The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

Now that the Chinese State Construction Company has “agreed” to proceed with the necessary construction work at Baha Mar and provisional liquidators are in place to ensure the orderly and dispassionate operations at that property, there is the possibility that a second plank would have been laid on the legacy platform which the Prime Minister is seeking to build. His “testament” is being rolled out, finally.

In legal terminology a testament is the last wishes of a testator or the individual who is making the same. It sets out who is to get what; what is to be spent on testamentary and probate matters. In politics, leaders are loathe to call their attempts at legacy and longevity as a “testament” because they know, in their heart of hearts that once one lays out his/her “testament”, the end is at hand. It is no different, in my submission, here at home.

Politics are a means toward an end, but too many of our practitioners of this craft are wont to see it as an end of and by itself. What the PM needs to do should be well known to all. Bahamians, by and large, are not a violent people and we do not agitate for political and economic changes in the manner that some of our fellows in this region would do. Haiti and Jamaica come readily to mind. We tend to wait “until our change comes”. Often, that takes an inordinate amount of time and many die without fulfilling their visions or assignments.

The PM and his constituency officers have long neglected and apparently marginalised Farm Road, just the way the late Sir Lynden O Pindling would have done with Mangrove Cay and the entire island of Andros. Immediately he must appoint a serious administrator to manage his constituency office on a daily basis who is capable of ensuring that real issues impacting the residents, regardless of known or suspected political affiliation, are addressed on a timely and consistent basis.

A massive cleanup should and must be done in all of the major inner city areas of New Providence and, where necessary, the rest of our country. The Bahamas overall is a wonderful nation but there are too many pockets of filth, degradation, abandonment and pure slackness. New Providence attracts the bulk of our visitors but they, as well as many residents, have little entertainment and cultural options during their stay or while we have down time.

Successive governments have not been gung-ho on local Bahamian entertainers and the useless union which allegedly “governs” that industry may as well disband. One does not hear a thing about that purported union or a single one of its executives. Some of us want to blame the government for every single thing that needs to be addressed or fixed in the nation, including entertainment and culture.

In the US or the UK, the central government is not regarded as the driving force in promoting entertainment and culture. That is the work of the private sector and people with natural or acquired talents in the arts, craft and culture. Entertainment, of course, is a standalone phenomenon which visitors and locals alike look forward to but are unable to find it, much less appreciate the paucity of the same.

The PM has a plate full but he, as Minister of Finance, will have to find the resources and political will to goosie the executives of the Bahamas Entertainers Union to get up off their duffs, band together and conceptualise a plan for a Heritage and Cultural Centre. Such a centre, ideally, could be located along the Gladstone Road corridor in New Providence on a 10-acre site.

This could be tied into a resurgent horse and dog racing facility, also on Gladstone Road. We have basically legalised gaming and games of chances so there would be, I submit, absolutely no moral objections worthy of concern. Thousands of new and dynamic jobs and opportunities for self employment would be created and offered. I have a plan and if the PM is not too big to study it, he would do so at his own peril.

Christie must now start, actively and energetically, to write his “testament”. If he hesitates much longer, it would not be about a testament but rather about the fabled brimstone. The societal decay, across the whole spectrum, is debilitating and causing great dislocation in our traditional lifestyles. We used to be concerned about each other long ago. We are no longer so and have become a nation, almost, of brutes and wild-eyed people. Our leaders, by and large, have also changed for the worse in most cases.

The late American author and playwright, James Baldwin, wrote: ‘God gave Noah the rainbow sign ... No more water ... the fire next time.” The PM is riding, by his own choice, a wild horse which has never been bridled. In so making a decision to stay on as Leader of the PLP, for now, the PM must deliver the goods within the next six to eight months. If he fails or dithers, the circling sharks and piranhas would not treat him too kindly, politically.

Apart from the above, the office of prime minister in this country seems to have evolved into an imperial office. Christie plays this out to the hilt. No one, least of all me, hates him but he has to climb down from his perceived high horse before he falls off. He will also have to be more inclusive and not just elevate or publicly be seen to be favouring his loyal sycophants and perennial bootlickers.

A whole dray load of individuals worked hard in 2012 for the PLP to be elected. We who did so fully expected a few slices of whole wheat bread with a generous slab of butter. We have been short changed in many cases and we will hold Christie’s feet to the fire.

In return for endorsing the PM for a one-year extension as Leader of the PLP, we expect that there will be no challenge to the position of Deputy Leader, at the convention. This must be clearly understood and appreciated by those who need to know. You have asked in a very back handed sort of way and without respecting your colleagues, allegedly, to inform them of your change of heart to go forward, for now, as party leader.

We are prepared to work with you, PM, but we play our cards straight up and do not practice or encourage the dubious art called sleight of hand. Our basic goals are easily attainable if we use all hands on deck and if the captain speaks more often and with greater clarity. The PM would be well advised that James Baldwin’s quote could be applied to him.

ORTLAND H BODIE JR

Nassau,

September 27, 2015.