*Re-post:* Minnis really needs to grow a pair and take direct personal responsibility for his recent MP salary increase blunder while standing on the floor of the HOA. After hiding behind a few of his favourite "Yes" men in cabinet (Bannister, Pintard and now D'Aguilar), we now see him once again hiding behind his press secretary. For Minnis to have said, only six months after the general election, that FNM MPs want and deserve a generous salary increase "in order to better serve and accommodate the needs of their constituents" is absurdly ridiculous. Minnis should be forthrightly telling all of his FNM MPs that the practice of MPs personally giving financial aid and/or handouts of any other kind to their constituents, in exchange for political support, must immediately cease. In a fair democracy where each voter should be regarded as having an equal vote, Minnis should not be encouraging, supporting or otherwise tolerating any type of 'vote buying', period!

Well then stimulate the economy, constituent's don't want or need handouts they want jobs, they would love to catch their own fish, Mr. D'Aguilar sounds like he would rather feed his constituents and have them need him to survive, as to have them catch their own fish and not need him to survive.

Are these fellows serious ? they just reach Persons like doctor Nottage and Mr. Christie
have been helping their constituents for many years, No body sent for those FNM fellows
they wanted the job at all cost .The same place they went to get the money to win the election\
go back there for the money to help the people who are in need.

Oh I ain see my MP My MP ain helping us What an insult to the Bahamian people
besides he says because the MP helps them it does not mean they will vote for the MP
Welcome to the club. Shame on this man. But he did say he can not find Bahamians
to manage his wash houses. ;

Their constituents will be just fine if they carry out their mandate which includes providing jobs and lowering the cost of living.

D'Aguilar is presenting the UBP-style approach that has permeated politics ever since ........ It is fascinating that 3 "poor" MPs (Taylor, Cartwright & Stevenson) devised the PLP vision, but the same old Bay Street Boys culture of hand-outs quickly changed the SLOP version of the PLP.

The dependency on MP hand-outs is at the root of Bahamian political corruption and status quo.
This is why Bahamian politics will not change because party philosophy is paralysed by the need to satisfy constituents' wants ........ rather than shifting the social, economic and political culture of the nation.

If your constituents have specific needs - food, housing, burial, utilities etc., then create facilities within each constituency office to assist them via social services, churches or NGOs that MP allowances can be funneled through ..... but digging into your MP pocket sends a bad message about who is dependent on who, and the MP/voter relationship should not be based on money favours.

You are right.
Half will go directly into he MP's pockets, the other half for party loyalty.
The FMN are just the other side of the same old, sad coin.

This is an indictment on the Bahamian public, especially the people of Freetown.

Essentially what "Denuncio" as Rodney Moncur would call him is saying is, the people of Freetown are dependent on cash hand outs. He's also openly admitting that he's doing nothing to curb that culture and would prefer to continue the cash handouts even to an extent that he's asking for more money.

Teach a man to fish Denuncion, do not make him dependent on your fish handouts!

But MP's HAVE money to help their constituents. $100,000 budgeted annually to clean parks, assists with scholarships, etc., etc. They write the Minister of Finance and as long as it is a genuine request, the funds are given. Stop talking nonsense!

Further, there is no guarantee that if you increase their salary, they will use it (as it is their personal salary) to help their constituents. We have no way of knowing that because the only thing that's accounted for is the $100,000 per annum. A salary increase to "help constituents" is foolishness!

Agreed ............. except the rich MPs see it as a "stipend" ....... hence DD comments.

There is no longer any doubt in my mind that the constantly yapping little white-haired poodle sees all MPs like himself as elitist entitled overlords with responsibility for directly distributing crumbs to their poor dumb D- educated constituents in exchange for political support. The fact that D'Aguilar is a well known customs duty dodger really does say all there is to say about his character and integrity.

The yapping little white-haired poodle has over the years been heard to say over and over again: "I owe the success of my family's SuperWash laundry business to uncontrolled illegal immigration. Undocumented Haitians and Jamaicans in the Bahamas are my bread and butter. Therefore the more of them the merrier as far as I'm concerned."