Prime Minister Perry Christie

With the political black eye he sustained over his botched handling of Hurricane Joaquin a year ago no doubt still fresh in his mind, Prime Minister Perry Christie approached the handling of Hurricane Matthew with a refreshing degree of seriousness.

While it was clear that the government was still scrambling to respond appropriately to the aftermath of this year's storm, Christie secured a bit of goodwill as no one could reasonably accuse him of not taking Matthew seriously.

But that goodwill was quickly washed away by one insensitive, ill-thought-out statement that the government was considering a hurricane tax to finance repairs in the storm's wake.

Christie was scorched on social media and in many other circles for daring to make such a foolish suggestion at a time when so many Bahamians are struggling to get back to normal in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Even those with only minimal damage to their homes have suffered a great deal of stress and have taken a financial hit in preparing for the storm, in dealing with a prolonged power outage and making repairs in the storm's wake.

Some have been out of work for as long as two weeks, as their businesses have no electricity supply. They were already stretched thin before the hurricane,  and finding even a couple hundred dollars is difficult for some.

Meeting their monthly obligations this month will be tough, if not impossible.

Others have suffered an even greater psychological and financial impact.

Talk of a tax only heightened their stress level -- no doubt unintentionally, but cruelly nonetheless.

On Friday, when we visited an 84-year-old resident of eastern New Providence whose home was severely damaged by Matthew, she was sitting on her front porch, next to still-propped up mattresses, and other items she was still trying to salvage. She remarked poignantly that she could not take another tax.

We had to explain to her that, that was just frivolous talk, that there would be no tax. We hoped we eased her worries, and the worries of her neighbor who sat nearby next to her car, whose engine was flooded out by the powerful surge.

The hood was being held open by a stick under the October sun. Next to the car were three dining room chairs, also damaged in the storm.

The older lady needs a new fridge and furniture, but appeared more heartbroken by the loss of cherished family photos.

Even still, their losses may be less substantial than many other victims -- those in North Andros and West Grand Bahama-- whose homes are unlivable.

In the impacted areas, storm victims are looking for compassion and a reasonable route to resume normalcy.

Loose talk from an insensitive prime minister is the last thing they and many others need at this time.

Even if Christie's hurricane tax comment was not directed at storm victims, it has added unneeded tension for them.

Two days after Christie backtracked on his suggestion, the old lady still talked about the tax as if it were imminent. She has already accepted it as something that is on the way.

Dynamic conversation
It was indeed odd that Christie would suggest a hurricane tax; he displayed a stunning disregard for the suffering of the very storm victims he visited over the course of several days.

In fact, Christie was visiting storm victims in New Providence when he made the comment that could not be more out of step with the experiences he said he has had in viewing first-hand the devastating impact of Hurricane Matthew in some areas.

The prime minister said: "We have to give serious consideration to a more effective way of financing the loss that the country has experienced because we're also paying now for Hurricane Joaquin, and it may well be that we have to give consideration to a selective approach to raising money by taxing some item that would be of minimal impact on people.

"But it's a matter we have to look at, because it's an enormous challenge to the country. We've been faced with downgrading. This is not an easy situation. We thought the way was clear with Baha Mar, but now we have Hurricane Matthew."

We have no idea what the prime minister meant by taxing some items that would minimally impact people. What we do know is that speaking about taxation in a time of disaster is just an all around bad idea.

How out of touch and tone deaf to the misery of citizens could the prime minister be to make such an unfeeling declaration?

Amid stinging criticisms, Christie walked back his statement when he spoke in the House of Assembly two days later, becoming highly defensive over the fact that The Tribune reported his loose talk.

"As prime minister and minister of finance, I sought to go to every area several times," he said.

"...The press was with me and I was talking to them about their country and it was a dynamic conversation.

"Taxation is not imposed by the prime minister or minister of finance standing up on Marshall Road and saying we are going to impose a tax."

Christie added, and confusingly so: "Mr. Speaker, this government is noted for not having imposed taxes throughout its five years or four years and counting."

Many were left baffled. Was he seriously suggesting that value-added tax -- the most transformational change to the country's tax system -- was not really a tax at all?

The depth of the prime minister's delusion is truly astounding.

Christie then went on to explain -- as if we needed an explanation -- how governments go about imposing taxes.

"We have to consult our colleagues. We have to give our colleagues advance notice of what we are doing," he said.

"There has to be a debate. We have to come to Parliament. We have to have a bill. We have to present that bill for their consideration.

"The matter has to be set down for debate. It has to be discussed and it has to be agreed upon," he said.

Christie is nearing the end of his second term as prime minister. He must know that he cannot have "dynamic conversations" with journalists, as he put it, and not expect his words to be carried by the media.

Wastage
Surely he must understand that his words carry great weight, and that it is no one's fault but his own if he allows his lips to move quicker than he can think his thoughts through.

When a prime minister speaks -- and one who is minister of finance -- about the consideration of tax measures, whether he says it to a reporter in a barroom or in the Parliament of The Bahamas, very many people will take it as gospel.

And it will be difficult to ease the anxieties of people, like the 84-year-old storm victim, who have already been told the government is considering yet another tax.

Christie often makes the mistake of speaking aloud without thinking first and then either having to backtrack or to clarify what he really meant.

This was a clear example of that.

What he should do instead is think these things through, seek a consensus on a reasonable approach and then articulate a well thought out, comprehensive action plan that would engender input from various stakeholders.

In times of disaster, leadership needs to console and make citizens feel safe, not vulnerable.

The prime minister's loose talk has also entered the public domain at a time when many taxpayers see so much wastage in government.

Many believe the expenditure of more than $20 million on Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival was a waste of money. We say again that the $650,000 given for the Caribbean Music Festival was a waste of taxpayer money.

A year later, the festival has still not happened.

In the last fiscal year, the government collected more than $600 million in VAT. The money went into the Consolidated Fund, according to government officials.

Meanwhile, the national debt is still climbing -- standing at $6.7 billion in the second quarter of 2016, according to the Central Bank. It has grown by nearly $2 billion since 2012 when the PLP took office.

The bank said in its June 2016 report that, despite VAT receipts of $600.3 million, the fiscal deficit for the first 11 months of 2015/2016 stood at $291.5 million.

The government last week secured parliamentary approval to borrow up to $150 million to finance hurricane relief efforts.

Hurricane Matthew -- as was the case with Joaquin -- has again exposed the true narrowness of the fiscal space that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral agencies have repeatedly warned about.

It also revealed the weakness of the prime minister's much-touted fiscal plan.

Candia Dames, Guardian Managing Editor

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