And so the torch has been passed once again... and Perry Christie has been given a second chance to rectify some of the missteps of his last term... ...We are confident that he is aware that there is a very thin line between love and hate... that the electorate is impatient... and that there is a very high expectation that his new government will lead The Bahamas to greater heights in the days ahead...

The voice of the people

By Philip C. Galanis

“The voice of the people is the voice of God.” – Sir Lynden Pindling

What a difference a day makes.  Monday, May 7, 2012 will be recorded in Bahamian history as a day when the Bahamian people spoke loudly and unequivocally, although their behavior was anything but.  In fact, when Bahamians went to the polls, they quietly exercised their constitutionally guaranteed democratic right, emphatically asserting their displeasure with the Free National Movement (FNM) government.  The outcome of the election was a resounding rejection of the leadership of Hubert Ingraham and his government’s management of the country from 2007 to 2012.  This week, we would like to Consider This...what really happened on Election Day, 2012 and what lessons, if any, are to be learned about governance and the will of the people?

A macro-analysis

The results of the elections, as confirmed by the parliamentary registrar, indicate that the majority of the nearly 156,000 persons who cast their votes — a turnout of 91 percent of the registered voters — rejected Ingraham’s belligerent behavior that bordered on tyranny, representing a leadership style that was not to be tolerated and had to be terminated.

Nearly 76,000, or 49 percent, of the voters supported the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and another 13,422, or nine percent, supported the fledgling Democratic National Alliance (DNA), making a combined total of nearly 58 percent of the voters who rejected the Free National Movement (FNM).  Of the 38 seats that were contested, the PLP won 29 seats; the FNM won nine seats with 65,651 votes; and the DNA did not win any.

The professional pollsters predicted that the election results would be close and no one publically forecasted the resounding landslide.  There were two seats where the victor won with a razor-slim margin of less than 25 votes, six seats where the winner edged out by less than 100 votes, and 11 seats where the winner won by less than 200 votes.

The FNM won only three of the 23 seats in New Providence, both seats in Abaco, two of the five seats in Grand Bahama, and two of the eight seats in the other Family Islands.  Only four of Ingraham’s 17 Cabinet ministers survived the contest, with notable losses by veteran politicians Tommy Turnquest, Zhivargo Laing, Desmond Bannister, Charles Maynard and Carl Bethel.

The most difficult call in the election was the effect that the DNA would have on the outcome, but its presence was impactful.  In fact, there were several seats where, but for the presence of the DNA, the PLP would have likely taken the seats that the FNM wound up winning.  This was most evident in Montagu and Central Grand Bahama where the combined votes of the PLP and the DNA outnumbered those cast for the FNM.  This suggestion is supported by the hypothesis that the DNA votes were in fact anti-FNM votes.

Lessons learned

There are at least four lessons that can be learned from the election results.  First, we are a two-party system and, once again, these elections confirmed that the presence of a third party in the body politic is largely irrelevant and inconsequential as regards its ability to form a government, although its existence affected the election outcome.

The second lesson was that when Bahamians have lost faith in a political party, they will unceremoniously and decisively vote them out.  We saw this in 1992, 2002, 2007 and again in 2012.

The third lesson is that Bahamians fully comprehend the power of their votes and that the social contract between politicians and the people has a five-year life span, sometimes less as was the case in the Elizabeth by-election, but certainly not longer than five years.  Ingraham has now joined Perry Christie in being booted out of office after just one term.  Bahamians have proven that they will not tolerate arrogance, negligence, scandals, despotism or corruption.

The fourth lesson is that Grand Bahama is no longer FNM country, precipitated by the government’s gross neglect of the pain and suffering of the residents of that island over the last five years.  For the first time in decades, the PLP has won the majority of seats on Grand Bahama, proving once again that if the social contract is unfulfilled, there will be consequences.

Sore losers

It was amazing and disappointing to note the reaction of both the press and the vanquished.  In a Tribune editorial of Tuesday, May 8, the day after the general election, the editor of that tabloid noted: “Bahamians went to the polls yesterday and showed the depth of their ingratitude to a man who had dedicated 35 selfless years to their service.”

What drivel, what arrogance, what utter rubbish.  The editor, more than many, should appreciate that the mandate that is given to any politician and any government is for five years, and to reject them for whatever reason is the voters’ constitutional right.  We invite the editor to join us in the 21st century and recognize that that kind of patronizing plantation posturing offends the inalienable right and civic obligation to tell any leader — PLP, FNM, DNA or otherwise — that we have had enough of you, your policies and bullying tactics and that we invite you to leave and leave now.

We also observed Ingraham’s ungracious reaction to his thorough trouncing by the Bahamian people.  In an interview with the press days after being completely rejected, Ingraham “hinted” that bribery was involved in the PLP’s win on Monday.  How can he make such a claim with a straight face?  What did the former prime minister think he was doing when he embarked upon a massive contract signing marathon after calling the elections; or when he offered temporary jobs to voters in order to win their support at the polls; or when he approved last-minute citizenship for countless applicants who had been awaiting such approval for years; or when he increased public servants’ salaries on the eve of elections and extended other such political patronage that he doled out days before the elections?

Bribery comes in many forms, shapes and sizes and is fully recognizable even when incognito, camouflaged as a contract, a job, citizenship or otherwise.  If Ingraham would seriously reflect on this matter, perhaps he might appreciate that the Bahamian people told him and his ministers on May 7 that they were tired of him, and his bully tactics, his belligerent behavior, his one-man band approach to governance, his Pied Piper complex, his arrogance and that of some of his colleagues.  As loudly as Bahamians spoke on Monday, you would have expected him to get the message that just maybe, “he is simply not the best”.

Conclusion

And so the torch has been passed once again and Christie has been given a second chance to rectify some of the missteps of his last term.  We are confident that he is aware that there is a very thin line between love and hate, that the electorate is impatient, and that there is a very high expectation that his new government will lead the country to greater heights in the days ahead.  Christie has first-hand knowledge that hard earned political currency, which often takes many years to amass, will be quickly spent if those expectations are not satisfied within a reasonable period of time.  Most importantly, Christie, like the rest of the new government, has clearly heard the voice of the people; we can but hope they are acutely aware that it is also the voice of God.

 

• Philip C. Galanis is the managing partner of HLB Galanis & Co., Chartered Accountants, Forensic & Litigation Support Services. He served 15 years in Parliament. Please send your comments to: pgalanis@gmail.com

May 14, 2012

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

I used to love and admire the PM with an unbridled affection... Time however, alters many, if not all delusions and cases of infatuation... It is always painful to realize that the object of one's passion is yet another individual made of brittle clay... Realistic decisions are not being made in my perspective and not enough, if anything, is being done to heal the national wounds

Decision points and healing the wounds

By Staff Writer For the Guardian

It is a given that the nation is in a polarized state.  The art of class warfare is alive and well.

Divisions abound among our people and The Bahamas is lurching from pillar to post.  All however, is not yet lost and we need not at this time, write the obituary of our beautiful country.  Yes, there are a number of serious challenges and more than enough societal and economic 'barbarians' at the proverbial gates.

It is my humble submission however, that if we take a less politically tribal approach, most of what ails us can be cured.  Let us take a close look at crime, its alleged causes and suggested solutions.  While we are at it, let us not neglect to figure out why our infrastructural work in New Providence is in such shambles.  Of course, we must also ask the hard question: Is the prime minister up to the daunting tasks which confront him?

Crime and the fear of crime are literally killing The Bahamas.  Far too many misguided persons have lambasted the current minister of national security and sought to blame him for the state of crime in our nation.  Is this fair?  Crime begins within the inner mind of an individual.  It is absolutely impossible for the minister or police to enter the mind of an individual and determine, in advance, if he will commit or is considering committing a crime.

We must find the ways and means to encourage rehabilitation and the literal transformation of the thought processes of recalcitrant anti-social individuals, especially the youthful ones.  A dedicated form or system of 'urban renewal' must be implemented in short order, by whatever name you wish.  All of this unnecessary politically charged 'in your face' must cease and desist.

The state of our major roads in New Providence is poor.  The permanent secretary and the substantive minister of works are, apparently, oblivious to the gridlock which the road builder has created by the disjointed schedule of work.  Traffic congestion is extremely frustrating and has led to a massive decrease in productivity.

Why not fix or rehabilitate one road at a time?  Why not deploy the traffic and other police officers in the known hot spots instead of having large numbers of them hanging around, looking pretty and doing absolutely nothing?  What is the commissioner of police saying or doing about this?  In fact, where is he?

The prime minister used to have the fire in his belly, so to speak, but, I postulate that he has long ago lost it.  He seems to be on cruise control as is, apparently, the nation at large.  A slew of potentially bogus bills were recently presented in the House of Assembly.  The PM is well aware that these are not going anywhere any time soon.

No doubt, the right honorable gentleman and his hapless colleagues on the front bench mean well, but the road to hell, historically, has always been paved with good intentions and a massive dose of shaving cream.  Nothing has changed.

To attempt, perhaps unconstitutionally, to impose minimum and maximum punishment guidelines and to agree to a parliamentary inquiry into the effectiveness of the Royal Bahamas Police Force due to public hysterics is not progressive or conducive to nation-building.

What will such attempts do to the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary?  What will they do to the overall morale of the police force?  Is the veil between the separation of the three branches of government being lifted and if so, what will the lasting repercussions be?  Talking what might appear, or be designed to appear as 'a good talk' is one thing.  To drag the judiciary and the police into the harsh and glaring arena of politics is another.

The PM's shelf life may well be at an ignoble end.  Like he would have shouted at his greatest benefactor and mentor, publicly in the honorable House of Assembly not too many years ago: “It is time to go.”  Does that same unwarranted outburst now apply to him?

I used to love and admire the PM with an unbridled affection.  Time however, alters many, if not all delusions and cases of infatuation.  It is always painful to realize that the object of one's passion is yet another individual made of brittle clay.  Realistic decisions are not being made in my perspective and not enough, if anything, is being done to heal the national wounds.

To God then, in all of these mundane things be the glory.

Oct 10, 2011

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

The only way that we can rid ourselves of crime is to get back to basics -- discipline, good manners, hard work, respect and love for our God, our parents, ourselves, our neighbours, our community

tribune242 editorial



WHEN WE first joined The Tribune more than fifty years ago, there were no files that contained a business contract anywhere in the then small building. All transactions were the result of a gentleman's agreement sealed with a handshake. It seemed to work fairly well.

Today progress has brought written contracts, but there are times when they are not worth the paper they are written on. Recently, when we spoke with someone on behalf of a person who was having difficulty collecting payment for work he had completed, we were informed by the person who was dealing with the payment that if the matter went to court, the company would be closed and the complainant would get nothing. That's justice and honest business dealings for you, but it is also progress ... after all we do have written contracts. However, in the interim we have lost integrity, honesty, and a sense of responsibility.

We have graduated from the age when children were "seen, but not heard" to a society of vocal, often rebellious and destructive youth. They respect no one -- not even themselves-- many believing that whatever they want they can steal from a hard working neighbour. After all during the narco years, when drugs were the going currency, didn't a cabinet minister in the heat of a public gruelling, blurt out that it was nobody's business how he made his money -- whether he worked for it or t'iefed it? School essays expressed the ambition of many children that they wanted to follow the career path of their fathers, uncles or brothers as drug dealers. In those years drugs seemed to open a magic door to wealth and upward social movement. Man's lofty spirit was debased by materialism.

Need we wonder why crime is out of control. Today we are being held hostage by the products of those years.

We have problems in our schools, and we wonder why. Discipline, common courtesy and respect have all but disappeared from the schoolyard. Why, we ask? We remember a time when if a child were disciplined at school he took his punishment and made no complaint at home, because he knew that more punishment would follow for disrespecting his teacher or breaking school rules. Not so today. The precious little darlings trot home with a tale of woe and the next day a rowdy parent marches to the school to beat up the teacher. No need to wonder what's wrong with today's youth -- just look to the parents. There are no longer rules for them, discipline has gone out of the window, the child gets what he or she wants.

They looked down on honest labour. We recall a day when a mother telephoned asking us to do a story about a hotel whose manager had the effrontery to ask her daughter to scrub a dirty floor. She had called the wrong person for sympathy. The only way that we knew how to get a dirty floor clean, despite all the modern gadgets, was to get on hands and knees and give it a good scrubbing. Having done it ourselves while at school in England, we saw nothing wrong with it. No wonder in those years the government-owned hotels looked so distressingly shabby.

The late Sir Lynden Pindling lived long enough to accept that his beliefs in making life too easy for the youth was their undoing. "We are falling backward with sophistication, because we have got slack and we've got lazy and we've got sophisticated over these last 20 years and that's our fault. I accept responsibility for that," he said.

He might have accepted responsibility, but today we are suffering from those years of over indulgence when good manners, hard work, honesty, and discipline was undermined.

Sir Lynden lived long enough to understand why Haitians had to be employed to do the work that Bahamians once did. He was distressed when told by the "new" Bahamian that "Haitians supposed to do that."

"We told them that they were too good to be gardeners, too good to be sanitation men, too good to work with their hands..." Sir Lynden admitted.

"But, I didn't know then what I know now, that any work breeds character. Too many young men lack character today; too many, too often shirk responsibility because they have never been held accountable for their actions at home, in school or in society. Therein may lie the heart of the problem," he admitted.

The only way that we can rid ourselves of crime is to get back to basics -- discipline, good manners, hard work, respect and love for our God, our parents, ourselves, our neighbours, our community.

We have to dust off the Ten Commandments and teach them to our children from the cradle.

In other words our misplaced progress has led us astray. As a community we have to start all over again.

We cannot afford to wait. Now is the time.

August 09, 2011

tribune242 editorial

Caribbean Blog International

The Bahamian people want change

Courage, Care and Capacity
The Bahama Journal Editorial




This Tuesday past, we did precisely what so very many other people around the world thought they had to do – this is to say, we tuned in as Barack Obama, president of the United States of America delivered his State of the Union address.

This address while nominally delivered to and on behalf of the American people is one that piques the interests of the entire world because the United States – despite the challenges it currently faces – remains number one in the world.

And for sure, it remains the one country upon which the Bahamas and its neighbors in the Americas and the Caribbean also rely.

As reported in the Washington Post, “…Mr. Obama said that one of the most important things he could do in his presidency was to “open up more markets to American goods around the world.” He struck an optimistic tone, even as he described the challenges the nation still faces in a difficult economy with unemployment above 9 percent.

“We’re living in a new and challenging time, in which technology has made competition easier and fiercer than ever before,” Mr. Obama said. “Countries around the world are upping their game and giving their workers and companies every advantage possible.”

“But that shouldn’t discourage us,” he continued. “Because I know we can win that competition. I know we can out-compete any other nation on earth. We just have to make sure we’re doing everything we can to unlock the productivity of American workers, unleash the ingenuity of American businesses and harness the dynamism of America’s economy.”

We wish Mr. Obama and his great nation all the best.

We also know that, this beloved land of ours is currently being challenged and tested by any number of forces arrayed against it is clearly evident.

As in the case of the United States where forces conducing to the good are currently contending with certain reactionary tendencies, so too in a Bahamas where so very many Bahamians are apparently sick and tired of things as they are.

These people want change; and for sure, the kind of change they yearn for has to do with the grounding of a new kind of Bahamian – namely that kind of person who can comprehend that true nation-building must have love at its foundation.

In addition, there must also be in place leadership that has vision sufficient to take the Bahamas to that sweet place where each Bahamian sees himself as custodian of this nation’s patrimony.

But surely, there are some matters prerequisite to change that must be put in place – and here sooner rather than later – if this dream of real change - is to be translated into purposeful action.

Three such now come to mind; with these being: courage, care and capacity.

Courage plays its part when those who lead do what they must; care comes when they realize that, they can and should human beings with the greatest of respect – and for, the best of intentions are always for naught where and when capacity is either missing or some how or the other lacking.

And evidently, engaged and enthusiastic leadership has a crucially important part to play in this process.

Indeed, when we make any sustained reference for better and more committed leadership; in truth we are putting the case for leadership that has requisite depth and power to get the job done.

And so, whether the job in question has to do with health, education, security – or ongoing investment in the nation’s sustained growth and development, there will always be a need for the generation of that cadre of leaders who have the moxie to get on with the job at hand.

In such a renewed Bahamas, leadership would truly lead.

Put simply, while we have a pressing need to get out from under our current set of problems; there is commensurately, a crying need for the Bahamian people to become more engaged in this process of change.

There is also a need for the forging of a truly national consensus on a number of issues that now beg for both resolve resolution.

Here crime comes to mind; so does the matter involving undocumented migrants living and working in the Bahamas – and their relatives who routinely brave the high seas in order to join up with earlier migrant-pioneers.

Evidently, therefore, the time is surely now for both the governing party and its parliamentary opposition, and other interested parties in civil society to – once and for all – hammer out a consensus on this matter involving Haitians and other such people that best serves the national interests of the Bahamas.

Evidently, "things as they are" is just not the way to go.

In the ultimate analysis, the best leadership that a people can ever have is comprised of men and women seized with will, vision and demonstrated capacity to be up and doing with their assigned jobs.

January 28th, 2011

The Bahama Journal Editorial

Bahamas Blog International