Yesterday the Chairman of the New Day PLP came out swinging like he was in the blue corner at the Andre Rodgers Stadium, gloves laced up, ready to defend the government’s shiny new specialty hospital.

And all because Dr. Duane Sands called the project a “dumb idea.”

Now, plenty people get stuck on the phrase “dumb idea,” but what they seem allergic to discussing is the reasoning behind it. Because sometimes it’s not the volume of the insult — it’s the logic behind it that does the real damage.

According to The Nassau Guardian, Dr. Sands questioned the wisdom of borrowing $195 million from the Chinese EXIM Bank to build a 200-bed specialty women’s and children’s hospital — especially while Princess Margaret Hospital is gasping for air, nurses are staging sick-outs over unpaid overtime, and vendors are threatening to withhold supplies because they are not being paid.

But instead of answering the very real question — why build new when the old one falling down? — the Chairman of the PLP decided to light a rhetorical match and throw it in the dry bush.

He thundered.
He scolded.
He declared Dr. Sands “Dr. No.”

But here’s the thing, my Bahamian brothers and sisters: passion is not policy. Volume is not vision.

Because let’s rewind the tape.

When the PLP came to office, there was an ongoing plan to renovate PMH. Not talk. Not a press conference. Not a concept drawing. An actual, funded renovation plan to upgrade Princess Margaret Hospital — including improvements that would directly impact women and children.

And what happened?

They stopped it.
They reviewed it.
They cancelled it.
They sent the money back.

Sent. The. Money. Back.

Now fast forward a few years and the same administration wants to borrow $195 million for a brand-new specialty hospital — to solve problems that the PMH renovations were already designed to address and would have already solved, had they been carried out.

So, help me understand the math.

You cancel renovations to the existing hospital.
Conditions worsen.
Nurses protest.
Vendors complain.
Patients suffer delays.

And the solution is… borrow more money for a brand-new specialty hospital while the old one still struggling?

That isn’t vision. That’s déjà vu with interest payments.

Chairman Mitchell says PMH is “bursting at the seams.” Sir… it was bursting when you got there. And instead of reinforcing the seams, you pulled out the thread and now blaming the tailor.

You cannot stop renovations, send back funds, allow infrastructure strain to intensify, and then act shocked — shocked! — that people are questioning your priorities.

And let’s talk about priorities.

Healthcare workers are publicly saying they are owed overtime since June 2025. Vendors allegedly waiting on payments. Supplies reportedly delayed. And in the middle of all that, the government is signing off on a nine-figure foreign loan.

Bahamian people not asking for theatrics, they are asking for sequencing.

Fix PMH.
Complete what was started.
Stabilize the system.
Then expand.

Instead, what we getting is political fireworks and historical name-calling.

Calling somebody “Dr. No” might make for a catchy headline, but it does not answer why a government would halt an active renovation plan — only to later borrow more money to fix the very same issues they allowed to fester.

Chairman, where was this “compassion” when the renovation contracts were paused?
Where was this righteous indignation when the money was returned?
Where was this “nothing dumb about that” energy when PMH still leaking, overcrowded, and understaffed?

Because from where the public sitting, this doesn’t look like strategic expansion.

It looks like stopping a roof repair to announce a penthouse.

And the Bahamian people deserve better than political ego dressed up as healthcare reform.

If the goal was always to improve care for women and children, then completing the PMH renovations would have been the fastest, most cost-effective path forward. Instead, we now facing borrowed millions, geopolitical side-eyes, and a main hospital still under pressure.

Before you blame critics for pointing out cracks, maybe explain why you paused the cement truck in the first place.

Because in Bahamian politics, memory short — but hospital wait times long.

And the people watching.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government fails for one reason; it is their nature.

END