By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
FREE National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday chided the “do nothing” Christie administration for allowing crime to skyrocket to a combined 491 killings over the last four years, according to The Tribune’s records.
With nearly a year left before the next general election, Dr Minnis lamented the country’s current “out of control” situation as he reflected on the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) infamous murder posters, which were erected during the 2012 election season.
The billboards were placed in several popular locations across New Providence and read “Under the FNM government 490-plus murders”.
However, according to statistics gathered by this newspaper, murders under this PLP administration in nearly four years are about to surpass the more than 490 homicides that took place in the five years under the previous FNM administration.
From May 7, 2012 - when the PLP won the election - to December 2012 there were 70 recorded murders. In, 2013, police recorded 119 murders. In 2014 and 2015, police recorded 123 and a record 146 murders respectively.
The murder count for 2016 up to April 3 stands at 33, according to The Tribune’s records, meaning 491 homicides have occurred under this administration in three years and 11 months.
Dr Minnis claimed this is evidence of a severe failure.
“Crime is completely out of control,” Dr Minnis said. “They have no control on crime and this do nothing government has failed us on the most basic issue and that is protecting our citizens.
“This do nothing government has mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and families living in fear. They promised jobs and to solve crime among other things, but it was because and only because they wanted to win the election at all costs.
“Those murder posters were proof that they will do anything to win an election.”
He added: “I would prefer to lose an election, than to lose a country. They prefer to lose the country rather than an election.
“They are not concerned about this country. The concern is on them. Whatever it means or whatever they have to do is what they will do.”
The Killarney MP urged Bahamians not to be fooled into voting for the PLP again. He said the country would only continue to deteriorate under its current leadership.
“Bahamians realise they have been fooled and they want the Christie administration to be out because the country continues to deteriorate under this government. We must be saved and to be saved this administration must be voted out.
“This government believes it’s all about them. I ask all Bahamians that if we want a better Bahamas it is essential that those who care about themselves must be removed. We are enduring the pain and the frustrations that they are putting on us,” Dr Minnis said.
In May 2014, after saying he did not regret his party’s decision to erect murder billboards throughout New Providence, Prime Minister Perry Christie admitted that in hindsight he would not do it again.
Responding to questions from the media at a press conference in the Cabinet Office, Mr Christie said at the time: “I think we must all learn in light of our experiences. I’ve passed the stage of whether there is regret. Whether I would do it again? The answer is no. You don’t regret in that sense; you move on and you learn.”
However four months earlier, the prime minister said he does not “regret anything in a political campaign.”
“It’s a question of taste. One can question that, but no. I stand and fall on the campaign that we had. The campaign succeeded, we have to govern,” Mr Christie said in January 2014.
In November, Minister for Tourism Obie Wilchcombe, in describing the record murder count for 2015 as “disgraceful”, conceded that the PLP made crime a political issue, but said the party has learned from that experience.
Mr Wilchcombe told The Tribune that instead of pointing the finger at politicians for the increase in murders, Bahamians should “get angry and march against it”.
In the past, Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has defended the billboards. Some of them were placed in tourist hot spots including Montagu and the Saunders Beach roundabout.
After the then government tore down some of the signs, Mr Davis accused the Ingraham administration of using “strong arm tactics” to conceal the facts.
The PLP campaigned on a promise that it had the answers to crime and murders, while the Ingraham administration did not.
Comments
proudloudandfnm 8 years ago
So FNM will politicize crime now?
Dr. Minnis, the FNM does not exactly have a strong record against crime. I know you're desperate right now for a win, I know you're having a very hard time in the HOA right now, I know most of the FNM wants to replace you ASAP and you're trying to save yourself.
This will not save you my brother. If you have no plan then keep your mouth shut until you do......
Emac 8 years ago
Minnis, for the sake of country, please step down from your post and go back into medicine full time. I am so sick of hearing and seeing this man. He has no vision, he is NOT sincere and history will not be kind to him if he causes the FNM to lose the next election.
EasternGate 8 years ago
Spot on
Economist 8 years ago
So Dr. Minnis you can count, but what is your solution.
You have yet to say anything that has impressed me. I see absolutely no reason to vote for the FNM at this time.
Publius 8 years ago
As stupid as this guy is, he has the nerve to try to take all Bahamians for fools. So stating the obvious about crime is supposed to make Bahamians forget how worthless Minnis is and how worthless the FNM has been under his leadership and the leadership of the office holders of that Party? And a man who secretly and repeatedly meets with alleged murder conspirators is seeking to lecture about crime? The FNM is a disgrace now. The PLP has always been what it is. Now the FNM is actually showing what it is where in times past, it was either better hidden or not permitted to get to this point.
Repercussion 8 years ago
Once again use reason and logic. It wasn't his parliamentary team period. They thought they placed someone weak that they could walk over to act as an interim leader and unfortunately were mistaken. I don't expect much from this opposition because they have no Loyalty to their leader and have shown a tendency to undermine him. In the end I hope he removes all of those Loyalist and replace them with those that actually want to move the country in the right direction.
DEDDIE 8 years ago
I have reserve judgement on Dr. Minnis because all I know about him is what the media has painted him to be. I refuse to allow someone else opinion to become my opinion without my own careful analysis. What I do now about him is that he is not a slick talking politician which is a plus in my book. From paper boy to doctor is quite a story.I will continue to place him in the balance and my analysis will determine in my own mind if he is wanting, not the media with several conflicting agendas.
sheeprunner12 8 years ago
Hubert Minnis ............ sweep in front of your own FNM door right now ......... then deal with national issues (or step aside and let a better FNM leader emerge)
John 8 years ago
What is hard to believe is that this governments term is winding down and the main thing on which they campaigned on, crime, has gone indented. If fact the murder rate has increased under their watch. But does Minnis really offer a good alternative to the current administration? It is hard core FNM's that are asking this question, not that they support the PLP and will vote for them. They do not want the election to be a case of musical chairs, where you vote one party out, only to hear the same cries years or months later. Some still feel that there is Hubert Minnis and then there is the FNM. The time is now for them to become one and the same. Speak with one voice.
Jonahbay 8 years ago
Hubert Minnis is a benchwarmer. He was never expected to hold onto the leadership for so long. The funny thing is that the longer he holds on, the worse things get for the fnm. Minnis fatigue is real. Can we have Loretta and Rentboy Rollins in the house? Everyone else is a waste of space. Oh it would also be good if the people's business was actually discussed instead of 3rd rate soap operas...
sheeprunner12 8 years ago
IT IS FUNNY HOW ALL THIS CHAOS WAS GOING ON IN THE HOUSE AND LBT WAS MISSING .............. WONDER WHY???????? ........... BUT HER ABSENCE WAS A TELLING STATEMENT OF CONFIDENCE IN HER PARTY'S LEADERSHIP ....... SHE WAS NOT THERE TO DEFEND MINNIS OR PINTARD AGAINST THE PLP ONSLAUGHT OR BACK UP ROLLINS ........... IT SEEMS THAT THERE IS A "EACH MAN FOR HIMSELF" APPROACH IN THE FNM RIGHT NOW.
Publius 8 years ago
There is nothing new about that approach for the FNM; that is the FNM's way.
sangeej 8 years ago
from murders was glorified in this Country, with gun shot commercials and billboards, the murders hasn't slowed down, i beg you'll not to glorified this murderers spirit,
And Please will person who put up the last billboard & gun shot commercial please ask for forgiveness, so this spirit can leave this country of the Bahamas.
Honestman 8 years ago
I am guessing that the Tribune approached Minnis for comment on this depressing landmark as opposed to Minnis raising the issue. Be that as it may, Minnis is quoted as saying "We must be saved and to be saved this administration must be voted out". The fact is we will NOT be saved if the new government (and Prime Minister) is as rudderless, visionless and untrustworthy as the current one. We need a strong leader and a strong alternative government whose foundation is based on total transparency and accountability - nothing less. The people would be more impressed with the FNM if they were to come out and insist that they will introduce a Freedom if Information Act within the first two years of coming to power AND promise that they will insist that every member of Parliament discloses their personal wealth (as they are required to by Law.). Minnis does not come across as the strong leader that the electorate is craving for - the perception is that he is a PLP in a red shirt. This we do not need!
Repercussion 8 years ago
What a stupid thought!
licks2 8 years ago
SHE WAS NOT THERE BECAUSE WE SUSPECT THAT SHE IS THE RING LEADER OF THE CHAOS. . .IN THERE AND OUT HERE. . . BUT IF YOU READ THE "BIG" DOCUMENT YOU WILL SEE WHY SOME OTHER MPs ARE POSSIBLE "FLYING" LOW AND CAN'T SAY DOC MUST RESIGN. . . IT WILL BITE THEM IN THE BUTT LATER. . .JUST WAIT!
YALL JUST WAIT UNTIL THE DOCUMENT IS EXPOUNDED. . .THEN WE WILL SEE WHO "CONNECTED" PINTARD WITH BOBO AND TOGGIE! CERTIAN BIG MOUTH FNM MP IS SERVED TO STAY SHUT AND FLY LOW. . .CAUSE A STORM IS COMING. . .BECAUSE WORDS WILL COME BACK TO HAUNT. . .THEN THAT PERSON WILL BE FACED WITH THE ADVICE YINNA GIVING MINNIS. . ."A RESPONSIBLE LEADER WILL RESIGN IN THIS CASE"!! THE BIG PLAYER IN THE FNM FOR CAST DIRECTING IN "BAHAMAS HUSTLE" IS NOT MADE PUBLIC YET!!
THIS GER BE FUN. IN THE MAIN TIME. . .YINNA BETTER GO READ THEM DOCUMMENTS BEFORE YALL SHOT YINNA MOUTH OFF ABOUT WHO "TINTED" AND WHO AIN'T! LOL! THE PLP THEM GOT YALL NUMBER MIND. . .JUST WATCH WHO "KEEPING" THEIR MOUTH SHUT IN BOTH PARTIES. . . BAHAMAS HUSTLE GO DEEP!
BUT DON'T YOU WORRY. . .YINNA THINK THAT THE BOBO AND TOGGIE "DIRT" WILL NOT TOUCH ANY OF YINNA. . .READ THE 400 PAGES DOCUMENT CAREFULLY. . .WHEN THE OTHER BIG NAME IN THE FNM COMES UP. YALL GER BE SHOCKED TO SEE.
LBT IS WISE TO KEEP SHUT UNTIL SHE READ THE FULL DOCUMENT. . .MAYBE YINNA SHOULD FOLLOW HER EXAMPLE. . .YA MAY HAVE TO EAT YA WORDS. . .LOL! THE DOCUMENT SHOWS THAT THE FNM PARTY IS STILL "DEEP" STARS IN BAHAMAS HUSTLE. . . AND IT EEN NO FISH TALE. . .Shhhssssssssssssss!
TalRussell 8 years ago
it sure sounds fishy?
B_I_D___ 8 years ago
I'm not a fan of Minnis...but I'm sorry...this article had to happen and had to be said...the PLP went out of their way to make this a hugely political and pivotal issue during their campaign, it needs to be brought to the front as often as needed to remind the people that the PLP were full of crap and empty promises during their last election campaign.
Emac 8 years ago
Got a point there!
licks2 8 years ago
Most don't care about that any more. . .we know that was purely political. . . it is tacky to me really. . . counting our dead. . .for the world to see! The FNM must that snake has two heads. . . picking that snake up will still get ya bitten from the tail part too! Ask Brave. . .that snake "deengris"! Lol!
TalRussell 8 years ago
by TalRussell
John 8 years ago
One would hope that with some 1,000 (One Thousand) families having lost loved ones to murder in this country and many more friends, loved ones, co-workers, school mates and even church members feeling the finite sting of the untimely death of someone due to murder, that this does not be kicked around again, like a political football and so concrete solutions to the crime saga are offered. To this day Bahamians still do not know if there is a vigilante group operating in this country who are taking out young men who they deem to be " a menance to society." As late as last week this subject came up again and there were claims that police officers may be involved in these assassinations. But crime and murder is not exclusive to the Bahamas. Do you know that in Florida now whenever there is a police involved shooting, the police disciplinary board must visit the scene? Representatives from the police union along with lawyers also visit the scene, so in Florida It is not unusual to see 30-40 officers at the scene of a police shooting along with 20-30 other persons in suits and ties? That is how complicated policing has become.
newcitizen 8 years ago
If there is a vigilante group killing "menaces to society" then the are absolutely terrible at their job.
Repercussion 8 years ago
So much hate towards Dr. Minnis as if he's the reason the country is in the state it's in. The man is solely pointed out the facts. Why do you need to criticize that? I don't understand how logical thinking Bahamians would associate the oppositions performance or lack thereof solely with Minnis.
TalRussell 8 years ago
Comrade wasn't it Minnis who was the first to stand up on the floor of the Honourable House of Assembly to take the fight to government when he accused members PLP government of associating with questionable characters?
Isn't it important that we establish, if Minnis did stood up in the Honourable House - before or after he got two visits to his home - bearing gifts red snappers and information about a proposed meeting that red shirts should not be attending?
Comrade what you thinking now you been all red snappered enlightened?
licks2 8 years ago
Get it right now. . . Save the Bays filed in the court. . .they present the information and then the press published to the public and the world! That kicked off the row in the house! When he talked about the information in the house. . .the PLP "ganged" him. . .his team just "wee know nottin". . .sat and watched him get beat up! Rollins came to his aid and was beating the PLP up. . .they tried to shut Rollins up by saying he was not paying his rent from money Government was giving him. . .after that did not work. . . National Review gone after Rollins and pestered him to make a statement! Rollins spoke and answered a "loaded" question. . .even after he avoided that question for almost 5 minutes. . .the interviewer insisted until Rollins said one "magic" word. . .and POW. . .Rollins had to shut up in the house and doc was on his own again!!! Lol!
Then the national review gone after doc like a pitbull again. . .
Zakary 8 years ago
Rollins spoke and answered a "loaded" question...
The national review employs a lot of loaded questions for their unsuspecting victims. I’ve read so much tripe in that section of the newspaper, whether it’s PLP or FNM, it’s not worth considering in my opinion.
licks2 8 years ago
His whole team has another agenda than he does. . .they will site in the house and watch him get slaughtered. . .or they will do it themselves in public!! But what they don't see is that we see a man who is being savaged by the political elite who want things to stay as they are. . .in their economic favor. . .and Minnis is not "for that". . .he for the little man!
Now this may not be the case and he may be a dud as they say. But it sure looks as if the white money people are "ganging" up on him unfairly. . . they have him cornered but he still comes out fighting like a champion. . .A SERVIVOR.
What his distractors fail to realize is that because they have savaged him early in the game in the eyes of the public. . .when the shock of them other names involvements in the bobo and toggie saga comes soon. . .Minnis wounds will be healed. . .those with new wounds which are done so close to an election will have to heal in that critical season!
Boy Doc can take a licking and keeps on ticking! He stays so calm and collected. . .
licks2 8 years ago
NO I EEN BLIND. . .I JUST OLD ENOUGH TO SEE FOOLISHNESS! IF THEDOC IS SO TRIBBLE. . .WHY YOU KEEP TRYING TA TELL WE HOW BAD HE IS? IF HE DAT BAD JUST LEAVE HIM TO HIS OWN DEVICES. . .HE WILL SELF DISTRUCT ALL BY HE LONESOME!
BUT YINNA FAIL TO SEE THAT THE MORE YALL TRY TO TELL US HOW BAD HE IS. . .THE MORE WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT HIM. . .AND THE MORE WE SEE YINNA AS THE PROBLEM! YOU CALL ME BLIND BUT CAN'T SEE YINNA DETRACTORS ARE MAKING HIM STRONGER IN THE SIGHT OF PERSONS WHO COUNT. . .THE EVERYDAY VOTERS!! LOL!
Emac 8 years ago
@Repercussion:" I don't understand how logical thinking Bahamians would associate the oppositions performance or lack thereof solely with Minnis." Sigh...When one vies for public office, one immediately becomes a target for criticism: Some of these criticisms will be fair, others not so fair. The fact is Minnis is the LEADER of the opposition, therefore the buck stops at him. At least according this fake Westminster system we gat going on. The Bahamas is presently in plenty trouble. This is no time for cherry picking. This is no time for weak, indecisive leaders like the present prime minister. We need leaders who are short on talks and big on action, similar to the lady who took it upon herself to raise over 50,000 for the distressed people of Long Island or the man who opened the airwaves so that Bahamians can finally say what's on their mind without fear of victimization. But Bahamians are like a battered woman with low self esteem. They keep getting cut azz from these lousy politicians and they keep coming back for more. SMT!
licks2 8 years ago
YOU SHOULD GO AND CHECK THAT "SUPER WOMAN'S" RECORD AT THE MINISTRIES THAT SHE RAN IN THE PAST. . .THERE WILL BE HER TRUE SKILLS AND ABILITIES. YOU WILL BE SUPRISE WHAT SHE DID AND DID NOT GET DONE!! AND IF SHE WAS THAT GREAT LEADER THEN PRAY TELL WHY PAPA DID NOT PUSH FER SHE TO BE THE FNM LEADER WHEN THE PLP "CRUSHED" THE FNM IN 2012 AND LEFT YINNA BRUSED AND BLOODIED. . .WHEN YINNA NEEDED A PERSON TO HOLD IT TOGETHER AND REBUILD THE PARTY?
HE DID NOT PICK SUPERWOMAN BECAUSE HE KNOW HER PAST ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD. . .NOT HER TALK! LOL!
birdiestrachan 8 years ago
It was wrong when the PLP did it and it is wrong for the FNM to do it Dr: Minnis seems to be a very damaged man and he is hanging on to straws, They should all know better it is about human lives and the grief their loved ones suffer. .. He is not a wise man if he was he would not go down that road.
He should learn from the PLP mistake. It is to late for him now. Power at any cost. will not do,
John 8 years ago
Obie Wilchcombe destroyed his reputation when he assured Bahamians that access to Paradise Beaches will never be denied. Yet weeks later Bahamians are not only locked off the beaches, but some are arrested and charged for trying to gain access to what is rightfully theirs. This government has turned the Bahamas into a backward banana republic where Bahamians no longer have rights. Foreigners are taking control and claiming everything. Look at the Chinese workers doing manual labor in the heart of downtown while Bahamians sit idle, unable to feed their families. Under this government the Chinese have taken over the food, the liquor, the clothing and now the construction industry. Bahamians have less beach access than ever before in the history of this country. More Bahamians are unemployed and have been unemployed longer than ever before in the history of this country. Can you count the number of Bahamian businesses that have closed since 2012? Even many of the family island settlements look like ghost towns. Will the Minnis distraction cause another five years of this?
themessenger 8 years ago
John, after seeing the disgusting condition of the public beaches after the Easter weekend I had to ask myself do Bahamians even deserve beach access. Every public beach, Montague, Long Wharf, Saunders Beach, Orange Hill Beach, Love Beach and Clifton all left piled high with garbage that our slovenly and disgusting people were too lazy to dispose of properly. We complain about the Dump fires when in reality the damned island is a DUMP. Now our government has added mounds of political garbage to supplement the real and Fitzgerald, Mitchell and Miller even supplied the cans. Minnis has already shot himself in both feet and both knees, he just hasn't fallen on his face, sword yet.
proudloudandfnm 8 years ago
Minnis is an empty suit. Time for him to go...
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