From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Prime Minister Ingraham's Remarks by Renaming of Arlington L Miller Building
Apr 9, 2011 - 9:39:33 PM

Remarks by
Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham
At the Renaming of the
Public Workers’ Co-Operative
Credit
Union
Building
In Honour of Arlington
L. Miller
Friday 8 April, 2011
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am very happy to join you today as you rename the
Public Workers’ Co-Operative
Credit Union
Building in honour of
Arlington Miller and recognize the contribution of Mrs. Juliette Barnwell to the
development of Credit Unions in our country.
I commend the Public Workers’ Co-Operative Credit
Union for taking the decision to honour two most deserving public sector
unionists.
It is always right that deserving citizens be
recognized and honoured for their contribution to the development of our
country. Credit Unions are worthwhile
institutions and they assist many persons in achieving their personal goals and
objectives.
I immediately call to mind the good work realised not
only by the Public Workers’ Co-Operative Credit Union but also the Teachers and
Salaried Workers Cooperative Union, The Bahamas Law Enforcement Credit Union and
the
Paradise Island Resort Casino
Cooperative Union Limited.
I might say that
the spirit of self-help and mutual
assistance embedded in credit unions is worthy of emulation by the entire
country. Indigenous organisations, such
as yours, serve as catalysts for economic advancement and job creation.
A principal goal of credit unions is
to offer an institutional means through which individuals group themselves in
self-help units for the greatest return to all members. The Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union
has served to fulfil that goal fostering a spirit of co-operation and
camaraderie among its members so that persons of limited resources, working in
unison, are able to achieve much.
Indeed, the Government is very mindful that small
businesses frequently lead the way in job creation; a recognition which has
greatly influenced our small business initiatives including the innovative
Selfstarters Programme.
I might also say that
the sense of discipline and
commitment which the Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union fosters and
strives to instill in its membership through regular savings is noteworthy. Its programmes serve to educate and inform
the public on all aspects of financial products and services. Such habits and practices bode well for
Bahamians in our rapidly changing economic landscape. Other trades and groups
would do well to emulate you; and I am sure your leadership would be more than
pleased to give them the benefit of their advice and guidance.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The two individuals being recognized today, Mrs.
Juliette Barnwell and Mr. Arlington Miller have justly earned reputations for
being dedicated and committed to the development of the labour movement in our
country as well as to the development of credit unions in The Bahamas.
Mrs. Barnwell has served
as a teacher, a public service training officer and senior administrator in the
public service. She continues today to give yeoman service as the Head of the School
Board of C.R. Walker High School.
Indeed, some maintain that she runs that school!
I was most pleased to meet
her as Secretary to the Governor-General when my Party was first elected to
office with a commanding majority. The
Governing Party had not changed in The Bahamas for more than 25 years and some
people appeared not to know what to do.
My Party won election on the 19th August but I did not become
Prime Minister until the 21st.
I know that story and Mrs. Barnwell knows the story. But that is a story for another day and time.
I first met Mrs. Barnwell
when I was a young Minister in 1982. She
told me that as a public officer I should join the credit union. I did so, and my dues were paid by salary
deduction. I never took my money out
until I needed the funds to assist in paying for one of my children’s
university education. I think I need to
reactivate my membership now and arrange for dues to be paid by salary
deduction once again.
Mrs. Barnwell has been and
continues to be a trailblazer for women in the public sector. She continues today to serve on the Executive
of both the Bahamas Union of Teachers and on the Bahamas Public Service Union.
She also serves as a Director of the Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union
and as Chairman of the Cooperative Advisory Committee.
I am privileged to regard
her as a friend and I am happy to acknowledge her contribution to our national
development and to agree with you that she is most worthy of recognition.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Mr. Arlington Miller is
very well known to me. I first met him more
than forty years ago at the Jaycees. He
has been my friend and advocate ever since for which I am and will always be
grateful.
Mr. Miller hails from
Kemp’s Bay, South Andros. I believe that I am accurate when I say that
he gave his full adult life to public service.
He was engaged firstly as a Monitor in the Kemps Bay All-Age School,
where he himself attended. Then, he joined the Imperial Lighthouse Service and
later still, the Customs Department from which he retired in 1986 to pursue
Union business on a full time basis.
He served as President of
the Bahamas Public Service Union for fourteen years, between 1976 and 1990, and
greatly influenced the growth and development of the organization. But for the strike in 1985, the record shows
that the relationship between the Union and
the Government was businesslike and conciliatory.
During his membership and
leadership of the BPSU, Mr. Miller had the occasion to study at the American
Institute of Free Labour Development where he became acquainted with the
principles of credit unions and became a convert to the principles of credit
unions as a means of economic empowerment for Bahamian public service workers. The
rest, as they say, is history. He may be rightly be called the father of
credit unions in The Bahamas
Mr. Miller’s dedication to
helping the Bahamian workers extended to placing his hat into the political
arena. Following his retirement from the
Union in 1990, he sought to enter front line
politics. He came within 42 votes of
being elected to the House of Assembly in 1992.
Though not successful in his election bid, he remained involved at the
political level seeking always to advance the condition of workers.
Because of his
contribution to our country’s development I was pleased to recommend him to Her
Majesty the Queen for the honour of the award of an OBE in 1996.
Mr. Miller is a family man
and so I am pleased to also recognize his lovely wife, Iris, and their four
children of whom they are both so very proud.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Today we acknowledge and thank both Mrs. Barnwell and
Mr. Miller for their contribution to the development and growth of Credit
Unions in The Bahamas and very particularly to the Public Workers’ Co-operative
Credit Union. Both contributions will have
lasting value.
I am pleased to acknowledge,
thank, and applaud both Mrs. Barnwell and Mr. Miller and to once again commend
the leadership of Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union for not only
recognizing these two giants but also for their decision to name this Office
Complex in Honour of its founding father, Mr. Arlington Miller.
Thank you.
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