By BARBARA WALKIN

Senior FN Reporter

barbara@nasguard.com

Former Prime Minister Hubert A. Ingraham addressed a number of concerns facing the country over the weekend, revealing that plans are under way to select candidates for the four vacant seats for Grand Bahama.

Speaking to persons gathered at the Foster B. Pestaina auditorium on Saturday, the leader of the Free National Movement (FNM) said his party was concerned about a number of issues facing the country, particularly with regard to education, health care, immigration and the economy.

Mr. Ingraham, who was in Grand Bahama for a series of meetings with party supporters disclosed: "We have just concluded a meeting with 400 to 500 of our key supporters in Grand Bahama discussing how we would go about selecting candidates for the four available seats in Grand Bahama; Marco City, Pineridge, Eight Mile Rock and West End and Bimini."

Noting that he met with constituency association leaders, Mr. Ingraham said there is a procedure that will be followed.

"We got a commitment from all the candidates, they agreed to the procedure and they assured they will support whoever is elected as a result of the procedure," he said.

With regard to the selection process, Mr. Ingraham said the party is seeking to identify and have an understanding on all of the persons who are going to be candidates for the FNM over the next several weeks.

"We will make a determination as to when we will formally determine them and when we will formally announce them."

He added that in terms of all the consultation in constituencies, the identification - who the candidate is likely to be - putting the candidates in the field to begin canvassing, will the end of this month.

Noting that he is satisfied with the number of women showing interest in the political race in New Providence, Mr. Ingraham said that FNM officials are seeking to encourage one or more additional females to step forward in Grand Bahama.

"We have an idea who they are and we will continue to search them out," added the party leader.

Mr. Ingraham revealed that the FNM has very good prospectives for candidacy in Grand Bahama.

"We can make the decision based on what we have now, but we would just like to have a little more gender balance than what we have today and we are seeking to achieve that," he said.

Another major issue of concern for the FNM is the economy of Grand Bahama.

Referring to the Royal Oasis Resort, Mr. Ingraham asked: "It is not too much to ask the governing Progressive Liberal Party to restore what they met when they came into office?

"The place was closed on their watch, it is not too much to ask of them to restore the 1,200 to 1,500 jobs they met there?"

He noted that hopefully, the Royal Oasis property will be sold and provide jobs here in Grand Bahama.

"The PLP is not good for Grand Bahama, they are bad for Grand Bahama and Grand Bahama is waiting for the opportunity to get rid of bad people."

The former Prime Minister also had strong words with regard to the current immigration issue.

"The FNM believes the Government ought to have a sustained, ongoing, regular and consistent exercise to ensure that persons who are in The Bahamas without permission, are found and repatriated back to their home country," he said."

Mr. Ingraham added that the FNM demonstrated this quite vividly during their time in office.

"We believe in a consistent policy" he declared.

"Secondly, we believe that the enforcement of any law, including our immigration law must be dealt with humanely and with human rights procedures."

He added that it is not right to go to people's home at 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning and round them up. "And round up is a word which is inappropriate, it should be an apprehension exercise." Mr. Ingraham said people should not be sought out at public clinics, at schools, or at churches."

"We call upon the PLP Government to return to the standards, to do its job, but return to the standards," added Mr. Ingraham.

ADDRESSING THE ISSUES — Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, leader of the Official Opposition was in Grand Bahama over the weekend for a series of meetings with local representatives and party supporters. While in Grand Bahama Mr. Ingraham addressed a number of concerns, including Grand Bahama's economy. Pictured from left are: Kenneth Russell, Member of Parliament for High Rock and Hubert Ingraham, leader of the Free National Movement (FNM). (Staff photo by BARBARA WALKIN)