Drawing on an ancient Chinese proverb, Harry Truman recounted in his Memoirs that being President “is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed.” He went on to explain that a “President either is constantly on top of events or, if he hesitates, events will soon be on top of him. I never felt that I could let up for a single moment.”
Much good might be achieved in our Bahamas if our politicians in high office would end the vacillating and wavering, but develop the courage to do what is in the national interest. No day goes by without a report reaching us of a Minister who is allowing some civil servant or a political ally to take an unfair advantage to the detriment of the public’s interest. Throughout public corporations and in several Ministries there are stories of individuals who have abused their positions of trust and authority, but remain in positions despite the outcries of many who want to see justice done.
In the Water and Sewerage Corporation, a junior staff member entered the office of an Executive, closed the door and launched a physical assault by slapping up the individual, but remains on the job to this day. From the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, an employee was terminated for his fraudulent behaviour and subverting the work of the management team, but remains on the payroll, despite many protests. At Bahamasair, an individual continues to receive money from the airline after being roundly condemned by a Commission of Inquiry into the National Flag Carrier.
The Commission found that this person abused his position and used the airline’s employees to perform services for his personal private gain and at the airline’s expense. In Batelco, there are several persons who have been rehired after receiving “the privatization package”, with nothing to do. There are complaints about these persons “loitering” rather than working, but they are apparently politically protected.
In another Corporation of the government, the Minister refuses to speak with the Chairman on matters of national importance. The corporation is functioning, but the person who is ultimately responsible to the Cabinet for the initiatives taken by this entity, is oblivious to what is happening.
These are only a few out of many examples to indicate that the government of the Bahamas must become more proactive in bringing discipline and order to the public sector. Most people seem to be doing their own thing with Ministers being too timid to deal with the vast number of complaints of indiscipline and irresponsible behaviour in the sector.
To be responsible for a Ministry or Corporation is to be answerable and accountable. It is a truism that everything which has ever been done in the history of the world has been done by somebody; some person has exercised some power to do it. In our system of government when things go well, the government takes responsibility. It must also take responsibility for mistakes made and systems which do not work.
When speaking with defeated Ministers of the Free National Movement government who were negligent in dealing with abuse and poor performance in some areas of the public sector, to avoid blame, they use the parlance: “Mistakes were made.” But no one is prepared to take responsibility. Even with a new government today, there is no shortage of politicians who are ready to claim credit for contributing to an enterprise of the government when things go well.
The government of the Bahamas cannot function effectively and efficiently unless those who were elected to ensure good governance develop courage to bring an end to abuse.
If Aristotle is right – then courage is a settled disposition to feel appropriate degrees of confidence in challenging situations. It is also a settled disposition to stand one’s ground in the face of fear.
The Bahamian people need leaders who are prepared to stand up to the challenging circumstances which cause hardships, suffering, neglect and needless expense in running the government. They need politicians who are willing to get to the bottom of troubling issues, finding the right thing to do, and muster the will to do it for the growth and development of the country.
At the end of World War II, Japan was in ruins. Almost three million Japanese had died and over eight million were homeless. General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied powers brought Japan back to prosperity by having the courage to order sweeping economic and political reforms. He ordered the Japanese to dissolve the secret police, end censorship and established an efficient and accountable civil service.
ﾠWhile some conservatives were dismayed, the reforms delighted many Japanese and kept the country on tract to become what it is today, the second most dynamic nation on earth and the world’s number one manufacturing economy. Japan now produces one eight of the world’s goods and services, more than twice as much as the rest of Asia put together.
Wendall K. Jones, Editorial, The Bahama Journal
