The Tribune

By Malcolm Strachan

THE START of the year in The Bahamas is always a strange time. You barely get in your stride after New Year when suddenly there is another holiday – Majority Rule. It almost seems as if every year has a delayed start.

The trouble is, there are things to do. There is no time to waste. Even more so in an election year, in which we now find ourselves.

The sip-sip says that election will be coming in May – though that’s been wrong plenty of times before. We are now mid-January, which does not leave long for the government to sort out some big items on their to-do list that ought to be important to them before going to the people.

I am quite sure each of you has your own list – the time is ripe to call your Member of Parliament and say hey, what have you done about this?

For me, I am picking out five that ought to be big deals to sort out – or costly if the government falls short.

Grand Bahama

At the start of the year, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said residents of Grand Bahama should be confident over redevelopment projects on the island – including the airport, the new hospital and probably biggest of all the Grand Lucayan.

At the time, Mr Mitchell said people should see progress “soon” – though in the two weeks since there has been little sign.

Opposition leader Michael Pintard has been quick to point out that promised upgrades have not happened.

Some of these things are connected. The hotel needs the airport upgrade. But it is hard to see where the progress is happening right now.

Add to that the stalemate between the government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) that awaits the outcome of pre-Christmas arbitration talks and the government does not have much of a winning case to present to voters on the island. Yet.

Last week saw what seems like an implausible bid to raise $400m to buy up the GBPA that seems to fall woefully short of the scale of the assets involved. It would be initial capital, but it is hard to make much of a case for why people should put their faith in this group of capital-short investors rather than the current figures behind the GBPA.

More to the point, if people are going to market to raise funds to buy the GBPA, it speaks little of the current state behind the scenes of the arbitration outcome – as surely if a resolution had been reached, that would affect the likelihood of going to market.

Grand Bahama remains much as it has for many years – falling short of its potential. The solution to revive the former Magic City has not been achieved under this administration, just as with its predecessors.

Stopover tourism

The revival after the global interruption of COVID-19 has been very welcome – but after the initial burst, where the world yearned to get back out from within four walls again, there have been some speed bumps.

The Bahamas continues to see surges in cruise tourism, including that being driven by the Nassau Cruise Port’s creation and by cruise lines establishing their own exclusive island destinations.

However, stopover tourism continues to struggle.

Last May, Director General of Tourism Latia Duncombe pinpointed global uncertainty as part of the reason behind a drag in stopover tourism figures. Given the current international landscape, with more talk of tariffs, annexation of Greenland and more, that uncertainty has not changed. US visa issues remain a talking point of concern too – which can be an issue for people passing through the US to The Bahamas as well – although the most recent suspension of visa processing should not be an issue, as it only affects migrants not tourists.

Still, the US remains our biggest market – and frankly always will be – and turbulence there can be a factor.

The reason why stopover tourism is so important is simple – stopover tourists spend way more than cruise visitors. You’ve seen it yourself, cruise visitors waving aside vendors as they head from the ship to the beach and back again. They aren’t, in general, here for that. They also have all the food they can eat back on the boat so why would they be stopping at local restaurants?

It is probably too late in the term to crack the stopover market, but whoever leads the next government will find this in their in-tray.

Poverty

The announcement of a cut in VAT on uncooked food items was an obvious election ploy – but what was interesting was the word from charity groups that while the VAT cut would help them to help others, need was very much on the rise.

Hands for Hunger has seen the number of families being helped increase to 7,000 – up from 5,000. That is a massive jump, especially at a time when the government keeps talking up the strength of the economy.

There is a disconnect between how well we are supposedly doing, and how people are feeling it on the streets.

For anyone who saw the long lines before Christmas of people seeking help at giveaways, or who drives past the regular gatherings at the likes of the Salvation Army or the Great Commission Ministries, it does not come as a surprise.

People with empty bellies don’t vote for those in office.

Equality

Anyone with an interest in equality for women ought to be disappointed in this government. There has been little to no interest in tackling a series of issues with regard to equality.

The government has avoided the subject of marital rape despite calls for action locally and internationally, it has made no progress on citizenship inequality affecting women, and it watered down its gender-based violence legislation to become the Protection Against Violence Bill.

Add to that an ever-shifting set of answers on providing a domestic violence shelter, and it looked very much like the government was not putting women as a priority.

Freedom of Information

It was interesting to see over the festive period that a number of media houses spoke up on the importance of freedom of information. The silence that greeted those comments was just as telling.

Two years ago, Prime Minister Philip Davis said implementing the Freedom of Information Act was not one of his top priorities. No kidding.

However, he did say he was committed to fulfilling the pledge to fully enact the system this term.

Time is running out, and yet the Information Commission still has no budget to speak of, and there has been no timeline given for implementation.

At the time, FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands said Bahamians should not expect this administration to ever implement the Freedom of Information Act.

Right now, it looks like Dr Sands will be right, and Mr Davis’ pledge will fall short.

As I wrote this, there were plenty of other things that kept popping into my head – the list could easily have run longer. I haven’t even mentioned issues such as tackling corruption or the international investigations featuring The Bahamas – and they are possibly bigger than all the above combined.

Make your own lists – and see what answers you can get. The clock is ticking. Good luck.