Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames... Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 9 © BahamasUncensored.com 2011
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THE GOVERNOR GENERAL REPRESENT US OVERSEAS: in the peculiar constitutional status that we have in The Bahamas, the Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes does not really represent us. We became independent in 1973 but chose this funny model where the woman who was our Queen before independence continues to be our Queen after independence. The entire Caribbean chose to do it that way save for Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. So now the grandson of the Queen gets married and he invited our Prime Minister and his wife to the wedding. Mr. Ingraham was one of only four Caribbean Prime Ministers who chose to go. God only knows why with all the problems this country faces. The Governor General who is the Queen’s man in The Bahamas should have been sufficient. So to the wedding went Sir Arthur and Lady Foulkes and then they are headed for some R & R in France. We think therefore that the photo of the week should be Sir Arthur and his wife Lady Joan Foulkes in London Foulkes at the wedding of William Windsor-Mountbatten to Katherine Middleton on Friday 30th April. They look wonderful. The photo is by Peter Ramsay.
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COMMENT OF THE WEEK
This is the year 2011. It is almost unbelievable. Every time you think that we have gotten over this nonsense about skin colour, the prejudice of race and that there are certain people who feel that they are innately superior by reason of their skin colour, you get snapped back to the awful reality. How else? What other explanation can there be for the simple foolishness, President Barrack Obama called “silliness” about the fact of the place of his birth. Someone at MSNBC produced a piece and recalled in the days of the 1950s how their grandfather used to get stopped in the south of the United States and asked: “Where are your papers?”
In South Africa, a country where most people were then and are now African or black, up to 1994, the police could stop a black man in that country and ask: “where are your papers?” In other words, you needed some sort of formal permission, a pass to be where you were and at a certain time. If you did not produce it, you were out.
In The Bahamas, if you wanted to cue at the Black’s Candy Kitchen, there was separate service for black people. If you wanted to go to the movies you could not do because you were black. As a matter of fact, one prominent black doctor was actually physically assaulted because he went into the Savoy which was prohibited to black people. He was reportedly punched out by Charles Bethell, who later became a minister of the UBP government. But again, if you were a certain colour you had to justify your existence.
Make no mistake about it, there is connection between what we see happening in the United States today with their African American president and what is happening in The Bahamas today with so many things. We have to see a connection, because this is a sub culture of the great metropolitan United States. So today for example, in a town where paper documentation is scattered at best, the FNM that represents the rump of the old Bay Street oligarchs named the United Bahamian Party, is demanding today that the dispossessed voters produce their papers in order to register to vote. It falls disproportionately on the poor and the dispossessed, who just happen in the main to be people of African descent.
We must be careful to watch and be on guard and protect the precious right to vote.
The PLP issued a statement on the registration of voters as follows last week:
The party continues to hear reports of people, many of them PLPs, being turned away at the centres for registration because of an alleged lack of documentation. Among these documents that have been rejected are old voter's cards or expired Bahamian passports. These documents have in the past been satisfactory to demonstrate the citizenship of the voter, and we see no reason unless there is a well grounded suspicion in law to deny the person the right to register with these documents.
Indeed the law allows for the use of a birth certificate, a passport or baptismal certificate. Many people do not have birth certificates and have relied on affidavits in the past. The Parliamentary Commissioner should make it abundantly clear what documents are acceptable and put in place well established, clear and transparent procedures for the appeal of voters who try to register at various centres and are rejected.
We would urge therefore that the party continues to press this cause. Alfred Gray, MP PLP for Mayaguana, Inagua Crooked Island, Acklins and Long Cay (MICAL), speaking at the Fox Hill prayer breakfast said that this must be a priority for the party since it is affecting mainly PLP voters.
We are stunned at the racism and crudeness of Donald Trump who just turns out to be a bigot and an idiot. Mr. Trump who runs a popular TV show and is a real estate developer says that he wants to run for president of the United States. He it appears now will do anything for headlines. He was cursing like a drunken sailor at a political meeting in Las Vegas on Thursday 28th April. He was taking credit for demanding the papers of President Barrack Obama. This man Mr. Obama is simply remarkable to keep his cool in the face of these clear provocations. It is like they are saying like the days of the 1950's "Boy where are your papers?" He does not belong to be where he is apparently and for one reason only.
Martin Luther King prayed for the day when a man or woman in the United States would be judged by the content of the character and not by the colour of his skin. We long for it too. Until that day, we hope that in this country the PLP will return to power. Maybe, just maybe the onward fight for social justice will be renewed.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 30th April 2011 up to midnight: 186,099
Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 30th April 2011 up to midnight: 858,756
Number of hits for the year 2011 up to Saturday 30th April up to midnight: 3,063,005
The song goes like this: “Dreaming, I must be dreaming.” That was all we could think about when we read in the press (The Tribune) a feature story by Paul Turnquest about the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), the party being formed by Branville McCartney, on a wing and a prayer. Get this: The Trib says that some source within the party claims that they will win with the right strategy some 20 seats in the next general election. In which universe are these people living? See the comments below of Carl Bethel with which we largely agree. This is a pipe dream. For a moment there they almost had us going until we read that they said they will win five seats in Grand Bahama. These people have no idea what they are talking about. They lost us right then and there. Branville McCartney, the former FNM and now independent, has one hope to survive the next general election and that is to join the PLP. The time is fast running out. You will remember all that press that Branville McCartney had a few weeks ago about having in his possession some 3 million to 25 million. Well all of that has changed now. The party organizers have reportedly confessed to would be candidates that they do not have anywhere near twenty five million dollars. They don’t even have three. The would be candidates have been told that they will have to raise their own money Obama style for the campaign. We know then that this is an exercise in failure. We believe at the end of the day this next general election, unless there is a structural change like proportional representation there will be no change in the fight between the FNM and the PLP. Like we said before the DNA is DOA, dead on arrival.
WE AGREE WITH CARL BETHEL STRANGE AS THAT SEEMS
Published On: Thursday, April 28, 2011
We present the comments as reported in The Tribune by Paul Turnquest of Carl Bethel, FNM Chairman on Thursday 28th April about the survivability of a third party effort in The Bahamas. This is the article that had the Democratic National Alliance winning 20 seats with five wins in Grand Bahama. The comments of Mr. Bethel:
According to Carl Bethel, the chairman of the FNM, 20 seats might be a bit of a stretch.
"If they win one seat they will be doing well," Mr. Bethel declared.
"The election is between the PLP and the FNM. There are only two parties in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the rest are a collection of personalities, and that is all that is left in the Bahamas is two parties," he said.
Mr. Bethel said the only real party other than the PLP and the FNM was the Bahamas Democratic Movement which recently dissolved and joined with the FNM. The "rest" he said, are a collection of personalities to whom he wished "good luck."
"They can call themselves what they want, they can brand themselves how they want, but they remain a collection of personalities. They have no history of struggle, they have no history of sacrifice, and the Bahamian people will judge and we will move on from there.
"Historically we see that the political landscape in the Bahamas has for all of living memory been dominated by two parties, which, broadly speaking, represent a liberal and a conservative point of view one way or the other. Broadly speaking, both parties have persuaded centrist policies while in government and we will see what happens," he said.
Mr. Bethel also added that unlike the DNA, both the PLP and the FNM enjoy generational support which transcends into inherited support for either party over the decades. This commitment, he said, is substantial and will ensure that the upcoming election, like Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham explained, will be between only the PLP and the FNM.
"Now you are going to have, evidently, characters, personalities, who are unable to fit into the broader mainstream body politic, and they will be on the fringes and they will be significant only as being what they are which are fringe elements.
"So they can dress up anyhow they want, and put on whatever colourings they want, and act how they want, but at the end of the day there are two political forces in Bahamian politics.
"They may have an impact marginally in saying that this seat which would have gone this way has been affected so that it only goes that way. But it will either be between the PLP or the FNM," he said.
PLP STATEMENT ON VOTER REGISTRATION
PLP Concerned over Voter Registration Difficulties
Published: Tuesday April 26th, 2011
25th April 2011
The FNM government is not doing enough to make it possible for voters to register. It is time for the FNM government to take more vigourous action to get people to register.
The PLP believes also that it is necessary for the Parliamentary Registrar to clarify again what is necessary for voters to be properly registered.
The PLP believes that it is the right of every citizen above the age of 18 to register to vote and to vote. Indeed, it was the Progressive Liberal Party that made it possible for everyone over the age of 18 to vote. We are fiercely protective of that right. We urge all citizens over the age of 18 to register. We urge all those on the cusp of their 18th birthday to be watchful and as soon as they turn eighteen to report to the Parliamentary Commissioner's office and register to vote.
The party continues to hear reports of people, many of them PLPs, being turned away at the centres for registration because of an alleged lack of documentation. Among these documents that have been rejected are old voter's cards or expired Bahamian passports. These documents have in the past been satisfactory to demonstrate the citizenship of the voter, and we see no reason unless there is a well grounded suspicion in law to deny the person the right to register with these documents.
Indeed the law allows for the use of a birth certificate, a passport or baptismal certificate. Many people do not have birth certificates and have relied on affidavits in the past. The Parliamentary Commissioner should make it abundantly clear what documents are acceptable and put in place well established, clear and transparent procedures for the appeal of voters who try to register at various centres and are rejected.
We are sensitive to the criticisms of the Election Court about the identification of voter in advance of their registration, given the conduct of the last election by the Parliamentary Commissioner's office. .However, our view is even if they are trying to avoid fraudulent conduct at registration, they are going about it the wrong way. They are placing the burden on disadvantaged Bahamians who should be facilitated in their efforts to register. The Government should accept the burden and put in place whatever is required to protect the integrity of the voting process.
On the whole, we think that it is still too difficult for voters in The Bahamas to register. It is not made as convenient as it should be. We urge that centres be opened in each constituency and that the openings be properly advertised and the openings properly sustained. Too often, an announcement has been made that a centre will be open for example in the Urban Renewal offices but then the decision is made without notice not to open the centre the very next week. Knowing how in our culture people organize their affairs, and the very busy schedules people have in their daily lives, it is important for the government to bend over backwards to accommodate voters in this exercise, all the while protecting the integrity of the process and the register.
The elections are growing closer. Our concern is that voters who are frustrated by these difficulties will not participate in the democratic process. This will be the fault of the government and the FNM must act quickly to correct these problems. No election can be held if the state of the register does not properly reflect the numbers of voters in the country. We warn the FNM not to try to pull a fast one in this area by seeking to call a poll which is not representative of the people as a whole.
PLP RESPONDS TO PRIME MINISTER’S NATIONAL ADDRESS
PLP Responds to National Address by the Prime Minister
Published: Monday April 25th, 2011
The following statement is a response to the national address given on Monday by the Prime Minister.
STATEMENT BY THE PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL PARTY ON THE PRIME MINISTER’S ANNOUNCED INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS For Immediate release 25th April 2011
We waited with bated breath and some anticipation for the Prime Minister to announce to the country tonight in his national address that he and his colleagues had decided to honour and follow the judgment of the Supreme Court to pay compensation to the Bahamian small business owners who lost substantial monies because of the closure and reversal of Blue Hills Road. Sadly tonight there was no such announcement.
We call upon him to do so and to cease with this smoke and mirror politics. We urge him to follow the law. In our view the statement this evening was nothing but the usual political attempt to distract the country from the real problems which face it. Those are crime and unemployment. After four years and hundreds of murders since the FNM came to office promising to fix crime, Hubert Ingraham is still promising to come back to the country with his plan on crime. Four years later, he has no plan. His statement tonight is an admission of failure.
The PLP will watch very carefully this planned infrastructural development. Our suspicion is that the developments are on the face of it an attempt to upgrade infrastructure but the more important political purpose is to give more monies into the hands of the special interests that support Mr. Ingraham and the FNM politically. The PLP will be watching to see if the usual monied special interests that were awarded the work at the new Port, at the Stadium and on the projects at Cable Beach will again get the jobs for the infrastructural works now planned for the city of Nassau. The Prime Minister and his colleagues are shameless.
The PLP does not believe that the people of this country are fooled for one minute by this obvious political attempt in his national address to hoodwink the Bahamian people. The children cannot get scholarships to go to school because of FNM policies. The roads that have been started are not finished and where finished are not done up to standard. Business owners have suffered substantially because of the road works and closures. Now there is to be more suffering and pain without compensation.
Some people are living in darkness tonight because they cannot afford to keep the power on. Others are sleeping in cars in Grand Bahama and the other islands because they have no place to live. Others are terrified as they sit in their homes because of the crime which has become rampant under the Hubert Ingraham administration.
We cannot afford another day with this FNM government at the helm. People are suffering. The PLP puts people first. The FNM talks about buildings, hills and dales.
We ask the Bahamian people to watch these works carefully and see who benefits from the use of this scare Bahamian capital: the special interests and the foreign workers. That is who has benefited under this FNM government and we fear those are the only people that will benefit again.
The PLP upon its return to office pledges to put people back to work and to assure every Bahamian businessman and woman that Bahamians will come first under a PLP administration.
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WILCHOMBE ON EVENTS IN BIMINI
Wilchcombe Answers FNM on Bimini Fire Response
Published: Wednesday April 27th, 2011
The FNM’s bold claim that it took me two days TO RESPOND TO THE FIRE VICTIMS OF Bimini is a total and absolute lie. Without provocation the FNM is stooping to low and disgraceful levels unfitting of the government of a sovereign and progressive nation. In the face of tragedy true leaders unite a people. What the FNM continues to do is cause the further deterioration to an already fractured country.
Unlike the FNM and its Minister what I do for the people of BIMINI or the PEOPLE of The Bahamas is not for public relations. Mine are sincere and genuine humanitarian acts. I have been through many tragedies with the people of West End and BIMINI be they Hurricanes, plane crashes or fires, each response is handled with several objectives. Safety is first, followed by psychological support and meeting the immediate needs of the people.
For the record, within hours of last Wednesday’s fire I was in phone contact with relatives of the victims and then with several of the victims themselves. Two mothers and their five children and two adult siblings were the direct victims of the fire. There was great concern for the needs of the children involved. They had lost all their clothing and footwear in the fire. Thankfully in the immediate aftermath of the fire, Family members provided shelter.
I told the mothers of the children that I would secure clothing and footwear and get them to BIMINI immediately.
Early Thursday morning I went to Sandy’s Department Store and John’s Department Store purchasing clothing, undergarments and footwear for all six children who had lost everything in the fire. Some clothing and footwear items were also secured for the women. At 2:30pm Thursday afternoon I rushed one large duffle bag and a box to the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) to be sent to the victims via Western Air.
I was assisted by the staff of Western Air, and by Adena Demeritte who took responsibility for the items. Persons standing on the long lines travelling to BIMINI allowed me to move ahead of them to get the packages on board the flight. Once the packages arrived in BIMINI Thursday afternoon the items were sorted by Marsha Levarity and distributed. While at LPIA on Thursday I was interviewed by ZNS. In that interview I explained what I was doing at the airport what was being done in response to the tragedy.
I flew to BIMINI Friday morning and saw all the fire victims with exception of Jay Saunders who I later spoke with. Today, we are working on a program to provide further relief to the victims.
That is where our focus should be helping the people and getting them through these rough times. The focus should not be on a juvenile Public Relations stunt. We should shut our mouths and do more to help the people. Stop bragging about every little thing you might do as a testimony of your leadership. The works of great leaders are often felt by the people. The loudest noises usually come from the emptiest barrels.
I reiterate that the statement from the FNM is a total and absolute lie. Within hours of the fire my relief program was in play. I do not believe it is sincere or a Christian thing to broadcast what you do to help others. What I did came from my heart and from me. What the FNM Minister did came from the state. His duty is to bring relief to the people. That is what he is getting paid to do! If I were the Minister I would have invited the MP to meet with me to coordinate a collective response. That is what true leaders do in times of tragedy.
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PLP STATEMENT ON BIMINI
FNM Must Fix Bimini Airport Infrastructure
Published: Wednesday April 27th, 2011
STATEMENT BY PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL PARTY
FNM MUST FIX BIMINI AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
27th April 2011
For Immediate Release
There is a need for urgent repairs to be done to the airport in South Bimini. The state of the airport is deplorable. This should have been apparent to the three FNM Ministers of the government as one of them Dion Foulkes landed in South Bimini in pursuit of using the victims of a fire for political purposes. Two others were there to witness the expanded Bimini Bay hotel project so the faults at the airport should have been noticeable.
The entrance door to the arrivals and departure hall is broken and has been broken for months and cannot be used. The air conditioning does not work. The windows are in a state of disrepair.
Our Member of Parliament Obie Wilchcombe has spoken to the public service authorities about this. He awaits action on it. The Ministers can do something to help.
Over the Easter weekend in Bimini three Ministers of the FNM government were in Bimini: Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette, Minister of the Environment Earl Deveuax and Social Services Minister Dion Foulkes. Yet with all these high powered polticos in Bimini, the Bimini airport was left in a disgraceful state and no relief is in sight for Bahamians and visitors alike in Bimini. The Ministers of the FNM clearly walked around Bimini with blinders on.
At the same time that this disgraceful state of affairs exists, the Minister for Social Services Dion Foulkes was in Bimini and used the suffering of poor people, the victims of a fire for political purposes, mugging it up for the cameras instead of doing his job. Is there no level of lowness to which the FNM and its Ministers will go?
That is the problem with the Free National Movement. They govern for the moment. They do not see or appreciate the bigger picture and have no vision of the future of The Bahamas. If there is a fire, they run down to take mug shots with the victims for the camera's sake. If there is an opening or a closing, they are there to cut the ribbons and pronounce the projects theirs. Ask them what their vision is; they have no clue. Indeed, they are clueless. They are boasting about huge sums to be spent on infrastructure in New Providence while family infrastructure suffers.
|The Member of Parliament for Bimini Obie Wilchombe has issued his own statement on the allegation made by the FNM about his personal conduct. He has condemned the allegation of the FNM as an absolute lie. That is good enough for us. We support his timely efforts to help the family. We express our sympathy to the family. We will do what is within our means to assist further. We simply ask the FNM government though to do their jobs and not use the victims of the fire for political purposes.
We ask the FNM to do their job as the government and fix the airport in Bimini. The people of the country demand good governance, not politics. People must come first not politics.
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CHRISTIE PREDICTS BAMBOOT TOWN WIN
We present a story written in The Bahamas Journal which reports an interview with Leader of The Opposition Perry Christie. We agree with him that Bamboo Town is the PLP’s for the picking.
Christie Predicts Bamboo Win
By ROGAN SMITH
Much like Grand Bahama, the Bamboo Town constituency has for years been regarded as a Free National Movement (FNM) stronghold. But, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Perry Christie is predicting that his party will loosen that grip, win the constituency and unseat independent MP Branville McCartney in the upcoming election.
In fact, during a recent interview with the Bahama Journal, Mr. Christie suggested that neither Mr. McCartney nor the FNM are real contenders.
"In parliament I wished him the very best. But, we believe that we are going to win Bamboo Town," he said.
"If that is the seat he’s going to run in, we believe that our candidate will win Bamboo Town and we will believe the FNM and Branville McCartney will be sharing whatever they have between themselves."
Former Bamboo Town MP Tennyson Wells recently predicted that the incumbent MP had very little chance of victory at the polls. He, too, predicted that the Opposition would win because the public was disappointed with the FNM.
Mr. Wells represented the Bamboo Town for some 20 years before being defeated by Mr. McCartney in 2002.
Mr. Christie, who served as prime minister from 2002 to 2007, said his party is focused on forming the next government of The Bahamas.
"We have outstanding candidates who we’ve named already. We believe in them and we believe they will win," he said.
Mr. McCartney, who recently quit the FNM, recently formed his own political party, the Democratic National Alliance (DNA). Mr. McCartney is hoping to offer Bahamians a viable alternative to the two major parties.
The party’s official launch is scheduled for May 2.
In recent weeks, Mr. McCartney has reportedly been courting many politicians, including several other third party leaders.
But, Mr. Christie suggested that the market is already oversaturated.
"Branville McCartney’s difficulty is that Paul Moss (attorney) just announced a new political party and said that he has 23 candidates already, so clearly the scramble is on," Mr. Christie said.
"I think people will have to decide on which of the parties can form a government realistically and it will come down to two of us – the FNM and PLP. I believe people would say that they want to give the PLP an opportunity because I believe they’re going to buy into and [realise] that Bahamians have to be meaningfully involved in the economy."
We present a photo essay of the prayer breakfast held in the Fox Hill constituency on Saturday 30th April. The prayer breakfast was organized by the Progressive Young Liberals (PYL) of Fox Hill. The Committee was headed by Tammi Ferguson. PYL national Chairman Keenan Johnson attended the function. Alfred Gray MP, the Member of Parliament for Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins and Log Cay, spoke on behalf of party leader Perry G. Christie. Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell was the guest of honour. A fine time was had by all.
PRIME MINISTER VISITS STUDENTS IN LONDON
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The President of The Bahamas Law Students' Association Barry N. Griffin of Kings College, London Univeristy, invited the Prime Minister and Mrs. Ingraham to visit King's College London to view a Caribbean exhibition entitled 'The Paradise of the World: Conflict and Society in the Caribbean' and a small special collection of rare books and materials related to the Bahamas.
King's College London and the Bahamas have a strong history, with Sir Lynden Pindling studying law at King's as well as Sir Leonard Knowles, the first Chief Justice in a newly independent Bahamas. Mr. Griffin is currently the only Bahamian student at King's but scores of other Bahamians have studied at King's throughout the years. The Principal of King's Sir Richard Trainor and his wife were on hand to greet the Prime Minister. The Principal presented the PM with a book about King's history and the PM presented a collection of Bahamian books to update the library's collection on Bahamian materials. The collection included a biography of Sir Lynden Pindling, a history of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and history books by Bahamian authors including Gail Saunders.
The exhibition explores the history of the Caribbean from the sixteenth century to 1900 including rare materials showing the extent of European dominance in the region, industry during those times, slavery, the long struggle for emancipation, and the development of modern Caribbean society in the nineteenth century.
The special collection of materials relating specifically to the Bahamas includes rare European depictions and names of the islands, British newspaper articles about The Bahamas, colonial government documents, business & tourist guides, etc..
On the occasion of the Prime Minister's visit a group of Bahamian students gathered from throughout the UK; and the Prime MInister agreed to to meet, talk, and discuss with us matters of the country. Students came from as far as Kent, Buckingham, and Cardiff and as near as those who live in London. The meeting took place on Thursday 28th April.
Mr. Ingraham gave his pitch to the students about transforming the city of Nassau. Some students were interested in the absentee ballot and whether it is possible for them to get to vote while overseas. At the moment alll people who want to vote have to present at the polling station in person in order to mark the ballot. We think that there ought to be some form of overseas voting available.
The photos are by Peter Ramsay.
End
: LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Forrester Carroll writes this week about the policy of the FNM government allowing the power to be shut off at various charitable organizations in The Bahamas:
Ingraham says that he cares for the poor, needy and the indigent, in the country right? Wrong!! For if he did, why would he order that the electricity to the old folk home on Bernard road be disconnected, or the Aids Camp a couple weeks ago, or any other charitable organization in country? I’ll tell you why he did it; because neither he nor his government gives a damn what happens to the less fortunate among us. His stinking attitude is; fend for yourselves, the best way you can, you leaches. In my mind I can hear him now telling Phenton Neymour; “let the bastards suffer.”
While this “Willie Lynch” era Negro slave feeds sumptuously at the trough of the Public Treasury every day of his miserable and wautless life these old folk, in the twilight of what is supposed to be their golden years, are caught up in the throes of Ingraham’s bad governance and are left, helpless, between a rock and a hard place trying to cope. Kudos goes out to the caretakers of these “centers of refuge” for those who society has forgotten. The Ingraham Administration is to be condemned, by all, for this act of gross neglect for our aged citizens. There is one thing for sure-Mrs. Loud mouth Loretta Turner-Butler-Melanie Griffin would not have allowed this sad state-of-affairs to happen and Perry Christie would have gone to the ends of the earth to ensure their (old folk) comfort-Perry would not have allowed the disconnection of those utilities, no matter the size of the power bill.
Ingraham’s bad policies and governance have caused and sustained these bad economic times, which have directly impacted the ability of Institutions, in the country, to contribute generously, as they have done in the past, to these (I call them) “Centers of Refuge.” Added to this is the fact that Ingraham’s FNM government, instead of increasing the subsidies to these charitable organizations to compensate for the anticipated increased needs, reduced the subsidies which has left the centers in the precarious position of having to prioritize their drastically reduced income to providing firstly the very basic needs of food and water. The payment of their electricity bills, unfortunately under the circumstances, had to be put on the back burner for awhile and took a back seat to food, water and medical care; however they never dreamt that the Ingraham Administration, which has been catering so generously to foreigners, would be so heartless as to order their electricity supply disconnected. With the power gone from the Aids Camp and now the Golden Age retirement home, I am prompted to ask: which other charity, Hubert Ingraham, is next; the children’s home?
We saw the report from the foreign charity workers at Dunmore’s in Long Island, how that the people had ran out of fresh water due to the low rainfall. It should be noted that in that particular part of the island fresh water has always been a problem and so the residents of the settlement have always coped, using rain water catchment tanks. Larry Cartwright tried, though very feebly, to defend his government’s lack of compassion for Dunmore’s residents but the fact of the matter is; the FNM government has no defense. The Hon. Bradley Roberts, as minister of works during the Christie Administration, embarked on a vigorous program throughout the country of installing potable water to Bahamians where ever they lived in the country and Dunmore’s would have had potable water by now had we still been in power, but Ingraham halted the program as he did with most of Christie’s projects. Here we have a government which has been in power for 14 of the last 19 years and which, Like Grand Bahama, they lay claim to Long Island as being FNM country, yet they are the culprits who halted the portable water program that the Hon. Bradley Roberts vigorously pursued under the PLP government during 2002-2007. Left alone to continue to govern (2007-2012) at the rate we were going, the PLP would have already, by now, installed the equipment to bring portable water to Dunmore’s but the Bahamian People (including those majority in Long Island) chose rather to put this Abaco Dragon-Mongol, back in power and he has taken us back to pre-1967. Did they tell you’ll, though, that he has made sure and prepared for his own retirement in Cooper’s Town Abaco by legislating himself a $10,000.00 per month pension to be paid to him by us taxpayers for the rest of his miserable and wautless life? Did they not tell you, also, that he has installed his own “stand-by generator” for when the lights go off and that he had the one or two mile piece of government road, in Cooper’s Town, right in front of his house concreted? Yes, my friends, the couple miles of public road in front of Ingraham’s retirement house, in Cooper’s Town Abaco, was poured with concrete while the people of Dunmore’s, in Long Island (a strong FNM constituency), can’t even get decent water to drink. And you tell me that this is a man who cares for people?
According to the Nassau Guardian’s report, authored by reporter Juan McCartney, which appeared in Friday’s (April 8th 2011) edition, Mr. McCartney, in his opening paragraph, said; “When nighttime falls, unlike most residences on New Providence, the Golden Age retirement home, on Bernard Road, remains cloaked in darkness, leaving its aging residents and those who care for them unable to perform basic functions” unquote. This is an awful state-of-affairs; while Hubert Ingraham is feeding at the trough, like a big fat pig, these poor, aged senior citizens, in the twilight of their years, are forced to live like animals in the jungle. The government’s ordering of the disconnection of these basic utilities, at these charitable organizations, should never ever be a consideration for, after all, the care for the old, the sick, the indigent, the incapacitated and the infirmed, has always been accepted by the state as a basic responsibility. The functions performed by these private caretaking Institutions (which function primarily with contributions given them by generous private donors) are on behalf of the State and, in fact, are part and parcel of the mandate of the social services department’s programs. The government, through its social services department should be paying all the bills for the proper care of our elderly. FNM government ministers and members of parliament should hang their heads in shame for having these sorts of things happening on their watch. It shows the lack of care, compassion and concern on the part of the government, Branville McCartney was talking about, for the welfare of the weak and frail in our society. Hell man you don’t disconnect their electricity supply, for God’s sake, write-off the bill. There is one thing for sure, and you can bet on this; Bahamas electricity corporation’s personnel would never have done this awful deed unless they had clear instructions from the Minister of State to do so. Say what you'll like, Perry Christie and the PLP would never, ever commit such a cardinal sin against our senior citizens; we (the PLP) exist to serve them; but then what can we expect from a guy (Neymour) who doesn’t know that one doesn’t need an academic DEGREE to determine whether water is stink or not.
Further in the story the reporter went on to say that Dr. Enid Capron, the manager of the retirement home, admitted to owing BEC some $7000.00 and that their payments to BEC have been irregular over the past few months obviously, of course, due to the slow down and or cut back in the usual public’s support to the home as has been in the past. That said, nonetheless, the good Doctor made it clear that it is impossible to run the home without electricity and that as a result of the disconnected power they now have no running water because the water pump is powered by electricity. The doctor further moaned that the refrigerator, where the residents’ medicine is kept cool, is off; the bed linen can’t be washed; fans and air conditions are not working; the freezer where the meats are kept is out of service and hot meals, as a result, are now a rarity. To take a bath the residents must now wash themselves, or be washed, with bottled drinking water and the inconveniences go on. The situation is not a pretty site and I say again that this is a government’s (social services) responsibility, not Dr. Capron’s; what these organizations are doing is helping the government and they ought to be assisted by the government in every way possible. This government truly has its priorities all mixed up for while they spend their days ensuring that foreigners benefit from all the country’s resources the aged, in their twilight years of their lives, are left to fend for themselves, with little or no assistance from this FNM government. Can you fathom what Hubert Ingraham was thinking when he allowed the electricity to be disconnected from this old folk home? Can you imagine Ingraham instructing Phenton Neymour to convey the message to BEC that; “If they don’t pay, cut it off?” Perry Christie would never do such an evil thing and herein lays one of the fundamental differences between Ingraham and Christie; the man (like Branville McCartney said) has no compassion. What amazes me about this piss-head prime minister is how comfortable and proud he seems to be when he stoops to kiss the backsides of foreigners? The uncle tom seem to look proud of himself while getting right up their backsides to ensure he cleans it well with his tongue. On the other hand, though, when dealing with Bahamians (especially the helpless) he comes across like strong-man Idi Amin or Mugabe.
Arnette Wilson-Ingraham (an in-law of Hubert Ingraham, no doubt, I suppose?), public affairs officer at BEC, told the Nassau Guardian that, “Unfortunately, if the entities aren’t responsive and you have a bill that’s high and you don’t come in and talk to us, then you put us in a position where we have to disconnect you;” really Mrs. Ingraham? And is there no flexible policy, in place, for situations involving non-profit charitable organizations? Surely you jest, madam; that is so mean and indifferent a “cross-the-board” policy. That’s mean, Mrs. Ingraham, the Hon. Melanie Griffin would certainly not have allowed that situation to happen. When she returns to her ministry, however, she will fix it; having done the kind of job that she did when she was the social services minister. I have no doubt that she would be re-appointed to the post by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Christie.
Thank you.
Forrester J Carroll J.P
Freeport, Grand Bahama
24th April 2011
IN PASSING
Eight Million Dollar Contract For Jacinta Higgs Husband
Despite reportedly not being the lowest bidder one of the road contracts issued by Bahamar for their Cable Beach project has gone to a company reportedly owned by the husband of FNM Senator Jacinta Higgs. Dwight Higgs is said to be the owner of the company. Simmons was said to be the lowest bidder with some five million but the contract was nevertheless given to Mr. Higgs’ company. Senator Higgs, the wife of Dwight Higgs is expected to be the opponent of Fred Mitchell MP PLP for Fox Hill in the next general election. No doubt this money is to help the campaign.
Mitchell Lunch With Sidney Poitier
Fred Mitchell MP joined film star and former Bahamian Ambassador to Japan Sidney Poitier for lunch in New York on Sunday 1st May. The Ambassador and his wife Joanna were in New York to receive a prestigious award from the Lincoln Centre there.
Geoff Farquharson Attorney Charged With Disorderly behavior
This story was published in The Tribune on Friday, April 29, 2011
A LOCAL attorney was arraigned in Magistrate's Court yesterday charged with disorderly behaviour and using obscene language.
Geoffrey Farquharson, 56, of West Bay Street, is accused of behaving in a disorderly manner while at the Central Detective Unit on Saturday, April 23. It is also alleged that on the same day Farquharson used obscene language to the annoyance of Detective Constable 2285 Knowles and Detective Corporal 2295 Humes.
Farquharson, who was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez in Court One, Bank Lane, pleaded not guilty to the charges. His case was adjourned to June 9.
Life With The Rich In Barbados
The C. O. Williams company did some roadworks in Exuma back in Hubert Ingraham’s fist term. Mr. Williams one of the four per cent in Barbados who are white Barbadians says he is a self made man and is now Barabdos’ richest man. He owns most of the land in Barbados. It’s an interesting story. Hope you enjoy it.
PLP Visit To Exuma Regatta
PLP Leader Perry Christie and Deputy Leader Philip Davis spent two nights in Exuma working the crowds at the annual National Regatta in Georgetown, Exuma on Thursday and Friday 28th and 29th April.
The Mark Holowesko Reply
Last week, we reported what Bradley Roberts had to say about the alleged conflict of interest by Mark Holowesko being a member of the BTC Board and being a director of the Templeton Fund which Mr. Roberts alleges has shares in Cable and Wireless. Mr. Holowesko was interviewed by the Nassau Guardian during the week and responded in The Nassau Guardian on Tuesday 27th April. He was acidic in his contempt for politicians and thought that the whole thing was political. He said he abhorred politics and had only agreed to serve because the Prime Minister had asked him to contribute. He said the he did not know whether the Fund has Cable and Wireless shares. He was having someone check. It was masterful obfuscation. Mommy dearest for him is Lynn Holowesko, the Senate President and an Ingraham confidante. So Mommy told him to do it and he did. The point is while he denied the conflict, no one believed him. He simply as all over the place with too many “I’m not sure” statements.
Why Is The FM Defending Mark Holowesko?
It was interesting that the party that came to the defence of the statements by Mark Holowesko was the Free National Movement. We wondered what they had to do with it. What it showed as they moved in for the attack on the PLP about it, is that they are once again the party of special interests.
The FNM’s Commentaries
Each week, the FNM has now taken to writing special commentaries published mainly in The Tribune to attack the PLP. The first of them three weeks ago was one describing the PLP’s Leader Perry Christie as the worst Prime Minister in the history of the country. The press made no distinction between what was an FNM propaganda piece and straight news. The PLP responded by pointing out that given the murder rate and the unemployment rate by that objective measure Hubert Ingraham was the lousiest Prime Minister in the history of The Bahamas. The commentaries are part of the wider propaganda attacks of the FNM as they have launched heir 2021 campaign. We have reports that the FNM has all its money in the bank; more money that the 10 million dollars they had in the last campaign. They have brought in professional political hit man Roy Boike and he is using the same tack: leadership that he fought the last election. Problem is things have changed. This is not about leadership at all. This election is about crime and unemployment both of which are the worst they have ever been. Last week, the FNM's leader and the Prime Minster Hubert Ingraham left to go party in London with the Queens son at the wedding, he tried to switch the debate to a new theme. He called digging up the roads (see story above) transforming The Bahamas. Yeah right!
John Dean’s Condition
Last week, we reported that John Dean, the former Fr. Bonaventure Dean, who served as principal of St. Augustine’s College and Prior of the St. Augustine’s Monastery, was gravely ill in hospital. The situation continues to obtain. Several Bahamians have flown up to be at his bedside including Monsignor Preston Moss, the rector of St. Anselm’s Parish and Philip Galanis, the former Member of Parliament, who is a part of the class of 1971 at St. Augustine’s. We wish him well.
Mitchell At Poetry Reading
Fred Mitchell MP was a guest reader at Da Balcony, the old Anglican Sailor’s chapel on Bay Street, where poets gather on Thursday evenings at 8:30 p.m. The event is organized by Christopher Adderley and Tuesday White. Mr. Mitchell read excerpts from Derek Walcott’s newest work White Egrets. He read the pieces as a contrast to the work of much younger artists at Da Balcony and their expression about sexual potency and vigour in youth. Mr. Walcott in White Egrets is looking back on a life well lived and reflecting on the loss of that vigour.
The Bathroom On The Sand
Wonders never cease. Minister of Public Works Neko Grant, defended the government’s spending $270,000 to build a toilet on Saunders Beach in New Providence. The PLP has made the point that this is unseemly when people are starving in the country, the FNM chooses to build a $270,000 toilet. Mr. Grant without batting an eye said that the reason why it is so expensive is because it is built upon the sand. Hmmm! What was that about the foolish man who built his house upon the sand?
Andre Rollins At Fox Hill Meeting
Andre Rollins, the PLP’s candidate for Ft. Charlotte, was the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Fox Hill PLP Branch on Wednesday 27th April. Mr. Rollins told the story of why he is a PLP and said that Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister, does not have a vision for The Bahamas.
Allyson In New York Marathon
Allyson Gibson, the Leader of the Opposition PLP in the Senate announced on her Facebook page that she has been accepted as an entrant in the highly competitive New York Marathon which will take place in New York in November of this year.
Paul Turnquest Married
Paul Turnquest, The Tribune reporter, married his long time girlfriend Georgette at a double ring ceremony performed by Archdeacon Keith Cartwright at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church in Lyford Cay on Saturday 30th April. The couple will honeymoon in Las Vegas. Osano Neeley performed the solo.
Fire In The Mud Abaco
There was yet another fire in Abaco’s Haitian shanty town known as The Mud on Wednesday 28th April. Some 100 families are said to be homeless. Last year in October some 39 families were left homeless. The Mud is a slum which services the wealthy Marsh Harbour community and is made up mainly of Haitians. The photo of the fire is from The Tribune.
Murder Number 43
He is now dead at 30 years old. He was gunned down on Step Street in Fox Hill on Thursday 28th April. He is the 43rd murder victim for the year in The Bahamas.
Tex Turnquest’s Return
The rumour continues to circulate that despite being forced out in disgrace because of a crown land scandal, the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham proposes to bring him back as the chief tax collector on lands and businesses. We are talking about Tex Turnquest, the former Director of Lands and Surveys.
PM Off To The Wedding
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and his wife Delores as they left their hotel for the wedding of William and Kate, the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the son and daughter in law of The Queen on Friday 29th April in London. The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
The Fox Hill Community Centre
The photo shows the newly planted garden around the Fox Hill Community Centre. An anonymous donor provided may small shrubs to beautify the project which was built by Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell for the Fox Hill Community. The photo was taken on Saturday 30th April.
Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames... Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 9 © BahamasUncensored.com 2011
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SIDNEY POITIER GETS CHAPLIN AWARD AT LINCOLN CENTRE: Sidney Poitier, the American actor who is also a Bahamian citizen, having been born in Miami to Cat Island parents was given yet another award. This time he received the Charlie Chaplin Award for film at the Lincoln Centre in New York on Monday 2nd May. Other awardees included musician and producer Quincy Jones; actress Ruby Dee and actor Morgan Freeman. Our photo of the week shows Mr. Poitier with some of the awardees Mr. Jones and Ms. Dee as he arrived for the event. Mr. Poitier was the first black male American to win an Academy Award which he did for the film Lilies Of The Field in 1963. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
OBAMA’S SUCCESS WITH BIN LADEN
It was very interesting the drama around the killing of the alleged mastermind of the 11th September 2001 attacks on the Trade Centre Buildings in New York. The news was out on Sunday evening that the U.S. President Barrack Obama was going to address the nation on Sunday 1st May at 10:30 p.m. The address was late and the element of surprise was taken out of it as the news leaked out that the Americans were going to claim that they had tracked down Osama Bin Laden, the alleged mastermind to a house in Pakistan and after a firefight they had killed him with a shot to the head and the chest, had taken his body and buried it at sea. Once again victor’s justice. The empire strikes back.
When Mr. Obama made the announcement, there was a spontaneous celebration in the streets of American cities including right in front of his official home in the American capital Washington D.C. Young people were on the streets, young men in particular were out shouting U.S.A, U.S.A. The whole thing, the killing that is, we are told was done without the permission or knowledge of the country in which it took place. It took 40 minutes. Four other people were killed. No American servicemen lost their lives.
The reaction in The Bahamas was almost as instant and excited. The youngsters here were agog with the U.S. propaganda on the point. An evil man had been slain. The Americans had won. You know like the Lakers over Dallas ( although poor Lakers gold colour and all are losing). Civilization had triumphed. This was a great thing.
One Caribbean Prime Minster Freundel Stuart of Barbados summed up the sensible and considered position however. That is what did it mean for Barbados? He said this:
“Barbados does not get itself involved in disputes of this kind. Our foreign policy is still what it always used to be: ‘friends of all, satellites of none’. But we cannot bury our heads in the sand. We are a tourist economy and if a terrorist element anywhere in the world feels offended by something that another country has done and the residents of that country come to Barbados, we have to face the reality to take all the necessary precautions.”
We think that The Bahamas ought to be similarly sanguine. In fact, the Barbadian Prime Minister's view sums up exactly what the foreign policy of the PLP is. The Americans sometimes do not understand this. The Caribbean in the view of many American officials is to be universally enthusiastic about the U.S. and its various positions, even when they change and take opposite positions at a whim; that there is never a point at which there ought to be a divergence. Judging from the reaction of the young Bahamians, they are probably right.
Our other interest though was what would the impact of this be on Mr. Obama and his prospects for re-election. His pollsters say that it will have none, because the election will continue to turn on how well he performs on the economy. Nice job on Bin Laden but it is not the thing that clinches the election.
We note also that his critics have not given him any credit for what he has done. There is no doubt that if this had been done on the watch of former President George Bush, the President would have been given accolades for giving the order to get the job done. Not so with Mr. Obama. When you listened to the commentary, it was all about what a wonderful job the CIA had done, the Navy Seals had done, the military had done. But what about the man who directs all of these people. Little to nothing.
We continue to say that there is a double standard operating in the United States with Barrack Obama. Last week they were telling the man he had to show his papers because he was not a real American. Now this week, having put that baby to bed, having also showed his “patriotism” that form which says that he was willing to go into another man's country without his permission, violate their sovereignty, and kill someone there and leave taking his body and burying him at sea, and yet they did not give him all the praise and all the glory. We think it was an admirable performance on his part.
So while, they are singing the national anthem of the United States about the home of the free and the land of the brave, they ought to think also about whether or not they are actually treating the man who is their president fairly in this whole exercise.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 7th May 2011 up to midnight: 157,776
Number of hits for the month of May up to Saturday 7th May 2011 up to midnight: 157,776
Number of hits for the year 2011 up to Saturday 7th May 2011 up to midnight: 3,238,195
URCA’S USMAN SADAAT RESIGNS- GOTCHA!
The Board of the Utilities Regulatory Competition Authority known by the acronym URCA has accepted the resignation of its CEO Usman Saadat. Mr. Saadat was the subject of great controversy and the object of an allegation of conflict of interest in approving the sale by that body of the Cable and Wireless takeover of BTC, the Bahamian telephone company. The PLP alleged that it was a blatant conflict of interest which led to the a problem since Mr. Saadat worked for Cable and Wireless before coming to Nassau and then hired a personnel manager who was from Cable and Wireless who then hired him to be the CEO. PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts has been relentless in his pursuit of this and made the following statement in response to the resignation: “The disclosures by the PLP of blatant conflict of interest by the PLP drove Saadat from office and the promise of a Commission of Inquiry.” URCA tried to put the best face on it by suggesting that Mr. Saadat had been unfairly hounded from office, but the fact is he is gone. The PLP has promised that a Commission of Inquiry will be held into the change of control of BTC and that the control of BTC will be reversed by a PLP government. We say that something is rotten in the state of Denmark and it aint cheese. We think that any inquiry by the PLP must also show where Mr. Saadat is going after this. Is he now going on to another Cable and Wireless company? The statement of URCA follows:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 6 May, 2011
URCA BOARD RELUCTANTLY ACCEPTS CEO’s RESIGNATION
Mr. Wayne Aranha, Chairman of the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), has
announced that Mr. Usman Saadat, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of URCA, submitted his resignation
to him on 2nd of May, 2011. In compliance with the terms of his contract, and in order to facilitate the
transition to a successor, Mr. Saadat has agreed to stay until August 31, 2011.
Mr. Saadat was hired in April 2009, after an international search, for the role of Director of Policy and
Regulation (DPR). He was subsequently appointed CEO, following another competitive selection process,
in October 2010.
Mr. Aranha commented that “The Board would have wished Mr. Saadat to stay for the length of his
tenure, until 2013, given that it has full confidence in the ability, integrity, and leadership of its CEO.
However, noting that this is a personal decision, which has been directly influenced by the recent
unfortunate and unwarranted personal attacks on him and his family in different media, the Board has
reluctantly accepted his resignation. He has contributed significantly to the development of URCA and
the advancement of the regulation of the communications sector in The Bahamas. He will be leaving
URCA at a critical juncture as it seeks to ensure that the full benefits to be derived from the newly
liberalized sector accrue to all Bahamians. We wish him well in his future endeavours and the Board will
now focus on engaging a new CEO.”
Mr. Saadat noted that, “I have enjoyed the challenge of leading various aspects of change – external and
internal over the last two years. At the time I was appointed as DPR, I then understood my broad
mandate as helping to transform the legacy regulator (PUC), implement the new regulatory regime,
effectively regulate under the new framework, local capacity building, and providing the certainty and
predictability in the regulatory regime that is conducive to investment through new operators and via
privatisation. I feel satisfied that I have fulfilled a large part of that mandate. I want to express my
sincere thanks to the Board, who have backed me through some challenging times recently. Finally, I
want to thank my colleagues at URCA who have endured major changes but delivered the necessary
outputs and outcomes under demanding circumstances.”
FOUR YEARS OF MISERABLE LIFE IN THE BAHAMAS
The following statement was issued by the Progressive Liberal Party on the 2nd May to mark the fourth anniversary of the Free National Movement being re-elected to office:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday May 02, 2011 will mark the fourth anniversary of the FNM becoming the government of the Bahamas and Bahamians are measurably worst off than they were before the FNM came to office. Notwithstanding the global recession, much of the deterioration of the quality of life of Bahamians is due to the bad policies and decisions of this FNM government.
In the tourism sector, the most relevant sector, stop over arrivals are at the same level they were 26 year ago. In 1985, stopover visitors stood at 1,368,000 and today it is around that number. Under the PLP administration, stopover visitor arrivals were as high as 1,600,000 per annum. The decline under the FNM government represents over $300 million in lost tourism receipts. The effects are rippling. The Bahamas Hotel Association reported that 60% of hotels lost money last year and this is in a dismal winter season as hotel workers are reduced to 2 and 3 day work weeks and hundreds have been sent home. This winter season has been effectively lost and the Bahamas has lost its position as a premier winter destination. Bahamians can expect a further deterioration in our tourism performance in the coming months as many of our competitors in the region are boasting of gains in their respective tourism sector.
It has been 18 months since the last unemployment study was commissioned. This and the reasons given by the government for failing to conduct this survey are unacceptable and an example of bad governance as the unemployment report is used as an objective measure as to the impact on social services agencies and provides key demographic statistics that assist the government in formulating its policy decisions.
A report by The International Monetary Fund (IMF) conservatively estimated current unemployment at around 19% but the National Chairman of the FNM unwittingly, deliberately and dishonestly told the Bahamian people that unemployment remained unchanged at 14%. School closes in 8 weeks and thousands graduating students with scores more returning home will join the unemployment lines with no prospects for finding a job.
On the issue of crime, the FNM never produced a comprehensive plan on crime and we are satisfied that they have none. This and the increasing amount of violent crime demonstrate the government’s glaring incompetence in protecting the Bahamian people.
Since the FNM has been in office, some 364 Bahamians have been murdered in what has been recognized as the most violent period in recent history; many of the deaths are still unclassified. The FNM claims to have a plan for crime, but during the Prime Minister’s national address, he promised to get back to the Bahamian people on his plan for crime. This is proof positive that the issues that are most important to the Bahamian people are not the priorities of the FNM government. Further, on their watch the fear of crime has increased so much so that people are afraid to leave their homes. Whatever measures the FNM government has taken were ineffective in arresting this scourge that threatens our national security and continued economic viability.
The FNM government has been unable to stimulate the economy and the record shows that the Bahamian economy contracted by 1.7% in 2008, 4.5% in 2009 and by an estimated 1% in 2010 even though the government is yet to release the figures for 2010 on GDP growth, revenue and expenditure.
Contributing to the destabilizing effect on the Bahamian economy has been the FNM government’s tax policy. The FNM government decision to impose draconian tax hikes in the middle of a recession has been the major factor that has kept the Bahamian economy in a protracted state of recession.
Bahamians are worse off now and much of it has to do with the policies and poor decisions made by the FNM. Four years ago, it cost $120 to license a car; that same car will cost you $375 to license today. Despite this and many other tax increases on many breadbasket items, mainly on those least able to afford it, FNM policy makers are baffled as to why government revenues have not increased. It’s simple, taxes should not be increased in a recession because it would drive an economy deeper into a recession or hold it in recession. The recent hike in gasoline and diesel prices will further negatively impact the economic recovery of the Bahamas.
The priority of the government, the road works and the associated traffic management were poorly executed, destroying local business, disrupting lives and creating unnecessary confusion, frustration and road rage.
The external reserves at the Central Bank have been propped up by the FNM government borrowing hundreds of millions in foreign currencies to stabilize the Bahamian dollar which has been under serious threat of devaluation. The PLP government calls on the government to lower the prime rate thereby reducing the cost of capital and operating costs to the government, the private sector and lowering mortgage costs to homeowners.
The series of bad decisions and poor policy and planning by the FNM is a clear indication to the Bahamian people that it is time to vote the FNM out of office when the next elections are held.
It is important that all eligible Bahamians register to vote and make their voice heard. The PLP therefore, encourages all eligible Bahamians to register to vote
ALFRED SEARS ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
Alfred Sears, the PLP’s MP for Ft Charlotte speaks these days like a man free of shackles and so he should. He is no longer facing an election campaign, having announced that he will not be standing for re-election. His replacement is in the field. Dr. Andre Rollins is on his way as the PLP’s standard bearer for Ft. Charlotte. Mr. Sears in the meantime, spoke to the Bahama Journal’s Rogan Smith about campaign finance reform and about the role of the government in protecting the economy. We agree with his sentiments and we show the piece below:
May 2nd, 2011
Outlaw Secret Contributions, Says MP
By ROGAN SMITH
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A former attorney general and cabinet minister is pushing to have secret political contributions outlawed as the 2012 General Election gets underway.
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) MP for Fort Charlotte Alfred Sears, who also served as minister of education in the Christie administration from 2002 to 2007, said publicly financed elections need to be "transparent."
Mr. Sears says he has "consistently" called on and encouraged his colleagues to take a stand and make it a priority in its "commitment to the Bahamian people" to legislate campaign finance reform.
"I have called on the Opposition and the government, I will continue to do so because I do think it’s a form of corruption and it undermines public trust and confidence and it also can compromise the governance process of our country," Mr. Sears said yesterday.
"I think the political practices of The Bahamas have to involve because we have now signed the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption and we’ve also signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption and these kinds of secret contributions to elected officials is being regarded by the world standard as a form of corruption."
As it stands, political parties are not required to disclose the source of their campaign contributions.
Mr. Sears, who was a guest on Love 97’s Sunday talk show, Jones & Company, said in many countries, like Barbados there is legislation against it.
He noted that Jamaica is now considering adopting similar legislation.
"I think The Bahamas is supposed to be the vanguard . . . we’re not supposed to be behind," he said.
"My concern is that when the next Commission of Inquiry is called in The Bahamas will it be Cable & Wireless, will it be Sarkis Izmirlian [Baha Mar CEO], will it be Sol Kerzner [Kerzner International Chairman and CEO], will it be any of the developers, investors who have come to this country where the government sitting on the other end of the table is supposed to be attending to the national interests of our country? Will we then find out that decisions that were made purportedly or ostensibly in the national interest were made in order to receive a secret campaign contribution," he said.
"Those are the questions I ask myself and if I am asking myself that question as a former attorney general of this country I am sure that other Bahamians are asking the same questions. We ought not allow a situation to exist where someone can give a public official who must make decisions for the peace, order and good governance of our country secret money that is not accounted for when they have to make decisions to defend the safety and welfare of our country."
Mr. Sears questioned why the Ingraham administration would proceed with extensive roadworks when there are more pressing issues to deal with in the country – issues that seriously affect citizens.
During the interview, the former cabinet minister suggested that the millions of dollars being spent on infrastructure would have been better spent on the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH).
"Two weeks ago Florinda Bastian, a senior citizen in Fort Charlotte told me that she went to the hospital to get her medicine. Previously, it was a simple process to go once a month and get her medication. She now has to go and spend a day and the medication is not there," he said.
"Dorothy Curry, another senior [citizen], told me she went to the hospital and went into the bathroom and there was no soap. There was no toilet paper in the bathroom. I would prefer to have a functioning hospital so that when I get sick and they take me there it has the facilities, the supplies and equipment to restore me back to health. That is more important to me than a road to satisfy Kerzner or to satisfy Izmirlian and what we don’t see in The Bahamas is some type of plan that puts the country’s priorities in perspective."
The need for campaign finance reform was highlighted by some political observers in 2004 after Bahamas permanent resident Mohammad Harajchi claimed that he had contributed millions of dollars to the PLP’s 2002 campaign, and claimed he had even done personal favours for some government officials while they were in opposition on the campaign trail.
Former Prime Minister Perry Christie strongly challenged his claims and called them untruths.
It was not even a month ago that Melanie Griffin, the PLP’s spokeswoman on social services and a former social services minister decried the situation obtaining at that Ministry. Her statement came following an incident at the department which led to an assault on the social workers and a work stoppage which inconvenienced the public. Ms. Griffin warned the government that they were putting too much pressure on the workers and therefore not adequately serving the public. The matter has now gotten worse with the social workers now out in the streets protesting by sick outs and by demonstrations for the improvement of their pay and working conditions. The piece comes from the Nassau Guardian of 3rd May. The social workers were joined in their demonstration by the PLP’s candidate for South Beach Cleola Hamilton who is also head of the nurses union:
A group of about two dozen program workers and organized labor leaders protested outside the Department of Social Services at the Clarence A. Bain building yesterday, agitating for temporary workers to be made permanent after years of lingering in the public system.
Sheleta Collie, Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU) chief shop steward in the Department of Social Services, claimed that the temporary workers have been paid the minimum government wage ($210 per week) while handling workloads meant for permanent and pensionable social service workers.
“We want the salary scales lifted to suit the academic credentials required. We want health insurance, we want risk allowance, we want to be treated with dignity and class. We want the respect that we deserve,” she said.
“For far too long this country has not been appreciative of the dedication and the sacrifices made by this department.”
Minister of State for Labour and Social Development Loretta Butler-Turner yesterday said the workers knew when they were hired that the positions were “never meant to be stepping stones to them becoming permanent workers.”
“It is just another program being offered — like food stamps or the unemployment benefits. There is no obligation to make them permanent,” she said.
Butler-Turner said the department has been promoting workers to permanent status every year depending on budgetary limitations and approval by the department’s human resources
TOMMY DEFENDS HIS GOVT. ON CRIME
It was a remarkable headline. The National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest was responding to the charge by the PLP that the FNM had failed on the issue of crime, with 364 murders up to the time of the PLP’s statement on Monday 2nd May during the ministerial watch of Mr. Turnquest. We suppose he had to say something but this did not make him look good at all. In fact, it made him seem like the proverbial ostrich with his head in the sand. The Guardian’s story was written by Candia Dames
Turnquest: Govt has not failed on crime
By CANDIA DAMES NG News Editor candia@nasguard.com on 5/3/2011
At a rally on April 27, just days before the vote, then FNM leader Hubert Ingraham pointed out that Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) leader Perry Christie had declared a week before the 2002 election that “any government which couldn’t get crime under control had no right to brag about anything else.”
“Now he’s going all over the country bragging about the little record they do have,” Ingraham told rally-goers that night.
“They didn’t bring crime under control and they did very little else. The PLP, which offered so much on the issue of crime, couldn’t even buy police new vehicles on time.
“Now they tell us they have a new major four-point crime plan. Where was that plan in the last couple of years?”
During the campaign, Ingraham and the FNM vowed strong action against crime.
The FNM won the election four years ago yesterday. The PLP’s record was not enough to win it re-election.
Today, crime and the fear of crime remain high.
But Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest said yesterday that the high level of violent crime in the country does not mean the FNM has failed in its anti-crime efforts.
“We accept that crime is at an unacceptable level,” he said.
“We accept the fact that crime is a major issue in the country today, that as the government of The Bahamas it’s our responsibility to take the lead and to lead the way in the fight against crime.
“But our crime situation is multi-faceted. There are a lot of social problems that we have to deal with and that we continue to deal with.
“It’s not just a matter of providing additional resources to the police, which we have done. It’s also dealing with those social issues which we are addressing.
“It’s also dealing with the challenges within the judicial system which we are also dealing with. So it’s not the fact that we have failed in regard to it;
I don’t think we have failed at all.
“I think we have to ensure that those hardened criminals who continue to beat our judicial system are put behind bars.”
In a statement slamming the FNM government on its fourth anniversary in office yesterday, the PLP pointed to the high murder rate, and added, “The FNM claims to have a plan for crime, but during the prime minister’s national address (last week) he promised to get back to the Bahamian people on his plan for crime.
“This is proof positive that the issues that are most important to the Bahamian people are not the priorities of the FNM government.
“Further, on their watch the fear of crime has increased so much so that people are afraid to leave their homes. Whatever measures the FNM government has taken were ineffective in arresting this scourge that threatens our national security and continued economic viability.”
Turnquest said of the 43 murders that have been recorded so far this year, 23 were as a result of conflicts and retaliation.
“When you look at those statistics you have to put this whole crime scenario in proper context,” he said.
END
AN INTERESTNG STORY ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
We thought that this story below about the report of the Auditor General was interesting not just because it highlighted the problems of possible irregularities in the local government system but it points to another problem. That issue is the propensity of the Auditor General's reports to be taken out of context, misinterpreted and for the Auditor General to be seen to be shooting from the hip. The response to the charge by the Auditor General of irregularities was answered by a local government councilor who simply pointed out the inadequacy of the government's support of local governement. It is seriously underfunded. The result is the local government councilors have to use sleight of hand and rob Peter to pay Paul in order to get routine public works done. This is typical Hubert Ingraham politics, boasting about the accomplishments of local government but not doing anything to support it. The story appeared in the Nassau Guardian and appeared on 2nd May.
Local govt official critical of Auditor General’s report
By KRYSTEL ROLLE Guardian Staff Reporter krystel@nasguard.com on 5/2/2011
Speaking specifically about his district, Deputy Chief Councilor of Central Eleuthera and Township Committee Chairman of Governor’s Harbour, Roderick Pinder, said the report is insulated and did not examine the challenges his district faced at the time of the report.
The report, which covers the period between July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009, details a lack of accountability or audit trails in the recurrent accounts in many of the local government offices.
In regards to Central Eleuthera, the report states that payments were made for public works, however during a scrutiny of payment vouchers and contract, the scope of work was not included and bids were not attached.
But while Pinder admitted that there is possible misuse of government funds at other districts, he said he stands on his record.
“The evidence is there... you can come in Central Eleuthera and you can see where the money has gone,” he said during a telephone interview with The Guardian yesterday.
He explained that the work did not go to tender because the contractor who did the work was the only one who would work for incremental payments.
“It took us over two years to pay him out of a recurrent budget,” he said.
According to Pinder, while the local government in Central Eleuthera is not supposed to use money out of the recurrent budget for capital projects, it is forced to do so because it did not receive money for capital projects in the last three years.
“The reality is obviously we’re out here trying to get a job accomplished. When you’re out on the ground getting the job done, it can be frustrating when you have people telling you that they know how to do things and in reality they really don’t,” Pinder said.
He added that local government officials are often forced to make decisions on the ground in the face of extraordinary circumstances.
Pinder blamed many of the challenges of local government on the lack of effective communication with other government agencies. While not criticizing any government official specifically, Pinder said something must be done to improve the coordination and communication between local government and various ministries.
For example, he said when the lights were out at the Governor’s Harbour Airport for almost an entire year, residents in Central Eleuthera were complaining to his office and demanding answers. However, the responsible agency was not communicating with the local government, therefore officials had no idea when the problem would be fixed.
He said during that period emergency flights had to be carried out at the neighboring airports.
“We were seemingly always kept out of the loop,” Pinder said. “My problem with the whole system is there is no regard for us. The concept of local government as I know it is ‘government closest to the people is best for the people’, but the problem is that has never been the case in The Bahamas,” he noted.
He added that there ought to be amendments to the Local Government Act, as it does not allow the flexibility required to manage the islands on an individual basis.
“There’s one policy for how we manage the local government districts. And there’s little to no interaction with central government. In the last three years there hasn’t been any real opportunities to sit down and discuss the issues on the ground where you need attention and where you need action.”
BARBADOS REACTION TO BIN LADEN DEATH..BAHAMAS SHOULD TAKE NOTE
We present a story written in The Bahamas Journal which reports an interview with Leader of The Opposition Perry Christie. We agree with him that Bamboo Town is the PLP’s for the picking.
The article below appeared in the Barbados Nation:
By John Sealy | Tue, May 03, 2011 - 12:05 AM
GOVERNMENT HAS REACTED with caution to news of the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The United States Government late Sunday confirmed the demise of bin Laden, who has been blamed for the deaths of almost 3 000 people, including five Barbadians, at the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001.
“Every country has to be interested in [bin Laden’s death],” Prime Minister Freundel Stuart told the DAILY NATION yesterday.
He noted that security was a global issue and that the United States, Britain and Canada were presently at war with members of al Qaeda.
However, Stuart said every precaution needed to be taken to ensure that this country was not “overexposed”.
“Barbados does not get itself involved in disputes of this kind. Our foreign policy is still what it always used to be: ‘friends of all, satellites of none’. But we cannot bury our heads in the sand. We are a tourist economy and if a terrorist element anywhere in the world feels offended by something that another country has done and the residents of that country come to Barbados, we have to face the reality to take all the necessary precautions.”
The Prime Minister said the best Barbados could do in the present circumstance was to hope the situation quickly settled itself and that the fallout was not too great.
“Let’s be frank about it. The relationship between the extremists and the United States, Britain and Australia is not a very good relationship at the moment, and we just have to factor in that there could be could be reprisals,” Stuart said.
He warned that “none of us is insulated from any of this and we just have to take all the precautions that we can to protect ourselves from the worst possible effects of the events of the last 24 hours”.
Bin Laden’s death, at the hands of US Special Forces in Pakistan, also drew immediate reaction from members of the West Indian community in New York, who were directly impacted by the 2001 attacks.
Albert Blackman, who lost his 26-year-old son Balewa on the fateful day ten years ago, told the DAILY NATION that bin Laden’s death had brought him closure.
“Actually I am elated and when I attend the ceremonies (9/11 memorial observances) later this year as I have done every year since the tragedy, I will say ‘well done, United States, well done, President Obama’.
”Hyacinth Blackman, a retired West Indian nursing home employee, also welcomed the news.
“My son is probably looking down and is saying ‘at last we got him’. That’s how I feel. It has brought closure.”
EDISON KEY’S POSITION ON SQUATTERS
There is a reason why Edison Key was a Pindling PLP. He believed in people first. The point is this. When the fire broke out at the end of the month in The Mud in Marsh Harbour, Abaco the Haitian slum community that acts a service area for the Marsh harbor elites, Edison Key the MP for the area and an FNM said that the FNM government must do something to resolve the problem. That is a PLP line, not the line of the FNM which he now supports to be. We carry the story as reported to Candia Dames of the Nassau Guardian below. The story was reported on 29th April:
MARSH HARBOUR, Abaco — South Abaco MP Edison Key said yesterday the government needs to address the shantytown problemonce and for all, and he suggested that with all the government land Abaco has, a community could be established to accommodate the residents in a better organized and sanitary fashion.
“I agree that this needs to be addressed,” Key told The Nassau Guardian as he assessed the damage caused by a fire in The Mud on Wednesday and helped organize relief for the victims.
“[There are] very unsanitary conditions for people to live in and there’s no reason why we can’t make land available and relocate these people. We have thousands and thousands of acres of land here in Abaco.
“We’re not land short. And even under [the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation’s] administration, my administration, we have some 10,000 acres just south of Spring City that used to be agricultural land and sugar cane [fields],” added Key, who is executive chairman of BAIC. “And if the government would agree to it we could lay out 100 acres and put in the roads and the infrastructure.
“It’s not all Haitians in here. [There are] 300 to 400 registered voters, Bahamians from all over The Bahamas who live right here in The Mud and Pigeon Pea. So we’re looking at Bahamians.
“...There have been a number of fires in recent times that burnt the areas of [The Mud] and Pigeon Pea, which is just south of us here. I think it is time for us to address this, [for] the government [to] address it seriously.
“A lot of good carpenters and masons and electricians are residents of this community. They can build their own homes. We just need to make land available in a good location.”
Asked if he recognized how controversial his proposed solution could be, Key repeated that there are hundreds of Bahamians in the Abaco shantytowns.
“There’s a vast number of persons in here who under the Constitution qualify to become Bahamians, but they have to register and apply,” he added. “And that’s one of the big problems.
“The Constitution does not give them the right to citizenship unless they apply and are approved by the government.”
He said there are hundreds of people in The Mud and Pigeon Pea who fall into that category “and it needs to be addressed.”
“They need to be sorted out because they have no other country,” Key said.
“They were born here; they’re not Haitians. They can’t go back to Haiti.”
Key said the government needs to address the problem of shantytowns throughout The Bahamas.
“It’s very sad that human beings have to live in these conditions,” he added.
Speaking of the latest fire, Key said, “I think it needs to be a wakeup call for us in the government.”
Central Abaco Administrator Cephas Cooper said officials were not yet sure exactly how many people were impacted by the fire, but he said the number would be more than 100.
“I think that this particular area here as well as all of the other shantytowns that are throughout the Abacos perhaps might turn out to be one of our greatest social challenges that we really need to come to grips with very soon before things really get out of hand,” Cooper said.
While Key said he would support land being made available for residents of the Abaco shantytowns and a properly planned community being established, he recognized that there were immediate needs that must be addressed.
Key noted that The Mud is a very densely populated area which helped the blaze on Wednesday to spread quickly.
“It’s quite extensive and there are quite a few people now who are without a home to live in,” Key said.
“When the police have finished their investigations we will bring a bulldozer in here and clean it all up.”
He said he hoped that will be done as quickly as possible.
Key also said he hoped the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) could provide tents for the fire victims.
There have been at least three significant fires in The Mud in recent years. Nearby Pigeon Pea has also experienced fires.
NARDO CURRY HAS BEEN CHOSEN AS PLP ABACO STANDARD BEARER
Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister, now has an official opponent for the next general election by the Progressive Liberal Party. His name is Renardo Curry. You may click here for this acceptance speech before the Council. Out of field of persons vying for the nomination, Mr. Curry was chosen to represent the party in seeking to retire the Prime Minister from political office. Here is the official announcement from the party:
PRESS STATEMENT
PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL PARTY
PLP ADDS ANOTHER NEW FACE TO ITS GOWING LIST OF CANDIDATES
5 MAY 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
This evening the Progressive Liberal Party added to its growing list of candidates, a newcomer to national politics as the party gears up for the upcoming general elections. The standard bearer for the North Abaco Constituency is Local Government Councilman for the Central Abaco District, Renardo Curry. Mr. Curry was tipped by the party to do battle with current North Abaco Member of Parliament and Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham.
Mr. Curry’s ratification by the National General Council of the PLP continues the fulfillment of a promise made by party leader the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie and that was to present a fine cadre of fresh, new, young, exciting and energetic candidates to the Bahamian people as he establishes the next generation of the party’s leadership. This is deliberately designed to facilitate an orderly and seamless leadership transition.
This thirty-Six year old businessman was born in Nassau on July 25, 1974 and is a 1992 graduate of the Grand Bahama Catholic High School. Mr. Curry furthered his education at the Palm Beach Community College and Everest University in Florida where he majored in Accounting and Business Management.
Mr. Curry worked extensively in the hospitality industry in Abaco before becoming an entrepreneur in the local services industry.
He remains active in the local community where he currently serves as chairman of the Murphy Town Township Committee for Local Government. Additionally, Mr. Curry is a council member of the Central Abaco District Council.
He is married to the former Temeka Cooper and they have two daughters, Reniah and Reniqua.
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It is now official, the National Democratic Party(NDP) has dissolved and ten of its executives led by Leader Renward Wells came to the PLP’s National general council meeting on Thursday 5th May to join the PLP and be welcomed officially by PLP leader Perry Christie. This is a great development and it means that the party is now closer than ever to all hands being on deck. The group included Latore Mackey who is well known from his activism on Facebook. The photos are by Andrew Burrows. You may click here for the address by Renward Wells as he joined the PLP.
PLP YOUNG LIBERALS ISSUE STATEMENT ON TOMMY TURNQUEST
Young Liberals Asks Turnquest to Define "Failure"
Published: Thursday May 5th, 2011
The Progressive Young Liberals would like for the Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest to explain to the Bahamian people exactly what constitutes failure in his mind when it comes to crime.
The Minister in this term has touted about buying the Police new equipment and providing CCTV and ankle bracelets however it would seem that none of those initiatives has really put a dent in crime. While we do think that the Police should have the resources they need we also think that the government has only paid lip service to really combating crime from its root. This is the same Minister that placed blame at the feet of parents. This is the same Minister that promised a plan to combat crime since he first attained the National Security office. Yet, day in and day out more people are losing their lives and are victims of theft and other violent crimes. The Bahamian people are fed up with the crime and criminal activity in their country and the government must admit that they have “missed the boat” on crime.
The Minister has failed in his response to plan for the prevention of crime and has focused only on excuses as to why crime is at the level that it is. The Minister should explain to the Bahamian people the crime prevention initiatives of the government that they have used to replace the programmes that they cancelled such as Urban Renewal and School Policing.
The PYL asks the Minister to take a good look at this country and its current state. Young people are afraid to leave their homes, or to attend social events because of the fear of crime. The Bahamian people deserve more than rhetoric when their well being is being threatened every day, Bahamians deserve results, positive results that are certainly not coming from Minister Turnquest or this FNM administration. The constant rhetoric is no longer acceptable when the murder rate is at record levels, when people are not assured that they will receive justice in their own country, and when Bahamians are living in fear.
In 2007 the FNM blamed crime on the PLP and promised that if elected they would reduce crime. We are four years into their administration and crime is getting worse. Young people are dying violently every day and the Minister is clueless but remains adamant that they are being aggressive. The PYL would like to remind the Minister that he can speak all the rhetoric he wants but the results speak for themselves and demonstrate ineptitude and failure on crime prevention.
A MOTHER’S DAY GREETING FROM SENATOR MICHAEL DARVILLE
CASSIUS STUART CAMPAIGNS FOR THE UBP IN NORTH ELEUTHERA
To think that this is what this young man who had so much promise has come to. His father-in-law is a PLP MP and a former Cabinet minister. Yet without a by your leave Cassius Stuart went and packed up his political party to join the rump of the United Bahamian Party, the people who fought against his freedom as a young Bahamian. We would not use that UBP business if it were not for the fact that the FNM posted on Facebook a photo of Mr. Stuart doing their dirty work in North Eleuthera where the Speaker Alvin Smith, the incumbent FNM is to be dumped and sent packing in favour of Richard Lightbourne, the man who once told Sean McWeeney, the former Attorney General that the PLP should admit that the black experiment has failed. Hmmm! But there Mr. Stuart was with Mr. Lightbourne presumably trying to get him elected to office. Wow. Things that make you go hmmm!
: LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Forrester Carroll, the political activist from Grand Bahama writes again this week about the propensity of the FNM to trash talk and to elevate that to the level of public policy. He also writes with empathy on the economic situation that FNM supporters now find themselves in as a result of the policies of the Hubert Ingraham administration:
“This pathetic piece of fiction which they released this afternoon confirms that they wish to elevate TRASH talking, to the level of public policy; it is stupid; it is idle; it is crazy; it is a concoction of lies and half truths” unquote. This is an excerpt from the PLP’s response to a posting on face book, lifted off and reproduced (obviously for wider coverage) by the old HAG who controls the Tribune, and carried by that RAG sheet, on its front page, recently. The concocted script which, sought to denigrate the Rt. Hon. Leader of Her Majesty’s loyal opposition, was attributed to FNM Operatives and the only name they didn’t call the Honorable Gentleman was that of a “Child of the King” (God). Indeed the PLP rightly described the contents of the script as TRASH. The contents of the face book posting could only have been conceived in a MIND that is sick, warped and lacking of any kind of decency or fair play; like Hubert Ingraham’s.
Whatever they say, though, about the PLP’s esteemed leader, the Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie, it wasn’t his policies which promoted this chronic condition of unemployment in the country; indeed not. It wasn’t Christie’s policies which got us BLACKLISTED. It wasn’t Christie’s policies which have contributed to the country’s history-making crime rate. It wasn’t Christie’s policies which have driven our economy into the proverbial ditch. It wasn’t Christie’s policies which have driven investors from our shores. It isn’t Christie’s policies which are causing thousands of Bahamian families, daily, to go without basic utilities; light, water and garbage collection. It wasn’t Christie’s policies which increased the customs duty rates so astronomically high that ordinary Bahamians just can’t afford many necessary things anymore, especially vehicles which could facilitate them getting back and forth to and from work, i.e. for those who are fortunate enough to have a job. It wasn’t Christie’s policies which presided over the premature disengagement of hundreds of senior civil servants; Customs Officers; Immigration Officers; Police Officers; Urban Renewal and other government employees. It isn’t Christie, whose policies have caused the mass layoff of hundreds of hotel and other industry workers. It is not Christie’s policies which are responsible for the long lines of Bahamians seeking hand-outs daily from the social services department at depots throughout the country.
Christie’s policies didn’t affect the give-away of BTC. It is not under Christie’s policies that all government Corporation (Bahamian) department Heads, are being replaced with foreign nationals. It is not Christie who initiated the proposed approval of the influx of 8150 Chinese to work at the Bah Mar project, while thousands of unemployed Bahamians will stand by under the cool trees nearby watching Chinese take jobs which rightly belong to them. It isn’t Christie who proposed that Chinese build the dock in Exuma; the Glass window bridge in Eleuthera and the dock at little Abaco. It isn’t Christie who allowed that foreign billionaire, from the middle-east somewhere, to dredge a deep water channel in the middle of our fifty-year old Exuma Land and Sea Park. It wasn’t Christie’s policies to take his grand children to lunch with this man and his children before giving him permission to destroy the first and oldest land and sea park in the world. No it wasn’t Christie who voted against awarding the cable TV franchise to Bahamians and awarded it, instead, to a broke foreigner. It wasn’t Christie who made sure Bahamians didn’t submit applications, for the cabling, by making it a condition that all applications be accompanied by a $10,000.00, non-refundable deposit. It wasn’t under Christie’s policies that the dismantling of the student loan program took place. It wasn’t Christie who, last year, made it mandatory that all students attending government schools pay a $100.00 registration fee. Christie didn’t stop the national youth program, started by his Administration, where troubled young men were being re-habilitated very successfully. It wasn’t Christie’s policies under which police were removed from the public schools resulting in the deaths and critical injuries of a number of students, since May 2007. It wasn’t under Christie’s policies that cruise ships were allowed to open their stores and casinos, on board ship, while docked in Bahamian Ports. It is not Christie’s policies which failed to implement the National Health Insurance scheme; which failure has resulted in (and still is causing) the untimely and needless deaths of hundreds of Bahamians; Bahamians who have found themselves in the precarious position of not being able to afford adequate and proper medical care. They were not Christie’s policies which have stopped; reviewed and cancelled many viable projects which could have seen us over the hump of this recession. It was not Christie’s policies to breach legitimately consummated contracts, with Bahamian contractors, to perform work on behalf of the government. It wasn’t Christie’s policies which have stifled, and are now chocking, the growth of the city of Freeport to death. It wasn’t Christie’s policy not to dialogue with Sir Jack Hayward, of the Grand Bahama Port Authority Ltd, affectively suspending Freeport’s growth and bringing it to a standstill. It wasn’t Christie’s policies which have caused Businesses in Freeport to lose forty per cent of their normal activity due to certain roadblocks instituted by the Customs department, coupled with the “Ingraham Administration’s, manufactured slow-down” in the economy. It wasn’t Christie’s policies which destroyed Abaco’s tourism industry due to all the power cuts which continue to last for days at a time. Was Christie responsible for awarding the Nassau road contract re-development project to foreigners, instead of Bahamians? Christie’s policies didn’t breathe the conditions where taxpayers’ money is being misused, by local government officials in the family islands, as revealed in the Auditor General’s report tabled recently. Christie’s policies aren’t to blame for the non-payment of $75 million of Casino tax revenue due government, from Casinos, for the country’s fiscal period 2008/2009, as revealed in the Nassau Guardian 20th April 2011. Is it Christie’s policies which have removed restrictions from certain categories of businesses namely; restaurant, bar and touristic enterprises which, since 1967 on their coming to office, the PLP government designated “BAHAMIANS ONLY” and which, just this week in the parliament, Ingraham and his FNM government have declared all restrictions off, opening the floodgates to any and all foreigners to come and freely take advantage of the opportunity to compete with Bahamians? No Sir these were not Christie’s policies, at all, but Ingraham’s; it was Ingraham’s damn policies which have driven the economy of thousands of Bahamian families into the ditch, never to be recovered. It is Ingraham’s damn policies which have emasculated Bahamians, so much so, that they now feel they “need not apply” for any government POSITION or government GRANT because foreigners are preferred by the Ingraham Administration. Someone said to me just this morning; “Mr. Carroll, do you remember the days when Bahamians used to FRONT for foreigners?” I answered in the affirmative; “well then,” he said “The situation is truly in the reverse position; foreigners are now, under Hubert Ingraham, FRONTING very successfully for Bahamians.”
My nephew-in-law, who is eminently qualified with the academic degrees and practical experience in the field of fish farming, to show, applied to his and his parents’ FNM government for land (1500 acres) in the Bevans Town Grand Bahama area (the birth place of his father) to establish his long desired fish farming project. Both his guaranteed financing and market outlets were all in place; he only needed the land to be made available to him. His FNM government hassled and turned him around so much that he lost out, firstly, on a sponsored Tilapia fish training trip to Brazil last September and, to add insult to injury, his government never made the land available to him. What pissed my young nephew off, though, was when he read in the newspapers that Ingraham, on his recent so-called trade mission trip to Canada, declared that he went looking, especially, for fish farmers who would be willing to come to the Bahamas to farm fish in a controlled environment. Needless to say my nephew was livid; he could not contain himself while telling me his story. I told him that he was only another case, biting the dust among the many, where this Ingraham Administration has displayed its preference for foreigners over Bahamians. Why would this donkey prime minister persists in disappointing young qualified Bahamians, like my nephew, while desperately trying to convince them of the LIE that he cares for them and that he is very concerned about their empowerment? The net loss, to the FNM, in the upcoming general elections in the High Rock Constituency? These two FNM votes will be going to the PLP.
In the PLP’s rebuttal to the “TRASH talk,” as they labeled the FNM’s face book garbage, they reminded Dion Foulkes that the campaign, this time, is not about Ingraham and Christie but about, “The abject failure of the FNM Administration, under their obsequious prime minister, to protect this economy; to keep the Bahamian people employed; to bring in foreign investment and to control crime” unquote; none of which, I might add, the FNM has been able to achieve. The PLP reminded the suckers that Branville McCartney summed up exactly the situation, in the country, under Ingraham’s FNM government control-they have no compassion, he said; they are out of touch with the Bahamian masses, he said; and they are taking the country down the wrong side of the railroad track.
A friend of mine arrived at his office this morning to find a gentleman waiting patiently. The man told my friend that he hadn’t worked in months and that he was a tile layer. He went on to tell that his wife and two daughters were living from hand to mouth; that his daughters were all set to go to school abroad but can’t afford too, and then he capped it all off by telling my friend that he and his family have always been supporters of the FNM, but NO MORE he said. He claimed that they had had enough of Ingraham and the crew in Grand Bahama and could never support the bastards again. Of course he claimed that he searched diligently to find, first his Marco City MP and when that was impossible he tried to contact any of the FNM Grand Bahama team but without success. He needed to explain to them his dilemma but, like Jerry Roker, none of the eight parliamentarians-three of who are cabinet ministers-could be found. This is typical of the situation (you should know Dion Foulkes) on the ground; at ground zero. I concur with the PLP’s statement; the FNM should be BANISHED, or better still OUTLAWED, for the hell they have caused to be inflicted upon the Bahamian people, these past four years.
Ingraham’s latest act of pissing all over what is rightfully ours is when he went to parliament, recently, and declared that foreigners will now be permitted to compete equally with Bahamians in the restaurant, bar, liquor and other touristic enterprises. These businesses, since 1968, were exclusively set aside and designated, “BAHAMIANS ONLY.” Sir Lynden Pindling, Sir Milo Butler, Mr. Clarence Bain and all the other Freedom Fighters should be frowning, right about now, when they look down from the portals of glory and see what that PISS-HEAD, UNCLE TOM TRAITOR, is doing to their legacy. Many years ago Lynden Pindling’s Regime, in its quest to begin the empowerment of ordinary Bahamians, restricted touristic enterprises, restaurants and bars to the category of businesses which BAHAMIANS ONLY, would be allowed to own and operate but this house Negro, with his stupid UNCLE TOM self, has now committed another act of betrayal against the Bahamian people by removing those restrictions, allowing foreigners to compete for the tourist dollar, right alongside Bahamians. I was appalled when I was told that both Ingraham and that little bird brain, dumb, sidekick of his, Zhivargo Laing, actually attempted to qualify their case for removing the “BAHAMIANS ONLY” restrictions; can you believe that? I put this one question to Ingraham and Laing and either one of them can answer me; “Tell us bird brains, how does removing the “BAHAMIANS ONLY” restrictions, in the granting of these licenses, to allow foreigners to compete freely, further EMPOWER Bahamians? Can’t answer; cat gat your tongue?
Thank You.
Forrester J Carroll J.P
Freeport, Grand Bahama
8th May 2011
IN PASSING
Sandra Rolle, wife of John Rolle, former Customs Comptroller
We are saddened by the news that Sandra Rolle, nee Fountain, who is the wife of John Rolle, the retired Comptroller of Customs lost her battle with breast cancer on Thursday 5th May at Doctors Hospital in Nassau. Mrs. Rolle is survived by her husband John and her two children Anya and Ian. Ian her son is the President of the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
Canadian Election Results
Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative Party government in Canada was brought down by the Opposition parties defeating a budget motion. The result was a general election held on 2nd May. Now Mr. Harper is back with a majority government. The Liberal Party that dominated the politics of Canada for a generation is now the minority Opposition party and for the first time the National Democratic Party has taken on the role of official Opposition. The Parti Quebecois that led the fight for the independence of French Canada was all but wiped out as well. The Caribbean commentators are saying that this does not bode well for Caribbean/Canadian relations. There were no blacks elected to Parliament in the election, but there is a noticeable Asian presence. Any lessons here for the PLP: do not be rudderless; stick to your core principals; when you become too opportunistic you lose.
Bran Says They Threatened Me
Branville McCartney continues with the fool’s errand trying to create a new party called the Democratic National Alliance (DNA). We have said that the DNA is DOA or dead on arrival. Mr. McCartney’s operatives were in the press again continuing with the fantasy that they mooted two weeks ago that they will win twenty seats in the next election. This week comes the news that they have a clergyman vetting their potential candidates. The rumour is that the clergyman is the Rev Patrick Paul, the President of the Christian Council who may end up being a candidate himself. But what caused the pundits to shake their heads in disbelief was the story on the front page which said that the police are investigating a report of a threat against the life of Mr. McCartney. The story is that a group came into his office and threatened him if he runs for office. The police have confirmed the complaint and the latest is that they were looking at surveillance tapes of those who visited the office. Things that make you go hmmm! The men were charged on Friday 6th May at Magistrate's Court: Mighty Sparticus( yes that is his official name) Moncur (32) and Livingstone Bullard (30). The two men are said to be connected to the FNM's campaign in Seabreeze.
Embed Arnold Forbes At Easter
The PLP’s candidate for the Mt. Moriah constituency against the Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest continued his active campaigning in the area with an Easter Party for the children of the constituency on the Easter Holiday weekend. The video.
Students In London Raise Absentee Voting Concerns
Last week, we showed the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham campaigning amongst the young Bahamians who are living in London. The Prime Minister was there for the wedding of Queen Elizabeth’s grandson William and his girlfriend Kate, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The students were interested in absentee voting, that is the ability of students overseas to be able to vote. The Prime Minister said that he supports it and wants students to be able to vote at the diplomatic missions overseas. That’s what you call making up policy as you go. He blamed the PLP for his not being able to move ahead saying that he had asked for the PLP’s recommendations about election law reform since last November but he had not heard from them. We support the absentee ballot and it should not be limited to voting overseas but there should be reform to allow people not in the country on the day to vote in advance and also to allow mail in ballots.
364 Murders Since Tommy Turnquest Was Minister
The 2nd May of this year marked four years since the Free National Movement was re-elected to office. It also marked the fact that since Tommy Turnquest was appointed minister responsible for national security there has been one record after the next set with murders in the country. The way we count it, there are 43 murders so far this year which if we continue on the same path will mean that we will break a record of murders for the year, beating last year’s record breaking year; but the more important number is that since Mr. Turnquest has been minister there have been 364 murders on his watch.
The Steve McKinney’s Poll Results Monday 2nd May
On 2nd May the day that marked the fourth anniversary since the FNM returned to power, Steve McKinney, the talk show host, did a call in poll to test the popularity of the political parties. The PLP won hands down with 139 votes, the DNA came in second with 116 far behind was the FNM with 13 votes and the NDP now all but disbanded getting 8 votes.
Paul Moss Forms His Own Party
Paul Moss was PLP when the last election was held. He was all but handed the St. Cecelia seat by the Leader of the PLP Perry Christie to succeed Cynthia Pratt. Something went terribly wrong though. Was it just pure ambition that got to him? He ended up running against Mr. Christie for leader of the PLP which he had just joined. He went down to defeat, a political slaughter. He did not bounce back but entrenched himself as an outsider and soon left the party to join the NDP and then headed to the DNA. When he lost the leadership battle to head that party, he left the party and started his own party which is called Peoples Deliverance Party. We have seen those PDP initials before. Mr. Moss’ people told The Tribune on 26th April that there are 23 candidates lined up to run for the House. Boy there must be gold in that House of Assembly. How from where he started he got to that no one knows? Life can be made so difficult by one’s own actions.
The Missing 25 Million Of Bran McCartney
Branville McCartney’s propaganda machine had it going around in The Tribune no less that he had 25 million dollars in the kitty to spend and support candidates in the next general election for his new political party the DNA. That news did not pan out and what helped cement the decision of many who wanted to join him to turn to the PLP was the fact that his party it turns out has no money. Each candidate will have to raise their own money Obama style.
Correction Article On Jacinta Higgs’ Husband From Last Week
Last week, we reported a story which said that an eight million dollar contract had been awarded to the husband of Senator Jacinta Higgs, the opponent of Fred Mitchell MP PLP for Fox Hill in the last election by the Bahamar group that is building the new hotels at Cable Beach in New Providence. Contacts at Bahamar have been in touch with the site and say that the report is untrue. There was a contract granted for $25,000 to do some land clearing. Mr. Higgs bid on the larger contract but did not get it.
Sovereign Rating Of The Bahamas Is Unchanged
Standard and Poors did not change the sovereign rating of The Bahamas despite the gloomy news on the fiscal deficit of the country and the poor prospects for economic growth. The rating for raising money on the international market is B++ for long term borrowing and A- for short term borrowing. If the rating is lowered, it makes it more expensive to borrow in foreign currency for The Bahamas.
The UBP Disbands In Bermuda At Last
The United Bahamian Party, the white ruling party of The Bahamas disbanded in 1972 within five years of their defeat at the polls by the Progressive Liberal Party. They saw the handwriting on the wall and integrated themselves with a breakaway movement headed by Cecil Wallace Whitfield called the Free PLP. They formed the Free National Movement. In Bermuda there is also a PLP, a Progressive Labour Party. It was founded with the help of the late Sir Lynden Pindling of The Bahamas to fight for justice in Bermuda. Lois Browne Evans, one of the founders of the party, was his classmate in London. The opposite and ruling party of Bermuda was the United Bermudan Party. They were finally defeated by the PLP in 1998 and have not been able to put to rest the view that they are a party for white Bermudans. After their last defeat by the PLP in 2008, a split developed in the UBP and a group of MPs formed the Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA). Now comes the report that the UBP has decided to throw in the towel after 47 years and become the BDA to take a shot at trying to defeat the PLP in the next election. Paula Cox is the Premier of Bermuda and was in The Bahamas recently at a women’s conference.
Opening Doris Johnson School
Not a PLP in sight but the opening of the school takes place with FNMs lined up in the official photo as they opened the Doris Johnson School that has been open and functioning since the year 2002. What is amazing is that the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham himself came with his wife Delores in tow along with six of his Cabinet ministers and they would be candidate for Fox Hill for the FNM Senator Jacinta Higgs. The lone PLP there was Ryan Pinder MP for Elizabeth. But with all the praise for Dame Doris, the first woman to serve in the Cabinet during the Pindling administration and a pioneer for women’s rights, no policy pronouncements came from the Prime Minister about education. He was just like a CNN commentator lamenting that the schools are not producing the quality of student they should. What we ought to have heard is what is he going to do about it, not give lame laments about how bad it is. The music programme needs money and support not pictures and ribbon cutting. The school needs a secure wall, not glad handing and photo ops. We congratulate the school for doing the great job it is doing under the principal Mrs. Linda Major. The photo is from The Tribune. The Acting Governor General Janet Bostwick also attended the function.
Earl Deveaux Gets a Royal Envoy
The photo caption in The Tribune of Friday 6th May said that the Prince of Monaco Albert sent a personal envoy to see our Minister of Environment Earl Deveaux to say that he was concerned about the environment in The Bahamas and actually wanted efforts to be made to save our environment. We wonder whether the royal envoy reminded the Minister about the folly of taking helicopter rides from the Aga Khan and allowing permits to ruin the national park by dredging in the park.
Earl Deveaux Has To Say If It Aint So
Word is that the Minister of Environment has moved into a million dollar condo at Caves Point out in Western New Providence. True or false? Inquiring minds want to know.
Freeport Discovery Cruises To End
Freeport which is already reeling from the bad economy, with surveys showing that the FNM is unpopular in Freeport because of their failure to deal with the economy; with the lead hotel there running at 11 per cent occupancy; now comes another death blow that of the Discovery Cruises saying that as of September they will be quitting the service to Freeport which brings much needed tourists to the island of Grand Bahama from Florida every day. The release follows: “DISCOVERY CRUISE LINE ANNOUNCES EXTENDED REFURBISHING AND DRY-DOCKING
Miami, FL---Discovery Cruise Line, the largest tour operator from South Florida to Grand Bahama Island, announced that, effective September 7, 2011, it will suspend, for an indeterminate period, the service of its ship, the Discovery Sun.
Hanns J. Hahn, Vice President and General Manager of Discovery, explained that “While the ship is in safe operational order and complies with all United States Coast Guard and SOLAS requirements, it requires extensive dry docking and refurbishment. A timetable for its return will be announced after further inspections are completed.”
On a personal note, I worked with him at many Caricom meetings when I was Minister of Foreign Affairs for The Bahamas so I remember him fondly and had first hand experience about his devotion to the cause.
Once again accept our condolences and please pass on these sentiments to his family.
Fred Mitchell MP
Opposition Spokesman On Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Fred Mitchell MP at Mayo Clinic
Well it's that time of year again, for the annual physical for Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic. The pronouncement by the doctors: " He will live until he dies". The photo was taken on 4th May.
Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames... Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 9 © BahamasUncensored.com 2011
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A TANGIBLE GIFT TO DORIS JOHNSON: On 5th May almost a decade after the school opened for business, the FNM decided to officially open and name the school Doris Johnson, after the woman suffragette and first female member of the Cabinet. Members of Parliament Fred Mitchell (Fox Hill); Melanie Griffin (Yamacraw); Ryan Pinder (Elizabeth) all PLP decided make a special presentation on Wednesday 12th May to the Music Department of the Doris Johnson Senior High School. The three MPs wanted to give a tangible donation to the school on the occasion of the official naming of the school which took place on 5th May. Mr. Mitchell was out of the country at that time. In speaking at the brief presentation, Mr. Mitchell told those gathered that he and his colleagues thought that it would be a good idea to show some tangible support for the school particularly because the music department had made such a valuable contribution to the life of the community and to the school itself. Melanie Griffin applauded the work of the school and Ryan Pinder added that he supported the work of the music department and the discipline which it brings to the life of young people. Accepting the donation on behalf of the school was Aaron Neely, the instructor of band instruments, music teacher. Also present for the occasion was Karen Rahming teacher and subject coordinator, Jason Cartwright, instructor of keyboard, theory and school choir and Yvonne Ferguson instructor of music theory and keyboard. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE DNA CONFUSION
The usual suspects were there and some who are usual suspects but who also usually hide their light under a bushel. This time the camera caught them there. Rodney Moncur, who was once described as the last man standing, seems to have morphed again from Workers Party to a man in green, the colour of the moment of a new party which calls itself the Democratic National Alliance or DNA. Too clever by half. The party which is from the fertile imagination of the once FNM Branville McCartney MP for Bamboo Town launched with great fanfare, plenty of food and drink in the room of the Crystal Palace where the old parties PLP and FNM hold their conventions on Thursday 12th May. Mr. McCartney got a huge crowd as these things go. Two thousand people in a room. But we say again the DNA is DOA, dead on arrival.
The question is who will be the unhappy or the most worried when the analysts mined the faces in the crowd that night. No doubt Perry Christie, PLP Leader and Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister and the FNM leader were both looking anxiously on to see who showed up. We think that Mr. Ingraham should be the most worried since it was mainly his supporters sitting in the crowd and mainly his demographic group. The young professionals whom he says he appeals to were all sitting down around Mr. McCartney on that night.
The PLP should not take too much comfort in that but in a close race, every vote that Mr. McCartney hives off from the FNM is in fact a vote for the PLP. Mr. McCartney himself must have been feeling good. He pulled it off but you know one night of a convention is not an election victory. The only man to have done such a thing before was Cecil Wallace Whitfield and in order for him to get into Parliament he had to amalgamate with the United Bahamian Party, phase them out and then get elected in a revolt in Grand Bahama five years later.
B.J. Nott age and his CDR were able to pull off a national convention as well, but they did not win any seats in the Parliament. In the end, he returned to the PLP and two others now sit in Mr. Ingraham's cabinet.
So here is what we predict for Branville McCartney. Let’s go over to Jamaica where Bruce Golding, now Prime Minister could not get Edward Seaga, the eminence griese of Jamaica’s then Opposition Labour Party to step down. So he split away and formed the National Democratic party of Jamaica, the NDP. He was wanted on all the talk shows. The press loved him. He talked about changing business as usual. He was the flavour of all the intellectuals. People thought this was the alternative. What happened in the end? Not one seat. The two parties JLP and PNP swallowed them up. The PNP returned to the government. The NDP disappeared. Mr. Golding returned to the JLP and eventually became its leader and is now Prime Minister. Such is the fortuity of politics friends. So our prediction is that at best Mr. McCartney is setting himself up to succeed Hubert Ingraham as leader of the Free National Movement, but this time around he can only hope for a wonderful experience in a beauty contest.
(Photo from the Nassau Guardian shows Branville McCartney with the 10 candidates that he announced on the day of his launch including himself for Bamboo Town as follows: Kelphene Cunningham (Garden Hills); Floyd Armbrister (Exuma); Sammy Poitier (Sammy Star) (South Beach); Farrel Goff (Clifton); Ben Albury (Montague); Adrian LaRoda (MICAL); Roscoe Thompson (South Abaco); Charlene Paul (Elizabeth) and Alfred Poitier (Kennedy).)
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 14th May up to midnight: 131,259
Number of hits for the month of May up to Saturday 14th May up to midnight: 289,035
Number of hits for the year 2011 up to Saturday 14th May 2011 up to midnight: 3,369,454
WHAT IS JOHN BOSTWICK UP TO?
John Bostwick II is the son of J. Henry Bostwick Q.C. and Janet Bostwick, the former FNM Minister and now Deputy to the Governor General. Two weeks ago while his mother was on the cusp of or actually acting as Governor General Mr. Bostwick the second went public with something he called Bahamas Vision 2020. This document was supposed to the blue print for the future of the country. Mr. Bostwick II was in the gallery when Bran McCartney resigned from the FNM so people naturally thought well he is with Mr. McCartney. Mr. Bostwick then prior to the launch of the DNA (see story above) went public again with his document which you can also read on line and . he had it placed in all Nassau Guardian papers. He then told The Guardian that he was not connected with Mr. McCartney. H said he had not decided whether he will run for the House but if he did he would run as an independent. He was simply not happy with any alternative. There was even a back and forth over who came up with the lighthouse as a symbol for the DNA, whether he did or Mr. McCartney did. There are great “unspokens” here and eventually this will all come out in the wash. There appears to have been some connection between the two of them at some time. There appears to have been a falling out of some kind. Indeed the scuttlebutt was that Roscoe Thompson of Abaco who left the FNM in a huff and is now with Mr. McCartney almost left Mr. McCartney because he was being reminded of the similarity with Mr. Ingraham's ego too many times. So we end as we began: what is Mr. Bostwick up to? We think again this is an FNM fight where Hubert Ingraham has mistreated his mother Janet by not giving her the Governor General’s post and abused his father by not giving him a knighthood and he (the son) is feeling disaffected. He has some grass roots street "cred" and thinks that his party the FNM does not use his talents so he in a marketing strategy to get their attention. One guess is that he will be the FNM's candidate against Melanie Griffin in his mother’s old constituency of Yamacraw in the next election. Photo of John Bostwick II from The Tribune.
PERRY CHRISTIE STATEMENT ON JACKSON BURNSIDE
Jackson Burnside II was sixty two years old when he died in Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami following complications from a brain aneurysm on 10th May. He was hailed universally as a man of great importance to our country, having contributed to the public discourse and to the building up of the common life in his profession as an architect and in Junkanoo as one of the founders of One Family Junkanoo group. A walk was held for him on Saturday 14th May. A service in his memory is to be held at St. Agnes Anglican Church in Grants Town on Thursday 19th May at 11 a.m. He is reportedly to be cremated following the service. All those attending are asked to wear one item of colour in his honour.
Nassau, Bahamas – The following is a press statement by the Leader of the Opposition, the Rt Hon Perry G. Christie, MP on the passing of Jackson Burnside:
I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing this morning of Jackson Burnside III, one of the true cultural icons of the Bahamian nation.
Jackson’s death represents a huge loss for The Bahamas. He was a national treasure in so many diverse ways. In addition to being one of the first Bahamians to develop a truly international architectural practice, he was a creative force of exceptional energy and vitality in the development of the arts, firstly, as an artist of world renown, secondly, as a leading figure in the modern Junkanoo movement, and thirdly, as a spokesman for Bahamian culture and the arts through his radio show and his frequent interaction with the media and the larger Bahamian community. In this latter connection, I remember, in particular, Jackson’s leading role in the work of the Cultural Commission that I appointed when I was Prime Minister.
With that as his foundation, Jackson would throughout his life demonstrate a passionate commitment to the development of The Bahamas in all spheres of human endeavour. Following his return from university in the late 1960’s, he quickly established himself as one of our country’s most talented architects and, in parallel with that, one of the pre-eminent artists of his time. He sustained his excellent reputation on both these fronts throughout his life.
Jackson’s passion for Junkanoo would find expression in his active participation as one of the key creative forces in the Saxons group followed by his formation, with others, of the One Family Junkanoo group that has since evolved into one of the premier Junkanoo institutions in our country today. Beyond that, Jackson was a pioneer in the promotion of Junkanoo as a year round basis for entrepreneurship so that Junkanoo groups and their members might draw additional sustenance from this, the most vital and popular, of all the vehicles for cultural expression in our country.
Jackson was a major force for good in our nation. He was one of our brightest stars. He will be very greatly missed.
On behalf of my wife, Bernadette, the Farm Road & Centreville Constituency, all my colleagues in the Official Opposition, and on my own behalf, I extend heartfelt condolences to Jackson’s widow, Pam; his daughters, Ebony and Orchid, his mother, Gertrude, his brothers, Stan and Wayman and his sister, Julia.
THE RBDF MEMORIAL IN PICTURES
The FNM is using the public treasury to campaign. The roads, the school openings, the turning of the soil, the ribbon cuttings. Last week it was the turn of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to be part of the dog and pony show of the FNM. On the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the sinking of the HMBS Flamingo Tuesday 10th May, the Prime Minister with the Governor General in tow and half his Cabinet came out to Rawson Square in an elaborate ceremony to honour the four fallen men of the HMBS Flamingo. We think it’s a good idea to mark the occasion mind you but the FNM did not support the establishment of the Defence Force, did not in fact support the creation of the country and its independence, do not support Bahamianization so why are they in the square crying crocodile tears over the loss of the RBDF men? The public officials however did an excellent job with the script and with ensuring that this time the country is aware of what the RBDF does and how these young men made the ultimate sacrifice. The men Fenwick Stirrup, Edward Williams,were lost at sea on 10th May 1980, ten weeks into the life of the Force. They were sunk by Cuban MIGS and then the water was sprayed by bullets from the jets. The U.S. scrambled its air force before the Cubans flew away. Later Cuba apologized and paid compensation for the loss of the crew and the boat. The PLP MPs were out in full force to show their support and solidarity for the event. The photos are by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
PLP MPS GIFTS TO DORIS JOHNSON SCHOOL
We present the presentation by PLP MPs Melanie Griffin, Fred Mitchell and Ryan Pinder to the Doris Johnson School on Wednesday 12th May. The photos and the video are by Andrew Burrows.
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THE NEW SWEDISH AMBASSADOR
Claes Hammar is the new Ambassador for Sweden to The Bahamas. Mr. Hammar was in The Bahamas last week. He paid a courtesy call on the Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie who was accompanied by Fred Mitchell MP, the Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday 11th May at the Leader of the Opposition’s office in Parliament Street. Mr. Hammar was accompanied by the Dean of the Honorary Consular Corp Anders Wiberg who is about to retire from the post of Honorary Consul for Sweden. The photo is by Patrick Hanna of the Bahamas Information Services. On Thursday 12th May, the Ambassador presented his credentials to the Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes at Government House. Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell attended the ceremony.
The photo at Government House is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services. The photo of the call is by Patrick Hanna also of the Bahamas Information Services.
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GLENYS HANNA MARTIN ON MAILBOAT SERVICE
There was a strike by mail boat operators in The Bahamas last week which ended after a few days of inconvenience and worry to family island vendors and residents. The strike came about because the government’s subsidy to the service has not been meeting the expenses of the cost of the trips to the islands outside New Providence. The price of fuel has shot up to the roof and there has been no adjustment in the subsidy. The mail boats continue to be the life line of the southern islands in particular. A compromise was worked out where the government promised to look at the matter in their new budget come 1 st July but until then the mail boat operators were told that they can cut back on one trip per month so that they make three trips per month to the islands. The Opposition’s spokesman on transport former Transport Minister Glenys Hanna Martin issued the following statement on behalf of the Progressive Liberal Party:
May 11th, 2011
I have been watching with grave concern the serious impasse which had developed between the Mailboat industry and the Government. Those caught in between are our brothers and sisters who live in Family Island communities and especially remote Family Island communities who are dependent on the Mailboat system for delivery of goods and supplies including the basic necessities of life such as food and water. It is an indisputable fact that the price of fuel has increased tremendously in recent times. It should therefore be of no great surprise that those who must fuel their vessel to reach these Islands are especially impacted. The Progressive Liberal Party during its recent term of Government when I served as Minister of Transport when faced with similar circumstances devised a formula to provide for a subvention to Mailboat operators which was tied to the escalating cost of fuel and found it necessary to increase the subvention so as not to jeopardize the delivery of service to our Family Island brothers and sisters. The Government should not deviate from this policy position which sought first and foremost to protect the welfare and indeed survival of our Family Island communities while at the same time insuring that the central Mailboat service is provided without interruption. It should be borne in mind that the Mailboat operators were disadvantage by the Government recent unilateral reduction in their subvention. If the Government had consulted with the industry it would have known that it would have been difficult on a reduce subvention to operate in the best of circumstances but it must be clear to them now that the added factor of increase oil prices must necessarily strain their ability to efficiently carry out their services.
PLP’S POSITION ON BAHAMASAIR
The problem with Bahamasair is that it is losing money hand over fist. More than a billion since it was first founded in 1973. Last year alone it lost 24 million, double the year before. That news came to the press last week. Lots of wringing of hands over what we are to do. Barry Farrington, Bahamasair Chair, says that no one wants to buy it losing as much as it does. He says the Bahamian people simply have to suffer with it. No word on the new planes that are needed, with frequent breakdowns and uncomfortable planes where the air conditioning does not work. Its jets will end their useful life in 18 months and the checks to make them worthy are more expensive than the hardware is actually worth. They need to get new jets. The government is sitting on its hands without any idea on the way forward for the airline. The following statement was issued by Obie Wilchcombe who is the Opposition’s spokesman on Tourism.
Press Statement
By Obie Wilchcombe
Member of Parliament for West End and Bimini
For Immediate Release
Bahamasair
The Government must now accept that there is need for a paradigm shift in the roll of National Flag Carrier in the 21st century Bahamas. This view is fortified by the recent disclosure of Bahamasair’s losses in
fiscal year 2010-2011 to an astronomical $23million, doubling the
losses over the corresponding period of one year ago.
These losses are occurring under the watch of The Hon. Neko Grant who while in opposition was the airlines biggest critic. This reality
exposes the unrealistic public relations escapade that the Minister
indulged last year. The airline brought in a Saab aircraft, loaded it
with media, public servants and stake holders and carried out test
flights to several islands and promised imminent introduction of such
an aircraft into Bahamasair’s fleet. This seems to have been a “the
big show” because that was the last that we heard of it.
We note that the decision by the Hon. Glenys Hanna Martin, former
Minister with responsibility for Aviation in the Christie
administration, to open the industry allowing Bahamians to become
airline owners and provide service to the family islands fundamentally
altered the role of the nation’s flag carrier. It was no longer the
principal source of linking the family islands.
With tourism air arrivals continuing to decline and with insufficient
airlift to Grand Bahama and other islands, the Government should now
shift the purpose of the national flag carrier to filling the widening
gap in tourism arrivals to The Bahamas. The lease or purchase of the
needed, adequate aircraft would allow Bahamasair to become an international low fare carrier. Both the cost of travel to The Bahamas could be reduced while needed seats would be made available in markets in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia through direct service or with strategic partnerships.
A policy position should be taken that disallows Bahamasair using state funds to compete with small Bahamian airline owners. The group of Bahamian airlines collectively and individually is proving every day that they are professional, competent, and efficient in serving the travelling public.
Bahamasair has a staff compliment of experienced professionals who could lead a new Bahamasair International Airline that would open new doors for the sustainable growth of airlift invaluable to driving our tourism economy. The Bahamas supplements many of the carriers serving The Bahamas. The Ministry of Tourism’s companion fly free program is costing the Ministry millions of dollars that go directly to the airlines, some of that money should be directed to introducing the international component to the National Airline.
If the government refuses to recognize the need for change then we will continue to hear of increasing costs with diminishing returns. Bahamasair needs a new plan of action, new aircrafts and new energy to soar into a new role as the friendly carrier of The Bahamas Tourism Industry.
WILCHOMBE DECRIES OUR LUCAYA POLICIES
Obie Wilchcombe, the MP for West End and Bimini (PLP), was livid as he addressed the issue of the fees now being charged by the Our Lucaya Resort for the use of their facilities on the beach in Grand Bahama here is his full statement:
For Immediate Release 10th May 2011
The decision by Our Lucaya to charge a $30 fee to visitors who wish to
lay on the beach of the hotel has been met with rejection from
visitors and annoyance from Bahamian taxi drivers and others who are doing all they can to change the tourism picture in Grand Bahama. The Ministry of Tourism must intervene immediately and prevent any further damage to the struggling Grand Bahama tourism industry.
A visitor on a Norwegian cruise stopped in Grand Bahama spoke with me today on this matter. She said that she was told it would cost $10 to
rent a chair to lie on the beach. She also said that when she and
others arrived at Our Lucaya they were informed that the fee for a
chair and to lie on the beach is $30 effective today.
The fee is being charged to non hotel guests and those who do not
purchase a one day pass. While we understand that the hotel faces
unabated difficult times, to heavily tax visitors to lie on the beach
is simply unacceptable.
The Tourism industry in Grand Bahama is the worst it has ever been. The ranking of Grand Bahama as a warm weather destination has taken a beating. Our Lucaya, Tourism officials, and the people of the island must know that to climb out of this dark hole will require patienc, common sense and diligence. We must nurture the level of tourism business that Grand Bahama is getting. Overpricing is a no-no and will do more harm than good.
The Ministry of Tourism must intervene and impress upon Our Lucaya to re-examine this policy and find a better way to make our visitors feel at home.
WILCHCOMBE STATEMENT ON FREEPORT MEDICAL
For Immediate Release
by
Member of Parliament for the West End and Bimini Constituency,
Tuesday May 10, 2011
Government Approval of Ibocure
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The government of The Bahamas must explain how and why the Bahamas Investment Authority would compromise the integrity of the medical providers of The Bahamas and give the “go ahead” for the establishment of a drug rehabilitation centre in The Bahamas to a physician who recently surrendered his Florida physician’s license because of ethical violations.
When this matter was raised in the House of Assembly yesterday the
Minister of Health said he knew nothing about it but subsequently
conceded that conditional approval has been granted by the National
Economic Council.
The physician in question is Dr. Marc Puelo. He has been given
approval for establishment of Ibocure, a drug rehabilitation facility
in Nassau offering a drug called Ibogaine. The drug does not have the
approval of the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in the United
States.
Several years ago the Florida Medical Board discovered that the
physician purchased prescription drugs from a pharmaceutical
manufacturer. “The Physician entered into a contract for the purchase of prescription drugs for the use on the physician’s patients for a discounted price which prohibits the reselling and distributing of the prescription drugs. The physician failed to obtain the required
permits prior to selling the prescription drugs as a drug wholesaler
and to other wholesale distribution.”
The Florida medical board accepted the voluntary surrender of Dr. Marc Puelo physician’s license to practice medicine in the state of Florida in lieu of further administrative action. Dr. Puelo agreed to never reapply for a license to practice medicine in the state of Florida.
Both the Minister of Health and the Minister of Tourism must give a
clear an unequivocal explanation on why they have supported the
granting of this license application.
According to the Tribune, The Minister of Tourism the Hon. Vincent
Vanderpool Wallace said, ‘his office has very much been a part of the
development of Ibocure’s movement into The Bahamas as a medical
tourism provider.”
The Minister of Tourism also said that his ministry will play a
promotional role. It is absurd for the Ministry of Tourism to spend
tax dollars promoting a physician who cannot get a license in his own state or promote a product that has yet to obtain approval from the FDA.
Something is clearly wrong here. How could Dr.Puelo get approval from the Cabinet of The Bahamas or agencies within the Bahamas Government?
Was this matter discussed and did it receive support from the Bahamas Medical Association?
This is not the direction we should be headed if we wish to introduce Medical Tourism. The fact is that the Minister of Tourism should work with local physicians and medical providers to develop a sustainable medical tourism program.
PRIME MINISTER’S FAILURE IN GBI
The Progressive Liberal Party’s Deputy Leader Philip Davis led a delegation of MPs and Party Officers to Fresh Creek, Andros as a continuation of the listening tour of the islands. MPs Glenys Hanna Martin and Obie Wilchcombe joined colleague Picewell Forbes MP for the area. Party Chairman Bradley Roberts and Vice Chair Randy Rolle were present for the visit. The visit took place on 11th May. The photos are by Andrew Burrows.
PAUL TURNQUEST’S WEDDING PHOTOS
Well the pictures are finally in. The wedding of the century is done, the honey moon is over. The bills are now to be paid, but it appears that a fine time was had by all at the Wedding of Paul Turnquest and his beautiful bride Georgette which took place in Lyford Cay at St Christopher’s Church on 30th April. The best man was the irrepressible Chester Robards, also a news paper reporter. The reception was held at Graycliff. Amongst the guests Perry Christie, PLP Leader, Philip Davis, PLP Deputy Leader and Ryan Pinder MP. The photos are from Mr. Turnquest’s Facebook page.
PLP FACILITATES NEW LAW FOR SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS
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The following statement was issued by the PLP on the passage of a law to facilitate a Atlantic Caribbean Union for the Seventh Day Adventists, formally severing their ties from the West Indies Union. The President is Pastor Leonard Johnson. Making up the Union is the Turks and Caicos conference, two conferences in The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. The bill was not contentious but the FNM made a snide and stupid press release on 9th May following the debate after bungling a bill later in the House and so the PLP issued the statement which follows Peter Ramsay took the photo Fred Mitchell MP, Bernard Nottage MP, Oswald Ingraham MP Glenys Hanna Martin MP and PLP Leader Perry Christie and of the leaders of the Adventist Church who gathered at the House of Assembly for the occasion.
STATEMENT BY THE PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL PARTY
ON THE FNM'S STATEMENTS ON THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST VOTE
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY 9TH MAY 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10 May 2011
The Progressive Liberal Party calls on the Free National Movement to apologise to the Seventh Day Adventist Church for creating a controversy in the House of Assembly yesterday where there was none.
After yesterday's sickening attack on the PLP over the vote on the Bill to Incorporate the Seventh Day Adventists, we are convinced that the FNM is now officially a party of tricksters whose word you cannot trust. What signed sealed and delivered this new designation is the newest low to which they have sunk in their war of words with the Progressive Liberal Party. As their fortunes sink in the eyes of the electorate, they are becoming ever more desperate. The latest FNM salvo is to seek to create a division with the PLP over the unanimous vote in the House of Assembly on 9th May to support the incorporation of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in The Bahamas.
For the Seventh Day Adventist Bill to be debated, it required the PLP to agree because the FNM brought the Bill to the House contrary to the rules. Notwithstanding that the FNM had broken the rules, the PLP accommodated the government in order to help the church. When the debate began, it soon became clear that the FNM Members were also unprepared for the debate. The FNM's leader wanted to rush the bill through. It was only when it become apparent that the country could see the genuine affection and affiliation which the PLP has for the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Prime Minister then ordered his people to speak.
The larger issue however was the FNM’s further blundering and unpreparedness for the business of the House of Assembly. Later that same day it was revealed that their Minister of Sports Charles Maynard was debating the wrong bill on the Sports Authority in the House of Assembly. Minister Charles Maynard was debating a bill that he clearly had not read. The PLP was debating the right bill, the one tabled in the House of Assembly. The Leader of House business Tommy Turnquest was then forced to withdraw the Bill and promised to come back after the budget debate to debate the right bill.
What the FNM is trying to do is petty and small. It divides and takes away the importance from what the Parliament of the Bahamas did yesterday. The PLP does not intend to engage in this charade. The FNM government must face the stubborn fact. They messed up. The FNM brought the wrong Sports bill to Parliament. The FNM was unprepared. The FNM wasted valuable time. The PLP was ready and we will continue to debate the issues and point to the incompetence of this outgoing government. That is the legacy of the FNM. That is why The Bahamas is in the mess it is today. That is why crime and murder are high. That is why unemployment is high. That is why the economy struggles and that is why the People of The Bahamas want the FNM out of office.
We advise the FNM to wipe the egg on their faces and get to work. Bring the right bills to Parliament, come prepared and leave the Church out of the political fray.
End
THE HAITIAN /BAHAMIAN DIVIDE HITS NEW MISS BAHAMAS
We show the photo of the new Miss Bahamas and her defence of an attack on he because her national origin is Haitian. This is an increasingly fractious issue in The Bahamas and we thought that you ought to read about the issue:
to her statements AND THEY SAY BAHAMAIANIZATION IS NOT DYING UNDER THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION OUR MISS BAHAMAS UNIVERSE IS A HATIAN !!!!!!!!!
by Twotado Bahamas on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 12:24am
Miss Bahamas Universe:
Anastagia Pierre
Age: 22
Hair colour: Brown
Eye colour: Hazel
Height: 5'10
NEWLY crowned Miss Bahamas Universe Anastagia Pierre recently defended critiscm that she is not Bahamian and thus ineligible to represent the Bahamas in the upcoming Miss Universe Pageant.
In a recent interview with Tribune Woman, she explained that while she does have a Haitian Dominican father and was educated in the United States, her mother is Bahamian and she herself has dual citizenship.
"I grew up in Grand Bahama. I spent equal time between the Bahamas and Florida. Yes I was Miss Florida, I was eligible for that pageant because I met the residency requirements. If I were not eligible to enter Miss Bahamas, the organisation would not have allowed me to enter. There is no doubt in my mind that I can represent the Bahamas and do well."
Anastagia said her immediate focus is to prepare for Miss Universe which is set to be held in Brazil in September.
"Miss Universe is right around the corner. It is the probably the biggest international pageant out there, It will be an honour to go there and compete. When I go there, I would like people to get the essence of the Bahamas, the sense of family and our traditions I want to be a good representative. I think we will do well."
The chance to enter such a prestige international pageant is a dream come true for the 22-year-old beauty, who has been modeling and entering pageants from a very young age.
"For me, pageantry is a lifestyle, I started modeling very young It is about being a humanitarian and not just wearing a crown or a sash."
To achieve her dream, Anastagia says she had to find her own voice and set her own path. Last year, she had to watch Braneka Basset capture the title while she had to settle for the first runner- up position.
She had a year to regroup, prepare and presented a polished image that captured the judges and the audience's hearts during the pageant.
" A lot of people think that they have all the answers and if you listen to them you can end up losing a little bit of yourself. So this year, I decided not to listen to the noise of the crowd and I went with my own instincts and it really paid off.
"My platform this year will be crime. It's a very big issue. I want to work with children and teach them that there are others way for conflict resolution rather than resorting to violence."
Anastagia says her many great assets including her smile and her personality.
"I think my best asset is my ability to adapt to different situations. Growing up I was exposed to many different cultures, activities and lifestyles which has made me much more tolerant and accepting of others."
She added that her daily philosophy is " don't miss out on today's opportunities by worrying about tomorrow."
"One thing everyone often wonders is what the future holds for us, but I feel that some things are unknown for a reason. God has a plan for all of us and as your faith is strengthened, you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control. I believe that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them to your great delight and benefit. I always strive to enjoy each moment of my day and remember that all things happen for a reason.
You can click here for the reaction to her statements
HOW ABOUR K.B.’S NEW SONG ABOUT FACEBOOK
YOUNG PLPS SAY GO OUT AND REGISTER
: LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Forrester Carroll writes this week a scorching and acidic attack on the FNM’s latest column in the Nassau Guardian. He tells Carl Bethel, the Chairman of the Party that the PLP is not stupid:
The Nassau Guardian printed a letter recently which was said to have been written by “The Free National Movement.” Why do I say that it was said to have been written by the Free National Movement? Well because it was signed; “Free National Movement.” I would have preferred the, particular FNM, writer to identify him or herself, but then again that would probably have been asking a little too much seeing that the contents of the letter was such plain TRASH; STUPID TRASHY GARBAGE, is what it was. The whole damn letter could only have been conceived in and composed by the warped mind of a sick albino look-a-like, like CARL BETHEL. Who else is authorized to use the FNM party’s name and label in the way it was used, other than the party’s chairman? But I’ll tell you this one thing, chairman Carl Bethel; you sure out did yourself this time, because this is the worst piece of TRASH you have ever thought up in that little teeny weenie mind of yours. Your pay grade comes seriously into question here, BIRD BRAIN, and I seriously doubt if any sensible Bahamian voter will regard anything you’ve said with any degree of credibility; you are a sick, punch drunk failure, albino boy.
Can anyone, out in the wider Bahamian public, believe that the Free National Movement, through its albino look-a-like Chairman Carl Bethel, can realistically accuse the PLP of begrudging Bahamians of “an improved quality of life,” for Christ’s sake? Where did you come up with such stupid absurdity, Carl Bethel? Hubert Ingraham must have taken your senses, along with your manhood, when he castrated you at the FNM’s last convention. You are such a wautless, albino look-a-like, picky- haired, disgusting little man, Carl Bethel; you make me sick. As a matter of fact, if you wish to know the truth, every time I a picture of you anywhere in the newspaper or on the television it prompts me to go and take a shower. I am truly not enjoying the fact that I must sink so low in the gutter (where you FNM leaders hang out these days) in an effort to answer you, but whatever it takes I am prepared to do so in order to set the record straight. I cannot risk someone out there accepting your TRASHY-GARBAGE as gospel truth.
Carl Bethel, alias the Free National Movement, in claiming credit for all the PLP projects left in place when we lost in the general elections of 2007, went on to say, the following, in his letter to the press; “How sad (he said) that after abandoning its responsibility over five years: to improve and build new roads and decrease traffic congestion; to build a new straw market; to revitalize downtown Nassau; to remove the port from downtown and start construction of a new port; to begin construction on the new National Stadium; to start construction on the new Lynden Pindling International Airport; to complete the construction of or refurbish new courts;” to etc; etc; etc. Am I missing something here? Wasn’t it the PLP’s Administration which was deeply involved in a vigorous program of improving the road works in the capitol and throughout the Bahama Island chain and wasn’t it the same PLP which began addressing the traffic congestion by initiating discussions with the stakeholders for the creation of a comprehensive and efficient busing system in the capitol; and wasn’t it the PLP which awarded the contract for the new straw market which Ingraham cancelled; and wasn’t it the PLP which secured the gift of the new stadium from the Chinese; and wasn’t it the PLP which negotiated and signed the deal for the vast improvements to the Lynden Pindling International Airport or am I mistaken about all these? Carl Bethel aren’t you ashamed of yourself for lying through those large teeth of yours and trying to claim a set of marbles, like little boys did in school, which do not belong to you? Indeed it was the Hon. Bradley Roberts, as I recall, who accelerated the potable water program, throughout the Bahama chain of family Islands, to ensure that every single Bahamian citizen, wherever they lived in the archipelago, eventually get access to clean water; and it was he (Bradley Roberts) who attacked the upgrade of utilities, with vigor, wherever improvements were needed in the country. Wasn’t it Bradley Roberts, as well, who signed a contract for the new power generating facility for Abaco which Hubert Ingraham cancelled? And don’t forget that it was Mr. Bradley Roberts, PLP minister for public works, who installed potable water to residents in the Cooper’s Town area of Hubert Ingraham’s own constituency.
Carl Bethel, alias the Free National Movement, instead of writing nonsense, should have been focusing on the sad state of affairs, in the country, to which his FNM government has brought us; especially with respect to the enormity of the criminal activity, in the nation. He should have spent that time reminding Tommy Turnquest and Hubert Ingraham of their positions on the matter, with respect to the PLP, back in 2007. This was when the scalawags would have done, or said, anything to get elected. Crime was one of the FNM’s talking points, at the time, and as far as Tommy, Ingraham and the FNM were concerned, the PLP was responsible. Ingraham and Tommy accused the PLP of not getting criminal activity under control and strongly suggested that, if elected, the FNM would break its back. Well we are four years into their five year term, and we have had record breaking crime rate statistics each and every year they’ve been in office. 2007 recorded the highest criminal activity, ever, in our history and then 2008 surpassed 2007 and 2009 out did 2008; 2010's record was the highest to date ever so all the FNM has been doing about the crime wave is breaking their own records. At the rate we’ve started off 2011 (43 murders in the first four months) it looks like this year will take the cake. Ours (the PLP’s) was indeed the only plan that offered the innovative and viable strategies, and real hope, for conquering the menace of crime in our country, once and for all; so opined our former prime minister and Hon. Leader of Her Majesty’s loyal opposition. The FNM, right about now, should be bashful and ashamed to dare approach the electorate for support in trying to get elected again. But guess what; they don’t have any shame; they are a bunch of shameless scoundrel cowards.
And then the albino look-a-like had the audacity to accuse the PLP (in the letter published 27th April) of getting angry because, (get this) it is the FNM, he said, and not the PLP who is finishing off most of the projects the PLP left behind in place (i.e. the ones that the FNM didn’t stopped, reviewed or cancelled) on the table and at various stages of progress. The PLP is not stupid, Carl Bethel; we understand that governments are CONTINUEOUS and whatever one government may initiate and not finish before its time in office expires, the succeeding government is expected to honor and complete. The FNM has yet to learn that PROTOCOL, of course you lame brain.
It is little wonder then why the FNM would go out of their way to capitalize on, and take credit for, the development projects that the PLP left on the table-they have none of their own. I challenge Carl Bethel, albino look-a-like, alias Free National Movement, to tell me of one project, just one single project, that his FNM government approved while in office these past four years. Did you notice how silently their fourth year went by without a sound of celebrations? They would rather we not remember it was their fourth year anniversary given the misery index in the country. It would have been more useful for the albino look-a-like to have focused his government’s attention on job creation. There will be another five thousand (5000) high school graduates leaving school this year and what are to become of them Sea Breeze? What are the plans, of the government, for the school leavers this year Carl Bethel?
The FNM’s plans, they said, for job creation was to wait for America to recover; well Obama’s America has been in recovery mode for the past eighteen (18) months; each month adding more and more jobs. Just this past month (April) they added 244,000 new jobs bringing the total number of new jobs added, in the last quarter (February-April) to around 750,000; and they report that company downsizing exercises are minimal. Our state of affairs, on the other hand, is taking us in the opposite direction; we are losing jobs, monthly, at the same rate the USA is gaining jobs; what do you say about that, you albino look-a-like? You should know, as well, that Canadian Statistics indicate an even better position than that of the USA; they’ve added, for the same period, more than one million new jobs.
I say to you, Hubert Ingraham, Zhivargo Laing and Chairman Carl Bethel, you’ve had your time; give it up and get lost now; you’ve caused Bahamians much too much damage and suffering.
Thank you.
Forrester Carroll JP
Freeport, Grand Bahama
15th May 2011.
IN PASSING
Murders On Tommy’s Watch
The count was 364 murders since Tommy Turnquest was Minister of National Security. Since we supplied that number last week, there were two more murders so now Tommy’s number is 366.
AG Blames The Police
The Attorney General John Delaney is too pompous for words. He is usually in la la land when it comes to his job as AG, but the latest press conference to try to explain away why there were three murder cases dismissed in ten days because of the shoddy work of the crown takes the cake. On 12th May, he trotted out his imported DPP Vinette Graham-Allen to say that it was the bad work of the police that was causing the cases to get thrown out. In other words: it aint his fault. Then he said that he would be starting a new unit in the AGs office to have the police work with an attorney from the start in the AG’s office. Sounds just like the Swift Justice programme that Allyson Gibson his predecessor left in place but which became a victim of the stop review and cancel programme.
Craig Butler Speaks Out
The political analysts are trying to read the tea leaves as they listen and read what Craig Butler, the PLPs Treasurer, had to say to the talk shows over the past week on why he has not gotten a nomination from the PLP. He was denied the Elizabeth nomination and also denied the nomination for Kennedy. Mr. Butler said that PLP leader Perry Christie told him that his past drug use would be a bar to his getting a nomination. Pundits are wondering whether this is a prelude to his switching to the other side and accepting the FNM's nomination for Kennedy. It is interesting since the reason the PLP became skittish about his nomination in Elizabeth was because Tommy Turnquest, Leader of the FNM's business in the house warned Party leader Christie that the FNM intended to release a barrage of adverse information about Mr. Butler in their propaganda campaign. Wonder if he becomes their candidate how that will be reconciled. We of course do not believe that Mr. Butler will move.
BTC Cuts Fees To Operator
Reports are coming out that not only is Cable and Wireless planning to force 30 per cent of the staff to leave their jobs now that they have taken over BTC, the phone company. They also plan to unilaterally cut all the contracts that they have with Bahamian vendors by 30 per cent. The bad news was delivered to some last week and they were told: take it or leave it.
Who Was Seen At The DNA Launch?
The most interesting part about the DNA launch was who could be seen on television and on Facebook. No doubt the leaders of the PLP and the FNM are busy mining the footage to see who was there. Behind the scenes we are told was Dr Jonny Rodgers, who in his old age has had a lot to say about the economy and financial policies. Now he is said to be supporting Branville McCartney with his money and orchestrating this whole DNA business from behind the scenes. Then there is Dr. David Allen, the psychiatrist, who is a kind of all things to all men. He is the first cousin of Perry Christie, the Leader of the Opposition. People remember that while Mr. Christie was in power he was supporting the PLP's Urban Renewal programme but as soon as the PLP lost and the FNM decided to cancel the programme, Dr. Allen claimed that the programme as not effective. Strained family relationships. Then there is Dr Johnny Lunn, who likes to be a part of protest movements. He despises Hubert Ingraham for wrecking a successful radiation oncology business he had in the country. One thing must be said that these stout hearts have a reputation once the noise gets too loud of looking to the hills from once cometh their help.
The Fire At Sandilands
Three children under the age of ten years old were killed in a fire by smoke inhalation on Wednesday 11th May when they were left alone by their father. The press says that the father left the seven children with an adult who herself left them alone. Bars and a dead bolt at the door prevented the father and passers-by from getting in to rescue the kids. They could hear screaming for help and then they went silent. Seven unresponsive bodies were found. Four were revived; three could not be revived. Ryan Pinder MP for Elizabeth, where the fire took place, was immediately on the scene. Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill visited the Sandilands School the next day. The students all go to school there. The father was held in custody, no doubt there are charges of negligence being considered. Again this is unfortunate, but it was probably just an accident. The country is sad.
Layoffs At First Caribbean
The business sections of the press are reporting that First Caribbean Bank has commenced further layoffs of their staff beyond the 20 which they announced earlier.
UBP Dissolution On Hold In Bermuda
We reported on this site that the United Bermudian Party (UBP) in Bermuda was about to give up the ghost after 47 years of existence in Bermuda and merge with the Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA) in order to defeat the PLP incumbents in Bermuda. Not so fast say some of the rank and file. They have gotten an injunction to stop the merger until the rank and file are properly consulted by the leaders of the party.
Social Workers Continue Their Protests
Last week, we reported that social workers were out in the streets protesting their treatment by the government. This week the situation got worse with the social workers in further demonstrations. They were led by the President of the Bahamas Public Services Union John Pinder.
Sandra Rolle Is Buried
John Rolle, the retired Comptroller of Customs and his family could not have been more pleased in the midst of their sorrow for their fallen wife mother, sister, daughter and aunt Sandra, nee Fountain. Mrs. Rolle who died of cancer two weeks ago, reported on this site was buried following a celebrated mass at the St Mary the Virgin Church in Nassau on Saturday 14th May. The gospel was read by Deacon Jeffery Lloyd of the Roman Catholic Church listed as an adopted brother in the obits. The service was led by retired Archbishop Drexel Gomez. The photo of the casket being taken to its final resting place in the cemetery.
The Poinciana June
The Ministry of Tourism used to have a yearly promotion called Poinciana June. The photo above shows why. In New Providence, the island where Nassau sits, the Poinciana Tree an imported shrub is prolific. It is everywhere. They start to bloom in May but in June they are resplendent. If you were a student at St. Augustine’s College Roman Catholic School you would be familiar with looking from the windows of St. Mary’s Hall on top of the hill in late May early June over the island and seeing the splotches of red Poinciana mixed in with the green shrubs. So we say of the picture enjoy. The photo was taken on the main boulevard in Nassau East, a subdivision in New Providence which abuts the St. Andrews School.
Eastern Region Fair
MPs Melanie Griffin, Ryan Pinder and Fred Mitchell all PLPs for Yamacraw, Elizabeth and Fox Hill attended the official opening of the Eastern Region fair, its seventh version on Saturday 14th May. The Committee is headed by retired public servant Carl Spencer and supported by Supt Ismela Davis of the Elizabeth Estate police station. Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette officially opened the fair. The Royal Bahamas Police Force Band performed. The photo shows the performance.
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2011 Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com |
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A TANGIBLE GIFT TO DORIS JOHNSON: On 5th May almost a decade after the school opened for business, the FNM decided to officially open and name the school Doris Johnson, after the woman suffragette and first female member of the Cabinet. Members of Parliament Fred Mitchell (Fox Hill); Melanie Griffin (Yamacraw); Ryan Pinder (Elizabeth) all PLP decided make a special presentation on Wednesday 12th May to the Music Department of the Doris Johnson Senior High School. The three MPs wanted to give a tangible donation to the school on the occasion of the official naming of the school which took place on 5th May. Mr. Mitchell was out of the country at that time. In speaking at the brief presentation, Mr. Mitchell told those gathered that he and his colleagues thought that it would be a good idea to show some tangible support for the school particularly because the music department had made such a valuable contribution to the life of the community and to the school itself. Melanie Griffin applauded the work of the school and Ryan Pinder added that he supported the work of the music department and the discipline which it brings to the life of young people. Accepting the donation on behalf of the school was Aaron Neely, the instructor of band instruments, music teacher. Also present for the occasion was Karen Rahming teacher and subject coordinator, Jason Cartwright, instructor of keyboard, theory and school choir and Yvonne Ferguson instructor of music theory and keyboard. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE DNA CONFUSION
The usual suspects were there and some who are usual suspects but who also usually hide their light under a bushel. This time the camera caught them there. Rodney Moncur, who was once described as the last man standing, seems to have morphed again from Workers Party to a man in green, the colour of the moment of a new party which calls itself the Democratic National Alliance or DNA. Too clever by half. The party which is from the fertile imagination of the once FNM Branville McCartney MP for Bamboo Town launched with great fanfare, plenty of food and drink in the room of the Crystal Palace where the old parties PLP and FNM hold their conventions on Thursday 12th May. Mr. McCartney got a huge crowd as these things go. Two thousand people in a room. But we say again the DNA is DOA, dead on arrival.
The question is who will be the unhappy or the most worried when the analysts mined the faces in the crowd that night. No doubt Perry Christie, PLP Leader and Hubert Ingraham, the Prime Minister and the FNM leader were both looking anxiously on to see who showed up. We think that Mr. Ingraham should be the most worried since it was mainly his supporters sitting in the crowd and mainly his demographic group. The young professionals whom he says he appeals to were all sitting down around Mr. McCartney on that night.
The PLP should not take too much comfort in that but in a close race, every vote that Mr. McCartney hives off from the FNM is in fact a vote for the PLP. Mr. McCartney himself must have been feeling good. He pulled it off but you know one night of a convention is not an election victory. The only man to have done such a thing before was Cecil Wallace Whitfield and in order for him to get into Parliament he had to amalgamate with the United Bahamian Party, phase them out and then get elected in a revolt in Grand Bahama five years later.
B.J. Nott age and his CDR were able to pull off a national convention as well, but they did not win any seats in the Parliament. In the end, he returned to the PLP and two others now sit in Mr. Ingraham's cabinet.
So here is what we predict for Branville McCartney. Let’s go over to Jamaica where Bruce Golding, now Prime Minister could not get Edward Seaga, the eminence griese of Jamaica’s then Opposition Labour Party to step down. So he split away and formed the National Democratic party of Jamaica, the NDP. He was wanted on all the talk shows. The press loved him. He talked about changing business as usual. He was the flavour of all the intellectuals. People thought this was the alternative. What happened in the end? Not one seat. The two parties JLP and PNP swallowed them up. The PNP returned to the government. The NDP disappeared. Mr. Golding returned to the JLP and eventually became its leader and is now Prime Minister. Such is the fortuity of politics friends. So our prediction is that at best Mr. McCartney is setting himself up to succeed Hubert Ingraham as leader of the Free National Movement, but this time around he can only hope for a wonderful experience in a beauty contest.
(Photo from the Nassau Guardian shows Branville McCartney with the 10 candidates that he announced on the day of his launch including himself for Bamboo Town as follows: Kelphene Cunningham (Garden Hills); Floyd Armbrister (Exuma); Sammy Poitier (Sammy Star) (South Beach); Farrel Goff (Clifton); Ben Albury (Montague); Adrian LaRoda (MICAL); Roscoe Thompson (South Abaco); Charlene Paul (Elizabeth) and Alfred Poitier (Kennedy).)
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 14th May up to midnight: 131,259
Number of hits for the month of May up to Saturday 14th May up to midnight: 289,035
Number of hits for the year 2011 up to Saturday 14th May 2011 up to midnight: 3,369,454
WHAT IS JOHN BOSTWICK UP TO?
John Bostwick II is the son of J. Henry Bostwick Q.C. and Janet Bostwick, the former FNM Minister and now Deputy to the Governor General. Two weeks ago while his mother was on the cusp of or actually acting as Governor General Mr. Bostwick the second went public with something he called Bahamas Vision 2020. This document was supposed to the blue print for the future of the country. Mr. Bostwick II was in the gallery when Bran McCartney resigned from the FNM so people naturally thought well he is with Mr. McCartney. Mr. Bostwick then prior to the launch of the DNA (see story above) went public again with his document which you can also read on line and . he had it placed in all Nassau Guardian papers. He then told The Guardian that he was not connected with Mr. McCartney. H said he had not decided whether he will run for the House but if he did he would run as an independent. He was simply not happy with any alternative. There was even a back and forth over who came up with the lighthouse as a symbol for the DNA, whether he did or Mr. McCartney did. There are great “unspokens” here and eventually this will all come out in the wash. There appears to have been some connection between the two of them at some time. There appears to have been a falling out of some kind. Indeed the scuttlebutt was that Roscoe Thompson of Abaco who left the FNM in a huff and is now with Mr. McCartney almost left Mr. McCartney because he was being reminded of the similarity with Mr. Ingraham's ego too many times. So we end as we began: what is Mr. Bostwick up to? We think again this is an FNM fight where Hubert Ingraham has mistreated his mother Janet by not giving her the Governor General’s post and abused his father by not giving him a knighthood and he (the son) is feeling disaffected. He has some grass roots street "cred" and thinks that his party the FNM does not use his talents so he in a marketing strategy to get their attention. One guess is that he will be the FNM's candidate against Melanie Griffin in his mother’s old constituency of Yamacraw in the next election. Photo of John Bostwick II from The Tribune.
PERRY CHRISTIE STATEMENT ON JACKSON BURNSIDE
Jackson Burnside II was sixty two years old when he died in Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami following complications from a brain aneurysm on 10th May. He was hailed universally as a man of great importance to our country, having contributed to the public discourse and to the building up of the common life in his profession as an architect and in Junkanoo as one of the founders of One Family Junkanoo group. A walk was held for him on Saturday 14th May. A service in his memory is to be held at St. Agnes Anglican Church in Grants Town on Thursday 19th May at 11 a.m. He is reportedly to be cremated following the service. All those attending are asked to wear one item of colour in his honour.
Nassau, Bahamas – The following is a press statement by the Leader of the Opposition, the Rt Hon Perry G. Christie, MP on the passing of Jackson Burnside:
I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing this morning of Jackson Burnside III, one of the true cultural icons of the Bahamian nation.
Jackson’s death represents a huge loss for The Bahamas. He was a national treasure in so many diverse ways. In addition to being one of the first Bahamians to develop a truly international architectural practice, he was a creative force of exceptional energy and vitality in the development of the arts, firstly, as an artist of world renown, secondly, as a leading figure in the modern Junkanoo movement, and thirdly, as a spokesman for Bahamian culture and the arts through his radio show and his frequent interaction with the media and the larger Bahamian community. In this latter connection, I remember, in particular, Jackson’s leading role in the work of the Cultural Commission that I appointed when I was Prime Minister.
With that as his foundation, Jackson would throughout his life demonstrate a passionate commitment to the development of The Bahamas in all spheres of human endeavour. Following his return from university in the late 1960’s, he quickly established himself as one of our country’s most talented architects and, in parallel with that, one of the pre-eminent artists of his time. He sustained his excellent reputation on both these fronts throughout his life.
Jackson’s passion for Junkanoo would find expression in his active participation as one of the key creative forces in the Saxons group followed by his formation, with others, of the One Family Junkanoo group that has since evolved into one of the premier Junkanoo institutions in our country today. Beyond that, Jackson was a pioneer in the promotion of Junkanoo as a year round basis for entrepreneurship so that Junkanoo groups and their members might draw additional sustenance from this, the most vital and popular, of all the vehicles for cultural expression in our country.
Jackson was a major force for good in our nation. He was one of our brightest stars. He will be very greatly missed.
On behalf of my wife, Bernadette, the Farm Road & Centreville Constituency, all my colleagues in the Official Opposition, and on my own behalf, I extend heartfelt condolences to Jackson’s widow, Pam; his daughters, Ebony and Orchid, his mother, Gertrude, his brothers, Stan and Wayman and his sister, Julia.
THE RBDF MEMORIAL IN PICTURES
The FNM is using the public treasury to campaign. The roads, the school openings, the turning of the soil, the ribbon cuttings. Last week it was the turn of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to be part of the dog and pony show of the FNM. On the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the sinking of the HMBS Flamingo Tuesday 10th May, the Prime Minister with the Governor General in tow and half his Cabinet came out to Rawson Square in an elaborate ceremony to honour the four fallen men of the HMBS Flamingo. We think it’s a good idea to mark the occasion mind you but the FNM did not support the establishment of the Defence Force, did not in fact support the creation of the country and its independence, do not support Bahamianization so why are they in the square crying crocodile tears over the loss of the RBDF men? The public officials however did an excellent job with the script and with ensuring that this time the country is aware of what the RBDF does and how these young men made the ultimate sacrifice. The men Fenwick Stirrup, Edward Williams,were lost at sea on 10th May 1980, ten weeks into the life of the Force. They were sunk by Cuban MIGS and then the water was sprayed by bullets from the jets. The U.S. scrambled its air force before the Cubans flew away. Later Cuba apologized and paid compensation for the loss of the crew and the boat. The PLP MPs were out in full force to show their support and solidarity for the event. The photos are by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
PLP MPS GIFTS TO DORIS JOHNSON SCHOOL
We present the presentation by PLP MPs Melanie Griffin, Fred Mitchell and Ryan Pinder to the Doris Johnson School on Wednesday 12th May. The photos and the video are by Andrew Burrows.
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THE NEW SWEDISH AMBASSADOR
Claes Hammar is the new Ambassador for Sweden to The Bahamas. Mr. Hammar was in The Bahamas last week. He paid a courtesy call on the Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie who was accompanied by Fred Mitchell MP, the Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday 11th May at the Leader of the Opposition’s office in Parliament Street. Mr. Hammar was accompanied by the Dean of the Honorary Consular Corp Anders Wiberg who is about to retire from the post of Honorary Consul for Sweden. The photo is by Patrick Hanna of the Bahamas Information Services. On Thursday 12th May, the Ambassador presented his credentials to the Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes at Government House. Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell attended the ceremony.
The photo at Government House is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services. The photo of the call is by Patrick Hanna also of the Bahamas Information Services.
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GLENYS HANNA MARTIN ON MAILBOAT SERVICE
There was a strike by mail boat operators in The Bahamas last week which ended after a few days of inconvenience and worry to family island vendors and residents. The strike came about because the government’s subsidy to the service has not been meeting the expenses of the cost of the trips to the islands outside New Providence. The price of fuel has shot up to the roof and there has been no adjustment in the subsidy. The mail boats continue to be the life line of the southern islands in particular. A compromise was worked out where the government promised to look at the matter in their new budget come 1 st July but until then the mail boat operators were told that they can cut back on one trip per month so that they make three trips per month to the islands. The Opposition’s spokesman on transport former Transport Minister Glenys Hanna Martin issued the following statement on behalf of the Progressive Liberal Party:
May 11th, 2011
I have been watching with grave concern the serious impasse which had developed between the Mailboat industry and the Government. Those caught in between are our brothers and sisters who live in Family Island communities and especially remote Family Island communities who are dependent on the Mailboat system for delivery of goods and supplies including the basic necessities of life such as food and water. It is an indisputable fact that the price of fuel has increased tremendously in recent times. It should therefore be of no great surprise that those who must fuel their vessel to reach these Islands are especially impacted. The Progressive Liberal Party during its recent term of Government when I served as Minister of Transport when faced with similar circumstances devised a formula to provide for a subvention to Mailboat operators which was tied to the escalating cost of fuel and found it necessary to increase the subvention so as not to jeopardize the delivery of service to our Family Island brothers and sisters. The Government should not deviate from this policy position which sought first and foremost to protect the welfare and indeed survival of our Family Island communities while at the same time insuring that the central Mailboat service is provided without interruption. It should be borne in mind that the Mailboat operators were disadvantage by the Government recent unilateral reduction in their subvention. If the Government had consulted with the industry it would have known that it would have been difficult on a reduce subvention to operate in the best of circumstances but it must be clear to them now that the added factor of increase oil prices must necessarily strain their ability to efficiently carry out their services.
PLP’S POSITION ON BAHAMASAIR
The problem with Bahamasair is that it is losing money hand over fist. More than a billion since it was first founded in 1973. Last year alone it lost 24 million, double the year before. That news came to the press last week. Lots of wringing of hands over what we are to do. Barry Farrington, Bahamasair Chair, says that no one wants to buy it losing as much as it does. He says the Bahamian people simply have to suffer with it. No word on the new planes that are needed, with frequent breakdowns and uncomfortable planes where the air conditioning does not work. Its jets will end their useful life in 18 months and the checks to make them worthy are more expensive than the hardware is actually worth. They need to get new jets. The government is sitting on its hands without any idea on the way forward for the airline. The following statement was issued by Obie Wilchcombe who is the Opposition’s spokesman on Tourism.
Press Statement
By Obie Wilchcombe
Member of Parliament for West End and Bimini
For Immediate Release
Bahamasair
The Government must now accept that there is need for a paradigm shift in the roll of National Flag Carrier in the 21st century Bahamas. This view is fortified by the recent disclosure of Bahamasair’s losses in
fiscal year 2010-2011 to an astronomical $23million, doubling the
losses over the corresponding period of one year ago.
These losses are occurring under the watch of The Hon. Neko Grant who while in opposition was the airlines biggest critic. This reality
exposes the unrealistic public relations escapade that the Minister
indulged last year. The airline brought in a Saab aircraft, loaded it
with media, public servants and stake holders and carried out test
flights to several islands and promised imminent introduction of such
an aircraft into Bahamasair’s fleet. This seems to have been a “the
big show” because that was the last that we heard of it.
We note that the decision by the Hon. Glenys Hanna Martin, former
Minister with responsibility for Aviation in the Christie
administration, to open the industry allowing Bahamians to become
airline owners and provide service to the family islands fundamentally
altered the role of the nation’s flag carrier. It was no longer the
principal source of linking the family islands.
With tourism air arrivals continuing to decline and with insufficient
airlift to Grand Bahama and other islands, the Government should now
shift the purpose of the national flag carrier to filling the widening
gap in tourism arrivals to The Bahamas. The lease or purchase of the
needed, adequate aircraft would allow Bahamasair to become an international low fare carrier. Both the cost of travel to The Bahamas could be reduced while needed seats would be made available in markets in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia through direct service or with strategic partnerships.
A policy position should be taken that disallows Bahamasair using state funds to compete with small Bahamian airline owners. The group of Bahamian airlines collectively and individually is proving every day that they are professional, competent, and efficient in serving the travelling public.
Bahamasair has a staff compliment of experienced professionals who could lead a new Bahamasair International Airline that would open new doors for the sustainable growth of airlift invaluable to driving our tourism economy. The Bahamas supplements many of the carriers serving The Bahamas. The Ministry of Tourism’s companion fly free program is costing the Ministry millions of dollars that go directly to the airlines, some of that money should be directed to introducing the international component to the National Airline.
If the government refuses to recognize the need for change then we will continue to hear of increasing costs with diminishing returns. Bahamasair needs a new plan of action, new aircrafts and new energy to soar into a new role as the friendly carrier of The Bahamas Tourism Industry.
WILCHOMBE DECRIES OUR LUCAYA POLICIES
Obie Wilchcombe, the MP for West End and Bimini (PLP), was livid as he addressed the issue of the fees now being charged by the Our Lucaya Resort for the use of their facilities on the beach in Grand Bahama here is his full statement:
For Immediate Release 10th May 2011
The decision by Our Lucaya to charge a $30 fee to visitors who wish to
lay on the beach of the hotel has been met with rejection from
visitors and annoyance from Bahamian taxi drivers and others who are doing all they can to change the tourism picture in Grand Bahama. The Ministry of Tourism must intervene immediately and prevent any further damage to the struggling Grand Bahama tourism industry.
A visitor on a Norwegian cruise stopped in Grand Bahama spoke with me today on this matter. She said that she was told it would cost $10 to
rent a chair to lie on the beach. She also said that when she and
others arrived at Our Lucaya they were informed that the fee for a
chair and to lie on the beach is $30 effective today.
The fee is being charged to non hotel guests and those who do not
purchase a one day pass. While we understand that the hotel faces
unabated difficult times, to heavily tax visitors to lie on the beach
is simply unacceptable.
The Tourism industry in Grand Bahama is the worst it has ever been. The ranking of Grand Bahama as a warm weather destination has taken a beating. Our Lucaya, Tourism officials, and the people of the island must know that to climb out of this dark hole will require patienc, common sense and diligence. We must nurture the level of tourism business that Grand Bahama is getting. Overpricing is a no-no and will do more harm than good.
The Ministry of Tourism must intervene and impress upon Our Lucaya to re-examine this policy and find a better way to make our visitors feel at home.
WILCHCOMBE STATEMENT ON FREEPORT MEDICAL
For Immediate Release
by
Member of Parliament for the West End and Bimini Constituency,
Tuesday May 10, 2011
Government Approval of Ibocure
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The government of The Bahamas must explain how and why the Bahamas Investment Authority would compromise the integrity of the medical providers of The Bahamas and give the “go ahead” for the establishment of a drug rehabilitation centre in The Bahamas to a physician who recently surrendered his Florida physician’s license because of ethical violations.
When this matter was raised in the House of Assembly yesterday the
Minister of Health said he knew nothing about it but subsequently
conceded that conditional approval has been granted by the National
Economic Council.
The physician in question is Dr. Marc Puelo. He has been given
approval for establishment of Ibocure, a drug rehabilitation facility
in Nassau offering a drug called Ibogaine. The drug does not have the
approval of the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in the United
States.
Several years ago the Florida Medical Board discovered that the
physician purchased prescription drugs from a pharmaceutical
manufacturer. “The Physician entered into a contract for the purchase of prescription drugs for the use on the physician’s patients for a discounted price which prohibits the reselling and distributing of the prescription drugs. The physician failed to obtain the required
permits prior to selling the prescription drugs as a drug wholesaler
and to other wholesale distribution.”
The Florida medical board accepted the voluntary surrender of Dr. Marc Puelo physician’s license to practice medicine in the state of Florida in lieu of further administrative action. Dr. Puelo agreed to never reapply for a license to practice medicine in the state of Florida.
Both the Minister of Health and the Minister of Tourism must give a
clear an unequivocal explanation on why they have supported the
granting of this license application.
According to the Tribune, The Minister of Tourism the Hon. Vincent
Vanderpool Wallace said, ‘his office has very much been a part of the
development of Ibocure’s movement into The Bahamas as a medical
tourism provider.”
The Minister of Tourism also said that his ministry will play a
promotional role. It is absurd for the Ministry of Tourism to spend
tax dollars promoting a physician who cannot get a license in his own state or promote a product that has yet to obtain approval from the FDA.
Something is clearly wrong here. How could Dr.Puelo get approval from the Cabinet of The Bahamas or agencies within the Bahamas Government?
Was this matter discussed and did it receive support from the Bahamas Medical Association?
This is not the direction we should be headed if we wish to introduce Medical Tourism. The fact is that the Minister of Tourism should work with local physicians and medical providers to develop a sustainable medical tourism program.
PRIME MINISTER’S FAILURE IN GBI
The Progressive Liberal Party’s Deputy Leader Philip Davis led a delegation of MPs and Party Officers to Fresh Creek, Andros as a continuation of the listening tour of the islands. MPs Glenys Hanna Martin and Obie Wilchcombe joined colleague Picewell Forbes MP for the area. Party Chairman Bradley Roberts and Vice Chair Randy Rolle were present for the visit. The visit took place on 11th May. The photos are by Andrew Burrows.
PAUL TURNQUEST’S WEDDING PHOTOS
Well the pictures are finally in. The wedding of the century is done, the honey moon is over. The bills are now to be paid, but it appears that a fine time was had by all at the Wedding of Paul Turnquest and his beautiful bride Georgette which took place in Lyford Cay at St Christopher’s Church on 30th April. The best man was the irrepressible Chester Robards, also a news paper reporter. The reception was held at Graycliff. Amongst the guests Perry Christie, PLP Leader, Philip Davis, PLP Deputy Leader and Ryan Pinder MP. The photos are from Mr. Turnquest’s Facebook page.
PLP FACILITATES NEW LAW FOR SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS
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The following statement was issued by the PLP on the passage of a law to facilitate a Atlantic Caribbean Union for the Seventh Day Adventists, formally severing their ties from the West Indies Union. The President is Pastor Leonard Johnson. Making up the Union is the Turks and Caicos conference, two conferences in The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. The bill was not contentious but the FNM made a snide and stupid press release on 9th May following the debate after bungling a bill later in the House and so the PLP issued the statement which follows Peter Ramsay took the photo Fred Mitchell MP, Bernard Nottage MP, Oswald Ingraham MP Glenys Hanna Martin MP and PLP Leader Perry Christie and of the leaders of the Adventist Church who gathered at the House of Assembly for the occasion.
STATEMENT BY THE PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL PARTY
ON THE FNM'S STATEMENTS ON THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST VOTE
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY 9TH MAY 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10 May 2011
The Progressive Liberal Party calls on the Free National Movement to apologise to the Seventh Day Adventist Church for creating a controversy in the House of Assembly yesterday where there was none.
After yesterday's sickening attack on the PLP over the vote on the Bill to Incorporate the Seventh Day Adventists, we are convinced that the FNM is now officially a party of tricksters whose word you cannot trust. What signed sealed and delivered this new designation is the newest low to which they have sunk in their war of words with the Progressive Liberal Party. As their fortunes sink in the eyes of the electorate, they are becoming ever more desperate. The latest FNM salvo is to seek to create a division with the PLP over the unanimous vote in the House of Assembly on 9th May to support the incorporation of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in The Bahamas.
For the Seventh Day Adventist Bill to be debated, it required the PLP to agree because the FNM brought the Bill to the House contrary to the rules. Notwithstanding that the FNM had broken the rules, the PLP accommodated the government in order to help the church. When the debate began, it soon became clear that the FNM Members were also unprepared for the debate. The FNM's leader wanted to rush the bill through. It was only when it become apparent that the country could see the genuine affection and affiliation which the PLP has for the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Prime Minister then ordered his people to speak.
The larger issue however was the FNM’s further blundering and unpreparedness for the business of the House of Assembly. Later that same day it was revealed that their Minister of Sports Charles Maynard was debating the wrong bill on the Sports Authority in the House of Assembly. Minister Charles Maynard was debating a bill that he clearly had not read. The PLP was debating the right bill, the one tabled in the House of Assembly. The Leader of House business Tommy Turnquest was then forced to withdraw the Bill and promised to come back after the budget debate to debate the right bill.
What the FNM is trying to do is petty and small. It divides and takes away the importance from what the Parliament of the Bahamas did yesterday. The PLP does not intend to engage in this charade. The FNM government must face the stubborn fact. They messed up. The FNM brought the wrong Sports bill to Parliament. The FNM was unprepared. The FNM wasted valuable time. The PLP was ready and we will continue to debate the issues and point to the incompetence of this outgoing government. That is the legacy of the FNM. That is why The Bahamas is in the mess it is today. That is why crime and murder are high. That is why unemployment is high. That is why the economy struggles and that is why the People of The Bahamas want the FNM out of office.
We advise the FNM to wipe the egg on their faces and get to work. Bring the right bills to Parliament, come prepared and leave the Church out of the political fray.
End
THE HAITIAN /BAHAMIAN DIVIDE HITS NEW MISS BAHAMAS
We show the photo of the new Miss Bahamas and her defence of an attack on he because her national origin is Haitian. This is an increasingly fractious issue in The Bahamas and we thought that you ought to read about the issue:
to her statements AND THEY SAY BAHAMAIANIZATION IS NOT DYING UNDER THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION OUR MISS BAHAMAS UNIVERSE IS A HATIAN !!!!!!!!!
by Twotado Bahamas on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 12:24am
Miss Bahamas Universe:
Anastagia Pierre
Age: 22
Hair colour: Brown
Eye colour: Hazel
Height: 5'10
NEWLY crowned Miss Bahamas Universe Anastagia Pierre recently defended critiscm that she is not Bahamian and thus ineligible to represent the Bahamas in the upcoming Miss Universe Pageant.
In a recent interview with Tribune Woman, she explained that while she does have a Haitian Dominican father and was educated in the United States, her mother is Bahamian and she herself has dual citizenship.
"I grew up in Grand Bahama. I spent equal time between the Bahamas and Florida. Yes I was Miss Florida, I was eligible for that pageant because I met the residency requirements. If I were not eligible to enter Miss Bahamas, the organisation would not have allowed me to enter. There is no doubt in my mind that I can represent the Bahamas and do well."
Anastagia said her immediate focus is to prepare for Miss Universe which is set to be held in Brazil in September.
"Miss Universe is right around the corner. It is the probably the biggest international pageant out there, It will be an honour to go there and compete. When I go there, I would like people to get the essence of the Bahamas, the sense of family and our traditions I want to be a good representative. I think we will do well."
The chance to enter such a prestige international pageant is a dream come true for the 22-year-old beauty, who has been modeling and entering pageants from a very young age.
"For me, pageantry is a lifestyle, I started modeling very young It is about being a humanitarian and not just wearing a crown or a sash."
To achieve her dream, Anastagia says she had to find her own voice and set her own path. Last year, she had to watch Braneka Basset capture the title while she had to settle for the first runner- up position.
She had a year to regroup, prepare and presented a polished image that captured the judges and the audience's hearts during the pageant.
" A lot of people think that they have all the answers and if you listen to them you can end up losing a little bit of yourself. So this year, I decided not to listen to the noise of the crowd and I went with my own instincts and it really paid off.
"My platform this year will be crime. It's a very big issue. I want to work with children and teach them that there are others way for conflict resolution rather than resorting to violence."
Anastagia says her many great assets including her smile and her personality.
"I think my best asset is my ability to adapt to different situations. Growing up I was exposed to many different cultures, activities and lifestyles which has made me much more tolerant and accepting of others."
She added that her daily philosophy is " don't miss out on today's opportunities by worrying about tomorrow."
"One thing everyone often wonders is what the future holds for us, but I feel that some things are unknown for a reason. God has a plan for all of us and as your faith is strengthened, you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control. I believe that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them to your great delight and benefit. I always strive to enjoy each moment of my day and remember that all things happen for a reason.
You can click here for the reaction to her statements
HOW ABOUR K.B.’S NEW SONG ABOUT FACEBOOK
YOUNG PLPS SAY GO OUT AND REGISTER
: LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Forrester Carroll writes this week a scorching and acidic attack on the FNM’s latest column in the Nassau Guardian. He tells Carl Bethel, the Chairman of the Party that the PLP is not stupid:
The Nassau Guardian printed a letter recently which was said to have been written by “The Free National Movement.” Why do I say that it was said to have been written by the Free National Movement? Well because it was signed; “Free National Movement.” I would have preferred the, particular FNM, writer to identify him or herself, but then again that would probably have been asking a little too much seeing that the contents of the letter was such plain TRASH; STUPID TRASHY GARBAGE, is what it was. The whole damn letter could only have been conceived in and composed by the warped mind of a sick albino look-a-like, like CARL BETHEL. Who else is authorized to use the FNM party’s name and label in the way it was used, other than the party’s chairman? But I’ll tell you this one thing, chairman Carl Bethel; you sure out did yourself this time, because this is the worst piece of TRASH you have ever thought up in that little teeny weenie mind of yours. Your pay grade comes seriously into question here, BIRD BRAIN, and I seriously doubt if any sensible Bahamian voter will regard anything you’ve said with any degree of credibility; you are a sick, punch drunk failure, albino boy.
Can anyone, out in the wider Bahamian public, believe that the Free National Movement, through its albino look-a-like Chairman Carl Bethel, can realistically accuse the PLP of begrudging Bahamians of “an improved quality of life,” for Christ’s sake? Where did you come up with such stupid absurdity, Carl Bethel? Hubert Ingraham must have taken your senses, along with your manhood, when he castrated you at the FNM’s last convention. You are such a wautless, albino look-a-like, picky- haired, disgusting little man, Carl Bethel; you make me sick. As a matter of fact, if you wish to know the truth, every time I a picture of you anywhere in the newspaper or on the television it prompts me to go and take a shower. I am truly not enjoying the fact that I must sink so low in the gutter (where you FNM leaders hang out these days) in an effort to answer you, but whatever it takes I am prepared to do so in order to set the record straight. I cannot risk someone out there accepting your TRASHY-GARBAGE as gospel truth.
Carl Bethel, alias the Free National Movement, in claiming credit for all the PLP projects left in place when we lost in the general elections of 2007, went on to say, the following, in his letter to the press; “How sad (he said) that after abandoning its responsibility over five years: to improve and build new roads and decrease traffic congestion; to build a new straw market; to revitalize downtown Nassau; to remove the port from downtown and start construction of a new port; to begin construction on the new National Stadium; to start construction on the new Lynden Pindling International Airport; to complete the construction of or refurbish new courts;” to etc; etc; etc. Am I missing something here? Wasn’t it the PLP’s Administration which was deeply involved in a vigorous program of improving the road works in the capitol and throughout the Bahama Island chain and wasn’t it the same PLP which began addressing the traffic congestion by initiating discussions with the stakeholders for the creation of a comprehensive and efficient busing system in the capitol; and wasn’t it the PLP which awarded the contract for the new straw market which Ingraham cancelled; and wasn’t it the PLP which secured the gift of the new stadium from the Chinese; and wasn’t it the PLP which negotiated and signed the deal for the vast improvements to the Lynden Pindling International Airport or am I mistaken about all these? Carl Bethel aren’t you ashamed of yourself for lying through those large teeth of yours and trying to claim a set of marbles, like little boys did in school, which do not belong to you? Indeed it was the Hon. Bradley Roberts, as I recall, who accelerated the potable water program, throughout the Bahama chain of family Islands, to ensure that every single Bahamian citizen, wherever they lived in the archipelago, eventually get access to clean water; and it was he (Bradley Roberts) who attacked the upgrade of utilities, with vigor, wherever improvements were needed in the country. Wasn’t it Bradley Roberts, as well, who signed a contract for the new power generating facility for Abaco which Hubert Ingraham cancelled? And don’t forget that it was Mr. Bradley Roberts, PLP minister for public works, who installed potable water to residents in the Cooper’s Town area of Hubert Ingraham’s own constituency.
Carl Bethel, alias the Free National Movement, instead of writing nonsense, should have been focusing on the sad state of affairs, in the country, to which his FNM government has brought us; especially with respect to the enormity of the criminal activity, in the nation. He should have spent that time reminding Tommy Turnquest and Hubert Ingraham of their positions on the matter, with respect to the PLP, back in 2007. This was when the scalawags would have done, or said, anything to get elected. Crime was one of the FNM’s talking points, at the time, and as far as Tommy, Ingraham and the FNM were concerned, the PLP was responsible. Ingraham and Tommy accused the PLP of not getting criminal activity under control and strongly suggested that, if elected, the FNM would break its back. Well we are four years into their five year term, and we have had record breaking crime rate statistics each and every year they’ve been in office. 2007 recorded the highest criminal activity, ever, in our history and then 2008 surpassed 2007 and 2009 out did 2008; 2010's record was the highest to date ever so all the FNM has been doing about the crime wave is breaking their own records. At the rate we’ve started off 2011 (43 murders in the first four months) it looks like this year will take the cake. Ours (the PLP’s) was indeed the only plan that offered the innovative and viable strategies, and real hope, for conquering the menace of crime in our country, once and for all; so opined our former prime minister and Hon. Leader of Her Majesty’s loyal opposition. The FNM, right about now, should be bashful and ashamed to dare approach the electorate for support in trying to get elected again. But guess what; they don’t have any shame; they are a bunch of shameless scoundrel cowards.
And then the albino look-a-like had the audacity to accuse the PLP (in the letter published 27th April) of getting angry because, (get this) it is the FNM, he said, and not the PLP who is finishing off most of the projects the PLP left behind in place (i.e. the ones that the FNM didn’t stopped, reviewed or cancelled) on the table and at various stages of progress. The PLP is not stupid, Carl Bethel; we understand that governments are CONTINUEOUS and whatever one government may initiate and not finish before its time in office expires, the succeeding government is expected to honor and complete. The FNM has yet to learn that PROTOCOL, of course you lame brain.
It is little wonder then why the FNM would go out of their way to capitalize on, and take credit for, the development projects that the PLP left on the table-they have none of their own. I challenge Carl Bethel, albino look-a-like, alias Free National Movement, to tell me of one project, just one single project, that his FNM government approved while in office these past four years. Did you notice how silently their fourth year went by without a sound of celebrations? They would rather we not remember it was their fourth year anniversary given the misery index in the country. It would have been more useful for the albino look-a-like to have focused his government’s attention on job creation. There will be another five thousand (5000) high school graduates leaving school this year and what are to become of them Sea Breeze? What are the plans, of the government, for the school leavers this year Carl Bethel?
The FNM’s plans, they said, for job creation was to wait for America to recover; well Obama’s America has been in recovery mode for the past eighteen (18) months; each month adding more and more jobs. Just this past month (April) they added 244,000 new jobs bringing the total number of new jobs added, in the last quarter (February-April) to around 750,000; and they report that company downsizing exercises are minimal. Our state of affairs, on the other hand, is taking us in the opposite direction; we are losing jobs, monthly, at the same rate the USA is gaining jobs; what do you say about that, you albino look-a-like? You should know, as well, that Canadian Statistics indicate an even better position than that of the USA; they’ve added, for the same period, more than one million new jobs.
I say to you, Hubert Ingraham, Zhivargo Laing and Chairman Carl Bethel, you’ve had your time; give it up and get lost now; you’ve caused Bahamians much too much damage and suffering.
Thank you.
Forrester Carroll JP
Freeport, Grand Bahama
15th May 2011.
IN PASSING
Murders On Tommy’s Watch
The count was 364 murders since Tommy Turnquest was Minister of National Security. Since we supplied that number last week, there were two more murders so now Tommy’s number is 366.
AG Blames The Police
The Attorney General John Delaney is too pompous for words. He is usually in la la land when it comes to his job as AG, but the latest press conference to try to explain away why there were three murder cases dismissed in ten days because of the shoddy work of the crown takes the cake. On 12th May, he trotted out his imported DPP Vinette Graham-Allen to say that it was the bad work of the police that was causing the cases to get thrown out. In other words: it aint his fault. Then he said that he would be starting a new unit in the AGs office to have the police work with an attorney from the start in the AG’s office. Sounds just like the Swift Justice programme that Allyson Gibson his predecessor left in place but which became a victim of the stop review and cancel programme.
Craig Butler Speaks Out
The political analysts are trying to read the tea leaves as they listen and read what Craig Butler, the PLPs Treasurer, had to say to the talk shows over the past week on why he has not gotten a nomination from the PLP. He was denied the Elizabeth nomination and also denied the nomination for Kennedy. Mr. Butler said that PLP leader Perry Christie told him that his past drug use would be a bar to his getting a nomination. Pundits are wondering whether this is a prelude to his switching to the other side and accepting the FNM's nomination for Kennedy. It is interesting since the reason the PLP became skittish about his nomination in Elizabeth was because Tommy Turnquest, Leader of the FNM's business in the house warned Party leader Christie that the FNM intended to release a barrage of adverse information about Mr. Butler in their propaganda campaign. Wonder if he becomes their candidate how that will be reconciled. We of course do not believe that Mr. Butler will move.
BTC Cuts Fees To Operator
Reports are coming out that not only is Cable and Wireless planning to force 30 per cent of the staff to leave their jobs now that they have taken over BTC, the phone company. They also plan to unilaterally cut all the contracts that they have with Bahamian vendors by 30 per cent. The bad news was delivered to some last week and they were told: take it or leave it.
Who Was Seen At The DNA Launch?
The most interesting part about the DNA launch was who could be seen on television and on Facebook. No doubt the leaders of the PLP and the FNM are busy mining the footage to see who was there. Behind the scenes we are told was Dr Jonny Rodgers, who in his old age has had a lot to say about the economy and financial policies. Now he is said to be supporting Branville McCartney with his money and orchestrating this whole DNA business from behind the scenes. Then there is Dr. David Allen, the psychiatrist, who is a kind of all things to all men. He is the first cousin of Perry Christie, the Leader of the Opposition. People remember that while Mr. Christie was in power he was supporting the PLP's Urban Renewal programme but as soon as the PLP lost and the FNM decided to cancel the programme, Dr. Allen claimed that the programme as not effective. Strained family relationships. Then there is Dr Johnny Lunn, who likes to be a part of protest movements. He despises Hubert Ingraham for wrecking a successful radiation oncology business he had in the country. One thing must be said that these stout hearts have a reputation once the noise gets too loud of looking to the hills from once cometh their help.
The Fire At Sandilands
Three children under the age of ten years old were killed in a fire by smoke inhalation on Wednesday 11th May when they were left alone by their father. The press says that the father left the seven children with an adult who herself left them alone. Bars and a dead bolt at the door prevented the father and passers-by from getting in to rescue the kids. They could hear screaming for help and then they went silent. Seven unresponsive bodies were found. Four were revived; three could not be revived. Ryan Pinder MP for Elizabeth, where the fire took place, was immediately on the scene. Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill visited the Sandilands School the next day. The students all go to school there. The father was held in custody, no doubt there are charges of negligence being considered. Again this is unfortunate, but it was probably just an accident. The country is sad.
Layoffs At First Caribbean
The business sections of the press are reporting that First Caribbean Bank has commenced further layoffs of their staff beyond the 20 which they announced earlier.
UBP Dissolution On Hold In Bermuda
We reported on this site that the United Bermudian Party (UBP) in Bermuda was about to give up the ghost after 47 years of existence in Bermuda and merge with the Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA) in order to defeat the PLP incumbents in Bermuda. Not so fast say some of the rank and file. They have gotten an injunction to stop the merger until the rank and file are properly consulted by the leaders of the party.
Social Workers Continue Their Protests
Last week, we reported that social workers were out in the streets protesting their treatment by the government. This week the situation got worse with the social workers in further demonstrations. They were led by the President of the Bahamas Public Services Union John Pinder.
Sandra Rolle Is Buried
John Rolle, the retired Comptroller of Customs and his family could not have been more pleased in the midst of their sorrow for their fallen wife mother, sister, daughter and aunt Sandra, nee Fountain. Mrs. Rolle who died of cancer two weeks ago, reported on this site was buried following a celebrated mass at the St Mary the Virgin Church in Nassau on Saturday 14th May. The gospel was read by Deacon Jeffery Lloyd of the Roman Catholic Church listed as an adopted brother in the obits. The service was led by retired Archbishop Drexel Gomez. The photo of the casket being taken to its final resting place in the cemetery.
The Poinciana June
The Ministry of Tourism used to have a yearly promotion called Poinciana June. The photo above shows why. In New Providence, the island where Nassau sits, the Poinciana Tree an imported shrub is prolific. It is everywhere. They start to bloom in May but in June they are resplendent. If you were a student at St. Augustine’s College Roman Catholic School you would be familiar with looking from the windows of St. Mary’s Hall on top of the hill in late May early June over the island and seeing the splotches of red Poinciana mixed in with the green shrubs. So we say of the picture enjoy. The photo was taken on the main boulevard in Nassau East, a subdivision in New Providence which abuts the St. Andrews School.
Eastern Region Fair
MPs Melanie Griffin, Ryan Pinder and Fred Mitchell all PLPs for Yamacraw, Elizabeth and Fox Hill attended the official opening of the Eastern Region fair, its seventh version on Saturday 14th May. The Committee is headed by retired public servant Carl Spencer and supported by Supt Ismela Davis of the Elizabeth Estate police station. Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette officially opened the fair. The Royal Bahamas Police Force Band performed. The photo shows the performance.
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There is a service called Evensong at St. Agnes where the late Jackson Burnside III was churched on Thursday 19th May. At Evensong, they sing: “He hath put down the mighty from their seats… and the rich he has sent away empty.” Who could forget those lines and the drama of the moment at the funeral? Pamela Burnside, nee Jones, (the widow) decided just after the collect and before the reading of the first lesson that the politicians had to move from their seats in front of the family. She so ordered and out of their seats they went. The Prime Minister was exempted from the order. Later as the lineup of speakers came to the podium the Archdeacon Ranfurly Brown warned the speakers to be just two minutes. He said if you go over two minutes “I’ll put the wife on you.” The Deputy Prime Minister left the church. But this photo of the week came before all that as the mighty stood by their seats to pay tribute to Jackson Burnside. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
PLP APOPLECTIC
It’s my party, I can cry if I want to; Cry If I want to : you would cry to if it happened to you --Lesley Gore
When the week started, Candia Dames used a letter that had been leaked to the Nassau Guardian by person or persons unknown to seek to discredit the PLP. We call her in this column the personal journalistic amanuensis of Hubert Ingraham, the FNM leader and Prime Minister and again she lived up to the cognomen. The story contained what was said to be a letter written by Raynard Rigby, former PLP Chair, George Smith, former MP and Philip Galanis, former MP saying that eight current MPs or candidates should not be nominated or re-nominated.
The eight she identified were Alfred Gray MP MICAL, Shane Gibson MP Golden Gates, Anthony Moss MP Exuma, Picewell Forbes MP South Andros, Vincent Peet (with whom she had a live in relationship up to Christmas of last year) MP North Andros; Obie Wilchcombe MP West End and Bimini; Leslie Miller, former Minister and Candidate for Blue Hill and Arnold Forbes, candidate for Mt. Moriah.
The ethics of a reporter who was the live in companion (now estranged) of one of the subjects of the piece seemed to have escaped the writer of the piece and her bosses at the Nassau Guardian again. But you know ethics is something only for politicians. No one else is held to a public standard of responsible behavior.
PLPs were apoplectic. The psychology is like this. Why would these three men write such a thing knowing that it would end up in the public domain in writing? George Smith one of them was unrepentant. He said that it was a matter that had to be discussed.
The current thinking in the party amongst its rank and file is that this is self-injury. Just when the boat seems to be going smoothly, with the party leading in the polls in the PLP's direction, once again, the faithful think that the party is seeking to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.
They might take some comfort in the fact that when people are ready to change they will. In Jamaica just before the last election victory for the JLP, they were embroiled in a court case where one of its now Ministers got an injunction against the party in the High Court over an internal party matter.
We have nothing to say on the content of the letter leaked to The Guardian. Any member of the PLP is entitled to their views. Those who want to read it can do so by looking at the Nassau Guardian. We say that the issue is how the content of a private letter ends up in the press.
Here is what the leader of the PLP had to say in response to it:
This year, the PLP is putting forth an extraordinary group of candidates -- an exciting new generation of candidates with new ideas along with some seasoned political veterans with expertise and governing experience. Each and every candidate is required to undergo a vigorous vetting process — a process that is open, fair and transparent. All voices are welcome, and the process is both balanced and inclusive.
Of course, not everyone is happy with all results. It is disappointing that the personal correspondence of some dissenting voices was leaked to the press. Disappointing — but not distracting; I remain focused on supporting the excellent candidates and hard-working activists that comprise the PLP.
Leaked letters and political games come with the territory, unfortunately, but the longer I’m in politics, the more confident I am about what really matters — putting forward the ideas and policies that can help the Bahamas in this new century. I’m looking forward to a vigorous debate this campaign — a debate about which party and policies will best support Bahamians and put their interests first.
Here is what we say. The PLP ought to be singularly concentrating on getting its candidates in the field. It ought to be concentrating on the bigger theme of victory in the next election. Everything else is a distraction. We are confident that when the team goes into the field, it will be a better team than the FNM's team, man for man, woman for woman. That is all we need to know.
The letter has already had one unfortunate consequence and that is that Raynard Rigby who is a valued member of the PLP thought it necessary to resign his position as head of the southwest region of the party’s campaign team. That is a serious loss to the party and he should be asked to come back.
There will never be a perfect slate of candidates anywhere. The FNM certainly can't claim to have such a slate: what with one of their ministers a known gambler who owes everyone in town, another being accused of wife beating, another of taking helicopter rides. So what does the intrepid Candia Dames have to say about that?
Having created the distraction, we say in an unethical manner, she then proceeded to author a piece in an editorial of the Guardian to say that the PLP is infighting. The question is where is the evidence of infighting. You guessed it: the leaked letter to the press in a story which she authored. The letter was a private letter written to the leader of the party which only saw the light of day because one writer decided to use it.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 21st March 2011 up to midnight: 161,567
Number of hits for the month of March up to Saturday 21st March 2011 up to midnight: 450,602
Number of hits for the year 2011 up to Saturday 21ts march 2011 up to midnight: 3,531,021
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It was really quite a moving tribute to a man who died too soon. We are talking of course of the death of Jackson Burnside III who died at the age of 62 in Miami on 10th May. He is survived by his wife Pamela and two daughters Ebony and Orchid. His mother Gertrude is 93 and survives him as do this brothers Stan, the cartoonist and Waymon and his sister Julia. There was a memorial service on Tuesday 17th May at St. Agnes where he attended mass with his mother every Sunday up to the time he was stricken with illness. The funeral was held at St. Agnes on Thursday 19th May and then there was a Junkanoo rush out on the streets of the city. In the funeral booklet there were heartfelt tributes from the leaders of the cultural community and the business community: Nicollete Bethel, Arlene Nash Ferguson, from Japan a classmate Chiaki Arai, Mike and Betsy Dingman, Dionisio D’Aguilar, Davidson Hepburn, Dirk K.B. Saunders, Maelynn Seymour-Major, Christian Campbell and Sir Sidney Poitier. There were thousands of people. The Junkanoo community turned out in full force. The politicians were there from every side. It was simply a fine affectionate tribute. We have a photo spread of each of the events by Peter Ramsay. Enjoy
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NEW PROVIDENCE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
Nassau, Bahamas - The New Providence Contractors Association met with Government officials on Wednesday as a first step in its mandate to represent and address the needs of the majority of Bahamian workers within the construction industry. The first meeting took place at The Ministry of Housing where the industry's status and concerns from both parties were discussed.
Minister of Housing The Hon. A. Kenneth Russell expressed to NPCA officials the commitment that he and his staff has to creating jobs for Bahamian Contractors within the Ministry of Housing. Key areas of this commitment by the Ministry lay within impending developments to take place by the Government in the Southern district of New Providence later this year. This along with other projects the Ministry of Housing expects to undertake early in 2012.
Ministry officials during that meeting also expressed their concerns to NPCA officials about various issues they had incurred working with local contractors including having to repair homes that had been built below the Ministry's Standards. They estimated that the recent cost to repair some 500 homes by the Ministry landed at a sum of $30,000 in several cases.
In response to this the New Providence Contractors Association president Delroy Meadows made a commitment to work closely with the Government in ensuring that such matters become a thing of the past. He stated that the association's organizational structure and policy will address the standards and quality of work produced by its members on all Government and privately issued projects.
A second meeting that day took place with Government executives at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport where other important industry concerns were shared. These included the proposed Contractor's Bill which is now being drafted in an effort to regulate the construction industry in The Bahamas.
Minister of Public Works and Transport, The Hon. Neko C. Grant during the meeting assured NPCA officials that his department's staff are the ones solely responsible for the drafting of the Contractor's Bill. However, Minister Grant invited the NPCA play a role in the creation of the Bill stating that the Government is "desirous of contractors input". This offer resounded favorably with the association as concerns about majority input within the formation of legislation to govern the construction industry is top on the list of its membership.
As with the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport also laid out their plans to create more jobs this year for Bahamians in the construction industry through various infrastructural developments in New Providence and other family islands. The requirements for bidding on projects tendered by the Ministry and the inclusion of Bahamian labor within major developments such as Baha Mar were also discussed.
The NPCA also made its commitment to the Minister to work together with his Ministry to produce the highest quality of work desired by The Government and private sector. Plans for proper training of workers entering the industry through NPCA's Construction Education and Certification Initiative were also discussed.
Overall the association was pleased with the Government's prompt response to the concerns of its members. Both Minister Grant and Minister Russell expressed their delight with the goals of the NPCA in uniting all contractors within the industry and their commitment with improving the standards of the work it produces.
The New Providence Contractors Association will hold its first annual Contractors Trade Show and Exhibition on June 25 at Arawak Cay fair grounds. The event will focus on promoting local contractors and their work. The general public is invited to attend and interview contractors on site.
The 3rd General Meeting of NPCA will be held on Thursday, May 26th @ 7:00pm - Bahamas Public Services Union Hall, East Street South. All Local Contractors Invited.
BEC BLACKOUTS BEGIN IN EARNEST
The summer has not yet officially begun although it is hot as hell in The Bahamas as we write. Last weekend, there was black out after black out, with the island of New Providence going into darkness for hours at a time without explanation. BEC has an emergency line listed but as soon as the power goes off, the phone gets busy and you can never get anyone on the line. The PLP blasted the corporation and the government for the blackouts. The party says that the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. The General Manager of BEC Kevin Basden went to the press on the Monday 16th May to apologize saying that they had problems with their generators. He also promised that some temporary rented generators were coming in to help keep the country lit during the summer time. Election must be coming.
There are so many parties in The Bahamas these days that you actually lose count . But we should not forget Ali McIntosh who despite making no electoral impact for the twenty or more years she has been at this keeps it going with her Constitution Party. They must have had a convention or public meeting of sorts because the photos showed up on Facebook.
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THE DNA PROMOTES ITS CANDIDATES
MITCHELL ON THE PUBLIC SERVICE
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill held a press conference as Opposition spokesman on the Public Service. He raised a number of matters including the Attorney General’s statement blaming the police for the problems in the criminal justice system. You may click here for the full statement.
The Progressive Young Liberals visited the people of North Abaco and the new PLP candidate for the constituency Renardo Curry on Friday 13th May. The delegation was led by Keenan Johnson, the Young Liberals Chairman. He was joined by Ryan Pinder, MP for Elizabeth and the advisor to the Young Liberals. The photos are by Andrew Burrows.
PLP LISTENING TOUR SOUTH ANDROS
Philip Davis MP for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador headed a delegation of PLPs to Mangrove Cay for a continuation of the listening tour of that constituency on Wednesday 18th May. The photos are by Andrew Burrows. With Mr. Davis were party officers and MP for West
End and Bimini Obie Wilchcombe. Picewell Forbes MP for the area lend the delegation.
MITCHELL AT URBAN RENEWAL FOX HILL
Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill joined the senior citizens association of Fox Hill for their post Mother’s Day luncheon sponsored by the Urban Renewal office in Fox Hill on Thursday 19th May at the St. Anselm’s Church Hall. The photos are by Dennis Dames.
EXUMA ACTIVIST TERRY BAIN LOCKED UP BY FNM POLICE
(Editor's Note: Terry Bain is an environmental activist in Exuma, leading the fight against the Minister of Environment for allowing the dredging of the Exuma Cays by the Aga Khan. Mr. Deveuax took a ride in the Aga Khan's helicopter. We present a letter which Mr. Bain wrote to the press in which he describes his arrest and detention by the police at Exuma for an alleged criminal libel of the Minister. The last refuge of a losing party is when they start locking up their opponents.)
On the 12 May 2011 at Big Harbour Little Farmers Cay, Exuma around 4:00 PM – I had just got back from fishing with Sherman McKenzie and Julian Nixon. We had just taken the fish out of the boat when four police officers approached us from the beach.
Detective Sergeant # 466 Rolle said that he came to see Terry Bain for questioning. I asked him; questions about what? He said questions regarding a Press Conference on 16th. November 2010 at Stafford Creek, Andros.
I said go ahead and ask me your questions. Sergeant Roll said – he wanted to question me at the police station in George Town. I said – am I under arrest, and if I am: What is the charge? Sergeant Roll said he is arresting me for “Slander.”
I said in that case I need to go home and prepare for the trip to George Town. I drove home – officer Rolle was following me as I approached my house door, I said to him hold it, there is no need for you to come into my house I will be out in several minutes! I went inside showered and changed into fresh clothes. As I came out onto the porch he was sitting near the door under a coconut tree. I called to my wife who was at the restaurant nearby and asked her to find my STEP T-shirt. She gave it to me; I went into my office to collect my phone and called several lawyers.
At this time Sergeant Rolle who had been shadowing me all along told me I am under arrest and not allowed to use the phone. I asked him if I am allowed to call my lawyer – he said yes go ahead, and hurry up we had to go! While leaving I instructed my wife to call family, STEP supporters, friends, the media, lawyers – everyone!
After walking to the police boat at the dilapidated mail boat dock – and onto the police boat, officer Curtis strapped a life vest on me and told me it was for my safety – although I was the only soul on the boat that wore a life vest! After sometime of shuffling papers with officer # 2766 Rolle, the Farmers Cay police officer; Sergeant Rolle turned to me and said – I am arresting you for “Criminal Liable” against Minister Earl Deveaux. I asked him – so I am not being arrested for slander anymore? He said Criminal Liable. I said to him – we are still here and you said we were in a hurry – he said this is why; the longer I took the more time it would take to leave. Finally we left, four police officers and myself.
We proceeded south towards Exuma, at about the North end of Children Bay Cay one of the boat engines stopped running. Officer Curtis the captain could not get the engine started again. We putted along through the Cays – then on the outside in Exuma Sound. After about one and half hour we docked at Emerald Bay Marina – there we waited a while before a police truck and a rental car came to fetch us.
On the way to George Town with three detectives and myself in the car, we heard on the local radio station 98.3 FM The Breeze – lead story on the 6:00PM news: Terry Bain the spokesman for Save The Exuma Park has been arrested and is being taken to George Town. Sergeant Rolle commented – boy your wife really follow your instructions. I made no comment. We arrived at the Police Detective Unit station in George Town, before entering the door I attempted to make a phone call when officer Smith who did not address me until then, she said to me, in what I felt was a threatening voice: “turn that phone off – you are not allowed to make any calls.” I said Sergeant Roll said I could make a call! I thought it best to turn my phone off she seemed adamant towards me making a phone call.
Inside I was asked to sit at the back of the room – after some time Sergeant Rolle called me from his desk and said I should sit down – where he told me I had the right to a lawyer; but since there is no lawyer coming he was going to interview me any way. He said I had the right to answer or not to answer – that if I wanted to have a lawyer present he will remand me in custody until I have a lawyer present. I said ask me your questions.
Sergeant Rolle proceeded to ask me questions about the Press Conference on 16th. November 2010, Stafford Creek central Andros. To all of the questions my answer was “NO COMMENT” - except the second question my answer was: “My name is Terry Lamond Bain, I live at Farmers Cay.” After nearly one hour Sergeant Roll said – I am asking you to read this document and sign it.
I told him I would not read the document neither will I sign it! He then said I was free to go. I said you must take me back to Farmers Cay as promised. Sergeant Rolle said he cannot take me back to Farmers tonight – he said he did not promise to take me back (he did promise to bring me back to Farmers Cay in front of three witnesses) that I would have to check with the police boat captain to see if he will take be back to Farmers Cay; he insisted that I was free to go.
I left and stood at the roadside under the street light – I called Michael Minns; who came to the station earlier to ask the police about my status – whether I would need someone to stand my bail or if there was anything I needed – he was told that I was still being interviewed and that he could not help me at that stage. Soon after I called Michael the three offices drove up and said they were going into town; Someone from the car offered to give me a ride into town – I answered: Farmers Cay is in the opposite direction, no thanks!
A short time later Michael arrived and took me to his house – where Mrs. Minns had supper and a room prepared for me. I stayed overnight at the Minns – the next morning I was interviewed by Yvette Rolle of 98.3 FM about the episode of the past day in police custody.
After which I had to find my own way to Barraterre and take a boat back home to Farmers Cay. I did call the police station Friday morning. I could not get the officer in charge of boats Corporal Sarge Charlton – the office that answered the phone said he spoken to him that he said the b oat was not working and I should find my way home.
At Great Exuma and home I received many calls from family, supporters and friends – they are PLP’s and FNM’s – that are appalled by the intended overt police intimidation – obviously bought on by the minister of the environment – and seems; by all indications, sanctioned by the government. Thereby, my view along with others realizes the police attempted intimidation of me on the 12 May 2011 – was in fact politically motivated on a purely civil matter. And, that if the minister believes he has a case against us; he ought to address it to the Attorney General.
Every single and I Bahamian has an inalienable right under the constitution to ask or question any decision or action made by any public official. My detention was clearly another mistake by the government ministers’ involved and can only be viewed as political intimidation.
We seek the help of every Bahamian that will stand with us against this abuse of power by this government on two citizens that has questioned the actions of this government on issues of the environment in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, Kamalame Cay, Central Andros and at the mouth of Lyford Cay New Providence. Clearly when Bahamians are nonnative about any issue in the country; there and then we give our governments’ consent to do as they please – obviously is many cases the politicians actions are not favorable to the citizenry – and so we all suffer and the Bahamas is worse off in the process.
When we look at the three detectives that came from Nassau to arrest me – by plane round trip, a rental car, hotel single room for each, overnight and meals, the round trip of the police boat with two 250HP engines from George Town to Farmers Cay. The costs of the whole exercise would be around five thousand dollars. That money the ministry of national security could have spent by sending several hundred school children to the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park to see the various development projects going on in the national park. When Bahamians allow this to happen to any of its citizen without protest – then we must realize we no longer live in a democracy but in a police state
BRAZILIAN AMBASSADOR PRESENT HIS CREDNTIALS
The photo shows the new Brazilian Ambassador as he presented his credentials to the Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes at Government House on Thursday 19th May. The other photo shows Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell being greeted by the Ambassador on the receiving line. The Ambassador's wife looks on.
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| The Photos are by Derek Smith |
We have a report of a daring robbery this morning by three armed men who walked into the busy John Bull Store on Bay Street, fired off shots and then made good their escape with Rolexes. No policemen reportedly in sight. The FNM is now starting the drumbeat that Ellison Greenslade the Commissioner must go. We say that the Government must go, The Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and his Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest are the first on the list who must fall on their swords. The robbery took place at about 10:30 a.m.
: LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Forrester Carroll writes this week about the change of policy by the FNM government to allow foreigners to compete directly with Bahamians in the restaurant and retail and entertainment business. He describes the actions of the government as traitorous:
Only a SUBSERVIENT JACKASS, NEGRO, UNCLE TOM SLAVE, like Hubert Ingraham, would make such an “Un-Bahamian, asinine, backward propelling decision” like the one he made, when he used the parliament of the Bahamas, to remove all restrictions which, heretofore, prevented foreigners from competing with Bahamians in business enterprises, designed to cater to the tourist industry.
Prior to 1967 (and the PLP’s victory at the polls which ushered in majority rule) businesses such as restaurants and bars; water sporting enterprises and the like, catering to the tourist industry, were, for the most part, in the hands of foreigners. During the period of PLP governance-1967-1977- the PLP government saw the need to begin to EMPOWER ordinary, everyday, average Bahamians by spurring them on to becoming employers and not remain just employees. The PLP was naturally very sensitive to the need to break the monopoly that the few families, who made up what we’ve come to regard as the BAY STREET BOYS, had on business activity in the country. The PLP believed that the economy should be shared and that we had to begin leveling the playing field for it to happen. And so the decision was made to institute a policy (indeed some aspects of the policy into LAW) of setting aside certain ventures and make them exclusively the domain of and for all Bahamians. The policy was to protect all Bahamians from being exploited by Foreigners and at the same time the policy would protect the littlest Bahamian from being eaten up by the monopolistic minded BAY STREET BOYS. Consequently all restaurants, bar and other tourist related business licenses, up to a value of some $3 million, were set aside and reserved for Bahamians ONLY. This began the start of the move toward encouraging ordinary Bahamians to become entrepreneurs (and employers themselves) rather than remain just employees to the Bay Street Business Clans.
We hear a lot of talk nowadays about the EMPOWERING of BAHAMIANS but the PLP was the architect of the policy. In addition, consistent with the policy, the PLP caused that the wholesale and retail businesses, as well, be all reserved for Bahamians. I remember, very vividly, how that when the Bay Street Boys were the owners of both the wholesale and retail business outlets the Premier/Prime Minister, Lynden Oscar Pindling, made it clear to them that they could not have both; that if they wholesaled they could not retail and from that time the monopolies they had taken for granted were broken. Sir Lynden told them that more Bahamians must be empowered to benefit from the anticipated spending spree of the millions of tourist who we anticipated would flock to our shores, as a result of the emphasis that the PLP government placed on the promotion of the tourist trade. The PLP could not allow the situation to persist, where only a select few benefitted from the tax payers dollars spent on promoting this industry; all Bahamians must benefit, Sir Lynden told them. That was when wholesalers, in the food and liquor businesses, sold their retail outlets to other ordinary Bahamians. Before that time Bahamians, especially those of color, were totally shut out. We could not approach banks, as a people of color, for they would have had us thrown out of their offices.
Now while the PLP (to a certain extent) was able to break the backs of the greedy few, who wanted to hog up everything, nothing much we could have done, at the time, about the banking system practices which, to this day, governments could do very little about except to appeal to its sense of decency and fair play in its business practices. And so to facilitate Bahamians, getting the capitol they need to go into business, the Bahamas Development Bank was conceived, instituted and funded by taxpayers to bring relief to the situation. This effort, by the PLP government, greatly supported ventures by poor Bahamians who were unable to meet the conditions for loans through the private banking system. Pindling felt that the government had an obligation to help everyday Bahamians, as much as possible, and so he and his government lead the way in this effort.
But now comes this man with the actions like a slave and traitor Hubert Ingraham, with his nonsense of taking us back to the days of slavery. Ingraham knows very well the tough times Bahamians have had to endure, and still are enduring, daily (especially Bahamians of color) trying to compete in business with the old giants of Bay Street. He knows that while the old giants are dead and gone the legacy of those old practices lives on in their descendents who are just as bad, if not worse, than their forebears. Ingraham is also acutely aware of the roadblocks we have had, and still are having, in fighting with these local banks in our efforts to try and get financing for our projects, yet he went to parliament and had all those restrictions, which gave us a kind of “Affirmative Action” comfort and advantage, removed. I have a few questions for the BIRD BRAIN prime minister who has betrayed us; tell me PIN-HEAD, how does this act of EMPOWER Bahamians? Why would we not think of it as treason? You claim that your FNM government supports the empowerment of Bahamians, but how does removing the planks, placed in policy by Sir Lynden’s PLP government, which restricted foreigners from competing with us, in these areas of business in the country, contribute to the further empowerment of Bahamians? Do you think that we are so stupid that we would not recognize what you have done to us? Which one of your foreign friends you wish to set up in business now? It is not like you to make these decisions for nothing. Will your special interest friends enrich themselves and your party’s coffers by your decisions.? I ask you, Ingraham, don’t you have enough already? I ask you seriously again, Hubert Ingraham, what are you getting out of this deal? And what about the wholesale and retail industries; will they (foreigners that is) be allowed, as well, to participate in those ventures? I am only asking because the very obvious implications for the failure of authentic, indigenous Bahamian enterprises are enormous here. Even a child can see the future on this one.
Mr. Khaalis Rolle, Bahamas Chamber of Commerce President, branded Ingraham’s decision as one of the worst policy decisions he has made to date. The President indicated, in an interview with Tribune Business writer Neil Hartnell, his disgust as the Bahamas’ Chamber President and said, in addition, that local chamber members, who are restaurant owners, are “Hopping Angry” as he put it. He said further that there had been no consultation with the Chamber or anyone else in the business community, prior to the amendment’s announcement. “We don’t know what the full scope of this is, particularly on the entertainment side. We don’t have any details on it; there was no discussion with the Chamber on it and believe, this is single handedly one of the worst policy decisions made by the government. What you’ve effectively done now is put local entertainment at risk” said Rolle. Ingraham indicated that his FNM government’s intentions were to IMPROVE the tourism industry but Rolle questioned, “Why then wasn’t the same philosophy used to IMPROVE, for Bahamians, their struggling entertainment businesses.” The Chamber’s President went on to opine that “There is no policy infrastructure for them (meaning Bahamians), yet the policy infrastructure taking place focuses on the foreign investor over Bahamian investors.” “It’s a dying sector for Bahamians, Mr. Rolle said. He used as an example Mr. Al Collie’s millions of dollars invested in the Club Luna entertainment project.
As well I, Forrester J Carroll, see nothing in this new investment policy, of Ingraham’s, to indicate a required minimum qualifying dollar amount for investments by foreigners. I wish to remind the general public that the PLP’s 1980s investment policy, for foreigners, included a minimum amount of just over $3 million. I am not aware if the ceiling was set any higher, than over $3 million, by the time we (PLP) lost the government in 1992. Permit me to paint you a grim picture of what I expect to happen, now that any Tom, Dick and or Harry can come here, from outside the country, and get up in our (Bahamian) business. Ventures such as those operated by Bahamians Dwight Palacious (Booze Cruises on the Bahama Mama) in Freeport, Al Collie’s (Night Clubs) in Nassau and Brent Symonnette’s Fast Ferries operations, will be in jeopardy. From the record, to date, we know that Bahamians cannot compete with foreigners; we cannot raise the kind of financing necessary to properly fund and maintain, at competitively high standards, first class operations as would foreigners. The prevailing attitude of the banking system is another minus for us, as I said earlier, which goes heavily against us when trying to secure bank loans for business. Simply put, Bahamians will be no match for the average foreigner if that foreigner wishes to compete in the same kind of business with us. I really don’t know how Ingraham can twist his big mouth to make a case for what he has done.
The PLP has been repeatedly reminding us; and I wish to do so again; that Hubert Ingraham HATES Bahamians. This Negro is a STOOGE for anything FOREIGN. He appears to hate his own family, as well, because they are hardly ever seen anywhere around him, at events. He, no doubt, took his wife with him to the Royal wedding in London, the other day, only because it would have looked awfully gross if he showed up without her. I am convinced that this man HATES BLACKNESS and is ashamed of his own, bad image, self every time he looks in the mirror.
Ingraham’s policy is, to say the least, contradictory in terms; for on the one hand he espouses the EMPOWERMENT of Bahamians, as a policy priority for his FNM government, but on the other hand he goes ahead and LEGISLATES roadblocks and puts them in the way to hamper and disenfranchise Bahamians in business. I don’t get it; the man must really think we are stupid. The Chamber President was quite blunt when he said; “The government needs to rethink this policy and needs to do it quickly.” Further, he said, it’s a bad decision. The policy priority is headed in the wrong direction. Where we should be shoring up local investors, we are creating unfair competition for them. I have had many restaurant owners, (said Mr. Rolle) call me, and they are hopping angry. They are furious” Rolle said. This decision reminds me of when this same Hubert Ingraham under this same FNM government required Bahamians, applying for the CABLE license, to submit a $10,000.00, non-refundable deposit with their applications knowing full well that he (Ingraham) and his government (FNM) had already decided to give the license to that broke and busted foreigner.
I am told that Zhivargo Laing; when making his contribution to the debate on the removal of these restrictions which heretofore excluded foreigners’ involvement in certain businesses; went out of his way to assure the PLP opposition that their fear of foreigners wanting to come here to engage in the “Chicken-in-the-Bag and French Fries” business were unfounded. He didn’t think (he said) those foreigners would be interested in that type of business so, according to Laing; the PLP had nothing to fear. What Laing was saying, guys, was that Bahamians are really only good enough for selling “chicken in the bag and French fries” so we really had nothing to worry about with the removal of the said restrictions. Well by damn, what a little no-good PUNK. On the other hand, though, we should allow for the fact that this boy (Laing) probably grew up in an environment where the selling of Chicken-in-the-bag and French fries was, to him, big business. It might be that, with this condescending and disparaging remark, the boy thought honestly that he was paying Bahamians a compliment. And so I certainly would be prepared, on the basis of those possibilities, to give the boy minister the benefit of the doubt. If one comes from nothing with no ambition-the very kind of situation which seemed to have dogged Zhivargo Laing prior to the FNM becoming the government in 2007-and then all of a sudden you are a big man who thinks of yourself as an indispensible component in running the country, then one can understand the attitude of this young boy. Laing has had a good ride on the backs of the taxpayers but the ride ends on or before May 2nd 2012. No more FREE lunch you SUCKERS.
Forrester J Carroll J.P
Freeport, Grand Bahama
IN PASSING
Mitchell Launch
The campaign for re-election to the House of Assembly in Fox Hill gets formally going with the traditional service at the Church of God Faith Mission, founded by the late Bishop Austin Saunders on Monday 23rd May at 7:30 p.m. Rev. Sherelle Saunders is the host Pastor. The event is being held under the patronage of the Leader of the PLP Rt. Honourable Perry G. Christie. It is a public event.
Manning Suspended From T & T Parliament
Former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Patrick Manning was suspended from the Trinidad Parliament for the rest of the Parliamentary session which ends in June for contempt of parliament. The Committee on Privileges of the House in Trinidad convicted him of the contempt arising out of remarks he made in January of this year about the source of the money for the Prime Minister of Trinidad Kamala Bicessar’s campaign. He was suspended on 16th May.The photo shows Mr. Manning being mobbed at the Trinidad International Airport as he arrived back home from his medical check up in Cuba on Friday 20th May. The press said tears came to his eyes as a result of the welcome.
Photo of the protest at the suspension is from The Trinidad Express.
Gilbert Morris Speaks in Bermuda
Our friend Gilbert Morris was one of the featured speakers at a conference of trust professionals held in Bermuda on 17 and 18th May. You may click here to read the story.
John Dean Dies
The former Fr. Bonaventure Dean, late John Dean, died after a long battle with prostate cancer on 16th May at 10:30 a.m. He was 74 when he died. His wife and family were at his side at the time of his death. He left a legacy of affection in The Bahamas and Canada. But this was a sad ending to a great life and one made sadder by the fact that it seemed that he had so much more to give to this society which he could not give, given the times and where he found himself. Philip Galanis who was President of the Student Council at St. Augustine’s College where he served as headmaster and Prior of the Monastery in Nassau up to 1971 went to visit with him before he died. He also attended the funeral in Calgary, Canada and made this statement about it: “The response to John's life in The Bahamas was overwhelming. Of the persons who commented on the tribute that I delivered, the common theme was that (1) they did not know much about his life before Canada and (2) now they understand where he obtained his training to do the wonderful things he did in Canada. From the range of persons in attendance, from their varied walks of life, from Ken Plotnik (formerly Fr. Wenceslaus of Saint John's University who knew John while he was at St. John's and went on to become one of the founders of Therafields) to former teachers and administrators in the Toronto school system, it was very clear that John made as lasting an impression here as he did in his younger years in The Bahamas.
I am truly blessed and fortunate to have been here in Canada today and thankful for the experiences shared with so many who knew "the Bon".
You may click here for the full tribute of Mr. Galanis.
Ann Cowper Green’s Tribute to John Dean
Ann Cowper Green was an English Language teacher at St. Augustine’s College in 1970. She later married John Dean, the former Prior of the Monastery and headmaster of the school once he left the priesthood. They later divorced. She wrote this tribute to John Dean, the former Fr Bonaventure. John Dean died in Canada on 16th May. You click here for her full statement
Haitian President Inaugurated
The new President of Hait Michel Martelly was inaugurated in Port au Prince on Friday 13th May with the anxious international community looking on. Mr. Martelly who is a former musician promised that there would be stability and new business brought to Haiti. Lurking in the wings however is the suspicion that he is an ally of the Baby Doc Duvalier, the deposed Haitian President who returned from exile earlier this year. The fear is that the Duvaluierist right wing will once again return to power in Haiti and with it their fascist way of governing.
Campbell Cleare a Granddad
Congratulations to Attorney H. Campbell Cleare III and his wife Sharon on the birth of their granddaughter Kai. She is the daughter of Mr. Cleare's son-in-law Kimani Smith ( son of former Minister of government James Smith) and Mr. Cleare's daughter Justine. The baby was born on 16th May. Shall we call him Papa?
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Well white people do it to, they have love children and baby mamas. Thus it was that the world ( aka America) was shocked because the film star and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted that he had fathered a child with his maid. Better than that, he kept it a secret during the whole campaign and governorship. It appears that his wife didn’t know. She is a Kennedy clan princess, as in the niece of the assassinated U.S. President John Kennedy. The love child is now ten years old. The maid continued to work in the household. Hey what a spicy story. Lots of tut tutting. But you know monogamy is a false construct and biology will out. Much ado about nothing. Of course, the consequences of immoral behavior and by that we do not mean having the child but rather lying to one’s spouse are quite serious and is quite disgraceful.
Dominique Strauss Kahn
The head of the International Monetary Fund (no more) and the man sure to have been President of France in the next election (no more) Dominique Strauss Kahn has resigned following his arrest and indictment on charges of trying to rape a 32 year old African maid in his hotel room in New York. The American justice system went into prejudiced overdrive. Here is man where there was absolutely no risk of fleeing, taken in handcuffs to court, denied bail. Just unbelievable. He was granted bail finally on Friday 20th May with all sorts of stupid conditions. This reminded us of the case of the Bahamian straw vendors and the stupid bail conditions that were set for them. That is justice in America.
City Markets Buys Robin Hood
The Tribune reported in its Business Section on 17th May that Sandy Schaeffer has decided to throw in the towel on his food business at Robin Hood. It said that a deal has been worked out with City Markets owner Mark Finlayson to buy the troubled Robin Hood chain. The latest store has problems because of the road closures in Prince Charles Drive. Customs has been targeting Mr. Schaeffer. So one supposes it’s time to let go. He proved his point by knocking the pricing in The Bahamas to lower levels for food and changing the model of retail food stores in the country.
Confirmed Govt. Buying S.G. Hambros Building
The story is circulating again that the Government is set to buy the S.G. Hambros Building on Cable Beach to house its Ministry of Finance. The purchase price is 18 million. This comes because the Ministry has to move given the redevelopment by Bahamar of the Cable Beach strip. When Perry Christie was Prime Minister the idea was for a new building to be built, that would have created employment instead of simply feathering the nest of the FNM and their friends as Mr. Ingraham has with this and so many other deals.
The Wife Puts Her Foot Down
Tongues were wagging in St. Agnes Anglican Church for the funeral of Jackson Burnside when the widow of Mr. Burnside interrupted the service after the collect and before the reading of the first lesson to announce that she wanted all the politicians to move from their seats and sit behind the family. She said that she had promised Jackson that no politicians would be sitting before the family. The Prime Minister started to move, whereupon she said “ Not you Prime Minister”. Whereupon the second and third benches which included the Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette, Minister of State Loretta Butler Turner, Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett, Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie all had to move while the family moved up. Interesting way to treat guests at a funeral. However there is a certain cache in the country of contempt for public officials which finds resonance throughout the society. There was applause when she made the announcement. The service then went on.
The Sixty Five Million Dollar Man
On the day of Jackson Burnside’s funeral the Nassau Guardian decided to run a story which was as old as the hills about the public disclosures of Members of Parliament from 2007. Must have just been gazetted. The gazette revealed that in 2007, Brent Symonette was the richest MP by far with a net worth of 65 million dollars. That was the same day that he was asked to get up out of his seat in St. Agnes because he was sitting in front of family members of the church and the widow objected. He ended up with no seat. And you see the headline now: “65 million dollars can’t buy you a seat in St. Agnes.”
The Platform At The Eastern Region
The Eastern Region Association held its annual fair on Saturday 14th May. It brings together the constituencies of Fox Hill, Yamacraw, Elizabeth and St. Anne’s . If you looked at the press coverage of the fair you would have thought it was an FNM fair with only the Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette present. In fact all PLP MPs were there and present as well Ryan Pinder (Elizabeth); Melanie Griffin (Yamacaraw); Fred Mitchell (Fox Hill). The photo of the platform with all the MPs is by Clinton Dean.
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Well Kwasi Thompson Has Found His Voice
There are five FNM MPs in Grand Bahama. They have nothing to say about anything as the economy goes into the tank, as the unemployment figures rise, nothing. Nada! But last week there was a plan for a function by the PLP’s Pineridge Branch in which they advertised free jello shots. This brought all the FNMs out of the wood work. Suddenly there was righteous indignation about promoting liquor for young people. Turns out that the liquor would only be served to those over 18. The function was also postponed. But that did not stop the propagandists and their friends in the press who pay no attention to the PLP unless it is some perceived bad news. Finally an FNM MP found his voice. Kwasi Thompson, the MP for Pineridge, so we are not surprised he found a way to attack his opponent Dr. Michael Darville. Mr. Thompson condemned the function. Condemning a function that was not taking place and was not doing what he said it was doing. Good going Deputy Speaker. Now if only you can speak up for jobs for Grand Bahamians.
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return to the top of the page.
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Fred Mitchell MP officially launched his campaign for re-election as the MP for Fox Hill on Monday evening 23rd May with a service of blessing at the Faith Mission Church of God whose pastor is Rev. Sherelle Saunders. Mr. Mitchell was joined by the Leader of the Party Perry Christie, Deputy Leader Philip Davis and the Parliamentary Caucus of the Progressive Liberal Party including MPs Frank Smith, Shane Gibson, Alfred Gray, Picewell Forbes, B.J. Nottage, Ryan Pinder, Melanie Griffin, Senator Jerome Fitzgerald, Senator Michael Darville and candidates Tanisha Tynes and Jerome Gomez. The church was packed to capacity as Mr. Mitchell said that this was the fourth service of blessing in his time in Fox Hill; the first being done by Bishop Austin Saunders, the father of the present pastor now deceased. He said he wanted to start things right as he committed himself to fight for young people, to building up community, and to supporting the cultural integrity of Fox Hill. Leader of the PLP Perry Christie said that Fred Mitchell was smart, the consummate diplomat and a great representative for Fox Hill and the Bahamian people. Pastor Mario Moxey of Bahamas Harvest who gave the homily said that both he and his wife appreciated the service Mr. Mitchell gave to Fox Hill and that Mr. Mitchell loved people. Pastor J. Carl Rahming led the communal blessing by the Pastors of Fox Hill. Also joining the service was Pastor David Johnson of Macedonia Church, Pastor Warren Anderson of Mt. Carey and Rev. Sabrina Pinder of St. Mark's Church. The photo of the week is that of Rev. J. Carl Rahming leading the blessing is by Andrew Burrows. |
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
WIKILEAKS BULL
On Monday 23rd May, the start of the last week, the Nassau Guardian began a series of articles which they said they obtained from the web site called Wikileaks. These were the private cables of the United States embassy here in Nassau sent to the headquarters in Washington. D.C. their capital city. Normally they never see the light of day.
The American response has generally been the same since last year. The cables should not be published. They are seeking to charge a U.S. solder with leaking the information. Some say they are trying to get at the man who runs Wikileaks Julian Assange in order to try him for violating their national security laws.
What the American do is their business on that score. We think that as far as The Bahamas is concerned, the United Sates Embassy in Nassau must formally disassociate themselves from the views espoused in those cables. The views expose a side of U.S. diplomacy which shows a group of diplomats that did not act as professionals but as petty officials who came to The Bahamas and picked up the same propaganda lines that the governing Free National Movement was repeating about the PLP.
The cables mostly surround the work of the PLP since it is the period between 2002-2010. This is the time when the PLP had the charge of the public diplomacy of The Bahamas. There are about three years of the Free National Movement.
The PLP has been warned that the cables will get worse about the PLP.
We cannot see how it gets worse since the main thrust is that the Americans seemed to have accepted hook line and sinker the views of the FNM about the PLP. They also seem to have lied to the PLP about its views about it. This is a story about duplicitous diplomacy. There is likely to be a chilling affect on any conversations going forward with U.S. diplomats.
When Paul Adderley was the Minister of External Affairs and then Foreign Affairs Minister, his view was that he never spoke to them unless it was through official channels. Perhaps we ought to return to that.
Once again the Nassau Guardian thinks that it is doing some high minded service to the country. They are not. There are more important problems in this country to address than Wikileaks. Yet day after day you have this newspaper of record attacking with vigour these cables as if they are food to eat. The same thing is going on in Jamaica; cables about the Jamaican government from Wikileaks.
We believe that the PLP needs to provide the narrative for its own supporters about this matter. The talking point is that this is old news. This is a rehash of propaganda lines by the FNM. The FNM is in deep trouble and no matter what is done, they cannot be saved. The PLP must work toward winning the next general election and to do that the themes are crime and unemployment, not Wikileaks.
Of course, the other interesting thing is the feature of our Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham sitting down in 2003 pouring out his guts to the Americans. His actions are traitorous. Can you imagine a former U.S. president sitting down spilling his guts out to a low level Bahamian diplomat in Washington about his successes in office and about his own people? Interesting.
There are no doubt lots of secrets that Bahamian diplomats can tell about American diplomats. No doubt some of the stories will now begin to come out.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 28th May up to midnight: 192,149
Number of hits for the month of May up to Saturday 28th May up to midnight: 656,057
Number of hits for the year 2011 up to Saturday 28th May up to midnight: 3,736,476
JEROME GOMEZ LAUNCHES HIS CAMPAIGN
The PLP’s candidate for the Kilarney constituency is Jerome Gomez. Mr. Gomez formally launched his campaign with a fundraiser on Friday 20th May and a church service at the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church on Sunday 22nd May. The video is from his Facebook page.
U.S. GOVERNMENT ON WIKILEAKS IN NASSAU
The following statement was issued by the United States government in response to the Nassau Guardian’s decision to print selective cables from the U.S. embassy’s cable traffic back to home base in Washington D.C., the American capital city. The statement was issued on 25th May. We do not think that the statement is sufficient. We think that at least as far the PLP is concerned; the Embassy in Nassau should formally disassociate itself from the representations made in these cables which makes their public diplomacy look like it was a lie and that their public officials were duplicitous:
The U.S. Government engages in the drafting and transmission of cables as form of global communication. U.S. policy is made in Washington and field reporting is only one of the factors contributing to policy decisions.
Communications between the field and Washington ensures that policymakers in Washington have a full understanding of all the factors at play when they make decisions. By its very nature, field reporting to Washington is candid and often raw information. Analysis expressed in cables may also be out of context, or may be the opinion of the reporting officer- and those opinions may not be shared by policymakers.
The unauthorized release of classified material has the potential to harm individuals as well as undermine efforts to advance objectives shared by the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the United States of America. It is unfortunate that a decision has been made by the media to release information from conversations that took place in confidence.
MITCHELL TO THE NASSAU GUARDIAN ON WIKILEAKS
The following statements were issued by the Progressive Liberal Party’s spokesman on Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell in response to the release by the Nassau Guardian of selective private cables by the Wikileaks website from the United States embassy in Nassau during the period 2002-2010.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STATEMENT BY FRED MITCHELL MP
OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
26TH MAY 2011
ON LATEST ATTACK BY THE GUARDIAN ON THE PLP THRU WIKILEAKS CABLES
This morning in a drop box on its front page 26th May, the Nassau Guardian is promoting the continued release of the gossip papers that they have obtained by Wikileaks. In it they attack the PLP, repeating untested, unproven and hearsay statements about a meeting which allegedly took place with the PLP and the United States Embassy officials in Nassau in 2007. The information which they are promoting is certainly prejudicial and uninformed. In addition, it is incredible that a national newspaper of record in the face of the major issues of crime and unemployment would be engaging in the promotion of tattle tale gossip as if it were fact. The information allegedly in these so called cables is almost certainly biased and skewed to reflect the current FNM propaganda of the day. The PLP remains focused on returning to government and seeking to put people back to work and to lessen crime. We urge The Guardian to get focused on what is actually happening in the country and not seeking to rehash untested gossip about what happened four years ago. The PLP is not the government today. The FNM is the government and they bear responsibility for the Foreign Affairs of this country and the state of this economy and the level of crime.
STATEMENT BY FRED MITCHELL OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL PARTY
ON WIKILEAKS CABLES
23rd May 2011
The Nassau Guardian has today chosen to release selectively the content of letters and confidential cables purportedly from the United States government and its spokesmen in Nassau characterizing the leader of the PLP and the actions of the PLP administration while it was in charge of the Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
I urge all citizens of The Bahamas to take all of this very much with a lot of salt.
It is simply surprising that United States diplomats would simply rehash the same unvarnished propaganda of the Free National Movement to describe the leader of the PLP and the policies of the PLP.
In fact, the policies which we met in place with regard to the human rights decisions of the government and its relations with the United States were set by the FNM and were changed at the direction of the Leader of the PLP even against the advice of the Foreign Ministry. It was changed by Mr. Christie in the best interests of The Bahamas.
What does come across however from the cables is that the Leader of the PLP did not betray the confidence of the Bahamian people to foreigners. Perry Christie minded the business of the Bahamian people and looked after their interests. If he becomes Prime Minister again, the Bahamian people can be assured that he is not an agent of any foreign state.
The reported portrayal by the American diplomats is so shockingly prejudiced that it is difficult to believe that U.S. diplomats would actually be fooled into repeating idle FNM propaganda as if it were fact.
END
LISTENING TOUR SOUTH ELEUTHERA
Philip Davis MP for Cat Island Rum Cay and San Salvador led a delegation of PLPs to the island of Eleuthera and South Eleuthera in particular as a continuation of its listening tour on Tuesday 24th May. The current representative for South Eleuthera is Oswald Ingraham. The photos are by Andrew Burrows.
The Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party Perry G. Christie gave his immediate response to the Budget Statement of the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham which he presented to Parliament on Wednesday 25th May. You can click here for the Prime Minister’s statement. You can click here for Mr. Christie’s response. Mr. Christie warned the government not to use politics at giving out jobs in the public service. He said that the FNM has a reputation of using public monies to fix up FNMs in the service. The video is courtesy of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas.
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FRED MITCHELL CAMPAIGN LAUNCH PHOTOS AND VIDEO
It was a glorious event, the formal launch of the PLP’s campaign in the Fox Hill constituency on Monday 23rd May. Fox Hill turned out in full force as a community and village to honour Mr. Mitchell and nine stalwart councilors who had been appointed to that high office from the Fox Hill area. The nine were Essie Ferguson, Cecil Cartwright, Reginald Poitier, John Neely, Barbara Smith, Shelia Rolle, Barbara Morley,Al Dillette, John Rolle
Present for the occasion was the leader of the Progressive Liberal Party Perry G. Christie and a number of colleagues (see photo of the week). The video and the photos are by Andrew Burrows. The event was organized by Philip Mortimer and Charlene Marshall the Co-coordinator of the campaign.
NEW CHINESE AMBASSADOR
There is a new Chinese Ambassador to The Bahamas. He is Ambassador Hu Shan and he and his wife and the embassy staff attended Government House on Thursday 26th May to present credentials to the Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes. The Opposition’s spokesman on Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell represented the PLP at the function. The photos are by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
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PLP CHOOSES EIGHT MILE ROCK CANDIDATE
The Progressive Liberal Party as chosen its candidate for the Eight Mile Rock constituency in Grand Bahamas. This makes the fourth choice of a PLP candidate for Grand Bahama. The decision was made by the National General Council of the PLP on Thursday 26th May. Mr. Russell is one of the proprietor managers of the Russell Pinder funeral home in Eight Miles Rock and an accountant by profession. The PLP made the following release. You can click here to read Mr. Russell’s acceptance statement. The photos are by Athama Bowe.
: LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Forrester Carroll writes this week about the need and demand for a National Health Programme. He criticizes Hubert Ingraham’s government for not continuing the plan left in place by the Progressive Liberal Party. He looks at the plan in the Turks and Caicos, our next door neighbor, which is celebrating its first anniversary. He says if it can work there, it can work here:
They said that it couldn’t work, here in the Bahamas; they said that it would be too expensive, here in the Bahamas; they said we wouldn’t be able to afford the cost, here in the Bahamas, but it’s working elsewhere, in the world and its working, very successfully I might add, even in the Turks and Caicos Islands. I am referencing today the reported success of the National Health Insurance program, after its first anniversary of introduction and implementation, in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
This small, but determined, British Island Dependency published a supplement, in March of this year, to mark the first year anniversary of the implementation of their National Health Insurance program. The same kind of National Health Insurance Plan, I might add, which we concluded, for various unqualified reasons, couldn’t work here in the Bahamas. It was certainly very interesting reading about that small Island nation’s first year successes with their National Health Insurance program. Tell you the truth, as I read the many personal testimonies to the good of the Plan and realize the degree of comfort it seems to have brought to the almost 31,000 recipients and their dependents, I was personally very jealous seeing that, about six years ago, we were the ones who first proposed such a program to cover our own people. Were it not for Hubert Ingraham and his FNM government ascending to power in 2007, the National Health Insurance scheme, proposed by the PLP government, would have been into its fourth year of operations. The many Bahamians who have succumbed and died, because they just didn’t have the financial means to pursue proper and adequate medical care, could have been saved, I submit.
Since 2008 to the present time, I dare say that hundreds of our citizens-loved ones; have died needlessly simply because of (as I said earlier) the lack of good affordable medical care. I’ve been told horror stories, and am sure you have as well; of the lack of competent medical treatment, loved ones have received at our public medical institutions here in the country. Let’s face the facts; people go to the PMH and or the Rand Memorial Hospitals, and suffer under the mediocre care rendered by those Institutions, on a daily basis, only because they can’t do any better. Most of us cannot afford to be sent anywhere else but at the Rand and or PMH. Ninety per cent of our population, like those in the Turks and Caicos Islands, is not in the financial position to pay for proper medical care. Top notch medical institutions cost plenty money and unless you have comprehensive medical insurance coverage you can forget good medical care. I do not reference the country’s two major medical institutions for the purpose of bringing them into public ridicule as am sure the public health care givers are doing their very best with the tools and resources provided them, however I contend that their best efforts, however good intentioned fails to make the mark and are simply not good enough. Lives are lost needlessly, daily, while we argue as a nation whether we can afford to institute what is necessary to provide proper and adequate health care for all. The medical care they render, in most circumstances, in terms of treatment can be classified as mediocre at best. We are obliged to go elsewhere if we wish to access top notch medical treatment and that, my dear readers, cost plenty MONEY, HONEY. Access to a National Health Insurance program is so vital and so very necessary for our population. Few families in the country, I dare say, can afford to pay premiums of between $1000-$1800 per month for private insurance to cover themselves and their dependents. Not very many have the financial means, I submit, to purchase private insurance at such high prices. Like Obama’s America, we need a “government sponsored and subsidized; patient contributing, national scheme.” That’s the reality of the matter whether Hubert Ingraham and his FNM government like it or not.
In bragging about the program’s success, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Chairman of the Board, who is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation and maintenance of the National Health Insurance Scheme in that “island dependency,” is quoted in the publication as saying; “The Board has expertly mitigated many of the pitfalls which could have plagued the plan. Sound fiscal management, strategic decision making and the sincere objective to be accountable and transparent in our supervision of Contributor’s hard-earned money, have worked for the benefit of the nation. The great thing is that our people are enjoying complete coverage, whether given at home or abroad, as we avoid exclusions for health care under the plan; this is typically unheard of, yet we have managed to make it happen in OUR Turks and Caicos Islands.” Unquote. What struck me, as very significant, in this statement, was the last sentence; “The great thing is that our people are enjoying complete coverage, whether given at home or abroad as we avoid EXCLUSIONS for health care under the plan; this is typically unheard of yet we have managed to make it happen in OUR TURKS and CAICOS ISLANDS” unquote. All this is happening, in that little insignificant neighbor of ours to the south, while Ingraham’s inaction on the implementation of the PLP’s National Health Plan, continues. Thousands of Bahamians are dying, in the meantime, while Hubert Ingraham, who doesn’t need a government sponsored health insurance the plan himself, decides whether it is cost effective or not. It amazes me how little he (Ingraham) cares for the health and welfare of the rest of us.
Like the Turks and Caicos Islands’ the PLP’s proposed National Health Plan, when implemented, will give all Bahamians the peace of mind they so richly deserve. From the payment of their very first premium, in the system, Bahamians will be given a National Insurance registration card which would entitled them to full medical health care at any public or private medical institution in the country, and if a particular ailment is such that medical care cannot be accessed in the country, arrangements would be made to fly them out to hospitals in the United States or Canada. These benefits would accrue to the entire family of the insured. Yearly medical check-ups for the prevention of sickness would be an entitlement. In addition, at the slightest indication of sickness, you will be able to go for medical treatment without worrying about where the money will come from to pay for the hospital and or doctor’s visits; all you would need to do is show your medical card. You would no longer have to do what many hundreds do now; wait until they can’t hold out any longer and by that time they feel they could delay seeking help no longer it’s usually too late to save the patient from sure death. This is a tragedy that’s occurring too many times daily in our country and it would be totally immoral for us to continue down this same path. We hear of loved ones being cut open and told that the cancer has spread too far and that there is nothing more that can be done for them. The FNM’s answer is to give you PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION but this is after you have been stricken with deadly diseases; you are already dead, in effect, for God’s sake. What good are prescription drugs if your cancer has spread too far and there is no more hope for a full recovering? Wouldn’t you prefer to prevent the sickness rather than try and cure it after contracting a killer disease? Besides this PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN of Ingraham’s, which may only help in keeping you alive while you suffer daily, is only designed for persons in two age categories anyway; children under twenty-five (I believe) and persons over sixty-five years? Does this make any sense? Even if the medication handouts program was an effective one, what happens to the thousands of Bahamians between the ages 25-65 years? Ingraham’s plan is stupid; it makes no sense and it’s ineffective to say the least. It is not the answer to the Nation’s health care ills and only a JACKASS like Ingraham would propose such nonsense.
The Ministry of Health and Human Services, in the Turks and Caicos, had something to say, concerning the health plan, as well; their statement read; “The high quality care, which is now accessible in the Turks and Caicos Islands, supports deductions from the National Health Insurance Board (NHIB) and is value for money. The ministry of health was always confident that having National Health Insurance-a sustainable source of funding-would provide affordable medical care for ALL. This is supported by a network of ON-ISLAND treatment available at our new STATE-OF-THE-ART HOSPITALS, the government’s primary HEALTH CARE CLINICS and PRIVATE PRACTITIONERS. The NHIB was a national effort, and the success of the first year has proven that the time was right for the Turks and Caicos to experience this peace of mind.” Unquote. Isn’t this a wonderful thing that the visionary Turks and Caicos Islanders have implemented for the benefit of their own citizens? All of them are now fully covered for full medical care. According to the report 30,415 persons are covered; 15,405 are males and 15,010 are females. 18,511 are the subscribers with 11,904 dependents. 21,342 are from the Providenciales area; 5,376 from Grand Turk; 1242 from North Caicos; 1128 from South Caicos and the remaining are from the other surrounding Cays. As I said before the Turks and Caicos Islands have been enjoying a healthy peace of mind for a full year now while we, in this country, are still trying to decide whether we can afford the plan or not. People are dying, unnecessarily in the meantime, while we pontificate over foolishness. This is a no brainer, for God’s sake man.
Thank God, the PLP’s plan has already been legislated and will be implemented as quickly as possible, when we take office, after the next general elections. If Ingraham and the FNM really cared for poor people they wouldn’t keep telling the nation that a National Health Insurance scheme is too expensive for us to embark upon; no Sir.
Notwithstanding all the talk and excuses, we have no other, effective, alternative. Like Canada, Britain, the European Community, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Obama’s America; the Bahamas needs a NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE program (for the good of the Bahamian people) and we will have one. What would it take to make it a reality? The installation of a caring government-A PLP government.
Before I sign off this week let me tell you that, I just read somewhere that Hubert Ingraham has declared his worth to be a mere $1.5 million; but I thought APRIL FOOL’S day was 1st April; not 29th May. Anyone who believes that Hubert Ingraham’s material worth is less than $50 million (most of it in CASH) is a damn naïve FOOL. If what the publishers of the newspapers printed wasn’t a mistake on their part; the man is simply a damn BOLD-FACED LIAR.
Forrester J Carroll J.P
Freeport, Grand Bahama
29th May 2011.
Dear Editor.
At the Funeral of Reverend George Cumberbatch on Saturday May 21st 2011, the Leader of the official opposition and the Chairman of the PLP, showed up at the Interment of Reverend Cumberbatch following a three and half (3 ½ )hour funeral service, pray tell me, what respect was given to the family of the deceased from these Honorable Gentlemen?
Is it fashionable, or just plain disrespectful on their behalf to always show up late for events after a three (3) hour Church Service.
By the way they never entered the Church at all, it would have been better if they did not show up at all, and could of avoid the snide remarks of the hundreds in attendance who were overheard saying Late Again, these folks seem to have no shame, imagine who is standing big and bold with the grieving family for an appropriate PR Photo in the Freeport News of Monday 23rd May. However they were not present at the funeral service because they were late again, in this case far too late, surely the silly season is in full swing, they would use (abuse) every opportunity they could to promote themselves, even preying on a sad occasion.
We should all see them for the charlatans they really are.
Kelly D. Burrows
Freeport Grand Bahama.
( Editor's note: Mr. Christie and his party were not scheduled to be at the funeral. A family member requested that they come and pay a call. He was not late. This is simply FNM propaganda. We all know that politicans on a daily basis have scores of funerals to attend; family members taking offence if you do not show your face. He showed his face and the family was pleased. That is all there is too it. Editor)
IN PASSING
Mother Pratt’s Book Signing
Cynthia “Mother” Pratt has written a book about her life. She says that she hopes that it is an inspiration to young Bahamians today that no matter their circumstances they can end up being successful. Her's is a remarkable story of moving from one clap board house to the next house, one of sixteen children of her parents a fisherman from Mangrove Cay and a straw vendor from the bluff, Eleuthera. She was raised in extreme poverty. She ended up being substantively the Deputy Prime Minister of the country and acted as Prime Minister for six months while the Prime Minister Perry Christie recuperated from a transient ischemic attack. The book signing took place on Friday 27th May in the presence of Dame Marguerite Pindling, PLP leader Perry Christie who wrote the forward and many other PLP MPs including Fred Mitchell (Fox Hill), Glenys Hanna Martin ( Englerston), Philip Davis Deputy leader of the PLP ( Cat Island Rum Cay and San Salvador), Obie Wilchcombe (West End and Bimini). PLP Chair Bradley Roberts attended as well. The photo shows Bishop Water Hanchell of Greater Commission Ministries awaiting his autographed copy.
What Ingraham Said About Brent
(from Wikileaks in The Nassau Guardian Monday 23rd May)
When he sat down with a U.S. Embassy official at his law office on April 8, 2003, Hubert Ingraham outlined who he thought would make up the new FNM leadership team, and dismissed any chance of Brent Symonette being a part of it due to his “personality and lack of appeal” outside the bounds of his wealthy constituency, according to an embassy cable obtained by The Nassau Guardian through Wikileaks.
While he dismissed Symonette’s chance at a successful leadership bid, Ingraham denied that his race had anything to do with it.
According to the cable — which was classified by the embassy’s political/economic chief at the time, Brian Bachman — Ingraham said the best thing that could happen would be for Symonette to challenge for the leadership, because he “would be beaten so soundly that it would shatter all his illusions.”
What Brent Said About Ingraham
(As told to the Nassau Guardian 24th May)
"I had no intention of running for leader of the party," Mr. Symonette told the Bahama Journal.
"I ran as deputy leader of the party and was elected. I never sought to get any advice from [Prime Minister Hubert] Ingraham on running for leader because I had no intentions of running for leader so I’m not the least bit interested in this story. I smiled at it because in 2002, I was the only Member of Parliament elected for Nassau for the Free National Movement."
The report, printed in a local daily yesterday, detailed how the prime minister was having a conversation with a U.S. embassy official and said that due to Mr. Symonette’s "personality and lack of appeal" he would not make a good leader.
In 2005, Symonette did not challenge for the leadership at the party’s convention.
He went for deputy leader and won. He was made deputy prime minister when the party won at the polls in 2007.
Mr. Symonette also told the Journal that he does not feel like the report will have an effect on the relationship he has with the prime minister.
"I have an incredibly sound relationship with the prime minister," he said.
"He and I get on incredibly well. We both understand each other and on numerous times under his watch I have served as acting prime minister in his absence. He and I fully understand each other and each other’s contribution."
Minister Symonette said he has no problem working with the prime minister and the comments in the story will have "no bearing on the relationship."
Clarence Moss
Stalwart Councilor from Fox Hill Clarence Moss is ill in hospital. He is in Male Surgical II at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
Marvin Dames To Leave The Police Force
The newspapers printed a story last week which said that Marvin Dames, the now Deputy Commissioner of Police is to leave the police force. His last day is 31st May. This is quite incredible given the turmoil that the force is in because of its inability to fight crime. An experienced man is leaving, one who had the benefit within the last four years of expensive training at the instance of The Bahamas government. Mr. Dames is said to be leaving to head the security operation at the new Bahamar project on Cable Beach.
Murder count
The murder count is 370 since Tommy Turnquest became the Minister of National Security and Hubert Ingraham the Prime Minister in 2007. Two murders were committed over the past week.
Kamla Celebrates
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad and Tobago celebrated her first anniversary in office as head of the People’s Partnership and as the first female Prime Minister in the history of that country. She swept the ruling PNM headed by Patrick Manning from office by a landslide last year this time. The photo shows her celebrating in her gold colours on 23rd May in Port of Spain, the country’s capital. The photo is by the Trinidad Express.
While Manning Walks In T & T
Meanwhile and as Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar celebrates, Patrick Manning, the Prime Minister that she defeated last year this time is on a seen daily walk throughout his constituency. Mr. Manning was suspended from Parliament because of an attack he made on the Prime Minister. He was welcomed back to Trinidad as a hero when he returned last week from his medical check- up in Cuba. He announced that as a political protest he would start a walk though this constituency and urged his supporters to join him. The press was in two as it began. The photo is by the Trinidad Express.
UBP Still Stands In Bermuda
We reported a few weeks ago a decision by the United Bermuda Party to dissolve into an alliance the One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) with the Bermuda Democratic Alliance, a breakaway group from the 47 year old UBP. Well not quite. All but two MPs have gone from the UBP. The two holdouts, the Swann brothers remain UBP MPs in the House of Assembly in Bermuda, saying that until the constitutional procedures are followed, the UBP will continue to exist and they will continue to sit as UBPs.
Obamas In London 24th May
Well, he flubbed the toast, talking through the British National Anthem "God Save The Queen” Well it wasn’t his fault really. On 24th May as the U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle visited the United Kingdom on a State Visit, there was a state dinner. The Queen gave a toast to the Obamas and then there was the playing of the National Anthem of the U.S. The Queen then toasted at the end of the playing of the anthem. Mr. Obama followed and said “Let us toast to the Queen.” He was not finished and was going on to quote Shakespeare’s words about England being a green isle. The British band thought he was finished when he said “Queen” and started playing the “God Save The Queen”. He should have stopped and finished after their miscue. He did not. He continued speaking throughout the national anthem and then tried to offer a toast while the anthem was playing. A stony faced Queen simply looked straight ahead and ignored the glass. He then put his glass down and waited until the music finished and then offered the Queen the toast again. A funny moment at these stuffy formal gatherings. Photo of Obama with Queen Elizabeth: Lewis Whyld/Pool via AP)
Latrae and The DNA
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Well Latrae Rahming who is a young PLP and an aspirant for the office of Prime Minister posted these two photos on his Facebook page as he visited the fair of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) held at the Western Esplanade in Nassau on Saturday 21st May. He took some heat for being PLP and showing up there but he seemed a happy camper all the same. One photo is with Bran McCartney, the party’s leader and the other is with Roscoe Thompson, the candidate for South Abaco of the DNA.
Celli Moss To Run Against Perry Christie
PLP’s on Facebook were scathing of their assessment of Celli Moss for hiding his intentions with regard to political office. They thought that all along he was masquerading as a civic activist but said that he really wanted to run against Perry Christie in Farm Road. Mr. Christie does not yet have an FNM candidate but it appears that Mr. Moss, a film maker and cameraman, will be his opponent either as an independent or as an NDP or as a DNA. That tells you something at least. Mr. Moss has been a scorching critic of Mr. Christie with not too gentle words but we shall see if that unbridled anger gets him anywhere.
An Angry Zhivargo Lashes Out At C. Allen Johnson
You are probably asking who is C. Allen Johnson. He is a media and computer expert who the FNM has been doing its best to vilify since he came home and joined the PLP and is now supporting Branville McCartney. This posting by Zhivargo Laing, the FNM’s Minister of State shows you how vicious its gotten:
Zhivargo Laing
Once again I must say to you my friends that there is someone out there pretending to be me. I have no new profile but this one and I will have none but this one. I strongly suspect that it is C Allen Johnson, who seems obsessed with me and has vowed to destroy me. He can and others can continue their efforts to disparage me but they will not succeed. I will continue to work for this nation and for good.
Funeral Of The Three Children
The three Hong children who died in a fire in Sandilands Village Rd.two weeks ago were buried in the Fox Hill cemetery on Saturday 28 May. The service took place at St. Paul's Baptist Church in Fox Hill. Rev Carl Rahming conducted the service. MPs Ryan Pinder and Fred Mitchell attended the service along with the Haitian ambassador to The Bahamas and the Principal,staff and students of the Sandilands Primary School. The photo shows the caskets outside the funeral.
Anglican Youth On Parade
Last Sunday led by the Bishop Laish Boyd the Anglican youth paraded through the streets of Nassau. The photo from Facebook shows the St Barnabas marching band.
