The Tribune

THE compromise offered by the government during the ongoing legal case over citizenship may not be the end of the story, but it’s a welcome stepping stone along the way.

The case is being appealed to the Privy Council, but that could take some time. In the Senate last month, the Attorney General said that the matter was being handled with “urgency”, but that there was no possibility of a change in Bahamian law until at least September when the House of Assembly meets again – and “there is no likelihood that there will be any change at all without a definitive ruling from the Privy Council”.

So where does that leave those affected by the legal wrangle? The people we are talking about are those who have a Bahamian father and a foreign mother and who were born out of wedlock. Attorney Wayne Munroe estimates that’s a total of “tens of thousands” of people, going all the way back to 1973.

In the absence of any other court challenge, those people are left somewhat in limbo, with the government intending to keep things the same until the Privy Council decides.

So yesterday the government offered not to detain or deport anyone who claims to be entitled to citizenship in this specific situation. That’s fair – perhaps even the least the government could do. Many of these people will have been born here and raised here and while the question of their citizenship is being resolved, it would be unfair indeed to lock them up or kick them out of the country.

Better still is the offer to receive and process applications from people seeking citizenship. The Privy Council may take some time, but the Department of Immigration is also not known for its swiftness, so starting the application process now makes sense. Such applications may not be finalised until the ruling, but given how long paperwork seems to take at that department, there’s a good chance we’ll hear from the Privy Council first.

Trust is an issue of course – as people may be wanting to start their applications but being wary if the ruling goes the other way. However, those people would be in the same position legally whether they started their application or not.

At the root of this, of course, there remain issues of inequality. Mr Munroe may refer to the government’s proposal as “messy” but the real mess remains the disparity in how your citizenship is passed along depending on whether you’re a man or a woman. That famously led to a failed referendum, and so the tangle remains.

We hope the Privy Council is able to rule swiftly – but until it does, it makes no sense to persecute those caught in this situation.

So we welcome the government’s offer with one caveat – put some extra resources into processing these applications, so when the ruling does come along, people don’t have to wait years longer to be able to say “I am a Bahamian citizen”.

Election talk

Is an early election going to be announced?

That’s the rumour as the FNM completes its slate of candidates.

One FNM candidate told The Tribune they would be surprised if the election is not called “within the next month or two”.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, of course, has been on election footing for a while now – visiting islands for a string of openings, and talking up his party while advertising has been in steady rotation on social media and television.

Back in February, he said if it was up to him alone, he would call an early election but it wasn’t up to him alone. So, has his team decided the time is right?

Perhaps he is hoping to ride the surge of optimism that has gone with the surge in tourism as visitors return to our shores – but he should be cautious if so. As we reported yesterday, one hotel union chief said only 40 percent of his members were back to work so far. That surge might look good from the top, but it’s a different matter on the ground if you’re not part of it.

You can look too at the Straw Market not yet returned, or the ongoing food support for those in need.

It might be a gamble indeed to ask people for their vote when they still don’t have a pay cheque.

If Dr Minnis truly believes he is steering the country on the right course to recovery, shouldn’t he then see that recovery out? Shouldn’t he take it to the full term so we don’t just see the start of the recovery but how his plans play out?

And with COVID still here – and another two deaths reported today – is now the time to look at an election season with rallies and party gatherings, or would it be better to reach that herd immunity Health Minister Renward Wells suggested would have been here by the start of the summer?

Dr Minnis, of course, has his own views, and might be tempted by promising poll numbers to act now rather than later. How soon? We shall see.