Nygard distraction

EDITOR, The Tribune.

It is with great and predictable fanfare that the FNM and its allies have suddenly begun to promote the sordid tales emerging about Lyford Cay resident Peter Nygard and his legal travails abroad.

Sensing well-earned defeat at the polls, the party of special interests has no real electoral hope other than to shift the discussion away from policy and into the territory of scandal, gossip and sleaze, where untested allegations and historic prejudices hopefully favour it.

In 2007, it was the Anna Nicole affair, when a photo of the late starlet lying in a bed next to Shane Gibson nearly even jolted this letter writer (then a recovering FNM) into relapse. It clearly did the trick with enough wavering Bahamians to tip the scales in favour of a narrow FNM victory.

In the ensuing term, Ingraham’s FNM sold BTC and gave a conglomerate dominated by a few families a monopoly on international freight traffic into Nassau. These were no doubt among the reasons the electorate rejected Ingraham in 2012. Not scandal, but policy.

In 2017, the leader and chairman of the FNM were caught red-handed scheming with two purported “gangsters” about how to cook up scandal against the PLP. Again, despite all the warnings, the electorate took the bait.

The ensuing Minnis government wasted no time in nearly doubling VAT (while reassuring Lyford Cay it won’t raise taxes on their luxury homes), slashing social spending, giving Minister Symonnette’s company the tenancy of the general post office and conveying the Nassau cruise port into a few privileged hands.

This time, it is clear that the Nygard affair will be the primary weapon of distraction away from large issues of policy and onto petty issues of sleaze and scandal – issues that have not been proved in a court, one might add.

Meanwhile, on the same day that tongues were wagging about Peter Nygard and PLP politicians, minister Kwasi Thompson was confirming that, with a 280 percent deficit increase and armed police on the streets hunting down jobless Bahamians to ticket and thence make up the shortfall, his government is not even considering income tax, the mechanism that is accepted internationally as the standard of progressive taxation (i.e. shifting the burden from the poor to the rich).

In a hundred years, Peter Nygard, this writer and everyone reading this letter will long have been swept into the tide of history. New actors will be on the scene and new scandals will regale all and sundry.

But the results of FNM policy will still linger. The sole port through which the residents of the busiest island in The Bahamas are fed, clothed and provided the materials of life will likely still be overwhelmingly owned by a small group of families.

BTC (if it even still exists) will have likely enriched many people outside The Bahamas but long since ceased to serve the needs of this country – slashed investment in technology, infrastructure and human resources have characterised it since privatisation.

Regressive taxes, privileged healthcare and a criminally low minimum wage may very well still be the order of the day, prolonging the angry, maladjusted and economically sluggish society that we have today.

Who then will remember the sordid tales of Peter Nygard?

ANDREW ALLEN

Nassau,

February 2, 2021.

Comments

Dawes says...

Yet again a party apologist (for either party), can not see how bad the situation is. If all true it shows blatant corruption. But because it was done with the help of the party this man supports its OK and we should look at the other party. More and more Bahamians are tired of both parties and their uselessness at helping this country. Maybe if Mr. Allen, and many others like him, put Bahamas first instead of his beloved PLP (or FNM for others) this country could move forward. Until then we will will meander from crisis to crisis getting closer and closer to collapse, whilst listening to apologists like Mr. Allen say but what about the other side. Useless.

Posted 4 February 2021, 10:03 a.m. Suggest removal

themessenger says...

Spot on!
The circus hasn’t left town for fifty years, the only things that have changed are the Ringmasters and, of course, the clowns 🤡🤡🤡.

Posted 4 February 2021, 3:55 p.m. Suggest removal

truetruebahamian says...

Allen = troll fool

Posted 4 February 2021, 5:29 p.m. Suggest removal

momoyama says...

Very intelligent response!

I especially like the way you actually countered all of my points demonstrating a pattern of distraction with unproven sleaze followed by real world actions on behalf of vested interests once the FNM gets into power.

Keep up the critical thinking!

Posted 4 February 2021, 7:33 p.m. Suggest removal

birdiestrachan says...

they always have these little titbits about This man sexual behaviour. but the substance is needed. to what police officer and what police station was the report made.
who are the PLP who were present when these acts were committed or who had knowledge

Bring the case forward name names allow persons to defend themselves,

There are many who believe Bahamians are foolish and they play them for fools.

This is an old story. produce the evidence and allows the justice system to work

Posted 4 February 2021, 8:44 p.m. Suggest removal

themessenger says...

Birdie dear, it’s a well known fact that the criminal justice system in this country doesn’t work which is one of the reasons the country is in the state it’s in.
On the other hand, it does work in the State of New York and it will be interesting to watch the roaches scramble when they start naming names.

Posted 5 February 2021, 10:05 a.m. Suggest removal

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