GB businesses are shutting down and FNM politicians still lie to their constituents
The Editor
Bahamas Press 15 February 2021.
Dear BP.
If there is one thing Bahamians can count on it is utter confusion and broken promises from this incompetent FNM administration. There is not one ministry of this government from which confusing statements or lies are not told when the true facts were readily available and easily verifiable. As an example, the Bahamas Chronicle of March 2, 2020 reported a story attributed to the Bahamas Information Services which stated: “The Government of The Bahamas on Monday, March 2, 2020, finalized the sale of the Grand Lucayan Resort to a partnership between Royal Caribbean International and ITM (Bahamas Port Investments Ltd.), which is expected to make a $250 million investment between the hotel and the redevelopment of the cruise port. The Heads of Agreement Signing Ceremony was held on the Great Lawn of the property, some 11 months after the signing of the Letter of Intent on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
The story went on to say that: Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis described the day as a wonderful one, noting that the government’s intention was never to hold on to the property, but initially purchased it to save jobs of Grand Bahamians and businesses”.
Fast forward to 2021 the hotel is still unopened the people of Grand Bahama are still suffering, and no help or jobs are on the horizon. Grand Bahamians who the PM promised to save from poverty, joblessness and despair are still waiting for these things to occur. Businesses on Grand Bahama are still shutting down and FNM politicians still lie to their constituents. Now the PM says that a team of “experts” have been contracted to assess how good the deal is . Talking about confusion; confusion reigns in everything this incompetent, heartless government undertakes, and I guess Grand Bahamians will have to wait even longer for relief.
Ironically, no island was promised more than Grand Bahama in the run-up to the 2017 general elections. Based on the lies and misrepresentations of the FNM, Grand Bahamians gave the FNM all of the seats and the FNM rewarded them with three Cabinet Ministers. Yet today Grand Bahama is even more destitute and depressed than ever. Of course, some of this is a direct result of Hurricane Dorian. But Dorian does not explain the massive neglect and lack of attention given to GB after the hurricane. Indeed the University of the Bahamas Northern Campus still lies in ruins. So, if the long-promised relief never comes the blame will be on these “experts” and not the author of their predicament the PM/CEO and his merry group of incompetents.
The FNM is incompetent and uncaring and just cannot get anything right. Recall they announced with great fanfare the appointment of a committee to advise on the Covid-19 vaccination rollout. It included the usual servile sycophants when it should have been loaded with medical professionals and logisticians. Protests were made about the composition of this committee yet the FNM government ignored them. Then there was the confusion on who would get the AstraZeneca vaccine. One day it was announced that no one over 65 years of age would receive it based on available evidence although many countries affected by the pandemic includes this vulnerable group in their rollouts. A few days later again allegedly based on scientific evidence older Bahamians would receive it. We are all confused on this but, we are accustomed to FNM deflections ,misinformation, misdirection’s and lies and these guys will not change.
And now the PM and his media trolls and foreign political consultants are engaging in an even more dangerous, damnable lie. He has taken to television with what really amounts to a campaign ad in which he is being touted as the saviour of the Bahamian people because of his handling of the covid-19 pandemic. Nothing is further from the truth although the FNM was never at one with the truth. The reality is that the PM and his government has mishandled and mismanaged the pandemic from the very start. The first case which was allowed to “self-quarantine” when these persons should have been isolated was just the beginning of our travails and trials. This was followed very rapidly with a full lockdown of the Bahamas. Even islands which had no COVID-19 cases at the time were locked down; local businesses and economies devastated, and Bahamians put on the food line.
Then against all available scientific advice the PM doubled down on his incompetence. He reopened our borders and allowed uncontrolled travel to and from our nation. And, as predicted by the scientific advice the pandemic was shortly out of control and Bahamians were now under the control of an egotistical, incompetent, and power-hungry PM who has since used the Covid-19 Emergency Powers to intimidate, confuse, trample on the constitutional rights of Bahamians and deny transparency on the awarding of contracts and taxpayer monies spent.
So, after all of the sacrifices by Bahamians, the dead friends, and relatives, not being able to properly funeralize them but, FNM benefactors being allowed to travel here to bury their pets, a devastated economy, food insecurity, joblessness, rising incidents of mental distress and suicides and no relief in sight what have we achieved. Well according to todays newspapers nothing; there were 59 new cases of Covid-19 reported between last Thursday and Saturday. With an accepted reproductive rate (R) of 2.5 there may actually be over 100 new cases. Will we ever find out the true state of COVID-19 in the Bahamas probably not. With the PM declaring victory over the pandemic just like President Bush did in the early days of the Iraq war even larger lies must now be told and disseminated to support a false narrative.
This is what is happening with the FNM television ads. They are trying to fool Bahamians once again when the facts on the ground prove conclusively that lies are being told. If there is any benefit to Bahamians from these misleading television campaign spots it is this. We have them; we have recorded them, and it is our evidence of just how far this incompetent, dissembling, and uncaring government will go to deceive us.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Brown
