The Tribune

Malcolm J Strachan questions why PLP support is so strong in areas where their party has left them among the most impoverished, depressed, unserved and crime-ridden in the Bahamas . . .

Perry Christie and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) have been abusing us for years. It is a fact, and the sooner we come to accept it, the better off we will be as a people.

As we stand on the edge of the official start of the 2017 political season, we must acknowledge such things and come to grips with both where we are and where we would like the Bahamas to be.

Right now, the Bahamas is sinking in a flood of violent crime, with one murder after the other, where a gang culture has taken root in our public and private schools.

Right now, the Bahamas is gripped with crushing unemployment and rampant corruption at almost every level of Government.

In days gone by, we as people had something the old folks use to call shame. That, however, has faded quickly and been replaced by a culture of greed and handouts, where everyone is looking for their next ‘quick fix’. This political season will - by far - be the worst yet.

We were told a story yesterday of an Opposition party member walking up to a home that traditionally supports the PLP in a neighbourhood that is at best described as depressed and crime-ridden. The family members, all eight of them from the home, sat outside as the politician walked up to hand out their pamphlets and discuss national issues with the voting members of the family. They were interrupted immediately and told if there wasn’t any money either rolled up in their hand, or in their pamphlet, they could keep moving on from the house as they would be supporting the PLP. The candidate challenged the home to think beyond the handouts and see the larger picture of their circumstances and give another party a chance at representing them. The matriarch ended the discussion by explaining that she needed to purchase her pressure medication so unless they were talking in dollars and cents, there was little conversation to be had.

The candidate thanked the family for speaking with him and left to continue canvassing.

We tell you that story today to draw a few illustrations of how low we have come as a people.

The lack of shame that one must have to beg a stranger for money, in front of your other family members, speaks to a level of desperation that many of our inner-city communities face. These communities have traditionally supported and been loyal to the PLP for almost a generation. After all, the party back in 1967 had a strong message that resonated with the poor and downtrodden. “We are one of you,” they said; “we know your pain!” Give us a chance and we will make the Bahamas great for you and your family. We will provide opportunities for all Bahamians of colour especially, to rise and enjoy the fruits of this wonderful land.

It’s hard not to see why the masses bought into the message and gave the PLP 25 uninterrupted years at fulfilling the dream. But, like most words uttered from the mouth of a politician, those promises turned out to be nothing more than hot air, as those same communities today are the most impoverished, depressed, unserved and crime-ridden in the country. Take, for example, South Andros. There is no way that the PLP in 2017 should be able to win South Andros again. This constituency was represented by the ‘Father of the Nation’, Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling, for decades and there is nothing that can be shown of his representation. Nothing.

The constituency barely has any functioning infrastructure and it has voted PLP now consistently without rhyme or reason. The area’s current MP, Picewell ‘Soca’ Forbes, by all accounts a likeable individual, has himself lambasted his own party for failing his people. Mr Forbes knows that he can barely show his face in his constituency because he has been made to look like a fool, with one broken promise after the next going unfulfilled to a people who have paid their dues to a party for decades.

This example can be mimicked throughout the country: Englerston, Bain and Grants Town, St Barnabas, and the crème-de-la-crème Centreville, which our current Prime Minister still maintains a shaky hold on.

Centreville residents were canvassed last week by The Tribune’s reporter Rashad Rolle, who went door-to-door testing the Prime Minister’s support and approval in the area. For the first time in a long time, the Prime Minister has reason to be worried.

Bahamians are funny people. We don’t normally like to tell people how we are voting or which party we support, especially on camera, especially when you know your MP can find you and make your life a living hell. Well, for some residents in Centreville, even the power of the great office of the Prime Minister could not hold back their criticism of Perry Christie.

The remark that caught our ear on The Tribune’s Facebook livestream was from a lady who put it simply, “Christie has to go. He’s been there for too long and done nothing for the people. Christie got to go.”

It may be a simplistic reason, but the point is made. Perry Christie has been in Parliament longer than half of the people living in the Bahamas today have been alive! Forty three years of doing the same thing, over and over again. We could understand if the Prime Minister could point to a stellar record of achievement and advancement made by his people, but clearly that is not the case in Centreville. Crime is still a problem. Unemployment is through the roof. Young men and women are selling their bodies to make ends meet. The young and old in the constituency still must carry buckets of water from the city pump to their clapboard homes with their unsanitary outside toilets to boot.

It’s something that you would not expect in a constituency that could be transformed overnight with the stroke of the Prime Minister’s pen.

Which brings us to our larger point. Why has it not happened after all these years?

Surely the Prime Minister must not hate the people he represents. We know he hasn’t even walked in his constituency in years and will likely try to flood the streets with cash to win over supporters. But why would the nation’s leader want to keep his constituents dependent on him and this system of “handouts” in the 21st century? It must be about control. Control, and power.

The Prime Minister, like all politicians, get their power from you, the electorate. If you realised the value and might in your votes, then and only then would we not be so quick to throw it away for $20 to $50. Then, and only then, will we realise that we should not, and cannot, accept any old foolishness that they would throw our way on the campaign trail and tell us to vote for them.

We want jobs, yes.

We want crime to be dealt with, yes.

But we also want to know what our Government has been doing with the people’s money.

We want to know what our Government has been doing with the Chinese and other investors that they have kept from the public’s view.

We want to know how they plan on creating opportunities, real opportunities, for Bahamians to flourish in their country.

We want to know that we will have a Government that looks out for Bahamians first, and not the interest of the politicians and their families.

We want fairness and openness, transparency and accountability.

We want to know that we are not being lied to and taken for a ride every single day the Lord sends.

We want a Government that will give the Bahamian people a hand up, not a hand out.

Now, if only such a thing existed, wouldn’t that be the day!

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