Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.
Volume 3 © BahamasUncensored.Com
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| PHOTO OF THE WEEK - It was a proud moment for the family of Cheryl Albury nee Thompson as she presented herself before the Deputy to the Governor General Paul L. Adderley to take the oath of office as a Justice of the Supreme Court. Her husband Basil was there, and so was her daughter and one grandchild and many other family and friends. For Cheryl Albury, a Government High School girl in the old sense of that phrase, it was an auspicious and important occasion. Mrs. Albury has been a member of the Bar of The Bahamas since 1985, having worked in the public service before that as a teacher and an officer of the Ministry of Home Affairs, and then as a magistrate. Now she will sit on the High Court bench as a Justice of the Supreme Court in an acting appointment for one year after which she is expected to be confirmed. The story of the modern Bahamas is that of so many people who started from humble beginnings who have made good. We think that Mrs. Albury's story is one such story and congratulate her on her appointment. We think that the picture taken by Derek Smith of Bahamas Information Services of this important occasion is our photo of the week. You may click here for a biography of the new Justice of the Supreme Court. |
WHAT FACES THE FNM
Senator
Tommy Turnquest is under the greatest psychological pressure that he has
ever been in his life. He may be even under physical pressure.
Senator Tommy Turnquest is fighting for his political life. The convention
of the Free National Movement begins on Tuesday 8th November, their first
in two years, the last one having been cancelled because of the hurricanes
last year. This year the publicist Peter Adderley out of Grand Bahama
tried to float the trial balloon that the conventions ought to be cancelled
but the FNM was quick to say that they will not be cancelling theirs.
The PLP followed suit and announced their plans as well.
We write about the PLP’s plans below. The great difference between the two is that the FNM having whipped their delegates into a frenzy over who will be leader of the party cannot now cancel their convention. The PLP needs a convention but could postpone it without that kind of difficulty. We are quick to add that we do not support cancellation under any circumstances.
The FNM supporters are in a tizzy. They have been quietly giving aid and support to those who oppose the FNM by suggesting that they need a new leader because the present one that they have does not cut the mustard. That quiet aid and comfort to their political enemies became not so quiet a few weeks ago when an elder of the party, former Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson, launched a tirade against Senator Turnquest in the press. It appears that Mr. Watson was speaking at the behest of the former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham who as it turns out wants to come back. You may click here for that tirade.
The FNM’s Members of Parliament tried a palace coup by attempting to use the constitution to replace the now Leader of the Opposition the hapless and hopeless Alvin Smith with Hubert Ingraham the former Prime Minister. Mr. Ingraham was completely cloaked in the tall grass, ostensibly uninterested in the whole thing and telling his PLP friends that no one had talked to him, and that he was not interested in coming back. Of course, all persons who can read the tea leaves know that the people who are involved in the anti Tommy campaign could not be so involved and so deep in, without the support of the former Prime Minister.
Senator Turnquest has now found his voice. He has been speaking to various constituency delegations about how he will become Prime Minister. He boldly said that if he wins as he expects to, that he would expect that Mr. Ingraham will loyally serve him. That gave everyone a good chuckle, but nevertheless he said it. He has been attacking the Government’s policies left, right and centre in a way that he never did before. This is life fighting time.
He did however cross the line with one Government Minister Leslie Miller, and we report on that below. Senator Turnquest called for Mr. Miller to be dismissed from the Cabinet. Mr. Miller did not take too kindly to it, and launched a firebomb at Senator Turnquest and his family. That did not go down well with the mealy mouthed Nassau Guardian who also seemed to be calling for Mr. Miller's dismissal.
Next week this time, we will know who the leader of the FNM is. Will it be a man who was once king and comes back again, Hubert Ingraham? Will it be the present leader Senator Tommy Turnquest back for round two with Perry Christie? Or will it be the son of Arthur Foulkes (sorry, Sir Arthur) Dion Foulkes who claims that only he can bring unity to the Free National Movement? Time is a wonderful thing and we shall know in time.
One thing is for sure, we have a dog in the hunt, and that dog is Hubert Ingraham. If Tommy beats him, we’ll eat our hat.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 5th November 2005 at midnight: 112,548.
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 5th November, 2005 at midnight: 70,723.
Number of Hits for the month of October up to Monday 31st October 2005 at midnight: 409,986.
Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 5th November at midnight:
3,336,177.
BREAKING
NEWS: Caesar Can't Refuse the Crown
Tuesday 8th November, 2005 - Nomination Day in the leadership
contest at the Free National Movement's Convention. Yesterday, Monday,
in a statement called "convoluted" by the press, former Prime Minister
Hubert Ingraham said he would run. Or did he? "...if it was the will
of the people that I lead, I would listen. I accept that it is and
must be the will of the people..." Mr. Ingraham's friends report
that he intends to go fishing until it's all over. Ha!
The headline in The Bahama Journal reads 'Ingraham
Swings Tommy'.
PLP Chair Raynard Rigby says it does not matter
who is the leader of the FNM; "he will be beaten... whomsoever it is we
will meet them on the political battleground and we will beat them".
More on this story in our regular update on Sunday.
THE
PLP TALKS ABOUT THE FUTURE
Raynard Rigby, the Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party held a press
conference on Thursday 3rd November. The purpose of the conference
was to confirm that the PLP will hold its National General Convention from
Monday 13th November to Saturday 19th November. Delegates from across
the country will gather at the Crystal Palace Hotel for what is sure to
be a grand and festive conclave.
The Chairman struck the right theme in his press
conference. He said that the PLP is concentrating on the future.
In other words, how does the PLP retool itself to remain relevant to the
times? The other party the FNM is concentrating very much on the
past.
On Saturday 5th November, there was a raucous car
rally in which supporters of Hubert Ingraham, the former Prime Minister,
who looks set to come back to leadership in the FNM, took to the streets
in a bid to show that he has support out there and that the country needs
him. Tommy Turnquest is fighting for his political life. The
Machiavellian Dion Foulkes is also running a campaign to become leader
of the Free National Movement. Neither Mr. Turnquest nor Mr. Foulkes
are members of the House of Assembly.
The instability that now exists because of the anomalous
position where the Leader of the Opposition is not a member of the House
led to an attempted palace coup by the Members of the FNM benches in the
House. They tried to replace Mr. Turnquest as leader of the Party
before the convention by letting it be known that they did not support
him continuing in the job. Senator Turnquest has now decided that
he is not going anywhere and he is all set to give Hubert Ingraham a body
blow.
Mr. Ingraham's supporters are telling everyone that
Mr. Ingraham says that he is not going to get into a fight for the nomination.
He is going to sit it out, and simply allow his name to be entered into
nomination. If he wins fine; if he doesn’t, same thing. Except
that you cannot depend on Mr. Ingraham’s political word. You can
be sure that if his name is being entered into nomination, and the nomination
is not declined, he has his hand behind every move that is made.
That means that if he wins, he expects to take over the Free National Movement
once again. To have him back would be a travesty to our system, and
the PLP has been slow off the mark in amending the pension legislation
to be sure that he is unable to collect both his pay as Leader of the Opposition
and a pension as former Prime Minister. Click
here for our comment of the week on this matter.
Our money is that next week this time Mr. Ingraham
will be back but he will be back for an even bigger cut behind than he
got the last time. Imagine, the last time he was Prime Minister with
all the power in his hands and he was defeated, so you can guess what is
in store for him now. Photo - PLP Chairman Raynard Rigby from
The Bahama Journal
THE
HOUSE PASSES NEMA BILL
After two days of debate spread out over as many weeks, the House of Assembly
unanimously passed the Disaster Preparedness and Response Act. The
Act seeks to establish the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
with a director within the public service who will be responsible for the
preparedness of the country for natural disasters and for the response
to the emergency after the storm.
The debate on the NEMA Bill was not very enlivening
or illuminating. The Government side merely put the case, and the
Opposition spent much of its time carping about how there was politics
involved in the hurricane relief response to the latest storm in Grand
Bahama and in Grand Cay, Abaco. Ho-Hum!
Minister of Works Bradley Roberts added some political
levity, though, recalling "Hurricane Abaco Dragon", which for ten years
wrought "havoc destruction and misery". Minister Roberts also gave
an important exposition on the building code of The Bahamas. Please
click
here for Minister Roberts full statement to the House of Assembly.
Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in
his statement before leaving for the Summit of the Americas in Mar del
Plata, Argentina tried to put the case for Grand Bahama. It barely
got a mention in the press. Instead, the press was interested in
the attack of Leslie Miller, the Minister of Trade on the former Governor
General Orville Turnquest. But the essence of what Mr. Mitchell argued
is that the people of New Providence have a stake in the future of Grand
Bahama, and that they have a moral and legal obligation to Grand Bahama
to make sure that it is refurbished and rebuilt. You may click
here for the full address by Mr. Mitchell.
LESLIE
MILLER SLAMS TOMMY TURNQUEST
Senator Tommy Turnquest as we have said several times throughout this week’s
column is fighting for his political life. He is ever more strident
in his public comments, completely out of character. On Tuesday 1st
November The Tribune reported remarks which he made on the show Issues
of the Day, now hosted by former FNM candidate and still FNM Michael Pintard.
Mr. Pintard. One of the persons that Mr. Turnquest messed with is
Leslie Miller, the Minister of Trade and industry.
In the best of times, Mr. Miller does not govern
his emotions and his response to Mr. Turnquest was brutal. Mr. Turnquest
said on the radio show that Mr. Miller was a disaster in Prime Minister
Perry Christie’s Cabinet. He added: “It is inconceivable that Perry
Christie as Prime Minister, has done nothing to relieve the Bahamian people
of Leslie Miller as a cabinet minister.” Mr. Miller had two responses,
one in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 2nd November and the other immediately
to The Tribune.
Here is what Mr. Miller said to The Tribune: “From
here on, I will be taking off the gloves when dealing with Mr. Turnquest.
From here on I think I am going to take the gloves off politically when
it comes to Mr. Turnquest. Obviously, he believes that he can get
away with attacking one’s character and I intend to set the record straight
on him that all Bahamians can see the kind of person we are dealing with
in his ‘sterling character’.
“Sooner or later, I’m going to deal with him, but
I’m not going to take any more foolishness with him. So whenever
he assails me I will answer in kind. One would think that he would
be spending more time putting an effort in for his convention.”
In the House of Assembly, Mr. Miller was blistering
and brutal. He not only went after Mr. Turnquest but he added some
words of advice. He told Mr. Turnquest that if he wanted to know
about criminality, he ought to check with his father who was connected
with Vesco. Sir Orville Turnquest former Governor General is Tommy
Turnquest’s father and it is believed that Sir Orville once worked as the
lawyer for the American fugitive Robert Vesco.
Mr. Miller's remarks must really have stung the
Turnquest family and its retainers because two days later an editorial
appeared in the Nassau Guardian which also called for Mr. Miller’s resignation.
They said he should be fired because he had attacked Sir Orville who was
known to be a man of integrity, and that Mr. Miller had used the House
of Assembly to do so. One of the editorial writers for the Nassau
Guardian is Oswald Brown who just happens to be married to one of the sisters
of Sir Orville.
We have no comment on Mr. Miller’s remarks to make
save and except that if you fool with him, you know exactly what you will
get, so just think twice before you do. We hope that Senator Turnquest
gets the point.
HANGING
IN THE NEWS AGAIN
Every time there is the perception that crime is
a problem in this society, then people who ought to know better start calling
for the death penalty. The fact is the death penalty in this country
cannot be carried out until various court challenges are made, but the
death penalty is clearly not the solution to crime. The Bahamas has
the highest per capita murder rate in this region after Jamaica.
It is higher than the United States and higher than Canada and higher than
the United Kingdom. Neither Canada nor the United Kingdom has a death
penalty. Yet their rates are lower than both the U.S and The Bahamas.
There is no relation whatsoever between the death penalty and the level
of crime. There is no connection between the death penalty and the
revenge of the society against those who have murdered. Rex Major,
the Senior Pastor at Grace Gospel Chapel started the present discussion
by urging that murderers be hanged. He argued that it is the only
just penalty for those who commit murder. Then the Commissioner of
Police Paul Farqhuarson added to the mix by saying that he too believes
in hanging. We think that it is important for those who lead our
society to have a more judicious approach to these matters. The statistics
coming out of the police force show clearly that there is no correlation
between the death penalty and murder. The year 2002 when the last
hangings took place in the country, was the year when there was the highest
murder count in the history of the country. Five people were hanged
in the last decade in The Bahamas, under the Free National Movement, largely
pandering to public opinion. Clearly, many Bahamians want the death
penalty. Ninety nine per cent of the people of the country support
the death penalty. This is unfortunate but to some another example
of not letting the facts interfere with a good story.
FRED
MITCHELL RESPONDS TO JOHN PINDER
Leslie Miller and Fred Mitchell are two Ministers
of the Christie cabinet that have something in common. If you fool
with them, you will feel a sting that you cannot believe. What then
could have been in John Pinder's mind when he told The Tribune last Sunday,
published the day after that if Mr. Mitchell said one more brazen thing
about him in the House of Assembly that he would run against him in Fox
Hill or campaign against in Fox Hill. That was the craziest thing
to do. Mr. Mitchell’s response was immediate. He told The Tribune
that Mr. Pinder should brace for it in the House of Assembly, and reminded
him that “not only one woman has born a crazy child.”
Mr. Mitchell told the House on Wednesday 2nd November
that John Pinder and all his troops and his money could come, and he would
welcome them. He said they beat them before, and they will beat them
again. On Monday 1st November, Mr. Mitchell issued a statement on
radio and in the press in which he warned John Pinder to be more sanguine
in his behaviour as a Union leader. "The future of public servants"
said Mr. Mitchell, "is not some horse of convenience to be ridden for ones
personal ambitions." He reminded Mr. Pinder that while he was out
screaming for money for public servants, he had not even expressed sympathy
for the members of his Union who were affected by the Hurricane in Grand
Bahama. The next day Mr. Pinder scrambled up to Freeport to inspect
the damage and then announced a programme of assistance to his members.
You may click here for the statement
of Mr. Mitchell.
BEWC
UNION MATTER ON TO THE TRIBUNAL
The Bahamas Electricity Workers Union headed by Dennis Williams is one
of the most radical in the country. It was they who brought the crowd
to Bay Street on the last Wednesday in October demanding an end to their
industrial dispute which has now been referred to the Industrial Tribunal,
making strike action illegal. One dispute centres around the placement
of a manager in the corporation who is said not to have the people skills
for the job that she has. Another issue is whether or not there
should be back pay for technical workers who have been working since the
new Employment Act for half an hour longer than the clerical staff.
The Union argued in public that after working out
a deal with the Management of the company, the Minister for BEC Bradley
Roberts nixed the deal. There has been no word from Management of
BEC. The Union in response to the reference to the Tribunal has started
a campaign of getting voters registered, presumably to vote against the
Government. They have distributed leaflets in the streets in which
they argue that the Government is at fault for a double standard at BEC.
There is now some talk of trouble amongst the management as well.
Whatever the case, the matter seems to have festered long enough.
When the Minister of Labour last week decided to refer the matter to a
Tribunal, this incensed the Union who said that it was an issue that the
Government should settle. As the FNM goes to convention, this is
not something that the PLP should want hanging over its head. Photo
- Minister of Labour Vincent Peet from The Bahama Journal
Saturday evening was an exciting evening for the
Deputy Prime Minister. The people of her constituency held a banquet
to honour for the many years of public service and her success as a public
figure. Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt is the country’s first woman Deputy
Prime Minister and during the period of the Prime Minister's incapacity
earlier this year, she acted as Prime Minister. It was a first for
women in the country.
Mrs. Pratt who is married to Joe Pratt, a retiree
of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, was beaming from ear to ear as
she heard the praises of the persons who had come to know her as a nurse,
an educator, a sports and a religious figure. The Prime Minister
often says of her that if she had come along in the time of Tonique Williams
Darling and the Golden Girls, she would have been a power house in international
sports.
We congratulate the Deputy Prime Minister.
Peter Ramsay, the photographer for the Bahamas Information Services was
there and took these photos.
MARKING
UNITED NATIONS DAY
United Nations Day was Monday 24th October.
It was on that day 60 years ago this year that the United Nations was founded.
The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrates the day each year.
This year the ceremony had to be postponed for a week because the country
was shut down as a result of the passage of Hurricane Wilma. However,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell insisted that there be a ceremony
and so there was one week later on Monday 31st October. The representatives
of the diplomatic corps and international organizations attended.
You may click here
for the full report. The photo is by Derek Smith of the Bahamas
Information Services.
SUMMIT
OF THE AMERICAS
The press is saying that the Fourth Summit
of the Americas in Mar Del Plata ended in failure. That is not quite
true. What they mean is that Hugo Chavez and his allies in Latin
America were able to stymie a collective document which would have committed
the region to one Free Trade Agreement for the Americas. Nevertheless
29 countries did make such a commitment. The Foreign Minister of
The Bahamas Fred Mitchell represented the Prime Minister at the summit.
You may click
here for his address.
THANK
YOU VERY MUCH LARRY SMITH
This is entirely tongue in cheek, our thanks; but
we were really amused by the following comment written by Tribune columnist
Larry Smith on Wednesday 2nd November about the power of the web:
“In the Bahamian blogosphere there are few citizen
journalists today. Our blogs tend to be eccentric personal or political
rants with little claim to fairness or accountability. If we discount
online teenage diaries, our two most senior bloggers appear to be Fred
Mitchell and Lynn Sweeting. Both started about five years ago. (fredmitchelluncensored.com
was started in November 1998, by our count that is 7 years ago - Editor)
“At that time the site offered news and commentary
on Bahamian public affairs, but was certainly not a place for Fred Mitchell
to vent his spleen.
“Mitchell’s archives are still on the web and
the revamped site follows the same format, writing style and political
line it did pre 2002, with lots of serious pictures of FM himself.
However, the site does not allow for real time comments from readers, meaning
that it may not qualify for a true blog”
POETRY FEATURE
This week, Giovanni is moved by “the astounding
continued outpouring of support by the Bahamian masses for those persons
in Grand Bahama ravished by Hurricane Wilma”. The verse is entitled
‘Restoration’ and “speaks to the spirit of giving that is so obvious and
active in our Bahamaland”. Please click
here. POET FEATURE, by Bahama recording & literary artist,
Giovanni.Stuart (www.nubah.com).
FERGUSON
IN PALM BEACH PAPER
Grand Bahamian Eldin Ferguson, one of the young
Bahamian athletes we have followed in this column, is the subject of a
sports news feature in the Palm Beach Post this past week.
Please click
here to read the story, courtesy of the Palm Beach Post.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
The Ipinions Journal
Several weeks ago you provided a link to a weblog
by a Bahamian that I decided to check out. I have to tell you that
I've been hooked on everything this guy publishes ever since. He's
a really remarkable writer.
Now it seems even the world renowned Washington
Post has become hooked. Because over the past few days, it has featured
his blog in their paper - including his take on the today’s [1st November,
2005] visit of Prince Charles to America.
I think other Bahamians would be proud to know
that one of our own is doing so well on such a grand scale.
If you follow the link to the Post article, look
to the right in the who is blogging box for his blog ‘The Ipinions Journal’.
Thanks for turning me on to him. I still
wish you could find out more about him though. It would be good to
have more than a “Bahamian sounding name” to go on.
Allie
He is indeed Bahamian, but has avoided commenting on Bahamian politics.
We wish him well and intend to provide a permanent link from this site.
- Editor
THIS
WEEK WITH THE PM
The Prime Minister's week continued the country's
focus on recovery and rehabilitation of those devastated by Hurricane Wilma.
Mr. Christie brought a message of help and hope to hundreds gathered beneath
a tent at an ecumenical service in Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama; scene
of the worst effects of the hurricane. The Prime Minister recalled
the "indomitable spirit" of the Bahamian people as he put the latest storm
into perspective, sharing facts of terrible hurricanes from as far back
as the 1800s.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Christie joined
members of the Senate who had flown to Grand Bahama to deliver a trailer
full of goods collected for the hurricane victims. Senators are shown
with the PM and Grand Bahama officials, including the President of the
Grand Bahama Christian Council, Bishop Ricardo Grant, at right.
Back in Nassau, at a ceremony to graduate Police
officers for presence in high schools (see photo below) the Prime Minister
accepted a cheque for hurricane relief from the Bahamas Law Enforcement
Credit Union and the Police Fund.
At the Office of The Prime Minister, Mr. Christie
was paid a call by US Ambassador John Rood, with what he termed "an initial
donation" of $59,000 for hurricane relief. Minister of State for
Finance James Smith is shown at right.
BRENT MAKES HIS MOVE
Hubert Ingraham is a political louse. He is a political cutthroat.
He is a man who cannot be politically trusted. He has an Uncle Tom
philosophy of the first order. Politically speaking, he will sell
out everyone to everybody in order to gain the political prize. He
deceives himself and the truth is not in him. He does not work for
peace and build up the common life. He is intent on dominating Bahamian
politics and destroying the fabric of our political life. He has
wrecked the FNM and eaten its cubs. He must be stopped, and he must
be stopped by all political means, and by expending all political capital.
Free National Movement supporters who disagreed with the seizure of their party by the use of manipulation and lies following last week’s election of Hubert Ingraham as Leader of their party ought to join the PLP now in order to save this country. If you are true patriots and believe in The Bahamas act now to save The Bahamas from Hubert Ingraham and his band of tyrants, sycophants, money hustlers and racists.
This is a man who said in 2002 that he was ashamed of the Bahamian people. This is man who told an untruth to his party and to the nation when he said that he would serve only two terms in office and then depart. He is now back, back by some falsely orchestrated means whereby it looks like it wasn’t him but you know it was him. He sat in front of the country, to media lapping up his very word, and said that he had nothing to so with the so called spontaneous outpouring of demands for his return. We all knew it was a lie when we heard it. The whole thing was carefully plotted and schemed; vintage Ingraham.
But here is a man who has no respect for any human being, who uses people like pawns, who discards them like old shoes at will, who for the last three and half years treated the Parliament of The Bahamas with the utmost contempt and now he expects to be treated with respect when he comes back to Parliament as the Leader of the Opposition. We shall see whether he will get the respect he wants.
The religious leaders of the country must be shaking in their boots, the man of the Godless philosophy, who knew no church home until in what appeared to be a contrived event, he decided to formally join the Zion Baptist Church on Shirley Street just around the time he became Prime Minister. We wonder if he ever went back to the church again after his first time. But this is the man that wants to be king of The Bahamas.
Or is it he? We said above that Hubert Ingraham has an Uncle Tom philosophy. Paul Adderley once told the story of why it is easy for him to be so. He grew up in a community where whites were the be and end all of success. They say in his community, the idea of having a good time was dressing up on Saturday evening, and going to the dance hall where the whites were gathered, peeping through the window and watching them dance, then going home and saying what a good time they had.
Mr. Ingraham now heads a party where the old white men, from the UBP times, have put the word out to the Turnquest family that there would be no money coming from them unless Hubert Ingraham came back. They wanted their man and they got him.
But this time it appears that they wanted some insurance. That insurance was that they wanted one of their own to be his back-up. And so Brent Symonette who not two weeks ago was wavering, that he would never run on a ticket with Ingraham is there as the insurance. The son of the first Premier of The Bahamas Roland Symonette, the last of the UBP kings, is now in place to become dare we say it, the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, assuming a lot of course. And you have to love the arrogance of these plans: it assumes that the FNM will win. It assumes that Hubert Ingraham will become the Prime Minister. It assumes that Hubert Ingraham will leave or pass way (given his heart problems not a faint possibility) and the man Brent Symonette who it is assumed would be Deputy Prime Minister in an FNM government, one heartbeat away from the top will then become dare we say it again; Prime Minister. In his bloody dreams! But that is the arrogance with which this has been done.
What is frightening about it is that they believe that it is possible. That Hubert Ingraham is apparently willing to be a tool for this device, and that the UBP is bold enough to plot and scheme and get it partly carried out.
However, we think that the Bahamian people are smarter than all of that. The young people of this country would sell out their birthright to this country if they allow the hands of time to be turned back, and let the UBP seize their country from them again. It must be stopped. It must not be allowed to happen. And Hubert Ingraham must be forced to tell us what the real deal is on this matter. What did he agree with Brent and why? Nothing less than full disclosure will do.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 12th November 2005 at midnight: 125,920.
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 12th November at midnight: 196,643.
Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 12th November at midnight: 3,462,097.
INGRAHAM’S
RECORD OF UNTRUTHFULNESS
Senator Tommy Turnquest spoke to The Tribune on
Tuesday 8th November and told them he was very disappointed in a statement
issued by Hubert Ingraham that said exactly the opposite of what Mr. Ingraham
told Tommy Turnquest the night before the statement appeared. Here
is what Mr. Turnquest had to say in The Tribune of Wednesday 9th November
in his own words:
“I was very disappointed in the statement.
Mr. Ingraham called me on Sunday and indicated to me that he was out, that
he was not going to run, and that he was going to make a statement the
following day. That his statement was going to say that he was not
going to run and that he would encourage persons not to nominate him.
So when you told me the statement you got was ambiguous, my comment to
you was that it is very clear.
“It was very clear that he intended to allow
his name to go in for nomination. That he intended to serve as leader
of the party, and that is totally contrary to what he told me less than
24 hours previously.”
(You can’t trust him—Editor)
HUBERT
INGRAHAM’S RECORD
Hubert Ingraham in his flatly delivered, ill prepared
final address to the Free National Movement’s convention on Friday 11th
November told the delegates and the country that he would like to be judged
by his record. He said that Perry Christie has a record and he (Mr.
Ingraham) has a record, and that he would like the Bahamian people to judge
his record against that of Mr. Christie. We think that is fair enough.
Mr. Christie has a record of tolerance, of consultation
and of curing the problems left unattended by the Ingraham administration.
No better example of this is the fact that The Bahamas is now off the black
list of countries named by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD). As result of the patient work by Alfred Sears,
the Attorney General and the team at the AG’s office and Allyson Maynard
Gibson’s team at the Ministry of Financial Services and Investment and
the diplomats who work with Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell, there was a
removal from that blacklist, a shadow left on The Bahamas by Hubert Ingraham’s
government. So yes let’s judge them by their records.
Mr. Christie is not loud, not brash, not uncouth,
not crude, and not disrespectful. Mr. Christie does not curse out
reporters and hang up the telephone. But we think that it is also
worth recalling what FNM supporters of Senator Tommy Turnquest said about
Hubert Ingraham themselves. You will recall that in the height of
the battle Mr. Turnquest and his supporters said this about Mr. Ingraham
and his record
Tommy Turnquest:
“[I have spoken with former PM Ingraham] he told
me he has no desire to return. I take him as a man of his word and
hence I am even more fortified in my resolve.”
Quotes from FNMs opposed to Hubert Ingraham
“Hubert Ingraham – you are still the most hated
man in this country and the people will remind you of it if you go back
on your word and challenge Tommy Turnquest as leader.
“It was Hubert Ingraham that destroyed the financial
services sector through the enactment of ill-advised legislation;
“It was Hubert Ingraham that bludgeoned BaTelCo
by giving packages to existing management and staff who were performing
and performing well;
“It was Hubert Ingraham that had all of the major
unions up in arms through his policies and action;
“It was Hubert Ingraham who expelled senior men
in the FNM who had been with the party way before he was on the scene…
Men such as Tennyson Wells and Pierre Dupuch, loyal supporters of ideals
of the party, were discarded by Hubert Ingraham."
Hubert Ingraham did as he wished without reference
to the concerns of the Bahamian electorate and operated “on his own terms
without regard to his ministers.
“…do we bring back a rejected man? The
people …hated him in 2002 and consequently voted the FNM out. That
is why we lost by the margins we did.”
Tennyson Wells, the Member of Parliament for Bamboo Town, who sits
as an independent but is really a disgruntled FNM:
“If Mr. Ingraham leads the FNM into the next
election as many as 25 per cent of the diehard FNMs won’t come out to support
the party at the polls.
“No political party in the past few elections
have won with more than 58 per cent of the vote and there is about 20 per
cent of the FNM who will not come out to vote. They will lose.
We agree with them all, and we think that when the
Bahamian people judge that record they will agree that they will vote in
favour of Perry Gladstone Christie.
TREATING
THEM LIKE CHILDREN
You could not help but feel embarrassed for Senator
Tommy Turnquest, Dion Foulkes and Brent Symonette. There was Hubert
Ingraham, like the conquering lion of Judah, comparing himself to Jesus
Christ, and then after pulling a fast one on Mr. Turnquest and Mr. Foulkes,
he calls them up to tell them what great guys they are. Next time,
he told Tommy Turnquest, you may have a better chance. Your time
will come. In the mean time, the alpha male of the lion pride, has
decided to eat all the cubs. It was disgusting.
Senator Turnquest was called up during Mr. Ingraham’s
flat victory speech, and told what a good boy he was. How and why
would a man with grown children, a wife and full family responsibilities
allow himself to be put into that position by someone like Hubert Ingraham?
One wonders where is the Foulkes family pride now that Hubert Ingraham
has humiliated their brightest star? It will not matter. Tommy
Turnquest was busy saying how he was going to be given a role in the FNM
and how he was going to win back Mt. Moriah. Yeah right! Dion
Foulkes is to get a role as yet unknown. Carl Bethel made out like
a bandit and the new leader is to put him in the Senate.
After watching Dion Foulkes' carefully crafted address
to the FNM convention (no doubt with the help of his dad), we would give
more than a penny for the thoughts of Arthur Foulkes (sorry Sir Arthur).
No doubt he will be back in his column on Tuesday in The Tribune praising
his Tribune masters and doubly praising the new leader of the FNM after
Hubert Ingraham pulled such a huge political double cross on Sir Arthur’s
son.
THE
BAHAMAR DEAL
On the day that the FNM’s convention began and the leaders of the FNM were
claiming that the Prime Minister Perry Christie was doing nothing for The
Bahamas, the BahaMar Group and the PM announced that the company will be
investing in a 1.6 billion dollar resort on Cable Beach. The company
said that they had inked a deal with Harrah’s Entertainment and Starwood
hotels. It documents the deals of the addition of five hotels, a
Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and a luxury spa on the Cable Beach
strip. The construction of the 1,000 acre site is set to begin in
2007.
The market was ecstatic and Sol Kerzner who heads
the Paradise Island project now believes that this will enhance his investment.
Harrah’s will operate a 1,000 room Caesar’s Palace Resort Hotel, as well
as a 95,000 square foot casino. There will also be a 300 room W hotel,
which will include 100 condominium units, a 700 room Sheraton Hotel and
a 700 room Westin Hotel. Starwood’s Bliss and Remede brand luxury
spas are planned for the W and the St. Regis. All told there will
be a total of 3,550 guest rooms. BahaMar is also expected to include
an eco water park attraction with a show lake for live performances and
events, 175,000 square feet of meeting space, 3,000 feet of continuous
beachfront, a 50,000 square feet retail village with upscale restaurants
and entertainment venues. With the openings set for 2010, BahaMar
Resorts is expected to provide 5,000 direct jobs in construction and more
than 5,000 permanent jobs upon completion.
At the FNM Convention, Loretta Butler Turner incredibly
repeated the silliness of her party’s line that Mr. Christie should be
travelling to overseas summits rather than sending Ministers. He
has only sent the Minister of Foreign Affairs so her comment was a direct
slap in the face to the Minister. But the Prime Minister is at home
trying to get this economy going. So his time is spent profitably.
The FNM is one of those groups that no matter what you do they complain.
So their complaint is the Foreign Minister is travelling too much and the
Prime Minister is not travelling at all. But if he did not stay to
mind the economy, and even now, it is that he is not doing anything.
But the list of doings and the list of decisions is endless. They
are simply too blind to see, and we all know that there are none too blind
as those who refuse to see. Prime Minister Christie, centre, and
Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe, left, are shown at the BahaMar announcement
with Bahamar's Sarkis Izmerlian, second from right and representatives
of Harrah's Entertainment and Starwood Hotels. BIS photo: Peter Ramsay
ATLANTIS
GOING STRONG
With the ink barely dry on the BahaMar deal, which
incidentally at $1.6 billion for phase one alone is the largest single
one-time investment of its kind in the Caribbean, Prime Minister Perry
Christie was over at Atlantis on Paradise Island to be briefed on the progress
of new work at Atlantis. Peter Ramsay's Bahamas Information Services
photograph shows the Mr. Christie with Minister of Financial Services and
Investment Allyson Maynard Gibson and Mr. Butch Kerzner of Kerzner International.
COB
AND ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY
There are 67 Bahamians attending school at St. Mary’s
University in Halifax, Canada. The College of The Bahamas has been
a source of supply for the University for several years. Now the
College of The Bahamas which has announced that it is heading to University
status itself has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the College
at St. Mary’s.
Canadian education is popular with Bahamians because
of the price advantage as a result of the mostly favourable exchange rate
between The Bahamian dollar and the Canadian dollar. The level of
tuition is also exceptional in Canada. St. Mary’s is ranked 7th overall
in undergraduate programmes in Canada. The new agreement will allow
for collaborative initiatives and other types of projects between the two
institutions. Rhonda Johnson Chipman of the College of The Bahamas
announced the agreement on Monday 7th November and it was reported the
next day in the Nassau Guardian.
GEORGE
MACKEY HOSPITALIZED
He was noticeably absent from the line-up of former Progressive Liberal
Party chairmen Sunday morning (above) at the Party’s prayer breakfast.
The gathering offered its own prayers for the Hon. George Mackey who served
in the Parliament of The Bahamas for 20 years and is a former Minster of
Housing and National Insurance is in hospital. Mr. Mackey who has
been receiving treatment for prostate cancer is comfortable. He is
now a columnist for The Tribune, and he is also the Chairman of the Museum
and Antiquities Corporation. (Top); Prayer for the Party - The
current and former Chairmen of the Progressive Liberal Party stand at the
front of the Party's Prayer Breakfast as prayers are offered for the Party.
Photo: Peter Ramsay. From left are Milo Butler Jr., Vincent Peet,
Raynard Rigby, Obie Wilchcombe and Bradley Roberts. At right is former
Party Chairman George Mackey. File photo.
NEW CUBAN
AMBASSADOR
Felix Wilson is now the full fledged Ambassador
to The Bahamas from Cuba. He has been in The Bahamas for a long time
and is well known figure in social and political circles. He served
previously as the Consul General until The Bahamas agreed earlier this
year to the upgrade of Cuba’s consulate general to an embassy. The
Bahamas is also building an embassy in Havana. Mr. Wilson presented
his credential to Dame Ivy Dumont Governor General on Friday 11th November.
MINISTER
OF WORKS ANNOUNCES CABLE WORK
Bradley Roberts, the Minister of Works has been
single minded in his determination to link The Bahamas with the outside
world. There has to be a reliable link. That link is a cable
being laid on the sea floor throughout The Bahamas. On Wednesday
9th November the Minister of Works announced that the Bahamas Telecommunications
Company Ltd. and TYCO Telecommunications are laying more than 2,800 kilometres
of cable on the sea floor. The system will link the islands of Andros,
New Providence, Eleuthera, Exuma, Long Island, Ragged Island, Inagua, Mayaguana,
Crooked Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador, Cat Island, Abaco, and Grand Bahama.
Phase one will also include a link to Haiti. The cable link between
Bimini and Grand Bahama was tested on 10th October onwards and this will
allow Bimini to get the latest technology both GSM for cellular and DSL
for the internet. Congratulations to Mr. Roberts.
ILLEGAL
IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT
The onslaught of refugees from Haiti continues unabated.
On Thursday 10th November, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force announced that
120 Haitians were apprehended by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.
The Tribune reported it on Friday 11th November. The people were
transferred to the 60 foot patrol boat from where they were found near
Harvey Cay in the Exumas. The group included 21 women and 99 men.
All were in good physical condition. This brings the total to 1200
Haitians intercepted this year by the Defence Force.
WHAT
NOW FOR THE PLP?
Hubert Ingraham’s seizure of the FNM’s machinery
from the sons and daughters of its founders has left the impression in
some quarters that the troops of the FNM are energized. If you went
by the pictures on the television you would get that impression.
But of course, no one could have known the personal pain that the Turnquest
couple Senator Tommy and his wife Shawn had to endure to turn up on the
last night of the convention in the presence of the man who betrayed them.
Mr. Ingraham had told Tommy Turnquest that he would not be running, and
then at the last minute did the opposite.
The PLP should be used to it. They should
remember well how Hubert Ingraham promised not to run a candidate in the
seat vacated by Sir Lynden Pindling in 1997 and then proceeded to run a
candidate anyway, saying that he had changed his mind. He is unreliable
and cannot be trusted politically. So the PLP should not have been
amongst those who were engaged in wishful thinking on the subject.
The fact is Mr. Ingraham is back on the political scene. But that
does not mean that his worthless behaviour has been forgotten. After
all this is the man who said just after the referendum result defeated
his effort in 2002 to amend the constitution that he was ashamed of the
Bahamian people. Is he is still ashamed of them?
Our concern is, what is the PLP’s response?
The PLP must stick to its base. Right now the base needs to be reassured
that their party cares for them, that their job and housing needs are going
to be cared for and that the PLP means a party that cares for people.
The FNM’s ra ra can easily dazzle people into believing that the false
saviours can bring them salvation. We know that they are wolves in
sheep’s clothing. They are now led by a man who has the utmost contempt
for the Bahamian people, and who has no respect for the younger generation
of his party. That should tell you what he feels about young people
in the country. We believe that the PLP will win the next General
Election. It is theirs to lose but they must work as the time goes
by to the general elections.
The world must know that there is no one in the
PLP who is afraid of Mr. Ingraham. When Keod Smith and Sidney Stubbs
and others in the PLP finish with him, he will damn the day and curse the
hour that he decided to come back into active politics.
JEROME
GOMEZ ANNOUNCES
Pierre Dupuch announced that he is retiring from active politics at
the end of this term. The last time there was an election, in 2002;
Mr. Dupuch was not opposed by the PLP. This time the PLP will have
to decide whether or not it will put a candidate in the St. Margaret’s
seat. Loretta Butler Turner is set to run for the FNM. Jerome
Gomez, a young PLP, has said that he is interested and made his announcement
last week. We support this bid for the nomination.
POETRY FEATURE
This week, Giovanni offers extracts from the verse
‘Unborn’ Please click
here. POET FEATURE, by Bahama recording & literary artist,
Giovanni.Stuart (www.nubah.com).
REMEMBRANCE
DAY
Today is celebrated as Remembrance Day throughout
the Commonwealth. The Sunday is commemorated rather than the Veteran’s
Day holiday of Friday as it is done in the United States. The day
really marks the anniversary of the end the First World War and in some
states is known as Armistice Day. The heroes of the Second World
War and the First World War have virtually all now died out. The
one or two left are probably too frail to turn out at the Cenotaph in New
Providence in the Gardens of Remembrance. The younger politicians
have no feel for why they participate in it.
It would probably make sense for the Government
of The Bahamas to convert the commemoration in part for the lives of the
four Bahamian marines who died at the hands of the Cubans in 1980 when
the HMBS Flamingo was sunk mistakenly by MIGs owned by Cuba. The
official service was at Christ Church Cathedral, followed by the commemoration
and wreath laying in the Garden of Remembrance. Deputy Prime Minister
& Minister of National Security Cynthia 'Mother' Pratt is pictured
laying a memorial wreath at the cenotaph in this Bahamas Information Services
photo by Derek Smith.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Ingraham No MOSES
Ingraham is definitely no Moses. In fact he sounds
like Moses' brother Aaron. If you recall, when Moses was summoned to the
top of Mt. Sinai to collect the Ten Commandments, Aaron was busy at the
foot of the mountain eventually bowing to the pressure and the will of
the people. The result - a golden calf and God's move to judge them. The
calf was eventually burned and God's wrath and judgment held back because
of Moses' interceding. What is the point?
You need to sometimes be a majority of one if
you know that you are standing on a value. In fact, Aaron's majority was
God Almighty who had brought them out of Egypt.
Furthermore, Moses was eventually replaced by
Joshua - another generation and the one to lead the Israelites to possess
the land.
Moreover, Mr. Ingraham, sad to say, does not
even acknowledge the fact that he went back on his word to these men, Messrs
Tommy and Dion, just a mere 24 hours before. How can he be trusted with
what he says he mean if he is to lead his party, moreover the country.
Time to move on Aaron - let Joshua come on the scene.
Keith S.
Concerned Voter
Hubert Ingraham's Re-election as Party Leader
I am a Bahamian, who at present has the misfortune
of being stuck in London. Like most of the other Bahamians in the UK, I
visit your website each week to keep abreast of the current state of politics
in the Bahamas.
It is only fair that I admit from the onset that
I have disagreed with your analysis of Hubert’s return to a leadership
position within the FNM party. His return does not speak well for the potential
of young and new leadership within that party, but it does speak volumes
about his political savvy, to say the least. Hubert should be given all
the credit he is due for orchestrating his return to his party’s leadership.
He has shown that he learned well from his political father, and that he
can be cunning and cruel when the need arises. In all other societies these
are the required skills of a successful politician.
Most people recognise politics for what it really
is – a rough and brutal sport, where the pure at heart have no place. I
feel no pity for Tommy Turnquest. He really was not ready for his party’s
leadership role if he could not read the tea-leaves any sooner than he
was forced to do. The writings and rumours were everywhere for all to see
years ago.
I do have one concern with Hubert’s return to
the leadership position of his Party that none of the newspapers seem to
be investigating. It has to do with the support (both vocal and otherwise)
that he (Hubert) has received from Brent Symonette. What has Mr. Symonette
been promised in return for his support? Is he to become PM through the
backdoor (i.e. if the FNM party defeats the PLP at the next general elections
with Hubert as their leader, has he (Hubert) promised to step down and
hand over the PM title to Brent Symonette before the end of the term).
Like Hubert, Mr. Symonette is no political fool.
He knows that a white Bahamian can only become PM by extraordinary means
in today’s Bahamas. Someone’s race still plays a huge role in how far they
are allowed to succeed in the Bahamas. It is my sincere belief that Mr.
Symonette was only successful in his bid for the deputy-leader’s position
within the FNM because of his “support” for Hubert’s return as party leader
(i.e. he got in by clinging to Hubert’s coat-tails). I admire political
cunning, but I despise deceit. Call me a racist, but I cannot support a
Bahamian of any race becoming PM if that person’s actions show that they
believe they are better than me simply because of the hue of their skin.
My litmus test for Mr. Symonette is quite simple: Does he have a black
son-in-law or daughter-in-law? Does he embrace or acknowledge that part
of his heritage that is black? Has he directly assisted in the financial
and social empowerment of any black Bahamians (other than Hubert)? If the
answers to any of these questions is no, then I can never support him or
any other white Bahamian as PM of the Bahamas, irregardless of where on
the political spectrum their political ideology lays.
A Bahamian in London
MITCHELL
TOURS DEVASTATION WITH DIPLOMATS
The Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell had another assignment the day after
Hurricane Wilma struck the northern end of the country. He was sent
to Bimini by Prime Minister Perry Christie in order to inspect the damage
in Bimini and the Berry Islands. This week after returning to The
Bahamas from Argentina at the Summit of the Americas, he flew with the
Chinese and the U.S. Ambassadors to Grand Bahama to inspect the hurricane
damage there. That was Tuesday 9th November. The Minister said
that he was moved by the experience and wanted to reassure the people of
Grand Bahama of the concern of the Government for Grand Bahama, and that
the government would do anything to make Grand Bahama whole again.
Photo of the inspection of the damage by the Minister and his international
friends along with Senator Caleb Outten, a leader in the Eight Mile Rock
community, is by Derek Carroll from The Freeport News.
Early Sunday morning, hundreds of PLPs turned out
to the Party's Prayer Breakfast at the Crystal Palace Hotel to kick-off
the 49th Convention of the Progressive Liberal Party. Some of the
participants are shown at top during praise and worship, while above, Prime
Minister and Mrs. Christie share a private thought in the midst of the
event. In addressing the gathering, Mr. Christie gave thanks for
the prayers for the Party.
The Prime Minister's work on leading the recovery
for those areas affected by Hurricane Wilma continued this past week with
a trip to the island of Bimini. Mr. Christie toured the damaged areas,
principally a hotel and many second homes.
Also during the week, the Prime Minister was the
guest of honour at International Day and Flag Raising at St. Augustine's
College. Mr. Christie is shown at right with the Roman Catholic Archbishop
Patrick Pinder as the two witness the presentation of a cheque from students
at the school in the amount of $5000 for hurricane relief at St. Vincent
de Paul Catholic Primary School in Hunters, Grand Bahama.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE CONVENTION WEEK THAT WAS
If
you were there, if you saw it on TV, if you heard it on the radio, if you
witnessed it by way of the ‘Net, however you saw it or heard it; however
you read about it and viewed the reports, Convention 49 of the Progressive
Liberal Party was impressive. The effect was awesome. You kept
saying throughout the thing “wow!” The Free National Movement badly
miscalculated what bringing back Hubert Ingraham would do. They thought
it would bring fear; it brought a PLP base that is energized instead.
The party is ready for battle, and suddenly all the complaints on so many
levels seem to pale in significance to the support which seemed to swell
out of the breast of the country.
There were several highlights for the week, quite apart from the speech of the Prime Minister which ended the entire matter late on Friday evening. The Public Service Minister Fred Mitchell lit up the crowd as he told them how much money Hubert Ingraham stood to gain if he returned the post of the Leader of the Opposition. Mr. Ingraham has now become known as the $196,000 man. You may read below for more of what the Foreign Minister had to say. The cheers from the crowd were deafening as he announced the increase for pensioners and public servants.
The other undoubted highlight was the return of the lost soldier and people’s champion Dr. Bernard Nottage. You will remember that he left the party and formed his own party the Coalition for Democratic Reform. It was a bitter split, and he ended up without a seat after the last election. On Thursday night 17th November he was back, and it was a chaotic, tumultuous welcome, not a soppy one like the return of a prodigal son but rather like that of conquering hero, who has stood in the face of the common enemy, did not blink and had now come back to claim his own.
No deal was announced by the Prime Minister but it seems clear that he is headed toward a seat in the senate and a post in the cabinet at some near point in the future. The combination of Dr. Nottage and Mr. Christie in the PLP will be formidable, and is a body blow to Mr. Ingraham who had been chasing after Dr. Nottage and his people with such blandishments like “it is quicker for you to become Prime Minister under the FNM than it is under the PLP” What a ham!
Every
day the PLP said something during the convention, the FNM had something
to say back. It was an attempt to distract the PLP from its central
message and its success. Nothing can beat numbers though: not even
the FNM’s false cries of racism, the cry-baby attitude that photographers
and journalists were threatened and attacked at the convention, nothing
threw the PLP off message. It stayed focused about its accomplishments.
Its Ministers gave perhaps their most disciplined performance. Leslie
Miller who some thought would be throwing bombs away, put together an artful,
skilful address that swayed the crowd by his self deprecation and but got
his point over without any odium and contempt. It was a class act.
The Prime Minister leaves the country with his Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell and his Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe Sunday evening for Malta. They will represent The Bahamas at the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference. Mr. Christie last attended one of the conferences in Abuja in Nigeria two years ago. This will be the last of the conferences for him before he faces a General Election. It will be a well deserved break after a tumultuous year for him, what with his health problems, then his long convalescence, and the return of Hubert Ingraham, and now the triumph of a wonderful convention and the adulation which flowed from it.
As we head toward Christmas, it looks like the country will be in a better mood, and we hope that now is action time for the Prime Minister. He must, we repeat MUST deliver the knock out punch to Hubert Ingraham. That is what the country is waiting to see. We will help him.
Mr. Christie himself said it at the start of the week, the people thought after the last election that Hubert Ingraham was dead and buried in a political sense. Now it appears that he is back, we shall have to politically incinerate him and blow the ashes to the winds.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 19th November 2005 at midnight: 102,694.
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 19th November 2005 at midnight: 299,337.
Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 19th November 2005 at midnight: 3,564,791.
THE PM’S
ADDRESS
There is nothing more theatrical in The Bahamas than our political conventions.
All the planning and precision of a Broadway production, or one of those
football or basketball games in the United States. The only thing
that we did not see at last week’s convention was dry ice flows onto the
floor, but everything else; they had it. There were scripts, and
documentaries, and the music was specially chosen. It was into that
pumped up atmosphere that that Prime Minister Perry Christie delivered
his final address as he brought down the curtain on Convention 49.
The crowd swayed to R. Kelly’s ‘Storm is Over’,
the hit song and theme used for the election of 2002. It was like
a reprise of the magic of that year as the people, from Ministers on down,
swayed to the rhythms. And then the PM spoke. His themes: Hubert
is finished, and that he will be beaten a second time; the FNM’s
so called decisiveness caused the country to make too many mistakes; the
PLP’s deliberateness has resulted in many pluses for the country; investments
are on the rise with anchor properties planned or on every major island;
there was a new project announced for Grand Bahama: Ginn and West End;
investment in housing stock will continue; crime needs to be brought under
control and new measures will be passed in the House of Assembly; Urban
Renewal will continue; more jobs are coming. It is the kind of thing
that resonated with the crowd. The theme of the convention: Forward
in Unity. It is a time that many young and old will remember.
You may click here for the full address by the
Prime Minister.
FOR
THE PLP NOW
The best analogy about this political business in
The Bahamas is to use Junkanoo. The Saxons and the Valley Boys both
have huge groups, and you are never quite sure as each passes with their
massive crowds which will overcome; what precisely sways the judges to
go in their favour. The PLP’s crowd was massive. The FNM had
a good crowd. Certainly at the end of the FNM's convention there
were many who were a bit concerned. How could the PLP top the crowd
of the FNM? Well top it they did!
Now the FNM will come back under their new old Leader
Hubert Ingraham with a rally in New Providence on Tuesday 22nd November.
The idea will be to answer the PLP and show that they have an even larger
crowd. It is a serious gamble Hubert Ingraham is taking to have rallies
just before Christmas, and when no one is into political reason in that
way. But let him try. We think though that the PLP's crowd
was obviously larger, more enthusiastic. The base of the PLP is fired
up to beat Hubert Ingraham; their cups are overflowing.
And so we start the long race to the finish line
for 2007, there may be at least one further convention for the parties
before that election. Then we will really see something. But
we believe that on balance the PLP will survive to govern us again, thank
God!
NOTTAGE
IS BACK
Dr. Bernard J. Nottage, the former Leader of the Coalition for Democratic
Reform (CDR) is back in the PLP. 
With
that it seems the CDR will now join all the other letters of the alphabet
that make up retired Bahamian political parties. The Bahamian Democratic
League formed by Etienne Dupuch is usually the first in that line, followed
by Paul Adderley’s National Democratic Party; followed by the Peoples Democratic
Party of Billy Butler; the Social Democratic Party of Norman Solomon;
the Bahamian Democratic Party of Henry Bostwick; the Peoples Democratic
Force of Fred Mitchell. All sought to find some middle ground between
the parties; technocratic; some for the mixed race; some for what was called
moderate opinion; some for more efficient decision-making. All failed
to fire the imagination of the country except as a means of creating public
debate. It was not quite a mistake because sometimes individuals
have to take marketing decisions to protect their futures. Dr. Nottage
certainly joins Paul Adderley and Fred Mitchell in that category.
Without their own individual party political efforts, they would not have
seen the boost in their political careers that ultimately took them to
the very top. So we join the welcome of the Prime Minister to Dr.
Nottage as he rejoins the PLP. Top: Dr. and Mrs. Nottage acknowledge
the welcome: NativeEye photography; Left: On the way to the podium; Right:
A hug from Mrs. Bernadette Christie, Minister Obie Wilchcombe and Deputy
Prime Minister 'Mother' Pratt - Peter Ramsay photos
WE
FEEL SORRY FOR EDISON KEY
We are not quite sure whether the word is sad or
sorry that we wish to use to describe the situation with former PLP Senator
and Member of Parliament Edison Key from Abaco as he was called up to the
stage and paraded like a captured prisoner by Hubert Ingraham across the
FNM’s stage.
This is a man who spent more than 30 years of his
life as a PLP, defending the PLP, for silly reasons leaves his party and
then joins the other party in such a public way for reasons that cannot
be explained. He then says some stupid things. He claims that
Hubert Ingraham's return is Perry Christie’s worst nightmare.
Nightmare?! Hubert will be beaten. The
problem is when Mr. Ingraham is beaten where will Edison Key be?
In all likelihood he will survive being the rich man he is, but survive
without his reputation intact, and going back into retirement as a sad
and bitter man.
THE
FNM’S SOUR GRAPES
Throughout the FNM’s convention the PLP took the
position that it would allow the FNM to maintain its time on the stage
and get their message out. No such forbearance or decorum from the
FNM. Throughout the convention of the PLP they were busy putting
out press releases and counter attacks on the PLP. No problem because
they were largely ignored. The timing of their responses was always
interesting.
All of the newspapers got advance copies of addresses
of Ministers of the government under the usual embargo conditions and to
check against delivery. So it was always very curious that the FNM
was able to answer point for point and detail the words of the minister’s
speeches the very next morning in the same newspapers in which the original
addresses first appeared. One wonders whether or not the newspaper
broke those embargoes and shared the information with the FNM.
It has now become a kind of article of faith in
the PLP that the writers in the media are almost to a man opposed to the
PLP and welcome back Hubert Ingraham. That perhaps is an exaggeration
but a neutral press is what we need, one that follows the rules and does
not bend them for their political friends. They may not like the
PLP but they should be fair.
BRADLEY
ROBERTS SCORCHES
It was like old times with Minister of Works Bradley
Roberts. Last week, speaker after speaker at the FNM Convention got
up and attacked him, some suggesting that the charges of rape that were
made against him earlier in the year were true. Mr. Roberts took
no prisoners in his address. He attacked Loretta Butler Turner, Alvin
Smith, and a host of other FNMs for seeking to revive the false charges.
His wife and son were in the audience. In addition, he gave a comprehensive
report on his work as Minister for the utility companies, for Bahamasair
and for the Ministry of Works. You may click
here for the full address.
LESLIE
MILLER’S ARTFUL APPROACH
There are many who undercut and undersell Leslie Miller.
But he is a bright man, and if there were any doubt one needed to listen
very carefully to the artful manner in which he addressed the convention
of the PLP on Thursday 18th November. Mr. Miller used humour and
self deprecation. He has often described himself as a potcake and
the former Leader of the FNM Tommy Turnquest as a poodle. He came
on to the music of Phil Smith, the Pot Cake Song, and the lines: “they
only know me when they need me”. He started off his address with
the words: “Well the potcake is still here, where is the poodle?”
This broke the crowd up with laughter.
Mr. Miller challenged the FNM to say why they did
not repudiate the racist remarks of William ‘Billy’ Saunders who it is
alleged threatened Dr. Judson Eneas and his wife and used the “N” word
to do so. You may click
here for that previous story. Minister Miller defended his approach
on PetroCaribe and on LNG regasification projects in The Bahamas.
He said that he would continue to work to try and reduce the price of gasoline.
A good address!
THE
PUBLIC SERVICE MINISTER ELECTRIFIES
When Fred Mitchell, the Minister for the Public Service took the stage,
no one, one suspects, could quite have guessed what was to come.
His speeches are usually short and to the point, and philosophical and
matter of fact. The crowd is usually respectful but not overwhelmed.
This time was just a tad different. It appears that the speech was
simply explosive.
Mr. Mitchell scorched Hubert Ingraham, showing how
as Leader of the Opposition he stands to collect some $196,000 from the
Public Treasury. The FNM responded by saying that they will move an amendment
to the Parliamentary Pensions Act to cause that not to happen in future.
Those are idle words since the horse is out of the gate and it is not without
the leave of the Parliamentarian involved Hubert Ingraham. There
are constitutional issues since the pension has now vested in Mr. Ingraham.
FNMs were stunned and the speech went over like gangbusters.
Throughout the country there was talk about the
speech and the fact that Mr. Mitchell who repeated the expression “Just
in time for Christmas” some five times in his speech announced the raises
in pensions for Government workers, the payment of allowances to prison
officers and the rises in public service salaries, and the signing of the
contract with the Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU). The delegates
seemed wowed by his ability to use the teleprompter with many asking whether
he had remembered all the words in his head. Not so but it came off
as a neat hat trick for those on TV and in the audience. Modern,
clean, simple and direct. The photo of the event is by Peter Ramsay
and you may click
here for the full address by Mr. Mitchell.
BPSU
SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH GOVERNMENT
After all the blowing, huffing and puffing and bluster
John Pinder, the President of The Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU) signed
an agreement with The Bahamas Government that binds the two parties together
in a contact for five years beginning 1st July 2005 and stretching
all the way to 30th June 2010. The agreement was described by both
the Public Service Minister Fred Mitchell and the President of the BPSU
as historic. The two said that it sets the stage for public sector
reform. The Minister said that he hopes that all Permanent Secretaries
would get on board with the ideas that the new contract seeks to promote.
He announced that there would be an implementation committee to deal with
the provisions of the contract. Bahamas Information Services photo
of the signing on Thursday 17th November is by Peter Ramsay.
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TO THE PLP’S CHAIRMAN
Raynard Rigby has been re-elected as the Chairman
of the PLP. He was re-elected just in time to celebrate a birthday.
Mr. Rigby was born on 22nd November 1969 which makes him this Tuesday the
ripe old age of 36. That by the way was the same age that Sir Lynden
Pindling became the Premier of The Bahamas for the first time. Happy
Birthday brother!
CYRIL
TYNES IS BURIED
Cyril Flubert Tynes MBE was buried on Saturday 19th
November 2005. He was accorded an official funeral with Fred Mitchell,
Glenys Hanna Martin, Allyson Maynard Gibson and Brent Symonette representing
the Parliament, both Government and Opposition. Mr. Mitchell presented
the flag to the widow of Mr. Tynes, Louise, as a token of the esteem in
which the country held her husband and on behalf of a grateful nation.
Mr. Tynes was a member of the House of Assembly from 1972 to 1977, and
served for one year as Leader of the Opposition, following the resignation
of the late Sir Kendal Isaacs as leader of the FNM in 1976. He was
also a retired Royal Air Force Corporal, and a retired public servant.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
WHAT NOW FOR THE PLP?
I couldn't agree more with your analysis.
The biggest thing coming out of the FNM convention was their tactical shift
towards the grass roots and not this Ingraham business - that was a fait
accompli long ago. Almost all of their speakers alluded to the issues
the effect this grouping, a clear indication of where they would hope to
gain some inroad and of their election strategy. The PLP should take
note and as I said before solidify its base!
Kele Isaacs
BRENT MAKES HIS MOVE
I’m a longtime reader of your site – I’ve actually
been reading it since Fred Mitchell set it up. I don’t go there every week,
but as elections get closer I make a point of it. I’m an FNM, but I still
enjoy hearing what you have to say. I’m not one of those who think that
you have to be ‘balanced’ – you guys are PLP, of course you are going to
give a PLP perspective. Really, that’s why I find it so interesting
– in a country as small as ours I think it’s a good thing to know how your
countrymen (and women) feel.
I’m actually writing because I felt a little
hurt by your comment of the week ‘Brent Makes His Move’. Like Brent, I’m
a white Bahamian. Also like him, I’m related to prominent white politicians
of yesteryear – Roy and Norman Solomon were my Dad’s first cousins. The
whole tone of your comment seemed to be tinged with a touch of racism that
I had hoped was dissipating in our Bahamas. Taking pot shots at Ingraham
over his will-he-or-won’t-he run at the leadership was fair, as was digging
up his comments about being ashamed after the referendum in 2002. There
were plenty of things that you could have gone after Mr. Symonette as well
for – such as the airport situation. Instead, you cast the whole thing
as a plot by old white men to take over the country – to turn the hands
of time back, to use your words. Is Brent Symonette not allowed to
aspire to be the Prime Minister because he’s a white guy?
I’m not a naive person – I know that there are
still racist people in the Bahamas – of both races. I’ve encountered them
myself. I do think that as each year goes on there will be less and less.
I’m a thick skinned person – I’m not going to stop reading your website
or anything, but I did want to say that I thought that wasn’t cool. Attack
Brent Symonette for his record of his policies – that’s what you guys are
there for, but is it really the right thing to bring his race into it?
Victor Patterson
We think that this is quite a thoughtful letter. Certainly,
the question was not race. But the evidence is there that Tommy Turnquest
was unable to get the backing of the moneyed group of the FNM. He
was told in no uncertain terms that it was only Mr. Ingraham that cold
get their money, and that their view was that Mr. Ingraham had to
tie himself to Mr. Symonette. Now this is not evidence in the sense
of a court room, but the fact is that the moneymen are in part the same
oligarchs that ran the country prior to 1967. Franklyn Wilson makes
the point that that oligarchy treated poor whites just as badly as poor
blacks, so what we are talking about is a class issue and a philosophy,
not race. It is unfortunate therefore that the comment was taken
in that light. We think that the official FNM knows that it is not
about race either but in this modern era it is convenient for them to cast
it as playing the race card. But thank you for your thoughtful letter,
and we will certainly pay more attention. - Editor
THE
CONVENTION IN PHOTOS
Various photos of the convention from both Peter Ramsay and Native
Eye photography.
At top, Prime Minister Christie is joined on the
stage at the end of the Convention by Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament,
Senators and Dr. Bernard Nottage. Above, Mr. & Mrs. Christie
greet the new Miss PLP, Fox Hill Girl Shakeitra Lightbourn at the Convention.
Mr. Christie cuts the ribbon to open a photographic
exhibition about his political history, mounted in the margins of the Convention.
Also during the week, the Prime Minister lent his
presence to the signing of an agreement with The Bahamas Public Services
Union. Mr. Christie is at the podium as Government labour officials
and John Pinder of the BPSU look on.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
THE IDIOT SAVANT OF POLITICS
It
is a sad and bitter lament, the state of things as they unfolded over the
past week with regard to the comments of Carl Bethel, the former FNM Chairman,
“Senator Designate” as he now styles himself, and former Attorney General.
We call his actions like those of an idiot savant of Bahamian politics.
What else can you say to someone about his actions, someone who, like an
insect, does not appear to have the common understanding to know when to
leave something alone, that once the police are seized of a matter you
should shut up.
According to Mr. Bethel, someone delivered to him (or to his garbage – so he says) a sheaf of documents from the consular section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which purports to show that there has been what he termed “an alarming rise” in the number of visas granted to Haitians and Chinese coming to The Bahamas. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued several statements before on these same allegations pointing out that if Mr. Bethel had any knowledge of impropriety in the issuance of visas then he ought to take the information to the police. On three occasions, this invitation was issued to the Free National Movement and their spokesman. They declined to do so, in one case saying on their website that they weren’t making allegations of criminal wrong doing.
Mr. Bethel was back at it again on Sunday 20th November, this time he showed documents to the press which he claimed demonstrated that the Minister was directly involved in the approval of visas and that “cronies” of the PLP, and family members and PLP politicians were getting visas from the consular section. Again, there is no allegation of criminal misconduct. And presumably, within the rules, any Bahamian who wishes to sponsor a person coming to The Bahamas can do so by following the existing rules for the granting of visas. The Ministry told the public that since the Progressive Liberal Party has come to office, the question of brokers and middlemen for visas should have been eliminated by ministerial edict.
The documents that Mr. Bethel showed did not show what he purported to show. It is always easy to give a story when you have only half the facts. The difficulty here is that Mr. Bethel has tried to convince the public that there is something wrong with exercising the discretion of the Ministry and the Minister in the granting of visas. He can make no such case, but with the uncritical press that we have, away they went with the under current that there was something wrong. The matter has now been referred to the police, and the Ministry said in its statement that since Mr. Bethel refuses to voluntarily provide his information to the police, the police ought to visit him and he can tell them directly what he knows about impropriety at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and secondly he can explain how stolen documents from the Ministry got into his hands.
In the mean time, the convention speech of the Minister explained that a management audit is being conducted of the consular section of the Ministry to review the conduct of the business of the Ministry, and to determine what if any changes ought to be made there. Secondly there has been a report of the auditor general on the work of the consular section. So it would appear that all that the Minister needs to do at this stage has been done.
Notwithstanding that, Carl Bethel was back on the public stage on Tuesday evening 22nd November to allege that he had copies of Chinese passports which he said showed that two Chinese had been granted visas that were still in The Bahamas. Again, obviously half the story. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs grants visas. Having a visa only means that there does not appear to be any problem with entering The Bahamas. The Immigration Ministry is responsible for the actual entry and the return of the person. Mr. Bethel is unable to show that persons who were granted visas have not left the country. Further, the two Chinese whom he speaks about and who he says are still in The Bahamas may well now have work permits or extensions to their stay by Immigration; who knows? A visa does not give you permission to stay. Immigration gives you permission to stay. He did not say but that, but it is not his intention to deal with facts. His intention was to cause mischief and to destabilize. What he does not know is that the whole thing simply makes him look foolish and desperate.
Over the past week with the return of Hubert Ingraham we have returned to the politics of nastiness in The Bahamas. The PLP is largely successful in its agenda, with an economy that is performing well, the bogeyman that the PLP was anti foreign investment is not working, nothing they try works. They thought they would get a fillip with the return of Hubert Ingraham; that did not work. All has failed. So they have to try to find a scandal where there is not one. The choices that The Bahamas has seen between the two public figures this week of Carl Bethel or Hubert Ingraham is like the choice between the cretin and the fiend. Whom do we choose? Neither!
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 26th November 2005 at midnight: 107,629.
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 26th November 2005 at midnight: 406,966.
Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 26th November 2005 at midnight: 3,672,420.
INGRAHAM
TRIES TO PULL A FAST ONE
The rally that the FNM called for Tuesday night 22nd November is part of
the Ingraham strategy to counteract the effects of the PLP's convention
of the week before. It failed. He said nothing new, and many
of those who visited the rally said that they left before it was over.
It fell flat. To be sure, he had his faithful adherents there but
the old magic has worn off. Here is Mr. Ingraham's strategy.
He has to excite his base to rile them up, probably on the basis of an
early election. They need to know that there will not be an early
election. He has to rile up his base because the oligarchs from the
UBP who have put the money behind him have to be impressed that he can
deliver the numbers. That is why he hosted breakfast at Simply Native
for one hundred persons on Thursday 24th November. He also has to
frighten the white Bahamians into thinking that the PLP is so bad and racist
they will automatically stack up against the PLP. The PLP was successfully
able to put that bogeyman to rest in 2002 but the FNM has decided that
they will revive it as the only way to counteract the PLP.
The FNM is playing the race card. But they
are being disingenuous in that Mr. Ingraham and his toady at The Tribune
Eileen Carron are accusing the PLP of doing exactly what they have been
doing. It was not the PLP who started talking about Brent Symonette
and Hubert Ingraham being salt and pepper. The FNM used it at their convention.
Why salt? Presumably the FNM used salt because Mr. Symonette is white.
Why pepper? Presumably because Mr. Ingraham is black. So who
brought race into it? Who was it that brought Brent Symonette with the
music ‘Ebony and Ivory’? Certainly not the PLP. Now they have
the heart to cry racists.
We go back to the question posed by Leslie Miller,
the Trade Minister in his address to the PLP’s convention, why hasn’t the
FNM denounced the remarks of William ‘Billy’ Saunders, who owns Majestic
Tours who said allegedly “I am tired of you niggers blocking my gate?”
Then he allegedly fired a gun into the air and is now facing charges in
this connection before the court. Mr. Saunders supplied the buses
to transport the faithful to the FNM convention. Will the FNM denounce
those remarks and dissociate themselves from those remarks?
Finally, Hubert Ingraham must think we are dumb
and stupid. He says that the PLP is trying to force him to accept
his pay by redepositing his salary into his account, the $28,000 per year
to which he is lawfully entitled and which he cannot refuse. If he
wants to give it to someone else that is his business but he must accept
his pay. What we ask him: why is he double dipping? He is not
a retired politician, yet he continues to receive the pension of a Prime
Minister retired at $100,000 per year. The Foreign Minister Fred
Mitchell told the public at the PLP’s convention last week that Mr. Ingraham
will get $196,000 per year when he becomes Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Ingraham should stop trying to pull a fast one, and tell us why he
is coming back into this for the money.
THE
HATEFUL, SPITEFUL, ALMOST RACIST EILEEN
Eileen Carron has a problem. Her problem is
the PLP. The fact that the PLP exists is an irritant to her.
What is also an irritant is the fact that the PLP is successful.
The fact that the PLP’s policies of equality and justice, especially economic
justice for all has succeeded, is a further irritant. The fact that
it was the African descendants in The Bahamas, who forced our whole country
to stand up against the legacy of racism, injustice and inequality prior
to 1967, is a further irritant to her. For Eileen Carron, if it is
European it is fine. If it is African it is bad, to be treated with
suspicion and to be treated as crooked and corrupt. You are not therefore
surprised for us to report that during the past week, Mrs. Carron took
out her hateful, spiteful editorial pen and began a disingenuous, hate
filled, spiteful diatribe against the PLP accusing the PLP of being racist
at its convention last week.
The FNM and The Tribune must have had their cages
rattled truly. No speaker at the PLP’s convention talked about race.
Indeed there were white Bahamians at the convention. Not one of them
seemed the slightest bit uncomfortable about being at the PLP’s convention.
The conclusion we draw from all of this is that both Hubert Ingraham and
Eileen Carron must have a serious problem about race.
We repeat. The FNM played the song ‘Ebony
and Ivory’ as Brent Symonette was being marched up the convention isle.
They meant to show that black Hubert Ingraham, presumably ebony and white
Brent Symonette, presumably ivory, were going to be a successful pair to
win back the Government for the FNM. That was not the PLP who did
that. That was the FNM. The FNM throughout its convention talked
about this same pair, their Deputy Leader and Leader Symonette and Ingraham
respectively as “salt and pepper”. Presumably again, the reason is
clear. They were saying that this racial accommodation would be a
political success in The Bahamas. So who then was talking about race?
But we all know that the truth has never stopped The Tribune from printing
a good story.
We just want people who read this column to be assured
that race is not part of the PLP's agenda. What is part of the PLP’s
agenda is economic justice and equality for all. We also know from
the FNM’s convention that the oligarchs who controlled the now defunct
United Bahamian Party prior to 1967 told the leaders of the FNM that they
would not support Tommy Turnquest with their money. They wanted Hubert
Ingraham. They now have him. They also have their assurance
that Mr. Ingraham will follow through on his programme because they have
one of their own just one heart beat away from being Leader, Brent Symonette.
The facts speak for themselves.
GUANA
CAY PROJECT STOPPED
We are displeased but not surprised that the nation’s
on again off again pest has won a victory in the courts which now holds
up the investment at Guana Cay in Abaco. Fred Smith who is seeking
the FNM’s nomination as a candidate in the next election to run against
the PLP’s Ann Percentie in Pineridge, Freeport, is leading a legal challenge
to stop the investment in Abaco, the creation of more jobs and more wealth
creation in that part of The Bahamas. The matter was dismissed by
the Supreme Court by Justice Stephen Isaacs but the Court of Appeal under
Joan Sawyer has reinstated the matter and remitted it to be heard before
a different Judge in the Supreme Court. The result is delay and no
investment in the meantime. Perhaps Parliament should intervene and
make it clear that the litigants in this matter have no standing in the
matter.
The question is should the Court of Appeal's decision
be allowed to stand or should the developers take the matter immediately
to the Privy Council? The reason we mention that Fred Smith is the
FNM's candidate is that one immediately has to be suspicious of the motive
here. The FNM’s campaign is that the PLP is anti foreign investment,
and that it does not make decisions on investment. But here is a
clear decision made by the PLP for large investment in Abaco. Yet
the FNM’s potential candidate has moved to stop it. Now after stopping
it, he will go on the public platform and say how the PLP is anti investment.
These are simply deceitful statements and deceitful thinking. Fred
Smith ought to be ashamed of himself.
BAHAMIAN
DOCTORS COMPLAIN – BOO HOO
Earlier this year, a special envoy was sent out
to The Bahamas from Cuba by the President of Cuba Fidel Castro. The
Cuban President extended an offer which he had extended and was already
trying throughout the region including Venezuela. Cuban doctors would
come and do an inventory of people in The Bahamas who were having problems
with their sight. They would identify those who had operable problems
and free of charge airlift them to Cuba conduct the surgery and return
them home. On that basis they have restored the site of thousands
of people throughout the region. The Prime Minister accepted the
offer on the spot, and since that time other Caribbean countries have taken
advantage of the offer.
It is clear that The Bahamas does not have the resources
on the public health account to take care of those people who have eye
problems. Now The Tribune reports that doctors in The Bahamas are
opposed to Cuban doctors coming to The Bahamas to deal with these eye problems.
What could possibly be their motive? Is there profit behind this?
We think that if the Cubans can cause people to see, they ought to be allowed
to get on with the work. If Bahamian doctors wish to make a similar
offer that would make the Cuban doctor’s offer moot, then they should get
themselves together and do so, but in the present circumstances we ought
to get on with it.
Leslie Miller, the Minister of Trade and Industry has been
suffering for three years since his son Mario was brutally murdered in
June 2000. He and his family have had no closure. That matter
on a very human level burst to the fore at the end of a communication that
the Minister delivered on trade matters and the European Union on Wednesday
23rd November in the House of Assembly.
The Opposition thankfully did not seem to make much
of it nor of the fact that the Attorney General Alfred Sears had to speak
to the issue in reaffirming his support and confidence in the person in
the office who was attacked and in cautioning about discussing matters
before the court. Here is what the Minister had to say in his words
as reported in The Tribune of Thursday 24th November:
“I will be asking for the indefinite suspension
of (a) recently reinstated Attorney General lawyer… and the rearrest of
her son…”
The Minister said he would address in depth the
roles of “public persons, religious persons and civil servants in the
continuing conspiracy of justice being subverted some three years later.
“As a result, no peace has been found by my family.
“My son has been lying in his grave and my family
has been living in misery since June, 2002, but still no justice.”
FRED
MITCHELL RESPONDS TO CARL BETHEL
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell made several
interventions this past week, first from London 'Mitchell
Responds to FNM Attack', then from the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta where he is there as supporting cast for the Prime
Minister on the allegations of impropriety made by Carl Bethel, the former
Chairman of the FNM and now to be appointed Senator for the FNM, on how
visas are issued.
The Minister called Mr. Bethel's criticisms a cowardly
political attack, and asked the police to investigate all the allegations
that Mr. Bethel made. “This is a reflection of the level of desperation
in opposition forces in our country and a return to the nasty, dirty politics
which the Bahamian people voted against and rejected in the General Election
of 2002. I am confident that they will reject it again.” You
may click
here for the full statement from the Ministry's web site.
NASSAU
GUARDIAN GETS IT WRONG AGAIN
The Nassau Guardian’s editorial of Wednesday 23rd
November attacked Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs following
his defence of the stupid criticisms of Carl Bethel with regard to visa
issuance in The Bahamas. Click here for Comment of the Week above.
The Nassau Guardian made all the usual noises about serious charges that
can’t be dismissed, and how they need to be investigated.
As usual, those at the Nassau Guardian are confused
by their own rhetoric and their FNM disposition. The charge made
by Carl Bethel and his supporting documents do not amount to anything approximating
the need for an inquiry by a Judge of the Court. This is the same
scandal laden track that a very desperate FNM is trying to create.
They get half facts and turn them into a story, then they get their supporters
at The Guardian and The Tribune to follow suit to their propagandistic
ends. No independence of thought there. The Nassau Guardian
is as usual condemned by this column for its usual mealy mouthedness.
MITCHELL
AT CHOGM WITH PM
Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell is one of the Ministers
in Malta as part of The Bahamas delegation headed by Prime Minister Perry
Christie. Minister Mitchell is shown with fellow foreign ministers
of Caricom at CHOGM on Saturday, 26th November. From left Charles Severign,
Foreign Minister of Dominica, Dame Billie Miller, Foreign Minister of Barbados,
Minister Mitchell; Knowlson Gift Foreign Minister of Trinidad & Tobago
and Rudy Insanally, Foreign Minister of Guyana.
VOTE
FOR BAHAMAS IN MISS WORLD
For the second year, Bahamians can have a say in whether or not Miss Bahamas
World, Ordain Moss, will become one of the fifteen finalists in the Miss
World Pageant that is taking place now in Sanya, China.
This year, the Miss World Organization will allow
online voting on twelve of the fifteen women who will be in the finals
of the competition. To secure one of those coveted places for Ordain,
just log on to www.missworld.tv and vote.
Each vote costs one dollar, which the Miss World Organization will donate
to charity, so you can vote for Ordain as many times as you want.
Out of the 100 contestants, voters will choose two
finalists from each of six zones, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Asia-Pacific,
Africa, Americas and the Caribbean. Judges will then select one finalist
from each of those regions.
Voting opened on November 21st and will continue
until 12 hours before the televised Final on December 10th.
Ordain has been in China, along with all the other
young women, for nearly two weeks. She has been working very hard,
travelling all over China with the Miss World contestants and rehearsing
for the big night. She has sent word via Michelle Malcolm, President
of the Miss Bahamas Organization that she is very excited that Bahamians
can show their support for her in a very tangible way by logging on and
assuring that Ordain will make the finals.
“We’ve had champions in sports, Grammy and Oscar
winning Bahamians, and now we have a very good chance of having a Bahamian
in the finals of the Miss World Pageant, the oldest and most prestigious
beauty pageant in the world,” commented Miss Malcolm. “All we have
to do is log on and vote for her, over and over! When you combine
Ordain’s remarkable beauty and poise with support from all of us, there
is no way she can miss!”
Miss Malcolm and her entire committee are looking
forward to hearing Ordain’s name called when the final fifteen are announced
on December 10th.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Ingraham No Moses
Thanks for the recent posting - Ingraham NO Moses
– on your website. I enjoy reading and finding actual news and speeches
posted on your site. I know that the work at times can be difficult,
but know that you have people that faithfully read every week. Keep
up the great job. Please find below my contribution to the weeks
events:
I was surprised to hear Mr. Ingraham's recent
comments about what he will do with his MP's salary should they win the
upcoming general elections. Placing your salary back in the treasury
at that time, one can say, would be a good gesture. Who is to say
that you will win? What happens to the money in the mean time while
all the interest builds on it or the moneys are used and then replaced
by that time? Furthermore, why stop there? I would like to
encourage him to put his money where his mouth is. Why not give the
money to the people of the Bahamas by donating it to the various Bahamian
charities. Moreover, those people that were affected by the onslaught of
hurricanes would not mind you giving them a helping hand. So while
you enjoy the rest of the funds that are due you, if you don’t want it,
give it DIRECTLY to the people of the Bahamas.
Keith S.
Concerned Voter
Open letter Honorable V. Alfred Gray MP
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Local Government
I am writing this to implore you to step in and
help the Commercial Crawfishermen of The Bahamas. We all know how
all of The Bahamas have suffered from last years Hurricanes, but for the
fishermen it has been even more devastating. Besides the damage to
homes, and property that many Bahamians endured most of the Crawfishermen
lost all of their traps, and were not able to fish for much of last years
season. As this new season progresses these men now have less traps
to work, dangerous weather to contend with again this year, less Crawfish,
and on top of all of this many foreign boats working their traps, and competing
for the Crawfish your people need to feed their families.
It has reached the point where non Bahamian boats
coming across from Florida outnumber the Bahamian boats, and take much
of the Crawfish before Bahamians have a chance to work the areas. This
leaves nothing for your own countrymen who are out working to feed, and
house their families. The second edge to this sword is that if nothing
is done to stop this, the whole Crawfish population will be decimated,
and there will be none left for anyone.
I understand that the Government must consider
tourism along with fisheries but if The Bahamian fish stocks are destroyed
The Bahamas will have neither fisheries, nor tourism. I ask that
you curtail the taking of Crawfish by all non Bahamian boats. This will
give Bahamians a chance to continue the way of life that is so much a part
of Bahamian culture and allow the stocks to replenish with less pressure...
Tourists do come for the Crawfish, but they will still come if you protect
the Crawfish stocks, because for now The Bahamas still have too much to
offer, please act to preserve this.
If you are concerned that tourists won't come
if they can't take Crawfish then they surely won't come if the can't even
find one to buy. Sir, if something is not done soon the damage will
be too great, and there will be no way to repair what has been done - the
Crawfish will be gone. Only The Lord can control the weather, but
you can act to protect your people, the environment, and one of the oldest
ways of life in The Bahamas by stepping in now.
Please act now to preserve your country and the
future for the children of The Bahamas.
R.
We promise to bring this to the urgent attention of Minister Gray.
– Editor
More on ‘Brent Makes His Move’
You are right; the Bahamian people are smarter than that. We see
through the low undignified gibes by your column or any other; though such
is the nature of the beast during election season. Yes we should have reservations
and be cautious and aware of anyone with an “agenda” not indicative of
what is best for sound policy, and good governance for the Bahamian people,
but we can't allow ourselves to be sideswiped in believing this “us vs.
them” racist premonitions and innuendo that you're alluding to - which
has no place in a modern Bahamas. If you guys (the PLP) were "on the job"
and about the business of what your really supposed to be doing, you wouldn’t
have to throw hissy fits and Hubert and his "cubs". Say what you
want about Hubert, he delivered. That quality he possessed as yet
to be seen in this present PLP administration. Even if all you (allude)
to was the case, I'd rather be an uncle tom to UBP Bahamians than the foreign
investor anyday. At least we know that the money stays in the country!
T
PS
Why I feel I have to issue a disclaimer is beyond me, but here goes:
I’m not an FNM supporter (or any other). It’s just disheartening
to believe that the political climate brings out such petty tirade that
you have to wonder how do our political leaders see themselves and in turn
us – the Bahamian people. All this to say, take the high road - it never
leads you wrong!
We do not agree that our analysis is low or undignified. It
is direct and a truthful analysis. You disagree and that is your
right, but we stand by our analysis. Hubert Ingraham’s decisive delivery
you refer to during his time in office was, in fact, recklessness in many
cases, which included getting us blacklisted in financial services, then
just about giving away the shop in law changes with no clear result; driving
much of the country’s key infrastructure to the point of no return – see
the airport runway that needed over $40 million in repairs and $138 million
wasted tragically on the rushed and ultimately failed effort at privatizing
BaTelCo. It may also interest you to know that investments brought
in under the PLP were done so in each major comparable case [Atlantis Phase
III, Bahamar] for a significantly lower cost to the Bahamian people in
tax incentives than the FNM. As for racist premonitions and innuendo,
please see the story above ‘The
Hateful, Spiteful Almost Racist Eileen’ and the FNM's characterisation
of their leadership team.
Thanks for reading, though, and please keep reading; despite our
own opinion, we welcome the honest opinions of others. – Editor
At top, Prime Minister Christie arrives at Valetta,
Malta for the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting there.
Above, Mr. Christie is pictured with fellow Prime Ministers during a round
table session of the greet the meeting.
Prime Minister Christie exchanging a thought with
Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning as Minister of Tourism
Obie Wilchcombe looks on from right.
During the several days of meetings of the Commonwealth
Heads, prime ministers had the opportunity for more than just business.
At once such occasion, photographers caught several regional heads, including
Prime Minister Christie sharing a laugh.
