Vexed Bermoothes

Blustery Opinions From Bermuda

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Good Governance Act 2011

July 15th, 2011 · Accountability, Bermuda Politics

The Web has been around for 20 years now.  It’s a pity the Bermuda Government has yet to use it to distribute the bills that have been tabled for debate in the House of Assembly, nevermind to inform the public regarding what happens in our Legislature.  Government issued an RFP back in 2008 for a “Parliamentary Recording and Publishing System”.  What happened?  Time to move forward people!

The media faithfully reported last week that the Premier had tabled a “Good Governance Act” in the House.  Terrific!  It took a fair amount of scrounging around for me to get a copy.  In this day, it should not be that way.

I support the changes in the Good Governance Act 2011.  They are needed.  But in many respects, this law is a sheep in wolf’s clothing.  It is not so much a Good Governance Act – drawing a line in the sand about Bermuda’s commitment to a clean, transparent, and accountable government – than it is a series of amendments fixing problems in other legislation.  Like the “Public Accountability Act” of a few weeks ago (which actually deals with supervising audits of EU-listed companies), it carries a grand title perhaps hoping to put some sheen on Government’s lacklustre performance in an election runup.

The Good Governance Act does the following:

  • It establishes an Office of Public Management and Procurement.  This is a no-brainer.  It is mind-boggling that an organisation whose annual budget has doubled in recent years to well over $1 billion dollars does not have such an entity.  The lack of a coordinated procurement disciple explains a lot of the problems we have.  This Act merely creates the entity;  we’ll need to wait to see the underlying regulations and enforcement to see if it actually improves governance.  (Sorry, I am skeptical.  In recent years, we’ve seen an explosion of new departments that seem to meander without defining and nailing the problems they were intended to address.)
  • It also creates an offense for those involved ivolved in procurement who do not disclose interests they may have in the bidders.
  • It amends various laws to punish Government employees who alter, erase, destroy, or conceal documents from the Government Auditor, Internal Auditor, or new Procurement Office.  It is truly comforting to know that this is a problem.
  • It creates basic whistleblower protections for civil servants who report a “criminal breach or breach of any statutory obligation” by their employer or another employee.  I support this “band aid” but believe the scope of the whistleblower law should be dramatically expanded.  It should cover all organisations, not just Government.  It should be expanded to include other areas like gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a substantial danger to public health or safety.  And it should allow disclosure, in some circumstances, to parties outside the list of “all in the family” Government watchdogs.

Again, I support these amendments.  They are a good starting point … but they do not go far enough.  The Act is a band-aid with a big name.

We do need to clean up details like this in our governance.   But we also need:

  • To implement PATI, what are we waiting for?
  • To further develop the whistleblower protections
  •  To implement a proper anti-corruption law

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Cookie Cutter

July 14th, 2011 · Tourism

BEST is encouraging Bermudians to comment on the plans for the Bazarian development in St George’s, calling it “un-Bermudian” looking.  With 122 condo/townhouses for sale versus 100 hotel rooms, this is not a tourism development.  It’s an extension of Tuckers Town.

We have some screwy priorities in this country.  We refused to plan for housing that our international executives could buy (a contributing reason for the grand exodus).  And then we give concessions in order to develop the same thing under the guise of tourism.  Just tackier.  Something has to happen up on that hillside – we’ve already given away the keys and frankly we need the money – I just wish it was better integrated with Bermuda.

From Royal Gazette
Proposed Bazarian development (manages to make the ole Holiday Inn look great!)

Certainly the above image provided by the developers makes the development seem more like a cheap American suburb than an extension of the meandering alleys and defining architecture of St Georges.

It’s pretty sad when a development in Florida manages to look more like St George’s than our own development looming over Bermuda’s World Heritage site.


Alys Beach, Florida

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Imagine That

July 13th, 2011 · Crime

Wayne Perinchief,  Minister of National Security, must be so proud.

Crime levels in Bermuda have dropped so much that the Premier no longer requires a dedicated team of bodyguards.

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Urgency

July 11th, 2011 · Accountability, Bermuda Politics

In the House of Assembly last Friday, Premier Cox said the PLP would urgently press forward with Good Governance legislation “to stamp any unethical behaviour out of her Government.”  She added “that Bermuda has agreed in principle to be included in the UN Convention against Corruption.”

The issue of good governance laws was raised with the Overseas Territories by the UK FCO in their 1999 Partnership white paper.  It was reiterated in a followup in 2006.  And in 2007, Bermuda (as part of the Overseas Territories Consultative Council) agreed to extend the UN Convention Against Corruption “at the earliest opportunity.”

Five years later, still nothing’s been done … despite (or perhaps because of) the constant circus and ethical eruptions that have characterised our little political elite.

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Need to Go A Step Further

July 9th, 2011 · Accountability

The Premier yesterday spoke about some of the rainbows and unicorns that will spontaneously appear from her future but undefined “Good Governance” legislation.

I’m all in favour of this.

But we need to go a step further than encouraging good governance.  We need to define what is bad behaviour as well.  Let’s get “unethical but not illegal” out of the Bermuda political lexicon.

We need anti-corruption legislation.

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Premier Admits Fault

July 8th, 2011 · Business

The Premier has just announced that expatriates in certain “key positions” will soon be exempt from work permits and eligible for a faster track to permanent residency.

A move in the right direction, but sadly it’s a little late.  Anyone who works in international business can confirm the mass exodus that has occurred from Bermuda in recent years of mid-to-upper management.  Dang, even Bermuda companies have been moving operations out.  This has had a crushing impact on the Bermuda economy, from jobs to rents, from retail to Government revenue.

And among the causes of this migration from Bermuda?

  1. The ongoing hostility from members of the rotating PLP Cabinets towards the international business sector, our biggest employers and the heart of our economy.
  2. The ethics eruptions and fiscal incontinence under the PLP that have added “political risk” to any meaningful discussion of Bermuda.
  3. The Premier’s own “Term Limits” fiasco that drove large numbers of middle managers from Bermuda to other offices … leading to those entire teams eventually being relocated out of Bermuda.

This policy shift acknowledges that they have stubbornly pursued policies that have destroyed huge opportunities for Bermudians, both blue collar and professional.

Much of Bermuda’s current financial distress is due to our own Government’s ineptitude.

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Coincidence

July 7th, 2011 · Bermuda Politics, Health

There was surprise in the House last week when Health Minister Zane DeSilva announced that he was adding Brazil, India, and Israel to the list of countries allowed for importation of pharmaceuticals, with immediate effect.

Stakeholders in the health sector have raised alarm about consultation, which is both traditional and prudent in such matters.  Nevertheless, the Minister insists that he will move ahead.

“Hmm,” I thought suspiciously.  “This sounds more like part of someone’s business plan than a typical Government reform.   I think there are relatively few people that can turn the PLP cogs with such alacrity.  Or am I just being paranoid?”

Well howdy, the media have reported on a coincidence.  I look forward to the facts being explained in public.

Premier Cox declares that she wants to “reset the dial” on transparency in the Bermuda Government.  In my opinion, we have an excellent opportunity to do so.

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Tease

July 4th, 2011 · Bermuda Politics

Throughout the constant circus and ethics eruptions of the past ten years, the PLP has been reticent to address some of the glaring weaknesses in Bermuda governance structure.

A billion dollars later, the PLP needs desperately to override the questions about where the money went.  What better than a tease like this:

Laws to protect whistleblowers are imminent, Premier Paula Cox announced as she promised a tighter rein on good governance.
Ms Cox also hinted loopholes which have allowed “unethical” behaviour will be closed, and promised legislation to improve transparency and accountability will appear soon.

Christmas in July!  On the surface that’s great news.  We need anti-corruption laws.  We need whistleblowing statutes.  We need political finance reform.  We need to take the political Register of Interests seriously.

I look forward to hearing more.  And let’s try and get there a little faster than PATI … which was promised by then-Premier Alex Scott in 2003 and is still lost “in planning”.  And Bermuda agreed in principle to the UN Convention Against Corruption in 2007 … but did nothing.  In the meantime, our frien-emies down in Cayman passed laws and implemented them.  It is possible … if you care enough to move.

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Lingering Doubts

July 1st, 2011 · Bermuda Politics

A major survey commissioned by The Gleaner in Jamaica found that, nearly 50 years after independence, more than 60 percent of Jamaicans felt the country would have been better off if it had stayed under British rule.

Only 17 percent of those surveyed said the country would be worse off had it remained a colony.

Similarly, there is little public support amongst the Jamaican public for replacing their Westminster-style parliament with a republican one with a President (despite enthusiasm for that change amongst the political elite).

Proponents of independence for Bermuda typically do so for emotional reasons.  They brush aside the practical implications, costs and risks.

That’s a very dangerous game.  The grass is not always greener on the other side.  You still need good governance and good Government … are we there yet?

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Public Accountability Act

July 1st, 2011 · Bermuda Politics, Business

The PLP’s urge to spin is overwhelming.

This morning Paula Cox tabled the Public Accountability Act in the House.

On the surface, this sounds phenomenal … because we all know our Government needs to be more accountable to the public!  I mean, where did that billion dollars go?

Except that’s not what it’s about.  The new law merely lays the ground work, as required by European directives, for the supervision of accounting firms performing audits of companies that are listed on stock exchanges in the EU.  A more honest title would have been “EU Audit Supervision Act”.

But that’s a lot less exciting isn’t it?

The Premier says “Governance is important.”  Ah indeed.   How about improving our Government’s governance some?  Anti-corruption law.  Campaign finance law.  Actually implement PATI.  Improve responsiveness to your own audits.  The list goes on …

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