Leader of the Coalition for Democratic Reform Dr. Bernard Nottage said on Wednesday that he and other members of his party are being courted by other opposition forces, but he stressed that no accommodation has been reached.
CDR Leader Dr. Bernard Nottage
“Members of both of the larger parties and indeed some of the smaller parties are constantly seeking out members of the CDR to see whether or not they wish to join up with members of the other party or to get their views on the various issues of concern to the people of The Bahamas at any time,” said the former Member of Parliament for Kennedy.
“I think that we are in constant dialogue, not only among ourselves, but with various members of other parties.”
Dr. Nottage claimed that there have been no formal discussions “at all” on his joining any political party either alone or with other CDR officers.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Free National Movement Carl Bethel said his party wants to recruit any persons interested in ousting the Progressive Liberal Party government from office.
“The country desperately needs a change. We welcome into the ranks of the Free National Movement all those Bahamians who feel they can contribute in any way toward assisting us in our goals in removing the Progressive Liberal Party,” Mr. Bethel said.
“Dr. Nottage is as welcome as any other Bahamian who is prepared to join the Free National Movement and to play a meaningful role in bringing restoration of good governance, fairness and democracy to The Bahamas.”
He added, “When intelligent people who each have something to bring to the table sit down to discuss ways they can assist, anything can happen. I certainly wouldn’t want to prejudge what the posture of what either parties can be if we began to have serious discussion.”
Dr. Nottage indicated that while the CDR is open to serious discussions with other political groups, it remains concerned about and focused on the Bahamian people, the country’s development, the government’s policies and the quality of parliamentary representation.
Dr. Nottage, who is also a former Cabinet Minister, also said the government’s 2005/2006 budget is geared toward continuing with “political patronage to gain votes.”
“We are not overly impressed with their performance and we really would prefer a situation where the people of The Bahamas evaluate political parties and determine for themselves who they feel is best suited to govern the country, particularly since we are only two years away from another election,” he said.
“Our concern is that people get good representation and that The Bahamas get a good quality of governance and we are not impressed with what’s going on at this present time.”
Pointing out differences between the two major parties – the PLP and the FNM – and the CDR, Dr. Nottage said both organizations believe that anchor developments alone can not grow the Bahamas’ economy.
“We are strongly opposed to the concept that the only way to develop The Bahamas is to put a hotel property or some kind of resort in an island owned by foreign interests to employ Bahamians,” he said.
But Dr. Nottage added, “The one thing I would say is addressing Bahamians’ economic empowerment is this venture capital fund which has been promised now for the past three budgets, and finally now they say the fund is being set up.
“They are finally establishing a capital venture fund with $1 million and when you look at the way the economy of The Bahamas is growing and the big players involved in the economy you can see $1 million cannot do very much to get Bahamians to participate in the economy.”
The government has actually added an additional $1 million to the fund promised by Prime Minister Perry Christie in his budget communication to parliament last year.
Dr. Notage believes the government is concerned with preserving the status quo.
“The budget reflects little tinkering here and there with things, but not dealing with the fundamental issues that are troubling the country,” he said, adding that the government needs to tackle the need for adequate housing, better healthcare and education.
Government officials have continued to stress that while they focus on economic development, they are also giving attention to social issues, pointing to their urban renewal programme and boasting about their “impressive” housing programme under the direction of Minister Shane Gibson.
By: Tosheena Robinson-Blair, The Bahama Journal
