There is something almost theatrical about the way the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has approached the latest attempt to politically crucify Marvin Dames.

If volume were evidence and outrage were proof, the case would already be closed.

Instead, what we actually have is this:

• A 2024 business arrangement.
• A former business associate.
• That associate allegedly using a vessel to traffic drugs.
• That associate arrested in the United States.
• That associate reportedly confessing.
• And no public charge, allegation, or evidence tying Marvin Dames to the criminal conduct.

Let’s pause there.

No charge.
No indictment.
No finding.
No legal connection.

Yet we are told Mr. Dames must resign.

Resign from what exactly?

He is not currently a Member of Parliament. He is not a Minister. He is not in government. He is a political candidate.

But in today’s Bahamian political climate, apparently association—no matter how distant, no matter how unproven—is enough to warrant public execution. Evidence is optional. Narrative is everything.

The irony, of course, is rich. This is the same party that routinely warns Bahamians about “believing everything on social media,” yet seems quite comfortable amplifying speculation when it suits the political objective of damaging an opponent.

If there is evidence, present it. If there are charges, file them. If not, then perhaps we should resist the temptation to substitute mob sentiment for due process.

Meanwhile… Back at Gambier House;

While the PLP is busy demanding resignations from people who do not hold office, something far more interesting is unfolding within its own ranks.

According to reporting by The Nassau Guardian, Southern Shores MP Leroy Major publicly claimed his constituency efforts were “sabotaged.”

Sabotaged.

Not by the opposition.

But allegedly by someone at PLP headquarters.

This followed a public video by PLP candidate Obie Roberts proudly announcing an arrangement with the Bahamas Department of Corrections to use prison labour to clean up a park in Southern Shores.

Let’s be clear: supervised prison labour programs are legal and have long existed. That is not the issue.

The issue is this:

• The sitting PLP MP says there was an existing maintenance contract.
• He claims that contract was ended.
• He claims someone at PLP headquarters controlled his contracts.
• Then prison labour appears in the same space to do the same work.

That is not opposition spin. That is a sitting PLP MP speaking.

So naturally, a few uncomfortable questions arise.

Who at PLP headquarters has the authority to cancel constituency contracts?

Why would a prospective candidate coordinate public works in a constituency that already has a sitting MP from the same party?

Was this governance—or internal political maneuvering?

And most importantly: who benefits?

So, now let us widen the lens.

Public disclosures indicate that the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority reportedly spent approximately $31 million against a $24 million budget between July 2024 and March 2025.

That is roughly a $7 million overrun.

So, here is the question no one seems eager to answer:

If Beaches and Parks is overspending its allocation, why are maintenance contracts allegedly being terminated?

And if contracts are terminated, is prison labour being used as a cost-saving substitute?

Or is it being used as a politically convenient substitute?

Because here is the part no one is saying out loud:

If an existing contractor was displaced, the government may still have financial obligations tied to that arrangement. You do not simply erase cost by replacing workers with inmates. Oversight, supervision, equipment, and administrative expenses still exist.

Which means this is either:

• A budgeting problem,
• A political problem,
• Or both.

The Chairman of Beaches and Parks, McKell Bonaby, owes the public a detailed accounting of where the money went—especially in a year of overspending.

Transparency should not be seasonal.

The troubling pattern here is not that politics is being played. Politics is always played.

The troubling pattern is selective indignation.

When an opposition candidate has no charges, no indictment, and no legal link to a crime, the PLP demands moral purification.

When a sitting PLP MP alleges sabotage from within his own party and questions swirl about contract terminations and prison labour substitution, the silence is deafening.

If standards matter, they must apply evenly.

If accountability matters, it must apply internally.

If evidence matters, it must matter all the time—not just when it is politically convenient.

Until then, calls for resignation will sound less like principle and more like performance.

And Bahamians are smart enough to know the difference.

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

END