The Christie Administration came to office exactly two years ago today with an ambitious and extensive legislative agenda to accomplish during its five year term and so far, the government has crossed off nearly 80 bills from that list.

Central to that agenda were two overriding imperatives – the need to reduce violence and crime and build a safer Bahamas coupled with the need to build a stronger economy; one that generates jobs, deepens and broadens Bahamian ownership and produces a higher standard of living for all Bahamians.

“Those twin imperatives will dominate the agenda for action of my new government,” Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes pledged as he read the Speech from the Throne on May 23, 2012.

To date, nearly 80 bills have been passed, several of which speak to the vexing issue of crime.

In this regard, the government passed an amendment to the Firearms Act on June 18, 2013.

The amendment addresses offenses relating to the illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms.

Nearly two months later, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Correctional Services Act and an amended Evidence and Supreme Court Acts were passed.

This past November, legislators debated and passed amendments to both the Justice Protection and Evidence Acts. A month later the government brought amendments to Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Acts.

The former establishes a Marco Alert to help find abducted children while the latter paved the way for a sex offender registry.

The alert – an acronym for “Mandatory Action for Rescuing Children Operation” – is named in honour of 11-year-old Marco Archer, who was abducted from his Brougham Street home on September 23, 2011.

The boy’s badly decomposed body was discovered five days later in bushes behind a Cable Beach apartment complex.

Convicted child molester, Kofhe Goodman was convicted of Marco’s murder and has since been sentenced to death.

On Tuesday while appearing as a guest on Love 97’s daily talk show Issues of The Day, Free National Movement (FNM) Deputy Chairman Dr. Duane Sands lamented the fact that the law has not been enforced.

National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage has since assured that Marco Law “is on the way.”

Still, Dr. Sands summed up the PLP’s May 7, 2012 victory at the polls as “an infamous day” in Bahamian history.

“When we look at the dysfunctional state of this government, I think Bahamians are not only disappointed but deeply embarrassed by the fact that their government simply cannot get it together, but they are more concerned because it seems as if the member of the Cabinet not only can’t get it together but don’t seem to care, and that’s where we are two years on,” he said.

“…What we have seen in the last two years, I would have called disingenuous. I now call it flat out lying. This government at this point in time, have squandered its credibility.”

He did however, credit the government for the work the Constitutional Commission did and the creation of the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI)

“The challenge I have is, if I have to speak honestly and candidly, is that we have an underperforming government and so I have a problem giving them credit because they said they had the answers to everything, particularly crime and joblessness,” he said.

However, Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday maintained his government is working hard.

“We have had tremendous results and can be held accountable,” he told reporters during a special press conference at Cabinet Office yesterday afternoon.