The Tribune

A Young Man's View on Independence

By ADRIAN GIBSON

WHILST WE have accomplished much since our Independence in 1973, we continue to be a country that celebrates “flag independence”, more so than what it means to be truly economically and socially diverse and self-determining.

Much is left to be accomplished. Observably, with few exceptions, in the years since Independence, we have seemingly rested on our laurels and become contented with the status quo. We are 43 years old but we continue to exhibit the dependencies of a child-like nation stuck in the earlier stages of national infancy.

There is an ongoing need for our country to redevelop and re-engineer itself. We keep looking backwards, basking in the realisation of achievements such as the National Insurance Board and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) but not furthering our advancement with new and innovative national undertakings. Frankly, we have even allowed institutions such as the RBDF to run down, for example the force has no centralised presence throughout the archipelago, no helicopters and even with the $250m ships that were recently purchased, the RBDF has seemingly not been able to adequately protect our marine resources.

Yes, we have attained universal education. But, now we must improve upon it. As it stands, our educational system is embarrassingly inadequate and in urgent need of reform. The current curriculum must be shredded and a more Bahamian centric curriculum - that accounts for the multiple intelligences and various learning styles - must be implemented. I know first-hand that our system is not student centred. I taught public school for years.

We need to launch a programme where the boys are separated from the girls. We can have two schools in this experiment. One for girls and one for boys or do so at a single school. We need to embrace the concept of a pilot school programme that caters to students from public schools that are the brightest academic stars. By grade nine, teachers can usually identify the students who are more academically inclined as opposed to those who are more technically and vocationally inclined. The BGCSE should also be scrapped.

Bahamians pay a ridiculous amount of money for electricity. Electricity is pegged at 45 cents per kilowatt hour when, comparably, it is about 10 cents per kilowatt in the United States. What’s more, 43 years after Independence, we find ourselves using obsolete technology and unable to keep the light on, falling victim to countless blackout during these summer months.

Worse still, we power our society using Bunker C (number 6 diesel). Bunker C has been discredited. Bunker C is the residue after the distillation of commercially valuable fuel. That is what we burn. The only place that it is burnt is in the Third World. The rest of the world uses a better grade of oil (number 1, 2 and 3 are distillates or even numbers 4 and 5), natural gases and renewable energy forms.

The infrastructure of a modern Bahamas is based on an outdated thinking and a lack of vision. Whereas the Bahamas once had a level of audacity that captivated the world! For a while, we lived up to the hype: now we are nothing more than a shadow. Where is the ‘audacity of hope’ we once had?

The idea of making the Bahamas the hub for Central and South America is real. Places such as Atlanta have made themselves into international hubs. Las Vegas grew out of the desert. Singapore is a result of visionary leadership. Singapore had someone who imagined a people with vast potential: Lee Kuan Yew spoke about it and set about doing it.

Moving forward, we need to invest in our human capital. We need to harness our creativity. We have been creating a class of labourers for 43 years. We need to start creating and nurturing an economy/society of entrepreneurs.

Why are we not embracing diversification of our economy? In promoting economic diversification and moving towards first-world developmental status, the government and all economic stakeholders throughout the archipelago should set aside industrial development zones that cater to blossoming economic ventures such as fisheries processing and marine farms, light manufacturing information technology (IT), eco-estate projects, research and development, and so on. Family Island development must become a priority.

The alternative is that we continue on this miserable path and we crash and burn. We are able to accomplish amazing things in sports, academics, technology, science, the arts and so on.

We must embrace real energy reform and enact an Environmental Protection Act.

Why have we not become a wireless country as yet, with a preponderance of wireless hot spots, devices and services throughout the archipelago?

Why are we so slow to expand upon our communications structure?

Why do we not have a 24-hour airport?

Grand Bahama is dead. Why is it not the industrial capital of the Americas?

Why are we still struggling to patch potholes here and there?

Will we ever see a devolution of power from the Office of the Prime Minister? Term limits on a Prime Minister?

Forty-three years on, our debt-to-GDP ratio stands at a whopping 76.3 per cent! We cannot tax ourselves out of it. We must start to reduce taxes on the private sector to allow flexibility to hire more people and employ new technologies. The government has instead been strangling the private sector and allowing an inefficient public sector to become even more bloated and inefficient. The Bahamas currently finds itself in an extremely challenged fiscal position.

Yearly, we stand by and observe the wastage of millions in budgetary allocations to theft, corruption, government slush funds and pork barrel spending.

By name, we are an independent sovereign country. By our government’s actions, we have become shackled to a level of international imperialism. Our country is shackled to the whim and fancy of a number of industrial countries. The latest umbilical cord is to China. We have determined that our success or failure as a nation is obligatorily related to foreign direct investment, not by the sweat, investment and determination of Bahamians.

We don’t fish as much as we should. We look to be fed. We don’t make bread as we should. We wait for it to be given. That mentality has crippled us. We spend more time hunting for someone else to feed us than learning how to hunt.

Consecutive governments have sold country for a pittance.

When will we sell the Bank of the Bahamas (BOB) and Bahamasair - two failing government entities?

Real local government is desperately needed. We need city government here in New Providence.

In 43 years, we see no banking reform. No energy reform. No land reform. No fiscal reform. No integrity commission. No balanced budget. This is shameful. Frankly, given our current realities, we might be worse off than we were in 1973.

As we celebrate our country’s 43rd year of Independence, our leaders must move away from politically childish propaganda and present real platforms. We need a political revolution. We need political innovation and improved governance. Bahamians are undoubtedly tired of tribalism and short-term politics and of electing scared, visionless leaders without imagination. We need to elect people with a knack to serve, who are bold and creative.

Our healthcare system is built and designed for the needs of a few generations ago. It is like expecting a Ford Model-T to run like a Ferrari. We can tape and potty all we want, but nothing changes unless and until we re-design and re-think the delivery of healthcare.

Happy Independence Bahamas!

• Adrian Gibson writes A Young Man’s View column in The Tribune every Thursday. Comments and responses to ajbahama@hotmail.com