It is
time to tell Hubert Ingraham and the FNM that enough is enough!
Party
Leader, Party Chairman, Parliamentary Colleagues, the next Member of Parliament
for the Constituency of Elizabeth, Mr. Ryan Pinder and Mrs. Pinder, the good
people of Elizabeth,
my brothers and sisters Good Evening.
Are you
ready to send a clear message to the FNM and the nation?
Elizabeth
you have an awesome task.
These
are serious times. Crime is out of
control. Unemployment is rising. Our economy is in shambles. The hopes dreams and aspirations of our young
people have been shattered. People all throughout The Bahamas are catching
hell!
Through
it all this Government is clueless. They
lack vision. The FNM has no
answers. They are in a state of
confusion. They are operating like
chickens with their heads cut off!
In 2002
Mr. Ingraham said he had taken the Bahamas
as far as he could take us. The man did
not lie. The Bahamas is
now heading in the wrong direction.
For them
it is business as usual. They are laughing
like hyenas while loading the pockets of their friends at the people’s
expense.
The FNM
are all over the place trying to swing you!
They are full of foolish talk! They say a vote for them is a seat around
the table. How many seats round the table
do they have in Grand Bahama? The last time I checked all five seats are
catching hell! Pinewood is around the table and they are catching hell! SouthBeach
is around the table and they are catching hell!
North Abaco
sits at the head of the table and they are catching hell. Since 2007, Kennedy
was PLP, then Independent and now FNM!
Trust me when I tell you that the people of Kennedy are catching more
hell than ever before.
Talking
fool is a very serious thing.
Talk to
the unemployed hotel workers in Carmichael. Speak with the Government employees sent home
in Golden Isles. Ask the student in
Killarney, Garden Hills and Sea Breeze who were left up the creek without a
paddle by the last minute decision not to back student loans. They all have a seat at the table. Today they are all starving and hungry for
better!
Bahamians
have had enough of the empty promises.
Enough is enough!
Elizabeth
is not interested in a seat at that hell catching table! All that Papa is serving at that table is
misery, frustration and lies.
Elizabeth
is interested in good representation. Elizabeth
is interested in a better future!
Elizabeth
is going with Ryan Pinder and the PLP!
Bahamians
want an honest Government. We are tired
of the untruths. This is no time for smoke and mirrors. They talk about steady hands but look at our
economy. We know there is a global
recession. But we can hardly keep our
heads above water with this crew. Check with the IMF! Check with Standard & Poor’s. These international organisations hold no
brief for the PLP or FNM. They have made it clear that our economy was in
better hands with the PLP! That is a
fact! Facts do not lie. They can say
whatever they wish! It is all there for
the world to see in black and white. You
don’t have to take my word. Go and check
for yourself. Do you trust the FNM? Or
do you trust the IMF and Standard & Poor’s.
A desperate party will do and say anything.
We are
on a slippery slope. The economic
mismanagement must stop. It must stop
now. Elizabeth
send the message that enough is enough!
Bahamians
are sick and tired of the games. We want
an end to the confusion. Governance is
supposed to be serious business.
Mr.
Ingraham said that the FNM would comply with URCA’s political broadcasting
rules. Listen to the radio
stations. I am no accountant but by my
count the FNM is running more than four
30-second radio ads-a-day. In
fact their last rally was broadcasted live on several radio stations while the
rules were in full effect. It is not good enough to simply say you will follow
the nonsensical rules. You actually have
to do it. Hubert Alexander Ingraham is
the king of double talk and double dipping.
My brother, Bahamians are no longer concerned about what you say. They are watching what you do! And we have had enough!
Do you
recall how they criticized the PLP for giving a $23 Million contract to Woslee
Dominion Construction company to construct the new straw market? They said they were not qualified. They were not good enough according to them. They unfortunately were young Bahamians!
Yet
just last week, the same construction company was good enough to receive a $25
Million contract to construct a government complex in Abaco. You heard me right! The contract was $2 Million more than the Straw
Market! The new complex is in the home
island of the Prime Minister. All of a
sudden two years later they are good enough.
Woslee
Dominion was always qualified. They had
to find excuses. The contract was
promised to someone else! The boys were
back and their eye was on the straw market.
These are serious times and the Prime Minister is playing games. He is toying with our money and joking around
with our future!
And
they want to talk about trust? They need to put that Dixie
cup down and step away from the cooler!
It is
time to put an end to the insensitivity of Hubert Ingraham and his FNM
Government. They do not care about
people. They act first and think of the
consequences later....that is if they think at all!
Look at
the state of the Hotel Corporation of the Bahamas.
It is a bloody disgrace and I cry shame!
It is an example of the way Hubert Ingraham and his uncaring Government
treats Bahamians. They have shut the
doors. They have sent workers home. Some persons have been there over thirty
years. The doors were closed on December 31st. They received one letter dated 25th September,
2009 and nothing further.
The
letter reads:
“I am directed by the Board of The Hotel
Corporation of The Bahamas to inform you that a decision has been taken by The
Government to wind up the operations of the Corporation and to repeal The Hotel
Corporation Act no later than 31st December, 2009.
Accordingly, I am also to inform you that
arrangements will be made in relation to various categories of staff for the
settlement of appropriate termination benefits, particulars of which will be
communicated to you in due course.
The Corporation wishes me to express
appreciation to you for your valuable services over the years.”
They
have heard nothing since. The Minister
has no answers. The Permanent Secretary
has no answers. The Board of the Hotel
Corporation of The Bahamas has no answers.
The staff was last paid on December 14th- over 7 weeks ago. They were sent home in December but the Hotel
Corporation Act has not been repealed. No severance has been paid. No pension exists. Productive Bahamians have been sent home by
this Government. These people have
school fees to pay. They have light
bills to pay. They have mortgages. What
are they to tell the Bank? Hubert
Ingraham sent me home? In a tough
economy the Ingraham Administration are proving heartless. They could care less!
Every
casino license in this country is owned and vested in the Hotel Corporation of
The Bahamas. Every casino in The Bahamas has a lease and management agreement
with the Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas.
What about the future of these casinos?
Where is the plan? Has this
Government simply closed the Corporation to open another entity with the same
functions? Where is the sense in all of
this? Was all of this his way of getting rid of
some people who he thought was PLP?
Bahamians are Bahamians regardless of race or politics. It is time for Elizabeth
to send Mr. Ingraham a loud clear message.
But Elizabeth
we shouldn’t be surprised! This
government doesn’t care about you and they don’t understand the hell that you
are catching! Just last week I read in
the papers how Duane Sands said that he was surprised by how Bahamians were
living hand-to-mouth. He didn’t know how
tough things were in the real world.
Well
brudda, how did you think that so many people who were laid off have been were
eating? Without a job how did you think
they paid bills? Sands, you just don’t
get it! Elizabeth , Leo Ryan Pinder
knows you and you know him! He feels your suffering and is ready to make a
difference.
Elizabeth,
“Power concedes nothing without a fight!”.
Now is not the time to ease-up and press the brakes. Let us not become over confident. Let us continue to preach the message of the
future. We must continue to knock on
doors! We must campaign like we have
never campaigned before!
Hubert
Ingraham, Brent Symonette, Duane Sands and the FNM represent the politics of
old. Bahamians are tired of the lies and games!
We gat them on the run! They are
a punch-drunk group, with cabinet ministers giving two answers to the same
question and Ingraham saying “don’t ask me!”.
Ryan
Pinder is the future! The future is
now. A better tomorrow starts in Elizabeth!
Elizabeth
there is much at stake in this by-election. This by-election is about the
future of our country. It is about
sending a clear message to Hubert Ingraham and the FNM! It is about reclaiming
the Bahamas
for all! It is about putting an end to
greed and incompetence! It is about
fighting for the small man!
Better
days are ahead for the people of Elizabeth! With your hardwork and partnership with Ryan
Pinder and the PLP together we can make a better Elizabeth! Yes we can!
Tonight
I am proud to stand with Leo Ryan Pinder.
I am proud to stand with my leader Perry Christie and the PLP. I am proud to be PLP. A new day is here.
Stand
with us, Elizabeth. Be brave and vote
for Ryan Pinder and the PLP!
