PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL PARTY

51ST ANNUAL CONVENTION

PRESENTATION BY MELANIE S GRIFFIN, MP
YAMACRAW CONSTITUENCY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22ND, 2009

A SOCIAL AGENDA TOWARDS A SECURE FUTURE
 

Mr. Party Leader, the Rt. Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie & Mrs. Christie
Deputy Leader
Chairman
Deputy Chairman, Mr. Alex Storr
Other newly elected Party Officers
Secretary General
Stalwart Councilors
Convention Delegates,
Good evening!

INTRODUCTION
 Tonight I wish to give thanks to Almighty God for another opportunity to gather in Convention and to discuss the way forward for our great Party.  I also wish to thank him for the re-election of our Leader and for his new slate of officers.  I hope your victory, Mr. Leader, will silence your detractors, but if it doesn’t, it really doesn’t matter.  We must now get on with the people’s business and our Party’s business which is to ready ourselves to be the next government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and to restore some semblance of order to what has fast become a lawless country under this clueless FNM Government.  We have no more time for distractions, as far as I am concerned the lyrics of this familiar gospel song says it all,

“It is finished, the battle is over,
It is finished there’ll be no more war,
It is finished, the end of the conflict,
It is finished and Jesus is Lord.”

SOCIAL SAFETY NET REFORM/URBAN RENEWAL/SCHOOL POLICING & NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE

 Fellow delegates, this evening we are looking Towards a Secure Future in Social Services.  In the campaign leading up to the 2002 Elections, the PLP in Our Plan noted that, “there is far too much suffering in this land of plenty.”  While on the campaign trail, our Leader was able to see first hand exactly what that suffering included. Upon being elected on May 2nd, 2002, we promptly embarked on a very aggressive social and economic programme designed to alleviate pain and suffering and to break the cycle of poverty where generations of the same family – mother, daughter and grandchild - found themselves being clients of Social Services.  Added to this mix was the rising level of crime in certain inner city communities and in the school system where students were found with all manner of weapons, students and teachers alike were afraid for their lives.

 The new Government’s immediate response to this situation was the Urban Renewal Programme which was implemented as a Pilot Project in Farm Road within one month of our coming to office and expanded to some nine communities in New Providence, six in Grand Bahama and one in Abaco by the end of the term.  In response to violence in the school, the School Policing Programme was initiated a little later, as well as National Youth Service which was designed to address the problem of at risk young men.

The longer term response was reform of the Country’s social safety net to, among other things, make it more effective, efficient and to put in place a programme to break the cycle of poverty by making benefits conditional on behaviors that promote human capital development.  In other words, instead of just doling out several assistance programmes to a client – food stamps, national lunch programme and assistance with uniforms, for example, a family would get a monthly cash payment which would allow them to do the same thing, but the payment would only be continued if the family could show that they were doing certain things that would ensure the growth and development of the persons in the household, for example, where studies showed that many children in families living below the poverty line were school drop outs (which did not help there situation), there would be an obligation to ensure the child attended school, for the cash payment to the family to continue.  The premise was that the members of the family once educated stood a better chance of breaking the family’s dependency on social services.  That is the conditional cash transfer programme in a nutshell.

We now know that all these programmes, Urban Renewal, School Policing, National Youth Service and the Social Safety Net Reform were stopped and reviewed.  While some hybrid of Urban Renewal was continued, the programme as it existed was dismantled and what is in its place is a highly political programme ran by a former FNM candidate which is not as effective.  The School Policing, National Youth Service and Social Safety Net Programmes have all been cancelled.  So the Country will know that the stop, review and cancel programme of this government has even hit the social services.

  It is my belief that the dismantling of Urban Renewal and the closure of National Youth Service have resulted in an increase in crime and that the abandonment of school policing means teachers and students have gone back to living in fear of violence in and around the schools.  The abandonment of the reform of the social safety net means that we go back to giving the man the fish, instead of teaching him how to catch the fish.  It also means that we have abandoned the reform of social services that would make it more efficient and responsive in the provision of services and less paper intensive for social workers, which would give them more time to do the social work that they are actually supposed to be doing, like responding on a timely basis to reports of child abuse.  Why do you think reported cases of child abuse are so high?  There may be some other factors impacting this, such as a lack of manpower and high case loads, but I will offer that the fact that social workers are often tied up giving out assistance impacts that situation as well.

  I am sure those of you who have had the need to go to social services for assistance, particularly in these difficult economic times, can attest to the fact that the process is a nightmare, which instead of getting better, has gotten worse and it’s through no fault of the workers, but this visionless, ineffective government.

Now, I have given you that backdrop, Convention, to bring you to where we are today.  Under the normal stresses and strains of living in a global community, Social Services provides institutional and community programs for the care and protection of children and the development of families.  In this time of economic downturn, leading to increased social crisis, Social Services is under more pressure to provide for the needs of our people and must be assisted in meeting these challenges.  As we move towards a secure future, Social Services must continue to carry out its critical function as a tool for nation building and social development.

Surveying the social landscape, we continue to face a staggering rise in the level of crime among our young men and violent crime in general, persistent poverty among children, the aged and the disabled, low academic achievement, migration and statelessness, HIV prevalence and domestic violence and child abuse.  For a secure future in social services we need to establish a Social Policy Plan which would include, the re-introduction of the Urban Renewal Programme in its former structure, making any adjustments required for better operation.  The political manager must also be replaced with a person who has not been in frontline politics for any Party.

The School Policing, National Youth Service and Social Safety Net programmes must also be re-established as we work towards a secure future.

RE-STRUCTURED SOCIAL SERVICES
 Fellow delegates, there is a saying that goes, “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.”  Social Scientists will tell you that the social ills of a country impact directly on crime, the abuse of children and the breakdown of law and order, as well as values.  Right now in our Country there is a serious fear of crime, especially among women.  In my constituency a young woman who experienced a housebreaking while she and her daughter were at home, has become almost a complete wreck to the extent of her hair falling out.  The other evening while driving home from a banquet I attended I had to travel some long, semi-dark, sparse traveled roads.  I noticed a jeep behind me with one dim light and one bright light and as I sped up it seemed to me that they sped up too, it may not have been so, but because my cell phone had died on me and I could not call my husband to let him know I was on my way, I was even more paranoid.  I could tell you, I did press that gas and swing around those corners until I felt I had lost them.  I then hurried into my garage and put down the door.  It is not a good feeling to have to live in fear, but that is where we are in this country today and the government seems unable to do anything about it.

If we are serious about addressing the social decadence in this Country, we will have to do some things differently.  Working towards a secure future will necessitate a re-structured Department of Social Services.  The Department not only has to be more responsive, but it has to be adaptive, collaborative, innovative and creative, drawing on the best practices in the field while being able to appreciate the uniqueness and sensitivities of the persons it is called on to serve.

Implicit in this model is a re-structured department that incorporates more levels of responsibility, but with a strong ethos or culture of accountability and professionalism.  For example, consideration may be given to the structure in place at say the Ministry of Tourism or some similar structure, where there are several directors and one director-general.  Then, staffing levels for the many areas of work will have to be benchmarked and reasonably addressed and new technologies have to be introduced to attain a higher level of efficiency and access to services.   This will also address the problem of a social services top heavy with officers all trying to reach one position of director.  It will give more senior officers an opportunity to advance as directors and take direct responsibility to account for the work of their various departments.  More junior officers should then be hired to carry out the work of those departments.

Toward a Secure Future will mean greater emphasis on continuing training for staff and a system of accreditation for non-governmental organizations which support the department and provide many of the services needed to empower our people.

It will also mean responding to the manpower and human resources needs of staff more timely.  The issue of the Career Path for social workers, a process that would regulate their salaries and bring them in line with other workers in comparable scales in other agencies must also be addressed.  It is long overdue, Mr. Minister.  I left it in progress, I know that the process was a long one, it was even frustrating for me, but it has now been almost two and a half years.  As my brother Shane Gibson would say, you need to “fix it” for the social workers, who by the way tell me that the much heralded promotions and increase they got the other day saw some of them only getting some $12.58 per month increase in incremental payments.

SOCIAL LEGISLATION/PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

 As we move towards a secure future, fellow delegates, we must ensure that we move with urgency to enforce social legislation that has been passed and to put in place an active educational programme to ensure the widest possible dissemination of the provisions.  The Child Protection Act, 2007 and the Domestic Violence (Protection Orders) Act, 2007 are two momentous pieces of legislation that have far reaching ramifications for how we deal with the care and protection of children and the development of families and conflict and violence in relationships, respectively.  It is important that the general public is aware of the provisions of these two laws.

It has been brought to my that persons seeking protection orders under the Domestic Violence (Protection Orders) Act, 2007 are being told to obtain the services of a lawyer in order to secure a protection order.  As far as I am aware, there is no requirement for a lawyer in the Act itself and this goes against the very core of the Act to execute these protection orders in an expeditious manner as people’s lives are at risk.  I have in a call to the Acting Attorney General and I will be dealing with this matter further, as that certainly was not the intention of the framers of this law.

As we move toward a secure future, Convention, it is important that no one is left behind.  We must all now join the community of persons with disability in agitating for the Minister of Labour and Social Services to bring the Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunities) Bill, 2007 to parliament.  This draft legislation includes provisions for equal opportunities for persons with disabilities in education, healthcare, housing, infra-structure, insurance and employment.  A final draft of this legislation was left in at the consultation stage.  It is my understanding that the bill is being re-drafted in simpler language, but it has now been almost two and a half years and someone needs to be held to account.  I vividly recall how vocal the community of persons with disability were with me, I was on the stinging end of their criticism many times.  As I continue to hold the Government’s feet to the fire to have this legislation passed, I will be listening to see how long before they speak up.  It’s been almost two and a half years.

Also on the matter of disability, if we are going toward a secure future we must address the critical need for day, residential and respite care facilities for children with disabilities.  Again the plans were left in place for the former Cheshire Home to be renovated and established as “The Bahamas Centre for Children with Disabilities”.  I was particularly concerned with providing a home for the children with disabilities who have been borders at the Princess Margaret Hospital for so many years.  It is my understanding that they are still there.  Mr. Leader, when we return to office, you really owe me some money. What you got out of me for the price of one, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham can’t seem to get for the price of two and they talk about doing more for less, obviously just the same old FNM propaganda.

The Department of Social Services covers a wide cross section of services.  Social workers are in the schools, courts, health services, child and family services, family violence, rehabilitative welfare services, disability, senior citizens, community support services, and residential care services.  Participation in the international community and conventions signed on to, call for reciprocity, economically, socially and legislatively.  This changing legislative landscape has obligated the Department to extend its services even further.  These include the Child Protection and Domestic Violence (Protection Orders) Acts, as well as legislation regarding witness protection, human trafficking, protection orders, supervision and care orders, community service orders, death penalty evaluations and new responsibilities under and act which addresses child pornography.

In addition to manpower and financial resources, the Department will need its own Public Relations Department to make the public aware of the services it provides.  I left in place two radio programmes and a television spot – Bridging the Gap by the Department, Spotlight on Disability by Disability Affairs and Bahamas at Sunrise.  These need to be expanded to other programmes and a newsletter and other informational material established to get social services message out.

POVERTY/MISERY INDEX

 As we move forward to secure the future as a country, it will be very important for there to be further development of the Department of Statistics and the establishment of a Planning Institute that could produce living condition surveys on a more consistent basis, whether annually or bi-annually; this would ensure that public policy is made on an informed basis.  The Department of Statistics should also have the ability to produce information even more expeditiously.  The 2001 Living Conditions Survey is irrelevant in 2009; more consistent surveys will identify pockets of poverty more consistently so public policy can be more relevant to what is actually the position on the ground.

 We are aware that in the current economic climate the unemployment rate All Bahamas is 14.2%, New Providence is 14.0% and Grand Bahama is 17.4%.  This gives us a Misery Index for All Bahamas of 17.7%.  The Misery Index is defined as the measure of economic well-being for a specified economy, computed by taking the sum of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate for a given period.  An increasing index means a worsening economic climate for the economy in question and vice versa.
 My advice is that the recent unemployment rate does not include recent job lay offs so these figures could be higher.  Needless to say a misery index of 17.7% represents a lot of worsening economy and a lot of unhappy people trying to make ends meet.
 The high numbers of persons trying to access assistance through social services, many persons who have never before sought welfare, is also indicative of the critical state of our economy.  And it doesn’t help, Mr. Minister of State for Finance for you to say, The Bahamas is better off than many other countries, because suffering is suffering no matter where it is and to someone who can’t feed their children that statement is no comfort.
 

CONCLUSION

 Fellow delegates, I have shared with you only a part of our Party’s vision toward a secure future in social development.  It is a bold vision, but if we are serious about addressing the needs of the less fortunate, working with families in crisis, restoring communities and meeting local, regional and international obligations, we have got to strengthen our social safety net system.  Don’t wait for this Government to do it.  They are void of vision, void of ideas and void of innovation; I call it “V-cubed”.  They are just void, void, and void.
 
 Since coming to office on May 2nd, 2007 they have demonstrated by their actions that the poor is not first on their agenda – they only have knee jerk, ad hoc responses to your plight, but they have no plan to alleviate your condition in the long term, but I can assure you, everywhere you turn they are planning long term for their special interest groups.

 You know that the PLP has always been the Party that put people first; they have always been the Party of the “bricks and mortar”.  But I know by now you have figured them out and next time you go to the polls, it will be PLP ALL THE WAY!

 Mr. Leader, Dr. Myles Munroe in his book, The Spirit of Leadership wrote, “True leaders do not seek power but are driven by a passion to achieve a noble cause.”  I support you sir because I believe you are such a leader, a true leader driven by your passion to achieve social and economic justice for others.  I have worked with you now for several years, and I have seen you heart and I have seen your passion.  With God’s help, we will get another opportunity, but this Convention must be our turning point.  We must get back on track, we must stay focused and we must be operating on all cylinders with all hands on deck.  Don’t mind that other crew that try to re-write history and take everything for a joke.  The Bahamian people will wipe that grin right off their face in short order.  Let us do what we have to do, let our people see we are ready once again to clear up the disorder this hopelessly incompetent government is leaving behind.  PLPs are you ready?
PLPs are you ready?  Yamacraw is ready and we ain’t taking no prisoners.

God bless you and goodnight.

PLP!