The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A well-known businessman has criticised the three main political parties for an absence of “big ideas”, while expressing hope that the National Development Plan may spur a cure.

Sir Franklyn Wilson told Tribune Business that his “biggest complaint” about the governing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and their opponents was the lack of new thinking to deal with the Bahamas’ pressing economic and social needs.

Arguing that the Bahamian people had a right to expect more from their political leaders, Sir Franklyn said the National Development Plan’s likely contents should provide a platform for the development of fresh public policy.

The recently-published ‘State of the Nation’ report is the Plan’s first phase, leading into broader public consultation and the ultimate development of the Vision 2040 strategy - a ‘road map’ for the Bahamas’ development over the next 25 year.

Referring to the recent launch at the College of the Bahamas (COB), Sir Franklyn said: “Presumably one benefit from having the leaders from all political parties there is that, hopefully, we can expect each party to be more expansive as to how they can realise their vision.

“My biggest criticism of all three parties now is that I don’t see any big ideas. That’s my biggest criticism.

“I’m hoping all the parties will lay out their concepts as to how to address these big issues. That’s what the public has a right to expect.”

The Bahamas is facing significant challenges in all major public policy areas, especially high crime and murder rates, and the ever-escalating ‘fear of crime’.

This situation, in turn, is impacting the Bahamian ‘way of life’ and wider society, which is already grappling with a myriad of problems. These range from high illiteracy rates/poor average educational achievement to growing poverty and income inequality levels.

The Bahamas is also dealing with high unemployment and anemic levels of economic growth that are unable to support a growing population’s demand for sustainable, well-paying jobs.

Sir Franklyn told Tribune Business that the adversarial nature of Bahamian politics was inhibiting public policy development, with Opposition parties to ready to criticise sound Government ideas regardless of who was in power.

“When you look at what’s being said,” he explained, “the fact of the matter is that what we get now is that the Government does something.

“In the next day or two, all the Opposition leaders do is offer criticism of that, while not laying out any big, alternative concepts themselves.”

Sir Franklyn expressed hope that the National Development Plan would both raise Bahamian expectations of what to expect from their political leaders on policy ideas, while providing both inspiration - and data and evidence - to support the parties’ thinking.

“One reality of this National Plan is that I think the public would expect bigger ideas from the three main political parties,” he explained. “I would expect all these political parties to come forward with big ideas.

“I’ve heard from one party [the DNA]: Change the Bahamian Prime interest rate. There’s got to be bigger ideas.”

The National Development Plan is intended to be a lasting document that guides the Bahamas’ growth for the next 25 years, regardless of which political party holds office.

While the intention is that it can be “tweaked” as circumstances demand, the Plan will also benchmark the Bahamas’ achievements and development milestones - effectively holding policymakers accountable.

Sir Franklyn, meanwhile, suggested that the National Development Plan’s secretariat and planners “may want to dig deeper” on the issue of whether Cabinet governance was still working for the Bahamas.

“Additional things need to be looked at,” he told Tribune Business. “With respect to governance, I have a view that there’s a need for something which I broadly call Cabinet reform in terms of governance.

“This is nothing to do with the party in power. As I understand it, the Cabinet of the Bahamas functions today as it did in the time of Independence, and a lot has changed in the country.

“It seems to me that the committee may want to dig deeper into that, and see whether or not, without regard to the party in power, the system of Cabinet government is working for us.”

Citing two examples, Sir Franklyn pointed to DNA leader, Branville McCartney’s, resignation from the then-Ingraham administration’s Cabinet in early 2011.

“He said he felt he was wasting his time,” he added of Mr McCartney. “He could do his country a favour by explaining why he was wasting his time.

“Was there something about the system, the practice? Was there something that went beyond personality as the cause of that?”

Sir Franklyn also pointed to the departures from the current Christie Cabinet of both Ryan Pinder and Damien Gomez, in their respective capacities as minister of financial services and minister of state for legal affairs.

Emphasising that he was not questioning the explanations the two men gave for their departures, he explained: “When persons leave the Cabinet under no cloud, you have to ask: Is there something about the system that may be requiring a second look?

“These are just examples of things where I think the National Development Plan’s planning committee may want to look more fully.”