By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 19, 2022 – One of the unfortunate consequences of the acrimonious split in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) just three years after its historic victory in the January 10 general election, establishing the first Black majority rule government in The Bahamas, was that it resulted in the development of a combative political culture among ambitious young Black political activists in The Bahamas.
The struggle for majority rule in the 1960s spawned a coterie of well-educated young Black men who were inspired by the political accomplishments of leaders of the “Black Revolution” like Lynden O. Pindling, Arthur A. Foulkes, Warren Levarity, Jeffrey Thompson, Clement Maynard, A. Loftus Roker, and Dr. Eugene Newry, among others, who were members of the National Committee for Positive Action (NCPA), an activist group within the PLP.
The split in the PLP became “official” after the defeat in the House of Assembly of a vote of no confidence moved in May of 1970 by the Dissident Eight, a group of PLP members of the House who had lost confidence in the leadership of Premier Pindling. The Dissident Eight subsequently formed a coalition with moderate members of the former United Bahamian Party (UBP) government, whose brutal racist policies had kept Black Bahamians subjected to second-class citizenship in the country of their birth.
Naturally, this political development was harshly criticized by many young Black political activists, who could not comprehend how some of their “political heroes” could join forces with their former white oppressors while the sting of the UBP’s unbridled racism was still a painful memory and, in many respects, ongoing.
Included in this group was Franklyn Wilson, who was a 21-year-old business and commerce student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, when the PLP won the January 10, 1967 general election.
After graduating in 1968, prior to becoming one of the most accomplished businessmen in The Bahamas, he was one of the most promising young politicians in The Bahamas. Indeed, while he was still a student at Dalhousie, he and his older brother, Stanley Wilson, along with “Maddison (Maddy) McDonald, Hervis Bain, Kendolyn Cartwright, Sheila Taylor, George Bethel and Micheal Turner, formed an ideological group of aspiring young Bahamians. They named their new organisation – Unicoll,” according to an article in the Nassau Guardian on Thursday, September 7, 1967.
In 1972, Franklyn Wilson ran as a PLP candidate for Grants Town, the seat represented by my mentor Arthur A. Foulkes. He became one of the youngest persons to have ever been elected to the House of Assembly, as the PLP won 29 of the 38 seats in the House. FNM candidates won the remaining nine seats; however, none of the Dissident Eight were reelected.
For whatever reason, Franklyn Wilson did not seek reelection in the general elections held on July 19, 1977, which the PLP again won by a landslide, capturing 30 of the 38 seats. The Bahamian Democratic Party (BDP) –established by a group of former FNMs – won 6 seats and the FNM won only 2.
Having put politics on the “backburner” moving forward in his professional development, for which he had received a first-class education at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Franklyn Wilson joined forces with a group of young entrepreneurs and established Sunshine Holdings Ltd. on February 7, 1973. Their first venture was Sunshine Theatres Ltd., a movie theatre on Baillou Hill Road, just south of St. Barnabas Anglican Church.
“The initial vision was to prove that Bahamians of humble origins could co-operate to own and manage large businesses,” according to a document that was made available to me during my research for this article.
“Sunshine Holdings Ltd. itself was incorporated on November 17, 1975, to be the corporate vehicle to concretize the commitment to diversification,” the document notes, adding that Media outlets “called these founders ‘The Sunshine Boys’ and did so in a way which invoked racial and other comparisons with The Bay Street Boys, who had a long history of being the pillars of the overall economy.”
Describing the “Social Context of The Initial Mission,” the document states: “When the founding investors began, there was only one company which was highly as visible after having been started with a comparative socially focused vision – namely, the People’s Penny Savings Bank, with the vision to inculcate the practice of increased personal savings.”
The document adds: “By 1972, it was apparent that after about two decades of success, the forward advance of the Bank had stalled.
“Admiration for the enterprise, plus the collegiality which led to the formation of The Bank, and being aware of the prospect of a demise thereof, helped to cultivate among the founders of Sunshine Holdings a passionate commitment to survival.”
This resulted in the establishment of “Basic Strategies,” according to the document.
The document adds: “Growth was seen as being critical to survival, and a shared perspective developed that this would be aided by:
- the application of processes intended to minimize mistakes,
- the effective execution of prudent strategies to foster growth, and
- a corporate culture supportive of the mission and consistent with the passion.
Efforts to pursue these strategies led to the adoption of:
(a) a set of Core Values;
(b) a Framework for Investments, as an alternative to simple opportunism as the investment criteria.
THE CORE VALUES
(i) Diversity
investing in diverse enterprises and in sectors which are important to the well-being of The Bahamas.
(ii) Reliability/Trustworthy
commanding the respect of business partners for being reliable and of creditors as being trustworthy.
(iii) Common Good
Making varied and meaningful contributions to the common good of all Bahamians.
(iv) People and Technology
Investing in the training of competent employees and relevant technologies to ensure the delivery with excellence of all products and services.
(v) Shareholder’s Value
Increasing the same by being consistently profitable.
(5) Framework for Investments
Elements of The Framework
(a) Sustaining diversification by ownership of a few high-quality businesses in strong long term growth sectors.
(b) Understand each business well enough to sustain a forensic (non emotional) perspective as to the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of each enterprise.
(c) Use Other People’s Money prudently, including a policy of aggressively paying creditors in priority to making distributions to ordinary shareholders.
(d) Enhance future prospects by ownership of some assets which are illiquid but which offerreasonable potential of being monetized – a process of wealth creation.
6) Corporate Culture
This corporate culture was anchored by:
- The willingness of shareholders to sacrifice short term cash returns (specifically a conservative policy on cash dividends.)
- Intentionality on policies designed to maintain low levels of staff turnover, and cordial relationships with staff alumni.
This became summarized in the mantra of “ladies and gentlemen working with ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen while building the common good,” the document states.
OUTCOME FROM THE INITIAL MISSION
“From all of the companies listed on The Bahamas International Securities Exchange, only Famguard Holdings, J. S. Johnson & Co. Ltd., and RBC Finco would have started prior to Sunshine Holdings. None of Famguard, J.S. Johnson or RBC Finco has a comparable degree of diversification,” the document states.
It adds: “From all of the companies listed on BISX, only the three largest banks (CIBC First Caribbean International Bank, RBC Finco and Commonwealth Bank) have a higher level of ordinary equity.
“Sunshine Holdings Ltd. approaches its 50th year as one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in the country,” the document states.
Franklyn R. Wilson was among those recognized in Great Britain’s prestigious New Year honours of 2016 when he was awarded the Order of St. Michael and St. George.
“He was honoured as a Knight Commander (KCMG) for his contributions to business and philanthropy in The Bahamas,” Dalhousie University proudly proclaims on its website, noting that Sir Franklyn Wilson “also serves on Dalhousie’s Advisory Council.”
As someone who has been actively involved in Bahamian politics from I was a young reporter at The Tribune in the early 1960s, I can’t help but entertain grandiose thoughts of what a great position The Bahamas would be in today politically if Sir Franklyn had not abandoned his political ambition in the 1970s.
