BahamasUncensored.Com Archive

THE WORK PERMIT POLICY
The cat was set amongst the pigeons during the week when Brian Moree, who heads the Financial Services Forum, established by Minister of Financial Services Allyson Gibson, suggested that the Immigration policy that had served The Bahamas well in the past to protect jobs for Bahamians needed to be fixed. His point was that if the financial services sector in The Bahamas was going to continue to survive then flexibility was needed to attract the talent to ensure that the sector remains alive. Not surprisingly, this did not go down well in some quarters.

Lester Turnquest, who is a former Member of Parliament, was quick to respond saying that he thought that the Immigration policy was in fact working well. He thought that approvals were handled on a much more sensitive and efficient basis. He also thought that there is still a need to protect jobs for Bahamians. Mr. Turnquest is right.

Vincent Peet, the Minister for Immigration, answered his critics also during the week, saying that it was the policy of the Immigration department under his leadership to promote Bahamians first. He laid out a regime to the Bahama Journal where he insisted that work permit applications are handled expeditiously, that the Immigration Board meets often and for long hours trying to ensure a fair and rational policy. He said that financial services matters are dealt with as a matter of priority, given the importance of the industry to The Bahamas.

The policy of Bahamianization was invented by the former Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Dion Hanna during the administration of the late Prime Minister Lynden Pindling. The policy built fences around certain areas in the Bahamian economy. It meant that certain jobs were reserved exclusively for Bahamians. It also meant that certain businesses were also reserved exclusively for Bahamians. That together with the education policy of the PLP was more than anything else responsible for the development of the emergent large Black middle class in The Bahamas. This is a feat not repeated in any other Caribbean country.

The policy also had the dimension that said that if work permits were allowed in any sector where Bahamians were not available, then the company had to put in place a training programme which would have Bahamians understudy the positions so that they could eventually take over the jobs. That is very much the policy today, except that the Immigration Department no longer seems to monitor any training component,

In fact, the practice of Bahamianization has always been unevenly enforced. On any number of large construction projects for example during both the time of the PLP and the FNM, foreigners were brought into the country en masse, even though the conventional wisdom would seem to suggest that there must have been construction workers available to build the hotels in the country. Not so said the industry, and so in from Mexico, India, Brazil, the Philippines, the United States and Canada came the workers to do some of the most elementary jobs.

The FNM lost its way during the ten years of Hubert Ingraham’s administration because it was perceived that Sol Kerzner of Sun International got too many opportunities to bring in who he wanted and that the Bahamian worker suffered as a result. The PLP came to power talking about Bahamians first. But there are many today, Black Bahamians having made it like Clarence Thomas, the Black Justice of the Supreme Court in the US, who are in fact doubting Thomases of the policy. One of them is Julian Francis, the Governor the Central Bank. Another is Brian Moree who comes from the FNM stable that would traditionally oppose such a policy anyway but in the present dispensation and his alliance with the PLP, would be emboldened to suggest that it is time to look at the matter afresh.

There is some merit to his arguments. And although many do not like the messenger, the fact is that the Government has to look carefully at the investment policy and the work permit policy. On the investment side, the net effect of denying the ability of foreigners to investment in the retail and wholesale sector below two million dollars in annual turnover has been to deny Black Bahamians a ready source of capital. We put it on an ethnic level because, the white Bahamian businessmen had and have greater access to capital and the net result has been further concentration of wealth in the hands of white Bahamians. That is not in and of itself a bad thing but what it shows is that income distribution is still skewed toward a small portion of the Bahamian population which can only in the end lead to instability. There is a need therefore on the investment side to allow joint ventures between Bahamians and foreigners in all areas so as to allow for access to capital.

On the work permit side; there is still the complaint of young whites from Europe and the Americas being imported into The Bahamas to run the financial services sector. The industry claims, despite all of the Black Bahamians in that sector out of work, that there are simply no jobs and that the people that they have to bring in have something additional to bring to the table like a language skill or contacts with the boardroom or with investors. The truth some people suspect is that the banks simply feel that their customers prefer a white face rather than a Black Bahamian, no matter how highly qualified that Black Bahamian is. The Immigration Dept is clearly sensitive to that but that is a view that must be broken if jobs are to be protected for Bahamians.

There is however a compelling argument that with new products coming on stream in the financial services sector, you will not be able to find all the expertise that you need and so some people will have to be brought in. The question is always balancing properly the factors. We believe that Vincent Peet is the right man for the job and is doing a good job in balancing the factors. Although Brian Moree's is a good intellectual argument, Lester Turnquest's view is the one to be preferred.

Number of hits for the month of November ending Tuesday 30th November 2004 at midnight: 288,642.

Number of hits for the month of December ending Saturday 4th December at midnight: 30,645.

Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 4th December 2004 at midnight: 2,563,781.

BRADLEY’S ROAD RAGE

    Bradley Roberts, the Minister for Works, was not a happy camper this week. He works assiduously at carrying out the Government’s agenda in the area of public works. The PLP came to office very unhappy about the millions of dollars that the previous government spent on the New Providence Road Improvement Project that they felt should have been spent on social improvement areas.
    The project was designed to create a new road corridor in New Providence, the island where the largest group of Bahamians live. Traffic is a huge problem and the road was designed to run along the southern side of the island and across the middle to allow easy passage from the eastern end of the island to the Cable Beach tourist area. The project went bust when the British Company Associated Asphalt went belly up. It left small contractors at home and abroad with unpaid bills. It left some international contractors fuming because they felt they were shortchanged by the Government when the Bahamian contractors’ bills were settled. The negotiations were difficult with the Inter American Development Bank who had put the loan project together for an estimated 52 million dollars.
    Bradley Roberts decided that he had enough of the back and forth with the bureaucracy of the IDB and pulled the Harrold Road portion out of the project and negotiated with a local contractor to complete the road. That work is being done. The rest of the project was to have been completed by a firm from Argentina Jose Cartellone. Now that is scuttled as well because despite the extensive pre qualification criteria, the Argentinean firm cannot meet the bond or insurance requirements for the project which would protect the Government’s position if that company too went belly up.
    The Minister made the announcements on Wednesday 1st December in the House of Assembly and said he is working with the IDB to divide the project into smaller contracts as he did with the Harrold Road Project and see if the work cannot be offered to local contractors to build to international standards. We wish him luck on that. The original contract was signed by Associated Asphalt on 5th April 2001. The company went belly up in July of that year. The project called for construction on 19 road corridors, comprising 15.1 miles of new road and 9.5 miles of existing roads. Bahama Journal photo of Minister Roberts by Omar Barr.

THE REAL STORY ON THE ACTION GROUP
    Some time ago Tommy Turnquest, the Leader of the Opposition outside of the House of Assembly indicated to the press that the Action Group was not officially part of the FNM and did not speak for the FNM. Of course the fact that the leader of the Action Group is a favoured member of his household, is always seen everywhere with him and speaks with authority on his views says much about the real story of the Action group and the FNM. The best analogy that we can think of about the FNM and its Action Group is that the Action Group is the dark side of the FNM, like in the Star Wars Trilogy. They are the ones who get to do the evil work, while the leaders who sit in Parliament pretend that they have nothing to so with them. However, The Tribune is not fooled, and since The Tribune is FNM, they should know.
    On Wednesday 1st December The Tribune, following a story run by The Tribune the day before about Bradley Roberts staying on for the full term, reported that the FNM’s Action Group (their words not ours) had called for the resignation of Bradley Roberts, the Minister of Works for misleading the Bahamian people. That was front-page news for The Tribune. The story the day before about Mr. Roberts saying that despite what he had said earlier about the possibility of stepping down two and a half years into the term, he was staying and he was staying because the Prime Minister had asked him to, was deep in the back of the paper. But suddenly the fact that the FNM’s Action Group commented on the story made it for The Tribune front-page news.
    Glory be! We are willing to bet that the chance of Bradley Roberts resigning over this issue is like a snowball’s chance of lasting in hell. Or put another way, we will see the Second Coming first.

VISA ISSUES IN THE NEWS

The Foreign Minister is incensed at France. That is the way it appears. He claimed in an address to the Honorary Consular Corps annual Christmas luncheon that France has been leading the way in unfriendly acts toward The Bahamas by attacking our financial services sector. He also said that visas issued by European countries for Bahamians was an issue. There are no visas required for persons who travel to The Bahamas from E.U. countries. The Minister said that we can look for an increasingly aggressive attitude by The Bahamas toward defending its interests against countries such as France.
The address was made on Thursday 2nd December. You may click here for the full address. In the meantime, Acting Foreign Minister Vincent Peet told the House of Assembly on Wednesday that an investigation will be launched into alleged problems with the issuance of Bahamian visas to Haitian sea captains. He made the comments on Wednesday 1st December.

FOREIGN MINISTER AND US AMBASSADOR MEET

The Joint Task Force meeting took place between The Bahamas and the United States and on the anti drug fight on Friday 3rd December at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This was the continuation of the famous meeting that took place on 6th December 2002 with then U.S. Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship in the Chair. That meeting was adjourned when the Ambassador made certain allegations against the Government, which the Minister said, blindsided the Government. That was the session in which the U.S. Ambassador alleged that there was political interference in the conduct of the investigation into the sting operation that went bad in June of 1992 involving the vessel the Lorequin. The Commission of Inquiry reported on the incident and said that there was no such political interference.
The meeting was cordial this time with the new U.S. Ambassador. The Minister of Foreign Affairs described U.S. Ambassador John Rood in The Tribune as bringing energy and keenness to the job and a sensitivity to the Bahamian situation. The Minister said that there was a meeting of the minds over the need to involve the Royal Bahamas Defence Force fully in the anti drug effort. The Minister also revealed that there is a new trend toward using Haitian sloops to smuggle contraband into the country and on to the United States. Bahamas Information Services photo - Raymond Bethel

DEMONSTRATIONS IN MIAMI

The Cuban Americans are at it again. This time they are demonstrating against The Bahamas in Miami in front of The Bahamas Consulate General. The demonstration took place on Friday 3rd December. They allege that The Bahamas has been abusing Cuban detainees at the detention centre on Carmichael Road in Nassau. The detainees are the subject of an agreement with the government of Cuba that says they must be returned to Cuba. The people in Miami want them sent to the US or more particularly the Minister of Foreign Affairs says that they want nine detainees to be sent to Nicaragua.
The problem is a legal one, with officials of The Bahamas insisting that we have to honour our agreement with Cuba. The agreement to return economic refugees to Cuba is not unusual. The United States has an agreement that has the Cubans returned to Cuba. When the Cubans can get the United States to change its policy, then The Bahamas should probably think about it. Until then the Cuban American bullies should buzz off!

PAUL MOSS IS RIGHT TOO
    The comment this week (click here for it) refers to the ongoing debate on the Bahamianization policy. Paul Moss, an attorney at law, and an activist in the human rights field, has added his voice to debate. Here is what he had to say in his own words in The Tribune's Business Section Friday 3rd December 2004:
    “I find it staggering that they [Brian Moree and the Financial Services Forum] conclude that [Immigration] policy is deterring business growth when persons like myself in the industry know otherwise. What is the basis of their findings? The report admits it is impossible to quantify the institutions that may have rejected the Bahamas as a result of the immigration policy.
     “What is more difficult to comprehend is that the [Forum] Chairman [Mr. Moree], who leads one of the largest law firms in the country, is endorsing the report even though it says by implication that he is not sophisticated enough as a lawyer to dispense with sophisticated legal matters.
     “I am left to wonder how Mr. Moree and those who support him will explain to Bahamian parents who care for their children and have the highest aspirations for them. I wonder also about the Bahamian taxpayers, who are currently funding a 100 million dollars [education] loan programme, of which a significant percentage are going to be lawyers. How can we say to them we wish to outsource the jobs for which they have laboured so hard.”

AND GREG BETHEL'S PERSPECTIVE
    The Tribune's Business Section Friday 5th December reported remarks made by Greg Bethel who is the President of Fidelity Merchant Bank and Trust and considered a leading voice in investment banking in The Bahamas. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company. He made the remarks at the 6th annual Bahamas Investment Conference. Here is part of what he said in his own words:
     “The Bahamas should forget banking secrecy, shed its image as a tax haven and rely less on special incentives and inducements for businesses located in The Bahamas.
     “We must come to understand that we are a high cost jurisdiction with poor infrastructure. The environment leaves a lot to be desired and we are a people whose productivity is questioned by everyone with origins outside The Bahamas. We have a decision making environment that is highly politicised and slow...
     “To achieve the desired goal, the Government has to look at introducing low and predictable taxes and government fees. Another requirement was stable and predictable politics with quick but deliberate decision making by the Government and its agencies, including the Central Bank’s Exchange Control and Bank Supervision Departments, the department of Immigration, the Registrar General’s Office and the Securities Commission.
     “Also needed to secure The Bahamas' place in the global environment were an excellent communications regime and modern infrastructure. A liberal immigration policy, a well trained work force and a crop of competent managers was a necessity in any progressive climate.”

THE SEASON FOR A FRUITCAKE AT THE TAXI UNION
    The Tribune has been seeking to amuse the Bahamian people again by trying to make Leon Griffin, the husband of the Minister for Social Services Melanie Griffin look like a bad guy. Mr. Griffin is the President of the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union, and he has been engaged in fighting a rearguard action first by the renegade political activist Rodney Moncur, and then lately by his former ally in the Union Cheryl Ferguson.
    Ms. Ferguson was helped by Mr. Griffin to be elected to the post of Vice-President. She used to be a Progressive Liberal Party supporter and an active leader of the Women’s Branch of the PLP. But since the 2002 election she has left and become an FNM supporter and member of the Women’s Branch of the FNM. Her friends say that she left the PLP because the PLP promised to make her a Senator after the last election. That promise like most things these days with her is a figment of her own imagination.
    Ms. Ferguson went through a dramatic weight loss over the last five years and some people say that it may have affected her thinking. It often has that affect on people. Just a few weeks ago, she led an action to seize the office of the President in his absence from the country, and purported to fire him as the manager of the Taxi Union's business. The Tribune played that up for all it was worth, only to discover surprise surprise that it was all false. She had no authority to do it. She was restrained by the Courts and stripped of all of her purported authority. No apology from The Tribune for misleading the public. Maybe, the Action Group of the FNM ought to look into that (click here for our story above on the Action Group of the FNM).
    The strange thing is that as soon as that court case was over, Ms. Ferguson reportedly went to Mr. Griffin asking whether even in the circumstances of her outrageous behaviour, she now could be permitted to continue to use the Taxi Cab Union's office. That got the laugh it deserved. Now Ms. Ferguson has told The Tribune that she is running for the office of President of the Union. According to The Tribune of Wednesday 1st December, she likens herself to Hillary Clinton, and wishes to become the first female Prime Minister of The Bahamas. Again this is one of these numbers where we will see the Second Coming first. But it shows you the pathologies with which we are dealing with this lady.
    But what made The Tribune's headline was a call from Ms. Ferguson to Mr. Griffin’s wife, the Minister of Social Services to help Mrs. Ferguson become president of the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union. This surely is pure entertainment. You can hear them howling with laughter all the way into the balcony seats. Here is the direct quote: “As sisters [she and Mrs. Griffin], let us show the men how it is done. If she is half the woman I think that she is, she will talk to him. He knows I will beat him in next year’s election and he is trying everything in his power to block me.” Ms. Ferguson was apparently responding to the fact that she had been questioned by the police when certain allegations were lodged against her.
    Mr. Griffin did not mince words. He told The Tribune: “None of what she is saying is true, and I won’t give her the glory of answering her back. I thought that one day she’ll hit rock bottom, but it looks like she went under it. I’m wondering how low she is going to go? She wants to be the president and an aspiring Prime Minister and she is going to crawl on her stomach to say the things she’s saying.”
    The Tribune of course is selling papers, so you would not be surprised that the next day, they went back to Cheryl Ferguson again. She claimed that Mr. Griffin suffered embarrassment and humiliation after the pastor blocked his speech at the Richard Moss (former taxi cab union president) funeral last Sunday. That is a lie. The preacher did not block Mr. Griffin. The time simply went and the preacher stopped a number of persons from speaking. But there was no blocking of Mr. Griffin. This is just Ms. Ferguson’s twisted imagination at work again. This is the Christmas season, and there is a fruitcake at the taxi cab union and the name Griffin is certainly not written on it.

LIFE WITH AIDS
This week The Bahamas marked World Aids Day with a reminder that there must be eternal vigilance against this disease. There was a church service. There was the annual AIDS walk. President of the Aids Foundation Camille Barnett pronounced herself pleased with the turnout. There was a special focus this week on women and girls, the fastest growing segment of persons affected by the disease. U.S. Ambassador John Rood participated in the walk on Saturday 4th December.

PRIVATE TELEPHONE COMPANY
We reported on this site two weeks ago that Indigo has started up as a new company to compete with the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC). The company has now started in earnest. They report that they are starting to market phone cards of $5 and $10 denominations to make overseas calls, and they say despite the drop in prices by BTC, they can still beat the prices for long distance calls. According to the CEO of the company, the age of $1 per minute calls from The Bahamas to the US is finished.

30 YEARS OF CUBAN BAHAMAS RELATIONS

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba was in town this week. He was here to mark the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between The Bahamas and Cuba. The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Peet joined the Deputy Minister at the opening of a special function to mark the occasion. The Cuban Deputy Minister and his Consul General in Nassau met with the members of the Select Committee of the House of Assembly on Foreign Affairs. The function and the meeting took place on Tuesday 30th November. The picture is by Raymond Bethel of BIS.

JOB FAIRS

Thousands of people lined up from as early as 5 a.m. on Monday 29 November to attend a job fair held by the Riu group of Spain, the new owners of the Grand Hotel on Paradise Island. This was the second such fair. The Nassau Guardian who reported the story said that some 3000 people showed up to claim the jobs. It is not known whether this represents the dire straits in which many people find themselves with no work or whether these are people hoping to shift to new jobs. Nassau Guardian photo.

CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE IN FREEPORT
    A letter writer to this column this week raises the question of what the true position is of the health of Edward St. George, the Chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority. We do not know. We think that this is a legitimate question. Edward St. George has now been out of commission in Freeport for two weeks or more.
    The letter writer admits to rumours going around Freeport of the state of Mr. St. George’s health following an operation. The Grand Bahama Port Authority has not been forthcoming, except for the brief announcement that they made last week (you may click here for that announcement). The letter writer says that the matter is said to be more serious than is being let on.
    What is curious is that none of the newspapers in the country that is supposedly such an aggressive and honest press have said a word. The Tribune was quick to put Sean McWeeney’s illness on the front page. Of course, he is a PLP and so all his business should be on the street as far as they are concerned. But on their great friend Edward St George they have had nothing to say, not even the brief announcement made by the Port. There is no question that in any other society this would smack of a conspiracy of silence. A man of such importance, a key to Freeport’s future, has virtually disappeared from sight. And no public reporting mechanism can tell the people of the city that he has controlled for a generation what is going on. ‘Tis passing strange!

HEALING FOR CASH
In the ever present shift of the main stream newspapers to compete with The Punch and The Source for the down market audiences, the Nassau Guardian carried a story this week about a faith healer who was asking for cash before he healed the sick. How this rates the front page of a daily newspaper of mainstream orientation is beyond us, but then The Guardian is a paper that can’t seem to get its act together. Even today, you still can’t get the Nassau Guardian the same day in Freeport because notwithstanding the fact that The Tribune can get published on time and out to the airport to take the first flight, The Guardian just can’t seem to get it right.
The Guardian in a story by Mindell Small reported on Tuesday 30th November that Pastor Paul Lewis of Jamaica was in town. He is now a resident of New York. There was a church tent set up at the junction of Baillou Hill Road and Carmichael Road. Pastor Paul Lewis called out to the congregation that he would bless 13 people for $1,000 each. Hey, if the man upstairs will hear the cry and reward the blessing, then you get off cheaply. Instead, the ungrateful wretches went and complained to Mr. Small of The Guardian that they had to pay for their blessings! Duh! Remember the Lord loves a cheerful giver. Count your blessings!

WISDOM TO ‘SHORE UP’ SPORTS YOUTH AND CULTURE
The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture has announced the strengthening and expansion of the departments of his Ministry on Grand Bahama. Minister Neville Wisdom announced the appointment of Ms. Denise Minnis as Assistant Youth Director for Grand Bahama, Abaco and Bimini. “The reality is that during its heyday, when the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture was structured, – not under the former administration, but the one before that – you found that there were more youth workers working in Grand Bahama alone than the entire department as now constituted. We want to get back to that point where we assessed the needs, for youth work, for cultural work and for sports work here in Grand Bahama, and have it properly addressed and properly staffed.

    Mr. Wisdom said, “We believe that youth work, sports work, and cultural work define who we are as a people... We build all the beautiful buildings, and fixed all the roads, and ensured that the financial services sector was doing well, and all of that is good. But,” he added, “When you have a lawless and uncivilized society, then all is lost. Our young people, particularly in the Family Islands, continually tell me they have nothing to do.
    “And so, we have to restructure, to ensure that we provide the opportunities for young people, for our cultural artists and for our athletes and sports persons, to ensure that at the end of the day they have minimal facilities, at worst, and opportunities to develop themselves to be best that they can be,” said the Minister.
    Mr. Wisdom stated he has given instructions to the Ministry to begin a talent search in the country, in areas of youth, sports and culture, to give every talented youth, every talented Bahamian, an opportunity to develop their talent.
He has mandated that sports officers to “Go in these Family Islands, find some volleyball players, find the best people to play basketball, find the best in sports.”
    The Minister continued that he has also asked a number of cultural practitioners to go into those islands and “let’s see if there are people that want to rekindle this spirit of culture, where we had fire dancers and limbo dances, and native floor shows; and, to also find those wonderful soloists and artists, and culturally bring this country back to life, in a Bahamian way”.
Minister Wisdom pointed out, that the intrusion of foreign culture in The Bahamas has done untold damage to us.
    “You stop the average young man and ask him why is he wearing his pants almost below his hip, and he can’t tell you; you ask the average young lady why she dresses so provocatively, she can’t tell you, other than the fact that they saw it on TV, or they saw it as they watched the reggae artists, or what have you.
    “Everybody else is defining who we are and most of the time those definitions are not very positive,” Mr. Wisdom said.
    The Minister said that Bahamian culture and Bahamians, in his way of thinking, in the purest sense, are some of the most talented people and Bahamians have some of the richest traditions in the world.
    “People,” stressed Mr. Wisdom, “want to copy us, and they want to be like us because we have been so successful.” He pointed out that this infusion of foreign culture has caused some of our young people to want to go in other directions and deny themselves their Bahamian heritage, “and we want to do something about that,” said Mr. Wisdom. Story includes reportage by Dudley Byfield of BIS Grand Bahama. Minister Wisdom, right, welcomes the newest member of his team, Miss Denise Minnis, centre, the Assistant Youth Director for Grand Bahama and the Northern Bahamas. Pictured left is Mr. Harrison Thompson, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth, Sports, & Culture. BIS PHOTO by Greg Christie.

CHILEZA LOOKS AT THE TREE

The High Commissioner to South Africa came to Nassau last week and went to Freeport for his official visit. The visit to Freeport was mainly to inspect the tree that was planted by his President Thabo Mbeki when he made the state visit to The Bahamas last year. The tree was blown over in the storms in Grand Bahama in September. It has now been righted, and the High Commissioner went to see whether the tree would survive. Pictured left to right in the photo are: Mr. Alexander Williams, Sr. Administrator for the City of Freeport; Ambassador Chileza; Mr. Charles King, Sr. Administrator for West Grand Bahama, and Superintendent of Police, Mr. Basil Rahming. Photo by Derek Carroll

LANDFALL CENTRE REPORT ON EXTRADITION
The Landfall Centre for Finance – Trade & International Affairs has released the Executive Summary of a report on Extradition, questioning the constitutional validity of the Treaty and the 1994 Extradition Act. Dr. Gilbert NMO Morris – Executive Director of the Landfall Centre commented on the release: “We were asked by a number of parties why there had been no constitutional challenges to the “Treaty” or the 1994 Act. The parties themselves were uncertain as to the constitutional position. We undertook to examine the question from the same grounds which underlie our examination and conclusions concerning The Bahamas acceptance of OECD – FATF or IRS initiatives.”

    Dr. Morris, along with professor Marshall Langer, Richard Hay and Bruce Zagaris are leading thinkers on cross-border regulatory initiatives in financial services. He commented further: “Observers must note that our aim is defense of a principle. Wherever The Bahamas signs on to any international or bi-lateral obligation, regard must be given to constitutional questions, particularly as it relates to Articles I – II and Article 52(1) of The Bahamas Constitution. That is the general analysis. This should be followed by review of Articles 15 – 27, Article 48 (I) (b) and Article 23 (II) (2) as regards the authority of the Supreme Court on the obligations of the government in respect of privacy. None of this was debated in parliament in respect of the treaty, nor was there consideration of the risks to rights or reciprocity.”
    Dr. Morris was asked about the perception that may appear that he was supporting those charged with offences in the US: “I am not given to play games”, he said. “Serious people understand that the issues I raise are for adults. I have heard such nonsense during our push against the financial services laws. Some uninformed persons were saying that I, and my colleagues supported the old system and even money laundering, even though there is a 20 year old international public record of my statements arguing that the Financial Services platform in The Bahamas is “bottom-feeding”, and we ought to have developed a high end approach consistent with some of the institutions present here. I argued that Custodial Banking services was one way to go. And now people who benefited from the way things were are of sudden expert evangelists against money laundering? It is galloping nonsense. We are satisfied that our position has been proved right in the international arena.”
    Dr. Morris noted that Mr. Maurice O. Glinton would be leading a charge on the basis of the unconstitutionality of the Extradition Treaty, as it relates to bail. “He has already won an interlocutory motion on general grounds of unconstitutionality. In addition to that, the entire matter of extradition must be considered against the relative balance of power and resources between the Bahamas and The United States. We must play our role in the world. But as Mr. Glinton has said over and again ‘we cannot treat our constitution as if it is a mere inconvenience to agreeing with other nations or international institutions.”

THE BOYS WIN BRONZE
It is now official. The Bahamian men’s relay team from the 2003, get this the 2003 Paris World Championships have now been awarded the bronze medal for their performance at those games. One of the members of the American relay team was found to have taken a banned substance and was stripped of his medal. It has now been ruled that the entire team should lose the medal. And so The Bahamas moves up one place from fourth to third and are awarded the bronze. Congratulations to Chris Brown, Avard Moncur, Dennis Darling, Nathaniel McKinney.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
On Edward St. George
I don't think that you have been aggressive enough in telling us the true story of what is going on here in Freeport. The announcement last week, and your previous story about the future of Freeport has only caused more speculation. Do you know what is going on? Where is Edward St. George and what is the true state of his health? The people need answers. We certainly can’t depend on the Bahamian press to tell us the truth about what is happening? So where do you stand?
Solomon James Smith

The writer is an Anglican priest in training. He is the son of Brenda Archer, organist at St. George’s Anglican Church and a leader in the FNM women’s movement and the nephew of the Bahamian athletic great Tommy Robinson. – Ed.

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM
This Week with the PM will return next week with Bahamas Information Services photographs by Peter Ramsay.

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

THE RIOT AT THE CENTRE
Bahamians were shocked when they heard on Thursday 9th December that the Detention Centre that has been in the news for allegations of inhumane treatment was on fire. The report of The Bahamas Government on the issue (click here for that statement) said that the Cuban detainees set the building on fire, and refused to allow the Defence Force officers into the building. No one died but the building burned to the ground.

The detainees are now the further subject of international attention. From the reports of the reactions on the Bahamian radio talk shows, it appears that most Bahamians would rather them be gone. The question is: why have they been in The Bahamas so long? Some have been in The Bahamas since March 2004.

The answer is rather complex. There is an agreement between the Cuban Government and The Bahamas government that says that The Bahamas government is supposed to notify the Cuban Government of the arrival of illegal Cubans within three days of their arrival. That never seems to happen because even though the agreement does not admit to the international obligation to discern political refugees, it appears that only when that process is complete is the notification given to the Cuban Government. Sometimes between The Bahamas Government and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, which helps with the process it can be months. As a result, some of the present detainees have been in custody for too many months. That is the real inhume treatment, keeping people incarcerated in the facility for so long; a facility that was clearly not designed for that purpose.

Some are suggesting that what needs to happen now is that the same way the Haitian migrants are processed, the Cubans should be processed and returned immediately to their places of origin.

What now complicates matters further is the geopolitical situation. You have a powerful lobby of rich Cubans in South Florida who want nine of the persons to go to Nicaragua, a country that has apparently agreed to give them visas. The U.S., which refuses to take them from The Bahamas will then take them one supposes from Nicaragua. It is that group that is suspected of fomenting the revolt in the facility and ultimately that led to the protests over food and then the fire.

It is curious that the fire came the day after the Government reported that an independent investigation by the Police dismissed as untrue the allegations of brutality and inhumane treatment by Amnesty International. Amnesty has branded the report as a whitewash. Amnesty made a few other incredible charges about the conduct at the centre, which simply bear no resemblance to the truth, and are gross prevarications.

The Bahamas is between a rock and hard place on this but the Cuban detainees should all be sent home. A charm offensive has to be opened in Florida to help stop the public relations problems there. There were small demonstrations there again on Friday 10th December. The Bahamas must not be blackmailed by any group. It should follow what is in its best interest by dealing humanely and quickly with the Cuban refugees and send them back home or allow those who have political refugee claims to stay or go to third countries if it can be arranged.

Number of hits for the month of December up to Saturday 11th December 2004 at midnight: 91,027.

Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 11th December 2004 at midnight: 2,624,163.

Bahama Journal photo of gutted dormitory at the Detention Centre on Carmichael Rd. in Nassau by Omar Barr
Minister of Immigration Vincent Peet and Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell address the press - BIS photo Derek Smith

BAHAMIANIZATION AT CENTRE STAGE

    You may have read our Comment of The Week last week and the column of last week in which we reported extensively on the report by the Financial Services Forum Sub Committee, made public by Attorney Brian Moree on the radio Love 97 programme ‘Jones and Company’. There has been a serious backlash.
    The report has been denounced from every quarter, save and except for one of the subcommittee members Rick Lowe. Mr. Lowe is also a member of the right wing think tank the Nassau Institute, so you would not be surprised by anything that comes from that quarter. Every other public comment concluded that the Forum’s report calling for a re-examination of the immigration policies to allow more foreign workers into the banking sector, including lawyers was ill advised. Some were not so charitable in their language.
    The Bahama Journal in its report of Tuesday 7th December said that the Minister for Financial Services Allyson Maynard Gibson took issue with the report. She said of it “They’ve … looked almost exclusively at the point of view of employers. Bahamian employees’ points of view are not adequately reflected in that report, it has been said and so I think they may want to take note of that.” Attorney Moree at left (Bahama Journal photo) and Minister Maynard Gibson (right) also from the Bahama Journal.

GLASS CEILING REMAINS
    In The Tribune’s Business Section of Tuesday 7th December, Paul Moss, the activist and Managing Director of Dominion Management Services has accused Brian Moree and his sub committee of “advocating the abandonment of Bahamianization”. He argued that Bahamians in the industry had “jobs but no real ownership”.
    Mr. Moss said: “From my own experience, it is a glass ceiling. There is no upward mobility. When one work permit dies, another is given. That is why we are calling for the Government to design policies for affirmative action to allow Bahamians to participate more fully. There is no question we have the talent.”
    Leslie Moss, a banker who is in a legal dispute with his former employers in the sector told how he has been a trust administrator since 1986. He said that he had applied for 12 jobs over the past 20 months and all have gone to expatriates. He told The Tribune that the bank and trust companies have no intention of giving the top jobs to Bahamians.

FINALLY – NEWS ON EDWARD ST. GEORGE
    Last week, we reported in this column that there appeared to be a conspiracy of silence on the question of the health of Edward St. George following what we now know is a heart valve replacement operation. Now the Grand Bahama Port Authority has come forward with a little bit more information. Here is what the most recent press release had to say on Thursday 9th December:
    “The medical condition of Edward St. George, Chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority Limited, has shown no significant change. Four weeks ago, Mr. St. George underwent routine surgery for a heart valve replacement, but has since endured a difficult recovery and remains gravely ill in intensive care.”
    The release quoted Lady Henrietta St. George, the wife of Mr. St. George as saying:
    “I am overwhelmed by the number of calls, the offers of help and the extraordinary outpouring of prayers we have received from The Bahamas. This is a difficult time for us and it is comforting to have such warm support coming from the place Edward and I love so much. Some have said they want to help but do not know what to do. I tell them Edward is receiving the best care possible and that nothing would please him more than to hear that the people of Grand Bahama continue to rebuild their homes and lives after the devastating hurricanes.”

LOOKING FOR THE ROBBERS

Every once in a while, there is some strange phenomenon that overtakes The Bahamas in a kind of frenzy. This week was one of those times. The phenomenon this time was the great crowds that gathered near the public courts to see the arraignment of the five persons who were captured by the police and charged with the robbery of the Royal Bank of Canada in Spanish Wells on 1st December. Four were accused of robbing with handguns Rihoda Pinder of $21,128.88, the property of the Royal Bank of Canada and on the same date it is alleged that they kidnapped Ms. Pinder. They were also charged with dishonestly receiving the same sum of money on that day. The fifth was charged with abetment to armed robbery.
The five men were all pictured on the front pages of the newspapers and the crowd in Bank Lane went there, some skipping out on work to see the robbers. Just to be accurate however, they are alleged robbers. So just for our readers, here are the pictures of (from left) Mark Curtis, Jeremy Pinder, Gershan Johnson, Jermaine Ferguson, and William Fox. Felipe Major took the pictures for The Tribune. It is worth noting that it is coming near Christmas time and this is the time when these snatch and grab type robberies take place. Usually, the police catch the people within hours of the robbery. There was no exception this time. They were caught on the mainland of Eleuthera within short order.

FOREIGN MINISTER IN EXUMA AND BOCA RATON
Fred Mitchell, the Foreign Minister and Minister for the Public Service travelled to Georgetown, Exuma over the weekend to meet with leaders of the Exuma community for discussions on the way forward in Exuma. He was hosted by Anthony Moss, the Member of Parliament for Exuma and Deputy Speaker. Today Minister Mitchell is in Boca Raton for meetings on the Cuban American protests that took place in Miami on Friday 10th December. He returns to The Bahamas on Monday for the annual Christmas lunch hosted by the Governor General for the Cabinet on Monday 13th December.

AL JARRETT TAKES OVER

    Well now it’s official. Al Jarrett, the Chairman of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation is now the Chairman of the Bank of The Bahamas. The Prime Minister Perry Christie announced it at the meeting of the House of Assembly on Wednesday 8th December. He said that he was sure that Mr. Jarrett would perform to the highest expectations. He said that he had no doubt at all. Mr. Jarrett succeeds Hugh Sands, who stepped down after eight years at the helm of the Bank.
    Some were heartened by this comment that Mr. Jarrett made to the Nassau Guardian which was reported on Thursday 9th December 2004: “I have a lot of learning and reading to do and I have realized that the bank is functioning very well. I don’t think I would be there to reinvent the wheel, but to be a facilitator to make sure that we continue on an upward path.”
    Mr. Jarrett’s rise to the top of this bank is an appropriate example of how Bahamians are blocked from top jobs in the industry (click here for story on Bahamianization in the financial services sector). If he were another person, and from another country, he ought to have been the head of the Royal Bank of Canada in The Bahamas where he spent almost his entire career in banking, but alas the Royal is the one Bank that has been unable or unwilling to allow any Bahamian to rise to the top in that Bank. The irony is that the Royal are the Government’s bankers. Nassau Guardian photo

CLOSED SEASON FOR GROUPER

    This year, the fishermen seem to be making less noise about the issue but we are elated that harvesting grouper from the sea will be closed to everyone for two months from 16th December to 16th February. This follows a controversial ban last year for a month, which had all the fishermen up in arms. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force will be responsible for policing the ban.
    Some fishermen last year were arguing that all closing the season would do is to make the fish available to the fishermen of the Dominican Republic. The conservationists said that one way to get the fishermen to sign on to this would be to have them police the grounds and pay them to do so during the closed season. The RBDF said that they are ready to defend the Bahamian fishing grounds during the closed season.
    This period between December and February is the time when the Nassau Grouper aggregates for its annual mating rituals. The Bahamas has the last surviving population in the Caribbean of aggregating groupers. The ban only applies to the Nassau Grouper and not to other species like the black fin and yellow fin rockfish as they are called in The Bahamas.
    We think that the ban is a good thing and should actually be extended to one year next time. The fact is that there are too many examples of the absolute crash of fishing species because of over fishing, particularly taking fish during their time of spawning. Let us hope that we can avoid that problem here. Nassau Guardian photo by Letisha Henderson

POOR ZHIVARGO
    It was interesting reading the other day, the tortured logic of Zhivargo Laing, the former Minister for Economic Development under the Free National Movement. Apparently someone accused someone of intellectually dishonesty and having a selective memory. He never quite said who was the accuser and who the accused. One wonders who? It was surely the most carefully worded, contorted piece, in his Tribune column of Thursday 9th December, paradoxically named 'Straight Up Talk'.
    Mr. Laing sought to attack that person who called someone “intellectually dishonest” by saying that the person simply disagreed with what he had to say.
    But how about a person who knows the truth of what he says, and deliberately uses a distortion of the facts or deliberately gets the logic wrong to make an argument that he knows does not hold water? The facts stare you in the face and the interpretation is quite clear, except to the “intellectually dishonest” writer who trumpets the opinion. There are plenty of examples from Eileen Carron, his Editor at The Tribune.
    Mr. Laing went further to deal with the issue of “selective memory”. He said that all people have selective memories. He claimed that when someone (he did not say who) accuses you of a selective memory, they are really criticizing the memory and choices of a free writer.
    But what about someone who knows the facts; the facts stare him right in the face but he closes his eyes to some facts because it suits his argument. That is selective memory. There are plenty of examples of that with his Editor Eileen Carron of The Tribune.
    Of course, we wouldn't dare suggest these things about Mr. Laing. We know that he would never stoop to that.

   Thank you to Sir Arthur Foulkes for clearing up his views with regard to the British colonial civil service in his column of Tuesday 7th December in The Tribune. There was a commentary in this column about Sir Arthur’s defence of the existing civil service structure that is badly in need of reform (click here for that comment).
    We said that he seemed clearly enamoured of the British colonial civil service that had caused him to come to such grief. He responded this week to say that they had indeed caused him grief, but he thought that there is a need for a neutral public service. We don't disagree but there needs to be a political layer put in between the Minister and the existing public service structure to make the system more effective.
    The suggestion and thought has come from Nassau that Sir Arthur has got to write a book, and that book must tell us how the civil service cavorted with the then powers that be to unfairly oust him from office. Now that we would pay lots of money to read! Tell us what happened, Sir Arthur.

CHAIRMAN EMERITUS OF COB

We congratulate the Rt. Reverend Michael Eldon, the former Chair of the College of The Bahamas for 20 years; 1975 to 1995, for being appointed the Chairman Emeritus. A service of thanksgiving was given to the man who served as the first Bahamian Bishop of the Anglican Church in The Bahamas on Friday 10th December. The occasion also marked the launch of the College’s 30th anniversary as an institution.

TRUST CARL TO GET IT WRONG
The headline of the Nassau Guardian seemed quite incredible. ‘INDIANS FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE’, it said. Then when you went on to read the body of the story, it went on to say that at a meeting of FNMs in Grand Bahama, Mr. Bethel postured that the FNM had to be returned to office because there was a secret plan by the PLP to hire at least 50 Indian accountants. The Prime Minister rose to his feet in the House of Assembly with the paper in his hands to say that the FNM should really not respond to rumour. He said it was untrue. But then again, why bother, if the source of the information is Carl Bethel, the FNM Chairman; that should tell you something about the veracity of the information.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Recent Comments
Thank you very much for the comments on the working paper, I prepared several weeks ago and was published in the Tribune. This working paper is a snap shot in time of the current situation in the Bahamas. More than ever, time will prove these to be accurate assessments. While the working paper is directed to others in the United States responsible for Caribbean policy, I do believe Bahamians can benefit from a different point of view occasionally. Several more will be forthcoming regarding issues affecting the nation states of the Caribbean.
With that said, I also received comments from the Guardian regarding the investigation of Inagua incident. While I consider some of the personal characterizations of a former US Ambassador reckless and amateurish, I am glad to see the Commission was able to find the information I provided Minister Mitchell accurate. As Winston Churchill said, “I have never given any body hell, I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.”
Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship

The writer served as Ambassador to the Bahamas from the United States – Ed.

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM

Shown in the shadow of Kerzner International's Atlantis, Prime Minister Perry Christie addresses the groundbreaking ceremony for the third phase of the major hospitality industry project at Paradise Island, now projected to cost $1.75 billion, up from the $1 billion previously announced. The Kerzners told the media that the project had been adjusted to take current market trends into account. Now, instead of a monolithic hotel tower of 1500 rooms, there will be a 600 room all-suite hotel and a 400 room condo hotel. These two join the 88-unit 'ultra-luxury' condos being constructed at the Ocean Club Estates. The adjusted project is expected to provide some 2000 more jobs for Bahamians.

NEW TRANSPORT FLEET FOR EXUMA - Prime Minister Christie travelled to Exuma during the week to help celebrate the launching of Exuma Transit Services, a co-op formed by Bahamian tour, taxi and bus drivers at the Prime Minister's encouragement. The company has borrowed $500,000 from The Bahamas Development Bank for a new fleet of vehicles, including limousines, taxis and buses to transport the influx of guests to the island. Tourism in Exuma has seen a dramatic upsurge since the opening of the Four Seasons hotel. Mr. Christie is shown with government officials and members of Exuma Transit Services.

BAHAMAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL – The Prime Minister joined filmmakers and celebrites from around the world to open the inaugural edition of The Bahamas International Film Festival. The festival entertained Bahamians and visitors with a diverse presentation of international films. The Festival is a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing the local community and international visitors with a diverse presentation of films from around the world, offering films that might not otherwise be released theatrically in the Bahamas and fora for exploring the future of cinema. Tim Aylen - Vision photo

A GOOD TIME IN CHURCH - Prime Minister Christie attended a church service during the week celebrated by Bishop Ross Davis. Our photo shows an electric moment during the service with Mr. Christie, along with Ministers Allyson Maynard Gibson and Shane Gibson and others in the congregation interacting in delight with one of the celebrants.

PLP CHRISTMAS PARTY - Senior statesmen of the Progressive Liberal Party were among those joining in the celebrations at the Sir Lynden Pindling Centre at the party's Gambier House headquarters this past week. Prime Minister Christie is shown cracking a joke to the obvious hilarity of former Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Hanna, Deputy Governor General Paul Adderley and former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Clement Maynard.
Bahamas Information Services photographs by Peter Ramsay; PM at BIFF Tim Aylen - Vision photo

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THE BRITISH PACK UP AND LEAVE
There were all sorts of clever lines that one could use to describe the announcement this week that the British High Commission in Nassau is to close next year. In some quarters, it was felt as a definite blow in that the British were our former colonial masters, and it seemed as though we were being abandoned. This was so stinging that the British Government’s representative here was forced to say that The Bahamas was not being abandoned by Britain. Whatever the case, the British announced on Wednesday 15th December that they were closing their embassy in The Bahamas and removing its work to Kingston, Jamaica. After that, all their work here would be done through an honorary consul.

On another level, the whole thing seemed insulting that Nassau, which most Bahamians think of as a major capital should be given such short shrift by the former colonial master. But those who had been noticing in the words of one politician would have seen that “they haven't been doing anything here for years”. The local office did no more consular work, all taken to New York and applications had to be done on line through their New York office. The office itself was only open half the week. The diplomats themselves did not seem to be very engaged in the life of the Bahamian community as they once were. The diplomatic receptions had almost ceased. The scholarships that they once offered no longer seemed as forthcoming. Britain itself seemed to be going through a dumbing down, with every traditional aspect of their life being stripped away by the socialist Government now in power in the United Kingdom.

If anyone was under any illusion about them, the foolish adventurism against the Arab world when they helped to lead and persist in leading an invasion of Iraq sealed their fate in the Caribbean world. The British are like all countries pursuing their own interests, and those interests no longer include the Caribbean. They have had enough of it. Their naval presence is next to nothing, and their interest is in Europe and the Middle East. And so to help save a lousy five million pounds, the embassy in Nassau closes.

The question, then that The Bahamas has to ask itself is one that many people have been trying to urge the country forward. But we are slow. There is still the Bahamian link to the Privy Council. Should we still be giving them our business when they deliver this slap in the face to the country? Should we not be reorienting ourselves toward the European theatre where the real action is in Brussels and in Geneva? What does our High Commission actually do in London?

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell tried to make the best of it. His view was that it was just a tad strange that while tourism was increasing from Britain to The Bahamas with the arrival of Virgin Airlines next July, the British were in fact cutting back on their diplomatic presence here.

Well that’s life. The British are gone. The young people probably don’t care a hoot whether they are here or not. The older people still thinking back to the days when the sun would never set on the British Empire are themselves fading away. All sorts of other decisions now we should be free to make: no more colonial honours, no more Queen. Why not be rid of it all and get on with our own life?

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 18th December 2004 at midnight: 59,893.

Number of hits for the month of December up to Saturday 18th December 2004 at midnight: 150,920.

Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 18th December 2004 at midnight: 2,684,056.

EDWARD ST. GEORGE DIES

Mr. Edward St. George, the Chairman and co-owner of the Grand Bahama Port Authority has died in hospital in Houston, Texas. He succumbed to complications from heart surgery in the early hours of Monday 20th December. He was 76. Mr. St. George and his business partner and friend Sir Jack Hayward, took complete control of the Port in 1976. You may expect a full report in our scheduled upload on Sunday 26th December. As we upload this bulletin, a news conference is being held by the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the following statement has been released by Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie:

On behalf of the Government of The Bahamas, I extend the most sincere condolences to Lady Henrietta St. George and all the family of Edward St. George on the very sad occasion of his passing early this morning. It is the end of an era in Freeport.

Mr. St. George was truly a giant in the economic development of our nation’s major city in the north. His vision for the future of Freeport and the island of Grand Bahama generally, was a beacon for the values of self-determination and economic success so evident in the citizenry of the city which he dearly loved and to which he devoted his life’s energies.

From his early days as a Magistrate and Solicitor-General in this jurisdiction and throughout his life in business, Mr. St. George demonstrated a love and understanding of the people of The Bahamas that has augured to mutual and lasting benefit over the many, many years of his association with this country. His commitment to the Grand Bahama Port Authority, along with his longtime friend and associate Sir Jack Hayward, began in earnest almost 30 years ago and has ushered in all the major developments of the city during that time.

The Bahamas has lost a very dear and most valued friend. Edward St. George will be sorely missed.

The people of Freeport and Grand Bahama must remain steadfast in this time of sorrow, secure in the knowledge that the Government of The Bahamas remains committed to working hand in hand with Sir Jack Hayward, Sir Albert Miller, Mrs. Willie Moss and the leadership of the Grand Bahama Port Authority for the continued success of Freeport.

    The telephone calls to me in London were fast and furious. The questions were about the state of the health of Edward St. George [see late bulletin above]. Last week there was a brief and not too forthcoming statement about his condition from the Grand Bahama Port Authority. I read it on this site. (You may click here for the report of that statement) But according to citizens calling in from Freeport, there is definitely something seriously amiss with the health and life of Edward St. George. Things are still quite hush hush.
    When last I wrote in this space, there was some consternation that someone would talk about transitioning in Freeport. But from the telephone calls that I have received it seems time to consider that if the great man dies, exactly what is at stake.
    I believe that the Government should consider buying the shares of one of the major shareholders. In the short term though, what is important is stability. The potential investors have to know that there is stability in Freeport and their investments will still have a steady presence to protect their investment and a reliable partner with which to deal in the Grand Bahama Port Authority. For the moment, it seems to me to mean Sir Albert Miller. If Mr. St. George dies though, it will be the end of an era.

ANDRE RODGERS DIES

    The Nassau Guardian led with a headline on Tuesday 14th December 2004 “The Death of A Bahamian Legend/ Rodger’s Passing Shocks The Community”. Mr. Rodgers was two weeks away from his 70th birthday when he passed away while sleeping at his residence on Monday 13th December 2004. He was a legend in his own time, but at the time of his death, he had passed away long ago in the collective knowledge of much of the Bahamian community.
    While the ruling elites were knowledgeable and appreciative of what Andre Rodgers had done by becoming the first Bahamian to become a major league ball player, (and by all accounts, he was good), in today’s Bahamas, the knowledge of that contribution and the appreciation of it at a mass level does not quite seem there. He joined the New York Giants (later San Francisco) on 16th April 1957. He played at shortstop, first base and third base for the Milwaukee Braves, the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He ended his career with the Pirates on 8th June 1967.
    Andre returned home with a legend’s name but the personal difficulties, the struggling with alcoholism soon took its toll. Shortly before his death, he had been hospitalized and a leg had to be amputated. That from all accounts, this took him into a psychological tailspin. He never recovered. The baseball stadium in the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre was named after Andre Rodgers on 9th June 1989 by the late Sir Lynden O. Pindling. The comments from all who knew him were positive.
    Andre Rodgers was a great man of his time, and an example of yet another American Bahamian connection and of what Bahamians could do. Minister of Sports Neville Wisdom described him as “a national sporting hero”. But perhaps the most important comment comes from Angelo “Gello” Burrows (quoted in The Tribune Tuesday 14th December) who is the only Bahamian now playing professional baseball on the U.S.: “He was an inspiration and a role model. He was the first one to do it. So he was able to show people that if you dream big, it could happen. So he inspired me from that standpoint.” Coming from a young Bahamian, that says it best.

RALPH MOXEY AND CHARLES SEALY PASS AWAY

    It is somewhat ironic that in the week of Christmas, we should have so many deaths to report but Christmas is often a melancholy season anyway. We would however like to mention the passing of, and pay respects to Ralph Moxey, otherwise known as Santa (pictured at right). Mr. Moxey who hailed from Green Castle, Eleuthera died following a stroke on 30th November 2004. He was 74. He was the owner of Better Business Supplies, which came to rival many of the established stores in the business world. The company was founded by him in 1976.
    We would also like to pay our respects to Charles Sealy who died suddenly and without warning in Freeport on Friday 17th December. Mr. Sealy worked for the Ministry of Finance in Freeport since the Free National Movement came to office in 1992. However, his contribution was really as an opposition fighter in Grand Bahama. He was a voice of dissent and a voice for the rights of Grand Bahamians. His party the Free National Movement issued a statement on Friday following his passing, mourning his passing.
    We extend to the families of both men our deepest condolences.

AND VAN ‘ACE’ THOMPSON
Van Thompson lost his wife to cancer three years ago. The couple had two children. One of them is autistic. Ace as he was called was a hard worker and was just getting his life together after the tragic loss of his wife. He was preparing for the launching of the National Youth programme's pilot project at the Centre for the Performing Arts on Shirley Street in Nassau. While doing his work to install the sound system, he fell from the ceiling to the floor and died as a result of the injuries sustained. A sad community mourned the loss of the young man at a funeral service at the Holy Cross Anglican Church on Friday 18th December. The funeral was attended by Prime Minister Perry Christie and Minister of Youth Neville Wisdom. May he rest in peace!

SMOKEY ‘007’ ALSO DIES

Leroy McKenzie was only 59 years old, and gone too soon. But he had been gone from our presence for over a decade, stricken by kidney disease and diabetes. The man who entertained and sang for us songs like “Never Ending Love For You” and “You Born There! Your Born there!” passed away in his sleep during the week. He was immediately hailed by the entertainment community for his contribution to The Bahamas and its culture. Funeral services have not yet been announced. Collage from The Nassau Guardian

DETAINEES GONE FROM HEADLINES!

    The headlines have disappeared from the front pages of the newspapers. This only goes to show that if you stick around long enough, the weather will change. Such is life in The Bahamas after the excitement of the week before last when amongst Amnesty International, the Cuban American Community and the detainees at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, there was a concerted effort to embarrass The Bahamas over the fact of migrants coming illegally into our country. The Bahamas gave itself a black eye of course in part by keeping the people here too long (March of 2004 from all accounts) in circumstances where it was not meant for there to be long term detention. But that’s what you get for being too compassionate, trying to live by the international rules.
    The Bahamian people were having none of it and were resolutely behind the Government’s throwing them all out, due process be dammed. Juxtapose that next to the crazy Cuban Americans in Miami who were demanding their pound of flesh against The Bahamas. A ship came to town last week, and one of them was quoted by The Tribune (you would expect it) as saying that because they were Cuban American and heard about the incident at the detention centre and the “alleged ”(our word not theirs) brutalizing of Cubans in The Bahamas, they were not coming ashore. Most Bahamians responded by saying: “ Keep your damn money then and don’t come ashore”.
    But what really incensed a lot of Bahamians was a comment by one the U.S. Congressmen Lincoln Diaz Balart who called The Bahamas government “corrupt and cowardly”. Them's fighting words! Bahamians will have a few choice words to say to him. But the whole thing must be kept in scale; good relations must be kept with Cuba and with the South Florida community, despite the Cuban crazies who live there.   Some of the detainees have reportedly been repatriated to Cuba and we hope that the rest of them will be back home by the end of the month.

THE GUARDIAN’S IGNORANCE
You will have read today’s comment about the closing of the British High Commission. You would then be interested in the Nassau Guardian's take on the matter. Only they could come up with the kind of twisted and FNM type logic on such a straightforward matter. First, they claimed that the matter must be an embarrassment for the Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell because of all of his “globe trotting”. This seems like the perverse logic of someone like Ossie Brown who can't see past the FNM for his own face. Embarrassment over what precisely! Then they go further to say that the British may be closing its embassy here in Nassau because, The Bahamas has announced that we are putting an embassy in Havana and one in Beijing. The editorial claims that these are in two communist countries and so the British may be worried about that. That also is perverse. We say stupid, betraying the most appalling ignorance.
The fact is the British themselves have a large embassy in Havana and an even larger one in China. They handle matters for The Bahamas in Havana and in China. The matter is quite straightforward. It is a cost saving measure and a reorientation of their priorities; nothing more, nothing less. Trust the toadies at The Guardian, however, to go further and suggest that The Bahamas needs to check with the U.S. to find out if they have any problems with what we are doing in China and in Cuba. Quite apart from the fact that this is a sovereign country and it’s none of their business what we do, the fact is the Nassau Guardian has the answer in its own columns. They went and asked the U.S. if they had any problems with The Bahamas opening an embassy in Cuba. Charge D’affaires Robert Witijewksi at the time said a big fat no. The Guardian is drowning in incompetence.

COLINA BUYOUT OF IMPERIAL APPROVED WITH CONDITIONS
    The Nassau Guardian, which is owned by the Colina Financial services group, announced this week that the Government had approved the sale of Imperial Life’s assets and business in The Bahamas to the Colina Financial Services group. This will be a bitter disappointment to many of Colina's competitors who had mounted a spirited defence against the sale. One of them indicated that if the sale went through, they would be forced to liquidate or find an outside partner to be able to compete.
    The Colina folk are Bahamians and their view is that Colina is an attempt by Bahamian entrepreneurs to put themselves in a position to compete in a global marketplace. They say everything else in The Bahamas is too small to compete with the inevitable competition when the ring fences are removed as The Bahamas changes to a WTO, FTAA, CSME country. That did not stop others from worrying about the view that Colina would use the monies that they get in the new insurance purchase to fund other ventures in the group that have nothing to do with the core insurance business and may be unsound investments.
    There is also the fear that the company will use its power, for example through the Nassau Guardian to steer business their way. All of this gets to the heart of whether there needs to be a policy on monopolies in The Bahamas and on market concentration. At the moment there is not. The Government has no legal right to attach conditions to the sale. In fact, there is one view that the sale did not even need Government's approval. That said, they have it but the sellers said that they were studying the approval to see whether or not the conditions that the Government attached to the sale are one’s that will prove acceptable.
    Colina was simply happy to get the sale through. Their view is that whatever conditions the Government attached, the Government has no way of enforcing them, and so they are happy to accept the conditions because they said to believe that in the end no one will pay the slightest further attention to them after this moment. The Government of The Bahamas is singularly ineffective in follow up and enforcement, is the view amongst many in the marketplace.

FR. MOULTRIE IN HOSPITAL
Rev’d. Fr. James Moultrie, rector of St. Matthew's Parish in Nassau, a former Member of Parliament and Ambassador to the U.N. denied stories to the press that he had suffered a heart attack following church last Sunday. Fr. Moultrie said that he had checked into the hospital in Nassau because he did not feel well. They could find nothing so he flew off to the U.S. for a second opinion. He was not detained at the U.S. hospital either and is said to be back in Nassau.

LNG: ON AGAIN OFF AGAIN
It looks like The Bahamas government is busy positioning itself to say yes to the international natural gas conglomerates and allow the LNG plants to be set up in The Bahamas. Minister of Trade Leslie Miller told the press that the licence was going to be granted at the end of the month, since cabinet had already given approval in principle. Not so fast. He held a press conference later in the week to say that he had been misquoted. He did say that it was likely but he did not say that the licence had been granted. But that is as good as given.
A new development on the Tractabel, El Paso front. Rather than now having competing projects, there is one project and Tractabel, having been told that getting a licence in Freeport proper was a dead matter, has joined forces with El Paso and are moving the project to East Grand Bahama. AES is the most advanced in planning and theirs is to go on Ocean Cay in the Bimini chain, quite close to the US. We think a pox should be delivered upon all of their houses. This project should not go ahead. It is a sell out of the Bahamian patrimony.

THE FORUM ARGUMENT
Judging from the report in The Tribune’s Business Section on Thursday 16th December, 2004 the Chairman of the Financial Services Forum Brian Moree was none too happy that the Minister for Financial Services Allyson Maynard Gibson was unhappy with the suggestions of the Forum that the Immigration policy be looked at again. Mr. Moree said: “I was disappointed to read to remarks made by the Minister.” He also went on to say that the Government had had the report for over a year and had not acknowledged receipt of the report. He stuck by his guns saying that no one was arguing for the abandonment of Bahamianization but there needed to be the ability to bring in attorneys with specialist skills.
The President of the Bar Wayne Munroe took up the issue himself on Friday 10th December when speaking at the call of ten new lawyers. He said that many people in the country felt that Bahamian lawyers did not have the skills to do the jobs that were required. He said that it was clear from the talent that was available even on that call day that the skills were there and that the Bahamians went to the same schools as the imported lawyers so there was no reason why the Bahamians could not do the jobs that were demanded in the sector. He urged the lawyers to join the Bar Council in being more militant in defending the rights of Bahamian attorneys. Mr. Moree was unrepentant on his point. The Government, however, would be loath to touch a report that advocates the weakening of Bahamianization in any way.

THE U.S. AMBASSADOR & BONEFISH FOLEY

    On Wednesday 15th December 2004 Fred Mitchell, the Foreign Minister and John Rood, the U.S. Ambassador travelled to West End, Grand Bahama to look over the progress of the construction of the new home for Bonefish Foley, whose real name is Israel Williams. Mr. Williams’ home was destroyed in the tidal surge of the Hurricane Frances in September of this year.
    Mr. Rood has known Bonefish Foley from childhood. He used to come to West End with his father and went bonefishing with him. Now Mr. Rood is Ambassador and is using his personal funds to the tune of $100,000 to build Bonefish a new home, on stilts if you please as an example of what can be done to avoid the problem of flooding again in the quaint village. We think that this is a magnificent gesture.
    Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell thanked the Ambassador and said that this extraordinarily generous gesture will go a long way in winning the hearts and minds of Bahamians and the West End community and in boosting their spirits. BIS photo - Vandyke Hepburn: From left, Ambassador Rood, Minister Mitchell and Mr. Williams.

LUCAYAN NATIONAL PARK – 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Today, we dedicate our ‘Letters To The Editor’ space to the observation of the 20th Anniversary of the Lucayan National Park in Grand Bahama and this letter in its commemoration from Capt. John Hinchliffe.

The Lucayan National Park 1984
    Given that the Lucayan National Park on Grand Bahama Island is advertised as a tourist attraction now, the origins of its construction should not be overlooked, particularly as the 20th anniversary of ‘Operation Raleigh’, the means by which much of the work was undertaken, falls due in December this year.
    It was on Friday, 21st December 1984 that 180 ‘Young Venturers’ arrived in Freeport via the M.V. ‘Scandinavian Sun’ and aboard the M.V. ‘Sir Walter Raleigh'’ [that visited Nassau later], to begin a variety of tasks in the Bahamas. In fact it was the first phase of the entire worldwide ‘Operation Raleigh’ venture, eventually involving 4,000 young people. Their initial base was to the east of the waterway on the south shore of Grand Bahama Island.
    Although it was the ‘brain child’ of Peter Barratt, the architect and planner, and was strongly supported by Sir Jack Hayward, it was a Grand Bahamian of real vision and drive who got behind the Lucayan National Park project with all his heart and soul... the late David Knowles. What a sadness it is that he is no longer with us to see what he wrought 20 years ago. So, spare a thought for all those Venturers, now into their 40's, and their leaders, but especially for ‘Big’ David Knowles and his family.
With kind regards,
John Hinchliffe

Captain Hinchliffe served as Director of the Freeport Harbour during that time and was himself instrumental in the success of the Lucayan National Park, a wide swath of unique land in east Grand Bahama featuring ancient caves, dramatic beachfront, a natural creek (Gold Rock creek) and walkways built by the venturers, which make public access possible. The photograph of the Venturers with their ship and equipment is courtesy of Capt. Hinchliffe - Ed.

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM

The Christmas luncheon of Her Excellency the Governor General for the Cabinet of The Bahamas is one of the Ministers' most eagerly anticipated events of the year. At top, Prime Minister Perry Christie is shown being greeted at Government House on the occasion by Dame Ivy Dumont. A fine time was had by all. See our photo of the week for Dame Ivy with the entire Cabinet.

NATIONAL YOUTH CHOIR - Christmas was in the air this week as Prime Minister Christie received a courtesy call from the Boys Choir of The Bahamas. Mr. Christie is pictured with the boys at the front of the Office of The Prime Minister in Cable Beach.

NATIONAL YOUTH PROJECT – The Prime Minister was joined by Lady Pindling, left, former Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest, right and Fr. James Moultrie, Chairman of the Consultative Committee on Youth as he and Minister Neville Wisdom officially launched the National Youth Initiative Pilot Programme. Under the programme, fifty young 'at risk' men and boys from New Providence and the Family Islands will travel to North Andros for the development of character and self discipline. The project is under the director of YEAST Director Jeff Lloyd and was first conceived by Sir Lynden Pindling as Prime Minister.

'MOTHER' PRATT PARK - Prime Minister Christie attended a service during the week to honour the Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia 'Mother' Pratt with the naming of a park in her honour. The two are pictured at the podium.

OAS REPRESENTATIVE - US Ambassador to The Bahamas John Rood, right, joined the United States Permanent Representative to the Organisation of American States (OAS) John F. Maisto, seen at left, in a recent courtesy call on the Prime Minister.
Bahamas Information Services photographs by Peter Ramsay

THE BOXING DAY JUNKANOO PARADE HAS BEEN POSTPONED BECAUSE OF PREVAILING HIGH WINDS AND INCLEMENT WEATHER. THE BOXING DAY JUNKANOO PARADE WILL NOW BE HELD ON SATURDAY 1ST JANUARY 2005 AT 2.00 A.M. AND THE NEW YEAR'S DAY PARADE WILL NOW BE HELD ON FRIDAY 7TH JANUARY AT 9.00 P.M. - Ed.

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR – This is the last week of the year. Junkanoo is to be held in Nassau on Monday 27th December because the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays fall on Saturday and Sunday respectively. We wish all of you faithful readers all the best for the holiday season and the very best for a prosperous New Year. As we go to print the song about the civil service by the musician K.B. is all the rage. The song was commissioned by the Junkanoo group Sting for use in their annual visit to the Junkanoo parade. It accuses the Civil servants of being lazy and late, coming to work any time or being absent. What a sentiment on which to leave as the old year passes. But the country appears to be headed for a good path economically if we can hold our heads. Looming in the distance are potential political problems for the PLP with allegations of misconduct by one of its Ministers (see comment below) and the finality of the court case of Sidney Stubbs MP for Holy Cross who was declared a bankrupt on 31st March 2004. We are confident that the Party will weather the storms. See you next year and all the best to you

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

THE AWFUL, INCREDIBLE CHARGES
The nasty rag The Punch published the most foul allegations re Bradley Roberts, the Minister of Works. They allege that the Minister raped a woman. They told only one side of the story. The tongues immediately began wagging throughout the country. The Minister issued a straight out denial of the matter. His statement issued on Thursday 23rd December reads as follows: “The story is untrue and I am offended by the absurdity of the allegation and I categorically deny that such an act took place. The matter is turned over to my attorney.”

The Opposition Free National Movement called for the immediate resignation of Mr. Roberts. The party said: “The Prime Minister is now duty bound to relieve Mr. Roberts of his Cabinet responsibilities at least until the matter has been satisfactorily resolved.”

The police confirmed in The Tribune Friday 24th December that a complaint is being investigated. Assistant Commissioner of Police Reginald Ferguson confirmed that an allegation of rape was being investigated. Mr. Ferguson denied allegations made in the Nassau Guardian by attorney for the complainant Wallace Rolle that the investigation had been delayed.

Mr. Rolle said that the matter was reported on 4th December and that he was unhappy about the fact that Mr. Roberts had not been questioned by the police.

The Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt who is the Minister responsible for the police has indicated that she believes that the matter will be thoroughly investigated and concluded without regard to whom the allegation is against.

The constitutional convention is that Ministers are responsible for their personal behaviour. The Minister has denied that the act took place so that is the end of that until such time as it may be proven otherwise. It is ultimately the Prime Minister who will be the judge of whether or not a situation obtains where a particular Minister can no longer carry out his duties because of public controversy.

We stand by the Minister in the face of these incredible charges, which themselves have come from an incredible source.

What the FNM is hoping is that this allegation against one of the people who has been most effective against them, together with the saga of the Sidney Stubbs issue will show that the Prime Minister has lost control of the Government. They seek to add this to the case of Leslie Miller, the Minister of the Government who appears to them to be in some public contention or other on a regular basis. As 2005 comes, it is clear that politics is becoming more intense, and you can’t put it past them that The Punch is part of their strategy to destabilize the government.

The question is: sticking one’s finger into the wind, it now appears that while there is rumbling, many people are saying that the FNM is in no position to talk. The FNM is reminded of the situation of Henry Bostwick and the allegation against him of improper sexual conduct with someone under age. Mr. Bostwick, then a Senator called a press conference to deny that it had taken place or that the allegations were true. There the matter ended.

There has been no comment from the Prime Minister on the matter. But the conventions are clear, until and unless others can show that the allegations are true, the Minister stays.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 25th December 2004 at midnight: 41,613.

Number of hits for the month of December up to Saturday 25th December 2004 at midnight: 192,533.

Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 25th December 2004 at midnight: 2,725,669.

INGRAHAM SURVIVES CHEST PAIN
6.47 p.m. Nassau time... As we go to the upload of our second edition comes the news that the Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham is convalescing at Doctors Hospital from emergency balloon angioplasty today. Mr. Ingraham suffered crushing chest pains which drove him to the Lyford Cay clinic by noon today, Boxing Day, 26th December. The heart specialist there is said to have stabilised the former Prime Minister and sent him by ambulance to Doctors where a team of physicians led by Dr. Conville Brown awaited. After tests determined that Mr. Ingraham had blockages of two vessels to his heart, resulting in "unstable angina" Dr. Brown performed the balloon angioplasty, which he termed a success. Hospital spokesman say Mr. Ingraham is resting and expected to be discharged within a day or two. It is said that the former Prime Minister escaped a major heart attack.

LESLIE MILLER’S ULTIMATUM

    There is a gas strike on in New Providence by liquefied petroleum dealers. The reason is that the Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller has so far not agreed to the increase of some 25 dollars per 100 lbs cylinder of LPG which will take the price up from 65 dollars to $90. The Minister has accused the dealers of hoarding because some dealers are continuing to sell to institutional customers while refusing to sell to the public at large and has said that if they don’t start selling to the public at large, they will be shut down. The message was a chilling one.
    All the public knows is that they want cooking gas. There will also be the concern that someone is going to get injured by taking gas cylinders around in their cars because the gas dealers are not servicing the needs of customers by coming to their homes. This means that if your traditional gas supplier refuses to come to your home, you have to go and find another dealer but you have to go to his or her establishment to get it yourself.
    Some dealers are getting a windfall because of this, because the large dealers are refusing to serve gas. Gas is the main cooking fuel in The Bahamas. Just before the Christmas holidays, the gas dealers asked the Prime Minister to intervene. They said that they simply cannot continue selling gas at the prices that they have been. The losses are significant. The Prime Minister has not said what his position is on the matter.
    On the other hand, you have one gas dealer who says that they are making quite enough on fuel because of where they buy their supplies. Shonnell Scavella of LPG Gas Service Centre does not even sell now at the maximum $65 dollar allowed price. She said they sell now at $55: “We think that it’s too much of an increase. We don’t think it is necessary… We buy our gas direct and in bulk from Trinidad so we cut out the middleman.”

IS INGRAHAM TO RETURN?
    As the year comes to an end, the telephone calls are going around fast and furious about the planned return of Hubert Ingraham, the former Prime Minister who was kicked out of office in 2002. Mr. Ingraham has been playing footsie with the idea ever since the word starting spreading of the unhappiness with the leadership of Senator Tommy Turnquest who lost his seat in the House in the last election and who seeks to lead the party from the Senate.
    The word is that a formal offer was made to Mr. Ingraham to return to the Free National Movement’s leadership. The word is that Mr. Ingraham has agreed on two conditions: that there is to be no contention over the leadership, meaning that he must be the uncontested choice. The second condition is that he will have the absolute right to choose the candidates for the election. No word on how Senator Turnquest fits into this.
    In the mean time, the word is that the white knights got together at their annual do in Lyford Cay around Manny Mosko's house to begin to talk about raising money to fight the next election. It goes to show that no matter how nice the Prime Minister is to them, in the end, they will go with their own. They will not support the PLP.
    Then there is the talk about the party for 400 of Brent Symonette’s closest friends at Luciano's restaurant, the home where he grew up that is now a George Myer's restaurant. Mr. Symonette is now the FNM’s whip in Parliament. The talk is that it was a gathering of the potential delegates for the FNM’s convention of May 2005, which is to choose the leader that will lead the party into the next General Election.
    The PLP is looking on with studied interest. No one is quite sure who would be the easier target: Ingraham or Symonette. Who would be the most formidable? What we know is that the gloves must come off on Ingraham. Here is a man who is collecting as a retiree $100,000 per year of taxpayer's money and is not retired. The public ought to be made aware of the double dipping that he is doing in this area, and hammer away at it. It should also be reminded that it was his bull in the China shop mentality that has the country in the place where it is right this moment. We do not need a return to that.
    There were two pieces that appeared in the Nassau Guardian over the past two weeks under the caption: Is the FNM Dead? It was a lament over the state of the party and its leadership. The pieces were well written by Raymond Kongwa. Some have suggested that the pieces were inspired by Hubert Ingraham who is trying to set the scene that the FNM is in disarray and needs his steady hand.

ENA HEPBURN DIES
The PLP Stalwart Councillor Ena Hepburn is dead. Ms. Hepburn died peacefully at home in San Souci two weeks ago. Ena Hepburn in her lifetime had been a hotel worker, a seamstress, a bar owner, but most importantly a political and civil rights activist. Her finest moment had to have been the day she dressed in a white suit and decided to join the late Sir Lynden Pindling and his colleagues on 27th April 1965 known as Black Tuesday when the late Sir Lynden threw the mace out of the House of Assembly. Sir Lynden himself recalled how Ena Hepburn sat down in the road during the demonstrations as a protest against the Boundary Lines drawn by the ruling United Bahamian Party. Athama Bowe, formerly of the Ministry of Tourism and now a consultant with the Ministry of Sports is amongst her famous children. Her daughter Kabrina is a political activist in Grand Bahama.

EDWARD ST. GEORGE IS DEAD

    He was a larger than life figure in Freeport though little known throughout the rest of The Bahamas. His coffin arrived back in The Bahamas on Monday 20th December. There was a brief ceremony with his family and the staff of the Grand Bahama Port Authority. There were tributes coming in from all the leaders of the society. There was a press conference at the Port Authority that announced his death on Monday 20th December. Leading the press conference was the leader of the Port in the interregnum Sir Albert Miller. He was joined by Sir Jack Hayward, who was Mr. St. George’s partner in the Port. Sir Jack is in his eighties. They were also joined by Willie Moss, the now President of the Port Authority. The press conference was interesting. Many people criticized Willie Moss for the remark that she learned so much at “the feet” of Edward St George as a little too effusive.
    Sir Jack Hayward’s comment was that notwithstanding Edward’s death, the Port was going to go on, Grand Bahama having endured the loss of its founder Wallace Groves and the Port continued. It seemed a bit over the top in that it sought to minimize the impact and possible drastic changes that are likely to have to take place over the next 24 months in Freeport as a result of Mr. St. George’s passing. It cannot be business as usual and yet there must be a quick appearance of normalcy.
    Right now people are just trying to get over the position in which the city was left, recovering from a hurricane and now to cope with the changes after its philosophical leader and main marketing man has left the scene. What you have is a situation where there are caretakers in charge, but what will be needed ultimately is clearly fresh leadership. The Government cannot be silent, mute or be left or leave itself out of the equation. The city is simply too important for that.

Even now, the Government is concerned about the state of readiness of Freeport to cope with the last hurricane and the feeling that there was a deliberate under investment in the infrastructure of Freeport so that the city was not as prepared for the hurricanes as it should have been. A study should be commissioned. The feeling is that it cannot be left to the Port alone. So far, the matter is being dealt with as only a personal property matter, in the sense of who is going to own or inherit the shares of Edward St. George and who will take over control of the Board now that he has passed. The Government cannot let it be dealt with like that. It is a priority matter to be sure but the ‘lex situs’ or the place where the property is situated is in The Bahamas. Private interests and the public interest must coincide. For that to happen, it must not be left to chance. It seems to us that Sir Albert Miller is the perfect man to ensure that result.
There is a website edwardstgeorge.com, which you might visit for further information on the life and times of Edward St. George. You may click here for the official obituary of Mr. St. George from that website. Mr. St. George is to be buried on Wednesday 29th December 2004 at 12 noon on Taino Beach in Freeport. A special burial site has been prepared for him. Thousand of seats are reportedly being brought in and tents for the occasion. The Prime Minister and several cabinet Ministers are expected to attend. Mr. St. George is shown in the official photo at top and standing at right in this undated file photo with friends on a boat, including former Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling (seated).

BILL ALLEN TO HEAD BANK BOARD
Sir William Allen, the former Finance Minister has been named Chairman of the Board of British American Bank. Former Member of Parliament Franklyn Walkine has also been named to the Board. Peter Thompson, its President and Managing Director has resigned. Mr. Thompson was brought over from FINCO, the competitor of the Bank in the mortgage business to try to raise the profile of the Bank and increase its market share and profits. The Bank seems however to have lost its identity over the years. These two gentlemen will no doubt help to bring the presence of the Bank back into Bahamian consciousness.
There are reports that the Bank was helped by the purchase recently by a mystery shareholder of a significant shareholding in the bank. While we are unable to reveal the identity of that shareholder, it should provide a significant boost in market share for the Bank. Congratulations to the two men!

KENYATTA GIBSON DEFENDS GOVERNMENT
Kenyatta Gibson MP, Chairman of the House of Assembly Select Committee on Foreign Affairs has defended the Government over an editorial published in the Nassau Guardian entitled 'British Surprise'. Mr. Gibson in a letter to the editor of the Guardian this past week, calls the newspaper's arguments "fallacious" and upbraids the editorial writer for not checking facts from his own previous columns in the Guardian.
In answer to the Guardian's assertion that the impending closure of the United Kingdom's High Commission in Nassau was an embarrassment to the Government, Mr. Gibson says "How all of this could possibly be an embarrassment to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and The Bahamas Government, or some message to us as The Nassau Guardian's editorial asserts, defies logic. The decisions made by the Minister in this regard are the Government’s decisions, not those of any one individual." Please click here for the full text of the statement from Mr. Gibson.

AMNESTY ON THE DETENTION CENTRE

Amnesty International has called for an investigation into the state and practices at the detention centre. This comes following the issuance of a report by the Minister of Immigration that was done by the police into the burning of a detention centre building at the site. Amnesty wants a broader inquiry into practices and procedures into the treatment of migrants. They believe that the report was not an independent one since the agency that did the first investigation was the police.
The issue of abuse at the detention centre rose again when a Jamaican man who is married to a Bahamian reported to The Tribune that he was beaten while a detainee there. It appears also that he was unlawfully detained there. The Jamaican Honorary Consul Patrick Hanlon is also investigating that matter. There may be a need for an additional inquiry, and certainly a need for further training and manpower changes. The reports consistently come back of a pattern of abuse but the answer is always the same that it isn’t so. Detainees shown behind the fence of the detention centre - Bahama Journal photo by Omar Barr

STATE OF THE MORGUE
Some morticians have sent an e mail to this site asking that there be an immediate investigation into the state of the morgue at the Princess Margaret Hospital. They are concerned about the fact that the space is a problem at the morgue and often there aren’t enough gurneys, and sometimes bodies of the loved ones of individuals have to be placed on top of one another or on the floor. They claim that there are not sufficient bags for bodies and that autopsies often take longer than they should because of a manpower shortage. Perhaps some of our readers might pass these reports on to the authorities.

NEW US AIR DIRECT TO GEORGETOWN

Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe has welcomed new U.S. Airways direct flights between North Carolina and George Town, Exuma. Minister Wilchcombe thanked U.S. Airways for what it is doing in “our quest to develop our Bahamas… I think you should appreciate that what you are, in fact, contributing to what we believe will be the renaissance, not only of Exuma, but certainly the entire southern Bahamas.”
“Our goal is to develop all the islands of The Bahamas, to provide opportunities for every single Bahamian, to allow Bahamians to participate in what we believe to be a new era of economic development,” he said. Minister Wilchcombe (centre) is shown with U. S. Airways Regional Manager of Sales and Marketing for the Caribbean and Latin America Michael J. Pewther and Director of Customer Service at U. S. Airways Express (PSA Airlines) Catherine Quinn after receiving a gift at the ceremony on December 18 for the airline’s inaugural flight between Charlotte, North Carolina, and George Town, Exuma. BIS photo: Eric Rose

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Financial Forum
    As a Bahamian living abroad and working in the finance industry for the last 8 years, I find it both shocking and amusing that after 30+ years of the Bahamas being a major participant in the Offshore Financial Services sector, that the only solution provided to the government by the Forum headed by Brian Moree is the importation of foreign “experts” to get us out of this “rut”.
    My response to this is: Sir you were not asked to provide advice on the best way to get a mortgage from a bank, you were asked to provide advice on a matter that affects public policy and the economic interest of the nation and as such you should have taken a more serious approach in the execution of this duty.
    As the leader of such an important task you should have either taken it upon yourself to widen the mandate or gone back to the government and expressed the need to widen the mandate thus allowing you to provide a more comprehensive report covering all aspects of the industry given the importance of the sector.
    Mr. Moree and his team’s response clearly show that they are either out of their depth or that they don’t really care about improving the sector.
    Based on my understanding, Bahamians really shouldn’t be too surprise given the fact that his Forum consisted of individuals who have never worked in any financial arena outside of the Bahamas.
    I am currently living in Hong Kong but based on my observations, here are a few simple suggestions the government and the industry might consider implementing:
    The government along with the private sector needs to be more proactive in their quest to attract new business. For example in my business which is money management, conferences are held every year in all the major financial cities such as New York, London, Miami, Hong Kong etc., among the sponsors of such events are law firms that specialize in Cayman and Bermudian law as well as the Cayman Monetary Authority. I have attended a number of these conferences over the years and I have seen all manner of representation from both these countries, I have yet to see any form of Bahamian representation;
    Again, as a follow-up from my first suggestion, Law along with accounting firms should establish offices or joint ventures in other major cities to attract more business to the Bahamas. In Hong Kong for example, all the major law firms from the Caymans and Bermuda have offices here. I am constantly approached by business associates enquiring about setting up companies and other business structures in the Bahamas;
    COB needs to actively pursue the strategy of establishing academic exchanges and sponsorship programmes with the best Finance Schools in the US and Europe;
    The Central Bank needs to reconsider the idea of allowing institutions owned by Bahamians to participate in the sector;
    Where there is a need for foreign expertise then they should be allowed in with the proviso that Bahamians work closely with them to develop that relationship and ensure an exchange of skills and expertise;
    I agree with Mr. Moree in that government has to seriously consider where it wants to go with this sector.
    The irony of this debate is if the government were to follow the advice of Mr. Moree, he might be out of a job.
Shane Stuart

Shane Stuart works in financial services in Hong Kong. We thank him for this thoughtful intervention. – Editor

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM

ANDRE RODGERS FUNERAL - The sense of national loss at the death of Bahamian baseball great Andre Rodgers is personified by Prime Minister Christie as he addresses the mourners (top photo) at Christ Church Cathedral during Mr. Rodgers' funeral. At right, Mr. Christie is pictured with Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt, Minister of Sports Neville Wisdom and a host of government officials and friends of Mr. Rodgers at the funeral. The first Bahamian to play baseball in the American Major Leagues was laid to rest in the cemetery of the Anglican Church of St. Mary the Virgin.

HOLIDAY SHOP OPENING - Mrs. Bernadette Christie and the Prime Minister this past Christmas week did the honours at the official opening of the latest Solomon's Mines store located in the Mall at Marathon. The Christies are seated with the principals of Solomon's Garet 'Tiger' Finlayson and Mrs. Rowena Finlayson.

NEW HOUSES FOR CHRISTMAS IN ABACO – The Prime Minister was joined by Minister of Housing Shane Gibson as he officially opened ten new houses built by the Ministry of Housing in Abaco. "One of the most satisfying experiences for a prime minister," Mr. Christie said, "is to come here today and to go to Acklins and Mayaguana and San Salvador and Cat Island and Eleuthera, and see all the reconstruction work all of you have done." Ms. Ida Swain (pictured at ribbon with PM) of Murphy Town, at whose new house the key-giving ceremony was held told the Prime Minister and Minister Gibson: "Thank you for keeping your promise." Mr. Christie and Minister Gibson had visited Mrs. Swain at her wrecked home the day after Jeanne, and promised publicly to rebuild her home. The Prime Minister and Minister Gibson are shown below with some of the other owners of the new houses.

HOLIDAY CHEER - Prime Minister Christie took the opportunity while attending the official opening of Solomon's Mines new store to renew old acquaintances and share in the holiday cheer. Mr. Christie is pictured as he toasts the season with Sir Arlington Butler, former senior government official and President of The Bahamas Olympic Association.

KB's NEW ALBUM - Also in the spirit of the season this past week, the Prime Minister accepted a presentation from Bahamian musician 'KB'. As we report above, one song on the album is all the rage in town. It's about the civil service and accuses civil servants of being lazy and late, coming to work any time or being absent. The song was commissioned by the Junkanoo group Sting for use in their annual visit to the Junkanoo parade. From left are Elvis McPhee, Bernard Hanna, Prime Minister Christie, KB, Alexander Hanna and Gary 'Super' Johnson.
Bahamas Information Services photographs by Peter Ramsay

5^th December, 2004 *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.*
BRADLEY’S ROAD RAGE...	THE REAL STORY ON THE ACTION GROUP...
VISA ISSUES IN THE NEWS...	FOREIGN MINISTER AND US AMBASSADOR MEET...
DEMONSTRATIONS IN MIAMI...	PAUL MOSS IS RIGHT TOO...
AND GREG BETHEL'S PERSPECTIVE...	THE SEASON FOR A FRUITCAKE AT THE TAXI UNION...
LIFE WITH AIDS...	PRIVATE TELEPHONE COMPANY...
30 YEARS OF CUBAN BAHAMAS RELATIONS...	JOB FAIRS...
CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE IN FREEPORT...	HEALING FOR CASH...
WISDOM TO ‘SHORE UP’ SPORTS YOUTH AND CULTURE...	CHILEZA LOOKS AT THE TREE...
LANDFALL CENTRE REPORT ON EXTRADITION...	THE BOYS WIN BRONZE...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...	THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...



The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PLPs On The Web...	Interesting Places...
Bradley Roberts / PLP Grants Town	Bahamas Government Website
Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte	Bahamians On The Web
Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw	Bahamian Cycling News
John Carey / PLP Carmichael	FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...
Grand Bahama PLP

12^th December, 2004 *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.*
BAHAMIANIZATION AT CENTRE STAGE...	GLASS CEILING REMAINS...
FINALLY – NEWS ON EDWARD ST. GEORGE...	LOOKING FOR THE ROBBERS...
FOREIGN MINISTER IN EXUMA AND BOCA RATON...	AL JARRETT TAKES OVER...
CLOSED SEASON FOR GROUPER...	POOR ZHIVARGO...
ARTHUR FOULKES...	CHAIRMAN EMERITUS OF COB...
TRUST CARL TO GET IT WRONG...	LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...
	THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...






The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PLPs On The Web...	Interesting Places...
Bradley Roberts / PLP Grants Town	Bahamas Government Website
Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte	Bahamians On The Web
Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw	Bahamian Cycling News
John Carey / PLP Carmichael	FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...
Grand Bahama PLP

19^th December, 2004 *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.*
BREAKING NEWS - EDWARD ST. GEORGE DIES...	FREEPORT IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW...
ANDRE RODGERS DIES...	RALPH MOXEY AND CHARLES SEALY PASS AWAY...
AND VAN ‘ACE’ THOMPSON...	SMOKEY ‘007’ ALSO DIES...
DETAINEES GONE FROM HEADLINES!...	THE GUARDIAN’S IGNORANCE...
COLINA BUYOUT OF IMPERIAL APPROVED WITH CONDITIONS...	FR. MOULTRIE IN HOSPITAL...
LNG: ON AGAIN OFF AGAIN...	THE FORUM ARGUMENT...
THE US AMBASSADOR & BONEFISH FOLEY...	LUCAYAN NATIONAL PARK – 20TH ANNIVERSARY...
	THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...





The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PLPs On The Web...	Interesting Places...
Bradley Roberts / PLP Grants Town	Bahamas Government Website
Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte	Bahamians On The Web
Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw	Bahamian Cycling News
John Carey / PLP Carmichael	FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...
Grand Bahama PLP

26^th December, 2004 *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.*
BREAKING NEWS - INGRAHAM SURVIVES CHEST PAIN...	LESLIE MILLER’S ULTIMATUM...
IS INGRAHAM TO RETURN?...	ENA HEPBURN DIES...
EDWARD ST. GEORGE IS DEAD...	BILL ALLEN TO HEAD BANK BOARD...
KENYATTA GIBSON DEFENDS GOVERNMENT...	AMNESTY ON THE DETENTION CENTRE...
STATE OF THE MORGUE...	NEW US AIR DIRECT TO GEORGETOWN...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...	THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...







The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PLPs On The Web...	Interesting Places...
Bradley Roberts / PLP Grants Town	Bahamas Government Website
Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte	Bahamians On The Web
Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw	Bahamian Cycling News
John Carey / PLP Carmichael	FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...
Grand Bahama PLP

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

Volume 2 © BahamasUncensored.Com

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