With the country’s 46th Independence anniversary on the horizon, former Progressive Liberal Party cabinet minister V. Alfred Gray wants to bring an end to the politicization of Independence Day in The Bahamas, as he said it does more harm than good.
“Unless the leadership of the FNM and the PLP come together and bring this country under the umbrella of The Bahamas, my grandchildren will probably never know The Bahamas that I knew in the early 70s and 80s,” Mr. Gray said.
“Those men and women had a knack for bringing people together. Now, I believe that the UBP factions of our country still do not celebrate independence. When you go to Clifford Park, you have 15 percent of the UBP attending. They don’t come. They must be still hurt that we got independence through Sir Lynden, but this is our country. It’s about time they let go of that and be a part of the celebrations.”
Mr. Gray, who was a guest on Love 97’s Jones and Co. radio talk show, asked then if independence is a matter of race.
He also insisted that someone has to be bold enough to say that from the halls of parliament.
“Even the police force doesn’t have a good mix of white and black people. The black people are only working, it seems, to protect the white man, but he doesn’t want to join the force,” Mr. Gray said.
“Look at the mix. You may find one in every thousand. Something is wrong with that! Are they too good to be police officers and prison officers and immigration officers? They refuse to mix and mingle at that level.”
Despite retiring from frontline politics, Mr. Gray said this is one time he wishes he was still in parliament.
