I watched with annoyance as the Cable 12 news broadcast of Tuesday, November 1 served as an uncritical mouthpiece for disgruntled workers on the New Providence Road Improvement Project.
Their complaints included versions of the following:
They could not understand their Spanish speaking bosses;
They resented being reprimanded like children when they came to work ‘a few minutes late’ or for taking too many bathroom breaks;
The government is not doing anything for them, despite the fact that they are working; and
“We are not finishing this for no election.”
These complaints were reproduced in your newspaper of November 2.
I suppose it does not occur to these whiners and complainers that learning or trying to understand someone who has learned to speak English, but who has an accent, will not do them any harm.
In fact, it might actually do them some good by learning about a new language and other cultures.
Many of the complainers clearly do not accept the age-old saying, ‘timeliness is next to godliness.’
They would improve themselves and the quality of our workforce if they gave value for time and time for money in terms of what they are being paid to do with taxpayer money.
Except for those who have to do so for medical reasons, why do some of these grown men have to take more bathroom breaks than children in primary school?
As for what the government is supposedly not doing for them, why don’t they stay home and let others who want to work get one of these valuable jobs which are among the 500-plus jobs for Bahamians on the New Providence Road Improvement Project alone.
Hundreds of similar jobs have been created as a result of the government’s decision to engage Bahamian-owned companies to carry out works on road and other utility services upgrades along downtown Bay Street, in Oakes Field in connection with the sports stadium and on the new link between John F. Kennedy Drive and West Bay Street. Still even more Bahamians are engaged on the roadwork from the airport to the Tonique Williams-Darling Highway.
It is unfortunate that some who are employed because of these infrastructure works believe they have little or no obligation to provide good and timely service to the people of The Bahamas who are helping them put bread on the table.
There is no obligation to finish their work in time for an election. But there is an obligation to give value for money, and to finish the work as quickly and properly as possible, creating less inconvenience for the Bahamian public. I sometimes get the impression that some of us are only happy getting a paycheck and even happier if we don’t have to work too hard to get the check.
When lazy reporters write stories or report on TV in a manner which just accepts the whining of lazy employees, they do our country no good and perpetuate slackness and a poor work ethic.
Might I suggest for your consideration more stories reporting on the number of Bahamian workers who had their jobs saved or who found new employment as a result of the accelerated infrastructural works undertaken by the government during the past four years? And each of these jobs helped feed families and circulate money in the economy.
You might recount the numbers employed in the construction of the Sister Mary Patricia Russell Junior High School in Freeport, Grand Bahama and the Anatol Rodgers High School in New Providence.
You might then move on to the dredging of Nassau Harbour and the extension of Arawak Cay, not forgetting the two government administrative complexes nearing completion in Abaco and Grand Bahama, the new beach park at Saunders Beach and the new U.S. Departure Terminal at Lynden Pindling International Airport.
There is also the ongoing redevelopment of airports, docks, roads and bridges around the country and the extensive New Providence road and utility upgrade project which is transforming our capital and providing clean water and dramatically improved water pressure for many thousands.
I don’t expect you to ignore legitimate complaints. But I do expect you to place complaints and criticisms in a broader context. Perhaps in a National Review or in a news series on television and in newspapers you can chronicle the effects that the transformation and modernization of infrastructure across the country will have on the quality of life for Bahamians and on our tourism product?
By BLS
