The Tribune

WHO wants a national televised debate for the next election?

That’s the prospect being suggested by PLP leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis – and it’s one that while often mooted over the years has never come to reality.

Look around the world of course, and you’ll see such debates are a fixture of election campaigns. Indeed, when a leader doesn’t show up, it often counts against them with voters, as they are seen as not wanting to be asked questions about their positions.

There is a sense that they most often benefit the challenger rather than the incumbent – but that’s really only the case with a new face on the scene who might not be familiar to viewers and who might only be discovering their policies for the first time.

That’s not the case here in The Bahamas – with Mr Davis a long-familiar face in the PLP and a former Deputy Prime Minister. Neither he nor Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis are fresh faces – Mr Davis turns 70 this year, and Dr Minnis turns 67.

What debates do serve, however, is that buzzword that was so popular in the last election, but which has been so poorly served since – transparency.

A debate allows policies to be rigorously discussed, not just wrapped in fancy campaign packaging and gloss and delivered without any real exploration of the problems a policy might have.

Too often, campaign commitments get brushed off or a diminished version of the policy is pointed to as meeting a promise, when the promise was for far more than was delivered. Having a leader commit, in front of the public, to meet a promise and be seen to be saying those words on camera can be far more binding than a line in a manifesto.

There are questions of course about how such a debate would be held – who would moderate, which leaders would participate, who would be asking the questions and so on. In the age of COVID-19, there would be a question over whether an audience would be present at the debate or whether it would all take place virtually.

But the most important question is whether it would serve the voters. When election time finally comes around, voters deserve the clearest answers and the opportunity to ask the toughest questions of those who want their support.

Election debates shouldn’t just be a suggestion at this stage – they should be a long established part of the campaign scene.

Isn’t it about time we caught up with how the rest of the world makes would-be leaders answer our questions?

Failing grade

The news that schools are reopening today is welcome for parents – but why on Earth are so many schools still closed?

A number of buildings were not ready for reopening – with construction work being the main reason given. What has the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Works been doing all this time?

With schools closed down for so long, why has necessary construction work not already been carried out? The length of time children have been out of schools has been longer than the summer break when most construction gets done – and if funds were available to build footpaths then why weren’t they available first of all to fix what was necessary in schools?

At this point, everything should have been completed and standing in readiness for when the go-ahead was given for children to return.

We can well understand the cases where work has been needed to accommodate the extra space children need for social distancing – but work such as repairing roofs or walls or air conditioning and plumbing should have been wrapped up a long time ago.

So while we welcome the return to schools where it can be done safely – we also feel sorry for those parents and children who see other students getting back to the classroom while they’re still stuck at home managing as best they can with virtual learning.

It isn’t fair for those students – and frankly they deserve an apology.