Bob Richards, OBA candidate for Devonshire East, Constituency 11

Remarks by OBA Leader Craig Cannonier on the roll-out of Mr. E.T. (Bob) Richards, OBA candidate for Devonshire East, Constituency 11, January 26, 2012

Good afternoon.

Today we resume our candidate roll-outs.

I am pleased to stand here with a man who has always called it like it is and who has always put Bermuda first, Mr. E.T. (Bob) Richards.

Bob will be the One Bermuda Alliance candidate in Devonshire East, Constituency 11, which he has represented for the past four years.

I have got to know Bob quite well over the past year and can say without reservation that he is a steady presence - honest, smart, hard-working and totally committed to building a better Bermuda.

Also with us are two young ladies who said at our caucus meeting on Tuesday that they wanted to stand here today in support of Bob and the OBA.

They are Feria Alpha and Alyssa Hayward – two Bermudian mothers who have been working citizens all their lives and who, in the past year, have seen workplace opportunities dry up.

It’s appropriate that Feria and Alyssa are here because the government needs to be reminded that the economy is about people.

It is the engine that makes Bermuda work and, like any engine, you want to make sure it keeps running smoothly so that people can live full and complete lives.

It is a fact that the Government over the past five to seven years has failed to take care of that engine and that people from all walks of life are now paying the price for it.

We see it in job losses. We see it in less money in our wallets to pay for daily needs. We see it in shop closures and the movement of companies to other jurisdictions. We see it in crushing debt payments that lead to cutbacks in public services, support for charities and teacher lay-offs. We see it in a government that now wants more of your money to pay for its excesses.

The One Bermuda Alliance is prepared to fix this situation.

The first priority of government, as we see it, is to create and maintain an environment that grows opportunity; that enables its citizens to make a living of their choice.

I am proud to have Bob as a member of the OBA team. He is the party’s Shadow Finance Minister and will be the Finance Minister in the One Bermuda Alliance Government.

He has kept a clear eye on the economy for many years now. I believe that if the Government followed Bob’s advice Bermuda’s economy today would be in much better shape, with more jobs, more opportunity and more confidence in the future.

Bob…

Remarks by Mr. E.T. (Bob) Richards, One Bermuda Alliance Candidate for Devonshire East, Constituency 11, January 26, 2012.

It is a privilege to be named by the OBA as its candidate for Constituency #11 Devonshire East, a constituency I have already had the honour of representing in Parliament for the last 4 years.

Devonshire East is a unique constituency, as it contains within its borders several residential areas, several businesses, the Elliott Primary School and the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute. This gives rise to a wide variety of issues which directly affect the people of Devonshire East.

I have worked with area residents to improve the security around Elliott School, a school attended by the children of many of my constituents. I continue, along with the residents of Devon Spring Road, to try to persuade government to fulfill its responsibilities to do what is necessary to reopen the southern end of that road.

Nationally I believe that this next election provides Bermudians with a unique opportunity to turn the page on the fortunes and the quality of life in our island home.

In the past five years, the people of Devonshire East, and across the Island, have been hit by job losses, shrinking paycheques, break-ins, shootings, cutbacks in public services and tax increases.

These are the consequences of a government that took its eye off the ball and failed to put the interests of working people first.

Now the choice in the coming election is clear and simple: to continue on as we are, or make a decisive change for the better. When you boil it down it’s as simple as that.

Today we have a government that has presided over the biggest loss of wealth, income and opportunity in our lifetimes.

They want to blame everybody but themselves for this situation, but clearly the shaky state of government finances speaks for itself.

Their policies have been a major contributor to Bermuda’s loss of competitiveness, the loss of jobs and reduction of future prospects for Bermudians.

Bermudians are just not buying the line that it’s all the fault of the global recession. Just two nights ago President Obama declared that 3 million jobs were created in the US in the last 22 months and more jobs were created in the past year than since 2005. Yet, as we speak, Bermudians are still losing their jobs.

We must face up to the reality that parts of the Bermuda economy are broken and that we must fix them, the rest of the world won’t.

Now, the PLP say I am a prophet of doom and gloom. Not so. I’m an entrepreneur, and you have to be an optimist to be an entrepreneur. But I strongly believe in telling the truth. That was how I was raised. If the facts are bad I’m going to tell you so, I’m not a member of the, “we had to mislead you” camp.

The sheer unpredictability of this government has had a devastating effect on people’s confidence in it and helped undermine confidence in Bermuda as a whole. For example:

• They said we were on the “road to recovery,” then the very next year said the outlook was grim.
• There was an unexpected tax increase that was rolled back a year later.
• They told expatriate pot washers to get out, then they reversed themselves almost the next day.

Who knows what they will do next.

This track record is the opposite of a steady hand on the wheel.

This current situation has many Bermudians anxious about their future; some have even given up hope.

The OBA hasn’t given up hope and neither have I. We have been steadfast in our beliefs and our positions. We can restore wealth, opportunity and safety and a bright future for our children, if we take the right corrective actions.

The OBA already has sketched out a plan to turn this economy around. The details of our plan are grounded in two fundamental truths:

1. Government has outgrown the economy. Expenses are out of control and need to be reined in.
2. We must recognize that the ultimate source of all our money is from foreign customers. We must identify those customers, welcome them, and provide them with the services they require. By doing that, the people of Bermuda will get what they need to succeed.

 

My colleagues and I are going to build an “opportunity economy;” an economy that makes it possible for people to build careers, grow their businesses and earn enough money to feed, clothe and educate their families; pay their bills and have some fun in their lives.

We are going to stop the decline and restore confidence in Bermuda.

We are going to end this era of anxiety and disappointment.

That means making government work better for people. It means government cultivating conditions that help people succeed; it means government working as a facilitator, not a road block; it means government working for people and not for itself.

We are going to move Bermuda forward again with confidence and faith in who we are as a people. That’s our foundation.

The OBA approach will cause confidence to replace disillusionment. A disillusioned Bermuda will fail; a confident Bermuda will succeed, going on from strength to strength.

That is my mission, and that is the mission of my colleagues.

We can do this.

This I believe, with every fibre of my being, and it is why I am running again to represent the people of Devonshire East.

Now I would like to finish with an invitation to the Minister of Finance.

You may recall something called, “The Big Conversation.” The big conversation today is about Bermuda’s economy. To help Bermudians participate in this big conversation, I invite the Minister of Finance to a televised debate on the economic issues of this country before the next general election.