Politics as entertainment

Wed, Feb 8th 2017, 11:22 AM

There are two recent statements that reveal a disturbing reality for Bahamians considering which party they wish to elect to govern their affairs in the approaching five-year term. The first was a statement made by businessman Sir Franklyn Wilson, who opined on the controversy ensnaring Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis.
Halkitis' recent 'where the VAT money gone' convention speech two weeks ago created great embarrassment for him, the Christie administration and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).
Sir Franklyn told Tribune Business that Bahamians should not take Halkitis' speech too seriously because political conventions are for "entertainment", rather than a serious discussion of national affairs.
Sir Franklyn's statement has been widely shared on social media.
It appears to be an honest assessment of PLP thinking and approach to governance.
All Bahamians, PLPs included, ought to be insulted if our leaders also believe that they are only entertaining the crowd.
Halkitis hinted at this too when he told us on "The Revolution" on Guardian Radio last week that he was speaking at a political convention and not addressing a bankers' or accountants' forum.
Perhaps he was suggesting that a convention did not permit him enough time to adequately answer a question he chose to address without any prompting -- 'where the VAT money gone?'
But time constraints and setting do not change facts -- and in several critical instances, the facts were questionable, as we laid out in great detail in this space last week.
Sir Franklyn's statement seems to confirm what many observers have been saying -- that our political leaders are content with the 'razzle dazzle', hype and a party atmosphere.
He told The Tribune: "Whenever I listen to any minister of finance speak, the only place I listen is if he's in Parliament. If it's in Parliament, I assume that's a serious speech, or a serious occasion like Business Outlook, where he knows people are taking him seriously and listening.
"I go to a convention to be entertained, not to get information about what is really happening. You get all the dancing, music and singing... You don't go to a convention to get serious information."
If we are to accept this statement, then we should immediately disregard all we have heard from speakers at the recent convention.
Halkitis claimed that the same projects the government borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars for were also the projects on which tax revenue was spent.
There was nothing entertaining about those claims, though. In many instances, they are easily disproven.
The prime minister's speech, too, should then be dismissed as entertainment. We should disregard his charge to voters not to "turn the clock back to FNM time", and we should dismiss as entertainment his claim that the PLP administration has placed the economy back on stable footing.
Why did we even bother to listen?
We should have saved our energies for when Halkitis and Christie speak in Parliament.
It is a mistake for any politician -- whether in government or in opposition -- to assume their statements are to be taken less seriously depending on the venue.
Political conventions are broadcast nationally. They may even reach a larger audience, given that they take place during prime time and are heavily promoted.
But even if Halkitis were speaking to school children in Rawson Square, he had an obligation to ensure that what he was saying made sense and added up.
Venue is no excuse for misinformation and obfuscation.
For sure, many people go to political conventions to be entertained. The PLP is good at throwing a party. It proved that during its convention with a heavy focus on entertainment.
That atmosphere is important for sending a message to the wider electorate that the party's base is energized and united. It is important in giving the party a boost, particularly as it cranks up its election machine.
But no one should be confused into thinking politicians will get a pass if they spew foolishness.
Look at the outrage with which PLPs, and others, reacted when Richard Lightbourn, the MP for Montagu, suggested at the FNM's convention last July that the state should tie the tubes of single women who depend on the government to take care of their children.
The reaction was strong. It came from all circles. It was appropriate.
Days later, PLPs stood to their feet in Parliament and condemned Lightbourn, who had already apologized for his totally ridiculous and unacceptable suggestion.
Lightbourn's statement was not entertainment and ought to have been taken seriously.
Similarly, Halkitis' bungled job on seeking to provide an explanation on VAT spending deserved the condemnation it got.
One senior member of the PLP said the minister was simply "loose with the language".
It is disappointing that, after acknowledging in certain instances that his statements at the convention were at best incomplete, Halkitis doubled down when he went to the House of Assembly two days later, saying he stands by every word in his convention speech.
Does Halkitis really want to stand by his statement that VAT revenue was spent on investing $232 million in a new defense force fleet; the same fleet for which the government borrowed $232 million to purchase?
The minister has pledged to defend himself when he speaks in Parliament during the ongoing debate on the Freedom of Information Bill.
Many Bahamians feel hoodwinked by their government. They do not trust their government. They are not looking to their government to entertain them. They want answers.
In his charge at the Anglican Synod on Monday night, Anglican Bishop Laish Boyd addressed this very matter.
He said, "While taxes are necessary for the government to fund goods and services that it delivers, many more people would be less hostile to paying taxes if we could be more convinced that the money was being spent wisely.
"There needs to be more reporting of these matters to the public and real, dispassionate accounting, not pat phrases and sound bites given in passing."
Indeed, many Bahamians do not want declarations and other statements made by Cabinet ministers at political conventions to be dismissed as entertainment, or as politics, for that matter.

Reckless
Speaking of politics, this is a good spot to introduce the second statement regarding the handling of our affairs and the actions of political parties that was insulting to many Bahamians -- but not surprising, considering who said it.
V. Alfred Gray, the hapless and disgraceful minister of agriculture and marine resources, last week dismissed as "politics" the ill-considered decision of the PLP in the lead-up to the 2012 general election to erect murder billboards around New Providence.
The billboards promoted that there were more than 490 murders under the Ingraham administration.
They were intended to heighten the fears of Bahamians that electing an FNM government would mean a rise in murders and crime in general.
Sadly, there have been nearly 600 murders under the Christie administration. Already this year, 19 have been recorded.
The issue of the murder billboards was raised in Parliament last Wednesday by Fort Charlotte MP Dr. Andre Rollins. Now an FNM, Rollins was a PLP at the time the billboards were put up.
He and other PLPs protested when the billboards were taken down, reportedly by FNM government authorities.
Last week, Rollins railed against the PLP for its actions in 2012.
"I would only like the record to state, and I am embarrassed that I was even present when it was done, that the side opposite, during the course of the last election campaign, posted signs indicating how many murders were happening in this country, in the sight of those coming to this country, that gave a bad name to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
"That was reckless, and they clearly relished the demise of the country in relation to the high rate of murders in this country."
Firing back, Gray said, "During election campaigns people who want to get into power say things that, when you analyze it later, sometimes you say, 'well it was only politics'.
"And, Mr. Speaker, more often than not, it happens on both sides, make promises, deal with people in ways which otherwise after elections some of them change their phone numbers; they do all that.
"But that's the campaign, and that's the result of the elected members."
It is apparent that some of our political representatives take us for fools.
When it comes to backward and dangerous political thinking, V. Alfred Gray deserves a national award.
Only recently, he told us that if people get jobs they don't care who the government is.
Our leaders deserve continuous reminders that they will not be allowed to get away with foolish statements and unacceptable behavior.
They must be held to account for what they do, for the promises they make, and the decisions they make on our behalf.
They must be held to the pledges they pronounce leading up to elections, and ought to be condemned for disgraceful actions and the cavalier approach they often take to governance.

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