Parliamentarians met at 10am on Wednesday, 27th January 2016 to conclude debate on the resolution on the $33 million Public Financial Management System and Performance Management Project and the $20 million Citizen Security and Justice Program, both being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The Minister of Health, the Hon. Perry Gomez began statements by Ministers by delivering a House communication on the Zika Virus. He said that the virus is carried by the aedes aegypti mosquito, the same mosquito that carries the dengue and chikungunya virus.

The Minister advised the House that to date there is no reported case of a Zika viral infection in The Bahamas but listed the 20 countries in the region with confirmed cases of the viral infection.

“As of Friday January 22, 2016, Mr. Speaker, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported twenty (20) countries and territories with laboratory confirmed case(s) of Zika Virus including Colombia, Suriname, Puerto Rico, French Guiana, Martinique, Panama, Cape Verde, Brazil, Venezuela, Honduras, Mexico, Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador, Bolivia, Saint Martin, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Barbados, and Guyana” said the health minister.

He also revealed that there was no specific treatment for a Zika viral infection including no vaccine, but if infected, the public was advised against the use of aspirin. According to Dr. Gomez, the symptoms of the infection include fever, skin rash, joint pain and headache with one in four infected persons developing symptoms of the disease.

“Persons with Zika virus infection most commonly have fever, skin rash, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). They may also have muscle and joint pain and headache.  Symptoms usually begin 2 – 7 days after the bite of an infected mosquito. Only one out of four to five infected people develop symptoms of the disease. Among those who do, the disease is usually mild and lasts 2-7 days” said Dr. Gomez.

The Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie updated the House on a number of current topical issues including CLICO, the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and the stalled Baha Mar project.

The Prime Minister was wrapping up his debate on a resolution to borrow $33 million to finance the Public Financial Management System and Performance Management Project.

The Prime Minister foreshadowed a public/private sector steering committee to provide supervisory oversight of this project and to ensure its successful completion. Mr. Christie said this was very important to ensure accountability and transparency instead of the government acting “incestuously” with the use to public servants alone. He said that by doing so, his government was “institutionalizing transparency and accountability.”

According to the Prime Minister, an Inter-American Bank (IDB) report indicated that The Bahamas scored 0.8 out of 5 on an assessment measuring ‘Managing for results.’ Mr. Christie said that this public financial management and performance monitoring project is designed to address these institutional weaknesses.

“Both programs at this juncture are vital to transforming the Bahamian economy” said Mr. Christie as he concluded his debate. “And it is my belief that the implementation of these projects will achieve the desired results considering the support of the government and people of The Bahamas for change” said Prime Minister Christie.

The Prime Minister’s statement on CLICO is as follows:

“The previous administration at the onset of the liquidation of CLICO proposed to provide a conditional guarantee of $30 million to any entity which would have purchase the insurance operations of CLICO. This guarantee was conditional on the sale of the book and while affording comfort to a potential purchaser did not actually guarantee that the policyholders would be made whole.

“For two main reasons: namely concerns with respect to the information system; and the conditional nature of the guarantee (i.e. it was unclear what event would have triggered the calling in of the guarantee) was unsuccessful in the sale of the portfolio.

“The liquidator has proposed and the Government has agreed a plan to make all existing policyholders whole. This plan involves the creation of a special purpose vehicle to assume the insurance operations of CLICO and to pay out the policyholders who have been unable to receive the full pay out of their benefits subject to the policy not lapsing during the period of liquidation.

“In short order the Insurance Commission and the liquidator will announce the details of the plan including pay out dates. I know that there are many persons impacted by CLICO and these persons have grown impatient waiting for a solution but rest assured a solution is at hand.

“The transaction being proposed is complex and required time to ensure that all stakeholders, which would be the Insurance Commission, the policyholders, the liquidator and the Government arrived at a consensus position. This has now been achieved.”

National Security Minister the Hon. Bernard Nottage foreshadowed the establishment of Citizen Security Councils in criminal hot spots to provide a measure of supervision and to assist in the reduction in crime in those neighborhoods under the Citizen Security and Justice program. The Northern Pastor Alliance in the Kemp Road area headed by Rev. Dale Moss is a good model to replicate said the Minister.

He made this announcement during the first reading of a resolution to borrow $20 million from the IDB to fund a Citizen Security and Justice program being spearheaded by the Ministry of National Security.

The Minister pointed out that the rate of incarceration in The Bahamas stands at 379 persons per 100,000 persons, well above the Caribbean average of 277 persons per 100,000 persons. Nottage also noted that the rate of recidivism was on the increase and must be arrested.

He provided a breakdown of the four components of the program as follow:

• Social crime and violence prevention in New Providence ($4.8 million). With 70% of the population residing in New Providence, the program seeks to improve behaviors for non-violent conflict resolution in New Providence and includes evidence-based interventions (delivered in association with local NGOs, schools, and others local partners) in order to prevent violence in some of The Bahamas’ most troublesome communities. The program is heavy on social re-engineering, public private sector partnerships and community involvement.

• Youth employability, employment training and strengthening of the Public Employment Services ($4 million). This component aims to increase employability and employment among at-risk youth in The Bahamas (15-29 years old).

• Strengthening of the justice administration system ($5.5 million). Institutional strengthening and capacity building seek to address systemic bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the administration of justice. These inefficiencies sometimes prevent the successful and timely prosecution of and sentencing for crimes.

• Rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders ($3.3 million). This program component establishes a parole system complete with assigned parole officers. The objective is to improve the effectiveness of the Bahamian correctional services in reducing re-offenders or the rate of recidivism.

Dr. Nottage assured the House that the Citizen Security and Justice Programme also reinforces the ongoing work being undertaken by the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Office of the Attorney General to strengthen the Swift Justice Programme, which has seen widespread success in improving efficiencies in the administration of justice. These developments are helping the country move towards a safer and Stronger Bahamas.

Referring to the success in the Ministry of Education in securing bipartisan support in crafting a national education plan, Minister Nottage invited members of the opposition to reach across the aisles and work with the government on this national anti-crime and social development effort in the interest of all Bahamians.

Source: BIS