The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I write to express the collective concern of Androsians around the operation of our current local government council. At a time when North Andros is most in need of leadership to address our economic, infrastructure and development needs our local government council is apparently without direction or focus. The recent stories in your paper which confirmed that our local council collected funds to clean up a public beach after a private beach party is just the latest example of ineptitude.

On the face of it,we congratulate the promoter for making arrangements to have the beach cleaned but we are equally disappointed that those funds were collected by the council and the work carried out by council members. This action by the council is in direct contradiction to the local Government Act (1996) which is explicit about the fact that the council cannot issue bills or raise revenue even for services rendered. Put simply, the solicitation of funds for this or any other purpose by local government is illegal under the law and we should remember that “he who cannot be trusted with a little can certainly not be trusted with a lot”.

Also of concern is that the Island Administrator nor the Chief Councilor have offered any explanation. Both would have been trained prior to taking their positions and would be well aware that these positions must be governed by the rule of law and at least the appearance of integrity. The promised investigation is not difficult and a simple phone call to the promoter can confirm who negotiated the price and who he paid.

At a time when there is growth on many islands, North Andros continues to struggle with very high unemployment of seventeen percent (17%) and instead of self-interest this opportunity could have benefitted a local entrepreneur or any of the dozens of young people looking for jobs on the island.

This debacle is small when compared to our electricity situation, the lack of a bank, limited access to healthcare or the fact that we have not had a single major investment proposed for our island but once again it painfully demonstrates the lack of leadership. Until we can agree on what is right or wrong progress will be difficult.

I call on the Minister to not allow this matter to be swept under the rug and for Police to investigate this offence.

We can and must do better if we want progress in North Andros.

CONCERNED CITIZENS OF NORTH ANDROS

July 17, 2023