This list is in no particular order and by no means represents a complete inventory of the events of 2005, but it provides commentary on some of this year’s newsmakers. This is what those who The Tribune interviewed thought.
THE CHAMPS
Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller:
Despite his sometimes obstreperous nature, the well meaning Mr Miller walks out of 2005 as a champ to many. Mr Miller has what most politicians in this country -and around the world- do not have and that is a sense that he was elected by a populace who expects him to do a job for them. You would be hard pressed to find a consumer who would not applaud the minister’s efforts to keep the price of cooking gas and petrol down.
Mr Miller’s self-billed persona of a blue collar politician – or the “people’s potcake” as he likes to call himself – has gone down well with a lot of people and his “stick-it-to-the man” attitude has caused many persons to forget that he is part of the establishment, and, therefore, a part of “the man” himself.
FNM Leader Hubert Ingraham:
The former prime minister is a champ for agreeing to return to the political fray. Love him or leave him, no one can deny that Mr Ingraham has lit a fire under what has, since 2002, been a limp political scene in the Bahamas. His detractors reject his assertion that he had no desire to return to frontline politics, saying that he orchestrated his election as FNM leader in November. However, what many forget is that by taking up the mantle of leader of the opposition in the run-up to an election, Mr Ingraham has risked what up until now has been a near-perfect political record.
Despite his opponents’ attempts to paint the 2002 PLP win as a defeat for Mr Ingraham, it remains a fact that he was not the FNM leader at the time, and therefore, has never lost a political contest.
If he fails to win the next general election, it would almost certainly detract from his legacy. Mr Ingraham has not been given enough credit for the courage he has displayed in choosing to lead the FNM into the next general election.
Prime Minister Perry Christie:
There are a number of reasons to call Mr Christie a champ, from the success of the Urban renewal programme to the recent billion dollar deals signed with foreign investors, but most important, one must not forget his victory over illness earlier this year. Prime Minister Christie proved his determination this year by overcoming not only a heart attack, but continued assaults on his government from various opponents. Mr Christie has recuperated in record time, setting an example for all who have had to deal with such an ailment.
During his fitness, and exercise regime, Mr Christie has lost a noticeable amount of weight, and has somehow regained a new, and even stronger position of influence throughout the country. His leadership throughout this year’s hurricanes and 2004, has been a source of great comfort to many – PLP, and FNM alike.
Tourism Minister and MP for West End and Bimini Obie Wilchcombe:
Mr Wilchcombe demonstrated to Bahamians throughout the year that in addition to being able to promote the country as a premier vacation destination, he is also a man of the people in a time of need.
Following the devastation from Hurricane Wilma in Grand Bahama, Mr Wilchcombe was immediately on the ground, assessing the damage and offering help where it was needed.
Just last week, when the island of Bimini was touched by tragedy as the community lost 11 of its valued and beloved members, the minister was present.
Just a few hours after US news stations broadcast the crash of the 101 Chalk’s flight from Miami to Bimini, Mr Wilchcombe was on a plane out of Nassau, headed towards the small island in his constituency. Once there, he comforted family members of the deceased and lent them a shoulder to cry on.
Further, it appears that in a time when no politician seems to be untainted by one scandal or another, Mr Wilchcombe has been able to hold his head high and remain untouched by unsavoury allegations.
Former Miss Teen Bahamas Gari McDonald:
It’s not for us (or anyone for that matter) to question her choice of lifestyle, but her courage is admirable. To come out and boldly declare something that many in the “mainstream” community would readily decry and condemn takes a level of confidence that many of us do not have.
Perhaps Ms McDonald and others like her in the Rainbow Alliance of the Bahamas are ahead of their time in this country, but a democracy promises to defend its minorities, marginalized and trod-upons, and provide a voice for them.
While we may not always agree with what all segments of our society have to say, we should defend to the very end their right to say it.
One can only imagine how hard it was for Ms McDonald to stand up for herself in the midst of overwhelming prejudices knowing full well that she would get no sympathy from the majority of the population who feel that “her kind” are not only unwelcome but should not exist.
That type of courage is rare in this country, or any country for that matter. It’s hard not to admire this young woman and wish her good luck in 2006.
THE CHUMPS
NIA:
The country’s premier international airport (NIA) leaves little reason for Bahamians to not hold their heads low in shame. From control towers not operating without the aid of radar, to newly refurbished run aways “sinking”, one is forced to ask the question: “Who in the world is running this place?”
On every return trip through” the arrival section of the terminal, Bahamians mingling with visitors can hear the justified criticism about either the smell, or humidity of the corridors. Pictures that have not been changed for decades still hang throughout the causeway, as sentinels to some long lost era when horse and buggies dominated the streets of New Providence.
With little entertainment in the departure lounge, despite the eyebrow raising prices at the “eye in the sky” cafeteria; little amusement can be found.
Inept baggage handlers fling tourists’ bags with little care of who, or what they hit or break; but still are eager to earn that $3 tip for carrying a trolley full of luggage to the next drooling cabbie waiting.
The problems go beyond structural limitations, to a human lackadaisical attitude where “pride in your work” seems to be a message that has long lost its meaning for many ﾠBahamians. However, it is the first message conveyed to out , visitors the moment they enter the terminal building at Nassau International Airport.
The Bahamas Christian Council:
The BCC has become one of the most superfluous organizations in the country. It is hard to recall a time when the organization did anything more than bash gays, decry the evils of gambling and pander to the political establishment of the day – whether that be PLP or FNM.
If the BCC is what it claims to be – representative of the moral voice of the Bahamas ﾠit must do more.
It seems to be the philosophy of the current BCC to keep quiet and avoid such controversial and difficult issues as murder, rape, the high crime rate, unfettered materialism and consumerism in the country, church scandals, infidelity, the deterioration of family life, promoting care for the poor and many other issues.
Quite frankly it has become, known for what it appears to be, an impotent club for religious pedantics who love to each other on the back.
Raynard Rigby:
PLP Chairman Raynard Rigby would not have made this list if it were not for his feeble attempt to justify comments made by his PLP colleagues at their convention in November. Several presenters at the convention made remarks con, demning the Opposition’s election of Montagu MP Brent Symonette as that party’s deputy leader, calling it a step backward that would bring the return of the long dead UBP and its racist policies. Mr Rigby responded to angry public reaction by excusing his party’s speakers, saying that they were merely engaging in a discussion of Bahamian history. Yeah right!
Mr Rigby is an intelligent person, but a fault of intelligent people is that they tend to assume that everyone else is stupid or easily swayed by even the slightest philosophical, emotive and/or pedantic reasoning. The thing is, no one really believes Mr Rigby’s explanation and it’s hard to believe that he believes his own rhetoric, Such comments that an FNM win would take the country back 300 years cannot pass over merely as a PLP member “discussing the country’s history”, as Mr Rigby contends. It is rather a scare tactic that wants Bahamians to believe that an FNM government with an eligible, qualified white Bahamian in a leadership position in its ranks, is capable of returning the Bahamas to slavery.
Race is still a sensitive issue in the Bahamas and it is laudable that most presenters at the PLP convention chose not to use it as the cheap political tool that it has become. No one in a 21st century Bahamas should be trying to force the wedge between the races deeper than it already is.
While everyone understands that it is his job as the chairman of a political party to do damage control, place a magnifying glass over all of the party’s accom- plishments and ensure that hl party comes out of every situ-tion smelling like a rose, it is inexcusable for a person of Mr Rigby’s education and level of exposure to the world to justify the perpetuation of ignorance.
Nice try Mr Rigby, but we know better and we know you do too.
Reprinted from The Tribune; Nassau, Bahamas
