The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was yesterday critical of the Davis administration’s performance, insisting the country is worse off now since the Progressive Liberal Party assumed office last year.

“They cannot pander their way out of this crisis that they must now confront,” the Killarney MP told parliamentarians yesterday while making his contribution to the 2022/2023 budget.

“As we had predicted, we said that they would be confronted by the perfect storm – a viral pandemic and economic pandemic with severe inflation and high unmanageable fuel costs.

“We anticipated (fuel in) New Providence would be $8 by May and in the family islands, $10 to $12. Now in office, they have repeatedly spoken of the international events and factors affecting the Bahamian economy. I will not play the game they played. On this side, they acknowledged the role of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing effects of COVID-19 and climate change on the global economy, but the PLP has made the situation much worse.

“They were not prepared for office and once in office, they became giddy … with power travelling all over the world when they should have been governing.”

Dr Minnis also doubled down on his criticisms of the government’s frequent travelling, saying “a disciplined and serious leader” will only attend conferences that are considered necessary and of benefit to the country’s interests.

“An unfocused leader is not used to the big stage and would be up and down all around spending the people’s money needlessly and sadly, this is the type of leader the Bahamian people currently has,” he said.

“From this budget, it appears as if the prime minister’s travel problem is about to get even worse. There is a $4.1 million increase in government’s travel allocation in the proposed budget. The media sees that the prime minister has a problem, the media, many know he is always up and down and all over the place … we all know that this prime minister who appears to be listened to heavily who appears to be the minister of travel and leisure.”

The remarks drew a response from Obie Wilchcombe, leader of government business in the House of Assembly, who insisted that Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis was out of the country doing the work of the Bahamian people.

Still, Dr Minnis continued his attack and even questioned the sincerity of the prime minister’s position on climate change.

“I support the government’s efforts to address climate change, but based on this prime minister’s past association with an oil company, few believe that he is a genuine pro-environment climate change activist. The prime minister has a long track record representing an oil company in The Bahamas and he’s still an oil drilling supporter.

“...The prime minister should disclose to the Bahamian people, just how much money he made over the years from the oil industry. Did the prime minister make hundreds of thousands of dollars or did he make millions or did he make even more? From his track record as an oil man, it is clear that the prime minister is not a genuine climate change activist.”

To this, Mr Wilchcombe rose on a point of order and asked Dr Minnis whether he was referring to what the prime minister did in his private capacity before he assumed office.

“The suggestion that he is making is the prime minister might have still earned subsequent to being the minister of the government, I’m making the point that this might have been happening in his private capacity,” the social services minister said.

“…I just want to make sure that we don’t cause the Bahamian people to get the timelines mixed up here and the timelines if you’re asking what the Prime Minister made in his private capacity, speak with him privately about that. The reality about it all is subsequent to him separating from the company, he was then afterwards he became a minister and subsequently prime minister.”

Dr Minnis then took aim at the government’s response to the inflationary high cost of living, saying they have no comprehensive plan to address the issue.

“What he has announced in this fiscal plan is insufficient. The member for Cat island is the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. He has a lot of power, you know and we acknowledged the global situation. That said, they expect him to come up with real policies that deliver real results for the Bahamians, the same way that the new day administration is good at getting PLP’s straight with big contracts and consultancies.”

Dr Minnis also claimed the Davis administration has budgeted over $60m for consultancies, which he said was concerning considering that many Bahamians are struggling to make ends meet.

“I am especially concerned about the massive increase in funds for consultancies,” the Killarney MP continued. “The government has budgeted $62 million for consultancies. Who is going to get these many millions of dollars for more consultancies throughout the government? This is an explosion. Wow – this is very concerning. Meanwhile, Bahamians cannot afford to fill up their vehicles with gas.”

He continued: “Bahamian mothers and grandmothers have to leave groceries at the cash register because they can no longer afford all the food they need to feed their families. We need the prime minister to do more, faster. We need him to cut down on the trips and to work for the Bahamian people.”