Get in line, I'm a Bahamian businessman and this government has done the same to me; passing me up on contracts that I was able to fulfill in favour of foreigners. Our governments treat us like dogs and don't care about fostering Bahamian talent; they then wonder why all the young talented Bahamians choose to leave this country if they can. Big mystery.

> Another council member said Bahamians now fear retaliation, describing these latest groups of undocumented migrants as organized and emboldened.

See this is the thing right here that baffles me. I am a son of the soil on Abaco, with lineage going all the way back to the first Loyalist settlers and even to the Eleutheran Adventurers in one line of my family; ain't no driftwood what washed up on the shore is going to intimidate me into becoming a second class citizen on the land that my ancestors built. Conians need to grow some balls and stop letting these little pisstail Haitians scare them. The really sad part is that it's not just the Haitians (even though they are the worst because of their rampant theft, unlicensed and uninsured vehicles that shouldn't be on the road, and the shantytowns) but I have had to report several Americans for operating illegal businesses on this island, robbing jobs from the locals. abaco is not your free economic zone to do whatever the hell you want. Conians are sick and tired of people coming here trashing our island with no respect for our laws, way of life, and the local culture. We are becoming second class citizens in our own island and the governments don't do jack shit to help us. These worthless FNM and PLP gubermints only know Abaco for a cash cow that they don't want to invest a single dime into. Our roads have literal craters in them like it's a warzone, our current is off for hours every day in the summer, we don't have nearly enough police or immigration officers to keep our island safe, and the worst part is neither party cares about us other than milking us for revenue to fund whatever cockamamie scheme they've created to waste money or get kickbacks on. conians are fed up. If these worthless governments don't do something to fix our problems, I can guarantee you Abaco will be sending 2 Coalition MPs to Parliament in the near future at best or the governments will see AIM resurrected at worst. They can choose if they want to start fixing these problems now and treating Abaco the way we should be treated or if they want to have a much bigger problem to deal with in the future. Their call.

BS. I'm sick of hearing this cockamamie excuse for these worthless governments to just hold their dick in their hands and do nothing to help Abaco. I'm an Abaconian businessman and I can tell you that it's the bad apples among the second homeowners that are encouraging this nonsense. They don't give a shit about our laws and regulations and just look to hire whoever could do the cheapest most shoddy work so they can turn a profit on flipping a property quickly. Bahamian contractors are guilty of not securing their jobsites properly because Haitians steal everything not chained down but I am telling you from personal experience it's the bad apple second homeowners who turn a blind eye to permits and feel sorry for them (even pay for their kids to go to private school while Bahamian children suffer) that are encouraging this nonsense to continue.

Well not necessarily. Plea deals typically are given out when trying to get someone to talk and turn witness for the prosecution. "Snitch on your boys and prosecution will drop some of the charges/you'll get more lenient sentencing". That and/or the evidence is kind of shakey. Nobody gives a plea deal if the case is ironclad because heavier sentences look better for the prosecution.

You are so right, the Haitian invasion of Elbow Cay is a travesty and unacceptable. People would not believe how bad it is unless they have seen it with their own eyes. The vicinity of the old Club and the South End have a literal infestation. Immigration should set up a permanent base on the cay, they could catch them every day.

That said, government needs to crack down on the contractors especially. Plywood and ice and shield are not free and Haitians are either 1.) being given it or 2.) stealing it from unsecured job sites. It's high time people start going to jail for this BS because Elbow Cay (and Abaco in general) cannot be home to the next Mudd and Peas. People who employ them illegally or otherwise aid and abet them in their illegal construction need to get put away for years, I'm sick of seeing this BS.

Most Bahamians have no clue what the responsibilities of an MP are and what is in their power to address. MPs are not the second coming of Jesus and don't have the power nor means to "just do things" in a lot of cases.

The morality discussion surrounding gambling is ultimately irrelevant, the fact is the Bahamian electorate voted against it and the PLP should have never bothered to waste a bunch of money and everyone's time if they were just going to ignore the result anyways. It was a giant middle finger in the electorate's face and basically told everyone voting is a waste of time TPTB will do whatever they want anyways. Very functional democratic system.

> Mr Ingraham warned party members against assuming victory is guaranteed

Sure, good attitude to have, but statistically speaking it's unlikely the PLP win the next election. No incumbent government has been reelected since 1997(!) and a wave of dropouts/potential dropouts from the incumbent party is never a good sign going into an election. I don't think the people hate Davis the same way they hated Minnis or Christie, but I don't think there is much enthusiasm either. Don't think it will be a '17 or '21 fashion blowout but I doubt he will upset the decades old trend of incumbents losing either.

Sad but true. It's why I don't fully blame our politicians for the BS that they do, the Bahamian people happily enable them and most don't want any better.

>upper crust

I think you've highlighted the bigger problem: most of the Bahamian political class is completely disconnected and out of touch with the needs and concerns of the average Bahamian. The average Bahamian, man or woman, is either 1.) working a service job for some meagre salary 2.) busting their backside to keep a small business profitable or 3.) underemployed, unemployed, retired etc. Issues like citizenship are just completely irrelevant and nowhere near the top of the list of the average Bahamian's needs and concerns, which mostly revolve around trying to make ends meet. For the most part the people that hyperfocus on these select social issues don't have to worry about trying to stay financially afloat in a very expensive country.