The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL kvirgil@tribunemedia.net ANOTHER five years in office for the Free National Movement would mean further social, economic and infrastructural advancements, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said. Revealing the party's Manifesto 2012-2017 plans over the weekend to a packed room of FNM supporters, Mr Ingraham said his party would construct two new sections at the Princess Margaret Hospital - a new maternal and child health wing and a new emergency department - and introduce a catastrophic health insurance scheme. Mr Ingraham said the party would also improve the relevance of already existing social safety nets and public assistance programmes by replacing the issuance of cheques with conditional cash payments. His administration would also form a Bahamas Youth Development Corp Programme to help young Bahamians earn money towards higher education and entrepreneurship. Mr Ingraham added that his administration would continue to grant Crown land to Bahamians especially in the Family Islands for the construction of houses and new businesses, or the expansion of existing businesses. Job readiness and creation initiatives would continue to be a focus for the FNM, he said. Mr Ingraham said his party would implement additional policies to support job creation in the private sector and ensure an increase in the number of Bahamians who are trained and prepared to assume those jobs, as well as existing jobs now filled by foreigners. An increase in the number of recreational spaces and sea-side parks made would be another priority in the party's second term, he said. In response to the sharp spike in crime, Mr Ingraham said, his administration would focus on getting to the root causes of criminality. Last year, the government signed a $3 million contract to put in place a new 919 emergency system. The contract signing was branded part of the FNM's Trust Agenda 2007, which pledged state-of-the-art equipment for the Royal Bahamas Police Force. National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest said the upgrade came at a time when having top-notch communications is very important. "Increased call volumes, wireless technology, heightened public expectations and national security concerns have underscored the need for an integrated and systematic approach to emergency call handling," he said.