The Tribune

It does not appear the Progressive Liberal Party are heeding the lessons of their election rout. Malcolm J Strachan offers some advice . . .

Today marks 19 days since this country has been rescued from the clutches of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and its out-of-control corruption and arrogance.

The party that had stood as the champions of the downtrodden and less fortunate had morphed into a cancerous, self-serving, wheeling-dealing plague, and the people saw it for what it was.

Constituencies that had remained within the column of the PLP for decades flipped to the Free National Movement (FNM) on May 10. No one saw it coming.

Yes, there was an overall feeling of anger and, yes, even hate for the PLP in some quarters, but no one predicted the cut-hip that the Bahamian people had in store for their Government. They had had enough, and were prepared to show the PLP the door.

Seats that the FNM were not predicted to win, they won - and in handsome fashion. It was an historic victory for the people. Their oppressors had been vanquished and “good days” were ahead.

Alas, the PLP has not learned the one crucial message that was being delivered to them by the populace. They have once again buried their heads in the sand and are unwilling to face up to the reality of their defeat. The people did not want Perry Christie any longer. They did not want anyone associated with Christie - his gang of swindlers - any more. The arrogance of the PLP, with their inside deals, contracts to their cronies and rampant corruption was too much for the public to stand. They had to get rid of Perry Christie and his whole team.

But is the PLP listening? The initial evidence points to the negative. A case in point is their sad but predictable excuse that money swung this election. What utter garbage.

The PLP not only had the funding of their Chinese allies, they had the webshops behind them and the full access to the public treasury. The FNM, in contrast, had to scrap for funding whereas the PLP could afford to throw free parties with food and drink, replete with performances by international recording artists. It was a spectacle to behold. But in their twisted minds, money was used to sway voters to either vote for the FNM or refrain from voting for the PLP.

It is truly sad when you contemplate it. The PLP is, by its own proclamations, saying that their countrymen are too stupid to vote on the issues, but were instead bought like cattle at auction in the year of our Lord, 2017.

What the PLP fails to realise is that the people of this country had more than enough reasons to vote against them. Here are a few examples:

1 The Bahamian people voted against the legalisation of webshops in what the Government first proposed was a referendum, only to later - and disgracefully - say was just an opinion poll. The Prime Minister promised in Parliament that the will of the people would be followed, but instead ignored that will and granted his horses in the race their licences.

2 The Bahamian people endured the implementation of the most painful and regressive of taxes through the roll out of Value Added Tax (VAT). The Bahamian people were promised that this tax would be used to pay down on the national debt, which turned out to be yet another blatant lie. The debt instead increased, as did the Government’s spending and borrowing.

3 The Government proposed a Gender Referendum that the Bahamian people once again voted against in dramatic fashion. The people were met with vitriol from some members of the Government for voicing their democratic rights.

4 The Government actively fought with, and drove into liquidation, Baha Mar, the largest single phased resort development in the history of the country, costing the jobs of over 2,500 Bahamians. They then proceeding to fight with the developer and publicly sided with the Chinese over offers that would have increased the Bahamian participation in that resort development.

5 And last, but not least, were the many scandals involving individual Ministers of the Government, from Shane Gibson and the transfer of money into his US bank accounts, to V Alfred Gray interfering with the judiciary, to the Attorney General granting nolle prosequis left, right and centre.

So instead of creating bogeymen and coming up with conspiracy theories, the PLP should call a spade a spade and admit that they were their own worst enemies at the polls. No one wanted to see Perry Christie returned to office - be that in his capacity as Prime Minister or even as a member of Parliament. So, the PLP would be better suited in this time to truly examine why they lost and stop insulting the Bahamian people.

Maybe next time they won’t get up on a platform stage and invoke the spirit of Sir Lynden Pindling when half of the voting population has no idea who the man is. Maybe next time they will have candidates who come from the constituencies they are seeking to represent.

But you cannot begin to do any of these things if you start off by making Philip ‘Brave’ Davis the leader of the party (even if only in an interim capacity). The PLP needs new, youthful leadership at all levels. They must turn the page on people like Bradley Roberts and Minkey Issacs. They must turn the page on Fred Mitchell and all who think and act like him with their bitterness and vitriol.

Anyone who can recall their “times with Pindling” should be put on the shelf and allowed, where only applicable, to give guidance from the bench.

The Bahamas of 2017 needs to, and will, be engaged by a new generation of leaders, whether the PLP like it or not.

So, to our PLP readers we offer you today this free advice; get it together or face not even being the Official Opposition in 2022. Do your base the credit of being able to see through your window dressings and give them the real change that they have asked of you. The choice is yours.

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