From the very moment that a Davis led Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) was voted in as the government of The Bahamas, we all knew; well most of us, to expect an interesting and bumpy RIDE!

Most of us were just watching as the ride unfolded; seeing the red flags and thinking gleefully that a carnival was coming, until the economy was downgrade and the Minister of Finance and Prime Minister attempted to convince us that this was actually a good thing; then and there we knew that there was no carnival.

Now we have a political organization and government caught in a lie and attempting to convince us that the Westminster system allows for them to carry out just act of gross maleficence.

I have found out that a person or group of persons that cannot admit to their wrongdoings- ever; are a very dangerous set of persons to associate with but how do you not associate with your own government?

“FNM names law it says the govt. broke over trip to Bermuda” – The Tribune.

Excerpt from this article;

“FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard accused the government of violating the Public Finance Management Act when it used public money to pay for Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ controversial trip to Bermuda.

He said the opposition will put this issue before the Public Accounts Committee and use that group’s power to compel the turnover of all the relevant documents.

Last week, press secretary Clint Watson urged those who said the government had broken the law in reference to the trip’s financing to show which law had been contravened.

“It is embarrassing for us to have to educate the Office of the Prime Minister on the law – especially given that the Cabinet has more than one noted King’s Counsel with decades of experience in the practice of law,” Mr. Pintard said in a statement yesterday.

 “We firmly believe they were fully aware that their actions were inappropriate but were blinded by arrogance and were caught in plain sight. Nonetheless we shall assist the Office of the Prime Minister.

 “The government’s spokesman would do well to acquaint himself with Articles 130 and 131 of the Constitution which speaks to how public funds are authorized and which, in Article 131, expressly says that public funds ‘issued shall be disposed of for meeting public expenditure under Article 130 of the Constitution or, in the case of statutory expenditure, for the purposes appointed by law.

He also said: “We are pleased to advise him as well that under Section 30 (1) of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act that ‘no public officer nor public office holder shall commit the government to a financial liability or contingent liability unless specifically authorized to do so under this or any other Act.’

 “Finally, we make him aware that Section 111 (1) (a) of the PFM Act states that ‘a public officer, or other person with responsibility for public resources commits an offence of financial misconduct if, without lawful authority, that person willfully or recklessly (a) incurs expenditure or makes commitments for expenditure of public money.’ Clearly, advancing money for a trip by a political or any other non-government entity is not public expenditure as defined in the Constitution or any statute law of The Bahamas.”

Mr. Pintard said the trip’s financing was “unauthorized expenditure”.

The Leader of The Royal Opposition, the Hon. Michael Pintard, released the above statement when questioned as to which law that was broken by the Davis government when it used public funds to finance PLP party trip to Bermuda to support their “sister party”; The Progressive Labor Party (PLP); the reason that they actually bragged about but now seem to want to ‘walk back’.

So now the government and its very loyal minions are attempting to deflect from this wrong doing by obfuscating a section of the U K Ministerial Code, that we as a country still follow but that’s presents an argument for another day.

Excerpt from “Guidance: MINISTRIAL CODE – updated 22 May 2022”

“Party Political occasions

10.15 Where a visit is a mix of political and official engagements, it is important that the department and the Party each meet a proper proportion of the actual cost.”

The only problem is that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) cannot seem to be able to prove that this trip was “a mix of political and official engagement”, as they cannot outline the “official engagment” that they were attending to on behalf of the Bahamian people, it would now seem that they are attempting to twist this section of the Ministerial Code to explain away this latest wrongdoing that they are unwilling to admit to – its amazing that they have not found a way to blame the Minnis administration for this latest mistake, like they would usually do.

The whole act has turned out to be a very ‘smudgy’ incident because now the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), while admitting to no wrongdoing has paid back a portion of the funds in the amount of Twenty Four Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty dollars ($24,750) while the Prime Minister and leader of the PLP is saying that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) paid for the trip and the Chairman of the PLP, Fred Mitchell is telling the country that the trip was organized through OPM as is standard.

To date no one knows the actual cost of the trip, as the OPM, the Prime Minister, and the Chairman of the PLP nor has any other officer in that party been forthcoming with that information.

This entire situation leaves many asking, how many other trips that were not “official engagements” have been financed this way and just not found out

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

END

“PM: Murder count would have been higher were it not for initiatives put in place” – The Nassau Guardian

 

Excerpt from this article; “Prime Minister Philip Davis said yesterday that had it not been for initiatives Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander put in place, the murder situation would have been worse.

 Acting Commissioner of Police Leamond Deleveaux, meanwhile, said The Bahamas is not experiencing a crime crisis.

Murders are up 18 percent this year over last year.

Police reported two murders on Sunday and another on Tuesday, bringing the murder count to 104 so far this year.

Last year, 115 murders were recorded.

Despite experiencing a triple digit murder count for yet another year, Deleveaux said, “We do not have a crime crisis. We are doing a lot.”

The prime minister told The Nassau Guardian he is “totally” concerned about the crime situation.

“Plans are in place to address the issues,” he said.

“You will find that saturation patrol is out there. We think that the numbers might have been much more had the initiatives that the new commissioner of police [put in place not been put in place]. If you go out there and you see it; there is a lot of disruptions that have been occurring over the last couple of months.

“In fact, you would have heard cries about the disruptive nature of the police and cries of civil liberties being trampled upon, which we don’t think it is, but those are some of the things that are being said, but I think they’re the disruptive interventions by police over the weekends [that] have been working.”

The highest number of murders recorded in a single year in The Bahamas was 146 in 2015.

Although 22 murders were recorded in March 2022 — one of the highest ever recorded in any month — Deleveaux said he does not believe that this will be a record year for murders.”

So exactly what is the New day government trying to suggest here? That the public should not be concerned that the murder rate is at sucn a high level ?

Are they also trying to suggest that if it had not been for the crime initiatives implemented by the New Day Government that the numbers would be even higher?  This is not something to boast about because it only speaks to the failures of the New Day government to mitigate serious crime levels in the country and its inability to keep its citizens safe.  The most reasonable amongst us would look at this silly statement by a prime minister that seems to be “high on his own supply/product” and ask the question; exactly what initiatives were put in place by this New Day government to bring serious crime under control?

I see mention of “saturation patrols”, and I asked didn’t the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) try these when the Perry Christie first became prime minister?  You all remember when the Ministry of National Security (MONS) had the police working 24 hour shifts, refused to pay them and the Police Staff Association (PSA) had to take the MONS to court to sue for payment and won.  Then Keith Bell, a junior minister in the MONS at the time appealed the ruling and lost and had to end up paying the police for services rendered?

I bring this up to merely point out the fact that we have seen this play before.

From what I have seen to date, the only “crime initiative” that the New day government has out in place has been the hiring of Rodney Moncur to the Ministry of National Security (MONS) as a “crime disruptor”.  Is the prime minister suggesting that if it were not for Moncur, that the murder count would have been much higher?

What I see is what the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) did in opposition during their campaign; create a “problem” and then solve it.  Today, there is the intimation that things could have been much, much worst and by solving it by suggesting that they are not because of the initiatives put place by the New Day government. “Murder could have been higher were it not for initiatives put in place”.

If they had not hired Rodney Moncur, because beyond that they have done nothing else to mitigate the proliferation of serious crimes like murder.

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

END