The Tribune

FREE National Movement (FNM) Chairman Carl Culmer said yesteday the Minnis administration will work hard in the coming months to improve the economy in impoverished areas after spending its first seven months in office fixing problems left by the former government.

Mr Culmer said when the FNM was elected in May 2017, the economy was in "dire straits".

"We had suffered downgrade after downgrade, sky rocketing unemployment and clearly the... PLP government was more focused on helping themselves than the people they serve," he said.

"The new FNM government rolled up its sleeves and went to work with the goal of bringing financial stability back to the country. We are now seeing the positive results of those actions. Downgrades came to an end when Standard and Poor's (S&P) elected to maintain our status because of the recent steps the FNM government has taken. We passed the Commercial Enterprises Bill to encourage new investments in the Bahamas - investments that will help diversify our economy while creating new higher paying jobs and long-term job security to the Bahamian worker.

"The previous PLP administration spent five years all but destroying our economy and our country through its greed, mismanagement, (and) ineptitude... We knew change would not happen overnight and would take a lot of hard work. Stability was necessary so we would have a solid foundation on which to build lasting prosperity for all. With a new year, a new focus has now set in as our government shifts from just stabilisation to true prosperity."

He said the public can expect action, not rhetoric from the government.

"For years we watched as politicians promised change in the 'Over-the-Hill' communities and then ignored them and the challenges they faced. We now have a prime minister who grew up in those very same communities and will not forget or ignore people or promises made by the FNM government. We will work harder each day to create an economy in those communities and across the country that will allow all Bahamians to secure a better life for themselves and their families. Education is critical to improving the opportunities and outlook for our youth and our people and we will place special emphasis on improving educational opportunities for our citizens.

"In just seven short months, we started to right the ship and have taken positive steps in the right direction and now we plan to build off of that progress. We will not lose focus and know that together we can keep taking strides to reach a better future for all citizens of The Bahamas."