The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

My fellow Bahamians, our country stands at the precipice.

Last year was the deadliest in the history of our beautiful island nation, with 148 homicides.

Unemployment, which the Government argues peaked between 2007 and 2012, has reached new heights. 16 per cent of our citizens cannot find work. Worst of all, 30 per cent of young Bahamians are deprived of basic opportunities to fulfil their purpose and potential.

Our national education system is stagnant, at best and ­at worse ­it is regressing. High school dropout rates remain unacceptably high, and the prospect of a career nurtured by a Bahamian education, unspeakably bleak.

Our governance is a mess. Our government’s reputation at an all­ time low. Our citizens’ confidence in our institutions, nonexistent.

How else can we explain the staggering June 7 referendum result? With turnout below 40 per cent, the result was not merely a rejection of the amendments to our constitution, but a repudiation of the Government.

Simply put, when I say that we are standing at the precipice, what I mean is this: we are already in the midst of a deep social crisis. In the middle of a crisis that could cost us our most promising generation and – with them – our future.

A crisis that is depriving us of the dignity of work and the hope of opportunity. A crisis, my friends, that has robbed us of our basis sense of safety, both real and perceived.

Let that sink in, for a moment... We are in a crisis.

Now, take a step back. Take a step back and picture the kind of leader, the kind of government, and the kind of plan that would give you the confidence to see this crisis through – and to build a brighter future for the Bahamas? When we do this, here is what we should collectively be able to envisage.

We should imagine a composed, self­-disciplined, articulate, courageous, tough and decisive leader. One who reflects the generations and the aspirations of the country they are here to serve. A leader who has the determination to overcome, and the energy to act, and the discipline to plan.

We should picture a Government that leads by example, exhibiting the highest ethical standards. That lets its results speak for themselves ­​not ​spinning imaginary results from failed programmes. A government focused on the priorities of the country: crime, job creation and education.

We should envision a plan that is reflective of this focus. A renewal of our national security establishment to force a collaborative approach, the office of the Attorney General, the police service, the defence forces, and the prison system to fearlessly enforce all our laws – big and small.

We should foresee a national employment plan, to accelerate private sector recruitment by supporting a single portal through which to post all information on job vacancies; and geared towards the renewal of our public service through the recruitment of our best and brightest youth.

We should aspire to an education system that embraces a mission to teach academics to our youth, yes. But mostly, that empowers our youth by showing them how valuable each of their lives are and, in doing so, provides learning streams adapted to the skills and interests of all students.

We should hope for democratic institutions ­our public service, our courts, our two houses of parliament and our cabinet ­whose work is supported by world­-class governance systems and policy development processes, as well as by a culture of ethics and radical transparency.

Instead, budget 2016 served as a painful reminder of where we actually are. Let us not imagine. Let us simply open our eyes, turn on a TV or open a newspaper.

We will see a desperate, disorganized, confusing, hesitant, soft, indecisive Prime Minister. One whose best years – for which we do indeed owe him our thanks – are behind him. A Prime Minister without a plan, exhausted by the burdens of his office, who has lost the nerve that once defined him.

We will lament a Cabinet that has lost its way; favouring its friends in the hard wiring of procurement processes for friends, or mismanaging institutions such as the Bank of the Bahamas of contracts. Forced to sell wishful thinking, in place of tangible action and real accomplishments.

We will strain to see any shred of a plan – in this budget – for turning around the Bahamas. Instead, we see Government blindly throw money at the crime problem. An agreement to work on an agreement with China, on BahaMar. A proposal for pennies on the dollar on mortgage relief.

What will it take to demand better of ourselves, of each other and our Government?

We cannot accept the shambolic, intellectually bankrupt, hopelessly ineffective response of this Government to the challenges we face.

We will – if we are not careful – sleep walk our way to the decay and destruction as a country. It is time for leaders who can paint a different picture.

I have seen people outside politics – people like Jeff Lloyd and the volunteers who followed him, people like young entrepreneurs investing in themselves and their country, people like school teachers, fishermen, nurses and doctors, people like police officers who volunteer time to work with young men in their communities – mobilize to address the problems that our Government can no longer fix.

So, what I envision is an opposition first and, eventually, a Government that speaks on behalf of these people. That gives them a voice not only in the communities where they are working, but in the House of Assembly, the people’s house.

For them – and through them for the benefit of all Bahamians – we must, instead of the patchwork initiatives proposed by Government, focus single-­mindedly on the problems that plague us most:

How to enforce existing laws against criminals, and take steps to prevent future crimes?

How to support those who wish to grow our economy and create jobs, whether they do it in partnership with Government or through their own entrepreneurships?

How to work with teachers, students and experts in education to reform a system which supports learning, self­-confidence, self-discipline and self­-actualization for every child?

And finally, how to challenge ourselves, as Parliamentarians of all stripes, to lead more proactively, to deliver better policy, to listen more carefully, to act more transparently, and to obey rules of procedure, disclosure and ethics more diligently than we have.

We must heed the call of our people.

To earn their confidence, we must change. To earn their respect, we must radically transform. To encourage their hope, we must bring forward a plan to turn the country around.

On each of these measures, the Government’s budget fell short of the moment. The rest of us can no longer afford to do so.

There is only one way through this crisis: Forward, Together.

LORETTA BUTLER TURNER

Nassau,

June 15, 2016.