Bahama Pundit

Brazil is on the Move

by Simon

Brazil has its share of growing pains and longstanding challenges.  There are challenges of income and racial inequality, violent crime, rising inflation and vast infrastructural needs, as well as other social and economic challenges. 

Still, Brazil is a country on the move and is vigorously addressing poverty through innovative income and social programmes. By some estimates 20 million people may have moved out of poverty in the past decade due to the country’s economic success.

Brazil overtook Spain, Canada and Italy, and according to the UK-based Centre for Economics and Business Research has now overtaken Britain and France to become the world’s sixth largest economy.  Along with Russia, India, China and now South Africa, Brazil is a member of the BRICS group of “leading emerging economies”.

What's the Hold-up with a Bahamian University?

By Larry Smith

Recently, I caught the tail-end of a polite rant on JCN-TV by College of the Bahamas professor Nicolette Bethel. She was lamenting the fact that the College's move towards university status has stalled, threatening dire consequences for the future of the country.

My first reaction was: Well, aren't we already part of the University of the West Indies?

We are indeed - have been since 1964, in fact. And we contribute about $3 million a year to this prestigious regional institution, which operates a School of Clinical Medicine & Research, a Hotel Management Programme and an Open University 'campus' in Nassau.

My second reaction was: Why does the College need to become a university anyway?

"The concept of a university is a place where ideas are encouraged, where economies are expanded, where industries are created, where jobs are multiplied," Bethel explained to me. "If the country does not show confidence in itself, in its young, in its own ability to innovate, the moment will pass. Our lack of understanding of this is a recipe for future disaster."

And apparently it's all part of the plan - the 2009-2019 strategic plan, which says the College "expects to become a university…to develop new undergraduate and graduate programmes, increase research and innovation activities and focus its work in areas crucial to national development."

In his introduction to that plan, Council Chairman T. Baswell Donaldson says a university will "support and drive national development (and) the College is ready to take that step." He told me the same thing over the phone recently: "We are ready at any time to become a university, but I have no idea what the government's timetable is."

A rather startling admission. But before we get into a discussion of that, a little background is in order.

Bahamas Youth Development Corps

by Simon

In an editorial last year lauding Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham’s call for “a new era of volunteerism” in his National Crime Address, The Nassau Guardian opined:

“National volunteerism may be our biggest and brightest idea to date in this country.   The Prime Minister's call for a new era of volunteerism is spot on.  Few things have the potential to reignite a sense of unity, purpose and productivity in our community like national volunteerism can.”

Mr. Ingraham also called for a revamping of community service-learning programmes in government-operated secondary schools.   He has now extended this vision by proposing the establishment of the Bahamas Youth Development Corps.   

Such a corps would enlist Bahamians between the ages of 18 to 25 to volunteer their time to worthy causes and various agencies for a period of time “while earning money towards higher education or entrepreneurial ventures.”  In essence, they can then translate what is really a form of national service into greater opportunity for themselves and their families.

Bahamas Set to Debate Freedom of Information Bill

by Larry Smith

Last October the government tabled an historic Freedom of Information Bill in Parliament - fulfilling a key election pledge. This law is expected to be debated in the next few days.

Some have called the proposed legislation weak, arguing that it defers too much power to Cabinet and includes too many exemptions. Others say it is a big step towards more openness, but success will depend on how robust the implementation process is.

The Bill is an almost verbatim copy of the Freedom of Information Act passed by the Cayman Islands legislature in 2007. That law was formulated over a period of years by a Cabinet Office working group which looked at similar legislation enacted by Britain, Canada and other West Indian islands. 

The Cayman government created a 16-member steering committee after the law was passed to guide the project to completion. And a separate implementation committee was also appointed, headed by a Jamaican civil rights lawyer, which was responsible for training, awareness and procedures.

The Caymanian law took effect in January 2009, and by all accounts it has had a big impact on the way government authorities interact with the press and with the community in general. 

Hubert Ingraham’s Quiet Revolution

by Simon

“The Bahamas Achieves a Quiet Revolution as Its First Black Government Takes Hold” was the headline of a New York Times story announcing the achievement of majority rule in the Colony of the Bahama Islands in 1967.

The story began: “A quiet revolution has been achieved in these resort islands as a Negro Government has taken office this week to end three centuries of white rule. The impact has been nil on the tourists who have packed Nassau's hotels, but the changeover seems to have touched the heart of every Negro citizen.”

 By quiet, it did not mean that the movement for Majority Rule was quiescent or a laid back struggle.  The word quiet speaks to the nonviolent nature of the fight for the second emancipation in Bahamian history.

Medical Tourism and Medical Oversight in the Bahamas

by Larry Smith

 In a recent Tribune article, heart specialist Dr Conville Brown complained about Bahamians spending millions of dollars in the US for medical care that could easily be obtained at home.

He was arguing in favour of local healthcare providers building a large-scale medical tourism industry here. "The same things that all tourists do," he said, "the medical tourist has to do. (And) if the ownership is Bahamian, then the economy really wins because those funds will stay here."

But at the same time he felt constrained to point out that Bahamians were offsetting the income from foreigners by flying off to get treatment in the US. "We boost their economy big time. We are reverse medical tourists. Several hospitals in South Florida say their biggest international clientele is from the Bahamas."

Medical tourism is a multi-billion-dollar growth industry that hospitals, doctors and tourism marketers around the world are eager to tap into. By some accounts, more than half a million Americans travel to other countries for medical treatment - partly for cost reasons and partly to take advantage of procedures not yet approved in the US.

There can be no disagreement with Dr Brown’s position in terms of the Bahamian economy. And for patients, the benefits are equally obvious and compelling. If Bahamians obtained their medical treatment at home they would significantly reduce the logistics, expense and stress of being treated abroad. 

Why then, do so many of us spend so much money overseas for treatments that are available right here at home? We can answer that question fairly confidently - given a choice, patients will seek medical care from the doctors, hospitals and clinics they trust the most.  

Dig Up, Dig Up

by Simon

The once in a generation road transportation and road corridor programme is more than a decade old.  The New Providence Road Improvement Project began in the 1990s but did not significantly progress from 2002 to 2007.  Restarted under the current Ingraham administration, the programme went into higher gear beginning in 2007.

Geno D’s popular and witty single “Dig Up 2011” captures the mood of many residents of New Providence on the ambitious road works and utilities upgrades on the capital island:

“They doing some serious diggin’.../They stressing out my life, all kinds of dust in my nose, all over my car and my clothes/They say it’s all for my good, but not right now in my neighbourhood.../ Everywhere they diggin’ mornin’, noon and evenin’.../You gat to go north to go south/You gat to go east to go west/Gat to past my house to get home...” 

Cayman's Freedom of Information Law Sets Bahamas Precedent

by Larry Smith

GEORGE TOWN, the Cayman Islands -- The political status of this tiny British Overseas Territory south of Cuba, which enjoys one of the world's highest standards of living, is often described by local intellectuals as "voluntary colonialism".

As late as the 1950s, the Caymanos - to use an earlier name - were known as "the islands that time forgot". But today they are home to a dazzling array of high-end tourist and financial infrastructure, populated by a cosmopolitan and largely affluent workforce of 36,000 - more than half of which is from other countries.

Grand Cayman has managed to preserve its position as a top financial centre in the face of a crackdown on international money laundering and tax evasion, as well as the recessionary impact of the global credit crisis. And tourism grew by more than 5 per cent last year, for a total of 1.9 million visitors. In fact, the island is buzzing with activity.

The Cayman islands are no longer a backwater. Despite being subject to British colonial rule (and occasionally whining about it), Caymanians are way ahead of Bahamians in terms of holding their government to account. In addition to a national ombudsman and an independent auditor-general, the legislature unanimously approved a freedom of information law in 2007.

Gerrymandering Districts and Questionable Citizenships

by Larry Smith

Another email popped into my inbox last week from retired politico Pierre Dupuch. In most cases, I scan these messages quickly and move on - they are poisonous political rants with no constructive proposals or substance, and it is obvious that Dupuch has a "thing" about his former leader in the FNM, Hubert Ingraham.

But this one caught my eye because it purports to deal with concrete 'facts' that have been percolating for months in the form of a monstrous conspiracy theory.

One of the most important functions of responsible journalism is to clarify such controversies so that the public is not deluded by ignorant or conniving individuals who set themselves up as authorities or champions, often in the pursuit of hidden agendas.

And frankly, I wanted to see for myself if anything Dupuch had to say on this matter was worth listening to. So I decided to take a closer look at the various allegations.

The main thrust of Dupuch's November 17 letter was a sinister FNM plot to give citizenship to thousands of Haitians so they can swing newly gerrymandered constituencies in the upcoming general election.

As near as I can tell, this mythology was first raised back in March by an anonymous propaganda website called Bahamas Press, which masquerades as a news site.

Branville McCartney and the Question of Experience

by Simon

DNA Leader Branville McCartney has ensnared himself in a classic conundrum that severely limits the viability of certain politicians: The more he speaks, the more the general public learns about his poorly conceived ideas, the quicker the loss of potential support.  Sarah Palin is a typical example of this phenomenon.

Mrs. Palin still excites her base.  But among other voters including independents there is a ceiling she has proven incapable of breaking mostly because the majority of voters find her persona, politics and policy prescriptions unappealing.  They cannot envision her as President of the United States.

The razzmatazz and hoopla surrounding various DNA launches, publicity exercises and media curiosity is diminishing with an increasing number of potential voters jolted by many of Mr. McCartney’s statements and calling into question his credibility, substance and critical thinking abilities.  It is highly unlikely that most Bahamians view him as a potential Prime Minister.

As long as she is not formally running for president, Mrs. Palin can continue to just tweet her way into the hearts of her more ardent supporters and carefully select her media appearances.  Mr. McCartney does not have this luxury.  While some in the media have given a number of his bizarre statements a pass, this is beginning to change.  He is now coming under greater reportorial and editorial scrutiny.