EDITOR, The Tribune.

They say “imitation is the best form of flattery”.

The Christie-led PLP Government refused to acknowledge last week, that its recently announced programme to upgrade the Royal Bahamas Defence Force fleet – meant to improve the Force’s ability to safeguard our maritime borders from poachers and from illegal drug, guns and human traffickers – is simply the implementation of its predecessor FNM Government’s initiated, planned and approved programme for the RBDF.

I suppose it is too much for us to expect the self-absorbed PLP Government to acknowledge and give credit to the FNM for having done the heavy lifting. Not only did the FNM Government determine what the Defence Force required if it is to more adequately meet the demands of its mandate to safeguard our maritime borders, it announced when the complement of 11 vessels was put out to international bid. The bids were received and evaluated. It was determined that the bids submitted by the Brazilians, Australians and the Dutch were best. The last FNM Government approved the Dutch Company as the winning bid. All that was left for the new Government coming to office following the General Election was to conclude the negotiation of the contract.

The PLP Government does not have to acknowledge their imitation of the FNM plan. The record speaks for itself. The PLP claimed to have had a plan to acquire 12 vessels for the Defence Force. It was a number they pulled out of the air. They had no plan. Embarrassed to admit to implementing the FNM planned programme already in train, they delayed action on this national priority for two years.

The first of the 11 new RBDF vessels was to be delivered in 2013 and two others were to be delivered this year, 2014, according to the FNM Government’s announced schedule! The PLP Government is only now, in 2014, seeking Parliamentary approval to purchase the vessels!

The PLP are imitating the FNM in upgrading the RBDF. For this we must be grateful. Unfortunately for the Defence Force and for the Bahamian people, the PLP are lazy and hence poor imitators; their results will be similarly weak.

GODFREY COOPER

Nassau,

March 23, 2014