Dear Sir,

I have a few comments to make about my island home after almost hitting my 70th year of being born and bred here. This little island in the middle of the Atlantic has been a wonderful place to grow up, work and live for about 60 years.

I am sure that I can say that many of us have made a very decent living here and have done better than many others in other much larger places in the world. Our standard of living was fantastic.

What has happened? Bermuda has been falling into the status of a Third World country for many years now. Why and who is to blame?

First, who? I would start to say we are to blame; we took it for granted that our island and our way of life were great.

Second, the governments that we elected and the people who ran them. I think that the biggest issue has been the government education system. For as long as I can remember, the talk by government after government has been to reform and move education into a good place. I hate to say it, but this has not happened and they say the issue is still going to be sorted.

How many children have been left out in the cold for the past 40 or so years? A few lost generations, probably.

Gone are the days of the booming tourism industry and the exempt company business. Large, medium and small hotels have gone by the wayside. Exempt companies are downsizing their local operations, with many educated locals having lost their jobs.

Twenty-five years ago, gaming (gambling) was touted as a saviour. Well, the Government after all these years still can’t get it going. It even put the local betting shops out of business. People will say there are many reasons for this, which aren’t our fault. But it really doesn’t matter whose fault it is, Bermuda is suffering hugely.

Government infrastructure is falling apart: look at the number of government buildings that have been demolished or are becoming dilapidated to the point where they can’t be used. Just look at the Customs Scanning Shed on the docks at Front Street. If it rusts any more, it will just collapse.

The building across the corner that held a Supreme Court hasn’t been operational for ten or so years. There are schools that have been badly maintained for decades and are dangerous to teachers and students. The fire department has extremely old trucks and equipment that should have been replaced in a timely fashion. The hospital and the police service look to be having the same issues; not to mention the ports department, where ferries are old and are not being maintained properly. Luckily for the Government, the cruise ship companies ordered and paid for the two new tugs.

I must give credit to the Department of Works and Engineering garbage collection division, as it is doing a fantastic job. Then again, the Tynes Bay Incinerator should have been replaced years ago, and is just hanging on by expensive repairs.

Now, how about the public roads? When the US Navy left, it allotted something like $5 million to replace the Causeway. What happened?

A Bailey bridge was installed temporarily (supposedly); it is still there after 2½ decades. It’s a lovely scene to be viewed by tourists and businesspeople arriving on the island. The bridge going to St George from Kindley Field Road should have been replaced many many years ago, but can’t because of a lack of funds. So repairs have been made over the years and now because it has deteriorated so much it can’t be repaired. We need to pray that it just doesn’t collapse.

Our road surfaces are absolutely terrible and extremely dangerous. Why? The Government says that the asphalt plant is not viable, as it was never maintained properly. But, really, the main reason is the Government does not have the money now that most of the roads need to be resurfaced. It appears that it never budgeted to have sections repaved over the years or never intended to.

Murders on this island have been horrific in number for least the past 20 years. I would hazard a guess that, per population, Bermuda has one of the highest murder rates. Why? I can think of only one reason: lack of education.

Bermudians are leaving this lovely little island in droves. Why? Education, health costs, jobs — they just simply can’t afford to stay.

Many do not realise that our government is mostly responsible for the huge costs of living here. People blame Belco, the grocery stores, petrol stations and retail businesses for the high cost but don’t know the Government makes lots of money by charging duty on everything.

Belco costs, for example. Probably half the cost of electricity goes to the Government. Just recently the extra charge for the Fuel Adjustment Rate, the Government gets a large portion of the extra. No wonder it originally allowed it to happen. Then with the muted outcry, the Government took credit that it reduced the extra charge by half or so. Really? What a gimmick. The whole reason that Belco needed to increase the rates is that they and the Government were losing a huge amount of revenue from the loss of the Southampton and Elbow Beach hotels.

As for all the other rising costs, the Government loves it, as the duty it is charging increases hugely.

People that have solar panels on their roofs have seen the amount paid to them by Belco drop to extremely low levels; it appears that the Government is profiting from that electricity being resold.

Solar energy panels were installed on the finger at the airport; it apparently took years to get them connected. The solar panels at the National Sports Centre were eventually installed, but they are not connected because lack of funds for treating and cabling.

The Government has been charging additional tax fees on almost everything at a cost to Bermudians — insurance for your car, bike, boat or truck, insurance for your house, insurance for your apartment, insurance for your life. The Government wants your money. Even if you rent your apartment or house, they want to tax you.

Arriving or departing at the airport, apart from paying for the airline ticket there is a huge charge by the Government, and I’m not talking about Skyport charges. It appears to be higher than the fees charged in North America or Europe.

The Civil Service under stress from the shortage of employees, especially the Bermuda Police Service, Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service and Department of Corrections. Why?

The Government says that the population is ageing and retiring with fewer locals to fill their vacant spots. For years it has been saying this, and that we need to bring in expatriates to fill the void. But nothing is happening except talk. Bermudians that could fill in some of the void are leaving the island for a better life.

No wonder Bermuda is quickly becoming a Third World country.

The political party that runs this government or the next really, really needs to take a good look at itself, at Bermuda and sort out these huge problems or we will not get back to being a wonderful place any more.

I’m glad I’m old.

IAN HUNTER

Paget