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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Vice Chairman of Progressive Liberal Party Candidacy announcement by Latrae Rahming
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It is my hope that my candidacy reaffirms a creed inscribed in the hearts of every supporter of this great party.It is the written doctrine that places an inherited responsibility on the shoulders of the new generation of leaders.It is a promise spoken through the vision of our founders that articulates a party that is dedicated to providing a ladder of economic and social hope to all Bahamians and not to a privileged few.
The architects and engineers of the words of profound promises that shape the destiny of the Bahamas were to ensure every citizen was able to obtain a higher standard of living. The companion of which was the promise of greater social and political freedom. The PLP is a party tied in a garment of shared convictions deeply rooted in the concept of equal rights for all and special privileges for none.
Despite the fact, we would have appeared to have lost our way, despite the fact we may appear to have been exclusionary instead of inclusionary; We are the people's party, we are a labour's party, We are a farmer's party, and We are a middle-class party.Our mission is the development of political, social, and economic policies aimed at attaining the basic objective of a truly democratic society.
We have one interest as a party, and that interest is the protection of the interest of the common man. As a member of the PLP, I will always believe that hardworking Bahamian men and woman should never be left to the ravages of poverty.We, the PLP can never compromise on these principals.We, the PLP can never fall short of our responsibility of providing a safety net for the Bahamian people.
I grew up in the great constituency of Farm Road and Centerville, a part of our country that was instrumental in painting the historical, the social and political landscape of this great nation. It was in the Farm Road and Centerville constituency that I learned the essence of Bahamian culture as I observe and admired my uncle the late Tyrone Dr.Offf Fitzgerald vigorously beat to the rhythm of the sounds of junkanoo. I have adopted a spirit of entrepreneurship by observing my grandfather the late Leon Doc Rahming who demonstrated the brilliance of human thinking as the architect of the modern public transportation system in The Bahamas.
The valley is the umbilical cord that connected me to my story. The Valley is a community and a way life that inscribed upon me a moral obligation to correct the injustices within the Bahamian society. It was in the valley that I learned never to compromise with respect to the suffering and misfortunes of my Bahamian brothers and sisters.It was in the valley that I learned and understood the importance of being your brothers and sisters keeper.I am the product of a community that cultivated men and women who possessed integrity and honesty in public and private lives.
There is no cause more profound that I dedicate myself to that the cause of building a stronger Progressive Liberal Party. With your support and the support of thousands of members throughout this party, we will begin a political process to transform our party and country. Our unwillingness to change is one of the greatest challenges of the contemporary Progressive Liberal Party. It will be my promise as Vice Chairman to avoid the constant unwillingness to engage a new perspective as we seek to reshape our party.
The ideology behind the change is repugnant in our party, fostered by the ambience of self-interested thinking that supercedes in the interest of the members. Our failures as a party Is a choice, not an inevitability.Recycling ideologies and not indulging In a new way of thinking is incoherent in creating a stronger Progressive Liberal Party. The responsibility of creating an intellectual framework for the future of our party should fall on the shoulders of all PLPs not just a special few, guided by the principles and values of who we are as a people.
It is almost imperative that we undertake some sort of transformation to create conditions in which the new forms democratic, progressive, political systems operate efficiently.The revolution towards a better Bahamas begins in the minds of Bahamians and the kind of education we give our children. If we failed to change our habits as a country and continue to be set in our ways; the development of our country will always be mired in stagnation, with declining living standards, and outdated social and economic apparatus.
There's no shortage of talents and capabilities in The Bahamas, just the unwillingness to believe in the shared strength of our people. Someone somewhere in this country must share my belief in the liberation of our people from the conditions that hinder the flowering of their talents. This country has a peculiar paradox with regards to development, it has the human capital resources but lacks a political, economic, and social framework to effectively leverage them.It is the promise of our great party, that anywhere Bahamian people are being exploited and subordinated while members of another group of Bahamians are granted privileges, we will tear it down. We will dismantle any economic environment where the distribution of wealth and prosperity in our nation has become more unequal; where the knees of working Bahamian families meet the lines of poverty as they experience economic insecurity.
This is the time to be inclusionary by this I mean we must be genuine when we say that the PLP is a big tent, and we must be genuine when we invite people to come under that tent. By that invitation, we must understand that there will be differences of opinion, differences in perception, and differences in points of view. Those who are different in their expressions of their opinion, points of view, and perception are not necessarily disloyal or enemies of the party.It is through these differences that this party can attain relevance in these times. Indeed, it is through these differences that the party will experience growth thus making it stronger to face the challenges that lay ahead.Inclusion at is best means attracting new talent and new blood which will ensure the longevity and relevancy of the party. In this way, the party will be assured of always having a new generation of leaders.
We must admit that we have not always been good to many of those who were and those who are still a part of the party and the same can be said for whom we thought were outside of the party. Now is the time begin to repair the damage, now is the time to extended the olive branch to all and foundry, and it’s always up to them to either expect it or reject it, and we must big enough to accept their decision.
This campaign is not about me. It's about fighting for the kind of party and ideas our members would like to see, and to effectively address the concerns of our members. We can build the Progressive Liberal Party we all remember and we can build that together, and I ask you to join me in this campaign to build a brighter future for our party that works for all of us, and not just some.
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
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