Last Week

Michael Pintard should have known two things when he agreed to go on the talk show hosted by Zhivargo Laing on Guardian Radio last week. First he should have known that he was walking into a trap set by Hubert Ingraham, since it is well known that Mr. Laing is Mr. Ingraham’s ally and protégé.  Secondly, when asked the question about Hubert Ingraham’s intemperate remarks calling for his replacement as leader, Mr. Pintard should have punted the answer and avoided any comment on it at all. His personality though caused him to make a fundamental misstep by slapping Hubert Ingraham back in the face. Now the glove has been thrown down. We are grabbing the popcorn to see what comes next. Here is Mr. Pintard’s answer as reported in The Tribune:

“Had I been the former leader who’s won multiple times, who understands the dynamics of politics,” Mr Pintard said. “At a ceremony that celebrates me and celebrate what the team has accomplished, I would know and I would not make those comments in that setting.”

 “I will make the determination of what I do next,” he said. “But while I am here, the hell with what The Tribune talking about or what the Guardian talking about in terms of lame duck and what’s not. My head is unbowed, save and except when I pray to God. I am a soldier for the Bahamian people.”

 “I am more committed to the success of The Bahamas than I am to the FNM. I’m more committed to the FNM’s success than I am to my personal advancement. That’s the kind of person I am, and I’ve demonstrated it over time.”

Zhivargo Laing, the talk show host, former MP and minister, is now said to be the object of the speculation that Hubert Ingraham has a new plan for the FNM. The plan is to replace Michael Pintard with Zhivargo Laing. Mr. Laing we thought had given up FNM politics and was being studiously neutral but the talk is the appetite is back. So the plan is this: Kwasi Thompson as interim Leader, with Mad Max from Long Island as his Deputy. He will then appoint Zhivargo Laing as leader in the Senate and Mr. Laing will lead the party from there after Michael Pintard is forced out by a visit to the Governor General. Treachery is afoot and only Hubert Ingraham could dream up such a tortuous and silly plot.

Fred Mitchell, Chairman of the PLP, in a voice note to PLPs last week on Friday 28^th August 2026 about the dysfunctions of young black males in the country and the disturbance of the peace by a shocking use of automatic weapons in a residential neighbourhood of Fox Hill:

Mrs. Thelma Dill was 84 years old when she passed away last week.

She lived a life of quiet enjoyment, first on Armbrister Street and then Reeves Street in Fox Hill. But on the same day of her death, video footage now reveals a scene like one of those movies: “Boys N The Hood, Four skinny black men, hooded, jumped out of a car, and with automatic weapons. 

Without looking to see who was there, they sprayed a yard with another group of skinny black men playing dominoes. Fortunately, the objects scrambled 

They were hit by bullets. They did not die. We still have the shock of this kind of behaviour and crime, and it appears that we are at a loss as to how to stop it, although stopping it we must. 

The importance of the expression “skinny black men” is that this is the prototype young male of African descent that is failing throughout the society and resorting to killing, injuring and maiming one another, and the society is losing productive capacity in the process. I’ve been on a crusade about this male dysfunction since 1986 and my return from law school, we just don’t seem to get the formula. 

My suggestions have included and still include: the present social interventions like urban renewal, skills and morals training, and military like coercion, including mandatory protective orders for those in obvious dysfunction. It is that serious.

The government and its Ministry of Finance could not have picked a worse time to rollout what it called One Tax Bahamas. It came off like an FNM slogan, invented in the office of Michael Pintard.  The idea was well intentioned and in a later press statement, the Government explained that it was announced three years ago in the Prime Minister’s budget statement and will replace all the different numbers you have to get in order to go into business and access government services, by one number.  They chose the wrong person to do so.  The head of the revenue service is not well liked by the business community, so it felt like a dull thud.  By week’s end, the communications’ people at the OPM sought to fix it but in the middle of the bad press over the power failures, it could not have been a worse moment for yet another inartful launch and the misunderstanding over public policy. The public is already fed up and in a foul mood.  Fortunately, there are 56 months to go before another election. We should not be making these mistakes.

The Bahamas government must not hide its energy minister under a bushel.  The fact is she is not to blame for what is happening with the Bahamas Power and Light Company.  What obtains today are legacy issues that have nothing to do with her.  She is in fact the author of seeking to fix the problems.  In that fact, she ought to become the spokesman for the government on the matter and patiently explain to people that the matter is under repair and that a solution or solutions are underway. Every week you have Michael Pintard, the hapless and hopeless Leader of the Opposition, calling for her resignation.  This is a man himself who needs to leave his office for failing his party three times in a row but won’t leave, calling for others to resign. 

File photo of earlier greeting of King Charles with Prime Minister Philip Davis

No doubt all the bleeding heart monarchists will be in their thrall falling all over themselves as the British couple Charles and Camilla, the King of The Bahamas, visits his people in The Bahamas. This is a joke for a country that is so remote and has no connection to the British except this historical tie, that is owed reparations for slavery, yet we are all going to run down to the airport to greet the  so called King of The Bahamas. What a bloody disgrace. But there it is.  Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell when asked about the King’s visit to The Bahamas announced for mid-October this year, the first since he became king, when asked about the visit and how much it was going to cost, recorded this exchange with reporters of The Tribune on 26 August 2026: “Well, he is your king,” he said. “You should be happy. He’s coming to see you.

 “There’s no bill for our king,” he added. “Nothing too good for the king.”

Fred Mitchell, Chairman of the PLP, held a press conference on 26 August 2026 to mark the 26^th anniversary of the death of Sir Lynden O Pindling. The press took the time to ask other questions, one of which was about the immigration situation in the country. The Tribune reported as follows on 27 August 2026:

THE United States deported 140 Bahamians between January and August as President Donald Trump’s administration intensified immigration enforcement, with January and March recording the highest monthly returns.

Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell disclosed the figure yesterday while responding to questions about the large-scale deportation operations being carried out in the United States.

Thirty Bahamians were deported in January, followed by 14 in February, 30 in March, 18 in April, 14 in May, 14 in June, two in July and 18 so far in August.

The eight monthly figures total 140.

Despite the pace of removals, Mr Mitchell rejected suggestions that the Trump administration’s immigration policies would have wider consequences for The Bahamas.

 “What the US does with their immigration policy is their business,” Mr Mitchell said, “but has no impact on us.”

He also said people being deported to The Bahamas must first be confirmed as Bahamian citizens before they are accepted.

The figures show deportations fluctuated sharply over the eight-month period, with January and March each accounting for 30 returns and July falling to just two before rising again in August.