The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

JUST a few observations that I have recently made of the political scene in the Bahamas: The PLP is saying to anyone willing to listen that their administration created 22,000 jobs between 2002 and 2007. However, no one in a position to verify this kind of data has confirmed it to be true. In fact, several such persons have denied it, yet the PLP continue at every opportunity to shout out this figure. In this regard, the PLP, which has always had a highly polished public relations machinery, appears to be taking a page right out of the book of Joseph Goebbels, Adolph Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, whose mantra was if you tell the people a lie loud and long enough, eventually they will begin to believe that it is the truth.

Staying on the economic front, the PLP at every rally is boasting about the great job they did with the economy and how everybody had jobs during their term in office, and how because of Urban Renewal 1.0, school policing and the swift justice programme, crime was under control and the Bahamas was simply a great place to live under the very capable leadership of Perry Gladstone Christie and the others.

To all of this I, Mr Thinking Voter, would pose just one pertinent question: Why then does this same Christie-led PLP administration have the dubious distinction of being the only Bahamian government to be unceremoniously voted out of office after just one term? I hope, as thousands of undecided constituents deliberate their voting decisions, someone; anyone from the PLP can sensibly answer this question for them. You never can tell; it just might ensure a PLP victory!

Meanwhile the FNM and "Papa" are having a field day telling us all about the fantastic things they "delivered" for us, most of which are true. But my problem is, I think too much. And my thinking tells me that this party is only telling us what they want us to hear. The reality is while the FNM was delivering roads, airports, docks, ports, the straw market, etc, they were busy "delivering" other things as well.

They were delivering a dictator leader who had no consideration whatsoever for the views of the thousands of Bahamians who were opposed to the sale of BTC. They were delivering an educational system that is an absolute failure. They were delivering a judicial system that is now in a shambles. They were delivering almost an open door to illegal immigrants and allegedly delivering citizenship to thousands of them, which comes with the right to vote, as compared to permanent residency, which does not afford this sacred right. They were delivering no response and no remedy whatsoever to the pressing need to expand the private sector of our economy thereby creating more employment opportunities for thousands of unemployed Bahamians. They were delivering four murder records in five years, zero executions and more murderers out on bail than are locked in jail. They were delivering a botched road improvement project that has been ongoing for years corralling road users on a daily basis in miles of snarled traffic, causing untold frustration as they deal with road closures, diversion and confusion. With the same never-ending road project they were delivering reduced customer traffic, business closures and increased unemployment. They were delivering a $1.5 billion dollar increase to our enormous national debt. And they were delivering a five-year plan that is strictly geared towards getting them re-elected, as compared to a 50-year national development plan for the orderly development of our beloved country.

Now if someone; anyone in the FNM can sensibly convince us that they only delivered the things that they said they "delivered" and not the other things that they also delivered, who knows, that just might ensure an FNM victory!

But until then, I'm making very good friends with the DNA.

WELLY FORBES

Nassau,

April 18, 2012.