Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames... Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 7 © BahamasUncensored.com 2009
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE FNM MUST ACCOUNT
FOR THIS NONSENSE
There has been far too much talking on all sides about this case
that John Travolta, the American actor has brought against former Senator
Pleasant Bridgewater. We reported last week in this column the details
of a so called extortion plot against the American actor John Travolta
and the resultant charges against Senator Bridgewater and her alleged co
conspirator and abettor Tarino Lightbourne, a 47 year old ambulance driver
from Grand Bahama. All the evidence suggests that Ms. Bridgewater
was the latter’s attorney.
Listed as a witness in the trial is PLP Senator Allyson Maynard Gibson. According to the reports from the press, she is the lawyer for the Travoltas.
The Bahamian and U.S. press have been in overdrive. Web sites like tmz.com have not restrained themselves in their commentary in making accusations against all the cast of characters in the matter including the former Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe now the Member of Parliament for West End. The commentary has not been kind. In the local press, the Bahama Journal repeated in detail a set of time lines and a story that now causes Mr. Wilchcombe to say that he will sue the Bahama Journal. Plenty of bad feelings all around in this one.
The press has been concentrating on the PLP. According to them, this means that the PLP is finished. It means that there is infighting in the PLP. They don’t see how the PLP can possibly come back from this. One newspaper columnist described the problem of the PLP as having a political culture of corruption. It escapes them conveniently of course that almost everyone who left the PLP to become an FNM has had an allegation of corruption either proved against them or been expelled from the PLP because of some corrupt act. You go back to the very beginnings of the FNM and you will see it.
Who is concentrating on the FNM and what it continues to do to the country? In the case of this trial itself, on the same day that the Police Chief, the Acting Chief, that is, was in the press defending the strategy of the police in terms of pubic relations, the Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest gave a statement to the press in which he himself said that it was the government who decided that Marvin Dames, the Assistant Commissioner in Grand Bahama would be the spokesman from the police on this matter in order to clear up the misinformation. The problem is that the police went far beyond any such corrections of misinformation in commenting on the case, and may have made statements that in the end may prejudice a fair trial in the country of the people they have locked up. But the point, we make is that when the FNM claims that they had nothing to this with this, it is clear that their hand is all over it.
Mr. Turnquest was busy crying crocodile tears for the country. He claimed that the country’s reputation suffered as a result of this. Fred Mitchell, MP for Fox Hill and the Opposition’s spokesman on Foreign Affairs released a note to all PLPs on Facebook telling them that they ought to remember that the cases of corruption against individuals in the United States did not make the United States corrupt. In other words, the FNM and its various spokesmen were doing what they always do, seeking to be prophets of doom and gloom while they themselves were the authors of the doom and gloom.
How then in good conscience could anyone sit down with them in at the Ebenezer Church to break bread under the auspices of the annual Christian Council service while, the FNM was busy trying to lock up and imprison PLP politicians and worse than that trying to rewrite and destroy the history of the country and the contribution that the PLP as made to that history. The FNM has a leader who is now accusing all public servants of being slack and corrupt. We are headed for dictatorship. We are not served by a strong Opposition. The Cabinet is made up of weak-kneed men and women who know well how to say “yes sir boss.”
Some blame does of course lie with the PLP, for its lame response and silence in the face of all of this. You ask yourself, where is their voice?
Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt, while attending the church service on Wednesday 28th January spoke up for the first time in months to say that the work of the PLP will go on, that these things happen but the party continues.
History would suggest that she is absolutely right. So, this is not a time for PLPs, as Margaret Thatcher said to the first George Bush, US President, to go all wobbly. This is a time to hold our heads up high and march on. The party will go on because we believe that its fundamentals are sound.
We wish Pleasant Bridgewater all the best in this unfortunate situation. It is a difficult time, but there is a song that says: “I’ve been up and down and over and out but I know one thing. Each time I find myself lying flat on my face; I just pick myself up and get back in the race.” Mandela said it another way: “eight times down, nine times up.”
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 31st January 2009 up to midnight: 296,535.
Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 31st January 2009 up to midnight: 1,064,821.
Number of hits for the year 2009 up to Saturday 31st January 2009 up to midnight: 1,064,821.
IDLE
GOSSIP ABOUT FORMER MP
Since Friday morning sources inside The Punch and
FNM propaganda people have been spreading rumour about a former PLP MP
that is supposedly under arrest in Cuba. All the information that
we have is that this is completely false and those who print this garbage
will do so at their great peril.
INGRAHAM
ATTACKS PUBLIC SERVANTS
The Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham should be encouraged
to continue in his stupid and bloody-minded behaviour. When this
country revolts against his nonsense, he will know. It has come to
that. He seems ever more intemperate, insolent and insensitive to
the Bahamian people whom he governs and it is only a matter of time before
he is rejected by the people for the political quack that he is.
The latest was his address to the nation on Thursday
29th January in which he was supposed to tell the country what he plans
to do to meet the economic crisis. The speech was filled with untruths,
one of them that the reserves of the country are up 108 million dollars
because of foreign direct investment in flows under his government.
The reserves are up because the FNM borrowed money in US currency last
year and for no other reason.
The most egregious wrong, however, was the attack
on the public servants. There has been this insidious campaign by
Mr. Ingraham and the FNM that every civil servant is a thief. All
the more if you are suspected of being PLP. He let go scores of immigration,
customs officers and police on the grounds that he was restructuring those
departments and making them more efficient. We know that neither
reason adds up.
You cannot on the one hand claim that you are simply
doing restructuring then on the other hand every time that you open your
mouth you start talking about how you are weeding out corrupt officials.
Here is what he said in his own words in a national address to the country
on Thursday 29th January as reported in the Nassau Guardian:
“It is in the nature of human institutions that
they must be constantly under review to insure that they are functioning
in accordance with their highest values and mandates. This is certainly
true of public institutions that are susceptible to negative influences,
even the entrenchment of bad habits.
“It is the intention of my Government to pursue
with utmost vigour and determination our Trust Agenda for the strengthening
of all branches, agencies and departments of The Bahamas Government and
to initiate reforms where necessary.
“We fully intend to work towards a new culture
of excellence in the service of the Bahamian people, a culture of ethical
conduct on the part of those who serve, a culture that is hostile to slackness
and corrupt practices.
“We expect that some elements of this process
will be painful and we fully expect to be criticized. We may even have
to pay a political price.”
OBIE
WILCHCOMBE EXPLAINS IN HIS OWN WORDS
West End and Bimini MP Obie Wilchcombe MP has been on a press offensive
since the news broke last week of his arrest by police and release in the
matter of John Travolta. He has said he will fight to regain his
reputation. Here is what he said in his own words in the press as
reported in the Nassau Guardian:
Wednesday 28th January, The Nassau Guardian:
“I’m in a lot of pain. I’m in a lot pain. I have
a mother in Miami. She’s in hospital and she watching this every
night. She knows [her son] would never go down this line… My mother,
I love her; that’s my best friend and never, ever... I brought her pain,
a lot of pain. It hurts; it hurts.
Thursday 29th January, The Nassau Guardian:
“I intend to sue the Bahama Journal over its
reporting of the alleged extortion plot...
“I was both shocked and surprised that save and
except for that incident (The Journal's article) and the behavior of at
least two other journalists, the journalists of The Bahamas have been very
responsible.
“...To see the story in The Journal, I couldn't
believe it when there's no such thing, no such evidence. Nothing like what
they reported ever happened. I was taken aback. It's unfortunate that one
or two of our journalists decided to follow the sensational line and approach
taken by the U.S. media, which in my view performed terribly and were saying
the most horrible things about my colleague, Ms. Bridgewater, and myself.
I couldn't believe that they went to the extremes they went. Certainly
we will have to deal with that.
“When you have worked to build your reputation
and [so-called] responsible people who hold microphones decide that they
are going to treat the microphone as if it's a toy and people's lives are
meaningless, that's not fair and that's not right. The truth is, I heard
some things in the electronic media myself. I was very, very disappointed
in some of the commentary...That's not acceptable and I'm deeply concerned
that we've allowed it to happen. There must be something terribly wrong
with that.
“What The Journal did [Wednesday] it's terribly
insulting to me; it defamed me and we're certainly going to seek redress.
“In our country we have some norms, we have some
values, we have some standards and why is it that The Guardian and The
Tribune who have been criticized many times in the past for being so anti-PLP,
could be so professional?”
THE
TRAVOLTA STORY BY THE JOURNAL
We provide a
link to the report in the Bahama Journal to which Obie Wilchcombe MP
takes exception. We do not vouch for its authenticity but for accuracy
in this matter. The Journal takes the position that their story as
it relates to Mr. Wilchcombe was based in part on assertions made by Mr.
Wilchcombe earlier to the press about the matter.
MITCHELL
ON TRAVOLTA
In the absence of any comprehensive statement by
the PLP in the matter and despite scores of unanswered inquiries by PLPs
as to what the position ought to be, Fred Mitchell MP and Opposition spokesman
on Foreign Affairs released on Facebook this comprehensive statement on
the John Travolta Matter.
Mr. Mitchell asks the question as to whether the
Crown was involved in Forum shopping, a term used by lawyers to mean picking
a forum where you believe you will get the most favourable result.
He said that the case is tied to Grand Bahama and wondered why it is ending
up as a trial in Nassau. You may click here
for Mr. Mitchell’s statement.
MOTHER
PRATT COMMENTS ON TRAVOLTA
Progressive Liberal Party Deputy Leader Cynthia
Pratt commented to the press outside the annual church service for Parliamentarians
to the Nassau Guardian on Wednesday 28th January and published the next
day about the alleged extortion plot against John Travolta and the charges
brought against former Senator Pleasant Bridgewater:
“It's always good to talk about what we're doing
as it relates to service to Bahamians and I just want to reassure the Bahamian
people that we're still servants of the people and we will do that to the
best of our ability.
“The PLP will continue to stand strong. Every
party has problems, but challenges should not be allowed to drag the party
down.
“There will be challenges on every side. Since
I've known the Bahamian people and its politics there have always been
challenges. And so we must overcome those challenges if we are going to
continue to serve our people in dignity and with integrity. And so I want
to particularly say at this time how proud I am to be a servant of the
people.
“There are only a few of us who are privileged
to do that in this country and so I consider it an honour. And so my head
will always be lifted high when it comes to service to our people. I'm
honored to be a woman who can serve in an institution as the Progressive
Liberal Party.”
GAY
KILLER LET GO
The Nassau Guardian reported on Thursday 29th January
that a jury acquitted a man the day before who admitted killing a gay,
HIV-positive man whom he claimed had tried to rape him.
According to the report, Frederick Green-Neely,
25, told the jurors that Dale Williams, who was the brother of former FNM
MP Gregory Williams, grabbed his genitals inside his apartment in Bain
Town on 9th February, 2004. Mr. Green-Neely said he stabbed Williams
after he grabbed his clothing as he tried to leave.
Mr. Green-Neely broke down in tears when the jury
foreman announced that he had been unanimously acquitted of Williams' murder.
His wife was also moved to tears and she thanked the jurors as they left
the court.
This is now a new defence for The Bahamas.
The defence lawyer Dorsey McPhee called it “defending his manhood”.
He told the jury: “This man deserves to go home to be with his family.
The death, we are saying, was justified. Show the nation you don’t
impose yourself on somebody, because one day you just might meet the wrong
person.”
The Jury rejected prosecutor Terrance Archer's assertion
that Mr. Green-Neely had used excessive force in rebuffing the alleged
come-on by stabbing the man three times, causing his death. Stabbing
a man whom he described as being “cool” with and whom he knew was
gay and HIV-positive, and had gone to his store in Bain Town earlier that
day to purchase a Valentine’s Day basket for his girlfriend, who had given
birth to his baby four days earlier. [The autopsy report confirmed
Williams’ HIV-positive status.] Mr. Green Neely said the store was
busy and Mr. Williams asked him to return later that evening to tell him
what items he wanted in the gift basket.
The accused returned around 11 p.m. and both men
smoked a cigarette. Mr. Williams invited him inside his studio apartment
because it was chilly outside. Mr. Green-Neely said he reluctantly
accepted the invitation. He said he sat on the couch and Mr. Williams
sat on the bed. He said Mr. Williams told him that he had always
had a crush on him and grabbed his genitals. Green-Neely claimed
that he pushed Williams away. He then stabbed Mr. Williams three
times during a struggle trying to get away.
PLP
SENATORS SUPPORT PLEASANT
At the arraignment of former Senator Pleasant Bridgewater,
the party stood with her. Her former colleagues gave interviews to
the press about their position on the matter. Here is what they said
in their own words:
Senator Hope Strachan:
“I am extremely troubled by the circumstances surrounding
Bridgewater's departure.
“She was a colleague and obviously she was a
very experienced colleague. She has been in politics for quite a number
of years going back into [the administration of former Prime Minister the
late Sir Lynden Pindling]. So in terms of experience on the opposition
she was perhaps the most experienced senator in the chamber. She always
brought an objective opinion to things that were going on in the Senate
and she always presented Grand Bahama's position as it relates to the various
bills that we were speaking to.
“We are going to miss Pleasant. My prayers are
with Pleasant during this time because I really and truly believe that
she has been treated a bit unfairly. The media hype surrounding this matter
has not been kind to her and that has been a hype that not only has been
local but worldwide and basically she has been more or less tried and convicted
in the press to a large extent."
“I have no idea who is going to replace her in
the Senate. I believe that Grand Bahama is going to be looked to in terms
of that decision because of course she was from Grand Bahama and it would
make sense to have Grand Bahama represented again in the Senate by the
opposition. The PLP has been thrown into a tailspin.”
Senator Michael Halkitis:
“My concern right now is for Ms. Bridgewater.
“We sat together in the House of Assembly and
we sat together for a time in the Senate, so my thoughts [are with] her
as she goes through this ordeal. I hope that she is strong and hopefully
she will come through. We are going to miss her. I think all of us, we
need to perhaps resolve to let all of the facts come out and let the legal
process take its course. I think any of us in a similar situation will
want for the matter to be decided in the courts, and not so much in the
court of public opinion.
“Now is the time for the PLP to stay strong and
stay together, and possibly look for a silver lining.
“Through adversity you either become stronger
or you fade away and I think that we will come through this. We just need
to sit down and look at ourselves and decide what we need to do.”
Senator Jerome Fitzgerald:
“I considered Ms. Bridgewater to be a valuable
asset to the Senate's opposition team.
“Her views and concern for Grand Bahama, and
The Bahamas as a whole, were always welcomed when she made her contributions,
so from that standpoint, I think it will be a loss for us in the Senate.
“The PLP now needs to remain focused and address
the issues facing the country like the state of the economy.
“People have now taken their children out of
private schools and put them in public schools. Parents are having to bring
their kids home from university because they can't afford to send them
off; people are losing jobs. These are some of the real concerns the Bahamian
people have.”
THE
PORT AUTHORITY BACK IN BABAK’S CONTROL
Erik Christensen, the Freeport Businessman originally
from Denmark, has stepped down as the Chairman of the Grand Bahama Port
Authority Group of companies, in a tenure that was meant to bring calm
and peace to the company and to protect the shares and interests of Henrietta
St. George, widow of the late businessman and co-owner of the Port Edward
St. George. But instead Mr. Christensen’s turned out to be a tenure
of tension and division. By most accounts, his tenure was a disaster,
with him interfering in the day to day running of the company when he was
never meant to be an executive chairman.
The courts lifted the injunction brought by Fred
Smith against Hannes Babak, preventing him from running the company and
with that out of the way Mr. Babak is now back in firm control, which means
that Jack Hayward will have his way with the company. Mr. Christensen
tried to put a good face on it all by saying in the Nassau Guardian of
Friday 29th January (Business Section) that he was happy to assist the
Port during the interim period. He added: “I agreed to act and was
appointed to help steward the companies, whilst there were court ordered
restraints on both the boards of those companies and on their shareholders.
Now that these restraints have been dissolved my job is done.”
There is no word on the fate of Bahamian Felix Stubbs
who was hired as Chair of the Port Authority itself in the interim.
BIS
ACTIVE IN ANTI PLP CAMPAIGN?
The Bahamas Information Services issued a statement
to the press last week denying that Sharon Turner, its Deputy Director
was the photographer who took the pictures of West End MP Obie Wilchcombe
shortly after he was released from arrest Friday 23rd January in Freeport.
This was reported on this site last week.
The website tmz.com credited Ms. Turner with the
photos which appeared on their site. That site is owned by Time Warner
that also owns CNN and Time Magazine. The website bahamaspress.com
produced what it said was incontrovertible evidence that BIS lied about
the role of their Deputy Director. It said that it has evidence of
an e-mail sent out by Ms. Turner in which she asked that the photos not
be attributed to her but be printed without a byline.
The question everyone is asking is, what is an employee
of the Government’s information system doing distributing photos of an
event which had nothing to do with any government minister but was only
of value as propaganda tool to the FNM? Ms. Turner is also said to
be the web master for the FNM’s website.
REV.
JOHN E. TAYLOR DIES
Rev. John E. Taylor departed this life on January 23, 2009, in Durham,
North Carolina. He was born in Nassau, Bahamas on February 14, 1924
to Edward and Frances Clark Taylor. He was predeceased by his parents
and sister, Gwendolyn.
Fr. Taylor was educated in Nassau public schools,
at Columbia University, and the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal
Church, graduating in 1956. He was ordained to the Episcopal priesthood
the following year at St. Philip’s Church in Brooklyn. Before retiring
in 1990, John and his wife, Coral, served churches in Nassau, Dallas, TX,
Evanston, IL, Annapolis, MD, Brooklyn and Hempstead, NY. After retirement,
they returned to the Bahamas, where he served as an associate priest at
St. George’s and later St. Mary’s Anglican churches and taught at St. John’s
College in Nassau. John also had a lifelong interest in theater
and literature, writing and directing plays with local theater groups,
penning “Simple Things,” a collection of inspirational essays in his retirement
years, and publishing The North Star, a novel based on the life of Frederick
Douglass.
Fr. Taylor is survived by Coral, his lifelong friend,
love, and wife of 58 years, five children and their families, Rev. Stephanie
Yancy and her husband, Spike, of Hagerstown, MD, son John and wife, Kelly,
of Boulder, CO, daughter, Dr. Sharon Taylor and her husband, Willie Covington,
of Durham, son, Philip and his wife, Joanne, of Menlo Park, CA, son James
and his wife, Dee, of Alexandria, VA, and his grandchildren, Janelle, Jesse,
Ben, and Emily Taylor, Wendy Covington, Joseph Yancy, III and Joy Yancy
Jones.
Fr. Taylor was buried in Nassau from St. Mary’s
Anglican Church where he was baptized, grew up, and married.
Above right: file photo of Rev. Taylor - top: Peter Ramsay montage
showing Coral, the widow Taylor, one of the sisters of the late labour
leader Sir Randol Fawkes; priests carrying the coffin and Jackson Burnside
III, nephew of the late priest with his mother Gertrude Fawkes Burnside,
also a sister of the late Sir Randol.
IN PASSING
Mitchell Visits Pleasant
Sometimes Bahamians, PLPs - maybe it is just people - have a tendency
when their colleagues and friends run into some kind of trouble, they quickly
become former friends, abandoned until either they get back on their feet
again or they simply fade away into the background. This time, it
looks as though PLPs are not going to be hornswoggled by that. You
see from above that the PLP Senators spoke out in support of their former
colleague. Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill visited the former Senator
at the police lock up in Nassau on Wednesday 28th January following the
arraignment.
Photo: Tim Aylen/timaylenphotography.com
Mt. Redoubt About to Explode
A friend of The Bahamas, Shippen Bright, now living in Alaska reports
that Mt. Redoubt in Alaska is about to explode; a volcanic eruption is
expected any day now. The Associated Press reports the same and their
photo appears to tell the story.
The Antonius Exhibition
He is always in the midst of some exciting new adventure, Antonius
Roberts, one of the country’s premier and most successful artists.
This time, he has presented in his Central Bank exhibition 2009 version,
his work in paint, in wood and in glass. Beautiful tables, benches
and a giant totem pole made from drift wood that is displayed on the lawn
of the Central Bank. The government should buy it for a permanent
place in the city. Fred Mitchell MP Fox Hill visited with the artist
at the exhibition on Thursday 29th January 2009.
Sparkman’s Organ Recital
Kudos to Dr. Sparkman Ferguson who in his day life is a Dental Surgeon
but in his real life is the organist for the Christ Church Cathedral.
He gave his annual organ recital at the Cathedral to a full Christ Church
in Nassau on Thursday 29th January. Proceeds went to St. Anne’s Anglican
School in Fox Hill. Dr. Ferguson alternately wowed and lulled the
congregation. The organ was in full flight in Mendelssohn’s Wedding
March. Great concert! For more information on Christ Church
and its organ click the following link http://christchurchcathedralnp.com/.
St. Agnes Patronal Festival
St. Agnes Anglican Church marked its patronal festival at the Church
in Grants Town on Sunday 25th January. The ladies’ Hats were greatly
in evidence. A good time was had by all.
Ian Strachan Takes Over GEMS Radio Morning Talk
Out is Michael Pintard, the FNM ideologue who hosted the talk show
on GEMS radio every morning. In is Ian Strachan, the quarrelsome writer
and professor of English at the College of The Bahamas. PLPs will
probably; we say probably, get a fairer break with Dr. Strachan.
Bill Clinton Pays Visit
The former U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton, otherwise known
as Bill, was in town last Sunday 25th January for the Michael Jordan celebrity
golf tournament. He took time out from his leisure to visit the AIDS
offices and programmes in Nassau. Mr. Clinton is widely credited
for providing the low cost ante retroviral drugs that fight AIDS more cheaply
for The Bahamas through his foundation. He said that he wanted to
see what the tangible results of the therapy provided were for people who
were suffering when he was last here three years ago. By all accounts,
most are doing well. Mr. Clinton said that he had cut the costs of
the meds down from $3500 per annum to $500. Clinton is pictured with
Minister of Health Dr. Hubert Minnis.
Photo: Bahama Journal
Nikitta Brennan Is Buried
He was only 45 years old and by most accounts had successfully conquered
most of his past demons but life did not end well and it ended tragically
for Nikitta Brennan, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Brennan both
stalwart supporters of the PLP in Yamacraw. The younger Mr. Brennan
was found by his wife dead it appears by hanging and by his own hand.
Family and friends gathered at Myles Munroe’s’ Diplomat Centre once more
to mourn a suicide victim from their church. Amongst those joining
the funeral service on Saturday 31st January were PLP Leader Perry Christie
and Yamacraw MP Melanie Griffin.
Rev. John Rolle Buried In Exuma
At the funeral service of Pastor E.C. McKenzie of Ramsay, Exuma, who
died as it turns out at the tender age of 94 last November; the story was
told of yet another pastor at the age of 100 years and seven months who
was chief shepherd at the Baptist Church in Hartswell, Exuma. The
story is that he wanted to retire but the church members kept telling him
to hold on because they were trying to find a replacement. The pastor
told them just before Christmas that he had decided to ignore their pleadings
and come what may, he would be preaching his last sermon on New Year’s
Eve 31st December, 2008. Fate did allow it and he passed away on
22nd January 2009. He was born 9th June 1908. The name is Rev.
John Rolle. He was buried on Saturday 31st January in Hartswell,
Exuma following a church service at Ramsey at the E.C. McKenzie Auditorium.
He is survived by his seven children amongst them a Deputy Commissioner
of Police retired with his same name, a Deputy Superintendent of the Prison
Rev. Charles Rolle and Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Godfrey
Rolle, who is now Director of the National Anti Drug Secretariat.
The other children are Deaconess Etoy Bethel, Elder Vernita Josey, Alice
Rolle, and Evangelist Evangeline Ingraham. Their father to his dying
day could not read or write but lived to the mature age of a century, raised
a family of seven, and was pastor of his church to the end. His wife
predeceased him. He was widely praised by the leadership of Exuma
and by his grandchildren who spoke of his love for them. The Rev,
Charles Saunders CBE presided at the funeral. Head of the Baptists
in The Bahamas Rev. Dr. William Thomson also spoke. Representing
the PLP at the service were Dr. Bernard J. Nottage MP, Anthony Moss MP
Exuma and Fred Mitchell MP Fox Hill.
Bahamas Human Rights Network
Erin Greene, the gay, lesbian, and transgender activist, has a new
passion to add to her list of interests. She is now a part of the
Bahamas Human Rights Network (BHRN pronounced “burn”). The network is a
group that advocates for the human rights of all Bahamians and for the
protections and freedoms of the constitution.
Zhivargo Laing To Tax Cheaters
A report in the Business Section of The Tribune on Friday 30th January
said that Zhivargo Laing wanted the citizens to report any one who was
cheating the country of tax revenues. This shows how much of a bubble
these FNM folks live in. He is the laughing stock of the country
because everyone is saying that after the Mona Vie scandal, where he made
a decision as Minister to allow the importation of the drink at a lower
duty to benefit his sister-in-law that he ought to turn himself in for
the offence of evading taxes due to customs.
Temperature Falls Again
The temperature in Nassau overnight was 64 degree F.
| 8th
February, 2009
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| ALFRED SEARS ON THE POLICE ACT... | FRED MITCHELL ON A COMMISSIONER OF POLICE... |
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| GOVERNOR GENERALS AWARDS - PHOTOS... | WESSEX AT BNT LUNCHEON - PHOTOS... |
| JOHN E. TAYLOR - MORE PHOTOS... | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR... |
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| Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw | Bahamian Cycling News |
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| Grand Bahama PLP | |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
MORE LEADERSHIP CANDIDATES
The continued fascination of the press with the leadership of the
PLP was in evidence again over the past week. The more the officials
of the party try to dampen it down, the more speculation there is.
This past week there were two articles, one on Thursday 5th February in
which Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, MP for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador
evinced the view that he would offer for the leadership of the PLP if it
became available. He said that the party had leaders; former Prime
Minister Perry Christie, his former law partner; and former Deputy Prime
Minister Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt. He supported them, he said, but
if there were vacancies, he would offer.
A second article appeared, again by Brent Dean of the Nassau Guardian, on Friday 6th February in which Alfred Sears, the MP for Ft. Charlotte also evinced his availability to serve as leader of the PLP. Mr. Sears said: “I think the philosophy in terms of national ownership, social mobility and justice, entrepreneurial opportunities for Bahamians, investment in the social capital through education, national health insurance, national savings, as well as a strong commitment to the cultural development of The Bahamas are all issues which relate to the philosophical commitment of the Progressive Liberal Party. And in committing myself to this vision, I am prepared to serve in any capacity that the party wishes me to serve — as leader, deputy leader, Member of Parliament, community organizer. That’s the measure of my commitment.”
The Nassau Guardian then followed up in the same Friday 6th February edition with an interview. Amongst those they spoke to were Bradley Roberts, former Minister of Works who said “There is nothing wrong with it, absolutely nothing wrong with it. One needs to do canvassing of the people who will make that decision and they are strung throughout The Bahamas. You have a lot of work to do.”
Mr. Roberts is representative of the establishment of the party. So far, despite the soundings of MPs Fred Mitchell and Obie Wilchcombe, no one from the establishment side of the PLP has voiced any view about the matter. Following Mr. Davis’ intervention, the comments from Mr. Roberts are interesting indeed.
Franklyn Wilson, another former MP and former Senator of the PLP and one of its main financial backers was even more direct: “The fact of the matter is today, the question about leadership in the Progressive Liberal Party is a matter in the public domain. There is no point trying to ignore that. It is in the public domain. Anyone who has an interest, it’s appropriate for them in my humble opinion to start doing what they have to do - no problem.”
There are others in the wind. Dr. Bernard Nottage is thought to be a contender. Paul Moss who has not yet won a seat but is a National General Council member is not only vying for a safe PLP seat but has his eyes directly set it appears on the top prize. Some people have been advancing the name of the Senator Jerome Fitzgerald into the mix as one of the PLP’s possible leaders. Frank Smith, MP for St. Thomas More, the son-in-law of Mr. Wilson and nephew of former MPs George and Philip Smith has also been mentioned as a possible Deputy or Leader of the PLP.
The old expression here applies. Let a thousand voices contend.
The PLP’s leader Perry Christie MP, speaking at various branch meetings and in the press over the past week in response to the speculation has said that he is confident that he will remain leader of the PLP. His argument is that he needs to be locked into being leader of the PLP unopposed for the fall convention so as to allow an orderly transition from Cynthia Pratt who has decided that she will demit office at the next convention as Deputy Leader to a new Deputy Leader.
The would be contenders then have to figure out whether or not this is a position that they wish to fill, with the hope and the expectation that they will be seen as the successor to Mr. Christie. The other scenario is of course; if you become a Deputy Leader within the existing establishment, when the call for change comes, will you also be tarred with the party political decisions of the past administration. Interesting political fodder.
We like the comment of Mr. Wilson best. The fact is there is a great deal of public discussion about this point. The PLP itself has not publicly dealt with the reason why the party lost and its supporters are still grappling with that. There is deep concern in Grand Bahama where the political leadership there has been decapitated by the recent events with John Travolta. The country has not seen any reorganization or revitalization of the party’s base in the past 18 months. There is a leadership vacuum worse than ever in Grand Bahama. It is hoped that the PLP’s leader will take this as an opportunity to appoint a senator from Grand Bahama who can provide new leadership and direction in the second city.
We are pleased with the developments on the contending voices. We must remember when this most recent phase started, back in Fox Hill in November when one man, Fred Mitchell, said change will come whether we like or not and that he was committed to an agenda for change. So in a real sense he can say to the others, welcome to the club.
Bradley Roberts also made sense; this is no easy journey. The fact is whether the race is a contentious one in November or won by acclamation, a new leader or new leaders for the PLP must be able to capture not only the support of delegates but first and foremost the legitimacy and authority of the outgoing leaders of the party if that were to happen. Transitions are a messy business. The FNM found it out the hard way and ended up losing the election when it turned, after internecine warfare, to Tommy Turnquest, only to have to look to Hubert Ingraham again who undercut Mr. Turnquest the whole time that he was sitting out the year in exile.
People keep talking about the age of the existing leaders. The age issue is a foolish one and only of interest to Bahamians with shortsightedness. The issue is relevancy to the times and the talent to lead the country into a new era.
So let the battle for hearts and minds begin in earnest.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 7th February 2009 up to midnight: 270,553.
Number of hits for the month of February up to Saturday 7th February 2009 up to midnight: 270,553.
Number of hits for the year 2009 up to Saturday 7th February up to
midnight: 1.335,374.
ALFRED
SEARS ON THE POLICE ACT
The government began the debate in the House of
Assembly on Wednesday 4th February to change the law on the police.
The bill was moved by Tommy Turnquest, the Minister of National Security.
The main thrust of the Bill is to provide for the limitation of the term
of the Commissioner of Police to two five-year terms. The lead speaker
for the Opposition was Alfred Sears who served as Attorney General from
May 2002 to February 2006. Mr. Sears said that it was the intention
of the framers of the constitution to give the police commissioner security
of tenure. He charged that the actions of the FNM with regard to
the police were designed to erode the security of tenure of the Commissioner
and as such were unconstitutional. He said that if the government
did not change the provision, he would have to vote against the Bill.
That set the tone for the debate. You may click
here for the full statement by Mr. Sears.
FRED
MITCHELL ON A COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill spoke passionately
for the laid off police officers and for the public servants during the
debate in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 4th February. He continued
what he began in a statement issued last week in which he charged the Prime
Minister with accusing the laid off officers of being corrupt. He
said that someone had to stand for decency in the country and say thank
you to those men and women who had been forced out of the government as
a result of the so called voluntary package of the government.
Mr. Mitchell accused the FNM of demonizing their
opponents and of using the police for political purposes. This caused
the FNM side to jump up and down like jack-in-the-boxes in the House with
one objection after the next. You may click
here for the full statement.
THE
PRESS FASCINATED WITH THE PLP
How do you sell newspapers in The Bahamas?
You put the letters PLP in the headlines and in the stories. It is
interesting to us how the FNM dominated press is busy saying that the PLP
is a finished organization that it has no relevance, yet they spend their
days and years trying to sully its good name. Every device in the
press, every organ of the state is set around Hubert Ingraham’s campaign
to demonize the PLP.
The FNM’s Members of Parliament have no clue in
the world what to do in the face of this dire economic situation.
So why not create distractions around the PLP. In fact, it is not
even clear that they are aware of a dire economic situation. The
clueless one; Brent Symonette, who is the Deputy Prime Minister, claims
that everywhere he goes in The Bahamas he sees construction going on.
He is living in cloud cuckoo land. In that land, there is no pain,
neither is their sorrow. In that land, he does not have to face the
many young men and women who have no jobs and no prospect of a job.
It is an assault on every MP for the PLP. Perhaps it is just the
PLP MPs that face the problems of unemployment.
What we say is that no matter what they do, it is
clear that the PLP is alive and well. It is not even down and out.
It is still robust and it continues to stalk the land. Perhaps that
is why it propaganda people have to work overtime to ensure that one by
one, every PLP comes up with a bad name. In a country where gossip
is king, it may not be a bad strategy but of course, two can always play
that game.
CHARLSIE
MAYNARD... WORSE THAN HIS BOSS
Alfred Sears, the Ft. Charlotte MP for the PLP, made a serious presentation
in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 4th February in which he laid out
a compelling case for why the bill before the Parliament was unconstitutional.
What did the FNM do? They responded with nastiness.
Charles Maynard, the Minister of State for Culture,
has become the FNM's go-to man for nastiness. He stood up to suggest
that perhaps there was a bounced cheque relating to Mr. Sears. He
was challenged to produce it. He had to withdraw the matter, but
not before he also made an allegation, also withdrawn, that there was a
small contractor that was waiting to be paid. This is the kind of
nastiness that is the first resort of a scoundrel. When you can’t
win an argument, you start trying to make nasty attacks of a personal nature.
We don’t think that it ultimately works but the
PLP has to be prepared for more of these kinds of attacks. You can
expect that Hubert Ingraham when he comes into the House next week for
the resumption of the debate will continue with it, particularly since
he has his hands on the police service and will do anything in his power
to ensure that every PLP is smeared and tarred and feathered in the eyes
of the public.
Mr. Maynard should be thoroughly ashamed of himself,
having served in the PLP, being the beneficiary of the PLP’s support of
his father. His father was one of the longest serving Chairs of the
PLP and led the party to three successful general elections under Sir Lynden
O. Pindling. Now purely to serve his political masters, he gets up
to try to denigrate the very organization that gave him life and promise.
It is shameful and disgraceful.
Mr. Maynard should also remember that given his
father’s resignation from office under the PLP following the Commission
of Inquiry that he should never want to go down the road of nastiness against
anyone. He does not have to use nastiness to win an argument.
He ought to remember that he is not running the Corner Motel, but he is
a minister of the government and there is a certain standard of behaviour
that is expected of him when he serves in that office. If he can’t
meet that standard then it is back to the Corner Motel that he must go.
File photo
GOVERNOR
GENERAL'S AWARDS - PHOTOS
Governor General Arthur Hanna (centre) with Prince
Edward, the Earl of Wessex at the presentationof the Governor General's
Awards at Government House. The awards are part of the Duke of Edinburgh
Awards Programme. Below, the prince is pictured meeting with parents
of the awardess, staff at Government House and with the Royal Bahamas Defence
Force Band.
BIS photos: Peter Ramsay
WESSEX
AT BNT LUNCHEON - PHOTOS
Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, youngest son
of Queen Elizabeth during his visit to The Bahamas for the Governor General's
Awards was the patron at a fundraising lunch for The Bahamas National Trust.
Above let, the prince is pictured with Glen Bannister, President of the
NationalTrust. At right, Foreign Minister Brent Symonette makes a
point during the luncheon.
BIS photos: Peter Ramsay
JOHN
E. TAYLOR - MORE PHOTOS
Last week, Rev. John E. Taylor was buried from St.
Mary’s Anglican Church where he was baptized, grew up, and married.
Rev. Taylor is pictured above left, and above right being assisted leaving
St. Mary's after the funeral is the Widow Taylor. Please click
here for last week's original story and also, in response to reader
requests, we present here a Peter
Ramsey photo essay.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
PLP at A Crossroads with Travolta Matter
I think the PLP is at a crossroads regarding
how it can reshape its image. The stand that the party is seen to
be taking as it relates to all those members who may be involved in this
matter “on either side” is critical. People are watching. When
all is said and done, in my opinion some certainly should be political
pariahs and others seen as standard-bearers of the party. Integrity
must always be first at the expense of everything else. Those who
are seen to exhibit this should be the standard-bearers. The details
of the alleged extortion may surprise us all.
If I were a decision maker in the PLP, I would
sit with whomever and posit on any and all possibilities/repercussions
of this whole affair to minimize any potential fallout. To me that
seems more prudent than seeming to support a troubled colleague.
As I was always told as a child “If you were not where the crows were to
be found, your name would not be called.”
Name withheld
The Police Act 2009 may be unconstitutional
I refer to Juan McCartney’s article that appeared
in the 27th January 2009 edition of the Nassau Guardian under the heading,
PM: Criticism of police chief term limit “nonsensical”.
According to the article, The Prime Minister
was apparently questioned about a claim made by the Honorable Member for
Fox Hill that “the government’s intention to set a five year term limit
may require an amendment to the post”. The PM’s response is as follows:
“For the same reason why it is possible for me
to appoint someone to be commissioner of police (COP) – who I have imposed
a retirement age upon and he must go at that age – is the same reason that
a term limit wouldn’t be offensive to the constitution”
What I found interesting about the PM’s answer
was that he never referred to the provisions of the constitution to support
his argument. Our 1973 Independence Constitution is very clear about the
process by which the security of tenure and independence of the COP can
be changed. Article 119 outlines the statutory appointment of the Commissioner
and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Article 120 outlines discipline, and
Article 54 clearly states that changes to these statutory provisions would
require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Parliament and a referendum
to the people. In my view, any attempt to circumvent these constitutionally
mandated processes must be challenged in a court of law.
The initial intent of the framers of our supreme
law was to free the COP from political interference in the execution of
his duties that have serious implications for national security, internal
security, and public safety. The quality of social order and the level
of civility are determined to a great extent by the ability of the police
to administer justice without fear, favor, or interference.
Another apparent conflict with the constitution
is found in section 109 of the Police Act that deals with audits and accounts.
This section allows the commissioner to hire an outside accounting firm
to audit the accounts of the Police Force. The Auditor General has a statutory
mandate to audit any and all government accounts, including the Police
Force. The guidelines and enforcement of this mandate are outlined in the
Financial Administration and Audit Act and the Financial Regulations of
1975. If the government cannot satisfactorily explain the legality of this
provision, then the judiciary will have to.
I turn my attention to section 60(3) of the act
which states that “the commissioner may summarily administer a reprimand
or severe reprimand to any police officer for minor misconduct”. This is
fair in my estimation, but section 62(d) creates the conflict and controversy.
This section states that “provided that if any contracted officer feels
himself aggrieved by any conviction or any punishment imposed by an officer
other than commissioner, he may appeal within forty-eight hours in writing
to the commissioner who shall allow or dismiss the appeal and may vary
the punishment”
The problem with this section is that the commissioner
appoints the Internal Disciplinary Tribunal that tries the officer, makes
recommendations to commissioner, who enforces discipline on the officer.
If the officer disagrees with the punishment, his or her recourse is the
very commissioner who imposed the punishment. It appears that the commissioner
is the judge, jury, prosecution, and the appellate judge and therein exist
the conflict.
For what it’s worth, the position of Senior Assistant
Commissioner of Police falls away when and if this Act comes into force.
I don’t know what this means for the head of the Grand Bahama division
of the Police Force.
I reiterate that the Bahamas is a country of
laws, not men. If a politician can usurp the authority of the constitution
on a whim, then why have a constitution? This bill is half baked, adversarial,
and controversial and could create a constitutional crisis if allowed to
become law. Lovers of democracy and the prevalence of the rule of law must
oppose this bill in its present form. Amen.
ELCOTT COLEBY
Levi Gibson Correction
Warm Kiwanis Greetings,
My name is Dominic Bain, Chairperson of
Membership and Public Relations for the Kiwanis Club of Nassau. I
was reviewing an article published on your site, Bahamas Uncensored, about
Levi Gibson, a Past President of this great club.
Your article indicates that Levi was President
of the Kiwanis Club of Nassau in 1962; however, this information is incorrect
as Levi was President during the 1970-1971 Kiwanis Administrative Year.
Please note that the club was established in 1962 and the first president
was Sir Asa H. Pritchard.
Grateful if you would correct the information
on your site to reflect same.
Distinguished Past President Dominic Bain
Chairperson-Membership & Public Relations
IN PASSING
Nassau Guardian - Wilchcombe A Long Shot?
Obie Wilchcombe, the PLP MP from West End held a public meeting in
West End on Monday 2nd February at the Anglican Church Hall. Last
week we reported in direct speech that the purpose of the meeting was to
talk about the state of the PLP and to say which colleagues had been allowed
to attack him unnecessarily. The speech did not deliver on those
promises but there was a curious headline in the press of the country that
at the meeting he had asked the PLP to declare a ceasefire. That
was quizzical. Nevertheless, it made good headlines and Mr. Wilchcombe
is now headed, he says, for a tour around his constituency and around the
country to flesh out his leadership bid. Party Chairman Glenys Hanna
Martin issued a statement on Wednesday 4th February saying that the party
was unified and that Mr. Wilchcombe remained a valued member of the team.
The Nassau Guardian opined in an editorial two days after the meeting in
West End that Mr. Wilchcombe had a long shot to resurrect his political
career.
One Week In The Life Of Omar Archer
Omar Archer is being described by the press as a former candidate for
Chairman of the PLP. We don’t think he got two votes. Then
he is described as a spokesman for the PLP. Then he is described
as a PLP supporter. Whatever he is, he is not a spokesman for the
PLP, nor one of its leaders. He is on a frolic of his own, but never
let that interfere with the good story that the press has set up against
the PLP. Mr. Archer has to shake the image that he has of simply
being a loony tune. Some examples this week alone: he was put off
the Orthland Bodie radio show for making scurrilous and unsubstantiated
allegations about public figures. Mr. Bodie asked him to leave.
He promptly went down to The Tribune who gave him space in its columns
to say that the PLP was full of homosexuals who were seeking to force him
out of the party because he was the clear winner for the Kennedy seat.
One thing you can say about him is he does not lack self-promotion skills.
By week’s end, he had been arrested for assault and was shown on the perp
walk in front of the courts in handcuffs. Well, we know politicians
like publicity.
In The Turks The Wife Testifies
The testimony over the last week has gotten quite seedy. This
time it is the estranged wife of Michael Misick, the Premier, who was in
the witness stand. This is what you call scorched earth. Mrs. Misick,
aka Lisa Raye, the American actress of B rated shows, claimed that Mr.
Misick spent $100,000 to charter herself and her friends to fly from California
to the Turks. She also claimed that at one point after the marriage
four years ago, Mr. Misick told her that he wanted to retire to the Dominican
Republic. She asked him whether or not he had the money to retire
on and he replied that he did. She asked him if they could continue
in the style to which they had become accustomed and he said they could.
Next time, we hope this brother has a better taste in wives. Hmmm!
Then there was the testimony of Floyd Hall, the Deputy Premier who
defended his choice of a health care provider from Florida that was incorporated
it appears for the specific purpose of getting the health care contract
and the principal of which was a friend of his. Mr. Hall did not
think there was an issue. The Commissioner Sir Robin Auld from Britain
seemed incredulous. Mr. Hall called Mr. Misick, the Premier, a liar
for saying that he Mr. Misick never had possession of the chequebook of
the governing party and writing cheques from it. Boy oh boy!
Two Caricom Countries Inch Toward Elections
The election atmosphere is heating up in St. Kitts and Nevis and in
Antigua. No dates have been announced for general elections but the
election dates are expected soon.
Shiver Me Timbers!
If you thought the temperature was cold in Nassau last week when we
reported a low temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit, this week it was even
lower with the night time temperature on Wednesday 4th February reportedly
reaching 55 degrees. It does get cold and breezy about this time
in Nassau, but nothing like this has happened in recent memory. It
reminds us of the story of one of those cold days in the old days when
a young Bahamian was coming down a hill as the temperature plunged into
the 50s and the wind raged. A British tourist couple was passing
up Parliament Street by the then Green Shutters restaurant in their British
winter coasts. The young man said to them: “I’m sorry about the weather”.
Without missing a beat, the woman of the couple replied, “And so you should
be”. But it’s still better in The Bahamas.
Citigroup Cancels… Kerzner Worse Ever
The Caribbean news website has reported that Citigroup Inc has cancelled
a convention planned by its Primerica Financial Services unit in Atlanta,
along with a trip to a Bahamas resort for the insurer’s top agents, as
the bank cuts costs after receiving $45 billion of taxpayer money.
The biannual convention, which was scheduled for June 17 to 20, had attracted
55,000 people in 2007, a Primerica spokesman said. The Bahamas trip
was scheduled for later this month at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island,
the spokesman said. This announcement comes on the heels of an exclusive
interview with Sol Kerzner, the owner of Atlantis, the top Bahamian property
and the engine of the tourist economy here. He told the press that
this is the worse he has ever seen it. He does not think that the
situation has hit bottom yet. The Atlantis property has laid off
1000 members of staff in the last year.
Gonga Is Dead
Her formal name was Lionella Louise Cooper, but everyone knew her as
‘Gonga’. We are talking about the mother of Junkanoo leader Winston
‘Gus’ Cooper, head of the Valley Boys. She was 96 when she died on
Friday 30th January. She had been healthy almost right up to her
death. In her death, she attracted the cream of the Valley and some
of its greatest sons and daughters amongst whom were her very own children,
grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren.
You know a woman is really missed when you see the great great grandchildren
breaking down in tears. Perry Christie, the former Prime Minister
and representative for the Valley where Mrs. Cooper lived, praised her
for her foresight in allowing her youngest child Gus to take Junkanoo to
his breast with the first shack being in her garage. Mr. Cooper when
he came up said that he was very close to his mother and he often wondered
why she allowed him to use the garage for his shack and he found out it
was because as long as he was in the garage, she knew exactly where he
was. Mr. Christie said that Mrs. Cooper was an excellent seamstress
and a first class dresser and you could see where Gus got his ability to
form the cardboard for Junkanoo and to match the colours. Former
Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest spoke of her holding the Valley
together that everyone from the Valley owed her some gratitude. Also
attending the service were Lady Edith Turnquest, Fred Mitchell MP Fox Hill,
Dr. Bernard Nottage MP and Mrs. Portia Nottage, Tommy Turnquest, the Minister
of National Security, Senator Allyson Maynard Gibson, and Percy ‘Vola’
Francis, leader of the Saxons Junkanoo group. She will be sadly missed.
The photo shows her coffin being taken from St. Georges Church in the Valley
and her son Winston ‘Gus’ Cooper surrounded by friends and well wishers.
Photos: Peter Ramsay
Basil Sands Officially Retires
There is now officially a new Honorary Consul General for Japan.
After serving from 1982 to 2008, some 26 years Basil Sands has officially
retired. The party was held on Thursday 5th February at the Crystal
Palace on Cable Beach, New Providence. He is succeeded by his son
Robert ‘Sandy’ Sands, the hotelier. Mr. Sands Sr. said that he had
no say in the matter and did not nominate his son even though, he added
tongue in cheek, when asked to comment after being provided with a list
with one name, he immediately gave his blessing. That brought the
house down. Congratulations to them both.
New Anglican Bishop To Be Enthroned
The successor to Archbishop Drexel Gomez as Bishop of The Bahamas is
Bishop Laish Boyd. He will formally take up the appointment in front
of his fellow Caribbean Bishops later today at the Christ Church cathedral.
For those in the late 50s and onwards, it is not likely that they will
see another change in the leadership of the Anglican Church in their lifetime,
so if they can make it, they should go there to witness it.
Who Will Be The New PLP Senator
The speculation is that Perry Christie MP, Leader of the Opposition,
who promised to appoint the new Senator to replace Pleasant Bridgewater
for the PLP in the Senate some two weeks ago, may be near a decision.
The word is that Dr. Michael Darville is to be the appointed one or so
say the FNM press. Some are also arguing for Melissa Sears, the bright
star in the Freeport firmament to get the seat. Mr. Christie aint
talking.
Property Crimes Unsolved… Murders Up To 8
The Nassau Guardian reported on Friday 6th February that crime is up
in every category according to statistics released by the Minister of National
Security. Those statistics show that burglaries were up 34 percent,
from 336 cases in 2007 to 449 cases in 2008; stealing from vehicles was
up 33 percent, from 785 cases to 1,046; vehicle theft went up 14 percent,
from 1,170 to 1,336; stealing was up 12 percent, from 1,336 to 1,492; housebreaking
increased by six percent, from 2,531 to 2,687 and shop breaking went up
three percent from 1,520 to 1,573. In total, there was a 12 percent
increase in property crimes last year. Again, police are finding
it hard to solve these crimes, but there was a slight improvement in the
detection rate last year, from eight percent to 10 percent. The detection
rate for all crimes also increased by two percent last year, but still
remained low, from 10 percent to 12 percent. The detection rate for
murders declined 15 percent, dropping from 76 percent in 2007 to 61 percent
in 2008. Only eight percent of stolen vehicle cases were solved last
year, but that was an improvement over the five percent solved in 2007.
Again, in 2008, only 12 percent of all reported burglary cases were
solved. So far this year, there have been eight murders.
| 15th
February, 2009
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COMMENT OF THE WEEK
UNCONSTITUTIONAL
One thing we know is that Hubert Ingraham, our Prime Minister, has
no time for the constitution and constitutional niceties. We also know
that when his faults are pointed out he often has a visceral reaction.
So you know once Alfred Sears the Member of Parliament for Ft. Charlotte
PLP announced that the PLP was opposing the Police Service Bill 2009 that
intends to limit the terms of the Commissioner of Police and the Deputy
Commissioner of Police to two five-year terms then Mr. Ingraham went into
overdrive.
Curiously, he could not quite muster up his nasty strategy this time. Perhaps when he tried it out by using the neophyte for his cause Charles Maynard MP Golden Isle when the debate began, it backfired so he decided to back off. You may click here for last week’s comment on Mr. Maynard’s effort. What is more likely is that Mr. Ingraham had the flu, and that was the reason he did not show up in the House for the first day of debate on the issue. When he showed up on the second day, he was still wheezing and coughing and sniffling and blowing his nose. So maybe the fellow just could not muster the energy for it.
Former Prime Minister Perry Christie and Leader of the Opposition gave the final statement on the PLP’s side as to why the PLP could not support the Bill. He issued a statement on Wednesday 11th February shortly after the debate ended.
Mr. Christie explained: “On Wednesday 11th February, upon its final voting of the FNM’s Royal Bahamas Police Force Act 2009, the PLP abstained in the House of Assembly. We abstained because we support all of the provisions of the Bill save and except the Bill's clause 7 which seeks to limit the term of the Commissioner of Police and the Deputy Commissioner of Police to two five year terms. We believe that provision is unconstitutional. We attempted in Committee to delete it from the Bill, but the Government refused to budge. When the Bill goes to the Senate, we shall continue this course unless the Government changes course. We will continue to support the dedicated men and women of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and its modernization. However, we insist that any Act of Parliament must be in conformity with the Constitution.”
We clearly agree with this position. We support the PLP’s position on this. We are heartened that the PLP found the inner fortitude to stick this one out. What is proposed for the Police Force is perverse and should be opposed. The party must go to the second stage and ensure that there is a proper challenge in the courts.
What is curiously absent in all of this however is the relative silence of the Bar Association on this matter. It should be a major concern of the lawyers in the country that the government is proceeding down this path. But while that is a concern that should not be a matter which prevents the PLP from proceeding with its political course and from challenging this unlawful legislation in the courts.
The record of the FNM on legal matters since they have been in office has not been good. They have lost two major court challenges. They fooled around with the local government districts and ended up losing in the courts. This led to the resignation of a Minister of the Government. They went and appointed a Senator, the choice of which was not in conformity with the constitution and they lost that matter in the courts. You would think then that they would listen to their opponents before jumping head first in to these matters.
It is the bull in the China shop mentality.
They have a friend in Paul Thompson, the former Assistant Commissioner of Police, who generally supports whatever they do. Mr. Thompson has been fulsome in his praise of the present Acting Commissioner of Police as a good police officer and someone who can lead the Force. We disagree vehemently with that. However, that is his view. But when asked about the two five-year terms for a Commissioner and his Deputy, Mr. Thompson wrote a piece in The Tribune published on Wednesday 11th February which was headlined: “If it aint broke, don’t fix it.” Translation, leave well enough alone with the Police Force.
In particular, Mr. Thompson said that he was opposed to the two five year terms. He said that if you put in such a provision, the Commissioner would be beholden to the administration in order to get a second term. He argued for a single ten-year term for the Commissioner of Police. While we disagree with that, there is clearly some discomfort even on their own side with what the government proposes to do.
All of us remember, except perhaps Mr. Ingraham, the failure of the referendum. Mr. Ingraham revived the fortunes of the PLP by seeking to ram down the throats of the Bahamian people changes to the constitution that were not very well understood nor appreciated. It even caused women to vote against a law that purported to give them equal access under the citizenship laws of the country. Yet here we are again, Mr. Ingraham is seeking to amend the constitution without resort to the proper process. He was wrong on the referendum in 2002 and he is wrong again on this one with the police bill.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 14th February 2009 up midnight: 305,396.
Number of hits for the month of February up to Saturday 14th February 2009 up to midnight: 575,949.
Number of hits for the year 2009 up to Saturday 14th February 2009
up to midnight: 1,640,770.
THE
GAG ORDER THAT WASN’T
Whoever had the idea of giving to the press the notion that PLP Members
of Parliament can be gagged should re-examine their actions and their motives.
The headline was ridiculous. The story in the paper did not match
up to the story but who cares, the headline was damaging. In the
end, that is what most people remember and that is what most people read.
The import of the story written by Brent Dean of
the Nassau Guardian on 11th February was that The Guardian had learned
that the PLP had issued an instruction that only the Leader of the Party
and the Chairman of the Party can speak on behalf of the PLP. The
newspaper carried a story in which that was the strap headline (across
the front of the stop of the front page, above the fold) and there were
three pictures that of the Leader of the Party, its Spokesman on Foreign
Affairs Fred Mitchell and Glenys Hanna Martin, the Chairman of the party.
Without saying so, the subtext of the article was that this was a direct
strike at Mr. Mitchell in effect telling him to shut up.
We think this quite curious since the press was
telling the PLP that the only one keeping the party's name in the press
was Mr. Mitchell while many others were silent. That could not have
been the intention of whoever put that word out to the press but since
public relations may not have been the strong suit of the individual, it
would not have been clear that the headline was predictable. Then
the commentary went into overdrive.
The story itself points out that shadow ministers
can speak on behalf of the party. The headline then is a lie even
in the terms that story was written. But you know this is problem
when you have people who take offence in the media at personal issues rather
than examine the logic of their arguments.
Mr. Mitchell has been a relentless critic of the
media. One newspaper did not understand or accept that you should
not write a story in which a relative of one of the writers is involved
as the main source or object of a story. That is a conflict of interest.
It applies to journalists as it does to politicians. Another criticism
was of a clear FNM ideologue Oswald Brown who should not be editing a newspaper
because he does not distinguish between the news and his beliefs.
But this is The Bahamas, it is their newspaper and they do what they want.
They should not be surprised though that wherever Mr. Mitchell snaps back
he does so, and we wish him well.
No one can gag any PLP MP. The very notion
is ludicrous. What we do think is that a definitive statement ought
to be issued so that the looney tunes who walk in off the street and pin
the label PLP on themselves are not then embraced as the voice of the PLP.
We say again anyone who seeks to gag PLP MPs and was behind this latest
effort should re-examine.
 |
JOB
LOSSES IN THE BAHAMAS
One newspaper reported during the week that the
country lost 250 jobs during the last month. You can compare and
contrast that to the Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes who claims that the
FNM has created 2500 jobs since they came to office. We don’t say
that it isn’t so, we just don’t believe it. The evidence of economic
hardship is everywhere. MPs are deluged with people looking jobs.
The hotel sector is laying off people and more are to come. Atlantis,
the major hotel in the country, has said that there won’t be any more layoffs
but when you examine what their CEO really said, that is not a safe bet
either. There is throughout the country a fear of the unknown.
People look at the United States and they see that the meltdown continues
and wonder what is going to happen here.
NEW
WEB SERVICES BY THE PRESS
The Tribune has started an on line version of their
daily newspaper. This was done last week at the same time it was
announcing that they had to stop sending papers to the Family Islands because
it was too expensive. What hogwash. That means that the newspaper
is no longer a national daily. The Tribune encourages people to read
it on line. Of course, the internet is so unreliable in this country.
Beside the breakdowns, it is not known whether any newspaper is actually
serious about getting an on line paper going. Sometimes the Guardian’s
site is not updated for days and the same with the Bahama Journal’s site.
The Tribune’s site is www.tribune242.com. You will have to register
in order to access the site which is another bother but at least you can
see the actual paper. They produce a pdf version.
MITCHELL
VISIT TO ELEUTHERA
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill visited the South
Eleuthera constituency for a meeting of the South Eleuthera branch on Thursday
12th February. While in South Eleuthera, Mr. Mitchell addressed some
of the pressing issues of the day including the police bill and the state
of the economy. Mr. Mitchell also answered questions from the audience
about the state of the party. He thanked Oswald Ingraham, former
Speaker of the House under the PLP, for the invitation to come to the constituency
to speak. You may click
here for the full address.
SENATOR
MAYNARD GIBSON CALLS FOR ORAL HISTORY RECORDS
In debating the Libraries and Information Act in
the Senate, Opposition Leader in the Senate, Allyson Maynard Gibson said
in was shocking that something so non controversial should become politicised.
She called for provision to be made for Bahamian university students and
others interested to be able to record oral history through interviews
with surviving Bahamian pioneers and trailblazers. You may click
here for Senator Maynard Gibson's speaking notes.
FITZGERALD
SAYS FNM HAS LOST ITS WAY
Senator Jerome Fitzgerald supported the Government's
Libraries and Information Act in the Senate Thurssday, but again challenged
the Prime Minister to take education in the country seriously. The
FNM has lost its way, he charged. You may click
here for the full address.
SHANE
GIBSON ON POLICE ACT
Shane Gibson, Member of Parliament for Golden Gates
in contributing to the House of Assembly debate on the Police Act noted
that benefits were repeated in the Bill, which was initially passed during
the PLP administration but left untouched for almost two years by the current
FNM administration. You may click
here for the full address.
HEART
BALL PHOTOS
Photographer Peter Ramsay attended the Heart Ball
on Saturday and shared a couple of photos... At left, those at the head
table gather with Golden Heart recipient Lowell Mortimer, centre; from
left are Sir Arlington Butler, Lady Sheila Butler, co-chair of the Ball;
British High Commissioner Jeremy Chriswell, patron; and Mrs. Chriswell,
Philanthropist Lowell Mortimer, the awardee; Minister of Health Dr. Hubert
Minnis and Mrs. Minnis; Shadow Minister of Health, Dr. Bernard Nottage
MP and Mrs. Portia Nottage, co-chair of the Ball.. At right doctors
are all smiles, from left cardiosurgeon Duane Sands, Minister of Health
Hubert Minnis, Shadow Minister of Health Bernard Nottage and cardiologist
Conville Brown. Below, left; Fred Mitchell MP. former foreign minister
and Opposition Spokesman on Foreign Affairs with British High Commissioner
Jeremy Chriswell and Mrs. Chriswell at the Heart Ball. Right, Sonia
Cox Hamilton congratulates Lowell Mortimer on the award.
ENTHRONEMENT
PHOTO ESSAY
Last Sunday 8th February 2009 as we were uploading
this site, the new and 13th Anglican Bishop of The Bahamas and the Turks
and Caicos Islands was being enthroned in the cathedral at Christ Church
in Nassau. It was a magnificent and glorious ceremony, filled with
pageantry, ceremony and music. Kudos to the church for putting on
a good show. It made Anglicans feel proud that here was an institution
that remains intact in a transition, that the new Bishop appears to have
the authority, legitimacy and affection of the faithful. Bishop Laish
Boyd is shown donning the Cope of the Bishop as the senior clergy of the
church look on. From left: Alfred Dorsett, Warden of Christ Church Cathedral;
Dean of the Cathedral Patrick Adderley, Canon Basil Tynes, Archdeacon James
Palacious, Archdeacon Cornell Moss, Archdeacon Keith Cartwright, Canon
Delano Archer; Archdeacon I. Ranfurly Brown, Canon Samuel Sturrup and Canon
Leopold Cox assisting the new bishop. Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas
Information Services attended the enthronement and we pay tribute really
to him this week, because for a long time he has been the chronicler of
official events in this country. We think that he out did himself
in this matter. Our photo
essay for the enthronement follows here.
MIKE
MISICK OF THE TURKS RESIGNS
The Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands announced last night that he
will resign as leader of the Party the governing PNP in the Turks on 28th
February. He will resign as Premier of the country on 31st March.
This comes on the heels of the resignations of two Ministers of the government
including his Deputy Premier Floyd Hall.
How did all of this go wrong so quickly? The
handwriting in retrospect could be seen to be on the wall dating back to
the marriage of the Premier to the American B actress Lisa Raye.
His country did not take to the choice and the Opposition critics both
within and without his party said that he had an extravagant life style
that was not in fact supported by income.
When the British Parliamentary Commission showed
up last year and wrote a damming report about the country and its governance,
Mr. Misick’s party should have taken the matter more seriously. They
did not. This led to a Commission of Inquiry and the testimony has
been damming with the Commissioner Sir Robin Auld himself pronouncing the
following as the Commission ended its public phase last week:
“…the government of this country is at a near standstill. The
Cabinet is divided or unstable. The House of Assembly has been prorogued.
The finances are in a bad way and poorly controlled, and governmental and
other audit recommendations lie unattended and disposals of Crown land
to fund recurrent public expenditure deficits continue, for want of governmental
revenue from more fiscally conventional sources,” Sir Robin said.
“…there are widespread fears on the part of the
people, many in the Territory, that they are leaderless and that their
heritage is at risk of continuing fast, fast to drain away,” he added.
Sir Robin also accused ministers and others of conduct
bordering on obstruction in relation to the work of the Commission, resulting
in delays in completing the public hearing phase, which lasted the best
part of four weeks instead of the two weeks originally scheduled.
“..the programme has slipped and for the same
reason: failure in the main by ministers, but also others in some instances,
and by conduct in and out of the hearings bordering on obstruction, to
make complete disclosure and/or to produce necessary supporting documents.
So instead of spending two weeks as we hoped to finish the job as to disclosure
and move on to other evidence, the Commission has spent the best part of
the last four available weeks still seeking disclosure and/or explanation
of disclosure given to us on the spot; disclosure, as those giving it to
us at that time must have known, the Commission could not possibly master,”
Sir Robin said.
According to the Commissioner, lawyers for those
who testified have until Saturday, 21st February to make further submissions,
but only in writing, in respect of matters concerning them that have arisen
up to and in the oral hearings.
Sir Robin will pass his initial report to the Governor
of the Turks on 28th February. The final report will be ready on
30th April. Given what is happening, don’t be surprised if London
does not impose direct rule to remedy the situation.
IN PASSING
No Word On Antigua Election
The Organization of American States, headed by Albert Ramdin visited
Antigua and Barbuda last week to lay the groundwork for the observers for
the general election scheduled to be held there within 90 days. There
is no word on the date but the House was dissolved on Monday 2nd February.
Picking On Shane Gibson
A U.S. based magazine called In Touch has made a right cock up of things.
In their anxiousness to publish the facts about the Pleasant Bridgewater
allegations, they printed a story and put Shane Gibson’s picture where
Tarino Lightbourne the co accused of Ms. Bridgewater was supposed to be.
Mr. Gibson is taking legal action against the magazine, and so he should.
Pleasant Bridgewater Back In Court
Former PLP Senator Pleasant Bridgewater was back in court on Wednesday
11th February. The crown has announced that they will proceed by
a voluntary bill of indictment, which means that they will go straight
to the Supreme Court for trial without a preliminary inquiry. The
case is adjourned to 15th April. Her co accused Tarino Lightbourne
still can’t make bail and the magistrate refused to lower the bail to allow
it. She said that she would consider lowering the bail if no one
is able to sign his bail within a month. That is ridiculous.
Barack Obama’s PLP Moment
The U.S. President Barack Obama has had a victory for his stimulus
package, much reduced but done. He should not savour the victory
too much because there are plenty of lessons in it. Bi-partisanship
is nonsense. The Republican party sought to chop is hand off as he
reached across the isle. The PLP saw that lesson time and again in
The Bahamas in the five years under Perry Christie. The FNM had no
interest in bipartisanship and have come to office ruling without any such
view. Mr. Obama’s package was passed without the support of a single
Republican in the House of Representatives, the lower U.S. house and with
only three Republicans in the Senate. So much for bi-partisanship.
A Criminal Libel
We believe that since the criminal libel laws remain on the books,
although wrongly so, the law should be used against Ivan Johnson of The
Punch. For two weeks, Mr. Johnson has been running a salacious story
about an ex PLP MP supposed locked up in Cuba for an offence against public
morals. There is no evidence to support what the newspaper say but
it is clear about whom Mr. Johnson is talking. The law is in place
for precisely this kind of irresponsible newspaper reporting. The
mainstream media itself should be more responsible. There is a simple
way to check the story. The Bahamas has an embassy in Havana.
If such a story were true then it would be easy to check with them and
confirm whether any Bahamian citizen is held on such a charge. There
are reportedly 50 Bahamians in prison in Cuba. None of them is a
former MP and all of them are wanted on drug charges.
| 22nd
February, 2009
Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com |
|
| THAT MISSING EX PLP MP... | BEC FIRES STAFF... |
| PLP LEAKS... | POLICE COMPLAINTS IN GB... |
| PHILIP RAHMING MARRIES GARI CHRISTIE... | BABAK BACK IN CONTROL... |
| A CLEAN UP IN FOX HILL... | CHINESE DELEGATION AT DINNER - PHOTOS... |
| ENTHRONEMENT PHOTO ESSAY REDUX... | IN PASSING... |
| The Official Site of the Progressive
Liberal Party... |
The Official Site of the Free National Movement... |
| PLPs On The Web... | Interesting Places... |
| Bradley Roberts / PLP Grants Town | Bahamas Government Website |
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| Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte | Bahamians On The Web |
| Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw | Bahamian Cycling News |
| John Carey / PLP Carmichael | FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES... |
| Grand Bahama PLP | |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE MEANING OF THE CHINESE
For
a dead town, and a dead economy, many people and no doubt the government
itself seemed to be pinning their hopes that someone would come to dump
500 million or more into this economy and get it going again. When
a Chinese official delegation comes calling, they come with a very carefully
crafted script, with not a minute of time for socializing. They simply
get down to business from the moment they first arrive to the moment that
wheels pull up and they are on their way.
This year marks the 12th year since The Bahamas unceremoniously and quite properly ended the relationship with the renegade province of Taiwan and signed on to diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. Hui Laingyu became the second Vice Premier of the State Council to visit The Bahamas. The first was Madame Wu Yi who came here in 2003, first to Freeport and then to Nassau. Those who sat in the Fathom’s restaurant of the Atlantis Hotel could be forgiven a moment of déjà vu as they sat down to dinner on Tuesday 17th February. It was in that same room that the former Vice Premier had been hosted to lunch by the then Deputy Prime Minister of the country Cynthia Pratt.
When the Chinese come calling, they have one thing on their minds for this region: the 14 votes of Caricom in the United Nations and other fora and the “One China” policy. It is an article of faith for the People’s Republic that the countries with whom they have diplomatic relations in this region, some 10 of the members of Caricom stick unwaveringly to that policy. The policy says that Taiwan is a province of China and should not be afforded the courtesies of an independent state. When the issue comes up in the most public way, the countries are expected to vote against any suggestion of independence for Taiwan at the United Nations.
Taiwan is equally aggressive, but they have been losing ground. Within the last five years, Grenada and Dominica crossed over to the People’s Republic side from Taiwan in a high profile way. The reward was the kind of development assistance that was offered to The Bahamas during this visit.
The signing of agreements is also important to them as well. During this visit, they signed four agreements. One was an agreement with Chinese Import Export bank to provide 150 million dollars of financing for infrastructural projects, including a new highway from the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau to the College of The Bahamas. The second was an economic and cooperation agreement that will provide some 10 million dollars US for projects to be determined. The third was an agreement to waive visas for Chinese diplomats coming to The Bahamas. The fourth was an agricultural agreement.
The Bahamas no doubt reaffirmed its adherence to the “One China” policy.
The question now is what will happen when the projects are executed. The Chinese side moves with alacrity on their projects. The Bahamas side always lags behind. The stadium project, which The Bahamas government negotiated with the Chinese in 2004, has still not materialized, largely because of delays in the installation of infrastructure by the Ministry of Works. The FNM now wants to get it started but the rumour is that they will have to approve work permits for 4,000 Chinese workers to come to The Bahamas to build it. The PLP had agreed that supervisors could come but the workers had to come from The Bahamas. It will be interesting to see how the FNM works this one out. We know what: why not blame the PLP as the FNM does on every unpopular decision that they have to make.
One man that must have been especially anxious while the Chinese were in town was Sarkis Izmerlian. Mr. Izmerlian is the owner of the Baha Mar project on Cable Beach. The project is dead in the water because of the folly of Hubert Ingraham. Mr. Ingraham talked down the project on the floor of the House of Assembly and shortly thereafter, the major casino partner in the project pulled out. Baha Mar has been looking for a partner for a year to fill the void. The Chinese have been nipping around. They are the last hope but one has to be worried when you see the extent to which the world economy is contracting, the tourism numbers in the country falling, and the inability of Bahamian officials to say something positive about economic prospects for the country.
One would have hoped that Hubert Ingraham and his hapless crew would learn the lesson of the Chinese. They take the long view. It should be simple to understand. In the long term, there is always growth. At some point, the psychology changes in the marketplace and people get cautious. There is then a contraction. The governor of the Central Bank, Wendy Craigg was in the press during the week suggesting that there might well be shrinkage of the Bahamian economy during this year. This means negative growth. It means recession.
We don’t need the stats to come out to reflect what is happening around us. The demand of MPs for jobs. The young men on the blocks, the women sitting at home. They have a government that says it wants to help but runs them through red tape and bureaucracy. They say they want to help but they keep preaching doom and gloom themselves.
The Chinese visit was supposed to lift us out of that gloom. But following their departure, we are still looking through a glass darkly.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 21st February 2009 up to midnight: 356,047.
Number of hits for the month of February up to Saturday 21st February 2009 up to midnight: 931,996.
Number of hits for the year 2009 up to midnight on Saturday 21st
February 2009: 1,996,817.
THAT
MISSING EX PLP MP
On this site, we have made only oblique references
to it. We did not want to be involved in any way, shape or form in
spreading idle gossip. What is amazing though is that notwithstanding
warnings to the contrary, the gossip spread like wildfire and the name
of a former MP for the PLP was being bandied about in Nassau as the person
who was in Cuba in jail for a crime of immorality.
Such is life in The Bahamas where even the mainstream
newspapers elevate gossip and rumour to news stories. It was helped
by the fact that neither the PLP nor the former PLP MP said a word in response
to it. It was ultimately the government through its Ambassador in
Havana and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Nassau that was able to confirm
what has been known for weeks, from the time the story started that the
story was patently and absolutely untrue.
We do not know the facts of the matter but it is
also interesting that the FNM went into action to assist the former MP.
The PLP has not said whether or not it is in a position to comment.
This same former MP was the subject of rumours in The Tribune that he was
about to cross the floor. So things get curiouser and curiouser.
As we watch the political currents and counter currents,
the movements to and fro, if you were a PLP you are probably saying to
yourself that in the future, when you choose an MP, it is almost like choosing
a wife. You have to think of what will happen when she gets old (what
will she look like), and you have to wonder what will happen if you break
up. Will your bride cross to the other side? Certainly, loyalty
does not seem to command any premium in today’s Bahamas.
BEC FIRES
STAFF
The Nassau Guardian has run two stories about the
dismissal of staff at the Bahamas Electricity Corporation. The newspaper
said in its Saturday 21st edition that its story of the day before on the
subject was confirmed. There was a brief release from BEC but the
Chairman of the Corporation Fred Gottleib refused to say anything about
the details. He promised they would come later. Both the Minister
of State Phenton Neymour who has immediate responsibility for the Corporation
and the substantive Minister, Earl Deveaux, could not say what the position
was.
The Guardian said that Brian Albury, an accountant
at the Corporation and a strong supporter of National Security Minister
Tommy Turnquest and Everette Sweeting, his boss, had both been dismissed.
They also say that gone is Shelly Cooke, the legal counsel.
The Chairman of the Corporation, Gottleib, says
that the restructuring is being done to streamline the organization from
15 Executives down to 12. This will make room for younger people
to move up the ladder. That’s his argument. The people who
have been fired are just about 50 years of age.
Does this argument not sound familiar? It
is the same argument used by the FNM to justify the dismissal of the police
officers from the Force. Yes, this is what you voted for. Hubert
Ingraham said he would reduce the public service. When pressured
he changed his mouth, but not his mind. Now he is working out his
purpose. The Bahamian people have only themselves to blame.
The story behind the story is that the men in accounting are to take the
fall for a missing one and half million dollars that led to charges being
brought against a former BEC employee. The Corporation needs to say
why.
PLP LEAKS
There must be serious concern and almost apoplexy
that a PLP meeting cannot be held without the contents of it private meetings
ending up either in the mainstream press or in the gutter press.
It would be good if what showed up in the press was accurate but not the
lies that are told. The problem is finding the leaker.
Typically, leaks occur where someone believes that
they can benefit from leaking a decision in the press that they do not
like when it is made in camera. They seek to derail it or stall it
by leaking it to the press. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does
not. The idea is that public pressure on the decision makers will
cause them to stop. Whoever is responsible for leaking obviously
does not like the direction for reform in which the party is now determined
to go and wants to derail it. Some have even made public statements
to try and stop it, accusing in the process others of doing something of
which the only guilty party was the one making the accusation.
What a web we weave! Whatever the case, there
is a train a coming; and you don’t need no ticket, just get on board.
As Sir Lynden once said, if you going to fish get in the boat. Once
you are in the boat, you must either fish or cut bait. If you aint
gonna fish or cut bait, get the hell out of the boat. Amen!
POLICE
COMPLAINTS IN GB
The Bahama Journal of Wednesday 18th February reported
that the newly appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police for Grand Bahama
Marvin Dames (pictured) held a meeting with the business community in Freeport
to hear from their customers, so to speak. Of course, he got an ear
full about corrupt police officers and how the police do not respond properly.
Mr. Dames dutifully accepted the blame and said that he would do his best
to ensure that there is follow up and it does not happen again. Of
course, he is absolutely wasting his time.
Smart man though he is, Mr. Dames is culturally
miles away from the rest of the Force on this issue. In the culture
of the rank and file, there is not a feeling, desire or acceptance that
they have to account to the public for what they do. What exists
at the base of the Force is a thug culture just like that which exits on
the streets. They couldn’t give a damn about the niceties of ‘service
to customers’. Anyway, Mr. Dames is entitled try and should not stop
trying but he should never forget what we said here.
Bahama Journal photo
PHILIP
RAHMING MARRIES GARI CHRISTIE
The bride Gari Christie is the daughter of Gary
Christie and Cleopatra Christie. Mr. Christie is the brother of the
former Prime Minister Perry Christie. The groom Philip Osbourne Rahming
is the son of and a constituent of Fox Hill. The parents of the groom
are Laronna and Dudley Seifert. The couple were married at the Christ
Church Cathedral in Nassau on Saturday 21st February in a glittering, happy
ceremony. Present for the occasion were former Prime Minister Christie
and the MP for Fox Hill Fred Mitchell. Please click
here for a Peter Ramsay photo essay.
BABAK
BACK IN CONTROL
Hannes Babak (pictured) is back in control of the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
A statement issued to the press on Saturday 21st March confirms that he
is back in control and that those who sided with the St. George family
in the days when the court wrongly appointed a receiver in the company
are now out. This includes long serving employee Albert Gray who
served as the President of the Grand Bahama Development Company during
the Receivership and reportedly Carey Leonard, Legal Counsel. The
Port’s release says that Mr. Gray has retired. He will, however,
be kept on as a consultant. Those who remember the dismissal of former
GBDEVCO President David Chamorro will remember that this was the same mechanism
used to dismiss Mr. Chamorro.
Mr. Gray’s retirement also follows the departure
of the former Chairman of the Port Group Hans Christiansen and Felix Stubbs,
Chairman of the Port Authority, the group’s licencing arm. The Port’s
release is full of promises that Mr. Babak is going to make a go of it
by seeking aggressively to get investors into Freeport.
What now is emerging is that Jack Hayward, the fifty
percent owner of the Port, is now, through Hannes Babak as we said, firmly
back in control of the Port Authority. It appears that the St. George
Estate is increasingly on the losing side of the equation. Some report
that Henrietta St. George, the widow of the late Edward St. George is so
disenchanted with Freeport that she refuses to come back at all.
Taking over at the Grand Bahama Development Company is Ian A.B. Rolle who
until recently was a financial officer for the company.
A
CLEAN UP IN FOX HILL
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill, working with the
Department of Environmental Health has conducted a massive clean up of
the central Fox Hill Village. Mr. Mitchell was seen in the area on
Monday 16th February watching over the clean up. At the end of the
day, it is hoped that there will be grassed areas in Fox Hill to stop the
need for massive land clearing. Mr. Mitchell said he hopes that the
Department will also make sure that all the old cars and other bits
of solid waste like old refrigerators and stoves will be removed from the
area.
Photo: Miguel Taylor
CHINESE
DELEGATION AT DINNER - PHOTOS
The Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham hosted a dinner
for the visiting Vice Premier of China Hui Liangyu at Fathom’s in Atlantis
on Tuesday 17th February. Former Prime Minister Perry Christie attended
the dinner as did former Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell. The photo
above shows the head table with the Prime Minister and the Vice Premier
during the playing of the national anthems of the countries. Below
left, the Prime Minister greets the former Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell;
and below right, Fred Mitchell speaks with Attorney General Michael Barnett.
ENTHRONEMENT
PHOTO ESSAY REDUX
Many of our readers have requested a repeat of the link
to Peter Ramsay's photo essay of Sunday 8th February 2009's enthronement
of Laish Boyd as the 13th Anglican Bishop of The Bahamas and the Turks
and Caicos Islands. The service was conducted at Christ Church Cathedral.
Above, Bishop Boyd is shown donning the Cope of the Bishop as the senior
clergy of the church look on. From left: Alfred Dorsett, Warden of Christ
Church Cathedral; Dean of the Cathedral Patrick Adderley, Canon Basil Tynes,
Archdeacon James Palacious, Archdeacon Cornell Moss, Archdeacon Keith Cartwright,
Canon Delano Archer; Archdeacon I. Ranfurly Brown, Canon Samuel Sturrup
and Canon Leopold Cox assisting the new bishop. Here again, with
thanks to Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services is the photo
essay of the enthronement.
IN PASSING
Ingraham Is The Scribe
Those who read the downmarket rag called The Punch will know that there
is a column done on Mondays by someone called The Scribe. We believed
that this was a nom-de-plume for Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.
Last week on Monday 16th February, the column seemed to confirm it in the
fourth paragraph of its story in which it said after Perry Christie and
Hubert Ingraham were fired from the Cabinet that “we” had to learn some
things. That use of the first person plural is curious. ‘We’
know that it is not Perry Christie who writes the column.
Antigua Elections Announced
The Prime Minister of Antigua Baldwin Spencer has announced that elections
will be held in that country on 12th March. He gave the country 23
days to campaign. Nomination day is 25th February.
Uncle Tom Ossie Brown On Stafford Sands
The newspaper columnist Oswald Brown, who has been Jackass of the Week
in this column so many times we can’t count, is at it again. This
time, he is back in Uncle Tom mode by suggesting that the FNM put Sir Stafford
Sands back on the ten-dollar bill. The PLP objected to it on the
basis that he was racist. We don’t doubt that the FNM will try to
do it again.
The Allen Stanford Story
Allen
Stanford, a U.S. citizen from Texas, who calls himself Sir Allen Stanford,
because he was knighted by the Queen for his services to Antigua, is in
deep doo doo. For years, he has been pushing his weight around in
Antigua and the Caribbean. He is the largest employer in Antigua
and once owned an airline that rivalled LIAT for air services in the region.
He is reportedly listed as a billionaire and the 202nd richest man in the
world. He is now charged in a civil complaint by the US Securities
and Exchange Commission with fraud of massive proportions. The complaint
was filed on Tuesday 17th February. In essence, they say he has been
attracting depositors to his Antigua based bank with unrealistically high
return rates. The Feds in the US froze his assets. There was
a run on his banks in Antigua and in Venezuela. Authorities in both
countries have now seized the banks to stop them from collapsing.
In Antigua, a receiver for the Bank was appointed on Friday 20th February.
Mr. Stanford was close to the Antigua Labour Party’s leader former Prime
Minister Lester Bird, who is again running to be Prime Minister.
The matter has now entered the election campaign of Antigua with the Government
of Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer saying that Mr. Stanford was too close
to Mr. Bird and that the association has put Antigua at risk. Mr.
Stanford is also known to the cricket world with his largesse of a prize
of 20 million dollars in a match to help revive cricket in the West Indies
and providing seed money for the development of cricket in the region,
including The Bahamas. The West Indies Cricket Board and the English
Cricket Board quickly dissociated themselves from him in the light of the
latest events. Mr. Stanford himself appeared at first to be in hiding,
but FBI agents finally found him in Virginia and served him on Thursday
19th February with the papers. A criminal investigation is ongoing.
We always thought this guy was a biggety fellow who had little substance
and wondered where all this money was coming from. It looks like
it was a House of Cards and it may be now collapsing.
Unreliability Of Tribune and Guardian Net News
The web services of the daily newspapers in The Bahamas continue to
be unreliable. With great fanfare last year, The Tribune announced
that the public would be able to see the front page of their paper on Facebook
on the morning that the paper was printed. That used to be until
two weeks ago when they issued their new web paper. Now you cannot
see the front page until a day later. The web paper itself releases
the daily paper at 2 p.m. each day. You have to register to enter
the site, a bloody nuisance, and it is in a PDF format, which makes it
extremely difficult to navigate. The paper does not make its Saturday
edition available either on the web page or on Facebook. The Guardian
says where you put me. They manage to keep up their Facebook page
as promised each day but the reliability of the daily paper on the web
is poor. The Bahama Journal, which used to have the best web paper,
looks like they have abandoned their web paper altogether; the updates
are so intermittent.
Visa Restrictions Lifted
The Nassau Guardian reported in its Saturday 21st February edition
that the Ministry of Tourism’s Director General Vernice Walkine is applauding
the government's decision to remove visa restrictions for those entering
The Bahamas from some countries. No details on which countries this
includes. The Guardian said that their story of Saturday followed
an interview with Foreign Minister Brent Symonette who told the paper that
the visa restrictions had been lifted for almost all European and Latin
American countries. When you visit the website of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, however, mfabahamas.org, there is no indication that the
policy has changed and no list of countries where the visa requirements
have changed. What a way to do business. One of the countries
where the restrictions have been lifted is Russia. Given the history
of criminal activity from that country, is that indeed wise? One
of the countries where the restrictions have not been lifted is India.
Wealthy Indians complain about the red tape it takes to get here.
Perhaps The Bahamas can do like Jamaica and arrange for Indian travellers
who arrive here with a certain type ticket and a certain amount of cash
to get a visa upon landing. Visas are also now waived for Cuban,
Haitian and Chinese diplomats.
COB University Status Delayed
Minister of Education Carl Bethel told the Nassau Guardian reported
in its Saturday 21st Edition that plans for the upgrade of the College
of The Bahamas to university status may be delayed. The PLP had hoped
that within this term the College would become the university of The Bahamas.
The Minister says that he is less concerned about what the College is called
and more concerned about the quality of its programmes and their acceptance
world wide. He says that it may be anywhere from two to ten years
before the college obtains the new status. Makes no sense to us.
They ought to stick to the PLP’s timetable and get it done.
‘The Independent’ Reports On Tax Havens
The British newspaper The Independent reports that Gordon Brown, the
Prime Minister of the UK has decided to make a full scale attack on “tax
havens” which could lead to their abolition. Mr. Brown is to make
this a part of his campaign to reform the international financial institutions
and the regulation of financial institutions. The Independent says
that Mr. Brown believes he now has the support of world leaders to lead
the attack including the U.S. President Barack Obama. The link to
the story is here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brown-leads-global-drive-to-close-down-tax-havens-1625959.html
