Renardo Curry
Progressive Liberal Party
North Abaco
September 29, 2012
Hello, North Abaco!
Hello, family…friends…neighbors!
You ready for a new day?
Ready for new solutions…ready for a leader who listens?!
Let’s do it, North Abaco!
I have a plan for our future – we’ve been sharing it with you – and it’s a plan based on the many, many visits I’ve had with you over the years.
You have shared your hopes, your struggles, and your problems. You have shared your dreams for your families with me – and it’s been an honor to listen.
So my plan for North Abaco comes out of those conversations – it represents a shared set of priorities, a shared vision about what it will take for us to move forward confidently into the future.
I am proud of the support of the Prime Minister and his government. I know they have my back, and yours. I know they’re ready to help me to enact this vision.
It starts with education – I’ve been working in youth development for a long time, and it is my deepest conviction that education is a necessity, not a luxury.
For people to lift themselves up, or to stay competitive, they will need 21st century skills. Our high school graduates need better access to scholarships, and it’s time for vocational schools like BTVI to be established in Abaco. College graduates should have our support for job placement. We need continuing education and training programs for government workers. And we need to support lifelong learning here in North Abaco – there is always more for us to learn, new skills to gain, new opportunities for Bahamians.
North Abaco, I know that our Olympic athletes heard your cheers all the way from London. Their dedication and their excellence inspired all of us. With their triumph fresh in our minds, let’s establish serious sports programmes here, with real facilities, including gymnasiums and a track. All of our children deserve an opportunity to benefit from the emotional and physical benefits of participating in sports. And I just know our next gold medalists are out there….they just need our support.
Friends and neighbors — how many times have we talked together about improving the way we promote North Abaco to the world? We know we have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world – it’s time that everyone else knew that, too. Our second-home market is an important source of jobs, too. We’re going to bring more tourists and more homeowners to North Abaco – and we’re going to look at new investments, especially boutique resorts and lodges, where there are new opportunities for Bahamian ownership, and we’re going to make redeveloping Walker’s Cay a priority as well.
North Abaco – in recent years, you’ve told me that you’re becoming worried about crime, and I think we need to make sure the national fight against crime doesn’t leave North Abaco out – let’s make sure the opportunities offered by Urban Renewal can be felt in our communities, too.
From more fishing patrols to better border control, from new incentives in agriculture, and new support for entrepreneurs – there’s a lot of work to be done.
The Prime Minister has promised me not just an open door but a seat at the table, a real opportunity for me to be the most effective advocate for North Abaco. Thank you, PM. I can’t wait to join my talented colleagues and get to work.
I do want to take a moment tonight to say a word about our former representative, Mr. Ingraham. I know many of you are grateful for his many years of service to North Abaco. I look forward to building on his record of accomplishment here. And to the many of you who supported him in the past who have told me that you’re ready for a new day, I thank you for your support.
So…North Abaco…you ready?
Let this new day be a time of hope and opportunity!
A golden new day!
A time to work for peace and prosperity!
God bless you all and may God bless the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
PLP All the Way!!