Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney last night promised to introduce a comprehensive immigration policy within six months if his party wins the next general election."Bahamians will not have to guess what transpires in this ministry as we will publish our policy for all to see," said McCartney at a street meeting on Carmichael Road. According to McCartney, under a DNA government, people wanting to be regularized and gain citizenship must know the English language and vital aspects of Bahamian culture.
When applying for citizenship, a recent photograph must be published in the local newspapers, said McCartney, who also said repatriated illegal immigrants will be fingerprinted. He also said the Immigration Act will be amended to make the harboring of illegal immigrants an offense. He also spoke about his tenure as minister of state for immigration in the Free National Movement (FNM) administration before he left and formed the DNA in 2011
. "When I served as minister of [state for] immigration, I was not allowed to execute my duties," he said. "At every turn, I faced resistance from the prime minister. It was interference after interference after interference. "Both the (Progressive Liberal Party) PLP and the FNM lack the political will to address this problem. They have proven time and again that they are only interested in making a few arrests here and there to make the public believe that they are serious about immigration." Political rallies "At the political rallies we hear the music, the performances and the sound bites," he said. "But I ask you tonight Bahamas, when the rally is over, are you better off? When the music stops playing, are your problems solved?
The PLP and the FNM have had almost 50 years to turn The Bahamas around and they did not do it. Now they want us to believe that they will empower us next time." McCartney criticized the PLP and FNM for making empty promises such as providing cable television for the entire country and doubling the investment in education. "The prime minister recently said at a rally in Eleuthera that his government, and I quote,'is taking $320,000 from the Public Treasury to ensure that the deep south of Eleuthera, north Long Island and west and south Exuma have access to cable services...'," said McCartney. "Wasn't Cable Bahamas supposed to [introduce cable to] the entire Bahamas within its first 10 years in existence?What gives the prime minister the audacity to think that it is ok for him to use our money on something that Cable Bahamas should have paid for and completed years ago?"
McCartney said this once again shows Ingraham's"reckless spending nature". He also dismissed the PLP's announcement to double the investment in education as nothing but "tricky rhetoric". McCartney said a DNA government would not spend almost$300 million per year on a ministry that is netting poor results. McCartney urged Bahamians not to vote for the same men who have been in Parliament since 1977. "Many of you weren't even born yet when these men started their political careers," he said. "Let's give [Prime Minister Hubert] Ingraham and [PLP Leader Perry] Christie their overdue retirement package. Let's give them a resounding defeat at the polls."
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