Despite ten percent unemployment, lingering industrial action, falling investor confidence and declining tourism – “the future is bright”, Prime Minister Perry Christie told delegates on the final night of the PLP’s 50th Anniversary convention.
Dancing his way to the podium, only to be upstaged by Paul Adderley for a few minutes, Christie started his speech off with a bang by announcing his government’s intention to rename Nassau International Airport after former PM, Sir Lynden O. Pindling.
Unfazed by critics of such a move, and putting aside claims by The Punch tabloid that Atlantis’s Sol Kerzner had vetoed the renaming idea, Mr. Christie delighted his audience and brought tears to the eyes of Pindling family members as he made the announcement.
A good portion of the Prime Minister’s keynote address was devoted to a quick outline of numerous Family Island developments that have been proposed or agreed upon. Promising over 8,000 permanent jobs and some $3 Billion in new foreign investment, Mr. Christie gave brief overviews of intended developments for numerous out islands including Exuma, Abaco, Bimini, The Berry Islands, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Rum Cay and San Salvador.
He also announced a potential major development for Grand Bahama which would include two 18-hole golf courses, condominiums and homes. The proposal includes an arrangement with the developer to match – “dollar for dollar” – the revitalisation of the West End area into a beach front boardwalk for tourists and residents.
The Prime Minister reiterated his earlier position, insisting upon an adherence to his code of ethics but deftly avoided responding to the criticism regarding his lack of enforcement of the code.
The speech also contained a warning to vocal FNM opponents. While assuring the public that the PLP will not tolerate victimisation, Mr. Christie lashed out at FNMs for victimising PLPs. He also “promised” them they will face prosecution with “maximum severity”, rather than victimisation, for victimising PLPs or behaving “contrary to public interests”.
In a few impassioned moments, during his nearly two hour speech, the Prime Minister chastised young union leaders for thinking they knew more about the needs of their members than several of his Cabinet appointees, some of whom were involved in union affairs prior to entering politics.
He called upon union leaders, and members, to recognise their responsibility in ensuring the reliable delivery of important services for Bahamians and tourists alike. Saying that aggressive industrial action should should be a “last resort”, Mr. Christie called on union leaders to restore discipline, restraint and goodwill as the central virtues of industrial relations in the country for the good of our “fragile economy”.
Admitting that Nassau was no longer up to the acceptable standards of an increasingly sophisticated tourism market, Mr. Christe informed his audience, and the nation in his televised speech, that visitors were going back to the cruise ships, “with money still in their pockets”, because many Bahamians haven’t taken advantage of the numerous opportunities that tourism presents.
In a particularly motivating part of his speech, Mr. Christie challenged young Bahamians to take advantage of these many entrepreneurial possibilities that his “new PLP” government was making possible. He did not elaborate on how young Bahamians would finance business startups other than saying that the Bahamas Development Bank would be responding to their needs.
After being accused of doing very little in his first 18 months in office, Prime Minister Christie came to the podium to tell the Bahamas that he and his government have been busy indeed, cooking up all the things he outlined in this evening’s address.
In a prophetic moment, laced with underlying confidence, the PM looked forward, saying “maybe 20 years” from now (4 more terms) he’ll be sitting on the dock looking at some other young Bahamian who will say “I am the Prime Minister of The Bahamas.”
You may download a copy of Mr. Christie’s complete speech here Word.doc format – 115KB
