Mitchell says Minnis looking for ‘political relevance’

Former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis’ claim that it was a “grave mistake” for the Davis administration to remove the travel health visa requirement for Bahamians and residents returning to the country is nothing more than a “vain attempt at political relevance”, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Fred Mitchell said yesterday.

“The people of The Bahamas now know that their former Prime Minister Hubert Minnis does not believe that Bahamians have a right to return home,” Mitchell said in a statement.

“That is precisely why he has ended up where he is today — out of office and flailing around like a chicken without a head, spinning idle nonsense in a vain attempt at political relevance.

“He should take his advice on visas and go quietly into the good night.”

Minnis told The Tribune that the Davis administration made a “grave mistake” by removing the requirement, noting that the visa is an important tool for contact tracing efforts.

He also said it provided safeguarding against people entering the country with fraudulent COVID-19 tests. 

But Mitchell said the removal of the visa was an important campaign promise for the PLP.

“The PLP promised that the nuisance inflicted on Bahamians who wanted to return home would be eliminated and we have done so,” he said.

“The prime minister made this solemn campaign commitment to the Bahamian people to get rid of this vexing issue and has done so.

“There is nothing more or less to say other than Bahamians have a constitutional right without more restrictions to return home.”

The Davis administration eliminated the need for a travel visa for domestic travel within days of coming into office in September.

The requirement for the visa when traveling internationally fell away for Bahamian citizens and residents on Monday, though they are still required to test negative for COVID before entering the country.

Fully vaccinated individuals are required to undergo either an antigen or PCR test no more than five days before travel, while unvaccinated individuals must take a PCR test.

Tourists are still required to obtain a health visa, which asks for details like where they are traveling from and where they will be staying while in The Bahamas.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/mitchell-says-minnis-looking-for-political-relevance/