by Simon
Moreover, rather than simply parroting clichés about the need for local government in NP, it may be best to start at the beginning, stating the principles which might guide an informed debate, while looking forward, reminding ourselves about what we want to achieve through local government.
•Simon is a young Bahamian with things on his mind
who wishes to remain anonymous. His column 'Front Porch' is published
every Tuesday in the Nassau Guardian. He can be reached at
frontporchguardian@gmail.com.
Moreover, rather than simply parroting clichés about the need for local government in NP, it may be best to start at the beginning, stating the principles which might guide an informed debate, while looking forward, reminding ourselves about what we want to achieve through local government.
Part one argued that many of the models proposed for local government on NP may actually do harm to two key principles, including subsidiarity or effective decentralization and the importance of the common good.
The physical distance -- and for some, remoteness -- of our far-flung islands seems to require a different form of local government for the Family Islands as opposed to NP, the seat of the central government and beneficiary of most of its attention.
Part one further noted that a third principle, participatory democracy, could as effectively be achieved in a form of local government more suitable for the island home on which most Bahamians live. What is the flavour of participatory democracy in The Bahamas today? Though mixed, it is considerably more dynamic than some admit, and continues to move in a progressive direction.
VIBRANCY
A friend relayed this story, illustrating the vibrancy of our participatory democracy. A young Bahamian was sitting in an undergraduate class in Britain when the discussion turned to voter turnout around the world during general elections. The professor named some countries with high turnouts, including Australia where voting is compulsory, typically reaching a stratospheric 95 per cent.
The Bahamas was also mentioned, consistently knocking on the door of 90 per cent, this in a country in which voting is not compulsory by law, but which seems to be a near compulsory duty of citizenship in the hearts and minds of Bahamian voters across generations, and for nearly 40 years after independence.
That day’s case study about democratic participation soon turned into a civics lesson for the professor and his class, and should be a source of civic pride for us.
The young Bahamian woman spoke up, testifying to the high level of voter enthusiasm and turnout during election time. Her testimony electrified the class when she announced that later that day she was headed home to The Bahamas to vote in the upcoming general election.
To British students who wouldn’t travel just a few miles to vote, the idea of someone travelling considerably more miles, and for hours, just to vote, must have seemed like a version of Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
RITUAL
What many of them struggled to comprehend is that for most Bahamians, we are not solely casting a vote that serves as our collective five cents on those in office and those seeking to replace them. As importantly, a general election is a grand exercise in which voters, in one of the classic rituals of a participatory democracy, restate their claims about the direction and the ultimate ownership of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Successive governments, who couldn’t hear, felt this lesson: the PLP falling after 25 years, the FNM falling after 10, and the PLP falling after five years. A quarter-century monopoly in power by the PLP, a 1997 victory by the FNM with one of the highest popular votes since majority rule, and the 2002 command of all seats save one in New Providence by the PLP, did not insulate the government of the day from the collective judgment by voters that they had had enough.
Despite the rhetoric of blowhards, cynics, and political mercenaries, who will champion any cause if the price is right, participatory democracy is alive and well.
This does not mean that improvement is not needed in further boosting citizen participation. It does not deny the need for more transparency and accountability by government. Nor does it suggest that we need not be eternally vigilant about our freedoms and rights as well as the actions or non-action by politicians.
What it does suggest is that we have a democratic history and tradition, as well as institutions, on which to build as we enhance democratic participation by citizens within government and across civil society. For many, one of these avenues is local elected government.
But to maintain an economy of scales and provide for efficient delivery of services, it seems to make little sense to have a system of local government in NP in which each constituency or district will become a mini-government struggling to duplicate the same services that can be more effectively provided by the central government.
The concerns over poor service delivery and responsiveness by government, is a legitimate one. But there are ways of making improvements that do not result in balkanizing NP into isolated enclaves, making the situation considerably worse by what is supposed to be a cure.
INTERNET
As an aside, as many government services migrate, virtually, to the internet, more efficiencies should be gained and service delivery improved. But if the direct delivery of various services is not the main function of local government in NP, what might be its main function?
Essentially, such government should be a formal advocate for citizens of a given area. It should ensure that those services not being delivered are so delivered. It should serve as a means for citizens in a specific geographic area of NP to become more involved in enhancing the quality of life of that area, serving as the focal point for what some have termed neighbourhood democracy.
One model for this form of local government may be that of advisory neighbourhood bodies, a democratic staple of many countries and jurisdictions. One model that may be tweaked for our local context is the Advisory Neighbourhood Commission (ANC) found in Washington DC, whose role is to:
“Consider a wide range of policies and programmes affecting their neighbourhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licences, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection.
“The ANCs are the body of government with the closest official ties to the people in a neighbourhood. The ANCs present their positions and recommendations on issues to various District government agencies, the Executive Branch, and the Council.”
These commissions have considerable advisory power, while the actual delivery of service is handled more effectively by a central government.
COUNCILS
How might such a system be utilized for New Providence? Perhaps through the creation of elected Constituency Advisory Councils (CAC), one for each constituency in NP, with seven or so members, from among whom each council would choose its officers including the chairperson and vice chairperson.
To encourage information exchange, coordination and the sharing of best practices, the chairs of the various CACs should meet on a regular basis. Once a year council members from throughout New Providence can convene in a Citizen Advisory Summit with cabinet ministers, members of parliament for New Providence and senior public officials, as well as representatives from various civil society groups, business and labour organizations and others.
Of course, many details will need to be worked out in terms of length of service, council rules and a host of other matters. But these councils may be a good start to local government in NP, evolving over time as lessons are learned and the system is fine-tuned.
These are just a few suggestions intended to help frame the on-going discussion on the creation of an effective, suitable form of local government for the nation’s capital island. Hopefully, they will encourage other ideas that will assist in the enhancement of participatory democracy at every level of national life.
The physical distance -- and for some, remoteness -- of our far-flung islands seems to require a different form of local government for the Family Islands as opposed to NP, the seat of the central government and beneficiary of most of its attention.
Part one further noted that a third principle, participatory democracy, could as effectively be achieved in a form of local government more suitable for the island home on which most Bahamians live. What is the flavour of participatory democracy in The Bahamas today? Though mixed, it is considerably more dynamic than some admit, and continues to move in a progressive direction.
VIBRANCY
A friend relayed this story, illustrating the vibrancy of our participatory democracy. A young Bahamian was sitting in an undergraduate class in Britain when the discussion turned to voter turnout around the world during general elections. The professor named some countries with high turnouts, including Australia where voting is compulsory, typically reaching a stratospheric 95 per cent.
The Bahamas was also mentioned, consistently knocking on the door of 90 per cent, this in a country in which voting is not compulsory by law, but which seems to be a near compulsory duty of citizenship in the hearts and minds of Bahamian voters across generations, and for nearly 40 years after independence.
That day’s case study about democratic participation soon turned into a civics lesson for the professor and his class, and should be a source of civic pride for us.
The young Bahamian woman spoke up, testifying to the high level of voter enthusiasm and turnout during election time. Her testimony electrified the class when she announced that later that day she was headed home to The Bahamas to vote in the upcoming general election.
To British students who wouldn’t travel just a few miles to vote, the idea of someone travelling considerably more miles, and for hours, just to vote, must have seemed like a version of Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
RITUAL
What many of them struggled to comprehend is that for most Bahamians, we are not solely casting a vote that serves as our collective five cents on those in office and those seeking to replace them. As importantly, a general election is a grand exercise in which voters, in one of the classic rituals of a participatory democracy, restate their claims about the direction and the ultimate ownership of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Successive governments, who couldn’t hear, felt this lesson: the PLP falling after 25 years, the FNM falling after 10, and the PLP falling after five years. A quarter-century monopoly in power by the PLP, a 1997 victory by the FNM with one of the highest popular votes since majority rule, and the 2002 command of all seats save one in New Providence by the PLP, did not insulate the government of the day from the collective judgment by voters that they had had enough.
Despite the rhetoric of blowhards, cynics, and political mercenaries, who will champion any cause if the price is right, participatory democracy is alive and well.
This does not mean that improvement is not needed in further boosting citizen participation. It does not deny the need for more transparency and accountability by government. Nor does it suggest that we need not be eternally vigilant about our freedoms and rights as well as the actions or non-action by politicians.
What it does suggest is that we have a democratic history and tradition, as well as institutions, on which to build as we enhance democratic participation by citizens within government and across civil society. For many, one of these avenues is local elected government.
But to maintain an economy of scales and provide for efficient delivery of services, it seems to make little sense to have a system of local government in NP in which each constituency or district will become a mini-government struggling to duplicate the same services that can be more effectively provided by the central government.
The concerns over poor service delivery and responsiveness by government, is a legitimate one. But there are ways of making improvements that do not result in balkanizing NP into isolated enclaves, making the situation considerably worse by what is supposed to be a cure.
INTERNET
As an aside, as many government services migrate, virtually, to the internet, more efficiencies should be gained and service delivery improved. But if the direct delivery of various services is not the main function of local government in NP, what might be its main function?
Essentially, such government should be a formal advocate for citizens of a given area. It should ensure that those services not being delivered are so delivered. It should serve as a means for citizens in a specific geographic area of NP to become more involved in enhancing the quality of life of that area, serving as the focal point for what some have termed neighbourhood democracy.
One model for this form of local government may be that of advisory neighbourhood bodies, a democratic staple of many countries and jurisdictions. One model that may be tweaked for our local context is the Advisory Neighbourhood Commission (ANC) found in Washington DC, whose role is to:
“Consider a wide range of policies and programmes affecting their neighbourhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licences, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection.
“The ANCs are the body of government with the closest official ties to the people in a neighbourhood. The ANCs present their positions and recommendations on issues to various District government agencies, the Executive Branch, and the Council.”
These commissions have considerable advisory power, while the actual delivery of service is handled more effectively by a central government.
COUNCILS
How might such a system be utilized for New Providence? Perhaps through the creation of elected Constituency Advisory Councils (CAC), one for each constituency in NP, with seven or so members, from among whom each council would choose its officers including the chairperson and vice chairperson.
To encourage information exchange, coordination and the sharing of best practices, the chairs of the various CACs should meet on a regular basis. Once a year council members from throughout New Providence can convene in a Citizen Advisory Summit with cabinet ministers, members of parliament for New Providence and senior public officials, as well as representatives from various civil society groups, business and labour organizations and others.
Of course, many details will need to be worked out in terms of length of service, council rules and a host of other matters. But these councils may be a good start to local government in NP, evolving over time as lessons are learned and the system is fine-tuned.
These are just a few suggestions intended to help frame the on-going discussion on the creation of an effective, suitable form of local government for the nation’s capital island. Hopefully, they will encourage other ideas that will assist in the enhancement of participatory democracy at every level of national life.
Simon, I've said this before, and I'll say it again. You are good, but you're prolix. Cut the length of your articles in half, and you will double your readership.
Bahamians may like their sermons of stupendous length and rife with sesquipedalians, but this ain't church. Cut it short, and you will get you message across better.
BTW, I agree with you, if you hadn't noticed.
Posted by: Bob Knaus | November 26, 2009 at 07:27 PM