Budget Debate
4th June 2008

The theme for this year’s General Assembly of the Organization of American States was youth and development.  This was an apt theme and the Secretary General of the OAS Jose Miguel Insulza started the Assembly off correctly by encouraging governments to move in the direction of policies fine tuned for youth.  This is not a new theme or a new initiative.

During the LAC/EU summit held in Vienna, Austria two years ago, the then Secretary General of the U.N. gave what I thought was his most incisive and inspired address.  He urged the governments there gathered to pursue a policy of specific set asides for youth development and young people.  I thought that this was so important an idea that I shared it with my colleagues immediately upon my return to home.  I still believe more than ever that it was a wise idea and I commend it to this government.  The SG said that whenever investments were approved by governments, they ought to specifically set aside jobs for young people and training for young people as an integral part of the decision.

In the past two weeks, two very young people have been killed, at an age right at the cusp of their adulthood.

When the act of violence first happens, there is shock, then impotent rage, and the usual hysterical demands to execute everyone on sight, but this is such a well worn path now, neither the government nor the society at large appears to feel any pain at it.  The society is numb to outrage, rage, murder, death of the young or old.  It does not move us.  Those who do the deed are expressionless, remorseless, as if they are heroes in some sense and they act as if they are unconnected to the event.  Our response cannot be to throw our hands up in the air and give up, we must keep trying.  We must keep trying not to lose another one.

I would like to quote from a statement I made at the funeral of the late Khodee Davis who was stabbed to death at Paradise Island two weeks ago.  Mr. Davis’ death was tragic beyond measure and has shaken the Fox Hill community to its core, more than the series of murders that have taken place over the past five years of a similar nature.

“We who have reached this age [of 50 and beyond] did not reach this age by accident.  I hope that those of you have been given the gift of life and of your youth by God that this tragic death makes you see and embrace life in a new and different way.  The psalmist says in Psalm 90, ‘the days of our lives are three score and ten’.  This means that most of us should reach that age.  God willing what that means is that for men in this country the life expectancy at birth today is 71 years of age and for women it is 76 years of age.

“Most of you should have at least fifty years or more in front of you, if the Lord should tarry.  I hope that this death gives you a new respect for those who have reached the age of 50 and beyond.  Some of it is divine providence but with our free will throughout our lifetime, we have to make any choices: whether to go out to the beach or stay at home, whether to stay out beyond midnight or go home, whether to walk away or to leave to fight another day.  I hope is causes you to choose life.

“A special mention must be made to the males in our midst.  Those figures about life expectancy at birth tell of a wide disparity between the life expectancy of women and that of men.  Men will live to 71 years and women to 76.  That is on average a five-year difference.  That difference comes because men die from fights, traffic accidents, and self-inflicted disease like alcohol and cigarettes much earlier than women.  Indeed, those are not generally social norms associated with women.  I hope this death causes you young men to choose life.”

The public policy on this then ought to be state intervention to save young people, much more rigorous than we presently do.

Khodee Davis was killed just over two weeks and now another young man, this time 15 was killed in almost similar circumstances.  Clearly the young people involved in that did not draw any lesson from the death of Mr. Davis.

One public policy response ought to be set asides for youth employment in every investment, whether public or private, to bring young people into the job market as a means of socializing them in our values.

Secondly, it is now time to have a proper Department of Youth with its own budget.  The Dept. of Youth should be responsible in part for monitoring that policy of set asides.

There is no question that there has to be a more targeted approach in education.  In my own area, I am disappointed that the Sandilands Primary School will not get an increase in its subvention for the School Board.  To me the primary school is clearly where the focus of the investment in children ought to be.  There is no question if they get a good foundation there then they are set for a successful future.  There is also a need for a pre school at Sandilands.  (Here the story of the 4 year old in my constituency who cannot get into primary school because his fifth birthday is after September and he is not in pre-school.  There is clear evidence that preschools help give a child a head start.)  I have also asked the Minister for the acquisition of land to expand the school grounds.

The L.W. Young School which deals with adolescents is going well under the direction of Mr. Mullings and Vice Principal Samuels.  I see that they have an increase in the subvention of 21,400 dollars.
 
The money set aside for youth development.

Items in the budget for youth development
Bahamas Youth Council 16,000
Salute to manhood 25,000
UNESCO Youth Project 16,000
Commonwealth Youth Programme 10,000
National Youth Month 150,000
Fresh Start 130,000
Nation Youth leader’s workshop 40,000
Grand Bahama Youth Programme 60,000
National Youth Policy 45,000
Summer Youth Employment 946,000 up by 246,000
Junior Achievement 130,000 up 30,000
Youth Enterprise Fund 60,000
Self Starter 1,000,000
National Youth Programme 900,000
National Youth and Resource Centre 45,000 down 7,000.

I think that you also have to add to what is spent in education, but that is the general.  There should be more targeted funding of curriculum development.  I was shocked the other day that a young child of five was telling me that Columbus discovered The Bahamas and he was the first man to come to The Bahamas.  But the boy did not know that Sir Lynden Pindling was in fact the founder of The Bahamas.  It was only after careful questioning that he admitted that there were in fact people in The Bahamas before Columbus.  Now where does he get that from but from the school system?  Clearly this has not changed.

That is why the government ought to bring into Force the National Heroes Day legislation so that the second Monday in October will be National Heroes Day.  Even Bermuda has now made that step in front of us and they have abolished the Queen’s Birthday as holiday and the second Monday in October in Bermuda is to be National Heroes Day and the late Dame Lois Brown Evans is to be officially declared a national hero there.  We are still arguing behind here and debating about Columbus when it is clear that today there is a new dispensation and Columbus is but a small part of that.

I also take note of the Adolescent Health Planning project that has $100,000 in it for this year.  No change for this year.  But clearly adolescent health is a problem.  The death of these two young men is a clear sign of that.  The stabbings.  The fights posted from Bahamian school children on the web.  A greater investment in adolescent health programmes is also required.

Ministry of Tourism officials came to see me about tourism in Fox Hill.  This was a part of my platform for the 2007 election and one on which I was elected.  But you cannot have tourism without infrastructure, and this will include signage, sidewalks, development of the monuments, and proper garbage collection including clean up of litter, and also dealing with security and safety.

This year, the Fox Hill Festival will not get any support from the Ministry of Tourism, notwithstanding that in the summer time; it is as close as you will get to an official observance for Emancipation Day and our African Heritage.  We are not even certain that the Ministry of Education Youth Sports and Culture will give us what we got last year.  I have spoken to the Minister and he said that it was his view that we should but
I have not seen any evidence that this will be the case, and I am appealing now publicly for that funding to be supplied.

The Fox Hill Village needs to be properly incorporated as a village by act of Parliament and a subvention for its maintenance provided on annual basis by a town council.  In the shortest time, the Ministry of Works can put proper signage to say where the Fox Hill Village is.

The discretionary funds available to Members of Parliament for Fox hill have been completely expended during the year.  But I must say that it was long and tiresome process.  The contracts have only now been let and I await the disbursement for the constituency which will include some form of upgrade to all of the parks in the Fox Hill constituency including Canterbury Park, the Eastwood Park and the Fox Hill Parade and Freedom Parks.  In addition, computers were provided for the L.W. Young High School.

I turn now to Foreign Affairs.  I want to say that as Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs there is a relatively good exchange of information on matters in this area from the Government.  What I would urge the Minister to do is to improve the communication of what the Ministry is doing.  The Ministry’s website is greatly deficient in what it costs and when it posts information.  That is the best means of making information available.

I trust the Minister will inform the House about the following items:

In Capital
Line 713700 passport computerization which is 2.6 million dollars a variance of minus 3.7 million dollars from last year.  There is a report of tremendous backlog of the new passports.  Will he tell us what the situation is with regard to that?  Page CE3

Line 734700 Establishment of Accommodations $500,000

Line 731779 Refurbishment of the VIP lunge at the Lynden Pindling Airport.  That figure is 250,000.  Will this include integration into the US departure system?  Will a new lounge go into the new U.S. departure system and will Freeport get a proper protocol division and lounge at its airport.

On the recurrent side, will the Minister inform the House of the status on Foreign Service Orders that he promised would be ready last year.   This would create a proper Foreign Service Career path, separate from the Public Service career path.
 
In addition, what is the position with regard to the Schengen Visas and the visa abolition agreement between the Schengen countries and ourselves and between South Africa and The Bahamas?

I am concerned that there is nothing here for the support of Bahamian Student Associations abroad.  We left in place at one thousand dollars each for the three associations in the University of the West Indies campuses.

Line 912318 RE 106 OAS decreased by 54,146

Line 912308 RE 105 IOM increased from 12,000 to 50,000.  Will the Minister make the report on Haitian migration available to the public?

Haiti office line 543131 reduced by 88,100 to 211,900 from 300,000.  Why?  When will we get an Ambassador to Haiti?  What is the status of the office there?

Line 029701 Conversion of overseas salaries 150,000.  Is this now policy to support currency fluctuations as they adversely affect overseas officers?

Maritime Delineation of Boundaries 522920 20,000.  What is the status of the talks RE 101
 

THE PUBLIC SERVICE VOTE
The raises for public servants were negotiated by the PLP before we left office.

Law Enforcement Officers increase in the Insurance 14 million to 15.883 million

What is the status of operation second chance? Nothing there for that, the item has been eliminated.

Public Sector Reform 100k last year line item 911931 re32 now 414,560 a difference of 314,560.

Public service week is up 65,674 from 40,000. line 911980
Is there assistance for Freeport and the Family Islands?

What about the Public Service singing competition and Culture in the workplace?
Borrowed from Roosevelt Finlayson’s Festival In The Workplace

The question of absence from Parliament.
The story in the Nassau Guardian is inane.  Offensive and a propaganda piece for the FNM.

Under the rules a Member of Parliament need only attend without leave once in every 90 days.

Secondly looking at the House records tells nothing.  The remark keeping a mental note on whose missing?  The Speaker needs to say who is responsible for disclosing this information in the form that it is in. Rule 86.  Ingraham used to come in for five years and leave after ten minutes.

Further, all people on that side, the Govt. side who are full time politicians.  We on this side are bi vocational. We are part time Members of Parliament.

There is no order or schedule to House meetings.  Ideally there should be House meetings for six week periods starting at a date certain and scheduled for dates certain.

If you tell me the House meets every Wednesday then I can adjust my schedule accordingly.  Not if you decide to change to Monday or Tuesday afternoon or anytime you feel like it then it is not possible to adjust my schedule and I will not do so when it is a clear abuse of my time unless there is some need to be there.  The Leader of Opposition business with the whip determines whether it is necessary to be in place or otherwise.

The PM can and often does shut the House down when he is out town so the schedule meets there timing.

The need for full time MPs

Leader of the Opposition and MPs need office support.  Not in the budget.

Leader of the Opposition office is in a mess.  Needs refurbishment.

Comment on Obama.  The history in the moment. My recent trip to Washington.  The feel of change is in the air.  What does it mean for our country if Obama wins.  The need to look into his policies on our Financial Services Sector.