We are delighted to post Mr. Ingraham's departing statement from Parliament with his kind permission.
There is no doubt that Mr. Ingraham has made a substantial and indelible contribution to The Bahamas during his tenure and will be missed from both the national and international political scenes.
We wish him an enjoyable retirement with much good health to enjoy with his family and friends.
Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham Former Prime Minister of The Bahamas
Statement by Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham
Member of Parliament for North Abaco
On Thursday past I submitted my letter of resignation as a Member of the Honourable House of Assembly to the Speaker of the House of Assembly to take effect on the 31 August of this year. This will bring to a close 35 years of public life during which I strove to be an agent for change for better for all our citizens.
It has been a long journey; one filled not only with the highs of victory and accomplishment but also with the lows of defeat, dismissal from Cabinet in 1984, and recent defeat at the polls for the party I led. In office, I always did my best. And I worked tirelessly.
I was truly a political nobody when, at the age of 25, I was selected by the then Leader of the governing party to manage the re-election campaign of my predecessor as the Member of Parliament for Coopers Town.
Then at 28, I was elected National Chairman of the governing party. The next year, in 1977 at 29, I was elected the Member of Parliament for the constituency I now represent.
Of the 15 individuals elected to the House of Assembly for the first time that year, only I and the Member for Centreville remain in this place.
We do not have a long list of resignations – only six since 1976. Two of these were former Heads of Government, Sir Roland Symonette and the Rt. Hon. Sir Lynden Pindling; two went on to become Governors-General – Sir Clifford Darling and Sir Orville Turnquest. The others left for other reasons.
In 2002, after serving two consecutive terms as head of government, I voluntarily demitted office, having, thus far, been the only prime minister since independence to do so.
When in 2005 and 2007 respectively, my party and the Bahamian people invited me to serve again in high office I honoured these requests.
Having failed in leading my party to secure a renewal of a mandate to serve as the Government of The Bahamas in the recent general election, I elected to observe a long-held custom of various parliamentary democracies.
While many will comment now and into the future on the reasons for my party’s loss, I accept full and unreserved responsibility for our defeat.
Accordingly, I decided to resign both as Leader of my party, and my seat in this Chamber. Again, history will record that I am the first defeated prime minister in an independent Bahamas to do so.
By leaving at this time, I wanted to afford my party the opportunity to move forward with new leadership and a fresh start. I remain confident in the future success of the Free National Movement.
I congratulate the governing party on its recent election victory. Our system works best and is most vibrant when the minority accepts the electoral victory of the majority, and agrees to cooperate with, though not always agree with, the majority, in the service of the common good.
Inherent in this acceptance of the right and responsibility of the majority to govern, is a necessary reciprocity. This reciprocal responsibility required of the majority, is that the minority will be treated fairly, and that their rights will be respected and not infringed upon.
I also remain confident that the ideals and customs of this House and of our democracy will flourish, nurtured by the good men and women who serve here, a free press, a strong civil society, and an eternally vigilant people, in whose House of Assembly it has been my privilege to serve.
I came to the House of Assembly a driven and highly motivated young man. I had no expectation of reaching the heights to which I ascended, and really only desired to be the best representative possible for North Abaco.
Having been born in Pine Ridge, Grand Bahama and raised in the humblest of circumstances in Coopers Town, Abaco my earliest experience of life was without the most basic of amenities.
I was, after all, a product of a Family Island community which got its water from open wells, pumps and rainwater tanks, lighted the night with kerosene lamps, had no paved roads and no telephones, and where education was limited to what was available at an All Age School that did not go beyond Grade 9.
Notwithstanding its economic poverty, the community of North Abaco was rich beyond measure in so many ways. It became my inspiration, instilling in me lessons of industry, self-reliance, fortitude, community, an honest day’s work and a life-long commitment to helping others.
Recent Comments