I see the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has chosen to close out 2025 with what can only be described as a dark political joke.

“Rahming says govt sensitive to concerns from marina operators” — The Nassau Guardian.

According to the Guardian, Prime Minister Philip Davis met with Ministry of Finance officials to “review” the newly imposed boating and cruising permit fees after sustained complaints from marina operators. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Chester Cooper echoed this sudden burst of sensitivity, announcing that the government would reconsider the fee increases—after marina owners reported, again via the Guardian, an estimated 40 percent drop in boating traffic compared to 2024.

Enter OPM Director of Communications Latrae Rahming, assuring the country that the government has “consulted with industry from the start” and that the prime minister is now “listening.”

Listening—now.

This entire performance reeks of disingenuousness and is frankly insulting to anyone capable of independent thought, Bahamian or otherwise. The implication is that the cries of marina operators, employees, and Family Island businesses somehow materialised in December, as if concerns had not been raised loudly and consistently since February or March, when the fee increases first began to bite.

So, we are now to believe that Prime Minister Davis has only just discovered the voices of the people? That this economic distress—felt most sharply by marina workers, small businesses, and seasonal tourism-dependent communities—was previously inaudible?

That suggestion is not only nonsense; it is condescending rhetoric of the highest order. This government creates the hardship, tightens the noose, and then expects applause when it loosens it slightly—calling that act a “favour.” Meanwhile, the real damage has already been done: cancelled bookings, lost income, and livelihoods squeezed during what should be the most productive season of the year.

Let us be clear: the PLP did not rescue the marina sector from harm. They made the situation worse, ignored warnings, endured international backlash, and only then rushed to rebrand a belated correction as evidence of compassion and consultation.

That is not leadership.
That is damage control.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) fails for one simple reason —it is its nature.

END