New Zealand works just fine with two islands and one level of government for all. Canada has 30 odd million to spread the costs of three levels of government among. The Bahamas does not.

Given all this debacle, who supports privitization? Wold it not have been best if BEC was privitized years ago?

His fear is correct, but the solutions are misplaced. We do have a huge climate disaster problem from larger huricaines. But you can't have a viable Bahamas if you don't stop climate change.

the real solutions:

#1 we need to get all solar ASAP. This means cancelling LNG. As otherwise you just have more climate change and stronger storms.
#2 we need to get tourism more sustainable and higher yielding to the Bahamas. This means kick out the cruise ships and have more hotel based stays.
#3 we need a standing disaster relief fund adminstered by its own board where the money can only be spent on disaster relief. Yes, it will cost more money.
#4 the debt must get under control so the capacity is there to borrow more, but only for huge disasters.

Alas, these are the only real long term solutions.

Lets say there were no more Hatians in the Bahamas. If the approach is "blame each other" rather than work with everyone to solve problems, what happens then? People just look for a new enemy to single out an blame whom then would have to be one sub group of Bahamians. This is a path to division and can reach no good objective.

How many fundamental problems have all the agressive deporations solved since they started a few years back? ZERO. Is VAT lower? NOPE. Is the debt lower? NOPE.

How was BPL every allowed to rack up such huge debts?

Would it not have been better off to have sold it than to be forever paying for its past debt with no guarantee problems will not recur?

I guess it is beyond question if such a growth in the cruise industry is a good idea and if government policy should be enabling it rather than steering such investment towards land based hotels?

Or if that's "too big" a question for government, then who runs us?

So climate change gives us cat6 huricanes and Dorian and his answer is more greenhouse gas emissions?
What moral right do we have to ask others to cut if the Bahamas increases emissions with oil drilling?
And say you do get more growth with oil revenue, what is all that money worth in a world wrecked by ecological damage and cat6, then cat7 storms?
And say you did oil drilling, most of the money would be wasted anyone and debts would still just go and up and up. Didn't solve anything for Venezuela. It'd be wasted soon as it came in the door. And one oil spill? Then the rest of the economy is gone!

How about everyone agrees before anyone gets a cent of public money the hospital gets equipped properly?

Kick out the cruise ships and tho less people will visit to stay in hotels, those hotel jobs will provide the required employment numbers. Right now we see pennies on the dollar from the "cruise industry".

You forget that in addition to cutting spending, and raising VAT the government can/should demand the bond holders be part of the solution and accept a reduction in what we owe. If any one of the above three parties (the public servants, the tax payer and the bond holder) are not at the table making cuts or gives in the case of us all paying more VAT we will never solve the problem. We must forget the illusion "growth" as a way out is either possible or desireable from an ecological standpoint in any event.

Government needs to step up here, if one or all of the parties above won't come to the table, or won't offer up, it must lead and announce what each of the three parties will be giving and that's that. Matter done.