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Last Updated: Oct 22, 2017 - 7:26:06 PM |
 Nassau, The Bahamas - Remarks by Dr. the Hon. Hubert Minnis, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas at Metropolitan Church of the Nazarene Sunday, 22 October 2017 11:00 A.M.:
Minister of Transport and Local Government, the Hon. Frankie Campbell;
Pastor Nelson Pierre;
Other members of the clergy
Ladies and gentlemen
Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
It is good to be in the House of the Lord, from whom all blessings flow.
Thank you for your invitation to worship at the Metropolitan Church of the Nazarene, as we thank the Lord for His many blessings.
Matthew 18: 20 reminds us: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
It is a blessing and a joy to be with you this morning to share in and to enjoy fellowship.
It is a particular honor and privilege to be with your faith community as we raise our hearts and voices in worship and praise.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
We know by faith and by conviction that we are all God’s children.
We are all made in the image and likeness of God, who loves us all equally.
We all share a common dignity! There is no room in our hearts and minds for prejudice or discrimination.
We see in countries around the world, the results of prejudice.
We sometimes see this prejudice in our own hearts, and in our own country.
After Hurricane Maria recently destroyed much of our Caribbean neighbour Dominica, my Government reached out to help the people of Dominica.
This was the right thing to do. We must help each other in times of need.
The Bahamas is made up of people who have their roots from throughout the Caribbean and the world.
We are made up of people from Africa, Europe and the Americas.
We are made up of people from Dominica, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and from throughout the Caribbean.
We are also made up of people from Haiti. The ties between The Bahamas and Haiti go back for much more than a century.
Haiti and The Bahamas are bound together by history, by geography and by family ties.
So many Bahamians, like Minister Campbell, enjoy such family ties.
This is something we should celebrate.
But no matter where we hail from, we also celebrate unity in our diversity.
We celebrate being One Bahamas. We must be one people in love and unity.
We celebrate those who have contributed so much to building our Bahamas, no matter which land we originally came from.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I know there have been some questions about a recent announcement my Government made about certain immigration matters.
Let me directly address some of those concerns this morning.
We must be fair and just toward those who have contributed in so many ways to The Bahamas.
This means that we must be fair in terms of our immigration practices and policies. It is not fear, nor just, for so many of our young people to be marginalized, isolated or paced in no man’s land -- (stateless). Many cannot open bank accounts, attend universities, or travel in spite of finishing our high schools and in some instances performing at the top of the class.
My Government will act in accordance with our Constitution, and the demands of human dignity and social justice, to grant residency and citizenship for ELIGIBLE individuals, who QUALIFY for such status.
To the press, “No, I am not opening flood gates, but I will, and all of The Bahamas will respect and enforce the laws of our country.”
Too many people have been waiting a long time to be granted permanent residency.
Some people have to go year after year for a work permit, when they should have been granted permanent residency some time ago. We must more vigorously address this issue.
There are also questions about the grant of citizenship.
My Government will create an independent commission to approve applications for citizenship, in accord with the Constitution and our laws. There must not and will not be any political interference in our constitution.
Except for cases of national security, we will remove the approval of applications for citizenship from the Cabinet.
A few weeks ago, I made an announcement about illegal migration to The Bahamas.
The FNM’s immigration policy is not a policy about individuals from any one country.
It is not a policy solely about individuals from the Republic of Haiti.
People of Haitian descent will not be especially targeted.
The policy is about individuals from ANY country who are not legally in The Bahamas.
This includes individuals from the Caribbean, from South America, Central America and North America.
The policy is also concerned with Bahamians who illegally employ individuals from anywhere in the world.
The Bahamas must be a country that upholds the law. We must uphold the law in terms of the grant of permanent residency and citizenship.
We must also uphold the law in terms of illegal migration, and those who illegally employ individuals not in The Bahamas legally. Those Bahamians or otherwise who hire illegals are breaking our laws and will be prosecuted.
The Government of The Bahamas will be humane and just in upholding all of our laws when it comes to immigration matters.
Let me close by again thanking you for the invitation to join you in worship and praise.
Let us join our hearts and minds in thanking Almighty God for his many blessings.
God bless you and God bless our Bahamas.
© Copyright 2017 by thebahamasweekly.com
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