If the Government was looking for an indication as to whether there is support nationally for the introduction of a lottery, the Public Sector Management of Change in Infrastructure Group provided a strong one last week in its recommendation presented at a forum sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel.
As reported in The Nassau Guardian on Friday, this was one of the proposals presented by the group – a think tank consisting of a cross-section of professionals from various government agencies – to the Government to improve public infrastructure and increase economic growth. There were, of course, various other recommendations in response to the forum's stated purpose, which was to highlight the problem areas in the country and to present some of the possible solutions to rectify these problems. The think tank also recommended a tax on local beer and tobacco, tax households with more than two cars, increase court fines, and explore the introduction of income tax or value added tax (VAT).
All of these recommendations have some merit as far as the objectives of the forum were concerned, but none probably is more worthy of immediate consideration by the Government than the suggestion that a national lottery be introduced. The introduction of a lottery in The Bahamas is long overdue, when you consider the fact that Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados – sister island nations to the south with a similar colonial history as The Bahamas – all have national lotteries.
This is so, despite the fact that The Bahamas has vastly more experience in the area or organized legal gambling than all three of these countries. Big-time casino gambling has been a reality in The Bahamas since the early 1960s when the first "major" casino opened in Grand Bahama, but back in the late 1930s, The Bahamian Club, an exclusive gambling casino, operated legally during the winter season on West Bay Street. Today, big-time gambling is one of the major tourist attractions for The Bahamas, a stipulation which neither Jamaica, Trinidad or Barbados can make. It would seem, therefore, that in these countries, the primary participants in their lotteries are their respective inhabitants – citizens and other residents.
This is a luxury that Bahamians cannot legally enjoy in their own country; legal gambling is reserved for visitors only, which from a legal perspective probably has only remained the law because no one has seriously mounted a challenge to it. Government's biggest fear, of course, is backlash from religious leaders, but Bahamian religious leaders surely cannot have more sway with the God that they serve than the religious leaders of Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados.
What's more, the money raised by the Government from a legalized lottery can be used to fund some worthwhile programmes, especially in the areas of sports and education, to provide some of our youth with avenues to escape being caught up in a life of crime. This is something that the religious leaders should gladly support, for it would ease some of the pressure they are faced with to use more of the hefty tithes they collect on Sunday to sponsor similar church-related programmes.
It is an undeniable truth that there is something blatantly wrong with a foreigner being able to enjoy a luxury in The Bahamas that a native Bahamian cannot do. If only for this reason alone, the Government should take a serious look at the recommendation made by the Public Sector Management of Change in Infrastructure Group and correct this travesty of social justice. |
