THE BAHAMIAN PEOPLE HAVE EVERY REASON TO LOOK FORWARD TO A SUSTAINED PERIOD OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

By OSWALD T. BROWN

WASHINGTON, D. C., September 19, 2021 —  I woke up this morning with a serious hangover for the first time in many, many years as a result of drinking too much Dewar’s White Label Scotch as I celebrated my Progressive Liberal Party’s LANDSLIDE victory in The Bahamas over the Free National Movement government, led by the inept and incompetent Dr. Hubert Minnis, who will be chronicled as the worst Prime Minister in the history of The Bahamas.

I got out of bed well past noon, and during my daily morning devotion, I again thanked my Lord and Savior for the PLP’s victory and asked Him to bless our new Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis as he and his team of elected PLP House of Assembly members begin restoring good governance to The Bahamas.

Of course, I was immensely disappointed that voters in three constituencies in Grand Bahama – where I lived for 12 years before relocating to Washington, D.C., as Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at the Embassy of The Bahamas — did not elect PLP candidates to the House.

In fact, I was shocked beyond measure that James Turner did not win in East Grand Bahama, and although I knew that Michael Pintard would be hard to beat, Curt Hollinsworth was an excellent candidate with deep Grand Bahama roots and I fully expected him to win.

In any case, the long nightmare of more than four years of governance under the woefully inept FNM government is thankfully over.

A strong indication that the new PLP government will steer the Ship of State in the right direction, with the capable hands of Prime Minister Davis on the “tiller,” is the appointment of Chester Cooper as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation.

Given the fact that tourism is The Bahamas’ NUMBER ONE money earner, it makes perfect sense for the Minister of Tourism to be skilled in matters of a financial nature, and Mr. Cooper has demonstrated unquestionably over the years that he is financial expert.

Also including investments under Deputy Prime Minister Cooper’s ministerial portfolios strongly suggests to me that this was indeed a very well-thought-out decision to rejuvenate The Bahamas’ ailing economy.

To be sure, the Bahamian people have every reason to be confident that they can look forward to a sustained period of good governance.

In remarks after being sworn in on Saturday, September 18, as The Bahamas’ fifth Prime Minister, Mr. Davis noted that his government will partner with the Bahamian people, declaring that “no government can do great things on its own.”

According to The Nassau Guardian, Prime Minister Davis stated: “We’re going to listen. We’re going to consult widely and we’re going to bring people together. This is the best way to make progress as a nation. No leader or no government should be isolated from the people.”

Prime Miniter Davis also promised that the PLP “will govern in the interest of all Bahamians, not just the privileged few.”

“We will act in ways that rebuild trust between the government and the Bahamian people,” Pime Minister Davis declared. “We will uphold the constitution and the rule of law and ensure that everyone is treated fairly… There is much work to be done, but I know that by working together we can succeed and build the kind of prosperous independent Bahamas that our founding fathers dreamed for us.”

Prime Minister Davis noted that the new administration comes to office as Bahamians are hurting and the country faces big challenges.

“We face many crises coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “Tragic numbers of our people are becoming ill and dying. Our hospitals are in a state of collapse.”

Additionally, the Prime Miniter noted the economy “is also in decline as we face an historically high deficit and debt.”

However, the Prime Minister declared that his team is prepared to take on these and other challenges.