IS EVERYONE in the Davis administration on board the same ship?

A well-run ship should have everyone headed in the same direction – and yet, that doesn’t seem to be the case in our government at present.

The latest example has been the three-day saga involving Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Myles Laroda, as captured on the front pages of The Tribune this week.

Day one saw him talking about the parlous state of NIB finances, which might only last six more years unless something is done urgently.

Day two saw Mr Laroda suggest that increases to NIB contribution rates were coming soon.

And yesterday, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis quashed such talk, saying there will be no increase – at least until the hardships affecting Bahamians have been tackled.

Given the effects of the COVID pandemic are still with us, both physically and economically, that probably won’t be the “soon” that Mr Laroda was suggesting.

In fact, Mr Davis bluntly said: “It’s not going to happen, not now, not until we have brought the relief to the Bahamian people and we have put to bed some of the issues that can’t make them sleep when they go to bed”.

There was no mention of what that might mean for the junior minister, who let his statements wander so far forward that it took the Prime Minister to make a statement to correct him.

He’s not the first minister the Prime Minister has had to intervene with, however.

Also, recently, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe managed to suggest that sex with a 14-year-old girl by a 40-year-old man was not rape, in a matter prompted by a court case, and that the sentence of four years was too harsh.

The public backlash was so much that, again, the Prime Minister had to step in, saying on Twitter: “Let’s be clear: grown men should stay away from children. The law is designed to protect children, who cannot meaningfully offer consent, and it should be enforced to the fullest extent.”

He later said that Mr Munroe had no need to resign, saying: “He has already expressed his regrets in my conversations with him and if you hear what he has to say it appears to be more about his personal view and he has to come to learn as a young politician that when he holds the post as he does, his personal views may be best kept to himself.”

This isn’t Mr Munroe’s first unwise moment either – having previously gotten into a tangle over the Prison Commissioner being placed on leave, and concerns being raised about Mr Munroe having represented two deputy commissioners in a lawsuit seeking to quash that commissioner’s appointment. That prompted Mr Davis to say he did not know Mr Munroe had represented the deputy commissioners – and the handling of that probe is now being placed in independent hands.

It is not just ministers, however. Elsewhere, we have seen decisions announced, and then rowed back.

The Water and Sewerage Corporation was going to resume disconnections, and now they are not.

Bahamas Power and Light announced a proposed increase in electricity costs due to rising fuel prices, and now they are not. In that case, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said that “heads must roll” for the announcement being made “without leave of the government”.

BPL now seems to be saying it will absorb the cost of rising fuel prices – which some are pointing out might be breaking the law.

There’s a pattern here, of course – trying to keep citizens happy by saying oh no, we won’t disconnect you, we won’t put the bills up, but the costs are rising all the same, and those bills will come due one day.

It seems Mr Davis is at the wheel of the PLP ship, but a number of those on board have no idea of the direction they are going.

Is this a communication issue within the government? Or are some simply not signing up for Mr Davis’ agenda?

Something certainly doesn’t seem quite right, and if the Prime Minister steps in to clean up your statements, that ought to be a matter for some serious self-reflection, at the least.

As for Mr Davis, these disruptions are of no use to him as he tries to keep the party on course. Perhaps some shuffling in the ranks might be in order.