The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

PLP CANDIDATE for Central and South Eleuthera Damien Gomez says the prime minister's "late" promises to Eleutherans of upcoming infrastructural projects are a slap in the face.

Mr Gomez was speaking yesterday after Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham told Central and South Eleutherans they could look forward to the construction of a new community hospital and a new gymnasium should they retain governence of the country.

He said: "It's no suprise that he is making these promises to them at the last minute."

Speaking to a large crowd of more than 400 people at the FNM's rally in Governor's Harbour, the governing party leader told residents that his government, after announcing that a new gym would be built in Palmetto Point, "will also construct a community hospital in Central Eleuthera just as we are about to do in Abaco and Exuma and will eventually do in Long Island".

Mr Gomez said the promises are late and overdue.

"In 1992, Mr Ingraham came to Eleuthera and told them that they had its time and that the other islands needed to catch up.

"In 1997, he said the same thing though some promises were made."

"They (FNM) mentioned putting a COB campus down in Eleuthera. They also mentioned a community hospital and cable television. None of those things were done between 1997 and 2002."

Mr Gomez considers claims they were just "hollow promises" as they are now.

Regarding the hospital, the attorney said he recalled a number of occasions where he had to assist persons in need of medical attention, find the funds to get to Nassau because the services were not readily available, some dying as a result.

"Had he done what he should've done, people who were sick, wouldn't have experienced the discomfort they did because they had to relocate."

He says it is very costly for locals to fly to Nassau and back to receive medical treatment, not including the cost for said treatment.

"To some people who are only working two days a week, that's the difference between getting attention and not getting any."

Speaking to the promise of cable, he says he hopes people listened carefully because full cable television was not promised. He was even more perplexed because cable lines have long been up in certain settlements like Whymms Bight.

"It's not really getting cable. It's just a booster of six free channels including ZNS and five cable stations channels, reportedly Cable 12, ABC, NBC, CBS and another one."