Nassau, Bahamas- Heralding
the newly ratified incumbent candidates as “competent, tried and proven
leaders,” PLP Chairman Bradley B. Roberts presided over the
ratification of the Hon. Arnold Forbes, the Hon Leslie Miller and the
Hon. Dion Smith during the party’s National General Council’s (NGC)
monthly meeting on Thursday evening (4th Aug 2016).
“So tonight
we continue the process of shaping, forming and building the electoral
and executive team that will lead this great country of ours into 2017
and beyond. Tonight
we approve three more competent, tried and proven leaders as our
candidates for the 2017 General Elections, with Minister Arnold Forbes
for Mt. Moriah, the Hon. Leslie Miller for Tall Pines and Deputy Speaker
of the House the Hon. Dion Smith for Nassau Village” said Mr. Roberts.
Mr.
Roberts told Councilors that notwithstanding the naysayers, the critics
and prophets of doom and gloom, the country was in “good hands” with
the Progressive Liberal Party at the helm.
“Fellow
Councilors, notwithstanding the noise in the market and the gloom and
doom spewed in the public domain on a daily basis, The Bahamas is in
good hands with team PLP as we move with haste to complete our agenda on
behalf of the Bahamian people.”
He
listed legislation for the establishment of the University of The
Bahamas, National Health Insurance and the Grand Bahama (Port Area)
Investment Incentives Act as the latest pieces of legislation that
should leave no doubt that the Progressive Liberal Party has the best
and most practical vision for the country under the leadership of Prime
Minister Christie.
“This
aggressive, progressive and transformational legislative agenda under
the leadership of the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie should leave no doubt
about who has the best and most practical vision for the future
development of The Bahamas.”
Regarding
the candidates, the outspoken Leslie Miller, the most experienced of
the three candidates, represented the former Blue Hills constituency on
multiple occasions before its name change to Tall Pines in the lead up
to the 2012 general elections. He is an accomplished businessman, a
former athlete, the founder of the light industries association and he
chaired the former Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), now Bahamas
Power and Light (BPL), under the Pindling and Christie administrations.
Mr. Miller led the family island electrification project as BEC chairman
when he signed a $105 million contract with the Inter American
Development Bank in 1989. He also served as Agriculture and Marine
Resources Minister between 2002 and 2007 and is the current chairman of
the Water and Sewerage Corporation. Mr. Miller will contest Tall Pines
again in 2017.
State
Minister for Works and Urban Development and Attorney-at-Law by
professional training, the Hon. Arnold Forbes is a first time Member of
Parliament, having been elected to represent the people of Mount Moriah
in 2012. In his former post as chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural and
Industrial Corporation (BAIC), Mr. Forbes presided over the construction
of the new energy efficient and eco-friendly headquarters of the BAIC, a
model for future public buildings. He laid much of the ground work for
the expanded public/private partnership between BAIC and entrepreneurs
in the agriculture and food processing industry by facilitating greater
training opportunities and increased access to local markets through its
distribution and marketing efforts. He was also ratified to contest
Mount Moriah in 2017.
Deputy
Speaker of the House of Assembly and current Chairman of the Bahamas
Agriculture and Industrial Corporation, the Hon. Dion Smith, will return
to the constituency of Nassau Village in 2017. Like Mr. Forbes, he too
is a first time Member of Parliament and continues the work of BAIC,
inclusive of the establishment of public industrialized kitchens
throughout The Bahamas to assist small business people in the food
processing industry. Mr. Smith is an Attorney-at-Law by professional
training.
Mr.
Roberts put councilors on notice that since it is the responsibility of
the Candidates Committee to accelerate the ratification process, the
National General Council will meet more frequently in order to achieve
this desired result. He also said that it was the intention of the party
to launch the Grand Bahama based candidates in Grand Bahama before the
end of August.