The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Fourteen Bahamian civil society organisations have joined forces to push for a standard public consultation process over new laws and investment projects, describing this as “a critical piece of the puzzle for good governance”.

The Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), in a joint position paper with groups such as Our Carmichael and reEarth, said the absence of a properly-defined consultation paper undermined both government transparency and the basis of the Bahamas’ democracy.

“This lack of straight-forward, transparent and proactive processes for public consultation does not support a positive and fact-based dialogue to establish policies designed to best serve the general interest of the nation,” the civil society groups warned.

“Instead, it can make policy-making efforts contentious and oppositional. It also breeds a culture of pessimism and detachment of the Bahamian people, reinforces the growing public mistrust of government and discourages civic participation in the democratic processes of the nation.”

Rick Lowe, an executive with the Nassau Institute, one of the signatories to the position paper, told Tribune Business that the recent controversy over the Government’s proposed labour law reforms highlighted “the panic” that can be caused by ill thought-out legislation that is introduced without warning.

“Everybody went into a panic,” he recalled. “The Government only heard one side of the argument before proceeding. There didn’t seem to be a sense of balance to the way they approached it.”

Following a week of intensive, frantic negotiations, the Christie administration ultimately amended its proposed Employment Act and Industrial Relations Act reforms to make them less labour-friendly.

However, Mr Lowe said that besides exposing why a standard template for public consultation was needed, the episode also further undermined private sector confidence regarding the Bahamas’ business and investment climate.

“Government, like us, doesn’t know every aspect of every Bill, and how it impacts people and who it impacts,” he added. “They make assumptions from their perspective, not realising the damage it can cause to industry.

“There’s been all sorts of things. With the first labour legislation in 2001, we ended up having to change our personnel structure without notice. If we were aware beforehand, we could have prepared ourselves and given our perspective. It happens all the time, and you’re left with ongoing issues to deal with.”

Mr Lowe said the unexpected introduction of new laws and government policies merely added to the uncertainty facing Bahamian businesses, who often had no time to react or give input on the consequences and what they would like to see.

This, he added, bred resentment in the private sector, as well as increasing the costs and obstacles to the ‘ease of doing’ business.

Other signatories to the consultation ‘position paper’ are Citizens for a Better Bahamas, Save the Bays,We March, Rise Bahamas, We the People, Rise Bahamas and Civil Society Bahamas.

Matt Aubry, ORG’s executive director, told Tribune Business that he was expecting official notification today as to whether the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) will add its formal backing.

He explained that the private sector organisation was reviewing the position paper, which had also received support from the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Aubry added that “open governance has been shown across the world to benefit economies” of countries, giving them “a better shot at true capitalism”.

The civil society position paper said the consultations and negotiations over Value-Added Tax (VAT) prior to its January 1, 2015, introduction, showed what could be accomplished when the Government allowed legislative initiatives to be influenced positively.

Yet it added: “Despite a global and regional movement toward open and more inclusive governance, subsequent governments of the Bahamas have not established a regular process, practice or culture of seeking meaningful input from the public on legislation, policy, development and spending.

“We, as a group of civil society and private industry organisations, feel that there is a significant opportunity to strengthen the democracy of the Bahamas and improve the inclusiveness and effectiveness of our policy-making by adopting a standardised, open process of public consultation.”

The paper added that such a process would make laws and policies more efficient and effective, maximising their benefits for Bahamians, and improving government openness, transparency and accountability.

“In many instances, public input came about solely as a rushed reaction to government decisions first heard on the floor of Parliament,” the position paper said of previous consultation efforts.

“Often, there is little time or opportunity provided to prepare and issue substantive feedback. In the sporadic instances where consultation has been sought, there have been inconsistent practices regarding the structure, timing, scope and depth of the process.

“This undermines the fundamental premise of the Constitution of the Bahamas, a sovereign democratic state working in the interest of its people. Public input is recognised as a critical need in the future success of the country. Even the Bahamas National Development Plan 2040 has put forth the objective that ‘the Bahamas must promote greater civic engagement and education at all levels of society to strengthen democracy’.”

The civil society groups are proposing that the Bahamas follow standard UK practice, and Caribbean Parliamentary Association recommendations, by adopting a set three-phase consultation process.

The first stage would involve the issuance of a so-called ‘Green paper’, where the Government would set out its thinking on a proposed law and policy, while also detailing alternative options. This would be distributed to all interested groups and the wider Bahamian public.

The ‘Green paper’ would be followed by a three-six month review and public consultation, with the final stage involving the Government issuing a so-called ‘White paper’.

This would be presented to the public prior to a Bill going to Parliament, and set out the results of the public consultation, while also seeking any final feedback.

Mr Aubry said the civil society groups planned to present and discuss the position paper with their members, the general public and private sector, before engaging general election candidates and the Government.