A REALITY CHECK FOR THE PLP – By Brian Seymour

viagra usa viagra times;”>In approximately nineteen (19) months, cialis sales treat or in the second quarter of 2017, the Bahamian people will be asked to judge the PLP. At that time, they will take under consideration whether or not the PLP have been good stewards in running the government of this country. 

Today I would like to challenge the PLP and borrow a quote from the Reverend Jesse Jackson as he spoke to the Democratic National Convention many years ago. At the time he warned the President Jimmy Carter. He said “you can save the cotton, but you have to take care of the bo weevil.” His advice was ignored, and as they say, the rest is history. This admonition seems appropriate today for the PLP. It is a wake-up call or a reality check. It is a call to come down out of the clouds and plant their feet firmly on the ground. The PLP has not been as diligent as it should be to its core values and its political base. These values, we wonder, if they are still relevant to today’s PLP; is it a realistic goal to wipe away every tear, or to look out for the least of these among us; and to champion the cause for the ordinary man, i.e., the hotel worker, taxi driver, and the straw vendor. These lofty values it, would appear, have now become platitudes of the past. Some of the traditional supporters have now wandered into perceived greener pastures because of the lack of attention to core values. 

The ship is off course and headed for the reef. The party largely responsible for universal adult suffrage, majority rule, and independence seems to have lost its soul. Its legislative agenda tells the story. It seems to be driven by external forces for their benefit while the hotel worker’s rights are being trampled, clearing banks are charging five dollars to cash their own cheques; and most troubling, in most recent times, beach access have been curtailed or cut off from the average citizen who had enjoyed these rights for decades. The response of the PLP should have been swift and immediate. Instead we see, our leaders burying their heads in the sand, or vacillating to the interest of the common man. Wisdom requires evasive action from the leadership. The leadership of the party inclusive of all Parliamentary members and Executive Officers should as a matter of urgency meet in conclave. Things need to be set straight, and set straight now. If they wait until the party’s November convention, that will only serve as an opportunity to celebrate deluding themselves that all is well. This will, however, mark the beginning of the end for the present administration. These are the unvarnished facts. A great lesson should be learned from the inactions of the former administration where well-meaning and competent Ministers were all sent packing because they ignored the facts on the ground. 

Finally, in borrowing a word from the Book of 2 Kings, voicing the admonition of the lepers: “If we stay here, and do nothing, we will surely die.” 

Brian Seymour