Official Launch of Contract 2002 Remarks by Halson Moultrie Coalition + Labour Candidate for Pinewood, and Leader of the Bahamian Freedom Alliance Wednesday April 23rd, 2002 Coalition+Labour has a single message about government and governance, and it is a simple one: Governments are supposed to stand up for people whose concerns and interests they were elected to serve. When governments forget that they represent people; that they were elected for service, not unto themselves, but service for the interests of the people, then those governments and any remnant thereof, should be removed and replaced. Coalition+Labour’s objective is simple, to Reclaim Government for The People. Good governance will be integrated into the social, financial, political and public administration of the society. Human development will be the central focus of a Coalition+Labour administration and will take priority over all other competing interests. Coalition+Labour will work to build a true participatory democracy in which the people are sovereign. Because we are committed to open, transparent and honest government, we will advance good governance beyond the trappings and formal structures of democracy. Our proposals include plans for Constitutional Reform, Electoral Reform, Public Service Reform, Central Government and Parliamentary Reform and Local Government. Constitutional Reform of course is something that is long overdue in this country, but likewise, we all recognise that it is a national issue, and one that should be carefully studied and reviewed, and should involve the participation of al major sectors of our society. Coalition+Labour will seek to amend the Constitution of The Bahamas to bring about a more fair and just society. A principal objective will be to create more equity between the three branches of government, namely, the executive, legislative and the judicial. Specific proposals will be presented to diffuse the power of the executive and share it with the people. We will propose amendments to: Remove any provisions, which discriminate against either sex Make the Senate an elected body through a system of proportional representation Grant Bahamian citizenship to all persons born in The Bahamas who meet pre-determined criteria Institutionalise the Office of the Auditor General within the Parliamentary Service and require the Auditor General to report directly to Parliament Enshrine definitively in the fundamental rights of the constitution, the right to vote Express clearly the principle of freedom of the press Recognize the realities of multiple parties in the House of Assembly Limit the powers of the Prime Minister e.g. to set the date of elections and to alter the Report of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission Recent events have demonstrated clearly that there is an urgent need for electoral reform in this country. A fundamental component of democracy is the concept free and fair elections, held over a regularised election period cycle. The election process must be open and transparent and conducted on the basis of universal and equal suffrage. Public confidence in the electoral process is essential to the maintenance of peace, order and stability. We will: Legislate a fixed date for the holding of General Elections Prohibit the use of the country’s resources by incumbent governments during political campaigns Establish fair and just broadcasting rules that guarantee equal access by all political parties and candidates, to the local media during election campaigns Enact campaign finance reform legislation Establish a permanent Register of Voters Broaden the voting franchise by permitting citizens who work or attend school overseas to vote by absentee ballot Of course establish means by which an independent and impartial Electoral and Boundaries Commission can be appointed, which will exclude parliamentarians and have authority over the voting process We will change the manner in which the people’s business is conducted. In our reform of parliament, we will place special emphasis on the accountability of parliamentary representatives to their constituencies. In the Westminster system, the executive branch is responsible and accountable to Parliament. The system as practised in The Bahamas is seriously flawed and must be overhauled. We will institute wide-ranging reforms that will ensure that the executive branch is accountable to parliament and will permit citizens to broader and more meaningful participation in the process. We will: Legislate a system of Parliamentary Recall, which will permit constituents to remove Members of Parliament for negligent or dishonest behaviour. Put in place a system to allow members of the public who feel that they have been aggrieved or disadvantaged by some action of Parliament, to publicly address Parliament at the Bar of the House of Assembly. Institute a system of full time Members of Parliament; Adopt of a Code of Conduct for parliamentarians. Provide the Members of Parliament with the technological resources and the research assistance necessary for them to function as representatives of the Bahamian people. Establish a system of parliamentary committees with the power to examine legislation to review policy and to scrutinize government ministries and departments. Institute a weekly question session in which the Prime Minister and Ministers will be required to answer questions posed by the opposition and backbenchers. Include in the parliamentary calendar a regularly scheduled Opposition day, which would permit the Opposition the opportunity to debate their matters of priority. The main challenge of local government will be to restoring governance to all of The Bahamas. As a nation of islands spread across nearly 100,000 square miles of sea, and given the vastly uneven distribution of our population across The Bahamas, new innovative ideas must be implemented, in order to bring about meaningful development of all of The Bahamas. Coalition+Labour is committed to the principle of empowering citizens in their local communities, and to institutionalising genuine local government in the entire Bahamas including New Providence. Local residents will be empowered to participate in the decision-making processes of their communities in accordance with their stage of development. We will: Introduce local government to New Providence by dividing New Providence into two District areas for the purpose of local government and establish Community Councils. Establish a local government system in each inhabited island in The Bahamas that reflects its level of development and its population size. Introduce the concept of ‘Island Rights’, which identifies the local resources that each island possesses as well as the central government resources or assistance to which it is entitled. Through the medium of elected Island Development Councils, devolve to each island and its local government district, power to determine, in conjunction with the Central Government, a Development Plan for the island Empower Family Island local government authorities to retain a percentage of the local fees collected on the island to supplement any contribution from the central government. These Ladies and Gentlemen are only some of the plans that a Coalition+Labour Government would institute on your behalf. Our plans for Central Government, will speak specifically to how we administer your affairs, in particular how we would manage the budgetary process, and our plans to remove the public service aims not only to improve conditions and opportunities for the civil servant, but also to significantly improve that standard and quality of public services, in The Bahamas.

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