bahamasuncensored.com
APRIL 2008
Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every
Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 6 © BahamasUncensored.Com 2008
While material on this web site can be used freely by other sections of
the press, as a courtesy, journalists are asked to attribute the source
of their material from this web site.
13th April, 2008
20th April, 2008
27th April, 2008
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
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|
| PLP PUBLIC MEETING: This
week the PLP took to the party political platform to set the record straight
on the Mona Vie Scandal. Frank Smith, PLP St. Thomas More, who first
revealed the scandal, was one of the Speakers and he laid it out in extenso.
Dr. Bernard Nottage put the icing on the cake. Glenys Hanna Martin,
Party Chair, spoke. Former Senator Paulette Zonicle chaired the meeting.
Obie Wilchcombe, the PLP MP for West End was another speaker. Darrin
Rodgers, the Young Liberals Chair gave a well thought out and keen address.
The keynote Speaker was the former Prime Minister and leader of the PLP
Perry Christie. Our photo of the week is Frank Smith addressing the
PLP in public meeting at Gambier House, its party headquarters on Tuesday
1st April. The photo is from www.myplp.com |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
CRY BABY SOUR LIME
The headline is from an old Bahamian saying. It is said mainly
by little children to other little children who like to run off and cry
and tell tales to their parents when things go wrong on the playground.
That label can now be pinned on Zhivargo Laing after his performance at
a press conference on Thursday 3rd April in which he and his publicity
seeking lawyer Fred Smith announced that they had filed a writ in the Supreme
Court against John Rolle, the retired Comptroller of Customs, Frank Smith,
the PLP MP for St. Thomas More and Dr. B. J. Nottage, the PLP MP for Bain
and Grants Town. Their offence, asking for Mr. Laing to resign because
of his misconduct as a Minister of the Government in which the duty on
the drink Mona Vie was kept in the 10 percent category when it should have
been in the 45 percent category. This decision of Mr. Laing benefited
his sister-in-law Monique Laing and was done at the behest of his brother
Tyrone Laing.
Mr. Laing said that since the Mona Vie scandal broke he has been
frustrated and distressed. He did not know what to do. He said
his wife who is pregnant, in his holier than thou language, “with child”
like Mary with the baby Jesus, was also distressed. In his distress,
he allowed his lawyer Fred Smith to lead him not only into a legal blunder
but also into a serious political error. One thing you should not
do is allow your lawyer to lead you into foolishness. This was simply
one of those situations where Mr. Laing should have taken a time out to
chill. Instead, he is filled with self righteous indignation and
anger and has now gotten himself more deeply than he will ever know.
You may click here for the text of the writ.
This scandal began to unfold on 13th February when Frank Smith raised
the matter by way of a question at Opposition question time. Mr.
Laing, instead of simply saying that he made an error in judgment and that
he had formally sought the pardon of the Prime Minister, reacted like an
injured innocent party. He huffed and puffed through two more statements
including a fatal one on 10th March. That led to an analysis by the
PLP of the entire story. It is that review by the PLP led by its
Leader of Opposition business that gave rise to the suit.
In the United Kingdom, these writs are often called gag writs.
Because of a rule on sub judice, that is the rule that prevents the case
from being discussed while it is active before the courts, it is designed
to stop all discussion of a matter. That is, no doubt, what Hubert
Ingraham is going to try to claim when he next comes to the House of Assembly.
He and his ally Alvin Smith the Speaker of the House will no doubt try
to throttle any further discussion of the matter on the grounds that it
offends that rule. It won’t fly outside the House and it won’t fly
inside the House. The public will simply ignore it, and certainly,
the PLP must ignore it.
The use of ministerial power to grant privileges to a relative of
a minister is a serious matter of public interest, and there is no court
in this world that is going to support the gagging of public opinion when
the matter is of clear public interest. There should be an immediate
move to strike the matter out for being frivolous and vexatious and an
abuse of the process of the court.
Further, one cannot understand how one could be so stupid as to end
up suing John Rolle, a popular and well respected civil servant of over
40 years who simply defended the position of the Customs Department in
the matter. Mr. Rolle’s supposed offence was to say that what had
been asked of Customs by Mr. Laing was illegal and improper. Since
the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham spoke in defence of his errant minister
in the House when it last met, John Rolle has been pilloried in the FNM
press accused of all sorts of things, which before this never saw the light
of day. But now all the FNM guns are turned on him.
The pressure is getting to everyone. Even as the Prime Minister
was winging his way down to Trinidad with Tommy Turnquest in tow, he had
some parting words for his Cabinet. He told them that he was going
out on a limb to protect Zhivargo Laing but he had heard that there were
some who did not agree with his position. He wanted them to declare
it then and there. No one spoke up, but what is clear is that Brent
Symonette, the Deputy Prime Minister, who is in charge of the country in
the Prime Minister’s absence, must be very carefully watching these events
and must see a double standard.
You will remember that Mr. Symonette, who then served as Chairman
of the Airport Authority, was forced to step down when it was revealed
that a contract had been awarded by the Airport Authority to a company
in which he had an interest. The question is, what is the difference
between this situation with Mr. Laing and that one with Mr. Symonette and
is a double standard operating?
Alfred Sears, the former Attorney General, published an op-ed piece
in the press during the week in which he laid out carefully the case against
Mr. Laing. It showed why, according to all the rules, Mr. Laing has
to go. You may click
here for the full text of Mr. Sears’ writing from www.myplp.com.
The PLP cannot let this one go.
Kudos must go to Frank Smith who has proven to be an intrepid soldier
in the cause. He has gone doggedly behind Mr. Laing on this.
There is no way that Mr. Laing ought to escape sanction in this matter.
His ministerial abuse is clear. No lawsuit for defamation can change
that fact or stop the gossip.
As for Mr. Laing’s distress, please let us have no crocodile tears
for Mr. Laing. This man has been the most egregious offender of etiquette
in the House of Assembly with the possible exceptions of Loretta Butler
Turner and Charles Maynard. He mumbled and grumbled and on one occasion
called Frank Smith to come outside the House as if he wanted to fight.
He is much too puffed up about himself, and in that self puffery he fell
into error.
Where was Mr. Laing’s distress when he was busy with his FNM colleagues
savaging Shane Gibson last year? What about the stress of Mr. Gibson,
his wife and his children? What about the stress of the former Prime
Minister Perry Christie when the FNM and Mr. Laing were busy calling him
indecisive and every other adjective in the book. That was just politics,
right?
Get a life young man! Do what is right! Resign now!
Otherwise; cry baby sour lime.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 5th April 2008 up to
midnight: 197,314.
Number of hits for the month of March up to Monday 31st March 2008
at midnight: 1,121,028.
Number of hits for the year 2008 up to Saturday 5th April 2008 at
midnight: 3,858, 606.
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
PLP
MP FRANK SMITH KEEPS AT ZHIVARGO
Following upon the announcement of the filing of the writ by Zhivargo Laing,
(see comment above) the MP for St. Thomas More, the PLP’s Frank Smith,
who started the battle against Zhivargo Laing, issued a statement that
demonstrates that he will not be deterred. We believe that he is
right. This matter must be taken to its full and ordinary conclusion.
Mr. Laing is wrong. He must resign and he must resign sooner rather
than later. The PLP must continue to use all forms of pressure to
make the point.
The filing of the writ by Mr. Laing is nothing more
than a tactic to silence the growing outrage and public criticism of what
he did. Mr. Laing is also trying to shift the argument by bringing
up issues connected with those who are part of the PLP. For example,
Global United Shipping is company owned by former PLP candidate Jackson
Ritchie. It is alleged that they owe Customs some money. Suddenly,
Mr. Laing is now in the newspaper saying that Customs is making a concerted
effort to collect their back taxes. This is a paper-thin transparent
attempt to intimidate the PLP.
Global United today issued a statement to the press,
noting that it “has been paying the government on the same terms that
had been established for years“ and that it was “curious that of all the
government’s debtors, it has chosen to make a public statement on Global
United.
“We see this as a just another example of the
FNM’s relentless efforts to totally destroy a 100% owned Bahamian Company
which currently employs over 200 Bahamians.
“This attack started on Global United shortly
after the Company’s Chief Executive officer, Mr. Jackson Ritchie, was named
as a candidate for the Progressive Liberal Party for the 2007 General Elections."
Please
click
here for the full statement.
Mr. Smith should advise Mr. Laing that he has no
moral authority to collect anyone’s taxes. That instead of seeking
to harass Jackson Ritchie, what he ought to do is collect the back taxes
owed on the Mona Vie drink that his sister-in-law sells at a rate of duty,
which is wrong. The Government is owed taxes on that drink.
When and only when he clears that up, can anyone accept what he is seeking
to do to Mr. Ritchie, if indeed the company Global United owes anything
at all. Mr. Laing must go. Frank Smith must keep up the relentless
pressure on him simply to go, in the name of God. Go now!
PLP MP Frank Smith pictured addressing a PLP public meeting 1st
April, 2008; more photos of the meeting below - Leader Perry Christie,
Deputy Leader Cynthia 'Mother' Pratt and Fred Mitchell; Darrin Rogers;
Leader Christie at podium: from www.myplp.com
WHAT
TO DO AFTER THE WRIT
Following the announcement by the over the top lawyer
Fred Smith that he had filed a writ on behalf of the embattled Zhivargo
Laing, the Minister of State, the PLP MPs Bernard Nottage and Frank Smith
each issued a statement. Here is what they said in their own words:
Frank Smith MP:
“I have been advised that the Minister of State
for Finance has indicated his intention to initiate a legal proceeding
against me in conjunction with the ‘Mona Vie’ Customs scandal.
“I have not up to this point been served any
documents to establish that this is anything more than a threat, but I
assure the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas that I will defend
the matter vigorously.
“One benefit of such an action may well
be that the Bahamian Public will finally get an opportunity to hear the
full story on the improper conduct of the Minister and why it is so inappropriate
for the Prime Minister to have concluded that Minister Zhivargo Laing did
nothing wrong.
“An unfortunate aspect of such an action
may well be that, in the short run, the public will not find out the truth
because of norms which influence discussion on matters which are before
the courts. I add but two further comments.
“I trust that the Honourable Minister is
in the financial position to cover costs in the event that his legal action
is not successful; and
“Between this action and the election court
case, the Bahamian public has the right to ask, when is this Minister going
to be doing any work on behalf of the Bahamian People?”
Dr. Bernard Nottage MP:
“We have learnt by way of the media, that writs
have been filed by Zhivargo Laing, the Minister of State. The writs
will be reviewed and the appropriate case will be met. I am well
prepared and supremely committed to vigorously defend any such action in
the Courts. It is well known that the ultimate defence against charges
of defamation is truth.
“The press and the public should be concerned
that this issue is not removed from the public domain. The facts
are in the public domain. They are incontrovertible. Mr. Laing
can sue if he will, but resign he must. It is as plain and simple
as that. The issues must continue to be aired and not gagged, because
of legal manoeuvring. The public interest demands the proper and
full airing of this issue.”
PLP MP B.J. Nottage pictured addressing a PLP public meeting
1st April, 2008: www.myplp.com
JONES’
BUSINESS “DEATH” GREATLY EXAGGERATED
There was quite a lot of gloom and doom in the web
press over the past week about the fate of Wendall Jones, the CEO and proprietor
of the Jones Communications Network, the owners of JCN TV and Love 97 radio
and the Bahama Journal. The press said that the Nassau Guardian was
starting a new radio station and that a raid of Mr. Jones’ talent had taken
place with the defections in favour of the new station.
Mark Twain’s statement applies: “Reports of my death
are greatly exaggerated.” Mr. Jones is a scrapper and no doubt in
every crisis there is opportunity. We have no doubt that he will
continue to do well.
THE
DISINTEGRATION OF THE ECONOMY
The signs are bad. The economy is slowing
down to a crawl. The news is that the Baha Mar project has come to
a screeching halt. The press revealed during the week that about
fifty percent of the development staff of the Baha Mar company has been
laid off. This includes some 22 expatriates and 14 Bahamians.
The work on the demolition of the Nassau Beach has come to a halt.
The plans to bring down the towers of the Crystal Palace so that they could
be replaced have also been put on hold indefinitely. The company
is desperately looking for a new partner with which to breathe life into
the project.
You will remember that it was Hubert Ingraham who
deliberately savaged and sabotaged the Baha Mar project that would have
brought 10,000 jobs to the Cable Beach strip and to the country.
Harrah’s, the casino giant, pulled out of the deal because of the comments
made by the Prime Minister in the House of Assembly. Mr. Ingraham
must help to get this project going again. Everywhere that you go
on the island of New Providence, you will find young men sitting around
on the walls with nothing to do. This is a powder keg just waiting
to explode.
WILCHCOMBE
BREAKS RANKS
To the surprise of some, to the chagrin of others, The Tribune ran a headline
on Wednesday 2nd April, an exclusive interview with Paul Turnquest announcing
Obie Wilchcombe, the PLP MP for West End’s intention to run for the Deputy
Leadership of the PLP.
The story followed on from a piece by Mr. Slime
himself down at The Tribune John Marquis published on Monday 31st March.
The first Tribune piece claimed the inside scoop that Mr. Wilchcombe was
the front runner to succeed Perry Christie as leader of the PLP.
In the old days, Arthur Hanna when he was PLP Deputy Leader used to warn
young PLPs that having The Tribune as your advocate was no recommendation
in the PLP. It was a sure way to end up on the rocks. The Tribune
is on a crusade though.
Mr. Wilchcombe himself seemed not to welcome the
attention when he spoke on Tuesday 1st April at Gambier House at the public
meeting in which he warned that the media must not be allowed to divide
the PLP and throw the PLP off mission. This made the interview the
next day all the more surprising in some quarters.
The story was a distraction in the midst of a successful
campaign to call for Zhivargo Laing, the beleaguered Minister of State,
to resign. The PLP was back on message the next day, largely ignoring
The Tribune.
On Friday 4th April although on its back pages,
the Nassau Guardian ran a response from several of Mr. Wilchombe’s colleagues.
Alfred Gray is the PLP MP for the MICAL seat and here is what he had to
say in his own words:
“The good thing about the PLP is that anybody
can run for any office. Wilchcombe, being a member of good standing
in our party, certainly has the capacity and the will, and I think if he
feels he can get the support of the majority of the convention delegates
when the time comes, certainly he has the right to offer, and I am sure
some others will offer because as you know, that is how our party is.
“I do not know of a date for Mother Pratt’s demitting
of office, and so the announcement of my brother Wilchcombe’s intention
to run was rather a surprise, he may know more than I do, in terms of when
she intends to demit office. As I understood it, she would allow
this term to play out and would not run again for parliament. I took
that to mean that she will demit the leadership at that time as well, or
near that time. But it sounds as though it is imminent and that would
have surprised me.
“This announcement makes for exciting politics,
the party supports his intentions.
“The first time I heard of Brother Wilchcombe’s
intentions was by way of radio Thursday morning. It was not certainly
something that would have been discussed in my presence and I can’t say
that it is strange to everybody. But to me, it was something that
I heard for the first time. I have heard others speak to the possibility
of running for the deputy leadership, if and when the deputy leader demits
that office, it is just that I did not understand it to be soon.
“I am not considering running [but] if and when
the time is right, I would look towards the leadership position.
However, that at this point, I have no interest in either position.”
Frank Smith, PLP St. Thomas More on the Wilchcombe
announcement as reported by the Nassau Guardian on 4th April:
“I have no comment. I first need to speak
to my team… In politics timing is everything. In the event that I
do decide, I will be making an appropriate announcement.”
Bradley Roberts, former PLP Minister of Works in
the Nassau Guardian 4th April: “No comment but I wish Mr. Wilchcombe
all the best.”
FNM Chairman Johnley Ferguson in the Nassau Guardian
4th April: “I have no comment but he is a good Bahamian son.”
PLP MP Obie Wilchcombe pictured addressing a PLP public meeting
1st April, 2008: www.myplp.com
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Guardian said that it could not obtain a comment
from PLP leader Perry Christie. It is not known whether or not the
present Deputy Leader Cynthia Pratt or PLP Chair Glenys Hanna Martin were
contacted for their comments.
MUGABE
MUST STEP DOWN
There have been elections held in Zimbabwe.
The country has been led by Robert Mugabe, the freedom fighter, who left
the bush and became the country’s first democratically elected leader in
1980. Mr. Mugabe has been that country’s leader until now.
He has turned from national hero to national villain. It is time
for him to go. The country is in turmoil with 80 percent unemployment
and hyper inflation at 100,000 per cent. The rule of law is out of
the window.
Elections were held in Zimbabwe almost a week ago,
and it seems clear that the Opposition party led by Morgan Tsvangirai won
the elections. With the apparent complicity of the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission, the results have been trickling out in a fashion that suggests
that the incumbent is up to some sort of trick to steal the election.
Both the United States and British governments have called for the results
to be published. The official results certainly show that Mr. Mugabe
lost the majority in Parliament.
The Presidential vote has not been announced.
However, the ruling party’s newspaper has been saying that a run off will
have to be held because no one got more than fifty percent of the vote.
This declaration by the official party has taken place in the absence of
any announcement of the result, further strengthening the view that some
sort of effort is afoot to steal the election.
We believe that it is time for Mr. Mugabe to go.
He should step down and arrange an orderly transition to a new governed
headed by the Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. We support the
view that this is a matter which should engage the United Nations to bring
this to a peaceful conclusion. We do not agree with the South African
view that we must wait and see what happens. This is a time for positive
action to avoid a result similar to the chaos in Kenya earlier in the year.
FOX
HILL PLP VISITS HARBOUR ISLAND
The executive officers of the Fox Hill Branch of
the PLP Saturday, treated their Member of Parliament Fred Mitchell to a
day's retreat in beautiful Harbour Island. Mr. Mitchell and members
of the Branch Executive are pictured in front of the famous Tingum's Village
with Ma Ruby Percentie and her daughter Juanita Percentie, who is the Progressive
Liberal Party Vice Chair for Family Islands... Mr. Mitchell is also shown
on the dock at Harbour Island with Darrel Johnson Chair of the Harbour
Island PLP Branch and below, on the blocks in Harbour Island and finally
the group with local architect, Stalwart Councillor and famous friend of
sir Lynden Pindling, Glenroy Aranha.
Photos: courtesy of the Harbour Island PLP
IN PASSING
The New Chinese Ambassador
China has appointed a new Ambassador to The Bahamas. He is Dingxian
Hu, a career diplomat, who comes to The Bahamas after considerable experience
in Hong Kong. Mr. Hu presented his credentials to the Governor General
Arthur D. Hanna on Wednesday 2nd April. Later the Ambassador was
hosted to a lunch by the Governor General and Mrs. Hanna. Also present
were Foreign Minister Brent Symonette and former Foreign Minister Fred
Mitchell, now Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs. Last week
we reported that the Government had nominated Elma Campbell to be the new
Bahamas Ambassador in Beijing. Our sources now tell us that Hubert
Ingraham is having second thoughts.
BIS photo: Tim Aylen
Missing $500,000 Container
There is a report that a container with half a million dollars of equipment
and supplies for the Department of Environmental Health has gone missing.
The police are said to be investigating the matter.
Talks At The Port Break Down
The St. George Estate headed by the widow of the late Edward St. George
has decided that they will not accept the bid of the Fleming group favoured
by Sir Jack Hayward to buy their share of the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
The press reports that this has led to a breakdown of the mediation talks
ordered by Justice Anita Allen to settle the dispute between the two principal
shareholders in the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
Ingraham At Security Summit
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and National Security Minister Tommy
Turnquest attended the special security summit of Caricom in Trinidad hosted
by the lead Prime Minister for security Patrick Manning of Trinidad and
Tobago. The summit took place on Saturday 5th April.
Levi Gibson Turns 94
Real estate broker and retired civic activist Levi Gibson MBE turned
94 years young yesterday Saturday 5th April. Congratulations on reaching
this important milestone.
Congratulations Charmaine Curry
The Department of Immigration held its passing out parade for new recruits
on Friday 28th March. One of them was Charmaine Curry, a resident
of the Fox Hill constituency. The Member of Parliament Fred Mitchell
was present to extend congratulations.
Photo: Patrick Hanna
Sir Clement Returns
Sir Clement Maynard the former Deputy Prime Minister who was struck
ill with a stroke returned to Nassau following a period of treatment and
convalescence in Florida. He returned on Friday 4th April.
Welcome back Sir Clement!
Colina’s Drop In Profits
The Tribune has reported that Colina Insurance Company and its related
group have had a forty percent drop in its profits over the past year.
What does this mean?
Judge John Lyons, the Complainer
You will remember John Lyons, the Judge who made all the fuss about
not getting a raise in his salary under the PLP and then after the PLP
lost the election, his friends started claiming that he caused the PLP
to lose. Then his friends around him started saying that he would
cause the FNM to lose if he did not get his salary raised. Turns
out that the dear Judge may have another problem. His friends say
he is giving back of his own volition what he considers an illegal payment
of additional monies to him as salary. He reportedly repays some
600 dollars per month back to the Treasury. Of course, the Treasury
cannot accept the money so it probably has the money he gives back in a
suspense account until he or his estate will come to collect it.
Meanwhile, practitioners are complaining to the Chief Justice about the
length of time applications take before him. He ventures into areas
of commentary. His friends are reportedly upset by the Judicial and
Legal Services Commission for appointing Ruby Nottage, the Anglican Chancellor,
to the Bench. The American Embassy also commented on the matter as
well saying that they were surprised that someone who was indicted back
in 1989 in the US could serve on the bench. The press also reported
that the indictment is stale and the limitation on the prosecution has
expired. The Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall who is responsible for
the appointment was none the clearer in the press as to why the appointment
was made. Mrs. Nottage is well qualified for the job. It is
unfortunate that it has become the subject of adverse commentary.
God’s Message To Zhivargo Laing
You will remember that Minister of State Zhivargo Laing is an Ingrahamite.
He came to politics after swearing during the height of the PLP government
that God wanted him to give up politics altogether. Then Hubert Ingraham
came along and persuaded him to come back to politics. So the fellas
on the blocks are now arguing that God is showing him who is boss by putting
something on him with the Mona Vie scandal. The pressure, distress
and anxieties and can’t sleep is for disobeying God.
The Schools Explode
The press reported during the past week riots at two schools.
First there was a riot at the D.W. Davis Junior High School with teachers
saying that the school is out of control. The press showed pictures
of students being taken away under arrest. The Bahamas Union of Teachers
has been meeting with Ministry of Education officials. The school
closed down for two days to work with the officials to solve the problems.
There was also a riot at the Government High School. The first riot
took place on Thursday 3rd April and the riot at the Government High School
on Friday 4th April. One cannot help but think that the violence
in the schools is a result of all the adverse economic pressure in the
country, which can only be laid at the feet of the FNM. The PLP had
police in the schools to help keep the peace. The FNM withdrew them.
In this they have the support of the Bahamas Union of Teachers who would
have been all over the PLP has this been on their watch. Instead
you have a compliant union not saying a peep, since their people, the FNM,
are in power. The result is the country is suffering.
Power Outages in Harbour Island
The Government and BEC have a lot of explaining and fixing to do in
Harbour Island. The most powerful tourist draws in the country, with
reportedly 11 billionaires living there and BEC can’t keep the power on.
The power goes off for six and seven hours at a time without explanation.
Some of the rich and famous have simply jumped on their jets and left.
The residents are frustrated. Their representative Alvin Smith has
done nothing about it.
Peanut Man Reports To The Police
The story is that one day last week, a man who sells peanuts, water
and newspapers in Freeport was driving in his car late at night or in the
early morning, seeking to buy his newspapers to sell for that day.
He had in his possession a plastic baggie with just over two hundred dollars,
his take for the day before. He came upon a red light and as is the
custom in robbery prone Bahamas, he slowed, then went through the red light
because it was late and there were no cars coming. He was stopped
by the police for running the red light. When he explained what he
had done, the police officer was quite abrupt, and ended up taking the
plastic baggie with the 200 dollars from the passenger seat of the car.
He then told the man to go about his business. The peanut man at
the first opportunity went to the police station to report that the police
had taken his money. This matter ought to be thoroughly investigated.
LETTER
TO THE EDITOR
Happy Birthday to 'Have Your Say'
Happy belated one year birthday to the new myplp.com
website which gave birth to its most popular section, the blog called “Have
Your Say” (HYS). It seemed like yesterday, but it is one year and more
than 2,200 pages later; HYS was born on 29th March 2007. Our online family
has given HYS a life, character, and personality of its own.
HYS has a reputation and character for being
fair, open-minded, critical, tolerant, apologetic, condescending, funny,
witty, subjective, objective, lively, provocative, judgmental, and intellectual;
much like a lot of complicated and difficult people we know. So writers
and readers alike keep coming and don't stop 'til you get enough. The family
at HYS never claimed sainthood, but some of us are professed PLP ideologues.
We will go to great lengths to defend the reputation, honor, and legacy
of the PLP.
HYS has proven to be an excellent web tool and
effective cyber community for the dissemination of information that shape
public opinion in the Bahamas on a very wide range of national issues.
I know I can count on HYS for intellectual stimulation and new and different
perspectives, especially on national issues. This is good for democracy
and this forum must be continued and encouraged to grow from strength to
strength.
Kudos to the administrator for the excellent
job he has done and continues to do.
HYS is indeed "a jolly good fellow that nobody
can deny". Viva “Have Your Say” and I hope it lives to enjoy many more
productive years. Hip Hip Hip…….Horrraaaayyyy.
Elcott Coleby
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
|
| PLP PUBLIC MEETING: The
Progressive Liberal Party held a public meeting in Freeport on Wednesday
9th April to talk about the sub par performance of the Hubert Ingraham
government. The speakers were Glenys Hanna Martin, Chair of the PLP;
Constance McDonald, Vice Chair of the PLP for Public Relations in Grand
Bahama; Fred Mitchell, MP for Fox Hill; Obie Wilchcombe, MP for West End
and Bimini and PLP Leader Perry Christie. Our photo of the week shows
Fred Mitchell MP at the PLP rally in Freeport. The crowd was enthusiastic
and the message well received. Photo from www.myplp.com |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE PRESS FALLS DOWN ON
THE JOB
Last week we reported that the national cry baby Zhivargo Laing,
the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, had run off to court
to try to throttle the discussion in the press about the Mona Vie scandal.
This is a matter that has exercised the minds of Bahamians and the public
debate since 13th February when Frank Smith, the PLP MP for St. Thomas
More asked Mr. Laing whether he had been involved in lowering the duty
on a drink called Mona Vie, which was imported by his sister-in-law.
Mr. Laing after much tooing and froing said yes he was, but tried to argue
that he did it for the general good and not for the good of his sister-in-law.
The fact is the duty reduction benefited his sister in law. By Mr.
Laing’s own admission, it was done at the behest of his brother Tyrone
Laing. Those are incontestable facts.
Mr. Laing started feeling the heat. He thought that because
he said it, because he is a born again Christian and a man of impeccable
virtue that his merely saying it brought the matter to a close. Life
does not work that way and as he began to feel the heat, he then called
upon his lawyer Fred Smith who is helping him out in trying to save his
self-righteous hide in a court case in which Pleasant Bridgewater, the
PLP senator, is seeking to displace him from his seat in Parliament.
Poor Mr. Laing, he said that not only was he distressed but his wife who
is, like the Virgin Mary; “with child” was also distressed. He went
off to court to stop the public comment to ease his distress.
The lame press of The Bahamas has said nary a word about the matter
since the issue was raised. We have only to cuss them for being so
worthless. Here you have a matter that is clearly in the public interest
where a minister incontrovertibly has interfered with the duty on a good
for the benefit of a family member. You have Minister Prime Hubert
Ingraham who came to office saying that anyone acting in that manner would
be appropriately disciplined. You have the Prime Minister in this
case embracing the wrongdoing and protecting the Minister. The press
of The Bahamas is now running scared because of some stupid rule about
sub judice.
Mr. Laing’s lawyer Fred Smith then incredulously says that this was
not what they meant to do, not silence the public discussion; that is why
they are not suing the press. The effect of course is the same.
The decision by the Bahamian press is shamelessly political.
In the recent past, they have slandered every PLP in the book. Had
this been a PLP minister, they would have been off to court to try and
get it set aside or they would have ignored it. This is simply what
they ought to do in this case. They ought to ignore the matter of
any sub judice rule.
The expression “sub judice” in Latin means under judicial consideration.
The convention is that while something is under judicial consideration,
you should not say or publish any material that is likely to influence
the result of the case. This would make some sense if you were talking
about a jury trial with lay persons but certainly does not make sense in
a civil trial like the defamation trial that Mr. Laing proposes against
Dr. Bernard Nottage, John Rolle, the Comptroller of Customs and Frank Smith
the PLP MP.
The rule on sub judice has been codified in some jurisdictions.
In The Bahamas, there is an offence in the penal code and there is also
the common law power of punishment for contempt of court by the courts.
Fred Mitchell, the Fox Hill MP, has argued for these matters to be fully
codified in law, and that the common law jurisdiction be largely done away
with as it relates to the publication of material in the public interest.
The law has been changing throughout the world. In South Africa
in July 2007, the South African Editor’s Forum welcomed the decision of
the Court of Appeal in South Africa in a case where the Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) sought to prohibit the showing of a documentary about
a murder case on e.tv. In a published response to the decision of
the court, the Editors said: “The judgment by Mr. Justice Robert Nugent
overturned a ruling by the Cape Provincial Division in favour of the DPP
and stated that publication was susceptible to being declared unlawful
and thus subject to prohibition only if the prejudice that the publication
might cause to the administration of justice is demonstrable and substantial
and there is a real risk that prejudice will actually occur.”
There is no risk that prejudice will occur since the case of defamation
will not be heard by a jury but by a judge alone.
Secondly, any private right that Mr. Laing may have in this matter
is certainly counterbalanced by the right of the public to know.
If the press continues to be complicit in this matter, then the public
good is not served. They confirm by their actions in this matter
that they are really the slavish servants of the FNM. They should
change course.
What should happen is some public spirited person should immediately
go to court to get this matter thrown out on the grounds that it is frivolous,
vexatious and an abuse of the process of the court. There should
be a way to pronounce it stupid. The matters of which it complains
are indeed frivolous and the persons against whom it complains have a defence
of absolute truth or justification.
The Bahamian press should hang its head in shame at their disgraceful
behaviour in this matter. The PLP when it meets in the House on Wednesday
ought to challenge the same foolishness that the FNM will come with in
the House about this sub judice rule. It does not apply. It
makes no sense. There is no substantial risk of prejudice and the
matter ought to be fully aired.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 12th April 2008 up to
midnight: 279,026.
Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 12th April 2008
up to midnight: 440,567.
Number of hits for the year 2008 up to Saturday 12th April 2008 up
to midnight: 4,148,724.
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
THE
RUBY NOTTAGE APPPOINTMENT
Last week, we reported that in the week before Dan
O’Connor, an officer in the United States Embassy here in The Bahamas was
quoted as saying that the U.S. was surprised at the appointment of Ruby
Nottage, the Anglican Chancellor, as a Judge in The Bahamas since she was
indicted in the United States back in 1989. That was all the local
press needed. Since that time they have been working overtime to
savage Mrs. Nottage in the press, calling her a fugitive from justice and
saying that the appointment was too controversial for her to continue.
The Chief Justice did not help much with his usual
circumlocution. No one from the Judicial and Legal Services Commission
that makes the appointment made a statement. The government was silent.
Some are for it and others against it. Mrs. Nottage herself intervened
mid this week to say that she intended to serve. It appears that
there is some resentment in the society at the American intervention.
The drift appears to be to close ranks and protect Mrs. Nottage.
We provide a sample of the commentary over the past
week by various public figures in The Bahamas in their own words as reported
in the press:
Archdeacon Keith Cartwright of the Anglican Church
as reported in the Nassau Guardian Friday 11th April 2008:
“The Chief Justice and his committee deserve
our praise for having found a most suitable individual to serve our beloved
Bahamaland. I wish to publicly congratulate the Chief Justice and
the Judicial [and Legal Service Commission] for nominating Mrs. Rubie Nottage
as a justice of the high court. I have worked with her for over 30
years, and know of her daily Christian walk. She is an example to
all of us; one whom we can truly emulate.”
Maurice Glinton, Attorney at Law, as reported in
the Bahama Journal of Thursday 10th April 2008:
“The issue essentially has nothing to do with
Mrs. Nottage at all.
“It has to do with the way we have gone about,
over the years, appointing judges to the bench. It has to do with
the lack of due diligence, or it would appear sometimes, the lack of concern
which is shown by those designees in these high constitutional offices
when it comes to carrying out their duties….
“The tendency in The Bahamas is to either
privatize or politicize appointments to public office. Even before
Mrs. Nottage’s appointment became a matter for public debate, the question
of whether in fact this is someone who is going to bring credit to the
judiciary ought to have been asked.
“But Mrs. Nottage’s appointment would not
have been the first appointment that many senior lawyers would not agree
with in private. They won’t tell you that in public. We have
shown an absolute lack of concern when it comes to the appointment of judges
in this country.
“And we do not seem to care at all that at
the end of the day, it is the reputation of the country that is at stake.
It is the reputation of its institutions which is at stake, always…
“So to say whether or not Mrs. Nottage ought
to do something now that she’s been appointed, it’s really too late in
the day. I would have thought that the first responsibility rests
with the persons on the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, and that
commission has been hardly anything other than a constitutional cipher.
“It is difficult at any time for a lawyer
or anyone else to determine how and why a particular person is to be appointed
as opposed to somebody else.
“The problem has nothing to do with money,
or the fallacious argument that the only judges the country can attract
are those prepared to serve for the money offered.
“That has never been the truth.
“It has to do with the politicizing and the
privatizing of public office, where they treat it – politicians – treat
as if it’s something that they own, and they show favour or disfavour by
approving or not approving, but at the end of the day, what is the utility,
what is the function of it? What is the reason for the appointment
of a judge?
“There should be no debate (that the appointee
is suitable for the office).
“The issue is not qualification, either, pointing
out that one would hardly find another lawyer with Mrs. Nottage’s qualifications,
but the issue is the leadership in the judiciary, which has become increasingly
ridiculous.
“It should not be left to senior lawyers to
speak out about it. It should not be left for the Bahamian people
to have to defend Mrs. Nottage, or castigate her – it has nothing to do
with her. What you see here is the end product.
“We should not be concerned that the Americans
have voiced an opinion about her appointment. You could have expected
that they would – it’s good politics to do. But it will raise some
questions now as to how functional Mrs. Nottage can be.
“My concern is not at all how the United States
sees The Bahamas or its judicial system, but with the Bahamian people viewing
the whole massacre, since it is the Bahamian people who will have to go
before Mrs. Nottage to receive justice.
“The United States government will never have
to go to court before Mrs. Nottage. It’s the citizens and other persons
in this country who have to go to the Supreme Court for justice, and when
they can’t look upon her except with some suspicion – and needlessly so
– then the whole business of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal
for that matter is gone!”
Obie Ferguson, Attorney at law and Labour Leader
as reported in the Bahama Journal of Thursday 10th April 2008:
“It is still correct and right to say that
a person is innocent until proven guilty. I believe that every country,
its citizens, executives, are entitled to look at the facts, look at the
evidence, look at the character and the competence of the particular decision
in making any sort of appointment, particularly appointments of this nature…
“Mrs. Nottage is highly competent, and a person
of integrity.
“Certainly from where I sit, I see no reason
why one would make such alarm on things that are not really relevant to
the judgment and the impartiality and the competence of Mrs. Nottage.
“So quite frankly I am surprised at the reaction
I am seeing to the appointment, because no one is questioning her integrity,
no one is questioning her ability, no one is questioning her judgment,
and therefore certainly I find it rather interesting.”
Wayne Munroe, President of the Bahamas Bar Council,
as reported in the Nassau Guardian of Saturday 12th April 2008:
“Nobody has said anything to me yet that I
can consider, for me to say time for you to get out your shovel and dig
further and deeper. I have been digging myself and I haven't seen
anything yet. As a lawyer, the fact that some foreign government
purports to indict you for assisting one of their citizens in evading their
income tax regime is not offensive in and of itself, especially when I
dig and find out that they threw the case in the waste bin within a month
of filing it. If there is something else that somebody has, certainly
it can be considered. I don't know why people assume that the Judicial
and Legal Service Commission did not investigate this [appointment] or
this [indictment] was not raised with her, or they did not get the information…
“Upon examining the docket report [listing
the counts in the indictment], it was found that a sealed indictment was
filed on March 23, 1989 and it was unsealed on March 29, exactly six days
later.
“Then on April 19, which would have been exactly
21 days or three weeks later, they [the United States] basically threw
it in the waste bin by assigning it to no judge. And from 1989 apparently
nothing has happened and I wondered what the uproar was over.
“They [the US] have not explained why in close
to 20 years they haven't proceeded. What does the fact of being charged
mean to the Bahamian people? Wasn't Clarence Thomas [U.S. Supreme
Court Justice who before he was confirmed, it was alleged that he sexually
harassed a law professor Anita Hill] confirmed, notwithstanding an allegation
that he had committed a criminal offense, so what is the uproar...
“You would probably see the US Federal Court
of Appeal indicating that you have five years to come and seek somebody
and if you don't come and seek them in five years, and you know full well
where they are, that is basically it so there is now no pending indictment
so what's the complaint?…
“The sad thing about it is if a Bahamian were
charged, do they believe they should lose their jobs? Do they believe
that any job should be unavailable to them if the police were to charge
them and not prosecute them for 20 years and they go apply for a job?
I just want there to be consistency because if there is none, then Clarence
Thomas should not have his prestigious post. He was not indicted
but the woman came and said he sexually harassed her and that's a crime
and she said it under oath…
“[I think] the public [should] reflect on
the case of Bahamian George Wilson, who in 1998 was nabbed in the US by
the Federal Bureau of Investigations, sentenced to serve 20 years in prison
for conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering.
“There was a judgment [in this case] that
said if they [the US] don’t come for you in five years they can’t come
anymore and this is why George Wilson was sent back home…
“They [the U.S.] threw it [the indictment]
in the wastebasket within 30 days. That is most amazing, you know.
They filed an indictment on the 23rd of March 1989 and before the 23rd
of April you are assigning it to no judge? How serious are you...
“I am not telling you for instance that if
she has been indicted a year ago or two years ago that it wouldn’t be different.
I am not telling you that if she wasn’t indicted for a different matter
and they were actively pursuing her and it had been dragging on that there
should be a difference. What I am telling you is unless I see the
docket [listing the indictment] that it was a favoured allegation back
in the (19)80s that Bahamians who assist Americans in setting up trust
structures off-shore were conspiring to evade taxes, then I might have
to think more closely about it and that is particularly why I want to see
the indictment…
“Nothing from the docket report made me see
it as anything other than charging a Bahamian lawyer with conspiracy to
evade taxes or defraud the IRS, a charge that back then and even some would
argue today, they can level at just about any Bahamian lawyer who helps
set up a trust…”
Nassau Guardian photo of Wayne Munroe
Tennyson Wells, Attorney at Law and former Attorney
General, as reported in the Bahama Journal of Thursday 10th April 2008:
“She is academically inclined. She has
all of the qualifications to sit on the bench….
“I just think that the United States – if
they had something against the good lady they should have dealt with it
years ago. I mean we’re talking about 25 years ago! I think
it’s unfair for them to have left that hanging over her head for so long.
“At the same time, I also believe that consideration
should have been given to that when the Judicial and Legal Service Commission
should have been looking at the application.
“Yes, I think the Judicial and Legal Services
Commission should have considered it, and they should have made inquiries
and dealt with it. I really can’t see for the life of me that they
can now come forward and say they didn’t consider it, or didn’t make enquiries.
I don’t know what they did, but I think at that level, when you are dealing
with the appointment of somebody to the Supreme Court, all efforts should
be made to scrutinize the proposed appointee.
“I don’t like the way judges are appointed
here in any event. I always think they should be open to wide public
scrutiny.”
HOW
DO YOU GET ON THE BENCH?
The body responsible for the appointment of Puisne
Judges and the Justices of Appeal, Magistrates and the Legal Officers who
work for the Crown is the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.
This is headed by the Chief Justice, two members nominated by the Prime
Minister, the present nominees were appointed by former Prime Minister
Perry Christie: Donna Harding Lee and Lester Mortimer Jr., the Chairman
of the Public Services Commission Hugh Sands who is a Hubert Ingraham appointee
and Justice of Appeal Hartman Longley. The Chief Justice and the
President of the Court of Appeal are appointed by the Governor General
on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader
of the Opposition.
THE
PORT AUTHORITY MESS
The resolution of the Grand Bahama Port Authority
dispute of the shareholders is no closer to being finalized. While
the Fleming Group that wants to buy the Sir Jack Hayward’s shares is still
posturing in public about its purchase, the St. George side has said they
will not sell to them. How the Fleming Group will get control of
the company is now beyond comprehension. Meanwhile Freeport is suffering
from the worst case of the economic doldrums in a generation. The
FNM government keeps hoping that something will happen, but privately they
admit that it will be 18 months before they see anything real on the horizon.
MUGABE
FROM BAD TO WORSE
Last week we called for Robert Mugabe, the President
of Zimbabwe, to resign and to leave the post of president of Zimbabwe.
Mr. Mugabe can only properly be described now as a perfect disgrace.
He has let his people down. They are on the verge of starvation,
a basket case for the world when they were a rich country and the breadbasket
of the world. He continues to see conspiracy theories behind every
shadow.
The plain fact is following the elections some 13
days ago, he lost the election. Right now he is busy trying to steal
that election. The West of course sits on its hands. There
is no oil there. The Leader of the Opposition of Zimbabwe Morgan
Tsvangirai has been doing the rounds of Southern African nations to get
support but Mr. Mugabe snubbed the summit called by the Zambian leader
in Lusaka for Saturday 12th April on the basis that, according to Mr. Mugabe,
there is no crisis in Zimbabwe. There are none so blind as those
will not see.
Mr. Mugabe must go and go now. Caricom must
open its eyes and sound its voice on this matter.
FOOD
RIOTS IN HAITI
We are very concerned about the riots for food in
our neighbour Haiti. The situation seemed to be out of hand until
the President Rene Preval on Thursday 10th April called for calm.
Food prices have risen steeply. Throughout the Caribbean there is
the cry that flour in particular has risen dramatically including in St.
Vincent, Jamaica, Trinidad and Grenada. The Haiti instability always
threatens to spill over into the Bahamian streets. We urge the FNM
government to watch this matter closely.
BRENT
SYMONETTE’S CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette has been
accused of a conflict of interest. This charge was made by Opposition
spokesman on Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell as he spoke at a public meeting
in Freeport, Grand Bahama on Wednesday 9th April (see
photo of the week above).
Mr. Mitchell told how Mr. Symonette is a landlord
in the Port of Nassau and when the container port moves, with the redevelopment
of Nassau, the value of the land he owns is likely to rise. Mr. Symonette,
contrary to what the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham promised the Leader
of the Opposition in the House, is involved in the government’s decision
making on the Port. You may click here
for Mr. Mitchell's full address.
Symonette: file photo; Mitchell photo: www.myplp.com
WHERE
PRECISELY IS MOTHER PRATT GOING?
There has been a lot of loose talk over the past
week or so promoted by The Tribune about PLPs who propose to run for the
office of Deputy PLP Leader. This is quite amusing because as far
we know the Deputy Leader of the Party Cynthia Pratt has not announced
that she is going anywhere. It is always fascinating also how the
press is so interested in who will be the Leader of the PLP and now it
appears its Deputy Leader. Every day there is some story speculating
about some PLP MP or some other persons and who is supporting them and
who has what chances.
It would behoove everyone to cool it, including
the press. The matter comes off as if the PLP leadership is trivial
and the issue of succession is being trivialized. Being leader of
the PLP is not a joke and it carries with its serious responsibilities
particularly in these days and times when fortunes are down, revenues are
low and people go with winners. This is not a joke for the sake of
self promotion, for the faint of heart and for the idle fun of saying “I
want to be leader”. Those who deal with it like that, risk making
themselves look less than serious.
GIBSON
RIGBY & CO OPENING
A fine time was had by all at the official launching
and ribbon cutting ceremony of the new law offices of Gibson Rigby &
Co. Raynard Rigby is the former Chairman of the PLP and Dwayne Gibson
is his partner. They have two other lawyers working with them.
The building is located on Dowdeswell Street in the building that used
to house Gaylord’s restaurant. The building has been fully refurbished.
The party to celebrate their launch was held on Friday 11th April and photographer
Peter Ramsay was there.
The photo essay shows above: the ribbon cutting
left to right Mavis Edgecombe Tinker, the mother of Mr. Rigby, Mrs. Alexandria
Rigby; Dwayne and Kim Gibson; Raynard Rigby and Mr. Charles Gibson.
Below: Raynard Rigby, Tommy Turnquest, Perry Christie and Dwayne Gibson;
Carl Behel and Mr. Rigby; sisters Shawn Turnquest and Kim Gibson; Fred
Mitchell, Dwayne Gibson, Cynthia 'Mother' Pratt and Raynard Rigby; Artist
Antonius Roberts, publicist Cathy Archer and Paul McWeeney, Managing Director
Bank of The Bahamas. Finally, Denise Usher Dorsett, Perry Christie
and Raynard Rigby.
FOX
HILL FESTIVAL COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES PLANS
This year's Fox Hill Festival is to be named in honour of Eric Wilmott,
Chairman Emeritus of the Festival. The Committee issued the following
release:
“The Fox Hill Festival Committee announces the
launch of the annual Fox Hill Day Festival and Emancipation Day Celebrations,
to be held commencing Friday August 1st, 2008 ending on Fox Hill Day Tuesday
August 12th, 2008.
“This year the Fox Hill Village and the rest
of The Bahamas will be celebrating 174 years since the Emancipation of
the African slaves in The Bahamas and the then British Empire. We invite
all to come to Fox Hill to celebrate this important national event.
This year as usual, we have planned a full list of events for the observances.
“We have decided that in honor of the retirement
of Eric Wilmott from active work in the Festival that the 2008 Festival
should be named in his honor.
“Eric Wilmott, is a Fox Hill man. He was
born in Fox Hill 74 years ago on 6th April. This week was his birthday.
Mr. Wilmott has helped to manage the Festival for at least 20 years.
He is known as the historian of Fox Hill. He is a journalist by profession
and only recently served as sub editor at the Nassau Guardian. He
was honoured by Her Majesty the Queen with the British Empire Medal in
2007. This will be an opportunity to celebrate his accomplishments
for and on behalf of the people of Fox Hill.
“Emancipation is not just the celebration of
freedom for people of African descent in The Bahamas. It is a celebration
of the freedom of all people of The Bahamas. For as long as one man
is slave then none of us is free. We invite all to come and join
us.
“During that week and a half, we have created
a line-up of events, starting on the evening of August 1st at 8:00 p.m.
with opening ceremonies, ending later that evening with a Junkanoo Rush
out and a display of fireworks.
“We have also scheduled during the period of
events, the National Emancipation Day Celebration, on Monday August 4th,
starting at 1:00 a.m. that morning, with the Emancipation Day Rush out,
headlining all of the major Junkanoo Groups. This will be followed
later that day with the Ecumenical Emancipation Day Service, at which we
expect the Governor General His Excellency the Hon. Arthur D. Hanna along
with other Government Officials and various community leaders. His
Excellency is a former representative of the Fox Hill Constituency.
The service will be followed by the annual senior citizens luncheon organized
by Olive Mackey and the Committee.
“On Thursday August 7th, we will host a special
Emancipation Day and Fox Hill Day Town meeting. The topic that evening
will be “Guarding our Heritage”, headed by a panel of guest speakers on
the cultural, environmental and social importance of the Emancipation Day
Celebrations.
“This will be followed by the Member of Parliament’s
annual reception, sponsored by Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill.
“Culminating our list of events, will be our
Fox Hill Day Celebrations on Tuesday August 12th, 2008, starting at 11:00
a. m. The public is invited on that day to attend the programmes
produced by the Baptist Churches St. Paul’s, Macedonia, Mt. Carey and St.
Marks along with the other customary Fox Hill Day festivities such as climbing
the Greasy Pole; the plaiting of the Maypole as well as be entertained
with performances by Visage.
“During the week, we expect that there will be
performances and drills by the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band, Her Majesty’s
Prison Band and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Band.
“Announcements will be made for all stall holders
shortly.”
Fred Mitchell MP, said “Congratulations to Eric
Wilmott. Congratulations to the Fox Hill Festival Committee for an
early start. The honour for Mr. Willmott is well deserved and I encourage
all to support the Eric Wilmott Fox Hill Festival 2008.”
Photo Caption: FOX HILL FESTIVAL COMMITTEE - From left are Norma
Burrows, Youri Kemp, Jan Davis, Charles Johnson, Chairman; Paula Tynes
and Maurice Tynes. Among those not pictured are Charlene Curry, Craig
Hepburn, Olive Mackey, Gwendolyn Pratt and Leon Taylor.
Fox Hill Festival
Schedule of Events
THE ERIC WILMOTT FOX HILL FESTIVAL 2008
SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES
August 1 - 12, 2008
___________________________________________________________________________
Friday August - 1st
8:00 pm Opening Ceremony – Pavilion,
Fox Hill Parade
Cultural
Show
Music by Her Majesty’s Prison Orchestra
Performance by local marching bands
Junkanoo Rush-out
Fireworks
*Stalls available for rent
Saturday August - 2nd
Law Enforcement Day – Fox Hill Parade
6:00 pm Mini Tattoo
7:00 pm - 9.00 pm Bands
9:00 pm until…. DJ Music – Fox Hill Parade
and Freedom Park
Emancipation Day
Monday August - 4th
1:00 am – 8:00 am Emancipation Junkanoo Rush Out
(Featuring all the leading Junkanoo
Groups)
11:00 am Ecumenical Emancipation Day Service
(Live Broadcast)
Musical selections: Prison Choir
Special Guests:
Government Officials, Simpson Penn Centre for Boys,
Williemae Pratt Centre for Girls,
Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, and Homes for the elderly
of Fox Hill
1:00 pm Senior Citizens Luncheon – Freedom
Park
2:00 pm Activities on Freedom Park Fox Hill
Parade:-
Climbing the Greasy Pole
Plaiting of Maypole
DJ music on both Fox Hill Parade and Freedom Park
3:00 - 7:00 pm Matinee Dance for Youth (ages 7-13) – Fox
Hill Community Centre
7:00 pm Band Performance
8:00 pm until… Live Music:
Wednesday August - 6th
7:30 pm Healthy Lifestyle Forum – Fox
Hill Parade
Topics: Breast Cancer, Diabetes, Prostate Care
and Obesity
Thursday August - 7th
7:30 pm Town Meeting – Theme: Guiding Our Heritage –
Fox Hill Community Centre
9:00 pm MP’s Reception – Fred Mitchell MP - Fox Hill
Community Centre
Friday August - 8th
8:00 pm Youth Night & Fashion Show – by Fox Hill
Youth Association – Fox Hill Parade
Saturday August - 9th
6:00 am Health Fun Walk
9:00 am Health Fair: Free screening of blood
pressure, blood sugar, weight
8:00 pm A Night of Talent – Presented by
Kevin Moss – Fox Hill Parade
Fox Hill Day
Tuesday August - 12th
11:00 am Programmes – at Baptist Churches
in Fox Hill
12:00 Noon All day activities begin on Fox
Hill Parade and Freedom Park
4:00 pm Plaiting of Maypole
6:00 pm Climbing the Greasy Pole
7:00 pm Performance by Prison Pop Band
8:00 pm Performance by Visage
10:00 pm until… DJ Music – Fox Hill Parade and
Freedom Park
|
SEVA
DAVIS MOSS BURIED
Mrs. Seva Davis Moss was buried today, Sunday 13th
April, after a funeral sevice at Macedonia Baptist Church, Bernard Rd.
Mrs. Moss hailed originally from Moores Island, Abaco and was a leader
in the community of Fox Hill, along with her husband, Stalwart Councillor
Clarence Moss. Mr. Moss is pictured at centre (with glasses) at the
graveside. PLP Leader Perry Christie MP and Fox Hill Member of Parliament
Fred Mitchell attended and spoke at the funeral. Her MP recalled
of 'Miss Seva' and her suport for the PLP, that she "...was no summer soldier
or no sunshine patriot. When hard times came, she did not head for
the tall grass. She was what she was." You may click
here for Mr. Mitchell's remarks.
IN PASSING
Attorney Jan Ward Charged
The Crown has charged Jan Ward, an attorney, with stealing ?850, 000
pounds sterling, about 1.7 million dollars from a client by reason of service.
Mr. Ward pleaded not guilty, was granted $100,000 bail, and told to surrender
his passport and report to the police every Saturday before 6 p.m. The
charge was proffered on Thursday 10th April.
Allegations On Michael Misick Premier of Turks
Turks and Caicos Islanders have been stunned by the latest news about
their Premier Michael Misick. First, there were the rumours that
following a party at his home, an American woman reported that she had
been raped. Mr. Misick has been under some Opposition pressure about
his life style, which many criticized as being too involved in the international
jet set, and not enough time spent in the Turks and Caicos. These
criticisms were exacerbated following the marriage to an American TV actress
Lisa Raye. Mr. Misick issued the following statement:
“A few days ago, an American female, after
leaving the Turks and Caicos Islands, made a false report to law enforcement
officials in the United States that she had allegedly been sexually assaulted
by me. I strongly and categorically deny these false allegations.
“Because an American citizen is involved as
a procedural matter law enforcement officials from the United States are
observing the investigation.
“I am confident that I will be completely
and fully exonerated of these false and outrageous allegations. Due
to the ongoing investigation, I will not be commenting any further on this
matter. Let me be clear: I will continue my duties as premier. We
have a lot yet to accomplish.
“May God bless you and may God continue to
bless the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
Guyana’s Foreign Minister Steps Down
Guyana has a new Foreign Minister. She is Carolyn Rodrigues.
Mrs. Rodrigues replaces Rudy Insanally who demitted office on 31st March.
Caricom Security Conference More Of The Same
Caricom’s Chair Hubert Ingraham who is also the Prime Minister of The
Bahamas had little to offer in the way of solutions to the crime problem
in the region. The statement issued after the special summit on security
in the region held in Trinidad on Saturday 5th April did not offer much.
The Caricom leaders offered up that they plan to start executing people
as soon as the Courts allow them. They keep stressing this business
of the deportees from the U.S., the U.K. and Canada who they say are committing
the crimes. The only problem is that this flies in the face of the
evidence. Now they say they want to put in place a special agreement
with the developed countries that are dumping these deportees into the
region. They want to start programmes to anticipate their arrival,
to follow them up and have some mandatory reporting mechanism when they
return. It seems to us that this is begging for constitutional rights
problems, when you start requiring mandatory reporting and restrictions
for people who have committed and certainly have not been convicted of
any crime in their home countries. Of course, the U.S., UK and Canada
should be ashamed of themselves for deporting these people back to the
region, many of them for minor crimes and who have lived all their lives
lawfully in those countries.
St. Agnes Rectory
The St. Agnes Rectory that was abandoned by the historic Grants Town
Anglican church since the death of its long serving rector the late Archdeacon
William Thompson was destroyed by fire last Sunday. It appears that
drug users were occupying the premises and may have started the fire.
The limestone structure stands but the wooden interior was all destroyed
by the fire.
Loretta, Just Bring The Bills Into Force
Loretta Butler Turner, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health,
had a lot of chat in the press last week about abuse of children and she
told the Nassau Guardian on Saturday 12th April that she wants to start
a sex offender’s registry. While that’s all well and good, we ask
the question why don’t you simply bring into force the Child Protection
Act and the Domestic Violence Act? A whole lot of yada yada won’t
mean a thing if these important pieces of legislation are not brought into
force immediately.
Trouble At The AG’s Office
Lawyers at the Office of the Attorney General have written three separate
anonymous letters to the Prime Minister complaining of Claire Hepburn,
the represent Attorney General. The lawyers have said that even though
Allyson Maynard Gibson had her ways, she hit the ground running.
They argue that this Attorney General has been unable to get major criminal
cases off the ground, with judges sitting on the bench twiddling their
thumbs. This puts the lie to the silly arguments of the Prime Minister
and the Attorney General last year that they needed to pass an amendment
to the Juries Act reducing juries to nine to speed up justice. The
fact is they can hardly bring a case to court because the files and the
state of prosecution are in such a mess. The lawyers want her removed.
AG Hepburn was incensed by it and asked the lawyers to write her instead
of complaining to the Prime Minister.
Registrar General Busy Hiring
They fired those on contract when they came into office and complained
that the PLP had simply hired their supporters. They covered it up
by saying the government could not afford it. But now they are hiring
apace in the Registrar’s Office: ten within the last three months and another
ten are to come on. Perhaps Junior Minister Desmond Banister can
explain that logic. Meanwhile, Carl Bethel, the Minister of Education
can say whether or not he hired 150 people through the school board system.
Again, they are in the main FNM supporters or so the FNM thinks.
Cost Of Food
The government must enforce the law on price control on food and must
look as a matter of public policy on why food prices are what they are.
A loaf of bread now costs $3.75 in The Bahamas. The cost of a can
of cream (evaporated milk elsewhere) is $1.15. There appears to be
no price control under this FNM government. People are stunned at
the cash counter at how much it costs. One man wanted to fight the
cashier because the cost of bread, peanut butter and hotdogs, left him
$3 short. Luckily, a good Samaritan paid it for him and saved him
his dignity. Look for more stories including a rise in theft and
maybe even riots like in Haiti.
The Bugle Reports
The new weekly newspaper The Bugle reports that the police in The Bahamas
are not as conversant as they should be with the gang signals in The Bahamas.
They point out the practice of tennis shoes hanging over high tension electrical
wires in New Providence as a sign of gang activity: either to mark a gang
member has been killed in that area or to mark the gang member who is on
remand for killing someone... The newspaper also reports that the FNM government
short-changed the Family Island judicial circuit. The Circuit Magistrates
that used to take care of legal cases on the islands have had to stop travelling
and as a result, all matters are being adjourned to next budget year.
The Court has run out of money from the budget allocations they got from
the FNM government. This will reportedly play havoc with the schedules
of lawyers but more importantly mean delayed justice and thus denied justice
for many Family Islanders. Well that's what many voted for.
The reports appear in the 13th April edition of the paper.
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
|
| PLP LEAVE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY:
The
Opposition Progressive Liberal Party joined issue with the FNM and its
Speaker Alvin Smith in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 16th April.
The House had been closed for two weeks. The government of the FNM
has no agenda. They intended to come back to Parliament with some
first readings of bills that are minor amendments and then proceed with
another minor amendment to the legislation governing the registration of
boats to allow for the licensing of amphibious craft. Nothing earth
shattering there, except that they did not consult the transport industry.
Tommy Turnquest had to come to Parliament to admit that they had not even
done their homework on that simple piece of law. But the issue of
the day was Frank Smith’s attempt to speak about the Mona Vie scandal and
Zhivargo Laing’s interference with the Comptroller of Customs’ decision
to reclassify the duty category for the drink imported by his sister-in-law.
The Speaker of the House stopped him from speaking and when he would not
sit down, the Speaker excluded him from the House and ordered him to withdraw.
Mr. Smith refused and then disorder broke out in the House. In the
end, the PLP decided that they would withdraw with Mr. Smith. Government
business then carried on without the Opposition present. Our photo
of the week comes from the front page of the Nassau Guardian by Letisha
Henderson showing the Opposition PLP as it left the House. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
AN IGNORANT SPEAKER OF THE
HOUSE
Damn Fool
You married a Gaulin
Damn Fool!
Tony McKay
This country is now paying the price for putting an ignorant man
in charge of the country, who, in turn, put ignorant men in charge of other
areas of the country’s life. One cannot help put advance that sentiment
as you look to the performance of Alvin Smith, the MP for North Eleuthera.
Bless his heart he just doesn’t get it. But the problem is the country
suffers because he doesn’t get it.
The history of this is that Alvin Smith was appointed the Leader
of the Opposition when Tommy Turnquest was Leader of the FNM back in 2002.
He was a surrogate. Tommy Turnquest lost his seat and served in the
Senate and so could not be the Leader of the Opposition under the constitution.
Instead, the FNM picked someone who would simply do what he was told.
The FNM suffered; the country suffered.
He is a boring man. He can’t excite a crowd. But he thinks
of himself as a man on a fast track. His own people in Hatchet Bay
where he was born don’t vote for him. He has done nothing to help
their small town. They wish he would disappear from the political
scene. But he is able to survive when there is a need for someone
in power to have a cipher through whom the hatchet work can be done.
This he does well. He does as he is told.
Mr. Smith was unceremoniously removed as the Leader of the Opposition
when Hubert Ingraham decided that it was time for him to come back and
take the crown. Mr. Smith, willing lamb to the political slaughter,
joined in the consensus to give up his salary to allow a man who was collecting
a pension and salary too in excess of 100,000 to come back and lead him
to the promised land. That he did and to help the man along, Mr.
Smith even walked with him every morning to ease his pain following his
heart attack.
Now the reward. Election 2007 was over. What would he
get? Surely, for being such a willing lamb, silent as ever, he would
get a ministerial job. No such luck. Mr. Ingraham shafted him
again. He was offered the job of Speaker. He thought the job
was below him. To sweeten the pot, it was decided that he would get
a raise in pay. He got the raise in pay. That raise in pay
has reaped great rewards for the FNM. They now have a compliant Speaker.
He does not understand the rules. He is over sensitive to criticism
and debate. He is quick to take offence. He is overly protective
of the FNM. In other words, he is causing problems for the country
but the fact is that he is simply out of his league.
How does one deal with such a person? Difficult you know.
You cannot appeal to logic. His mind does not work that way.
He does not understand logic. He only understands brute force and
power. Small point. Frank Smith, the PLP’s MP gets up in the
House and begins to make a member’s statement and he is stopped because
the Speaker decides that there is a court case that exists and that the
rule is that there can be no discussion while a lawsuit is before the courts.
That is not the rule. The rule anticipates that the Speaker has the
right to waive the rule when matters of public interest arise.
What is interesting is that the leader of the Government Hubert Ingraham
got up and said his side had no objection to the discussion of the lawsuit.
He brought up a red herring about other lawsuits, seeking to frighten the
PLP because Alfred Gray its Member of Parliament has a lawsuit against
the press. But that does not fit within any well recognized public
interest exception to the rule. The rules also say that if the will
of the House decides otherwise then the rules are waived. The Speaker
has no choice since he is subject to the rules and the will of the House.
The PLP agreed; the FNM agreed. There was no dissenting voice.
Yet the Speaker ruled that Frank Smith was out of order and that he must
sit down and withdraw. The PLP rightly thumbed their noses at the
Speaker and said they would withdraw with Frank Smith as well.
The business of the House then carried on without the Opposition
present. The government side sat giggling and cackling like a pack
of hyenas. Well and good.
The PLP must go further and push this Speaker who will do more foolish
things. He cannot help himself. He will try to please his masters.
Frank Smith was right. The PLP was right. Take no nonsense.
Take no prisoners.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 19th April 2008 at midnight:
298,675.
Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 19th April 2008
at midnight: 752,046.
Number of hits for the year 2008 up to Saturday 19th April 2008 up
to midnight: 4,460,203.
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
PLP
CHALLENGES THE SPEAKER
PLP Leader Perry Christie led a walkout of all PLP MPs
present in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 16th April in a show of solidarity
with the PLP Member of Parliament Frank Smith who was ordered by the Speaker
of the House Alvin Smith FNM MP to leave the House chamber. Alvin
Smith, the Speaker of the House, has developed a reputation for being over
sensitive about his authority and of not understanding the rules of the
House. Mr. Smith tends to look to the FNM to decide what to do.
In this case, the irony was that Hubert Ingraham,
the FNM's Leader had no issue with the discussion of the lawsuit brought
by Zhivargo Laing against Frank Smith and Dr. Bernard Nottage that the
PLP believes was simply brought to stifle public debate on a matter of
public interest. Mr. Smith was attempting to explain just that when
he was stopped dead in his tracks by the Speaker before he could even get
the words properly out of his mouth.
Following the walkout, which brought major headlines to the press for the
PLP, the Leader of the PLP Perry Christie had a press conference with PLP
MPs in the Committee room of the House of Assembly. Here is what
Mr. Christie said:
“With respect to the matter involving the Member
of Parliament for St. Thomas More, during members’ statements, he sought
to make an intervention that led to the Speaker making a ruling.
After the Speaker’s ruling, which the member respected, the member then
said that he would wish to continue with the statement - having heard the
Speaker’s ruling - and that statement began with his referring to the code
of ethics in the platform of the Free National Movement, and wanting to
lay that on the table of the House.
“We took the opportunity to indicate that the
Speaker ought to have allowed him to say enough for the Speaker to make
a true determination that in fact he was trying to go through another route
on the same subject - but the Speaker did not allow that and we felt that
there was no rule that the member for St. Thomas More had breached.
“We tried to impress upon the Speaker that it
would be entirely wrong in all of the circumstances to have the member
leave the House. What Mr. Smith was trying to say involved a matter
of principle and it appeared to us that an effort was being made to shut
up the member for St. Thomas More.
“We felt fundamentally strong that in the circumstances
we would have to take the course of action that we ultimately did.
“We would not take it lightly; we would not make
such a decision lightly.
“It is the PLP’s view that the Speaker would
have availed himself of the opportunity to listen carefully... to make
a determination as to whether or not this matter of great public importance
ought to be quieted in the way the attempts are being made to do so.
“We thought that we took the best course of action
in the circumstances, to make that point in support of the Member of Parliament
and his rights.
“It is very clear that the opposition took pains
to give the Speaker an opportunity to rethink his decision.
“That’s why we availed ourselves of the opportunity
to meet with the Speaker, and to have a full discussion with the Speaker.
“We made every effort to demonstrate to the Speaker
that this was an important issue, and in fact that the member was moving
to a new subject matter, and it was for the Speaker himself to at least
give him the opportunity to be heard, to the point where the Speaker could
make a determination on whether he was going - in a circuitous route -
to come back to the same subject. We were satisfied he wasn’t.”
Frank Smith MP St. Thomas More said:
“We believe that the whole announcement [of the
lawsuit by Zhivargo Laing] was designed to mute debate on this whole issue
that confronts us.
“We believe that it is a very important issue.
It is a national issue, it involves the Treasury. It involves the
collection of taxes, Customs duty and it involves the integrity of the
process that we have in place - our laws. I was moving on from the
matter in my statements when the Speaker silenced me.
“There were a number of concerns that I had...
where there were several things that I wanted to cover in my member’s statement,
and I simply sought to move on to my next topic.”
Dr. Bernard Nottage MP, Leader Of Opposition Business
in the House, said:
“Our issue with the Speaker’s decision is a question
of fairness on the part of the Speaker. We decided to leave because
it felt the Speaker was being unfair to the opposition.
“We have that lingering sense of unfairness.
For example, you would recall that when Mr. Ingraham started his harangue
in there this morning, the Speaker wouldn’t say to the leader of the government
to be quiet, as he says to others.
“Mr. Speaker has to apply the rules evenly to
all of us. That's what we were asking for, and unless and until he
does that, there are going to continue to be these types of disruptions.
We are called upon to serve and a major part of our service is within the
Parliament. But there is no point in us being there if we are not
being allowed to speak on behalf of the people who sent us there.”
BIS photos: Peter Ramsay
THE
PRICE OF FOOD AND EVERYTHING ELSE
The topic du jour in the Caribbean is the price of food. Haiti got
the worst of it with riots two weeks ago, that led to the fall of the government.
There is a tenuous peace there, even though the President announced that
the price of rice has been reduced. There are problems of varying
degrees over the price of flour in St. Vincent, Trinidad, Grenada, Jamaica,
and Guyana. In The Bahamas, bread has reached a startling 3.75 dollars
per loaf. Gasoline is now over 5 dollars a gallon.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) have met on the problem of rising food prices and they suggest that
there will be greater social dislocation within countries if there is not
something done about the soaring prices of food. In the short term,
they suggest that the governments subsidize the price of food to lower
its costs to consumers and they suggest that local agriculture must be
part of the answer. The Bahamas government has not said what it will
do about the situation here, where MPs have been reporting that families
in the country are suffering under the weight of the increases in the price
of food. This government does nothing.
Fred Mitchell MP spoke about government inaction
on the problem of rising food prices in a briefing on Foreign Affairs matters
on Tuesday 15th April. You may click
here for the full statement.
Local agriculture was abandoned by the FNM in favour
of their merchant friends who import the food. Now with prices going
sky high it may be that some return to subsistence agriculture might help.
The World Bank is also suggesting that another war
is on the way, that for clean drinking water. The resource is getting
more precious. The Bahamas does not have much fresh drinking water,
and has turned in recent years to energy intensive reverse osmosis to create
fresh water out of salt water. The government needs to study what
this will do to the cost of living here as well. The fact is this
government has no plan. They don’t know where they are going and
so we are going into the valley of darkness without a compass or a plan.
In response to Mr. Mitchell's statement, the prime minister the following
day issued a statement in the House of Assembly saying that the "measures"
are being taken to protect the interest of The Bahamas. What measures
and when?...
Fred Mitchell MP briefing the media in this photo by Dennis Fountain
THE
REHABILITATION OF ZHIVARGO LAING
The Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has now fully
embraced the wrongdoing of his Minister of State. You will remember
the Minister of State Zhivargo Laing interfered on behalf of his brother
Tyrone and his sister-in-law Monique to ensure that the duty remained in
a lower category for a drink that they sell called Mona Vie. The
scandal was first revealed by Frank Smith PLP MP for St. Thomas More.
Mr. Ingraham has not only backed the Minster in words but he has been busy
rehabilitating Mr. Laing’s tattered public image. Mr. Laing has been
to one seminar after the next. He has been threatening taxpayers
with retribution, the latest group he is going after are real tax property
defaulters. He is also to Chair the Committee to preside over the
privatization of the telephone company. Neither Mr. Laing, nor Mr.
Ingraham has any shame.
GOVERNMENT
BACKS OUT ON RUBY NOTTAGE
We have been tracking the issue of the appointment
of Ruby Nottage, the Anglican Chancellor, as a judge. Once the appointment
was announced, the U.S. government through its local spokesman Don O’Connor
said that they were surprised that the appointment was made considering
that Mrs. Nottage has an indictment that is still alive in Boston, Massachusetts.
The charge was made in 1989. The U.S. has never pursued the extradition
of Mrs. Nottage. The society was rightly outraged that the U.S. could
intervene so casually and in effect ruin the life of a distinguished citizen.
Last week’s summary of various public comments seemed
to show ambivalence in the society but that largely people had decided
to protect Mrs. Nottage. The government had up to this week been
quiet. The PLP should be quiet since it has nothing to do with them.
On 15th April, the cat was set amongst the pigeons with the first clue
as to the government’s attitude. Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette,
the man who said that he had a closer relationship with the U.S. because
he was neighbour of the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, announced that the
appointment of Mrs. Nottage would be further considered in due course.
Translation! Translation!
The government had nothing to do with the appointment
save that if a judge has reached the age of 65, an extension is required
on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader
of the Opposition. Does this mean that the Prime Minister does not
intend to extend the appointment of Mrs. Nottage if she serves to 65?
The news coming out of the FNM’s parliamentary meeting suggests that Mr.
Ingraham has decided that this is his way out. Typical political
cowardice. The signal to the political community was very clear.
The FNM is abandoning Mrs. Nottage. So once again, we have the FNM
abandoning a Bahamian in the face of the words of the U.S. Not surprising,
but there it is.
NEW
RADIO STATION LAUNCHES
The newest radio station Star 106.5 officially launched
at a reception at the Breezes Superclubs on Thursday 17th April.
The station operates as a joint venture of businessman Kenneth Vernon Perigord
who owns the radio licence and the Nassau Guardian that manages the station.
Mr. Perigord is also a director on the board of the new venture chaired
by Anthony Ferguson of the Nassau Guardian and Colina Financial Services.
The Board includes in addition to Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Perigord, Paul Major,
former General Manager of Bahamasair, Lynden Nairn of Colina Financial
and Ken Kerr, a financial planner and advisor. Mr. Perigord will
transfer his show of Golden Oldies from Love 97 on Saturdays and he will
contribute other programme ideas.
The pictures in the press show that a number of
staff members of the Love 97 Team of Wendall Jones have gone over to this
new station. They are Brad Hanna, Greg Lampkin, Tony Williams, Buena
Wright, Richard Rudon, and Juan McCartney. Also seen at the reception
and announced as part of the team is Jeff Lloyd, who will be hosting a
radio talk show in the afternoon from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The
photos show Ken Perigord at the reception with friends, well wishers and
members of his family. Congratulations to KP and to Anthony Ferguson.
Photos - top left from left: Cleomie Woods, Mrs. Keith Perigord,
Buena Wright, Ken Perigord, Keith Perigord, Michael Thompson, Kera and
Ken Perigord Jr. Top right, from left: Verne Perigord, Cleomi Woods,
Buena Wright and Ken Perigord. Bottom left: Ken Perigord (at right)
and sons Sean, Verne, and Ken Jr. Bottom right: Ken Perigord, Cleomi
Woods and Verne Perigord.
MITCHELL
ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
On Tuesday 15th April, Fred Mitchell, the Opposition’s
spokesman on Foreign Affairs, gave a briefing to the press on the state
of relations with foreign countries including a comprehensive review on
the food policy of the country in light of the riots in Haiti. You
may click here for a transcript of the
general remarks at the conference.
Photo: Dennis Fountain
MITCHELL
FOR THE WORKERS
Fred Mitchell, the Fox Hill MP, was called to the
scene of desolation and abandon by workers of the Parks and Playgrounds
Section of the Department of Environmental Health on Monday 14th April.
Here
is Mr. Mitchell’s statement issued following his visit.
Photos: Dennis Fountain
CONGRATULATIONS
DR. NOTTAGE
Our best wishes go out to Dr. Bernard Nottage ,
the PLP’s Leader of Business in the House of Assembly for his being inducted
into the Hall of Fame of Central American and Caribbean Games. Dr.
Nottage is a former athlete and is the former President of the Bahamas
Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA). Other inductees were
sprinter Pauline Davis-Thompson and long jumper Frank Rutherford, both
Olympians. Dr. Nottage told The Tribune that he was surprised but
honoured. He said that he credits track and field in everything he
does.
SIR
ARLINGTON TO BOW OUT
The elections held by the Bahamas Olympic Association
(BOA) in March are not recognized by the International Olympic Committee
(IOC). Sir Arlington Butler who has been involved with the BOA for
45 years has decided that at the age of 70 he is calling it quits.
Fresh elections are to be convened on 8th May in Nassau pursuant to an
agreement with the IOC.
IN PASSING
Sandor Fowler Charged
Sandor Fowler, a former altar boy at St. Agnes Anglican Church was
charged with the murder of 86 year old Iris Archer, a member of the church.
Mrs. Archer was killed on Sunday 13th April. Mr. Fowler has been
in and out of trouble in and around St. Agnes and the Archer family is
said to have assisted him on several occasions like many parishioners in
St. Agnes. The Rector of St. Agnes Archdeacon Ranfurly Brown told
the press that Mr. Fowler had prior to this murder been expelled from St.
Agnes.
Fowler is shown leaving the Courts, at centre in bulletproof vest,
in this Peter Ramsay photo
Stephen Plakaris Arrest Shameful
The government should not use the police to stifle peaceful dissent,
but that is the way under the FNM. Stephen Plakaris, Deputy Director
of Security for the Ministry of Education was arrested on Tuesday 15th
April, 2008 because he was silently protesting in front of a government
building over not having been paid for four months. The PLP should
protest this behaviour by the police. We think that the action was
disgraceful on the part of the government. It turns out this may
not be a free society after all.
Negative Recommendation For Bahamas Judge
Friends of Judge John Lyons are furious because the Judicial and Legal
Services Commission has reportedly not given a positive recommendation
for him to take up a job as the Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Island.
Frankly, the legal fraternity in The Bahamas would love to see the back
of him and so there is a concern that the Commission did not positively
recommend him. Mr. Lyons needs to go. Meanwhile legal practitioners
reportedly suffer through his harangues in court every week.
Internet photo
Western Air Should Be Inspected
The Department of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Aviation has to
investigate and publicly say why Western Air continues to fly into Exuma
when reportedly their temporary licence to fly into Exuma was revoked in
December 2007. It appears that Western Air does not have a licence
to fly into Exuma and is continuing to do so in defiance of the order of
the Department. Further, the government needs to say whether it considers
that Western Air is a safe airline on which to fly. There are deeply
disturbing concerns about the safety of its aircraft and the pilots who
fly them.
Superman, Spiderman and Crankin’
The launch of the new radio station at 106.5 on the FM dial in New
Providence gave rise to discussions in some circles about the saturation
of the market and whether all the stations will make it. In a libertarian
economy, those who make it make it and those who don’t will fail.
Once there is a level playing field and there is no overarching public
interest that requires the market to be limited in some form by government
intervention. That said, there is also the concern about the standards
and the morals of the programming of modern Bahamian radio stations.
100 Jamz the station owned by The Tribune came in for the greatest criticism
for simply being slimy and nasty and corrupting the morals of young
people. There is that view, but the fact is that the competition
is stiff out there for the attention of young Bahamians and 100 Jamz pushes
the envelope. To wit the popular song, CRANK DAT SPIDERMAN.
Turns out that the popular tune has a message that maybe parents don’t
know about. But even some of the kids at the recent Bahamas National
Youth meeting on Tuesday 15th April in Fox Hill seemed concerned about
the message the song is sending out. The true meaning for some is
pretty gross and some would say indecent, so we have put a link
here for you to hear it for yourself, and also a link
to what the words of the song are and what the meaning is said to be.
That means if you click on to it, you take the responsibility for it.
But this is what the kids say 100 Jamz is pushing on the radio. Nuff
said.
The Majors Are Taken Away
Dwight and Keva Major, the alleged drug traffickers from Long Island,
who first came to light when Bradley Roberts the PLP MP then in Opposition
accused Frank Watson, the then Minister of National Security, of allowing
the drug operation of Mr. Major to terrorize the people of Long Island,
are now in the United States. The couple has been fighting extradition
for five years. Their case had a bizarre ending. Their attorney
Keod Smith resigned from the case after the Judge Sir Burton Hall struck
out parts of his application. Mr. Smith was then later escorted out
of the Court by the Police on the Judge’s orders. The case was then
dismissed by Sir Burton who did not allow a postponement by the Majors
to get another lawyer. They argued that it was their constitutional
right to get a lawyer. There being no further case it appears the
Crown acted and the couple left The Bahamas at 11 a.m. on Friday 18th April.
There was a chorus of denouncements from their former Attorney Mr. Smith
and from Paul Moss, a political activist, who both argued that the law
had been trashed and the couple spirited out of the country in violation
of the constitution. Fred Mitchell, the former Minister under the
PLP, who signed the original warrant, had no comment to make. Brent
Symonette, the present Minister and who is responsible for the extradition
said that the government acted properly. The U.S. political officer
Dan O’Connor says that the couple will appear in court in Miami on Monday
20th April.
Nassau Guardian photo
Malaria In Exuma As Regatta Is Coming
The annual Family Island Regatta named this year in honour of super
sailor Rolly Gray begins next Wednesday 23rd April. There should
be a fun time for all. But this year visitors may have to travel
with prophylactics in their bags to protect against being infected with
malaria. The Ministry of Health has confirmed that three people,
two tourists and one Bahamian were tested positive for malaria. There
was an outbreak two years ago and most Bahamians thought that this was
behind us. But there is criticism of the spraying and surveillance
programme of the Ministry of Health under the FNM. Further, there
is an unabated illegal Haitian population that comes in daily from the
southern shores of Great Exuma and they join the shanty town just over
the hill behind the BTC building in Georgetown, Exuma’s capital.
There is little enforcement, no health care and no sanitary facilities
or sanitation. The Minister of Health Dr. Hubert Minnis claims that
he outbreak is contained. The U.S. has issued a travel advisory for
Exuma.
Construction Sector Under Stress
Where was the sympathy last year from the Bahamas Contractors Association
headed by Steven Wrinkle when Ashley Glinton and his company Woslee Dominion
were trashed by the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham? Mr. Ingraham
pulled the plug on the construction of the straw market, did not officially
cancel the contract and then libelled Mr. Glinton in the House of Assembly.
Not one contractor opened their mouth. The same for Patrick McDonald
in Grand Bahama who lost the contract for the construction of the new Junior
High in Grand Bahama. Not one word. The PLP tried to raise
the alarm but to no avail. Now everyone is hurting and crying.
The Kerzner project to rebuild the Hurricane Hole Marina on Paradise Island
is now on hold indefinitely because of the financial markets. The
Baha Mar project is on hold because of Hubert Ingraham and his big fat
mouth.
Mr. Wrinkle has been expressing concern for the fate of his members,
on one occasion saying that 60 per cent were out of work. He told
the Bahama Journal on 15th April: “We’re very disappointed that they’re
[Kerzner] not proceeding as planned for whatever reason. Unfortunately,
it’s going to have a significant impact on the construction industry.
As you know, Kerzner is a proven client for us.
“They’ve done hundreds of millions of dollars worth of construction
and when you see them pulling a plug on a project it really raises a red
flag throughout the industry, so not only does it mean that Kerzner is
not going to proceed, but when other developers look at Kerzner and see
him not going forward it gives them cause to stop and look back and reassess
also. This is not a good thing at all.”
On 17th April, the Bahama Journal reported that Mr. Wrinkle added these
thoughts: “We’re disappointed that the work [billions of dollars of
potential contracts] is not going to be brought into the marketplace.
Some of it may never be brought into the marketplace in light of recent
developments. Other works have been severely scaled down, the scheduling
for the construction projects have been thrown into chaos.
“We had contractors that were advised late last year and early this
year to prepare for expansion, to prepare for a serious workload this year,
to go ahead and invest in equipment, machinery, administration, and prepare
themselves to move themselves to the next leg in the construction industry.
“Having advised our members of this, we now find ourselves looking
at a blank wall and it’s very, very disappointing. We understand
the volatility in the industry. What we don’t understand is the inability
to complete the negotiations with the developers and bring the projects
to fruition.”
Smell A Rat Zhivargo and BTC
It has been announced that Zhivargo Laing, the disgraced Minister of
State who is mired in the Mona Vie scandal, has been appointed to head
the privatization committee of the government to oversee the selling of
the telephone company BTC. The word is Leon Williams, the President
of the company, has been asked by Chairman of the Board Julian Francis
to leave the company on the grounds that he can take it no further.
This is a surprise given the record profits and record expansion that the
company has had under his leadership. No surprise there, the FNM
has been witch-hunting since they came in trying to get at Bradley Roberts,
the former Minister, who they believed Mr. Williams had too close a relationship
with. But the final insult is to scrap the privatization of BTC by
the PLP. One of the PLP’s last decisions was to sell BTC to Blue
Water. Now the process is to start all over again and headed by a
disgraced Minister who has to defend his reputation and his seat and so
won’t be able concentrate on his public duties.
Electronic ID Card
Caribnet News reports that as of 7th April the Electronic Identification
System that will provide smart cards for the issuance of work permits and
residency permits for The Bahamas is ready. This is part of the system
that the PLP procured under the leadership of Fred Mitchell, the former
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
|
| A STRONG DEBATE:
This
week in Parliament on Wednesday 23rd April, St. George’s Day, the men of
the PLP took the lead in a strong debate on local government in The Bahamas.
The FNM has no political agenda said Alfred Gray, the PLP’s spokesman on
Local Government and its former Local Government Minister. Mr. Gray
outlined what he would have done had the PLP been returned as the government.
He repeated what had been said in his press conference the day before.
You may click here for his full statement.
For him the main policy would have been local government for New Providence.
He encouraged all men and women of goodwill to participate in the local
government elections scheduled for 23rd June. He called for an increase
in the stipend paid to local government councillors from $75 to $200 per
month and the Chief Councillor from $400 to $600 per month. Obie
Wilchcombe took to the floor in a strong debate urging the government to
come up with a plan, to try and build on what was left behind rather than
destroy it. Picewell Forbes, aka ‘The Hometown Boy’ urged assistance
for his constituency in South Andros. Our photo of the week then
is a montage of our men at work in the Assembly on Wednesday 23rd April.
The photos are by Peter Ramsay of The Bahamas Information Services. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
ONE NASTY LITTLE MAN
What people from both inside and outside the country are trying
to figure out is how The Bahamas has the Prime Minister it now has.
How from where we started did we end up with Hubert Ingraham with the crude,
boorish and down right stupid behaviour he displays? How did we end
up with him being the Prime Minister of The Bahamas? It is like a father
who hears the news of the imminent death of his son from a mysterious disease;
he must ask, “Why lord?”
Some blame it on the weakness of the PLP. Others blame it on
Tommy Turnquest who was the Leader of the FNM, and allowed Hubert Ingraham
to take the crown away from him. Others simply say what Job said:
“The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of
the Lord.” Whatever the reason, the country is suffering for it.
What you have now brewing, if it is not already here is a major crisis
in our economy. The Ministry of Finance is scrapping every day to
make ends meet. One man reports that he has been trying to get a
$500,000 refund from the Ministry of Finance through the Customs Department
and he has gotten one story after the next. The bottom line is that
the Treasury of The Bahamas can’t seem to come up with the $500,000.
Things may be that bad.
The construction business has come to a halt. The reason is
that same man that we started to talk about at the start. He put
his big fat mouth up in the Baha Mar business at Cable Beach. The
result was a few days later, the Harrah’s group from Las Vegas decided
that they would not go ahead with a major investment in The Bahamas.
The letter to the developers said that it was because of what Hubert Ingraham
said in the House of Assembly.
Mr. Ingraham though remains unrepentant. He can’t it seems
change his spots. In fact, some argue that he is that way because
he was dispatched by the voters in 2002, but the voters came back for him
in 2007 and now that he is back despite all that bad talk about him, he
can do whatever he wants. He likes to say these days that he never
wanted to come back, but now that he is back, take what you get.
There is a Bahamian song that says “Look what you could get when
you’re tried of what you gat!” Indeed that must be the story for
Bahamians all over the country who are regretting today that they voted
to bring this crude and insulting behaviour back to the Prime Minister’s
office. His behaviour is a national embarrassment to the country.
Here it is all these fine brains, trained people, cultured people, and
we go and elect to represent us, one with uncouth, crude behaviour to show
the face of The Bahamas to the world. We ask again: how from where
we started did we end up like this?
It never ceases to amaze you how crude his behaviour is. Just
when you think that he could get no cruder, then he jumps even that boundary.
The latest example is the House of Assembly on Wednesday 23rd April when
Dr. Bernard Nottage the PLP’s MP for Bain and Grants Town rose to request
television and radio coverage for the hearings on crime by a House Committee
recently appointed to study that subject and of which Dr. Nottage is Chair.
He made a public request after the Speaker of the House of Assembly at
first told him that it was fine to do so but later reneged on that saying
that he was advised that he did not have the power to do so. The
public request was turned aside in a whole lot of genteel verbiage by the
Leader of the Government in the House Tommy Turnquest. That was all
fine and good as far it went. The PLP should have known that the
request would not be granted.
Dr. Nottage got up again to make the request about taping the proceedings
for a later time. All this time, Mr. Ingraham was sitting flicking
his eyes and twiddling is thumbs. Then as Tommy Turnquest was explaining
that denial, Mr. Ingraham added that Tommy was being very nice to
Dr. Nottage but the answer is no. Whereupon Tommy sat down. Whereupon
Dr. Nottage reminded the country that their government of transparency
and openness had said no.
Earlier in the same House meeting, someone pointed out as the House
was getting a little raucous that Bishop Simeon Hall, the Chair of the
Government’s Crime Commission, wants the House taken off live TV because
of the behaviour exhibited there. Mr. Ingraham’s reply “Simeon Hall
doesn’t run in here”.
In the written page, seemingly innocent words but in the face just
gratuitously insulting. We say if you don’t know what to say, then
why not keep your damn mouth shut? Not Hubert Ingraham, not the present
Prime Minister of The Bahamas. You can’t put a goat on a board floor.
No matter how you train him, the goat only knows how to prance.
The bottom line is that this is simply one nasty little man.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 26th April 2008 up to
midnight: 226,045.
Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 26th April 2008
at midnight: 991,080.
Number of hits for the year 2008 up to Saturday 26th April 2008 up
to midnight: 4,699,237.
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
CHRISTIE
SAYS HE IS STAYING
This week, there seemed to be yet another aspirant for the job of Leader
of the PLP, a job that is not yet vacant. Frank Smith, the MP for
St. Thomas More threw his hat into the ring, although he was quick to endorse
the incumbent Leader Perry Christie. Alfred Gray the MP for MICAL
repeated what he had said earlier about his interest, although he too quickly
added the job was not available now. That lack of availability was
later confirmed in an interview published in The Nassau Guardian on Friday
25th April from the Leader himself Perry Christie. Here is what he
said in his own words:
“I don’t think [stepping down as leader] is in
the best interest of the Progressive Liberal Party. My Deputy Leader
has indicated that she does not propose to contest a seat in the general
election so at some stage she will make herself available to demit office
as Deputy Leader. I have not reached that point.
“Part of the process, I suppose, of coming to
the position of leader is to first determine the steps we will take with
respect to the Deputy Leadership. At this point in time I’m fully
supportive of Cynthia Pratt as to when she decides to move from that position,
but at this stage she has not advised me of when she is moving on, so all
the talk about aspiring to office is really people setting up, I suppose,
the context for themselves in moving forward, and they would want
people to see that they are eligible and they want people to agree that
they are worthy of support and I don’t see any need to get too concerned
about it [the leadership] at this stage.
“I think if Barack Obama could demonstrate that
you can be a fledgling member of the Senate in the United States of America
and become a possible president of the U.S.; this has emboldened and inspired
all of the young men and women who are associated with me in politics.
Smith will not be the only young person who will vie for higher office
in the party. He knows that the time has come for the party to begin
the process of examining its future. I am part of that process and
it encourages me to see that there are young persons who aspire to office
and who are brave enough to say so.”
THE
NINE BILLION DOLLAR PUFF OF SMOKE
For a minute there, the country may have wondered aloud whether Hubert
Ingraham and his hapless, scandal ridden Minister of State Zhivargo Laing
were still in charge of the Ministry of Finance. Finance is the Ministry
that decides on the investment projects coming into the country.
Instead it was Carl Bethel, the Education Minister (pictured), who speaking
on a local government debate on Wednesday 23rd April announced with great
flourish and aplomb and a good deal of “testicular fortitude” that the
government had approved 9.1 billion dollars worth of projects in their
first ten months in office, compared to the 29 billion approved the PLP
in their first five years. This brought howls of laughter from both
government and opposition benches.
It was simply ludicrous. Every single project
was started during the PLPs time and yet the FNM was claiming credit for
it. This included the sale by the Venezuelan government of BORCO
for 900 million for which the sum of 40 million is to be paid in stamp
duty. This project was clearly started while the PLP was in office
and further the 900 million will never come to The Bahamas. It is
strictly a foreign to foreign transaction. Not likely to mean anything
to Grand Bahama.
It was Obie Wilchcombe the Grand Bahama MP for the
PLP who pointed out that Carl Bethel should be talking about the state
of the schools and not spouting off about investment that was really a
phantom and all public relations. He drew the Minister’s attention
to the fights at Bahamian schools that everyone can see on Youtube and
asked him to speak about education instead. This is the same FNM
that told the country that you needed binoculars to look for the investment
the PLP said it had approved. Mr. Wilchcombe said he needed a telescope
to find the FNM’s investments. This is not a time for blowing smoke.
There is real suffering in the country.
NOT
GUILTY IN THE GALLAGHER CASE
Paul Gallagher (pictured) was a 4 year old when
on vacation with his parents six years ago on Paradise Island, an accident
occurred. A boat carrying tourists on a joy ride ran into trouble
and while it was being sorted out, the boat was knocked into gear and ran
up the beach and the youngster was killed instantly. The grieving
parents have since waged a campaign in the United Kingdom against The Bahamas,
taking their case to the Foreign Office in London who pressured The Bahamas
government to review the case, with Scotland Yard reviewing the police
files.
A manslaughter charge was brought against the boat
owners and the driver. The matter has now been decided by Acting
Justice Elliott Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart found that the Crown did not
provide sufficient evidence to carry the case to the point where the Defence
needed to put up a defence. The result of the no case to answer submission
was a complete acquittal. There is no appeal. The family predictably
enough called the verdict unjust and was contemptuous of the result.
They cannot and will not be satisfied. We understand their grief
but what now is to be done?
Internet photo from Bahama Journal
20
HAITIANS DIE IN THE ATTEMPT
They keep coming and heading to the United States
of America. Haitian and other boat people leave their homes, find
their way to safe houses in Nassau or Freeport and then go on to Bimini
and with luck they end up in the United States. The situation was
not so lucky for a group who set out from New Providence on the second
leg of the journey to Bimini on Saturday 21st April. Some 15 miles
out of New Providence, the boat started to take on water and sank in deep
waters.
Reports say some 20 died. Fourteen bodies
have been claimed. Four have been identified. It is yet another
tragic example of the lives of Haitians being lost at sea in the attempt
at getting to the promised land of America. Meanwhile, the situation
in Haiti becomes ever more desperate, with the government there in shock
over the sacking of its Prime Minister as a result of riots over rising
food prices. The international community has got themselves one intractable
problem, and The Bahamas a major headache.
PLP spokesman on Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell issued
a statement extending condolences on the loss of life. You may click
here for the full statement.
Royal Bahamas Defence Force marines bring the body of a drowned
Haitian migrant ashore in Nassau Tuesday. Bahama Journal photo/Torrell
Glinton
PRICES
KEEP GETTING HIGHER AND HIGHER
The topic du jour throughout The Bahamas is the
high cost of everything. A sign of the times is the cost of fuel
where the price per gallon of gasoline is now $5.02. Incomes have
been static and people are having to choose between putting gasoline in
their cars and buying food, a clash of needs. So you have now new
policies at the gas pumps in The Bahamas. They now insist that you
have to pay for the gas you order before you get the gas. The reports
are that people pull up order the gas and speed away without paying once
they have the gas. In the food stores, the reports are that pilfering
is at a record level.
The interesting thing about this is that the Government
of The Bahamas appears to be oblivious to it all. The Cabinet in
Parliament was all smiles when they last met on Wednesday 23rd April.
Everything raised by the Opposition was a big joke. When will these
folk get serious and realize the situation in which they put this country
by one set of ruinous decisions after the next. Perhaps a sign of
the times for them is the fact that when Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister
showed up in Exuma at the Regatta, he was booed and cursed. You can’t
put too much stock into it because the electorate changes its mind on these
things so quickly.
One thing, though, is with economic disaster in
Grand Bahama, with construction drying up in Nassau, there are lots of
economic problems on the way. The price of food keeps going up: bread,
milk are the ones to watch. The government has no policy to deal
with the social dislocations from these rapid price rises. They laugh
and they laugh, and then adjourn the House.
BTC
HEAD IS FIRED
Yet another Corporation head has been summarily
dismissed. This time it is Leon Williams, the man who took the public
corporation BTC from a losing proposition under Hubert Ingraham to one
where there were record profits. He presided in the two years as
BTC’s President over the switch to GSM cellular phones, and interconnectivity
with the outside world for Blackberrys. He presided over the laying
of a national cable system that connected all the islands of The Bahaman
and Haiti. But the problem appears to be that he was on the wrong
political side.
We don’t know what Mr. Williams’ party politics
are but the FNM perceived that he was too close to Bradley Roberts, the
former Minister of the PLP responsible for BTC. The FNM spent much
of their time since they took over last May digging around to see if they
could find any corruption in the link between the two men. They found
none, because there was nothing to find. Nothing there at all.
The two are completely above reproach. Nevertheless, the rumour mill
of the FNM started in the last week saying that he was about to be fired.
Then it was finally confirmed, yes he had parted company involuntarily.
Then at week’s end the Chairman of the Board Julian Francis confirmed that
Mr. Williams was indeed fired or in the bureaucratic parlance, he was asked
to resign.
No word from Mr. Williams or BTC about the severance
package. Mr. Williams now joins Abraham Butler on the unemployment
line: two smart, well educated men who will have little luck if any at
all to find alternative employment in this climate of hatred stirred up
against them. All of this is of course making the FNM so-o-o-o popular.
Bradley Roberts, the former Member of Parliament
for Bain & Grants Town and the former Minister responsible for BTC
issued the following statement:
“I have been asked by the press to comment on
the imminent departure of Mr. Leon Williams the President & CEO of
Bahamas Telecommunication Company Ltd. A press statement issued by the
company’s Executive Chairman disclosed that the board of directors ‘has
determined that the company needs new leadership in order to address its
numerous weaknesses and short-comings‘.
“When I first heard rumors of Mr. William’s departure
my first reaction was déjà vu, recalling how a former General
Manager of Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation under the FNM administration
was dismissed and the subsequent legal action which resulted in high six
figures being awarded by the Courts to that General Manager.
“Before Mr. Williams’ elevation to the top post
of President & CEO, I sought the advice of a former Executive Chairman
of BTC who spoke in glowing terms of Mr. Williams’ qualifications which
I over time was able to affirm. There are few persons in my life time that
I have had the pleasure to work with in a professional capacity whose knowledge
of his chosen field is as extensive as Mr. Williams’. I have described
him as a gifted workaholic, a professional-extraordinaire, a teacher with
a passion to put and keep BTC on the cutting edge of technology, and also
being well known and highly respected in the International Telecommunications
Arena.
“BTC’s achievements and performance record during
Mr. Williams’ tenure is unprecedented and will forever be a tribute to
The Former Executive Chairmen , Board Members, the Executive Management
and the entire staff of the company.
“I have noted the recent editorial of the Tribune
and invite the Bahamian Public to consider why the Editor failed to disclose
her interest as a competitor to BTC. To the best of my knowledge Mr. Williams
was an enthusiastic supporter of Privatization.”
Bahama Journal photo of Mr. Williams appearing on Love 97 Radio
IN PASSING
PLP Leader In Grand Bahama
Perry Christie, Leader of the PLP, led a delegation of senior party
officers to a meeting with Party Officers and Stalwart Councilors on Thursday
24th April. The Leader was joined by Glenys Hanna Martin, Party Chair
and Obie Wilchcombe West End MP.
Carla Seymour Nee Mitchell Turns 50
Carla Seymour, nee Mitchell and the sister of Fred Mitchell the Member
of Parliament for Fox Hill celebrated her 50th birthday on Friday 25th
April, the eve of the anniversary. Donald Knowles the photographer
was there and took these photos of Mrs. Seymour dancing with her husband
Carlton (at left) and a right with siblings Fred Mitchell MP and New York
dentist Marva Mitchell.
New Radio Station Test Broadcasting
The newest radio station Star 106.5 FM has begun broadcast testing.
Officials say that the public can now check out the new station's sound
and playlists. They are expected to begin officially sometime next
week. The station operates as a joint venture of businessman Kenneth
Vernon Perigord who owns the radio licence and the Nassau Guardian that
manages the station. Mr. Perigord is also a director on the board
of the new venture chaired by Anthony Ferguson of the Nassau Guardian and
Colina Financial Services. Mr. Perigord will transfer his show of
Golden Oldies from Love 97 on Saturdays and he will contribute other programme
ideas. Among the team at the new radio station are Brad Hanna, Greg
Lampkin, Jeff Lloyd, Juan McCartney, Richard Rudon, Tony Williams and Buena
Wright.
Opposition Walkout In The Turks
Michael Misick, the Premier of the Turks and Caicos Island (pictured)
is reportedly working out a settlement with the woman who alleged that
he raped her at a party at his home some three weeks ago. The American
citizen is reportedly a personality of some note on MTV. Mr. Misick
has vigorously denied the charge and called it outrageous and false.
Meanwhile the Opposition leader in the Turks Floyd Seymour has called for
Mr. Misick to step down. Mr. Seymour also led a walkout of the Parliament
on Tuesday 22nd April when the Speaker refused to force Mr. Misick during
his budget debate to stay silent until such time as the rape allegations
are resolved. That was the Opposition’s demand. You will remember
that the PLP in Nassau walked out of Parliament two weeks ago in response
to a ruling by the Speaker of the Bahamian Parliament with which it disagreed
The Forest Fires Have Come
The season of the forest fires is upon us. During the past week,
New Providence has been engulfed in smoke in and around the airport and
the western end of the island. This is where significant pine forests
remain. It is a combination of natural phenomena and sometimes negligence
where glass bottles carelessly thrown into the dry bush interact with the
sun to cause a spontaneous combustion. Also in some cases, cigarettes
carelessly thrown from cars start the fires. Grand Bahama has similar
fires. No word from the other pine islands Abaco and Andros.
Bahama Journal photo
New Gym Opened in Bimini
A new gymnasium has been opened in Bimini. The gym is a project
by Pastor Gilbert Rolle who constructed the modern facility that was officially
opened by prime minister Hubert Ingraham. The Member of Parliament
for the area Obie Wilchcombe was in attendance.
BIS photos / Peter Ramsay
Fighting In The Hotel Union
There appears to be discord in the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied
Workers Union, with one side accusing the other of not following the rules.
The matter is now in the courts. It is to determine whether Roy Colebrook
is still the President or whether he has been validly suspended.
Reports say that the Hotel Workers Union is a shadow of itself because
of the infighting and the fact that Kerzner’s Atlantis has such strength
in the Bahamian market place that it has neutered the Union.
Tida Wave Victory
Rolly Gray, the great sea boat captain from Staniel Cay and the lord
of the Family Island Regattas, had a victory in death. His boat the
Tida Wave was declared the winner of the overall 55th Annual Family Regatta
in Georgetown, Exuma on Saturday 26th April. The place was packed.
Mr. Gray died in February of this year. Also missing from this year’s
Regatta was Hugh Cottis who died in February of 2008 as well. The
Regatta has changed significantly in that younger people seem now to embrace
it. Every politician who was anyone was down here mixing and mingling:
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie,
Carl Bethel, the Minister of Education, Ministers of State Phenton Neymour,
Bran McCartney and Charles Maynard, MPs Glenys Hanna Martin, Fred Mitchell,
Obie Wilchcombe, Senators Jerome Fitzgerald, Anthony Musgrove and Michael
Halkitis. The host MP was Anthony Moss, the MP for Exuma. Congratulations
to Superintendent Burkie Wright of the Royal Bahamas Police Force whose
C class boat won the race on the final day Saturday 26th April in honour
of his mother who is 93 years old.
The image of Captain Rolly Gray is superimposed over his winning
boat 'Tida Wave' and crew, captained by Brooks Miller in this Nassau Guardian
montage.
