Former PM says public the “victim” of bad govt decisions
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Former Prime Minister Perry Christie said yesterday that the government must seek to ensure “oneness” with the opposition and civil society as it implements policy decisions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to reporters outside the House of Assembly for the lying-in-state of former House Speaker Oswald Ingraham, Christie was asked his thoughts on the state of emergency and the current state of the country.
“Governments always make mistakes when they do not work hard to ensure there is unanimity in some areas at the political level,” he said.
“The people are invariably the victims of any decision a government makes if it’s not a good decision.
“Therefore, the government must always be mindful of the importance of working hard to ensure they are at one with the opposition, at one with civil society, so people can understand what’s taking place.”
Christie noted the government’s decision must be driven by “science, and not politics”.
“The decisions have to be evidence-based decisions,” he continued.
“…To the point where you are making decisions that would have sometimes terrible impacts on people, you have to protect yourself as a government, in letting people know that there are people around me.”
The former prime minister noted that while the current prime minister is a doctor and one cannot fault his professional experience, there should also be room for criticism from others in leadership.
“It’s important that constructive criticisms be accepted as constructive criticism in the country because there is one area where we must work hard as a country to be seen to agree with each other when it comes to our health,” Christie said.
“We must work extra hard to have a maturation process, a mature approach to healthcare, because it could be very, very negatively impactful with negative consequences to people if they don’t have confidence in what is taking place.”
He added, “And they would have confidence if they know Brave Davis and Dr Minnis are at one on some areas of this matter because there must be areas where they can work more closely together.”
