Outside of sports, what have we had to celebrate in this nation since the 1990s, when, at the very least, the economy enjoyed an almost decade-long high level of growth, and the nation saw reform in its social and political fortunes? When did we last score economic growth at or above three percent? When was unemployment less than 10 percent? When did the stopover visitor count exceed 4 million, or visitor spending exceed $4 billion? When did we last have a GFS deficit below one percent? When have workers gotten an increase that the economy could truly afford? When was the last time that interest rates on borrowing for a home fell below seven percent and a savings rate above two percent? When have wages increased while the cost of living decreased? When did FDI explode, and with it, the general level of prosperity in our country? When did school achievement break positive records and make us feel good about our schools and our school system? When did college graduation rates lead us to believe that our future was great, and with it the rate of male participation in it? When did housing starts soar throughout the nation and with it commercial construction activity? When has the murder rate shocked us because it was so low, and the BTVI enrolment rate because it was so high? When did we last create infrastructural developments so outstanding that the country stood in awe? When, oh when, did we last create or innovate something that caused the world to stand still and take note?
What we need in The Bahamas are wins. We need a big win. Our spirits are down. Our souls are parched. Our memories fail us of proud achievements. Our collective existence is diminished of excelling. We are uninspired. We need wins.
Life cannot just be drudgery. It cannot simply be grinding the mill. It cannot be the celebration of the few and the misery of the many. We, the big "WE" need a win. We need to feel good about ourselves. We need to feel, not from mere rhetoric, but the genuine birth of possibilities that better lies ahead. Hope is drowning in our midst, and the hand that reached in the water to lift it out is limp and ineffective. Our prayers appear to ring hollow, while fear seems to be winning the day. Where is victory? Where is triumph? Where is the rising sun Bahamaland?
We need wins. There was a big political victory on May 10. There was a collective celebration by multiple thousands fatigued by the burden of past failures. Many saw, if only dimly, a ray of hope in that big change. But dawn is fading, and dusk cometh forth, it seems. The hungry grow restless, and the thirsty are agitated. Patience we say to the hurting, but they scream back, "Patience for what? Show us hope." With weariness we try, but truth be told, it is not so easy. Hope is damaged, and faith seems frail. We need a win. We need a victory and we need it real soon.
The struggle is real, but so is hope. There are possibilities, but we must dig deep. We must really focus now. We must be real. Leadership in every sphere must step up big time. The stakes are too high now. Failure can be cataclysmic for generations to come. Rhetoric and platitudes are not real estate; they are puffs of smoke. Genuine strategy and dogged execution are the stuff that buy land. We need millions of visitors, billions of invested capital, thousands of jobs, rises in wages, spikes in productivity and the rise of public order. We need wins. If we do not find these wins, I fear for the future ahead. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick," says the holy book. Hearts are now moving beyond sick; arrest seems imminent. Can we find aid in this desperate hour? Can we find a win? We must. We had better.
o Zhivargo Laing is a Bahamian economic consultant and former Cabinet minister who represented the Marco City constituency in the House of Assembly.
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