During a recent visit to the CELAC conference in Costa Rica, PM Perry
Christie in his role as head of CARICOM spoke ad nauseam about the need for transparency
in governance, and the introduction of greater anti-corruption mechanisms as
part of a strategy to move the region forward.
As an organization, the Democratic National Alliance has long agitated
for increased accountability in governance and have been advocates for the
introduction of a viable Freedom of Information Act. The time has certainly
come for governments to be held more accountable for the decisions made on
behalf of the people of this country. As an electorate, Bahamians are no longer
prepared to simply accept the word of politicians but require so much more. In
that context, the PM’s comments are indeed accurate. Unfortunately, his words wreak
of hypocrisy, duplicity and an insincerity which has become the MO of this
Christie administration.
Since taking office in 2012, scores of government officials have found
themselves at the center of any number of controversies. For example, what
changes have been implemented at the National Insurance Board to prevent the
reported impropriety which led to the dismissal of its director back in 2012?
After spending thousands of dollars on the investigations and audit, the
government has failed to report to the public on the matter and have given no
indication of how it is working to prevent a similar situation.
More recently, the scandal surrounding Renward Wells and his signing of
that letter of intent valued at 650 million dollars has been spun by this
administration as a mere misunderstanding rather than the blatant conflict of
interest it actually was. After taking months to even decide Wells’ fate,
neither the PM nor Wells’ immediate superior the DPM have offered a succinct
and thorough public statement on the matter, leaving Wells to take the fall for
what appeared to be a decision and instructions made at, and handed down from
the top levels of cabinet. Instead the nation’s leaders sidestepped questions
from the media, and deflected before finally leaving Wells to offer his own shallow
explanation of the events in question.
And what of the millions of dollars in prescription drugs which simply
disappeared from the public healthcare system. Following 3 separate
investigations and reports, the government has allowed this issue to simply
fade from public consciousness. To date, no one has been held accountable and
again there has been no mention from government officials on how such
infractions will be prevented in the future. Such realities exist in an
environment where the government is proposing a National Health Care system.
Who, if anyone will be policing the system to ensure that tax payers do not
become even more OVERBURDENED by the already failing systems in place. This is
also particularly crucial to the efficient running and maintenance of the
recently opened critical care block at the Princess Margaret Hospital. If left
unchecked, the instances of impropriety within the public service could negate
the millions invested in the hospital’s upgrades.
Even now, as Mr. Christie extolls the virtues of anti-corruption
mechanisms and transparency in governance to CARICOM, his administration has
been slow to action about the recent ALSTOM revelation which has confirmed that
at least one government official accepted a bribe to secure a lucrative
government contract for the company. These latest allegations further shed
light on concerns raised by the US government months ago regarding a lack of
transparency in the government bidding and procurement process as well.
With such a blatant disregard for accountability and transparency
occurring within his own government, the PM’s comments to CARICOM personify the
outright hypocrisy of his administration. Time and time again, the PM and his
cohorts have proven that they can talk a good game, unfortunately, this
government is slow to act when it counts most.
It is the hope of the DNA that the PM will finally heed his own advice
and implement the many anti-corruption strategies which he so eloquently
discussed in Costa Rica.
The time has come for this government to
move away from words only but be moved to ACTION.
Then and only then can we move forward as a country and a region.
Branville McCartney
DNA Leader