Glimpse of a Minnis doctrine

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Students of politics who parse words and debate policy were absolutely delighted with the first public statements by the new Prime Minister.

To the surprise of many Dr Hubert Minnis ascended the stage on election night as Prime Minister-elect and gave a very credible speech that masked the heavy weight of the crown of government that had just been placed on his head.

At his swearing-in ceremony when the assembled audience would have forgiven him if he appeared nervous and uncomfortable, he instead eased into the role with poise and a calming sense of purpose.

He started his first remarks as Prime Minister by publicly extending birthday greetings to Sir Arthur Foulkes, the penultimate resident of Government House, a beloved statesman and a life-long democrat who staked his political career on the principle of accountability.

It wasn’t a stretch therefore that the Prime Minister would return to Government House just four days later and throw down the gauntlet proclaiming to the world the basic tenets of an emerging Minnis Doctrine.

The good doctor is a liberal democrat who obviously had a finger on the pulse of the electorate and knew that while the single most important focus of his government must be the economy, the broader mandate of his new “people’s” government is to embrace those hot button items that Bahamians care passionately about: ending corruption and stopping the gravy train for friends, family and lovers.

Minnis made sure right off the bat that the electorate knew that he heard their cries and would elevate his government to match their expectations.

The Prime Minister was sombre in his address that was for voters in MICAL as much as those in Marathon. Real change, he implied, starts with changing the way government works. Amen to that.

He set the bar high for those in his cabinet and for those in public service. There will be no turning a blind eye; not even a three strikes and you’re out policy. If any ethical failure is discovered it will be grounds for immediate termination of a cabinet minister. Anyone who couldn’t agree with that had only the option of turning his or her instruments of office back in to the Governor-General.

And to keep everyone honest and on their toes, Permanent Secretaries and heads of statutory bodies had the bar set high for them as well. If you see something, say something, or run the risk of being perceived as party to the conspiracy to defraud the people. It’s pink slips for them if they fail to police their Ministries and enforce the Minnis doctrine of openness and transparency in the conduct of the people’s business.

The Prime Minister is correct in his judgment that in order to carry out his mandate he will first have to regain the trust and the confidence of the people. Perry Christie and the PLP had so squandered both in the last five years that the electorate has become cynical and deeply distrustful of government.

This is the action of a very confident leader. The intra-party turbulence had served to prepare Minnis for this moment. With his party now squarely in his corner, he immediately set out to lay the groundwork to get the entire country behind him.

Minnis is gambling that only with the support of the Bahamian people will he and his cabinet be able to tackle the challenges that we are facing. If the people don’t believe that corruption has stopped they won’t sign on to the austerity and belt tightening needed to claw back our AAA credit rating.

By stressing that it is a sign of respect for public officials to show up on time, Dr Minnis was signalling to foreign investors that it is no longer business as usual in The Bahamas. Respect will be shown to all investors but likewise respect of the Bahamian people and our birthrights will have to be reciprocated.

Minnis must assure the people that he intends to grow the economy and make sure that the rising tide of prosperity lifts all boats. Showing the people where their VAT money vanished will make it easier for the government to continue the programme, albeit with the necessary expansion of the safety net for the poor. The people want VAT removed on food and on services like health and basic banking.

If we believe that our taxes are not stolen or wasted then Minnis will have a free hand to splash out the treasure needed to keep our communities and us safe. We will sacrifice to give the police the resources they need. But action speaks louder than words.

Start clamping down on minor infractions such as property crimes and the extensive vehicular moving violations that we see on our streets every day, often leading to carnage and the needless loss of too many of our young people. Have a zero tolerance for guns, for example.

The Ingraham Doctrine was about freedom of speech and the emancipation of the soul of the Bahamian people after 25 years under the PLP. The Minnis Doctrine must now be the passage of a freedom of information act. The Minnis legacy could be that he dusted off the FNM good governance baton, last wielded by Ingraham.

After Christie brought the government into ridicule, if Minnis governs the way he started off his first term, then we will see the people put back in charge. If he sticks to his democratic bona fides then we may truly get a government that is open and honest, transparent and accountable with a laser focus on those that it exists to serve. We, the forgotten people.

The people ask only that the PM and his new government conducts our business honourably and treats us with a little bit of respect.

Dr Minnis deserves our thanks for helping us to exhale after holding our collective breath through the stink of the Christie government.

THE GRADUATE

Nassau,

May 20, 2017