As the record attests, the Rt. Hon. Sir Lynden O. Pindling was wrong. Today, former Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham is being reported as telling an audience in Grand Bahama that "…we have got to make them a one-term government…" He was talking about the self-styled 'new' Progressive Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister the Hon. Perry G. Christie.
Apparently signalling that he was back and in fine fighting form, the former prime minister expatiated passionately, and to some who heard him, convincingly when he said, "We need a working government, not a talking government. We need a government of action, not a government of commissions. We need a focused government…"
This is what it has come to not only for Mr. Ingraham and Prime Minister Christie, but also for the people who elected the Progressive Liberal Party on May 2nd, 2002. Having promised reform, the Christie government is today being attacked for what its critics characterise as its penchant for talk rather than action. The jury is still out on this question.
But today as we continue our reflections on the politics and government of The Bahamas, we do so in order to note one of the more puzzling aspects of the current regime. Elected on a platform promising reform, the Christie regime is apparently intent on trying to demonstrate that it can continue with a business as usual approach to governance. Indeed, were it not for the fact that a change of government did take place on May 2nd 2002, many Bahamians could be forgiven for believing that nothing had in fact changed for the better or the worse since the Free National Movement was obliged to demit office.
We cite as evidence not only the government's rhetoric and excuses, but also its stubborn refusal and or inability to present the Bahamian public answers as to how they will tackle the problems they inherited, and the new ones they will inevitably face in the days, weeks and months ahead.
Take for example the tired explanations and any number of facile rationalisations for the persistence of the perennial problems faced by the nation's outmoded, decrepit and increasingly dysfunctional educational system. With two weeks to go before schools reopen, the public is being told – yet again and now ad nauseam – about scopes of work and how the Ministry is doing its best to keep disruptions to the minimum.
One cannot escape the conclusion that these things are the way they are because far too many politicians and the bureaucrats who serve them could not care less. This state of affairs is particularly bad for the current government, precisely because an expectant public had hoped for better from a purportedly re-invigorated and renewed Progressive Liberal Party. To put the matter in a nutshell, so to speak, the attentive public was led to believe that the PLP in power was set to be a reform-minded government.
In this regard, reference might be made to the much-vaunted commissions to illustrate the point. While these appear to be major innovations, the reality is that they have been little more than glorified talk shops for a small number of politically well-connected Bahamians. With few exceptions, they have made little real difference in the scheme of things.
Now, we know that there will be the inevitable interjection that these are hard times, and that as a consequence the government is severely constrained in terms of what it can realistically do. Our counter to this superficially plausible argument is that it ignores the fact that ideas and their imaginative use are often of far greater value than any amount of money.
Indeed, if we revert for a moment and reflect on the track record of the previous government, there are examples galore to illustrate what happens when neophytes and mavericks are given access to what seems an inexhaustible steam of cash. When the money was rolling in, it flowed as if it had been released by the turn of a tap. Practically no attention was given to the fact that years of plenty are invariably followed by years of scarcity.
What makes this factoid powerfully relevant today is that the current regime is apparently focused on putting the best face on a bad situation. One example might serve to illustrate the point, this being the promise made by the former government to increase the salaries of public sector workers. When the deal was made, a decision was taken to pay the money in staggered increments. This stratagem was chosen because the government of the day could not see its way clear to do otherwise.
When the PLP took the reins of power, an originally bad fiscal situation had gotten worse. Strangely, the Christie government has acted as if a deal is a deal' regardless. While we are not suggesting that the government should renege on the undertaking make by its predecessor, the least a reform-minded government should have done would have been to re-negotiate the matter.
This is – yet again – an example of what happens when a regime – elected on a mandate calling for reform – decides to adopt a business-as-usual approach to governance. To make matters worse, the governing Progressive Liberal Party is being charged with being reactionary in some departments. Critics pushing this line cite as evidence the 'resurrection and rehabilitation' of certain 'old' PLP's who had gained a measure of notoriety for themselves in the late seventies and early eighties. On the other end of that spectrum is the view which holds that the current regime has at the Cabinet level far too many neophytes, men and women who seem to be feeling their way in the dark.
Mercifully, this bleak picture is relieved by the wonderful work being done by one or two ministers and one or two parliamentary secretaries. The Ministers of Health, Foreign Affairs and the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health are powerful standouts in the Christie team.
At this juncture, only time will tell whether the Progressive Liberal Party will rise to the challenge implicit in the moment, namely that they get on with the business for which they were elected. As we see it, theirs was a mandate for genuine reform, and not that of trying to prop up outmoded systems or hewing to a business-as-usual approach to doing things.
Editorial, The Bahama Journal
