“Bad officials are the ones elected by good citizens who do not vote”

— George Jean Nathan

Over the years, I have been a harsh critic of the Progressive Labour Party government. As a member of the opposition One Bermuda Alliance party, I have decided to actively engage in this public forum and others in the hope of contributing to better governance of our country. My belief is that constructive criticism should help to make our government more responsive to the issues that concern all of us.

In my criticisms, I have gone as far as to label the PLP as the “can do nothing right government”. I have highlighted its persistent failures and drawn attention to the reality that Bermuda is in a downward spiral economically, socially, politically and culturally. By doing so, I am daring the PLP to prove me wrong by racking up successes that ultimately benefit the nation.

Instead, it is as if David Burt’s PLP embraces this criticism as encouragement to continue “getting everything wrong”. Bermuda is trapped in the nightmare scenario of a government with the “Midas touch” for winning elections by any means necessary. But once in power, everything it touches is either ruined or cannot get off the ground.

East Enders are having to deal with the unfolding of the St George’s Prep fiasco. Angry and frightened parents react in disbelief as the Minister of Education closes their children’s school, with a video surfacing demonstrating contempt for consultation and for what they think. In that instance, the simple truth of “what” a government does being just as important as “how” it does it escapes the PLP.

The minister, Diallo Rabain, has offered a hollow apology while also admitting that he showed up to only four of 40 meetings held to consult with parents. He also admits that he has not scrapped the Whitney Institute busing plan; nor has he ruled out still closing the school. Keep in mind that this is also the same minister responsible for planning to close West End Primary with its iconic history in the Black community.

One may be correct to assume that the Premier would have asked for his resignation because of how poorly education reform is going, with dissatisfaction levels at a whopping 96 per cent in a recent poll. However, Mr Burt has decided to stick by his man.

This likely comes as no surprise when we look at how poorly the Premier is doing regarding the Fairmont Southampton special development order. The national dissatisfaction levels for this project are at about 80 per cent, with our chief negotiator being none other than David Burt. His negotiation skills are so poor that commenters believe he is negotiating for Gencom and not Bermuda.

While this continues, the country is waiting with bated breath as to the future of our flagship hotel after it was closed under PLP governance. This was the most devastating blow to the ailing hospitality sector, which has been in chronic decline after decades of PLP blunder after blunder.

As the issue stands, we have seen the usual pattern of deception and broken promise after broken promise, as it remains unclear whether those doors will ever open again. Even if they do, the PLP has not seen fit to account for where guests are going to come from, given our declining air arrivals and our lack of investment in new attractions to change that.

I first raised the alarm about Belco’s unchecked pollution in a radio interview a few months ago. Since then, the PLP government — after failing for years to address the issue — has weighed in only to make it worse by citing the problems that we already know without any solution to fix them. At the end of the day, this mismanagement and neglect has pushed the country into an impossible corner of either living with the unacceptable environmental damage, decline in home values in the immediate area, definite health issues with poor air and polluted tank water or closing the only electricity-generating company on the island.

If things were not as bad as they are, when the Auditor-General recently tabled a report detailing the Government’s mishandling of our finances and Mr Burt’s questionable dealings as the Minister of Finance, there should have been a public outcry. Instead, the response from the country was muted at best.

Perhaps we are at the point of not knowing what fires to put out or we are just sheer exhausted from the blatant incompetence, so the majority choose to suffer in silence.

I could go on and on. Our unemployment numbers speak volumes, especially among the youth. The labour unions have been irreparably harmed. Global inflation is having a particularly lethal effect on Bermuda for being caught with our pants down under the PLP. Taxes continue to rise to pay the crushing debt that Bermuda initially incurred for the first time during the early years of PLP rule and has been forced to rely upon ever since.

One of the criticisms levelled against me for pointing these things out is that I am not proposing any solutions. Read my op-eds and they are proof that I have done so on numerous occasions. I have made a number of proposals including:

• Reviving our ailing tourism sector

• Nurturing Airbnb as a cottage industry

• Attracting foreign investment

• Encouraging local investment

• Sustainable public-private partnerships

• Ridding ourselves of incompetent PLP governance

However, the PLP also suffers from tone-deafness, as shamelessly conceded by Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works. It will do the exact opposite of whatever comes from the Opposition. The PLP has also made declarations to say that it has enough votes and don’t care to do anything different to please a broader voter base.

I have also been accused of being too outspoken by airing Bermuda’s dirty laundry with a view to discouraging investment and confidence in the Government. Unfortunately, this is how desperate PLP apologists are.

Forced by the PLP to continue to be the bearer of bad news, the best I can do is continue sounding the alarm to help Bermuda to learn from the costly lessons being orchestrated by this party and government.

It is imperative that Bermuda be salvaged before it is too late. Therefore, at the next election, the electorate should be prepared to vote for the best candidate that does not represent the PLP. Remember, just because the axe handle is made of wood, the PLP is still functioning to cut down the socio-economic forest of most Bermudians, especially Black Bermudians.

• Vic Ball was a One Bermuda Alliance senator from November 2014 to July 2017, and more recently a candidate in the 2020 General Election in Smith's West (Constituency 9)