Bucket list for 2021

Dear Editor,

We made it into 2021. Thanks be unto The Lord Jesus Christ. Twenty-twenty is now behind us and as we probe this new year, there is much to be thankful for, despite the ongoing ravages of the pandemic and the anemic economy. We Bahamians often play the fool, but we are a resilient and determined breed of people.

We should all have a precise and achievable bucket list for this year. Mine would include:

1. Less political posturing by both of the major political parties and more focus on fleshing out their plans to carry the nation forward. The FNM has carriage of the government, so one will have to look to it for clarity and a stated economic recovery plan and a workable and affordable health plan not just for COVID-19, but for a national healthcare scheme;

2. The immediate liberalization and a clear policy on Crown land grants to indigenous Bahamians who meet the basic requirements both here in New Providence and throughout the Family of Islands. Land ownership is critical for one having a true sense of belonging and ownership by having a piece of the rock;

3. The establishment of a mandatory pension contributory plan for civil servants. It cannot be and if it is, it can no longer be a situation where those employed by the public contribute absolutely nothing toward their expected pensions. The pension fund, in this case, is underfunded and unsustainable. Apart from being an enormous annual financial bill to the taxpayers, the whole concept of a non-contributory fund is abusive and an insult to the hard-working taxpayers;

4. The relocation of the main prison to Andros or some other large Family Island. The current edifice should have been condemned and closed down generations ago. It is not fit for human habitation and is a clear and present danger to the health of the inmates and the staff. Relocation to Andros would immediately result in hundreds of Androsians abandoning New Providence and returning home to develop a new city/township generating millions of dollars for the local economy;

5. Last but not least, I would hope that all Bahamians, inclusive of yours truly, seek to develop a real spiritual connection to The Lord Jesus Christ. No, I did not say religious, I said spiritual. Once we come to know and understand the concept of love in its deepest form, the rest will fall into place.

– Ortland H. Bodie Jr.  

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