By FARRAH JOHNSON

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Chairman Omar Smith accused the government of using marijuana to deflect from the administration’s failures.

Mr Smith was referring to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ recent comments supporting the decriminalisation of medicinal marijuana and the expunging of records for persons convicted for being in possession of small amounts of the drug.

“If the FNM was so concerned about the plight of young men who are being arrested and given criminal records for small amounts of marijuana, they would have campaigned on those promises,” Mr Smith said.

“Back in 2017 up to the (general) election, the DNA was ridiculed for promoting a decriminalisation of small amounts of marijuana…but now the Prime Minister is putting forth legislation saying that they want to release people who would have suffered because of these laws in the books.”

Mr Smith said he believes the government is “disingenuous” in its actions and is only promoting marijuana reform to garner favour with the Bahamian public.

“How is it that you could ridicule someone for a policy up until the election, but now halfway through your term you’re now adopting those policies?” he asked. “That’s what leads me to believe it’s only for brownie points and for expediency.”

The chairman also said the Minnis administration used the marijuana debate to “deflect from the announcement” of borrowing $650m for the Bahamas Power and Light Company (BPL).

“We as Bahamians know that for decades now we’ve been saddled not only with high electricity costs, but also unreliable delivery of electricity to our homes.”

“And here it is now the government is now looking to tax the Bahamian people even more in order to so-call fix the problem at BPL.”

Insisting the situation was a perennial problem neither the PLP nor FNM could fix, Mr Smith said the country is in desperate need of a “new look and vision” that could provide “real solutions” for its people.

“There’s been back and forth between the PLP and FNM administrations and here it is today in a new decade we’re facing the same problems.”

“It’s time for a change in the culture of leadership and we’re here to tell the Bahamian people that there is a new generation of leadership that is ready to take this country to the 21st century where it should be.”