Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 4 © BahamasUncensored.Com 2006
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
CONFUSION ON THE LABOUR SCENE
The
elections for the nation’s largest union are over but the result is confusion.
All of the positions on the executive have been filled save that of the
President. The incumbent President Pat Bain of the Rainbow Team is
locked in a tie with the head of the insurgent Ifa Justice Team headed
by Roy Colebrook. The two are locked at 1045 votes each.
Last week when we were uploading, the initial shocking results had come in. It was clear that there was a major shift taking place in the hotel union. The preliminary result showed that Pat Bain was leading by a mere 20 votes. All of his team had gone down in flames except Leo Douglas, his fiery Secretary General who had won by a mere four votes. By the time the vote was recounted, and officially certified by the Ministry of Labour, the lead of Mr. Bain had dwindled to the tie we now report and Mr. Douglas had held his majority.
The question everyone asked is how could Mr. Bain get himself into the position that he did? Mr. Bain had built up a reputation as fighter from his time in Freeport. When he ousted the longstanding Tom Bastian as President, he was able to build on his work in Freeport, together with the weariness of members in Nassau with Mr. Bastian to defeat him. Mr. Bain it seems may not have remembered the path that he took to victory.
The
voters in Freeport were most unhappy about the Union’s response to the
hurricane plight of members in Grand Bahama. The voters at the Atlantis
property at Paradise Island voted heavily against him. The combination
of those two sealed his fate.
Then there was the assault by Thomas Bastian now teamed up with the archrival Obie Ferguson of the Trade Union Congress (TUC). Mr. Bastian has been trying to make a comeback to run himself for President of the Union again. He got no traction in the Union. In fact he was prevented from resuming his lapsed membership by a hostile Executive Board of the Union so he could not run. However, Mr. Bastian led the fight against Mr. Bain seeking an explanation for a five million dollar loan that the union took out to cover a deficit in its expenses. Mr. Bastian teamed up with some of the members of the executive who were dissatisfied with Mr. Bain's explanations and the word got around that five million dollars had been improperly obtained, improperly spent, and that monies were somehow misallocated. The fact that none of it was true did not stop the rot. Mr. Bain and his team were never effective in combating the message. The longstanding Treasurer of the Union Arimentha Butler also went down in flames. This is a particularly sobering result.
That
is democracy though. The PLP was watching with interest because it
too as an incumbent faces an election within nine months. The last
thing the party wants to do is to get complacent. The PLP does not
want to have what we call here the Indian problem. The government
of India before the present one lost office even though the economy was
doing super well. They believed that the economy was doing so well
that their victory was assured. But the people at the bottom were
not feeling the good times, they felt left out of the equation and as a
result the incumbent Government lost and the Congress Party is now back
in the Government.
The Minister of Labour Shane Gibson who is off to the annual International Labour Organization (ILO) Conference in Geneva has a task on his hands to plot through the unusual situation which now faces the Union. The law and the Union’s constitution is silent on the question. It would appear that unless a fix can be brokered, the elections will have to be run again with Mr. Bain and Mr. Colebrook. The result would seem to be a foregone conclusion with the swing so strongly against Mr. Bain. It is not clear whether Mr. Douglas should continue in the face of such an overwhelming swing either, notwithstanding his win. The problem always is that people in our jurisdiction often can’t take a hint about when it is time to leave. If Mr. Douglas alone survived he would face unremitting hostility in the executive group in a Union that requires a vote from the Executive Board for almost every action including the issuing of cheques.
Mr.
Bain's situation is complicated by the fact that he is still recovering
from a bout with cancer. It may be that the Minister of Labour ought
to seek a compromise situation where all the incoming team agree to a proper
severance package for the outgoing longstanding executive. That’s
another thing that we like to do in this jurisdiction is to help to kill
our longstanding leaders dead once they are done.
So change has come to The Bahamas Hotel Catering Allied Workers Union again. The incoming team will be heavily dominated by the forces at Atlantis. This demonstrates how strong the Kerzner product now is in the industry, what with Grand Bahama decimated, Cable Beach much reduced and Kerzner growing from strength to strength. The workers at Atlantis will bring a new work ethic to the Union. The old style leadership which was characterized by the angry harangues in which the incumbent Secretary General often engaged would seem now to be clearly thing of the past, and a new type of leadership in hotel trade unionism is ushered in. Let us hope that the new leadership is PLP friendly and also has the same kind of broad sweeping vision that men like David Knowles, Thomas Bastian and Pat Bain had for the Union.
We think that Mr. Bain was a good leader but in democracies very often good leaders also lose.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 4th June 2006 at midnight: 90,763.
Number of hits for the month of May up to Wednesday 31st May 2006 at midnight: 457,418.
Number of hits for the year 2006 up to Saturday 4th June 2006 at midnight: 2,140,973.
Hubert Ingraham The Master Triple Dipper of The Bahamas |
PRIME
MINISTER PRESENTS HIS BUDGET
The country’s annual Budget Day came on Wednesday
31st May. It set out the spending priorities for the next year, the
year of the General Election. The macro economic news is good, with
the GFS deficit back on manageable track. The International Monetary
Fund (IMF) is predicting great growth over the next three years for the
economy. The Prime Minister said that there would be no new taxes
in this year’s budget. You may click
here for the full budget presentation.
The Prime Minister was able to boast that the country
benefited from a 67 million dollar windfall in revenue. The windfall
came through tighter fiscal legislation and growth over what was expected
in customs duty revenue. Recurrent revenues will amount to $1.2 billion
dollars this fiscal year that ends on 30th June. This is an increase
of over 15 percent more than the previous year and 67 million more than
was projected for this year.
Prime Minister Perry Christie and Ministers of Government take the
traditional walk from the Cabinet Office to the House of Assembly on Budget
Day. BIS photo: Peter Ramsay
THE
NEW FACE OF THE NASSAU GUARDIAN
The Nassau Guardian has tried or is trying something
new with the face of its newspaper. On the day after the Prime Minister
presented his Budget to the House, instead of using a photograph to show
the Prime Minister at work in the House, the newspaper chose to commission
a drawing or illustration for its front page. We show the drawing
to you.
In some quarters the use of the drawing did not
go over well. Telephone calls were being made back and forth about
how insulting it was to the Prime Minister, what was the Nassau Guardian
trying to prove. Many people thought it was a caricature in
the sense that it was making fun of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.
We do not think so. We think it was an attempt to give the paper
a different look. We think that it was meant to emphasize the high
drama of the Budget presentation. But the comments showed us that
this place is really quite a conservative little place. Though it
has aspirations for greatest, change comes slowly on even the littlest
things.
EILEEN
GOES INTO OVERDRIVE FOR THE US
Perhaps Eileen Carron should be appointed the Ambassador to The Bahamas
for the United States of America. After her anti Bahamian performance
this week in The Tribune, the Bahamian people could be forgiven for wondering
whether or not she is ready to give up her Bahamian citizenship.
Of course, the things that she has written in the past in her editorials
showed that she wears Bahamian citizenship like a light garment. You get
the impression that she would give it up in a moment to go back to being
a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and certainly would give it
up for being a citizen of the United States. Being Bahamian seems
to mean little to her; anything for the bigger bosses.
Still smarting from the cut behind Hubert Ingraham
was given in the House of Assembly by Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell on
Wednesday 17th May when he clarified how The Bahamas voted on Cuba’s membership
of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations (you
may click here for the full statement), Mrs. Carron has spent the past
week in her newspaper trying to pick the statement of the Foreign Minister
apart. Her last tack being that the Foreign Minister should apologize
to the United States for saying the following with regard to Cuba: “No
country, unsolicited, has given the level of assistance to The Bahamas,
without that assistance being of direct benefit to the country itself.”
Mrs. Carron, talking just as though she were the American Ambassador, gave
chapter and verse of what she believed were the contributions of the American
government to The Bahamas and how Cuba is against personal freedom and
how the Bahamian people ought to be grateful. The fact that each
contribution named was of direct benefit to the U.S. did not escape keen
eyes.
We hope she gets no apology. Further, we hope
that what she gets is her comeuppance for such silly statements and further
for her inability to support her country. Anything not to support
The Bahamas; any anti Black cause, any anti Bahamian cause, she and her
fellow travellers at The Tribune are busy supporting the other side.
We have said this many times before and its bears repeating, Mrs. Carron
and her family ought to be grateful to God for all the money he has allowed
her to make off the backs of the Bahamian people. But instead of
being grateful, she constantly shows ingratitude. Perhaps she should
now stay home and continue to take care of mama, this time full time.
It is not a good thing for Bahamian young people to see this naked lack
of patriotism towards this country.
GORDON
LOWE DIES
Gordon Lowe, a veteran announcer at the Broadcasting Corporation of The
Bahamas has died suddenly.
Mr. Lowe, who spent some 30 years with the Broadcasting
Corporation, and had risen to the post of Director of Radio Production,
was at a fast food restaurant in Nassau's Mall at Marathon around midday
Saturday when he collapsed. All attempts to resuscitate him failed.
The 58-year old Mr. Lowe was a regular voice over
ZNS Radio before he took on managerial responsibilities. To many of his
fans he was known as “G-Low.”
For the past several years, he was a member of the
Disaster Preparedness Team at the Corporation and spent long hours on air
providing hurricane information when parts of the country were faced with
Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004 and Hurricane Wilma last year.
BCB Chairman Calsey Johnson hailed Mr. Lowe as a
“professional” and a loyal and dedicated broadcaster.
Mr. Lowe’s survivors include his wife Donna of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and five children.
Story from a report by ZNS' Clunis Devaney at www.znsbahamas.comPhoto:Derek
Smith
KAYLA
EDWARDS BURIED
Cultural icon Kayla Lockhart Edwards was cremated on Saturday 4th June.
She was 60 years old. Mrs. Edwards is survived by her husband Desmond
and her children Keisha and Desmond Jr. The funeral service took
place at the Bahamas Faith Mission’s diplomat centre in New Providence
with Rev. Myles Munroe presiding. The service was attended by the Bahamian
cultural community: singers, musicians. She was a beloved figure
who was known for her signature tune “Alla we is one family!”
Despite Mrs. Edwards being a well known FNM activist,
the Prime Minister Perry Christie attended the funeral and brought remarks.
The funeral was also attended by Governor General Arthur Hanna, former
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and Sir Arthur Foulkes. We extend
condolences to her husband, her family and the community of artists.
You may click here for the Prime Minister’s
full remarks. The photos are by Peter Ramsay of Bahamas Information
Services.
BRIAN
MOREE PLAYS TO TYPE
The problem with some pundits is they have an overblown sense of their
importance. This is certainly the problem with many of the commentators
on the American channels like Fox News and CNN. There is this feeling
that they are so important to the course of public policy that what they
say goes. It was therefore quite amusing to hear Brian Moree, the
attorney and commentator and know it all on every subject, take credit
for killing the debate last year on The Bahamas joining the Caribbean Single
Market and Economy. He made his remarks on the radio programme Jones
and Co on Love 97 FM last Sunday. In fact, he had nothing to do with
it. But it’s typical of him to claim credit where no credit is due.
Certainly, Brian Moree was one of the strident,
discordant, racist, xenophobic voices engaged in trying to derail public
opinion. He has yet to answer for example how he could on the one
hand support an immigration report which he authored to ask for the liberalization
of the immigration laws with regard to the banking sector but not support
the same thing in the Caricom treaty. The only difference is that
he supported white people to come into the banking sector but did not want
black people to come from the Caribbean.
Brian Moree claims now that he is going to make
the CSME the acid test for re election to office of the next Government.
Both Craig Butler, the other guest and Wendall Jones, the host of last
Sunday’s radio programme wished him luck but promised him that he would
not get a soul to respond to it. We think they are probably right.
But of course he won’t listen he is too smart for his own good. He
tried to suggest that the debate should be kept at a certain level and
that critics should not be demonized as racist or xenophobic because they
press their opinions. His critics could call his views worse things
like lies or stupid, deliberately misleading but we won’t and leave it
there for the time being. He reminds us of the kind of fellow who
goes home pulls out a plum and says what a good fellow am I.
WATER
GOES TO ROLLEVILLE
Bradley Roberts, the Minister for Public Works was
in Exuma on Friday 2nd June for the launching of the new pipeline to Rolleville
in Exuma. The people of western Exuma have been suffering because
of the lack of potable water. Now the pipes are being extended from
the Emerald Bay project to take the water all the way into Rolleville.
It is soon also to go into Williamstown and eventually into the eastern
most reaches of Great Exuma. We congratulate Anthony Moss, the Member
of Parliament for the area for steadfast dedication to his job and for
bringing the water in. You may click
here for the full remarks of the Minister.
THE
FUTURE OF THE FNM
When the Labour Day march ended, the pundits were
busy trying to read what it all meant for the political parties.
It is clear that the Free National Movement saw it as some kind of political
contest for the attention of the voters of New Providence. They turned
up in their numbers with bright red T-shirts and their message written
in white. The Leader of the Opposition himself deigned to march along
with the mercurial Carl Bethel. Prime Minister Perry Christie led
the PLP and they were there in their scores.
One thousand T-shirts were given out by the PLP,
adorned with the message: “So said, so done”, the theme of the mini convention.
All along the street the PLP and its leader were greeted with wild enthusiasm.
Some of the FNM marchers dropped out of their group and stayed back to
see what the reaction to the PLP was. Try as they might to bring
jeers and make sarcastic remarks they were drowned out when the cry went
up for PLPs to make some noise. What is clear though is that following
on the rally on the Tuesday before Labour Day, the FNM somehow seems energized
and they turned out with a valiant effort on Labour Day.
The FNM had hoped to have a perception that they
are back and in charge. In that they failed. They were even
trying to provoke a confrontation in the COB yard where the march ended.
The PLPs leader wisely told their marchers to continue on to Gambier House,
the PLP's headquarters so that there would be no fights or confrontation
with angry FNM supporters in the COB yard. The future of the FNM
is this: they will get their share in the next General Election but they
will end up being the minority party again.
THE
BAHAMAS IN MARITIME AFFAIRS
Dwayne Hutchison is one of the few Bahamians who
work for the Bahamas Maritime Authority in a responsible position.
There is always a rumour of one kind or another about the powers in the
Authority dominated by retired English professionals; about wanting to
push the Bahamians out of any influence or presence in the Authority and
to relegate them to second class citizens. There have even been credible
reports of those same foreign professionals showing utter disrespect to
the Minister of Government responsible for maritime affairs.
One Bahamian after the other is forced out at the
Bahamas Maritime Authority. Sometimes the Bahamian High Commissioner
is reportedly ignored when it comes to work at the International Maritime
Organization. It is possible reportedly for actions to take place
by the Authority without any regard for the Bahamians who work in the sector.
That is why it was interesting to see Mr. Hutchison’s comments made in
the Nassau Guardian on Saturday 3rd June. The Guardian’s usual poor
writing does not tell us where the statement was made and when but it is
important nonetheless to see what he said in his own words. One day
it will be possible to thoroughly Bahamianize the Bahamas Maritime Authority
but until then we live in hope:
“The Bahamas government should invest in turning The Bahamas into a major
maritime centre, modeling itself after some of the world’s most profitable
shipping centres.
“That is something we need to exploit and explore
a bit more. How do we make The Bahamas more of a maritime centre,
not just registration, but also tapping into the financial markets?
I think the key thing is if we bring more shipping elements here, we will
have a lot more people saying, ‘I want to get into shipping’. Right
now everybody wants to be a lawyer, doctor but the potential in the shipping
sector is huge. That’s something that will be a concentrated effort.
“The outer islands are being developed and most
all of them are getting their goods by ship. Shipping plays a key
part in The Bahamas as an island nation and in the whole global development.
We need to look at how we bring all of these groups together to create
a maritime practice that moves beyond shipping. They need to look
at all of the other subsidiary businesses associated with shipping, and
that’s one of the challenges we’re facing…
“If you ask the average Bahamian what they know
about shipping, it is not known, the important role shipping plays in the
whole maritime sector.”
JULIAN
FRANCIS REPLACED AS GB PORT CHAIR
The Grand Bahama Port Authority’s principals seem
to have cut Julian Francis (pictured) off at the knees with the announcement
that Hannes Babak has been appointed the new Chairman of the GBPA.
There was no announcement from the Port, no word of thanks; nothing. Julian
Francis just seems to have disappeared. As we go to upload, there seems
to have been an announcement thanking Mr. Francis for his service.
We hope that we stand corrected and if so, we will bring you the text of
the announcement in our next upload. However, the press did say that
they understood that Mr. Francis had resigned following a three day meeting
with the principals and that there was some disagreement with the shareholders
about how the management of the company was proceeding. Mr. Francis’
departure is a setback for Bahamians.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
POET'S OUTRAGE AT 'On The Run' TREATMENT
My letting fall upon the counter in disgust,
a package of 10 Peppermint tea bags, which in a few weeks, jumped from
$1 to $1.75, even with some gook having dripped upon the packet, warranted
my being threatened with violent eviction from On The Run on East Bay St.
and Fowler St. The manager, Miller, thought it unacceptable that
I let drop upon the counter, this filthy packet of tea bags; but thought
it acceptable, appropriate for me to be thrown out disrespectfully after
having returned money to me, thrown to me, thrown at me, for another item
I did desire to purchase.
Thought it appropriate to evict me with his security
assistant, who had been busy, with gloves on, preparing and serving up
sandwiches and whatever else in the deli. Thought it acceptable, appropriate
to throw my manuscripts and me outside if I didn’t vacate as readily -
as quickly as he wished.
I am left to wonder about his sense of value
– sense of worth: a customer with a large family and many friends who frequent
this establishment, weighed against a soiled packet of tea bags – the price
upon which leapt from $1 to $1.75 within a few weeks. All I’d done was
to let it fall upon the counter from the bullet-proof glass I’d held it
up to for scanning.
I write because I’m mystified by this response
– by this reaction. I was humiliated. I am deeply offended. I am confused
by this manager’s implication of impropriety on my part and yet on his
own part, it was not unacceptable that my money was flung back to me –
not inappropriate that I be picked up and thrown out. He threatened to
do as much. Not inappropriate that my writing, my work, most precious to
me, be flung outside. This he threatened also with his security officer
removing his plastic gloves to assist in evicting who strives always to
be the embodiment of peace.
The only sword I ever have or ever carry, besides
prayer, is my pen which, oftentimes, these same persons managing this establishment,
relieve me of,
oftentimes in the middle of inspiration – in the middle of writing
– needing to sign when some delivery or other is made in the middle of
the night.
“Something is rotten in Denmark!” said Hamlet.
I say the same of this establishment and what is rotten is not I who was
threatened, asked offensively to leave, as if this deli were the White
House and I some rodent. Something in there is rotten still and needs investigating
by the appropriate authority.
I thought they loved, appreciated and respected
me. I’d not patronize them as I do, as I have were I aware it was otherwise.
I bring poetry down by
taking it there. I thought with my presence and with my art, I raised
them up to poetry. I know now it is not respected nor appreciated.
To find appropriate, all-night spots to hang
out at – to create in, I suppose I must return to Paris of be off again
to Montreal or Stockholm or
Oslo – back to New York or Budapest. I write about Bahamians. I
wanted to be home. I thought I was. There are elements among us though
from elsewhere, wanting to dictate to who is native.
Who I thought were our guests, suggest that who
is Bahamian is here or there or elsewhere in this land only if they say
we are welcome. Who are our guests have turned the table and can decide
upon a whim that I, that we are unwanted.
I might as well be elsewhere. Home is not home
– is not mine – is not ours. I throw my hands up. I rest my case.
Obediah Michael Smith
4:58 a.m. May 27, 2006
http://bestwordsmith.blogspot.com/
--------------------
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
On the march
The streets were filled with the golden shirts of
Progressive Liberal Party members Friday 2nd June as the Party took to
the streets to support workers in the country. Later, on television,
Prime Minister Perry Christie said that it was a unique way of showing
his support and that of the Government for the country's labour movement.
Senator Traver Whylly is pictured at left, sharing a thought with the PM;
Public Service Minister Fred Mitchell is at right. [Photo courtesy PLP]
Mrs. Christie on parade
Mrs. Bernadette Christie, wife of Prime Minister
Perry Christie is shown on this year's Labour Day parade. Mrs. Christie
danced and marched along with the Prime Minister over the four mile route.
US Senator Visits
From Left: Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Public
Service Fred Mitchell, US Senator Tom Harking Prime Minister Perry Christie
and US Ambassador John Rood during a courtesy call by Senator Harkin on
the Prime Minister during the week. Senator Harkin is a winter resident
of The Bahamas and a key member of the US Senate.
Funeral for Kayla Lockhart Edwards
Prime Minister Christie giving
remarks at the funeral of Bahamian cultural standout Kayla Lockhart
Edwards. Just weeks earlier, Mr. Christie made an appearance at a
function to honour and celebrate the contribution of Mrs. Edwards to Bahamian
culture. At that time, he presented her with a framed, formal message
of congratulations.
 |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - Prime Minister Perry Christie is at his best in the cut and thrust of debate in the House of Assembly. No one can top him in the exercise; a former debating champion from his University in Britain. When the House met on Wednesday 8th June, the Prime Minister led the debate on the appropriations bills that follow the traditional Budget communication that comes just before the start of the country’s fiscal year on 1st July. The PM promoted the Budget that he superintends as Minister of Finance, repeating the themes of fiscal prudence from the Communication which have allowed him to run the country for four years without having to raise taxes and at the same time pay for the social programmes that are so badly needed to reform the country’s social life and relieve poverty. This week’s photo of the week is by Peter Ramsay of BIS showing the Prime Minister in a meaningful pause during his presentation in the House of Assembly with Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell at his right and the Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt at his left. You may click here for the Prime Minister’s full address to the House and here for the Communication of last week. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE FUTURE OF FREEPORT
Last
week there was a cryptic announcement reported on this site that Julian
Francis, the successor to Edward St. George as Co-Chair and CEO of the
Grand Bahama Port Authority had resigned after one year in office.
It is clear that things did not go well, in what we predicted at the time
would be a difficult job and a hard act to follow. One has a company
that is steeped in traditions that are arcane and almost colonial, certainly
run pre Julian Francis in a paternalistic manner under a bright but often
mercurial man. In Mr. Francis, it was to be taken over by a person
who had always worked for someone else, was not an entrepreneur and capital
risk taker himself or in his past; was a bureaucrat who seemed as Port
Chair more concerned about pronouncements on political, socio-economic
matters than with getting business for the company and cash for his shareholders.
The Chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority has to be all things to all men. He cannot afford to be perceived as anti government nor anti opposition. He has to have the ability to call both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, speak with trust to both and with ease to both. The quintessential performer in that arena was Sir Albert Miller who retired last year after filling in for Edward St. George while the search was on for a successor. Now Sir Albert has been forced out of retirement again to hold on until they can find someone to take over the company as the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Port Authority.
The announcement made by the Port's shareholders Henrietta St. George and Jack Hayward thanked Mr. Francis for his work and wished him well in his endeavours. All very civilized. Their choice for a successor however was a curious curve ball: Hannes Babak (pictured), the head of a number of shops in Freeport was chosen to become the Co-chairman of the Port Authority. Mr. Babak is little known outside of Freeport. He started Freeport Concrete in Grand Bahama, but his only venture that is known outside of Grand Bahama is the foray into the purchase of Robin Hood, the purveyors of used electronic goods in Nassau. The Bahamian business element, especially the white Bahamian business element in Freeport is said to be in free fall and up in arms and near revolt.
The view expressed by many and largely whispered around the Freeport corridors is that Mr. Babak is associated with shop keeping that has pushed many Bahamian Freeport businesses to the mat, designed to put them so, and the fear is that in his position as Chair of the Port Authority that holds so much sway over the life and death of Freeport businesses will be to further hold sway over their futures. They are not therefore happy campers.
It is a curious choice from another direction. Why not a Bahamian? In one breath people want to blame Julian Francis for crashing and burning within one year of taking on such a valuable job. But in another sense one must still ask the shareholders why in all of the circumstances another Bahamian could not be found who could take over the company.
The answer is that many of the talented Bahamians have siphoned off their energy in the arguably less productive; some would say less useful and more petty political arena which gives them intellectual challenges but no money. It would probably be a good idea for the shareholders to pull one of these politicians off the line and cause them to head the Port and rescue the reputations of Bahamians.
There is a further issue: does the Grand Bahama Port Authority really have a future in a situation where some argue that there is a need to expend and invest vast new sums in the Port area and there does not appear to be the stomach or capacity from the principals to go any further in that direction? A number of Bahamians are said to be putting together various groups to try and buy the Port from the principals but the response many of them say is that there is a NOT FOR SALE sign on the Port’s door. And some go further and say the answer is for the Government to buy the Grand Bahama Port Authority, end the anomaly of the legal situation there in terms of regulation, leaving the tax preferences and sell shares in the Port to the Bahamian public, finding a reliable development partner in Hutchison Whampoa, the Chinese group that has put up lots of money and is apparently willing and able to put up more to develop Grand Bahama.
Meanwhile, the Port’s economy is suffering. There was good news this week when the PM was able to announce in the House of Assembly that a buyer had been found for the closed Royal Oasis Hotel property but there are other dark clouds on the horizon.
It is a great pity that Mr. Francis has not survived. It behooves the Government now more than ever to concentrate on the future of Freeport. In particular it must think and plot where the Grand Bahama Port Authority is going and who is to own it in the future and what impact that will have on the Bahamian economy. All important questions and issues as Hannes Babak, the new Chair and Sir Albert Miller struggle to make sense of the new game in town.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 11th June 2006 at midnight: 117,485.
Number of hits for the month of June up to Saturday 11th June 2006 at midnight: 147,675.
Number of hits for the year 2006 up to Saturday 11th June 206 at midnight: 2,258,458.
LIVINGSTON
N. COAKLEY DIES
Former Government Minister Livingston N. Coakley has died. Mr. Coakley
was 81. He is said to have suffered a stroke. After two years
of service as Chairman of The Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation, Mr.
Coakley sat in the Cabinet of The Bahamas from 1969 until his retirement
from politics in 1987. Prime Minister Perry Christie has issued the
following statement upon the death of Mr. Coakley:
The death of Livingston N. Coakley CBE has brought
a profound sadness in the knowledge that The Bahamas has lost a founding
father.
I extend the condolences of a grateful nation
to Mr. Coakley’s family on behalf of the Government and people of The Bahamas.
Livingston Coakley will be remembered as one
of the great nation builders of the modern Bahamas, particularly in the
educational development of our young nation. He began as a teacher
at the blackboard in Bahamian education and rose to become one of the most
memorable Ministers of Education. His passion for education and his
appreciation of the unique importance of the teaching profession in our
national development earned him the respect of teachers and school administrators
throughout our country.
During his time in Government, Mr. Coakley served
his country in various posts and in various ways, all of them honourable.
He was also a Minister of Works, Tourism, Health and Labour; Youth, Sports
and Community Affairs. No catalogue of the achievements of Mr. Coakley
can be considered complete without mention of the lengthy and distinguished
service he gave to the people of Exuma in the House of Assembly.
He was a dedicated and reliable representative who never lost the common
touch.
It was a mark of the kind of man that ‘Sir Coaks’
was that during one of the most tempestuous periods of our modern political
history, he maintained his standing as the most beloved politician in the
halls of Parliament. He was held in warm and affectionate regard
even by his political opponents, who recognized that he was an individual
completely without guile or malice towards anyone.
This worthy and distinguished son of The Bahamas
in whose honour the L. N. Coakley High School in Exuma was named will be
sorely missed and always remembered.
BIS file photo: Peter Ramsay
PULL
OUT OF OPBAT HELICOPTERS THREATENED
All of the newspapers led with the alarmist headlines during the week that
the United States government, led by the Department of Defence and its
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had decided that the U.S. Army helicopters based
in Exuma were to be withdrawn from The Bahamas. This was revealed
when the contents of a letter to the Attorney General of the United States
from Mr. Rumsfeld were published in the press on Thursday 8th June.
The Bahamian press, intent as they are on injuring
the PLP, immediately went into overdrive to say that The Bahamas was being
punished because of the vote at the UN on Cuba (click
here for previous story). How does one deal with such utter nonsense?
The fact is OPBAT is not being withdrawn.
OPBAT means Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos Islands. It is a combination
of the British, Bahamian and American governments trying to interdict drugs
being transhipped into the United States before they reach the U.S.
It started in 1982. Of course the main beneficiary of this is the
United States. It would stand to reason that withdrawing OPBAT altogether
would be foolish for them, but of course stranger things have happened.
The U.S. Ambassador John Rood went to the press
to say that the predictions and interpretations of the press were not true.
But the Nassau Guardian's FNM ideologue Oswald Brown blamed Foreign Minister
Fred Mitchell and Prime Minister Perry Christie for the withdrawal of OPBAT.
In writing what he did in his editorial of Friday 9th June 2006, The Guardian's
Oswald Brown obviously failed to speak to his own reporters who would have
told them that the U.S. position is not that. But of course we are
certain that they will simply say: “Oh the U.S. Ambassador is just saying
that to be polite”. Can’t win for losing!
OPBAT photo-graphic from the Nassau Guardian
THE
TRIBUNE TRIES AND TRIES BUT FAILS
On Thursday 8th June 2006, The Tribune editorialist
tried to have a go at Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell, again. It is
the same old theme. This time they were hopping on the fact that
the U.S. Secretary of Defence wants to move helicopters out of Exuma that
belong to the army and redeploy it somewhere else. It has nothing
to do with the domestic or foreign policies of The Bahamas but all to do
with the ruinous war that his country it is fighting in the Middle East
that requires the resources. The Tribune claims otherwise.
They say that the statements by the Bahamian Foreign Minister are the cause
or more correctly will it make it more difficult for the U.S. Ambassador
John Rood to get the matter reversed. They must have some kind of
line to the Ambassador’s brain since he himself is not saying that.
It is a simple proposition to us. If the U.S.
wants to solve the problem they will. The Bahamas has no control
over what assets they deploy and how they deploy them and when they do.
We are only along for the ride. The Tribune ought to realize that
the U.S. acts in its best interest as they perceive it to be and they don’t
give a hoot about anyone else’s interest. So if they think the helicopters
should go, they will go. But what we do say is they can’t go ahead
when the situation turns bad with the drug trade through The Bahamas because
they have moved the helicopters and say that it’s the fault of The Bahamas,
which clearly does not have the resources to deal with the matter.
It could then be said by The Bahamas to the U.S. that they pulled the resources
out and so the result followed as night followed day. Strange that
The Tribune thinks that this is a case that The Bahamas has to make.
But then their logic is so warped, you can expect anything from them.
THE LYING
PUNCH ON THE FOX HILL CONSTITUENCY
It was beat up on Fred Mitchell week in the press.
The favourite target of the anti PLP press in the country was the object
of their ire again this week. This time apart from the usual anti
Fred Mitchell editorials in The Tribune and the Nassau Guardian, there
was the lying Punch at it again. The Punch claimed on Monday 5th
June that Fred Mitchell is ‘running scared’ because of the FNM's nominee
Jacinta Higgs in Fox Hill. They claim that she has 2000 signatures
in her favour. That is an outright lie. It stands to reason
because anything in The Punch is a lie, edited by the self hating Ivan
Johnson.
The facts are that Mrs. Higgs has no credibility
in Fox Hill; her biggest problem is to try and explain to the people of
Fox Hill how she turned her back on the PLP after all it has done for her,
especially Mr. Mitchell personally helping her out with the work for her
doctoral thesis. She also has to explain to the FNMs how she double
banked Danny Ferguson who had the FNM nomination all wrapped up, thought
he had her support only to find out that she was bargaining with Hubert
Ingraham on the side.
The question really is, can Jacinta Higgs be trusted?
Can she be relied upon? So far the record suggests it’s an open question.
On Friday 9th June Mrs. Higgs who now refers to herself as Doctor Higgs
at every turn, launched her political career with a grand mass at the Roman
Catholic Church that her supporters are saying was built by her husband
for free. This must be news to the Catholic Church and to the Archbishop
in particular. Every week without fail St. Anselm’s Parish has to
pay the bank.
WHAT
ABOUT THOSE PUBLIC SERVICE JOBS?
When Fred Mitchell speaks in the House of Assembly on Monday 13th June
and when he speaks on the radio at Island FM today, he will no doubt have
a lot to say about many things including the question of the 1200 public
service jobs that has so exercised the wicked ones at The Tribune.
On Thursday 8th June, they had a double pronged editorial: one on the Foreign
Minister qua foreign minister, the other in his capacity as the Minister
for the Public Service. The Tribune’s tack is that the jobs are just
election jobs.
The fact is that there has been a moratorium on
hiring in the public service since 2001. That has resulted in a number
of positions in the service at entry level going wanting. A number
of schools are suffering today because they do not have sufficient janitresses
to clean the schools and can’t get permission to hire them. Then
there is the more general and difficult problem of skills and qualifications.
The people who are available even for entry level jobs have no skills and
few academic qualifications.
The other issue is whether or not from a sociological
point of view we can continue to have large numbers of unskilled young
men and women sitting around in their teens and twenties with nothing to
do and no prospect of anything to do and what is preventing their hire
is their own inability to qualify. You are looking at a time bomb
down the road if there is not one present now. The private sector
is not prepared to help or is unwilling to do so. The public sector
has to step in and provide some semblance of order, purpose and meaning
to the lives of these young people. That is the idea of the public
sector job programme, where first time job entrants will be able to get
a start without the lowest entry qualifications but they have to give an
undertaking to improve their skills within three years of their service.
The Tribune and their fellow travellers are against that.
It is also interesting that the Free National Movement
is against hiring young Bahamians into the public service even though there
is a clear social and economic benefit to the country, and even though
it has no budgetary implications.
Public Service Minister Fred Mitchell is pictured with Prime Minister
Perry Christie in this file photo from the PLP's 1-night convention 2nd
May, 2006 when he announced the 1200 public service jobs. - Photo: Peter
Ramsay
WRONG
DATE FOR ZNS ANNIVERSARY?
Juliet Storr who was herself once a reporter and
then a teacher now has her Doctorate. She has taken issue with the
Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas the owners of ZNS radio for their
assertion that ZNS began 70 years ago on the 26th May 1936. There
is a year long celebration being held to commemorate the event. In
fact one of the last public events which the now late Gordon Lowe (see
story below) attended was a lunch at the Welcome Centre on the Prince
George Dock to commemorate the anniversary.
Dr. Storr says that her research clearly shows that
the station did not come on stream until much later in 1937. She
said that the reference that ZNS uses is from a secondary source, a report
that erroneously stated the date as 26th May 1936. She says that
she wrote the Corporation to point out the error and not only have they
ignored her but they have persisted in memorializing the error.
If Dr. Storr is correct it is illustrative of the
same general difficulty we have with the press in this country. There
are no public ethics and requirements and standards for journalists.
They print anything without an obligation to correct errors and mistakes
or in fact to print the truth. The reporters themselves don’t seem
to know that they have an obligation to tell the truth and their editors
say where you put me. Dr. Storr's letter was published in the Nassau
Guardian on Tuesday 6th June 2006.
DEATHS
ON A LONG ISLAND ROAD
As the long holiday weekend of last weekend ended,
there was tragedy in Long Island. It is typical of what happens these
days in The Bahamas after a long weekend. It appears that after everyone
has had fun, and enjoyed the weekend, people seem to lose their way somehow
and an accident happens. In this case, in the early hours of Tuesday
morning 6th June following the end of the Long Island Regatta at Salt Pond,
a family was on its way home on slick wet, straight roads in Long Island
and two people ended up losing their lives in a traffic accident.
Their names: Brigetta 28 and Santura Adderley 19 of the Burnt Ground settlement.
The Tribune reported also that on Thursday 8th June
there was another road traffic death in Long Island that of 38 year old
David Burrows. With the report of yet another traffic fatality as
we go to upload, this makes 16 road traffic deaths for the whole Bahamas
so far this year. There are too many reports of this kind of thing.
We do not know the causes of these particular accidents but the profile
of the death of the Adderleys is similar to that of another horrible accident
that happened on the slick long roads of Grand Bahama when a young man
with a group of female friends in the car lost control of the car and ended
up killing all of the occupants in the car except himself.
When road accidents happen, the country is shocked;
there is sadness, outrage maybe, but we move on and pretty quickly.
The enforcement of speeding laws is intermittent. The drunk driving
laws seem not to be enforced at all. The seat belt laws do not seem
to be enforced either. In total there appears to be a culture of
non compliance and lack of enforcement of traffic rules and regulations.
The new Road Comptroller Jack Thompson is trying with campaigns and the
police are helping with their speed guns but there clearly are not sufficient
resources being applied to this problem. It came home to us in another
way now that Lord Robertson, the former Chief of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) published on Thursday 8th June the
report of the Commission for Global Road Safety. The report calls
the deaths by road traffic accidents a global epidemic on par with malaria
and tuberculosis.
Coincidentally, just this past week, the press was
exercised about finding one report of malaria in The Bahamas. The
case was reported in Exuma and the Ministry of Health dispatched a team
to Exuma on Thursday 8th June to investigate the matter.
On the traffic deaths worldwide though, Lord Robertson
said: “In 2005, millions of people and the leaders of the G8 responded
to the call to make poverty history, yet many of the gains for development
will be at risk if action is not taken to reverse the growing epidemic
of road traffic deaths and injury with its terrible human and economic
costs.”
Only HIV and Aids take more lives than these road
traffic accidents in the case of young men. We think that clearly
this is a society that can take that advice and apply it. It is simply
disgraceful how many deaths are caused on the roads that are preventable,
that can be eliminated in the future by more education on the necessity
for safety, by better law enforcement of seat belt laws, the laws on speeding
and on drinking and driving.
GORDON
LOWE TO BE BURIED
Last week, we reported in a late edition that Gordon
Lowe the ZNS broadcaster died suddenly at 58 while at a local Wendy’s restaurant
on Saturday 3rd June 2006. He is survived by his widow Donna and
five children. You may click here
for last week’s announcement. Mr. Lowe’s funeral will take place
in Nassau on Monday 12th June at St. Matthew’s Church at 1 p.m. Photo:
Derek Smith
CDR
TO FOLD ITS TENT
The Tribune of Saturday 10th June reported that
today the last men standing in the Coalition for Democratic Reform, the
vehicle used by Dr. Bernard Nottage, now the PLP’s Minister of Health,
to launch his campaign for Prime Minister are to announce their membership
in the Free National Movement. It is reported that they felt they
couldn’t get guaranteed seats from the PLP. Most folks in the PLP
thought that they brought little to the table. The announcement by
Phenton Neymour and Charles Maynard of the CDR means that effectively the
CDR is gone as a political party. Thus it proves again that a third
party in The Bahamas has no long term future.
TWO
HONOURED AT ANDROS CRABFEST
Organisers of the 9th annual Andros Crab Fest singled
out two Androsians for special honour. Mrs. Joan Hanna connected
to Andros since the early 1960s was named patron of the event. Mrs.
Hanna is the wife of noted Bahamian entertainer, businessman and unionist
Leroy 'Duke' Hanna and mother of environmental activist and college lecturer
Margo Blackwell. Also honoured during the event was popular Bahamian
musician Elon Moxey who also hails from Andros. BIS PHOTOS: Top
- Live crabs were released at the end of the official opening ceremony
to the delight of the crowd and to the apparent consternation of a few
visitors; Left - Joan Hanna with Fresh Creek area Chief Councillor
Clyde Duncombe; Right - Broadcast personality Darrold Miller, who
spoke in tribute to Elon Moxey; Prime Minister Perry Christie, Elon Moxey
and businessman Frank Hanna.
GOOD
NEWS FOR ANDROS
The Minister of Works & Utilities Bradley Roberts
was in Andros over the weekend to attend the annual Andros Crab Fest at
Fresh Creek, where thousands of Bahamians from other islands converge for
a weekend of partying and feasting on the Andros delicacy. While
in Andros, Minister Roberts became aware that the length of the airstrip
at Fresh Creek is about to affect the tourism airlift into the community.
He promised to work to solve the problem in short order. The Minister
also committed to works on the dock and the roads in the area. In
introducing Prime Minister Perry Christie to the crowds at Crab fest, Minister
Roberts called Mr. Christie “a man working overtime” to bring further development
to Andros.
DOCTORS
UNION AGREEMENT
The Bahamas Doctors Union signed an agreement with
the Public Hospitals Authority on Friday, 9th June, 2006 at the Ministry
of Health’s headquarters. Shown from left at the signing ceremony
are, back row, Philip Sealey, Dr. Omala Ablack, Phillip Swan, Sandra
Coleby, Janet Hall, and Dr. Baldwin Carey and front row, Dion Dames, Francis
Williams, Minister of Health and National Insurance Senator Dr. Bernard
J. Nottage and Elma Garraway, Permanent Secretary. BIS Photo: Tim Aylen
REV.
DR. J. CARL RAHMING CELEBRATES 24
Rev. Dr. J. Carl Rahming and Minister Evangeline
Rahming have celebrated 24 years at St. Paul's Baptist Church in Fox Hill.
The day was marked by services of thanksgiving at the church, with Rev.
Michael Ferguson, Bishop Simeon Hall and Rev. Timothy Stewart scheduled
as guest speakers. Also on hand to celebrate the anniversary with
the Church was Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell. We add our own congratulations
to Rev. Dr. Rahming.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Kayla’s Funeral
Where was your attempt at tact when you penned
and posted “Despite Mrs. Edwards being a well known FNM activist, the Prime
Minister Perry Christie attended the funeral and brought remarks”?
Please, please tell me that your intended inference in the statement as
quoted from last week’s ‘Kayla Edwards
Buried’ article was not to imply that it is a stretch of the imagination
(and of respectfulness), that the Prime Minister of The Bahamas (PLP and
FNM alike, I thought) attended the funeral of this Bahamian cultural icon,
in a fitting tribute of the lifelong work BECAUSE she was an FNM supporter.
I fully realize that the opinions of this site are slanted, but “Come on!”
That was the lowest of the low!
I have every confidence that no Bahamian, especially
those among the leadership of the PLP which historically has touted its
authentic “Bahamian-ness”, would intentionally disgrace the Prime Minister’s
appropriate show of respect to this great Bahamian – even if she was a
“well known FNM activist.” Or, did she herself miss the mark when
she remarked “Alla we, is one family. Alla we is one”?
C. A. deGregory
Our point was precisely that the Prime Minister
is indeed the Prime Minister of all Bahamians, without regard to political
antecedents and as such, he was quite properly at the funeral. And
oh, by the way, we make no claim, nor ever have to being part of the leadership
of the PLP.
Thanks for reading and please keep reading –
Editor.
You have to blame us. The photos with last
week's editorial may have given the wrong impression of the march as
far as labour participation was concerned. Photographers tend to take pictures
of politicians. The march was in fact dominated by the labour unions
and not political parties. – Editor.
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
Budget Debate Begins
The Prime Minister was in excellent form as he opened
the House of Assembly debate on the 2006/2007 Budget this past week.
Mr. Christie is shown emphasising a point at the lectern in the House as
Ministers Allyson Maynard Gibson, Glenys Hanna Martin (both partially hidden
at left and right rear); Melanie Griffin and Fred Mitchell listen.
Lois Symonette's Funeral
Prime Minister Perry Christie is among the dignitaries
gathered to mourn at the funeral of senior civil servant Lois Symonette.
Mrs. Symonette died unexpectedly while undergoing routine surgery.
She was a former Permanent Secretary of several Ministries and was a sitting
member of the Public Service Commission at the time of her death.
The funeral service was held at the Anglican Church of the Most Holy Trinity
in Stapeldon Gardens on Wednesday 7th June. Mrs. Symonette is survived
by her husband Mark their son Neil and their daughters Mishka and Kim.
Andros Crab Fest
During one of those 'photo moments', Prime Minister
Christie and others pause with crabs caught during the opening ceremony
of the 9th annual Andros Crab Fest in Fresh Creek. From left are
area MP Whitney Bastian, Ron Pinder, Parliamentary Secretary - Energy &
Environment, Mr. Christie and area Chief Councillor Clyde Duncombe.
BIS photo
Hangin' Out
Prime Minister Christie stayed on for a time after
officially opening the Andros Crab Fest to 'hang out' with the revellers,
thousands of whom came from around The Bahamas to join Androsians in the
celebration. Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe is seen partially
hidden at left rear. - BIS photo
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
MY DEAR MR. MISSICK, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU
On
Sunday last on Island FM, the Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell appears to
have set off a firestorm of controversy with the narcissistic press of
The Bahamas. The comment was made here last week which we repeat
that the press seems to think that it is so important and above criticism
that it has some special role in the life of a country that has it beyond
the reach of public criticism. The press is full of its own self
importance. Mr. Mitchell scorched them for sloppy work, lack of balance,
lack of ethics and simply not being able to report the news without editorializing
its content. Please click
here for the complete Budget Debate intervention of the Minister.
Suddenly for the twits who run the Nassau Guardian, there was talk of tin pot dictators and seeking to muzzle the press. The cartoonist Stan Burnside got into the mix. It had of course nothing to do with freedom of the press and everything to do with balance fairness and just plain competence. You know that we have argued that the Nassau Guardian is simply hopeless as an editorial product. Its reporters don’t seem to understand what it is they are writing about half the time. They get it wrong half the time. Their editors can’t seem to get the reporters properly assigned to the assignments of real live news on time or at all. They are always picking up after the other press has left.
The Tribune joined the argument later in the week when the Minister in his Budget presentation made the simple point that he had made on the radio last Sunday that the PLP needed to have its own information machinery because clearly the press was not going to allow the PLP or its Ministers to get their message out. They simply would not report the news but were intent on twisting and perverting reports of what was happening as part of some political agenda.
No doubt much of the media response to this criticism was being orchestrated so that when the human rights report of the United States government is released next year, it will say how press freedom is being threatened in The Bahamas. Such is the level of nonsense The Bahamas government has to face. It is simply time for the PLP to get its own paper at least for the election period.
It is not as if the Minister did not have examples of the bad products of the Bahamian press. He pointed out to the reporters how some of them simply did not understand how to write a simple story with the first paragraph having the necessary details of who, what where when and why. You can read a story in the press today of someone making a statement for example and at the end of the story have no idea who the person was, why he made the statement and where he made the statement.
Normally an editor should pick up such fundamentals but obviously the editors either don’t check or don’t know any better. They have their own agenda, influenced by their political opposition to the Government. So you have for example Oswald Brown, a Guardian editor with an irrational hatred of the PLP, who makes the point in an opinion piece that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs were responsible for the withdrawal of OPBAT from The Bahamas. The Minister pointed out that on the same day that he made that assertion, the U.S. Ambassador was saying that this was not so, yet there was no correction or retraction.
There is yet another problem. The Minister pointed out that if you are a newspaper of record, and you take your responsibility to the public seriously then you will be sure that the facts that you report are correct and that there is balance in what you report. Your opinion pieces are quite another matter but they too cannot be so perverse that they defy logic and truth.
Some people were concerned about a strategy of attacking the press. The only people who can make the case out that the press is being attacked however would be the press itself. It is in their interest to do so. But what the Minister is obviously seeking to do is to ensure that PLP supporters know that they should not read what they are reading in the press uncritically. That more often than not the press is influenced by the political agenda of its editors and owners. The Minister’s analysis of the difference between what a writer Paco Nunez wrote about the Budget of the Ministry of Finance and what the headline writer wrote being two different things is but one example.
What is also an interesting fact is that part of the situation in which we find the press today is because it is dominated behind the scenes by faceless Englishmen. The trend started during the Ingraham administration when Englishmen like John Marquis were allowed to come back to The Bahamas with their funny attitudes about life, and they have completely now taken over The Tribune. You can call the newsroom for a reporter at The Tribune and sometimes you will hardly hear a Bahamian voice. The Englishmen there don’t have a clue who they are talking to, could not give a wit, and have a nasty attitude toward The Bahamas and Bahamians. How the reporters put up with it is simply unbelievable.
Rupert Missick Jr., a Bahamian Tribune reporter with a lot of promise, responded to the Minister's statements in a signed piece this past week but seemed to miss the point entirely. The Minister's comments had nothing to do with him or his fellow reporters. They should really stay out of it. This has to do with the press as institutions: their owners and their managers. They have failed the Bahamian people. The reporters should simply stay out of this because the Minister is clearly not talking to them, about them or addressing them. But they can learn from the comments and not get themselves into a situation where they are being used by other people as attack dogs.
Mendel Small seemed to take a similar tack in the Nassau Guardian. Again, the statements would appear to have nothing to do with him.
The Nassau Guardian has hired an Englishman or two of its own.
The Bahama Journal is the only Bahamian newspaper product, and even there we had to point out how there are failures to simply report the facts.
So we support the Minister in his quest to clean up what has become a sloppy institution in The Bahamas, self policing and doing a bad job of it. Bad grammar, bad reporting, bad editing, and opinion; pieces making up the facts. That all has to stop. The PLP must get its own information machinery.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 18th June 2006 up to midnight: 96,791.
Number of hits for the month of June up to Saturday 18th June 2006 at midnight: 244,466.
Number of hits for the year 2006 up to Saturday 18th June 2006 at midnight: 2,355,249.
IT’S
FATHER’S DAY
Mother’s Day gets more play in this country than
Father’s Day. What with how many fathers in The Bahamas behave, acting
as if they have no responsibility at all for the raising of the children.
In recent years, however, that seems to have changed slightly. The
law is about to change to give men who are not married but are fathers
a right of access to the child. This will stop children from being
used as pawns when the relationships between unmarried couples break down.
Throughout The Bahamas this day there are various
celebrations to mark Father’s Day. The No. 1 father is the Prime
Minister Perry Christie and on Friday 17th June at Debbie Bartlett’s CEE
Awards, his daughter Alexandra serenaded him and his wife spoke about him
with their daughter saying that they love him with all their hearts.
It was a touching moment. We wish that all fathers on this day could
witness that kind of devotion. On this day, we wish all children
would feel and know the love, comfort and support of a father.
Photos: Peter Ramsay
FRED
MITCHELL WRITES ABOUT HIS GODFATHER
On Monday 13th June, the Nassau Guardian published its annual Father’s
Day supplement. They asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell
to write about his godfather Levi Gibson, the retired real estate agent
and civic activist, now 92 years old. We thought the piece was appropriate
for this day father’s Day and we repeat what he wrote here. The photos
were taken at a party to mark the 92nd birthday of Mr. Gibson. Below
from left, standing are realtor and former MP Mike Lightbourn, Mr. Gibson,
Fred Mitchell; seated are former MP Bruce Braynen and 'Duke' Errol Strachan.
GIBSON—MY GODFATHER
1st June 2006
I was christened at St. Agnes Anglican Church
shortly after my birth. It was the tradition of the day that if you
were a male child you were given two godfathers and one godmother.
My godmother is Setella Cox nee Dillet and my godfathers Roderick Turnquest
(now deceased) and Levi Gibson. I was close to all of them as a child
and into my adulthood and I remain close to those who are still alive.
My parents made a wise choice. I hope I
get another opportunity to write about Setella but today’s piece is about
Levi Gibson. We have become closer now that both my parents are dead.
He is no longer active in business and social circles but at 92 years of
age, he is that silent looming presence that provides a link to my childhood,
to my parents and to my moral and ethical underpinnings.
In the Anglican rite for the baptism of a child,
the child is brought to the font by his parents to be introduced into the
Christian life. Typically this is six weeks after your birth.
Several promises are made on behalf of the child. The most interesting
was (since the language has now changed) a promise to renounce the devil
and all his works. Levi Gibson made that promise on my behalf.
He made another promise and that is at the age when I had come into my
own mind that I would be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed in the faith. 
On
the evening of my confirmation at St. Mary’s Church in 1969, he was unable
to be there but he ensured that it was done and I was presented to the
Bishop and confirmed.
In between birth and confirmation, there were
the parties he hosted, the picnics he took me to, the movies he sponsored
and the school activities he sponsored and there was his physical presence.
He was there for my high school graduation in 1970.
Following the General Election of 1982, it was
clear that my life had to take another course and he was instrumental in
my decision to leave my cherished first career in journalism behind and
take up the profession of law. When it was time to be called to the
Bar, he insisted on buying the wig and gown.
When I returned home and needed to get established
in the commercial world, he took me to the Royal Bank of Canada to see
his friend Harold Longley (then the Manager of the Main Branch) and within
hours accounts had been arranged, loans advanced. I was set up and
ready to go.
He knew of my interest in politics. We
did not support the same party but the interesting thing was all of the
leaders of the PLP had a great working relationship with him, and his views
notwithstanding he supported what I did. He warned me that politics
was not a kind business. When I ran in 1997 and lost and when I ran
in 2002 and won, he paid my deposit for both elections. These are
just a few personal remembrances. I thank him for what he did.
I love him for it. He was part of the team that my parents put together
that helped to give me the self-assurance and confidence that I feel about
my life and myself today. I admire his success as a businessman,
as a civic activist. I have patterned so many things after him.
I will leave out most of the bits about his personal
history, save that he pulled himself up by his bootstraps from modest beginnings
in Long Island to become a powerful Black Bahamian businessman. What
I want to say for this purpose is that fatherhood comes in both biological
and social guises. He was a father to me in that second sense and
as a father he has left me with the view and the belief that I have to
pass on that same sense of confidence in self to all the other young people
with whom I have the honour to interact. God Bless him and Happy
Father’s Day.
THE
JULIET STORR LETTER
Last week, we published a report from former journalist
now PhD Juliette Storr about the actual date that ZNS Radio took to the
air. She contradicts the time that ZNS says which is the year 1936.
She points out that it could not have been since the decision was taken
in 1936 and it would have taken some time for the license and frequencies
to be assigned. She says it is actually 1937. We have the letter
in its entirety for you to read. You
may click here. The reason we publish it again is that Dr. D.
Gayle Saunders, the Director General of Heritage wrote in her weekly column
in the Nassau Guardian that the year is 1936. Who is right?
MALARIA
ALERT
Malaria is a tropical disease. It causes fevers,
chills, vomiting and other discomfort and in some places even death.
Many people have developed immunity to the disease having conquered it
once in a mild form. The disease is not endemic to The Bahamas because
the anopheles mosquito that is responsible for spreading the disease is
not generally found in The Bahamas in great abundance. It is not
contagious from human to human. From time to time, however, there
are cases of malaria found here and usually it is associated with the Haitian
community in which country malaria is endemic and fairly widely occurring.
All of that changed this week, when it was reported that several people,
it turns out more like 16 people were suffering or had suffered from a
bout of Malaria in Exuma. One case has since been discovered in the
detention centre in Nassau. The discovery sent waves throughout Exuma
and also caused concern in the tourist world.
Exuma is the home of the new Emerald Bay development
by Four Seasons. Rooms there are $750 per night minimum and the well
heeled tend to go there to its beautiful beach and golf course. The
resort is just now catching on. Exuma is in the midst of a tourist
boom, having come from a mere 12,000 tourists in one year to 36,000 tourists
last year. With the development has come migration including people
from Haiti.
The epidemiologists from the Ministry of Health,
the specialists from the Pan American Health Organization and the Centre
for Disease Control in the United States have all attacked the problem
with vigour. They have laid traps which found the mosquito in Exuma.
They began an aggressive programme of spraying and putting down larvacides
for the still water that can found on the island with the summer rains.
They have begun a programme of public information. So far the island
has escaped the warning or travel advisory from the United States, only
that one ought to take a prophylactic course before travelling there given
the reports of malaria on that island.
Exuma is going so well. It only goes to show
how the best laid plans of men can often go astray. We need not panic
however. We simply need to act responsibly and attack the problem
forcefully and with dispatch. We should not bad mouth ourselves.
You would have sworn from the local press that Armageddon was upon us.
The Minister of Health Dr. Bernard Nottage issued a comprehensive statement
on the matter on Tuesday 13th June. You may click
here for that statement.
Minister of Health and National Insurance Senator the Hon. Dr. Bernard
J. Nottage, centre, speaks about malaria discovered in Exuma, during a
press conference at the Ministry of Health’s headquarters. Shown
from left are Elma Garraway, permanent secretary; Dr. Merceline Dahl-Regis,
Chief Medical Officer; Dr. Nottage; Dr. Baldwin Carey, director of Public
Health; and Lynda Campbell, country representative Pan American Health
Organization and World Health Organization. (BIS Photo: Tim Aylen)
PRIVY
COUNCIL TO SIT IN NASSAU
The Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson has
announced that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is to sit in
The Bahamas in December. The Attorney General said that this was
a first for The Bahamas and the region. No more details were announced.
The announcement came during her intervention in the Budget Debate on Thursday
15th June 2006. Please click
here for the Attorney General's full contribution. File photo
TRIBUNE
FALLS DOWN AGAIN
We would like to encourage Bradley Roberts, the
Minister of Works, to sue The Tribune for what we think is a deliberate
attack on his character. They carried a story on Thursday 15th June
under the headline: 43 MILLION DOLLAR FRAUD LINK TO THE BAHAMAS.
The story had nothing whatever to do with Bradley Roberts. Yet when
you moved from the front page of the Business Section where the story appeared
to the jump page, the same headline was run only this time, they had a
huge picture of Bradley Roberts under the same words headline. This
appears to be a libel by juxtaposition.
It only goes to show that what Foreign Minister
Fred Mitchell has been saying about The Tribune and its animus toward the
PLP is absolutely true. Mr. Roberts called for an immediate apology
on the front page of the paper. They did do so the next day but did
not do so on the front page. They should also consider what level
of damages they will have to pay for their gross error.
A
NOTE TO NEIL HARTNELL
The Tribune’s business editor Neil Hartnell like
others at that newspaper keep seeking to identify the comments on this
website with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and his views. Fair
enough if that were so but it is simply not so. But it takes it a
little far on no evidence for Mr. Hartnell to jump to the conclusion that
comments made in the House of Assembly about trade matters by the Minister
on Wednesday 14th June were a response to a Tribune story about some inane
comments made by their favourite dark ages commentator Brian Moree.
Their comments seem to have no logical basis but it is yet again
another example of the narcissism of the press.
Then there is the example of Anthony Moss, the MP
for Exuma. He spoke to a Tribune reporter about mosquito spraying
and malaria on BarreTerre, one of the settlements in Exuma that is quite
far from the other settlements. At one time you could only get to
it by boat. He told them that there was no spraying in that settlement
and no problem with mosquitoes. On Thursday 15th June, the newspaper
ran a front page story saying that Mr. Moss had claimed that there was
no mosquito spraying in Exuma at all, contradicting they said what the
Minister of Health had said and confirming what The Tribune itself had
been saying. Not true. Mr. Moss called for a correction of
the story. Nothing done about it.
MORE
BLACKOUTS FROM BEC
It is summer time and the Bahamas Electricity Corporation
is living up to its reputation of having black out after black out during
the summer. In fact, the black outs never stop. The Corporation
claims that it has more than enough generating capacity but the black
outs continue. The week before last, the power was being disrupted
three times a day, coming on for short periods then off again. The
Corporation had the usual apologies and explanations. But we say
what we have always said, if you can tell us why the power has gone off,
with that same knowledge why can’t you keep the power on?
Stan Burnside's 'Sideburns' from the Nassau Guardian of 14 June,
2006
FIRST
STEP IN FOX HILL
Lynden Tinker and Monty Armbrister are father and
son. Together they have been investing in real life Urban Renewal
and the Fox Hill area. On the same day that the Urban Renewal office
was officially opened by the Prime Minister Perry Christie on 26th May,
2006 (click here for that story),
the Prime Minister also visited their new First Step Development, a group
of several brand new homes in Romer Street, Fox Hill that have lifted the
atmosphere of the area with their bright colours and ultra modern design.
They are designed for middle income earners. The houses are proving
especially popular. The Prime Minister congratulated the pair for
their fine work and dedication and investment in the future of Fox Hill
and the country. Member of Parliament for the area Fred Mitchell
was also there and told how he appreciated the investment of the father
and son and their contribution to the development of Fox Hill. He
said all of Fox Hill should be proud of them. Bahamas Information
Services photo: Peter Ramsay
MONEY
FOR FOX HILL COMMUNITY CENTRE
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell stood
to his feet in the late hours of Thursday 15th June on a point of information
during the intervention of Koed Smith, MP for Mt. Moriah. Mr. Smith
started to talk about the Community Centre in Fox Hill, saying that he
would like the Minister to give him assistance with the one he is building
in Mr. Moriah. Mr. Mitchell used it as an opportunity to dispel certain
rumours going around the community that the Fox Hill Community Centre is
being built by the Chinese government. He told the House that the
Centre is being built by donations from himself personally and his friends.
One of the persons who recently made a contribution to the Centre was P.R.C.
Datt of Dockendale Shipping in Nassau. Mr. Datt has always been interested
in the welfare of the young in The Bahamas. He is a permanent resident
and the Technical Director of Dockendale Shipping.
LEFT: 18th May, 2006 - the Minister accepts a donation from P.R.C.
Datt on behalf of the Committee for the Centre. Photo: Nello Lambert.
RIGHT: Village girls on their way home from the store pass the Fox
Hill Community Centre under construction in the shade of a silk cotton
tree. Photo: Fox Hill PLP
ADRIAN
GIBSON - JACKASS OF THE WEEK, AGAIN
You always know that a fellow is a bit strange who takes himself too seriously.
We like to have a bit of fun in this column every week and sometimes we
name someone the Jackass of the Week. It is an attempt at barracks
humour as close as one can get on a website that specializes in the use
of proper English and is very careful about libel. We take this website
seriously. One thing though is the editors don’t take themselves
so seriously that they respond with overkill. We had a good a laugh
then when we threw a rock into The Tribune’s chicken coop and one of the
chickens went squawking last week. Adrian Gibson, heretofore, believed
by us to be a figment of Eileen Carron’s imagination, a nom de plume for
her, after an absence from the scene of a couple of weeks decided to publish
a picture of himself in The Tribune along with the column. This is
really a hoot. Imagine that. It seemed like the actions of
a clown, responding to what was said on this website. You may click
here for the previous comment.
The website challenged his identity so his answer
was to publish a picture of himself on Friday 16th June. How does
that prove anything? The picture that we copy from that column could
be a picture of the wild man of Borneo for all we know. It doesn’t
prove a thing. He of course proves in the most recent column the
kind of narcissism and self indulgence all the press columnists have about
themselves, that what they say really counts. They are so predictable,
and easy to provoke. We just did something as a throw away and you
should see the invective that he came back with. Shows you how low
the standards of The Tribune are.
Adrian Gibson is a minor player, who influences
nothing, influences no one, who takes The Tribune’s line hook line and
sinker, who really is quite an embarrassment to those in the Diaspora.
But his passion is something worthwhile. He would make good PLP with
all that passion. And he really should be careful of libel.
In his column he attributes statements from this website to the Minister
of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell. No where do we recall any such
statements being made by Mr. Mitchell. Perhaps a lawyer’s letter
from the Minister might put an end to that. But for giving us the
entertainment that we have written about, we name Adrian Gibson, Tribune
columnist, JACKASS OF THE WEEK.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Kayla Buried
I write in agreement with C.A.
deGregory’s response to your article, ‘Kayla
Buried’. Although fitting, your tribute to Bahamian cultural
icon, Kayla Lockhart Edwards, diverged from its intention with your interjection
of perceived political affiliation on Mrs. Edward’s part.
While I agree that she was an activist, she was
a cultural activist and advocate, who implored all Bahamians without prejudice
to race, creed or political affiliation, to embrace and own our authentic
Bahamian selves.
It is in this spirit, that I voice my disappointment
with the tone and timbre of the piece and ask that you not attribute Kayla
with labels to which she NEVER personally subscribed.
B. Davis
In the House of Assembly during the week long Budget Debate, Ken
Russell FNM MP High Rock described Mrs. Edwards as a well known FNM supporter.
We need say no more. Being an FNM supporter is not derogatory as
this letter writer seems to think. It is the civic duty of every
citizen to involve him or herself in the political and civic life of the
country. The negative attached to the comment is only therefore in
the minds of the readers who have taken issue with these comments. – Editor
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
10th CEO Annual Conference Opens
Entrepreneurial guru Debbie Bartlett and partner
Cyp McWeeney staged the 10th annual CEO Network conference this past week
at the British Colonial Hilton hotel. Prime Minister Christie opened
the conference, as he has done for years, and exhorted Bahamians generally
to take advantage of entrepreneurial opportunities being created in a "booming"
Bahamian economy. The Prime Minister is shown emphasizing a point
during his address.
Exuma Casino Opens
Prime Minister Perry Christie travelled to Exuma's
Four Seasons during the week for the opening of a new casino there.
The casino is being billed not as a main attraction, but as an additional
activity for guests to experience. Tourist air arrivals to the island
have nearly tripled since 2002.
New RBC FINCO Mortgage Centre at Prince Charles
The Prime Minister cited the opening of a new RBC
FINCO Mortgage Centre at Prince Charles Shopping Centre in New Providence
as evidence of the rapidly expanding economy of The Bahamas. Mr.
Christie praised the RBC FINCO team for its responsiveness to Bahamian
society. The Prime Minister (centre) and Fox Hill MP Public Service
Minister Fred Mitchell (second from left) are pictured with RBC FINCO Managing
Director Nathaniel Beneby (second from right) and Senior Account Officer
Mrs. Ritchie (right) and RBC Senior Vice President Ross McDonald (left).
Urban Renewal Goes to Pinewood
The magic of the government's runaway success in
rescuing society's marginalized is going into the Pinewood constituency.
Pinewood MP Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson is shown with the Prime
Minister as they officially open the area's new Urban Renewal project office.
CEE Award for PM
By week's end, Prime Minister Christie was back
at the CEO Network, this time for their awards banquet during which the
Prime Minister was honoured. (see story
above). The PM's protocol assistant Ricardo Moss is shown at
right rear holding the award.
 |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - Prime Minister Perry Christie made the point in his tribute that within the last year The Bahamas has lost three men who helped to create the modern Bahamas. They are Anthony Roberts, former Minister of Home Affairs and former Agriculture Minister, George Mackey, the former Minister of Housing and now Livingstone Coakley, the country’s former Minister of Education. Mr. Coakley was laid to rest at the Woodlawn Cemetery following an official funeral at the Christ Church Cathedral. The preacher was the Bishop Coadjutor elect of the Diocese Laish Boyd. He called Mr. Coakley a National Hero. Present for the funeral in addition to the Prime Minister was Deputy to the Governor General Paul Adderley who served with Mr. Coakley, affectionately known as ‘Sir Coaks’ during his time as Minister. You may click here for the Prime Minister’s full address. Unquestionably then the photo of the week was that of the tribute paid to the late Hon. Livingstone Coakley CBE; the country paying its final respects. The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services. The funeral took place on Friday 23rd June 2006. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
WHATEVER DO WE DO ABOUT THE PRESS?
Senator
Philip Galanis wrote a letter to The Tribune in which he scorched the silly
and insulting opinions of John Marquis. Mr. Marquis is the Englishman
abroad with an inveterate hatred of The Bahamas and Black Bahamians.
The former Abbot of the St. Augustine’s Monastery Bonaventure Dean O.S.B.
used to describe the phenomenon like this. Mr. Marquis wants the
Negro to apologize for coming to The Bahamas. The Galanis letter
made a simple and direct point that a man like Mr. Marquis who is a guest
in The Bahamas ought to mind his manners, and stop disrespecting the country.
Mr. Marquis was at it again this past week with his analysis of whether or not to name the Nassau International Airport after the late Sir Lynden O. Pindling which is to be done on 6th July. The point is not one for him to decide nor comment upon but he did anyway and in the course of it came up with a fatuous set of statements that are to be condemned. He claimed that third world countries have a penchant for naming airports after their heroes. That is curious logic. We wonder what is the American excuse for naming the airport at Washington D.C. after Ronald Reagan or the airport in Houston after George Herbert Walker Bush, Mr. Reagan’s successor. To follow Mr. Marquis’ illogic, the United States is a third world country. Foolish comments! Yet the purveyors of hatred against Black people and the PLP continue their inexorable march toward revisionism.
Senator Galanis’ letter had another effect. It caused The Tribune to launch off into a series of columns in their editorials over the past week dedicated to attacking Mr. Galanis and Bahamians about how over sensitive we are to public criticism about our country. Let us say this. Criticism by Eileen Carron is one thing. She is Bahamian and has a stake here. Criticism by John Marquis is to be rejected. It is foolish. It is largely biased and based on illogic and false premises and as an Englishman abroad he has no right to make any such criticism. The Tribune went too far by suggesting that if the work permit of Mr. Marquis was pulled that the government would be making a big mistake. Let there be no mistake about it, we believe that the work permit should not be renewed. In our opinion, he should count his time in weeks. He can go back to jolly old England and pursue his web of lies from London since everything there is so perfect.
We want to thank Senator Galanis for writing his letter which is amongst the first signs that the PLP actually has some kind of political voice on these matters. For the most part it appears that the PLP is afraid of the press, thinking that if you attack the press that somehow the PLP will suffer. The point is that you suffer anyway, and it is better that your supporters know that you cannot accept what The Tribune and the down market papers write as truth. The truth is they tell one pack of lies after the next.
One has only to go over the headlines for the last week in The Tribune alone. The story about malaria is really over. Yet The Tribune managed to find a Canadian who had malaria. Turns out that was false. No retraction, no apology. Then they found a 17th malaria case, big headline and all. Turned out that this was an old case and so there was no new outbreak. But it appears that they will do anything to cause a scare, attack the PLP, cause confusion in the country. We can do without John Marquis and his kind in The Bahamas. And to suggest as Mr. Marquis did that the newspaper is actually influenced by the editorial decisions ultimately of two of the country’s fine young writers Paco Nunez and Rupert Missick is disingenuous. That is the most charitable way to say it. Neither of these men is a Dupuch nor have any familial connection to the Dupuches and so they have probably gone as high as they will be allowed to go in The Tribune. They simply don’t meet the Tribune’s ethnic and ancestral requirements for the job.
Now if they were English that would help but not being able to perform
that trick, it will only be a matter of time before they have to move on.
You ask Erica Wells; ask Gladstone Thurston.
Ask Nicki Kelly. All of them found out that after you reach
a certain point in The Tribune, there is no future there. And certainly
there is no scope for your own opinion. Once you get too big for
your britches, your opinions become your own, then it is time for you to
go. Each reporter knows that their editors and owners have a political
agenda and that your writing must be in keeping with that agenda or you
are in serious trouble.
So the PLP has no countervailing opinion. Contrary to what the FNM thinks there is no propaganda control of ZNS and if ZNS were a propaganda tool it is certainly is singularly ineffective. What the PLP needs, has needed for some time is a credible newspaper or instrument of public opinion to put its view and let the people decide. Unfortunately it does not look like this will happen any time before he next general election. But we in this column will try to keep The Tribune and the slimy editorial, anti Black policy that they follow as honest as it is possible with people of the type of John Marquis.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 24th June 2006 at midnight: 92,882.
Number of hits for the month of June up to Saturday 24th June 2006 at midnight: 337,348.
Number of hits for the year 2006 up to Saturday 24th June 2006 at midnight: 2,448,131.
THE
BUDGET PASSES
The National Budget of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas has gone on to the
Senate having been passed by the House of Assembly just after 5 a.m. on
Thursday 22nd June. The all night session of the House came about
through a combination of the silly political tactics of the Free National
Movement and the PLPs inability to properly control the House’s timetable
and agenda. The fact is there is no reason why the House of Assembly
should have to sit throughout the night to pass a budget of just over 1.2
billion dollars in expenditure.
The Free National Movement decided after managing
to scupper the plans of the PLP on the management of the process to keep
the Government into the wee hours of the morning going line by line over
the Budget, asking one stupid question after the next. What is this
expenditure on pencils for? Why are we buying twelve rolls of toilet
paper instead of three?
The Leader of the Opposition put on a stupid performance,
reeking with arrogance and silliness. At one point, he made the outrageous
charge in his address in the early afternoon of Wednesday 21st June that
there was political interference in the police promotions. He was
reminded that he had fired civil servants without due process; that he
had fired policemen without due process. He shouted back at the Minister
of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell that yes he did fire policemen and he
did fire civil servants without due process. Yet this is the man
that some civil servants want to return to be Prime Minister of The Bahamas?
Prime Minister Perry Christie came into the House
and accused the former Prime Minister of interfering even now in the police
promotions. It was a long and stormy session with Mr. Ingraham looking
like an arrogant silly man. He kept shouting out across the floor
as the Prime Minister rebutted his arguments: “They want me back; they
want me back!” Like a mad man. It was very sad to see the level
of megalomania that was exhibited by someone who ought to be in retirement.
BIS photo: Peter Ramsay
MALARIA
PROBLEM APPEARS OVER
The Minister of Health got a chance to address the
country from a seat in the House of Assembly on the problem of malaria
and how it had been largely been overcome. He addressed the Assembly
on Wednesday 21st after it suspended because the Opposition led by Hubert
Ingraham refused to give their consent to him addressing the House from
the Bar of the House. Mr. Ingraham came off as ungracious and bullying.
He embarrassed the Minister in front of the staff of the Pan American Health
Organization just for the sake of politics. Nevertheless, the address
went forward from the Clerk’s chair once the House suspended.
Dr. Nottage said that there had not been any new
outbreaks of malaria for about four days and it appeared that the worst
was over. However they could not pronounce Exuma free of malaria
because they needed more time to evaluate the situation. The thinking
is however that it is largely over.
BIS photo: Peter Ramsay
12
YEAR OLD BOY TO COLLEGE
The Nassau Guardian carried a story on Wednesday 21st June that 12 year
old Kevin Rolle is to become a university student at the University of
the Northern Caribbean in Mandeville, Jamaica. The young Mr. Rolle
is to join his mother Joan Rolle who is studying there for her doctorate.
The young man is a four point average student first
at Bahamas Academy and then at St. Andrew’s. He says that the work
at high school has become boring. The University at first had doubts
about whether to admit him but relented in the face of his grades and his
mental maturity.
While on the face of it this seems great, we still
have concerns. A twelve year old boy in a school with adults would
seem to be a disconnect somewhere. It would probably be better to
enrol him in school for gifted children until such time as he is at the
age for College.
File photo
BROKEBACK
MOUNTAIN REVISITED
Michael Stevenson, son of former Member of Parliament
Cyril Stevenson, and a lecturer at the College of The Bahamas has announced
that they may challenge in the Courts the decision by the Film and Plays
Control Board not to allow a showing at COB of the film Brokeback Mountain.
The award winning film is controversial because of the homosexual relationship
in the film between its two main characters. An earlier attempt by
the commercial theatres to show the film in Nassau resulted in a ban of
the film. Now the Board has turned down the request by the College
of The Bahamas to show the film to an audience at the College for academic
purposes. Mr. Stevenson has announced that he will seek to challenge
the matter in the courts.
DISSENSION
OVER PORT CHAIR
Barry Malcolm (pictured), a former FNM Parliamentary Secretary and Senator,
has resigned from the Grand Bahama Port Authority. This follows the
recent resignation of Julian Francis, the former Governor of the Central
Bank, as Chairman of the Port Authority. The new Chairman is Hannes
Babak, an Austrian living in Grand Bahama, who has struck a deal with the
owners of the Port Authority to run the group of companies.
The appointment has Port Authority employees uneasy.
They claim that Mr. Babak contrary to what was promised is actually involved
in the day to day running of the affairs of the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
During the course of the week there was one rumour after the next about
one employee or other being fired. So far the only departure has
been that of Mr. Malcolm.
Few will shed tears for Mr. Malcolm, given some
of the background chat that has been going around. Nevertheless,
Mr. Babak will need it appears to have some kind of charm offensive amongst
the business community at it is especially suspicious and has been advocating
that the Port's shareholders rethink the decision and separate Mr. Babak
from the licensing functions of the Port and restrict his activities to
those related only to the commercial activities of the Port Group of Companies.
File photo
CHALK’S
REPORT REVEALS PROBLEMS
Chalk Airlines was the mainstay of Bimini’s travel line between Miami and
Bimini. It took 20 minutes for the ageing but apparently reliable
seaplanes to take to the air and land minutes later at Watson Island in
Miami Harbour. That all came to a crashing halt in January of this
year when 11 persons from Bimini, 19 in all perished in a fiery crash in
the waters just outside of Miami Harbour as the plane lifted off for Bimini.
The community of Bimini was left stunned. Lawsuits have been filed.
But this week there came more stunning news.
It appears that the maintenance of the Chalk’s seaplanes
was abysmal. There were ill fitting rivets or no rivets at all.
There were cracks in the wings that were improperly fixed. There
were problems with the fuel supply that were not fixed according to the
directives of the Federal Aviation Administration. There was no analysis
released in the report that came out during the week. But it would
appear that not only was the maintenance shop of Chalk’s airlines in problems
but it appears that the U.S. Federal authorities fell down on the job,
and did not follow up on some of the directives that they gave about airworthiness.
All of this led to the tragedy in January.
This does not give a great level of comfort to passengers
flying in the air who think that the United States FAA has its eye always
on the maintenance ball. It really looks like a case of when you
take to the air you are literally taking your life in your own hands, taking
a chance on your safety. No doubt, many in Bimini were traumatized
again when they learned that the safety of their loved ones was a live
issue every time one of those Chalk’s airlines took off for Miami.
Chalk’s had announced that it was going to try to
return to service. This would seem to be another nail in their coffin.
The airline would be best left on the ground and in the airline graveyard.
The press published the report on Thursday 22nd June.
File photo: Chalk's Crash
TENNYSON
WELLS ON INGRAHAM
The Member of Parliament for Bamboo Town Tennyson Wells continued his relentless
assault on Hubert Ingraham and the privileges that he gets as a former
Prime Minister. During the debate in the House of Assembly on Wednesday
21st June on the line items, Mr. Wells questioned the perks which are granted
to the former Prime Minister. Prime Minister Christie revealed the
contents of a memorandum based on the Cabinet decisions of April and March
of 2002 that granted Mr. Ingraham a number of privileges including the
right to have a maid and secretary at Government expense.
Mr. Wells said that at the very least there needed
to be a law governing the expenditure. He said that he could not
see how Mr. Ingraham could argue otherwise when it was he himself who said
that there was no law governing Parliamentary salaries prior to 1992 and
he passed a law to regularize the position. The Prime Minister produced
an opinion by the Attorney General that indicated that when Parliament
placed the sums as line items in the Appropriations Bills that this was
sufficient authorization in law. Mr. Wells disagreed. He said
that this could only be done for a public purpose, and that Mr. Ingraham's
secretary was working in his private office and that this was not what
could be authorized by law.
At one point the intervention got quite heated when
the Member of Parliament for South Andros, the Independent Whitney Bastian
threatened Mr. Wells who had told him that no one who is convicted of a
drug offence could tell him what to do. Mr. Wells later withdrew
this remark but Mr. Bastian seemed like he wanted to hit Mr. Wells.
Mr. Bastian has become quite active in the House of Assembly over the causes
of the FNM of late. He told Mr. Wells that he must get over the fact
that he was fired by the FNM and Mr. Ingraham. Both of these assertions
are not true.
The actions of Mr. Bastian have left many to speculate
that Mr. Bastian is in the midst of striking a deal with the FNM in Andros.
The deal being that they will not fight against him in Andros and allow
there to be a two way fight between the PLP and Mr. Bastian. If that
happens, Mr. Ingraham’s remaining credibility will be shot to hell.
But in politics, the truth is stranger than fiction.
BRADLEY
ROBERTS ON THE BUDGET
Minister of Works Bradley Roberts gave a fiery presentation
to the House of Assembly on Monday 19th June. He banged the desk
and pounded the tables as he struck blow after blow into the heart of the
FNM's propaganda. Mr. Roberts is responsible for relations with the
Water and Sewerage Corporation. He is also responsible for public
works and for relations with the Bahamas Telecommunications Company Ltd
(BTC).
Mr. Roberts outlined the expansion of potable water
supply in The Bahamas including announcements about reverse osmosis plants
to supply fresh water to some of the islands for the first time in their
history. He defended BTC as a cutting edge company and said that
its revenue streams had improved. He announced several new services
that the company will be offering as part of an ambitious expansion of
its capital investment and in new services to the public. He touted
the success of the Ministry of Public Works and boasted that the building
statistics in the country show that the economy is expanding.
You may click here
for the full statement to the House.
SHANE
GIBSON ON IMMIGRATION
On Monday 19th June Shane Gibson, the Minister of
Immigration Labour and Training made his contribution to the debate on
the country’s annual budget. He stoutly defended his Ministry's reputation
and that of the Government on labour, training and immigration matters.
Mr. Gibson said that living in The Bahamas for foreigners
was a privilege and not a right. He attacked the former Prime Minister
Hubert Ingraham for encouraging illegal immigrants to sue The Bahamas government
as a result of the arrests that have taken place over the last few weeks
in a crackdown on immigration.
Mr. Gibson also said that the Government was committed
to training the workforce. He said that he was concerned to hear
Bahamian officials say that Bahamians don’t want to work because it seemed
to indicate that we are a lazy people. He said that he did not agree.
He outlined the principles on which applications for work permits will
be granted in the future.
You may click
here for the full address to the House.
MOTHERS
AND FATHERS HONOURED IN FOX HILL
On Friday 17th June, the Fox Hill Branch of the
Progressive Liberal Party sponsored an award presentation for the mothers
and fathers in Fox Hill. Each church was asked to nominate two persons:
a mother and a father to honour. Special presentations were also
made to the spouses of the former representatives of Fox Hill, some of
whom are now deceased.
The special presentations were made by the Deputy
Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt who was the special guest speaker at the event.
She was joined by the representative for the area Fred Mitchell, the Minister
of Foreign Affairs & the Public Service. Minister Mitchell MP
is pictured at left with former Fox Hill MP Frank Edgecombe, Mrs. Edgecombe
and Deputy Prime Minister 'Mother' Pratt. Please click
here for more photos...
Photo: Fox Hill PLP
LYNDEN
PINDLING AIRPORT
The Minister of Transport Glenys Hanna Martin has
confirmed that the Nassau International Airport will be renamed the Lynden
Pindling International Airport on 6th July of this year. The ceremony
will be performed by Prime Minister Perry Christie as part of the annual
Independence Day celebrations.
FOOTNOTES
TO HISTORY
Adrian Gibson
On Friday 24TH June in The Tribune, the three time
JACKASS
OF THE WEEK (click
here for last week’s comment) in this column launched a vicious attack
on this website and the Minister of Foreign Affairs & the Public Service
Fred Mitchell who has no connection to this site.
Perhaps Adrian Gibson has a more serious problem
than we thought. When one sees this kind of behaviour then it appears
that a psychologist needs to be consulted. It is a very serious pathology,
the kind of egomaniacal views the man displays. We are also learning
a bit more about who he is.
It appears that he is a teacher, a public servant.
On the face of it his activities at The Tribune cross the line and would
appear to be a violation of General Orders and therefore would suggest
some disciplinary action. Further, it is said that he boasts around
the school that he has the support in what he is doing from one of Mr.
Mitchell’s political colleagues. We believe that is not true but
with the pathologies that are exhibited in his column, it is possible that
he would say and more importantly do anything. The Minister ought
to take the appropriate advice.
Carter Williams
We extend our condolences to the family of Carter
Williams, one of the leaders of the San Salvador community and the owner
of the Riding Rock Inn who died in San Salvador on 16th June. He
will be buried on 2nd July. There will be a memorial service for
him at the Seventh Day Hillview Church in New Providence on 30th June.
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
National Budget 2006/2007
Prime Minister Perry Christie led the debate on
the Government's Budget for 2006/2007. As Minister of Finance, the
Prime Minister both opened and closed debate on the budget, which, this
year ended in the wee hours of the morning, Thursday 22nd June. Mr.
Christie is pictured in the House of Assembly during the debate.
Hon. Livingstone N. Coakley
The Prime Minister was among the first to view the
body of former Minister of Government Hon. L.N. Coakley as it lay in state
at the House of Assembly Thursday morning. The next day, at the funeral,
the Prime Minister spoke glowingly of Mr. Coakley's contributions to The
Bahamas. Please click here for
the Prime Minister remarks.
Christies attend L.N. Coakley funeral
The Prime Minister is pictured with Mrs. Bernadette
Christie at Woodlawn Gardens for the interment of Hon. Livingstone N. Coakley,
former Minister of Education. The Prime Minister was among the many
prominent former colleagues of Mr. Coakley who accompanied the body in
a march on the last mile of its way to the cemetery.
