Press Release
Issued by Raynard Rigby, National Chairman
Sunday, 20th August, 2006
 

Hubert Ingraham praises the PLP

Over the past few days, and particularly on Saturday (19th August, 2006), Hubert Ingraham and the FNM are showing clear signs that they already have accepted defeat at the upcoming general elections. None other than Hubert Ingraham has accepted too, and publicly said so, that this PLP is a united party and he advised his supporters to be like PLPs. That is a clear indication that Hubert Ingraham now recognizes and has fully accepted that there is no future in the FNM and that he nor Brent Symonette has the support of that party.

In fact, if Hubert Ingraham would just speak the truth he would say to his party that the PLP has been accepting former and disgruntled FNM supporters in large mass since his return to the leadership of the FNM. Many of them say that Hubert Ingraham is the same old dictator and that he believes and acts as if only he has all of the answers. It is no surprise therefore that he is struggling to gain acceptance and has found it necessary to publicly chastise and rebuke his supporters for their infighting. Perhaps, if Hubert Ingraham understood what democracy was all about he would truly appreciate why his own party is so opposed to his single-handed selection of all of the candidates.

At the FNM’s flopped mini-rally, Hubert Ingraham again used the podium to speak untruths and to cast the most nasty and vicious mischaracterizations against the PLP and the outstanding record of this Government since we came to office on the 2nd May, 2002. The simple fact of the matter is that Ingraham is disturbed and is walking around like a political demon because of the following facts, which he knows he cannot lie about:
(1) The Bahamian economy is performing far better than it did in May 2002 and is projected to reach a positive growth of nearly 6% before the next general election;
(2) The national reserves are at the healthiest than they have ever been before in our history;
(3) We have put more Bahamians in their own homes than the FNM did in almost 10 years in office;
(4) We have taken positive steps to reform the educational system and to improve the grade averages; and
(5) Bahamians everywhere, in Bimini, in Eleuthera, in Inagua, in Grand Bahama and in Rum Cay, all over The Bahamas, have the confidence in the future because this PLP government has brought real sustainable economic growth right to their homes and settlements. All Bahamians know that they are better off today than they were in 2002.

These are the facts and nothing echoed out of the mouth of Hubert Ingraham will distract from these facts. The sooner he and his cohorts accept these facts the better for them.

It would also be wise for Hubert Ingraham to remember that those in a glass house should be the last ones to throw stones. Mr. Ingraham must obviously have forgotten that his Deputy, Brent Symonette, had to resign as the Chairman of the Airport Authority because he had granted a contract to a company where he was a major shareholder without declaring his interests; this is conflict of interest and amounts to a brazen case of corruption and nepotism.

Mr. Ingraham must have also forgotten about the $135,000 that went missing from Bahamasair on the watch of Frank Watson.

Certainly, Mr. Ingraham could not have forgotten the serious allegations of corruption and impropriety that were levied against his team of Tommy Turnquest and Dion Foulkes.

Ingraham must also declare what he received from the special interest group of the FNM to return as leader of that fringe party.

It must also be clear to the public at large that Hubert Ingraham will stoop to any low, nasty wickedness to attempt to get his sweating paws on the reins of the government. He would even stoop to criticize the Church and the Church’s involvement in national affairs. It should be obvious that Ingraham is no respecter of the Church and has not yet grasped the salient principles of a democracy and how a democracy works. This PLP has shown that the Bahamian people have a right to participate in the affairs of the government and the Commissions appointed by the Prime Minister are a testament to the skill, intellectual and national good that can be generated when Bahamians from all walks of life put their heads together to solve and assist in the framing of national policies.

We are not going back to the dark days of Hubert Ingraham when he single-handedly rammed down the throats of the Financial Services Sector eleven pieces of legislation without any form of consultation and when he tried to bam-boozle the Bahamian people into accepted his views on constitutional reform. He was a dictator then and remains a dictator today.

This is the same Hubert Ingraham who publicly threatened pledged and promised to reduce the ranks of the civil service if his party wins the next General Elections.  That means Mr. Ingraham would find it appropriate to displace hundreds of hard working Bahamians and take bread out of the mouths of their hundreds of Bahamian families.

This is the same Hubert Ingraham who also advised illegal Haitians who were rounded up by the police to sue the Government of The Bahamas.

I am satisfied based on my traveling to the Family Islands and my discussions with the Bahamian people that this PLP will be returned to the seat of the government to continue the work that was started in May 2002 and to continue our plans to put our nation on the path of prosperity empowerment and opportunities for all Bahamians. Even Hubert Ingraham now sees the handwriting on the wall.