Why things must and will change

Tue, Jul 19th 2016, 01:05 AM

The impediments to the changes that many within our nation seek so desperately were explored last week in the first part of this two part series. This piece moves past the obstacles that threaten to hold back a nation at a crossroads in its history and confronted by an evolving economic, social, political and moral landscape.
Unraveling before our eyes is a new paradigm that has been created without our endorsement but is certain to leave us behind if we do not evolve to meet the challenges we face. The Bahamas we live in today is different from that which our ancestors left behind and our actions or inactions today will determine what future generations will have to grapple with. In this article, we consider the realities which demand that things must and will change.

Economic model
Our economic model has come under significant scrutiny in the aftermath of the Great Recession and more recently as the Baha Mar saga unfolded. There is no doubt that foreign direct investments play and will continue to play a major role in The Bahamas' economy. Our economic fortune in future will be impacted by our ability to attract and retain foreign investments going forward. However, it is apparent that our focus on FDIs has come at the expense of local investments and entrepreneurship by our own people.
We have not done a stellar job at promoting local businesses to the point that they are able to export their products and services to other jurisdictions. Our policies have done little to assist prospective and upcoming entrepreneurs to start and maintain successful businesses.
The exchange control regime, operational efficiency of government departments, regulatory regimes, and tax regime all contribute to The Bahamas' ranking in relation to the ease of doing business. The discussion of diversification of our economy has been going on for decades with little movement and negligible actions to make this a reality. We are faced with an unemployment rate in double digits and it has been suggested that we may not see single digit employment numbers in the foreseeable future. Is there any wonder why things must change?

Tourism
It is often said that tourism is the bread and butter of our economy. As the largest contributor to our gross domestic product (GDP), it is no news that it provides a significant number of direct and indirect jobs for Bahamians. The potential impact of the crime level in our nation on the goose that lays the golden egg cannot be overemphasized. It is also clear that our service levels must improve and more activities are required to keep our country competitive on the global market.
The normalizing of relations between the United States and Cuba has been touted as an opportunity for the Caribbean region and The Bahamas. However, we will be burying our heads in the proverbial sand by assuming that the opening up of Cuba will not have a major impact on our tourism product in future.
Cuba is renowned for its rich culture and boasts of a well-educated populace as well as qualified medical personnel; in fact, it is no secret that many Bahamians visit Cuba to get medical attention and we also recruit individuals from their medical industry. When this is considered against the cost of living and the mystique it provides for potential tourists, it is obvious that we need to change the way we promote and sell The Bahamas if we are to survive and thrive.

Financial services
Under the guise of global transparency and proper regulation, multilateral agencies and powerful group of nations have implemented policies that have had adverse effects on our financial services industry. While we boast of one of the most well-regulated and compliant regulatory systems in the world, we have also witnessed significant shrinking of this vital sector, which is the second largest contributor to our GDP. The middle class of our country has taken a major hit as a result and we are confronted with the reality of a model that is no longer effective.
The time to think outside the box has been upon us for quite some time but we have struggled to come up with new strategies due to a reluctance to challenge the status quo. As the world moves toward the implementation of the automatic exchange of information, we are running out of time to revisit our policies on immigration, professional industries and employment. A quote attributed to R. Buckminster Fuller is instructive as we seek to navigate the new global environment for financial services: "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete".

The crime factor
Crime and the fear of crime in our Bahamaland is simply at an unacceptable level. This writer is concerned that our people are becoming numb to the news of serious crimes and we are unconsciously accepting these crimes as normal occurrences. Our brothers and sisters are being reduced to numbers and statistics on a daily basis. It has been reported that the sharing of gruesome pictures of murder victims on social media has become the norm.
The quote on insanity attributed to Albert Einstein makes more sense now than ever before as we consider the strategies being employed to stem the trend of violence on our streets. While we salute members of our Royal Bahamas Police Force for their hard work, it is high time that we realized that desperate times call for desperate measures. Proposals for changes in legislation, constitutional amendments, curfews and CCTVs must be seriously considered to address this menace to our society.

Bahamian politics
The last three general elections have been pretty much a revolving door as the Bahamian electorate has given the incumbent political party its walking papers. The pattern of the elections suggests that we have voted against a government as opposed to voting for a political party based on our belief that they will do better. In essence, Bahamians have for the most part chosen what we deem to be the lesser of two evils.
While the base of the political parties have been known for their blind loyalty and can be relied upon to deliver their votes regardless of their party's performance, the independents and swing voters have generally determined the outcome. This trend will continue; however, the new landscape is changing rapidly with the erosion of the core party supporters and the emergence of card (or non-card) carrying members who are not easily swayed by empty rhetoric and political patronage.
More importantly, the composition of the new electorate does not match the demographic of the electorate or "king/queen makers" in the typical political party in The Bahamas. This disconnect means that individuals elected by the establishment within a party should have no comfort or guarantee of success in general elections.

Change will come
The Bahamas is being forced to evolve and we are constrained to change the way we do things not by choice but out of necessity; it is a fact that we can either bend in recognition of the paradigm shift or break by fighting against the wind of change. It is obvious that change within our commonwealth will not come easily and without a fight. The preservers of the status quo who currently benefit significantly from the existing ineffective system will fight to ensure things remain the same at the expense of the masses. However, those that seek positive change in our beloved country must be guided by the following words of Dan Millman: "The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new".
There has been much talk in recent weeks about the leadership of political parties. This is not unique to The Bahamas and is necessary for our political maturity as a people. Our democracy can only be deepened when individuals respectfully challenge the powers that be and pursue higher office provided that we do not let such healthy competition deteriorate to our detriment as a nation. The candidates must be clear in stating what they will change as they address a people who are calling not necessarily for changes to individuals but rather demanding fundamental changes to the way things are currently being done.
As the clock ticks towards imminent changes in our country, words attributed to Charles Darwin from his "Origin of Species" echo through time. "It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself". This can be easily applied to the Bahamian context; the changing physical, economic, social, political and moral environment will make obsolete and irrelevant those individuals that refuse to see the signs of the times or ignore the sounds of the wind of change.
o First published September 22, 2015.

o Arinthia S. Komolafe is an attorney-at-law. Comments on this article can be directed to a.s.komolafe510@gmail.com.

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