First published in The Tribune, in the column Young Man's View, on Friday, August 20, 2010

By ADRIAN GIBSON

TODAY is the final day of my assessment of government ministers and my opinion of how effectively the Ingraham government has functioned in these most difficult times.

In this column on Monday I gave my opinion of the performances of Mrs Loretta Butler-Turner, Minister of State for Social Services, Minister of Works Neko Grant and Housing Minister Kenneth Russell. On Tuesday it was National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest and Environment Minister Earl Deveaux.

On Wednesday I turned my attention to the portfolios of Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Charles Maynard and Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette.

Thursday was a discussion of the performances of Agriculture Minister Larry Cartwright, Education Minister Desmond Bannister, State Minister for Public Utilities Phenton Neymour and Labour and Special Services Minister Dion Foulkes.

Today I close the series with Health Minister Dr Herbert Minnis, Tourism Minister Vanderpool-Wallace, Byron Woodside, the Minister of State for Lands and Local Government, Attorney General John Delaney, and finally Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and his government.

Dr Hubert Minnis, the Minister of Health, is hands-on and serves as a beacon of decency. Whilst Dr Minnis has been a shell of his former self–in terms of visibility–he has been more effective than his predecessor and is more competent than most of his colleagues.

Recently, Dr Minnis had to address disgruntled nursing staff and their union as well as issues such as insufficient supplies and equipment and medicinal shortages at the hospital's pharmacy.

The tardy response to patients, grimy and foul-smelling bathrooms, unkempt elevators, the ogre-like behaviour of certain staff members and the petulant and inhospitable conduct of certain healthcare professionals, and an air of ineptitude and narrow-mindedness only adds to the depressing reality of the appalling state of affairs at the government-run hospital–Princess Margaret Hospital.

Watchdog

Who has oversight of wayward doctors? Why isn't there a local medical watchdog? What happened to the much-promised improvements in the efficient flow of patients? What happened to the patient care coordinators who were supposed to reduce overcrowding and congestion at the hospital, alleviating the jam-packed scene at accident and emergency?

Dr Minnis must be credited with instituting insurance for nurses, proactively tackling the swine flu epidemic, the remodeling at accident and emergency, renovations to the emergency room at the Rand Hospital (Grand Bahama) and generally showing an interest in PMH's staff and the wider public. He has also overseen the passage of a national prescription drug plan, which proposes to assist Bahamians with accessing much-needed medication. The NPDP promises to deliver medical care in a timely fashion, decreasing the financial and medical burden of the sick, invalid and indigent and registering people with chronic non-communicable diseases, thereby allowing the Ministry of Health to create a log of those receiving medication and to dispatch personnel to intervene if it seems that patients haven't returned by a certain time when their medication should have been depleted.

There are a few Family Island clinics that are purportedly also in need of urgent repairs.

Much more emphasis must be placed on implementing mental health programmes and a plan to confront alcoholism and drug abuse.

The doctor earns a B.

Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, the much ballyhooed ministerial appointment, has had prolonged stretches of mediocrity during his tenure. Mr Vanderpool-Wallace, the Minister of Tourism, is a highly respected, regional tourism official who was hyped to the hilt before his appointment. Admittedly, I was also one of those who sang his praises!

In my view the minister has performed feebly because, although the tourism industry has been sluggish during the liquidity crunch, he has been ineffective relative to any long-term proposals for sustainable tourism.

Frankly, it appears that the pragmatic tourism minister has had difficulty transitioning from tourism technocrat to minister. Whilst Mr Vanderpool-Wallace has applied himself to advertising the Bahamas, many people had greater expectation of his performance, some seeing him as the guy with the magic wand.

The minister must adopt a new approach to tourism, targeting new markets and nurturing wider market share, and incorporating a focus on regional and Latin American tourism. Greater emphasis must also be placed on deepening the Bahamas' appeal to corporate, religious and sports groups and medical tourists. I note the recent move to underscore the Bahamas' heightened position to engage medical tourists.

Indeed, the economic situation militates against tourism and people's ability to travel.

Eight million was spent facilitating the Miss Universe pageant, but have there been any tangible, spinoff benefits from that?

Is there a plan for the sustainable promotion of domestic and foreign tourism throughout the archipelago, promoting the collection of islands as different, unique destinations?

Is there a plan to re-develop and reactivate the Over-the-Hill area as the indigenous source of entertainment and culture that it once was?

What is being done to reinvigorate our tourism product, to highlight the distinction and indigenous nature of this country's tourism product when compared to any other country in the wider Caribbean?

What happened to this year's junkanoo in June festival?

Crime

Today, most tourists are discouraged from traversing Over-the-Hill and, considering the rate of crime, justifiably so. Over-the-Hill was once a hotbed of touristic action, featuring restaurants, nightclubs and the world-famous Cat and Fiddle nightspot, the Drumbeat Club, the Lemon Tree, the Silver Slipper and many more. These days, even the native eateries are becoming extinct, replaced by fast food outlets and Chinese restaurants.

Much more could be done to encourage Bahamian ownership in tourism, i.e. ownership of large scale resorts, boutique hotels, bed and breakfast, bonefish lodges, etc.

Today, Bay Street looks worse than at any other time before, and airlift to the Bahamas is being scrutinized with Spirit airlines (Grand Bahama), Delta and Air Jamaica (AJ has returned) withdrawing their services.

And now Director General Vernice Walkine is leaving the ministry and taking up a post with NAD!

To the minister's credit, he has overseen the implementation of a 1-800 toll free line that is operated by Bahamians, created the Bahamas.com website, has revitalized and jumpstarted the BahamaHost programme and implemented a companion fly-free promotion to boost the tourism industry on the Out Islands.

Overall, tourism guru and all, Mr Vanderpool-Wallace earns a C-plus.

Byran Woodside–who is jokingly referred to as "Mr Stealth"–reminds me of the movie the Invisible Man. Mr Woodside, the Minister of State for Lands and Local Government, is a ministerial underachiever and has done very little thus far.

During the junior minister's tenure, there has been a Crown land free-for-all at the Department of Lands and Surveys. There is a distinct need for a proper system for the registration of holders of Crown land as well as a registration of all of the available Crown land in the Bahamas, proportionally distributing the land to citizens. Land deprived Bahamian citizens should be economically empowered with the distribution of land, along with the accompanying title deeds.

Surely, there must be more to Mr Woodside than we have seen thus far. Only three years into his first term, the state minister has been relegated to political oblivion. Sir, the public wants to know what you are doing!

Mr Woodside, who is drifting right along, must be commended for whatever role he played in advancing policy and upcoming bills governing land grants.

The Department of Lands and Surveys should set out to create a website pertaining to the availability of Crown land on each island, reform the land registration process to incorporate a mere computer database search rather than reliance upon expensive lawyers, and amend the Quieting of Titles Act, which encourages land grabs.

Byron Woodside's ministerial performance is "meh" and he earns a miserable I for invisible!

Attorney General John Delaney earns an I for incomplete. Over the years, the malignant neglect of his office by previous office holders has led to a backlog of cases in a molasses-like legal system.

Frankly, even Blind Blake or Stevie Wonder can see that the administration of justice is on a downward spiral.

Competent justice initiatives must be undertaken since many violent criminals take comfort in knowing that a matter would likely not be brought to court or, after a considerable time lapses, that they would be granted bail. Honestly, the jury is out on Mr Delaney, so it is too early to grade him, considering the novelty of his appointment.

Mr Delaney must see to the improvement of the courts' infrastructure and the administration of justice/legal system; take more initiatives relative to the recruitment, payment and tenure of judges; recruit and hire attorneys to quickly move criminal matters along and deal with issues such as trade reform; and to incentivize experienced and brilliant local lawyers to leave their practices–even if shortly–to sit on the Bench.

The current legal squabbles within the AG's office, relative to the Director of Public Prosecutions saga, must be curtailed as it doesn't bode well in the eyes of Bahamians who are daily losing confidence in the office.

Lastly, perhaps the time has come for someone other than a member of the legal fraternity to lead the ministry of legal affairs/AG's office!

Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, earns an A-minus. Mr Ingraham is a political Einstein and is relying on good common sense and his political capital during these rough times.

Consistent with his political DNA, the PM does not employ a reckless or impetuous approach to the decision-making process, making concrete decisions so that the country can battle a gloomy economic recession. Frankly, he has had the political will to make unpopular, yet sober-minded decisions in the best interest of the country.

Budget

Of late, Mr Ingraham has been heavily criticized for an austerity budget and the hiring of foreign experts to head the Department of Public Works, the Department of Public Prosecutions and URCA. In some quarters, he was hammered after releasing illegal Haitian immigrants, for a six month amnesty, following Haiti's tragic earthquake earlier this year.

By and large, the Prime Minister has effectively stabilized and managed the country's affairs even as the country faces seemingly insurmountable economic odds.

The FNM government earns a B-minus. Due to the economic slump, the rate of job creation is at its lowest in years and unemployment is hovering around record levels. Much more must be done to tackle corruption and public service dysfunction.

The government's recent austerity measures were crucial to ensure the country's future development and fiscal stability.

As a nation, all hands must be on deck to confront the enormous challenges looming on the horizon.