“MeThinks Thou Dost Protest Too Much” -William Shakespeare
FLEXI SANDS WRITES FROM GRAND BAHAMA
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is comprised of 700 islands . From Abaco in the north to Inagua in the south, we have a population according to census of 400,000 people dispersed over 28 populated islands.
June, of each year, is budget time. Every Island scrambles for the scarce resources from the public Treasury for these development dollars for each particular Island.
In Grand Bahama, we have five members of parliament, three opposition MP’S and two government MP’S.
The MP for Central Grand Bahama is newly elected FNM Hon. Frazette Gibson. Mrs. Gibson, for many years, was a public school teacher and school administrator in the public school system.
In her maiden budget communication speech to Parliament in June, Mrs. Gibson raised eyebrows when she declared that Grand Bahama does not need another new school hurricane shelter built in East Grand Bahama. ” Wow”.
Today, I publicly reach out to the minister of Education, DPM Chester Cooper to publicly ask that he ignores the MP for Central Grand Bahama’s petty opposition protest rejecting the public utterance for public funds being spent in East Grand Bahama. A seat held by a FNM MP.
Last week, Mrs. Gibson was at it again, this time she was protesting all by herself in front of the Accident and Emergency section of the Rand Memorial Hospital in downtown, Freeport.
The A&E section of the Rand Memorial was closed and relocated to another area of the hospital so that much needed repairs could take place over a 6-week period. Again, I say, wow wow!
Mrs. Gibson, may I remind you, in the run up to the May 12th general elections, your party, the FNM is on the public record as opposing the building of two new hospitals: in Grand Bahama, and, the other, in New Providence.
The FNM, however, is on the record and believe that rehabilitating the Rand Memorial and the Princess Margaret Hospitals is the best way forward. So the question must be asked, why protest the upgrading of the A&E section of the Rand Memorial? Is it not in the public interest to make much needed upgrades?
Mrs. Gibson you are a teacher of some vintage and with a public administrator background shouldn’t we expect critical, well thought out reasoned thinking? Instead of a past teacher opposing a new school; the upgrade of the A&E; and, rejecting Investment dollars being spent on the Island of Grand Bahama.
Mrs. Gibson, you have let Grand Bahama down. The proverbs teach us, in the multitude of counselors there is safety. Your protests are not uplifting, and, we are not safe based on your public utterances.
Felix Sands