01/04/2026
An open letter to the Prime Minister of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Mr. Davis;
Since a picture paints a thousand words, take a look at this. There you would see narratives of indignity the average Bahamian shall endure, upon the death of a love one. The young and old hiding from the weather elements waiting to identify their deceased love ones. The mortuary community does not hold this against you, because the rules are different in your circle, the elites, but your circle cannot vote you in.
Can you provide tents and chairs as soon as possible for grieving families, so the elderly can sit. In addition, can you create a funeral czar to address the parameters of licensed and bootleg morticians. The bootleg undertakers thrive under this anarchy so much so we call” this area “The Auction.”
The state of the morgue through-out The Bahamas is another pressing matter that needs your attention. I have visited every single one and I report to you the conditions are bad.
In Nassau, the morgue malfunctions every 4-6 months. The dead lie on the floor, or on top of each other. In South Andros, they put their dead in the clinic bath-tub covered in ice bags. In Central Eleuthera, there is no morgue. South Eleuthera ,they use the services of the local funeral home. In Inagua, they put there dead in a deep freezer. In Cat Island, I have collected deceased persons who were placed on the clinic floor covered in ice bags. In North Andros the cooler is a den for clostridia myonecrosis, also know as “Tissue Gas.”
I share a horrific story of my last episode in North Andros. $2000.00 is the first cost spent on transportation a family had to pay for one way journey from Andros to Nassau. Simply because, a young arrogant doctor decides she was not signing a death certificate after hours. She knew, nor did she care the transport plane sat on the airport tar mat. When she got over her power tantrum the following day, she signed the death certificate before lunch time. True to form, when I got the body to the funeral home, bubbles were escaping the mouth of the decease. God help me if I did not know what to do…
Five years ago, you promised you would implement legislation for the mortuary community to address such anomalies. We the morticians believed you and drafted legislation and delivered it to your legal department. Five years later, feeling disenfranchised, the average mortician is betting on Mrs. Penn Mackey to win her seat in Southern Shores, to foster change in the funeral sector.
I do not like Mrs. Penn Mackey, so I ask you humbly, first to keep your covenant as outlined in the “Speech from the Throne,” this would help us, and by extension the Bahamian people.
If you decide to reopen the house, consider putting our legislation to the house, PLEASE.
Personally, I prefer death, than to walk into Mrs. Penn Mackey office to discuss the issue addressed in the letter.
Ambrose W. Gibson L.F.D.E.
