I believe the Free National Movement was right to demand that the proper regulatory and legislative frameworks be in place before the Progressive Liberal Party administration allows Bahamas Petroleum Company to engage in oil exploration in our waters.
Instead of keeping its pre-election promise to hold a referendum on oil drilling before any drilling is conducted, the Progressive Liberal Party has given BPC the green light to drill.
If, God forbid, there is an industrial mishap such as an oil spill similar to the massive British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, that would kill our tourism and fishing industries.
Thousands and thousands of Bahamians who eke out a living in these industries will go to their graves denouncing the Progressive Liberal Party and all that it stands for.
Undoubtedly, such a catastrophic disaster will sound the death knell for the nation’s oldest political organization as a viable political option in this country.
The prospect of an oil spill is not my main concern, however.
Like many like-minded Bahamians, I am curious to know if any of the Progressive Liberal Party’s senior supporters, officials and special interest groups have any ties with Bahamas Petroleum Company.
There should be a full disclosure in this regard.
It is in the public domain that Prime Minister Perry Christie, Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis and Senator Jerome Gomez were all connected to the oil industry before the general election.
Knowing the history of this party, I don’t trust the Progressive Liberal Party being in government in the event of an oil bonanza.
I believe that if oil is discovered, the party will place its senior officials in strategic positions in order to reap most of the financial benefits of the lucrative oil industry.
The Progressive Liberal Party is only about its elite group of supporters.
This party does not care about its voters who live in squalor in constituencies in Nassau and the Family Islands such as Rum Cay, San Salvador, Cat Island and Andros.
If oil is discovered, every Bahamian should benefit, not just elite PLPs.
In Saudi Arabia several years ago, for example, King Abdullah ordered that $10.7 billion be pumped into the country’s development fund, which provides interest-free loans to Saudis to build homes, get married and start businesses.
Saudis are also given free health care and free college education.
If oil is discovered, every Bahamian student should be given a free college or university education and every Bahamian should be given free health care.
Moreover, every Bahamian should be given a piece of property and a financial grant to build a home and to start a business.
If there is oil in our waters, it belongs to every Bahamian not just the PLP elite.
By: The Whistleblower
