The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Killarney candidate Arinthia Komolafe is calling for a “paradigm shift” in the way the electorate views government efforts and affairs ahead of the upcoming general election, contending that her party provides the “best opportunity for the country to move forward.”

Mrs Komolafe, in a recent interview with The Tribune, stressed that the country is on the precipice of the kind of systemic change that history will acknowledge for decades to come, similar to the 1967 push to Majority Rule and the 1992 general election that ushered in the first Free National Movement (FNM) regime.

Mrs Komolafe, a lawyer and former Nassau Guardian columnist, said the lack of development and economic growth experienced in the country over the last decade under the guidance of successive governments stands as evidence that the country has gone as far as it can with the standard and style of governance now in place.

“The DNA stands as that next step in the evolution and advancement of our country,” she said.

“The message of now, that is what we have to press upon voters as we head into election season. This is now the time for a new generation of Bahamians to stand up and act on behalf of their country and place their imprint on what The Bahamas is and could be,” she added,

“Our grandparents had their run, they stated their case, made their issues known and they ushered in the change that they thought was essential to move forward. So did our parents, they made the changes that they thought were again necessary. Now, this is on us as the modern day generation of Bahamians. Now is the time for us to take that stand and hammer out a society that we feel is a reflection of who we are today.”

Mrs Komolafe said her call for change should not be viewed as a direct shot at the past generations, asserting that each age group has a democratic right to progress as they see fit.

She said: “For too long past generations have made it a point to subject the younger generations to a level of criticism for aspiring. That ends when we take a stand and understand that we have a right to create the society we want.”

Mrs Komolafe, a self-described “born PLP”, noted that her separation from the party came subsequent to what she described as a continued lack of progressive steps by the party.

She added that during her time with the PLP, she along with other young members worked to advance progressive policies but were often “put aside” by those considered “veteran”.

“What we are saying to voters is, look, you have been with both the PLP and the FNM; you’ve given both a chance over the last 25 years, where has that gotten you? I help the constituents to zoom in, specifically on the last 10 years because I need them to see how much growth in this country has been limited,” she added.

“We should have, as a country advanced more. That is my selling point to residents specifically in the Killarney area. Now while this message can certainly work in any other area in this country, my goal is to get persons in my constituency to see that more is possible.

“The idea is this, I believe that people have grown used to the status-quo and buy in to the idea that if we get the best of the worst then that is good enough; well I dare them to dream through the DNA that the best is still possible if we work to obtain it.

“It’s about empowering that vision.

“And they may ask, how is that possible through the DNA? How do we know that Branville McCartney would be different from Prime Minister Christie or a Dr (Hubert) Minnis or even a Hubert Ingraham?

“So I say to them, look at his track record. Acknowledge the fact that he opted to stand on his principles while in Cabinet. He voted against the BTC deal. He spoke out against soft immigration policies while in the Department of Immigration, see it is things like this that I push as a message.

“I work to draw parallels between the DNA plans and current mandates being executed in our society because voters want to see the correlation to understand firmly that this is what a move to the DNA would give us – that tangible evidence.”

The DNA was formed by Senator Branville McCartney, then the MP for Bamboo Town, in 2011.

The party contested every seat in the 2012 general election; with some political pundits pointing to the party’s existence as one of the major reasons that the Free National Movement lost at the polls.