bahamasuncensored.com
NOVEMBER 2007
Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every
Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 5 © BahamasUncensored.Com 2007
While material on this web site can be used freely by other sections of
the press, as a courtesy, journalists are asked to attribute the source
of their material from this web site.
11th November, 2007
18th November, 2007
25th November, 2007
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|
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK: It
is remarkable the support that the PLP continues to have in the country.
If you hear the FNM and their media friends tell it, there is not a PLP
left in the country. But there are, and there are people who are
PLP who put in their hours every day and night fighting to get the PLP
returned to office. As you look upon them hard at work, you wonder
what makes them do it? Certainly the prospects of an easy and early
victory over the evil one is a high hill to climb. Certainly the
comments and observations made about the neglect of core PLP supporters
during the time the PLP was in office have some ring of truth. So
what makes them continue to do it? There is obviously some inner
force at work there. One of the best examples of that inner something
is the work of the people of the Fox Hill Branch of the PLP. Last
week, the Branch held a cook out on the Fox Hill parade grounds, selling
fish and steaks and chicken. It was a great success. They worked
together and the people came out to buy and they seemed to have done well
financially. Former Minister of Works Bradley Roberts came out to
join the representative for the Fox Hill constituency at the cookout.
Everyone had a grand time. Our photo of the week then is that of
the Fox Hill branch’s cookout on the Fox Hill parade on Saturday 27th October
2007. The photo is by Dennis Fountain. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
A NOT QUITE HURRICANE
DROWNS US
Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister looked like a straggler and
he had other stragglers with him. The only one who looked like he
was supposed to have been there was Tommy Turnquest, the Minister of National
Security. The others looked like someone had forced them out of bed
to be there. We are talking about the press conference held by the
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to tell the country where we
were on what has now passed into history as Tropical Storm Noel.
The
press conference took place on what was supposed to have been the worst
day for the storm in New Providence on Thursday 1st November. The
storm had been coming for days. The Government was told by the Met
office that the storm was coming on Wednesday 31st October. As a
consequence on Tuesday 20th October, all government offices were closed
at 12 noon and civil servants were told to go and prepare for the worst.
The banks closed. In New Providence the storm never came. There
was some rainy weather on the Wednesday and the skies were overcast but
no more than on a winter’s day in Nassau when a cold front is coming in.
The House of Assembly met briefly on the Wednesday and then suspended until
Guy Fawkes Day 5th November. The weather was still threatening said
the Met office; only the system had slowed down over Cuba and was not expected
to come until Thursday.
It did blow a bit more on Thursday 1st November but not by much.
There was a fair amount of water but New Providence did not even have the
flooding of heavy summer rain to deal with. The issue was the Family
Islands. The reports kept coming in from Long Island that there was
a disaster on the ground of enormous proportions. The Met office
said that 15 inches of rain had fallen in Long Island. That left
many settlements under water including Deadman's Cay that reported that
homes were flooded and people had to be evacuated to shelters. No
word yet on what the Government was going to do about it.
A similar story could be told about Exuma. The place was simply
drowning in water. Reports are that the Forest in the centre of the
Great Exuma Island was particularly hard hit and the government housing
complex in that area as well was under water. Locals used tractors
and big trucks to help the residents evacuate. Given the fact that
Exuma is a PLP island, it would seem prudent for the PLP to go to the island
as quickly as possible to hold up the flag. We urge the government
to act quickly to get help and relief to those who have been adversely
affected by the storm.
Unfortunately, the story in Exuma is sadder than anywhere else.
A disc jockey at the local radio station in Georgetown, Exuma lost his
life. He is Kevin Milford 32. Mr. Milford from all accounts
was trying to get to work when his truck stalled while going through water.
He decided with another worker to get out of the truck and make his way
by foot. He misstepped. The road fell away into a pond and
with the water level so high, the two could not be distinguished.
The pond was too deep, and he drowned because he could not swim.
It was a shocking and sad day for Exuma.
In many senses, though, The Bahamas dodged a bullet. It could
have been much worse, what with the reports coming out of Haiti and the
Dominican Republic about the loss of life. We extend our condolences
to the governments of those countries on what has transpired. The
question now for us is what lessons can be learned by this event?
It strikes you that The Bahamas is simply lucky with these events.
The closest we came to real catastrophe in natural disasters had to be
the three hurricanes that the country experienced under the PLP.
Fortunately, there was minimal loss of life because of the building code
and because of the precautions that we take in advance of the storm.
It may be that because we are low-lying we don’t have to worry about landslides
and other issues like rivers overflowing their banks. But we keep
saying in some senses we are simply lucky.
For example, do we really have the equipment and the manpower should
there be a real emergency? Our responses seem to be so haphazard,
ramshackle and ill prepared. The Met office in particular has to
do some sharpening up. They just could not seem to get the weather
right and so it appears that the country lost productivity in part because
the weather forecast just was not right.
Then there is the government. There does not seem to be any
protocols about who is actually to lead this in a political sense and when
does that leadership kick in. Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister,
shows up at what was obviously a hastily organized news conference to have
the top civil servants report what is going on in the country. He
acted the part of the resident bully demanding that people tell the press
their names and in one case arguing with the General Manager of the Water
and Sewerage Corporation about whether the water was safe to drink.
The General Manager stood his ground and said he could only vouch for the
water of his Corporation, which was safe to drink. It seems to us
that Prime Ministers are best simply making a general statement to the
country about the need for caution, safety and taking the matter seriously
and then they ought to leave it to the professionals.
What was also curious about the Ingraham press conference, which
was announced as a NEMA press conference, was that NEMA did not have a
word to say. In any event, we got the distinct impression that Mr.
Ingraham and his government want to scupper NEMA. You know it was
started by the PLP so according to the FNM creed it has to go.
We dodged another one. Let us hope that the next time around
that same combination of luck and planning helps us avoid being drowned
by water.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 3rd November 2007 at
midnight: 225,123.
Number of hits for the month of October up to Wednesday 31st October
2007 at midnight: 1,250,056.
Number of hits for the year 2007 up to Saturday 3rd November 2007
at midnight: 3,487,657. [Does not reflect hits prior to 30th June,
2007]
Residents in Moss
Town, Exuma shown using a boat during the flooding in the Nassau Guardian
photo above by Felicia Saunders
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
PLP
CONSULTS ON JURIES BILL
The House of Assembly met briefly on Wednesday 31st
October and suspended because a storm was coming. The storm did not
come but MPs went home anyway and it gave the PLP a chance to further consult
various groups on what their view is about the Juries Bill proposed by
the government. No doubt when the House resumes, there will be an
interesting report to the House on what the Government failed to do.
What the Government failed to do was consult.
They simply decided that it was a good idea and went ahead. Alfred
Sears who led the debate for the PLP asked the question where is the evidence
to support the reduction of juries down from 12 to nine? The government
has been unable to answer. No doubt, they don't care. The FNM
will simply ram the legislation down the throats of the public, just as
it did with the National Referendum in 2002.
Hubert Ingraham is not a changed man. We saw
that from the report on
this site last week where he starred as JACKASS OF THE WEEK for his
outstandingly stupid performance in the House the week before.
The Tribune was at it again, lying on the PLP by
saying in an editorial on Friday 2nd November that it was the PLP's fault
that the Juries Bill had been delayed. No such thing. The FNM’s
leader agreed to delay the passage of the Bill. The silly Tribune
and the hacks that run it can’t seem to get it through their thick skulls
that there are some things that the government is responsible for.
Not everything can be blamed on the PLP. The fact is that Hubert
Ingraham decided to delay the Juries Bill. Put it to his account
and not the PLP.
What we do know is that if the Bill becomes law,
you can expect lawyers to immediately go to court, tying up the courts
with even more litigation. If they think the death penalty issue
is a nightmare, wait until they fool with changing juries.
POOR
ZHIVARGO LAING
There was a technical working group meeting for
the Economic Partnership Agreement process in Jamaica last week.
The Bahamas government has been slow to recognize under Hubert Ingraham
and his Minister of State for Foreign Trade Zhivargo Laing that this is
an important process and that they need to attend to the matter.
For weeks now, we have been publicly criticizing
Zhivargo Laing for dropping the ball again on the question of foreign trade.
The first mistake was taking it out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The second mistake was leaving it to Mr. Laing who has repudiated his whole
belief set laid out in a book called WHO MOVED MY CONCH? That book
argued for The Bahamas integrating its economy into the world economy,
only to have Mr. Laing come along and repudiate the whole thing in order
to win votes.
Now Mr. Laing and his government are courting disaster
by their continued adherence to the view that they will not sign onto the
Economic Partnership Agreements, the successors to the Lomé and
Contonou Agreements that allowed duty free access for Bahamian goods into
the European markets on a non reciprocal basis. In order for the
access to continue, the successor agreement must be reciprocal, thus making
it World Trade Organization (WTO) compliant. The Europeans got a
waiver until January 2008 for their former colonies to be able to access
their markets duty free on a non reciprocal basis. Mr. Laing gave
the excuse that they needed eight months to study the agreement.
They then appointed an anti trade individual in the person of John Delaney
to lead the process. But events have gone way past their ability
to cope.
The other Caricom countries and the Dominican Republic,
formed into an organization called Cariforum, have all committed to trying
to get the EPAs done by the deadline of 31st October, even if it means
a market access or good deal in the first instance with the services to
be negotiated later. Mr. Laing has not been going to the meetings,
nor has any public official since the PLP lost office in 2007. The
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) has been struggling to
find out what the Government’s position is.
The PLP had decided before it left office to sign
on to the EPAs so long as the services offer did not attack the financial
services sector and that a deal could be negotiated to protect certain
core professions. There have been public appeals from the crawfish
industry and from Polymers in Freeport for the government to sign.
Mr. Laing has said no, they will not sign.
Some movement seemed to come this past week in Jamaica
where the government showed up for the first time in a while and their
representatives, at a low level, said that the FNM was not prepared to
sign at this juncture. It also now appears that Mr. Laing will actually
attend the ministerial meeting in Brussels this week, which is designed
to put the finishing touches at the political level. This will be
the first political level attendance since the FNM came to power.
There is as usual a blame game going on. The
FNM under Mr. Laing keeps trying to blame the PLP for their failures.
The fact is all of the work was done for the EPAs under the PLP, headed
by Ambassador Leonard Archer, the Ambassador to Caricom. The FNM
has come along, given it back to the Ministry of Finance, which Ministry
has repudiated almost everything that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sought
to establish. Not surprising of course but Mr. Laing and his Prime
Minister never fails to surprise us. If the FNM does not want to
sign just say so and take responsibility for their own failures.
Just don’t blame the PLP for their failures.
DISINFORMATION
ON FREEPORT HOTELS
Last weekend as Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister,
was officially opening a project that had been approved by the Progressive
Liberal Party, he lobbed some shots across the bow of the PLP which one
week later have not been answered by the PLP. It is inexplicable
how the organization which we support continues to allow this to happen
but happen it does.
Mr. Ingraham announced that he was going to pay
the balance of the money owed to the persons who were fired or lost their
jobs as a result of the Oasis properties, formerly the Princess Hotel and
Casino in Freeport, going out of business. You may remember that
the PLP decided that they would pay severance to all of the employees and
they did but there was a group who did not qualify because they were retained
by the hotel doing security and other maintenance duties. Once they
were fired following the disconnection of the power at the hotel, that
further group was owed severance. This amounts to 1.2 million dollars.
That is what Mr. Ingraham will pay. He will pay it even though the
FNM criticized the PLP for making the first payments.
The employees were full of praise for the FNM but
you will remember how they bitterly griped that the money that they got
was not enough under the PLP. Strange these folk. The FNM’s
leader now wishes to take credit for that as well. He also said though
that the PLP did not collect the taxes owed by the hotel and allowed the
hotel to go out of business without collecting the taxes when the PLP knew
that it was on shaky ground and did nothing about it. This man has
a remarkable cheek. He is simply telling a lie. The fact is
the FNM brought in the Driftwood group that owned the Oasis.
The PLP warned the FNM during his last term not
to give the property over to Driftwood because they had a bad reputation
in Nassau. The FNM did not listen and gave the hotel over to a group
that did not have the financial wherewithal to manage the property and
worse than that seemed to be fly by night operators who were simply taking
the profits and running. They took the opportunity to close the hotel
once they collected the insurance money following the last hurricane in
Freeport.
The PLP tried to work with a bad situation, by allowing
the taxes to be foregone in a vain effort, as it turned out, to keep people
employed. In the end the Driftwood group did not pay the National
Insurance for the people. That was recovered by the PLP. They
did not even pay the monies they were deducting from the salaries of employees
for their mortgages. That was paid ultimately by the Grand Bahama
Port Authority. No word about whether the Port was reimbursed.
But once again we say to Hubert Ingraham don’t seek to blame the PLP put
it down to your own lousy performance.
THE
ELECTION COURT CONTINUES
Ever since Michael Barnett was a little boy, he
wanted to be a lawyer. Those who went to St Augustine’s College in
Nassau could remember him now as he portrayed the American lawyer Clarence
Darrow giving his famous summation to the jury in the Scopes Trial on evolution.
Mr. Barnett is today a lawyer, and thought to be amongst the best.
The only problem is that he represents a bad client, the FNM, and he represents
them in the case where they are seeking to defend the seat that they “won”
in the general election that is being challenged by Allyson Maynard Gibson,
the former Attorney General and Member of Parliament.
Mr. Barnett started his cross examination last week
of the principal witness of the PLP a private investigator. The investigator’s
evidence had shifted the propaganda battle over to the PLP. PLP supporters
are starting to think that, just maybe, there is something here; but Mr.
Barnett attempted to counter that advantage in his cross examination.
He has to, because by the back channel it appears that Hubert Ingraham
had been convinced by his lawyers that the matter would have been dismissed
at the stage of the point in limine (preliminary point); which would have
had all of the investigator’s evidence excluded.
Once the FNM side lost the battle to have the case
dismissed, a whole trial had to take place and the evidence of people voting
where they should not went into the public domain and seems persuasive
and compelling.
At the end of the day the judges Anita Allen and
Jon Isaacs will have to sift through all the evidence, both the evidence
in chief and the cross examination, plus the law, to see whether the PLP
has proved its case. In the meantime, PLPs are going through a see
saw.
Mr. Barnett made it a point to pick on various individuals
who the investigator said he did not find living in Pinewood at specific
addresses and spent some time quizzing the investigator with forensic enthusiasm
on how he went about his work and whether the investigator actually went
to see them at their proposed addresses in Pinewood. The investigator
simply responded that he went to the addresses where he had been advised
that they actually lived and his investigation seemed to confirm that they
no longer lived in Pinewood.
It is not certain where the cross examination takes
the case because what the Court will need to know was that on the date
of the election, was the voter ordinarily resident in the place where they
claim they were entitled to vote.
Whatever happens in Mr. Barnett’s cross examination,
no doubt there is countervailing evidence to support the PLP’s ultimate
contention. PLPs simply have to keep the faith.
IN PASSING
A Serious Mistake Was Made – We apologize
Last week in the early edition of this column we carried a story, which
was withdrawn approximately two and a half hours after it was first posted
at 2 p.m. last Sunday. In that short time the damage was apparently
done. We reported that a well known accountant had died. It
was not true. The error was immediately withdrawn and corrected.
We truly apologize again for the error. We pride ourselves on fact
checking particularly in this era of the internet that has such a wide
reach across the world. We apologize for any embarrassment and distress
caused the family of the individual.
Helen Ebong Is Buried
Permanent Secretary Helen Adderley Ebong of the Ministry of Finance
was laid to rest yesterday Saturday 3rd November following a state recognized
funeral at the Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau. The funeral was
attended by the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, Members of the
Cabinet, the Leader of the Opposition and other PLP Members of Parliament,
Senators and senior civil servants. This was the first such state
recognized funeral for a Permanent Secretary since the government’s decision
to do so for a sitting Permanent Secretary who dies in office. The
funeral for Mrs. Ebong is at the same level as that for former Parliamentarians.
Mrs. Ebong was 54 years old at the time of her death. She served
in the Public Service since 1978 trained first as an agriculturist.
Mrs. Ebong was the daughter of the late Member of Parliament for the old
City District Cleophas Adderley Sr. and Mrs. Helen Adderley and was the
sister of Cleophas Adderley Jr., who is the Director for the National Youth
Choir. She is survived by her husband Cyril and three children.
The photo of the Leader of the Opposition and his colleagues at the service
was taken by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
Bradley Weech Dies Suddenly
Dental Technician Bradley Weech died suddenly on Tuesday 30 October
in Nassau. Amongst his surviving brothers are Ervin Weech, also a
Dental Technician and Anthony ‘Boots’ Weech formerly of Bahamas Telecommunications
Company Limited. We express our condolences to the family.
Memorial Service For Pauline Glasby
A memorial service will be held for Pauline Glasby at the Grace and
Peace Wesleyan Methodist Church Chapel in Nassau off the Winton Highway
on Monday at 7 p.m. Mrs. Glasby, former lecturer at the College of
The Bahamas and former Director of the Renaissance Singers, died in Nassau
on Saturday 20th November after brief illness.
Leader Of The Opposition On TV
Perry Christie, the Leader of the Opposition PLP, will appear this
evening on Jones and Company on Love 97 radio at 5 p.m. and on JCN TV Channel
14 on Cable at 7:30 p.m. The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas
Information Services.
Musharraf Must Go
Former Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell speaking in Barbados in September
made the point that the Pakistan should be sanctioned by the Commonwealth
because its seemed clear that its President had misled the Commonwealth
on what he truly was. If there was doubt then when Mr. Mitchell spoke,
there is no doubt now. Mr. Musharraf suspended the constitution of
Pakistan yesterday 3rd November on the pretext that he is saving the country
from extremists. He declared a state of emergency. Pakistan
must be suspended from the Commonwealth because clearly this is a violation
of the Harare Principles on democratic governance. The real reason
he did it was because the courts were about to rule that his election to
office was not valid. Mr. Musharraf is a military dictator.
That much is clear.
Where Is The Money?
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill at the launch of the Royal Bahamas Police
Force History book on Wednesday 24th October saw the Minister of Education,
Youth, Sports and Culture and asked him “Where is the money that the Government
promised to pay for the Fox Hill festival?” Despite the promise of
the Government to pay the money, they have not. This was a public
promise. The story is that the former FNM candidate for Fox Hill
who lost in the general election is blocking its payment. The photo
is by Patrick Hanna of the Bahamas Information Services.
BEC Doubles Prices?
Some people have reported to this site that the Bahamas Electricity
Corporation has doubled its prices for power supply to customers in New
Providence. This should be investigated.
CARTOON
BAHAMAS
ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS
Today we pass on an interesting offer received by
e-mail of Bahamas Antiquarian Books for Sale. The private collector
says "I want these treasures to find a home with people that appreciate
and value the rich culture of the Bahamas". According to the collector,
on offer are:
-
Moseley, M. The Bahamas Handbook. Nassau Guardian.
1926. 238pp + plates and 2 folding maps. 1st ed., very fine in original
cloth. Good history and guide with fine photo illustrations.
Very scarce. Condition: Original binding, v. good.
-
Defries, Amelia. The Fortunate Islands Being Adventures
with the Negro in the Bahamas. London: C. Palmer, 1929. Good account,
if sometimes racist view, of life in the Bahamas in 1920’s. (two copies)
Condition 1: Ex Library copy, v. good. Condition 2: slight spine cover
wears, v. good.
The private collector is selling some of her books and
may be contacted at 395-8325 or e-mail: jadclip@yahoo.com.
Readers should note should be made that no warranties
or endorsement comes from BahamasUncensored.com and arrangements are entirely
at the reader's own risk.
LETTER
TO THE EDITOR
The Juries Act (amendment) and Judicial Reform
I thought the print media in particular failed
the general public in their reporting of the PLP’s press conference at
Gambier House on Sunday 28th Oct 2007. I guess to focus on the demand for
an apology from the PM makes for better press and is more sensational.
I am, however, personally disappointed that the media did not delve into
(with greater detail), the five recommendations of the Chief Justice as
it relates to juries; the position of the PLP on the Juries Act (amendment);
and their recommendations to improve the efficiency of the administration
of justice.
The demand for an apology from the PM was one
sentence in a comprehensive press conference that lasted almost two hours
with three presentations and a question and answer period.
Some of the key points raised were: Jurors must
not serve for more than six weeks at a time with a five year break in between
jury duties. The government must pay employers for the time off given to
employees to serve on juries. An employer must be provided with the total
time served by his or her employee and any employer who docks an employee's
pay for jury duty will be prosecuted by law. These are some of the issues
raised by Alfred Sears that I thought the media should have highlighted
in greater detail.
It is important to note that some individuals
charged with a non-capital offences up to the time the amended Juries Act
is signed into law, will fully and reasonably expect a trial by a jury
of twelve of their peers. If those charged are convicted by a jury of nine,
this situation (jury of nine) could be used as reasonable grounds for a
successful appeal. Given the fact that there is a Privy Council ruling
as a frame of reference, lawyers would have a field day in filing appeals
on this technicality. This could increase the backlog of cases and exacerbate
the problems already being faced by the judiciary. I urge all parliamentarians
to take this under advisement when deliberations resume in the honorable
House.
As regards judicial reform, what about restructuring
the financial administration of the Judiciary? This would significantly
improve the judicial physical plant and general working conditions. Through
the direct provision of budgetary allocations and vested authority to the
judiciary, the Chief Justice and the Registrar of the Supreme Court can
facilitate such matters as the procurement of supplies and equipment and
the maintenance and repairs of buildings. Eliminating the Ministry of Works
would be helpful.
The Supreme Court needs to be in one complex,
not four, and a suitable location for both the Supreme Court and the Court
of Appeal needs to be identified and complex constructed post haste. This
will strengthen the security of legal documents, reduce loss of the same
and improve the overall efficiency of the court system.
The independence of the judiciary can be strengthened
by removing judicial staff from under the authority of the Public Service
Commission and establish these persons under the authority of the Judicial
and Legal Service Commission. Further, the executive branch of government
should be removed from the procedure of appointing Magistrates and Judges.
While I applaud the appointment and work of the
Law Reform Commission, a more progressive approach would be the empowerment
of the judicial branch to implement the reforms it deems necessary to make
the administration of justice more efficient, effective, relevant, and
responsive to the needs of a twenty-first century Bahamas. The executive
branch should step back and allow the judiciary to function as an independent
and equal branch of government.
The vexing issue of salaries and conditions of
service of the judges and magistrates must be immediately resolved in the
national interest. The dignity of the judiciary must be enhanced and the
ranking of judges in the national list of precedence must be elevated.
The Prime Minister is who he
is and does what he does, but it is the responsibility of the opposition
and the Great Fourth Estate to place foremost in the minds of the Bahamian
people, the qualities and elements of good governance (or the lack thereof)
and how these qualities and elements manifest themselves through sound
public policies. All gaps, real or perceived, must be necessarily voiced,
exposed, and debated to a satisfactory resolution. I am not convinced that
the Great Fourth Estate took full advantage of the opportunity to challenge
our legislators and stakeholders on this bill with a view to enlightening
the general public on this critical issue of law and justice. I am still
seeing editorials where governments are accused of dragging their feet,
presenting red herrings, and unnecessarily delaying legislation. There
must be a balance between sensation and substance.
I am of the considered view that such a powerful
and influential platform should be used to critically examine public policy,
offer constructive criticism, alternatives and additions, and generally
stimulate intellectual curiosity in the public domain. The politics of
bickering and blaming fails to serve the national good; an intelligent,
lively, and provocative debate on public policy however does.
Elcott Coleby
Previous
Columns
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
|
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK: The
government of Hubert Ingraham was flouncing all over the place following
the storm Noel that hit The Bahamas. (Click
here for last week’s Comment of The Week). They simply did not
know what to do. The result is that nothing has been done to help
the country recover from the problems of the storm. The Opposition
Leader and former Prime Minister Perry Christie decided to lead a delegation
of his own across the country to some of the worst affected areas.
On Tuesday 6th November, he and colleagues Dr. Bernard Nottage MP, Fred
Mitchell MP, Vincent Peet MP, Shane Gibson MP and Senator Jerome Fitzgerald
visited the islands of Exuma, Cat Island and San Salvador. In Exuma,
Anthony Moss PLP MP led the tour. What they saw was flooding that
the PLP’s official release (click here) described
as unprecedented. Mr. Christie also criticized Mr. Ingraham for not
responding adequately to the crisis. We show some of the pictures
below in a photo essay. Our photo
of the week is that of the former Prime Minister and his colleagues of
the PLP inspecting the storm damage in San Salvador. The photo is
by Dennis Fountain. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
A HOUSE SPEAKER WITHOUT SHAME
Drunk again!
Every weekend
You Drunk again
--Popular
song by Geno D
Ah, what drama there was in the House of Assembly last week.
The PLP took the FNM by surprise. If you recall, the House of Assembly
had suspended on Wednesday 30th October for the second time in as many
House days because Tropical Storm Noel was on its way. The suspension
of the House to Guy Fawkes Day 5th November gave the PLP 9 days to follow
through on its consultations with the public on the Juries Amendment Act.
When the House resumed, it was expected that the House would allow the
PLP to say what it had found in its consultations with civil society.
It is clear that the government did no consultations at all and did not
care to do so. Its’ Attorney General Claire Hepburn is still repeating
the
demonstrably false statement that having juries of nine people will speed
up trials in The Bahamas.
The House started then on Wednesday 30th. The Speaker Alvin
Smith announced that the House would resume with Desmond Bannister, the
Minister of State in the Attorney General’s Office winding up the debate.
At this point, the Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Perry
Christie rose to his feet on a point of order. Mr. Christie had gone
through the transcript of the last substantive session of the House of
Assembly and had discovered the extent to which there had been an abuse
of the rules by the Member of Parliament for North Abaco otherwise known
as the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham. If you read the transcript,
it reads like the words of a drunken sailor, someone who was so inebriated
that he simply had lost control. Mr. Christie did not get to make
his point. Instead, he was interrupted by the Speaker Alvin Smith,
who anticipated Mr. Christie’s point of order. He said that he himself
had read the transcript and that he did not see anything wrong with what
the Member for North Abaco had to say.
The net effect of what the Speaker did was to deny Mr. Christie his
right to be heard. He also; and in a more far reaching sense, ruled
that it was permissible to call Members of the House of Assembly “worthless”
and “shameless”. Mr. Ingraham did not use the Standard English “worthless”
but used the Bahamianism “wutless”. That made the insults even worse.
In addition, there is a passage in the transcript in which Mr. Ingraham
indicates that what was given to the former Prime Minister when he lost
office was minor punishment. He said that he should get major punishment.
This is clearly a threat of some kind and Mr. Christie asked, in a democratic
society, what other punishment could Mr. Ingraham be speaking about?
Mr. Christie said that the remark was particularly insulting given the
fact that in this day and age there is a problem with murders in the country
because the young men don’t know when and how to resolve disputes without
regard to violence. And so someone hearing what the Prime Minister
said might try their hand. Mr. Christie has already had two acts
of violence perpetrated around his home since the last election.
The Speaker apparently saw nothing wrong with that either.
Rule 30 (16) of the Rules of the House of Assembly clearly states
that no member should use offensive, abusive or insulting language toward
another member. By any standard, the words uttered by Mr. Ingraham
were offensive, abusive and insulting. They were nasty, and as we
said earlier spoken as if he was in a drunken frenzy.
The rules call for the words to be drawn to the Speaker’s attention
and the Speaker can order them expunged from the record if the member who
spoke them does not withdraw them. The Speaker did not allow that
point of order to be made and instead asked Mr. Bannister to continue with
his summing up. Mr. Bannister could not be heard. The response
from the PLP was furious and the noise that was made, made it impossible
for the regular business of the House to be conducted. The Speaker
put the vote anyway above the noise and then moved toward the adjournment.
As the Speaker’s procession left the House, PLP Members told him
that he was a “wutless” Speaker. It is clear now that “wutless” is
a Parliamentary expression that the word needs to be applied to the Speaker
of the House. His actions show that he is indeed “wutless”.
The matter will not be left there. It will now come up again
in the House when it resumes tomorrow Monday 12th November. The PLP
has framed a substantive motion of no confidence in the Speaker and will
call for him to apologize and resign forthwith. Don’t expect that
to happen but what will happen is that Alvin Smith’s name will be mud throughout
the country when the PLP is finished with him. It is clear that he
does not have the intellectual acumen, the plain backbone for the job that
he has. One has to ask oneself how for $81,000, this man has simply
gone wobbly and listens blindly to the dictates of his political masters.
There is not even a pretence of independence with the FNM pushing instructions
through his ear to him. He has proven to be a good Speaker for the
FNM but he does not protect the rights of the minority. The government
has the majority and so will likely defeat the resolution, but when history
is written it will be clear that the PLP has no confidence in Alvin Smith
not even six months into the game.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 10th November 2007 at
midnight: 243,878.
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 10th November
2007 at midnight: 325,323.
Number of hits for the year 2007 up to Saturday 10th November 2007
at midnight: 3,744,582. [Does not reflect hits prior to 30th June,
2007]
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
CHRISTIE
ON FNM ECONOMIC RUIN
PLP leader Perry Christie has called on the FNM
government to stop immediately their “economically ruinous policy of stall,
defer and delay”. In a detailed attack on the government’s economic
performance during its first six months in office, Mr. Christie said that
the FNM administration “should now move to rectify their mistakes with
the economy by facilitating those development proposals which we approved
while in office and others that were left for them in the pipeline.”
The former prime minister blamed the economic woes
on “the reduction in construction related jobs and the many Bahamians victimized
through being terminated by this Free National Movement government.”
He accused the government of pettiness and neglect. “…in their political
lust for discrediting my Administration, Hubert Ingraham and the FNM have
put their focus on petty politics and an agenda of victimization, intimidation
and fear.
“In their pettiness, the FNM government have neglected
and ignored their responsibility to effectively manage the Bahamian economy
for the benefit of the Bahamian people.” Mr. Christie spoke during
a news conference at PLP Headquarters in the Sir Lynden Pindling Centre
at Gambier House. Please click here
for the leader’s full remarks.
WHAT’S
GOVT. DOING ON THE ECONOMY?
If you live in the United States or Great Britain,
the news is very much the economy. There they have an active media
that is truly interested in driving public policy through their mainstream
papers. Not so The Bahamas. We don’t even have a government
that is interested in the economy. They have withdrawn 90 million
dollars of contracts by their own reckoning from the economy of The Bahamas.
Now the economy is slowing down to a crawl with several banks reporting
that there is a liquidity crunch, translation – there is no money to lend
or the money that there is to lend is going to cost you more.
This crunch is beyond the normal run down just before
Christmas that settles down after Christmas. The housing market has
gone soft in the United States. The sub prime mortgage scandals continue
unabated with one big bank after the next announcing record losses or write
offs. In the U.S., their Central Bank has lowered the cost of borrowing
money and in the latest move promised to inject 40 billion dollars into
the economy to avoid a credit crunch. What are we doing here in The
Bahamas but talking the economy down?
The minister of the government is busy boasting
about how they stopped contracts, destabilizing the view of the country
from the outside. It shows in the forecasts with the Central Bank
now lowering the expected growth rate this year from 4.5 per cent under
the PLP to 3 per cent under the FNM. Unemployment is up. Money
is scarce. Yet the government says nothing.
PLP leader Perry Christie spoke to the economy in
a news conference today to say, “This is the first time in the history
of The Bahamas that anyone can recall that the Bahamian economy has actually
slowed down ahead of the U.S. economy.
“The blame for this must rest solely at the feet
of Hubert Ingraham and the FNM Government.”
PHOTO
ESSAY ON THE FLOODS
Pictures tell a thousand words. We show you scenes
of the flood damage in Exuma, in Cat Island and in San Salvador.
The Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie and his colleagues Fred Mitchell,
Bernard Nottage, Bradley Roberts, Shane Gibson and Jerome Fitzgerald went
on a tour of the three islands on Tuesday 6th November. Anthony Moss,
the PLP Member of Parliament for Exuma led the tour in Exuma. The
photos are by Terez Johnson.
ATTORNEY
GENERAL GETS IT WRONG
We thought Claire Hepburn was a sensible woman who
would at least tell the truth to power; would speak sense and not nonsense.
Mrs. Hepburn has been a big disappointment in that department just as her
junior minister Desmond Bannister has been a big disappointment as well.
Neither of them has been down to the courts since they started work in
the positions that they have, those of Attorney General and Minister of
State respectively, yet they have been busy pronouncing on what the problem
is with the courts.
Mrs. Hepburn, quite incredibly, said that the Courts
cannot hear cases on the criminal side because there are two judges out
of the system hearing the Election Court cases. That is simply false.
The Election Court has nothing to do with it. Mrs. Hepburn should tell
the truth; that the department is unable to get cases ready for the Court.
As a matter of fact during the entire month of October, no cases could
be heard in the criminal courts because the Attorney General’s office under
Mrs. Hepburn could not present a case to the Courts for the Judges to hear.
The fault is clearly the AG’s office.
Had they not scrapped her predecessor’s swift justice
initiative, then you would not have been reading this piece today.
But like everything, the FNM is so smart they want to reinvent the wheel.
Dumb is the word you call it. Some would also call them patently
dishonest.
THE
ELECTION COURT UPDATE
The daily newspapers in The Bahamas need to start
hiring writers who understand what is happening in court proceedings and
can report them intelligently and truthfully to the Bahamian public.
The reporting on the election court case of Allyson Gibson against FNM
Byran Woodside has been so mixed up; the public can be forgiven for wondering
what in the heck is going on.
One day it appears that the testimony in chief has
the PLP scoring points and then within a day there is another report saying
that the FNM has scored points or more accurately that the PLP’s witness
did not know what he was saying. The writers themselves seem to be
swayed by the histrionics in the court rather than the substance of what
is happening.
The latest in these “reports” was that of the testimony
of Stafford Coakley, who is a surveyor by profession and happened to be
the surveyor who laid out Pinewood Gardens. Now Mr. Coakley’s testimony
would have been purely technical in nature as in the lines are this and
that and so on. You are either inside the lines or outside the lines.
He was called to show that some people who voted in the Pinewood Constituency
in 2007 were not in Pinewood, not by reason of their own fault but because
that is where mistakenly, they were put by the Parliamentary Commissioner
and his staff.
Mr. Coakley when he took the stand again a little
later had to clarify his evidence. He said that he had not been referring
to his notes when he made his first testimony and in four cases, he had
made errors, which he wanted to clarify. Two people were in fact
outside the lines and two people were inside the lines. That became
a Nassau Guardian headline that Mr. Coakley had recanted his testimony.
In the meantime, the Attorney General Claire Hepburn
was doing her bit to help the FNM’s propaganda for the case. She
claimed most incredulously that the courts were not able to hear criminal
cases because two Judges were tied up in Election Court cases. That
is the biggest piece of misinformation spun by this desperate FNM government
since they came to office. (See
above)
What we can tell you for the information of those
who don’t live in Nassau is that PLPs are captivated by the court case
and everywhere PLP politicians go they are being bombarded by questions
about the case and how the politicians think the chances are. As
they say, it aint over till it’s over, but so far the evidence appears
compelling.
UNIONIZING
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA
The chickens are coming home to roost. The
shortsighted attitude of the establishment in The Bahamas, the foolish
position of the FNM when in Opposition on Caricom relations, now means
that the Royal Bank of Canada is packing up to go and leaving The Bahamas,
transferring its Caribbean wide headquarters from The Bahamas to Trinidad
and Tobago.
Why? The fact is Trinidad and Tobago is a
much larger economy than The Bahamas. But more importantly, the RBC
has recently purchased the Trinidadian bank RBBT and the base is simply
larger there. So the Caribbean region for RBC will now be controlled
from Trinidad and Tobago. Just like First Caribbean controls the
destiny of The Bahamas from Barbados. That means that now management
and credit decisions will be made in Trinidad.
Former Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell tried to argue
in his time that it was better for The Bahamas to try and align itself
with the Caribbean and make itself stronger within the region to defend
itself against these kinds of decisions. No, we thought that we could
go it alone, and now we suffer.
The matter was raised in the press last week because
the Unions are now at the door of RBC. One of the fears the workers
have is that they will be disadvantaged when RBC downsizes in order to
make the move to Trinidad. Nathaniel Beneby who is the country head
for The Bahamas explained why the move would be made to Trinidad and Tobago.
He will have a lot more explaining to do but you know it is not his fault.
We have only ourselves to blame.
MURDERERS
ON BAIL – THE REAL STORY
The FNM and Hubert Ingraham are so dishonest when
it comes to the use of facts to support their arguments. They are
so desperate to show that it is the PLP’s fault that crime is the way it
is that they simply lie. Most recently they produced a graph which
purports to show that there were 272 people out on bail for serious offences.
These include murder, armed robbery and rape. It shows the figures
very low when it was the FNM’s time but a spike occurred during 2006.
No explanations given for the spike but the real reason is that the Courts
started taking a different position with regard to releasing people on
bail than when the FNM was last in power. Perhaps that why the talkative
Dame Joan Sawyer, President of the Court of Appeal was entering into murky
waters where she should not when she said last week that there should not
be finger pointing over who is responsible for the delays.
IN PASSING
Royal Oasis Is Sold
The Harcourt Group of Ireland announced last week that they have completed
their purchase of the Oasis Hotels in Freeport formerly the Princess Hotels
Resort and Casino. The hotels were closed shortly after the last
hurricane hit Grand Bahama and the electricity was turned off because the
former owners would not pay the power bill. The PLP gave the employees
their severance in the expectation that the monies would be recovered by
the Government. If this purchase works, then the employment situation
will get back up and running. The people of Grand Bahama should thank
the PLP for negotiating this deal.
Jeanne Thompson’s Reading
Retired Justice Jeanne Thompson gave a reading of some of her literary
works at the National Art Gallery on Tuesday 6th November. Justice
Thompson is now practicing law as a consultant to Halsbury Law Chambers
following her retirement in 2007. She became a Justice following
a long stint in private practice but what is perhaps not known today is
that in the 1970s she was a prolific writer. At one time, she even
stopped law and worked as a journalist for the Nassau Guardian. She
authored two radio soaps on a commission from the Ministry of Tourism ‘The
Fergusons of Farm Road’ and ‘Sam Finley’s Sandcastle’. The former
was co-authored with Sonia Mills. She was instrumental in keeping
the movement in theatre alive by writing works like ‘Single Seven’; ‘Magistrate’s
Asue Morning’, ‘Vicious Circle’, ‘Bread, Oil and Standard’ and by acting
in, amongst other plays,
‘Mrs. Reardon Drinks a Little’ and ‘Amen Corner’. Ms. Thompson
read from some of the works that she wrote. She and the late Winston
Saunders were amongst the leaders of the cultural movement in the country
in the early years of independence and leading up to it. She was
joined at the reading by her brother Tommy, who is an executive at the
Ministry of Tourism and her sister Heather who is also an Attorney at Law.
The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
Pauline Glasby’s Funeral
The late Musical Director of the Renaissance Singers Pauline Glasby
was lauded in a memorial tribute to her at the Grace and Peace Wesleyan
Church in Nassau on Thursday 8th November. Amongst those paying tribute
to Mrs. Glasby was former President of the College of The Bahamas Dr. Keva
Bethel and its now President Janyne Hodder. Mrs. Glasby was a teacher
in The Bahamas from 1968 and served at the College of The Bahamas from
its inception to the time of her death. She taught music to many
generations of students including students in the Royal Bahamas Police
Force Band and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Band. She was English
by birth. Amongst the civic leaders attending the service were Fred
Mitchell, MP for Fox Hill and Senator Allyson Maynard Gibson. The
photo of the service is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
Bradley Weech Is Buried
In a moving two and half hour service on Friday 9th November, men and
women from across the generational divide and political party lines gathered
to say farewell to the late Bradley Weech, a dental technologist at the
Princess Margaret Hospital. Mr. Weech was lauded by his friends for
his general all around good nature. Henry Woods, the General Manager
of Bahamasair, was a close friend and gave by far the best tribute to him.
Ian Jupp, former Bahamas Squash champion paid tribute to Mr. Weech’s skills
as a Squash coach. The East Street Gospel Chapel was packed with
family and friends. Mr. Weech was 61 when he died. Former Prime
Minister Perry Christie attended the service, former Ministers Fred Mitchell
and Leslie Miller, MP Malcolm Adderley and former MP Dr. Franklyn Walkine.
Justice Cheryl Albury, a family member was also there.
Commissioner of Police Is Set To Go
The Bahama Journal reported on Thursday 8th November that which we
already know that the Commissioner of Police is set to resign. We
think the resignation will come early as next week. (You may click
here for our previous reports) The Commissioner is set to serve
as High Commissioner to Canada for The Bahamas. Mike Smith, the former
Parliamentary Secretary and Member of Parliament for South Beach, was promised
the job by Mr. Ingraham but Mr. Smith was summoned back to the Office of
Prime Minister and told that he could no longer get the job. Mr.
Smith will have to return to the humdrum of being a radio talk show host.
The Commissioner of Police is being squeezed out to make room for Reginald
Ferguson to become Commissioner over the objections of the Progressive
Liberal Party.
BTC And Nortel Can’t Get It Right?
The Bahamas telephone system is amongst the worst in the world.
BTC despite its being readied for privatization and making enormous profits
simply does not appear to be able to compete in the modern world.
The service for the internet (DSL) is unreliable and intermittent.
The service for the cell phones is incredibly poor, with poor line quality
and a high percentage of dropped calls. BTC does nothing to address
the issue. The word is now that the new Chair of BTC Julian Francis
has taken the position that the supplier of the equipment for BTC long
time supplier Nortel of Canada, may be at fault, together with existing
management. Mr. Francis may be set to clean house. Sources
close to him say that he has decided that if Nortel cannot get it right
with their equipment that they have sold BTC then they have to go.
Valentino and Alana
Valentino Bethel, a banker and Alana Ingraham, the daughter of Consul
General to Miami Alma Adams and a National Progressive Institute executive,
were married at Christ Church Cathedral by His Grace the Archbishop of
the West Indies and Bishop of The Bahamas Drexel Gomez on Saturday 10th
November. It was a glittering nuptial mass. The best man was
Rev. T. G. Morrison of Zion Baptist Church and the homily was delivered
by Rev. Dr. Myles Munroe. Soloists were Billy Butler and Joanne Calendar.
Attending the wedding were Governor General Arthur Hanna and Mrs. Hanna,
former Prime Minister Perry Christie, former Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell,
former Minister of Works Bradley Roberts. The couple is shown in
their pre wedding photo.
New U.S. Ambassador
Ned Siegel is the new U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas. He arrived
in The Bahamas on Friday 2nd November. He replaces John Rood who
left The Bahamas in the spring of this year. Mr. Siegel is a Florida businessman.
Remembrance Day
Today is Remembrance Day throughout the Commonwealth. This is
the day that the Armistice Agreement was signed ending the First World
War in Europe. This morning, a solemn service of remembrance was
held at the Christ Church Cathedral, then a service in the Garden of remembrance
behind the Supreme Court in Nassau. We remember all those who were
Bahamian who fell in both World Wars fighting to preserve freedom and democracy
but we remember especially today those four marines who died protecting
the Commonwealth of The Bahamas on 10th May 1980 when their ship the HMBS
Flamingo was sunk by Cuban MIGs.
LETTER
TO THE EDITOR
Issues of the day
I refer to an opinion piece written by Mr. Oswald
Brown that was published in the Nassau Guardian on the 9th November 2007
entitled, “PLP refuses to accept defeat.” I perceive that Mr. Brown is
seeking to publicly denigrate the PLP and distract the public from the
failures of the FNM administration with a series of misleading statements
about the PLP.
In his article, Mr. Brown opined, “it has been
slightly more than six months since the Bahamian people decided that they
could no longer tolerate the widespread corruption and mismanagement of
this country's affairs by the Perry Christie-led Progressive Liberal Party
(PLP) government and voted them out of power.” I take grave exception to
these unsubstantiated charges. There is, however, substantial evidence
that the FNM has presided over arguably the single greatest and saddest
economic meltdown in the history of the Bahamas.
How does a government inherit an economy that
enjoyed $842 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2006 alone (highest
in our history); 7% unemployment and falling; 4.5% economic growth; 1.7%
inflation and 1.5% GFS deficit in 2006; $12.6 billion in projects at various
stages of development and another $11 billion worth in the pipeline; and
unceremoniously suspend, stop, cancel, and review most of them including
$90 million worth of contracts issued by the government, bringing the economy
of the Bahamas to a virtual stand still and increasing unemployment, despair,
and fear in just six short months? This actually happened in this
Bahamas over the last six months.
A little known fact is that in 10 years, the
FNM attracted $1.6 billion in FDI compared to the PLP’s $2.5 billion in
5 years, over $900 million more. This resulted in record government revenue
and external reserves that averaged more than $500 million over the last
five years. A country cannot enjoy this level of success if its government
is corrupt and mismanages the people’s affairs. Mr. Brown must either produce
the evidence to substantiate his claims or repudiate those claims and issue
a public apology to the PLP.
I call on civil society to have a real talk with
the government on the way forward and tell it like it is. It is the policies
and quality of governance provided by the FNM, and not the PLP, that are
the issues of the day.
Elcott Coleby
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
|
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK: On
Wednesday 14th November the new U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas, the 12th
in the line of U.S. Ambassadors, presented his credentials to Governor
General Arthur Hanna. Mr. Siegel who arrived in the country on 2nd
November takes up his post in the last year of the George Bush administration.
He is Mr. Bush’s third Ambassador to The Bahamas. Mr. Siegel hails
from Florida where he was a lawyer and a businessman. He is a former
director of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) that is
responsible for overseas investments by U.S. businessmen. John Rood,
his immediate predecessor, left the country in April of this year.
Mr. Siegel said at his presentation that he would pursue the common interests
of the two countries in security issues in particular the maintenance of
OPBAT and drug interdiction, interdiction of illegal migration. Our
photo of the week shows the new Ambassador with Governor General Arthur
Hanna at Government House on Wednesday. The photo is by Peter Ramsay of
The Bahamas Information Services (see more photos below). |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
WASTING TIME IN THE HOUSE
This is the month of November. It is six months after the
last general election. A new government is in office. The economy
is a downward spiral. The country is awash in the blood of murder,
after murder (see story below). Yet, the Free National Movement’s
administration under Hubert Ingraham has nothing better to do than to bring
15 Supplementary Appropriations Bills to the House of Assembly to ratify
spending that has already taken place, that will put no new money into
the economy, that will simply sanction that which has already happened.
This is stupid. It is incredible and yet they continue to do it.
This much is clear; the FNM has no legislative agenda. They are simply
a wrecking crew of miscreants, whiners and complainers, who are hell bent
on trying to destroy the reputation of the PLP as somehow being overspenders
and spendthrifts. The facts reveal that it is the FNM that is leading
the country down into the abyss.
Since the FNM has come to power, they have brought three bills to
Parliament apart from the normal annual budgetary appropriations bills.
They are a bill to fix Mr. Ingraham’s pension difficulties, a bill to amend
the Juries Act and most recently, they laid a bill to amend the Judicial
International Co-operation Act. The latter has not been dealt with.
But certainly the other two reveal no fundamental programme or agenda.
The other bills, the 15 of which we spoke in the first paragraph are simply
bills that are necessary when the government has used its emergency spending
power and that expenditure needs to be ratified as soon as possible thereafter
by the Parliament. Usually the government will bring these bills
at the normal appropriations times when the annual budget is approved in
June. The PLP for example in 2002 approved some 130 million dollars
worth of these bills left over from the previous FNM administration.
The PLP never saw anything in it. That was the practice and it was
done. Now comes Hubert Ingraham who is trying to make out that somehow
this was massive overspending by the PLP. That was how he started
out when he tabled the bills. But in the debate, he has had to change
tack.
Mr. Ingraham simply had to tell the truth for once. The bills
had nothing to do with overspending. They did not have anything to
do with poor planning on the part of the PLP. All that happens is
that when emergency expenditure has to take place, the government simply
uses its authority under the statute law to advance the sum and then the
Government has to come to Parliament to ratify the expenditure. The
fact is this is actually only one of the technicalities of the budgeting
process of The Bahamas.
Fred Mitchell, the former Foreign Minister explained in his address
to the House that Ministers and Ministries have very little say over the
budget process. In fact, the Ministry of Finance and in particular
the Financial Secretary have most of the say over what goes into the budget.
The items are normally severely under budgeted. The Ministry of Finance
will actually slash all allocations requested by Ministries if you do not
conform to their mandates. The Cabinet can overrule the Ministry,
but it does so at the peril of being accused of ruining our internal profile
in finance, which is necessary particularly if money has to be raised in
foreign currency as it has during all the terms of Bahamian governments.
Even Mr. Ingraham had to admit that they had done the same thing
this year. Even though in his statements as he presented the first
of the bills, he said that while he was sitting at home in the five years
he was out of office, he became a convert to the idea that if he came back
to office no contingency warrants. Contingency warrants are the instrument
used to exercise the emergency authority to spend the money. That
is a vain hope, of course and his present actions prove it. One example
is Bahamasair that was allocated 11 million dollars as a contribution to
the airline from the public treasury. Everyone knows that this is
inadequate, including the government, and given what is happening in the
world of fuel prices, the result is likely to be a need for twice that
amount during the year.
The performance in the House of some of the government members was
also pitiful and inadequate. The worst of the offenders was the mixed
up FNM MP for Lucaya Neko C. Grant I. He is also the Minister responsible
for Civil Aviation and there was an allocation to approve the expenditure
of monies that paid the overtime due to firemen. He stood up to thank
God that at long last the monies for overtime would be paid to the firemen
at the airports owned by the Government. Only to be told by the former
minister Glenys Hanna Martin that in fact no monies were passing hands
with this bill, that in fact the money had been spent already, long time
and Parliament was only ratifying the expenditure after the fact.
Even Hubert Ingraham had to laugh at that one. His own minister did
not even know what in fact he was doing.
The PLP should then take comfort in the fact that there is nothing
here at all. Even though it is clear that this was an attempt by
the Government to embarrass the PLP, to do what the Commission of Inquiry
did to Pindling after the 1992 election. That was a monumental waste
of money but at the end of the day, it was used to sully the reputation
of the late Sir Lynden Pindling. Hubert Ingraham is here searching
for dirt again, to sully the reputation of the PLP. But no money
was stolen, nothing went into anyone’s pocket, and there is no illegality.
As the Member for Fox Hill said in his contribution, “we spent the money
on the Bahamian people. We spent it then and if given the chance
again we would spend it again.”
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 17th November 2007 up
to midnight: 278,814.
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 17th November
2007 at midnight: 616,057.
Number of hits for the year 2007 up to Saturday 17th November 2007
up to midnight: 4,035,316. [Does not reflect hits prior to 30th June,
2007]
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
THADDEUS
MCDONALD MURDERED
Murder number 69 for the year 2007 occurred at 2 a.m. on Saturday 17th
November. A man was shot in the head and died later of his wounds
at hospital. But it was murder number 68 that sent a bit of a shock
wave through the local elite community. Dr. Thaddeus McDonald, the
Dean of the School of Social and Educational Studies at the College of
The Bahamas, was found dead in his bed badly beaten on Friday 16th November
at 3:45 p.m. His home was on Queen's Street, which is supposed to
be the safest street in Nassau because it is the street on which the U.S.
Embassy is located. It is a cul-de-sac as well. The report
was that there was no sign of forced entry. Whatever the cause of
the death, we have lost a repository of knowledge with his death.
Dr. McDonald was an expert in African history.
He was leading the way in marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition
of the transatlantic slave trade in the British Empire here in The Bahamas.
He represented The Bahamas at the 50th anniversary of the Independence
of Ghana in March of this year. He is son of the late Rev. Harriet
McDonald and brother to Rawson, Madie and Brazil. This is quite a
shock.
Just before that was murder number 67, 66 or was
it 65 or 64, there were four murders in 24 hours between Thursday 15th
November and Friday 16th November. But whatever murder that was,
we bring to the attention that it came about because two brothers were
allegedly fighting over the ownership of a shirt. This beats an earlier
murder this year that took pace where two persons in a household were fighting
over the remote control for the TV. Where does it all end?
How did it get started? What do we do?
The government seems helpless. They came to
office, the FNM, scrapping all the social programmes that the PLP thought
might help. They have no clue what to do. The FNM is simply
silent. Now they have run the Police Commissioner off the Force and
will put in charge Reginald Ferguson who is opposed by the PLP in the job
so he will not have the respect in the office of more than half of the
population, and further he was the man in charge of crime for the last
ten years and was moved by the PLP because some new ideas needed to be
brought to the fight. So where does this all leave us but in a royal
mess.
The photo of Dr. McDonald is by Peter Ramsay and was taken at the
Association of Caribbean Historians Conference in Nassau in 2002.
HARL
TAYLOR MURDERED
As we go to upload comes further shocking news of
another murder. This time, the victim is Harl Taylor. The well
known fashion designer was reportedly found dead at his home in West Hill
Street Sunday morning with multiple stab wounds about his body. Mr.
Taylor was the son of educator Beverly Taylor. Police are investigating
the matter as the 70th homicide of the year.
NEW
U.S. AMBASSADOR ARRIVES
Fred Mitchell, the former Foreign Minister of The
Bahamas, and now Opposition spokesman for Foreign Affairs, joined the Governor
General Arthur Hanna at a luncheon hosted for the new U.S. Ambassador Ned
Siegel at Government House on Wednesday 14th November. Mr. Mitchell
is shown greeting the new Ambassador. The new Ambassador (pictured
at centre) stood with his senior staff at the Embassy in this group photo
in front of the entrance to the Government House. The photos are
by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
BRIAN
MOREE CAN’T SEE
Mad at not being chosen by Hubert Ingraham to be on some government board
or other, now trying to make up to this FNM friends who ostracized him
because he sided with the black side during the last election, Brian Moree
took to the airwaves via the Jones Communication Network last week to say
that as far as he was concerned, there was nothing so unusual about the
economic downturn in the economy. There are none so blind as those
who will not see.
Mr. Moree told Mr. Jones on Sunday 11th November
that from where he sat, he did not see that there was an economic downturn.
Now this is interesting. Mr. Moree is a lawyer, so we now know of
course that things are going quite well at McKinney Bancroft and Hughes
where he is the Managing Partner. He of course is the lawyer for
the Hayward side in the ongoing dispute with the family shareholders in
the Grand Bahama Port Authority. But there is no new money there,
just a parasitic business derived from a fight that needs to be stopped
and both houses selling their shares to the Government.
How does a lawyer say what Mr. Moree said when he
can read the Central Bank’s reports on what is happening? The Bank’s
Governor herself said that growth forecast is now down to 3 per cent, down
from 4.5 per cent. Mr. Moree pooh poohed that. He said that
he did not think that 4.5 per cent could have been sustained anyway and
3 per cent is quite healthy growth. Unfortunately, the economists
are saying that means 100 million dollars out of the economy for this year.
The Central Bank also reports the tightening of
liquidity: the excess that exists between reserves in the Central Bank
and the reserve requirements by law, which is then available to the Banks
to lend and invest. This figure, while not as tight as it was last
year, and while subject to cyclical downturns, is worrisome because last
year there was an extraordinary set of payments out of the reserves to
deal with the domestication of certain Bahamian businesses that were owned
by foreigners.
So Brian Moree does not see it. We wish him
well but it seems to us that in a political and economic sense he is blind
as a bat.
MITCHELL
ON THE SPEAKER
The PLP led a substantive motion of no confidence
in the Speaker of the House of Assembly on Monday 12th November, following
upon the Speaker’s refusal to expunge from the record the abusive and offensive
words of the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham in his now infamous rant in
the House of Assembly on 22nd October. You may click
here for last week’s Comment of the Week. The Government came
along and contrary to the rule, used their majority to amend the resolution
of the PLP to turn it into a vote of confidence. No matter, the PLP
scorched Alvin Smith, the Speaker’s, behind, calling his rulings worthless
and in particular calling the country’s attention to his bias as Speaker.
The PLP’s vote failed 21 to 17 in favour of the FNM.
We hope the Speaker has learned a lesson.
The PLP will be watching and waiting as it sees what happens from now on.
Fred Mitchell, the former Foreign Minister, said that from now on the Speaker's
actions are damaged goods. There is one half of the Parliament that
has no confidence in the independence of the Speaker of the House.
He called on the Speaker to apologize and resign forthwith. You may
click
here for the full remarks of Mr. Mitchell.
Former Tourism Minster Obie Wilchcombe said that
Hubert Ingraham was engaging in a well known campaign that had been used
to denigrate black people over the centuries by repeatedly calling them
dirty and worthless. He used the Bahamianism “dutty” and “wutless”.
He said that Mr. Ingraham had repeatedly used those words to apply to PLPs,
in the hope that by saying it enough this would stick. He decried
Mr. Ingraham’s use of those words. He said that those were words
that the slave masters had used to denigrate the slaves and that Mr. Ingraham
should not use the words. He is wrong, Mr. Wilchcombe said.
We agree. Many times, we have pointed out that Mr. Ingraham’s actions
are those of an Uncle Tom. This latest volley of insults is no exception.
It simply proves the point as far as we are concerned.
Cartoon by DenE
EVIDENCE
COMES IN FOR ALLYSON
The case for Allyson Maynard Gibson continued in the Supreme Court during
the week with Senior Justice Anita Allen and Justice Jon Isaacs presiding
in the Election Court. It seems that the evidence is coming up to
proof for the PLP, even if painfully slowly so.
At the start of the week, the PLP proposed that
by dint of the Evidence Act, it was possible for both sides to agree on
a set of names that they commonly accept were not ordinarily resident in
Pinewood, the constituency now led by the FNM, which it “won” by some 63
votes and is being challenged by Mrs. Gibson. The FNM side would
not agree. The question reasonable observers must ask is: why will
the FNM not agree to expedite the case? It appears that delay is
the order of the day for the FNM, like they want to stall the inevitable
by forcing the PLP to issue subpoenas in order to get witnesses to testify
in person. So the painful process of calling each witness or evidence
on each witness has begun.
Some drama was provided when the Judge Anita Allen
criticized Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) for not co-operating with
the PLP to find the evidence that is needed to support the PLP’s contentions.
She called their lack of co-operation disgusting. General Manager
Kevin Basden did not at first show up but later he was summoned to court
and the PLP’s lawyer Philip Davis MP accepted that BEC was then co-operating.
A similar drama unfolded with the Department of
Immigration who at first said they had no files relating to the deportation
of a Jamaican national who voted in Pinewood even though he was not qualified
to do so. Later Immigration Acting Director Campbell showed up with
the file and confirmed that indeed this man was Jamaican and was therefore
not entitled to vote. It will be like this for the PLP, one witness
at a time. But so far so good.
Nassau Guardian photo of Mrs. Maynard Gibson emerging from the election
court
IN PASSING
Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Raynard Rigby
Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Raynard Rigby was wearing a different
hat Sunday in Saint Barnabas Anglican Church as he and his wife celebrated
the baptism of their infant daughter Ziah Arayanna Alexys. Friend
of the family Fred Mitchell is pictured with the Rigbys.
Photo - Peter Ramsay
Providing Toilets
The New York Times reported on Sunday 4th November that the greatest
lead in potty technology is Japan. The paper reports that toilets
there are not just self-flushing. Amongst the other amenities is
the lid raises as soon as you enter the bathroom, the seat warmers start
up to make sure that it warm enough for you to sit on. Once you are
finished, says The Times, you have choice of warm spritzes –“bidet” or
“shower”- followed if you like by a drying blast of hot air. Japan
is of course the second wealthiest nation in the world. The problem
is that the World Health Organization says that 40 per cent of the people
in the world some 2.6 billion people have no access to hygienic toilets.
Enter the World Toilet Summit that took place in New Delhi, India to try
to remedy this. The idea is to promote access to running water toilets
for those people who have no access. The reports show that this will
eliminate several dread diseases in the third world including worms and
diarrhoea. Even here in The Bahamas we are still fighting to eliminate
the relatively few outside, waterless toilets that remain.
Remembrance Day
Last Sunday 11th November was Remembrance Day in The Bahamas and in
the Commonwealth. Those in the military who died in service to their
country were remembered at a solemn service at the Christ Church Cathedral
and then in the Garden of Remembrance in front of the Cenotaph behind the
Supreme Court Building in Nassau. Government officials laid wreaths
along with representatives of the various services in The Bahamas and foreign
diplomats. Lowell Mortimer laid a wreath for the first time on Sunday
in his new capacity as the Honorary Consul in The Bahamas for Turkey.
The photo of Mr. Mortimer is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information
Services.
Farewell From Commissioner of Police
Paul Farquharson, the Commissioner of Police, (left) made a farewell
courtesy call on the Governor General Arthur Hanna at Government House.
He took with him the man who would be Commissioner, Reginald Ferguson (right).
The PLP opposes his appointment. The photo is by Peter Ramsay and
the call was made on Monday 12th November. The Commissioner officially
ends his service with the government on 18th January, after that we think
he is to be the High Commissioner to Canada. Word is that he will
be joined there by Irene Stubbs, the now Permanent Secretary to the Public
Service.
Arthur Foulkes To Act
Government House has announced that Sir Arthur Foulkes will serve as
Deputy to the Governor General for four days beginning Monday 19th November
2007 to Thursday 22nd November 2007. The Governor General Arthur
Hanna and Mrs. Hanna will leave the country on Monday 19th November for
four days. Sir Arthur has been the subject of controversy since he
still dabbles in political commentary while the FNM uses him to act as
Deputy to the Governor General.
Fishing Regulations Changed
The Minister for Fisheries Larry Cartwright has revoked the regulations
that Leslie Miller, the former Minister so carefully put in place with
regard to fishermen and taking fish from our waters by foreign sports fishermen.
The Ministry of Tourism complained that the regulations caused the cancellation
of several important fishing tournaments, causing losses in revenues to
hotel properties in the country. Now the Minister says that the bag
limit will be clarified so that the sports fishermen will once again be
able to take out fish in larger quantities. No word from former Minister
Leslie Miller on whether he agrees with this. No word also on whether
The Bahamas government plans to close the grouper season again this year
to stop the decimation of the grouper schools in The Bahamas during their
mating season.
Muslims Make Constitutional Charge
The Muslims in The Bahamas are still at it complaining about discrimination
on the grounds of religion in The Bahamas. It appears that Muslim
children are being forced to accept Christian religious instructions at
public schools. If this is so, it would be unconstitutional and their
parents should go to court to restrain it. The Guardian reported
this story on Friday 16th November. It attributed the complaints
to Latif Johnson and Kahlil Mustapha Khalfani. Mr. Johnson is the
son of former police officer Garth Johnson and Mr. Khalfani is a lecturer
at the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute.
Ingraham At Caricom Heads
Hubert Ingraham as the Head of Government of The Bahamas will become
the Chair of Caricom in February 2008 for six months. As such, he
is part of the troika of Heads of Government that runs Caricom between
meetings. He travelled to Barbados on Thursday 15th November for
meeting of the Bureau headed by Barbados Prime Minister and current Caricom
chair Owen Arthur. Amongst the matters for discussion will surely
be the progress on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with Europe
and the choice of the Commonwealth Secretary General to succeed outgoing
Don McKinnon of New Zealand. We think that Michael Frendo of Malta
should succeed to the job but there is great a push that it is Asia's turn
and that India who is offering a candidate should get the job.
Oswald Brown Gets It Wrong Again
Poor Oswald Brown the editor of the Freeport News and Chief PLP hater
in The Bahamas, he simply can't get it through that thick bonehead of a
skull he has that who the Leader of the PLP is simply not his business.
He was at it again, writing in the press of Friday 16th November, preaching
his usual brand of doom and gloom. What more can we call him than
yet again “Jackass of The Week”.
Minister Turnquest Travels
The Honourable Tommy Turnquest, MP for Mount Moriah and Minister of
National Security leaves Nassau on Sunday to attend the Commonwealth Heads
Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala, Uganda. Minister Turnquest
will represent The Bahamas at the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers Meeting
from 21 - 22 November 2007, and then accompany the Prime Minister as a
part of his delegation to the CHOGM meeting from 23 - 25 November.
Minister Turnquest will return to The Bahamas on November 27th. Things
that make you go hmmmm!
Correction
Last week, we reported in the course of a caption on dramatic readings
by playwright Jeanne Thompson that she was - among other things to her
credit - the author of 'Single Seven'. That play was in fact written
by Susan Wallace.
LETTER
TO THE EDITOR
A holy war against The Rainbow Alliance
Let's pretend for a minute that Christian doctrine
amounted to more than the legacy of primitive Eurasian man's pre-scientific
attempts to explain his surroundings. Let's further pretend that
Christianity in The Bahamas signified more than the sad legacy of slavery
imposed on a prostrate and unexposed audience. Would the 'gospels'
of this faith approve its adherents spending their energies in a holy war
against The Rainbow Alliance, while reverends and holy men allegedly molest
young girls and abuse the power they derive from their 'spiritual' leadership?
To be honest, one detects a slightly unhealthy concern with the sexuality
of others among such puritans. As a straight man, I can only comment
that Clever Duncombe, John Humes et al represent a hollow version of both
religiosity and heterosexuality. But then again, they are kinda cute
when they get angry!
Andrew Allen
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
|
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK: The
18th annual Coconut Grove Festival took place in St. Cecelia, the constituency
of the former Deputy Prime Minister and now Deputy Leader of the PLP Cynthia
‘Mother’ Pratt. Mrs. Pratt invited her colleagues to join her for
the grand occasion. Joining her was Dr. Bernard Nottage MP for Bain
and Grants Town, Fred Mitchell, MP for Fox Hill, former MP Bradley Roberts
and the former Senator Paulette Zonicle was the MC. The specially
invited performers were the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Band who put on
their special display of traditional military precision drills and Bahamian
music drills and dance. The crowd was thrilled by it. Officially
opening the Festival on Friday 23rd November was the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie,
the Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister. Mr. Christie
has contributed to the national dance repertoire of the country by inventing
what has come to be known as the Christie Shuffle. The RBDF officer
called the former Prime Minister up to the circle and engaged him in a
pas de deux reprise of the shuffle. The photo of the event is by
Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services. That is our photo
of the week. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
A TRAGEDY
The Horror!
The Horror!
--- From Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and
Repeated in the film Apocalypse
Now
Those of you who remember your Shakespeare studies would know that
there are different types of plays: histories, comedies and tragedies.
One of the hallmarks of the tragedies is that there is at the end of the
play a pile up of bodies. Forgive us then the analogy in The Bahamas,
where after the delivery of government soliloquy after soliloquy about
crime, irrelevant as usual we might add, the pile up of bodies that we
reported last week with the death of Harl Taylor and Thaddeus McDonald
does represent a tragedy for The Bahamas in many more ways than just Shakespearean.
(You may click here for last week’s reports on the murders of Harl
Taylor and Thaddeus McDonald
)
Harl Taylor, a fashion designer whose bags were in demand in the
high income homes of Lyford Cay and in the catalogue of Bergdorf Goodman,
was brutally murdered sometime between Saturday 17th November and 18th
November. He was found in the morning of Sunday 18th November in
a bloodied and brutalized state that reportedly shocked even the police.
He was a single man. The murder took place just days after another
murder in a similar brutal scene in Queen’s Street, a stone’s throw from
the United States Embassy. Dr. Thaddeus McDonald, the Dean of the
School of Social Studies and Education at the College of The Bahamas, an
historian, was the victim. He too was a single man. The murder
happened in the same area. The rumour mill in the country went into
overdrive.
College of The Bahamas President Janyne Hodder addressed the issue
at the official memorial of the College when she asked the community there
and at large to stay away from the speculation. It needed to be said
in both cases. The most reprehensible fact was that this advice was
not only ignored but ignored by one of the newspapers of record.
You would not be surprised that The Tribune led by John Marquis, the Englishman
with a special nose for slime. The paper sunk to new lows over the
past week with one speculative story after another, with no named writer,
and no named sources engaging in reckless stories that were the individuals
alive, would surely have led to libel actions against The Tribune.
In short, this tragedy is being reduced to a farce by those who ought to
know better. The fact is that two of the country’s important citizens,
whose contributions to the country are undoubted, are dead, and The Tribune
is helping in the aftermath to sully their reputations. A special
condemnation must be reserved for the slime of slimes who manage The Punch.
This must be roundly condemned. But we want to go further because
of course the Free National Movement bears some responsibility in all of
this.
Last week, we reported that the number of murders for the year is
70. (Over the weekend, the police officially confirmed that the number
is now 70 with the identification of the body of a missing security guard
in Freeport) The police quickly corrected that previous report of
70 in the press saying that it was 68 because two of the deaths while suspicious
had not been classified yet as murders. Ho Hum! Let’s not play
games with stats. One PLP source has been circulating an e-mail using
the police classifications that here have been in fact 76 homicides in
this little country this year with 68 classified as murders. Before
the week was out, there two more dead bodies in New Providence and one
in Freeport. If that comes up to proof then we will hit 72 murders,
matching the result of 2000, the previous high, which occurred when the
FNM was last in power.
One of those dead bodies last week was a well known gunman who was
reportedly out on bail for seven murders, and who was allegedly shot by
one of his fellow bailees on murder in some dispute or other.
Our fearless Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham in his usual boorish
and inimitable fashion had his own unique explanation. His view was
that the government had nothing to do with it. These matters he opined
were domestic disputes or druggies fighting one another so it was not a
matter for governmental concern. How stupid can you get? So
while the druggies are fighting each other, a stray bullet then flies and
then an innocent child sitting in the streets is dead.
The police have been struggling to contain public anxiety over this.
The Government has not stepped up to the plate to settle the public anxiety.
In fact, they are a failure at it. Fred Mitchell, the former Foreign
Minister, at a press conference in Grand Bahama on Tuesday 20th November,
said that the FNM had no plan to fight crime. They have no legislative
agenda and no social agenda. He said that they had destabilized both
programmes the PLP had put in place to fight crime including the destabilization
of the Urban Renewal Programme and the destabilization of the Police Force.
Here it is, with crime on the rise, the FNM is dispatching two of
its best brains in the Force Ellison Greenslade and Marvin Dames to go
study in Canada. The announcement was made last week. God only
knows what they will study that they don't already know. They are
needed here in Nassau. The FNM has fired the Commissioner of Police
and has over the objections of the PLP put in his place a man who some
have accused of being a political ideologue but who in any event led the
fight against crime for ten years in the Force and was ultimately moved
because crime was simply getting out of hand and new brains needed to be
put behind the problem.
In one crime watch meeting last week, middle class Bahamians were
suggesting that the police should do what they allege happens in Jamaica,
arrange for the murder suspects to get out on bail and simply eliminate
them in shootouts. Such is the point of the exasperation on crime
in New Providence.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 24th November 2007 up
to midnight: 274,006.
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 24th November
2007 at midnight: 904,203.
Number of hits for the year 2007 up to Saturday 24th November 2007
up to midnight: 4,323,462. [Does not reflect hits prior to 30th June,
2007]
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
ZHIVARGO
LAING’S SAD STORY
Newly jumped up in 1992 from trainee administrative
cadet to Minister of the Government in one fell swoop and then unceremoniously
dumped by the people of Ft. Charlotte in 2007 all in one fell swoop, you
would think that this man would humble himself and turn from his wicked
ways. You would think that people could feel sorry for a fellow,
who the Lord said must leave politics one year before Hubert Ingraham came
back (click here for story on Hubert
Ingraham below) and then Hubert Ingraham came to him like a thief in
the night, and after some more praying and no doubt the whispers of sweet
nothings in his left ear by Mr. Ingraham, he changed his mind. So
like that peripatetic political jack-in-the-box, Mr. Laing is back.
It is one of those sad facts of life we have to live with but hopefully
not for long.
Fred Mitchell, the MP for Fox Hill and the Opposition’s
spokesman on Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and the Public Service, came
to Freeport to remind the Government that it needed to sign the Economic
Partnership Agreements with the European Union and that the FNM had done
nothing for the economy of Freeport since they have been back in power.
This sent Mr. Laing ballistic, into a tizzy. You may click
here for Mr. Mitchell’s statements at a press conference in Freeport on
Tuesday 20th November.
Mr. Laing who is the Minister responsible for Foreign
Trade took issue in the Freeport News with the assertion by Mr. Mitchell
that the Harcourt deal for the Oasis Hotel, the Associated Grocer’s deal,
the payment of the workers at Oasis for their severance were all PLP projects.
He claimed that the remarks were shameful, and added that one of the things
the FNM did not want to do was to announce projects that did not materialize.
He also criticized the PLP for allowing the taxes to run up on the casino
without insisting that they be paid. Now that we have heard the fiction,
let’s get the facts.
The PLP warned the FNM not to give the go ahead
for the Driftwood group to buy the hotels in Freeport then known as the
Princess Hotels when the FNM was last in power. The company had a
bad reputation in Nassau and it was doubtful that they had the capital
to run the operation in Freeport. Turned out that the PLP was correct.
When the PLP came to office, they found that the hotel owed everyone in
town including the National Insurance Board and the power company.
The PLP could have closed the hotel for not paying the casino taxes but
that would have thrown people out of work so it tried to work with the
company to keep it open and keep people employed while working to get the
taxes settled. The hurricanes came along and alas all the good efforts
of the PLP were to no avail.
So Mr. Laing you ought to get your story straight
and be a man and take responsibility for the failure of your party to put
the right operators into Grand Bahama in the first place. What a
sad, sad man. But we understand the real story. He is about
to lose his seat in Freeport to Pleasant Bridgewater, and that is what
has him so trigger happy. Go rest yourself boy!
MITCHELL
ATTACKS BRENT AND TOMMY
It was a short statement from Fred Mitchell, the
Opposition’s spokesman on Foreign Affairs issued on Thursday 22nd November.
It said this:
“The question must be asked by the discerning
public as to why the Minister of Foreign Affairs Brent Symonette who is
responsible in statute for relations with foreign countries and with international
organizations is still in the country while a major meeting of the Commonwealth
for Foreign Ministers is going on.
“Discerning minds must at the same time
ask why, with crime on the rise and the public alarmed about it, the Minister
of National Security Tommy Turnquest has abandoned his post and gone, it
seems to be an acting Minister of Foreign Affairs in Kampala, Uganda, when
he ought to be in Nassau dealing with the issue of crime.
“Mr. Turnquest has abandoned his post.
Mr. Symonette has abandoned his post. The public must be asking why
and the Prime Minister must be called upon to account.”
Brent Symonette’s response the next day was pathetic.
He said that Mr. Mitchell’s statement was political mischief. He
said that he was fully up to date on the crime situation after all he had
talked to the Commodore of the Defence Force and to the Acting Commissioner
of Police. He had after all also talked to Elma Campbell Chase who
is the Acting Minister of National Security.
But Mr. Mitchell struck back. It was not political
mischief. Mr. Symonette was trying to be dismissive as usual.
He did not get the point. The Minister of Foreign Affairs’ job is
to manage relations with foreign countries and the job of the Minister
of National Security is to stop crime. Crime cannot be managed from
Kampala, Uganda where Tommy Turnquest had gone to represent Mr. Symonette
at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference. But insiders
say that the real reason is that Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham wanted
to give Brent a chance to act as Prime Minister since he only had one chance
since the government changed and Tommy has had two chances to act as Prime
Minister. Hmmm!
INGRAHAM’S
PARTING SHOT
Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister, has said some
pretty dumb things in his lifetime but the parting comments as he left
for his African safari in Kampala, Uganda for the Heads of Government Conference
seemed to have taken the cake. Mr. Ingraham in responding to a press
inquiry about the crime rate and the murders in The Bahamas said that at
least they were killing one another and it had nothing to do with the government.
Those whom the God’s would destroy they first make mad.
REGINALD
FERGUSON ACTS AS COMMISSIONER
The National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest has
had to admit that the police force is split down the middle politically.
He blames former Prime Minister Perry Christie for it. Mr. Christie
is the Prime Minister who tried to heal the wounds of ten years of division
sown by the FNM on the Force under Hubert Ingraham in his first administration.
Now that Mr. Ingraham is back, he has put someone in charge of the Force
that the PLP cannot accept as the proper leader for the Force. That
single decision has led to widespread dissatisfaction in the Force.
The Force has never been so divided and it is only Hubert Ingraham that
is to blame. No one else.
MORE
FROM COCONUT GROVE
Our photo of the week above was from the Coconut
Grove Festival under the auspices of Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt MP for St.
Cecelia and former Deputy Prime Minister of The Bahamas. We show
some of the photos of the activities there including the performance by
the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Band. Mother Pratt’s festival was
officially opened by former Prime Minister Perry Christie (shown with former
Senator Paulette Zonicle and Mother Pratt). Fred Mitchell MP for
Fox Hill is pictured enjoying a laugh at the Festival with Robert
Carron, the Managing Director of The Tribune Ltd. The photos are
by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
BRADLEY
SLAMS FOULKES
The proverbial garbage tin that was filled to the
brim in the Opposition years prior to 2002, that helped to bring about
the undoing of the FNM in 2007, is now filling up again, even though Bradley
Roberts, its owner is no longer in active front line politics. Mr.
Roberts held a news conference on Thursday 22nd November and laid out the
case against Dion Foulkes MP and Minister of Labour and Maritime Affairs.
The story as told by Mr. Roberts is that Dion Foulkes,
as an attorney in private practice did not secure subdivision approval
for two lots in a subdivision in New Providence but approved the title
of the land, even though he knew that there was no subdivision approval
as required by law. The result is that the families cannot get good
and marketable title today because there is no subdivision approval.
When the matter was first raised in the press of
The Bahamas, Mr. Foulkes sought to dismiss it by saying that he had done
everything above board and properly. But it is hard to see how he
can make such an assertion since the families that appeared with Mr. Roberts
at the press conference do not have marketable title to their land.
Mr. Foulkes has some questions to answer and may have to consider doing
the honourable thing. You may click
here for the full statement of Mr. Roberts from www.myplp.com.
IN PASSING
Mitchell Exhibition
The photographic exhibition of the work of Fred
Mitchell as Foreign Minister of The Bahamas is set to travel to Grand Bahama
at the Eric Sam Centre at the Church of the Ascension in Lucaya for Friday
30th November. The photos are pictures and captions of the travels
of Mr. Mitchell as Minister with explanations of the nature of the work.
The exhibition begins at 7:30 p.m. and is open to the public. Admissions
are free but donations may be made to the Progressive Liberal Action Network
(PLAN).
Rigby To Step Down As PLP Chair
Raynard Rigby, the Chairman of the Progressive Liberal
Party, announced on Thursday 22nd November that he will not be seeking
another term as the Chairman of the PLP when the convention is held beginning
18th February 2008. Mr. Rigby served as Chair since 2003. Mr.
Rigby
celebrated his 38th birthday on Thursday 22nd November.
Ken Dorsett’s Savannah Hill
PLP Vice Chair Ken Dorsett was the host at the soft
opening of his new rest spot, restaurant and bar, on Village Road.
The opening took place on Friday 23rd November. Former Prime Minister
Perry Christie attended the opening.
Election Court
The press is saying that the PLP’s case in the Election
Court should rest during this week. Over the past week, it was revealed
that one voter had two voter's cards. It was also revealed that the
Parliamentary Registrar’s office was misinforming people about where they
could register. For example, one voter was told even though she no
longer lived in Pinewood that because she had not been in her new constituency
for three months she had to register in Pinewood. The result is that
she was not ordinarily resident in Pinewood for the election.
The stories were repeated over and over again of
people who were not ordinarily resident in Pinewood at election time.
The effect of this has been to unsettle the FNM. It also gives a
feeling that there was rampant corruption at the Parliamentary Commissioner’s
office, or to be charitable they simply did not know what they were doing.
In PLP circles, calls are being made for the people in the Parliamentary
Commissioner's office to be prosecuted for malfeasance in office.
As the case winds up, the question will be: what
will the courts order? A scrutiny is what is suggested. This
would mean that they would remove the ballots of those not qualified to
vote in Pinewood and recount. If Allyson Gibson is correct in her
challenges, then the PLP should win the seat. We hope that is the
result and it will wipe the smarmy smirks off the faces of these wicked
Hubertites.
Tribute To Winston Saunders
Today marks one year since Bahamian cultural icon
Winston Saunders passed away on November 25th, 2006. Now comes word
from Ringplay Productions Ltd., that “the most fitting tribute we could
pay to Winston was to work to re-establish a Theatre Season.
Beginning in January 2008, Ringplay Productions
will launch the Winston V. Saunders Repertory Season, which will re-establish
a theatre season that will continue to have theatrical productions running
throughout the year. While the launch of this Season will initially include
Ringplay productions, the ultimate goal is to include other theatrical
groups, local and international, to make a complete season, all year round.
As the first offering of this season, Ringplay Productions
will present a new Bahamian play, The Children's Teeth, which was written
by Nicolette Bethel and is to be directed by Philip A. Burrows. This production
has an anticipated opening in mid January 2008. Auditions for the play
will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 29th at #2 Colebrook Lane
in the Alicia’s building downtown. Specific character descriptions for
the roles being offered as well as directions to the audition site will
be posted on both Ringplay's blog, www.ringplay.com and on its discussion
board, www.artsbahamas.com.
Justice Albury Launches Her New Book
Justice Cheryl Albury has launched her new book
a collection of short stories called ‘Coral Tapestry‘. Mrs. Albury’s
first work was a collection of poems, short stories and satirical essays
called ‘Perspective From An Inner Window‘. The launch took place
at the National Art Gallery on 15th November. Amongst the guests
was Dr. Keva Bethel, former College of The Bahamas President, who wrote
the foreword for the present work, and Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall.
Fred Mitchell, former Foreign Minister also attended the launch and is
shown in this photo with the author.
Dr. Bethel writes in the forward: “‘Coral Tapestry’
makes interesting reading and I trust that this volume will find its way
into the collections of all those who seek new insights into the texture
and variety of our Bahamas”.
The Real Story Behind Caricom Post for Ingraham
The Prime Minister’s special assistant Terry Butler
made much of the fact that Hubert Ingraham has been appointed the lead
Prime Minister in the Caricom quasi Cabinet for Functional Cooperation.
The announcement came following last weekend’s meeting in Barbados of the
Caricom Bureau that governs Caricom outside of the Conference. The
Bahamas takes over the Chair in January 2008 from Owen Arthur of Barbados.
Miss Butler said that this shows the esteem with which the Caricom leaders
hold Prime Minister Ingraham. There is no such conclusion to be drawn.
Functional Cooperation is a new buzzword coined
by Owen Arthur the Prime Minister of Barbados, a buddy of Mr. Ingraham.
He knows that Mr. Ingraham has not the slightest interest in Caricom and
he has been seeking to keep Mr. Ingraham engaged in the process so that
The Bahamas does not make an unwise decision and pull out of the body.
So he has made Mr. Ingraham the lead Prime Minister for Functional Cooperation.
The theory is, find something for him do, stroke Mr. Ingraham's ego, and
maybe he will not do something which is petulant and certainly against
the longer term interests of The Bahamas, even though he does not know
it. Smart move Owen. You know the man.
Happy Result In Australia
We are pleased to report that John Howard, the Prime
Minister of Australia, went down to flaming defeat in elections in Australia
on Saturday 24th November. His successor is now Labour Prime Minister-elect
Kevin Rudd. Mr. Rudd has promised that he will withdraw Australian
troops from Iraq and that he will sign and ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
These are both good decisions. Mr. Howard’s defeat marks the second
departure from public life of the troika of leaders Tony Blair being the
first, who led their countries and the world into the disastrous Iraq war.
They were pushed out largely because of the policy on the war. Only
George Bush, the President of the United States remains in office.
He demits office in 2009 described in U.S. political parlance these days
as a lame duck with a Congress in the charge of his political opponents
and a popularity rating the lowest of his presidency.
Hubert Ingraham’s Rewrite
of History
An international hedge fund conference was held
at Atlantis last week in The Bahamas. No major headlines but what
we found curious was a piece that was included in their booklet in which
they made certain comments about Hubert Ingraham and his role in the development
of The Bahamas that were at best partisan and at worst plain damn lies.
It is quite incredible that an international group would come here and
perpetrate lies about Mr. Ingraham's career. We repeat the text below.
“The Rt. Hon Hubert Alexander Ingraham was re-elected Parliamentary
Representative for North Abaco, in the General Election of 2 May, 2007
and took the oath of office becoming Prime Minister of The Bahamas for
a third time on Friday 4 May, 2007.
“Mr. Ingraham previously served as Prime Minister
of The Bahamas for two consecutive terms between 1992 and 2002 when he
voluntarily chose not to seek re-election to Leadership of his party, the
Free National Movement.
“Mr. Ingraham’s plan was not to again seek either
the leadership of the Free National Movement or the office of Prime Minister
again. However, the PLP Government had so damaged the trust of the
Bahamian people by late 2005 that he was again pressed into service.
Acquiescing to the pleas of citizens and to the will of the Free National
Movement Mr. Ingraham permitted his name to be entered into the Party Leadership
election. He was elected Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM)
on November 10, 2005 becoming the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament
for the second time.”
This is fiction. It is reprehensible that
a foreign group would come here and tell these lies. They constitute
an unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of our country.
But if the source is Mr. Ingraham himself then we understand why.
An endless self promoter and spinner of fiction about his own life.
But we have to unmask this perfidy and do so over and over again until
we get him off the political scene in The Bahamas.
LETTER
TO THE EDITOR
Chicken Souse, Johnny Cake and Boorish Behaviour
My family and I have been residing in London
for the past 9 years now, and during that time my wife and I have become
avid readers of the various Bahamian newspaper and political websites.
These sites are a godsend when it comes to keeping abreast of current events
when you’re so far away from home (I hope this latter comment is taken
as a strong hint by the current editors and publishers of the few remaining
Bahamian news and current event publications that have yet to embrace the
internet). It is very seldom that a Sunday evening passes without my wife
or me visiting the Bahamasuncensored.com website to keep abreast of what’s
going on back home. As a result I would classify both my wife and myself
as regular readers of the contents of your website.
I am sometimes astounded by the things that remind
me how much I miss being away from the Bahamas. Of course there are the
obvious things like the cold weather, the dark and dreary winter days and
the way the English speak. But then there are subtle things as well. For
example, a few days ago I found myself longing for home because I had an
urge for some chicken souse with a slice or two of johnny cake on the side.
There I was roaming the streets of central London
during my lunch break, wishing that I could find a restaurant that served
Bahamian food (no luck of course). As usual this made me think of all the
other things, as well as all the friends and family I missed being so far
away from home. It also made me recall a previous article that was posted
on this site a long while ago (before the penultimate elections), where
the author was questioning whether it was appropriate for the then (and
current) prime minister, Mr Ingraham, to either use his hands and/or suck
the bones whilst eating some chicken souse at a public function he was
attending.
I also recall a few of your more recent articles
where you have commented on Mr Ingraham’s behaviour during parliamentary
debates. I believe you described his behaviour as being “…boorish.”
I am originally from West End, in Grand Bahama.
My now deceased father was once a PLP member of parliament, and like the
majority of people in that community I also consider myself to be a PLP
at heart. Having said that, I hope that I am not in a majority of one when
I say that I believe that we (the PLP party) do ourselves no favour when
we try to focus the attention of the public on the perceived shortcomings
of Mr Ingraham and his colleagues. As individuals I am certain that there
is more to be desired from our (PLP) politicians as well; no one is perfect.
However, rather than drawing attention to individual imperfections our
politicians should be concerned with drawing attention to the imperfections
that seem to be pulling our society apart. Our politicians must be seen
to rise above the constant bickering and name calling that seems to have
become the status quo in the houses of parliament. They must remain focused
on drawing attention to, and seeking solutions for, some of the more pressing
concerns of the Bahamian public; issues such as increasing crime and unemployment
rates, the medium to long-term implications associated with the increasing
numbers of young adults who finish high school each year without acquiring
basic math and English skills, the increasing cost of home own
Our politicians should be using every opportunity
available to them to make the public MORE aware of the PLP’s plans for
tackling some of these issues. Rather than moaning about the prime minister’s
behaviour, or that of some of his colleagues, they should remind their
parliamentary colleagues that they are all there to carry out the business
of the Bahamian people. The PLP party could also hold regular public forums
where these issues are discussed with the general public and experts. Our
politicians should never allow themselves to be drawn into a shouting match
with Mr Ingraham and his colleagues – that is not what we elected them
for.
My wife and I left the Bahamas because our first
child was born with disabilities that could not be treated at home, and
for which we could not afford the cost of medical treatment in America.
Even though we would never wish our fate on anyone else, we consider ourselves
fortunate. This is because there was an option available to us that allows
our daughter to receive the medical care and special education support
she requires. This is not the case for many other Bahamian parents and
other Bahamians with loved ones requiring specialist medical care. Some
of these Bahamians have to resort to selling tickets for plates of food,
or simply begging for financial assistance to defray the cost of their
medical expenses. This should not be happening in the Bahamas in 2007,
but we all know of someone forced into this position.
There are so many Bahamians today who are terrified
of becoming the next victim of robbery, or rape or murder. There are too
many of our younger Bahamians becoming victims of crime and poor judgement.
Too many of us have lost hope in the younger generation. We stand on the
sidelines and watch as so many young Bahamians fall victim to the evils
of materialism and succumb to the belief that it is their divine right
to obtain a material possession by any means necessary, with the exceptions
being honesty and hard work.
It seems that most days when I log onto one of
the Bahamian newspaper websites there is usually some headline about another
robbery, or incest or murder. This seems to have become such a common event
that if I decide to visit one of these websites whilst I’m at work, I will
minimise the webpage as small as possible beforehand, so none of my colleagues
will be able to see any of these appalling headlines. I am thousands of
miles away from home, but still very ashamed and scared about what seems
to be happening at home.
I really believe that the PLP party has an opportunity
to prove to the Bahamian public that they should be given another opportunity
to govern. There are too many Bahamians, both home and abroad, who are
tired of the political bickering. We are all hoping that our leaders can
develop and implement viable solutions to some of the problems in our country.
Now if only someone can help me figure out how I can arrange for my mom
to send me some chicken souse or boiled fish by post!
Kevin Hall
Thank you for your very thoughtful letter. Here is the situation
in the land of your birth. Unfortunately, the high ground does not
work in Bahamian policies. Perry Christie went down in flames after
spending five years trying to reach out and be inclusive... It was
mistaken for weakness. Such is the level of anti intellectualism
in our country today that Mr. Ingraham is able to succeed by one-liners
and zingers, and the fact that he is able to be boorish and shout
the loudest. So the market simply requires an equal and opposite
response. Those who fall into your category, the middle class of
The Bahamas, were the main offenders who went against the PLP on the slogans
like Trust and Leadership, well crafted lies by the FNM that should not
have succeeded in an intelligent population. Ron Pinder for example,
one of our best representatives, who served his constituency well is living
in exile in London for his hard work, voted against by the same middle
class people whose roads he made sure were paved, whose crime issues he
sought to address, whose homes he visited to consult. They rejected
all of that in favour of the boorish Mr. Ingraham. So you go figure.
It is true that something must be done on policy and on issues to get the
government back. It will no doubt take time to develop it and given
the way we are going we do not have much time. But it will not eliminate
the need for sites like this that zap Hubert Ingraham and his crew where
they hurt, right in the proverbial you know what. Thanks for reading
and please keep reading… and good luck with the johnny cake and souse.
- Editor
