NASSAU, The Bahamas – During his Remarks at the 98th Biennial National Convention of the Church of God of Prophecy, on March 12, 2025, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis said that, if The Bahamas is to build a better future, all must stop seeing each other through “the lens of division” because, when tragedy strikes, “it does not ask who you voted for.”

“When a hurricane comes, when a child is hungry, when violence takes another young life, no one is checking voter registration cards,” Prime Minister Davis said, during the event held at the Church of God of Prophecy East Street Tabernacle.  “In those moments, we are simply Bahamians – lifting each other up, mourning together, standing in the gap for one another.”

He added:  “I have seen it with my own eyes. I have watched Bahamians – rich and poor, young and old – come together to help a neighbor in need. I have seen hands stretch across political lines to console grieving families, to rebuild homes after a storm, to pray over a hospital bed. In those moments, our differences fade, and what remains is something far greater: our shared humanity, our love for one another, our belief that we are stronger together.

“But why must it take tragedy to remind us of this truth? Why must we wait until we are at our lowest to see each other as family?”

Prime Minister Davis stated the time had come for all in The Bahamas to stand together not just in crisis, but in everyday life, and to “look at the person beside us – not as PLP, not as FNM, not as someone from this constituency or that one – but as a brother, a sister, a fellow Bahamian with hopes and dreams just like ours”.

“We are in a fight for the very fabric of our nation,” he noted.  “And that fight is not against each other – it is against the forces that seek to divide us, that tell us we are only as good as the party we support.”

He continued:  “No, my friends. We are only as good as the love we show, the bridges we build, the hands we extend to help those who have stumbled.  So let us not wait for another storm, another crisis, another loss to remind us of who we are. Let us choose, right now, to be the people God has called us to be – one nation, under God, moving forward together, bound not by politics but by love, faith, and a future we will build as one.”

“Faith isn’t only about our prayers on Sunday, our time in church, our finding refuge during grief or tragedy – faith has to drive us every day – faith is why we never give up on our hardest problems,” Prime Minister Davis said.

He added that every Thursday, he sits in his office and receives a briefing from the Commissioner of Police.

“Every week, I see the profiles of young men – lives cut short, potential stolen too soon. Some of their faces are familiar, others I have never met, but every single one of them represents a heartbreaking loss for our nation,” Prime Minister Davis said.

“Some weeks, it is almost too much to bear, because behind every statistic is a mother who prayed over her son, a father who worked to give him a better life, a community that had hopes for his future,” he added.  “It tells a painful story – one of a nation in battle.  A battle to save our young men.  A battle to give our sons and daughters the future they deserve.”

Prime Minister Davis pointed out that he did not only see despair, he also saw hope.

“I see young men and women who are breaking barriers, chasing dreams, and proving that our story is not one of failure, but of resilience,” he said.  “I see Bahamians making their mark in business, in sports, in the arts, in science and technology.

“They are proof that, despite the struggles we face, our future is still bright.”

 

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis speaks during the 98th Biennial National Convention of the Church of God of Prophecy, on March 12, 2025, held at the Church of God of Prophecy East Street Tabernacle.   (BIS Photos/Eric Rose)