This year's holiday decorations in the downtown and Arawak Cay areas have drawn criticisms from members of the public.
By all accounts, many Bahamians view the Christmas decorations put up at Arawak Cay and in Downtown Nassau as an offense to our sensibilities. We agree. The decorations are tacky, amateurish and unattractive.
We could and should do better. It is 2016. There is enough talent in The Bahamas to do better. The contract for the decorations was awarded to former Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Neville Wisdom, a man we know well and have long admired.
He and his wife own Florarama of Cable Beach. For years they have produced high quality work. But the Christmas decorations are a fail.
They should be removed. We should not have to endure viewing them for the next month. The decorations are a blight on our capital city, an eyesore.
Many Bahamians feel insulted by the work done. What makes this matter worse is that officials are again being secretive about how much taxpayer money was spent on this work. We do not know the value of the contract.
We inquired on Thursday with Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe. He said he did not know off-hand the amount of the contract, but promised that Carla Stuart, a senior official in the ministry, will call us with that information.
Stuart did call, but said she did not have the number at her fingertips. She committed to calling back, but never did.
We have been unable to reach her since Thursday. Our calls have not been returned. We also asked Wisdom, who said it was not for him to reveal the value of the contract. But he said his bid was the lowest bid -- which was confirmed by the minister, although, again, he did not know the value of the contract.
This kind of "fishiness" and lack of transparency feed into a larger narrative about our officials' propensity for operating in the dark. There should be no secret about how much money the government spent on Christmas decorations in Downtown Nassau. Whatever the amount, it appears to have been wasted money.
In any event, we could do without Christmas decorations, especially if they are shabby and tasteless. We could use that money to buy books for our primary schools. Yes. Believe it or not, some of these schools do not have storybooks for children.
Just recently, we spoke with a professional whose firm has adopted one of these public schools. He was stunned by the state of the school's library and the lack of resources for children. But there are apparently some government schools that have no libraries at all.
A grade three teacher from another public primary school took to social media recently to appeal for help. It was a bold move, but it revealed much.
She wrote: "At my school, there is NO library, and we have some struggling readers. I'm looking for storybooks, old, new, ANY books so we can read to the kids. If you have ANY books that can help my children, I will appreciate it."
It makes us wonder exactly where our priorities are as a nation and where the priorities are of an administration that came to office promising to double the investment in education. But back to the decorations.
In a Tribune article on Friday, Wilchcombe noted that the Wisdoms are among the most qualified and distinguished designers in the country.
The minister said: "Florarama provided the lowest of the three bids. The company is renowned for its professional excellence.
"Over the next several days, we expect the beauty of the decorations to light up the Christmas season. Junkanooers and other vendors are involved in the experience that is being created. Already Bahamians are taking pictures and enjoying the season."
Surely, Wilchcombe was either seeking to be kind to the Wisdoms, or he was trying to cover his own political hide over what appears to be another waste of taxpayer dollars. The minister ought to be embarrassed by the work produced. We are embarrassed by the work produced. The decorations are meant to inspire feelings of Christmas joy. Instead, they are inspiring ridicule, irritation, annoyance and, in some cases, outright disbelief.
Wisdom told us the contract provided important opportunities to Junkanoo artisans, young people who needed work, but that comment entirely misses the point. If our officials determine that they are going to award a contract for Christmas decorations, then those decorations should be professional and tasteful, something we all could enjoy and be proud of. Not so in this case.
Tacky cloth on trees wrapped with lights is neither tasteful nor attractive. The decorations further cheapen Nassau as a destination. Downtown is already a bit of a dump. The decorations accentuate the drabness of the city. They do not improve the aesthetics.
We will continue to press tourism officials on how much all of this has cost taxpayers. Last year, the ministry wasted $650,000 sponsoring a music festival that never happened. We should not take lightly the wastage of public funds, not on decorations, not on festivals or anything else. We will not settle for any stonewalling tactics as we continue our inquiries on the decorations contract. We remain incredibly baffled about how anyone designing and erecting them could find them attractive or acceptable.
Candia Dames, Guardian Managing Editor
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