Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Fred Mitchell said the Free National Movement should take a good look at itself before lecturing the PLP about governance, as Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis should find a remedy to bring healing to the many unresolved national issues.
“Dr. Minnis who purported to have all of the solutions while in opposition, physician, heal thyself,” Mr. Mitchell said yesterday while blasting the prime minister.
Last Friday, during the Torchbearers Youth Association’s Convention, Dr. Minnis lectured the PLP on other issues including democracy and vision.
In his address, the prime minister said the PLP only seeks power to enrich itself and the FNM is continuing to confront the culture of corruption.
Dr. Minnis said, “Though previous governments, including the last PLP government, promised to reduce crime and murder, it is this FNM administration that has reduced crime over the last two years, but we still have more work to do to make The Bahamas safer and to secure a better future for all. The pain and suffering of the victims of crime must continue to propel us all to relentlessly and aggressively combat crime and violence.”
Mitchell, who wasted no time responding to the prime minister, suggested that Dr. Minnis “try to keep the lights on” and “take a good look in the mirror” before advising the PLP.
The PLP chairman also pointed out the national challenges he said was “poorly handled” by the Minnis administration.
“The prime minister whose fake youth convention couldn’t fill the hall, the prime minister who could not be heard by 50 percent of the population because BPL had us all plunged into darkness, the prime minister in a country where more people are unemployed than when he came to office, the prime minister where the hospital has no beds, no medicine and where elective surgery had to be canceled,” Mr. Mitchell replied.
“The prime minister, who raised taxes on the Bahamian people by 60 percent after coming to office and (after) saying he would do the opposite, the prime minister whose government will cost us $17 million in penalties for cancelling a contract to get a post office and then turns around and gives a contract to his minister together in aggregate, $53 million in public monies (to companies owned by the minister and his family).
“A prime minister who promised free University of The Bahamas education which was free already, a prime minister who presided over a fake signing ceremony for Oban and it wasn’t until The Guardian found him out that he fessed up, a prime minister that cannot dismiss two rogue public servants who are clearly unfit for office because of their racist and abusive language and conduct.
“A prime minister who has the distinction of being dismissed by his parliamentary colleagues as leader of the opposition and in the process being denounced as someone whose word cannot he trusted, a prime minister whose ministers have been judicially condemned for their role in a case against Frank Smith.”
Mr. Mitchell also called on the prime minister to “stop talking, fix the problems confronting us, and govern the country”.
