History continues to repeat itself for members of this PLP Administration who, yet again, have failed to recognize and address blatant conflicts of interests and abuse of power created by the culture of nepotism which has been allowed to develop in all aspects of governance. So central to the PLP is this culture of nepotism, that the Prime Minister himself seems unable to recognize the obvious conflicts of interests and/or abuse of power; the most recent involving Chief Value Added Tax (VAT) Coordinator Ishmael Lightbourne.

During his wrap up of the mid-year budget debate, the Prime Minister attempted to justify his actions, portraying himself as a man simply trying to help a friend.

According to the Prime Minister’s own account, he placed a personal call to the General Manager of a private banking institution to inquire about the financial status of his friend and made arrangements to ensure that his friend would not lose his home.

In the days following, the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) watched as a slew of government ministers rose to their feet in Parliament to defend the Prime Minister’s actions; calling him a ‘Good Samaritan’. The only thing apparent from the Prime Minister’s story though, was that he abused his position as the country’s top executive to call in a favor for his buddy.

The inappropriateness of the Prime Minister’s actions is only further highlighted by the fact that thousands of Bahamians continue to lose their homes but do not have the luxury of the Prime Minister’s friendship to secure that same level of intervention on their behalf.

Did this very administration not campaign and win on the promise that they would prevent hard working men and women from losing their homes? Perhaps their promises should have included a disclaimer: “ ONLY FRIENDS OF THE PRIME MINISTER NEED APPLY”.

Unfortunately for those Bahamians who trusted in the PLP’s promise of mortgage relief, the plan proved to be an epic failure! Just one of many initiatives added to this administration’s long list of broken promises.

While I can appreciate the Prime Minister’s desire to help his friend, his pledge to serve the interests of ALL BAHAMIANS must, in ALL CASES trump his personal inclinations. As leader of the country and the substantive Minister of Finance, the Prime Minister had to be aware that any request which he made of that financial institution would carry significant weight. For the Prime Minister to feign ignorance of this fact is disingenuous and insults the collective intelligence of the voting public.

Who, if anyone however is intervening on behalf of that single mother who has been evicted from her home because she was unable to meet bank payments? Who is intervening on behalf of the countless struggling families who have been forced to move in with friends or other family members just to keep a roof over their heads?

Mr. Lightbourne’s inability to meet his own financial obligations should serve as further proof to this government that the implementation of new taxes in this difficult economic climate is not the answer. The DNA contends that if Lightbourne – who is arguably in a better financial position than the average working Bahamian – could not pay his real property taxes, it will be even more difficult for already struggling families to do so.

Rather than continuing to encourage this culture of nepotism, the government must now move to create an economic and social environment that benefits the majority interest and not just those of their friends, family members or political cronies.

In the real world, a Prime Minister who admitted to such conflict and/or abuse of power would have been asked to resign the minute those words were uttered from his mouth!