Parties must elevate level of public debate
thenassauguardian editorial
As we make the march towards the next general election the major political parties are engaging in the usual back and forth debates. One side attacks and the other responds with a defense and counterattack.
On Sunday the Free National Movement (FNM) went straight at Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Perry Christie.
“Mr. Christie is overflowing with theatrical passion, endless talk and promises rarely fulfilled,” said the governing party in its statement.
The FNM went on arguing that Christie is too indecisive to be re-elected prime minister.
The PLP responded and it attacked Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.
“Mr. Ingraham prefers to employ foreign workers to build roads that Bahamians can build. He employs a foreigner wherever he can. Those are the facts. The private sector has now climbed onboard and Brent Symonette is their ‘boy’. He is not our immigration minister he is the immigration minister of foreign special interests,” said the PLP.
Political banter between the parties can be entertaining at times. When written well, you can get a laugh out of the statements released. But during this election period, with so many serious issues facing the country, the parties should attempt to engage on points of policy rather than mere personal attack.
And the one area they should both focus on is crime.
With the country well on pace to set its fourth homicide record in five years it would be useful if the parties published crime manifestos – separate from the general manifesto to be published – in the run up to the general election.
A solution has to be arrived at regarding the poor state of prosecutions in the country.
Police Sergeant Chaswell Hanna published yet another comprehensive study on the homicide problem in The Bahamas – “Reducing murders in The Bahamas: A strategic plan based on empirical research.” The book is free on the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s website and it should be read by all serious current or future policymakers.
According to data in Hanna’s study, over the five-year period between 2005 and 2009 349 murders were recorded and there were only 10 murder convictions. People are getting away with murder.
The parties need to come up with solutions to this problem. We may need more prosecutors in the Office of the Attorney General (OAG); we may need better prosecutors in the OAG; we may need more investigators at the Central Detective Unit (CDU); we may need to bring back retired distinguished detectives to work as consultants with current detective to help improve the quality of police investigations.
It would help if the parties debated these issues in the public sphere this election season. What is shaping up is the same campaign we saw in 2007. The FNM says Christie is weak and the PLP spends its time responding to FNM attacks.
That campaign was not interesting the last time it happened.
4/13/2011
thenassauguardian editorial
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
