16th September 2008

Purging Of The Public Service
I raise a grave concern here about reports of a political purging of the public service by the FNM government.  A retired senior public servant raised the issue recently when he expressed a concern that Permanent Secretaries who were perceived as PLPs were being shunted to duties that were below their abilities or sent on administrative leave or told to report to the Cabinet Office where they are given no active duties to perform.  Our party has made a similar comment with regard to the way certain senior officers in the Department of Local Government have been treated.

Of further concern is a pattern of response by the government which seeks to impugn the character of some of these officers.

The actions of the government have sent a chilling message throughout the service.  One result is that officers who have the knowledge, know how and experience are being underutilized to the detriment of the service.

There is now a climate of fear in the public service.  PLP MPs receive calls from public officers who complain of acts of petty victimization and discrimination, who have no means of redressing the issues.  The clear impression is that the Prime Minister is unsympathetic to these complaints.

In my own case, civil servants called me following upon a comment I made on a radio show that the FNM is conducting a policy of hatred toward the PLP within the service which is unprecedented in our history.  It appears that the new government has come into office with the intent of eliminating PLPs from the Service.

It is important for this issue to be aired.  It is important for the government to be put on notice that we are watching them closely.  It is also important for those who are PLP within and without the service, in fact those who have no party affiliation at all and those who are FNM within the Service to know that they have a responsibility and a duty to serve all Bahamians.  Further, that political discrimination and victimization of public servants is unconstitutional.

We ask our supporters to hold on as we seek to regain the government.  The Progressive Liberal Party will correct this grave injustice.

Prison Promotions
I wish to raise once again the case of the Prison Officers whose promotions were granted on 1st May 2007 lawfully and in compliance with all laws and norms but whose promotions were later withdrawn by this FNM administration on the spurious grounds that they were irregular.

I have raised this matter in the House of Assembly.  You may remember that I raised also the case of officers whose anomalies with regard to pay were not addressed.  Last month after a long wait, the FNM Government finally addressed the issue of the pay of those officers.  The problem is that that issue of the promotion of the other officers is still not addressed.  I am calling today for those officers to be restored to their rightful, lawful rank.  The officers should not have to resort to legal processes to force the government to do what is correct in the situation.

What is also disgraceful is the government’s conduct with regard to the payments owed to the retired prison officers.  You will remember that those officers were granted the return of the full pensions upon their retirement from the public service.  The government refuses to acknowledge or accept that the money is owed to these individuals.

It is important that the public is aware of the abuse of the public service in these and other instances and put pressure on their elected representatives to ensure that these injustices are stopped and the issues are resolved.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Relations With Canada
By late summer, my office received a number of enquiries from frantic parents with regard to the granting of Canadian student visas for Bahamians who wish to study in Canada.  In one case, the processing of visas resulted in the student having to give up his place in school for this term and enter instead in January 2009.

Relations between Canada and The Bahamas in my view remain very good.  This issue seems an unnecessary irritant in the relationship.

It is complicated by the fact that there is no Canadian High Commission in The Bahamas.

As you know most Embassies and High Commissions serve The Bahamas from Kingston, Jamaica.  The processing time for visas is approximately six to eight weeks.  The matter is further complicated by the need for a medical examination of the visa applicant, including a requirement for chest x ray because The Bahamas is listed as a tuberculosis country.  The medical processing takes place in Trinidad and then is sent to Jamaica.  All of this leads to delay.

In a number of cases brought directly to my attention, I have been in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a view to getting the individual cases resolved.

The Canadian High Commission has been most helpful in resolving most of the issues.

However, my view with regard to most of these matters is that there needs to be a systemic approach to solving them, not reliance on individual contacts and solutions.
I therefore urge The Bahamas government to lobby the Canadian government to seek to provide additional resources so that this matter does not occur again next year.

Further, Bahamian parents and students would do well to understand that the deadlines are in fact six to eight weeks before departure; that Canada is not The Bahamas, where if you know someone, you can fix a missed deadline.  Also, students and their parents should not travel to Canada if they do not have a valid student visa or travel permission from the Canadian High Commission or they will be turned back at the border.

Lastly, the Canadians should revisit the requirement for chest x rays.  Tuberculosis is no more a problem in this country than it is in the United States and so the requirement seems an onerous and unnecessary one given the realities on the ground.

Need For Bahamian High Commission In Kingston
I would like to revive an idea that I was beginning to explore at the time that I demitted office as Minister of Foreign Affairs.  It seems to me that given the fact that High Commissions, Embassies and The Missions from Canada and Europe that serve The Bahamas, serve The Bahamas from Kingston; given the importance of Caricom to our relationship particularly since we have now decided to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU, given the number of students we have at school in Jamaica, we need to upgrade our presence in Kingston to that of an embassy or High Commission.

It is clear that the interests of Bahamians can be better served if we have an actual physical presence in Kingston.  That High Commissioner or Ambassador can serve both Caricom, and act as a liaison with the University of the West Indies and with our student community.

I think also as an adjunct to this that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should seek to provide support resources for our Honorary Consuls who serve us on a non payment basis abroad.  Some of the offices in Atlanta, Barbados, Jamaica are particularly active and there is a need to provide additional subventions to these offices to permit them to adequately do their jobs.

Public Information On Foreign Affairs
Once again, I wish to formally complain about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.  If you check the website, the last posting on the site was Hurricane Alert 22 on Hurricane Hanna on 1st September.  The information about Canada and the Bahamas on students should be on the Ministry’s website.  I have never seen a more insensitive Ministry to the requirement for the public to be well informed about what they are doing and their mission.  It is a fundamental difference between the PLP and the FNM on this issue.  Foreign Affairs is accountable to the Bahamian public.  It is not some secret club or society that operates behind closed doors.
The Ministry’s site, for example, does not even tell you who the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry is, since the abrupt departure of Shelia Carey to take up the position of Deputy Chief of Mission in China.

Correspondence
I wish to notify the public as Opposition Spokesman on Foreign Affairs that letters of concern and support were sent as follows over the past month on behalf of the PLP:

To China for hosting the successful Olympic Games;
To the United States on the occasion of the 11th September attacks and  following the damage from Hurricane Ike;
To Cuba following the loss of life and damage from Hurricane Ike;
To Haiti following the damage, death and devastation of Hurricane Hanna;
To the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands following the damage from Hurricane Ike.

With regard to Haiti in particular, the PLP urges the government of The Bahamas to do all that it can to assist Haiti and to help mobilize international resources to assist that country.

Schengen Visa
The country should be updated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the status of the discussions with regard to the abolition of the visa requirement for Bahamians to travel to Europe.

South Africa
The Minister of Foreign Affairs should disclose whether or not he intends to travel to South Africa to participate in the Historic summit of the Diaspora of African peoples being convened by the Government of South Africa.

Cuba
There ought to be some public explanation for the recall of Carlton Wright as Ambassador to Cuba one year before the end of his normal three year assignment.