BAHAMIANS deserve better.

Better air. Better water. Better governance that includes freedom from victimisation and access to information.

Bahamians deserve to know where nearly $1 billion in Value-Added Tax (VAT) revenue collected by government went.

Bahamians deserve to live without fear of crime.

Bahamians deserve better.

Bahamian children deserve a decent education. Bahamian businesses deserve to be treated as if they mattered and not as if they were greedy just because they are successful.

Bahamians deserve better but will not get better unless they demand it. And if ever there were a time to demand better, this is it. Whether it has been formally announced or not, there is no question about it. Election season is here and this is every Bahamian’s time to stand up, speak up, capitalise on his or her ability to influence platforms and make a difference.

Yet, we fear that the noise of rallies will once again be louder than the voice of the people. We look to the millennials to carry the flag of courage that their predecessors, shackled by the reality of victimisation, could not. We take comfort in the fact that young people, unfettered by the fear that tied tens of thousands of tongues, will make up a significant portion of the voting population in 2017.

Beyond urging all Bahamians to recognise they deserve better, we ask the question: What do you want better in The Bahamas?

We want a respect for the environment and community rights. We want a proper landfill and government to take full responsibility for relocating the people of Jubilee Gardens until objective analyses gives the all-safe to return. We want government to safeguard those persons’ belongings and provide safety equipment for the people doing so, including regular health exams.

Bahamians near the Harrold Road dump deserve better.

We want a better Bahamas for Bahamians who have disabilities.

We want a Bahamas with a transparent government so that contracts for government-leased space are transparent, needs are advertised and a board of responsible people make a decision based on business principles.

We want a Bahamas where women who are abused are not afraid to reach out for help and children who are victims of incest know they will be safe if they report it.

We want a Bahamas where never again will a surrey horse have to carry the weight of passengers on a tour. We want a Bahamas where animal cruelty is recognised and punished as a crime and the only surrey horses will be those in old postcards and photographs.

We want a Bahamas where those who seek office present a platform and state their policy for action, not spend their time denigrating those who would run against them. Politicians, novice and experienced, what will you do to make the better Bahamas that Bahamians deserve? Why should we vote for you? Tell us. We want to know. We deserve better.

We want a Bahamas where the public has a greater participation in ownership of parks and spaces that should be public - and especially beaches. We need only look at the crowds on Goodman’s Bay or Montagu to see how Bahamians love their beaches and their sea. On other islands, the beach, the shoreline and coastal areas are where Bahamians who deserve better spend many of their finest family hours together and throughout the archipelago, we want a Bahamas where our heritage and our historic sites are appreciated.

We want a Bahamas where elections have set dates, terms are fixed, a transition period exists between governments to allow for a smooth turnover of administrations. We want a Bahamas where there are strict laws about political contributions and where foreign entities have limits on what they can contribute. We want a transparent election process and a government in the open. Why? Because Bahamians deserve better.

We want a Bahamas where the judiciary truly remains independent and the Attorney General is not a part of the Cabinet, but heads a division of government separate from the executive.

For too long, the silence of Bahamians has shouted their acquiescence of whatever is presented to them as a fait accompli. They trusted government to keep them safe from the dump and it blew up in their faces and lungs. They trusted government to spend their money to reduce the debt and grow the economy and they learned instead that their credit rating was sunk to junk.

Bahamians deserve better and we will only get it if we demand it.