While saying that he is disappointed in the performance of five Cabinet Ministers, former PLP Minister George Smith said the Christie Administration deserves a 7 out of 10 for performance in its first three and a half years in office.
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Mr. Smith was the special guest on the Love 97 Sunday programme “Jones and Company” with Wendall Jones.
While not naming the Ministers heﾴs disappointed in, Mr. Smith said they had a “lack of sensitivity to Bahamian peopleﾴs expressed concerns.”
But he said, “I believe certain Ministers have performed above my level of expectation. I believe that [Minister of State for Finance] James Smith has performed so well that he raises the average of the fellow who has performed badly, but that is the way that grading occurs.
“If I were to [grade] them individually, you might totally agree with me.”
Mr. Smith also used Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchellﾴs handling of the debate on the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) as an example of a Minister handling a situation the right way.
“I was squarely opposed to our joining the CSME. I believe it would have been the wrong decision for us to take at this time,” he said.
“I commend the [Minister] for his maturity and the manner in which he withdrew once he was satisfied that the public was uncomfortable with that. I believe that a couple of them have not reacted with that same level of maturity when it came to public criticisms, not of them personally, but of their performance.”
He said that at least five Ministers in the present government deserve failing grades.
Mr. Smith said he believes Prime Minister Perry Christie has been hesitant to reshuffle his Cabinet or fire any Ministers because he finds it difficult to give up on anyone.
“That is a commendable character for a man to have,” he said.
Mr. Jones added, “But that is also a major character flaw.”
Mr. Smith said inevitably the Prime Minister will have to make the tough decisions that need to be made.
“I know that he has to. He knows that he has to. He has been advised that he has to and I honestly believe that [he] is capable of making those tough decisions. Unfortunately, he isnﾴt making them as quickly and in the timeframe that others determine, but it is his call,” he said.
Mr. Smith conceded that “in some areas the government is moving very slowly.”
“I believe we have committed to do certain reforms in local government. We should have been well on the way with that,” he said. “Thatﾴs not happening. I believe that we are not making the improvements in agriculture. I believe that we are lagging in terms of some infrastructural improvements, roads and all of that.
“I am embarrassed from time to time when I drive out West Bay Street and I see that the damage that came as a result of the hurricanes [has not been addressed]. It is to the driver dangerous.”
Mr. Jones suggested that good governance is about addressing those concerns.
Mr. Smith said, “I believe that in the most vital areas, the economy or health services, weﾴre doing excellentlyﾅIﾴm amazed at how well weﾴre doing [in tourism] having regard to the cautious nature of world travelers.”
But he conceded also that the government is not firing on all cylinders.
“I believe there are areas where great mistakes are being made and I believe there are things that we ought to be devoting greater attention to. [As an example] weﾴre not taking the kind of aggressive and imaginative approach [that we ought to] in dealing with illegal immigrants,” he said.
The Bahama Journal
