Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 2 © BahamasUncensored.Com
11th January, 2004
18th January, 2004
25th January, 2004
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| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - Those Bahamians alive at the Christmas season 2003 and afterwards should forever have planted in their minds the images of South African President Thabo Mbeki and his Misses on the grand tour of The Bahamas. From the moment they arrived here on Sunday 28th December they were a hit. Mr. Mbeki is not Nelson Mandela and no one could predict that without the same level of emotional attachment to him and fame associated with Mr. Mandela what the response of Bahamians would be. The Mbekis were said to have been overwhelmed. They were enthusiastically received everywhere, and even the Opposition did not defer. They participated enthusiastically. On Monday 29th December, the President visited the Cabinet office for a meeting with the Prime Minister. They posed for this shot downstairs at the steps in Nassau with their foreign ministers. We thought that this was the photo of the week. The photo is by Peter Ramsay. From left Bahamas Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell, Prime Minister Perry Christie, President Thabo Mbeki, South African Foreign Minister Nkosasana Zuma. We feature many more pictures of this visit. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
WHAT’S IN STORE FOR 2004
The
Prime Minister has now fully embraced foreign affairs as a useful tool
of public policy. No other Bahamian Prime Minister before him seems
to have taken the matter so seriously. That was the upshot of a pronouncement
made by Prime Minister Perry Christie at the Nassau International Airport
upon his return from Haiti on Friday 2nd January 2004.
One must be careful, it is easy to get seduced by Foreign Affairs because of the nature of its work, away from the nitty gritty of domestic politics. The Prime Minister in answer to a question about the performance of his Cabinet to date on his return from Haiti and asked further to say what is in store for 2004, said that he expects more visits by foreign leaders to The Bahamas, and he expects to travel more over the next year. He thinks that this is good for The Bahamas. We think he is right.
The Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell then has a busy schedule ahead of him as the chief agent for the execution of that foreign policy. By most accounts he has done a fair job in trying to put The Bahamas front and centre on the world stage. Certainly the Prime Minister seems pleased. Over the past year and a half, The Bahamas seems to have been placed just right. The crisis over the difficult US Ambassador was dealt with firmly and now seems squarely behind us, his having left in July of last year. The US president met with our Prime Minister in November 2003. The British Prime Minister met with our Prime Minister in December 2003. The Chinese Vice Premier Madam Wu Yi visited us in January 2003. The Foreign Minister led a delegation to China in September 2003. CARICOM Heads of Government meetings have been attended by our Prime Minister on four occasions in the Caribbean region. The Bahamas has become a big player in trying to solve the Haitian problem. The Prime Minister attended his first Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in December 2003.
The Minister has praised the staff of the Ministry for their work in getting things just right. But he has said that there is much more to be done and has called for a fundamental shift in the way the Ministry carries out its functions so as to better serve The Bahamas.
That part is foreign affairs. But what is more difficult is the domestic political sphere. The Prime Minister gave a technical answer at the airport when asked whether or not he was satisfied with the performance of the Cabinet. He said that so long as the Cabinet is not changed and continues to act under his guidance, the assumption must be that he is pleased with the performance of the Cabinet. He then said that the Government’s work is on course. He also predicted that like other Prime Ministers before him, there would be adjustments in portfolios. He did not give a time frame.
We reported last week that the speculation is rife that there will be major shifts in portfolio allocations within the Government. The Prime Minister told the press that the way he approaches matters of that kind is to begin to discuss with Ministers the reallocations. He said that he had not yet begun that process.
What is also likely to be decided this year is what happens in the Office of Governor General. This will be entering the third year of the PLP's administration and if the actions of former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham are anything to go by, a shift in the top post is likely. The present Governor General has done a creditable job and has cemented the image of a country that can get along with persons of another political stripe working together. But year three should see the shift toward more PLP oriented priorities on all fronts.
The hope from us is that whatever happens, we as we continue, all of us Opposition and Government, will continue to work for the common good. As the Anglican prayer says it, let us do the things that make for peace and build up the common life.
James Smith, the Minister of State for Finance in an interview published in The Tribune on Friday 2nd January said that he thought the one problem on the horizon as far as the economy is concerned is the action of the trade unions in settling their dispute in the tourism sector. The news seemed to be in a more positive direction that area as well.
So we wish you all a happy New Year and only good things to come.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 3rd January 2004 at midnight: 43,439.
Number of hits for the month of December ending Wednesday 31st December 2003 at midnight: 175,472.
Number of hits for the month of January 2004 to midnight 3rd January 2004: 10,269.
Number of hits for the year 2003 up to Wednesday 31st January 2003 at midnight: 1,733,900.
Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 3rd January at midnight: 10,269.
THE
MBEKI VISIT—MEMORABLE IMAGES
The visit of the South African President Thabo Mbeki and Mrs. Mbeki with
their Foreign Minister Nkososana Zuma to The Bahamas over the Christmas
holidays from touch down at 28th December to departure in the wee hours
of 1st January 2004 on his way to Haiti was captured in pictures by Bahamas
Information Services photographer Peter Ramsay. Many of the images
were made available to this column. Today we present many memorable
images of the event. Please click here.
The couple wowed Bahamians everywhere.
The functions included 28/12, the arrival, a wreath
laying at the Nassau War Cemetery, the beat retreat at Rawson Square; 29/12
an official call on the Governor General and the gift of Ventrum Lowe's
sailing sloop from Greene Turtle Cay; 
a
call upon the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, the visit of Mrs. Mbeki to
the National Art Gallery and lunch with Mrs. Bernadette Christie; a state
dinner at Atlantis; 30/12, breakfast with religious and civic leaders at
the British Colonial Hilton, the planting of a lignum vitae tree in Freeport
and the lunch there, the tour of the Freeport Container Port, a news
conference upon return to Nassau airport, the state reception at Government
House; 1/01/04, the visit to Junkanoo including the gifts of a blown glass
Junkanoo beller by Freeport’s Sidney Pratt and a Junkanoo painting by Clifford
Fernander, the departure at 4 :30 a.m. Top left: Head table at
State Dinner - Bottom right: Director of Culture Dr. Nicollette Bethel
(left) presents Bahamian Glass Artist Sidney Pratt's Junkanoo beller to
the delight of Madame Mbeki at New Year's Junkanoo parade as Mrs. Bernadette
Christie, President Mbeki and Minister of Culture Neville Wisdom
look on. BIS photos by Peter Ramsay.
THE
BAHAMAS & SOUTH AFRICA - KEY PLAYERS
Some wondered why the South Africans and from an infinitely larger and
richer country would expend so much money coming to The Bahamas.
The South Africans see themselves as the richest country in Africa and
therefore having to take the lead in Africa for democracy and development.
They presently see the same in The Bahamas as the richest country in the
Caribbean and therefore capable of taking a lead in Caricom's affairs.
South Africa wants linkages with the African Diaspora everywhere.
The South Africans were clearly impressed by the
visit. The President and the Prime Minister of The Bahamas have mandated
their Foreign Ministers to follow up with concrete steps for strengthening
ties in business, in education, in health, in tourism and to follow up
on the President's interest in developments in Freeport.
All in all, it was a good visit. The Prime
Minister seemed buoyed by the visit. But for one person in the Government
and one alone, it seemed more than a foreign relations success, it can
be counted as a personal vindication of years of struggle and ridicule.
That Minister shall remain nameless. It doesn’t matter now.
All is well.
THE
PRIME MINISTER IN HAITI
Prime Minister Perry Christie said that he had been asked by the Jamaican
Prime Minister P. J. Patterson of Jamaica to represent Caricom at the 200th
anniversary celebrations of the independence of Haiti on 1st January 2004.
Prime Minister Christie was energised by the visit. He came back
to Nassau saying “The Bahamas can best further its own interests through
the pursuit of our own, separate initiatives with the government of Haiti,
as we are the state with the most significant Haitian migrant population.”
While in Haiti, the Prime Minister was briefed on
the local political situation in Haiti and announced that Caricom will
be sending a fact finding mission to Haiti to investigate matters between
the Opposition and the Government, to avoid the further breakdown of a
civil polity in Haiti. The South African President Thabo Mbeki also
engaged with members of the Opposition for several hours on Friday 2nd
January, delaying his departure first to 6 p.m. then 10 p.m. in order to
finish the talks. The talks were said to be inconclusive.
The situation is in danger of spiraling out of control
in Haiti but during the celebrations, there were no incidents to affect
the celebrations. Tens of thousands of persons turned out to chant
for President Jean Bertrand Aristide. The media tended to underestimate
the number at the celebrations and over estimate that of those protesting.
The Prime Minister also announced that President Aristide might be making
an historic visit to The Bahamas to sign the immigration accord between
the two countries in the not too distant future.
You may click
here for the full statement by the Prime Minister on Haiti. Prime
Minister Christie is greeted by advisors on his return from Haiti's 200th
Independence Anniversary celebrations. BIS photo by Peter Ramsay.
SKY
MARSHALLS FOR BAHAMASAIR?
The United States authorities are looking more and
more incredible as they expand the inconvenience and danger to the public
with a series of alerts and scares in delaying, canceling flights and questioning
innocent people as they board airplanes bound for and from the United States.
It seems a little more than coincidental that an Air France jet was the
first of a series of flights cancelled to the United States on the ground
that there was credible evidence of terrorists trying to use it in the
United States.
Was there politics involved getting back at the
French for their opposition to the war in Iraq? They have since stopped
a British Airways flight, and an Aeromexico flight. The British and
the French played along but the Mexicans were apparently livid. The
Mexicans told the Miami Herald that the flight was cancelled not because
they believed there was credible evidence of a threat, in fact the contrary
was so, there was no credible evidence. But Mexico said that they were
told by the US authorities that the Mexican plane would not be allowed
to land, if it took off for the US.
Bahamasair like other airlines flying to the US
are now to have air marshals, persons with guns and extraterritorial arrest
jurisdiction, to fly on board planes and stop anyone trying to take action
against a plane. That is another nightmare decision by the US, and brings
the wild wild west and Israeli military tactics to civilian flying in The
Bahamas. Of course there is no answer to this. The way the
US puts things these days is: “You do it or else”.
The invasion of Iraq was clearly wrong and misdirected,
done for political reasons. There is no credible evidence that it
has solved any problems related to terrorism. The security alerts
now also smell of a Bush campaign for president, rather than real security
issues. When this period is examined ten years from now, will it
all come out in the wash? From their side, though the argument is
better safe than sorry. We suppose there is some logic in that but
most people smell a rat.
PEET
ORDERS A STOP TO WORK TO RULE
The Minister of Labour has been a busy man this Christmas. In the
middle of all the celebrations and the need to see his family, he had to
stop the hotel sector from coming to a grinding halt by irresponsible union
leaders and intransigent hotel employers. He did an excellent job
especially with such volatile partners on both sides of the divide.
The employers threatened to lockout the union. The union took wildcat strike
action, even while promising not to do so. Mr. Peet has ordered everyone
back to work, and back to the table.
The question is a long term one, but does the union
still have credibility in the country or more correctly does its leader?
Some are saying that in the union, the tail is actually wagging the dog.
The criticism now coming from the union is that the fact that the Prime
Minister was unable to force the employers to accept unconditionally what
the union demanded when there is a supposed to be a pro labour PLP Government,
shows that the Prime Minister is weak and can’t get the job done.
Labour, they argue, have to do it for themselves. That is a grave
error in analysis, but of course there is usually no logic involved when
you start with a false premise.
For now both sides said that there has been some
progress toward a solution to the crisis. The employees are now back
to work and all seems smooth in the hotels.
JACKASS
OF THE WEEK
The Opposition’s Leader outside of the House of Assembly is Tommy Turnquest.
Senator Turnquest. He was quoted in the newspaper the Bahama Journal
as follows about the visit of the South African President Thabo Mbeki:
“I am pleased that the official Opposition was actively involved in President
Mbeki’s visit. It displays the democracy we have here in The Bahamas.”
But never mind that within days of that statement
made on Tuesday 30th December, the Chairman of the Free National Movement
Carl Bethel, the used-to-be representative for Holy Cross, made a statement
that displayed a level of stupidity and ignorance in the extreme.
Mr. Bethel claimed that the Prime Minister of The Bahamas owed an apology
to the workers of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union because
he apologized to South African President Thabo Mbeki for the inconvenience
of a go slow during his visit to The Bahamas. Mr. Bethel said: “In
criticizing an apparent go slow… and threatening to change the labour laws
because he was embarrassed, the flustered Prime Minister attacked the Bahamian
workers. This was an international insult to Bahamian hotel workers
and to the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union.”
Mr. Bethel then went on to compare the struggle
for a work contract between the Union and the Hotel Employers as similar
to that of the Blacks of South Africa struggling for majority rule against
apartheid in their country. Mr. Bethel said: “Nothing in the circumstances
warranted a public attack of the Prime Minister upon Bahamian workers engaged
in lawful industrial action before his South African audience.”
Yet again, we point out some basics in response
to this appalling level of ignorance and petty political sniping.
If a guest comes to your house, and this guest came on a public visit,
not a private one, and something goes wrong during the visit, and it went
wrong publicly not privately, then common courtesy tells you to apologize
for the difficulties.
Further, to compare the struggle of the hotel workers
today in a fully democratic society, where there is no Government repression
or any interference at all in expressing opinions to fighting apartheid
in South Africa is just plain silly. It does not even rise to the
level of being stupid or ignorant.
Further, it was the Nassau Guardian who got the
story all cocked up about the Prime Minister attacking hotel workers.
It gave the impression in its story that the Prime Minister was attacking
workers at the Hilton Hotel who were serving breakfast at the hotel to
President Mbeki. That was not true. The prime Minister made
general comment about industrial action while a state visit was in progress.
The persons served breakfast late on Tuesday 30th December were served
breakfast late, because the event was oversubscribed, more people showed
up for it than there were seats and extra places had to be set. This
was done efficiently and expeditiously by the staff. They did their
jobs well.
So for all of these reasons and more, and to reward
the level of ignorance and stupidity in the statement that takes the meaning
of those words to new levels, we award Carl Bethel, once again with the
booby prize JACKASS OF THE WEEK.
YOUNG
LIBERALS AGREE
The Progressive Young Liberals obviously agree with
our sentiment in naming the ‘Jackass of The Week’ this week. Their
chairman Andrew Edwards on Friday 2nd January, issuing a statement accusing
the FNM of “attempting to manipulate a young Bahamian electorate who …would
not have remembered the trials and setbacks suffered by the trade union
movement under …FNM governance”.
The FNM Chairman’s statement, said the Young Liberals,
“is indicative of how the Opposition in its desperation has sought to manipulate
and exploit the emotions of workers in the hotel industry… The Free National
Movement and its usual band of rejected puppets are the last persons who
should be demanding an apology on behalf of workers, when they are yet
to apologize for the heartless way that party treated workers and unions
during their tenure as the Government of The Bahamas. Please click
here for the entire Young Liberals’ statement.
PLP
CHAIRMAN WEIGHS IN
By our late deadline Sunday 4th January, the Progressive
Liberal Party's National Chairman had also issued a statement from the
party, calling on the FNM to "show more political maturity". Please
click here.
THE
BEEF BAN—ON AGAIN OFF AGAIN
The Nassau Guardian reported last week, and we reported
their statement last week that The Bahamas had banned US beef as a result
of the finding of a cow with mad cow disease in Washington State in the
US. The Guardian did not say where it got its information.
It turns out that they had no authoritative source for the information.
The story was simply not true. The Ministry of Agriculture wanted
to ban beef coming into The Bahamas like most other Caribbean countries
but the Minister Alfred Gray announced on Saturday 3rd January that it
would not ban the meat but instead continue to monitor the situation carefully.
The decision is an interesting bit of gymnastics involving politics and
business practicality as against the potential health risk to consumers.
The fact is that the country moved aggressively
against all other countries including Canada that had mad cow disease by
banning immediately the supply. What makes the US the exception?
A ban of US beef would cripple beef consumption in The Bahamas because
there are no other countries readily available from which to import, particularly
in the fast food market like Wendy’s, Burger King and MacDonald’s.
So business interests have prevailed it appears in a balancing act that
sees those interests win out over the small chance that there will be mad
cow disease in the meat imported here.
As a footnote, the Miami Herald of Saturday 3rd
January reports that a letter signed by Pedros Alvarez Borrego head of
Alimport, Cuba’s primary food purchasing firm confirms that despite the
mad cow disease scare, Cuba intends to proceed with the purchasing contracts
that they have initiated. The letters says: “We know the US beef
processing industry is safe and will remain so in the future.”
INJURED
15 YEAR OLD PRAISES PLP’S HALKITIS
Fifteen year old Darran Thompson is now paralyzed
from the neck down as result of a hit and run traffic accident. He
is said to be in a great deal of pain. When the accident happened
on Tuesday 22nd December, the driver of the vehicle, a louse of the first
order, ran away from the accident, taking the time to take the licence
disc off the car before he left. It appears that he has been caught
all the same. We think they ought to throw the book at him.
But this story is about Darran. He is
now regaining some strength and movement in his arms. He is being
treated for a broken spine, torn back, broken ribs and a punctured kidney.
He is an accomplished boxer and in an interview with The Tribune, he told
of his aspiration to be a professional featherweight in the Carmichael
Knockout Boxing Club. He is also an accomplished track and field
athlete with consistent medals in the 800 metres, 1500 metres, high jump
and cross country. But it is his struggle to remain a normal kid
that struck us as heroic.
It was also touching to see the comment about Michael
Halkitis, the PLP Member of Parliament for Adelaide, one of the up and
coming young men of the future. This is what he said: “I also want
to thank Michael Halkitis, the MP for our area, who came to visit me and
for the two books he bought me. I really like the one, Heart of a
Lion. The other is Psalm 91, the Ultimate Shield. I just want
to thank my entire family for all that they have done. I really am
very grateful.”
THE
JUNKANOO RESULTS Just when we thought
that this year’s Junkanoo parade would be without incident, the New Year’s
Day parade is now mired in controversy. The Saxons cannot accept
the fact that they lost the contest to the Valley Boys. They lost
by 6 points. The Valley Boys with the theme ‘O Perfect Love’ won
with 3406 points and the Saxons came second with 3,400 points with the
theme ‘Come Worship the Lord’.
The loss was bitter for the Saxons not only because
the result was so close and they won in all the individual categories,
but the parade was named after their founder Walton ‘Sax’ Taylor.
Mr. Taylor, now 75 said that the naming of the parade was the best thing
that ever happened to him in his life. Add to that the fact that
they were hoping to win in honour of drummer Chris Moxey who at the age
of 44 dropped dead at the start of last week’s parade. A tourist
visiting the scene wrote a letter criticizing the Junkanoo Committee for
not having emergency assistance at the scene, a fact the Committee immediately
denied.
The Saxons have 72 hours to file an official protest.
One member said they had been robbed. But you have to ask yourself
the question in this country, will anyone ever be satisfied that they lost
fair and square? Someone has to lose and someone will win.
But no matter what, whether they agree in advance to the judging system
or not, as they have in this case, once you disagree with the result, you
say the system is unfair and that you were cheated. It really spoils
a fun event. Here are the other results: ‘A’ category—One
Family, third place 1,366 points, theme ‘Morning Has Broken’; Roots, fourth
place, theme ‘World Peace’; Prodigal Sons, fifth place, theme ‘30th Anniversary
of Independence’. Music Makers were sixth with an Independence Theme;
seventh was Barabbas and The Tribe, theme ‘Discipline is the Key to the
Nation’.
TAKING
COLINA TO TASK
Colina’s principals appear to now have an ever increasing
battle to get regulatory approval for the purchase of the business of Imperial
Life and Canada Life in The Bahamas. They sent a letter around to
customers of both Canada Life and Imperial Life that seemed to indicate
that the approval is a fait accompli. They told customers that they
have until 31st December to let them know if they approve the transfer
of their business. If they do not respond, silence will mean consent.
That is not so in law but the law does not seem to count for much.
But other issues are surfacing beside the arrogance
of it all. One is that there are doubts being raised about the financial
adequacy of the present Colina business as well as the question of their
ability to manage such an insurance company. Their competitors have
all weighed in against it. Colina’s principals have also been busy
bad mouthing Ministers of the Government notwithstanding their need for
the approval of those same Ministers of their deal. No problem, because
business should not work like that but in the real world one has to ask
the question whether or not these fellows have their ducks lined up properly?
The Ministry of Financial Services and Investment
issued a statement warning the principals of the insurance companies to
cease and desist any actions that make it appear that the approval is a
done deal. We agree and you may click
here for the full statement by the Ministry.
QUEEN’S
HONOURS ANNOUNCED FOR NEW YEARS
The Colonial Honours have been announced for 2004
New Years' honours. The Queen has made several new Members of the
Order of St. Michael and St. George, and several members and officers of
the British Empire, which, by the way, only exists with Bermuda, Montserrat,
Turks and Caicos, Gibraltar, the Falklands and Ascension Island.
Yet and still there are many people who like this stuff and accept it,
even going to great expense to fly to London to receive it from the Queen.
Topping the lists are the Commanders of the Order
of St. Michael and St. George, just short of the knighthood. Amongst
those are founder of the PLP William Cartwright and Bishop Sam Greene,
President of the Bahamas Christian Council and Pastor Ed Allen of the Abundant
Life Church.
The Queen’s Police Medal goes to Ellison Greenslade,
the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Freeport who helped to solve the
murders of the five boys in Freeport and former Police Officer Douglas
Hanna, now working at Atlantis.
The Officer of the British Empire O.B.E. goes to
liquor merchant George McKinney, Judy Munroe of Coca Cola and Rupert Roberts
of Supervalue Food stores and Pauline Davis for athletic success.
The Member of the British Empire M.B.E. goes to
singer Maureen Duvalier, King Eric Gibson for sailing, Edgar Outten for
economic development in Grand Bahama and Pedro Roberts for service to health.
The British Empire Medal B.E.M. goes to Eloise Colebrook,
Granville Colby, Leonard Dames, Rev. George Emmanuel, Rev. Lawrence Laing.
Ethelyn Michael, Frederick Morgan and Alma Trotman.
Congratulations all! But it is time for our
own honours. It was a shame for example that The Bahamas unlike both
Haiti and Jamaica could not offer President Thabo Mbeki a Bahamian honour
on his visit to The Bahamas.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
One letter writer was irate about the grades given
Ministers of the Government last week in the column featuring news from
Grand Bahama. We do not have the express permission to use the name
of the writer, who is a businesswoman who supports the PLP. Here
is what she had to say:
“I take some exception to the so called grades
given to Ministers for their performance over the past year. I take
offence to arm chair politicians and pundits who don't know how anything
goes daring to grade someone in public office who faces the daily challenges
and complexities of life in The Bahamas. Who do these people think
they are? I think that you should think twice about giving space
to these people again to run down Ministers. I was particularly interested
to see how the female Ministers seem to get the worst end of the stick.
I do not agree with the assessments at all. All Ministers have tried
their best and not one should get below the grade of B if the truth be
told. I think the two persons who did these so called report cards
should apologize to the Bahamian people.”
[Well, this is a free country, and we did not agree either but defend the right of the writers to make their own assessment –Editor]
Merry Christmas from someone signing as Peter Carey
From the same address that threatened to sue us
a few weeks ago because he said it wasn’t him, comes Christmas greeting
to the Editor:
“As I reflect on the events of this past year
I am moved to offer to all my friends and relatives thanks and heartfelt
gratitude for all of your support.
"For me, 2003 presented lots of challenges, I
am here, meaning with God's help and your prayers and support, I was able
to over come.
"I pray God' blessings for you and your family.
Merry Christmas.”
Always, Peter
FNM e-mail
A letter writer asked us what we were talking about
on our story last week about an e-mail coming from the FNM:
“What are you "guys" talking about. Pray
tell!"
CAUTION ON FNM E MAIL
All of a sudden, strange e-mails supposedly from
the editors of the FNM’s website have been showing up at the e-mail addresses
of PLPs. Be careful with this e-mail. It asks you, if you want
to block it and be unsubscribed. When you reply it sends back nasty
messages. It raises the suspicion that this might be a sham.
We are trying to check it out. But if e-mail comes from the FNM's
site be careful and don’t open it. Delete it right away.
B.S.
NOTES FROM GENEVA’S IN FREEPORT…
NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA -
MBEKI'S VISIT: A LESSON TO BLACK NATIONS
In The Bahamas, there is an expression that is used to describe a scorched
earth policy, i.e., "being a dog in the manger." The white minority
government of South Africa had the military might and the economic power
to hold on to government; but, that foundation was not a sure one in the
long term. The country could quite easily under that arrangement
have descended into chaos and anarchy. So, South Africa decided it
was time to change.
Ten years ago there was free and open elections and Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress (ANC) became the first black president of South Africa. Today, South Africa is one of the few countries on the African continent that is worth living in, notwithstanding that the continent is blessed with mineral resources of all kinds. When one looks at the rest of these countries they are unable to harvest their resources because of civil strife; or, the governments that run these countries simply plunder these resources. In the aftermath of this dog in the manger syndrome, only the people suffer. So, here was a living lesson of allowing common sense to prevail. We hope that this lesson was digested by our political leaders.
TOMMY'S FATE SEALED
The political fate of the leader of the FNM, Tommy Turnquest, was sealed
when he sought to give Tourism's Minister, Obie Wilchcombe advice on how
to deal with what seemed to be an impending strike by hotel workers in
New Providence. FNM Observers told us that that was it. A meeting
was held in Nassau sometime back where it was decided by the power brokers
in the FNM that Tommy was not jelling with the Bahamian populace.
To deal with this imminent problem, the power brokers decided that his
father would be the best person to break the news to him that it was time
to go. We are informed that the wheel is now in motion. This
meeting was held, according to our source, at the home of a former FNM
MP and board chair who is now retired. We are further informed
that the transition will not be a messy one.
The names of his successors that keep coming up are Hubert Ingraham, along with a dark horse, Brent Symonette, and B.J. Nottage. Our source is known to be closer to the Ingraham camp and has consisitently been reliable in imparting information.
B.S. NOTES FROM GENEVA
B.S. and D.M., News from Grand Bahama report card is a volunteer effort
by the above. We both share in the belief that the Bahamian people
should be the principal beneficiaries of any development. We have
said and will continue to say there has to be more than just jobs for Bahamians
in the grander scheme of things; otherwise, we are merely selling our birthright.
We could remember, as if it was only yesterday, when a Minister shared
the same view before being appointed a Minister. So, if we bring
to the table an unvarnished portrait and seem harsh on any minister, we
say hold on to your seats because we intend to push the envelope to its
limit, while at the same time, being fair. Otherwise, if this is
not possible, we know the honorable course in which to take when it is
no longer possible for us to freely express ourselves.
NEW YEAR'S DAY JUNKANOO PARADE
On January 1st, 2004, the New Year's Day Junkanoo Parade was held for
the second year in the cramped quarters of downtown, Freeport which at
the end left shop owners bitterly protesting that the junkanoo committee
made no provisions for the clean up of their business premises. All
in all it was said to be the largest junkanoo parade ever held in Grand
Bahama. With the exception of the leader of the Classic Dancers,
Ken "Motorboat" Ferguson, who felt cheated that his group was done a grave
injustice when the reigning champions finished fifth. Sources tell
us that the Classic Dancers were heavily penalized because of unfinished
costumes, musicians not properly dressed which explains their fifth place
finish.
RESULTS OF THE PARADE (UNOFFICIAL)
1. Swingers: 1,629
2. Majestic Crusaders: 1,604
3. Superstar Rockers: 1,493
4. Harbour Boys: 1,357
5. Classic Dancers: 1,032
6. Arawak Invaders: 573
7. Victory Boys: (-) 235
B.S.
D.M. On Long Island
Usually at the end of the year one takes the opportunity to reflect
on the year and do a little introspection as we seek to grow to be a better
individual in the year to come. Those of us who are patriotic extend
that introspection to the status of our country and where we are able to
move.
I had the opportunity of celebrating the Christmas and New Year on Long Island. The island in which I was born and the community that made into the person that I am today. There are many faithful supporters of the governing party on this island. Many voted for the governing party in the previous years even when it was not popular to do so and stood by the party against all odds. However, their support has not shown any harvest…
The poor islanders have nothing to show for their loyalty to the party since it has become the government, and its supporters are not clear of the plans that are in the works. Their votes and commitment to the party is being taken for granted and despite this the loyal soldiers still press on in their resilience.
It is a fact that Long Island has had a long standing with the F.N.M party and before that the U.B.P party. Long Island has an Independent member of parliament and it is no secret that his election was made by many P.L.P. votes. The housing project in Dunmore seems to have been a pacifier for the locals by the government, but the memory of the project is not going to last the entire five years…To the P.L.P government: if you are powerful please be merciful.
The government is asked to remember its devoted supporters on the Family
Islands, especially Long Island: the side roads are breaking in pot-holes,
the island does not have running water, the southern side (majority P.L.P.
supporters) of the island does not have cable access, many government buildings
are in poor condition and are still primitive, there is no medical personnel
in the southern side of the island – in the event of an emergency, patients
have to drive for miles – and those who do not have access to transportation
are at a greater disadvantage. Make an effort to make 2004 brighter
for Long Islanders and those who have ties to the island.
B.S.
"...just as lightning makes no sound until it strikes, the revolution
will be generated quietly..."
 |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - He is like bad money, showing up everywhere, as Paul Adderley would say like a peripatetic political jack-in-the-box. His name is Hubert Ingraham and he is the former Prime Minister of the country. On Tuesday 6th January in an unprecedented move the National Junkanoo Committee announced that it had decided to reverse its finding in favour of the Valley Boys as the winners of the New Year’s Junkanoo Parade and award the prize instead to the Saxons. People could hardly believe it. It seemed stupid and contrived and a bit like someone had engaged in a conspiracy on the face of it; that the decision of judges is not final; and that Junkanoo had in fact become a mockery. But none of that stopped the former Prime Minister from going into Mason’s Addition, home of the Saxons, reportedly with his buddy Dr. H.H. Minnis to celebrate with the new winners the Saxons. The Tribune just happened to be there of course to shoot the picture of Mr. Ingraham grinning from ear to ear. The deal is that Mason’s Addition is in the now Prime Minister's constituency and Mr. Ingraham’s visit was to cause some political discomfort and mischief. Perry Christie represents the Saxons area in the House but he comes from the Valley Boys area and that no doubt is where his heart is. They also say though that while he went to congratulate the new winners, he also went to visit the Valley Boys’ leader, now dethroned and told him reportedly that he should not accept the change. It’s called playing both sides. We find that to be the photo of the week. It is from The Tribune of Wednesday 7th January and was taken by Tanya Cartwright. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
A FIT OF JUNKANOO MADNESS
After
a run of bad luck by Neville Wisdom, the Minister of Youth, Sports and
Culture, this Christmas things finally seemed to be going well. No
controversy over bleachers for Junkanoo. The country had gotten through
Christmas with a wonderful treat, a state visit by an African potentate.
The country was proud of itself as it showed off its Junkanoo heritage
to an African leader. He seemed to embrace us. And so the New
Year was starting off just right. The hotel talks seemed to settle
down to behind the scenes wrangling as opposed to open warfare. Not
a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. But just when we thought
it was safe to get back into the water, the National Junkanoo Committee
announced in an unprecedented move on Tuesday 6th January that it was reversing
the winning Valley Boys’ victory and awarding it instead to the Saxons
who had bitterly complained and threatened to cause mayhem the week before
if the result was not changed. Someone immediately smelled a rat.
The Saxons who were bitter, bitter as they were the week before, never actually filed a formal protest. But the Junkanoo Committee in a tortuously worded announcement claimed that it had reviewed the unofficial results as a matter of course, and that in looking at the penalty points that were deducted for various infractions against the Saxons, the chief penalty judge had erred and that too much had been taken off from the Saxons. In the result, the original math was wrong and the Saxons were now really the winners.
Winston ‘Gus’ Cooper, who is the Leader of the Valley Boys, could justifiably now say that he was robbed. The whole thing looked like someone had set out to give the victory to the Saxons and in a result selective exercise had simply found a way to justify the awarding of the victory after the fact. The Committee’s explanation seemed like a legal submission, and was similar to that of the judging at a dive or skating contest at the Olympics where the high scores are thrown out and the low scores are thrown out, then a mean is determined and then that mean is actually deducted from the total scores.
The Valley Boys contended that in 2002, they made a similar protest as the Saxons did in similar circumstances, (and a formal one at that) and the Committee never deigned to reply to the protest. Further, they said on the formula of the Junkanoo Committee for dealing with penalties, the Valley Boys if the high points were thrown out and the low points thrown out and the mean taken of that, the prize still went to the Valley Boys. The Junkanoo Committee said that they would review the matter and then revert to the public. But it looks like unless the Baptist church leader Bishop William Thompson is able to cobble together a compromise, the matter will end up in court and in acrimony.
Fortunately, and so far none of this appears to have rebounded on the Minister of Culture Neville Wisdom. We hold our breaths because the judging is independent of the Minister and the matter is really a matter for the judges. The Ministry should not be involved and it would be a mistake to be so involved. Let Junkanoo take its course.
Gus
Cooper told the press that he would give up the prize “over his dead body”
and asked the authorities to prepare a cell for him. That rhetoric
cooled down by the week’s end, but he and his group cannot be happy campers.
We said last week that someone has to lose. We said last week that the decision of the judges should be final on that day. It’s like bad calls in an NBA game in the US. Too bad! Too sad! We think that Junkanoo judges and the National Junkanoo Committee have made themselves the laughing stock of the country. Before Junkanoo, all seemed agreed that the judging would be the fairest ever. The thing is now in disarray again. Jackson Burnside, who leads the One Family group that broke away from the Saxons, said that he and the public simply don’t trust the judging as being fair and transparent. His brother Stan also with One Family drew a cartoon that showed the state of the nation with the two groups fighting over the one trophy.
What we say now, though, is that no matter what these mere mortals do, no matter how they now have tried to turn Junkanoo into a political occasion for speech making and ceremony, Junkanoo is at its essence a festival of celebration and fun of our African ancestry and our very Bahamianness. We do not think that you can ever kill Junkanoo. We believe that this too will pass, and that the festival, which lives in the hearts of Bahamians, will continue to thrive. Not high ticket prices, not bleachers, not Ministers of Culture, nor Governments nor fights over prizes can kill Junkanoo at its essence.
As Dr. Offfff would have said: “Junkanoo is Junkanoo!”
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 10th January 2004 at midnight: 31,208.
Number of hits for the month of January ending at 10th January 2004 at midnight: 41,477.
Number of hits for the year 2004 up to 10th January 2004 at midnight: 1,775,377.
THE
ISOLATION OF POLITICIANS
The Progressive Liberal Party now enters the year
2004 with a lot on its mind. This is the year for politics.
Pure politics! In the minds of many PLPs, the time for being Mr.
Nice Guy is over, and we need to start kicking butt. The pace of
change is too slow, and our supporters are still saying that enough has
not been delivered for them. But what is interesting is the ruminations
of many of the politicians on the scene today in the PLP, who as time goes
by realize what a lonely place the political position actually is.
The hard decisions have soon to be made about hiring
new people, some of them blatant political appointments, but notwithstanding
that, the stamp of the PLP must be put on the Government. And then
some people must go, even some who soldiered into the election of 2002
and certainly some from the other side. There is call for change
all around. Their time is up.
But this piece is actually about those who do not
sit in the Government but who have been friends and confidants of those
who attained power. They had and have a difficult job. They
are the ones who supported with the tacit understanding that when their
allies got to where they got, they would receive some benefit either psychic
or actual. It does not necessarily mean positions on statutory boards
or corporations, but the ability to make a call and get things to happen.
The complaints are now coming from them that things are not happening for
them, and the third year is coming up fast. Not even an invitation
to a Government function have they seen. That is the message that
all PLP politicians could do well to remember.
But on the other hand as times progress and stresses
and strains in relationships come, it would do for all to remember that
one day there will be a return to the status quo ante. The politicians
will no longer have their power and the question will be: “How will the
old relationships survive?” They will survive by the quality of how
the relationships are treated during the time in power. The politicians
therefore must be conscious of this.
There is also a concomitant necessity to remember
the isolation of positions of authority and the value of friendship and
alliances. Often old friends and allies make demands and ultimatums
that are really not necessary but make it seem that friendships and alliances
are easily dispensable. No ultimatums belong in friendships and alliances.
But then again, all is fair in love and war, they say. We say friendship
and alliances are precious, and as the PLP goes into its third year, it
should bear that in mind if it hopes to continue to progress. It
must not forget how it got to where it got.
Hubert Ingraham as Prime Minister forgot where he
came from, forgot who his friends and allies were, and seemed to go through
a psychological double flip denigrating and attacking those who were his
friends and allies, like the Emperor Jones contemptuous of the people who
got him to be Prime Minister. For that he paid ultimately by losing
his job and wrecking the career of many a young bright politician.
The PLP must never forget that lesson but the friends and allies of the
PLP must not forget it either.
HUBERT
INGRAHAM ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL
The rumours keep coming fast and furious about the
fact that Hubert Ingraham, the former Prime Minister, is about to make
a come back as the next leader of the Free National Movement. The
Free National Movement ideologues are busy planning their next convention
with that in mind. They want to use the now popular tune in The Bahamas
‘You Get Swing’ as their theme at the next FNM convention. There
are those who are encouraging the FNM to bring Mr. Ingraham back again
so that the PLP can use the theme song ‘Drunk Again’ for its next convention.
Such is the fervour that is lining up for this so called comeback trail.
If the signs were not there before that he was trying
to make a comeback, after the Junkanoo picture of Hubert Ingraham in Mason’s
Addition congratulating the Saxons on snatching victory from the jaws of
defeat, it must be clear. The story is that he congratulated the
Saxons and then went to the Valley Boys and told them not to accept the
loss but to challenge it. They say that he has been spending a great
deal of time in Prime Minister Perry Christie’s constituency of Farm Road
sitting down with the youngsters and having a good gaff and a few drinks.
No hard pressure, just on the face of it having fun. But the only
fun in the life of Hubert Ingraham is politics, and he is travelling a
road he knows well.
Mr. Ingraham's build up to being Prime Minister
came in a tour of the country from Abaco to Inagua meeting people in small
groups and getting to know them and their problems. At Christmas
time 2003, you will recall, he was in Grand Bahama with small parties of
his old supporters. He did not resist when they said that he must
come back. Now he is at work in the bowels of Nassau that he knows
he must convince to vote his way again. He must be resisted.
He must be defeated. He must be told to repay the pension that he
is wrongly getting from the Government even as he continues actively in
politics. We shall see, but the PLP is warned.
MEANWHILE
AT INGRAHAM'S BOILFISH PARTY
Hubert Ingraham was said to have had one hell of
a boilfish party at his home in the Grove (no, not the real [Coconut] Grove,
but that other one out west) on Saturday 10th January… All the former ‘mucks’
were there and some would-be muck-a-mucks. So the comeback trail
continues. The themes: the Government can’t even get Junkanoo right;
‘Gus’ has blood in his eyes; the Colina deal should not be approved, no
way in hell; and of course, “when you coming back, Chief?”
IS
HUEDLEY MOSS IN TROUBLE AND PAT BAIN?
Huedley Moss, the President of the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s line
staff union was met by demonstrations last week on Wednesday 7th January
as he held a press conference to talk about his plans for the union.
Some 30 people were at the demonstration, mainly men, and they attacked
Mr. Moss accusing him of not showing them the books and of squandering
the Union’s money. They said that they did not support a proposal
by Mr. Moss to increase Union dues. Mr. Moss does not want all persons
to pay dues at the same amount regardless of the level of their salaries.
At the moment that is $25 per person per month. He believes that
the dues should be set as a percentage of income and those who are paid
higher should pay more. It will require a majority of members to
agree to change their constitution to permit it.
But it appears that Mr. Moss has run into trouble
with his members. He was defiant at his press conference. He
said that he wants to be able to increase the benefit to some members who
have been receiving the same pension for 15 years and need an increase
in their pension cheques. But the young workers of today are hearing
none of it. Nor are they hearing the calls for restraint of which
Mr. Moss has been a part in the last six months.
Mr. Moss is an advocate of the Free Trade Agreement
of the Americas. He has called for Unions to be responsible and recently
has come off as the darling of the employers on the Unions side of the
table. As they say in The Bahamas, the union members appear not to
be playing that, and a noisy group is now saying that he must go.
We have no way of knowing whether he is really in trouble.
We looked too at what is happening in the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied
Workers Union where the press speculated this week that Pat Bain, President
of the Union (pictured at right), was also in trouble. The Journal
said that members are saying that Leo Douglas and Quebell Rolle, both Vice
Presidents of the Union have split with Mr. Bain on tactics. Mr.
Bain wants a more softly, softly approach and they say Mr. Douglas is trying
the old radical tactics of the 1960s and 70s. Mr. Douglas denied
there is any split. But what he did say spoke volumes and seems to
indicate that there might be a problem. He said that each President
has his style and that Mr. Bain’s style is different from the previous
president Thomas Bastian.
Pastor Douglas also said that Prime Minister Perry
Christie was “talking nonsense” when he apologized to the South African
President for the industrial action during his visit. The talks in
the sector continue. Pat Bain has said nothing in line with an order
issued by Labour Minister Vincent Peet that nothing should be said to the
press. But Leo Douglas did not stop talking, and that as they say
speaks volumes about what is actually happening.
The report of Mr. Douglas' comments came in the
Bahama Journal 9th January 2004. At week’s end, the Prime Minister
was said to have been called back into the hotel talks, which must mean
that some further movement has come to try to settle the issues. Huedley
Moss is pictured at top left trying to hold his press conference in this
Tribune photo by Dominic Duncombe. Pat Bain is shown at centre, right,
while addressing disgruntled civil servants in this staff file photo.
THE
ECONOMY GREW AT 2 PER CENT LAST YEAR
James Smith, the Minister of State for Finance, has been in the press quite
a bit over the last week. His most surprising and most recent intervention
was that despite all of the problems last year in The Bahamas, the country’s
economy grew by 2 per cent. He expects further growth this year.
This accomplishment could only have come as a result of prudent fiscal
and monetary policy. The Government must take much of the credit for this.
In the Government, James Smith must take much of the credit for it.
Mr. Smith said that the one problem in the offing
is how the negotiations in the hotel sector will pan out. The demands
of the Hotel Union do not seem to be reasonable, and that is being watched
with some unease. Hardliner from the Union Leo Douglas said that
what the hotel employers were offering was not acceptable. He told
the Bahama Journal on 9th January 2004: “12 per cent over 4 years.
I don’t think that’s much. That’s only 3 per cent every year.
What can that do for the average pot washer or laundry washer?”
Mr. Douglas said that as far as he was concerned
the negotiations could go on for another five years, the Union would never
agree to anything that was not in the best interests of the hotel workers.
And so Mr. Smith had better get set to be on a hard bed for next few weeks
as these negotiations unfold. James Smith, file photo.
JIMMY
SHEPHERD, MARY NABB DIE
They were from two different worlds and probably never knew each other.
James Shepherd was described by Sir Arthur Foulkes as a hero of the revolution.
Sir Arthur, former Cabinet Minister and Ambassador, was so incensed at
ZNS Radio and TV that they did not even mention the death of Mr. Shepherd
at the age of 84 on Monday 5th January, that he fired off an angry letter
to the press.
Prime Minister Perry Christie issued a statement
from the Government and the Government is to organize a state recognized
funeral on Thursday 15th January. 
Mr.
Shepherd served in the House of Assembly for two terms, one from 1967 to
1968 and then from 1968 until 1972 when he was defeated with the Dissident
Eight led by the late Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield of which he was a part.
He suffered economically for it, crossing Sir Lynden Pindling. Before
that he was the Parliamentary Whip and Parliamentary Assistant to Prime
Minister Lynden Pindling. But before that he was a hero of the General
Strike at the side of the former Governor General Sir Clifford Darling
when the latter was President of the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union. Mr.
Shepherd is pictured at top right.
And then there was Mary Nabb. She was from
a small town in England but she came to The Bahamas as a teacher.
She taught Zhivargo Laing, a former Minister when he was a student at Hawksbill
High School. She was a fighter for the children, for the public school
system, for the Haitian immigrants, for Grand Bahama. She was a tireless
voice for the oppressed. She was indefatigable. She died on
Monday 5th January. Grand Bahama will not be the same. Two
persons who passed through The Bahamas and left their mark on public policy
from two different walks of life. Mrs. Nabb, seated, is pictured
at left with her son Robert and his wife Tammy.
GEORGE
MOSKO'S WIFE DIES
Mrs. Stella Mosko, wife of well known Bahamian George
Mosko has died. Mrs. Mosko, nee Psalidas, passed away on 6th January,
2004 and was buried after funeral services at the Announciation Greek Orthodox
Church in Nassau on Saturday 10th January. She is survived by her
husband and their children James, Milton, John, Mary and Alexander.
A
FAILING IRAQ STRATEGY
The U.S. Administration under George Bush must have caused howls of laughter
(of course you can’t laugh in front of the cameras, you must keep a straight
face for the Americans lest you be punished) in capitals around the world
when its Viceroy in Baghdad announced that he was freeing 506 prisoners.
The people had been rounded up in mass raids by the US indiscriminately
and without cause, and locked up for resisting the invasion of their country
by a foreign force. The Viceroy Paul Bremer said that he was doing
this as a goodwill gesture.
The conditions for releasing 506 people of the 15,000
or more that they have rounded up are that they had to have a person stand
by as a protector for their good behaviour and they had to promise to renounce
violence. The answer came back loud and clear with more death and
destruction to US troops by rockets and bombs.
Let us dare to remind the US, without advocation,
of lessons of history, object lessons for any imperial power. The
US is trying to be good guy and bad guy at the same time. You can’t
be half pregnant.
The plain facts are these. When you invade
another man’s country and install a puppet government, the people who you
install in power are seen as collaborators and traitors to their country.
Remember King Herod of the Jews, a collaborator with the Roman Empire.
The invader can’t expect to be liked by the population at large and shouldn’t
want to. No matter what the conquered people tell you to your face,
they want you out of their country and it rankles them that you are there
running their lives. They want you out. You can't expect to
succeed without repression and coercion. You can't be half repressive,
it simply will not work and they should have admitted this to themselves
before this invasion.
If the US does not make up its mind and recognize
themselves for what they are and what they did and stop dealing in false
and idle euphemisms such as “Coalition Forces” (there is no coalition),
they will be run out of Iraq just as the Vietnamese ran them out of Vietnam.
It will take a while but it will be done. And the lives of all those
young, faithful Americans will have gone in vain for a temporary fix.
The real tragedy of that is that the sacrifice of those lives will have
been in vain. Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez is the commander of
allied forces in Iraq. "They don't want us here, but they don't want us
to leave, either," he said of the Iraqis. "That's our dilemma; that's the
problem we have to solve." Photo Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
PM TO MONTERREY
Prime Minister Perry Christie is to lead a delegation
of our country to the Special Summit of Americas in Monterrey, Mexico on
12th and 13th January. He will be joined by Fred Mitchell, the Minister
of Foreign Affairs; Joshua Sears, the Ambassador to the Organization of
American States; and officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
the Prime Minister’s office. The Summit will include leaders of all
the countries in the hemisphere except Cuba. It will evaluate what progress
has been made since the last Summit in Quebec, Canada in April 2001. The
Summits define the priorities for the region by setting specific goals
and targets for business, health care, and education.
Since the last Summit 14 Heads of state and Government
have been replaced. These include those from The Bahamas and Canada.
While in Monterrey, the Bahamian PM will meet with his counterparts from
the region in Caricom, with Mexican President Vincente Fox, with President
George Bush of the United States, with President Largos of Chile and with
the President of Costa Rica.
When the PM returns, word is that he is likely to
host a summit of Caribbean Prime Ministers trying to work out a solution
with the Haitian Opposition and its Government to end the political discord
in Haiti.
THE
METHODIST CHURCH CASE
Lord Bingham, one of the Law Lords from the United Kingdom and a judge
of the Privy Council, The Bahamas highest court visited The Bahamas last
week. He got a chance to hobnob with the legal fraternity, to speak
to judges, students and politicians or more correctly they got a chance
to hobnob with him.
Clever thing the British are up to. This is
the third time in as many years that Law Lords have come a calling in The
Bahamas. There was Lord Woolf before him, not a Law Lord but a former Chief
Justice of the UK. But there was Lord Steyn and Lord Millett before
him. It appears that the British are up to a very clever public relations
campaign to save the Privy Council by putting a human face on it, even
as they say that the Caribbean can keep it as long as they wish or discard
it if they wish.
The thing that strikes you about all this is the
attention that the Bahamian judiciary, lawyers, law students, teachers
and politicians give to these visiting British judges. You can hardly
believe that this is the same crew that reviles the Privy Council for hobbling
the death penalty. Like a good former slave society and in that tradition
of the slaves, we are not willing to say to the face what we say behind
their backs it seems. So Lord Bingham was shown more than an overly
polite reaction by a fawning legal crowd. Dame Joan Sawyer, the testy
President of the Court of Appeal and the Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall
were there in support of it all. No testiness that day, just pure
delight was on display. At the luncheon where Lord Bingham spoke,
the President of the Bar Wayne Munroe was there. Yes, even he who has come
off from time to time as an iconoclast, but who really loves what exists.
What was even more interesting is who they chose
to lead the proceedings. There was Brian Moree of the firm McKinney
Bancroft and Hughes and then to give the vote of thanks was Fred Smith,
the Freeport based lawyer, formerly a human rights activist but now one
of the principal moneymakers for the firm Callenders & Co. Mr.
Smith managed to embarrass one half of the group there assembled and cheese
off the other half by what some described as a long, irrelevant and rambling
presentation that was supposed to be the vote of thanks. Said one
person who attended: “It seemed like a promotion for his law firm, rather
than a vote of thanks. Even Brian had to bring him up short”.
Where, asked those gathered, was the role for the
Attorney General Alfred Sears who barely got a mention and for that matter,
the would be iconoclast President of the Bar Wayne Munroe? Nary a
role for him either. But from all accounts the country benefited
from the visit. It was simply a fascinating exercise in people watching.
And so we come now to hard cold reality. The
courts of The Bahamas must be able to explain why after three and half
years, the time that has elapsed since the Privy Council remitted the Methodist
Church case back for hearing before the Supreme Court, the matter cannot
be heard. Why pray tell? Why? And no one feels a sense
of shame about it.
We saw the usual blandishments utter forth from
Dame Joan Sawyer as she “opened” the Court of Appeal about justice delayed
being justice denied, but who will speak up for those who complain abut
the manner in which even senior members of the bar who appear in that court
are addressed. It is clear that The Bahamas has a long way to go
to deliver justice to its people. We can put on a good act for the
stranger who comes a calling from England but for our own we still appear
to fail them again and again. Peter Ramsay's photo shows the judiciary
and members of the bar assembled at St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral with
Roman Catholic Archbishop Lawrence Burke following the annual Red Mass
held to mark the start of the legal year, Sunday 11th January.
10TH
JANUARY COMES ROUND ONCE MORE
For the fifty something crowd that now have the superintendence of The
Bahamas, they were in their teens when Majority Rule came to The Bahamas
on 10th January 1967. If you saw a picture of The Bahamas Government
before that day, and you knew the ethnic makeup of the country with a 90
per cent African population, you would have had to ask yourself: “What
is wrong with this picture?” There was no one of African descent,
at least as far as the phenotype is concerned, that one could see in the
picture. One wonders what kind of insensitivity could have existed amongst
all those men that could have allowed them to think (apparently) that they
could continue along that path forever. The people displaced them.
Now some 37 years later, the day commonly called
Majority Rule Day does not quite have a secure place in the country’s history
books and in its proper context. Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell
and others have been championing the cause of Majority Rule Day.
The PLP has routinely celebrated it every year with a church service.
But the day has not been embraced for what it truly is, a day when all
of the restrictions on the franchise for men and women in The Bahamas regardless
of race and gender disappeared. In that sense it was clearly not
just a victory for Black people but for all Bahamians. Yet, the day is
still seen as a Black man’s cause for celebration.
The Nassau Guardian reported on Friday 9th January
the call of a group called Bahamas In Prophecy headed by Micklyn Seymour,
President; Samuel Thompson, Secretary; and Marcello Fowler, Vice President.
The call was for 10th January 1967 to become a national holiday.
We support that call or some form of national observance even if there
is not a holiday declared on that day.
The PLP will go to church on 11th January to mark
the day. But the FNM should join them as well. They will not of course
because they cannot for political reasons attend. That is such a
shame. Marguerite, the Lady Pindling, accompanied by little Danielle
Johnson and Dr. Danny Johnson are shown at the laying of a commemorative
wreath at the mausoleum of the late Sir Lynden Pindling, Father of the
modern Bahamas, for whom Majority Rule was a major personal triumph.
US
FINGERPRINTING BAHAMIANS
At the start of last week, there was a bit of a
kafuffle over will they or won’t they have to submit for the new criminal
spotting technology that the US has insisted that visitors to their country
have now to undergo when entering the US. Each visitor who comes
into the US by visa will have to submit a fingerprint sample and submit
to a photo which will then go to the vast US data bank to stop terrorists
from coming into the US. Yeah! Right!
The US Embassy said that the system started voluntarily
on Sunday 4th January on a test run. They then said Bahamians who
use the pre-clearance lounges will not have to submit a fingerprint sample
or picture. But if you enter from other ports, you will have to do
so. The bottom line is that all Bahamians are now suspected of being terrorists,
and only Brazil has had the courage to strike back at this kind of nonsense
and indignity by insisting that Americans coming in Brazil suffer the same
indignity. Tribune photo by Dominic Duncombe shows US Charge d'affaires
Robert Witajewski (right) demonstrating the new system at Nassau International
Airport.
DEVARD
DARLING TO GO PRO?
The second half of the Darling brother pair Devard
(brother Devaughn died suddenly after a training exercise) is at a crossroads.
Having left Florida State, following his brother’s death, and now at Washington
State where he has seen some success as a football player, he wants to
turn pro. So will he or won’t he? Our guess is that he will
and good luck to him. We hope also that with the money he makes,
he finishes his education. The photo of him was taken from the Sports
Section of The Tribune by Tanya Cartwright on Tuesday 6th January which
photo helped to promote the Hamlet like speculation.
CABINET
SHUFFLE TALK
Arthur Foulkes, the newspaper columnist and the
former diplomat, was at his political best in his column Tuesday 6th January.
He said that the country cannot wait for a Cabinet shuffle. No sign
that Mr. Christie is heeding him. But according to Sir Arthur, Leslie
Miller, the Minister of Trade is not liked by his colleagues and should
go. Wonder where he got that from? How is it possible to dislike
such a good old boy as Brother Miller?
Sir Arthur also has his sword out for Neville Wisdom,
the Minister of Sports. As for Allyson Gibson and Fred Mitchell,
Ministers of Financial Services and Foreign Affairs respectively, Sir Arthur
says that though they are good fakers by putting on a public face of loyalty
to the Prime Minister, they probably should stay. Well thank you
Sir Arthur, we don’t know what Mr. Mitchell might say but knowing the ‘don’t
take no last’ Minister of Financial Services she is likely to say: “Who
asked you anyway?”
PINDLING
FOUNDATION 100K FOR COB
The Lynden Pindling Foundation continues to make
its presence felt with gifts of tremendous significance in the country.
This past week, the Foundation presented a cheque in the amount of $100,000
to the College of The Bahamas Endowment Fund, the results of the Foundation's
'Legacy' Ball. The College of The Bahamas was but one of the vital
national institutions created under the administration of Sir Lynden, father
of the modern Bahamas. Marguerite, the Lady Pindling is shown second
from left, with daughter Senator the Honourable Michelle Pindling Sands,
second from right, along with bank and College officials. Photo
by Peter Ramsay.
BAHAMIAN
CHRISTMAS ABROAD
The Bahamas is a small country and that – ever more
often in this new ‘global’ world – means that Bahamians must travel for
one reason or another; often for higher education. And sometimes,
that means Christmases away from home. Our photo shows hairstylist
Nadene Rolle (seated at centre), who spent the Christmas holidays with
her daughter Noelle (standing centre), and the family of her roommate.
Noelle is a student at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.
Western is the alma mater of Bernadette Christie and also that of Raynard
Rigby, Progressive Liberal Party chair and Michael Halkitis, MP for Adelaide.
No doubt the warmth of this holiday photo in Canada belies the deathly
chill outside.
MICHAEL
JORDAN GOLF TOURNAMENT
International celebrities where everywhere on Paradise
Island this past week as they flocked to attend and participate in the
Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational Golf tournament held at the Ocean
Club. Among the constellation of stars were many immediately recognizable
names. The tournament seems to have been a major success. Bahama
Journal photo by Tim Aylen / Vision
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
The
Prime Minister, as reported above, is off to an international meeting in
Mexico, and much of the week was spent at his desk, ensuring the smooth
running of the country in his absence. The PM and Mrs. Christie this
past week attended the opening of the convention of the Seventh Day Adventist
Church in The Bahamas.
GOODBYE,
CHRISTMAS!
Many of us remember as children the dread with which
we contemplated the coming of the Feast of Epiphany. No matter what
‘Father’ said at church about the “manifestation of the child Jesus to
the Gentiles”, we knew that the bottom line was that the Christmas tree
and all its attendant trappings would disappear. Not only did it
mean no more ham, turkey, egg nog and fruitcake until next year, but also
the bleak reality of one’s place in the family as an indentured servant
at hard labour in the packing away of the family’s Christmas things.
Ahh,
the good old days. In that vein, we present this Nassau Guardian
photo of St. George’s Anglican Church at Midnight Mass.
B.S.
NOTES FROM GENEVA’S IN FREEPORT…
The News From Grand Bahama will return next
week.
| 18th
January, 2004
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