SENATE OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A BODY CORPORATE
TO BE KNOWN AS “THE NATIONAL LIBRARY AND INFORMATION
SERVICES AUTHORITY”
TO HAVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MANAGING
AND OPERATING A NATIONAL LIBRARY AND
INFORMATION SERVICES SYSTEM AND FOR CONNECTED MATTERS
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Madame President,
I rise in support of this Bill for an Act to Establish
a Body Corporate to be known as “the National Library and Information Services
Authority” to have responsibility for managing and operating a National
Library and Information Services System.
I have made it no secret inside this place or outside that I firmly believe that if we are to sustain our economic growth, if we are to enhance and improve our social wellbeing, if we are to truly operate in a politically mature and democratic society; education, learning and research must be at the core of our efforts.
Madame President,
I believe that while we have made significant steps in
this regard, I am of the view that recently successive Governments have
unfortunately failed to channel adequate focus and sufficiently significant
resources into education and research in our country. This is why
in mid 2007 I challenged the Prime Minister and the FNM Government if they
were serious about education that the Prime Minister should assume the
role of Minister of Education and with that exhibit to the Bahamian people
his government’s commitment to bring focus and the necessary resources
of the Government to this vital and critical area on which our future undoubtedly
depends.
Madame President,
At the time when I made the comment I was attacked by
some on the other side who did not take the time to listen to the message
but as the public is now coming to realize, this Government seems to be
preoccupied with killing the messenger instead of listening to the
message, especially if the message does not fit their agenda.
Madame President,
My basic argument at the time in 2007, which remains
today, was that the Prime Minister brought no special skills to the Ministry
of Finance and what has transpired in the last twenty months is proof positive
of that fact. However, I felt that at the very least he should move
out of the Ministry of Finance and bring focus to education.
Madame President,
Today I would go further and say that as we move into
the next election cycle which undoubtedly will be here before we know it,
that the leader of any political organization in this country should
put himself forward to be the Minister of Education in the next administration.
That’s how serious I am about education being at the center of any National
Development Plan.
Madam President,
While in Washington recently I had the privilege to interview
John Bruton a past Prime Minister of Ireland. I have always been fascinated
to read how Ireland was able to build its economy to the fastest growing
economy in Europe through its focus and commitment of substantial financial
resources to education. Mr. Bruton pointed out that this commitment was
made from the early 1970’s, and 10-15 years later it was paying dividends.
30 years later, their economic development was outpacing all of Europe.
They had a plan, where is ours? I have been calling for a Labour Needs
Assessment Study to be done for the Bahamas for some time now. However,
I realize that this study is pointless without a National Development Plan
for the Bahamas.
Madame President,
You will recall that during the last debate we had here
before the end of the year, I made certain references to the concept of
thinking big, and what concerns me more than anything is that this current
FNM administration under the leadership of Hubert Ingraham is leading us
nowhere. It was interesting that during that debate I made certain suggestions
with regard to our tourism product which would enhance our economy, and
some on the other side in this place who sought to denigrate my suggestions
by saying that I was dreaming. I was relieved, although not surprised,
that the Minister of Tourism agreed with those suggestions, as he record
in public life has displayed that he thinks big, he is a dreamer. He went
further to say that not only did he support those views but that there
was already a plan of action afoot to pursue them. The amount of
responses and feedback I received as a result of that intervention is amazing,
letters, emails, phone calls and face to face conversations. Everyone has
an opinion, Bahamians want to be involved, they want to contribute.
It reinforces the concept of preparing a National Development Plan.
Madam President,
Good leadership, Great leadership creates the enabling
environment for creative contributions to flourish. Simply being the self-proclaimed
“proven leader” will not cut it. The proof is in the pudding.
Madam President,
There are many books in our libraries written about leadership
and while our present Prime Minister is strong willed and decisive, that
alone does not make him a good leader. Where is the vision, where is the
plan, where is ability to inspire a people so as to give them hope, where
is the environment of creativity, of thinking big. Where is it?
Madame President,
I always refer to history as much as I can when I come
before this place, and libraries have consistently been a source of history
and it is for good reason that they exist. History has shown the
mistakes that have been made. It has taught us lessons so as to avoid certain
mistakes in the future. It has also allowed us through knowledge and imagination
to dream not only what this country is, but of what a great country it
could be. I said before that our forefathers dreamt big. They
had a vision for the country and the question I have today for those on
the other side is, what is your vision? You have made it clear that you
don’t want to hear from anyone else. When will you begin to chart a course
to build on and enhance the vision and dream of our forefathers?
Madame President,
This brings me to what in my view are the historically
philosophic differences between the FNM and the PLP, and I am of the opinion
that the FNM under the leadership of Hubert Ingraham is having difficulty
finding its way.
Madame President,
The history books in various libraries and bookstores
throughout this country will clearly show that the PLP was founded on certain
core principles and philosophies which mainly embodied the advancement
and transformation of the Bahamian people socially, educationally, economically
and politically. Those are our main tenets. History also shows
us that there was a breakaway by certain members of the PLP, “the Dissident
8”, who joined forces with members of the UBP and others to form the FNM.
Their rallying cry or philosophy so as to distinguish it from the PLP was
that they intended to deepen our democracy and recently they have added
“to increase transparency and accountability in Government.”
Madame President,
The first problem with these objectives or core principles
is that the FNM under the leadership of Hubert Ingraham adopt them only
in words, not in form or substance. The “transparent and accountable” government
is yet to produce the Ecorys report or tell the Bahamian people the cost
of all of these terminations of senior officers in Immigration, The Police
force and Customs. What about Deepening democracy? They continue to bring
closure to debates in that other place when they are not satisfied with
the course of the debate. The air of intolerance around them for opposing
views is so thick you can cut it with a knife. They even brought closure
to this debate in that other place. That brings the number of closures
in parliament to 4 or 5 closures in 20 months. That’s 1 every four months.
Unheard of in modern times. We must hold the Guinness book of world records
in this regard. Nothing to be particularly proud of in a democratic society,
particularly from a political organization that was founded on the principle
on “deepen democracy”, and marketing itself as “a beacon of democracy”.
It was the most amazing thing to watch what happened in that other place
during the debate of this Bill.
Madam President,
Whenever they bring closure to a debate in that other
place I am reminded of that historic 6 hour wrap the Honourable leader
on the other side in this place gave during the Budget debate 2007/2008
as he read parts of the speech by the late Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield
given on that fateful night at the PLP Convention in 1971.
Madame President,
I have been forced on many occasion to ask myself this
burning question: Would the founding fathers of the Free National Movement,
and in particular Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield and Sir Kendal Isaacs view
the actions of this FNM Administration during these twenty months since
it has assumed the reins of political power to be in any form or manner
reflective of a desire to strengthen and deepen democracy. Would
they ask themselves if this is in fact the same Free National Movement
with the same philosophy, same core values they fought so hard for?
One could easily argue that this is in fact a totally different FNM, where
democracy and all that it stands for no longer lays as the cornerstone
of the Free National Movement. What a shame.
Madam President,
From a historical point of view the Free National Movement
has lost its way. But let us for the sake of argument assume the FNM still
stood on these historic core values. After they have deepened the democracy
by, let’s say, opening the airwaves to more radio stations, and they have
instituted a level of transparency and accountability in the public sector
and you have accomplished that in three years, so from 1992 to 1995 the
FNM accomplished that. However, the question then arises as to what
is their goal and vision as an organization, as a political party, as leaders
beyond that? Up to today’s date, they have not been able to articulate
that. Mr. Franklyn Wilson put it best recently in an interview when
he said this FNM government lacks “clarity of purpose”. In other words
they have no vision and they have no plan. Everything is ad hoc. As a result,
history will show that the Bahamian people have endured immense suffering
and paid a substantial financial price on this FNM ship to nowhere. Many
of those who jumped on board voluntarily can’t wait for the first opportunity
to throw the captain and crew overboard and turn the tiller over to a new
captain.
Madame President,
If we look at these issues of transparency and accountability,
any reference in a library will show that these are merely administrative
functions. These cannot be part of a vision; these cannot be the
end goal for a dream to improve us socially, educationally, economically
and politically. These high ideals of transparency and accountability
are administrative functions that should be left to Permanent Secretaries
within Government. The problem is that because this Prime Minister
and his Government have no vision for this country they have assumed the
role of glorified Permanent Secretaries and in an effort to appear that
they are doing something they have tried to fix things that are not broken,
broken things that were fixed and then fixed what they broke to make it
seem like they are doing something. The Bahamian people are not stupid.
They know what needs fixing and what should be left alone. The
Bahamian people did not elect them to break what was already fixed.
They were elected to guide and lead in a steady and mature manner which
would engender confidence that they govern for all Bahamians and that they
have a plan. If they are intellectually bankrupt in this regard, they should
possess sufficient political maturity to sit down with others who do have
ideas and form a plan around an agreed vision for a Bahamas of the 21st
century.
Madame President,
There are many books in our libraries which warn us of
the consequences of failing to have a plan for our country which is detailed,
focused and has support across political, religious and cultural backgrounds.
The result is a failed state. This is what history has shown us.
And so today I challenge those on the other side to follow in the footsteps
of our forefathers and dream big, think big.
Madam President,
I have heard some suggesting the demise of the Progressive
Liberal party. This is only wishful thinking by some. We have a proud and
rich history of accomplishment on our side. We have always had clarity
of purpose. As someone said to me recently, you might cut off the branch
of the oak tree, but the root remains strong and will grow another branch.
Such is the state of the institution and movement called the Progressive
Liberal Party. We:
Madam President
During the years 2002-2007 the PLP Government under the
visionary leadership made 5 significant interventions which were designed
to positively impact and transform the Bahamas:
These are the transformational ideas, policies and
thinking that PLP leaders over the years have encouraged and implemented.
Madam President
You will appreciate that in keeping with our core philosophy
and values, two of these interventions are Social in nature; Urban Renewal
and the National Health Initiative. One in Educational in nature; The University
of the Bahamas and two are economic in nature; The anchor projects and
The redevelopment of the City of Nassau.
Madam President
This FNM administration is already almost 2 years into
their term and what have they got to show for it. They have a Prime Minister
admitting thus far that he and his government have been a failure. Nothing
wrong with admission, it is good for the soul. The question remains what
will the Prime Minister and his administration to do about it. Will the
Bahamian people see this clarity of purpose, a vision or a plan for the
future of this country. If history is any judge, I say don’t hold your
breath. The leopard cannot change its spots, but we live in hope.
Madame President,
Talking about thinking big, I had the pleasure recently
of meeting Dr. Ben Carson while in Washington for the Inauguration. He
hosted a group of about 120 persons to his home and a Bahamian delegation
of about 14 organized by Debbie Bartlett of Gems radio. That Bahamian delegation
included 3 members of parliament and a Senator.
Madam President,
As you may know, Dr. Carson is a world renowned neurosurgeon.
If you read his books, “Gifted Hands” and “Think Big”, you will appreciate the overwhelming impact a library, reading and a sound education can have on an individual. His story is remarkable. He and his brother were raised by a single mother who was unable to read. During his younger years he was always at the bottom of his class so much so that even he believed he was dumb and unable to learn. His mother, through her faith in God, was inspired by an idea to make her sons stop watching television and instead go to the library and check out a book and read it. At the end of the week, they had to give her a book report on that book. What is interesting to note is that the mother herself was uneducated but through this clarity of purpose not only would her sons be able to read but that they would make something of themselves and have a positive impact on society. Today she is able to proudly say that her son, an African American, is the most well known and respected neurosurgeon in the world. At the age of 32 he became head of neurosurgery at John Hopkins and was the first in 1987 to successfully separate Siamese twins with conjoined heads. It all started from going to the library and reading. That is the importance, Madame President, of libraries and reading and getting a good education, but it is also a story which exemplifies the clarity of purpose that Dr. Carson’s mother had and consequence of that clarity of purpose.
Madame President,
That is why I was so honoured when I was approached to
be appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the College of the Bahamas Council
between the years of 2002 and 2007 and I was even more encouraged when
the Prime Minister, Perry Christie, challenged us to transform the College
of the Bahamas to The University of The Bahamas. It was a big dream,
it was thinking big. There were those on the other side who thought
it was “pie in the sky”. In fact, there were those within the College
who did not support this advancement or see how we would accomplish it.
However, there was a vision supported by a clarity of purpose, and under
the stellar Chairmanship of Mr. Franklyn Wilson, we charted a focused and
deliberate course and got stakeholders from throughout the length and breadth
of the Bahamas to participate in this goal, which enabled us to buy the
building opposite the College, renovate it to what is now the Michael H.
Eldon Complex which encompasses the Chapter One book store; which allowed
us to design and refurbish the old GHS Hall into a state of the art centre
for the performing arts; which allowed us to put up a bandshell for the
staging of official college events, concerts, etc.; which allowed us to
add two new classroom blocks, to build an indoor gym and shower facility,
to embark on a plan for a Northern Bahamas campus in Freeport by securing
200 acres of land and agreeing a plan for that development and sending
it out for bid.
Madame President,
On the face of it, all those achievements were noble
and worthwhile accomplishments, which the board was proud of. In addition
to those, we were able to enter into an Industrial Agreement with the Faculty
Union and agree a salary structure reflective of their qualifications and
ability combined with a clear and transparent system for advancement within
their field.
Madame President,
However, the achievement I am most proud of is that we
were able to finalize the plans for the Harry C. Moore Library, receive
bids, choose a contractor and today we see the Library rising up from the
ground and it is scheduled to be completed in mid 2010. History has shown
us that no great city exist today without a world class center for higher
learning and indeed no great city can maintain its edge without continued
investment in the research and development arm of its Educational institutions.
Madam President,
I must confess however that I am deeply concerned by
the number of Bahamian students that are leaving this country to attend
Universities abroad and are not returning home because they see no professional
opportunities here or simply can’t find a job in their field of study.
The brain drain is truly alarming and we are not addressing it. This issue
too requires focus and clarity of purpose. I am also concerned that the
female to male ratio at the college is 2 to 1.
Madam President,
In closing I want to give some suggestions to the government
on our educational system.
Firstly, there needs to be more focus by way of human
and financial capital in early childhood development. Secondly, serious
consideration should be given to extending school hours and shortening
the long summer breaks, especially for those students who are falling behind
and falling through the cracks. Thirdly, there should be a focus
on Science and Technology. Students should not be graduating from
school who cannot read, write and do basic arithmetic.
Madam President,
Thank you.