FREEPORT, The Bahamas – Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis, thanked nurses participating in a training seminar for their sacrifice in continuing to make their contribution to The Bahamas, given the opportunities available elsewhere.
While visiting Grand Bahama for a few hours on Monday, January 31, the Prime Minister, stopped in at the Public Hospitals Authority’s Nurses Training Seminar, being held in the Ministry for Grand Bahama’s 1 st Floor Training Room.
Stating that the nurses should have seen a difference in their pay cheques last week, he said the economy of The Bahamas simply cannot compete with what the “neighbours to the north” are offering. “I understand that nurses are getting a $80,000 signing bonus and I understand the salaries are between $60 and
$100,000.”
Recognizing the government cannot compete with this, he said, the government will do everything they can to ensure they are as comfortable as possible in the execution of their duties.
Referencing the Spanish Flu of 1919/20, the Prime Minister said that left after about five years, and it is hoped this virus will do the same thing.
“We are still in a crisis,” he said.
As a result of the virus lingering, “lives are threatened, and livelihoods are being destroyed. When you look at the consequences, people can’t find food, they are losing their jobs, businesses are closing.”
Prime Minister Davis again thanked the nurses for their services. Following a visit to Abaco, the Prime Minister arrived in Grand Bahama this afternoon. He held a press briefing, said a few words to the nurses, stopped at the location for the Grand Bahama Clean initiative, and attended meetings.
The Grand Bahama Clean Initiative started on Monday morning in which 100 young men are participating in a cleanup programme in Freeport. Prime Minister Davis and his delegation departed Grand Bahama on Monday afternoon to return to Nassau.
