The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

COMMUNITY activist Ranard Henfield, lead organiser of the “We March Bahamas”, on Friday announced that he would "take a back seat" in the movement amid controversy over the ultimatum issued by the group to Prime Minister Perry Christie concerning a national strike.

The Our Carmichael founder told The Tribune that he felt too much focus was being placed on himself as the lead organiser, and named Executive Director of the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) Matt Albury; Policy Chairman for Citizen’s for a Better Bahamas (CBB) Lemarque Campbell; and local environmental activist, Sam Duncombe, as potential replacements.

The controversy centres around the group's latest letter to Mr Christie, wherein the group said it planned "to initiate further acts of peaceful civil disobedience on Friday, December 9" if the Prime Minister does not give a national address on steps taken to meet protest demands.

The letter was attached to an email sent to the media on Thursday. In that email, Mr Henfield thanked the media for protest coverage and summarised the contents of the letter.

He said: "We are prepared to initiate a national strike in one week should the PM not publicly address the nation on what he has done since Black Friday to advance these issues that affect the people of The Bahamas."

Mr Henfield clarified his email in an interview with The Tribune on Friday, insisting that he does not possess the power to "shut the country down". He pointed to "misunderstandings" in many of the recent assertions from himself and the group.

"My statement was made in the context that I would speak to persons with the power to do exactly that, I, Ranard Henfield, do not hold that level of power. We need the unions, they have to go through their channels.

"I want this to be clear," he said. "I can't shut this country down in that manner. It would take a wealth of effort by so many people for that to occur.

"I want people to be clear where this movement is at. Yes, a general strike is possible, but there is so much that needs to be done before that. All of that work that needs to be done, that is what I proposed to move with next week if demands weren't met."

Speaking directly to his decision to take a step back, he said: "This movement is bigger than me, bigger than myself, there are several persons that can step up and move us forward, but at this time there seems to be too much focus placed on me."

In a statement published via Facebook, Mr Henfield distanced the "We March" movement from strike plans and stated that he was taking a "back seat". While the post sought to make clear that a "general strike" was not in the works, it also noted that the initiation of such an act "at a date not too far in the future is very much a possibility".

The post read: "The organisers of We March wish to make it clear that there is no 'General Strike' being planned by the group for Friday, December 8th, 2016 nor any time before 9 January, 20017 when we plan to march again for 'United People Day' (although the initiating of the same at a date not too far in the future is very much a possibility)."

It continued: "As our letter states, there may be further acts of 'peaceful civil disobedience' before We March again should there be a clear and very evident effort to address the pressing and serious concerns of the people.

"At my core, as I've been doing with the Our Carmichael and Our Grand Bahama initiatives, I just want to voice the needs of the people in my communities and then galvanise the residents to be a part of the solution process while setting our differences and egos aside.

"This whole We March movement has become a boulder on my shoulders that I can't carry much longer up this hill. But I'm hoping that as long as I can carry it, that the people realise that we have a lot to fix in this country and we can only do so if we are united on this climb towards a better country for everyone regardless of our qualifications, family names, social status or political affiliations."

"I have had missteps along the way so far and at times I've let my passion and conviction to raise awareness and bring about change to get the better of me. One of the learning lessons so far is that as a community activist, I have to assume full responsibility for my utterances and be clear when I put anything out to the public."

The post continued: "So moving forward, I'm going to take a back seat and ask the organisations onboard to step up while I remove my passion from this flight for a better country."

Organisers issued a list of 23 non-partisan demands to the Prime Minister and several of his Cabinet ministers on November 9, and again on November 22. Mr Christie responded to organisers by letter on November 24, in which he invited leaders to meet with him at his office. However this offer was rejected.

Just over 1,000 protestors marched from Arawak Cay to Rawson Square on November 25, with more generous estimates putting the figure around 1,500.

Organisers have another march slated for the 50th anniversary Majority Rule Day on January 9, but have dubbed the day “United People Day”.

The letter sent to Mr Christie on Thursday outlined more than 30 demands.

In addition to calls for a resolution to more than a dozen union matters, other demands call for an immediate cease order and moratorium on all government dealings with China or any foreign interest with respect to natural resources; a public declaration from Mr Christie that he will not issue any further leases of seabed or Crown land for the remainder of his term, and a commitment to remove it from the portfolio and establish an apolitical body to administer the distribution of Crown land; the announcement of the 2017 general election and legislative amendments to establish a fixed date; to release the completed draft Freedom of Information Bill and table it if there are no objections from civil society; and the public disclosure of a number of audits and reports.