by Edward Hutcheson
I got the impression that the current Prime Minister was getting himself to the place where he was no longer “sitting on the edge of his legacy” and was becoming fully involved in the work of being the Prime Minister. One step forward, two steps back. His attack on the leader of the Opposition informs us that there are times when he gets thin-skinned and reacts to statements that have nothing to do with personal perceptivity. His explanation of the U.K. consultants job description may fit the external groups that are seeking to operate gaming businesses in the Bahamas, but they would have nothing to do with consulting the government on who would want to do business within the local environment that is outside of the Casinos. But, if this is what they have been doing then, past and present governments have been using tax payers money to do something that is illegal.
Perhaps the Prime Minister is avoiding the fundamental question that Mr. Minnis has put on the table. If the Public’s Money has been spent on a “consultation” then the report of that consultation has to be placed in the view of the people who paid for it; it is not a private matter. It would help if Mr.Christie would see himself as being the legal representative of all of the Bahamian people, that way there would not be any confusion regarding who is really paying the bill. I want to personally remind the Prime Minister, that his deciding to go against the advice of the U.K consultants does not make that report null and void, even if it is written on a napkin.
Back to the leadership question. This would cause the public to compare Mr. Christie and Mr. Minnis, but since Mr. Minnis has not yet held the post of Prime Minister we would have to step back and look at similar posts that they did hold, and history would take us back to the Ministry of Health where both men spent some time. If an opinion poll was taken there would be a general agreement that Mr. Christie did not do as well as Mr. Minnis in that regard. The work we see going on at the Nations major health care facility may be the reason that Mr. Minnis is the leader of the Opposition. As to leading their respective parties it is somewhat of a toss-up, Mr. Minnis is into restructuring his organization and Mr. Christie is still battling with his twin demons of indecisiveness and his non-elected party members having too much to say. They are both busy, but going in different directions.
Maybe it is time for Mr. Christie to pay his former business partner and close friend a visit and get a couple of pointers out of the Ingraham playbook. Maybe he can begin at the page where it explains how everything you hear does not require a response; giving a response is like writing a cheque that someone else cashes for you, but you are not too sure what the proceeds will look like or if you are going to benefit. Come to think of it, the last Prime Minister had a struggle with this also.
November 21, 2012
Two leaders, SAME direction. The premise of your piece – that there are differances between our leaders – is strikingly wrong.
So long as we have leaders who are cut from the same political cloth, same age, same background, etc, we will have similar directions.
Find someone who has NOT studied Law; someone who has NOT been a part of the original PLP (some escape by virtue of their age, only); someone who is NOT older than 60 years; someone who has lived overseas (so has a different perspective from which to view our challenges); and someone who has run a successful business and then, and only then, will we have found someone who might take us in a different direction.
For the time being, we must content ourselves with the Pindling ‘ducklings’, who are now ‘long in the tooth’ themselves and patently out of ideas to fix our broken country.
P.S. Last week, the current PM expressed great shock at the estimated number of Bahamians involved in gambling (playing the numbers); where has this man been living?
So well put S3S.. Just as there is little if any difference in our political leadership, there is little difference in the governing philosophy of our two principle political parties.. Both promote larger government solutions with little success to solve all nation’s economic and social ills.. Both political parties spend money the government doesn’t have (deficit spending) on programs that seldom work in the public interest.. Both the PLP and the FNM end up raising taxes and borrowing the money they waste increasing the national debt which more than likely will end up in default.. Finally, both resort to passing laws and regulations which discourage both domestic and foreign investment.. The only real difference is that each of our political parties cater to their specific constituents and special interests at the expense of the nation as a whole.. With no meaningful difference in our two political parties, the Bahamian public can expect only more of the same old corruption with no meaningful change in the governance and direction of the country..