Remarks Southern Shores & Tall Pines Opening of Constituency Offices Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham Party Leader 23 February 2012

Southern Shores; Tall Pines; FNMs:

Night before last we were in Bamboo Town with Cassius Stuart. Tonight we’re here with Kenyatta Gibson and Karen Butler.

All I ‘ga say is three for three.

Before I go on, let met me remind you that this Saturday will be the grand opening of the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium.

Unlike what they did at LPIA, this won’t just be a ceremony to rename something. This will be an official opening of the new National Stadium in honour of one of our great Bahamian athletes.

I want as many of you as possible to come out for the opening of our new world-class 15,000 seat National Stadium. There will be open seating.

Gates open at 3:00 p.m. The official ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m., so you’ll need to be seated by 6:00 p.m. There will be a food pavilion offering food for purchase.

Come out and bring your children so we can: “Celebrate, Bahamas”.

The new Thomas Robinson Stadium is the beginning and the centerpiece of what will be a whole new QE II Sports Centre of which Bahamians will be very proud.

The FNM will transform the 450-acre sports centre into the best athletic complex in the region. Because we deliver, you know our word is our bond.

In our next term we will deliver a new sports centre. Let me tell you some of the facilities that we have planned.

• An athletes village with a cafeteria and health care facilities;

• A multi-purpose complex for sporting associations requiring indoor facilities;

• 12 additional tennis courts added to the National Tennis Centre.

• An improved race area for Hot Rod car racing;

• A nine-hole golf course in addition to the current driving range;

• A new diving facility to complement the Betty K. Swim Complex;

• A new National Baseball Stadium and three additional junior fields;

• A new National Softball Stadium and two standard fields;

• An improved cycling track with a proper slope;

• An American Football Field in the middle of the cycling track; and

• A new venue for Special Olympics Bahamas.

By the way we are building these so-called things for the thousands of young Bahamians and athletes who will use them to pursue their dreams and make The Bahamas proud. You know when that other Party had the opportunity to do something for Bahamian athletes and sportsmen they spent their time talking, holding ceremonies and destroying existing facilities. I can tell you what they think of sports because they have a record that shows and proves it. They broke down the Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium leaving no place for seniors to play baseball.

Then they tore down the Churchill Tenner-Knowles National Softball Pitch. And, if that was not enough, they then dug up the Anthony Curry Practice Field. They did all this in preparation for the construction of a National Stadium but they didn’t manage to ever complete the design for the Stadium. Instead they permitted the first delivery of building materials to rust on what looked like an abandoned site. And, let me tell you about Big Pond Park.

As you know, Big Pond is located in the centre of New Providence in the heart of a very densely populated section of this island. Our original idea for the Big Pond Park dates back to 1995. That is when we began planning the massive and comprehensive New Providence Infrastructure Upgrade programme only now reaching completion.

Big Pond is surrounded on all sides by residential communities, schools and businesses - some immediate and some a little further away. Since we began the conceptualization of the Big Pond Park, the Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gym, the Betty Kenning-Kelly Aquatic complex, and the National Stadium were constructed. I believe that few other sites in New Providence lend themselves to such productive, permanent, life enhancing and changing recreational and business opportunities.

Not so long ago, the area was a part of the city dump! We are going to rehabilitate the site; make it a healthy environment and encourage people to practice healthier lifestyles and hence become healthier people! This is what Big Pond Park represents. The area has been comprehensively studied and evaluated to ensure that Public Health and safety will not be compromised by any proposed activity.

The Park will occupy just over 100 acres of upland area. The pond itself covers about 40. The remaining area is heavily vegetated with significant wetland habitat. The restored ponds will accommodate improved drainage and increase fish and bird habitat. In addition, to what already exist at the soccer field, softball field, bicycle riding track, and the golf pitch, the Park will include a new and improved parking area, children’s play area, hiking and bicycle trails and elevated bird watching towers. When completed, Big Pond will provide active and passive recreational opportunities for Bahamians of every taste.

Taken together with the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium and the other Sport complexes at the site, the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre and Pig Pond Park represents Urban Renewal and new business opportunities in the truest sense of the words. The Park will become the place for Sports business and ancillary services. Importantly, the improvements will create opportunities for Bahamians in recreation, sport medicine, athletic supplies, transportation, eating, and maintenance and repair. FNMs:

Colour Red ‘gat them other people in shock. That’s why they are attacking some of our candidates. Then when we answer them back they get vex. Well let them get vex because we ‘ga answer them back.

They believe they are the party of entitlement. They think that they can make any wild charge and nobody ‘ga respond.

They think that The Bahamas only belong to them. They think that they have a divine right to rule this country forever. Remember how they wouldn’t pay ZNS and Bahamasair the money they owed them?

In 1992 and again in 2007 they “stenched” and delayed when the Bahamian people voted them out of office. We had to wait 2 days in 1992 and another 2 days in 2007 after Election ‘cause they were “stenching” in your offices of state. We don’t go like that. In 2002 when we lost, we handed over the keys right away. But in 2007, senior PLPs were actually telling their people that they won. Some a ‘dem still ‘aint get over it yet. When they get beat this year reality ‘ga finally sink in.

Perry ‘gat the gall to fix his mouth and talk about low road. The low road is where Christie let his ministers take this country. If you Google the name of one of his candidates and of a celebrity and you get back over 1 million hits.

They know that name in Russian and Chinese and French, Spanish, German and Portuguese and all kind of languages.

When we came to office in 1992 and again in 2007, we had to lift The Bahamas off the low road that they left this country on. Now Perry running some of the same people who dishonoured and dirtied our country’s name again! And, he ‘wanna talk about low road: Money in the closet, selling visas, allegations of rape, removal of furniture and bathroom fixtures, representing and taking money from the most notorious drug dealers, and on and on and on. Even now they don’t wanna pay their fair share of customs duty.

And they like copy just about everything we do in this campaign? They even trying to borrow our record.

They say that imitation is supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery. Well in the case of the PLP it’s the insincerest form of flattery ‘cause they don’t give credit where credit is due. They are so jealous that they pretend that just about everything we do is their idea. How despicable!

They don’t just tief ideas from us you know. Beginning in April 2001 there was a civic group started called Safe Bahamas. Sounds familiar? They tief the people name. I thought tiefing was against the law.

The sad part is that one of the reasons Safe Bahamas had to stop operating is because they couldn’t get enough support including from the Christie government.

They failed to implement most of the recommendations from Safe Bahamas; they failed to tackle the Bail issue; they failed to change most of the crime laws; they failed to adequately equip the police force; they failed to implement CCTV; they failed to build new courts; they failed to significantly increase the size of the Police Force; they failed to introduce the electronic bracelet.

Recently their Deputy leader has been criticizing the low level of murder convictions being delivered by our Courts. Seems that one, who is a criminal defence attorney, believes that Government’s have something to do with who is found guilty or innocent by a jury. Tell you what he thinks of the independence of our judicial system.

In any event, the record shows that between June 2002 and May 2007 there were only 9 convictions for murder – three in Grand Bahama and six in New Providence.

You want to hear how many convictions for murder have been handed down between June, 2007 and February, 2012? Twenty-six! You heard me – 26! Eight in Grand Bahama and 18 in New Providence!

One of their Senators, who during their disastrous last term in office served as Attorney General, was shocked by the news last night. She had been the author of Swift Justice! Don’t be tricked by these people. They tricked you before. They are slick and they have some very slick people working for them. And they’ve got plenty money. And there is a reason they have plenty money. The money they’ve got, we don’t want! We rather be out than in if we have to use that money.

These hands are clean!!

The facts demonstrate that Swift Justice was a public relations exercise; it was even quite severely criticized by a Supreme Court judge. You don’t need catchy phrases for programmes to improve processes and efficiencies. You need to put your money where your mouth is – improve and increase resources and training for crime fighting and detection which permits the police to build good cases against suspects; to improve the legal system and court system, you engage skilled prosecutors and additional justices. That’s how you win solid convictions.

What I find really disturbing is that just about everything they say they gonna do about crime your FNM has either already done, is doing or is in the process of putting in place. They don’t have an original idea. They don’t have a clue what to do.

Fighting crime, just like every issue requires tough and decisive leadership. You can trust these hands to beat back this scourge of crime.

These are the same safe hands that on three separate occasions during this term in office made arrangements with BEC so that households whose electricity supply had been disconnected due to non-payment during these difficult economic times, could make arrangements to have the electricity service restored. Since I announced the beginning of the third BEC electricity reconnection programme at our meeting in Elizabeth on the 9th of this month some 2,323 disconnected households have had their electricity restored. We Deliver!

Southern Shores; Tall Pines:

To help deliver more for you, we need reliable people on our Delivery Team. So, tonight I’ve come to ask you to deliver for us Karen Butler and Kenyatta Gibson.

Karen is a single mother of her 16 year old son, Kayson. She understands the importance of education in the development of our youth and indeed our nation. She’s a graduate of COB and of the University of The West Indies with a mind for science and math. In fact, she has a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Physics and a Minor in Mathematics.

She has spent 17 years as a Maths and Science teacher in government operated schools in Abaco and New Providence. She’s an avid sports person and has always promoted healthy leisure activity among her students serving as athletic coach to a number of school sport teams. Karen is firmly committed to building strong communities. A powerful advocate for labour, she served as a shop steward in the Bahamas Union of Teachers. She has served as the President of her Toastmasters Club and as an advisor to various youth groups. Karen is the FNM candidate for Tall Pines; she is my candidate for Tall Pines and I ask you to vote for Karen and make her your FNM Member of Parliament for Tall Pines. She cares about you. That is why she will work hard for you and that is why she will deliver for you! FNMs:

Kenyatta Gibson got so tired of Perry Christie’s dancing and shuffling, and talk, talk and more talk, that he felt compelled to leave the PLP in search of substance; in search of real commitment to national service and in search of a Party that offers decisive and real leadership. He found all that in the FNM and we were happy to welcome him. He brings great talent which will help us to continue delivering better for all of you.

Kenyatta is also a graduate of COB; then he studied law and was called to the Bar 15 years ago. He now has his own law firm. He’s a thinking man who writes well and has been involved in public life for some time. He is known for his passion for fairness. He is a former Chairman of the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation and is presently the Chairman of the Gaming Board. With his varied experiences and ‘can do attitude’, Kenyatta is making a valuable contribution to our Party.

Kenyatta is the FNM candidate for Southern Shores; he is my candidate for Southern Shores and I ask you to vote Kenyatta and make him your FNM Member of Parliament for Southern Shores. He cares about you. That is why he will continue to work hard for you and that is why he will deliver for you! You know, Kenyatta tells me that one of the reasons he joined us was because he knows and believes that vision without action is hallucination, which is what Christie and them suffer from.

Remember that $20 billion they said they had attracted in investments? Where it is? They’re still claiming it was “tangible”. Well, show us the money or at least show us something we feel or touch that you did with the money. Just like the money they spent in every budget on education infrastructure – we can’t find the schools they were supposed to build with the money? Only God knows what became of the money they spent on the old City Market building on Market Street – a dilapidated shell of a building!

They like to make grand promises they can’t or won’t keep. They can’t keep small promises, much less big promises.

Now they are going around saying that they are going to double the size of the education budget. You think the same people who couldn’t build a single school in five years could double anything? Do you think those who gave $400,000 in scholarships verses the $18 million in scholarships granted by the FNM are serious about doubling the education budget?

Y’all read the papers yesterday. Here’s what one paper had to say about that empty promise to double the education budget.

“The hope of being elected to power causes some to lose track of reality. Thus far in the 2012 campaign the most extraordinarily impractical and wildest promise has been made by the PLP.”

Here’s what else they said about the fantasyland that they live in:

“When parties make promises that are obviously unrealistic, they insult the people. Bahamians deserve better than wild promises – especially from the oldest political party in the country. We would suggest that the PLP revisit its education promise and tone it down. The PLP can do better.”

No, the truth is, that they really can’t do better. And, good luck on getting them to tone down their wild promises. All they have is promises, because they don’t have a good record to stand on. They are the party of big talk and no action.

Let me give you some real talk on education. When we return to office we are going to make targeted investments.

One area of priority will be investing in teacher training and development and developing school leadership. Two things are critical in improving student achievement. One of them is the involvement of parents in the education of their children.

The other piece is the quality of teaching. Our task is to continue to improve in that area, including in various subject areas and particularly in Math and English. So teacher development will be a priority.

I also wish to announce tonight a pilot programme we will introduce and then expand over time.

A new FNM Government will launch a Summer Institute for boys leaving primary school for junior high.

We know that up until primary school that our boys do reasonably well. But after that, their performance starts to fall off. Some of them get distracted and start to day dream about females. We have to be frank in admitting that most of our crime is committed by young men of a certain age.

So in order to address both the issue of crime and the education of our young men, the Summer Institute will be a concentrated all-day programme for boys. We believe that this single-sex approach may yield very good results.

The programme will be voluntary. If a parent enrolls their son in the Summer Institute the involvement of the parents will be mandatory including a parenting programme.

The Summer Institute will focus on English, math and oral communication as well as character development and Bahamian culture and heritage. Those enrolled will learn about anger management and healthy lifestyles, and skills like fishing and swimming.

The teaching method will be similar to that of the International Baccalaureate programme. The Summer Institute will be experienced-based and will include field trips and guest speakers from the community and the church.

The teachers in the programme will be first rate teachers including retired teachers who are excellent in their subject areas and who have a track record for class discipline. Teachers for the programme will come from both the public and private school systems and will receive a stipend for their services.

Participants in the programme will be provided with lunch along the lines of the National School Lunch Programme which exists in government-operated schools.

Each class in the Summer Institute will have about 20 to 25 students. We are going to ask the religious community to assist with and in identifying tutors and mentors. We believe that these are the kinds of bold and innovative programme that can make a difference.

FNMs:

We will continue to address the big issues in our country. But we can only address them with real leadership.

And by the way, when it comes to delivering and leadership, Perry Christie ain’t no Hubert Ingraham.

Perry talks and Pappa delivers!