Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames... Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 7 © BahamasUncensored.com 2009
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
ZHIVARGO DOESN’T HAVE A CLUE
There is mud all over the faces of the Free National Movement, their
leader Hubert Ingraham, the FNM cabinet and especially the Minister of
State Zhivargo Laing. The reason is they have been found out and
exposed not by the PLP. Standard and Poors published a report on
17th December 2008 that confirmed in a few words what the PLP had been
saying all along about the economy of The Bahamas and the ruinous policies
of the Free National Movement. You may click
here for the full report.
The report confirmed that the investment climate in The Bahamas had deteriorated from stable to negative. You will probably remember that news. When that came out, the government was quite sanguine. Zhivargo Laing, the Minister of State for Finance simply said that this was to be expected since the economy had declined as a result of the downturn in the US economy. But what he had no answer for was the claim by Standard and Poors that the policy of stop, review and cancel by the FNM administration including the cancellation of the 23 million dollar straw market contract had caused a climate of uncertainty and had led to the deterioration of the economy being worse in the present situation than it would have been had they not done so.
This was too much for Mr. Laing. His boss Hubert Ingraham said nothing. Mr. Laing lashed out at Standard and Poors. They put The Tribune on Standard and Poors. Mr. Laing challenged Standard and Poors on two fronts. First he said that no one could credibly say that the PLP left 80 million dollars of completed contracts when they left office. The point here is that no one needed to say it. The figure came from no less a person than the FNM Chairman Johnley Ferguson. The figure of 90 million dollars came from no less a person than the then Minister of Public Works Earl Deveaux who in his budget statement listed the contracts that were cancelled or stopped by the FNM and said that they amounted to 90 million dollars. So the figures came from the FNM themselves.
Mr. Laing also challenged Standard and Poors to say how the business climate had become more difficult since the FNM took office.
The PLP Chairman Glenys Hanna Martin was quick to respond on Monday 29th December 2008. She said that the PLP’s position was supported by Standard and Poors. Mr. Laing then came back and attacked Standard and Poors. Mrs. Hanna Martin called Mr. Laing’s attack disingenuous.
The PLP’s position certainly is vindicated. It should give them no satisfaction because the people of the country are suffering as result of the policies of the FNM, but the PLP should crow from the rooftops about this. It is simply a crying shame what Hubert Ingraham has done to this economy since he came to office.
Fred Mitchell, the PLP MP speaking to The Tribune’s business section told The Tribune to mark his words that when the FNM was finished negotiating the damages with the contractor whose contract they cancelled, and designing a new market and building the new market, the price will exceed the 23 million dollars allocated by the PLP for the project that would have been finished in August 2008.
There are many more stories about the ruin that the FNM has brought to the country. They and their leader should hang their heads in shame. But what is happening is their apologists are all over the place shifting the blame, trying to change the story, making it up as they go along.
The Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest was on a separate tack himself when he gave an interview published in The Bahama Journal in which he said that he expected there to be increased investigations into public figures over the 2009. Fred Mitchell, Fox Hill MP, questioned what did the Minister mean? Did he in fact mean that the FNM was going to pursue a witch-hunt against PLP politicians? You may click here for Mr. Mitchell’s full statement.
What is clear is that the attempt is being made at every turn to make the PLP into the bad boy to try and rewrite the history of the country so that the PLP does not play a part in it. It is therefore a saving grace that you have outside agencies with no axes to grind in the Bahamian milieu that can bring the facts forward that are difficult to contradict. The fact is Mr. Laing can rail all he wants at Standard and Poors; the country still has to rely on Standard and Poors for the rating of its credit. What the agency says goes. What The Tribune says about the credibility of Standard and Poors is not a matter that affects the rating agency one way or the other.
The country is approaching the 10th January 2009, the 42nd year since the majority rule government was elected. When Lynden Pindling and his colleagues took the reigns of office, they were seeking to bring hope to hundreds and thousands of Bahamians who had been disenfranchised and had no hope of progressing in their own country because of the colour of their skin. With that battle largely won, it is important for us now to move on to the next stage. But it appears that what is happening is the FNM has no agenda that can move that objective forward. They are concentrating on the past and seeking to rewrite history.
Poor Zhivargo Laing does not have a clue.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 3rd January 2008 up to midnight: 149,569.
Number of hits for the month of December up to Wednesday 31st December 2008 up to midnight: 1,044,423.
Number of hits for the year 2008 up to Wednesday 31st December 2008 up to midnight: 13,411,241.
TRANSITION
IN THE ANGLICAN CHURCH
At the stroke of midnight 31st December 2008, the
mandate of the Archbishop of the West Indies Drexel Gomez and the Bishop
of The Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands (at right) expired.
The new Bishop is Laish Boyd (at left) who has served as coadjutor Bishop
for two years. The new Bishop celebrated mass at Holy Spirit Parish
in Chippingham in Nassau. There is to be a special service to commemorate
the passing of the reigns on 11 January and the new Bishop will be formally
enthroned 8th February.
This is likely to mean significant change for the
Anglican Church that has been led by Drexel Gomez for a decade and certainly
influenced by him since he began serving as an Archdeacon in this diocese
and then later as the Bishop of Barbados for twenty years before his service
in this parish as Bishop and then Archbishop. As a consequence of
the new Bishop coming to office, all Archdeacons, the equivalent of a Prime
Minister's cabinet resign as a formality. It is understood that the
new Bishop intends to reappoint all of them but that one of them Archdeacon
Cornell Moss will not accept reappointment.
Change is a theme that is current these days and
the change will be refreshing for the Anglican Church. There are
many decisions for the new Bishop. One is the ever present issue
with the finances of the church, the assault on its membership from the
newer denominations and the dispute over the retirement age of one of its
most prominent priests. We pray that Bishop Boyd is up to the task
and will lend all the support that we can.
JOHN
TRAVOLTA’S SON DIES IN THE BAHAMAS
The Associated Press has reported that the son of American actor John Travolta
who has a vacation home in West End, Grand Bahama died in what appears
to have been an accident on Thursday 1st January. Mr. Travolta and
his wife were in Grand Bahama at the time of their son’s death. The
speculation is that the son who suffers from seizures hit his head in the
bathtub and died. He was pronounced dead at Freeport’s Rand Memorial
Hospital. PLP MP Obie Wilchcombe was quoted by the Associated Press
as appearing on Larry King Live by phone to report that in the circumstances
the Ministry of Health had acted quickly to lend what assistance they could.
An autopsy is to be held to determine the cause of death.
SENATOR
FITZGERALD AT WORK
Senator Jerome Fitzgerald plans to be the Progressive
Liberal Party’s standard bearer in the next General Election for the Marathon
constituency. He has been nursing the area for a year or more.
The Senator is in touch with his would be constituents and is a supporter
of the activities of the Marathon Branch of the PLP. During the Christmas
season, Senator Fitzgerald and the Marathon Branch provided care packages
for the needy and for the children of the area. He took one of his
sons to show him the ropes. The photos are of Senator Fitzgerald
and his team at work for and on behalf of the people of the Marathon constituency.
MITCHELL’S
VISIT TO THE ABACOS
Fred Mitchell, the Fox Hill MP, returned to Nassau
on Friday 2nd January following a seven day visit to Abaco and to Grand
Bahama. While in Abaco, The Tribune reported that he visited with
the PLP’s leaders in the constituencies of South and North Abaco.
Mr. Mitchell went to Moore’s Island which is a PLP stronghold. He
also visited Green Turtle Cay and the settlements from Treasure Cay up
to Crown Haven in North Abaco.
There was speculation in the press whether the visit
was in support of a leadership bid. Mr. Mitchell said that he was
not doing anything unusual, in that he always spends the New Year’s holiday
in Freeport and he was merely visiting with the leaders in Abaco.
In Moore’s Island, he denounced the Minister of Health for boasting about
tele-medicine in Abaco but the computer in the clinic in Moore’s Island
was not working. He said that the contract for the roads that had
been issued by the PLP was cancelled by the Prime Minister when he came
to office and no word has come on when the new contract will be issued.
TOMMY
TURNQUEST MUST ANSWER
It was the strangest of stories in the Bahama Journal
on 29th December and penned by Quincy Parker. Tommy Turnquest was
being interviewed on the subject of the appointment of the police officers
Ellison Greenslade and Marvin Dames upon their return from leave in Canada
where they underwent unnecessary training courses at some $200,000 expense
to the Bahamian people. Instead of sticking to the point, Mr. Turnquest
ventured off into a comment that said in indirect speech that he anticipated
that over the next year there will be increased investigations into public
figures now that the two officers were returning to The Bahamas.
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill issued a release straight
away, asking the Minister of National Security pray tell what did he mean?
Mr. Mitchell said that he had expressed concern before about the fact that
there was a campaign to smear and sully the name of the PLP, orchestrated
from the highest levels of the police force. This was denied at the
time by the Chairman of the FNM and by the Commissioner of Police.
You may read the full statement of Mr.
Mitchell by this link.
LEADERSHIP
SPECULATION
From The Punch to the Bahama Journal, The Tribune
and The Nassau Guardian, there has been a spate of stories about Fred Mitchell
and his quest for the leadership of the PLP. The fact is he has made
no such announcement, but there is this buzz about leadership and Fred
Mitchell. On Tuesday 30th December, The Tribune wrote a story on
the point. Here is what they quoted Fred Mitchell as saying:
“It is a moot point because there is no leadership
vacancy in the PLP at this time.
“Obviously though, a country has to be interested
in who its potential leaders are and to that extent the speculation and
discussion is good and I’m interested like everyone else to see what people
think of me, my talents and where those talents would lead.
“I began as a party officer in 1975 and I have
served as a PLP National General Council member, branch chairman and I
was twice elected in the Fox Hill constituency. I have served as
a Senator. And a Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“It’s been a long time and I’m a known quantity.
The future would be safe in my and a number of other hands. But until
the question [of leadership] is actually framed, it really is a moot point.”
As for Hubert Ingraham, who is the voice behind
the Scribe in The Punch, he has his own spin on it. In an article
in The Punch on Monday 29th December, he claimed that he had made an allegation
against Mr. Mitchell about Mr. Mitchell’s character in the House.
That story really does not go that way at all. Mr. Ingraham was told
on Wednesday 3rd December 2008 from MP Mitchell’s seat that he, Mr. Ingraham,
was a certain part of the anatomy of the body and that he was always talking
what comes out of that part. This came after Mr. Ingraham tried to
dismiss a comment by Mr. Mitchell who was on his feet on a matter of public
policy. Mr. Ingraham tried his usual smear campaign. In the end,
Mr. Ingraham was reminded by Mr. Mitchell that whatever accusation he was
making, it applied to a relative of his and Mr. Ingraham should shut his
mouth. It was ugly. But the Scribe now says:
“The Truth is that Fred Mitchell, no matter what
else he might have going against him, he might pretty much be the right
man to return the PLP to the party of the father of the nation, Lynden
Oscar Pindling without the gross and unacceptable, “I can’t recall” corruption
image… It sounds as if Fred Mitchell is the man with the PLP deliverance
plan. Unfortunately, Fred can never, never be leader.”
MITCHELL
VENTURES INTO FACEBOOK
It was at the meeting in Fox Hill in November that
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill called for change within the PLP. He
renewed the message of change in his Christmas message to the people of
Fox Hill. Now Mr. Mitchell has gone further and challenged the young
PLP’s through their Facebook pages to get on board the change wagon.
Here is that statement in full:
|
Fred Mitchell MP PLP Fox Hill
To Young Bahamians, |
THE
GILBERT MORRIS ARTICLE
Gilbert N.M.O. Morris is a Bahamian advisor to the
government of the Turks and Caicos Islands who writes from time on Bahamian
public affairs. Having seen the growth in the non-goods sector in
the Caricom region, Mr. Morris argues in this article that The Bahamas
needs to take stock in these difficult days and times and see how it can
regain the advantage, relative to those Caricom jurisdictions that have
benefited from problems with our country and its decision making.
You may click here for the full
article.
PLP
CHAIR ANSWERS THE FNM
The FNM’s Minister of State Zhivargo Laing was livid
or so it appears that Standard and Poors would dare to assert that the
FNM was in part responsible for the downturn of the Bahamian economy.
The statement issued by the ratings company on 17th December 2008 was a
body blow to the false praise that the FNM was giving itself for the running
of this economy. Mr. Laing was all over the paper on Monday 29th
December 2008 denouncing Standard and Poors. PLP Chair Glenys Hanna
Martin came right back at him with a statement saying that the PLP’s position
had been vindicated by the Standard and Poors report. You may click
here for the full statement issued on 29th December.
Mr. Laing did not have enough of the tongue lashing
and instead came back to suggest that the PLP was cooking the books and
coming up with figures that were not real. He challenged the country
to show him where the PLP left 80 million dollars in projects that the
FNM stopped reviewed and cancelled. The only problem was these were
not the PLP's figures; they were the FNM’s figures from the Minister of
Works then Earl Deveaux and their Party Chair Johnley Ferguson. In
a second, rapid fire statement on 31st December, Glenys Hanna Martin accused
him of being disingenuous.
NEW
YEARS JUNKANOO WINNERS
Here are the winners of the Junkanoo Parade for
New Year’s Day 2009:
'A' GROUPS
Saxons 1360
Music Makers 1291
Valley Boys 1290
One Family 1231
Roots 1181
Prodigal Sons 1073
JUNKANOO
PHOTO ESSAY
The New Year’s Junkanoo Parade belonged to the Saxons.
Someone reported waking up at the crack of dawn to the sounds of the Junkanoo
music on Bay Street over the television screen. The music was riveting
and invigorating. It turned out to be the Saxons on parade and the
crowd was in a frenzy. Percy ‘Vola’ Francis was the star of the show
and he proves that he still has it. Mr. Francis led the Saxons to
a clear cut victory over the Music Makers in second and the Valley Boys,
led by Winston ‘Gus’ Cooper.
Congratulations to all for a wonderful parade.
PLP leader Perry Christie was also a star in his own right. He joined
the Valley for their 50th anniversary rush. He was a regular on the
Valley parade from he was child. We feature a photo of Mr. Christie
on parade. Together with other Junkanoo photos. The photo essay
is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
THE
S & P REPORT IN FULL
On 17th December Standard and Poors published their
review of the Bahamian economy. The news was shattering for the Government
of The Bahamas, the FNM administration. They had been warned by the
PLP that their stop, review and cancel programme had crippled our economy.
They didn’t believe the PLP or accept what was said. Now Standard
and Poors has said the same thing. This is the ratings agency that
the FNM had been boasting about not even two months ago. Now its
Minister of State is on the attack.
We provide the full
report for you via this link. The report says in part: “The
review of $80 million worth of contracts and eventual cancellation of a
$23 million public contract for the straw market negatively affected investor’s
sentiments and brought substantial disruption to the contractor’s activities.
The situation has since normalized but the important economic growth momentum
has been lost.”
S&P SLAMS FNM ECONOMIC POLICY
I note the latest credit rating and economic
outlook by the international credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s
(S&P) on the 17th December 2008. In its analysis, S&P downgrades
the country’s economic outlook from stable to negative and attributes this
to not only external economic forces, but on the economic policies of the
FNM government.
The report indicates that following real GDP
growth of 4.5% in 2006, the growth momentum has been interrupted “by the
protracted period of contracts review by the FNM government after it came
to power. The review of $80 million worth of contracts and the eventual
cancellation of a $23 million public contract for a straw market negatively
affected investors’ sentiments and brought substantial disruption to the
contractors’ activity”. The report went to state that because of this policy,
“the important economic growth momentum has been lost”.
This analysis by this internationally respected
organization with no political axe to grind is both a vindication of the
PLP and a major repudiation and condemnation of the now infamous, ill-advised,
and failed “STOP, REVIEW, CANCEL economic policy of the FNM government.
The PLP is on record repeatedly warning the FNM
government that it “cannot turn the economy off and on like a faucet” and
that its policy decisions will shake investor confidence and cause the
country great harm. The FNM is yet to admit to its policy blunder.
As for accountability and transparency, the general
public does not know to this date what was reviewed, the criteria for the
review, the findings of the review, and the public benefits of the review
and cancellations. I remind the FNM government of their proclaimed “mandate
of increased transparency, with the party’s (so called) Trust Agenda focusing
on the accountability and transparency issues, strengthening institutional
framework, and promoting better governance” according to the S&P report.
To date, there is no evidence that the actions
of the government demonstrated accountability or transparency. Further,
the consequences of the government’s policies suggest a weakening of the
public institutional framework and the delivery of poor governance as literally
tens of thousands of Bahamians were adversely affected by this ill-advised
public policy.
Elcott Coleby
No Newspapers On Dec. 27th
It is indeed disgraceful that no local newspapers
chose to publish on the 27th, a day that qualifies for neither the dubious
excuse of being the Christian day of rest or a holiday... (not that either
of those ought to impede the flow of information in this day and age!).
Here I am a Bahamian in Japan for the holidays having to settle for week-old
news about my country, while all around me buzzes news from every corner
of this earth - even Cayman! If we fail to take ourselves seriously
in our country (and so end up snatching mediocrity from the grip of excellence
at very turn) then we clearly take our cues from those who lead our various
national estates (press included), whose flippant disregard for our seriousness
as a nation is summed up in that comment about having to "take a break"
from the job of reporting events in our country. What if others decided
to have a break that coincided with the Wall Street crash, the assassination
of Franz Ferdinand or the battle of Antietam? Maybe an inconvenient birthday,
bar mitzvah or anniversary perhaps?
Thank you bahamasuncensored for at least remaining
faithful in your weekly reporting. Were it not for you, I would probably
have no way of confirming the country still exists during extended holiday
periods - unless of course I was prepared to hold my breath long enough
to get through such idiotic, anti-Bahamian rants as bahamasissues.com.
I trust you will continue. In the meantime, I am taking breath-control
exercises.
Andrew Allen
CHRISTIES HOSTS HOLIDAY DINNER
IN PASSING
Mitchell At Young Liberals
Fred Mitchell MP will be the guest speaker at the Young Liberals general
meeting today Sunday 4th January 2008 at PLP headquarters Farrington Road
Nassau at 4 p.m.
Changes In The Public Service
Wendell Major has retired as Secretary to the Cabinet. This is
the position that is the head of the public service. He sits in on
all cabinet meetings and is official taker of Cabinet minutes. The
Government held a farewell dinner for Mr. Major at the Crystal Palace Hotel
on Friday 2nd January. The Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, Members
of the Cabinet, the Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie and Members
of Parliament with senior civil servants attended the event. Mr. Major
said that he had the privilege to serve under three Prime Ministers in
that position if you included several acting stints under the Late Sir
Lynden O. Pindling. The job now goes to Anita Barnard, a retired
Permanent Secretary who was brought back into the service as the Permanent
Secretary at the Ministry of Works. Mrs. Bernard’s appointment is
a controversial one. She signed the nomination papers for Pauline
Cooper Nairn, the FNM’s candidate in 2007 and campaigned for her during
that election. How can she now enjoy the confidence of PLPs in this
present role? This is again a sign of the bastardization of our system.
The photo of Wendell Major and Mrs. Andrea Major with former Prime Minister
Perry Christie and the present Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is by Peter
Ramsay. The pair are also shown with Dame Marguerite Pindling, widow
of the late Sir Lynden Pindling, whose government Mr. Major credited with
allowing him the scholarship to continue his education.
New P.S. Appointments
As a result of Anita Bernard’s (pictured above) controversial appointment
as Cabinet Secretary, Colin Higgs, the Financial Secretary has been sent
back to be P.S. at the Ministry of Works and Ehurd Cunningham has been
made the Financial Secretary.
Nicolette Bethel Leaves as Director of Culture
It appears that with effect from 1st January 2009, Nicolette Bethel
is no longer the Director of Culture for the country. Ms. Bethel
is the daughter of former Director of Culture, musician and writer E. Clement
Bethel. She writes an extensive and scathing commentary on the state
of culture in The Bahamas today saying that the situation reverted right
back to where it was in 2003. You may click here for the link to
her comments http://nicobethel.net/blogworld/2009/01/01/no-longer-director
By the way, word on the street is that the new Director is Junkanoo ‘fast’
Eddie Dames.
Ginn Files For Bankruptcy
The Ginn Company that has permission from The Bahamas Government issued
under the PLP to build a multi billion dollar resort in West End, Grand
Bahama, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.
This is more bad news for the Grand Bahama economy that was counting on
the project to inject fresh capital into Grand Bahama. The company
said that this would not affect its investment in Grand Bahama but it is
hard to see how it would not.
The Tragedy Of Haitian Migration Continues
Newly appointed Director of Immigration Jack Thompson held a press
conference to announce the repatriation of 373 Haitians back to their homeland.
It appears that the weather has been favourable for migrants to launch
out to sea from the north of Haiti, which is just 90 miles away from Inagua,
the southern most Bahamian island. The Director said that almost
a million dollars had been spent repatriating the Haitians back home.
Some of them have not made it. During the past week, there were photos
of bodies being picked up on the southern shores of New Providence from
those who drowned in the attempt to reach The Bahamas.
The Murder Count For 2008
The figures are in: 74 murders in 2008 in The Bahamas. This is
down from 79 in 2007.
First Baptist Advertising Support
Keep it all in the family. There was an unusual sponsor of the
Junkanoo coverage on ZNS TV for the 2008 Boxing Day Parade and the New
Year’s Day Parade. The First Baptist Church in the Grove was a sponsor.
It advertised for one and all to come to church: if you needed someone
to marry you or bury you, all were welcome. Seemed surprising and
then it clicked. The First Baptist Church is led by Pastor Earle
Francis and his daughter Rev. Diana Francis. They are the father
and sister of the Saxon’s Superstars leader Percy ‘Vola’ Francis.
The moral of the story: support your own.
Opposition Leader In Antigua & Barbuda To Step Down
Antigua and Barbuda’s Lester Bird, former Prime Minister and now Leader
of the Opposition Antigua Labour Party has told the press in Antigua that
if he loses the next general election due in March 2009, he will retire
from politics.
Mammie No Lights On The Runway
The Freeport News reported that the lights on the runway in Freeport
went out without explanation from about 5:30 p.m. until after 10 p.m. on
Tuesday 30th December. This caused the cancellation of Bahamasair’s
evening flights from Nassau to Grand Bahama. No explanation as to
why the lights went out.
Speculation On The Commodore
The Punch that is the lying and propaganda arm of the FNM has been
spinning a yarn of stories about Clifford ‘Butch’ Scavella being removed
as the Commodore of the Defence Force. The FNM’s Minister of National
Security Tommy Turnquest should make a definitive statement on this issue
since it undermines confidence in the Commodore. Everyone knows that
when something appears in The Punch, it was put there by an FNM who leaked
it to Ivan Johnson, the rag’s editor. Mr. Scavella’s contract expires
in November 2009.
Tributes Flow For Phil Smith
The ZNS sportscaster Phil Smith who died last week after a battle with
kidney failure has been praised in death. Official condolences came
from PLP leader Perry Christie, PLP House leader Bernard Nottage, Minister
of Sports Desmond Bannister, and his colleagues and friends in the media
and in the business community. No word on Mr. Smith’s funeral arrangements.
Correction From Last Week
The man who died in Junkanoo Boxing Day 2008 was not properly identified
on this site last week. The dead man is Adrian Moss and not Anthony
Moss as reported here last week.
Israel’s Invasion
We do not support the actions being taken against the Palestinian people
in Israel. It appears to us that this is overkill and that the U.S.
should intervene to stop it.
