Prime Minister Philip Davis’s Remarks at the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Berry Island Community Clinic

Good morning.

Senator the Hon. Randy Rolle,

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Michael Darville,

Member of Parliament Leonardo Lightbourne,

local officials, healthcare professionals, clergy, residents of the Berry Islands, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for welcoming us here today.

This is a good day for the Berry Islands.

We have come together to break ground for a new community clinic, and in doing so, we mark a step forward for the people of these islands, for public health, and for the kind of country we are working to build.

A country becomes stronger when people can feel progress in daily life. 

They feel it when a child has a better school. They feel it when a family can drive on a safer road. 

They feel it when water runs, when the lights stay on, when a dock is repaired, when an airport improves, and when healthcare is brought closer to home.

That is why today carries real meaning.

For many people who live in Family Island communities, healthcare has always been tied to distance. A routine visit can take planning. A sudden illness can bring fear. An expecting mother, a senior citizen, a parent with a sick child, a worker who needs treatment, all can face the added burden of travel, uncertainty, and delay. 

That is a heavy load for any family to carry.

The people of the Berry Islands deserve better.

You deserve a facility that reflects your right as citizens of this Commonwealth.

You deserve care delivered in a setting built for service, dignity, and respect.

You deserve the confidence that your government sees you, values you, and is prepared to invest here.

That is what this clinic represents.

It represents access.

It represents a government making a clear choice to reach beyond the centre and serve the whole country.

The truth is that public service has little meaning unless it reaches people where they live. 

In an archipelago such as ours, fairness cannot be measured by what exists in Nassau alone. Fairness must be judged by whether a resident in the Berry Islands, in Andros, in Eleuthera, in Exuma, in Long Island, in Abaco, or in any other Family Island community can look at the state and say, “Yes, my country is thinking of me too.”

That is the standard we are working to meet.

When we came into office, we inherited a country facing strain on many fronts. We had to rebuild confidence, restore order, and move a number of long-delayed national priorities from talk to action. That work has required discipline. It has required focus. It has required a clear sense of duty.

Across that wider national effort, one conviction has guided us. The Bahamian people deserve public services that work better, reach further, and treat them with dignity.

Healthcare sits at the centre of that conviction.

Because healthcare is personal.

It touches every family.

It reaches us in moments of joy and in moments of worry.

It is there when a child enters the world.

It is there when an elderly parent needs support.

So when we build a clinic, we are doing more than starting a construction project.

We are strengthening the social fabric of a community.

We are easing pressure on families.

We are improving the environment in which healthcare workers serve.

And we are sending a message that the Berry Islands are part of the national story of progress.

I want to commend Minister Darville and his team, the Department of Public Health, the healthcare staff, public servants, technical officers, and local partners who have helped bring us to this point. 

Projects such as this move forward because people stay with the work. They prepare, they coordinate, they solve problems, and they keep pressing ahead until the day arrives when the promise becomes visible.

I also want to thank the residents of these islands. Community progress is shaped by people who keep speaking up for what their home deserves. 

It is shaped by citizens who care enough to push for better. It is shaped by local leadership that keeps the needs of the community in full view.

Today belongs to all of you as well.

My friends, one of the great tests of leadership is whether it can close the distance between a promise and a person’s life.

Anyone can make a promise.

Anyone can speak in broad terms about change.

But people place their trust in leadership when they can see what that trust has produced.

A road.

A school.

A housing development.

A dock.

An airport.

A clinic.

A service that works when people need it.

That is how confidence is built in public life.

Piece by piece.

Island by island.

Family by family.

And this new clinic forms part of a larger commitment to build a stronger health system for the Bahamian people. 

We want better facilities. We want wider access. We want stronger public health support. We want improved care across New Providence, Grand Bahama, and the Family Islands. We want a system that gives families greater confidence and gives healthcare professionals the tools and environment they need to serve well.

That is the direction.

It is a direction rooted in fairness.

It is a direction rooted in service.

It is a direction rooted in the belief that where a Bahamian lives should never lower the standard of public care they receive.

I know that people who live on the Family Islands often ask a reasonable question. When will development reach us in a way we can feel?

That question deserves an answer.

This clinic is part of that answer.

It says that development must travel across the archipelago.

It says that the Berry Islands must be included in the forward movement of the country.

It says that government has a duty to build with the whole Commonwealth in mind.

Years from now, when this clinic is open and serving the people, I hope residents will look at it with pride.

 I hope parents will feel relief knowing care is closer at hand. 

I hope seniors will feel greater comfort. 

I hope healthcare workers will feel supported. 

I hope young people growing up here will see a country that did not overlook their island.

Because that too is part of nation building.

Nation-building is about belonging.

It is about making sure people feel tied to a common future.

It is about making sure no community feels left to wait at the edge while others move ahead.

That is why this day is a happy one.

It reflects practical progress.

It reflects public duty.

It reflects a government committed to serving people across these islands with seriousness and care.

As Prime Minister, I want every Bahamian, wherever they live, to know that your community counts, your contribution counts, and your future counts. The Berry Islands are home to hard-working people, proud families, and a strong community spirit. You deserve public investment that honours that truth.

So today, as we prepare to break ground, let us do so with gratitude and with hope.

Gratitude for the people who kept this goal alive.

Gratitude for the workers and professionals who will carry this project forward.

Gratitude for the chance to serve.

And hope for what this clinic will mean in the years ahead.

Hope for stronger healthcare.

Hope for greater peace of mind.

Hope for a Bahamas where progress reaches every island and every family.

May God bless the Berry Islands.

And may God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.