by Sloan Smith (Eyewitness News) NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Support for the country’s shift to a republic remains mixed, with one former minister insisting on the country’s readiness while another former representative called it “dead talk”.
The Caribbean tour by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee, has sparked debate over breaking ties with the monarch as Jamaica signaled their own intention to “move on” during the royal couple’s stopover in the country.
Former Minister of Health Renward Wells, who has previously expressed his support to remove “all of those trappings”, told Eyewitness News that he believes The Bahamas is ready to remove the queen as its titular head and move to become a republic.”
“I see no reason why at this stage in our national development that we should not be moving the direction of having a president of The Bahamas who is a Bahamian, who the Bahamians can look to,” he said.
“The Bahamas is more than ready to move in that direction.”
