Dear Editor,

The Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie, speaks well to what is needed for this country.  And his recent remark that policymakers understand the link between the reform of young people and the economy could have been commendable.  However, his utterances are about 30 years late.  I don't like to kick dead horses, but to imply that governments can fulfil their obligations to a neglected category of persons by giving money away must be questioned.  And these are persons who have been systematically marginalized for an entire generation.

Some politicians have short or bad memories and open their mouths at inconvenient times just to make a point that is not needed.  Christie has conveniently forgotten that some of the turmoil this nation is experiencing can be linked to his organization's handling of the legal and education ministries.  During their last term in office, the fact that these two portfolios were the responsibility of a single minister is a highlight.

Perhaps he does not see the long-term implications, but if your people are not educated you have to import skills and this importation causes economic, social and cultural displacement; and we can add the fact that most expatriates who come don't want to leave and will not leave, even if there is a Bahamian qualified for that job.

So when we talk about economics and jobs, there are many problems that could be corrected at the local level if we become proper stewards.  Landscapers, engineers, lab-technicians, nurses, contractors, etc., most of these persons are here because the national education component has not been competently handled over the last 40 years.

Another dilemma is that when you have qualified Bahamians they have to struggle to get a job in their own country.  It is as if their qualifications mean nothing.  They have degrees that required extended sacrifices, not only by families, but by successive governments.

Call it what you wish, in this culture, political sincerity and common sense just do not seem to go together.  We are seeing the fruits of our indiscretions to the point where politicians are freely expressing the view that it is government's responsibility to "look after" the people when their role is to "govern".  But, there is a spark.  I hope the leader of the Opposition listened to the 'tone' of younger members as they presented their views on the crime bills.  Most of them have become moderates and they are expressing a new found wisdom.  They are seeing the situation for what it is, but it is ironic that the persons in their 'safe seats' are slinging forth the same garbage of "too little, too late", and the persons they represent have not seen significant changes in their communities, just a gradual deterioration over the decades.

I guess, since they are not in charge, the leadership of the Opposition does not see what the Bahamian people are going through as their problem.  So, they are only prepared to do something about it if they are elected.  If they are elected, it will truly be "too little, too late".

Yours, etc.,

Edward Hutcheson

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