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Ides of March Are Come
Aye but not yet gone
Caesar and the Soothsayer ( Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare)

When Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Senate by his former compatriot, he was warned before the act by a soothsayer. The soothsayer foretold that on the ides of March, 15th of the month, he would be killed. Caesar scoffed at it. As he left his home for the Senate that morning, he passed the soothsayer and said to him: The Ides of March are come. The soothsayer replied: aye but not yet gone. Bahamians have a saying, not every good bye is gone. All of those things come to mind as we contemplate the fact that the 31st August has now come and gone and is part of the history of the country. On that day, the man who was our king Hubert Ingraham resigned from Parliament and is now a private citizen. But we don’t believe it. He is lurking in the shadows. Up there in Abaco trying to pull the strings from behind. He has in mind the election of a puppet representative who will step aside when he wants to come back. He has in mind the John Compton strategy who was an octogenarian was called backed by his party in St. Lucia and he won the general election. Mr. Ingraham cannot sit quietly and do nothing. He has plotted and schemed all his life. He does not have the intellect to do anything else but plot and scheme. So we will wait to see if this is really gone or if it is good bye for true.

The following statement was issued by Bradley B. Roberts, Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party on the resignation of Hubert Ingraham from the House of Assembly on Friday 31st August:

As we turn our attention to the impending by-election, the pertinent issues are the party that has articulated the best national plan for the future of this country and the candidate best suited represent the needs of the people at the constituency level. The questions of the national plan and the party best suited to execute this plan were answered loud and clear on May 7th. Shortly, the question of the best candidate to represent the needs of the people at the constituency level will be put before the people of North Abaco.
We in the PLP believe that we have presented as our candidate a next generation leader who is a young, exciting and energetic son of the soil in the name of Renardo Curry. He is a father, husband and community leader who served on the local council in North Abaco. He is a youth leader and role model who represents all that is good and positive about Abaconians and especially young Bahamian males in general.

The people of Abaco and The Bahamas know Renardo Curry. He has articulated his vision for the continued development of Abaco and the same is widely known through expansive debate and critique in the public domain. This is in stark contrast to the candidate nominated by the FNM.

Who is Greg Gomez? What does he believe in; what is his track record in the communities of North Abaco and what is his vision for the Constituency of North Abaco that he desires to represent? Where has he resided over the past eleven years?

The people of North Abaco want to know these basic and necessary facts about those who propose to represent their interests. Regrettably these basic and necessary facts remain a mystery – shrouded in closely guarded secrecy by Mr. Gomez and his enabling FNM.

The Progressive Liberal Party welcomes a lively debate between Mr. Curry and Mr. Gomez about the future of North Abaco in this upcoming by-election campaign as we fight for the hearts and minds of the people of North Abaco.

We in the PLP are verily convinced that Renardo Curry is the best choice to represent the interests of the people of North Abaco given his tenacity, commitment and contribution to the civic life of and continued development of North Abaco.

DARRON FINALLY GETS A REAL CHANCE

It was in 1986. Darron Cash was at the top of his game. He was invited to the PLP’s Young Liberal’s Convention. He gave a fiery speech at the then Grand Hotel. He attacked the PLP in their face. He was the hero of the young, the gifted, the black. Here was a man phenotypcially black who in the face of Lynden Pindling at the height of his power was prepared to challenge the status quo. It was simply wonderful. It was his encore performance because some months before he had led the students of the College of The Bahamas where he served as President of the student union out on a strike to protest the immigration policy of the government. Loftus Roker had decided that the policy was to be rigoursly enforced and that all lecturers who had reached the end of three year work permit terms had to leave. It created a strain on the college, disrupted relationships. The college executive council did not agree and they “sicked” the students on the government. Darron B Cash led the way.

Those days are long gone. The students at COB don’t remember that, don’t know it and for all we know don’t care. But that is how he got his start and a good start it was. He should be in the PLP but alas he joined the FNM. You cannot get everyone. But he has since that time been forced to hide his light under a bushel. First he had to get his profession. He is an accountant and he tried to be an accountant for a time, in banking and now on his own. But politics is in his blood. For some reason. Hubert Ingraham did not seem to take to him and though he got little bits and pieces here and there, he always seemed to be on the wrong side of the boss in the FNM. His fortunes began to change when he was appointed to the Senate but then he got a bout of conscience just before the 2002 general election and voted with the PLP on two resolutions which really pissed the boss off. He suffered and was buried. He served as head of the Development Bank when Hubert Ingraham came back to power in 2007. But it wasn’t until things shifted dramatically on Mr. Ingraham that he finally gave Darron Cash a shot. That was in the Carmichael district. Too late again.

Mr. Ingraham lost, the FNM lost. Darron Cash was out. Now it has been announced that he is to be the Acting Chairman of the FNM. Hubert Ingraham must now be gone indeed. Mr. Cash now gets his shot. It will be an interesting ride, to help build a dispirited lost and broken Opposition party back to government. We can says we wish him luck, but wish him well. Maybe with Hubert Ingraham out of the way, he might get his chance.

One week and a day after Charles Maynard, the former FNM Minister, was buried in an official funeral, former Senator Leroy “Duke” Hanna was buried following a church service that was state recognized at Bethel Baptist Church on Friday 31st August. It brought to an end a wonderful life of struggle, accomplishment, nation building, music and family. Senator Hanna was a true national hero and nation builder. He leaves behind his business family at Traveller’s Rest run by himself and his wife Joan since 1974, his Bahamas Musicians and Entertainer’s Union family led by Percy Sweeting ( Senator Hanna served at President of that union from 1972 to 1999); his political family led by Prime Minister Perry Christie of the PLP for whom he served as a senator; and his natural family his wife Joan and children Margo, Jeff and Donna. R.I. P. great one. We will forever hear the strains of Small Hope ringing in our ears. The photos are by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.

The honeymoon period now seems to be over. The officers of the new Immigration and Customs Union have reportedly met and decided that they will revert to the tactics that they used against Hubert Ingraham in the run up to general election. They took the position that the then government had cut them short by not providing them with sufficient income to support their lifestyles with the abolition of the large amounts of overtime that they used to get before the shift system was implemented. In fact the new union came about as a breakaway from the Bahamas Public Services Union because of their dissatisfaction with the issue of overtime. The union said that they would give the new government time to get its feet wet. Shane Gibson, a former trade unionist, leads the government's team in the negotiations. But it appears that things have now come to ahead. The Union presented a set of proposals which were wholly unreasonable. They reportedly take the position that there has been no reply to their proposals and so in response to that they are going to the work to rule by working nine to five according to the general orders which govern the civil service contract. The matter is now before the Industrial Tribunal. Loftus Roker used to say that this is our country so we can break it up if we want. Not a problem. The country is broke. People cannot buy food to eat. Civil servants get a regular pay cheque come rain or shine. Some who have work seem so self-absorbed that it does not matter if the whole thing goes down in the fight. Oh well as Mr. Roker said: it’s your country, break it up if you want. The work to rule is supposed to begin on Monday 3rd September.

Can you figure out what that was last week when the Republican Party, the Opposition party in the United States held its convention to choose a nominee to run against the incumbent Barrack Obama? The racism which laced the entire event, the lack of obvious diversity at the convention. What the heck was going on there? The one that really took the cake, the rambling nonsense and insulting, racist babbling of the actor Clint Eastwood on a national stage. This was simply embarrassing and these are the people who are candidates to rule the world and have a good shot at doing so. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Our man in Grand Bahama writes this week about the death of Charles Maynard of the Free National Movement who died suddenly on an Abaco roadside and now was buried on Friday August 24th.

CHARLES MAYNARD: PILGRIM IN A STRANGE LAND

On Friday 10th August past, a political ceasefire was observed to honour the memory and to say farewell to our departed brother, Charles Maynard. Charles was the son of the longest serving PLP chairman under the Pindling’s administration, Andrew “Dud” Maynard. He was a “chairman’s chairman,” a rough and tumbled administrator who enforced discipline, and, in turn, was highly successful. His son, Charles was also a Vice Chair of the PLP.

As we reflect on the life of Charles, we were reminded of the biblical story of Joseph who became Prime Minister of Egypt, but, never became an Egyptian. Before Joseph died, he told his children when they leave Egypt, to take his bones with them in to the promise land. So on Friday morning, PLP’s showed up in overwhelming numbers to pay their respects to the Maynard clan. Although Charles was an FNM chairman, PLP’s in the main still regarded him as one of their own.

When it came time for the political tributes, former Prime Minister, Huber Ingraham, said he saw talent in the young man and promoted him to a full-fledged minister. Next up was Dr. Hubert Minnis, leader of the Official opposition. It almost immediately became apparent that although he sat side by side around the Cabinet table with Charles, he did not know him. The speech he gave was a generic one and we are informed that Dr. Minnis and Charles were at odds about the execution of the Abaco by-election campaign. When B.J. Nottage spoke, Minister of National Security, what was he going to say? What we saw in Dr. Nottage was a man who had come full circle and was at peace with himself. We would have thought as he spoke of Charles that he was speaking of a beloved son. In the end, he said what was most important about life: Your personal relationship with the Master. He then concluded by asking his political colleagues to lower the temperature of their political discourse.
With the passing of Chairman Charles, and the Friday impending resignation of Hubert Ingraham, the FNM is a rudderless ship adrift at sea. The example was seen after the announced suspension of the Abaco campaign until after the Chairman’s burial. Almost immediately, we saw a disjointed attack on the PLP from different factions within the FNM, all jockeying for political places around the political table with Dr. Minnis helplessly watching.

For our system of government to work, we need a vibrant and coherent opposition pregnant with ideas and grounded with core principles, ready to serve; sadly, what we see is an opposition that lacks vision. And so, on Monday, we in the PLP will, once again, pick up our shields and swords, and forge on.
Farewell our brother, Charles.

Stalwart B

Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis led the Bahamian delegation to the banquet in Nassau on Friday 31st August marking the 50th anniversary of the independence of Trinidad and Tobago. He was joined by Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell. The photos are by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Forrester Carroll writes this week from Freeport on the resignation of former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham. He says that Mr. Ingraham is determined to wreck the FNM. He writes that Mr. Ingraham is busy campaigning to get Greg Gomez elected in his old seat to that he can control the FNM from the behind the scenes. He says that while we are sleeping Mr. Ingraham is plotting and scheming.

A Roman emperor, whose name escapes me presently, once said that “The corpse of the enemy always smells sweet;”- indeed the filthy, decaying corpse of the Free National Movement smells sweeter and sweeter as the days go by.

It should be a very troubling matter (for the hierarchy in the FNM) that Hubert Ingraham obviously wishes to remain highly visible, within the ranks of the party, while he claims to be in the process of retirement; it should be even more troubling (for them) that he would want, deliberately, to undermine the new leadership, of the organization, and render those involved in its leadership wimps (at this crucial time) when the party needs so badly to impress the Bahamian public (giving them the assurance) that the FNM is ready to govern, if given the opportunity to do so, anytime in the future. It is even evident, to a blind man that Ingraham’s motives are not pure and they should remain very suspicious of this culprit’s deportment. Minnis shouldn’t accept anything from this bastard, at face value, in light of what he did to Tommy Turnquest several years ago. Ingraham’s attitude (and his actions as well) should be of grave concern to Minnis especially that the guy is now seen eagerly going about, from house to house, within the North Abaco constituency, campaigning on behalf of his chosen replacement, for the proposed upcoming by-election. Just think, for a moment now, this is an exercise he never engaged himself in (in his eight previous campaigns) for his own multiple re-elections so why in the hell, pray tell me, is he so keenly interested, now, in the house to house begging of his former constituents for their votes on behalf of this Gomez fellow? Besides this individual, for whom the sucker is now appealing for North Abaco’s voter’s support, may not even be qualified at this point (August) under our constitution to offer as a candidate in any election in the country. The man is bad news, for the FNM, and the sooner Dr. Minnis, and lady Loretta Butler-Turner, realize he is baggage (their party could ill afford) the better it will be for their leadership roles in that dying organization.

The good Book asserts that “unless a seed falls to the ground and rots it could never spring forth again to bear fruit” and so it is that Hubert Ingraham is doing all in his power, I submit, to bury the FNM so that, at the right time in the future just before 2017, he can emerge and come forth from the dead to declare; “see, you cannot do without me; you are nothing without me so (here am I politically alive and well able) please beg me (call for my return) and I will return gladly.” This man’s mind doesn’t really function like most of ours do; he is always scheming; while we are asleep, taking our rest, he is out burning the midnight oil scheming to see whose throat he can cut next, politically.

Hubert, I am very sure, is on a mission to install persons within the ranks of the FNM who are, and who would forever remain, totally loyal to him (and him alone). He realizes that he would need very loyal foot soldiers for when he decides to pull his planned coupe, against Dr. Minnis, similar to the one he pulled on Tommy Turnquest when he threw him overboard and took command of his FNM ship several years ago. This kind of backstabbing is nothing new to this plotter and schemer; his entire political life is littered with the stinking corpses of those he backstabbed for his own selfish political gain. I have no doubt that Tommy is now fully prepared and ready to tell his sad story for the FNM’s history books. He is prepared, finally I believe, to read Ingraham’s obituary while leaving it to someone else-anyone else-to drop the handful of dust on his political coffin reciting the words; “dust to dust-ashes to ashes; from the dust you came, to the dust you shall return.”

It is quite interesting, for me though, to watch the slow demise of a once vibrant political organization and the slightly faster-dying quadruped that once led it. The effluvia arising from this decomposing political quadruped (Ingraham) gets sweeter and sweeter as the days go by. The man’s mind is clearly suicidal, from what I’ve seen of his actions lately; he is terribly confused and this state of mind is increasingly obvious from his “on again; off again” retirement exercise. He retired back in early 2000 and then he returned (uninvited I suggest) to the leadership of the FNM (by backstabbing Tommy) just in time to lead the party into the 2007 general elections. He lost his bid, for re-election, for a fourth term, on May 7th 2012 and again he claimed to have retired on the same night. A couple days later, however, when he realized what his resignation might mean for the possible continuing of his political career, he changed his mind and told the nation that he would resign, but not on May 7th as planned, but that he would go on the 19th July which would have marked, he said, the 35th anniversary of his first being elected to the parliament. But just like I anticipated the 19th July came and, with all his shenanigans, he tabled only a document which was not in fact his resignation but (as I labeled it) a promissory note to resign (on 31st August) instead. At this point we don’t know if this corpse will be buried this time or not; he doesn’t want to go but he only likes to win; he doesn’t like being on the losing end of the rope and he doesn’t give a damn what his conduct does to his party’s image; he doesn’t care guys; he cares only about Hubert Ingraham. In any event the FNM party is dying and every day this corpse hangs around, above ground, the party’s days are being numbered. Napoleon Bonaparte once said that; “among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress;” and doesn’t this sound much like this Hubert Alexander Ingraham fellow? For my part, and that of all PLPs am sure, we are enjoying the stench emanating from the decaying corpse of this Free National Movement party; it is a sweet stench and getting sweeter with each passing day.

I wish, again, to reiterate and quote from the mind of that unknown Roman emperor; “The corpse of the enemy always smells sweet;” and from that of the great French General, Napoleon Bonaparte; “ among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress” unquote. Hubert Ingraham fits this category of persons exactly; he misses, terribly, being able to OPPRESS Bahamians.

Schools To Open

The public schools in the Commonwealth Of The Bahamas will open officially tomorrow for students to begin the school year. From all accounts, all the repair works have been done and there should be a smooth opening to the school year. Good luck to all our students at home and best wishes to the students who have travelled or will travel abroad to begin their education. The country needs you to succeed. Congratulations to the Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald.

Canadians And British Can't Get Visas Right

Bahamian parents are pulling their hair out as they await on word whether or not the Canadians have given them a student visa to study in Canada. Quite frankly it is ridiculous. Bahamians study in Canada and give many hard earned dollars to Canadian universities. The Canadians should treat Bahamians better than they do when it comes to visas for students. Sometime students are nearing their deadline for entry as they are right now and they cannot hear from the Canadian government on their visa applications. The Canadians don’t have an embassy in Nassau and so you have to apply in Jamaica. The delay is often six to eight weeks before you get an answer. The government of Canada does not seem receptive to solving the problem. Similarly the British do not have an embassy in Nassau. They have farmed out the grant of visas to a private company. That company is constantly turning down Bahamian applicants for silly reasons. Again no amount of pleading to the British seems to solve this problem.

Partying For Xernona

Xernona Clayton marched with Martin Luther King Jr. She worked for the Trump Organization and founded the annual Trump Awards which awards Africans of distinction throughout the world. Perry Christie, Rev. Timothy Stuart are amongst the Bahamians who have received the award. This year is her 82 nd birthday and she brought a star studded cast with her to celebrate from her native Georgia. Among them the actor Chris Tucker and Rev, Andrew Young, former Mayor and diplomat. The party took place at Atlantis on Friday 31st August with the Prime Minister Perry Christie as a guest. Elaine Pinder, owner of Bamboo Shack, hosted a brunch and fashion show for Ms. Clayton and all her guests at her home on West Bay Street. It was great show, one that only Mrs. Pinder can put on. The photo shows Ms. Pinder with Chris Tucker at the black tie dinner held for Ms. Clayton at P.I. Other party photos are by Jamal Jones and at Paradise Island by Peter Ramsay.

Condi Wows The Crowd/ Pioneer In Golf

Condoleezza Rice, the former U.S. Secretary of State, is by some accounts not in the right party. She said all the right things in her address at the Republican Convention in the United States last week, until she said that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would lead the United States back to prosperity. Those two are clueless and have a morality which is incomprehensible. But these are to be the leaders of the country next door which determines our fate. But Condi, well she wowed the crowd. Congratulations are also in order for becoming one of two women to break the Bar against discrimination against women at the Augusta National Golf Club home of the Masters Tournament. She is one of two for the first time in 84 years.

Has Kwasi Thompson Lost It

Kwasi Thompson, the former Deputy Speaker, who lost his seat to Michael Darville in the last General Election in Freeport was in the press last week claiming that the PLP had not solved the unemployment problem in grand Bahamas. He trotted out the FNM's propaganda line that the PLP was causing more unemployment by letting people go from Urban Renewal. Come on Mr. Thompson, you are better than that.

The Retired Public Servants
It is pay day for the civil service. It is cheque day for the social security recipients. It is pension day for retirees. It was Thursday 29th August. And a visit to the supermarket saw civil servants, retired civil servants and social security recipients all with their monies in hand picking up items in Rupert Robert's Supervalue. Thank God for the government it looks like.

The Mother On Welfare

We wonder if those who run these social welfare programmes, who run the Treasury and the civil service, really understand how important that cheque is to the welfare recipient. A mother stands in Supervalu. She comes up to the politician and asks for a job as janitress. There are no jobs and well that’s not a good message. She hides her disappointment in front of the five little ones walking with her. The politician says to one of the young ones: shopping with mummy. Before the children answer, the mother pipes up: “ Yes I got my cheque today from social services.” And with that she is going around the store and the little ones are in thrall, today is obviously a good day.

Pay Day Mess Up

The Public treasury transferred sums of money to bank accounts as they were supposed to do at Scotiabank. They made transmission errors and did not spot them nor seek to correct them until a complaint was made and phone calls aplenty to all and sundry. Blame the Royal Bank, they said. We wonder if those who run the system understand what this means to someone who is not in a position to defend themselves. We wrote before how important these cheques are to small people and we wonder whether those who run these systems understand what it is to be flapping in the wind with your children looking up in your face and no money in the bank. Our system is broken and badly in need of fixing.

Zhivargo Laing Has A Nerve On PLP Board Appointments

Some people have a nerve. The boy wonder who calls himself Zhivargo Laing, a former Minister and now Senator for the FNM, says that the PLP’s appointment boards were all friends and cronies and family of the PLP. Interesting comment from a man who was involved in lowering the duty on a product which benefited his sister in law when he was in charge of customs and then his brother-in-law was promoted , jumping over a number of others to post of Assistant Comptroller of Customs in Freeport. What would you call that? We say the pot calling the kettle black.

The Campaign In North Abaco

The campaign is joined in Abaco. Though no date was set. The Prime Minister Perry Christie put Hubert Ingraham in his place by saying that the election date would only be set once Mr. Ingraham’s resignation was official. Mr. Ingraham claimed that the date of the bye-election was going to be set on 2nd September. It was said to the press in his usually preemptory way as if he had something to with it. But the PLP’s leaders have all started taking apartments in North Abaco and visiting there more frequently. The images for the campaign are being designed and drawn. Soon the battle date will be announced. We expect that Renardo Curry will be victorious when the election is held to replace Mr. Ingraham in the seat.

Rihanna Confesses To Oprah

Well love is s curious thing. Rihanna, the Barbadian artist, who has captured the imagination of all the teen girls around the world, but became infamous as the girlfriend of the American rap musician Chris Brown, who beat her to a pulp one night after a party. Mr. Brown was sentenced to community service. probation and banning order. This is the thing. In an exclusive interview with the talk show host Oprah Winfrey Rihanna says she still loves him. Hmmm! Here we go.

Bradley Says He Aint Going Nowhere

There was speculation in the press, The Trib, to be exact that Bradley Roberts, the incumbent chairman of the PLP, was going to step down and not offer for Chairman again for health reasons. Nah, said Bradley Roberts back to them. He said he aint going nowhere.

GG Has To Move Out Of Government House

Sir Arthur Foulkes and Lady Foulkes had to decamp Government House last week because the air conditioning in the building failed completely and no one could seem to fix it. So he has been staying at the British Colonial Hilton. Latest word is he flew to Florida where he will be for a few days. Dame Marguerite Pindling will be Acting Governor General. She lives in her private home.

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URBAN RENEWAL LAUNCHES
(photo spread)

The Urban Renewal 2.0 freight train is out of the station and building up a head of steam. On Thursday 13th September, the Prime Minister Perry Christie and the Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis who is the minister charged with executing the Urban Renewal functions addressed the launching of the local Urban Renewal Commissions that will superintend the work of the Commissions in the various local districts. The Prime Minister gave an impassioned mainly extemporaneous address and talked about the work of Urban Renewal and how important it is to the well being of the country. Urban Renewal is a successful intervention programme but it has been on pause lately because the accounting and financial issues need to be settled. A word of caution there however. Whatever accounting issues there are, these are not the business of the intended recipients of urban renewal. Four months ago there was a promise made to start housing repair. People will think the PLP is making a joke of them if this does not start soon. Just a word to the wise. The addresses of the Prime Minister can be found here and the that of the Deputy Prime Minister here. The photos are by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services.

Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration appeared on the Jones and Co television programme last Sunday. He spoke extensively about immigration and foreign affairs.

QUESTIONING BAHAMAR

The project that is taking shape on the western shore of New Providence, capital island of The Bahamas, known as Cable Beach and commercially as Bahamar is taking shape. It is a credit to the hard work, perseverance and dedication of one Sarkis Izmerlian who doggedly pursued it through the invention days of Perry Christie’s first regime, to the dreary days of the Ingraham regime and now in the salvation days of the new Christie regime. The government soon has to fork over 45 million dollars to the developers as the payment for some public works done by the project’s developers which come due for reimbursement once the developers reach a certain level in the project. The day looms near. There is another day which looms near and that is the developers have not yet found a major casino partner to develop, run and market the casino for the project which the agreement and the government requires before they can get a licence. One does not appear to be in the offing. In circles near the government, there is dissatisfaction about the level of support given to Bahamian contractors and recently one contractor was left of out the mix after engaging in negotiations. Another got it but the whole experience left a bitter taste and did not enhance the projects reputation for helping Bahamians. Indeed on that score it appears to have promised (at least more) in this development phase than it delivered. Then a strange thing happened. The man who headed the development phase of the project Don Robinson up and retired, they said. That seemed like polite speak for something else but no one can quite get to the bottom of why it is that a man who is not an old man, who appeared to have such command and dedication to the project would without warning up and “retire” from the project. So inevitably in some circles as people look to the west and see the skyline changing dramatically before our eyes, the question is being asked: is the management expertise there to take this project to completion and fruition? Some people are good at inventing; others need to pass it off to someone who can actually run it. Bahamar is too big to fail for The Bahamas. We are counting on it. So we say to the government watch it carefully. That is all we say for now.

NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Bahamas is continuing to throw its support behind counter-piracy efforts and have implemented several measures to prevent such acts on the high seas.

The pledge was made during a meeting between The Bahamas and the United States State Department on the discussion of Somali Piracy and Flag State Prosecutions of Suspected Pirates, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, September 6, 2012.Statements of purpose were read by the Hon. Hope Strachan, Minister of State in the Ministry of Transport & Aviation and United States Charge’ 'd Affaires John Dinkleman. Also present were Commodore Davy Rolle, Director & CEO of The Bahamas Maritime Authority, London, Donna Hopkins, Coordinator for Counter-Piracy & Maritime Security, US State Department and other representatives from both governments.The purpose of the meeting was to explore how both nations can expand its cooperation on counter-piracy and identify areas in which the US might assist building Bahamian counter-piracy capacity through information sharing, training and or other resources.Mrs. Strachan underscored the importance of such a meeting, and the role The Bahamas plays in solving the problem of piracy, which has existed for over 400 years on the high seas.She said while such activities are not commonplace in Bahamian waters, modern-day pirates present a real threat to the world-wide shipping lanes having amassed an estimated loss of $13-$16 billion per year.Such acts are occurring in waters between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, off the Somali coast and the Strait of Malacca and Singapore.“The Bahamas is ever so proud of our strides in the maritime industry, and especially our Bahamas Maritime Authority, as we continue to attract ships to our register,” she said.The Bahamas is ranked the fifth largest ship registry in the world. It also maintains the largest cruise ships registry.“The Government of The Bahamas through the Bahamas Maritime Authority has pledged its absolute support to counter-piracy efforts and has implemented several security and prevention measures,” she said.Such measures are the vessel protection and assistance schemes, registration and position reporting procedures, implementation of anti-piracy measures, Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) Policy, the Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) Policy, procedures for alerting/reporting pirate attacks or suspicious activities, and pre and post piracy planning.She also noted an international joint naval presence, which provides protection and support to ships of all nationalities in waters around the Horn of Africa.“However, protection and assistance is only practicable if the coordinators of these forces are fully aware of the identity, location and intended course of ships,” Mrs. Strachan said.In this vein, the Bahamas Maritime Authority requires that all Bahamian vessels register with the natal coordinators at the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) at least four days prior to entry into the risk area as it is defined by them,” she said.____________ Pictured at the start of the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, 6 September, 2012 are from left Donna Hopkins, Coordinator for Counter-Piracy & Maritime Security, U.S. State Department; the Hon. Hope Strachan, Minister of State, Ministry of Transport & Aviation; and John Dinkleman, Charge’ ’d Affairs, United States Embassy, Nassau.

The story is by Lindsay Thompson of the Bahamas Information Services and the photo is by Kris Ingraham. Read More

Kevin Stuart is passionate about the petroleum business in The Bahamas and what it can mean for good paying jobs for Bahamians. He has been instrumental in Grand Bahama in causing his employer Stat Oil and the other major oiler bunker operation in Grand Bahama BORCO to partner to create a pilot programme to give young Bahamian men and women of high school age a chance to see how the industry works and give them a step up to long term good paying jobs in the sector. The programme was officially launched in Grand Bahama on Monday 3rd September and saw the Minister of the Environment Kenred Dorsett, the Minister for Grand Bahama Michael Darville and the Minister for Education Jerome Fitzgerald attending. The Minister for the Environment thanked the two companies for their work and foresight. You may click here for the Minister’s address. The photo shows the Ministers with the first students in the programme.

Congratulations are in order to the Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald for a major accomplishment in Grand Bahama in his first few months as Minister of Education, the moving of the environmentally plagued Lewis Yard Primary School. The moving of the new school will bring an end to complaints about the noxious smells coming from the industrial part of the Freeport on the school. BIS released the following story written by Simon Lewis.

FREEPORT – Both the Minister for Education, the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, and Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville agrees that the newly relocated Lewis Yard Primary School with be a modern state of the art school.The two Cabinet Ministers touched on the relocation of the campus from its site at Lewis Yard, to the old St. Vincent De Paul School in Hunters.Since becoming Minister of Education back in May, Minister Fitzgerald moved quickly to remove teachers and students from the old Lewis Yard campus. In recent years the school had to shut down early on a number of occasions due to strong odours coming from the neighbouring industrial park area.On Monday night, while attending the official launch of the Petroleum Products and Measure Course Pilot Programme at Pelican Bay, Minister Darville used the occasion to publicly thank the Minister for Education Science and Technology for his efforts, and likewise acknowledge the support of BORCO in relocation process.Minister Fitzgerald had mentioned a contribution of $102,000 by the Grand Bahama Port Authority for repairs to the St Vincent De Paul School to accommodate the Lewis Yard Primary School students.The Bahamas Oil Refining Company (BORCO) is donating in excess of $100,000 in the form of computers, printers, desks, chairs and other related supplies.Both Minister Darville and Mr. Fitzgerald walked the school campus Monday and expressed much satisfaction with the modern improvement to the institution.Elsewhere, the Education Minister pointed out that his Ministry spent almost $1,030,672.00 to improve the access to education on Grand Bahama for the new school year.Additionally, in Grand Bahama he pointed out that that a number of initiatives were accomplished in time for the September 2012 school opening.These included the reintegration of Jack Hayward Junior and Senior High Schools; Freetown Primary has been designated the Pre School for East Grand Bahama; High Rock Primary will now be used as the central location for primary students in the settlements of Freetown and McLeans Town; and the McLeans Town School has been elevated to a Secondary School, beginning with seventh grade students.

NASSAU, The Bahamas --- Officials of the Department of Rehabilitative/Welfare Services (Ministry of Social Services) will review additional ways to expand the National Parenting Programme in order to increase its reach.“Anything as valuable and necessary as the National Parenting Programme needs to reach more people if we are to stem the tide of criminality and anti-social behaviour in our country,” Minister of Social Services, the Hon. Melanie S. Griffin said.“Within the last year, almost 1,000 persons have taken part. It pleases me to know that so many Bahamians wish to be better parents, but I would like to see an increase in the enrolment in this Programme” Mrs. Griffin added. Minister Griffin said good parenting is “not as easy or as innate” as many in the community may think.“This is why it is so important for us to teach parents how to be good parents,” Mrs. Griffin said. “Parents, especially young, single parents who do not have the benefit of extended families need to be taught how to promote positive behaviour in children; appropriate parent/child interaction; parental problem solving, values, money management, communication, discipline and how to manage crises.“As the Minister of Social Services, I know of cases where parents abandon their children at the gates of the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys and the WillieMae Pratt Centre for Girls because the child has become uncontrollable. In some cases, this is through no fault of the parents, but very often, parents should ask themselves ‘Who made this child uncontrollable?’” Mrs. Griffin added.Mrs. Griffin said the National Parenting Programme was established in 1994 based on a concern over the “escalation” of single parent families and the “apparent disintegration of the traditional family.”“There was also the mounting concern about the many social ills that permeated the society such as the high rate of teen pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, child abuse and HIV/AIDS.“At that time, it was recognised that parents – particularly young, single parents – were facing challenges rearing their children effectively and purposefully and that lessons on good parenting were needed to help stem the tide of many of the social ills that were impacting the country,’ Mrs. Griffin added.Minister Griffin said officials of the Department of Rehabilitative/Welfare Services – the body that oversees the National Parenting Programme - will work towards increasing enrolment in the programme so that even more parents could benefit.“During my term in office, I would welcome additional ideas on how we can expand the programme to ensure that it reaches even more Bahamians so that they can be better parents and we can achieve even greater successes with regards to reducing the many social ills that are impacting our country,” Mrs. Griffin added.

The photograph shows the Minister of Social Services, the Hon. Melanie S. Griffin speaking during the Department of Rehabilitative/ Welfare Services National Parenting Programme Facilitators Appreciation Day Thursday September 6, at the Abaco Markets Building, Thompson Boulevard. Later the Minister honoured 45 Facilitators of the National Parenting Programme sitting with them for a photo. The photos are by Patrick Hanna of the Bahamas Information Services and the story is by Matt Maura.

NASSAU, The Bahamas --- A National Committee for Families and Children has been appointed to ensure that all of the provisions of the Child Protection Act, 2007, are implemented in full, Minister of Social Services and Community Development, the Hon. Melanie S. Griffin said.Appearing on the Immediate Response Radio Talk Show, hosted by attorney Fayne Thompson, Mrs. Griffin said the appointment of the committee comes five years after the legislation was passed by both the House of Assembly and the Senate in 2007, and three years after the Act came into effect in 2009.“That committee will begin meeting shortly so that they can review the Act and make determinations on what directions they will take to carry out their work under the legislation,” Mrs. Griffin said.

“It is our belief that they will be able to push for some of the things that have not been done since the Act came into effect,” Mrs. Griffin added. One such area is the provision of proper housing and the establishment of educational and other programmes for residents of the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys and the WillaMae Pratt Centre for Girls who are between the ages of 16-18.Mrs. Griffin said that in raising the age-level of those children who could be committed to the Centre from 16 years to age to 18, the Child Protection Act allowed court officials to alternatively commit perpetrators of lesser criminal acts who were in the age-group category to either Centre as opposed to Her Majesty’s Prisons, where they would interact with more older, hardened criminals.She said no provisions were made to accommodate in separate facilities and/or facilitate the 16-18-year-olds at the Simpson Penn (Centre for Boys) and WillaMae Pratt (Centre for Girls) since the implementation of the Act, which has produced some “challenges.”“This is an area the Committee will be able to address as it has been presenting a major challenge at those facilities and so we are looking to address building facilities for that age-group,” Mrs. Griffin said.“There is also a need to provide psychological and other programmes for them, which has not been happening, and so we want to ensure that these things happen and that the Act is brought fully into force. Once we get the committee fully operational, they will be responsible for ensuring that all of the Regulations are followed,” Minister Griffin added.Mrs. Griffin said the Act, which is based upon the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, contains several other positive aspects.“The Act also gave fathers of children born out of wedlock, the ability to access those children as now he does not have to wait for the mother to take him to court for maintenance to be able to say to the judge ‘I can't see my child.’ He now has the right to go to the courts and say ‘I need to see my child, the mother is not allowing me to see my child.’ “It has also provided for mothers to be able to seek maintenance for their children beyond the age of three, and up to age of 18 and even further, if the child is still in school, if the child is in college for example, and so the provisions are very strong, very powerful and once we can get them all into force, I think we will be moving in the right direction,” Mrs. Griffin added.Mrs. Griffin said another important aspect of the Act relates to the provision of Minor Advocates for children needing representation.“During my first tenure as minister I went into Juvenile Court and sat and watched what was happening in there and saw a 10-year old come before the court without a parent there, or family member there, no sort of representation, of course the social worker was in the court, but you had the juvenile panel, you had the judge and no representation for the child.“That tugged at my heart. I knew that the child had to be there for some misconduct or misbehaviour, but to see them standing there with no parent, no lawyer, it was difficult for me. But we have the opportunity to have the Minor’s Advocate and as I indicated we are going to move forward to really put in place the provisions,” Mrs. Griffin added.

The photo shows Minister of Social Services and Community Development, the Hon. Melanie S. Griffin appears on the New Immediate Response Radio Talk-Show to discuss a number of issues relative to her ministry and the Department of Social Services. Mrs. Griffin is pictured with Show Host, Attorney Fayne Thompson. (BIS Photo/Raymond Bethel)The story is by Matt Maura

OFFICIAL VISIT - Health Minister the Hon. Dr. Perry Gomez was on an official visit to Grand Bahama Wednesday, September 5. Dr. Gomez is joined by Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, as he toured the Hawksbill Clinic. The Health Minister also visited the Eight Mile Rock Clinic and Rand Memorial Hospital, before paying a courtesy call on the Ministry for Grand Bahama in the Harold DeGregory Complex, where he and the Minister for Grand Bahama shared ideas about health care on Grand Bahama. (BIS Photo)

SCHOOL SUPPLIES -- The Hon. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration and the Member of Parliament for the Fox Hill Constituency presents school supplies to students of the Sandilands Primary School, September 7. Also pictured are Principals Easter Cartwright and Ellamae Collie of the Fox Hill constituency office. (BIS Photo / Patrick Hanna)

During the past week, there was the convention of the party in power in the United States the Democratic Party. The party is headed by the U.S. President Barak Obama. The pundits are pretty much predicting that he is done in the next election in the United States, what with a bad economy and stubborn opponents who have painted him as feckless. The Bahamian public is Obama star crazy, however and the television sets were tuned every night last week to hear what Mr. Obama’s party had to say: his wife Michelle was a favourite ( the gray fingernail polish, the American designer dress for $750 and $120 J Crew shoes vs the opponent’s wife Anne Romney in an Oscar de la Renta dress for $3800 with $1300 shoes); then William Clinton, the former President knocked the socks off the opponents; and finally a somewhat subdued Mr. Obama brought it home. The video and some pictures from the web of last week’s proceedings.

On the eve of the opening of the school year, the Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald gave this address to the country .

We have the evidence. The FNM candidate Greg Gomez was at the Charles Maynard funeral after all. Our culpa. But as the late Paul Drake used to say: " Never let the facts interfere with a good story. ". The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Forrester Carroll writes from Freeport about U.S. President Barak Obama’s campaign for re-election and the subtle and no so subtle racism that underlines the campaign of the Republican party, the main opposition party in the United States. He argues that the U.S. is such a diverse society one would have expected otherwise but there has been a backlash in the opposition direction. He says we have our own problems here in The Bahamas with the same phenomenon.

The election of Mr. Barak Obama, to the presidency of the United States of America some four years ago, revived and awakened (rather than put to death for all times) a slumbering giant-RACISM-albeit more pronounced in limited parts of rural America than in others.

Anyone who thought that skin colour and other racial prejudices would have diminished (to any tolerable level) and indeed become an almost non-issue, with the historic election of the first black to the American presidency in that “land of the free and home of the brave,” must now think again (once, twice, and even three times) as we watch the execution of the US Presidential Election Campaign between the incumbent, Mr. Barak Obama, and Mitt Romney. Being as diverse in its ethnicity, as America is today, one would have thought that by now, in 21st century America, the scourge of skin colour racism, which saw in times past the lynching of persons who happened not to be of the Caucasian race, would have been isolated (really isolated) to those narrow-minded small town’s folk living in those rural parts of the country from where none dare venture to travel outside for fear of having to interact with other divers cultures; but not so for it there for all to see, very visibly since the election of President Obama in 2008, the resurrection of blatant racism at the highest level of the country’s federal government. Today’s official statistics show that white America accounts for only 54% of the population and projections are that by the year 2030 other ethnic groups will together make up America’s majority population by a large margin.

Since the killing of those Sikh worshippers in Oak Creek Wisconsin, allegedly by a person known to be a member of the “White Supremacist movement,” it has come home (certainly to me) clearer and more forcedly that there is still deep-rooted intolerance for the diverse ethnicity that America is rapidly becoming. Investigations, since the shootings, revealed that the alleged cowardly criminal, who took his own miserable life rather than face prosecution, was steeped in the “white power” movement; the same kind, I submit advocated by the Tea Party, that seems to be motivating the mindset of the majority Republican led Congress and which seems to be dominating the Mitt Romney/ Paul Ryan presidential campaign. Anyone observing the work of the Republican Congress, since they won the majority at the mid-term of the presidency almost two years ago, would have seen their deportment and heard very senior members, of that “Good Old Boys Club” of a party say out loud, in their various speeches, that quote “our task for the next two years is to ensure that Barak Obama (meaning this black man) is not re-elected President for a second term.” For almost two years now we’ve watched closely, and seen, this Congress vote “NO,” unanimously, on every single piece of jobs-producing legislation brought before it by the Obama Administration; so much so that they have earned the label, and rightfully so, the party of “NO.” No matter the merits or the demerits of the bills brought so long as they were initiated by Barak Obama’s Democrats, their answer to them has always been an empathic “NO.” Historically America has always stimulated its economy, during even milder recessionary times than these, by naturally resorting to the building and repairing of highways and bridges but in this worst of recessions, since the great depression, this Republican led Congress (true to its stated two-year mandate) has refused to vote for any such jobs bill brought by Obama’s Democrats. They refused to vote in favour of bills, tabled by the Democrats, not because they were faulty in substance but because had they approve many of them America would have been put back to work already and the recession, most probably, would have been a thing of the past. In effect their view is that voting for any bill (jobs or otherwise) initiated by the Democrats would essentially be facilitating, rather than preventing, Obama’s re-election and that is not something the Republicans are anxious to do. Obama ended the Republican’s war in Iraq; he has a definite timetable for ending the war in Afghanistan; his Administration secured the demise of Osama Bin Laden (America’s enemy number one) and the conservative/racists are determined not to give him another victory (a lucrative jobs bill or other). That, they concluded, would be like cutting off their noses to spite their faces. It is not that President Obama is in a fight with ignorance; he is not; his fight is against intellectual dishonesty and rank racism.

In her column, a couple weeks ago, Cynthia Tucker wrote, in “The National Memo,” on the subject; “Growing Diversity, in America, still frightens some Americans.” She said in one paragraph that, “The dramatic expansion of the radical right is the result of our country’s changing racial demographics, the increased pace of globalization and our own economic woes;” “for many extremists (she continued with a quote by Mark Potok) President Barak Obama is the new symbol of all that’s wrong with the country,” unquote.

She is right; one commentator on MSNBC’s Ed Shultz’s nightly show (I think it was) gave some startling statistics of the growing numbers of hate groups which have sprung up in America since the Obama presidency became a reality. His stats indicated that hundreds-literally hundreds- of new hate groups have formed themselves into packs of non-white hating mongrels (since the first black family invaded the white house) to fight what they say is the threatened extinction of the “white” race and “white” rule in America. Like I said earlier, this view is not confined to the racial despots in rural America but seems to be the heart of the campaign strategy being used, albeit somewhat subtly, by those presently controlling the Congress as well those Republicans aspiring for the Oval Office. Radical racism permeates the highest level of the extreme conservative (or so-called Christian) movement in the Republican Party, no question about it. Reportedly, the White House admits to receiving an unbelievable 200-300 death threats weekly, against this black president, which doesn’t augur well for the hope of skin-colour racism, in American, subsiding any time soon.

All forms of racism should be decried (in this 21st century) but the colour of a person’s skin, for God’s sake, should never be cause for us not to get along in this world. I’ll give that there are some things which should not be tolerated, in all of us, but the colour of a man’s skin for Pete’s sake? Give me (and the rest of the world) a break America.

We in the Bahamas are no strangers to this scourge either. We’ve been fighting this despicable omen since British rule and it just won’t go away. It has become more subtle, nationally, but in certain quarters and among certain groupings it is highly evident. The notion that, of all the ethnic groups in the entire world, only the “White race” is entitled to rule and be the only privileged group is racist, of the highest order, and ludicrous.

“Rather than usher in an era of “post-racial” harmony, said Ms. Cynthia Tucker further, the election of President Barak Obama seems to have done just the opposite; it has provoked an hysterical backlash among those FEARFUL and XENOPHOBIC whites who believe they are losing “THEIR” country;” unquote. At home, here in the Bahamas, there are those counter-parts, to these American bigots, who feel the same way (unfortunately) and are just not prepared to accept 21st century race realities.

This reporter has certainly captured, and described succinctly, the Republicans’ attitude, seemingly (with their dominant TEA PARTY views intact), as to what they wish America to become in this 21st century-A SEPARATIST, RICH WHITE-DOMINATED, RACIST’S SOCIETY? It’s a tall order given the projected ethnic make-up, for America, for the next 10-15 years.

Radisson To Leave

The news is that the Radisson flag is to leave the former Our Lucaya hotel now called the Grand Lucaya in Freeport. The Westin flag was the one that started the property off. Westin did nothing for the property and so they were dumped in favour of Radisson. Radisson has failed as well. The company has now decided that they are going to do it all by themselves.

Gomez Not At Charles Maynard’s Funeral

Tongues are chatting that the FNM's candidate for Abaco Greg Gomez was not anywhere to be seen at the funeral of Charles Maynard, the former FNM chairman and former Minister, who died on the roadside while campaigning in Abaco last month. But while that it’s all nice and interesting from a gossip point of view, the PLP had better get its skates on because we understand the man is campaigning door to door furiously in the Treasure Cay, Sandbank and Cooper’s Town in Abaco, the heart of the FNM. If the PLP is to win that seat they have to go at the heart of the beast. The people are not feeling the PLP’s presence. Meanwhile Dr. Michael Darville and his team have been making tracks in Grand Cay, the small island in the Abaco chain. This caused Hubert Ingraham on Tuesday 4th September to fly into town with his wife Delores to do door to door, something he never did for his own campaign.

Leadership Of The FNM

The talk is that the FNM is involved in a furious internal war. They are not getting along at all. The Chief dissenter is Loretta Butler Turner who believes that even though she is the Deputy, she is destined to lead. We wait to see.

Ruffin Says He Supports Perry

Phil Ruffin, who used to own the Marriott Hotel when its flag flew over the Crystal Palace at Cable Beach in Nassau was in town for the groundbreaking of the next phase of the Albany project (see stories above). In his characteristic fashion, he had something to say about things that really don’t concern him but he said them anyway. He told the press that he is supporting Perry Christie. He also said that he had an interest in buying at Atlantis. He said he never chases after a deal though. The owners of Atlantis were quick to say not a day like it. They were not interested in selling. Then the FNM’s Deputy Leader Loretta Butler Turner well she didn’t like what he had to say about supporting Perry Christie so she had her say too. Mr. Ruffin is said to be sitting on a wad of cash and is worth personally 2 billion dollars.

Loretta Is Out Of Joint

Loretta Butler Turner got her nose all of joint because Phil Ruffin, the former owner of the Crystal Palace at Cable Beach, told the press while at the Albany opening that he supports Perry Christie. She told Mr. Ruffin to butt out. She said that if he bought Atlantis that would be a disaster. We wonder if his buying Atlantis would be a bigger disaster than the FNM winning the government again?

Cable Bahamas Wants An Increase

Cable Bahamas who claims that they are now 100 per cent Bahamian owned has applied to the Utilities Regulatory Competition Authority (URCA) for an increase in the amount they can charge the public for their basic access to television services. URCA issued a statement saying that they have to show whether or not this interferes with the universal service obligation imposed by the communications sector policy which governs communications in The Bahamas. Cable Bahamas said that the two should not be mixed up together. The problem is Cable Bahamas gives such bad service to the public and the perception is that it was founded in a corrupt exercise by the former Ingraham administration that it has no friends in high places.

BTC Gets Worse And Worse

The number of dropped calls increases day by day. The company does not even bother to address them anymore. We are talking about the Bahamas Telecommunications Company, once the pride of The Bahamas. They are still investigating the catastrophic failure which took place earlier this year, and well you can never predict on the current system whether you will get a call out or not. Where are the people who say this company should not have been sold to Cable and Wireless?

Foreign Minister To New York

Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs will represent The Bahamas at the 100th anniversary of the Bahamas American Association at their banquet in New York on 15th September. The Association was founded in 1912 by 9 Bahamians from Andros who were dissatisfied with the way the British Consul looked after their affairs in the United States. The Minister will return to New York to deliver the country’s annual address to the United Nations on Saturday 29th September.

Immigration Department To Say Thanks

Fred Mitchell, Minister for Immigration, will lead a delegation to Mangrove Cay and host a lunch in Mangrove Cay to say thank you to the community there for the help in taking care of the 197 migrants who were stranded after their boat smuggling them into The Bahamas ran aground off Andros last month. The lunch will take place on Wednesday 19th September.

Terrorizing Long Island

The talk in Long Island is that of a man wanted by the police who broke out of police custody a month ago and is still at large on the island. Most recently he is suspected
of breaking into someone's home and stealing a shot gun and ammunition. He is on the wanted list by the police.

Director Of Education Upset

Teachers who support the PLP were upset by remarks at a conference recently where the Director of Education said that he has only a short time to be there before he retires and he is not going to allow politicians to tell him what to do. The claim is that politicians are directing the Department. Well isn't that the system. Jeez.Some teachers felt that was an inappropriate thing to say and walked out of the
meeting.

The Mortgage Relief Programme

The government and the clearing house banks announced last week that they have come together on a mortgage relief programme which will help 1000 out of the 4000 mortgages in arrears. The criticism is that programme is a day late and a dollar short but that it is too complicated and people don't understand it; it's too difficult to explain and worse to access. Further, it puts government money in the pockets of rapacious banks who lose nothing and would have last nothing anyway. The banks make no sacrifice at all for a situation which is in part of their own making. It is a pity that a simple law was not passed to give the courts the right to review any mortgage in arrears and grant relief where they thought it appropriate to the mortgagor on such terms as the court might think fit.

Success In North Abaco

PLPs gathered in full force on the beach at Treasure Cay for the soft launch of the PLP's campaign in North Abaco. The beach was packed and the leaders of the PLP came from Nassau to attend: the party Chair Bradley Roberts, MPs Jerome Fitzgerald and Ryan Pinder and former PLP candidate Clay Sweeting. The ground looks quite good.

The Jokes On Loretta Butler

They say when she land in her consituency in Long Island, they hide all the sheep.

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

URBAN RENEWAL LAUNCHES

The Urban Renewal 2.0 freight train is out of the station and building up a head of steam. On Thursday 13th September, the Prime Minister Perry Christie and the Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis who is the minister charged with executing the Urban Renewal functions addressed the launching of the local Urban Renewal Commissions that will superintend the work of the Commissions in the various local districts. The Prime Minister gave an impassioned mainly extemporaneous address and talked about the work of Urban Renewal and how important it is to the well being of the country. Urban Renewal is a successful intervention programme but it has been on pause lately because the accounting and financial issues need to be settled. A word of caution there however. Whatever accounting issues there are, these are not the business of the intended recipients of urban renewal. Four months ago there was a promise made to start housing repair. People will think the PLP is making a joke of them if this does not start soon. Just a word to the wise. The addresses of the Prime Minister can be found here and the that of the Deputy Prime Minister here. The photos are by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services.

Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration appeared on the Jones and Co television programme last Sunday. He spoke extensively about immigration and foreign affairs.

Minister of Financial Services the Hon. L. Ryan Pinder presented the Amendments of the Industries Encouragement Act, on September 13, 2012, as part of what he said was the present government’s effort to reverse a failed economic strategy and bad decision by the past government and to provide the framework for Bahamian industrial development.“These Amendments, along with the Amendments to the Tariff Act, are intended to re-instate the incentives available to Bahamian manufacturers that existed prior to the 2010 amendments enacted by the prior FNM Government,” Minister Pinder said, at a press conference at his ministry.“The Amendments provide that approved manufacturers may import into The Bahamas without paying customs duty, as long as they remain Approved Manufacturers; there is no longer a five-year limitation for an Approved Manufacturer to receive concessions and there will no longer be a charge of 10 percent duty on Approved Raw Materials and equipment,” he added.Also taking part in the press conference were Comptroller of Customs Mr. Charles Turner and Chairman of the Subcommittee of the Bahamas Trade Commission on Manufacturing Mr. Andrew Rodgers. Minister Pinder said that after touring several manufacturers not only on New Providence, but also Grand Bahama and Abaco, he has heard the concerns stating that the previous actions of the former government held back manufacturers from advancement and contributed negatively to the “much-needed engine” for job creation for the private sector.However, he said, the current government believes in Bahamians and the promotion of Bahamians into the economic mainstream of an expanded and diversified Bahamian economy. He added that the mandate of the current government is to enhance employment opportunities for Bahamians through economic diversification and promotion. “My government is deeply wedded to the belief that private enterprise should remain the primary engine of job creation and entrepreneurial opportunity in our country and that tourism and financial services, supported by industrial expansion, fisheries and agricultural production, should be the chief areas of economic activity in our country,” Minister Pinder said.“The Amendments to the Industries Encouragement Act are initial strong steps of this government to provide the framework for industry expansion,” he added. Minister Pinder said that in the Ministry of Financial Services they are committed to a programme of not only creating and promoting a platform for successful industrial development, but also exploring linkages between Bahamian manufacturers and market access to encourage regional export opportunities for Bahamian manufacturers.“We in the Ministry of Financial Services are absolutely committed to this, and I have established a project team dedicated to the policy advancement of industry in The Bahamas,” he noted. “We will not only be administrators in our ministry, but my team will ensure that all opportunities are investigated, and then opportunities when proven will be presented to industry for their advancement.“Just yesterday, I met with the Charge d’Affaires of the Brazilian Embassy and propose to meet with other country representatives to discuss the opportunity for expanding Bahamian trade of manufactured products to respective regions and the development of industry linkages. This is the basis of the leadership of the Prime Minister and the government, seeking out and developing opportunities for economic success.”Minister Pinder said that the amendments are the predicate for the promotion of industry, a clear sign of positive initiatives to come for all sectors affected by the government’s trade and industry agenda.“I anticipate the systematic and deliberate growth of industry that will ensure an economic incline as well as create jobs and provide entrepreneurial opportunities’ for all Bahamians,” Minister Pinder said. “Today, I announce that the amendments to the Industries Encouragement Act and Tariff Act are now in effect and Bahamians can enjoy today the full concessions available under the Act.”The picture shows Minister of Financial Services the Hon. L. Ryan Pinder (centre) speaks at a press conference presenting the Amendments of the Industries Encouragement Act, on September 13, 2012, at his ministry. Also pictured are Comptroller of Customs Mr. Charles Turner (left) and Chairman of the Subcommittee of the Bahamas Trade Commission on Manufacturing Mr. Andrew Rodgers. (BIS Photo and story are by Eric Rose)

FREEPORT, G.B. – Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville on September 13 extended a warm welcome to a special group from Greenville County, South Carolina, encouraging them to create stronger ties with Grand Bahama Island.The group, from the Ruritan National Foundation, is currently visiting The Bahamas onboard the Carnival Cruise ship Fantasy.The group visited Nassau on September 12 before traveling to Grand Bahama Thursday morning. The Ministry of Tourism’s People to People agency is working closely with the organisation to give the guests an opportunity to mix and mingle with some of the locals.Ruritan is a national organisation based in the United States that is dedicated to improving communities and building a better America through fellowship, goodwill, and community service.They have over 1,000 clubs and over 30,000 members whose impact is valued at over $33 million annually.Heading the delegation to Grand Bahama was Mr. Fred Payne, a Councillor from Greenville County, who also serves as Planning and Development Chairman for the district.Dr. Darville told the group leader, during a courtesy call at the Ministry for Grand Bahama, that the Bahamian people truly appreciate their visit and are grateful that they had taken the opportunity to fellowship in The Bahamas, interacting with the people and experiencing firsthand the heritage and culture. (Simon Lewis, Bahamas Information Services)The photo shows Fred Payne, a member of the Greenville County, South Carolina County Council, and Planning and Development Chairman for the County; and a Trustee of Ruritan National Foundation, paid a courtesy call on the Ministry for Grand Bahama on Thursday morning. He is pictured delivering a proclamation on Bahamas-American Friendship Daysto the Minister for Grand Bahama the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville.

What the FNM had the local community of women scrapping to put in by private begging, the PLP came to office and bought it for the hospital, the latest in technology for mammography. This is another example of the PLP delivering for the people of The Bahamas. The announcement was made on Wednesday 12th September. The story is by Lindsay Thompson of the Bahamas Information Services. NASSAU, The Bahamas - The Princess Margaret Hospital is in the process of acquiring two new digital mammography machines to enhance the detection of breast cancer amongst Bahamian women, the Hon. Dr. Perry Gomez, Minister of Health announced as he officially re-launched the Breast Cancer Programme.The ceremony was held Wednesday September 12, 2012 at the British Colonial Hilton, where Dr. Gomez also revealed that one of the machines will be in place by September 21 at the Princess Margaret Hospital in New Providence and the other, in early October 2012 at the Rand Memorial Hospital in Grand Bahama.“Mammography is a life saving tool for screening women without symptoms for breast cancer,” he said. “It is the number one killer in females in the country.”The PMH is in partnership with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organisation, Sunshine Insurance, Marathon Bahamas and other private sector organisations in the fight against breast cancer, which has become the number one killer in females in the country.“It is our hope that the whole Bahamas inclusive of policy makers, health planners, health care providers, NGOs, clients, family members, students, teachers, insurance and all others will work to advance the programme and breast health for all men and women,” Dr Gomez said.He deemed the re-launching of the Breast Cancer Programme as another significant milestone in the country, as steps are being taken in increasing the awareness and education of Bahamians – the effort to reduce the numbers affected by breast cancer.Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer related deaths for women worldwide. In 2010, The Bahamas’ mortality rate from breast cancer for women was 7.9 percent, which was the highest in relation to other cancers for that period.Breast cancer specialist Dr Judith Hurley research has shown that The Bahamas has the highest incidence of inherited breast cancer in the world and the average woman at the time they are diagnosed is lower than that of women in the United States.She also reckoned that 48.5 or almost 50 percent of the women in The Bahamas who are diagnosed with breast cancer are under the age of 50 at the time they are diagnosed, and a full 20 percent are under the age of 40 on diagnosis. There is a 20-age difference when diagnosed, between women in the United States, who are generally diagnosed at the age of 62 and Bahamian women who are diagnosed at the average age of 42. “What she also found, and like me I am sure you would be alarmed when you hear this, is that in The Bahamas, 44.6 percent – almost half of these under 50 year-old women when diagnosed – were either at stage three or stage four in comparison to the US where it is 12 percent,” Dr Gomez said.Dr Hurley’s research also shows that 43 percent of women who die from breast cancer in The Bahamas are under the age of 50 at the time of their deaths.

And furthermore, that the incidence of inherited breast cancer in The Bahamas was 23 percent of all the women that were tested compared to three to five percent in the US.“We all know that early detection is the key to good breast health and longevity of life,” Dr. Gomez said.Recognising the urgency of action, he said that the Ministry of Health determined the need for a focused breast cancer programme. But in recognising this, the nation lacked the resources to engage in the type of research necessary to fight breast cancer, entered into a public/private collaborative effort with Sunshine Insurance/Marathon Bahamas and the Susan G. Komen for The Cure Organisation.“The partnership brings to us the ability to be involved with a programme whose goal is increasingly early detection of breast cancer and reducing mortality through improved awareness, increased clinical resources, and research,” Dr Gomez said.The execution of the programme will require collaboration with all of the cancer organisations, public and private oncologists, public and private sector hospitals, other associations, groups and individuals.In the upcoming five years, the programme will focus on establishing a minimum age for breast cancer screening, review current drafts of medical and nursing Acts in relation to the breast cancer initiative, review educational resources from Susan G. Komen for the Cure with a possibility of adapting them for use in The Bahamas, amongst other things.Dr. Gomez thanked the partners for brining the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Organisation to The Bahamas. He also thanked the Sister Sister Breast Cancer Support Group and its partners for their initiative in seeking and acquiring a grant from Komen to finance the promotion of breast cancer awareness among Bahamians.The Komen organisation donated $50,000. Another NGO, matched that donation. The Susan G. Komen Foundation is the most widely known, largest and best-funded breast cancer organisation in the United States. Its aim is to reduce the burden of breast cancer. Since its inception in 1982 it has developed partnerships with more than 30 countries.______________

Captions: The Hon. Dr. Perry Gomez, Minister of Health officially re-launching the Breast Cancer Programme, during a ceremony on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at the British Colonial Hilton. (BIS/Kris Ingraham) The Hon. Dr. Perry Gomez, Minister of Health, right, and Ambassador Nancy Brinker, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Organisation interact at the official re-launching the Breast Cancer Programme, during a ceremony on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at the British Colonial Hilton. (BIS Photo/Kris Ingraham)Supporters and sponsors at the official re-launching the Breast Cancer Programme, during a ceremony on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at the British Colonial Hilton. Pictured amongst them are the Hon. Daniel Johnson, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, and John Dinkleman, US Charge’ d’ Affaires, US Embassy, Nassau. (BIS Photo/Kris Ingraham)

HUGS -- The Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology with students of Albury Sayle Primary School at the Opening of their computer lab September 11. The more than 50 computers were donated by Cable Bahamas' Cable Cares Foundation. (BIS Photo / Patrick Hanna)

On 25th August, the people of the small island community of Mangrove Cay were shocked to find that they had 197 unannounced and unwelcomed visitors. Tropical Storm Isaac as it descended upon the shores of New Providence blew a small wooden slop with all of those people aboard on a departed journey to escape poverty in Haiti to come to The Bahamas. In the bad weather they had to turn westward to Andros and ran aground on the uninhabited Lynwood Cay. They were spotted and in the bad weather they ran out of the bush seeking help and were transported to nearby Mangrove Cay. The community rallied such as they had with food and supplies and medicine to aid these desperate people. The Roman Catholic Church pitched in with the use of their community centre. Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration went back to Mangrove Cay to say thank you to the people there for what they had done but also to send out a message to the Bahamian people on Immigration. He said that what the people of Mangrove Cay did was the finest example of the compassion of the people of the country while fulfilling their patriotic duty to report illegal migrants. The people were all sent back to Haiti within days. The photos show the visit of the Minister and his party with Picewell Forbes, the Member of Parliament for the area and Jack Thompson, the Director of Immigration. You may click here for the full statement by Mr. Mitchell.

The Progressive Liberal Party is back in power and with it comes the second chance to make right something which the party had promised when it was last in power. The PLP’s plans for the building owned by the Bahamas American Association in Harlem were stopped, reviewed and cancelled by the incoming Free National Movement administration in 2007. The building which was purchased by the small Bahamian community in New York in 1937 is worth a million dollars or more. The community in New York wants to save the building and the government as part of its outreach made a decision to try to save it. It is worth over one million dollars in its unimproved state. It is to be called Bahamas House and the idea is that the Bahamas Government will lease the space from the association and provide in a lease back to the Association a space for their offices and reception room. The FNM was not interested. Well the song says the second time around is better than the first time and with the PLP back in power, the Association celebrated its 100th anniversary on Saturday 15th September. Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs visited New York to announce to the group that the government plans this time to fulfill its promise to refurbish the building. The remarks came at a banquet held to mark the occasion and to honour several Bahamians who worked in the Bahamian cause overseas. Mr. Mitchell also brought greetings from the Prime Minister Perry Christie. The people honoured were:

On Wednesday 12 September 1987, Wendell Jones, a former ZNS broadcaster and Mike Smith, also a former broadcaster, published a newspaper as a weekly called the Bahama Journal. Perry Christie, now the Prime Minister, and then a partner in the law firm of Christie, Ingraham, Davis and Co recalled that shortly before that he got a visit from the two men who had this strange idea to challenge the status quo The Tribune going since 1903 and the Nassau Guardian going since 1844. He formed the company for the two men. He listened to their ideas but did not give them much chance of success. The paper today still struggles but has succeeded mightily by its staying power and the scrappy ability of one Wendell Jones. He gets the full credit for keeping it going, for expanding into the radio station and then later into the television station. That is the stuff around which legends are built. His friends and family, his political allies and some foes all gathered at the British Colonial Hotel to mark the occasion. The photos are by Derek Smith.

Desmond Bannister and Bran McCartney are supposed to be our next generation of our political leaders. These two gentlemen are not your run of the mill FNMs. So it came as a surprise to see Desmond and Bran engaging in what some what call “intellectual flights of fancy” while some would describe it as “tomfoolery.” The issue was that these two gentlemen disagreed with police officers in the public school system. The question must be asked, “in what country do these two gentlemen live in?” Desmond Bannister, in the early stages of his life, was a youth officer with the Ministry of Youth & Sports. He later went on to become an executive with the BAAA’s. So Desmond knows about the social realities on the ground. Then there is Bran McCartney who voiced his objections on the grounds that it did not look right to the world. McCartney, as a young politician, should know first and foremost as a public servant should always be concerned for the people that he represents and not the world.

Desmond and Bran would do well to heed the words of an FNM general in Freeport, “Big Mama Stubbs”, “loose goat don’t know how tie goat feels.” Bahamas Union of Teacher’s president came out in support of the presence of police in the public school system. So what are these guys talking about?

Note to Bran: the FNM in its present form is a rudderless ship. As they approach the by-election in North Abaco it would be a good thing for you to swallow your pride and work with the leadership of your party to gain access around decision making table of the FNM. The FNM will be beaten and war will break out after the by-election; an opportunity exists for you to become a meaningful part of the rebuilding process of the FNM. A word to the wise is sufficient.

Stalwart B

BREAKING NEWS PAUL ADDERLEY IS GRAVELY ILL

The country's longest serving Attorney General, Paul L. Adderley now retired is gravely ill in hospital. The word has been sent out to pray for him.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Forrester Carroll writes this week from Freeport about the ruinous policies of the FNM on the economy. He writes that it has not been twelve months yet and each day the FNM is in the press bashing the PLP. He says that they really have a nerve when they are responsible for the mess in which the country now finds itself.

For 1730 days (between May 3rd 2007 and May 7th 2012) the FNM government, under Zhivargo Laing and Hubert Ingraham’s leadership, plundered and pillaged this country’s resources, racking up (and leaving for poor Bahamians to pay) an additional $2.5 billion to be added to the country’s national debt; as well leaving the PLP with a country swimming in crime, unemployment, a half billion dollars in unpaid bills and a bad investment reputation among both local and foreign investors.

They cancelled legitimately negotiated (signed and sealed) government contracts; they withheld, at will, civil servants’ salaries, benefits and promotions (with impunity); they scuttled meaningful social programs and to humiliate certain career civil servants they sent them home for indefinite periods (doing nothing) while being paid their full salaries and benefits from the public’s purse; they retired public servants whom they didn’t think supported them (prematurely) disregarding the consequences, financial or otherwise, to the affected civil servants and or the public service; those they couldn’t get away with retiring they went on a binge to humiliate them by promoting their cronies over them, in some cases by two and even three ranks as in the case of Zhivargo Laing’s brother-in-law, here in Freeport, who now heads the Customs Department in Grand Bahama; they (like the dictators they were) commanded the halting and cancelling of contracted work (already in progress) and drew up new contracts (in broad daylight) for their own cronies to complete the jobs; they overpowered (at will) public service union agreements without regard to the financial consequences to taxpayers; they ignored all protective protocols in place for public servants (when Ingraham and or Laing personally desired them to be transferred, dismissed, forced-retired or other) at the public service commission level; they brutalized foreign investors’ confidence so much so that no investor, local or foreign, wanted to do business with them which affected our revenue to the point where it suffered tremendous decline, as a consequence, and now they have the gumption to talk about critiquing our (PLP) four-month old government? Their 1730 days, of governing, can be literally summed up in these two undeniable facts; they came to office on May 3rd 2007 with an unemployment rate of 7.6% and left on May 7th with that rate at 15.9% nationally with Grand Bahama suffering the brunt at 22% and the young people, nationally, at 34%--ultra-conservative stats indeed—and that should tell the full story on their period of governance.

As the country’s finances began drying up, like desperate fools, they resorted to the only option they felt left to them and that was to increase taxes on the Bahamian people; a counter-productive decision that any third rate Economist would advise against in the circumstances. What resulted was an entire customs tariff regime change which saw customs duty rates increase (across the board) by 3-18%. By this time the world-wide recession was affecting us, severely, and consumers had to begin tightening their belts. We began decreasing our volume of imports, doing without a lot of needs and ALL our wants, thus affecting severely the amount of revenue going into the public treasury.

Phil Ruffin, a former owner of the cable beach resort commented to the local media, when on a visit to Nassau recently to meet with Mr. Christie, that he never liked Ingraham or the way he managed the government. This contrasted, greatly, with this billionaire’s view of Mr. Christie who he said was honest and upright and knew how to deal with investors. He liked doing business with Mr. Christie, he said, and was in town, no doubt, to begin doing business again in the Bahamas (now that the evil one is no more). The Nassau Guardian quoted Mr. Ruffin’s candid remarks in their Thursday 6th September edition. The man didn’t seem bashful in making this very negative assessment of Ingraham and his administration. It was if he prayed for one day having the opportunity to make his views known publicly about that failed administration. I don’t, personally, endorse any foreigner coming here and expressing their views publicly in this way but it tells us the degree to which Ingraham and his FNM cabinet colleagues pissed-off foreign investors; quite frankly I am surprised that the Robin Hood gentleman hasn’t made his media debut on Ingraham as yet; if he ever decides, to do so, it will surely be worth hearing. It was interesting to note that the FNM (or was it just Loretta Butler-Turner?) was quick to take issue with Mr. Ruffin’s remarks, while in the meantime, forgetting that it was only months ago when she (and they) defended the nasty remarks of the Haitian President who visited here, just before the general elections, and held meetings with Bahamians, of Haitian extraction, and urged them to support the FNM. Not only that but the Deputy leader, of the FNM, complained as well about Mr. Ruffin riding along with the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, as a passenger in his car, when they toured the Albany Construction site; her view is that the ride-along was inappropriate for the country’s chief executive to do; well I will pose a question and would like to hear her answer: “where the hell were you, madam deputy leader, when Hubert Ingraham (while prime minister) and Earl Deveaux (while minister responsible to protect the environment) were flying up and down the country with the Aga Khan, in his helicopter, the same Aga Khan who was given carte blanche to destroy the Exuma lands and sea park which, heretofore, was strictly protected for the past 50years against anyone entering even to have the hearts of top trees for weaving of plait? Where were you madam; or didn’t you think that was wrong? How do those “conflict of interest” rides stack up against the ride of a billionaire investor who no doubt intends to do more, much needed, legitimate business in the country? You, madam, Loretta Butler-Turner validates the worse official political opposition party ever in our country’s long political history and you do so shamelessly.

The point of this discussion today is to take issue with the FNM’s politically motivated unreasonable attempt to pass judgment on the PLP’s performance after only four months in office and to look back and highlight, for comparison, their own failures in office (in context) over their five-year term.

Just two weeks after losing the general elections and before allowing time for the new prime minister to properly structure his cabinet and government, ignorant soar losing senior members and supporters of the FNM (who should know better) embarked on a campaign of demanding accountability on PLP promises made during the political campaign. To the ordinary reasonable man or woman, on the street and in the game, with little to no education and or common sense to booth, this position would be deemed highly unlikely and downright stupid. To expect that any positive movement could be achieved, on those election promises, during such a short period of time is, to say the least, unreasonable, silly and to say the least downright stupid, especially coming from so-called intelligent people. We heard them, within weeks of May 7th, asking “where the jobs are and what of the continuing rise in the murder rate” What surprises me somewhat; however, is the fact that they are not even embarrassed by their foolish and very transparent agenda. I picked up the newspapers this morning and they are at it again; Freeport News’ headlines featuring Kwasi Thompson with his stale talk bashing the PLP; the Nassau Guardian featuring Desmond Banister trying to score political points on education minister, Jerome Fitzgerald, about some schools which he deemed were not quite ready for the school year and the lost one, Hubert Minnis, with his pet-peeve project-the unacceptable crime wave, as he put. Usually there would be allowed, at least, an 8-12 month cooling-off period, between changes in governments, before demands of this kind is made from reasonable losing oppositions but not in the case of this soar losing FNM bunch. They don’t really care what the public thinks of them and about their being so unreasonable in their demands so early in a change-over like this. They don’t give a damn; just wave the PLP’s magic wand I suppose and all the garbage they (the FNM) left for us to clean up would be carted away in one swoop. Unfortunately cleaning up takes a longer time than breaking up and they took five years to break it up.

The PLP inherited a mountain of problems, and financial woes, from the Ingraham Administration; financial obligations, I might add, intentionally created and left by Hubert Ingraham for the sole purpose of making sure the PLP doesn’t have an easy task at governing. This was Ingraham’s way of doing things; he figured he couldn’t win, in the elections, so he pissed (and crapped) in the well of government so there would be no source of good drinking water, as it were, left for the PLP. Ingraham, while in government, was a nasty, spiteful, shameful disgrace of a chief public servant. In other words the man was like the proverbial dog-in-the-manger, if he couldn’t have the bone of government he would make sure and break it up so Christie wouldn’t have anything to suck on either; a typical hog of a human being. Before the PLP was able to put in place its signature crime fighting initiative-URBAN RENEWAL 2.0-the opposition FNM was hard at it blaming us for the murders occurring within days following the PLP’s May 7th victory. Yeah, on the 9th and 10th May, when a few more murders were recorded, we heard the FNM’s leadership convening press conferences and issuing press statements, declaring that the PLP’s election promises have failed and that our crime fighting initiatives were a failure as well; how desperate and stupid can this crew become, I ask you?

The suckers haven’t let up as yet; every day, it seems, they are running to the media complaining about something stupid; give us at least 8-12 months, guys, to correct the many screw-ups you left for us to fix; we didn’t tell you that we were miracle workers. It would take a couple miracles-huge miracles I might add-to get the country out of this mess you left us in so ease up with the press conferences and silly talk show appearances. Given the state in which the FNM left this country, if we were them I don’t think we would have the audacity to let ourselves be heard, much less seen in public, making these stupid charges against a four-month old government. I’ll say one thing about them, though; they are a bold, bare-faced, brassy, unapologetic, shameless bunch. They are not prepared to give credit where credit is due even in the face of the drastic decline in crime, especially murders, since the PLP took office. Murders, especially, are down by 30% for the period May to September compared to May to September 2011? This is very commendable but you won’t think so listening to the FNM’s pity-party griping. I am not sure whether, by returning the $108,000.00 to the coffers of the public treasury, Hubert Ingraham was attempting to clean up his bad image or whether it was simply a matter of his guilty conscious. In my view though he had a selfish motive; he always has a calculated selfish motive for what he did; if you say he didn’t, in this case, then why bring in the media to witness the cheque hand over and why publish the fact that you were returning some of the taxpayers’ money you shouldn’t have had in your possession anyway? Just send the treasury the damn cheques, with an accurate accounting, and be done with it. If Ingraham really wants to own up and be honest then I say why the hell doesn’t he go all the way and give back the money he allegedly double-dipped, several years ago, when he pretended to have resigned from public life but was content to receive both his salary and pension?

I know that losing is not easy for them but acting stupid isn’t going to help any. 2017 is still five years away and that could be like a life time if one has to wonder, like the FNM has too, in the political wilderness for all that time. Problem for them is that the PLP will no doubt be in power for the next 15 years at least before experiencing any kind of a credible challenge to their governance. The state-of-affairs of the political opposition, in the country, gives me that assurance and that’s how I can predict. “Yes we know we left you with a humongous mess to clean up, but you are not cleaning it up as fast as you promised you would.” This seems to be the FNM’s adopted approach for prosecuting their case against the PLP but the people know their agenda and are not buying what they are selling.

NEW LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Elcott Coleby writes question John Marquis, the former editor of The Tribune who is a borderline racist:

Dear Editor

As we near the fortieth anniversary of independence, I tooam saddened like John Marquis that some things never change. Mr. Marquisbelieves that the “PLP’s taste for intimidation and victimization appears to beone of them.” He wrote as much in his op ed, “ Marquis At Large” that waspublished in the Tribune on the 15th September 2012.

He went on to opine about the “redeployment” of senior staffat ZNS, playing favourites and loathsome practices within the government and government controlled corporations.

In my opinion, he sought to rewrite history and reflect thePLP government in a negative light while giving the FNM government a wink, anod and a pass. This position is widely believed to be the official editorialpolicy of the Tribune.

I have this proposition and a few questions for John Marquis: Within one month of forming the government on 2nd May 2007,the FNM government released six employees from their contracts at the BahamasInformation Services (BIS). For the record, they were Gregory Christie and the late Dudley Byfield from the Grand Bahama office and Luther Smith, Al Dilette,Marlon Nichols and Steve McKinney from the Nassau office. In doing so did theFNM display “a taste for intimidation and victimization” as Mr. Marquis soeloquently attributes to the PLP government? Was this FNM policy decision“indeed a sad and depressing state of affairs” as Mr. Marquis concurred it wasas he echoed the sentiments of Guardian commentator Dennis Dames? Yes Mr.Marquis, some things never change.

Further, Mr. Marquis had a platform in 2007 to revisit “the history of political victimization” in The Bahamas as he now finds it so convenient to do. In 2007, there was no outrage, no weeping, no wailing, nognashing of teeth and no righteous indignation expressed over the unceremoniousdismissal of our six fellow Bahamian brothers in what many believe to be partof a politically motivated purge of the public service by the strong arm of theFNM government.

Perhaps Mr. Marquis would want to dig deep and find an appropriate adjective to describe the actions of the then FNM government in the interest of fairness and balance. Does he have the journalistic integrity todirect some of the venom and invective (he ostensibly reserves for the PLP) at the policies and practices of the FNM, policies and practices he appears hellbent on excusing, winking at and looking that other way when chastisement wasthe appropriate response? Again he should do so in the interest of fairness andbalance.

In the end I issue the same challenge to the leadership ofthe FNM as Mr. Marquis issues to Prime Minister Christie. I hope that the nextFNM government “can summon the courage to outlaw victimization forever…for thenation’s sake.”

Yours etc.

ELCOTT COLEBY

Sept 2012

Terez Buried

The popular singer Terez Hepburn who died at 48 following complications from stroke was buried on Saturday 15th September following a service at St. Francis Xavier’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Nassau. A tribute to her in song. Farewell Terez, we will meet you in the morning.

Attacking Seniors Again

The FNM and its leadership is so desperate for news that they are now attacking the choice of the diplomats by the Prime Minister on the grounds that they are old and have served before. That is an interesting comment from an FNM administration that picked C.A. Smith, former Minster as Ambassador for Washington, Paul Farquharson, retired Commissioner Of Police as High Commissioner to London and Mike Smith, retired Parliamentary Secretary, as High Commissioner to Canada, all chosen over the age of sixty. Gee talk about the pot calling the kettle black. There is a certain silliness to the comment because Mr. Bannister himself is getting up in age and can himself be called a retread. It’s not age but qualifications in any event that count. It is the content of one’s character. One is not surprised at Mr. Bannister who called those on the campaign trail against him in North Andros including the retired Archbishop Drexel Gomez and the widow of the former Prime Mister Dame Marguerite Pindling geriatrics. He is at it again.

Eddie Long Visits

Eddie Long may not have worn his spandex body suit in the gym at Paradise Island but he certainly caused a ripple in The Bahamas last week. The Bahamas Press website went into overdrive about his visit and the fact that Centrino Kemp, a reported Bahamian, who was one of the male lovers (very much denied by the Bishop) of the now disgraced Bishop was incensed that Eddie Long could take his religious crusade to Nassau. Bishop Long is a friend and supporter of Bahamian Bishop Neil C. Ellis. Interesting that there was nary a picture to be found of the visit anywhere, not even the courtesy call to Bahamian officials, who after all would have been pleased that Bishop Long brought 500 tourists to Nassau.

Embracing The Murder Count

The PLP cannot and should not fall into the same trap as the Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade at the start of his term as Commissioner, that is, giving the impression that it can solve crime. When you do that, you take ownership of the issue. The fact is Ellison Greenslade or no Commissioner of Police can by himself solve crime. He can fight crime with the help of us all but cannot solve it. The PLP should therefore stay far away from any similar claim. The fact is the PLP is dedicated to fighting crime: solving it, well that is quite another thing. This is said against the backdrop of news reports one week where there was a boast that crime was down, and the next week there was a spate of murders which sent the opposite signal. Our advice, be careful.

The School Policing Debate

The FNM has chosen now to take a stand on school policing. Last week its spokesman on education former Minister Desmond Bannister held a press conference with leader of the party at his side to say that the government’s programme on school policing was wrong and that the PLP was treating school children like criminals. They then sought to side track the whole policy with a debate over whether policemen should have guns when they go into the schools. Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald has a simple position: if the police have them on outside the gate when they go inside the gate why would they take them off. Seems simple and straight forward to us. Not so to the FNM of course.

What’s Happening In Banking

The Bahamians in Royal Bank of Canada are chagrined that the Office of Managing Director of its Bahamian subsidiary for mortgages FINCO is being stripped of its power. The post has been held by such Bahamian banking luminaries as the late Al Jarrett and now country manager Nathaniel Beneby. The latest to hold the post attorney Tanya McCartney. What friends at the bank say is slowly but slowly and step by step, power over the bank is being removed from Nassau to Canada. This is a step that all the clearing house banks seem to be taking. The recession in credit is being blamed on bad decisions by Bahamian managers prior to 2008, so the answer for the Canadians if they cannot get work permits is to remove all power over credit from Nassau to Canada.

Trib Hits Out At Dion Smith

The PLP has the backdrop of the situation in its first term under Perry Christie where a number of it first time MPs caught the disease of conceit. The result was disaster all around, and the public rejected many of them for their arrogance. This time around, the party wants to avoid that like the plague. The Trib released a story of an affidavit filed in a court case in which it made certain statements alleged to come from the Deputy Speaker Dion Smith who is a first time MP. They alleged the remarks were racist and that he abused his power by appearing to call the Commissioner of Police to rescue him in a personal dispute with the condo association where he stays. Just by the way Julian Francis former Central Bank Governor, who served the FNM faithfully, is the Chairman of the Board. So that is the starting position. Mr. Smith denied the allegations and explained that this is a civil dispute and that he has an injunction against the condo association to stop them from denying him access and use of his condo. He says that the affidavit is in fact vexatious and irrelevant and suggests that it will be struck out when the case is ultimately decided. So we watch and see.

Islam On The Attack

The people in Arab countries some of them anyway are reportedly attacking American targets in Tunisia and Egypt and across the Muslim world. The whole thing was reportedly sparked by a movie made about the prophet Mohammad which many said insulted the prophet. What a load of codswallop. The Foreign Minister of The Bahamas Fred Mitchell condemned the attach in Lybia which led to the death of U.S. diplomats. The whole thing is silly if that is the reason . Whatever caused that in Lybia which the Americans helped to set up in its present incarnation sans Khadafy, their Ambassador was killed along with three others when rockets were launched as part for the supposed retaliation for this movie.

The whole things seems ridiculous and stupid and the underlying causes are probably poverty, the years of oppression by their own governments and ignorance generally. The U.S. is a convenient foil because of their past alliances with the oppressors in these countries but none of that excuses the nonsense and the violence associated with this behavior. The authorities in these countries should out a stop to it forthwith. The video shows some of what sparked the whole thing.

Quantitative Easing

The United States Central Bank called the Federal Reserve has announced that it will start printing more money, not connected with productivity gains. This is to seek to ease credit in the country, put more money into the U.S. economy in the hope that this will change the psychology in the country and start people spending money again and the markets start easing the credit situation. Something has to give with unemployment in the United States stuck at 8 per cent and the knock on effect for a country like The Bahamas is that unemployment here is too high and not getting any better. In a few weeks, the airport project (phase two) will shut down and that will put hundreds of Bahamians on the street again, young men with nothing to do. This column is often read by the movers and shakers and shapers of policy in The Bahamas. Our question then is: what is the equivalent of quantitative easing for The Bahamas? We need new money in here and we need it fast. The short term solution then: borrow? The short term solution: removing restrictions on investment? We don’t know. All we say is that there is no light at the end of the tunnel and with the U.S. now doing what it is doing, maybe it is time for us to act as well with some quantitative easing of our own.

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THE CONFERENCE IN PICTURES

Sandra Dean Patterson and the Bahamas Crisis Centre aka the Women’s Crisis Centre hosted last week beginning on Monday 17th September a conference with similar organizations around the Caribbean region in Nassau at the Sheraton Cable Beach Hotel. The Prime Minister Perry Christie opened the conference and pronounced himself astonished at the range of work done by the Crisis Centre. Perhaps that will lead to an increase in the Centre’s subvention from the government which is now a measly $30,000 a year. A bequest from Hubert Ingraham who professed to care about women. Compare that to the amount he gave the Bahamas National Trust of one million dollars. The pictures are by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services.

Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was the guest speaker on the last day of the conference of Crisis Centres from across the region which took place n Nassau beginning 17th September. Mr. Mitchell spoke of the need to address the needs of young men who are leading the issues of violence in our societies. He spoke of school policing and how the facts show there is a direct correlation between the intervention of the police in the schools and the drop in violence in the schools. He quoted the late Paul Adderley who believed that it was better to do something than to do nothing. Mr. Mitchell said that he adopted the sentiment of Bernard Nottage, the Minister of National Security that we cannot simply throw our hands up in the air and doing nothing. The link to Mr. Mitchell’s address is here. The photo is by Kristan Ingraham of the Bahamas Information Services.

Paul Lawrence Adderley has died. He died on 19th September. What can one say? Such is the moment in his death that the sun stood still for just a moment. The Prince of Poinciana Hill is dead. He was to the manor born but chose to use his social standing and his acumen and intellect with the masses, throwing his lot in with the fledgling PLP as a candidate for the Western District of New Providence in the 1962. He won, besting even his fellow PLP and people’s champion Milo Butler in votes and becoming the senior member for the west. Then there was that social fault line which translated into politics where he ended up being ousted from the PLP and forming the National Democratic Party which went up in flames in 1967, the coming of majority rule. Within five short years, he was back as a Senator and as Attorney General in the Cabinet, later to become Minister of External Affairs and then later still Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the post 1984 Pindling days, when the PLP became an altogether different creature, battered as it was by the loss of Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie and Arthur Hanna and allegations of drug corruption, Mr. Adderley took on another role. His social standing and integrity came to the rescue of the party with his taking on the roles of Minister of Education, then National Security, then Finance. The PLP government lost in 1992 and after that and he took on yet another role that of elder statesman, consigliore, the intellectual underpinning of the movement that was under severe threat during the Ingraham years, the last whisperer into the ear of the Prime Minister. He served in the role until his death last week. He will be buried following a state funeral at the Christ Church Cathedral on Friday 28th September with full military honours. Rest in peace sweet prince!

Prime Minister Perry Christie issued the following statement upon learning of the death of the Hon. Paul L. Adderley:

19th September, 2012

I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing this morning of one of our nation’s finest sons, my very dear friend, confidante and political colleague of many years, the Honourable Paul Laurence Adderley.

This is a grave loss for our country, for myself personally, and for the many thousands of Bahamians whose lives were touched by this truly remarkable human being and nationalist over the course of his more than forty years of distinguished service to the Bahamian people.

Mr. Adderley was a man of extraordinary intellectual brilliance. His accomplishments were legion. Indeed it is quite impossible tooverstate the importance of his many and varied contributions to the development of our nation.

As the longest serving Attorney-General of the 20th century – a period spanning some 17 years – Mr. Adderley engineered the transition of our colonial legal system into a new era of constitutional sovereignty while overseeing the modernization of our laws in so many vital areas of national life. In so doing, he also expanded the judiciary and helped deepen the Rule of Law as the bedrock of our civilization.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Adderley was the primary architect of the nation's foreign policy in the founding years of nationhood; a foreign policy based on mutual co-operation and friendship with our neighbours but always within the context of the principles of self-determination and sovereign independence. Mr. Adderley was absolutely determined that The Bahamas, though small, should preserve its integrity as an independent nation and never allow itself to be subjugated to any foreign power.

As Minister of National Security, Mr. Adderley was a courageous warrior against drug-trafficking. He was chiefly responsible for a wide range of anti-drug trafficking measures, including the OPBAT joint interdiction operations; the negotiation of mutual legal assistance treaties; and the introduction of a raft of new laws aimed at curbing the drug trade and bringing traffickers to the bar of justice. Concurrently, Mr. Adderley was responsible for sweeping changes to both the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force aimed at better equipping them to discharge their law enforcement mandates in the face of newly emergent crime threats.

As Minister of Education, Mr. Adderly also achieved notable successes. He introduced a raft of initiatives aimed at raising academic standards in the public school system. He restricted social promotion exercises and instituted the BGCSE examination system. He was also instrumental in expanding the Government’s building programme for new schools while instituting the Cadet Programme as a means of better preparing high school students for the transition into responsible life in the wider community.

As Minister of Finance, Mr. Adderley steered the country through the extremely difficult recessionary years of the very early 1990’s, insisting on austerity and fiscal discipline as a means of surviving the crisis. That Mr. Adderley was able to rise to this challenge while privately battling both cancer and heart disease makes it even more awe-inspiring. No finer example of patriotic commitment is to be found in the annals of the modern Bahamas.

But even beyond his immense achievements as a minister of the government from 1972 to 1992, Paul Adderley will also be remembered as a leader of the Bahamas Bar for nearly 60 years. He was an advocate of incomparable skill admired by all his colleagues for the depth of his learning, the thoroughness of his research and preparation, his powerful intellect, his spellbinding oratory and, most important of all, his adherence to the highest standards of ethical propriety in all his professional dealings. He was, like his father before him, the Hon. A.F. Adderley, a lawyer of truly legendary standing at the bar.

As a parliamentarian from 1962 to 1967 and then from 1972 to 1997, Mr. Adderley was always a fiery and meticulously prepared debater, whether in the House of Assembly or the Senate. Uniquely, he was the fourth consecutive generation of his family to serve in the Bahamian legislature, having been preceded by his father, the Hon A.F. Adderley; and before that, by his grandfather, Wilfred Parliament Adderley; and earlier still by his great grand-uncle, William Campbell Adderley who was a member of the House of Assembly more than 130 years ago. Faithful to this dynastic tradition, Mr. Adderley enlarged upon the accomplishments of his forebears and always gave an excellent account of himself in the halls of Parliament.

Following his retirement from frontline politics, Mr. Adderley continued to serve our country in a variety of ways, most notably as the Co-Chairman of the first Constitution Commission.

Even with all of the foregoing to the credit of his name, Mr. Adderley regarded his own family as his finest achievement. He was a family man for whom nothing was more delightful than the time spent with his devoted wife and daughters.

Finally, it needs be said that Mr. Adderley was the very embodiment of personal integrity. He was absolutely incorruptible. He was a public servant of the highest order. And yet he shunned all honours. He refused to even consider taking a knighthood when it was offered to him and reacted in the same way whenever any other honour was offered to him over the years. For Paul Adderley, the greatest honour of all - and the only one that really mattered - was the opportunity to serve the Bahamian people to the very best of his ability. And he did precisely that – with great distinction - for all his adult life.

On behalf of the Government and people of The Bahamas, the Progressive Liberal Party of which Mr. Adderley was a long and faithful member and a Stalwart Councillor, on behalf of my wife, Bernadette, and on my own behalf, I extend deepest condolences to Mr. Adderley’s widow, Lilith, and their three children, Catherine, Roseanne and Paula.

A State Funeral will be held for Mr. Adderley, details of which will be announced shortly by the Cabinet Office.

NASSAU, The Bahamas – While speaking to the triumphs and journey of the life of the late Hon. Paul. L Adderley, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell pointed out that he was “a brilliant man” and a great example of his life was consistency and the ability to “stay in the fight.”

“His imprint (in Bahamian history) is there, because, fundamentally, he was also a lawyer and a patriot and he fiercely believed in his country,” Minister Mitchell said at a press conference, on September 19, at Super Clubs Breezes Resort. Mr. Adderley died a few hours earlier that day. He was 84.

Minister Mitchell said that an important part of his legacy will be the work he did as Minister of Education with schools such as C. R. Walker High School and especially, “Adderley’s Law”, which aimed to ensure that no child got promoted from primary school without being able to succeed at Mathematics and English.

Minister Mitchell pointed out that Mr. Adderley would not accept a knighthood or the QC (Queen’s Council) because he thought that it was colonial honours.

“What he wanted was an honour from The Bahamas, which he got, as a result of having served in Cabinet for 10 years – he was named honourable for life by Prime Minister Pindling,” Minister Mitchell said.

“With the death of Paul Adderley, it is yet another signal that our collective memory – the living collective memory – is passing away,” Minister Mitchell said. “There are not many people left who were there at the original Constitutional talks, for example.

He said that he believes there are only about two to three persons left from that event in Bahamian history.

“The numbers are dwindling,” Minister Mitchell said. “It is important for a nation to know what its history is.

“It gives us the impetus to work assiduously to try and record the history before we lose it.”

Mitchell pointed out that he would be speaking in place of Loftus Roker, on September 20, 2012, in Rawson Square at an event launching a book about the former Governor-General the late Sir Milo Butler.

“History is very much in my mind now, especially about protecting the record of how The Bahamas came to be and who we are as a people.”

The Hon. Paul Lawrence Adderley was born August 15, 1928, in Nassau, the second son of the late Hon. Alfred Francis Adderley, CBE, and Mrs. Ethel M. L. Adderley.

Mr. Adderley was educated at the late Mrs. Maude Wright’s Primary School and at the Government High School. He later attended St. Catherine’s College, Cambridge University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in law in 1950 and an LL.B. degree in 1951. He attended the Inns of Court Law Schools at the Middle Temple and was called to the English Bar and The Bahamas Bar in 1953.

Mr. Adderley was elected to a seat in the Western District in 1961, as a Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) candidate.

Mr. Adderley left the PLP in 1965 and established the National Democratic Party (NDP) political party. However, he returned to the PLP in 1972.

On March 1, 1973, he was appointed Minister of External Affairs and his appointment on July 10, 1973, as Attorney-General followed 20 years of legal practice in The Bahamas. This also made him the first Attorney-General of the newly-independent country.

Although he was defeated in the General Election of 1982, Mr. Adderley was appointed to the Senate as Government Leader and re-appointed Minister of External Affairs and Attorney-General. During the October 1984 reshuffling of the Cabinet, Mr. Adderley was appointed Minister of Education and retained his appointment as Attorney-General.

In 1987, Mr. Adderley received the Progressive Liberal Party’s nomination as a candidate for the St. Michael’s constituency. He won the House of Assembly seat in the June 19, 1987, general election. He was reappointed Minister of Education and Attorney-General and appointed Leader of the House.

When Prime Minister Pindling again reshuffled his Cabinet, in January 1989, Mr. Adderley was appointed Minister of Education and Minister of National Security.

In a subsequent reshuffle on October 1, 1990, Mr. Adderley was named Minister of Finance. His ministerial responsibilities included the Ministry of Finance; Government finance; accounting and borrowing; licensing of shops and businesses; spirits and beer; auctions; relations with the Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas; racing; relations with the Racing Commission; relations with the Paradise Island Bridge Authority; treasure trove; The Bahamas Development Bank; The Central Bank of The Bahamas; banks, trust, mutual funds and securities; the Post Office Savings Bank; insurance (excluding National Insurance); the Customs Department; budgetary control; the Department of Statistics, statistics; and retail price index. He served until August 1992.

Mr. Adderley also served as Acting Governor-General from December 1, 2005, to January 31, 2006.

Mr. Adderley had been associated with a number of public, civic and professional organizations. He had been a member of the board of governors of St. John’s College and Government High School and a member of the Telecommunications Board.

An avid sports fan, Mr. Adderley played cricket, soccer and tennis in his university days. He had been a secretary and vice-president of the Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association. Until recently he enjoyed the more leisurely hobbies of golf and photography, along with cultural endeavours.

Mr. Adderley married the former Lilith Rosena Thompson in 1960. They had three daughters, Catherine, Rosanne and Paula.

“I think we have just lost a brilliant mind, just a brilliant man,” Mitchell said.

The photo shows the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell (centre) speaks, at Super Clubs Breezes Resort, about the life and legacy of the late Hon. Paul L. Adderley, hours after his death, on September 19. Also pictured are Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Immigration the Hon. Cleola Hamilton and The Bahamas' Non-Resident High Commissioner to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) His Excellency Picewell Forbes. (BIS Photo and story by Eric Rose)

The announcement was made on Tuesday 18th September; the race is to be held officially to replace the retiring Hubert Ingraham. The election date is 15th October so when the House meets on 17th October, it will meet for the first time since 1997 without Hubert Ingraham as a member. Not a moment too soon and good riddance to bad rubbish. The contenders in the bye-election are Renardo Curry for the Progressive Liberal Party and Greg Gomez for the Free National Movement. Mr. Curry lost to Mr. Ingraham in 2012 but is expected with the PLP being the government to best the newcomer Mr. Gomez. Mr. Gomez is the handpicked successor of Mr. Ingraham, the latter of whom has been busy campaigning for the first time door to door in Abaco. This was something that he never did for himself. The race will really turn on what the PLP is able to do in terms of votes in Treasure Cay, Sandbank and Cooper’s Town. The PLP was defeated there three to one in those polling division in the last campaign. Senator Jerome Fitzgerald has been tasked with bringing in the sheaves. So if there is a dramatic turnaround in there and the PLP is able to hold its traditional strong holds especially Murphy Town with an increased majority, then the PLP should win the seat. Twenty four hours is a long time in politics. There are three weeks left to go. Last week the Prime Minister went to Abaco on Wednesday 19th September to view the situation and to shoot a set of video ads for the upcoming campaign. The photos of the happenings in Abaco are by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services.

The following statement was issued by the Bahamas Information Services about the visit to Brazil by Ryan Pinder MP and Minister of Foreign Trade:

Bahamas Brazil High Level Trade Talks

Brasilia, Brazil, 18th September 2012 – The Hon. Ryan Pinder, Minister of Financial Services, including in that portfolio responsibility for international trade and industry, today convened high level discussions with Chancellor Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Minister of External Relations for the Government of the Republic of Brazil. Minister Patriota also has responsibility for international trade matters for Brazil.

Enhancing commercial and technical cooperation and increasing international trade between The Bahamas and Brazil topped the discussions between the two Ministers. In that context, Brazil indicated its support for The Bahamas’ accession to the World Trade Organisation, noting that The Bahamas’ accession would have significant symbolic importance to the Organisation. The Bahamas remains the only country in the Western Hemisphere which is not a member of the World Trade Organisation.

Minister Pinder stressed the comparative advantages of and opportunities available to Brazilian businesses when they establish a commercial presence in The Bahamas, particularly those seeking to conduct business in Europe and CARIFORUM countries, as The Bahamas is a signatory to the Economic Partnership Agreement between CARIFORUM and the European Union. Minister Pinder also highlighted in particular the inherent trade and industry benefits of Grand Bahama, including the existence of Freeport as a Free Trade Zone and the related logistical advantages of the container port and oil transhipment and storage facilities on that island.

Coming from the ministerial meeting will be further dialogue with members of the Brazilian private sector and the potential for a business to business trade mission. The Bahamas also anticipates hosting Brazilian officials on commercial matters in the near future. The discussions concluded with an acknowledgement of The Bahamas’ individual profile as a country.

Minister Pinder’s meeting with his counterpart Minister with responsibility for international trade was part of his wider commercial mission to Brazil, including visits to three cities, Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, during which emphasis has been placed on the further strengthening of The Bahamas’ position as the leading International Financial Centre, particularly as regards to wealth management, and more generally, materialising business opportunities for The Bahamas.

Accompanying the Minister was the Acting Director of Trade Industry in the Ministry of Financial Services, Viana Gardiner, and Head of the Economic Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chet Neymour.

Nassau, The Bahamas -- Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Senator the Hon. Allyson Maynard Gibson, emphasised to law students at the Eugene Dupuch Law School, the bigger picture of building a reputation of solving matters for clients before they go to court, rather than concentrating on billable hours based on going to court.

Speaking to the senior students September 19, Minister Gibson stressed the importance of striving to improve the profession, as well as professional self-development.

"You are being urged to not only ensure that the quality of your work is sound, but your professional ethos and ethics reflect well upon the profession. Obviously, integrity is a given. Rule one code of professional conduct speaks to the integrity of a lawyer. Unfortunately, for all of us, you included, we have far too many examples of lawyers who have failed their clients and also the legal profession. This is something we really need to work hard on," said the Attorney General.

"As long as people continue to shark practice, cutting corners, causing people to lose trust in an ancient and honourable and learned profession, lawyers, all of us who are not brought up scavengers will be regarded as bottom scavengers. But we really have to pay close attention to that, you are going to be faced with temptations throughout your daily lives, so it's really up to you to adopt an obligation to uphold the integrity of the profession and to avoid that type of practice."

Mrs. Maynard Gibson also reminded law students to consider the emerging globalisation phenomenon and the need for expanding information technology resources because the practice of law itself is changing. She advised them to start paperless document filing to keep up with the transformation in how the world communicates and stay competitive.

"The practice of law is not static. So I'm urging you to avail yourself of every opportunity for training and retraining, developing new skills, and expanding your knowledge base. You don't want to be regarded as obsolete. Remember, you're in a fast changing world," said Minister Gibson.

Senator Gibson had some final words for the senior year law students that summarised their duty to their future clients and society at large.

"Lawyering in the 21st century is going to demand a paradigm shift. Literally with the practice of the law but with respect to training to develop core values and attitudes that promote the whole profession of law and lawyers that are agents of justice and social change within society. I want to repeat that, don’t overlook your responsibility as agents of justice and social change within The Bahamas and the world,” said AG Maynard Gibson.

“I encourage you this morning, each of you, that even as you focus on the technical aspect of your training, as you must, to also seek to regulate your conduct and practice the core values that we have spoken about…you’re not going to change anything overnight, anything doesn’t just happen overnight. So start practicing these core values, which have always been the foundation, and I dare say, will always be the foundation of our profession. Work hard and play hard.”

The photo shows Attorney General the Hon. Allyson Maynard Gibson giving sound advice to the senior year students of Eugene Dupuch Law School September 19. (BIS Photo and story by Gena Gibbs).

The Mercedes Benz that Hubert Ingraham ordered for himself to drive around in just before he lost office has arrived in Nassau. FNM police tongues are spreading rumours that Perry Christie has ordered a new car in the midst of public suffering and unemployment. The truth is just the opposite. Hubert Ingraham must have lost his political senses to order a new Mercedes Benz one of the most expensive cars on the market so he could drive around in luxury while his own ministers were driving in cars that did not work. The talk is also that up in Abaco where he spent 20 million dollars on a new government building, he put in a jacuzzi for use in his office. Now you know this is serious stuff. Talk in PLP circles is that the new Prime Minister Perry Christie does not intend to use the car. Friends say he calls it Ingraham's car; his friends say Mr. Christie intends for it to be put on the auction bloc and the money used to aid urban renewal. That would be a wise thing to do. Remember how Hubert Ingraham sold the plane, a King Air, which Sir Lynden Pindling ordered for the use of the government to move about the country. That was a necessity and he foolishly and petulantly sold it. But come now a Mercedes Benz Mr. Ingraham?

The Highgrove Singers directed by Adrian Archer gave a splendid performance of classical and popular music at the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Kirk in Nassau last Sunday 16th September. Bernadette Christie, wife of the Prime Minister was the special guest joined by Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell. The photo is by Peter Ramsay. The video is Guide My Feet, the encore performance. Enjoy!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

This week Forrester Carroll writes from Freeport about the history and policies of the Free National Movement and the Progressive Liberal Party. This is the first of two parts.)

The Free National Movement, in all its conservative ugliness, compares in all aspects (I submit) to the Republican Party (their counter-part) in the United States of America; the Progressive Liberal Party, on the other hand, compares in its policies precisely to its counter-part, that of the Democrats. When I say compare I am referring to their respective mindsets, objectives, beliefs and their entire philosophic operational demeanor.

The FNM in the Bahamas, like the Republicans, is a party of policies which, quite frankly, have their heritage (their DNA, if you will) in the “good ole days of slavery;” Policies which are known to counter the best interests of 95% of the Bahamian people and compares, in all aspects, to the Republican Party’s (in the USA) which affect adversely some 98% of the American people. What exactly are these policy differences which can so negatively affect the lives of such large percentages of the citizenry (in these two respective countries) and which are so glaringly distinguishable, one from the other? Yes, contrary to what some often conclude, there are vast distinguishable differences between the PLP and the FNM.

In attempting to profile these differences, it would be necessary for me to delve a little into the backgrounds of both Organizations and determine, as much as possible, the principled foundational purpose on which each was established, initially.

Prior to the formation of the PLP, in 1953, there were no organized political parties in the Bahamas. The so-called Legislature comprised a group of individuals whose families were slave masters, pirates and rum runners. This Bay street mercantile group of families hoarded all the resources, unto themselves, whether derived from piracy, illegal rum-running during the prohibition period in the USA, business, banking, and foreign trade or from slavery. They owned the Legislature and conducted the affairs of state like an exclusive “old white boys club” excluding Negros and the few poor whites (which accounted for 95% of the population) from involvement in the business of state; their only need of blacks and poor whites was the free slave labour. These Bay Street family elites (referenced) used all at their disposal to keep the 95% enslaved; there was no democracy, only bond and free. Even recreational and other social involvement, though few, were off limits to blacks and was exclusively for use by the whites and their children. The record of Bahamian history, which is currently kept in the archives in the UK, tells of those times and how that these racists/ slave masters saw it as their bounden duty to suppress (like Jim Crow in the USA) BLACKS and keep them from getting educated at all cost. The idea was (and from what I see, still exist today in that party) that educated niggers would present too dangerous a prospect to the monopolies held, in business and politics, by the white race and so it had to be that they should be kept enslaved, uneducated, economically deprived and STUPID; our history actually records all this. They made sure that even in the so-called free and democratic national elections, held through the years, whites only dominated; using the Legislature (when necessary) and their vast resources (financial and otherwise) usually to ensure their victory at the polls. No effort was spared in fixing elections (to their benefit) and that included preventing persons from voting by any means necessary. There was a time, you must remember, that men in the Bahamas could only vote if they were able to produce legitimate Deeds for land they claimed to have owned; women were prevented from voting period even if they could produce Deeds for land showing they owned entire islands in the Colony; there was no tolerance for the “ONE MAN; ONE VOTE” rule, for they knew if that were ever permitted, political power for them would have been no more; they did exactly what their counter-parts (the Republicans) are now trying to achieve in certain States in the USA where they know, if something is not done to prevent large numbers of Negros from turning up at the voting booths Barak Obama will win a second term easily. This is the generational mindset from which the DNA of the UBP/FNM (of today) was conceived. It’s a sad commentary but the historical facts are, what they are, and there’s no denying them.

Five Bahamians (few though they were and most hailed from, my neck of the woods, Long Island am happy to say), we were told, determined that enough was just enough so they came together for discussions about what they regarded as a monumental human rights crises in the country. The result of those intimate talks was the formation of the first political party in the country which they named: “the Progressive Liberal Party” (the PLP), thus ushering in a new era in politics in the country. The PLP was formed with a set of high-principled policies and objectives in mind which were intended to address the many inequities and favour a better chance at opportunities for the advancement and an eventual better way of life for the 95% oppressed majority. The party’s very name- “Progressive-Liberal”- was meant to convey the urgent mission of this band of bold trendsetters. They knew, most assuredly, that they had the fight of their lives on the line but they were willing to lay it all out on the altar of sacrifice just to see improvement in the lives of the 95% who existed as actual slaves. The Bay street group had little concern for the new party and showed little fear of it being able to champion any real change in the political or economic status quo. What they did, however, was to entrench and solidify their views, objectives, outlook and modus operandi by eventually, themselves, forming what turned out to be the second political party in the country and gave it the name “the United Bahamian Party” (UBP). Because their party had no real commitment to any genuine ideals (or purpose) other than to fight the PLP tooth and nail in their effort to retain political and economic power (they’ve always had) by any means necessary, they were left to wonder over the years like a ship drifting, out at sea, with no particular port-of-call in mind.

Consequently, over the years since that time, they’ve been called by many names (UBP, BDP, BDMP and others) and settled eventually for the name they are now called by- “The Free National Movement” (FNM). So today we have these two major parties each with clear and distinctive policies and objectives; one elitist/conservative/market forces/Republican style and the other Democratic-the PLP (of course) being the Democrats.

In simple terms the policy differences, between the two, can be explained as (1) unfair/unjustifiable conservatism, market forces (the FNM) and (2) liberal/ fairness and socially conscious (the PLP); the PLP being fairer and more liberal in the execution of its policies, toward the middle and under classes and the FNM much more conservative, restrictive and having little to no social conscience in theirs- the FNM having a policy of governing from the top down as opposed the PLP which thinks its policy of governing from the bottom up is fairer, by far, to those at the bottom. What this means is that with the PLP you get a one man; one vote democracy; an independent democratic Bahamas; a defense force; you get free or vastly reduced cost for comprehensive national health insurance; focused attention and subsidized government relief for the socially challenged; cost free education from kindergarten to high school standard; retirement, death and maternity benefits through a national Insurance scheme; support for small business issues; more and varied business opportunities through affirmative action for Bahamians i.e. protection for Bahamians against the invasion of foreigners into certain sectors of the business community which (because of PLP policies) were and are set aside and reserved exclusively for Bahamians; the protection of farmers and their farm products against the exploitation of foreign competition; flexible and less prioritized adherence to the concept of the market forces style of governance, which dictates that it is alright for the strong to survive while the weak be crushed to death by the strong; protection of our marine resources for generations of Bahamians yet unborn; labour laws which favour the concept of an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work with certain protections for the family unit figured prominently in the equation; and generally the close and constant monitoring, and addressing, of the needs of less fortunate Bahamians.

Yours sincerely,

Forrester Carroll JP

What Was Pan Burnside Talking About?

Pamela Burnside, the controversial widow of the late architect Jackson Burnside, who famously stopped her husband’s funeral and made all the politicians sit at the back of the church, was in the press last week in a long letter to the editor. It is not quite clear what sparked the intervention and the passion of it all. Mrs. Burnside is a 30 year cancer survivor and a founder of the Bahamas Cancer Society; in the letter took exception to what she saw an attempt by the Susan Kormen organization to steal the thunder of the Bahamian cancer fighters. That appears to be the animus behind the letter. The question is what specifically did the Kormen organization do which was offensive to The Bahamas partners?

Shortage Of Pastry Chefs

The Hotel sector is worried that they will not be able to find trained Bahamians to fill the need for 7000 workers for the new Bahamar project on Cable Beach when it opens on 9th December 2014. Right now there is a serious shortage of pastry chefs in The Bahamas and the College of The Bahamas is reportedly falling down on the job in what it is producing for the sector in that area and many other areas.

Brenda Major Barry Suffers A Loss

Our condolences to Brenda Major Barry, our country’s first Miss Bahamas. She has lost another daughter. The first she lost to a tragic accident and now a second to complications from diabetes. Sad time. We wish her well. Mrs. Barry is the sister of the Secretary to the Cabinet Wendell Major.

The Argentineans Come Calling

The government of Argentina is engaged in an outreach to the Caribbean, seeking to buttress their claim on the Falkland Islands against Britain. They visited the Foreign Minister of The Bahamas Fred Mitchell last week and announced that they intend to put a resident embassy here in Nassau. This will add to the half dozen resident embassies in Nassau. The photo by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services shows Juan C. Valle Raleigh, Director General of Foreign Affairs from Argentina with an aide with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Mitchell To The U N

Fred Mitchell, Foreign Minister of The Bahamas, will deliver the country’s statement to the United Nations on Saturday 29th September. He leaves the country today for New York, will return for the state funeral of Paul Adderley on Friday 28th September and then back to New York to deliver the statement. A number of multi lateral and bilateral meetings will take place during his trip to the General Assembly.

Katherine Gibson Works With the Leader of The Opposition

Congratulations to Katherine Gibson, latterly of the United States embassy, she is now the special assistant to the Leader of the Opposition Dr Hubert Minnis.

Leader Of The Opposition’s Office

The Leader of The Opposition is still without a formal office to conduct his work.

Forces Gathering In Abaco

The PLP and FNM forces are gathering in Abaco to seek to capture the seat for one or the other. The bets are that Renardo Curry, the PLP who was defeated by Hubert Ingraham, in the last election given the support of the PLP in government will pull off the victory. Jimmy Williams restaurant in Murphy Town and Willie Davis’ bar in Marsh Harbour look to be the gathering points. The election will take place on 15th October Nomination Day is Wednesday 26th October.

Conch Crash

The Bahamas National Trust has reportedly warned the government that if nothing is done to protect conch harvesting, the conch supply in the country will crash in fifteen years and then there will be no conch to harvest.

What About That Commission Of Inquiry?

It appears that the new team headed by Franklin Wilson leading into the negotiations for the repurchase of BTC's assets from Cable and Wireless has been doing quite a lot of sleuthing. It would be interesting to know what has been uncovered in terms of corruption by the former FNM administration. Perhaps if this is known to the government it might make a convincing case for a Commission of Iquiry. We will watch and see. The Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis has already gone on record as supporting one.

Condolences To Foulkes Family

We report the death of Naomi Foulkes, nee Higgs, the mother of the children of Sir Arthur Foulkes, now Governor General. One of their children is the former Senator and Minister Dion Foulkes.

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

THE CHINESE OPEN THEIR EMBASSY

Fifteen years after they established diplomatic relations with the Peoples Republic of China, the Chinese opened a newly built embassy in The Bahamas. The opening took place in the 63 rd year of the establishment of the People’s Republic on Friday 28th September. The embassy had all the big wigs in Nassau at the opening: the Prime Minister Perry Christie and the Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes led the way along with the Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe and the Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis. Congratulations to the embassy.

The photos are by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services.

It is the annual event to which the world’s leader come in New York. It is a like a rite of fall ritual. The streets of New York are choked with dignitaries far and wide, evil and good and some just not so evil, demonstrators and near do wells. They are in New York to give, in what is called the general debate, their view of the world by their county. The countries are as large as India and as small as St. Kitts and Nevis. Each has its say for fifteen minutes and many take much more time, to sound off about one thing or the next. Fred Mitchell returned as Foreign Minister of The Bahamas after a five year break. He gave the country’s statement on Saturday 29th September. It was the usual tour de force of UN issues, some so arcane no layman would understand, but having to do with energy, the environment, illicit arms and most importantly this year youth unemployment. The address was just over fifteen minutes. Mr. Mitchell took the opportunity to set the record straight. The Secretary General Ban Ki Moon visited with the Caribbean delegation during the session and mistook the complaint of Caribbean leaders as a complaint that he was not spending enough time on them when the issue is a wider one about the resources of the organization being used to mobilize to assist the Caribbean in its most unique problems, being rich and yet at the same time poor. Then the SG up and left. Mr. Mitchell said it was not a complaint, nor was the point made in petulance but simply that the rule that all are equal should be followed and not a rule which says that some at the UN are more equal than others. You may click here for the minister’s address.

BRADLEY ROBERTS ON STANDARD AND POORS

The following statement was issued by Bradley B Roberts, the Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party, in response to the FNM’s attack on the PLP as a result of the Standard and Poors downgrade of Bahamian debt.

The blame game adopted by the FNM in the face of latest downgrade by Standard and Poor’s is absolute lunacy because the failed fiscal and economic policies of the FNM government over the last five years are largely responsible for this downgrade. The policies of the FNM government and their general handling of the economy made the recession worse for the Bahamas.

The state Minister for Finance shamelessly maintained right up to the time of the general election that the fiscal deficit was just $316 million when in fact the deficit was in excess of $500 million. The incoming PLP government was forced to borrow $511 million to pay off the bills left behind by the outgoing FNM government.

Further, many of the big-ticket items in the form of infrastructure projects in various stages of progress must be paid for as the PLP government is honouring many of the financial commitments made by the former administration. This is what reasonable governments do.

The FNM must engage in a more rational and constructive national discourse if it is to be taken seriously a viable alternative to the government.

Bahamians are well aware that the FNM government mismanaged the New Providence Road Improvement Project (NPRIP) that ran over budget by almost $100 million and caused scores of businesses to shut down. The public knows full well that the fifty-two weeks jobs program was budgeted for $24 million and the FNM ran up the bill to almost $50 million because of politics and without Parliamentary approval. The BEC project in Abaco was a colossal debacle as over $150 million was spent on this $105 million project and the blackouts continue unabated. More monies will have to be expended to correct this problem.

To date the FNM has failed to own up to its failures in governance in these critical areas.

The leadership of the FNM is in total denial and lacks a modicum of credibility if they believe they can wash their hands of these national challenges they helped to create, stand on the sidelines and point fingers.

Having inherited an ailing economy with weak government revenue performance, the government has laid out a sensible and prudent economic rescue plan and the PLP throws its full support behind the government’s initiatives.

We support the government’s slew of tax incentives and a fiscally responsible mortgage relief program to encourage investment in the tourism, real estate, and the construction industries.

The Prime Minister remains aggressive in dusting off and reviving projects that were shelved and were dormant for years. This will no doubt stimulate greater foreign direct investment and attack the vexing problem of unemployment.

The government’s comprehensive and inclusive approach to the fight against crime is laudable because crime serves as a tax on businesses and is a proven economy killer.

The circulation of a White Paper on tax reform will broaden our tax base and bring about the structural and functional changes to our current tax regime necessary to support the growth and development of our country while arresting this deficit free fall.

We accept that Rome was not built in a day, but we are confident that the PLP government is on the correct strategic path to turn this economy around, put The Bahamas back to work and tackle the root causes of crime, poverty and social decay.

The funeral of Paul Adderley, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, took place in Nassau on Friday 28th September. Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services provided photo coverage of the event.

Prime Minister Perry Christie gave a stellar tribute to Paul L. Adderley. Mr. Adderley who died at the age of 84 on 19th September was the country’s longest serving Attorney General and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He served in the Cabinet from 1972 to 1992. He was buried in the Western Cemetery on Friday 28th September following a service at the Christ Church Cathedral. The sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. James Moultrie who served as Mr. Adderley’s Parliamentary Secretary and was once Ambassador to the United Nations for The Bahamas. In his tribute the Prime Minister described Mr. Adderley as coming from the closest thing to royalty that a man of African descent could be in The Bahamas. He was the fourth generation of his family to serve in the House of Assembly. Enjoy the tribute. The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Prime Minister presenting the flag of the country to Mr. Adderley’s widow.

You may click here for the Prime Minister’s address.

Winston Munnings served as a Foreign Service officer when the late Paul Adderley was Minister of Foreign Affairs. He wrote this tribute to Mr. Adderley. Mr. Munnings now lives in the United States of America
A Tribute To Paul L. Adderley!

The Honorable Paul L. Adderley, the first Minister of External Affairs of an independent Commonwealth of The Bahamas will be remembered by countless (both in The Bahamas and abroad) for many years to come. I am particularly grateful to have served in his Ministry, albeit in an overseas capacity, during those ground-breaking years in Washington DC as an Aide to His Excellency L. B. Johnson, the first Bahamas envoy to the United States & to the United nations.

Minister Adderley was one of four mentors who generously took the time to notice me and to encourage my development in ways I could never have imagined. In fact, Minister Adderley was the solitary reason why I returned to Washington DC., for a second tour of duty in December, 1984.

In a recent press statement honoring the memory of such a great Bahamian hero, the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Perry Christie made the following observation about Minister Adderley: “…it needs be said that Mr. Adderley was the very embodiment of personal integrity. He was absolutely incorruptible. He was a public servant of the highest order…”

The story I am about to share is not a comical one (really) and was not told to more than about five persons. It is not that I didn’t think it would be a believable story; it is just that I didn’t think it was needed to be told …. Until now.

The year was 1977 (thirty five years ago) when Minister Adderley, then as Minister of Foreign Affairs, accompanied Prime Minister Pindling on a visit to Washington DC. The occasion was to witness the signing of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977. The Treaty was signed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader General Omar Torrijos. With so many regional Heads of Government in the Nation’s Capital for this historic signing, Washington was bustling as I’ve never witnessed it before. I was attached to our Washington Embassy as Third Secretary & Vice Consul but during this visit, was assigned as an Aide to Minister Adderley. Peter drudge, then Minister Counselor was assigned to assist the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister and delegation were staying at the Madison Hotel, downtown DC on 15th street NW.

On the day of the Treaty signing, I arrived at the Minister’s hotel much earlier than expected. With five or so Heads of Government residing at the same hotel I figured it would have been prudent to show up as early as possible because security, for certain, was going to be dreadful. Luckily though, I didn’t have to go to the Minister’s suite because he was already in the lobby waiting for me. It was 6 O’clock and, notwithstanding, the Minister had asked me to meet him at 7 O’clock. At least I was on time and an hour early.

With work folder in hand, the Minister suggested we have coffee and donuts at the hotel’s lobby restaurant. With a Washington DC police and two Secret Service personnel in tow, I followed the Minister into the restaurant. We were handed menus by the hostess.

After about three or five minutes perusing the breakfast menu, Minister Adderley promptly said to me: “Mr. Munnings, you see what I see?” I didn’t, quite frankly. “Goodness”, he continued. “Coffee is $4.50 and one donut is $3.75” he said in that classic Paul Adderley style. “These people must be crazy” he added.

Before I was aware what was about to happen, Minister Adderley said, “Let’s go Mr. Munnings.” The very alert Secret Service Lead noticed that Minister Adderley was leaving much sooner than he was supposed to and came up to me to query if anything was wrong. I said “No”, but just follow us. Truth be told, I had absolutely no idea where the Minister was heading as he hurriedly left through the hotel’s main entrance heading towards K Street which was a main through street.

Minister was walking at his usual fast pace (with his Secret Service protection in tow), and I was sure as heck not going to ask him where he was heading. It didn’t take me too long to figure it out, however. As we passed the second block there it was: Burger King.

It was approximately 6:20 in the morning. Back in the day Burger King did not open until 6:30. Perhaps while thinking to himself “What the heck! the manager on duty was quick to let us in since there was a policeman and two Secret Service guys standing behind us.

Minister Adderley ordered for him and me two cups of ‘small’ coffee and two ‘plain’ donuts. If memory serves me right, the coffee was 65 cents each and the donut was $1.00 each for a grand total of $3.30 plus tax. We sipped our coffee and ate the donuts. I learned several years earlier that Minister Adderley was never one for small talk. So I didn’t talk. While sipping his coffee though, he read his notes which, I assume, dealt were matters about which he was to discuss with the Prime Minister relative to the Treaty signing.

At about 6:45 am we got up to leave and was about to cross the street when Mr. Adderley realized that the Burger King attendant did not give him a receipt. He punctually turned around and went to the Manager to ask for a receipt. Then we left.

Perhaps, because he was now settled and had had his coffee, the Minister was not as quiet on the way back to the hotel where he was to meet the Prime Minister at 7 O’clock. “Mr. Munnings, I know you think I must be crazy” he said, now with that classic Paul Adderley Hee Hee chuckle!

My first lesson in integrity was about to take place. In a stern-like voice he said “Two things, Mr. Munnings: (1) when you work for the people, do right by them. Not because they give you a blank check you have to ignore prices. Why pay $4.50 for a bloody cup of coffee when you can get it for 65 cents? And, (2) Accountability! Always put yourself in a position to be able to account for what you do. In this case, get a receipt. And finally, don’t mind what the other fellows do. Dat’s there business not yours.”

When we got back to the hotel, the Prime Minister said to Minister Adderley: “Man I thought you went back to Nassau!” He replied “No Prime Minister, Munnings and I went around the corner for breakfast because these damn people here wanted to charge us a fortune.” Minister told the story and everyone listening had a good laugh. As for me, I didn’t say one word.

I learned that day, however, what INTEGRITY meant and I also got to appreciate what the PEOPLE’S TRUST was all about or what it should be about.

As Prime Minister Christie said, Paul L. Adderley was indeed “the very embodiment of personal integrity, absolutely incorruptible and a public servant of the highest order…” Rest In Peace Minister Adderley. You certainly deserve it.

The bye-election is on for North Abaco and the people there are being descended upon by the folk from Nassau who run the country. The election will take place on 15th October and the House of Assembly will resume on 17th October. Nomination Day took place on Wednesday 26th September in Abaco. The combatants are for the PLP Renardo Curry who lost in a cliffhanger in the general election of 7th May, defeated by the former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and for the FNM Glen Gomez. Mr. Ingraham is taking no chances and he and his wife have been on the hustings for Mr. Gomez, doing stuff for him that he did not do in his own campaigns. Mr. Ingraham’s wife Delores, now said to be retired from the public service as a head teacher, is also said to be on the campaign trail. Mr. Gomez is under a relentless and withering attack by PLP forces. They have ridiculed him as a newly returned resident to Abaco who no one knows. They say he did not even have a job before he was hired on the 200 dollar a week government special programme that as started by Mr. Ingraham last year. They say that he cannot go back to the United States. The FNM is having none of that and simply saying that the PLP is victimizing people and breaking their promises and wining and dining the voters, pumping them full of booze and seeking to overwhelm them by their presence in the constituency. Dion Foulkes, the former Minister, did not even take time to grieve for his dead mother. He was so busy making mischief in Abaco. The Leader of the Opposition Dr. Hubert Minnis has planted himself up there. We hope they are ready to do battle with Jerome Fitzgerald, Ryan Pinder, Kalis Rolle and Michael Darville. This is a real battle of the next generation. To put the icing on the cake the PLP has sent the big guns in Philip Davis and Perry Christie to sit by the seaside and campaign. We will all know in two weeks time more or less. Our bet is that Mr. Curry who is a decent young man is the odds on favourite to win.

Panama City, Panama, 27th September 2012 - The Hon. Ryan Pinder, Minister of Financial Services, today participated in a panel discussion at the STEP LATAM Conference in Panama City, Panama, hosted by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners where the topic for discussion was "Latin America and IFCs: Partners in a Transparent World". Minister Pinder accompanied a large private sector delegation from the Bahamas of more than 30 representatives who were in attendance to further the interests and profile of the Bahamas in the international marketplace.

The panel included other esteemed representatives of International Financial Centre (IFCs), including London attorney Richard Hay, Cayman Island attorney Andrew Miller and Panamanian attorney and former Minister of the Panamanian Government, Adolfo Linares.

The panel discussed how IFCs perform a role in the legitimate movement of investment capital within an environment of increasing global transparency, and how such increasing transparency impacts the use of International Financial Centres for Latin American planning.

Minister Pinder emphasised that many International Financial Centres, and particularly The Bahamas, are well-regulated jurisdictions, compliant with international best practices. He explained that in an environment where the financial services industry is continually evolving, participants in this industry must be nimble and react to a changing environment.

Minister Pinder explained that International Financial Centres must not only facilitate international business, but must also participate in international business. Using The Bahamas as an example of a policy of participation, it was explained how the portfolio responsibilities for The Bahamas' Ministry of Financial Services not only included the development of the domestic financial services industry, but also included the development of trade and industry policy. Recognizing the observation of the panel moderator, Richard Hay, that International Financial Centres assist trade and financial intermediation, facilitating globalisation, Minister Pinder stated that by coupling a trade agenda and financial services, The Bahamas was leading the way in participating, and not merely facilitating, global economic development, and specifically international trade of goods and services.

Through the development of an international trade agenda, new sectors of financial services develop, inclusive of commercial banking and international insurance. The participation in international business and trade also supports the international reputation of countries like The Bahamas as International Financial Centres.

Minister Pinder closed the panel discussion with the observation that Governments of International Financial Centres should be focused on anticipating the development of the international financial services industry and the evolution of international best practices. By staying ahead of the curve, not only are International Financial Services industries globally in a better position to survive, but to thrive and further develop, even in the face of international pressures.

Up until 1984, our friends in United States were faced with a similar problem. At&T or “Ma Bell” was a monopoly and, therefore, not in the public interest to allow the company to monopolize the phone service of United States. So the company was forced through federal court to be broken up into eight separate companies. That decision proved beneficial to the people of United States. And, so it should be with Cable Bahamas.

Cable Bahamas started as a basic television cable provider; today, it has morphed into an internet service provider; a landline telephone service company; and, of late, a commercial advertising company where it inserts its ads into channels they provide such as MSNBC and ESPN, to name a few. Their latest action undermines the revenue streams of ZNS and JCN. Clearly they have an unfair advantage in the market place. While this action may not be illegal, it proves that a company unregulated will always exploit its market.

In recent weeks Cable Bahamas has applied to the government regulatory board URCA for a twenty-seven percent (27%) increase in its basic cable service. This is from a company whose customer base has increased some two hundred fold from its inception, and has always made modest returns on their investment. I feel that the regulators should move to make Cable Bahamas reduce its price on basic service because the operating cost would have reduced because of the scale and size of the company.

URCA’s terms of reference as a regulator is limited. So, the government through public policy should move to issue two new cable licenses and ZNS should be allowed to hold one of those licenses to allow for basic cable service. Such a move would reduce the cost to the public purse of ZNS and make it a self-sufficient entity of the government. At the same time, this will keep Cable Bahamas in check with their pricing practices.

Competition in the market place is the only way to keep companies like Cable Bahamas in check from a pricing standpoint.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Forrester Carroll writes this week from Freeport about the FNM vs. the PLP. Last week he advanced the view that the FNM is very much like the Republican Party of the United States where it opposes policies for the sake of opposing them, and have no agenda of their own but to stop the persons holding power. This is the second of two parts.

(This article is a continuation of last week’s theme comparing the PLP and the FNM and their policies)

The story is far different [from that of the PLP], and has always been different, in the case of the conservative/Republican style policies of the FNM. With this group we get, conversely, NO national health insurance at all; NO national insurance with its retirement, death and maternity benefits; scaled-back (and greatly reduced) attention to social security matters; education (maybe) to the age 14 years; NO support for small business; NO protection for Bahamians, in business, against the invasion by foreigners; NO affirmative action in the form of a reserved sector of the business community for Bahamians; strict observance to their core business principal of “Market Forces;” No special concern for the plight of farmers for, we should recall, while it was the PLP government which paid farmers for all the crops they produced it was the FNM which mandated a “Per -family cap” of $9000.00 limit per year when they came to office in 1992, resulting in the collapse of serious farming in the country; farming has not been the same since. Their policies advocate little, if any, protection against the exploitation of our marine resources by foreign fishermen. The FNM has always been diabolically opposed to improvements to our labour laws except in the case where they called for more wage and benefits suppression rather than improvement to the status quo. They opposed Independence and they opposed the establishment of the defense force. With them you get opposition to strict immigration laws designed to protect Bahamians in jobs and business and with them foreigners are preferred over Bahamians. The Bahamas would never have gained independence under that group for they opposed independence, vigorously, and preferred remaining a Dependent territory of Great Britain as the Turks and Caicos Islands are to this day.

In light of the very clear comparative foundational and operational differences between the two major political groupings (here at home, clearly defined above for your consideration) and the fact that the ultra-conservatives, within the FNM, represent the mindset of only a small but powerful minority of their “A” class membership, one must ponder the question as to why such a small minority’s views, over the years, have been allowed to dominate the adoption of this party’s racists policies from its inception? I am curious (to say the least) as to how or why, with these kinds of policies, they (the FNM) could consistently (since 1992 and even before) attract, more or less, around 50% of the popular vote cast in all general elections since 1992, winning three of them; but more so how is it that they were able to attract such a large following to their membership from among the very people its policies are designed to suppress and deprive? This is the million-dollar question which boggles my mind but the record shows that they have. The PLP, in spite of normal erosion and attrition, should be polling at least a consistent 55-65% of the popular vote and should have won all general elections (in my view given the ethnic make-up and dynamics of the electorate) since majority rule in 1967, when considering the philosophies of each of the parties in the context of all the factors and circumstances.

The PLP has always been miles in front of the UBP/BDP/BDMP/FNM when it came to enhancing and protecting the best interest of the Bahamian Masses. The FNM could never come close to us in caring, genuinely, for what poor Bahamians undergo, in their lives, on a daily basis. Good health care and all the other social concerns have never been a serious concern of the FNM’s mission; the fight waged against health care for nurses and the entire population is a clear indication of where they stand on such dire important matters. We remember vividly the war they prosecuted against the PLP’s proposed introduction of National Health Insurance, don’t we? It was the PLP who saw the need, initiated and proposed the social program and that in response to the escalating cost for health care to ordinary Bahamian families. The FNM and its Bay Street business league supporters; Insurance companies, owned by the same Bay Street business league, and a selective group of like-minded medical practitioners vehemently opposed the plan for no reason except to proclaim that it was too costly. It should be obvious to all why these particular groups would oppose such a plan and if you don’t know ask someone because I refuse to go into all those details. The one thing I want you to note, though, is that none in those grouping will ever have to worry about medical bills; they have more than enough resources for their lifetimes. The attitude they display is in keeping with the core views of this party’s (the FNM) conservative/ Bay Street/ market forces philosophical policies; policies which are counter-productive when considering the many basic needs of the Bahamian masses. I repeat, for emphasis, that I do not understand how this FNM party, whose primary mission is to suppress and deprive the Bahamian masses of the good life, has been able to attract, consistently over the years, such a large percentage of support from among the 95%; it surely boggles my mind.

And so I ask why would anyone in the Bahamas in their right minds, except for the few who make up that 5% I talked about above, support this “Market Forces policy” grouping given the very transparent differences between the two parties I laid out above? Why; oh why; tell me, please, why?

Bahamians, who make up the 95% in this country, need to take another look at what motivates them when they go to the polls in general elections. They need to learn to begin examining their motives, more closely, and the mindset behind their choices. Aren’t you supposed to vote in yours and your offspring’s best interest? Then why are you letting the foolishness of free food, live music and the colors cloud your minds to the extent that too many of you vote against everything you should hold near and dear to your hearts? Why; please answer yourself; why? We should all have enough sense to know what’s best for us and that’s all I have to say.
Think on these things.

Thank You
Forrester J Carroll J.P
Freeport, Grand Bahama
September 2012.

BEC Blackout

The island was plunged into darkness, the island of New Providence that is, on Thursday 27th September. There was some release by BEC about a switch that went bad plunging the whole island into darkness. As we often say, they are really expert on saying why we are always in darkness, so why the hell they can’t fix the problem and stop it from happening in the first place?

BTC Phones Don’t Work

While Geoff Houston the CEO of BTC the telephone company was busy saying how they are going to cut rates for the internet to recover their market share, the collapse of the BTC phone business was proceeding apace. Dropped calls, bad connections, no connections at all. Yet nothing said or done addresses this lousy service. The government should move without any further negotiations to get this company back in Bahamian control.

Complaint From Former MP

Former MP Tennyson Wells is complaining that the Ministers of the government are not returning his calls.

The Only Unambiguously Acknowledged Black Family

Who could miss the line in the Perry Christie address in praise of Paul Adderley at the church on Friday 28th September. Mr. Christie in speaking of Mr. Adderley as the fourth generation of his family to serve in Parliament told the country that he (Mr. Adderley) was only unambiguously acknowledged black family to have that distinction. This sent a collective chuckle through the crowd. The fact is that there is one other family that has the distinction of being a four generation family in the House of Assembly and that is the Dupuch family, aomgst them Eileen Carron, the editor of The Tribune.. Now most Bahamians think of them as being mixed and when people want to be uncharitable they call them black, so it was against that background that the statement was made. Well are the Dupuches unambiguously acknowledged as black? Only the shadow knows.

Complaints In Freeport

The public in Freeport is getting quite antsy about the fact that nothing seems to be happening to get people back to work in Freeport. The din is starting to become a chorus. Poor Michael Darville, the Minister of Grand Bahama, is struggling to keep a lid on it and doing a good job in trying to balance things out but it’s a struggle.

Students In New York For Minister’s speech

The students of the S.C. Bootle High School in North Abaco were the winners of the high school student competition paid for by Rotary. The prize for winning the debate on a foreign affairs topic which is held in the spring was a trip to New York to hear the Minister of Foreign Affairs deliver the country’s statement at the United Nations. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs delivered the statement on behalf of The Bahamas on 29th September in New York. The photo shows the Minister with the students from left: Sherrie Romer ( S.C. Bootle), Savannah Cooper (S.C. Bootle), Fred Mitchell MP, Valene Rolle ( Aquinas College Zonta Winner), Shavado Smith (S.C. Bootle), Vance Poitier (S. C. Bootle).

Congratulations To Bahamar?

The word is that Bahamar is being proactive in its search to get the 7000 workers to be employed when the new project opens n 2014 at Cable Beach. One of the reports is that they are paying for the Bahama Host course for all students at the high schools in Abaco and that they have conducted job fairs up in Abaco. That’s a good start.

Happy Birthday To The Mitchell Twins

Marva Mitchell, now a dentist in New York and Matthew Mitchell, an accountant in Nassau turned 52 on Wednesday 26th September. It seemed like only yesterday that the news came during the rages of Hurricane Donna that twins had been born in Boyton Beach, Florida to Frederick and Lilla Mitchell of Nassau.

The Car Story

We carried a story last week about the purchase of a car by Hubert Ingraham for the Prime Minister's office. Following that press reports indicated that the car cost $185,000. This seemed obscene at a time when there is so much poverty in the land. It was suggested here that the car might be sold and the money given to charity. Not it appears the decision. The car was seen in use at the funeral of Paul L. Adderley. Public opinion is divided on the matter. But there it is.

John Marquis

The former Editor of The Tribune John Marquis, who spews racists thoughts, is at it again with his attacks on his favourite person Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell in his column in The Tribune. He is an utter irrelevancy unfortunately for him, stuck in a cold miserable country. He deserves it.

Glen Gomez FNM Candidate Abaco

The photo shows Glen Gomez in Abaco with FNM stalwarts. He is the FNM's candidate in the bye-election scheduled for 15th October.

2nd. September, 2012 *Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com* *How do you do today? It's great to have you as a reader. We have the most incisive political news about and from The Bahamas!* *Please tell all your friends about us.*
LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD	AT LAST INGRAHAM IS GONE
PLP STATEMENT ON NORTH ABACO	DARRON FINALLY GETS A REAL CHANCE
PHOTOS OF THE DUKE HANNA FUNERAL	IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS TO STRIKE
WHAT’S WITH THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION?	MITCHELL MEETS THE ISREALI AMBASSADOR
MORE PHOTOS OF THE DO IN CALIFORNIA FOR SIDNEY	STALWART B WRITES FROM FREEPORT
YOU NEEDED ME BY ANN MURRAY	A PARTY FOR XERNONA AT ELAINE'S HOUSE
PARTYING WITH THE TRINIS	TEREZ HEPBURN REST IN PEACE



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...	IN PASSING...




Fred Mitchell Launches 3^rdEdition of 'Great Moments In PLP History...	Fred Mitchell's 56th Birthday Party In Support of the 'Mission Fund'...
The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PhilipBraveDavis.com...	Interesting Places...
JeromeFiztgerald.org	Bahamas Government Website
KendredDorsett.com	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...	Bahamians On The Web
How & Why The PLP Lost in 2007 - The Greenberg Report...	BahamasIssues.com
	BradleybRoberts.com

9th. September , 2012 *Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com* *How do you do today? It's great to have you as a reader. We have the most incisive political news about and from The Bahamas!* *Please tell all your friends about us.*
IMMIGRATION FEATURES LOUDLY	MITCHELL SPEAKS ABOUT WORK PERMITS
THE ALBANY GROUND BREAKING	THE FUTURE OF TOURISM- A COMMENT
PIRACY	PETROLEUM PRODUCTS & MEASURMENT PILOT LAUNCH
LEWIS YARD PRIMARY HAS MOVED	NATIONAL PARENTING PROGRAMME
MELANIE ACTS TO PROTECT CHILDREN	MINISTER OF HEALTH VISITS GBI
MITCHELL AT SANDILANDS SCHOOL	PHOTO SPREAD U.S. PRESIDENT BARAK OBAMA
VIDEO OBAMA’S SPEECH	MINISTER OF EDUCATION ADDRESSES THE NATION
ANGLICANS SING O PRAISE YE THE LORD	WE HAVE THE EVIDENCE ON FNM ABACO GOMEZ



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...	IN PASSING...




Fred Mitchell Launches 3^rdEdition of 'Great Moments In PLP History...	Fred Mitchell's 56th Birthday Party In Support of the 'Mission Fund'...
The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PhilipBraveDavis.com...	Interesting Places...
JeromeFiztgerald.org	Bahamas Government Website
KendredDorsett.com	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...	Bahamians On The Web
How & Why The PLP Lost in 2007 - The Greenberg Report...	BahamasIssues.com
	BradleybRoberts.com

16th. September , 2012 *Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com* *How do you do today? It's great to have you as a reader. We have the most incisive political news about and from The Bahamas!* *Please tell all your friends about us.*
THE EVER DESPERATE FNM	URBAN RENEWAL LAUNCHES
IMMIGRATION	QUESTIONING BAHAMAR
RYAN PINDER ANNOUNCES TAX CHANGES	MICHAEL DARVILLE WELCOMES COLLEGE TO FREEPORT
PMH GETS MAMMOGRAPHY MACHINES	AG ADDRESSES COMPLIANCE OFFICERS
MEL GETS A VISIT FROM THE VISITING COMMITTEE	MINISTER OF EDUCATION ACCEPTS COMPUTERS
MITCHELL VISITS MANGROVE CAY	MITCHELL PROMISES NEW YORK’S BAHAMIANS
BAHAMA JOURNAL CELEBRATES 25 YEARS	STALWART B WRITES A WARNING TO DESMOND AND BRAN
BREAKING NEWS PAUL ADDERLEY IS GRAVELY ILL


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...	IN PASSING...




Fred Mitchell Launches 3^rdEdition of 'Great Moments In PLP History...	Fred Mitchell's 56th Birthday Party In Support of the 'Mission Fund'...
The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PhilipBraveDavis.com...	Interesting Places...
JeromeFiztgerald.org	Bahamas Government Website
KendredDorsett.com	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...	Bahamians On The Web
How & Why The PLP Lost in 2007 - The Greenberg Report...	BahamasIssues.com
	BradleybRoberts.com


Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell addresses the leaders and residents of Mangrove Cay	Minister Mitchell makes presentation of certificate of appreciation. From left to right: Minister Mitchell, Inspector Adrian Knowles, Sargeant Finely.

Minister Mitchell makes presentation of certificate of appreciation. From left to right: Minister Mitchell, Mrs. Maxine Duncombe-Administrator, HE Picewell Forbes - MP for Mangrove Cay and South Andros and Ambassador to CARICOM states.	Minister Mitchell, (not sure about the two ladies), HE Picewell Forbes, Jack Thompson - Director of Immigration

23rd. September , 2012 *Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com* *How do you do today? It's great to have you as a reader. We have the most incisive political news about and from The Bahamas!* *Please tell all your friends about us.*
GEE PACO NOT YOU TOO	THE PEACE CONFERENCE IN PICTURES
MITCHELL SAYS WE MUST DO SOMETHING	PAUL ADDERLEY DIES STATE FUNERAL FRIDAY 28 SEPT.
PRIME MINISTER LAUDS PAUL ADDERLEY	FOREIGN MINISTER ON PAUL ADDERLEY
THE RACE BEGINS FOR NEW MAN IN ABACO	THE BOOK LAUNCH ON SIRMILO
RYAN IN BRAZIL	AG ADVISES THE LAWYERS (BIS STATEMENT)
INGRAHAM ORDERED MERCEDES ARRIVES	HIGHGROVE SINGERS CONCERT



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...	IN PASSING...




Fred Mitchell Launches 3^rdEdition of 'Great Moments In PLP History...	Fred Mitchell's 56th Birthday Party In Support of the 'Mission Fund'...
The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PhilipBraveDavis.com...	Interesting Places...
JeromeFiztgerald.org	Bahamas Government Website
KendredDorsett.com	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...	Bahamians On The Web
How & Why The PLP Lost in 2007 - The Greenberg Report...	BahamasIssues.com
	BradleybRoberts.com

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

Volume 9 © BahamasUncensored.com 2011

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You may click here for the full report of the Prime Minister by the Bahamas Information Services.

30th. September , 2012 *Welcome to bahamasuncensored.com* *How do you do today? It's great to have you as a reader. We have the most incisive political news about and from The Bahamas!* *Please tell all your friends about us.*
IT’S THE ECONOMY STUPID	THE CHINESE OPEN THEIR EMBASSY
MITCHELL AT THE UN	BRADLEY ROBERTS ON STANDARD AND POORS
PAUL ADDERLEY FUNERAL	PRIME MINISTER’S TRIBUTE TO PAUL ADDERLEY
WINSTON MUNNINNGS TRIBUTE TO PAUL ADDERLEY	THE BYE-ELECTION IN ABACO
SANDALS IN EXUMA MAY CLOSE	STALWART B FROM FREEPORT -CABLE BAHAMAS: A MONOPOLY THAT SHOULD BE BROKEN
RYAN PINDER AT STEP CONFERENCE IN PANAMA


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...	IN PASSING...




Fred Mitchell Launches 3^rdEdition of 'Great Moments In PLP History...	Fred Mitchell's 56th Birthday Party In Support of the 'Mission Fund'...
The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PhilipBraveDavis.com...	Interesting Places...
JeromeFiztgerald.org	Bahamas Government Website
KendredDorsett.com	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...	Bahamians On The Web
How & Why The PLP Lost in 2007 - The Greenberg Report...	BahamasIssues.com
	BradleybRoberts.com