The Tribune

By MALCOLM J STRACHAN

Our attention was piqued by the National Development Plan, or better yet, the travesty that took place at the College of the Bahamas (COB) Library last week.

I sat back in utter disgust watching as public funds were expensed to tell us what we already know. All the usual issues were laid out in grand form at an event that should never have been. For three hours we were inundated with the problems of our country, without one solution being offered. Not one.

What was worse, was that the organisers actually advertised the event as a “State of the Nation Report”.

During Prime Minister Perry Christie’s portion of the night, many questions were posed, with little solutions offered. The government has been working along with students at COB and outside consultants to frame Vision 2040. Let us describe briefly where the Bahamas is today.

The Bahamas is in dire need of a stimulus, as crime is at an all-time high, increasing national debt and unemployment rates at 16.2 per cent. Add to this a shaky tourism product, with Baha Mar now a year shuttered, and you see why a real national plan is necessary. The national Grade Point Average (GPA) is listed at an underwhelming D-. The environment is not being protected, as well as the communities around the landfill who inhale harmful substances on an almost weekly basis.

It was reported recently that 21 per cent of households in the nation cannot afford the lowest price homes offered by the Department of Housing. This occurs at a time when incomes are squeezed as the populace is taxed with little transparency or benefits, while government officials are mired in scandal and corruption. Even with COB’s low tuition fees, many students can barely afford to pay for a tertiary education in this country.

Which brings us back to the National Development Plan.

Although a National Development Plan is a necessary tool as our country moves forward, the Bahamian public may be sceptical about promises from this current regime. As the Prime Minister addressed the nation on April 11, he discussed the need to handle crime and the shortfalls in public service, but no real ideas or methods on ways to remediate the nation’s ills were offered. Without an ounce of irony, the nation’s leader, who has been in office for over 40 years, laid out the litany of endemic problems we now face.

We wonder if The Bahamas had made different choices along the way, voted for individuals instead of parties, and demanded more of their politicians, would we be in this nightmare we now find ourselves?

Many young Bahamians have little confidence in the current government, which leads to the brain-drain and a disconnect between the human capital that we currently have and what is needed to shift the direction of the country. The government has to move from the position of ‘sweet-talking’ or ‘swinging’ voters and provide real and attainable solutions to the very real problems that are plaguing our nation.

Prime Minister Christie suggested that the National Development Plan will be historic in nature, and will provide a comprehensive overview of the economy. He said it will set policy direction for economic growth, and identify strategies, programmes and projects to improve the overall health and sustainability of the Bahamian economy. Well, good luck with that.

According to Moody’s latest report on the Bahamian economy, the country’s debt has risen 150 per cent over the past decade to nearly 50 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Additionally, the report also spoke of the nation’s limited growth prospects, making an eventual turnaround of the country’s finances an uphill battle. One can reasonably have doubts about the government’s plan for a new Bahamas, as Bahamians feel they have heard so many of the same empty promises time and time again. Governments of ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Believe in Bahamians’ have come to power and forgotten the people who placed them there. They have taken us for granted for far too long.

It is widely felt that there is an immense lack of transparency that pervades throughout the body politic of this country. The Bahamian government continues to give high-level insight to the electorate about the National Development Plan, at a time when the need for inclusivity to galvanise a nation has never been more apparent. Perhaps we as a voting public have been too passive, too forgiving and too forgetful. In the main, Bahamians are suffering from a lack of opportunity in a country that is absent of visionary leadership. Any government that is going to bridge the gap between the present Bahamas to the future of this country, must be inclusive, transparent and innovative to not only develop and maintain the trust, but also the overall viability of this nation.

We hope that when the Government moves into its second stage of the National Development Plan, they put their best foot forward and learn from their mistakes at COB. But with Government we know one thing; since it’s not their money they have no problem in wasting it. And now it seems they have no difficulty in wasting our time as well.

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