A major article in the Business section of The Tribune on Tuesday, October 11, cannot be ignored.
The story, written by Tribune Business Editor Neil Hartnell, told how government ignored 87 recommendations put forward by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce after consultation with members of the business community dealing with the Consumer Protection Bill.
The Chamber of Commerce said it was “baffled” that government “had ignored the 87 recommendations it had made for improving the Consumer Protection Bill” and instead had forwarded the proposed legislation for debate in the House of Assembly last Wednesday, October 5.
In a statement the Chamber of Commerce said it was “disappointed” that the Bill had gone to Parliament, after its Legislation. Committee and other private sector partners had formally presented its 87 recommendations and other “general points” to Leslie Miller, the minister of trade and industry in August 2004.
Apart from the Chamber, the other organisations involved in the review included the Bahamas Employers Confederation, the Bahamas Hotel Association, the Insurance Institute of the Bahamas, the Bahamas Manufacturers Representatives and Wholesale Association, the Small Business, Association, the Bahamas General Insurance Association, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association and Amnesty International.
The Chamber said it had forwarded its recommendations to the minister “in keeping with the Chamber’s mandate of representation of the private sector and its responsibility to present for government’s consideration our assessment of the impact of proposed legislation on the business and wider community.”
The Chamber went on to say: “To date, we have not had the courtesy of a reply and we are disappointed to learn that the proposed Bill has proceeded to the House of Assembly for debate without consideration by government of the Chamber’s extensive response.”
The Tribune is amazed at the moderate tone of the Chamber’s language. It could have been phrased a lot stronger, and – in our opinion – should have been.
It’s about time that Prime Minister Christie started exercising some discipline among the ranks of his Cabinet ministers.
There’s no point in asking members of the public or such public institutions as the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce to, participate in fine tuning a piece of government legislation if it has absolutely no intention of even considering their recommendations. It is a foolhardy exercise that wastes the time and effort of busy people who could well have put that time to better use for their own businesses or their families.
Furthermore it is just common courtesy for government to at least acknowledge receipt of such proposals, especially if the Chamber had presented their recommendations to the minister in August of last year. This gave him plenty of time to read over the document and at least meet with the group for further discussion. Such high-handedness by some of Mr Christie’s Cabinet ministers is becoming all too commonplace. He should remind them that they are in government to serve the public: They are not there for their own pleasure. Said the Chamber: “…So it is baffling that the impact of the single largest business organisation in the country appears to have not been considered.”
And “while we understand that government is charged with the making of policy, wherever possible, it would be prudent to seek the input of stakeholders in matters of national importance. After all,” it added, “this is the purpose and process of consultation.”
The Chamber in its 19-page review of the proposed Bill said: ” The Bill is blanketed with reasons that the Minister can summarily convict people. The criminal aspect of this is objectionable and should be removed and left to the discretion of the courts.”
The review went on to say that the overriding concern regarding the Act was the power granted to a single person (the minister) while attempting to limit the power of the courts. “We all share concerns that Acts such as these – that make it less likely that matters will go before the courts – distort the fundamental democratic system – ie: the Constitution, the court, Parliament, citizens and civil society.”
“We cannot emphasise enough that if there is a perceived problem with the court system, this should be fixed, rather than circumvent the system.”
The greatness of our system of democracy is that government adheres to the rule of law. Therefore, even a Prime Minister or Cabinet minister is answerable under the law. When they stand before the bar of justice they are the same – or should be the same – as an ordinary citizen.
It’s true that a Cabinet minister is placed in a high position of government by the leader of government. But he/she should never forget that they are the servants of the people and are there to serve and not to rule over them. This fact is often forgotten.
This failure of common courtesy by government and its indifference to the views of the Chamber of Commerce is so grievous that an appropriate response from government is in order. Government does not exist without the consent of the people. And for government to summarily ignore their views in a case such as this shows a callous disregard of the norms of behaviour and an arrogance that belies proper democratic governance.
Furthermore, to expect members of the public to give up their own time to participate in our so-called democracy only to be treated in such a cavalier manner shows the public that the present government is anything but democratic. Mr Christie maintains that he heads a consultative government. It would seem that once again this is just so much talk?
Mr Christie should take particular note, especially with an election year not far away.
Editorial: The Tribune, Nassau Bahamas
