NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
ANOTHER YEAR PASSES BY
Since
the last column was written, this writer has celebrated the end of his
48th year. The 5 October 1953 was the day I was born and so a birthday
was celebrated on Friday last a few days early because I am not in The
Bahamas generally for my birthday. It was indeed a happy birthday party.
On Friday 28 September the staff of Gwendolyn House, my law firm and the
members and officers of the PLP's Fox Hill Branch sponsored a surprise
birthday party at the Hilton British Colonial. They got me again.
Thank you to all of them.
As they say, it has been one hell of a year. The simple highlights of it have been the jailing of my brother in March of 2001, followed by the death of my father in May 2001 and then the release of my brother just last month. There have been many private griefs, which had to be borne, and many private moments of happiness. And so to that extent it was just like any other year.
But as the 49th year begins, one tries to predict where exactly will be next year this time. It is difficult to say. Maybe we won't even be around at all. Certainly the country must face a general election during the next year and we certainly hope that if we are around, that we will be elected to the House of Assembly. Almost certainly our service in the Senate will have come to an end. It was a great time, two terms of interesting service in that body.
It appears that our country is facing some hard times. But this writer is nether a fatalist or a subscriber to the apocalypse. The country has faced hard times in the past and I think that whatever comes we will survive it. Certainly, if the lot is to the PLP to be the Government of the country, the ordinary man in this country will be able to say that they have their country back.
And so as we end the week, end a year and begin another week and year, one is again reminded of the fickle nature of time and events. One smiles as we recall the harsh words of hatred and prejudice spoken this week from London in a heated fashion from some who ought to know better. But you think to yourself, they believe they are on top of the world and have time to speak words of hatred and prejudice, taking themselves too seriously. Perhaps if they make it to 48, they might heed and understand the Biblical injunction that in the end all is vanity. One must always smile at the storm.
Thank you all for reading this column and making it the great success that it is and please keep reading. This week we had 16,352 hits on the site from 1 October to midnight sixth October, making the total of hits so far for the month of October. The total number of hits for the month of September on the site is 130,109. A great success.
PERMANENT LINKS
11th
Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell
Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell
speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling
& Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden
by Fred Mitchell
Address
to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address
to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address
to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue
Address
of Sean McWeeney / Pindling funeral
Gilbert
Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred
Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral
coverage
For a photo essay on the funeral of Archdeacon William Thompson. Click here.
 |
 |
| Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting | Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral |
| Site Links | |
| The PLP Position on Clifton | |
| http://www.johngfcarey.com/ | Thought provoking columns |
| http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/2477/index.html | Canadian contacts Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links |
| http://members.tripod.com/~xtremesp/wolf.html | Bahamian Cycling News |
| http://www.bahamiansonline.com/ | Links to Bahamians on the web |
| http://www.bahamanet.com/JujuTree.cfm | Politics Forum |
| http://www.jameshepple.com/ | Tourism Statistics |
| http://www.briland.com/ | Harbour Island Site |
WHAT
DO THESE POLITICAL SIGNS MEAN?
The House of Assembly is adjourned until the 7th November. Tennyson
Wells is promising more allegations of corruption against the Government
when the House returns. The House of Assembly's Public Accounts Committee
headed by the PLP is expected to report a panoply of corruption allegations
against Frank Watson Deputy Prime Minister. The employment bill that
is opposed by the unions in the country is before the Senate, but senators
are told not to worry about debating it now. Government has gone
into the Public Treasury to pay off the teachers, the straw vendors and
now the farmers in Long Island. Hubert Ingraham says he will raid
the National Insurance Fund to pay anyone who claims they are hurt as a
result of the economic downturn. The Americans are preparing for
war. The Boundaries Commission report is due on 31st October.
Are these the last days?
PANDEMONIUM
AT NATIONAL INSURANCE
Angry and impatient workers reportedly laid off from Sun International
stormed the National Insurance office on Wulff Road Friday, demanding payments
promised in a national address by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.
"We here for our cheques!" was the cry. Some reports say that when
the workers were turned around, pandemonium ensued and a plate glass window
was broken.
TWO
FNM SENATORS VOTE WITH THE PLP
With all the charges of corruption flying from the House of Assembly
against the Government, it was difficult over the last week to determine
what was the major story. Last week, this column dissected in great
detail the charges of FNM Member of Parliament Tennyson Wells against the
Prime Minister and the Minister of Education Dion Foulkes. Mr. Wells continued
his charges in the House of Assembly on Thursday 4 October. We report
that below. But on Wednesday 3rd October, this Senator presented a resolution
to the Senate asking for a Select Committee to look into all matters
relating to the delimitation of constituency boundaries with power to send
for persons and papers, with leave to sit from place to place and with
leave to sit during the recess. In the intervention on the issue which
was seconded by PLP Senator Melanie Griffin, this senator pointed out the
history of the fight over boundaries and also demanded that the Prime Minister
immediately dissolve the Parliament and go to the country because of the
charges of corruption against the Government. Please
click here for the full address. The Government's leader Senator Ronald
Knowles refused to agree to the select committee request. But to
their surprise two FNM senators in their addresses said that they supported
the request and would vote with the request. They were Senators Darron
Cash and Michael Bethel. The latter is from Abaco. When the vote
was taken, we asked for a division and counted the ayes and the noes.
The result was 6 for the Committee and 8 against the Committee.
It was a narrow defeat. The country was surprised that two FNM senators
who can be fired at the stroke of a pen voted with the PLP. They
did so openly. When Senator Cash announced that he was going to vote
for the resolution, his side became silent. This was followed by
an equally stunned silence when Senator Michael Bethel said that he would
support it as well. Senator Bethel who is to be the FNM's candidate
for South Abaco said that in the past what the PLP did was wrong in gerrymandering
boundaries and if it's being done today by the FNM it is also wrong.
He said that ten years from now when he sat around the table and spoke
to his children about what he did in the Senate he wants to be able to
say that he did the right thing. I want personally to thank both
gentlemen for their support. It was a courageous stand to take.
Immediately people started trying to read the tea leaves on what this meant.
Most came to the conclusion that this is yet another indication of the
turmoil within the FNM about which Tennyson Wells spoke last week.
The fact is that both gentlemen made the calculation that they would vote
their consciences and that it was safe to do so because politically they
were untouchable. But for whatever the reason, we thank them for
their support.
WELLS
ADDS MORE CORRUPTION CHARGES
The
former Attorney General Tennyson Wells made further allegations of corruption
against the Government. Mr. Wells is a sitting Member of Parliament
for Bamboo Town for the FNM. He asked the Public Accounts Committee
that is headed by PLP leader Perry Christie to investigate the contracts
awarded by the Minister of Education. Mr. Wells said that he
had personally inspected two contract sites - the Home Economics Lab at
the Government High School and A. F. Adderley High School. One contractor
Herbert Styles was paid $49, 930 for changing eight faucets. In the
second lab he said the contractor was paid $36,160 to change four faucets.
PLP MP Bradley Roberts shouted from his seat: "Could those faucets be made
out of gold?" Mr. Wells said that in a third lab at Government High
School which called for screens, an outside door and five stools, no work
was done up until yesterday morning (Thursday 4 October) for $34,250.
Mr. Wells said that the contracts for the second and third labs were awarded
separately for the same school to the same contractor on the same date
to get around the rules. The limit of the Minister's $50,000.
Any contracts over that amount had to be referred to the Cabinet for approval.
Mr. Wells said that he visited A.F. Adderley to see if a pattern could
be found. He said at that school he found that the same contractor
on the Government High job was awarded a contract for $35,000 for a job
that was only 80 per cent complete. Again these are serious charges.
In any other country, the Government should have fallen. Clearly,
the corrupt FNM Government must go to the country now. Tribune
photo by Felipe Major.
BRADLEY
ROBERTS ON FNM CORRUPTION
The Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party Bradley Roberts said
on Thursday 4 October that there will be a Commission of Inquiry to look
into all matters relating to the Government's construction works at the
San Salvador airport. The Government after promising that the project
would cost only fourteen million dollars spent some 35 million dollars
on the project. Mr. Roberts said that this was yet another example
of corruption by the FNM. Mr. Roberts says the Government put
its tail between its legs and its Ministers "did not even speak on the
resolution". You may click
here for his full address.
ANOTHER
CALL FOR A COMMISSION OF INQUIRY
The extra parliamentary political party the Bahamian Democratic Movement
headed by Cassius Stuart has asked for a Commission of Inquiry to be appointed
to look into the allegations of corruption by FNM MP Tennyson Wells.
Those allegations were extensively reported in this column last week.
JUANIANNE
LOSES IATA RANKING
A correspondent to this website reports reliably that the FNM MP for
Fox Hill Juanianne Dorsett along with at least two other travel agencies
have lost ranking with the International Air Travel Association (IATA).
The loss is said to have the effect of closing down Mrs. Dorsett's and
the other travel agencies so affected. We carried recent reports
that Mrs. Dorsett has her own set of explaining to do in the giving of
Government contracts. The story was that the Ministry of Education
had been spending gobs of money with her travel agency. Does this
violate the constitution, we asked? Perhaps we should have asked,
did Government pay its travel bills?
PLP LUNCHEON
The Progressive Liberal Party held a gala luncheon for religious leaders
in the community Friday 5 October at the newly refurbished Gambier House.
Party Leader Perry Christie welcomed the reverend ladies and gentlemen
to a packed house where the religious leaders were formally introduced
to the PLP's candidates for the next General Election. A party spokesman
termed the luncheon "a smashing success…"
CDR CANDIDATES
Dr. Bernard Nottage, the Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition for
Democratic Reform (CDR), has announced three more candidates, the first
for New Providence. He has announced that Leslie 'Fire' Albury is
to be the candidate for Englerston. The incumbent in the seat is
the PLP's Philip Galanis. Mr. Galanis is expected to win handily.
He announced Phenton Neymour as the candidate for South Beach. Agatha
Marcel is the PLP's candidate and she is expected to triumph there.
He announced Winsome Michele Miller, a 30-year-old former Queens College
student, as the candidate for Malcolm Creek. The PLP's Malcolm Adderley
is expected to triumph in that seat. The CDR and the Bahamas Freedom
Alliance (BFA) headed by Halson Moultrie will fight the election under
the banner of the Coalition.
$300
MORE FOR STRAW VENDORS
Closed Suisse Security Bank & Trust Friday issued vouchers for
three hundred dollars worth of goods to a total of five hundred and thirty
straw vendors affected by the fire of 4 September. Suisse CEO Chris
Lunn was quoted in the Tribune report by Tosheena Robinson: "We had already
expressed our commitment to the straw vendors when Mr. Harajchi [Mohammed,
owner of the bank] had indicated that he was prepared to rebuild the straw
market. When the government rejected that we decided we would still
carry on with our assistance and it's now in the form of helping straw
vendors purchase merchandise that they can sell to the tourist."
FLOODING
IN LONG ISLAND
Last
weekend, the sky fell down on Long Island in the southern Bahamas.
You might recall that this senator had just visited the beautiful island
the week before. The reports say that on Saturday 29 September, some
18 inches of rain fell in Long Island. But the official report is
that at Deadman's Cay Long Island some four inches of rain fell. However
much rain actually fell, in the northern part of Long Island there was
serious devastation to homes and to the farmland. One farmer lost
his entire banana crop in Deadman's Cay. In Simms, persons lost their furniture
and some people were left homeless. The roads were still impassable
in some places up to the time of the publishing of this press statement.
The settlements of Whymms, Simms and O'Neals were most badly affected.
The Ministry of Health has issued an advisory to all Long Island residents
not to drink or bathe in the water unless it is boiled. The Member
of Parliament for Long Island James Knowles and a team from the Ministry
of Agriculture that he heads as well as a team from the Ministry of Health
flew to Long Island to survey the damage. Some say that the flooding
was made worse because of poor drainage in the small settlements in the
north. It was pointed out that the Government was made aware of this
problem but did not correct it. Now the Government has to provide
emergency farm aid including tractors, fertilizers and seeds. Mr.
Bertis Knowles who lost his entire banana crop said that he does not know
if he will ever go back into it again. As you know, farmers have had a
hard time of it under the FNM. Agriculture has collapsed on the watch
of the FNM. The FNM will no doubt as they did in the straw market
fire be using the public treasury as the election comes near to once again
buy the support of voters. But we think that Mr. Knowles is still
finished in Long Island or so we hear. Guardian photo by James Fox shows
the flooded floors of a Long Island residence.
'NINETY'
TO BE EXTRADITED
The Magistrate's Court ruled Friday that convicted drug smuggler Samuel
'Ninety' Knowles will be extradited to the United States. The court
has given 15 days for defence attorneys to review the ruling. An
appeal is expected. Police sources say that one reason murders in
the country are down this year is that many linked to the drug trade in
The Bahamas are behind bars, put there with the help of the American Drug
Enforcement Agency (DEA). Meanwhile two men were shot dead in Nassau
Friday night in the Farrington Road area. Devaris Armbrister and
Dion Wallace were said to have been sitting under a tree when they were
gunned down by two masked men.
BANKERS
SUSPENDED IN LAUNDERING PROBES
We have learned that at least two bankers have been suspended after
being caught up in money laundering probes. Early reports are sketchy,
but informants say that the money being investigated is tied to the current
battle for extradition of Samuel 'Ninety' Knowles and turns on who had
the combination to a certain safe. We are also told that the story
has political connections within the governing party. We shall follow
this story.
FLYING
IN THE BAHAMAS
How long do we really think that we can keep up this business, we won't
call it charade, at our international airports with security personnel
searching bags twice as you enter the airport for a flight. It is
the most maddening nuisance that one goes through, without any increase
in security. All it is, is a nuisance. This senator keeps trying
to ask the question: are we confusing activity with action? At each step
of the way, you are being asked intrusive questions at the airport.
Then you have a situation where basically untrained security personnel
are rummaging through one's personal belongings, in my case it was they
were going to confiscate a scissors that I have been travelling with in
a toiletry case for at least ten years. The scissors offers no threat
whatsoever to airline travel, neither do I. It just seems like useless
overkill. And that's after you pass the metal detectors. And
it seems all distinctions between body searches by persons of the same
gender is out of the window. This was all done without any regard
for privacy. Most men in this country would not dare say that they
object to being searched by a woman but certainly, it seems to me that
you are begging for trouble where men are body searching women at the airport.
It appears that there is no regard for privacy or for objections to all
this intrusion. And then one must ask the question how long can the Government
afford to have a police Inspector assigned to searching the baggage of
passengers on flights leaving the island. In the Family Islands, the Government
has announced that direct flights to and from the Family Islands from the
United States will have to stop because we simply cannot afford the security
measures that the U.S. Government demands. This will be a serious
blow to the Bahamian Family Island tourism. Further, we have learned
that the United States has banned all flights to their country on
private charter planes that do not have the N registration of the United
States of America. Now their planes continue to fly here but no charter
operations that have Bahamian registered aircraft can fly to the
US. What pray tell is our Ministry of Foreign Affairs doing to correct
that situation? There is no reason for such a ban to continue.
This country offers no threat to the United States. Our reports tell
us that as a result of that decision the jets of Michael Dingman, the expatriate
American turned Bahamian billionaire and that of Sun International chief
Sol Kerzner were all grounded because they don't have U.S. registration.
Mr. Dingman simply changed his to US registration. Mr. Kerzner charters
US operators. Again we espouse the view that we must be careful that we
do not throw the baby out with the bath water in this time of emergency.
We must continue to have respect for the civil liberties of Bahamians even
as we deal with the threat to security. No erosion of civil liberties will
be supported for unlimited duration or for all purposes.
FAMILY
ISLAND TOURISM FALLS OFF DRAMATICALLY
The Tribune reported in its Wednesday 3 October edition that tourism
in the Family Islands has fallen off dramatically. There has
been a dramatic fall off in passenger traffic to Club Med in San Salvador
and the islands of Eleuthera and Harbour Island were also reporting a dramatic
drop off in bookings. In Harbour Island, The Tribune quoted Ruby Percentie
of Tingum Village as saying: "At the moment it's just me and the chef.
This has always been a slow time of the year, but in the 22 years I have
been running this place, I have never known it this bad." The lousy
Minister of Tourism has just gotten up off his duff and started to do something
to try and stimulate demand. The staff at Bahamasair report that
traffic has begun to pick up moderately as people begin to realize that
the end of the world has not come. And so there should be some return
to a form of normalcy soon. The question now is what steps will George
Bush take to retaliate for what happened in New York? It appears
that he is now getting intelligent advice which he will listen to.
We are heartened by the expressions coming from his advisors that the response
must be targeted. It is also good to hear that food aid is to be
air dropped to the Afghan people. There is no doubt that if this
man Osama Bin Laden is responsible for the dislocation then he must be
stopped. There is also no doubt that if the rulers in Kabul are responsible
they too must go. This senator is particularly concerned about the
way the Taliban who rule Afghanistan treat women. This business of
covering them from head to toe and not allowing them to get an education
and other freedoms of choice and movement is backward, regressive and cannot
be defended in the name of religion. Their lack of respect for the
rule of law, the pace of summary and extra judicial killing must also be
condemned. They must go if only for those reasons.
FAMILY
ISLAND AIRPORT UPGRADES?
Late in the week, Government held a press briefing to say that it is
"looking at the cost" of bringing five airports in the Family Islands up
to international standards, including two in Eleuthera, two in Abaco and
one in Exuma.
SURVEY
ON POVERTY BEGINS
The
Free National Movement was stung by a report by the Inter American Development
Bank that poverty had increased in the country since they came to office.
The PLP used the IDB report to great effect. The Government was so
stung that they attacked the report and immediately said that they would
do their own survey on poverty by the Department of Statistics to determine
if what the IDB was saying was true. As you know a lot of the propaganda
of the FNM has been that on their watch Bahamians have gotten better off.
We have argued from the PLP side that the money you see in circulation
in the country has only been touching one set of people. Of
course the Government must now be very worried that the survey is starting
now at the end of its second term in office and at a terrible time for
the country's economy. Our lame duck Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham
announced to the nation on 1st October that tough times are coming.
The revenue has fallen off 11 million dollars compared to the results in
the same quarter last year. He sought by a sleight of hand to blame
the attack of 11 September for what is happening in the economy.
It is politically dishonest for him to suggest so. His speech also
confirmed what we said last week that the Government had to go overseas
to borrow U.S. dollars in order to meet its commitments to the civil service.
A lot of genius, Finance Minister William Allen's economic mumbo jumbo
to describe it, but when you read what he actually said, cut to the chase
as it were, you will see that it confirms the fact that US dollars had
to be brought in. Further, we have confirmed that the Central Bank has
issued a directive to all banks to severely cut back on credit in the system.
We repeat what we said last week that the Central Bank has asked the major
international commercial banks not to repatriate their profits to their
home countries to take pressure off the reserves of The Bahamas.
This then is a fine time for the FNM's survey on poverty. The consultant
to the survey spoke at a Rotary Club on Tuesday 2 October. He is
Dr. Jaikishan Desai, an economist from the University of North Carolina.
He said that the survey of 2300 households in The Bahamas started on Tuesday
2 October. It will give a detailed idea of the extent, distribution
and level of poverty throughout the country as well as the degree of inequality.
He continued: "This information will help define what it means to be poor
in The Bahamas." Said Dr. Desai: "Poverty is a simple idea.
Someone is considered to be poor if their economic well being is unacceptable
to the standards of society. Thus the level of poverty will be the
percentage of the Bahamian population whose well being is at a level that
is not adequate." It is hoped that this survey will help define the
poverty line for The Bahamas. The photo by Wendell Cleare of Counsellors
shows from left Portia Johnson, Department of Statistics; Charles Stuart,
Director, Department of Statistics; Zhivargo Laing, Minister; Alpheus Forbes,
D.P.S. and (partially hidden) Adelma Penn of the Department of Public Health.
CHINESE
NATIONAL DAY
This Senator attended the National Day celebrations of the People's
Republic of China at Sandals Hotel on Monday 1 October. It marked
the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. The PLP
supported the move to establish relations with the Peoples Republic on
23 May 1997. The Ambassador of the People's Republic in his
remarks affirming the ties of the two countries presented a cheque to the
Government of The Bahamas for $10,000 from the Government of China as a
contribution to the fund for the assistance of the Straw Vendors.
We thank the Ambassador and his Government for their kind donation on behalf
of the Progressive Liberal Party. The Guardian photo by Donald Knowles
shows Minister of Foreign Affairs Janet Bostwick accepting the donation
of China to The Bahamas.
NATIONAL
HEROES DAY
The National Heroes Day Committee will celebrate National Heroes Day
in a ceremony in Rawson Square on Wednesday 10 October. This senator
was a founding member of the National Heroes Day Committee, now headed
by Fr. Sebastian Campbell, the Anglican Rector of All Saints Anglican Church
in South Beach. Fr. Campbell as Chair of the Committee joined Bahamians
in Delray Beach, Florida for a ceremony honouring Bahamians in that part
of the world. He used to be the Rector of St. Matthew's Church in
Delray before his present assignment. The ceremony on Wednesday in
Nassau will be the last before the official Discovery Day holiday of 12
October is abolished. The Government with the support of the Opposition
plans to scrap the Discovery Day Holiday and replace it with a holiday
called National Heroes Day beginning in the year 2002. The Government
also proposes to implement a system of national honours including conferring
the honour of National Hero on Bahamians. At the moment the Government
and the Opposition are not agreed on what principles will guide the national
honours.
PASSING
OF MARGARET MCDONALD
Margaret McDonald, the first female Secretary to the Cabinet passed
away last week. She was buried on Friday 5 October in a service at
St. Agnes Anglican Church. She was 79 years of age. She was
a fine civil servant. She began her career as a monitor in the public
school system at the age of 14 and rose to be the nation's premier civil
servant. Her children Donna Smith nee McDonald and Luther McDonald
survive her.
ROOSEVELT
'DOG' TURNER DIES
We send our condolences to the family of the late Roosevelt Turner,
affectionately known as Dog. Mr. Turner was fifty-three years old.
Seems he is gone too soon. Mr. Turner was the life of the party.
He was great softballer and baseballer, having played professional ball
in the U.S. for a time for the Cleveland Indians. He was buried in the
Southern Cemetery on Saturday 6 October after a service at Our Lady's
Catholic Church. We are sure he will be missed from Pa B's and the
Parks and Playgrounds Division of the Ministry of Public Works.
BENCHMARK
PURCHASE
The President of Benchmark Bahamas Limited Julian Brown announced just
as we were going to press last week that it had purchased Alliance Investment
Management, a Bahamian owned and operated broker dealer and investment
management company. With this purchase Benchmark expects to double
its assets under management from 5 million dollars to over 11 million dollars.
Benchmark is a publicly traded company. It is a mutual fund and is
now trading at 50 cents per share down from a high of $1.15. The
share price does not reflect the value and worth of the company.
The share price is approximately 40 per cent below its net asset value.
Greg and Andre White who were the founders and owners of Alliance Investment
said that they were forced either to close down or to sell their business
as result of the new financial compliance legislation passed by the Free
National Movement Government last year. They are pictured at the
announcement in this Nassau Guardian photo on Tuesday 2 October.
STAR
& FAMILY GUARDIAN MERGE
Star Insurance Company and Family Guardian Insurance Company on Friday
5 October announced a merger between their companies. The newly merged
company will operate under the name Family Guardian. The news briefing
said that the two companies combined assets will exceed $85 million.
BAHAMIAN
LAW FIRM SETS UP IN LONDON
Neil Hartnell, The Tribune's business editor reported on Monday 1 October
that Lennox Paton, the Bahamian firm that's specializes in support services
to the financial sector, will open an office in London beginning 1st November.
Brian Simms, a partner in the firm was quoted as saying: "The benefits
will firstly be client service, because Lennox Paton will be open 18 hours
a day. Secondly, there is marketing to new business that is not presently
coming to The Bahamas but is going to other jurisdictions. We'd be strengthening
ties with English law firms as well as banks, bringing new business to
the Bahamas."
MORE
FROM SOUTH ANDROS
This just in from our South Andros correspondent - Last week, we reported
that the Police Department had promised to review the housing situation
for its personnel there. We get an update. Once again
I am disappointed in the system. The persons responsible for checking the
Police residences have not shown as promised last week. We are understaffed
in this area. The reservists' program seems like foreign on this
side of Andros. Personnel from this department went to North Andros
so they have reservists. They had no housing problem, but their houses
were checked before these ones where the complaints originate. What
is going on? When are we going to get our roads fixed? Couldn't
Sir Milo's highway wait? Their roads were not damaged. Now
all that is happening is inconvenience for those using that road.
On Friday past, I went to Congo Town Airport with confirmed reservations
to be told that there was no seat. I asked the agent how come?",
to which she replied that Fresh Creek had 14 seats and Congo Town had 5.
I then called a charter and the agent in Fresh Creek said there was
bad weather in Nassau so I had to wait for improved weather. When
the 19-seater came, I was called in and told to buy a ticket to which I
did. When I tried to call the charter back I was told that it had
already left so I am now stuck with a bill for $150 to compensate for the
seat not used. When can Bahamasair change to help not inconvenience
persons? When is Bahamasair going to make it less expensive to travel
to the Family Islands than to the US? Thanks for the space.
NEWS
FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Congratulations to Carver and Veronica Grant on the marriage
of their daughter Wendy to attorney K. Brian Hanna. The couple was
wed Saturday 6 October at the pro cathedral of Christ the King Anglican
church in Freeport. Good luck to them both.
Driftwood Under Attack - PLP candidate for Marco City Pleasant Bridgewater this week took the concerns of many working Grand Bahamians to the source. Ms. Bridgewater held a news conference on the lawn of Resorts at Bahamia attacking the company for continuing to fully employ unskilled and semi-skilled foreigners while Bahamian workers are being reduced to two and three days of work per week. Ms. Bridgewater scored Resorts at Bahamia and its owners, the Driftwood Group for the foreign labour, including Vietnamese painters and handymen. She pointed out that as these were not specialists, they should be packed up and sent home or in the alternative let them rather than Bahamians, work short weeks. The PLP says Put Bahamians First.
David Thompson Defends - Many eyebrows were raised when immediately the FNM MP for Marco City, former Minister of Government, current Ambassador for Investment and FNM Election Co-ordinator for Grand Bahama David Thompson leapt to the defence of the Driftwood Group. Mr. Thompson allowed that he had every confidence that what the Driftwood Group was doing at Resorts at Bahamia was right and that he didn't even have to check, because they had always done what was right. We say that Mr. Thompson must not have known that the hotel had only just been fined some $10,000.00 for breaching the customs regulations by breaking the seal on a container not yet inspected by the Customs Department. This behaviour from a company which always does what is right. There are persistent and continuing reports that Driftwood has been put into serious financial difficulty by the acquisition and attempted renovation of the former Princess Properties. Mr. Thompson was also questioned about the fact that work has come to a complete stop on Resorts at Bahamia's project to construct a giant swimming pool or beach, 'known locally as 'the pond' in the road between the two properties. Mr. Thompson reported that he had met with the hotel's representatives and they say everything is on schedule. We can now tell Ambassador for Investment Thompson that there has been no work on that 'pond' for the last month and that private enquiries for more investors to come in on the project have been ricocheting around Grand Bahama for more than a week.
Wiretaps in Eight Mile Rock - The plot thickened this past week in the story about a local government employee and right-hand-man for the FNM MP for Eight Mile Rock Lindy Russell who is currently under arrest in the United States for trafficking in counterfeit money. Word is that the authorities had placed wiretaps on the home of one James Vega and on the telephone of the Eight Mile Rock Local Government office. We wonder how far this wiretapping went. There are deep concerns over this development which have to do with widespread charges of vote-buying in the last election using counterfeit American money. Things that make you go hmmm!
Kristi's Clamour Over Senate Shift - News of FNM senators breaking ranks to vote for a Fred Mitchell PLP request for a select committee on constituency boundaries was greeted with great consternation in Kristi's this past week. Our correspondent reports "the fellows went ballistic when they heard that Darron Cash and Michael Bethel broke ranks and went with Fred." One former FNM candidate who is related to one of the FNM's current woman senators was so incensed that he had to be reminded of the law against profanity. Our thanks again to Senators Cash and Bethel for their espousal of principle in this matter.
FNMs Forget - In political conversations around Grand Bahama this past week, many FNMs were discussing the recent allegations of former FNM Minister Tennyson Wells that the Government not only corruptly awarded contracts for school repairs but got no value for the people's money. Our senior correspondent reports that many had to be reminded that their party's leader had once said "If I catch you with your hand in the cookie jar I gon' chap it off..." We say that construction is now a science with jobs able to be priced accurately down to the last nail so clearly, these allegations can easily be substantiated or disproven. Equally as clearly, the serious charges and counter charges now surrounding the FNM Government demand that the Prime Minister should dissolve the Parliament.
Major Slippage in 'FNM' Country - Evidence is mounting that there is major slippage in FNM support almost across Grand Bahama in High Rock. Marco City, Pineridge Eight Mile Rock and West End. At breakfast Sunday morning 7 October, FNM MP and Minister C.A. Smith was heard being advised to "check his sheep pen to see how many had left the fold..." Of course C.A. probably already knows since the FNM's one proposal for boundary changes in the Family Islands involves putting a polling division of hardcore FNM's from Lucaya into his Pineridge constituency. Our reports are that the Minister quickly took the smile off his face when reminded that the hard economic times and the constant turning of a blind eye to the concerns of constituents is now beginning to take its toll.
'Dream' Team in Freeport, Tensions Still Evident - Sunday morning 7 October at breakfast in Freeport 'Geneva's' restaurant, it was evident that serious rifts still exist within the FNM. Leader and Deputy Leader designates Tommy Turnquest and Dion Foulkes were holding court. But the undercurrent of the normally jovial group of FNM politicos who habitually gather there told the story. "This one ain' speaking to that one, and this one wouldn't sit with the other one..." said our correspondent. A well-known retired hotelier dominated the early part of the discussion by telling Minister of Tourism Tommy Turnquest what a "great job" he was doing, until one of the gentleman's son's entered the restaurant and admonished "That's enough sucking up for the morning, Dad!" In an interesting aside; airport fireman, delegate to the special FNM leadership convention and now famous government contractor Charlie Lowe who was cited by Tennyson Wells in allegations of corruption with the Ministry of Education was at the breakfast in question, asked by Minister of Education Dion Foulkes for his autograph. Things that make you go hmmm!
Allen Back In? - Further reports from the breakfast in
the story above say that FNM leader designate Turnquest today alluded to
fired Minister and dissident FNM MP Algernon Allen as being prepared to
support the party's new leadership. Turnquest seemed to suggest (ha!)
that former Attorney General Tennyson Wells might be something more of
a problem. We would think so, given the seemingly unceasing multitude
of allegations of corruption against the Government from that quarter.
Our correspondent reports that it appears that even Mr. Wells renomination
is in question. He also reports that a known Wells general sat by
in silence.
NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
A SHAKY GOVERNMENT
On
Friday night last, the telephone started to ring at my home. The
fellows were taking bets that the Minister of Education Dion Foulkes would
not last the weekend. I am not so sure. Certainly, if the system
worked in this country the way it is supposed to work that eventuality
should have been one precipitated by the Prime Minister two weeks ago.
The allegations by Tennyson Wells about the conduct of the Minister of
Education were compelling, and the allegations cannot and have not been
refuted by mere ministerial denials. You cannot be judge and jury.
Down below we report on a remarkable address by Darron B. Cash, the FNM Senator, who appears now to be the man I once recognized. He has broken with his party for the second time in a week and called for an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption by Tennyson Wells. You will remember that Senators Cash and Michael Bethel of Abaco voted with the Opposition to support an investigation into the constituency boundaries for the next election. That was unprecedented.
The Government itself is extremely nervous. And as fast as Dion Foulkes who is also the Deputy Leader designate of their party answered an allegation by Tennyson Wells or Bradley Roberts, new allegations surfaced. On Thursday 11 October, Mr. Roberts had another press conference in which he made fresh allegations of corruption against the Minister.
It is said that in the face of Tennyson Wells’ allegations made last week about four faucets for $35,000 (see last week’s column), the Prime Minister has stopped all work on the two schools: the Government High School and the A.F. Adderley School. He has gone down and inspected the sites himself; and also called for all the contracts from the Ministry of Education.
The Prime Minister had a busy week himself. The economy is taking a precipitous nosedive following the bombing of the World Trade Centre Buildings on 11 September. His fellow Prime Ministers were in tow. The no show was of course Basdeo Panday of Trinidad who is having quite a roller coaster time of it. We comment on that below.
And so we go into the week, expecting charges and more counter charges. But they seem to be heaping upon the Minister of Education. And one wonders with himself and the Director of Education at loggerheads, how is any work being done in the nation’s largest Ministry? We think that Mr. Foulkes’ next act is crystal clear. And it should be sooner rather than later.
The
photos are in from a recent birthday celebration for this columnist held
by friends at the British Colonial Hilton. Among those who came for
German chocolate cake were PLP Leader Perry Christie and Chairman Bradley
Roberts, shown with all in this photo. Thanks again to everyone for
a truly smashing party.
This site had 21,441 hits for the week from 7 October to midnight 13 October. That makes a total of 37,840 hits on the site from the month of October. Thanks for reading and please keep reading.
PERMANENT LINKS
11th
Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell
Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell
speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling
& Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden
by Fred Mitchell
Address
to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address
to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address
to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue
Address
of Sean McWeeney / Pindling funeral
Gilbert
Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred
Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral
coverage
For a photo essay on the funeral of Archdeacon William Thompson. Click here.
|
|
| Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting | Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral |
| Site Links | |
| The PLP Position on Clifton | |
| http://www.johngfcarey.com/ | Thought provoking columns |
| http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/2477/index.html | Canadian contacts Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links |
| http://members.tripod.com/~xtremesp/wolf.html | Bahamian Cycling News |
| http://www.bahamiansonline.com/ | Links to Bahamians on the web |
| http://www.bahamanet.com/JujuTree.cfm | Politics Forum |
| http://www.jameshepple.com/ | Tourism Statistics |
| http://www.briland.com/ | Harbour Island Site |
ROBERTS
WITH FRESH CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS
Dion
Foulkes, the Minister of Education and Deputy Leader designate of the Free
National Movement, was furious. He called a press conference on Wednesday
10 October. He was once again answering charges of corruption.
This time, it was an allegation that the Ministry of Education had entered
into a lease for a property owned by Herbert Styles, the contractor who
was implicated in last week’s allegations by Mr. Wells. Mr. Roberts
claimed that the lease had been entered into for three months, money paid
and the Ministry was still not occupying the building. The Minister
denied there was a lease and angrily demanded of Mr. Roberts to produce
the lease. Bradley Roberts shot back that he had spoken to both the
plumbing and electrical contractors. He learned that the Minister
had spoken to them about the building. He urged the Minister to come
clean. Mr. Roberts'
complete statement can be found by clicking here. If you read
the complete statement you will see that he also refers to an internal
minute written by the Permanent Secretary within the Ministry that seems
to indicate that there was an attempt at a cover up or witch hunt in the
Ministry. Mr. Roberts also spoke about
the relationship of the Ministry of Education with a busing contractor
one Alexander Pratt in Freeport, Grand Bahama. He asked a series
of questions about that contract. It appears that someone other than
Mr. Pratt may be the beneficiary of significant sums under the contract,
which is causing Mr. Pratt some financial problems. It will be interesting
to see what the Ministry has to say about those contracts. As if
that wasn't enough, during the same news briefing Mr. Roberts raised serious
allegations concerning the Government's
contracts for the new road corridors in New Providence and the connections
to former Airport Authority Chair Brent Symonette's Bahamas Hot Mix. Mr.
Roberts is shown at right in this Guardian photo of the news conference
with the PLP's candidate for Bain Town Rev. C.B. Moss.
DION
FOULKES’ REBUTTAL
Dion Foulkes, Minister of Education, called a press conference on Wednesday
10 October to rebut the charges made by PLP Chair Bradley Roberts that
his Ministry had leased a building on Dowdeswell Street from Herbert Styles
at a high cost and then did not occupy it. Mr. Styles was a delegate
at the FNM's special convention that elected Mr. Foulkes to the Deputy
Leader elect position in the FNM. Said Mr. Foulkes: “It is an outright
lie and the media and the public should demand that Mr. Roberts produce
the lease. This talk of a three month old lease is nonsense and seemingly
an element of Mr. Roberts’ and the PLP’s desperate political ambition.
The people rejected the PLP and this nasty type of mud-slinging and desperate
politics in 1992, 1997 and will do the same in the upcoming general elections.
It is unfortunate that Mr. Roberts and the PLP have arrived at this low
level… Despite this wild and vicious spree of baseless attacks, the Bahamian
people know better and they trust the FNM.” Tribune photo by Omar
Barr.
WITCHHUNT
AT MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
You all know the story by now about the charges of corruption at the
Ministry of Education. You know that Tennyson Wells laid out one contract
after another that was suspiciously granted to delegates at the Free National
Movement special convention on 16 August to elect the Leader designate
and Deputy Leader designate of the FNM. The Minister of Education
is the Deputy Leader designate. The Minister has denied the charges.
But what was interesting was a memo EDU/B/2 dated 1 October 2001.
During the debate in the Senate on Wednesday 10 October, this Senator laid
on the table a copy of the memo. Now in schools of public administration
everywhere, they tell you that when you begin to see memos and internal
documents leaking out from a Government department, someone on the inside
who feels that an improper or illegal policy is being pursued is trying
to get the matter resolved. They leak because they cannot get satisfaction
within the normal channels of the department. They are in fact often
being suppressed. That has led in the United States to a whistleblower
law. That encourages people to use a back channel when they believe
something unlawful is being done. It offers that whistleblower security
of tenure. The FNM used whistleblowers to undermine the PLP administration.
One thinks particularly of the leaks to Algernon Allen, the MP for Marathon
that brought down the PLP's Minister of Agriculture Ervin Knowles.
The worst thing one wants to do is to start a witchhunt. And yet
even as they must know that it is the wrong thing to do, there is inevitably
a witchhunt. And so true to form the memo goes from the Permanent
Secretary, who is an agent of the Minister and we will only provide a few
paragraphs in another story for your edification. But we want the
Ministry to back off the witchhunt. There is apparently more to come.
WHAT
THE MEMO SAID
The Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Education is Creswell Sturrup.
In the face of the allegations of corruption, Mr. Sturrup ordered a report
from the Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, named only as Walker
in the minute. Just a few paragraphs: “The Punch article, listing
summer repair programme contractors, Mr. Bradley Roberts report to the
House of Assembly and the two progress reports laid on the table of the
House of Assembly by Mr. Tennyson Wells indicate that there is a serious
breach in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. To the extent
that your office is responsible for the generation of the reports and the
preparation of the documents, your office is required to provide me with
as accurate a report of the events surrounding the generation of documents…
It would appear that Mr. Wells would have laid on the table of the House
of Assembly a progress report which would have been dated 24 August 2001
and which was referred to the Minister on 27 August 2001. It was
during the week of August 20-24 that it was reported that Mr. Wells or
Mr. Pierre Dupuch might have been in possession of a list of contractors.
You were advised some time on 23 August that caution should be exercised
in the storage and the dissemination of information. As instruction
was also given to amend the report to provide company and trade names,
the document produced on 24 August would not have included the amendments,
however to avoid the unnecessary references to personalities.” Just
reading that it appears that the Permanent Secretary was saying that two
sets of documents were prepared - one with the names of the contractors,
the other with the names removed. What does that spell: c-o-v-e-r-u-p.
THE
LOST FOULKES TV TAPE
Dion
Foulkes, the embattled Minister of Education, is one of the best propagandists
that the Free National Movement has. The headline in the newspaper
was startling on Thursday 11 October. It said in The Tribune: “FOULKES
SPEECH VANISHES FROM ZNS”. The story went on to say that the police
had been called in to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the entire
footage of the Foulkes press conference of Wednesday 10 October in which
he demanded that Bradley Roberts produce the lease to the building that
the Ministry of Education is alleged to have leased (see story above).
A source told The Tribune that the CID would be questioning all the known
PLP’s in ZNS news. That’s interesting! You know in the old
days of the Chicago Richard Daley Sr. political machine, they used to tell
the story of dirty tricks campaigns. Everyone knew that during election
time, if a car showed up covered in Democratic stickers with its windows
smashed and the tires flattened, it wasn’t the Republicans who did it.
One of the basic tricks of a good propagandist is to create a smoke screen
when you can’t fight back with the facts. What a great smokescreen
then to say that the tape was stolen by some PLPs who are intent on wrecking
the FNM Government. Yeah right!
THE
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION REFUSES TO SIGN
Senator Darron B. Cash (FNM) praised the Director of Education this
week in the Senate on Wednesday 10 October. She has been under a
lot of pressure in the Ministry of Education lately. A dispute between
the Ministry and the Bahamas Union of Teachers was resolved against her
last week when the Minister announced that he was siding with the Union
and reversing the transfer of several teachers in the Grand Bahama.
Senator Cash said that this undermined the authority of the Director.
He condemned the Minister’s behaviour. But the fortunes of Mrs. Pinder
have gotten progressively worse as the relationships within the Free National
Movement have deteriorated. Once Tennyson Wells declared that he
wanted to be leader of the FNM, her fortunes began to slide. According
to Tennyson Wells, who is the brother of Mrs. Pinder, the Minister told
the Union that Mrs. Pinder was responsible for the faults in the school
system. Mr. Wells is also convinced that the FNM leaders believe
that his sister is the source of leaks to him from the Ministry of Education.
He says there is no such truth to any of it. But one thing we know
is that Mrs. Pinder is a resolute person and cannot be easily overwhelmed.
Our latest reports say that Mrs. Pinder was asked to sign a voucher hiring
a member of the Foulkes’ campaign team onto the Department’s Payroll and
has refused to do so. The political pressure kept up and only backed
off when she went to the Prime Minister to complain. Things that
make you go: hmmm!
CARIBBEAN
LEADERS GATHER
The
Heads of Government of the Caribbean, minus Trinidad’s Prime Minister Basdeo
Panday gathered in Nassau for two days from 11 October to 13 October.
The reason for their emergency gathering was to assess the effects of the
attack on the World trade Centre Buildings in New York on our economies.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization met shortly before the Prime Ministers
arrived. The predictions are dire. Tourism in the Bahamas is
running at 11 per cent up to Christmas time. Hotel staff have been laid
off or put on reduced weeks. The restaurant staff in Nassau just
stand and look at each other in forlorn despair. But the Prime Ministers
and Presidents have apparently resolved that what they need to do is to
run to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lending institutions
to ask for money. 
Here
is the double speak of their announcement. Said their Chair, Bahamas
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham: “the financial implications for our
Governments may require a response from the international financial institutions
of which we are members. One of our considerations today should be to articulate
what the response may be.” It just seems strange that the crisis
isn’t even six weeks old and already these fellows are talking about begging
for money. But interestingly enough, our Minister of Foreign Affairs,
the somnambulant Janet Bostwick announced that the Inter American Development
Bank (IDB) had already written to say that they were ready to assist.
She was relieved for The Bahamas because Finance Minister William Allen
had said that the IDB was graduating us off their list of countries to
which they could lend because we were too rich. Praise God and pass
the ammunition! Guardian photo of Barbados PM arriving in Nassau
and group photo from the Bahama Journal, both by Peter Ramsay.
COB
STUDENT VIEWS ON TERRORISM
We have a report that Cable Bahamas went to the COB campus to do ‘man
on the street’ interviews with the students of the College of The Bahamas
about the incident on 11 September that led to the downing of the World
Trade Centre Buildings in New York. The views of the students were
so unfavourable to the Americans that Cable Bahamas reportedly had to scrap
the whole thing. The reported views of the students are in line with
the e-mail traffic coming into this site on the incident from students
abroad. One commentator said that the students were speaking
out of ignorance. What we say is that it is clear why we support
the Americans. If they go down, we go down. Further, we cannot sanction
the loss of life, and the nutty talk of those folk in Afghanistan that
mistreat women and cut off people’s hand and feet for crimes.
There are, however policy differences with the Americans on why this whole
thing has come about.
FIGHT
AT PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE
Elliott B. Lockhart, the incumbent Member of Parliament for the Exuma
constituency, who was up to now a dissident, is safely back in the fold.
You will remember that at first Mr. Lockhart indicated that he would not
run again. Then a big fight broke out in Georgetown at an FNM meeting
when he announced by cell phone that he was indeed running again.
Joshua Sears, The Bahamas Ambassador to the U.S., who had been roped in
from the PLP fold to run for the seat in Georgetown, Exuma, was put in
a trick. The Deputy Leader designate and Minister of Education for
the FNM, the embattled Dion Foulkes, went down with Mr. Lockhart on a political
visit two weeks ago. All is now well. And the change of heart
on Mr. Lockhart’s part seemed to show when the Public Accounts Committee,
the standing Committee of the House that is the only one with a majority
of Opposition members met to agree to reporting on the allegations of corruption
against Frank Watson, the Deputy Prime Minister. Elliot Lockhart,
who is an FNM member of that Committee, made the point that Mr. Watson
deserved a right to be heard at its meeting on Monday 8 October.
The PLP’s Bradley Roberts accused Mr. Lockhart of being the chief defender
of Mr. Watson. Mr. Lockhart took offence that his integrity was being
impugned and stormed out of the meeting to the words: “Carry your black
a...” Mr. Lockhart has now written the Speaker of the Assembly and
told her that he will no longer attend meetings if scurrilous attacks are
going to be made on his character. The Chairman of the Committee
PLP Leader Perry Christie has said that any witnesses Mr. Watson wants
to call and Mr. Watson himself can appear. He says that he is committed
to a fair and open process. Experts say that it would not really
be proper for a member of the House to say that he is not coming back to
Committee meetings. If he feels so strongly about it, he should indicate
to the Speaker that he wishes to be replaced on the Committee. But
we hope that Mr. Lockhart returns. He has a generally sound brain
and even temper.
AIDS
AND OTHER STATISTICS
The Department of Statistics headed by Charles Stuart has produced
to Parliamentarians and one imagines the general public a booklet called
The Bahamas in figures 2000. Of interest, the life expectancy for
Bahamians at birth in the years 1989 to 1991 for Males: 68.3 years and
for Females: 75.3 years. This compares to the years 1979 to 1992
of Males: 64.3 years and Females: 72.1 years. But what was most interesting
for us and alarming are the death statistics. Diseases of the heart
are still the largest killer of Bahamians: 315 in 1999. This is followed
by AIDS 275 (1999) This followed by Cancer: 246 (1999). Now it is
the AIDS statistics that really concern us. True, heart disease is
a lifestyle disease, but it is a disease that tends to hit the older sector
of the population. AIDS is also a lifestyle disease but hits the
younger part of the population hard. And when you look at the statistics
for accidents, suicide and homicide, another area that hits the young population
hard - 174 deaths in 1999, there is cause for alarm. That means that
it now appears that the youth population is at greater risk for death than
the older population. The AIDS Secretariat announced new initiatives
over the past week to try to deal with public education on this matter
particularly amongst young women.
WHAT
DARRON B. CASH HAD TO SAY
Excerpts from the address of Senator Darron B. Cash, FNM, to the Senate
on Wednesday 10 October 2001. He was speaking on a Bill to Establish the
Loan Scholarship Guarantee Fund for Education. The Bill passed unanimously.
Here is the man I remember:
“Mr.
President, I was very disheartened to watch the events unfold over the
last several weeks, particularly as they related to education. As
a supporter of this party, it pains me to see to where we have come. I
have stood in this place and elsewhere on numerous occasions over the past
four and a half years to caution our leaders about what I perceived to
be a very alarming trend. On too many occasions, we appeared to be hell
bent on becoming that which we despised and ridiculed. In policy
and practice, we seemed increasingly more determined to eviscerate the
clear distinctions between the previous government and us…
“Events
of recent weeks should have given us all a great deal of concern.
Unquestionably, I believe, that the allegations raised by the Member of
Parliament for Bamboo Town in that other place and reported in the media
are serious. I believe that it would be inappropriate for the Government
to simply dismiss them as acts of a vengeful and vindictive disgruntled
man who lost an election… “Now that the charges are in the public domain
what is the appropriate response? Do we simply cry ‘sour grapes’
dismiss the Member and go about our business? Alternatively, do we
weigh the seriousness of the allegations and determine an appropriate course
of action? I believe an independent inquiry is warranted…
“Mr.
President, this has been a very difficult period for The Bahamas.
The blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force was the first in a
series of blows that seemed to have sent the country reeling. For
the last eighteen months it is as if the country has been meandering, almost
without a clear course. Both Houses of Parliament appeared to have
been on a permanent part time mode of operation and when to its credit,
the Government initiated a series of legislative proposals designed to
move the country forward, we all experienced the crudest form of dashed
expectations. First, the country is debating landmark labour legislation,
and then it was stopped. It is as though we really don’t know where
we want or need to go…
“
It is a good thing that a general election is close. I believe that
it is time for a broad discussion about where this country is going.”
WITHIN
OUR GRASP
A leading FNM politician was ruminating with a leading PLP politician.
“Boy,” he said, “ If we can just get our act together, we can together
put the biggest cut ass on Ingraham and them.” The senior PLP politician
replied that the FNM was quite right. “Now,” he said, “all we have
to do is to get Nottage on board. He is the only one still playing
the fool.” That’s the point to which it has come. Within nine
short years and more particularly within the last four, the FNM has self-destructed
from a party that seemed nearly impregnable, to a floundering, faltering
party with the image of a corrupt leadership. There are too many
fires to put out. The vote in the Senate by Senator Darron Cash and Senator
Michael Bethel both FNMs for a PLP resolution and one sponsored by no less
a person than this Fred Mitchell, spoke volumes about the internal problems
of the FNM. The other FNM senators were silent when the men announced
that they were going to vote with the PLP. Senator Michael Bethel
said that in ten years when his children were sitting around the table
and asked him what did he do? he would be able to say to them that he did
the right thing. And with that he voted with the PLP. This
week Senator Cash has gone quite far. The fact that he has not been
dismissed (under our constitution the Prime Minister can revoke a senatorial
appointment at any time) shows that Mr. Ingraham is at his weakest.
Clearly Senator Cash has lost confidence in the FNM and Mr. Ingraham's
leadership. Senator Ronnie Knowles, the Leader of the Government,
rose and tried to rebut Senator Cash’s statements. Senator Knowles
said that the Government was not meandering. The Government knew
clearly what it was doing. But of course Senator Cash’s comments
showed otherwise. Our feeling is that Mr. Ingraham in other times
would have immediately moved to revoke Senator Cash’s appointment but he
realizes that if he does that now, it will blow up in his face. So
what is clear is that the PLP ought to embrace Senator Cash, Mr. Wells
and all that will come. We have to pull this thing off. This thing
is within our grasps. Let’s do it!
LYNN
HOLOWESKO’S RACIST REMARKS
In the Senate, Senator Lynn Holowesko (FNM) spoke on the Educational
Guarantee Bill on Wednesday 10 October. But she did not talk about
the Bill. She spent all her time attacking this senator about the
debate from the week before on the Constituencies Commission. Click
here for that address. Here is what Lynn Holowesko had to say:
“Mr.
President. The intervention by Senator Mitchell last week on 3rd
October was another sad event in what appears to be the decline of a bright
young mind… “...The almost 18 page intervention by Senator Mitchell
is among the very worst presentations I have witnessed since coming to
this Honourable Chamber nearly two years ago. This is so because
it may be the most insidious.
“I
will be gentle and say only that the Senator's remarks insulted almost
every Bahamian and some non-Bahamians as well. The Senator insulted
the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Speaker of the Honourable House of
Assembly, the Leader Elect and Deputy Leader elect of the Free National
Movement, the Member for Fox Hill, a Justice of the Supreme Court, a former
Chief Justice of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, every supporter of the
Free National Movement and every white person eligible to vote in this
country. Does he speak for his Leader? Does he speak for other
Leaders of parties in opposition?... “If I were a Leader of any Opposition
Party in this country, I would wish to dissociate myself from his remarks.
Unless, of course, those Leaders subscribe to the making of innuendo and
false statements, and are inclined (as the PLP has been in the past) to
deal the race card and see how the game plays out…
“…There
is nothing, not a single line, not a word in the Senators' remarks that
supports any suggestion that the elections will not be free. Every
Bahamian ought to be outraged by such remarks. But the senator thinks if
he says it often enough it will creep into the minds of the people, insidious,
dishonest and deceitful though it may be... “I turn now to the question
of the white voters and the offensive manner in which the Senator handled
them, moving them about the paragraphs of his speech like chess-men on
a board.
“White
Bahamians do not vote in a pack. Like Black Bahamians they are capable
of standing on their own two feet, making their own political choices and
voting according to their respective consciences. They do not require
‘ethnic’ neighbourhoods, do not need to be part of a ‘white enclave’ and
we all know white people who have supported, voted for and represented
the PLP. Did not the Senator have a fundraising event last year among
a number of white-skinned Bahamian and non-Bahamian residents?...
“By his totally unfounded charges of ‘invidious racism’ and ‘racist
views’ ascribed to the Prime Minister, the speaker of these vicious remarks
opened his thinking processes for us all to observe, a very dangerous thing
to have done indeed, for now we all know him better than we did week ago…”
The Guardian provided a blow-by-blow account of what happened in the
Senate that day. Please click
here to read it.
AN
ANALYSIS OF LYNN HOLOWESKO
Lynn Holowesko is a Pyfrom and she told me once that she remembers
when her parents could not afford to buy her shoes to wear. That
was a long time ago, she is now living in the lap of luxury. She is married
to an expatriate American for whom she fought for Bahamian citizenship.
She dominates the Environmental world in The Bahamas at its official level
in the country, and she has allowed the FNM to get away with the approval
of projects which ReEarth thinks have been and are environmentally damaging.
She has received an honour from the Queen because of her work with the
Bahamas National Trust. But there is something that is disturbing
about her. She can’t get over her whiteness. And we mean it
in a charitable way. She and a dying number of Bahamians are prisoners
of their colour. They are intellectually incapable of escaping the
box of their birth and upbringing. Every argument about colour is
filled with self-righteous, patronizing indignation. And the beauty
about it for them is that they go along blissfully unaware of their ignorance.
Her solution to the racial political cleavage in The Bahamas is let’s forget
about it, let’s not talk about it. The fact is that Colin Hughes’
book ‘Race and Politics in The Bahamas shows clearly that it is the most
important line of political demarcation in The Bahamas. Fred Mitchell
did not make it up out of his imagination. The fact is that whether we
talk about it or not, it is there. In Free National Movement councils,
friends inside the FNM tell me that she does not like you to speak about
white and black. Any reference to it, she immediately gets offended.
It is an irrational response, the response of someone who knows perhaps
that she may have wronged some black people in the past and doesn’t want
to be reminded of it. We do not think for one moment that there is
any collective guilt among white people for slavery. What our comments
are always designed to get at is the fact that there is still racism in
The Bahamas. And it is not black people against white people.
There are still too many white Bahamians who despite the FNM being a largely
Black party behave as if it is their natural right to rule. Senator
Holowesko in her address typified that attitude of a resolute but thankfully
dying breed of people who just don’t get it. Her attitude is patronizing
and quite simply racist. In her dulcet, finishing school tones she
rants about what is wicked deceiving and dishonest and then objects when
she is called in the Senate by this writer a political terrorist, the Bahamian
equivalent of Osama Bin Laden. Strong words indeed. The attack was
made in my absence from the Chamber. But I do not take lightly some
one who challenges my intellect, then claims that I am a racist.
This is just incredible. But I think I will say it again: Lynn Holowesko,
bless her heart, nice lady and all that but she just doesn’t get it.
ENVIRONMENTAL
DISASTER IN BIMINI
The Tribune reports that Sam Duncombe of ReEarth and a delegation of
real environmentalists (as opposed to the social kind like Senator Lynn
Holowesko) are to travel to Bimini to have a look at the environmental
damage that is being done at north Bimini by the marine dredging of Gerrado
Cappo’s company. North Bimini is awash with run off and landfill.
It is ruining the breeding grounds for the marine life and there has been
a drastic fall off in the shark population and the conch species as a result
of the dredging. Despite the complaints of Bahamian citizens, the
Government refuses to do anything about it. Sam Duncombe, The Tribune
reports in a story by Erica Wells on Thursday 11 October, is leading the
charge. You may remember Sam Duncombe put together the Coalition
to stop the ruins at Clifton Cay from being destroyed. Good luck
to Sam. We wish we could join you in Bimini. The Tribune
photo shows the damage from the air.
BREEF WARNING
The
environmental group BREEF (Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation)
headed By Sir Nicholas Nuttall of Lyford Cay in The Bahamas is expecting
a royal visitor to these shores. Princess Michael of Kent is expected
to visit The Bahamas to show her support for BREEF’s work. BREEF
works mainly in education of fishermen and children in the preservation
of the fish stock in the country. Sir Nicholas sounded a warning
that the fish stocks of the Nassau grouper are seriously close to being
endangered. There needs to be a breeding season that’s closed.
And there also needs to be enforcement to stop sports fishermen from coming
into our waters and taking the fish. Further, the conch stocks are
in danger, said Sir Nicholas. We are concerned about this news.
Sir Nicholas is pictured in The Tribune of Wednesday 10 October.
He is married to the former Eugenie McWeeney, sister to former Attorney
General Sean McWeeney.
GOVERNOR
GENERAL DELAYS RETIREMENT
It
has been announced by the Government that His Excellency Sir Orville Turnquest
is now going to demit office as Governor General on 13 November instead
of 31 October as previously announced. Apparently, the Governor General
and The Queen got their calendars mixed up. The announcement says
that the practice is for the GG to demit office after a farewell audience
with the Queen while he is still GG. The Queen couldn’t see the GG
until 9 November, so it has been agreed now that he will leave office in
a special ceremony on 13 November in Nassau. Meanwhile, the Nassau
Guardian has asked the Government to name the new Governor General (Editorial
Saturday 13 October). They also asked for the GG to be elected.
This senator believes that the present Prime Minister has no moral authority
to name a new Governor General. They ought to name an acting Governor
General. With a General Election so close, it should be left to the
next Prime Minister to name a GG. As to electing a GG, The Bahamas
needs to become a republic and replace the GG with a President who should
be directly elected by the people.
COMMISSIONER
BONAMY TO LEAVE OFFICE
We have been reliably informed that the Commissioner of Police Bernard
K. Bonamy will demit office on or about 21 November from the constitutionally
protected position of Commissioner of Police. Mr. Bonamy who was
recently granted his Council of Legal Education Certificate from the Council
will be called to the Bar of The Bahamas on 25 October. He has been
on study leave from the job for about two years. He was to have return
do the job in August but got an extension. The reason for the extension,
he wanted to round out his term to a full number of years. He took
over the force from former Commissioner Gerald Bartlett on 21 November
and he wishes to leave on that day. Good luck to him! And Farewell!
Acting Commissioner Paul Farqhuarson who runs the Force now is likely to
get the substantive job.
PAT
BAIN RESPONDS TO TOM BASTIAN
Pat Bain, the president of The Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers
Union has responded to an attack by his immediate predecessor Thomas Bastian.
Mr. Bastian attacked the Union saying that it was not doing enough to help
the workers of the industry in the face of the hard times brought on by
the World Trade Centre bombing. To some this seemed to signal that
the rumours were true that the former President who was voted out after
18 years at the helm was planning a come back. That would be mistake.
Said Mr. Bain: “We find it evil that our previous president continues to
behave in an unacceptable fashion and remains bent on garnering political
mileage at the expense of the industry at such a time as this.”
WHAT
THE HELL IS WITH TRINIDAD?
Will some one please explain what is going on in Trinidad? We
have never heard of something like this. The Prime Minister after losing
his majority in the Parliament, dithers before he decides to advise the
President to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections. But when he
finally decides to do so, the President refuses, telling the Prime Minister
he will not agree to a dissolution until he is satisfied that the electoral
rolls are ready. Good gospel! Remember this is the same President
who in the face of a clear constitutional directive to do so refused to
appoint Senators in the Trinidadian Senate. What is going on down
there? Someone please explain.
CONDOLENCES
TO HENRY DEAN
Pecola McKinney, the mother of Henry Dean and Val Sands two of nine
survivors who are her children, passed away last week. She was buried
from St. Agnes Anglican Church on Saturday 13 October. We shall miss
her contribution to St. Agnes. Condolences to our good friend Henry
Dean. Mr. Dean is the owner of Dean's Funeral Home, United Sanitation
and sponsor of a softball team, a cricket tournament and a vestry member
of St. Agnes. You name it, he does it. But condolences once
again. It is a sad time. Ms. McKinney was 63 years old.
McDONALD
FUNERAL PHOTO
This Peter Ramsay photograph was taken at the funeral of the late Mrs.
Margaret McDonald held Friday 5 October. Mrs. McDonald's sister and
lifelong best friend Mrs. Mary Sweetnam is shown at the rear of the coffin
being borne out of St. Agnes church where the service was held. Pallbearers
are all third generation survivors of the former longtime teacher, civil
servant, Secretary to the Cabinet and Ambassador to the United States.
NEWS
FROM GRAND BAHAMA
No Help For 'Fire' - Grand Bahama FNMs have remained unusually
silent and unhelpful in the face of serious allegations against one Alex
'Fire' Pratt over an allegedly padded bus contract with the Ministry of
Education. 'Fire' is the Northern Region Vice Chairman of the FNM
and was a delegate to the FNM's special convention to elect the party's
leaders designate. Now, PLP Chair Bradley Roberts has questioned
the Minister of Education and FNM Deputy Leader Designate Dion Foulkes
about the details of the contract. Among the questions posed by Mr.
Roberts was "Will the Minister confirm or deny that Mr. Alexander Pratt
was paid to transport 600 children when in fact he was transporting 400
children?" The contract in question appears to be the source of contention
between high-level FNMs in Grand Bahama. Inside sources tell News
From Grand Bahama "No one is going to help 'Fire' because he tried to block
out two other FNM generals who also have good bus contracts..." Staunch
old-line UBPs now FNMs who meet to cogitate at Wendy's restaurant in Freeport
told our correspondent "That's what happens when you put thirsty people
to the well, since Hubert fired Pierre [Dupuch, FNM Shirlea and former
Minister of Aviation] and Brent [Symonette, former Chair Airport Authority]
and let Frank [embattled DPM now subject of Public Accounts Committee enquiry]
stay; nothing will surprise us." If the allegations about contract
padding are true, we'd like to know who got the difference. Let's
see: a difference of 200 children at $1.25 per child, per day, multiplied
by two hundred times five days times four or five school weeks per month...
Wow! That's a lot of money.
Talk of Splinters - FNMs embittered by their party's apparent descent into corruption are threatening to abandon the central party machinery and run as a splinter group in Grand Bahama. Informants tell us that the nucleus of such a group would come from sitting members of the Freeport City Local Government Council. The names that have been put forward are Chief Councillor Burton Miller for Pineridge, now represented by the FNM's C.A. Smith; Councillor Dianne Wildgoose for High Rock, now represented by the FNM's Ken Russell; Councillor Louise Ewing for Marco City, now represented by the FNM's David Thompson and Councillor Rudy Sawyer for Lucaya, now represented by the FNM's Neko Grant. "If Hubert won't take them, especially C.A. then we'll have to get him out," said one. It is proposed that they be known as the 'clean team' and reports are that the group has been promised generous funding from both highly placed political sources within the FNM and high level private foreign business interests within Grand Bahama. Trouble is, guys, the PLP will do the job of removing these sitting FNMs anyway. Meantime the Ingraham faction of the FNM continues to jockey for a place for woman senators Kay Smith and Geneva Rutherford. Factions within factions all fighting among themselves and the FNM leadership obviously too weak to deny nominations to discredited MPs. Sounds like a recipe for defeat to us.
Container Port Fires Union Men - Hurye Bodye, veteran trade unionist and would-be representative of workers at the Grand Bahama Container Port was screaming union-busting this past week. Mr. Bodye accused the container port of using the downturn in business caused by the World Trade Center bombings to get rid of workers thought to support the union. Workers at the port were about to vote to determine whether or not fifty percent plus one of them wanted union representation. Mr. Bodye says it ain't over yet.
G.B. Straw Vendors Dislocated - There is a paved lot in the vicinity of the Freeport International Bazaar and Resorts at Bahamia hotels known as Goombay Park. For decades, straw vendors in the city of Freeport have used it to sell their wares to passing tourists. Now, word is that the owners of the property, the Grand Bahama Development Company (see Port Authority) want their property back. Inside information is that the property will be used by Resorts at Bahamia or related companies to construct their own arcade and shopping bazaar as part and parcel of the renovations to the hotel complex. One straw vendor recalled that "One time ago, they tried to do this same thing to my cousin and the other straw vendors at the harbour. Back in that day all she did was to call down to Rawson Square and it only took one call for them to leave her and them people alone... Now, it ain' nobody to speak up for we."
Curiouser and curiouser - The recent events in the United States may have had the unintended effect of giving some truth to the name 'Our' Lucaya. Print advertisements can regularly be seen in local dailies urging Bahamians to take advantage of rates as low as thirty-seven dollars per night at the new hotel complex. This is the same hotel complex that all but banned Bahamians from its properties not too long ago. But that was before September eleventh. Now 'Our' Lucaya's CEO is boasting how many rooms they sold to Nassau people.
From The Horse's Mouth - Maverick FNM Senator Darron Cash who has been making headlines recently by speaking independently of his party's machine was the subject of several spirited political conversations among FNMs in Grand Bahama this past week. One such conversation involved two staunch party men - one a former candidate, the other a former top official. Said the first: "He [Senator Cash] is no good, too smart for his own good and I never trusted him. He's finished... Any investigation of corruption in my party should be done at the party level..." The other appealed for calm and reason: "We are all FNMs and entitled to our point of view. I don't think there is anything wrong with Senator Cash expressing his point of view and you shouldn't be out in public attacking one of the party's best and brightest. We ought to encourage free speech." From the horse's mouth.
Who's Cruise? - There was much amusement in political circles in Grand Bahama this past week over the apparent success of the FNM's 'One Love' boat cruise. Organizers were furious when they realized that the boat, 'Discovery Sun' had been filled with PLPs, eager for the chance to gamble on the 'cruise to nowhere. The event was organized as a way of calming the current fractiousness within the FNM, but as one source said, "half of them FNM fellows gave away their tickets to PLP friends when they found out you had to bring your passport. They couldn't take the chanced of ending up in ports unknown." Of the FNMs who did go on the cruise, our correspondent reports that "Half of them weren't speaking to the next half."
NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
ON THE MOVE AGAIN
The
air in The Bahamas has now a tinge of coolness in it. And so my friends
like Winston Saunders and one suspects Campbell Cleare are all relishing
the thought of what passes for winter in The Bahamas. I relish the
thought of the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST). At last I can get
a restful nights sleep. Don't know why they keep fooling with the
time. This DST was the only public policy issue my mother during
her lifetime ever concerned herself with. When we were children she
wrote the then Prime Minister every year complaining about changing the
time and how difficult it was to get her kids up for school when the time
changed. Guess I inherited that dislike for it. Leave the damn
time alone.
The last of the normal swimming season is done with the passing of the Discovery Day holiday. The cold fronts now start to come in every three to seven days. They provide much needed rain and coolness in the atmosphere. So we look forward to Thanksgiving and to Christmas.
For me this tells me that PLP convention time is near. Having left the PLP in 1984, the rhythm of that to which I had become accustomed since I joined in 1975 was interrupted and having rejoined that rhythm is not back. Because the Prime Minister cannot decide when to call an election, this year's normal PLP convention is off in order to conserve money. Normally our constitution mandates that the Convention is to be held in the last week in October. For us as younger men in the 70s and 80s, it was an exciting time to be a part of the then governing party's convention - free hotel rooms, wine, women and song.
But that is all past it seems - gone with the wind. These days we are all watching the tealeaves to see when this man is going to call an election so that we can be rid of him from the national scene once and for all. His corrupt administration has to put the final touches on the boundary changes. They intend to firm those up on 31 October. The Commission next meets on 22 October when the PLP's counter proposals will be presented. Dion Foulkes, the Minister of Education, who is under the gun for allegations of corruption has told some folks that whatever the PLP says won't make a bit of difference. But we have to fight.
The Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth Caribbean have met in emergency session in Nassau to try to deal with the fallout from this war of sorts in Afghanistan. The tourism figures are disastrous. A straw vendor gave us a perspective on why the tourists said they were not coming back any time soon. They come to the country because the crowds are here and there is a sense of fun. If the place is sad and there are no people then they won't travel. So our politicians and tourism managers have to get their fingers out and get the tourists back here.
Caricom Ministers called on the President of Trinidad to comply with the advice of the Prime Minister and dissolve Parliament and hold elections on 10 December. That was a good decision. A.N.R. Robinson, the Trinidadian President is totally out line for his unconstitutional refusal to dissolve Parliament as advised by the Prime Minister. We await events there.
It appears that my friend David Thompson has received a rousing vote of confidence as Leader of the Opposition in Barbados. My friend Owen Arthur, the Prime Minister, was convinced that Mr. Thompson's resignation was in his words a ploy. But whatever we hope that Mr. Thompson sees his way clear to stay on.
The PLP held a candidates ball last week. Pictured are some
of those at the Fox Hill table. Standing from left, Dellareese Cockburn,
Larry Wilmott, Chairman; Joanna Greene and Tameka Cash. Seated from
left, Charlene Curry, Seva Moss and Clarence Moss. A good time was
had by all.
This week we had 26,542 hits on this site for the week ending 19 October 2001 at midnight. That brings the total for the month of October to 64,345 hits. Thanks for reading and please keep reading.
PERMANENT LINKS
11th
Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell
Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell
speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling
& Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden
by Fred Mitchell
Address
to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address
to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address
to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue
Address
of Sean McWeeney / Pindling funeral
Gilbert
Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred
Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral
coverage
For a photo essay on the funeral of Archdeacon William Thompson. Click here.
|
|
| Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting | Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral |
| Site Links | |
| The PLP Position on Clifton | |
| http://www.johngfcarey.com/ | Thought provoking columns |
| http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/2477/index.html | Canadian contacts Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links |
| http://members.tripod.com/~xtremesp/wolf.html | Bahamian Cycling News |
| http://www.bahamiansonline.com/ | Links to Bahamians on the web |
| http://www.bahamanet.com/JujuTree.cfm | Politics Forum |
| http://www.jameshepple.com/ | Tourism Statistics |
| http://www.briland.com/ | Harbour Island Site |
SUSPECTED ANTHRAX IN BAHAMAS TESTS NEGATIVE
Wednesday 24 October - The Ministry of Health has announced
that the substance discovered in a white business-size envelope suspected
to contain the anthrax has tested negative for the dread disease.
Some ten people were on prophylactic treatment against infection from the
disease following the discovery 16 October at the Fox Hill Post Office.
Commissioner of Police (acting) Paul Farqhuarson said that the police and
health officials had been further placed on a state of high alert in response
to the discovery. He urged the public to exercise extreme caution
in handling any unknown or suspicious packages. More on this in our
regular Sunday update.
DION
& HERBIE SAY IT AINT SO
Herbert
Styles, a principal of International Hospitality Consultants and Associates,
held a press conference this week on Tuesday 17 October. He held
that press conference to say that he was going to sue Bradley Roberts the
PLP's Member of Parliament for Grants Town and its Chairman. You
will remember that for the last two weeks Mr. Styles has been at the heart
of a series of allegations of corrupt behavior by the Minister of Education
Dion Foulkes. Mr. Foulkes is also the FNM Deputy Leader designate.
The heat has been intense around Mr. Foulkes. Last week people were
taking bets that Mr. Foulkes was gone. But it appears that the Prime
Minister is determined so near the end of the term to simply tough it out.
Mr. Foulkes has been busy defending himself at every turn. He held
yet another press conference himself to explain that while they do not
actually have a lease between the Ministry of Education and Mr. Styles'
company, they did enter into talks with Mr. Styles in order to lease his
building. They subsequently decided that the building was not adequate
for their needs. Of course, what most people said then was why did
he not say that in the first place. Why all the business to Bradley
Roberts about produce the lease. But even if that allegation has
had an answer, the public is not satisfied generally with the answers of
the Minister of Education. The central questions how delegates to
the FNM's special convention got contracts from the Ministry of Education
in such a close proximity to that special convention have not been answered.
These need to be investigated by a Commission of Inquiry. The Minister
can not be judge and jury. The PLP's position remains the same, the
Minister must step down. Mr. Styles of course has no grounds for legal
action against Mr. Roberts, but it made good copy as they say in the business.
Any lawsuit would be thrown completely out of court. Foulkes (left)
and Styles (right) in Tribune photos by Omar Barr.
BRADLEY
ROBERTS LOOKS AT THE DUMP
The PLP Chair Bradley Roberts at his weekly press briefing said that
he had done a tour of the landfill dumpsite in New Providence at Harrold
Road. He had documents to show that serious environmental damage
is being done to the aquifer in that area. Please
click here for the complete statement.
TENNYSON
WELLS SAYS 'NOT A STEP'
Last
week, it became official FNM policy that Tennyson Wells and Pierre Dupuch
ought to leave the Free National Movement (FNM). For months now we
have been suggesting to dissidents Dupuch and Wells, Messrs. Lester Turnquest,
Floyd Watkins and Anthony Miller that they ought to simply cross the floor.
There is no future in the FNM for them. Dion Foulkes made it plain
in one of his rages last week against the PLP that Mr. Wells and Mr. Dupuch
ought to do the party a favour and leave the FNM. So here we are
in the same position as Hubert Ingraham was in the PLP when he was expelled.
He was making charges of corruption against the then leaders of the PLP.
He was expelled. Now Mr. Foulkes is suggesting that Mr.Wells is to
be expelled. The FNM party leaders have made it plain that they do
not intend to offer the two men a nomination. Mr. Dupuch's seat in
Shirlea is largely to be eliminated. He has not said what he intends
to do. But Tennyson Wells was defiant. On the radio talk show
on Love 97 Thursday 18 October: "I was an FNM from 1973… he [Dion Foulkes]
is not going to dictate what I want to do, unless he goes to the Council,
so let them do what they have to do… From what I am hearing they are trying
to find someone to replace me." Meanwhile Mr. Wells leveled further
allegations of corruption in the Ministry of Education. He charged
that Herbert Styles; yes that same one again, was the recipient of a contract
to provide food for the Bahamas Games and to repair basketball courts.
Mr. Wells' allegation is that this is yet another example of cronyism to
a man who did not give the Government value for money in previous contracts
given to repair schools in New Providence.
TRYING
TO GET RID OF FLOYD WATKINS
The Delaporte Member of Parliament Floyd Watkins has been the most
silent dissident. But that does not stop him from holding a special
place in the heart of hate of the lame duck leader of the Free National
Movement, the country's chief slave Hubert Ingraham. The story is
that long ago when Hubert Ingraham was still in Opposition and the PM was
the partner of Perry Christie in a law firm, Mr. Watkins was instructed
by a bank that held a mortgage for which Mr. Ingraham was allegedly the
mortgagee. Mr. Watkins was instructed to threaten to exercise the power
of sale under that mortgage. The mortgage was in default. Mr.
Ingraham has hated Mr. Watkins from that day for doing his job as an attorney.
He tried to stop him in 1992 and in 1997 from getting the nomination for
Delaporte. On both occasions, first the late Sir Kendal Isaacs and
then Lady Isaacs, his wife, intervened to stop them from messing with Mr.
Watkins. Now with Sir Kendal dead, and Lady Isaacs, his widow, supporting
the Turnquest faction, it looks like Mr. Watkins' goose is cooked.
But not so fast. Last week on Tuesday 16 October, the forces of the
lame duck Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham were busy at work trying to dump
Mr. Watkins, only their first salvo failed. They say that Mr. Ingraham
wants Mr. Watkins to be replaced by his pal Senator Ronnie Knowles, who
was Perry Christie's campaign manager in 1992 and is now the Minister of
Health. The Ingraham forces tried by seeking to get Dennis Dames,
the now Chair of the Delaporte FNM branch and his slate moved from office
at the annual branch elections. They wanted Mr. Dames replaced with
Dr. Mildred Hall Watson, sister in law of Frank Watson, the Deputy Prime
Minister. Mr. Dames had to be replaced because they believe that
they can't trust him. Mr. Ingraham arranged for Mr. Dames to become
a consultant to the Ministry of Health (remember the picture of him inspecting
the graveyards with Parliamentary Secretary Sylvia Scriven). But
Mr. Dames continues to support Mr. Watkins. So he had to go.
Anyway, the Ingraham forces were defeated three to one. Now its back
to the drawing board. The campaign team to unseat Denis Dames and
the Watkins supporters was headed by Sylvia Scriven, the same Parliamentary
Secretary to whom Mr. Dames reports. Also present was Juanianne Dorsett
the MP for Fox Hill. The Fox Hill people want to know what the hell
she was doing all the way up in Delaporte. No wonder we can't see
her in Fox Hill. She is busy interfering in other people's business.
By the way, Mrs. Dorsett has still not answered whether or not it is true
that she got a $17,000 cheque from the Ministry of Education as payment
for the services of her travel agency and whether there was any connection
with that (if true) and her support for Tommy Turnquest and Dion Foulkes.
SENATOR
RONALD KNOWLES CONVICTED
The
Minister of Health Senator Ronald Knowles was convicted in Magistrates
Court Number 9 on Thursday 18 October when he pleaded guilty to the charge
of driving without due care an attention. The Minister was charged
that he on 2 September drove a car east along Grove Avenue without due
care and attention. The Minister was ordered to pay a fine of $150.
Senator Knowles collided with a maroon 1999 Ford F150 truck owned and driven
by Leading Seaman Gary Livingstone Greenslade. The Minister was driving
a blue Nissan Sentra licenced to the Ministry of Health. Senator
Knowles had reportedly just returned from a round of celebrating (shall
we say) with the Prime Minister at the Fish Fry at Arawak Cay. Perhaps
Senator Knowles should have called in for a list of a few good lawyers…
Algernon Allen, Tennyson Wells… they're all back in practice and available.
Things that make you go: hmmm!
UPDATE
ON LYNN HOLOWESKO
We
want to keep you up to date on the commentary on the Lynn Holwesko / Fred
Mitchell matter. We are both Senators and poor Lynn lost her head
the other day in the Senate and launched into a tirade calling this senator
a racist and a liar. What she said that for she got. See the
Nassau Guardian story of what
happened in the Senate when it last met by clicking here.
Lynn was apparently shocked at the Guardian's story and asked them to run
a retraction saying that she never withdrew her remarks only that part
about this senator ever being an FNM. She also claimed that this
senator had a hysterical outburst. As they say in Nassau: YA
MA! But we thought that Niki Kelly, The Tribune columnist provided
the comic relief of the week when she reported how amused she was by The
Guardian account. In her column on Tuesday 16 October, she called it a
set-to under the subhead: MUST SEE TV. Here's what she had to say:
"I couldn't help laughing at the set-to in the Senate between the FNM's
Lynn Holowesko and the PLP's Fred Mitchell, as reported in the Saturday
13 October Nassau Guardian. The antagonists each had at their disposal
an arsenal of invective with which to bombard each other. Ms. Holowesko
accused Mr. Mitchell of being a hypocrite, racist and liar", to which he
responded by labeling her a "political terrorist" and the "Osama bin laden
of the Bahamian Senate". Cable Bahamas is missing out. In these
days of air attacks and anthrax alerts, a pay per view all star match up
between Dread Fred and Osama bin Lynn for the Senate heavyweight title,
might just be the comic relief we all need." I laughed my head off
that day and got plenty of calls filled with laughter. Dread Fred
is a name given to this senator by then Tribune Cartoonist Eddie Minnis
in the 1970s and from now on whenever Lynn Holwesko rises in the Senate
she shall be known as Osama bin Lynn.
CUBAN
SCHOLARSHIP FIASCO
Last year through Wesley Campbell, a private Bahamian citizen, the
Cuban Government announced that it was providing 350 scholarships to Bahamian
students to study at Universities in Cuba. Mr. Campbell has
a long history of involvement with the Cubans since the days of his membership
in the Communist Party in The Bahamas called the Vanguard Nationalist and
Socialist Party. But even though those days are gone, he maintains
his personal contacts and so the scholarships were arranged. But
the Bahamian authorities were suspicious of this. This senator expressed
the view that Bahamians should not go to school in Cuba. That it
was not in our national interest. But further, we also scolded the
developed countries for not offering enough tertiary level opportunities
for study in their countries while the Cubans were offering basically desperate
people an opportunity to further their education. The Government
seemed to take a hands-off approach last year when then Education Minister
Dame Ivy Dumont said that she neither supported it nor objected to it.
Bahamians are free to study where they please. I believe that too.
But now it appears that the whole thing has gone terribly wrong.
Senator Tanya McCartney (FNM) has taken up the cause of several parents
and students who are being denied an opportunity to go back to Cuba or
to go for the first time. The Government says that the Cubans have
stopped the scholarship programme. The press has said it is because
the Bahamian students led lifestyles that were incompatible with the Cuban
lifestyle, showing off with too much money and too much materialism and
generally not being well behaved. There seems to be a bit of FNM politics
in this as well. The FNM does not want Mr. Campbell to get any credit for
it. Somehow, Mr. Campbell received a fee of $900 per student for administrative
work connected with the scholarships. The students are now demanding
their money back. Secondly, Sir Arthur Foulkes, the Bahamian non-resident
Ambassador to Cuba says that any scholarships in future will be on a Government
to Government basis and the Bahamas Government has not yet decided what
their position on that will be. Further, after less than a year in
the job, the first resident Consul General to The Bahamas has been replaced
with a new man Felix Wilson. There is some suggestion that The Bahamas
Government had the first one recalled because of his perceived closeness
to Mr. Campbell. All we know is that the public statements on this
issue do not add up. The truth is somewhere between the lines.
We hope the truth comes out. But more importantly we hope that those
who are denied this opportunity to further their education will get another
chance.
GOVERNOR
GENERAL AT THE DEFENCE FORCE
Governor
General Sir Orville Turnquest has taken his official leave of the Royal
Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) (See Tribune photo). He is the
ceremonial Commander in Chief of the Defence Force. So amidst pomp
and pageantry, the Governor General took the salute and was given a painting
as an outgoing gift. Sir Orville Turnquest will leave office on 13
November. He has served since January 1995 in the post. He
admonished the Defence Force and the Police Force to be ever vigilant during
what he called "these challenging and potentially perilous times".
But that is not what the Defence Force officers are going to remember.
They are all talking about the fact that Sir Orville did not seem to remember
that he was at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and not the Royal Bahamas
Police Force. Our informants say he kept calling them the Police
Force or RBPF, not RBDF. Needless to say whether true or not, that
story is doing the rounds of the Defence Force postings. The Defence
Force officers don't like it and are saying it proves that the FNM Government
does not like them because the Defence Force is supporting the PLP.
Nothing like good old controversy. Many people find it strange that
a mix up like that would happen seeing that it is the RBDF that protects
the Governor's mansion.
CONSTITUENCIES
COMMISSION TO MEET
The
next session of the Constituencies Commission is set for Monday 22 October.
There is likely to be fireworks again. First, Bradley Roberts the PLP's
representative on the Commission will present the counterproposals of the
PLP. But the word is that the FNM is just going through the motions.
People close to Dion Foulkes have said that the lines are going to be the
lines they proposed on 17 September and that there will be no changes.
The Prime Minister told the Leader of the Opposition last week that he
intends to support the call for public input on the boundary changes.
Then the next thing we know the Speaker as Chair of the Commission announces
that she wants to have public input. Couple of things about that.
Does this now suggest that the Speaker can decide for the Commission in
advance what it is going to do? And beyond that does it mean that
the Prime Minister now obviously pulls the strings of the two FNM puppets
on the Commission? But our thing is this, the Fox Hill constituency
should be left alone but for the adding of polling divisions one and two
from Montagu that they took out in the last election. Simply put
them back and drop off the polling division number 5 from Montagu that
you propose to add. That's it. Again we repeat that the two
FNMs on the Commission Dion Foulkes and Tommy Turnquest ought to step down
since the allegations of corruption affect them and their work on the Commission
will therefore be tainted.
REMEMBERING
C.A. SMITH
We visited our brethren and sisters and clients the Air Traffic Controllers
newly ensconced in an office labeled Airport Flight Services in the Nassau
International Airport. Fresh paint, brand new computers, new carpet.
But guess what, the Government has given them nothing to do. This
is where C.A. Smith, the Minister of Transport and a wicked man indeed
put these hardworking men and women in order to break up the Union.
But the Union is stronger than ever. However, it gave us an opportunity
to talk about our days with C.A. Smith in Freeport. Those were days
when we both opposed the continuation of the PLP's rule prior to 1992.
C.A. Smith said he was against corruption. He said that he was for
fairness. But it turns out that neither was his true position.
All he wanted to do was to get into the seat of power where Pindling was.
We saw Mr. Smith in his official car, limousine number 4, on Thursday 18
October. His driver with a cell phone stuck to his ear. Mr.
Smith was riding in the back. We thought of the days when his car
would run out of gas on the side of the road in Freeport. How he
was locked out of his office several times in the building complex that
he rented in Freeport. How some times he would not be able to afford
coffee in the morning. Us too! How times have changed.
Now he is a big big shot, and is messing up the lives and future of persons
one generation below him. These are the same people upon whom he will have
to depend on to keep his big fat ministerial pension going once he gets
dumped by the Bahamian people at the polls next election. A bitter
thing indeed. How these guys have simply gotten too big for their britches.
THE
COMPLIANCE COMMISSION?
Under the new financial legislation passed last year with a gun to
our heads by our Uncle Tom Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, there is something
called the Compliance Commission. This Commission is supposed to
monitor whether or not the various financial service providers in The Bahamas
are adhering to the 'know your customer' rules. These rules require
extensive paperwork in order to open bank accounts and to deposit money
in the bank. The whole idea they say is to stop money laundering.
This has now been extended to stopping terrorism. As a legislator
and as a citizen we objected to the legislation last year on the grounds
that it was an invasion of the privacy of the Bahamian people. This
senator announced in the Senate that he does not intend to comply with
any of it. We now have situations in this country where the Registrar
General is refusing unlawfully to register companies unless you fill out
a form applying for a Financial Services Providers licence. The cost of
that licence: $2500. When this senator passed his Bar exams and was
called to the Bar that was enough of a qualification for incorporating
companies. There is no need for anything else much less paying this
corrupt Government $2500 which hardly anyone much less a small firm can
afford. Now it really gets pernicious. The Bar President has
passed onto all lawyers a letter from the Chairman of the Compliance Commission,
one John Kenning, an Englishman who used to head Barclays and then Bank
of The Bahamas. He married into money. He married Trevor Kelly's
daughter Betty. Mr. Kelly made his money off shipping and building
supplies. Mr. Kenning is a Hubert Ingraham favourite. Uncle
Tom that Mr. Ingraham is! Mr. Kenning proposes to start inspections
of all law firms. He told the Bar President that lawyers ought to
start hiring accountants so that the Commission can be sure that we are
all complying with the legislation. Let me warn them do not step
on my premises. You have no right to come rummaging through the files
of my clients and myself for any reason. Legislation be damned.
This is an insult to me and to my clients. There is no criminal activity
going on at Gwendolyn House. We cannot afford to hire another accountant
and who the hell are you to tell me about hiring an accountant? It
is a clear constitutional violation of Article 21 on the right to privacy.
It is also a clear violation of the due process standards in Articles 19
and 20 of the Constitution. Some lawyers have finally up risen up
and are deciding to do something about it. But what is most disturbing
is how the President of the Bar can simply pass this letter on uncritically
instead of standing up for lawyers. The Prime Minister insulted lawyers
last year by calling us all crooks. Of course since he is lawyer,
it takes one to know one. But this legislation must be fought and
this Gestapo, communist tactic of this Government must be defeated.
CLEOPHAS
ADDERLEY SR. DIES
Former UBP Member of Parliament Cleophas Adderley died in Nassau on
Wednesday 17 October in hospital at the age of 90. Mr. Adderley served
for two terms from 1968 to 1977 as the Member of Parliament for the City
constituency, which was later abolished. He was the successor to the disgraced
former Tourism and Finance Minister Stafford Sands. He was a Black
UBP. That carried a particular level of opprobrium in The Bahamas
of 1968 when the PLP was at the height of its power and influence.
But in death friend and foe alike lauded Mr. Adderley. Bradley Roberts
the PLP Chair expressed
condolences on behalf of the party. Mr. Adderley was laid out
in the foyer of the House of Assembly on Friday 19 October for official
condolences to be given by the country's leaders. We express condolences
to his family especially his son Cleophas Jr., the Director of the National
Youth choir. Both Senior and Junior have made important contributions to
Bahamian society. Mr. Adderley was buried from Christ Church Anglican
Cathedral on Saturday 20 October. May he rest in peace.
DESMOND
BANNISTER TO RUN AGAIN
The President of The Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association Desmond Bannister
is running for the office of President again. He is expected to win hands
down. Politicians were reading the tea leaves and they think that
this means either Mr. Bannister has decided not to run for political office
or his prospects of being named are diminished. Mr. Bannister who
has cultivated a good relationship with the FNM establishment has reportedly
been offered the seat in Carmichael to replace outgoing MP Ambassador Anthony
'Boozie' Rolle. But we shall see.
BRADLEY
COOPER IN FINE FORM
The Nassau Guardian published a great picture of Bradley Cooper the
medal winning shotput athlete now a member of the Student Services staff
at the College of The Bahamas. Mr. Cooper was shown in fine form
again by The Guardian in its sports section Wednesday 17 October showing
students how to throw the discuss. We wish he were able to get back
in the field. In his day, there was no money prizes for accomplishment.
You simply did it for love of country. Thanks Bradley!
PLP
LEADER TO MIAMI
Perry Christie, the Leader of the Opposition PLP spoke at the
annual banquet of the Bahamas American Federation in Miami on Saturday
20 October. PLP candidate for Marathon Ron Pinder accompanied him
to the banquet.
OFF TO BOSTON
This senator is off to Atlanta and then Boston for the week.
This is the semi-annual round of meetings of the Alumni Executive Council
of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
The stop in Atlanta is to attend a dinner being giving by Harvard's Divinity
School and the K School alums in Atlanta. We will return to the country
on Sunday 28 October after a brief visit with my sister in New York City.
As usual in these days of instant international communication, the timing
of this website will be unaffected by my travels.
CONGRATULATIONS
BISHOP ELDON
Bishop Michael Eldon, the first Bahamian Anglican Bishop, celebrated
50 years as an Anglican priest last month. He is a regular reader
to this site. We wish him all the best and congratulations.
V.S.
NAIPAUL AND NOBEL PRIZE
I consider V.S. Naipaul to be the finest writer in the English language.
Nothing in my view surpasses his work in the essay The Killings In Trinidad.
You can well imagine my delight that he has finally been awarded the Nobel
prize for Literature. Long overdue! Despite his denial of his
Trinidadian roots, this is a great day for Caribbean literature.
NEWS
FROM GRAND BAHAMA
It Ain't Time Yet - Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was in Grand
Bahama over the weekend to gather political intelligence and to address
a banquet of the FNM's Women's Association. "It ain't time yet,"
he told them, referring to the question of when a General Election is to
be called. Obviously Mr. Ingraham has talked to the wide cross-section
of FNM generals here and discovered the truth of what News From Grand
Bahama has been reporting for several months: that the FNM is now severely
fractured and there is a deep three way split in the party.
Ingraham Quotes Fred - The lame duck FNM leader went further the next day at breakfast saying that he had read where Fred Mitchell said (on www.fredmitchelluncensored.com) that he should call elections immediately, but reiterated that "It ain't time yet." We wonder how much more the Prime Minister has read on this website and what else he might have to say. Things that make you go hmmm!
Breakfast In Silence - The Prime Minister remained in Grand Bahama overnight Saturday 20 October to join many of the island's politicos at breakfast in 'Geneva's' restaurant Sunday morning. Flanked on the left by infamous 'contractor' Charlie Lowe and on the right by West Grand Bahama general 'Junior' Grant and trailed by a retinue of Ministers, Mr. Ingraham's arrival brought silence to the normally talkative political crowd. "Other than the most casual of greetings," said one observer, "no one had anything at all to say, in fact many of the regular crew who were on their way in after Ingraham made a sharp turn to the takeout window, collected their food and left." Feared or loved? We wonder.
The Head of C.A. Smith - No sooner had Mr. Ingraham excused himself to catch a flight to Nassau and exited with Ministers C.A. Smith, Ken Russell, Ambassador for Investment David Thompson and West End & Bimini MP David Wallace in tow, than the real conversation began. A former C.A. Smith general confided that he had come clean with Mr. Ingraham: "I had to let him know that people have lost confidence in C.A. and that he is not very popular in the constituency anymore. We are all calling for his head... and oh yes, one other; but C.A.'s alone will do... he just isn't ready any more and he should go." Another of Mr. Ingraham's group owned up: "We had a long and private chat and let's just say even though he may be a lame duck, he know exactly who the (expletive deleted) are now."
Not A Penny More - Businessmen across Grand Bahama are getting nervous over the ability (or perceived inability) of the FNM to win the next General Election. One well-known foreign entrepreneur in particular grew tired of fielding begging calls from various FNM MPs. He called them all together at his business establishment, pleaded a downturn in business due to the recent events in the U.S. and told them that they would each get one thousand dollars "and not a penny more". Perhaps there has been a downturn in business, but word on the street is that this particular businessman has only recently favoured a pretty friend from Eight Mile Rock with a $500,000 house.
What To Tell The Children - The gravity of the FNM's situation is beginning to hit home. One father, a senior FNM functionary, has been asking friends for advice. "My daughter wants to know how come we didn't do anything about the bounced cheques with Frank Watson and how come we didn't do anything about the $135,000 from Bahamasair. She also wants to know why we are denying everything Tennyson Wells and Bradley Roberts have to say... She told me that whether we kick Tennyson out or not, she couldn't support a corrupt party like this. What can I tell her?"
Competing Interests - Trade Unionist Hurye Bodye this week reminded Marco City MP (FNM) David Thompson that he was the representative of the people who elected him and not the representative of the Grand Bahama Container Port. Mr. Thompson, who is also the Government's Ambassador for Investment, was busy defending the Container Port against charges that they engaged in union-busting and immoral behaviour in firing 35 workers among whom were people injured on the job and still receiving employee benefits. The PLP's candidate for Marco City Pleasant Bridgewater cried shame on Mr. Thompson for defending an immoral act, and charged that the company was trying to cut its losses in the face of high payouts to the injured. Mr. Thompson did allow, however, that he would try to save the workers insurance for a short time. The Chinese conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, owners of the Container Port and fully half of Freeport, seem to be a sacred cow where the Government is concerned. We wonder whether those tens of thousands of FNM golf shirts so ever-present during the last general election campaign were 'Made in China'.
Congratulations to Canon Harry Bain who was sworn in as the newest
Justice of The Peace on Friday afternoon 19 October. Among those
in attendance were Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Burrows. It has been whispered
that our friend Kelly has been jockeying for the award of these JPs within
the power structure for some time. He is beginning to get the reputation
as a powerful facilitator. Just a thought, but we wonder who made
the recommendation and whether there was any promise of absolution for
unspecified (and possibly as yet uncommitted) sins. Hmmm! Meanwhile
local curmudgeon and faithful Anglican F.A. Seymour wants to know how come
he didn't know about the party?
NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
IT'S JUST A NUISANCE
This
column is being written from Boston, Massachusetts. I landed at Logan
Airport, the airport where the Director of Security was fired by the Governor
of the state for lapses in security at the airport that led to the events
of 11 September. Nothing appears to be new at the airport,
just the same long lines that have appeared at airports throughout the
states. One still questions whether this adds any additional security.
Delta Airlines has now implemented a policy of random searches of passengers
who come up on a list as they board the plane.
But the bags still take too long to come. Travelling as much as I do, you try to pack as lightly as you can so that you do not have to put anything in the baggage hold. The reason: the airlines lose your luggage and don’t adequately compensate you when you lose your luggage. But when this whole 11 September thing took place, you could no longer pack your personal items in your carry on bag. This then defeated the whole point of it of the convenience of an onboard bag, so well why not put everything in the hold. There should be less likelihood that the bags would be lost because of a new rule that you can’t fly without your bags.
Bahamasair carries this to the extreme by asking you on the tarmac to identify the bag that is yours. On the Delta flight where you are paying through the nose for a semi-comfortable first class seat, we now have plastic knives on the trays. This is a great contribution to safety no doubt.
But you still have to wait and wait for bags. No one checks to see whether you collect your bag and that you take the right bag. The lines are long as you check in but all it seems is a nuisance to the traveller, not any rise in the level of safety.
Just before leaving Nassau, I had the opportunity to fill in for the Leader of the Opposition at a luncheon held by the charge d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy Dan Clune for the new head of the Drug Enforcement Agency of the United States, headed by former U.S. Congressman Ira Hutchinson. Also there at the table were the Attorney General Carl Bethel, the Commissioner of Police, the head of the Defence force and Permanent Secretary Mark Wilson of the Ministry of National security. Interesting talk about demand strategies vs. supply strategies to stop drugs. Interesting to hear the DEA administrator say that the Bush administration and himself are dedicated to a balanced approach to this issue, with more emphasis being placed on dampening demand.
This week we had 26,658 hits on the site for the week ending Saturday 27 October at midnight. That makes a total of 90,976 hits on the site for the month of October. Thanks for reading and please keep reading.
PERMANENT LINKS
11th
Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell
Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell
speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling
& Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden
by Fred Mitchell
Address
to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address
to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address
to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue
Address
of Sean McWeeney / Pindling funeral
Gilbert
Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred
Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral
coverage
For a photo essay on the funeral of Archdeacon William Thompson. Click here.
|
|
| Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting | Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral |
| Site Links | |
| The PLP Position on Clifton | |
| http://www.johngfcarey.com/ | Thought provoking columns |
| http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/2477/index.html | Canadian contacts Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links |
| http://members.tripod.com/~xtremesp/wolf.html | Bahamian Cycling News |
| http://www.bahamiansonline.com/ | Links to Bahamians on the web |
| http://www.bahamanet.com/JujuTree.cfm | Politics Forum |
| http://www.jameshepple.com/ | Tourism Statistics |
| http://www.briland.com/ | Harbour Island Site |
BAHAMAS
AIRPORT BACK TO NUMBER ONE?
The team from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) came back
to town on 9 October to look over our safety and security and technical
capabilities at the Nassau International Airport. You will remember
that late last year, the airports at Nassau and throughout The Bahamas
were downgraded because safety provisions were not up to scratch and the
mechanisms for the inspection of safety and maintenance at NIA just weren't
up to scratch. The Americans downgraded the airport to what they
called a category two airport. That meant that the level of service
to our main travelling destination was stuck at existing levels.
It affected mainly Bahamasair that at Christmas time wanted to expand its
services. Bahamasair had to then wet lease a jet from Iceland to
do the expanded Christmas service. The recommendations were made
by the U.S. because The Bahamas did not meet the standards of the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Amongst the improvements, a law
passed but not yet effective that gives the Director of Civil Aviation
complete authority to run air safety at NIA. Also the perimeter roads have
been fixed. Bahamasair’s inspection and maintenance teams have been
inspected. They appear to have passed. The talk is that category
one will be announced shortly. Not a moment too soon. One Bahamian
who has a charter company can’t get permission to fly into the U.S. because
of the downgrading and the Americans following 11 September have also grounded
all private charters to the U.S. that have airplanes that are not registered
in the U.S. But we must say, the airport still looks like a dump
to us. Still a long way to go.
PUBLIC
ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE MEETS
The
Opposition Progressive Liberal Party has the majority on the Public Accounts
Committee. In this connection it has been using its powers to investigate
allegations made by Bradley Roberts MP for Grants Town and PLP Chair that
Frank Watson, Deputy Prime Minister was involved in a scheme involving
thousands of dollars of bounced cheques paid to the Treasury by his company
Nassau Transfer while he was in opposition that were cleared when he went
into government; that the company was allowed to pay off the bounced cheques
by deducting monies from contractors who got work from the Ministry of
Works. It is an allegation of corruption. You
can click here to see the report from last week of the last contentious
meeting. The committee met again on Tuesday 23 October.
But now Elliot Lockhart is back. He has asked for certain persons
to appear in the defence of Mr. Watson. Once those witnesses have
been heard, the Committee will then make its report. That should be a doozy.
Committee members Bradley Roberts (left) and PLP Leader Perry Christie.
THE
CONSTITUENCIES COMMISSION
The Constituencies Commission has been meeting to determine the boundaries
of constituencies. The meeting was held on 22 October at the House
of Assembly at 2 p.m. The members of the Commission are the Speaker
Italia Johnson, who is the Chair; Tommy Turnquest and Dion Foulkes for
the Free National Movement; Justice Ricardo Marques of the Supreme Court
and Bradley Roberts of the PLP. Mr. Roberts presented the counterproposals
of the PLP on the constituency boundaries. In the meantime, in a
pre-emptive strike, the Speaker announced last week that she wanted the
public to make comments on the constituency boundaries by Friday 26 October.
This is what the PLP had been insisting, but the Speaker made the announcement
without any formal decision of the Commission. The deadline for comments
was 26 October. But if you wish to
see what the PLP’s full presentation was to the Commission you can click
here. The Constituencies Commission meets again on Tuesday 30th
October. The majority on the Commission says that it will then have
a final report. The talk is that no matter what the PLP says the
FNM is going with their own plan.
LATE
NEWS ON THE CONSTITUENCIES COMMISSION
Dion Foulkes is reportedly predicting that when they are finished with
Fred Mitchell and Perry Christie and the boundaries, they will all be seatless
wonders. The talk is that Mr. Foulkes is angry that the allegations
of corruption continue to be argued by various PLP spokesmen so he is now
making it an even more personal fight by seeking to destroy this Senator
and the Leader of the Opposition.
JULIAN
FRANCIS SPEAKS
It
was a remarkable address. We don’t know if Julian Francis, the Governor
of the Central Bank, actually knows what he said and what the import of
what he said is. But from our perspective it is a condemnation of
the nine years of Free National Movement Government. Mr. Francis
was speaking to the Bahamas Society of Financial Analysts on Friday 21
October. Mr. Francis said that Bahamians have largely squandered
eight years of real prosperity. Said Mr. Francis: “We have not taken
advantage of that period of time [1992-2000] to invest in The Bahamas and
in those things which would position us well to compete seriously going
forward. We have not diverted the income which we have generated during
that period of time to the development of any serious capital purposes.”
Now this must be a description of the Government’s behaviour. There
is no Bahamian enterprise that has as much money as the Government.
And if the money has been squandered and since the Treasury was the main
beneficiary of the so-called prosperity, and the Governor of the Central
Bank says we squandered it, then we must ask: where did the money go?
Whatever money this Senator made was invested in the education of young
Bahamians, in the purchase and development of a law practice. People
have a tendency to condemn persons for using credit cards and buying cars.
I am convinced that when you look at the question of job creation and capital
accumulation, think of the number of vendors who bought cars to sell their
goods and services in the past ten years. The lunch vendors at construction
sites is one such example. Is a car then a luxury in those situations?
Think about the number of Bahamians who invested in the building of homes
and now stand to lose them because the jobs are drying up. One must
really think carefully before saying that Bahamians wasted their money
in the past decade. The only entity that we see which has not carefully
invested our money so that within one month of a disaster we are now high
and dry is Hubert Ingraham and the FNM Government.
DION
FOULKES ON WATCHING OUR PENNIES
The
leaders of the school boards of New Providence must have been in absolute
shock when they heard the words come out of the Minister of Education’s
mouth. The occasion was the one-day seminar for school board members
held at the Nassau Marriott on Monday 22 October under the theme: ‘Maximizing
School Board Effectiveness’. Said the Minister to the school boards:
“As this country gears itself for the challenges it will face due to the
present financial climate, precipitated by terrorist attacks overseas,
it is absolutely vital that all agencies of the Government exercise prudence
in the expenditure of public funds. It is therefore timely that,
through this professional development seminar, my Ministry is providing
you with the necessary skills to enable you to effectively manage the business
of our schools.” Now the school board members must have taken a deep
breath. They must well have said to themselves this can’t be the
same Minister about whom Tennyson Wells has made all those accusations
about wasting the public money. This can’t be the same Minister that
Bradley Roberts has accused of wasting public monies and using public monies
to get himself elected Deputy Leader designate of the Free National Movement.
But yes indeed, this is the same one. Things as they say get curiouser
and curiouser. By the way, judging by what we have heard from school board
members, it is easy for them to watch their spending because the Ministry
does not give them any money to do anything. So nothing plus nothing
gives you nothing.
THE
ANTHRAX STORY
We
have a saying in The Bahamas that some people like to follow fashion.
And that must be what was going on during the past week in Nassau.
And every one, the drammatis personnae played their parts. First
there was the antagonist, the person who sent a package in the mail addressed
to a local preacher that contained a substance believed to be anthrax.
Precautions were taken. The police were called in, the health people
called in. The Commissioner of Police then called a press conference
on Sunday last at 6 p.m., carried live on the radio. Along with him
were the Chief Medical Officer Dr. Merceline Dahl Regis and Postmaster
General Godfrey Clarke. Dr. Perry Gomez, who is head of the infectious
disease treatment section at the public hospitals also held forth in the
press during the week. A lot of technical mumbo jumbo from the Chief
Medical Officer who we heard distinctly say that the test at their lab
in Nassau, though not quite up to the level had given a preliminary indication
for anthrax. 
They
were calling in the U.S. Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta to confirm
their findings. The next morning, headlines. We ourselves amended
our early edition to let our public know. The pictures were of postal workers
in masks and gloves. The precautions were listed as to how to isolate
packages and so on and so on. You have watched enough American television.
Later in the week, though, the Minister of Health took issue with the headlines
that there was anthrax in The Bahamas. Strange, the CMO says yes,
the Minister says no. Oh well! The rumours then started to fly around
Nassau. One doctor who eats lunch in Collins Avenue at the Majors
Restaurant there said that he had heard it was all a hoax and that it was
a lovers quarrel that was unveiled. Thursday 25 October, the headlines
in the press confirmed that there was indeed no anthrax in The Bahamas
and the matter was all a hoax. But by all means let us remain vigilant.
Oh! Yes we have no fight with Bayer about the price of Cipro, the drug
used to fight anthrax. The press claimed that the local pharmacies
were well stocked with the stuff. Things that make you go: hmmm!
Guardian photos: Post Office worker in gloves by Donald Knowles and
news conference by Patrick Hanna. From left are the Postmaster General,
CMO and acting Commissioner Farquharson.
FIRE
FIGHTING IN BAHAMAS IN QUESTION
An
e-mail writer to the editor of this site, asked that we investigate the
state of the Fire Department. Our correspondent says that the way
that the Fire Department fought the Straw Market fire on 4 September and
the fact that a ten-room house in Gladstone Road was lost this month, shows
that the Fire Department is in deep doo doo. On each of those occasions,
the public claimed that the firefighters took too long to come, and that
when they got there they did not have sufficient water. Each time
the firefighters denied that this was the case. But as usual with
these things, the firemen who are the line staff come to public policy
makers such as myself and ask us to intervene because there is a cover
up. Following the Straw Market fire, the Commissioner of Police responding
to public calls for an investigation, including one from the Leader of
the Opposition Perry Christie, ordered an internal review by the police
force. But what really caught the eye of the public this week
was an interview with an anonymous firefighter who raised the spectre that
The Bahamas is ill prepared to deal with a terrorist attack. He was
concerned that the present fire fighting manuals of the Fire Department
do not address the issue of terrorism. Said he to The Tribune Monday
22 October: “The manual is not explicit in the effort that needs to be
co-ordinated. On the issue of training, we must shift our emphasis from
profit to education. For we must be reminded that when evil men are
plotting, good men should be planning. I believe that our organization
should provide the necessary funding to afford firefighters such as myself
the opportunity to be trained.” As usual the authorities will ignore
these things until something drastic happens. Still, the Department
announced the formation of a 'special response unit' to tackle bio-threats.
A constable is shown in full protective suit in this Tribune photo by Omar
Barr.
JANET
TO RUN AGAIN
At
one point the talk within the inner circles of the FNM was that Janet Bostwick,
the somnambulant Minister of Foreign Affairs was to demit office on or
about the same day that the Governor General demitted office on 13 November
so that she could succeed Sir Orville Turnquest as Governor General.
But that now seems no longer to be the case. The problems are manifold.
First, they say that Janet Bostwick was exacting too high a price from
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, lame duck that he is. She reportedly
wanted to be knighted and she also wanted her husband Henry who is the
President of the Senate to be knighted. So when she went to be the
first female Governor General, they would then be known as Dame Janet and
Sir Henry Bostwick. Mr. Ingraham reportedly said to his third force
allies in the Free National Movement: “How much more do these people want?”
But the real problem is that the FNM finds itself in a situation where
they are now concerned about winning the next election. They have
waited too late to put new candidates in the field. The PLP is way
out in front of them. Now with the economy disintegrating all around
them, they fear for their political lives. And so Hubert Ingraham,
Janet Bostwick and Frank Watson are all reneging on their original promises
to leave and let others run in their places. The same goes for James
Knowles down in Long Island. Their take is that with all the gerrymandering
at their command, they can with their incumbency muscle out any PLP challenge.
Guess what? When God is ready for you to go, he speaks through the
people. We think that the people have a surprise for them.
Janet, in the name of God keep going now!
WHAT
DID ALGERNON SAY TO COUNCIL?
The FNM’s National General Council met on Thursday 25 October. In attendance
was dissident Algernon Allen, the former Minister of Housing. Mr.
Allen reportedly warned the FNM’s Council that the PLP does not intend
to oppose Tennyson Wells and the other dissidents of the FNM. We
don’t think that’s correct but it had the affect of setting the cat amongst
the FNM pigeons. They said inside that meeting you could have heard
a pin drop. Now the Ingraham/Foulkes/Turnquest faction has decided
that they had better not fool with Bulgie (Mr. Allen) or Tennyson.
They want to give Tennyson his nomination. Their problem is how do
they give him his and deny Pierre Dupuch his without Mr. Wells refusing
to accept an FNM nomination because of it. Then Mr. Wells would still
go out and campaign against them. Things that make you go: hmmm!
RALPH
MUNROE OF CUSTOMS WINS HIS APPEAL
The Privy Council on Thursday 25 October dismissed the appeal of the
Comptroller of Customs against the finding of the Court of Appeal that
Mr. Munroe's rights as a customs officer were violated by an arbitrary
decision to remove him from the overtime roster in 1994. Mr. Munroe
has been fighting his case out of his own pocket since the action began
in 1996. He has now finally prevailed in the matter. The nub
of the case was that the Comptroller of Customs removed Mr. Munroe from
overtime because Mr. Munroe was an employee who was bothersome to him.
He was a stickler for rules and often questioned the Comptroller’s actions.
This resulted in an accusation that Mr. Munroe refused to turn over the
keys to his command in South Andros when he was transferred by the Comptroller.
The matter was referred to the Financial Secretary who is the person empowered
to discipline customs officers. The matter was investigated by Ruth
Millar who reprimanded Mr. Munroe. But the Comptroller was not satisfied
and took Mr. Monroe off overtime for the same offence. We filed an
action against the Comptroller and won in the Supreme Court before Davis
J. on the grounds that there was no power of the Comptroller to discipline
customs officers and that what the Comptroller did amounted to a disciplinary
action. The Court of Appeal agreed. The Government took eleven
months to appeal the matter to the Privy Council. The Privy Council
has now dismissed the petition for leave out of time, effectively ending
the matter. The Government now owes him his full legal costs and
the lost overtime money. We want to congratulate Mr. Munroe for his
tenacity in this matter. We are grateful to him for taking up the
challenge.
GOVERNMENT
VICTIMIZES PLP COOKOUT
It is interesting how Governments work when the end is coming.
The PLP applied in good time for a cookout to be held to raise funds for
the campaign of Alfred Sears, its candidate for Ft. Charlotte on Saturday
27 October. They got written permission from the Government.
Then after thousands of dollars were expended and advertising done, the
Government sent another letter rescinding the permission to hold the cookout.
This was a pure act of political spite. Their excuse: the park is
not to be used for cookouts and mass functions. The problem is that
they lie. The real reason is that Alfred Sears is making inroads
against the lame duck Zhivargo Laing, the Minister of (un) Economic Development.
They are to be commended for it. Anyway, they were fooling with the
right one. Alfred Sears said the cookout would go ahead anyway and
it did. To hell with them and three cheers for Alfred and his team.
CUBAN
SCHOLARSHIPS IN THE NEWS AGAIN
Wesley Campbell who has been featured in the news over the past two
weeks because of his affiliation with the scholarships offered to Bahamian
students to study in Cuba is planning legal action. The Tribune of
Wednesday 24th October says that Mr. Campbell is considering suing Senator
Tanya McCartney (FNM) and The Nassau Guardian for the stories that have
been run about him and the scholarship programme. Click
here for last week’s story on the Cuban scholarships. In short,
the Government of Cuba cancelled what was announced last year as a massive
scholarship programme. Mr. Campbell because of his earlier connection
with the Cuban Government was the conduit for the programme. He charged
students $900 as a processing fee. When the scholarships were cancelled,
the parents demanded their money back. Senator McCartney got involved
on behalf of the parents and has said that she will sue Mr. Campbell for
the return of the money. The Cuban Government’s Consul General in
The Bahamas Felix Wilson reportedly told Senator McCartney that this year
7 scholarships were offered by the Cuban Government through the Bahamian
Ministry
of Education. No one qualified, however for those scholarships because
the deadline passed without any one completing the preliminaries.
Oh yes! A correspondent who reads the column regularly corrected us from
last week’s story on the issue. She writes that as a former Member
of the Vanguard Nationalist and Socialist Party, the party also formerly
of Wesley Campbell, was not a communist party but a socialist one.
HOTEL
CLOSURES IN THE FAMILY ISLANDS
The state of Family Island tourism appears to be more dire than ever.
Club Med announced that it was closing its facility in San Salvador.
This completes the retrenchment of the facilities by Club Med in the Family
Islands. The Eleuthera facility was closed just after Hurricane Floyd
some two years ago. San Salvador residents are devastated.
That is their main employer. Some 92 people were laid off.
The Club Med bosses say it will not be permanent and that it will reopen
again in April. The residents of San Salvador are sceptical.
Also the Italian version of Club Med, Club Venta has closed its doors in
Eleuthera. That is the final nail in the coffin of tourism on the
mainland of Eleuthera. South Eleuthera is a virtual economic graveyard.
Some say that this problem with the economy is the general reason why the
Prime Minister will not hold elections this year but will let his mandate
run out to the end hoping things will get better before 8 April 2002.
LOCAL
STOCK EXCHANGE IN TROUBLE
It has been announced that a third trading member of The Bahamas International
Securities Exchange or BISX has joined the exchange. That member
is SG Hambros Bank and Trust (Bahamas) Ltd. They join Colina Financial
Advisors and Fidelity Capital Markets as companies authorized to trade
shares on the exchange as brokers and dealers. While the BISX officials
were happy with the news, BISX has serious problems. The report was
carried in The Tribune’s business section Wednesday 24 October. The
problem is that BISX is virtually bankrupt and needs a massive injection
of capital if it is not to fail. BISX now needs some three million
dollars in capital. They are looking to their original investors
for one million and another two million from the Central Bank. The Tribune
quoted a source as saying: “The problem is BISX is not earning sufficient
revenue to sustain itself. We [in The Bahamas] don’t have the [trading]
volume, we don’t have the depth and quite frankly, the cold factor is that
BISX would have to be subsidized for several years. Clearly, its
financial viability is tenuous unless additional capital comes into it.”
Now what baffles me is what happened to all these free marketers that we
used to hear from when the FNM came to office. Now suddenly
the Government must subsidize the stock exchange. We say let the chips
fall where they may. If BISX fails because it is a bad investment,
too bad.
ECONOMY
IN RECESSION TO 2003?
Gilbert Morris, the Executive Director of The Bahamas Institute for
Economic Freedom, a right wing think tank in Nassau, told a PLP town meeting
on the economy that he expects the economy of The Bahamas to be in recession
until the year 2003. The meeting organized by Arawak Homes
Chairman Franklyn Wilson and former Senator Neville Adderley attracted
some 400 people to a packed room at the British Colonial Hilton on Tuesday
23 October. But that didn’t stop Tim Donaldson, the Chairman
of Commonwealth Bank from announcing an increase in profits for the first
nine months of their fiscal year over last year of 15.9 per cent.
Mr. Donaldson did caution that because of 11 September, he did expect earnings
to fall. Freeport Oil Company (FOCOL), the oil monopoly in Freeport
also declared a dividend of 8 cents per share last week.
GOVT.
TO BORROW $100,000,000 US
Things have apparently gotten so desperate that the Government now
proposes to borrow 100 million US dollars in order to keep the country
afloat. Despite denials by the Governor of the Central Bank, the
reserves are falling rapidly. The pressure is just going to mount
as Christmas comes. The Prime Minister does not want Christmas to
come and be bleak just before he has to call an election. The PLP
is trying to confirm that this is what the Government is doing. We
must oppose putting this country in hock at this time. The Bahama Journal
in its edition of Friday 26 October carried the report of the borrowing.
DECRIMINALIZING
MARIJUANA
You
read the piece in the Note from the Publisher about the discussion with
the Drug Enforcement Administration Chief in the US Ira Hutchinson on the
decriminalization of marijuana. The Federal Government in the United
States is opposed to decriminalization despite the fact that several states
in the U.S. including California have authorized the use of marijuana for
medical purposes. At the lunch with the DEA chief on Sunday 21 October,
this policy was reiterated. The Jamaican Government has received
a report from its Ganja Commission. That Commission told the Government
that it ought to decriminalize marijuana. The Jamaicans as you know
have a cultural problem. The use of marijuana is endemic and it seems
an awful waste of time for them to be spending law enforcement dollars
on a problem that they cannot possibly control. That is this writer's
personal view. Law enforcement time and money could be better spent on
chasing after real criminals and not on persons smoking one or two marijuana
cigarettes. That is not the policy of the PLP. It is not the
policy of the Government. It is not the policy of the U.S. Government.
But you might be interested in a story that appeared in The Tribune of
Wednesday 24 October. The Home Secretary (equivalent of our Minister
of National Security) in Britain has said that the marijuana laws in Britain
should be relaxed to give police in Britain more time to battle harder
drugs. The Home Secretary said “Cannabis would remain a controlled drug
and using it a criminal offence... but it would make a distinction between
cannabis and Class A drugs like heroin and cocaine… It is time for an honest
common-sense approach focusing effectively on drugs that cause most harm.”
The AP story says that senior figures from all major parties have indicated
a review of the marijuana laws. Sir John Stevens who is the Commissioner
of Police in London called the proposal a reflection of changing police
and public attitudes. Said Sir John: “ this is a clear signal that
[marijuana possession] is not such a high priority as it was perceived
to be. There are lots of other more high profile issues for police
officers to tackle.” Amen to that. The effect in Britain would
be that simple possession of marijuana would no longer be an arrestable
offence but would be similar to a traffic offence where a ticket is issued.
That was exactly the argument this senator made at lunch. But we
hasten to add that it is unlikely for PLP policy to change on this issue
unless the Americans change their views. Nevertheless, it is clear
in black and white for all to see what the right public policy is on this
issue. The new DEA chief is shown at left in this Tribune photo by
Felipe Major with US charge d'affaires Clune at centre and Special DEA
Agent Frank Cellino at right.
GROSS
NEGLIGENCE AT PRISON
A five woman two man coroner's jury has handed down the verdict that
prison inmate Eddison Thurston, a suicide case, died as a result of gross
negligence by the prison service. Mr. Thurston cut his left wrist
and elbow with a piece of glass bottle on 16th March 2001. Coroner
Winston Saunders in his summation said that the prison services may have
comitted an offence contrary to sections 276 and 267 of the Prison Act
by failing to search the prisoner upon his arival at the prison.
This is a serious allegation against the prison service and all the more
reason why it is our view that action must be taken to condemn the prison
as crossing the borderline of cruel and inhumane punishment.
BAPTIST
DAY PICTURES
Last week the Bahamas Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention
held its annual Baptist Day march throughout the streets of New Providence.
They had a whale of a time. Last year, this senator was on the march
but this year, I was not able to do so. The march was again led by President
Rev. William Thompson and his wife. But The Tribune carried a picture
of Rev. J. Carl Rahming, the Pastor of St. Paul’s Baptist Church in Fox
Hill and his wife. Other papers carried a variety of photos.
The crowd along the streets was absolutely delighted by the more than 40
churches that participated, each in their individual costumes and cloaks.
Guardian photo of Dr. & Mrs. Thompson. Other photos are by Omar
Barr / Tribune.
THE
ARCHBISHOP SPEAKS OUT
The 101st annual Synod of the Anglican Church in The Bahamas began
on Monday 22 October. There were no earth-shattering issues this
year, the major hurdle of female priests being surmounted. The Archbishop
said to his parishioners that there ought to be an independent inquiry
into the allegations of corruption against the Ministers of the Government.
He also spoke about the events in New York City on 11 September.
On the one hand he said there were those who were pacifists who believe
that violence is not the answer to the present crisis. But he acknowledged
that others in the tradition of St. Augustine’s spoke of a just war.
He predicted that the present crisis could lead to a clash of two civilizations.
He acknowledged that the U.S. and the U.K. were engaged in an attack on
Afghanistan in search of Osama bin Laden. He added: “Let us pray
that they may be committed to what is true and just. Let us pray
for wisdom, for patience, for endurance and for shrewdness.” Tribune
photo by Omar Barr.
ARCHBISHOP
BURKE CELEBRATES
Pope John Paul II has congratulated the Catholic Archbishop of The
Bahamas Lawrence Burke on his 20th anniversary of Episcopal ordination
and Golden Jubilee as a member of the Society of Jesus. The Pope
sent his personal representative the Most Rev. Emil Paul Tschering to attend
and speak at the mass on 12 October celebrating the anniversary.
Said the Cardinal: “The Holy Father knows how much Archbishop Burke loves
you, takes care of you, works for you and serves you.” Monsignor
Preston Moss, the Senior Bahamian cleric in the Roman Catholic faith in
The Bahamas thanked Bishop Burke for his untiring service to the church
in The Bahamas.
OUR
SENATOR MELANIE
Senator Melanie Griffin filled in for PLP leader Perry Christie at
a rally held at the College of The Bahamas on Thursday 25 October.
The rally was sponsored by the College of the Bahamas Union of Students
(COBUS). Senator Griffin was joined by Dr. B. J. Nottage, MP for
Kennedy and the head of the Coalition for Democratic Reform (CDR); Zhivargo
Laing, Minister of Economic Development filling in for the Prime Minister,
Obie Ferguson, leader of the People’s Labour Movement and Cassius Stuart
of the Bahamian Democratic Movement. Senator Griffin told the students
that a PLP Government would enable all Bahamians to own their own homes:
“In the last nine years because of the abolition of the Immovable Properties
Act, Bahamians have had to compete with a global market to purchase land
in their own country… the dreams of many young people to own land has against
this backdrop been dashed.”
COMMISSIONER
TO THE BAR
The substantive Commissioner of Police B.K. Bonamy was called to the
Bahamas Bar yesterday, hailed as a first in the Caribbean. In an
emotional acknowledgement, Mr. Bonamy thanked his wife for her prayers
“…when a cloud of criticism and psychological warfare swirled around me”.
We have reported that Commissioner Bonamy is set to demit office on 21
November, believed to be the anniversary of the passing of the baton to
him as Commissioner from the late Gerald Bartlett. Tribune photo
by Felipe Major.
JAMAL
DAVIS CALLED TO THE BAR
We congratulate Jamal Davis, the son of Derek and Janet Davis of Fox
Hill. He was called to the Bahamas Bar as a counsel
and attorney at law on Friday 26 October. He is to join Gwendolyn
House, my law firm, on Monday 29 October as a pupil. We wish himself
and his family all the best. Mr. Jamal Davis is shown in this Tribune
photo with attorney Phillip 'Brave' Davis who presented his petition to
the Bar.
SEIGFRIED
WILSON DIES
Condolences to the family of the late Seigfried Wilson. Mr. Wilson
was a former police officer who came to The Bahamas from Guyana.
Funeral services were held in Nassau Saturday 27 October at St. George's
church. He is survived by five daughters; Lynn, Cheryl, Donna, Ingrid
and Lesley. Mr. Wilson was also our cousin. He was married
to Anne Wilson, formerly Lovell, who predeceased him, which makes him our
third cousin once removed of the half blood.
NEWS
FROM GRAND BAHAMA
C.A. Distances David Thompson - Minister for Transport &
Local Government and Pineridge MP C.A. Smith was busy distancing himself
from his colleague, the Ambassador for Investment and Marco City MP David
Thompson this week over the matter of union-busting at the Grand Bahama
Container Port. The container port dismissed 35 employees, claiming
a downturn in business, but curiously supporters of the union seeking recognition
at the port figured prominently in the list of those fired. Minister
Smith stopped just short of calling the company wicked, saying that they
must "have a heart". The Minister apparently now agrees with PLP
Marco City contender Pleasant Bridgewater who had challenged Mr. Thompson's
spirited defence of the firings at the container port. FNM generals
were fuming at C.A.'s pronouncements. "He can't be trusted!” said one,
"I tell you we should get rid of him." Poor C.A., finally finding
a voice for his people, only to be attacked from within.
Thompson Faces Off With Workers - The White House of Labour, headquarters of Hurye Bodye and the Commonwealth Unions was buzzing with indignation as David Thompson MP showed up to meet with the workers dismissed from the container port. Thompson had all week jumped publicly to the defence of the container port against the workers. "Get him out of here," they screamed, "let Hutchison vote for you, 'cause we sure ain't." Our reports say that the FNM member for Marco City beat a hasty retreat and made no more direct efforts at damage control.
Disruptions at School - Government schools in Grand Bahama were hit this past week by rolling sit-outs as teachers protested the continued refusal of the Ministry of Education to pay monies owed to them. High school students were on the streets and parents were called to collect their primary school children as teachers refused to teach. Government payday came and went without promised rental allowances and in some cases major salary cuts were discovered. Teachers lured from abroad are still living in cramped motel rooms because promised housing allowances have not materialized. Reports to News From Grand Bahama say that many teachers are now accusing the Minister of Education of wanting only to get through World Teachers Day (two weeks ago): "Now, he doesn't care."
What’s Going on Here? - Fact one. The Government is spending 40 million dollars on new roads. Fact two. In the High Rock constituency in Grand Bahama where Minister of Works Ken Russell lives and which he represents in Parliament there, is a major, high-quality producer of rock and gravel products. Fact three. That company, which has exported road building rock and gravel to elsewhere in The Bahamas and into Florida has been forced to put its workers on reduced hours because of a downturn in business. Fact four. The Government is importing rock and gravel for the building of Bahamian roads from Canada. What's wrong with this picture?
Red Rose Ball - Congratulations to Dashwell Flowers, organiser of the annual Red Rose Ball held in Grand Bahama in support of the AIDS Foundation. Informants tell us that "the placed was swamped with PLPs and only one FNM hopeful even showed up." We wonder what that means...
Anthrax Fear - Grand Bahama businesspeople are livid over the
handling of the anthrax scare. Already severely affected by the US
events of 11 September, several businesspeople have complained to News
From Grand Bahama that the announcement of anthrax in The Bahamas (which
turned out to be a hoax) was insensitive to the potential effects on business.
"Not only that," said one businessmen, "but did we have to go bragging
about closing our airspace to Afghani traffic? How ridiculous.”
