The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Exuma MP George Smith yesterday urged members of the recently appointed Constituencies Commission to consult residents before making any formal recommendations for boundary changes ahead of the 2017 general election.

Mr Smith, a Pindling-era Cabinet minister who has expressed interest in reviving his political career, insisted that while the five-member commission boasts the “wherewithal” to make needed changes to constituency boundaries, the electorate should be “adequately consulted” in the interim.

Interest

In August, Mr Smith officially requested to be the Progressive Liberal Party’s candidate for a proposed North Exuma seat, expressing his interest in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Perry Christie, who also serves as the chairman of the PLP’s Candidates Committee.

He inferred on Monday that the commission, which consists of Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald, Free National Movement Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest, and is chaired by House Speaker Dr Kendal Major and Senior Supreme Court Justice Stephen Isaacs, could “overlook the need for adjustments to several seats.”

“The voice of the people has to be considered,” he told The Tribune.

“The commission doesn’t have to consider the electorate in this regard, but they should.”

According to Mr Smith, despite constituencies like Exuma not exhibiting qualities for expansion on the surface, “a closer look and consultation with the residents” would show the potential for adjustments.

“Talk to the people in Exuma, they would explain to you the heartache of having to work with a MP’s schedule, with that member having to traverse miles and miles, islands and islands in a small window of time,” Mr Smith said.

“Exuma has grown in population and economy. In order for those residents to receive proper representation, a second seat is essential. This size, geography, population and economy all point to a split in that constituency somewhere near Farmer’s Hill or (the) Forest.”

Roughly 2,700 voters participated in the 2012 election in Exuma; a number Mr Smith suggested could increase by 50 per cent by next May.

“That is why I am pleading with the commission,” Mr Smith added. “Look at Abaco, there is a need for a third seat.

“That is also the case in Eleuthera. There are issues with Bimini, Berry Islands and Grand Bahama.”

Consultations

“The prime minister has indicated that he is aware of these constituency issues, and that is good. But, at the same time, if there are no consultations done we could end up with more situations like the ones we have in Montagu and St Anne’s, where residents from two vastly different sectors of society are meshed together and made to co-exist.”

Montagu is composed of the Kemp Road and the Blair communities. Meanwhile, ahead of the last election St Anne’s was moved further east, tying together much of north-eastern New Providence and portions of northern and western Fox Hill.

Mr Smith claimed that the clear social and economic divides in these constituencies will force representatives to “forsake” sections of their constituency in favour of improving areas that need more help.

In May, The Tribune reported that flyers bearing Mr Smith’s face and the slogan “Progress Together” were being posted across Exuma.

When contacted at that point, Mr Smith said his mind, body and heart were all in agreement that he “can again serve the will of the people”.

Mr Smith added that successive politicians representing Exuma have failed in their attempts to end the social and financial “upheaval” that has crippled the once great community.

Mr Smith, a native of Exuma, said if the Constituencies Commission approves the second seat on the island, he foresees himself and BAF Financial Bahamas CEO Chester Cooper as the candidates ratified for the island — Mr Smith in the north and Mr Cooper in the south.

Anthony Moss, a member of the PLP, has

represented Exuma since 2002.

The party has not commented publicly on Mr Smith’s request to represent a new constituency in Exuma.