Munroe: Voting Yes Is Electing An Alternative Government
By LAMECH JOHNSON
Tribune242 Staff Reporter
ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
Nassau, The Bahamas
THE
gambling referendum that Bahamians are about to entertain could be the
election of an alternative government, Dr Miles Munroe said last night
to members at Bahamas Faith Ministries International on Carmichael Road.
In the lead-up to
the gambling referendum scheduled for January 28, Dr Munroe made a
statement to his audience, which was aired live on ZNS TV-13, expressing
concern that a group of lobbyists were using their monetary influence
to pressure the democratically elected government to legitimise their
personal interests at the expense of the people.
“This referendum that we’re about to entertain could be the election of an alternative government.
“You
went to the polls some months ago and you elected a government to
govern our country. At least that is what it seemed like,” the minister
said.
“But
I want you to think about this carefully. There should only be one
government at a time in our country. There shouldn’t be a secret
government, a shadow government, a government pulling strings behind the
scenes, a government controlling decisions by lobbying, a government
manipulating policy and legislation by monetary influence.”
“We
are supposed to have a government that makes decisions without
influence from any specific group of people and every decision they make
should be made in the best interest of the population of our country,”
he said.
Dr
Munroe noted that the motivations seemed to be the country’s surrender
to the powers with money, which in his words, would make the
establishment of a national lottery and state sponsored gambling seem
logical.
“National
lottery and state sponsored gambling is an alternative government
taxing the citizens without benefit to the citizen. In other words, it’s
a second government collecting taxes. The only problem is, it is not
benefitting the citizens, only a few people,” the minister explained.
Dr
Munroe made recommendations for the government that included them
admitting that they are not ready for the referendum, accepting
responsibility for the populace not being ready, and ultimately
postponing the referendum to allow the College of the Bahamas to be
engaged in “completing research on the present and future impact of
national gaming on our local population”.
“The
purpose for a higher learning institution,” he said, “is to assist
governments in research efforts in order to make sound decisions that
are in the best interest of the people.”
Dr
Munroe told his congregation and visual audience that a country could
never have a clean government again if it’s government allowed itself to
be pressured by the influence of gaming bosses.
“If
a small group of lobbyers pressure the government legitimately voted
into power to legitimise their personal interest, then we will never
have a pure government again,” he said.
