Dear BP.
What a difference almost four years of incessant lawlessness, incompetence, lies, misogyny, and corruption has had on how Bahamians view the FNM, and it all started so well. With an overwhelming electoral mandate, a compliant and biased press and Bahamian voters confused by their lies, misrepresentations, and their success in selling the diabolical lie that the PLP somehow stole the VAT money, they were on a roll. Just how biased and compromised the media is was clearly demonstrated by them universally ignoring the PM,s callous, despicable, and crude personal attacks on sitting PLP MP,s when he called them “contaminants”. Not one reporter has asked the PM to explain what he meant, nor would they see the connection between his words and similar words used by Donald Trump as a signal for his followers to attack his political enemies and jeopardise democracy.
And to show that he was serious about selling their lies and propaganda the leader said all of the things deceived Bahamians wanted to hear. To kick off what Bahamians now realise was the big lie the PM had this to say in the Guardian of 4th November 2017 ““We must fight crime and corruption at every level. This includes criminal violence and those who abuse their high office and engage in corrupt practices,” Prime Minister Minnis said. “As a society, we too often ignore the causes of crime and the criminal elements in our midst. The fight against crime is the responsibility of all Bahamians and residents.” What he did not tell us was that many of the criminals and corrupt persons he was speaking about appeared to be in his government.
The PM went on to say “When an individual is corrupt and they steal from the public, they are hurting me, they are hurting you and they are hurting the entire population. They must understand that” he said. We know now through bitter experience and observation reports of foreign entities and others that corruption has not only increased under the FNM, but it has thrived.
Nepotism, cronyism, no bid contracts, ministerial conflicts of interest, ministers condemned by the courts yet remaining defiantly in his cabinet and deals for the boys appear to be the watchword of this incompetent, dishonest government. Not a day passes when there are not fresh allegations of FNM corruption or wrongdoing concerning an FNM politician.
So, what happened to all of those lofty, pious FNM promises. Well, that was exactly what they were; promises that they never had any intention of keeping. Like the promises to investigate the more than a dozen allegations of corruption and irregularities in public bodies like for example BPL and investigating the whereabouts of the vast funds donated to the disaster recovery efforts in Abaco. The FNM cannot weed out corruption because as the successors of the corrupt UBP regime they rely on the same funding sources as the UBP. They seek “hot money” and associations with shady characters and outright criminals who see “consultancy fees” and corrupt payments as one and the same. They cannot weed out corruption because they appear to be mired in it; it is like the FNM fox watching the chicken coop.
Now the time is fast approaching when the FNM must give a positive account of its stewardship and that will be a difficult task for even its paid media consultants and propagandist to achieve. The FNM is a party of projection; they ascribe their own wrongdoing to others while engaging in wrongdoing on an industrial scale. We saw a manifestation of this psychological state when the PM stated ““The PLP believes it owns this country and they are entitled to steal and plunder with zeal. The FNM, we are different. We cherish the name ‘free’ because we are committed to the cause of expanding and protecting freedom in the nation. We are guided by the values of equality, the rule of law, social justice and opportunity for all,” Dr Minnis said. After once more trying to smear the PLP the PM doubled down and said “The people’s turnaround has begun. We put a stop to rampant corruption, we put a stop to waste and stealing of the people’s money. We put a stop to the descent into economic collapse. We put a stop to the never-ending downgrades; our economy is growing and getting stronger and healthier”.
He also took credit for the cessation of the fires at the Nassau landfill which suspiciously stopped after the FNM victory. Clearly the intent of the PM and the taxpayer funded and well-staffed propaganda department in his office is to continue to sell us lies and to tarnish the PLP,s illustrious history through lies and an ongoing disinformation campaign. He just cannot forgive the PLP for elevating the masses, creating the RBDF, the Central Bank and a Bahamian middle class and actually having accomplishments to its credit and not having to claim the successes of others.
The FNM narrative is one that they inherited from their masters the oligarchs and the ever-present UBP philosophy. This racist philosophy posits that that everything related to Black people is corrupt, crooked, and lazy. So, since the PLP is the party which elevates the Black man it too must be corrupt; another smear on the PLP and a monstrous, transparent lie.
Ironically, no black men were identified as rum runners nor were they ever accused of stealing land from poor vulnerable Family Islanders and other heinous crimes. That is the exclusive domain of the oligarchs and the FNM intends for it to remain so. Through their front organisations these oligarchs publicly support the environment, and conservation while privately condoning the massive exploitation, degradation, pillaging and destruction of our natural resources by their friends and family. Whenever the next election is called Bahamians will be faced with a stark choice.
They can continue to support a political party which has as its aim the destruction of its cultural heritage, displacing indigenous Bahamians, has no plans for mitigating the disastrous effects of its Covid-19 policies, engages in gutter politics, inhibits their financial and social mobility, and condones and encourages the marginalisation and displacement of Bahamians. Which treats Bahamians as second-class citizens, seeks the destruction of trade unions and is working tirelessly to return Bahamians to their pre-majority rule status. Or they can support a political party which has always had as its core values Bahamian progress, has a genuine concern for them, will provide stable well-paying jobs, support democratic principles, encourages social mobility for all, promotes Bahamian pride and culture, puts in place policies for robust economic growth, and safeguards the peoples well-being.
It is time to make a choice about your future and that of your families, their survival and, the welfare of Bahamians yet unborn.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Brown
