By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 20, 2024 – Opposition Leader Michael Pintard has distinguished himself over the years as an excellent orator and outstanding playwright, but he has failed miserably as a political leader, an assertion underscored by the fact that he stupidly picked an open public dispute with his predecessor as leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert A. Minnis.
Pintard’s criticism of the current five-day official visit to Botswana by Bahamas Prime Minister Philip E. Davis and a Bahamian delegation is clear evidence that he suffers from a severe case of foot-in-mouth disease, which he has proven over and repeatedly in his attempts to undermine the excellent job Prime Minister Davis has done since the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won a landslide victory in the September 16, 2021 general election to oust the FNM as the government of The Bahamas.
As The Nassau Guardian reported today, at a press conference in New Providence, Pintard criticized the Prime Minister for “traveling with what he called a large delegation”, totally disregarding the fact that the visit to Botswana was at the invitation of Botswana’s President Dr. Mokgweetsi E.K. Masisi, who made a state visit to The Bahamas in September of 2023.
Dr. Masisi, who was accompanied by a large high-level delegation, received the red-carpet treatment on his arrival at Lynden Pindling International Airport and throughout his stay he participated in a number of appropriate activities befitting an official visit by the Head of State, including visits to several Family Islands.
What certainly should be kept in mind is that with a population of 2,346,179, according to the last Census in 2022, Botswana and The Bahamas share an historical symbiotic relationship, as both are former colonies of Great Britain and are both currently members of the British Commonwealth.
Botswana is a land-locked country that is bounded by Namibia to the west and north, Zambia and Zimbabwe to the northeast, and South Africa to the southeast and south. Since The Republic of Botswana became an independent nation in June of 1966, the country has gained international stature as a peaceful and increasingly prosperous democratic state.
What made Mr. Pintard’s criticism of the Prime Minister’s Botswana trip all the more disingenuous is that he was officially invited to be a member of the delegation, which was revealed by the Prime Minister in a Social Media post that became the basis of today’s article in The Guardian.
In response to The Prime Minister’s revelation, The Guardian quoted Mr. Pintard as saying, “The Prime Minister claims to be doing the people’s business but has found enough time to issue emotional rant. Clearly, he is hurt that I have chosen not to join his lavish excursion with far more people than are necessary.to “
He added, “The childish note fails to focus on the struggles of our people at home in The Bahamas, still grappling with the scourge of violent crimes and the scarcity of funds for healthy meals, badly needed health care, or rental assistance. This massive entourage dismisses those of us who want to conserve limited resources and work on vexing issues that threaten to erode our economy and the very social fabric of our country.”
For his part, Prime Minister Davis noted in The Guardian’s article, “I am never going to stop promoting our country or building the bridges and relationships that bring our people new opportunities. I will continue to strengthen our partnerships and build alliances on issues that matter to us – whether it’s a blockade to protect our borders, fighting against weapons trafficking, standing up for us on climate change, or getting us off the blacklist.”
The Prime Minister added, “Pintard was invited to Botswana, a country widely considered one of Africa’s biggest success stories. It’s too bad he said no, just so he could perform at a press conference instead. He missed an opportunity to learn something from a country with one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.”
Noting that the world “is changing quickly,” The Prime Minister added, “The FNM is simply out of their depth. They got duped in the disastrous Oban deal, they brought in no new investments, they had one of the worst COVID performances in the region, and my predecessor sat in a hallway, disrespected and forgotten, perhaps because his idea of foreign policy was saying The Bahamas was corrupt, instead of promoting our many strengths and the ingenuity of our people. A Prime Minister’s job includes promoting and standing up for The Bahamas. Even if the opposition doesn’t understand how the world works in 2024, the Bahamian people do.”
What is so woefully sad about Mr. Pintard’s inept performance as leader of the FNM is that when Hubert Ingraham was kicked out of the PLP and subsequently used his considerable political acumen to become leader of the FNM in 1990 and Prime Minister in 1992, Pintard and Zhivargo Laing were arguably the most promising political rising stars in the FNM.
Even though Pintard, who represents the Marco City constituency in Grand Bahama, is the current leader of the FNM, it has becoming crystal clear that he is an abject failure as the political leader of the FNM.
Clearly, he has proven his lack of leadership expertise by getting into that open dispute with former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis, whom he replaced as Leader of the FNM. Notwithstanding the fact that Dr. Minnis was unquestionably the worst Prime Minister in Bahamian history among the five Prime Ministers of The Bahamas since the country was granted independence by Great Britain on July 10, 1973, Dr. Minnis still has a sizable number of followers in the FNM and it is believed that he still entertains hopes – albeit faint hopes – of possibly becoming Prime Minister of The Bahamas again.
Meanwhile, Dr. Duane Sands, whom many political observers had picked to be the next leader of the FNM before he was soundly defeated in his Elizabeth constituency in the September 16, 2021 general election, is still considered to be a very viable possibility to become leader of the FNM whenever they hold their next convention.
What’s more, although Zhivargo Laing’s political leadership quest has fizzled, there is still widespread speculation that he will emerge from his political deathbed and once more be a serious contender for the leadership of the FNM with the support of his political mentor, Hubert Ingraham.
