The Bahamian people made the decision to elect the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in September 2021. The PLP set out a blueprint filled with many promises to make the lives of Bahamians better.
Nearly three years into their term, the party is adrift, without direction, and faltering. Its leader, Prime Minister Philip Davis, is clearly unfocused and lax when it comes to governing.
He does not like doing the work of prime minister, which is a difficult job. Instead he constantly travels at taxpayer expense. Jetting in luxury from conference to conference and event to event, he finds comfort and happiness socializing with wealthy foreigners while The Bahamas is left leaderless with national problems of all kinds.
The bold change the PLP promised has not come. All that has happened is the PLP has spent nearly three years enriching PLPs. So many of their supporters now have new cars and new houses. The PLP is using many, many millions of state wealth and taxpayer funds to ensure PLP contractors, consultants, and other supporters live the good life.
Meanwhile, our people watch their concerns and needs go unaddressed. Lingering problems have worsened, often because of inaction or mistakes made by the PLP. New ones emerge with no policy or programmatic response from the governing party.
Bahamians are increasingly frustrated with a PLP administration that seems detached from their daily needs and realities.
Crime remains a vexing problem
The PLP promised on the campaign trail to bring forward policies to reduce crime in The Bahamas. They were bold in saying they knew what to do. The Bahamian people voted to give the PLP a chance to prove what it could do. Now, nearly three years into their term, it is clear that the governing party has failed to deliver on reducing crime and violence in our communities.
In their first full year in office in 2022 there were 128 murders. This was the second-highest murder total in our history.
This year we are on pace for a similarly high total with there already being more than 80 murders in August.
The gunmen shoot and kill wherever and whenever they like, day or night. They are not afraid of the police, the courts, or of going to jail.
We have lost too many of our young people to senseless violence. Too many have been maimed and suffered life-altering injuries due to shootings.
It is clear to all right-thinking Bahamians that the prime minister has no crime plan, despite saying that he has a plan.
Murders are not our only problem, though they are very high for a country with our population.
There are too many break-ins, robberies, car thefts, and property crimes for a country as small as ours.
These crimes cause fear and deep anxiety. They cost money to residents and businesses, having to find money to replace what was stolen.
The PLP made campaign promises but they have failed to deliver. The opposition Free National Movement (FNM) has repeatedly called on the prime minister to act, but Mr. Davis seems unable to meet his responsibilities as head of government when it comes to the crime crisis.
Bahamians deserve better from their elected government.
Frustration with lack of basic services
One of a government’s top priorities is ensuring that citizens are provided with basic services in a modern society. People expect electricity, water and paved roads.
They expect basic access to health care, a functional Road Traffic Department, a competent Ministry of Finance and Inland Revenue Department. Residents of New Providence expect the island to be kept clean and public spaces to be maintained.
They expect the services they have to pay for to be reasonably priced. The PLP is struggling to deliver on these most basic functions and responsibilities of government.
Electricity problems exist across the country. Residents in Andros, Eleuthera, and Harbour Island have suffered particularly in recent weeks and months.
Protests occurred by residents on these islands, lamenting the failure of the government to deliver basic services such as electricity and water.
The response from the PLP administration is always the same: They say they are working on it, contracts have been signed, and the problem will be fixed “soon.” Instead of solutions, the PLP keeps promising and talking.
What “soon” means is you have to wait a lot longer with no light or water. It means if you have bad roads filled with potholes, maybe something may happen for you in the future. For now under this PLP administration, the unsatisfactory status quo remains. The PLP is the very face of the status quo.
In 2024, Bahamians should not have to protest and beg for electricity and water. Bahamians should not have to beg for paved roads or license plates.
This is what happens when a government’s focus is not on its people. This PLP primarily thinks of PLPs first. Hence, the day-to-day work of governance too often goes undone.
Meanwhile, the people suffer. The people are deeply frustrated.
PLP failing to act on bank fees
Bahamians are frustrated with our commercial banks. There are too many unfair fees that eat away at people’s hard-earned savings. And, the banks keep cutting back on services, making more profits while providing poorer service.
Leader of the Opposition Michael Pintard recently proposed a series of measures to help address these problems. I wholeheartedly support the proposals of the FNM.
These include ensuring fees are transparent, fair and not just junk fees with no justification; increasing the regulatory role of the Central Bank to assess the validity of banking fees; and, tasking the Central Bank with streamlining interbank transaction protocols in order to ensure they are efficient and cost effective while using best-in-class technology.
The FNM is leading on this issue because the PLP is doing nothing on the matter.
Here again, the Bahamian people are rightfully complaining and suffering with no adequate or meaningful response from the governing party.
We need action now to stop the banks from unjustifiably increasing fees even more to take away money from ordinary Bahamians just to enrich those who already have enough.
A failed leader
Philip Davis has been a disappointment as prime minister for many Bahamians. These issues could be addressed if we had a leader who was committed and interested in doing his job. Mr. Davis has been the most absent leader in our history.
The Bahamian people are increasingly raising their voices in peaceful protest just to get the constantly travelling prime minister’s and his government’s attention.
As increasing numbers of Bahamians publicly express their discontent, maybe, just maybe, the prime minister will finally get it, though no one should hold their breath.
Much more needs to be done to improve the lives of Bahamians. The PLP’s performance has been poor. The Bahamian people, including poorer Bahamians, are suffering as a result.
Written by: Dr Hubert Minnis, former Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas
