A Different Bahamas
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of the bill and to share some ideas on the economy.
 
The Gold Generation
The Gold Generation, that group of Bahamians who know nothing about majority rule, independence, who all they know about the Bahamas is our ability to win gold in track and field and not getting our act together at the local level.  Mr. Speaker they are crying out for a different Bahamas, a world class Bahamas that not only work for the Direct Foreign Investor, the Bay Street Boys and the Politician, his Family and friends but a Bahamas that works for them as well.

I believe it's time for us to re-imagine and rethink the Bahamas from the street up not from Bay Street down because what we are doing in This Place is not working for all us. In fact, Mr. Speaker, too many of the things we do in this Parliament defy logic (someone may ask what you talking about - $120,000,000 to a foreign guy when Bahamian road builders are catching hell and going out of business, how many Bahamian road builders can we mobilize with $11,000,000 U.S. Dollars?). And I am sure no one in this Parliament is smarter than all of us even though some of us are arrogant enough to think so.  And for those who are arrogant enough to think so, look around. Where we used to be leaders in financial services we are just another name. Our bad decisions have created competitors who are now better than us. No Bahamian own any major hotels nor do I know of any who are trying and what's sad we are not even dreaming about it. What's wrong with this picture Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Speaker the Majority have always known something that the Minority didn't. They have had a silent wisdom, a wisdom that we have never acknowledged as a country. The Man-On-The-Street, we should listen to him/her. The word on The Street is Parliament is not working for us and it really hasn't for 42 years now. You have given us fake Majority Rule and we went from one type of Minority to another.

Our young people are not dreaming about starting Trust Companies, Investment Houses and Management Organizations. We are not producing the next generation of Expedia and Orbitz.  Our young archetypes are not dreaming about redefining what it means to be a Tourist destination or give us small branded resorts that will make our visitors go 'Wow'. Our young film makers and storytellers are not dreaming about telling stories about The Bahamas that will motivate visitors to come so that we can sell them financial services, second homes, timeshare and local entertainment experiences second to none.

No, Mr. Speaker our Society is not dynamic enough. It is too centralized and while centralization is not the problem because we see the Chinese doing remarkable things with their people. They have organized the country in 22 specialized Provinces with 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongquing and Tianjin. We certainly need to decentralize our country. Too much technical power exists at the Ministerial, Civil Service and in the Office of the Prime Minister and we have done a terrible job at developing our people. For starters we need to create autonomous zones so that our family Islands can develop. We certainly could use some help in Andros. The place is wide open. We need to build a new System of Governance.

Mr. Speaker the time has come for us to rethink The Bahamas. We have had a failed experiment, the country is crumbling in all the important places (someone may ask what places - you say pick one place that's working).  For too long we have been 'flamming' making stuff up on the 'fly'. It is time to remake The Bahamas anew again.  We need the promise of Majority Rule and while the majority may look and act like they are in-charge, we know and they know who is really in-charge around here. And Mr. Speaker that must change.

We have dressed up the UBP with Black UBPs, we have created a generation of political elites and I call them the Black Oligarchy (that's a big word Mr. Speaker. The White Oligarchy was that way because they had the money and the color. Well, the Black oligarchy are that way because they control the two political parties and the little cliques say who lead and who follow). Mr. Speaker it was a time for a change in 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2009. We want a change today. The PM said it was time for a change and we gave him 10 years and what did he change? Then he came back and wanted another chance. What did he change or is working on changing that will be of a major import to the 21st century Bahamas? Well, Mr. Speaker it's time for us to know it is not all about men, we have had Sir Lynden, Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham and Rt. Hon. Perry Christie. It's not about ego and they have all had that. But it’s about country first and making the necessary adjustments to meet the new challenges of a modern Bahamas. Mr. Speaker even if we give Christie another chance - the problem is really The System. It doesn't work for the man in the streets and it never will.

I am glad the Prime Minister finally acknowledged that the Civil Service is bigger than the Government.

Think about the Society.
 
Mr. Speaker the Streets are restless; they say they see the vibe, The Direct Foreigners Investor, then the politicians, his family and friends. What's wrong with that picture? Two things Mr. Speaker, for 40 years we have done little but enabled a racist society where Bahamians were second class and they knew it, everyone else knew it. What has changed today? Nothing Mr. Speaker, in fact, Mr. Speaker the very founding documents of our Country is suspect. I am today moving a bill saying that no foreigner in this Bahamas can enjoy any benefit a Bahamian cannot. We have to go to the very beginning again so that we can rebuild. Seven men sign off on our constitution. Today, I am asking 300,000 Bahamians to sign off on a new Constitution “Bahamas for Bahamians”. Bahamas where Bahamians are driving the bus and everyone with us and not us with them.
 
Mr. Speaker, if we are going to have this new kind of Bahamas where Bahamians run the show we have to take a serious look at leadership in all sectors of our society.

A new Bahamas will require a country wide strategy. No longer will we run the Bahamas with Manifestos or Action Plans that's old school. We need to run a Bahamas with a Country Document. A document that shows where we are all headed so that we can all dream and find our rightful place in the new Bahamian society.

The 1960’s mentality Politician will say nonsense, we are in charge.  But Mr. Speaker in charge of what? Each other? Mr. Speaker it is time for us to take a truthful look at this Chamber and deal with matters such as this one. Many Bahamians are feeling second class and when people are feeling this way, the proliferation of superficial facts from august bodies like the World Bank about our GDP and per capita income means nothing. They know what they are feeling in our society today.

Mr. Speaker, the time has come for us to apologize to the Bahamian people for being men of limited vision and imagination. We have asked the people to believe in us when we were not proven and they gave three of leaders a chance with no track record to assess or to be guided by, in the likes of “the Father of our Nation” - Sir Lynden Pindling, Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham and Rt. Hon. Perry Christie who all served as Prime Ministers with the former serving until this day. The Bahamian people gave young people of colour a chance and in some views, we have never returned the favour. Others have been more generous in their comments and said that we done great as a country of 46 years. We have to revisit everything about our Country because obviously our young people and a new generation of leaders are not impressed with us.

Mr. Speaker, for the last several weeks I have been asking myself, 'How is a country built?'
 
I am not pretending to be an expert on this topic and as far as I know, there are no such experts in this Parliament on how countries are built. I want to quote an expert. A gentleman from Korea living in London by the name of Dr. Hajoon Chang (he is a scholar and a professor who works at Cambridge University in London). He is what we called a credential expert. That means an expert that other so-called experts think is an expert. Dr. Chang argues with Pulitzer Prize winning writers like Thomas Friedman, World Is Flat calling such books fantasies and wishful thinking. Dr. Chang says countries develop in one way and one way only, Deep local know-how. He says you cannot ask foreigners to come and make your party interesting. You have to make it interesting yourself and invite them to come and be a part of what you are doing.

In other words, the foreigners are driving with you not you with them. The direct foreign investors like Kerzner and Freeport Container Port driving the bus and we in the back with our eyes close praying, 'Lord drive me some place my kids will like'.

So, today, Mr. Speaker the most important issues before us is the Bahamian economy and leadership. We need to fix leadership in this Bahamas. We are a country without a Strategy. I give Mr. Ingraham and Mr Christie their props. Anyone who could lead and win elections ought to be given credit for being able to influence people and get them to vote for us. The question is; what happens after the vote?  Crime is still a problem, locals still do not own the economy, the courts are still a mess, the senior citizens are still challenged daily after giving so much to their country and the disabled community continues to ask questions about legislation that gives their equal rights and privileges.

We need a more holistic approach to the system of change. And what I am proposing today is a change of systems streamlining bureaucracy, improving checks and balances and allowing more dialogue in the 21st century Bahamas. Albert Einstein said it best: “you are not going to solve tomorrow's problems with the same level of thinking as when they were created”.

I looked at the Action Plan and Manifesto and if both Governments would have completed everything in those brochures all we would have is the Bahamas we have now and The Streets are saying that is simply not enough.
 
So, how do we do more?
 
Mr. Speaker, I have three ideas and these are not original to me. Above all, we need to position our country strategically so that:
 
IS THIS STRATEGIC FOR THE BAHAMAS?
Our first consideration should not be what the Americans or foreign investors think. The first consideration ought to be is this strategic for The Bahamas?
 
And where we have to accommodate special interests whether it's local or international, it must be defensible in public. Part of our problem in the PLP was defending Albany and Baha Mar. No more can we run a small country like this. The secrecy created the problem for some people. Just like in 2001 under the FNM, a compendium of Financial Services Bills were passed in this legislature, all being done in a panic, and we have yet to recover.

Israel shows you what it means to be small and strategic. Japan shows you what it means to be small, strategic and rich. We can be strategic too.
 
We need the whole Financial Services industry and the nation thinking about the aforementioned statement. Without financial services as one of the chief pillars of our country, we would have created a vacuum that could destabilize our foreign reserves. The stakes are high but our responses have been low. Where are the studies on the consequences?

We have to become thinkers. We need to brainstorm ways to get Bahamian ownership in the sector and Bahamians dreaming about being owners of major hotels. We own minor hotels and bonefishing lodges. This must change we must now think and act like the big boys and unlike President Barack Obama called on the American entrepreneurial spirit to come forth and invest in its own economy during these challenging times. We in this Parliament must evoke a new sense of ownership and pride and things Bahamian. A national goal should be for Bahamians to own 75% of the hotel rooms in our country. We know who owns 42%. So, lets get the Honourable Minister of Tourism busy with more than talk, let's integrate small Hotels in the plan and create an industry that's local and worthy of marketing on the world’s stage. Let’s compete directly. This will help us protect the underside property in the sector. This will lead to better rates and more employment opportunities. Let’s look at what the Corner Hotel, the Emerald Palms in South Andros, the Mangrove Cay Inn, the Lighthouse Club in Fresh Creek what they charge compared to Kerzner. Give our visitors a choice. Let’s develop our Know-how and keep it deep, local and downhome.

WORLD CLASS BAHAMIAN TRUST COMPANIES & BOUTIQUE BANKS
Mr. Speaker, some may suck their teeth? Risk in the offshore sector can be managed. Some will be dishonest but if we have efficient Courts and a Government that stands behind and guarantees, people will come on board.

BUILD A NEW GENERATION OF BAHAMIAN LEADERS
So, gentlemen, the time has come. I am calling on the Government to create a new Broadband Study Group that will guide us on a country strategy for broadband, not based on foreign interest or foreign ideas, it has to be Bahamian and I am proposing the best executive the country has ever produced to head it Leon Williams.

POLITICAL REFORM
We need to reform our politics. The people who pay for these elections own us. Now is the time for us to pay for our elections as a country and properly fund our politicians so that the expectations of the PLP can be re- engineered. It’s time for real electoral reforms so that Bahamians can stop thinking that a foreigner can decide who wins the next general election. Let's create Sunshine from the Street up.

The BAHAMAS is too big to be run by one man or small group we have tried that and it does not work. We need a NEW WAY. Golden girls running as FNM and PLP, no gold. If we want gold and to win at the world level.  We have to activate the whole country from the Street UP. Thank you Mr. Speaker!