By Blox Content Management
Dear Editor,
Regardless of what the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) leadership says as they seek to sell us on the idea that a national election is a year away, any sensible Bahamian can see that the PLP has quietly quit.
They are no longer championing their unfinished agenda; instead, they spend their days arguing that anyone we choose besides them will be worse, as they prepare for an early election.
If the Progressive Liberal Party had any genuine achievements to showcase from the last three and a half years, they would be proudly parading them, reminding voters of recent and past successes, and outlining what remains to be done. Yet, rather than completing their work, they have lost their way, unable to locate themselves on the map of governance and chart a course forward.
By their tacit admission, the PLP’s collective leadership has encountered the concrete ceiling described by the Peter Principle.
As Bahamians prepare to cast their ballots, we face a stark choice: continue down a path where the PLP’s tiny elite, inner circle, and those in proximity to its leadership captures ever more of our nation’s wealth, or we can embrace bold, inclusive leadership that can finally reverse decades of stagnation and inequality.
The Free National Movement, under the stewardship of Michael C. Pintard, offers precisely the vision and the plan we need to reclaim our economic destiny.
A mandate for
transformation
1. Tackling extreme inequality
Our Gini coefficient remains one of the highest in the Caribbean, a statistical portrait of a society in distress.
Under the FNM’s leadership, targeted policies, like expanding microfinance networks, democratizing investment through blockchain tokenization, and the consideration of piloting universal basic income trials, will put capital and opportunity directly into the hands of Bahamians who have been shut out of prosperity.
This is not charity. It is smart economics: when more families earn and save, demand rises, small businesses thrive, and government revenues grow without raising tax rates on the middle class.
2. Unleashing private sector growth
Red tape and antiquated regulations have stifled our entrepreneurs for too long. A Free National Movement administration under Pintard’s leadership would eliminate burdensome licensing procedures, digitize land registries, and create one-stop business “incubators” that guide startups from idea to market.
By reforming banking regulations, through the DARE Bill, FinTech, SupTech, and RegTech frameworks, he will transform The Bahamas into the region’s premier hub for digital finance, attracting both global capital and local ingenuity.
3. Revitalizing our core industries
Tourism and hospitality: With stopover arrivals stalled for 25 years, the FNM will launch a comprehensive Short-Term Vacation Rental (STVR) expansion, with a focus on Bahamian ownership to meet the multi-thousands of keys needed, a world-class marketing campaign, and niche-destination initiatives (eco-retreats, heritage tours, digital-nomad villages, religious, sports, education, etc.) to draw higher-spending visitors and lengthen stays.
Banking and financial services: Beyond repackaging 20th-Century technologies, we will pioneer true innovation, crowdfunding platforms, tokenized real-estate securities, and RegTech-supervised digital banks, to extend mortgages, small-business loans, and wealth-building tools to all Bahamians.
Construction and infrastructure: By fast-tracking approvals, incentivizing resilient and sustainable green and modular building methods, and injecting public-private capital into roadways, ports, and broadband, we will clear the way for the homes, resorts, and commercial projects that underpin growth in every other sector.
4. Home ownership provides empowerment
By strategically leveraging Crown land through dedicated land banking initiatives and expanding social housing programs, the government can unlock vast new opportunities for affordable homeownership.
First, by designating underutilized Crown parcels for phased land banks, we can stabilize land prices, prevent speculative spikes, and ensure a pipeline of serviced lots available at cost or below market rates.
Next, pairing these land banks with mixed-income social housing developments, where a portion of units are subsidized and reserved for first-time buyers, would create vibrant, inclusive communities and an on-ramp to equity for families who would otherwise be shut out of the housing market.
Finally, by offering secure 30-year leases or deferred payment purchase options on social housing homes built atop banked Crown land, the state can transform renters into homeowners, circulate generational wealth, and establish a sustainable model that continually reinvests in new land banking cycles, thereby driving down overall housing costs and broadening the base of property owning Bahamians.
Building tomorrow’s economies todayPicture Grand Bahama as our “digital island” — a testbed for smart grids, micro-grids, and island-wide high-speed connectivity. Envision Bahamians trained in AI, biotech, agri-tech, and ocean-economy innovations, working side-by-side with global experts under mandatory skill-transfer agreements.
Mr. Pintard’s government will:
Audit and optimize Energy: House-by-house energy assessments leading to retrofits, micro-grid installations, and a smart national grid that slashes utility costs and carbon emissions.
Guarantee food security: National food banks, island farms, and aquaculture programs that deliver both sovereignty and resilience against global supply shocks.
Launch 41 plus economic models: From the circular economy, to the data economy, to the digital economy, to the aquamarine economy, to the passion economy, to the knowledge-based economy, from GovTech to HealthTech, each model will be overseen by specialized task forces, with clear milestones and public dashboards tracking progress.
Putting at minimum 1,000 Bahamians in each would change the dynamics of our stagnated economic models and bring about the beginning of real economic diversification.
A government of accountability and vision
True prosperity demands more than good ideas; it requires transparent, accountable leadership. Michael Pintard’s pledge to enshrine freedom of information, strengthen anti-corruption agencies, and publish real-time economic and social metrics will rebuild trust between citizens and the state.
Annual public scorecards on poverty reduction, CMSME (cottage, micro, small, and medium enterprises) growth, and ease-of-doing-business reforms will ensure that promises translate into tangible results.
A call to actionWe cannot afford another term of half-measures and missed opportunities. The challenges of inequality, unemployment, and infrastructure decay would only deepen, and the cost in human suffering would mount if we cling to the status quo. By entrusting Michael C. Pintard and the FNM with a clear mandate, Bahamians would unleash a new era of shared prosperity: Tens of thousands of new jobs in diversified sectors; higher real wages and broader homeownership; a resilient, export-driven economy less vulnerable to external shocks and smart, sustainable communities that set the global standard.
This election is our chance to pivot, from frustration to forward motion, from fragmentation to unity, from scarcity to abundance. Let us make history by voting for leadership that recognizes our strengths, confronts our weaknesses, and is committed to lifting every Bahamian into the circle of opportunity.
The Free National Movement, guided by Michael C. Pintard’s bold, data-driven blueprint, stands ready. All that remains is for us to say, “Yes, Bahamas: We’re ready, too.”
Michael C. Pintard and the Free National Movement are not only the “Real Change We Need,” but they are “Real Change We Want”.
— C. Allen Johnson