The way we do board appointments in this country is outdated, and everyone knows it.
I’ve heard from many Bahamians, including PLP supporters, who believe the recent board appointments are largely more of the same that will not deliver the fundamental changes needed in various government agencies, especially State Owned Enterprises.
If we’re going to grow as a country, then we can’t keep treating board appointments as favors.
Here’s what gets lost every time a new administration wipes a board clean: institutional memory. The people who actually understand how an agency runs, what’s worked, what hasn’t, where the bodies are buried — that knowledge often doesn’t transfer. It walks out the door with whoever just got fired for the wrong party affiliation. The country pays for that in wasted time, repeated mistakes, and worse decisions.
Reform demands urgent action. The Public Service Commission, for example, needs to meet far more often than it currently does. Reclassifications, promotions, transfers and other actions need more attention now. Those who sit on that Commission need the time, the energy, and, frankly, the renewed capacity to take this assignment on.
During the election, the FNM promised to introduce Independent Board members to improve oversight within State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). We wanted members of key government boards to be selected by civil society and the business community, to minimize the political temptation to treat appointments like the spoils of war.
We also want to go further. We believe the sectors most affected by a ministry’s decisions should in some cases have a formal, legal right to recommend their own representatives to that ministry’s boards — tourism voices helping shape tourism boards similar to how agriculture voices weigh in on agriculture boards, and so on. The people closest to the work should have a seat at the table, not just political appointees several steps removed from it.
And we want the age-old practice of “cleaning house” to stop. If someone is making sense on a board, it shouldn’t matter if they’re FNM or PLP, or which party is in power.
Our position on this is simple: do better, so the country can do better.
Michael C. Pintard, M.P
FNM Leader