I’m sure there’s a comedian somewhere that sucked his teeth when he read The Tribune headline yesterday quoting Leslie Miller, PLP MP for Tall Pines, as saying The Bahamas “learned corruption from the US”.
Miller went on to say “that the granting of government contracts to political supporters will “never stop” because politicians must “do what they have to do” to win elections."
These two brief statements confirm Lord Acton’s lamentation that “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
He made these comments in response to the 2015 Human Rights Report on The Bahamas recently released by the US Department of State.
That comedian is most annoyed that Miller stole a couple good joke lines.
Of course corruption in our country has seemingly become widespread and the 2015 Human Rights Report is a very serious report indeed deserving of a reasoned response where necessary.
However Mr. Miller's comments suggest he's got to decide what he wants to pursue as a career. A comedian, where he can spout trite one liners or a Member of Parliament, where, as a leader he should encourage ethics, civility and the rule of law.
If he continues his comedic aspirations, Mr. Miller can add the old Mexican saying I heard yesterday, “For our friends, anything. For our enemies, the Law!” to his repertoire.
Should he wish to assume the leadership role he was elected for, seems some soul searching is appropriate.
