As the Progressive Liberal Party celebrates three years in government with Prime Minister Philip Davis singing praises, Michael Pintard, leader of the Free National Movement scorched their performance, highlighting their failures.
Here’s what you need to know about what Pintard said about the government at the press conference
The government is marked with confusion and contradiction
Pintard believes the confusion on policy agendas like the NIB rate hike, the Freedom of Information Act, and the Procurement Act confuses the public, adding that other ministers take the lead on certain matters only to be contradicted by another.
“We are never sure who is in charge of the government. Is it the Prime Minister, is it Fred Mitchell? Is it the financial secretary? We are uncertain, sometimes, which government official we ought to believe. One day one minister comes out with a major announcement only to be contradicted the same day or a day later by another minister of the prime minister or the office of the prime minister.
He says the government needs to be “clear and straightforward” on where it stands on key issues.
“We ought not govern by chaos …Confusion is not a hallmark for good governance.”
The high cost of living is burdening Bahamians and the government is doing nothing about it
Pintard hit the government for financially burdening the Bahamian people.
“The Davis administration claims to want to fight inflation but raises VAT on breadbasket items, health insurance and medicines while raising BPL’s rate several times in a series of months. Fees are being raised here and there while businesspeople are being terrorized by so-called ‘compliance task forces’.”
Pintard added, “Costs to Bahamians continue to rise – VAT on medicine, electricity increase, NIB increase, Air freight cost increase, water increase in Grand Bahama, taxes and fees and business license increase, passenger tax increase and customs fees increase. Increase burden, Increase pain.
“The wages of Bahamians are tight, dead tight; their cost of living is up, way up; and their sense of optimism about the future is down, way down.”
Davis’ heavy travel itinerary is priority over country issues
Pintard believes Davis’ constant travel is hampering his ability to deal with urgent business at home. “When you spend more time burning fuel in jets flying around the world claiming to be trying to save the planet, your country buckles under the weight of your absence and staggers under burden of your dysfunction.”
He criticized the government for the unnecessary travel. He believes the delegates that travel should be fit for the occasion. Pintard says technical officers or parliamentary secretaries are better suited to travel than ministers.
He added, “We shouldn’t leave the Bahamas to go halfway around the world if we have an office in Brussels or London with an officer who can manage those negotiations.”
Scandals, shuffles and firings have stained government’s tenure
Since the government’s tenure, the PLP administration has terminated and shuffled officials like Kirk Cornish the former parliamentary secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister after facing rape and assault accusations by a former girlfriend; Sylvanus Petty once served as WSC executive chairman but was forced to resign due to nepotism– granting his daughter a contract with the company; Keith Bell was removed as minister of immigration when he granted citizenship to two children at a funeral as a dying wish for the man being buried.
Pintard said, “The prime minister has fired North Abaco as parliamentary secretary due to charges he now faces. He has fired his executive chairman from Water and Sewerage for conflicts. He has quietly fired the head of BAMSI [and] the head of BAIC, shifted the embattled Minister of Housing and Minister of Immigration, and the Minister in charge of BPL.
“He has multiple members of his team implicated in civil and criminal matters that are before the courts,” Pintard said.