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Last Updated: Mar 1, 2017 - 3:45:01 PM |
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Remarks by Honorable Dr. Hubert A. Minnis, Leader of the Free National
Movement Launch of Carlton Bowleg, FNM Candidate for North Andros and
the Berry Islands at the FNM Headquarters, North Andros on Tuesday 28, February 2017:
F-N-Ms, North Andros:
It is always good to be in Andros.
It is good to be in the Big Yard.
I’ll be back to Andros during the campaign and will also be in the Berry Islands.
I
am especially happy to be here in North Andros to officially present
Carlton Bowleg as our FNM standard-bearer and change agent for North
Andros and the Berry Islands.
I heard about a Bahamian, who is in
their 50s, and who lives overseas, telling their relatives about their
first ever visit to the Berry Islands last year.
This person called the Berry Islands one of the best kept secrets of The Bahamas. This is true.
But another one of the best kept secrets is the great beauty and tremendous potential of Andros, North, Central and South.
By
some accounts, because you have been blessed with an abundance of
water, some say that the Spanish may have christened Andros the Island
of the Holy Spirit. You are a blessed people and a blessed island.
The
Central Andros National Park, which the FNM created, is the largest
national park in the country. It is also one of the largest national
parks in the Caribbean. The Central Andros Park and the west side of
Andros are areas of extraordinary natural beauty and biodiversity.
Andros
is home to “tidal creeks, interconnected lakes, mud flats, and
mangroves, and supports some of the largest populations of underwater
life in the region.” Andros is a place of beauty and enormous potential.
Now before I go on, let me address the very rude and disgraceful gesture Perry Christie made last night.
You
saw on the front page of one of the daily newspapers that Christie made
a gesture at a PLP rally last night that is unbecoming of the Prime
Minister of The Bahamas.
He has set a bad example for thousands
of school children and young people who will see that picture, which is
also making the rounds on social media. Emperor Perry Christie is
delusional and out of touch. These three adjectives describe him best:
unstable; unhinged, and emotional. He thinks he’s a king or emperor of
The Bahamas. He thinks he can do whatever he wants. Emperor Christie is
cracking under the pressure. He cannot and will not get Baha Mar open
before the next election.
Because of the public outcry, he had to
stop the PLP deal to begin the giveaway of Andros to foreigners.
Christie, who is Minister of Finance, cannot account for where all the
VAT money gone.
Christie has been a failure in combatting crime.
Christie and the PLP have not been able to get BAMSI operating properly.
Christie and the PLP are running scared because they are scared to
death that they are going to lose big time. Christie is scared that when
the FNM wins, we are going to expose the details of the Baha Mar deal.
They are scared that we are going to expose the deal to give away Andros
to foreigners and to let foreigners fish out our waters. If Christie
thinks he’s under pressure now, let him wait and see what we have in
store for him during this campaign. Believe you me, Christie and the PLP
running scared, scared, scared.
FNMS; North Andros:
Change is coming to The Bahamas and change is coming to Andros.
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I want Andros to be with the FNM when we form the next government in a few short months.
As the song goes, “Andros Island is big and long.”
Andros is the Bahamian giant.
Andros is essential to the development of our country.
The
potential of your island in terms of economic development cannot be
overstated. Andros is one of the largest islands in the Caribbean. You
are larger than a number of island-states in the region. You not only
boast one of the largest national parks in the region, which covers an
area of 286,000 acres. You also boast of the world’s largest barrier
reefs. The magnificent Tongue of the Ocean has a 6,000 foot drop-off.
As one expert says:
“The west side of Andros Island is teeming with large numbers of rare species from bull sharks to small organisms.”
He
also said: “The west side of Andros is one of the most ecologically
intact and pristine areas remaining in the western tropical Atlantic.”
Someone else once said:
“One
of the secrets of Andros is that it is an archipelago of possibilities,
geographically, and otherwise, with many of its gems hidden in plain
sight on this 2,300-square-mile island.”
Andros has pine forests,
feeding areas for West Indian Flamingos, blue holes, mangrove wetlands,
and much more. Andros also has Lucayan artifacts and was home to
Seminole Indians. Andros has a rich natural and cultural heritage.
I am saying all of this about Andros, because the PLP was getting ready to give away Andros to foreigners.
The $2.1 billion deal they had on the table to give away your land and your fishing stocks would have only been the beginning.
You think the PLP and those foreigners were going to stop there?
Of course not!
It
would have been foreigners who would have taken Clarence Bain’s words
and said with a foreign accent: “Andros, oh, my Andros.”
When
they got to experience how rich Andros is in resources, they would have
gone on to grab more land; gone on to grab more of your marine and fish
resources; gone on to grab your pine forest and other land resources.
The PLP was going to sell out Andros, lock, stock and barrel.
Listen
to me very carefully North Andros. I have in my hands a draft of the
PLP’s proposal to sell you out to foreigners. I’m going to quote from
the draft.
Listen very carefully.
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“The Bahamas Government
will lease, with an option to renew the lease for additional years, to
all of the one hundred (100) “Participating Companies”, ten thousand
(10,000) acres of Crown Land located on the Island of Andros.
“Lease
options will be available to each “Participating Company” for an
additional one hundred (100) acres, provided certain clearly defined
performance benchmarks are achieved.”
The draft goes on to say:
“The
Bahamas Government will grant to each of the one hundred (100)
‘Participating Companies’ fishing licenses consistent with existing
Bahamian laws.”
The draft also says:
“It is anticipated
that the agricultural products and the seafood will be used either for
local consumption or will be exported to China or the USA for sale. The
management of ‘Participating Companies’ will resolve to do what is in
their best interest.”
Listen carefully to these frightening words:
“The management of ‘Participating Companies’ will resolve to do what is in their best interest.”
This means that these companies could have done whatever they wanted to do in Andros.
The language does not talk about what is in the best interest of Androsians or Bahamians.”
Christie
and the PLP are more interested in the best interests of foreigners.
The PLP does not care about your best interests. The PLP love
foreigners. They only tolerate you so they can get your vote. They have
never believed in Bahamians. Christie and his cabinet are not Bahamians
we can believe in, because they do not believe in Bahamians.
The
Great Andros Giveaway would have allowed fleets of foreign boats to come
in and raid your fish stocks. This would have harmed our national
security and food security. The PLP was more than happy to grant
commercial fishing rights off Andros to a major foreign entity. This
would have been in violation of decades of Bahamas Government policy in
which commercial fishing is strictly reserved for Bahamians.
Given
another term, the PLP may conclude the deal they were working on to
give away land and fishing rights in Andros. Next thing you know,
they’ll be coming after Eleuthera, Exuma, Long Island, Abaco, Inagua,
Mayaguana, Cat Island, San Salvador, Acklins, Crooked Island and
everywhere in The Bahamas.
Let me be very, very clear: The FNM opposes any commercial fishing in The Bahamas by a foreign entity.
We are Bahamians you can believe in.
This land is our land, and these waters are our waters, period, end of story, full stop!
If
the PLP have their way, our reserves of grouper, conch, stone crabs,
snapper, turbot, crawfish, goggle-eye, and other fish will be wiped out
within a lifetime.
The FNM will stop and expose this massive
giveaway of Andros land and Bahamian fish. Of course, you know they
tried to keep this deal secret. Christie said he didn’t know anything
about the deal. Well you see the same way he’s flipping his finger in
this morning’s newspaper. This is the same way he flipped his finger at
the Bahamian people in this deal to give away your land to foreigners.
The size of this deal was 20,000 acres.
This is almost four times the size of Bimini.
It is more acreage than is on Rum Cay.
It is a huge percent of the land of New Providence.
If you want to stop the PLP from bringing this deal back, you have to vote FNM.
As your prime minister I will lead a government that will protect Andros.
FNMs; North Andros:
I
need Carlton Bowleg by my side as the next MP for North Andros and the
Berry Islands. Carlton is a relatively young man, born one year after
independence. He has served The Bahamas as a public officer, working as a
Custom’s Officer since 1996. He has spent a significant amount of time
working on Cat Cay, which became a second home to him. He speaks about
Cat Cay with great love.
Carlton attended Mastic Point Primary
School and North Andros High School. He graduated with an Associate’s
Degree in Computer Programming and Accounting from Prospect Hall School
of Business in South Florida. Carlton is very committed to community
service. He helped to sponsor the North Andros High School Basketball
tournaments and the Junior Junkanoo Program. He has also been involved
with the Christmas “Giving Back” Initiative, which includes three toy
giveaways.
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Let me share with you something Carlton wrote.
These are his words:
“A famous quote says, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
“I will paraphrase that and say that injustice will continue to triumph if good men do nothing.”
“I have decided that I will no longer stand by on the sidelines. I will be an agent of change and a voice for my constituents.”
Carlton also said:
“I'm
forever grateful to Cat Cay and the members within and will never
forget where my inspiration began to step out and take a chance began,
which is in Cat Cay.”
North Andros:
You need to send Carlton to the House of Assembly to help take care of the needs of North Andros and the Berry Islands.
Your roads need to be fixed.
As a former Minister of Health, I know about getting things done in health care in The Bahamas.
The doctor is in the house, and this doctor will serve you well in government.
Your clinics need to be upgraded and properly supplied.
The
FNM will also further empower Local Government as a true partner in
decision-making and in helping to meet the needs of the people of
Andros.
The FNM will ensure that you get an ambulance and a fire truck.
We need to look at how you get reliable power and light. This may include the use of solar power and energy.
It
is the FNM, through The Family Island Water Supply Improvement Project,
that upgraded access to potable water in Andros. We need to review and
upgrade waterlines in North and South Mastic Point, both of which suffer
from low water pressure. We also need to look into upgrades for your
airport.
I am told that a new bridge is needed in Staniard Creek, and that the Stafford Creek Bridge needs to be repaired.
BARC
residents have had problems for many years in terms of getting their
land papers. This has taken too long to sort out. Let me make it very
clear. BAMSI will remain open and be improved under my government. Don’t
believe any lies from some people and some quarters. I will lead a
revolution in agriculture in The Bahamas. Andros will play a major part
in this revolution and so will BAMSI. The FNM will fix what the PLP
messed up at BAMSI.
Cable TV in needed in Staniard Creek and Red Bays.
The PLP have neglected the educational needs of the youth of Andros.
We
need to do a comprehensive assessment of the educational needs in
Andros. We intend, over time, to transform teaching and learning in the
government-operated school system with an emphasis on hands-on and
experience-based learning, as well as technical and vocational
education.
North Andros High School track will be repaired and the technical building will be completed under my government.
On
behalf of the FNM, I have already committed to easing the access of
education at the tertiary level for all qualified Bahamians from the
Family Islands, by underwriting the costs, and providing suitable living
accommodations for qualified students from areas such as North Andros.
Students will also be provided with a monthly stipend to assist with
their living while in New Providence.
Young Androsians:
One
of my key initiatives will be a program for young Bahamians, like young
people in Andros who want to become entrepreneurs and business people. I
want to take those millions spent on Carnival in Nassau and invest
those funds to empower a new generation of young entrepreneurs.
We
will launch a major youth entrepreneurship program that will help to
develop the skills of thousands of young entrepreneurs. We will help to
equip thousands with business and management skills, such as how to save
and handle money; how to re-invest and scale-up their business; how to
market their products and services.
On the Berry Islands we will build a new administrative complex.
The school will be upgraded.
We will build a new clinic.
We will look into building a new government dock.
Change is coming to North Andros and the Berry Islands.
FNMs, North Andros:
I need everyone listening to me tonight to go out and personally help to register as many people as possible.
The FNM is the only party that can defeat the PLP, and mount an effective government.
Don’t mind all the noise from other places.
If you want to get rid of the PLP you have to vote FNM.
A vote for the DNA is a vote for the PLP.
If you go to bed with the DNA you will wake up with Perry Christie and the PLP.
The last time people voted for the DNA, we got Christie and the PLP.
Neither the country nor Andros can take five more years of hell from the PLP.
Vote FNM! We are the only party who can rescue the country from the hell of the PLP.
North Andros
Send Carlton Bowleg to the House of Assembly. He will be a fierce advocate for the people of North Andros.
Change is coming to The Bahamas. Andros needs to be a part of this change.
Thank you and God bless our Bahamaland.
May God bless North Andros and all the people of Andros.
© Copyright 2017 by thebahamasweekly.com
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