This past week got off to a rocky start for the Free National Movement (FNM), when Edison Key accused Dr. Hubert Minnis, Leader of the Official Opposition Free National Movement of undermining him and having ‘private’ meetings in his constituency to have him replaced as the party’s candidate for South and Central Abaco in the upcoming elections.

“Key Lashes Minnis” – The Nassau Guardian Dec. 05^th 2016

Excerpt from this article; “South and Central Abaco MP Edison Key confirmed on Saturday that he will not run again on the Free National Movement’s (FNM) ticket and excoriated   FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis, claiming he is not a man of his word, and is ‘destroying’ the party ahead of the general election.

Key claimed Minnis has plotted behind his back with certain operatives in Abaco to end his (Keys) political career, and did not give him the courtesy of knowing ‘secret’ meetings were being held in his own constituency.”  If the allegations are indeed true then what would be the point of making Mr. Key aware of ‘secret’ meetings; this then makes the whole exercise moot but I tend to jest about a very grave matter.

For Edison Key MP to take such a stance against Dr. Minnis, he must also then take the stance against the party itself because it would seem that the Chairman, Sidney Collie, is also complicate in this deed to expel him (Mr. Key) and has engineered a grand story to defend the party’s actions; I mean Dr. Minnis’ actions, according to Mr. Edison Key.

“Collie: FNM sought to replacement only after Key said he was retiring” – The Tribune – Dec. 7^th 2016

Excerpt from this article; “The Free National Movement only began seeking a new candidate for the Central and South Abaco constituency after area MP Edison Key informed the organization that he would not be seeking another nomination because he was retiring from front line politics, party Chairman Sidney Collie said yesterday.”

So, according to the Chairman of the Free National Movement, the Hon. Edison Key had already informed the party that he was no longer running; are they [the party] lying or has Mr. Key simply forgotten this communication?  Maybe he was just thinking out loud at the time.

By any rate, the ‘act of deception’ on Dr. Minnis’ behalf seem to be the ‘straw to break the camel’s back’, and so we had what has been termed as an ‘FNM Revolt’, but this only seem to be among the parliamentarians and those supporters that seem to look for a reason, any reason, to complain about Dr. Minnis as Leader of the Free National Movement.

“FNM Revolt” – “Seven MP’s vote to oust Minnis as leader of opposition”

-“Butler-Turner is chosen to replace Minnis in House”

-“Call for rebels to quit party in late-night meeting”

The Tribune – Dec. 8^th, 2016

Excerpt from this article; “In a bold move that stunned Parliament, seven Opposition MP’s submitted a letter to both House Speaker Dr. Kendal Major and Governor Dame Marguerite Pindling yesterday, revealing that a vote was taken among them for Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner to be the new Official Leader in the House of Assembly.”

The Wayward Seven actions were brought about, in their words, by “Voter apathy and the Free National Movement’s failure to capitalize on the Progressive Liberal Party’s mistakes”, but many now ask what did any of The Seven do to help the Free National Movement capitalize on the governments shortfalls and what are their future plans; as Ms. Butler-Turner is made Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly in a 3pm ceremony this afternoon?

More importantly, what are the plans of The Seven as the party continues to move forward toward the 2017 General Elections, as Dr. Minnis is still Leader of the Free National Movement?

What is their ‘End Game’?

Edison Key is heard saying that the Free National Movement “FNM needs to bring Ingraham back”, so if their ‘end game’ was to remove Dr. Minnis as leader and replace him with the Hon. Loretta Butler-Turner but still having thoughts of bringing Ingraham back; is this to say that he [Key] and maybe others in the bunch have no confidence in Ms. Butler-Turner to lead the party?  Then, as Ms. Butler-Turner has brought this situation about, questions have arisen about her credulity and trust worthiness; how does she calm these ‘fears’ in the minds of the average Bahamian citizen?

How does she and her six parliamentary colleagues address the damage that they have done to the momentum that the party had began to gain under Dr. Minnis and how if anyone denies that the party had began to build forward momentum, then that person; in my humble opinion, has lied not only to themselves but to the others that they have convinced or hoped to convinced that what has happened on Wednesday of this past week helps the Free National Movement ahead of next year’s General Elections.

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“Rebel FNM’s refuse to quit –Key: I won’t be forced out of party” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article; “In the aftermath of Free National Movement Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis call for the ‘rebel’ seven members if Parliament to resign from the party or face disciplinary action, several signatories on the letter to revoke his appointment as Official Opposition leader in Parliament have said that they are declining to quit, one of them insisting ‘I won’t be forced out’ of the organization.

Central and South Abaco MP Edison Key told The Tribune that Dr. Minnis could not force him to leave the FNM.  Mr. Key maintained that instead if Dr. Minnis calling for their resignations, he should be the one to bow out of the top post of the party because his parliamentary caucus no longer reposes confidence in his ability to lead them.

Mr. Key, 78, said he expected to be expelled.  However, he said, this does not mean anything to him.

Meanwhile, Central Grand Bahama MP Neko Grant said he ‘respectfully’ rejected the leader’s request to leave the party.  Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn, North Eleuthera MP Theo Neilly and St. Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman, speaking to ZNS News, also said they had no plans to resign from the party.”

It is indeed has become a very precarious situation because as Mr. Key says, “I am an elected member of Parliament,’ Mr. Key said yesterday when he was contacted.  He, (Dr. Minnis) can’t force me to resign.  What he should do is the honorable thing and step down.  The parliamentary group has lost all confidence in Dr. Minnis and the stalwarts in the party should replace him.”

Oddly, from what I gather the stalwarts/MCM’s within the party actually support Dr. Minnis but as Mr. Key asks for Dr. Minnis to do the ‘honorable thing and step down’, it is obvious that they seek to force Dr. Minnis from the leadership position of the party, while insisting that he [Dr. Minnis] cannot force them out of the party; this is nothing less than rank and utter hypocrisy.

Darron Cash, former chairman of the Free National Movement once said that the party needed to have a “Come to Jesus moment” and I feel that this is it, because as the party had just began to attract quality candidates and attention from many undecided’s and supporter of other political parties, we now have this and the questions that will stand ; what does Ms. Butler-Turner and her colleagues wish to accomplish by this move and how will this change attract these persons that were giving the Free National Movement another look and can certain person in the organization be trusted at their word?

 

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Since the Free National Movements convention earlier this year, where Ms. Loretta Butler-Turner opposed Dr. Hubert Minnis for leadership of the party and was defeated – no not defeated; as she withdrew prior to ballots even being casted in the leadership race; all thought that the leadership race had become a non-issue until yesterday.

All thought that it had become a non-issue and I am guessing that even Dr. Minnis and most of the Executive were of this opinion as he [Dr. Minnis] went about his role as party leader along with the executives, building a party with formidable, impressive and worthy candidates.

“Opposition failed” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner said yesterday she and six other Free National Movement (FNM) MP’s wrote to Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling, expressing a vote of no confidence in Leader of the Opposition, Dr, Hubert Minnis because the party has ‘failed’ as an effective opposition and the country needs change,’

In the Minority Room if the House of Assembly, Butler-Turner addressed the media alongside Central Grand Bahama MP Neko Grant; South and Central Abaco MO Edison Key; Montagu MP Richard Lightbourne; St. Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman; Fort Charlotte MP Dr. Andre Rollins and North Eleuthera MP Theo Neilly.

Butler-Turner said ‘We have failed to convince Bahamians that we represent a change for them to vote for.’

‘Instead, we have taken the position that the electorate will choose by default to vote against the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).

‘Such a strategy fails to meet the challenges of our time and is not deserving of the confidence of our Bahamian people.”

I am quite aware that as Ms. Butler-Turner and her six parliamentary colleagues express a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the Leader of The Opposition and states that the Opposition has failed, that she is conceding that she and her group of six have also failed.  Out of the seven that has passed this indictment on Dr. Minnis and presented this letter to the Governor General  one would be hard pressed to find one out of the six that has made any meaningful contribution to the representation of their constituency that they were elected to serve, to the country and to the Free National Movement party over the past four plus years and if one were to find that one person, it would be quite safe to say that they only spoke when actually necessary or rose to their feet to defend their ‘record’.

Yes. Ms. Butler-Turner, ‘country is in a shambles’ and I seek to find how the actions of you and others have taken will correct this situation.  It would seem that the six lack motivation and looked to the leader to tell them what to do as a source of motivation; this is a sad indictment on their behalf; because as Perry Christie stood as the Official Opposition his members were out making him ‘look good’, when we all knew that it really was not him calling the shot, but they did what they needed to do to keep the party alive and did not wait on their leader to tell them what needed to be done.

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The current Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), once only seen as the most incompetent and inept government in the history of the Bahamas, has now set out to prove that it is also the most pettiest of all.

“PLP planning Majority Rule Day march” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Celebrating the 5oth anniversary of majority rule, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Bradley Roberts said the party is planning a march on January 9^th.

The march is planned for the same day as the We March Bahamas protest downtown, though it is unclear exactly where PLP’s the march will take place.

‘The PLP will be marching in large numbers,’ Roberts said at a press conference on Monday.

‘It will be marking the 50^th anniversary that is significant for PLP’s in particular, if you want to go back in history.

‘We will be in big numbers.’

On January 10, 1967, both the PLP led by [Sir] Lynden Pindling, and the United Bahamas Party (UBP), led by Sir Rowland Symonette, won 18 seats in the House of Assembly in the general election.

The labour candidate, Rowland Fawkes, was also successful in the election.

Both he and independent candidate Alvin Braynen threw their support behind the PLP, with Braynen accepting the position of speaker of the House of Assembly.

Their support resulted in the PLP forming the government and ushering in black majority rule for the first time in the country’s history,”

I guess Mr. Bradley Roberts, the current Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) had already left the UBP by this time and joined forces with the PLP, but then I tend to digress.

When Majority Rule Day was first introduced as a national holiday in 2014, yes it took the Progressive Liberal Party to whom the Bradley Roberts says this day holds such ‘significance’ forty seven (47) years to set aside a day celebrate it; I waited with abated breath for the grand celebrations; which I figured would only be second to that of Independence Day itself but yet I got none.  There were no public celebration for the very first recognized Majority Rule Day holiday of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas – nothing for the people but now as “We Bahamas” plans a march, the Progressive Liberal Party now plans a march and have aligned it with the PLP brand, as Chairman Bradley Roberts says, “……marchers will be dressed in PLP paraphernalia….”, I see the PLP still is feeling ‘some sort of way’ about the first “We Bahamas” march and is still taking it as a personal slight against the PLP and not all Bahamas government; and there is a difference.

So the Progressive Liberal Party is about to finally  mark the Majority Rule Day with a march, I guess the 50^th Anniversary of Majority Rule is enough to wake one up to celebrate it because I feel that it would be far too personal, petty and beneath this government to attempt to divide the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas by detracting from a unifying march such as the one planned by the “ “We Bahamas” group that is merely asking for transparency and accountability from this government and all governments to follow.

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

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“Blackouts could be human error – PM ‘distressed’ by BPL issues” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “ Prime Minister Perry Christie said yesterday he has been unofficially advised that recent challenges at Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) which led to island-wide power outages could have been the result of ‘human error’.

However, BPL CEO Pamela Hill said she was ‘not actually familiar’ with the prime minister’s explanation.

Last Tuesday, a cable fault at the Clifton Pier plant led to a black out.

On Sunday, there was another blackout on New Providence, which lasted for hours.  BPL blamed ‘generator challenges coupled with transmission issues.’

Speaking to a reporter at the opening ceremony for the ninth International Civil Aviation Organization Air Services Negotiations Conference, the prime minister addressed the matter.

‘I am distressed about this as is every Bahamian,” Christie said.

‘I spent yesterday between church services and public functions talking to all the persons I could with respect to the cause of it.’

‘…….I know they’re troubling shooting now to determine [it].  I’ve been advised that this could be human error.”

Something sinister is going on at Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), formerly The Bahamas Electricity Cooperation (BEC), after the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government made the big deal over the fact that BPL will remain Bahamian owned and controlled, as it would only be managed by the foreign entity PowerSecure.  The prime minister now lays the blame for the power outages at the feet of Ms. Pamela Hill CEO of Bahamas Power and Light and asks her to report to him saying; “That is too catastrophic [two island wide black outs in one week] and its deserving of the highest investigation.”

While the Prime Minister demands answers of BPL that now manages power distribution for the country as the infrastructure still belong to the government i.e. us, we ask what is PowerSecures motivation to actually to ‘give a damn’ and what is the government currently doing to aid in updating the infrastructure? What are the details of this deal? ;beside the Management Service Agreement (MSA) whose terms has the PoswerSecure team receiving a baseline annual payment fee of $2 million, also has them only if they can achieve the pre-defined performance indicators (KPIS) related to cost reductions, reliability improvements and customer service enhancement, receiving potential additional performance-based compensation of up to 150 percent of the management fee per year; so far we have yet to see reliability improvement and cost reductions is being argued even as I speak, so will they get their yearly bonus?

Has the new power company even began to ‘repair’ the power grid that keeps failing, as it has been outdated for quite some time, most of us knew this before they were even heard of.

“Yesterday, Hill held a press conference at BPL headquarters to address the blackout issue.

Asked if the outages were a result of ‘human error’ as stated by the prime minister, she said, ‘I wasn’t actually familiar with that.”

She also seemed unclear as to what the prime minister meant by ‘an investigation’; amazingly she sounds just about as ‘enlightened as our Prime Minister actually she should better at it than him.

This ger be long, buy candles!

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

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It is interesting that when Leslie Miller speaks out against his own party and government he is seen as a ‘maverick’ or a man of the people but when a young man organizes a group of people to come together to speak out against not only this government but all recent governments and questions the flaws in the system; he is seen as by Mr. Miller and others as being “in over his head”?

“Leslie Miller: Henfield in over his head” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller said yesterday ‘We March Bahamas’ organizer Ranford Henfield is ‘in over his head; following ‘outrageous’ demands, including demanding that Prime Minister Perry Christie address the nation by Thursday or face consequences.

Miller referred to Henfield as an ‘egotistical maniac’ whose ‘ego has surpassed his common sense.’

‘I told the PM not to answer [him] to begin with’, Miller said.

‘I told the PM that he shouldn’t be putting himself on par with this fellow, a no-name who just came out of the blue with what he is doing for Carmichael.’

‘He’s never been involved in frontline politics in his life; never elected, nobody ever voted for him and he’s now making these outrageous demands.

He never represented anyone in his life, never got a vote in his life but he is making demands of the government.

‘…….you cannot believe that you can dictate to elected officials.  That is the right of the Bahamian people, not one man or little group.

‘Who the hell this guy believes he is?”

Flashback backs of a golf cart incident on a certain island, involving a certain Member of Parliament, some time back, but I digress.

Yes, Mr. Miller, just who does this guy believe that he is, as an individual to organize a group, which then organized thousands to march into Bay Street and ask for better representation and answers from the present elected officials?

I would like to ask, do you have to be a politician/elected official to have your voice heard and is the only time that a non-elected official able to voice any sort of displeasure or question any government is at the ballot box on Election Day?  The mere suggestion of this is ‘outrageous’ and should have all Bahamians really concerned.  Is Mr. Miller intimating for one moment that he [Henfield] or anyone else that is not an elected-official needs to ‘sit small’ then?

Is this is what ‘true democracy’, our democracy is built on?

Is this is how ‘true democracy’, our democracy was intended to work?

Is Mr. Miller suggesting for one moment that advising the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to set himself far above the common man?

As Leslie Miller suggests that his young man woke up one day with a list of ‘nonsensical demands’ to impose on the government, did he [Mr. Miller] even consider that these ‘demands’ were derived from the unfulfilled promises that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) made on the campaign trail and have been making for the past four and half years as the government of The Bahamas and the people are merely questioning him as to what went wrong?

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

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A war of words has erupted between former Progressive Liberal Party MP, George Smith and current PLP MP and Speaker of the House, Dr. Kendal Major.  This disagreements originated in the wake of the ‘We March Bahamas’ protest, a week ago, with Dr. Major, MP for the Garden Hills constituency suggesting that the Progressive Liberal Party brand is ‘damaged’, with George Smith insisting that this is not the case; the ‘Old Guard’ versus the ‘Bridge to the future’.

The question now arises, what exactly is the Progressive Liberal Party’s brand?

“Smith :PLP brand intact” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Cabinet Minister George Smith said yesterday although the PLP has faced ‘great challenges’ and made several mistakes over the past four years, the party has managed to keep its brand intact.

‘[The party] has faced some great challenges as an organization and it survives’, Smith said.

‘…….The last four years has been a very challenging period.”

Indeed, Mr. Smith, it has also been for the Bahamian people but before I go off script, my main focus is what exactly is the Progressive Liberal Party’s brand?

“In November 1943, the people of The Bahama Islands having for centuries endured the injustices of slavery and second class status in their own homeland, acclaimed and embraced the formation of the PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL PARTY, as a political organization established by the founding fathers to seek and secure the improvement of the lives of the poor, the downtrodden and the dispossessed and to bring hope and promise to the young people.” – First paragraph of the “Preamble” of The Constitution of the Progressive Liberal Party.

 

There is a ‘bill of goods’ that the Progressive Liberal Party sells to it members and persons wishing to bring about change from the front line of politics under their banner and this is that the Progressive Liberal Party is here to ‘free’ you from your oppressors and make you a first class citizen in your country, this appears to be their brand; to date we still await this to be fulfilled by this party.

Oddly enough, some person, especially younger people still buy into this rhetoric, as they claim to be able to see their own ideals and principle aligning with those of the Progressive Liberal Party; this is a fallacy and illusion, nothing but smoke and mirrors and is the basis on which the Progressive Liberal Party’s brand is built.

First, Mr. George Smith, the ‘great challenges’ that the Progressive Liberal Party now face are, in my opinion, of their very own making, sort of like Lady Macbeth being haunted by the blood spots of her murdered husband and also to say that the party has made ‘several mistakes over the past four years’ must be the greatest understatement of the year.

The Progressive Liberal Party’s Constitution Article 2. Objectives can all be considered a lie when you look at the performance of the Progressive Liberal Party over the past four plus years.   In this article it speaks about “…the economic independence of The Bahamas and empowerment of the people of the Bahamas  and seeking to maintain and promote a political, economic and social order which provides equal rights and opportunities for ALL citizens of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas within the framework of the party’s philosophy and Constitution, while we have only seen an increasing economic dependence on the government, which has actually been brought on and encouraged by this PLP government with very little in the way of having Bahamians become owners in their own country, as promised in the Preamble of The Progressive Liberal Party’s Constitution.

So maybe, Dr. Major is speaking from a more youthful perspective of what he once expected and what the march/protest highlighted was never delivered on, while George Smith still hangs on to the past, ever so resistant to change that is inevitable.

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

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The first thing that came to mind when I read the headline of The Nassau Guardian yesterday was the saying “Stupid is as stupid does”.  I always took this to mean that persons with the propensity to be stupid would always be followed by those that are just as stupid but I was wrong; it basically means that a person’s intelligence and commonsense are evidenced by the persons actions and not by a person’s looks.  In other words, stupid person is a person who does stupid things.

“Gibson defends Mitchell – ‘Minister had a right to urge PLP’s not to march” – The Nassau Guardian 11.30.2016

Excerpt from this article; “Minister of labour Shane Gibson yesterday accused the organizer of ‘We March Bahamas’ Ranard Henfield of practicing ‘selective democracy’ in his criticism of Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell, who urged PLP’s not to attend the event Friday.

‘Democracy must be democracy’, Gibson told The Nassau Guardian yesterday.

‘There cannot be selective democracy.  What gives you the right to say come and me not have the right to say don’t go?

What gives you that right?

‘Who crowned you and made you king?’

You tell people to come and the next mans tells people not to go, and you criticize him?

‘I don’t understand that.  Do you want democracy or not?  Do we have a new king?”

Mitchell has come under fire over a voice note in which he claimed the Black Friday march was politically motivated and said no PLP should be caught dead on it.”

Of course, Mr. Mitchell can say what he what he thinks is right but it does not make it right and since we live in a democratic society, he can be criticized for saying something that others may believe is not a proper statement from a member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister or just improper in general.

In my opinion this statement reeks of autocracy; allow me to explain why.

First, it would suggest that the minister speaks for all supporters of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) supporters and as the march called for transparency and accountability from this government and all successive governments, it would suggest that no PLP supporter that should have any faults with this government on any of these issues; this cannot be so and should never even have been suggested and two; there is nothing democratic about suggesting that a person’s constitutional right to freedom of association be based on party loyalties; this is an inherently wrong assertion and an even more asinine intimation.

Undoubtedly, there will be those that may read this and be offended by its ‘arrogance’ and brash expressions and I am willing to accept and live with this, as they to have their opinions, in a democratic society, I to have mine, so when did we get a new king and just purely out of curiosity; who was the old ‘king”?

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

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