PHOTO OF THE WEEK
AT COP 31:
Prime Minister Philip Davis as he addresses the Conference of The Parties in Turkiye 12 November
2026
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
ANDRE ROLLINS LOSES HIS HEAD
Despite being
an opponent, there are some people that you wish well. One of them is the MP
for Long Island Andre Rollins who has been from a youngster a pretty smart
fellow with ambitions to be right where he is today in Parliament. Clearly, he
is a tenacious survivor but gosh he can act the fool and act the fool too many
times. The latest was the disruption of the House by calling the Speaker a
disgrace and then being thrown out.
One of the
marks of a really smart man is to know when enough is enough, to have a sense
of objectivity and judgement about yourself and your own conduct, and recognize
when it is time to pivot and make a change. As Michael Jackson sings, the man
in the mirror must make a change.
Another public
figure that we can use as an example was the late former Senator Rodney Moncur.
He got into public prominence by the antics of an activist. He was always in
trouble with the police, not really trouble but annoyance trouble. It captured
the headlines. He was from pillar to post on one cause or the next and could
not be ignored by the establishment.
Then he struck
gold, Loretta Butler Turner became Leader of the Opposition and decided to
appoint him to the Senate. He took it seriously, even as he entertained us. His
personality changed and he began to operate from the middle, capturing a talk
show that informed us and entertained us. That is the point from which a
successful politician operates, from the middle.
Dr. Rollins
knows better but it appears just cannot govern his conduct and his head. Sir
Lynden Pindling speaking at the funeral of the late Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield
described him as having a heart of gold but a head of fire. That is not quite
Andre Rollins, we don t know where his heart is but he certainly has a head of
fire. He doesn t think before he acts.
Then after
standing up after disrupting the House, calling a female speaker a disgrace, he
speaks words of contrition, like a little child after being taken to the
woodshed, surrounded by his FNM colleagues like he was in prison, to say word
sorry that everyone knows he does not mean.
One day, we
hope he gets it for his sake. We need all the brain power that we can to run
this country. Opposition and government. You really hate to see a man who is
well trained and who has some good instincts ruin his opportunity to act from
the centre because he just cannot control his head.
Number of hits for the
week ending Saturday 14 November 2026 up to midnight:
Number of hits for the
month of November up to Saturday 14 November 2026 up to midnight:
Number of hits for the
year 2026 up to Saturday 14 November 2026 up to midnight:
THE SPEAKER GIVES A GOOD SCOLDING
The Speaker of the
House of Assembly took no nonsense and generally brooks no nonsense. That was
clear on Wednesday 11 November 2026 when she unceremoniously booted MP Andre
Rollins whom we dub Mad Max from the House. Mr. Rollins called her a disgrace.
The word was unparliamentary, and he was being argumentative in a vicious back
and forth, disrupting the chamber. He left on his own steam after being ordered
out, without the police having to lift him out. Later, he stood down stairs in
false contrition saying that he was apologizing for the word that he used, that
it was unparliamentary. Of course, no one believes that he meant a word of it.
MICHAEL PINTARD MASTER OF TWO SIDES OF THE MOUTH
We have said
this many times in this column, a word of cheap advice to the Leader of the
Opposition Michael Pintard, you cannot aprobate and reprobate at the same time.
It must be one or the other. The latest in his all too often attempts to have
his cake and eat it too was the false apology given by the Member of Parliament
Andre Rollins for his disruptive behaviour in the House of Assembly on 11
November 2026. Mr. Rollins stood in the Committee Room of the House with a
contrite look on his face saying sorry and he was surrounded by the choir of
the FNM MPs, looking equally as pious but the Leader of the Opposition could
not leave well enough alone, he had to give an explanation as to what led to
the disruptive behaviour that amounted to we are only saying sorry because we
know it did not go over well with the public. When will the FNM ever learn.
CHANGES TO THE LAW ON JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
One of the few
sinecures or political gifts that the government of the day can give to its
ordinary foot soldiers who have done well in the society is to offer them the
position of Justice of the Peace or J.P. A Justice of the Peace under the
current Magistrate s Court act is able to notarize documents including
administering in the courts and issuing summonses or warrants for searches.
Mainly they notarize affidavits. This has annoyed many in the legal
establishment and they have now persuaded the government to move to stop the
present system and make it more difficult to become a JP and to maintain being
a JP. This is one of these things that you say if it ain t broke why are we
trying to fix it. But fix it we are and in the end the hundreds of PLP and FNM
supporters who will be looking to the government when their political party is
in power for their piece of the pie will not be able to get it.
COP 31 IS OVER THE PM IS BACK HOME
Prime Minister
Philip Davis is back home after spending a few days at the Conference of The Parties (COP 31) in Turkiye.
There he once again made the case for climate action and climate justice as it
relates to the small island developing states like The Bahamas. The big players
did not show up. China s president was absent and so was the President of the
United States. In fact the President of the United
States calls climate change a con job. It appears that the show is going on and
so it should. The Bahamas revealed its plan to market carbon credits based on
the sea grasses that we have in our waters. It has taken some time to quantify
and to organize but the Prime Minister said that it was almost time to go to
market. The country hopes that by marketing the carbon credits there will be a
significant windfall of funding to support the fight against the rising sea and
harsh hurricanes.
MEANWHILE IN GRAND BAHAMA
We remind the
public that the period of public consultation has come for the proposed
framework for Grand Bahama and Freeport. The website is www.gbframework.com. It is important
for the public to make its input into the changes that must come to Grand
Bahama. In the meantime, it would be prudent for the families that run and own
the city of Freeport to try to find a way to divest themselves of it and find
an investor who can transform the city. The consultation period ends on 30
April 2026.
THE AMERICANS ARE WRONG PUTTING OUT SALACIOUS INFO
Last week, the
Americans went further in their campaign to undermine the PLP and the
government of The Bahamas by putting another public document in their courts
that said that the politician number one that they identified as being the
person to whom drug cash was being sent on election day when a plane crashed and
they rescued the Bahamians in the crash, was a recently re-elected politician.
That set off a firestorm again in the Bahamas, with the press and the
Opposition running off the deep end about who was this politician umber one.
They pinned down Kingsley Smith MP for West Grand Bahama and he told them not friggen me. I don t do nonsense . At last we have a PLP who
has the balls to tell these stupid people eff off. This should have been done
long time. The Chairman of the PLP in in a voice note on Friday 13 November
2026 said that he supported Mr. Smith.
THE BAHAMIAN RESPONSE IS TOO LADY LIKE: KUDOS
KINGSLEY MP
The Bahamian
people are so terrified of losing their right to shop at Walmart s that they
let these folks from across the water talk to them any kind of how and say
whatever they like, call the country crooked, attack its leaders, and we say
nothing. Such lady like behaviour will not get us anywhere.
FELIX SANDS WRITES FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Caveman Politics: Crossing
the Line
This year on May 12th , 2026,
Mr. Michael Pintard leader of the FNM, after
executing a nasty Caveman approach to Bahamian politics; it can be described as the "Jack Them
Up" campaign. A campaign of
assailing the
character of PLP'S, he failed most miserably. It was his third election defeat as leader
with the same failed strategy.
The Davis
Administration became the first government in twenty five
years to win a second consecutive five-year term. This was not by chance. In that tumultuous campaign, lines of human
decency was over and repeatedly crossed. Forces inside and outside of the country
sought to bring down the PLP government.
The people rejected that message of Darkness instead choosing light,
hope, and progress .
In recent days,
the scurrilous accusations of drug trafficking have, once again, resume against
a PLP MP they referred to as politician number one. The opposition MP's from Grand Bahama,
themselves, know it to be a lie; yet, they persist. The circumstances of the so-called drug
transaction in the House of Assembly Cramped quarters doesn't allow the space
for any such transaction to take place.
The second point is, in Grand Bahama, we all know each other. Where is the manifestation of a financial
windfall in the life style of the accused from wrongdoing? It is a bald face lie and Caveman
actions. Back benchers are ordinary MPs;
they have no standing in community, other than having special front seating at
official programs. They have very little influence like the average citizen.
I now appeal to
MP'S Thompson and Gibson; you have the singular high privilege of Public
Service with these
five-year contracts for service.
When these contracts end and you return to private life in your
community; let it not be said that when you held power, you engaged in
activities unbecoming of a BELIEVER: you
gave aide and comfort to those who have lost their
way and continued in
crossing the line of human decency to win at all cost. This strategy will ultimately fail.
Power is
Temporal! Truth is Eternal!
Felix Sands
ABAGAIL CARTWRIGHT FROM DEAN S BLUE HOLE
The Unmaking of a Leader
Last week, I
watched the parliamentary proceedings as Long Island MP Dr. Andre Rollins
unleashed a verbal assault on the Speaker of the House, sparking mixed
reactions across the country.
Through my
eyes, nothing in the Speaker's conduct warranted such an outburst. Some have
described Dr. Rollins’ behaviour as unparliamentary. I will go further. It was disgusting,
disgraceful, disrespectful, and, above all, disappointing.
Members of
Parliament are elected to serve their constituencies, but their greater
responsibility is to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
That honour demands the highest standards of integrity,
dignity and decorum.
As a woman, I
was repulsed by Dr. Rollins' condescending attitude and blatant disrespect for
the Speaker of The House of Assembly, Hon. Patricia Deveaux. Parliamentary disagreements are inevitable, but
disrespect should never become an acceptable substitute for reasoned debate.
Further, Dr.
Rollins embarrassed the hardworking, industrious and self-respecting people of
Long Island. These are people who need reliable mailboat
services, decent roads, an airport, upgraded healthcare facilities and
meaningful representation. They deserve an advocate, not a spectacle.
Dr. Rollins,
last week, single-handedly damaged his political career and disqualified himself, from any
serious leadership consideration. He also risked alienating a significant
voting bloc: women, particularly Black Bahamian women, whose influence extends
throughout their families and communities.
Whether he was
grandstanding, auditioning for party leadership or simply allowing his ego to
overpower his judgment, he failed.
Worse still,
his colleagues' subsequent walkout shifted attention away from his conduct
rather than demonstrating accountability. The apology offered, while necessary,
was insufficient, as he neglected to apologize specifically to his constituents
in Long Island for his behavior. Then, in a familiar display of political
deflection, he doubled down with a statement attempting to justify his actions,
effectively undermining his own apology by suggesting that an apology should
also come from “Politician #1.”
Dr. Rollins,
leadership is not measured by how loudly you can disrespectfully challenge
authority, but by how responsibly you exercise your own.
I remember when
Dr. Rollins entered Parliament a few months ago, he demanded respect for
democracy, but now, regrettably, he has left the Bahamian people questioning
his respect for the institution itself.
And perhaps the
greatest irony is this: in attempting to demonstrate that he is fit to lead, he
may have demonstrated precisely why he is not.
Dr. Rollins,
preserve what remains of your dignity and withdraw from your party’s leadership
race. Before aspiring to lead a political party, you must first demonstrate the
temperament and maturity that leadership requires. At this juncture, you have
demonstrated neither.
-Abigail
Cartwright
IN PASSING
A Trip To Westminster
Abbey
Facebook:
Very Reverend Harry
Bain began his Foreign Affairs assignment this evening at Evensong at the
Westminster Abbey in London. Joining me was Antonio Butler who is the Acting
High Commissioner to London and our host was Dr James
Hawkey ,
the Canon Theologian and Chaplain to the King.
Fred Mitchell MP
Fox Hill
8 November 2026
The Cynthia
Munnings Masterpiece
Facebook:
I was stunned by the
inventiveness of this piece by Cynthia Munnings, a Bahamian artist living in
UK. The piece is made of straw, top from the palms of The Bahamas, used in the
straw market. Great stuff. You can view it in our high commission in London.
Fred Mitchell MP
Fox Hill
6 November 2026
Meeting The Greek
Orthodox Archbishop
Facebook:
It was an honour to
visit with and exchange views with His Eminence Nikitas,
Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain of the
Greek Orthodox Church. I introduced him to Very Reverend Harry Bain ( retired Dean of Christ Church Cathedral). Rev Bain's
mission is to assist the Foreign Service in the outreach to the civic and
religious community on the themes of climate change, human rights, the
environment, the rule of law and multilateralism. With me was the Acting High
Commissioner Antonio Butler. It turns out that The Archbishop is a cousin of
the Minister of Finance Michael Halkitis. I was able to connect them by phone.
Fred Mitchell MP
Fox Hill
10 November 2026
Being Briefed
On IMO News
Facebook:
Being briefed by
Ambassador Paul Rolle in London on the affairs of the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) and that of our campaign to be re-elected to the council of
the IMO.
Fred Mitchell MP
Fox Hill
10 November 2026
Meeting The
British Baptists
Facebook:
We met today at our
offices in London Reverend Alex Afriyie, President of
the Baptist Union of Great Britain. Joining me was Very Reverend Harry Bain and
Ambassador Paul Rolle. We discussed how the Baptist Church can engage with us
on common themes like climate change, the environment, reparatory justice and
the rule of law.
Fred Mitchell MP
Fox Hill
10 November 2026
A Visit To The House Of Lords
Facebook:
With the Rt Rev Graham Usher Bishop of Norwich at the House of Lords
in London to discuss the environment and climate change with the Anglican
communion and extensive discussions on reparatory justice. Joining us is the
Very Rev. Harry Bain.
Fred Mitchell MP
Fox Hill
11 November 2026
Farewell To Patrice McDonald
Facebook:
I signed the Book of
Condolences at St Agnes Church to mark the passing of the late Patrice McDonald
nee Astwood at St Agnes Church were the mass of the
Resurrection was held. Rest in peace.
Fred Mitchell MP
Fox Hill
13 November 2026