The Tribune

THE Bahamas often prides itself on being the oldest stable democracy in the Western Hemisphere with a Parliamentary history that dates back to 1729. We boast of never having a revolution. We pat ourselves on the back for how orderly our elections are even if international observers continue to advise us that the process is imperfect, antiquated and cumbersome with too much reliance on paper and too little use of available technology.

We congratulate ourselves heartily on how we govern even in the face of that fact that we are a flawed democracy. The problem goes far deeper than how we elect our national leaders.

There will be no true democracy in The Bahamas until there is true local government. True local government is not a local administrator appointed by central government, nor a few elected officials who have no power or authority. True local government requires election followed by right to act, elected officials with local authority elected by people in the local community who want their voices heard, their priorities energized and their tax dollars used, at least in part, to meet their local needs. Anyone who thinks there is true local government now because candidates file and run for office is kidding themselves.

How does true local government differ from what currently exists? Simple.

Every major decision in this country is made by Cabinet and most of those decisions are made before they even reach Cabinet.

Should there be any doubt about how highly concentrated and centralised power in The Bahamas is, take this challenge: Name one example of a Family Island that decided on its own how it wanted to develop and what culture it wanted to preserve or enhance.

Name one Family Island that made up its mind it wanted a certain type of development or industry, pursued the objective, sourced funding or a domestic or foreign investor, worked on making the plan a reality, collected the revenue, used the funds to build roads or improve other infrastructure or to enhance its cultural, educational, and historic attributes.

Name one local government that was able to accomplish something as locally critical as zoning.

Name one local government that was able to stand up for its members, the community, and say no to plans imposed upon it by central government when they announced a major development was going to take place. Yes, there is more public consultation now because civil society has demanded it, but authority still resides in the hands of a few and not in the palm of those who are the natural stakeholders.

So long as there remains a highly centralised government with much of that power concentrated in the office of the Prime Minister – as one radio personality put it under the former administration, everyone in the country drinking through one straw – the decisions that affect people in Exuma or Abaco or Bimini will be made by people who do not live with the consequences of those decisions.

This past week, we saw those consequences in Bimini when locals filled a town hall meeting. Native Biminites and fans of the island with its rich history and famed fishing grounds packed the school auditorium. Some had flown or boated in from Florida just for the meeting. The crowd was the largest that had ever gathered in Bimini for such an event. Outside, dozens of golf carts were lined up in between cars and trucks of every era, a sign of the cross-section of the population inside.

The meeting was organized by a soft-spoken, environmentally passionate local woman who teaches yoga and conducts swims with wild dolphins. With the requested assistance of Save The Bays, the hostess and others shared their fears about what was happening to their home and to their waters in the face of the mammoth, gated 750-acre casino, hotel, marina and entertainment complex known as Resorts World Bimini and an adjoining residential component. The massive project with RAV as contractor and Genting, the Malaysian-based casino and tourism product developer, as operator is transforming the face of North Bimini. And Biminites had no say in its creation, presence or continuing expansion, no voice in what it was doing to their lives and livelihood. The voices of the few who said the resort was providing jobs were overpowered by those angry at what was happening to their economy and their waters.

The facts generating fear are indisputable.

During construction, massive heavy dredging equipment destroyed some of the world’s best-known and most beautiful dive sites dredging for a ferry dock that has since been abandoned. More than 150 acres of mangroves have been destroyed and more are being destroyed daily. Truckloads of dirt and concrete cover wetlands that are supposed to be protected by law. Equipment and trash are reportedly being disposed of underwater. Other trash is being burned on site with plumes of smoke and ash from plastics fouling the air. Shrimp that once lined the shoreline by the tens of thousands have vanished and the rare endangered sawtooth shark has not been seen in months. Mosquitoes are rampant.

Representatives from the casino resort project who participated in the meeting did not deny any of the claims, nor did they deny that the casino was losing millions of dollars a year. They did offer to sit with environmentalists and others concerned about the project that locals say is hurting their economy as well as their environment by steering visitor traffic into the gated complex.

Biminites are rightfully afraid they are going to lose even more of their environment. Developers want to build a golf course and are talking about a 100-acre water park. An artificial water park in a place known around the world for the beauty of its waters makes as much sense as air-conditioning on an Alaskan night. But that is not the issue. The issue is that only with true local government will Bahamians throughout the archipelago have a chance to chart their own future. And that is a right they deserve. Having decisions made by central government that impact the very land locals grow up on, build families, work in and play on is like allowing an outsider to order your living room furniture and telling you to live with it. You have no say. In the case of RWB, a compromise of some sort should be negotiated but it must be between locals and operators, not central government though representatives should be entitled to sit in the negotiations.

Bahamians are not stupid. They do not need to be treated as second-class citizens by their own government because those in power believe they know best. Central government certainly did not know best in the case of Bimini. Let that be a lesson.

It is time to transfer power to the people. It is their future.