Two things that this budget statement portrays:
Confusion between public policy and public relations; confusions between public sector reform and firing people.
Needless to say, public relations is not public policy; neither is firing people public sector reform.

This mid-year statement then is a device of the usual wink and a nod, sleight of hand public relations which is designed to lull us all to sleep, when we know that we are in the middle of the proverbial creek without a paddle.  And we are there in part by the making, the omissions of this government.

But Vidian Naipaul writes: “The world is what it is.”  We are there and the question is what do we do about it.  I wish that this midyear budget and these appropriations would help lead the way.  I wish I could see some long term vision but I don’t. What is see is a feeble plea by the government saying “Lord Help us!”  But we know that the Lord only helps those who help themselves.

I thought that a telling sign of the times in the midyear budget estimates could be found in item 203100 Head 31 for the Royal Bahamas Police Force on page RE 58.  There the government is asking for an additional $90,000 it says for the increasing need for mortician services.  Does that not say a lot about where we are today?  Some more money is needed for the police for morticians’ services. $90,000.  The bodies must be piling up.

My colleagues have and if not will all ably show that the figures of this midyear review are largely smoke and mirrors.  I have only a few observations on the facts and figures, and even then they are general observations.

One is the use of all of the euphemisms and soft terms in the statement which seem to me to be gobblygook designed to disguise the actual hard facts and the misery which life under this government now is:

“My government has responded to the leadership challenge before it, and it will continue to do so, in order to lead The Bahamas back to sustained prosperity as the global environment improves.”
(Page 1)

What leadership has it provided? Do you mean laying off people from the public service?  Watching lamely as the private sector lays off people.  Sitting idly by as people lose their homes.  Or refusing to spend the money to assist the needy who are unable to feed themselves, pay for electricity and a host of other issues.

“A third key component of our strategy to strengthen good governance is the set of various initiatives that we have undertaken to improve the efficiency of Government operations and services to the public.  We strive to reduce the burden on citizens and businesses by streamlining bureaucratic procedures, reducing cumbersome application processes for permits, licences and registrations, eliminating unnecessary red tape as well as putting in place modern technologies.”
(p.5)

Again where is the evidence of this?

Tell that about stream lining procedures to any businessman applying for a licence in this country.

Tell that to someone applying for a probate in the country of their loved one’s estate.

Tell that to someone who is applying for a loan from a bank, or seeking a house from the government.

Tell that to the people who have to apply to social services for support:

The story of the woman who was turned down in Fox Hill for rent assistance, even though she is not working… the fact that her daughter helped her and got a settlement cheque from Atlantis.  Upon review they want to know what the daughter spent the settlement cheque on.

All of these processes are nightmares and they continue to be nightmares.  I think that the statements made in this midyear budget statement on public sector reform, bear no relation whatsoever to the realities on the ground.  I hope to come to some examples later.  It is as I said simply confusing public relations with public policy.

“Already, important reforms have been initiated in three critical areas, namely Immigration, the Police Force and Customs. In all three, we have streamlined the organizational and administrative structures and all will strive to modernize their processes and procedures to improve effectiveness.”
(p.8)

This is an example of the second of the confusions that of confusing public sector reform with firing people.  What we have at the helm of our government is like those commissars of the old Soviet Republic, fascinated with power, moving people from place to the next, and especially fascinated with charts, figures and streamlining organizations.  The results are not satisfactory because the public sees no difference.

Here’s the difference.  The PLP talks about people and their concerns.  The Commissar talks about facts, figures and streamlining.

Let us look for example at one of the initial acts of the government that of an audit of all those who had applied for citizenship in the country. No doubt there were thousands then.

Days were set aside in Freeport and in Nassau for people to show up to say that they had applied for citizenship and that their applications had not been processed.

We who served in the last government know the problem because thousands were left by the previous FNM administration for us to deal with.  The procedures are complicated and arcane.  But no matter how efficient you get, given that the Cabinet has to sit on all citizenship applications and Cabinet time is limited, there is only so much that you can do.  We could get through maybe 40 applications within a week. If we were able to do that every week, that would mean 2080 applications every year but I doubt that happened then.  I doubt is happening now.

What I do know that is that I have example of at least three people who have citizenship applications before the government, one of whom is in a category who went to the Kendal Isaacs gym, presented his proof that he had been interviewed years ago, and that he had heard nothing. That was in October. He has heard not one word since.  When my office enquired, at first the file could not be found and when it was found they said that he would have to come in again for an interview because the last interview was too long ago.

Now, I know that if I call the Minister or the Director, I am sure the individual cases can be looked at but my point is that we should not come here saying that we have mandated this and that about our systems when there is too much evidence on the ground that the more things change, the more they remain the same.

As a practitioner in the courts, nothing to me is more exemplary of the slogan the more things change, the more they remain the same then in the reform of the Supreme Court Rules.  Used to be you could get to trial once there was close of pleadings, following a summons fro directions.  These days they have implemented a “reform” called dispute resolution and case management.   This has turned out in too many cases to be another layer of delay, with inexperienced court officials relying on technical rules instead of the spirit and the letter of heir application.  The result is where you could get after a summons for directions in the old rules into court within six to eight weeks, these days it is more like a year of getting nowhere before you can get a date in court.

Probate remains an area of contention.  Delay, after delay, after delay.  Some say it’s the lawyer’s faults because they don’t know how to fill out the forms.  Do you know for example that you must use a type writer to fill in the forms in these days and times?  There is an amusing note that comes from the Probate Registry that say, no scanned forms are permissible, no white out is permissible.  So that means, to the old typewriter you have to go. And filling out the forms is like running the gauntlet.  Certainly there is no reform there.  When I started practice in 1986, you could get from application to grant of probate, a six week lag at worst.  These days, it may take you six weeks before you get a review of your application. All suffer from this delay. Monies and estates tied up because the applications cannot be processed in a timely fashion.

“In Customs, new staffing and modern management systems are being introduced including a shift system that will greatly reduce if not eliminate high overtime payments.  Lower overtime charges will provide clear benefits to citizens in the form of lower costs of imported products and will also contribute to the enhancement of competitiveness of our tourism industry.”
(p9)

There is a great promise.  I would like the government to show us the figures: what is the overtime now; when the new system is implemented, what are the expected savings, and then tell us after a year what were the actual savings.

I have two guesses and that is there will not be any savings at all, that instead there will simply be transference of the monies now paid in over time to new hires. That is my prediction.  I don’t have a problem with it but don’t try and sell me something that we all know will not happen.  There are other reasons to this with which this side agrees.  After all we signed an industrial agreement with the Bahamas Public Services Union to do so.

I love this one
“It goes without saying that small open economies such as ours simply cannot and will not avoid being negatively impacted by this global economic and financial maelstrom.”
(p13)

Don’t you just love it “small open economies”
“negatively impacted” what high sounding, prosaic language.   Yes negatively impacted.  I’d say negatively impacted.  You have to walk the streets of any constituency in this country to see the negative impact.

How about the man or woman who is about to lose their home.  I’d say that is a negative impact.  I’m sure the fact that this is a “small open economy” will help them out of their problem.

What we need is not descriptions of the problem. We feel it every day, those of us without health insurance, who can’t pay our mortgages and who have to think twice about whether to pay the school fees or the electricity bill.

One constituent came to see me and said that a choice had to be made between the electricity bill and he school fees. He chose the school fees and on that same day, the BEC man came and disconnected the power.

But you know this is a small open economy so that will help turn that man’s power back on.

It gets better.
“Some of the major projects that we had expected to support domestic growth have been stalled by the global financial crisis. As a consequence, the Government is implementing a public sector infrastructure stimulus programme to create jobs and cushion the effect of some of the job losses in other parts of the economy.”

Wonderful.  Our critics don’t like us to say, we told you so.  But look, everyone knows why we are here in part.  It is an attempt at a whitewash to say “major projects we had expected to support domestic growth”, as if you had nothing whatever to do with it.  Did you not stop the straw market project?  Did you no cancel the contract in Grand Bahama for the school?  Did you not stop the project at Rose Island?  Looking with a microscope for crookedness where there was none.  You know what I said before; the mantra from the other side is every one is a crooked except them.  Of course these major projects have been stalled.  But not because they ran suddenly out of momentum.  It was a deliberate policy of the FNM administration to fire people when they came to office who were perceived to be PLP and to stop projects approved by the PLP. Not because there was anything wrong with them but just to stop them because you could. You thought you could just restart the economy up again but then the global crisis occurred and uh oh, now you come and say

“The government is implementing a public sector infrastructure stimulus programme to create jobs and cushion the effect of some of the job losses in other parts of the economy.”

Congratulations! You have done it again. Confusing public relations with public policy, and we the people have to pay for your errors.

Then there is this.
“The domestic credit expansion slackened to an estimated $370.1 million in 2008 from $691.4 million in 2007 – a decrease of $321.3 million”
(p 19)

Hmmm! “Domestic credit” what is that? “slackened” Do you mean that the banks stopped lending money?  What are the consequences of that, lower imports?  No buying and selling.  No expansion of businesses.  No customs revenue.
The economy diminishes.

Then you turn around and boast that the reserves are higher.  Of course they are higher.  They have to be, one if you borrow in foreign currency s you did last year and secondly, if you are cutting back on credit, the of course the reserves will go up higher because no one is spending any money.

One real life consequence of that is this.  A young lady in my constituency got qualified for a mortgage with one of the private housing companies and approved by the bank.  Now the house is ready, but she is told by the housing company that although she qualified under the old rules with a down payment of say five per cent, the banks are now insisting that the down payment has to be increased.  She does not have it.  So her dream of her own home is postponed because she now has either to find a higher down payment.

What is her recourse, she now looks to the government for what we call in local lingo “a government house”.  Only thing is, the waiting list is as long as your arm and that waiting list was exacerbated, sorry big word, I’m getting just like the commissar, was made worse by the fact that Inspector Clouseau was out with his microscope looking cracks in the foundations of all the homes built by the Member for Golden Gates. In the mean time, no houses were built and the acute shortage of affordable homes increased.

I think the point has been made.  I move on.

Of some interest to me and my constituents:
The Department of Physical Planning Head 19, the ineffectiveness of getting the Department to act on a road closure in Fox Hill and planning permission on a timely basis, hill and tree continue to be cut down.

Head 12 Civil Aviation Department.  Air Traffic Operators not getting their allowances, approved by Parliament.

Head 110 the Public Hospitals Authority: lack of services—the eye clinic lady gets set for the operation but told without explanation to come back next week.

Head 36 Bahamas Vocational and Technical Institute (BTVI) monies for temporary workers.  What is happening with P & P workers?  A political operative of the FNM working there. Violating the terms of general orders by making political statements.

Head 57 Agriculture.  Recent public statement on phyto sanitary arrangements by the Minister.

Head 65 Dept. of Environmental Health.
The cleaning up of Fox Hill and trying to keep it clean. The lack of equipment.  Ministry of Tourism wants to bring tours there but infrastructural work has to be done, sidewalks, internet service etc.

Head 5  $5.3 million dollars needed for pensions, gratuities.
This is the price we pay for firing police officers, customs officers and immigration officers.

Operation Second Chance comments, about bringing people on to the permanent and pensionable.

The future:
2020 we must be a developed country.
We have a commitment already to the millennium development goals. One of them is to cut poverty in half.

The other is a significant commitment to education.  That is where we are still lacking.

If there were a vision for the long term future of this country, there would be a commitment to triple over the next five years the investment in education.

The present scholarship programme would be improved with free education at COB and at University of the West Indies.

A return to a grant and bonding system for those who study.

A substantial investment in primary school education.   My concern about the Sandilands Primary School and the grade level assessment tests. There is a need to invest in the school’s infrastructure.

There needs to be major health initiative, to improve the environment, housing stock, lessen obesity.  There is too much productivity lost by young people who are always sick with one other ailment. Ailments that are largely diet, housing, sleep related or environmental triggers.

The government needs to have its own mortgage support programme and some have suggested that the banks should be asked to stop all payments, principal and capital for one year.

So when the Commissar comes the next time, don’t confuse us with smoke and mirrors, come with the facts.  By his own hand, pain and misery has been inflicted on us.  We all suffer now. We must all work together to get out of this mess.

I have an idea how to begin to solve the problem.  At the next election let’s vote PLP.