Release
to the Press
Statement by: Frank Smith, MP
Release date: August 22nd 2009
The Department Statistics Report on Unemployment
The latest report from the Department of Statistics provides
more evidence that the Rt. Hon. Is better at winning elections than at
Governing the Country. In fact the evidence continues to mount of the fundamental
failure of The Right Hon. Hubert Ingraham as Prime Minister of the Commonwealth
of The Bahamas.
This is apparent once we recall the following key promises
of the Election Campaign of 1992:The Country was assured of Deliverance:
-
Deliverance of “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!”
-
Deliverance of “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! to be created by investors
lined up over the bar.”
-
Deliverance of “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! to be created by investors
lined up over the bar, and because of an explosion of tourists who were
not ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken Tourists” i.e. by tourists who would be
loaded and spend plenty of money.
-
Deliverance of “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!” to be created by investors
lined up over the bar, and because of an explosion of tourists who were
not “Kentucky Fried Chicken Tourists” i.e. by tourists who would loaded
and spend plenty of money, plus the assurance that these promises would
happen despite the fact that there was the First Gulf War and a so
called Global recession since the world had such confidence in him that
he would not only produce the well paying jobs but see that they were maintained
despite whatever else was happening in other countries. In fact he
asserted that it was dishonest for the then PLP Government to relate the
high unemployment to any Global recession.
The reality the official unemployment rate on Grand Bahama
is 17.4% - higher than it was when Mr. Ingraham assumed Office on August
19th 1992. The unemployment rate on New Providence is 14%, essentially
the same as it was when Mr. Ingraham assumed Office in 1992. The seriousness
of the situation is re-enforced by the comments by the Director of Statistics
which suggest that since May 2009 when the survey was done things have
in fact gotten worse. For example we know that jobs have been lost
in the Financial Services Sector from places like Ansbacher, in tourism,
with the closure at Grand Bahama, Exuma, and New Providence.
Worse still, the Ingraham Government cannot hide behind
and claim about “global economic conditions”, because when he was making
his promises in the summer of 1992, he knew full well that at that time
global economic conditions reflected the adverse impact of the first Gulf
War.
What is abundantly clear is what he said in 1992 – It
is time for a Change!
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