I agree with a lot of what you wrote, but Minnis is the exact reason the people have lost confidence in the FNM. Over 90k people voted for the Minnis led FNM in 17 (best gross vote result in Bahamian history) and by 21 that number halfed to 46k. The results speak for themselves. Minnis gave a lot of people hope and promised big change but did nothing to bring it about. Pintard is not a hype leader who can stir up a crowd the same way Ingraham was, but he's just having to clean up the mess that Minnis left behind as it pertains to the FNM. It's really not his fault hes been dealt a bad hand.

In any case the FNM will either have a respectable result this election or be replaced by the Coalition if they don't.

Well said. People who think income tax would be viable in this country are incapable of mathematics. We don't have a large tax base for it and besides that the average Bahamian only makes somewhere between 20-50k per annum and already has to pay NIB out of that, VAT on top of goods and services, extremely high electrical rates, more expensive food etc in comparison to the US/Canada that have that kind of system. Income tax would only further impoverish an already dying middle class for literally no benefit as it would be impossible to sustain expenditures off of it. Designing the Bahamian tax system around consumption taxes was the logical and well thought out thing to do for a country with limited domestic tax base that can cater to a large amount of both tourists and expatriates who have the means to consume a lot in our borders.

All Bahamians, whether FI or NP, should be exempt from property tax but I have no problem with foreign nationals paying. They have the means and their presence should benefit the country in some way.

That said, we do not have a taxation problem, we have a financial mismanagement problem. It's not just this government, or the last one, but for decades now our governments have pissed away our revenues and we have little to show for it. We bring in an astounding amount of revenue between RPT, VAT, duties, misc fees for a country of less than half a million in population and Bahamians barely see any of it. There is no excuse for that.

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.