The Tribune

FORMER Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, who will enter the House of Assembly as leader of a four-member Opposition, has warned the new government not to “misrepresent or distort” the PLP’s long legacy of governance.

He said, small though it is, under his leadership the Opposition would not “acquiesce” in the new government pursuing “any policies or practices that could hurt vulnerable Bahamians”.

This statement would be amusing if it weren’t so pathetic. Does Mr Davis not know why his party — from being the mighty PLP — has been reduced to a mere shadow? Prime Minister Perry Christie has become the convenient “fall guy” for their loss, but if the PLP were honest with themselves, they would recognise that each one of them should help shoulder the blame. Their policies from the beginning have hurt many “vulnerable Bahamians” who, although Bahamian, were not PLP. Eventually, the hurt of one started to hurt the many until eventually even their own PLP were included in the “vulnerable.” And in the end it was the “vulnerable” – Bahamians who crossed party lines, both FNM and PLP – who rose up on May 10 and gave them the “Order of the Boot”. It is unlikely that the FNM will make the same mistake, but if they do, they too will have to face the people — all Bahamians, regardless of party affiliations.

“Vulnerable Bahamians” were hurt by the words, put into action, that “we only checking for the PLP” or “God gave this country to the PLP.” And when the PLP was the government, if an FNM were found to have a government contract — whether he was doing a good job or not, the contract was taken from him and given to a PLP, not because the PLP could do a better job, but just because “we only checking for the PLP.” The Tribune files are filled with many heartbreaking stories of people who were destroyed by the PLP’s “legacy in governance.”

Today under the FNM we would be surprised if a contract were taken from a Bahamian just because of his or her politics. However, if the Bahamian were not meeting the terms of that contract, in the interest of the country, we would expect that person to lose the contract — not because of his politics, but because of his inability to measure up to the terms of the contract.

The PLP started out by embracing “one man’s dream”, which somehow got derailed in the drug years. Twenty-five years later that dream was over. The “all for me baby” inner circle had become so confident that Sir Lynden himself had to admit in the PLP’s 1992 defeat that his party knew “people were hurting,” that their homes were being sold and parents were taking their children out of school. However, they were so insensitive to what Mr Davis today calls those “vulnerable Bahamians” that Sir Lynden’s PLP “didn’t think that this would have affected them so dramatically in determining what they would do during the election.” Here we are, 25 years later and they still have not learned their lesson. We hope that the FNM has taken note, and will bring an end to this ugly chapter of our history.

The social ills from which we are suffering today are a fall-out from those years. They took root in the drug years when many Bahamians were riding high on the “narco dollar”.

The PLP won the 2012 election on the promise that it had the secret formula to bring crime — in particular murders – under control. Just before that election they put up large billboards — not caring that we are a tourist economy and murders were the last feature one should advertise. The billboards proclaimed that during the FNM’s five-year administration there were more than 490 murders. The PLP won the election. Instead of going down, murders continued to climb. In fact, during this five year administration murders rose to 622 – 54 of which were committed in the first five months of this year. During their 2012 campaign the PLP pointed an accusing finger at the FNM, claiming that it was under the Ingraham administration that crime mushroomed. Of course, a casual glance through Tribune files will show that this was a lie of massive proportions. Crime grew out of the drug era and by 1990 Sir Lynden was at his wit’s end to find a solution. Addressing a mass rally in April 1990 Sir Lynden said that Bahamians had closed the previous year in fear for their lives, personal safety and property.

And going back a little further to October, 1975 when addressing the PLP, Sir Lynden said: “There are certain socio-cultural factors to be borne in mind. The proximity of The Bahamas to the United States mainland and the large number of tourist arrivals have influenced the creation in Bahamians of what may be called a ‘tourist mentality.’

“Some young people are unemployed because they are apathetic, some because they are frustrated and some because they lack any real opportunity to work. Others are ‘dropouts’ from school and have no marketable skills.

“However, the whole Bahamian society must realise that, to a large extent, it is partly to be blamed for the problems facing our youth. Our society, by virtue of the high goals and ideals which it sets, has created certain attitudes which have turned out to be two-edged swords. Bahamian society has said to our youth – and I was one of the members of society who carried the message – ‘you must have an education, a piece of paper; you must have a white-collar job.’ But society did not realise at the time that those who could not get either would become so-called ‘failures’ or ‘drop-outs,’ and so on. Our Bahamian society must now rethink its own value-system and modify it.

“We told them that they were too good to be gardeners,” he said. “Too good to be sanitation men, too good to work with their hands…

“But,” he said, “I didn’t know then what I know now, that any work breeds character. Too many young men lack character today, too many too often shirk responsibility because they have never been held accountable for their actions at home, in school or in society. Therein may lie the heart of the problem.”

Rescuing the young Bahamian man from his “deep descent into the abyss of drugs, crime, idleness and despair,” said Sir Lynden, is the greatest tragedy facing the Bahamian society.

This is the legacy left us by Sir Lynden because he himself did not understand God’s words to man: “By the sweat of your brow you shall till the earth.”

It is now up to the FNM to understand its past, avoid the same pitfalls and rebuild a sound country that will recognise its people as Bahamian - one people. Not PLP, FNM or DNA, but just one people pulling together to build a better life for all.