• Minnis concedes after defeat by 486-163

• PLP hits out at FNM leader as ‘unhinged’

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AFTER comprehensively defeating former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis at the FNM’s one-day convention on Saturday, Michael Pintard promised to make “bold” transformative changes if the party is returned to power at the next general election – vowing to reform land policies, reduce taxes, and improve the ease of doing business in the country.

Mr Pintard promised to change the status quo and reverse some policies of the Davis administration, which he characterised as a government of excessive spending with little transparency and accountability.

“There is one law for the PLP and a different law for everyone else,” he told a crowd of jubilant FNM supporters at Baha Mar’s convention centre Saturday night. “We are different from them.”

Mr Pintard spoke after he was re-elected as the party’s leader, receiving 486 votes, 75 per cent of the total votes, while Dr Minnis got 163.

His victory was not surprising, given the number of prominent FNMs who endorsed him in recent weeks. Many of his supporters cheered even before Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis announced the official results.

After conceding defeat, Dr Minnis congratulated Mr Pintard.

“I plan to continue to be even more resolute in my commitment to serving the Bahamian people and keeping the Progressive Liberal Party government accountable,” he said in a statement.

He was not present during the FNM’s night session on Saturday, but said he still supports the FNM and does not intend to resign his seat in Parliament.

Dr Minnis’ resounding defeat raised questions about what role he would play in the party’s future. He and Mr Pintard have a strained relationship at best, and some in the party looked forward to his loss with glee.

Noted FNMs told The Tribune they hope he remains a force within the party and supports Mr Pintard in private and in public moving forward.

With the leadership issue now settled, Mr Pintard hopes to galvanise supporters and lead his party to victory in the next general election.

Mr Pintard, who had struggled to unify the party, called for togetherness.

He thanked those who voted for him and told those who didn’t that the party still needs them.

He said if elected as prime minister, his administration would pursue a comprehensive land reform policy and would eliminate “outside toilets” in the country.

“If you are a landlord out there, there should be a minimum standard at which you are permitted to collect rent on rental properties,” he added.

“We will reduce the regulations that would tie businesses down in this country. There’s no reason to get approval for a business startup in Grand Bahama and still have to come to Nassau and get approval from the Cabinet of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.”

Regarding tax reform, he pledged to remove VAT from certain healthy foods, medicines, and feminine and infant care products and to reintroduce it to properties exceeding $2m.

He said: “It cannot be right that at this stage in our development as a country, we have not found a more equitable way to protect those that are more vulnerable and get a little bit more from those who can and are willing to pay a little bit more.”

Regarding Family Island’s development, the opposition leader said the local government needs more powers and that his government would enact changes to ensure this. He is the latest party leader to pledge to give more power to local government. Dr Minnis did not follow through on a similar promise, and the Davis administration has yet to do so.

“It makes no sense that so many of the projects that could be executed in the Family Islands completely supervised by local government, that local government is pop down and do not have the resources required to oversee existing projects or to authorise some basic works that need to be carried out in their communities,” Mr Pintard said.

He said a Pintard-led government would ensure every Family Island has at least one commercial bank and would require banks to justify to the regulators “the ever-increasing fees.”

“We would not allow the Bahamian people to be effectively locked out of or priced out of the banking system in the country,” he added.

He also promised to repeal the government’s National Investment Funds Bill 2022 and establish “a world-class sovereign wealth fund.”

Further to this, a Pintard-led administration would introduce legislation that “would prevent ministers from overreaching” in the public service,” he said.

“We believe that in the Department of Immigration, it is time to look at whether or not we can entrench the director of immigration so that no minister can willy nilly decide whether they are going to get rid of them.”

Additionally, he said the party wants a more independent Parliament.

“We want to make sure that no executive in the country will treat the third arm of government like a pop-down entity or yet another ministry. FNMs, if we are going to be serious, then let’s be serious,” he said.

“We can’t only despise it when we’re in opposition, and when we get in government, we do something else.”

He also repeated policy pledges to form a select committee on immigration and advance initiatives to protect our heritage and ecotourism.

He warned the government against using intimidation tactics against FNM supporters, saying: “For all of those young people who got that letter saying you can’t function in the FNM, when the three cubicles are empty next to you because three political operatives are not showing up to work, I want to let you know and we serve notice on those ministries that we stand with our young people.”

The FNM’s leadership team includes Mr Pintard, deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright, and chairman Dr Duane Sands.

Dr Sands retained his post after beating Els- worth Johnson, 431 votes to 221.

“We want to go together at the PLP to protect the interest of the Bahamian people and so we are going to be together no doubt about it,” he told supporters on Saturday.