NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Recalling the Free National Movement’s (FNM) crushing defeat at the polls last September, St Barnabas MP Shanendon Cartwright said last night the party got the Bahamian people’s message “loud and clear”.
He said its response must be extraordinary resolve and proactiveness to the issues confronting the public during “unparalleled times”.
We cannot bury our heads in the political sand.
– Shanendon Cartwright
“The Free National Movement hears you,” said Cartwright, who is running for deputy leader of the party.
“Our leader, Michael Pintard, hears you.
“We got the message loud and clear. We will respond.
“Fellow delegates, our response must consider the historical bookmark of the moment.
“We are in unparalleled times, extraordinary times.
“A time further pressed by the fallout of a global pandemic, rising gas prices, a strained global supply chain, debilitating inflation and a nationally self-inflicted 10 percent tax on breadbasket items and prescriptions medicines.”
The opposition has decried the imposition of value-added tax (VAT) on breadbasket items and certain medicines, which were previously exempted when VAT stood at 12 percent prior to January 1.
The government has made the case that the overall reduction of the tax results in more savings for consumers.
But the St Barnabas MP said the rising food prices will result in emptier cupboards, and that difficulties in accessing taxed medications could compromise health across the nation, including for the elderly and the thousands of families dealing with non-communicable diseases.
He added that less disposable income defers the dreams and aspirations of Bahamians.
“In these extraordinary times in our nation’s history, we are required to have extraordinary resolve and respond resolutely and proactively to the prevailing issues of the day,” Cartwright said.
“Issues, frankly, that the Bahamian people continue to express have evaded us for far too long.
“So, FNMs, as we gather here in this convention, we have a duty not be oblivious or dismissive.
“We cannot bury our heads in the political sand.
“To do so would be political malpractice but, most importantly, a dereliction of duty to the Bahamian people.”
Instead, Cartwright said the FNM must satiate the electorate’s appetite for big change and real transformation, asserting that the electoral back-and-forth is a function of the Bahamian people longing for direction and sustained vision from aspiring leaders.
He said the FNM can no longer allow the change Bahamians desire to be “held hostage to an execution gap” between what is promised and what is done.
Threat
Cartwright said crime will continue to threaten the Bahamian way of life and it is incumbent on the government to lay out plans to mitigate the scourge, though the issue ought not to be political.
He said the prospect for a better Bahamas cannot be realized without creating safer communities and fortifying The Bahamas’ national security.
According to crime statistics released by the commissioner of police, murders increased 63 percent last year over the year prior, from 73 to 119.
Overall, crime remained unchanged, but there were increases in several serious categories of crime, including sexual assault and attempted rape — both areas the armed forces have committed to placing greater focus on.
Cartwright lauded the FNM’s advances in the fight against crime under the former administration.
“FNM’s, it is exactly this commitment to progress, change and the governing legacy of our party that has us uniquely prepared us to right-size, refocus and redouble our efforts to re-enlist the electoral confidence of the Bahamian people,” he said.
“Delegates, we’ve navigated these waters before.”
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