Your Excellency;
Members of Parliament-Elect;
Colleagues;
Family and Friends:
I thank Her Excellency for administering the oath of office and for Her hospitality.
Today we begin our assignment as the Official Opposition of our beautiful Bahamaland. We sought a different role, but the people assigned us this one, and in a democracy they are the deciders.
I pledge to honour their trust and uphold the Constitution of The Bahamas as the Leader of the Opposition.
I also pledge to the Bahamian people to be robust and steadfast in my constitutional responsibilities.
We will do our job, opposing when necessary and supporting when appropriate.
We will be diligent and forceful in insisting on the practice of good governance, which includes the two most critical tenets—transparency and accountability by the Government.
Beyond transparency and accountability, we will press forcefully for fairness, honesty, integrity, fiscal responsibility and economic justice in the use of public resources.
We will push for the people of The Bahamas to get that which they voted for and are paying for.
There are tens of thousands of voices in this country, greater than the total any party received, that do not feel adequately represented at all. Far too many of our people have disconnected themselves from the political process and remain deeply skeptical of their leaders.
Over time, too many people have watched politics become louder, but less personal. More transactional, but less transformational. And many citizens have concluded that no matter who they vote for, their struggles remain the same.
Your Excellency, their concerns have not fallen on deaf ears.
I accept fully that I must do more to inspire their participation.
And I pledge that the Opposition will not ignore the lessons their frustration is trying to teach us, even when those lessons may be uncomfortable to hear.
Your Excellency;
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am confident that our eight elected members—James Leo Ferguson, Lincoln Deal II, Frazette Gibson, Dr. Andre Rollins, Michela Barnett-Ellis, Adrian White, and James Kwasi Thompson—will make the Bahamian people proud.
Be professional, diligent, forthright, honest, humble, true and faithful to your charge.
We enjoy a democracy that is peaceful during our elections, and political maturity which respects the decision of the Bahamian people to choose their own government.
Now that the people have decided, we must all work toward the greater good of the nation and the general welfare.
We are first and foremost fellow citizens and patriotic Bahamians who love our country.
May I offer my deep gratitude to my colleagues and to those present today.
I especially thank my wife, my family, my friends, and prayer warriors nationally for their support.
May God continue to guide our country.
Thank you, and good afternoon.