This is getting more and more ridiculous everyday. NEMA cannot demand that private planes NOT ask a price for evacuations since pilots are responsible for fuel and the risk associated with these flights into nonfunctional airports etc. Instead, NEMA should step in and compensate those willing to provide the service of their private planes for evacuations. Otherwise Bahamasair should be used exclusively for evacuating those unable to pay, because those who have the money will not wait for an inefficient government to transport them to safety!!

Successive governments since 1973 have stymied the growth and development of our country as a result of their insatiable appetite for dictatorial power over anything and everything that goes on in our country. Most of the statutes and related regulations enacted by our country's legislators since 1973 give a cabinet minister or another individual as the designated proxy for the cabinet minister near absolute say over whatever the legislation (statutory act and rules) touch on. It's as if the public at large (Bahamians and other residents, and local and foreign businessmen and investors) cannot do or accomplish anything without unnecessary government (ministerial) intervention and approval at just about every step along the way of trying to do or achieve just about any and everything. This is the very means by which corruption has literally been imbedded in our successive governments. Our political leaders crave this kind of control because it enables them to dictate their wants and needs to the public at large, which if not met, results in the denial or withholding of their "cup in hand" approval processes.

Our political leaders were never intended to have this kind of unconstitutional dictatorial power that they have ascribed unto themselves through their unchecked control of the legislative process with no effective constitutionality backstop by our judicial system. And this unconstitutional dictatorial power grab by our political leaders has transformed our civil work force from being public servants to being public rulers (mini-dictators) with plenty of room for corruption by them as well.

We have literally become a country where wrongful "pay-government-to-play" is the norm, resulting in costly misallocations of capital and serious delays that stymy the efforts of individuals and businesses to get anything they wish to get done. Our country will continue to be crippled by feckless, greedy and incompetent political leaders until such time the Bahamian people take their country back from them by stripping out all provisions in our existing statute law that grant de facto dictatorial powers to a cabinet minister or his or her proxy.

Our country should be governed by elected political leaders and a civil work force who **serve** the the Bahamian people and our country's vital interests as opposed to political leaders and a civil work force who want to dictate to and rule over every endeavour and aspect of our lives for their very own greedy benefit and self-interests.

And, you are absolutely correct.
Serve means just that. Pity we play with the language so.

I feel that maybe BOATS from The Bahamas should be utilized to take the people off of the two islands, and not planes.. Safer(?) and more room to carry load....

Flights from Haiti that have no passengers on arrival should be allowed to land and board illegal Haitian aliens if the direct return destination of the flight will be Haiti.

The govt provided funding to the operatorars. All they have to do is do as mny trips as the funding allowed.

Boats are now being used. Mailboats and fast diving boats in Abaco and cruise ships in Freeport.

Some are being taken to Eleuthera then being ferried free of charge.

What's your point on the government's clamping down on private flights? Obviously whatever private flight funding the government may have provided wasn't enough. Don't get me wrong though, like most Bahamians I am very supportive of our government officials ensuring that the enormous population of illegal Haitians on Abaco and Grand Bahama do not end up on New Providence. Already, before Dorian, New Providence has over 30,000+ Haitians who have illegally entered the Bahamas. They are living in ever growing crime ridden, impoverished and disease infested shanty towns that steal power anyway possible from our already overtaxed electrical power grid.

It was only yesterday the govt reckoned that Nassau cannot accomodate all victims.

A large number of bahamians will have a place to stay.

Now, tell me, what has the govt done about tge illegals? Suspended Immigration Enforcement !!!!!!

What will happen is the illegals will be left there to loot the few standing buildings, will repair others and bring more illegals there. A real invasion.

Ma Comrade, there is what 'appears be a credible report' coming out Abaco of creole speaking individuals dressed in colony's policeman's uniforms, armed with machine guns - stopping and robbing a Customs official of his wallet, yes, no .... the PM needs forthwith step forward clarify if any truth this disturbing, alarming all Abacoians circulating claim by a man''s claiming' be a high Customs official ....

One thing is for sure, you're a bonafide virulent source of much fake news. Yes, plenty of armed violence and looting by illegal Haitian aliens.....but the rest of what you say is highly questionable unless you can point to independent news reports from reputable media outlets.

I presented what 'appears to be a credible claim by an individual claiming be high ranking Customs official'.
I'm finished with what appears be a most credible claim. I'll leave it to the colony's comrade prime minister to dismiss because the evidence presented did not match the known facts, yes, no....

My new comrade sources are correcting that the machine gun armed robbers did rob an official customs officer but were 'NOT' wearing policeman's uniforms.

Why no info more info on getting on the ferry?

> The BIA noted that its industry partners, including insurance adjusters and catastrophe response experts, have been engaged and are on standby in Nassau, in Florida and in the region. “Following the ‘all clear’ and with the coordination of the relevant authorities on the ground, teams will be deployed as soon as possible to begin assessments,” the BIA said.​

What part of the well publicized and documented fact that all of Central and Northern Abaco has been completely decimated do they not get? The same goes for much of Grand Bahama. These insurance vultures should simply be cutting cheques to the insured individuals and businesses for the maximum amount of losses covered by their insurance policies, save for third party liability coverages. Instead these insurance vultures want to delay the claims settlement process in the hope of being able to persuade traumatized and desperate survivors, who have lost everything, to sign a piece of paper evidencing their agreement to accept claim settlement amounts that are much lower than they are truly entitled to receive.

The extensive aerial video coverage that has been made public of the complete and utter destruction caused by this cataclysmic event is plently evidence enough that the insurance adjusters and catastrophe experts really have nothing at all to do in the case of the vast majority of the insurance policies. The last thing insured traumatized survivors who have lost everything need right now is stress and pressure tactics from greedy insurers seeking to minimize their insurance claim settlements.

The Insurance Commissioner of The Bahamas needs to get off of her well endowed derrière and immediately make certain expected and warranted public announcements aimed at protecting insured individuals and businesses from the well known predatory practices of property and casualty insurers. These announcements should include full page notices in The Tribune, The Nassau Guardian and The Punch, as well as public announcements on the two main local TV stations (JCN not being one of them). The announcements should also appear on the Insurance Commission's official website.

The Insurance Commission must set up a special 'Dorian' unit within her official Office to handle inquiries and complaints of aggrieved policyholders who have good reason to believe they may be victims of predatory insurance practices aimed at depriving them of the claim settlement proceeds to which they are entitled to receive at the earliest possible time. Insurers found to be engaged in predatory practices should face appropriate penalties including the possibility of their insurance underwriting capabilities being suspended pending the outcome of an investigation of their conduct by the Commissioner's Office.

There is that mandatory 'photo op' staging with some comrade Imperialists red shirts politician -before dispatching off help to the populaces and visitors in the Abaco's and Grand Bahamaland, yes, no .... Is the Commish Constabulary, away off island on vacation ....

44 people...BULLSH!T...fess up NEMA and GOVT peeps, you have HUNDREDS of bodies stacked up...CONFIRMED identification or not, it is still a dead body of someone, illegal or otherwise. STOP trying to spin some retarded PR web that it's only 44 people. Let's get real and DEAL WITH IT...

Give us the stats on pure body count...not just confirmed ID-ed individuals.

Only in colony of out islands would Realm's comrades charged with governing - come up new and improved version what it really takes be declared. dead, yes, no .... those dead in 'absentia' ain't never going be declared dead, dead ....You just can't make this up ....

Make the entire east end of Grand Bahama a National park beginning from High Rock. Close down the Burma Oil terminal and remediate the entire area.asap. But most of alll **send a message to the principles of OBAN and tell them to take their plans out of the Bahamas entirely.** Mother nature is speaking to us..The window for us to listen and take heed will be totally closed in about 20 years. We must reverse the destruction to mother earth caused by human greed. hurricaine Dorian was just a warning Take heed or watch human suffering multiply around the world.

Comrade Isaiah 57:16 -
"For I will not fight against you forever; I will not always be angry. If I were, all populaces on Abaco and Grand Bahamaland would've passed away - all the souls I have made".

realitycheck,
You are correct.

As a Grand Bahamian for more than 40 years I find it interesting to hear those people who what to have most of the population move to New Providence. What happens if and when the big one hits that little island or are you immune from hurricanes. We need as many Grand Bahamian that can to stay strong pull together and rebuild. I love this island and what it has to offer. No island could have withstood what Abaco and GB went through so for us all to flee to the 7x21 land mass of New Providence doesn’t make sense.
Let’s stop pointing fingers and rebuild these beautiful island.

A defence force friend told me that in one area alone there are 116 bodies lined up , waiting for bags.

One car had seven dead people in it, looked like a family.

He says the smell of death is overpowering. And sadly many of the dead are young children.

Why did this happen like this. We have so many capable people, and so many amazing homes and buildings. We have ferries and barges etc. We could have had all those people out of harms way.

We need to figure out how to deal with these risks ahead of time. And how to get our people to safety, with or without the governments help. Clearly they , the government, are not quick enough to act.

Government could have conscripted every boat and plane in the country. Either before the storm, or right after.

Why is this going so badly.

It happened because of Hate. People don't care. It's Haitians let them die.Let them wash away with their ghettos and shanties. Obsess about illegals not knowing the hurricane blows on the papered and the unpapered. You allow need to change. We are dealing with humans.

Do you for moment have any idea how many Bahamians have suffered immense hardships or died over the last three decades or so because of our overwhelming problems directly tied to the invasion of the Bahamas by illegal Haitian aliens? Thousands and thousands of Bahamians have been the victims over the past 30+ years of successive governments (PLP and FNM alike) that have failed to enforce our country's immigration laws.....as a result we have a failed public healthcare system, a failed public education system, rampant violent crime, etc. etc.....and who sheds a meaningful tear of sympathy for all the suffering Bahamians have had to endure? Our country has been taken over by illegal Haitian and Jamaican aliens, and racketeering criminal thugs known as the numbers bosses who run the gaming web shops. More recently our small nation has had major inflows of Red China nationals and Central Americans. Too sad for me as a Bahamian to even wrap my thoughts around these days. Bahamians have always had one very admirable trait going for them as as tourist destination...... a docile and laid back, happy-go-lucky attitude towards life. But that dominant docile gene has made us easy prey for the aggressive forces that have invaded our country and now threaten our eventual extinction.

@jamaicaproud What an idiotic response! Bahamians were lost in this tragedy as well! Get a grip!