By Licec Bastian
On the heels of the Progressive Liberal Party celebrating its two-year anniversary as
the ‘New Day’ Government of The Bahamas, Opposition chairman Dr. Duane Sands
slammed Prime Minister Philip Davis and his administration’s governance.
On Sunday, during the PLP’s anniversary service at Mount Tabor Church, Prime
Minister Davis touted his administration’s accomplishments since coming to office in
- He said his administration now has the opportunity to build on the progress it
has made to drive real change throughout the nation; he further contended that “the
way forward is promising”.
Prime Minister Davis said that by raising much needed revenue without adding any
new taxes things would get better in this country. But it has been noted that he has
also had two budgets with the highest expenditure ever, in the history of The
Bahamas.
“And so, two years into this horrible day administration, life for ordinary Bahamians
just keeps getting more and more difficult, and they are tired of this miserable life. So
Mr. Davis, maybe there aren’t any new taxes – I say maybe – but we got a drayload of
levies, tariffs, duties, tolls, excises, contributions, assessments, burdens, loads,
weights, incumbrances, demands and strains that yinna put on the Bahamian people
back since 2021,” Dr. Sands said.
He highlighted the fact that the cost of living has increased – high electricity bills,
(which Bahamas Power and Light’s executives say will soon decline as its has
reached the peak in fuel charges), gas at all service stations above six dollars, driver’s
license up 20 percent, boat registration fees up by 3,000 percent.
“The light bills, electricity, current, gone up by 160 percent, and now you come with
this new promise that the bill will soon come down. You know what the old people
say, a promise is a comfort to a fool. And we expect yinna story to change as oil
prices go up around the world, as they are.
“You see, gasoline and diesel once again about six dollars a gallon. Driver’s license
gone up 20 percent, unless you gatta pull a dinghy to go catch some food for your
family then it’s hundreds of dollars or thousands of dollars to fish commercially.
“What are y’all thinking?
“Boat registration fees up by 3,000 percent, from $25 to $750,” Dr. Sands said.
The Free National Movement Chairman, begged to differ with Prime Minister Davis
contention that “the way forward is promising”. Dr Sands said the PLP has made it
hard for Bahamians to survive.
“Now, before this new day grab, people might have been able to move a little
something from one pile to the next, but everything gone up, everything. It used to be
that you could [have] shift a couple dollars from the mortgage to the light bill, but
now ya’ll have Inland Revenue raiding people’s bank accounts and taking out their
money first, so when they go to pay school fees money gone.
“House insurance, if you could still get it, up by nine percent, health insurance with
VAT, up, food costs up, gas and diesel higher now than in 2021 and climbing, again.
“The Consumer Price Index, yinna official numbers say it’s up by 10 percent from
2021,” Dr. Sands said. He also noted that while there has been an increase in
minimum wage Bahamians are still suffering.
“So, whether you making $260 [per] week or $460 [per] week or $660 [per] week,
this administration has made it hard to survive.
“Yes, we are tired of this miserable life, and at the same time, ministers and their
entourage spending money left, right and center, and the prime minister? Well, he
gone again.
“And so, on this anniversary two years in, it is them, the PLP administration living
high on the hog and everybody else paying for it.
“The new day is not a better day; but hold on, unstoppable change is coming,” Dr.
Sands said.
