Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames   Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.

Volume 1 © BahamasUncensored.Com

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK - The Prime Minister announced the new Consul General for Miami at the Cabinet office on Tuesday 29th October.  She is Alma Adams, the former Senator and teacher at St. Anne’s School.  She will take up her position in Miami succeeding the present Consul General Vernita Johnson on 1st January 2003.  We congratulate Mrs. Adams.  In his announcement the Prime Minister described Mrs. Adams as a trusted confidante and the Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell said that he welcomed Mrs. Adams to the foreign affairs team.  South Florida has the largest Bahamian community abroad and the Foreign Minister said that it processes the most visa applications of any of the consulates abroad. The Bahama Journal photo is by Quentin Glover.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

A CALL FOR A REPUBLIC
Surely the absurdity of the present day monarchy of The Bahamas must be there for all to see now that the trial of Paul Burrell (pictured at right in this Reuters photo), the former manservant of the late Princess Diana has collapsed in the British courts.  And why did it collapse?  Because the Queen, the Head of State of The Bahamas, intervened and suddenly remembered in a chat she was having with her husband Philip and her son and heir Charles that she had had this talk with the manservant.  It turns out she knew that he was holding some of the late Princess' property and that she had at least tacitly given her permission for him to hold them for safe keeping during that conversation.

The report is that the Queen was oblivious to the fact and importance of the things that she knew and only discovered it on the way to the memorial service for the Australian victims at Bali held at St. Paul’s Cathedral.  The press reports that it was Prince Philip, her husband who broke the news by saying to his son Charles (all of them riding in the same car – packed in like the poor) Prince Philip is quoted as saying to Prince Charles: “You know this case about the butler.  It is a bit tricky for Mummy, because she saw Paul, you know.”

The class prejudice and the extent to which justice was compromised to protect the Royal family came out quite clearly in the collapse of this remarkable case.  The American press are asking why is the whole thing news anyway.  They should talk, since they spent all that time on the private life of their former President.  But the importance of the case is much more for Bahamians and Jamaicans and Barbadians who still retain the Queen as their Head of State and whose Heads of State are first to become Charles and then William.  This is far more troubling than those arguing over the abolition of the Privy Council.

The fact is it should rankle every true blooded Bahamian to know that this anachronism of the constitution of The Bahamas still survives.  We should have become a republic long ago and do away with the absurdity and farcical nature of the constitutional anomaly.  The whole thing was done by Sir Lynden and his generation to placate those opponents of independence who wanted the assurance that things would still remain the same, since the Queen would still be in charge.

Bahamians who follow these things say that quite frankly the British get more added to their national power and image by the fact that they have this Commonwealth than the Commonwealth in fact gets out of it.  Britain seeks in the middle of some national implosion with the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish going their own way.

So we say enough of this stuff already.  It is time for The Bahamas to convene a constitutional conference and get with it into the modern era, do away with the monarchy and let’s head straight into the Republic of The Bahamas.  You see if this kind of soap opera behavior were part of the elected or appointed Head of State’s behavior, there would be a democratic way to address it immediately.  Despite the stupidity of the Americans with Clinton there was a process to deal with it.  But what does The Bahamas do over this clearly unacceptable cover up by the Royal family.  Their explanation of why the Queen suddenly remembered does not quite wash. What we can do is change the constitution and let’s have an elected President.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 2nd November 2002: 40,250.

Number of hits for the month of October ending Thursday 31st October at midnight: 129,975.

Number of hits for the year up to Saturday 2nd November at midnight: 1,933,351.

WHO LIVES WHERE
    The election court proceeding in The Bahamas continued during the past week.  Presiding was the Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall and Puisne Judge Jeanne Thompson.   The contest is between Johnley Ferguson, the declared loser in the General Election contest in the MICAL seat in The Bahamas House of Assembly and the declared winner Alfred Gray now Perry Christie’s Minister of Agriculture.  This week the Bahamian people following the trial were entitled to ask where do these people live?  What does it mean to live in a place?  Surely no one thought that residence is a matter for lawyers to fight about.  The trial it seems will turn on just who the Judges believe about where exactly it is they live.
    The major witness for the challenger Mr. Ferguson was the former Speaker of the House of Assembly Vernon Symonette who from most accounts lives in the Monastery Park subdivision in New Providence.  Yes, he was the representative for the Mayaguana Inagua Acklins Crooked Island seat but while he lived there originally he moved to Nassau when he bought a house.  There is nothing in the law like the exemption for students who have temporarily moved away from home for MPs who though from one island live by necessity in another island.  Ordinary residence is really a question of fact, and the Court will have to rule whether or not as a fact Mr. Symonette as were many others put on the stand by the challenger, residents of the constituency and therefore entitled to vote as the former Speaker and his wife did in Inagua.  The lawyers for Mr. Ferguson argue that the law could only make sense in that way.
    On the other hand Alfred Gray’s witnesses are going into the stand.  No doubt they will tell all a tale of woes to counteract any evidence about who was eligible to vote and show how as many perhaps 40 persons were not entitled to vote.  Presumably these are all FNMs.  The Chief Justice, who accepts that the Court has the right to scrutinize the ballots, is the final arbiter of this case.  And if there is a split decision between the two judges then the status quo stands, i.e. Mr. Gray remains the declared winner.
    Mr. Ferguson wants the ballots to be looked at.  Mr. Gray’s lawyers will probably argue that at the end of the day, there is so much confusion that the court should void the whole election because the will of the electors cannot be known by the old process and let's hold it again.  No doubt the PLP will think that’s great because a bye-election would undoubtedly go to its favour.  Alfred Gray is to begin his testimony on Monday 4th November.  The whole question of residence is played fast and loose in The Bahamas. People who obviously live in Nassau still regard Andros as their homes and have never voted in any other place but their birthplace.  Politicians routinely have to send money to ensure that they get “home” to vote.  Everyone accepts it with a wink and a nod.  But the harm is not much once there is no double voting.  But it does become important if you lose by four votes, then you had better make sure every vote counts and is properly and lawfully cast.

OBIE WILCHCOMBE SHINES
    All the tourism big wigs were in Freeport over the past week as the Caribbean Tourism Organization held its conference in Freeport, Grand Bahama.  For Freeport this presented quite a fillip in the tourism numbers.  The town is down and out from a tourism point of view.  Thirty per cent occupancy in the Our Lucaya resort where the conference took place went up to 80 per cent because of that conference.  The facility is a beautiful one except it has no brand name, no recognition and no casino.  The Government is concerned that the people who took over the former Princess property, Driftwood may be close to bankruptcy and they are operating on a knife’s edge.  Then came the news that Running Mon Marina, a small hotel has closed its doors just before the Christmas season and put 20 people out of work.  Not good!
    The Prime Minister was at his best when he challenged Caribbean tourism to work together for the common good, to reinvent our tourism product and stop being, in his words “mortal competitors”.  Obie Wilchcombe, the Minister of Tourism for The Bahamas, was elected again as the Chair of the CTO, the second time running for The Bahamas and he said that the Caribbean Tourism fund is a must, so that there can be joint marketing efforts.  We agree with all of this, and of course what is even more crucial is that all of this will be for naught if the Americans proceed on their merry way with an unnecessary war in Iraq. The Bahamas must also have an emergency plan.  The country is restless already because it seems we are going broke with no end in sight, so the Government has a responsibility to say what that emergency plan will be to see us through. BIS photo of Minister Wilchcombe addressing the CTO in Grand Bahama by Derek Smith.
 
 

THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY MEETS
    The House of Assembly adjourned on its summer break and did not meet for approximately three months or more.  The promise was made that when the House resumed that the Government would have a comprehensive set of new laws for the Parliament to meet and deliberate upon to fulfil its promises to the people of the country.  The House met on Wednesday 9th October and what was revealed was not impressive.  And then if you remember last week’s report from this site, the legislature was shut down at lunchtime when its was scheduled for a day’s sitting because the Government was not ready to proceed because of a foul up in the drafting of legislation.  This week, the Government promised to get going again.  But yet again, after a couple of communications on how bad life is at the Treasury and what the country needs to move forward, no legislation.
    The Opposition got up off its lame behind and at least challenged the Government on why yet again it was not ready to proceed, even though the Opposition had given its permission to the Government to proceed by going back on the agenda to allow for the communications to be given.  Shane Gibson, the Minister of Housing revealed that 11 million dollars are owed by the Housing Corporation to The Bahamas Mortgage Corporation and that 10 million dollars will be made available by the Mortgage Corporation for the construction of homes for Bahamians.
    When the House adjourned at lunchtime, the Opposition was accusing the Government of wasting its time.  But the scuttlebutt is that they are not wasting their time, they are said to be busy accumulating evidence on a Government Minister that they plan to surprise the country with as soon as the Government allows a substantive debate.
 

BETHEL PASTOR AND WIFE ROBBED
    Crime is a constant feature of Bahamian life.  And one remembers The Bahamas in the late sixties and how we used to ridicule our Jamaican friends about the bars that they had in their homes to stop the robbers.  They warned us then that the situation in Nassau was headed that way. We laughed and of course, we are right there now.  People are robbed every day.  Thankfully murders are down.  But an extraordinary jump in rapes for the last two months has the Government alarmed.  But nothing brings the face of crime to the fore like when you know the people or they are prominent persons.  Such is the case of the robbery of the home of Pastor Timothy Stuart and his wife Sharon.  Their home was robbed in the early hours of Thursday morning.  The couple was robbed and the wife was brutally assaulted.  That is the face of The Bahamas.  We live in the lap of luxury but there is someone out there trying to take it away from us.  We say it again, something needs to be done and done soon to ensure that this kind of stuff is not read again in the headlines.  How many dogs do you get?  How many alarm systems do you put in?  Where are you safe, in a big house or in an apartment?  The answer increasingly seems to be that you are safe nowhere.
 
 

FTAA FEVER

    The Minister of Trade and Industry (shown, left) is as irrepressible as ever.  He appeared at the conference sponsored by the Trade Union Congress on Monday 28th October to repeat his mantra with regard to the FTAA and WTO process that he leads for the Government to say “Don’t Panic” and to go further to say that The Bahamas will not blindly join FTAA.  The Minister is repeating the sentiments of the business community and many of those in civil society who are urging the Government to put on the brakes for these processes.
    The Central Bank Governor (pictured, centre) made his views known quite clearly when he said that in his view the clearly responsible thing for The Bahamas to do was to sign on to these processes and that those who argued otherwise were not acting in the best interests of The Bahamas.  Mr. Francis’ comments were reported in the Bahama Journal of 30th October: “It would be irresponsible in the long term interest of The Bahamas for our country to take an economically isolationist stance as some advocate.”
    The Government in its public pronouncements appears to be split on the issue.  You have the liberals like the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister who seem to be keeping an open mind and acting as facilitators for a process that they seem to regard as inevitable.  Add to that group the Attorney General who has dismayed many of his friends by appearing to sign on uncritically to the regulatory processes that the party campaigned so vigorously against when it was in Opposition.  On the other hand, you have the Minister of Trade and Industry and the Minister of Financial Services (Allyson Maynard-Gibson, shown at top right), whose job it is to promote The Bahamas for what it is known best as unregulated and private, who are more sanguine about the need for regulation and in the case of Mr. Miller has disdain for WTO and FTAA.
    The IDB’s man who came to speak at the TUC, IDB and ILO sponsored seminar made it clear that The Bahamas had better get on board because it was better to be in at the start to negotiate your positions than try after the whole thing is started to get on board the train.  As you know this column has been critical of all of the processes and has frequently argued that we can stand alone like Switzerland if we only can discipline and prepare ourselves.
 

PM, MINISTER AND PARL SEC ATTACK BEC

    The troika listed above would seem to be just like us on the outside looking in when they let go three separate blasts at the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) and its management team for being unable to keep the lights on.  Monday morning 28th October just as everyone was getting up for work, the power failed throughout the island of New Providence.  The first one out of the gate with a comment was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works John Carey who said, “If they [the management] of BEC cannot give us a solution for the efficient running of BEC they ought to do the honourable thing and resign forthwith.”  He joins us who have called for the resignation of BEC’s General Manger because he misled the Bahamian people about load shedding during last summer.  The General Manager told the country in the spring of the year, before the general election that there would be no load shedding during the up coming summer.  Sources at BEC tell us that he had to have known at the time that what he was saying was not correct. The worst load shedding in the history of the country took place during last summer.  And the load shedding continues.  Some silly explanation about the generators tripping out.
    The next out were the Prime Minister and the Minister who themselves were participating in a commissioning ceremony (pictured in this Tribune photo by Omar Barr) for BEC for a new - of all things - generator.  Their comments came on Wednesday 30th October.  The Minister let go a blast and so did the Prime Minister.  The Minister is known to be even more frank in private to these executives.
    There is no doubt about it, it is now quite difficult to decide in The Bahamas which publicly owned entity is on the bottom of the totem pole of public esteem: Bahamasair, BEC or the telephone company Batelco.  Batelco had another doozie last week when e-mail and Internet service went down throughout the country through its Batelnet services.  There was no explanation for why no one could get on the system, for six hours on Tuesday 29th October.
    Let’s be clear: we believe that the management of BEC has to go and that we need to privatize all of these companies.  The Government has too sentimental an approach to the issue of privatization.  Let’s get these companies off our hands as quickly as possible.  The companies should be sold to Bahamians and then the Government ought to ensure that there is competition and well regulated industries in those particular fields. The players: Bradley B. Roberts, the Minister; Perry G. Christie, the Prime Minister; John G.F. Carey, the Parliamentary Secretary; Bradley Roberts, the General Manager.
 

RAYNARD RIGBY RUNS FOR CHAIRMAN
    He has at last put his name publicly forward for some public position, after years of riding the fence, even though generally perceived as left of centre.  Many people thought of him as a CDR supporter of Bernard Nottage without coming out and saying so.  Others said that he was a PLP who was unsure that the PLP would win and so he was biding his time for the next step.  Whatever the past, he has now put his hat firmly in the ring by announcing that he wants to succeed Bradley Roberts, the Minister of Works as the next Chair of the PLP.  The field of contenders is expected to be crowded with many of the party faithful officers seeking to jump where they presently are to the position of Chair.
    Mr. Rigby is an attorney and a partner in his law firm Gibson Rigby & Co.  He came to prominence under the tutelage of Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell but in an unexplained break up of their law firm launched out on this own.  While that is believed to be largely patched up, the reputation of someone who is highhanded and opportunistic is one that he will have to manage as he faces the suspicious traditional PLP.  Further and perhaps more importantly will be his contemporaries in the party, the newly elected MPs some of whom are bitterly complaining that they stuck their necks out when the PLP looked like a loser and he refused to run and further refused to back them up and help them in their campaign only signing on when it became clear that the PLP would win.  None of this is insurmountable of course if he has the support of the Prime Minister.  His campaign generals insist that he has that support and given his style he would probably go anyway, for better or worse.
    Clearly given Mr. Rigby's image and being an attorney and all, a columnist in the press and with a developing reputation as a speechwriter, he is by far the best candidate.  So if he handles the public criticism right and subsumes the arrogant rough edges in a genuine make over, then he ought to win the Chairmanship. The only other announced candidate in the field is now Vice Chair for Family Island affairs Rohann Rolle.
 

FRANK WATSON IS HONOURED
    All the FNMs were there in force: former Governor General Orville Turnquest, former MPs and Minister Janet Bostwick, Theresa Moxey-Ingraham and C.A. Smith; Leader of the Opposition Alvin Smith and former House Speaker Vernon Symonette.  They were at a church service held in honour of former Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson for his work as a Member of Parliament and his general contribution to public service at the Golden Gates Assembly on Sunday 27th October.  That work came to an abrupt end on 2nd May 2002 when he lost the General Election to rookie PLP MP Michael Halkitis.  Oh what a happy day that must have been when they all gathered at the service to congratulate themselves on their contributions, contributions that landed them outside the House and in the Opposition wilderness.
 

BAHAMA JOURNAL ON PRESENT AND ABSENT
    Every once in a while the Bahama Journal performs a useful service.  Their column every year that grades the performance of Ministers is a good one.  But the one about attendance at House of Assembly meeting is a bad one without some explanation.  On Monday 28th October, the Journal published an article that indicated that House members were attending the Assembly 41 percent less in the first five months of this term than in the first five month of the last term.  They gave a list of who was present and who was absent.
    According to the Journal, former Prime Minister Ingraham has the worst record of attendance so far.  He has missed ten out of 20 meetings so far.  Ken Russell, the MP for High Rock and not known for being the brightest spark in the forest, has a one hundred percent attendance record.  He is one of thirteen and they were listed as Ron Pinder (Marathon PLP); Michael Halkitis (Adelaide PLP); John Carey (Carmichael PLP); Sydney Stubbs (Holy Cross PLP); Keod Smith (Mt. Moriah PLP); Larry Cartwright (Long Island Ind.); Anthony Moss (Exuma PLP).
    What all this is supposed to mean was not made clear by the Journal but one supposes that it means that the MPs are not doing their work; by not attending the meetings they are being derelict in their duties.  We won’t bother to defend these MPs but we do say that the Journal’s argument simply does not follow.
 

MEDICAL FAIR

    Students flocked this past week to the Health Careers Marketing Fair being hosted at the Kendal Isaacs Gym in Nassau by the Public Hospitals Authority.  Minister of Health Dr. Marcus Bethel is pictured (right) with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry Ron Pinder at the opening of the fair. Bahama Journal photo by Peter Ramsay.
 

SIR CLIFFORD'S BOOK
    Last week we reported that former Governor General Sir Clifford Darling has a new book out; ''Sir Clifford Darling: A Bahamian Life Story: Volume I: The Years of Struggle - 1922 to 1958', as told to writer Patty Roker.  The book was launched on October 30th at Government House and is widely available for sale.  Sir Clifford may be contacted through his listed number or those out of the country may contact Patty Roker at pattyroker@bahamas.net.bs
 

SIDNEY SURFACES

    Sidney Stubbs, now apparently the substantive Executive Chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) has finally surfaced in public.  Mr. Stubbs was pictured on the front pages of both the Tribune and the Nassau Guardian Saturday at the official opening of the Bahamas Arts Festival with the acting Minister of Trade & Industry Shane Gibson.  Mr. Stubbs appointment had been in doubt in recent weeks, since an imbroglio involving the firing and rehiring of several staff members at BAIC.  (See previous stories 12345).  There has still been no official announcement about Mr. Stubbs' appointment. Tribune photo by Felipe Major.
 

UNCLE JACK - A EULOGY
    Jack Johnson, a well known resident of Grants Town has passed away.  This eulogy was given by the Honourable Bradley Roberts.

As Chairman of the great Progressive Liberal Party and on behalf of my Party, I note with sorrow the passing of John Edward Alfred Johnson and with honor as a result of the Progressive Liberal Party and myself having participated in the great life and times of this Bahamian son.

To his family and friends he was known simply as Uncle Jack, to others still he was known as the Mayor of Grants Town and the Mayor of Lewis Street. By what ever name he was adoringly and respectfully known as, clearly, Jack Johnson was no ordinary Bahamian in the sense of accomplishments, but ordinary still as a shining light in the Bahamas to big and small named persons.

Having been born in Fresh Creek, Andros also known as the Big Yard, Jack Johnson seemed to have gone right to work in becoming an outstanding citizen of the Bahamas. Though Jack Johnson’s relationship with the church started from an early age in Fresh Creek, Andros, he is most known for his faithful service to his God through his membership at St. Agnes Anglican Church in Grants Town. Even up until his recent passing, Jack Johnson was a devoted member of St. Agnes and in fact has the stellar honor of having been a member for 80 years.

Jack Johnson likewise was an inspiration to anyone wishing to have an exemplary work history. Known to be one of the noted and skilled carpenters of the Bahamas, in 1942 he played a role in the enlargement of the Oakes Airfield and in the construction of Windsor Field, now known as Nassau International Airport. He was also appointed as the President of the Labour Union and was an active participant in the Burma Road Riots of 1942. The riots and his participation led to important constitutional and labour reforms. He also helped to build the Nassau Beach Hotel, The Churchill Building, Potter’s Cay Dock and the College of the Bahamas.

However, skilled carpentry was just one of his accomplishments of employment. Jack Johnson broadened his career path by becoming a Butler and Valet extraordinaire. He served with distinction, Anglican and Roman Catholic Bishops, Emissaries of the Queen, inclusive of Governors at Government House. In fact, Jack Johnson’s reputation preceded him in such glorious fashion that he was transported from his home in Lewis Street by Rolls Royce, the possession of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, for his interview as a Domestic Employee at Government House. Jack Johnson stood and served amongst Kings and Queens. As a result of his professional ethics, hard work and dedication in the field of domestic help, he established the Johnson & Johnson Domestic School located in Lewis Street, where he lived for 66 years. He taught classes for many years, assisting Bahamians who wished to be trained in the domestic field.

Jack Johnson, likewise got involved in the taxi-cab business and again, he played a major role in the Taxi Cab Strike of 1958. Through his involvement in the taxi-cab business, Jack Johnson used the opportunity to tell every tourist that he came in contact with about the beauty of the Bahamas and the beauty of the Bahamian people. Jack Johnson continued to be a Goodwill Ambassador for the Bahamas as a taxi-cab driver until 1997, when he retired from the profession at the age of 85.

Though people would consider his employment record, as unto itself, exhaustive, Jack Johnson likewise moved with vim and vigor in the political arena. He joined the Progressive Liberal Party in 1953 and was an active participant in the social struggle alongside the great political heroes of our time against the profane concept of minority rule. He was an honored PLP Icon and remained a member of and inspiration to the Progressive Liberal Party until his recent passing having been the oldest living PLP Stalwart Counsellor. In fact, besides being the Mayor of Grants Town, he was also nationally known as Mr. PLP. It should come as no surprise that based on his contributions to humanity, in 1977 he was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal. He also received an appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

It is against the backdrop of a stellar track record of humanity and the many memories of goodwill toward all mankind, that we in the Progressive Liberal Party mourn our earthly loss and celebrate God’s heavenly gain. Jack Johnson was a Patriotic Five Star General, a devoted husband and father, an esteemed professional, a loyal political ally and a Saint of God. He has enriched the lives of countless human beings and until the end of time and the passing away of heaven and earth, he will always be an inspiration to those whose lives he touched and those who will hear about Jack Johnson. May his soul rest in peace.
 

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B.S. NOTES FROM GENEVA’S FREEPORT… PLUS
In this new format, the former News From Grand Bahama is renamed as above.  This signifies the initials of our senior correspondent from the nation’s second city, with the ‘plus’ for the many other sources from whom contributions are accepted. Ed.

Running Mon Marina Closes
This week Grand Bahama received some more bad news on the employment front. Running Mon Marina’s owners announced that they were closing their hotel property because of low occupancy levels, which translate to high financial losses.  They say that they were to lay off 23 employees and only keep the marina section and boat yard open with a skeleton staff.

Construction Layoffs?
12 construction workers on the Post Office are reportedly to be laid off this weekend.  Sources allege that the contractor is having difficulty financing the project because the government has reportedly not paid him for several months.  We hope that something can be worked out to save the jobs of the 12 workers.

Maurice O Glinton / Alfred Sears
Maurice O. Glinton and then just plain Alfred Sears were among the first to oppose the OECD initiative.  They both said at the time that it was an attack on the sovereignty of the Bahamas and that we should have resisted those external forces.  Now comes word in a story at www.tax-news.com by Robert Lee on October 16 2002 that these men were on the right track because others now see these initiatives as nothing more than an attempt jurisdictions such as The Bahamas out of business.  See attached story.

"Speaking at a fringe meeting during last week's Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth, Paul Baxendale-Walker, senior partner with a London-based firm of solicitors urged the UK's dependent territories to challenge the OECD's 'harmful tax competition initiative' in the International Court of Justice.

The Isle of Man Online news service reported on Monday that Mr. Baxendale-Walker announced that the crackdown on so-called 'tax haven' nations runs counter to both the United Nations charter, and the OECD's own rules, and suggested that the threat posed by the multilateral group 'to the sovereignty and way of life of these jurisdictions was more real and pervasive than [that] against which the Falkland Islanders fought in 1982.'

According to the IoM Online, Mr. Baxendale-Walker then produced research documents allegedly commissioned by the OECD, which suggested that far from posing a threat to OECD member states, offshore jurisdictions actually work to the benefit of onshore countries and the global economy.

He went on to urge 'the resolution of this conflict over fundamental issues of state sovereignty by means of international law, not by appeasement of the OECD under its unlawful threats,' and concluded that: 'Appeasement never purchases liberty. It merely sells freedom at a discount. And the OECD, like any aggressor who is not resisted, will be back for more.'

'The OECD attack will not stop with 'transparency' measures. The project is manifestly the piecemeal dismemberment of the economies of 35 sovereign states.'

Central Bank Governor
“The PM should call in Julian Francis and fire him”. This was the feeling of the lunch bunch group in Freeport after reading Mr. Francis’ comments to a FTAA seminar held in Nassau this week and reported in the Tribune. The Governor of the Central Bank is not an elective representative so he was out of his place to contradict a Minister of the government. It seems that Francis is accountable to no one and has been left to make policy decisions without the consent and without the benefit of consulting the people of this country.  The FTAA will have far reaching consequences for the Bahamas so it follows that only after the widest consultation with the people will the Government be able to proceed with any type of agreement. So Mr. Francis comments were presumptuous. We agree that he should be dismissed. You will recall that he was never made accountable for the actions of the Central Bank when the Gulf Union Bank collapsed. We believe that Mr. Francis would be remembered as the governor who said nothing while watching the destruction of the Financial Services Industry.

H. R Sawyer, former President of The Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce gives his views on the Advantages and Disadvantages of the FTAA for the Bahamas. Please Click here.

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK - The picture shows Ricardo Tynes in the red shirt, Geno Tynes in the yellow shirt and Levaughn Finlayson in the green and blue shirt being led to court in shackles after being charged with a number of offences including rape, armed robbery and kidnapping.  These are all young men and no doubt are being condemned for rascality.  They appeared in court on Tuesday 7th November and were photographed by Felipe Major of The Tribune.  The public has to ask itself the question whether publishing such photographs is in the public interest or do they violate the presumption of innocence guaranteed each criminal defendant?  The victim’s identity is protected from being published.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

THE HORROR!  THE HORROR!
In Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and then again in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, the word is echoed “The Horror! Horror!” as the whole world of civilization turns crazy and there is an irrational disintegration of life as we know it.  It comes in fits and spurts.  If you read Colin Hughes' book Race and Politics in The Bahamas, circa 1974 you will find the same cries that you now hear of death and mayhem to the rapists, and if you check a little later, you will see the same idle community response of prayer meetings and vigils.  These, while useful palliatives for the frightened victims and their families, do little that effective police work and proper training and equipment could not do better.

Feminists and others are again calling for the cat-o-nine tails for rapists.  That you have to catch the rapists first is not mentioned.   The church is calling for prayers.  In the meantime, the crime factory continues to spit out these little boys who have no sense of right or wrong and couldn’t care less as Christmas is coming and they need to have some money.  Money drives the machine of this culture.  It gets you what you want and if you don’t have it, you take it, seems to be the thinking.

The Stuart family, a preacher and his beloved wife, violated in their own home.  A printer shot almost to death in his home, wife tied up and son tied up.  They got the money.  No need to shoot, but shoot they did.  The Horror! The Horror!

Then there is a robbery at Club Med at Paradise Island, some fifty thousand dollars stolen by two armed gunmen on Wednesday 6th November.  This from an island that is the hub of this nation's tourism export and which if some terrorist event takes place can sink us.  We have announced security measures but a robbery takes place in Paradise Island.  Are we really serious?  Cruise ships, planes, Cable Beach, Paradise Island – all vulnerable.  The Foreign Minister described it in the House of Assembly as “a systemic lack of appreciation for security in The Bahamas.”  In colloquial terms, he said, that means we don’t take it seriously and we don’t think it could happen here.

And then our young people being killed or are they killing themselves; who knows?  But the carnage also continued in the streets last week with two persons dead in a traffic accident.  One Themelis George Miaoulis (pictured at right); the 19 year old son of a prominent businessman. To look at his picture in the obits and see his age is to cry shame.  And one can hear the cry of Vanessa Fox’s father; the other teenager killed a few months before where the sub text though unspoken was teen age drunk driving.  And then the urgent request by Pierre Dupuch MP for the traffic laws to change and for restrictions to be placed on youngsters behind the wheel.  Wendall Jones, the Publisher of the Bahama Journal, has a son Kishno who was one critically injured and whose father must be praying for his recovery, having lost another son to a traffic accident.  Jeanette Scavella who also survived the accident is 16 years old and is described as very ill.  The Horror! The Horror!

This column expresses the sympathy to all.  It is terrible.  But we offer here no solutions because solutions even though obvious are condemned as too soft, too liberal, too airy fairy, and yet having never been tried and the other solutions having proven themselves fatally hopeless, the long term is the only way.

The number of hits for the week ending Saturday 9th November at midnight: 21,484.

The number of hits for the month of November ending Saturday 9th November at midnight: 27,412.

The number of hits for the year up to Saturday 9th November 2002: 1,954,835.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

    Today in The Bahamas is Remembrance Day.  This day observes the end of the First and Second World Wars. There is selling of poppies by the decreasing number of WW II veterans and there is the national service at Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau, and one in Freeport at Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church.  Allyson Maynard-Gibson, the Minister, following in the footsteps of her father former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Clement and her mother (the latter of whom served in the women's corps) took up a collection at her Ministry for veterans of the wars and gave that donation to them.  The resplendent photo showed up on the front pages of The Guardian and The Bahama Journal and on the inside of The Tribune.  We will remember them.  But some people have simply not forgotten what war means and are now intent now waging it again. Bahama Journal photo by Quentin Glover.

THE REVENUE PLUNGES DRAMATICALLY
    The Prime Minister left the House of Assembly to head for Atlanta where he was the guest of Bishop Eddie Long, the American Baptist preacher with the big church and the long reach.  He was accompanied by the Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe, the Minister of Housing Shane Gibson and Mt. Tabor’s Bishop Neil Ellis.  The Government’s powerful thrust toward religious tourism has been announced.  But before leaving the House, the PM gave the bad news.  The country’s revenue is 60 million dollars and counting behind the projected revenue of 970 million dollars and 17 million dollars behind the revenue collected last year this time.
    The world appears to be headed toward war and there are many Bahamians who remember the Gulf War and how the planes and the hotels in The Bahamas were empty.  Right now many of the hotels are operating with staff on three days work per week.  Many are suggesting that the young people have given up on their PLP representatives who are accused of ducking and dodging, as they can have no answers to the burgeoning unemployment problem that they were elected to solve.  The money seems not be there for so many things.  There are no new hires in the public service.  The money isn’t there to fix the holes in the roads or to clean the verges.  Some public officials complain that they can’t buy basic equipment to keep the parks clean.  The PLP could not have come to power at a worse time as far as economics is concerned; there is obviously no room to manoeuvre.
    The Prime Minister’s comment came against a back drop of low level but audible complaints that the Government’s decision making is too slow, that the economic decisions that can be made to help solve this are not being made, that ministers are not applying themselves to decision making.  No public comment has come from the Government on this side of the story.
 
 

THE FOREIGN MINISTER’S TRIP
    Fred Mitchell, the peripatetic Foreign Minister, returned from his first attendance at the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group meeting in London. The meeting reaffirmed the suspension of Zimbabwe and Pakistan from the councils of the Commonwealth.
    The Minister also visited Bermuda where he met with Premier Jennifer Smith to renew fraternal ties with the PLP (Progressive Labour Party) there, and to acquaint the PLP in Bermuda with the platform of the PLP (Progressive Liberal Party) in The Bahamas that calls for closer ties with Bermuda and also for Bermuda to join Caricom.  The Government of Bermuda has it on its agenda for consideration by their legislature. The Minister announced that Bermuda is to send its protocol chief to Nassau to understudy the protocol chief in The Bahamas for two weeks.
    Following Bermuda, the Minister then stopped in Atlanta where a dinner was held in his honour by the former Mayor of Atlanta, former Congressman and Ambassador to the UN Andrew Young.  There the Minister was updated on the American political scene.  He reported that a scholarship may be possible for Bahamians looking to a read for a degree in Public Policy at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Public Policy.
    There is growing public criticism of trips being made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs abroad.  The old saying dammed if you do and damned if you don’t comes to mind.
 

CRITICISM OF FOREIGN MINISTER
    The FNM is said to be planning a major assault against the Government on travel overseas.  Word is that the target is to be the Foreign Minister who they believe has been travelling too much.  Harry Hall, the prolific letter writer to the press, wrote a piece defending the Minister's travelling asking the question: what is the Foreign Minister's job but to travel on behalf of the country overseas?
 
 

RAPE!
    The experts tell us that rape is about power and not about sex.  But we can tell you that the women in the country are alarmed.  There are too many horror stories.  The Minister of Social Services Melanie Griffin and Dr. Sandra Dean Patterson from the Women's Crisis Centre were on stage during the week urging changes in the law and in the administration of the courts to have more victim’s rights in rape cases and for a separate court to deal with rape cases.  Dr. Patterson argued that the voluntary bill of indictment should be used in rape cases instead of the preliminary inquiry.  She said that women go through a second assault when the court case takes place.
    There have been calls from two Ministers of the Government for the cat-o-nine tail to be used.  We have said in this column that we do not support the use of the cat-o-nine tails for any offence, nor do we support the death penalty. But in a country that is short on solutions that is the quickest way to deal with the issue, and of course as soon as this present wave crests and falls back, you will hear nothing further.   We believe that what is needed is good police work, proper equipment for the police, sensitivity to the victims, jail time for the offenders and counselling in jail for rape offenders and education of young men and boys generally. Then we will be on to something. Tribune photo of Minister Griffin and Ms. Dean Patterson by Omar Barr.
 

JOHN CAREY TO KOREA

    The Government of South Korea is sponsoring a world wide conference of Foreign Ministers in their capital Seoul called the Conference of Democracies.  It is a movement started in 2000 in Warsaw, Poland and has now grown to the point where 119 democracies will be sending representatives.  The Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell is unable to attend and the Cabinet has agreed that John Carey is to represent him.  Mr. Carey was accompanied by his wife.  He left the country on Friday 8th November and will return to the country on Monday 11th November.
    Mr. Carey has himself in a bit of a stew when he issued a press statement calling for the Bahamasair management to put up or shut up.  The Tribune took him to task in its editorial saying that he should not just blame the management, but also the politicians.  Mr. Carey was causing a bit of stir internally in the PLP because he is a Parliamentary Secretary, a junior Minister and most times, the conventions do not allow Parliamentary Secretaries to speak at variance with the views of the Cabinet.
 

NO FREE RIDES

    The Bahamasair Board was denounced in a statement by Neko C. Grant I (pictured), who is the MP for Lucaya for the FNM.  He has found his voice now that Hubert Ingraham is out of power.  Mr. Grant in a statement issued on Friday said that the Board of Bahamasair should not have given themselves the perk of flying free on Bahamasair.  He said that it was a privilege that the FNM administration had revoked.  Minister for Bahamasair Bradley Roberts told the press that he had already reversed it and told the Board that in future travel related to their work should be paid for in advance and they will be reimbursed.
 

CRITICISM OF THE COLUMN
    The number of visitors to this column has continued to rise since the transition from its original name, format and editors to the present editors.  It may finally have found its feet, despite the endless speculation in the country about who what where and when.  But a persistent claim is that of a student from Canada who sent an e-mail to the site last week who insists that the site has changed because it is a lap dog of the Progressive Liberal Party.  According to that student, the column has lost its bite because all it does is sing the praises of the PLP.  Perception is a hell of a thing, because on the other side are PLPs who think that we are too critical of the PLP.  In the end, we think neither side is right.
    The fact is that the site is what it is, a simple commentary based on public sources of what is going on in The Bahamas and it seeks to point out what it considers to be problems through the use of sarcasm and understatement.  Perception is very much reality though and the student sees whatever that student sees.
    The fact is this is a site that has always had a PLP slant.  That slant has not changed.  But we want to see the Government survive.  The last time the PLP got into trouble, it was allowing itself to be fooled that it was indispensable to The Bahamas and that its members were the personification of The Bahamas.  That should never be allowed to happen again, and the best way in our opinion to avoid it is to hear the news from their friends.  That is not always comfortable because the first response is always to lash out at the messenger rather than listen to the message.
    There is no doubt, for example, that there will be a lot of flack for the moment that the Government is simply taking too long to make decisions.  There are too many hang overs from the last administration.  The public service continues to be a source of frustration for Ministers.  Yet public policy and the policies of The Bahamas say that the PLP has a mandate for change, and change must happen.  By the way, we were appalled at the spelling and grammatical errors of that student.  That student’s parents should be alarmed.
 

VISA CHANGES FOR ZIMBABWE

   The British Government has announced that effective 9th November all visitors from Zimbabwe including transit visitors will require a visa to enter the United Kingdom.  This is no doubt a response to the actions of Robert Mugabe (pictured) and his thugs who run Zimbabwe that have sought to lock up the Leader of the Opposition and to curtail the right of free speech and the right to assemble.  We think that the British are dead wrong on this one and should reverse the position.  There ought to be greater travel opportunities from Zimbabwe to other countries not fewer.
 

THE PUBLIC SERVICE MOVES
    The Department of the Public Service, one half of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service has moved offices from the top floor of the Clarence Bain Building to the new building built at an astounding cost of 19 million dollars by the National Insurance Board at the top of the hill at Meeting Street in New Providence.  The other half is occupied by the Ministry of Health.  The building is already inadequate for the Department it has to house.  The Public Service Commission is also housed in the building.  The building is badly designed and has so much wasted space; one wonders what kind of architect could have been employed to design it and what sort of Government would have given the okay for the building to be built.  But nevertheless, the public has a new building to visit, and of course the Government has a new building now to fail to maintain.
 

BATELCO’S INTERNET EXPLANATION
    Last week we talked about the failure of BaTelCo to keep Internet service running on Monday 28th October, not 29th October as we earlier said.  But this week on Monday 4th November BaTelCo gave an explanation to the press about what happened to their Internet service.  According to Michael Symonette, the President of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited, the fault was not BaTelCo's.  He claims that they did in fact pay the bills to their international provider, that the money was in fact received by the accepting agent but never found its way to the right account or some such.  Whatever!  The fact is that the service went down for several hours on Monday 28th October, and what we have to ask ourselves is why isn’t BaTelCo its own provider?  Why are they paying for service to be provided by someone else?  BaTelCo is thought to have the most unreliable Internet service in the country.  Cable Bahamas is not far behind.
 

AN ANALYSIS OF THE US ELECTIONS
    The news from Washington is nothing short of disastrous.  The right wing republicans and their moneymen, with blood in their eyes for Baghdad are now in total control of the capital of the United States.  That means almost certainly the world is headed for war and there is no turning back on the issue.  That is almost certainly the most direct way you can describe the debacle that occurred on Tuesday night 5th November when the people of the United States went to the polls and elected a majority of persons from the Republican party to the Senate and to the House of Representatives.
    We simply do not understand the morality or the ethics of these people.  Trent Lott for example is a Senator from the state of Mississippi where forty per cent of the population is Black, many of them poor, yet his public pronouncements appear to be anti Black and anti poor.  And the list goes on from there.  The Bahamas Foreign Minister must address the country immediately and tell us what this all means for us.  Where it is the world is headed and where is The Bahamas headed?  It is clear of course that we will have to live with the result but this is one headache that The Bahamas could have done without.
 

DEAD DOLPHINS

    Sam Duncombe of Re Earth, the environmental activist and the Bahamas National Trust, to a lesser extent, must have been mortified by the death of 22 bottlenose dolphins that beached themselves and died in Long Island.  The first one was discovered on 21st October and then according to Colin Cartwright on 2nd November they found dead dolphins all over the place.  The Bahamas Marine Mammal Stranding Network requested assistance from the US and someone flew to Long Island to investigate.   Samples of the skull and tissue were sent to Florida for analysis.   The area continues to be monitored.  Re Earth’s Ms. Duncombe has in the past criticized the US Navy for killing whales in the tongue of the ocean off Andros Island.  No comment from them yet on what caused this latest incident.  Tribune photo of dolphin dead in Long Island by Tanya Cartwright.
 

Back To The Top
 

CONGRATULATIONS TO JIMMY CARTER

    We congratulate James Earl Carter, the former President of the United States, for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.  He is a man of peace, and a good example of what a US President ought to be. One should compare and contrast that to what we have today.  War is not the answer.
 

FRANKLYN WILSON – THE MAN
    By any measure, Franklin Delano Wilson, named after the World War II US President, is a Bahamian success story.  There is speculation all the time about who is the richest black Bahamian and his name almost always comes to mind.  Not bad for a fellow who started out in Ross Corner in the depressed area of New Providence known as Grants Town.  And he has given back.  He has shared.  He has not held on selfishly to his wealth, his knowledge or his expertise.  His spirit seems indomitable.  His energy seems irrepressible.
    At the age of 24, Franklyn Wilson was picked from relative obscurity by the late Sir Lynden Pindling and nominated for the PLP's seat in Grants Town; this is still the safest seat in the country.  It could have been his for life.  But over a matter of principle in 1977 he lost the nomination but since that time he has not looked back and business is clearly his forte.  He and the now Prime Minister worked closely together in moulding the team that brought the PLP back to power.  He often said that he was willing to do all he could to ensure a return to power of the PLP.  And yet as fiercely partisan as he is, he has good relations with the white business community and with the Free National Movement political leaders.
    What brings this all to mind is the fact of an announcement that he is giving a donation of $250,000 to Junior Achievement.  JA was founded in The Bahamas by Mr. Wilson and he is giving this money to ensure its continued success.  This follows hard on the heels of another announcement by Mr. Wilson and his wife Senate President Sharon of a $300,000 gift to the Anglican Church to rebuild St. John's College.  He remains to this day a faithful member of St. Barnabas Church in Wulff Road.   These are remarkable facts.  He has done well, and we hope that many more Bahamians are able to emulate his success.
 

HAVE WE LOST THE YOUNG PEOPLE?
    Free National Movement Parliamentarians are now surfacing again and reorganizing, taking a page out of the PLP’s book. The reason: they say that they cannot believe that in six months in power the PLP and its leadership have already lost the young people of the country.
    The feeling is that it is the quickest political turn around in the history of Bahamian politics, that Hubert Ingraham could not have done this badly so quickly.  Of course one must compare and contrast that to the story of the harassment that Hubert Ingraham experiences now when he ventures to his favourite watering holes on Arawak Cay.  He is called very name in the book because it is clear that he is almost single-handedly responsible for the state of the Bahamian economy today.  He was a spendthrift, and he fooled the Bahamian people that he was looking out for their interests when in fact all he was doing was lining his own pensionable pocket.
    Today, after lying to the Bahamian people in 1997 that he was not going to run again, Hubert Ingraham serves in the House of Assembly where he shows up for ten minutes to be marked present and then leaves.  In the meantime, his weary troops in the House of Assembly get a real shot in the arm, when the great leader arrives for his ten minutes in the House.  They all come to life and then sag as he leaves.  The PLP still has that to call upon, the memories of arrogance and the raw display of power and disregard for the Bahamian people.  But how long will that last?
    The FNM is betting that the young people have already forgotten the arrogance and disregard that were hallmarks of the FNM in power, as they sit in idleness on the parks of New Providence waiting for the jobs that they thought would come or even some decision that would make their lives better.  The PLP responds that it is all unfair since all they have had to do while in office was struggle with financial problems.  But as they say all is fair in love and war.
 

CARL BETHEL COMING INTO HIS OWN?
    The front page picture of Carl Bethel acting in Court on behalf of an Andros woman who claims that she was discriminated against by the new PLP administration when the contract to bus children to school in Andros was taken away and allegedly given to a PLP supporter was an interesting one.  At last he may now be seen as a lawyer.  As Attorney General he was a disaster.  But this is clearly a kind of coming out for him, finding his feet after losing his seat and he seems to have found his feet more quickly than the others.
    Dion Foulkes, the defeated Minister of Education, for example has not surfaced since the election took pace.  Mr. Bethel has been frank about why his party lost.  He has now come to the rescue of one of their supporters.  We like to see this.  No matter what happens you have to fight, and keep pushing.  The fact is that most governments have a hard time sustaining themselves for ten years, even five years.  But if you are interested in politics you have to keep your face in front of the public. Tribune photo of Mr. Bethel and client Adeline Wallace by Omar Barr.
 

BISX SHOULD BE SAVED?

    Michael Paton (pictured) who has taken over his father’s law firm and is now the Chair of the Bahamas Financial Services Board has told The Tribune in its Business Section of Monday 4th November that the Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) should not be allowed to fail.  Yeah right!  So what is his suggestion?  He says that the exchange while not making money is a good part of the image of The Bahamas as a financial jurisdiction and should not fail.  The problem is: how do you do it?  We repeat here that no corporate welfare ought to be provided for BISX.  These are the free marketers.  Let them find their own capital to survive.  You invest your money, you take your chances. Tribune photo.
 

AMERICAN EAGLE TO BE SOLD
    There has been no comment from the Ministry of Tourism but American Airlines has announced that it is selling its subsidiary American Eagle to raise cash and to avoid having to reach an agreement with its pilots to limit the amount of flying that pilots can do.  That would result in curtailing service.  And so the virtual flag carrier of the Caribbean that dominates the market in the Caribbean is being sold.  No governments commented on it and what it is to mean.
 

PINDLING BOOK
    Lady Marguerite Pindling, the widow of the late Sir Lynden O. Pindling, is officially launching the new biography of Sir Lynden written by Michael Craton who wrote the History of The Bahamas.  Mr. Craton, a former Government High School History teacher, who is now a Professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada, was commissioned by Sir Lynden to write the book shortly before he died.
 

STALWART COUNCILLOR BURIED
    Jack Johnson, PLP Stalwart Councillor, and stalwart member of St. Agnes Church, father in law of Reno Brown, was buried from St. Agnes Church today.  Prime Minister Perry Christie viewed the body, as did Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Mother Pratt at the PLP HQ on Farrington Road.  Mr. Johnson was 90 years old.
 

FEEDBACK – The Queen’s Value…
    Last week, our comment of the week ‘A CALL FOR A REPUBLIC’ addressed the issue of the case of Peter Burrell and its sudden end after revelations by the Queen.  We posited, “The fact is it should rankle every true blooded Bahamian to know that this anachronism of the constitution of The Bahamas still survives.”  In response, Captain John Hinchliffe, formerly executive in charge of the Freeport Harbour, wrote:

    "Indeed, the Burrell case and the Queen's involvement has caused a stir near [the UK] and far [the Bahamas and beyond].  Political memories are shorter than most, but I am reminded of the Queen and Commonwealth's value to Sir Lynden Pindling and the PLP of 1984 vintage.  The record will show, I believe, that the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in Nassau in 1984 saved Ping's premiership… what did he say?… yes, 'CHOGM is gonna choke 'em'.  The Queen kept her faith with the Bahamian people, but what she thought of the politics may never be known.

    As always, good luck and best wishes to you all."
John Hinchliffe
Freeport 1980-1988
 

GOVERNMENT OWED MILLIONS IN DEPARTURE TAX
    In the House of Assembly this past week on Wednesday 6th November, the Government moved to tighten loopholes, which allowed the diversion of revenue from the Departure Tax.  In his intervention on the Passenger Tax Act, Minister of Works Bradley Roberts said of the FNM, “they haven’t been out of power six months yet, and all the good they claimed they did with the people’s money, is proving to be false when we look at the crumbling of our infrastructure.”  The Government is now owed tens of millions of dollars in Departure Taxes.  “Where has the money gone and who are the thieves?” Mr. Roberts asked, “It is clear that massive stealing of passenger tax revenue has occurred on the FNM watch.” Please click here for the full text of the Minister’s remarks.
 

B.S. NOTES FROM GENEVA’S FREEPORT… PLUS
In this new format, the former News From Grand Bahama is renamed as above.  This signifies the initials of our senior correspondent from the nation’s second city, with the ‘plus’ for the many other sources from whom contributions are accepted. Ed.

Question to Minister Mitchell
    If the revenue is down, why is the Foreign Minister jet-setting all over the world?  Are we getting value for money?  A former senior FNM MP posed this question to the site from Grand Bahama.  He also asked for a comparison of money spent by the last (we called her somnambulant) Minister of Foreign Affairs.  We believe that is a fair question.

Ken Russell

    MP Russell has responded to reports that he ignored and did not shake the hand of a constituent who greeted him.  "I don’t operate that way," said the former Minister, "I am a politician...  I greet everyone I meet... so I must have not seen him."  O.K... He assured us that he wasn't a reader of the site but a friend had informed him about the story.

CDR Town Meeting
    On Thursday 7 November, the CDR hosted a town meeting at the Christ the King Church Auditorium on the privatization of BaTelCo.  The government’s representative was Mr. John Carey, the FNM representative was Mr. Brent Symonette and the CDR representative was Mr. Rawle Maynard.
    Mr. Carey made the case that the Government rationale for the sale was for a more efficient and technically smoother operating company that would be poised to accept the challenges of the New World Order such as WTO and FTAA.
    Mr. Symonette for his part gave an historical overview of the FNM government’s rationale for the privatization.  He stunned the audience by saying on May 2nd the PLP government was given a fresh mandate and if they thought that privatization was a bad thing they could have simply stopped it, he rested his case.
    Mr. Maynard gave a legal position on the privatization.  He said that if the average person did what the government intended to do with the sale of BaTelCo, that person would find themselves locked up in Fox Hill Prison for stealing.  He reasoned that that a referendum would have to be held to first to receive the consent of the people before the sale could go through because the government only holds BaTelCo in trust.
    We say that given the potential for delay the PLP government would be well advised to obtain a legal opinion on the matter.

FNM at Crossroads

    While in Grand Bahama for the Town Meeting, Brent Symonette (pictured) was able to meet with some of the FNM’s party faithful.  We are informed that he got an ear full.  He was told by several of the party supporters that he should not let his colour prevent him from seeking the leadership of the FNM.
    At breakfast the fellas were not mincing their words.
    "The FNM is meandering like an old river and Tommy, who is a nice guy, can’t seem to get over the May 2nd defeat”.
    "Tommy just don’t have it”.
    “If you cant even win your seat how can you tell people who won theirs what to do?  Ya’ll better swallow ya’ll pride and bring back Wells and Dupuch.”
    “Symonette has plenty money and a lot to lose so you can count on him not to do nonsense.  I believe that with him (Symonette) looking out for his self-interest, the country’s interest will also be looked after.  So we should make him leader.”
    "You could call my name, because these fellas who don’t have anything to lose will do foolishness."

Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl+home to return to the top of the page.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK - The picture was published by The Tribune on Thursday 14th November of Sidney Stubbs, the MP for Holy Cross in New Providence.  Mr. Stubbs was rising in an abortive attempt to respond to allegations of wasted funds at the Corporation he heads the Bahamas Agricultural Industrial Corporation (BAIC).  You may read the full story below.  Mr. Stubbs is one of the young turks that have the public on edge, not adjusting to the use of power easily.  They come off as bumptious and arrogant.  B.S. reports from Grand Bahama that Mr. Stubbs allegedly chastised someone who asked for him to move his car from a parking space that he should not have used by saying: “Do you know who I am?”  Oh well!  Photo by Felipe Major.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

A CRY FOR HELP
Ministers of the Government might be forgiven if they keep recalling the old witticism: be careful what you wish for, and they might well be praying to God with the words of Bob Marley who said something about wanting to go to heaven “but you living in hell”.  That is the atmosphere as the PLP enters its sixth month and heads to Convention.  The convention begins with a prayer breakfast today and stretches into Friday of this week with the usual parade of Ministers and Member of Parliament.  The theme is: THE STORM IS OVER NOW, taken from the baseball movie theme by R. Kelly.  The theme was used to good effect to bring on the PLP’s Leader Perry Christie during the 2002 campaign.

But the hell that the country is in is that the economy is in the doldrums.  It is being whispered at the tables of Compass Point, Lyford Cay, the British Colonial, Mr. T’s and on the fields of the Southern Recreation grounds.  Ministers are being buttonholed everywhere they go, as businessmen and bankers, friends and foes ask them what are they going to do to get this economy going.

This column said several weeks ago that the banking community was alarmed that there is no new money coming into the economy, and they have begun grumbling that this is what happens when Government is too slow to take decisions, and that as yet there is no clear plan.  While the PLP is adept at deflecting the sad faces of supporters who cannot get Government jobs, some have no prospect of a private sector job and their MPs cannot say when if any relief will come, are all painful reminders of the grim reality.

Down in distant South America, the Argentineans having wasted all the money they made in the 1990s are out begging again for money.  With the Prime Minister telling the country last week that the revenue is way behind where it should be, no new business coming in, tax notices going out aggressively; these are all signs of trouble.

And so as the PLP enters its sixth month and it goes into convention, the economy must be very much on its collective mind.  Ads for the Clinton campaign in the US said: It’s the Economy Stupid!  The honeymoon is over say the spokesmen for the FNM, as they tried to show that they have some fortitude by attacking the Foreign Minister for his travel overseas.  We report on his stinging response to the allegations.  But the thoughts still linger in the back of everyone's mind, no matter how bombastic the defence, the storm clouds are gathering, and the economy must get some new money not now but right away.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 16th November at midnight: 24,531.

Number this for the month of November ending Saturday 16th November 2002: 51,934

Number of hits for the year up to Saturday 16th November 2002: 1,979,366.

CANDIDATES FOR CHAIR OF THE PLP
    The PLP’s Convention begins officially on Monday 18th November at the Wyndham Crystal Place Resort and Casino.  This is the first Convention since the election and the Theme is: ‘The Storm is Over Now’.  Valentine Grimes, the Chair of the Convention announced that four people are vying for the position of Chair of the PLP; Raynard Rigby, the attorney; Rohann Rolle, now a Vice Chair for Branches, Dr. Madeline Sawyer and Kevin Simmons, the shoe manufacturer.  The latest report is that only Mr. Rolle and Mr. Rigby remain in the race.  The Prime Minister is thought to be supporting Mr. Rigby.
 

DRUGS A BOOMIN AND A BUSTIN
    On Wednesday 13th November a bust took place in Florida after a long chase through and out of The Bahamas.  On board some 35 million dollars worth of cocaine.  Although not the largest find this year, it was pretty large.  Some Bahamians and Americans are to be indicted by the authorities for smuggling drugs into the United States.  One of the persons was the son of a well known real estate agent on Freeport and for some when the bust took place it answered the question of why certain purchases were taking place in the real estate market in Freeport without any apparent explanation.
    The Bahamians and U.S. authorities have to be congratulated in the exercise.  This is the second huge find this year.  In July of this year, the largest ever find of cocaine was made in waters off Exuma.  We say that you have to continue to bust these people.  The success of these drug men is a menace to society.  They undermine any idea of a meritocracy developing in the country.  It gives young men in particular the idea that they do not have to go to school and learn their lessons in order to appreciate meaningfully and productively in a modern society that needs skills to run it.  Instead, there is this feeling that you sit idly on a park and deal drugs or hook up to some rich American peddling his wares of drugs and once you have money that’s all that counts.
    In the meantime, you have decent people who are struggling to make ends meet on their normal salaries, trying desperately to improve their lot and that of their children, only to have their children knocked off stride by the wicked examples of these wicked people.  They should really lock them up and throw away the key.  The U.S. authorities and their Bahamian counterparts should be given great kudos for the relentless fight on these issues.
 
 

WHAT’S WITH LESLIE MILLER AND SIDNEY STUBBS?
    No official announcement has been made as with other Boards about just who is on the board of the Bahamas Agricultural Industrial Corporation (BAIC).  What we know is the fiasco of the firing of seven members of the staff by Sidney Stubbs MP for Holy Cross, the supposed Chairman of the Corporation, on the grounds that they were FNM.  The Minister Leslie Miller reinstated the persons and Mr. Stubbs denied that he had dismissed them because they were FNM.  A kind of uneasy peace seemed to have developed between the Minister and Mr. Stubbs in public.  But now that has exploded again or threatens to.  Whitney Bastian in a totally surprising address to the Parliament attacked BAIC and the fact that the Minister was allowing the spending of monies indiscriminately including lavish personal parties.
    The Minister was shocked and interrupted the presentation of the Member and promised that he would order an investigation.  Sidney Stubbs came back into the chamber like he wanted to fight and while he did not speak to the issue, he later spoke to The Tribune accusing Mr. Bastian of telling baseless lies.  This despite the fact that Mr. Bastian did not call any names and the only person accused of any wrongdoing on the floor was the Minister.  Mr. Bastian said that the Minister did not know what was going on within his Ministry.
    The next day, The Tribune carried a speculative story on Thursday 14th November saying that certain PLPs were calling for Leslie Miller to be dismissed.  The source of the story was not revealed but it appeared to be planted by someone who had the agenda of trying to ambush the Minister.  The whole thing seems a storm in a teacup especially when one puts BAIC in its context.  This is the one Corporation of the Government that does absolutely nothing.  It was formed out of the attempt by the first PLP administration to acquire the assets of the Hatchet Bay Plantation, a failing farm in Eleuthera.  To this day the assets have not been transferred into BAIC.  It also manages the Industrial park, a losing proposition where there are more expenses than income.
    Some wonder what all the fuss is about.  It is probably the fact that both th