Prime Minister Perry Christie response to the Black Friday March is exactly why the march was put on in the first place, to demand accountability and transparency from the people that are supposed to govern the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and a part of this accountability is to be truthful with the people and I guess in the prime minister’s defense he was and this truthfulness that he allowed to slip  is indeed frightening.

“PM: I will meet protest leaders – Christie responds on eve of Black Friday March – The Tribune.

Excerpt from this article; “Amidst a defense of his government’s performance this term, Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday told organizers of today’s ‘We March Bahamas’ protest that he was ‘painfully aware’ that the country has suffered tremendous setbacks.

In advance of what has been foreshadowed to be a major protest against governance, Mr. Christie released a five-page response to the protest organizers that itemized reform initiatives and made the case that many setbacks were ‘beyond’ his administrations control.’

Here we have a group of disappointed members of the public that have come together four and half years into the Christie administration to voice their concerns about the state of the country and they are being told by Prime Minister Perry Christie that “he is painfully aware that the country has suffered tremendous setbacks’ and [that] “many of the setbacks were beyond his control”, thank you for your brutal honesty Mr. Prime Minister.

“In his letter, Mr. Christie told the group that his government remains resolute in its commitment to build and a peaceful, economically, progressive and politically enlightened society, and invited organizers to a meeting at his office at a ‘mutually convenient time’.

Mr. Christie stressed that his government has always worked and continues to work toward its core goal of improving the quality of life for its citizens”

The reason why many people marched was because in the past four and half years they have seen the quality of life on the decline for the average citizen so when the Prime Minister admits to being ‘painfully aware’ that the country has suffered tremendous setbacks, is he conceding the fact that his administration has failed at its core goal ‘of improving the quality of life for its citizens’?

It was my understanding that Prime Minister Perry Christie was notified of the march twice, far enough in advance of the planned date of the march to not have to pen a letter to the organizers the night before, but this seems to be typical of Prime Minister Perry Christie, always a day late and a dollar short, or maybe his intent was to dampen the impact of the demonstration in light of the traction and support that it had gathered by saying that he ‘reached out the them’, but the Prime Minister’s response, beside being late, in itself is indeed a troubling sign of a ‘leader’ that has lost all grasp of reality.

After four and half years the Prime Minister now seems to be willing to admit that the country has suffered ‘tremendous setbacks’, while after repeatedly reassuring the public that things were looking ‘dead good’ and getting better, we all knew they were not and this is why we marched and demanded answers and now we know why, it because the setbacks were beyond the control of the present administration, I honestly and fervently believe that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government, through sheer incompetence, ineptitude and laziness, created the environment for these ‘setbacks’ that the Prime Minister now claims was ‘beyond’ their control but now he would still wish to reassure the Bahamian people that him and his administration really do have all the answers; well a lot of the Bahamian people are not buying it because the PLP’s 2012 election campaign also sought to assure the people that the Christie administration has the answers, the people trusted him and his party and voted for his administration, and here we are four and a half years later with the Prime Minister now suggesting to us, the Bahamian people, that he may be out of his depth; why should we think that with more time he would be able to get control of the current issues that plague our country?

But as the Prime Minister sits back and does what he does best, play with words at the 13^th hour, we have Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs, weighing in with nothing less than a blistering insult to the people of the Bahamas, who seek to ask for change, accountability and transparency from this government and all governments to follow that they entrust the affairs of country to, expecting them to  manage them in the best interest of the Bahamian people.

“Mitchell says protest won’t change ‘diddly squat’ – The Tribune 11.25.2016

Excerpt from this article; “Hours after the start of the ‘We March’ demonstration in Nassau on Friday an apparent audio recording of Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell condemning the protest as a propaganda exercise and forbidding his party’s supporters to attend was released on social media.

In the recording Mr. Mitchell aligned himself with political website bahamasuncensored.com – an admission that has long been rumored due to the pro-Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) slant on its content and vitriolic takedowns of persons or entities in opposition to the Cabinet minister and Fox Hill MP. “  It is good to see the member of parliament finally stop being a coward and finally coming out of the closet as the voice behind the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) propaganda webpage and I say kudos to him but I must ask, how can Fox Hill MP see it fitting and right for him to even suggest that supporters of the PLP should not have supported the protest that simply asked for transparency and accountability from government?  Is Fred Mitchell intimating for one minute that no matter what his government does and how adverse the public at whose pleasure  they serve feel about a certain issue, our only recourse would be to endure it; whatever happened to the PLP’s “I have a Voice”, pitch to the Bahamian people during the 2012 election campaign, was this a lie?

Has Mr. Mitchell taken the “You can go to God but it still has to come through me” approach to governance that Prime Perry Christie took?

Indeed, a lot is out of the Prime Minister and his government’s control; and we now have began to wonder if they ever had control of the situation.

The Progressive Liberal Party fails for one reason, it is their nature.

END