PERRY GLADSTONE CHRISTIE
LEADER, PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL PARTY
STATEMENT
April 10, 2012
Having run out of time, Hubert Ingraham has been forced to ring the bell for the 2012 elections.
The Progressive Liberal Party welcomes the election season as an opportunity to debate issues of critical national importance and, most of all, as an opportunity to bring change to The Bahamas.
The FNM is asking voters for support at a time when Bahamians are struggling with record violence, record unemployment, record foreclosures, and record national debt.
Murders have doubled under the FNM’s watch – tragically, nearly 500 Bahamians have lost their lives to violence. One in three young Bahamians are out of work. Record cost overruns on the New Providence Roadworks – now nearly $100 million overbudget – have caused voters to ask serious questions about this government’s basic competence. And the government’s decision to sell majority control of BTC to foreigners underscored the FNM’s contempt for Bahamians.
Bahamians are looking for a new direction, and for a government that believes in Bahamians.
The Progressive Liberal Party is ready to bring big change, starting on day one.
In our last term in office, under my leadership, the Progressive Liberal Party created 22,000 jobs, attracted record levels of new investment, pioneered new crime-fighting programmes like Urban Renewal, invested $25 million in Bahamian entrepreneurs, and built a record number of classrooms and a record number of homes.
This year, the PLP has a new generation of leaders, with new ideas and new solutions.
We have a tough, innovative and comprehensive plan to fight crime, reduce violence, and secure our borders. Project Safe Bahamas and Urban Renewal 2.0 include tougher sentences for criminals, real witness protection, school policing, and saturation patrols in crime hot spots.
It’s time for a government that cares about crime all the time, not just at election time.
The Progressive Liberal Party believes in Bahamians – of course Bahamians can compete, can own, can succeed.
We will double the nation’s investment in education and training, with new Career Path Academies, worker retraining, 21st century classrooms, and new technology centres. Bahamians deserve access to the best education, the best training, and the best technology. Bahamians must be included in the information and technology revolutions sweeping the world.
As part of our plan to help the nation’s economy recover and grow, the PLP will offer relief to homeowners struggling with mortgage payments.
And when the PLP is in charge of building or repairing the nation’s roads and bridges and seawalls, we will be hiring Bahamian contractors and workers, not foreigners.
The Progressive Liberal Party believes Bahamian voters are asking three big questions:
— Which party believes in Bahamians and will put Bahamians first?
— Which party will fight crime and reduce violence?
— Which party has a plan to create jobs by ensuring Bahamians have the skills they need to compete in the 21st century?
The answer to all three questions is the Progressive Liberal Party:
We believe in The Bahamas.
We will put Bahamians first.
We have a tough plan to fight crime.
And we have a smart, innovative plan to create jobs and invest in Bahamians.
So many Bahamians have already shared their hopes and dreams, and their fears and concerns, with me, as I travel around all our islands. For the rest of you — I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail. This election is about you, and your future.
Believe in The Bahamas!
