The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie has said his Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) must be re-elected to government as he urged Bahamians to register to vote at a time when registration numbers are low.

Mr Christie suggested to supporters that the PLP should retain the government because it has already given the nod to major investments that would not only improve unemployment numbers, but support economic growth.

He was speaking during a mini rally in Exuma on Friday night in support of insurance executive Chester Cooper’s recent ratification for the constituency.

“I want to be able to tell you this. We have to form the next government of the Bahamas after the next general election,” Mr Christie said. “The party that wins the majority of seats will form the government.

“For that to happen, Fred Mitchell must win in Fox Hill, Jerome Fitzgerald in Marathon, (Philip) ‘Brave’ Davis in Cat Island, Obie Wilchcombe in West End and Bimini (and) Perry Christie in Centreville.”

He also said: “We have to be registered to be able to vote. If you can’t vote, you ain’t saying nothing to nobody. So the first order of business is to recognise that if we are going to have Chester Cooper, if we are going to have Exuma (and) if we are going to have the Progressive Liberal Party, if we are going to have the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, we have to get registered to vote.”

Last week, The Tribune reported that more than 57,000 people have registered so far to vote in next year’s election, considerably lower compared to this period prior to the 2012 general election.

The 2012 voter registry consisted of 172,000 voters, 134,000 of whom had registered by this point in 2011.

Speaking of the Exuma economy, Mr Christie urged those present to get ready for future economic opportunities.

“Exuma, you are about to become of those islands in our Commonwealth where there will be jobs and jobs and more jobs. This is no idle promise. The developments are now getting ready to break ground and you will see for yourselves that throughout Exuma there will be sustained economic activity.”

He also said: “When the IMF (International Monetary Fund) came to the Bahamas it said that the challenge that the Bahamas has is that it had to concentrate more on getting workers to produce more. They call it productivity. They said if there is a challenge, the challenge is getting the workforce of the Bahamas to produce more.

“We know that in everything we do, people must be changed. People must be better educated. People must be prepared to do the jobs that will be available. So therefore the government along with these investors have agreed to initiate training programmes that will prepare you and your children for the opportunities that will come,” Mr Christie said.