RT. HON.PERRY G. CHRISTIE
NASSAU VILLAGE PLP LAUNCH
MARCH 24th, 2012
NASSAU VILLAGE – HOW YOU FEELIN’ TONIGHT!
LOOK AT ALL THE PEOPLE!
ARE YOU READY FOR A NEW DAY?
ARE YOU READY FOR A GOVERNMENT THAT REALLY BELIEVES IN BAHAMIANS?
ARE YOU READY FOR A TALENTED NEW GENERATION OF LEADERS?
I KNOW YOU ARE!
THAT’S WHY YOU’RE GOING GOLD WITH DION SMITH AND THE PLP!
Listen up, now – this new generation of PLP leaders is going to bring big change to The Bahamas!
Dion Smith is a part of this generational change. And together we’re going to fight crime, create jobs and double the nation’s investment in education and training.
This new generation’s bringing their energy and their new ideas to a party already loaded with talent and expertise.
You know — what Sir Lynden did for me and for Bernard Nottage and for so many others – we are doing for this new generation – preparing the way forward, sharing expertise and letting them shine.
And make no mistake, these new leaders like Dion Smith are not window dressing. They’re the real deal. They are going to be the ones to whom our Party will be entrusting its future, and the future of the Bahamian people.
That’s why I know The Bahamas has a bright future – because of smart, dynamic, honest and sincere young Bahamians like Dion Smith.
Dion is ready to fight for young Bahamians, to make sure they have the skills and the opportunities they need to compete and succeed.
He believes, as I do, that we cannot afford to lose an entire generation to violence.
He believes, as I do, that we need a government that cares about crime all the time, not just at election time.
He and others worked hard with me last summer to create PROJECT SAFE BAHAMAS, the Progressive Liberal Party’s innovative plan to fight crime and reduce violence.
You know, Nassau Village, murders have doubled over the last five years. Can you imagine that! This is a real crisis. You’ve felt it yourselves. I’m sure everyone of you here has lost a relative or a close friend to homicide or, if you haven’t, I know that you live in fear of it happening to you or someone close to you.
Crime! Violent crime! It’s the Number One social problem in our country today.
But what does this Government of Hubert Ingraham and Tommy Turnquest have to say about it? They actually go on TV and brag about what they’ve done! They’re running the commercials right now, with Hubert Ingraham bragging about what they’ve done to deal with crime.
These people are really out of touch with reality! They’ve really become delusional. You really think their head good?
500 murders on their watch and they have the nerve to do TV commercials patting themselves on the back for what they’ve done to deal with crime. Can you imagine that! It’s Unbelievable! It’s Unthinkable!
They should hang their head in shame and be gone! Be gone from the public life of The Bahamas! When it comes to crime, they have been miserable failures!
Nassau Village – do you want real solutions to crime?
Nassau Village, do you want URBAN RENEWAL?
Nassau Village – do you want real WITNESS PROTECTION?
Nassau Village – do you believe our nation should increase border patrols, and raise penalties for illegal weapons?
I know you do – I know you’re ready for a real plan to fight crime.
And make no mistake about this either. If you’re looking for real and lasting solutions to this crime problem, there’s only one Party that has a comprehensive and viable plan for fighting crime. And that Party is the PLP. No other Party has a clue as to what she be done. The DNA is clueless and Tommy Turnquest, Hubert Ingraham and the FNM are even more clueless!
We cannot be passive about this terrible problem – we must get involved.
That means everyone – concerned residents, community leaders, clergy, the private sector, law enforcement – everyone working together.
We need SAFE HAVENS for those who fear immediate violence.
OPERATION CEASE FIRE will offer a focus on repeat offenders, and real increased surveillance of those out on jail.
We’re also going to introduce VIOLENCE BREAKERS – outreach workers with street credibility who will be trained in conflict mediation and available 24/7.
And hand-in-hand with those measures, we’re going to have a massive new investment in education and training.
Because if young Bahamians are going to have a chance to lift themselves up, they’re going to need 21st century skills.
Yes, that’s right – we’re going to DOUBLE the nation’s investment in education and training.
The FNM and the DNA say it can’t be done!
The Prime Minister strolls into Parliament and tells the Bahamian people that the roadworks are nearly $100 million over-budget – he does it casually, like it’s no big deal – but when it comes to you, he say the cupboard’s bare!
When it comes to giving out big big contracts to foreign contractors, the FNM spends money like it’s going out of style but when it comes to you….when it comes to people – they say there’s no money left.
So I repeat it once more : they can find an extra 100 million dollars to invest in roads but when it comes to investing in education for you and your children, Ingraham, says, too bad for you; you’re out of luck because he has no money for that.
They have their priorities all wrong, Nassau Villge. That’s why we have to put them out and keep them out!
And so, the PLP is the only political party ready to make a massive new investment in the Bahamian people. The FNM and the DNA are both against Urban Renewal, and the FNM and the DNA are both against doubling the nation’s investment in education and training.
You see, they don’t understand. They don’t get it. We need really big change if we are going to survive and thrive in the 21st century.
We need Career Path Academies, with first-class vocational and technical training and apprenticeship opportunities. We need Worker Re-training, for those Bahamians already in the workforce who need to constantly update their skills in order to stay competitive. We need to make sure Bahamians are part of the technology and information revolutions, with Technology Centres and upgraded schools all across the nation.
Make no mistake about this either : the nations which invest in people will be the nations which create jobs.
That’s the way to prosperity – believing in Bahamians enough to invest in them.
Why should so many foreigners be working in The Bahamas when one in three young Bahamians are out of work?
And can you imagine what will happen if we follow the FNM and the DNA’s path, the path in which we DON’T make this major new investment? How expensive will that be? Without an educated workforce, how we will build and attract the new industries we need to attract in order to stay competitive?
How will we take Bahamians out of dead-end, low-wage, unreliable jobs and turn them into owners and innovators? If we don’t invest in people, imagine the costs: more crime, more poverty, more unemployment, a social service system that can’t keep up.
We MUST believe in Bahamians. We MUST invest in Bahamians! We MUST put Bahamians first!
And that’s really what we should be talking about in this election. We cannot afford to have an election about lies and personal attacks. This election should be about BIG things – about reducing violence, expanding the economy and making sure Bahamians have the skills to compete in the 21st century.
Ignore the lies! Ignore the hate! Don’t pay any attention to a Prime Minister who has fallen so low that he would call out – during a political rally – call out by name a voter who he said was registered in the wrong place! And the thing about it is, the voter was acting in a perfectly lawful way. That’s what made it so nasty and so cruel. The Prime Minister really should be ashamed of himself for doing that. And for deliberately flaunting the directive not to reveal the names of any registered persons either!
But never mind, we are on the march now. The other side will try every trick in the book but we’ll be ready and waiting for them. They will fail. They will go down in defeat. The FNM is headed for rejection at the polls.
Bu we in the PLP will be entrusted with the awesome challenge of taking our country in a new direction; a new direction towards a safer, a more prosperous future. Believe me when I say that I am supremely confident that with God’s good grace and your support, we will form the next Government of The Bahamas! Believe me on that!
So, Garden Hills, are you ready!
Are you ready to roll with Dion Smith?
Are you ready to roll with the PLP?
Come join me then….come join Dion Smith….come join us as we move forward together in a new direction, towards a new and brighter day.
PLP! PLP! PLP…..ALL THE WAY!
