The Tribune

By ADRIAN GIBSON

ajbahama@hotmail.com

OF LATE, there has been a litany of embarrassing events with which the government has been associated that has either turned out to be disgraceful flops or shameful, internationally discreditable shams. I’m perplexed by the clueless circus that events, supposedly in the national interest, have become. It is almost like everything that the government has touched in recent months have turned—to use a Biblical term—into a “pillar of salt” as there have been a series of boneheaded blunders and foul-ups.

The gambling referendum was nothing short of a colossal failure, an opinion poll that can only be likened to a swift drop kick, collectively meted out by an electorate clearly fed-up with the chaotic process leading up to voting day. The national survey was a waste of time, a superfluous squandering of more than a million dollars of taxpayer money and, for many business places, shrunk their profit margins as employees had to—according to law—be given time off to cast their ballots. Monday’s opinion poll—a.k.a. gambling referendum—was perhaps the dumbest, most convoluted national undertaking in modern Bahamian history.

The entire process was poorly stage managed and never appeared to be sincerely premised on the resolution of what some refer to as a “societal vice” but rather to seal a deal to a group of benefactors under the guise (secondary gain) of it being a shot in the arm to the national coffers. Frankly, it seems that it was assumed that the referendum would be a slam dunk in favour of the “yes” lobby and it was this arrogance that led the government to rush all elements of the process.

That said, I do believe that in the end we must move to remove all forms of discrimination from the Constitution, repeal the Lotteries and Gaming Act and ensure that Bahamians can exercise the same fundamental rights—in their country—as a foreigner, whether that relates to gambling or otherwise. In no way should the electorate be made to feel that any referendum is an intellectually insulting ploy thrust upon them to empower and enrich a favoured few and/or render political payback!

Not long after the gambling referendum came the announcement by Minister for Environment Kenred Dorsett that Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) had been granted five licences, which was indicative of the governing party breaking its campaign promise to hold a referendum on oil drilling prior to issuing any licences relative to drilling. Today, BPC’s licences give them permission to commence the drilling of exploratory wells. No wonder they say that a promise is a comfort to a fool! For some time, talk of oil and the associated financial windfalls dominated discussions on the airwaves, in the barbershops and at almost any outing where there has been a gathering of Bahamians (even in church) but that seems to have dissipated in recent times.

The CARIFTA Games was hampered by hitches, delays and other setbacks that were clearly representative of poor planning. There were a myriad of issues ranging from media coverage to logistics to the format of the games. It was so embarrassing that the organising committee of next year’s CARIFTA Games in Martinique have already made major changes for when they host the meet. The mistreatment of the media during the games was unacceptable. Both the local and international media complained of internet/broadband access, that the media rooms were improperly outfitted, that the media were set-up in a zone where they were facing the parking lot rather than the track/field and, I have even heard reports that some journalists were relegated to leaning on trackside railings to observe and take in the sights—with notebook or recorder in hand.

Why didn’t we adopt the approach of the International Olympic Committee and have all the athletes walk out as one united body during the closing ceremonies? Why did they come out as individual competitors/countries when the games had concluded? And why did the organising committee of the CARIFTA Games wait until the end of the night, on the cusp of the closing ceremonies, to issue medals? Did they not think that it made the medal presentations seem chaotic and rushed (plus, upon conclusion of the last relay, quite a number of persons left as they weren’t willing to wait around for medals to be given out immediately before the closing ceremonies)?

Lately, there was the UNESCO screw-up. This week, Prime Minister Perry Christie admitted his embarrassment and disappointment to international delegates after almost no Bahamian participants showed up for the opening of a two-day international workshop to strengthen the handicraft sector and entitled “Strengthening the Cultural and Creative Potential of the Handicraft Sector within the English and Dutch Speaking Caribbean.”

The PM suggested that there was some confusion relative to invitations. He admitted to the UNESCO representatives from around the region that he expected many local artisans to take advantage of the opportunity and chided organisers of official events to get their act together, hinting that he himself had only been called at the last minute.

What’s more, even Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray assured visitors that Bahamians are not “traditionally like this” and insisted that “we could do better in our opening conference.”

Whilst Jamaica, St. Maartens, Trinidad and Tobago and Antigua and Barbuda were well represented—by artisans and representatives of the business sector—contrasted to the Bahamian representation which essentially was absent.

Even with the embarrassingly mishandled ambassadorial appointments (e.g. Elliston Rahming, who seems unlikely to be confirmed by US government officials), the circumstances surrounding the christening and launch of the Genting Superfast Ferry was ignominious and mortifying. I simply thought, “What next?!”

The Prime Minister and a delegation of government officials and local press flew to Florida to launch a boat that was detained at Port Miami because it had failed to meet US Coast Guard requirements. What’s more, there was no set date on when the ship would be able to set sail although it was scheduled to make its inaugural voyage to Bimini last Friday (presumably with the PM and his delegation onboard). According to the Miami Herald, chief of the inspection division at the US Coast Guard Janet Espino-Young stated that the “crew couldn’t meet the requirement that passengers must be off the ship and in lifeboats within 30 minutes,” “emergency sources of power and the mechanism that allows lifeboats to drop from the ship malfunctions” and there was “an overall lack of proficiency by the crew to respond to an emergency situation.”

Wow!

So the government of the Bahamas used taxpayers’ money to send a delegation to Florida to launch an immobile ship? Did the government have advance notice of this before wasting taxpayers’ money on photo-ops? After using all that jet fuel, eating lavishly, flying in reporters and other parties, the ship still couldn’t move. Our government officials flew into foreign territory to christen a ship and kiss up to investors when the ship’s crew failed the procedure relative to putting on and inflating a life jacket and launching a life boat! How insane is that?!

Why wasn’t due diligence done by the PM’s advisers? Why did they not speak to US government officials? If the PM was going to travel to Florida to launch a ship, wouldn’t it have made more sense for him to be able to return to the Bahamas onboard the ship? Considering all the botched events of late, someone should be fired.

The Miami Herald cites Ms Espino-Young as stating that the Bimini SuperFast had never entered US waters until two weeks ago. Moreover, the newspaper claimed that since the ship was built in 2001, Panama certified the ship to carry passengers and the ship had served as a passenger ferry only in the Greek Isles. The SuperFast is capable of holding more than 1,500 passengers and is set to offer two trips a day, one at 9am and returning at 7pm and another leaving at 9pm and returning at 5am.

Noticeably, the PM projected that 400,000 would be brought to the Bahamas on the ferry every year. Whilst I would not reject his projection, one wonders if there is numerical data or a study—of a jurisdiction with a similar geographic layout—that this figure is based on.

The governing party must curtail the slipups and the ever-increasing blooper reel and truly get on with the business of effectively and efficiently governing our country. Enough snafus already!