The Tribune

Richard Coulson looks at the tasks facing the new Prime Minister as he takes office . . .

American presidents are expected to make their mark in their first 100 days - particularly if they have won a landslide first-term victory that ejected the previous party.

That is exactly Dr Hubert Minnis’ position as our new Prime Minister, leading an unprecedented 35 out of 39 members of the House of Assembly.

With a thousand-and-one things on his plate, he may have two trays on his desk. One could be labelled “Action This Day”, as Winston Churchill stamped his most immediate war-time directives; and the other “Action Soonest”, for those equally crucial issues that will take longer to resolve.

Top of the pile in the first tray must be the designation of ministerial functions and the choice of Cabinet members to fill them. Peter Turnquest has already been named Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and Carl Bethel Attorney General to replace the devious Allyson Maynard-Gibson, heiress to a Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) family and master of wily politico-legal manoeuvering.

Second will be Baha Mar, given highly visible urgency by the doctor’s own choice. By inviting Sarkis Izmirlian and his wife to stand next to him and Mrs Minnis for photographs at his swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, he clearly showed his distaste for the sale of the vast resort to Chinese owners. But what will be his solution? I have consistently favoured Mr Izmirlian in his early struggles against the Government-led conspiracy that favoured the mega-bucks orientals; however, I now question how the decision can be reversed, even if Mr Izmirlian has the funds to do so.

Dr Minnis does not want to be called a scoundrel by international investors for bluntly revoking a done deal. But is it a done deal?

An agreement has been signed, but any agreement of this size is wrapped in detailed conditions before it closes. The previous Government never disclosed these details. Is there perhaps a legally-defensible escape clause? Aside from legalisms, what about the hundreds of proudly-dressed Bahamians I have seen happily at work under the new ownership? Surely no politician wants to cause another mass lay-off.

A compromise formula may be feasible, giving the Izmirlians a stake in the project. It will take all Dr Minnis’ ingenuity to find the acceptable exit route from this conundrum.

Third will be the landfill, before it again starts a Vesuvius-like eruption of smoke that blights surrounding neighbourhoods and smothers tourists staying in Baha Mar’s towers or playing its golf course.

In the dying days of the PLP administration, a desperation move was launched requesting bids to be tendered in the absurd timeframe of 10 days. Apparently bids were received but we have heard no announcement of their opening. Dr Minnis and his advisors must promptly examine these hasty presentations to see if any make sense, or else scrap the whole process and initiate a request for new bids with all deliberate speed but with rational parameters - and, of course, open to public scrutiny to prevent a ‘Brave’ Davis-like award to the foreign pal who created Renew Bahamas.

Fourth must be rationalisation of the muddled electric power system. Although we have had no recent major outages and rates have held steady, we are sitting on a time-bomb that could any day explode as our antiquated oil-fired generation facilities collapse past their shelf-life. It’s clear that the appointment of PowerSecure as manager/advisor (under a still secret contract) was nothing but a Band-Aid instead of the hospital surgery needed to inject massive amounts of new equity or loan capital. The previous Government reluctantly revealed that it made zero progress towards issuing the needed $600 million of rate-reduction bonds or similar long-term financing. Investors were understandably wary as long as electricity remains under do-nothing state control. Fortunately, a solution may be at hand. The American power-supply giant AES Corporation, with widespread international operations, has come forward to offer LNG (liquefied natural gas) as our principal fuel, with capital to re-structure our entire generating plant.

Fifth, the lamentable Bank of The Bahamas (BoB). Every day it remains alive opens a haemorrhage of Treasury (that is, citizens’) funds. After two years of promising a true reorganisation plan, neither its Board of Directors nor its effective owner the Ministry of Finance has produced one - probably a hopeless task while still Government controlled. BoB even wages war against the newly-invigorated Central Bank and its impartial inspectors. Dr Minnis must bite the bullet and close it down; taking an immediate loss that will be painful but less so than the continued cash drain. Doubtless, many competent staffers remain on board; they could be hired by any sound commercial bank that takes over its operations and viable assets, provided that it would not be asked to pay a penny for BoB’s questionable equity.

Of the many crucial issues requiring long-term attention, Dr Minnis has emphasised crime and education. To attack gang wars and crimes of violence, I can only suggest that he consult Raymond Kelly, the former Police Commissioner of New York City, under whose 12-year tenure the per-capita homicide rate dropped dramatically, giving ‘The Big Apple’ an enviable new image of safety. To improve our schooling, the probable appointment of Jeff Lloyd as Minister of Education seems a positive step, choosing a lawyer and articulate broadcaster long involved in public service, with vocational experience including the training of Baha Mar staff.

Raising employment and economic growth present almost limitless challenges stretching across all branches of governance. Dr Minnis and his fellow Cabinet members will spend many hours considering how to put a cap on public employment, empower the private sector to undertake new ventures, restructure the business licence fee (presently more inequitable than income tax), streamline the granting of all manner of permits and licences, protect unfunded pension rights and develop a more imaginative immigration policy to encourage foreign investment

Dr Minnis is rightly not wasting valuable time and effort in creating usually toothless “commissions of enquiry”, but simply granting more funds to the Auditor General and letting legal processes take their natural course.

One owner of a profitable major company, when recently asked why they did not launch a public offering to raise capital for new investments, responded to me, “What new venture would you even consider under the PLP?” His answer may soon be different. A new spirit of optimism is emerging, a seismic shift from faith in the public sector to the private one as our engine of prosperity. Whatever his flaws, Dr Minnis flaunts a different style of leadership, vigorous and decisive, trained under a physician’s demanding schedule of prompt minute-by-minute decisions - a harsh contrast to Perry Christie’s amiable, slumberous, preference to procrastinate and shove-under-the rug.

Watching election night on ZNS TV, I pitied the four announcers struggling to find enough to say, equipped with the truly primitive broadcast technology provided by their employer, with not a single laptop computer or digital display screen in sight. Perhaps Dr Minnis will make an early decision to privatise Bahamas Broadcasting Corporation, bringing modern expertise as an eye-catching gift to improve the evenings and other spare hours of all his citizens.

• Richard Coulson is a retired lawyer and investment banker born in Nassau and from a long line of Bahamians. He is a financial consultant and author of A Corkscrew Life - adventures of a travelling financier. Comments and responses to insight@tribunemedia.net