The Tribune

BRITAIN’S most famous son of the 20th century, Winston Churchill, once said: “When men have the habit of liberty, the Press will continue to be the vigilant guardian of the rights of the ordinary citizen”. Mindful of the wisdom of those words, The Tribune has always sought to try to curb the excesses of politicians in The Bahamas by placing their actions under intense public scrutiny. Indeed, we regard that as an important function of the Fourth Estate.

Since the PLP under the late Lynden Pindling was in power for some 25 years – from the time of majority rule in 1967 until Hubert Ingraham and the FNM broke the mould in the 1992 general election – we have been mistakenly seen as being fundamentally anti-PLP. But our consistent stand over the years against successive PLP governments was because of their attitudes, actions and performance rather than any in-built bias on our part.

Following the failure, in so many respects, of the discredited and scandal-ridden PLP government from 2002-2007, The Tribune fervently hoped that prime minister Christie’s second term would see a change from old attitudes and policies and herald a new era for his party to the benefit of the whole country. When the PLP returned to power at the general election in 2012, it was also an opportunity for him to build a positive legacy as he wound down his long political career.

Sadly, the colours of the so-called new PLP have not changed. After one year in office, the list of failures and scandals is growing – a weakening economy and no coherent plan to deal with debt so that the country has been downgraded by ratings agencies; escalating crime and no concerted action to counter it; a flawed and inefficient judicial system; inadequate public education; the gambling referendum shambles; the NIB scandal; poor handling of the Clifton Bay dispute; the BTC ownership fiasco; the absurd claim that government would create 10,000 new jobs; victimization of FNM supporters and the shortcomings of Urban Renewal; the damaging public debate about immigration; and the list goes on.

With our many daily contacts and calls from the public, we believe that The Tribune has its ear to the ground. It is not being alarmist to say that there is a widespread feeling that this country is in disarray and has become . It appears to have reached a tipping-point where strong and coordinated action by a hitherto supine government is essential in many policy areas - with control of crime being the first and urgent priority, not least in light of the tragic killing last week of an American tourist.

A national revival is needed across the board with particular emphasis also on education and family life, on social discipline and respect for authority and the law – and on a return to decent standards of behaviour in society as a whole.

The nation’s 40th anniversary of independence, which will be celebrated in July, could be viewed as a watershed in our development. Can the politicians put aside their differences and petty rivalries and acknowledge that the country has reached such a low point that cooperation and joint action is needed for the national good?

The Tribune wants to be in the vanguard of a crusade to mend this country’s ills and to bring pressure on the political class to take action. In the lead-up to the independence celebrations, we invite our readers to express their views about the way forward for The Bahamas – in a nutshell, how this country should be run and managed in the coming years.

We anticipate production of an action plan for the government which will be based on a summary of readers’ views.

Meanwhile, we shall publish as many letters as we can in an expanded “letters to the editor” section. We look forward to hearing from a wide cross section of our readership.