The Tribune

FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday railed against the government for what he called its failure to impact the country’s crime rate in light of a renewed travel warning from the Canadian government.

Dr Minnis said the government’s continued failures were threatening the tourism industry, “the lifeblood of our economy.”

“Canadians visit The Bahamas at the second highest rate, second only to the United States – another country that recently issued their own travel warning,” he said in a press statement yesterday.

“We cannot afford to have these tourists frightened away – it will cripple our industry.”

“Record high murder rates, and countless stories of the latest violent crime dominating the front page of our papers have had a chilling effect on the entire country and it continues to bleed out beyond our islands.

“As horrific as the crime rate has become, what’s more astounding is the lack of action from the government.”

As reported in The Tribune on Wednesday, in an updated travel advisory the Canadian government advised its citizens to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to the Bahamas due to high rates of crime, especially in Nassau.

Yesterday, Dr Minnis said it was clear that the government did not have a plan, adding that the 2016/2017 budget failed to offer any assurances that the Christie-led administration understood the severity of the problem.

Dr Minnis said: “The people demand to know when this government will act.

“Four years ago they promised to root out crime, but it has only gotten worse. Four years ago they promised to re-invigorate our tourism industry, but instead tourism is spiralling downward, and now these two major issues slam into each other and we find ourselves at a crossroad but unfortunately for Bahamians the PLP is lost.”

“This is an issue of life and death – our people are suffering through staggering crime, coupled with the negative impact the crime epidemic has on our economy,” he said.