The Tribune

By SANCHESKA DORSETT

Tribune Staff Reporter

sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

HOUSE of Assembly Speaker Dr Kendall Major said if the Progressive Liberal Party does not walk away from its 52nd National General Convention “changed and with a new direction” the three-day event would have all “been for nothing.”

In an interview with The Tribune on the sidelines of night two of the convention, Dr Major said while he “feels good” about the PLP’s chances in the upcoming general election, the party has to “regain the trust of the Bahamian people”.

He said the “best of the PLP has not yet been seen” and the party is headed in a “new direction” with a “new vision”.

“It is critical that PLPs come together and energise and remember what this party stands for,” Dr Major said on Wednesday night.

“I spoke to delegates on the first night of the convention about how to prepare ourselves and regain the trust of the Bahamian people. We have to understand and appreciate what the people are feeling. The murders and social decay and other things that people are feeling, we need to understand that. We have to internalise and recognise that the convention is not just a celebration and we have to leave here with a solution. If we do not do that, then we have failed.

“It cannot be just another party. We have to think introspectively and have a vision and make some changes and I will be a part of that change.

“I feel good about the PLP’s chances, I think there will be some fallout and some challenges because of what has been happening and the political atmosphere but the enthusiasm and the energy from persons at the convention I feel good about what the PLP can do. The best of the PLP has still not yet been seen in my view, I am a part of the change to see a new direction and I believe that new direction will come, we need it to take this country forward and so I am optimistic about our future.”

Last year at a protest organised by We March Bahamas, Dr Major, who is also the MP for Garden Hills, told The Nassau Guardian that he believed the PLP’s brand was “damaged” and the PLP is a “hard sell”.

“The PLP’s brand is damaged. There’s no question about it. The PLP is a hard sell; no question about that. I see it. I feel it and the public is reminding me of it every day that I go door to door, and I’m very concerned about it, and so we need to continue to keep the fight,” Dr Major said in November.

“We need to reassure our people, and I trust that people will see that I bring a measure of comfort to them and hope for a brighter future in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”