The Tribune

ACCORDING to reports filtering into The Tribune’s newsroom, several persons appointed to head government boards and committees by the PLP administration seem unaware of this country’s stressed financial situation.

Although the Bahamas is a part of the world, albeit a miniscule and not very important part in the overall scheme of things, the PLP while in opposition and naturally their followers, refused to believe that the Bahamas’ economic downturn was in anyway affected by the world’s economic collapse. Of course, everything went sour, according to them, because of the ineptitude of the Ingraham government. Now that they are the government, they seem to be at sixes and sevens as to how to get the economy back on track — even Prime Minister Christie is being forced to accept that the world’s bleak picture might be a great part of the problem.

Mr Christie has given himself 100 days, which is up next week, to get certain national problems under control, among them crime —

•• as we write this article, a message has just flashed across our screen summoning a reporter to a press briefing on “an apparent murder at the corner of East Street and Coconut Grove Avenue”— the time 8:10pm. This is the third murder in three days. ••

Another item on the 100-day list is an attempt to get 10,000 Bahamians back to work. How this is to be achieved as long as businesses are being upset by unpopular labour legislation and Labour Minister Shane Gibson threatens to tighten up on already well regulated work permits, is difficult to understand. In the meantime, Prime Minister Christie is leading a charge to regain two per cent of BTC, despite a contract by the FNM government in which 51 per cent of the shares in the local telecommunications company were sold to Cable & Wireless. The new Bahamas government now wants to undo that contract to become the principal shareholder with C&W, in the minority. It takes investors — both local and foreign to have enough confidence in a government to be willing to invest. Where will these jobs be found if investors, both local and foreign, start pulling back because of a loss of confidence in the Christie government?

The problem is that, although on the campaign trail, the PLP boasted that they had a plan to start running on day one, almost 100 days have passed and we are yet to see a well organised and coordinated plan. Mr Christie is saying one thing, some of his ministers are saying another. Unless they come together under a strong leader, with a coordinated plan, everything will crumble as each destroys the other as they rush around like separate mini-governments selling their own ideas.

Already our international financial rating has been downgraded. This has many serious and far-reaching implications. Worry is being expressed because many believe that this government is not taking seriously the need to reduce its $4.6 million debt by cutting back on spending.

From the reports reaching The Tribune it would seem that some of these newly appointed heads of government boards and committees do not understand that the Bahamas’ national debt is “not sustainable” and must be reduced. This means that the expensive perks to which their egos have deluded them into believing they are entitled are just more foolishly impossible dreams.

We are told that the newly appointed chairman of the already financially crippled Bahamasair arrived with a wish list demanding his own office, a private secretary, i-Pod and a car. “He really expected executive privileges,” one person scoffed.

From another source came the comment – “They also came with a hit-list and political vengeance — certain people were targeted.” Everyone on the hit list was FNM, and instructions after each name was either “fire” or “transfer.”

However, their mission was foiled when a junior member of staff got wind of the plans and circulated it among staff. We were told that this is a tightly knit group, and whether PLP or FNM, they stick together. Loud grumbling started, and rose to such a crescendo, that the hit list had to be abandoned and the great man got nothing to reflect his ego — no car, no secretary, no special office, no i-Pod, nor was anyone fired or transferred. Obviously, the new chairman is not aware that not only is the country in recession, but the airline is bankrupt and should be closed down — certainly even during its worst nightmares it could not afford the new chairman’s demands.

On hearing this story we chatted with Mr J Barry Farrington, chairman of Bahamasair under the FNM government. We asked him what special accommodation he had while he chaired the board.

Mr Farrington said that when there were board or committee meetings he drove his own car to Bahamasair’s offices and used the airline’s board room to conduct his meetings. As for a secretary. Why it never entered Mr Farrington’s head that the financially strapped airline should provide him with a secretary. He took his own secretary — there was no discussion on that matter.

That is the difference between a man who understands what it means to serve his country and one who obviously believes that his country should serve him.

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” urged President John F Kennedy.

The late President was talking of men like Mr Farrington, now a dying breed in the Bahamas, those of a generation who knew what service above self really meant. It will go down on his record that Mr Farrington, not only served his country well, but did not send in an extra bill for his services.

Of course, Bahamasair’s experience is not isolated. There are others, and within a short period of time we shall share more of our information with our readers.