Premier has a clear-cut plan to move our island forward

FRIDAY, NOV. 23: 2+2 = 4 . Today I will explain 4+1= 5.

Recently about 400 PLP delegates listened to Premier Paula Cox deliver her ‘Sermon on the Mount.’ Anyone who has listened to her knows she is a very soft spoken, gentle soul.

Not this night. She spoke in the clear and determined language of a fiery leader.

I swear my Aunt Lois must have possessed her tongue that night.

Ms Cox laid out a clear, 10-point road plan of where the PLP and all the people of Bermuda must direct our collective energies.

Allow me to share this vision:

1. Job creation. Let us keep it real, family — everybody needs a job. A major project will soon commence in which Bermudian owned companies will provide jobs for Bermudians of many levels. Bootsie’s song ‘Bermudians love to drink’ was a hit. Yet more than drinking, we love to be working. We are not lazy nor incompetent. We are the workers who built this island.

 2. Any fisherman knows you have to chum up the water and use good bait. This is how you catch the ‘Big Fish’.  Ms Cox and other ministers have travelled to Dubai and Qatar to seek investors into our island home. Finally, some of those billions of dollars we have paid for fuel  are going to be re-invested into our infrastructure.The ‘Big One’ will not be getting away.

3. As a young kid in the 1980s the closest I got to the hotel industry was groundskeeping in at Archlyn Villa Guesthouse for $4 an hour. For many of our children, the hotel industry has had zero appeal. It is time for a 180-degree turn on this. The National Tourism Plan has been implemented and has started to see rewards in increased hotel bookings. And with investment by a Bermudian family, the Greens, purchasing Hamilton Princess, it is a great sign of confidence in our tourism plans. Yet no matter how hard Minister Furbert and his board work, it all comes back down to us as Bermudians, being the best investors and ambassadors in and of this island as we can be.

They paved the way

 4. Our seniors have sacrificed life, limb and liberty to build the society we enjoy today. Whether it be those like my Aunts Effie and Julia, who served as chambermaids at Castle Harbour, or those who worked as the first wave of employees in IB.

Our seniors, our mothers and fathers have paved the way. We must and will continue to provide them with the best in health care, such as 100% coverage of generic drugs and a place to call home.

5. No investment or business plan in Bermuda is going to work unless we have peace and safety.

More importantly our young Bermudians must know they must stop the mayhem and become part of the progress.

As a parent, I often wonder ‘how do I keep my sons on track?’

Previously I never had much time for the police. However I now have a great deal of respect for what the BPS has and is continuing to do. The implementation of ‘Street Safe’ and CARTEL will bring added levels of safety.

But lest we forget, the best cure is prevention. No police officer can or should show our sons the guidance and discipline that must start from home. Spend time with your sons, love them and cherish them. Empower them with self-worth and positive initiative. That is how the shootings will cease.

Let us depend on ourselves and each other and not be overly dependent on Government.