Fenestration and Glass Services (FGS) Ltd, in a press release this week (Nov 21st), announced the dismissal of the last of their employees remaining on staff since closing the doors to the Glass Factory several months ago. Thirty-five Bahamians, in all, were dismissed this week just before Christmas; increasing the unemployment figures for Grand Bahama, further. I was extremely disturbed at the display of insensitivity (in my view), by the Freeport News, for seeming to regard this news story as being of little significance. As a matter of fact I would venture to go further and accuse the publishers of blatant disregard for carrying the company’s press release (on the dismissals) on the eleventh page of the 24th November edition and not on its front page, where it should have been given the prominence it deserves. In my view the particular day’s front page story they carried, which depicted a number of women being honored, could have been carried on the third page while giving the news of those dismissed Bahamian employees, front-page status.

It has not escaped me either that the community of Freeport seems oblivious to what has happened, (finally) at Fenestration Glass Services Ltd, where so many talented Bahamians have been sent home over the months, especially this latest crew, ending many short lived careers in that industry. The members of parliament for the areas (all of whom are FNMs) have had nothing to say on this tragedy either, which is most unfortunate. Freeport and Grand Bahama should not forget that the FNM government made Grand Bahamians a lot of promises, during the last general election campaign, none of which have materialized to date. Lest we forget; of the six parliamentary seats on this island, the FNM won five of them and they include the representation of that entire area of Grand Bahama from Seagrape, in the west, to Sweetings Cay in the east. The area includes all of metropolitan Freeport, Lucaya, Pineridge, Marco City, Eight Mile Rock proper, Pinders Point (and the immediate areas) and the entire area of High Rock. Three appointed Senators, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly and three cabinet ministers, make up the FNM’s dream-team on Grand Bahama and all we have gotten (and are getting) from this high-powered FNM team, for our votes, is hot air; more hot air and lame excuses. They promised to create 10,000 jobs; we’ve lost 10,000 jobs. They have been completely useless, as representatives, and I hope when they come knocking on your doors, looking for your votes this time (and believe me; make no mistake about it they are bold and brassy enough to come); that bucket of stale PISS you are saving to throw in the faces of those people, when they come calling? Throw it in their faces, instead. Thirty-five young Bahamian professionals, sent home just before Christmas, and not a sound or crack from there, usually loud-mouthed, FNM Representatives; not a word, either from the FNM’s minister of labor, Dion Foulkes.   

It seems to me that we, on this island, have gotten so used to Bahamians being laid-off, dismissed and or fired, that the trauma doesn’t bother us anymore. These thirty-five Bahamians have, no doubt, come from thirty-five different families, in our community, and in most of the cases, I would venture to say, each one (if not in all them) represents the only one (with a job) working in their respective families. I am cognizant of the fact that, as ordinary human beings, it is very easy for us to forget what many families are going through, in this city and on this island, so long as the tough times are not having the same negative effects on us as on others. We must, however, not allow the community-minded spirit, which we once possessed, to take flight completely. We must remain sensitive, cognizant and caring about the troubles our neighbors are experiencing. The FNM government doesn’t care so we must, especially when we see the suffering on the faces of the little ones who bear the brunt of the hard times.
I am told often many sad stories of kids in our schools who tell raw and disturbing details of what it is like going home to cramped quarters; in most cases it’s a one bedroom apartment where four or five or six or even eight family members exist. I say EXIST because that is all they can do, in their precarious circumstances. One in the household may have a minimum-wage job, which would barely put a meal a day on their tables and then not a very good, healthy meal at that. They exist in darkness which means no light, no water and no garbage collection. They either run hoses from a kind neighbor’s apartment (for a limited supply of water) or they scrap elsewhere for sustenance. I accompanied a school teacher friend of mine one afternoon, who gave one of her favorite students a lift home. The student told of how she lived in this efficiency apartment (just an open room-no bedroom) with seven others of her siblings and their mother. One of her siblings, she said, had a job (minimum wage, of course) but she had a young baby as well. Her mother, she said, often must travel to Andros, leaving them alone for weeks at a time, where she catches crabs to bring back to Freeport to sell from a stall on the side of one of our street locations in the city. They have no electricity; no water and the children have (each) only one school uniform. Their uniforms must be washed and ironed daily in order to have them, somewhat, neat and clean, for the following school day. She told of how they manage by dropping their uniforms off at their aunt’s house (located in the heart of Zhivargo Laing’s constituency) after school each day and their aunt would wash and iron them. They then would walk or hike the two miles (more or less) home. The following morning they would have to walk or hike to their aunt’s house, very early, to get dressed for school; this is repeated every school day. This story (which I am quite sure can be multiplied a thousand times in this once vibrant, but now dying city) almost broke my heart. I listened, while forcing back the tears, and immediately pledged in my own heart that I would help, where and when I can, for what it’s worth.
People are hurting on this island, ladies and gentlemen, while these eight FNM members of parliament and Senators brush off the fact that things are really bad here. As I said earlier, not a word has been said by any of the FNM crew, who represent Grand Bahama (three of whom serve in Ingraham’s cabinet), about this latest group of job causalities; nothing from the FNM’s minister of labor either. It is said that SILENCE is golden but not in this case. Ever since Zhivargo Laing started receiving that $10,000.00 per month salary and perks (at taxpayers’ expense), after May 2007, suddenly things are not so bad, anymore, in Freeport. He appears to get very annoyed, even, when people tell him, point blank, how bad things are for them; as a matter of fact he argues, with them, that things are not as bad as they say; that things are improving; that they don’t know what the hell they are talking about. I am told that on one of his infrequent trips to Freeport, the boy wanted to find out, from a local pastor, how things were, politically, on the ground; the pastor told him, quote; “twenty businesses and families are losing their basic utilities each day, on Grand Bahama, and if you multiply twenty per day by five working days per week you will get the answer; one hundred per week and counting; that is what it is like on the ground, politically,” the pastor told the snotty-nose brat. Of course, he didn’t like what he heard and walked away sorrowful, reminding the pastor about the parable of the rich young ruler who asked Jesus what must he do to be saved; after going down a laundry list of items, which he told Jesus that he observed from his youth up, Jesus told him to sell what he had and give all to the poor and come and follow him; it was too high a price to pay for Jesus’ salvation so he refused and walked away in sorrow. Three thousand (3000) households on Grand Bahama are without even one person working in the family and many other thousands have just one who is “underemployed.”

While most of the City dwellers, here, exist in squalor Zhivargo Laing, who didn’t have a life prior to entering the Halls of Parliament, runs around our town talking like a person who has never seen tough times. Prior to the last general elections, the young man reportedly was having some real challenges meeting his obligations and commitments. Somehow he was fooled into believing that if he wrote a book, that Bahamians would purchase it, but found out the hard way that, that was a lie. Generally speaking Bahamians are not fanatical book worms; we don’t read as much as we should; a book is not the first thing we would pick up and read (if there are pictures in it we may look at them) especially if it’s a book that is authored by the likes of Zhivargo Laing. Why would we want to read a book written by this boy anyway? What is it that he could possibly have to say that would spark a book-reader’s interest?

For almost five years, on Grand Bahama, we have been having weekly layoffs and dismissals, and for all that time Zhivargo Laing and Hubert Ingraham have been assuring us that things are not bad; that we only think things are bad. They have been trying to convince us that what we are going through, that we are really not going through it. To be quite honest guys even I have had my doubts, on occasion, that maybe things are not really as bad as we think we are having it, but then I shake myself back to reality. It’s the FNM’s propaganda machine at work here so don’t let them fool you; it is rough in this town and the eight FNM representatives, including the Senators and cabinet ministers, have been silent and wautless (Ingraham’s word-not Webster’s). Business people have suffered tremendously, as well, under this FNM Administration; their (Ingraham and Laing’s) attitude is to” get Freeport;” as if they have huge STICK with which to beat us into submission. Laing and his brother-in-law (I suspect) have been working the Customs department’s end against us, tirelessly; this in order to bring punishment down on businesses in Freeport, and indeed the entire Bahamas. One of their blatant acts of attempted sabotage, on the business community, was when they cancelled the use of the “Ten day Bond” facility which facilitated the immediate release of imports, on arrival, from the Customs department. There was no logical reason for Laing and Hubert to cancel that facility except to punish businesses. And now instead of businesses, and or individuals, being able to get their merchandise in their stores, and on the shelves, on the same day of arrival on the island, they must now wait until the Customs documents are all processed, which in many cases could take more than a week; all this while the merchandise sits in Freeport on the docks and or at the airport. It makes no sense and it’s one of the clearest examples of the FNM’s regressive policies. If there is not the possibility of any customs revenue, why put these roadblocks in the way of business? It is as if the FNM government regards all the business community operators as smugglers and thieves.

Faced with no less than four downgrades (on their watch) by the International Rating Agencies (IMF; S & P; Moody’s) within the last four years, Laing, instead of admitting the dilemma brought on by his government’s bad policies, in governance, chose rather (each time we were downgraded) to boldly accuse the rating agencies of having ulterior motives. He and Ingraham accused them of having fought against the FNM government. He accused them of; (get this) “political mischief making.” On one occasion (I believe it was in the case of a downgrade by S & P), he accused the agency of siding with the PLP in its (the PLP) mission to discredit the FNM; that for some sinister reason, the boy opined, the agency favored the PLP because it gave the FNM government a negative rating. Laing maintained this posture until just recently, it appears, when I read somewhere that he finally succumbed and admitted that things are not well in the country and that the policies, which the FNM has been pursuing, have gotten us in over our heads. He admitted that things look bleak, for any hope of any short-term relief, and that this position doesn’t look like it will change anytime soon. I guess he figures, now, that general elections are right around the corner that he had better start coming clean, and stop playing his little political games, with the Bahamian people but, it’s a little too late am afraid.

It was in the Tribune’s business section (Tuesday November 15th) where I read that Laing told Mr. Neil Hartnell that it is impossible to reverse the continuing growth of the country’s national debt. He finally admitted that public sector revenues are continuing on the decline and that no growth, in the GDP, is expected anytime soon. He also admitted, in effect finally, that the country’s debt to GDP ratio which his government has, in the past, been denying was a problem, is now a problem which his government doesn’t have a clue how to fix. So if you have a situation where the national debt is increasing while revenues are declining and the projected GDP is negative and that the debt to GDP ratio is progressively getting worse isn’t this a recipe for the total collapse of the country? This is what has been happening for the last three years but the FNM government was foolishly in denial. This situation could only get worse and I’ll tell you’ll something for sure, the FNM government has given up; they have thrown in the towel, yet they are trying to win the government to remain in power. Why would they want to remain in power, anyway, if in fact they’ve already given up on being able to find the solutions to the many problems they, themselves, have created? It is very obvious that they are well aware of the fact that they don’t know what the hell to do to get us out of this mess, so why would they want another term in office? Damn dogs in the manger, that’s why; and that’s who they are; damn dogs in the manger.

Thank you.

Forrester J Carroll J.P
Freeport, Grand Bahama
December 2011   

Pierre Dupuch, the former Member of Parliament for the FNM adds his bit about the constituency boundaries.  He accuses the leaders of the FNM today of betraying the original principles of the FNM:
December 2, 2011

FNM Gerrymandering and Questionable Citizenships Betray Sacred Trust with Bahamian People!

Over the past several weeks the articles I wrote about gerrymandering and questionable citizenships have been brought into question by a few people, who criticized me for not being "constructive" in my articles, and for not giving solutions to the points raised.

Some have gone as far as claiming that the boundaries that I referred to were a figment of somebody's imagination. In fact, I was referring to a document that the mainstream media claimed had been leaked to them from the Boundaries Commission's office. The newspaper would not have said that the documents were "leaked" if that was not the case. But since newspapers are ethically bound not to expose their sources, they are conveniently accused by some of having manufactured the story. This is unfortunate.

Then the guessing game starts. Who leaked it? Is that really important? What is important is who wrote the boundaries document? We can rule out the judge on the Boundaries Commission. The poor fellow has been accused of enough. The boundaries that I saw were skewed in favour of the FNM. Do you think the PLP would present a set of boundaries skewed against themselves? You figure it out.

The articles questioning my position were written by Mr. Rick Lowe and Mr. Larry Smith. They both claimed, condescendingly, that they would usually "dismiss my missives out of hand." I can see them now sitting on their high horses mounted on pedestals of their own creation, conceding to respond to little ol' me. Gentlemen, I am so grateful; you are so kind!

I must say; however, that most of their comments were made either after having read my articles incorrectly, or with malice. I would like to believe that they misread the articles.

Both claimed that I gave no solutions to the problems other than one. Mr. Lowe said that I had suggested that the government should give only Permanent Residence to foreigners. He quoted one paragraph and forgot to mention the paragraphs before it.

Mr. Lowe knows I have many foreign friends so his comments were made merely to put the cat among the pigeons. I, in fact, said that Permanent Residency Status should be granted to those foreigners whose documents did not come up to the standard required for citizenship.

Did not the recent earthquake in Haiti destroy many documents that at the best of times, I understand, were badly kept? I mentioned in my article an experience that a person had when they went to collect their long awaited citizenship papers and found that the room was packed with people who had also come to collect their citizenship papers. However, only my friend and the Immigration Officers spoke English. Would this not cause a reasonable person to raise their eyebrows about the authenticity of the applicant's papers?

I said that by gerrymandering boundaries, the voters were not given enough time to get to know the candidate, nor did the candidate have enough time to check the register to be sure that those who the register said were there, were, in fact, there. I may not have spelled the solution out but it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out what it is. Give them more time is the solution!

The question was about gerrymandering and questionable citizenships. I made the case against government. They said I gave no solutions. And they took almost two pages of The Tribune to say it, but I noticed they gave no solutions to gerrymandering and questionable citizenships. Am I to understand from their statements that they are in favour of gerrymandering and questionable citizenships?

In his article, Mr. Smith said that the idea of gerrymandering and illegal citizenships being given out was first raised by "an anonymous propaganda website called Bahamas Press, which masquerades as a news site." Here he goes again, looking down on people as usual. I read the Bahamas Press and I don't know who owns it. But I do know that, although I sometimes disagree with the language used, their stories are usually on the mark, sometimes days before the mainstream media; and they do a good job. But have heart Bahamas Press whoever you are: I have heard people call Mr. Smith's articles "Elite propaganda spun trash." It happens. Get used to it.

Mr. Smith indicates that it is not true that false birth certificates are given out. If he believes this, fine. Sleep on McDuff!

Mr. Lowe says that the FNM Government tried with a Constitutional Amendment to create a review committee for the boundaries, but he claims it was defeated. It may be so. But Mr. Lowe, along with me and others, fought and voted against it. In fact, Mr. Lowe was at my side when this happened. He knows, as well as I do, that the proposed Constitutional Amendment contained some very objectionable sections. We were not allowed to vote item by item; we had to vote for or against the whole thing.

I believed then, as I do now, that good sections such as giving foreign men who marry Bahamian women the same right as foreign women who marry Bahamian men could have been passed by a simple act of Parliament. But it has not been done. Why? Maybe Mr. Lowe can tell us why he suddenly now has a change of heart.

Mr. Smith goes to great lengths to show that I quoted the wrong figures regarding the number of citizenships given out by the FNM Government as opposed to the amount given out by the PLP. Both Mr. Lowe and Mr. Smith seem obsessed with the premise that if the PLP did it, it's all right for the FNM to do it too. I'm amazed that two intelligent men think like that. I believe that gerrymandering and packing votes is wrong...no matter which Party does it.

I did write that it was said that there were about 5,000 citizenships given out. I was not sure then and was apparently wrong. But the actual figures make no difference, as the numbers were being used to illustrate a point. In other words, if 1,000 votes are made up of illegal immigrants and that 1,000 were properly placed in ten districts, a "shaky" district could become a safe area. The quantity of five hundred could be used and the result would be the same. After all, in the last election I contested, I only won by 27 votes; I seem to recall that Sir Roland won by just one vote in 1967.

Mr. Smith says, "The only point I want to make here is that we should always be suspicious of folks who switch apparently deep allegiances and strongly held positions overnight." I agree with Mr. Smith. But, in this case, he must be looking in the mirror and talking to himself. The beliefs today about gerrymandering, conflict of interest, double dealing with friends, etc. were held and expressed by me before or just after both he and Mr. Lowe were born.

They were my views before the FNM was formed. I joined the FNM because I felt the leaders then, namely Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield and Sir Kendal Isaacs, shared the same ideals that I did.

My friends, the Leaders of the FNM have changed...not me. The Leaders of the FNM have betrayed the original standards of the FNM...not me. The Leaders of the FNM have betrayed a sacred trust with the people of The Bahamas...not me.

My next article will deal with political parties, gerrymandering, and their effects on democracy. In the meantime...God bless.

--30--

Oswald Brown since leaving the FNM and being dismissed from the Freeport News is now the arch critic of the Free National Movement and the FNM.  He posted this comment on Facebook on 2nd December
 
Gregory Moss was absolutely magnificent on Hard Copy

During his appearance on Steve McKinney’s HARD COPY radio talk show on LOVE-97 today, Gregory Moss, the Progressive Liberal Party's candidate for the Marco City constituency in Grand Bahama, was absolutely magnificent.

He was very articulate as he eruditely responded to McKinney’s questions and commented on the challenging state of affairs in Grand Bahama today, including the poor state of the island’s economy and an unemployment rate that he estimated to be as high as 25 percent.

One of the issues that Moss raised that has been a pet complaint of mine and has baffled most Grand Bahamians is the government’s decision to discontinue daily ZNS-13 national broadcasts out of Grand Bahama for the inconceivable reason that at $70,000 per year it was too costly. When you consider the fact that this is less than one of the Ministers in Prime Minister Ingraham’s over bloated Cabinet, you must scratch your head and wonder what “lame brain” came up with that excuse.

The truth of the matter is that ZNS-13 daily broadcasts out of Freeport were cancelled because Ingraham wanted to spite Sir Jack Hayward, one of the principal owners of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) because Sir Jack refused to give in to his demands to sell the GBPA to Hutchison Whampoa, which is a communist China-based company. Sir Jack, who is a blue-blooded British aristocrat, despises communism and he has unequivocally made it known in published comments that he would never sell the GBPA to the communist China.

But being the vindictive individual that he is, Ingraham in December of 2009 responded by refusing to renew the work permit of Hannes Babak, the then chairman of the GBPA, who had been hand-picked by Sir Jack and Lady Henrietta St. George, widow of the late Edward St. George, who shared ownership of the GBPA with Sir Jack.

During his response to a question McKinney asked, Moss referred to the Prime Minister’s reaction to Sir Jack’s refusal to sell the GBPA, but he diplomatically suggested that the denial of Babak’s work permit was one of the “sequences of events” that ensued after Sir Jack vehemently refused to sell the GBPA to the communist Chinese.

Residents of Grand Bahama know Gregory Moss very well, for he represents one of the truly inspiring examples of what someone can accomplish in life, no matter what hardships they may have faced in the early stages of their lives. He grew up in one of the most impoverished “ghettos” of Freeport, but through hard work and a determination to succeed in life, he has been a highly successful lawyer in Grand Bahama for more than 20 years.

One of his remarkable qualities that has always impressed me tremendously is his innate ability to “think outside the box” when faced with a challenging issue. As President of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) several years ago, at the height of the current recession, he made a very bold and innovative proposal to jump start Grand Bahama’s economy by removing the barriers to the business population of Freeport that restricts “bonded vehicles” from travelling outside the Freeport area.

Can you imagine what benefits this would have accrued to small businesses in settlements outside of Freeport if Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing, who represents Marco City, had convinced his boss, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who is the Minister of Finance, that this was an excellent idea that could provide some impetus for Grand Bahama’s near moribund economy. Just think what this would have meant to the small businesses in Eight Mile Rock, Hanna Hill, Sea Grape and West End in West Grand Bahama and the corresponding outlying settlements in East Grand Bahama.

Unfortunately, Laing, who is being challenged for the Marco City seat by Moss, and all four of the other FNM Members of the House who represent seats in Grand Bahama remained totally silent as Ingraham waged his personal war against Sir Jack and in the process increased the pain Grand Bahamians in general have been suffering as a result of the impact his spiteful decision had on the economy of Grand Bahama.

Surely, those voters in Marco City who heard Gregory Moss on LOVE-97 today and had not made up their minds who they would vote for between Moss and Laing, have now decided that Moss is their man in Marco City.

The original of this letter appeared in The Tribune from Kelly Burrows, an FNM supporter and friend of Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister:

Published On:Monday, November 28, 2011
EDITOR, The Tribune.

Re: Antoinette Seymour Funeral

I want to add my concern to the fact that you have a strong FNM family, in their hour of sadness with the death of a wife, and mother, and there was no FNM representation at the funeral on Saturday morning, obviously, it was an occasion for the member of Parliament to be present or one of the Senators. The opposition was ably represented by two senior MPs out of Nassau. Is this a way to treat your loyal supporters? My understanding is that they were all on the island, to me I was gravely disappointed. For what it's worth.

KELLY D BURROWS
Freeport, Grand Bahama,
November 19, 2011.

(Mrs. Seymour was a PLP voter all of her life. Editor)

IN PASSING


Three DNA Candidates Gone

Leader of Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Branville McCartney MP is supremely confident.  He is telling everyone that the race is between the PLP and the DNA.  The FNM he says is finished.  Well one supposes that is what he has to say but the news last week was not good for him.  The press reported that two of his candidates Sammie Starr who is actually Sammie Poitier ( a  nephew of the Hon. Darrell Rolle, the former PLP MP), the candidate for South Beach and  Philip  Thomas, the candidate for  High Rock pulled out from the party with recriminations about dictatorship and the fact that they say Mr. McCartney acts like Hubert Ingraham.  His party statement said that was not so that the two had had their candidacies revoked for acting contrary to party policy.  Whatever! It's not good.  Seemed like an implosion. Then by week’s end it appeared that a third candidate from Grand Bahama Osman Johnson was also leaving.  What gives there Mr. McCartney?


BUT Ultimatum

Belinda Wilson and the Bahamas Union Of Teachers have put the public school teachers which she represents on amber alert for a possible strike against the government .  She alleges that the government is dragging its feet on negotiating a new contract to replace the three contract signed under the PLP.   
  
Mortgage Corporation Evictions

Senator Duane Sands is now the villain of a new piece and script written by the FNM government.  In the midst of the country’s worst recession in two generations, and an eighty per cent default rate at the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation, the Chairman of the Corporation Dr. Sands announced that steps will be taken to evict people from their homes.  Some evictions have already begun.  Dr. Sands explained that there are people who can pay who won’t and they are being evicted.  That will help you at the polls.  Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister has drawn a whole new Elizabeth constituency to try to get Dr. Sands in the House.  This should go down well with the new voters.

Why Is The Fire So Important?

Perhaps, the purity of the photos of Keyshan Munroe might explain the emotions involved in the response to the latest fire in downtown Nassau that threatened to engulf the new straw market and razed the temporary market to the ground along with the vendor’s possessions.  Mr. Munroe is a young photographer with a keen and passionate eye for the stark beauty of the destruction wrought.  We share his photos which appeared on his Facebook page.  The fire broke out at 3 a.m. and was not out until the mid morning.  The Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham went to the scene on Friday 2nd December as did the Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie.  Questions are again being asked about the ability of the Fire Department to fight fires in Nassau.  Last year a whole block of stores and a warehouse were destroyed in a conflagration in the middle of the town and the trucks had no water. 



Bannister For North Andros

It was no surprise that all the Minister of Education Desmond Bannister talked about in the House was the fate of his “beloved” home in North Andros during the Constituencies Commission report debate on Wednesday 30th November.  Long story about how the road is being paved, and for the first time in his life this is so and yada, yada, yada.  Never mind the fact that since the FNM came to power Vincent Peet the representative for North Andros has been writing and calling to get the roads paved.  But now that Desmond Bannister has been told he must move to North Andros, abandon the people of Carmichael, he is suddenly interested in North Andros and the roads are being paved.  There is a saying in North Andros: “Vincent Peet can’t be beat”.  Mr. Peet is the PLP incumbent. The Prime Minister in his rant in the House of Assembly on Wednesday last said that he has both North and South Andros in his sights.  It appears that Zendal Forbes is no longer to get the nod in South Andros against Picewell Forbes for the FNM.  The seat is to be renamed Mangrove Cay and South Andros. Mr. Ingraham announced that he is going to give the people of Mangrove Cay local government autonomy, a fact for which he fired Gilbert Kemp, the former administrator.  Ronald Bosfield the man who served in the House following Sir Lynden Pindling's retirement as MP for that seat until 2002 is set to be the FNM’s candidate again.  He had the record we think of not saying one single thing the whole time he was in the House of Assembly.  However, Mr. Ingraham, the Prime Minister, does not like Zendal Forbes who was hoping to get the nomination and so it appears he is once again going to be overlooked by the FNM for the nomination.

Verna’s Quote

The MP for Eight Mile Rock is losing her seat but she is drinking the Kool Aid anyway.  The price for her voting for the Boundary changes was an agreement to allow her to criticize the FNM softly in the House but vote for the resolution.  They promised her that she can apply for the seat to run in West Grand Bahama.  Get this: no promise to get the nomination just the right to apply. What was that that Kendal Wright the MP said about getting rid of his seat without telling him: “It’s like an old John Wayne movie where you say give him a fair trial and then we hang him in the morning."  And here is what Verna had to say: “It would be a disservice to God and my constituency if I stood here and said all is well at Eight Mile Rock at the decision to eliminate this constituency.  We are hurt, we are confused and in most cases we are angry because a formal explanation had not been made earlier and the burden of identifying the truth was unavailable. ”

The Minister Of National Security And His Powers

Friends of the Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest were saying in the House of Assembly last week that there is a plan afoot to charge a PLP candidate just before the next general election.  Friends of the Prime Minister are saying that the Minister should give the PLP some notice and not spring it on the PLP.  Now isn’t that interesting.  Why would friends of these two people be talking these stories which are examples of abuse of power and the exercise of improper motives?

Vanderpool To Run?

Vincent Vanderpool Wallace, the Tourism Minister, is now changing his tune.  He told a gathering recently that Ft. Charlotte is close to his heart.  It was his first public acknowledgement that he too is going to drink the Kool Aid and run for office as Hubert Ingraham has asked him to do and which he has been denying up to now.

Fox Hill Woman Is Murdered

Bridget Saunders was a beloved figure in the Fox Hill community.  She was the quiet and unassuming sister of Pastor Shirelle Saunders  They were both daughters of the late Bishop Austin Saunders the founder of the Faith Mission Church of God on the Fox Hill Road. His daughter Shirelle is his successor in the church.  On Tuesday 29th November she was found brutally murdered in a track road in the southern district near Malcolm Road.  She was 43 years old at the time of her death. The police are questioning a suspect in the matter.  Hers is the 117th murder for the year in The Bahamas for this year.


Bishop Randy Fraser Jailed

Bishop Randy Fraser, who was charged with unlawful sexual intercourse with a dependent, was found guilty of the offence after a five year legal battle. The judge was Carolita Bethel, the Deputy Chief Magistrate. The Bishop who is the pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church was immediately jailed for three years, two years short of the maximum. He is expected to appeal the verdict.

Kenny Anthony Wins In St Lucia

Monday 28th November in St. Lucia may be the start of the turning point for the PLP in that it was in St. Lucia in 2006 that the trend started for countries in the Caribbean to toss out incumbent governments.  Now St. Lucia is the second Caribbean country, the first being the British Virgin Islands, to return the old government leader.   Kenny Anthony is back as Prime Minister with a 10-7 seat majority.


The Reprise Of Speed Week

The Ministry of Tourism and the press all last week have been promoting something called Speed Week.  This is a reprise of the Speed Week of the 1960s when Sterling Moss, now Sir Sterling, used to come to Nassau for a race at the Oakes Field track.  The Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool apparently has a personal fascination with vintage cars and he has used tourism money to assist in that passion by bringing back this Speed Week now with the vintage cars and the vintage drivers.  Sir Sterling is back in town and there was a picture in the press with him and Sean Connery, now Sir Sean, who first came to The Bahamas to act in the Bond movies and never left.  The PLP ought to ask the question whether or not the marketing money of the Ministry is being spent properly.  All the tourism budget was busted giving away free tickets for people to fly here and now this speed week.  With all of that the tourism arrivals are still down from last year’s figures.

Former MP George Smith Is Threatening To Run?

Just as the PLP seems poised to win the next election including the Exuma seat comes a hint of trouble.  The Tribune reported on 29th November that former PLP MP for Exuma George Smith is unhappy about the prospect of the incumbent Anthony Moss being given the nomination again for Exuma.  Mr. Smith told The Tribune that he would have to make a decision.  He is supporting it says the candidacy of Danny Strachan, the Commodore of the Exuma Regatta, who Mr. Moss defeated in the internal contest for the race ten years ago.  There was the suggestion in the article that Mr. Smith himself might put his hat in the ring. This would make a crowded field in Exuma: the PLP, FNM(Minister Phenton Neymour), the DNA and now perhaps a former Minister.
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Bradley Roberts Shows FNM Incompetence On Roads


This note and photograph was circulated by the Chairman of the PLP Bradley B. Roberts on the road at Bay Street: Dear All, the attached photo taken this afternoon on Bay Street near Fredrick Street. You should be aware that portion of Bay Street was just recently repaved with asphalt. This same road was repaved for the Ms Universe contest? No it's not a man hole, it's a sink hole. They trying to hurry the roads, this happened on Bay street at Frederick street. This is a classic example of how the FNM government is wasting the Bahamian people monies. Guess which company did the paving and who is a major owner of the company. We must get rid of this useless FNM Government.