Above: Dr Hubert Minnis, Bahamian Health Minister and Parliamentary candidate for Killarney (CJ Photo)

By Alexander Britell

NASSAU — The Bahamas’ election, which already began with the country’s Advance Poll on Tuesday, is set for May 7, when nationals will choose between the ruling Free National Movement, the Opposition Progressive Liberal Party and the upstart Democratic National Alliance (for more on the DNA, click here). To learn more about the race, Caribbean Journal talked to Health Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, the current Free National Movement candidate for the Killarney constituency at the Graycliff Hotel and Restaurant.

How has the campaign been going so far?

It’s going very well. Our campaign never stopped — so we’ve been at it from 2007. We implemented programmes we’ve been using, and Killarney is a large area, comprises half of the province, and therefore we knew it was somewhat difficult to deal with the area as just one mass. We’ve been very successful in breaking up into various different associations, and delve with it from that angle. Because the concerns in Gambier are completely different from the concerns in Westward Villas. And therefore, you have Westward Villa Homeowner association, Lake Cunningham, Gambier, etc. What we normally insist is that once an association is having a meeting, you invite the president of the other association –— that way you bring the entire body together and you know what the problems are. So we would know exactly what all the issues are, and we deal with them appropriately. What we’ve also been able to do and have been using continuously is introduced what we call virtual local government. In other words, you are our eyes on the street, so we have a 24-hour hotline, we have internet connectivity in terms of an email web page, etc, that we’ve used from day one. So if you detect a problem in your area, you just communicate that to us, and in a matter of seconds we communicate back to you acknowledge the problem and get the relevant agency to deal with it. The only thing from now, every now and again we may ask that you send a digital photo so that we can direct the agency the right way. We found out that it’s been working very, very well, and we’ve been able to tailor programmes for the need of the community. Because the programmes in Westwards Villa would be completely different from Gambier’s programmes, or Dignity’s programmes. So we’ve been consistent and I think have done very, very well.

What is the biggest issue for Killarney in this election?

Killarney — it’s different. Take, for example, when you go into the Lake Cunningham area, their big issue would be the construction of the Baha Mar road that’s in front of them, and they’d have issues with road and water pressure problems. When you go into the Westward Villa area, their problem would be more environmental — the wetlands and theft. When you’re in the Sea Beach area, their problem is more house break-ins, and we know in which hours they occur. When you go into the Tropical and Long Beach area, their problems are more noise pollution and occasional theft. When you move into the South Ocean area, their problems are more lighting, when you go across the boulevard, and of course you have sewage problems, because they were initially connected with the South Ocean Hotel that doesn’t exist. So that’s why it’s essential to look at it from an association [perspective]. Other than that, you become attached to a particular area, and you don’t know what’s going on in the other 90 percent of your constituency. So we’ve been successful in doing that, and we continue to do that.

Crime has been a major issue in the campaign. From a national perspective, what is the best way to tackle the crime problem?

Prevention, really. Prevention, education, family, community. We feel that community building is one of the solutions. Even though most of us, while growing up within small communities, you knew everybody, and there was an informal community. Therefore, when anyone new came into the community, you essentially knew. What we’ve done is just formalize that — and therefore, we’re more into community building. And we’ve discussed the introduction of CCTV being a part of the government programme. And the Killarney community will make the decision as to how we introduce the CCTV. Will it be introduced in segments throughout the entire community, or just into the hot spots, or will it be introduced into the main thoroughfare. But the police will come down and discuss that with the community, and the community will make that decision, not the politicians. So the community can’t say, I chose this particular area because that’s where I live, or this or that. What we also encourage our community is, if an individual is putting camera systems in his or her home, we ask that they have a wider lens, or zoom, so they can cover the other adjoining two or three homes. So we’re into more community building.

What are the biggest priorities for the Bahamas from a health perspective?

Chronic non-communicable diseases are a problem — 60 percent of us die from that, and therefore, we must deal with that, not just from a treatment perspective but also from a prevention perspective. We’re dealing with that aggressively in terms of education, public relations, etc.

We’ve talked to a number of governments about Health Tourism. What kind of boost can that give to the country?

Health tourism is good. You would have to find a niche that’s not necessarily offered in particular areas. Because health is very expensive. You must ask the question; if you were an individual living in Florida or wherever, and a surgical procedure there cost $20,000, and in the Bahamas, it’s $25,000, would you go to the Bahamas for that surgical procedure? So, you have to really assess and make determinations so you have to find that particular niche: procedures that are not done, aggressively, or cost down, or you need this type of environment for convalescent. So when people talk about health tourism, they have to really define it.

What will be the deciding factor for voters in this election, and why should they choose your party?

Well, my party obviously is a party that, once we say we’re going to do something, we do it. And we show evidence for it. We’re for not only nation building, but building individual and empowering individuals. We recognize where the world is going. We’re moving into a new first world. If you look at the construction that’s going on throughout the world, they’re preparing for the new development — all the infrastructure changes. You go to the UK, it’s going on, in the US, it’s going on, in Russia it’s going on. They’re preparing for the new first world. And the Bahamas is also preparing to go along with them. If you don’t you will be left behind and become third world. So a lot of people when they make noise and saying you’re doing this or wasting money, they have to understand that we’re preparing for tomorrow. So that young people will move into the first world and not be left behind in the third world.