The Ghost of Perpall Track: Why the FNM’s New Tactics Smell Like Old Desperation
The salt air of Grand Bahama is currently thick with a familiar, acrid scent: the smell of political intimidation masquerading as “order.” The recent move by the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) to pressure Minister Ginger Moxey into removing her newly erected billboards isn’t just a dispute over signage or aesthetics. It is a calculated, strategic strike, and the fingerprints of Michael Pintard’s FNM are all over the pressure cooker.
As the Prime Minister moves to prorogue the House, a chilling silence has fallen over the halls of governance—a silence that the FNM is filling with the echoes of a dark, violent past.
A State Within a State
The brazenness of the Port Authority in this current climate is a slap in the face to Bahamian sovereignty. By doing the “dirty work” for Pintard, the Port has once again revealed its true colours as a “state within a state,” acting as the enforcement arm for a political faction that feels the ground shifting beneath its feet.
Pintard is reportedly livid. The billboards were well-received; they spoke to progress, visibility, and a Grand Bahama that is finally finding its voice again. But for an opposition that thrives on the narrative of neglect, success is a threat. When they couldn’t find a policy-based argument to tear the boards down, they leaned on their old friends in the Port to do the bullying for them.
The Return of the Playbook
To understand why this matters, we must look back. The FNM wants us to have a collective bout of amnesia, but the Bahamian people have long memories. We remember when the Free National Movement, born out of a desperate break from the PLP, realised it could not unseat Sir Lynden Pindling at the ballot box alone.
When Cecil Wallace-Whitfield grew desperate, the “Free” in FNM began to look a lot like “Force.” They didn’t just campaign; they disrupted. They didn’t just debate; they intimidated.
“Anyone remember?” We remember the tragedy of Perpall Track. We remember the cold-blooded murder of Raymond Barry Major. That wasn’t just a crime; it was a symptom of a political culture that decided if it couldn’t win hearts and minds, it would break spirits. The FNM “hitmen” of that era were sent out to ensure that being a visible PLP supporter came with a physical cost. The fact that two Bahamians were eventually hanged on the same day for that murder stands as a grim monument to how far political desperation can push a movement.
Fear and Loathing in the Prorogue
The timing of this billboard suppression is no accident. With the House prorogued, the FNM is operating in the shadows of a legislative vacuum. This is the “Old Playbook” updated for 2026.
- Isolation: Use quasi-governmental bodies (like the Port) to harass PLP representatives.
- Erasure: Remove the physical evidence of PLP progress (the billboards) to make the public feel abandoned.
- Intimidation: Create an environment where people are afraid to show their colours, fearing that the “goons” of the past have simply traded their brass knuckles for legal injunctions and “port orders.”
This behaviour does absolutely nothing to encourage the unaligned voter to join the FNM. In fact, it does the opposite. It signals to the youth of this nation that the FNM has no new ideas, only old grudges. It tells the people of Grand Bahama that Michael Pintard is more interested in tearing down signs than in building the economy.
The Arrogance of the Elite
The Port Authority’s interference in the political expression of a sitting Minister is an act of supreme arrogance. It suggests that they believe they own not just the land, but the narrative. By acting as Pintard’s proxy, they are participating in a campaign of fear that seeks to return us to the days when political dissent was met with violence or economic ruin.
The Bahamian people are not the same people they were decades ago. We see the “fear and intimidation” tactic returning, and we recognize it for what it is: The last gasp of a desperate party.
The ghosts of Perpall Track still cry out for a politics based on dignity, not “hitmen.” If the FNM thinks that hiding behind the Port Authority will hide their history, they are sorely mistaken. We remember. And when the House returns, and the people go to the polls, we will remind them that Grand Bahama belongs to the people, not the Port, and certainly not to a party that uses shadows to fight its battles.
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