It is not usual that I find the need to respond to a malicious and patently untrue piece of writing by those who deem themselves competent to publish pieces on a regular basis. However, after a read of Dr. Percentie’s masterpiece I felt almost constrained to immediately tender a rebuttal.
The beauty of our democracy is that all Bahamians have the constitutional privilege and right to enjoy the imparting of their ideas and opinions. Some may argue that the law does not even prescribe for the manner in which the opinion must suffice a particular degree of truth and accuracy. There are those, who rather wisely, will also urge us to note that the right and freedom to impart and engage in public discourse comes at a high price of balancing the right of justice to be fair, honest and unbiased.
I prescribe to the view that such a freedom must be enjoyed without any limitation save the right to respect the views and opinions of others and not to damage one’s reputation and character.
I start off with this statement because I truly believe that it is essential for an acceptable level of honesty in public discussions and certainly on political and economic matters. It makes no sense and achieve very little, in my opinion, for one to engage in an exercise of half-truths and bogus lies.
The letter writer in this instance is guilty of several sinful editorial behaviours. Dr. Percentie credits to me matters that I certainly do not hold and did not state. But nonetheless, that is the price for such a public role. And more importantly, he is mixing apples and oranges and confusing the barrels all at the same time so that one
fails to appreciate the very essence of the matter that he is seeking to debate. But, be that as it may, one still must set the record straight through all of the layers of inaccuracies.
It is simply dishonest to suggest that the PLP government has been embarked in a campaign of misrepresentation of the facts. Nothing could be more further from the truth. This government has been honest and upfront with the people on the state of the economy and has taken great pains to explain to the people the state of the local economy. The hard decisions that had to be made after May 2 may be difficult for some to swallow but the reality speaks to an economy that was in shambles. Just remember the US$125 million facility that had been negotiated by the FNM prior to being bounced out of office. Why was this necessary if the economy was performing well and was showing signs of positive growth? Maybe Dr. Percentie will explain this the next time he picks up the pen.
On a close and unbiased read of the Prime Minister’s budget communication, one will note that the government decided to create some progressive measures to protect the socially disadvantaged notwithstanding the state of the economy. This must be recognized to be a fulfillment of the campaign pledge to rescue the disadvantaged in our nation. Or perhaps, you would prefer, our sub-slogans of bringing help and hope. Well, these have now been delivered in some respects.
Just look at the record number of unions that have signed industrial agreements since the PLP came to power. The Water & Sewerage Union, the recognition of the Nurses Union, the settlement of the Bacardi dispute, the signing by the Morton salt union and the list goes on. There is no fair-minded person who can say that the PLP has not been labour friendly. It is a wonderful contrast with the previous administration that constantly showed no respect for Labour leaders.
The Educational Loan guarantee programme has been one of the clearest examples of gross incompetence by the FNM. In fact, if the PLP had failed to move to address the problems that had been created by the FNM, the scheme would have been in jeopardy of bankruptcy and many Bahamian students would have faced the embarrassment of having to drop out of university and some would not have been afforded an opportunity to attend universities or colleges abroad. The facts are such that they cannot be changed no matter how hard some may try to distort them.
As the national chairman of the PLP, I am fully satisfied that the PLP has been fair and honest in its public utterances. The truth has been the beacon by which we seek to inform the public on matters of national importance. Dr. Percentie will do well to follow our example in this regard.
Finally, I hold no position at the Broadcasting Corporation. The Minister with responsibility for the Corporation had invited me to serve as chairman of the Broadcasting Regulatory Authority, a position which I refused when I was duly elected as the national chairman of the PLP. Simply, I thought that it would have been out of character and inappropriate to serve in the two positions
simultaneously. It is really important for Dr. Percentie to verify his facts before he puts pen to paper the next time.
I trust that this assists him in gaining a full and unbiased understanding of the issues. Public opinion must be fuelled and shaped by honest dialogue and not merely by those who are always prepared to intentionally twist the facts to suit their political persuasion.
By Raynard Rigby
Chairman, PLP
Letter To The Editor, The Nassau Guardian
