EDITOR, The Tribune

THE upcoming general elections will be the most important ever in our wonderful nation, make no mistake about this.

Yes, many are ‘fatigued’ of governance by my party, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), but when you examine closely the alternative stark choices that are available, the Free National Movement (FNM) and the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), despite the ‘concerns’ of reasonable Bahamians and independent thinkers, the PLP must and will prevail.

Bahamians, by and large, are a fickle people, politically speaking. They can ‘love’ you today and ‘hate’ you later that same day if they perceive that a politician or a party did not come through for them. This is no time, however, for the siren songs of Dr Hubert Minnis (alias Cassandra) and the reincarnation of an elitist class that once held the majority in troll. We have arrived, fellow Bahamians, at the very shores of Babylon.

The PLP came back to office in 2012 after being mauled in 2007. The party found our economy in shambles due to the massive cost overruns for the Road Project that was badly executed by the foreign contractors. There were, allegedly, cheques prepared for issuance by the Ministry of Finance but that they could not go out because there were no ‘available’ funds in the bank.

‘New’ Foreign Direct Investment had dried right up. No less an authority than Dr Minnis (FNM-Killarney) acknowledged that the FNM had left the economy in the proverbial ‘wheelchair’. Hundreds of millions of dollars were either ‘borrowed’ or ‘contributed’ to the then FNM administration. Over $30 million was raised, borrowed and, supposedly, spent to alleviate conditions at the Harold Road Landfill. Millions more were dissipated down the ever present ‘black hole’. Yet, the FNM now crows: ‘Where did the money go?’

The majority of voters in New Providence will decide the fate of the PLP and they, almost alone, will determine the way forward for the nation. It is not that the voters in the Family Islands do not count but it is a given that the bulk of registered voters live here in New Providence, creased right up like flies. With less than six weeks to go before the general elections, the ‘Gold Rush’ Administration must retool its core message and demonstrate political sincerity on the ground.

At the earliest opportunity after we are returned to office, there must be a new cabinet. Too many of the current ministers have proven to be political burdens to the party. They are inept and have made a total mess of their portfolios. If the PM were not as ‘compassionate’ as he is, many of them would have been reassigned to other portfolios or removed totally from cabinet. We have enough ‘new’ blood to bring this about.

I am persuaded that we will literally ‘snatch’ victory from the jaws of defeat but it will not be a cakewalk. Our biggest weapon is the PM, despite his recent gaffes. His speech writers and handlers need to be replaced by genuine PLPs and not newly-minted PLPs who have been jettisoned into our leadership ranks. I fear that many of these individuals are actually Trojan Horses and political cutthroats of the highest order.

We Bahamians are like the Israelites of old. We have been on a long trek in the wilderness for almost 40 years. It is time for us to cross over the Jordan. We ‘know’ PGC’s mettle and worthiness to hold high office, based on his qualifications. Not that the others are not ‘qualified’ in their own way but governance is not an experiment. Rocking with Doctor Minnis makes absolutely no sense. Yes, he’s assisted in the delivery of over 5,000 babies but the Bahamas is not akin to a pregnant woman.

Collectively, we as Bahamians now find ourselves by the rivers of Babylon. Babel or political confusion will reign supreme. We can continue to work it all out for the better of the majority of Bahamians or regress to the old days of the United Bahamian Party (UBP) which was dominated by the white elite Bahamians.

They may have ‘disappeared’ around the corner some years ago, to further strengthen their financial foundations, but they are now back - with a vengeance. Will we, as a people, cry by the rivers of Babylon or rouse ourselves and cross over into The Promised Land?

To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H BODIE JR

Nassau,

April 9, 2017.