12/14/2007 1:00:00 PM Election '07 / What's at stake 'PLP has lost people's trust' Neutrals and former supporters say PLP's failure to take stance against corruption is a vote loser
The government’s lack of openness over the BHC saga, which saw a legal team (above) take the matter to the Privy Council in a bid to silence the press, has been part of a “backward step” in terms of governance, according to author Larry Burchall.
File photo
The UBP will win the election on Tuesday because the PLP has lost the trust of the people.
That is the verdict of a broad cross-section of Bermuda's public figures and intellectuals.
Just days before the election, the Bermuda Sun conducted a straw poll of largely non-partisan figures from the world of business, law and politics.
All of the respondents - some of whom would have traditionally described themselves as PLP supporters - agreed on one thing: that Dr. Brown's regime has failed to convince the electorate that it is corruption-free or properly accountable.
The final nail in the coffin is the total absence in the PLP manifesto of any mention of anti-corruption legislation. That fact alone is either an admission of guilt or startling arrogance on behalf of the current administration, our respondents say.
The UBP, in contrast, includes in its platform solid promises to strengthen the office of government watchdog the Auditor General and to introduce freedom of information legislation.
Author and Bermuda Sun columnist Larry Burchall, who assisted in the PLP's campaign when they rose to power in 1998, said that he is disappointed the party has not followed through on its own nine-year-old promise to introduce good governance laws.
Mr. Burchall, who has observed over 40 years of politics, said that it was vitally important the PLP won in 1998 in order to break the white elite's stranglehold. However, he said that the country had taken "a backward step" in recent years in terms of openness of Government. He said: "A change of Government now would be a step along the road towards political maturity."
He said that the present administration, and particularly the present Premier, Dr. Ewart Brown, had attempted at every opportunity to "reduce the flow of information to the public."
He said that publicly-funded reports like the John Hopkins report into healthcare "belong to the people" and shouldn't be hidden away.
Referring to corruption allegations aimed at Dr. Brown as a result of the leaked BHC files, he said: "Whether there is any truth in those allegations is largely irrelevant. There is disquiet, and the only way to dispel that disquiet is total openness. Get the document out there. If Dr. Brown is clean, let him show it. If he has two spots of mud on him, or if he is covered in mud, let that be seen. Openness is the key. We have been moving further and further away from that and we need to reassess."
Lawyer Tim Marshall, who has voted for both parties in the past, said that the decision Bermudians make on Tuesday could have "monumental consequences."
He said: "Hopefully Bermudians will give it a lot of thought and try to work out the consequences of voting for a party that promotes anti-corruption legislation and a party that is simply silent on the issue." Mr. Marshall said that during the last nine years the country has seen "what can happen and what might continue to happen" if Bermuda does not get tighter anti-corruption laws. He said that suspicions, whether founded or unfounded, had been raised about the integrity of every office, from the Treasury, to the Ministry of Health, to the Ministry of Works and Engineering.
Mr. Marshall said: "Again and again, these ministers have pursued a policy of no disclosure, no disclosure. The people have been kept in the dark. And so people are asking: 'what is happening to Bermuda?'
"We don't sell any resources on the island other than who we are and what we can offer to people who come to live here. Bermudians historically have valued honesty and integrity, so what is happening today goes against what it means to be Bermudian. So Bermudians have a choice: can they vote for a party that is silent on anti-corruption legislation - a party that seems to go against those Bermudian values?"
Barclay Carmichael, former shop steward of the BIU, and one time staunch PLP supporter, said: "This country needs a change and it needs one now. The Government's performance over a nine-year period has been simply unsatisfactory.
"Whether they [Government figures] have acted unethically, or unwisely, or simply unacceptably, there are just too many questions regarding their conduct, both professionally and personally.
"We need to reshape the politics of Bermuda to fit an evolving world. We are living in yesterday, and it's time to move forward. This has gone beyond parties, and beyond any solid issues, it's now about values.
"Bermudians have to ask themselves: 'What are my core values? Can I endorse some of the things and the attitudes that have gone on?' All the rest - the speeches, the manifestos - that's all window dressing. People now have to ask what kind of core values they want for Bermuda's future."
Clean image
David Ezekiel, President of the International Advisory Services, said that he could not get involved in party politics. However, he said that it was vitally important Bermuda soon adopts anti-corruption legislation to clean up country's image. He said he was in full agreement with former Premier Sir John Swan, who recently said that international firms risk being driven away by rumours of illegitimacy within the Government.
He said: "International companies come here after doing a lot of research. They come because of certain conditions and a certain landscape. Recent decisions have changed that landscape and company executives don't think that's part of the deal.
"It's a two way street. International executives contribute a great deal to this community - and not just financially - and in return they need to feel welcome and to feel they are on a steady ship.
"Reputation is everything. People think, rightly or wrongly, where there is smoke there is fire. It is up to us. It is in our own hands. I have always said that Bermuda is a very special domicile for business. But we can ruin it for ourselves. Capital is a coward - at the first sign of instability is starts to look at its options."
Asked about a freedom of information act and other anti-corruption legislation, he said that the international business community would welcome efforts to clean up Bermuda's image.
Auditor General Larry Dennis also insisted that he would not be drawn on party politics, but he too agreed that the county desperately needs more good-governance legislation. He said: "Good governance is the watchword all around the world at the moment. It is of extreme interest to the United Nations, because everyone has seen what an important part of the puzzle it is to any country's success. It should be part of every party's platform."
He said that the PLP came to power in 1998 with promises to strengthen the office of the Auditor General and introduce freedom of information legislation.
Of the UBP's current anti-legislation proposals, he said: "I hope that this time it will be different. But I'm not so naïve to entirely believe that. If the UBP win I will try my best to keep them to their promise."
Reader Comments
Posted: Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Comment by:
Rich
To be the stewards of Bermuda to govern the country well, there surely must be people who have three basic values, honesty, competency and accountability.
Unfortunately after two terms where democracy did its job and put in place a new group, they have failed in all three. Hopefully voters can make the necessary change to try a different group, democracy in action again.
Posted: Monday, December 17, 2007
Comment by:
voter
Bermudians, please please vote the right way. Ewert Brown and PLP must go. Vote UBP for a better Bermuda.
Posted: Sunday, December 16, 2007
Comment by:
Ilona D. Smith
What is wrong with some of Bermuda's black people. In the event that they put the UBP back into power I firmly believe that black Bermudians would go back into slavery. I know that the PLP have made many inroads since elected in 1998 and will continue to move the country forward if re-elected.
Posted: Saturday, December 15, 2007
Comment by:
Thomas
Dear Editor,
The Premier''s sidekicks W. Perinchief and P. Perinchief persist in attacking the roots of international commerce in Bermuda and the independent public auditor, respectively, both important pillars in our fragile island
democracy. The Premier waltzes off to China, literally the other side of the world (what are the economics of that trip when he could have gone to NY to any one of a number of Asiatic organisations) allegedly to look for tourist revenue? A couple of our legal firms have already and long properly tapped financial industry opportunies there. And the continent of India has a ginormous wealth bubble for the tourist industry to exploit; what about that, and other opportunities, for the Premier and company closer to home?
Methinks some do contemplate prostituting Bermuda''s vote in the UN., in favour of China, somewhere down the road in an independent Bermuda''s future. Preposterous? By that time Bermuda would be poor, on its knees and easily look for a Chinese saviour, along with a potential few other Caribbean nations.
Posted: Saturday, December 15, 2007
Comment by:
Lewis Padgett
BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!
When the PLP first got in I was pleased, because I felt that we would see the "new Bermuda" that was promised. But instead what we have seen is the worst of the "old Bermuda", worse than it ever was in the past.
Enough is enough! Is it time to get this out of control train back on the track. We simply cannot let this Government continue to destroy our island and what it stands for!
Posted: Friday, December 14, 2007
Comment by:
Newyorker
The PLP was always meant to be the party that represented the working men and women of Bermuda. This is an honorable position, and one that is adopted by many successful political parties throughout the world. Particularly this year, the PLP has demonstrated the biggest political failure of all ... the loss of the peoples confidence. This lack of accountability gives the impression that the PLP are untrustworthy and possibly corrupt. Unfortunately, race plays a big role in almost any subject in Bermuda, and the PLP appear to use the race issue to inflame the passions of the black population in order to create the sensation of racial progress and retribution for historical injustices. I am just left with the feeling that the PLP is nothing more than a small group of individuals, who are motivated only by their own greed for power and personal gain. The majority of it's supporters will realistically stand to gain nothing. I feel that the PLP has been hijacked.
Posted: Friday, December 14, 2007
Comment by:
VOTER
As of X PLP Voter now I pray to GOD that the UBP get in, BERMUDA does not need to be under the leadership of them.
