The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I am writing because I have concerns with how things are going in this land as a Bahamian who voted FNM.

Firstly, most of the FNM ministers I see on TV seem to give off an arrogant attitude.

The minister of education who before he became minister and spoke at schools used to say that he was for teachers. Now that he is minister he will not allow teachers to meet with their union on the school campus. In addition, I am sure that he is aware of the need for discipline in our schools, but he says that corporal punishment should be a last resort. He once led the YEAST school so why hasn’t he presented a plan for better discipline in the schools and why has he not held a meeting with all teachers to hear their concerns?

The minister of National Security has yet to condemn the abuse of prisoners in police custody. I understand that some force may be needed to apprehend a suspect but why are suspects being abused by so-called detectives and being forced to confess to crimes. This has been going on for years and I have yet to hear one minister condemn it. Is it ok to batter an individual because he or she is known to police and has been charged with a crime before? How do you know that the person is guilty of the present crime without evidence? Are there no strategies that they can use to solve a crime without beating people and putting bags over their head? Does the minister of National Security or Prime Minister see nothing wrong with this?

Why is it that the minister of finance is constantly borrowing money when before he became minister he spoke against the borrowing of the PLP? Why isn’t a portion of the VAT being used to pay down our debt every year? Wasn’t VAT introduced to help pay down debt? So we are spending all of the VAT money and still borrowing more money so how will the debt be reduced? Why is the minister of finance or the FNM government happy to lay off civil servants in the name of reducing expenditure, but still borrowing a lot of money?

Why are calls to 916 being answered in Jamaica? Is it the people’s time? Couldn’t those jobs been given to Bahamians? Why is the government allowing this?

Why did the Prime Minster allow this OBAN deal without first investigating its effects on our precious waters? Does he not care? So many Bahamians make their living from the water. Why would he allow drilling in an area that environmentalists say will endanger our waters and eco system? Is the Prime Minister seeking advice from former Prime Minister The Honourable Hubert Ingraham because he is a very wise man and can help him make better decisions. Is the Prime Minister remaining humble enough to seek advice or has he become arrogant?

Why hasn’t the minister of immigration totally changed our laws so that Haitians no longer have the right to apply for citizenship at 18? It is for this reason they keep coming here and having a bunch of children so that they can apply at 18. This must be stopped!

Why is the cost of living so high in The Bahamas? The present government is doing nothing about it. In our food stores items that have “Export Only” on them are being sold for the price of organic quality food. Why isn’t the government meeting with the owners of these food stores and demanding that they offer better prices to the Bahamian people? We are right next to Florida so why is it so expensive to import the food which we cannot produce ourselves?

This must change! The government must understand how expensive it is for the average Bahamian to buy basic food items. How are things better? Why are six lamb chops being sold for $17.00 in the food store? Why are store owners being allowed to bring in low quality “Export Only” food so that they can make a killing at the cost of the health of the Bahamian people? Why hasn’t an unannounced inspection been made on all Chinese restaurants to see if they are really selling dog and cat meat to Bahamians? Why are Chinese nationals being allowed to open up stores all over this island when Bahamians should be first? Why are so many Chinese being given citizenship?

Why have animal cruelty laws not been upheld and strengthened in The Bahamas? In Florida and the US in general people are thoroughly investigated and given jail time for abusing any animal. Police officers and firemen often go to help animals in distress. Why isn’t animal cruelty taken seriously in The Bahamas? We all know that serial killers start off by abusing animals and we all know that animals have feelings too. Does ANY one in the FNM government care about this?

Finally why wasn’t a decision made to cancel carnival. This is not our culture. It is degrading and nasty and unnecessary. Let’s build up and invest in Junkanoo which is our own and cancel this foolishness.

God allowed the FNM to win. He is watching and so are the FNM voters. The above mentioned concerns must be addressed intentionally.

These things matter. We the people need concrete evidence that this government is working on issues that matter to the Bahamian people and not just talking about the wrong the PLP did in parliament. The question is what is the FNM doing?

CONCERNED VOTER

Nassau,

March 24, 2018.