Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 5 © BahamasUncensored.Com 2007
 |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Their name is the Progressive Liberal Action Network (PLAN) and they are young PLPs angry and fired up over the election result and ready to put their work into action. This is no talk shop. They have good young leadership amongst them. They were formed in the aftermath of the disappointing election result in Freeport where Pleasant Bridgewater and Ann Percentie (PLPs) lost their seats to the FNM. The group numbers in the hundreds and they meet every other Tuesday in the PLP's headquarters. This week they planned a demonstration to protest the victimization of the Free National Movement. Since coming to office the FNM has fired hundreds of people from the civil service, and they have stopped 90 million dollars worth of contracts. This has resulted in fear in the civil service and an economy that has slowed to a creep. The young PLPs in Freeport could take it no more, and the folk in Nassau can take a page from their books: less talk more action. Former candidates Doswell Coakley and Senator Pleasant Bridgewater are amongst its guiding lights. Sean Bowe is its leader and Patrick Davis, its spokesman on the scene; click here for Mr. Davis' remarks. Some appeared with paper bags over their heads, some were civil servants with those bags demonstrating that you had to fear expressing your rights in this new Bahamas under the FNM. Our photo of the week then is the demonstration in Freeport, Grand Bahama on Thursday 2nd August 2007. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE REVOLT STARTS IN FREEPORT
When the demonstration took place in Freeport on Thursday 2nd August,
three Ministers of the Government were hiding upstairs in the Office of
the Prime Minister. It is said they were having a meeting. 
But
the noise downstairs could be heard upstairs. One hundred PLPs gathered
in front of the Government Administrator's office on the Mall in Freeport
to protest the policies of the three men upstairs: Neko Grant, Ken Russell
and Zhivargo Laing, all Ministers of the Government. The PLP on 2nd
August, the day after the 173rd anniversary of the emancipation of the
slaves, were protesting the victimization of the new slave masters the
FNM. Since the FNM came to office they have fired hundreds, stopped
tens of millions of dollars in contracts, and are reviewing millions more
which means that those contracts together with the whole economy are on
hold. They have proceeded to frighten the civil service into silence,
and have the entire country intimidated.
It was important then for the PLP to show that its voice has not been silenced. The PLP will not be quiet. It is no surprise that the revolt has started in Freeport.
Following the defeat of the PLP in Freeport, younger PLPs in Freeport were dissatisfied with the way the campaign had been run. They were dissatisfied with the fact that inputs that were promised were never delivered. They were dissatisfied that there was not a prominent enough role given to the young in the campaign. Now it was time for them to step forward, and step forward they have in a big way. The group is called the Progressive Liberal Action Network (PLAN). They are made up of both stalwart councillors and the next generation of PLP leaders. Some of them expect to be candidates in the next general election for the PLP. Some were candidates in the last general election. They were all PLPs and not afraid to stand up.
Interestingly enough on the evening of Tuesday 30th July Fred Mitchell,
the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and now PLP MP for Fox Hill, was
in Freeport to speak to them. 
In
part he told them that this was a tradition of the PLP, to take political
action in the face of the unremitting hostility of a prejudicial order.
Today, The Bahamas faces a stark choice. We have slipped right back to where we were before the 1967 general election. The forces of the media are concentrated in the hands of the United Bahamian Party and their surrogates. The Tribune owns The Guardian through a complicated joint operating agreement. Then of course, ZNS is owned and operated by the Government itself, now an FNM government. The FNM are the surrogates for the UBP.
At ZNS things have gone progressively down hill. It is not possible for the Opposition to get air time on the station. The PLPs that are left at the station report that it is becoming a daily battle for them to survive at ZNS. They are continually told that there is a new order at ZNS now and they had better conform or be drummed out for the door. PLP items are being placed at the end of the news if at all. You will recall the story of a Minister of the government who went to ZNS and demanded of Vaughnique Toote that she rewrite a story because the story was not to his liking. There is nothing in the PLPs experience of government that anyone at ZNS can compare to this event. We have called for that Minister to apologize but he has not, and we would have thought that by now some journalist in the profession would have at least had the courage to defend their fellow reporter. All this stuff about journalistic integrity, out of the window. Simply silence by those in the profession.
You
have seen us write about it in this column before. We believe that
for some reason the PLP has lost its political voice, the whole tradition
of activism in favour of we are not quite sure. One thing is certain
in the face of the dangers and snares that now befall the PLP, with a government
in power that is expert at manipulating and lying and tricking, the PLP
faces an enemy in this time that it has not known before. There must
be concerted effort on the part of the PLP to forcefully meet this threat.
There can be no let up.
We thought that the group in Grand Bahama has shown the PLP a way. Town meetings are fine. Speeches are fine but there needs to be political action. The boycott of newspaper sales is one thing that should be pursued. The boycott of stores that practice discrimination against PLPs should be pursued. It will take concerted political action on the part of the PLPs in the country. It may be that Grand Bahama is the place to start since that appears to be the place where courage is not hiding under a bushel.
We encourage the PLAN to keep it up. It is a first good step toward action. The next day after the demonstration the Freeport News and its biased newspaper editor gave scores of column inches to the FNM responses while not dealing as completely as they should with the root causes of the demonstration. The fact is that an FNM government has come to power with only one thing on their minds: victimization, vengeance and viciousness. That is why it is incumbent upon the courts to step in and remove Zhivargo Laing from office. That is why it is incumbent upon the PLP to regain the government so that some equilibrium can be restored to government, some even handedness and so that people can once again know that their interests are being regarded.
Once again to the PLAN: keep up the good work.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 4th August 2007 up to midnight: 204,015.
Number of hits for the month of July up Tuesday 31st July 2007 up
to midnight: 972,621.
HUBERT’S
BOORISH BEHAVIOUR
We thought that the PLP did not deal effectively
with Hubert Ingraham's rude, crude, boorish and stupid behaviour in the
House of Assembly when it last met on Monday 30th July, so we have written
this open letter to Hubert which we think that the PLP ought to sign and
send to him:
Dear Prime Minister:
This is a warning from all 18 Members of Parliament of the Progressive
Liberal Party. You are hereby advised that in future if you repeat
the crude and boorish behaviour that you last displayed in the House of
Assembly on Monday 30th July, you will find your back teeth floating.
You may talk to your little minions and your Cabinet in the way that you
displayed but not to PLP Members of Parliament. You may speak to
your little children that way but not to PLP members of parliament.
If it happens again, you will not hear, you will feel. You must have
smelled your top lip. Don’t get so full of yourself that you forget
what your job is and that you must answer questions in a civilized and
decent manner. If you don’t then we promise you all hell will break
loose.
Your sincerely,
PLP MPs
GOVERNMENT
GIVES UP AIRPORT SECURITY
The Government brought an amendment to the airport authority
act that seeks to allow them to delegate authority for security services
lawfully from the Airport Authority to the Nassau Airport Development Company
(NAD) now managed by a Canadian company. Most PLPs opposed the amendment
in the debate because it was not consistent with the sovereign rights and
responsibilities of the country. Fred Mitchell, the MP for Fox Hill
spoke at length on the matter in the House on Monday 30th July. Jerome
Fitzgerald followed up with an address in the Senate. You may click
here
for the address of Senator Fitzgerald.
BIS photo of Fred Mitchell MP during the House of Assembly debate
on the amendment to the Airport Authority Act / Peter Ramsay - File photo
of Senator Jerome Gomez
MR.
POLICE COMMISSIONER COME AGAIN
Candia Dames is the sister of Assistant Commissioner
of Police Marvin Dames. She is bright and able. No question
about it. The question we have is whether or not the journalistic
ethics of this is correct; for a controversial story involving her brother
and public policy to be written in a newspaper about him by her in an exclusive
interview with the Commissioner of Police, not even a general news conference.
Is there not something wrong about that? If it were a politician
who was in the Government doing something to promote his or her brother’s
interests, the press would be all over them; especially if they were members
of the Progressive Liberal Party. The story appeared in the Bahama
Journal on Thursday 2nd August.
This is why the press has a problem with this column
and with others who make the remarks they do about the media in The Bahamas.
We are very frank about it. This is clearly wrong and unethical.
In the story, the Commissioner claimed that he was in full operational
control of the Force. But he acknowledged that both in the case of
the PLP and the FNM he carries out the policies of the Government of the
day. He said that the matter of whether this was political interference
was not a matter for him but one for those looking at it to say.
This is fair enough. We are not quite sure
what Tommy Turnquest, the Minister of National Security, was talking about
- he usually does not understand the English language, much less public
policy - when he says that there was political interference in the Force
by Perry Christie. The PLP must be careful how it responds to this
argument as well. The fact is the Force is controlled by civilians,
elected politicians. While the Force must have the appearance of
dispassionate execution of the law, there is no mistaking that when it
comes to deployment and resources, the politicians must have their say.
We wrote last week how stupid it was of Hubert Ingraham to suggest that
he was an innocent bystander in the removal of Marvin Dames from responsibilities
for security at all our ports to the post of being in charge of the constabulary
today. It was clearly and unmistakably motivated and activated by
the Prime Minister, denials notwithstanding.
We recalled how in the Bahama Journal where Mr.
Dames' sister is an editor, the call was led that somehow Mr. Dames had
been demoted because he was made an Assistant Commissioner of Police up
from Superintendent and that he was given nothing to do. This was
the same line that Tommy Turnquest was parroting in the House for Assembly.
He should bite his tongue because he was saying it on the same day that
they were seeking permission to transfer the responsibility for security
at the airport to a private firm. Mr. Dames' responsibility was to
work out the blue print for port security in this entire country.
Before he could do his job, he was moved and moved not by the Commissioner
of Police but by the politicians who took over on 2nd May.
Mr. Turnquest must think that the people of this
country are fools. While we understand the Commissioner's position
which seems to be don’t get me in this but I have to protect my integrity
by insisting that I’m in charge; the fact is no changes of the kind that
we are speaking about with regard to Marvin Dames could have happened without
the active sanction of the FNM Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and his hapless
Minister of National Security. The Commissioner may be in operational
control of the Force but the fact is he could not do anything unless the
FNM agreed. Let’s at least all be honest about it. Here is
some of what the Commissioner had to say in his own words:
"The challenge for a commissioner is always to
follow the policies of the government and the operational arm of the force
of which I am responsible for…
"I constantly speak with the minister who is
in charge, number one, and of course occasionally the prime minister and
I carry out the policies of the government. There are some matters
I wouldn’t wish to discuss. The conversations we would have between
minister and commissioner, they are confidential matters.
"If you really want to insinuate whether or not
carrying out the government’s policy is political interference, that’s
a matter of opinion, but I only carry out the policies of the government
and in line with the operational responsibility that I have of the force.
"My movement of officers at the top level certainly
was done and I bear full responsibility for those movements. If you’re
talking about the movement from the airport it’s certainly one that I have
reconsidered…
"Assistant Commissioner Dames is serving in the
best area I feel at the moment where he can serve members of the public
and with the best interest of the organization because he is a very capable
officer and in my opinion he’s doing an excellent job…
"The commissioner can always change his mind
and transfers can take place tomorrow. I can change my mind tomorrow
depending on the prevailing circumstances in the organization and in the
country because one day I may have to move an officer to another place.
"I think I had collaboration with the opposition,
the previous government, on Mr. Dames’ transfer to the airport. I
think that’s public knowledge. And of course, transfers at the top
echelon of the force have to be discussed with the government and agreed
to, so that’s a part, I believe, of government’s policy…
“While I have operational control of the force,
I have no control over the policies dictated by the government of the day.
"As commissioner, I must be seen to be carrying
those policies out…
"What I do know is that the commissioner advances
promotions and is responsible directly for promotions of the sergeants
down to the corporals. I make recommendations to the government on
senior promotions and the government sanctions those promotions.
I really couldn’t promote anyone in the force without the government’s
resources…
“As Commissioner of Police, I make recommendations
on senior promotions and the government either disagrees or agrees.
“The appointment of commissioner and deputy commissioner
is done by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister
in consultation with the leader of the opposition.
“The appointment of assistant commissioners is
done by the governor general on advice of the prime minister in consultation
with the Police Service Commission.
“For senior officers’ promotions from chief superintendent
down to inspector, I make recommendations to the government.
"I couldn’t confirm that [the appointment of
Reginald Ferguson as Deputy Commissioner] because I don’t appoint deputy
commissioners. He’s not acting in the capacity of deputy commissioner,
not yet." (This last seems to contradict what the Prime Minister
Hubert Ingraham said in his interview with the Clint Watson of ZNS last
week. ---Editor)
GREENSLADE
DEFENDS HIMSELF
He is clearly the man most qualified next to be
Commissioner of Police but the FNM is engaged in a series of press leaks
designed to discredit him in the eyes of the public. On his departure
from Freeport to move to his new post in Nassau, the police held a banquet
in his honour and gave him several departing gifts. These are listed
in a story in the Bahama Journal by Candia Dames whose brother is an Assistant
Commissioner of Police as well and who is thought to be his main competition
for the job of Commissioner as two his and hers Rolex watches, a Dodge
Durango Jeep and two cell phones. The rumours have been abounding
that he was directed by the Government to return the gifts.
Mr. Greenslade defended himself in the press by
saying to Ms. Dames in the Journal that he got no such direction.
He indicated that he and his family considered the rumours to be slap in
the face to him and his hard work. He said that the banquet was held
with the support of the Commissioner of Police and attended by the Commissioner
and he has not been directed by the Commissioner to return the gifts.
That was fine by itself but in the same report when the Commissioner of
Police was asked about it, he said that he did not want to comment on the
matter because he had not had an opportunity to speak with Mr. Greenslade
about it. That with respect did not sound too assuring to us about
what is in store for Mr. Greenslade but we will keep watching.
Here is some of what Mr. Greenslade said in his
own words:
“I’m amazed about what I’m seeing in the press. I’m at a loss.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force gave me gifts which I appreciated.
I have not received any instructions from the commissioner nor are any
discussions taking place. I’ve never done anything wrong. I
think it’s wrong to try to poison my reputation… My family really feels
badly. It’s a slap in the face."
Here is what the Commissioner said in response to
Ms. Dames’ inquiries:
“Really, I don’t want to answer that question
until I would have discussed those issues with Mr. Greenslade. I
think it would be unfair to do that and I haven’t [discussed it with him].
I think out of fairness I wouldn’t want to comment on this issue.”
THE
FATE OF URBAN RENEWAL
It is a travesty of public policy for the now FNM
Bahamas Government to appoint Ella Lewis, the woman who ran against the
former Prime Minister in his Farm Road constituency for the FNM to be the
head of Urban Renewal for The Bahamas. First, the programme is not
a political programme, to put a politician in charge of it makes a mockery
of it, and such a high profile political ideologue makes it impossible
for the programme to be seen as a fair one.
The FNM came to office threatening to dismantle
Urban Renewal. Then when there was an adverse reaction to that decision,
having stripped it of all of the workers, they then reversed themselves
and said they would have police officers put into the urban renewal offices
at the rank of sergeant or below and not run by the police as it was.
Housing, social services environmental health were all stripped as components
of the programmed. They fired everyone that was considered PLP connected
with the programme. Now the biggest insult of all is to put Ella
Lewis, an FNM candidate in charge. You know that destruction is on
the way for the programme.
The Nassau Guardian was present at a meeting of
the Urban Renewal in Fox Hill on Thursday 2nd August and that is how the
public got to know that Ella Lewis was to head the programme. The
PLP should protest this vigorously. Something else should be found
for Ms. Lewis to do. The seniors in Fox Hill are very opposed to
this. They could get no assurances from Ms. Lewis about the future
of the programme and how they will fit into it. What they did voice
to the papers was the fact they have not felt safe in the community since
Urban Renewal has been stripped of its personnel and its programme.
JACK
HAYWARD SNUBS THE COURT
The case of the fighting families of Freeport the
St. Georges against the Haywards came back to court on Monday 30th July.
You will remember that since last year there has been an injunction preventing
the Hayward faction and his agent Hannes Babak from acting to run the Grand
Bahama Port Authority. Sir Jack Hayward, a strange and weird fellow,
who has in our view no vision for Freeport at 84 years of age suddenly,
started asserting that he was the 75 per cent owner of the Port, not fifty
per cent owner as he had previously asserted. He asserted this as
recently as in a statement given to the police last year in answer to a
complaint against him by the daughter of his former partner Edward St.
George that he had threatened her. The statement was witnessed by
his own attorney Greg Moss. When it was first filed, Sir Jack said
he was anxious to get the court case on and the receivers removed.
Under the PLP administration Paul Adderley the former
Attorney General represented the government in trying to bring about a
settlement. With the coming of Hubert Ingraham that has gone out
of the window. Sir Jack who is an FNM supporter has taken all the
offers off the table including his resiling from the claim of 75 per cent
ownership.
The case went forward without Sir jack but not before
his attorney Greg Moss asserted that Sir Jack was ill in London.
The judge clearly did not buy that and said that the case would proceed.
The case did proceed and the evidence appears to show that he is the fifty
per cent owner and not the 75 percent owner of the shares. The lawyer
for Sir Jack then did a strange thing. He said he would not continue
but he was not withdrawing from the case. Late into the week, the
Judge said she would give Sir Jack one more opportunity to present a defence
before proceeding further because she does not want to be accused of a
rush to judgment. We wait and see.
INGRAHAM
DEFENDS NEWSPAPER MONOPOLY
When the House of Assembly met on Monday 30th July,
Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister got up to intervene in the remarks
of Obie Wilchcombe, PLP Member and former Minister of Tourism. Mr.
Wilchcombe was in a full flight attack against the merger of the Nassau
Guardian and The Tribune. Mr. Wilchcombe has called publicly for
a boycott of both The Guardian and The Tribune, a boycott with which we
agree. Mr. Ingraham objected and asked Mr. Wilchcombe why did he
think that there was a danger of a monopoly of newspapers in The Bahamas.
He said he did not think that would ever happen in The Bahamas. Clearly
then we see where his interests are. He is protecting the actions
of Eileen Carron and The Tribune, the same group that he promised a TV
licence soon after the election. The same group that controls four
radio stations.
Mr. Ingraham saw the actions of The Tribune and
The Guardian as benign, saying that when he visited Ireland, Tony O’Reilly
who owns The Independent prints all the papers in Dublin, even the rivals
to The Independent which he owns. We are sure that Mr. Ingraham would
put the best face on it but while it is being described as a joint operating
agreement no one for one moment believes it. The prevailing view
is that this is an outright buyout by The Tribune of The Guardian.
It is anti competitive and bad for public policy and the Bahamian public.
TAKING
SCHOOL SECURITY PRIVATE
A government notice appeared in The Nassau Guardian
on Thursday 2nd August calling for suitably qualified firms to submit bids
for security services at several schools in New Providence. They
are for the Government High School, R. M. Bailey High, C.R. Walker High,
C.V. Bethel High, C.I. Gibson High, C.H. Reeves Jr. High, L.W. Young Junior
High, C. C. Sweeting Jr. High, S.C. McPherson Junior High, Columbus Primary,
Thelma Gibson Primary and the Learning Resources Unit.
This seems to confirm the fears of the PLP that
police security, specially trained under the PLP, are being removed from
the schools and replaced now by untrained private security. The Bahamas
Union of Teachers should be concerned because this will clearly put teachers
at greater risk with untrained security now at the gates. This is
also clearly a scheme for jobs for the boys by the FNM. The PLP must
protest this action. Tenders are to be submitted to the Ministry
of Finance by 13th August 2007. The papers for the bids may be collected
at the Ministry of Education’s office in Thompson Boulevard.
FOX
HILL FESTIVAL OPENS
The Fox Hill Festival was officially opened by the
Minister of State for Culture Charles Maynard on Friday 3rd August.
The ceremony took place on the Fox Hill parade. There was visiting
royalty from Lagos, Nigeria for the occasion as well. The festival
lasts until Tuesday 14th August which is known as Fox Hill Day. Junkanoo
comes to Fox Hill on Monday 6th August beginning at 1 a.m. and there is
an ecumenical service that takes place at 11 a.m. at the Fox Hill Parade
which will be broadcast live to the nation. The Member of Parliament
for Fox Hill spoke at the opening and reminded the Minister that the celebration
in Fox Hill is not just another festival or party; it is the authentic
cultural event, 173 years of marking the occasion. He asked that
the resources for the Festival should then be given pride of place to ensure
that it is successful. You may click
here for the full remarks. The photos are by Valentino Bain.
CARICOM
SILENT ON AFRICA
The United Nations’ Security Council last week approved
a resolution that will send 26,000 peacekeepers to Darfur. This is
the region of Sudan that has been in the news where hundreds of thousands
of black Africans have been killed by an Arab militia believed to be working
with and for the government of Sudan. The government denies this
but the evidence seems clear. The United Nations has been seeking
to put an end to what the U.S. President George Bush has called genocide.
The scenes and stories are reminiscent of Rwanda. The government
in Sudan has now agreed to accept this peacekeeping force. The world
is acting too slowly, with too little and too late.
Our concern is that the region has been silent on
Africa and the burning issues on that continent. No statement has
issued forth from Caricom foreign ministers on the subject. Brent
Symonette should see to it that The Bahamas has some input on the subject
to ensure that our voice is heard on this issue. We condemn the deaths
and the killings of the innocent civilians by the militias associated with
the Khartoum government. A similar story can be told on Zimbabwe,
where the actions of its President Robert Mugabe have destroyed the country's
economy. There is systematic repression of the Opposition, and the
widespread use of state coercion to stop protests against his government.
There is believed to be 80 per cent unemployment, the food production sector
has been destroyed. Inflation is said to be 5000 per cent.
The economy is expected to collapse entirely by the end of the year.
Again the Caricom region has not said a word. The Bahamas should
again act to at least say something on this matter.
IN PASSING
Not The King Of Abaco But Of Evil
During the past week, the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas news
reported that Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham went up to Grand Cay, Abaco
where he was feted by the residents there and declared the King of Abaco.
The TV showed the Prime Minister with his eyes brimming over in tears.
These can only be crocodile tears for all the wickedness that he has perpetrated
against this nation since he became Prime Minister. He will suffer
for this one day. He has presided over a government that has fired
hundreds of civil servants since he came to power on 2nd May and stopped
tens of millions of dollars in contracts and the livelihoods of thousands.
For that he is not the king of Abaco but in our view the king of evil.
Sam Ferguson Dies
In October of last year Sam Ferguson who had been bound to a wheel
chair for over a generation celebrated his three score and ten. Mr.
Ferguson was a stalwart councillor of the PLP and a leader for the PLP
in Fox Hill. His children are all great supporters of the cause,
one them, Jason, was a former branch chairman for the Fox Hill PLP.
His wife Essie is a well known civic leader in her community and runs her
own fast food business on the corner of Rose Street in Fox Hill.
Together they have celebrated over 50 years of marriage. Sadly Mr.
Ferguson passed away on Wednesday 1st August. He was 70 years old.
We extend our condolences to the entire Ferguson family of Fox Hill.
Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson are shown with Fred Mitchell MP in this photograph
from a church service in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary.
Kirk Hinsey
Kirk Hinsey seems to have been a fixture of auction circuit of The
Bahamas for years. He was a well known businessman. He was
68 years old. He had a great disposition. We extend condolences
on his passing. He was buried on Saturday 4th August following a
service at Holy Spirit Anglican Church in Chippingham.
The Story Of Joanne Neilly
The Bahama Journal reported on its front page with full photo that
Joanne Neilly of Eastwood and an employee of Bahamas Electricity Corporation
had been charged with theft of $95,728.43 from the Corporation. Insiders
at BEC are saying that they don’t believe word of it. They say Ms.
Neilly is a well known PLP and this is just an act of outright victimization
and spite by the new FNM administration. Mrs. Neilly is set to retire
from BEC in December and that because of her politics she is being embarrassed
in the way she is. The charge was laid on Thursday 2nd August and
will resume on the 19th November. She has been dismissed from her
job after 37 years of service.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Urban Renewal - The following letter originated from an e-mail registered
to one ... Lewis, but was signed, simply, An Observer
A lot of nasty and misconstrued opinions regarding
Mr. Ingraham's actions towards Urban Renewal has been made on this site.
Well, I know the authors of this site must now
feel silly and burn in shame after reading this article published by the
Nassau Guardian. (The article announcing Ella Lewis to head Urban
Renewal - see story above)
Please, humor me with your PLPized response...
An Observer
Our opinion remains the same. You only need to read this week's column
to see that the programme is headed for destruction. As for a PLPized
response we assume that is why your read this column. Duh!
If you want an FNMized response then you need to look elsewhere.
PLP or not it is simply the truth though. - Editor
General Observations of a New Government
With just over a week in office, the comments
made by the Ministers of the FNM government made me more proud of the Christie
administration. Ingraham conceded early that apart from the new hires
under OPERATIONS SECOND CHANCE, he did not see any major problems. He revealed
that the government would borrow $45 million to pay off government debt.
This
compares to $125 million the PLP government had to immediately borrow
upon assuming office. This only underscores the fiscal prudence of the
Christie administration. Additionally, the PLP had reduced the GFS deficit
to 1.6% by 2006. Keep in mind that the FNM deferred payments for 8 of the
ten years they were in office. The FNM government recently issued some
$100 million in public debt to partially finance the public works foreshadowed
in their budget communication for the current fiscal year.
As for Foreign Affairs, Minister Symonette must
maintain the quality of foreign relations that the PLP has engendered and
it requires more than just having the US Charge D’ Affair as his neighbour.
The former government led the way in improving the relationship between
CARICOM and the United States. The European visa free access project must
be closed and Mr. Symonette simply has to find a building and renovate
it as the project for machine readable passports is a done deal and is
scheduled for a October 2007 conclusion. The Economic Partnership Agreement
(EPA) with the European Union is all but complete and Mr. Symonette must
conclude this. He must seek the same with the United States on behalf of
The Bahamas and CARICOM. Much of the work has been done for Mr Symonette
by the former administration.
It is interesting that after having promised
to facilitate the construction of 3,000 homes and fully serviced lots,
Minister Kenneth Russell has already conceded that his government may not
be able to build as many houses as the PLP government did. I found that
concession quite interesting. The amount allocated for the repairs to government
built houses with structural deficiencies is inadequate and home owners
will not be satisfied.
Minister Neko Grant visited the LPIA two weeks
after the election and said that he was impressed with the achievements
made at the airport as it relates to security. Regardless of the noise
being made by the Prime Minister about security at the airport, the Federal
Aviation Administration has rated the LPIA a category 7. The highest category
is 8. Kudos to Glenys Hanna Martin and her team for a job well done. I
have not heard much from the Tourism Minister apart from harassing security
guards at the GBIA some time ago.
As regards the amendment of the Airport Authority
Act, I maintain that border control, security, and public safety are the
responsibilities of the Bahamas Government and should not be outsourced
to a third party, private or public. Further, if Marvin Dames “had nothing
to do” as the National Security Minister put it, then what will NAD have
to do. I thought Mr. Dames had an awesome and daunting task on his hands
in developing a system that will secure all of our international ports
of entry throughout the archipelago. Given this era of terrorism and the
development of our family islands, this appeared to be the correct course
of action, but the FNM clearly felt differently.
I am glad to see that the FNM government has
taken a page from the PLP’s book of strategy and is making more efficient
use of the properties on which 160 (T.G.Glover has been razed) public schools
sit. Remember how the PLP’s strategy in constructing 519 standard class
rooms and 33 pre-school units in 5 years more effectively addressed the
vexing problem of overcrowding in the public school system than the 12
schools constructed under the FNM in 10 years. Just 332 class rooms in
10 years (1992-2002) were woefully inadequate.
The Minister of Education justified the removal
of police officers from public schools as an opportunity for teachers to
assert their authority in the class room. I don’t see how, but let’s give
Carl Bethel the benefit of the doubt. Ministry of Education policy does
not allow teachers to administer corporal discipline to students unless
directed by an administrator. Further, police officers do not have the
authority (unless invited by the teacher) to enter the class room as that
is the domain of the teacher so the presence of the police on school campuses
never impeded or interfered with any teacher’s ability to assert his or
her authority in the class rooms so removal will not make a difference
“in the class room”. The record showed that the presence of police officers
made the school environment significantly safer and more secure. This is
a bad policy decision by the FNM government because a school campus is
a microcosm of the wider Bahamian society. If we agree that our society
is violent, then there is violence on school campuses and the question
of a police presence on campuses is essentially moot. Further, I question
the effectiveness of a private security force.
I distinctly remember the Honorable Member for
Abaco promising cable television to residents of Abaco and other family
islands during the election campaign; It was to happen within 3 months
of May 2nd 2007. Three months into his new administration, the Prime Minister
has revised the timetable to year’s end. I wish to point out that the FNM
government had the mandate to create the platform on which Cable Bahamas
would provide the television signal, but this never happened. It was the
PLP who had the political will to spend $75 million on a 10 gigabyte fiber
optic cable network linking 14 family islands. This platform will make
it all possible for family islanders to have access to the internet in
addition to 200 channels of cable television.
The prudent economic policies of the Christie
administration continue to bear fruit for our beloved Bahamas. The Nassau
Guardian has reported that “Prominent credit rating agency Standard &
Poor's has upgraded The Bahamas' long-term sovereign credit rating from
stable to positive, citing the archipelago's macroeconomic stability, prudent
fiscal policies, and steady monetary stance.
In addition, S&P affirmed its 'A-' long-
and 'A-2' short-term sovereign credit ratings on The Bahamas”. The
report went on to validate and laud the far reaching and sustaining effects
of Christie’s economic policies: “The agency expects economic growth to
pick up and stabilize at about four percent within the next three to five
years, reflecting massive investment projects in the tourism industry,
estimated at over $10 billion. S&P also expects the gross domestic
product (GDP) per capita to increase from $19,000 in 2006 to $23,000 by
2010. Unemployment is expected to decline to 6.8 percent by 2010.
Government debt is also expected to decline to
an estimated 35 percent of GDP in 2010 from 38 percent in 2006, boosted
by growing revenue and contained expenditure. Given the small size and
openness of the economy, and its vulnerability to the external environment
and weather-related shocks, S&P makes the point that economic developments
in the U.S. and their impact on the tourism sector are especially important”.
I need not say more as Standard and Poors said it all. They are objective
and have no special interest or an axe to grind. This is also a vindication
of “right”.
All that is left for me to say is that politics
is arguably the single greatest violator of meritocracy. Alan Keyes and
Al Gore made the most impressive cases for president of the United States
in the run up to the 2000 presidential elections, but George Bush (arguably
the worst candidate) became president. I am convinced that the best party
to govern this country is the Progressive Liberal Party. We must continue
to make the case that the stewardship of the PLP government and the vision
of Perry Christie are second to none.
Elcott Coleby
THIS
WEEK WITH THE LEADER
This week, we are treated to a photograph of the Leader of the Official
Opposition, the Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party, Rt. Hon. Perry
Christie MP in action in the House of Assembly during the debate on the
amendment of the Airport Authority Act.
BIS Photo: Peter Ramsay
| 12th
August, 2007
Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com |
|
| TROUBLE AT THE AIRPORT... | THE C.O.P.’S STATEMENT ON GREENSLADE... |
| NO TO REGINALD FERGUSON... | THE FNM TRIES TO DIVIDE FOX HILL... |
| THE ELECTION COURT CASES... | THE FOX HILL FESTIVAL CONTINUES... |
| THE IMMIGRATION AUDIT... | IN PASSING... |
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR... | |
The Official Site of the Progressive
Liberal Party... |
The Official Site of the Free National Movement... |
| PLPs On The Web... | Interesting Places... |
| Vincent Peet / PLP North Andros & Berry Isl. | Bahamas Government Website |
| Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte | Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links |
| Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte | Bahamians On The Web |
| Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw | Bahamian Kayaking News |
| John Carey / PLP Carmichael | FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES... |
| Keod Smith / PLP Mount Moriah | |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
SLAYING GREENSLADE
Last week in this space we carried a short story on Ellison Greenslade,
the Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police who was recently transferred
from Freeport, Grand Bahama. Mr. Greenslade was feted to a banquet
in Freeport where he served with distinction for seven years on Friday
22nd June. Mr. Greenslade had really been languishing in Grand Bahama
for too long without any real intellectual challenge. He is a bright
officer and is really what the future of the Force should be about: advanced
planning, computer literate and presently with a Master's Degree but working
on his Ph D. He is absolutely solid.
His only problem was that being smart and ambitious was not a good combination for the Royal Bahamas Police Force in the face of some duds who simply do not have it, need to retire and one in particular who is a monster with an outright political agenda.
The Progressive Liberal Party’s leader Perry Christie when he was Prime Minister facilitated the transfer of Mr. Greenslade as crime worsened in the country. The view was that Reginald Ferguson, also an assistant commissioner, had been in charge of crime for too long and had run out of ideas and a new person needed to bring his expertise and organizational abilities and intellect to the table; tackling what was beginning to be a vexing problem. The Government changed on 2nd May 2007. Reginald Ferguson instead of proceeding with orders given him in February went on long leave. Mr. Greenslade came to Nassau as soon as he received the order in February but had to run the gauntlet of Force indifference not supplying him with proper housing and allowances after having domiciled himself in Freeport. The hostility was palpable.
Since the changes were PLP inspired then it was clear that the FNM would reverse them as soon as possible. Given the connection of Mr. Ferguson who had been over the Security and Intelligence Branch of the Royal Bahamas Police Force for so long to the now Chairman of the Free National Movement and Vice President of the Senate Johnley Ferguson, it was clear that as soon as possible the FNM would seek to bring Mr. Ferguson back from the area to which he had been sent into the limelight again. They have now done that with a scorched earth policy.
The first thing they did was to pressure John Rolle, the long standing Deputy Commissioner of Police to retire from the Force. According to Prime Minister Ingraham he paid out Mr. Rolle's vacation, and Mr. Rolle took his money and left the Force. Let’s hope that the Force does not supply him with any gifts, a fact to which we will come next. With Mr. Rolle out of the way, the way was then clear for the FNM to appoint Reginald Ferguson to the post of Deputy Commissioner of Police. Mr. Ingraham in his interview with Clint Watson at ZNS two weeks ago said that Mr. Ferguson was the Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police. Last week the Commissioner said that was not true. This week, we expect the Prime Minister to ask for consultation with the Leader of the Opposition on the point. It is clear which direction the FNM wants to go.
Now let us make this clear, the PLP had better find the backbone to say straight out that there is no circumstance under which it can contemplate Reginald Ferguson being Deputy Commissioner of Police or any other thing on the Royal Bahamas Police Force other than a retiree. If the PLP does not have courage to do so, find it. This gentleman is the single most divisive figure on the Force. There is the perception of a political ideologue that will ruin the very idea of neutral policing in this country and it must be stopped and stopped now.
The second part of the FNM's strategy was to finish off Ellison Greenslade. Shortly after they came to office, they started a rumour campaign that Mr. Greenslade had improperly accepted the parting gifts from the Royal Bahamas Police Force at a banquet in Freeport held in his honour to say farewell. You may click here for the stories of last week on the matter with Mr. Greenslade. He felt he had to come to his own defence because no one in authority (translate that to mean the Commissioner who had approved the acceptance in first place) said a word. The Commissioner of Police though made clear that there was a problem. If you read last week’s piece you will see that the Commissioner refused to support Mr. Greenslade in public. Mr. Greenslade was out there twisting in the wind, even though if you read the Freeport News of Monday the 25th July, not only was the Commissioner of Police Paul Farqhuarson at the banquet, meaning that he sanctioned the event and the gifts, but so were two Ministers of the Government: Kenneth Russell, the Minister of Housing, Zhivargo Laing, the ever talkative Minister of State for Finance and Hubert’s left pimple, Vernae Grant, the FNM Member of Parliament for Eight Mile Rock and Senator David Thompson also an FNM. They were all there. No one walked out in protest. No one said a word about impropriety. But in typical FNM fashion as soon as the banquet was over they started working over time.
This week, the Commissioner of Police did not have the courage to come out and read his statement himself. He sent Hulan Hanna, the police press spokesman to read a press statement in which, in short, it is clear that Mr. Greenslade was ordered to return the gifts, all the gifts are to be auctioned and they will be given to charity. This is a public rebuke of enormous proportions, and now will be used by the FNM to say that Mr. Greenslade is guilty of some impropriety and therefore cannot be the Deputy Commissioner of Police, even though they never intended to give it to him anyway.
Our concern also is why was the former Commissioner Bernard Bonamy brought into the matter? Later in the week, he was quoted as saying that there should not be a solicitation of high value gifts, but that Mr. Greenslade was a good officer. He said that he would not have given permission to accept the gifts or solicit them. We’ll stop at that point: the fact is Mr. Farqhuarson gave permission for the gifts to be accepted and the fact is the gifts were from the Royal Bahamas Police Force to Mr. Greenslade. These are clearly matters of judgment but you know if you follow the rules then you are washed a white as snow.
So now you know the FNM's story. They have virtually hobbled Mr. Greenslade and his ability to go any further by their mean and vicious slash and burn policy. The PLP is on guard that it must oppose Reginald Ferguson’s appointment as Deputy Commissioner of Police or the PLP will die. We warn them. As the protective robot used to say in the old TV programme Lost In Space: Warning! Warning! Danger! Danger!
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 11th August 2007 at midnight: 234,715.
Number of hits for the month of August up to Saturday 11th August 2007 at midnight: 342,446.
Number of hits for the year 2007 up to Saturday 11th August 2007 at midnight: 3,616,390.
TROUBLE
AT THE AIRPORT
It was reported that the air traffic control at
the Lynden Pindling International Airport was closed as a result of an
industrial action at about 3 p.m. on Saturday 11th August. The closure
was brief and was a result of an action taken by the security at the LPI
to body search air traffic controllers, even though the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules do not call for it in their particular
circumstances. The dispute has been ongoing and came to a head and
a local decision (not a union decision) was taken not to cross the threshold
into the airport until the matter was resolved. Management at the
airport quickly resolved the situation with a temporary stay of their procedures
until Monday 13th August.
THE
C.O.P.’S STATEMENT ON GREENSLADE
“Following this event [the banquet for ACP Greenslade
in Freeport 22nd November] public concern was raised over these items.
“Ever mindful of the trust between the public
and the Royal Bahamas Police Force the Commissioner Of Police met with
Mr. Greenslade after the latter returned to duties from vacation on Tuesday
7 August 2007.
“All the items have been returned to the police
force for the purpose of being auctioned, with the proceeds of the auction
ultimately earmarked for donation to charitable organizations.
“As the prevention and detection of crime, the
apprehension of offenders and their subsequent arraignment before the courts
remain the singular most important objective of the Royal Bahamas Police
Force, the Commissioner further advises that both he and his top team remain
committed to this constitutional mandate of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
“In this regard the continued business of the
Royal Bahamas Police Force which is ultimately the people’s business will
be conducted with courage, integrity and loyalty.”
(We believe that this statement is dictated for the Commissioner
of Police by Hubert Ingraham. The final paragraph is a dead giveaway
for Ingraham/FNM speak. It is a clear rebuke to Mr. Greenslade because
it means if you follow its logic that because Mr. Greenslade accepted the
gifts from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, not private individuals, and
he accepted them with the permission of the Commissioner of Police, then
the Force was not up to the point of the return of the gifts acting with
courage, integrity and loyalty. That is a serious admission on the
part of the Commissioner of Police who should simply have told the Prime
Minister that he approved it and to buzz off – Editor)
NO
TO REGINALD FERGUSON
Given the public statements of the Prime Minister
Hubert Ingraham, it appears that it won’t be long before he will seek the
formal consultation process with the Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie
to confirm a new Deputy Commissioner of Police. John Rolle, the former
Deputy Commissioner of Police has reportedly retired from the Force after
42 years of service. The Constitution requires the Prime Minister
to consult with the Leader of The Opposition before the Prime Minster advises
the Governor General on the appointment of the Deputy Commissioner of Police.
It has been said in another part of this column
that the PLP ought to make it clear that under no circumstances can the
PLP countenance the appointment of Reginald Ferguson to the position of
Deputy Commissioner of Police. The fact that the PLP does not
agree cannot in law stop the appointment if Mr. Ingraham is bloody minded
about it. He will probably be, but the PLP must be equally
determined. It should be made clear that the county will not be able
to find Mr. Ferguson acceptable because every PLP will refuse to recognize
the appointment.
A police officer must have the broadest possible
consensus in a society to do his work. You cannot have someone who
is so polarizing in such a senior position on the Force. There is
a precedent. Reportedly then Opposition leader Norman Solomon rejected
the proposed appointment of a Deputy Commissioner of Police, who we will
not name, in the 1980s because of the manner in which Mr. Solomon was treated
by that officer during a demonstration on Bay Street. The then Prime
Minister Lynden Pindling did not proceed with the appointment until the
objections could be overcome. The problem is that today unlike in
Sir Lynden's time, we do not have a gracious Prime Minister, today we have
a graceless one.
The PLP must find the courage to object and find
the further wherewithal to stand its ground on this one. The public
will find that the Force is almost paralysed in its decision making and
law enforcement capacity today because of the polarization between FNM
and PLP officers and the witch hunt that is presently being conducted throughout
the Force by Hubert Ingraham’s FNM administration.
THE
FNM TRIES TO DIVIDE FOX HILL
The campaign of the Free National Movement and their
hapless, hopeless candidate for Fox Hill continues with the system of divide
and conquer. The FNM's candidate has been engaged in a series
of moves designed to undermine the success of the Fox Hill Festival, the
premier celebration of emancipation of the slaves in The Bahamas that has
a history of celebration in Fox Hill since at least the 1880s.
The FNM's candidate whom we have named the Faker
of Fox Hill many times has sent in her operatives to sabotage the meetings
of the Festival committee and they have also staged their own Festival
in one of the smaller towns of Fox Hill, using a radio talk show host as
their agent. The art of the FNM is to pretend that they want unity
and peace but do all that they can to promote separation and then seek
to blame the PLP. The public is wise to the tricks of the Faker of
Fox Hill.
The one fact that the Faker cannot get over is her
election loss and she continues to think that she actually won and is the
representative for Fox Hill. There she goes again, shall we now say
there goes the Faker Representative of Fox Hill? When will she ever
learn to be gracious in defeat and in victory? Nevertheless the Festival
continues from success to success. It is bigger than the Faker who
ironically has been the single biggest cause of divisiveness in the Fox
Hill community where the Faker is always preaching unity but causing division.
We think of the Shakespearean words (and we paraphrase here) that those
whom the Gods would destroy they first send them crazy.
THE
ELECTION COURT CASES
Philip 'Brave' Davis, Damien Gomez and Wayne Munroe
for the side of the Progressive Liberal Party all appeared in Court on
Thursday 9th August for the hearing to determine the procedure for the
Court cases challenging the election results of 2007. These are the
results that the FNM's leader Hubert Ingraham has pledged not to respect
if they go against him. Remember when he returned from Washington
for a meeting with the U.S. President in June of this year, he said that
no court could determine an election result and that he reserved the right
to call an election should that eventuality arise. The clock is now
ticking.
The Court has set down the first of the cases to
begin on 15th October. That is the challenge by former Attorney General
Allyson Maynard Gibson against declared winner FNM Byran Woodside.
Then there is the case of Senator Pleasant Bridgewater challenging the
result of the election in Marco City in Grand Bahama. That is set
down for hearing on the 21st January in Freeport. The final challenge
by former Minister of Trade Leslie Miller is to be heard on 22nd April
2008. The guess is that if the first case goes against Mr. Ingraham
we will be facing a general election again in early 2008. We again
warn the PLP to find the money to fight an election or face a dire script.
We wish all the challengers luck in this matter.
The cases all involve challenges to the people who were allowed to register
on the basis that many of them were not entitled either by lack of the
residential qualification or the citizenship qualification to vote.
It appears that Hubert Ingraham is seeking to rectify that now by granting
citizenships (see story below) en masse to Haitians living in The Bahamas
before he has to face an election next year. It is believed that
the young Haitian community voted against the PLP because of the PLP’s
position on Immigration. The cases are being heard by a two judge
court, Anita Allen and Jon Isaacs.
THE
FOX HILL FESTIVAL CONTINUES
We thought that we would provide some further opportunities
to see what happened in Fox Hill over the past week of the Fox Hill Festival.
On Monday 6th August there was Junkanoo and the
traditional plaiting of the Maypole and the climbing of the greasy pole.
There was also the ecumenical service at 11 a.m. on Monday 6th August with
Bishop Charles Gardiner as the Preacher. On Wednesday 8th August
there was a stellar and energetic performance by the Royal Bahamas Force
Band. On Thursday 9th August there was a town meeting with
the Fox Hill residents with the Member of Parliament Fred Mitchell as the
lead speaker. On Friday 10th August there was an exhibition of the
work of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and representative for Fox
Hill Fred Mitchell in pictures. The exhibition was officially opened
by former Prime Minister Perry Christie. See a full photo spread
below.
Mr. Mitchell in his statement at the photographic
exhibition voiced his concerns that the work of Foreign Affairs was being
neglected by the present administration under its new minister. You
can click here for the full statement of
Mr. Mitchell. Former Prime Minister Perry Christie congratulated
Mr. Mitchell on his accomplishments and described Mr. Mitchell as his right
hand in the government in Foreign Affairs. Please click
here for Mr. Christie's remarks.
THE
IMMIGRATION AUDIT
For two days last week in Nassau and for two days
this week in Freeport, the FNM Government has announced that the Immigration
Department will be involved in what it calls an audit of citizenship applications
outstanding in The Bahamas. What this means is that the Department
of Immigration gathers at a hall and all people who have applied for citizenship
who have not heard from their applications are to come in and bring their
cases forward to the Immigration Department. One press headline on
Friday 10th August said that as result of that audit two people had already
been granted citizenship. Our question: who granted the citizenship
since only the Cabinet can grant citizenship? One hopes that the
FNM has not been unlawfully delegating that authority to some other agency.
On the TV show Jones and Company to be seen on Sunday
12th August (today) at 7:30 p.m. former Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell
described the audit as FNM gimmickry. He said that the problem is
not the immigration department or where the applications are. He
said that when the PLP came to office some 3000 applications were left
undone and unresolved by the FNM. Under the PLP they tried to do
at least 40 per week to get rid of the backlog.
The problem then is not where the applications are.
It is once the processing is finished the efficiency with which the Cabinet
dispatches with the applications. We guess that the Hubert Ingraham
Cabinet will be no more efficient with the matter than the PLP, having
regard to their earlier record where they left 3000 at the cabinet office
awaiting a decision in 2002. There needs to be a new system of granting
and resolving the applications, not public relations gimmickry.
IN PASSING
Sam Ferguson Buried
PLP Stalwart Councillor Samuel Ferguson was buried in the grave of
this mother at St. Mark's Native Baptist Church on Romer Street in Fox
Hill following a four hour funeral on Saturday 11th August. There
were hundreds of people gathered in the church and overflowing to tents
on the outside. The service was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Carrington
Pinder of St. Mark's. The Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie
attended the funeral and expressed condolences on behalf of the Party.
Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell spoke of Mr. Ferguson’s courage. You may
click
here for the full text. Our file photo shows Mr. Ferguson when
he received his Stalwart Councillor's medal from the PLP. Mr. Ferguson
was buried with the medal at his request. He is survived by his wife
Essie and 14 children.
How The Government’s Doing So Far
Brent Symonette, the UBP’s heir in the FNM government, and now Deputy
Prime Minister was asked by the press to evaluate the first 100 days in
office of the FNM. He gave the government an A plus. He is
living in a dream world of course. Hundreds of people fired from
the public service, 90 million dollars of contracts pulled by the FNM since
they came to office. One project after another stopped and reviewed
so that the economy has slowed to an absolute crawl, putting hundreds of
Bahamians out of work. That gets an A plus. Talk about dreaming?
Dream on Brent.
Christie Speaks Out On Urban Renewal
Former Prime Minister Perry Christie speaking at the opening of the
photographic exhibition of the work of former Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell
in Fox Hill on Friday 10th August criticized the appointment of Ella Lewis
as head of the Urban Renewal programme. Mr. Christie said that the
appointment was inappropriate and that it was designed to ensure that the
programme did not work. He said that Urban Renewal was not a political
programme. Ella Lewis was the FNM’s candidate against Mr. Christie
in the last election. It is particularly insulting then for Hubert
Ingraham to make such an appointment.
Ingraham On Vacation
The latest report is that Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has left the
country on leave for a Caribbean cruise as of Friday 10th August.
The Acting Prime Minister, you guessed it, is the UBP's heir, present FNM
Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette. The UBP is in charge again.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
WHAT NEXT!!!!!!!!
I am writing in response to your story headed:
MR
POLICE COMMISSIONER COME AGAIN.
I am also a sister of ASCP
Marvin Dames and can't believe how you are trying to discredit him or Candia
for your selfish gain. Marvin work speaks for itself. He is
an HONEST, HARDWORKING police officer. He does not need Candia to
promote him for him to get what he deserves. He is not competing
with Greenslade, they are working together to fight crime in our Country.
Whatever you are suffering from you need to get
GET OVER IT! We are tired of all of your personal attacks.
Don't you have any REAL work to do? While you are attacking Candia,
the Commissioner and the Minister they are hard at work, making a difference.
With all of your desperate attacks, you are causing further damage to your
already failing political career. I won't even respond to your comments
on FAIR because you clearly don't know what that word means. And
yes, we know who YOU ARE and I do expect further attacks because that is
what you do.
Disappointed
Laurie Dames
First of all there is no discredit to Marvin Dames, a brilliant young man with a bright future. The fact is though, it is improper for his sister to write a story about him. We agree, when you say "He does not need Candia to promote him for him to get what he deserves". If it were a politician, you would hear no end of it. Journalism requires the same sense of ethical conduct. It is a clear conflict of interest.
As for the rest of your vitriol; ho hum. But, hey, thanks for reading and please keep reading - Editor.
Your obnoxious Post!
"The group is called the Progressive Liberal Action Network (PLAN).
They are made up of both stalwart councillors and the next generation of
PLP leaders. Some of them expect to be candidates in the next general
election for the PLP. Some were candidates in the last general election.
They were all PLPs and not afraid to stand up." [Click
for full article from last week - Ed.]
You guys are no better than the criminals
who are wrecking (sic) havoc on our society. I saw Officer Russell
breaking up your Klu Klux Clan meeting. Is this the message you are sending
to us the young people, Assembling without permission, blocking up public
place, if this is what you have to offer next election, you will lose AGAIN!
That letter addressed to the Prime Minister
is disgraceful, "you will find your back teeth floating." "If
it happens again, you will not hear, you will feel. You must have
smelled your top lip." [Click
for full story from last week - Ed.]
Are you threatening the P.M.
Your tone is filled with hatred and violence,
I know you will not post this, but I also know that you have read it. when
I see it is not posted to your website.
This is so Disgraceful!!!!! I am sure you will
hear an outcry from many other Bahamians.
You have gone too far this time.
Sharon Mcqueen
The demonstration in Freeport last week was a justified response to the ugly spectre of the rampant political victimization now being carried out by the FNM. Fearful people everywhere, especially civil servants are glad that there is someone willing to stand up. On the matter of our suggested open letter to Hubert Ingraham, you are of course entitled to your opinion, but its your crude, rude Prime Minister that you need to talk to. As for the outcry from many other Bahamians, no; haven't heard a thing. Perhaps they saw the Prime Minister's disgraceful performance in the House on television and were similarly offended - Editor.
A Big Thank You
Thank you for your apology for the comment I
made several weeks ago about your late updates. It shows that you
are paying attention to your readers. Let me first congratulate you
for your concern, keep us informed with what is going on in the Country
and certainly in the FNM government. Let my Prime Minister (Hon.
Perry G. Christie) know that the truth will stand, and keep sounding the
truth with a horn.
It is always a pleasure for me to read every
Sunday, it's a pity you are not like the Bahama Journal, daily online news.
Once again, thank you, Mr. Editor, once again, congratulations.
Leroy Miller
| 19th
August, 2007
Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com |
|
| FRANCELIA BOSFIELD NEE LOCKHART DIES... | BRENT MISSTEPS SAYS PLP LEADER... |
| RUMOUR QUASHED ON PAUL MCWEENEY... | THE EDUCATION STORY... |
| THE SICKNESS OF THE TRIB, THE FNM AND OZZIE... | SIR CLEMENT LAUNCHES HIS BOOK... |
| HURRICANE DEAN... | IN PASSING... |
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR... | |
| The Official Site of the Progressive
Liberal Party... |
The Official Site of the Free National Movement... |
| PLPs On The Web... | Interesting Places... |
| Vincent Peet / PLP North Andros & Berry Isl. | Bahamas Government Website |
| Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte | Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links |
| Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte | Bahamians On The Web |
| Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw | Bahamian Kayaking News |
| John Carey / PLP Carmichael | FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES... |
| Keod Smith / PLP Mount Moriah | |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
JOHNLEY FERGUSON – WHAT A
TWIT
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abiding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labour
is not in vain in the Lord
1 Corinthians 15:58
Last week, you could have sworn that somehow Fred Mitchell was running this country. The FNM guided press was in overdrive. First, you had people like Oswald Brown who can’t understand A from a bull frog’s foot, reading this site two weeks late and extrapolating from the column of 5th August that somehow this column was fomenting violence against Hubert Ingraham. If you go back and read it, there is no evidence of that. But what can you expect from Oswald Brown? Then it was Eileen Carron of The Tribune. We at least thought up to now that she was intelligent. But it turns out she is just as dumb and happy as the rest of the hopeless FNM lot. She too turns out to be a jackass and a misguided one at that. In her column, she suggested that the Internet now needs to be regulated. The coup de grace though was a twit named Johnley Ferguson who is the Vice President of the Senate and now Chairman of the FNM. He drew himself up to full length, by himself, on ZNS television and claimed that BahamasUncensored.com associated with the PLP was fomenting violence against the Prime Minister. Nonsense. But he too is big dumb and happy in the FNM.
Both Oswald Brown, who is the editor of the Freeport News and the editorial writer of the Nassau Guardian and Eileen Carron, then went on with column after column during the past week: Fred Mitchell is this, Fred Mitchell is that. Fred Mitchell has no association with this column but we make no doubt about it. We support him one hundred percent. It appears that Mr. Brown, Mrs. Carron and Mr. Ferguson all had one thing in mind: FNM propaganda. This was designed to sap the will of PLPs, and cause them to doubt themselves over something that has nothing to do with them.
The ZNS reporter Shenique Miller was perhaps the worst offender since it is reported that she claimed in her report on ZNS that 18 PLP MPs signed the letter fomenting violence against the Prime Minister. Again; no truth to it. Nothing could be further from the truth. But you know: never let the truth interfere with a good story. Our concern is always the PLP and we say to them only this: the PLP is not a party of weak-kneed apologetic Negroes and it had better get some backbone or die. We cannot be so weak that we swallow the other party’s propaganda lock stock and barrel without at least knowing the truth and putting out your own story. This site is the only pro PLP site on the web, consistently supporting the PLP. With the PLP itself not doing enough, it is clear that the FNM would like to close down this site because it is the only site that is battling their vicious and vindictive policies.
The Ferguson intervention is particularly frightening and Senator Ferguson must answer for this along with his hate filled boss Hubert Ingraham. Will his brother Reginald Ferguson who is to become Deputy Commissioner of Police and who we resolutely oppose in that job now be called to investigate this site and come knocking with the police and handcuffs at the door to silence the Opposition in this country? We are watching and waiting. It appears that Senator Ferguson would have no problem with that since it seems that he is up in every crack and cranny of Hubert Ingraham. There is not one bit of foolishness that Mr. Ferguson cannot support. He has done himself and his brother a disservice because if he is the example of what his brother is like, then God help us indeed, if he is to be confirmed as Deputy Commissioner on the Force.
The difficulty that we have is that the media of The Bahamas at its managerial level is infested with people questionable judgment. What else can you say about Oswald Brown? You appeal to logic and common sense; he doesn’t grasp it. With Eileen Carron, you appeal to logic and common sense, she responds with prejudice and illogic. With Johnley Ferguson, what can you say? He is simply out to lunch – a twit of the first order and really deserves to be our Jackass of the Week. He is man who is an embarrassment to his own people in Acklins for saying that the money the PLP set aside for a school in Acklins was too much for the people of Acklins.
As for this column, we stand by the statement made on 5th August. We won’t back off for one minute. We are unrepentant, unreconstructed in our views. Steadfast! Unmovable! The problem is not this column and not the PLP and not what was written here. The problem is Hubert Ingraham, his hateful and vindictive policies. He has caused more violence against the people of The Bahamas in his time in office than any statement published on this site. The hundreds who have lost their jobs; those who continue to be victimized every day by the legitimate contracts that he has cancelled – 90 million dollars worth at last count. The economy is taking a dive under him, and people are worried about their futures. That was not the story a few months ago with the PLP in office.
PLP’s must learn to stand up to Hubert Ingraham’s vicious, vindictive and spiteful behaviour. Every single critic of what was printed here can go to hell. As Rhett Butler said to Scarlet O’Hara: Frankly, we don’t give a damn.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 18th August 2007 up to midnight: 266,618.
Number of hits for the month of August up to Saturday 18th August 2007 at midnight: 622,585.
Number of hits for the year 2007 up to Saturday 18th August 2007 at midnight: 3,896,529.
FRANCELIA
BOSFIELD NEE LOCKHART DIES
She was once the fiery head of the university graduate
activist group that led the revolution to independence in The Bahamas.
That was Francelia Bosfield.
Following Francelia's divorce from her husband,
she reverted to Lockhart, her maiden name. It was the name that she
got from her mother Eugenia Lockhart, one of the leaders of the suffragette
movement in The Bahamas. She came by her activism honestly.
In the last decade, she had really fallen on hard
times economically, but the spirit of politics was still in her.
This led to her running on the ticket of the Coalition for Democratic Reform
under now Member of Parliament for Bain and Grants Town Dr, Bernard Nottage.
She ran against of all persons the former Prime Minister and now Leader
of the Opposition Perry Christie in his Farm Road constituency in 2002.
Francelia lost in 2002, but Mr. Christie being the
kind of man he is when he became Prime Minister ensured that she would
survive. He arranged for her to be hired as a consultant to the Urban
Renewal programme. He did this also for Lionel Carey, another one
of the comrades of the revolution in the 1970s. As soon as the FNM
came to power, Hubert Ingraham fired Francelia Bosfield nee Lockhart.
On Friday, 17th August she died. Such is the difference between Christie
and Ingraham. Our condolences to her family and friends.
BRENT
MISSTEPS SAYS PLP LEADER
Each week through www.myplp.com,
the PLP’s leader Perry Christie has a chat room and an exchange with the
people of the country and Bahamians around the world. Last week,
he answered a question about the conflict of interest that Brent Symonette
now finds himself in with regard to the container port and the redevelopment
of Bay Street.
When the House of Assembly last met in July, the
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was stunned when he heard the former Prime
Minister Mr. Christie say that Brent Symonette had chaired a meeting of
Bay Street merchants to talk about moving the port of Nassau to Arawak
Cay. There was a detailed plan about its removal including how the
matter is to be funded.
Mr. Symonette is one of the owners of land on Bay
Street that would benefit or be adversely affected by the previous plan
by the PLP to move the port of Nassau to the south of New Providence.
It would be grossly improper for Mr. Symonette to be in charge of such
a move by the Government. No word on whether the practice is going
to stop.
PLP Senator Jerome Fitzgerald has been persistent
and consistent on the issue over the last week.
Mr. Symonette was caught in a conflict of interest
before that led to his resignation from the Airport Authority when the
FNM was last in power. His father was caught in a conflict of interest
position when he granted gambling licences to the Grand Bahama Port Authority
as Premier and accepted consultancy fees from the owners of the Grand Bahama
Port authority while he was Premier.
The late Etienne Dupuch, the father of the now publisher
of The Tribune, found himself in a similar position accepting consultancy
fees as head of the newspaper when he was opposed to gambling and a member
of the Senate, but he took the fees from the company that was actively
seeking a licence to gamble in Freeport. It seems that it comes naturally
to Mr. Symonette, this conflict of interest, as well as the inability to
recognize it when it exists or ignore it, closing his eyes to the obvious
risk.
RUMOUR
QUASHED ON PAUL MCWEENEY
It is a sign of the times that a formal statement
had to be issued by the new Chairman of the Bank of The Bahamas that there
was no truth to the story circulating around Nassau that the Managing Director
of the Bank of The Bahamas International Ltd. Paul McWeeney had been fired.
The bank that is owned by the Government.
You will remember that the former Chairman of the
Bank Al Jarrett, a PLP, was fired on the streets by Prime Minister Hubert
Ingraham when he rolled down the window of his car as he passed Mr. Jarrett
on the street and said to Mr. Jarrett “I want that ting”.
Mr. McWeeney is the brother of former PLP Attorney
General Sean McWeeney and so some think that maybe that put him on the
hit list. There is no doubt that he is the brain power and marketing
muscle behind the bank’s roaring success and it would be stupid of the
Government to remove him but stupidity never stopped them before this.
The statement from new Board Chairman T. Maitland Cates, an FNM, was that
there was absolutely no foundation to the story. The statement was
issued on 9th August.
THE
EDUCATION STORY
The government was so embarrassed by this year’s
results of the school system that they could not muster the courage to
reveal the statistics. Instead, they simply revealed selected results.
Usually you would get the overall grade of all passes in the BJC and BGCSE
examinations. Last year the overall grade was D+. This year
God only knows what it was.
The Ministry said that St. Augustine’s College did
the best with 118 out of 130 persons taking the exam and passing five subjects
or more with grade C and above. The government schools were miserable
failures with R.M. Bailey getting 8 such passes and C.C. Sweeting getting
four.
The Bahamas General Certificate Secondary Exam (BGCSE)
is the one that counts when you leave high school. It lets employers
know that you have what it takes. In the public service, if you want
to get a good start you have to have five Bahamas Junior Certificate passes
with C and above including Maths and English and two BGCSEs at C and above.
The business community’s representative J. Barrie
Farrington is alarmed and issued a statement saying that there must be
change to deal with what is taking us down the road. We agree with
him, but certainly, the government that he supports does not have the answer.
They want to blame the PLP for it, when it was the PLP that started the
reform of the sector and now the FNM is busy interrupting that reform.
It was the FNM who supported the teachers who during the PLP's time interrupted
the schools last year in falsely based union actions against the PLP for
political reasons. It is only the country that suffers in the end
for the selfishness of the FNM.
The real question though is what we do: students
who come out of high school who can’t read or write, who can’t comprehend
ideas more complex than ‘the cat is black’. You cannot move a society
behind complex objectives if this is the level at which our education system
is producing children. At this stage, we are looking at a doomsday
scenario.
There are clearly bright spots on the horizon, however,
one of them being this year’s Merit Scholar Lisa Rogers of St. Andrew’s
School who will receive the sum of $35,000 annually to help with her education.
By the way, while this is good $35,000 is not a lot when you consider,
for example, that if you go to Georgetown University in Washington DC,
the cost is $50,000 in tuition each year.
The investment in vocational institutions also has
to continue. But the government has the responsibility for forming
a national consensus on this issue, not as they are doing dividing the
country. The whole set up of the Ministry of Education with its four
ministers lends to confusion. We predict that under Carl Bethel,
as Minister of Education, the matter can only get worse.
THE
SICKNESS OF THE TRIB, THE FNM AND OZZIE
Some people, some institutions, some political parties
in The Bahamas are simply incorrigible. Yet it is possible in a society
like ours for these incorrigibles to gain ascendancy. The PLP was
too busy playing nice guy while these infidels were busy plotting and scheming,
and preying on the simple decency of our people. The result is the
PLP is where it is and the FNM is where it is.
You have to ask yourself, how does Eileen Carron
who obviously lacks the ability to rise above racial prejudice and her
sickness over race and her racial mix comes to be such a powerful force
in The Bahamas? You ask yourself, how does an intellectual imp like
Oswald Brown get to be in charge of two newspapers, and survive despite
changes in ownership? Never mind the simple ideas; complex ones are
completely beyond his reach. He cannot understand the journalistic
ethic that requires balance and fairness and he allows his prejudices to
seep into a paper of record. That makes his reporting unreliable
and biased. How does this happen in The Bahamas?
Then you have the FNM now symbolized by another
intellectual imp in the person of Senator Johnley Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson
was advised by the PLP that he ought to resign as the Chairman of the FNM
because it was not proper for an officer of the FNM to be Vice Chair of
the Senate presiding over debates where he was supposed to be impartial.
He did not and continues and there is no hue and cry from the country.
Yet he is able to call a press conference and then get at the top of the
ZNS news on a non story.
All of the work that this FNM government has to
do, Mr. Ferguson was busy beating the drum of nonsense about what was on
this website about Hubert Ingraham. The pity is that the reporter
who carried the story did not herself seem to have the wherewithal to distinguish
truth from fiction. It has reached a point where you want to say
to all of these people a pox on all of your houses. The Bahamas is
in such a sad state with the state of the intellectual stature of those
who run our institutions, their prejudice, racial sickness, the inability
to distinguish fact from fiction. How from where we started did we
ever get to this?
SIR
CLEMENT LAUNCHES HIS BOOK
We reviewed the work written by Sir Clement Maynard on this site on 29
July, 2007. You may click
here to see that review. Sir Clement had a formal launch of the
book and a book signing on Wednesday 15th August at the National Art Gallery.
The who’s who of The Bahamas of his generation turned out.
Amongst those who attended to give reviews for the
book signing and launch were for Governor General Dame Ivy Dumont, President
Emerita of the College of The Bahamas Dr. Keva Bethel and Leader of Bahamas
Faith Missions Dr. Myles Munroe. Also present were former Minister
of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell and former Immigration Minister Shane
Gibson and Dame Marguerite Pindling, widow of the founding Prime Minister
of The Bahamas Sir Lynden O. Pindling.
Sir Clement had his children, and grandchildren
all involved in the event including Senator Allyson Maynard Gibson, the
former Attorney General, and grandson Justin who did the cover for the
book. He is the son of Sir Clement’s late son Julian. The young man
who has a full head of hair in the natural state that is the style of his
generation. His grandfather called him up and said that Justin had
taught him that it was not what was on the outside that counted but what
was on the inside. It brought the house down. The young man
beamed the broadest smile and embraced his grandfather. Sir Clement
is also shown embracing grandson Desmond, who assisted with the book.
The book is a good read. The Counsellors Ltd.
photos are by Wendell Cleare.
HURRICANE
DEAN
The question must be asked, what is the FNM Government
doing for the Bahamian students who are in Jamaica as Hurricane Dean bears
down on that country promising to leave destruction in its wake?
Was any attempt made to find out how many are there? They would mainly
be medical students remaining on campus at this time of year. Can
they leave and do they want to leave? One thing the PLP did was to
ensure that our students were safe and that we airlifted them out of harms
way and home when the last hurricane struck Jamaica. That is the
difference between PLP and FNM, Christie and Ingraham.
IN PASSING
The Obits: Trib vs. The Guardian
Instead of Eileen Carron attacking Fred Mitchell over nonsense; instead
of Robert Carron wasting time attacking The Punch, the two of them ought
to answer whether or not they are deliberately stripping The Guardian of
its revenue base. At one time, The Guardian used to be at its most
popular for the obituaries on Thursdays. If you look at The Guardian
since the so-called joint operating agreement where The Tribune took over
The Guardian, the obituaries in The Guardian have substantially declined,
with The Tribune having pages and pages of the obituaries. It seems
that something is afoot and Eileen and Robert should answer.
Regulating The Internet
The Tribune ran a story last week in which it argued for some unnamed
source probably Eileen Carron or John Marquis that the Internet should
be regulated. They did this on the basis of the story that was written
in this site on 5th August that PLP MPs should sign a letter warning Hubert
Ingraham about the consequences of his continued disrespectful behaviour
in Parliament. Click here for the earlier piece. We stand by
the suggestion. What is interesting about these nitwits at The Tribune
is that all last year they were busy repeating the filth and slime from
a German nut case called Fuhrman who the police even let get within reach
of the then Attorney General Alfred Sears. They had no talk then
about regulating the Internet. Why? It was critical of the
PLP.
An Accident in Jamaica
A report has reached this column about a writer who has been put out
of his home by his wife. She is from a socially prominent Bahamian
family that was unhappy that they married in the circumstances of his social
standing in the community and the death of a previous wife under mysterious
circumstances. Now comes a report that while in Jamaica, the writer
and his wife were in a car. He was driving. They ended up taking
a steep turn and hanging over a cliff. The writer climbed out the
car and left his wife to dangle and made his way on his own back to the
hotel. The wife formed the distinct impression that maybe he was
sending her a message with extreme prejudice. Upon their return to
The Bahamas she ordered him out of the matrimonial home without delay.
We are investigating the matter further and will report more in due course.
India At Sixty
Congratulations to the people of India on the 60th anniversary of the
independence of modern India. The Indian subcontinent was ruled by
the British until 1947 when Lord Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy
handed the country back to its local leaders. The subcontinent was
split into two with Pakistan being Muslim in the north and India being
largely Hindu in the South. India today is headed toward being an
economic superpower. During the PLP's term, relations between India
and The Bahamas were strengthened considerably.
Elections In The Caribbean
Elections are being held in two Caribbean territories this month.
On the 20th August, the people of the British Virgin Islands will go to
the polls. Despite a successful economy, the government of Chief
Minister Orlando Smith is in a tight fight with the Opposition and the
election is too close to call. The same can be said for Jamaica where
elections are set for 27th August. Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica’s
first female Prime Minister, who succeeded Prime Minister P.J. Patterson
last year is trying to get her own mandate. By the looks of it, many
observers are saying that the JLP under Bruce Golding will win for the
first time in 18 years. However, they quickly add that Mrs. Simpson
Miller is personally quite popular and should not be counted out.
Also, it now appears that category five hurricane Dean is bearing down
on Jamaica with a direct hit. Will the elections still go ahead?
Malaria In Exuma
On Monday 13th August, the Ministry of Health announced that a visitor
to Exuma had been diagnosed with a case of malaria. It is not known
whether this was a foreign visitor to the island or a Bahamian. Last
year a malaria outbreak that was quickly contained affected 19 people.
The Ministry said that it was counting steps to monitor and control the
disease in Exuma. Exuma has a large population of Haitian illegal
migrants living in the bushes outside Georgetown, Exuma’s capital.
Haiti is a country where Malaria is endemic.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Bahamian Student In Jamaica Facing Hurricane Dean
I am a medical student here in Kingston at UWI
and there are about 25 Bahamian medical students and some 5-10 other Bahamian
students doing summer school here at the Mona campus. When the PLP was
in government, they sent a plane over for all of the students but now,
there is no message of good will let alone plane being sent for the Bahamian
students who are currently studying here while the new FNM government is
in power!
What makes this even more poignant is the fact
that I'm not adherent to any particular party and this is leaving a sour
taste in my mouth for the current batch of FNMs running the country. I
think other students who were here in 2004 and the ones who know about
it and are here are starting to feel the same way. Especially since the
hurricane in 2004 was at a lesser grading than the current one. Even if
no plane is sent, there should be some word of concern or warning.
Other countries have sent for their students or are looking into ways to
put their students up in hotels.
Just wanted to say that I saw the news last night
and in spite of what Brent Symonette had to say a lot of the students here
in Jamaica have been trying to reach his office and have gotten no callbacks.
Those who did get a chance to speak to whatever secretary answered the
phone, were shown no level of concern and no needs were addressed.
Someone who did speak to Mr. Symonette left the conversation with a bad
taste in their mouth and no real solution to their problem.
It was also sad to see the ZNS news say how this
is the deadliest hurricane in a decade then have the next story high light
the fun the FNMs were having at their fair including said Minister of Foreign
Affairs laughing it up while students here are scared and looking for –
as he said – whatever shelter the Jamaican government is providing.
I am one of the Bahamian students who is in a
safe apartment with food and amenities unlike some others and even I feel
a sense of abandonment even though my mother is checking on me periodically.
Could you imagine how the others who had to evacuate the dorms and are
in a random shelter must feel? I bet Brent Symonette and those persons
celebrating in Nassau have no idea.
Yet and still, for those who care, I've heard
of some devastation already in some parts of Jamaica, but those of us in
Kingston are fine as far as I've heard. They said they would turn
the electricity off nationwide this [Sunday] morning, but they haven't
as yet. As we speak the rain is picking up. I'll try to stay in touch with
various outlets as best as I can.
Not to worry though; we'll be fine...and we won't
forget.
NAR
We too are stunned – Editor.
---------------
This is very important information and we are happy to share it with our readers – Editor.
| 26th
August, 2007
Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com |
|
| ATKINS
GETS SILVER IN OSAKA... |
FNMS IN THE STRAW MARKET... |
| FOX HILL A FAILURE OF URBAN RENEWAL... | THE TEACHERS UNION’S TRUE COLOURS... |
| ALFRED SEARS SPEAKS ON LEADERSHIP... | GEORGE BUSH ON IRAQ... |
| IN PASSING... | CARTOON... |
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR... | |
| The Official Site of the Progressive
Liberal Party... |
The Official Site of the Free National Movement... |
| PLPs On The Web... | Interesting Places... |
| Vincent Peet / PLP North Andros & Berry Isl. | Bahamas Government Website |
| Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte | Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links |
| Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte | Bahamians On The Web |
| Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw | Bahamian Kayaking News |
| John Carey / PLP Carmichael | FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES... |
| Keod Smith / PLP Mount Moriah | |
 |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK: In the early hours of Saturday 26th August, 2000, Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, father of the Bahamian nation, died at the age of 70. The widow, Dame Marguerite Pindling, today marked the solemn anniversary with her now traditional laying of a wreath at Sir Lynden's crypt. You may click here for original Internet coverage of the death of Sir Lynden. Photo: Peter Ramsay |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
BRENT GETS IT WRONG AGAIN
It
was left to the pro PLP websites like this one to make the point as Hurricane
Dean bore down on Jamaica last week that the Bahamian students there were
in danger and needed to be airlifted out of Jamaica to The Bahamas.
This is what the PLP did when the last Hurricane, Ivan, hit Jamaica in
September 2004 (click
here for the story). Before it got there, the PLP government
sent a Bahamasair jet into Kingston to pick up our children and bring them
home to their parents. Once the storm was over and it was safe to
return, we took the children back to their school. That’s the way
a responsible government acts. We even moved the students out of
Grenada when a storm hit there as well. It was the sensible thing
to do.
It is interesting that the official PLP said nothing. This is again the problem: nothing in response to defending its history and policies that were good policies and that were good for the people of The Bahamas. We printed here last week on this site the plaintive call from a student that the Government should do something. Even the FNM blogs recognized that the PLP had done something to get the students home during the PLP’s time. The FNM’s response was batten up and call me when the storm is over. In the mean time, stay safe.
Brent Symonette, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has blundered colossally again. But you cannot be surprised. Here you have a rich man who could air lift his kids out from any situation that engulfs them. The rest of us the mere mortals would have to suffer it to be so. One supposes that market forces did not indicate that the students in Jamaica should be rescued and brought home. Market forces no doubt dictated that the cost was too high. The difference between the PLP and the FNM is no cost is too high for our people and for our young people.
So far, that has been the record of the present Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is part of the stop, review and cancel crew that came in on 2nd May 2007 that believed their own propaganda and simply reverses anything that the PLP did because the PLP did it. The interesting thing of course is that Mr. Symonette does not even have the courage to defend himself and his own record such as it is. The media did not even have the sense of balance and fairness to ask the PLP what they thought in this particular situation. Just Brent Symonette blah blah blah on the television and the radio defending why he did nothing.
Anyone examining the records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would know that the government of Jamaica gave the PLP the same assurances when the previous Hurricane hit that our students would be okay. But with Bahamian parents agitated about their children, with the children themselves anxious, the PLP had no other choice but to bring them home. It was the right thing to do. It was the humane thing to do. So for Mr. Symonette to say that they checked with the government of Jamaica and found that all would be well is no answer to what the government of The Bahamas ought to have done.
There are other worries in the application of his portfolio. The Ministry does not share information with the Bahamian public. Its website has not been updated for weeks. Mr. Symonette cannot give a satisfactory explanation as to why the FNM government will not follow through on the executive decision taken and the agreement made with the Bahamian American Association of New York to refurbish the building that they own in New York in Harlem that is the result of the hard work of dedicated Bahamians over 95 years in New York. The PLP agreed to support the development of the building by way of a lease with two flats for the government’s use and exhibition space for the consulate and an office for the Association.
Mr. Symonette had to use the useless Eileen Carron’s editorial to defend his non position on this. He claims that the file only says that the Ministry of Finance considered the matter; a very unusual truncation. He used the line in the House of Assembly as if there were some crookedness going on. There is none. It is an usual transaction but the dinosaurs in the Ministry of Finance were opposed to it no doubt because it did not fit what they wanted the politicians to do. But it is the politicians who take the decisions, and the decision was made to support it, the conclusion was given by way of the Cabinet. The Ministry of Works examined the project and made a report, and all that was awaited was the signing on the bottom line. In the mean time, the PLP lost office. Now the government of stop, review and cancel is at work again and the Bahamians in New York may lose their building. But again, Mr. Symonette would have no such pains about legacy and heritage. Market forces must rule the day.
Then there was the remarkable statement made by Mr. Symonette that he was not sure that the Government would go ahead with the visa abolition agreement that would give Bahamians visa free access to the European Schengen countries. He did so on the ground that The Bahamas would have to arrange reciprocal access to the EU countries in the system including some of the new EU states from the former east bloc. That is fatuous. The benefit of this is clearly in favour of The Bahamas. He sought through Eileen Carron's columns again to denigrate the work of Fred Mitchell the former Minister by saying that it was not his patient work that got it done. That the former Minister had only gotten to the first stage. What is even more remarkable is that the business community that urged the previous Minister to go in that direction said nothing in response to this.
The fact is Mr. Mitchell did the ground work. Now it is only left to Mr. Symonette and his stop, review and cancel government with their mistrust agenda to finish the work.
There are many other causes of concern that we have with Brent Symonette in the chair at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His former colleague Janet Bostwick slept her whole way through the Ministry’s work and her term. Now Mr. Symonette proposes to simply coast, shake hands, take a few pictures and denigrate the work of his predecessor, instead of carrying on the solid foundation that was laid for him. We are sorry for The Bahamas. But this is what the Bahamian people voted for. Someone who does not care about their children, about the heritage of Bahamians abroad and who will not work for the Bahamian businessman.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 25th August 2007 up to midnight: 252,223.
Number of hits for the month of August up to midnight Saturday 25th August 2007: 886,468.
Number of hits for the year 2007 up to Saturday 25th August 2007
at midnight: 4,160,412.
ATKINS
GETS SILVER IN OSAKA
Congratulations to Bahamian Derrick Atkins on winning
an unprecedented silver medal in the 100 metres Sunday at the IAAF World
Championships in Osaka Japan. 23 year old Atkins set a new Bahamian
record of 9.91 seconds. First in the event was American Tyson Gay
and third was the Jamaican world record holder Asafa Powell. Atkins
was reported by the news agency Reuters as being delighted to beat his
second cousin Powell.
"I'm pretty happy," he said. "A silver medal is
pretty good for a little country of 300,000 people. I'm happy to be a Bahamian
right now and hold our flag high in the sky." Conversations are now
all about what Atkins will do in the upcoming Beijing Olympics of 2008.
Reuters photo
FNMS
IN THE STRAW MARKET
Celestine Eneas is the FNM’s main general in the
straw market. When former Senator Telator Strachan led a group of
straw vendors to protest the ridiculous idea of Earl Deveaux to first cancel
the straw market that the PLP was to build and then to move the vendors
to the building on the dock at Prince George, Ms. Eneas refused to be a
part of it. She did not agree but it was her government in power
and she was not going to join PLPs in the fight.
It was interesting then to read that this same Celestine
Eneas, who sits at the mouth of the straw market, seeking to control its
comings and goings on behalf of Tommy Turnquest and the FNM, was in the
press quoted (Nassau Guardian Monday 20th August) as saying to that she
would not be moving anywhere, and attacking the very idea as proposed by
Vernice Walkine the Director General of Tourism a week earlier that the
market should move to Arawak Cay.
Now, we happen to believe that Celestine Eneas is
right. We think that the idea of moving the market to Arawak Cay
is wrong. But we have to point out the double standards of FNMs like
Ms. Eneas in this matter. It is easy for FNMs like Ms. Eneas to attack
Vernice Walkine but they do not have the courage to stand up for right
when there is an FNM Minister and when he is wrong.
Clearly, the idea of Earl Deveaux, the Minister
of Works was muddle headed as usual. Celestine Eneas should have
made that clear to Mr. Deveaux even if she did it privately and to his
hard headed boss Hubert Ingraham. Maybe the idea would not have seen
the light of day, and so stressing the vendors unnecessarily. Instead,
she apparently kept silent and stressed the straw market and the vendors
with the ridiculous idea of moving instead of building a new market.
As the old people used to say, “Lord look what we have done!”
FOX
HILL A FAILURE OF URBAN RENEWAL
We are now at murder 52. The FNM that promised
to stop crime when they came to office has no answers.
No, sorry about that: Tommy Turnquest, the hapless
Minister of National Security, did say that he would have some ideas by
September. Maybe by that time it will be up to 55 and he will indeed
have an answer.
What we want to say in the mean time is that murder
number 51 was a young man in Fox Hill. He was killed in Dorsett Street
and the police are looking for another man in Fox Hill to solve the crime.
His name is Deon ‘Emperor’ Knowles. Now there are many things that
have been pinned unfairly on Mr. Knowles so we don’t know what the story
is on this but we say that the FNM is to blame for this particular situation
in Fox Hill by stupidly interfering with the Urban Renewal programme in
Fox Hill, listening to the silly ideas of their former candidate in Fox
Hill.
The Urban Renewal office came to Fox Hill to deal
with what appeared to be family feuds or neighbourhood disagreements in
the very area of Fox Hill where this murder took place. Now Urban
Renewal in Fox Hill has been abandoned. The police have been withdrawn
and are engaged in something called neighbourhood policing, a nebulous
concept that appears to have the police confused as to what precisely they
are to do.
THE
TEACHERS UNION’S TRUE COLOURS
We had to smile to see the FNM at work through the President of the Bahamas
Union of Teachers Ida Poitier (pictured). Ms. Poitier who led the
fight in the Bahamas Union of Teachers to oppose every move that former
Minister of Education Alfred Sears made is now complaining that the Ministry
of Education did not get it right by explaining the national grade average
and what it means.
Ida Poitier was quoted in the Nassau Guardian of
Tuesday 21st August as saying that the Ministry should explain the difference
between the old General Certificate Examination (London University GCE)
standard and the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE)
standard.
The GCE was a limited exam taken by a smaller group
of academically inclined people, whereas the BGCSE is a wider exam that
all students must take and simply indicates the level of performance of
that larger group on a different scale than that of the GCE. That
means that when you compare a D average in the GCE to that of a BGCSE you
are not making a fair comparison. That is right. However, it
was the BUT that would not help the Ministry of Education under Mr. Sears
to make that case, instead they were content to let the public think that
the system was failing because of the D average. Now that the FNM
is in problems, Mrs. Poitier comes to the FNM's defence.
ALFRED
SEARS SPEAKS ON LEADERSHIP
Former Minister of Education Alfred Sears responded to the speculation
that appeared in The Tribune in a series of articles the week before his
appearance on the Sean McWeeney talk show of Sunday 19th August.
The Tribune claimed that PLP Leader Perry Christie was supporting Mr. Sears
for the leadership of the PLP as his successor.
Mr. Sears said that the question of leadership must
be examined as the PLP goes forward into the future. He did not rule out
an interest in the job but stopped short of confirming that he was interested.
He said that he was not advancing his name although The Tribune seemed
to be advancing his name.
The question of leadership of the PLP is one for
the PLP. It should be settled at a convention that should in our
view be held this year and without delay. In the short term, it is
clear that Perry Christie will remain the leader of the PLP; that means
within the next two years. In the longer term, it is also clear that
there are ambitious people within the present ranks who see the need for
transition.
Mr. Christie himself said that he believed that
it was his responsibility to ensure that there is an orderly transition
to new leadership. Of course, from that sentiment to the actual point
of a transition can be a long kabuki like dance. But at least now,
Mr. Sears has brought the matter out into the open.
GEORGE
BUSH ON IRAQ
Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister paid an official visit to India
on Thursday 23rd August. While there he paid a visit to the son of
Radhabinod Pal, the only Judge on the 11 Judge Allied War Tribunal to criticize
the World War Tribunal set up to try so called Japanese war criminals after
the Second World War. In his judgment, he said that this was the
judgment of the vanquished by the victors.
One could not think that George Bush, the American
President, in a misguided and illogical attempt at erudition on Wednesday
22nd August before the American Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City,
Missouri, could have learnt a thing or two from that Indian Judgment and;
in a rear view mirror, look at the decisions that he took in invading Iraq
and executing its leader. But then again, it might not have helped
because having read the speech and having seen what we have seen with the
decision to dismantle Iraq’s leadership, the U.S. President and his advisors
always seem to draw the opposite lesson from the one that right thinking,
straight thinking people seem to draw.
Mr. Bush's speech was an attempt to justify the
continued American presence in Iraq. It is plain for most to see
that there can be no justification in such an impossible situation, and
the US must leave Iraq. The very fact that the justifications that
have been advanced by its progenitors have all been wrong, and quite simply
a lot of ex post facto patching up, proves that fact.
Remember it started out that there were weapons
of mass destruction. It turned out that the intelligence services
of the US and the British cooked the books, gave their bosses what they
wanted to hear. Their bosses knew it and then lied to their peoples
about it. Then it was about removing an odious dictator and bringing
freedom to his people. Except that the people of Iraq want the US
out now, and the fact is, there are plenty of odious dictators in the world.
One of them is the President of Pakistan Perez Musharaff but he is the
US’ dictator and so he gets to stay.
We all remember that Saddam Hussein the dictator
that they threw out of Iraq was once their dictator as well. He attacked
the hated Iranian regime and was provided with support from the west to
do so, including gassing Iranian troops. That justification of removing
a dictator also did not add up.
As for bringing democracy, this is still the tack
that Mr. Bush was taking in his latest address. He claimed that what
he was about in Iraq was the same that the US was about in Japan after
the Second World War, bringing democracy to a country that had been vanquished
after the Second World War. Wrong lesson and poor analysis.
The Japanese attacked the U.S. The Iraqis and their leader did not.
Japan had a highly developed technological society and a structured history
of a homogenous people before the war. The Iraqis did not.
The speech was insulting to the Japanese.
It made them seem like helpless yellow people just waiting for the rescue
of the Americans, saving their religion and their emperor after they did
wrong. Japan is today a commercial success story but it must grate
them to think that George Bush is able to bring this muddle headed version
of history to the table as the story of how their country succeeded.
The same can be said for the situation in South Korea, which he tried in
the speech to defend on the same grounds. Again, no comparison. And
today, the South Koreans would very much wish that the U.S would cool it
with the rhetoric so that they can go about tapping the labour pool they
so desperately need from the paranoid leader of the North to continue to
fuel the economic miracle that is South Korea. No help needed at
this stage from the U.S.
What was quite shocking was Mr. Bush’s lesson drawn
from the conflict in Viet Nam. This from a man who used his connections
to avoid fighting that war that all in his generation were drafted into
fighting, many against their will. He claims that the lesson of Viet
Nam is that you do not abandon your allies; the result will be mass killings
of those friends that you left behind. With respect that cannot be
the lesson of Viet Nam.
The lesson of Viet Nam is that the U.S. should not
have been there in the first place, intervening in a civil war, seeking
to impose a result as outsiders. The analogy breaks down further
when you note that the U.S was expelled from Viet Nam and the Vietnamese
people went on to produce a successful economy, one of the fastest growing
in the world today. They have or are about to join the World Trade
Organization and Mr. Bush has even visited the capital of Viet Nam to pay
homage to that success. No American style democracy was imposed there.
It was the communist rulers who did it. It is quite embarrassing
really that this should pass for public policy.
Further, Mr. Bush is wrong on how the murderous
Khmer Rouge got to rule Cambodia. The US intervention in Viet Nam
destabilized Cambodia and led to that situation not the fact of the American
withdrawal from Viet Nam. The US should follow the example of Viet
Nam and draw down its forces and leave. If it is concerned about
its collaborators in Iraq that they will leave behind then the answer is
to prepare a proper refugee policy that will welcome them into The United
States.
Why should we be concerned? The Caribbean
is the back yard of the United States. With the kind of contempt
and short shrift that is being made of third world peoples in the policies
of the leadership of the United States and the seeming ineffectiveness
of the opposition in the U.S. to develop a clear strategy to combat it,
we are in trouble. Again, one has to hope that next year, it is either
Hillary or Obama or one of the cast of others trying to get there from
the Democratic side that will lead us out of this mess. You may click
here for the full address of Mr. Bush.
IN PASSING
Condolences To David Wallace
Condolences go to former West End and Bimini MP David Wallace on the
passing of his mother Zeta Louis Wallace. Mrs. Wallace was buried
following a service at St. Stephen’s in Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama on
Saturday 18th August.
Congratulations To Deborah Archer
We congratulate Deborah Archer for success as the President Elect of
the Pilots Club International. Mrs. Archer, the daughter of Sir Albert
Miller, President of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, has been a member
of Pilots, a women’s civic group since 1979. She is the first Bahamian
to hold the office. She will serve as President in the 2008/09 term.
She will be the first person outside the United States to hold the office.
Freeport
News photo
Police Must Make Up Their Minds
On Thursday 23rd August, the Bahama Journal reported that police spokesman
Hulan Hanna confirmed that the Police Tourism Unit started by the PLP to
help with policing issues was now disbanded and that instead the regular
police would be beefing up patrols to stop the harassment of tourists.
The police are in danger of losing their credibility daily on these issues
and the Commissioner must be careful that he too is not losing his credibility.
The tourism unit was started under the PLP presumably on the advice of
the Commissioner as something that was needed. That could not have
been more than a year ago. The same thing applied to putting the
police in the schools to prevent violence there, an idea of the PLP.
Now less than a year later, the Commissioner of Police has changed his
mind and the unit for tourism police has been abandoned, with the persons
hired to be absorbed into the regular force. Mind you, the previous
FNM administration disbanded the previous tourism warden unit and left
a mess for the PLP to clean up, with the PLP having to pass legislation
to make sure they got their pensions. The Commissioner of Police
could easily have said to the PLP this is not a good idea. Instead,
he advised it and then abandons it in less than a year. Money and
time wasted. The credibility of the Force is in doubt. But
while the FNM argues that the police can do the job for the tourists, isn’t
it funny that they now have the opposite argument for the police in the
schools to protect our local children and their teachers? They have
taken the police out of the schools and have advertised for private security
firms to take the jobs in the schools. You know what the consistent
line is here: if it’s a PLP idea then do the opposite. The government
of stop, review and cancel. That is the FNM.
Oswald Brown - Jackass of The Week
It is clear that the employers of Oswald Brown must dismiss Mr. Brown
from their employ. It is interesting the extent of the personal vendetta
that he has against former Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell. He is
a sad and burnt out case that is need of God and rehabilitation.
Dismiss him now or face a law suit for accepting the work of the government’s
gazette and not being a balanced newspaper. Mr. Brown uses the columns
of a newspaper that is in part publicly funded to push a personal agenda.
He needs to move elsewhere and helped in the process. Last week,
he was at it again, Fred Mitchell this and Fred Mitchell that. It
is like a mental illness he has. Mr. Brown spoke about the legacy
of Perry Christie. He has no idea what the legacy of Perry Christie
will be. One thing it will not be is that of Jackass of The Week
which honour we bestow yet again on Oswald Brown.
Michael Vick
A football player in the United States is to plead guilty by virtue
of a plea bargain on Monday 27th August to charges of conspiracy to engage
in dog fighting. The lurid details of how he is alleged to have killed
dogs that lost fights are all over the press. He has been suspended
from his team the Atlanta Falcons without pay indefinitely. The press
is piling on and the American public is in one of its usual frenzies.
But hold on here, this guy is a football player for Lord’s sake, not a
saint. If he pleads guilty, is convicted, and gets jail time, there
is no reason he should not go back to playing football. While we
do not support dog fighting, it just seems like a whole lot of self righteous
nonsense being spun about this. This from a country that despite
all of the faux pas of Mike Tyson the boxer, including wife beating, could
not resist finding a means to get him a licence to fight in the ring again.
Mr. Vick has a lot to answer though for how a man with a 140 million dollar
contract plus millions more in endorsements, rising out of poverty forever
could not rise above this nonsense. He was set for life.
The Sub Prime Loan Crisis In The U.S.
We see that the Nassau Guardian got the Central Bank Governor Wendy
Craigg to say that the loan crisis in mortgages in the U.S. will not directly
affect the credit situation in The Bahamas. Some saw that as a victory
for exchange control. The emphasis however should be on ‘directly’.
There is no way that a crisis in credit in the United States will not ultimately
affect the buying power of Bahamians. Right now, the market in condos
has gone soft, with Florida being overbuilt so there is a caution light
shining in the distance. Unfortunately for us we have the FNM in
power who are the government of stopping, reviewing and cancelling.
That has sent out a signal to the community to slow down the economy.
During the week, two projects approved by the PLP were reviewed by town
meetings held to discuss the projects with the public. We hope the
PLPs point of view was represented here. You can be sure the meeting
was just a stunt by the FNM. We like what the investors told the
meeting: the deal must go ahead and they expect the Government to honour
the contract. Amen!
Bacardi Folding Its Tent
Since the Cuban revolution in 1959, the Bacardi family fled to The
Bahamas and set up shop here to take advantage of access to European markets.
Now they have stopped and announced the plant is closing and 119 jobs will
go. So the critics of the CSME and the WTO have their wish.
The FNM, the government of stop, review and cancel should be proud. What
a sad thing.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Updates to your site
You may not have noticed, but you are still using
this statement “Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com. The site is compiled
and edited in The Bahamas by Russell Dames, with writer Claire Booth.
This site does not represent the views of Fred Mitchell, the Government
of The Bahamas, the PLP or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
This needs to be updated because the PLP
is no longer in power, and Mr. Mitchell, effective as he was, is no longer
the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Additionally, you need to seriously
consider updating this site more than once a week. The recent takeover
of The Nassau Guardian via a share buyout is not a positive thing, from
an Anti-Trust perspective. No one group should control four radio
stations, an upcoming TV station (we are told) and 80% of the newspaper
daily market. I don’t care if it makes economic sense and if it has
happened in Ireland and elsewhere. Ireland is a very different country
from The Bahamas with a different and larger makeup of the population.
Additionally, the world needs to be looked at
by other criteria, and not only economics. Slavery made economic
sense as well. The manufacturers and large scale farmers received
free labor (there were no on-going labor expense once the asset was purchased).
This reduced the cost of production tremendously. However, it was
an immoral practice that damaged both the slave and the slave masters.
The world, for example, was willing to pay a higher price for cotton when
slavery was abolished. The argument that they will maintain their
editorial independence is laughable. All of the editors report to
the same Chairperson, who can influence their bonuses, issue of share options,
compensation level and status in the Group. And since there is now
only one large entity, no journalist can afford to lose his or her job
now because there is simply no other place to go. There is only one
significant newspaper employer in the entire country.
I can expand this argument further, but
here is not the place to do it. Suffice it to say that the FNM does
not oppose this action because, as it now stands, all of the newspapers
support them. But support is a dynamic thing, and if the Press ever
goes against them, then they will see what they have allowed to be created.
We now have a body so powerful headed by The
Tribune’s owner that can, theoretically, bring down governments, sway public
opinion, push their own economic dominance agenda, contribute to the mental
enslavement of our people, color international opinion, color our relations
with other countries, pressure the government to decrease its vigilance
in the granting of citizenship and do whatever they want to do and write
that whatever they do is correct.
These are the same individuals who we are told,
refused to print the PLP’s advertisements during the recent elections,
claiming that they were (always) out of space. We were also told
that they refused to print the PLP’s answers to the FNM’s propaganda machinery
and made it seems as if the PLP did not respond to outright lies.
They attacked PLP Ministers in a way that they would never attack (not
in this lifetime) any FNM Minister, even if (s)he were charged with murder.
It was also disappointing to see my Deputy
Governor General himself giving his personal opinion on this matter.
In checking the constitution, I noted that it does not differentiate between
the Governor General and the Deputy Governor General. Their duties
and powers are virtually the same. Why the same biased Press continues
to accept the Deputy Governor General writing articles and giving his personal
opinions privately and publicly is beyond me. I have a great deal
of respect for him as a journalist, but he would be the first to attack
if it were a PLP who was doing the same thing. To make matters worse,
he is the father of an FNM Cabinet Minister, the Father-in-law of another
FNM Cabinet Minister and one of the founding members of the FNM.
So his writings cannot be seen to be objective. If the PLP had done
that, The Tribune, The Nassau Guardian (they can now be considered as one)
and The Punch would be screaming. They would also not accept the
PLP coming to power and firing so many persons within days of getting elected.
Headlines would have screamed: “VICTIMISATION.” Or at least The Tribune
would have had an “Insight” investigative report into that. But no.
The FNM is in power now. It is the second coming of Christ, so we
will only print positive things about The Bahamas.
It is because of this recent takeover that
more and more Bahamians both home and abroad are looking to your site to
find out what is happening without all of the typical government spin doctors
chopping up the information and making it seems as if the FNM is the second
coming of Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that you should seriously
consider updating this site more than once a week. You would have
noticed an increase in traffic to this site by both PLP’s and FNM’s.
Additionally, now that the PLP is not in power, I suggest that this site
should stop trying to distance itself from Fred Mitchell. Indeed,
if Mr. Mitchell is not a significant influence on this site, then I submit
that he ought to be. He is a great journalist and a brilliant Bahamian.
People want to hear from him.
John Bain
Thank you for the comments. For the time being, we think that our header properly reflects the facts. We will, however, remove the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Editor
PLP Voice
The Tribune is at it again. In editorials
this week, Tuesday’s in particular, people paid seventy five cents to read
the latest instalment of Bahamian history as revised by Mrs. Carron.
This is nothing new, but the real reason that I decided to write to your
web site is to ask why this kind of thing never seems to be put straight
by the PLP?
As one who lived a part of our history in this
country, I am disappointed that there is nothing from the PLP side.
I personally remember being frightened as a child by UBP goon squads, but
no one mentions that. The Tribune editorial spoke of “cause and effect”
in being able to trace political violence to an incident in Lewis Yard
in Grand Bahama in the 1960s.
What about the generations of Bahamians, especially
before 1967, whose rights were trampled upon, whose aspirations were limited
and whose opportunities were held hostage to the circumstances of their
birth, the colour of their skin and the whims of the then and now ruling
class?
By this article and others like it, the Tribune
and their like are relentlessly continuing their old trick of revising
history, bit by bit, to the detriment of the nation’s true warriors and
heroes, and not least to the current and future PLP and the masses of the
nation for which and for whom those heroes sacrificed so dearly.
The real issue is the undeniable fact is that
the people who now govern this country, like the ’92 – ’02 government and
the UBP before them, have always governed in their own economic interest
and not in the true broader interests of the majority of the Bahamian people.
So yes, this government, as the Tribune editorial
said does “just want to settle down and quietly together concentrate on
building a better Bahamas”, but that presupposes a level of mutual respect
and tolerance that does not now exist, with victimisation, viciousness
and vengeance the order of the day, both official and unofficial on the
part of the FNM.
This government wants no turmoil just as long
as they can pursue their own selfish interests and they are in charge to
do what they please with impunity.
The real issue is not political violence, the
real issue is the attempt by the FNM and its allies in the Tribune to use
their stranglehold on much of the news media to write their own version
of history and emasculate, or let’s just ‘take the nerve’ of the PLP so
they don’t speak up.
Where is the PLP when SOMEONE must give the real
record in a way that enlightens the people? I hope to shame into
action those who know the truth of history; or do they just not have the
courage?
Disappointed PLP
Help!
I am writing this letter to shed some light on
one of the many evils taking place in our Bahama Land . There are persons
going around preying on people who are looking to buy cars from the many
car auctions in the United States . These persons go as far as to produce
auction licenses to prove that they are legitimate. They ask for a down
payment, these crooks are so bold they even write receipts and once you
would have given them your monies they disappear. Dodging and ducking and
screening all of their calls.
I had encounter with a particular person.
I gave her $1500.00 to bring in a Honda Accord for me Sir/Madam this is
going on 3 years now and I still haven’t received my vehicle or my monies
back. Every time I see her I get enraged and all she does is laugh in my
face. I am a law abiding citizen of this country and wish to remain that
way, but somebody needs to put a stop to persons like her.
I did some investigation of my own and found
out that this person is known for doing this in fact she has been charged
before the criminal court for this before 11 counts adding up to over $30,000
but she some how made restitution and paid the persons off. I’ve also found
other persons who were taken by this person. You don’t have to take my
word for it you can look into this for yourself and I’m sure if you publish
this more persons would come forward and reveal that they were victims
of this person also.
I might have lost $1500.00 but exposing such
persons will prevent others who may not take the time to think like me,
from getting themselves into serious problems for harming people like this.
This person is also known to the police. Can somebody please help me out?
Vigilante
For legal considerations, we have had to leave the name of the alleged fraudster out but we can and will forward the matter on to the police – Editor
PLP, Public Relations
I am elated that you have explained the letter
that was written as if the 18 members of the House of Assembly have written.
We have the MOST EDUCATED and ELOQUENT speakers the Bahamas have ever seen.
That letter that everyone is referring to was poorly written, nuff of that
nonsense.
I am still waiting for the answer to the question
I asked earlier as to who the PLP public relations person(s) is (are),
they need to let their voices be heard. It is as if the lies what
the FNM is telling, it is believed as the truth. PLEASE FOR GOD SAKE,
SOMEBODY SAY SOMETHING.
It really was a pleasure reading this afternoon,
Aug. 19th, 2007, I don't blame The Hon. Fred Mitchell, GIVE THEM HELL.
And for my friend Mr. Ferguson, I leave him in the hands of the Lord. Continue
to write the truth, it is as firm as the rock itself. GOD IS IN CONTROL,
AMEN my brother.
Continue to be steadfast and unmovable, they are of their father
the devil, the father of lies.
Stay focused, and pray always.
Still here in Freeport.
Leroy Miller
We cannot speak for any member of parliament, but the words are clear in the article and so one supposes they feel they need to say nothing. As for the public relations people of the PLP, understand that official pronouncements of the Party must be sanctioned by the Party - Editor.
The Bad Hand of the FNM Government
The FNM government continues unabated with its
policies of disempowering and disenfranchising the Bahamian people. They
continue to personify all that is wrong with governance in the Bahamas.
They offer no intelligent reasons for their decisions and there is apparently
no outrage over these decision making processes.
The honourable member for South Beach recently
criticized the PLP government’s decision to reduce the cost of electricity
and branded the decision as reckless and careless. He claimed that BEC
lost seventy to eighty millions dollars in revenue over the last five years.
What the Minister of State for public utilities did not say was that the
$80 million was passed on to the Bahamian consumers as the PLP offered
relief in the face of rising energy costs. The FNM said that this was a
bad policy decision and threatened to exact part or all of these savings
from the Bahamian consumers in the form of electricity surcharge rate hikes.
Again the FNM is placing the mechanics of government above governance.
As energy costs increase and the financial burden
on the average Bahamian worker becomes heavier, the FNM has proposed to
add significantly to this burden. This is not good governance, this is
inconsistent with the role of government; this is a bad public policy that
ought to be rescinded and the Bahamian people must judge them on this.
Please note that the PLP government answered the clarion call for help
and offered hope and help by reducing electricity rates and passing some
$80 million in savings on to the Bahamian consumer over its term in office.
I simply urge Bahamians to take note of the fundamental
philosophical difference between the PLP and the FNM as it relates to governance.
The PLP focuses on uplifting and empowering the Bahamian people (eg: $80
million in cost benefits to Bahamians), while the FNM focuses on things
like the mechanics of government (eg: proposed $25 million budgetary surplus)
even if it comes at tremendous human costs (eg: mass firings in the civil
service that disempowers and disenfranchises many Bahamian families).
By their utterances and decisions, the FNM has,
in my view, publicly endorsed victimization as an official FNM government
policy. The chairman of the party is reported to have done so on at least
two occasions. On a local talk show the chairman was reported as saying
that PLP’s cannot be pleased because they complain when they are and when
they are not victimized. This is interpreted as an admission that the FNM
endorses and engages in the practice of victimization. Further, in an interview
with Tamara McKenzie of the Bahama Journal, Mr Ferguson justified the transfers
of family island administrators (to proverbial Elba) by insisting “that
those administrators who were removed were blatantly campaigning for the
PLP before the May 2 election and were reportedly informing residents that
they would not receive assistance if they did not support the PLP”. This
has to be seen as victimization because the FNM has accused the PLP of
a similar practice and has described this practice as victimization so
I am simply using the FNM’s definition of victimization to draw such a
conclusion.
To his credit, former Prime Minister Christie
is on record as stating that he insisted on leaving civil servants in strategic
positions in his government even after evidence was presented to him to
suggest that these persons did not support him politically and may seek
to impede or scuttle his political agenda. This was a principled position
taken by Mr. Christie because the civil service must be seen as disciplined,
stable, and objective and the actions of the political directorate must
seek to foster this professional atmosphere. I support Mr. Christie on
this.
Blatant politically motivated manipulation of
the civil service will surely create polarization; it will destabilize
the public service, rendering it ineffective and in some cases paralyzing
it. Those who dismissively argue that Mr. Christie’s decision was a mere
political miscalculation that backfired are patently disingenuous because
many of them abhorred this practice and wept and wailed against it between
1971 and 1992. They now seek to change the rules in the middle of the game
because of political convenience. Suffice it to say, Mr Ferguson
is a liability to both the FNM government and party and is one of the principal
reasons for the loss of political capital since this party assumed the
reins of government on May 2nd.
The FNM told the Bahamian people that their life
was miserable prior to May 2nd and has done much to worsen their condition
by adding to their burden. They have stopped contracts because they claim
the amount is insufficient. They claim that the contract to Mr McDonald
was under bid by $4 million and the contract to Smith Construction was
under bid by $1 million, but the FNM chairman accused the PLP of raiding
the public treasury; what irony, or is it hypocrisy?
The Prime Minister promised more political freedom
for civil servants, but the actions of his government have recreated fear
of retribution and punitive acts of reprisals if the FNM disagrees with
the expression of this political freedom. The FNM has effectively imprisoned
the very institution it promised to liberate; what irony, or is it hypocrisy?
Suffice it to say, the Prime Minister does not mean what he says and his
government cannot be trusted to govern this great country, The Commonwealth
of The Bahamas.
Elcott Coleby
---------------
