“In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics’. All issues are political issues” — George Orwell

Over the past few months, we have been on the campaign trail in Constituency 33. This constituency runs from Morgan’s Point Gate, along Hog Bay, past Fort Scaur, and ends on the southern side of Sound View Road.

On the doorsteps, we have heard varying degrees of challenges ranging from youth unemployment, immigration fears and struggling seniors. The overriding question posed to Jamahl Simmons has been: “What solutions will the PLP put forward?”

Let’s take a moment today to look at some potential options to be explored.

TCD Trials

Many seniors are upset that they have to pay hundreds of dollars to licence their cars under the OBA. This was a reversal of the No Licence Fee instituted for seniors by the PLP. Many of them simply do not have the funds to licence their vehicles.

One possible solution is to institute means testing and to eliminate that fee for those seniors with the most need. Our seniors have worked hard and have fought long to provide a future for our generation. We can, and must, move hell and high water to provide them with a secure future.

Further Learning

Another major challenge has been the fact that the OBA has taken away further education awards from Bermudians looking to improve their academic qualifications, causing many to defer their studies. This, coupled with the inability to find full-time work, has created a vicious cycle for far too many of our fellow Bermudians.

As government, the PLP must, and will, re-institute scholarships for Bermudians. Higher education and improved technical skills are the way forward for any nation looking to sustain itself. With constant changes in technology and requirements for IB, it is incumbent that Bermudians constantly upgrade their skills sets.

Paying the Piper

This question now is how all of this will be paid for. Well, that is fairly simply to address.

Premier Dunkley has hired both Don Grearson and Senator Jeff Baron as special advisers at an annual salary of $105,000 and $85,000, respectively. Do you really think we should be paying out $190,000 to have Don Grearson write speeches and possibly arrange photo ops and to have Senator Baron provide daily support for the Premier?

That same $190,000 can and must be used to educate our children.

A Penny Saved

Another source of funds that could be trimmed is the $13 million spent annually on rental costs to house various government departments. We have many government buildings that sit empty while we are handing over $1m each month to individuals who are in no way, shape, or form in need of government funds more than our children and seniors. Corporate welfare must be trimmed.

If we were to take some funds to renovate and repurpose many of these government-owned buildings, we can then transition government offices out of the private sector and back into the public sector.

For example, the Department of Telecommunications rents office space at Corner House for $155,000 per year and the Internal Audit Department rents space at 12 Wesley Street for $172,000 per year. So, by moving these into government-owned buildings we can save $327,000 per year. This is an example of what we must do.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

I am about to go to columnist hell for plagiarising some ideas from my brother, Rolfe Commissiong.

“Our proposals, by way of successive replies to the respective throne speeches and replies to the budget over the nearly two-year period, clearly outline our commitment to create new revenue streams for growth.”

Heck, let’s steal another quote from my fellow columnist and fellow St George’s supporter John Barritt.

“ ... modern Botswana emerged from a culture of governance that had at its core participation and accountability.”

The key element to Bermuda’s survival and success does not lie at the feet of which 36 people are in Parliament. This path can only be found when we create streams of revenue in which all in Bermuda can participate. Secondly, as each one of us chooses to elect the potpourri of parliamentary pundits, each and every one of us must hold them accountable and demand collaboration over partisanship. At this point in time we have a choice of civility or civil war. Both our children and seniors deserve, and indeed demand, civility.

Next week, more solutions.