NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
PARLIAMENT OPENS
The
new Parliament of The Bahamas officially began its work for the new session
with the state opening of Parliament by the Governor General Dame Ivy Dumont
on Wednesday 22 May. All members of Parliament were present except
the man who sank the FNM ship Hubert Ingraham. The former Prime Minister
reportedly took off to his daughter’s graduation in Canada and so we got
to miss his dulcet tones at the House of Assembly. It was a strange
sight. Having caused all the political mayhem, the loud mouth wasn’t
there to see the results of his damage. But Bradley Roberts, the
Minister of Works is just waiting for him to show. The bet is that
Mr. Ingraham will not show until it is time for him to officially retire
at the age of 55 in August 2002. He will collect his pension and
disappear into the sunset. We will all say good riddance to the menace.
The Prime Minister has appointed all his senators. They were headed by the Leader of the Senate Marcus Bethel as Minister of Health and James Smith, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance. The new President of the Senate is Sharon Wilson. She is wife of the former PLP MP and Senator Franklin Wilson. The Vice President is Rev. C.B. Moss, former President of the Christian Council. There is a full report below.
But the opening of Parliament was interesting, not just for the promises of the legislative agenda and the stark realities of the fiscal crisis that faces the country, but for the social separation that it imposed on those newly elected and sworn in. As a Minister you have a driver and a car. You lead the protocol list. You are told where to go and what to do and to keep the majesty of the occasion and the symmetry you do not step out of it. The result is that the people who worked to elect the minister and those who voted for him rarely got a chance on this special occasion to interact, if at all, with the person they elected. It is quite a shock on the system. Voters at home also complain, after two weeks on the job, that you are not seen in the neighbourhood as often. There must be an understanding that things have changed and that in order to do good for the constituency, you have to work diligently for the country. But Tip O’Neil, the former U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives said: “All politics is local”. One would do well to remember it.
This week we had 41,110 hits
on the site up to midnight Saturday 25th May. That makes a total
of 192,634 hits on the site for the
month of May. Thank you for reading and please keep reading. (fm)
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.
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TOMMY
TURNQUEST SLEEPS THRU OPENING
They all looked punch drunk during the ceremony, particularly those in
the Senate. The gang of four that now represents the rump of the
Free National Movement put on a brave face but they could not manage to
keep a straight face. Throughout the ceremony Tommy Turnquest, the
seatless wonder, now Leader of the FNM, sat there glum faced. The
reality is that he is out. The scandals, the arrogance of his predecessor,
his inability to be his own man during the campaign must have been foremost
in his mind. He could well have been asking himself: How from where
I started did I get to this? He promised from the outside of the
Parliament that he would keep the PLP's feet to the fire to ensure that
they kept their promises. Then on opening Parliament day, he must
also have remembered the ultimate indignity. He was presented with
the instruments of appointment as a Senator by the real Leader of the Opposition
Alvin Smith. (Well, the law says so!)
Mr.
Smith according to the official FNM version of the story is just the surrogate
for the Leader of the FNM Mr. Turnquest, because of the distortion of the
general election that left Mr. Turnquest, the official leader of the FNM,
outside the House, without a seat. Someone apparently forgot to tell
Mr. Smith that, because in his remarks at Government House on Tuesday 21st
May, it was clear that Mr. Smith was not seeing himself as any surrogate.
Here’s what he had to say in his own words: “It is indeed a privilege of
mine to congratulate four outstanding Bahamians to have been selected to
be considered to represent the opposition in the honourable Senate.
It is a privilege of mine as the Leader of the Opposition to have such
fine Bahamians to carry out such a responsibility. I am sure that
each and every one of you would do a marvellous job. You must remember
that the roles have changed now, but you have an awesome responsibility.
Your diverse experience and your diverse background would have prepared
you for these moments.”
Someone ought to tell that man that well he aint
the real Leader of the Opposition. It must have been quite infra
dig for Tommy Turnquest as shown in the picture in The Tribune to be seen
getting from on high an instrument from Alvin Smith who we are sure Mr.
Turnquest thinks of as a lesser mortal. Things that make you go:
hmmm! Donald Knowles' Guardian photo of Tommy Turnquest and Rev. Dr.
C.B. Moss in Senate, Patrick Hanna's Guardian photo of Leader of Opposition
Alvin Smith (at right in photo) being sworn in.
THE
PLP’S SENATE CHOICES
The PLP has 12 choices for Senators. Four of them you already know
from the lead column. The total twelve are as follows: Marcus Bethel,
Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister of Health; James Smith,
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance; Sharon Wilson, attorney-at-law,
President of the Senate and wife of Franklyn Wilson, former PLP MP and
Senator and now Chairman of Arawak Homes; Rev. Dr. C.B. Moss, Vice President
of the Senate and former PLP candidate for Bain Town and former President
of the Christian Council; Edison Key, the former PLP candidate and former
MP for Abaco; Traver Whylly, a campaign general of Bradley Roberts from
the old Grants Town constituency and an officer of the PLP; Damian Gomez,
the former candidate for North Eleuthera and a former PLP senator and son
of Archbishop Drexel Gomez; Philip Galanis, the former MP for Englerston;
Yvette Turnquest, the former candidate for the Montagu constituency; Michelle
Pindling-Sands, attorney-at-law and daughter of the late Sir Lynden O.
Pindling and Lady Pindling; Cyprianna McWeeney, the wife of
Sean McWeeney, the former Attorney General and Senator; she is also an
officer of the PLP; Paulette Zonicle, former ZNS reporter now insurance
agent and campaign manager for South Beach MP Agatha Marcelle.
The twelve Senators are joined by four Opposition
senators that were named last week. The teams look like a mismatch.
Tommy will really have to pull up his socks as FNM leader in the Senate
if he hopes to survive against the PLP’s team. You
may click here for last week's story on the four FNM Senators. As Senator
McWeeney would say about the FNM: “Aint nothing happenin.” Patrick
Hanna's Guardian photo of Senate President Sharon Wilson being sworn in.
MOTHER
PRATT’S VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
The Tribune’s weekly section Bahamian Woman had a column by Regina Whylly.
In it, the columnist wrote under the headline: MOTHER PRATT IS UP TO TASK.
The article published on Wednesday 22 May said that many people had asked
the question whether Mother Pratt was up to the job as Minister of National
Security. The article said: “There are some persons out there who
feel ‘Mother’ Pratt is not the right woman for the job. Some have
claimed she is too soft, does not know anything about National Security
and is going to have to rely upon the advice of her advisors.”
The Tribune forgot to mention, however, their part
in contributing to the difficulty by the publication of a photograph that
seemed designed to embarrass Mrs. Pratt, notwithstanding the Tribune’s
official denials to the contrary. But the article was a positive
one for Mrs. Pratt. The person quoted by the columnist said that
Mrs. Pratt is quite capable of doing the job and that she has proven she
can do the job. Colin Johnson, a customs officer, said: “If Mother
Pratt listens to the persons that are in charge of the various ministries,
because they have been in these positions for a while and know what each
department needs, she will be able to make competent decisions.”
The columnist said the appointment was a great boost
for women in the country. She concluded: Cynthia ‘Mother’
Pratt is one of these women [making strides in the country] and we look
forward to great things from her.” Guardian photo of Mother Pratt
greeting supporters by Patrick Hanna.
PLUMMETING
RESERVES
On the heels of the statement by James Smith, the Minister of State in
the Ministry of Finance that the Government is going to run at least a
140 million dollar deficit this fiscal year, largely as a result of irresponsible
behaviour by the Free National Movement administration, it was curious
to see the statement of the Governor of the Central Bank Julian Francis
that the level of reserves in the words quoted by the Tribune were: “a
pretty comfortable number – a pretty reasonable level of reserves for time
being”. Mr. Francis was speaking at the Bahamas Chamber of
Commerce’s luncheon during Chamber of Commerce week on Tuesday 21 May.
The Governor of the Bank said that credit restrictions were being maintained
because any explosion of credit will cause pressure on the value of the
Bahamian dollar now pegged at one to one.
Behind it all of course is the knowledge that because
of the irresponsibility of the FNM, of spending for elections and not acting
prudently, there is severe pressure on the liquidity to lend to the Government
to finance ever-increasing deficits. The FNM lied to the Bahamian
people last year, telling us that they would be able to run a balanced
budget for the first time in the country's history. They knew at
the time they were making the promise that the trend in revenue was downward.
The whole thing then fell apart when the events of 11 September took place.
The house of cards fell apart. There should have been the cancellation
of capital projects; immediate freezes on pay and hiring in the public
sector and a frank talk with the public to brace them for two years of
relative hardship. Instead, they talked the talk of hardship but
proceeded to spend like there was no tomorrow. This spending increased
when the election was drawing nigh and it was clear that the FNM was in
trouble. The Government suddenly announced that things were looking
better and promotions and pay increases could take place in the public
sector. It was just electioneering and some are now predicting that
the PLP will face because of FNM spending the largest deficit in the history
of the country.
It would have been interesting to have heard the
Central Bank Governor confirm the lack of fiscal prudence by the former
Government, instead the comments seemed to vindicate their irresponsible
behaviour. The bad news is that there is no scenario short of a miracle
investment that sees this country rising out of deficits under one hundred
fifty million dollars each over the next three years. And this is
all due to the fact that when the country was doing well, the FNM spent
money on foolish projects. Now we have nothing to show for it.
Just go back to last week’s comment about
the state of the public buildings in this column. Look at the
state of the roads. File photo of Central Bank Governor Julian
Francis.
NEW
SPEAKER ELECTED UNANIMOUSLY
Oswald Ingraham was pictured in all the newspapers as he donned the robes
of the new speaker of the Assembly. Mr. Ingraham is a first time
Member of Parliament. He is the member for South Eleuthera.
He was elected unanimously. He was supported by Opposition Leader
Alvin Smith, his fellow Eleutheran. Mr. Ingraham promised to protect
the rights of the minority and to do his best to be fair to all.
Mr. Ingraham is a well-known businessman in South Eleuthera and this will
now require considerable time away from his hometown of Rock Sound.
The Deputy Speaker is Anthony Moss, the Member of Parliament for Exuma.
This makes the team of Speaker and Deputy Speaker a totally Family Islands
affair.
Congratulations came all around. We know that
Mr. Ingraham will be fairer than his immediate predecessor. He did
not name her as one of his role models for the job when he gave his acceptance
speech. The Leader of the Opposition in a communication came up against
the fairness principle and the new spirit of governance. The last
speaker, Italia Johnson who held on to the Speaker’s official car to the
bitter end, even though she was no longer a Member of the House (click
here for last week’s story on the subject) had made a ruling that all
communications by members were subject to a forty-eight hour rule.
Mr. Smith wanted to make a communication and claimed that he could not
follow that rule because prior to the House opening, there was no Speaker.
Of course that flew in the face of the legal opinion by the former Speaker
that she was Speaker up until the new Speaker was elected. Prime
Minister Christie told the House that the Government felt that the rule
was wrong and that he had no objection to the Leader of the Opposition
going ahead.
Tennyson Wells, the independent Member for Bamboo
Town chimed in that while he had no difficulty with allowing Mr. Smith
to speak he wanted to be satisfied that the rules were being followed.
That said the Speaker allowed Mr. Smith to continue. That is what
it should be. The House cannot be a less free forum to speak than
the bar room, with lots of technical rules designed to throttle freedom
of speech. Mr. Smith was fine. He said that the Opposition
would be active but what brought the House down was the ridiculous request
and then assertion that the present Speaker should be as fair as the former
Speaker Italia Johnson. Not even Mr. Smith could manage to keep a
straight face during that one. He broke out laughing with the other
House members. No one, not even Mr. Smith believes that Italia Johnson
was not a single-minded disaster as Speaker of the House of Assembly.
And she sealed her reputation for pettiness by hanging on to the official
car to the bitter end claiming that though the Parliament was long since
dissolved that she was still the Speaker. Yes but of whom? Donald
Knowles' Guardian photo of newly appointed Speaker of the House of Assembly
Oswald Ingraham.
BUSH
ADMINISTRATION CREDIBILITY ON CUBA
Just before Jimmy Carter, the former U.S. President,
went to Cuba, U.S. Government Official John Bolton an Under-secretary of
State in the U.S. State Department gave an address on 6th May to the Heritage
Foundation in the U.S. In the address he said: “The United States
believes that Cuba has at least a limited offensive biological warfare
research and development effort.” This was translated by the press
into an accusation by the Bush administration that Cuba had a biological
weapons capability that was threatening to this part of the world.
The whole story seemed to unravel almost immediately. No one believed
it and it seemed to be designed to undermine Mr. Carter’s trip and to reverse
the tide of pro-Cuban sentiment in the U.S. But there is an old saying
that you can stand on the beachhead of history but you can’t hold back
the tide.
Clearly most people think that the continued embargo
by the United States against trade with Cuba cannot and should not go on
and it must be ended. George Bush, the President, has a brother that
is Governor of Florida who needs to be reelected and depends heavily on
the Cuban vote in the southern counties of Florida. Thus the sabre
rattling over Cuba. Mr. Bush, the President, went to Florida last
week at a fundraiser and campaign stop for his brother and said that the
embargo would continue. His statements about Cuba and Castro were unnecessarily
harsh and in some cases flew in the face of the truth. When statements
of that kind are made they have a destabilizing effect on the region.
It sends out a signal to Cubans in Cuba that they are welcomed to leave
Cuba and go to the States. The only country in the region that suffers
is The Bahamas that has an obligation as the first country that the Cubans
land on to determine their refugee status or return them to Cuba.
This is an expensive business.
This week, some 16 Cubans were found on Anguilla
Cay and were transported to Freeport where they were processed before being
sent on to Nassau according to the Bahamas Information Services.
Meanwhile in The Bahamas the Cuba watch continues. Cuba is about
to become if it has not already become a major competitor in the tourist
market with The Bahamas.
CHRISTIE
CONGRATULATES INDEPENDENTS
Shortly before laying a series of bank revocation of licence orders on
the table Perry Christie got to his feet and gave congratulatory remarks
to the House. Of particular note were his comments to the independent
members. He congratulated Larry Cartwright whom he said that he had
never met before that day. Mr. Cartwright is a former teacher against
whom the PLP did not run in the Long Island and Ragged Island constituency.
He opposed 25-year veteran James Knowles of the FNM. Mr. Knowles
who was known for his arrogance was booted out of office by a combination
of Long Islanders in Nassau who were in revolt and those in Long Island
who were disgruntled FNMs and the PLPs who had no candidate.
Congratulations went out also to Whitney Bastian,
the Independent Member for South Andros. Mr. Christie said that he
had done well having prevailed over the might of the PLP. He said
that he had tried his best and arrayed a potent set of forces against Mr.
Bastian and yet Mr. Bastian still prevailed. Mr. Bastian just stared.
Earlier the Speaker of the House had to add Mr. Bastian’s name to the list
of elected Members on the Writ of Return of the election delivered by the
Parliamentary Commissioner. Mr. Bastian’s name was inadvertently
left off the list. Guardian photo by Patrick Hanna shows Independent
MPs Larry Cartwright at left and Whitney Bastian at right.
THE
ANNUAL MAYO VISIT
Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, will visit the Mayo
Clinic at Rochester, Minnesota for his annual physical from 3 June to 10
June. While away, there will be an acting Minister.
SUMMARY
OF SPEECH FROM THE THRONE
The Tribune summarized the speech from the Throne delivered by Dame
Ivy Dumont the Governor General on Wednesday 22 May. Please
click here.
BERMUDA
PREMIER VISITS
The Premier of Bermuda visited The Bahamas for the
state opening of Parliament on Wednesday 22 May. Ms. Smith is the
head of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) of Bermuda. Her party
won office in 1998 after 35 years of trying. The party was founded
by Lois Brown Evans, now 75 and Attorney General, who was a classmate of
Sir Lynden O. Pindling in law School in London. Ms. Smith was welcomed
to The Bahamas by Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The
photo is by Donald Knowles. By the way the Opposition in Bermuda
is called the United Bermuda Party (UBP) and the oligarchy that controls
it is known as the Front Street Boys. In Nassau, the Opposition party
was the United Bahamian Party (UBP) and the Government was and is the PLP
and the oligarchy that controlled the commerce in the country was known
as the Bay Street Boys.
RUSTY
BETHEL OF ZNS DIES
Broadcasting Minister Obie Wilchcombe paid tribute
to Harcourt Rodney Bethel, aka Rusty, who died on 22 May at the Princess
Margaret Hospital in Nassau at the age of 88. Mr. Bethel was a former
General Manager of ZNS and served at the station for 32 years from two
years after its inauguration in 1936. Mr. Bethel was an Abaconian
with a strong accent that is marked by the dropping of ‘h’s before certain
vowels and the adding of ‘h’s before other vowels. His signature
line was from an ad for OK flour and thus often came as “If it’s hokay
flour, it’s hokay”. But this endeared him to thousands of listeners
throughout The Bahamas. Upon his retirement he worked for The Tribune
as its head in Grand Bahama. Mr. Bethel, like Oris Russell whose
obit we carried last week, was one of a number of white Bahamian public
servants who stayed on after the PLP came to office in 1967.
Said Mr. Wilchcombe: “There was a time before the Internet and cell phone,
before satellite television, when the only means of communication that
held this country together was the voice of Zephyr Nassau Sunshine (The
words for ZNS the country’s only radio station up to 1992). When
[Mr. Bethel] read the news you were informed as well as comforted.”
RUDY
MOULTRIE DIES
He was known in the latter days mainly as the brother
of his more famous sister Vernice Moultrie Cooper. But in his day
he was a man about town, on top of the moment. Mr. Moultrie was a
dedicated PLP in the early days just after the change of Government in
1967. He retired from BEC, the electricity company in order to take
up an investment opportunity as a realtor. Real estate was the hot
business following the PLP’s rise to office. It didn’t work out and
he never quite recovered from the losses. Mr. Moultrie, however,
remained a man of distinction, proper diction with his ubiquitous pipe.
He and his sister were the children of the well known Etta Moultrie of
Meeting Street. Their home on Meeting Street was in the black community
of their day considered on the upscale level and they among the top of
the social ladder. Mr. Moultrie succumbed to what appears to
have been a freak injury when disembarking from a bus. He was buried
on Saturday 25 May in the Garden Of Remembrance at Christ Church Cathedral.
Our condolences to Mr. Moultrie's survivors including his sister Vernice,
brother Joseph Brown and his wife Paula.
THE
MITCHELL FAMILY MASS
About one hundred persons, friends and family gathered at St. Agnes
Anglican Church on Tuesday 21 May to pay tribute to the parents of Fred
Jr., Robert Ian, Carla, Matthew and Marva Mitchell. Lilla Mitchell,
matriarch of the family died on 4th May 1999 and Fred Sr. died on 23rd
May 2001. The service was held in memory of the parents. Officiating
was the Rev. Fr. Patrick Johnson, the Rev. Rodney Burrows, Rev. James Moultrie
and Rev. Roderick Bain. Mr. Preston Ferguson was the organist. From
left, Robert Ian, Marva, Fred, Carl and Matthew. Photo by Peter Ramsay.
STYLES
ASKS FOR CASH
You may remember the name Herbert Styles from the
not too distant past. He was the man who was at the centre of the
scandal involving former Minister of Education Dion Foulkes and the allocation
of contracts to build schools for the Ministry of Education. Mr.
Styles threatened mayhem against Bradley Roberts because of the allegations
of corruption. Now his FNM benefactors have lost Mr. Styles is not
to be forgotten. He told the Nassau Guardian on Saturday 25th May
that he needs his bills to be paid by the Government. Said he: “I
would like for the present Government to look into the matter with a view
to paying me what is owed. My contracts have to be honoured.”
Well there is plenty of goodwill with Bradley Roberts, now Minister of
Works. Yeah right!
DEAD
DOGS ON THE ROAD
There are little niggling problems that one hardly
knows as an ordinary citizen what to do, who to call. The pet peeve
here is the number of dead dogs that one sees along the roads of New Providence.
They sit and rot in the heat. The smell is awful. Who do you
call to remove the carcass? No one is quite sure. The same
thing goes for traffic lights that don’t work in Nassau. Many of
them have bad timing or the lights are off but again who does one call
to fix it? Just one more problem for the Government to solve.
THE
IRONY OF VICTORY
Victory is supposed to be sweet and it is.
Certainly it is better to have won than to have lost. But the irony
of victory is this. Often, an opposition party cannot win against
a powerful incumbent party unless there is an economic crisis in the country.
And then when you win with promises to straighten up the mess, you find
yourself hamstrung by the profligate ways of your predecessors. The
news is grim, of a huge deficit run up by our predecessors. Minister
of State James Smith addressed the country last Sunday. The news
is that the revenue has underperformed so far by 100 million. The
news is that it is not likely to get any better any time soon. What
is needed is a quick infusion of cash. Some saying selling national
assets is the answer. Clearly investment is part of the answer, belt
tightening another part. But it is the ironic conundrum of victory.
Now it is time to get to work. All the parties, ceremonies and victory
celebrations need to be put aside and let’s get to work. Enough already!
We can do it. (fm)
HATS
AWAY
The newspapers were talking about the fashion parade in New Providence
for the opening of Parliament. Some of those hats were enormous and
gorgeous. Leading the pack was the one of a kind hat of the Prime
Minister's wife Bernadette Christie. Not far behind was Brent Symonette's
wife with feathered plumage in deep blue. They say the hat shops
all sold out, and the talk is that Peggy's Hat Shop in Baillou Hill Road
caused a traffic jam trying to accommodate all the ladies hunting for hats.
It reminded us of patronal festival day at St. Agnes.
TANYA
GETS CANNED
Her benefactor hadn't been kicked out of office for two weeks good
yet when she got the news from her employers Private Trust. She and
seven others are to go. You got it right, Senator Tanya McCartney,
the defeated candidate for South Beach as in ‘IfaTanya’ is now job hunting.
Her employers citing increased costs as a result of the regulatory rules
put in place by her daddy's best friend Hubert Ingraham said that she had
to go. By the way, they say former Minister of Health Ronnie Knowles
can't be seen with Mr. Ingraham these days, since losing the election.
Mr. Ingraham is now back with his old buddy from the old days Alphonso
‘Bugaloo’ Elliott. Senator McCartney told the Bahama Journal of last
weekend that she had plenty of options to explore. Oh by the way
Private Trust is a company owned by FNM supporters and sympathizers so
no justifiable claim of victimization can be made against the PLP.
A word of caution to The Tribune.
RED BAGS
Cabinet Ministers all now have red brief cases in which to carry their
official papers, each with their number in the order of precedence.
The red brief cases were specially ordered from the U.K and are bullet
proof. Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is pictured
with his red brief case on his way from a Cabinet meeting. The photo
is by Peter Ramsay.
NEWS
FROM GRAND BAHAMA
The PLP can tick one in its’ ‘jobs done’ column. Reports
are that at least six of the several workers dismissed months ago from
the Freeport Container Port are to report for work Monday morning 27 May.
Newspaper reports also confirm that all Container Port employees are to
share almost three million dollars in overtime pay. The Industrial
Tribunal has ruled that the overtime is owed and that employees were wrongfully
dismissed. Anglo-Chinese conglomerate is obviously trying to put
things right with its employees now that the FNM Government is gone.
Hotel Union Walks Out – Executives of the Hotel, Catering & Allied Workers Union have walked out of a meeting with executive of Resorts at Bahamia now Royal Oasis: “We didn’t come here to be insulted,” said one. Sources say the problem stemmed from an expatriate executive of the resort: “He is unreconstructed and unrepentant in his attitude toward Bahamians,” said the source, “notwithstanding the cautions by Prime Minister Christie just days ago about not letting small matters fester into big things.”
Brent ‘Unco-operative’? - Usually reliable sources inside the FNM were saying all over Grand Bahama this week that the sole FNM MP in New Providence Brent Symonette is mightily peeved at being overlooked for the post of Leader of the Official Opposition. “They didn’t even give Brent the chance to refuse the position,” said the source, “although when the FNM needed money they took it from him and his Mummy in a hurry.” Mr. Symonette is said to have threatened to take a more independent posture in parliament rather than towing the FNM party line because of this perceived insult.
High Rock FNM Branch In Trouble – During the General Election we reported warnings to High Rock MP Kenneth Russell that a powerful faction in his party branch organization was causing a rift among the troops. Now comes word that the rift is about to erupt as either a full-scale battle or result in mass defections from the ranks. “He don’t think nothing of us,” said one Russell supporter, “He gave those people the best of everything and short-changed us.” Meanwhile, PLPs in the High Rock constituency are murmuring about vote buying.
What’s Up Ken? High Rock FNM MP and former Minister of
Works Kenneth Russell seemed highly agitated at News From Grand Bahama
this week. Despite the fact that senior members of this site are
amongst Mr. Russell’s constituents, he has warned us to stop writing “foolishness…
because people don’t read foolishness!” Well. We suggest Mr.
Russell count the numbers (see readership statistics at top), and while
we search our archives to see exactly what has so exercised the former
Minister, let us give the assurance that we are responsible journalists
and would never countenance anything less. In the meantime, Mr. Russell
should visit all his constituents and reassure them that he represents
them all. Oh, wait, perhaps he is upset at charges from his FNM colleagues
on Grand Bahama who are currently treating him as a pariah and have accused
him of leaking the details of their private parliamentary meetings to the
former Prime Minister. Don’t take it out on us.
Who Will Tell The Viceroy? - It is becoming clear to those in the legal community and constitutional watchers that the raft of financial laws recently passed to appease the OECD and others were, in the main, unconstitutional. The Privy Council, the highest court of The Bahamas is finding that to be the case here and in other jurisdictions, which passed similar laws. The question now is, who will tell the Imperial Viceroy?
Ingraham Meddles In Senate? – Informants tell News From Grand Bahama that in the run-up to the FNM’s Senate appointments, Tommy, Dion and Allen were all looking out for themselves until an intervention by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, which produced the eventual Senate appointments. “Nothing like it” reportedly said the former Prime Minister and that, as they say, was that. Things that make you go, hmmm!
Paging C.A. - Sources at the Police canteen in Grand Bahama
tell News From Grand Bahama that the cashier there is looking for former
MP and Minister C.A. Smith. The source says it's time for C.A. to
come and see the cashier after buying drinks for all on the night of the
advance poll... Paging C.A....
