The Tribune

IN POLITICS they call it “pay back time” or “jobs for the boys.” Today it is so blatant under the new government that it is causing much chatter on both sides of the political divide. One side calls it victimisation — the other replies that “to the victor go the spoils.” Today the PLP are the victors. One only has to examine the appointments to the various boards, committees and other posts to recognise them.

“Everyone around the political table got something,” we were told, “except one.” The exclusion of this particular backbencher has caused so much speculation that the new rumour is that he is to be given a special ambassadorial job. Whether this was intended from the beginning, or the reward was hastily found in the almost bare cupboard to heal sore wounds because of the public observation — and, in some quarters, criticism— is uncertain. Anyway by the end of the day, we shall know if there is any merit to this latest rumour.

The PLP — from the days of the late Sir Lynden Pindling — believed that the party was preordained to inherit the Bahamas. After all it was no less a person than former PLP Transport Minister Philip Bethel, who under the Pindling administration, declared from a public platform that “God has given this country to the PLP.” Another cabinet minister of the same era later said that as far as he was concerned, he was only “looking out for PLPs” – in other words those Bahamians who had lacked the wisdom to jump on the PLP bandwagon were left behind. They were put on notice that they were to expect nothing.

And from the complaints that they brought to The Tribune in those days, not only did they get nothing, but the little that they had in small contracts were taken away from them, either for one of “the boys” or for a member of his family.

We see that Sir Baltron Bethel – brother of former minister Philip Bethel — who was the Hotel Corporation’s chief executive officer at the time of the 1988 Commission of Inquiry into the workings of the corporation, is back in the Christie fold. Now in his eighties, he is the senior policy adviser in the Office of the Prime Minister. Supporters have described him as Mr Christie’s “right hand man.” At the time of the hotel inquiry the Commissioners found that although Mr Bethel “did not suffer from modesty” in describing the importance of his position, and despite board chairman, Sir Lynden Pindling’s “attempt to justify” his appointment, “there was never any rational basis for it and it should never have been made.”

But to move on to the attitude of the PLP’s rank and file. During the 1984 Commission of Inquiry into drug smuggling, Junior Rolle made it clear to the Commissioners that “in his view membership in a political party only made sense when it provided financial or material benefit. In his opinion membership in the ruling PLP gave him and other PLP members entitlement to financial and other considerations.”

This belief was so entrenched in politics that when Hubert Ingraham led the FNM to victory in 1992 and ousted the PLP after 25 years, many of his supporters expected that the “spoils” were now theirs for the sharing. Mr Ingraham was severely criticised because that was not his idea of democracy. He believed that after elections citizens should have equal treatment and that the best qualified for government positions should either retain their posts regardless of their politics, or be appointed to the post if they had better qualifications.

He was severely criticised for his belief in how democracy should function. Some of his party members were suspicious that having come from the PLP, he was still PLP at heart. Many sent letters to The Tribune questioning his loyalty — not signing their names, of course. Although he rode the storm, this belief by some of his supporters dogged him to the end of his political career.

And although when Prime Minister Christie ushered in what he called the “new” PLP he declared to a mass rally on Clifford Park on April 4, 2002:

“I speak on behalf of the entire Government I will lead. If I hear about any minister of mine trying to practice any victimization on anybody the next time he hears from me, it will be to tell him to clean out his desk and head for the door. Victimization is an evil I put on par with corruption in high places. Neither will be tolerated under an administration headed by Perry Christie. Of that you can be assured.”

Today, with the PLP back in power, all we hear is victimisation, but we hear nothing of anyone being ordered to clear their desk.

However, the fault is with Bahamians — all Bahamians, regardless of their political affiliation. Until they understand that the best qualified among us should be assigned to key government positions, this country is doomed to mediocrity — that is why it fell so far behind in the Pindling years, and that is why it will fail now, unless Bahamians accept reality. And that reality is that no one political party has all the answers, nor can it provide all the expertise necessary to run a country. Bahamians have to pool their resources and work together for the sake of the nation. It not failure is inevitable.