The current mood of some Bermudians is that any policy implemented by the PLP Government must either be bringing profit to the Minister responsible or else is being is being carried out with extreme incompetence. When one considers the viciousness of such attacks, one would expect that example after example of PLP corruption and/or incompetence would be readily available. However, this is clearly not the case.

The continuing criticism is merely the result of a well organised campaign to win the next election by exploiting the long standing and well nurtured belief held by far too many Bermudians — that African Bermudians — cannot manage anything substantial.

The fact that any political party would attempt to gain power by exploiting the fears and prejudices of the electorate is truly shameful.

The fact that African Bermudians often lack confidence in the management ability of members of their own ethnic group has its origins in Bermuda’s history of racism and the newly implemented party system of Government.

Historically, racism in Bermuda reflected the efforts of England, as coloniser, to create and maintain a source of cheap labour in the form of slavery and of segregation.

This programme was carried out to the extent that their Bermudian descendants recruited other Europeans to assist in the general exploitation of Bermudians rather than develop the management and supervisory skills of the vast pool of African Bermudians.

Given this long period of domination by Europeans, it should come as no surprise that many African Bermudians seem completely at home with their long exclusion from the seats of power — whether political or economic. Evidence supporting this harsh conclusion is provided by the current threats being made by some African Bermudians to remove the PLP from power at the first opportunity because of real or perceived wrongs that the party has not addressed.

I believe that the common complaint “that the PLP is doing nothing” is also related to the relatively recent introduction of the party system and its dependence upon a permanent Civil Service that had served only one Government, that of the United Bermuda Party. Hence, Civil Servants were in the habit of implementing policies that, in many instances, either would not have been implemented by the PLP, or, would have been implemented quite differently.

As a result, the newly elected PLP Government found itself very frustrated in its attempts to implement policies designed to remove or modify the all too obvious legacies of slavery and segregation.

However, despite the lack of experience in handling major issues, the PLP Government moved swiftly to resolve the charges of corruption with respect to the Bermuda Housing Corporation. The existing manager was relieved of his duties and a senior officer is before the courts.

Ministers who were said to be involved in corruption activities were investigated by the Commissioner of Police, the Chief Justice and the Director of Public Prosecutions, all appointees of the Crown. This illustrious group found no evidence of any form of criminal activity.

Affordable housing has risen to the top of the priorities of the Ministry of Works and Engineering. Existing quangos inclusive of the Bermuda Housing Corporation, the West End Development Corporation and the Bermuda Land Development Company have been placed under the direct control of the Minister so that Government efforts, with respect to the provision of affordable housing are now more effectively coordinated.

Education issues cannot be appreciated unless one looks at the origins of the problem in terms of the refusal of Bermuda’s ruling elite, before the advent of party Government, to raise the education and training levels of African Bermudians. This point was made vividly by Dr. E. F. Gordon when he presented a petition to the English Secretary of State for the Colonies requesting, among other things, the integration of the school system in order to provide equal opportunity for African Bermudians to obtain adequate education and training.

Dr. Gordon’s petition was well received by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. However Bermuda’s Governor at the time scuttled the actions of Dr. Gordon by complaining to his boss that integration would have a negative impact on tourism on which Bermudians depend on for their survival. As a result, the educational opportunities for African Bermudians continued severely restricted for several decades until it was addressed as a result of the increase in the influence of African Bermudians with the introduction of the party system of Government in 1968.

The fact that many Bermudians continue to believe that the PLP is responsible for the decline in Tourism simply boggles the imagination. Monitor, the Boston Research Group that spent many years in Bermuda during the mid- to late-1990s, researching the fall in tourism, made it clear that the decline reflected a need to cease the traditional advertising which presented Bermuda as the Mecca of sunshine, beaches and nice people.

Bermudians were advised that successful resorts had learned to cater to what the tourist declared they wanted rather than what resort owners thought they should have. Criticisms of the PLP have been amplified recently by an unexpected source — Barrister Julian Hall.

Mr. Hall’s support of the PLP is without question. Still there can be no doubt that his recent “off the cuff” remarks hurt his ‘beloved’ party. Yet, I believe that his comments about freedom of speech need to be taken seriously. Without Freedom of Speech, our very newly acquired democracy will soon be swept away.

However, Mr. Hall seemed not to recognise that there has been a vast increase in personal freedom since the PLP took office.

It is for this reason that many Bermudians are able to speak openly and critically about many issues that were prominently in existence during the long UBP reign (drugs, crime and affordable housing to name a few). Yet during the reign of the UBP, only a few high-profile, very bold individuals dared question the oft-quoted “successful management of the economy” by the UBP Government.

But today, the criticism of the management of the economy by the PLP continues non-stop despite the fact that the economy is booming to a greater extent than at any time in the previous history of Bermuda.

Serious supporters of the PLP wonder how the continued unfair criticism will affect the outcome of the next election. In my view, the PLP must continue to combat the negative propaganda by constantly reminding Bermuda’s voters that they were elected to carry out certain economic, social and environmental goals.

These goals have been articulated in the policies of the Social Agenda and Sustainable Development and are fully in the process of implementation. Clearly, the implementation of these policies will revolutionise the way Bermudians perceive themselves and their country in a very positive way. In which case, the citizens of Bermuda have an obligation to make every effort to assist the PLP in the attainment of these worthy objectives. Calvin[AT]northrock.bm