The Tribune

“WE RISE”, a new group claiming that it wants “something done” about “injustice, wrongful terminations and violent crime”, has announced that it will call a protest march for the Southern Recreation grounds on Saturday. As far as they are concerned the new government is moving in the wrong direction.

However, there are “doubting Thomases” out there who believe that “We Rise” is the creation of the now opposition PLP, desperate to remain relevant as they attempt to bamboozle Bahamians into believing that the problems they now face had nothing to do with their five-year administration, but solely the creation of an inept FNM.

While the PLP have not openly endorsed “We Rise”, the group, sporting the party’s colours, and pictured at PLP headquarters, meeting with former Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell, have given the game away. Now a senator, having lost his parliamentary seat, it is important that somehow Mr Mitchell moves from the shadows if he ever wants to take a last, desperate shot at realising his life-long dream and become – the Hon Fred Mitchell, Prime Minister of the Bahamas.

There are vehement PLP denials that any member of their party has anything to do with “We Rise” or for that matter any political movement against government. However, Ranard Henfield, now a senator, who led the peaceful, and effective, “We March” demonstration before the May 10 election, says otherwise. Senator Henfield says he has been privately called by senior PLP members to “rise up” against the Minnis administration. The calls, he said, have gone unanswered.

“I am not sure,” Senator Henfield commented sarcastically, “which history books those persons read that said the abused returned to the aid of the abuser. I trust,” he continued, “that Mrs Cherly Bazard and Mr Chester Cooper will purge that party (the PLP) by year’s end.”

Mr Henfield’s movement endorsed the FNM government, presenting it with a list of what it wanted addressed within the party’s first 100 days if elected.

That list included jail for any politician found guilty of corruption, lower cost of living, term limits for prime ministers, the removal of Crown land distribution from the Office of the Prime Minister, an independent director of public prosecutions and the appointment of former Court of Appeal President Dame Joan Sawyer as attorney general, among other things.

Mr Henfield made it clear that if the new government failed to get these things done, they would take to the streets again and march.

However, handed a government in a worse financial state than imagined, Mr Henfield said that despite the “impatient, intolerant and radical” nature of his organisation, the group sees no need to march.

“We see progress on a number of our issues and appreciate that no administration can fix five years of plundering and mismanagement in 100 days,” he said. “As long as we can see changes being made on our issues the ‘We March’ organisation can keep our black shirts on their hangers.”

On Saturday, Bahamians will probably better understand what “We Rise” is all about. However, from our experience over the years of covering PLP protest marchers, when our reporters have tried to interview the individual protester to find out what they are protesting, they don’t know why they are even there. A while back there was a rumpus on Bay Street with young men rushing upstairs to a certain office demanding to be paid what they had been promised for participating in a PLP protest during the Ingraham administration. We are not saying that “We Rise” is on that level, but we would advise that if there is any deal making, the terms and conditions should be firmly settled before the first step is taken.

Anyway, by the weekend the truth will out.