by PM Philip Brave Davis KC
One year in, The Bahamas is moving forward. We were elected in a time of crisis – an economic crisis, a health crisis, and an education crisis. We started working right away to build a strong foundation for both recovery and progress.
We reopened the economy and put an end to the curfew, travel visa, Emergency Orders, and Competent Authority. We provided more than 170,000 free COVID tests and distributed a million free medical-grade masks. We reopened our schools and started a Learning Recovery Task Force to address the impact of the pandemic on our children. And we made sure that we reached new agreements with the teachers and nurses in our first year.
The global inflation crisis has hit our families especially hard after years of high unemployment. We’ve cut import duties for dozens of foods, hired new price control inspectors, and made an historic investment in agriculture and food security, to grow more of what we eat at home, to create new ownership and employment opportunities for Bahamians, and to reduce our nation’s food import bill.
We’ve brought in $1 billion in new investment across our islands, we’re building new affordable housing developments, providing free WIFI in parks across the country, and training Bahamians in the maritime, renewable energy and digital assets industries.
To make our communities safer and our borders more secure, we’re expanding Urban Renewal, recruiting hundreds of new Police, Defence and Immigration officers, and investing $6 million in new Defence Force vessels. We also expunged records of minor offenses, including those who were punished during the Emergency Orders.
I’m proud of the steps we’re taking together as a country to get back on track. There’s so much more work ahead – we’ll continue to partner with the Bahamian people to extend relief, create opportunities, and strengthen security.
