The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

It is remarkable that Dr Hubert A Minnis (FNM-Killarney) the cling leader of the rump opposition, who never seemed to find the time to speak with the press and the media while in office, is now finding the time and talking points to do so. Minnis is really now irrelevant in Bahamian politics and is yesterday’s man. He may not have come to the brutal conclusion that few Bahamians, if any, now listen to him. He’s akin to the fabled Emperor who was told repeatedly that he had no clothes on. The massive rejection of his political leadership must have stung him worse than a scorpion.

If I were the new and refreshing Prime Minister in the form of the enlightened and focused the Most Honourable Philip “Brave” Davis, QC (PLP-Cat Island) I would not pay any attention to the rants and ravings of a badly mauled “used to be” ex Prime Minister. The rump FNM is planning a national convention in years for November. According to the outgoing Chairman of that party, Charles Culmer, he indicated that Minnis had told him that he would not seek a nomination as party leader although he’s now appearing to walk back on that assertion.

The real issues and elephants in the room, figuratively and literally are: the lingering effects, economic and health wise, of the pandemic; the troubling rise in inflation; liberalisation of Crown Land & Commonage Property and the reconstruction and rebuilding of Abaco and Grand Bahama. We as a people should waste precious little time listening to Minnis, who appears to have a messianic dual personality. Let us deal with the real and salient ‘problems’. He’s had his opportunity at the wicket and, in my view, failed us Big Time, across the board.

PM Davis has wisely appointed the Hon Michael Darville (PLP-Tall Pines) as Minister of Health & Wellness. This would be Darville’s second time around as Minister of Health. He has the experience and the talent to get a firm and realistic grip on the pandemic. It will take much more work and some innovative strategies but I am persuaded that he is the right man at the right time to marshal and implement, with the approval of cabinet, sensible and workable solutions. It must be borne in mind that there is no magical wand that he or anyone else are able to wave and simply erase COVID-19 overnight.

Bahamians like the rest of the world are going to have to learn to actually live with the virus while managing it the best we are able. After a year and a half of disjointed and erratic reactions, economic and healthwise, of the now mercifully concluded Minnis regime, the economy was decimated and thousands of ordinary Bahamians have been involuntarily relegated to the bread lines. He and his regime spent B$800,000 per week on food and grocery items. To date no known audited financial statements have been provided. Monies were spent over in Abaco and Grand Bahama for rebuilding and reconstruction efforts. Tens of millions, allegedly, BUT where are the audited statements?

The efforts of the Davis administration to build back better relative to The Bahamas, apart from the handling of the pandemic, will be crucial to turn our economy around. There must be serious stimulations. For instance, a good friend of mine based in Grand Bahama, Lewis Astwood, proposed a national apprenticeship programme to the then Christie led PLP, but nothing much came out of that.

Under that scheme employers who participated would take on one or more young Bahamians, maybe just out of high school; a college or a university for a year or two so as to transfer marketable skills and enhance their abilities to either go into business for themselves or spin off into new developments and industries. The employer would receive a stipend from the central administration so as to actually pay the apprentices to learn. This would be a win/win situation for all, especially our younger people and national productivity.

Land is the basis of wealth. Too many past governments have either ignored applications for Crown Land or placed them if what is commonly known ‘as the dance’ whereby they receive endless numbers of letters of acknowledgement and inordinate requests for the production of a surveyed plan, at their expense. Even then, years later, they are still obliged to wait for the actual grant. This was the way it was from Sir Lynden’s time to right now. Brave will have to address this issue as well as a land “problem” called commonage, especially in Cat island and Exuma. He spoke about it in the House of Assembly some years ago. His pleas and remarks fell on deaf ears. He now has the power to actually bring concrete relief to the masses.

Abaco and Grand Bahama are a major portion of our patrimony and national economic plank. They both should have been well on the way to recovery and rebuilding. Nothing much has been done and the beat goes on. Grand Bahama has great potential and I would hope that the Minister of State for Grand Bahama would hit the proverbial ground running. There is No More Time To Waste. The Grand Lucayan Hotel in Freeport must be divested, if only to a group of deep pocketed and managerial experienced Bahamian consortium. That property is bleeding taxpayers’ monies even as you read this. Whatever happened to OBAN over in East Grand Bahama? How come Minnis does not make reference to this or the Ginn Project over in West End?

Yes, it is a phenomenon of national proportions that loquacious Minnis is able to find his tongue at this stage, but could not speak coherently, if at all in four years! Minnis is yesterday’s man. Who will be selected to succeed him? May I suggest that he will be re-elected as leader? Duane Sands despite his great talent as a medical doctor does not, in my opinion, have the gravitas or personality. Pintard was too closely connected to Louis Bacon and his alleged surrogates: Togie and Bobo in seeking to dig up “dirt” on my good friend Peter Nygard. Iram Lewis just reached and will not be accepted by any large numbers.

The Hon Shannedon Cartwright is now coming across as light weight and forked tongued, politically, in my view. I predict that the rump FNM will be in opposition for at least 10 years while Brave serves as Prime Minister and digs us out of the massive hole dug by Minnis and crew. The elephants in the room are uncaged and running loose. But Brave, I am sure, will re-cage them in short order.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr

Nassau,

October 18, 2021.