bahamasuncensored.com
JANUARY 2006
Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every
Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 4 © BahamasUncensored.Com 2006
While material on this web site can be used freely by other sections of
the press, as a courtesy, journalists are asked to attribute the source
of their material from this web site.
8th January, 2006
15th January, 2006
22nd January, 2006
29th January, 2006
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|
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - Ah
it is a new year! This wonderful artificial construct with which
the church fathers have laboured us has now clicked over another milestone.
In human existence we now say we have recorded history for 2006 years since
the birth of Christ - or is that after Christ... We know that the
calendar is full of faults. Someone forgot to count year one when
it all started and then someone left out two months, so there was the Gregorian
calendar with ten months, which later changed when the Romans decided to
add two more months. See if the birds and the bees care. What
they all respond to is winter, spring, summer and fall. The equinox
– another imaginary construct – is crossed on various days and the weather
turns balmy or bitter chilly depending on where you are, and you had better
do certain things to protect your life like put on heavy clothes
or fly south if you are a bird. But for human beings we need markings,
festivals and times to celebrate, markers of our existence here and our
importance. One such ritual for those on these tiny sand banks called
The Bahamas in the shallow seas off the North American land mass is Junkanoo.
What a wonderful Junkanoo it was. The Boxing Day Junkanoo was postponed
until 8 p.m. in the evening and 12 hours later it ended with all the seats
empty but the performers spent. At 6 p.m. on the evening of the 27th
December, the winners were announced of the Doyle Burrows Junkanoo Rush.
The winner of the over all parade was the Valley Boys. Since Doyle
was a Valley Boy it must have been a happy, happy day. We congratulate
him. We wish you all a happy new year. As soon as the results
are know for New Year’s Junkanoo we’ll let you know. A member of
the Valley Boys dances along Bay Street in the Doyle Burrows Boxing Day
Junkanoo Parade on Monday, December 26, 2005. (BIS Photo: Tim Aylen) |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
AND THE WINNER IS...
Even
naming the Junkanoo Parade of 2005 after Doyle Burrows, the quintessential
Valley Boy and Junkanoo, did not stop the opponents of the Valley Boys
who won this years parade from calling foul. A representative for
one of the groups that did not win cried foul so to speak, describing the
result as a sad day for Junkanoo.
Normally we stay out of this kind of carping, which is a usual part
of our cultural life. But when intelligent people start repeating
it, it is time for someone to say something about this feature of our culture.
If the result was indeed a sad day for Junkanoo then there have been sad
days for almost a generation for some one and for some group. We
have never seen a situation in all our born days where there is ever acceptance
of a Junkanoo result. Every year in one form or fashion, some performer
or group says that the judges have cheated.
The Junkanoo Committee, the Ministry for Junkanoo, the Junkanoo Commission
is what it’s called now; one time it was the Ministry of Tourism, have
all tried every year to deal with this issue of judging Junkanoo.
Every year no matter how it is changed; one time they even had the leaders
of Junkanoo devise and pick the Judges; still the cry was cheating when
one group or other lost. For Lord's sake, Junkanoo winning comes
as the subjective judgment of the people that you choose as Judges.
No one can say anyone was paid for a particular group to win or lose,
so why not have fun and win lose or draw come back for the next year.
The carping simply comes off as a bit petty.
If the Valley wins, then they win. Let’s just enjoy Junkanoo.
The other place you find this sickening carping about judging is
the myriad beauty contests that this country has spawned. There is
never an occasion when you can simply go to one, have a good time and not
have to endure in the result that someone cheated or that the result was
somehow stacked in favour of the person who eventually won.
What
we think that some of the newer groups are arguing about is the fact there
is an inbuilt in bias they claim for the Valley and for the Saxons.
They say that the newer groups can’t get a fair break in Junkanoo; that
all the Judges think about is the Valley and the Saxons. How does
that explain the fourth place for the Saxons this year, or the time when
the Valley lost three straight, and everyone said they were finished.
Before that it was the Saxons that was finished. News is that Percy
Francis may indeed call it quits this year moving onto another phase of
his life.
We would like to put in a plug to the Government to make a bequest
to Percy Francis and to Winston Cooper, the undoubted kings of Junkanoo
for their contribution to the nation, the sum of one quarter of million
dollars each as an outright gift to them. That’s our view.
It is a sad day for Junkanoo when ten thousand seats are available
to sit and 60,000 people want to come. And of course, we too are
part of the culture of complaining, because here we are complaining about
the complainers. But if they didn’t complain what would we have to
complain about now? The truth is, Junkanoo is great and can’t be
stopped no matter how we try.
Perhaps
Nicollette Bethel, the Director of Culture might investigate or explain
if she knows already what it is in our national culture that produces this
kind of sour grapes mentality? No doubt, there will be yet another
struggle over the next year to fine tune the judging and next year again;
when the result comes it will be a sad day for Junkanoo.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 31st December 2005 up
to midnight: 82,670.
Number of hits for the month of December up to Saturday 31st December
2005 at midnight: 335,995.
Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 31st December 2005
at midnight: 4,074,541.
TOP - Mr. &
Mrs. Doyle Burrows with Prime Minister Perry Christi . (BIS Photo: Peter
Ramsay)
CENTRE - Doyle Burrows watches
the Valley Boys . (BIS Photo: Tim Aylen)
BOTTOM - Mr. & Mrs. Doyle
Burrows their way down Bay Street . (BIS Photo: Peter Ramsay)
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
GRIEVING
FOR BIMINI
The year 2005 must go down in Bahamian history as a hell of a year.
The year was just barely past its first quarter when suddenly, unexpectedly
and a day after the anniversary of his coming to office, the nation’s Prime
Minister was sidelined by a transient ischemic attack. That saw an
extended, necessary and incredible rebounding but it frightened the country.
If that were not enough, a third hurricane struck Grand Bahama in two years,
almost the same spot and at the same time as it did the year before last.
It caused greater damage to Grand Bahama’s economy than the previous two. 
National
trauma number two in the year 2005! Nothing, however could have prepared
us, (and since death is always amongst us, we wonder why human beings think
you can be prepared,) for the death of 11 of our citizens from the small
western island of Bimini in a plane crash on Monday 19th December.
There was a memorial service held on Wednesday 28th December at the ball
field in Bimini with the Prime Minister and Cabinet members present. The
Prime Minister gave a moving address in honour of the fallen, recalling
the words of one of the victim’s family members who in their unspeakable
grief told him: “The Lord never gives you more than you can bear”.
We present this photo montage of the week of mourning as we end the year
2005 in The Bahamas. The funerals have started and the last ones
should take place next Saturday 7th January 2006. TOP - Dorothea
Davis cries as victims' names are read out during the Memorial Service
for relatives and family members of deceased from Chalk's flight 101 at
Bayfront Park in Bimini on Wednesday, December 28, 2005. RIGHT -
Member of Parliament Obie Wilchcombe in sad reflection; Royal Bahama Police
render the Last Post. LEFT - Mourners ponder photographs of the deceased.
Bahamas Information Services photos: Tim Aylen
TELEPHONE
COMPANY’S PRIVATIZATION
Trinidad and Tobago has seen the boom in oil money
before. In the 1970s they were swimming in cash and into the 1980s.
But the story is told that in the midst of all their wealth, their telephone
system did not work. It was so exasperating that Trinidad and Tobago
businessmen used to fly to Barbados to make their long distance calls.
Happily those days are behind them but one wonders what the businessmen
in The Bahamas would say about the service which they receive from their
local telephone company today.
James Smith, the Minister of State for Finance and
the man responsible for the privatization of Bahamas Telecommunications
Company Limited gave some interesting news to The Tribune published on
Friday 30th December. He confirmed that due diligence is still going
on, and that it is likely to last until the first quarter of 2006.
He said something curious; that there was a setback in terms of the due
diligence date and the interested bidder being able to access relevant
information and meet with senior management. Does that mean that
senior management was refusing to meet with the interested bidders?
BTC has been in the news for other reasons.
There was a report that Michael Symonette, the President of BTC, has run
into trouble with its Board of Directors for refusing to carry out an instruction.
He is officially suspended until the matter has been investigated, so the
press says. There was later a report that he was taking legal action.
It is hard to understand why he would want to hold on to the company in
the circumstances in which it now is since he would have to tote
much of the blame for the way the company actually is. As President
of BTC what does he defend?
You also have a situation where businessmen have
been writing to this column. We have ignored much of the more raucous
correspondence but they report that if you travel along the airport road
in New Providence, for example or if you travel on Shirley Street, or the
main Bay Street, your cell phone calls drop out repeatedly. You never
know when you are simply talking to yourself. The clarity of the
communication link by cell or by line is always uncertain. They claim that
sometimes you have to try five or six times before you can make a cell
connection. Most people have two phones, one a GSM telephone, which
system was supposed to solve the problems of connections but many consider
it worse and less reliable than the old system. One thing is that
it works only in New Providence and in Grand Bahama, not in the rest of
the country. The old system appears to be breaking down slowly.
In a word, the service is horrible.
You try calling the country from overseas some report
that sometimes at midday you have to try three or four times before they
can get a circuit into the country. The Minister of State said
that BTC's value is eroding on a daily basis as others cut into their revenue.
This makes the task of privatization more urgent than ever. Hubert
Ingraham’s Government started the wasteful process of privatizing BTC in
this way. Why did he think that the Government needed to down size
BTC in any special way to so call prepare the company for the private sector
instead of simply selling the blessed thing to the Bahamians who run it
or by creating a share base like the Bank of The Bahamas and selling it
off to the public. The next thing would then be to allow competition.
Go to Trinidad and Tobago today and the telephone system is a dream.
Perhaps we can dream too.
WE
REMEMBER SEAN HANNA
Last week just before we uploaded, there was quick
a note that Sean David Hanna, the youngest son of former Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Hanna was found dead on Christmas morning at home. He was
said to be forty five years old. Death is not something that anyone
can get used to, but in the human imagination and systems of belief it
is particularly striking and awful on Christmas Day. That is a day
to celebrate life. Mr. Hanna was the backbone of his father’s legacy
as a lawyer, running the family law firm and was a leader in the Bahamian
cultural community. We would wish to extend our heartfelt condolences
to his parents and to his family and we mention in particular his sister
Glenys Hanna Martin who is one of the leaders of the Progressive Liberal
Party as a Minister of the Government. Funeral services have not
yet been announced.
AIRPORT
RADAR FAULT
The newspapers talked of chaos last weekend, the
Christmas weekend, at the Nassau International Airport. When is there
not chaos at that airport? It is a national disgrace; everyone says
so but the road to fixing it is of course underway. The situation
last week lends itself to some investigation. The Air Traffic Controller’s
Union, the one union that really supports the Government called for such
an investigation. It is their view that maybe; just maybe there was
some deliberate negligence on the part of the leadership at the Department
of Civil Aviation that could have avoided all of the confusion. The
radar went down, and no one is quite sure whether the part could have been
ordered before, whether or not the leadership at the Civil Aviation dragged
their feet in flying in the part, whether the alternative newer system
could have been used.
The situation got worse when it is reported that
the key for the fuel depot could not be found and so many planes had to
wait for several hours before the flights could be fuelled up. Of
course, we can have an investigation but no one at Civil Aviation is really
concerned about any investigation. Even if the findings are damning
to them, there are no consequences to pay for action or inaction, so the
management team can safely ignore any threat of investigation.
Another part of our culture in addition to carping
and complaining about losing at Junkanoo (see Comment
of the Week) is dithering. We can see that a solution as evident,
we know what we have to do but rather than do it we like to dither.
No use trying to blame just the public sector. It’s in the private
sector as well. There is a national culture of dithering. An
investigation would be fine but the best news probably is that the management
contract for the airport is about to be signed. The Tribune reports
that the private sector is saying they expect a deal within two weeks.
Maybe, mercifully we will then have an airport and system of delivery of
services that works and we will not be embarrassed yet another Christmas.
Notice of course that the Opposition has to be silent on this one.
They used up all the surpluses of the 1990s and did not invest in necessary
infrastructure. It is the PLP who now has to figure out and straighten
out the mess.
HAPPY!
HAPPY! JUNKANOO
This year’s Boxing Day parade was named in honour of Doyle Burrows.
He must have been a happy man, having been a Junkanoo since he was ten
years old. Mr. Burrows has been a backbone of the Valley Boys Junkanoo
group since 1958. He must have been pleased that the Valley
won the first prize on Boxing Day 2005, his parade. We present two
photographic perspectives of Junkanoo 2005 from Bahamas Information Services
Tim
Aylen, who contributed the lead photo at top left; and Peter
Ramsay, who contributed the lead photo at bottom right. We hope
you enjoy the images.
TOMMY
IS WHOSE MAN OF THE YEAR? & Other Foolishness
Mr. Laing’s Words
Zhivargo Laing obviously had nothing to write about in his column of
Thursday 29th December. He claims that Tommy Turnquest is his Man
of the Year for being a statesman and taking all the criticism and being
a decent individual in the process of being trumped, fooled and discarded
by Hubert Ingraham and his machine. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! The point
is; he is not the leader today. History does not have much room for
also rans. We hope that Tommy Turnquest does not sleep on Zhivargo
Laing. He is quite firmly in the Ingraham camp and the words in his
column are only blandishments meant to lull Mr. Turnquest to sleep.
Sleep on at your peril Tommy.
Brian Moree Confounds Again
The same Brian Moree who spoke all the anti Caribbean invective during
the Caricom Single Market and Economy debate during the year 2005 was at
it again. This time he was preaching that we have to be careful not
to be perceived to be anti foreign in our national debate about getting
rid of illegal migrants. Blow us down. This is the same man
who was saying let’s not have anything to do with those Caribbean people
coming to The Bahamas during last year’s debate. The implication
clearly was that something was wrong with Caribbean people despite the
fact that he has a number of them working for him at his law firm.
We ask now what was asked then: what is there that is wrong with Caribbean
people? Could it perhaps be how they look? You know?
Well no, we won’t say it!
Bahamasair
Saturday 31st December was the last day of the year but it didn’t stop
The Tribune from writing foolishness. The Tribune claims in a headline
story that it was a shocker to discover that a Bahamasair jet has reached
the end of its useful life and is being sold. They claim this is
to save the other jets on the run. Why it should be a shock is anyone's
guess and maybe The Tribune should explain. The fact is that Minister for
Bahamasair Bradley Roberts indicated last year in a comprehensive address
to the House of Assembly just before the newly purchased jets came into
service how the older jets would come to the end of their useful life;
that they had so many cycles left in them before they had to end their
service. No shock to us, just to The Tribune. But you know
a lie told to unsuspecting readers goes a long way.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Public Service in Action
I am very disappointed at the Lucaya Service
Company who collects service fees for a parcel of property I own in the
Barbary Beach area.
I visited that beach a week ago with some out-of-towners
and one can only imagine the horror I felt as I drove along the unkempt
road and area in general. Is this not a part of the ‘Port’ area?
Why isn’t this section being maintained?
I would also like to see the owner of the dilapidated
‘Blair House’ be forced to tear down that old structure as the owner of
the King’s Inn Staff Quarters was made to do so earlier this year.
I would like for the Controller of Road Traffic
to please put his foot down (here on the island of Grand Bahama) and request
that the ‘City Manager’ cease the construction and installation of those
concrete boundaries that line many of the roadway here in Freeport. They
are a nuisance and will do more harm to the motoring public than good.
Yes, where there are flooding problems please install them, otherwise they
impede traffic, especially if an Ambulance or Fire Engine is in transit,
the motorist cannot pull along the easement.
I also call upon Mr. Jack Thompson to please
visit Grand Bahama and look at the round about in the front of Kelly’s
and the Worker’s House building and the junction at the end of Yellow Pine
Street. This roadway has always been a problem and still is especially
the double concrete boundaries recently installed by the City Management
Team. Enough with the boundaries.
I Wish All a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New
2006.
Jasmine Smith
P.S.
I Love Your Site. Keep up the excellent work.
Not a few hours later, Ms. Smith wrote again to say:
I wrote you a bit of correspondence today and
was so outraged by the boundaries on the roadways in Freeport City Proper
that I decided to write the Controller of Road Traffic, Mr. Jack Thompson
regarding this vexing situation. To my surprise he replied today… If all
Civil Servants were this proactive and progressive, oh what a wonderful
Bahamas this would be.
Mr. Thompson’s letter, which we cannot share since it was not sent
to us by him, responded in a prompt, professional and helpful manner and
was in every way exemplary of what should be done by a Public Service in
the service of the public. - Ed.
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
The Prime Minister Perry Christie travelled again
to the island of Bimini this past week for a national service of mourning
to grieve the loss of 11 Bahamians aboard Chalk's crashed flight from Miami
19th December, 2005. Mr. Christie is show against a backdrop of national
clergy members who also travelled for the service. BIS / Tim Aylen
Photographers jostle for an opportunity during the
annual Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade as Prime Minister Christie shares a greeting
with a passing Junkanoo. BIS / Peter Ramsay
Cabinet Ministers and other onlookers are
enthralled as legendary Junkanoo Winston 'Gus' Cooper dances before his
former Junkanoo colleague Prime Minister Perry Christie during the Boxing
Day Junkanoo Parades. BIS / Peter Ramsay
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
|
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - The
Valley Boys did it again. The famous expression: “Two Straight” was
ringing out throughout New Providence as the Valley Boys Junkanoo group
trumped the others including their archrivals the Saxons to become the
winners of the 2006 New Year’s Junkanoo Parade. To add insult to
injury the parade was named in honour of a Saxon Philip Cooper. It
must have been a bitter pill for him to swallow. One of the group’s
representatives told the newspaper that he found the judging of the Junkanoo
competition to be unsatisfactory and the group was most unhappy with the
results. There was a time when it was the Valley Boys, certainly
as late as last year, who were most unhappy about the judging. You
can see our views from last week on the whole issue. But as we said
last week, Junkanoo should be a happy business, and in the main the crowd
seemed to have fun watching the Junkanoos strut their stuff. Our
photo of the week is again from Junkanoo and we wish you a happy New Year.
The photo of a Valley Boys drummer at New Year's Day Junkanoo is by Tim
Aylen / Bahamas Information Services. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
BELOVED GEORGE MACKEY
When
the history of this country from here on in is written the name George
Mackey should be written all over it. Mr. Mackey, a former Member
of Parliament, and a former Minister of Housing and National Insurance,
died at Doctors Hospital in Nassau at the age of 67 on the day after New
Year’s, following a two year battle with prostate cancer. It was
stunning for his family, and for his former constituents. The whole
of Fox Hill was plunged into mourning.
With Mr. Mackey at the time of his death were his family members,
some friends from Fox Hill and his church of St. Anne and the now representative
for the area Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and The Public
Service. An era has come to an end.
The Archbishop of the Anglican Diocese Drexel Gomez visited Fox Hill
on Thursday 5th January for the memorial service for George Mackey at the
St. Paul’s Baptist Church and he quoted the bible: “Can anything good come
out of Nazareth?” He said that it was clear as in the case of Nazareth,
that the answer was a resounding yes for Fox Hill. George Mackey
was that good thing that came out of Fox Hill.
Mr. Mackey was born in the Village on 19th January 1938. Six
years later his mother died, so he hardly knew her. His father raised
him until he was 14 and then he too died. Young George had to leave
school at 14 and go to work. On that 8th grade education he took
himself up to the highest offices in the land. He was a good writer.
He was well spoken. He was a hard worker. He was well respected,
and he had a vision for the Village of Fox Hill to transcend its image
in the minds and eyes of the people of The Bahamas. Quite simply,
he put Fox Hill on the map.
Eric Wilmott, a life long friend of Mr. Mackey spoke about the fact
that when he and Mr. Mackey were children, people had a negative image
of Fox Hill. He said that George was determined to turn that image
around. When he became the representative for the area he determined
to work toward that end. He formed the Fox Hill Community Development
Association, and that Association transformed Fox Hill with the use of
Government resources. There is now a government complex including
the school, the post office and the clinic. The parks at Fox Hill
were developed during his time. The Fox Hill Parade was properly
walled and manicured. The Freedom Park started by his predecessor Carlton
Francis on an old Fox Hill burial ground was transformed into a proper
park. Some have said that the parade ought to be renamed after George
Mackey.
Fox Hill is one of the last remaining African villages in New Providence,
Gambier and Adelaide being the other two.
As a PLP, he became Chairman of the dominant political party in the
country and served also as its Convention Chairman 21 times including its
last convention, even though he was in his hospital bed. He was considered
the party’s historian and was responsible for making the now Sir Lynden
Pindling centre the repository of the party’s physical records of its contribution
to The Bahamas. He will be sorely missed by the PLP.
Mr. Mackey has been praised for his selfless service to the country.
He was not only a great leader in politics but he was big in the Anglican
Church where he was catechist at Anne’s. He transformed The Bahamas Baseball
Association, and the Bahamas Pool Federation. He worked to bring
the PLP back to power and the Prime Minister in his official statement
said that Mr. Mackey’s personal service to him in bringing the PLP back
to office was invaluable.
Following the PLP’s victory in 2002, George Mackey was called upon
to become executive chairman of the Museum, Antiquities, Monuments and
Corporation. In that job he plunged into the redevelopment of the
Forts built in New Providence in the 18th century and most importantly
working with former Leader of the Opposition Norman Solomon in the redevelopment
of Nassau.
Fred Mitchell, the now MP of Fox Hill told how Mr. Mackey was responsible
for causing him to get the nomination for Fox Hill from the PLP and for
transferring to him all of his election machinery and support.
The country is once again in a period of official mourning with flags
flying at half-mast throughout the country until the close of business
on Thursday 12th January when the funeral takes place at Christ Church
Cathedral in Nassau. Following the funeral, there will be a convoy
up to the Fox Hill Parade. From the parade a police honour guard
will march George Mackey to the St. Anne’s Cemetery where he will take
his rest.
Sleep on great one in a well deserved rest. We will carry on
and we will remember you always.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 7th January 2006 at midnight:
87,023.
Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 7th January
2006 at midnight: 87,023.
Number of hits for the year 2006 up to Saturday 7th January 2006
at midnight: 87,023.
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
ISSUES
AT WATER AND SEWERAGE
How does a General Manager who attacks the Chairman of a Corporation expect
to survive for long in that job? If it were in the private sector
the answer would be clear, the General Manager would have lost his job
forthwith. Only in the Bahamian public sector with the permissive
atmosphere that appears to the general public to exist, can public servants
seem to do anything and say anything including attacking Ministers of the
Government, undermining the Government’s policies and absolutely nothing
is done about it. Such is the kind of background to a remarkable
set of events that unfolded over the past week, and that has been brewing
behind the scene for months.
Don Demeritte is the Chairman of the Water and Sewerage
Corporation. Abraham Butler (pictured) is the General Manager.
He served before that as Chairman. Mr. Butler does not like the way
that Mr. Demeritte has been running the Corporation. The matter became
a public issue when the General Manager called a press conference on Friday
6th January and lambasted the Chairman saying that he could no longer be
trusted, that he had interfered with the day to day running of the Corporation,
that he does not understand what his role is as a statutory Chairman of
a corporation. Mr. Butler accuses the Chairman of threatening and
intimidating the staff, backdoor negotiations with the union, disrespect
for Board minutes and of causing delays in the Reverse Osmosis plant proposed
at Arawak Cay that is supposed to ease the water woes of New Providence.
Mr. Butler said that this highlights the character and deceitful intent
of Chairman Demeritte. “The present issues are a result of abuse of power,
personal agenda and a gross lack of proper corporate governance by Chairman
Demeritte...”
Two members of the Board walked out of the press
conference that Mr. Butler was holding. As for Mr. Demeritte, he
did not keep his counsel but instead responded to the press it appears
in kind. He told the Nassau Guardian on the same day Friday 6th January
that he was not going to sit down and keep his mouth shut while “that person
incorrectly and I say maliciously not only attacks Donald Demeritte but
also attacks my Board members.” He said of Mr. Butler: “We all have
bosses. Unfortunately for him, his boss happens to be myself and
the Board and I am a fair person.”
Now to the public this looks like a mess, and it
will not be long before the Opposition forces start putting all the dots
together, and linking this with other issues where Chairmen were at odds
with Ministers or there are internal breakdowns inside organizations.
In the defence of the political directorate, it
is clear though that there is something afoot in the public sector.
As the elections get closer, there appears to some to be a deliberate effort
of refusing to carry out legitimate instructions by those who work as public
servants, creating crisis after crisis in the hope that the policies that
are being implemented are stalled so that the FNM can come to power and
put an end to what the PLP is trying to build. Only the PLP can put
a stop to it. Yes it is quite disgraceful for this kind of public
row to go on, but it is only possible because there has never been demonstrated
to the country, to public servants who is in charge of the country.
The atmosphere is permissive, anything goes; there are no consequences.
That’s all we have to say. Bahama Journal photo of Abraham Butler
THE
COURT OF APPEAL’S OPENING
Dame Joan Sawyer has implemented something which
is quite strange for The Bahamas in her capacity as the President of the
Court of Appeal. She now has an official opening for the start of
the legal year for the Court of Appeal. This ceremony takes place
before the real start of the legal year. There is of course only
one official year and that is the legal year which is implemented with
the ceremonies of the Supreme Court and by the Chief Justice who is considered
the Head of the Judiciary in The Bahamas. Nevertheless for a few
years running now, there has been this opening of the Court of Appeal.
If you read the press notes about the opening which
took place on Wednesday 5th January (the official legal year begins on
Wednesday 11th January), you would think that the Court of Appeal is the
very model of efficiency and good practice. So many cases were disposed
of, and then there is the change in the rules to make the Court more efficient,
and then there is the access open line, and the new web site. All
on the face of it makes the Court better. The problem we have is
does this serve the ends of justice?
There are still reports of how lawyers and litigants
are actually badly treated in the Court itself. This does not lend
itself to the ends of justice. Justice must not only be done.
It must be seen to be done. Of course, this week was a time for showing
off since there was a foreign law lord from the Privy Council in town.
Lord
Scott of Foscote speaks at the opening of the Court of Appeal as Dame Joan
Sawyer, President of the Court of Appeal, looks on. BIS Photo: Tim
Aylen
THE
CHALK VICTIM’S FAMILIES TO SUE
Every day in the newspapers of The Bahamas there
is now one report or the other about Chalk’s Airways and what is going
to happen to it. Some facts are already in the public domain.
A crash happened on 19th December in Miami Harbour. The right wing
of the aircraft fell off. All of the passengers on board were killed.
Eleven were Bahamian. The funerals have all been completed.
But despite the advice of the Government to be careful in getting in bed
with lawyers, the pressures have been enormous. Families have already
signed up with lawyers, and it is not clear that there is even a need to
do so. Most of these matters will be settled without recourse to
lawyers. The U.S. being a contingency fee jurisdiction is another
matter. The question is what will the victims’ families actually
end up with once the fees are taken out, fifty per cent, sixty per cent?
But the pitches are being made to the families, and in the face of grief,
few will be able to withstand the pressure and will sign on to the various
lawyers who are all saying I can get it done for you, sign here.
Perhaps the Government’s lawyers should issue some general guidelines to
families on how they ought to approach dealing with lawyers from the United
States on this matter.
THE
HAPPY NEW YEAR’S JUNKANOO
The New Year’s Junkanoo is usually much more sedate
than the Junkanoo of Boxing Day. After all on Boxing Day, they have
all year to prepare. New Year’s Day, they only have one week to prepare.
But that does not seem to make a difference to the happiness of the occasion
and the spunk which is shown. The Valley Boys came first. The
Saxons came fourth again. Never mind, try again next year. Valley
Boy at New Year's Day Junkanoo Tim Aylen / Bahamas Information Services
GILBERT
MORRIS ON OUR ECONOMY
The Bahamas suffers in our view from the lack of sensible commentary from
figures who are not politicians, who have no political ambitions or agenda
on matters of public interest. The Civil Society groups simply seem
to be interested in jumping on one political cause or another, with each
trying to vie for popularity and headlines instead of sensible, objective
commentary. It is rare that you see something worth repeating in
that way.
This week, we saw reports of an address by Gilbert
Morris who runs a consultancy service called the Landfall Centre.
It was one of those rare finds. There was a description of the economy
which we thought was interesting. He argues in part that the GDP
of the country is overstated; others have argued that it is understated.
He argues that if the illegality and corruption were eliminated from the
Bahamian economy, that there would be a serious economic problem ensuing.
Of course, this column has been arguing for years about the dearth of statistical
information on this country and the lack of resources to support proper
statistical collection.
You may agree or disagree with what is advanced
by Gilbert Morris but we thought that his argument was worth having a look
at. We would be interested in your responses. You may click
here for the full text.
SOME
SHOPS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
It is interesting always to shop and compare.
One example is that of the quality and types of foods that are available
depending on what store you go to, in New Providence at least. You
know that the Ministry of Health has what it calls a healthy lifestyles
initiative. It is largely an initiative on paper and it does not
seem to be anywhere near influencing the numbers of obese people, particularly
women that we have in the country, and the kind of foods that actually
make up the national diet. But to its credit the Ministry is actually
giving it a good try. The food stores need to cooperate though.
There need to be the healthy foods available wherever
you shop. But if you go to the East Bay Street Harbour Bay which
serves a fairly upscale clientele, you will find that you can get no cholesterol
no salt potato chips. Not so at the Village Road food store, which
does not serve the same clientele. At Harbour Bay you can find one
hundred per cent fat free, one hundred per cent lactose free milk.
Not so in Village Road. You can find organically grown eggs at the Harbour
Bay store but not at the Village Road store. These are just three
examples. There are probably more but is this something that the
food stores should address. Their argument probably is that there
is no demand for it at Village Road where poorer people shop in larger
numbers. Well, that’s where the Ministry comes in, to promote demand
for healthier food, for healthier lifestyles amongst all.
ANNIE
RUSSELL DIES
She was known in her lifetime as the pioneer of
pre schools in The Bahamas. At one time and in a particular generation,
anyone who was anybody sent their children to Annie Russell’s preschool.
She took them as early as six months and kept them until they were five.
They did pretty well considering. Some of them were Senator Tommy
Turnquest, former Minister of the Government Dion Foulkes, Senator Michelle
Pindling Sands, Mark and Ray Finlayson, sons of tycoon Garret ‘Tiger’ Finlayson,
and Dr. Ernie Sands, heart surgeon.
Mrs. Russell's daughter Brenda Russell was quoted
in the press saying that her mother suffered from diabetes and that ultimately
caused her demise at the Princess Margaret Hospital on Wednesday 4th January.
She was 78 years old. In addition to her daughter Brenda, she is
survived by her sons Colin Tatem, Larry Russell, Dr. Barry Russell, Lyndon
Russell and Anthony Robinson. The other daughters are Beverley Lockhart,
Barbara Mullings, Margaret Tatem-Gilbert, Joan Warren and Jay Jones-Mills.
Mrs. Russell was recently honoured by Her Majesty the Queen in the honours
list during the last investiture by Dame Ivy Dumont.
SEAN
HANNA BURIED
It must be one of the most painful events in the
life of a parent, to bury a child. Arthur Hanna, usually jovial and
stoic, was clearly and visibly shaken by the passing of his youngest son
Sean. The younger Mr. Hanna died on Christmas day at the age of 45.
He was lauded by the Prime Minister for his strong beliefs and by the cultural
community for his contribution to them. The Governor General and
Prime Minister both attended the funeral, together with a number of Cabinet
Ministers. Mr. Hanna senior served as Deputy Prime Minister in the
Government from 1967 to 1984, and in the Parliament from 1960 to 1992.
Photo:
Peter Ramsay
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
FAREWELL TO SOUTH AFRICAN AMBASSADOR - Among Prime Minister Christie's
courtesy calls this past week was a farewell visit from non-resident South
African Ambassador Chileza and his wife. Ambassador Chileza is being
reassigned as his country's ambassador to Uganda. He last visited
Freeport, Grand Bahama in The Bahamas to replant a tree downed by one of
the hurricanes which struck that island. The tree was first planted
by South African President Mbeki during a visit to The Bahamas three years
ago.
Saturday evening, the Prime Minister took a short time to visit the
7th annual Judicature Gala Ball at the Sandals Royal Bahamian hotel.
He is pictured with Dame Joan Sawyer, President of the Court of Appeal.
Among the saddest duties of the nation's chief executive is to mourn
with families at times of loss. Photographer Peter Ramsay captures
the Christie family sharing such a burden this past week.
Bahamas Information Services photos by Peter Ramsay
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to the top of the page.
|
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - It
was a glorious service. It uplifted the people of Fox Hill and the
nation, the service of farewell for George William Mackey, the former Minister
of the Government, who died on 2nd January just after the New Year rang
in. The service was Anglican through and through; Anglican in hymns,
Anglican in its orientation. There were two tributes: one from the
Anglican Church by the Archbishop Drexel Gomez, the other for the state
by the Prime Minister. After two and a half hours, the body was taken
from the church and thence to St. Anne’s Cemetery. The funeral procession
went by convoy to Fox Hill at the junction of St. Augustine’s College and
Bernard Road. By foot, they processed at a clip with the Royal Bahamas
Police Force Band at the head of the march to the cemetery of St. Anne.
The community of Fox Hill turned out in numbers. Some people wept
in the streets; others applauded as Mr. Mackey’s body passed by.
The shot we chose is one that is reminiscent of the funeral photo taken
of the former representative for Fox Hill Leon Walton Young. George
Mackey’s numbers out paced Mr. Young but Fox Hill had not seen a funeral
like this one since Mr. Young's funeral. The photo taken from the
balcony of the present representative’s headquarters on funeral day Thursday
12th January 2006 is our photo of the week. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
FNM REVISIONISM IN EXUMA
Hubert Ingraham’s ill fated comeback made another halting step when
he turned up in Exuma on Friday 13th January to hold the rally that had
been cancelled just before Christmas because of lack of interest and lack
of money. Mr. Ingraham is finding out that a comeback isn’t as easy
as it seems. Inside his party, he has those who are loyal to the
former leader Senator Tommy Turnquest who are laying one trap after another
to stop him from getting ahead. This is particularly since he so
savaged Senator Turnquest, and since coming back to the leadership of the
Free National Movement, he has made it plain to all the persons that Tommy
Turnquest supported that he is not going to support them.
That is his problem in Exuma. One young man has spent much
of his energy and considerable influence in Exuma to try to get the nomination
for the seat after the defeat in 2002. He would have the support
of young FNMs in the constituency. But Mr. Ingraham has made it plain
that because he is perceived as a Tommy Turnquest supporter there is no
room in the inn for him.
The address of Hubert Ingraham at the rally was an exercise in revisionism.
He did not promise anything new for Exuma. He did not say what the
FNM will do for Exuma. What he said was what the FNM did for Exuma.
He took credit for the fact there are banks coming to Exuma. He said
it was because of the Four Seasons investment which he approved that the
banks are coming to Exuma. He said that banks follow the money, and
the FNM caused it. What he did not say is that the nightmare of the
lack of infrastructure in Exuma can all be laid at his feet. He did
not plan. There was no urban use plan. He did not think ahead.
The whole thing just sprang up like topsy.
Of course, the biggest laugh of the night was his calling for the
Government to provide cable television for the Forest. Mr. Ingraham
ought to know better. He knows that he has more influence over Cable
Bahamas than any other single Bahamian, and we won't say why. But
he must come clean. First, it was a bad decision by his Government
to give the cable licence to Cable Bahamas. No one is pleased with
the service that they offer, and the present Government should remove the
monopoly that they have for cable television at the earliest possible legal
time. Secondly, the agreement that Mr. Ingraham's government negotiated
with Cable Bahamas was such a good deal for Cable Bahamas, it has caused
people to wonder what they had on him. They have been able to interpret
the licence in such a broad fashion in that large swaths of the country
have been left out of the service but they appear to have legally complied
with the terms of the licence to provide service throughout the country.
Cable must come to the Forest because they voted PLP; there is no doubt
about it. But because Mr. Ingraham has such influence on Cable Bahamas,
could that be the reason why this PLP settlement can’t get the cable?
On another front, Hubert Ingraham is now trying to put on the persona
of the humble man. He has now taken to driving his own car (don’t
worry, the two police body guards are right behind him in the police car).
He was even seen buying lumber in the lumber store over the holidays, by
himself. It does not look right for a former Prime Minister.
He cuts a lonely and desolate figure in public.
In the House of Assembly on Wednesday 11th January during the tributes
for George Mackey, he said not a word. Hardly stayed in the chamber
at all. This is all part of the effort to fool the public that his
ways have changed.
But as sure as night follows day, the mean, nasty streak will come
out. He said at his rally in Exuma that he spoke to the PLP's representative
Anthony Moss and told him, that he meant Mr. Moss no harm but that he would
be a one term MP. There is a phrase that we all know: dig one grave;
dig two. One must be extremely careful how one predicts what is going
to happen in the future.
To be sure the General Election is the PLP’s to lose. We know
what the themes of the election will be. It is time for the PLP to
start actively planning for the elections. Elections should be held
in November 2006. We ought to put the uncertainty of who is going
to govern the country for the next five years behind us this year, so that
the work of the party can go on.
There is a saying used by the Member of Parliament for Fox Hill recently
when address in the House of Assembly. It comes from Patrice Lumumba,
the dead African patriot from the Congo: “Forward ever! Backward
never!” Never let us return to the harsh, nasty policies, the revisionism,
the uncle tomism of Hubert Ingraham.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 14th January 2006 at
midnight: 90,291.
Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 14th January
2006 at midnight: 177,314.
Number of hits for the year 2006 up to Saturday 14th January at midnight:
177,314.
CONTACT US AT E-MAIL:placid_point@yahoo.com
NATIONAL
TOURISM CONFERENCE
Obie Wilchcombe, the Minister of Tourism, came fully into his own this
week in the job of Minister of Tourism as he hosted the National Tourism
Conference this year. It appears that he has had the confidence of
the Prime Minister to reshape tourism in his image and that image has proved
to be acceptable to the public. It is a rare favour for a Minister
to get that chance.
The public face of tourism more than anyone else
has now become Vernice Walkine. It was the Minister’s choice to have
her succeed the brilliant Vincent Vanderpool Wallace, an eclectic genius
type with flashes of brilliance of design and philosophy. Ms. Walkine
brings another kind of competence to the issues. She is a quiet and
confident technocrat, who calmly told the Bahamian people that which we
have already known but in not so dulcet a tone. The place is filthy.
The visitor here has some real issues that need
to be addressed. We need to address ourselves on so many issues related
to our product: our heritage, our education for the industry, the security
of the visitors, the state of the airport, our pricing. It was all
done in good taste, and the Tourism Ministry would do well to replicate
the presentation in many different forums. It is a message that needs
to be heard again and again.
Perhaps because tourism has the marketing savvy
available to it, and does not have the bureaucratic gauntlet to run in
order to get their decisions carried out, they can influence the Bahamian
public in a way that no other Ministry has thus far been able to do.
The Ministry is associated with outside talent, American like expertise,
and though largely home grown, it has this non Bahamian aura which wows
Bahamians in so many ways. It is a curious thing to say and not meant
to denigrate in anyway but the fact is that part of the tourism success
is precisely that.
Our point is that we want things to work, and the
national tourism conference seemed a smashing success. We hope that
their success continues. The conference began on Monday 9th January
and ended on Friday 13th January. Congratulations to them all! Minister
Obie Wilchcombe - file photo
HOW
DID FUHRMANN, THE FOOLISH GET IN?
It is an offence in The Bahamas to disturb a divine worship service.
On Wednesday 11th January the legal year began officially in The Bahamas
with a church service at the Christ Church Cathedral. Representing
the Government at the service was Alfred Sears, the Attorney General.
As the Attorney General was settling down for the service in came a grotesque
looking man, inappropriately dressed and with an ugly grimace and countenance,
who managed to get right up to the AG's pew, and sit down beside him with
a package to hand to him that could have been a bomb.
It took several minutes before the police came,
scrambling to detain the man, and escort him out of the church. He
was detained and charges were filed. What is interesting about this
is that on the ZNS newscast that followed that evening, it was Mr. Fuhrmann
who was the star attraction complete with an interview about how he was
trying to bring some sour lemons to the Attorney General because he could
not find justice from one Bahamian lawyer out of the hundreds on the rolls.
He argued that it was typical of The Bahamas that he was made the culprit
in the matter by being escorted out of the service and arrested rather
than dealing with the matter of the injustices from Bahamian lawyers.
Mr. Fuhrmann has been leading a one man campaign
against The Bahamas on the internet. That has not worked. He
has become ever more desperate. To tell you the truth, we have no
idea why he is still in The Bahamas if it is so bad. He needs not
only to be escorted out of the Christ Church Cathedral but also out of
The Bahamas.
The more shocking issue is of course the terrible
breach of security at the service. What are ordinary citizens to
think in the week when the police force was busy touting how well they
have done over the past year, and they could not stop actions like those
of a nutter from disturbing a divine worship service. You know of
course if his race had been different we would have been writing something
different today. The man would have been sitting in jail with a long
prison term. As it turns out he was charged with an offence of creating
a disturbance, was fined $50 and was out after 48 hours.
Mr. Fuhrmann was most recently quoted in The Tribune
on Saturday 14th January as saying that he is now going on a campaign at
the inhumane conditions in Bahamian lock ups. We ask again, what
is he still doing in this country? Bahamas Information Services
photo: Tim Aylen
CENTRAL
BANK RELAXES EXCHANGE CONTROL
James Smith, the Minister of State for Finance and
Wendy Craig, the Governor of the Central Bank have both announced the liberalization
of Exchange Control mechanisms on the capital account. The Bank has
for sometime been in compliance with the International Monetary Fund’s
mandate to liberalize exchange control on the current account. What
is the difference between the two? Well, for all intents and purposes
exchange control for paying small bills, and getting purchases for education
and travel require only administrative approval. There is no waiting
period and you simply fill out some minor though inconvenient paper work
and you are on your way with your exchange control. Not so if you
wish to purchase a home overseas, buy stocks overseas or invest in a project
overseas. The former is the current side, the latter capital side.
In order to get monies for the capital side there
is a premium charged on obtaining those dollars which was some 25 per cent
on top of the normal exchange value. This made it prohibitive to
do so and was an “incentive” for people to keep the foreign exchange at
home. The policy has long outlived its usefulness, with lots of money
in The Bahamas but no sensible investments to put the money in that would
give better returns than the mortgages and government stock that most people
put their money into to. The policy is widely violated since everything
can be purchased by credit card and those transactions are considered current
account transactions. Others simply take the U.S. cash out and spend
it.
It now seems that it will be possible to invest
overseas if the Bank follows through on what it now says it will allow
at a cheaper cost. The National Insurance Board will be allowed to
invest up to 25 million dollars per year in foreign securities. Investment
in overseas real property has become less expensive with the cost being
reduced from 25 per cent (bid) and 20 per cent (offer) to 12.5 per cent
and 10 per cent respectively. This is some improvement but does not
go far enough. It should be removed altogether.
Bahamians will now be able to invest in timeshare
properties abroad up to $25,000 per family per year. The investment
limit on employee stock options has been increased from $10,000 to $25,000
per year. Bahamian residents who move abroad can now transfer out
of The Bahamas $250,000 per family instead of $125,000 per family.
On the issue of consumer loans, permanent and temporary residents are now
permitted to borrow up to $50,000. This is up from $15,000 for the
purchase of vehicles and $6,000 for local expenses. Bahamian companies
listed on BISX may now be cross listed on principal Caricom exchanges.
We congratulate the Bank and the Government on this
move. However, we think it is not far enough. It is keeping
the existing problematic and irritating application process, just allowing
greater levels. What is needed is to scrap it altogether. You
may click
here for the Minister’s full statement.
THE
TEACHERS PRESENT THEIR PROPOSALS
A teacher writing to the press this week argues
quite persuasively that the teachers are misunderstood and that they are
unappreciated in The Bahamas. We agree. (You may click
here for the letter) We believe that something must be done about
it. The problem at the moment however is what in the face of limited
resources does one do about it?
It is in fact disgraceful that a teacher with a
Ph D is started at a salary of $25,100 per year. Disgraceful indeed!
There needs to be a concerted effort to address this but the question we
ask is whether or not the present leadership of The Bahamas Union of Teachers
is really going about this in the right way. Their way has always
been confrontational. It appears that there is a deliberate effort
to repudiate everything that Kingsley Black, their former Union president,
did as too soft and not hard enough on the Government. But as Kingsley
Black tried to tell them during his time, the era of the confrontation
is over and can only be counter productive.
The teacher’s union finally presented their proposals
to the Government Monday 9th January. There was no public detail
about their proposals but if they match up with what was published before
in the press, they are looking for a four thousand dollar lump sum payment
and fifteen per cent raise across the broad in three years. This
cannot be done, and would unduly burden the country. True to their
style, the teacher’s union leadership told the country that if the Government
does not respond in 7 days, they will be taking action. If their
past actions are anything to go by, that means that they will be leading
walkouts and sickouts in short order. They have enough of a minority
to be able to disrupt the school system. They cannot then complain
later on when young men and women who can’t read and write come bashing
us all over the head and stealing our eye balls out in later life, when
their disruption of the school system may have fed that inability to cope.
We believe that the teacher’s union leadership ought
to act cautiously. They ought to guard against the dangerous situation
of getting too far ahead of their constituency. The letter writer’s
views show that there is substantial body of teachers; we would think most
teachers, who are reasonable and moderate, and only want to get on with
teaching and making sure that the next generation is adequately prepared.
They are not interested in creating disruption and dislocation in the system.
They want and need their money that was turned down by their leadership
before Christmas. That is what Ida Poitier President and Belinda
Wilson, Secretary General should be doing. They should concentrate
on a moderate reasonable and quick settlement, not threatening to disrupt
the schools.
GEORGE
MACKEY IS BURIED
George Mackey, the former MP for Fox Hill and the former
Minister of Housing and National Insurance was laid to rest in the cemetery
of St. Anne’s Church following an official funeral at the Christ Church
Cathedral on Thursday 12th January. The Governor General Paul Adderley
led the official service. The Prime Minister led the mourners at
the grave side. Mr. Christie paid tribute to George Mackey whom he
said was larger in death than he was in life.
Mr. Mackey brought tributes from all sides of the
political divide. Bahamas Information Services' Peter
Ramsay attended and shot this essay.
ANOTHER
TRAGEDY IN BIMINI
In the early hours of Friday 13th January 2006, the Compleat Angler, a
Bimini landmark burned flat to the ground. The Compleat Angler was
the hang out of Ernest Hemingway when he came to Bimini to fish in the
1920s and 1930s. Some believe that the character from his novel The
Old Man and The Sea was based on a man from Bimini. The hotel was
a tourist landmark, owned by the family of the late Harcourt Brown.
Inside the Compleat Angler was a museum dedicated to Hemingway, with photographs
and personal statements and books about his life and times. That
has all gone up in smoke.
There is some suggestion that in addition to this
being a serious blow to the tourist sector in Bimini; it may also be a
tragedy for the Brown family as well. All of the Brown sons have
died in tragic ways, and the last son Julian Brown, who in his high school
days in Nassau was a well known track and field athlete, may be the final
tragedy. The lone hotel guest who was at the property said
that the last that he saw of Mr. Brown was when he had warned him that
there was no point in trying to put out the fire, it was beyond the ability
of the two of them to put out the fire. Mr. Brown has not been seen
since. It is feared that he may have perished in the fire.
The Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe flew to
Bimini to stand with his constituents in this another hour of sorrow.
He was joined by Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Bimini has suffered over the past two months. On 19th December, 11
Bimini souls perished in that horrible plane crash in Miami as Chalk’s
Airline plunged into the sea at 140 miles per hour. The last of the
funerals took place last Saturday 7th January. Just when people were
seeking to come to grips with that, comes this disastrous fire. But
all must resist the temptation to see any conspiracy or spookiness in this.
These things happen and that is all you can say. Job said it another
way: “the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh way. Blessed be the name of
the Lord!” Ministers Mitchell (in cap) and Wilchcombe with Inspector
Floyd Bastian (Officer in Charge of the Northern Bahamas Fire Branch, and
Sgt. Brian Ferguson (Bimini Police) at the site of the razed Compleat Angler
Hotel 15 January 2006 - BIS photo: Raymond Kongwa
BAHAMASAIR
LOSES A GM
Paul Major has resigned as General Manager of Bahamasair.
There was no explanation given for the resignation. Henry Wood, the
Deputy General Manager was appointed by the Board as Acting General Manager.
The appointment immediately drew a rebuke from Lester Turnquest, the former
FNM Member of Parliament, recalling the adverse findings of the FNM inspired
Commission of Inquiry on Bahamasair. Bradley Roberts, the Minister
responsible for Bahamasair, was incensed and in a press statement reminded
Mr. Turnquest that it was the FNM that brought Mr. Woods back to Bahamasair,
even with the adverse findings of their own commission. The Bahama Journal
reported the resignation on Thursday 12th January.
MORE
ON WATER AND SEWERAGE
A letter writer to this column took issue with last
week’s story on the Water and Sewerage Corporation and the inappropriate
conduct in public. Sometimes there is a greater good by releasing
private information into a public forum. The question is always when
is that in the best interest of the organization that you work for?
Sometimes the effect of that action is not to bring clarity to the situation
at all but to further muddy the water.
The public has no clarity about this issue.
The public simply sees two grown men, who in their view ought to know better,
rowing in public and that the Government needs to move both of them or
be moved themselves. Keeping one’s counsel in these circumstances
is particularly important in this situation where neither executive has
a friend in the FNM’s camp. The Opposition is just waiting to pounce
and destroy both. That is where we are at. This week, an unnamed
source at The Tribune published a story in which it said that the Government
plans to do just that move both parties onto other assignments.
MAJORITY
RULE WREATH
Crowds of Bahamians gathered at St. Agnes Anglican
Church early Tuesday morning to mark the anniversary of Majority Rule in
The Bahamas. Thirty nine years ago, on 10th January, 1967 the Progressive
Liberal Party under Lynden Pindling became the first Government of The
Bahamas representative of the majority population in the country.
Ministers of Government, party supporters and many ordinary Bahamians were
joined by Marguerite, Lady Pindling at the commemorative service, where
Anglican Suffragan Bishop Gilbert Thompson delivered the homily.
Afterward, many of the congregation accompanied Lady Pindling to the mausoleum
of Sir Lynden where she laid a wreath in his honour. The group, along
with scores of well-wishers and onlookers, also visited Rawson Square and
the bust of the country's first Governor-General, Sir Milo Butler for the
laying of a wreath in his honour. Lady Pindling is shown laying
the wreath with Rev. Fr. Rodney Burrows at left and Ministers Bradley Roberts,
Vincent Peet, Obie Wilchcombe and Fred Mitchell at centre. Partially
hidden from view directly behind the wreath is Suffragan Bishop Gilbert
Thompson. BIS photo: Peter Ramsay
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
FUNERAL MARCH - Prime Minister Christie marched the last mile with
former Fox Hill MP and former PLP Chairman George Mackey through Fox Hill
Village to the cemetery of St. Anne's Anglican's Church. In his eulogy,
Mr. Christie called Mr. Mackey "a great champion".
IN THE CHURCH - Prime Minister and Mrs. Christie arrive at Christ Church
Cathedral for the official funeral of Mr. George Mackey. At left
is the current Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell and at right is the Dean of the
Cathedral, the Very Rev. Patrick Adderley.
AT THE GRAVESIDE - Mr. Christie kneels to comfort the widow of Mr.
George Mackey in St. Anne's cemetery after the burial and the presentation
of the flag which covered Mr. Mackey's coffin.
Bahamas Information Services photos by Peter Ramsay
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to the top of the page.
|
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - The
Bahamas in 2005/06 must be the quintessential example of the expression
“never a dull moment”. Can you believe that after a plane crash killing
11, a fire killing one in Bimini and destroying a historic landmark, a
hurricane wiping out a community, add to that this past week, a jailbreak,
leaving one prison officer dead, and two injured? Three prisoners,
of four who escaped, made it out of the prison in Fox Hill and into the
surrounding fields. The prison guards chased after the men on the
outside and shot and killed one, the convicted killer of the late Archdeacon
William Thompson. There was some extra singing in St. Agnes today no doubt.
But there was grief and shock, and fear in the community at large as a
result of the jail break, particularly since one of them Corey Hepburn
described by former Superintendent Edwin Culmer as an escape artist was
on the loose. Our photo of the week by Stephen Gay of the Bahama
Journal shows Prison officer Chantel Davis placing a wreath at Her Majesty’s
Prison the day following the killing of the prison officer. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
BREAKOUT
Some
time around 4 a.m. at Her Majesty’s Prison on Tuesday 17th January, a dark,
dreary and miserable place at the best of times, it appears that a group
of prisoners tried to make good their escape. The Deputy Prime Minister
Cynthia Pratt described it later that morning as evil being afoot in the
prison. Evil indeed. It appears that Barry Parcoi a 42 year
old habitual bad man led a group of people to break out of the prison by
sawing the bars, luring guards to a trap, one of them to a horrible stabbing
death, and then out over the building and once reaching the outside fence
they were out and on the way to freedom. The quick thinking of prison
guards resulted in the immediate recapture of two, and the death of another
of the four would be escapees. Neil Brown, the dullard who was convicted
twice for killing Archdeacon William Thompson has gone to his grave.
There were the predictable calls for vengeance and capital punishment.
The guards themselves were on edge. Edwin Culmer, the former Superintendent
of the prison, started the carping about what should have been done.
Darrold Miller, the talk show host was on the radio whipping up the population
in irresponsible fervour. Mr. Culmer claimed that he had called for
resources and none were made available to him. He is now managing
the detention centre. It was a bit of sour grapes because he was
unceremoniously moved last year and replaced by Dr. Elliston Rahming, a
trained criminologist who was recommended by a panel of international experts
that had been called in to look into the prison. Mr. Culmer went
further and accused Dr. Rahming of being a political predator. (See Comments
below)
Let us say from the outset that people have to realize that prisoners
are dangerous people and prison is a dangerous place. It was a generation
ago that some prisoners were considered so dangerous that they served out
their time in the United Kingdom, to be brought back only just before independence.
It is natural for people to want to escape from confinement. The
job of government is to keep them there, to keep society safe from them
and to keep them safe from themselves, but they must be treated humanely.
The prison service is supposed to be a disciplined force, and they must
rein in any talk of vengeance or misbehavior otherwise they become just
like the people they say they despise.
Dr.
Ellison Rahming is doing a good job at the prison and deserves every commendation
for his work there in reform, and the changes he has brought in terms of
morale, and effective management of the service. Hubert Ingraham,
the former Prime Minister, who seemed to voice exactly what Edwin Culmer
had been saying only with the protection of the House of Assembly got a
round bouncing from Prime Minister Perry Christie for the former Prime
Minister's patently stupid remarks, seeking to blame Dr. Rahming for what
went on at the prison.
For that we will have to wait the court of inquiry and the coroner’s
inquest into the matter. One must be careful here, but the prison
has to be examined to see whether or not the actions were consistent with
the act
