A Government Dependent People

In a small country like The Bahamas where people take their politics very seriously, emotions ran high. Nationally 91% of the registered voters voted. In some poling divisions in some constituencies, there was a 100% voter participation. Bahamians believe in expressing their political preferences through the ballot box.

There are some people who believe that Bahamians are extremely dependent on government and look to government to solve essentially all of their problems. The role of government in the Bahamian society requires definition. On JCN’s Channel 14 last Wednesday night, Archdeacon James Palacious made the statement that Bahamians like most people vote their interest.

For decades, Bahamians have looked to the government to provide jobs, schools, healthcare and infrastructure all of this in an environment devoid of income tax. In essence, all of these services, essentially, were and are free. There is a popular song about and its lyrics describe working for the government and one the lines states that one goes to work anytime.

One of the failures of colonial government is that it built up a dependency in government as virtually everything was government driven. World has changed to private sector driven world. It is the dynamics of the Private Sector that has and is changing the world in which we live. It is the Private Sector, which is creating the diversity in the workplace through its innovations. All governments can do is facilitate the transformation by creating an environment to encourage change.

An important element in this is the type of human resources which a country has at its disposal, hence the need for a quality educational system. In The Bahamas, if one wants a quality education one generally does not aspire to attending a government operated school. Likewise, if wants quality health care one does not attend a government clinic. In most cases, it is the Private Sector, which is providing the quality service.

One, therefore, has to beg the question as to whether or not, Mr. Ingraham and his government can satisfy an electorate which is looking for so much from its government.

Father Palacious made the point that governments in The Bahamas will not receive the luxury of a honeymoon period; Bahamians are looking for results. Governments have to hit the road running. In the US governments are generally accessed after the first one hundred days.

In this era of globalization, competitiveness is the watchword and unless the people, the services, which are provided, by the people and the industries which turnout products manufactured by the people are competitive, life will be difficult for the citizenry. Many countries in this region are catching up with The Bahamas in tourism; places like the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Turks and Caicos Islands are all selling sun, sand and sea plus golf courses, cheaper labour and cheap locally grown fresh exotic fruits, vegetables and meat. In addition, the Caribbean as a region is losing market share as a tourism destination. One of the main reasons for this is the prevalence of crime. All of these factors are impacting The Bahamas as an investment locale be it in tourism, second homes locale or as an off-shore financial jurisdiction.

Some things governments can fix; others are beyond the capacity of any government. The Bahamian people must be mindful of this scenario if not we are deluding ourselves.