Every life has a watershed moment, an instant when you realize you're about to make a choice that will define everything else you ever do, and that if you choose wrong, there may not be that many things left to choose. Sometimes the wrong choice is the only one that lets you face the end with dignity, grace, and the awareness that you're doing the right thing.
I'm not sure we can recognize those moments until they've passed us.
- Mira Grant

Two weeks ago, before we took a break last Monday to observe the majority rule holiday, we thanked our readers for their encouragement and support of eight consecutive years of the weekly Consider This columns, as well as their constructive criticisms and alternative viewpoints to our weekly columns over the years.
Part one of the first column for this year invited us to Consider This... will 2015 be a watershed year for the PLP government?

A watershed
We defined a watershed as an important period or factor that serves as a dividing line. It is a turning point, a defining or pivotal moment or tipping point. Consequently we asked whether, in this context, 2015 will be a watershed year for the PLP government.

Visited issues
In answering this question, we addressed several salient issues that the government must effectively address if it will inspire the electorate to give them another mandate when the next general election is held in 2017 or earlier.
We spoke about the importance of containing crime, the most intractable challenge facing the government. We also recognized that it is vitally important to implement policies and programs to rapidly grow the economy.
We identified the introduction of value-added tax on January 1, 2015 as the most dramatic fiscal phenomenon in modern Bahamian history which could arrest and hopefully reverse the out-of-control fiscal deficit and national debt.
We also suggested that a successful referendum on constitutional changes will significantly signal the government's likely general election success the next time around.
Finally, we observed that the extent to which the government is successful in raising the anticipated taxes from the newly regulated web shop industry will also signal whether the public is satisfied that this watershed event will place the country on a positive pathway to raise urgently needed revenue in order to reverse the national debt and the fiscal deficit.

New challenges
In addition to crime, the second most important challenge facing today's government is the intractable level of unemployment, especially among our young citizens. We were recently informed that there are approximately 30,000 Bahamians who are unemployed, a totally unacceptable statistic.
Closely connected to the level of Bahamian unemployment is the extent of hunger and poverty that has afflicted too many of our citizens, young and old. There are reports that many school children go to bed hungry, eagerly looking forward to their next meal, not at their breakfast table, because they have none, but at their schools during the lunch hour which is offered by the school system. The extent of this problem needs to be fully documented and definitive action must be taken to eradicate this unpardonable reality.
The extent to which the government improves its communication with the public will also test its commitment to openness and accountability. While there is no need to rehash them here, there have been too many unexplained or poorly explained matters in the past two years that have left the public wondering what really happened in one case after another.
This will also be a watershed year for The Bahamas as far as the international ratings agencies are concerned. If those agencies believe that we have taken the appropriate regulatory steps to strengthen our established institutions, we should be fine. If not, we can anticipate that the country's rating will be adversely affected.

Hopeful signs and
great expectations
Sometime later this year, the Baha Mar mega-resort will open with much fanfare and great expectation of more jobs being created, an improved tourism product and an enhanced number of stop-over visitors who will spend more and thereby improved both the gross domestic product and our foreign reserves.
In May, the much-heralded and inadequately explained Junkanoo Carnival will be featured. There is considerable hope riding on the success of this event and hopefully, as is our custom, we will be able to pull it off in fine form as the event approaches.
Perhaps the most controversial issue that is looming in the wings is the government's intention to launch its National Health Insurance plan. While there is no doubt that too many of our citizens do not have access to catastrophic insurance, the proverbial question remains: What will it cost and who will pay the bill? The prime minister recently indicated that the initial cost will be approximately $600 million, although he anticipates that the first tranche will cost the Bahamian people $250 million. Again, greater public discussion is needed about this urgently needed social service, but, in light of the recurrent deficits, the national debt, the increase in taxes from VAT, the question remains: Can we afford this bill at this time?
Some of our Family Islands are suffering from want of urgently needed capital improvements. The clinic in Exuma, which has been erected but has not yet been opened, is badly needed for the delivery of satisfactory health care on that island. The hospital that was been promised to the people of Central Eleuthera during the last election campaign seems to remain only a figment of the imagination of the political directorate. The roads in Central and North Andros remain a constant challenge for the residents of that island.
Too many of the airports around our archipelago remain in an unacceptably deplorable state and are in urgent need of upgrading.
There has been considerable talk about the development of a national development plan for the future. Few will dispute the need for such a plan, but will this exercise be approached in a realistically practicable manner in order to enhance the orderly development of our country?

Conclusion
We repeat that the government should be given high marks for its herculean efforts in addressing many of the tough issues that face us. The government has taken several unpopular decisions that have been controversial, but needed to be made in the challenging exercise of governance.
We again observe that the prime minister has not replaced the Senate vacancy that was created by the resignation of Senator Cheryl Bazzard nearly two months ago. And while he seems to have had a successful visit to China, the prime minister has yet to name a Bahamian ambassador to that country. Similar attention should be given to appointing a resident ambassador to Brazil if we are to benefit from formalizing such an arrangement.
For all of these reasons - and more - we believe that 2015 will indeed be a watershed year for the PLP. We hope that they recognize that these are important watershed moments before they pass by and how crucial they are for its future as the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

o Philip C. Galanis is the managing partner of HLB Galanis and Co., Chartered Accountants, Forensic & Litigation Support Services. He served 15 years in Parliament. Please send your comments to pgalanis@gmail.com.

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