The Tribune

The national motto may be Forward, Upward, Onward, Together – but for some people it seems to be Backward, Downward, Rearward and Every Man For Himself.

Read our story here and you will see the disgraceful state of Millennium Gardens.

Time and again, residents find trash dumped in their area – living next door to piles of garbage is something no one should have to endure.

You see waste being dumped in many places. Tossed beer cans. Plastic bags tumbling in the wind. Shredded tyres. All the legacy of a leave-it-for-someone-else-to-do culture. Perhaps cast aside by people who proclaim “It’s better to be in The Bahamas” while doing nothing to make it better for the people around them.

This particular mess might be more than down to just selfish individuals, though.

At a time when The Tribune has regularly given space to Environment Minister Romi Ferreira and his Be A Hero campaign to clean up our environment, it seems that government – two consecutive administrations, in fact - has its own role in this particular disgrace.

You see, after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, it seems the green light was given to use the area for waste because the dump was full. Of course, you know what happens next – once it starts getting used for that, people keep using it.

We have rightly lauded Mr Ferreira’s campaign for aiming to clean up the streets, but we might suggest it’s time for him to put on that green cape and swoop down to Millennium Gardens to come to the rescue.

If there has been approval given to dump waste there, then end it. The hurricane has long gone, people don’t need to be dealing with its aftermath three years on.

Bring in Urban Renewal teams and volunteers for a mass clean-up, put up signs warning people not to dump – and impose enough of a penalty to make people think twice, or even three times.

This is a prime example of a short-term solution becoming a long-term problem. Let’s tackle it before it goes on any longer. Over to you, Mr Ferreira.

But for every person who tosses something out of the window as they drive, and every person who has been using the area as a dump – the real duty is on you. Clean your act up, so we can clean our country up.

Good riddance, Mr Martin

You couldn’t make it up.

A supposed man of God, pastor Don Martin, was found guilty of child rape – and promptly fled from the US back to The Bahamas to avoid being jailed there.

He had repeatedly touched a young girl inappropriately repeatedly over six years during his time in Atlanta. She didn’t get to run away from him the way he ran away from the law.

And when he faced the court yesterday as it decided on his extradition? He waived his rights and said get me out of here, it’s too dangerous.

He says he’s been threatened by gangs in prison – child rapists notoriously being short of sympathy in jail – and so “I am ready to go”.

Well, Mr Martin, we’re ready for you to go too.