Christie Says Gov’t “Bastardizing” Urban Renewal

"Since you are bastardizing Urban Renewal, since you are mongrelizing school policing – I am told today, you sent home all those persons who would have been employed as tourism [police] officers telling them bring your uniforms in, your time is finished as of tomorrow – I say to all Bahamians, this country was not a country created for Hubert Ingraham and the FNM; this is a country for Bahamians," Mr. Christie said.

He was the featured speaker at an outdoor meeting of the PLP Yamacraw Branch in Elizabeth Estates in eastern New Providence.

"When the Progressive Liberal party introduced Urban Renewal as a programme in this country we knew that our commitment was to introduce a programme that would have a long term commitment to empowering communities through the presence of police officers who would be one with the community, to empower those communities to develop strategies to help in the fight against crime and to diminish the fear of crime," Mr. Christie said.

"My God, Mr. Ingraham, the most innovative programme introduced in this country of a social nature is right in place before your eyes. If you don’t know it, read about it. Why are you trying to change something that was working just because the PLP introduced it?"

Mr. Christie’s comments came hours after the country recorded its 43rd murder for 2007 and hours before it recorded its 46th.

Referring to contracts that had been put on hold or cancelled, the Opposition leader accused the Free National Movement of misleading Bahamians while on the campaign trail.

"People voted them in to restore trust in government…If the truth is absent, there is no basis for trust…The FNM never told you, the Bahamian people, that if they were to be elected they would begin to dismiss Bahamians," he said.

"They spoke about civil servants, but I don’t believe Bahamians came to understand that as soon as they came to power they would begin to lose their jobs. The question is are they sending them home because they believe them to be PLPs?"

He continued, "Somewhere along the line the hurt and the harm being inflicted on Bahamians by this government must prick the conscience of those ministers of religion that support them and must cause them to ask the question ‘is this the reason why I supported this party – FNM – to form the government of The Bahamas?’ Somebody with a conscience in this country must ask the question of whether people should be treated in that fashion without regard to the challenges that will be visited upon them as a result of the loss of their employment."

Mr. Christie accused the Ingraham Administration of setting a dangerous precedent.

"Any government that arrogates unto itself the right to review contracts entered into by a former government where those contracts were not unlawfully entered into leaves it open for that policy to be all embracing and for that policy to impact this country in a way that will be permanently harmful to this country," he warned.

"Yet, this country’s businesspersons, all of them see that as just an ordinary day in the life of this new government – not a whimper, not a murder from them. Whatever is the standard that those in business in this country would now wish to re-introduce or to introduce for the first time, a standard that would enable governments not to honour the contracts of prior governments, I can tell you that is a very dangerous thing to do and not until others truly weigh that and measure it will the debate in this country as to how silly that is and how wrong that is really ensue."

Mr. Christie claimed that some people the Christie Administration gave contracts to are today suffering.

"I’m really ashamed that in today’s Bahamas young Bahamians who are so qualified have been the recipient of such cruel and unthinking action, such callous behaviour by this government," he said.

"I could only assume that they’re going to stop giving contracts a year or two before they go into general elections because if they could review contracts entered into by my government, a new government obviously reserves its right to do the same thing. Now you know how dangerous that is? Investors looking at our Bahamas must be concerned by a statement that I have just made, a statement that has really been brought about by the behaviour of Hubert Ingraham and his government."

As he has done in the past, Mr. Christie also blasted the new government for – in his view – abandoning the National Health Insurance Programme.

"This new government comes to power and even though they agreed and voted for the National Health Insurance Act – we said at the time they weren’t serious; they didn’t say to the people of this country how serious they were in ensuring that it doesn’t take place –but as soon as they won they came up with a programme to introduce some national programme to help in the payment of certain prescription drugs for chronic illnesses," he said.

"That is their answer and their response to the Progressive Liberal Party’s commitment to National Health Insurance. Well, I said in 2002; I said in 2007 the result of not being able to have National health Insurance for many Bahamians will be death."