Dear Editor,
Would you please allow me to comment on a very interesting letter that was published in the February 1 edition of The Nassau Guardian. The letter is entitled "Recycling of bad candidates" and it was written by the prolific writer Dehavilland Moss.
Let me state from the outset that I consider Moss to be one of the best writers in the country. I always look forward to reading his insightful contributions to the dailies. In this particular letter, Moss listed several Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and Free National Movement (FNM) Members of Parliament who he feels should not have been renominated this time around. Moss was correct when he stated that Bahamians have become dissatisfied with Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's current slate of Cabinet ministers and backbenchers. As most Bahamians should know by now, Ingraham and the leadership of the FNM have ratified 17 new candidates. Obviously Ingraham desires to present an attractive, youthful slate of candidates to the Bahamian electorate.
With the high caliber of candidates that the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) and the PLP have nominated to run in the general election, Ingraham had virtually no other choice but to bring in fresh faces. It was either that or a blowout defeat at the polls. Moss commended Ingraham for this shrewd political move.
However, he then expresses amazement that Ingraham had "recycled" or ratified several "bad candidates". I take it that Moss considers Loretta Butler-Turner (Montagu), Desmond Bannister (Carmichael) and Zhivargo Laing (Marco City) to be either bad representatives or bad Cabinet ministers. All three of them are in the Cabinet. Moreover, all three of them have been moved to other constituencies. According to Moss, the fact that they are running in different areas speaks volumes to the way voters feel about them. I understand that Bannister has been moved to North Andros and The Berry Islands and Turner to Long Island. Laing has been moved to Fort Charlotte. With respect to Bannister and Turner, I cannot vouch for either of them. I don't know why the leadership of the FNM has decided to run them in different areas. Perhaps it has something to do with the mood of the voters in the capital. I live in Freeport. In fact I live in the constituency of Marco City.
Laing has been my MP for the past four-plus years; and he has done a remarkable job, despite the myriad challenges Grand Bahama continues to face. Despite the fact that he will not be running in Marco City in the upcoming election, Laing continues to meet his constituents at his office in the East Sunrise Shopping Centre in Freeport. Even though he is leaving Marco City for Fort Charlotte, he is still loyal to his current constituents. I think that says a lot about the man and his character. To his credit, Laing held his annual Christmas party this past December; and he has given away thousands of dollars worth of scholarships to several Grand Bahamian young people each year he has been MP for Marco City.
Laing has even given away money out of his own pocket to help struggling Grand Bahamians and he has assisted many senior citizens in the community. Moss needs to know this. Laing has done virtually everything Bahamians expect their representatives to do. What more could he have done? I consider Laing to be one of the best MPs in this country.
In fact I would place him in the top five out of the 41 Members of Parliament. I would even go as far as saying that Laing is prime minister material. Laing has performed well in Marco City despite the fact that he has been moved to another area. But perhaps Moss believes Laing should not have been renominated because of his performance as minister of state for finance. He did say that "many of these candidates have not performed well in their constituencies or as ministers".
Moss mentions the MonaVie incident that Laing was involved with a few years back. He also mentioned the financial downgrades by Moody's and Standard and Poor's. I think Laing's opponents have made a mountain out of a molehill with the MonaVie incident. If you were to compare that to what was alleged to have went on in the former Christie and Pindling administrations, Laing would come out looking like St. John of the Cross.
Regarding the financial downgrades, why should Laing not be renominated by the FNM? Even if I were to concede that Moss is right about Laing not performing well in the Cabinet, why should the leadership of the governing party or the voters punish him for that? I think the voters should judge him based on his merits as an MP. Mind you, Laing is only a junior minister. What I find interesting about Moss' observations are that he says nothing about the substantive minister of finance, Ingraham, and his performance in that ministry. Should Ingraham also not be renominated, Moss? With all due respect, Moss' logic is as solid as an overripe banana.
True, Ingraham and his Cabinet have borrowed a lot of money in the past four-plus years. But this was done in order to invest in several much needed infrastructure upgrades in New Providence. This was also an attempt by the Ingraham administration to stimulate the sagging economy by creating jobs for hundreds of unemployed Bahamians. However, with declining government revenues and a shrinking global economy, the downgrades were inevitable. Even the mighty U.S. suffered two financial downgrades by Moody's and Standard and Poor's last year.
Yet Moss wants Ingraham to throw an innocent man under the bus. It is unfortunate that our economy has been downgraded, but why should only Laing be left holding the bag? What happened last year was in the making since majority rule. Before majority rule the treasury had a surplus. Governments since then have engaged in deficit spending.
In closing, I believe Moss is thinking that Laing has been relocated to a different constituency because the voters in Grand Bahama don't like him. I will admit that this appears to be the case. But this was due to the aggressive public relations machine of the PLP and several other political opponents who are determined to destroy his career. These people kept repeating the distortions that he has neglected Marco City and that he has badly mismanaged the economy. Eventually enough people started believing them and the rest is history, so to speak. As fallen creatures, we love to believe the worst about people. This campaign to ruin Laing went on for years. In the end it was just too much for the FNM to overcome in Grand Bahama. Many disgruntled voters in Grand Bahama have been drinking the Kool-Aid of Laing's detractors for the past three-plus years. That is why he was moved to New Providence. Now, however, Moss and others want to continue slinging mud at the man.
As far as I am concerned, Laing should not have been included in Moss' list of recycled bad candidates. He is not a bad candidate. If I lived in Fort Charlotte, I would be excited about having Laing as my future MP.
- Kevin Evans
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
