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Statement by Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham Member of Parliament for North Abaco

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Statement by Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham Member of Parliament for North Abaco Statement by Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham Member of Parliament for North Abaco On Thursday past I submitted my letter of resignation as a Member of the Honourable House of Assembly to the Speaker of the House of Assembly to take effect on the 31 August of this year. This will bring to a close 35 years of public life during which I strove to be an agent for change for better for all our citizens. It has been a long journey; one filled not only with the highs of victory and accomplishment but also with the lows of defeat, dismissal from Cabinet in 1984, and recent defeat at the polls for the party I led. In office, I always did my best. And I worked tirelessly. I was truly a political nobody when, at the age of 25, I was selected by the then Leader of the governing party to manage the re-election campaign of my predecessor as the Member of Parliament for Coopers Town. Then at 28, I was elected National Chairman of the governing party. The next year, in 1977 at 29, I was elected the Member of Parliament for the constituency I now represent. Of the 15 individuals elected to the House of Assembly for the first time that year, only I and the Member for Centreville remain in this place. We do not have a long list of resignations – only six since 1976. Two of these were former Heads of Government, Sir Roland Symonette and the Rt. Hon. Sir Lynden Pindling; two went on to become 1 Governors-General – Sir Clifford Darling and Sir Orville Turnquest. The others left for other reasons. In 2002, after serving two consecutive terms as head of government, I voluntarily demitted office, having, thus far, been the only prime minister since independence to do so. When in 2005 and 2007 respectively, my party and the Bahamian people invited me to serve again in high office I honoured these requests. Having failed in leading my party to secure a renewal of a mandate to serve as the Government of The Bahamas in the recent general election, I elected to observe a long-held custom of various parliamentary democracies. While many will comment now and into the future on the reasons for my party’s loss, I accept full and unreserved responsibility for our defeat. Accordingly, I decided to resign both as Leader of my party, and my seat in this Chamber. Again, history will record that I am the first defeated prime minister in an independent Bahamas to do so. By leaving at this time, I wanted to afford my party the opportunity to move forward with new leadership and a fresh start. I remain confident in the future success of the Free National Movement. I congratulate the governing party on its recent election victory. Our system works best and is most vibrant when the minority accepts the electoral victory of the majority, and agrees to cooperate with, though not always agree with, the majority, in the service of the common good. 2 Inherent in this acceptance of the right and responsibility of the majority to govern, is a necessary reciprocity. This reciprocal responsibility required of the majority, is that the minority will be treated fairly, and that their rights will be respected and not infringed upon. I also remain confident that the ideals and customs of this House and of our democracy will flourish, nurtured by the good men and women who serve here, a free press, a strong civil society, and an eternally vigilant people, in whose House of Assembly it has been my privilege to serve. I came to the House of Assembly a driven and highly motivated young man. I had no expectation of reaching the heights to which I ascended, and really only desired to be the best representative possible for North Abaco. Having been born in Pine Ridge, Grand Bahama and raised in the humblest of circumstances in Coopers Town, Abaco my earliest experience of life was without the most basic of amenities. I was, after all, a product of a Family Island community which got its water from open wells, pumps and rainwater tanks, lighted the night with kerosene lamps, had no paved roads and no telephones, and where education was limited to what was available at an All Age School that did not go beyond Grade 9. Notwithstanding its economic poverty, the community of North Abaco was rich beyond measure in so many ways. It became my inspiration, instilling in me lessons of industry, self-reliance, fortitude, community, an honest day’s work and a life-long commitment to helping others. 3 I am grateful to and for all those in that community who saw in me a potential to effect change in our society, who guided me to become politically involved and who brought me to the attention of the powers- that-be affording me the opportunity for involvement at the national level. I vividly recall my first speech in the House. It was about governmental neglect of the Family Islands. I will publish it someday along with a number of other speeches. I trust that these speeches will offer a record of my aspirations and accomplishments on behalf of the Bahamian people. The story of my disenchantment with the political party of my youth is a matter of public record. I was summarily dismissed from Cabinet and denied a nomination for re-election. I further endured expulsion from the party of my youth when most of those who now represent that party had not yet attracted attention on the national stage. I am forever indebted to the good people of North Abaco for keeping faith with me and for supporting me as I matured in my political life. I am humbled but at the same time proud to have remained their parliamentary choice through eight consecutive elections: twice as a PLP, once as an independent and five times as an FNM. This is a singular distinction for me. I can never adequately express my thanks to the people of North Abaco for their confidence, loyalty and support. It is impossible for me to reflect on my life of service without speaking of my grandmother, Mama Lizzie. Her dream and faith in The Bahamas, her belief in my ability to achieve, and her dedication to raising me to be honest, hardworking and loyal are central to all that I have ever been. 4 I was only able to add chapters to my Bahamian story because of the early chapters of that story which Mama helped me to write. My story is inextricably tied to hers, and to that of the Bahamian people. Expelled from the party of my youth -- but if anything more fiercely committed to deeply-held principles of democracy, honesty, accountability, justice and fair play -- I was fortunate to find kindred spirits and a new political home in the Free National Movement. In May, 1990, I was elected Leader of that Party. Two years later we successfully won the Government of The Bahamas ushering in sweeping changes which would deepen our democracy and modernize and transform our country. History will record that the electoral victory of the Free National Movement in 1992 was a reaffirmation of the promises of nationhood, inclusive of greater freedom and economic opportunity. In the years after August, 1992, every Bahamian boy and girl, Bahamians of every race and class, from every walk of life, of every political affiliation, and in every island of our archipelago, bar none, believed that they could enjoy the full, unfettered benefits of citizenship. The Government led by the Free National Movement changed The Bahamas forever. Our policies and programmes introduced the era of Government in the Sunshine; government committed to accountability, transparency and good governance in all its dealings. We liberated the airwaves making it possible for Bahamians to enjoy the fullest expression of freedom of speech in a democracy deepened by open, free, private broadcasting for the first time. In freeing the airwaves we created a new and vibrant business sector that 5 produced new business and job opportunities for hundreds of persons now engaged in private radio and television broadcasting. We facilitated the introduction of modern communications including cable television and the internet, advancing the benefits of the information age to our country. Today, our Information Communications & Technology (ICT) sector, including radio, television, telecommunications and the internet, is fully privatized and regulated by an independent body – the Utilities Regulatory and Competition Authority (URCA), created by my Government. We computerized the public sector. We reached new milestones in the reduction of bureaucracy and improvement in the delivery of services to the general public including application for and issuance of business licences, drivers’ and vehicular licences and machine-readable passports. We sought to and largely achieved our goal to limit the ability of politicians to exercise discretion in granting permits and licenses connected to private business by establishing clear rules and criteria. As a result, nowadays, individuals seeking permits and licenses from the Government simply demonstrate that they meet the required criteria and they are granted business licences – for shops and restaurants, radio and television – inter alia without recourse to political influence. We modernized the Customs Department bringing it to international best practices standards, rationalizing our tariff system lowering average customs duty rates from 45 percent to 25 percent, reducing the number of duty rates from 120 to 20, and substantially expanding duty free import of bread basket and essential foods, medicines and goods required for the care of infants and the elderly.
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