NASSAU, BAHAMAS — St Anne’s MP Brent Symonette yesterday delivered a scathing rebuke of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), insisting that if the opposition had charge of the nation’s response to Hurricane Dorian and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, The Bahamas would be in a “very dark place”.
He made the comment in Parliament during the budget debate.
“I listened last Wednesday when the member for Exuma talked about a Alice in Wonderland budget
Alice in Wonderland is a classic novel by English author Lewis Carroll and has had many cinematic adaptations.
It centers on the story of a young girl named Alice who falls into a rabbit hole, where she encounters a fantasy world of strange creatures and adventures.
Quoting the children’s literature, Symonette said: “And it’s full of fanciful characters. One of them is the caterpillar, who helps Alice through her growth in life. The other is a Cheshire cat who teaches Alice how to follow the rules, but also teaches her the rules change throughout life. But the whole goal of Lewis Carroll’s book Alice in Wonderland is a lighthearted way of teaching children how to grow up and how to live in a dangerous world.
“So, you can obviously know what I am going to say next.
“I suggest the member for Exuma grow up, and leaves his fantasy world behind and comes to terms with the dangerous in which we live in.”
On a point of order, Exuma MP Chester Cooper urged Symonette
“He has the rights to this interpretation of anything. He does not have the right to say to another duly elected member that they should grow up Mr Speaker, and I would ask him to reframe and withdraw those remarks and carry on smartly.”
Symonette apologized for “hitting a raw nerve”.
He said: “The pressure is on. Election is coming and what comes, comes.”
During his contribution to debate last week, Cooper indicated the opposition could not trust the figures contained in the government’s budget.
Yesterday, Symonette apologized on behalf of the Exuma MP, whom he suggested did not understand the figures and did not intend to “insult the many people who prepared these budgets”.
The MP pointed out that more than 23 percent of the budget accounts for wages and salaries; 17 percent is allocated to interest; 13 percent for subsidies; over nine percent for social benefits; 9.5 percent for other payments and over eight percent for other services.
He said: “So, 81.8 percent of this document hardly changes. It’s very accurate. It’s detailed. It’s calculated… So, these figures can be trusted.”
Symonette stressed the Free National Movement has engrafted against the worst economic downturn in the history of the nation as a result of Dorian and the pandemic.
He said it takes an FNM government to govern this country at a “time of crisis, a crisis that we have never seen in this country, ever”.
“If we had the ‘would of, could of, should of’ Christie/Davis administration we would have been in a terrible, difficult situation now, no doubt,”
“That’s why Mr Speaker you have a caring government, which is compassionate and this government is in good hands.”
He said it is easy to be “loose with the details” in opposition when the focus in on assuming power.
“People criticize the FNM for what they do, the way they do it how they do it, but one thing is crystal clear in my opinion
“The Bahamas is in better hands under an FNM government than it could ever be under Cat Island.
The opposition has slammed the government for its nearly $1 billion in borrowing and its more than $950 million forecasted deficit.
However, the St Anne’s MP said successive governments since the late 1960s have borrowed and increased the national debt.
He added that a look at the budget shows the Minnis administration has increased debt servicing substantially from $396 million in 2020/2021 to $512 million in the upcoming period and continuous to execute its fiscal strategies to reign in debt and expenditure, while boosting the economy.
