The Editor
Bahamas Press
18 July 2021
Dear BP,
I continue to find it extremely troubling that despite irrefutable evidence of this FNM government incompetence at every level the media refuses to accept their part in the wrecking of our country by not reporting this news. Thus, a servile, biased, bought and paid for print media appears to have thrown their integrity and veracity to the winds in their defense of what is the worst administration in modern Bahamian history.
In furtherance of the agenda of its political masters there is not a lie, smear or outright fabrication concerning those politically opposed to their patrons that they will not disseminate. But they assiduously ignore or under report the rampant allegations of misdeeds by the FNM.
Chief amongst this cabal of pro-FNM propagandists appear to be several “paper Bahamians” and mercenary foreign political hacks who to be brutally honest have a herculean task in getting the FNM and some of their family members reelected.
This is probably why they have a problem reporting truthfully on what is really happening with the third wave of covid- 19 infections where not only are we short of vaccines, hospital beds and nursing staff but this incompetent FNM government through the media is still trying to paint a rosy picture of the health of the nation while covid related deaths are rising daily.
In November 2020 when the true level of this government incompetence, poor planning and lack of empathy was becoming more apparent I wrote. “This government has no plan to get us out of this pandemic alive.
Now that the PLP has revealed its own Covid-19 recovery plan the government, which has no plan of its own is working assiduously to prove that it is unworkable. The FNM has also conveniently ignored and downplayed the growing rate of infection, deaths, hospitalizations, and economic hardship which it has visited on our frontline workers.
No amount of remote “data scrubbing” will disguise these facts because sooner or later it will be revealed. From the very beginning of this pandemic, the FNM has gone out of its way to marginalize, diminish and destroy the credibility of medical professionals, especially our nurses and junior doctors.
Cries for more PPE, better working hours and pay commensurate with their
hazardous duties have been denied and their commitment to their profession questioned and politicized. Because of their disgraceful treatment of the nurses the nurses like many Bahamians are suffering from; fear and anxiety; hopelessness and demotivation; fear of infection; guilt; anger and frustration; sadness and loneliness.
These are the same issues that nurses, frontline workers, and ordinary citizens are facing worldwide. What is amazing and callous about the treatment of our essential workers is that their plight is being exacerbated by other medical professionals who should appreciate that they are our first line of defence. We as Bahamians need to protect and support our essential workers especially nurses in every way that we can.
We must put aside politics and accept that if we lose them our nation is finished and the sick and dying will have to take care of themselves”.
What Bahamians are experiencing in this third wave is a direct result of a
governments actions which flew in the face of medical advice and inputs from others.
The PM,s arrogant statement that “I don’t listen to Brave “ when advised against the premature reopening of the economy will go down in history as one of the most destructive and asinine statements ever made by a Bahamian politician. And throughout this nightmare we keep getting promises to do better from the government. The unqualified failure who is our health minister had this to say recently. “ HEALTH Minister Renward Wells said the country is expected to receive its first doses of the Pfizer vaccine through the World Health Organisation’s COVAX Facility soon, with additional doses of the brand anticipated to arrive in the country
later this year.
Speaking to reporters before yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Mr Wells
said the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine will consist of 57,330 doses and added that officials are hoping to have those vaccines here by the end of the month. We will have a more definitive date when the Pfizer vaccine arrives in (the) country by Friday of this week,” Mr Wells said.
Unsurprisingly, media did not query him on what happened to the $240,000 paid by taxpayers to put us at the front of the vaccine queue some time ago. Nor was he asked about the continued upward revisions to covid-19 deaths while at the same time allowing tourism minister D’ Aguilar to continue to spout his nonsense about how tourism is recovering and workers in that sector benefitting. Nor did the media ask Wells about his missed date for herd immunity which he seemed to have difficulty calculating.
It seems to me that as the FNM government drowns in scandals and
incompetence its ministers are all over trying to make us forget their almost four years of unmitigated failures. Not to be left out the Prime Minister had this doozy of an explanation for us on when he calls an election. “PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis sidestepped a question Friday about whether he is preparing to lead the country to an early general election, telling reporters he always prepares for events a year in advance.
Asked in Eleuthera if he plans to dissolve Parliament within the
next week or two and call an early election, he did not give a definite answer. He said: “You would note I’ve said repeatedly, and it’s been demonstrated, I always prepare at least one year in advance. I’m one of those who believe in preparation and we’re going through our preparation and in the event, things should change we’re ready.”
Now we know that this statement is an outright fabrication but is a type that we have come to expect from the FNM. Firstly, the current and outgoing PM has never had to plan an election date; secondly, if he plans a year in advance how is it that the inept FNM government is yet to articulate what the protocols will be when the covid emergency rules are lifted next month?
This governments irrational decision making, and lack of a clear policy stems entirely from it becoming prisoners to its numerous misrepresentations and disingenuous statements. They can’t deny them because they are a matter of public record; they can’t blame them
on anyone but themselves as much as they would like to.
Sadly, many Bahamians who voted this hapless, ignorant, incompetent and
destructive FNM government into power still will not admit their colossal mistake.
They, like the FNM are hoping against the circumstances that some last-minute reprieve will materialize. FNM ministers, devotees and operators therefore continue to try to flam us at every opportunity. But no matter how hard they try they cannot hold back the tide. We will have a general election; we will seek change and we will hold those persons who facilitated, or unlawfully benefitted from cronyism and nepotism to account.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Brown
