Nassau, Bahamas - The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) is incredulously disappointed in the Christie administration, which, as failed negotiations with Cable and Wireless further proves, continues to show no real plan for governance.
Many Bahamians voted for the Progressive Liberal Party on the premise that Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) ownership would be returned to them. They deserve an apology—one from the former Prime Minister for selling the corporation in the first place and one from the current Prime Minister for selling such a far-fetched dream.
“Bahamians are no fools. They are no longer comforted by promises that lack projection or feasible solutions. We deserve better. We deserve more. We deserve a government that can close the deal,” said Mr. McCartney.Since the deal with BTC and Cable and Wireless took effect, Prime Minister Perry Christie blindly assured Bahamians that his Party could return to them majority stake. However, according to a recent announcement, that did not happen. “This is not surprising news” says DNA party leader Branville McCartney “as, like many of their other initiatives, ending in complete and utter failure. Whether it’s the promise of 10,000 jobs; the mortgage relief plan that provided no relief to anyone; the gaming referendum debacle or the proposed economy destroying VAT plan, this government string of failures in less than two years is the only record breaking thing they’ve done, unmatched by any government in our past.”
The past government sold BTC under such clauses that were indefinitely irreversible. However, the Christie government has proved that they and the former Ingraham Administration are two sides of the same coin. They both seem to believe that government ownership of 49% equates to majority ownership.“While we appreciate that BTC has pledged to give a little more in charitable donations, 2% is not a huge break considering that BTC is already a major sponsor of most national events and initiatives,” said Mr. McCartney.The DNA is demanding that the government, or BTC, share with the public the value of what has been given to charitable organizations in 2013 and the value of the 2% promised.
The Government is searching for answers in the darkness, wasting time and taxpayer dollars on schemes that result in no wins for the Bahamian people. Crime worsens, unemployment rises and regrets soar, as admitted by Mr. Christie, himself.
Perhaps now Mr. Christie can use his time and resources to plot rational plans to combat crime, create jobs, relieve homeowners and business owners, and explore reasonable tax alternatives. He owes taxpayers that much. As of this day, the Christie administration is known as the government that makes promises that they can not keep.
