Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis charged that Prime Minister Perry Christie and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) are using their young candidates as “window dressings”.
Alluding to Mr. Christie’s previous statement that he (Mr. Christie) is a bridge to the future, the FNM leader last night during his party’s mass rally at the Thomas A. Robinson Sports Centre, insisted that “that bridge has collapsed quickly and left many stranded”.
Dr. Minnis is being challenged in the Killarney constituency by the PLP’s 32-year-old candidate Reneika Knowles.
Clay Sweeting is the youngest of the PLP’s candidates vying for the North Eleuthera seat against the FNM candidate Rickey Mackey.
The FNM leader believes the PLP’s young candidates will be “pushed to the side” after the general elections.
Many feel that this was the case after the 2012 general election in regards to young PLP candidates, Renward Wells and Dr. Andre Rollins, who both crossed over to the FNM last year.
“Once again, the PLP has the gall to put some young people on TV just like they did at the last election. After the election they will be pushed aside. Don’t be fooled. You know who you don’t see on TV, Davis, Gray, Fitzgerald, and Nottage. Why is that? The ‘all for me baby crew’ will again be large and in charge. If you want genuine change, you have to vote FNM. The PLP under Perry Christie is incapable of change. They are offering mostly the same tired crew and a prime minister who is sleeping on the job,” Dr. Minnis charged.
Meantime, Dr. Minnis insists the FNM is inculcating and releasing a new generation of leaders.
“In the FNM we made way for a new generation of leaders who will build our new Bahamas. The Bahamas must undergo a paradigm shift to propel us out of this state of lawlessness, and into a state of laws and good governance,” Dr. Minnis said.
“The overwhelming majority of our candidates are new faces and new talent,” he added.
Further to his plans for the youth, the FNM leader reiterated his plans for developing young entrepreneurs in an effort to expand the country’s economy.
“My fellow Bahamians, in building our new Bahamas, my government will launch a revolution in renewable energy. We will launch the most ambitious youth business development initiative in Bahamian history. We will move toward tuition free education at the University of The Bahamas. We will move towards building an E-Bahamas. This is real talk and this is real change. In building our new Bahamas, my government will introduce the small and medium size business agency to ensure Bahamian owned small and medium size businesses receive the necessary assistance,” Dr. Minnis said.
“We will provide business incentives to encourage businesses who invest in renewable energy, Bahamian agriculture and fisheries, and native souvenirs, and small boutique bread and breakfast hotels that sell only Bahamian food items. This is real talk and this is real change,” he said.
