I. Chester Cooper
M.P., The Exumas & Ragged Island
PLP Deputy Leader, Shadow Minister of Finance
Good evening to the wonderful People of The Bahamas.
The campaign to choose the next government has begun.
And we in the Progressive Liberal Party know we are best-suited to rescue this country from the failed stewardship of Hubert Minnis and the Free National Movement.
For almost five years now we have wondered when it would be “the people’s time”. We now know that, that date; is Election Day, September 16th.
I could come to you tonight and tell you to vote the FNM out for the calamitous state of the country’s healthcare system.
But I instead urge you to vote the PLP in because we will address this crisis in a way that is respectful to our healthcare workers and dedicates the resources needed to see not only hospital capacity increase, but hospitalizations due to
COVID-19 decrease.
I could urge you to boot the FNM out of office due to its dismal handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, with all the needless suffering and many costly missteps while hiding from the taxpayers how the money was spent and with who.
But I want you to vote for the PLP, because unlike the FNM, we have a COVID-19 action plan that utilizes science, compassion and common sense.
But I want you to vote for the PLP, because unlike the FNM, we have a robust Economic Plan to Recover, Rebuild and Revolutionize our Economy for the benefit of all Bahamians.
I could say to you, remove the Minnis administration for running up the national debt to the edge of a fiscal cliff with little tangible to show for it.
However, I urge you to vote for the PLP because we have a plan to address the debt crisis and return our country to financial stability.
I could ask you to vote them out because they failed the victims of Hurricanes
Irma and Dorian miserably.
We are approaching the second anniversary of Dorian and the current administration’s handling of that crisis has gone from bad to worse; creating bloated bureaucracies and handing out excuses for the unhurried pace of restoration.
The Progressive Liberal Party will expedite reconstruction in Abaco, Grand
Bahama and Ragged Island in a prompt, sustainable and growth stimulating way.
I could implore you to get rid of the FNM for its shabby and disrespectful treatment of labor in this country.
But instead, I urge you to vote the PLP in, which has a proven track record with the labor movement.
Teachers, doctors, nurses, medical staff, taxi drivers, electrical and public service workers are irate with this administration in a manner that we have never seen before.
This state of affairs will only worsen under a new Minnis administration, which would feel emboldened to further disregard the people who actually make this country function.
Ask yourself, why would the prime minister call a general election at the worst stage of the pandemic as the healthcare system nears collapse, as workers withdraw their labor, as the minister of health remains under a cloud of suspicion for his mishandling of honorarium payments, and two days after the leader of the
PLP called for subpoenas to reveal the details of the pandemic spending?
It is because he is seeking to change the narrative.
The prime minister is a desperate man, leading a crew of desperate people.
They have shown that they are willing to say and do anything to stay in power. They have already spent million of dollars just this year promoting lie after lie about the PLP and our leader.
Instead of choosing to use that money to help those still in need as our economy still struggles, they used it to spread lies.
There is no clearer signal of how the FNM feels about the Bahamian people.
They have no regard or respect for you.
Minnis and the Free National Movement are spent of ideas and credibility; and they know it.
The truth is they still have no vision, no sound policies and no real plans to help the Bahamian people.
This is the most uncaring and inept administration in the history of The Bahamas.
The Progressive Liberal Party is ready to step forward, to help lead the country into A New Day.
We have a plan to do just that.
I entered politics to make a difference in governance, to empower Bahamians in a more progressive Bahamas. I am confident the PLP is the most well-equipped and well-positioned to do just that.
The PLP has the vision, the policies and the plans to lead the country out of these crises.
The PLP has the right team to deliver.
The PLP has the right leadership to take The Bahamas forward.
Join us. Vote PLP.
Together we can create A New Day in The Bahamas.
May God bless you. May God bless the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
Now, it is with esteem pleasure that I present Our Leader and the next Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Hon. Philip Brave Davis.
