The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS 

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE a reported decline in support, the Free National Movement is still the best option to lead The Bahamas, party chairman Carl Culmer said yesterday.

He was addressing comments made by Transport and Local Government Minister Renward Wells, who on Monday suggested the government’s “very hard and fast decisions” may have soured some voters.

Mr Culmer said despite this reality, he is certain the brilliance of Bahamians would, in time, win-out over the bitterness brought on by the government’s choices.

“The Bahamian people are really brilliant people, they understand where the country was in 2017,” he said. “They felt the brunt of the PLP and the can remember what our country was like when (the PLP) held the reigns of this country.”

He added: “Now I won’t go as far as (Mr Wells did), but I can say that some things haven’t gone the way we wanted. But I am sure the people understand. They don’t want to go back (the PLP).”

Referencing what he termed “advancements” made by the Minnis administration since coming to office in May 2017, Mr Culmer said the government has steadily and deliberately pulled the country out of a period of economic and social stagnation.

“There was no opportunities in this country,” Mr Culmer stressed. “No opportunity for young people, no business opportunities for business folks. When you look around today… things are happening.

“How do you measure if an economy is moving? You look at the job market and the construction of new homes. Not many homes were being built under that group…look at what is happening now, homes are being built and people are going to work,” he said.

“We’ve worked to restore our communities. People are now feeling sense of pride, a sense of ownership. Bahamians truly understand and appreciate what the FNM is doing today,” Mr Culmer added.

A Public Domain poll carried out last April reflected that fewer than 50 percent of Bahamians were generally satisfied with the government’s performance.

The number of Bahamians generally dissatisfied with the administration had increased by 28 percent in a year-over-year analysis, this as the number of people generally satisfied with the administration had declined by 18 percent.

The poll also showed a substantial percent of people surveyed believed the country was headed in the wrong direction.

The poll was conducted from March 15 to April 7, 2018, and relied on a random, weighed sample of 1,000 Bahamians.

It came as the Minnis administration was nearing its one year anniversary.