A dictatorial democracy

A dictatorial democracy

The recent passing of Bahamian great Paul L. Adderley has shed light on the state of the judiciary and on the need to change the constitution of the Bahamas. Our country is set up to malfunction and we need to make constitutional reforms as soon as possible.

The office of the prime minister is at the focal point of my belief where a lot of the country’s problems starts and ends. We have set up shop to allow one person to literally run and control the affairs of the country.

The prime minister is empowered by the constitution to appoint the commissioner of police, the commander of the defence force, the comptroller of customs, the director of immigration, the superintendant of the prisons, the chief justice and the attorney general. I am not sure if the average Bahamian realizes the implications of these appointments and the effects that these appointments can have with the running of the country.

The prime minister through his authority can cause the termination of any of these appointees. This is certainly not reflective of a true democracy. I remember an incident last year with the director of immigration making claims about the illegal immigration problem in the country and his intentions to intensify his department’s efforts to curtail this issue. His decision caused quite a stir and he has mysteriously been out of the public view since.

My point is that the potential for the abuse of power by the prime minister does exist and the constitution backs him or her 100 percent. The prime minister having the authority to directly flex his muscles in my view in these type situations chokes the democratic process.  The recent sale of BTC is a classic example where the prime minister flexed his muscles. In fact the BTC sale may have caused the Free National Movement (FNM) the government because a whole new political party was formed because of the government’s decision. The former prime minister said on television that if the government members did not vote for BTC, then this would have been cause for a general election.

I am almost certain that more government members were not in support of the sale of BTC, but the prime minister said what he had to say and all except one member fell in line.

We need a country where ideas can flow freely and put checks and balances in place to strengthen the country’s decision making process. Every five years we have allowed one man to dictate where we are going as a country as opposed to a cadre of people. We need more people actively engaged in the democratic process.

The recent road works project is another classic case of prime ministerial abuse. A decision was made to allow the Bahamas to bear the brunt of additional costs to the project. The public accounts committee report showed where the government of the day excluded Jose Cartellone Construccionnes Civiles from any additional costs for the road project, when they were clearly responsible for some of the project’s delay and cost overruns.

Some might say that the cabinet meets regularly and that these discussions and decisions are made by committee but do we seriously think that cabinet ministers given what they know the powers of the prime minister to be will jeopardize their career and go out on a limb? Our history has shown this to not be the case and even when it does happen, we all know that it will be political suicide for the member who speaks out against the prime minister’s policy.

The prime minister gets done what he wants done in the country. He is the minister of finance and signs off on government spending. He dictates all policy and basically determines what is urgent or not. Look at the public transportation system in the country. Obviously this has not been an urgent matter as successive prime ministers have not sought to correct this problem even though studies have been done in an apparent effort to implement an effective and safe public bussing system.

The dictatorial powers in the office of the prime minister do not bode well for the country and history shows that any individual with absolute power develops tunnel vision. Our dictatorial democracy is not violent but very subtle. Bahamians far and wide know the far reaching effects of the prime minister and many of them have decided to play it safe as opposed to becoming truly involved in the democratic process.

The government of the day now has the opportunity to make critical constitutional amendments. But will it happen? Will the prime minister set term limits for the office of the prime minister? Will he set a fixed election date? Will he cause the policies of the boundaries commission to be changed? It is mind boggling to be living in Fox Hill in one election, living in Montagu in the next election and then in St. Anne’s in the next election even though you have not moved? This must be insanity.

Mr. prime minister, let’s start the process of getting rid of this dictatorial democracy that has always existed in our country. This is your second time in office and this is the second time that you have had a commanding majority in the house of assembly. The onus is on you sir to lead the country where it needs to go.

Dehavilland Moss

In support of police carrying guns in school

There have been almost 850 murders recorded in the Bahamas over the last 10 years. There have been thousands or armed robberies and thousands of assault cases committed where victims received life threatening bodily harm.

Businessmen have been shot and killed, policemen have been shot and killed, teachers have been shot and killed and even members of the church have died on our streets. Students have been shot and killed.

I spoke with several of my teenage cousins and my god child last year and they told me that fights in their school are an almost daily occurrence. They literally fear for their safety.

Our children are growing up in a violent period in our country and don’t think for one minute that they are oblivious to the high rate of violence in the country. Just like the adult population, they have become hardened and are now accepting violence as normal behavior. In desperate times, we have to take desperate measures.

Some students in our country are completely out of order. They will rob and steal from other students, threaten and maim them. Most students know that teachers and security guards are unarmed and that are not trained to handle violent disputes.

I believe that the police carrying guns in some schools will offer better protection to our students, teachers, general workers and the security guards. Even the students who misbehave might find out that the police presence can be the difference between life and death. Let us not forget the harassment that teachers faced from parents over the years. I contend that armed police officers at school will deter improper action by some parents and guardian, students and teachers.

As a father of two children still in school, I certainly would like them to receive adequate physical protection. Wouldn’t you want your children to be safe in school? This is not the 1980’s when disputes among students were normally settled with a fist fight. The next day all was ok and the best man won; not in today’s world though. Our students today are more violent and this is a direct spill over from what they see in their homes and in their communities. Some of them will gang and beat up another student. Some of them even possess the intent to kill.

Security guards are ill equipped and under trained to deal with violence in most of our schools. This fact has been known for years now and it is unfair to continue ask security guards and teachers to take on this role when they are clearly not trained to handle these types of situations.

The police on the other hand are equipped to handle pressure situations and they will do a much better job than security guards. Their presence alone is a display of authority and sadly we all know that some of our children will only behave when the police are present.

The parental crisis in our country has forced this issue and we cannot wait for parents to improve their dismal parenting skills. This is not a long term fix but it is the right action given what the country is now faced with. I applaud the Minister of Education and the government for having the courage to implement this policy decision.

 

Alcohol destroying the Bahamas

Alcohol destroying the Bahamas

Bootlegging was the smuggling and selling of alcohol at exorbitant prices. Back in the 1920’s the selling of alcohol was illegal and hence this opened the door for an industry where gangsters and mafia characters thrived. In 1923, the sale of alcohol in the United States became legal and hence the behavioral shift of generations since. The United States and indeed the world haven’t been the same since.

I stopped by a very popular over the hill retail liquor store several weekends ago and was overcome with emotion because of what I saw. There were about 20 people packed in this retail liquor store and most of the customers were irate because they did not want to wait to get served; they couldn’t wait to get their order of rum, beer or liquor.

I was served in about 10 minutes and went to leave the area when I saw a group of about 15 men and women engaged in a loud discussion and dressed in t-shirts of a young man who recently passed away. You guessed it; everyone had a either a cup or a bottle in their hand and there was no order; just laughing, cussing and loud speaking.

Then it hit me. Alcohol is destroying the Bahamian society.  Everywhere you turn, you can see persons “horsebacking” liquor or at the liquor store buying liquor to drink. I remember campaigning in the last general elections meeting young men on a daily basis. Sadly, a lot of them were only focused on getting alcohol to drink. In one instance I told two unemployed men in their early 40’s about a job fair commencing the next day. I told them to get a haircut and shave and come dressed in business attire to the job fair. One of the men then asked me if I had something in the van to drink. There was no concern about the time of the job fair or the place where it was being held. This information was not a priority.

The other gentlemen asked me if there was going to be drinks after the job fair. I told him no. Neither of these men appeared at the job fair the following day.

7:00 a.m. each morning finds many able bodied Bahamian men with their “tongues tied”. By 9:00 a.m. many of them are fast asleep or so incapacitated that they become a nuisance to themselves and to other persons around them. Aristocrat aka “Mother Pratt”, Bacardi and Natasha seems to be the preferred choice of drink for some Bahamians today. Gordon’s Gin and Absolut Vodka are also very popular brands.

The contributions that these men could be making to society had they not become alcoholics is immeasurable. But who is at fault? We all know that there is a bar on every street corner in New Providence. I am not even counting the illegal "30 days" liquor outlets. In fact, you can get a half pint quicker than you can get a loaf of bread or a band aid. Now isn’t something wrong with this picture?

Now I know that many companies profit from the sale of alcohol in the Bahamas. I myself operated a liquor store at one point. I am not casting blame on these businesses but I am just stating the reality of the situation. Alcohol is destroying our country and many of our young men are becoming alcoholics before they even get a fighting chance at life.

Dangerous and reckless driving, bar room fights, domestic violence, depression and heart and liver disease are some of the negative effects of alcohol consumption. And don’t forget alcohol addiction. This is the biggest blow to the individual because he or she now becomes a dysfunctional human being.

It is fashionable for a lot of our young men especially teenagers to drink beer when they are illegally allowed to enter nightclubs and when they attend social events. Even our young women tend to enjoy liqueurs mixed with a choice of juice or soda. They start with just a drink and after some time this progresses to an uncontrollable urge to just drink liquor.

Let us dare not talk about the liquor that is consumed during the election period?

I don’t have the answer to reducing alcoholic consumption in the Bahamas, but we can start by eliminating the ease in which anyone can buy alcohol? Can we start to enforce the age limit where citizens can buy alcohol and can we stiffen the penalties for liquor retailers who sell alcohol to persons who they know have already had their “load”?  Can we also reduce the amount of liquor licenses that presently exist in the Bahamas, especially in New Providence?  Can we direct persons caught drunk in the public to attend Alcoholics Anonymous sessions? I know we will probably need several locations to handle the amount of participants but we have to start somewhere.

What about outlawing drinking and driving? Shouldn’t we vigorously enforce this law? Can’t we revisit our laws to make it illegal to be found with an open liquor bottle in your vehicle while driving? This certainly will put the pressure on our citizens to remain sober.

I am of the view that having more liquor stores than there are schools and play grounds send the wrong message to our citizenry.  The revenue garnered from renewing a senseless and inordinate amount of liquor licenses certainly can’t be in the best interest of the country. We need to regulate this industry with a fine comb and ensure that we make it more difficult for our youth to just stop by a window and order liquor. Alcohol although legal is a harmful drug and it is destroying our little country but we must act now and do something about it. Or have we become delusional from the profits from the sale of alcohol?

Dehavilland Moss