Bahamian Politicians Must Address Real Issues in 2007 General Election

by Larry Smith

National Security Minister Cynthia Pratt says we are living in a new era: "It's a different mindset. Today, we cloak our children in wrongdoing." She was lamenting the social breakdown reflected by a rising tide of violence among young people and within families.

We have had nearly five years of a New PLP government that was supposed to bring a "fresh wind" of social reform and introduce a new kind of politics - an obvious attempt to regain the high ground after the FNM's far more dramatic 1992 break with the discredited policies of the past.

But despite this government's patchwork of urban renewal initiatives and the relative prosperity of recent years, the plain fact is that lawlessness and social irresponsibility are on the rise - with armed robberies, assaults, murders and sex crimes topping the list.

People largely do as they please. And as Prime Minister Perry Christie acknowledged recently, "Among young people there is a growing discrepancy with respect to order, discipline and the protection and safety of those in our society."

Analysis of this problem must begin with a critique of government, although wider and deeper factors are involved. That's because politicians like to advertise the changes they will make, and when elected they are in a unique position to implement those changes.

""Our vision can be summed up in just one sentence," PLP leader Perry Christie said shortly before the May 2002 general election that brought him to power. "The transformation of the Bahamas into a society in which we can all live in peace and in harmony with one another under an umbrella of social justice, equal opportunity and prosperity for all."

Christie challenged voters to choose their leaders rationally: "not on the basis of how they look or sound but on the basis of who they really are and what they stand for beneath the surface of all the glitz and glamour, the propaganda and the pageantry."

We echo that sentiment. And as we are about to engage in another political season, we should be able to hold the candidates to some hard positions on the real issues that confront us. There will, of course, be the usual bread and circuses - that is the nature of electoral politics. But there should also be something that thoughtful citizens can hang their hats on.

That means identifying the top priorities, distinguishing one set of policy prescriptions from another, and choosing the most reliable and effective managers to implement the necessary changes.

in the Bahamas this process is complicated by our tiny universe. There are only so many reasonably competent people among us who are able to commit to a political career. And there are even fewer who have the personality and leadership skills to pull it all together. But the challenges we face in a rapidly spinning world will not simply go away. They will only get worse - to our later remorse.

The head-in-the-sand attitude of the latter-day Pindling regime in the face of a tanking economy and a fracturing society - spurred by widespread corruption, epidemic drug abuse and creeping authoritarianism - is a major case in point in our very recent past.

In the late 1980s the Pindling government postponed hard decisions and made little effort to deal with the problems they had caused. After callously selling the country out to foreign gangsters, they denied all responsibility while avoiding any effort to right the wrongs. The result was a near catastrophe.

According to the 1984 Commission of Inquiry report: "We were alarmed by the extent to which persons in the public service have been corrupted by money derived from the illegal drug trade...We were particularly concerned to discover that these corrupting influences made their presence felt at the level of permanent secretary and minister...In our opinion, the whole nation must accept responsibility."

A series of damaging newspaper articles published in our major tourist markets all but destroyed the Bahamas' image as a good place to visit and do business in. The result was a precipitous drop in foreign investment, spiralling unemployment, rising crime and social decay - combined with a cynical urge to emigrate among those who could.

Fortunately, Pindling was defeated in the 1992 general election, which enabled a sharp break with the past under the leadership of an energetic and effective new leader who set about tackling the country's real issues and changing things for the better. Government controls on broadcasting were cut, corruption was exposed and condemned, infrastructure was repaired, state-run hotels were privatised, investors were courted and accountability became a watchword.

There is no political partisanship intended in this description of recent history. That is simply the way it was.

But now, although the circumstances have changed, there are many who think we are facing another crunch point, because hard choices are not being made by the political class, or are taking too long to be made.

We do not - at present - have a problem attracting foreign investment or tourists. The main issues relate to society and governance, but if we do not deal with them now we will be mortgaging our future at a very high interest rate.

How do we control illegal immigration and integrate the tens of thousands of migrants already in our midst? How do we fix our failed education system so that Bahamians can take advantage of economic development? How do we protect our cultural and environmental heritage? And how do we bring about social renewal and institutional reform to reduce the levels of lawlessness and inefficiency that plague our lives?

Perhaps the biggest potential flashpoint is Haitian immigration, although its true effects may not be readily apparent. Haitian migrants are marginalised from the rest of society, squatting in illegal settlements in growing numbers - vulnerable and disenfranchised. And their children face strong barriers to joining society. As one commentator put it, “If we had set out to create an underclass, we could not have done a better job.”

But unfortunately, the debate on immigration is too often hijacked by negative, populist sloganeering, which discourages sound policymaking. The anger and frustration of ordinary Bahamians confronting this issue is palpable, but that is entirely the fault of the politicians. Information is inadequate, diffuse and often confusing.

Unless Bahamians want to become Haitianized, our goal should be assimilation of migrants within Bahamian culture. But experts say this must be based on "the expected outcome of full citizenship, and sharing of common civic values with the native population.”

Continuing to exclude, denigrate and exploit the Haitian community will have serious repercussions down the road. The social and economic costs will be immeasurable, and our politicians must undertake some unaccustomed leadership to avoid this.

Education is the second fundamental issue of our time. According to one commentator, "It is clear that the Bahamian education system has failed to produce anything like the kind of workforce that is needed to run an economy like ours.

"Partly, this reflects a political class lacking both the imagination and fortitude to introduce a modern, reformed curriculum and to guarantee minimum reasonable standards of performance among government-funded schools."

Experts say parenting is the crux of our education and crime problems – because unwanted children have worse outcomes than children who are welcomed by their parents. Many Bahamian children are born simply as a means of prying money from the pockets of disappearing boyfriends, or as a mistake due to ignorance, or as a demonstration of machismo.

And children who are not nurtured by responsible parents grow up with disciplinary problems and learning deficiencies. As they reach their late teens - in a society that hardly bothers to enforce rules and resorts to arch hypocrisy on most moral issues - they often turn to crime.

As one analyst recently concluded: “If one were trying to set an agenda for the 21st century, it would appear that the first step in that process is to candidly describe the present state of affairs...Refining the public education system can only be accomplished with strong leadership over a long time using strategies that are clearly stated and widely endorsed.”

Yet the last annual report to parliament on the state of education was in 1995, and that report failed to candidly describe the situation. And this is an across-the-board problem with all government agencies, representing a gross failure of public accountability.

We need less secrets, and a real plan with meaningful targets and firm management. And this applies not just to immigration and education, but to all the other issues mentioned at the beginning of this article.

The time for politicians to focus on these issues is now. Tomorrow may be too late.

Comments

[EB Christen]

Issues based politics is what we need - so far, neither party has really made any noise about the issues in a constructive manner. Issues are good, but a REAL VISION would be nice too. This country needs a direction and goals for achieving that aim. We should say, in 10 years, we want to be xyz and here is how we are going to make it happen. And that list of goals shouldn't be pie in the sky promises but serious measures that the government (working close with private sector) will look to put in place.

The biggest issue for the future is education, as you aptly pointed out. Bahamians need to be competitive in their own labour market. They need to understand that every Bahamian firm wants to hire Bahamians, but there is a serious derth of qualified, motivated and serious people. Bahamian businesses can't survive hiring unqualified people - perhaps government can, but that isn't the same thing. Lots of adults that are mentally still 'kids' are running around saying, 'I want a job', but really just looking for pay checks - not jobs.

It is a serious problem. Basic skills: reading, writing, simple arithmetic (without a calculator), verbal communication, politeness, basic phone courtesy - these alone are challenges. Forget computer skills or anything else that businesses are looking for! Knowing how to turn on a computer and move a mouse doesn't mean you know how to 'use' a computer.

The education system is failing students. Motivated and interested students need to be taken into schools and programs that can push them further, while 'bad apple' students need to be addressed separately. The country needs to focus on forming and maintaining a critical mass of skilled labour that can grow and expand the country and thus strengthen the middle class here.

It really is the question that will decide the Bahamas fate in the 21st century - the time for action on this is now - the next government - whoever they are - needs to be serious. No more jokers in parliament reading for hours and wasting the people's time. Watching the parliament channel is laughable - every Bahamian should watch, just to see the idiocy that passes for 'parliamentary debate' on issues. WAKE UP BAHAMAS!

Disband/sell off wasteful government corporations like ZNS, BahamasAir, BEC, BTC and all the others and further push back the heavy hand of government in this country. What about duty reform? Why can't Bahamians buy IPOD's in Nassau rather than smuggling them in from the USA? The duty is prohibitively high. With duty reform, competitiveness with US retailers would be the aim. The increased volume in small business openings would compensate for the lower return per item brought in, thus ensuring that government revenues were stable in the long term.

All of this stuff needs to be on the table, but instead we have 'he said, she said' arguments about residency permits for celebrities, scuffles in parliament and ridiculous discussions about sovereignty. These aren't issues! They are concerns, but they shouldn't be the dominant ones - we have bigger structural fish to fry.

[drew Roberts]

"Disband/sell off wasteful government corporations like ZNS, BahamasAir, BEC, BTC and all the others"

Well I am with you except for water and sewerage I think. However, it will not do us much good unless we also free up the market to real competition. Get rid of the monopoly laws.

"What about duty reform?"

Right now, a merchant pays CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) and then duty on that total, then stamp tax on that total.

The traveller pays cost, and duty. No Insurance, no freight. And no stamp tax on the total.

Now, if things worked the way we here imagine they should, the merchant would be buying wholesale and the traveller would be buying retail. Since we would expect wholesale prices to be less than retail, the merchant might be able to compete after paying more percentage wise and having to pay his costs after landing and make a profit of some sort. (This really needs to be more than he could earn on his investment/equity if he were to put it on fixed deposit or loan it out on a secure mortgage.

All well and good. But compared to our merchants' small buying power, the US merchants can often sell at retail for less than the factories or distributors sell to our merchants at wholesale.

It is no wonder that our merchants have trouble competing price wise with the US.

Here is a thought which may not be good, but it may pay to discuss it for what we can learn from the discussion...

Make all duty 10% for merchants and 20% for individuals. Make individuals pay stamp tax, not merchants. Simple. no argumetns over which duty heading goods come under.

Here is an alternative to consider if we need to do away with duty.

No one but approved wholesalers can import. Approved wholesalers cannot reatail. Travellers payt duty at 10%.

all the best,

drew