The Tribune

The deafening silence from the Christie administration on several issues of national importance is frustrating to voters. Tribune News Editor Taneka Thompson analyses the situation.

By TANEKA THOMPSON

THE Progressive Liberal Party was ushered into office in May 2012, on the crest of a wave of exciting election promises and voters’ desire to oust an administration that many felt was out of touch with the everyday man.

The PLP and Prime Minister Perry Christie were able to capitalise on this voter apathy with the Free National Movement and settle comfortably back into the seat of power. Now, nearly two and a half years later, many voters are unsettled not only by many of the unfulfilled campaign promises, but by the unanswered questions to pertinent national issues that the government allows to linger.

Voters are right to demand answers and transparency from this government whose modus operandi is to sweep controversy under the proverbial rug.

Crime

On August 25, the Prime Minister announced that he would convene special high-level meetings on crime with Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage and Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade.

His pledge came after days of carnage on the streets of New Providence, which left five men - including his press secretary - dead in less than 36 hours. The Prime Minister, who had just returned from a business trip in Las Vegas, was quick to assuage the public outcry over the deaths with the promise that the crime problem would now return as a priority for his administration.

Weeks later, after the news of the killings have faded from the headlines, we have not heard from the nation’s chief about the promised meetings nor do we know the concrete steps his administration plans to take to tame the crime dragon.

“We are going to have special meetings over this specifically with respect to the economy and crime which are two major issues because unless we are able to cause both of them to improve significantly then the country has a challenge,” Mr Christie said last month.

“There is something else going on with the ease of importation of weapons and we need to get to the bottom of it. I spoke to Hillary Clinton, when she was US Secretary of State, and she obliged the country by sending out people to assist with co-operation between both countries.

“When you find young men finding all these kinds of weapons then we know we are challenged and that means we have to be relentless. From where I sit we have to find a way to do more and to do better.”

He added: “It’s easy to believe that it is retaliatory where you shoot me and I shoot you because we are all in one group. But when it stretches and extends itself to people you least expect to be involved in any kind of underhand activity who may have just been a victim of circumstance then you know we have a lot of work to do - and a lot of work to do in the immediate future. We cannot compromise on the safety and security of our citizens. We cannot have a situation develop where people are fearful to be out.”

The words sounded good. They made one think the Prime Minister was quick to act and ready to formulate new initiatives on crime. However the deafening silence from Mr Christie, his national security minister and the police chief says a lot more than words.

The promise of these meetings came nine months after the PLP held special Cabinet meetings to address crime and outlined to the media more than 20 ways it planned to address the issue. Most of those pledges outlined in December have yet to be put into action.

Meanwhile, many Bahamians are afraid to leave their homes at night and are always casting fretful glances over their shoulder expecting some thug to accost them. While crime is not a political problem, the government campaigned on a platform that the FNM did not have the solution, while the PLP could do better.

So we are waiting Mr Christie, to hear what has come out of these “special meetings” and what plan of action you have for the way forward.

Renward Wells

It has been just over two weeks since Mr Christie promised to deal imminently with the Renward Wells controversy and more than two months since Mr Wells signed a $650 million letter of intent with Stellar Waste to Energy to build a facility at the city landfill. By all accounts Mr Wells, Ministry of Works parliamentary secretary, did so without Cabinet approval.

The matter is a blight on Mr Christie’s legacy and feeds into the common belief that the government has something to hide. After promises that the issue was being probed, and an unconfirmed report in The Nassau Guardian that he had asked the Bamboo Town MP to resign over it, Mr Christie has clammed up.

Perhaps he is hoping voters have suffered from amnesia, when in reality each time Mr Wells opens his mouth in Parliament to address every issue under the sun except the multi-million dollar elephant in the room, people lose a little more faith in this administration.

On August 29, Mr Christie said he had “just received” information on the matter from Deputy Prime Minister and Works Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett and would analyse these reports over the following weekend.

When asked if he would address the matter on the following Monday, Mr Christie said Bahamians will hear from him imminently before emphasising that most of his attention at the moment was focused on bringing forth a new gaming regime in the country. Mr Christie has had ample time to make a decision on the controversy and report to the public.

The country deserves to know the outcome of the Prime Minister’s investigation into the situation and a full account of what led Mr Wells to act as he did. Letting the matter linger only gives the government’s naysayers more fodder to speculate on the reasons why the details of the letter of intent are being held under wraps.

NSA spying claims

It has been four months since the explosive report that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was spying on all mobile phone calls in the Bahamas, with the ability to store these calls for up to 30 days.

After the news broke, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell said the government would aggressively investigate the alleged intrusion and expected a full explanation from the Americans.

In June, Mr Mitchell promised to give a detailed account to the House of Assembly. When pressed about the matter in July, and the lack of adequate disclosure from the government on the issue Mr Mitchell said: “the Bahamas government is doing its own work. Regardless of what’s the issue we are going to address it”.

We have heard nothing concrete since then.

Now the public is left playing a waiting game, wondering if we will ever know the truth over who gave the US permission to pry into our phone calls and how long it has been going on.

The government’s failure to give answers on crime and the numerous scandals that have plagued the Christie administration is a testament to the level of respect it has for voters. The Prime Minister has repeatedly spoken of his legacy since assuming office. While there are some things the government is getting right - unemployment has dropped, government borrowing is down and the economy appears to be on more solid footing since the last recession - smart voters are demanding more accountability.

No longer will we be swayed at the ballot box with the meagre offerings of a Christmas ham and turkey or the promise of a government job.

We want politicians that live up to their promises and answer the tough questions instead of paying lip service with vague promises of disclosure that never amount to anything.

• What do you think? Email comments to tmthompson@tribunemedia.net