Hon. Melanie Griffin's Mid Term Budget Contribution
Published: Friday March 5th, 2010
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
2009/2010 MID-YEAR BUDGET PERFORMANCE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3RD, 2010
TALKING POINTS MRS. MELANIE S. GRIFFIN, MP – YAMACRAW OPPOSITION SPOKESPERSON ON SOCIAL SERVICES
Introduction Mr. Speaker, it is indeed my special privilege and pleasure to rise once again on behalf of the very fine people of the great Constituency of Yamacraw, in particular and the wider Bahamian community in general. I also express my sincere gratitude to Almighty God for it is on His strength alone that I am able to stand and that I am able to serve.
Mr. Speaker, I really tried to evaluate and critique this Mid-term performance statement and budget adjustments as objectively as I could. I tried to look through the eyes of the Government and see if I could determine why they feel this exercise is so necessary. I tried to see what value it adds to the growth and development of our people and our country and whether or not it really provides any solutions to the problems we face in these critical times. Alas, Mr. Speaker, I could not find and have not heard from ministers who have already made their contributions any visionary policy positions for sustained growth. What I have found instead, Mr. Speaker is public policy which appears to be influenced by political considerations. What I have found once again is a public relations exercise by a failing government in an attempt to bolster its sagging popularity. What I have found is a lot of rhetoric which adds up to nothing and a lot of numbers which add up to a juggling act and only demonstrate that the government continues to “rob Peter to pay Paul”.
Mr. Speaker, on page three of the Mid-Year Budget Statement, the member for North Abaco refers to his Government’s “unwavering commitment to transparency and accountability in budgeting” and you know this would be laughable, if it wasn’t so critical. I say this, Mr. Speaker, because in my view, the member and his government will go down in history as a government which has developed the art of “cooking the books”. This is my view, Mr. Speaker, because this document we have been given which is suppose to show us “the fiscal performance during the first six months of the fiscal year”, does not give you enough information to get a true picture of that very fiscal performance and there are too many variables involved. For example, does it take into account situations where certain payments are made by the Ministry of Finance on behalf of the various ministries and departments? This is a question that needs to be answered, because if these expenditures are not taken into account in a ministry’s performance, then where is the transparency and accountability?
Mr. Speaker, I heard the member for Blue Hills last night expressing his “trust” in his government and of course we don’t expect him to say anything different, but I can assure you that the Bahamian people are finding out more and more since May 2007, that this government is not to be trusted. In fact every time you get a document from them, you have to ask yourself the question, “is this another Excise Tax episode?” Who among us can forget the tax increases that were forced on the backs of the Bahamian people because of that exercise? So, Mr. Speaker, I make no apologies when I say, “I don’t trust ya, where I could see ya, judge when I can’t see ya.”
Mr. Speaker, there are thousands more across this country who feel the same way and no amount of rhetoric or political shenanigans will save this Government from its fate at the polls in the next general election. Ask the people of Elizabeth, with all the fire power of the awesome machinery of government they put in there and cabinet ministers taking up residence in strategic places in every polling station look where they are today. It did not work in Elizabeth and it will not work any where else because the Bahamian people have come to the realization that the “matter of trust” government cannot be trusted. They don’t want any more of your tricks. What they want are solutions, what they want are answers.
What is the government going to do about an exceptionally high National Debt pegged at 54% of GDP? What is the government going to do about the high level of joblessness in communities buckling under an unemployment rate of 14.2%? What is the government doing about the extremely high level of human suffering endured by thousands of Bahamians across the length and breadth of this Country? You see, Mr. Speaker, that mother who called from one of the family islands Tuesday in tears because every one around her seemed to be able to get on the temporary employment initiative except her and she was at her wit’s end because she had no food for her children to eat, does not understand how members opposite could stand in this place and say, “we have weathered the worse of the crisis”, because her storm is still raging. She does not understand how it could be said that “the tide is now turning; the bottom has been reached; recovery is on the way” because her tide has become a tidal wave that is swallowing her up; her bottom has fallen out and for her there is no recovery in sight.
Mr. Speaker, the tide has not yet turned for the hundreds of unemployed young people from Yamacraw and Elizabeth, yes even Elizabeth where hundreds of temporary jobs were given out just a day before the bye-election. No, Mr. Speaker, the tide has not yet turned for them yet in Fox Hill and Sea Breeze and Pinewood and Andros and Acklins and all over this Bahamas. May be, just may be the Minister of State for Finance can tell them when this turning tide he speaks so eloquently about will pass their way.
Mr. Speaker, those people who must stand on the lines outside of the Department of Social Services in Grand Bahama, fighting the elements – wind, rain, heat and cold to get food and other assistance, many times to be turned away empty handed because the quota of food coupons or EFAs for the day have been issued, also want to know when this turning tide will pass their way. For them the bottom has not been reached and there is no recovery in sight. For them the storm is still raging. This has been going on for months now. They want solutions, they don’t want to hear about what’s coming they want to be able to feel it in their pockets, in their cupboards and in their homes, those who still have homes that is.
Mr. Speaker, does this mid-year budget review provide a solution to the high level of crime we face daily? Apart from the fact that we are already at 17 homicides after the second month of the year, increased numbers of home invasions have us in the grip of fear – afraid to go out and afraid to stay home. Where is this turning tide for crime, Mr. Speaker?
How does this exercise address the inadequate public education system in our country, Mr. Speaker? Where is this weathered storm in our educational system where teachers are forced to withhold their services in order to have their needs addressed? Where is this weathered storm in our education system when parents are moved to keep their children from school until their concerns are addressed?
When the dreams of children have to be dashed to the rocks because of a government who decided to cancel the loan guarantee programme for new students two weeks before they were due to leave for college. Where is this turning tide and this weathered storm when sex scandals abound in our schools and teen violence is ever on the increase? I know we must foster hope as much as possible, but don’t give me false hope, where what you are saying is not lining up with what I am living daily. Provide me with some solutions and I will tell you when the tide begins to turn.
These, Mr. Speaker, are only some of the issues we face as a nation and as a people. If this budget review does not provide any meaningful solutions to these issues, then to the people we serve it is a meaningless exercise and there is nothing here that could not have been dealt with in the Prime Minister’s Annual National Broadcast or during the Annual Budget exercise.
Mr. Speaker, a number of speakers from members opposite continue to talk about the social assistance and other initiatives by government to assist our people during these difficult times and that is fine. However, it appears that the policies and strategies of the Government have been primarily geared at creating a welfare state and I don’t mean that in a bad way, because in these times of crisis a government has to do what it has to do to assist its people. That is why I can’t understand why the Member for Garden Hills would get up in this place last evening and deliberately mislead this House and the Bahamian people that in the late1980’s nothing was done during the crisis to assist our people. He knows better than that. I have tabled in this place before the newspaper article setting out the establishment of “Emergency Help Desks” which were set up by the then Minister with responsibility for SS, the late George Mackey and the initiatives he put in place to assist persons in distress during that time.
Mr. Speaker, the point is, no government stands by and does nothing while their people suffer and we should not as intelligent and honourable people be saying such things or expecting people to believe us when we do. But then again I understand Garden Hill’s need to seem to be some kind of terminator on that side seeking to score political brownie points, but at least he should try to be factual.
But Mr. Speaker, I’m sure you noted how far back in history he continues to go in an effort to score his points, but I could tell you as I listened to him downstairs, I really thought this is the most mixed up contribution I have ever heard from Garden Hills, but of course when you trying to spin a web and you don’t have your facts straight that is what happens. In any event, back to my point, which is that although these are the times when welfare must be provided to assist people in crisis, we must ensure that more is done towards human capital development and other programmes that support sustained and long term growth as a top priority so that this cycle could immediately be reversed once we are in recovery mode.
Mr. Speaker, I turn to Social Services.
Social Services First of all, Mr. Speaker, let me say that I support the increases in Heads 41, 42 and 44 which are for the payment of security services in the case of Heads 41 and 42, Simpson Penn and Williemae Pratt Centers, respectively, and in the case of Head 44, $2M for the payment of food store bills in New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands. I am very much aware of the challenges faced in ensuring adequate security at the centers and certainly in ensuring that bills at those places that accept the food coupons are paid so that clients are not inconvenienced. (Which reminds me, perhaps the Minister can advise whether or not Solomon’s and Cost Rite in Freeport are taking the food stamps as yet). I must note however, that particularly in the case of the increases for SP and WPC, these are almost the same amounts these two items were cut by in the 2009/2010 Budget exercise.
I also note, Mr. Speaker, that the increased funds in these two items are to cover the period October 2009 to February 2010. May be the Minister could clarify the significance of these dates. Is the additional sum of money required to cover to the end of February 2010 or from March to the end of June 2010?
I wonder if the Minister could also advise where the $2M increase for the food item is coming from since the Government has indicated its intention not to borrow any additional funds. I do recall that over $2M was allocated in the 2009/2010 Budget for a poverty alleviation programme. Is this money being taken from that provision?
Mr. Speaker, I wish now to speak about social services generally. As the Shadow Minister for Social Services and one who worked very closely with the technicians in addressing the social issues of this country for five years, I am disappointed and deeply pained over what I see happening or maybe I should say not happening in some cases, in Social Services today. From the outset let me say that I do not think I am “Mrs. Social Services”, neither do I think that I have all the answers for social services, far from it. What I do think, is that as a student of the social sciences, who loves people and have had the wonderful experience of serving in that Ministry, it is my considered view that social services is being sadly neglected and is therefore not able to carry out its mandate and mission for and on behalf of the Bahamian people.
Mr. Speaker, we must realize that the level of social issues facing our country today is phenomenal and that is not a reflection on any one government. We have just grown as a country by leaps and bounds; we have experienced great wealth and development and with this progress comes social problems. It is our response or lack thereof to these problems that will determine our ability to maintain law, order and balance in our society. Even though many of our institutions have made advancements as well, sadly many of them have been outpaced by the rapid progress we have made.
Like financial services, Mr. Speaker, Social Services is one such agency. We need to move as quickly as possible to restructure SS and provide it with the resources it needs to carry out its very important mandate. All around us today we can see the bye-products of social decay, how much more do we have to go through to decide that more attention needs to be placed in the social ministries and this is not a question about who has put in the most funding, it goes way deeper than that.
Mr. Speaker, Education, Youth & Sports, Health, National Security…are all social ministries. They have their own ministries bringing focus to bear on the areas they cover, we can argue about whether they are successful or not and if not, why not is a different matter, but at least they have their own agency giving focused attention to their major portfolio. Social Services is no different, it requires a dedicated ministry. It must also have servant leadership that is focused, visionary, vibrant and caring; seeking to be more responsive to the needs of both clients and staff, in fact these are qualities that all servants of the people should have.
Mr. Speaker, if we are going to make any serious inroads or impact on the social ills in this country, we have got to see Social Services as a priority, not just for providing welfare, which is important, but for providing social safety net reform that would break the cycle of poverty in generations of Bahamians; for implementing programmes that would arrest the social and moral decadence that seem to be overwhelming us and the violence that confronts us daily, wiping out the lives of our young.
Mr. Speaker, let’s look at what is happening is SS today. The Department covers a wide cross section of services. Social workers are in schools, courts, health services, child and family services, family violence, rehabilitative welfare services, disability affairs, senior citizens, community support services and residential care services. Participation in the international community and conventions signed on to call for reciprocity, economically, socially and legislatively. The changing legislative landscape has obligated the Department to extend its services even further. These include the Child Protection and Domestic Violence (Protection Orders) Acts, as well as legislation regarding witness protection, human trafficking, protection orders, supervision and care orders, community service orders, death penalty evaluations and new responsibilities under an act which addresses child pornography. On top of this, the economic downturn demands that persons going through some extremely difficult times be provided with social assistance in as efficient and timely a manner as possible.
Mr. Speaker, the present agency is doing their best and all personnel need to be commended, but with no significant increase in staff over the last few years and case levels as high as 500 in some cases, I am advised that many of the current staff are burnt out and overwhelmed and in need of some form of intervention themselves. In addition they are also experiencing their own economic woes due to the recession – electricity and telephones being disconnected, children having to be taken out of college or private schools and mortgages in jeopardy, just to name some of the challenges they face. When you add this to the numbers of persons they must see on a daily basis and the fact that quotas have been put in place for the issuance of Emergency Food Assistance, you have a very volatile situation – dissatisfied clients and over-worked staff who feel that no one is looking out for their benefit. No doubt that is why the staff in Grand Bahama felt they had to take industrial action last December.
Mr. Speaker, Social Services must be brought into the 21st Century if it is to meet its mandate and make a real impact in this society. That was the goal of the Social Safety Net Reform which among other objectives, was designed to make social services more efficient and responsive in the provision of services and less paper intensive for social workers; allowing them more time to do the work they are actually supposed to be doing, like responding on a more timely basis to reports of child abuse, providing counseling and budgeting programmes in these times of crises.
Mr. Speaker, through you to the member for North Abaco, I truly recommend that you review the work that was done with a view to re-instating provisions in the upcoming budget to complete the work and make SS more viable and relevant in these ever changing times.
Another problem for the social workers and clients, particularly in Grand Bahama is a shortage of space. As I indicated before, the clients have to toe a line from outside from early in the morning. The space is such that when they do get inside there is no privacy to discuss their concerns. I am also advised that the public restroom on that end of the mall has not been available for use since last year, although it has been renovated. Additionally, the heavy case loads do not allow for timely assessments and that is why there are always complaints about the long time it takes to receive assistance. This is a good time, I think to open up some care or help desks in different areas so that clients could be assisted under better conditions and their privacy and dignity protected. It would also make things a little easier for the workers.
Mr. Speaker, I believe all employers know that the happier your staff is, the better they perform and that has always been my policy. Of course you can never please every one, but at least people must know that you are trying. Mr. Speaker, I am advised that some promotions and appointments for certain employees have been outstanding for some three years. I realize that this is nothing new, for some reason these things seem to take forever even after financial clearance is in place. This is certainly one area I really hope Public Service Reform will address, but I am aware that among some persons who would have completed Bachelor’s degree at the College of The Bahamas in 2007 or 2008 while everyone else has received their promotions, at least two persons have not. This can be very frustrating and I am asking the Minister to follow up on this and see if some relief can be brought to these employees.
The Career Path for social workers, a process that would regulate their salaries and bring them on par with other workers in comparable scales in other agencies, remains a source of contention for the workers. This was promised to the workers in the 2008/09 Budget, but to date it has been done and the funding in the budget for it this year I think was used to pay for some other outstanding promotions. Social Workers would like to have some word as to when this matter will be finalized. Training is also very important, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to note that I met a case aide in the food store recently who is a part of a group who were given in-service awards during my tenure to complete their Bachelor’s degree. I am advised that some of them will graduate in May and this will certainly mean more trained workers for the Department. I think this may be the second group that would have had this opportunity during my tenure and I congratulate them all. These types of programmes must continue, Mr. Speaker, so that the Department can have the trained workers it requires. That is why I was delighted and excited to implement the Social Workers Cadet Programme to ensure that the Department is provided with a cadre of young trained workers to carry out its work.
Mr. Speaker, those charged with the responsibility of driving social policy and the continued development of SS to an efficient and well-resourced machine to meet the gigantic task it has to do in this country, must not fall asleep at the wheel.
Mr. Speaker; it has come to my attention that certain agencies of government are now hiring their own social workers. If this is so, it is a direct move away from a policy implemented by the current PM who amalgamated all social workers under the umbrella of SS. Maybe the rationale for this shift in policy could be explained by the Minister.
Urban Renewal Now Mr. Speaker, on the matter of Urban Renewal, I don’t think I have to say much about this because by now the entire country has had an opportunity to evaluate what is in place now and what was in place previously. The consensus is that what is in place now is not as effective in the prevention of crime or addressing social ills as what was in place previously and I believe Bahamians are awaiting the return of the real URP.
Regarding UR though, I just want to say that the FNM should ensure that whenever the next election is called, UR officers who should be on the job, are not manning the polls for the FNM, and leaving their centers unattended. The least they could do is take vacation so they would not be expected at work. There seems to be a problem with some FNM operatives differentiating between their political commitments and their public duty, Mr. Speaker. You may recall that last November the Juvenile Court in Grand Bahama could not proceed when it was alleged that members of the panel were not in place because they were attending the FNM Convention in New Providence. Something has to be wrong with that, Mr. Speaker and I don’t believe North Abaco would support this type of behavior.
Business License Mr. Speaker, the mid-year performance statement speaks about streamlining the Business License Act and this is a good thing, although I think I have heard it before. I hope it will happen this time. I want to raise a matter which I mentioned in my contribution to the 2009/2010 Budget last June when I declared my interest as an employee of a small business. At the time I made a request for the Government to consider allowing up to 75% of compensation costs for employees of service companies to be utilized in calculating business license fees. I also noted that employee benefits are not included as an allowable deduction for any companies – service or non-service firms. I renew the call for consideration to be given to employers who provide health insurance for their employees to claim this as an allowable expense for business license purposes. The Member for North Abaco recommended I bring the matter up again during the preparation for the 2010/2011 Budget and I do so now, although I can write you directly if you wish.
Constituency Matters
Mr. Speaker, I will forward an email to the Minister of Works, but I just wish to say that I look forward to a major improvement to the traffic signal at the intersection of Yamacraw, Fox Hill and Joe Farrington Roads. I also look forward to the widening of the turning lane out of Star Estates onto Prince Charles Drive.
I also take this opportunity to remind the relevant Ministers who I would have written previously, that the upcoming budget is the time to make provision for a utility counter and a unit of the Road Traffic Department in the Town Center in the East, which is the compound with the Post Office, Library and Police Station.
I would also like the Minister of the Environment to kindly follow up on the removal of some branches that were cut from the trees which were in the Town Center compound, nearly a month ago.
I also want to take this opportunity to join my colleague from Fox Hill in commending the work of Ms. Melanie McKenzie, Director of Environmental Health and Mr. Kimsley Ferguson and his team who are doing a great work in keeping the eastern area clean. I can only ask that they be given the equipment they need to remove the bags when the clean up is complete.
Conclusion
Mr. Speaker, before I conclude, I promised a young man who was selling phone cards in this area two days ago that I would bring a matter to this House on his behalf and that of phone card salespersons generally. It seems that these persons are being denied permits to sell their phone cards, in fact some had permits was denied renewal of them, yet they are being harassed by the law when they try to make an honest living. These salespersons need some answer from the relevant Minister as to why they are being denied the permits, particularly in these tough economic times when this small enterprise assists them in providing bread and butter for their families.
With that Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the fine residents of Yamacraw, I thank you.