The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has only been in office for two months, but former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said party members are already at odds with each other.
Speaking to members of the media during a press conference after he tendered his resignation from parliament, Mr. Ingraham said while many people might criticise his style of leadership, unlike, Prime Minister Perry Christie, he ran “a disciplined ship.”
“Every Tom, Dick and Harry didn’t have his own policy; everybody didn’t have to announce that he’s going to do this or that. The deputy prime minister doesn’t go to Grand Bahama and announce that [he is] going to take the building of the Public Hospital Authority for the expansion of the Rand Hospital,” he said.
“The prime minister (went) down a couple of days later and said they changed their mind about that they are doing to make it administration offices. Leslie Miller makes an announcement about what he’s going to do, then the minister comes behind and says something different. The prime minister makes a comment about gambling, his parliamentary secretary comes back the same day, same newscast and says something different and it goes on and on.”
Over the past several months a number of PLP ministers, ministers of state and board leaders were raked over the coals for conflicting stories on certain topics.
Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) Leslie Miller recently went on the record and announced that the corporation was not going to consider increasing the pay scale for BEC workers, but days later Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis announced that that was not the government’s position.
Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Public Works and Urban Development Renward Wells also stated his position on gambling and said he sees no problem with Bahamians being able to take the practice in the casinos. Days later the prime minister made it clear that if the gambling referendum is passed Bahamians would not be allowed to do so.
However, the former Ingraham administration had its own fair share of discord.
Former State Minister for Immigration Branville McCartney made certain pronouncements about the Department of Immigration’s policies, which were later corrected by the substantive minister, Brent Symonette.
Mr. Ingraham then had to step in to set the record straight.
The former prime minister yesterday responded to criticisms that he has a dictator.
“They called me many things,” Mr. Ingraham added. “Those who know me know better. For a dictator to give so much freedom and for you to be working where you’re working that’s not the action of a dictator.”
