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THE NEW CANDIDATES OF THE PLP: there are three new candidates for the Progressive Liberal Party. The two men and one woman were approved by the National General Council of the PLP on Thursday 31st March. They are Andre Rollins, an orthodontist for Ft. Charlotte; Alexander Storr, businessman for Long Island and Ragged Island; and Tanisha Tynes, Attorney At Law for Lucaya in Grand Bahama. There are detailed biographies of the candidates below. This makes 20 nominations by the PLP so far. There are 21 more seats to go. The Leader Perry Christie promised his council that he will call a special meeting in order to approve the rest within four weeks. Congratulations to them all. The photo of the week is that of the three new PLP candidates with the Leader Perry Christie and Deputy Leader Philip Davis of the Party at Gambier House, Lynden Pindling Centre on Thursday 31st March as they accepted their nominations. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
HEADING INTO THE THIRD PARTY ABYSS
It is interesting what the press gets excited about. The press in the country one supposes like press everywhere seems to all get into a particular frenzy and they all like lemmings go jumping off the cliff or descend like buzzards on carrion. That is how you would describe what they are now doing with the flavor of the month Branville McCartney, the now independent but once FNM Member of Parliament for Bamboo Town. Ever since he resigned from the Cabinet and now from the FNM he has been the subject of endless speculation about his future as possible leader of the country, as possible leader of the FNM, as possible head of a third party.
There is little evidence to suggest that he can become either. But then again, politics is such a fortuitous business: who knows? The cartoonist Stan Burnside portrays him as a kind of pretty boy and all that goes with that. Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister, made it clear that Bamboo Town which Mr. McCartney won as an FNM is his party’s seat and he expects to win Bamboo Town at the next election. He said that he would even have to go to the people of Bamboo Town and apologise to them for having his man quit on them (not Mr. McCartney apologise as we erroneously reported last week).
As Mr. McCartney made his much anticipated address to Parliament saying that he would vote with the PLP on BTC and that he had left the FNM, the Prime Minister sat with studied bemusement. Then there was the response of the PLP. At the Leader of the Opposition’s press conference last Sunday about this time, he said that Bamboo Town was his seat and that the PLP would be contesting 41 seats. Mr. McCartney is in a wedge.
That did not deter the press however and if Mr. McCartney was bothered by it, he said nothing all week save his brief appearance at the College of The Bahamas to argue political theory with the students there on a panel with one PLP and two FNM Ministers on Thursday 31st March.
The press reported that he had amassed a fortune in political contributions ranging said The Tribune from 3 million dollars to 25 million dollars. Why do people repeat such bunk? There is no evidence that there is that kind of money available to someone who is unaffiliated. The speculation in the political community is that Mark Holowesko, the rich son of Lynn Holowesko, the Senate president, and the man who is the boy wonder behind the Templeton Fund put his support behind Mr. McCartney and raised the money.
We doubt that. At the very least the press had an obligation to ask Mark Holowesko if it is true. Certainly, Lynn Holowesko is like a slave to Hubert Ingraham, worships the ground he walks on, and for her he can do no wrong. She is believed to have led the treasure hunt for the amounts from the Lyford Cay believers that helped to bring and sustain Mr. Ingham in power. It is highly unlikely that their family would involve themselves in such an untried effort behind Mr. McCartney.
Then there is that little bothersome thing called history. The political junkyard is littered with the bones of third party political efforts, the mythical men and women in the middle who want the best for their country. From Etienne Dupuch's Bahamian Democratic League (BDL) in the 1950s, to Paul Adderley's National Democratic Party (NDP) in the 1960s; to Cecil Wallace Whitfield’s Free PLP in the 1970s and then Norman Solomon’s Social Democratic Party in the 1980s, Alfred Butler’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 1980s and then Fred Mitchell’s People’s Democratic Force (PDF) in the 1990s to Bernard Nottage’s Coalition for Democratic Reform in the 2000s. All of them are now gone. Yet Branville McCartney is now going to invent the wheel and form yet another one or so said the press.
The National Democratic Party, the rump of it, now headed by Renward Wells and LaTore Mackey had a testy meeting with Mr. McCartney during the past week. They tried to persuade him to come on board their readymade platform. They would instantly become a parliamentary party. Apparently, he was not falling for that one or Mr. Wells was singularly unsuccessful in persuading him to do so.
Tennyson Wells, the former FNM MP and Attorney General who served as an independent and was defeated by Mr. McCartney in the last election joined the fray by weighing in with the advice that given the attitude of the PLP and the FNM, Mr. McCartney simply could not make it.
Despite the appearance of some axe to grind there, we think Tennyson Wells is absolutely right. A third party is an abyss. Mr. McCartney is headed to the abyss if he is going in that direction. His best hope now is to join the PLP if he is to survive in the long run.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 2nd April 2011 up to midnight: 186,766
Number of hits for the month of March up toThursday 31st March 2011 up to midnight: 841,581
Number of hits for the year 2011 up to Saturday 2nd April 2011 up to midnight: 2,235,732
CABLE AND WIRELESS MOVES IN
We have obtained a copy of the internal minute sent to the employees of BTC to announce that Cable and Wireless plans to move in on Monday 4th April and take over the Bahamian patrimony. The unions are said to have met with Cable and Wireless with a mediator, some say Bishop Neil Ellis. The Acting president Kirk Griffin asks the employees to cooperate with the new owners. We say the opposite. They should not cooperate at all.
Click here for that memo.s
PLP ANNOUNCES NEW CANDIDATES
The following was issued by the PLP on Thursday 31st March:
As the party continues its preparation for the upcoming general elections, it is pleased to announce that the National General Council (NGC) this evening unanimously approved three young, new, fresh, dynamic and energetic candidates to carry the party’s banner in the 2012 General Elections.
They are Dr. Andre Rollins for Fort Charlotte, Alex Storr for Long Island and Ragged Island and Tanisha Tynes for the Lucaya constituency.
Dr. Rollins was born in Nassau thirty-five years ago and is a 1992 graduate of Saint John’s College.
After graduating from Boston University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Physiology, he pursued his graduate and post graduate studies at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.
Dr. Rollins established a private practice in Massachusetts, U.S.A. between 2003 and 2004 before establishing his private dental practice in The Bahamas.
Dr. Rollins served as president of the Bahamas Dental Association President from 2004 to 2011.
Dr. Rollins is not a new comer to the local political scene. He served as chairman of the National Development Party (NDP) and contested the Elizabeth seat in a bye election held in February 2010.
Alex Storr was born on May 7th, 1971 to Henry and Dillis Storr. His mother was born and raised in Deadman’s Cay. His father is a well known electrical contractor and businessman with roots in Ragged Island & San Salvador. His father is a long serving Stalwart Councillor of the PLP and one of the Party’s Trustees.
He received his early education at Queen’s College High School, Nassau and in 1993 graduated from Barry University, Florida with a Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology. He is employed at Henry F. Storr Electric where he serves as Marketing & Credit Manager.
Alex has worked extensively for the PLP over many years. In 2001 he became an active member of the Yamacraw Branch of the PLP and in 2002-2004 he served as 1st Vice Chair of the Branch and in 2005-2009 he was elected to the Chairmanship of the Yamacraw Branch. He also had the good distinction of being elected as the youngest member of the Party’s Leadership Council (2006-2009) and currently serves as the Party’s National Deputy Chairman (2009-present).
He is also an active member of the Yamacraw Community Development Association, a past Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Elizabeth Estates Family Life Center and a Steward of The Remnant Tabernacle of Praise, Carmichael Road.
He is married to Nadia nee Martin, and they are the proud parents of three children, Alexandra, Alexander and Alyssa.
Tanisha Lauren Tynes was born in Nassau, Bahamas on the 6th January, 1972 and is the eldest daughter of well known attorney Harvey O. Tynes and G. Ingrid Tynes (nee Belle).
Tanisha attended Freeport High School in Freeport, Grand Bahama and completed her high school education at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Northfield, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida with Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Subsequently, Ms. Tynes earned her Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Buckingham and her Certificate of Legal Education at the Eugene Dupuch Law School, Nassau, Bahamas. Tanisha was called to the Bahamas Bar in 2005.
Tanisha is a communicant member of the Anglican church and an active member of several civic groups including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated (Past President), Federacion Internacional de Abogadas (F.I.D.A.) (Past Vice-President), Junior Achievement (Advisor), Momentum (Church of the Ascension Young Adult group).
THE CANDIDATES AND THEIR FAMILIES
The PLP is a changing and changed organization. Entering the fraternity for the first time as candidates are Andre Rollins, Tanisha Tynes and Alex Storr, a second generation PLP. We thought you would enjoy seeing the candidates with their families as they accepted the nominations at the PLP’s Headquarters on Thursday 31st March at the Lynden Pindling Centre, Gambier House. The photos are of Dr. Andre Rollins, PLP candidate for Ft. Charlotte with his parents Arthur and Rollins; Tanisha Tynes with her father Harvey Tynes Q.C.; and Alex Storr with his wife Nadia and his father and mother Henry and Dillis Storr. The photos are by J & J Photo Imaging.
JOHN ROLLE BORES A NEW HOLE IN CUSTOMS
John Rolle was the Comptroller of Customs, the quintessential public servant, who never got himself involved in public controversy. Then something happened after his stellar career and retirement to Exuma that simply as they say put hell up in him. First the Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing attacked him from a public platform over his comments on Mona Vie, the drink that will be forever be tied to the minister as an example of the scandalous abuse of power connected to customs payments by his family on the import of that drink. Then the Prime Minister backed up his Minister. Then Mr. Laing sued Mr. Rolle for his comments in the press. That matter has been dragging on. But what really seems to have gotten John Rolle going were the actions of his successor in office one Glen Gomez, who has turned out to be one helluva fellow, a political ideologue, more Ingraham than Ingraham. Everyone in the Customs Department is corrupt except him. All his predecessors were corrupt except him. That is if you left it to him. Mr. Rolle was having none of that and after all the actions of Customs on various matters, he spoke to the Nassau Guardian. He tore a new hole in the Customs Department and in his successor’s work. We present the Nassau Guardian report which must be read to be believed:
Former Customs Chief hits out
By CANDIA DAMES NG News Editor candia@nasguard.com on 3/29/2011
Says urrent comptroller not well-versed in law
Former Customs Comptroller John
Rolle has accused existing Comptroller Glenn Gomez of having a general lack of
knowledge of customs laws and acting in a manner that suggests he is not fit for
the job.
“Shamefully the actions of the present comptroller show that he is not
well-versed in the law and have created some serious doubt in my mind [about]
his ability to provide the homogenous and professional leadership necessary for
the task ahead,” said Rolle in a statement.
“The powers that be should check or find someone with the knowledge to check the
amount of mess that is now being created, and take corrective acton before this
country suffers further embarrassment.”
But Gomez, who has been comptroller for just under two years, said he was
surprised and puzzled by the former comptroller’s comments. He questioned why
Rolle would not have called him directly to offer advice or constructive
criticism. He said the criticisms in Rolle’s press statement were not
constructive.
“That would have been the sensible thing to do I would think,” Gomez told The
Nassau Guardian yesterday.
Rolle said that for nearly two years he has listened to or read inaccurate
remarks that were apparently made by Gomez “attempting to discredit his
predecessors and Customs staff.”
Rolle added that Gomez speaks about corruption as if it is a new phenomenon,
“and he is the only honest man in The Bahamas.”
Gomez, however, dismissed that as “foolishness” and “nonsense”.
“I never at any point in time stated, claimed or even assumed that I would be
the only honest person,” he said. “That’s nonsense. There are many honest
persons right here in the Customs organization.
“What I have said since I came to Customs — and this same person also said while
[he] was in office — is that there are corrupt officers who need to be weeded
out.
“What I’ve chosen to do without looking back or looking over my shoulder, but to
be focused on what I set to be my task, is to address that or those situations
where I have found that there were corrupt practices going on. That’s what I’ve
been doing.
“Now if other people have a problem with that, that’s their concern, not mine.
I’m doing my job.”
Rolle pointed out that in a previous Nassau Guardian interview Gomez said he was
cleaning up some of “the mess” in Customs.
“This should be better identified and articulated,” the former comptroller said.
Rolle said that shortly after Gomez came to Customs he announced that his
predecessors had broken the law by allowing non-perishable goods to be released
on a 10-day bond.
The former comptroller said that as a result, legitimate importers who had
fulfilled their obligations in accordance with Customs Regulation 33 were denied
immediate release of their goods.
“Please check and publicly state who has broken the law,” Rolle said.
“Obviously having been advised of his error he (Gomez) proceeded to have this
section amended months later. But during the interim, legitimate and honest
importers were deprived of an agreed condition. Where is the honesty and/or the
integrity?”
But Gomez said he never said his predecessors broke the law.
The bond system allows business people to post bonds with Customs based on the
volume of imports, and they are then able to get goods off the docks prior to
paying duty.
They have 10 days in which to return to Customs to settle payments.
“What happened after I came here is I found that the system was grossly abused,”
Gomez explained.
“Motor cars, furniture, anything possible were allowed to be taken off the dock
on the guise of being under the 10-day bond.
“I decided that shouldn’t be. So steps were made to correct that to the point
where the 10 days were brought down by law to five days.”
Gomez also noted that the law was more clearly defined to allow the five-day
bond to apply only to perishable goods. The former category of “other” was
removed.
Gomez said there are five living ex-comptrollers and he has never made any
disparaging remarks against them.
“Whatever they have done, it’s on public record,” he said. “What I have done
and what I will do while I’m here will also be on public record, so I can be
judged on my record and they can be judged on theirs.”
Gomez added, “What I can say is that I met — and there still exists quite a bit,
and they know about this — outstanding lists of items that were released pending
the full payment of duty. That’s all I said.
“Now if the shoe pinches somebody, well they must know why it’s pinching. I try
to wear the right sized-shoe so I don’t get pinched – end of story.”
Rolle said Gomez had made “inaccurate and erratic statements” in the past, but
Gomez said there is no truth to this.
Asked to respond to Rolle’s claim that he was not well-versed in the law, Gomez
said, “I don’t know everything about the customs law, nor does anybody living,
past, present or to come.
“But I have enough grasp of the customs law to be able to run this department
effectively.
“What I have tried to do — and maybe this bothers some people — is try to get
the best persons around me that have skills in different areas.
“I do not want to run this organization as a one-man band.”
In his statement, Rolle said Gomez’s previous announcement of a $100 million
leakage in revenue by fraudulent acts suggests that he was able to identify how,
where and when these acts occurred.
“In addition, the revenue should show some significant improvement as a result
of the specific corrective action taken,” Rolle said.
“Compare the 2007/2008 revenue with 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 in spite of the
increase in tariff rates to offset the reduction in the economic activity, see
how effective all of the ranting [and] raving really was.”
Rolle also said that a staff member reportedly wrote to Gomez about a relative
who had improperly removed two chairs from a dock “and even if they were
returned after the whistle was blown, a fair and forthright person who insists
on reporting such happenings to the press, should confirm what action was taken
against this relative.”
Rolle said he was shown an article regarding Gomez’s demand for the payment of
stamp tax on aircraft arriving in the country prior to 2008.
“Fortunately a few of the airlines affected by his improper demand sought advice
on the matter,” Rolle said.
“They were referred to Section 19 of the Customs Management Act which in summary
states, ‘Goods arriving on an aircraft or vessel (as cargo) require an entry.’
“It follows that stamp tax is only applicable to those goods declared on an
entry. So any aircraft which did not arrive as cargo was not required to be
declared on an entry and as such no stamp tax payment was due. What a mess.
Who is holding this man accountable for the many inaccurate and erratic
statements?”
The former comptroller added, “There is so much damage that can be and has been
done by a head of a major law enforcement agency who does not know the law.”
Gomez said it was not his intention to respond to every accusation Rolle made.
He assured that he is committed to effective service and said he expected to
retire “soon.”
FRED MITCHELL HELPS TO INTRODUCE ALEX STORR
A delegation led by the Deputy Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party Philip Davis was in Long Island on Friday 1st April to launch the official campaign of Alexander Storr, the PLP’s candidate for the Long Island and Ragged Island constituency. Mr. Storr was accompanied by his wife Nadia. Also a part of the delegation was Melanie Griffin, the MP for Yamacraw, where Mr. Storr served as campaign manager. She recommended him highly and said she was sorry to see him go but that she could not hold him back. Also in the delegation was Clay Sweeting, the candidate for North Eleuthera for Spanish Wells and Andre Rollins, the candidate for Ft Charlotte for the PLP, and Fred Mitchell for Fox Hill who helped to introduce Mr. Storr to the people of Long Island. The photos are by Randy Rolle. You may click here for the full statement of Mr. Mitchell
ANOTHER MURDER EXCITES THE PUBLIC
We often wonder what makes and distinguishes one murder from another in the minds of the public as being more heinous than the other. That came to mind particularly as a woman was gunned down as she was walking back from a trip to a grocery store in the Haitian community on Bacardi Road in southwest New Providence. The story is that a green Honda came upon two women who were walking in the streets. One of them had a two year old at her side. Gun shots rang out from the car and killed instantly the mother of the two year old. The other woman was taken to hospital in serious condition. The press reported that the the two year old was tugging at her mother as she lay dead in the road, saying "Come on Mummy wake up let’s go”. That struck such an emotional chord in the country. It was the talk of the town. It was murder number 36 for the year. People think that their government is to protect them. There was no talk about the fact that they were Haitian but simple compassion and grief was the outpouring from the nation. The Haitian community said that perhaps the government will now take steps to protect the Haitian community from crime. They reported that when they call the police to deal with crime issues in their neighborhoods, no one responds. Tommy Turnquest, the Minister of National Security, had nothing to say. The death took place on Thursday 31st March. Yesterday reported that there was another murder in Dundas Town, Abaco that would seem to make 37 for the year in The Bahamas.
ELAINE WILLIAMS-PINDER NEW RESTAURANT
It is to be called Sapodilla’s. It is nestled in the gardens and wetlands below her home and it is going to be a spectacular restaurant when it is finished. Now the owner of Bamboo Shack and La Rose is putting her hand into a true five star restaurant. Fred Mitchell MP took a trip on Wednesday 30th March and had a look around with Ethelyn Williams-Lundy her sister who is a landscape designer and interior decorator. The place is simply fabulous. Some photos of the photos of the property and the visit. Look for it later this year to host weddings, diner parties or simply going out to dinner.
TRYING TO HELP OUR BOYS
We wanted to share with you this editorial position taken by the Nassau Guardian. It is full of important information about a phenomenon that is quite disturbing in our country: the disequilibrium between the educational levels being achieved by the men and the women. We have been talking about this for one generation and there has been no improvement, and there is no concerted societal effort to change these statistics. We ask again, who is going to do something? The PLP will have to come back to power to make a stab at changing this:
Education system failing our boys
3/28/2011
Last week new College of The Bahamas (COB) President Dr. Betsy
Vogel-Boze told the Zonta Club that only 14 percent of COB graduates are male.
“It is not a problem that happens once they get to us. They are not graduating
at the same rates, they are not applying for college at the same rates and that
gap continues to widen,” she said.
The newly-landed foreign head of COB is right. Each year the results of the
Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) reveal the problem
with boys in the education system.
In 2010, girls received 16,233 grades; boys received 10,683 grades. Boys are
only receiving 39.7 percent of the grades issued at the senior exams.
The boys receive fewer grades because fewer of them are there at graduation. Our
boys are dropping out in large numbers.
What is even sadder is that the boys who stay in school long enough to do their
final exams are doing poorly.
For A through C grades at the 2010 BGCSE’s, girls received about double the
number of these grades than boys. However, as you move down the grade spectrum,
grades D to U, the fewer boys in the system nearly match the girls in poor
performance – 554 girls received the U grade and 448 boys did the same.
Our education system is failing. It is particularly failing our boys.
There is without question a correlation between education systems that fail boys
and high crime rates. Young men unable to function in a modern economy will not
simple sit down and starve to death.
The Bahamas has set three homicide records in four years and it is on pace to
shatter last years dubious record. Police have also been battling a surge in
recent years in armed robberies and property crimes such as house-breaking.
Our crisis is not just a crime crisis. It is a crisis of integrating young men
into the legal economy and into civil society. A national effort is required to
help our boys. One part of the strategy to help them may be to separate the
genders in the public education system.
Environments need to be created helping young men, collectively, to equate
masculinity with honest work, achievement and struggle. As we fail our boys in
the current education system they go off into the underworld economy of drugs
and violence.
The reformatory schools also need to be expanded. Those who cannot behave should
not be allowed to remain in regular schools disrupting the peace. Those parents
who cannot, or do not wish to, control their disruptive children should lose
custody of those children to the state.
Just as the reformatory schools would exist for the disruptive, a new juvenile
prison is needed at Her Majesty’s Prisons. This would be different from the
reformatory schools, which would be schools for troubled children. Juvenile jail
would be jail for young criminals.
These few suggestions should be a part of a wider national discussion on the
failing Bahamian boy and man. We spend hundreds of millions of dollars on
education in The Bahamas and we have the problems we have. Simply throwing more
money at the education system is not necessarily the solution.
There was a time a few decades ago when women were discriminated against in the
workplace and by law. We fortunately have evolved beyond those times. Today,
however, as women rise and take on leadership positions in the country, men are
falling.
The 14 percent figure at COB is dangerous. If we cannot reach our boys and
encourage them to embrace education, more and more of them will be before our
courts lost, confused and charged with all manner of violent offenses.
DR. GOMEZ ATTENDS PANCAP MEETING ON AIDS
Click here to read Press Release
MELANIE GRIFFIN SPEAKS UP FOR SOCIAL WORKERS
The following press statement was issued by the PLP’s spokeswoman on social services Melanie Griffin MP on Friday 1st April. This followed a work stoppage by social workers on Thursday 31st March because one of their number had been assaulted by people seeking services from the department and frustrated by the slowness of the service. Loretta Butler Turner, the Minister in response to the assaults threatened to stop assistance to the poor. Melanie Griffin’s statement follows:
STATEMENT BY MELANIE S.GRIFFIN, MP
OPPOSITION SPOKESWOMAN ON SOCIAL SERVICES
March 31st, 2011
I am deeply concerned about the incident that took place at the Nassau Street Outreach Center of the Department of Social Services yesterday – the injury to the social worker, the resultant stoppage of service to the public and the level of frustration of clients that would lead to such an incident. There is a need for the Government to take immediate steps to avoid this from happening again.
I have on several occasions through questions on the agenda of the House of Assembly and in contributions to various debates, brought the questions of the capacity building of the Department of Social Services, the conditions under which staff of the Department are working and the conditions which persons seeking assistance are expected to endure, to the attention of the Government so these issues could be addressed. It is unreasonable to expect an overburdened and understaffed social services system to respond on a timely and efficient basis to the overwhelming needs of an ever increasing clientele, particularly in these recessionary times, without some backlash. These conditions are unfair to the clients and the staff.
It appears that there has not been any significant hiring in Social Services and that there has been no replacement for persons who have resigned, retired or passed away. This impacts the work of the Department throughout the Country. Existing workers are shuffled about to cover the various units and departments as best they can. Overwhelmed by the increase in clients due to the recession and other crises such as the layoffs at Our Lucaya, much of the ongoing regular work of the social workers cannot be done.
High caseloads coupled with other unresolved human resources issues when added to a public under stress from their own needs, is a formula for explosion. This is what we saw yesterday.
I call on the Government to immediately take steps to remedy this situation in this very critical agency so that such incidences can be avoided, the well-being and dignity of the public and workers alike can be preserved and the high volume of cases on behalf of vulnerable groupings like children, persons with disabilities and older persons can be better managed.
I heard the Minister say that some type of food stamp card is to be implemented, I don’t know how it will work, but until the long lines at outreach centers abate, special provisions should be made for satellite desks to be set up in community centers at the end of each month for clients and social workers to have the benefit of a more comfortable atmosphere to operate in.
I also encourage everyone to be more patient and understanding with each other and the challenges that are being faced by all.
oo00oo
THE PLP SENATORS SLAM GOVERNMENT OVER BTC SALE
The Senate met every day last week and passed the bills and a resolution to facilitate the government's national giveaway of BTC the telephone company. As usual one spokesman after another for the FNM was getting up and talking about Bluewater and the PLP wanting to sell to Bluewater in 2007. The Bluewater deal is irrelevant; was cancelled, the government spent 2 million to cancel it. We are not selling BTC to Bluewater but to Cable and Wireless. That did not help the amnesia of the FNM senators. Maybe what did however were the comments of PLP Senators who were scathing in their attacks on the FNM. We have the statements of Senator Jerome Fitzgerald and Senator Allyson Maynard Gibson.
You may click here for those Gibson's statements.
You may click here for those Fritzgerald's statements.
A REVIEW OF THE CABINET
Osano Neely, a young singer and high school student and Latrae Rahming, a high school student leader, should go see Ward Minnis’ play The Cabinet which will go into its second weekend from 7th April at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts at $25 per ticket. The Dundas is the House that Winston Saunders built and one of his protégés is Ian Strachan who directs this play. In real life Mr. Strachan is a college professor at COB. Put simply the two young men about whom we spoke at the start of the piece look like they are headed into careers in politics. Both want to be Prime Minister and this play will give an early inkling of what they can expect their own people to think about them as leaders and about politicians generally: cynical, manipulative and without integrity.
That one supposes is the nature of a play, particularly a comedy which tends to concentrate with a microscope on one aspect of life in particular. We want them to know that politics may in fact be some of that but it is also a rewarding life of service to country which requires sacrifice, dedication, loyalty and yes trust. Hundreds of thousands of Bahamians look to their leaders for everything from protection from crime, to a ten dollar loan or higher and to burying their dead, christening their children and standing in their weddings. Add to that passing laws for the peace and good order of The Bahamas. The leaders are only as good as they people they lead.
The play is a good effort and the linear notes say that Ward Minnis who is the son of artist and singer Eddie Minnis took five years to write it. Mr. Minnis was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and they do not participate in the political process but like his father he appears to see politics with a jaundiced eye. His view is not bad or wrong but it overstates the case. One supposes that is precisely done to make his point. Mr. Minnis' theory is that Hubert Ingraham (played to great effect by Chigozie Ijeoma and Perry Christie (played by Mr. Minnis) made a pact with each other just before the 2002 general election to hand the government over to Tommy Turnquest, knowing that Mr. Christie could beat a weak Mr. Turnquest and so that Mr. Ingraham could come back to take it over five years later because Mr. Christie is weaker than Mr. Ingraham.
Add to the mix Lynden Pindling (played by Mr. Strachan) who appears as a ghost of the past to goad Mr. Ingraham on into one last battle of wits. Mr. Ingraham bests him again and at the end they embrace in mutual admiration as Sir Lynden has to go back to glory. Preposterous of course. It only looks that way with 20.20 hindsight. But Tommy Turnquest and Perry Christie would not be pleased about how the artist thinks of them in this play.
The play was funny in bits, the newcomer Mathew Wildgoose as the stand in Tommy Turnquest was hilarious. The audience loved the man who played Hubert Ingraham Mr. Ijeoma and gave him a roaring applause as much we suppose for his ability to sound like Mr. Ingraham without being a mimic as well as we suspect for the real life character Mr. Ingraham’s ability in real life to win the game. He is the hero of the piece, the smartest of the pack and again from the playwright’s point of view at the top of the Bahamian heap. At the end of the day, we are left with the distinct feeling that this is the man (Mr. Ingraham) the playwright thinks represents us at our best maybe and our best is not very good but we admire his ability to get us do what he wants. That is a great disappointment.
We don't think that politics is that cynical, although there must be cynicism as in anything. We think that Mr. Ingraham is manipulative and ruthless but not that smart. We do not think that Perry Christie is guileless and we don’t think that Tommy Turnquest is a dolt but that is what we get from the playwright. It was interesting to see the play if only to make that comment, even though it was a tad too long, and it took too many scene changes to make the point so that it laboured in the first half.
It was also interesting to see who actually is attracted to theatre these days. The audience was like those gathered a family picnic.
By all means go see it and of course thanks to the cast and to Ian Strachan and Ward Minnis for the effort at keeping us amused. This like politics is hard work for which no one is really grateful least of all the politicians of whom you make caricatures.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
This week Forrester Carroll writes about Hubert Ingraham’s attacks on private citizens behind the protection of a phalanx of police:
You can always determine who the damn cowards are; for when they are surrounded by their bullies, to protect them from getting their behinds whipped, their mouths are as stiff as glue; but when their bullies are not around, they keep their mouths shut and crawl into their shells like the two bit little wimps and weasels they are.
For much of Ingraham’s WORTHLESS and MISERABLE life he has had the protection of either the parliament of the Bahamas or the Royal Bahamas police force 24/7/365; at home; at play and on all those “taxpayers’ funded, expensive and wasteful overseas trips” he has taken in his political lifetime. This man has been boldly committing his cowardly acts, against private citizens lately, with impunity. Without fear of physical reprisal, from those private citizens, he has attacked either from behind the veiled protections of the parliament or when police officers were all around, outside of the parliament, to protect his square, worthless behind.
Just before Christmas, in John Bull’s Store on Bay Street, it was widely reported, and substantiated by Mr. Leon Williams himself, that Hubert Ingraham, the country’s mullet-head prime minister, had accosted him (Leon Williams) without provocation and for no good reason. The report stated that while private citizen Leon Williams was in the store doing some last minute Christmas shopping, that he was approached and verbally abused by the country’s tyrant prime minister. Williams opined that his (Williams’) opposition to the way Ingraham’s FNM government was handling the BTC privatization affair-coupled with his (Williams’) appearance on Bay Street in support of BTC’s workers in their demonstration against the FNM’s giveaway of the peoples’ Corporation to C & W seemed, apparently, to have been the reason for the Jungalist’s unorthodox outburst. It didn’t bother the crude dictator that the store was overflowing with Christmas shoppers, most of whom were tourists, at the time. The opinions of many indicated that when the African Jungalist suddenly saw Mr. Williams, just like a hungry lion, he pounced on the man and it didn’t matter to the jungle bunny who was around or how it appeared to the world for a so-called Statesman to be acting in such a manner. In other words the jungle in him took over and triggered the sudden outburst. Had Mr. Williams not chose to walk away from the raving maniac, a physical confrontation could have ensured and the outcome far different than it turned out to be. Cool heads thank God prevailed and Mr. Williams, to his credit, walked away saving Ingraham a good ole, down home, down to earth cut behind. Ingraham (the damn coward) acted the way he did only because the police were around to protect him from a good cut behind otherwise he would not have taken the chance; unless, of course, Leon Williams was a woman and not a man.
Then he allegedly inferred that he would “bloody the nose” of Mrs. Cheryl Grant-Bethel, a female, only because she spoke up for her rights. This seems to fit Ingraham’s profile precisely; that he would threaten to bloody the nose of a lady is in keeping with, what I submit is, part of his cowardly DNA and characteristic make-up. To even speak to a lady in such a fashion is unbecoming of a real man and more particularly if that man is the country’s CEO, charged with the responsibility (ultimately) of protecting all the country’s citizens from irresponsible, sissified bullies who would wish to do them harm. This man, when surrounded by his police bodyguards, reminds me of the gangster who walks into the room with two huge bodyguards; one on either side of him. He threatens the two men, occupants of the house, that if they didn’t pay him what they owed him he would break both their legs (meaning his bodyguards would do the leg breaking). Suddenly the two bodyguards came down with the loose belly, as a result of something they ate earlier in the day, and both had to rush off to the bathroom, before discharging in their pants, leaving the hard mouth, leg breaking pretender gangster all by himself. Of course the two men grasp the opportunity and both rushed toward the cowardly gangster, whose mouth wasn’t so hard at this point. The coward took off, like a bat out of hell, as fast as his puny legs could take him and that’s who Ingraham reminds me of. He threatens media reporters all the time and the reason why he does so is because he knows that they would dare not challenge him for fear of being insulted, fired from their jobs or becoming the target of the dictator’s usual abusive diatribe.
Prior to the Leon Williams’ incident, Ingraham engaged the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s Sir Jack Hayward in a fight. In his usual cowardly fashion he spoke through the media, to both Hannes Babak and Sir Jack, when he told reporters that the renewal of Hannes Babak’s work permit (although at that point a renewal had not yet been requested) would not be granted. Most of the reporters, I am quite sure, didn’t even know what the dictator was talking about because they hadn’t, in fact, asked him anything about Babak’s work permit. As a matter of fact, most of the reporters on the scene, at the time, didn’t (I dare say) know who Hannes Babak was. Ingraham did it in that fashion because he didn’t have the GUTS, I submit, to tell either Sir Jack or Babak, the news to their faces. The man is just plainly and simply a damn COWARD.
And then a couple weeks ago the country’s bully attacked Robin Hood’s Sandy Schaefer. He did so in response, apparently, to Mr. Schaefer’s criticism of the government’s handling of the road projects, which has caused many business owners, in the areas, much pain, suffering and loss of business. Ingraham spoke of the man as if he were an import who had become a ward of the state. The dictator said of him; “It is most regrettable that such a person has been allowed to have that type of business in my country. He is not a good person for the Bahamas;” unquote. Mr. Schaefer, as was all the rest of the Bahamas I am quite sure, was shocked and taken aback, he said, to hear how that Mongrel spoke of him. It should be remembered that Mr. Sandy Schaefer is a private citizen, who do not enjoy the same protections of the State, as do this “wind bag” coward. Then to add insult to Mr. Schaefer’s injuries, the government (Ingraham’s FNM government; that is) sent Customs and Police Officers, to the businessman’s store the following day, to conduct a raid of his premises. They confiscated and removed items without giving Schaefer or his lawyer a receipt for the items, and they did not give a reason for the raid.
Having been a Customs Officer myself, for fifteen years, and one who was authorized to be issued with, and indeed carried, a standard warrant ID card at all times, I can tell you that the way this matter was executed (according to press reports) was not in keeping with standard procedure, usually followed, when we had reason to raid a business owner’s establishment who was suspected of having in his/her possession UNCUSTOMED goods; meaning goods imported, on which customs duties were suspected not to have been paid. What we did, routinely when I was on staff, was to go to the premises unannounced and request to see the person(s) managing the store, or in the case of a private residence request to see the owner; inform them of your suspicions and request to see the list of items which were suspected of not having been “Duty Paid.” When the items would have been produced we would have then questioned the person(s) as to the customs duty status of the same. If they were able to satisfy the officers, in the affirmative, that all customs duties were in fact paid, the officers would apologize for the incident and leave. Police were never requested to accompany the revenue officers or indeed even needed in those circumstances. To walk into Mr. Schaefer’s store, like some Gestapo force, with the police in tow and gather up a bunch of merchandise, then leave without telling the owner or his lawyer why they were there in the first place, was certainly out of character with the way things should be done and it certainly looks much like Gestapo tactics to me. The claim, by the Comptroller of Customs, that the raid was a mere coincidence is one bunch of hog wash. Who does he thinks believes that garbage? Glen Gomez is Ingraham’s puppet and was in fact installed to carry out the DICTATOR’S bidding. I submit that these are the kinds of dirty tactics that Ingraham would resort to in fighting whoever he perceives to be his enemies and right now he is so damn delusional that he thinks everybody, including his entire cabinet, are all his enemies and are out to get him.
Cabinet ministers are not supposed to confide in anyone, outside of cabinet, as to matters discussed in formalized meetings of the cabinet, but every once in a while they do. I was told recently about an alleged incident which took place in one of Ingraham’s cabinet meetings. It involved the dictator and Junior minister Branville McCartney; which incident, I am told, prompted his (McCartney’s) resignation. They told me that Ingraham was his usual unpolished, abrasive self that Tuesday morning when he spoke down at Branville McCartney, scolding him for some immigration matter, as though the junior minister was a child of his. Branville jumped to his feet from his chair, I am told, and while pointing his finger directly in Ingraham’s face told the dictator quote; “I resent you speaking to me like I am some brat of yours; my father has never spoken to me in that fashion and he can do so if he wishes too. My advice to you is to never ever speak to me in this fashion again or I’ll be forced to slap the piss out of you” unquote. They tell me that Branville McCartney resigned his cabinet post within days after this alleged incident.
As a layman who has observed people intensely for years, I perceive that Ingraham is not a well man. For sure his mind is messed up which, I am convinced, is as a result of it never having been liberated. Ingraham’s mind has never been emancipated from slavery and while something inside of him keeps reminding him that slavery was abolished in the eighteen hundreds and that he is free to do and act responsibly, another stronger something contradicts him and convinces his mind that he is not really free from the shackles of slavery. This, I submit, is the reason why he reacts like a Jungalist when he is asked to account for his actions or when people criticize him; that is why when reporters ask him the hard questions, he reacts like an idiot. The man has gone bananas and I am convinced that he is at such an advanced stage that he is seeing things which are just not there. He launches and strikes like a venomous reptile at anyone who he deems opposes him. You will see more of these acts of desperation as the campaign for the general elections draw near. If he thinks that he is such a bad fellow, why doesn’t he approach someone his own size, who has a low tolerance for fools and see if he’ll find the same “turning of the other cheek” as he found in Mr. Leon Williams.
I practice “Bush Psychiatry” and from my perspective, as a ‘Bush Psychiatrist,” I have analyzed Hubert Alexander Ingraham’s present state of being as that of a “raving political Lunatic” who ought not be allowed to coexist among sane people, but ought to be put away politically before he seriously hurts any more of us.
As a footnote to all this: Psalm #94 is not credited to the Psalmist David but the anonymous writer, in this prayer to the Lord, in verse #20 prays; “will you permit a corrupt government to rule under your protection-a government permitting wrong to defeat right? No,” answers the Psalmist to his own question. I say NO; the Lord will not permit this corrupt FNM government to continue to rule over us; calling wrong-right and right-wrong.
Thank you.
Forrester J Carroll J.P
Freeport, Grand Bahama
3rd April 2011
Kelly Burrows says we didn’t get the count right in our edition of 20th March on the numbers at the FNM’s rally. We stand by the picture. No photo shopping there but Mr. Burrow’s comments below. We understand he is threatening to boycott the site. We wouldn’t want that:
Photo by PLP Media From the Top of Ft. Charlotte at the height of the rally.
C’mon get real, don’t let your bias be clouded from the truth causing you not to
Separate truth from fiction , the photo cannot be at the height of the rally, not
the rally I watched from start to the end,
Papa seem to have you guys number, and he’s beating you like a drum.
Some of your members should be concerned about what Papa have in his new bag.
The only issue throughout thus far from the opposition is INGRAHAM.
I trust that as we are heading into the silly season, there must be more burning issues
for public consumption than INGRAHAM, INGRAHAM, INGRAHAM.
Here are a few suggestions: Crime, Unemployment, Grand Bahama, that is experiencing
the worst economic decline in its history, Murders, etc.
As for Branville McCartney, his days are numbered, before you can lead, you have to follow.
Kelly Burrows
Freeport, Grand Bahama
IN PASSING
The Tax Man Cometh
The people at Bahamas Press, the news website and the folk on Facebook who support the PLP did a very clever thing last week. They started during the week showing an innocuous announcement from the government's Financial Secretary Eherd Cunningham, telling people that if they did not pay their business licence fees by 31st March they would be subject to a $5000 fine and a hundred dollars per day for each day they did not pay. True but not quite. You have to get convicted of an offence first and the courts can apply such a fine. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves or let the truth interfere with a good story. This country is on such a knife’s edge that people actually believed it and there was a scramble to get to the Business Licence Section to pay the taxes. The department could not meet the demands. Further, they are transferring staff from the Department on the ground that the staff is crooked. One report has it that Tex Turnquest, the disgraced former Director of Lands and Surveys is being brought back along with one of Hubert Ingraham’s favourite men from Abaco Don Cornish, transferred to save his life out of Grand Bahama, to head the Business Licence Unit. Confusion reigns. This $5000 fine business was just one more example of how people think this government is such a set of oppressors. People argued how could a government be so unconscionable as to impose such a fine when times are so hard and in any event the Department itself did not understand how to administer the new act that came into force on 1st January. Good job BP and Facebook. By week’s end, the government had to clarify the position.
The Customs Climb Down In Grand Bahama
Customs has climbed down off their high horse and reverted to the old policy of issuing the annual bond letters which allow business people registered under the Hawksbill Creek Act in Freeport to bring in their goods duty free for use in the bonded area. The Customs Department was insisting that they would not issue the bond letters until there was evidence that the National Insurance payments were made. This crippled many businesses. A least one businessman went to court using the services of Fred Smith, the FNM lawyer. Mr. Smith says that even though Customs has climbed down on the matter, his legal actions will continue because he believes they ought to collect damages for the delays that customs ahs caused.
Sandy Schaefer Gets His Computers Back
Customs who raided the Robin Hood Food Store of Sandy Schaefer some two weeks ago many believe because he bad mouthed the government reported last week that they returned the computers. They say their investigations are ongoing. Mr. Schaefer’s lawyers have said that they will sue the government.
Scotiabank Announces Raises In Fees
On Friday morning 1st April in the Nassau Guardian Barry Malcolm, the former FNM Senator who now heads Scotiabank, told the press that Scotiabank was making some adjustments to its fees that would be an improvement in the services offered to its customs. The verbiage was superb. It was after all April Fool’s Day. You would actually have thought that Scotiabank was doing something of value , more than that spectacular value. Turns out all they were doing was announcing that it will cost more to bank with them. One thing they have introduced is a transaction fee for your deposit account of $2. That will hold you. You must pay for them to keep your money.
Lights Not Working At Long Island Airport
The PLP when it was in office took the public monies and made sure that every airport in the country had lights put in that could be used when there were emergencies. Before that all the airports had to have someone with a car light on the runway for emergency flights on the largely unmanned airports in our Family Islands. The FNM government could not even manage to keep those lights on. Despite official denials the lights do not work on the Deadman’s Cay strip and it does not look like they have any intention of repairing them.
No Response From The Guardian On Ethics
Last week, we did a considered piece on Candia Dames and her ethical practices at the Nassau Guardian or the lack thereof. Not one peep from the Nassau Guardian. They had editorial after editorial last week, with words of advice for all and sundry but none for themselves. What was that the Bible said: “Physician heal thyself?”
Cassius Stuart Is Holding Out
The speculation was rife a few weeks ago that Cassius Stuart who is the son-in-law of Alfred Gray PLP MP for MICAL was about to join the PLP. That has stalled it appears. Some suggest that Mr. Stuart is holding out because the FNM has said that they will offer him a total of four seats and the PLP needs to match that offer.
Dr Nottage Tours The Rand Hospital
Dr. Bernard Nottage PLP MP spent the day in Freeport on Thursday 31st March and amongst the things that he did was tour the Rand Memorial Hospital which is being refurbished by the government, only to end up when it is finished with one less room than it now has. Our friends tell us that he was welcomed like a conquering hero with people shouting and some whispering “It aint long now”.
The Fred Mitchell Book Signing
It was on the occasion of his 56th birthday in October 2009 that Fred Mitchell launched the newest version of Great Moments In PLP History, the short work that was commissioned originally by the PLP’s Lynden Pindling way back in 1977. We found this video and thought you might find it interesting and instructive.
Bradley Roberts Is On Holiday
PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts is on a cruise for ten days with his wife getting some well deserved R & R just before the fight of the campaign. He returns to The Bahamas on 13th April.
Abaco Tour
We present the video of the listening tour of Abaco by the leaders of the PLP headed by Deputy Leader Philip Davis MP Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador and Bradley Roberts PLP Chairman on March.
John Bostwick II ( Son Of J. Henry Bostwick QC) Going Public With His Ambitions
The son of former Leader of the Opposition J. Henry Bostwick and a supporter of third party advocate and Independent MP Branville McCartney is holding a press conference today Sunday April 3, 2011 from 3 to 5 pm at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel at which he promises that he will unveil his vision for the future of the Bahamas. John Bostwick tells us in a note that press members in attendance will be presented with press packs which shall include a complimentary copy of "Bahamas 20/20 Vision" - a 20 year plan for the development and governance of The Bahamas. The PLP’s Foreign Affairs Committee already has a plan called Vision 2020. You may click here for a read of it. It will be interesting to see what he has to say born and bred as he was in the bosom of the FNM. His father we said what he was and his mother is former FNM Minister of Foreign Affairs and Attorney General.
Farewell Delroy Meadows
He used to be PLP but he is no longer. Having not gotten the nomination for the Ft Charlotte constituency, Mr. Meadows has announced his farewell from the PLP. He plans to run as an independent in the constituency. Mr. Meadows is the web master behind Bahamas Issues.com
A Sad Day
Today is the last day that BTC will be owned by the Bahamian people. We have a government that has sold us out for nothing. Imagine a Prime Minister telling his own people get used to it, Cable and Wireless will be your new bosses. So we go from being owners to employees in one fell swoop. We go from being the bosses to being the hired hands in the stroke of a pen. Something is wrong with that. The FNM must pay.
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return to the top of the page.
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THE NEW SOUTH AFRICAN HIGH COMMISSIONER: Mathu Joyini is the third High Commissioner To The Bahamas for South Africa since the modern era of relations between The Bahamas as an independent state and South Africa as a modern democratic republic. It’s then President Thabo Mbeki paid a state visit to The Bahamas in late 2003. The relationship is special because of the number of Bahamians who fought for South African freedom during the apartheid era. They include Fred Mitchell MP, founder of the Bahamas Committee On Southern Africa. He served as Foreign Minister when the special accord between the two countries was signed, and was part of the Commonwealth Observer Mission to South Africa in the run up to the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994. So against that background came the new High Commissioner who is resident in Kingston, Jamaica. She presented her credentials to the Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes on Thursday 7th April at Government House. Our photo of the week is that of the Governor General presenting the new High Commissioner to his wife Lady Joan Foulkes. The photo is by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
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| Like Judas' kiss, this smile by our Prime Minister sells out the country.. Nassau Guardian photo |
The Prime Minister started of the week, bumbling and bungling it again. He lied to the Bahamian public saying that he did not say 4th April was the transfer date but the face of the record is clear. The Bahamas Information Services put out an announcement that the transfer was to take place on 4th April at 11 .am. at the Cabinet Office. The wholesale selling of a part of the national patrimony was to be administered over by this Uncle Tom Prime Minister who has never seen a foreign or Caucasian that he cannot bow down to. That is as harsh as we can say it. Maybe it was his Abaco upbringing. But this man is a complete and utter sellout of the Bahamian people. He is a very strange individual indeed. The problem is he is proud of who he is.
Everywhere you go in this town, the cry of aint long now can be heard. It can be heard sotto voce and sometime from the roof top. Bahamians cannot believe that ten years after Lynden Pindling gave up his mortal coil, our country is right where it was prior to 1967. A set of Uncle Toms and traitors in charge of the country that appear not to have any sense of national ride or decency in their country, their race and themselves. No sense of national pride, no sense of anything. They are quite simply a disgrace.
The PLP issued the following statement with regard to the sale of BTC after the sale took place:
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6th April 2011
In the history of The Bahamas, this is a day which will live in infamy. The Government of The Bahamas, an FNM administration headed by Hubert Ingraham has transferred at a fire sale price part of the national patrimony of The Bahamas in the form of the assets of BTC. This is sad. It is disgraceful. The Prime Minister and his colleagues should hang their heads in shame at this disgraceful act which comes after years of equity have been built up by Bahamian sweat and tears in this company. It must be reversed.
This is a bad deal. The deal stinks. We do not support it. We repeat that under a PLP administration BTC will be back in Bahamian hands. Our thoughts and concerns are with the employees of BTC at this sad time.
The FNM government's conduct is simply disgraceful. They and their leaders ought to be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
We for the first time in a long while take issue with Stan Burnside as he lampooned Perry Christie and the PLP saying in his cartoon that the PLP was late again by its statement issued after the consummation of the sale that Mr. Christie as late again. This was the FNM line that was used to such great effect in the last 2007 campaign. What was the PLP supposed to do? Cause a riot in the town to stop this or announce that it was simply going to use all lawful means to get the asset back.
There are certain common things that one expects that are common ground between the parties. One of them is that you do not sell off national assets. Who could have imagined that in 2011 we would have such an obsequious, small minded idiot as our Prime Minister, a sell out to the national cause that we would actually have to defend national assets against a traitor sitting in the cabinet office? It is simply beyond belief.
The morning after the sale took place the new masters of BTC, Cable and Wireless and their English overlords, the very same people we kicked out of here as our overlords in 1973 were on the front page. One David Shaw singing sweet nothings and dissing the PLP saying that they were not concerned about what the Leader of the Opposition had to say about the buyer beware. That is infuriating. We hope that when the day of reckoning comes for him and his company in this country that he does not rue the day that he made such an insensitive, impolitic and stupid statement.
Time is longer than rope. We must get BTC back. The only thing that makes sense is that this sale by Mr. Ingraham to Cable and Wireless is corrupt as corrupt as the choice of Cable Bahamas to put in the cable TV system. There is no other answer. We expect that if the PLP wins that a Commission of Inquiry will be held to determine where the corruption is and to get to the bottom of this. It is also not beyond comprehension such a slave is our Prime Minister that he simply sold BTC to buy the general election of 2012. Cable and Wireless will reduce the rates and make it appear cheaper to call and for that we expect he thinks that the young Bahamians will be grateful. So you sell a whole telephone company, part of the national patrimony for lower telephone rates. What a thing?
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 9th April 2011 up to midnight: 139,736
Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 9th April 2011 up to midnight:171,219
Number of hits for the year 2011 up to Saturday 9th April 2011 up to midnight: 2,375,468
FRED MITCHELL ON TRANSFERS FROM BUSINESS UNIT
The following statement was issued by Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill and the Opposition’s spokesman on the Public Service:
7th April 2011
I am calling for a explanation to be given to the public on the recent mass transfer of employees from the
Business License Unit in circumstances that suggest wrong doing.
Several of the officers have been to see me and are incensed at the suggestions planted in the press from apparently highly placed Government sources that something was wrong with their work ethic or worse. One such story was reported in The Tribune of Friday 1st April.
I am not surprised by this development because this practice follows a pattern of behavior by the FNM in government. Their propaganda is that everyone is corrupt except them. Additionally, whenever the FNM government conspires to victimize public servants, they first publicly malign the character and professional reputation of the public servant.
The decision to redeploy the officers without explanation and in circumstances that defame the employees is part of the usual pattern we have seen before by the FNM government with customs officers, police officers and immigration officers who were all forced out under a cloud of suspicion. In many cases, their professional reputations were deliberately and heartlessly ruined by the FNM.
This decision comes against the background that 12 new people have been hired in the face of what is supposed to be a government hiring freeze. It gives rise to the suspicion of cronyism and that the public payroll is being padded for political purposes prior to a general election.
The public should have a full and "spin-less" explanation from the FNM government.
PLP STATEMENT ON FALSE ALLEGATION OF MISSING $$$
The following statement was issued by the Progressive Liberal Party in answer to a front page story in The Tribune on Friday 8th April 2011 that there was an investigation into a missing half a million dollar donation to the PLP .
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
There is no truth to the newspaper report this morning that the PLP is investigating a missing political donation of half a million dollars or any other sum to its general election 2007 fund or any other fund.
There is no complaint now or before from any donor about a missing donation to the PLP of half a million dollars or any other sum to its general election 2007 fund or any other fund.
The story calls for speculation. It is either the work of mischief makers who are too clever by half and for their own good or inept propagandists seeking to push the FNM line that somehow the PLP’s name is sullied in the eyes of the public. In either case the party remains undeterred of ridding the country of the FNM and Hubert Ingraham. We are fully focused on the issues: crime, unemployment and saving The Bahamas for Bahamians.
The PLP intends to win the next general election and by God’s help save the nation.
TYE MCKENZIE WITH OWEN ARTHUR
McKenzieTyson McKenzie is the leader of the Bahamas National Youth Council. He is headed ultimately to a career in politics. He is also a Caribbean man, interested in relations between The Bahamas and Caricom. A rare bird in this Bahamian universe but a sensible lad. He hails from Mangrove Cay. Recently on a visit to Barbados 31st March, he was able to meet with former Prime Minister of Barbados Owen Arthur who is now also the Leader of the Opposition.. Here is the press statement issued upon his return in which the former Prime Minister touts Caricom wide relations for The Bahamas as a good thing. We agree. You may click here for the full article.
JOHN ROLLE’S FULL PRESS RELEASE
Last week, we presented a Nassau Guardian version of what the former and retired Comptroller of Customs John Rolle had to say about his successor Glen Gomez who like all good FNMs are holier than thou and filled with righteous indignation about who they are: everyone is corrupt except them. Today, we present the full press release by Mr. Rolle himself:
Name and Shame
By John Rolle
For nearly two years I have listened to or read some inaccurate remarks which were apparently made by the existing Comptroller of Customs, attempting to discredit his predecessors and Customs Staff.
He also touted the introduction of various programs which have yet to be implemented in accordance with the schedule delivered as per the many Press/Media offerings.
He speaks about corruption as if same was a new phenomenon, and he is the only honest man in The Bahamas.
His more recent interview with Candia Dames, carried in The Nassau Guardian he stated that he is cleaning up some of “the Mess”, and would not be able to clean it all up. This should be better identified and articulated.
Shortly after he returned to Customs he announced that his predecessors had broken the law by allowing non-perishable goods to be released on a Ten –Day Bond. As a result, legitimate Importers who had fulfilled their obligations in accordance with Customs Regulation 33(amended as per S.I. 50/ 1999), were denied immediate release of their Goods. Please check and publicly state who has broken the LAW. Obviously having been advised of his error he proceeded to have this Section amended months later, but during the interim, legitimate and honest importers were deprived of an agreed condition. Where is the HONESTY and or the INTEGRITY?
I also was shown an article regarding his demand for the payment of Stamp Tax on Aircraft arriving in this country prior to 2008. Fortunately a few of the airlines affected by this improper demand sought advice on the matter. They were referred to Section 19 of The Customs Management Act, which in summary states, “Goods arriving on an Aircraft or Vessel (as CARGO)” require an Entry. It follows that stamp tax is only applicable to those goods declared on an ENTRY. So any aircraft which did not arrive as cargo was not required to be declared on an ENTRY and as such no Stamp Tax payment was due. What a Mess! Who is holding this man accountable for the many inaccurate and erratic statements?
There is so much damage that can be and has been done by a Head of a major Law Enforcement Agency who does not know the law.
As the saying goes “It is better to keep my mouth shut ……..than to open it and remove all doubts.”
There is so much inconsistency.
Reportedly a staff member wrote to him about a relative who had improperly removed two chairs from the Dock, and even if they were returned after the whistle was blown, a fair and forthright person who insists on reporting such happenings to the press, should confirm what action was taken against this relative.
His announcement of one hundred million dollars leakage in Revenue by fraudulent acts suggests that he was able to identify how, where and when these acts occurred. In addition the revenue should show some significant improvement as a result of the specific corrective action taken. Compare the 2007/2008 Revenue with 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 in spite of the increase in tariff rates to offset the reduction in the economic activity; see how effective all of the ranting raving really was.
The modernization of Bahamas Customs has always been a continuous process. In the development of the FTAA, the challenges for Customs in the Hemisphere were examined and there were eight important measures identified which included the implementation of a “COMPATIBLE ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE” System. The matters of CORRUPTION and INTEGRITY were also addressed and the abuse and misuse of authority by Customs Officials were high on the list. The Heads of Customs in the Hemisphere formed an association to provide guidance and assistance in implementing the necessary Customs programs and the first Steering Committee included the then Comptroller of Customs of The Bahamas, who has also served as the Lead Negotiator for the Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties in preparation for the Free Trade of The Americas Agreement.
Shamefully the actions of the present Comptroller show that he is not well versed in the law and have created some serious doubt in my mind for his ability to provide the homogeneous and professional leadership necessary for the task ahead.
The Powers that be should check or find someone with the knowledge, to check the amount of mess that is now being created and take corrective action before this Country suffers further embarrassment.
THE CHERYL GRANT BETHELL RULING ON COSTS
You may remember after the ruling in the Cheryl Grant Bethell case on Friday 6th March by Justice Jon Isaacs, the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham had a lot to say about Mrs. Grant Bethell’s case. One of the things he said was that he expected that the government’s costs would be paid by Mrs. Grant Bethell since the court did not agree to any of the reliefs that were prayed. Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill in a press conference on 8th March accused Mr. Ingraham of interfering with the courts. Justice Jon Isaacs has now ruled on the matter and he has ruled that the Government must pay 90 per cent of Mrs. Grant Bethell’s costs. Sounds like egg over the face of the Prime Minister to us. The government has announced that it will appeal.
You can click here for the full ruling of the Judge on costs delivered on 4th April.
PHOTO ESSAY ON NEW S.A. HIGH COMMISSIONER
Mathu Joyini is the third High Commissioner to The Bahamas for South Africa and she presented her credentials to the Governor General on Thursday 7th April. Foreign Minister Brent Symonette was there as was the Opposition’s spokesman on Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, Opposition spokesman on Education Alfred Sears and the Opposition’s leader in the Senate Allyson Maynard Gibson and her husband Max. The photos and video are by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services.
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Campbell Shipping which has scores of ships on the Bahamian registry has named another ship called the CS Calla at the Xingang Shipyard in China. Lowell Mortimer, Chairman of the Company was in China with a Bahamian delegation which included former Comptroller of Customs John Rolle and Mrs. Sandra Rolle, Patsy Treco and Leroy Major. We present the photos of the event which took place on April. Congratulations to Campbell Shipping.
BRANVILLE MCCARTNEY RESPONDS TO HUBERT
It is unfortunate that he is still wasting valuable time energy and money pursuing a third party alternative but you know young men think that they can duck bullets. Everyone is entitled to try. Utah Taylor had one of his supporters Celli Moss on TV defending the position. You can see that video. What is more interesting though was that Hubert Ingraham the Prime Minister took a delegation of high profile FNMs including Tommy Turnquest, the Minister of National Security and Carl Bethel, the Party Chairman and Dion Foulkes, the Minister of Labour to Bamboo Town to apologize he said to the people of Bamboo Town because Bran McCartney is no longer with them. Problem is that hardly anyone from Bamboo Town showed up. And then when C Allen Johnson, the PLP activist showed up with his questions to the Prime Minister, he folded up his tent, cut and run. Whereupon, Mr. Allen was set upon by supporters of the FNM for his troubles. Bran McCartney was not sitting still though; he or someone sympathetic to him released this video defending Mr. McCartney.
We pay tribute to Howard Glass, one of the pioneering photographers during the Pindling era. Before there was Peter Ramsay, there was Howard Glass. He had a good ten years with the Bahamas Tourist News Bureau before being declared redundant in the new dispensation of the PLP. He was embittered by the experience but started a new life devoted to church and family. Always industrious, even though he had a reputation for calling a spade a spade, he was a loyal fellow and was quite inventive as a photographer. Roland Rose a co-worker and photographer paid tribute to him at the funeral at St. Agnes Church on Saturday 9th April. He died on 3rd of April following a paralyzing neck bone fracture. He is survived by one daughter Nicolle and a long life friend Van Anthony Johnson. The photos are by Peter Ramsay.
Image by Calvin Smith
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
This week Forrester Carroll writes about the sale of BTC by Hubert Ingraham’s FNM:
Three votes; just three additional lousy “No” votes, could have made the difference and saved BTC from the guillotine. As a matter of fact two more votes, plus Ingraham’s “No” vote, could have saved the century-old corporation from falling into the hands of that broke, busted and waultless Cable and Wireless.
It was a sad day, that Thursday 24th March 2011, when the parliament of the Bahamas voted in favor of sending us, back in time, to the days when we owned nothing, but rather when we were owned and enslaved by our Colonial masters. Contrary to the bull-crap the FNM has sold us on this BTC privatization exercise I dare say that no real benefits will accrue to the Bahamian people but rather, in point of fact, it takes us from “landlord status,” back in time, to becoming renters again. The exercise could be likened to a man who owns a very huge, lucrative profit producing business and foolishly, one day, he decides to sell fifty one percent (51%). But that is not the only stupid thing the man does; in addition, he sells the 51% for far less than what it is worth on the open market and sells to an individual who doesn’t have a clue as to how the business should be operated. The reality being that Immediately upon selling fifty-one per cent, he becomes the minority shareholder and now, instead of pocketing 100% of the profits and making all the final decisions in the operation of the company, he now takes home only 49% and has no more authority in deciding how the business should be operated; doesn’t sound very intelligent does it? My intention, in this article, is to vet some aspects, simply, of this unfortunate sell out of our assets and to show how we were shafted by this Ingraham Administration.
Instead of dismissing and downsizing the company by 33% of its employees, during the initial stages of the agreement, Ingraham, realizing that he would have been skinned alive by angry Bahamians from across the country, caused C&W to agree to delaying the immediate dismissal of the proposed thirty three per cent (33%) of BTC’s employees and to allow one full year for staff members to volunteer for disengagement instead. The second detail that I wish to discuss is Ingraham’s bragging over the fact that his government was able to retain, in the agreement, VETO powers over certain matters, he said, to ensure protection against anything happening that would endanger the company’s continued viability; and thirdly I wish to examine the proposed make-up of the Board of Directors to see if there are any protective benefits accruing, from the stipulated make-up of the board, to the Bahamian people. Ingraham brags about these sections, in the document, as if they should provide us some degree of comfort while we are getting royally screwed by C&W.
In vetting the first matter mentioned above, I wish someone to tell me which employee, at BTC, will be so stupid as to agree and then volunteer to lose their own good paying job? If I were a part of C&W, I wouldn’t count on any of BTC’s employees being that stupid unless, of course, they were guaranteed to each being awarded $1 million, up front, plus their monthly pensions. I am being a little ridiculous here because this whole proposition is just that; ridiculous. No sane person should be expected to volunteer themselves to be fired, especially in the face of the hard times being experienced currently by thousands of families in this country. It would be very naïve, to say the least, to think that any employee would be that crazy. C&W, I submit, will have to select, for dismissal, those BTC’s employees themselves; without any help from the affected employee pool themselves. When that happens, as surely it will, all hell will break loose and those Englishmen will learn the reasons why lobster is red. When the time comes and very few, if any, of the targeted workers come forward, during the time period stipulated in the agreement for the disengagements, C&W will have to take matters into their own hands and force the dismissal of the 300-400 employees. That process will happen within the next year leading up to the general elections. This will, certainly for the FNM at the very least, be very bad timing for any favorable chances of the government securing very many of BTC employees’ votes. The gods are just not favoring the FNM (this time around) for they continue cutting off their noses to spite their faces. They simply cannot help from screwing things up.
Then Ingraham brags about the VETO power, of the government, provided for in the document, which he claimed would enable the government, in certain circumstances, to put the brakes on certain things happening. I am assured by Mr. Ryan Pinder, and others however, that this clause that permits the government to use its VETO power is for matters that really are of little importance. For instance section 8.3 speaks to certain reserved matters which cannot go ahead unless the government permits. These matters, however, are of little importance, as I said, when considered in the wider context of the total agreement. Altering the Memorandum and Articles of the company’s documents; changes to the share capital; changes in the nature of business; borrowings; loans; disposals and or acquisitions; these are all important aspects, but are not among the substantive workings of the agreement. At most these items are merely cosmetic, in nature, when considered in context with the bigger picture.
Then the dictator tried to make a case for the importance of the government having the option of appointing two of the five board of directors and the fact that one of the two will hold the position of vice-president. This argument is just as silly and dumb as his (Ingraham’s) argument that 51% and 49% are the same and that there is no difference between owning 51% or 49%. I submit, for the sake of those who swallow hook line and sinker all that Hubert Ingraham tells them, that having two of the five directors on the board is the same as owning 49% of the company; both are minority positions and afford us no power or influence over the majority opinion. The person owning 51% fully controls the company and all final decisions taken in its operations. As well, whoever controls three of the five board members controls all final decisions adopted by the “board of directors,” at all times. Ingraham actually bragged about the fact that the government will have the option of the appointment of two of the five directors and that one of the two will be the vice-chairman; and he touted, as being important, that owning 49% made us equally as powerful, in the company, as the 51% owner. Either he is a silly jack ass or the dictator thinks that we are. Do you hear all the laughter, Hubert? They are laughing at you, you idiot. Mr. Dionisio D’Aguilar (who, in Tribune Business on Wednesday 30th March, reportedly branded the PLP’s 51/49 per cent argument, being debated with respect to the sale of BTC to C&W, as an irrelevant issue) is on the record, more than once, agreeing with the FNM’s position that 49% is no different from owning 51%. Well if a businessman, of his caliber and standing really believes that stupidity, then I have no choice but to conclude that he is an intellectual jackass of the first order. If D’Aguilar really believes that nonsense then I must question the media houses who pursue him for these interviews because the man, in my view, is off his rocker.
This throw over (Hubert Ingraham) from the “Willie Lynch” slave era actually agreed to (I am convinced that Ingraham was the one who alone suggested the amount of the penalty-the damn slave) and committed the unpardonable sin of, essentially, tying the hands of this country’s “sovereign State government” by having it agree to be penalized to the tone of $100 million if it dares to breach the three-year monopoly clause in the pack. The clause, in question in essence, says that should the government proceed to enter into talks, directly or indirectly, anytime during the first year of the three-year monopoly period, with any potential recipient of a license to be granted after the expiration of the three-year pack, then C&W could demand that the sovereign Bahamian government pay it $100 million in fines with no questions asked. Why would a prime minister, who boasts of possessing all his faculties, commit this sovereign State, of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, to having to pay such a huge penalty (or any penalty at all for that matter) for deciding at any time it sees fit, to pursue a course of action and or to make decisions which would be in the country’s best interest? I am not a lawyer nor am I a constitutional scholar, but common sense tells me that this clause, somehow, must contravene a part or certain parts of our constitution. It is for you to decide whether this slave (Ingraham) was in a sane state of mind when he prepared this document (I am convinced that he had it prepared by his Attorney General and that C&W made no contribution to the terms and conditions whatsoever) and if you conclude that he was in his right mind then the only other conclusion you can come to is that it must be that there is more to the agreement than meets the eye. It must be that the deal stinks to high heaven and involves huge kick backs which are to accrue to persons, unnamed for the moment, who are serving presently in the cabinet. No one volunteers to be penalized, especially so heavily, for no good reason except for the personal protection of ones own interest. We all know, very well, that the only thing that makes these “Willie-Lynch Negro slaves” tick is easy money. But I’ll let you guys be the judge on this case.
This “Willie Lynch” slave was so pre-fixed on that $200 million cheque that he missed an important aspect of BTC’s operations in the Freeport area. The little insignificant matters of certain license fee payments to the Grand Bahama Port Authority and their approval of the transfer of the license to another entity to operate within the Port area were ignored completely and when D-Day came, for official turn-over, it could not happen. We watched as the slave jumped up and down like the madman he is, talking fool that the Port Authority was being unreasonable. I am sorry to put it so bluntly but Hubert Ingraham is biggest JACKASS I know. We who operate legally within the Port area have been paying these license fees for decades so what makes it so different in BTC’s case? Ingraham may have signed off on the transfer but I’ll guarantee that the Freeport portion is still pending. I saw what that other slave, Julian Francis, said about the matter being settled, but my bet is that he lied; Sir Jack has not signed off, giving the Port’s permission, I’ll bet you, and both slaves are hoping to work out the matter at a later date. Sir Jack is off on his yearly January-April cruise and the kind of relationship he has with the chief slave currently, you can believe that he is not accepting any calls while on his ship. When he returns, I’ll get the correct information and will report those details in a subsequent article. Take my word for it though, the matter is not settled with Sir Jack as yet and you can take that to the bank.
Thank You.
Forrester J Carroll J.P
Freeport, Grand Bahama
10th April 2011.
IN PASSING
James Smith is the guest this afternoon on Jones and Company at 5 p.m. on Love 97 and at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 14. Mr. Smith is the former Minister of State for Finance under Perry Christie’s PLP and a former Central Bank governor.
Resurrecting Dud Maynard
Andrew Dud Maynard was the longest serving Chairman of the PLP since its founder Sir Henry Taylor. He served the late Sir Lynden Pindling faithfully for the 1970s and 1980s until he ran into trouble after being accused of taking a bribe from a man named Kojak in the Commission of Inquiry of 1983 and 1984. He has largely retired from politics since then and has been living in the shadow of his son Charles who is now a minister of the government. The name came up again because his son insists on doing Hubert Ingraham's dirty work. Mr. Maynard, the younger, is not an un-sensible fellow and it is inexplicable why he allows Mr. Ingraham to use him as a clown but he appears comfortable with that role. The latest salvo came as a result of a back and forth between himself and Shane Gibson in the House of Assembly when certain unflattering things were said about his father in response to some unflattering things he said about Shane Gibson. The FNM not be outdone had the father Andrew appear on Jerome Sawyer’s television programme to savage Perry Christie and the PLP in return for Shane Gibson's damage in the House. The problem is this: why would Mr. Maynard the father get involved in this instead of simply staying out of active politics and support his son behind the scenes? His time is past and there is no need for it. The question he and Basil Neymour, the father of Phenton Neymour, the other CDR man who ended up being FNM, have to answer is why with Hubert Ingraham and their sons in political league together, they cannot get a job in this country. Mr. Maynard senior is in construction. Mr. Neymour senior is in road building. They can count the jobs on one hand they have gotten since their sons have been in the government. This is all because Hubert Ingraham is an Uncle Tom who has no respect for Bahamians. That is the real problem not silliness about who said what in some Commission of Inquiry years ago and blaming the PLP a party that is not in power any more. Get a life for Christ’s sake.
Michael Pintard Says Get Rid Of URCA Head
When he spoke in the Senate Friday 1st April on the BTC debate, he mostly did a lot trash talking; the usual FNM line of blaming the PLP for everything under the sun. The man who once predicted that blood would flow in the streets of The Bahamas with a revolution is now supporting the FNM’s selling out the Bahamian patrimony in the form of shares in BTC said that notwithstanding his support of it he thinks that the head of URCA Usman Sadaat should be given his walking ticket out of The Bahamas. Hmmm!
Register Today Says The PLP
Edgar Moxey No Longer At Price Waterhouse Coopers
There was a cryptic announcement in the press last week that well known accountant and partner at Price Warehouse Coopers has left the firm. No word on why but sources say it has its roots in the choice of Clifford Johnson as Senior partner in a vote which divided years ago between the Cooper’s side of the business and the Price Waterhouse side of the business. Mr. Moxey came from the Price Waterhouse side and there were more of the Cooper's than the Price so Mr. Moxey lost and Mr. Johnson won. There was some tension over the years and this led to the break a few weeks ago and Mr. Moxey is now gone. His friends say he is isn’t suffering and is headed to a career in law.
Ebenezer Baptist Church visit Fox Hill PLP
The leadership of the Fox Hill PLP Branch paid its monthly visit to churches in Fox Hill on Sunday 27th March. This time they visited with the Haitian community in Fox Hill at Ebenezer Baptist Church. For the MP for Fox Hill Fred Mitchell it was not the first time that he was visiting. It was a return visit. He was taken there first as he was introduced to Fox Hill by the late George Mackey, his predecessor in the area. The photos show Mr. Mitchell at the far left with the Branch Executive left: Mr. Mitchell, Elamae Collie, Altamese Isaacs, the Pastor, Sharene Glinton, Branch Chair Charlene Marshal, Charlene Curry, Michelle Francis and Tammi Culmer.
Controversy Over The Colour Of The Seats In The National Stadium
There was some talk on Facebook about the fact that the seats in the new stadium being built by the Chinese government for The Bahamas at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre are red and blue. Writers on Facebook accuse the FNM of choosing their colours for the stadium in order to insult the PLP whose colour is gold.
BTC Contract Signed On Pre Paid Services
We don’t know what this means but this press statement was shared with us. Is this a precursor to eliminating the street vendors who make a living selling the phone cards on Nassau’s streets or simply the choice of a vendor for the technology that Cable and Wireless is as the new owners of BTC are to supply.
Emida Wins Contract from The Bahamas Telecommunications Company
FOOTHILL RANCH, California, 16 August 2010 (Business Wire) – Emida, a leader in the global prepayment and value transfer market, has announced it has been contracted by The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to provide prepaid mobile recharge services.
“We are delighted to be partnering with BTC, the premier telecommunications provider serving The Bahamas. This adds another major carrier to our significant coverage in the Caribbean. We look forward to establishing great services for BTC customers and anticipate tremendous take-up in real-time prepaid recharge” stated Dennis Andrews, Emida’s CEO.
“Emida was a clear winner of our open tender process and we are excited at the prospect of working with a regional and global market leader in prepaid recharge services,” said Marlon Johnson, BTC VP for Marketing & Sales. “We are confident this announcement will lead to better services for our customers.”
About Emida
Emida is a leader in the global prepayment and value transfer market, operating in 36 countries throughout North, Central and South America, the Extended Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East and Europe. Emida’s POSA network technology enables the domestic and international distribution and value transfer of many types of prepaid products and payment services including prepaid wireless, prepaid long distance, direct top-up, stored value cards, bill payment, mobile wallet services and more. The Emida network includes more than 46,000 retail points with an annualized dollar payment volume of $1.4B, processing more than 180 million annualized payment transactions. For more information, please visit www.emida.net, www.emidaespanol.net or email info@emida.net.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Martyn Fricker
Emida
949-699-1401 x 1322
mfricker@emida.net
New COB President Installed
Betsy Vogel-Bose is now officially the new President of the College of The Bahamas. She has been in The Bahamas for many months. The official ceremony took place on Thursday 7th April. The photo is from The Tribune. She does not seem to have made much of an impact on the community.
COB Library Opened
The Library that was planned and developed by the PLP during its time in office but built during the FM time was opened officially on Friday 8th April in a hurriedly arranged ceremony. The cost 28 million dollars and named after benefactor now deceased Harry Moore. Hardly a PLP in sight but Dame Marguerite Pindling and Leader of The Opposition Perry Christie attended. The man who is responsible for it Franklyn Wilson was not there and no mention was made of his contribution to its development. The whole thing was entirely FNM political and this from a political party that scuttled the plans for the College to become a university and has no interest in COB. All you have to do is look at the failing physical plant at the school. The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
Barry Malcolm No Longer With Scotiabank?
As the week closed for business on Friday 8th April, the reports started circulating through the town that Barry Malcolm, the Managing Director of Scotiabank, was dismissed. A formal announcement was expected but none has come up to now. Mr. Malcolm was an unexpected choice for the job after the forced departure from Scotiabank of his predecessor Minna Israel of Jamaica. She left the bank and went to work with RBC in Jamaica.
The sources inside the bank say that many of the senior Bahamians who helped build the bank in Nassau were incensed at the choice of Mr. Malcolm and left the bank. The talk is that Mr. Malcolm's three year contract has now come to an end and will not be renewed. He was the handpicked choice of the Anthony Allen, the brother of William Allen former Finance Minister and now chief financial advisor to Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham. They say it was Mr. Allen's way of controlling the bank following his being booted upstairs to the Chairmanship of the Bank without any executive authority.
There is a general complaint about Scotiabank that it is too bureaucratic, there is no decision-making authority in this country; the Bank is being run by Canadians and that there is level of harassment and ineptness with its customers that is simply unacceptable for a Canadian bank.
An Interesting Hunt By Andrew Burrows and Romi On Facebook
Andrew J. Burrows is going on safari. He's hunting the elusive skankapottimus rex. A rare breed of the genus skankius jungalesus, the skankapottimus rex is known to hunt in pairs so he'll be looking for skankapottimi. Who's joining me?
On Saturday last, the lost in space cadet Phenton Neymour, the MP FNM for South Beach who is being moved for his sins to run in Exuma was with the RBDF giving out light bulbs, to save energy. What fools can they be? First of all the RBDF needs to be minding the fishing grounds from Dominican fishermen or maybe helping the police stop crime in the country, not giving out light bulbs. Then the Minister ought to know that so many people have no power, that they are living in darkness and so what the hell good is a light bulb going to be. How thick can you get?
Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames... Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 9 © BahamasUncensored.com 2011
While material on this web site can be used freely by other sections of the press, as a courtesy, journalists are asked to attribute the source of their material from this web site. Click here for the law on copyright as it applies to this website.
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THE PLP’S GRAND BAHAMA TEAM: They are the team that will take the PLP into victory in the next general election in Grand Bahama whenever that general election is called. They are Dr. Michael Darville, Pineridge; Greg Moss in Marco City and Tanisha Tynes, the newest entrant for Lucaya. This means that FNM incumbents Kwasi Thompson, Neko Grant and Zhavargo Laing are looking now at their last days in the House of Assembly. The presentation of Tanisha Tynes was an opportunity for all of them to get together in this resplendent photograph at the public meeting held at PLP House in Freeport on Monday 11th April. Our photo of the week is that of the three PLP candidates for Grand Bahaman now named to fight under the banner of the PLP. The photo is by Andrew Burrows.
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COMMENT OF THE WEEK
Here is what the FNM hopes will happen with the upcoming general election. They hope that smoke and mirrors and spin will get them by. What they know is that right now there is a part of the electorate that is disaffected with both parties. The disaffection should properly be directed at the government but what is inexplicable is the fact that four years after they have come back to office, it is still blame the PLP.
That was the theme all of last week. Perry Christie did not do this. Perry Christie did not do that. Yet the FNM’s lies are so boldfaced to see. The fact is that there is not a single project by the FNM that they are cutting a ribbon for today that was not started under the administration of the PLP’s Perry Christie.
Think about. Name one that the FNM started. The Lynden Pindling Airport; the Harry Moore Library at the College of the Bahamas; the Bahamar Project at Cable Beach; the Straw Market; the Nassau Redevelopment; the new Port development. Not one was started by the FNM. Yet they are busy claiming credit for it all and not giving credit to the PLP, instead seeking to blame the fact that this economy is in the doldrums on the PLP.
Our problem is that the PLP must be less tentative about its defence of this stuff and more robust. It is time to get down and dirty and smack these guys upside the head
Mr. Ingraham runs the most corrupt government in the history of The Bahamas. The objective evidence is that with crime out of control, the economy in the doldrums, he is lousiest Prime Minister that the country has produced.
And what is his response: its Perry Christie's fault. He believes that by smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand, wink and nod he will win the next election
It is possible. We see that Ralph Gonsalves in St. Vincent just slipped through with a one seat majority despite rape charges against him and an economy in the doldrums.
Then there is this business of a poll conducted and reported this week by Public Domain run by the son of Patrick Rahming and former COB president Jeanine Hodder. The poll last week claimed that 21 per cent said that they were indifferent to the FNM and PLP and 26 per cent said that they had not made up their minds. Twenty eight per cent said they would vote PLP and 25 per cent said that they would vote FNM. Now all that means to us is that the country is split fifty-fifty and that there is going to be the mother of all scraps for the next general election.
It will be the Elizabeth bye-election revisited.
Now the question is what of Branville McCartney as all the other third parties disappear Cassius Stuart’s BDM is gone and the NDP appears on the verge of disintegration with Ethric Bowe leaving last week in a huff and accusing the others of slashing his car tires. Other NDP members insist that he was able to drive away without a problem from their meeting. By next week they ought to all be with the PLP or with Bran McCartney who insists against all the evidence and the weight of history that he will form something new called the Democratic National Alliance or DNA.
Fred Mitchell M P speaking in the Yamacraw constituency on Tuesday 12th April said that the DNA with be D.O.A. ( dead on arrival)
So where are we: we are in a battle for the hearts and minds of the Bahamian people? We hope that they vote PLP and will be working for them to do so. The issue is not Perry Christie and Hubert Ingraham. It is the PLP’s team against the FMM's team. The PLP has a better team. They believe in people first and will deliver the goods for the Bahamian people. We must give them a second chance.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 15th April 2011 up to midnight: 231,288
Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 15th April 2011 up to midnight; 419,294
Number of hits for the year 2011 up to Saturday 15th April up to midnight:2,623,543
TODAY IS PALM SUNDAY
In the Catholic Christian world today is Palm Sunday and many churches engaged in public marches throughout the city of Nassau to mark the occasion of Jesus Christ’s triumphant ride into Jerusalem. St. Agnes was one such church. The photos are by Peter Ramsay..
WHAT THE PLP HAD TO SAY ABOUT PERRY CHRISTIE
On Sunday last as we uploaded this column the FNM circulated the text of a commentary about the leadership of the PLP under Perry Christie, calling him the worst Prime Minister in the history of the country. This made front page news in The Tribune. Fred Mitchell MP wrote the Tribune and objected as follows:
Editor:
I wonder how the stuff printed, political guff and trash talking, on a party website gets elevated to front page news.
Your choice of a story today as a top story is simply outrageous.
Your lead story comes on the day when your competitor reminds us that the record for murders was broken in the month of March. Clearly this alone would give the lie to your headline. Your headline should have read that Hubert Ingraham is the worst Prime Minister ever,
judged by the objective measure of his inability to fight crime. His is the lousiest government ever in the history of our country.
So I ask again, how in God's name does a clear partisan statement become a represented fact in a newspaper of record?
Then to subsume the PLP's response within the context of the FNM's message betrays
bad judgement on the part of the paper. There ought to have been equal and opposite headlines and stories.
Further, the FNM's propaganda piece is given full reign on page 9. I am now asking that the PLP's full response be given equal time tomorrow.
Then you on Friday last, you led with a completely inaccurate story about some fictional missing money but the PLP's response is buried on page three of your paper today.
I await word.
Fred Mitchell MP
Fox Hill
The Tribune then agreed to run the PLP’s comment in response in its entirety. We do the same: click here
THE PLP RESPONDS TO FNM CLAIMS ON BTC
The FNM devils were busy last week, suggesting in another press statement that was inspired by the fact that Candia Dames, the personal amanuensis of Hubert Ingraham at the Nassau Guardian, interviewed Perry Christie and he said that he would check with his lawyers for the specifics on how he would retake BTC control from Cable and Wireless. This FN, said showed that he was not decisive. The PLP responded that the recapture of BTC will be done according to law and that was all that needed to be said at this point. You may click here for the statement by the FNM which was issued on Sunday 10th April.
WHAT THE FNM HAD TO SAY ABOUT PERRY CHRISTIE
As our Comment Of The Week shows, the FNM is seeking to make the upcoming general election, the issue of leadership styles and the newspapers are fully on board the issue. The Tribune, the Nassau Guardian and The Freeport News all at some point or other have been leading with the business of whose style of leadership Mr. Ingraham or Mr. Christie is the best. You may click here for the comment that was run by the FNM which the PLP responded to last Sunday following its release:
MITCHELL CALLS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY STATEMENT
In this age of Facebook and Twitter and where everything is public and put on your Blackberry, there was some outrage at the fact that Nellie Brown Cox who was brutally murdered by her former boyfriend two weeks ago had her police file all over the internet last week complete with the brutal pictures and the police report. The question is how it got out. The Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade apologised to the family over the distress it caused. Of course it is for the Commissioner of Police to explain although operationally he must the question must be addressed by the Minister and that is what Fred Mitchell, the Opposition’s spokesman on the Pubic service demanded in this statement issued on 14th April:
STATEMENT BY FRED MITCHELL MP FOX HILL
OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN ON THE PUBLIC SERVICE
ON THE UNAUTHORIZED RELEASE OF AN APPARENT
POLICE FILE OF MURDER VICTIM NELLIE COX BROWN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14th April 2011
The Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest must release
a full and comprehensive statement today and without dispatch to explain to the public how and under what circumstances the apparent full investigative file of the murder of Nellie Brown Cox appears now to be in the public domain, all over the Web complete with all the gruesome photographs. This woman is being victimized twice. First she is killed in brutal circumstances and now for her reputation to suffer the further indignity of a confidential and usually private file being leaked into the public domain is the second insult. The Minister for the police Tommy Turnquest and the Attorney General must have something to say today and must say so today.
I was first alerted to this on the web site of Chrissy Love, the ZNS talk show host, who rightly insisted that this was outrageous and should be stopped.
This matter was raised within our Parliamentary and Candidates caucus last evening and the full group expressed regrets at this double victimization of Ms. Brown Cox. We are deeply sorry for her family.
The public officials have a lot to answer to the Bahamian public about this matter. My colleagues and I await with bated breath to find out what the Minister of National Security and the Attorney General both have to say about his latest bungling outrage under their watch. There must be a full apology to the family of the victim Ms. Brown-Cox.
end
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look,
He thinks too much; such men are dangerous
Julius Caesar Act 1, scene 2
It seemed strange indeed and you know what they say: politics makes strange bedfellows. That is all you can really say about Cassius Stuart’s move to the Free National Movement. After 13 years of trying to break through and saying he would never do it, he has done it. At least it did not happen like the time Nigel Bowe who was an NDP under Paul Adderley . He said he read it in the newspaper that Mr. Adderley had rejoined the PLP. Mr. Stuart reportedly took others with him, the entire council of the party. Named by the Bahama Journal they are: Omar Smith, Sidney Carroll, Gerrino Saunders, and Charles Kemp. Mr. Stuart was just out in the streets last month saying that BTC should not be sold. Yet now he is with the very man who sold BTC. He was just in the newspapers saying that Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie both had to go. Now he is siding with Hubert Ingraham. Alfred Gray, the MP for MICAL, is his father in law. Yet he chose to side with the people who are out to destroy his father in law. Wonders never cease. Mr. Stuart is now spinning a yarn like all good FNMs that it’s the PLP's fault that he isn't there . He claims that he was trying to get the PLP to make a decision to allow him to join for eight months and couldn’t get an answer. That is of course vintage FNM propaganda. The truth is, Mr. Stuart was holding out for a nomination for a safe seat by the PLP and he was holding out for four seats which are not available in the PLP. We understand that in addition to the four seats that Mr. Ingraham has promised him, he is also to get a seat at the Cabinet table. Praise God and pass the ammunition. The photo is from the Nassau Guardian.
WHAT FRED MITCHELL HAD TO SAY ON THIRD PARTIES
Fred Mitchell MP spoke at the joint PLP Yamacraw and Elizabeth public meeting on Tuesday 12th April. He spoke to the issues of whether a third party can succeed, an effort which is once again being tried by Branville McCartney he now Independent former FNM MP for Bamboo Town. You may click here for the full statement delivered in Yamacraw:
WHAT THE TRIBUNE HAD TO SAY ABOUT FRED MITCHELL
The following is an editorial published in The Tribune on Published On: Friday, 15th April, 2011
AS SOON as he arrived at the office yesterday morning a Tribune staff member went to this newspaper's "morgue" in search of a certain file. The night before he had heard a comment over channel 14 by Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell that -- in view of Mr. Mitchell's political past-- startled him. He wondered if his memory were playing tricks with him. The files, he was certain, would set him straight.
He said he did not listen to the full show, but just heard a comment by Mr. Mitchell on the defection of BDM Cassius Stuart to the FNM.
This week after 13 years of trying to break through on the political scene, the Bahamas Democratic Movement was officially dissolved by its leader Cassius Stuart and merged with the FNM. Under Mr. Stuart's leadership, the BDM was a harsh critic of both Prime Minister Ingraham and Opposition Leader Christie.
"It is safe to conclude," Mr. Stuart had once said, "that both the PLP and the FNM are major failures." He listed those failures to include education, crime, defence, immigration and the environment. In fact, in his opinion, they had failed at everything.
Over the years Mr. Stuart and his party did everything possible to drive a wedge between the two major parties to attract public attention to his third party. Mr. Stuart and a colleague went so far as to barge into the House of Assembly while in session and handcuff themselves to the Speaker's mace to protest the "unfair gerrymandering of the constituency boundaries by the FNM administration." The House was suspended. Mr. Stuart and his colleague were jailed for two days, then released without being charged.
This week Mr. Stuart and six of his members, threw in the towel and joined the FNM, convinced that a third party in the context of Bahamian politics was not viable. He, and his followers, had finally decided to make their public contribution through the ranks of the governing party.
Commenting on their decision, Mr. Mitchell had said that as a result of Mr. Stuart joining the FNM, he would have a lot of explaining to do with the public, because of his severe criticism over the years of the FNM. All of a sudden, he then ups and joins the FNM. Mr. Mitchell wondered why?
In Thursday's edition of The Tribune Mr. Mitchell reiterated that Mr. Stuart had much explaining to do because only a few weeks ago he was "bashing the government over BIC." The whole affair seemed odd to Mr. Mitchell.
We would now like the real Fred Mitchell -- one time PLP member, PDF founder and leader, Senator occupying an FNM seat, PLP Minister, later PLP in opposition -- to please stand up. Are we dealing with the pre-1992 Mitchell, who by then had worn many faces, or the Fred Mitchell, who had rejoined the PLP, became a Minister of that government and is now a PLP in Opposition? Who in fact is Fred Mitchell?
He was called an opportunist as he veered from one party to the next in his search for the right path to become prime minister.
In his previous life he held his traditional ceremony under the fig tree when he burned the Bahamas Constitution and sent its ashes to then Prime Minister Lynden Pindling "as a reminder of how our country is being destroyed." At the time of this act of bravado when he warned that he would "smite every enemy that dares to launch out against" him, he was leader of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). When he launched his "Third Force" in 1989, he wanted then Cooper's Town MP Hubert Ingraham (Independent) -- now Prime Minister -- to become a part of his organisation. Mr. Mitchell's ambition was to inflict a resounding defeat on the PLP. In December, 1990, he declared that Sir Lynden, the so-called "Father of the Nation" was irrelevant to the Bahamas. "It is time," he said, "that the Bahamian people consign him to the scrap heap of history."
Of course, Mr. Christie, then the Independent member for Centreville, who was on the verge of rejoining the PLP, did not escape Mr. Mitchell's sarcastic tongue. "He ought to be ashamed of himself walking around with his head high, calling himself Mr. Centreville," Mr. Mitchell commented.
"We find tremendous resentment on the part of young and old because, without so much as by your leave, he ends up back in the PLP," said Mr. Mitchell.
The very same place Mr. Mitchell himself ended a short time later when the FNM refused to run him as an FNM candidate.
But before they again embraced him into the fold, the PLP had dismissed him as a "political upstart and troublemaker ... a spoilt brat who deserves a serious spanking."
And so, as Mr. Mitchell, wonders why Mr. Stuart joined the FNM, we would like the real Fred Mitchell to stand up. Who is this man Fred Mitchell?
All we know for certain is that his one burning ambition was to become Prime Minister of the Bahamas? Has that flame gone out, or does that ambition still burn strong? It would be good to have the answers. Maybe Mr. Mitchell would now oblige.
 |
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| Photo of Fred Mitchell at Tanisha Tynes launch by Andrew Burrows |
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill was one of the featured speakers at the public meeting held in Freeport, Grand Bahama to introduce the newest PLP candidate for the island Tanisha Tynes. Ms. Tynes who is the daughter of attorneys Harvey and Ingrid Tynes is also an attorney. Mr. Mitchell gave some advice after what he said was lifetime in politics. First he told her that she must not come to politics with a sense of entitlement. He said many of the previous MPs for the PLP in the 2002-07 period fell into error by having this sense of entitlement. Secondly, he advised her to know the party and the country’s history. He presented a copy of his short work Great Moments in PLP History. Finally, he told her to be clear on what her ideas for Grand Bahama ought to be. You may click here for the full address. The photo is by Andrew Burrows.
ZHIVARGO LAING’S TIRADE AGAINST OSWALD BROWN
Zhivargo Laing, the Minister of State in the Minister of Finance must be suffering from sort of political delusion. On his Facebook page last week Mr. Laing lashed out at Oswald Brown a retired newspaper editor, who used to support the FNM and now supports the PLP. It was remarkably self-absorbed. This piece coming from a man who professes to be a born again Christian but just has the most wicked and quarrelsome spirit. He is full of aphorisms and wise advice to the uninitiated on his Facebook page but in his daily living as a minister of the government, he just does not cut it. It comes off as gross hypocrisy. He claims that Mr. Brown only opposes him because Mr. Laing refused to help him become a diplomat in Washington D.C. Here is what he had to say:
WHY OSWALD BROWN SEES THE NEED TO ATTACK ME AND THE FNM
by Zhivargo Laing on Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 4:12pm
Some of you have asked me why Oswald Brown, the fired former Editor of The Freeport News seems to hate me so much and writes such vile things about me. The answer is simple. First, Brown believes that I along with Prime Minister Ingraham was responsible for his getting fired from his job at the Freeport news. This is, of course, absolute nonsense but this is what his now jaundiced mind believes. I nor Mr. Ingraham had any role to play in Mr. Brown's firing. Recent conversations with the owners revealed for me what the real reasons were but I leave that there. I will say this much, however, Oswald held on a little while given what I learned. Perhaps one day, Mr. Brown might reveal how he got the job in the first place.
And while he is using excuses for why he got fired, he might consider what value he added to the paper while he was there, besides using it to spew his venom on those who did not give him his wishes. Which brings me to the second reason why he seems to hate me so. Some time ago, Mr. Brown approached me about his need to get out of the country to clear his head and wanted Prime Minister Ingraham to give him an appointment in either Washington, DC or Canada as a diplomat, an ambassador. I heard him of course but I believe for reasons now proven justified, the PM clearly did not agree to such a thing. So, in Mr. Brown's now twisted logic, Mr. Ingraham and myself, owed him something or denied him something he desperately needed. Now like a dog returning to vomit, he is wallowing in the PLP's muck, trying venomously to disparage me, the FNM and the Prime Minister.
All I can say is "PLP beware!" Good riddens (sic.) to Mr. Brown. Any man who could act so vexatiously double-minded is trouble to have as a supporter to begin with, ask the late former Prime Minister, Lynden Pindling. And no matter what he says about me, I want to make it clear, he has never given me anything, and unlike him, I have never asked him for anything and today, there is nothing I could want from him to add one iota to my life. I trust that the present torment that his vengeful heart has soon finds comfort in a higher source than his new found political mission. He might consider why someone with what he believes to be such exceptional journalistic skills could not find a place now here in The Bahamas or in the place of one of his citizenships, the United States of America.
No matter how he tries to justify it, one thing was revealed by his recent letter to the editor about why he now supports Perry Christie, after brutalizing him in writing so often over the years, Oswald Brown is for Oswald Brown. As one very astute young person said to me, "I notice in reading that very long letter that Brown's reason for leaving the PLP first, then joining the FNM and now going back to the PLP was not about any principled situation; it was only about his selfish desires. In a sense it's like a woman spurned" I could not have said it better myself.
OSWALD BROWN RESPONDS
Oswald Brown, the former Editor of the Freeport News, was not to be outdone by Zhivargo Laing. He gave as good as he got. Mr. Brown responded with this letter to the editor of Bahamas Press. The mainstream press did not carry his response, even though The Tribune carried Mr. Laing’s statement on the front page. Mr. Brown said that while it is true that he wanted to serve as diplomat in Washington, the real problem is that neither the word of Mr. Laing or Mr. Ingraham can be trusted. Here is his response in full published on Bahamas Press on April:
I’ve just read Zhivargo Laing’s vitriolic response to my repeated criticism of his performance as Minister of State for Finance and his poor representation of the residents of the Marco City constituency of Grand Bahama in the House of Assembly. One of the things that his response proved is that in addition to being a totally inept Minister of State for Finance, he also has difficulty with telling the truth.
At no time did I ever ask Laing to assist me in being appointed to an ambassadorial position abroad. This is an outright lie. I had easy access to the Prime Minister, personally and as a journalist, so why would I ask Mr. Laing to approach the Prime Minister on my behalf? I’ve concluded that he must have been referring something he was told by his boss, Hubert “THE DICTATOR” Ingraham.
Shortly after the FNM won the 2007, I did approach Mr. Ingraham about the possibility of being The Bahamas’ ambassador to the United States. Given my background and experience, I considered this to be a reasonable request. I lived in Washington, D.C., for 20 years. During the first five years of my stay there, I was publications editor at the Institute for Services to Education (ISE), a think tank established by the late President Lynden Johnson to help upgrade the standard of education in historically Black colleges and universities. When Ronald Reagan was elected President in 1980, he drastically reduced funding for ISE and the publications division was disbanded. I subsequently was employed as news editor of The Washington Informer, where I remained for 12 years. As a working journalist in D.C., I covered some events on Capitol Hill and gained a good understanding of congressional proceedings, which in my way of thinking would have been very helpful to me if I had been appointed ambassador.
One of the main reasons, however, why I decided to pursue the ambassador’s job in D.C. was because I have two marvelous grandchildren who live in the Washington, D.C., area and I thought it would be nice to spend a couple years with them nearby. Anyone with grandchildren can attest to the fact that they are a blessing to have around you, especially during your “senior” years.
When I approached Ingraham about the ambassador’s position, he told me that he would consider it. I asked him whether I should mention my interest in it to Foreign Minister Brent Symonette, but he told me that this would not be necessary because he would be the one who would eventually make the decision.
Some time went by, during which it was well known in Freeport that I was seeking the position and so was C.A. Smith. One day Mr. Smith called me at The Freeport News and informed me that he had been appointed ambassador to the United States. He even suggested that when I ran the story, I use the headline, “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington,” which I did.
I placed several calls to Mr. Ingraham to confirm what I had been told, but my calls were not returned. I subsequently called Kay Forbes Smith, who was then head of the Prime Minister’s Office in Freeport, and requested that she arrange for me to meet with Mr. Ingraham on his next visit to Freeport. She did and during my meeting with Mr. Ingraham, he told me that he could not have appointed me as ambassador to the United States because I was an American citizen.
It crossed my mind that this may not have been a valid reason, given the fact that Sidney Poitier was Bahamian ambassador to Japan for many years, and although he is recognized as being a Bahamian, he was actually born in Miami and is an American citizen. I became a naturalized American citizen in 1982, and I still consider this to be one of the best decisions that I made in my life. I love the United States, but this in no way has diminished my love for The Bahamas.
Nonetheless, I accepted Mr. Ingraham’s explanation as to why I was not appointed ambassador to the United States, given the perception that if there was ever a conflict between the United States and The Bahamas, my loyalty to The Bahamas might be questioned, although if such a conflict were to develop, the decision on how it is handled would not be made by the ambassador but by the Foreign Affairs Minister.
Be that as it may, in my meeting with Mr. Ingraham, I told him that I would then be interested in the consul general’s position in Atlanta, a position that does not involve dealing with “sensitive” diplomatic matters. He told me that he could not fill all of the foreign jobs with political appointments. Yet, when he did appoint a consul general for Atlanta, he appointed Kay Forbes Smith, who had to resign as an FNM senator to accept the appointment. I suppose if I wore a skirt I would have been more qualified for that position. It was at this point that I lost all respect for Ingraham; obviously his word means nothing and his often repeated declaration that he “means what he says and says what he means” is simply hogwash.
With regard to Mr. Laing’s suggestion that my mind is “jaundiced” because I believe that he and the Prime Minister were responsible for me being fired from The Freeport News, the chain of events that led to me being “forced” to retire without a day’s notice strongly suggest that they were. When Archdeacon Cornell Moss, rector of the Anglican Church of the Ascension, was installed as Bishop of Guyana in November of 2009, I wrote an editorial in The Freeport News criticizing the government for not sending someone to officially represent The Bahamas at that event.
When you consider that many of the parishioners of the Church of the Ascension are from constituencies represented by four FNM members of Parliament (Laing in Marco City, Neko Grant in Lucaya, Kwasi Thompson in Pineridge and Kenneth Russell in High Rock) I still think it is a disgrace that not one of these FNM MPs had the good sense to suggest to Mr. Ingraham that The Bahamas should have been officially represented at this historic event. In that editorial, I particularly mentioned that if Mr. Laing was not too busy globe hopping at the public’s expense to financial conferences, some of which it was not necessary for him to attend, he would have found the time to inform Mr. Ingraham that The Bahamas should be represented at the installation of Bishop Moss in Guyana.
Several days later Mr. Laing called me and took issue with my criticism and asked whether I had something personal against him. I told him that I did not, but I did disagree with Prime Minister Ingraham’s strong-arm tactics in trying to force Sir Jack Hayward to sell the Grand Bahama Port Authority to the Chinese. No doubt Laing could not wait to go and report this to Mr. Ingraham.
Several weeks later I wrote in my column, OSWALD BROWN WRITES, that the pending by-election in the Elizabeth constituency would be a referendum on Ingraham’s leadership. My column generally appeared in both The Freeport News and The Nassau Guardian on Fridays, but The Guardian refused to publish it. That Friday afternoon, I received a call from Wanda Gomez, human resources director for The Guardian, which owns The Freeport News, that she and Sandra Knowles would be down on Monday morning to meet with me. I was not aware of the fact that Ms. Knowles had been appointed general manager of The Guardian several weeks earlier, but I knew that like Laing, she was a strong supporter of Ingraham’s. In fact, someone once said that she would jump out of an airplane travelling at 40,000 feet without a parachute to please Ingraham and everyone who knows them both know why.
After some small talk, Sandra told me that the decision was made that it was time for me to retire, effective immediately. What really bothered me was not so much the unprofessional manner in which I was “forced” into retirement without a day’s notice, but I had some existing medical problems and my medical insurance was stopped immediately. Freeport News and Guardian employees are insured by Colina Insurance, which is a member of the AF Holdings group of companies (the AF representing the last names of Manny Alexiou and Anthony Ferguson).
Since I know both of these gentlemen very well, I refuse to believe that they were actively involved in the conspiracy to force me to retire, but I strongly believe that Laing and Ms. Knowles along with several other devotees of Ingraham’s, including a very close relative of mine, were involved. I have very reliable information that supports by suspicion.
Initially I was very bitter, but I would like to assure Mr. Laing that this is no longer the case. My Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is in the driver’s seat of my life and he has convinced me that it is unchristian to harbor bitterness in one’s mind; therefore, I decided to leave whatever retribution is due to these evil individuals up to the Lord.
However, I would like to assure Mr. Laing that my criticism of him has nothing to do with my belief that he was involved in my forced retirement. I simply think that he is not qualified to hold down the important position of Minister of State for Finance, and this is one of the reasons why this country’s economy is in such poor shape.
PHOTO ESSAY LUCAYA BY ANDREW BURROWS
Well Tanisha Tynes was formally launched at the PLP’s candidate for Lucaya in Grand Bahama at a public meeting held at PLP House in Grand Bahama on Monday 11th April. Party leader Perry Christie and Party Chairman Bradley Roberts along with Fox Hill Mp Fred Mitchell spoke at the meeting. The photos are by Andrew Burrows.
Jason Springer is the head of the newest Toastmaster's Group Pinnacle. He is making his mark as an excellent organizer. We present a photo essay of the Jazz Night Under The Stars at the Garden of Eden Hotel in Fox Hill. The event was under the distinguished patronage of the Governor General Sir Arthur and Lady Foulkes. The Minister of Housing Kenneth Russell and Mrs. Russell were in attendance. The MP for Fox Hill where the hotel is located Fred Mitchell was also an attendee. The night featured the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band, the Her Majesty's Prison Pop Band, singer Joan Lockhart and poets Christopher Adderley and Chester Robards. The event took place on Friday 15th April. A fine time was had by all. The photos are by Yontalay Bowe:
:
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Forrester Carroll writes about the Customs Comptroller and supports the view of former Comptroller John Rolle that the present comptroller has much to answer for:
Thank you Mr. John Rolle Sir, former Customs Comptroller for more than forty years; you hit the nail on the head when, in your press release, you took issue with and pointed out the lack of knowledge, ability and common sense displayed by this present Customs Comptroller since he took office 2-3 years ago. I wrote about his shortcomings several times, in past articles, but many of my readers took the view that my gripe with Glen Gomez was merely the fact that I saw him as an Ingraham plant and a puppet of the FNM Administration. You confirmed all that I’ve been saying about this high ranking civil servant who has been conducting the affairs of Bahamas Customs outside of his sphere of authority. He’s been operating contrary to the laws and regulations which govern the customs department and I wish to thank Mr. John Rolle for coming forward and exposing his behind.
In a press release appearing recently in the Nassau Guardian the former Comptroller, who served the country in the post for many years prior to being succeeded by Mr. Anthony Adderley who himself was succeeded by Glenn Gomez, delivered a scathing attack on Gomez who has been, since assuming the post, taking uncomplimentary pot shots at his predecessors; often times giving the impression that they didn’t know what the hell they were doing while on the job. I wondered many times whether Gomez was pissing all over his predecessors’ tenures, at the behest of Hubert Ingraham and or Zhivargo Laing, in an attempt to discredit them. We should all remember that Mr. Rolle’s parting from customs (especially) wasn’t without bitter confrontation with Hubert and baby doc-the two damn dictators.
Rolle, in his opening response to the nearly two years of verbal abuse suffered at the mouth of this Gomez fellow said, quote; “for nearly two years I have listened to or read some inaccurate remarks which were apparently made by the existing comptroller of customs, attempting to discredit his predecessors and customs’ staff;…in his more recent interview with Candia Dames, carried in the Nassau Guardian, he stated that he is cleaning up some of “the mess” and would not be able to clean it all up.” Opined Mr. Rolle further; “he should better identify and articulate the mess he is talking about” unquote. I could not have done a better hatchet job myself, than that done by John Rolle, in pulling this braggadocios comptroller over the carpet and pointing out the various flaws in his administration of the office of Customs Comptroller. Let me pause here to say that when you are in charge of an organization with a compliment of 300-400 staff members under your command and 99% of those staff members come to the conclusion that you are a damn FOOL then its time for you to go and you ought to do so voluntarily, Mr. Gomez.
The Comptroller accused his former colleagues of breaking the law when they allowed importers to take delivery of both perishable and non-perishable goods under the facility of their Ten Day Bond. When Gomez (arbitrarily) took this illegal position he, himself, infringed the rights of (as Mr. Rolle stated) “legitimate importers who had fulfilled their obligations in accordance with the customs regulations 33 (amended as per S.I.50/1999) but who were denied immediate release of their goods” unquote. The law breaker, as opined by Rolle (and I concur with him), was Glenn Gomez and not those comptrollers who preceded him. Months after realizing his error, as pointed out by Mr. Rolle, instead of reverting to what was legal and right and apologize to those affected importers for his bigotry, he chose rather to cause that the particular section of the law be amended to coincide with his decision and to have it restrict the items which could be released on the said bond facility to include perishable goods only and, at the same time, reduce the ten day time period, allowed for the processing of the proper entries, to five days instead. Mr. Rolle questions Gomez’s HONESTY and INTEGRITY in this method of his management and I do so as well.
Gomez, as well, when he first came to office talked confidently to the press about a hundred million dollars revenue leakage, occurring yearly within the department, and that the scam involved a ring of customs officers including some, very high among the ranks. The accusation, Mr. Rolle opined, suggested that the roving comptroller knew where the leakage was taking place; that he knew who some of the officers were; that he would solve the matter in short order and that the revenue would reflect the increases, as a result; but nothing of the kind happened.
Otherwise, if all what Gomez charged was in fact the truth, and he was successful in plugging up the loop holes, then the revenue figures for the fiscal periods 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 should have reflected a tremendous increase over those of 2007/2008. However when you consider the increased figures resulting from the huge tariff increases for the same periods and compensate for them, in the actual revenue collection figures, you will find no real increases, whatsoever. A closer look at the comparative figures for the fiscal periods in question, including the period for 06/07, are as follows; 06/07…$764 million; 07/08…$782 million; 08/09…$682 million and 09/10…$653 million. Interestingly the period that Gomez has been the comptroller, despite the huge unbearable tariff increases levied on the Bahamian people by the Ingraham Administration together with all the pilferage the man accused customs officers of doing, the revenue declined as compared to the period when former comptrollers were at the helm. Gomez’s pronouncement then, in this regard, was a smoke screen-smoke and mirrors if you will-and a feeble attempt at discrediting his former colleagues, Mr. Anthony Adderley and Mr. John Rolle, who served prior to Adderley’s tenure. I submit there was no diabolical plot to scam potential customs revenue and that Gomez’s mission, apparently, was to make his predecessors look bad in order to cover-up his incompetence.
Rolle went on to show how either deliberately dishonest, or grossly unknowledgeable of his work, the current customs comptroller was when he recently wrote to private aircraft operators demanding that they come to his office and pay the customs duties which he claimed they did not pay when they flew their aircraft into the country initially. He did this, we (Rolle and I) submit, without stating what was due to customs and on what equipment customs duties were due and payable; no details whatsoever-just come in and bring your money or else in two weeks he (comptroller-Gomez) would move to confiscate all their airplanes. The comptroller seemed to have been unaware that the 10% customs duties, now payable on all aircraft, only became effective in the FNM’s budget increases for fiscal period 1st July 2008-30th June 2009. Prior to this time, only the aircraft equipment which arrived in the country as CARGO, via cargo vessels, would have attracted 7% stamp tax and that only because import entries are required to be submitted for the customs clearance of all items imported as cargo. Prior to this time, (2008-2009 Budget), all aircraft were duty free under the tariff. Both Rolle and I (obviously from his press release he advised Butler as well), offered Mr. Randy Butler, of Sky Bahamas, and other private aircraft owners, the same good advice, when we told them that they were not obliged to pay Bahamas Customs a damn penny unless, and of course, he or any of his association members imported aircraft after 1st July 2008; he assured me that they hadn’t. Here again the “wanna be” flamboyant Customs Comptroller was either being deliberately dishonest or he lacked knowledge of Section 19 of the Customs Management Act. He appeared not to have known, as well, that the duty rate of 10% was only imposed, by the FNM government, effective in its budget for fiscal period 1st July 2008-30th June 2009. All this bungling, within the department of customs, demonstrates a serious lack of knowledge on the part of the sitting Comptroller and I submit, frankly like Mr. John Rolle, that Glenn Gomez should be sent packing before he causes more embarrassment for the government. The chances of this happening, however, are zero as we shouldn’t forget that the man sitting in the comptroller’s chair is Ingraham’s man and he will go only when Ingraham don’t need him anymore or when the government changes.
Thank you
Forrester J Carroll J.P
Freeport, Grand Bahama
17th April 2011
A letter writer whose identity cannot be revealed writes us about the taste of financial services in The Bahamas and our failure to take the lead in Caricom:
Dear All,
Thought this was an interesting article, particular since the team responsible for EPA implementation, and some very credible Dominican Republic & Jamaican sources, believe and would like to see us take more of a lead - as opposed to the Barbadians and Trinidadians.
http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Bahamas-central-to-shaping-community%2C-says-CARICOM-acting-secretary-general-6014.html
Such a lead would hopefully result in our taking more advantage of our natural strengths in tourism and banking. An announced policy/strategy of taking decisive steps to restore the Bahamas as the regional leader in banking - not just in revenue but also as the strategic and titular centre of activities, etc.
In banking we still account for more than 50% of the revenue of the major Canadian Banks, including First Caribbean, to whom we contribute 63% (approx) of revenues but our managers don't contribute to any decisions and all top positions here and elsewhere are filled by foreigners. I understand that the recent appointment of Senator Darville's niece is still not settled, as it was clear that she may have been chosen because she lacked the depth of experience. As a result the Central Bank - I am led to believe - has not approved her in the position as yet and the bank has already appointed their 'watchdog' to take care of business.
Private banks are probably in a worse state, when it comes to real opportunities for Bahamians, than their commercial counterparts. The legislation passed a few years back to ensure that all banks had a physical presence here, with 2 - 3 senior Bahamian bankers in key positions, inclusive of board membership, executive management and compliance - is being bastardized. We are essentially no better off today than we were in Milo Butler's time.
Bahamian banking professionals are starving for something to rally around - once we prepare & present a solid and succinct position, we will be in an infinitely stronger political position with local bankers, who were very aware that we didn't push the envelope (locally) as much and far as we could have during the last administration.
There were tales of work permits being awarded for foreign secretaries to the offshore bank where I worked previously.
This can be remedied by getting a small team of seasoned PLP bankers - with local and international experience - around the table.
On the tourism side - why can't we negotiate or incentivize hoteliers (pension funds included) to look at Operating & Managing hotels in other places, e.g., OECS - basically replicate what Sandals & Breezes did here.
We have a real opportunity ahead of us in this area.
Yours etc.
IN PASSING
Ride For Hope Seems Dangerous
Last year Attorney Emerick Knowles died while on the bike ride for the cure put on to help cancer victims in The Bahamas. It is an effort mounted by the Holowesko family in The Bahamas. The ride takes place in Eleuthera. This year they took over emergency vehicles and the air ambulance was on standby. But despite all of that one man died of a heart attack again this year. This time an Eleuthera native Cecil Arlington McHardy ( see photo) who had a history of heart trouble and was 64 died following the ride. Boy this ride seems dangerous enterprise.
Attack On Ambulance
Franklyn Walkine M.D. told The Tribune on Monday 11th April that while the ambulance for his company was on early Sunday 10th April taking a patient airlifted from Stella Maris Long Island, the ambulance was attacked by some men who threw a beer bottle at the vehicle and damaged the glass causing a fright and imperiling the safety of the driver and his patient. The police were informed and there is a hunt out for some men in a red truck. Anyone with information on this should contact the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Jackson Burnside Takes Ill
Jackson Burnside, the Junkanoo founder of One Family and the architect, has been airlifted to hospital in Florida following a brain bleed that placed him in the ICU of Doctors Hospital on Friday 15th April. Mr. Burnside reportedly fell ill following the book signing of poet Christian Campbell on Thursday evening 14th April at the Dundas ( see Peter Ramsay photo as he spoke there). We wish Mr. Burnside well. He is married to the former Pamela Jones. His brother is Stan Burnside the cartoonist. Mr. Burnside is now recuperating at hosipital in Miami, following an operation.
Sir Durward Presented His Medals
The first Bahamian to win Olympic gold Sir Durward Knowles now a nonagenarian presented his medals from the Olympics in sailing, the bronze in 1960 at Rome and the gold in 1964 at Tokyo to the National Museum in a ceremony at the national Museum site at Shirley Street, the old Collins House on Thursday 14th April.
The Death Penalty Gets Harder To Carry Out
The case is from the Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean on appeal from the court in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A man was brutally murdered on his goat farm. He was disemboweled and his head cut off. The murderer appealed the sentence all the way up to the Privy Council. the Privy Council set aside the death penalty on the grounds that it was not the rarest of the rare murders and that the death penalty could only be reserved for the rarest of the rare. The case is Trimmingham vs. The Queen.
You may read it in its entirety by linking here. http://www.privy-council.org.uk/output/Page540.asp
This makes it once again almost impossible for the death penalty to be carried out in this country which has the same final court of appeal as St. Vincent and the same legislative formulation. This comes at a time when the demands for the death penalty are rising. A group of Bahamian preachers of the Christian religion are about to call for the removal of the Privy Council for criminal appeals to the Caribbean Court of Justice, thinking that this will deal with that issue. The death penalty standard by the Privy Council now is quite close to the Roman Catholic position in their catechism on the use of the death penalty.
The Catholic Church Catechism On The Death Penalty
2266 Preserving the common good of society requires rendering the aggressor unable to inflict harm. For this reason the traditional teaching of the Church has acknowledged as well-founded the right and duty of legitimate public authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty…
2267. If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.
Once Again Rumours Surface Of FNM C.B. Moss Candidacy
Once Rev. C.B. Moss requested that this column take out a reference to the fact that he was seeking the FNMs nomination for Bain and Grants Town. That request was honoured. Now the news is surfacing again within FNM circles that an approach has been made to nominate Rev Moss to run against Bernard Nottage in the next general election on the FNM’s ticket.
The $270,000 Toilet
The government is building a toilet at Saunders Beach in New Providence as part of the redevelopment of the beach. Price tag $270,000. So while people don’t have food to eat, the FNM is spending $270,000 on a toilet. Priceless!
More Information On Price Waterhouse Coopers Split
Last week we reported from this site the news about the departure of Edgar Moxey from the accounting firm Price Waterhouse. A correspondent supplied us with what they say is the partnership vote when the choice came as who would lead the firm between now Clifford Johnson and outgoing partner Edgar Moxey. The vote was unanimous save for Mr. Moxey's vote for Mr. Johnson says our correspondent, notwithstanding that some of the partners came from Price Waterhouse where Mr. Moxey served. The split is as follows:
Cooper’s side Clifford Johnson; Kevin Seymour
Price Waterhouse Dawn Jones; Kevin Cambridge; Myra Lundy
The Late Sybil Blyden Is Honoured
She was a pioneering civic activist and worker for the mentally challenged. She was honoured by the opening of a new wing in the Stapeldon School at a special ceremony on Friday 15th April. Lowell Mortimer, Attorney At Law and benefactor of the school cut the ribbon. Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was in attendance. The photos are by Peter Ramsay.
Caron Shepherd For FNM In St. Cecelia
The FMN Women’s Association Chair Caron Shepherd is said to be the putative nominee for the FNM in the upcoming general election for the seat now held by the PLP’s former Deputy leader Cynthia Pratt who is to retire at the next election.
Glenys Hanna Martin Speaks
Former PLP Chair and now MP for Englerston (PLP) spoke to the Nassau Guardian on crime in her constituency reported on Saturday 16th April. She says that the country is in crisis as a result of the high number of murders and that someone needs to speak out. She said that her constituents are demoralized, disappointed, saddened and frightened by the violence in the community. “ I feel someone has to spread the alarm, she said.
Jazz Night Under The Stars With Pinnacle
The Toastmasters Club PInacle sponsored a jazz Night Under the Stars on Friday
15th April at the Garden O Eden Hotel in Fox Hill. The special guests for the occasion were Minister of Housing Kenneth Russell and Mrs Russell and Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill. The photo shows from left Jason Springer, President of the Toastmaster's Club, The Minister and his wife, the Fox Hill MP. The photo is by Yontalay Bowe.
Senator Gibson visits Sweden
Senator Allyson Gibson (President of the International Women’s Forum) is pictured above with Minister Nyamko Sabuni, the Swedish Minister for Integration and Gender Equality. Minister Sabuni is the first person of African descent to be appointed as Minister in a Swedish government. Senator Gibson, while in Sweden, met with various Swedish government officials, including official from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Finance and with diverse Swedish women leaders.
Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames... Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 9 © BahamasUncensored.com 2011
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LAMB ON SUNDAY BUT FIRST FISH ON FRIDAY: Today is Easter Sunday and it is a long holiday weekend in The Bahamas. This is the favourite time of year for many. The weather is kind of perfect with its clear skies and a slight wind and the humidity is not too bad. There is the serenity of Good Friday and the splendor of the Church on Easter Sunday. Our photo of the week then is that of the splendour of Easter both a religious and secular special time. It is a photo of St . Anges Church, in Nassau, just beofre mass this morning. See our special photo essay with the Gibson/Maynard family Easter In Cat Island below. Happy Easter.
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COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THEY DON’T REALLY CARE ABOUT US
Next month on the 2nd May, we will mark one year to go before the General Election more or less must be called. That date is the anniversary of the 2007 General Election. The date when Parliament actually stands dissolved if the Prime Minister does not dissolve the Parliament before then is 23rd May. That is five years from the date on which Parliament first met after the General Election. Parliament first met after the last general election on the 23rd May 2007.
We do not believe for one moment that we will be sitting here next year this time without a new government in place. There is a line in the Lion In Winter which is useful here: “Say Good bye to my horse’s ass. You can count your reign in weeks!” That is the message to the FNM.
Between that wished for result and today however, there is a whole lot of jockeying and pain that we must all suffer.
The issues are crime and unemployment. You hear and read the stories about crime. But what you don’t often get is the pain which unemployment and the lack of cash in our society has caused us.
The young woman who had to leave school because her mother had lost her job and could no longer afford to keep her there. She has been back home for one year now and can find nothing to do. She has sent out resume after resume only to get not one call back. She does not know what to do. She is so frustrated.
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Then there is the young man, or the young men more properly who say that they have been looking for work on and off for two years. They get a little peck here and a little peck there but nothing that is sustained. So what do they do: they make sure that they leave their family homes before the rest of the family gets up so that they don’t have to hear the fussing at them because they have no work? They come back late at night hoping that everyone has gone to bed by the time they come back. In between, they hustle with selling marijuana, begging for lunch money here or there or just sit on the wall. There is an elaborate dance between them and the police every day.
That is life in The Bahamas.
In the meantime, our Prime Minister and his colleagues are saying they they are managing the economy just fine. Things are going well. We are out of recession, they say. They cannot understand why they would be blamed for this situation; after all they say it’s global.
Global, we ask with a hint of incredulity. This is the same group that came in and delayed project after project for political reasons. This so called recession in The Bahamas is a self fulfilling prophesy? The capital was there. The projects approved but they wanted to stop it all for political reasons.
They put politics before people.
All we want to say is they don’t really care about us.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 23rd April 2011 up to midnight: 229,435
Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 23rd April 2011 up to midnight: 672,657
Number of hits for the year 2011 up to Saturday 23rd Aril 2011 up to midnight: 2,876,906
Cat Island is the site of the highest hill in The Bahamas at 206 feet. It is called Como Hill or Mt. Alvernia. The Roman Catholic Church owns the land, a gift to them from Fr. Jerome Hawes, an Anglican priest convert to Catholicism, who built a church at the top of the hill and etched out of the limestone rock the stations of the cross. These stations in Catholic traditions map out the journey of Jesus Christ to Calvary and end with the empty tomb following his resurrection. So we present just for Easter the Gibson/Maynard family progress in Cat Island just for Easter. The photos were taken on Good Friday 22nd April.
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BRADLEY CALLS OUT THE HOLOWESKOS IN BTC CONFLICT
The following statement was issued by Bradley Roberts, Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party:
Press Statement by The Progressive Liberal Party
The Prime Minister Must Explain Cable & Wireless Ties with Mark Holowesko
For Immediate Release
April 20th, 2011
The Government of the Bahamas announced at the closing of the 51% shareholding to Cable & Wireless several new directors including Mr. Mark Holowesko, a director of Franklyn Templeton Investments, which is presently chaired by former US Treasury Secretary Mr. Nicholas Brady.
Confirmation of the status of Mr. Holowesko’s involvement with the Templeton Fund may be accessed by clicking on the attached link for the unaudited annual report for Franklyn Templeton Investment Funds for the year ending December 31st, 2010.
This fund is a significant player in the international investment scene with multibillion dollar assets totaling more than $120 Billion Dollars.
Franklyn Templeton are also shareholders in Cable & Wireless Worldwide, the parent company of Cable & Wireless Communications, the parent company of the new privatized Bahamas Telecommunications Company.
http://www.franklintempleton.com/retail/pdf/fund_perf/port_holdings/13449_holdings.pdf
At the time of the announcement of Mr. Holowesko to the board of BTC, no disclosure was made by the Prime Minister or Cable & Wireless of the apparent divided loyalty of Mr. Holowesko.
Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition demands to know in who’s interest is Mr. Holowesko serving? Is Mr. Holowesko representing the interest of the Bahamian people as a government appointee to the board or is he there as a representative of the company for which he is employed, or is it both?
This apparent conflict is both alarming and indicative of this FNM government’s continued dalliances in shady insider practices when it comes to our national institutions such as BTC. We are informed that the parent company of Cable & Wireless Communications, Temasek Holdings Pte Limited (Investment Management) are the majority shareholders of Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel). The company operates in three segments; Singapore, Australia, Thailand,India, The Philippines and Indonesia.
A major shareholder of SingTel is Templeton Global Advisors Limited which falls under the umbrella of Franklyn Templeton Investments. Temasek Holdings Limited’s 54% ownership of SingTel is under the control of the Government of Singapore.
The Progressive Liberal Party is astonished that once again, the media in this country has chosen not to pursue matters in the public interest. Not a single line has been devoted to this troubling conflict despite the mountain of available evidence to confirm it. The National Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party raised this issue while appearing as a guest on Love 97’s Jones & Co. No media outlet in the country except for The Bahama Journal and Love 97 and JCN 14 carried the story. This is further proof of the complicity of the Bahamian media in covering up and hiding the misdeeds of an inept, corrupt and possibly criminal ruling party.
The nagging questions persist as to what role Mr. Holowesko is playing in this BTC Cable & Wireless marriage.
Was Mr. Mark Holowesko involved in the sale of BTC to Cable & Wireless, a company he is intimately involved in as an investor, from the beginning? If so, in what capacity? Who was he serving then and who is he serving now? Was Mr. Holowesko’s close ties to the Bahamian government through his mother’s role as President of the Senate and his as a donor to that party the decisive factor in Cable & Wireless, a company this very same Prime Minister swore he would never sell to, the reason Cable & Wireless emerged out of nowhere to become owners of BTC?
Will the Prime Minister do the decent and proper thing and put the breaks on what is emerging as not only an insidiously incestuous relationship with this Franklyn Templeton group and the many versions of Cable & Wireless and our BTC? Will the Prime Minister cause Mr. Holowesko’s appointment to BTC’s board be rescinded in the public’s interest? What does the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States government think of what could possibly be a criminal conflict in this deal?
These are questions the Progressive Liberal Party would like to see answered by the government. They have not only failed miserably to protect the interests of the Bahamian people with this possibly corrupt and incestuous relationship but they may have also aided and abetted a criminal action. We call on the FNM to remember their 7 Principles of Public Life which they campaigned on. The Bahamian people want to see it in action and not just an abstract theory that sounds nice while campaigning.
PLP COMMENTARY
The Progressive Liberal Party issued the following commentary in response to a comment made by the Free National Movement on the issue of the choice by Cassius Stuart of the Free National Movement over the Progressive Liberal Party:
COMMENTARY BY THE PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL PARTY
THE TRIBUNE
18 APRIL 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE PLP IS THE REAL THING FOR THE BAHAMAS
There is a problem with being a copy cat. It only works up to a point. After a while though, the copy is revealed to be a fake and the people realize you must stick with the original. Today people see what a bad copy the Free National Movement is. People are more and more turning to the real thing: the Progressive Liberal Party.
In responding to the FNM’s most recent commentary published in The Tribune on Monday 18th April, we make the point that the FNM are the ones who are making Cassius Stuart an issue. He is past history and having made a political mistake by joining the FNM, he must live with it.
Of more urgent note and import is what is to be done about unemployment; about the fact that people cannot pay their mortgages and school fees and power bills; that people are sleeping in cars in Grand Bahama and throughout The Bahamas because they have been put out of their homes and have no place to live. The issues are the economy and how under Hubert Ingraham and the FNM we have gone from almost full employment when the PLP left office in 2007 to the fact that there is near record unemployment today.
This is the legacy of the FNM that they cannot walk away from. So to orchestrate the crossover of Cassius Stuart does not resolve any of those problems. BTC is still gone from the Bahamian people. Unemployment is still at record levels. There are unprecedented requests for money from Members of Parliament because people simply have no jobs and no cash to take care of their basic needs. One consequence of all of this is that crime is out of control and seems to be getting worse every day.
Another issue is the fact that there are five FNM Members of Parliament in Grand Bahama. Three of them are Cabinet Ministers, yet the economy of that island is going down the tubes. There is no hope for the people of Grand Bahama, just hopelessness. The Prime Minister says that he will not even speak to the owners of the Grand Bahama Port Authority on the future of the business in Grand Bahama; this is regrettable. The PLP will certainly change that.
Throughout the country there has been a sharp increase in the cost of living with food prices, the cost of gasoline and increases in electricity bills for those who have power. Inflation has become a major issue and there have been no increases in wages to offset the inflation.
It is interesting that while there are so many problems facing our people the Prime Minister can close down the House of Assembly and find monies to attend a Royal Wedding essentially on holiday in England while this country deteriorates. Imagine this unnecessary cost to the tax payer, monies that can be used to bring relief to hurting Bahamians
The PLP commits itself as a government to people first. The first issue we shall tackle upon a return to office is the unemployment problem. We will seek to put Bahamians back to work. We have pledged to recapture BTC for the Bahamian people. We pledge to put in place a crime fighting effort to help break the back of crime and the fear of crime.
We have no doubt that the FNM acted and pressed to get Cassius Stuart because they saw that the PLP got Dr. Andre Rollins. The FNM was taken by surprise with the choice of Dr. Rollins and had to act quickly to copy the PLP’s success in recruiting from the next generation of leaders. Standby FNM. There is more to come but we do not buy support. We win friends and influence people. We fight for hearts and minds of the Bahamian people.
In the meantime, what the Bahamian people expect from the FNM is not more smoke and mirror politics and idle newspaper commentaries but policies that will solve the myriad of problems created by this government since they came to office in 2007.
Bahamians are paying attention to the failures of the last four years.
End
A NEW CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
Delroy Meadows who left the PLP in order to run as an independent in Ft. Charlotte is now branching into other waters. He has helped to form the New Providence Contractor’s Association. Their press release can be found in this link. The photo shows Mr. Meadows in the tie at centre with members of the association including former Senator Audley Hanna at his left.
SENATOR DARVILLE’S CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
On 19th April, Senator Michael Darville (PLP) who is running against the Deputy Speaker Kwasi Thompson (FNM) in the Pineridge Constituency in Grand Bahama was out in the streets meeting and greeting. He took with him Tanisha Tynes, the newest candidate announced by the PLP for Grand Bahama for the Lucaya seat. The photos are from Dr Darville’s Facebook pag by Allyson Smith.
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| Photo By Greg Christie |
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama -- “Get interested”; “exercise your rights”, was the charge left with students of the College of The Bahamas, Grand Bahama Campus, by the newly ratified Progressive Liberal Party’s candidate for the Lucaya Constituency, Tanisha Tynes while addressing her step into parliamentary politics with a Psychology class at that institution on Wednesday.
The young political neophyte told students “Politics and government affect all of our lives. The men and women whom we elect as Members of Parliament make decisions that affect our economy, our education system, our health care systems, and our judicial system. You name it. If you live in this country, politicians will make decisions that affect your life.
“Whatever is your passion in life, use that as an impetus to get involved, to get excited and to get inspired. If at some stage you feel a desire to enter parliamentary politics as I have, my advice is “Go for it”. If not, at the very least, you should get involved by exercising your right to vote.
“Use your influence: that may be marking a single “X” on a ballot, or it may be using your unique skills toward assisting a particular candidate’s campaign. You may offer your skills as a speech writer. Or you may help transport voters to the parliamentary registry to get them registered. You may transport people to the polls on Election Day. You may give wise counsel to a candidate. You may have the gift of the gab and use your skills of persuasion to encourage other people to register. Whatever contribution you are best suited to making, make it and make your presence felt.
“The Bahamas is our country and if we don’t take the bull by the horns and help to shape its development, are we justified in complaining?,” she asked of the students. “So, get excited, get inspired, get involved. Register and exercise your influence in the development of this beautiful nation we call home.
Ms. Tynes put her passion for young people and youth development at the forefront of her political decision. “Young people and their development are my passion, particularly on Grand Bahama, as I love to see young Grand Bahamians strive and achieve.
“My desire to do more, to help a larger number of people, is the reason I am offering myself and my services at this time; I feel that I have a contribution to make,” she told the room full of students.
“Seeing young people thriving inspires hope for the future. It makes me want to do my part to create greater opportunities for more young people to find their niches, be it in academics, sports, the arts, technical and vocational areas, developing whatever skills they may possess in order for them to be happy, fulfilled, contributing citizens”.
Ms. Tynes related how ecstatic she was to learn that the Carifta team has 11 members from Grand Bahama.
“That excites me. It also excites me that a young Grand Bahamian by the name of Christian Campbell, a Rhodes Scholar and currently a Professor of English at the University of Toronto, will be holding a poetry reading and book launch in Freeport this weekend. That excites me”, she told the students.
Ms. Tynes, an attorney-at-law by profession, reminded students that she is by no means a career politician.
“Throughout my entire life, however, I have been drawn to organizations that have as their mission, helping those in need. As a child, I was a member of the Builders Club, the Key Club, and Circle K. Presently, I am a member of community service groups such as Alpha Kappa Alpha, F.I.D.A., Momentum, and an advisor for Junior Achievers.
“These organizations have helped to involve me in mentoring high school girls, literacy programmes for primary school children, an annual Spelling Bee competition, food drives, and clothing drives,” said the aspiring politician.
Turning her attention to politics, Ms. Tynes admonished, I do not know how many of you are interested in politics but my advice is “Get interested.”
Ms. Tynes was speaking to the students on the invitation of Professor Dr. Pamela Mills on Wednesday.
Photo: Tanisha Tynes, Progressive Liberal Party's candidate for the Lucaya Constituency, talks with students of the College of the Bahamas, Grand Bahama, about her step into politics.
BTC UNIONS IN BUST UP WITH CABLE AND WIRELESS
It appears that there is to be a showdown soon with the new owners of BTC the telephone company that was just sold to Cable and Wireless for a song by The Bahamas government. The Unions have been trying to meet with the new owners but without getting any answers. Worse of all, a number of people were docked of their pay without any justification because of the alleged attendance at demonstrations by the Unions during the run up to the sale of the company. The Union’s leaders Bernard Evans of the line staff and William Carroll of the Management Union are planning industrial action, a strike if the matter is not resolved. The Union has asked for the support of its members. In the meantime, rumours persist that the company plans to reduce the staff by some 600 people. This has been rigorously denied by the government, but no one believe a word they say.
NEW NATIONAL INVESTMENT POLICY
The Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham announced the further gutting of the Bahamianization policy by allowing foreigners to directly compete with Bahamians in the restaurant and entrainment business. The policy as announced in the House of Assembly on Monday 18th April in the House of Assembly. The PLP responded in two press statements condemning the government on the matter:
Statement 1
Press Statement on the Changes to the National Investment Policy
By The PLP’s Parliamentary and Candidates Caucus
20th April, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Progressive Liberal Party sat in disbelief as we listened to the Prime Minster in the House of Assembly on Monday 18th April inform the nation of fundamental, and in our view, damaging revisions to the National Investment Policy of the Bahamas which most notably includes a provision that will allow non Bahamians to compete with Bahamians in restaurants and entertainment. Under a PLP administration, these were reserved for Bahamians. We have no doubt that the Bahamian people are stunned at this decision.
What was just as alarming was the Minister of State for Finance, the Member of Parliament for Marco City bragging about the changes to the National Investment Policy that clearly prescribe benefits to foreign investors to the detriment of all Bahamian businesses. The small and medium sized business owners should be especially alarmed. We believe that many of the revisions to the National Investment Policy, done it appears without consultation, put at risk many Bahamian entrepreneurs and countless more Bahamian jobs. We cry shame on the Government of the Bahamas for turning their backs on Bahamians at the expense of the promotion of foreign interests.
Change in Policy on Restaurants and Entertainment
The PLP questions the logic of making these damaging revisions to the national investment policy as it relates to restaurants and entertainment facilities, especially in this time when the economy has been damaged by mismanagement, and Bahamians continue to lose jobs in all areas. Under the prior PLP promulgated National Investment Policy, restaurant operations were reserved for Bahamians unless it was a specialty restaurant. This promoted Bahamian ownership of restaurant businesses, encouraging Bahamians to own this very important element of our economy. As a result of the PLP’s National Investment Policy we witnessed the creation of an entire industry that was Bahamian owned and was servicing both tourists and domestic patrons. This policy allowed chefs trained in the hotels to branch out and open their own businesses, be entrepreneurs, to leverage the experience in their careers, to be business owners. This new policy of this FNM Government has put all of this at risk. This new policy has chosen foreign businesses at the expense of Bahamian entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. The PLP cries shame on this FNM Government.
In fact, PLP Members of Parliament have fielded countless phone calls over the last few days from Bahamian business owners asking: “What has this Government done?” They ask whether this Hubert Ingraham Government has changed the National Investment Policy for the sole purpose of putting them out of business, in favour of the foreign investor. We can only conclude that is in fact what the Prime Minister has done. Restaurant and Entertainment establishment owners, hope is here, hope is in the PLP.
The PLP, when we become the next Government of The Bahamas, will ensure that the Bahamian owned restaurant and entertainment businesses are protected for Bahamians. As we further develop our tourism industry, Bahamian business owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs will be the beneficiaries. We will provide opportunities for Bahamians to succeed especially as it relates to leveraging opportunities from tourism. The PLP recognizes that a Government should provide opportunities for the people they represent to succeed. We will fight and set policies for the promotion of Bahamians, not to their detriment.
End
Statement 2
PLP REFUTES FNM CLAIMS ON NATIONAL INVESTMENT POLICY
21st April 2011
We continue to be astounded at the boldness in telling untruths and falsehoods by the Free National Movement. Their statements with regard to the PLP's National Investment Policy are completely inaccurate. The facts are these with regard to the investment policy under the PLP: the standard position was that the sectors entertainment and restaurants were reserved for Bahamians. The PLP observed that policy. That also extended to the retail trade. However, the PLP always made it possible within that policy to make certain exceptions which were largely done only when Bahamians benefited to a greater extent than by continuing the general policy or some form of legal binding obligation would have been breached by not granting an exception or the very future of a company's survival required an exception.
Typical of the FNM in their most recent statement, they seek to be holier than thou and accuse everyone of being a crook except themselves.
The PLP's policy was the right policy and always protected Bahamian interests. The FNM does not protect the Bahamian interests and their latest announcement is proof positive of their failure to protect Bahamians.
The FNM's statement accusing us of hypocrisy is simply more smoke and mirror politics. We will not be distracted by it.
The PLP repeats the issues so that the FNM can understand what they are: unemployment which is at near record levels under the FNM; people sleeping cars throughout The Bahamas because they have no place to live; school fees cannot be paid because parents have no jobs under the FNM; crime is out of control. We will continue to say so until the FNM understands what their job is as the government of The Bahamas. We again pledge that under the PLP the policy which the FNM has now put in place to the disadvantage of Bahamian businesses will be reversed.
The only hypocrisy in this entire matter is the FNM trying to pretend that they care about the Bahamian people when in fact they continue to let the Bahamian people down.
RYAN PINDER SPEAKS ON SECURITIES BILL
Elizabeth PLP MP Ryan Pinder spoke extensively on the debate on the government’s new Securities Legislation. He said that while the PLP broadly supported the legislation, the rules which were to be used to carry out its provisions were not available and so the government’s exercise was deficient. He was concerned about the powers that were being granted to the Commission. You may click here for the full statement to the House delivered on 18th April.
Dwight Armbrister and Cherisse Ferguson are two of the most popular fixtures on the gospel radio station of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas. They have now been given their walking papers. The two were given their severance when the first batch of employees were let go earlier in the year but were asked to stay on until the gospel station was sold. They argue today that the station is not closing and new people are to be hired but they are still being let go. They are being let go because they are supporters of the Progressive Liberal Party. Victimization. Dwight Armbrister explains it all to Steve McKinney on his Drive Home show. He too was a victim of the anti PLP drive of the government.
: LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Forrester Carroll writes about the fact that Hubert Ingraham did not invite Franklyn Wilson the former Chairman of COB to the library opening and then goes after Zhivargo Laing, the Minister of State for his attacks on ordinary citizens including former news editor Oswald Brown:
Why wasn’t Mr. Franklin Wilson, the architect of the Library at the College of the Bahamas, not invited to the opening of the same two weeks ago? After all wasn’t it under his chairmanship that the idea for University status and a Library for the college were born? And, if I am not mistaken, wasn’t Mr. Wilson’s family the generous donor of $1 million grant to the cause? Well if all this is true, and I believe it is, then don’t you think that Mr. Franklin Wilson should have been prominent at the opening? Was Perry Christie, under whose government the concept of advancing the COB to University status came about and the birth of the Library as a necessary consequence, invited? And was lady Pindling, out of respect to the architect of the modern Bahamas Sir Lynden Pindling, invited or did she and Christie just show up?
Ingraham is making as sure as he can that Perry Christie, and or anyone else who has even remotely been connected to Christie’s period of governance, is not seen anywhere around when these completed projects are opened and dedicated. Ingraham’s reason for this? To make sure that Bahamians forget and are not reminded, in the least, that all these projects; without exception, are in fact PLP approved projects; the completion of which are merely presided over by his Administration. We all saw how shabbily Mr. Christie and Lady Pindling were treated, by Ingraham and his Minions, when Christie’s “Nassau International Airport first phase project” was opened. There were no special seats provided for them, and there should have been; and when two seats were found, empty and available, no one availed themselves to seat them; they had to find their own way; this Administration is shameless.
In these rough economic times, when all hell has broken loose in the country, I would have thought that “Peep Squeak” Zhivargo Laing would have his hands full trying to cope with the gigantic MESS that his government, led by that meat-head Hubert Ingraham, has created. But while the crime rate has gone through the roof, escalating daily out of proportion, and while families are walking around groping in darkened homes (if they still have one they could call their own), and while health care remains unaffordable, and while Bahamians are dying, prematurely, due to lack of available funding for adequate medical care and while families struggle daily and are unable to feed them selves and while people are sleeping in their trucks and cars near beaches where they feel they would be safe, and while unemployment climbs daily and is now at an estimated 35% in Grand Bahama and 22%-25% nationwide; , and while underemployment is at 45%, at least, and suicidal tendencies-the likes of which we have never seen in our country-rampant; the murder rate (which last year was recorded as the highest in the country’s history) at 39 count, to date, for the new year which is 17 more than
the same period last year, I would have thought that the boy minister would have little spare time, on his hands, to be fooling around, picking fights with ordinary citizens like Mr. Oswald Brown.
A story appeared in the Tribune, prominently, on its front page on Monday 11th April detailing Laing’s vitriolic attack on Oswald Brown in which the boy minister gave, what he considered the reasons why Oswald Brown HATES him so much. Laing is quoted as saying that any man who could act so vexatiously (Is this a word (Laing used it) or should the adjective be VEXATIOUS?) double-minded, as Oswald Brown, is trouble to have as a supporter to begin with. Well I’ll be damned; I ask you, son, who is more annoying and vexatious than you and your Leader? Have you forgotten that in any election, numbers of votes is the name of the game? Lest you forget, young boy, your vote in the next election, God willing, will count as one vote and so will Oswald Brown’s. We in the PLP are happy to have, not only Mr. Brown but also, Mr. Michael Edwards, Mr. Elvis Hepburn and Dr. Lea Percentie, aboard the PLP train, all of whom recently supported your FNM government. I know that you have nothing good to say about neither of them and I know that you will denigrate them to high heaven, because that’s your style, but guess what, your vote, in the next election will count as one and so will each of their votes. Do the math boy, in this case you will lose four votes while the PLP will gain those four which, ultimately will give us (PLP) an eight vote advantage over you, you silly little boy.
Laing has retreated to the gutter (where he is quite comfortable, I suspect; after hanging out with box-fish head Ingraham lo these many years) to pick this personal fight with Oswald Brown; a fight, I might add, that he will not be able to win. Knowing Mr. Brown, as journalistically well as I do, he will not allow the “peep squeak” to have the last word. Laing may have opened the can of worms but he can rest assured that Ossie Brown will close it; Oswald Brown will throw the last punch in this fight; you can bet your life on that. Four murders per week, for the entire month of March, and Zhivargo Laing has spare time to run to his face book page with such nonsense? I hope the Treasurer of the Bahamas does the right thing and order the deduction of the value of the personal time Laing spent, off the job, picking this fight, on face book, with Brown. BTC’s workers’ pay cheques were cut recently, subsequent to their march on Bay Street, against the give-away sale of BTC and Laing is no different; all of them are paid by us taxpayers and we demand accountability. Cuss and denigrate Brown as much as you like, little boy, it will not improve your bad image and bad reputation in the Marco City constituency. Greg Moss is going to put some licks on you; Ajax will have trouble removing them and you can take that to your bank.
The young boy suggested that Brown hates him; but that’s the same thing he accused me of, on more than one occasion, in the past. He has been trying to find out from me, for a couple years now, why he says do I hate him so much and I’ve been trying to tell the boy that HATE is a strong word and anyone who HATES could KILL and that am no killer. He doesn’t get it; we don’t HATE you, Zhivargo Laing, but we do dislike your bad, dirty, selfish, hoggish, lying, disrespectful and rude disposition; those traits in you are what we despise. This angry young man thinks that anyone who simply disagrees with him hates him-a very naïve and sick position to take, indeed, being the disgusting public figure that he is. People don’t hate you boy but just like me, they dislike your rude, stink, hoggish, lying and disrespectful disposition; you are one rude BRAT, young man, and that’s what big people (certainly in my case) dislike about you. I am very sure that Oswald Brown, like me, doesn’t have the time to be bothered with the likes of you, Zhivargo, so don’t kid and or think of yourself more highly than you ought. We only remember that you exist when we happen to see you in the newspapers, insulting someone who may have shared an opposing opinion to your own and or on TV talking nonsense, you twit.
In his effort to embarrass Mr. Oswald Brown, I couldn’t believe that the boy minister actually sat on his behind and typed that litany of nonsense on face book; or should I say litany of lies? Brown has denied, in his response to Laing’s charges, that he ever had those mythical conversations with Laing. If you were to ask me who of the two convinces me that they have told the truth my money would be on Oswald Brown. There would be no hesitation on my part on that score. Like Brown, I am of the opinion that Laing wouldn’t recognize the truth if it jumped up out of the ground and lick him over his head. The young man has certainly strayed far away from the Biblical principals of Godly living which I believe have been instilled in him. But if Brown did, in fact, have those conversations with the boy, wouldn’t they have been in confidence? Is it normal and alright to betray such a sacred trust? Just like his leader, though, the boy has no shame. Laing opined, as well, that Brown’s problem with him is over the fact that, despite his (Brown’s) asking to be posted in Washington, the FNM government, of which he (Brown) was an ardent supporter, refused him the posting. Laing supposes that Brown holds him, but Ingraham more particularly, responsible for blocking his chances for going to Washington. The boy went on in his story to suggest that Brown’s opinion is that both he (Laing) and Ingraham were jointly responsible for depriving him of this posting, which he so desperately needed. He said, “So, in Mr. Brown’s now twisted logic, Mr. Ingraham and myself, owed him something or denied him something he desperately needed. Now like a dog returning to vomit, he is wallowing in the PLP’s muck, trying venomously to disparage me, the FNM and the Prime Minister. All I can say is” PLP beware!”Good riddance” unquote. Isn’t this just like those no good bastards? Use the man’s journalistic talents, for decades, and because he now disagrees with their policies, he is no more damn good. I ask you Zhivargo, do you share the same opinion in the cases of Dr. Lea Percentie, Michael Edwards, Elvis Hepburn and all the many other thousands of “last general election FNM supporters” who have now jumped your sinking ship and have come aboard ours? Do you?
Forrester J Carroll J.P
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama
1st May 2011.
Altamese Isaacs, Treasurer of Fox Hill answers The Tribune’s editorial of last week about Fred Mitchell:
19th April 2011
The Editor
The Tribune
Nassau, The Bahamas
We here in Fox Hill were both amused and bemused by your editorial of 15th April 2011 the subject of which was our Member of Parliament for Fox Hill Fred Mitchell. As the late Rex Nettleford would have said: “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
We spoke to Mr. Mitchell about it and he said that the editorial brought back memories of those times sitting discussing the behavior of the now Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham in the inner sanctums of The Tribune. Those were no doubt frank and private discussions.
Fortunately for us and I think the people whom Mr. Mitchell now serves, he has a public record. He is proud of it and we are proud of him. He embraces his public record and does not step away from it. The question of course is not the past as you r editorial suggests. The issue is where is he now? He is a proud PLP. I think he serves with faithfulness, distinction and loyalty and at great personal sacrifice. There is no doubt that he would make a great leader of our party and country. I believe that ambition rightly still stands and I hope will be embraced once the positions become vacant.
The editorial’s reprise of what was said and done by Mr. Mitchell in over thirty years as a public figure is a tour de force of a life lived and acted out in the public eye and with a view on every subject imaginable discussed and pronounced by him in the public eye. Indeed, The Tribune was shall we say complicit in that mission or perhaps helpful is a better word. None of this should be a surprise: public statements and actions, and a record of them are what public figures do and what newspapers of record do.
Everyone then who wishes to go into public service can therefore and should expect that whatever they say and do publicly form part of the public record. Mr. Mitchell has told us in Fox Hill that what he has done, has been done and said deliberately. It is not an accident. Unfortunately, too many of those who lead us today are there not because of their public record but for some other reasons.
When Fred Mitchell spoke in Lucaya at a PLP meeting on 12th April, he advised our new candidate Tanisha Tynes that in his view too many come into politics with a sense of entitlement and therefore fall into error. He said he watched that during the 2002-2007 period in the House.
Here is what Mr. Mitchell advised us about his decision to enter public life: “ I do not profess to be right all the time but when I decided at 16 that this is the life I wanted to lead I decided to have a public view on everything so there would be no guessing about who or what I am and believe.”
There is in our view no comparison between Cassius Stuart and Fred Mitchell. While on the surface there are some consonant points, the real question of public policy is whether or not in your public life you make the right decisions. We believe that history shows that whenever Mr. Mitchell made a decision on a matter of public policy, most times it was the right decision. The jury is still very much out on Cassius Stuart. Indeed, if I were to venture an opinion, it is difficult to fathom how a supposedly bright young man could choose a side that is going down to defeat in the next election, a side that stands directly opposite to his previously espoused values and a side that is seeking to destroy his wife’s father. Politics makes strange bedfellows.
So now to the central point of the editorial about Fred Mitchell standing up.
It should be self evident that Fred Mitchell is standing up; the Bahamian people know who he is having been tested in the public fires of general elections and in the public debates. God willing he will win again and serve the people of Fox Hill. He is standing up to FNM dictatorship; standing up for BTC; standing up for the unemployed; standing up for those who can’t pay their children’s school fees; standing up for those who can’t bury their dead; standing up for those who are sleeping in cars in Grand Bahama; standing up for the right of free speech even for The Tribune; standing up for better courts; standing up for Bahamians to come first in their own country. It is in our view clear for all to see.
We thank him for standing up for us in Fox Hill
Yours sincerely,
Altamese Isaacs
Treasurer
Fox Hill Constituency Branch
Progressive Liberal Party
IN PASSING
Janet Bostwick To Act As GG
There was a big bust up with the women of the FNM last year when the Prime Minister advised the Queen of his support of Sir Arthur Foulkes as the Governor General over Janet Bostwick. Now it appears that Mrs. Bostwick will get her turn at least to act. She is to be sworn in as Deputy to the Governor General this afternoon at 4 p.m. at Government House while Sir Arthur is in London for the wedding of William Windsor and Kate Middleton, the heir to the Bahamian throne.
Video Help Needed For Social Workers
The Bahamian Government's social workers are amongst the most oppressed in the public service. They are catching it from the customers whom they serve and they are catching it from their employers how under pay them. Here is their Facebook plea for help:
Chris Brown Video
Chris Brown, the singer is a renegade. Popular part of the thug culture which dominates The Bahamas. He is the one who beat up the Barbadian singer Riahnna and has not learned his lesson for it. He continues to be popular. One of his latest videos
Da Balcony Blackberry Poets
If you want an interesting intellectual evening but with a lot of bawdy fun, try the night with the Blackberry Poets at Da Balcony. X rated but great. The poets are young people, all Bahamians, led by Chris Adderley and his girlfriend Tuesday White ( as in the daughter of P. Anthony White) and Chris' mum is Christine Adderley. Both parents are St Agnes Church members, but that’s by way of background. It’s a refreshing frank exposition of contemporary life at five dollars a pop. There is a cash bar. It’s scheduled to start at eight but come at 9 or 9: 30 and it goes until 11. Da Balcony is the former Anglican Sailor's Chapel where Bay Street meets Cumberland Street that has been converted to a bar.
NDP Negotiations
The NDP, the third party movement looks like it is going to dissolve and they are to join up with Branville McCartney’s Democratic National Alliance of DNA. The DNA is of course DOA or dead on arrival but that does not stop them from wasting time, money and effort. Let’s hope that a few of the NDP fellows will wise up and may join the PLP. The report says Renward Wells for Deputy Leader, Lynden Nairn for Chairman and Latore Mackey for Secrtary General.
Signing The Stadium Infrastructure Contract
The Bahamas government staged an elaborate ceremony for the signing of a fifty million dollar contract to build the support infrastructure for the Thomas A. Robinson National stadium which is being built by the Chinese as a gift to The Bahamas. The same familiar faces could be seen: the Moskos and Peter Andrews of Hot Mix( read Brent Symonette, the Deputy Prime Minister). These are the same people involved in the road projects, the harbour project, the new port and Bahamar. So once again the FNM is giving the jobs to their friends and cronies.
Bran McCartney Continues His Talks
The now independent Member of Parliament for Bamboo Town continues his fool's errand by continuing his talks for the formation of a third political party. He was up in Abaco a week ago and impressed forty people with his sincerity. Roscoe Thompson, who broke away from the FNM in Abaco, is said to be supporting him and planning to run on his ticket. We reported at another spot in this column that the fellows in the NDP Renward Wells and Lynden Nairn and Latore Mackey are to join with Mr. McCartney as well. So the talks continue but this we believe is a road to nowhere and these fellows need to join the PLP.
BEC Says More Power Cuts To Come
The summer is not here yet in earnest but the power cuts have begun. Bradley Roberts, Chairman of the PLP made the point in a statement earlier in the week that the Minister of State who is politically responsible for BEC, the power company, promised that the repairs to BEC’s under maintained generators at Clifton Pier would be done during the slow winter months so that there would be no problem in the summer. Turns out that this was fanciful. BEC announced as the whole island of New Providence was plunged into darkness for two hours on Thursday 21st April that there was a software glitch that caused it but warned that more cuts are to come because they are only now starting the maintenance repairs.
Gas Shortages
The press reported during the past week that various Texaco stations were out of gas at one point or the other. So we checked around to see if there is an actual gas shortage in the country with gas being now $5.43 cents per gallon, all time high. Turns out that the issue is probably related to protests being organized by dealers at the retail level over the margins which they are allowed to collect which under the price control regime is squeezing them into bankruptcy. They have been asking the government for a margin increase but the government is unsympathetic. They do not want to sanction any increase in the price of fuel because of the political unpopularity of it. So the hope is that the prices will soon drop and then the government will not be under any pressure to increase the margins for the dealers. Trouble is the forecasts are saying that the price of gasoline is likely to be 40 per cent higher than it is now by the end of the summer. So look to have gas prices above six dollars per gallon by the end of the summer? Last time this issue arose William Allen, once Hubert Ingraham’s finance minister and now his main financial advisor told then PLP Finance Minister Paul Adderley to cut back on the government’s tax which is about 98 cents out of the gasoline price. Sir William was of course double dealing by writing the FNM’s platform at the same time he was advising the FNM.
Air Traffic Controllers Conference NAD & Minister No Shows
The Bahamas Air Traffic Controllers Union (BCTCU) held a seminar on Tuesday 19th April to talk about the future of aviation in The Bahamas. The Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool who is also the Minister for Aviation was no a show but he sent his Deputy Permanent Secretary to boast about the fact that they will be spending 50 million dollars to perform various upgrades at the Lynden Pindling International Airport including replacing the bad radar that they bought when they were last in office. Randy Butler who is the CEO of Sky Bahamas one of the private Bahamian airlines says that the fees are too high at the airport and they are not getting value for money. The owners of the airport also did not show pleading that they had something else to do. Only in The Bahamas. Congratulations to the BATCU. Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill showed up for the Opposition PLP.
Calling Gus Roberts Back To Bahamasair
There was an elaborate party for Captain Augustine Roberts by Bahamasair, his former employer, saying that he had to retire because he had reached the mandatory age of 60 back in February. Only it turns out that before he turned 60, the Minister of Transport Neko Grant signed an order back in October of last year to up the age of retirement to 65. That means that Mr. Roberts did not have to retire, yet the Minister was at the airport at the party to say farewell to Captain Gus and not one said a word to the contrary and the very least the Minister must have known. That's the FNM for you. What a country?
Frank Cooney Deserves Condemnation In Bimini
Lawyers for dismissed Bimini Sands employee Nathan Hanna are investigating taking legal action against Frank Cooney of Bimni Sands for the contempt that he showed his former employee and the Department of Labour by paying his employee $3800 in pennies. He tried to pay the entire $11,000 in pennies but the bank would not allow it. Trouble is that the bank could not bank the pennies and there has been a delay of a week in order to bank the moneys. There are security issues and costs associated with this. The lawyer says that they may sue on Mr. Hanna's behalf to collect the loss and damage caused by his act.
Layoffs To Come At First Caribbean Bank
Despite the rapacious profits being made by the banks in The Bahamas layoffs are a coming. The web has been saying at as many as 60 people would lose their jobs at First Caribbean Bank but Maria Rodland Allen of First Caribbean says it’s more like 20 and they are working with the bank’s union on the point; 60, 20. As they say in The Bahamas, matters makes no difference. The FNM’s legacy unemployment and crime.
St. Agnes Players stage White's - BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
Beginning Wednesday 27 April, the St. Agnes Players will Stage the provocative romantic comedy, “Better The Devil You Know” at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts.
The play, written by P. Anthony White, is a melo-drama whose main action centres on the complications of a divorced couple who are thrown together over a weekend in New York when they encounter each other for the wedding of their daughter.
The drama is directed by Anthony “Skeebo” Roberts, who also plays the lead role. Roberts enacted that role two decades ago when he performed it during the play's first performances at the Dundas.
His co-star in the play is J. Camille King. It is a forceful stage event which brims with love, passion, hope, and unbridled pouring out of the pain and pathos of the human spirit. Others in the cast include Zena Cooper and Emily Osadebay. Stage manager is Michael Brown.
It runs each evening until Saturday 30 April, with curtain time at 8 p.m. Each evening. Tickets are available from the box offices at the Dundas, St. Agnes Church Office, or from the publicity director, Michelle Fox at 395-0539.
John Dean, Former Fr. Bonaventure Gravely Ill
We have learned with great sorrow that the former Fr. Bonaventure Dean
who used to be the Roman Catholic Prior at the St. Augustine's Monastery and
a former principal of St. Augustine's College is gravely ill in Canada where he moved
following his resignation from the Roman Catholic priesthood. He is 74 years old and
is suffering from prostate cancer. We wish him well.
Old Bahamas Photos
We supply this link so we can see how things used to look around our island and country. Enjoy
http://www.oldbahamas.com/index.html
Carifta Games
Up to our upload, the kids of The Bahamas had won 10 medals and stand at second place
in the over all standings. The Bahamas has won 4 Gold 3 Silver 3 Bronze. To get live coverage hit http://linkupvideos.com/cariftagames.html