM civil servants are scared to wear FNM paraphernalia in public due to the tribal nature of politics when the PLP is entrenched in power.

They cannot risk the Iron Lady knowing of their political persuasion. Christie has publicly thrown pity parties when detractors mention his family. Yet he is silent when FNMs are persecuted by his supporters.

Apparently, these tax-paying, law-abiding FNMs are not as important as his family. In a few short weeks, Bahamians will head back to the polls to put an end to this nightmare. They are eager to show to the Iron Lady that the power lies with the people.

THE WHISTLEBLOWER

Nassau,

April 2, 2017.