The Tribune

SPEAKING at the opening of the Bahamas Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s post-election seminar three weeks ago, Prime Minister Christie announced that he thought this was the “appropriate time to consider” the construction of a new parliamentary building that would house both the House of Assembly and the Senate. This complex would have all the modern conveniences, inclusive of offices for each member of parliament.

He also thought that the time was now ripe to build a prime minister’s residence where visiting dignitaries could be entertained rather than taking them to a public dining room or engaging a hotel’s private room.

In the dual roles of Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Mr Christie wanted to appear before a House committee to make his recommendations “in as near in the future as can be constitutionally arranged, meaning that if the committee is still standing that is listed in the House (of Assembly) to look into conditions and benefits for Members of Parliament”.

One could almost hear the collective drawing in of the breath of a community ready, like a tsunami wave, to roar back in angry protest.

“I can’t for the life of me fathom how on one hand the country is in deficit and that we are looking at a 15 per cent rate for VAT, but then on the other hand we can afford to construct residences for the PM and for entertaining dignitaries from other nations.

“Just an idea but could we possibly look at getting our country out of debt first...” was one of the many angry reactions to the Prime Minister’s bold suggestion.

And on the floor of the House of Assembly last year, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell made it clear that he wanted to retire from the PLP government “with a comfortable life” and “continue to prosper with respect while no longer actively involved in public policy”. We have no argument with that wish. However, despite so many jobless Bahamians and the failure of his government to deliver on its promised “10,000 immediate jobs” if elected in 2012, Mr Mitchell felt that the “benefits and allowances of Members of Parliament” should have been reviewed.

Like the late prime minister, Sir Lynden Pindling, this government seems to have lost all touch with reality.

Bahamians know that the country is in debt, and the government debt has to be paid. However, what government members do not seem to grasp is that while insisting that the people be taxed to pay the debt, politicians continue to spend the people’s taxes as though the Treasury is a contented cash cow for them to milk.

As several persons have commented: “Unless government cuts back on its spending, I am not going to pay a red cent in VAT!”

Citizens’ anger stems more from the government’s carefree spending than the spectre of VAT.

“I had anticipated that our work would have led to some changes in the budget which would have buttressed and supported the work of Members of Parliament,” Mr Mitchell complained last year when the House committee failed to report to the House on salary adjustments for parliamentarians. What work he referred to to warrant a salary increase is still not apparent. It becomes even less apparent as each day goes by and his world travels continue.

How any member of government would have the audacity to expect a raise in his salary when there are so many jobless Bahamians and the country is broke, must mean that these privileged men and women are living on another planet. They are certainly out of touch with the reality of today’s Bahamas.

As a matter of fact, if this country keeps bumping along in the doldrums as it has been for the past few years, these same parliamentarians will see another election come and go with no increase in their already generous emoluments. Many of them will be out of office.

It is a mystery why they are so out of touch with the sentiments of their countrymen. Sir Lynden was in a sense buttressed from the true feelings of the people because he and his government tightly controlled the air waves. Bahamians did not hear over government controlled ZNS what government did not want them to hear. Minister Fred Mitchell can attest to this, because even during those years he had to fly to Miami to broadcast his political message back to his fellow Bahamians. He was not PLP in those days.

However, almost as soon as former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham won the government, the airwaves were opened to private broadcasting. 100 JAMZ was the first private radio station to go on air. Today there are about 19 licensed private stations. Since then, Bahamians have had an avenue through which to express themselves and many of them are very bold in what they have to say.

Not only do Bahamians have the airwaves, but they also have such social media as Facebook and Twitter — and so today the word of discontent is spreading as rapidly as a bush fire.

Despite these danger signs and warnings all around them, like Sir Lynden, today’s politicians refuse to heed the signs and so after election 2017, they will probably be repeating Sir Lynden’s lament, spoken to a reporter in 1992. After 25 years of an uninterrupted reign, power was unceremoniously snatched from Sir Lynden’s hands. He was bewildered at the loss.

“We knew the people were hurting,” Sir Lynden told a reporter after his defeat, “we knew that homes were being sold, we knew that parents were taking kids out of school. But we didn’t think that this would have affected them so dramatically in determining what they would do during the election.”

Sir Lynden was defeated by his own blind arrogance. And so, will this government, come 2017.