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BTC, British rule & Third World policymakers Ronald Reagan asked the question several decades ago that unseated then president Jimmy Carter, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" The answer was a resounding 'no' and Jimmy Carter was booted out of office. Well, if we asked a similar question: Are you as a Bahamian better off under the black rule of PLPs and FNMs or would we be better off under the global leadership of Great Britain or Obama and The United States? Don't answer too fast. Why? For forty years of black rule, the locals are in the exact position they were in at the start of the game (they may have pretty mortgaged houses and cars) but, what do they own? They own no major hotels, no major offshore banks and the status quo of 100 years continues to dominate the financial landscape of the country. A recent report showed that only 9 percent of the population with banks accounts had more than $10,000 on deposit. This shows that the real wealth of the country is concentrated in the wealthiest 2 to 4 percent, and the political groups who serve their interests. In fact, we have enshrined in our constitution laws that discriminate against Bahamians. Additionally, all of our practices are designed to keep the locals second-class and elevate foreign interests. Why? The economy we have was not designed by locals (nor do they understand it) - it was designed for foreigners by foreigners for their families and friends. Is there any wonder that local leaders and locals are the butt of gated community jokes by our foreign guests. They see how real leaders look out for local interests in their home country and how we do the opposite here. A legitimate case can be made against black leadership. It has not been competent across the board, forward looking or into people development. A general indictment is in order and we should return to British rule or ask to be added as the 51st state in America so that we can stop this general pretense of black leadership and make believe country success. When our kids ask for independence in the future, it will be to build a world-class nation of world-class thinkers and doers, so that when our foreign friends visit and want to invest, they will know that they are riding with us and not we with them. Today, we sit in the bus dressed-up in the best suits with the question; 'So, where are you driving us today?' Take any major issue alive today at the political level and ask yourself - Which problems have we solved? Or how innovative and confident is our society? The evidence shows that our communities are falling apart, crime is rampant, the courts are a joke, and 60-70 percent of our families are led by undereducated and poorly paid females, which has a tendency to make communities weaker. Our young men are not dreaming about anything beyond reggae music, Guinness beer and marijuana. We have the worst kind of systematic corruption in the both the PLP and FNM that allows family, friends and foreigners to take opportunities that should rightfully belong to Bahamians generally. Take the issue of telecommunications in The Bahamas. For over fifty years Bahamians have by-and-large controlled the industry through the government (the people own BTC). Yet today, policymakers are trying to make a case that cannot be made - that is to transfer national assets to foreigners. They offer the weakest of benefits as to why we should do such nonsense. Let me see if I can break it down: Convergence, competition and cheaper prices. Convergence simply means - go play games on your phone, call your 'sweetheart' and leave the thinking and planning to others. Competition simply means we want our friends to own the thing so that we are paid under the table through offshore accounts. Cheaper prices simply means the bill to subsidize our families in the Family Islands will be on a different invoice. Instead of forty cents (.40) for a Quick cell call, the breakdown will be as follows: Twenty cents will be on the cell phone bill. Twenty cents will be at the gas pump. Certainly, no sensible foreign investor is going in areas that are not economically viable. In fact, five questions should be answered before we even consider transferring state assets to the exclusion of locals: How does this aid national development? What is the industry worth over a 10-year period (conservatively, I think about $5,000,000,000) Precisely, what is the benefit of giving this to foreigners (the competition, convergence and price arguments are silly in the face of $5,000,000,000 - get creative ... move the government out of the picture and create a local industry the way we created a radio industry) What happens to the present expertise in the sector (they obviously become second-class players - to 'B' level foreigners) Who is going to subsidize the rest of The Bahamas? If we are to transfer the telecommunications sector to foreigners, we should certainly consider transferring the regulatory and political framework to foreigners as well and return to British rule or ask to be adopted by Obama. The Brits and Americans certainly understand the concept of country interest and their citizens would boot them out of office if they propose Third World ideas like transferring state assets to foreign interests. State assets are a sacred trust for the local environment. First World leaders, policymakers and their advisors would never consider the wholesale 'foreignation' of anything in their country. Only Third World people think this way and that is precisely why they are Third World and underdeveloped. In fact, Hajoon Chang in the book 'Bad Samaritans - the myth of free trade and the secret history of capitalism' makes a powerful case against the transfer of state assets to foreigners - he says it retards national development. Or is retarded development what this is all about? If we are to transfer state assets to foreigners because global is better, let's go all the way and transfer the political and policy sides as well. Otherwise, let's get busy and build a country. The problems at BTC can be fixed with a change of shareholders, added local competitors and a serious dialogue between its customers and the future. Lester R. Cox, MA, LLM is a leadership consultant. He can be reached via his e-mail address at stepup@coralwave.com, or his Web site at www.biggalife.net Thursday, June 11, 2009