Posted by Eleuthera Profiles on April 03, 2002 at 09:35:29:
National News
Interview With Chief Councillor
Released Wednesday, March 27, 2002 at 11:01 am EST by Llonella Gilbert
Interview With Chief Councillor
Ricardo Dean
What is going on in Central Eleuthera District?
We are a people that are trying to get accustomed to making do with less than what we are used to
having. For example, we used to have almost full employment - hotels in almost every settlement, high
tourist population and a frequent winter resident population, all of which are now in decline.
What are contributing factors to the economic decline in Eleuthera?
Closure of the hotels, departure of winter residents - a lot of them have gotten older and require regular
medical attention that is not readily available here. In the 50s and 60s many of these persons came here
for many of the attractions - beaches, hotels, climate, Eleuthera was by far the island of choice. Tourists
like the fact that they could come to an island, have the freedom of what the island has to offer -
quietness, uniqueness, but still have the benefits of exquisite dining, and other amenities that some of
the hotels offered.
What can be done to improve our island?
We as a people need to be trained on how to protect the goose that lays the golden egg - tourism. We
used to think that the taxi drivers, hotel employees, straw vendors were the only people connected to
tourism and that is wrong. Everyone that has an American dollar in his/her pocket is connected to
tourism. Shop owners, gas station attendants, almost every businessperson in The Bahamas, the
church and even the government agencies that generate revenue have tourist dollars. So we need to be
constantly educated and trained in how to deal with our visitors. It should be added to the curriculum in
our schools - teaching our children not to throw trash in the streets, how to respect others and having
manners when dealing with others.
With regard to health care, you stated that we are losing some of our winter residents because the
proper health care facilities are not readily available. What is being done about this?
Three weeks ago, Dr. Baldwin Carey and a team of officials from the Ministry of Health along with a
Consultant visited Eleuthera to find a location for the proposed new Mini Hospital for the island of
Eleuthera. The proposed site identified was in Palmetto Point in the area near Unique Hardware
overlooking the pond. This Mini Hospital will be centrally located in Palmetto Point and the National
Insurance Board will provide the funding. I have no idea at the moment when work will begin, but a
projected time of "before the end of the year" was mentioned. It is proposed that this mini hospital will
be staffed with two resident Doctors, Lab Technician, X-ray Technician, and the means to prepare casts
etc. It is expensive when someone has to be flown in to Nassau for medical attention that could be dealt
with here on the island.
I feel we need to be concerned about whatever concerns the winter residents if we are going to keep
them here on the island. They make a valuable contribution here - employ contractors, maids, gardeners
- they rent our cars, eat in our restaurants and they make charitable contributions to various community
events and causes.
What is the political climate here?
Eleuthera has always been one of the major islands in terms of political awareness. Eleuthera has always
had Eleutherans represent them in Parliament; we always had a stake in the political well being of the
island. The evidence is Eleutherans supported the PLP government for 25 years and they now have
supported the FNM for 10 years, what is happening now is people are moving away from being hard
core party supporters and being more focus on representation. The fact that we had a Cabinet Minister
representing Eleuthera for 20 years certainly made an impact in the political life for Eleutherans. On the
other hand, we have members of Parliament who are backbenchers and our system of government does
not afford the backbenchers the opportunity to make ministry decisions, so they are at the mercy of the
Minister or the Cabinet. Where the priority is that is where the Cabinet goes, the MP's priority might not
be the Cabinet's priority. The climate now is not so much political parties, but what does the political
parties have to offer to Eleutherans. "What's in it for us!" People have gotten smarter and promises
don't work as they did in the past.
In my opinion, politics has always divided Eleuthera, but it has not benefited us. My advice to
Eleutherans is to continue to be political - always be involved in the political life of Eleuthera, but with a
view to creating opportunities for all of Eleuthera. We can't be so political that we cause Eleuthera to
suffer neglect because of our own selfish agenda. After we have voted our conscience, Eleuthera needs
to speak with one voice.
Are budget allowances sufficient to meet the needs of Eleuthera?
Eleuthera collects approximately $10 million dollars annually from Customs revenues, stamp taxes and
other related taxes. However Local Government allocations are less than 5% of the revenue collected,
which is to be used for the entire island of Eleuthera. In terms of budgetary allocations, we only have a
maintenance budget - to maintain government buildings, grounds, sites, collect garbage and to pay
employees who work for Local Government. There are no moneys available for capital development
such as dock repairs, sports field development, repairs and construction of graveyard walls, and to
properly dispose of garbage. What we need is a budget that would assist the community in creating
much needed development. Local Government Administrators and Practitioners are now in place and
are well aware of the needs of their respective districts. The government should listen and comply with
the recommendations that these agencies make on a monthly basis. I feel that Local Government should
have its own ministry with its own minister with sole responsibility of dealing with Local Government
and Family Island matters. Presently Local Government is tied to the Ministry of Aviation and
Transport, prior to this, it was tied to the Ministry of Education & Sports. In my opinion, Local
Government is not regarded as a priority of those particular ministries. With its own ministry it would be
able to command its own focus and address the concerns in a more urgent manner.
What are your other concerns in respect of Local Government?
At present, we have Practitioners who have been elected because of their popularity and not because
of their ability to perform. This does not advance the cause of Local Government because many areas
can be given attention to if these Practitioners are functioning. The Local Government Act makes
stipulations as to how Local Government should function - i.e. regular meetings, upkeep of the
community, dissemination of information and the performance of the elected Town Committee members.
I honestly cannot say that all Town Committee members live up to the expectations of this Act. Another
concern is employment and regulation of pay. While we recognize the need to regularly employ people,
our budget does not allow us to accommodate employees on a full time basis. Also, we need to regulate
and fix the rate of pay so that it is uniformed straight across the country. For example, a Clerk in
Eleuthera salary should be on the same level as a Clerk in Freeport and the evidence is that this is not
the case. Our employees are not eligible for pension; they are only employed on a contract basis, which
does not afford them a pension upon reaching retirement age. This is not on par with government
employees who get pension upon retirement.