House of Assembly - Budget Debate
11th June 2003

            Mister Speaker, I wish to use this as an opportunity to first of all review some matters of concern that are being addressed in the constituency of Fox Hill.  As a representative and a Minister of the Government, the most challenging part of the job is the ability to communicate with those whom I represent, in an effective and timely manner.

          To this end, there is a constituency office that is paid for, in part, by the Government and that is staffed by a volunteer, Mrs. Altamese Isaascs, who I pay special tribute to for her tireless work, and to her volunteers, including our Branch Chair and NGC Member, Larry Wilmott, and the office assistant Tameka Cash.  The office has been continuously staffed by me, since 1997, and is leased at a reasonable rent from our landlord Derek Davis.  It is a nine to five operation, from Monday to Friday.  I try to be present on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 p.m. for persons who have specific issues.

          The other challenging area is that of the ability to return telephone calls.  On average, we may receive 30 or more telephone calls per day between the three offices that I occupy:  the Constituency Office, the Office of the Public Service, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  It is impossible for me to physically return all these calls.  And so we have a system that has someone, at least, contact a caller within three days of the call.  I try to get back to every one myself, but as I say, I think that it is physically impossible.

          The Government has many public works to perform in the Fox Hill constituency.  There is the maintenance of the parks in the area, including the Fox Hill Parade that now has someone permanently assigned to its upkeep.  There is the Fox Hill Cemetery that also has someone assigned to it.  Additionally, there are parks in Eastwood, Sans Souci, Gleniston Gardens and Monastery Park, West.  All are in need of public works repair, and all are slated for some improvement during the ensuing year.

     This includes, if I have my way and subject to funding, lights for the parks in both Monastery Park and Eastwood, with a walking track for adults, as well.  At Gleniston Gardens, North, the residents there have requested, and the Minister for Sports has promised to review this matter, building a gate at the entrance of that park to stop persons from riding their cars on to the grass.  I am concerned about the lighting of parks and the consequent complaints that may come with the playing of basketball into the late hours of the night and disturbing residents adjacent to the park.

I hope that the young people who will utilize the park will be sensitive to the concerns of adjacent residents when the lights come and that this, in combination with an automatic turnoff system at 10 p.m., will contain this problem.  (The further complaint is that persons drive their cars and sell drugs in the evening on the park.)

          The most vexing area of concern is the question of bushes that have grown up on unoccupied lots in the constituency, and the inability of the present resources of the Government to effectively deal with the huge demands of residents for these lots to be cleared down for security reasons.  One suggestion is that perhaps residents can help with this.  If the areas once cut down are “grassed”, lawn mowers can be used to keep the grass at a reasonable level.  As a representative, I have had the experience of having the vacant lots in Fox Hill surveyed, and cleared by a contractor, at Government expense, but I knew that, within months, if no permanent system were found to keep the verges and grass cut, the bush would be back to where it was within weeks. That sadly came true and I am again repressed for resources to do the job.

     I wish also to talk about the demand for drains in the San Souci and Eastwood area.  The Ministry of Works has assured me that work is to commence in this area, as part of the regular preparation for the rainy season.  I was out in the San Souci area myself over the past weekend looking at the drains, and the matter is receiving the Ministry’s attention.  I wish to say, however, that resources remain a serious problem.

And finally in this area, I wish to address the requests for speed bumps.  This is a demand that is inexhaustible throughout the island of New Providence.  The constituency of Fox Hill is no exception.  The Ministry of Works presently has before it, applications for speed bumps in Sherwood Drive, Tulip Boulevard in Eastwood, Armbrister Street and Francis Avenue in Fox Hill Village, and Kildaire Drive in Monastery Park.  The matter receives the constant attention of the Fox Hill Constituency office for follow up.

          It is my honour to be the Representative for Fox Hill.  I have had the pleasure of speaking with constituents about the issues that concern them, and we are constantly changing as a party, as a representative and a constituency office to meet those demands of constituents.  The constituency office is there for all constituents and I hope that in the coming months it will be even more actively utilized.

          I add also that plans are actively underway for the Fox Hill Festival this year, which should be bigger and better.  John Bullard is the Chair this year and he and his team are actively engaged in the plans for the Festival, which will commence on Friday 1st August.

          I want to thank the staff and teachers of the three schools in the Fox Hill constituency for their untiring work and their many successes.  Wenley Fowler of Sandilands Primary School, Keturah Wright of L. W. Young Junior High School and Godfrey McPhee of Dame Doris Johnson Senior High School.  The schools progressed throughout the year without major incidents and it is a tribute to the determined persons who teach and administer these schools, and the dedication of the students to the furtherance of their education.  The School Boards and the Parent Teachers Associations have all done a fine job during the past year.

          I want to congratulate the Sugar Cane Lane Association of Foxdale for all the work that they are doing to beautify their area, and I will be working very hard to supply the flags they need to decorate their area for Independence.

           Mister Speaker, I now turn to National Events.

          I begin with the story of the observation made by a customer of a bank who was standing on line and was the next but one to be served.  The customer before him was handed documents, by someone at the end of the line.  Once she finished her transactions, the customer at the back was allowed to jump the line and be served.  He walked out of the bank only when another customer walked up to him while he was being served and that customer was immediately served.  No customer of the bank complained, but all were furious that the bank and its security personnel did not intervene to preserve the rationality of the “first come, first served” system.

          Fast forward, Mister Speaker to another story:  that of two young students from St. Augustine’s College, one of them with a cell phone stuck to his ear who was walking along the St. Augustine’s Road.  A car was trying to get past.  An adult and alumnus for the school was seeking to get past but could not because the students should have been walking single file in the road.  When he asked the students about it, one of them who was ten years his junior replied: “Carry your black (expletive deleted)”.  The students were unrepentant.

          Fast forward to another story:  that of the failure of persons routinely to honour red lights at traffic stops, and routinely ignore two-lane traffic.  Bus drivers and people in a hurry simply disobey the rules of the road and create third lanes for traffic that do not exist in law.

           Mister Speaker, this is a story of impatience and lack of discipline all around.  It is increasingly leading to the breakdown of systems wherever we look in our country, and no one has the patience, it appears, to deal with these very serious issues.

          I gave the story of the young boys as an example of learned behavior.  They obviously did not learn that language and those actions in thin air, they learned them from adults.  And so when now we come to the seasoned adults that have been asked throughout our system for the reasonable postponement of an obligation, which the Government believes it has sound reasons to ask for, we have to be careful how the response of that gets communicated to the younger people.  If our behaviour is rowdy and is disrespectful and that gets promoted over the media as such, then there can be no surprise that those young boys can act the way they do.  The answer must be reasonably discussed, and a respectful agreement sought.  Disrespectful invective cannot be the answer to that.

          As Public Service Minister, I have a challenge.  That challenge is to lead the effort of Public Sector Reform.  An item has been established in the budget to deal with this matter.  There are a number of proposals that are in but I am unable, as yet, to recommend any further action to the Cabinet for approval.  What I do know is that both the employees in the public sector and the people they serve are increasingly disappointed with the way that goods and services are delivered by the Government.

          The Government is by far the largest employer with some 20,000 employees.  Cleary then, what happens in the public sector affects what happens in the private sector.  It is my own view that if the public sector can help to create more jobs in the private sector, then many of the problems and complaints that we have in the public sector may solve themselves.  An expanding and dynamic private sector will create jobs that will allow persons, who work for the public sector and are dissatisfied, to migrate out to better opportunities that await them in the private sector.  That is the philosophy that I bring to the Government!

          Each day as a representative, I am faced with the real life problems of finding food for people to eat, of helping people to stay housed, of meeting unexpected health care needs.  Some people, particularly the youth in my constituency, are demoralized because they cannot find work.  That need is paramount to me!  Surely then, we who are employed have special responsibility to exercise prudence, reasonableness and care in the conduct of our affairs, and know that we are especially blessed to be able to put food on our tables and help to make a way for ourselves, our families and the next generation.

          The usual manner for the private sector to deal with issues of economic exigencies and recession in profits, is for cut backs either in pay or in the number of persons employed.  In this present matter involving the public service, none of those are being contemplated.  What is being asked in a reasonable and reasoned manner is for temporary postponement of an admitted obligation for six months.

          And I must tell you, Mr. Speaker, I was one of those who asked why the Unions would not agree to a postponement of 12 months.  But the Minister of Finance is saying six months and that is the Cabinet’s position.  You heard the Prime Minister say that the 12 months was the period that the IMF prefers.

           Mister Speaker, I believe in dialogue.  And I also believe in reason.  I try to listen carefully to what people are saying.  And one of the things that I found instructive was, at the end of the day, most of the public servants that I have spoken to, many of whom are my constituents, believe that the request of the Government is reasonable.  And I do not think that any one is persuaded by the current propaganda about new cars for Ministers.  I think we have to be serious about country.  This is not some “inky dink” little country.  We are engaged in a serious discussion about the priorities of our country and where do we go.

          Suffice it to say that, notwithstanding the opening positions of the public on the matter of the postponement of the increase, we are committed to a continuing dialogue.  As part of the process, the Union leaders graciously agreed to attend the Central Bank today, and we have also committed that we would ask the IMF to meet with Union leaders about the state of the economy, so that we can at least be on the same page as to where we are.

          The United States Government is going to run, by some estimates, into a 400 billion dollars deficit this fiscal year.  That means cut backs in services in the US.  The US economy is moribund, with little investment and spending taking place.  We are in the midst, therefore, of the seven lean years and we simply have to act accordingly.  I do not think that we have a choice.  But you know at the end of the day, it is our country, and if we want to break it up, we have that option too.  What would seem to be the more reasonable case is to take reasoned and reasonable judgments today, in order to preserve the way of life we have for tomorrow.

          In my view, as the economy grows, and as changes to the way we do business in The Bahamas come, the public service will be forced to do more with less. New rules are likely to be established as we start the new contract talks with the Unions.  This will add benefits where possible but also meet the obvious demands of the public have for productivity targets and flexible hiring rules.  Down the road, the costs of pensions in the Government services also have to be addressed.  I look forward to the discussion with Unions and the wider public on these other issues of concern.

          I am concerned that we move forward on two areas in the public service:  that of human resources and how people are dealt with by telephone and at the front of house, of Government departments.  You are likely to see within a year a survey amongst employees and the public generally to better identify areas of concern, and then we have to begin the dialogue to solve the problems.  I think that nothing should be sacrosanct from change.

          Public servants now have amongst the best range of benefits in the country.  There is, most of all, job tenure.  They have good vacation and pension benefits, free health care at the public hospitals and, in some places, are able to get discounts because they work at the public service.  In the main, they perform their jobs well.

          But we are in a tough time and tough times demand sacrifice, and tough action.  We are also competing for resources.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs a new building.  We have a car that is used by protocol, but is unacceptable for use for foreign visitors - it has no shocks, it rattles and is unstable on the road.  When our public officials go to other countries we would not put them in such vehicles and we would be insulted, as a country, if that is what they did.  Yet some are asking for the work of the Ministry to continue to be done in these substandard conditions - find me my money and I don’t care how you find it.  What do I say to the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Ministry consumed by paper, but now has to use one printer for ten people on a computer, in some cases?

          What do we say to those who work in the Registrar General’s Office who have rats and roaches crawling all around them, who work in the most appalling squalor?  All of these things ought to have been done yesterday.  In the Biblical times of the seven years of plenty, we ought to have been saving for this rainy day, but we did not.  Instead all we find now are stories of profligate behaviour, permissiveness and indiscipline for over a decade that has lead to the run down of public buildings.  So while salaries were being pumped up to buy elections, the house was falling down all around us.  Now we are called to account, and one small temporary sacrifice is being asked.  Is this not the reasonable thing to do?

           Schools will need repairs before September.  The schools are already not adequate for the jobs they are called upon to perform.  The private sector is complaining about the quality of graduates that come out of the schools.  Many are said to be functionally illiterate and need special attention in order to resolves problems.  Teachers do not have facilities and equipment, and salaries are not adequate.  But our country will sink in a quagmire of debt and destruction if we cannot take the bitter medicine that is sometimes required in order to get better. And every one is sacrificing.

          In summary though Mr. Speaker, I simply want to say to all public servants, that we thank them for their service to this country and the countless hours spent in the service for their country.  The Government does not want a row.  A row would be counterproductive to everything that we stand for.  I am not for a row.  All my professional life, I have seen myself as pro worker and pro union. I was particularly concerned that someone would make the charge that I am anti-worker, when I sacrificed almost my entire practice, many times pro bono for workers and workers’ rights, when many Union leaders themselves could not address workers’ issues.  I have said that Unions serve two purposes:  the first is, the rights of the worker in the work place, and then, secondly, and more generally, the improvement of governance and democracy in the country.

         In some countries when Opposition parties collapse, Trade Unions represent the interests of the country, generally, and keep opposition and dissent alive.  I have no doubt of the usefulness of Unions in The Bahamas.  The PLP is not anti worker and not anti union.  The PLP is worker friendly and pro union. But it is also the Government of The Bahamas and must be responsible for the greater good.  It has the authority to make that judgment until the people are called upon to affirm or reject us at the polls, an option that is always open to a Prime Minister, but must come at the end of five years from the date the House first meets following a general election.  I simply appeal to all public servants and to their leaders, to their sense of goodness, to their sense of country about this matter, and ask them for a reasonable postponement of this obligation for six months.

          The fact is that this is not a lump sum increase.  This is an increase that will be added to the base salary at the rate of 100 dollars per month.  It will cost an aggregate of 24 million dollars and cannot be segregated, as some have suggested, as an obligation on a monthly basis.  Once this obligation is taken on, it is a commitment of the Bahamian Government.  The expectation is that, if all goes well and that surpluses are in the economy as of the pay cheque of December 2003, the lump sum of six hundred dollars will be in the pay cheque and thereafter some 100 dollars per month until the retirement of that employee.  But remember that this also has an implication for pensions later on, it all adds to the Government’s costs.

          I want to say also that there is commitment to improve the working conditions of all public servants.  I am appalled at what workers are asked to endure.  We need to have a conversation about that as well.

           Further, I wish to say that beyond all of the measures that we are talking about, there is a need for review and to have conversation about our tax structure.  The tax structure we have is regressive.  It does not now adequately provide for the goods and services that are demanded.  Too many things are going wanting.  International institutions have told us that, if we are to do better, we have to improve our tax collection; we have to improve the volume of taxes.  And they have also told us that, in The Bahamas, there is a view that we should not pay taxes because no one sees the relationship between what they get, as a service, from the Government, and the payment of their taxes.  The Unions will be key to starting this dialogue and I hope that the ad hoc arrangements that have been made on this issue with the Central Bank will continue on a monthly and formal basis.

         I now wish to turn to Foreign Affairs.

          Mr. Speaker, during the past six months, three members of the diplomatic corps have demitted office.  The High Commissioner to The Bahamas for the United Kingdom, Peter Heigl, demitted office and has retired.  The Ambassador for the People’s Republic of China is leaving The Bahamas at the request of his government and will move to another post in Columbia.  The Ambassador for the United States to The Bahamas has resigned and is to demit office on 18th July, and will return to private life.

          On each occasion that an Ambassador has indicated that he has resigned from office, I have made no comment on the fact that the respective Ambassador has demitted office.  The comments that I have made were reserved specifically for the official farewell reception given in honour of those Ambassadors for their service to their country in our country.  I have throughout my term in office, in my relations with all countries, sought to be strictly correct in my manner, method and approach in dealing with sovereign nations.  I believe that is in accordance with regular practices and it is out of an abiding respect for those countries and their representatives.

          It behoves all Bahamians and the media in particular to understand that I have never seen diplomatic relations as some “tit for tat” game of tag in public, or the fodder for speculation and idle commentary.  And so I do not propose to make any further statements on these matters and would refer any comment on these matters to the farewell reception where remarks are delivered on behalf of the Bahamian people.  We must remember that envoys represent their countries.  I represent my country.  And the relations between our countries: China, The United Kingdom and the United Sates of America are excellent, and we cooperate on a range of matters.  I expect that they will continue to be excellent.  I have said before: The Bahamas has no enemies.

          I wish to say also that we continue to project foreign affairs as the first line of defence for the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.  We have no army for offensive capability and the military that we have is really meant to deal with civilian type criminal activity or immigrant problems.  It does not include the capacity to defend this country against organized armed incursions by states, and there is no need to do so because there is no such threat.

          But I wish Bahamians to understand that The Bahamas is a country.  I have sought in various addresses over the past year to help us define what we mean when we say that.  It is clear that the country is a respected one.

          I have just returned from Chile for the annual general meeting of the Organization of American states, where I had the opportunity to speak briefly with the United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell, about matters of mutual interests, which I shall, on behalf of the Government be following up.  It is important for our international friends and partners to know who we are and to put a face to the country of The Bahamas.  That is why, in part, we have to be at international fora and be counted in our positions.

            The Bahamas was pleased to be able to support the statement of the Secretary of State, Mr. Powell, on the question of support for Haiti.  This is a powerful statement in my view to the work of CARICOM and in particular my colleague, Foreign Minister Julian Hunte, of St. Lucia.  I have the proud honour at this time to announce that he has been elected as the next President of the United Nations General Assembly.  This is a signal honour for The Bahamas, and a Bahamian will serve at the expense of the Bahamian people as his Chef de Cabinet for the year.  It shows the respect and esteem in which this region and country are held.

          I wish to repeat that CARICOM is not a military alliance. There is no question of CARICOM against t he United States or CARICOM against Cuba.  CARICOM is a geopolitical and economic arrangement that is in the best interest of The Bahamas. The Bahamas needs CARICOM and CARICOM needs us.  And we ought to remember that co-ordination does not mean that we all speak together against the same things.  Some times we agree that we ought to go our own way, but we always let our partners know what we are doing and why we are doing it.

          I want to thank all those in the regional institutions for their support of The Bahamas over the past 20 years of our participation in CARICOM.  CARICOM celebrates its 30th anniversary on 4th July 2003, and it is expected that the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister will travel to Jamaica for the Heads of Government meeting there to mark this anniversary.

          With regard to our relations with Cuba, those relations are cordial and correct.  We hope within the next year, subject to resources, to be able to open a consulate general in Havana.  There is an increasing demand, which now cannot be met from Nassau, for consular services, particularly from our students and for those imprisoned in Cuba.

          We remain concerned about the treatment of dissenting opinion in Cuba.  And we have stated publicly our concern about this.  At the same time, we have urged the normalization of relations with all countries with Cuba as the best way to help promote the forces of democracy within that country.

            I turn now to the Republic of Haiti.  I have had the honour to report to the country that an agreement has been initialled between Haiti and us on migrant and other issues.  It is intended that the Cabinet will approve this initial agreement and that it will be ready for the signatures of both Governments in November 2003.  This is an important step because it sets the legal framework for the responsibilities and obligations of both Haiti and The Bahamas in their immigrant crisis.  The matter is increasingly complex because of the history of two centuries of immigration to The Bahamas from Haiti.  It is intended to clarify who will be allowed to come here and to reaffirm the recipe of repatriation and the obligation to accept those who are repatriated who do not have any legal status here.  The Government is determined to manage this problem in a lawful, humane and legal way.  It is important for Bahamians to accept that this is a serious obligation particularly since it is expected that within a short time the economy is likely to expand, thus creating pressure for additional labour at all levels, and if, as we expect, this does occur, the agreement also contemplates such arrangements with the Haitian Government in a way similar to that of the contract in which Bahamians participated with the US in the 1940s and 1950s.

          In connection with all the surrounding countries, the United Sates, Cuba and Haiti, there are increasing demands for consular services and there is a misunderstanding what those services entail.  The Bahamas Government does not offer the services of lawyers for person arrested overseas.  Consular Services, where available, perform the following services to Bahamians citizens:  the emergency issue for travel documents, and the visits to Bahamians imprisoned abroad to check on their access to their families and to legal counsel.

          An ambassador or Consul General does not provide legal services and cannot for persons arrested under laws of the foreign state.  It is important for persons to understand that it is the primary responsibility of the person who is arrested to find legal counsel.  The Bahamas does not pay for legal representatives and no diplomatic officer can contract the services of lawyers in behalf of Bahamian citizens abroad, unless specifically authorized by the Cabinet, and that is a rare authorization indeed.

  You, as a citizen of this country, may exercise your right to freely travel to another country.  However, in the event that you are, in the course of these travels, incarcerated, that is a private responsibility, not a national one.  However, we do have an obligation to ensure that you are not mistreated in prison and ensure that there is fair play in accordance with the standards that we provide for persons in this country.

          The relationship between the United Kingdom and the Bahamas is excellent.  We cooperate in Opbat.  We cooperate in matters connected with the Turks and Caicos Islands.  Britain provides technical assistance of high calibre to The Bahamas.  I wish to welcome the new High Commission to The Bahamas and wish him well during his stay in The Bahamas.

          The People Republic of China continues to expand its relations with The Bahamas.  It is expected that within the year as Minister of Foreign Affairs, I shall travel to the Peoples Republic of China for a visit and will seek to expand the opportunity for visits to Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

 It is important to note that the Consul General in Hong Kong was recalled during the year because of the SARS outbreak.  However, WHO has now deemed it safe once again to travel to Hong Kong.  The office is expected to reopen next month.  I would like to thank the Consul General, Freddie Tucker, for his service to our country in the face of such a serious danger.

           Relations with Canada are good and we enjoy a range of contacts on matters of technical cooperation.  We expect that the services of Canadian vendors may be utilized in the public sector reform efforts.  A Canadian company is also involved in bids for digital passports.  That system is expected to be implemented within a year.  The present system of passport issuing is no longer state of the art in terms of security, and the world is demanding the inclusion of biometric data in the issue of passports.  In this connection, we are seeking urgent clarification of a report that fingerprints are to be required of all foreigners entering the United States of America.

          The United States and The Bahamas have a great relationship.  I am sure that after all the negative publicity about the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, you will be pleased to see this morning’s reports of the close cooperation on migrant issues between the US Coast Guard and the Bahamas.  I want to thank the US for all the assistance rendered in this country and on behalf of our citizens.  It is important for me to reaffirm that friendship and all the work that is done on the diplomatic and technical levels between our two countries.  I conveyed this to the Secretary of State when I spoke with him in Chile on Monday last.  I wish their outgoing envoy well and I expect that relations will continue in the usual excellent manner that they have in the past.

          In the coming year, Mr. Speaker, we will announce the Foreign Relations Council.  The Prime Minister is expected to announce shortly the Chair for that Council and its members.  That council will perform an invaluable function in public education of Foreign Affairs matters so that the public can better understand the work that we do.

          I wish to pay tribute to all of our envoys abroad.  It is likely that within a year, new envoys will be announced for London and Washington.  There should be major reshaping of the way the Ministry is run, particularly as it engages with the public and the ability to get about our work in a timely manner.

          I wish, Mr. Speaker, to be able to announce that a new building will be constructed for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  The building in which we are now located has been condemned as a fire hazard by the Fire Department.  I am beginning discussion with architects about a new facility and the planning for its construction.  At present there are no funding allocations, but it is my duty to plan for the future and I make a plea to our hard working employees that I am working as assiduously as I can providing a new state of the art facility for the Ministry.

          We welcomed a new Permanent Secretary at the Ministry during the year and she has begun the work of reorganizing the Ministry and seeking to give some attention to its physical environment.  I wish to thank the outgoing Permanent Secretary for her work and wish her well in her posting in her new service for The Bahamas abroad, at the United Nations.