I believe that the central government cannot continue to provide public service like this. I don't know much about the laws about local government, but it seems to me that local government cant levy taxes to generate their own fundsand they can't make laws and ordinances the govern their districts. As the country develops and as the population grows, the cost of providing simple sevices like roads and electricity grows. If districts were able to maintain these services, central government would be able to keep the money and spend it to improve defence, immigration and other important departments. Nassau is as city of over 200,000 people. That city needs a billion just to run efficiently. I think its pathetic that central government have to spend millions of dollars just to fix roads, colect garbage, and maintian a water system, and an airport. things that an elected city council can easily do. Local government should be the one collecting property taxes, zoning land, making laws according to the municipality's needs, formulating building codes, providing fire and police protection, health services and building schools. Maybe their should be some law incorperated into the constitution giving cities towns and settlements the right to their own municiple government and maybe a set of limitations that mandates what they can and cannot do. What do you think?

You have some valid points sir but I must ask:

Where will this elected city council get this money from?
The Government? :rolleyes:

The city government would levy their own taxes.

most citties and counties in the U.S. uses property taxes as their main source of income. Have you ever looked closely at your hotel bill when you go away to the states? Most counties like broward leviy a small hotel tax on the total of your hotel bill. Since we are a touristic country, maybe local governments cold do the same thing.

So the money wont come from us but the tourist?
Does this mean that we must increase the room rates in all hotels in the Bahamas or should this tax be excluded from the existing room rates?

we wouldn't increase the rates. It's like sales tax. You put a percentage on the price.

eg. if you stayed at a hotel that was $150 per night and you stayed there for 4 nights, your bill would be $600.00. If you add like a 4% city hotel tax on your bill, it would add to $624.00. it wouldn't hurt the price and tourists would't mid paying it.

we would pay property tax which is a percentage of the appraised value of your propperty.

i agree, there are towns and villages in the US such as in New York subburbs, where i lived, and they have councils etc, that deal with the upkeeping of that ara. Each does its own. Some dont have them and are kept up by the city, but are normally not as clean or crime free as the ones with their own councils. The 3 villages I lived in, 2 had its own councils, own police force, own police cars, etc. NO CRIME, and this was New York. The other, used the NY State Police, which was spread thin, and therefore did have crime, and was not as clean (Still not nearly as dirty as Nassau here!)

Progressive Liberal Party is a misnomer. What you propose is too 'progressive' for this 'liberal' government to digest and implement. They probably would call for a commission to do a report on this local government concept only to sweep it under the rug when it is presented to them for implementation. The FNM started the ball rolling but this PLP has literally let the air out it. Bahamian politicians main concern is not necessarily to govern with vision but to maintain the status quo in order to keep themselves in power. This PLP government seldom takes a public stand on important issues especially if they believe it is going to cost them power or popular support among the voting constituents.

Local government is an excellent idea whose time has come. Island communities should be allowed to control their future, independent of central government control. The local governing councils should be given more legal and administrative authority over the collection and distribution of local tax dollars. Taxes can be derived from the usage of docks, airports hotel room, sales tax on goods and SERVICES, business licenses, gaming, sport fishing, and possibly some level of income tax. There are probably many more ways for local government to earn taxes to provide the necessary services communities require. We have an excellent example of how local government works right there in Freeport, Grand Bahama called the Port Authority. Isn't Freeport better managed than Nassau with little central government involvement. Why can't the same happen for Andros, Abaco, Eleuthera, Exuma etc. You would think because our island communities are scattered over many miles of water this would be the most practical and sensible thing to do but more often than not, it seems the words common sense and politicians are oxymorons. I am often hard on politicians because they are in the position of influence and power to effect the necessary changes to our way of life for the better, but they do nothing. Instead, they cut ribbons and dig holes during ceremonies and all too often with little to add or say, hog up photos spots in the news media.

I wish for my bahamaland, a political leader with a vision and ACTION PLAN not mere rhetoric, who is able to inspire, not only with his words but also an earnest effort, the people of this good nation to strive for a better today and a better tomorrow.

i'd like to see the out islands take the same approach that abaco has, in terms of controlling its own destiny. their room taxes stay in the abacos, and do not go to nassau. abaco and turks & caicos both had the right idea at the time of independence ... abaco became its own territory, and T&C stayed with britain. so many of the most intelligent bahamians are staying overseas now with good jobs, rather than taking their chances with working here.

eleuthera and harbour island been particularly hard hurt by central government's need for more and more money ... we regularly send in $6-8 million in room taxes to nassau every year, expecting to see at least ten percent of that back for our operating budget. these past few years, we be lucky to get even 3 percent back.

it's a shame that all of this money just goes into the big hole of nassau, which hasn't done a very good job of policing itself in terms of its continuing development.

i though I was the only one with this opinion. I got this article from www.tarpumbay.com and i agree with every word he\she says.

Article:

In The Bahamas, The Fight For Freedom, A Better Democracy From Government Intervention And Greater Access Continues



There continues to be a significant fight being waged in the media these days concerning the still quiet intellectual fight being waged in the Bahamas for less government intervention and less government control.



As I listened to Mr. Vince Ferguson on the local national talk show Drive time live hosted by Mr. Steve Mckinney I could feel the rising of my emotions as I concurred with Mr. Ferguson as he discussed his view of a more democratic Bahamas more free to decide its own development destiny as he said,” by the local community as opposed to the all important, all knowledgeable, central government which seeks no assistance in formulating national policy from its citizens.” As he put it, we all are important and as intelligent as we need to be to decide what measures we wish to put in to place in order to secure the growth of our own national policies. The all important, self-concentric view of government as the sole promoter and organizer of national sense in development matters passed down out of their judgement to the general populous has re-appeared. Government in the Bahamas according to Mr. Ferguson does not respect the intelligence and intellect of the general Bahamian populous enough to trust them enough sufficiently to place their development decisions in their own hands. The government of the Bahamas does not trust the intellect of its local citizens. The educational system, it was inferred by Mr. Ferguson, has not fostered the intellectual freedom sufficient for the government ensured itself of the high levels of intellectual ability of the citizens of the country. The government of the Bahamas is afraid to test and trust the intellect of the nations citizens in the key decision making processes and budgetary matters. This he said is very evident in the Educational system where the government does not allow any public school or community to make up or control his or her own budget. Instead like our colonial masters they continue to pass down their annual budgetary constraints upon local communities and schools. This Mr. Ferguson said must be discontinued if the Educational system is to secure any responsible feel of itself in order to responsibly control it needs and constraints.



Mr. Ferguson further stated that Education in the Bahamas needs further development. According to the veteran High school administrator of many years experience education is not only about the cognitive ideas but also about the comprehension of that education of interaction on a higher level of understanding between the citizenry of the country in order to facilitate the necessary dialogue and understanding it takes to develop industry and the necessary systems in the country. Education in the Bahamas has been primarily about the academic ideas and not the broader more functional concept about the daily implementation of the use of those ideas used through independent thought and freedom to establish not only a greater industrial process but a greater democracy built on the principles of freedom.



I applaud Mr. Vince Ferguson for his insight into the psyche of the Bahamian Government. After many years of observation I agree and am grateful for the fact that at least one Bahamian had the guts to articulate this concept on national media. This verbalized concept of this clever observation brought about an epiphany in me when I realized the content of Mr. Ferguson’s idea. And this is the very function of democracy and freedom of speech through forums like ZNS the national media. This further establishes the argument waged in the Bahamas for greater freedoms and democracy as it relates to free speech and the need for more multiple outlets of national media like ZNS. For that purpose more AM radio stations are needed, not FM.



Obviously Mr. Vince Ferguson is a very bright man and as such should be further encouraged to share his collection of national ideas with the general audience of the Bahamas. Mr. John Lee Ferguson, also a guest on the same talk show also held well on his support for Mr. Vince Ferguson. His own views and insight for a brighter future for Education in the Bahamas were just as insightful as his fellow panel guest.



The Bahamas needs more forums and national media like ZNS AM which is able to reach both a national and international audience. Another concept Mr. Ferguson touched on was the fact that the government of the Bahamas is reluctant to release further its hold on freedoms in our society. My reason for saying that is to say that the government has been unwilling to issue more National radio stations with the freedom to create and express themselves like ZNS radio Bahamas. It is apparent to me that the government still wishes to control and spin national opinion by limiting greatly still access to national media forums. The government has been free in granting FM radio station licences with limited coverage confined to the island of Nassau only in order to control the national and international impact of opinion in matters that effect governmental views and negative opinion about government policy. This in itself shows the very short sightedness of our Bahamian government, which continues to impede its own progress and the growth of freedom, which will eventually come but at a much greater cost to us all. The Bahamas as a country has an enormous potential. We just need to organize among ourselves and decide to share the wealth and benefits with our brothers and relieve ourselves of secrets to hide thus explaining the need for the great wall, which still exists between us all. Some of us are beginning to realize the great potential our country has if our citizens and we will continue to fight for that great freedom and the right to be the greatest, most democratic country in the western hemisphere. Let us take the lead in brotherhood and Christian love. Should we have the guts to do so the Bahamas could live up to the potential I think it has.



I have seen the Bahamas and certain Bahamians rise from relative obscurity in the seventies and rise to the ranks of world fame and opinion. Many of our people have this same potential hidden inside us. Will I continue to be just a dreamer for the Bahamas or will the Bahamian government release it strangle hold on the entire Bahamian society and allow us to embrace that rightful natural desire for freedom innate in us?

i just have one question what tipe of local government does the bahamas have

we have forty-one local district councils, whose members are elected by that district. the chief councillor [head of the district council] is then selected by the members of that council. only operating budget to date is a small, tiny, miniscule percentage of the room tax which is collected from local hotels. the actual room tax goes straight to central government, and if we're really lucky and a major hurricane doesn't hit and nassau is feeling munificent, the local island council MAY see about ten percent of the fees that they send into nassau. now you know why the more successful out island councils would just as soon have as little as possible to do with nassau. there's never enough in the operating budget to actually maintain the roads, keep up the island, without begging for handouts.

Excellent discussion. the central government does not want to really divest itsself of power in my view. It is up to locals living in various family islands to start behaving like they want to really control their own affairs. we can meet informally and decide amongst ourselves what it is we want and then lobby for it. we will have to have a local tax base. some new taxes will have to be levied, and maybe some existing taxes should be shared with the national government. I do not believe that tourists should be targeted to pay for our roads etc. we need to grow up and try to come up with solutions that are sustainable, ie, that do not rely on outsiders to succeed. do we really want to conduct our own local affairs? The way that we behave in general suggests that we like being spoon fed and cuddled