The Bahamas 2010 Census Report: ... ...the census report makes note of the first census in 1722 ...whereby 74 percent of the population was white and 26 percent black... compared to the 2010 census ...whereby 91 percent identified themselves as black, five percent white, and two percent as of mixed race... ...Such an extreme reorientation of the racial makeup of a country identifies the need to reexamine assumptions about who we are

The Bahamas in numbers

thenassauguardian editorial

Our census, a vital and complicated undertaking, describes the identity of The Bahamas through numbers.  It is also indicative of trends and analysis of data based on successive census reports.

For The Bahamas this not only means comparison on a regional scale, but also between our islands.  Remarkably, this is the 19th decennial census to be conducted in The Bahamas.  Early census counts are not likely to be comparable to recent data due to likely discrepancies in survey methods, but they nonetheless provide value to the history of The Bahamas.

Interestingly, the census report makes note of the first census in 1722 whereby 74 percent of the population was white and 26 percent black, compared to the 2010 census whereby 91 percent identified themselves as black, five percent white, and two percent as of mixed race.  Such an extreme reorientation of the racial makeup of a country identifies the need to reexamine assumptions about who we are.

Population statistics are perhaps the most widely recognized outcome of a census.  For those living in New Providence, it is all too obvious that the island accounts for 246,329 people or 70 percent of the total Bahamian population.  With an additional 35,497 people since 2000, it is all too apparent that the roads are more congested, lines a bit longer, and the housing prices just a bit higher.

But herein lies the importance of data availability.  While New Providence may have experienced the greatest increase in people, several other islands had a much higher percent change in population growth – take Abaco, which experienced an increase of 4,054 people or nearly 31 percent to a population of 17,224 compared to 2000.  Though such an increase would be nominal for New Providence over 10 years, in Abaco the additional people stress local infrastructure from power generation to road maintenance.

The Bahamas’ greatest challenge is providing and maintaining basic infrastructure across the populated islands.  Even with all the controversy, Abaco needed a new power generating facility and still suffers from countless power failures.  While the population congregates in New Providence, growth and a retraction of growth on some islands must guide government expenditure and planning.

Likewise, the government must accept the diversity of residents living in The Bahamas and amend its immigration policies.  Seventeen percent of the population claims citizenship elsewhere, the majority or 64 percent were from Haiti.  Though the census claims to account for residents regardless of immigration status, it is difficult to imagine that the census was able to account for all residents of known Haitian communities such as those found in Abaco.

The Nassau Guardian has reported on specific data tables such as Internet access and usage, health insurance, and access to toilets at private dwellings.  There are numerous other tables where trends can be extrapolated on for use in education planning, the looming retirement of baby boomers and their future health care needs, marriage trends and reproduction rates.

A copy of the Census 2010 Report became publicly available online on Monday, October 15.  Such data provides innumerable opportunities for government agencies, private researchers and the general public to better understand our Bahamas.

Oct 17, 2012

thenassauguardian editorial

Caribbean Blog International

Say no to capital punishment in The Bahamas

NO TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT


By The Bahama Journal



Human rights do matter; and so does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Clearly, then, the right to life should be considered and described as the world’s number one right thing owed every human person.

This is why – and here closer to home – we pray for the soon-coming realization of our hope which tells us that, we should and must work with all who would in the first instance, obtain a legal moratorium on capital punishment and thereafter, work for the abolition of the death penalty in The Bahamas.

In this regard, take note that this Wednesday past [December 10th. 2008] marked the sixtieth anniversary of one of humanity’s truly great discoveries; to wit, the revelation and recognition that all human beings do have certain inalienable rights.

It is also to be noted that this initiative was spearheaded by former U.S. first lady and U.N. delegate Eleanor Roosevelt, the UDHR guaranteed the political and civic rights of all people, including the right to freedom from torture, slavery, poverty, homelessness and other forms of oppression.

Note also, this Wednesday past marked an important occasion which – regrettably – went unnoticed by practically anyone in media who could have and should have known that, billions of people around the world were – even then- marking the tenth anniversary of the “World Day Against The Death Penalty.

Here we are reminded that this celebration was launched by the “World Coalition Against the Death Penalty” in 2002.

In truth, even though more and more countries are abolishing capital punishment, 57 countries still adhere to the practice. Amnesty International says 20,000 people worldwide are currently on death row.

Sadly, some who now languish in this tormented state are born and bred products of states and peoples in our region.

Sadder yet, there remains a hue and cry from Guyana and Trinidad in the south to the Bahamas in the north for the resumption of this barbaric practice.

But yet [and notwithstanding the blood-curdling cry for blood coming fro the lips of hundreds of Bahamians, we remain confident that – when all things are said and done – this barbarism will be brought to an end.

We are also confident that, those who now run things will – sooner rather than later – join in with that growing majority of mankind who has decided to put an end to this vestige of utter backwardness and depravity.

We remain ever optimistic.

And yet, the truth remains which so ably demonstrates that, Bahamians from practically all walks of life have been transfixed by what they describe as a so-called crime wave.

Most of these people are becoming more and more appalled by the spiraling rate of murder, rape and other instance of carnage and social mayhem.

But as bad as these things now seem, on examination and closer scrutiny they pale in significance to what we would deem the real crime menace in The Bahamas. That real menace being the social rot that provides the breeding ground for those instances when — as they say — things get out of hand.

It is this rot that provides the ground for the efflorescence of those offences that grab public attention, matters like murder, rape and bloody robberies.

We have previously suggested that the crime rate is little more than the fever chart of a sick society.  By extension, we would wish to suggest that the current focus on policing might well be an exercise in futility.

As the street-wise know so very well some of these deals would involve the trade in guns, drugs, other contraband and certain counterfeit goods.

We make this point in the same breath as we note that there is an abundance of evidence that strongly supports the conclusion that The Bahamas is home to tens of thousands of people who routinely flout the laws of the land.

These offences range from the crimes committed by those people who routinely smuggle goods into and out of The Bahamas to those offences that are routinely committed by rogue police officers and other thugs in uniform.

And so, things become ever more foul as the state gets in on those practices which – taken in their entirety – not only lead from deprivation that ends in poverty but which also conduces to producing criminals and any number of cut-throats; thence the cry that these people should be killed.

This is dreadfully wrong.

11 October, 2012

Jones Bahamas

Caribbean Blog International

Constitutional reform, pt. 8: ... ...The right of a citizen to good health and a clean environment

Constitutional reform, pt. 8


By ALFRED SEARS


Sir Lynden Pindling, one of the founding fathers of our Constitution, in an address at the Colloquium on Political Reform, Constitutional Change and National Development at The College of The Bahamas on June 23, 1998, advocated that we expand the fundamental rights protected under the Bill of Rights of the Bahamian Constitution to include: “The right of a citizen to good health and a clean environment.”

Protection of the environment

The Bahamian Constitution, as a living document, should be amended, like the United States Constitution which itself has been amended 27 times, to reflect the shared expectations of and experiences of succeeding generations of Bahamians.

Today, due to the lack of a rational development strategy, we are faced with the rapid loss of aspects of the natural environment and cultural heritage of The Bahamas.  The current national development strategy of development, based on attracting large foreign direct investments in resort tourism, has transformed the physical landscape and way of life of communities throughout the archipelago of The Bahamas.

There needs to be a firm balance between development and preservation of physical and cultural environment.  While the current development strategy has created jobs for Bahamians, it is having an adverse impact on the environment, the quality of life of future generations of Bahamians, who will have to live pollution filled lives, without easy access to the beaches, historical and cultural sites, damped waste in our waters from cruise ships and others in the Bahamian territorial waters, the destruction of marine life and the coral reefs.

The patrimony of future generations of Bahamians will be destroyed, unless we treat the right to good health and a clean environment as fundamental rights protected by the Constitution.

The right of every Bahamian community to preserve its quality of life and be consulted before any public decision is taken to approve the construction and operation of projects that may adversely affect a Bahamian community was affirmed by the Court of Appeal of The Bahamas in the case of Responsible Development of Abaco (RDA) Ltd v. The Right Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham and Others SCCivApp. No. 138 of 2010.

The issue related to a decision of BEC to construct a power plant at Wilson City, Abaco, and the right of the community to be adequately consulted before the decision was taken.  In a judgment by the Justice Allen, president of the Court of Appeal, in which Justices of Appeal Blackman and John both concurred, she observed, at paragraph 15, that, “It cannot be doubted that the exercise of that power was subject to the rights or legitimate expectations of residents of The Bahamas generally, and in this case to the rights and legitimate expectations of residents of Wilson City, in particular, not to have their quality of life adversely affected by the construction and operation of the power plant in their neighborhood.”

At the hearing of the appeal, the power plant had already been constructed, nevertheless the Court of Appeal ordered BEC to conduct a process of full and proper public consultation with the community of Abaco on the operation of the plant going forward.  The court held that “the appellants had a legitimate expectation to be adequately and meaningfully consulted in the decision-making process relative to the location and construction of the power plant at Wilson City, Abaco, which was breached by the respondents.”

United States experience

The United States federal regulation of the environment is based on the National Environmental Policy Act, 1970, under which is established the council on environmental quality, which advises the president.  The Environmental Protection Agency was also created in 1970.  The Common Sense Initiative Council, comprising representatives of government, business and environmentalists take an industry specific approach to solving environmental problems.

One feature of the United States legislations which is instructive is the “private attorneys general” provision which enables an individual to challenge government’s environmental decisions such as the grant of a permit and generally to demand both government and private sector compliance with the law.  For example, the Endangered Species Act contains a provision which states that “any person may commence a civil suit” to enforce the provisions under the act.

In rejecting the secretary of the interior’s position that the petitioner lacked the requisite standing, Justice Scalia, writing for the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Bennet v. Spear 117 S.Ct. 1154 (1997), held: “That the overall subject matter of this legislation is the environment (a matter in which it is common to think all persons have an interest) and that the obvious purpose of the particular provision in question is to encourage enforcement by so-called ‘private attorney general’.”

These private attorney general provisions in environmental laws in the United States have enabled environmentalists to ensure a more equitable balance between development and preservation.  For example, environmentalists have been able to influence the United States federal government to protect the habitats of the northern spotted owl, the Mexican spotted owl and the grey wolf by limiting development on nearly 18 million acres of land.

In The Bahamas, the government is often compromised when regulating foreign direct investment, given the practice among the political parties of relying on secret campaign contributions from foreign investors who are proposing or conducting foreign direct investment, with environmental implications.  Therefore, the regulation of business should not be left exclusively to the initiative, monitoring and enforcement by the government.  I suggest that, like the United States, every Bahamian should be able to act as a “private attorney general” in the preservation and protection of our environmental laws.

Public access to beaches

Access to the beaches for recreation, exercise and leisure is important part of the Bahamian culture and traditional way of life, as island communities.  However, due to the lack of a rational development strategy, public access to the beaches on New Providence has been severely restricted over the past 30 years, due to the public policy of unrestricted touristic and other development, primarily by foreign investors.

Due to this pattern of development, we have seen, notwithstanding recent beach restoration projects, restriction to Governor’s Beach, Delaporte Beach, Cabbage Beach, Yamacraw Beach and Montagu Beach.

One social or economic class, foreign or local, should not be allowed to dominate the use of beaches in The Bahamas.  We must, in our public policy, strike an equitable balance between the accommodation of economic development and the right of all of our people to have reasonable access to the beach resources of our country.  Smart urban planning will protect the natural, historical and cultural patrimony of this country for future generations of Bahamians and visitors.

There is a growing recognition in the Caribbean region generally that the citizens’ right in a healthy and productive natural and social environment should be treated as a fundamental right.  The Constitutional Commission of Jamaica in its final report, dated February 1994, recommended that the Jamaican Constitution should be amended to include, amongst other things, “the right to enjoy a healthy and productive environment free from the threat of injury or damage from environmental abuse and degradation of the ecological heritage”.

Similarly, the report of the Constitutional Review Commission of Barbados, dated December 1998, recommended that the Barbadian Constitution be amended to include, amongst other things, the duty and responsibility of every person in Barbados “to value and preserve the rich heritage of Barbadian culture” and to “create and maintain a clean and healthy environment and have compassion for living creatures”.

Further, the Barbadian Commission recommended that the Constitution be amended so that the state shall have the responsibility to “ensure that the beaches and public areas are accessible to all and do not become the exclusive preserve of any one sector of the community” and to “give the highest priority in the planning and execution of government policy to the preservation and protection of the natural environment of Barbados, which it shall hold as a sacred trust for future generations”.   The current laissez faire policy of The Bahamas with respect to the Bahamian environment is out of step with the growing regional consensus that we must, through the Constitution, statutes and common law, pronounce a rational policy for the preservation and protection of our natural environment and cultural and historical heritage.

Recommendations

Since our Constitution is the most authoritative statement of the Bahamian community’s aspirations, expectations and policies, I recommend that our Constitution be amended to include the following provisions:

1. Every person shall have the right to enjoy a healthy and productive environment free from the threat of injury or damage from environmental abuse and degradation of the ecological, cultural and historical heritage.

2. Every community should be adequately and meaningfully consulted in the decision-making process before the approval of any project that may adversely affect the quality of life and welfare of any Bahamian community.

3. The state shall ensure that the beaches and public areas are accessible to all and do not become the exclusive preserve of any one sector of the community.

4. The state shall give the highest priority in the planning and execution of government policy to the preservation and protection of the natural environment and cultural heritage of The Bahamas, which it shall hold as a sacred trust for future generations of Bahamians.

Finally, all future environmental legislations presented to the House of Assembly should contain a “private attorney general” provision which will enable any Bahamian citizen to challenge an environmental decision by a public authority to protect the good health of Bahamians and visitors and the ensure a clean environment.

• Alfred Sears is an attorney, a former member of Parliament and a former attorney general of The Bahamas.

Oct 11, 2012


thenassauguardian

Constitutional reform pt. 9: ... ...The current development strategy in The Bahamas, industrialization and modernization ...by inviting foreign direct investment by large multinational resorts and financial institutions, some of which employ thousands of Bahamian workers ...require a redefinition of trade unions in accordance with International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98 ...in order to achieve a better balance of power between capital and labor in The Bahamas

Constitutional reform Pt. 7: ... ...I, therefore, recommend that we amend our constitution to provide for the public funding of national elections ...with appropriate legislation to establish a system of public campaign financing ...to better secure the right to vote, reduce corruption of the political process and increase competition by independent candidates and small parties

Constitutional reform pt. 6: ... ...I recommend therefore that the recommendations of the disbanded Legal Aid Commission be reviewed ...and used as a guide for the establishment of a Public Defender’s Office and Legal Aid Facility, funded from public and private sources ...to balance the power and resources that the attorney general, the director of public prosecutions and commissioner of police bring to the prosecution on behalf of the state ...and to give the indigent defendant and litigant a fair opportunity to defend her or his life, liberty and property

Constitutional reform, pt. 5: ... ...In interpreting the Constitution of The Bahamas, the Court should give a generous interpretation to the constitutional provisions ...and avoid “the austerity of tabulated legalism”... ...In an open democratic society, the protection of human rights is not just the business of judges and lawyers... ...It is everyone’s business... ...As noted by Professor Lung-Chu-Chan, human rights can flourish, only when every member ...and every sector of the community is vigilant in defending and protecting them

Constitutional reform, pt. 4: ... ...I now offer some recommendations for consideration in the reform of Chapter 2 of the Bahamian Constitution

Constitutional reform, pt.3: ... ...The need for constitutional reform is most dramatically illustrated in the constitutional provisions dealing with citizenship

Constitutional reform, pt. 2: ... ...The preamble of the Bahamian constitution, I submit, has a number of weaknesses... ...First, there is no reference to the historical fact of 300 years of slavery of African people in The Bahamas ...or the genocide of the Lucayan/Arawak people by the European presence ...two critical aspects of the historical evolution of the Bahamian polity and society... ...Second, the preamble mischaracterizes the incorporation and colonization of The Bahamas into the triangular slave trade, initiated by and for the benefit of Europe, as: “...rediscovery of this family of islands, rocks and cays heralded the rebirth of the New World.”

Constitutional reform Pt. 1: ... ...After 39 years of constitutional practice in The Bahamas, it is now time that we examine our constitution ...to determine if it conforms to the demands and expectations of contemporary Bahamian society... ...Does the Bahamian constitution reflect the contemporary shared expectations and experiences of the Bahamian community today?

The government may not include the question of a national lottery on the upcoming gambling referendum ...after consultants had expressed concerns over the feasibility of such a scheme ...says Prime Minister Perry Christie

Lottery question may not make it to referendum

TANEKA THOMPSON
Guardian Senior Reporter
taneka@nasguard.com

The Christie administration may not include the question of a national lottery on the upcoming gambling referendum after British consultants expressed concerns over the feasibility of such a scheme, Prime Minister Perry Christie revealed yesterday.

Christie spoke to The Nassau Guardian minutes after he and Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe, who has responsibility for gaming, ended a conference call with the consultants in London.

He said the advisors expressed worries that a national lottery catering to a small country like The Bahamas might not be as attractive as larger games of chance with higher cash prizes in the nearby United States.

“The consultants have a number of concerns about the feasibility of a lottery in the sense of whether or not there is a sufficient market here to sustain a lottery as opposed to web shop operations,” Christie said, after Cabinet broke for lunch. “Again, we indicated that what we have to do is determine whether the lottery would be a lottery of 300,000 Bahamians or five million visitors that come to The Bahamas or if it’s on the Internet whether there is anything to prevent people in Florida from being a part of the lottery that takes away from Bahamian winnings.

“One of the considerations obviously is that we give very careful consideration to whether or not we want to proceed with the lottery as opposed to the web shops.”

When asked if the question of a national lottery might no longer be included in the gambling referendum, Christie said he was unsure and is awaiting more guidance from the consultants.

“It could be, I’ve indicated the question,” he said. “I don’t know, I’ve asked for a specific advice. It came up in our discussions and you rightly asked the question, the response is they had some concerns about it and they expressed those concerns. The concerns had to do with whether or not it could be a sustainable activity in The Bahamas. So we’ll look at it very carefully moving ahead.

“I said I would bring complete focus to it after the by-election.”

The prime minister said the consultants also spoke of the “urgent” need to regulate web shops due to the large sums of money passing through the establishments unchecked.

“. . .In looking at the web shop operations they have given us some reasons to consider why there is some urgency in being able to regulate them. That for really good order in the country and for consistency in terms of how you regulate people who have access to large sums of money that there is an urgency behind this whole thing that we weren’t quite aware of but now we’re bringing focus to it.”

Christie has previously said that the planned referendum on gambling will ask voters to legalize web shops and/or establish a national lottery. A date for the vote has not been set, however, the prime minister has said that he hopes the referendum would be held by the end of the year.

Christie added that the consultants indicated that government needed to tweak draft gambling legislation left in place by the Ingraham administration.

“So we have been reviewing now who we should really retain to assist us with the drafting of what can be a set of complex regulations to monitor and account for these operations,” he said.

Last week, Christie said he received the consultants’ initial report. He has now requested that the advisors present a more detailed report so that the public can have as much information on the issue ahead of the referendum.

Oct 10, 2012

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett... ...the Constitution Commission ... and the comprehensive review of the constitution of The Bahamas...

Constitution Questions

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

CHIEF Justice Sir Michael Barnett met with the members of the Constitution Commission yesterday to advise them on what issues they should discuss over the next six months.

 

Prime Minister Perry Christie appointed the 13-member committee in August to conduct a comprehensive review of the constitution of the Bahamas and recommend changes to it in advance of the country’s independence anniversary next year.

 

One of those changes, according to Sir Michael, would be to review the requirements of the justices in the Court of Appeal - which he said were causing a lot of good judges to be overlooked.

 

“One of the matters I thought was a bit surprising was a requirement for the Court of Appeal that a judge of the court must have to have prior judicial experience before he could be appointed to the Court Of Appeal,” he said.

 

“I have not found that provision in any other jurisdictions and I am a bit surprised that they would put such a restriction on the appointed justices because it excluded a lot of persons who would otherwise be eligible and who would otherwise serve as suitable judges of the Court of Appeal. While the requirement of prior judicial experience is laudable I am surprised they would require it as a pre requisite.”

 

Sir Michael, who served as Deputy Chairman of the last Constitutional Committee, reminded the members that full public support was needed for any provisions or they would be overlooked - like the last two referendums.

 

He said: “There were two previous attempts at amending the constitution since 1973; one in early 1981 and the other in 2002. Both were unsuccessful. Many of the provisions can not be amended without public approval, you must bear in mind that any proposal for change must be able to receive widespread public support.”

 

Sir Michael said he did not believe the upcoming referendums would fail - because it is a different time.

 

“The circumstances in 2002 and 1981 are radically different from the circumstances in 2012 and 2013. I have also never been persuaded by the argument that the referendums failed because the public did not have sufficient information to make an intelligent decision but that is something for the historians to look at,” he said.

 

This was the commission’s second meeting.

 

According to the Prime Minister, the commission will concentrate on examining anti-discrimination and fundamental rights provisions in the Bahamas constitution, but also citizenship-related questions.

 

He said: “It is anticipated that the new commission will pay particular attention to the need to strengthen the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, including the need to end gender-based discrimination against women consistent with the United Nations conventions and more enlightened views that have developed globally since the attainment of our independence.”

 

Mr Christie also said the commission was expected to examine complex questions relating to the regulation of the relationship between state power and the individual, the retention and enforcement of capital punishment, whether the Bahamas should remain a constitutional monarchy or evolve into a republic and whether if the Caribbean Court of Justice or perhaps final court in the Bahamas should replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the final court of appeal under our constitution.

 

Additionally, questions relating to the Bahamas’ political system will arise for constitutional review, said Mr Christie. Among these include whether there should be constitutionally fixed dates for the general elections, whether there ought to be fixed term limits for prime ministers and members of Parliament, whether the electorate should be vested with limited rights to recall their MPs and what powers should be vested in the Attorney General or if a constitutionally independent Director of Public Prosecutions should be established.
Members of the commission will include former Attorney General Sean McWeeney, who will be chairman; Loren Klein, Carl Bethel, Justice Rubie Nottage (retired), Mark Wilson, Lester Mortimer, Tara Cooper-Burnside, Michael Stevenson, Dr Olivia Saunders, Michael Albury, Chandra Sands, Brandace Duncanson and Carla Brown-Roker.
The commission is expected to report its recommendations to the government by the end of March 2013.

 

October 05, 2012

 

Tribune 242

 

Caribbean Blog International

Poverty in The Bahamas ...is on the march

Poverty on the March

The Bahama Journal



Even as some of this nation’s elite classes now bemoan the fact that things are not as good as they once were, there are very many other Bahamians who are – for the first time in their lives – being introduced to poverty’s harsh lash.

There are those among us who could be categorized as ‘the working poor’ who are being troubled and beset by rising prices for practically everything they must consume.

Poverty is on the march.

This phenomenon is nothing more and nothing less than a type of social death on the installment plan where day by dreadful day more and more of our people find themselves reduced, diminished and humiliated.

It is perhaps this factor – among others such – that might explain some of the rage that currently saturates social life in not only today’s Bahamas; but that of any number of other societies in our region.

While most Bahamians are fixated on the extent to which enraged Bahamians are turning their pent-up wrath on each other; there are other Bahamians – ourselves included – who are focused on other matters that seem more germane to the lives of the vast majority of their fellow-Bahamians.

While some of these matters are not usually discussed when reference is made to crime and violence; we do believe that there is space in that dialogue for a closer look at the violence done practically everyone by the rising cost of living.

Put otherwise, there is currently at work a macabre kind of backward-strutting dance where tens of thousands of hard-working Bahamians know that the harder they work, the less money they will have.

This is due to the fact that – even as they toil and labour – the cost of everything that matters goes ever upward.

Today very many Bahamians who now find themselves crushed underfoot now cry out to high heaven for relief.

Just a few short weeks ago, some of these people dared think that their cast votes could – at long last – make the difference they thought would matter for them.

Just a few short weeks ago, this nation’s streets were festooned with the eager faces of politicians on the make; and did they lavish praise on themselves?!

Of course, they did.

This is the way politicians always do what they believe they must in their perfervid effort to get as many to follow their lead.

This kind of hyperbole is the kind of stuff, these types always do.

Things always have a way of returning to reality on the morning after.

In a sense, then, we are now all living on the morning after.

It is therefore as clear as ever that the current administration has in their possession no magic bullet; that very many of this nation’s children are being abused; that unemployment is still far too high – and that far too many rapists are up and doing the things they always do; they are out there raping.

The killers are still doing their thing.

Far too many of this nation’s children are schooled and educated in comfort while others are left to fend for themselves in places where gun-fire is heard regularly.

These children deserve better.

Sadly, they may be in for worse piled upon even more of the same.

Information reaching us speaks a story of horror, neglect and indecisiveness as regards the current state of affairs in any number of public schools which are bulging to the point of bursting their banks with students.

Today we have schools where classrooms are chock-full of students – many of them at the primary level – where only so many can ever really benefit; and so the beat continues for hundreds upon untold hundreds of this nation’s youth.

This is no basis upon which we can ever even hope to build a thriving Bahamian Nation.

Scarier than this is this sad fact of life: – This nation’s children deserve far better than they are presently getting from their parents, their pastors and their parents’ representatives in parliament.

As for these hard-working people, lowering the cost of living could and should be one of this new administration’s highest priorities.

To this point in their ruler-ship, we are yet to be convinced that they are up to this challenge. But yet, we live in hope.

October 04, 2012

Jones Bahamas

Caribbean Blog International

Constitutional reform Pt. 7: ... ...I, therefore, recommend that we amend our constitution to provide for the public funding of national elections ...with appropriate legislation to establish a system of public campaign financing ...to better secure the right to vote, reduce corruption of the political process and increase competition by independent candidates and small parties

Constitutional reform Pt. 7

By ALFRED SEARS

In June 1998 in an address at the Colloquium on Political Reform, Constitutional Change and National Development at The College of The Bahamas, the Rt. Honorable Sir Lynden Pindling — after 25 years as head of government and 19 years as prime minister of an independent Commonwealth of The Bahamas — advocated that the fundamental rights provisions of the Bill of Rights of the Bahamian Constitution should be expanded in the following terms:

“Experience has taught me that the list of fundamental rights and freedoms set out in Chapter 3 of the existing constitution should be expanded to include matters such as:-

(1) The right of a citizen to vote and the right to the equal exercise of political choice.

(2) The right of a citizen to a passport.

(3) The right of a citizen to secondary education.

(4) The right of a citizen to good health and a clean environment.

(5) The right of a citizen to seek and obtain public information.

(6) The right of a citizen to equal access to opportunity.

(7) The right of a citizen to be free from fear and from victimization

(8) The right of a citizen to fair competition.

“All the laws of The Bahamas, both old and new, should then be required to pass the litmus test of the revised constitution and any Bahamian citizen who wishes to institute proceedings to defend or enforce any of the rights and freedoms should be able to do so without having to obtain the prior consent of the attorney general.”

Right to vote

Many Bahamians trace the birth of the modern Bahamas to the grant of universal adult suffrage in 1960, when women were given the right to vote and right to sit in the legislature.

The exercise of the right of every adult citizen to vote in an election of members of the House of Assembly and the right to be qualified for membership therein led to majority rule in 1967 and widened the participation of Bahamians, of all class and racial background, in the governance of The Bahamas. It is this participation in the selection of the government, more than any other right, which guarantees Bahamians a democratic government.

General elections are the source of the democratic origins of governments in The Bahamas, as an expression of the general will of the Bahamian citizens, yet the right to vote is not presently entrenched in the constitution. Although it is implicitly recognized in the constitutional provisions governing the functions of the House of Assembly and the Constituencies Commission. Under our constitution the right to vote is not included in the bill of rights as a fundamental right.

The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1992 is the principal basis upon which the right to vote is established.  Under Section 8 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, a person is entitled to be registered as a voter for a constituency if, on the day of registration:

+(a) he is a citizen of The Bahamas of full age and not subject to any legal incapacity; and

(b) he is, and has been during the whole of the period of three months immediately preceding that day, ordinarily resident in premises in that constituency.”

Section 9 provides that every person who is “registered as a voter in any polling division in any constituency shall be entitled to vote at that polling division at an election in that constituency, provided that on the day of election, the person is a citizen of The Bahamas of full age and not subject to any legal incapacity and, the case of a person who is registered as a voter in a polling division in that constituency, he is, or has been at some time during the period of one year immediately preceding that day, ordinarily resident in premises in that constituency”. Legal incapacity is defined in the act as a person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed by a court of law, under a sentence of death, or one who is deemed to be a lunatic or of unsound mind.

While the right to vote is not entrenched in the constitution, Bahamian voters perceive the right to vote as a fundamental right, reflected in consistent massive voter turnout since independence. For example, the voter turnout for the May 7, 2012 General Election was 155,948 or 90.6 percent of the total registered voters of 172,128, and in the March 14, 1997 General Election 93 percent of the Bahamian electorate, or about 129,000 voters, voted. The political practice of the Bahamian people demonstrates that the right to vote is treated as a fundamental democratic right.

I recommend, therefore, that we amend our constitution to provide an entrenched constitutional right of every citizen to vote in an election of members of the House of Assembly and the right of every citizen to be qualified for membership therein as a fundamental right, subject to such exceptions and considerations as may be reasonable in a democratic society.

Secret political campaign contribution

In early 1966, the then opposition Progressive Liberal Party charged that the then governing United Bahamian Party was maintained in power by gerrymandered constituencies, strong conflict of interest in the operations of ministers and that some ministers were in the pay of shady casino operators active in Grand Bahama.

In that same year, the Wall Street Journal alleged that the premier and the speaker of the House had received “consultancy fees” from certain Grand Bahama casino operators who at the time were reputedly under the influence of Meyer Lansky of Miami Beach. The paper alleged that Sir Stafford Sands had received “consultancy fees” in excess of millions of dollars for using his political influence for legalizing casino gambling.

After the Progressive Liberal Party came to power in the general election of 1967, a Commission of Inquiry (“the Bacon Commission”) was appointed in April 1967 to investigate irregularities over the casino concessions.

The Bacon Commission confirmed the allegations that had appeared in the Wall Street Journal.  With respect to Sir Stafford Sands, the Commission reported that the legal fees paid to him for expediting the Freeport Casino licence was “even by Bahamian standards, out of proportion to the legal services he rendered … the enormity of the fee demanded and the speed and a manner with which payment was affected, coupled with every circumstance of his handling of this application leave … no doubt that he was selling his services primarily as an influential member of the Executive Council and not as a lawyer.”  The commission detailed a pattern of secret financial contributions by foreign investors to Bahamian political parties.

After the Bacon Commission was debated in the House of Assembly, a Progressive Liberal Party sponsored resolution was passed. It alleged that Sir Stafford Sands, a former United Bahamian Party minister, a senator and three members of the United Bahamian Party, including the former speaker, were “guilty of a crime against the people of The Bahamas”.

The issue of secret campaign contributions to our political directorate was again raised, 17 years later, in the Commission of Inquiry in to the Illegal Use of The Bahamas for the Transshipment of Dangerous Drugs, in 1984. The findings of the commission resulted in significant erosion in the brand and reputation of The Bahamas. If we were to have a Commission of Inquiry today to investigate the role of secret campaign contributions to our political parties would there be the same result as the Commissions of Inquiries of 1967 and 1984?

The Bahamas acceded to the United Nations Convention against Corruption on  January 10, 2008.  Pursuant to Chapter II, Article 7 (4) of this convention, The Bahamas accepted an international obligation to make good faith efforts to “enhance transparency in the funding of candidatures for elected public office and, when applicable, the funding of political parties”.

In light of this international obligation and the current political campaign practices, The Bahamas runs the risk of being listed again by multilateral agencies for lack of transparency in its political process, which will result in the further erosion of the global brand and reputation of The Bahamas.

In its May 21, 2012 report, the CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission of the General Election of May 7, 2012, recommended that “consideration should be given to implementing laws to govern campaign funding focusing on (a) source of funds; (b) use of funds; and (c) limits on expenditure.”

They proposed that “such legislation would (i) lessen the risk that those who contribute funds will control the elected representatives they finance; (ii) eliminate the risk that illicit money can corrupt the system and undermine the rule of law; (iii) improve the chances of persons without money or access to money but are interested in running for office; and (iv) reduce the risk of large sums of money in election campaign giving undue advantage to some candidates and constrain competition.”

Financial contributions provide political parties with the means to quickly travel the length and breadth of the archipelago and orchestrate large conventions, rallies and distribute expensive posters, handbills, shirts and purchase ads in the media, etc. This can project the appearance of momentum which will influence the voters. However, the long-term effect of secret campaign contributions will be voter cynicism arising out of a general impression that the political process is corrupt and/or favors foreign investors and other secret donors.

I, therefore, recommend that we amend our constitution to provide for the public funding of national elections, with appropriate legislation to establish a system of public campaign financing to better secure the right to vote, reduce corruption of the political process and increase competition by independent candidates and small parties.

• Alfred Sears is an attorney, a former member of Parliament and a former attorney general of The Bahamas.

Oct 04, 2012

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