‘Mother’ Pratt, announced as next Governor General, says ‘I want to make a difference’

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

CYNTHIA “Mother”

Pratt said she wants to make a difference and “touch the lives of every Bahamian” as the next governor general.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis announced yesterday that Mrs Pratt will ascend to the highest office effective September 1. “I want to do what is right,” she told The Tribune yesterday. “I want to make a difference. That’s the bottom line.”

Mrs Pratt, 77, was the member of Parliament for the St Cecilia constituency for 15 years. She was the first woman to be deputy prime minister.

Her appointment as governor general is likely to be accepted by people across political lines. She will be the third woman governor general in the country’s history.

Yesterday, she said she wants to impact many areas in her new role.

“Overall, I know we do have a number of challenges in our country, but you know there’s nothing that we cannot solve,” she said. “We can do it collectively as a people.

I believe it’s a matter of our people having confidence in us, that they can come and join us, and we can work as a team, not as the governor general sitting over the people like you have a whip in your hand. It’s about inviting the people to join me to help, it’s about the people that you’re leading.”

Since leaving the forefront of politics in 2012, Mrs Pratt said she remained an active churchgoer. She is also a former co-chair of the Urban Renewal Commission.

“As a matter of fact, I hesitated in coming to public life, period, and so right now, I don’t feel anxious about anything,” she said.

“I’m not worried about anything as I know God would lead me and guide me with prayer. With prayer, I would be able to execute my duties.”

Mr Davis said Sir Cornelius A Smith would officially demit office on August 31.

He said Mrs Pratt had made significant contributions to the nursing, education, politics, sports and religious industry.

“I am confident that the appointment of Cynthia Pratt will be widely accepted as a representation of Bahamians everywhere due to the character and contributions which distinguish her as a nationalist of the highest order,” he said.

Govt will ‘repeal and replace’ commercial enterprises act, says aG

from page one

“foster the economic development zones component of that” law, but remove the “automatic granting of work permits and the employment aspects of it that are objectionable to us.”

Under the law, a “specified commercial enterprise” can obtain an Investments Board certificate to receive work permits for specific positions.

“We did a full review of that piece of legislation coming into the election,” Mr Pinder said. “In our blueprint for change, you would have noted, we had some objection to that legislation.

“Our objection was focused around the automatic grant of work permits and ensuring that Bahamian employment is protected. However, on a full review of the legislation, we thought there were aspects of it that would be useful for economic development.

“So, it provides for commercial enterprise zones, which would be given some commercial preference in different types of industries. We see that happening in Dubai and Cayman Islands and other countries. So we thought that was a valued piece of the legislation that really needed to be expanded upon and reformed.

“So, it is on our horizon.”

“Instead of doing a full repeal, we’re taking a more progressive approach on it.”

Amending the Commercial Enterprises Act was a promise the administration reiterated in the 2021 Speech from the Throne.

It also pledged to amend the Education Act to “provide for universal pre-primary education for three and four-year-olds, consolidate the National Accreditation and Equivalency Council of The Bahamas (NAECOB) and the Pre-school and Day Care Council, and specify home-schooling modalities”.

Asked about not executing this commitment, Mr Pinder said: “Well, you know, we have passed over 100 pieces of legislation in less than two years so we’ve been rather aggressive in our legislative agenda. To say that we’re not going to advance something that was in the prior Speech from the Throne would be incorrect. Certainly, we stand by the legislative agenda that was reflected in the first Speech from the Throne, and those items will be addressed in the coming legislative session.”