First published September 3, 2012. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. - From William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar". On Friday past, Hubert Ingraham's resignation from Parliament took effect, ending Ingraham's 35 consecutive years of service there. The longevity of his public service, not only as a parliamentarian but in the highest elected national office, is itself a superlative achievement. For many years to come, political pundits and historians will seek to expound upon the long-term effects of his political career. The "Era of Hubert Ingraham" can be summed up with the title of an old movie favorite: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly".
Accordingly, this week, we would like to Consider This... as it comes to an end, what exactly did the Ingraham era mean to The Bahamas? As we saw in his farewell address that was never delivered, robbing the nation of this historic moment, the accomplishments listed were formidable, creating a bridge from the Pindling era establishment of the infrastructure of nationhood to the modern Bahamas where those freed and educated by the majority rule generation began to demand their share of the national pie. The good The good of the Ingraham era saw the freeing of the airwaves, the introduction of cable television and widespread Internet, as well as the creation of Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), the body to regulate those sectors.
The public sector was computerized, a set of criteria was established to grant permits and licenses, eliminating political interference, and the Customs Department was modernized. Egovernment was introduced, the House of Assembly was reduced by 11 seats and both the House and Senate proceedings were carried live by the newly created Parliamentary Channel. Legislative reforms were seen in many sectors: primogenitor and dower rights were abolished and many changes were made at the National Insurance Board. The Securities Commission, BISX and the Public Hospitals Authority were created, local government was introduced and the Junkanoo Expo opened.
The Ingraham era also saw the establishment of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA); the Bahamas Environment, Science & Technology (BEST) Commission and the Industrial Tribunal, as well as infrastructural improvements throughout the islands and other public building projects.There is no question that over the 15 non-consecutive years as prime minister, the Ingraham era saw many good things for The Bahamas. However, there were some bad things that, unfortunately, may color the Ingraham legacy, notwithstanding the positive accomplishments.
The bad Perhaps one of the most long term, negative legacies of the Ingraham era will be the relinquishment of the country's sovereignty to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which resulted from the blacklisting of the jurisdiction. While many stakeholders in the financial services sector will admit that certain sector reforms were needed, there is equally no question that the Ingraham administration too quickly capitulated to the demands of the OECD.Proof of this was borne out by other jurisdictions that were also blacklisted, but that took their time in thinking through the long-term effects of the OECD's demands and ultimately did not surrender either as quickly or as much as The Bahamas did.
The consequence of our rapid capitulation to the OECD was the substantial amount of business that left The Bahamas for jurisdictions such as Bermuda, the Channel Islands and the Cayman Islands, the latter also having been blacklisted. The Ingraham administration also allowed the Central Bank to persuade it that Bahamian ownership of banks and trust companies should be discouraged and that those that existed should be required to have foreign shareholders in order "to enhance their credibility". In fact, Ingraham, during the debate in Parliament on the compendium of legislative changes that brought about the radical changes in the financial services sector referred to practitioners in the sector as "crooks" -totally unbecoming of a nation's chief executive.
Clearly, the Ingraham era saw greater confidence placed in foreigners over Bahamians, without any justification. It was an era when "Officialdom" proclaimed its lack of confidence in Bahamians generally and Bahamian institutions, in particular.The Ingraham era also witnessed a similar attitude that foreigners were better than Bahamians in our judiciary with examples too numerous to mention, culminating in the appointment of a foreigner to be the director of public prosecutions, bypassing a qualified and long-serving Bahamian.We similarly observed this attitude regarding the privatization of Bahamas Telecommunications Company Ltd. (BTC) where initially the prime minister unambiguously - but not uncharacteristically - bellowed that under no circumstances whatsoever was Cable & Wireless to be considered as a prospective purchaser of BTC.
It was therefore surprising to most thoughtful Bahamians that in the final analysis that that company was recommended by the privatization committee and eagerly embraced by the Ingraham administration. It leaves many to wonder: What changed, and why?Another decision that will forever haunt the Ingraham era is the grossly incompetent and highly mismanaged road works that resulted in historically high cost overruns and enormous economic losses to businesses and disruption of our daily lives.Finally, the Ingraham era legacy will be haunted by the incomparable mismanagement of public finances that resulted in unprecedented fiscal deficits and unparalleled national debt which will have long-term implications for national development.
The ugly Then there is the ugly, a feature of the Ingraham era that must be discussed when talking about these years. The ugly of the Ingraham era could be seen in the way Ingraham related to and solved problems and obstacles, surmounted challenges to his word and will and implemented his policies sometimes in the face of profound opposition, cementing his place in history as, in his own - perhaps unfortunately chosen - words, "a one-man band".It soon became obvious that this brash, "take-no-prisoners" young giant killer who finally defeated Pindling, his mentor, was going to use this same approach for getting things done within his government, causing for great rifts and some surprising confrontations, some he won and some he lost spectacularly - such as the Clifton Cay debacle and the politicized 2002 Constitutional Referendum.
So overwhelming was the force of his personality that, by the 1997 and 2002 general elections, his "maximum leader" persona was not only common knowledge; it had become an accepted way of governance.Ingraham's "my way or the highway" approach to governance worked in his favor in the 2007 election when contrasted with Christie's much more measured, contemplative style of governance, but by 2012 the electorate had tired of his "bad boy" or, in Pindling's prophetic words so long ago, "rude boy" style that they swept Christie and the PLP back into office.
Conclusion There is absolutely no question that Ingraham's imprimatur is indelibly ingrained on the Bahamian political landscape and that, in his 15 years as the prime minister, he has made significant and substantial improvements in our patrimony.In 39 years of independence, The Bahamas has had three prime ministers. Each has done some great things in his own right. It will be left to the historians and the passage of time to ultimately determine where Ingraham stands in juxtaposition to the other two PLP prime ministers.
Contrary to the observations of Mark Antony in William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", the good things that Ingraham has done will endure long after he has gone from the frontline political scene. And for now, while present and future politicians should learn valuable lessons from his good, bad and ugly actions, a grateful nation should express its gratitude for the enormous contributions he has made to the development of our country and wish him long life and rest as he saunters off into his political sunset.Philip C. Galanis is the managing partner of HLB Galanis & Co., Chartered Accountants, Forensic & Litigation Support Services. He served 15 years inParliament. Please send your comments to pgalanis@gmail.com.
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