Evidently, the time is nigh and now for those who lead to provide assistance to each and every Bahamian interested in pioneering this kind of sustainable development in any of our Family Islands.

Such a move would have a plethora of benefits for a land and a people where our people are constrained to produce more of the food that they consume.

Indeed, this might well help with healing some of the ills so very many of our youth now experience as they battle with any number of chronic non-communicable diseases.

The sum of the matter, then, is that genuine renewal demands that we focus attention not only on much needed foreign direct investment, but also on the social well-being of this nation’s youth.

And yet again, based on what we know about the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases; it would be fair to conclude that the vast majority of our students have parents who are themselves hungry, malnourished or both.

This is no sturdy basis for the real development of our nation.

For our part, we yearn for the soon-coming of that day when each child in every public school facility is guaranteed on a daily basis at least one good balanced meal – preferably breakfast; with such food coming not from food-stores, but from farms owned and run by Bahamians.

And here we sincerely believe that a project of this nature can be economically viable; that it can be funded by government and its social partners; and with our Churches and unions and credit unions playing commensurately large parts.

Our nation’s children will become – in the ultimate analysis – the biggest winners.

Today we make these suggestions in light of currently available indicators suggest that the Bahamian people should – as of now – brace themselves for the onset of any number of wrenching changes.

One such change involves this nation’s and our region’s speedier access to food that is inexpensive, nutritious, available and accessible, all at once.

This is especially important in this time of crisis-revealed; itself a time when we either pull together for the achievement of the common good or find ourselves ruined one after the other.

And for sure, we now live in a time when the hand-writing is on the wall:-The old order is changing.

In this regard, then, please be reminded that this nation’s economy has been fueled by foreign direct investment; and that, for as long as we can remember, this style of ‘development’ has been directly and massively efficient in providing profits and benefits for foreign investors and the Bahamian men and women who work for them.

In addition, and therefore, for as long as we can also remember, thousands of Bahamians have searched for and have found life-long jobs in the employ of the Bahamas Government.

And for sure, very many of these Government-employed persons have managed to become –as it were- charter members of what is described as the permanent and pensionable establishment.

For a while practically everyone in the know or who thought that they were ensconced in that sweet spot imagined that this good game could last forever.

Nothing does. As we now know, the death-knell was sounded for this type of system in the year 2008 as the Great Economic
Recession of that year laid waste vast stretches of the world capitalist system.

And so today, The Bahamas and its sister nations in the region struggle to get up from under the ruins of dreams laid waste as an accustomed way of life imploded.

And so today, there is an emerging debate and evaluation concerning this nation’s position and prospects moving forward.

For our part, we are absolutely convinced that we must – as a matter of the most urgent priority – review both the politics, the economics and the mindset spawned by our collective [and sometimes paranoid] reliance on foreign direct investment.

In addition, we must –at least for the sake of our own sanity – repent of the notion that such investment could or even should displace national ownership, national control and greater national self-reliance of the so-called commanding heights of the nation’s economy.

And for sure, we must [moving forward] renew, refurbish and re-build bridges and connections between ourselves and the region, inclusive of Cuba and the Republic of Haiti.

Evidently, such a venture cannot and will not succeed if those who lead or those who would lead remain mired in a mindset where they hope against hope and while away the time searching for the ever-elusive foreign investor.

And so, while foreign investment is to be welcomed, so too should the Bahamian people be invited and encouraged to become pioneers in the development of their own country and nation.

Clearly, then, the right to life should be considered and described as the world’s number one right thing owed by every human person; regardless of gender, age, social condition, faith, creed, race or disability.

This is why – and here closer to home – we pray for the soon-coming realization of our hope which tells us that, we should and must work with all who would in the first instance, obtain a legal moratorium on capital punishment and thereafter, work for the abolition of the death penalty in The Bahamas.

Now note that: – As more and more nastily dread news flows in concerning the number of people who have been murdered; so grows that raucous cacophony of voices crying out for capital punishment.

And for sure, as this barbarous claque froths and bays for its share of blood – the troubles on our streets and in our homes and in our minds continue apace.

In truth and in fact, capital punishment is no panacea for the ills we face; and so [evidently] the ills and troubles we face are themselves deeply rooted in policies that routinely fail the masses of Bahamian people.

In addition, there is no gainsaying the fact that some of our religious who know better and who could therefore teach more about what they know and believe concerning the dignity and value of human life are themselves highly delinquent in their public ministries.

And so, their light –as Christians – does not shine in these times that are so shadowed by blood, destruction, pagan worship and death.

This is both shame and disgrace to all who would know the truth concerning the inherent dignity, worth and value of each and every human person; this because each of us is made [and so do we believe] in the Image and likeliness of God Almighty.

Happily, this message is finally getting through; and so today, we can tell you that more and more countries are abolishing capital punishment. But note also that: – fifty seven countries still adhere to the practice.

And world-wide, there are some 20,000 people under threat of death by this or that state authority.

Sadly, some who now languish in this tormented state are born and bred products of states and peoples in our region.

Sadder yet, there remains a hue and cry from Guyana and Trinidad in the south to the Bahamas in the north for the resumption of this barbaric practice.

But yet [and notwithstanding the blood-curdling cry for blood coming from the lips of hundreds of Bahamians, we remain confident that – when all things are said and done – this barbarism will be brought to an end.

We are also confident that, those who now run things will – sooner rather than later – join in with that growing majority of mankind who has decided to put an end to this vestige of utter backwardness and depravity.

We remain ever optimistic.

And yet, the truth remains which so ably demonstrates that Bahamians from practically all walks of life have been transfixed by what they describe as a so-called crime wave.

Most of these people are becoming more and more appalled by the spiraling rate of murder, rape and other instance of carnage and social mayhem.

But as bad as these things now seem, they pale in significance to what we would deem the real crime menace in The Bahamas.

Here we are convinced that the real menace we face has to do with the widening reach of that social rot which now provides the ground for the efflorescence of those offences that grab public attention, matters like murder, rape and bloody robberies.

But as the street-wise among us know so very well, some of the most successful criminals are those wily ones who specialize in the trade in guns, drugs, other contraband and in certain highly valued counterfeit goods.

We make this point in the same breath as we note that there is an abundance of evidence that strongly supports the conclusion that The Bahamas is home to tens of thousands of people who routinely flout the laws of the land.

These offences range from the crimes committed by those people who routinely smuggle goods into and out of The Bahamas to those offences that are routinely committed by rogue police officers and other thugs in uniform.

And so, things become ever more foul as the state gets in on those practices which – taken in their entirety – not only lead from deprivation that ends in poverty but which also conduces to producing criminals and any number of cut-throats; thence the cry that these people should be killed.

This is dreadfully wrong.

That same IDB report added that unemployment among Bahamians aged 25 years-old or less had “tripled during the first decade in the 2000s.

And so, they prescribe more and more investment in skills development.

To the point, then:- The [IDB] survey demonstrates that upgrading both technical and soft skills is key to increasing productivity and competitiveness, adaptation to new technologies, and creating stable work opportunities for Bahamian workers.

In truth and therefore for as long as we can remember, employers and a host of other interested parties have bemoaned the parlous condition of this nation’s educational systems.

As things now stand, we are –as a people- spending more and more on schooling while reaping year in and year out harvests of uncouth youth; thousands of near-illiterates and tens of thousands of youth who are woefully behind in mathematics and basic calculation.

But clearly:- There will be no real change between how most students do in their studies this year and how they did last year. In addition, there will be no real difference in the year to come as regards how most of this nation’s schools perform.

And clearly, the thousands of men and women who work in the nation’s plethora of schools will continue to do versions of the same things they have been doing for all of the years since The Bahamas achieved its so-called ‘independence’ from Her Majesty’s Britannic Government.

Interestingly, there are schools in The Bahamas where student achievement levels are high; where curricula are both challenging and relevant and which do prepare students for both work and further education.

And so, there it goes: – We are being guaranteed the social reproduction of a class-based social order which guarantees social division; which reinforces an unjust status quo and one which – ultimately – can only bring grief to all and sundry.

But yet, such is the power of those who now run things from the shadows that things will – barring some miracle – remain the same.

And so, we can expect more rage, more street-level violence, and more damage to property, more crimes against persons and more and more untimely deaths.

At this juncture, it is anybody’s guess how this sadly tragic story will end.

In the meanwhile, we have on our collective hands a situation where no day passes in this troubled place when there is no report of murder on the hoof; blood on the streets; rape running amok or some other species of god-awful abuse of innocence.

This is clear evidence that some of our churches are failing; that some of our schools are dropping to pieces and that, very many Bahamian families are reeling under the hammer blows inflicted by an economy that cannot reach some of this nation’s least, lost and marginalized.

Here we might note that: – One of the realities of life in a rapidly globalizing world economy has to do with how all factors of production – inclusive of human capital – are on the move.

As Nobel Laureate, Gary Becker so cogently argues: – “…During the past 30 years the market for workers with few skills has been weak pretty much everywhere. The reason is that economies, including developing economies, have increased their demand for knowledge workers at the expense of low skilled workers…”

Becker goes on to show that: – “…Various forces have favored skilled workers during the past several decades; indeed, many of them began much earlier. Technological changes and automation, including the development of computers, the Internet, and electronic controls, have reduced the demand for certain types of skilled workers, such as secretaries and clerical workers.

They have increased the demand for workers who command considerable knowledge, and who know how to access any additional knowledge necessary to perform various tasks. The growth in the stock of complex machinery has also raised the demand for workers who know how to effectively use such machinery…”

It is with this reality we must cope if we are to survive and prosper in an increasingly complex global environment.
Only time will tell if we have what it takes to do what we should; and so, as an uncertain future beckons, we hope and pray that those who lead and those who would lead would do more to fix systems that are in need of urgent overhaul.

Whether any of this amounts to criminal wrongdoing is anybody’s guess.

But for sure, it is clearly a very sad fact of life that this scandal reveals some of the costs that can and will accrue to the Bahamian people when the nation’s Executive delegates too much of its authority.

And so, today –as the chips fly hither and yon – we implore the current administration that it should be up and doing with reviewing standard operating procedures at all public corporations with a view to insuring accountability, transparency and wise stewardship of the people’s hard-earned money.

Here we insist:-Like others who are waiting and watching to see how the National Insurance Scandal will finally be settled, we wait in hope even as voices in the wind shout that, this one, this scandalous thing will – in short order – find it finessed and shelved away.

This is far too cynical a view.

For our part, then, we continue to insist that the authorities should be up and doing with not only nixing what might be deemed a culture of impunity long complicit in crimes committed in some of this nation’s suites; but that these same authorities should be most deliberate in sending forward the loud and clear message proclaiming an end to a system that seemed predicated on a notion of ‘different strokes for different folks’.

At one end of that spectrum are reports concerning Ponzi Schemes and the theft of millions of dollars from unsuspecting investors. We are also hearing the tale of the big-time money swindler who was able -up until now- to get away with a billion dollar rip-off.

What is even more troubling is the sense we are getting that the authorities do not have a clue as to what is to be done about crime in the streets and crime in the suites.

That may of course be due to the fact that there are so very many so-called ‘respectable, law-abiding Bahamians’ who make their living off the likes of the swindlers and co-artists who are in our midst.

Here we go further with the suggestion that whenever a country becomes grounded in corruption, many of its people — particularly its youth — come to the conclusion that all that matters is money.

After that all that truly matters concerns how much of the loot they can grab.

This is both unfortunate and regrettable.

Compounding the matter is the fact that some of the people who flout the law and who thereby collect their share of the corruption bonanza are the very ones who shout so loudly about how proud they are to be Bahamians.

These are the high-minded, high-perched ones who comprise an elite brand of criminal in an already crime-ridden, bloody Bahamas.

In this regard, then, we would also wish to suggest that the current focus on street-level policing as panacea to crime in The Bahamas might well be an expensive exercise in futility.

They must see to it that there is no hiding place for the criminal cloistered away in his suite.

We make this point in the same breath as we note that there is an abundance of evidence that is strongly supportive of the conclusion that The Bahamas is home to hundreds of such highly placed con-artists and tricksters.

The damage these scam artistes do is analogous to the destruction wrought by a nest of termites.

And so it follows: – If ever there was a time when the attentive public is desirous of ‘swift” justice that time is surely now as they get both whiff and smell of some of the corruption-tinged allegations now swirling around the head of this or that person previously working for the National Insurance Board.

And so today, we re-new our call on the authorities to move with all deliberate speed to bring this matter to speedy closure; and for sure, we are also minded to point out that the masses of our people still yearn to know and believe that the laws on the books apply to each and every Bahamian.

In addition, the masses of Bahamian people yet yearn for the soon-coming of that day when the Law is applied without fear or favor; but for sure, we must re-state and re-cite our fullest agreement with the proposition which teaches and ensures that a person charged with an offense is to be presumed innocent.

And so, we rush to make the point that, Algernon Cargill and any others who might yet find themselves hauled before the courts should be presumed innocent and [as such] should be given every opportunity to defend any and all allegations made against them.

Today we re-new our call on the authorities to move with all deliberate speed to bring this matter to speedy closure. When the chips are down- the masses of our people still yearn to know and believe that the laws on the books apply to each and every Bahamian.

In addition, the masses of Bahamian people yet yearn for the soon-coming of that day when the Law is applied without fear or favor. We must re-state and re-cite our fullest agreement with the proposition which teaches and ensures that a person charged with an offense is to be presumed innocent.

We are also quite aware that no one should be put in a position where he might condemn himself; thus his right to remain silent and that, in order to be convicted there must be contested positions in open court as led by prosecution and defense.
Like so very many other right-thinking Bahamians, we want to know about what really did go down at National Insurance to cause all the furor and innuendo that now engulfs a number of current and former employees of that star-crossed government owned entity.

Not only do we want to know what happened, we want to know if anyone is going to be charged with any wrong-doing. And most of all, we take this opportunity to let this administration know that the Bahamian people want them to come clean and let the chips fall where they may.

And lest there be some other mistake concerning the extent of the people’s justified anger about what they have heard concerning the National Insurance issue; let it also be known that these people are also angry because things are tough for them.

They are therefore in no mood to turn a blind eye on this scandal.

The hurt for many continues; so too does the gravy train hum for some others who are mired in games now being played out in other sectors of this or that state-owned entity.

Enough remains enough!

In addition, even as we look in on scandal’s NIB face, we are reminded of the fact that this nation now reels not only at the hammer blows inflicted by a world-economy over which it has little to no real control; but that the so-called man in the street now cowers in the cold shadow of poverty on the hoof –but yet, an ever expectant people now demand transparency, accountability and responsibility from all who lead and all who would lead.

But above all else, the Bahamian people demand action, results and transparency from those elected to serve them. In addition, they are now demanding the same from all those nameless, faceless bureaucrats who work with, for and under the command of politicians.

From the report of Auditors the National Insurance Fund has been pillaged and somehow or the other been diverted from their proper use. Now that the report is published, the people expect action from the Attorney General.

In his statement of the obvious, Minister Gibson says that, “…As soon as we make a decision based on the recommendations of the AG’s Office, then one of two things will happen:- “He will either return to work or he won’t return to work.”
There is no way that the Director of NIB Algernon Cargill can return to work, given the content of the report. We all must now wait to hear, see and understand what the Attorney-General’s Office has to say on the matter concerning the stewardship of the people’s money.

The time is now [not nigh] for demanding that the Hon. Shane Gibson show and tell the Bahamian people all that he knows concerning whatever it is that has come to light in the aftermath of that forensic audit into the affairs of the National Insurance Board ordered and/or sanctioned by his colleagues in the Cabinet.

Let it be known that we shall have none of that good old fudge that some among us are prepared to feast on when there is information in hand that might hurt this or that favored character of ours’. The chips –as they say- should be allowed to fly where ever they may.

Someone might yet find himself convicted for having completed some delicate exercise in dealing with or even stealing money that was ours and not his or theirs.

There are all kind of things a government can do when it wakes to reality that things can collapse; that things can go awry – and that they can fail utterly.

This point we make against a social background where [as things now stand] more guns, more police, more police equipment, more burglar bars, more bed-room sized security cages and for sure, more prayers will add nothing to the fight that has not already been thrown into the struggle for peace on our streets, harmony in our neighbours and love in our homes.

More of the same can only produce more of the same waste of time, money and human resources.

Perhaps [and here just perhaps] the time has come for a cash-strapped administration to understand that there is no wisdom in pursuing policies that have demonstrably failed.

Highest on this list would be all those road-to-hell proposals that would send the so-called law-breaker to jail-with-no bail.

All that can happen is what has already happened: – More and more people are given custodial sentences; more and more people find themselves on remand; the government finds itself hard-pressed to meet its spiraling bills – and the system finds itself chock-full of cases. And at street-corner level, the garbage piles up; kids get sick, their idle parents teeter on the edge of distress – and woe of woes, there is no longer money enough to send in the clowns. While things may be bad, there is still space for hope.

As the old saying so rightly concludes, necessity is the mother of invention; and there is that other nostrum which holds that there are certain types of people in the world who while they may know the price of everything in the shop, have nary a clue concerning their real value.

Such a regime might finding itself swearing to high-heaven that things are not as bad as they seem – thus succumbing to the lure named ‘denial’.

Another response could well be that of hoping and praying that things could or would – with prayers – turn out differently.
And again, a wise government would hunker down; understand that human problems can and should be met [in clear face-off] with corresponding human designed and human-implemented solutions.

Evidently, therefore, it is at this juncture anybody’s guess the path that will be taken by the current administration.
As far as we are concerned – is that the Christie administration must be up and doing not only for the sake of its own survival and continued viability, but also for the well-being, safety, health and protection of the Bahamian Nation.
Indeed, yet again – we today insist that the street-level trade in guns and drugs; street-level smash and grab operations and any number of other nasty instances of chronically nasty gun-play and the now ubiquitous street-level sale of sex – when added together – now run the risk of becoming a god-awful toxic social mess. Living in and with the mess are some of this nation’s most innocent men, women and children. Is there no life-line for them?

Perhaps, there is; but for the moment, imagine this scenario: – You are steadily employed; you have a wife and you also have with this love of your life, three truly wonderful children; you have a house and so, you also have a mortgage. You also want the best for you, your brood and their truly wonderful mother.

And so, you pay dearly for their health, education and safety.

Alas, your neighbourhood is ‘infested’ with young thugs intent on ripping you off; and quite possibly raping and abusing wife and children and stealing the one car that is transportation for the family.

As paterfamilias, you spend more and more on security bars and more and more on dogs-as-security.

Right away, you have less to spend on the education of the children; the well-being of their mother and your own health.
This story is real-life, real-time story of what is currently happening to so very many people who could have – once-upon-a-time described themselves as being ‘solidly’ middle-class.

Today, these people are crying out for help.

Please help them.

We have on occasion lamented the fact that there is a major disconnect in our country as regards schooling and education.
As things now stand, we are – as a people – spending more and more on schooling while reaping year in and year out harvests of uncouth youth; thousands of near-illiterates and tens of thousands of youth who are woefully behind in mathematics and basic calculation. We have been at this losing game for most of the past five decades.

Into the breach marches Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education.

As news reports show, Fitzgerald and some of his esteemed colleagues seem to be of the view that once you corral ‘just the right type of folks’ and turn them into a Committee, you can somehow or the other hammer out a consensus on education in The Bahamas, moving forward.

He also seems convinced that once you bring representatives of the various political parties to that sweet place where they can discuss and plan and hope for the best that somehow or the other, they would birth a vision for this nation’s educational future.

As we learn, the ‘Fitzgerald Group’ has agreed to work together to develop ideas that will transition into a plan and ultimately policies, which will govern education in our country for the next 15-20 years.

And then this boast to beat all boasts:-“It is not a PLP plan. It is not an FNM plan. It is not a DNA plan. It is a Bahamian Plan. It is a plan for the direction that education is to take for the advancement of the Bahamian people.”

In truth, it is a plan by the few, involving the few and which is intended for the many.

This is fundamentally anti-democratic.

And of course, wishing and hoping otherwise can and will achieve nothing of real value for the Bahamian people.

Indeed, no matter how clever this or that Committee might wish to see itself, the fact remains that governance is always best when it involves the people, thus our suggestion that the Minister of Education might yet – be well-advised – to get on with delivering the promises made by his party in their Charter of Governance.

The Bahamian people elect governments to do their best during their five-year term of office.

More to the point, Committees do not produce visions.

Parties envisage how they would lead if given the opportunity.

In office, they either succeed or fail in the effort!

This then is the crux of the matter: – Today’s Progressive Liberal Party is called to deliver on promise already made.
We would have thought that moving forward requires far less elite intervention and far more mass participation in decisions that matter to the so-called man in the street. We would also have thought that the Progressive Liberal Party [granted its long involvement with the masses of our people, would do all that it could to re-build this vitally important connection.
It is one hell of a thing when full-grown men and women could decide among themselves that each and every one of them has precisely and exactly what the Bahamian people need, moving forward.

We refer to those fine ladies and gentlemen who now fill seats on a so-called ‘Political Committee for a Shared Vision for Education 2030’ as it was called into being by Minister of Education, Jerome Fitzgerald.

As we have reported in the Journal:-“…The group has agreed to work together to develop ideas that will transition into a plan and ultimately policies, which will govern education in our country for the next 15-20 years…”

The minister thanked Prime Minister Perry Christie for his support and for sanctioning the meeting.

The Committee in question has space on it for former Education Minister, Carl Bethel and Member of Parliament for St. Anne’s Hubert Chipman and FNM Senator Desmond Bannister.

And then, there is Mark Humes, Chairman of the Democratic National Alliance. The Journal also indicated that Minister Fitzgerald also expressed gratitude to the representatives of the government who have been called upon to serve on this committee which included National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage, Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson, Transport and Aviation Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin, Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin and Chairman of the Council of The College of The Bahamas, Alfred Sears.

Where are the professionals in Educational Development? Where are the experts?

Also serving on the committee is President of the Senate Sharon Wilson.

And yet, we hope and pray that they are not embarked on a voyage of futility.

As this process unfolded, some Bahamians benefited mightily while some others were left behind, marginalized, lost and mired in desperation.

In addition, these Cuba-fed and therefore Castroism-driven forces unleashed a dynamic which drove more and more Family islanders to New Providence; thus the demand for more and more housing, more and more jobs and more and more state provision of public services.

To this date, this beat continues.

Now that we find ourselves mired in the after-tow of the Great Economic Recession, crime is running amok as more and more unemployed [and unemployable] youth wreak havoc on each other and on their wider communities.

Clearly, the half a century age of easy money and so-called prosperity is over.

Change is in the air. Now, some scholars would have you believe that population dynamics play a crucial role in determining a country’s developmental prospects.

If asked to look in on the prospects facing the Bahamas, they would surely argue that there is only so much the Bahamian people can do granted their country’s small population.

The point would also be made that there is also so very little that can be done from a security perspective by the Bahamian people granted the archipelagic configuration of The Bahamas – an island nation scattered across some 100,000 square miles of Atlantic ocean.

In a sense, this nation’s configuration of such a plethora of islands, rocks and cays makes it a near perfect analog to a wider Caribbean which is itself comprised of a congeries of Small Island developing states.

In both instances, disconnection, fragmentation and alienation now define the limits each and every such state can achieve in a world where organization and unity play such a vitally important set of roles.

When for example, we look at the Bahamas there is nothing clearer than the fact that today’s Bahamas is not only Nassau-centric, but that we now have on our hands a quite paradoxical situation.

This situation involves a brutally expensive disconnect between the political demands conducing to provision of public services to each and every populated place in the Bahamas: thus huge investments in roads, schools and telecommunications linking the least developed islands of the Bahamas to both Nassau and New Providence. Today we have a situation where such goods are in extremely high demand throughout the Bahamas. This situation cannot and shall not be sustained.

The time is surely now for the Bahamian people and those who would rule over them to understand the clear urgency in the moment insisting that there be a break with things as they are.

This break with things as they are must involve drastic and dramatic changes in how Crown land is dispersed, how and who is called upon to pioneer development in this nation’s multiplicity of islands, rocks and cays.

Precisely because things are bad, that money is scarce and that there is currently no major foreign investment onslaught, we ought to use this occasion – as a basis – for digging deep into our shared reservoir of creativity to help shore up this nation’s Bahamian-driven dream of genuine development.

Evidently, there is a crying need in this time of crisis and change for Bahamians who have a vested interest in transforming their country for the better to come together in solemn assembly to chart the way forward.

This way forward can and should be driven by Bahamians.

Furthermore, such a way forward can and should involve government, civil society and business in ventures created and designed by Bahamians who would pioneer development throughout this archipelago.

Such ventures would clearly implicate some that are touristic in nature and which cater not only to the foreigner, but also to Bahamians; some could also involve farming and fisheries development; and some might also involve the establishment of any number of craft-related industries.

Like so very many others who work in and derive their living from media, we are ever mindful that we must either strive to keep up with changing times or perish utterly.

One of the more peculiar aspects of life in today’s so-called modern Bahamas has to do with the extent to which some of its laws, practices and mores are yet so heavily impregnated [and perhaps even infested] with relics of slavery and colonialism; thus laws against vagrancy, laws against ‘insulting’ the Queen and other quaint matters such as laws extant that seek to criminalize obeah.

There are those other practices that would stifle press freedom in a day and in an age where the propagation of information has not only gone world-wide, but which on occasion, goes viral.

Now that this information genie is out of the bottle, nothing can be done as regards returning to that era when TOP SECRET could be taken to also mean for SOME EYES ONLY. In a sense, the same principle applies to how we – as a nation – treat with changing trends in the wider world.

This is precisely why we say it loud and say it clear that we are in the fullest of agreement with the International Press Institute when it argues in a letter to Prime Minister the Right Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie that they find it appalling that criminal defamation still exists in the Bahamas, and that they have also asked him to bring the nation’s media-related laws in line with international standards.

As things now stand, journalists in the Bahamas can be jailed for what they write or say.

This is appalling! Indeed, we are also reminded [from the very innards of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights] that: – “… Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers…”

In this regard, IPI executive director Alison Bethel McKenzie indicated, “Our position, which is supported by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression is that criminal libel laws are antiquated and risk being misused to punish investigative journalism and chill critical opinion. Their existence promotes self-censorship on matters of public interest.” In addition, press freedom – in its most pristine manifestation- implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state. Its preservation may be sought through constitutional or other legal protections.

This is precisely what we want and need in today’s so-called ‘modern’ Bahamas.

Put simply, we do agree with Mrs. McKenzie when she insists that all defamation, slander, libel and insult allegations should be handled by civil, not criminal courts. Evidently, if media is to do the job that it has been called to perform as regards the maintenance and deepening of democracy, it follows that every obstacle that now impedes it in pursuit of its purpose should be removed.

At its 2012 World Congress in Trinidad, IPI members approved the “Declaration of Port of Spain” which calls for the abolition of criminal defamation and insult laws in the Caribbean, in support of a strong and independent media.

More to the point, the Institute is of the view that “…no journalist should face criminal charges for what he or she has written or broadcast unless that information incites violence, which in most countries is a criminal offence.”

Under the Bahamas Penal Code, individuals convicted of intentional libel face up to two years in prison. Seditious libel or libel with a seditious intent, including insulting the Queen, carries a prison sentence of up to three years for repeat offenders.

We would respectfully encourage the government to consider amending the Bahamian Penal Code to repeal criminal defamation.
This we recommend even as we take note of the fact that defamation is criminalized to some extent in all 16 independent countries considered to be culturally or geographically part of the Caribbean.

This is nothing short of a crying shame in a day and in a time such as this.

The Hon. Shane Gibson is himself clear enough in his mind as to what should be done. Like us he seems to be on the side of those Bahamians who know that whatever is to be done should be executed now rather than later. As one news report suggests: – “…National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson said he is already satisfied [in his mind] “what course of action we should take” based on the findings of the audit into the National Insurance Board.

Decisions made by NIB board members “based on the information (they) had when they were first appointed, seem to be justified…it went way beyond where we thought it would go and so we don’t want to make any rushed judgment or decision; we want to think about it carefully.

But I can guarantee you one thing, at the end of the day – it will be made public and it’s just a matter of when…” Just a matter of when is not good enough. Whatever is to be done should be done now. We need to know all that the Minister and whomever else already knows the whodunit questions and the corresponding answers.

In his statement of the obvious, Minister Gibson says that, “…As soon as we make a decision based on the recommendations of the AG’s Office, then one of two things will happen:- “He will either return to work or he won’t return to work.” We all must wait to hear, see and understand what the Attorney-General’s Office has to say on the matter concerning the stewardship of the people’s money.

The time is now for demanding that the Hon. Shane Gibson show and tell the Bahamian people all that he knows concerning whatever it is that has come to light in the aftermath of that forensic audit into the affairs of the National Insurance Board ordered and/or sanctioned by his colleagues in the Cabinet. And let it be known that we shall have none of that good old fudge that some among us are prepared to feast on when there is information in hand that might hurt this or that favored character of ours’.

The chips – as they say – should be allowed to fly where ever they may. Very many other right-thinking Bahamians want to know about what really did go down at National Insurance to cause all the furor and innuendo that now engulf a number of current and former employees of that star-crossed government owned entity.

Not only do we want to know what happened, we want to know if anyone is going to be charged with any wrong-doing. And most of all, we take this opportunity to let this administration know that the Bahamian people want them to come clean and let the chips fall where they may. And lest there be some other mistake concerning the extent of the people’s justified anger about what they have heard concerning the National Insurance issue, these people are also angry because things are tough for them. They are therefore in no mood to turn a blind eye on this scandal.

The hurt for many continues, so too does the gravy train hum for some others who are mired in games now being played out in other sectors of this or that state-owned entity. Enough remains enough! In addition, as we look in on scandal’s NIB face, we are reminded of the fact that this nation now reels not only at the hammer blows inflicted by a world-economy over which it has little to no real control, but that the so-called man in the street now cowers in the cold shadow of poverty on the hoof.

An ever expectant people now demand transparency, accountability and responsibility from all who lead and all who would lead. But above all else, the Bahamian people demand action, results and transparency from those elected to serve them. In addition, they are now demanding the same from all those nameless, faceless bureaucrats who work with, for and under the command of politicians. We too need to know whether the National Insurance Fund has been pillaged and somehow or the other been diverted from their proper use.

Put simply:-We want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth concerning the disposition of the people’s money.