If the implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) in The Bahamas is “done right” ...it could be the solution to the nation’s financial problems

Vat Deadline 'A Recipe For Disasters' Warns Fnm

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

Nassau, The Bahamas


THE Christie administration is “preparing a recipe for disaster” by continuing to forge ahead with an aggressive schedule for Value Added Tax implementation, FNM chairman Daron Cash warned.

 

While the government has said it will stick to its July 1, 2014 deadline for enactment of the new taxation system, the draft legislation has yet to be completed – despite the fact that State Finance Minister Michael Halkitis originally promised this would be done as early as May of this year.

 

In addition, the promised education campaign has yet to begin, resulting in widespread confusion about what VAT will mean for consumers or businesses.

 

For these reasons, the FNM suggested that VAT’s implementation date be rescheduled, saying moving too soon could do more harm than good to many Bahamians who are already struggling to make ends meet.

 

“It means increased taxation,” Mr Cash said, “there is no question that the Ministers of Finance, both the Prime Minister and Mr Halkitis, have been less than full in their explanation to the Bahamian people.

 

“At the end of the day they will be taking more money out of the average person’s pockets. But the sad reality is that they have done such an abysmal job in ensuring that the average person understands what it’s going to mean for them on a daily basis.

 

“While breadbasket items might very well be minimally impacted by VAT, the reality is we are talking about 15 per cent in a lot of areas higher than what people are paying now. So 15 per cent on top of already high cost items will lead to the average person having higher bills at the end of the month.”

 

However, if VAT is “done right”, Mr Cash believes it could be the solution to the country’s financial problems.

 

“We have always said that even an FNM government would have considered VAT. But you cannot impose new taxes in an already fragile economy. They appear to be doing too much too soon.

 

“If you listen to members of the business community, many of them don’t have the information to be able to plan sensibly, reasonably and in a sufficient time for their businesses to be able to adjust.”

 

Mr Cash urged the government to reconsider the haste at which it is moving to pile more taxes on the average Bahamian.

 

October 02, 2013

 

Tribune 242

 

The Value Added Tax (VAT) debate in The Bahamas ...and the Bahamian politicians, politics and healthy political discourse involved...

Bahamas will ‘pay savagely’ for VAT politics

Consultant fears VAT delay would lead to credit downgrading, loss of policy choices

BY ALISON LOWE
Guardian Business Editor
alison@nasguard.com
Nassau, The Bahamas

The Bahamas will “pay savagely” if plans to implement valued added tax (VAT) gets “bogged down in politics”, a consultant to the government has warned, suggesting that delays in implementing the new revenue measure could lead to serious fiscal woes.

Noting some of the negative response to the proposed new regime to date, Ishmael Lightbourne told Guardian Business that there is “no question” that the new tax regime would represent good fodder for political fireworks when the legislation is introduced in Parliament.

However, pointing to the situation in crisis-stricken Greece, Lightbourne said that The Bahamas’ choice is one of either implementing VAT – or some other revenue raising measure – or being forced to implement new taxes or expenditure cutbacks by “external forces”, like the southern European country.

“I think the essential issue is the country’s fiscal position which is consistently showing a deficit gap, and that is not getting better from our present tax regime, and we are putting ourselves further and further into deficits and national debt,” he said.

“In that position, my focus has always been that if we do not get off that path, we’ll be losing a chance to voluntarily make these changes in terms of expanding the revenue base or reducing the cost of government. When we can’t do that ourselves, external forces come in and impose certain conditions. If you look at Greece, Greece has been under IMF watch or care, and they are having to do things like cut some 12,500 public servants. Those are the types of issues we want to try to avoid.”

Highlighting a continuous “gap” between government’s revenues and expenditures in recent years that has led to a spiralling national debt, which stands at 60 percent of GDP and is projected to hit $4.8 billion by the end of this fiscal year, Lightbourne suggested that The Bahamas’ fiscal situation could take a turn for the worst if a further downgrade occurs as a result of international agencies perceiving that The Bahamas is not committed to fiscal reform, which would increase borrowing costs.

The situation to date is already “pretty dismal”, he highlighted in a recent presentation to the Bahamas Society of Engineers, with the government borrowing to pay administrative and operational expenses such as salaries racking up around $200 million in recurrent deficits alone per year as a result.

To date, it is unclear exactly how the official opposition, the FNM, will respond to the VAT plans. Earlier this year, former junior finance minister Zhivargo Laing suggested that had the party been re-elected during the last

general election, it would have implemented VAT within two to three years of taking office.

In a recent statement, FNM Chairman Darron Cash suggested there need to be more “public discussion” on VAT and the government was not doing a good job on the education process.

The Democratic National Alliance, headed by former FNM Minister Branville McCartney, has recently come out against the tax. In an email sent to supporters yesterday entitled “VAT will destroy us”, the party which ran a slate of candidates in the last election tells supporters that if VAT is implemented, The Bahamas “will never be the same”.

“The cost of living will be going up, the cost of your food, your cable bill and school fees!” said the party.

During an appearance on Guardian Radio’s “Coffee Break”, DNA Chairman Andrew Wilson charged that the tax will destroy the middle class and suggested the government consider a sales tax instead.

Lightbourne said: “You have to look in the real world of politics, any opportunity that presents itself for the opposition to catapult itself in the political arena, they will take. That’s the nature of politics. Now whether they will do that to the detriment of country and allow government to be the fall guy, I’m not sure, [but] that may be their strategy...”

The VAT consultant said that in a recent presentation to the Killarney Constituency Association on VAT, Opposition Leader and Killarney MP Hubert Minnis “made no comment.”

He said that a presentation on VAT to the entire parliament has “yet to come off” but he is hopeful that one can be made shortly.

“They need to be able to see the issues and challenges that we face as a country and how we go about resolving those issues. I’m still hoping that will happen so we can bring to their attention the kind of decisions that need to be made. No matter who is government these issues will present themselves and won’t go away.”

“It’s not VAT or nothing, it’s got to be VAT or something, in order to close this enormous gap we have growing by the year,” he added.

Pauline Peters, another newly-hired VAT consultant and a former head of Grenada’s inland revenue service who led the implementation of VAT in that country, told Guardian Business that while that country may remain challenged with reducing its debt burden, the introduction of VAT in 2010 in Grenada has been helpful.

“It has certainly raised additional revenue that can assist in that process (of reducing debt). One would recognize that the revenue is going to the consolidated fund and the government would prioritize with respect to how that is spent.

“There would’ve been areas that would’ve benefited from increased revenue, such as infrastructural development in the country, the social safety net would’ve been increased, and other financial issues that government would’ve been dealing with.”

October 01, 2013

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC), and the Value Added Tax (VAT) debate in The Bahamas

Tax Coalition Not Out To 'Kill Vat'

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Nassau, The Bahamas


The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) proposed tax reform committee is aiming to bring “more leadership to the debate”, its chairman emphasising: “This isn’t a Coalition to kill VAT.”

 

Chester Cooper told Tribune Business that the BCCEC was keeping a “very open mind” on the direction the Bahamas should take, telling Tribune Business that tax reform in this nation was inevitable.

 

Providing more details on the BCCEC’s ‘Tax Coalition’ plans, first revealed by this newspaper last week, Mr Cooper said its purpose was effectively to ‘bridge the gap’ between the Government and private sector when it came to educating and informing the latter on VAT and other tax reforms.

 

He added that the Tax Reform Committee would also “examine the fundamentals” of the Government’s VAT proposal to see whether it was the best tax reform option for the Bahamas, of if a revised version - or entirely different tax - was the best option.

 

And Mr Cooper also acknowledged that the Committee was intended to “calm the hysteria” that had arisen over VAT and the Government’s wider tax reform plans, given that most commentators and statements on the issue were vehemently opposed to the proposals.

 

“In a nutshell, over the past several weeks, we have become a little concerned about the level of debate on the issue of VAT, and the level of criticism,” Mr Cooper told Tribune Business.

 

“We want to see this [the Committee] bring more leadership to the debate, organise and elevate it.”

 

Acknowledging that the Government had begun to ‘ramp up’ its VAT educational initiatives, via speeches and presentations, Mr Cooper said the proposed tax reform committee will be co-chaired by Robert Myers, the BCCEC’s vice-chairman, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Bahamas accountant and partner, Gowon Bowe.

 

Its objective, he added, was to “bring together a broad private sector coalition” featuring all key industry associations in an effort to engage both the Government and private sector, analysing VAT’s likely impact on both the overall economy and individual sectors.

 

Mr Cooper promised that the Committee would “really look at the facts and fundamentals of what is being proposed, look at it scientifically, and look at the impact on some of the sectors”.

 

It will also arrange a series of meetings with sister Family Island Chambers, industry associations and their members, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, to educate them and explain how VAT will impact their businesses.

 

“By and large there’s been a bit of a feeding frenzy coming out and opposing VAT,” Mr Cooper told Tribune Business.

 

“We [the BCCEC] believe in national tax reform. When the rating agencies downgraded us were dismayed by that. We want to have fiscal prudence, but want the Government to have enough revenues and exercise restraint in spending.

 

“We expect, at the end of the day, to have a balanced, equitable tax structure, whether its VAT in its current form or revised form, or a new form of tax altogether.”

 

The BCCEC chairman added: “I think it’s important we find a way to calm the hysteria a little bit, and have a productive, mature discussion that provides leadership from the private sector in that regard.

 

“This is not a Coalition to kill VAT. I don’t want the public to get any form of impression, or the Government to get its back up, that this is a Coalition to kill it.

 

“If it happens, at the end of the day, that all the Associations and people we talk to are opposed to VAT in a very drastic way, because it’s detrimental and their analysis shows the impact is negative, we might take that position. At this point, the Chamber is very open-minded.”

 

The VAT debate has intensified since the Nassau Institute economic think-tank published the results of its study, which showed that the implementation of such a tax would cut Bahamian GDP by between $322-$483 million annually.

 

That sparked senior Ministry of Finance officials and consultants into lining up to slam the report’s findings. One, former PwC senior partner, Ishmael Lightbourne, last week blasted the Nassau Institute’s study as “one of the most extreme, ridiculous and exaggerated” reports he had ever seen.

 

Mr Cooper, though, pointed out that the Wall Street credit rating agencies, plus both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), had all emphasised the need for “significant tax reform in the Bahamas”.

 

“We want our economy to be fiscally sound, by generating enough revenues to service debt and build hospitals road and schools,” the BCCEC chairman added.

 

“What is important is for us to have a balanced, equitable tax structure that improves government revenues but, at the same time, not slow down the economy or disincentivise entrepreneurs from going into business or staying in business.

 

“We are also strong advocates for more efficiency and less waste in government so that we can have prudent spending of the revenues that we are now getting.

 

“There is also a need to stamp out corruption to minimise leakages, and the Government needs to demonstrate that it has the will and the teeth to implement appropriate controls so that we maximise the benefit to the country of the taxes that are now in place and the new taxes that might come.”

 

Emphasising that he did not believe in ‘Soap Box Advocacy’, Mr Cooper said: “Obviously, when I hear a few members opine that VAT will kill their business, I become concerned.

 

“Likewise any suggestion that VAT will slow down the economy, cause businesses to put investment on hold is a cause of concern for me a chairman of the BCCEC.”

 

And he told Tribune Business: “By and large, the public does not understand what is being proposed, and large elements of the business community have not zeroed in on VAT and its impact.

 

“We’re calling on the private sector to be more informed and engaged, and will do our part to make that happen.”

 

September 30, 2013

 

Tribune 242

 

Bahamas Blog International

 

Venezuelan Government Occupies Toilet Paper Factory to Fight “Economic War”

By Ewan Robertson:



Mérida, 23^rd September 2013 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government has ordered the occupation of one of the main producers of toilet paper in the country as part of the struggle to combat “shortages and sabotage” in the economy.

Vice President Jorge Arreaza said the factory occupation, announced on Friday, was in order to “verify the production, distribution and sale of toilet paper” from the Manpa S.A. company, located in the central state of Aragua. The measure was ordered by President Maduro after “violations to consumer rights” were discovered upon an inspection of the factory last week.

The occupation – which will last for 15 days – will be carried out by the government’s National Superintendency for Fair Costs and Prices (Sundecop) and responds to “the state’s obligation to guarantee the normal supply of products of basic necessity to the Venezuelan people”.

The move is part of a wider government offensive to combat shortages in certain basic products such as milk, toilet paper and corn flour, which along with rising prices have been affecting consumers this year.

During Sundecop’s occupation of the factory the consumer protection agency will examine processes of production, distribution and sale, as well as input requirements for the manufacture of the toilet paper.

Manpa S.A. will provide Sundecop with a liaison team to provide documentation on inventories, production costs, sales chains, production capacity and idle capacity, among other areas.

At the end of the occupation period Sundecop will release a report with information on any irregularities in the production and management of the factory, and corrective measures to be applied.

Economic war

Since the beginning of this year the Venezuelan economy has experienced rising prices and an increase in shortages of certain basic foods and hygiene products, while the bolivar currency has fallen sharply in value on the black market.

Officials argue that these trends are largely due to an “economic war” being waged by economic and political sectors opposed to the government, which seek to disturb economic activity through acts of sabotage, hoarding products to create scarcity, and attacking the national currency.

Meanwhile the conservative opposition blames problems in the economy on government price controls and restrictions on foreign currency flows, arguing that these interfere with the “natural” functioning of the market.

Earlier this month the government created the High Commission for the People’s Defence of the Economy in order to combat the “economic war”. It is directed personally by President Maduro and incorporates ministers and grassroots activists.

Measures adopted so far include stimulating production with subsidies, raising some price controls, increasing imports from neighbouring countries, increasing the flow of foreign currency to importers and priority sectors, inspecting producers of foodstuffs and food distribution networks, increasing monitoring of price control infractions, and establishing a telephone line for citizens to denounce acts of sabotage in the economy.

The government is also looking to modify the law combating the misuse of foreign currency allocations to businesses and individuals, in order to better prevent practices which abuse allocations of state-granted dollars and contribute to devaluing the national currency.

Authorities aim to reduce relative shortages of basic products to half their current level by the end of the year, which would bring them below the level considered “normal” by the country’s National Institute of Statistics.

Young Bahamian Entrepreneurs in the tourism industry ...and the revitalisation of The Bahamas as a competitive touristic destination

 

Negotiating With The Gatekeeper: Young Entrepreneurs And Tourism

By Noelle Khalila Nicolls
Tribune242
Nassau, The Bahamas



IF the movements made by a handful of young Bahamian professionals over the past year in tourism are any indication of the entrepreneurial thinking of their counterparts, then there is some hope for the future outlook of tourism in the Bahamas.

 

Entrepreneurs such as Alanna Rogers, Jamie Lewis, Adlai Kerr and Scott Turnquest, owners of tourism startups Tru Bahamian Food Tours, Islandz Tours, and BahamaGo, are breaking barriers in tourism by going head to head with established businesses in nontraditional areas of the business. Their starups are refreshing additions to the product offering, and reflect a break from the tunnel vision way of thinking about tourism in terms of traditional service jobs, foreign direct investment and hotels.

 

The tour business in the Bahamas is not an easy one to get into. Ancient companies such as Majestic Tours, the last of the original travel agents from the days of white-only operators, have an effective monopoly over the key supply chains of visitors. And yet, Majestic Tours only places 19 amongst the 22 sightseeing tours ranked on Trip Advisor for Nassau based activities.

 

In the top spot on the Trip Advisor listing is Tru Bahamian Food Tours, with Islandz Tours following closely behind in the number four spot. As far as Trip Advisor is concerned Majestic Tours is essentially a nobody, despite their relative operational size and level of business experience. Old school business minds with an analogue outlook would not understand the significance of such a ranking. They miss how the Internet acts as a great democratic equalizer in this digital world, particularly for those with Rocky-style ambition and fight.

 

These young entrepreneurs are attempting to solve long-standing problems that the industry has been incapable of solving. The Downtown Nassau Partnership has doled out big dollars to revitalise downtown, focusing in large part on upgrading infrastructure. Their efforts are all well and good, but the creation of new businesses that add value and enhance the downtown Nassau experience could do just as well in the revitalisation efforts.

 

That is what Tru Bahamian Food Tours and Islandz Tours have proven, with Islandz also operating in the merchandising side of the business, with authentic Bahamian souvenirs.

 

Innovation and the expansion of existing products and business services are critical for the revitalisation of the Bahamas as a destination, which is on the decline. Sometimes it seems as though leaders in the business sector are either comfortable or complacent. Either way, it is leading to a lack of improvement and modernisation in our tourism offerings.

 

As far as downtown goes, our city centre is a stale, dry place at night, notwithstanding the few bars and clubs that make an effort. Why haven’t existing businesses figured out a way to make downtown vibrant at night? Why haven’t entrepreneurs seen this need as an opportunity to create new businesses? When the Downtown Nassau Partnership ran its successful bar crawl promotion on the Heineken bus, I immediately wondered why a private group hadn’t made a successful business out of a Nassau at night bar hop.

 

Why haven’t downtown businesses figured out a way to bring more Bahamians downtown? Not all of them are convinced that central to downtown’s success is bringing the city back to life for Bahamians. In fact, there is a night spot off Bay Street that has a notorious reputation for being racist and discriminatory towards black Bahamians. During the recent Goombay Summer festival in Pompey Square, I heard a tourism official say, “It was good, except, not many tourists came out.” Meanwhile, the square was jam-packed with Bahamians, starved for outlets to enjoy downtown.

If businesses are supposed to solve problems, fill needs, serve markets, it seems we are going year to year without innovating solutions and creating products to plug the market gaps; without solving problems and keeping pace with the under-served and emerging markets.

 

The startup BahamaGo is doing just that. It is attempting to solve two critical problems that the Ministry of Tourism with its $80 million annual budget has been unable to do in its more than five decades. So far BahamaGo has had success, not because it has the financial resources to do so, but because it has financial accountability; it has the business motivation combined with passion and drive; and most importantly, it does not have an analogue mind.

 

The reality is most hotels in the Bahamas are in fact small hotels, strung amongst the Family Islands; they are using outdated hotel management tools with no access to the large online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Travelocity and Expedia. This lack of access to OTAs is a major challenge for small hotels, which cannot accept online bookings for their properties, and have no way of offering booking packages that pair airfare and accommodation.

 

Many hotels are using manual ledgers or telepathic room inventory management systems. BahamaGo is an niche OTA created by Bahamian entrepreneurs with technology and finance backgrounds who understand the specific demands and challenges of the local market and are centrally focused on meeting the local needs.

 

Unfortunately, BahamaGo is not only competing against the large OTAs, it is also competing against the Ministry of Tourism (MOT). The MOT is simultaneously pursuing a strategy to solve the same problem, investing big bucks to contract an international company. It is not that the MOT is oblivious to the problems; even though they often take a while, they do act. But it is their action that often undermines entrepreneurial opportunity. And in the long run, the bureaucracy often underserves the market.

 

Small startup businesses in the tourism sector quickly come to learn that the tourism market is not free and open; it has a gate keeper known as the MOT. Large developments, particularly that bring foreign direct investment, need not worry, because the political leadership which sets the tone in tourism always has time for that.

 

A business’ size, bank balance, credit history, experience and level of connections correlate to level of trust that is inherently granted by the gate keeper. The problem for small startups, particularly those put forward by young entrepreneurs, is obvious. They suffer the most having to navigate their own way around the bureaucratic gate keeper.

 

I don’t believe it is intentional, but the MOT is a large bureaucracy that in some instances undermines economic opportunities for small businesses and innovation in the tourism sector. Whereas business is about taking risks, the bureaucracy is about playing it safe (routine processes aimed at protecting the country’s resources and not screwing things up; utilizing public funds in low risk investments); the different modes of being naturally conflict with each other, particularly when it comes to dealing with small businesses.

 

A small business might offer a service that the MOT is willing to pay for, but the MOT will always defer to the company that is perceived to present fewer risks. From a public sector management point of view it makes sense, but we must acknowledge how and when it creates an unsupportive, even anti-competitive environment for small Bahamian businesses.

 

A group of artists and photographers were having a conversation online the other day about Bahamian photographers joining together to create an online stock images website. The discussion was lively and interesting, and when I made my contribution I threw a wrench in the mix. If the MOT operates a free stock images website in partnership with an international stock images company, how could a local company compete? Wouldn’t the MOT’s free service undermine the business efforts of the private group?

 

The MOT has its fingers in many pots, and it often has a possessive like sense of ownership over anything that it is involved in. This posture inevitably becomes the elephant in the room when a private business tries to enter the market.

 

For large players the point is not so relevant, but for young entrepreneurs and small businesses it is critical. At some point, there will have to be a negotiation, whether spoken or unspoken, or some sort of mediation, with the MOT, before the gates of opportunity are fully opened. In the meantime, these businesses are forced to work in spite of the MOT.

 

The events market is a classic area. The MOT is committed to events. However, when the MOT stages an event, it often undermines the capacity of a private business to operate or manage an event in the same market place. On the flip side, if a private individual or company has an event it will not be legitimized as a marketable event to the tourist market unless it has the stamp of approval of the gate keeper.

 

The People to People programme is another example. People to People is a signature MOT programme that pairs visitors with a volunteer Bahamian host to experience Bahamian life and culture. The People to People programme is a successful MOT programme. But, it could also be a great business. The MOT innovated a great product for an important niche sector, but might it not be the time for a Bahamian to pursue it as a private business venture?

 

We must ask the question, what is the MOT really about? Justifying its own existence – its $80 million budget – or supporting a local business market? Shouldn’t we encourage and celebrate the creation of businesses to service areas previously subsided by the MOT? In a thriving tourism market, shouldn’t the MOT theoretically become more and more specialized, because the needs of the market would create viable businesses opportunities that are filled by Bahamian businesses.

 

I am not certain our thinking has reached that level of consciousness. More than likely, if a Bahamian saw an opportunity to create a People to People like business, it would attract resistance from those in tourism responsible for People to People, particularly its founders. And if the MOT was so inclined, it could undermine the business efforts of the private individual.

 

In this respect I sympathise with the civil servants who work at the MOT, because their public service often means missing out on business opportunities. However, their experience in the MOT also creates for them a wealth of knowledge and networks that would be vital assets in business. Instead of normalising career service, I think civil servants should be encouraged to take their experience into the public sector, where they can step out and take on the risks of entrepreneurship.

For all of its shortcomings, there is no question, the MOT has over the years plugged important market gaps with its own innovations, not only in marketing, but also product development. The civil servants who work for the MOT do mean well and they work hard to fulfil the mission of the organisation. In many respects the public/private sector relationship that exists in the tourism industry is something to be celebrated and modelled.

 

But we must not let our pride and good intentions make us blind to our own weaknesses or limitations. From some angles, the enviable relationship between the MOT and the private sector looks incestuous.

 

As the need for product expansion and innovation becomes more and more critical and young entrepreneurs mature, Bahamians are not going to just pass up emerging opportunities. They are going to take risks and start new businesses that defy the logic of the analogue mind. The MOT must examine its role and function in light of this approaching wave.

 

Fundamentally, the MOT has a delicate balance to strike: it must act like a business (for marketing is a core business strategy aimed at achieving business objectives), but it should not be in business. And if its service to the business community is justified in support of big business, then it should also be justified in support of small businesses.

 

I am encouraged by young Bahamian entrepreneurs and I know they will do what is necessary despite the MOT or the wider business environment. There is no question, tourism in the Bahamas is badly in need of product development and modernization and it is the innovators, the young entrepreneurs, small and niche businesses that are the hope for the future.

 

As for the MOT, it if wants to do right by the future, it needs to engage in self-examination and create a way forward that reshapes its relationship with innovators, startups and small businesses, who possess different needs to established and large businesses.

 

The MOT’s challenge is to value and support small and niche businesses; facilitate modernisation in the small business sector; encourage product development, especially through diversification into non-traditional areas of the business; recognize and nourish the talents of true innovators. Fundamentally, the MOT is called to be a facilitator not a gatekeeper; be a partner not a competitor; and to truly support the business of tourism, not merely justify its own existence.

 

• (Noelle Khalila Nicolls is The Tribune’s Features Editor. Follow her on Twitter @explorebahamas. For questions or comments, email nnicolls@tribunemedia.net).

 

September 23, 2013

 

Tribune 242

 

Bahamas Blog International

 

Bolivia advancing in the battle against hunger

By Héctor Miranda, Correspondent/La Paz

THE 70 legislators from 20 countries in the region who took part in the 4th Parliamentary Front Forum against hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean returned home convinced that Bolivia is fighting valiantly to erase hunger, one of the ills suffered by its population.

The meeting, which met over two days in the eastern city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, was an opportunity to learn of the President Evo Morales government plans to improve the people’s nutrition, part of a long-term project which does not exclude current action.

In the opening session, attended by Vice President Álvaro García Linera, the importance of giving decision making powers to campesino organizations and small agricultural producers spread across the country was emphasized.

García Linera highlighted the importance of working for food sovereignty, but noted that this requires political decisions, a transformation of the productive system and empowering of the original campesino social organizations in the control of productive processes.

He also spoke of the need to diversify food cultivation after the colonization of Latin America annihilated the scientific knowledge, engineering, biotechnology and astronomy inherited from civilizations with advanced agricultural and water cultures, among them that of the Inca people.

He likewise recalled that capitalism imposed a regime of food economy subject to the free market and profit in Latin America.

When President Evo Morales assumed power in early 2006, four million of Bolivia’s 11 million inhabitants suffered hunger; a figure that has been reduced by half to date, but which does not satisfy those responsible for leading the country and facilitating better living conditions for its people.

The two million persons still experiencing hunger in Bolivia are part of a 30 million total in Latin America, or 1.2 billion in the world, a problem which would seem more and more difficult to solve.
 

 

BOLIVIA, WATER AND THE BICENTENNARY AGENDA

The first steps to turn around the situation took place in 2006 itself and became established over time, with an awareness of the need to obtain food sovereignty, based on the democratization of land and the strengthening of the neglected campesino economy.

The government distributed tractors and other farming implements, together with seeds and fertilizer and directed strong capital investment to foment food production, apart from support received by the large agro-industrial companies.

On the other hand, through the MI Agua (More Investment for Water) programs, now in their third stage, water was delivered to the most remote areas of the country and all communities, not just for drinking, but to increase production and make it possible for cultivators to be assured of harvests without being dependent on capricious rainfall.

President Evo Morales has reiterated on more than one occasion that he knows of campesinos who previously cultivated one product once a year. Now, with the possibilities provided by water, they can produce various harvests.

In 2012, Bolivia also implemented agricultural insurance to protect the finances of small farmers affected by natural disasters, with a compensation of 1,000 bolivianos ($145) per hectare.

All of this is included in the so-called pillars of the 2025 Patriotic Agenda, a strategy directed toward solving vital problems in the country to coincide with the bicentenary of Bolivian independence, the objectives of which were the central issue addressed at the Forum, convened to discuss, exchange experiences and learn about Bolivia’s advances in food security. (Orbe)

 

September 19, 2013

 

Granma.cu

 

Bahamas Blog International

 

Bahamas: ...The old Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) lost its way long ago ...and the so-called ‘new PLP’ has failed to find it

Sir Lynden’s and the PLP’s entitled imperial court

By frontporchguardian@gmail.com

During the 2012 general election, Sir Lynden Pindling’s widow took to the political stage as a part of the PLP’s strategy to use the late prime minister’s legacy to help the party secure victory. It is debatable how successful was the strategy.

In her appearances, Dame Marguerite sought not only to burnish Sir Lynden’s legacy, which is considerable, and much of which is admirable and contributed extraordinarily to national development.

But many in the country at large, including many PLPs, were dismayed by her tone and remarks which harkened to a darker period in the nation’s history.

Once again on vivid display was that entrenched entitlement and imperious mentality of the Pindling Court: Don’t forget what we did for you and never forget that you owe us.

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was chastised as a mere recipient of the favors and consideration of the court, who had supposedly turned on his political masters and benefactors.

It was a not-so-subtle reminder to party Leader Perry Christie and all other supplicants expected to offer life-long obeisance to the court.

Seemingly, the PLP is a Pindling-owned and branded enterprise merely on loan to various caretakers who are to be held accountable to the dynasty. All of which arises from an extraordinary combination of historical revisionism, mythology and hagiography.

 

Berated

At one of the rallies Dame Marguerite berated Ingraham for the way in which she felt he treated her husband after the latter left office. Missing was any reference to the effusive thanks extended to Ingraham by Sir Lynden’s oldest son Obafemi Pindling at the funeral of his father, and which Ingraham graciously declined to use in response.

What has stunned, grated on, and even enraged so many of this lament is Lady Pindling’s seemingly absolute dismissal of the degrading and vicious treatment of many Bahamians by Sir Lynden and his court during his 25-year reign.

It was a ruthless and vindictive era. Dissidents and opponents were to be destroyed. And, quite a number were destroyed.

Lukewarm supporters and half-steppers were reminded of the price of disfavor: a quick call to a bank to stop a loan, blocked access to a job or to a scholarship for a child seeking to go to college, denial of a work permit for a spouse, and a catalogue of indignities and injustices.

There was gross and constant intimidation and victimization including the callous deportation of foreign spouses resulting in exile or the ruin of Bahamian families.

Those who opposed certain policies or wrong-doings or the court’s greed and corruption were set for abuse and ridicule, including veterans of the movement like the champion of Bahamian culture Edmund Moxey and the brilliant Carlton Francis.

Francis was cruelly ridiculed by Sir Lynden from a public platform. He said of Francis who had participated in a public demonstration, “ ... And all I could see was suit!”, mocking a dying man thinned by the cancer ravaging his body.

Outstanding Bahamian educator and civil servant Leonard Archer fared even worse. After he participated in a demonstration by teachers, Lady Pindling publicly asked: “What are we going to do about Leonard Archer?” The next day he was fired by her husband “in the public interest”!

Tellingly, and of tremendous historical significance, more than half of those who formed the first majority rule government eventually left the PLP. Yet there is the laughable conceit within the PLP of its superior nationalism. It is a chauvinistic boast in a party given to all manner of chauvinism.

Even at the time when the Dissident Eight were leaving the party that they helped to build and contributed mightily to majority rule, Paul Adderley, then leader of the National Democratic Party (NDP), commented on their departure noting that the PLP was losing much of the soul of the party.

Decades later, following the death of Charles Maynard, a former PLP grandee remarked that the FNM is now the more progressive of the two major parties. Maynard’s father, Andrew ‘Dud’ Maynard, an undoubted nationalist who toiled long and hard for the PLP, recently noted that the party he once knew and supported had lost its way.

 

Corrupted

Parties of liberation and majority rule cum independence often lose their way, corrupted by temptations of extraordinary political and economic power. Examples abound across the globe. The PLP is but one example of the chauvinism and sense of entitlement that sometimes develops in such parties.

The boundaries between party and state are blurred. By example, what should be afforded an individual or a business as an opportunity arising from one’s rights as a citizen is twisted instead into a grant of favor by the party.

During the reign of Sir Lynden’s imperial court, many business people had to beg or bribe party officials for the grant of all manner of business licences and permits.

Independence leaders often become unaccountable and untouchable with their excesses dismissed. Further, the assets of the state are spoils to be divided with plundering zeal by select interests.

Soon after coming to office Sir Lynden effectively destroyed Bahamas Airways – after his own government had negotiated with a consortium including the hugely successful Cathay Pacific to make the local airline truly international. He summarily broke a prior agreement with Cathay Pacific by awarding certain routes to Bahamas World Airways, an airline conceived by his friend Everette Bannister and scoffingly referred to by many Bahamians as “the paper airline”.

In so doing he destroyed a golden opportunity for the country, resulting in the loss of an expanded local airline and causing a drain of approximately half a billion dollars from the treasury to keep Bahamasair operational.

Imagine what could have been done in terms of national development with half a billion dollars, not to mention a well-managed airline serving cities throughout the Americas. So much for being the party of superior nationalism.

The PLP did considerable work in advancing the national good. But many of the promises of majority rule were stillborn as the party abandoned a genuine nationalism for a pseudo nationalism that routinely touted and celebrated its liberation credentials even as it plunged the country into some of our darkest days.

That national nightmare involved a ‘nation for sale’ or lease to drug barons resulting in mass corruption, the destruction of scores of Bahamians who became addicted to crack cocaine or the easy money associated with the demon drug, and a ripping apart of our social fabric, from which we are still suffering up to this day.

Despite all of this, Sir Lynden and his court showed scant remorse. It is chilling and deeply disturbing still to read the Commission of Inquiry Report into this nightmarish period and to peruse some of the evidence given.

 

Oligarchy

The PLP, the supposed party of superior nationalism, is today an oligarchy of special interests which uses the rhetoric and politics of nationalism to win elections with sloganeering such as “Bahamians First”, then governs mostly in its own interest.

This is the party in which one senior PLP bragged of selling off more land than the FNM, the party of the Great Mayaguana Land Giveaway, the party in which the two top senior leaders have a clear conflict of interest with an oil exploration company.

Having militantly opposed advancing the rights of women in terms of passing on certain rights of citizenship, the party holds a special session of parliament to brag about its commitment to women and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of women attaining the right to vote.

There is a pattern here. The PLP, often quite effectively, employs the symbols and the narratives of nationalism to reinforce its credentials as the nationalist party. The FNM has often played into its hands.

Given repeated opportunities to make January 10 a national holiday, the FNM was often on the defensive, unsure of how to embrace and burnish its own commitment to a more expansive vision of the national good.

Sir Lynden and his court did not try to destroy the Dissident Eight and others in spite of who they were. The PLP tried to destroy them and to deny their nationalist credentials precisely because of who they were and what they represented.

It is a feature of the sociology of organizations, from churches to political parties, that dissidents have to be destroyed and branded as heretics and traitors when they call into question how the organization to which they were dedicated may have betrayed its ideals and the people they were committed to serving.

The old PLP lost its way long ago and the so-called ‘new PLP’ has failed to find it. The party remains dedicated to a certain chauvinism, on stark display at the recent election as the widow of the party’s longest serving leader reminded Bahamians of what it feels that the country still owes the PLP’s entitled imperial court.

September 19, 2013

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International