The Tribune

By Malcolm Strachan

AS we rapidly approach a year of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis being the nation’s leader, the landmark only a little more than a month away, we have seen a plethora of moments that made us want to cover our eyes in fear of what he would say next. However, this past week, while he should have still been feeling the bumps and bruises of the beating he took in the media for his egregious missteps on the Oban Energies deal, he is receiving something that has been largely unfamiliar thus far as prime minister – praise.

With so many attempts at pleasing the Bahamian people falling flat, he finally did something that some of his biggest opponents could not make a sensible argument against. His task now will be to figure out how this can be replicated going forward.

Most of Prime Minister Minnis’ actions since - and even before becoming prime minister - have been dissected by the sharp scalpel of the Bahamian media, commercial and social. No doubt, on most occasions he seems uncomfortable when a microphone is shoved in his face, as he still, for the most part, struggles to string together cogent sentences when trying to communicate his viewpoints to the Bahamian public.

Unfortunately, this will continue to be, perhaps the steepest hill for him to climb as the job demands that he stands in the gap between where we are and where he intends to lead us over the next few years of this government’s term.

The prime minister’s decision to not maintain a portfolio left many unclear as to how he planned to make an imprint on governing the country’s affairs. With no overt skillset aside from being a medical practitioner, his decision seemed like the most practical - although unprecedented in the Bahamian context.

Evidently, as a prime minister without a portfolio, there would be an expectation that his skills would rest in being a conductor of sorts – with the Cabinet being his orchestra, and him being able to knowledgably articulate his views on all public concerns.

This has certainly proved a bumpy road with the prime minister often lost in the shuffle as we are unable to see his fingerprints as often as we would like.

In particular, the talk around the town for months has been consistently pointed at the government being ran by the proverbial “men behind the curtain” – Brent Symonette and the White Knights.

As disrespectful to the prime minister as those sentiments are, the ambiguity revolving around his role in government has not served him well. History has shown us in multiple instances (some closer to home than others) how even the worse leaders, once being adept communicators, have been able to fly under the radar without making any real impact. Unluckily, Minnis’ widely-mocked shortcoming as it relates to the use of the English language has been one of his most glaring limitations.

Thus, if he is not responsible for a particular portfolio where we are able to see results he is driving, his difficulties with communicating to the Bahamian people overshadows his message.

The EU’s blacklisting created the perfect opportunity for the prime minister to shine in his role as acting Immigration Minister, where we got to see him oversee in a very expeditious manner the conviction and deportation of some 280 illegal Haitian migrants that landed near Inagua last weekend.

Though, this is what is expected of a leader, many have been surprised that this was handled so efficiently.

To be fair, colleagues within his Cabinet have given him credit for being able to drive results, particularly with Hurricane Irma. Regretfully, his praise is short-lived when followed by media mishaps, as we too often see with the prime minister.

It may be worth considering a shake-up of portfolio responsibilities in government, which can benefit both the prime minister and the current Minister of Immigration, Brent Symonette, who already has a load of responsibilities.

Also worth considering is what happens when he is again confronted by media mishaps. Although the proper protocols seemed to be followed with the Harbour Island Resort deal, his own inadvertent admission of the government’s mishandling the Oban Heads of Agreement still creates concern as to why he pulled the trigger on the deal so quickly. Further, he has yet to clear up the confusion and his statements that he had no issues with the company’s non-executive chairman’s sketchy past and the pre-meditated hoax of a “ceremonial” signing that we only found out about through the media.

We presume he intends to address these matters when he speaks during the Budget Debate this week, but what he will say when the time comes is an area that can use drastic improvement.

While it may be true the prime minister is an ineffective speaker, he did a good job on making a historic impact on our immigration affairs. Hopefully, the results from his quick action can create a boilerplate for what the government ought to do regarding matters of great public concern.

Perhaps if we can see more efficient action from the prime minister and the government, all the jibes on how he speaks can fade away and the government can salvage some of the goodwill that has been evaporating since they took office. Indeed, this can help him to build confidence and be a jolt of positive energy, as his job is possibly the most difficult one that exist in the country.

Kudos to you, Prime Minister Minnis. Although you do not receive many congratulatory remarks from your critics, there are still some among us who are able to be fair and balanced enough to let you know when you’ve done a good job.

However, be mindful the standards we set are high and we hope to see you build from this and continue to chart a course that will lead to greener pastures for all Bahamians.