Madam Speaker,
Let us begin, as we should always begin, by giving thanks to Almighty God.
It is He who has carried this nation through the most difficult of times and who continues to guide us towards a future filled with promise.
It would be a profound error—indeed, a complete misunderstanding of history—to believe that the progress we have made is a matter of chance or coincidence. No, Madam Speaker. It has been hard-won.
It has been built through the efforts of the Bahamian people—through their grit, their determination, their refusal to give in to despair even in the face of extraordinary challenges.
And let there be no mistake: had it not been for them, and had it not been for the wisdom and protection of God, the success we now speak of would not have been achieved. For all the political noise, for all the grandstanding that sometimes passes for debate in this House, the reality is that this government has worked—day in, day out—not for applause, not for headlines, but for the people who entrust us with the responsibility of leadership.
And we will continue to do so.
Because government, Madam Speaker, is not about sitting back and admiring the achievements of the past—it is about facing the challenges of the future. It is about recognising that for all we have done, there is still more to do.
Madam Speaker,
There are those who will tell you that we have achieved nothing, that our progress is illusion, that the facts do not speak for themselves. But Madam Speaker, when you see an economy that is growing, when you see jobs returning, when you see record investment flowing into this country, you do not need to be told what success looks like. It is happening. It is real. And it is only possible because of the faith, the
perseverance, and the sheer resilience of the Bahamian people.
And so, as we wrap up this debate, let us do so with a clear sense of purpose. Not just to account for what has been done, but to make clear what we must do next. Because the future of this nation is not something that will be decided by commentators or critics—it will be decided by the choices we make here, in this Parliament.
Madam Speaker,
What is clear—undeniably clear—is that good news for The Bahamas is bad news for the opposition. They have made a political calculation, and it is a simple one: if this country prospers, they suffer; if Bahamian families succeed, they struggle. Their entire strategy is built not on offering solutions, not on proposing better policies, but on hoping— desperately—that things go wrong.
Madam Speaker, when unemployment falls, when businesses grow, when the economy strengthens, they do not welcome it. They do not embrace it. They do not, as any responsible opposition might, challenge us to go further. Instead, they lament it. They see every investment as a threat to their political fortunes, every economic milestone as a setback to their ambition.
And what a sad and cynical approach a sad sad story that is. Because Madam Speaker, leadership is not about waiting in the wings, hoping for the worst. It is not about telling the Bahamian people, day after day, that their success is an illusion. It is about having the honesty to admit when progress has been made, the courage to build on it, and the integrity to put country before party.
But they cannot do that, Madam Speaker, because they have tied themselves to a narrative of failure. And when the facts do not fit their story, they ignore them. When the numbers show growth, they dismiss them. When international agencies, investors, and economists point to The Bahamas as a country on the rise, they cover their ears.
Madam Speaker, they told us the economy would not recover. It has. They told us we could not attract investment. We have. They told us unemployment would not fall. It has. They told us we would not get spending under control. We did. They told us that government revenues would collapse. They have strengthened. And yet, despite all this, they stand before the Bahamian people, not with an alternative vision, not with a better way forward, but with the same tired, worn-out arguments that are disproven every single day by the evidence in front of us.
And so, Madam Speaker, the question for the Bahamian people is this: do we believe the reality we can see, the progress we can feel, and the opportunities that are growing every
day?
Or do we accept the fiction that the opposition so desperately wants us to believe?
This government, Madam Speaker, does not ask for blind faith. We ask only that the facts be recognised, that the numbers be acknowledged, and that the progress be seen for what it is—proof that when a government puts the people first, when it makes smart, strategic choices, The Bahamas succeeds. And succeed we will continue to do.
Madam Speaker,
This administration is not looking for applause. We are not here to pat ourselves on the back, nor are we content to rest on our achievements. We are here to reaffirm our confidence—our absolute, unshakable confidence—in the Bahamian economy and the people who drive it forward.
Madam Speaker, remember when they said we wouldn’t be able to handle the pandemic? That
we didn’t have the capacity, the vision, or the leadership to steer this country through one of the greatest crises of our time? And yet, we did.
And yet, here we stand, with economic growth stronger than pre-pandemic levels, with new investments pouring in, with thousands more Bahamians in work than when they were last in office.
Madam Speaker, let us remind the Leader of the Opposition—remind him when he was on the other side of this chamber, sitting in government, defending the very policies that strangled opportunity, that pushed Bahamians into hardship, that failed to deliver on every promise they made. Because, Madam Speaker, what we see today is a government that inherited an economy in crisis and turned it around.
We have seen what failure looks like. We lived through it. It was the reckless policies of the opposition, their lack of foresight, their inability to lead, that left this country weaker and more vulnerable when the pandemic hit. And yet, Madam Speaker, they now sit in opposition pretending they had all the answers—answers they never once implemented, ideas they never once had the courage to act upon.
Madam Speaker,
Here are the realities—the numbers, the facts, the undeniable truth that no amount of political spin can erase. The comparison is clear, even before Hurricane Dorian, even before the pandemic, the opposition’s plans were already failing.
Madam Speaker, let us not allow them to rewrite history. Before a single wave crashed on our shores, before the world had even heard the word COVID, their economic policies had
already left The Bahamas struggling. Debt was rising. Growth was slowing. Jobs were disappearing. And for all their talk of discipline and prudence, they had no vision, no strategy, no plan beyond raising taxes on the backs of Bahamian families.
And so when the storms came—both literal and economic—they were exposed. Madam Speaker, the truth is that the opposition had already set this country on a path to economic hardship long before disaster struck. They did not fail because of Hurricane Dorian. They did not fail because of COVID-19. They failed because their approach to governing was fundamentally flawed. They entered office promising transformation, but left behind stagnation. They promised opportunity, but delivered austerity.
And yet, Madam Speaker, today they stand here, pretending that the past did not happen, pretending that the struggles Bahamians faced
under their watch were the result of misfortune rather than mismanagement.
But the Bahamian people remember.
They remember the failed policies.
They remember the broken promises.
They remember an administration that lacked the courage to lead and the competence to govern.
What we have done—what this administration has done—is take the mess they left behind and rebuild. We have not just stabilized the economy; we have strengthened it. We have not just brought back jobs; we have created new ones. We have not just restored investor confidence; we have expanded it to levels never seen before.
Madam Speaker, in every meaningful measure—whether it be economic growth, job creation, or fiscal responsibility—this government has done what they could not.
And that, Madam Speaker, is the reality. No amount of denial can change it. No amount of political posturing can undo it. The facts stand. The numbers tell the story. And the Bahamian people know the difference between those who talk and those who deliver.
Madam Speaker,
The opposition does not like when we remind them of their failures. They squirm. They deflect. They pretend that history started the day they left office. But the truth, Madam Speaker, is that their failures are not a matter of opinion—they are a matter of record.
And yet, somehow, they believe that if given another opportunity, things would be different. That they have changed.
That the same people, with the same ideas, and the same reckless approach to governance, would suddenly produce different results.
But Madam Speaker, the truth is written in the old adage: a leopard does not change its spots.
And so, Madam Speaker, let them say what they wish. Let them spin their narratives. Let them hope that Bahamians have short memories. But we will remind the people of this country, every single day, of the choice before them: between a government that delivers and an opposition that destroys. Between progress and regression. Between real leadership and reckless incompetence.
The past is not something to run from, Madam Speaker. It is something to learn from. And the lesson is clear: the opposition has nothing new to offer. They are simply waiting for another chance to make the same mistakes all over again. But this administration is here to ensure that The Bahamas never goes back to those days.
We are moving forward, and we will not be stopped.