NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Opposition Leader Michael Pintard and Exumas and Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper got into a heated exchange in Parliament yesterday as the Free National Movement (FNM) leader characterized the government’s legislative agenda and its handling of the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic as not serious enough.
Pintard said it was unfortunate that the Davis administration has continued the “rally speeches” long after the general election.
He also said it is a mistake to celebrate the downward trend of cases when the nation remains in the “midst of a pandemic” that has historically peaked and dropped over short periods.
“We were in the midst of COVID and there were time where we took credit for some matters only for the numbers to change; that is the reality of life,” Pintard said.
“Do not make the same mistake in terms of patting yourself on the back for things you had very little to nothing to do with.”
Rising to his feet, Cooper said Pintard was being misleading.
He opined that while Pintard has a “way with words” he did not appear to use them when the opposition sat through countless national addresses by then Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis every time there was a drop in COVID-19 infections.
Pintard shot back as he questioned the point of order, prompting Speaker of the House of Assembly Patricia Deveaux to remind parliamentarians that two members cannot not speak on the floor at the same time.
It would not be her last intervention.
“What is the point of order,” Pintard continued.
“That is a question for me to ask,” the speaker responded.
“Honorable member, one member at a time. One member must be on their feet, thank you,” she added.
Cooper continued: “The member is misleading. He sat through the former Cabinet.
“He did not use his way with words. He is good at it. But he sat there and he said nothing.
“Every time the member for Killarney rose and he patted himself on the back, he declared that his protocols worked, he said, and he did it over and over and over.
“So, the member for MARCO City has now found his voice when he sat there and he said nothing whilst the member for Killarney and his colleagues consistently patted themselves on the back in the middle of the pandemic.”
Pintard said the subject of debate concerned life and death.
He said the opposition raised concerns on several occasions about an impending crisis amid the pandemic and made recommendations, including changing the travel protocols for entry into The Bahamas.
But he said the government berated the opposition.
Pintard said health professionals have recently acknowledged that based on hospitalizations and the rate of infections “we are in crisis”.
He added that it was not the intention of the opposition to be overly critical, but to caution the government as it diverged from what it asserted as draconian measures to another regime, that it did not adopt insufficiently serious measures toward the pandemic — an assertion Cooper vehemently rejected.
“What has happened essentially; in your attempts to maintain some of your rally speeches, the government has a less than serious attitude in addressing the management of COVID,” Pintard said.
Cooper said the accusation was offensive and Pintard was engaging in the very same activity he cautioned the government about: politicizing issues.
“It is offensive to us and it is offensive to the hardworking healthcare professionals Madame Speaker…,” Cooper said.
He added: “While the member waxes poetically about what this administration is doing and how seriously or not we’re taking the pandemic, I am thanking the health professionals for the work they are doing, for the advice they are giving us and we are endeavoring to balance public health with the growing of our tourism industry, and the maintenance of a robust economy, and that is what we will continue to do.”
