Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 3 © BahamasUncensored.Com
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE HOUSE THAT EDWARD BUILT
(We
present a view of the many scenes of the funeral of Edward St. George -
editor)
Those who have read the novel ‘Taipan’ by James Clavell could not help but reflect that the Taipan of Freeport, Edward St. George was dead and now buried. He was the head of The Bahamas’ own version of Noble House, the fictional commercial house that controlled Hong Kong’s business in the novel. Edward St. George during his lifetime liked the comparison.
Those who troubled themselves to read his official biography (you may click here) will see a life of adventure from start to finish, his complicated family relationships, his lust for travel and business all over the world. He brought that lust and his considerable intellectual acumen to The Bahamas and made no doubt his finest contribution to the world here in The Bahamas.
For
the five thousand who attended and for the many thousands more who watched
on national television, the funeral service on Wednesday 29th December
2004 was one fit for a king. Edward St. George was even buried high
on a hill in a park newly created for the occasion. After it was
over, the guests were feasted with a sumptuous repast, all care of his
family.
His Grace, the Archbishop Drexel Gomez was there and personally celebrated the service assisted by his Archdeacon Keith Cartwright who has deep ties in Grand Bahama. The Cabinet of The Bahamas was there in force led by the Prime Minister. The former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was there. Lady Pindling, the wife of the late Prime Minister Sir Lynden was also there. There were representatives of foreign governments. There was a message of condolence from Her Majesty the Queen.
The
church was represented by all the denominations. Archdeacon Cartwright
spoke of Edward in glowing terms as man who helped the poor, using as his
text the biblical injunction that if you do it to the least of these the
brethren you do it unto Jesus. The Ven. Rev'd Fr. Cartwright
said that Mr. St. George did not wear his religion on his sleeve.
His friends spoke. Jack Hayward, his partner and one of two survivors of what Sir Albert Miller, the Co Chair of the Grand Bahama Port Authority called “the three musketeers” spoke in his usual inelegant but humorous way. It was also moving as he fell into tears. He summed it all up by saying that he could not believe this was happening. He said he had been a partner of Mr. St. George for 44 years without a signature or a handshake. Edward St. George had made plenty of money for Jack Hayward. Albert Miller who was plucked into the orbit of the Port from a bad politically imposed ending at the Police Force saw his fortunes rise by his own partnership with Edward St. George. The city of Freeport prospered and dream after dream of its original founders came into fruition under Edward St. George.
Now
comes the hard part, keeping the thing going. Will the family do
like other families and immediately begin feuding with one another about
the shares left to them in this influential company? What will the
Government do? What role will Jack Hayward and his children play?
The Bahamians in the company jockeying for power and position, how will
they react? These are interesting times.
The Prime Minister has said that an era has come to an end. We agree and as we say farewell to a large presence over our country, let us thank him for helping to put our small country on the world stage and express our condolences to his widow and family.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 1st January 2005 up to midnight: 51,183.
Number of hits for the month of December up to Friday 31st December 2004 at midnight: 243,716.
Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Friday 31st December 2004 at midnight: 2,776,852.
1. Lady Henrietta St. George,
supported by her son Henry, walks with family members behind the coffin
of her late husband. Vision Photo/Tim Aylen2. Governor General Dame Ivy
Dumont, Prime Minister Perry Christie and Lady Marguerite Pindling follow
Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez and the casket of Edward St. George to
burial after the Taino Beach service in Grand Bahama. BIS - Vandyke
Hepburn.
2. Minister of State for Finance
James Smith, Leader of the Official Opposition , former Prime Minister
Hubert Ingraham and former Minister of Health Ronald Knowles sit in the
front row at the funeral.
3. Lady Pindling, Prime Minister
Christie and Dame Ivy backed by a host of Anglican Clergy and servers look
on as the burial proceeds. - Peter Ramsay
SAXONS WIN
The Junkanoo group known formally as the Shell Saxons Superstars have won
the annual Boxing Day Junkanoo parade in Nassau, held New Year's Day 1st
January. The Saxons rebounded handily from last year's defeat with
their portrayal of the 'Legends of Atlantis'. Onlookers - even those
supporters of other groups - seemed to agree that this year, in this parade,
the Saxons were head and shoulders above the rest. Long time rivals
the Valley Boys, finished a distant 4th place with the 'Many Faces of India'.
Saxons leader Percy 'Vola' Francis said the group
was "ecstatic" and credited "the whole package... we worked extremely hard
and spent quite a bit of money. We were different in our concept,
which was historical, educational. mythological, original, current, creative
and touristic; we had everything going for us."
Vola says the Saxons are looking for two straight
and promises a reprise of the original Saxons costume which gave the group
its name in 1965. The theme for the New Year's Day parade, he says,
will celebrate 40 years of Saxons 'The Invasion of the Saxons'.
The Boxing Day Junkanoo parade was named in honour
of Music Makers founder Sammy Thompson. The results and point standings,
which will remain unofficial for three days in order to allow for any disputes
which may arise, are as follows: 1st 2196 Saxons; 2nd 2166 One Family;
3rd 1977 Prodigal Sons; 4th 1939 Valley Boys; 5th 1798 Roots; 6th 1330
Music Makers. Nassau Guardian of the Saxons' impressive Boxing
Day parade entrance by Donald Knowles.
A
MESSAGE TO THE MISGUIDED GUARDIAN
The Nassau Guardian has now become the propaganda
arm of the Free National Movement it seems. First the stupid editorial
about the closing of the British Embassy here. (Click
here for previous story)
Now comes something even more silly, the call for
the resignation of Bradley Roberts, the Minister of Works in the face of
scurrilous allegations that he raped a woman. They do not know if
the allegations are true or untrue. No one has been charged in the
matter. Yet the Nassau Guardian says that the Minister ought to resign.
So that means that anyone can come and say that you committed some offence,
there can be no truth to it but because the police have to investigate
that means a Minister of the Government must step down. When it later
turns out the allegation is totally untrue what then has that done to a
person’s career. Doesn’t make any sense, and only the Nassau Guardian
could think of it.
Now the next thing: the Guardian claims that the
year 2004 was a year rocked by scandals and controversies for the PLP.
It seems to us that the year 2004 showed the reliability of the PLP to
get this country up and running in the face of two devastating hurricanes
back to back and still grow the economy with more jobs. The country's
revenue and economy took a huge hit, its people traumatized and displaced.
The PLP and its leaders rose quickly to the occasion. That is the
story of 2004. The so called scandals and controversies are largely
inventions of the press and exaggerations of the press. Yes some
bad things happened but we think in the main good was accomplished over
the last year.
To the Nassau Guardian we say: Bah Humbug!
Go blow it out your ear!
PLP
RESPONDS TO THE ACTION GROUP
The Action Group of the Free National Movement, the voice without attribution
of the Household of Senator Tommy Turnquest, was in the streets of New
Providence on Tuesday 28th December 2004 calling for the resignation of
Bradley Roberts as Minister of Works and that of the Deputy Prime Minister
Cynthia Pratt. Their logic was that the Minister of Works Bradley
Roberts stood accused of rape and had to go. Presumably it did not
matter whether the allegations were untrue. Then they went a bit
further into their theatre of the absurd by saying that the Minister of
National Security had to resign because (again without any evidence) the
Minister was handicapping the police from carrying out the investigation
into the allegation against the Minister of Works.
The Minister issued the following statement:
“I refer to my earlier statement to the press
when I stated that I was willing and prepared to co-operate fully with
the police in the investigation of the baseless and unfounded allegation
made against me. The matter has attracted much attention in the media.
To bring a quick resolution to this sad state of affairs and to bring relief
to the discomfort being caused to my family, colleagues, constituents and
friends, I voluntarily presented myself to the CDU of the Royal Bahamas
Police Force this afternoon and submitted to a full and frank interview
in response to the allegation. I answered each and every question
asked of me by the police.
“I reiterate that the allegation is baseless
and without merit. I am confident that I will be exonerated.”
In attacking the Minister, the FNM's Action Group
was only mirroring what its leadership had done when the story first broke.
They said that they were not saying the allegations were true but thought
the Minister ought to resign. This from the FNM political party that
sat back in its last days while scandal after scandal broke against them,
air-conditioning at the Ministry of Tourism, contracts at the Ministry
of Education, money going south at Bahamasair during their term and not
one Minister resigned. The Chairman of the PLP Raynard Rigby (pictured)
issued a statement calling on the Senator Turnquest to discipline his rowdy
and illogical supporters. We’ll see hell freeze over first but it
was worth a try by Mr. Rigby to bring some sense and sensibility to this
whole charade. You may click
here for the full statement by Mr. Rigby.
LESLIE
MILLER IS COOKING WITH GAS
The Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller hit a home run last week
when he told the LPG dealers in Nassau to stop denying gas to the poor
housewives or face actions in the courts. That must have done it
because by Thursday 30th December, there was a meeting with the Minister
to settle the issue. The Minister got his way. The dealers
had their say. The price is still $65 dollars at the retail level.
There was some sleight of hand where the mark-up for the wholesalers was
allowed an additional $3 and that did the trick. Most of the dealers
are in fact importers. That means that while they cannot add anything
to the retail price, they are allowed an increase on the imported price,
and they get more money into their hands. Well done Mr. Minister,
and he even had the FNM’s bankroller and friend of former PM Hubert Ingraham
Alphonso ‘Bugaloo’ Elliott laughing on the front page with him. Yes!
Nassau
Guardian photo by Donald Knowles
HUBERT
INGRAHAM LEAVES THE HOSPITAL
We wish the former Prime Minister well in his recovery from the serious
issue which arose with the blockage of two of his arteries. The matter
was reported extensively on this site last week. He looks well and his
friends are saying that he has finally agreed to give up his two-pack a
day cigarette habit, and get some regular exercise and try to control his
diet. According to friends, he looked well at the funeral for Edward
St. George in Grand Bahama on Wednesday 29th December 2004, accompanied
by three doctors in tow. One was a gynecologist, the other a kidney
specialist, so presumably it was the third, the heart specialist who was
there in case there was any trouble. It looked quite powerful though.
Mr. Ingraham was shown on the front page of the Nassau Guardian being wheeled
out of hospital by his heart doctor Dr. Conville Brown on Tuesday 28th
December, 2004 accompanied by his wife. Ah the life of a pensioner!
ENA
HEPBURN’S FUNERAL
PLP Stalwart Councillor Ena Hepburn is to be buried
today as this site goes up. The service begins in half an hour at
2:30 p.m. at St. Agnes Church in Grant Town, New Providence. Ms.
Hepburn died in December 2004 at the age of 76. She had been suffering
from stomach cancer. She is survived by her children Athama Bowe,
Anthony F. Bowe, Cabrena Bowe-Adderley, Edith Ingrid Vanderpool-Bain; Daphne,
Fay, Mark and Kenneth Stubbs. Listed as amongst her good friends
in the obituary are Prime Minister Perry Christie and Minister of Foreign
Affairs Fred Mitchell. The Minister in his remarks at the funeral
will praise her for her political courage at a time when courage was all
the black community of The Bahamas had. You may click
here for the full remarks.
A
FOUL SMELL AT THE AIRPORT
The terminal for US Immigration and Customs pre clearance to the United
States of America at the Nassau International Airport had to be closed
for three hours and all persons evacuated after a smell ran through the
terminal on Wednesday 29th December 2004. The Airport Authority together
with the Ministry of Works discovered that the smell was coming from an
improper application of Freon gas by workmen who had serviced the system
or so it is believed. The matter was solved and the flights resumed.
It brings into question however, the need for effective policing of this
important facility for our country, and the proper management of the airport.
Bahama
Journal photo of travellers outside the evacuated airport terminal.
CANCELLING
CHRISTMAS?
This year the Minister of Culture Neville Wisdom swore that there would
be no Junkanoo controversy. Everything seemed to have been done right.
No controversy over the price of the bleachers, no complaints about the
prices of the tickets. The judging situation seemed to have been
solved. The merchants were happy with the arrangements of the bleachers
so that it would not adversely affect their sales. The Junkanoo bands
were happy that their representatives would be in charge of the judging,
so presumably there would be no cries of cheating and a repeat of the fiasco
last year which took Paul Adderley, former AG as a special judge to sort
out. No such luck. The Minister must have thought to himself:
“Did I rob the church?” The weather intervened with winds in gusts up to
30 miles per hour in the early hours of Boxing Day morn. This was
the threshold beyond which the rule says that Junkanoo has to be cancelled.
The parade was cancelled, and there was a meeting of the minds for over
five hours. Then it was decided that Junkanoo for Boxing Day would
be held on 1st January 2005 and the New Year’s Junkanoo on 7th January.
The public did not like it. They said that many people had travelled
here just for Junkanoo. There were cries for refunds of tickets.
The public thought they should have had a say. They made noises that
the Prime Minister and the Minister had conspired to protect the Valley
Boys since that group was first out in the parade and not ready.
Such is the life of a Junkanoo Minister. The parade went on fine
yesterday, Saturday 1st January. What more can you do? The
Bahama Journal's Omar Barr captured these Saxons returning a junkanoo piece
to their shack to escape the wind on Boxing Day morning. At right,
The Nassau Guardian's Donald Knowles shows Bay Street's empty bleachers
on Boxing Day morning.
FOREIGN
MINISTER ON THE TSUNAMIS
Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell spoke from Grand
Bahama to express condolences to those who suffered the devastating
losses in the tidal wave that struck the Far East last Sunday. There
are over 120,000 dead as a result, and the property damage is extensive.
The Minister said that The Bahamas would act through the Commonwealth to
try to help. The Minister also said that The Bahamas is planning
an official visit to that area as a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial
Action Group at the end of January. The persons who are drivers for
the embassies of The Bahamas in all missions except Miami are all from
Sri Lanka and one of them, Hurley Senanayake, lost family members in the
tidal wave. The Minister has expressed condolences to Mr. Senanayake
and a fund has been started at the Ministry to provide financial assistance
to him.
FOREIGN
MINISTER TO GUYANA AND TRINIDAD
The Minister of Foreign Affairs will leave The Bahamas
from 4th January to 8th January 2005 for the meeting of the Council of
Foreign and Community Relations, the body that governs Caricom outside
of the Head of Government's conference. The heads are to meet in
Suriname in February of this year. The Ministers will set the agenda
for that meeting. The Minister will also stop in Trinidad and Tobago
on his return home for meetings with the Bahamian student community in
Trinidad.
A
YOUNG MITCHELL WITH THE PM
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell had been
in Grand Bahama bonefishing and stayed over for the funerals of Charles
Sealy and Edward St. George. Accompanying him was his nephew Denair,
the third son of his brother Matthew. The Prime Minister took time
to pose for this photo with the younger Mr. Mitchell, telling the younger
Mitchell that his uncle must make him a Rhodes scholar and that one day
he could say that because they took the photo together, that was the spark
which ignited his success.
ALAN
JONES DIES
26 year old Alan Jones has died after battling kidney
disease. He was cremated before a memorial service held 31st December
at Christ Church Cathedral. Mr. Jones was a well liked photographer
at The Tribune and his colleagues all turned out to pay their last respects.
The memorial was also attended by members of the press generally.
He is survived by his parents Christine and Robert Jones and Ron Jones,
grandmothers Ernestine Jones and Diana Casselman; brother Spencer Jones
and sister Melissa Jones. Mr. Jones was a member of the press fraternity
in The Bahamas and we shall miss him. Photo - Donald Knowles
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
Prime Minister Christie led a high level delegation of government ministers
attending the funeral of Edward St. George in Freeport this past week.
Bahamas Information Services' Dudley Byfield interviewed Mr. Christie about
the life and times of Mr. St. George in The Bahamas.
FREEPORT -- Prime Minister Perry Christie reflecting on the impact of
the Late Mr. Edward St. George on Freeport and The Bahamas and the legacy
which his passing has left, described him as “One institutional kind of
person”.
Mr. Christie related a recent story about of Mr.
St. George, noting, “Just around the time of the container strike, the
industrial action at the container port, I found Edward St. George in Hong
Kong on the way to Beijing, and I said to him, ‘Edward, don’t you think
you have been at this too long? Here you are around the world, on the other
side, still working hard, hard, at your age. Why don’t you relax?’
“He said to me, ‘No, my friend, all for Freeport.’ And then he said, ‘If
I had been in Freeport, it wouldn’t have happened.’ ”
Mr. Christie said that indicated to him somebody who was terribly committed,
totally committed; someone who was giving all that he had, even to the
detriment of his health.
“...he spoke about how he would wish to see Freeport
after he had passed, again thinking of succession and beyond – this tremendous
commitment to the continued development of Freeport, Grand Bahama, and
The Bahamas.
“His connectivity was to all elements in our society,
as evidenced by his total understanding of urban renewal when I introduced
and established it; his encouraging its introduction to Grand Bahama, and
his supporting it materially with resources as well as moral support to
it.
“He had this tremendous sense of humour. He said,
‘Listen, I have always been a PLP, except for 10 years.’
As to what he thought Mr. St. George’s legacy would
be, Mr. Christie said: “It is possible in a country, for someone who was
not born in that country, notwithstanding race, notwithstanding cultural
differences, to become a part of the landscape and become, so to speak,
without citizenship, nevertheless, someone who regarded and treated The
Bahamas as his home, and whose love for the nation, by what he did, is
unquestioned. Prime Minister is pictured at left with some of the many
residents of Grand Bahama who attended the funeral of Edward St. George
in this BIS photo by Vandyke Hepburn.
HURRICANE
RELIEF CONTINUES - Prime Minister Christie and Minister of State for
Finance James Smith continued this week to accept donations to the national
hurricane relief fund. Visiting the Office of The Prime Minister
was a youth group from the Pinewood constituency of Minister Allyson Maynard
Gibson who presented a donation, then stayed on to witness a similar presentation
by the former US Ambassador to The Bahamas Sidney Williams.
GOODBYE SMOKEY - Well known Bahamian entertainer Leroy 'Smokey
007' McKenzie was buried this week. after services at the Golden
Gates Assembly church on Carmichael Rd. Prime Minister Christie is
shown addressing the congregation.
Bahamas Information Services photographs by Peter Ramsay (except
where noted)
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE DECISION
Nothing has dominated the news more in the past week in The Bahamas
than the allegations, the investigations into an alleged sexual assault
by the Minister of Works Bradley Roberts. The news broke when the
people who concoct slime at The Punch made an allegation calling the Minister
by name, and quoting extensively from what appeared to be a complaint made
to the police. In retrospect, the wiser course would have been to
sue The Punch immediately for libel.
The matter was compounded when the lead investigator into the matter Assistant Commissioner of Police Reginald Ferguson confirmed to the press that there was such an investigation into such a complaint. He also said that no one dictates to the police how quickly they conduct their investigation.
The Free National Movement entered the fray without any evidence calling for the Minster to resign. The supposed attorney for the complainant one Wallace Rolle was feeding the matter as well, in a most un-lawyer like way, by suggesting that the police were derelict in their duties and being influenced politically. There was no evidence offered to support that conclusion.
The Minister himself spoke to the press and denied such an event calling it absurd.
With all of that the mainstream press was free to speculate, comment, allege, interview; and they did, feeding a frenzy in the country that is unseemly. The international press has taken up the gauntlet with unvarnished reports overseas of the allegation as if it were fact that has e-mails crisscrossing the world, with all the attendant negative comments about The Bahamas.
The PLP as it should stood by the Minister. The view of the Party is that no charges in a court of law have been made and so any call or talk of resignation is premature. We support that view.
The Commissioner of Police held a press conference on Wednesday 5th January to say that their investigation was at an end and that the matter had been referred to the Attorney General’s office for a decision. The next day the Attorney General Alfred Sears confirmed the Commissioner’s statement but said that a further review was being conducted by the Director of Public Prosecutions in his office. The AG said he would properly advise the country when he has decided to exercise his discretion in the matter.
Those are the facts, as we know them. Anything else is in the realm of speculation.
The Opposition Free National Movement through its Chairman Carl Bethel on Friday 7th January 2005 was quick to condemn the Attorney General and the Police for not conducting the investigation more quickly. He even went further and said that the AG should not have said anything at all.
The FNM can't have their cake and eat it too. What Mr. Bethel is arguing is that the FNM can whip up hysteria in the country over this, but the Government must be silent in the face of that public hysteria. He must think again.
There is much talk about violations of the code of ethics. Where precisely is the violation of the code of ethics? No one has said and no one can point it out. There is no evidence of such a violation. In what conflict of interest situation does Mr. Roberts now find himself?
The PLP’s leadership is no doubt aware of the swirl of public discussion in the face of lots of unsubstantiated allegations that are in the public domain. Everyone, in every house and in every bar has an opinion. God Bless them! They are entitled to it. The PLP, the Government has an obligation to act on the facts. One does not simply dispense with a Cabinet Minister on unsubstantiated rumour, or on allegations that may be false. Even the FNM does not think the PLP is that stupid.
As for any moral questions which eventuate as a result of alleged conduct; proximate issues that might arise, those are for the church, and once they do not impinge on the conduct of public business are not for the arena of the Government. Would to God all of us were blameless in our lives both public and private.
This then is a time for more silence and circumspection, more than ever. Certainly all the public figures in this matter and we say ALL should hold their tongues. There is no need for anyone to say anything more until the Attorney General has decided whether or not charges are going to be preferred and even then there must be great circumspection and humility whatever the decision.
The allegations are serious. The Minister, the Government, the PLP all know they are serious, and know that whatever happens, there will have to be a fight for the hearts and minds of Bahamians given the swirl of negativism that has arisen over these allegations. You don’t get to be a governing party, 51 years old without knowing how to keep your ears to the ground. Come what may, we believe that the PLP is very much up to the task. The PLP must win in 2007, remembering why they won in 2002 and building on the confidence that people reposed in them in that year that they know how to do the right thing and will always do the right thing.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 8th January 2005 at midnight: 76,739.
Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 8th January 2005 at midnight: 83,301.
Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 8th January 2005 at midnight: 83,301.
TOO
EARLY FOR JACKASS OF THE YEAR
Carl Bethel really tests the patience of the intelligent. One wonders
what does it say about a country like The Bahamas that it can produce as
a national leader someone so obviously politically perverse. It appears
that any crazy political idea that he has the FNM allows him to project
it on the national stage. He just has no logic.
On Friday 7th January, Mr. Bethel in his inimitable
way called a press conference to make amongst others the following points:
the police did not question Bradley Roberts quickly enough and so their
investigation was not a proper one; the Attorney General by announcing
that the decision had been referred to him not to prosecute by the Commissioner
of Police was pressuring his staff to agree with the Commissioner.
Further, sitting on the left side of Mr. Bethel in the Nassau Guardian’s
photo of Saturday 8th January was Johnley Ferguson, a former candidate
for the FNM and the brother of the Assistant Commissioner of Police Reginald
Ferguson. It was that same Reginald Ferguson who told the press that
no one dictates to the police how quickly their investigations should be
done.
Increasingly one simply has a problem responding
to this stuff by Mr. Bethel. It is just so patently stupid, so patently
illogical. What does one say? The constitution gives the Attorney
General the total discretion over prosecutions. So if he is asked
by the press do you have the matter and what does the decision say, does
he deny it and does he refuse to say? All that Mr. Sears did was
confirm what the Commissioner of Police had said the day before.
As for the police, is Mr. Bethel questioning the
integrity of the Commissioner? The last time we saw such a thing
was when Mr. Bethel’s former boss Hubert Ingraham took over the investigation
of two murders that occurred on Paradise Island for which a Bahamian was
eventually convicted. It had implications for tourism so the then
Prime Minister called a press conference to announce that it could not
have been a Bahamian who committed the murder, and he had the Commissioner
of Police sitting like a school boy mute on the side of him at the press
conference. A Bahamian was later tried and convicted of manslaughter
on one of the charges.
Political writers at that time called the then PM
and his Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson, Inspector Ingraham and Sgt.
Watson. It is the FNM's way to pressure the police. Perhaps
that is why they are so quick to charge the PLP because they think that
is the only way. The beauty of this is that the PLP does not work
that way.
EVERETTE
ARCHER IS BURIED
Stalwart Councillor Everette Archer was buried on
Friday 7th January at Lake View Memorial Gardens after a funeral service
conducted at Salem Baptist Church by Rev. Dr. Charles Saunders. Mr.
Archer was 63. Mr. Archer’s premature death to cancer was a blow
to many in the PLP. During the time that Hubert Ingraham was in office,
Mr. Archer one of the sons of Marsh Harbour, Abaco kept up the fight for
the PLP in that Marsh Harbour. He even returned home to build a small
hotel business. Mr. Archer’s support of Prime Minister Perry Christie
as Leader of the PLP led to the present success that the PLP now enjoys.
The PLP has lost a great son. BIS Photo - Peter Ramsay
REGIONAL
AIRLINES IN TROUBLE
The Board of Directors of Bahamasair, this nation’s
national flag carrier, should feel that they are in “good” company as the
airline freefalls into public criticism and vituperation. Over the
Christmas holidays, the staff were abused, cursed, the airline attacked,
the passengers were frustrated by delay after delay, lost baggage.
Some visitors to the country were left without their bags for days.
Some lost two days of their holidays trying to get to points within The
Bahamas. It was a mess. In the meantime, there was hardly an
explanation by the management of the airline for the problems. One
got the impression that the staff at the counter were left to act on their
own.
Meanwhile down in the Caribbean, Air Jamaica’s private
shareholder Butch Stewart, a successful businessman in tourism and hotels
threw in the towel and the Government of Jamaica is now once again fully
the owner of Air Jamaica. Mr. Stewart has lost his total investment
of 25 million dollars US. The airline has accumulated losses of $620
million dollars US, $90 million from last year alone. They have announced
that staff at the senior level will take voluntary pay cuts. They
have announced that planes will have to be returned and routes cut.
This is a desperate effort to save the airline, which Jamaica considers
vital to its tourism industry.
In Trinidad and Tobago, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs Fred Mitchell complained that on BWIA he has had variously four
delays in each of his last four trips to the region: the first for fifteen
hours, the second for seven hours, the third for three hours, and the last
for eight hours. Again, no explanation from the airline, not even
an apology. The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Patrick Manning
seemed at the end of his rope when he told the airline they have 30 days
to get their house in or the airline will be wrapped up. No one believes
him. Such a move would be a challenge to the move by Trinidad and
Tobago to be the headquarters for FTAA where they have promised that they
will provide the air links to their capital city.
In the U.S. a price war is starting with Delta airlines
desperate to save itself cutting fees by up to sixty percent. U.S.
Airways lost thousands of bags over the Christmas holidays. Comair
lost its reservations system and had to cancel flights. Seems like
turbulent times ahead. What the Board of Bahamasair should take comfort
in is this fact; any notion that they can successfully run Bahamasair in
the sense of making it profitable is not to accept the truth. While
they have done a creditable job in improving where Bahamasair once was,
there has to be another way.
THE
NASSAU GUARDIAN’S PROPAGANDA
The lead effort against the PLP and Bradley Roberts
during the past two weeks of manufactured scandal and controversy has been
from the Nassau Guardian. They have written front page piece after
front page piece in which they indicate that the Code of Ethics of the
Prime Minister has been broken. Their newspaper has fed the rumour
mill with extensive interviews with the lawyer for the complainant in the
matter against Bradley Roberts. They have also written an editorial
calling for Mr. Roberts to resign, then another one to say that the Prime
Minister must do the right thing. In this they have fallen into the
same trap as the Free National Movement. They base their arguments
on an alleged violation of the Code of Ethics.
If one exams this Code of Ethics, you will see that
there is nothing that has been broken in the code. The Code speaks
only to ethics, not to moral behaviour. The Code was designed to
deal only with situations where a Minister’s private motives and business
conflict with his public business. In this situation, the Code does
not arise. That is why the FNM had to hang its hat on what its hapless
Chairman called “the spirit of the code”.
Cedric Moss, the Pastor, is the only one who has
actually examined the Code and found that we are right. However,
he argues that it is time to amend the Code and include acts of adultery
as part of the moral behaviour that would lead to a Minister’s resignation.
Most people would think that goes too far. The business of Government
is about public behaviour. Once that public conduct in office is
honourable, acceptable then that is where we draw the line. Certainly,
one does not condone behaviour that is immoral but that gets too much into
the personal lives of people who have a right to privacy in our law and
in our traditions. The personal peccadilloes are for God and the
persons.
When the private behaviour becomes a matter of impinging
on the public conduct, and by this we mean when a criminal charge has actually
been brought, then it is the time for the Minister to go. So if there
is a charge in the present circumstances, it is clear what should happen.
The Nassau Guardian though is quite worse than The Tribune and should be
thoroughly ashamed of themselves for this.
TSUNAMI
RESPONSE
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell revealed to the country that
the Caribbean governments have each decided that they will go their own
individual ways when it comes to contributions to tsunami relief.
The Bahamas is still formulating its position. The Minister said that having
consulted with other Caribbean delegations, The Bahamas was of the view
that it would start a fund with a major Government contribution and then
invite others from the private sector to contribute. This is the
approach that is being taken in other Caribbean countries.
Jamaica has announced a donation of $250,000 US,
Trinidad and Tobago, two million dollars US, Guyana $50,000 US. The
Minister also said that a comprehensive proposal for the establishment
of an early warning system has been mooted by Caricom and the cost would
be in the vicinity of five million dollars. The plan includes early
warning for such an eventuality and also public education. The Minister
said that all the evidence is, however, that while the Caribbean is a volcanic
region the probability of such an event like the one in Asia happening
is not high.
WAS
THAT JUANIANNE THAT WE SAW?
The Free National Movement’s defeated candidate
in Fox Hill Juanianne Dorsett appeared in a picture with the Chairman of
the Free National Movement on Saturday 8th January in the Nassau Guardian.
The FNM has been casting about for a new candidate for Fox Hill but has
reportedly been unsuccessful, so they have now decided it is said to ask
Mrs. Dorsett to come back and run again against Fred Mitchell, the Minister
of Foreign Affairs. Well, round two! Nassau Guardian photo by
Patrick Hanna
INTERNET
AND WEB CAFES
If you are a tourist in The Bahamas don’t be fooled by the signs, which
read INTERNET AND WEB CAFÉ. Those establishments have nothing
to do with getting computer time on the Internet. They are gambling
houses. The people who sell numbers in The Bahamas use these houses
to get around the laws of The Bahamas which require papers to bust you
for selling numbers. The racket has flourished and flourished.
Sometimes you look through the windows into these establishments and there
is a long line in front of a one way glass like you are in a bank.
Policemen, preachers, nurses, lawyers and hotel workers are amongst those
high and low who buy numbers at these houses. Percy’s Web Café
was raided by the police during the past week. They took away equipment
and one wonders whether charges will be brought. The public was angry.
A crowd gathered outside the establishment hurling insults at the police
for in their words wasting time. We believe that gambling should
be legalized for Bahamians and that the proceeds should be extensively
taxed. Hmmm! Police officers load confiscated computer equipment
from Percy’s Web Café into a vehicle in this Bahama Journal photo
by Omar Barr.
UBIQUITOUS
RON PINDER
TALKING
HEALTH - Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health Ron Pinder turned
up in Freeport, Grand Bahama recently. Mr. Pinder was championing
the cause of apartment residents whose water had been disconnected by landlords.
"Unsanitary" said the seemingly ever present Mr. Pinder. He is pictured
here in this Freeport News photo by Navardo Saunders discussing the dispute
between management and tenant/owners of Sea Sun Manor Condominiums on the
Mall Drive during a press conference at the Government complex in Freeport.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
A HIGHER STANDARD
“I am behind in my reading but I want to respond
to an article in last week’s
column even if it means bringing public attention to my own situation.
“We find it amazing that an allegation of rape
can be brought against a minister of the government and based simply on
the minister’s denial of the allegation the minister can continue in office.
We understand that the minister has not been charged with an offense but
shouldn't he be held to a higher standard than you and I. We are
employed as a claims officer at the National Insurance Board. We
were suspended on November 11th, 2003 after false charges of Indecent Assault
were laid against us in the Magistrate’s Court at Fresh Creek, Andros.
We remain on suspension pending the outcome of the case which was committed
to the Supreme Court on July 26th 2004.
“What we are accused of allegedly happened on
my personal time but because we are employed at NIB we are subjected to
the policies and regulations of our employer, the Board, who requires that
we are suspended once we have been charged with a criminal offense. To
whom or to what is the minister accountable? There must be some policy
or guidelines that govern cabinet ministers. You speak of conventions,
but whose conventions are you talking about? Certainly not the Westminster
conventions.”
Vaughn N.P. Scriven
The difference is that charges were laid in court against you. In Mr. Roberts’ case, this is in the realm of speculation. – Editor
Airport Observations
“I could not agree more with your observations
about the airport. This was a point of emphasis during my tenure as
Ambassador. There seems to be a problem maintaining a reliable level of
security at the airport. Please do not forget the sarin gas used by terrorists
in Japan is colorless and odorless. Significant amounts of sarin were produced
by Iraq and the disposition has never been determined. Did we dodge a bullet?
Who knows but something must be done about security. There should also
be no doubt the Bahamas has moved up on the target list of terrorist organizations
with the destruction brought about to the tourist destinations by the tsunami
in the far east. Happy New Year to all.”
Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship
The writer is a former Ambassador of the United States to The Bahamas.
– Editor
MAUREEN
DUVALIER STARS
The New Year's Day Junkanoo Parade, held Friday 7th and Saturday 8th
January this year, was named in honour of Maureen Duvalier MBE, acknowledged
as the first woman junkanoo. 78 year old Ms. Duvalier wowed the crowd
in Rawson Square with a spirited performance, which belied her age.
Ms. Duvalier says she has never missed a junkanoo parade. The groundbreaking
performance by Maureen Duvalier and her women's junkanoo group took place
in 1958. This time, she is pictured in this Peter Ramsay photo performing
for the crowd. Thinking of the current debate on national honours,
we recalled a not-too-distant ceremony where Ms. Duvalier was invested
with the unlikely and incongruous designation of 'Member of the Most Excellent
Order of the British Empire'. At the time, Prime Minister Perry
Christie lauded the memorable sight of her "resplendent in her Junkanoo
costume", as a "wonderful manifestation at a time when it was not generally
considered to be socially correct to do such things." BIS Photo
- Peter Ramsay
THE
INIMITABLE LEONORA
Leonora Rodgers, former Miss Bahamas is shown alighting
the steps of the Christ Church Cathedral following the funeral of her brother
Andre Rodgers in December. Ms. Rodgers who is known for her unusual
outfits captured the imagination and photo eye of photographer Peter Ramsay
in this shot.
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
The Thompson Quintuplets are famous black quintuplets who are being assisted
by the Dubois Foundation headed by Dr. the Hon. C. Delores Tucker.
Dr. Tucker's institute earlier this year honoured Prime Minister Christie
with the Distinguished Leadership Award at a banquet in Washington, D.C.
The Prime Minister, who took an interest in the quintuplets, invited them
to The Bahamas for a trip to Eleuthera, with which they have ancestral
ties. Mr. Christie and Minister of Social Services Melanie Griffin
are shown at right greeting the quintuplets at Nassau International Airport
on their way home to Atlanta.
COB'S
PORTIA SMITH STUDENT SERVICES BUILDING -- Prime Minister Perry Christie
is among the dignitaries as Bishop Michael Eldon (in wheelchair) Chairman
Emeritus of the College of The Bahamas blesses the institution's new student
services building. The building is named for the former COB Assistant
Vice President of Administration and Student Services who died in 1998,
but who was credited with championing the project. "It was she who
dreamed of and lobbied constantly for a dedicated student services facility,
and here we are today," said COB president Dr Rodney Smith. Portia
Smith's widower, Minister of State for Finance Senator James Smith unveiled
a plaque in honour of his wife, saying "It was a tremendous honour for
person like Portia, who was committed to her job." The plaque described
Mrs Smith as having had "formidable intellect" and having given "determined
attention" to enhancing the effectiveness of student services. Nassau
Guardian photo of the building.
FANS
- At New Year's Day junkanoo, it was hard to tell who were the fans
and who were the heroes in this shot of Bahamian basketball star Rick Fox
with Prime Minister Christie and Minister of Sports Neville Wisdom.
Mr. Christie is a great fan of the Los Angeles Lakers for whom Mr. Fox
played and Minister Wisdom is a die-hard fan of all Bahamians in sport.
The trio are engrossed in conversation while waiting for the next junkanoo
group to pass on Bay St.
EVERETTE ARCHER HONOURED - The Stalwart Councillor Everette Archer (see story above) lay at the Sir Lynden Pindling Centre at the Progressive Liberal Party's Gambier House headquarters this week as his political colleagues gathered in sorrow at his passing. Prime Minister Christie is shown comforting Deann Archer, the bereaved widow after a ceremony of honour and mourning.
VISITING LAW LORD - Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall (left)
and British Law Lord, the Rt. Hon. Lord Hope Of Craighead (right), pose
for this photograph during a courtesy call on the Prime Minister.
Lord Hope was feted to a reception with the legal community in Nassau during
his visit by Attorney General Alfred Sears.
Bahamas Information Services photographs by Peter Ramsay (except
where noted)
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
DODGING A BULLET
On Tuesday 11th January 2005, the woman who accused Bradley Roberts
the Minister of Works of rape went into the Attorney General's office with
a new lawyer Anthony McKinney, and signed a voluntary statement that she
was withdrawing the charges unconditionally and without fear or favour.
That is the end of that. It is now left to the pundits and the Opposition
to quarrel over whether or not this or the next should have happened.
This column said all along that the matter was one where people were seeking
to prejudge, and imagine if the Minister had actually resigned in the face
of these outrageous allegations. In retrospect we say again, The
Punch should have been sued from day one. A bunch of louses.
One wonders what the hapless Carl Bethel, Chairman of the FNM, has to say now that he has egg all over his face. It is good that Senator Tommy Turnquest his leader stayed out of the matter. What surprised us was the comment of Sir Arthur Foulkes who acknowledged in his column of 11th January that allegations are easy to make. He also acknowledged that one can’t encourage every crackpot to come forward causing a Minister to resign. But then he sought to stretch his logic by suggesting that when “serious” allegations are made, the Minister ought to step down. He concluded also that if Mr. Roberts did not step down, then the other Ministers should step down lest they adopt the scandal. All of this is bad logic.
Now that there is no case and we said so from the beginning, what does Arthur Foulkes say now? He would have had the whole Cabinet resign over an allegation from someone who may have been mentally unstable, politically motivated, pushed by a foreign operative who should be thrown out of this country, manipulated by her lawyer for his own publicity, led by the psycho babble counsellors who are supposed to be protecting her rights. Sir Arthur said that the whole cabinet ought to resign if Mr. Roberts didn’t resign.
It is always best then to react with caution when dealing with these subjects. Discretion is the better part of valour. The fact is that the only objective way to deal with whether an allegation is serious or not is if the police charge you with an offence. The police did not. They also said that they were not inclined to prosecute. The Attorney General and his professional staff in light of the police advice, their own review and the withdrawal by the complainant, have all decided there was no case.
Congratulations to Mr. Roberts and go now and continue to do the good work that you are doing for the Bahamian people.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 15th January 2005 at midnight: 73,740.
Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 15th January 2005 at midnight: 157,041.
Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 15th January 2005 at midnight: 157,041.
THE AG’S
STATEMENT
On Tuesday 11th January 2005, the virtual complainant in the matter of
an alleged sexual assault by Minister of Works Bradley Roberts walked into
the office of the Attorney General Alfred Sears (pictured) and withdrew
her complaint in writing. She was accompanied by Attorney Anthony
McKinney. The Attorney General issued a statement, which was reported
in the press on Wednesday 12th January 2005. It contained the following:
“The virtual complainant was interviewed by the
Director of Public Prosecutions and the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions
who were both satisfied that the virtual complainant was making a voluntary
withdrawal of the allegation of rape against Minister Bradley Roberts.
“[The statement of the AG contained an excerpt
from the letter of the virtual complainant] ... My decision to withdraw
the allegation is not based or due to any payment made to me or any offer
to pay me in the future. My decision is made of my own free will
without any pressure, duress or undue influence.
[The AG said that the withdrawal was in “clear
and unequivocal terms”]
“I have considered the file, the recommendation
of the Commissioner of Police, the advice of my senior officials and the
letter of withdrawal from the virtual complainant and I have decided, in
the total circumstances, not to institute criminal proceedings against
Mr. Roberts in respect of this matter.”
(The statement was reported in the Nassau Guardian on Wednesday
12th January 2005—Editor) Bahama Journal photo of Attorney
General Alfred Sears.
THE
MINISTER OF WORKS IS RELIEVED
Bradley Roberts, the Minster of Works issued a statement on Wednesday 12th
January 2005 saying that he was relieved following the withdrawal of a
complaint of rape against him and the decision of the Attorney General
not to prosecute. We give his full statement in his own words:
“I was pleased and relieved to be informed that
the complainant has unequivocally withdrawn the allegation of rape against
me. I wish at this time to thank my prime minister, for remaining
resolutely confident that there could be no basis for such a charge against
me along with my cabinet colleagues, who remained steadfast in their support
of me.
“I likewise thank my dear wife and family for
never wavering at any moment in their belief that such an allegation could
ever be attached to me and from that belief; they too were steadfast in
their support.
“I thank may constituents of Bain Town Grants
Town, and well wishers for their support and encouragement and their commitment
to believing in my innocence.
“The definition of the word allegation was so
perverted in The Bahamas which is unfortunate but I am persuaded that God
is on the throne, so is truth. God is like Tide. He gets the
stain out that others leave behind. I am grateful it is all behind
me.”
TSUNAMI
RELIEF
The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Peet
announced in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 12th January that The Bahamas
has agreed to start a fund to give relief to the tsunami victims of Asia.
The fund is to start with the $150,000 donation of the Government.
Here is the Minister full statement delivered
to the House of Assembly on Wednesday 12th January.
FOREIGN
MINISTER AT THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL
Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs joined
his colleagues from Caricom at the United Nations for the delivery of a
statement on Haiti at a special session of the UN Security Council called
to discus Haiti. The Minister is pictured with his colleagues as
they stood in the Security Council; from left Bahamas Ambassador to Haiti
Dr. Eugene Newry, Minister Mitchell; Dame Billie and Guyana's Foreign Minister
Samuel R. Insanally (photo by Nicole Archer).
Dame Billie Miller, Senior Minister and Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Barbados as the Chair of the Council of Foreign and
Community relations of Caricom (COFCOR) delivered the statement on behalf
of the Community. Mr. Mitchell becomes the Chair of COFCOR in April
of this year. You may click here for a full
transcript of Dame Billie’s address.
CRISIS
IN AGRICULTURE
The agricultural sector in The Bahamas is in the
midst of a major crisis. Canker has been discovered in the citrus
groves in Abaco. The farm on which it was discovered had some 3000
acres under cultivation. All of the groves there and in Abaco generally
have now been quarantined. All of the groves have to be ploughed
up and buried. The whole industry there has come to a halt.
The problem is some 500 employees now have been abandoned by the company
without compensation and without anyone saying what is going to happen
to them.
MINISTER
OF HEALTH IN MAURITIUS
Minister OF Health & The Environment Marcus Bethel is leading a Bahamas
delegation to the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) meeting in Mauritius.
The meeting is to discuss the 10 year review of the Barbados Program Of
Action (BPOA). This time last year, Dr. Bethel and The Bahamas
hosted the interregional SIDS meeting in Nassau. He is seen at top
co-chairing the panel discussion on Emerging Trends and Social Challenges
for the Sustainable Development of Small Islands Developing States and
in the photo at right; from left: Philip Weech, representative to the UNFCC
Secretariat; Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Paulette Bethel;
1st Secretary to the UN, Tishka Fraser; Youth Representative Frederick
Arnett II; NGO Representative, Mrs. Eleanor Philips, Director of TNC Bahamas;
Dr. Bethel, Youth Representatives Linda Hammerton and Achari Lloyd; BEST
Commission Asst. Geologist Rochelle Newbold; BEST Commission Undersecretary
Dr. Donald Cooper and General Manager for Sustainable Tourism Earlston
McPhee. Photos: BEST Commission
YA…
IS A WEAK PRIME MINISTER
The Tribune carried an analytical piece by Rupert
Missick, one of its reports under the headline “WEAK PRIME MINISTER SLAMMED”.
The story was published on Tuesday 11th January. This seemed a rather alarming
headline and must (to rate coming on the front page) have come from an
important political personage. But when you read the story, the story
was based on a comment from Omar Smith, the Deputy Leader of the extra
parliamentary party the Bahamas Democratic Movement (BDM). You will
remember that it was he and Cassius Stuart who got locked up for chaining
themselves to the Speaker’s chair in the House of Assembly in 2002, were
charged by the FNM and freed by the PLP. Mind you it was Perry Christie,
the now Prime Minister who saw to his defence, and saw to it that he was
freed. But now Mr. Smith says that Mr. Christie is “poor, weak and
indecisive”.
Ungratefulness is a sin. But beside that,
The Tribune’s sanity and judgment must be questioned when they take a political
personality with absolutely no influence on the political scene and project
that it is an opinion that has support. It shows the tendentious
nature of Bahamian journalism. We answer in a classic fashion in
this manner: Ya… is weak Prime Minister.
NEW
AIRLINE STARTS SERVICE
Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe looks like he
is chalking up a new airline every week in The Bahamas. On Monday
10th January, Spirit Airlines began service between Ft. Lauderdale and
Nassau. This brings jet service to that route. Some 150
persons can be accommodated on board. Spirit now joins JetBlue and
Song Airways as the latest low cost carriers to come to The Bahamas. Nassau
Guardian photo by Donald Knowles
FORMER
CHIEF JUSTICE DIES
We send our condolences to Joyce Georges, wife of
former Chief Justice Telford Georges. Mr. Georges died on Thursday
13th January at his home in Barbados. He was 82 years old.
One of the finest judges of the times, the eminent
Caribbean jurist celebrated his 82nd birthday last week Wednesday.
Born in Dominica, Mr. Georges and his wife had four
children. He became a high court judge in Trinidad during the 1960s and
also acted as a judge of the Court of Appeal.
In addition to being Chief Justice in The Bahamas,
during his 50 year legal career, Georges was also Chief Justice of Tanzania
between 1965 and the Chief Justice of Zimbabwe.
He was a justice of appeal in The Bahamas, Bermuda,
Belize and the Cayman Islands.
He was also a professor of law at the University
of the West Indies (UWI) and received honorary doctorates from the University
of Dar-es-Salaam, University of Toronto, UWI and Dalhousie University.
The legal fraternity throughout the Caribbean went
in mourning at the news.
THE BRADLEY
ROBERTS FALLOUT
Now that the Bradley Roberts matter is put behind
the country in a legal sense, it seems to us that there ought to be some
investigative work done here. First, we do not agree that there ought
to be any prosecution of the woman who brought these false charges.
This is likely to cause more grief politically to Mr. Roberts and the PLP
than it is worth. In any event, there is a widespread feeling that
much of this was manipulated through unscrupulous means, by persons with
their own particular motives.
It seems to us that the Bar Association has a duty
to investigate the role of Wallace Rolle, the attorney in this matter,
who first represented the virtual complainant. When he found out
he had been fired and was asked by the newspapers to comment, he told The
Nassau Guardian in their story of Wednesday 12th January 2005 “I don’t
believe it. It is a hoax.” He then added some view that he knew that
pressure was being put on the woman to withdraw. Again, if the matter
was a hoax, he had a way to find out. He could have called his client
or former client to determine what the situation was exactly.
It was also reported that when the Commissioner
of Police held his press conference to announce that the matter was referred
to the Attorney General, Mr. Rolle was present at the press conference
asking the Commissioner questions, although he is neither a cameraman nor
a journalist as far as anyone knows. The question then must be asked
whether or not he crossed the line from being a counsel and attorney and
thereby made the situation worse which could have been resolved long ago.
The Bar Rules prescribe how attorneys are to behave in these circumstances.
There should also be an investigation into the police
and their conduct of this matter. There is widespread view around
town that this matter having reached The Punch and the Confidential Source,
the two scum newspapers of the country, could only have done so by a series
of leaks out of the police force. This is something that needs to
be investigated, and who could possibly be behind such leaks if they did
indeed emanate from the Force, and did they have political motives?
Finally, there is talk about sanctions against The
Punch and The Confidential Source. Certainly, the PLP has cause to
see what can be done to deal with these two papers that are engaged in
an unseemly vendetta against it. No one quite knows what the peculiar
problem of The Punch’s owner is.
The Confidential Source is owned by Mohammed Harajchi
who wants a bank licence, but he is not a fit and proper person it appears
for that to happen. The Confidential Source was castigated by Director
of Public Prosecutions Bernard Turner for naming the woman complainant
which is against all ethics of journalism. But again, the newspaper
had the statements of the woman and Mr. Roberts published in their newspaper.
They could only have gotten it from the police. There should also
be an investigation into the role that the Women’s Crisis Centre played
in this matter.
The PLP itself ought to assess the fallout to it
as an organization. It must not only seek to protect itself from
this kind of blindsiding in the future but go after the enemies who perpetrated
it with resolution.
‘SAVE
THE BAHAMAS’ IS OUT OF LINE
The Organization SAVE THE BAHAMAS was out of line
as usual when it issued its statement calling upon Bradley Roberts, the
Minister of Works to resign because of the allegations of rape made against
him.
SAVE THE BAHAMAS fell into the same error of Sir
Arthur Foulkes and other FNMs who seemed to think that simply because some
crackpot comes up and makes an allegation of wrongdoing and it makes the
FNM dominated press that this means that resignation should follow.
The PLP was not born yesterday. That much is clear. The words
were hardly out of the pens of SAVE THE BAHAMAS, when it all collapsed.
The virtual complainant withdrew the charge, there is to be no prosecution.
It would be useful for SAVE THE BAHAMAS to spend
its time and energy trying to bring people to Jesus, instead of driving
them away like they did when they stood screaming at the docks telling
some of God's children to go back home because it is alleged that they
were part of a gay cruise.
THERE
IS NOW A NEW REGISTRAR GENERAL
Elizabeth Thompson is today the former Registrar
General. On Monday 10th January, the Governor General on the advice
of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission brought her contract to an
end as Registrar General after four tumultuous months. The end came
in accordance with the terms of her contract. No reason was given
and the contract does not call for a reason to be given. Ms. Thompson
sought to portray herself as victim but the matter rings hollow.
The Government of The Bahamas is reportedly refusing for the good of Ms.
Thompson to say why the appointment was terminated. We think that
is probably best for all, but Ms, Thompson should really cease and desist.
PLP
RESPONDS TO ROBERTS’ EXONERATION
Progressive Liberal Party Chair Raynard Rigby says
the exoneration of Minister of Works Bradley Roberts is “welcome and refreshing”
news. In a statement to the press, Mr. Rigby castigated the FNM’s
handling of the matter. Please click
here for Mr. Rigby’s full statement.
SO
SORRY ZHIVARGO LAING
We have no idea why we continue to waste time trying
to reform Zhivargo Laing’s behaviour. The former Minister of Economic
Development has a column in The Tribune and he uses it to attack the PLP
in the most vicious way, but most of all, in the most unChristian and uncharitable
way. In his last column he claims that the Christie administration
has started the sorriest chapter in political history of The Bahamas with
one scandal after the other. We have only this to say, so sorry Zhivargo
but the only sorry part about this whole matter is your column. It
is a sorry excuse for good journalism.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
COURAGEOUS CHRISTIE HOLDS THE LINE ON BRADLEY
Editor,
I have watched with mounting disbelief as the
FNM and its various spokesmen have struggled in the media to convict Minister
Bradley Roberts on mere accusations that have now been shown to be baseless.
In addition to this, these same so-called ‘national leaders in Opposition’
have ignored the unmistakable leadership of Perry Christie in staying above
the fray and letting the country’s systems work.
Did it ever occur to these dishonest, pandering
FNM gossip mongers that it would have been oh, so easy for the Prime Minister
to dump Bradley Roberts from the Cabinet at the first sign of trouble?
Instead, this same man whom they accuse of weakness in leadership, courageously
took the heat in near silence for weeks, in order to let the country’s
systems work.
Allegations – however serious in nature - are
just that; only allegations. If and when they produce a formal charge
from the Police before the courts, they then have the additional weight
of having passed the test of a Police investigation. At that point,
I would have agreed that Bradley Roberts should go, if only temporarily,
or the Prime Minister should have required him to go. Any such
action by the Prime Minister – or the Minister for that matter – prior
to a formal charge before the Courts would have been weak and craven behavior.
It’s time that the FNM and its leaders realize
what the Bahamian people realized in May of the year 2002; that Perry Christie’s
leadership is a rational, balanced, new and forward thinking leadership
that gives The Bahamas its best shot at success in a new, globalized world.
Time and time again, the Prime Minister has demonstrated that he will not
be the Minister Of Everything, he will not rush to judgment and that he
will allow, even encourage, the participation in leadership of all this
country’s finest sons and daughters, no matter what their political stripe.
The FNM’s Chairman and their henchmen in the
Action Group, Sir Arthur Foulkes and Zhivargo Laing all seemed intent
on victimizing fairness and due process in the name of political advantage.
If Bradley Roberts had resigned from the Cabinet over this now discredited
and empty allegation of rape and the partisan plot that followed, and if
the Prime Minister had allowed it; they would both have been guilty of
changing the rules of Cabinet Government for the worse and starting an
open season on political leaders forever into the future by anyone prepared
to make baseless allegations.
Jason T. Weir
We couldn’t agree more – Editor.
NEW LEGAL
YEAR
Progressive Liberal Party Chair Raynard Rigby says
the exoneration of Minister of Works Bradley Roberts is “welcome and refreshing”
news. In a statement to the press, Mr. Rigby castigated the FNM’s
handling of the matter. Please click
here for Mr. Rigby’s full statement.
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
The Prime Minister this past week accepted an invitation from Island FM
radio to appear on its weekly Sunday show 'Parliament Street'. In
a tour de force, Mr. Christie fielded a wide range of questions on topical
issues including political and economic plans for 2005. He defended
his code of ethics in the now moot Bradley Roberts allegation and reminded
listeners that his government would and should be judged on its results.
The Prime Minister (centre) is pictured at the studio with Island FM owner
Charles Carter and News Director Jerome Sawyer.
37 YEARS OF MAJORITY RULE -- Prime Minister Perry Christie
and Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Raynard Rigby greet friends and
supporters at a church service held to mark the 37th anniversary of the
coming of Majority Rule to The Bahamas. It was on the 10th of January
in 1967 that the Progressive Liberal Party ushered in the sea change in
governance in The Bahamas. Each year, the debate broadens toward
a national holiday for the occasion.
100
BLACK MEN - The US based group '100 Black Men has taken a special interest
in young men in The Bahamas through its local members. The group
is responsible for an ongoing programme of donating computer for community
use by youngsters in the country. 100 Black Men's leader Thomas Dortch,
this past week paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Perry Christie and
is shown with Nassau members of the group. From left are George Ferguson,
Ales Hanna, Bill Wallace, Michael Wright, Mr. Christie, Mr. Dortch and
Frank Smith, MP.
Bahamas Information Services photographs by Peter Ramsay
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
WHO’S THE CLOWN?
A
sure sign that the political season is once again upon us is when Fred
Smith, the so called human rights attorney in Grand Bahama rears his ugly
political head. This is a man who falls into a deep Rip Van Winkle
like sleep in between elections, and then rises up out of his bed to try
to make a comeback as he realizes that he is ageing, and is considered
largely politically irrelevant in The Bahamas. He has been using
the human rights agenda as a hobbyhorse for years. For a time some
people thought he was really genuinely interested in human rights, particularly
for the plight of his Haitian brothers and sisters in The Bahamas.
Most people have had the scales taken from their eyes and see him for what
he is, a poser desperately seeking attention.
You can also be sure that if Fred Smith is involved in anything, it has something to do with gain for himself. It is certainly not to help anyone else. He has been intervening in Bahamian politics from time to time within the last six months after not being heard from for years, but within the last month and more particularly within the last week, he has gone to ridiculous lengths to grab headlines. He is aided and abetted by sloppy editing, and a political agenda by the people at the Nassau Guardian. They of course should expect a writ quite soon, which should cost them a pretty penny for their irresponsible reporting.
Fred
Smith claimed first in the Freeport News and then in the Nassau Guardian
that in the handling of the matter with Bradley Roberts, the Prime Minister
had given his Cabinet Ministers a licence to rape. These are clearly
the words of a man with a sick mind. He then went on to extrapolate
from that, that the PLP did not support women’s rights, and that the integrity
of the police force had been impugned by the way the matter was handled.
The problem we have is one similar to that of how you deal with Carl Bethel, the FNM’s Chair. How do you deal with statements that are so incredibly stupid and illogical, but published in a forum that suggests that they have to be taken seriously? Raynard Rigby, the Party's Chair put Fred Smith in his place the next day, telling him that he was talking foolishness. You may click here for the full statement by Mr. Rigby. Of course telling Mr. Smith that he is talking foolishness is probably like music to his ears. He simply begins to talk more foolishness, anything for a headline.
The next day, he was back in the newspaper with some foolishness about how Raynard Rigby was once retained by the Driftwood Group that owns the now closed Royal Oasis Hotel. The hotel was damaged by the hurricane and the owners are set to take the insurance money and not rebuild the hotel. The idea of Mr. Smith was to hope that Mr. Rigby and the PLP were damaged by suggesting to the unhappy employees that the PLP could not look out for their interests.
Who is Fred Smith to talk? This is the human rights lawyer who worked for the Grand Bahama Port Authority and for other property owners in Freeport, busy helping to put people out of their houses and reclaiming land that poor people had worked for in Freeport because a few service charges had not been paid. His tactics were reminiscent of the work of Rachman, the vicious landlord in Britain in the 1960s and 70s.
We asked the question in the headline: “Who is the clown?” We think that it is obvious now.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 22nd January 2005 up to midnight: 56,428.
Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 22nd January 2005 at midnight: 213,469.
Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 22nd January 2005 at midnight: 213,469.
FNM
IN NO POSITION TO LECTURE ON MORALITY
Tommy Turnquest, the Leader outside the House of Assembly of the FNM, gave
us the laugh of the week when he went on radio last Sunday to say that
he would be the next Prime Minister of The Bahamas. He did not say
when, or whether it was going to be in this life or in the after life.
But he went further and embarked on what seems now to be the strategy of
the FNM with regard to the next campaign. They are seeking to bring
morality into the campaign. They thought that they were on a good
wicket with the Bradley Roberts matter, only to find out that there was
nothing there. Mr. Turnquest says nevertheless that morality is part
of the FNM’s Code of Ethics.
Mr. Turnquest criticized the Prime Minister for
saying what is a fact that morality is not in the Code of Ethics of the
PLP. His arguments were arcane, and made no sense. Let us agree
to
differ. Mr. Turnquest said that ethics and morality are intermixed.
They may well be, but that does not mean that when you draw up a code of
ethics for public figures that you put in the code things that have to
do with personal conduct. Public life is about whether you obey the
law, and whether you behave in such away that your private life does not
come into conflict with your public duties. That’s it. Now
if the FNM wants to put ‘thou shall not commit adultery’ in their code
of ethics; that is their business. But they will rue the day.
Prime Minister Perry Christie in the House of Assembly
on Wednesday 20th January had to fire a shot across the bow of “Mr. Nasty”,
Ken Russell FNM MP for High Rock who kept peppering the Deputy Prime Minister,
who is also the Minister for the Police with questions abut rape and rape
statistics. Mr. Christie told him that the House was not a place
to play games and that if Mr. Russell wanted to do so with regard to the
matters he was pursuing, we could have a field day with everyone there.
No doubt he was reminded of his own private peccadilloes and kept quiet
after that. Nassau Guardian photo of Tommy Turnquest during radio
show at Island FM by Letisha Henderson
THE
LATEST ON SIDNEY STUBBS
Chief Justice Burton Hall has not put an end to the saga of the Sidney
Stubbs matter. Instead of a definitive ruling on the issue before
him, the Chief Justice sought to rule on the narrowest of points, with
scarcely a reference to the law, but for one case.
Sir Burton was asked to annul the bankruptcy and
take a purposive approach to the law, since Parliament in its wisdom did
not write a statute that makes sense without judicial interpretation.
He refused and instead suggested that the AG's office take the matter back
to Parliament to be rewritten. In the meantime, he told Mr. Stubbs’
attorney Q.C. Thomas Evans that he could amend his summons to allow for
an application under Section 26 of the Bankruptcy Act which allows for
the annulment but only after the trustee has advertised and all creditors
have come in and made a compromise or settlement which the court could
accept.
In this anything but a bye-election mood, the next
step will be for Mr. Stubbs to try and get that procedure done before time
runs out on the resolution of the House, which allowed him six months to
get his house in order. The Chief Justice’s latest ruling was made
on Wednesday 19th January. Among the newspaper images was once again
a photo of Mr. Stubbs with his cell phone in his hand coming down the stairs.
Image is everything, and that is not a good image. Nassau Guardian
photo of Sidney Stubbs leaving court by Patrick Hanna
THE
CANKER PROBLEM ADDRESSED
The Minister of Agriculture Alfred Gray addressed the Parliament on Wednesday
19th January. He was speaking about the potential crisis in the agricultural
sector. Canker has been discovered in Abaco on the Bahama Star Farm,
formerly known as the Key and Sawyer Farm near Treasure Cay. The
farmland is owned by the Government. The land is held by lease and
operated by an American group.
According to the Minister, equipment was taken off
the island, and the management of the farm has absconded to the United
States. It appears that the farm and the workers there have been
abandoned by their employers. The Minister said that he is pursuing
legal remedies to get them to account. The background appears to
be that the farm owners knew that they had a canker problem and instead
of reporting it and dealing with it, they simply withdrew over time, and
left the farm. The Government is now holding the bag. This
raises questions as to how vigilant the Ministry itself was in watching
over this. The Minister has now vowed to get on top of the matter.
All the trees and seedlings are to be destroyed
on the Bahama Star Farm. A national survey is to be done to ensure
that there is no canker elsewhere. So far the second largest citrus
producing island, Andros, shows no signs of the disease. You may
click
here for the full statement by the Minister.
A
PLANE TURNS BACK
Young PLP Members of Parliament have to be especially
sensitive to what their position is in life, lest they get a reputation
for arrogance. Two governments were removed from power as consequence
in part of the public perceiving that the Members of Parliament had simply
gotten too big for their britches. It is the bane of a small society.
This week it was reported in the House of Assembly
that an aircraft headed for Washington DC, two days before the inauguration
of the U.S. President George Bush was returned to the parking stand (contrary
to reports it had not taken to the air) when it was discovered that there
was an over count on the flight. It turned out that a Member of Parliament
had boarded himself on the plane; unescorted across the tarmac and one
too many boarding passes had been issued.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell was
asked about the incident in Parliament on Wednesday 19th January by FNM
Lucaya MP Neko Grant. Mr. Grant described it as a serious security
breach. The Minister said that he would not describe it as a security
breach but rather as a miscommunication in the understanding of what procedures
are to be followed in allowing access of Members of Parliament to the tarmac.
Those procedures were not followed. He said that he would not describe
it as the Member of Parliament not being allowed back on the plane but
that the plane departed without him on board.
There is no doubt that the reaction within PLP circles
was incredulity, particularly after the Parliamentarian was quoted in the
press as saying that “it was no big deal”. With one bad news story
after the next in recent weeks, the PLP was concerned that strong measures
have to be taken. The Member of Parliament is expected to offer a
full and formal apology to the country. The Member of Parliament
was Ron Pinder of Marathon and in fairness to him we do not think he intended
to create this problem.
COLINA
BUYS IMPERIAL LIFE
There was a picture on the front page of the Nassau Guardian on Friday
21st January with a caption saying that the Colina purchase of the assets
of Imperial Life was now complete. They were all smiles. Colina
is said to have accepted the 21 conditions imposed by the Government on
the purchase. The purchase brought strong opposition within the sector.
The difficulty we have stated here is who is going to police this to make
sure all the conditions have been met. Some close to the Colina situation
said that they were happy to accept the conditions because in the end the
conditions can’t be policed whether or not they follow them. The
gauntlet is thrown down to the Government, and it imposes a positive obligation
on the Government to ensure that all the conditions are met. The
fact of the front page picture was precisely one of the comments of those
who opposed the deal. The Nassau Guardian is owned by the Colina
group and they are already using the paper to promote the insurance company.
James
Campbell, Colina president is pictured at centre at the signing between
Colina and Imperial executives in this Nassau Guardian photo by Donald
Knowles.
FOREIGN
MINISTER ON CSME
Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs made a major address during
the week. On Wednesday 19th January, Mr. Mitchell addressed the Rotary
Club of Southeast Nassau on the question of the Caribbean Single Market
and Economy (CSME). He said that he saw no downside to joining Caricom
fully. The principle reason for joining Caricom is to protect The
Bahamas’ geopolitical position. He called it the closest relationship
save and except the relationship between the United States and The Bahamas.
Mr. Mitchell embraced the timetable for CSME suggested
by J. Barrie Farrington, Atlantis Executive, who wrote a letter to the
press published on Monday 17th January about The Bahamas and CSME.
You may click here for that letter.
The Minister said that in an ideal world he hoped that this would all be
concluded by July of this year. You may click
here for the full address of the Minister. Bahamas Information
Services photo of Minister Mitchell at Rotary by Derek Smith
SIR MILO
REMEMBERED
Saturday 22nd January 1979 was the day that the
first Bahamian Governor General Sir Milo Butler died. There had not
been a funeral so large in The Bahamas up to then, and it was not to be
surpassed in numbers until Sir Lynden Pindling died on 26th August 2000.
Sir Milo was called ‘King Milo’ by the late Sir Lynden O. Pindling.
He was a grown man to Sir Lynden when the latter surfaced as the leader
of the Progressive Liberal Party.
When the 1956 elections came along and the PLP was contesting for the first
time, Sir Milo had been a politician and political figure since 1937.
It was in that year that he first ran for the House against Sir Harry Oakes,
then reputed to be the richest man in the British Commonwealth. Sir
Harry was later murdered in 1943 (see Nancy
Oakes story below).
In 1938, Sir Milo was elected to the House.
He served until 1949 and was defeated that year but was victorious again
in 1956. He served continuously until 1973 when he became the country’s
first Bahamian Governor General.
The history of his life however cannot be captured
in the bare bones of the positions in which he served. It is best
described in the vignettes of his work as a people’s champion during the
1942 Burma Road riots. It is best described in the story of his being
lifted out of the House of Assembly when he refused to follow the fifteen
minute rule on speaking in the House. It is again best described
when he threw the hourglass out of the window of the House on Black Tuesday’s
PLP demonstration against the delimitation of boundaries 27th April 1965.
That was the Milo we came to know and love.
On Thursday 20th January, a red mass in celebration
of his life was held by the National Heroes Day Committee, headed by Rev.
Fr. Sebastian Campbell. The founder of the Committee Foreign Minister
Fred Mitchell was there and so was the Butler family, along with Lady Marguerite
Pindling. The photo is by Peter Ramsay.
TAXICAB
UNION MAY GET PEACE NOW
Cheryl Ferguson is now past history in the Bahamas
Taxi Cab Union. This lady who accused the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union’s
President Leon Griffin of being everything but a child of God, seized his
office, locked him out, purported to fire workers from the Union, led a
vote of no confidence against him is now herself in plenty of trouble.
She was voted out as Vice President of the Union on Monday 17th January.
The vote was certified by the Department of Labour on Thursday 20th January.
Cheryl Ferguson was before the Court week before last being charged with
stealing by reason of employment. During the time when Mr. Griffin
was on vacation Ms. Ferguson is alleged to have taken almost $4,000 from
the Union. Oh well!
DID
YOU SAY A WHITE PRIME MINISTER?
Brent Symonette, the scion of Sir Roland Symonette’s family (Sir Roland
was the first Premier of the Bahamas) is engaged in his off again on again
campaign to succeed Tommy Turnquest as leader of the FNM. The last
time the issue came up he promised right up to the brink that he would
run for leader only to back off when offered the plumb of Leader for the
Party’s business in the House of Assembly.
It is the same old argument again. Is The
Bahamas ready for a white Prime Minister? The Tribune called up Arthur
Hanna, former PLP Deputy Prime Minister and Sir Clement T. Maynard, also
a former Deputy Prime Minister for the PLP. Both of them said that
colour was not a problem. But both of them also added they did not
know if the FNM was willing to run the risk. We say emphatically
no, they will not run the risk.
All this only goes to show that it is the FNM who
accepts the racist propaganda that a white man can’t be leader of The Bahamas.
Brent Symonette, who is the only FNM to win a seat in the House in the
2002 election from New Providence, is himself unsure about that issue.
One thing is sure; he had better make up his mind to go this time.
As the song says “Don’t wind us up”.
CHARLES
ROBERTSON SAUNDERS DIES
Stalwart Councillor of the Progressive Liberal Party
(PLP) Charles Robertson Saunders is dead. Mr. Saunders was buried
in the Woodlawn cemetery following a funeral service at Our Lady’s Church
in Deveaux Street, New Providence on Friday 21st January. Fr. Michael
Kelly and Deacon Peter Rahming officiated. Mr. Saunders was a classic
PLP general in the old southern district. His body was laid out in
Gambier House before the burial. He was eulogized by the Deputy Prime
Minister Cynthia Pratt. The Prime Minister Perry Christie attended the
funeral. He was 71 years old. Photo - Peter Ramsay
ROYAL OASIS
Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe gave a comprehensive
report to the House on the progress of reopening the Royal Oasis Hotel
in Freeport. Most people believe that since the hurricane, the owners
have decided to take the insurance money and run with it, not reinvesting
in the reopening of the property.
The Minister said that according to David Buddemeyer,
the President of the Company ‘Driftwood’ that owns the resort, all liabilities
to the employees have been settled. The employees have another view
and were demonstrating in the streets, calling for the help of The Bahamas
government.
The Minister said that the company claims that it
is awaiting the outcome of negotiations with the insurance carriers before
it can say when it will reopen. Few people believe that story.
Altogether Royal Oasis is said to owe some 27 million dollars to various
creditors, including 13 million dollars in casino taxes to the Government.
NANCY
OAKES TO BE BURIED
Nancy Oakes was 18 years old in 1943 when her father Sir Harry Oakes was
murdered. The year before she had eloped and shortly after her 18th
birthday married Alfred de Marigny of Mauritius. Sir Harry was a
gold prospector who moved to The Bahamas and was reportedly at the time
the richest man in the British Commonwealth. He was the owner of
the British Colonial Hotel and substantial land holdings in New Providence.
No one was ever convicted for the murder of Sir
Harry but Nancy’s then husband Alfred de Marigny, was charged for the murder.
He was acquitted and then deported. He did not return to The Bahamas
until 1990, after he had written a book on the subject A CONSPIRACY OF
CROWNS.
Nancy Oakes had been ailing for sometime.
She had been bedridden in her London flat. She and the entire family
seemed to have fallen on hard times, starting with the tragic death of
their father, death hit most of the siblings in tragic circumstances.
Her brother Harry Jr. is the only one now left and he is the only one who
seems to have done something with his life.
Nancy was in the news more recently because she
was owed some 19 million dollars by the Government for land forcibly acquired
which is now to become a national park at Clifton. Her attorney Paul
Adderley told the press that Nancy Oakes was paid about one month before
she died. She is to be buried in Nassau on Friday 28th January.
The funeral will be held at the Christ Church Cathedral. Tribune
file photo of Nancy Oakes
WHINE
ON, ZHIVARGO
The last column of former Minister of Economic Development Zhivargo Laing
that appeared in The Tribune on Thursday 21st January was pathetic.
The column did not seem to make any sense. It seemed an exercise
in useless whining about the fact that he is criticized for his political
dishonesty by this column. He never named the columnist or the column
about which he was complaining.
The fact is Mr. Laing can’t take the heat.
He has the nerve to criticize the PLP about scandals when the FNM disintegrated
in scandal after scandal in 2002. The PLP is dealing lawfully with
every issue. He starts off with the fact that Senator Edison Key
resigned but it was shown conclusively that the high motives that Edison
Key advanced for resigning were not so. It had more to do with not
getting something for himself that he wanted.
Our point is not to deny that the PLP has to realize
the potential impacts of all of this in the country, but we know that the
PLP is fully cognizant of what it has to do. What it does not need
to pay attention to this dishonest whining on and on about scandal that
really does not have the ring of truth to it. The column of Mr. Laing
is simply getting each week, less and less credible.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Having been away for the better part of last
week, I only read the January 9th column this past Sunday, January 16th.
Under the caption, ‘The Nassau Guardian’s Propaganda’, reference was made
to a question I submitted to Mr. Eddie Carter of Island FM for the special
Parliament Street interview with Prime Minister The Right Hon. Perry Christie,
which aired on January 9th. On the basis that your site tends to
be faithfully uploaded around 2:00 p.m. each Sunday and my question was
only aired on Parliament Street shortly after 4:00 p.m. that same day,
I was surprised to see it referred to. Can you help me with an explanation?
In addition to the above, I have other concerns
with your statement. You wrote: “Cedric Moss, the Pastor, is the
only one who has actually examined the Code and found that we are right.”
Your statement is misleading. I made no finding at all concerning
your reading of the Prime Minister’s Code of Ethics and in fact never referred
to any of your findings.
You also wrote: “However, he argues that it is
time to amend the Code and include acts of adultery as part of the moral
behaviour that would lead to a Minister’s resignation.” I never argued
such a point and I do not believe a faithful reading of what I wrote can
result in your conclusion. My point is that the Prime Minister’s
Code of Ethics was deficient from the start by intentionally being silent
on personal moral conduct when we all know full well (by experience and
common sense) that immoral conduct like adultery could result in the same
ethical compromises spelt out in the Prime Minister’s Code of Ethics (being
bribed, blackmailed and acting with fear or favouritism etc.). Therefore,
the Code of Ethics is shortsighted.
Sir my view is and always was that government
ministers (or pastors or anyone entrusted with the privilege and responsibility
of leading/representing others) should not need a written Code of Ethics
to cause them to do the right thing (voluntarily step down) when their
moral conduct (especially if publicly known) falls short of the expectations
of their office. And those who have the wisdom to show remorse and
the courage to voluntarily step down deserve our respect and practical
and prayerful support. However, those who show no remorse and refuse
to step down add insult to injury and make a bad situation worse.
While I plan to comment further on the sad situation
of the now withdrawn rape allegations against The Hon. Bradley Roberts,
the following is what I submitted for the Prime Minister’s consideration
and it (together with this note) is all that I have said to date:
“On Thursday past, in a story headlined, ‘Has The Christie Administration Cracked The Code’, The Nassau Guardian republished the Code of Ethics which you announced upon assuming office in May 2002. I read it through and saw that it is silent on a minister’s personal moral conduct. On the basis that ministers who engage in illicit sexual activity (like adultery) open themselves to potential bribery, blackmail and other forms of ethical compromise, fear and favour in carrying out their duties:
Thank you for your comments – Editor.
The law abolishes dower for women married after the coming into force
of the act. The previous dower rights continue to exist. – Editor
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
The Prime Minister this past week greeted the new ambassador from the
People's Republic of China to The Bahamas. The ambassador, who replaces
the much liked Jiao Dongcun, is doing the rounds in Nassau, presenting
his credentials to the Governor General and making various courtesy calls.
Visionphoto by Tim Aylen
 |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - This week was a tough one and a good one for Ron Pinder, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Environment in the Ministry of Health and Environment. As we predicted in last week’s column he offered a full and frank apology to the country, the party and the Prime Minister for his conduct at the Nassau International airport on 18th January 2005 (click here for last week’s story). We report the full statement below. That apology came in the House of Assembly after the silly billys of the Free National Movement blocked two attempts to deliver the statement earlier in the day. We congratulate him. He did not have time to breathe or bask in that glow of congratulations from the House. That night Nassau Village, a township in south New Providence exploded in a riot after a reportedly heavy handed police approach to the crowds there gathering after a woman got knocked down in a traffic accident. The woman was Haitian. Mr. Pinder and MP for the area Kenyatta Gibson were in the thick of it, trying to calm the crowds. Mr. Pinder was protected from being shot himself and one person was shot standing right next to him. As the charges, counter charges flew, one thing was clear Ron Pinder had done a good job. He is a real hero of the piece. It is for that reason that we choose this picture of him as he delivered his apology just before the House of Assembly adjourned for the night. Both the Nassau Guardian and The Tribune praised him in their editorials for his position. The photo is by Peter Ramsay. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE HAITIAN PROBLEM
Some people described the scenes that they saw on television as
looking like Baghdad in Iraq. Police out in the night in fatigues,
camouflage gear, shotguns at the ready, tear gas, night lights, rocks being
thrown, screams being heard, Ron Pinder gesturing frantically to stop firing
and then turning to the crowd and telling them to stop their taunting of
the police.
No
one can say quite what happened on Wednesday 26th January at about 8 p.m.
It appears it all started when an elderly Haitian woman was hit by a vehicle
and injured. The police were called to the scene. From there
what happened next is murky. The police are accused of causing two
ambulances coming to collect the woman to be inexplicably turned back.
The crowd was angered by this, and turned unruly. The two original
police officers withdrew, leaving their car. Before back up could
appear, the car was damaged and torched. It went downhill from there,
and it was not until 1 a.m. that calm was restored to the area.
It appears that three people were shot. One of them was shot critically. Again, the story is murky. The police were said to have manhandled the man, angered by the way he spoke to them, and they ended up shooting him in the face with a baby in his hand. All of this is an allegation. The daughter of the man was on television explaining in full anger and the broadest Bahamian brogue her outrage. She said that the matter was being turned into a Haitian / Bahamian issue. She herself seemed so unruly that her story did not seem credible.
That is the way the country has reacted to the matter. It is now being characterized that Nassau Village is the home of scores of Haitian Bahamians and they have brought their riotous Port-au-Prince way to The Bahamas. Further the police argue that too many times they are being asked to back down in an area known for criminals when they need to show decisive force to suppress the riots. They say that what happened in Nassau Village is the third such event in recent times. Their backing down causes the crowds in other areas to be emboldened. They believe a fundamental mistake was made in not crushing this revolt firmly and decisively.
Many community leaders sought to disabuse the public of that notion of a Haitian/Bahamian issue but the message has already gone out with police being quoted anonymously in The Tribune of Saturday 29th January as saying there will be civil war between Haitians and Bahamians in The Bahamas and that Haitians will bring The Bahamas to its knees.
The Minister of Immigration Vincent Peet has rightly said that we must manage this carefully. However the impatience is irrational. The questions are myriad. What happened to all the work that the Urban Renewal Programme, and the Police Community Police Unit was supposed to be doing in these areas to avoid just this sort of thing from happening? Where do we go from here?
The fact is Haitians are a part of this country. They are integrated in it. Haitians have been coming here at least since the 19th century. The country is built in part off Haitian labour. If Haitian labour were withdrawn precipitously, the economy of the country would collapse.
But deep down in the recesses of the Bahamian psyche there is a fear of Haitians, and a developing hatred. It will require leadership to solve this problem.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 29th January 2005 at midnight: 70,269.
Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 29th January 2005 at midnight: 283,738.
Number of this for the year 2005 up to Saturday 29th January 2005 at midnight: 283,738.
RON
PINDER’S APOLOGY
The column is proud to print the entire apology
verbatim of the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Environment to the
House of Assembly delivered on Wednesday 26th January 2005.
“Mr. Speaker, I wish to make this statement concerning
certain events that transpired as a result of my travel to Washington D.C.
on Tuesday, January 18th, 2005, in my private capacity for the inauguration
of U.S. President George Bush.
“The events arose when I boarded the flight for
Washington D.C. through the VIP lounge unaccompanied by protocol officers
instead of through the U.S. Customs and Immigration boarding area.
This was a violation of rules and regulations of the airport.
“Mr. Speaker, I which to express my deep distress
and unreserved apology to the Prime Minister, to this House, my colleagues,
my constituents and to the country at large for how this matter was handled
by me. This incident caused inconvenience and embarrassment for which
I deeply regret. I accept full responsibilities and I can assure
that it will not occur again.
“Mr. Speaker in recent times I have reflected
on the general sense of lawlessness and the apparent disregard for “the
process” prevailing in our country. Upon reflecting, I wondered how,
as people, we would come to remedy this malaise and turn the tide of things.
The principles of leadership dictate that when one is in error and when
one is up against a challenge, one does not look to the east nor the west,
but one must meet it squarely and face to face. And so today Mr.
Speaker, I say, let the turning of the tide begin with me because this
is what principled leadership demands. This is what principled leadership
dictates.
“Mr. Speaker, as I accept full responsibilities
for this incident I wish to say to my contemporaries and even the younger
people of our nation that we must be careful and guard against knowingly
by-passing rules and regulations because of circumstances, situations and
exigencies. We must guard against concluding in the heat of the moment
that rules and procedures can simply be set aside because nothing justifies
this.
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”
PM OFF
TO JAMAICA
Prime Minister Perry Christie is to travel to Kingston,
Jamaica where he will join fellow Prime Ministers from across the region
to welcome the Vice President of China to the region. The Chinese
are holding a giant trade show for the entire region. Businessmen
from The Bahamas are also travelling there. The Prime Minister will
visit Jamaica on 2nd February. He will be accompanied by the Foreign
Minister Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe, the Minister
of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna Martin and the Minister of Trade
and Industry Leslie Miller. While there, a trade agreement, a civil
aviation agreement and a tourism agreement will be signed by The Bahamas
with the Chinese.
NANCY
OAKES IS BURIED
Nancy Oakes, the baroness Von Hoyningen-Huene was buried in Nassau in the
graveyard of the Church of St. Mary on Friday 28th January. Thus
came to an end an exciting life, and an exciting chapter in the colonial
history of The Bahamas. Here was a woman who had known great fame,
some would even say notoriety, being at the centre of a storm, having come
to her husband’s defence at the tender age of 18, after the husband with
whom she had eloped and married without her parents permission, was charged
with the murder of her father, Sir Harry Oakes, then reputed to be the
richest man in the British Commonwealth. In 1943, she was the centre
of a storm of publicity.
At the end, there were few Bahamians who even remembered
who Nancy Oakes von Hoyningen-Huene was. But the elite remembered
and some of them were there: her lawyer Paul Adderley, whose father was
hired by the Crown to prosecute her husband for murder; Ruby Nottage, another
lawyer and friend with her husband Kendal, Beverly Wallace Whitfield and
her grandson Kenneth who was Nancy’s godson; Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell
was also at the funeral. Sir Arthur Foulkes gave
a tribute. The comment was made that many of the Bahamians who
ate from her table in London while students in London should have been
there.
Nancy Oakes' death made the obits in The Times and
we
share what they wrote about her. It is a bit unfair since she
lived the post murder half of her life much better than the first, but
there was so much emphasis on the murder. From all accounts, she
was a good person and so may she rest in peace. Nancy Oakes von Hoyningen-Huene's
coffin is borne from Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau - photo by Peter
Ramsay
ALVIN
SMITH, WEAR A DUNCE CAP
At the end of the House of Assembly, as the House was about to adjourn,
and following the apology delivered by Ron Pinder, the Leader of the Opposition
rose. Alvin Smith, the hapless, causes even his own members to hold
their breath in embarrassment because you are never quite sure what he
is going to say next.
Mr. Smith instead of being gracious and simply congratulating
Mr. Pinder for his comments sought instead to throw a barb at the Minister
of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell for his describing what had happened at
the Nassau International Airport on 18th January with Ron Pinder as a miscommunication.
Pity Mr. Smith cannot understand. At the time
the question was asked of Fred Mitchell, the Minister was in the House
on 19th January. The full facts of the incident were not yet known
to the Minister. His view was to describe it as he did because that
was the understanding at the time. As it turned out he was in fact
correct. The mistake made by Mr. Pinder came about because of a miscommunication
in that he did not appreciate the rules as they relate to the access of
persons to the tarmac. That is why we often call the comment of politicians
such as Mr. Smith, silly billy. The comments just don’t seem to make
sense.
LOOK
AT OUR BOYS AT THE INAUGURATION
The PLP’s future got an invite to the inauguration of the President of
the United States George Bush, and so did Dr. Gilbert Morris who is a well
known pundit and commentator in The Bahamas. They clearly enjoyed
the party, shall we say almost as much as the President.
Ron Pinder, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Environment and
John Carey, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Works met many
of the mucks of Washington and mugged it up for the camera. That’s
the way to do it. We present a photo spread. Members of
Parliament Hon. John Carey and Hon. Ron Pinder are pictured at top with
former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani during the 55th Inaugural Ceremonies
of the President of the United States of America, President George W. Bush.
Dr. Gilbert NMO Morris who travelled separately to Washington for the inaugural
and former Virginia Governor, Senator George Allen were both special guests
of the Georgia delegation. Dr. Morris is pictured with Senator
Allen at right.
MITCHELL
ON EUGENE DUPUCH STUDENTS
A story appeared in The Tribune of Tuesday 25th
January in which the Attorney General was attacked by an anonymous Bahamian
student at the Eugene Dupuch Law School in Nassau. The student whom
The Tribune claimed was speaking on behalf of all students at the School
was incensed because the Attorney General had announced that The Bahamas
had decided to assist eight Trinidadian students to study at the law school
here in Nassau. The student claimed that this would undermine Bahamians
in the profession of law, and that this was somehow some sinister plot
to get free movement of people under the Caribbean Single Market and Economy
in The Bahamas.
Clearly this student is suffering from the most appalling ignorance.
One wonders if the student has a political agenda. The Minister of
Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell defended the Attorney General Alfred Sears
in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 25th January. He said that
he was perplexed by what he had read. He said that the student was
not only misinformed but did not bother to find out the correct information.
“I am concerned when Bahamians particularly those who are supposed to be
in the educated sector of the community respond with jingoistic statements
that are not based on good information.”
The Minister explained that there will be no cash
outlay for the Trinidad students, but the students from Trinidad will be
allowed at the request of the Government of Trinidad to pay the same rate
they would pay in Trinidad and Tobago. Since the school is subsidized
by The Bahamas government to that extent the Trinidad students are being
supported by The Bahamas. The Minister said all Bahamian students
are paid for by The Bahamas Government.
The Minister said that it was perplexing to him
that the student forgot that when we suffered hurricane damage, the Government
of Trinidad and Tobago led by its Prime Minister without prompting visited
The Bahamas and donated some half a million dollars U.S. to The Bahamas.
He accused the student of having a stingy mentality. We agree.
This country has got to be rightly concerned when
an institution that is regional in nature, the Eugene Dupuch Law School
where the students in the main have come from a regional institution the
University of West Indies (UWI) produces the kind of ignorance that was
displayed. We also agree with the Minister that this is probably
not a reflection of the general opinion at the School by Bahamians.
We hope so. Were it otherwise, this country would be in serious trouble.
TROUBLE
IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE UNION
The president of The Bahamas Public Service Union
appears to be headed for a split. The president of the Union John
Pinder is being publicly criticized for presenting a proposal to the Government
for a new contract, a 25 item contract reputedly to cost 70 million dollars
to the Government without consulting the other members of his executive
team. Michael Stubbs, the vice president of the Union said that Mr.
Pinder “did not see the wisdom in having the entire executive board involved
in the process of discussing the document and sharing it with the membership
in a ‘Special Call’ meeting or at least with the shop stewards before formally
presenting it to the Government.”
A press release to the press said that five key
officers were not provided with, nor informed of the document until after
it was made public. The officers who are dissenting and complaining
are Mr. Stubbs, Synida Dorsette, General Secretary, Rudolph Stubbs, Vice
President of the Northern Region, Sherman Stevens, trustee and Antoinette
Bowe Trustee.
Mr. Pinder had a simple answer for the press that
he was not surprised since a number of sitting officers are opposing him
for President. “So I call them my detractors. It’s like they
do not want to see a contract for the workers so that they have something
to campaign on. That’s the bottom line.” The report appeared
in the Nassau Guardian on Wednesday 26th January 2005.
IS
IT LIBELLOUS TO BE CALLED HAITIAN?
The Nassau Guardian reports that Member of Parliament Keod Smith who is
also the Ambassador for the Environment is suing the slime ball newspaper
The Punch for printing the following:
“Hot headed Haitian-Bahamian lawyer…Lawyer Smith
reportedly changed his name to an English title. He felt most people
found his Creole name too hard to pronounce.” Mr. Smith told the
Nassau Guardian that he has no problem being called a Haitian although
it is untrue. Here is more of what he had to say in his own words:
“I have no problem being referred to as a Haitian,
although the claim is totally untrue. The Punch originally struck
a chord after indirectly referring to my parents as Haitians. I allowed
this particular claim to slide but then The Punch printed suggestions made
in the House of Assembly by an Opposition MP that he was Haitian born.
“Then they came out and said I was a hot headed
Haitian-Bahamian and I said they were stepping out of line as some of my
constituents started to comment on what they thought my heritage was but
the straw that really break (sic) the camel’s back was when they printed
in November of last year.
“My sister Elmira Smith-Bolares was married to
a Haitian but an article in the tabloid suggested that his parents changed
my name from Bolares to Smith, because it would have been difficult to
pronounce.
“When they said I changed my name they have basically
attacked me because they are saying that I tried to mislead my constituents,
my clients, The Bahamas generally and that my wife don’t really know who
I am. Now you have me backpedaling because a lot of people are asking
me what was my name before. The Punch needs to write the truth.”
(We agree that The Punch ought to be sued and we hope that he bankrupts
them and puts them out of business—Editor)
STUART
SHOULD LEARN THE LAW
The peripatetic political jack in the box Cassius
Stuart of the extra parliamentary party the Bahamas Democratic Movement
(BDM) is back on the scene, this time on page 2 of the Wednesday 26th January,
Nassau Guardian. In it he is attacking PLP Kenyatta Gibson MP as
the Chair of the Gaming Board for not collecting taxes owed to The Bahamas
government by the Royal Oasis casino in Freeport that is now closed.
He accused the company of “defrauding” The Bahamas government. Both
he and The Guardian would seem now to have opened themselves up to a libel
suit since it isn’t clear that anyone was “defrauded”. The more important
point here is that here is a man who wants to be a public figure but doesn’t
know the law. The Gaming Board does not collect taxes from casinos,
nor are they responsible in law to do so. Duh!
LNG &
POLITICS
The country is waiting with interest, some with breath bated in apprehension,
for the Government’s decision on whether to allow Liquefied Natural Gas
installations into the country. According to the Prime Minister Perry
Christie during a recent radio show, the likely approval will come for
the island of Grand Bahama. The facility had been proposed for the
Freeport Harbour area, but that is apparently now dead and the choice for
an approved LNG project seems between Ocean Cay in the Biminis and the
east of Grand Bahama.
A key player in all this may be former Minister
of Works Ken Russell, FNM MP for High Rock (east Grand Bahama). Mr.
Russell has vowed to constituents that he will support the project, or
not, in the best interests of the people, without regard to politics.
Of environmental concerns, he notes that he has a background in industry
and industrial safety. “I will ask the tough questions,” he says.
We shall see.
LNG and its potential negative impact on Bahamian
lives and a country devoted to tourism should be a question above the political
fray. It should be an issue on which both sides in politics can rise
to the occasion and have the gumption to say no to a few jobs and a couple
of million dollars if the ‘tough questions’ on safety and the environment
cannot be satisfactorily answered.
This column has said before that these projects
should not go ahead. They represent a sell out of the Bahamian patrimony.
Surely some other, safer way can be found to fully employ the people of
East End, Grand Bahama. What happened to the much vaunted Movie Colony
project, touted by the Government and supported – some say engineered -
by Mr. Russell? When it comes to LNG in east Grand Bahama, will Ken
Russell be a true champion of the people?
FOOTNOTES
The Central Bank
Julian Francis, Governor of the Central Bank, is
reportedly watching with concern the declining value of the dollar against
other currencies overseas. The current reserves are the highest they
have ever been at near to 700 million dollars US and they are predicted
to get to one billion this year under the PLP for the first time in the
history of the country. But the value is depreciating against other
currencies.
Samuel “Ninety” Knowles
The ruling by Justice Hugh Small in June 2004
that convicted Drug Trafficker Samuel ‘Ninety’ Knowles was being unlawfully
detained because he would not be able to get a fair trial in the United
States where he is to be extradited has been overturned by the Court of
Appeal. Their ruling came on Thursday 27th January 2005.
AMOS
FERGUSON'S JOY
Two weeks ago, Mrs. Bernadette Christie, wife of
the Prime Minister, officiated at a renaming ceremony for the former Exuma
Street in the Coconut Grove area of New Providence. The street was
renamed in honour of famous Bahamian intuitive artist Amos Ferguson.
This past week, Mr. Ferguson, a long time friend of the Christie's was
hosted at the Prime Minister and Mrs. Christie's home as an appreciation
for his contribution to Bahamian art and in order to see how their many
Amos Ferguson paintings are displayed. Both Mrs. Christie and Mr.
Ferguson are clearly delighted in this enjoyable image by Peter Ramsay.
LADY
PINDLING HONOURED BY RED CROSS
Marguerite, the Lady Pindling, widow of former Prime
Minister Sir Lynden Pindling was specially honoured by The Bahamas Red
Cross Society at its annual ball this past weekend. Lady Pindling, who
was the Society's long time patron is seen arriving at the ball escorted
by her son Leslie in this photo by Peter Ramsay.
Above,
members of the Financial Services Advisory Board, from left, Michael F.
L. Allen, Deputy Chair, Bahamas Financial Services, Minister of State for
Finance James Smith, Ms. Wendy Warren CEO Bahamas Financial Services Board,
Prime Minister Christie, Bruce Weatherill, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, C Ednol
Smith, partner in PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Bruno Roberts, Chairman of
the Financial Services Board are pictured during a courtesy call.
At right, the Prime Minister and Mrs. Christie are shown arriving at the annual Red Cross ball with Mrs. Rowena Finlayson.
Bahamas Information Services photos by Peter Ramsay
