Renward Wells; the PLP candidate, and Cassius Stuart; the FNM candidate, both said Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader Branville McCartney has no chance of retaining his Bamboo Town seat in the 2012 general election

RIVALS SAY THEY DO NOT FEAR RISK OF LOSING TO DNA


By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net


THE PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party and Free National Movement candidates for Bamboo Town said they are not concerned about the possibility of losing to incumbent, Branville McCartney.

When asked what they thought their chances were in Bamboo Town, Renward Wells, the PLP candidate, and Cassius Stuart, the FNM candidate, both said DNA leader Mr McCartney has no chance of retaining his seat.

Mr Wells said: "I don't think its going to be a close race at all. In fact, I am going to win by more than 50 per cent of the vote. Mr McCartney will be pleasantly surprised.

"I know Bamboo Town has been FNM since 1987 but that was because of Tennyson Wells. Mr Wells convinced them that FNM was the better party and now I will convince them that PLP is the way to go.

"Cassius Stuart is my biggest competition, we are both cut from the same cloth. Mr McCartney will be easy to beat."

Mr Stuart agreed that Mr McCartney is no competition and said he won't even get one per cent of the vote.

"Everyone who stood with Mr McCartney now stands with me. He has some support but it is nothing significant," he said.

"The people are tired of persons being elected on the FNM ticket then abandoning them for their own personal interests.

"They always knew Mr McCartney had an ulterior motive because he painted his constituency office green and not red.

"I am going to knock Bran out. The only running he'll be doing is out of Bamboo Town."

The comments from both men came after Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said Bamboo Town is a "test case" to see which one of the men will emerge as the winner.

He said: "I have taken two gentlemen who wanted to be leaders and put them up as candidates.

"There is another member there, in the person of the Member of Parliament for Bamboo Town, who wants to be a leader."

He added: "We have asked them to fight in their league down there to see which one of them is eligible to be leader. You have to win first."

For his part, Mr McCartney said the fact that the three men, two of whom were at one point leaders of third parties, are running in the same constituency is no coincidence.

He said: "The whole thing is a ploy for Mr Ingraham and Mr Christie to get Renward Wells and Cassius Stuart out of the way to stop them from joining forces.

"They planned this whole thing from the beginning to put us against each other."

The prime minister has indicated that he will not cut the boundaries of Bamboo Town - even if the Boundaries Commission recommends it.

October 12, 2011

tribune242

Caribbean Blog International

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's crime address: ... He seized the national imagination by urging a new era of national volunteerism, inclusive of enhanced community service programs for thousands of students in the government school system

A new era of volunteerism

Front Porch

By Simon

Last week, in response to what he described as an intolerable level of crime and “the most pressing issue in our nation”, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham addressed the country.  It may be one of the more important addresses of his political career, and not for the reason some may suspect.

Though critical for various reasons including politically, the prime minister did something even more compelling and far-sighted.  In tone and text, he demonstrated that he understood the national mood and deep worry at the level of crime and the need to address its root causes.

He addressed the soul of crime, speaking to the fears and hopes of Bahamians.

Only the most churlish and the inveterate Ingraham-haters would deny that he spoke from the heart, the latter point noted by a woman who lost a family member to murder.

Moreover, the prime minister elevated the national conversation on crime and violence from finger-pointing to shared responsibility.

And he did something even more compelling: He seized the national imagination by urging a new era of national volunteerism, inclusive of enhanced community service programs for thousands of students in the government school system.

Ingraham also called for a renewed civic compact to address the desire not only for safety and security, but more broadly for community and social peace.  His call to action was issued to parents and teachers, civil society and the business community, as well as to the nation’s youth.

In the lead up and the immediate response to the half-hour address, the prime minister’s critics stumbled badly, misreading the deep concern over crime as a moment for political posturing, pandering and gamesmanship.

 

STUNT MODE

DNA Leader Branville McCartney, in typical publicity stunt mode, showed up for a press conference with a gimmick graph in the background.  Unconvincingly, it showed the level of crime, long in the making and with multiple causes, falling precipitously under the DNA.

Also unconvincing was  McCartney’s tough guy performance after the address.

He shot down the idea of a gun amnesty as if it was the only proposed measure on guns, and bemoaned that the prime minister’s ideas appeared not to have any teeth.

His assertion was at stark variance with that of the Police Staff Association, which praised the address and whose members are actually on the frontline, battling crime.

One measure with additional teeth is the expansion of CCTV monitoring in New Providence, a measure advocated and applauded by the high command of the police force.

So predictable was the post-address press release issued by the PLP that it easily could have been written before the prime minister spoke.  Using the hackneyed phrase, “too little, too late”, too liberally, too quickly, the Opposition misjudged the public’s mood and overwhelmingly positive reaction to the speech.

In all likelihood, though few Bahamians may remember what the Leader of the Opposition said in his crime address just a few months ago, many may recall a general impression with which they were left.  It was the suspicion that they were hearing familiar promises, few of which they remember being fulfilled.

There was also the suspicion that the Leader of the Opposition was offering a jumble of slogans.  In an editorial the day after the prime minister spoke, The Nassau Guardian opined in reference to recent pronouncements by the Opposition:

“Coherent and plausible plans on crime and the economy actually do not need quirky names.  They simply need to work and have the will of a competent government behind them.

“When a party announces multiple named programs at every speaking engagement, and it does not explain how they would be paid for, who would lead them and if they have been fully planned out, that party could come across as less than serious.”

 

LEAPFROGGED

Two days after the crime address, tech-revolutionary and Apple Founder, Steve Jobs died.  Jobs leapfrogged his competitors with devices and software which went beyond tinkering with existing operating systems and gadgets.

In his own way, Prime Minister Ingraham has essentially done the same by proposing significant innovations in social policy.  The Opposition proposed Urban Renewal 2.0 if returned to office.  The ambitious and impressive range of social intervention measures offered by Ingraham is more like Community and Urban Renewal 10.0.

With the prime minister superceding the Opposition’s proposal by a wide magnitude, it looked foolish by calling his proposals “reasonable”.  This is akin to the Sony Corporation calling the iPad a “reasonable” improvement on its Walkman introduced in 1979.  The next generation of social intervention innovations proposed by the Ingraham administration offers a variety of key features.

They include: the development of an Outward Bound-type program; a National Volunteers Register; the expansion of community service-learning in government schools; support for additional initiatives in urban areas geared towards young men; greater support for alternative sentencing programs like that offered by groups such as the Peace and Justice Institute of the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church, among others.

Ingraham was clear that it takes more than government action to address the roots of crime and anti-social behavior.  To support his administration’s initiatives, he proposed the expansion of public-private partnerships and collaboration calling on faith-based groups, NGOs, corporate citizens and philanthropists to help craft, manage and fund such initiatives.

 

NEW ERA

His call for a new era of volunteerism recognizes the critical need for citizen-volunteers to help to bring about social change while addressing crime and violence.  In essence, his was a message of “we the people”.  One of the more novel initiatives proposed is for an Outward Bound-type program.

Outward Bound is an experiential outdoor learning program with great success in youth development, including for at-risk youth.  Its well-tested model has helped transform the lives of thousands, inclusive of practical and customized courses “developed for struggling teens [and] groups with specific health, social or educational needs”.

Outward Bound or a similar program has the extraordinary potential to re-socialize and effectively intervene into the lives of young men and women, replacing destructive mindsets and behavior with healthier lifestyles and attitudes.

Its potential may extend to young people involved in gang activity, as well as residents of “the Simpson Penn and Willamae Pratt facilities with a view to improving the results being achieved in preparing these young people for reintegration into the community with skills to pursue productive lives.”  It may also involve students enrolled in the Ministry of Education’s SURE program.

The National Volunteer Register “will enable Bahamians to sign up to be available to volunteer their time for mentoring our young men and women; assisting in community centers with afterschool programs; outreaches to urban neighborhoods to encourage parental and child involvement in school activities; to work with existing youth organizations in their programs; and a host of social activities that can positively impact upon our society.”

The revamping of community service programs in government schools with an emphasis on ethics, service learning and character development holds considerable promise.  The Prime Minister noted that implementation of a more comprehensive community service model is intended to help, “more young people develop a sense of belonging in our community, and [a] deeper sense of responsibility for its well-being, while better respecting themselves and others.”

With the National Volunteers Register and a new community service-learning model, Prime Minister Ingraham has launched a new era of volunteerism redefining national service and fulfilling a dream long-held by various leaders.

Sir Lynden Pindling often spoke of a version of national service that was more paramilitary in nature and mandatory for youth between certain ages.  Mr. Ingraham’s version is voluntary, more practical and extends to every age group.

It holds the promise of becoming a singular accomplishment of national development and one of Mr. Ingraham’s greater achievements, as well as a milestone of progressive governance.

frontporchguardian@gmail.com

www.bahamapundit.com

Oct 11, 2011

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

PLP Senator Jerome Fitzgerald: ..."irrefutable facts" and "visual evidence of the undeniable and large scale destruction being wreaked on the environment at and around Bell Island." ...in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park

WAR OF WORDS OVER BELL ISLAND


By CELESTE NIXON
Tribune Staff Reporter
cnixon@tribunemedia.net



ENVIRONMENT Minister Earl Deveaux fired back at PLP Senator Jerome Fitzgerald's criticisms of the Bell Island development claiming his "words cannot be trusted".

Mr Deveaux said the Bell Island dredging is constantly monitored and the implementation of the Environmental Management Plan continues to ensure the highest environmental standards.

Last week, Senator Fitzgerald held a press conference urgently calling on the government to monitor dredging around Bell Island to limit the destruction he claims it is causing in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park.

According to Mr Fitzgerald some 13 acres, or 600,000 sq ft of the sea bed has been excavated from Conch Cut south of Bell Island, to make way for the inland marina, destroying the habitats of numerous marine animals, including lobster and conch.

However, in his statement Mr Deveaux said Mr Fitzgerald's estimates are "far wrong" and that less than five acres of natural area is being affected by excavations.

He added that areas for the yacht basin and barge landing are a third of what Mr Fitzgerald claims is being destroyed.

Similar to the senator's criticisms of Saunders Beach last year, which were proven wrong, he is again using "emotive and incendiary words to inflame the public," Mr Deveaux said.

Last year Mr Fitzgerald blamed the "destructive" erosion of Saunders Beach on the excavations being done for the Arawak Cay extension. Mr Deveaux argued that the erosion had been caused by the usual weather pattern at that time of year and had nothing to do with the excavations.

When the winter weather changed, and the pounding waves, driven by high winds ceased, the sand would return, the Minister had said.

Mr Fitzgerald replied that if the beach did not return by June 30 of that year the public would expect Mr Deveaux to resign. The beach returned as predicted.

As for Bell Island, said Mr Deveaux, activity is constantly monitored by an on site Environmental Manager. The manager produces daily reports and is fully empowered to stop works that are not in compliance with the project's Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

Further, Mr Deveaux said, the Exuma Parks Warden is a frequent visitor to the island along with senior government officials led by the BEST Commission who "maintain ongoing interactive input on the works."

In addition to a native plant nursery in charge of regenerating and replanting indigenous plant species, Mr Deveaux said employees as well as divers from Black Point find, identify and relocate conch impacted by dredging.

In response to Mr Deveaux's statement Mr Fitzgerald issued a press release defending his comments on what he described as "irrefutable facts" and "visual evidence of the undeniable and large scale destruction being wreaked on the environment at and around Bell Island."

The Dredging Permit given by the Department of Physical Planning on September 23, 2010 allows for the developer of Bell Island to dredge 13.1 acres said Mr Fitzgerald.

He said: "The uncertainty in each and every statement proved either he (Mr Deveaux) doesn't really know what is going on at Bell Island or he doesn't care."

Reiterating his previous statement Mr Fitzgerald claims the development is not being monitored properly, nor is it complying with EIA and the EMP.

In his statement, Mr Fitzgerald challenged the government to make public evidence of the size of current excavations, permits and other documents pertaining to the project.

"I again implore the government, the Minister and the relevant environmental agencies to get a handle on the environmental destruction which is taking place at Bell Island due to lack of safeguards mandated by the BEST Commission and provided for in the EMP," said Mr Fitzgerald.

October 10, 2011

tribune242

Caribbean Blog International

The Free National Movement (FNM) government and the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) have turned a blind eye to what is going on at Bell Island - in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park - and turned their backs on the Bahamian people ...all for a few helicopter rides, $1m, and who knows what else...

CALL TO MONITOR ISLAND DREDGING


By MEGAN REYNOLDS
Tribune Staff Reporter
mreynolds@tribunemedia.net


DREDGING around Bell Island must be monitored with urgency to limit the destruction it is causing in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, Senator Jerome Fitzgerald said in a press conference yesterday.

The PLP candidate for Marathon, the seat currently held by Environment Minister Earl Deveaux, cried shame on the FNM government for approving the development in the world's oldest land and sea park.

He also criticised the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) for failing to prevent the development from going ahead.

Dredging is now well underway, and Mr Fitzgerald said 13 acres, or 600,000 sq ft, of sea bed have been excavated from Conch Cut south of Bell Island, to make way for the inland marina, and destroyed the habitat of hundreds of conch.

Measures taken to limit the environmental impact, such as silt curtains, are inadequate, he said, and should be monitored.

"Silt can be seen spilling onto the nearby coral and vegetation lining the sea bed," the senator said. "And there appears not to be a full-time on-site environmental manager. Yet neither the government, nor the National Trust, is taking any action to correct it."

Mr Fitzgerald called on the government to ensure the dredging and excavation is done in accordance with requirements set out by the BNT and the Bahamas Environmental, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission.

An application from Islands of Discovery Ltd, the Aga Khan, to excavate over 12 acres of land and sea bed at the 349 acre island was approved in September last year.

Environmental Minister Earl Deveaux was ridiculed for accepting a free ride in the Aga Khan's helicopter from Nassau to Abaco, and then to Exuma, to do a survey of Bell Island while the planning application was before his ministry.

Conservationists criticised the Bahamas National Trust for allowing the development in the park, and Tribune sources alleged the BNT accepted a $1m donation from the Aga Khan.

"The FNM government and the BNT have turned a blind eye to what is going on at Bell Island and turned their backs on the Bahamian people, all for a few helicopter rides, $1m, and who knows what else," Mr Fitzgerald said before a group of reporters and party supporters at the PLP headquarters in Farrington Road yesterday.

"The FNM has talked about the importance of eco-tourism but instead of preserving treasures like Bell Island for Bahamians, they are allowing foreigners to destroy it."

Images of the 30ft cliff from the inland excavation, and of silt spreading from the dredging of a 14ft channel leading into the yacht basin being excavated from a natural salt pond were shown in a short video featuring interviews with local tour guide Wayde Nixon and activist Terry Bain.

Mr Bain, spokesman for the Save the Exuma Park (STEP) Committee, said the endangered Bahama Duck frequented the salt pond, and that photographs of the birds at the site had been ignored by authorities.

The 176 square mile park established in 1958 has been guarded by the BNT since 1964 and is a strictly no-take zone.

"We believe it is a criminal action for a minister to approve development in a national park in the same way that it is a criminal act to take anything from the park," said Mr Bain.

By putting the environment under threat, Mr Fitzgerald said the development also threatened the livelihood of locals who rely on the park to maintain healthy stocks of fish and conch.

"Bahamians are working on the Bell Island project, but whatever work they are doing is short-term," Mr Fitzgerald said.

However, former PLP MP for Exuma George Smith told The Tribune Prince Karim Aga Khan has been a great benefactor to the local community in Black Point by creating jobs for people of all ages and abilities, and leaving the dredged sand landfill for them to collect. He also pledged to fund the development of a health clinic in Black Point and a new hospital in George Town, Mr Smith said.

"Although some people might not like the dredging, we have to look at the bigger picture," Mr Smith said. "The Aga Khan is not a villain, he's a great benefactor. He has employed a reasonable workforce and he's endeavouring to employ people from Black Point."

But whatever his good deeds may be, they cannot erase the environmental damage, said Mr Fitzgerald. "I don't care how much he spends, or what he donates; no amount of millions of dollars can mitigate the destruction," he said. "There is no way the government should have considered approving this."

Environmental activist Sam Duncombe agreed the damage cannot be undone. She said: "The National Trust should have put rules and regulations in place a long time ago, to warn anybody who owns land in the park what they can and cannot do, and I think the fact that they have failed to do that in 50 years is disgusting. If we can't protect the world's oldest national marine park, then we have failed miserably."

Calls to Gail Lockhart Charles and Co, representing the Aga Khan, were not returned before press time.

October 07, 2011

tribune242

Caribbean Blog International

We do not know what to do with the large number of undocumented Haitians who reside in shantytowns ...especially in New Providence

Eliminate shantytowns

thenassauguardian editorial

Haiti is in a state of crisis. It is an occupied country that was devastated by a massive earthquake. This calamity added to the misery of a people who are from the poorest country in the hemisphere.

The Bahamas will always have difficulties managing the flow of people from Haiti. We are between Haiti (the poorest country in the hemisphere) and the United States (the richest country in the hemisphere). Haitians come here hoping to get to the U.S. Many stay permanently.

This logical migratory flow has caused a problem in The Bahamas and our policymakers have no solution to it. We do not know what to do with the large number of undocumented Haitians who reside in shantytowns especially in New Providence.

We have previously written about the shantytown problem. This was after the Mackey Yard fire destroyed more than 100 homes. When these events occur many revert to simplistic emotionalism. The response and discourse surrounding the tragedy usually is limited to disaster relief.

The Bahamas, however, must seriously address the shantytown issue before a catastrophe occurs. Government officials speculate that 500 to 700 people lived at the Fire Trail Road site where a fire occurred earlier this year. A fast moving fire could easily consume all the residences of one of these shantytowns. Thousands live in some of these communities.

In 2009, then Minister of State for Immigration Branville McCartney said that 37 shantytowns had been identified in New Providence alone. Two of the biggest shantytowns in the country are in Abaco Pigeon Pea and the Mud.

Our failure to make the tough decisions and remove these unauthorized communities could contribute to a mass tragedy.

All who reside in this country should abide by the local building code and follow town planning guidelines. These laws exist to maintain safety. Haitians, or any other group of migrants, should not be allowed to live in violation of laws all Bahamians and residents should follow.

The goal of the government should be to eliminate shantytowns in The Bahamas. If we do not, one day soon we will be writing about a mass tragedy on one of our islands.

Such a day can be prevented if the state acts decisively.

The ‘silly season’

The political ‘silly season’ has begun.

A general election must be called by May 2012, which in political campaign terms is right around the corner.

The major parties have kicked into high gear, ratifying candidates, and using the broadcast media and world wide web to get their messages out.

The politics of personal destruction reigns supreme in this political culture. And while it did not start yesterday and is not particular to The Bahamas, it’s a culture that a maturing electorate is growing tired of.

There are many issues facing our country, and the Bahamian people deserve to hear how each party plans to address these issues.

We have already broken our murder count for the year; our public education students continue to perform poorly; our healthcare system is stretched; and the illegal immigration problem is still largely out of control.

There is also the pressing issues of job creation. It should not be good enough for a political party to reveal its strategy for the country in a ‘manifesto’ or ‘plan’ released days before the election

Voters should have the opportunity to carefully consider what positions the different political parties take on substantive issues, within a reasonable time, before marking their X.

Local politicians need to spend less time on personal attacks and more time addressing the real issues.

It is time for a new type of politics, one that focuses on urgent national priorities rather than narrow interests; and one that helps to hold our elected officials more accountable for the many promises made from the rally podia.

Voters want politicians with ideas and energy, who have thought deeply about the issues and are committed to making a change for the better, even if it means making tough unpopular decisions.

Oct 08, 2011

thenassauguardian editorial

Caribbean Blog International

The Free National Movement (FNM) administration just lacked a holistic, creative social vision ...and they failed to see how their economic choices and challenges could actually work for them not against them in the effort to build a stronger, better Bahamas

Ingranomics Part 2

By Ian G. Strachan

Last week we noted that although the Ingraham administration steered us through a treacherous period in world economic history it has not completely come up smelling like roses.  There have been some unpleasant consequences to the administration’s choices and there were, in my view, many missed opportunities.

CULTURE AND INDUSTRY

The FNM’s investments in tourism infrastructure (the harbor dredging, the port move and the new airport terminal), are largely making way for anticipated tourism growth in the medium to long-term. That’s not necessarily a foolish or irresponsible choice to make.

The problem is such investments won’t yield the desired results unless you seriously address some of the reasons The Bahamas is no longer a hot ticket.

We are facing ever diminishing returns in tourism.  Despite the millions who come here on cruise ships, what we really need are stopover visitors and this is where we’ve been dead in the water.  We have had more cruise ship visitors than stopover visitors since the mid 80s.

We are a far more expensive destination than many competitors south of us and that’s not about to change.  But where we are also losing is that we are culturally far less interesting.  Not enough of an investment has been made to actually make The Bahamas a more distinct and attractive destination.  Beaches, casinos and sunshine can be found all over the globe and for a lot less than in Nassau.  Are we going to be offering “1 flies-1 flies free” deals and cruise ship tax rebates for the rest of the decade?

Many of us believe that the answer lies in the marriage of tourism and cultural and artistic expression.  Yet the government of The Bahamas refuses or is unable to act in a manner that encourages wider cultural entrepreneurship – entrepreneurship that can maximize local and tourist markets.  And to be fair, the private sector is even less interested in investing than the government.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, Junkanoo is a Christmas festival not a spring festival like Mardi Gras or Trinidad or Rio Carnival.  The western world is just not going to travel heavily to be in another country on Christmas night or New Year’s Day.  So what does that leave here in the capital?

The Fry (Arawak Cay) is the best attraction in Nassau, outside of Atlantis’ casino, restaurants, clubs and water attractions.  It features local food, live music and atmosphere (at affordable prices, prices which no hotel can match).

How can we expand or duplicate what’s best about the Fry?  What would it cost to do so?

Let’s look at the FNM’s track record. They rejected Carifesta twice.  They show contempt (like the PLP before them) for the run-down shell of a National Performing Arts Centre (which could be the year round home of the National Dance Company, Children’s Choir, Youth Choir, Youth Orchestra, Police and Defence Force bands and a National Theatre Company).

They have made a ghost out of the Junkanoo Museum.  They don’t seem to know what to do with Shakespeare in Paradise.  And they generally refuse to facilitate cultural workers in a sustained and comprehensive way in the tourist zones.

As a result, Nassau remains a dull, run-down, expensive place to visit.  We absorb all sorts of tax breaks for resort development.

In this period why couldn’t we have been bold and taken some risks in an effort to improve The Bahamas as a cultural destination?  Hotels aren’t destinations.  Cities, towns and countries are, but we settle for a country where the only thing people come for is to walk around in Atlantis.  And soon Baha Mar, I suppose.

But outside of the jobs these enclaves create, aren’t we losing out on opportunities to truly maximize the tourist dollars spent on the island?

NUMBERS

Ingraham also flirted with legalizing numbers and then backed off, promising a referendum if he is re-elected.  This is leading from behind, which is not his style.

The Bahamian government is broke and the numbers business is a quarter to half a billion dollar enterprise that goes untaxed and unregulated.

The government has a right and a responsibility to tax the daylights out of this business, to bring it into the light of public scrutiny and to use the money it gains to help build the country and strengthen the social fabric.

Ingraham should have used this recession to regulate numbers.

Instead, a magistrate has confiscated nearly $1 million and fined businessman Craig Flowers $10,000.

By now Ingraham could have collected as much in taxes for numbers as he got in the BTC sale.  He should also have taxed alcohol more heavily as well.

TAXATION

I said earlier that if you are going to risk being voted out over something unpopular, you better make sure that the change you’re introducing is worth it all.

I’m sorry but Ingraham could have left the roads bumpy, focused exclusively on fixing the eastern district water problem, and tackled a real problem instead of going through all this madness with the roads all at once.

What he should have done, again under the cover of the economic crisis, is address our regressive and unethical system of taxation that burdens the poor and middle class and lets the rich and their companies get away with all their cash.

Ingraham should have been the man to introduce income tax.  It’s the perfect time to do so.  The pressure from the U.S. is leading us in that direction anyway.  Would he lose this election if he did so?  He may lose it over unfinished roads.

What I guarantee you though, is that the PLP would not have repealed it afterward.  The government needs revenue.  We have thousands of people on pension in the civil service who have contributed nothing to it but feel entitled.

The bubble will burst eventually.  NIB is already automatically removing a percentage of my salary before it hits my bank account.

I may never make a claim at NIB but I accept that my contribution helps those who need support more than I do.  Income tax is doable.

And thereby we can reduce these ridiculous customs duties that hamper the growth of Bahamian businesses because you are being taxed before you sell anything.  I reject the argument that the government can’t handle income tax.  It can and so can our people.

DOWNSIZING?

I could talk about the fact that after downsizing ZNS, it is still operating at the same quality level as before, or about the FNM’s refusal to touch Bahamasair despite the fact there are homegrown airlines who can pick up the slack.

But instead I wish to raise the question of right sizing the civil service.  I don’t think this has to mean sending hundreds of people home and creating a social and economic crisis.  I mean actually moving people from posts where they are under-performing or are really redundant and re-training them to help plug holes elsewhere in the system.  I’ll give just a few examples.

I once interviewed Loretta Butler-Turner, Minister of State for Social Development, and she told me that the nation could use another 150 social workers.  As you might imagine the social worker does crucial work that is essential to public health, public safety, crime prevention and the overall wellbeing of the society.  Why not re-deploy and re-train some of your civil servants to fill this need?

Our schools are overcrowded.  Every classroom could use a teacher’s aid.  And what about the problem of truancy?  Or the need for environmental health inspectors to check homes and businesses, particularly given the occurrences of dengue.

There were creative options available to the government that would allow it to shift the public service work force to meet the greatest needs.  We need park wardens and after school mentors for our teenagers; we need these in every community.

The FNM just lacked a holistic, creative social vision and they failed to see how their economic choices and challenges could actually work for them not against them in the effort to build a stronger, better country.

They took the unemployed and had them cleaning the streets.  And sure, that met a need, because New Providence is filthy.  But in the same way, there were other serious needs that could have been met, not just with new hires but by properly utilizing the people you already have employed.

So overall, I’ll describe Ingranomics as an orthodox approach, lacking in innovation or experimentation.  Ingraham played it safe, which can be a comfort in these unstable times.  But sometimes you can play it so safe that you get fired by the people anyway, because the times demand more daring.  We’ll see what happens.

Oct 03, 2011

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

Will Branville McCartney one day abandon the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) and return to the Free National Movement (FNM)?

Deconstructing DNA

By ADRIAN GIBSON

ajbahama@hotmail.com




THE upcoming election cycle is setting up to be a sulfurously partisan and venomous affair, a true soap opera featuring politically shrewd operators, mountains of dollars and, moreover, seems to be one that will leave grown men whimpering. That said, unless I am grossly underestimating the so-called backlash against the major parties—and I doubt that I am—anyone who honestly thinks that the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) will win the next election within a year of its formation is a bonafide citizen of fantasy land!

Whilst the DNA could very well capture a few seats (this is also up for debate), unless they are using some kind of Jedi mind trick, it would be fairly neurotic to believe that they could win a majority of seats as a political upstart, particularly in our political culture—where voters are fickle and vacillate as regards their choices—and in the face of the evidence of what has already happened, locally and abroad, relative to new political entities.

From the ground up

The history of party politics in the Bahamas is illustrative of the challenges facing the DNA. The PLP was founded in 1953 and did not win the government until 1967, which ended in a tie that was broken when Sir Randol Fawkes and Alvin Braynen joined the party, and after the party had arduously toiled in the political vineyard for more than a decade.

Likewise, the FNM was formed in 1971 and wandered the political wilderness for 21 years before becoming the government in 1992. To be frank, this was the state of affairs involving both the PLP and the FNM, taking both parties years to amass a strong base. Moreover, the FNM, at the time of its formation, was seeking to become the alternative to the governing PLP and, even as the second major party, it took the organization more than two decades before winning the general election. The DNA is today the third alternative, fighting against two political powerhouses with built-in support bases.

A new era?

Having said that, will the 2012 electoral cycle be representative of a new political era?

As a young, educated Bahamian I’m still waiting to hear the DNA enunciate a lucid, forward-thinking national plan that goes beyond the generic rhetoric and populist grandstanding of its leader, Branville McCartney.

Moreover, whilst the DNA has nominated a few superb candidates—for example, McCartney, Randy Butler, Chris Mortimer, Wayne Munroe, Roscoe Thompson—the party has selected a few standard bearers that have left me, and countless others, scratching our heads and reacting with a collective smirk.

In this hyper-partisan environment, the ground is apparently being loosened under DNA leader Bran McCartney as the governing FNM has neither announced a slate of candidates nor an election date, presumably a strategic move to allow for all the flair concerning the DNA to fizzle-out by election day. Indeed, the DNA’s summer momentum appears to have died down.

Quite honestly, although Mr McCartney is seeking to become the dragon-slayer who defeats two political titans—Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie—whilst effecting a new generation of leadership, he must remember that Prime Minister Ingraham is, admittedly, a legislative technician and a political virtuoso and also that both gentlemen are towering political figures and therefore will not be easily dispatched.

If there’s something that the DNA can be credited for, it’s for reinvigorating the masses, especially young people, and jumpstarting an election cycle where certain panicky, high-minded politicians have already climbed off of their pedestals with the hope of saving their own hides in their respective constituencies. Indeed, Mr McCartney and the DNA are amassing a large following, however Mr McCartney must be careful not to be consumed by youthful egomania, become enclosed in a cocoon of self-adulation and hero worship or become another short term nuisance—that is, a self-seeking, bloviating vacuity.

Thus far, the DNA has effectively created an us (DNA) versus them (FNM/PLP) atmosphere amongst the electorate, taking on an anti-establishment posture that has been well received.

I’m informed that in this election cycle, the leaders of both major political parties intend to politically emasculate Bran McCartney and put him in a clown suit.

Frankly, whilst the general consensus is that Mr McCartney’s DNA will attract more FNM voters as opposed to PLPs, it is my belief that political tacticians must not take comfort in that as both traditional PLP and FNM voters have expressed an interest in the party but, even more, the youth vote is where the DNA has built its strongest base. No one should dare ignore the strength and likely turnout of young voters this election cycle!

Mr McCartney was once on the fast track to becoming the face of the FNM. There are many persons who would argue that he “severed” his ties with the FNM because he wanted to be the alpha male in a Hubert Ingraham-led FNM and, when he couldn’t, he left in a huff.

Political titanic

Will McCartney one day abandon the DNA and return to the FNM? Is his tarrying with the DNA a strategic move just to prove his leadership and organizational skills to the internal machinery and hierarchy of the FNM, with hopes of being invited to lead the party—an Ingraham-esque type of invitation (circa 1990)—in a post Ingraham era?

Is Bran another Icarus? Will he be yet another man, another forlorn third party leader who had a dream and flew too close to the political sun only to have his wings burnt/melt away as he falls to his political death? Is the DNA a political titanic?

Many voters are seeing a vote for the DNA as a protest, as a way of expressing their discontent with both major parties, a dissatisfaction that is, admittedly, being voluminously echoed in some quarters of the archipelago. That said, this general election, what will the size of the electorate’s swing toward to the DNA be? And, could there be sufficient migration of independents and party supporters from both of the major parties to propel the DNA into the seat of government or, at the very least, win a few seats?

If the DNA wins a handful of seats, it would change the political calculus of Bahamian politics. Will the world of local politics be reset? And, if the DNA loses all seats in the next election, will the party promptly disband and become yet another doomed political experiment?

Sooner or later, the political gates will be unlocked and the electoral machinery of the parties will come charging through. Although it’s highly unlikely that the election will have a miraculous ending in favour of the DNA, it would be a colossal misjudgment to underestimate the potential impact of the DNA in the upcoming general elections.

Time will tell…

Published: October 8^th, 2011 in column Young Man’s View in The Tribune’s ‘The Big T’
 
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