The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Today, in The Bahamas, as one commentator wrote on Facebook, “not only have our leaders lost track of the mission”, but, perhaps, out of greed and an insatiable thirst for power”, they have also assimilated a public posture that, in many instances, is worse than the oppressive white oligarchy that once ruled over African-Bahamians in decades past.

In short, since Independence, successive governments have failed miserably, possibly becoming exasperated by the arduous task to achieve economic emancipation for the majority of Bahamians. In fact, it now seems that our leaders have abandoned this evasive, but, important goal for our people to achieve self-actualisation as a nation.

Instead, some have literally adopted an “all for we, baby” attitude, and, have simply perpetuated a system of “structural racism” that has prevailed over these islands after centuries of colonial rule, and, unfortunately, continues to grapple our nation to this day.

In America, the election of its first Black President in 2012 did not usher in a post-racist society or signalled an end to structural racism in their society. Here in The Bahamas, there is no difference; under majority rule and forty-years of Independence, we have yet to eliminate decades of structural racism and economic oppression that has practically kept the majority of Bahamians in a state of economic enslavement. For instance, if we were to take the City of Nassau and transpose it into the midst of any major city in the US basically, it would fit right in, with all its social ills.

In the urban centres of New Providence, where pockets of our highest population are concentrated, there is massive inequality and poverty.

So, it stands to reason that these areas have the highest rate of unemployment, particularly among male youth, a peak level of black-on-black crime, inferior public education, substandard housing, and a rapidly deteriorating infrastructure.

For example, Fox Hill Prison, despite well-meaning efforts to improve this obsolete facility, for the most part, it continues to be operated more like a colonial penal institution rather than a modern-day prison rehabilitation centre. Like most facilities in the US, it has an extremely high recidivism rate and is grossly overcrowded. In fact, this antiquated structure is a breeding ground for serious health problems, such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Ironically, the successful reintegration of offenders into society is a vital feature of the modern UK criminal justice system; while, the emphasis in The Bahamas, a former protectorate, seems to be on punishment rather than rehabilitation and reform. A holistic approach to prison reform, comprising of the introduction of effective vocational, educational, psychological programmes, inclusive of treatment for substance abusers, along with appropriate resettlement assistance upon the release of prisoners, can drastically reduce the rate of re-offending, and the astronomical cost of re-sentencing and re-incarcerating.

Unfortunately, on the other hand, our Police Force, is not perceived as a “community police service” from the perspective of many who they are supposed to “protect and serve”. Despite the best efforts by the Urban Renewal Programme in New Providence to advance community policing, it is a mere superficial venture that is underfunded and lacks the resources to an effective tool in reducing crime. In general, our Police are poorly trained and equipped, and, for the most part, they appear to employ the same strong-armed tactics, and, similar racial profiling as the Police in St Louis County, Ferguson, Missouri, USA, where the recent killing of an unarmed black youth by a white cop has sparked massive protests, which was initially met with an uneven, heavy-handed police response. Ironically, the police department in Ferguson is overwhelmingly white and the city’s population is about three-quarters Black.

The militarised police reaction to peaceful protesters has shocked many citizens across American, and resulted in renewed calls for a paradigm shift in how policing is done in that nation; particularly, their approach to the black community. In my strongest opinion, I believe that here in The Bahamas we must also carefully reconsider the way forward for modern policing in our society...

Another example is the Princess Margaret Hospital. In spite of the horrific conditions at these facilities and gallant efforts by some employees to consistently provide patients with courteous and professional services, in general, this public institution is a pathetic model of substandard healthcare. Its emergency room, critical care and general hospital provide inferior services to the majority of Bahamians, who cannot afford the cost of private healthcare. Many who have encountered negative experiences at these facilities often murmur, “It seems as if you simply go to PHM to die”. Overall, their general and nursing staffs seem to be uncaring, and, over the years, have developed an adversarial or blatantly “rude” attitude towards patients and their families.

Added to this is a potential problem created by the unwise deployment of armed Defence Force Marines, in full military fatigues, to replace the civilian police personnel who normally patrol these facilities. The presence of military- trained combatants patrolling the corridors of PMH looks similar to a municipal hospital in a war-torn city in the Middle East.

And, worse, despite the government’s best efforts to build a modern-day critical care facility, this project, which started under the last administration, appears to be plagued with unreasonable delays and rumours of misappropriation of funds.

Furthermore, one would think that the primary concern of the Hospital Authority is “patient care”; however, a young doctor revealed to me that at least one third of this facility has been converted into office space. This is unconscionable given the fact that PMH regularly has a shortage of beds for inpatient care. Those in-charge must be held accountable for these egregious acts. Moreover, the government needs to partner with a reputable training institute to retrain PMH’s professional health care staff, eradicate its callous culture, and improve the delivery of patient care to first world standards. This must not be a quick-fix approach, but, a long-term solution coupled with a system of rewards and consequences to ensure staff compliance.

I can go on and on, but, for now, l return to my point about ECONOMIC emancipation. How many Bahamians are aware of the fact that 85 per cent of the tourism dollar goes out of the country? This is particularly appalling given the fact that Tourism is our number one industry, and employs almost 60 per cent of the workforce.

A guest lecturer once said at a seminar at COB, “Tourism, for The Bahamas, and, most of the Caribbean, has been like a double-edged sword, basically, providing employment and a stable economy.” The lecturer went on to state, “However, it’s as if we have been transplanted from the plantation to the Mega Resorts…” Obviously, our touristic economy has not provided economic emancipation for most Bahamians.

Nevertheless, in a recent report, the World Bank has named The Bahamas the wealthiest nation in our region – perhaps among the richest in the Americas. Yet, income disparity between the wealthiest and poorest of our nation is at its worse in modern times, and the gap continues to widen. Also, a renowned Bahamian economist stated that less than one per cent of our population owns 99 per cent of the wealth. With these facts, one would question the government’s apparent impotence in imposing taxes on the very rich, or those who could afford to pay more?

In fact, logically, one can surmise that a more creative taxation system, which entails a raise in taxes on the wealthy commiserate with rates in more progressive democracies, coupled with an improvement in tax collection practices, should result in a substantial increase in government revenue.

With this increase, the government should be able to reduce the deficit, and, have sufficient funding for an economic stimulus to jump-start our stagnant economy with a view to reducing the jobless rate. Moreover, this growth in revenue should provide monies for projects to improve physical infrastructure, provide quality public education, including free preschool and tertiary level education, universal health care, and an effective social service programmes to assist both the unemployed and underemployed, and provide training for those lacking employable skills. In closing, with our nation’s wealth, in accordance to the World Bank, and our relatively small population, the government should provide programmes to afford better opportunities for a greater number of Bahamians.

Studies conducted by UN Agencies in developing countries have shown that those nations that invested heavily in education are well on their way to achieving first world status and creating a more equitable society… Simply put, when the government invests in its PEOPLE, the returns are a brighter future for the nation.

Z SHERMAN

Nassau,

September 5, 2014.