Bahamas Blog - Bahamas Web Log

Growing Mediocrity

After a year of hype and spin it is increasingly evident to all but the most ardent party supporter that the PLP government and its leadership are taking The Bahamas down a road of mediocrity, which we can ill afford to travel.

Rather than continue the relentless pursuit of excellence in all we do, we are instead led down a road of slow decline.

Rather than embrace the opportunity to expand the national development, accelerate change, deliver on the promise of openess and true stewardship and empower those who expressed, so vehemently, their spite of the FNM, the PLP threatens to take the Bahamas to a place of darkness. This may seem extreme for there are no visible signs, yet, of dictatorship, no creeping hooliganism, no secret societies (?). But still we are headed for darkness and decay rather than being led into the light of efficient, democratic government.

The indecisiveness and absence of a clear vision mirrors the absence of a coherent national agenda. The lack of focus is evident in the creeping slowness of decisions and the growing inertia. In many cases it is fueled by a fear of reprisal, for certain ministers are not above villification and threats.

The PLP is good at spin. Spin is okay, once you have some substance and a list of achievements to put your stamp on. But empty spin produces contempt and a credibility gap. The country is increasingly falling into the yawning credibility gap of the distance between the facts and the pronouncements. Because the PLP was able to hitchhike on a number of accomplishments of the former government, and label them as their own, the PLP fuels contempt and cynicism.

The Soviet Union was brought down by its inability to to control the information flow and to make real life reflect the lies about its economy. In The Bahamas, the constant refrain of how well we are withstanding external shocks, and the reality of life in many of our communities, will soon come into direct conflict.

The evidence of a spin hoax is hard to refute. The many Bahamians employed on the streets are not equipped with productivity improving tools to increase their output and teach them lifetime skills. Those who place them at work with primitive tools, force them to surrender their labour and aspirations. They callously help these people down the road of mediocrity. The Bahamas must not waste its human resources this way.

The growing resentment, bred and cultivated by the unbridled hypocrisy, will place a costly burden on future administrations and wreak havoc with the public trust.

The government has failed to engender a spirit of "oneness" in The Bahamas. It has allowed spite and vindictiveness to come back. It has stirred up the most virulent old resentments and predjudices. The government has used consultation and commissions, under the guise of inclusion, to delay decisive action. Its lackluster leadership is hamstrung.

The government has spawned a culture of greed, by allowing its membes to rule unchallenged over little fiefdoms. The government has reduced the level of expectations and aspirations among Bahamians, especially among young Bahamians, by governing at such a mediocre standard; they have lowered the bar.

Edited from a letter to the Editor of The Nassau Guardian by Kairos.

Posted by admin at October 5, 2003 01:26 PM