The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

The PLP has been in panic mode ever since the beginning of investigations into alleged corrupt practices on their watch.

No matter how much they complain, the stench of corruption in their administration is as strong as the fumes from a fleet of honey wagons overflowing and filled to capacity.

The PLP are screaming and hollering about “witch hunt … slave-shaming” and other such nonsense, as if certain PLPs should be above the law and immune from our system of justice.

The desperate objective, of course, has been to pressure the relevant authorities into abandoning the investigations and any charges that may result. They really are the party of entitlement.

Having failed so far to intimidate the authorities and to convince the public of the merit of their cause, the PLP descended into utter and shameless absurdity last week.

As Urban Renewal Deputy Director Michelle Reckley and several others were brought before the court on fraud charges, Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis led his colleagues out of the House of Assembly.

He announced a boycott of Parliament against “the tyrannical attitudes and practices” of the Government. Really!?

This coming from the leader of the party which gave us the cult of personality under Sir Lynden Pindling, the party that viciously victimized so many Bahamians, the same party which tyrannically controlled the broadcast media for a quarter century? Well mudda sic.

Mr. Davis, a lackluster leader with considerable political baggage and with some colleagues breathing down his neck, has been struggling to make his presence felt in a party more used to leaders with at least a smidgen of charisma.

His communications and pronouncements continually fall flat. In announcing the boycott, his excessive language and attempt at political theatre was so flat that it was laughable. Nobody is impressed.

With the Opposition’s team in the Senate following Mr. Davis in this folly, the country is left without a fully functioning parliamentary opposition.

That is an irresponsible thing to do. It is a clear dereliction of duty with no end game in sight.

To walk out of parliament for a sitting is one thing; even so there must be a good reason.

But to announce an open-ended boycott will have but one result: they will eventually have to make an embarrassing crawl back at some point with nothing having been achieved.

Because the PLP is floundering and failing badly to achieving traction they are resorting to gimmicks and stunts to boost their political stock.

They are coming across as self-pitying entitled whiners and complainers more interested in getting back into power than offering ideas for the good of the country.

The arrest and arraignment of Ms. Reckley and others must have shaken the PLP establishment to its roots as they descended further into the theatre of political absurdity. What are they afraid of?

Former Prime Minister Perry Christie and Mrs. Christie led a cheering contingent of PLPs in an unprecedented show of support for persons being arraigned in court.

The public does not have to be told what the message is here. It is as clear as day – and quite unfortunate for the country.

The authorities responsible for the investigation of alleged offences and those entrusted with the administration of justice in these cases should not be intimidated by the antics of a failed political party.

In order for Bahamians to have confidence in their system of government, all credible allegations and suspicions of public corruption must be vigorously investigated.

Where sufficient evidence of malfeasance is found, those reasonably suspected should be prosecuted – regardless of who they are, including PLPs and their supporters.

Because the PLP has typically not played by the rules of good governance, certain members who may have run afoul of the rules will now have to heed the rule of law, of which we should all be accountable.

OBSERVER

Nassau,

February 18, 2019.