The National Heroes Committee has renewed its call for the government to move ahead with several recommendations that were passed nearly five years ago.

A National Heroes Bill was passed during the last Christie administration but never enacted.

“We send an immediate message to the government to complete our cultural advances through the profile of our country. This work is complete and recommendations were made to the government already. The ball is back in the court of Prime Minister Perry Christie. We have a second chance,” Committee Chairman Father Sebastian Campbell said during a wreath laying ceremony at the graveside of the late Sir Lynden Pindling.

“Our committee congratulates the government and urges you to give immediate attention to the grave injustice that was done by the former administration to the cultural advancement of the Bahamian people.”

Mr. Christie yesterday assured that he will seek to re-appoint a cultural commission “as soon as possible.”

“We will revisit the national honours system because it is important. We had agreed to that but the election was lost and the initiative was abandoned, but we will do our best and this committee has my word.”

Mr. Christie added that the committee will be supported by his new minister for Youth, Sports and Culture, Dr. Daniel Johnson.

Back in 2007, the committee recommended that the second Monday in October be declared a national holiday, that October be observed as national history month and that it be entrenched in schools.

Father Campbell is also pushing for Bahamian history to be taught in all schools including the College of The Bahamas (COB), that a national heroes’ park be established with statues of history, that a national honour system replace the old colonial system and that all communities carve out sacred spaces to recognise their local heroes.

There was also the recommendation that streets and buildings be named after Bahamians and that January 10 be recognised as a national holiday.