LATRAE RAHMING ‘EXPANDED TERRITORIES’ SENT TONGUES WAGGING.

LATRAE RAHMING ‘EXPANDED TERRITORIES’ SENT TONGUES WAGGING.

For years, Bahamians have complained that too many people at the top have been there too long. We lament that young professionals are overlooked, fresh thinking is stifled, and the next generation is constantly told to “wait its turn.”

Well, Prime Minister Philip Davis appears to have heard that complaint.

The elevation of Senator Latrae Rahming, expanding his responsibilities to Director of Communications and Government Strategy, policy development, coordination across government represents precisely the kind of opportunity many Bahamians say should be given to younger, capable professionals.

There is nothing wrong with scrutiny. Rahming works at the centre of government and should be judged rigorously on his performance. But criticism should be based on substance, not personality, resentment or an unwillingness to acknowledge the advancement of someone relatively young. So the jealousy expressed by several, especially the managing editor of one of our dailies, does precious little to interfere with progress.

Rahming did not arrive yesterday. He has occupied the demanding communications post in the Office of the Prime Minister for years, defending government policy, explaining complex issues and operating daily in an unforgiving political and media environment. The Prime Minister has therefore had an unusually close vantage point from which to assess his performance.

That matters.

No outsider knows better than the person receiving the work whether that work has met the required standard. Davis has now entrusted Rahming with greater responsibility. Whatever one’s politics, that decision deserves to be assessed by results.

We cannot demand generational change and then become uncomfortable when it actually happens.

Young Bahamians watching this moment should understand something larger: advancement will always attract criticism. Some will be legitimate; some will be partisan; some may be resentment. None of it substitutes for performance.

Rahming now has an opportunity to justify the confidence placed in him. Let his work provide the answer.

Progress does not require unanimous applause. It requires opportunity, competence and results.