The preliminary report from the Canadian consultants conducting a comprehensive review of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force points to a leadership crisis on the force and also underscores sexual assault and disciplinary concerns.
The consultants interviewed more than 120 people and even received reports from female Defence Force personnel regarding alleged rapes on the force. There were also reported incidents of “peeping Toms” on Defence Force vessels.
The report notes that in the 25-year history of the force, there has never been a court marshal.
The consultants, Emergo Canadian Ltd., also said there appears to be a command problem within the force of just under 1,000 marines and officers and added that troops are disgruntled and there is a “desperate” need for reorganization.
It also recommended that some high-ranking officers be stripped of their command as they lack the ability to discipline their subordinates and their orders are sometimes ignored.
The consultants, led by retired Canadian Major General H. Cameron Ross, also said Defence Force personnel raised concerns about the way decisions are made on the force and claimed that favouritism impacts some of those decisions.
Recommending additional changes to the RBDF, the consultants noted that the cost of inaction would be greater that the cost of action.
They recommended that authorities address human resource concerns as a matter of urgency then examine the assets available to the Defence Force.
The issue of pay for officers and marines was also raised.
The consultants recommend that Defence Force Commodore Davy Rolle and the force’s headquarters be moved from Coral Harbour to Nassau.
The report says there is an issue of excessive centralization in the force and also spoke of the need for better maintenance of RBDF ships.
The review team, appointed earlier this year, was mandated to examine the present state of the force including its mandate, legal framework, leadership and management, organization, operations and human and physical resources.
It was also mandated to recommend courses of action to increase the effectiveness, efficiency, accountability and credibility of the Defence Force.
The final report is expected in late January.
When she announced the review earlier in the year, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Cynthia Pratt said it will be conducted in four phases over a four-month period.
At the time, she said, “We are forever committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the force’s operations, the conditions of service of its members and the quantum of sea and air-going assets.”
Mrs. Pratt said the government believes that the review will help to inform the process of reform and produce a set of useful and constructive recommendations to move this process along.
The review of the RBDF was one of the key recommendations made by commissioners following the commission of inquiry into the Lorequin incident. The commissioners investigated the matter last year.
The incident actually happened in 1992 when a group of Defence Force officers apprehended the Lorequin vessel and seized a quantity of cocaine. The commission found that some of the drugs indeed had gone missing and indicated that certain officers may have been directly involved in the crime.
The commissioners recommended that the force undergo a complete overhaul and that certain senior officials be removed.
The Canadian consultants conducting the review interviewed Defence Force personnel, but also civil servants including permanent secretaries and the auditor general.
Also interviewed were the attorney general, the speaker of the House of Assembly, and senior officers of the police force.
The consultants said that while authorities should address the need for more improved resources for Defence Force personnel, the RBDF ought to make better use of the resources it now has.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
