Several religious leaders warmed the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Sunday to remain committed to the mountain of promises that it made to Bahamians on the campaign trail.
During a two-and-a-half hour thanksgiving service held at Zion Yamacraw Baptist Church yesterday, a handful of clergymen urged the government to follow through on its promises and to remember that it will be closely watched and scrutinised.
“As you celebrate today please acknowledge that expectations are very high. No cabinet minister, no parliamentary secretary, no Member of Parliament, senator or member of the public service can be at ease. Please know that you are under heavy scrutiny,” Bishop Neil C. Ellis cautioned.
Bishop Ellis reminded the new Christie administration that Bahamians cast the vote in favour of the PLP because they believed the party would take The Bahamas into a new era.
Archbishop Drexel Gomez shared the same sentiments.
“People are watching you, but you must not give in to the paranoia. You must not continually look over your shoulders to see who is watching. You have a job to do, so get on with the job. You have been elected to serve all the citizens and residents of The Bahamas, so you are needed to do just that; ensuring that all necessary policies are developed and implemented,” he said.
While he warned the prime minister, his cabinet and all parliamentarians to remain committed to their promises, he also charged them to create a national environment, which promotes equal opportunities for all and to aggressively attack crime and violence.
In response, Prime Minister Perry Christie told the media that his government intends to tackle the major issue of crime immediately.
In fact, Mr. Christie noted that since being elected the new government, the PLP has embarked on a series of meetings with law enforcement officials.
“We are now setting up Urban Renewal 2.0 programme and identifying police officers to assist with that. We are now processing the school policing programme. All of these are integral parts towards fighting the current crime wave. We are galvanising people who can assist with spearheading this fight against crime,” Mr. Christie said.
“Butch Scavella, the former commodore who was stationed as a diplomat in Haiti, has now been brought back to join this fight against crime and to be involved in the coordination of all our uniformed forces. We are putting together a formidable structure to launch our fight against crime and you can expect announcements to be made by relevant ministers very shortly.”