Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames... Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 7 © BahamasUncensored.com 2009
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE WEEK AFTER THE CONVENTION
The Free National Movement is having its convention starting on
Wednesday 4th November. This follows the week after the PLP’s
convention. The nation will be looking to see the contrast.
It will also be looking to see whether or not the vim and vigour which
was displayed in the week after the PLP’s convention continues
during the week of the FNM’s convention.
The FNM had a daily commentary of press releases on everything that the PLP said during its convention, seeking to counteract what the PLP was saying. It was a credit to change that Bradley Roberts, the former MP who is now Chairman, is back. He fired back at them each time and the volleys continued during the past week. The PLP’s voice must be heard and the supporters must have the words to make the arguments as they meet in their watering holes.
Perry Christie, newly re-elected Leader of the party, told The Guardian that he had decided who would be the new leader of the House for Opposition business, but he would not make the announcement until after the FNM's convention. The idea is that when the House meets again on 16th November, there will be a new PLP leader for House business.
In the U.S. these positions of Leader of the House and Minority Whip are elected positions, and perhaps the parliamentary group ought to consider that path.
Mr. Christie also described the party as being in a period of healing after the elections. He said that part of what he proposed to do had to wait until that healing had taken place. There was no comment from Dr. Bernard Nottage last week apart from his intervention in the House on the Planning and Subdivisions bill. None of the others had anything to say save for Obie Wilchcombe the MP for West End and Bimini who conceded in a Wendall Jones interview that there was a need for decisive leadership in the PLP. He said that money drove the elections within the PLP and that there was a need to control the spending that was involved in both internal and countrywide elections. The loss of the Deputy leadership has apparently led to an epiphany on these issues.
Senator Jerome Fitzgerald was gracious in his loss. He wrote a letter to the press in which he thanked those who supported him and said that he would continue working on the themes which he had espoused in the campaign. One plan is to concentrate on winning the seat in Marathon where he is up against Earl Deveaux, the Environment Minister, who is one of the high profile Ministers of the Ingraham government. The seat is a marginal seat and if the PLP is to win the government it should be on the PLP’s target list for the next general election.
A curious development which we report on is the emergence of Branville McCartney as a potential force in the FNM. We say potential because Hubert Ingraham is always threatening to cut it off at the head. In some joking that went on between the sides but audible to the public during the past week in the House of Assembly, Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, the new PLP Deputy Leader, said to the young Ministers of State on the backbench: Phenton Neymour, Branville McCartney, Byran Woodside, and Charles Maynard that he wanted them to be brave. This was the slogan of Mr. Davis’s winning campaign in the PLP’s internal election. The Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham intervened from his seat shouting; “No! No! No! I told them not to be brave.” They all chimed in laughing . The look on Mr. Ingraham's face was deadly serious.
So in what passes for bravery in this society, Branville McCartney, the Minister of State for Immigration, announced a public meeting, what he called the mid term report for his constituents in Bamboo Town. He ran ads and circulated the material on the web that he was having this public meeting on Friday 30th October. The meeting was open to the public and would be carried live on radio. Some two hundred people turned up to hear him and some of his fellow Ministers of State who represent the southern corridor of New Providence. Not bad for a Friday night in an off political season. But as you can imagine, enquiring minds want to know where this is leading. Most political leaders in The Bahamas are paranoid about this kind of thing, and high profiles from young Turks are not appreciated. Many are saying that Mr. McCartney ought to be careful. We say to hell with it. Go for it.
There will be no planned drama at the FNM's convention. There is no contest expected save at the level of Chairman. Ivoine Ingraham, the nuisance writer of letters to the press and who works as a civil servant at The Bahamas Vocational and Technical Institute, is running for Chairman of the party. Some say that Senator Anthony Musgrove will oppose him. It is not clear whether the incumbent Johnley Ferguson will seek his own term after filling in as interim Chair following the general election.
So let’s hope for the PLP this period of healing is not so long as to delay what needs now to be done in order to get on with the business at hand. The FNM will come out of the blocks with a fast start after their convention is over. Both parties will get bumps from their conventions. Our bet is that the country is still split fifty fifty and the question again is who will win the independents. The PLP has the most to lose since in three out of four general election contests, it is a message that the party did not get.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 31st October 2009 up to midnight: 126,537.
Number of hits for the month of October up to Saturday 31st October
2009 up to midnight: 708,038.
REFLECTIONS
ON THE PLP'S STATE OF BEING
Right now the PLP is on pause. They got a
bump from the convention but the real test will be when the FNM's convention
is done. Someone said the people in the country made a mistake in
2007 when they reelected Hubert Ingraham. There is greater unemployment,
less economic activity, negative growth, increased debt and a bleak future
today. Contrast this to the euphoria and high growth Perry Christie
left in place. All of that was inexplicably rejected by the Bahamian
people. It was a mistake. But it was also a mistake that the
PLP could not hold on for another term. Something was terribly wrong.
In a democracy of course, given the terms of what
a democracy is, it is impossible for the people to make a mistake.
It is what it is. But increasingly people are feeling that they did
make a mistake, but more importantly with losing three out of four contests
and 12 out of the last 20 years, the PLP must be alarmed at the speed and
adeptness with which Hubert Ingraham, has been able to decimate, and desecrate
the PLP’s legacy, leaving it in tatters, with many of the young
people disconnected from the message and the state apparatus in full swing
by the FNM using the public service including the courts and the police
to try to wipe the PLP out.
The PLP in the recent convention went back to its
roots electing the man that Pindling handed the party to with the hope
that this will rejuvenate the nationalistic spirit of Bahamians and bring
the PLP victory. The UBP is back in full force and Mr. Ingraham is
unapologetic about it, and unchallenged. With the appointment of
seven UBP QCs (see
story below), all financial contributors to the FNM and one PLP , the
PLP’s voice was not heard in response to it. It was just
left to pass, and those who spoke could only grudgingly say that one thing
with Hubert is that he takes care of his people. An Uncle Tom to
a fault.
The intelligentsia of the PLP is following the week
of the convention in a state of shock and pause, doubting whether the party
is up to task, but girding their loins to join in the fight, wondering
whether or not the party’s grass roots after all that was said
and done in the convention week said will rebuff any efforts to win that
valuable independent group or whether the party is consigned yet again
to fight an election campaign geared only to its base, that both PLP and
FNM surveys before the election concluded was gradually dying out.
STAN BURNSIDE CARTOON ON BRADLEY
 |
BIG
BAD BRAD SLAMS THE FNM AGAIN AND AGAIN
We are quite overjoyed that Bradley Roberts is actively
attacking the FNM at every turn. He has their waters running.
Ever since taking over as Chairman he has had the FNM on the run with one
press statement after the next.
The war of words began during the convention when
the FNM attacked his election for being a retrogressive step. He
struck back saying that under Hubert Ingraham the country had gone backwards.
The FNM came back at him again but this time he struck back with the fact
that BTC, the telephone company is losing money under the mismanagement
of the FNM. He also sent out a statement saying that the truth is
on the side of the PLP, and Bahamians are worse off under Hubert Ingraham
than under the Perry Christie administration. They came back again
saying that he was politically delusional, no doubt he will be back and
back at them again.
Big Bad Brad has a good reputation for striking
back and striking back hard. The country and the PLP are looking
to him to tame the FNM.
ALEX
STORR VICE CHAIRMAN
Newly elected Deputy Chairman of the PLP came to
the defence of the leadership of the PLP last week in a press statement
in which he contradicted the FNM’s assertion that there is no
youth leadership in the PLP. Mr. Storr pointed out the many young
people who were elected to positions in the party in the last convention.
He invited Dion Foulkes and Tommy Turnquest to join the PLP where young
people had a chance and would not be cut off at the knees like Hubert Ingraham
did to them in the last leadership race in the FNM. You may click
here for the full statement of Mr. Storr.
Alex Storr is shown among the audience at the PLP's recent convention
in this Peter Ramsay photo
PICEWELL
FORBES APOLOGY
The following apology was read by Picewell Forbes
in the Opposition Committee room of the House of Assembly on Monday 26th
October:
“I hereby unequivocally and without
qualifications offer my apology to Madam Senior Justice Anita Allen in
particular and to the entire judiciary of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
“I further offer my unqualified apology
to the Bahamian people."
Picewell Forbes is shown about to deliver
apology to the public, with his attorney Anthony McKinney in this Nassau
Guardian photo by Edward Russell III
WHAT
THE JUDGE SAID TO PICEWELL
Picewell Forbes, the MP for South Andros, was brought
before the court on a charge of contempt for declaring that former Senator
Pleasant Bridgewater was a free woman during the PLP’s recent
convention.
The judge Anita Allen herself said that there was
no evidence that the jury had made contact with Mr. Forbes. The question
that arises, then, is; why discharge the jury since they were still in
the middle of deliberating? The society did not centre its attention
on that fact save that Wayne Munroe rightly raised it in court. We
ask why the jury was discharged. In our view there was no reason
to do so and what Mr. Forbes did was certainly taken at much too high a
level. In the United States, dismissing a jury for what he did would
have been preposterous. Nevertheless, in the court on Thursday 29th
October, the Judge accepted Mr. Forbes apology and told him that his “actions
on the evening of Wednesday the 21st October 2009, had grave consequences
for the administration of justice…” and ended with,
“go and sin no more!” You may click
here for the entire statement.
THANKS
FROM PICEWELL FORBES
Picewell Forbes, the South Andros MP issued the following statement
of thanks on Thursday 29th October 2009:
“I wish to say thanks to Almighty God
for his Justice and Mercy in these trying circumstances. I am pleased
and satisfied with the outcome.
“My apology speaks for itself.
It is left only for me that thank the Court, Senior Justice Anita Allen
for accepting my sincere apology.
“I thank all my family, my constituents,
and Bahamians generally for their prayers and best wishes.
“I thank my attorneys Anthony McKinney,
Alfred Sears, Wayne Munroe and my Parliamentary colleagues Philip ‘Brave’
Davis and Fred Mitchell for their kind assistance.
“My life will continue from here on
to be informed by these events.”
WHAT
ABOUT FREEDOM OF SPEECH?
We report verbatim here
the words of one of the perennial letter writers to The Tribune, the husband
of former Tribune Managing Editor Athena Damianos. It is a rant against
Picewell Forbes.
What concerns us is that no one made any attempt
to support the right of free speech even if that speech is wrong.
Here is a Member of Parliament at a party convention and he gets information
that his colleague is free. It is being argued that he has a duty
to check this as if he were engaged in forensic science. He had no
reason to doubt the veracity of what was reported to him. And what
he actually said was that Pleasant is a free woman. Praise God.
Taken by itself he is correct, she is a free woman and we should praise
God. That of course is not how it was taken. The Judge Anita
Allen dismissed the jury because he said those words.
It has been argued before from this column that
there is a need to remove the contempt jurisdiction from this fuzzy business
of the common law and put it on a codified or statutory basis so that Judges
cannot be Judge, jury and executioner in these matters. Further,
there should be the defence of an honest and unintentional mistake.
The press, like the Nassau Guardian that violated
Mr. Forbes right to a fair trial in their editorial of 27th October by
saying that he had a lot of explaining to do while the case was before
the courts, should be championing the right of free speech in their own
interest, instead of this school marmish approach to the dissemination
of information. We still say this was a storm in a tea cup.
TIEA
SIGNED WITH THE UK
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill was quoted in the
Nassau Guardian as saying that it was about time that the FNM government
got on with signing the Tax Information Exchange Agreements with the 12
countries as required by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) in order to get the country’s financial services
sector off the gray list of countries.
The French banks are already rolling out of so called
tax havens that do not have such treaties. The competitors
of The Bahamas Bermuda and the Cayman Islands have already signed the 12
agreements. The FNM has been lagging behind the eight ball.
The latest agreement to be signed was with the United Kingdom, the first
of the larger industrial countries since the process began and since the
original agreement was signed with the United States over a decade ago.
Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing (left) is shown exchanging
signed TIEAs with British High Commissioner Jeremy Creswell in this Nassau
Guardian photo by Inderia Saunders
HUBERT
THE UNCLE TOM GIVES OUT QCS
Seven FNMs and one PLP were given the honour of
becoming Queen’s Counsel. It was announced on Tuesday 27th
October, largely an honorific title for lawyer in Bar of The Bahamas which
signals a special accomplishment in the profession of lawyers. They
get to wear full bottom wigs and a silk gown. Paul Adderley, who
certainly deserves it, refuses to accept it as colonial nonsense.
But there were and are several lawyers who want it and want it badly and
so they should since that is what the law is for those who accomplish great
things in the profession. With the exception of Sean McWeeney, though
it is hard to imagine how the people who got it qualified, save that they
are FNM and that the FNM are having a convention and the party is looking
for support.
Fred Smith might qualify as someone who has led
the way working in the public interest but even he has had to check with
Maurice Glinton before doing the slightest legal action. Maurice
Glinton by any measure should have made the list. The PLP did not
appoint any during its five years in office and certainly Philip ‘Brave’
Davis should have led that list. Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill was
the only PLP who commented. He said that the list was short and he
argued that some think the whole thing should be abolished. He added
Anthony McKinney, Charles MacKay, Alfred Sears, Philip ‘Brave’
Davis, Elliott Lockhart and we add Lester Mortimer.
What this announcent shows again is the use; some
would say the abuse, of state power by Hubert Ingraham to take care of
his supporters. It is certainly wrong but it is effective and lawful.
That is one of the problems which the PLP’s base had with the
last PLP administration; it simply sat on its hands with too many things.
Headline and photos from The Nassau Guardian 29/10/09
Minister of State for Immigration Branville McCartney
had his own stepping out party on Friday 30th October in his Bamboo town
constituency, live on radio. Mr. McCartney called it a mid term report.
It came just before the FNM's convention and at a time when many in the
FNM are touting him as the new hope of the party. This has reportedly
made Mr. Ingraham quite uncomfortable and his Parliamentary colleagues
don’t like the public relations machine he now has behind him.
We thought it was quite a bold move in an otherwise tamed party.
We show you the ad he ran in the press inviting people to come out.
Our report says some 200 people showed up to listen to his midterm report.
RODNEY
MONCUR DOES A POLL
It is interesting how reputations can change on
a dime. Rodney Moncur, the perennial gadfly and nuisance in politics,
who is up in everybody’s business save his own, finally seemed
to have taken an action from his old playbook that got some serious attention.
He conducted a straw poll on the streets of Nassau last week on 26th October.
The poll came on the heels of the PLP’s
convention and it asked people to choose between the PLP’s Leader
Perry Christie and the FNM’s leader Hubert Ingraham. He
claimed that a similar poll taken before the last election correctly predicted
the FNM's victory. The results of his latest poll seemed to bear
out other polls which suggest a dead heat between the parties with the
PLP having slight edge.
Mr. Moncur said that of the 931 people who voted
in the poll, 430 voted for Mr. Christie and 280 for Mr. Ingraham.
There were 222 who wanted neither. You can look at it in several
ways. In a plurality, Mr. Christie would win, that is the first past
the post system we have, and he would win by a landslide. If you
add the neither category with the Ingraham votes you get 502 which outnumbers
the Christie votes and shows that the election is still within the grasp
of the FNM.
If you project the neither category in the
same proportions of the actual votes between Christie and Ingraham that
also helps the PLP. So this is good news for the PLP. Let us
see what the vote brings once the FNM’s convention takes place.
Head shots & headline from the Nassau Guardian
BAHAMAS
ECONOMY WORSENS SAYS MOODY'S
Bradley Roberts, Chairman of the PLP issued the
following statement on 29th October:
"The October 2009 Bahamas Credit Analysis by
Moody’s Investors Service provides yet more evidence of the mismanagement
of the economy by the FNM Government.
"In fact, in the very first paragraph of its
analysis, and in Gold print, Moody’s clearly warns that “if
the increase in debt numbers remains unchecked it will place strong downwards
pressure on the current ratings.” Moody’s goes
on to warn that “unchecked”...“debt numbers”
could lead to change in outlook and ultimately downgrade”
out of the A Category.
"This is a very serious matter for the Bahamas.
Any downgrade from Moody’s would make it more difficult and more
expensive for the country to borrow money in the international credit markets.
"It would also represent a significant blow to
the stature of the country among foreign investors – a blow which
could threaten the level of direct foreign capital inflows, which are vital
to the standard of living to which many Bahamians had become accustomed.
"Numerous facts outlined in the Moody’s
Report help to reflect why the warning from Moody’s must be seen
as a very serious matter for the Bahamas. A few examples:
- The report confirms that the income of the
average Bahamian is declining: from $22,643 in 2009 to $22,560 in 2008,
to a forecast of $21,926 in 2009 and a further forecast of $21,871 for
2010.
- The Report forecast that the economy will shrink
by 3.9% in 2009, more than twice the pace of shrinkage which the country
experienced in 2008.
"Despite this warning from Moody’s
and the realities outlined above, the FNM continues with an Agenda of mismanagement
which leads Moody’s to forecast that in 2010, the country’s
ratio of debt to gross domestic product will climb to 46.6%. This
would be an amazing climb from 32.8% in 2006, the last full year of the
Christie Administration.
"It is not in the long run interest of the Bahamas
for this path of mismanagement to continue. This dramatic increase in the
level of debt with a declining economy is particularly dangerous because
the Moody Report also points out that the “openness of the
economy” is today greater than it has been at anytime in
this century, and that in 2008 total tourism arrivals were the lowest in
a decade and data for the first half of 2009 indicates that 2009 will be
worse. The Bahamas can and must do better."
IN PASSING
Owen Arthur Seeking Comeback In Barbados
It is a disease of Caribbean leaders it appears that they do not know
when to quit, P.J. Patterson of Jamaica being the obvious exception.
The latest on the comeback trail is Owen Arthur of Barbados. Mr.
Arthur, who was defeated in general elections in January as he was trying
for a fourth consecutive term in office, resigned to allow Mia Mottley
his Deputy to take over. Ms. Mottley has been under pressure from
the rumours that he no longer supported her. She called for a vote
of confidence from the House members in Barbados - there were nine including
Mr. Arthur. Eight showed and voted 6 to 2 to support her. Mr.
Arthur did not show up. He called a press conference the next day
to say that he did not attend because he did not think that the meeting
accomplished anything. He said that the question was not the parliamentary
group’s support but rather that of the support of Barbadians
for Mia Mottley. He said that Barbadians seemed to have a problem
with her, that everywhere he went people were asking for him to come back.
Oh well here we go again!
Obama’s War
The more things change, the more they remain the same. An official
of the Obama administration resigned last week in a row with the US President
over the policy in Afghanistan. We remember how John Kennedy made
the fateful decision to put U.S. troops in Vietnam in the 1960s, leading
eventually to Lynden Johnson, his successor putting in as many as half
a million troops, seeking to bomb the country into the stone age and ending
up losing office because the war was a quagmire, a mistake and he could
not win. Why Mr. Obama would want to continue this business in Afghanistan
is beyond us, but the simple thing to do is to leave and leave now.
But we believe that there will be a continued build up of American troops
in that country on the pretext that to leave now would be to lose.
Given the history of that country, it is either lose now or lose later.
Happy Birthday Mrs. Tynes
Our warmest congratulations to Attorney Ingrid Tynes of Freeport, Grand
Bahama, and the wife of Queen’s Counsel Harvey Tynes on her birthday
celebrated in grand style at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club on Friday 30th
October. Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell attended the birthday celebration
along with friends and family of Mrs. Tynes including Bishop designate
of Guyana Archdeacon Cornell Moss.
The Hope Academy Opens
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill spoke at the official opening ceremonies
of the Hope Academy on Friday 30th October. The Academy was started
in September of this year with 12 faculty and 61 students by Bishop Bernard
Burrows. It is located in the Fox Hill constituency.
Moon McPhee Is Fired
Gladstone ‘Moon’ McPhee, a coach in the employ
of the Ministry of Sports and an icon in Grand Bahama and throughout The
Bahamas to the youth of the country for his work in basketball and in life's
lessons has been fired by the Government. His contract is up and
he has been told to proceed on leave and thereafter his contract ends.
Again the PLP is being blamed for not putting him on the permanent and
pensionable establishment before they left office. Interestingly
enough, there may be a shred of decency left in our oftentimes Jackass
of the Week Oswald Brown. He wrote a column defending Mr. McPhee
and asking for something to be done to stop it. He even claimed that
it smacked of victimization. Wonders never cease. Needless
to say, we think that the FNM ought to catch their sense and reverse this
decision. It is a bad decision. It stinks to high heaven
Amos Ferguson Is Buried
Former Prime Minister and now Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie
spoke at the funeral services for arguably the country’s premier
artist and certainly its most internationally well known. Amos Ferguson,
an intuitive painter, who painted with house paint, and whose works are
valued in the tens of thousands was buried following services in Nassau.
Mr. Ferguson was lauded in the House of Assembly for his accomplishments
in the art world for and on behalf of his Bahamas. In 2006, a street
was named after him in New Providence.
Leadership Elections In Opposition TCI Party
The Opposition party in the Turks and Caicos Islands held elections
for a new Leader on Friday 30th October. Veteran politician Oswald
Skippings faced a challenge from Doug Parnell. Doug Parnell is now
the leader of the PDM in Turks and Caicos, defeating Oswald Skippings.
Planning And Subdivisions Bill Goes To Committee
Despite the failure of the government to protect the trees
and the hills from being cut down and destroyed since the law was passed
for their protection in 1997, the government proposes to introduce
yet another bill to change the laws on how you can get permission
to build a home. It has repealed a number of statutes and consolidated
them in a new bill which is now in Committee for further consideration.
Repealed is the Town Planning Act, the Private Roads Act and the Subdivisions
Acts that apply to both New Providence and the Out Islands.
Under the new legislation all applications to build will be subject to
zoning and planning restrictions. Subdivision developers that do
not have planning permission will not be able to pass good and marketable
title. It seeks to impose deadlines and public hearings ostensibly
to make the process more transparent and speed up the process. The
bill was debated in Parliament during the past week, introduced by Earl
Deveaux, the FNM Minister of the Environment. Fred Mitchell MP for
Fox Hill led the debate for the PLP on Monday 26th October asking the government
whether it would devote the resources to carry out the extensive provisions
of the bill and whether or not the public service had he capacity o carry
out its provisions.
The Haitian Government Collapses
The government of Prime Minister Michele Pierre Lois of the Haiti collapsed
on Friday 30th October. The Haitian senate fired the Prime Minister
and her Cabinet just after midnight on Friday. President René
Preval has nominated Jean Max Bellerview to replace her. The
legislature must approve the choice. The legislature blamed the outgoing
Prime Minister for the slow pace of development in Haiti since she became
Prime Minister following food riots that ousted her predecessor Jacques
Edouard Alexis last year. The international community has expressed
concern about the instability of the removal but it has been blamed for
her removal because of the failure of the international community to provide
the necessary financial support promised at donor conferences. Less
than fifteen per cent of the promised aid has actually been delivered.
The U.S. Steps In To Help Honduras
The ongoing crisis in Honduras appears to now have a solution.
It required the United States State Department to fly in negotiators.
The Organization of American States were unable to broker a solution ,
nor did other Latin American countries. So the irony is that the U.S. that
is criticized as being the heavy handed has again had to intervene
in Latin American politics and force a solution which may see the ousted
President Manuel Zelaya returned to power until elections can be held on
schedule next year. Mr. Zelaya was ousted by the military and put
on a plane in pajamas four months ago. He has been living in
the Brazilian Embassy since he slipped back into the country on 21st September
of this year.
A New Director of Public Prosecutions
A former foreign prosecutor who used to work in the AG's office turned
down the job but a man from Guyana has reportedly accepted.
No Bahamians need apply. The word is the FNM government does not
like the fact that Bernard Turner, the outgoing Director of Public Prosecutions
who is leaving to become a Judge of he Supreme Court following the aborted
trail of former PLP Senator Pleasant Bridgewater would not indict a sitting
PLP Member of Parliament. Every few weeks or so there is a leak in the
press keeping the idea of a prosecution of a PLP MP in the news.
The idea is that afresh face may do the job. That would complete
the plan to use the AG’s office to fight the next campaign.
Bahamasair Must Explain
To change from using Fort Lauderdale airport to use Miami airport come
home: $100. Compare leaving a rental car from Avis in Miami instead
of leaving it in Fort Lauderdale: free. What possible explanation
can there be for the cost at Bahamasair? This seems like price
gouging.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
ET TU BRUTE
You have probably heard of the story, at least if you are a certain
age. It is the story of Julius Caesar as he headed to the Senate
on the last day of his life. At the base of the statue of Pompey,
a group of Senators, spurred on by Cassius of the lean and hungry look,
set upon Caesar and killed him. Shakespeare, who popularized the
murder in his play ‘Julius Caesar’, described the last dagger from Caesar’s
close friend and ally Brutus as the unkindest cut of all. Caesar
turned before his death to confront Brutus just before the knife went in
and said: “Et tu Brute”. This is Latin for “and you Brutus”.
The expression has come to be used in English as the last stab of a friend,
someone whom you thought had your back.
Carl Bethel is entitled to say such a thing to so many, but particularly to the leader of his party Hubert Ingraham as he contemplates how he has been demoted and dumped from the lofty position of Minister of Education to that of Chairman of the party. He says in defence of the surprise move that came on Wednesday 4th November that the party had been contemplating this for weeks. Mr. Ingraham in his address said that they decided that this was the best way to upgrade the party as it put itself on a footing to fight the next general election. Elections are coming early it appears. This is designed to catch the PLP off balance and unawares.
No one with any reasonable sense believes it. The party faithful were stunned, but no one would say a word. Our report is that poor Ivoine Ingraham who had such hard mouth before the convention collapsed on the ample bosom of one of his faithful female supporters so distraught was he. That of course did not stop him from turning up fully regaled in his red coat clearing the way for the maximum leader when he spoke on Friday 6th November.
Carl Bethel’s face portrayed another story. He looked sad and saddened. He had been fired. It appears that all of the pressure from the Bahamas Union of Teachers, the scandals at the Ministry of Education with male teachers and the little boys in Grand Bahama had finally taken their toll. He was gone.
The Prime Minister who was criticizing Perry Christie for not acting quickly to name a successor as Leader of Opposition business in the House could not name a Minister of Education.
Such was the iron stranglehold on the convention by the maximum leader that even the posts of Deputy Chairmen and Secretary General were arranged. There was to be no contest. Everything was to go as it used to be organized by the communist Russian Commissars of old, worked out in the smoked filled rooms in advance. In public, all the robots would raise their hands and say ‘aye’ when told to do so. And so it went.
Compare and contrast this to the vigorous democracy of the Progressive Liberal Party where every post was challenged. We will see whose values the people of The Bahamas cherish most.
No one should be surprised that this is what happens in a party led by Hubert Ingraham. Anyone who was PLP in the 1977 general election would know that Hubert Ingraham was the one who as Chairman of the PLP planned with Pindling and executed the night of the long knives. That was the night when Franklin Wilson, Cadwell Armbrister, Arlington Butler, Carlton Francis, Edmund Moxey and Lionel Davis, all PLP incumbents, were stripped of their nominations for office in one night and their seats given to others. He has been orchestrating the political deaths of others for years.
What is also part of his modus operand is to come to your funeral and cry crocodile tears as he buries you. He will even come and give speeches as he sends you into the ground. He is a cruel, heartless, faithless, cold hearted and cowardly crass man who will step on his mother’s grave if it gets in the way of his political objectives.
So Carl Bethel should not be surprised that he ends up this way, neither should the others. The next on the list is Dion Foulkes, his Minister of Labour who is to be appointed campaign coordinator and will also be required to leave the Cabinet shortly. Everyone must make sacrifice except Hubert Ingraham, who plotted his departure in such a way that he kept his 100,000 pension while he was supposed to be a retired politician.
Now more than ever the country needs the PLP. It appears that
as the economy gets worse, the country will be put to its election.
The question we have is whether Brutus and his cohort of political assassins
will get to have another day in court or will the Bahamian people wake
up and see sense and vote PLP.
REMEMBRANCE
DAY
Today is marked in The Bahamas as Remembrance Day.
This is a day that recalls all those who died in the service of their country
in wars and conflicts. For The Bahamas it comes by way of the Armistice
Day as the Sunday closest to 11th November when the First World War ended
in 1917. Today we remember those who fought for freedom and in particular
the four marines who died on 10th May 1980 on the HMBS Flamingo, Fenrick
Sturrup, David Allison Tucker, Edward Arnold Williams and Austin Rudolph
Smith..
BIS photos/Peter Ramsay
HUBERT
INGRAHAM’S CONVENTION SPEECH
On Friday 6th November, Hubert Ingraham came on 30 minutes late and spoke
too long even though novice FNM speaker Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool
Wallace spoke a mile a minute to get off in time to the point where no
one could understand a word he was saying. And what about Brent Symonette?
Jacinta Higgs, the losing Fox Hill FNM candidate in her ample red gown
got more time on the TV than the Deputy Prime Minister. Mr. Symonette
was drowned out in the middle of his speech by the music announcing that
Mr Ingraham had arrived. We never got to hear the end of Mr. Symonette’s
address, all ten minutes of it.
Many people at home fell asleep as the nub of the
FNM leader’s message was delivered late on Friday night 6th November.
For our sins, we will no doubt have listen to the endless rebroadcasts
and revelations of the maximum leaders’ double speak on radio during the
coming week. It was a boring address. But do not get us wrong,
it was a serious address and if the PLP thought that this guy was going
to be a pushover then they ought to think again.
The whole convention was typical Ingraham, tied
down to the tiniest details. It was like the old communist machine
at work, with his minions controlling even the shots that appeared on television.
FNM operatives were actually placed at the consoles of each TV station
and told them what to show. This was particularly crucial on Thursday
5th November, the second night of the convention when there were scores
of empty seats in the hall. Erin Ferguson was booted off the Jones
TV show because he was not towing the FNM party line. Jerome Sawyer
the TV anchor for ZNS TV who supports the FNM was nevertheless upbraided
for showing the wrong shots and interviewing the wrong people. Other
TV and radio stations were threatened that they would not get paid I they
didn’t do what they were directed to do. Mr. Ferguson will be telling
the whole story on radio during the week.
No freedom of speech at the FNM’s convention.
It was just stay on message: the PLP dithered for five years, their leader
is indecisive, it’s not our fault the economy is the way it is, it’s the
PLP's fault and the world economy is what it is. The FNM harped on
that tired and discredited message over and over again.
Poor Zhivargo Laing who carried the keynote spot on the Thursday night
5th November, tried as he laboured over the speech to give an upbeat picture,
his body language showed how sad he was. No doubt the fact that Dr.
Bernard Nottage and Frank Smith MPs will not apologize for saying that
he supported his family in the Mona Vie scandal is weighing on his mind.
Throughout his address, you kept thinking: if things are going so well,
why is he looking so sad, so weary, and so wary?
Mr. Ingraham has now come up with a Santa Clause
package. He is going to borrow 26 million dollars in his supplementary
budget to pay the nurses their money and make good the shortfall the
teachers. That means elections could be anywhere around the corner.
You know Bahamians, just pay them their money and they forget all the principles
and wider issues at stake.
Then Mr, Ingraham took personal potshots at Perry
Christie, calling him Lord Bull, as in someone who talks bull. He
also said that Mr. Christie could not identify with the poor because he
does not know what poverty is. Mr. Ingraham said that he was poor
so he knew what poverty was. There is a huge fallacy with that argument.
John Kennedy, the dead former US President and his brother, Senator Robert
Kennedy were rich men but no one would argue that they could not identify
with the plight of the poor and thereby help poor people.
Mr. Christie circumstances growing up were certainly
not characterized by deprivation and want as Mr. Ingraham’s, but in no
way should be denigrated as ‘rich’. It is a non argument. And
then to make fun about talking bull, suppose Mr. Christie wants to get
personal with Mr. Ingraham? This is a man who constantly mangles
the English language. In fact he can’t even pronounce the word ‘women’,
using a ‘v’ where a ‘w’ should be, and in the very speech that he was delivering,
he kept talking about “powerty”. What the hell is “powerty”?
He means poverty of course. The country now waits to see what the
PLP’s leader will do in answer to this. It is his turn now.
The two men are to face each other in the general election again.
The Bahamas awaits.
FNM Convention photos/Peter Ramsay
DION
FOULKES UP TO MISCHIEF
Dion Foulkes, the Minister of Labour and Social
Development can’t get the social services monies delivered to the people
who need it on time and in amounts which satisfy their needs, nor is he
able to control his Minister of State who spends far too much time attacking
her predecessor Melanie Griffin MP in a series of gratuitous insults, but
he does have time for mischief making.
In his address to the convention of the FNM on Thursday
5th November Mr. Foulkes brought up the name Fred Mitchell. Mr. Foulkes
said that he did not often agree with Fred Mitchell but he wanted to quote
from the pre convention address given by Mr. Mitchell the day before the
PLP’s convention on 20th October. He then proceeded to take two statements
out of context in order to attack the PLP. The statements were:
“Many PLPs were dissatisfied with our work ethic:
our inability to get things done on time, answer phone calls and get to
work on time and to deal with requests to the government in a timely fashion.
“The public expects to see a full time Leader
of the Opposition with regular and known office hours, an office that befits
the Leader of the Opposition.”
Perhaps Mr. Foulkes ought to stick to his own material
during FNM conventions and not seek to misuse information from the PLP.
FNM Convention photo/Peter Ramsay
BAM!
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
What was Jamal Moss, the Chairman of the Torchbearers
thinking when he started his address to the convention with: “Bam! Bam!
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!” And pointing his finger as if it were a
gun. What a stupid thing to do just before the Minister of National
Security Tommy Turnquest came on to talk about crime, something that the
Minister had no solutions for. What a strange thing to do when gun
crime is so serious in The Bahamas amongst young people. You go figure.
The Progressive Young Liberals the PLP’s youth arm had its say about what
the FNM convention said for young people. The Young Liberals called
for the resignation of the Torchbearers head for being so irresponsible.
You may click here for full Young Liberals
statement.
TOMMY
TO HUBERT: I DIDN’T MEAN ANYTHIN BY IT
The Tribune published an unusual story on 3rd November
about Tommy Turnquest and his ambitions to be leader once again of the
Free National Movement. You will remember that in 2006 he had his
legs cut out from under him when then ordinary MP Hubert Ingraham told
him on Sunday night, the eve of nominations for the FNM leadership that
he was not running for Leader. That next morning, Mr. Ingraham allowed
his name to be entered into nomination and defeated Mr. Turnquest in one
of the greatest acts of political treachery in Bahamian history.
Now comes the story in The Tribune that Mr. Turnquest
had sponsored some Canadian pollsters in town to test his suitability for
leadership of the country. The Tribune said that PLP Chair Bradley
Roberts circulated the news on his Facebook page that Mr. Ingraham waited
until the end of an FNM Council meeting to comfort Mr. Turnquest on it.
Mr. Turnquest confirmed the news.
The report says that Mr. Ingraham then instructed
Immigration Minister Granville McCartney to have the people leave the country
forthwith. Mr. McCartney gave a rather careful statement to The Tribune
that he was never given such an instruction by the Prime Minister.
He did not say it did not happen, that the pollsters were not asked to
leave. Our insiders tell us that in fact Mr. Ingraham called the
Director of Immigration.
The final word is that after the episode, Mr. Turnquest
allegedly ran behind Mr. Ingraham begging pardon, saying that he did not
mean anything by it. As Mr. Ingraham said in another context: “It’s
too early for forgiveness”. What did Bishop Simeon Hall say?
“Run Tommy Run!”
A
DEMOTION FOR CARL BETHEL
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill and the Opposition’s
spokesman on the Public Service held a press conference to condemn the
words of Tommy Turnquest the Minister of National Security as he spoke
at the FNM’s convention on Thursday 5th November. Mr. Mitchell said
that Mr. Turnquest had insulted the public service in particular the officers
of the Police Force, Defence force and the Prison Service.
At the press conference, he was asked about the
fate of Carl Bethel, the Minister of Education who was voted by acclamation
as the new Chairman of the Free National Movement. Mr. Mitchell said
that Mr. Bethel had been demoted. He said that it was sad to see
a man of Mr. Bethel’s talent handled in such a way by the maximum leader
of the Free National Movement. We agree.
Despite how Mr. Ingraham spent his Friday night
address trying to explain away the weirdness of his decision to force Mr.
Bethel out of the Cabinet and downward to the Party chairmanship, it was
a demotion and it also spoke to what Mr. Ingraham really thought of Mr.
Bethel; in fact equating his intellectual ability with that of Johnley
Ferguson, the outgoing Chairman. On all kinds of levels Mr. Bethel
should be in shock. You may click
here for the full statement of Mr. Mitchell at the press conference.
His remarks on Mr. Bethel were delivered extemporaneously.
FNM Convention photo/Peter Ramsay
THE
GOVERNOR GENERAL LOSES HIS WIFE
Beryl Hanna, the wife of the Governor General Arthur Hanna died on Tuesday
3rd November in her sleep at about 5 a.m. in hospital. She is survived
by the Governor General and by her children Glenys Hanna Martin MP, Mark,
Dion and Dawn. This is a sad occasion for the nation. Mrs.
Hanna was praised by the nation’s leaders including Prime Minister
Hubert Ingraham, Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie and by the head
of the Women’s Branch of the Progressive Liberal Party. Mrs. Hanna
was 77 at the time of her death. She had been in poor health for
many months.
Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie said:
“We mourn the passing earlier today of Her Excellency,
Beryl Hanna, beloved wife of our Governor-General. Although she had
been seriously ill for an extended period, Her Excellency’s death is nonetheless
an occasion for great sadness throughout our nation; a nation that she
helped build over the course of more than fifty years of dedicated service
to the Bahamian people. In expressing these sentiments, I also wish
to record my personal sadness over the loss a lady for whom I had very
great affection and admiration.
“Mrs. Hanna deserves to be remembered as a lioness in the historic
struggles for Majority Rule, the Rights of Women, and Independence.”
Deputy Leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis released a statement:
“Today I join all Bahamians in mourning the passing of Beryl Hanna.
Mrs. Hanna was an agent of change in the Bahamas; the place where she was
not born but called her home. She fought on the frontline of the Women’s
Suffrage movement, marched fearlessly to usher in Majority Rule and championed
the rights of ALL Bahamians.
“Lady Hanna’s entire adult life was lived in
service to this country, for which Bahamians today and generations to come
unquestionably owe their debt. Her contribution is unequivocal and
her name will live in perpetuity in the history pages of The Bahamas and
in the hearts of its people.”
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill issued a statement
upon the death of Mrs. Hanna:
“This morning I learned with great sadness that
I had lost one of my closest friends in politics and in my family Beryl
Hanna. I grew up calling her Aunt Beryl, a sign of the closeness
of my late mother to her husband Arthur, our Governor General, who lived
with my grandmother Gwendolyn during his years in high school. She
was a trooper, a real advocate for the rights of Bahamians and people everywhere
to equality justice and fair play. We were kindred spirits...
"The people of the Fox Hill constituency, which
her husband once served as the representative, join me in extending condolences
to the Governor General, to my colleague Glenys Hanna Martin and the entire
family.”
The PLP Women's Branch said:
"The Women’s Branch of the Progressive Liberal
Party join with other members of our party and the general Bahamian public
in extending heartfelt condolences to the family of our late sister Beryl
Hanna.”
Please click
here for the complete statements of Messrs Christie, Davis, Mitchell and
the Women's Branch on Mrs. Hanna's passing.
FORRESTER
CARROLL ON UNCLE TOM HUBERT
Reaction continues to come in on the decision by
Hubert Ingraham to appoint several UBP/FNMs as Queen’s Counsel in The Bahamas.
We reported on this matter last week. The only appointment of which
we approved was that of Sean McWeeney, but apart from him there was not
one PLP in the bunch.
We thought that Mr. Ingraham has again proven himself
to be a shameless Uncle Tom. But don’t take our word for it.
PLP Activist in Freeport Forrester Carroll sent a letter to the Freeport
News about the matter, which, surprisingly, was published in its entirety.
Seems he might have some support in some quarters that are unexpected on
this issue.
According to Mr. Carroll’s letter, “…Hubert Ingraham
is determined to complete Bay Street’s agenda during this term in office,
never mind that by doing so it makes him look like a real ‘uncle tom’.
I submit that this is the purpose for which he was installed as leader
of the FNM from the inception.
“…there is not one single, meaningful program
initiated by the FNM, for which we can say, assuredly, that it promotes
and or benefits the long-term interest of the majority population.
“Please don’t make the silly argument that the
unemployment benefit scheme of a 13-week handout, qualifies as a meaningful
program because it doesn’t. Ingraham’s more than 12 year record,
as prime minister, is littered with promoting Bay Street’s agenda…”
Please click
here for Mr. Carroll’s full letter.
ED
BETHEL IS HONOURED
Governor General Arthur Hanna was the special guest
of honour at the banquet held last Sunday to honour Ed Bethel’s 50 years
as a journalist. Mr. Bethel who started out as an apprentice at The
Tribune with Sir Arthur Foulkes and Freeport News Editor Oswald Brown was
honoured by his friends at special a banquet last Sunday. Mr. Bethel
received a plaque marking the occasion from the Governor General.
Amongst those there were Sir Arthur and Lady Foulkes and former Prime Minister
and Leader of the Opposition Perry G. Christie.
Nassau Guardian photo/Edward Russell III
ST. AGNES
CHOIR
Archdeacon Ranfurly Brown took his junior choir
to visit the parish of St. Andrew's in Brooklyn New York where a son of
the parish of St. Agnes the Rev. Charles Simmons is a priest. Archdeacon
Brown preached the sermon and welcomed also to the congregation many émigrés
from Antigua who were celebrating their nation’s independence. The
photos of the visit are by Peter Ramsay
THOSE
BIG BEAUTIFUL DOLLS
During last summer’s Miss Universe contest in Nassau,
the Bahamian men complained that the women in the contest were simply too
scrawny. Where’s the meat they cried? Well just for them, the Ms.
Full Figured Bahamas Talent Competition was held recently at Crystal Palace.
The nine contestants showed their skills in singing, dancing, spoken word
art, creation and production of commercials. The competition was “extremely
exciting and energetic and provided the contestants the opportunity to
showcase their abilities to the standing room only crowd.
Sashchenka Thurston, Shoshana Miller, Tewanda Davis,
Dominique Dean, Brittney Williams, Claudina Storr (pictured, left), Latonya
Murphy, Toya Thompson, and Ashley Duncombe (pictured, right) all supporting
various platforms delivered powerful speeches to the judges and audience
at large why they should be chosen as the next Ms. Full Figured Bahamas.
Ms. Rayette Mcdonald, Director of the pageant shared
her thoughts about the pageant and how it affected the lives of the contestants.
“I have personally seen the transformation in the lives of these young
women. Some of whom when they signed up suffered from low self-esteem.
The weeks of training have done a great deal to empower them. We had a
wonderful time on the float parade and are all looking forward to Sunday
as we have spectacular evening lined up.
The Ms. Full Figured Bahamas pageant itself will
take place tonight, at 8.00 at Crystal Palace Ballroom under the patronage
of Dr. Sandra Dean Patterson. The theme for this year’s pageant is
The Re-Invention- Into the New World.
IN PASSING
The Shooting At Ft. Hood
Once again America’s gun culture has caused the unnecessary deaths
of 13 people. This time it was on a military base, the 340 square
mile base known as Ft. Hood in the state of Texas. It turns out that
a man who is a Muslim and a trained psychologist is in custody for the
alleged deaths of the soldiers. This now brings a whole set of other
problems for the Muslim community in the US. This happens all too
frequently in the US and gives the impression that the place is simply
not safe. The country must examine what is happening there, just
as we in this country see the random robberies and shootings taking place
in our own country, making it unsafe to be in public places. We recall
the incident at Paradise Island at the Marina Village, where it appears
that Bahamians have simply been dumping their young teenage children without
minders. Last week, two men shot security guards at the Marina Village
and left the guards seriously wounded. The two people, one a juvenile,
were earlier put off the premises, some say because they had been harassing
women, others say because they were suspected of having attempted to rob
a restaurant. In any event, there has now been a decision by the
Atlantis owners of the Marina Village to stop allowing all unaccompanied
minors on the property. So the result of this is a further
restrictions on the freedom of the people of the country because of the
social disorder and breakdown. It has gotten so in our own country
where you cannot on a Saturday go into gas station, or into an automatic
bank machine or simply walk the streets without being accosted by people
begging for money and now demanding money. Our country like
the US must get a grip on this.
Rapid Response Team
The PLP’s Bradley Roberts, the new Chairman, assembled a rapid response
team to deal with the nonsense coming out the FNM’s convention. A
giant TV was set up at the Gambier House headquarters of the PLP and there
with ustream and laptops, the younger members of the party gathered to
watch the FNM's convention and shoot out replies to the outrageous lies
being told at the convention by the FNM.
Veronica Owen’s Daughter Joy Killed
We are saddened to report the death of 22 year old Joy Owen, the daughter
of former PLP MP Veronica Owen. The report is that the younger Ms.
Owen’s fiancée shot and killed her and then turned himself into
police. Ms. Owen was a teacher in Little Rock, Arkansas in the United
States. Press reports in the area say that she was loved by all those
who knew her. Our condolences to her mother and the rest of the family.
New York Office
Questions are being raised about relations with the Bahamian community
since Ed Bethel left New York as Consul General. The Bahamian community
is said to feel alienated and under appreciated, a marked departure from
when Ed Bethel was Consul General. The government is also being
asked to say what is being paid for accommodations for diplomats in New
York since Ed Bethel left and whether it is line with what is expected.
Walk for Cancer
The Bahamas Cancer Society held its annual walk for cancer on Saturday
6th November. This year the emphasis was on prostate cancer and breast
cancer survivors. These are the leading causes of cancer deaths in
The Bahamas for men and women respectively.
Christie’s Branch Visits
PLP Leader Perry Christie visited with the PLP Branch in Garden Hills
who held their regular monthly meeting on Thursday 5th November at the
S.C McPherson School. Branch Chair Rudolph Dean welcomed Mr. Christie
who stayed on to listen to the three perspective PLP candidates for the
area vie for the branch’s attention.
Leslie Miller Robbed
Former Blue Hills MP and former Minister of Agriculture Leslie Miller
was robbed of a sum of money at his business establishment on the Tonique
Darling Highway on Friday 6th November. Mr. Miller was unharmed and
told the press that he was glad to be alive and glad that his life had
been spared. There were two armed masked men who made good their
escape.
Keith Seymour Called To The Bar
Friday 30th October was a special day in the life of Keith Seymour.
After a great deal of sacrifice and hard work, he was called to the Bar
as a Counsel and Attorney at Law. His father Fred used to be clerk
of the Supreme Court. His mother was there to witness the event along
with friends and family. Congratulations to him.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
USING THE POLICE FOR
POLITICAL PURPOSES
This week Lester Turnquest, who opposed Hubert Ingraham in the last
general election and who used to be one of Mr. Ingraham’s Members of Parliament
was detained by the police on the pretext that they were hunting for information
relevant to a complaint filed by a former partner of Mr. Turnquest who
was murdered earlier this year. The complaint was that he had forged
a signature on a certificate, which allowed him to access monies to which
he was not allegedly entitled. The allegation is foolishness.
The charge is not worth the paper on which it is written and comes from
a man with a sordid background and a questionable past. But God rest
the dead.
Mr. Turnquest was released and is said to be helping the police out with their investigations. But for the purposes of this column, one has to say here; we go again. How is it that something that should be dismissed out of hand is now taking a life of its own? How is it that the police who reportedly had this complaint two years ago, who sent it up to the Attorney General's office after concluding that there was no criminal issue involved, how is it that this seems to raise its head again?
We say this against the background of the continued leaks from police sources with regard to possible prosecutions against a PLP Member of Parliament. From the time that the FNM got to office, it has been rumoured that part of their political campaign was to smear the PLP with some form of political prosecution. Every so often, the matter appears in the press about an investigation into housing. Again, the reports keep saying that the office of the Attorney General has concluded that there is no criminal issue involved in it, but somehow it just keeps coming back.
We say this also against the background of the confirmation this week by the Attorney General Brent Symonette that they are looking for a new Director of Public Prosecutions. The fact that they have one right in front of their faces does not seem to impress them. The reports again are surfacing that the FNM is looking for a prosecutor who will charge a PLP MP with some form of malfeasance, and that they do not want anyone in that office who will not do that dirty work.
We wait to see what happens here. We will watch carefully.
The Judiciary is also under the microscope as part of the entire criminal justice process. During the week, the press reported that Magistrate Linda Virgill verbally attacked another Magistrate Carolita Bethel. The press said that Chief Justice Michael Barnett called her in and asked her what she was going on with.
The Justices themselves increasingly appear to be FNM supporters.
You add that to the fact that cases can’t seem to get to court where real crimes are alleged, rather than politically inspired prosecutions and you see that the public is fast losing confidence in the system.
The most recent example of this is the Coroner's Inquest into the Brenton Smith death. Mr. Smith’s parents were reduced to sobbing outside the court as they thought they would have their day in court but the Crown was simply not ready with evidence and the case has had to be put off until January. Who can forget the never-ending case against the alleged murderers of the son of former MP Leslie Miller, Mario, in June 2002? The case is to be tried for the third time but it was set down for hearing in November but had to be postponed because the witness who has to give evidence of the DNA is pregnant and will not be available until early next year. So there is more delay. And no one seems to be moved by it.
Lester Turnquest gave a full interview to the press during the past week. He was forthright about his views about what is going on. He believes; and so do we, that he crossed the wrong person and that this is the result. The police are being used for political purposes, and there are some who are ready, willing and able to do so.
One comment was made in police circles: “You know how black people are around money.” Another said, “They have to go back to the Commissioner with something this time and there is a special investigator who was brought in just to get Mr. Turnquest.”
It was important in our view that since the police sources constantly seek to poison the well of public opinion by leaking selective and inaccurate information to the public, Mr. Turnquest should have his say. The way things go in this country, when the train starts moving by political direction, there is little you can do to stop it. What one hopes (if it gets to that) is that juries in The Bahamas still have some integrity left and will do the right thing and not allow themselves to be used for political purposes.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 14th November 2009 up to midnight: 106,755.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 7th November 2009 up to midnight: 155,511.
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 14th November
2009 up to midnight: 262,266.
CHERYL
GRANT BETHELL: WILL SHE GET THE JOB?
This week it was confirmed that the government is indeed looking for a
new Director of Public Prosecutions. It is also being said that they
want to bring into force the constitutional amendment that created the
Director of Public Prosecutions as a constitutional post. This is
not one of the entrenched provisions and so the fact that the referendum
failed in 2002 does not affect the ability of the government to bring the
provision into force. The amendment would give the Director of Public
Prosecutions a degree of indepedence from the Attorney General. The
rumour also is that the government does not want to hire Cheryl Grant as
Director of Public Prosecutions, that instead they want to bring in a foreign
Director to enable certain political prosecutions. Bernard Turner
has left the job to become a justice of the Supreme Court.
Deputy Prime Minister and Attorney General Brent
Symonette told the press on Thursday 12th November that the post is being
advertised both locally and internationally for someone to fill that post.
Mr. Symonette said that prosecutors currently in the Office of the Attorney
General who are interested in becoming DPP could apply. Presumably,
this means that Cheryl Grant who is Deputy Director is able to apply.
But while this is being said, Mrs. Grant Bethell has reportedly been told
privately that the job is not for her and that she ought to proceed to
Freeport where she had been offered the job of a Corporate Counsel.
Mr. Symonette said: “We're advertising offshore
and onshore and we'll see who applies and review each case as the applications
are.”
Mr. Symonette said “the Office of the Attorney General
will continue to use the new plea bargaining legislation in an effort to
cut through the backlog.
“The new DPP would have to look at the level of
criminal matters that are appearing before the courts, the number of courts
that are available for handling criminal matters and issues relating to
finding witnesses.
“Timely prosecution of cases is another issue that
will also have to be addressed.
“It is the government's intention to advertise.
Obviously the deputy director (Cheryl Grant Bethel) will be in line for
consideration for that post, but we are going to review all other applications
that also come in,"
“Last month, the Port Group Limited announced that
Grant-Bethell had been appointed general counsel, a position that was to
become effective on 2nd November.
“She has subsequently informed me that she did not
intend to take the post at the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
“I am not aware of any offers for the position of
DPP being made to former prosecutor in the attorney general's office Francis
Cumberbatch. (Mr. Cumberbatch sits as a judge on the bench in Grenada.)
“There was no truth to the rumour that the position
was promised to someone else and has already been filled.”
According to the Government’s notice anyone applying
for the DPP post must complete an application from the Department of Public
Service and submit it along with original qualifications and documentary
proof of relevant experience to the secretary of the Judicial and Legal
Service Commission by 30th November
The applicants must be a member of the English,
Irish, Scottish or Bahamian Bar or the Bar of a country of the Commonwealth
to which a member of The Bahamas Bar is admitted without examination.
The applicant must have at least 10 years experience
standing at the Bar or have enrolled and practiced as a solicitor for at
least 10 years.
INGRAHAM’S
JOBS PLAN
The House of Assembly is to be presented with a
Supplementary Appropriations Bill to authorize the expenditure of 26 million
dollars to pay the nurses their increases and the doctors, as well as the
insurance that were bargained for under the PLP. These are the bits
of the bargain that has caused industrial action amongst nurses because
the Government refused to pay back in the summertime. Mr. Ingraham
also wants to create 2500 new temporary jobs. He wants them done
for Christmas. In remarks made at his Party’s banquet on Saturday
7th November, he said that each Member of Parliament would have certain
jobs to distribute. This immediately caused the telephones to be
ringing off the hook in MP’s offices. The House is to debate the
matter on Wednesday 17th November.
HOW
OLD IS ARCHDEACON ETIENNE BOWLEG?
The Anglican Church appears to have avoided a nasty fight
in which one of its priests may have been shown to be untruthful about
his age. Before Archbishop Drexel Gomez retired, he ordered the retirement
of Archdeacon Etienne Bowleg (pictured) because he was over the age of
retirement. The Archdeacon said that he was not the age that the
Archbishop thought he was and went to court to get a declaration that he
was born later than his birth certificate said. The matter was done
ex parte (without the other side in the Court).
Now the Crown has intervened because the procedure
turns out to have been irregular. There is no way to correct your
birth certificate. Fr. Bowleg says he was born in 1945, not 1937
as his birth certificate states. Under the canon laws, the priest
must retire at 70 and the Bishop cannot extend the time as he can if you
are 65. If Fr. Bowleg were successful, it would have added more years
of service. Now that the case has been discontinued, it means that
while his birth date has not been changed, he will in fact have to retire
next year in December when he reaches 65, the age he says he actually is,
not what his birth certificate says. That will end any question of
a fight, which is probably best for the church.
You may click
here for the full story as reported in the Nassau Guardian Monday 9th November.
JEROME’S
PETITION TO SAVE THE BAHAMAS
If you pass by Saunders Beach in New Providence
and the western foreshore nearby, there is silt as far as the eye can see.
This seems to come from the dredging of the harbour. You may remember
when this first started; the government insisted that the beach would not
be harmed as a result of the dredging. It looks like that was a lie.
The clarity of the water is gone and the whole beach is covered in milky
silt.
Senator Jerome Fitzgerald (pictured in this file
photo) went to Saunders Beach with his Committee to Protect and Preserve
The Bahamas to protest the state of the beach and demand answers.
He also reported that he had presented a petition to the Prime Minister
demanding answers to critical questions on the development of the container
port on Arawak Cay. You may click
here for the full release by the Committee.
INGRAHAM’S
DITHERING AT HOME AND ABROAD
On Tuesday 10th November, there was a picture of
adoring young children at the airport in Ragged Island greeting the Prime
Minister Hubert Ingraham as he did a tour of the southern Bahamas, promising
this and promising that. You would think that this was really something
he was delivering, save that it was all phoney baloney.
Mr. Ingraham came to office with three projects
already approved, and approved with money from the European Union to complete
the projects in Ragged Island for a new dock and dredging the harbour there.
There was also money for improvements to the roads in Andros and the building
of a welcome centre and a facility for The Bahamas National Trust and finally
the road in Acklins. Mr. Ingraham also met in place a decision by
the PLP to build a school and an all-purpose building in Salina Point,
Acklins. As part of his programme against those who voted PLP, he
cancelled all of the projects.
Now that Mr. Ingraham's government is in trouble
and there is no money in circulation in the area, he is running around
on tour promising this and promising that, without apology re-branding
the programmes as if he is the author of those programmes. Thus the
pictures of the grateful children in Ragged Island; using children for
political purposes.
This is shameful. Fred Mitchell MP for Fox
Hill and the Opposition’s spokesman on Foreign Affairs also took the government
to task for their assertion at the FNM Convention that somehow the PLP
was responsible for the fact that we have not signed Tax Information Exchange
Agreements (TIEA) with the 12 countries that will allow us to get off the
gray list of countries that are not co-operating with the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). You may click
here for the full statement issued by Mr. Mitchell on Wednesday 11th November.
BIS photo / Sharon Turner
IS
MINISTER OF HOUSING ACCUSING SOMEONE?
On Wednesday 11th November, there was a curious
story in the Nassau Guardian about the problems the government is having
with its housing programme. Recently and inexplicably the Acting
Permanent Secretary of Housing Melvin Seymour was transferred from his
post, not confirmed in the rank, but sent to be the Chief of Protocol.
Inexplicable.
Now here’s the rub; The Guardian reported that the
minister said the more stringent screening process for housing applicants
was implemented upon the return to the ministry of Permanent Secretary
Lorraine Armbrister, a former chief housing officer who had been seconded
to the Ministry of Tourism.
“It's already started but it's difficult to catch
up or make changes to any subdivision that exists now but we're looking
at these things, putting weight on these conditions so that the decision
is not being made by personalities, it's being made by application and
the need of a person rather than friendship.
“The Bahamas is a very small place so you do
get a lot of friendship creeping in where people are getting chosen because
of their friendship with others, you have persons creeping in because of
their affiliation with certain groups.”
What is the Minister saying here?
FORRESTER
CARROLL’S COMMENTS
Forrester Carroll, a member of the Leadership Council
of the Progressive Liberal Party, a crusader for the rights of the downtrodden
in Freeport and a champion for clean government, has been engaged in a
battle over the past weeks in seeking to get the government to come clean
on the expenditure of money from the Freeport Local Council without proper
authorization.
It was a matter first brought to the attention of
the public by amongst others Kevin Ferguson, a Vice Chair of the PLP; the
only person on the Freeport Local Government Council who is PLP.
The cry was taken up by the Freeport News about the expenditure of money
by Chief Councillor Alvin Smith Jr., who is the son of Washington Ambassador
and former FNM Minister C.A. Smith.
No answers were forthcoming until a letter published
in the Nassau Guardian on Friday 13th November in which the FNM denied
it all. How this matter, which is an allegation against Local Government
in Freeport and against one councillor in particular and a Minister of
the Government comes to be ansewerd by the FNM seems improper.
Forrester Carroll has responded to the letter written
by the FNM and we present here his reply:
“I was astonished, to say the least, to have
read Saturday’s edition of the Freeport News and saw where the Free National
Movement party attempted a response to the four or five questions I felt
my civic duty to put to the Hon. Minister for Works, a few days prior.
My questions to the minister were in connection with the payment for and
circumstances surrounding the paving works being done to the car park at
the Sunshine Park, situated in the minister’s constituency near St. Georges
High School here in Freeport.
“First of all I wish to take exception to the
Free National Movement, as a political party, responding to the concerns
I raised, when in fact the government of the Free National Movement, through
its minister responsible for public works, should have been the one to
do so. There ought to be at least one person in that political organization
who should be aware of the difference and who should know the protocols
in place for when the party should respond, as opposed to when the minister
has responsibility to do so. But that aside, I wish to take exception
to the cavalier attitude, of both the Free National Movement as a party
and as the government, to their obligation to respond intelligently when
matters of national importance are raised by the citizenry.
“The questions put to the minister, by me, were
in connection with the possible abuse of tax payers’ money, which is allegedly
being spent to improve the park facilities in a private subdivision within
the confines of the Freeport area, which is outside the purview of The
Bahamas government responsibility. My submission was that tax payers
money cannot legally be spent on such an undertaking. I also questioned
the minister with respect to the criteria used in awarding the contract
to Waugh Construction Ltd. if, in fact, his government determined that
funding could legally come from the public purse to do that project.
I also wanted the minister to say whether he was being truthful when he
told a Freeport News reporter that the paving was his personal responsibility
and that he was paying the full cost himself. None of these questions
were answered, in the FNM party’s response; instead they rambled on about
this being “silly political season” time; but not much else.
“I now challenge the public works minister to
come out of hiding, from behind the gown tail of his party and give satisfactory
answers to those burning questions I challenged him to answer, several
days ago;
“Are the Bahamian tax payers defraying the
cost for paving this park or is the minister paying the cost personally
as he assured the Freeport News reporter a few days ago?
“Isn’t the park situated in a privately owned
subdivision and as such, is not the responsibility of the taxpayers to
do any repairs to it?
“If all this is true, why then did your ministry
award the contract and issued a purchase order to the contractor?
“As the cost is more than $50,000.00, did
the contract go out to bid?
“These are questions that you Mr. Minister, on
behalf of your government, must answer and not your political party.
“It appears to me that the only way this Free
National Movement government ever deals with potential scandals, on its
watch and within its ranks, is not to deal with them, but to sweep them
under the carpet and let sleeping dogs lie.
“In the name of good and fair governance, Mr.
Minister, answer those questions and not be so belligerent.”
THE
DEREK WALCOTT EXPERIENCE
A night with Derek Walcott, the Nobel Laureate at
the College of The Bahamas. “Too much chaos… but then after all
this is the Caribbean; a fine time was had by all. Mr. Walcott finished
his week with a contribution to a seminar at the College of The Bahamas.”
Thanks to Mr. Walcott and the organizers of the
event. You may click here for
a full review of the event.
Photos / Peter Ramsay
THE
CHRISTIE PRESS CONFERENCE
Progressive Liberal Party Leader and Leader of the
Opposition Perry Christie gave a press conference on Sunday 8th November
at PLP Headquarters in Nassau at Gambier House. Mr. Christie's press
conference came within days of the end of the FNM’s convention. He
accused Hubert Ingraham, Prime Minister, of lacking any vision for the
country, calling him a mechanic. You may click
here for the video of the conference.
Later in the week, the leader of the PLP spoke in
Sea Breeze at a public meeting on Thursday 12th November (shown above in
this www.myplp.com photo). Mr. Christie used the opportunity to attack
the FNM for their failure to adhere to process and for embarrassing Bahamians
in the Public Service whom the FNM has fired. You may click
here for the video of the meeting.
LESTER
TURNQUEST IN HIS OWN WORDS
Lester Turnquest (pictured in this Tribune photo), the former MP for the
Free National Movement, who broke with Hubert Ingraham in the 2007 general
election, went public last week after months of leaks and innuendoes in
the press in connection with the death of his former partner Hywel Jones
who died at the hand of a person or persons unknown. The death has
been ruled a homicide.
There is no evidence of any connection with Mr Turnquest,
but for the press it is too juicy a story: money, intrigue, white man and
a black business partner; and the white partner ends up dead. So
the press determines whodunit and the murdered man’s brother tried to feed
the story through a racist Tribune.
Mr. Turnquest had enough last week and went public
with his version of the facts. Here is what he said in his own words:
“Iltyd (brother of my deceased former partner)
knows me. It was me who got him out of jail when he came here and in the
usual disregard for Bahamian laws got locked up. I got him out.
“I am 52 years of age and if I have gone through
all my life without hurting anyone I am not going to start now. And there
was no benefit. What would I gain?
“Hywel was a drinker amongst other things who
had an affiliation for taking risks. On many occasions I had to bail him
our from danger as he often found himself in situations where he seemed
to literally fear for his life.
“In one instance, I was visited by a representative
of Ansbacher Bank who complained that Hywel had established an account
for the son of a convicted narcotics trafficker and murderer. I unwound
the structure returning the many millions of dollars to the originating
banks along the Texas/Mexican border along with whatever extra funds had
been depleted through banking fees and the like.
“In another instance Hywel came to me seeking
another bailout as he was afraid of someone to whom he owed $300,000 Canadian
dollars.
“Yet another example included some $5,000 which
Hywel was given for a client who was visiting the Bahamas for the weekend.
“He took the money home on a Friday to give to
the client on the weekend. He called me later in a sweat because a 'girl'
that he picked up had taken the money and he wondered if we had $5,000
in petty cash.
“He lived for that adrenaline rush. When he travelled
and because of his lifestyle and the places he would go we had to replace
his credit cards about three or four times a year because they would either
be stolen or out and out taken from him. He lived in a world that I didn't
want to live in.
“Hywel Jones was a shareholder in a strip
club and one of the girls at the club was murdered…[stopped from venturing
any further at the suggestion of his attorney].
“I feel that there is a concerted campaign that
is being mounted against me, driven by jealousy and spite.
“In 2007 I commenced several legal proceedings
against Hywel and his company, including one for tortuous interference.
As a counter move, Hywel made a criminal complaint alleging that I forged
his signature on a share certificate effecting its transfer to a prestigious
Swiss trust company as trustee as this was always the client's wish and
also Hywel’s understanding.
“The originating documents show that Hywel and
another associate, Mr Eveleigh, had arranged that scenario. Twenty-nine
months after his complaint, the police have come a-calling. I firmly believe
that there are forces committed to the destruction of me and my family
and I want them to know I shall resist those forces and their minions.
“I thank the many persons and friends who have
offered their support to me during this difficult time. Some of these very
same friends have even offered some insight on the origins of this campaign
against me.
“I formed the Britannia Group with Hywel in 2000.
The most lucrative clients of the company approached me to leave the business
in 2003 after having lost confidence in Hywel.
“I parted ways with Hywel in late 2006.
“I still hope to one day re-enter the political
arena, but my ambitions will have to be tempered by the conclusion of his
present legal predicament.
“Anyone who offers themselves for high office
should be able to explain to the Bahamian people their current circumstances
and not be besmirched. My political future will depend on the resolution
of this present dark cloud.
“I think the Bahamian people at the very least
deserve that. So the extent to which this fiasco besmirches me will be
the extent to which it limits any political aspirations that I have."
“I haven't done anything wrong and the one thing
I have learned is that when you are in litigation people would say anything.
“There are certain things I just can't bring
myself to do - as my former partner Hywel Jones denied his signature; I
can't do that. It is just amazing but in litigation people say things to
bolster their case.
“When I said that I was leaving politics, I was
asked upon leaving politics how I was going to pay his mortgage.
“Well I paid my mortgage and then some! And I
thank God for that.
“The credo I always follow is that there is always
someone better than me. So no matter how large a contribution I think I
can make there is a young Bahamian who can do more, and do better. So if
I never go back someone else will and hopefully they will do more and do
better. It is still a win-win situation for the country in my view. The
forgery case will probably continue for some time as there are a large
number of documents that need to be reviewed.”
Tribune photo/XXXXXX
MELANIE
GRIFFIN ON THE JUVENILE COURT
Melanie Griffin, Opposition spokesman on Social
Services issued a statement on the Juvenile Court in Grand Bahama on 3rd
November, 2009, dealing with allegations that the Court was unable to meet
because “…members of the newly appointed Panel were not available to the
court due to meetings and preparations for a major political meeting to
be held in New Providence…”. You may click
here for Mrs. Griffin’s full statement.
BERMUDA
APOLOGISES TO THE BAHAMAS
The Royal Gazette of Bermuda in its Sunday edition
reported that Bermuda’s Sports Minister has sent a letter of apology to
the Sports Minister of The Bahamas and the Prime Minister of The Bahamas
over the conduct of a Bermuda softball team.
Two team members got into a fight in a hotel in
Nassau and there was verbal altercation by others. The police had
to be called. The Minister had his Permanent Secretary fly to Nassau
to rebuke the team for amongst other things walking off the field during
the opening ceremony. The report does not give the exact date and
time of the event and what caused the fracas. The Minister told the
House of Assembly in Bermuda that his country’s name had been sullied.
You may click
here for a copy of the full report from the Royal Gazette of Bermuda.
BERYL
HANNA'S FUNERAL - A PHOTO ESSAY
The wife of the Governor General Beryl Hanna died
at the age of 77 on Tuesday 3rd November. At an official funeral
on Friday 13th November at the Christ Church Cathedral, the state officials
and diplomatic corps attended her funeral along with the general public.
She was buried in St. Matthew’s Cemetery. Bishop Laish Boyd along
with Archbishop Drexel Gomez and Bishop Gilbert Thompson officiated.
Rev. Dr. James Moultrie preached the sermon.
BIS photos / Peter Ramsay
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Dilemma at Clifton Point
By Richard Coulson
A few days’ recent strolling The Clifton Heritage
National Park gave a sharp antidote to the grandiloquent opening
ceremony last April and revealed a distressing truth: the Park is one of
those well-meaning but fuzzy ideas that without rational planning
have a hard time surviving in our tough competitive world.
I recall the stormy public meeting nearly ten
years ago that caused the withdrawal of a foreign development group
planning a typical gated resort community on the Point. Perry Christie’s
Government then bought the land and created the Clifton Heritage
Authority, embodying the principle of “Bahamian land for Bahamians.”
That’s a fine principle, deserving full respect.
The only trouble is, where are the Bahamians?
Please click here
for Mr. Coulson's full letter.
Charles Coulson wrote this letter to The Tribune. Despite what
Jacinta Higgs has been saying about heritage, she has been a failure at
the park and this letter shows the magnitude of the failure of the FNM.
- Ed.
IN PASSING
Serfent Rolle at FNM Convention
The FNM keeps boasting about the cadre of people that they have in
their stable. One of them is Serfent Rolle, who spoke at the FNM’s
Convention on Thursday 3rd November, his debut in convention politics.
Mr. Rolle was recently called to the Bar. His reception was attended
by Tommy Turnquest, the Minister of National Security. Mr. Rolle
is pictured.
Moon McPhee’s Situation
Gladstone ‘Moon’ McPhee is still helping out in the training of the
youngsters in Freeport. He is known as one of the best basketball
coaches in the country. Yet his contract was allowed to expire and
he was fired. His sin: he is a PLP and attended the PLP convention.
Even Oswald Brown, the FNM Editor of the Freeport News has come to bat
for him and suggested that this is raw victimization. That has not,
however, stopped the government from ending the contract and turning Mr.
McPhee out on the streets. Reportedly, Sports Minister Desmond Bannister
wants to help, but he is being opposed by Neko Grant and Zhivargo Laing,
FNM MPs in Grand Bahama.
Edward Penn Suing His Two Sons
Edward Penn, the building contractor and owner of a building supply
company in Nassau, a supporter of the PLP in general, an early confidant
of Sir Lynden O. Pindling, is fighting in court these days with his sons.
Mr. Penn is suing First Caribbean Bank, his former lawyer Sterling Quant
for allowing his children Toriano and Charon to access to his accounts,
saying that during the time when he was incapacitated by a stroke, they
did not have authority to sign on the company’s accounts. He is alleging
that hundreds of thousands are missing. This was reported in the
Nassau Guardian of Wednesday 11th November.
Noelle Rolle’s Graduation
Three generations of Rolles are pictured at the graduation of Noelle
Rolle as a medical doctor in Kingston, Jamaica at the Mona Campus of the
University of the West Indies. Dr. Rolle is now stationed at Nassau’s
Princess Margaret Hospital. The photo shows her grandmother and her
mother Nadine with Dr. Rolle.
Closure of Royal Palms Hotel
Businessman Mario Donato has closed the Royal Palms in Freeport because
of lack of business. There was a report that this resulted in the
loss of 25 jobs, but the government says that only one person lost their
job. It appears that Mr. Donato was able to move staff to other properties.
But this is Freeport’s ‘bargain hotel’ and even that can’t keep its doors
open.
Inquest Into Brenton Smith’s Death
The family of Brenton Smith who was killed in a hail of police bullets
on 9th July of this year in the area of the Village Road City Markets thought
that on Monday 9th November they were finally getting their day in court
when a coroner’s inquest into the death of their son by the police got
underway. By week’s end, however, the matter had disintegrated into
grief again. The family is inconsolable over the loss of their son
who was an innocent bystander in a police operation. The family says
they want answers and someone to account. The Crown, however, was
not ready with all the evidence and the matter is now adjourned to a date
in January.
Is Reginald Ferguson’s Tenure Coming To An End?
The rumours are fast and furious that the tenure of Reginald Ferguson
is about end as Commissioner of Police. First, his brother Johnley
Ferguson is dumped as FNM Chairman, now it appears that Hubert Ingraham
has tired of the other brother Reginald as Commissioner. The Police
Staff Association and its newly re-elected Chairman Bradley Sands is said
to be waiting with bated breath.
Johnley Says: I am Man
Reports say that the former FNM Chairman Johnley Ferguson who was dumped
unceremoniously by Hubert Ingraham at the FNM’s convention from the post
of Chairman of the Party and replaced by Minister of Education Carl Bethel
is making it known that he is not a happy camper. He told friends
“I am man and I don’t do nonsense.”
Ivoine Ingraham Eats Humble Pie
We reported in this spot how insurgent and prospective candidate for
FNM Chairman Ivoine Ingraham, the nuisance writer of letters to the press
was also not clued into the plans for the Chairmanship of the FNM when
he was denied the opportunity to run at the FNM’s convention. Mr.
Ingraham is taking a different tack from Johnley Ferguson. He is
busy eating humble pie. After collapsing into the ample breasts of
one of the buxom FNM ladies at the convention when Hubert Ingraham told
him he would not be allowed to run and submissively regaling himself on
the final night in his red coat, he was in the press last week with another
letter; this time denying PLP reports that he is unhappy about being dumped
by his party. He says that he is happy to help his party. Yeah
right!
Maurice Files A Writ
Maurice O. Glinton is one of the countries foremost litigators.
He has filed an application for Judicial Review of his failure to be appointed
a Queen’s Counsel. The writ, which is said to be some 23 pages long,
alleges that he was induced to apply for the honour but was not appointed.
Click
here to read Mr. Glinton’s application. Mr. Glinton says that
the appointments were all made to people in white firms in The Bahamas.
The Cabinet Reconsiders QCs
The Cabinet has reportedly reconsidered its position on QCs.
The new list is now to include Maurice O. Glinton, Philip ‘Brave’ Davis
and Michael Scott. Mr. Scott, who is FNM and senior to Fred Smith
who got a Q.C., and also a partner in Mr. Smith’s firm, was furious that
he was not given the honour and threatened reportedly to resign his position
in the Hotel Corporation and in the Free National Movement.
Zhivargo A No Show In Freeport Court Hearing
After stupidly proposing that Dr. Bernard Nottage MP, Frank Smith and
John Rolle former Customs Comptroller ought to apologise to him, Zhivargo
Laing, the Minister of State embroiled in what is known as the Mona Vie
scandal, was a no show at court in Freeport on 12th November for the dispute
resolution conference. The matter could not be resolved and is now
to be set down for trial. CAPTION: St. Thomas More MP Frank Smith,
Attorney Fred Mitchell, Fox Hill MP; and Dr. Bernard Nottage, Bain and
Grants Town MP leave Freeport’s Garnet Levarity Justice Centre after
contesting a writ filed against Smith, Nottage and former Customs Controller
John Rolle by Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing. Freeport
News photo / JENNEVA RUSSELL
The U.S. Ambassador’s Reception
Nicole Avant, the new U.S. Ambassador, hosted on Friday 13 November
with her husband Ted Sarandos a reception at the Ambassador’s official
residence in Nassau: Liberty Overlook. A fine time was had by all.
Attending: the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, his Deputy and Foreign Minister
Brent Symonette; Opposition leader Perry Christie and his spokesman on
Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell MP; the Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett
and the diplomatic corps. The Ambassador and her husband have made
a good impression in their early days in this assignment.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE HUMILIATION OF
THE FERGUSON BROTHERS
Last
week, we reported from this column that the time of Reginald Ferguson as
the Commissioner of Police of The Bahamas was drawing to an end.
The Police Staff Association’s Chairman Bradley Sands was said to be waiting
with bated breath for Mr. Ferguson’s departure. He has made no bones
about his dissatisfaction with the way the Force is being run by Mr. Ferguson.
What a difference a year makes. This was the same Commissioner of Police who was appointed by Hubert Ingraham after he told the Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie that he would not appoint the man to the permanent position then did so. He appointed him to the post even though he had been condemned by a Commission of Inquiry for botching the investigation into the lost drugs on the Lorequin in 1992. He was appointed by the man even though he had been accused of partisanship in his dealings in the Police Force.
Reginald Ferguson turned out to be the object of the criticism from PLP supporters because within weeks of his becoming Commissioner of Police there was unleashed on the Force a whirlwind that eliminated senior police officers who had served with distinction and who were let go it appeared for no other reason than they were PLP. Under Mr. Ferguson, it was argued that the Force had become the most partisan of Forces and was not effective in fighting crime. Under Mr. Ferguson, crime was out of control, even though his Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest tried to turn that into another word: “unacceptable”.
You also had to twin the fortunes of Reginald Ferguson with those of his brother Johnley Ferguson. The latter Mr. Ferguson served the FNM as its Chairman since the general election in 2007. He was in the press and everywhere mouthing off about the PLP and seeking to use clever turns of phrases to wreck the PLP’s chances at government.
The PLP warned the country that something was fundamentally off about having Johnley Ferguson as the Chairman of the FNM and his brother Reginald as the Commissioner of Police, particularly in circumstances where it appeared that the police force was infected with some sort of partisan mission. No one paid attention to the complaint.
The Prime Minister refused to appoint Ellison Greenslade, the man who was obviously qualified for the position. In fact, he humiliated Mr. Greenslade by making him return all the gifts that were showered upon Mr. Greenslade by a grateful community following his departure from Freeport, Grand Bahama where he served with distinction. We were not in favour of the beneficence, but in our view and we said so at the time, he went through the channels and was granted permission to receive the gifts from the then Commissioner of Police Paul Farqhuarson, so what then was the issue. The gifts were taken away and sold at auction.
The next thing the country knew was Mr. Greenslade and Marvin Dames, an assistant commissioner of police, were both sent off to Canada on the pretext that they would be trained for a year overseas to test their suitability for the position of Commissioner of Police. It was a waste of time and of money. What some suspected is that Mr. Ingraham thought that Mr. Greenslade is PLP and Mr. Dames is FNM. He wanted to appoint Mr. Dames who is junior to Mr. Greenslade and was seeking to find a way to ease Mr. Greenslade out of the way. Mr. Greenslade was reportedly offered at one point the office of Comptroller of Customs in order to ease the way for Mr. Dames.
Much of this was of course in the realm of speculation. Some of it was informed speculation however. What we do know is that one year later when the two men came back from their “course” in Canada, Mr. Ingraham had changed his mind, reneged on his promise to the Leader of the Opposition not to make Mr. Ferguson Commissioner of Police and put the man in the job. Mr. Greenslade is now the Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police and Mr. Dames is the Senior Deputy Commissioner of Police working out of Freeport.
In the mean time, the crime situation in the country began to deteriorate. We are now up to 77 homicides for the year. The problem seems to be too many guns. In Barbados, a country of similar size there have been ten homicides for the year. The government says that crime is not their fault. The people of the country are busy screaming out for justice, which for them means hanging people. It has given traction to the political gadfly Rodney Moncur who sounds like he is on to something as he announces with passion that people must be hanged. This from a man who obtained his political prominence by protesting against the hanging of a young Bahamian under the government of Lynden Pindling. Politics we guess.
Now here’s the rub. The disassembly of Messrs. Reginald Ferguson and Johnley Ferguson took place in the twinkling of an eye. One minute Johnley Ferguson was busy campaigning for the office of Chairman of the FNM, the next minute he was told to stand down and be dismissed. He is now simply Senator Ferguson, Vice President of the Senate. He did not know what hit him. He is threatening to go back to his farm. He was reported in this column last week to declare: “I am man”. Next to fall on his sword was the Commissioner, his brother. He at first told the press that when it came his time to go, he would go. Yes, that time came quickly and it was an end without fanfare.
His legs were cut out from under him when the Minister said that the whole Police Act would come into Force in January. That meant that anyone over 60 would have to retire from the force. This is so even though Mr. Ferguson’s contract allowed him to stay on until 65 and you cannot unilaterally change someone’s contract of employment without their consent. No doubt, he consented and at the age of 63 like those he unceremoniously sent home a year ago, he will be gone.
What is even worse is that the government announced that they had dropped the appeal of the case in which Justice Jon Isaacs ruled that the Commissioner of Police had coerced a witness into perjured testimony on the same day that they announced that he was leaving office. That was not an auspicious start to retirement.
The PLP certainly picked up on what had happened right away. But so did Stan Burnside, the cartoonist, whose cartoon we show below. The two brothers have been humiliated by Hubert Ingraham. This is his modus operandi and no one should say we did not tell you so.
Our statistics engine no longer reports weekly figures in a timely fashion before upload on Sunday afternoon. As a result, we shall report the number of hits so far for the current month. The number of hits so far for the month of November: 2009 443,852.
56th
ANNIVERSARY PLP MEETING IN FOX HILL
The Fox Hill Branch of the PLP invites the general
public, all members and supporters of the PLP in Fox Hill and elsewhere
to attend its monthly branch meeting on Monday 23rd November at the L.W.
Young School on Bernard Road beginning at 7:30 p.m. Refreshments
will be served after the meeting. The speakers scheduled are PLP
Leader Perry Christie, PLP Deputy Leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, PLP Chairman
Bradley Roberts, PLP MP for West End and Bimini Obie Wilchcombe and PLP
MP for Fox Hill Fred Mitchell. Monday 23rd November marks the 56th
anniversary of the founding of the Progressive Liberal Party. A news
release from the Party Branch said the leader of the party "is expected
to lay out the PLP's views on the recent spate of crime in his address
at the meeting".
LAND
COMMITTEE HEARINGS TO RESUME
It has been announced that the House Select Committee
appointed to investigate matters related to government owned lands will
hold a meeting on Monday 23rd November at 10.00 a.m. The meeting
will be held in two separate parts. The morning session which begins
at 10.00 a.m. will be in the form of private hearings when the committee
members will hear testimony from the persons who were involved in the purchase
of parcels of government lands in Forbes Hill, Exuma. Persons scheduled
to appear before the Committee during that session include: Derek and Sonia
Rutherford, Ms. Mae Morton Curry, Mr. George Morton, Mr. and Mrs. Philip
A. Stubbs. The public and the press will not be permitted to hear
their testimony although parts of their testimony will be made public.
Mr. Paul Turnquest, the journalist who brought the matter to the public’s
attention initially, will be giving testimony publicly at 12 noon.
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NEW
ATTORNEY GENERAL
The Government has announced that John Delaney is
to be the new Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs. This
is the same John Delaney who claimed during the CSME debate that you could
challenge a reservation entered against an international treaty in a domestic
court. Clearly wrong. An inauspicious start.
TARGETING
WENDALL JONES
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill addressing the House of Assembly on Wednesday
18th November spoke to the issue of the targeting of people by the Hubert
Ingraham administration. He was speaking about the government’s approach
in the collection of taxes and fees owed to it and without calling the
name, the case of Wendall Jones who is being persecuted in Mr. Mitchell’s
view. The Prime Minister accused Mr. Jones of stealing money from
his employees instead of paying their national insurance. Mr. Jones
it appears feels the same way. Here is what he said about the matter
in his newspaper:
“As a result of my high profile and the relative
success in the media industry in The Bahamas, I feel that me and my organization
have been targeted and singled out by the media for its delinquency in
paying National Insurance Board (NIB) contributions.
“I appeared before Magistrate Subusola Swain
on a previous occasion in Court Number 11 on Nassau Street and was ordered
to pay a total of $74,000 – 40 per cent of his outstanding balance with
NIB.
“I showed-up to court at 10:00 a.m. (last week)
with $20,000 as a show of good faith. However, the judge insisted
that I pay an additional $54,000.
“There are hundreds of businesses in The Bahamas
who owe far more money than Jones Communications does. I do not see
them before the courts. This is why I feel that the media in particular
has targeted Jones Communications because of its profile in the community
and what it does.
“I think the authorities run the risk of putting
hundreds of businessmen out of business because of the manner in which
they are dealing with these matters in these serious economic times.
I think all businesses in this country should be given an opportunity to
pay their debt and arrangements should be made with all businesses without
them being placed before the courts. This putting people before the
courts will be a disincentive to businessmen to hire anybody in this economic
slump that we are in.
“The magistrate even suggested that I consider
laying off some workers.
“I informed the magistrate that we have no intentions
to do so. My interest is to clean up this matter with NIB as soon
as we possibly can. And even before the four year period.
“Jones Communications fully intends to meet its
commitments. We are not dodging or ducking any commitment to NIB
or any other entity. Over the years, we’ve perhaps had one of the
largest workforces in the media outside of ZNS.
“The large amount of money owed to NIB came as
a result of certain accounting lapses in the company, as well as the fact
that my company had many contracted workers, such as columnists, on staff.
“In fact, when the NIB found that some of these
people were contract workers with the company they deleted their names
and the amount that they had charged the company for.
“We have been paying the National Insurance Board
for many years. Love 97 has been in operation for 15 years, JCN for
two and the Bahama Journal for 22 years. We are absolutely certain
that we have paid millions of dollars into the NIB fund. The suggestion
that we do not pay or do not want to pay NIB is utter nonsense. We
have records going back many years showing the vast sums of money paid
into the National Insurance Board.
“I was never arrested in connection with this
matter. I went to court for 10:00 a.m. and by 11:15 a.m., after dealing
with the matter, I was back in my office and I told the magistrate that
I would return to court with the $54,000 and that is what I did.
“My company paid $100,000 to the court in September.
“On Monday, our lawyer informed us that he was
in conversation with the court and that the court had agreed to adjourn
this matter until March 2010. The new balance exceeds $200,000.
I have agreed to pay the balance of the debt over the next four years.
I will make $6,000 monthly payments beginning 28th December.
“Jones Communications is here to stay.
It has been institutionalized in this country and it has been proven that
the company has significant breadth, depth and range. And we are
here to stay. This matter with NIB is just another hiccup along the
way and can only strengthen us in our resolve to become more efficient.”
Wendall Jones is pictured in this Jones Communications file photo
AIR
TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS HAVE THEIR SAY
The Bahamas Air Traffic Controllers Union are in
the news again. They say their patience has run out with the government
ignoring their concerns. Their industrial agreement expired in February
2009 and there has been no serious effort to address the concerns.
This is no surprise since the FNM tried to fire the controllers when the
FNM were last in the government. It was the PLP that reversed the
decision and put them back to work. Now with Hubert Ingraham back
they cannot get an audience with him.
The controllers have other concerns including the
audit of the Lynden Pindling International Airport, which might result
in the downgrading of the airport to a category 2 airport under the International
Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) rules. This last happened when
the FNM was in power in 2000. The Minister responsible is Vincent
Vanderpool, the fast talking Harvard trained hotelier. Mr. Vanderpool
Wallace refuted the claims of the controllers in their press statement
of 16th November. He said that the government was aware of the audit
and that the airport would not be downgraded. He did not address
the industrial concerns of the Union. Neither did Dion Foulkes, the
Minister of Labour who claimed that he was ignorant of the demands of the
Union.
Union President Roscoe Perpall and other union members
showed up at the House of Assembly on 16th November to make their case.
Here is what they said in part in their own words:
“We are… concerned that the International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conducted an audit of our country’s air traffic
services at the beginning of this year and has found us wanting in many
areas.
“The failure of the Government to deal with these
shortcomings will result in what could amount to a blacklisting of The
Bahamas along with other unnecessary consequences that can hurt our tourism
industry.
“We remain willing to assist in whatever way
we can but feel that we must move hastily to improve our aviation product
and discontinue ignoring the many safety concerns…
“There were some procedural recommendations,
some legislative items, some items with regard to staffing and equipment
shortages.
“The Government has a copy of the draft report
but has yet to act on most of its recommendations bar a few small points.
“The Government has abused the union's civility
on this and other matters, resulting in our decision to protest today as
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham entered parliament.
“BATCU has been extremely tolerant in extending
itself in what can only be labelled as an atrocious refusal of the government
and its agencies to deal fairly with the negotiations of our outstanding
contract, the promotions of forty of the sixty air traffic controllers
within the bargaining unit, outstanding pay, shift premium and other allowances
owed.
“We are also here in protest of the abuse of
our middle management who have not been paid since 2003, and are expected
to sit silently and perform at their optimum whilst being ignored.
“Like the Bahamas Public Service Union, our membership
were dismayed to hear the Prime Minister promise the Government now had
the money to pay outstanding funds to nurses, doctors and teachers, without
mention of the BATCU.
“Now that the Government 'gat' the money, we
want our money too! This position is a reasonable one and we too expect
that the Government will make provision to settle the outstanding pay and
allowances owed to the air traffic control staff by December payday.
“Because Government has failed to give salary
increases due to management staff whilst honouring those due to line staff
this has resulted in some line staff being paid more than their superiors.
“We feel that it is important to keep harmony
in the work place that government resolve that particular issue.”
MITCHELL
ON THE JOBS PROGRAMME
Teasing Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister who
now describes himself as “Papa”; and his jobs stimulus programme, Fred
Mitchell MP for Fox Hill recalled the James Brown song ‘Papa’s Got a Brand
New Bag’ as he spoke to the House on Wednesday 18th November. The
Prime Minister put to the House a proposal to create 2500 temporary jobs.
MPs will get to choose 10 jobs for their constituencies. Mr. Mitchell
said that this was Mr. Ingraham’s bag. Referring to the declining
Bahamian economy Mr. Mitchell told the Prime Minister, “You broke it.
You fix it. It’s yours”. Mr. Mitchell also decried the borrowing
of 300 million dollars in US currency announced by the Minister of State
Zhivargo Laing that same day. He said that to him, borrowing money
and the banks supporting it was no recommendation. He recalled a
line from the song by The Temptations: ‘Papa was a rolling stone, wherever
he lay his hat was his home and when he died all he left us was a loan’.
You may click here for Mr. Mitchell's
full contribution.
DAMIEN
GOMEZ ON QCs
Damien Gomez, the attorney, is unhappy about the
choices made by Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister on lawyers to be newly
recognised as Queen’s Counsel in the legal profession. He plans to
bring an action in the courts to challenge it. In what we consider
a courageous article, he put the matter squarely down to racism.
He recounted that the father of Paul Adderley, the late A.F. Adderley who
was considered the brightest lawyer in his time could not get the Queen’s
Counsel designation because of his race. Mr. Gomez said that was
in the 1940s. He said that having seen what Hubert Ingraham did with
the most recent appointments it is clear that no one from a firm that was
black could get an appointment under Mr. Ingraham. You may click
here for the full text of Mr. Gomez’s statement.
PAUL
MOSS ON LEADERSHIP BID
Attorney Paul Moss, who recently challenged Progressive
Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Perry Christie for the party’s top post and
lost in a crushing defeat, told a press conference on Thursday 19th November
that he would be willing to challenge Mr. Christie again if the party holds
a national convention next year. In the last convention of the party
in October 2009, Mr. Moss got 23 votes to Mr. Christie’s nearly 1200
votes. Here is what Mr. Moss said at the press conference in his
own words about why he lost and what he intends to do politically in the
future:
“There were many factors. First of all,
quite frankly, I did not get the votes.
“But, when you examine it, you’ll see that the
majority of persons in our party are the stalwart councilors who wanted
things to remain the same, who supported Mr. Christie in an overwhelming
fashion. That played a role in it, but I’m encouraged by it and we
will go on.
“I am now focused on securing a nomination for
the St. Cecilia constituency. I have redoubled my efforts in the
area and I intend to offer myself as a candidate whenever the next general
election is called. I am currently positioning the area to become
a beacon for all constituencies.
“This seat is not something that someone can
will or bequeath to anybody. The seat belongs to the people of St.
Cecilia and it is for them and them alone to give it to whoever they want
to represent them.
“That is what I’m counting on. That is
why I’m out there working. I have tremendous support among the people
of St. Cecilia and I believe that ultimately I’ll represent them come the
next general election.
“I am confident that the party can win the next
general election with Mr. Christie at the helm but I admit that securing
a victory will take some work.
“I wish to thank my many supporters and well
wishers inside and outside of the PLP.
“Particularly, I would like to thank the dedicated
workers in my campaign that sacrificed and gave selflessly of their time.
The experience for me has been incredible and I would not change it for
anything. It was a historic campaign and I am happy to have been
a part of it.
“Today, I recommit myself to the original philosophy
of the PLP and will work tirelessly to get the philosophy in action so
that all Bahamians will benefit.
“I called on the government to enact legislation
that would limit homeowners’ risk to foreclosure for at least one year.
“This is what a sensitive government would do.
I also call on the Opposition in parliament to lobby and fight hard for
this. We need fighters for the Bahamian people that are willing to
fight for equity and justice and I intend to remain such a person.”
FOX
HILL PLP BRANCH VISITS EXUMA
The Fox Hill Branch of the Progressive Liberal Party
led by its Member of Parliament Fred Mitchell and branch Chair Charlene
Marshall travelled to Georgetown, Exuma for a visit with the PLPs in Exuma.
One of the highlights of the visit was a softball game between the Police
and the Bahamas Electricity Corporation held on Saturday 14th November.
Anthony Moss MP for Exuma was third baseman on the BEC team. Unfortunately
that team lost 38 to 16. The game was ended in the sixth inning as
result of a decision by the umpire to invoke the mercy rule.
Photos / Miguel Taylor
GILBERT
MORRIS WRITES ON MAURICE GLINTON
Writing from the Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamian
commentator Dr. Gilbert Morris writes in support of Maurice Glinton the
Bahamian attorney who was rejected as a nominee for the honour of Queen’s
Counsel. The matter is now before the courts of The Bahamas. Click
here for the full comment by Dr. Morris. See also
the comments of Damien Gomez, Attorney at Law in a related story.
BRADLEY
ON CRIME AND EILEEN CARRON
The Tribune has been seeking over the past week in its editorial of 18th
November to attack the PLP’s position that the crime in the country would
have been ameliorated if the Urban Renewal programme had not been gutted
by the Free National Movement when they came to office in 2007.
PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts issued a statement
in response to the Tribune editorial written by Eileen Carron. Mrs.
Carron is rabidly anti PLP and anti black to the point of irrationality.
Mr. Roberts wrote:
“In the Tribune of Wednesday, November 18, 2009,
the Editor of The Tribune took issue with the assertions of me and the
Progressive Liberal Party’s assertions that the Free National Movement’s
“remodeling” of the PLP’s Urban Renewal Programme launched under the administration
of the leadership of the Hon. Perry G. Christie is to be blamed for the
escalating crime rate.
“In an attempt to justify the position that the
Urban Renewal Programme under the Christie administration had no profound
effect on crime, the Editor produced and sought to rely on police statistics
for the years 2001 through 2006.
“Further, in the Tribune of today’s date, the
Editor went further to state that since the beginning of mankind, there
has been criminal activity and that ‘the warning bell tolls for all of
us’ of which, not even the PLP’s treasured Urban Renewal Programme is ‘no
one antidote for its cure’. The Editor expressed that one only need
look at the Tribune files to see when crime began to mushroom.
“It is blatantly clear that apart from the Editor’s
obvious bias, she is totally oblivious to what the real issue is today.
Madam Editor, the issue is this: What initiative(s) has been introduced
by the governing FNM Government since May 2007 to reduce and control crime
and the fear of crime in our Bahamian society now?
“The PLP contends that Urban Renewal was structured
in such comprehensive form that it addressed not only crime, but all the
criminogenic circumstances which inevitably led to crime. The attempt to
undermine the effectiveness of the Programme by the FNM Government has
resulted and is continuing to result in anarchy and chaos in our society
today. To add, the FNM Government has sought to hide the truth by
not painting the full picture in their use of statistics.”
More… you may
click here for the full release.
File photo Bradley Roberts
TRIBUTE
TO BERYL HANNA
The House of Assembly passed a formal resolution
on Monday 16th November to express condolences to the Governor General
Arthur Hanna on the death of his wife Beryl Hanna. Mrs. Hanna died
on 3rd November. This was the first meeting of the House since her
death and burial. A committee was appointed to attend upon the Governor
General and formally convey the expressions of the House. The Committee
appointed were Phenton Neymour, FNM MP for South Beach; Loretta Butler
Turner, FNM MP for Montagu; Fred Mitchell PLP MP for Fox Hill; and Cynthia
Pratt PLP MP for St. Cecilia.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
FNM‘s ‘Stop, Review and Cancel’ policy claims latest victim…
The Ingraham Administration’s, ‘Stop, Review and Cancel’ policy
has claimed its latest victim and, in the process, has caused to be terminated
the only, active, Investment project left on the island of Eleuthera.
Michael Reardon, vice-president and one of the principal investors in the Eleuthera-based Sky Beach Club project, pulled no punches and gave no quarter when telling Tribune Business writer Neil Hartnell, how the Ingraham Administration pulled the rug right from under him, when they refused to allow imports for the ongoing construction of his facility to continue to be admitted “duty free” as approved under the original “Heads of Agreement” signed with the Christie Administration. He promised to file a writ in the Supreme Court as early as this week (16th Nov) against the FNM government for breach of contract.
Mr. Reardon went into great detail to tell the horror story of how Ingraham suddenly, and without much notice, changed his Christie-approved “duty free” status, to where he was obliged to pay - over a several month period - around $200,000.00 in customs duties. This in contravention, he submitted, of the terms and conditions set out in the “heads of agreement” signed in 2006 under the PLP government. Mr. Reardon alluded to the problem being (he said Ingraham said) that the approval under the “Hotels Encouragement Act” was not in place and therefore he was not entitled to the incentives. His lawyers, he said, submitted the necessary paperwork in compliance with the Ingraham government’s request, since February this year, but still the Prime Minister has yet to give the document his approval.
The Prime Minister, Mr. Reardon said, has also failed to honour his commitment to approve, for refund, the $200,000.00 he paid in customs duties in the meantime, resulting in his decision - six months ago - to terminate the project, and now to initiate litigation against the FNM Administration. What was Ingraham’s response to Mr. Reardon’s charges? No comment, of course, for that is how his Administration deals with matters that come to light, that reflect negatively on his Administration.
The project had its groundbreaking ceremonies in January 2007, after the signing of the “Heads of Agreement” in 2006. The Developers were able to import, during the Christie Administration, all their construction material, furniture, fixtures and all other such supplies for the resort “duty free,” according to Mr. Reardon, but their trouble began when the government changed in May of 2007 and the policy of ‘stop, review and cancel’ was adopted by the Free National Movement. “We thought we had an agreement with the Bahamas government; we thought we had a democratic society here; this doesn’t make sense to me,” said a disappointed and obviously disgusted, Mr. Reardon. He furthered, “From our experience, we would never have done this deal if we had known this would take place - that a change in power (government) would affect our agreement with the Bahamas (government). I don’t think Perry Christie would, ever, have done this to us” unquote; you gat that right, my brother.
It should be noted that “Heads of Agreements,” when consummated and
signed off by both parties, would, as a rule, incorporate the general incentives
and conditions binding on those parties. Therefore, while the follow-through
with the paperwork to affect the “Hotels encouragement Act” is a necessary
step in the process, it is not a necessary component in allowing materials
and or supplies to be admitted “duty free “in the meantime, as that aspect
would have already been agreed, by the parties concerned. I, therefore,
submit that if the Free National Movement government, led by ‘stop, review
and cancel’ Hubert Ingraham, wished honestly to work with this Investor,
in good faith, they would have done so and the man would not have been
required to pay any duties, at all, except on those items which fall outside
of the Agreement. It is that damn, ‘Stop, Review and Cancel’ policy
of theirs that got in the way again. So they have now killed off
the last economic hope for Eleuthera and I say may its soul rest in peace.
Forrester J Carroll J.P.
IN PASSING
First Caribbean’s Sharon Brown Shown The Door
Sharon Brown who is the Head of First Caribbean International Bank
in The Bahamas will be given the boot by the Bank in what is reportedly
a restructuring move. No Bahamian will replace her. Instead,
an Englishman from Barbados is to replace her. She was shown in a
photo last week smiling with her friend the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham
as the bad news was delivered to him.
Neko And The Traffic Lights
If you travel around New Providence, you would think that this is the
land of the blinking traffic lights. Hardly a traffic light is working
in the island. This is so some seven months after Minister of Works
and Transport Neko Grant apologized to the motoring public and promised
not “to rest until the job” of fixing all the traffic lights in New Providence
is done. The Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham told the House that he
could not understand why the lights are not working in answer to queries
by Dr. Bernard Nottage PLP MP for Bain and Grants Town. According
to the Nassau Guardian, one of the companies given an interim contract
to do the work - HyPower International - may be owed money by the government.
The other company awarded a temporary contract in May - Campbell Electric
- has no certification or license to fix traffic signals. When contacted
by The Guardian, Mr. Grant said as far as he knew his ministry did not
know of any outstanding bills to either of the companies contracted to
fix the traffic signals. “We pay our bills”, he said. Mr. Grant
is not speaking the truth. He has taken his ministerial incompetence
from tourism to the Ministry of Works
Bodye’s Union Is Revived
Hurye Bodye was a trade unionist of some repute in Freeport, Grand
Bahama. He represented a smaller group of workers in the Commonwealth
Industrial Union but was once considered a rival to the mighty Bahamas
Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union. He was a colourful personality
that drove the small union. When he died, the Union fell away.
Now some people are seeking to revive it in a bid to challenge the supremacy
of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union in Freeport.
They are seeking to recruit from amongst the 600 hotel union employees
in Grand Bahama sufficient support to become the bargaining agent for the
industry in Freeport. This represents a cleavage in the Union, which
saw the recent elections end up with a win for the candidate for Vice President
for Freeport of the Nassau based team because of overall votes in the country
but a loss for the Nassau based candidate in Freeport. Freeport workers
want to go it alone. The idea of separating the workers in Grand
Bahama from the rest of The Bahamas is a tendency that has to be watched
in the future. Grand Bahama and Abaco in particular have some powerful
breakaway tendencies and this must be watched carefully by Bahamian governments
to ensure that we continue to be one country.
US Ambassador Doing The Rounds
Nicole Avant is now doing the rounds and getting her official feet
wet. Some duties are of course harder and more official than others.
According to the television reporter on the scene of the official visit
to her first school, the ambassador pronounced that she was hearing the
best music that she had heard since she arrived in The Bahamas. There
is more to come from where that has come. US Ambassadors since John
Rood have been interested in raising, maintaining and supporting the literacy
level of the community here in The Bahamas and have adopted various public
schools and their literacy programmes. Last week Ms. Avant encouraged
the children to read and see the world through their reading.
A Trip To Long Island
A delegation of the Progressive Liberal Party led by Deputy Leader
Philip Davis travelled to Long Island on Thursday 19th November on a fact-finding
mission. The delegation included Fred Mitchell MP Fox Hill, Frank
Smith MP for St. Thomas More, Philip Smith former MP for North Long Island,
Rum Cay and San Salvador, Ryan Pinder Vice Chair PLP
Replaying The FNM Convention
We predicted here but it did come as a shock on the system the FNM
replaying the FNM’s Convention during the past week as if seeing it once
was not enough. The whole nauseating event played itself out on the
ZNS TV screens over the week including the nightly worship service for
Hubert Ingraham.
Leave Is Granted To Challenge Q.C. Appointments
On Friday 20th November, Maurice Glinton received leave from Justice
Jon Isaacs to proceed with his application for Judicial Review of the decision
of the government not to make Mr. Glinton a Queen’s Counsel. The
decision was regarded by many as racist and politically driven. This
week we carry the comments of Damien Gomez, another candidate for Queen’s
Counsel who was turned down and who plans to file an action against the
government.
20 Tourists Robbed
The newspaper headlines of both dailies and the TV and radio news were
filled with the news that 18 tourists visiting the nature trail of the
anti drug body BASH were robbed at shotgun point. No one was hurt
save one Bahamian who was gun butted by the robbers. Police are pursing
the matter that occurred on Friday 20th November. The newspapers
also reported two other incidents involving the robbing of tourists bringing
the total to 20. Police say they have suspects in the other two cases.
This robbery of the 18 tourists who came from the Disney and Carnival Cruise
lines is not good for The Bahamas and its cruise industry and may be the
start of a worrying new trend. In Jamaica that has been down this
slippery slope, the army had to be called out to guard tourist areas to
stop this kind of thing.
BUT Suspension Of Belinda Is Reversed
Belinda Wilson, the President of the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT)
who was suspended by a disciplinary panel of the Union has had the suspension
reversed on appeal. The allegation was that she misappropriated funds
of the Union giving the impression that she took funds for her own use.
Turned out it was simply a procedural error. The funds were used
to pay Union expenses but were not spent in a fashion that followed the
procedural rules of the organization. She appealed the original suspension
of two weeks and has now been vindicated.
New Lands and Surveys Director
Alexander Flowers, heretofore a Family Island Administrator, has been
appointed Director of Lands and Surveys succeeding Tex Turnquest who resigned
in disgrace earlier in the year. No public explanation was given
for the move. Mr. Flowers himself had been removed from his last
posting in Exuma and was not given another posting for well over a year
since the last general election. No word on the fate of Richard Hardy
who was the Acting Director up to last week.
AG’s Office Defends Itself On Carolita Bethel
It was quite unusual. An ad was taken out by the Attorney General’s
office to refute the reports in the newspapers that it had done something
untoward by withdrawing the case against Keva Major, the convicted drug
smuggler who is serving a sentence of probation in the United States.
Mrs. Major’s defence lawyers in The Bahamas applied to get the money that
was being
held that belongs to Mrs. Major, but which was seized as part of the
local drug case. Once that fell away, the lawyers said she should
get her money back. However, Deputy Chief Magistrate Carolita Bethel
ordered the money continue to be held. This incensed the magistrate
before whom the case was originally heard Linda Virgill. She accused
the crown of colluding with Mrs. Bethel to pervert justice. This
led to a reprimand of Mrs. Virgill by the Chief Justice and the ad in the
press by the AG’s office on Thursday 19th November defending their right
to withdraw the case. No word on why they felt the need to do so.
Ingraham Off To Heads of Government
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham will be off to Trinidad and Tobago today
to join his fellow Prime Ministers and other heads of the 53 member Commonwealth
for the triennial meeting which takes place in Trinidad and Tobago beginning
Monday 16th November. The Commonwealth Heads of Government is rich
in history, tradition and symbolism but is largely irrelevant. The
Queen will make a state visit to Trinidad and Tobago at the same time.
This is the second major meeting held by Trinidad this year. The
first was the Summit of the Americas.
Happy Birthday
Today is the 40th birthday of Raynard Rigby the former Chairman of
the Progressive Liberal Party and a civic activist in his own right.
Remember 22nd November 1963
A certain generation of Bahamians will remember very well where they
were on 22nd November, 1963 when the American president John Kennedy was
shot and killed by an assassin’s bullet in the American city of Dallas,
Texas. It has been 46 years since that fateful event, scenes from
which can now be found on youtube.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
TOMMY UNDER PRESSURE
It gets like this. That is what he is paid for, to take the
heat when things go bad and to accept the good when it is good. We
are talking about the role of Ministers of the Government. We are
talking at this particular time about Tommy Turnquest, the Minister of
National Security who is now the focus of the public’s ire about the fight
on crime. Crime is paying. The criminals are doing well, very
well it appears and with the Commissioner of Police Reginald Ferguson gone,
only naturally Tommy Turnquest the Minister is the focus of a campaign
on ineffectiveness. The Minister can’t seem to be testy or to protest.
After all, it was the FNM that invented the phrase: “If you get rid of
the PLP you get rid of crime.” But both times of the Free National
Movement government, they have set the record on crime.
Last week, we reported our quote of the week from Tommy Turnquest as follows responding to the question of whether the Prime Minister was happy with his performance: “That’s none of my business; you ask him. You ask him. I continue to do my job every single day. When he doesn’t have confidence in me, he’ll fire me. When I think that I can no longer serve, I’ll offer my resignation. They are the two options.” Temper! Temper! The Minister was getting a little testy there, defensive, losing his temper. It is only natural of course. He is only human. But he should be careful what ideas he gives to Hubert Ingraham. All cylinders don’t fire there like the rest of us. Uneasy is the head that wears the crown.
Mr. Turnquest has had a hard week. It was led by a call from Bradley Roberts, the Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party for his resignation. It was direct, certain and stunning. There were no two ways about it. Mr. Roberts said that Mr. Turnquest had been a failure as a Minister with the rise in violent crime going through the roof and the Bahamian people frightened out of their wits about crime. Mr. Roberts said that the PLP left in place a solution for crime when they were in office. The PLP implemented the Urban Renewal Programme. The police were part of the programme and the PLP put the police in the community and the results showed in the statistics on crime. In issuing his statement, Mr. Roberts was echoing similar statements by one of the progenitors of the original programme for Urban Renewal, retired Superintendent Keith Bell.
The FNM’s public relations machinery went into overdrive. The Tribune’s publisher Eileen Carron, not past the mourning period for her husband, was at it, saying that Mr. Roberts did not know what he was talking about. She said that the Urban Renewal Programme was alive and well but it had been configured to better meet the purpose. Then there was the headline by the outgoing Commissioner of Police Reginald Ferguson who said that the talk about Urban Renewal under the PLP lessening crime was simply not true, not reflected in the statistics. Last week, we published the statistics in Mr. Robert’s statement that clearly show that the Commissioner of Police did not know what he was talking about.
Further, it is clear that this is just partisan sniping because the Commissioner was an Assistant Commissioner under former Commissioner Paul Farqhuarson. Mr. Farqhuarson described Urban Renewal as the most effective policing programme. That sentiment was backed up by the Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez at the time. Mr. Farqhuarson also accepted international awards for the Urban Renewal programme so effective was the programme in meeting the goals and objectives of the police force at fighting crime and impacting neighbourhoods. The people who are lying in this story are the FNM operatives and their defenders in the press.
Bishop Simeon Hall, the FNM preacher who heads the New Covenant Baptist Church and the Commission on Crime that was appointed in 2007 to make recommendations to the government, tried to make peace by playing King Solomon. His take on the whole thing was that both sides should stop throwing brickbats at one another and try to work together to fight crime. Not! The PLP has no government responsibility for fighting crime. The PLP had its chance. It left in place the programme of Urban Renewal and the National Service to get on top of this problem. The programmes were showing results. The FNM came along with stop review and cancel and now that they have sowed the wind and are reaping the whirlwind, they are saying that the PLP should back off. We would like to encourage Bradley Roberts to keep going. He was their waters running.
Let us not forget the Prime Minister got into the act. In the usual games of the old style Soviet Communist Commissar, Mr. Ingraham appointed yet another Attorney General. This time it is John Delaney, the former Managing Partner of one of the Bay Street firms who deigned to leave his cushy office in Lyford Cay to be the Attorney General. Noblesse Oblige and all that! This for him is just another notch in his belt. He can out it on the resume. He was just made him Queen’s Counsel and now he is the Attorney General. Good for him. But does that make him effective? Not! The Prime Minister claimed that Mr. Delaney would be an effective crime fighter. We ask in which life that will be.
One thing we know is that the FNM can try to blame this on the PLP all they like. The statistics are getting worse. Each night we go to bed in this country hoping that there will not be another murder, another senseless killing. Each night we go to bed, we wonder who got robbed the night before, what further outrage will there be. Tommy Turnquest says that he will not be made a scapegoat for the crime in the country. He is only one 300,000. That may be true, but it is at his pay grade that the blame is assigned and tabs he is it.
FNM
INCOMPETENCE COSTS BEC MILLIONS
PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts, a former Minister
of Works, has accused FNM Ministers Earl Deveaux and Phenton Neymour of
“disgracefully mismanag(ing) the takeover of the Morton Salt Power Plant
on Inagua... add(ing) millions to the escalating losses of the Bahamas
Electricity Corporation.
“Despite having two Ministers to oversee the affairs
of BEC", said Mr. Roberts, “they have demonstrated gross incompetence in
a simple take over of a small power plant...
“Since the installation of BEC meters no billings
have been made to customers in Inagua... Jr. Minister Neymour and Earl
Deveaux both failed to address the serious dilemma... (they) have sat on
their hands and done nothing.
“How can the Government logically expect the good
people of Inagua to pay electricity bills that are in arrears more than
a year? And failing that, do they expect the Morton Salt Company to absorb
the massive loss due entirely to the failure of an arrogant and incompetent
FNM Government?”
You may click
here for Mr. Roberts’ full statement.
 |
INGRAHAM
OFF TO CHOGM
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham headed the Bahamian
delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in Trinidad
and Tobago during the past week. This is the 60th year of the Commonwealth’s
existence. This is the third meeting of the group of 53 former British
colonies that has been held in the Caricom region. The first was
in Jamaica in 1977 under the Prime Ministership of Michael Manley.
The second was under the Prime Ministership of Lynden O. Pindling in The
Bahamas in 1985 and now under Patrick Manning in Trinidad and Tobago.
The leading issue was that of climate change and the meeting is seen as
prep for the upcoming Copenhagen summit on climate change to ink a successor
to the Kyoto Treaty on climate change.
INTERNET
COMMENT BY FRED MITCHELL
On Thursday 26th November, the Nassau Guardian carried
a story which appeared to come from a press conference by Zhivargo Laing,
the Minister of State responsible for the Public Service. Mr. Laing
was announcing and defending a policy to stop the use of the wider internet
by government workers. He claimed that this would help efficiency,
because people were spending time on other than government work on the
internet. The only thing is, the alternative the use of the Government’s
intranet including the e-mail addresses is woefully inadequate.
The Guardian gave as the example of complaints by
a lawyer who reported to work and found he had no access to the internet
and this hampered his work. The lawyer complained that he had to
go home to use the ‘net so that he could do the government’s work.
Mr. Mitchell recalled that when he was public service minister the public
service came to him with the same foolish decision and he asked for it
to be reversed. He called for the government not to be bloody minded
in these circumstances and reverse course. You may click
here for the full statement.
RICK
LOWE AGREES WITH US ON DEBT
Last week, we reported that Fred Mitchell MP for
Fox Hill spoke in the House of Assembly on 18th November warning the country
about borrowing money. Zhivargo Laing, the Minister of State in the
Ministry of Finance was on that day in the press boasting about how sound
the country was by reference to the fact that the banks were going to lend
The Bahamas 300 million US dollars. This takes the debt of The Bahamas
in US denominated currency up to one billion dollars, which is one third
of the overall total debt. This is a worrying situation. Here
is part of what Mr. Mitchell said:
“It is no good boasting about how much money
you can borrow.
“One thing I know is that banks are no one’s
friend. No matter how the cat jumps they make money.
“The interest keeps adding up, the fees keep
adding up, they lend you the money, but just as quickly they will cut your
legs out from under you. So it is no comfort to me to say that the
banks are lending The Bahamas money.
“What is needed is an increase in productivity
for our country or we are headed into debtor’s prison.”
This week the right wing letter writer and activist
from the Nassau Institute, the right wing think tank wrote of similar concerns.
For once we find common cause with this worrying event. The answer
has got to be productivity. Where is the effort to find the investments
both local and foreign, which will bring in money and increase productivity?
Not to be found. You may click here or
the full letter to the editor by Rick Lowe.
WITH
THE CHILDREN OF SANDILANDS
On Monday 23rd November, the Minister of Education
announced that the Government was going to acquire the land adjacent to
the Sandilands Primary School for the expansion of the school grounds.
This is the first such expansion in a generation. Fox Hill MP Fred
Mitchell said that he was concerned following the change in government
that this would not happen, but the Minister of Education Carl Bethel immediately
signed on to the project.
The photo of the week shows
the Minister with Mr. Mitchell and Bishop Chadwick James who agreed to
swap the land, which his church had already bought. Above right,
Mr. Mitchell took time out to stand with the students of the school who
were gathered there for the historic occasion and (left) to give remarks
with the Minister and his Permanent Secretary Elma Garraway; in the background
is School Board President Mrs. Sabrina Pinder. You may click
here for Mr. Mitchell's full remarks.
Photos/Miguel Taylor
PAUL
TURNQUEST TESTIFIES TO HOUSE COMMITTEE
The Select Committee of the House of Assembly to look into the disposition
of all publicly held lands met again last Monday 23rd November. Relatives
and friends of a former government official Tex Turnquest accused of nepotism
after he approved the sale of prime pieces of crown land, asked for the
media and wider public to be barred from a public hearing.
Derek and Sonia Rutherford, Mae Morton Curry, George
Morton, Philip and Schell Stubbs — family members of former director of
Lands and Surveys Tex Turnquest — testified during a private hearing before
the House Select Committee appointed to investigate matters related to
government owned lands.
They are the former owners of four parcels of crown
land in Forbes Hill, Exuma that were granted in 2001 and later resold to
foreigners for large profits. Committee Chairman Fox Hill MP Fred
Mitchell said portions of their evidence would be made public at a later
date. However, Mr. Mitchell did reveal that the group denied that
any collusion was involved.
Mr. Turnquest, who abruptly resigned from his post
in May, testified last month. He was asked to resign by the Prime
Minister when the allegations were revealed with regard to the land.
Mr. Turnquest confirmed that the parcels — which were approved for the
purpose of building homes but were later sold — were granted to his family
and friends. However, he also maintained that he did not act inappropriately.
The star of the show however was Tribune reporter
Paul Turnquest, who broke the story. He gave open testimony.
Mr. Turnquest said that he found it “very interesting” that Tex Turnquest’s
family members did not want to testify in public. Public hearings
are to resume tomorrow Monday 30 November. The committee is expected
to give a report to the House of Assembly by January 27, 2010.
Here is more of what Paul Turnquest said in his
own words:
“The onward sale of the crown land was a pre-meditated
act and should be met with more harsh punishment.
“Anyone who assists in the acquisition of government
land through false pretences should be charged with an offence.
“In this case, a slap on the wrist cannot be
sufficient. This was a premeditated act that defrauded the people of The
Bahamas out of use and access to beachfront property in Exuma; all so that
one family could profit and live high off the hog.
“The resignation of Tex Turnquest should not
be trivialized as a political stunt. Some have stated that the actions
of these individuals are not technically illegal, but my God, they have
to be considered immoral.
“The issue goes much deeper than Tex Turnquest.
Rather, it reveals what has been wrong with the Department of Lands and
Surveys for years.
“So, I don't think that one guy being fired is
sufficient.
“There is no way that all of those people purchased
the property right next to each other, sold it to the same developer, and
sold it for the same price, without any form of pre-meditation.
“No such luck was involved in this.
“The committee ought to make an example out of
them in a bid to assure Bahamians that the formation of the committee was
not a waste of time.
“We are supposed to see that justice is done.
“Lots of changes ought to be made to the Department
of Lands and Surveys.
“We need to update the system at the Lands and
Surveys Department so that every transaction can be made public and tracked
through an online database, thus creating transparency in the application
process straight through to the granting of any lease or crown land grants.
“The system must be easily used and well maintained
so that every Bahamian can access it to ensure that land is being protected.”
AMBASSADOR
FOR THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA
His Excellency Frank J. Crothers, Ambassador Of
The Sovereign Military Hospitalier Order Saint John Of Jerusalem, Of Rhodes,
and Of Malta To The Commonwealth Of The Bahamas, presented His Letters
Of Credence To His Excellency The Honourable Arthur Dion Hanna At Government
House Thursday 26th November. The opening of diplomatic relations
between the order and The Bahamas was approved by the Progressive Liberal
Party government with Fred Mitchell MP as Minister of Foreign Affairs at
the instance of Roman Catholic Archbishop Patrick Pinder. The order
provides emergency support for the underprivileged and those who find themselves
in emergency situations like weather disasters.
BIS photo/Peter Ramsay
PLP
MEETING IN FOX HILL
PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts came to Fox Hill to
speak to members of the Fox Hill Branch and to mark the 56th anniversary
of the founding of the Progressive Liberal Party. At the meeting
attended by a large and enthusiastic crowd on Monday 22nd November, Mr.
Roberts offered the sum of one million dollars if the people of the
country could find the plan to fight crime advanced by Minister of National
Security Tommy Turnquest. You may click
here for his full remarks and here
for the full remarks of Mr. Davis.
ACM HONOURS
The Anglican Church Men (ACM) honoured various Bahamian
gentlemen at their 'Tribute to Men' banquet at All Saints Community Centre
on Friday 27th November. Among those honoured were Olympian great Thomas
'Tommy' Robinson (seated, third from right) and former Nassau Guardian
Publisher and former President of The Bahamas Golf Federation, Kenneth
N. Francis (seated, fourth from left). Bishop Laish Boyd (seated, fourth
from right) made presentations to the honourees.
Photo/Carvel Francis
BROUHAHA
ABOUT WHITE HOUSE GATE CRASHERS
The United States media is in overdrive because
a couple of wannabe reality TV contestants, the Salahis, society folk from
the state of Virginia, got into the state dinner for the Indian Prime Minister
without an invitation. We love it. No harm seems done and it
seems quite a fun thing to have happened, that the great United States
with all their supposed efficiency and technology, allowed a human thing
like party crashers to get into the White House. In the photo above,
released by the White House, President Obama greets Michaele and Tareq
Salahi, right, at his first state dinner.
Now people are going to be fired. There were
serious press releases and lots of faultfinding. The concern was
that such a breach could have led to harm to the US President or his guest
the Indian Prime Minister. Well, the fact is there was no harm done
to either. Later the Indian Prime Minister travelled to Trinidad
& Tobago to be with the Queen at the Heads of Government meeting of
the Commonwealth. It was reported that he was surround by security
men and no one could come near the Prime Minister without an invitation
and no cameras or cell phones were allowed.
We suppose there has to be this faultfinding and
no doubt, some people will be fired but for a small country like The Bahamas,
it is refreshing that these kinds of snafus happen. If this were
The Bahamas, they would be saying how stupid we were, how we did not know
what we were doing. The entire country would have been condemned.
But no, this is isolated to some snafu by the Secret Service. We
say enough already. Once it is established that no harm was done,
all they need do is correct the situation so that it does not happen again,
but otherwise laugh at it and forget it and move on. Enough already!
White House photo/Samantha Appleton
GILBERT
MORRIS WRITES ONCE MORE
Dr. Gilbert Morris, the civic activist, commentator
and journalist, who lives and writes from the Turks and Caicos Islands,
is commenting this week on the viability of the College of The Bahamas
becoming a university. Click here.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
PLP Leadership Council Member and Vice Chair Forrester Carroll
writes about Tommy Turnquest in this letter to the editor…
Listening to Tommy Turnquest, the ersatz Minister
of national security, trying to split hairs as to whether it is fair for
us to hold him and his government responsible, or not, for the escalation
of crime and criminal activity in the country, was like listening to two
three year- olds having an argument over whose is the piece of candy.
Fact of the matter is, Minister Turnquest, you
and your Free National Movement government made crime an election issue
in 2007 and by doing so you assured the nation that an FNM government would
be more capable than the PLP of putting together the right formula for
fighting crime and containing this menace.
It is not us then, Sir, who say that you should
be held responsible, but it is you who assumed responsibility and committed
yourselves, when you assured us that you were fully capable and that you
had all the answers for solving this mammoth plague on our society; so
yes we hold you, Tommy Turnquest, fully responsible. Crime is where it
is, I contend, because your outfit is incapable of performing at the level
you promised.
...In your joint News Conference, on 25th August, 2009, with the
Police Commissioner, you boasted, Mr. Minister, that you knew who the criminals
were and that you knew where to find them. Well, Sir, that was in
August, this is now December; where are the thugs? Have you and your
4000-man Police Force not been able to apprehend them as yet? Nassau
is only a stone’s throw across and about 21 miles long; the Commissioner
and his 4000-man army have all the tools at their disposal to do an effective
job, you said, so why haven’t the small group, as you said they were, been
arrested? You knew who they were and you knew where to find them,
remember?
Forrester J Carroll J.P.
You may click here for the
full letter from Mr. Carroll - Editor
IN PASSING
Woodside Must Pay Some Costs
Byran Woodside, the Minister of State for Local Government, who works
in the Prime Minister’s office, will have to pay some of the court costs
for the challenge raised by Allyson Gibson of the PLP. The costs
arose because of the Election Court case brought by Mrs. Gibson challenging
the result of the General Election in the Pinewood seat. While Mr.
Woodside ultimately won the seat, the Election Court decided that some
of the costs Mr. Woodside would have to pay because he and his lawyer were
responsible for dragging the matter out with regard to some of the voters
that were challenged. Mr. Woodside did not agree and appealed the
matter of costs. The Court of Appeal headed by Dame Joan Sawyer agreed
with the Election Court. The Appeals Court ruled that they had no
jurisdiction to hear the matter. There is no appeal as to costs from
the Election Court.
Jack Hayward Kicks Fred Smith Out
The Tribune reported in its Business Section on Thursday
November that Sir Jack Hayward called a meeting of licensees of the Grand
Bahama Port Authority with a view to getting their input on the way forward
for Freeport, which is in the midst of a severe economic crisis.
Among those showing up as a licensees of the Port was Fred Smith, the now
Queen’s Counsel, who is also the lawyer for the estate of Sir Jack’s dead
partner Edward St. George. Mr. Smith stripped Sir Jack of the power
to run the company for two years. It was finally restored to him
this year. Sir Jack was unhappy and ordered Mr. Smith to leave.
When he did not leave, he reportedly adjourned the meeting to his private
home where Fred Smith was not invited to come. What a hoot!
Bahamians And Thanksgiving
You would have thought that Thursday 26th November was a public holiday
in The Bahamas. What with all the small luncheons being held by Members
of Parliament for senior citizens to eat turkey and rice with ham on that
day and the trips Bahamians made abroad to the US to celebrate with friends
and family overseas. The day is not a holiday in The Bahamas, but
over the past 30 years, it is increasingly celebrated in The Bahamas as
Thanksgiving Day. The culture people keep complaining about the Americanization
of The Bahamas but hey, this IS America! No?
Wilchcombe New Leader For PLP In The House
The long promised, long awaited announcement of the new Leader of Opposition
Business in the House of Assembly came last week. The news was unexpected.
Most people thought that Philip Davis, the new Deputy Leader would get
that responsibility, but instead the PLP’s leader Perry Christie chose
Obie Wilchcombe, the West End and Bimini MP, for the job. Mr. Wilchcombe
lost the battle for Deputy Leader to Philip Davis. Many thought that
Mr. Christie would show magnanimity to Dr. Bernard Nottage, who ran against
him for the post of leader. No such thing. Dr. Nottage is out,
and some suggested that the failure to reappoint him was one of the consequences
that were promised during the campaign for opposing Mr. Christie.
Mr. Christie praised Dr. Nottage for his work. He also announced
that Mr. Davis would have the responsibility of preparing the party for
the next general election. The choice of Mr. Wilchcombe cements the
view of many that this is Mr. Christie’s choice for his successor.
No To Republic In St. Vincent
The government of Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent went
down to defeat in a referendum called to abolish the monarchy in that Caricom
country and adopt the Caribbean Court of Justice as the final Court of
Appeal for St. Vincent. The vote was 56 per cent no, 44 per cent
yes. Many are now suggesting that Mr. Gonsalves’ future as Prime
Minister is now shaky like the effect that a similar no vote in The Bahamas
had on Hubert Ingraham in The Bahamas in 2002. There seemed to be
local resentment at Mr. Gonsalves who has a reputation for being a bit
arrogant after two terms in power. He has been accused twice of rape
since he won this second term of office. Both times the prosecution
declined to advance the cases but it has left an ugly stain on his political
character. In any event, they will still be saying “God save the
Queen!” in St. Vincent. What a shame!
Election Day In Dominica
The Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerritt has called a general
election in that small island Caricom republic for 19th December 2009.
Mr. Skerritt is said to be quite popular and is expected to win the government,
which he inherited when his predecessor Pierre Charles died in office.
Dominica became a republic at independence and so no “God save the Queen”
there.
Labour Problems In Exuma
The people of Exuma who are suffering through the worse recession in
the islands recent history are anxious for the jobs and economic activity
that Butch Stewart’s Sandals operation is promising for Exuma, but not
at any cost. There are complaints that a man named Derek Prior is
there running Mr. Stewart’s project and he has somewhat the colonial whip
in his hand, refusing to hire Exumians to do even the most menial jobs.
Then there is the report that one woman, when interviewed for a maid’s
job, was told that she would have to be able to clean 40 rooms per day.
Finally, there is the report that Sandals is seeking to undercut the housing
prices by barebones negotiations. Some have suggested that the executives
of Sandals take a walk down the road to Steventon and ponder on the statue
of Pompey, to be instructed on the facts of life in Exuma. Pompey
was the leader of the only known slave revolt in The Bahamas. Well,
we warned people that Mr. Stewart was a two edged sword. Word is
also that since the announcement of the project, Mr. Stewart has not visited
with the local Member of Parliament Anthony Moss of the PLP, even though
the Prime Minister has been wined and dined on a special visit.
Bahamasair Employees Concerned About Political Interference
Employees of the national airline Bahamasair are suffering low morale.
The complaint is that Board Chairman Barrie Farrington will not control
his Board of Directors. The directors are actively interfering in
the day-to-day running of the company, in some cases calling up employees
and cussing them out.
78 Murders
The murder count according to The Tribune reached 78 on Friday 27th
November when a young man was slain while on an errand for his mother at
a local store. He was set upon by a group of other young men following
an earlier argument. This ties the high of 78 set last year, with
a month left to go in this year.
Immigration Directors Honoured
The Bahamas Immigration Department honoured its former directors at
a gala banquet, 20th November at the Grand Ballroom, Atlantis, Paradise
Island, which closed out its 70th Anniversary celebrations. The department
was established by Act of Parliament in 1939. Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Acting Attorney General and Minister
of Legal Affairs, Brent Symonette hailed the honourees for outstanding
dedication to the Department. Pictured from left are Vernon Burrows,
Melvin Seymour, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs the
Hon Brent Symonette, Barbara Pierre, Minister of State for Immigration
Branville McCartney, Dr. Doswell Coakley and Emmanuel Mosko.
Franklyn Wilson Now The Marathon Man
Organizers of Marathon Bahamas paid a courtesy call on Minister of
Tourism & Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, November 25. A
group led by Chairman of Marathon Bahamas, Franklyn Wilson, came to officially
present the idea to the Minister with a view to acquiring a partnership
with the Ministry. Marathon Bahamas is scheduled for Sunday February
14th, 2010. It is the first marathon of its kind in The Bahamas and
will cover 26.2 miles. Calling ventures like this the type that the
government encourages, Minister Vanderpool-Wallace said that this is a
step in the positive direction. Mr. Wilson said that if marketed
properly, Marathon Bahamas can prove to have a positive impact on the Bahamian
economy as research has shown that marathons tend to attract high-income
individuals. Confirmation has already been received from participants
from the US, Canada and Copenhagen. The country’s leading hoteliers
“have bought into the idea by action and by words,” said Mr. Wilson.
Marathon Bahamas is expected to receive formal certification by the International
Associations Athletics Federations and the Associations of Marathons.
Pictured from left are Shelly Wilson, Deputy Operation Manager, Sunshine
Insurance; Janet Johnson, Director of Communications, Ministry of Tourism
(MOT); Tyrone Sawyer, Director, Sports Tourism MOT; Minister Vanderpool-Wallace;
Franklyn R Wilson, Chairman, Marathon Bahamas; and Veronica Duncanson,
Public Relations Consultant, Sunshine Holdings.
A Wedding In Exuma
The niece of Granville Ferguson, the Exuma entrepreneur Tercita Ferguson
was married to Philip Munroe, son of PLP Stalwart Councillor Munroe.
Tanya McCartney Managing Director of RBC FINCO and a former Senator attended
the wedding as did Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill and Ivan Ferguson, the
island’s administrator. A fine time was had by all. There was
a 40 member wedding party. It was Exuma’s royal wedding as described
by MC David Wallace, former West End and Bimini MP. The wedding took
place on Saturday 28th November. Reverend Ivan Clarke officiated
assisted by Rev. Lynden Clarke.
