Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 2 © BahamasUncensored.Com
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| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - On 1st June 1942, the largest civil revolt in the history of The Bahamas took place. Workers at the site of what is now the Nassau International Airport had marched to town in disgruntlement over the working conditions and pay at the construction site. The protest turned violent on 1st June 1942. British Troops fired on Bahamian workers to restore order killing four people, wounding others. In history it became known as the Burma Road riots. At the time, the founding fathers of the modern Bahamas were children. Sir Lynden Pindling was then 12 years old and he recalled how the riot started and what he heard as school was dismissed that day and he and others were sent home. Randol Fawkes, the founder of the Labour movement in The Bahamas, took that date as the time on which there ought to be every year a day to celebrate Labour Day in The Bahamas as a tribute to the first working man’s revolt in the country. On Friday 4th June, the first Friday of the month, this past week, The Bahamas marked the day again with a massive parade. All of the Labour leaders marched together. The Minister of Labour Vincent Peet (pictured a centre with raised fist) headed the group. The Prime Minister joined his party on the march. Our photo of the week is the scene at Labour Day 2004 and we give thanks to those who struggled for us to be free. The Bahamas Information Services photo is by Peter Ramsay. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
WHERE THE PLP IS NOW
Labour
Day has always been a day to show the flag of support for the working people
of the country. We are not quite sure when the actual celebration
of a Labour Day began in The Bahamas but we know from a film shot by the
late Stanley Toogood that at least since 1957, there has been a Labour
Day march. The official day was recognized by Parliament with the
first holiday in 1962. The 1957 film is an interesting one to look
at with all of the people dressed for the parade as if they are marching
to church. The men are in suits; the women are dressed in good clothes.
Today’s Labour Day parades are horses of a different colour.
They are much more disorganized, or perhaps spontaneous is the right word,
affairs. People turn up behind their union banners and they are accompanied
by loud and jumpy music. The crowds wait along the streets for the
parade to pass by as they always have but it is a participatory sport not
a spectator one. The parade is a time to see all the political leaders
turn out in force. The Prime Minister Perry Christie led the Progressive
Liberal Party’s contingent with members of his Cabinet along with Chairman
Raynard Rigby.
The Free National Movement contingent was led by Tommy Turnquest, their
leader and Carl Bethel their Chairman. The PLP’s crowd was by far
the larger one.
The big hit is really the Junkanoo groups who long after the official parade has passed by are still coming. So the official parade might end at 12 noon but the Junkanoo groups keep coming well into the afternoon. The crowds on Bay Street swell.
One wonders whether the people who participate in the marches of this era really understand the reaffirmation of freedom that the march entails. The constitution of The Bahamas says that it protects the right of freedom of assembly. It supports the right of freedom of association. It may seem so easy to exercise it today that one can forget that it took the struggle of many people get to where we are. It is in that light that the Trade Union Movement has adopted the view that the late Sir Randol Fawkes should have his name appended to Labour Day officially. This was a move that Sir Randol opposed during his lifetime and while it would not be offensive, it is not necessary. But what is necessary is that we continue to celebrate it, and that we continue to remember the sacrifices of all of those who made the day possible and made the possibilities possible.
No
one looms larger in this struggle for Labour than Randol Francis Fawkes.
He emerged into the political consciousness of The Bahamas after qualifying
as a lawyer under the tutelage of one of the two Black members of the Bar,
the late Augustus Toote. Sir Randol as he later became known founded
the Bahamas Federation of Labour. He was one of the leaders of the
General Strike in 1958 that brought the country to a virtual halt over
the practice of how tourists were to be collected from the airport.
The Bahamas Taxi Cab Union, which still exists today, led the protests
in blocking the airport. Their leader then was Clifford Darling,
later Sir Clifford. He was the President of the Union. He later
served as the Minister of Labour, Speaker of the House of Assembly and
Governor General.
Sir Randol was also a Member of Parliament. He served from 1956 when the first PLP members were elected up to 1977 when he was defeated after a falling out with the PLP. He was the man who gave the PLP the tie breaking vote that led to the formation of the first majority rule government in 1967, and he was the first Minister of Labour under the Progressive Liberal Party. He moved the resolution in the House of Assembly that made the first Friday in the month of June Labour Day in The Bahamas.
The
Labour movement on Tuesday 1st June this year hosted a programme and reception
in the presence of his widow Jacqueline Fawkes to mark the republication
of his book ‘The Faith that Moved The Mountain’. The book is a personal
history of Sir Randol about his life’s work. It had been out of print
for years but it is well worth reading.
And so we say that Labour Day is a good time to remind the PLP of where it started and also to remind the party to reassert its connection to the working man. It is too easy for a party in power not to know where it is and what the standing of the party is in the mind of the working man. The PLP can congratulate itself for holding this country together in the face of a crisis of confidence in the country under the leadership of Hubert Ingraham.
We are still in the middle of economic crisis, even though the signs are that the crisis is easing. But the young men and women in today’s generation similar to those that Randol Fawkes led in his day to form the Labour movement, and ultimately change the Government, seem very sour and disgruntled, although we are not sure why. Notwithstanding the obvious signs of progress, there is a cry from too many of them that nothing is happening. What that probably means is that they do not perceive The Bahamas as a place that provides opportunities and progress for them. That is the perspective that the PLP has to know and understand.
The PLP is the party with the natural majority. It lost it once. It must never lose it again.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 5th June 2004 at midnight: 41,218.
Number of hits for the month of June up to Saturday 5th June 2004 at midnight: 25,732.
Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 5th June 2004 at
midnight: 1,164,113.
THE
BUDGET DEBATE BEGINS
The Budget Debate has been going on now for two days, yet not one speaker
has spoken from the Official Opposition. They are making themselves
look ridiculous. Their argument is that they want five Ministers
of the Government to speak before they speak. This is foolish logic.
We call it the Brent Symonette strategy. It is a failed strategy.
It is the “I won’t play at all unless I set the rules” strategy.
It caused him not to have the leadership of the FNM today. The rules
of the House call for a three to one protocol. In other words, there
are to be three Government members to one Opposition member.
The Opposition having taken the position that they
have would have left the House in silence were it not for Tennyson Wells,
the MP for Bamboo Town who began his debate just after Foreign Minister
Fred Mitchell on Thursday 3rd June. The Minister began speaking on
Wednesday 2nd June giving a tour de force of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and a stout defence of the foreign policy of The Bahamas. He also
spoke the next day about the role the public service and the Government’s
commitment to public sector reform. Amongst the other matters announced
in the Minister’s address:
The Government is seeking an appeal for cash for
Haiti. It is encouraging the collections in churches on Sunday to
give money to Haiti. The Government itself will give cash to the
Caribbean Disaster Relief Agency for the assistance of Haiti to help with
the flood relief.
The Bahamas Youth Orchestra is to travel to South
Africa on 13th June for two weeks. The Minister explained that the
visit was arranged as a result of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South
Africa Nkosasana Zuma hearing the orchestra during her official visit in
December last year and she invited them to come to visit South Africa on
the occasion of youth day. The expenses for the visit are to be paid
by the South African government for travel from Atlanta and New York on
South African Airways (SAA) plus the expenses of internal transportation
and the room and board. The Bahamas Government is to pay the transportation
costs up to Atlanta and New York, points to which SAA flies.
There is an increase in the budget of just over
two million dollars for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Just over
one half a million of that is to pay for the establishment of an office
of the Consulate General in Havana within the next fiscal year. The
Minister forecast the closing of the office in Hong Kong and the opening
of an Embassy in Beijing.
The Minister announced that there is an increased
contribution to the United Nations and its agencies of $200,000 for this
year. He also announced that some $46,000 is to be contributed to
the Caribbean Justice Trust Fund. He said that while The Bahamas
will continue to use the Privy Council as its final Court of Appeal, The
Bahamas wants to be in a position to join the court if it needs to do so,
so it is contributing to its expenses and shadowing the procedures for
its establishment.
The Minister announced that the bids for machine
readable passports have all been rejected and that the matter will be sent
out for re-tendering.
MEANWHILE
THE CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR SAYS
The Governor of the Central Bank Julian Francis (pictured) who has been
at odds with the Ministry of Finance on a number of issues over the past
year has urged the need for more money to be paid in taxes to the state.
Mr. Francis was speaking on Tuesday 1st June at the Margaret McDonald Policy
Institute’s annual seminar. Mr. Francis said: “We don’t pay enough
money in taxes to make our public system work. We have to pay more
money in the form of taxation in order to finance the programmes of the
Government”.
The Minister of Finance in his Budget Communication
on 26th May said that he did not want to raise taxes. The Minister
instead chose to finance the budget gap of $164 million by resort to the
financial markets. Many have argued that every time the Government
goes into the market to borrow these substantial sums of money, it leads
to crowding out the private sector’s ability to borrow.
The private sector is already screaming at the Central
Bank because of the limits placed on credit. The Government sent
a signal in the Budget Communication to the Governor of the Central Bank
that it is unhappy with this credit policy, especially given the high levels
of U.S. dollar reserves the country now has. No doubt the bank argues
that the monies in the reserve are there because of borrowing of foreign
currency by the Government and not as a result of productivity gains and
so should not be squandered away.
The Governor of the Central Bank is independent
of the Ministry of Finance under Hubert Ingraham's legislation passed in
2000. Some are arguing that there is a need for reform of this and
that legislation should come to change the Bank's structure. Bahama
Journal photo - Omar Barr
THE
FOREIGN MINISTER IN ECUADOR
Fred Mitchell, the Foreign Minister of The Bahamas,
is in Quito, Ecuador for the annual General Assembly of the Organization
of American States (OAS). A new Secretary General of the Organization
is to be elected at this meeting. Also and more importantly for The
Bahamas will be a meeting of Caribbean Ministers of Foreign Affairs with
the US Secretary of State to talk about the future of Haiti. The
Minister returns to The Bahamas on Wednesday 9th June. The other
members of the delegation are Ambassador to Washington and the OAS Joshua
Sears; Eugene Torchon Newry, Second Secretary in Washington and Lynette
Brennan from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nassau.
GAY
CRUISE ARRIVES –NO ARMAGEDDON
If you believed all the attendant publicity about
the so called Gay Cruise ship that was coming to The Bahamas, you would
have thought that the end was near. Last week we said July was the
time it was coming but there was such a ship that arrived last weekend.
The statistics tell an interesting story: 2000 odd passengers in total,
only 90 described themselves as gay. The ship coming in July is the
more widely publicized promotion led by TV comic Rosie O’Donnell.
The Bahamas Christian Council has been denouncing
gay life in The Bahamas and those who are set to visit the country.
The Ministry of Tourism caused some consternation by simply reiterating
that The Bahamas does not discriminate against its visitors and once people
obey the laws, there is no problem with The Bahamas.
The Bahamas is a tourist country and as such welcomes
anyone who does not break the law, and that should be the end of that.
The Rainbow Alliance, the group of gays and lesbians
that defends the interests of gay and lesbian people in The Bahamas went
to the docks to welcome the persons coming to the country. The welcome
passed without incident. The Alliance said that they went because
they anticipated that there would be public demonstrations harassing the
visitors. Nassau Guardian photo of cruiseship 'Fantasy' - Donald
Knowles
BOTH
TO BLAME FOR SEA ACCIDENT
As the Wreck Commission looking into the crash of
the Sea Hauler and United Star comes to a close, a six page report prepared
by Master Captain James Wallace has revealed that neither captain Allan
Russell of the Sea Hauler nor Rodney Miller of the United Star measured
up to the unexpected emergency situation that preceded the deadly collision
of the vessel almost a year ago on 4th August 2003.
Captain Wallace who testified on Tuesday 1st June
said, “Early corrective measures were indeed achievable to avert the collision.
However many more lives were at risk on the Sea Hauler who was operating
with
a special exemption for increased passenger count and this should have
caused the master not to conduct business as usual.” He added that
there were no proper watches being kept on either vessel, no lookouts posted,
and the use of the Sea Hauler’s radar should have detected the United Star
that did not have its lights burning.
The report noted that had there been a human watch,
corrective action could have been taken, but it appears that neither Captain
got the point of this exercise because each blamed the other in the course
of their individual testimony. It is also clear that the accident
that left four people dead occurred with unqualified persons at the helm
at the time of the accident. We hope the Commission throws the book
at both of them.
THE
HEAT IS ON—NO RAIN COMES
There is still no rain. To show you how bad
it has been, there was only one day of rain during the month of May that
most people can recall and that did not last for long. There was
no rain in April when the drought normally breaks. There has been
no rain in the month of June. The Bahamas is bone dry and forest
fires are springing up on all of the islands from north to south.
The Government has not said anything about the issue.
One supposes that is because there is nothing they can do. Perhaps
The Bahamas Christian Council might employ its time by praying for rain
to the bone dry earth. The irony is poor Haiti, which had a deluge
and rich Bahamas with not a drop.
Each day people look up into the clouds and think
that this will be the day when the rains come. But even on Labour
Day that traditionally has a downpour in the middle of the day, there was
no rain at all, just white puffy clouds and a blue sky. Good for
tourists but bad for the plants.
As we go to upload, Nassau reports some rain Saturday
evening. There was lightning; there was thunder and the blessed rain
all night. We need even more.
THE
BAIL OF KNOWLES GET REVOKED
There was no big surprise in the overturning of the ruling of Justice of
Supreme Court Jeanne Thompson that Austin Knowles (pictured) and his co-defendants
should be freed on bail. You could see it coming (click
here for last week’s story). The difficulty is that the reporting
by the daily newspapers was not especially clear but it appears that the
Justices of Appeal rejected Thompson J’s ruling on the two grounds: that
she did not have jurisdiction to grant bail, and secondly that even if
she did she could not ground it on the question of the prison being an
example of cruel and inhumane conditions because if that reasoning were
followed it would mean that the whole prison would have to be emptied of
inmates. It is the latter position that we wish to join issue with
the Court of Appeal.
The rulings in the past that confirm that one has
to take into account the resources of a society in order to determine whether
the threshold has been crossed into inhumane conditions in the case of
The Bahamas is foolish logic. There is no doubt that this country
has the money to solve the egregious and long standing problems at the
prison. The country simply does not have the will do anything about
it. Jeanne Thompson's ruling forces the issue, and judges should
act if the legislature and the executive refuse or are unwilling to do
anything about the conditions at the prison. The courts have therefore
failed the Bahamian people by taking the logic that they have. We
are not surprised, however. Nothing the Court of Appeal rules surprises
us. Nigel Bowe spent seven years fighting his extradition to the
United States. He was on bail the whole time. Tribune photo
MITCHELL
REFUTES PUNCH STORY
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell laid
on the table of the House of Assembly a copy of a statement issued by Ralph
Munroe, a former client, responding to stories that appeared in ‘The Punch’
that made allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him as a Counsel
and Attorney at Law. The following is the text of Mr. Munroe’s statement:
"I have read The Punch newspaper of Monday 17th
May 2004.
"It attributes several actions to me as it relates
to Fred Mitchell, my former Attorney, in a matter against the Comptroller
of Customs. I wish to set the record straight.
"I have made no such allegation that $70,000
or any amount was paid to Fred Mitchell that belonged to me that he did
not disclose to me or did not pay to me.
"I have made no complaint to the Bar Association
with regard to any such matter, nor did I give instructions for any legal
action to be filed against Mr. Mitchell.
"To the best of my knowledge Mr. Mitchell ceased
to be an Attorney in relation to my legal case against the Comptroller
of Customs after he became a Cabinet Minister on 10th May 2002 and therefore
as a fact he did not have any connection with the passing of any monies
from the Government to his former firm.
"The story in the Punch is false and has no basis
at all."
Ralph Munroe
Tuesday, 18th May, 2004
Nassau, The Bahamas
ARISTIDE
REACHES SOUTH AFRICA
Former President of Haiti, Jean Bertrand Aristide
has arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa where he will reside until it
is safe for him to return to Haiti. The former President left Jamaica
last Sunday. He has been in Jamaica since his exile from Haiti on
29th February with an interim stop in the Central African Republic where
he stayed for two weeks. The South African President Thabo Mbeki,
along with members of his Cabinet, met the former President.
The South Africans take the view that it has responsibility
to reach out to the Diaspora, and see the ousting of President Aristide
as part of the sad and tragic fate of Africans abroad. They have
welcomed him with open arms. We think that this is a great gesture
on the part of South Africa. We also think that the action of the
United States in forcing Aristide out of the hemisphere was most inappropriate.
Former
Haitian President Aristide (left) is shown being greeted in South Africa
by President Mbeki - Reuters photo
PRIME
MINISTER SENDS CONDOLENCES TO US
Prime Minister the Right Honourable Perry G. Christie
has expressed condolences to the United States on the death of former US
President Ronald Reagan. Mr. Christie said “The Bahamas and Bahamians
join the United States and its citizens in sadness over the loss of former
US President Ronald Reagan.”
“Mr. Reagan was an outstanding international leader
who left an indelible mark on world affairs for which he will long be remembered.”
The Prime Minister said that The Bahamas would issue
a formal note of condolence to the Embassy of the United States in Nassau
on Monday. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is also expected to express
the country’s condolences to the US during his meeting Monday with US Secretary
of State Colin Powell.
STOP
THE VIOLENCE INDEED!
Last week in Grand Bahama there was a concert under
the name STOP THE VIOLENCE. Parents in The Bahamas are
terribly conflicted about this. On the face of it the concert is
about stopping the violence and so one thinks that this must be a safe
place to send your teenagers for good clean fun. The only problem
is the type of entertainment promotes the lewd and lascivious, the obscene.
In fact, it would seem to be just the opposite of stopping violence.
It would seem to promote it. But that is the modern Bahamas, influenced
as it is by the culture of Black Entertainment Television (BET).
Bill Cosby, the comedian, has gotten himself into trouble for attacking
this phenomenon. We take a slightly different tack. Ours is
not to stop it. Ours is to understand it and keep on top of it.
There is a clear dearth of clean, good fun things
to do in The Bahamas for teen-agers and young adults. STOP THE VIOLENCE
and concerts like it, answer the need to expend the energy and the need
for gregarious fun. These concerts are expensive to go to and they
demand a lot of money. The concert held at Freeport’s Camelot Room
had to be closed to the public at 11 p.m. By that time, the room
had reached capacity with 5,800 people in the room at $50 per head.
On the outside were about four thousand people waiting to get in who could
not get in.
At Taino Beach in Freeport also on the weekend,
you had about three thousand or so gathered at the waterfront. The
Port Authority allowed the organizers to fence the beach off so you could
only enter from one point. The admission was $35 per head, and $50 for
the VIP section. If you wanted to go “properly dressed” in the clothes
of the jail house culture that is in vogue you had to shell out anywhere
from $150 for a NBA jersey and maybe another $200 for the shoes to go with
your outfit. The women, some 15, 16, not many over 25 were wearing
outfits so skimpy they could well have had no clothes on at all.
That was life at the STOP THE VIOLENCE CONCERT. Clearly parents would
think twice before sending their kids there.
But the story we want to leave you with is that
told in a barbershop, which, while it can make you laugh, shows the downsides
of elements which exist in the kind of culture we now have. There
is a man who is 40ish and thinks he needs some excitement in his life.
He innocently gives a ride to a young girl who eventually puts her hand
on his thigh. He is taken aback and asks her what that means.
Her reply: “I into what you into”. He gives in against his better
judgement and ends up spending the day with the young girl. They
seem to have a great time (in flagrante delicto) and its time to go home,
but as he is driving home the girl starts to cry. He asks her what
she is crying for. Her reply: “I need $600”. He is incredulous:
“Six hundred dollars? What for?” She cries: “I sixteen and
I need six hundred dollars.” He gets the point. He tells her
that he has only about fifty dollars and doesn’t know where he could get
that kind of money. Her remorseless cry: “I sixteen and I need six
hundred dollars”. He calls his friend the barber to get the money.
What is the moral of that story? Perhaps you
can tell us.
SIR
RANDOL'S BOOK REPUBLISHED
Sir Randol Francis Fawkes is widely recognised in
The Bahamas as the father of the labour movement. His book, 'The
Faith That Moved The Mountain' is being republished as part of a special
celebration of Labour Day this year. Sir Randol was the first Minister
of Labour in the first PLP Government and this year the Labour Day parade
was marched in his name. He moved the resolution in the House of
Assembly that made the first Friday in the month of June Labour Day in
The Bahamas.
Last week, the republication of the book was announced
in a ceremony attended by his widow, Lady Jacqueline Fawkes and family.
Prime Minister Christie attended and was presented with a copy of the newly
republished book by Lady Fawkes. BIS photo - Peter Ramsay
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Thoughts on Labour Day...
A regular correspondent forwarded this speech for
publication from Dennis A. Britton Jr., President of the Bahamas Gaming
& Allied Workers Union in Grand Bahama.
"Labour Day is here again! Do we realize
the significance of this day or is it just another day off with pay or
overtime? I hope that every Bahamian views this day with pride and
adoration because it is directly linked with the independence many of us
enjoy today.
Bahamians should take this time to reflect and
remember our forefathers who made it possible to have standardized benefits
such as holiday pay, minimum wage, and maternity benefits.
Sometimes we allow ourselves to forget whence
we came and the struggle it took to achieve our freedom. Great events
such as the Airport Strike, the Burma Road Riot and the General Strike
brought the Bahamian people together and which also led to the fight for
our independence and the establishment of our own constitution, which guarantees
basic rights for all Bahamians.
Bahamians are now safeguarded from a once predominantly
master and slave mentality of the past. We must never allow ourselves
to be placed in this predicament again which so many great Bahamians fought
to hard to achieve, such as Sir Randol Fawkes (whom we honor today), Sir
Lynden Pindling, Sir Clifford Darling, Perry Christie and many others who
have worked diligently behind the scenes.
During my primary and high school years I remember
learning more about the Arawaks and the Caribs than current Bahamian history.
No emphasis was placed on the great struggles and events ushering in independence
and equality for all Bahamians.
The Struggle continues...
We’ve been delivered from physical slavery but
as Bahamians we must now fight against economic slavery especially in workplaces
throughout this country. There are some unscrupulous employers who
do not want to compensate employees fairly for their labor while infringing
on the benefits that employees enjoy today.
As a young trade unionist, I’ve experienced many
challenges with the Royal Oasis Resort and Casino as the Labour laws seem
to provide little or no protection for Bahamian workers or the ‘small man’.
Many of the Labour laws look good on paper but
when put to the test are weak and indecisive. For example, the Bahamas
Gaming and Allied Workers Union has been recognized by the government on
the one hand but the Industrial Relations Laws of the Bahamas are not being
enforced by the government on the other. The Union asks the question
‘who is in charge of the country? Is it the government or the employer?
But we’re all here today because the Struggle
Continues…
Investments and investors are required in order
to expand our economical growth but they must understand and comply with
the laws of this great country and deal with their employees justly.
The government should protect the rights of Bahamian workers if they are
truly the servants of the Bahamian people.
The Struggle continues…
Unions are the voice of the Bahamian workers
and we will never give up the struggle. Unions will continue to fight
for the rights of workers in our Bahamaland so with that I say, let’s not
forget our past, let’s build on our forefathers’ visions by pressing forward,
upward, onward, and together where harmony, equality and justice prevails
throughout the work places in our great country!
Thank you
Dennis A. Britton Jr.
President
Bahamas Gaming & Allied Workers Union
Freeport, Grand Bahama Island
Email: dennisbrittonjr@coralwave.com
OBITUARY
Dead is Samuel Percival Dillett, born to the late Joseph and Maria Dillett
of Augusta Street, Nassau, Bahamas on May 14th 1930. He was 74 years
old. The first of twelve children and known affectionately as Sammy,
he left school at an early age to pursue work. Sammy was a professional
butler until his retirement.
Sammy was known as a master of manners, exquisite
dining, and an excellent chef.
He is survived by his wife, the former Rosalie Smith
of Exuma, four sons: Gregory, Mark, Noel, and Ashton; three daughters-in-law
Velincimae, Pauline, and Margaret Dillett, eight grandchildren Damara,
Gregory II, Maguel, Khira, Khwan, Khrystia: Shevon, and Marko Dillett;
two great-grand children Damaal and Andrew Sands; three brothers Chrispin.
Gerald, and Sidney Dillett; four sisters Carolyn Deveaux, Marilyn, and
Janet Dillett, and Rosemary Wong; two sisters-in-law Lucille Bain and Effie
Sawyer; one brother-in-law Ambrose Smith.
On the 29th May, Sammy was discovered by his son
Mark lying peacefully and breathless with a faint smile on his face.
He was buried Saturday 5th June in the Western Cemetery after a service
at St. Agnes Anglican church.
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
The highlight of the Prime Minister's week was undoubtedly his march with
the workers through the streets of New Providence on the first Friday in
June, recognised as Labour Day in The Bahamas. Mr. Christie is shown
greeting some young entrepreneurs set up along the route.
The Labour Day parade was a festive occasion, where
the country's workers were joined by political leaders from across the
spectrum, including legions of PLPs and their leaders. In the photo
at right, Prime Minister Christie is shown with the Minister of Financial
Services and Investment Allyson Maynard Gibson well turned out for the
sun in her straw hat (right) along with Parliamentary Secretary Ron Pinder
(left).
During the week, the Prime Minister received a call
from the leadership of the local Roman Catholic Archdiocese. Archbishop
Patrick Pinder (right) is due to travel to the Vatican later this month
to receive the official trappings of his new post from the Pope.
At left is Monsignor Preston Moss.
Also this past week, Minister Allyson Maynard Gibson
introduced the popular American gospel entertainer Kirk Franklin to Prime
Minister Christie. Mr. Franklin (pictured, with book in hand, chatting
with the PM) who is known for his religious work among youth both in the
U.S. and internationally, also visited schools along with Minister Maynard
Gibson, inspiring students toward a devout and prosperous future. BIS
photos - Peter Ramsay
 |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - The trial of Prince Campbell came to a halt on Tuesday 9th June when the Judge in the trial sentenced Mr. Campbell to life imprisonment. He was sentenced when he pleaded guilty to what had been up to then an horrific set of charges for murder. His son died when a knife was found stuck in the child’s chest. The country usually ignores murder trials these days but this one was especially horrific. The psychiatrist Nelson Clarke testified that years of using drugs had an affect on the mind of the defendant. That led to the plea of guilty of manslaughter, which is what would have happened had the matter gone to the jury. When the person is suffering from a disease of the mind at the time so that he is not then mentally capable of carrying out the crime but is not insane, the pea of diminished responsibility succeeds. Mr. Campbell was shown in this picture by Omar Barr being led away, and we hope in this case that life means life. While the plea of diminished responsibility is a sensible one, the decision to use drugs in the first place is a foolish one, and the man must accept responsibility for making that initial choice that led to the murder of an innocent child, his own blood. The Judge described the photos of the murdered child as among the most horrific that she had ever seen. The photo appeared in the Bahama Journal on Wednesday 9th June. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES
On Tuesday 8th June 2004, the United States got its way in two major
international crises that started out with everyone against them on the
subject. It now reinforces in the mind of the young and the impressionable
that no matter what each nation wishes to do, in the end the United States
has all the say. For some it is a bitter bill to swallow but those
are the facts of life.
Look at what happened in Iraq last year. The Germans and the French stood up loudly and said that they did not agree with the invasion of Iraq, that it did not have a basis in law to support it. The countries of Caricom also said the same thing. But we know that Caricom has small voices so the fact that they were ignored is no surprise. The fact that Germany and France were ignored is a more important thing but in the end it appears that that did not matter either. The United States went ahead and invaded the country, removed its President, killed his sons, captured and killed innocent civilians for various reasons, some of which turned out to be false. The last one, the human rights reason, can no longer be grounded having regard to the fact of the prison abuses in the Iraqi prison discovered weeks ago.
But all of that is past, the French President and the German Chancellor have all pronounced themselves satisfied with the latest resolution at the UN on Iraq that turns over sovereignty to the Iraqi people, a sovereignty that was taken away from them simply as it turns out because the rulers of the Western world decided that they did not like the man in power. The country posed no threat to the United States or the West. There was no civil war that led to the ousting of the leadership. This was a pure invasion and removal of the regime. It now appears that the French and Germans were playing a game all along, and they are all one big happy family again, dividing up the spoils of war.
Over in our hemisphere, the United States Government got its way as well. On 29th February 2004, the embattled former President of Haiti Jean Bertrand Aristide made a call or was forced to make a call (depending on your perspective) and he left his country to go into exile yet again. The United States facilitated the departure. Then the United States moved post haste at the UN Security Council and found the troops that were necessary to stop the armed rebels from overthrowing the legitimately elected President of the country. Two days earlier the same Security Council told the Caricom leaders that the troops could not be found to stop the attacks on the President.
In retrospect, it appears that the US, Canada and the French all found Mr. Aristide, elected or not, too abhorrent to contemplate and stood by while the remnants of the former army used force to remove the elected President. So much for democracy and the rule of law.
Mr. Aristide later repudiated the resignation, saying variously that he had been kidnapped or simply fooled as to the actual state of rebellion in his country. When the Caricom countries and their leaders reacted negatively to what the US was saying, the U.S. put pressure on those countries to shut up and conform. The Security Council resolution passed hurriedly in the late hours of the evening of 29th March made everyone conform to the American view that there had been a legitimate transfer of power in Haiti.
The Caricom countries said no. Their leaders asked for an investigation. That was blocked by the US. They turned to the Organization of American States (OAS) but that too was blocked and replaced by a cobbled up resolution that some who were there said was absolute torture to craft. The passing of the Resolution at the OAS General Assembly (you may click here for a full copy) effectively puts an end to the request of the Caricom leaders for an investigation.
On 1st July, it would seem only logical that having conceded the expression “transitional government” in the resolution to describe the regime in Haiti, that the Heads of Government will have to recognize the Haitian Government, and Mr. Aristide’s claim to still being the legitimate leader of Haiti will for Caricom purposes fall away. The US said we have to move on, and despite some logical and courageous stenching, move on the Caribbean has to do.
Such is the power of the United States in this day and time. And so much rides on it. The economies of all the countries depend on the US. Belize’s very existence depends on it. That appears to be the case in almost every country whether in Europe, Latin American, Asia or the Caribbean. Some diplomats say it is fascinating dealing with the great Japan for example. They argue that Japan has no independent foreign policy. The diplomats say that all you have to do is find out the US position and you know what the Japanese position is.
That is realpolitik. The next generation of Bahamian and Caribbean citizens no longer have that sure foundation of belief in the sanctity of nationhood and the supremacy of national sovereignty on which to rely. What they now have instead is a legacy of mish mash patriotism, with a seething resentment below at the illogic of the position in which our countries find ourselves.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 12th June 2004 at midnight: 46,051.
Number of hits for the month of May up to Monday 31st May 2004 at midnight: 248,062.
Number of hits for the month of June up to Saturday 12th June 2004 at midnight: 71,783.
Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 12th June 2004 at midnight: 1,210,164.
KERZNER
SHARES ON THE MARKET
Minister of Financial Services and Investment Allyson Maynard Gibson ought
to be congratulated for bringing to its conclusion the Kerzner share offering.
Under the last Heads of Agreement by Kerzner International with The Bahamas
Government, it was agreed that shares of Kerzner International would be
available so that Bahamians could buy into the company.
Chief Executive Officer of Kerzner International
Butch Kerzner appeared on Monday 7th June at a press conference in Nassau.
Mr. Kerzner announced that they were putting one million shares on the
market and making them available to Bahamians. There will be a special
deal for their employees who are resident in The Bahamas. The employees
would be able to buy up to $800 worth of shares at a discount. The
company will also offer a course in share trading to its employees.
The agent for the sale of the shares is Fidelity Capital Markets.
The shares will be listed on BISX.
This is said to be the biggest offering of shares
in The Bahamas. The minimum number of shares that can be purchased
is $500. Minister Maynard Gibson said at the press conference: “I
am pleased to be here on this historic occasion to join Kerzner International
in announcing that one million ordinary shares, that is twice as much as
what was committed in the agreement, are being made available to the local
market through the issue of 10 million Bahamian Depository receipts.
The issue fully subscribed would amount to 20 million dollars.” We
think that this is a good idea and we support it. Mrs. Maynard
Gibson is shown at right in the Kerzner news conference with Kerzner executives
Butch Kerzner, centre and Paul O'Neill, left. Nassau Guardian photo
- Donald Knowles.
MITCHELL
ATTENDS REAGAN FUNERAL
The Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell fresh from his
trip to Quito, Ecuador where the Organization of American States (OAS)
met in their 34th annual General Assembly was in Washington for the State
Funeral of the 40th American President Ronald Reagan. Mr. Mitchell
returned to the country on Saturday 12th June. He leaves The Bahamas
on Monday 14th June for his annual physical at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minnesota. Agence France-Presse--Getty Images
SHANE
TOUTS HIS HOUSING RECORD
It is important for us to say here again that we are quite proud of the
record of Shane Gibson as the Minister of Housing. His transformation
from Labour Union leader to Government Minister has been a good and seamless
one, and he seems easy in his skin as he explains the work of his portfolio.
You will notice that when Shane Gibson says what
he is doing in housing, the FNM has nothing to say in response, even though
their Leader Tommy Turnquest has promised time and again to answer Mr.
Gibson. The cold hard fact is they can’t match his record.
Mr. Gibson has built as many houses or more than the Free National Movement's
Government built in their entire two terms in the two years that he has
been in office. For that he ought to be commended. If you let
him go and provide him with the land and the money, he will do even more.
We want to encourage him. Speaking during the Budget Debate in the
House of Assembly on Monday 7th June, Mr. Gibson announced that 573 new
homes will be constructed by the Government in the fiscal year 2004-2005.
We wish him luck with his work.
LAKERS
FEVER AND PALPITATIONS
The Bahamas is in a sweat, and half the population almost died when the
first game of the annual National Basketball Association’s playoff game
was played between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons basketball
teams. Now these are American basketball games, as in the United
States of America. But you wouldn’t know it in Nassau. The
Prime Minister himself is amongst the Los Angeles Lakers’ most avid fans
in The Bahamas. He is also their chief coach in The Bahamas.
Some people broke off from official meetings to find out what the score
was. And then the heartbreaking news, on Monday 8th June the Los
Angeles Lakers lost the first game to the Detroit team. You could
have heard a pin drop. No one could believe it. They brought
themselves back from the brink when the next game was won by Los Angeles
on Tuesday 9th June. But on Thursday 11th June, the country would
have died when their favourite team was routed 88 to 68. Stan Burnside
the cartoonist was able to capture the anxious mood in the country with
his cartoon of Thursday 10th June 2004.
THE
CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR VS THE FINANCE MINISTER
In the year 2000, a rushing Hubert Ingraham decided that he would amend
the law on the Central Bank in order to satisfy the unlawful demands of
the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and to
escape from the blacklist that the OECD had unlawfully in place.
The result was that the Governor of the Central Bank became a law unto
himself with no direct influence of the Minister of Finance over the policies
of the Bank, even though the Bahamian people are the shareholders of the
Bank.
Most Governors of the Central Bank would act in
a way that would at least let the Government know what the heck is going
on and try to harmonize what they are doing in order to allow fiscal and
monetary policy to be harmonized. The now Governor of the Central
Bank obviously does not see it that way, and has been ever more vocal and
direct in his criticism of the fiscal policy of the present Government.
He has attacked the Minister of Finance's policies directly saying that
the deficit is too high and that the debt situation is worrisome.
Last week, we quoted the Governor of the Central
Bank as saying that he believes that there ought to be higher taxes to
pay for the Governments budget deficit. The Ministry of Finance sent
him a message via the Budget Communication that he is sitting on too much
of the reserves and therefore choking off the recovery in revenues that
the Government wants to see. If the Central Bank would release the
present credit restrictions some 100 million dollars of credit could be
released into the economy that would cause increased spending and there
will be a concomitant rise in taxes or duties collected by the Government.
The Bahama Journal reported this week that the Central Bank Governor says
he might do that soon. But in the mean time, it is clear that the
Minister of State for Finance is annoyed at the pronouncements of the Governor.
When the Journal spoke to James Smith on Tuesday
8th June about the Governor’s views, Mr. Smith was quoted as saying: “I
think the Governor should stick to monetary policy like the former Governors
did. The comments on fiscal policy are not sometimes useful, but
I’ll limit my comments to that for the time being.” Things that make
you go: “Hmmm!” Minister of State for Finance James Smith, left,
and Central Bank Governor Julian Francis in these photos from the Bahama
Journal by Omar Barr.
LARRY
SMITH’S THOUGHTFUL PIECE
National Health Insurance is going to be a difficult
and expensive proposition for the Government to implement. Despite
the fine work done by the Chair of the Committee and Dr. Perry Gomez, National
Health Insurance is a hard sell. It is going to mean a payroll tax,
and it is going to be expensive to do. It was an unpopular idea in
the business community in the recession that came just before the PLP left
office in 1992. The PLP has to be careful about this again.
Usually we do not think much of anything that Larry
Smith, the Tribune columnist has to write. His opinions seem to be
filled with unnecessary invective, bordering on bigotry, prejudice and
insult. Imagine our surprise then when we read the piece that he
wrote in his column in The Tribune of Thursday 10th June. It was
actually a piece worthy of a good writer. It was thoughtful and seemed
to present all the arguments in a dispassionate way. We thought that
we ought to report some of what he said for your consideration in his own
words:
“Equitable access to health care is one of the great social and moral
dilemmas of our time. And The Bahamas faces profound economic challenges
in the form of an ageing workforce in an expanding population.
“Our little $5 billion economy is faced with
the political need to finance a comprehensive social security framework
in addition to massive infrastructural investments, and a huge public sector
payroll.
“We are undergoing a demographic transition.
Our population has doubled in the last few decades, but the proportion
aged over 65 is also rising… more people and more older people. Here
are the dry figures from the Pan American health Organization.
“The 2000 census population was 304,837, 30 per
cent is under 15 years and 8 per cent over 65. The dependency ratio
was 47.6 in 1998. Life expectancy at birth was 68.8 years for males
and 75.3 years for females during 1996 to 2000. The M:F ratio was
94:100 in 2000. The crude birth rate declined from 20.8 per 1000
population in 1996 to 18.0 per 1000 population in 1999. The total
fertility rate was 2.1 children per woman in 1999.
“At present, there are nearly two Bahamians of
working age for every dependent (those under 15 or over 65). But
projections are that the over 65 crowd will make up almost a fifth of our
population by 2025, almost a quarter by 2060. That means more chronic
health problems, and an increasing need for elderly care…
“In about a dozen years, National Insurance will
go bankrupt unless we start paying more money (those of us who do pay that
is). Outgo has exceeded income since the early 1990s. And the
Government’s proposed national health plan can be expected to cost far
more than NIB… because it will have to satisfy unlimited demand.
“As one commentator recently put it: ‘managing
such a programme and avoiding disasters will require an efficiency no national
institution displays currently.’
“We can all empathize with the principles of
equality and fraternity. And rationing is rationing whether based
on income or wait lists. But as a reconstructed socialist, I now
appreciate how important it is for individuals to assume a degree of responsibility
for their own health and welfare. Not just for financial reasons
but for moral and social reasons as well.”
P
I WORRIED ABOUT CABLE BEACH
The Kerzner International executives have now actually gone public with
their worries about the new developments possible at Cable Beach.
And the public of The Bahamas is none too pleased. Paul O’Neill,
the Chief Operating Officer of Kerzner in The Bahamas was speaking to the
Chamber of Commerce meeting on Thursday 2nd June. Mr. O’Neill said
in answer to a question that his company was worried about reports that
a one billion dollar development was about to be approved by the government
for Cable Beach.
A consortium led by the Izmirlian Group had sought
the Government’s permission to go ahead with the Cable Beach project.
Stories started leaking in the press that they could not get Government
approval and were pulling out the project but now the press is saying that
they have been enticed back in. Mr. O’Neill confirms what has been
going around for weeks in Nassau that the Kerzners want to continue to
be the big and only big show in town. The logic is that they don’t
want two properties going after the same upper end market. They argue
that there is not enough to go around, and particularly when they look
at what happened in the Freeport market where there was a decline of 40
percent in the casino traffic in Freeport after the Our Lucaya casino opened
for business.
Bahamians were incensed and on the radio talk shows
told their view. The feeling is that the Government is right not
to put all of its eggs in one basket and depend too much on the Kerzner
whims. Mr. O’Neill said that he was very worried about the effect
that the new Cable Beach project would have on their bottom line.
Some say the company is threatening to pull out of the third phase if the
Cable Beach project goes ahead. But you can see by the Kerzner’s
own statistics why Bahamians would be worried about too much dependency
on Kerzner.
Mr. O’Neill said that when Phase III comes fully
on stream its operations at Paradise Island would account for almost 20
per cent of the present gross domestic product of The Bahamas, some 945
million dollars. The present GDP is five billion dollars. He
said the hotels at Atlantis and Ocean Club will account for 800,000 stop
over visitors or 47 per cent of the nation’s stopover visitor total.
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT CONFLICT
Alfred Gray and his Ministry of Local Government was scrambling to put
the pieces together after former parliamentarian Edmund Moxey's daughter
who is the Chief Councillor in Freeport stood under the Fig Tree in Nassau
where Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell used to give his annual critique of
the Judiciary and denounced what Mr. Gray is doing in Local Government.
She said that there was anarchy in local government as a result of Mr.
Gray’s leadership in the Ministry. According to Ms. Moxey, the system
of local government was being undermined by the actions of the Minister
who has sided with a group of FNM councillors who refuse to accept the
leadership of Ms. Moxey.
Ms. Moxey's overtures to the PLP have been rebuffed
and the other councillors seem to get encouragement from the Ministry of
Local Government (or so argues Ms. Moxey). They have not attended
meetings called by her and their membership has been ruled void as result
of their not attending three meetings. Mr. Gray has sided with the
other councillors, saying that it is Ms. Moxey who is at fault, angering
scores of PLP in Freeport who wonder why he keeps siding with the FNM in
the fight. Mr. Gray called a press conference on Monday 8th June
to say that contrary to what Ms. Moxey was saying local government was
working well. Perhaps that is why the matter is in court in Grand
Bahama. Minister Gray at his news conference in this Bahama Journal
photo by Omar Barr.
INDECOROUS
LEGAL LANGUAGE
We have expressed concern in this column before
about the use of indecorous language emanating out of the Court of Appeal,
which many people find patently offensive. Some persons have written
us to say that lawyers are filing complaints with the Attorney General
about the manner in which Counsel, even Senior Counsel are spoken to in
the Court of Appeal. Nothing has happened. Now it is not just
a matter of the counsel and attorneys at law but it now comes time for
the Judges.
First we want to stoutly defend Justice Jeannie
Thompson. She is neither foolish nor idle. She has neither
attacked the constitution nor subverted good government of The Bahamas.
She is in our opinion a judge of the highest character, who has given a
yeoman's service to this country both as a private Bar advocate and now
as a Justice of the Supreme Court. When others were busy making money
as public lawyers, not having to put up with the cut and thrust of struggling
at the private Bar to make ends meet, Jeannie Thompson was a survivor at
the private Bar.
We may or may not agree with Justice Thompson's
rulings but she is a Judge and that is what she is there for, to make rulings
as she sees them in law. So imagine the surprise when a letter writer
to this column quoted from The Tribune the reports of remarks made about
her in a ruling by the Court of Appeal which described her in most “un
legal” language. It is not right. She should not be disrespected.
She does not deserve it, and justice in the country is not well served
by it.
We believe that the Bar Association should get off
its lazy duff, stop playing politics and defend this Judge and her integrity.
We support her over some others we know one thousand percent. Nassau
Guardian photo of MP Bastian by Patrick Hanna.
ATTACKING
THE PUBLIC SERVICE
Whitney Bastian, the Independent Member of Parliament for South Andros
is always good for a headline. This time, he has attacked public
servants saying that while some of them work hard, the Government needs
to bite the bullet and regulate those who he says sit around all day and
do nothing. Mr. Bastian said that what was needed was a Public Service
Minister who was no nonsense like the former Immigration Minister Loftus
Roker. He said that when he visits Government offices, he can see
people sitting around chewing gum and having coffee breaks. Perhaps
he is right but the reform of the public service needs to be corrected
in the culture of the country, not just in further regulation of the public
service. We agree that there needs to be a stronger effort to streamline
the service and make it more flexible but it is not regulation that is
the answer, it is more flexibility in the management of the service to
get rid of dead weight when it is necessary.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
This
is one reader's reaction to the increase in the cost of fuel:
I'm Going Solar
With the high cost of fuel and electricity, I
feel it is high time that The Bahamas goes solar.
I am in the market for a solar powered water
heater. Are there any distributors in the Bahamas?
I've already got solar powered floodlights.
I feel that solar power is the way to go for
this country - and solar powered items should be duty free!
Hello From Ted Maude
Hello from a Canadian who not only lived in your
country (in another era!), but who religiously checks your website every
week to keep up with happenings in a place I remain very fond of!!
I still stay in contact with many of the people
in the article (those who are still with us!!)
Two of my 3 children, (all out of the nest now)
were born at The Princess Margaret Hospital on Shirley St. They are
very proud of their Bahamian heritage!!! My 25-year-old daughter
Reagan even has a tattoo done here in Toronto, that is only a business
card size, but contains YOUR flag! How 'bout dat, eh? I said
to her “What happen to you Mon?”
As I have said, I keep in close touch with all
the people I became close with back in the decade of the seventies, and
early eighties. My tenure (in the old PLP days) was Director of golf
at the South Ocean Club, which at the time was the pride of the Caribbean
as a premier golf course and tourist destination.
I have closely been monitoring what has happened
to the property over all the years, and I am ‘appalled’ as to the state
of it today. I say this because it has so much potential, but 4 different
ownership groups have come in since the mid eighties, all of which have
failed miserably! Divi Hotels, Ramada International, Winfair Hotels,
and now a Canadian Pension Fund, who for the most part have closed the
property down, including the best laid out golf course on New Providence!
How many jobs have been compromised because of this? And how long
will it last before those people are earning a living again, because of
so-called ‘corporate politics’ (Hidden Agenda's perhaps???) up here in
Toronto!
Do me a favor and contact people like ‘King’
Eric Gibson; contact Wilfred Horton. These Bahamian families are
part of my family here in Canada!
I am so very proud of your Minister of Housing,
who I had a part of raising (in golf circles) in Nassau, and when Shane
was attending school here in Toronto when he was part of our family.
They all still call me ‘uncle’ and I am also proud of that!
Here is another one for you. If she is
still active in the PLP, call Donna Smith and talk about her son Leroy
who my family acted as ‘guardian's’ for as he attended private school up
here too! His Grandmother at the time was the Bahamian Ambassador
to the United Nations. (Dame McDonald)
Call Clement Maynard and ask him about myself
and my family. I could go on and on here, but I will leave you with
this… I remain an ‘authority’ on the golf and the tourism industry here
in Canada. A 6 Billion dollar a year economic impact!
However, I learned a great deal of what I am
doing now, thanks in large part to my years in both Freeport and Nassau.
In my semi-retirement, I am puttering away at a book that I am in the processing
of writing. Many chapters are dedicated to the Bahamas, all of which
are very positive to say the least!
I forgot to mention, if he is still active, please
say hello to another good friend for me, Idris Reid, former Bahamas High
Commissioner to Ottawa. I used to assist him on issues on Canadian
/ Bahamian matters up here.
Lastly, it is kind of fun when your Bahamian
born kids excel in winter sports up here in Canada and even get to the
professional ranks in hockey, skiing, and snowboarding!
As parents, you have to fill out all kinds of
forms which include ‘birthplaces’. You cannot believe the reaction
when Nassau appears on the forms!
Keep the website alive, I check it every Monday
morning!!!
A Canadian / Bahamian!
If you are interested, I have my own website ----- www.golfplus.net
Best to all ---
Ted Maude
Golf Plus Inc.
(905) 888-5387
OBITUARY
Dead is Georgiana 'Anna' Victoria Ingraham. Anna married Robert Ingraham
at 16, but the union was short lived. She relocated to Nassau shortly
after and met the now deceased John Audley 'Unc' Munnings. Together
they produced 13 children. She is survived by Genevieve Harper, Ralph
Munnings, Philip Munnings, Lorraine Forbes, Richard Munnings, Leanora Munnings,
Marjorie Knowles, Donald Munnings, Cheryl Seymour, Derry Strachan, Erece
Munnings, 45 grandchildren and 35 great grandchildren. She was buried
in the church cemetery after a funeral service at Bethel Baptist Church
on Meeting Street, Saturday 12th June. She was 82 years old.
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
The Prime Minister this week presided over the signing
of a revamped Heads of Agreement for the 'Bimini Bay' development in that
island. Cuban American developer Gerardo Capo's Bimini Bay is now
downsized by more than fifty percent to more closely meet the small island's
environmental and developmental goals. The Prime Minister lauded
Mr. Capo for paying more attention to his legacy and that of his family
in the Bimini Bay project than to pure profit.
Noted US attorney John O'Quinn was in The Bahamas
this past week, and paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister. Mr.
Christie is shown with Mr. O'Quinn.
During the week, the Prime Minister also received
a courtesy call from the group, Eyes Wide. From left are Ms. Sonia
Black, Ms. Linda McCaulsky, Prime Minister Christie and Ms. Betty Rolle.
 |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - This is the month of June in The Bahamas and it should once again be called Poinciana June as The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism used to call it. As you travel all over the island of New Providence, the island is covered in red, the beautiful colours of the Poinciana trees that though not native to the islands now cover prolifically the island of New Providence. If you stand on a hill in the island, you see splotches of red everywhere. It is spectacular, particularly from the top of the hill where the St. Augustine’s Benedictine Monastery sits. Peter Ramsay took a ride out on the Eastern Road and captured a very special picture, one house before the Catholic Bishop’s official residence called “The Hermitage”. The photo shows the usual red Poinciana but the more unusual gold Poinciana, side by side. And so in honour of Poinciana June, we make this our photo of the week. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE QUESTION OF A WHITE PRIME MINISTER
Brent Symonette
as an FNM Senator once tried to sponsor a resolution in the Senate that
would have condemned the PLP and specifically persons associated with former
Senator Franklin Wilson for being racist because of an ad that some PLP
supporters were running in the press. He was later persuaded not to proceed
with it by his FNM colleagues. Someone reminded him that the last person
to sponsor such a resolution should have been him. After all he - through
no fault of his own - had attended St. Andrew's School when St. Andrew's
was a segregated all white school and unapologetically so. Many people
remember the day when St. Andrew’s first desegregated with the acceptance
of one of Sir Milo Butler’s grandchildren as the first black person in
the school. This was only possible after majority rule came to the country
in 1967.
Fast forward now to 2003, Mr. Symonette who was ninety nine percent certain that he would run for the leadership of the Free National Movement last year, suddenly announced last year that the point one per cent had won out and he was no longer going to run for leader. Instead, he was frightened by his own colleagues into not taking the top spot from Senator Tommy Turnquest and the lame duck, nice but hapless Alvin Smith. He could well have been the leader of the FNM but he was persuaded by his own side, the FNM side, not the PLP side, that because he was white that would have made him unacceptable to the country.
The PLP has always believed that is foolishness. Brent Symonette, like any other Bahamian has a right to be the Prime Minister of this country. What it takes is not whether you are black or white but rather whether you are relevant to the times. It is on that latter score that Brent Symonette has a problem. But he ignores that; the question of competence and keeps raising the bogeyman of race, subtly seeking to blame the PLP when the only side that raises race as an obstacle for him is his own side. And Hubert Ingraham's men know why they raise it, because with Brent’s money in good use, they can be thoroughly defeated. They have to keep Brent Symonette off base by constantly reminding him of his colour, and he believes it. What a great pity. When will he get over it?
Viz. now the appearance of Mr. Symonette on the radio show Parliament Street of Island FM last Sunday 13th June as we were going to print.
Here is what he had to say in his own words:
“If John Doe is saying that this white person can be prime minister, but Brent Symonette can’t be Prime Minister, I have a problem with that. If I take my parents and the era I grew up in, we’re past that…
“The issue in The Bahamas is not minority rule anymore. There have been generations of children born after that era. I think we need to move on, or is it a question of where you live or what kind of car you drive? Is that what is the distinguishing factor?
“I think that there is no question that the political rhetoric of the question will be the whole question of colour. The issue will be the question of my colour and my economic background, the whole question of my political background, and very high on the list, fortunately it has gone off the radar screen but I’ll bring it back on is the whole question of my role at the Airport Authority and resigning as the Chairman and possibly I don’t have a grasp of the needs of the common man. I equate just as easily with the fellows on Step Street, as I do with the fellows on the Eastern Road. That’s me.”
We say again, none of these is an insurmountable obstacle. The only thing that is of importance in this matter is competence and one’s relevance to the times. On that score, without some major changes, we don’t think he has chance.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 19th June at midnight: 46,051.
Number of hits for the month of June up to Saturday 19th June 2004 at midnight: 248,062.
Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 19th June 2004 at midnight: 1,256,215.
THE
BUDGET PASSES
Prime Minister Perry Christie rose to his feet some
time in the evening of Friday 18th June to wrap up debate on the third
budget that he has presented as Minister of Finance. It has been a long
one again. No matter how well the PLP tries to manage the debate, it simply
gets to be too long, with too many long speeches and always not enough
time. But it is an important ritual that is undergone each year. One hopes
the country benefited from it.
As usual the bugaboo in the system was Hubert Ingraham who decided that he would speak for five hours non stop and not co-operate with the House leadership on when and how long he would speak. The PLP was ready for him this time. Usually, he tries to capture the morning times in the House by getting on late in the afternoon and speaking away to his hearts content to the 7 p.m. usual adjournment so that he could reserve a spot to resume speaking the next morning. But the Leader of the House insisted that he would sit straight through until Mr. Ingraham was finished. And so five hours droning on later, he was finally forced to sit down in the wee hours of Friday morning.
Mr. Ingraham did manage to say a few ungracious things. He got the goat of Minister of Transport Glenys Hanna Martin who had to tell him a thing or two about his comment about “sissy laughter”. But he says silly things too often as former Prime Minister. This time he said just one silly thing, not bad for an otherwise boring address. After yawning through the whole thing, the House was relieved when he finally, finally sat down.
But the Budget now goes on to the Senate where there will be yet another
long debate. The matter will have to become law before the 1st July so
that the Government can continue to have spending authority. The Senate
will get the Budget Bills on Monday 21st June.
RETRIAL
IN ARCHDEACON'S CASE
Wayne Munroe is apparently on a roll. Having bankrupted
a PLP MP, he has now caused the reversal of a popular murder conviction.
Appearing before the Court of Appeal on Tuesday 15th June got them to reverse
the conviction of Neil Brown who was convicted in December 2002 of murdering
the late Archdeacon William Thompson who was shot in his home at the Rectory
of St. Agnes on 29th May 2000 and who died as a result of his injuries
on 23rd June.
Mr.
Brown is to get a second trial because the Court of Appeal ruled that the
first conviction was unsafe and unsatisfactory because the trial judge
allowed in hearsay evidence. Hearsay evidence is evidence that is not within
the own experience of the person who is a witness that is used for the
truth of its content. Mr. Brown was represented by a public defender Michael
Hanna.
It is a great pity that this whole thing has to be done all over again. One thinks of Archdeacon Thompson’s widow and other members of his family who now have to relive this whole horrible event over again in the courts. The widow was the principal witness to the murder.
This all reminds us of the trial for the murder of Dr. Meyer Rassin,
founder of the Rassin Hospital later Doctors Hospital and the late father
of the CEO of Doctors', Barry Rassin. The trial’s guilty verdict was set
aside four times, and eventually the persons were acquitted when the child
witnesses grew sick and tired of going into court over and over again.
The crime remains unsolved.
THE TRIBUNE
GETS IT WRONG
Just when you thought that political dishonesty
had reached its heights at The Tribune, they go and do something worse.
It was always a belief by most that at the very least Eileen Carron, the
Publisher of The Tribune if not anyone else in that institution, understood
the meaning of a conversation between journalistic professionals and the
meaning of off the record. It is done all the time. The profession cannot
function in any other way. It helps the public interest and it make
