The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

The upcoming general elections will see many of those who are currently in the House of Assembly voted out with a vengeance.

It goes without saying that because the FNM currently has 34 seats that that means that that entity will suffer the brunt of the dissatisfaction by a large majority of Bahamians with the Minnis administration. Some of those who will be voted out are not “bad” people but they have served their constituencies poorly, according to reports on the ground.

Donald Saunders (FNM-Tall Pines); Travis Robinson (FNM-Bain & Grants Town); Marvin Dames (FNM-Mount Moriah) and Halson Moultrie (Independent-Nassau Village) et al, may as well pack up their georgie bundles now.

Their performances or lack thereof in the House of Assembly over the past four years has left much to be desired.

In fact, in the case of Saunders he may well be a shadow MP.

Dames has done absolutely nothing of value in Mount Moriah.

Moultrie has squandered his time in office while fighting a rear guard battle with Minnis and the FNM.

Robinson appears to be in disbelief that he is actually a sitting MP.

The Hon Leslie O Miller, the former MP for Tall Pines, established a very high bar for good and honest parliamentary representation while he served his constituents.

He was always highly visible and produced on the ground in Tall Pines.

Of course, Miller was a casualty of the wipe out of the PLP then led by brother Christie who just could not get it right.

Since being elected, Saunders has been, or so some say in Tall Pines, missing in action. Some also say that his solemn word or commitment has not been a part of his mantra.

In Tall Pines, the New PLP led by the Hon Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, QC (PLP-Cat Island) has a great candidate in the form of Dr Michael Darville.

Darville was formerly a Grand Bahama based MP and Minister of Health.

Just like Miller, however, he was sent packing in the onslaught of the ‘People’s Time’ FNM in 2017.

Tall Pines like the majority of other constituencies needs a bold and fresh restart.

As a political scientist and operative I am convinced that Dr Darville will make a far better MP for that area than Saunders.

If possible I believe that Darville will eclipse the stellar representation given by Miller when he held that seat.

The New PLP needs Darville back in the House of Assembly now more than ever before.

The pandemic and the over delayed renovations and upgrades to our health care systems has exposed too many Bahamians to chronic medical conditions and even death due to the stark absence of a cohesive and affordable National Health Initiative.

Medical fees in the private sector are prohibitive and beyond the reach of most Bahamians.

Premiums for private insurance are off the chart and countless Bahamians, due to loss of income and the wiping out of savings where they may have had a bank account, are uninsured period.

Before the Christie led administration was sent home, Dr Darville and his team had almost completed the ground work for a sustainable NHI system.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the acute chronic diseases which are literally killing far too many Bahamians now mandates that once returned to office generally and being elected to the HOA for Tall Pines in particular, Dr Darville and the Davis administration will have to hit the ground running with the NHI scheme.

Yes, Dr Darville is the right man for Tall Pines and I look forward, with great anticipation, for his return to the House of Assembly and reappointment, God willing, as Minister of Health.

We are celebrating 48 years as an independent nation.

The late great and deeply lamented Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling and his cabinets ushered in most of the institutional initiatives during his assorted administration.

The only one that they did not get to was a system of National Health Insurance.

One of the first priorities for an incoming Davis administration is the introduction of NHI.

Dr Darville (MP-in-Waiting for Tall Pines) is the right man for this task.

Great Independence! Better days are just around the corner.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr

Nassau,

July 8, 2021.