A year ago today the One Bermuda Alliance won the general election, ending 14 years of power for the Progressive Labour Party. Since then, the new administration has delivered its first Budget and two Throne Speeches, pledging to create more jobs and revitalise the economy. But has it lived up to its pre-election promises? The Royal Gazette asked a handful of commentators to share their views: Chamber of Commerce president Ronnie Viera, former PLP Premier Alex Scott, poverty campaigner Sheelagh Cooper, environmentalist Stuart Hayward, political blogger Jonathan Starling, equal rights activist Claire Smith and Charles Jeffers, chairman of Age Concern’s advocacy committee.

Question: How do you rate the OBA’s first year in power on a scale of one to ten (one being poor, ten being excellent)?

Ronnie Viera: “Generally, I think it has been a good first year and I would rate it a seven out of ten. They are addressing the critical issues, specifically the government deficits, debt and the economy.”

Alex Scott: “Ratings are sometimes either difficult or misleading. If you give a number it doesn’t reflect the nuances, be they positive or negative. One would give them a passing grade but with the developments that are transpiring now, one couldn’t go much higher than a six.”

Sheelagh Cooper: “We would certainly rate the OBA, I would say, an 8.5 out of ten. We are very impressed so far.”

Jonathan Starling: “I’m going to go with a three. I have become increasingly less impressed with them over the year. Perhaps that’s to do with them overhyping expectations pre-election.”

Stuart Hayward: “8.5.”

Claire Smith: “Six.”

Charles Jeffers: “In evaluating the OBA’s first year as Government, Age Concern is more concerned about the tone and direction that we perceive the Government to be taking, rather than concrete accomplishments.”

Q: Which promises do you think they have kept?

JS: “The primary one that they have kept is to move forward on amending the Human Rights Act regarding sexual orientation — although they failed to add age discrimination to that amendment and I haven’t seen much subsequent development on that.”

SH: “Some promises have come through: establishment of a Tourism Authority and reducing food prices; setting up the SAGE Commission — there’s still much work to be done to get public buy-in and keeping the recommendations from being derailed; staying on the high road, refusing for the most part to be drawn in to the disrespectful language and attitudes that flare up in the media comment blogs, talk shows and even Parliament; attempting to rein in the haemorrhaging of capital, good sense and goodwill that are showing up in the Corporation of Hamilton council’s excesses. There’s more to do.”

CS: “Better transparency, business-friendly policies, evaluation of the Civil Service, passing ‘human rights for all’ legislation.”

CJ: “We applaud the Government for including seniors in the amendments made to the Human Rights legislation. However, we are disappointed that the Government did not see fit to include age discrimination in the workplace in the amendments, although there is a promise to do so later.”

SC: “We have had very successful meetings with the Attorney General, with the Minister of Public Safety and with the Minister responsible for Child and Family Services, very productive meetings in which almost all of the things we had on our list were discussed and we got very favourable responses. In this year, we will look to implementing these legislative changes that they have agreed to.”

Q: Which promises do you think they have broken or have yet to fulfil?

AS: “The notion that the OBA was going to put Bermuda back on a sound financial footing. The OBA campaigned on that issue ... consequently, once they became Government the first thing the Finance Minister did was to increase the national debt.

“The lack, at the moment, of transparency. Certainly I have heard the talk show hosts and even the print media in general seem to have difficulty in getting robust representation from the Ministers, the Premier, the Government in general. They are not necessarily forthcoming with information about where they are and why they not doing some of the things that they promised.”

RV: “While appreciating there was a lot to do after becoming Government, the delay in getting the tourism authority set up and delay in resolving the issue of gaming are negatives. However, it seems they are both well underway so hopefully there will be significant progress in the early part of the new year.”

JS: “The most recent (and perhaps the most galling) is last week’s reversal on the referendum on gambling. Another big one is their election promise to ‘suspend the current term limit policy for two years’ when they abolished them within just a couple of months of coming to power, and did so without widespread consultation and explanation. [Also, not implementing] PATI (public access to information).”

SH: “Some promises they made (or should have made) are still wanting, such as following up on the work of the Auditor General and of the Ombudsman (e.g. the unanswered questions of a government building being built through a blind trust, and the Bermuda Hospitals Board’s management of healthcare).

“The OBA also made some promises they just cannot keep (e.g. pledging not to make cuts in the Civil Service), which has guaranteed they will get a poor grade on promises.”

Q: What do you think their most important achievement has been in 2013?

RV: “Establishing the SAGE commission and successfully having them complete a report of recommendations within six months was probably the most significant achievement. We are pleased that the Finance Minister has involved some members of the Chamber’s economic advisory committee on some of his own committees.

“He has prudently borrowed to cover future projected budget deficits in order to better manage the inevitable requirement for the next two to three years. However, one hopes this need will be reduced significantly beyond that.

“The average person will appreciate that if one continues to ask the bank to increase their credit card limit and then after using it to the maximum without paying down on the principle, goes back to the bank for a further increase, at some point the bank is going to decline. Essentially the Government debt is [the] same.”

JS: “Without question the amendment to the Human Rights Act concerning sexual orientation.”

SH: “They have for the most part acted respectfully when under pressure. Rather than get autocratic or overly defensive when challenged or questioned, I have seen a more measured attitude, one that reflects a maturity to be built upon.

“The OBA has been making progress toward adding Southlands to the national parks system. I’m looking forward to delivery of that promise.”

CS: “Sending out a message to the world that Bermuda is open for business.”

Q: What do you think their biggest failing has been in 2013?

AS: “I think the [Opposition] MP Lovitta Foggo covered herself in glory in the East End representing the constituents and the voters there and their dissatisfaction with the intention to close the Lamb Foggo centre. It was not as much the closing of the facility but the information that came out [that was the Government’s failure].”

JS: “Failure to live up to their pre-election hype of transparency and ‘doing politics differently’. They’ve proven to be lacking transparency, lacking credibility, prone to rather rookie mistakes (‘Jetgate’ and the handling of Lamb Foggo UCC for example) and from the parliamentary (House and Senate) sessions I’ve been able to attend or listen to online, well, it’s politics as usual, perhaps even more vindictive and petty than I had expected.”

SH: “They have not done well in forming, articulating and implementing a cohesive direction and plan for steering Bermuda out of its current problems. Not instigating deeper and more sweeping changes that many people were expecting — changes necessary to save the country from potential economic ruin.

“This is particularly disappointing when ‘change’ was the foundation word of their election campaign. I felt let down by the wording the government chose for the gambling referendum. The obvious bias in the wording seemed to signal a creep away from the ideals of good governance. I was further disappointed with the decision to abandon the referendum and with the process leading up to that decision. ”

CS: “Not enough attention to putting people to work. There should be more focus on technical skills, and small businesses that will employ the working class Bermudians.”

CJ: “We are troubled that the Health Council no longer has some form of national health insurance for basic benefits on the front burner. We are also concerned that, just as we were establishing dialogue with the Minister of Health and Seniors, there is now a new Minister. We note with concern that the word ‘seniors’ is not included in the new Ministry name. We hope that it was an oversight and that the issues of seniors remain an integral part of the portfolio.”

Q: How do you rate the Premier and who do you think is the most competent Minister in Cabinet?

RV: “Minister Fahy has been seen to be more active, although clearly others have as well, but less publicly. Minister Fahy has removed or changed a number of immigration policies, which have been disincentives to retaining businesses in the Island and attracting new businesses.

“The fruits of his labour are yet to be seen in a real way but removing these impediments was a crucial first step. We are pleased that he has involved the Chamber in the various policy reviews during the year.

“I think the Premier has performed well. However, the public needs to hear from him more frequently. He and the Government need to find a more effective way of communicating with the public on decisions that they have made and the rationale behind them.”

JS: “Premier Cannonier seems like a nice enough guy from my interactions with him but I never had the impression that he was much of a ‘leader’. I’ve seen him as more of a ‘frontman’ for the Cabinet and the OBA executive, rather than a proactive actual leader.

“As for the most effective Minister, well, that’s a tricky one. Minister Dunkley’s definitely one of the most public I think, but I feel that Minister Gibbons has perhaps been the most effective Minister so far, although he perhaps has one of the more quiet public profiles.”

SH: “Premier Cannonier is a relatively steady hand on the tiller. The whole Island seems less jumpy, less on edge than before the election. I have been most impressed with Senator Fahy. The demeanour of this Government’s politicians in Parliament has been less volatile, less aggressively confrontational, which sends signals of stability and confidence to residents and to existing and potential investors in Bermuda’s economy.”

CS: “I think the Premier has his heart in the right place. He needs to demonstrate more leadership. Michael Dunkley is the most competent minister.”

Q: What do you think should be top of the OBA Government’s priority list for their second year in power?

RV: “Going forward into 2014, it is critical that Tourism Authority and the Bermuda Business Development Agency get into high gear to bring business and investment to the Island.

“In addition, while action on the SAGE recommendations will require some very difficult decisions, the Government must act where it makes sense to do so. The recent Cabinet shuffle is a good first step and sends the right message to the various stakeholders.”

JS: “Well, my wishlist would be for them to move ahead on their promised political reforms, namely fixed-term elections and absentee ballots. And most definitely they need to move on PATI. I also feel they’ve been overly focused on approaching government as a business.

“While the rhetoric of the tyranny of the bottom line has some virtues, they’ve neglected the social and environmental aspects of governing, in my opinion.”

SH: “Follow through with most of the suggestions given in the SAGE report, including those that will be difficult and politically unpopular (but necessary), and that they do this in a principled way, foregoing any temptation to “play politics”. Engage a SAGE-like Commission for building on existing or finding new sustainable revenue streams.

“Be far more aggressive in the tracking down of financial irregularities and policy transgressions attributed to the previous government (including the Corporation of Hamilton), and in providing explanations of why they haven’t done so.”

CS: “Implementing most of the recommendations of the SAGE commission. The OBA needs to forget about short-term politics and about making decisions focused on re-election. Bermuda needs to pass very difficult policies that will prove unpopular but will save us from financial ruin.

“We have to reduce our Civil Service because we cannot afford the cost. There should be more focus on a labour-intensive industry, like food production, that will employ people.”

CJ: “The clawback of fifty percent of car licensing fees remains an issue for many members of Age Concern, as expressed in a recent survey we conducted. To compound the matter, many seniors on limited incomes were forced to find the funds to license their cars, for which they had not budgeted in this calendar year.

“Age Concern fully understands the current financial situation that faces the Government and, ultimately, the people of Bermuda, including seniors.

“Nevertheless, we are waiting to hear the details of the closing of the Continuing Care Unit of the KEMH and how patients there will be affected.”

* A fuller version of Mr Starling’s answers can be found on his blog Catch a Fire.