Published On:Monday, January 18, 2010

By PAUL G TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

pturnquest@tribunemedia.net

FOR several months now, The Tribune has led an investigation into the Department of Lands and Surveys looking particularly into the disposition of Crown land over the years.

As a result of this investigation a Select Committee was formed by the House of Assembly which on Monday of last week completed its public hearings. At the next sitting of Parliament on Wednesday, January 20, the Committee is expected to make public its findings and put forward its recommendations.

Among some of the last persons to testify were the newly appointed Permanent Secretary David Davis, the newly appointed Director Alexander Flowers, and the current undersecretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Audley Greaves.

When questioned at length on matters pertaining to the Department, one can forgive Mr Flowers and Mr Davis for not being acutely aware of every matter or minute detail as they both have been at the job for less than a year.

However, Mr Greaves it appears falls into another category. Having had carriage of this ministry in some form or another since the first PLP administration, one would have expected pearls of wisdom during his testimony -- or at the very least, clarity on government policy and what measures could be put in place to mitigate any possible abuse.

Instead the impression given was that the Committee was faced with apparent arrogance. In fact, when The Tribune tried to speak with Mr Greaves following his testimony on Monday evening of last week, his response was: "You are Mr Turnquest? I do not want to speak to you. On or off the record, I will not speak to you. You? Not you!"

Any questions, Mr Greaves said, that I might have should for now on be directed to the Director of Investments at the Prime Minister's Office.

Turning to say his good-byes to Mr Flowers, who was present for this exchange, Mr Greaves then got into his government issued car (red license plate) and sped off.

While this behavior might appear rude to most, it is one that is too often endured by members of the media. We in the Fourth Estate have to endure this type of treatment by these so-called 'little gods' who seem to believe that they are not only above us as professionals, but above the public that we, the press, represent. They also seem to be oblivious of the public's right to know how its business is being administered.

To Mr Greaves, I would remind him that he, like all government officials/employees are exactly that -- employees. He is paid like any other secretary, janitor, or Minister by the Bahamian people, and when the Bahamian people seek an answer from him, it should be forthcoming.

But as in this case, and with countless others, it appears that Mr Greaves thinks he is above being questioned -- that his "power" gets him a free pass.

I guess it must have been a very rude awakening for him to be questioned by the Committee -- questioned about a Ministry that he has been in charge of for all these years. But instead of embarrassment, there seemed to be an air of indifference.

When the PLP's MP for Cat Island and San Salvador Philip Davis pressed Mr Greaves about his wife's application for Crown land in Abaco, the undersecretary admitted that in hindsight maybe the application should not have been made considering his placement in the Ministry. But he stopped short of offering to return the land.

In fact he outright accused the PLP MP for Cat Island for being wrong in his assessment that his wife's application was dealt with more favourably than others. However, after being pressed by the FNM MP for Kennedy Kenyatta Gibson on the point, Mr Greaves was forced to withdraw his remarks in the most embarrassing of fashions.

And yet this is the same undersecretary who told this reporter and by extension this newspaper, and thus by extension you, the Bahamian people, that he does not care to speak to us.

People in his position, it was implied, should not be expected to speak to those who, it seems, they misguidedly view, as of a lower rank than themselves.

But when last I checked Mr Greaves was still a public official and paid by you and me -- the Bahamian people. One would have thought that there would have been an ounce of embarrassment, but it appears that just with transparency and accountability, embarrassment has also abandoned the Department of Lands and Surveys.

But in all of this we have to ask ourselves the question, what can be done? What can we, the Bahamian people, do with people like this who seem to feel they are above us -- their employers! Should there not be a recourse for us to take them to task, to even ask them simple questions?

Questions like, why is it that the agricultural industry in this country has been allowed to fall to its knees and the senior officials remain in place for 10 to 20 years earning good salaries? What ever happened to cause and effect? What happened to performance?

Performance, it appears, like customer service has taken a hiatus.

But to you the general public I say, do not burden yourselves with concern for these persons. Every year they will received their mandatory pay increases, and yes every year they will receive their hefty Christmas bonuses. And yes, in some instances some of these senior officials will drive home tonight in their government cars and even pull up to the pumps and get their cars filled on the public purse.

In many of these instances these senior officials often make more money than a Cabinet Minister and yet it appears are not called to answer to the public like a Minister is expected. So where is the accountability? Where is the justice? Ordinarily if an employee does not perform up to the level that their employer requires they are asked to see the door. But alas, it appears we do not have that authority.

And through The Tribune's investigations it appears that Mr Greaves has had the full confidence of both Prime Ministers Perry Christie and Hubert Ingraham. This individual, it appears has the best job security in this country, although it is still to be seen whether he has always done his job. How can it be that one person after the next appears before the Committee to complain of writing to him and not getting even a response for five or eight years? What was he doing that was so important? It could not be keeping an account of the people's land, because it appears to be painfully obvious that if that were his job he has failed. However, this is not for me to say, it is a decision left to the Committee.

But it appears that the point to be learned throughout this entire fiasco seems to be that it is the Bahamian people who must be kept in their place, because what right do we really have to question persons like Mr Greaves? What right do we have to ask him how it is that things have got so bad under his watch?

So let us forget about Mr Greaves, because he will remain in his post until he decides that he is ready to retire in comfort and collect his full pension.

But government officials, like elected politicians are public servants -- and that is all they are. They are not here to pick and choose when and who they will speak to. They must learn what their place is in the grander scheme of things and if necessary be reminded of it when they are tempted to take on airs of superiority.

I only hope that we as Bahamians wake up and see what is happening around us. We truly are a blessed nation and deserve better than what we are getting. We deserve more. We deserve better.

What do you think?

pturnquest@tribunemedia.net

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