The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

EVERY five years during our election cycle, the two major political parties the (PLP) and the (FNM) would unearth the ghost of “political campaign donations”. This act of political gamesmanship is usually met with a healthy dose of skepticism and would attract widespread commentary from the Bahamian public (and rightly so). Last week, both major political parties upped the ante, when they challenged each other to publish their list of election campaign donors. Even some radio personalities got in on the act.

This is a farce by both political parties, which is foisted upon the Bahamian people. It is nothing more than a public relations stunt, designed to play upon the emotions of the unsuspecting public. The Bahamian people are no fools. They are quite aware that there is no appetite or willingness on either side to release the names of campaign donors because both parties benefit from the system as it now stands. There is no law limiting the amount of contributions to any party. Perhaps the line of thinking is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

Political campaigns cost money and anyone who gives something, expects something in return. There is no free lunch. And so the public will never know how much is donated by whom, or who receive political paybacks, or are able to influence governmental decisions or policies from their ivory towers. There are campaign contribution laws in the greatest democracy on earth-the United States of America, but there is none in the Bahamas. We know it will not happen, because it doesn’t serve the political interest of these two major parties, never mind what is printed in their manifesto or their blue print for change.

But then again, the enactment of campaign finance laws by itself might not guarantee compliance by the two main parties. As it now stands, members of parliament and senior government officials are supposed to publish their assets and liabilities annually. To this day, I believe that all members of parliament have not disclosed. The guilty persons are not held to account because the law is toothless. Most persons would privately agree that honesty, transparency, and accountability have suffered a damaging blow as it relates to politics over the years.

The Bahamian people collectively must find a way to hold their leaders accountable, which on the face of it seems like an impossibility. We seemed to have surrendered our spirit of defiance to the politicians. We seemed to have “deified” some of them, and this is a worrying trend as it relates to the body politic.

And so, it appears as if this unearth ghost of “political campaign donations”, may never be fully embraced by the two major political parties. Yet, somehow it seems free to wonder aimlessly along the corridors of both the FNM’s and the PLP’s headquarters until after the next general election, when it will be put to rest and dug up again after the next five years. It’s all a political game.

ZEPHANIAH BURROWS

Nassau,

September 4, 2024.