The country is today limping along with a leader it can have little faith in. At this moment, Prime Minister Perry Christie is facing twin crises of Baha Mar and Hurricane Joaquin, with the accompanying controversy over preparations ahead of that storm and the chaotic state of the Department of Meteorology.
The storm was an act of nature, but it exposed critical weaknesses in our disaster preparedness and response system. It also showed a prime minister who failed to show strong leadership during and in the immediate aftermath of the storm. He did not come across as a leader in charge and in control. It hurt his already bruised image further.
Regarding the Baha Mar crisis, that has been building for sometime. More than 2,000 people have joined the unemployment line. There are growing fears that our credit ratings would be downgraded further. The economy is suffering from the shock of Baha Mar's failure to take off. Christie's legacy is directly linked to the project he supposedly helped conceive.
Despite the prime minister's optimism, his government is a train barreling out of control. But Christie is seeking to raise a dampened national spirit. He is also seeking to reinforce and promote perceptions he has of himself as an unbeatable leader who has it together.
"Don't mind them talking about me," he said as he addressed Exuma Business Outlook at Sandals Emerald Bay resort last Thursday.
"I am here as a product of this wonderful democracy that we have. And democracy means to the young ones present that if (Minister of Tourism) Obie Wilchcombe wants my job, he has to beat me up to get it."
While Christie enjoys throwing political jabs and boasting of his position as a political titan, he has long worn down an electorate that has yet to see the many PLP pledges materialize.
While Christie quips about his stronghold on his party's leadership, at its base, his administration is crumbling. It suffers from a credibility crisis given its multiple failed election promises. Christie will never be able to live down his insult to the Bahamian people when he disregarded their decision in a national referendum on gaming in 2013. He failed to take a position ahead of that vote and that backfired. He continues to suffer the fallout.
Christie gave several different dates for a national referendum on gender equality, but that has long been derailed. It is off the government's radar, so it seems. It appears increasingly unlikely that the party that fought against a similar referendum more than a decade earlier will be able to tout this effort as one of its successes before the end of this term. It is now presiding over a period where the murder rate has never been higher up to this point in any year in recorded history.
At 122, the murder count appears on track to shatter the record of 127, set in 2011. Few people talk about crime without pointing to the infamous PLP murder posters. That will continue to haunt this government. Time is running out for Christie to pull things together and to define his threatened legacy. On its current course, the Christie administration will be best remembered for multiple scandals and controversies that have defined this term.
This year alone, the government had to tackle the BAMSI dorm scandal, which chipped away further at its credibility. It has tried to clean up the mess surrounding its decision to delay a report into a fuel leak at Rubis on Robinson Road. And although a decision of the attorney general cleared Minister V. Alfred Gray from any possible prosecution in relation to his calling a family island administrator, leading to a convict being released, that matter has stained the government further.
In addition to those issues, the government remains challenged in creating jobs. The temporary jobs that helped drive unemployment down earlier this year have long disappeared. Some of those temporary jobs were created by carnival, but it was significantly over budget. Many people point to the $12 million spent on carnival when they discuss the need for critical resources in other areas.
The addition of more than 2,000 people to the unemployment line is a significant development. Yesterday, PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts rejected any suggestion that the government is to blame for these layoffs. He blamed Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian for the troubles plaguing Baha Mar. Whether or not the government is to blame for the current state of affairs at Baha Mar does not change the fact that it is now directly responsible for addressing the mess.
As Christie faces these crises, he is attempting to shepherd in National Health Insurance (NHI). He needs NHI to help shape a legacy. He was unable to achieve NHI in his first term. Christie will try to usher in NHI next year, even if it is just in skeletal form. He acknowledged back in May that there will not be a comprehensive program in the initial phase.
At the same time, the government must also fulfill its promise regarding cheaper energy costs. PowerSecure, the company chosen to manage the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, is being paid $900,000 to produce a business plan. The company was expected to deliver this plan in 60 days. That deadline passed weeks ago.
The promised mortgage relief program, rolled out by the PLP on April Fool's Day in 2012, has been a failure. Christie claimed months ago the government was reworking the plan, but he has long gone silent on that matter. In addition to all these critical matters, the government has arrogantly continued to resist demands that it be more accountable. The promised Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has not yet made it to Parliament. It is still in the consultation stage.
In its last 18 months or so in office, the Christie administration must deliver on some big things if it is to stand a fighting chance at being returned.
While it points to the introduction of value-added tax (VAT) as a major accomplishment, for the average Bahamian, VAT has become a burden. Despite VAT, our national debt is up 10 percent over last year. The government has not yet shown where it has used the money collected from VAT to pay down the debt.
With the Christie administration continuing to suffer image problems, and significant crises rocking the government, Christie is running out of time to turn things around. He loves being in the seat of power, but the Bahamian people have fallen out of love with him. Hope and help and believe in Bahamians are distant, empty pledges.
In many quarters in the country, people are turned off from Christie. They do not buy into his claims that wonderful things are on the horizon for the country. They want him gone. This presents a golden opportunity for the Official Opposition to move in and get a clean sweep. But whereas one would expect the Free National Movement (FNM) to be primed for a win, there is a big question mark because it hobbles along with weak leadership.
As it appears now, Bahamians will have to decide whether to stomach another term of a bungling, scandal-prone PLP administration, or take their chances with the FNM, led by Dr. Hubert Minnis. The other option of course is the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), but that option is also unpalatable.
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