BahamasUncensored.Com Archive

OF BUTCH AND PAT

There must be some kind of occupational disease going around in the hotel industry. Some are calling it, put foot in mouth. The headline was startling on Monday 26th January. The Nassau Guardian led with the story: PHASE III ON HOLD. Below it there was a picture of Butch Kerzner, the Kerzner Jr. that runs Atlantis at Paradise Island, the country’s biggest employer save the government, and the country’s largest single investor. The Prime Minister was counting on the jobs and the money would come from Phase III at Atlantis. The company was to have started building in July of this year. From the headline, it appeared that things were on hold.

The next thing we know Butch is in his newspaper, The Tribune, saying that he never said it, and that the project was going full steam ahead. But the problem is that while the Nassau Guardian may be guilty of editorializing, the import of what he actually said was the same thing. He said that he and his father had made it clear that if the Government did not proceed with building a new airport that they would not proceed with Phase III. You are talking about a 600 million dollar investment going down the drain. That is no joke. Mr. Kerzner said that he could not hear anything from the Government about what was happening at the airport. Turned out that is not true either. Mr. Kerzner's father is said to have been told by the Prime Minister exactly what was happening with the airport. And in any event, if they hadn’t heard, there is a way to collect information from the Government especially when you have invested one billion dollars in the country, and especially since you and your representatives must speak to the Government every day.

Was it a coincidence that this announcement came hard on the heels of a speculative story about a new development taking place on Cable Beach? The story is that the Crystal Palace is to be sold and the new developer is to put a massive Las Vegas style casino and hotel at the Cable Beach strip. That investment would dwarf the investment of Sun. The Government should really try to get that one but because after this week’s headline it is clear that Paradise Island is not beyond economic blackmail.

The Nassau Guardian later in the week apologized for misquoting Mr. Kerzner. Keep those advertising dollars coming, or more charitably, let us say that it was responsible journalism in the face of a technical, rather than a substantive error. The Tribune was busy crowing the next day its own set of lies in the story that trotted out as they slavishly follow the will of the Kerzners. The Tribune said that Mr. Christie who responded vigorously to Mr. Kerzner’s ambush the same day was embarrassed when he realized that he had spoken before knowing that what Mr. Kerzner said was not true. That in itself was a lie. But The Tribune has its own standard for lies (See story WHAT HAPPENED IN HAITI). We leave that there.

On the other side of the divide was Pat Bain, the labour leader. Mr. Bain is in charge of the largest and most successful union in The Bahamas. He is supposed to be a friend of the PLP and the PLP a friend of the Labour movement. Part of the problem why the negotiations took so long to settle is that the union which has more money than it knows what to do with, is not run like a modern business with proper legal and public relations advice. The negotiators were sometimes shocked at the table that a union with all the expertise that was available and could be made available to it, still seemed to be guessing as it moved forward.

But that is not the problem. For us, it just seemed a little strange the attack on the Prime Minster for daring to suggest that the law might be changed to stop sick outs and other wildcat strike action. We did not agree with that but it is the Prime Minister's right if he so desires to talk about changes in the law. You would have thought Mr. Christie had robbed a bank for suggesting it.

But it goes further, Mr. Bain said in his statement that the Prime Minister and his Ministers were flying all over the place trying to help other people solve their problems instead of staying at home to solve the problems at home. No doubt, that was an attack on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister for their recent engagement in the situation in Haiti. After something like that, you have to ask: “What is intelligent thought in this country coming to?” How can an intelligent man make such a patently silly statement?

It must be apparent to even the most casual Bahamian observer that the work being done with Haiti and the rest of the Caricom countries is being done to help Bahamians. It will serve no one’s interest if Haiti implodes as a result of the instability and neglect of the world. The Bahamas, least of all, could afford to let the problem simply slip by without trying to do something to ease the tension. In the simplest of equations: dollar for dollar the money spent by The Bahamas in pursuing the beginnings of a solution in Haiti is far outweighed by the current and potential cost to the country of a failed Haitian state.

They say that the Lord works in mysterious ways. But it seems to us that there is no mystery at all as to the confluence of Pat Bain as the employee and Butch Kerzner as the employer. Both seem to shoot off their mouths half cocked sometimes. It results in painful lessons. But we need them both anyhow. It also reinforces the freedom and democracy we have. We wish them well anyhow. We just wish they will continue to think of the best interest of this country as they move their individual agendas forward.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 31st January 2004 at midnight: 48,208.

Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 31st January 2004 at midnight: 183,637.

Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 31st January 2004 at midnight: 183,637.

Butch Kerzner (top) from the Nassau Guardian by Patrick Hanna; Pat Bain (right) from the Bahama Journal by Omar Barr.

WHAT HAPPENED IN HAITI
    And now for another surprise about Haiti. This time it is whether or not there was an attack on The Bahamas embassy in Haiti. On Wednesday morning 28th January, The Tribune, the lyingest newspaper in The Bahamas beside The Punch, published the headline: BAHAMAS EMBASSY ATTACKED. The Tribune claimed that a large number of Haitian protesters shook the Embassy gates on Tuesday 27th January at Port au Prince. The only problem is that in the Nassau Guardian of Wednesday 28th January on the same day of The Tribune’s report, printed a complete denial in a story by Mindell Small, quoting Jerome Sawyer, the Island FM reporter who was on the scene in Haiti for the demonstration. The Tribune did not say where it got its information.
    At the meeting of the House of Assembly that morning, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell calmly told the House that the information that he had, showed that the report of The Tribune was factually incorrect. He based his report on a letter that was sent by the Bahamas Ambassador to Haiti Dr. Eugene Newry. Dr. Newry said that it was absolutely untrue. He said that what The tribune reported was not true.
    Where did The Tribune’s story come from? The next day in a feeble attempt to try and defend their lies, they said they relied on what a ZNS reporter had said on the Broadcasting Corporation's News service on the Tuesday evening 27th January. They did not bother to say their source in the story or to get the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find out whether or not it was true, or at least get their side of the story.
    The ZNS reporter said that a crowd of five to six hundred Haitians attacked the embassy in Port au Prince. They shook the gates and shouted anti Caricom and anti Bahamas statements. She said the crowd then turned its vengeance on Ambassador Newry and his wife who were arriving in their SUV by shaking the car. Again, we say the Ambassador said the entire matter was untrue.
    No doubt there will have to be an investigation as to what happened and who did what. But part of the answer is in future to take anything we learn from The Tribune with a grain of salt. You may click here for the Minister’s version of the facts as revealed to the House of Assembly.

LESLIE MILLER ON OUR HERITAGE

    It is always interesting to discover a new dimension of a personality in The Bahamas. Leslie Miller, the Member of Parliament for Blue Hills, gave a moving and revealing address in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 28th January. The House was considering the bill to establish a trust corporation to hold the Clifton property, the last undeveloped land in New Providence. The site is to become a national park where the remains of the Lucayan culture (the aboriginal culture of The Bahamas), the Loyalist culture and the slave culture can be found.
    Mr. Miller who is not known for these kinds of addresses, gave a well researched presentation and embraced the concept of African heritage, an unusual fact in a society where as a brown skinned man, he could easily have joined many others in the country denying their African heritage. The entire debate about Clifton was enhanced by the contribution of the Minister.
    This year on 1st August, The Bahamas will mark the 170th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. The United Nations Education Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated this year as the year for the remembrance of slavery. The debate on Clifton and its contribution to the heritage of The Bahamas caused many an MP to call to mind the history of our country and the role that Africans played in building up the common life. We think Mr. Miller made an invaluable contribution to the debate.

CLIFTON BILL COMES TO PARLIAMENT

    It seemed just like yesterday when the then Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie (now Prime Minister) stood on a beach at Clifton and announced that if The Bahamas government granted a permit to develop the last undeveloped site in Nassau where the heritage of the Bahamian cultures could be found, that if he became Prime Minister he would revoke the permits. Click here for that speech. Mr. Christie is now Prime Minister and a bill is now before the House of Assembly to establish the Clifton Heritage Trust.
    The Trust will act like a public corporation. It will have the power to raise some 18 million dollars for the purpose of a public park, and the money will finally go to Nancy Oakes who lost her land to Government acquisition more than a decade ago but has not yet been paid for it. The environmentalists are generally happy but there are some problems that they pointed out and the Government is likely to make some amendments to the Bill.
    Sam Duncombe, ever the dissenter, is most unhappy. Her view is that there was not sufficient consultation on the bill by the Government. But the bill was passed last Wednesday and now goes into Committee for any finishing touches. Presumably Ms. Duncombe will have more to say then. Senator C. B. Moss who was head of one of the “Save Clifton” groups said that he and his organization had not been consulted either. Well there is still time. Nassau Guardian photo of Coalition to Save Clifton's Senator Rev. C.B. Moss and Fred Munnings by Donald Knowles.

PM IN JAMAICA FOR MORE HAITI TALKS

    Prime Minister Perry Christie was in Kingston, Jamaica on Friday 30th January to Sunday 1st February. The reason was to join fellow Caricom Prime Ministers P.J. Patterson of Jamaica, Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Kenny Anthony of St. Lucia. Despite severe criticisms from all of their respective publics, the Prime Ministers feel an obligation to help Haiti out of its present problems. The matter has become so serious with Opposition supporters taking to the streets every day, threatening the continued rule of the elected government of President Jean Bertrand Aristide. President Aristide is engaged in a near death struggle with the Opposition that say he is repressive and dictatorial and must go or else. They refuse to negotiate with him and say they will not stop until he is gone.
    The question is whether the measures that President Aristide has promised his fellow heads to take under threat of sanctions from Caricom will be enough to save his presidency so that he will be able to serve out his constitutional mandate which runs out on 7th February 2006. He said at a press conference in Jamaica that he will quit on that date and he assured the public that his wife will not run either to succeed him, that she has no interest in becoming the President of Haiti. The US, Canada, the Organization of American States and the European Union are all watching with wary and weary eyes as the process unfolds. Everyone is hoping that with Caricom being an organization of small nations, with mainly black populations that this will persuade President Aristide to move the process that will bring peace to Haiti.
    The Prime Minister of The Bahamas pronounced himself pleased with the outcome. Please click here for the text of the Prime Minister’s news brief upon his return to Nassau.
    Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell is to lead a further mission to Haiti beginning on Tuesday 3rd February to brief the Opposition on the proposals put together in Kingston and to say what President Aristide has agreed to do. Now comes the hard part of whether or not this will be enough to get the Opposition to the bargaining table. The chief aim is to put in place immediately the rules for demonstrations so that the two sides have a fair chance to show their relative strengths in the society without violence. We shall see!

PICTURES OF THE CARICOM INITIATIVE IN PROGRESS
It is unusual for The Bahamas to be so prominent on the world stage, but the last several weeks have seen the comings and goings of regional leaders and the representatives of great nations. All our interested in whether or not Caricom and The Bahamas can succeed where others have failed in finding a positive solution to the political crisis in Haiti. Bahamas Information Services Peter Ramsay has chronicled the efforts at moving the so called 'Caricom Initiative' thus far. Please click here.

SIDS CONFERENCE IN NASSAU
    Minister for the Environment Marcus Bethel was the host of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) conference that was held in Nassau from Monday 26th January to Friday 30th January. The conference was a preparatory regional conference for the main event that is to be held in Mauritius in August.
    Mauritius is a country like The Bahamas that will feel the effects of climate change and other environmental damage and in August countries with similar threats are getting together to see where they have come from since the Barbados Plan of Action was launched in Bridgetown in 1994.
    Most speakers seemed to think that while there were a lot of pretty words in Barbados, there has not been much progress on doing what is necessary to do to promote sustainable development. In many ways the situation got worse over the last ten years.
    Prime Minister Perry Christie did not seem to be in a good mood over the matter. As he opened the conference, he took a different tack, saying that while the erudite diplomats were sitting in the air conditioned comfort of the Radisson in their suits, talking about climate change and invasive species, nations like Dominica were having a hard time making ends meet, and other nations had people who could not find food to eat.

COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SOURCE
    Last week, we did a story in which we revealed whom we believe to be the source of the recent crop of stories are that have suddenly begun appearing in the smut press The Punch and The Source. We won’t repeat that but we think that it was interesting to see the complaints reported in the main stream press The Tribune on one of its jump pages decrying the fact that The Source published a picture of an impaled tourist who died as a result of tragic traffic accident in Freeport. An unnamed source went to The Tribune to complain about the fact that The Source newspaper published the distasteful picture on its front page.
    We think that if people would only stop buying the trash then there would no complaint because the bloody newspaper would be out of business. The fact that people like the complainant still read it and buy it emboldens them to print such trash and gore through its pages, upsetting families and libelling others.
    There appears to be a writer at the Source who has been running a series of stories about this web site. The stories though factually incorrect are passably written, like from an aspiring political writer. It is a pity that a person with that kind of potential would be wasting his time on a trashy paper like that instead of getting a real job a real paper. Oh well!

EMILY DEMERITTE ORDAINED

Kendal Demeritte, whom we all know as Funky Demeritte, confidante of Prime Minister Perry Christie is married to a beautiful lady Emily Demeritte. Mrs. Demeritte is one of the best Human Resources officers in the country. She is a fine person. Now to add to her beauty, brains and personality is the work of God. Mrs. Demeritte is now an ordained Methodist minister. The Caribbean version of the Methodist Church in The Bahamas ordained Mrs. Demeritte as the first female Minister of that church in The Bahamas last Sunday 25th January at Rhodes Memorial Church. The Nassau Guardian carried a photo of the occasion on its front page on Monday 26th January. Congratulations to the Demerittes and their family. Mrs. Demeritte is the sister of Director of Legal Affairs Rhonda Bain. Photo by Letisha Henderson

JAMES SMITH ON NEW TAX SYSTEM

James Smith, the Minister of State for Finance, is on a smooth but relentless campaign to change the way we do our tax business in The Bahamas. Mr. Smith has been talking up the idea of Value Added Tax to replace the present system of customs duties, which he describes as a tax on international trade. While the move for this is largely being driven by the fact of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy, the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas and the World Trade Organization accessions all coming within two years, Mr. Smith says what John Rolle of the Central Bank first said to the civil society group at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs two years ago.
Mr. Smith says that the present tax system is inadequate to support the demands of the Bahamian public. We need to find other sources of revenue. And so we thought when Mr. Smith laid out the whole case for VAT as it is called, this was an opportune time to allow you to read the case for it. You may click here.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A letter writer who is an American resident of Harbour Island and who was a frequent writer to the column when it was called fredmitchelluncensored.com felt moved to respond to our piece last week on the US elections. We do not have the express permission to use the name. Here is what he had to say:

I know you are making you observations from afar, so that may seriously affect your conclusions. As one who has been an intimate player for over 30 years in the Iowa early presidential process and politics in America for almost 40 years, I can tell you that you are dead wrong in your assessment of Gov. Dean. Dean's main 3 point campaign of (1) honesty in matters of going to war, (2) balancing the budget, and (3) health care for all is a winning formula in the US and for those abroad. Dean has accomplished these very points himself in his past performance in governance. It's not just political hype.

Any of the other Democratic candidates are better than Bush the Usurper. Many of my Bahamian acquaintances, like the big time media that finally got out of their plush eastern offices, found that BUSH IS REALLY NOT LIKED by many Americans and his policies are rejected by most, even thoughtful Republicans. Don't believe everything in the media! Those 12 million war protesters in 700 cities and 70 countries on last February 15, 2003, like Dean, were right.

The War death, carnage and attendant billions of expenses were unnecessary, and that alone should remove both Bush and Blair from any levers of power.

Dean is a candidate that the establishment cannot control, and for them it means he must be stopped. They did it to Hart, Buchanan, and McCain, among others in the recent past in America. The sub rosa attacks in those campaigns were unbelievably vicious and nasty in order to keep the status quo.

Bahamians, and a PLP supporter in particular, should have more empathy for small state upstart Governors, who would do more for small upstart countries like the Bahamas. Remember the OECD attack on your upstart finance and banking system?

The powers that be want all of us to have nowhere to go for protection from their greed and lust for power and domination. Take another look, please?
[We are so grateful that an American has stood up with another perspective. We really thought that the dissenters had lost their voices. We can't say who will be best for the US but traditionally relations between The Bahamas and the US have fared better on a personal level with a Democrat in office. We have to live with whomever is elected. What is your guess as to who will win the election? Does Dean really have a chance? Ed.]

COLINA SUING THE JOURNAL
Would you believe it? A few weeks ago we tried to send a warning to the Colina executives not to fool around with suing the Bahama Journal because they could end up like Oscar Wilde, setting the stage for their own destruction. You may click here for the original story. The hard press is on with some employees claiming that in the take over of Canada Life, they are being short changed on their severance pay and that the company in Canada is threatening to fire everyone in The Bahamas if the Government does not approve the sale. The Government is bombarded with lobbying efforts by the Colina group to get the sale approved. Now Wendall Jones of the Journal will have his day in court to expose what he says is a bad deal. We think that this is just a gag writ to stop the Journal from talking adversely about it at all. The key is that the writ also has a request to restrain the Journal by injunction from printing anything about the matter until trial. Hmmm!

ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP HONOURED

The glitterati were out in full force on Friday night 30th January for the Jones Communications / Bahama Journal Man of the Year banquet. This year, publisher and CEO Wendall Jones' organisation named the Anglican Archbishop the Most Reverend Drexel Gomez. Photo (left) of Wendall Jones and Archbishop Gomez by Peter Ramsay; photo (right) of Archbishop Gomez and Bishop Neil Ellis by Derek Smith.

RED CROSS PHOTOS

Last week, we promised a photo essay of the recent Red Cross Ball. Led by this engaging image of former Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest and Lady Turnquest 'shaking a leg', here is the promised photo essay by Peter Ramsay.

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM

Our photos this week of Prime Minister Christie are (left) of Mr. Christie as he addressed the international conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) [see story above] and (right) of the Prime Minister addressing a conference on Tourism as Minister Obie Wilchcombe, far right, and Deputy Director General Vernica Walkine, centre, look on. Photos (left) Tribune / Tanya Cartwright; (right) Nassau Guardian / Donald Knowles.

NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Searching for Answers...
    Last Saturday 24th January as the weekly edition of this column was being put to bed, there was a disturbing report out of Freeport, Grand Bahama, that an explosion had taken place in the Grand Bahama Shipyard and that four people were dead. The truth turned out to be a little different.
    What actually happened was that two men were welding a tugboat in the repair yard. There was apparently a residue of fuel in the boat. There was a small explosion and then a larger one. One man got away but he could not warn the other man and the second man perished in the explosion. Dead is 33 year old Wendell ‘Sarge’ Martin.
    A bevy of Ministers of the Government rushed to the scene, led by West End representative Obie Wilchcombe. He was later joined by Glenys Hanna Martin, the Minister of Transport and by the representative for the Marco City constituency Pleasant Bridgewater. According to the press, they got an earful.
    The men said that they resented the Members of Parliament coming to the shipyard after the death because they had sent messages of warning before to the MPs about safety and according to what they told the press nothing had happened. Edward St. George, the Chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, a major shareholder in the shipyard also got an earful.
    The men said that nothing was being done to correct the problems and called for immediate changes in the rules as they relate to safety at the shipyard.
    As we go to press this week, there is an investigation into the matter. The name of the tugboat is the Caribe Merchant. It now lies 47 feet under the water in the Freeport Harbour. Mr. Martin was buried in Grand Bahama on Saturday 31st January.

The recent articles from the various newspapers on the Bahamas Gaming and Allied Workers Union concerning the latest move by the Management of the Royal Oasis Casino at union busting in Freeport clearly show a double standard in the Industrial Relations Laws of The Bahamas and its ability to provide protection for smaller unions in the country.

The Industrial Relations Act states in section 43(3) that where there is no industrial agreement in place after 12 months of negotiating twenty-five percent of the employees or the employer may make application for the Minister to make a decision for that union’s determination to be revoked. As in the case of the Gaming Union, the president accuses management of intentionally delaying the negotiations for over the 12 months, as they knew that a new casino was opening and they expected members of the Gaming Union to leave. Furthermore, that management of the Royal Oasis hired many new employees to replace the old ones. Then management on returning to the negotiations presented a letter to the Gaming Union president citing the above section 43(3) to have the Minister revoke his recognition of the Union.

The Gaming Union and the Royal Oasis Casino have already completed 95% of the contract with only the wage increases left. Why is an employer involved in the process of Bahamian employees right to have a union in the workplace that protects the rights of the employees from unscrupulous employers who do not want unions in their establishments?

It should only be the employees right to have a union removed as their representatives. Additionally, this law gives sinister employers the ability to frustrate smaller unions and cause untold hardship on the Bahamian employees (by firing and intimidating employees).

Minister Peet should not even entertain such a move by the Royal Oasis Management as it is clearly union busting and Bahamians will not be protected in the Casino Industry in Freeport or any other casino. (It worked in Nassau, ask Mr. Morris).

The owners of the Royal Oasis have reportedly caused untold hardship on those Bahamian employees of the resort from the day they purchased the resort from Princess Resorts. Something must be done once and for all about the situation in Freeport as Bahamians livelihood and ability to care for their families are in jeopardy. Honorable Minister of Labour and Immigration Mr. Peet should not take a poll as only Bahamian employees should have this right to question or apply for you to revoke a recognition of a union to represent them in the workplace.

The late Honorable Lynden Pindling, the father of our nation would never allow unprincipled employers to take advantage of Bahamian workers at anytime or anywhere in the Bahamas.

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

THE POLITICAL PLANS OF THE PLP

Raynard Rigby, the Chairman of the PLP, led a seminar yesterday 7th February, with the leaders of the branches of the Progressive Liberal Party throughout New Providence. The idea is to get leaders of branches attuned to what they ought to be doing as constituency leaders. It is time for the political machine to start with some light training for the heavy work that will have to done in less than three years.

The elections in the United States and the campaigns for the Democratic Party nominee in the next Presidential election should be a fascinating study of how to prepare for elections, particularly as it relates to sizing up your opponent and his or her views. U.S. President George W. Bush who most people think will win the next election hands down in November has his people now sizing up John Kerry and John Edwards as the potential team that will face Mr. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney in the fall U.S. Presidential elections. The press in America is saying that the Bush political team is going over the records of these people with a fine tooth comb, and will attack them with a vengeance when the 2004 election campaign kicks off in earnest. Compare the 130 million dollars the US President is said to have to carry out this task, to the reports that the Democratic Party candidates are scrapping for money.

We think that the PLP ought to be doing similar research. The Prime Minister should put in place a special team that ought to have the job of looking at the potential political landscape three years from now. Who will emerge?

One thing seems clear and that is that Hubert Ingraham, the former Prime Minister, is still jonesing for power. The talk throughout all FNM circles is that he is once again persuaded that only he can save the Free National Movement from political oblivion. Tommy Turnquest, the now leader of the party, from his ignominious position in the Senate told the press that as far as he knows that is not true, and that Mr. Ingraham has pledged his support and has been very helpful to him as Leader. But the story is that in Mr. Ingraham's circles, they are saying: “Why give a child a job that a man must do?”

The potential field looks like either a Christie vs. Ingraham rematch or a Christie vs. Turnquest rematch. It is no slam-dunk to defeat them, given their access to money but cleverness and doing the right thing and good policies and the closeness of MPs to their constituents will do the trick. In other words, the same thing that got us elected in the first place.

It was good to see John Carey re-emerge as a political figure. He seemed to have gone to ground. The reports coming from his constituency that Senator Desmond Bannister was gaining ground were not comforting. But during the past two weeks, there are signs of renewed activity in Carmichael.

As the term settles in, it is imperative that MPs, both Ministers and backbenchers, take extra steps to reconnect with their constituencies, building on the lessons of the FNM's defeat and the PLP's victory in 2002.

The Government certainly has to help. The complaints about the slowness of making decisions and the seeming inability to be able to execute decisions quickly and to the benefit of supporters are still ringing in the ears of Ministers. All would do well to heed that lesson. The backbench must be given the ammunition to make sure that they retain their seats.

And so what the party did this past week is a good start at reconnecting to the base, and at preparing for the future. There is a need for a political conversation to take place with backbenchers and party officers as we share the vision of where the country ought to go as the next five years unfold.

The PLP has its candidate for the Prime Minister’s position in 2007: the Hon. Perry Christie. The FNM is still seeking to find one but we know who the potential leaders are. We must also be looking at who the younger ones coming up are likely to be. There are some bright young people waiting on the short line of the FNM. What are their weaknesses and strengths, and how can we defeat them in 2002? We should be thinking on those things.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 7th February 2004 at midnight: 49,325.

Number of hits for the month of February 2004 up to Saturday 7th February at midnight: 49,325.

Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 7th February at midnight: 232,962.

PLP Chairman Raynard Rigby adjust the microphone for Prime Minister Christie (top);
Branch Officers attending party seminar (centre);
PLP Vice Chairman Irrington 'Minky' Isaacs rallies the troops. Photos by Peter Ramsay

THE HAITI DECISION

The Bahamas and Bahamians can be forgiven for asking the question: “What is wrong with those people in Haiti?” There is a pervasive feeling around The Bahamas that the Haitians do not want peace, that all they are interested in is fighting and killing one another. In the northern city of Gonaives, the so called Gonaives Liberation Front burnt down a police station, killed a dozen people, injured scores more. They did this on Thursday 5th February to force the ouster of Jean Bertrand Aristide. They are the remains of the criminal gang of Amoit Metayer, an estranged Aristide supporter who had turned to criminal behaviour, who escaped from prison in Port au Prince and was not captured before he was murdered.

The Opposition in Port-au-Prince has not said whether they support this kind of stuff. Their silence appears to mean that they countenance the violent overthrow of the Government. No Bahamian government, no Caricom government can accept that and each Government has an obligation to condemn it. The Bahamian Foreign Minister, trying as he might to see his ever optimistic side, did not get much out of his visit to Haiti on Tuesday 3rd February to Thursday 5th February. The Opposition leaders were gracious but resolute. They do not want to talk to President Aristide.
The Minister in his statement reported that the Opposition believe that they have the President on the run and they want the international community to get out of the way so that they can get on with the fight. The Organization of American States (OAS) and Caricom and the European Union with the United States and Canada have to get together and quickly draw up rules for demonstrations and then they have to put a firm message to the Opposition: “Get on board or you become part of the problem”.

    The fact is that President Aristide was elected the president of the country, boycott or no boycott, with a legitimate mandate. That term runs out on 7th February 2006. He has said he will not resign. He is not the first head of state to say such a thing and the next picture you see is the man taking the chicken run to exile in a far off country. Certainly, given the history of Haiti where most of their Presidents died in exile, this is a distinct possibility.
    By “liberating” Gonaives, where historically revolts have begun against the Haitian establishment, the Opposition forces are setting up to start the same process of extra constitutional ouster and exile of their President. They can't seem to help themselves. Haiti is once again setting the stage to become the embarrassment of the region and of African peoples in this hemisphere. If that happens, it will be a perfect disgrace.
    The Opposition has two years to prepare properly for elections. The international community can help them do so, but the sine qua non for this must be leaving Mr. Aristide where he is and allowing the institutions to develop so that those elections can be held. The Opposition does not see it that way.
    The picture then is very grim and Bahamians have been sending signals to the Government that they need to declare victory in their efforts in Haiti and bail out. Leave those people to their own devices, and if they try to come by boats to The Bahamas just bottle them up and send them back. You may click here for the arrival statement of the Minister at the Nassau International Airport on Thursday 5th February.   AP Photos - Protests in Port-au-Prince (top); gunmen in Gonaives.

MILLER ON WTO CSME FTAA

Leslie Miller, the Minister for Trade, responsible for moving The Bahamas toward the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) spoke to the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce this week with Ambassador Leonard Archer, the High Commissioner of The Bahamas to Caricom. Mr. Miller told his audience that the first step was WTO for The Bahamas. Ambassador Archer said the first step should be CSME. Get it right guys!

Meanwhile Hillary Deveaux (pictured, left) and Helen Ebong attended the 17th Meeting of the FTAA Trade Negotiations Committee in Mexico from 2nd February to 6th February. The meeting is to set the agreement in place by September for the rules on market access under the new regime of FTAA where countries can indicate at what level of commitment they wish to engage for the FTAA. Mr. Miller also announced the formation of a Trade Unit in his Ministry to prepare The Bahamas for FTAA and the other trade agreements. How this is different from the trade Commission announced by the Prime Minister, no one has yet said. Nassau Guardian photos; Leslie Miller by Donald Knowles

MITCHELL IN GRAND BAHAMA
Fred Mitchell is also the Minister for the Public Service and shortly after he landed in Nassau from Haiti on Thursday 5th February, he departed again for Freeport, Grand Bahama where he met with public servants over two days responding to various complaints from public sector unions and their members about progress or the lack thereof in the public service. He also met with the Freeport community of Fox Hillians who are restarting their association there. The Minister hopes that there will be the equivalent of Fox Hill Day in Freeport this year. This is also the year for the Remembrance of Slavery, so designated by UNESCO, in addition to being the 170th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. Special celebrations will be held in the Fox Hill community to mark the occasion.

FOX HILL PLP LUNCHEON

Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell flew back to Nassau from his sortie to Freeport (see story above) to host a luncheon seminar for executive officers of the Fox Hill PLP. Mr. Mitchell updated the members on work to be done in the constituency and brainstormed over the areas various 'at risk' citizens and how the group could assist in helping to make each and every resident of the Fox Hill constituency into a fulfilled and productive citizen.

PM OPENS ANDROS CLINIC

Eleven years ago the late Sir Lynden O. Pindling had a clinic built at Johnson Bay in South Andros, his constituency. That was his last public act on behalf of his constituents. He lost office before the building could be opened. During the entire time that the Free National Movement was in office, that administration as an act of political spite refused to open the clinic, denying necessary services and facilities to the people of South Andros.
Prime Minister Perry Christie along with his Minister of Health Marcus Bethel travelled to South Andros and Johnson Bay to officially open the state of the art facility to a grateful group of residents. The Minister of Health said that as long as he was Minister of Health, decisions on health would not be motivated by political spite. The Prime Minister echoed the same sentiment, saying that politics had no place in the allocation of Government resources that were due as of right to all people. OLDEST MAN IN JOHNSON'S BAY - Daniel Rahming, the oldest citizen in the settlement of Johnson's Bay where the Andros clinic is located greets Lady Marguerite Pindling as Prime Minister Christie (left) and Minister of Health Dr. Marcus Bethel (right), look on. BIS photo / Eric Rose

STAN BURNSIDE MISSING FROM THE TRIBUNE
    One of the most talented public political satirists in the business is Stan Burnside. He has been drawing cartoons, first in The Nassau Guardian and then in The Tribune. How he got to The Tribune is that he drew a cartoon in the middle of the last years of the Pindling administration that The Guardian felt it could not publish and did not. The situation became impossible and Stan Burnside migrated to The Tribune. There he stayed for over a decade.
    There was one time when Mr. Burnside told The Tribune that he was tired and he would not return. But he did, and apart from the times when he was involved in Junkanoo, the cartoon has appeared every day. The drawing has gotten better, and the humour is more directed and funny. But after the recent dispute between The Tribune and the Minister of Foreign Affairs over the question of an attack on the Bahamian embassy, the cartoons suddenly ceased appearing in The Tribune. To show you how accepting the Bahamian population is, no one has bothered to ask why it has not appeared. There has been no public outcry.
    The Tribune dumped Nicki Kelly, the acerbic columnist, from their paper and replaced her with the more compliant Arthur Foulkes when they became uncomfortable with her positions, which conflicted with their political positions at The Tribune. Ms. Kelly’s column was withdrawn summarily. Now we wonder if the same fate has befallen Stan Burnside - this from the champions of free speech at The Tribune.

TOMMY FLUBS IT AGAIN

Senator Tommy Turnquest is in a sad state. He is like the youngest son Prince John in the movie ‘The Lion in Winter’ who says in a fit of frustration when rebuked by his father: “I’m always doing something wrong”. And yes Senator Turnquest is always doing something wrong. This week he spoke at the Rotary Club on Thursday 5th February about Haiti and he misspoke. We take apart his ideas in turn.

Senator Turnquest said:
“Although the government is very much concerned about the ongoing crisis in Haiti, it must not neglect its local domestic agenda in the process, nor commit itself to unrealistic goals”.

Our response:
This is an entirely foolish statement. The Opposition is now separating itself from the Government on this foreign policy. What they are doing is pandering to the narrow minded view that anything to do with Haiti is bad for The Bahamas. What they should be doing instead is trying to explain to the Bahamian people that the problems in Haiti are Bahamian problems. We are trying to avoid the rush of migrants into this country by promoting stability in Haiti.

Senator Turnquest said:
“The Bahamas does not have the resources necessary to correct the myriad of problems facing Haiti. I do not support the establishment of labour offices in Haiti to process migrant workers, as it will not have the effect the Bahamian people desire, and the illegal flow of immigrants by boat will continue.”

Our response:
Does this mean that the FNM supports the illegal migrant walking off the boat, his clothes still wet, and seeking a sympathetic employer and getting a work permit in The Bahamas? We think not. It would be foolish to support that view. The idea of the Government is to provide disincentives for potential illegal migrants to come to this country.

Senator Turnquest said:
“We must be extremely careful in the regularization of illegal Haitian immigrants who claim to have been in the Bahamas for a long period of time. We must be sensitive to the feelings of Bahamians who are beginning to feel overwhelmed and outnumbered by the situation.”

Our response:
The draft agreement between The Bahamas and Haiti says that only those who came to this country before 12th January 1985 will be regularized. That is the position agreed by the FNM with the Government of Haiti back in 1995. Nothing has changed. The Immigration Department has assured the Government that the numbers of persons who would come into that category would necessarily be small since most if not all people in that category have already been regularized. Everyone else is subject to repatriation.

Senator Turnquest said:
“The only way to stop the flow of illegal immigrants is to implement real resources at the Defence Force base in Inagua, such as adequate vessels that are able to regularly patrol the Southern and South Eastern Bahamas and stop illegal immigrants before entering Bahamian waters.”

Our response:
Senator Turnquest and the FNM are really lost souls. They obviously have not been reading the papers. The fact is that the number of illegal migrants coming via the high seas has fallen off significantly over the past half year. The reason is that the interdiction efforts of the RBDF and the US Coastguard have been catching them in the straits between The Bahamas and the North of Haiti, putting them right back on a boat and sending them back to Haiti. Also, the Government has committed the sum of six million dollars to building a base at Inagua and a million dollars to the purchase of a plane for the RBDF to improve its surveillance capability.
Bahama Journal photo of Tommy Turnquest at Rotary

PLP CASTIGATES FNM'S SHALLOW APPROACH

The Progressive Liberal Party issued a statement Sunday 8th February castigating Tommy Turnquest and the FNM's "shallow and narrow approach" to the country's policy on Haiti. In the statement, PLP Chairman Raynard Rigby says that the FNM leader's recent address to the Rotary club "...reveals once again that he is not fit to lead this nation and that he has no vision for this new Bahamas". Please click here for the full statement.

ON JANET JACKSON’ S BREAST

    Hypocrisy and Puritanism has always been part of the American body politic when it comes to sexual matters. There is a long history of people of a so called strict moral code in their politics being found out to be sexual fiends and more importantly hypocrites. In recent times, you have Strom Thurmond, the oldest man to have served in their Senate and the longest in history, a known segregationist, being exposed as a fornicating fan of mixing of the races. He fathered a daughter outside of his marriage with the black maid at his parent’s home. You have the former Speaker of the US House Newt Gingrich, denouncing Bill Clinton for his philandering ways only to be found out to be a philanderer himself. There is a seemingly endless list.
    The pattern of human behaviour is such that sex is a great and enjoyable thing that most people like and want and will despite their best intentions indulge in a dalliance from time to time. One does not want to dispense with any sense of reason with regard to sex given all the attendant risks that go with indiscriminate sex but what you would think is that at the very least people would allow for the fact that it is very much a part of human existence, and our social constructs that prohibit and control it are a very thin veneer over all of our basic instincts.
    All of that comes to mind over the silly furore over Janet Jackson (pictured in a publicity photo), the younger sister of Michael Jackson (who has his own sexual problems today) baring her breast on the national television networks during a football game in the United States last Sunday. Who cares really? Ms. Jackson is simply guilty if of anything at all of a misjudgement of the commercial effect that this would have on her career. You know they immediately said that this was a 37 year old woman on the downside of her career who was trying to do something to spike her career prospects. Instead it appears that she is being dis-invited from all sorts of forums. But she is an entertainer.
    We are sorry we missed the breast baring in the midst of the usual boring football game. Sex is a great part of the entertainment world in The Bahamas and in the United States. All those young women who are winding, bumping and grinding, although fully clothed as they cheer their respective teams, what are they there for but to fire the sexual imagination?
    Anyway, the morality police in the US, headed by Mike Powell of their Federal Communications Commission, the right wing son of the Secretary of State Colin Powell says that it was a crass thing to do and that he is investigating Ms. Jackson and CBS television to see if any laws on indecency were broken. Did he really use the word crass in the context of a football game in the US? Sheeesh!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
More On The Source –
    "Thank you very much for the opportunity to keep abreast of the highlighting activities in my country on a weekly basis. As a Bahamian living in Monaco for the next few years, I remain alert on each topic of discussion which would affect me or my family in some way or another.
    "My main reason for writing is after having read the comments about The Source. I would like to express my shock and disbelief at the way that some of the rag newspapers are allowed to trash, discriminate, anger and depreciate a great majority of the local Bahamians and foreigners alike.
    "We already have a major problem in our lovely islands with locals stereotyping each other according to family background, without any added encouragement from the rag press. These reporters should be made to justify every statement made about an individual, especially when they are bold enough to quote a person's name.
    "My main concern was the story they printed on the closing of a particular offshore institution during early 2003. In this article they totally disrespected every female employee that had ever worked for that institution. Even though they had been encouraged by a former staff member, the facts were so far off from the truth that you would have to think who on earth they were writing about. Regardless they continued to hound the institution while Bahamians were still employed and already going through a major shock in their lives. Some of them actually employed with the Company for the 50 plus years that the Bank had a presence in the Bahamas. Yet this organization was described as being run like a slave plantation. As a former staff member I can certainly say that my many years there was well worth the $$$ we were paid as a result of its closure. How many other hundreds of staff of the banks that closed since them can say this, and not one article was written about them.
    "This showed an attitude is if they were maliciously striking back at every Banker and, conjuring more hate against each other. They do not add any value to the community, everything they print supports dislike for our neighbours. The former staff of that institution had to go on to other jobs with a negative rumour over their heads, regardless of their professional knowledge.
    "How is it that the owner of this rag press was an offshore Banker, after losing their license, they used the same staff to create a rag publishing Company? They more than any other profession should be more sympathetic of persons in the same shoe as themselves.
    "Please advise who is the authority on giving a license to such unprofessional negative instigators? They certainly are not making life any easier for our local people to "Bind together".
    "My family and I (70 persons in Nassau) would be the first to spearhead a ban on the purchase of any SOURCE publication.
    "Thanking you for allowing me to vent."

We thank you for the letter. We think that you are right. The unfortunate consequence of free speech is just this ability of irresponsible people to rag people unfairly and in a nasty fashion. That is why we take the position that we do about the paper. We don't understand why anyone buys it or The Punch. Ed

On American Presidential Politics
    "I am an American in Fort Lauderdale that has been reading your Bahamasuncensored.com since it was by Fred Mitchell. I have a time-share in Freeport, Grand Bahama and I visit Freeport about four times a year. I felt compelled to write in response to the article from the man from Harbour Island. If one is reading the American press on a regular basis, one would see that President Bush is well liked by the American People, however Mr. Dean is doing well but was just beat out by John Kerry.
    "Fox news reports one side of the story in favour of Mr. Bush, ABC news reports the news in favour of Mr. Dean and others a real balancing act. This leaves the issue with a balanced view until all the votes are in; this in my opinion.
    "Just a thought since this American is a faithful reader, and I wanted to express them.
    "Thank you."

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM

Prime Minister Christie began the week with his return from Kingston, Jamaica last Sunday. Later in the week, he travelled to Johnson's Bay, Andros to speak at the official opening of the Ministry of Health's clinic there (see story above). But the highlight of the week was undoubtedly the Prime Minister's trip to the Sir Lynden Pindling Centre at Gambier house, pictured above. Mr. Christie gave a rousing address to the gathered executive members of each of the Progressive Liberal Party's branches in Nassau. Photo / Peter Ramsay

SHUTTING THE COUNTRY DOWN

The Bahamas Electricity Corporation has gone and done it again. There was a massive walkout by the line staff trade union on Friday 6th February. They brought out the management union and the other unions in the country to the BEC premises, storming the grounds. The reason, they say, is a threat by the General Manager designate Kevin Basden to discipline the Union Chief Dennis Williams. The Union threatened to shut down the country. That is foolishness of course but the BEC management has to begin to act like they work within the milieu of a labour friendly government. This is the second attack on a labour leader since the new Board has taken over. Minister of Labour Vincent Peet has entered the matter and discussions are set to continue on the matter on Monday 9th February. Minister of Labour & Immigration Vincent Peet heads to negotiations with BEWU President Dennis Williams (left) and BEC General Manager Bradley Roberts (right). The Minister had just flown back from his constituency in Andros. Tribune photo by Dominic Duncombe. In the Nassau Guardian photo at right, Minister Peet speaks with BEC workers during their sit out. Photo / Patrick Hanna

GROUPER BAN ENDS

Some people will never know what is good for them. The ban on fishing grouper ended after one month on the 31st January 2004. The idea was to protect the last aggregations of spawning grouper in the Caribbean so that there will be a future for the fishery. The loudmouths in the fishing community who we believe do not represent the majority were bitterly complaining about how this was going to damage their livelihood. What they obviously prefer is for the whole fishery to collapse and then blame the Government for there being no more fish left in the sea. Stupidity is a powerful thing!
The real point some make is the Government has a responsibility to make sure that while the Bahamians are kept out of the sea, the fishermen from the Dominican Republic aren’t stealing the fish out of our waters. One of the conservation organization reps told us that the Dominican Republic exports some two million pounds of conch from their country. There is only one catch - pardon the pun - but there are no conchs in Dominican waters. The answer: the conch is coming out of Bahamian waters. Nassau Guardian photo of fisherman Dwayne Bastian showing off his grouper catch hours after the lifting of the ban, by Donald Knowles.

CLEANING UP THE JET SKI BUSINESS

Minister of Transport & Aviation Glenys Hanna Martin turned her attention to the jet ski business this week with a two day "discussion" with operators in the industry. The Minister said the effort was aimed at creating "a culture... where the industry would not tolerate" conduct which would "sully the reputation" of the industry. Three cheers! It's about time a serious effort was made to properly regulate this sector of the tourist business which has long been the subject of many negative stories in the press, ranging from harassment to customer injury and death. Bahama Journal photo / Omar Barr

INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL REPORT
Harrison Lockhart, President of the Industrial Tribunal, recently delivered the annual report on the tribunal and made news with complaints about the longstanding "inhospitable" conditions at the tribunal's offices. Please click here for the text of his report.

HAROLD MILLER - 103

Harold Miller, a resident of the Sandilands Geriatric Hospital, celebrated his 103rd birthday Thursday 5th February. He was born in 1901 in Conch Sound, Andros and is shown accepting a gift from Nurse Della-Mae Sterling. Story reported in the Bahama Journal. Photo by Omar Barr

DORIAN ROACH WEDS

    Mr and Mrs Lawrence Feingold of Lyford Cay announce the marriage of their daughter Lori Lee Feingold to Cameron Morrell Roach son of Mr and Mrs Osmond Roach of Nassau on October 11, 2003.
    The wedding and reception was held at The Lyford Cay Club, Nassau Bahamas. Lori was the Bahamas Junior National tennis champion many years and the Bahamas National Champion. She represented the country numerous international events including the Orange Bowl and Federation Cup.
    Cameron was the 4 time Bahamas Swimming Champion. He represented the country in numerous CCCAN, CISC and Carifta Championships. He also represented the country on the Bahamas National Rugby team.
    Lori and Cameron started their own company, Golden Wings Charter, and aircraft charter company three years ago with one Aztec, added a second Aztec last year and will add a Navajo next month.
    The couple will reside in Nassau Bahamas.

NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Minister Peet appoints investigative team in shipyard explosion...
Minister of Labour Vincent Peet has appointed attorneys Obie Ferguson and Fred Smith to begin an investigation into the tragic accident of 24th January at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport. 33 year old Wendell ‘Sarge’ Maxxam was killed.
The attorneys, representing the Grand Bahama Port Authority Workers Union and the Shipyard respectively began interviewing workers on Tuesday 3rd February.

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

ARGUING FOR STABILITY

At the end of the House of Assembly on Wednesday 11th February, the Prime Minister rose to his feet to defend the Government’s position on the Amendment to the International Business Companies Act. The criticism was levelled by Brent Symonette, the Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs and on Finance that the Government had abandoned its promised review of the financial services laws and was simply following the policies of the Free National Movement. Then Mr. Christie added before he sat down that the Opposition should get used to the fact of dealing with him as Prime Minister because they would be dealing with him for at least another 8 years. He added with some levity that he had to limit it to that because of those around him who were anxious for the job. He pointed to some of his Cabinet Ministers sitting around him.

It was one of those comments that was not well reported in the country but still got the attention of the country and is the talk in all the watering holes. It should help to put a stop to all the endless propaganda and rumouring about who is to replace him, who wants to replace him and whether he is going or not going. The FNM has been trotting out a man named Steve Simmons, probably a nom de plume for one its leaders who has been parroting this line about the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The line they take is that the Prime Minister should be careful lest his authority be usurped by an active foreign minister. They can’t help themselves since that’s the way Hubert Ingraham ran the FNM. The present Prime Minister sees it as a strength that authority can be properly and comfortably delegated to Ministers.

The Free National Movement has been running a clever propaganda campaign in which it was trying to set up one supposed aspirant Minister against the next, and then suggesting in one case that a minister was actively pursuing the job even while pretending to work for the Prime Minister. The end should be put to that useless campaign as well.

In the back of every PLP’s mind is the debacle created by Hubert Ingraham, the former Prime Minister, when he announced without anyone’s prompting that he would only serve two terms and then go. As the end of the two terms came so quickly, so quickly that he could not believe it, and the sweetness was just getting sweet, he tried to abandon that effort by attempting to orchestrate a spontaneous public outcry. When that failed, he tried to anoint a successor. The bloodletting and infighting ripped his party apart. That was part of why the FNM lost the general election of 2002.

One of the aspects of Bahamian life is that if Mr. Ingraham had never brought it up again after he said it and simply continued, without a word, no one would have made a challenge. But he kept making it such an article of faith. One has only to look at the number of heads of Baptist or other Protestant, non-Anglican denominations where the heads of the churches stay on until they are literally ga ga and can't be moved while young successors get as old as Prince Charles waiting to get the prize. That is in the culture.

The British Government announced on Thursday 12th February that Prime Minister Christie had been appointed to the Privy Council. That means that he can now use the honorific ‘Right Honourable’ before his name. This may be the last Bahamian Prime Minister to use this from the British system because the Government soon plans a system of national honours that will deal with all of these issues.

The Prime Minister in saying what he said then postpones what some were suggesting would have been a difficult issue for the PLP until well after the next general election. The party expects that it will comfortably win the next election, if all of its plans that are now in place come to fruition. But as you all know “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” So the party that has already started working toward putting the machine in place for the year 2007 must begin working even more assiduously, now that the gauntlet has been thrown down. The party has the challenge of working to establish and protect the Christie legacy.

This then argues in favour of stability for the party. There can be no excuses now.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 14th February 2004 at midnight: 55,597.

Number of hits for the month of February up to Saturday 14th February 2004 at midnight: 104,922.

Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 14th February at midnight: 288,559.

Prime Minister Christie (top) lectures the House of Assembly on the merits of the PLP platform 'Our Plan - BIS Photo / Peter Ramsay; FNM MP Brent Symonette (centre) in the House of Assembly debate on the International Business Companies Act- Tribune Photo / Dominic Duncombe.

TRADE UNION LEADERSHIP DOUBTS

    The week in New Providence started badly. The public not for one moment believed that the walkout by BEC workers on Friday 6th February would lead to the kind of mayhem that occurred at the start of last week. On Monday 9th February all illusions about the true face of today’s trade unionists were gone. All bets were off. The Minister of Works was furious. The Prime Minister was again calling for changes in the Labour laws to make labour leaders personally responsible for the damage they cause. Dennis Williams and Timothy Moore, the two labour leaders at Bahamas Electricity Corporation would have been lynched had certain members of the public gotten a hold of them.
    Just as the day was beginning, the whole island fell into an electrical void. There was no doubt in the minds of the public that it had to do with the fact that the BEC union was in the midst of a dispute with its Board of Directors. In what has now become a tradition in trade unionism in The Bahamas, the workers left their jobs to demand the instant dismissal of the Chairman of BEC Al Jarret and the General Manager designate Kevin Basden. The Union said that it would not return to work until those persons were fired. The Union leaders said that the Government should know that they were not playing. They also demanded the rehiring of Timothy Moore, the head of the Managerial Workers Union at BEC, whom they argued had been unfairly terminated from his job. You may click here for the response of the Minister of Works Bradley Roberts to the issue.
    In the late evening on Monday 9th February, the Minister was also able to reveal that there was widespread sabotage on the BEC network. The press showed pictures of BEC poles that were sawn in half with chain saws. There were breaks in transmission lines. And so the island plunged into darkness. The only other island affected was Exuma where some persons did not report to work. But the power did not go off. One of four BEC poles sawn through by saboteurs using a chain saw is shown in this Nassau Guardian photo.

WHAT THE PM SHOULD DO ABOUT BEC
    The Prime Minister refused to meet with the labour leaders of BEC as long as the lights were off. He told them that they could not see him because literally, he could not see because the lights were off where he was. The Labour leader Dennis Williams claimed that they had nothing to do with the sabotage and suggested that management might have been involved to embarrass the Union. There is no one including Mr. Williams who believes that.
    The problem the country faces today is the demand of a Labour friendly government to stop this nonsense once and for all where irresponsible trade union leaders can bring everything to a halt. The Government should put in place an emergency plan for when a group of unionists seeking to settle a dispute by wrecking the economy. To back down now would be a sign of weakness.
    The electricity debacle could not have come at a worse time, when investors were looking to the country for its stability. Then you have the Prime Minister arguing to the Haitian Opposition about obeying the law and not disrupting the country unlawfully and he is embarrassed by trade union leaders in his own country first calling a go slow while a foreign dignitary is in town, then plunging the country into darkness and storming the offices of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation. Almost certainly new laws are to be passed on the books to deal with this, and the public will say: “Not a moment too soon”. If nothing is done, it will reinforce the view of the FNM propagandists that the PLP is a weak and indecisive government.
    The PM has got to be wondering what kind of people these are that say they are your allies, know that they have a labour friendly Government, know that he helped to save their hides from Hubert Ingraham, now they stab him in the back for every time. It seems that no matter what you say or do, labour leaders in the end are only for themselves not for the country or the greater good.
    Notwithstanding all that has been said, the burden of what happened at BEC this past week must not be borne by the Unions alone. Their acts in response were clearly irresponsible but those who run the Corporation must share the blame for being persistently and stridently anti-union, and insensitive to the authorities who appointed them by proceeding in the manner in which they did to deal with these matters. The end result is a mess in which the Minister and the Prime Minister are now forced to intervene in order to bring things back to normalcy.

HAITI INITIATIVE SUCCESS IN WASHINGTON

Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell hs declared a success for the Caricom Initiative on Haiti at talks this past week in Washington DC. Minister Mitchell, who returned from the US capital Sunday 15th February, told the press that "Within context, the talks were a success in that all the partners [US, Canada, OAS] have declared that any extra constitutional change in the government of Haiti is unacceptable". The Minister joined other Caricom Foreign Ministers, Canadian and OAS officials for a meeting in Washington Friday with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Please click here for the joint statement issued following that meeting. On his return to Nassau, Minister Mitchell told the press that it is likely that he would travel to Haiti during the week to review the Haitian Government's progress with promises made under the Caricom Initiative and to get the Haitian Opposition's latest views. Minister Mitchell is shown at top, departing for Washington in a BIS photo by Derek Smith and at left with the group at the US State Department. State Department Photo / Michael Gross.

THE FNM’S FLIP FLOP ON HAITI

    The Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Tommy Turnquest made his statement week before last in which he sought to separate himself from the Government on the issue of Haiti. You may click here for last week’s story on the issue. This week after getting a public drubbing from the country on the issue, Carl Bethel, the hapless Chair of the FNM, sought to come to the rescue of Senator Turnquest. He claimed that the Foreign Minister was taking sides in Haiti. He claimed that the Government was politicizing the issue of Haiti policy. He claimed that a labour office should not be opened in Haiti by The Bahamas at this time. That sentiment was joined by an ill informed National Conference of Trade Unions who said that they too were not in favour of a labour office in Haiti. Mr. Bethel repeated the mantra of his boss Senator Turnquest that The Bahamas Government was spending too much time on Haiti and not enough time on other, domestic matters. There are none so blind as those who cannot see.
    There is a simple response to Carl Bethel. First, the Chair of the PLP Raynard Rigby issued a statement about it. You may click here for it. But our response is that Mr. Bethel was simply attempting to do damage control. Senator Turnquest was embarrassed by the clumsy attempt to criticize the Government on a policy with which they absolutely agree. Behind everything that Carl Bethel said, the FNM agrees with the Government.
    The FNM's only issue is a question of timing and to what degree the effort. They agree with the labour office but they say not at this time. That argument sounds similar to their argument about independence. They agreed with it but not in 1973. They agree that we should engage with Haiti but they think that we should not spend so much time on it. Of course, only one Minister has been engaged in this, with support from the PM. That is a spurious argument. They agree with Haiti being in Caricom and say that the FNM worked to get Haiti in Caricom. We find that strange since, Haiti is now a full time member of Caricom but guess who isn’t: The Bahamas. So now we know that we have the FNM to blame for that. FNM Chairman Carl Bethel (left) FNM Leader Tommy Turnquest (right). File photos.

CENTRAL BANK BRIEFS PUBLIC SERVANTS

    On Wednesday 12th February, the Central Bank Governor Julian Francis and John Rolle, the economist, were joined by the Minister for the Public Service Fred Mitchell and representatives of the Public Sector Unions. The reason was to follow up on the promise by the Government to brief the trade unions on the state of the economy.
    The Central Bank Governor said that the deficit was going to run somewhere around 120 million dollars and said while it may be on target and not exceed the 3 per cent of GDP, there was still a need for prudence and caution in Government spending. He said that the Central Bank was now in the process of reviewing the lending cap that it had imposed on the banking sector during the past two years, in order to protect the reserves. He argues that if as he expects the economy improves, there may be an opportunity to lift those restrictions.
    The figures now show that from the period July to December, the Government collected 446.1 million dollars in revenue and spent 501.8 million. The deficit that it is currently running is 55.8 million dollars at the half year. Revenue for the half year is said to be about 20 million dollars behind the Government’s projections.
    The Minister indicated that negotiations are about to begin for a new contract for public sector workers, and that he has significant new ideas for public sector reform. He also said that there would continue to be a restraint in public sector hiring until the end of the fiscal year. Public Service Minister Fred Mitchell (left) with Central Bank Governor Julian Francis. BIS Photo Derek Smith.

BUILDING NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
    The Bahamas Government has some hard decisions to make. It has found that during ten years of FNM boasting about what they did for the economy, not only was there a lot of wasted effort and money with no results for all the money supposedly earned, there was no attention paid to building up the national institutions. In fact, just the opposite occurred.
    So fierce was the FNM leader’s hatred of Lynden Pindling that the state, in his mind became associated with Pindling and he did everything he could to bring down anything associated with Sir Lynden. The result is that The Bahamas - and Haiti - are today the only countries in the region without some of the basic national institutions that are required to run a modern country. And even Haiti can boast of a state house for its leader. It also has proper museums to protect its history. Yes even Haiti. Today, The Bahamas is still suffering from that neglect.
    With something like this, you should really have the consensus with the Opposition, but we think that the Government should in some cases proceed even without a consensus. It just should be done. We think that there ought to be an official home for the Prime Minister. It should be possible for a man of modest means to be able to occupy the top job in the country, and be able to perform in that job with the proper tools for the job which should include a proper home. Further, there is a need for a proper Cabinet Office and Prime Minister's office. There is a need for a state protocol house where official visitors can be housed or entertained without having to resort to hotels or to other private venues.
    You can just hear Tommy Turnquest and the rest of the FNM talking about how they agree, but not at this time but this is the time to go ahead. There will never be a good time to do it.   Now is the accepted time.

ALL OUT WAR ON MITCHELL
There are a number of readers of this column who have sent us copies of the propaganda pieces that have appeared on the FNM’s website that attack the Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell. The Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs Brent Symonette was at it again making the charge that the Minister is too busy travelling to have any sense of what is happening in The Bahamas. The old saying is “where ignorance is bliss ‘tis folly to be wise”.
For two weeks in a row, the FNM has been spinning mischief, trying to divide the Cabinet on this issue. But one of the things that many people find as a way to deal with propaganda is not to read it. It’s like speaking to people who are horrified by what appears in The Punch and The Source. If you don’t want to be affected by it, don’t read it. Or the story of Janet Jackson’s naked breast. If you don’t want to see it, turn off the television.

THE JUNKANOO RESULT CHANGES AGAIN

Our view from as they say “from the first beginning” was to leave Junkanoo and its scores alone. But the Junkanoo Committee in its wisdom decided that they would reverse the scores of the parade for New Year’s 2004 and name the Saxons the winners instead of the Valley Boys as it was announced at the parade. The matter was referred to an independent panel of experts headed by Paul Adderley and the groups agreed to a binding result. The panel also included artist Dr Hervis Bain and Accountant Ishmael Lightbourne.
The panel has decided that there were miscalculations by the judges in the application of the penalty points and when properly done, the result gave the Valley Boys the victory. The corrected scores are Valley Boys 3,417, Saxons 3414, Roots 3,129, One Family 3,103, Prodigal Sons 3, 019, Music Makers 2,560 and Barabbas 1,890. Is this enough already? We suppose it's a good excuse to show again Peter Ramsay's photo of this Valley Boys costume.

THE SOLOMONIC COLINA DECISION

    The Prime Minister Perry Christie made a decision on behalf of the Government of The Bahamas, his first on the insurance issue since he announced shortly after the new year that he had taken over the personal responsibility for the decision on whether or not Colina could buy Canada Life’s portfolio and that of Imperial Life.
    The Prime Minister announced in the House late on Wednesday 11th February that the Government would agree to the purchase of Canada Life. The rational is that it has been approved by the Canadian authorities and would not distort the capital markets or create dominance in the life insurance markets.
    Not so straight forward said the PM with regard to Imperial Life. That decision is to come later. The Colina crowd was crowing from the rooftops about the decision. The decision should also be seen in light of the very real threat of Canada Life to fire everyone who works for them if the deal did to go through. Nothing like the suggestion of do it or else to force a decision. They claimed that Colina has an “A” rating. Colina Insurance President James Campbell / file photo.

HIGGS GRADUATION SPEECH

Leon Higgs spoke at the graduation of the first class of the law school of the University of the West Indies in The Bahamas at the College of The Bahamas. The graduation was attended by outgoing Vice Chancellor Rex Nettleford. Mr. Higgs’ address can be read by clicking here. The College needs to decide that it is hitching its future to the University of the West Indies. There is an internal argument going on in this quest to become a University of The Bahamas that we must reinvent the wheel. A University of The Bahamas would be a farce at this time. The link with UWI should be strengthened so that we can creep before we walk and the institution known as the College of The Bahamas can build up its credibility. University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor Professor Rex Nettleford (left) is pictured escorting Governor General Dame Ivy Dumont at the graduation. Photo / Peter Ramsay.

HARROLD ROAD TO BE FIXED

    The long suffering residents of New Providence have some relief coming from riding over the bumpy stretch of tarmac and occasional craters that has passed for Harrold Road. The road is one of the main arteries in the corridor that takes people from East to West on the island of New Providence. The road is like a washboard in its present condition. It was part of the New Providence Road improvement project of the FNM. The project went belly-up when the firm they chose, Associated Asphalt went belly-up, leaving the project unfinished and a mountain of debt.
    Then there were disputes, some of them on going with the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) about whether or not the Government could remove Harrold Road from the IDB project and proceed on its own.
    The project has now been awarded after all of that to Bahamas Hot Mix and Bethell Trucking. It is a joint venture. The Minister of Works Bradley Roberts announced it on Friday 13th February and you may click here for his full statement. Minister Roberts (left) is shown at contract signing - Nassau Guardian photo.

THE DUMP IS BURNING AGAIN
    The public is hopping mad about the dump that is burning out of control again at its Harrold Road site in New Providence. Technologically this is a simple problem to deal with, but no one seems to have the will to deal with the matter. The result is that everyone looks bad.
    The residents have every right to complain. All over the island of New Providence, in what is supposed to be a tourist clean environment, you can smell smoke clear over to Paradise Island. It is a health hazard for sure and no one suffers more than those in the southwestern part of the island. They are helpless and can do nothing. This is a problem for the Government to solve.
    Ronnie Knowles, the Minister of Health, before this present one should feel ashamed of himself for saying that this problem was fixed and it isn’t fixed. The present Government risks strong condemnation if it does not act and act fast to stop it. One thing seems clear is that just like the airport should be let go into private hands for development, as should BEC, ZNS, Bahamasair, BaTelCo, so should the dump. The Government simply cannot deal with it efficiently. That much should be clear by now. In the mean time and in the face of those facts, the public suffers.

CAN THE YOUNG HAVE BANK ACCOUNTS?
    Joan Thompson who lists herself as a member of the right wing think tank the Nassau Institute wrote a letter to the press on Tuesday 10th February. The Nassau Institute is so ideological that you have to take everything with a grain of salt but this allegation must be investigated to see if there is any truth to it. If there is, we need to correct it straight away because such a position is totally asinine. Here what she had to say in her own words:
    “…To achieve this goal [that of her grandson saving for a new computer which he did not need but wants], the first step is to open a savings account in which to deposit a Christmas gift cheque. In due course he intends to add to the balance by saving his allowance and the occasional windfall from odd jobs. Thomas [the grandson] is prepared to save and defer satisfaction of an immediate desire until he can pay for the computer himself. The prospect of owning a bank account was exciting and a trip to the bank was arranged…
    “His dreams were shattered when the bank officer told him that, due to terrorists and money launderers, laws had been enacted that included denying bank accounts to persons under 18 years old. If they opened an account for him, the bank would have to pay a stiff fine and possibly lose their licence.”
    Hmmm!

‘NINETY’ KNOWLES HAS TO GO

The Privy Council, the final Court of Appeal for The Bahamas has affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal in Nassau in a 3 to 2 decision that the Judge Jon Isaacs erred in law when he quashed the decision of the magistrate made in June 2001 for Ninety Knowles to be extradited to the United States on drug charges. The Court of Appeal affirmed another extradition request by the US on other charges. That latter decision is to be appealed to the Privy Council as well. But the road seems to have come to an end now for Samuel ‘Ninety’ Knowles.
The next step is an order of surrender for Mr. Knowles that has to be signed by Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell. As the Minister responsible for extraditions, he has reportedly a separate jurisdiction in law to consider. The Privy Council decision was handed on down in London on Monday 9th February. The Court of Appeal decision was handed down in Nassau on Tuesday afternoon 10th February. Samuel Knowles - file photo.

THE WEEK WITH THE PM

The Prime Minister was in the House of Assembly this week, defending his Government's position on amendments to the International Business Companies Act and passing judgement on the application of Colina to take a further hold in the insurance industry. Mr. Christie also received His Excellency Mr. Claudio Valle, the ambassador to The Bahamas from Canada and capped off the week at the annual Sir Victor Sassoon Heart Ball with Mrs. Christie. BIS Photos / Peter Ramsay.

HEART BALL PHOTOS

Mrs. Susan Roberts, humanitarian philanthropist and widow of the late Noel Roberts MP was selected winner of the annual Sir Victor Sassoon Heart award at an elegant banquet Saturday evening, 14th February. Falling as it did on St. Valentine's Day, this year's Heart Ball was a particularly grand affair. Mrs. Roberts is shown receiving her award from Mr. R.E. Barnes of the Heart Foundation. Please click here for a complete essay by photographer Peter Ramsay. Photo / Peter Ramsay.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
    Thanks for a thoughtful comment to a reader who wrote about last week’s piece on Minister Leslie Miller ‘Miller on WTO CSME & FTAA’:
    "Just a quick point of clarification on the captioned.
     "It is unfortunate that the 'Nassau Guardian' report suggested a contradiction between the Ministers presentation and the Caricom Ambassadors comments to The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce. I think this was creative reporting rather than fact.
     "I attended the Luncheon and I think what was clear to all, was that the Ministers position was in support of future membership to the CSME (with exceptions), but opined that local political considerations and the current level to technical preparation meant that WTO accession would supersede the CSME. (Government near completion of trade memorandum etc...)
    "Archer on the other hand, and in response to a question of benefits of CSME membership - pointed out that our WTO negotiations could be helped by having membership in the CSME - As the legal texts from the Uruguay Round negotiations allow for Regional Trade Arrangements (RTA's) to be used as a 'minimus' i.e. a country seeking concessions could not make a request for less than what is in the RTA. - Therefore the negotiations MAY BE easier - but they remain negotiations and The Bahamas would still retain the ability to negotiate favourable terms with or without CSME membership.
    "I am partial to Archer's viewpoint and thought his perspective to be useful, but did not think it contradicted the Ministers view. I do recognize however that the appearance of a difference of opinion at that level and in a public forum doesn’t 'look good,' for any administration.
     "I continue to enjoy your website and will continue to read."

NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Freeport Infighting

Marva Moxey and two or three others on the City Council of Freeport have been trying for months to regularize the activities of the Council. There has been an obstinate mainly FNM group that seems to be allied with certain public servants who have been trying to undermine the work of the Council. They have been blocking the actions of the council so nothing is getting done. They refuse to attend meetings. The Minister for Local Government Alfred Gray got into it prematurely and said that he would dissolve the council and call fresh elections. That was a wrong move politically and wisely he backed off.
The law is quite clear that if you miss three consecutive meetings the seats are vacant of those members who do so. Ms. Moxey, the Chief Councillor, has obviously had enough. She said that five of the members who have been causing all the trouble have missed three consecutive meetings and their seats are now vacant. The Minister again jumped in and said she did not have the power to do that. But the question is: what does the law say? Ms. Moxey is a friend of the PLP, and some are wondering why she and the others who are PLP oriented keep getting the shaft from the PLP government.

Freeport Openings
Prime Minister Perry Christie and Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe were in Grand Bahama twice this week for official openings, both in Lucaya. The Prime Minister did the honours both at the official launch of the much-awaited Isle of Capri casino on Thursday 12th February, then next door at the Dutch Antilles inspired Pelican Bay hotel. Both projects have created excitement - and employment - in the nation's second city.

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

THE RING OF TRUTH

Senator Edison Key joined the PLP in 1970. He is a white man from Abaco. He was poor white, not to the manor born. It was a strange and difficult thing for a white Bahamian of his generation to join the PLP. He did. In 1973, he travelled with then Prime Minister Lynden Pindling to London for the Independence talks to tell the world that because he was a PLP supporter in the island of Abaco where the loyalists were fighting to stay British, his plane had been shot full of holes at the Marsh Harbour airport.

Through all the bad times and the good times, through the victories and defeats Edison Key was there. Edison Key was there as a PLP Member of Parliament for Abaco, as a Senator even after the PLP lost the election of 1992. He came back, reluctantly, to come within 25 votes of winning the Marsh Harbour seat in 2002. He was appointed to the Senate and in doing so, the Prime Minister said that he was grateful for the sacrifice that Mr. Key had made in the face of a difficult community. According to Mr. Key in a stunning resignation message that is where it was left. He is now angry and feels left out and in the cold. Edison Key told the Bahama Journal of Tuesday 17th February that he had quit in a letter to the Prime Minister hand delivered to his office on 10th January 2004. The Prime Minister said that he had never seen the letter and said that he was surprised that Mr. Key had resigned.

The Prime Minister, the party, the country was stunned. Mr. Key said that he had been treated with disrespect. He said that he did not have any influence and that when those associated with the PLP travelled to Abaco he was ignored, in favour of other persons. It seemed quite heartfelt.

The PLP, like most other parties, has its hard-liners. There is a herd instinct. And so not withstanding the fact of all the history that has gone on before, the immediate reaction of too many was to denounce him, to remind him of his race, and to tell him as impolitely as possible go about his business. Then there are those who have impugned his motives by saying that the real reasons are economic and the fact that certain personal benefits did not come to him. But all politics is about personal benefit of one kind or another. Another set urged the PLP to cut Mr. Key off at the knees, decapitate him politically if it could be done. Some started lining up to get his seat in the Senate. Yet others started slapping each other on the back saying that his resignation had no impact. But saner, calmer more reasonable heads must prevail. If we go the route of denunciation, it will be clear that we have in less than two years forgotten how and why we were elected. We got elected because we showed that the PLP could operate at the middle of Bahamian politics. In order to stay in office, we must still appeal to the middle in politics.

The complaints of Edison Key should not have been new to the PLP. In fact they should be quite familiar. The complaints that Ministers ignore the faithful, and that the faithful are unable to get things done for themselves and their allies. The complaints that correspondence gets lost and goes unanswered. Others choose to hold it in. Mr. Key decided through a series of errors and missteps and misinterpretations, that he had enough and spilled his anger into the public.

Even public anger, however, has to be calculated for effect, and you cannot say things that you will regret later. Perhaps Mr. Key went too far when he suggested that the Prime Minister was all about himself. That did not have the ring of truth. And Mr. Key also has to allow for the fact that the PLP is a different organization than the one he was used to with the open patronage that existed under the PLP in its first incarnation. Others, though, could well identify with that ring of truth in some of what he said. It is important therefore for the PLP even as it smarts from this smack in the face to examine what was said and see what can be done to correct it, if what is said is indeed true and correct.

Bradley Roberts and Fred Mitchell both Ministers; Philip Davis, MP for Cat Island met with Mr. Key on Wednesday 18th February. They sought to persuade him to resile from his position. Mr. Key says that he is adamant and went further in the Bahama Journal on Friday 20th February, that there was no stepping back. That seemed to seal the fate of the seat in the Senate. He had not up to press time put his resignation before the President of the Senate where it belongs if you are to successfully resign. The constitution requires that, not writing to the Prime Minister.

The sensible thing to do is to consider carefully what we do. You have to ask yourself, if a man is with you all of that time, as a full supporter, what would cause such an outburst that seems so irrational? Chances are, it is not irrational, and chances are it has the ring of truth somewhere. We must seek to discover what the truth is and seek to deal with the faults its exposes.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 21st February at midnight: 54,811.

Number of hits for the month of February up to Saturday 21st February at midnight: 159,733.

Number of this for the year 2004 up to 21st February 2004 at midnight: 343,370.

WHAT EDISON KEY HAD TO SAY
Our Comment up above tells the story of how Edison Key, Senator and former PLP MP, resigned in a huff this week and blasted the government in the process. There is a job of damage control as this goes to print but we thought that you might like to see what he had to say in his own words:

“I delivered a letter of resignation dated 10th January and hand delivered it on that day to the Prime Minister’s office, but up to today (Monday 16th February) I had not received any kind of reaction from Mr. Christie.
(Mr. Christie says that he did not receive it, and one asks the question why a long standing PLP who writes such a letter and did not receive a reply did not get on the phone and find out what went wrong ---Ed)

“I had hoped that Mr. Christie would have printed my resignation in full to the media so that the Bahamian people could see exactly why I resigned…

“I have only been to one parliamentary meeting since May 2003. I don’t feel the need to waste any more of my life mixed up with this crew here. I wish them well but I think they’re in for a rude awakening at the end of the journey.

“I am very disappointed in the government and the leadership. I really serve no purpose in this new government. I have been part of the PLP from 1970. I have been through all the struggles and trials and tribulations. I ran here in Abaco and you would have been considered an outcast to even identify with the PLP, especially in an all white area.

“If you notice, it’s all about Christie. I wish him well. I don’t want to say too much bad about him.”
(There was a meeting convened with Mr. Key on Wednesday 18th February by Philip ‘Brave’ Davis MP, and Minister Bradley B. Roberts and Fred Mitchell. A meeting was then held with the PM and Senator Key the next day. Following the meeting Senator Key went to the press again and blasted the PLP once more. Clearly this seems like a state of war. Damage control must soon become an offensive matter---Ed)

CAN THE OPPOSITION TAKE COMFORT?
    As soon as Senator Edison Key’s words were cold on the newsprint of the Bahama Journal newspaper, the political hacks in the Free National Movement were jumping and down with glee. The Leader of the FNM in the Senate Tommy Turnquest was quick to say that Senator Key’s words confirmed what the FNM had been saying about how the PLP governs.
    Not to be outdone, Senator Tanya McCartney said that she thought that the three out of ten rating that Senator key gave the PLP was too high. Ha!Ha!Ha!
    If we were in the FNM’s position, we would not take much comfort in the fact of Senator Key’s resignation. The PLP remains at its heart a pretty strong party and political force.
    Behind the scenes there is much that can be said that really identifies the cause for the resignation of Mr. Key. At the moment, the PLP thinks that it is best to save him from himself by not seeking to go too far in its response. The facts will show that in this era when there is scrupulous review by the public of the dispensing of public goods, the PLP would have suffered even more criticism if some of what was being asked for and expected because members are PLP was actually allowed and found the light of day.
    Then the FNM would have been jumping up and down in another way, saying how the PLP was just like the old PLP giving out public goods to its members and cronies.

SEAN ISAACS AKA ADDERLEY GUNNED DOWN
    Last week we reported that the drug kingpin Samuel ‘Ninety’ Knowles lost his final appeal against an order to be extradited for trial in the United States on drug charges. One by one, it appears that this society is asserting its authority to run itself as a clean jurisdiction. We support a meritocracy. That means that a child should grow up in The Bahamas learning the value of work, and of moving forward in the society by merit, not because he is lucky or foolish enough to be able to find cocaine on a beach. That kind of success has destabilized the society for years, and perhaps we lost the work ethic in a whole generation who think that it is easier to do drugs than to go to school and learn a profession.
    So Ninety has to go. They should all go. But you can also go in another way. You can go to meet the Lord. And so it was that Sean Isaacs, aka Sean Adderley, known in The Bahamas as drug kingpin, living dangerously and a large and disgusting life in The Bahamas moved to Jamaica beyond the reach of Bahamian law. This week Bahamians woke up to the news that he had been shot dead in Jamaica on Tuesday 17th February.
    There were many who said unkind things about the deceased and we won't repeat it here, except to say that you reap what you sow. The country was fascinated with this killing that came in the badlands of Jamaica and according to the sources there, he was taken out by one his own. Four bullets were pumped into his head at point blank range.
    Spectators rushed over to his mother's house in Marathon in New Providence to gawk and reporters to interview her. What the heck would she have to say of any interest? This is all part of the sickening glorification of these druggies as heroes. The deaths of these types should really be ignominious. In Jamaica, he had adopted a new name ‘Papa’. Well, Papa’s got a brand new bag! Rest In Peace.

NEW ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP

    The Roman Catholic Church is a fascinating organization. It is ancient and despite the fact that it is a religious organization, it is also a very political organization. It controls a state, that of Vatican City. The moves that it makes are sometimes overtly political in many societies. Noteworthy is Haiti today where it wields plenty of influence over the Haitian population. In South America, Bishops can often change governments. The Roman Church has not traditionally been strong in British colonies. The church only came to The Bahamas in the 19th century, but in that space of time its influence helped to change the name of a Bahamian island from San Salvador to Cat Island, Watlings to San Salvador. It also invested heavily in schools and education. The result was decades of conversion to Catholicism. It is now very much a part of the elite, and it outnumbers the Anglican community in The Bahamas.
    When the Anglicans elected Drexel Gomez as its Archbishop for the Province of the West Indies, the Romans responded and so as not to be out done, they created a see for an Archbishop in this country, including Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands on 22nd June 1999. Responding to the failure of vocations for Bahamians, the Bishop Lawrence Burke, a native of Jamaica, started giving honorifics to the local prelates. Today there are several monsignori. There is also an auxiliary bishop consecrated on 15 August 2003. For the first time in the history of the church, a native Bahamian is Bishop. That was done only a few months ago. You can click here for the story as we reported it.
    Fast forward today, it was announced on Tuesday 17th February that Lawrence Burke after 23 years in The Bahamas is to leave the diocese and head back to his native Jamaica to become an Archbishop there. He leaves behind him a legacy of expansion of the church’s facilities, from the small almost rustic chapels in which they worshipped to more elaborate modern structures. He also presided over a church that brought and made its considerable world political clout to be felt in The Bahamas. He has done a good job. Most of all he oversaw the complete indigenization of the Roman Church when the Pope announced from the Vatican that the Auxiliary Bishop Patrick Pinder is to take over as Archbishop of the Diocese, another first for the country. We say congratulations to them all. Archbishop Burke is at left, with Archbishop-elect Pinder in this Peter Ramsay photo.

MITCHELL TAKES THE STUDENTS ON A TOUR

The students of Sandilands Primary School in Fox Hill were first treated to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell coming to their school in his constituency on Monday 9th February to read the book of the month chosen for primary school children by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a follow up to that the boys in the grade four class wanted to see where the Minister and Member of Parliament worked. He responded with a tour of the Ministry on Monday 16th February. Then he introduced him to Mr. Glass, the grandfather of Sharmaine C. Miller, a primary school teacher at Sadie Curtis School in Nassau who wrote the book “On Granddad’s Back” and took them on a tour of where Mr. Glass took his grandchildren swimming at Long Wharf. Later they were hosted by the General Manager of the British Colonial Hilton with lunch at the Portofino Restaurant. A good time was had by all. BIS Photo of Minister Mitchell reading at Sandilands by Derek Smith.

GRAY RESPONDS ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

    Minister Alfred Gray, the Local Government Minister, told the press on Tuesday 17th February that he intends to seek amendments to the law on local government because of a deficiency that he says is causing a headache. He says that at the moment a Chief Councillor or Deputy Chief Councillor cannot be moved by a vote of no confidence in that person. He wants the law to be changed to reflect that.
    The law was written that way to stop the whims and fancies and petty spites of small time groups from working to remove people from office for silly reasons. It should not be changed. Such is the situation in Grand Bahama as the report on this matter is being written. There is a dispute raging between those who support the Chief Councillor Marva Moxey and those who do not. Those who do not have had their seats declared vacant by Ms. Moxey because they missed three consecutive meetings.
    This is still a matter in which prudence and good politics would suggest that intervention at the political level should not take place. This is not to the benefit of the PLP to get involved in a fight that can only benefit the FNM.

MAN SHOT DEAD ROBBING A HOME

The country was in a rejoicing mood, if that is appropriate, when they learned that a man who it is alleged was attempting to rob and rape a woman in the Blair Subdivision of New Providence was shot dead by a neighbour who came to the assistance of the screaming woman. The incident took place on Monday 16th February. No one has as yet been charged with the offence. The other man got away but was since caught. The body of the dead alleged robber was left lying on the ground for the photographers to take a shot and the Bahama Journal obliged by printing the picture on the front page.

THE LATEST ON HAITI

    Fred Mitchell, the Foreign Minister flew in from Haiti on Saturday 21st February after a week of intensive diplomatic discussions and telephone calls. He flew to Port-au-Prince to join a high level team to seek to persuade the parties in Haiti to come together and move toward a political process that could save their country. The President agreed. The Minister said that the Opposition was not as forthcoming. They said they would give their answer by 5 p.m. on Monday.
    Under the Caricom plan, supported by the U.S. a tripartite council is to be put in pace to begin the development of a new government as early as Monday 23rd February. The Opposition and the President would then get the guarantees of security by the international community that would stop the forward march of the criminal gangs in the north of the country.
    The Minister flew into Haiti from New York where he addressed the General Assembly on Friday 20th February. He called help for Haiti a moral imperative. You may click here for his full address. Now the world awaits the answer from the Opposition. But it is clear that if they don’t give a positive answer, the process must move on without them.

TURKS & CAICOS AIRCRAFT HIGHJACKED IN HAITI
    As we prepared to upload this site Sunday afternoon, 22nd February, the Ministry of Transport & Aviation released the news that a Turks and Caicos Islands based aircraft had been highjacked in Haiti. Following is the text of the Ministry's statement:
    "All flights from The Bahamas to the airport at Cape Haitien have been suspended following the highjacking of a Turks and Caicos Islands based aircraft this morning.
    The Ministry of Transport & Aviation has said that the incident is over and that there have been no injuries.
    A Turks & Caicos Islands based aircraft Bahamian aircraft belonging to Inter-Island Airways landed at Cape Haitien this morning and was highjacked by armed men while on the ground. The passengers, all Haitian nationals, were released unharmed at Cape Haitien, but the crew was forced to fly the aircraft and the highjackers to the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.
    Once in Port-au-Prince, the highjackers released the aircraft and its crew, also unharmed. The crew and aircraft are on the way back home.
    The Ministry of Transport & Aviation immediately suspended all flights to Cape Haitien, including a scheduled Cat Island Airways flight that was already en route.
    The Cat Island Airways flight had landed at Great Inagua for refuelling on its way to Cape Haitien but was recalled and is now on its way back to Nassau.
    Again, the airport at Cape Haitien is closed to all traffic from The Bahamas and no Bahamian planes will be allowed to travel there until further notice. The prohibition on aircraft travel to Haiti does not extend to the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, which remains secure, but the public is reminded of a Government advisory to all Bahamian citizens that travel to Haiti is currently unsafe."

TWO LAWYERS CHARGED

Two lawyers were charged in the Magistrates Court on Thursday February 20th with others for fraud. The allegation is that they presented documents that were fraudulent to the Registrar of Companies. The two are Feddner Dorrestal and Andrew Bowe. They were granted bail and the trial is to take place at a later date. The Nassau Guardian carried a photo of the group as they left the court.

BLANKENSHIP REARS HIS HEAD

If it were not clear before, it must be clear by now that the former, we say again with emphasis former Ambassador of the United States to The Bahamas, J. Richard Blankenship likes publicity. He loves to talk and say things. He likes his picture in the newspaper. So if that is the case, no one should be surprised that with newspapers desperately looking for news in The Bahamas, and he being a worthy subject for news, he reared his head again, even though he has no responsibility for pubic policy anymore. He has plenty of opinions though.
Mr. Blankenship appeared on the Island FM Radio talk show 'Parliament Street' last Sunday to talk about his favourite subject: what The Bahamas government should be doing. He is not elected to Parliament in The Bahamas. The telephones were ringing all over The Bahamas with the news that Blankenship was back. The next morning his picture was all over the newspaper. And he said that he has been coming to The Bahamas for years and expects to continue coming. Here is some of what he had to say in his own words:

On BaTelCo Privatization...
The Government takes too long to make decisions. He gave as an example how long it took to deal with the privatization of BaTelCo. “Whether it’s too competitive or non-competitive, that does not matter. What matters is the process. I think BaTelCo could be sold in two weeks, but I think the process is flat broken. Anytime you get three bids and can’t pick one of them something’s wrong.”

On Haiti...
He thinks The Bahamas is doing a good job on Haiti and lauded Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell for his ongoing efforts in Haiti.
“One of the things that we can’t do is stretch America to its end and we have to take care of the biggest and most threatening problem to the world first and we hope that our brother nations will help us in those problems. And I think that Caricom and OAS are doing a great job [on Haiti].”

“[Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell] knows that the situation in Haiti has to be worked out constitutionally and in a manner that is acceptable to both sides and I think that is important.”

On the Royal Bahamas Defence Force...
He says that we ought to triple the size of the Defence Force.

(This last comment was the only statement that elicited a response from The Bahamas Government. Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt summed up it up this way: “…easier said than done”. —Ed)
Nassau Guardian photo by Letisha Henderson

A WARNING ON INDUSTRIAL UNREST

Minister of Labour Vincent Peet has issued a warning that the labour unrest in The Bahamas is causing concern amongst people who are seeking to invest in the country. This reflects unease in the Government that the strategy of dealing with unions on a consultative basis is not bearing the fruit that the Government thought it would. The pattern of wildcat strikes and irresponsible union behaviour that started under Hubert Ingraham's administration is continuing. We think that this should be watched carefully. Nassau Guardian photo

THE GALANIS’ 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Clifford and Zoe Galanis, mother and father of Senator Philip Galanis, the former Member of Parliament for Englerston, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this week. Great! Happy Anniversary! The couple is shown being congratulated in church in this Derek Smith photo.

THE PM AS RIGHT HONOURABLE

Last week, we announced in the COMMENT OF THE WEEK that the designation Right Honourable had been bestowed upon the Prime Minister Perry Christie. This was announced by the British Government, as the Prime Minister became a member of Her Majesty’s Privy Council. It fell to Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell to give the lead tribute in congratulations to the Prime Minister for the accomplishment. Mr. Mitchell described his relationship as being one where they were both born within the sound of the bells of St George’s Anglican Church in the Valley. He said that while some would say that the honour was just a matter of routine, the fact is that first and foremost you must be an honourable man to receive it. He also said that at some point the Government plans to devise a system of honours for Bahamians, substituting for the British honours. You may click here for the full statement made in Parliament.

OBITUARIES
Dr. Ted Allen
Dr. Ted Allen has died. Dr. Allen, a medical practitioner, succumbed to a reported heart attack Saturday 21st February. He was brother to noted public figure Dr. David Allen and first cousin to Prime Minister Perry Christie. Dr. Allen is survived by his wife and three children. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Shane Barnett

49 year old Shane Barnett was buried Saturday 21st February. Mr. Barnett is survived by his wife Vangelyn and four children: Anique (step daughter) Bettina, Christopher and Danielle. He is also survived by his parents Ralph and Inez Barnett. Mr. Barnett was a radio and television journalist of some note during the early years of ZNS television. He left the Broadcasting Corporation to join the family business, Imperial Mattress Company, where he rose through the ranks to Vice President of Production and is credited with being an instrumental part in the company’s tremendous growth.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Defending Sir Arthur
A letter writer to this column sent in a stern defence of journalist Sir Arthur Foulkes, former Cabinet Minister and former High Commissioner to London. The letter writer was outraged that we had referred to Sir Arthur in the journalistic field as “compliant”.
So enraged was the correspondent that, try as we might, the letter could not be edited for publication. Still, we take the writer’s point. Sir Arthur is a star in the firmament of Bahamian journalism and we stand chastened.

Another writer, MISS Ladonna Duncombe (she insisted that we capitalise the MISS) took exception to this paragraph “But he kept making it such an article of faith. One has only to look at the number of heads of Baptist or other Protestant, non-Anglican denominations where the heads of the churches stay on until they are literally ga ga and can't be moved while young successors get as old as Prince Charles waiting to get the prize. That is in the culture.” She wrote:

This excerpt above from your commentary drives me mad. I find it to be a reckless insult and an over generalization, it continues to nurture that evil in our culture that insists that one denomination is better than the other and with that in mind divides us as a people. I believe that when you opt to call particular denominations and place certain scenarios at their feet you must be more sensitive to your readers and their beliefs and faith systems, some people realize that there are flaws in their denominational governance but can name tons of flaws in the denomination that you seek to exalt.

At the end of the day, some of us call ourselves Christians and despite what you or I or anyone else believes or feels people must know we are Christians purely by our love. That really sickens me its almost as though these days you have to be a PLP Anglican to read this site, that's disturbing because I used to really like this site, I must tell you I am deeply offended by the suggestion... I mean how does that even become a relevant example to use when referring to Hubert Ingraham the FNM and its leadership...

Our first reaction to your e-mail was to go scurrying through our archives searching for positive references to religious denominations other than Anglican [and there are many], but ultimately it was a vain exercise because you are right and we are wrong. Mea culpa. It won't happen again.
Thanks for reading and please keep reading. Editor

ROTA-VIRUS ADVICE

A 250 percent increase over last year in the number of cases in infants of acute gastro-enteritis brought on by the rota-virus has prompted health officials to issue public advice on the ailment. The rota-virus is highly contagious and circulates generally in January and February. Symptoms include stubborn fever, lethargy, sunken eyes and infrequent urination. Ministry of Health Consultant Paediatrician Dr. Percy McNeill advised 'Pedialyte' or 'Rehdratelyte', failing which he counsels 'Gatorade'. Dr. Percy McNeill - Tribune photo / Dominic Duncombe

SIDEBURNS TO GUARDIAN
Speculation that talented cartoonist Stanley Burnside had come to a parting of the ways with the Tribune has turned out to be correct. We reported that after the recent dispute between The Tribune and the Minister of Foreign Affairs over the question of an attack on the Bahamian embassy, Mr. Burnside's cartoons suddenly ceased appearing in The Tribune. Late word is that Mr. Burnside of 'Sideburns' fame is to begin appearing in the Nassau Guardian on Monday.

THE WEEK WITH THE PM

The Prime Minister celebrated with Clifford and Zoe Galanis their 50th wedding anniversary this week (see story above). Mr. Christie was also attended a luncheon given by the Junior Achievement organisation, where he and Mrs. Christie received awards. BIS Photos / Wedding Anniversary - Derek Smith; JA awards - Peter Ramsay.

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

SUPPORTING DEATH IN HAITI

It is a bitter thing we have to say. After all of the hard and patient work that the nations of Caricom and their leaders have done, it has all come to this. The developed countries the United States, France and Canada will support the overthrow of the legitimately elected President of Haiti through a military coup. Jean Bertrand Aristide, the diminutive President of the Republic, freely elected in 1991, thrown out by a coup in that same year, returned to power in 1994, and freely reelected in 2001, is now to be overthrown again. The United States, Canada and France all say they want to help but all say that they want President Aristide to resign before they help. The net result will be that they will sit by, knowing that they can help, watch the killing and the carnage, blame President Aristide who has said clearly that he cannot stop it, and then come in once the President is dead. Such is life and the geopolitical reality. Democracy means nothing, unless you are a democrat that we like. If we don’t like you, then we do nothing to help you.

There is another bitter thing we have to say. The world stood by in Africa, knowing that a massacre was about to take place between the Tutsi people and the Hutus in Burundi and Rwanda. The warning signs were everywhere. But no one did a thing. Those who could help did nothing. So much for the platitudes about being a Christian nation and being your brother’s keeper. But the moment war broke out in Bosnia, in Kosovo, the NATO airplanes were in the air to stop the carnage. Then there was the smell of oil money in Iraq. So, dressed up in the righteous garb of freeing a people from a tyrant, another group of developed countries went in to set the people free. None of the considerations that applied in Iraq or Eastern European apparently apply in Haiti or the Caribbean.

The situation in international law is clear. The legitimate authority has invited assistance from those who can help. That has been refused. The allies of the legitimate authority have gone to the United Nations to seek a resolution authorizing assistance to restore order or to allow a country that is willing to restore order, the legal cover to do so. That has been refused.

Randall Robinson in his book ‘Quitting America’ writes:
“Make no mistake, the people who live here [the Caribbean] and elsewhere along the archipelago of the eastern Caribbean very much want American economic partnership. No island economy can afford to be cut adrift by so powerful a regional neighbour. The governments of these islands have met every reasonable test for friendship. They all rank high in the global community of civilly well run democracies. They all score high marks in the areas of human rights, literacy, health care, and general quality of life. They are all well disposed towards the United States. Why then have America and Americans behaved so callously toward governments and peoples who present them with no threat but only proffers of friendship? Perhaps Americans, or more specifically, white Americans, have behaved such because they only really value or respect what they either crave or fear: money or might, all else to be belittled, disdained, dismissed, even desecrated?”

And so we come back to today’s scene. If what Mr. Robinson says is correct, the conclusion that you could come to is inescapable. If this were Europe, subtext, if the people were white, then the U.S. and the other nations would jump in with both feet to ensure that order was restored. You are not talking about a major effort here, a few hundred policemen at best. Secondly, if there were some economic or military threat to the developed world, again they would jump in with both feet. Alas, poor miserable Haiti does not qualify for any of that. It is the deepest black that you can find across its people. There is not money there and certainly no oil. The result is let them fight it out to the death, and if the radical priest finds his way to death, then so be it. What interesting imagery at the start of Lent. Such is the role of morality in the politics of the world.

The leaders of Caricom have done an extraordinary job. The Prime Minister of Jamaica P.J. Patterson has led the pack. But let there be no doubt that it is the Prime Minister of the Bahamas Perry Christie who has single handedly driven this process forward. Lending his Foreign Minister to the effort, and pushing President Aristide through the Prime Minister’s personal intervention to move the process forward. Prime Minister Christie hosted the meeting with Opposition in Nassau, and the Government picked up the expenses.

The Bahamian people thought that the Governments of the region and the governments of the developed world were talking to each other in straight terms and singing from the same hymn sheet. What it turns out is that the developed countries were singing the same notes but sending signals to the Opposition that were not audible that they should hold out to the bitter end. The bitter end is upon us, and unless some miracle happens, or there is some last minute twinge of conscience, the rebels will attack and kill the President of Haiti, the countries that can help will watch him be killed, they will then step in to stop the “chaos” which they will blame on him and that will be that.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 28th February 2004 at midnight: 69,057.

Number of hits for the month of February up to Saturday 28th February 2004 at midnight: 228,790.

Number of hits for the year 2004 up to Saturday 28th February 2004 at midnight: 412,427.

Jean Bertrand Aristide, center, stands with his wife Mildred, left, as U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters looks on at a press conference Saturday in Port-au-Prince. AP photo/Miami Herald/Peter Andrew Bosch
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega, second from left is shown in concert with Caricom leaders (Bahamas Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell is third from left) meeting with members of the Haitian Opposition earlier in the week. AP photo/Jaime Razuri from Nassau Guardian

ARISTIDE IS FORCED OUT

The unfair pressure mounted on an elected President by supposed allies has now resulted in a return to the cycle of coup and counter coup in Haiti. The reports are that the President of Haiti Jean Bertrand Aristide has left the country on the way to God knows where. This is disgraceful act on the part of the US Government and the French. It will live in infamy. It cannot be supported. A legitimate president is ousted by a rebel group, supported by countries that say they support democracy. Very sad indeed.
The Bahamas and all other Caricom countries must now look out. It is clear that it does not matter whether you are democratic or not, if you have for some reason offended the rich and powerful in the hemisphere, out you go. Anti Aristide supporters in Cap Haitien dance at the news of his departure. AP photo/NY Times

THE FOREIGN MINISTER SPEAKS AT THE UN

Fred Mitchell, the Foreign Minister of The Bahamas spoke at the United Nations on Thursday 26th February. The Minister flew to New York in a last ditch effort to convince the major countries that the Security Council should intervene in order to save Haiti from chaos. What he and Foreign Minister K.D. Knight met in New York was a wall of studied indifference to the plight of the Haitian Government. The mantra was; there needs to be a political settlement or there will be no security force to keep order. The major countries did not want to do anything that might be interpreted as helping to prop up President Aristide, even if that meant the country would be turned over to thugs.
And so with the sword of Damocles hanging over the Haitian Government, the speech went off at the UN and there was an adjournment without agreement on a way forward. You may click here for the full text of the Minister’s address. Minister Mitchell at the UN Security Council with Jamaican Foreign Minister K.D. Knight. UN photo

AMBASSADOR TO HAITI RETURNS TO NASSAU
Ambassador Dr. Eugene Newry, The Bahamas Ambassador to Haiti, has returned to The Bahamas from Port-au-Prince with his wife. He was the last diplomat from The Bahamas left in the country. Dennis and Michelle Williams, who were Vice Consuls in the Embassy there returned last week from Haiti for the Carnival Holiday that ended on Ash Wednesday 25th February. They were instructed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs not to return. Ambassador Newry as late as Ash Wednesday had judged that it was not necessary to leave. The Ministry ordered him home for consultations on Thursday 26th February. He returned to the country via the Dominican Republic on Friday 27th February. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell said that Dr. Newry would remain in The Bahamas until it was judged that it was safe to return to Port-au-Prince.

RODNEY MONCUR WANTS TO HAVE SAY
    Had Rodney Moncur, the ageing would be revolutionary, been a more mature person he would have had a central role to play in the politics of The Bahamas. But he is unable to move himself to the centre of politics and work within a party framework and so he has largely been consigned to the fringes where he enjoys a certain entertainment value.
    Mr. Moncur's latest foray into the entertainment world, having failed to dislodge the President of the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union, was to conduct a poll in front of Norman Solomon’s shop on Bay Street asking Bahamians whether the Prime Minister was worthless or worthwhile. You can guess the answer to any poll that Mr. Moncur involves himself in of that nature. The fact that it has only entertainment value completely escapes him.
    Now The Tribune reports that Mr. Moncur has sent a telegram to the rebels in Port-au-Prince congratulating them for their murderous attacks on Gonaives and their attempt to overthrow the Haitian Government freely elected like Mr. Moncur would wish to be in this country but can’t. This democrat is a wolf in sheep’s clothing then. He warned Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell and Prime Minister Perry Christie to stay out of the business of the Haitian people. Pray tell what was he doing getting himself in it? Physician heal thyself! We quote The Tribune’s response to the matter printed in their editorial of Monday 23rd February:
    “We do not believe that Caricom has enough clout to bring peace to Haiti. We also believe that Mr. Christie and Mr. Mitchell’s trips could be in vain, but Mr. Moncur, who admits he doesn’t know what’s going on, certainly has no right dipping his oar in and creating more confusion. He should keep his meddling fingers out of the Haitian situation.”
    Well said!

EDISON KEY RESIGNS FROM THE PLP

    On Monday morning 23rd February, those in the political elite woke up to the news that Senator Edison Key and submitted his resignation to the Chairman of the PLP as a member as Stalwart Councillor. He also finally and formally submitted his resignation from the Senate to the President of the Senate. Then in the press he let go a blast at the PLP and its leadership. But what was more startling was the incredible claim that he had decided to resign because of what was said about him on this web site last week.
    Surely, he must be jesting, was the thought. But there it was in black and white. This incredible thought that what we had to say had somehow caused Mr. Key's resignation from the Party forced the editors of this site to go and re-examine what was written, since all the PLPs in town, who never read the site, were suggesting that something had been done to cause the resignation. It turns out that Mr. Key must have seriously misread what was said last week and most certainly did not seem to understand what he read. What was said last week was in fact in praise of him.
    But anyway, he says that he is gone. That, one supposes, is that. But no one in their serious and right mind could think that someone leaves a political party because of what is written on a website. There must be something deeper than all that. We thought that yet again, we would repeat what Mr. Key had to say upon resigning in his own words and as reported by the Bahama Journal:
    “I see this situation getting worse each day and I figured maybe this is the time to just give it all up if that’s what they want. I was in my bed and this came to me that maybe I should just relinquish my ties with the PLP for the time being. Let them do what they want to do. Maybe they’re better off without me…
    “It creates deep pain, it goes right to the soul that’s what I’ve felt for the last year and ten months under this administration. I really feel sorry for them because it seems that they have no direction and no director…
    “Maybe that’s saying it pretty harsh, but I think it's time for the people of The Bahamas to wake up and get a government that will give The Bahamas back to the people. It is now become a government that’s become almost a dictatorial system and its time for a change…
    “If there were a strong opposition, the PLP would be in trouble. But even the opposition needs to get it together. You see, I know how to fight the opposition, but I never had any ammunition to fight the PLP. I have no bullets that can penetrate the PLP. It’s like shooting one of your own family. You don’t do that. I’m talking in a political sense now.”
    “I was hurt by what published last Sunday on bahamasuncensored.com.”
(We hope and pray that Mr. Key has not been manipulated by someone into misreading an article that was complimentary to him and making it out to be something other than it was. Anyone who thought that the article was derogatory to Mr. Key should have their head examined. - -- Ed)

THE PARTY CHAIRMAN RESPONDS

Chairman of the PLP Raynard Rigby responded to the letter of resignation from the PLP of Edison Key. He said: “It is with regret that we have received Senator Key’s resignation. It is most unfortunate. The party will continue its work in Abaco and the rest of The Bahamas.” PLP Chairman Raynard Rigby at news conference in this Nassau Guardian photo

RUDY KING AND THE $400,000 AMEX BILL

    The newspapers all reported this week with pictures to boot, the story of a Bahamian by the name Rudy King. He is pictured. Mr. King was forced to appear in court this week to show cause as to why he should not be held in contempt. He is said to owe the American Express Company 410,000 dollars. He does not deny that he owes the money, and the affidavit showed that he gave several bounced cheques of $40,000 each to pay the debt. The affidavit says that he withdrew the money before the cheques could be negotiated.
    The judge reserved his judgement after the lawyer for Mr. King argued not on the merits but that the application for contempt was technically deficient. This once again exposes how difficult it is for creditors to collect monies in The Bahamas when there is a default. Few people feel sorry for the American Express Company, however. They have a reputation for being the most harassing credit card company operating in The Bahamas, with late bills being sent out and pressing to pay before their bills have been rendered.
    Mr. King would get a lot of sympathy from Bahamians if he were able to get away with it, even though it is quite immoral for someone to get the use of someone’s money without repaying the money. Rudy King on his way to court Monday. Bahama Journal photo/Omar Barr

PHIL GALANIS RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS

    It seemed a little more than coincidental that just as former Senator Edison Key of Abaco sent in his resignation to the Senate and the PLP, there appeared in the press an invigorated Free National Movement Leader Tommy Turnquest making allegations against Senator Philip Galanis about influence peddling and conflict of interest. The allegations are that Senator Galanis was a shareholder in Island Dairy Farms with Gary Sawyer, an Abaconian. Mr. Sawyer turns out to be the nemesis of former Senator Key that may have kicked off the ire of the former Senator about the way he was treated in Abaco.
    The essence of the FNM’s allegations is that Island Dairy was said to have been granted permission to put up a dairy on 3,800 acres of land in Abaco owned by the Crown. The FNM said that the Prime Minister had announced it as one of the projects on the list for approval at last year’s PLP convention. The FNM suggested that the company and its shareholders of whom Senator Galanis was one did not have the funds for the investment but would make a huge profit even before the deal started by the simple transfer of the Crown land to the company, increasing the value of their investment from just under two hundred thousand dollars to over several million.
    Senator Galanis for his part joined Gary Sawyer on a talk show in Nassau and set the record straight. He said that he was not a shareholder in the company having resigned as a nominee shareholder at the end of 2003. He said that there was no conflict of interest whatsoever since he was not involved in the Government’s decision making. He called that and the allegations of influence peddling “scurrilous lies”. Some were surprised that anyone bothered to take the FNM up on this at all. The allegations seem so patently trivial and obviously untrue. PLP Chairman called for an apology from the FNM.
    The responses gave the FNM full life on the subject and they were back again saying that they were not going to apologize, in fact they repeated the allegations. The PLP Chair mounted a full court press defence of the matter. Please click here for the Chairman Raynard Rigby’s full statement.
    Senator Galanis also issued a complete statement on the matter. You may click here for the statement.
    The fact is that the permission for the venture has not been granted. The fact is that no Crown land has been conveyed to this venture. So where’s the beef? The idea is to build upon these untrue reports about conflict of interest, add it to the matters surrounding BAIC put that together with the allegations of Edison Key and you have the makings of an FNM campaign on the return to the old PLP, which the FNM claims was a bad PLP. Island Fresh Dairy President Gary Sawyer, left, and Senator Philip Galanis at news conference. Bahama Journal photo/Omar Barr

HUBERT INGRAHAM’S LEGACY BUILDING

    The Tribune ran a series of three articles during the past week by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham about the Haitian problem. There was no new ground broken or new light shed on the matter. In fact, people were wondering what the whole thing was about. The three part series was really about legacy building.
    The former Prime Minister spent much of his time saying that the course that the Government was pursuing on the matter was one with which he agreed. But the real bee in his bonnet was the fact that his Government and his Foreign Minister Janet Bostwick didn't get sufficient credit for their work on Haiti. According to the former PM everything that the Government is doing today, the FNM tried before while he was Prime Minister.
    As they say if you want history to ensure that it treats you kindly, then you should write the history yourself. The truth of course is another matter. Tribune news header.

FOUR LITTLE BOYS ON BAIL
The accused killers of Jake Grant, one of five missing kids in Freeport last year, were before the courts on Thursday 26th February. The four accused killers, all minors themselves were granted bail. They have been charged with manslaughter. They range in age from 11 to 13. Three of the boys are said to be Haitians. The dead body of Jake Grant has not been recovered. Cordell Darrell Farrington has been charged in connection with the murders of four other boys who went missing in Freeport last year, gripping that city and the nation in fear.

STILL MESSING WITH FREEPORT’S LOCAL COUNCIL

The Minister for Local Government still continues with his assault on the Freeport Council and its leadership. He is fed up with the problems associated with the Council, and has announced that in Freeport that he is seeking a legal opinion on the matter. But the feeling is throughout the city that the matter should be left alone as it is a purely a local matter. There is also the feeling expressed widely in the Freeport community that there is no need to change the law just to fix this small problem that exists in Freeport. The Chief Councillor is said to be planning a legal action of her own to restrain the Minister from interfering in the Council’s affairs. Chief City of Freeport Councillor Marva Moxey. File photo.

ANDRE CARTWRIGHT DIES
Grand Bahama Port Authority executive Andre Cartwright died on Friday 27th February after a long battle with cancer. He died at Doctors Hospital in Nassau with his wife Marianne at his side. The Grand Bahama Port Authority issued a formal statement marking his passing. Mr. Cartwright, considered a smart man, hailed from Long Island. His father was a candidate for the PLP in the 1977 General Election for Long Island. The Prime Minister appointed Andrew Cartwright to the Bahamas Trade Commission where he served until his death.

NEW AIRSTRIP FOR RUM CAY

A representative sample of the Government headed by the Prime Minister Perry Christie went to Rum Cay for the commissioning of the new 4500 foot runway at that remote island in the southern Bahamas on Friday 27th February. The new strip was built by Knowles Construction, now headed no longer by father former MP Ervin Knowles but his son Emilio. There was also the paving of new roads in Rum Cay. The Prime Minister also announced that a new marina development is on the board and he expects that it will get up and running before the end of the year.
Travelling with the Prime Minister for the opening on Friday 27th February was Minister of Works Bradley Roberts, Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller, Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe and Minister of Transport Glenys Hanna Martin. Many prominent Bahamians who are from Rum Cay and had not been there for years also joined in the show. Philip ‘Brave’ Davis the Member of Parliament spoke at the event. You may click here for his full remarks. It was a proud day for all. Rum Cay's oldest resident Mrs. Advilda Scavella, centre in hat, shown with dignitaries after unveiling the sign for the new airport at Rum Cay. From left are Minister of Trade & Industry Leslie Miller, Rum Cay MP 'Brave' Davis, Minister of Transport & Aviation Glenys Hanna Martin, Mrs. Scavella; Prime Minister Perry Christie, the representative of the European Union, which contributed to the project; Minister of Works & Utilities Bradley Roberts and Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe.

B.U.T.’S FALSE DEMANDS

    The Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) has issued a demand for the Government to pay all of the money owed to school administrators as part of the anomalies exercise that should have been completed two years ago. The problem with the anomalies exercises in the Government service is every time you fix one anomaly you create another.
    When the public servants were threatening to go on strike last November, a deal was worked out where the anomalies created for school administrators in the last pay round would be corrected. Some 40 months were claimed. The two sides sat down and negotiated a reduction to 24 months. Now the BUT wants to renege on that settlement, saying that the Government took too long from November to pay them.
    As it stands you are talking about paying just this group alone almost one million dollars in back pay. Why do so many people seem to think that money for the Government grows on trees? The group now says they want the full 40 months even though their leadership signed an agreement to accept the lesser amount.
    There is simply no reasonableness in this country any more. Everyone wants, wants now and at any price. They just want. 'Come To Collect' was the caption to this photo of BUT President Kingsley Black in the Nassau Guardian. Photo/Donald Knowles

BRENT MALONE DIES

    Perhaps the greatest Bahamian artist of his generation, Brent Malone died of a heart attack at Doctors Hospital in Nassau on Wednesday 25th February. He was 62 years old. Tributes poured in from across the country as the news spread. The Prime Minister Perry Christie paid tribute to him.
    Mr. Malone was credited by artist Antonius Roberts of putting him in a position to pursue his art and to make a living as an artist, starting out with him at the Matinee Art Gallery. Mr. Malone was seen as an innovator of Bahamian art, and is widely credited for taking the representations of Junkanoo into the mainstream of Bahamian art.
    A memorial service will be held for him on Tuesday 2nd March in Nassau at a church Blake Road. No flowers please. Donations can be made to a fund for artists in the name of Brent Malone.
    Of course now that the paintings of Brent Malone have a finite supply, the prices will go up exponentially. This photo of Brent Malone is likely one of the last taken. It was shot by Peter Ramsay during a photographic exhibition by his friend Roland Rose at the Central Bank, just days before his death.

HUGH CAMPBELL TOURNAMENT BEGINS
The annual Hugh Campbell Tournament began on Tuesday 24th February. The official opening was done by Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt. The tournament is the highlight of the basketball year for many high schools and is a fundraiser for the A.F. Adderley High School in Nassau. No controversies associated with the tourney so far this year. St. Augustine’s College continues to sit out the tournament in a row over the fact that people outside the age limit have been allowed to play on the teams of schools from Freeport. Freeport teams always seem to win the tournament.

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM

Prime Minister Perry Christie began his official week on Monday with the opening address at a CEO Network conference announcing major US assistance for the development of technological education in The Bahamas. Mr. Christie is pictured at the podium in the British Colonial Hilton, flanked by CEO Network's Debbie Bartlett.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A regular correspondent weighs in on the idea of a Bahamian meritocracy and how its development is affected by the values promoted through the drug trade.

We Support A Meritocracy
I certainly concur with your expressions regarding the so called “drug lords”. The pressure must be sustained. In psychological circles there is an understanding regarding the power of negativity or negative impressions. It is said that positive first impressions can easily be remove by one negative deed or word and that it takes a multitude of positive impressions to remove a single negative first impression. Negativity lingers. I daresay that there was a point in our history when the drug trade was plied with seeming impunity for ten years (at the very least).
As regards meritocracy, it will take at the very least thirty years (in my opinion) to begin to balance or neutralize the effects of this ten year period. I sometimes contemplate whether the full scope of the social impact of ‘that’ period can really be measured. The societal norms and morays have changed. How long will it take for them to be redefined? They must be redefined in an environment where the drug barons are seen to be targeted and successfully prosecuted. Consistently.

CELEBRITY NOTES FROM GRAND BAHAMA
    A regular correspondent from Grand Bahama provided the following celebrity sightings:
    Beyonce and Jay-z were wedded at the Old Bahama Bay Resort in West End, Grand Bahama yesterday [this past week]. They were spotted in the Isle Of Capri Casino… for a few hours of gaming pleasure.
    2003 Emmy and Golden Globe winner Tony Shalhoub was also spotted at the Isle of Capri Casino, Grand Bahama, playing a bit of Three Card Poker and signing autographs for guests.

REV’D FR. HOWARD HANNA DIES
The Reverend Father Howard Hanna has died. Father Hanna, who was last at the Anglican Parish of St. Agnes in Nassau before he retired, died on Sunday 29th February. Father Hanna came late in life to the Anglican Priesthood. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Trixie Hanna and two daughters, Bernadette, wife of the Prime Minister and Paula. Our sincere condolences go out to the family.

1^st February, 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.*
WHAT HAPPENED IN HAITI...	LESLIE MILLER ON OUR HERITAGE...
CLIFTON BILL COMES TO PARLIAMENT...	PM IN JAMAICA FOR MORE HAITI TALKS...
PICTURES OF THE CARICOM INITIATIVE IN PROGRESS...	SIDS CONFERENCE IN NASSAU...
COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SOURCE...	EMILY DEMERITTE ORDAINED...
JAMES SMITH ON NEW TAX SYSTEM...	LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...
COLINA SUING THE JOURNAL...	ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP HONOURED...
RED CROSS PHOTOS...	THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...
	NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA...





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

8^th February, 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.*
THE HAITI DECISION...	MILLER ON WTO CSME FTAA...
MITCHELL IN GRAND BAHAMA...	FOX HILL PLP LUNCHEON...
PM OPENS ANDROS CLINIC...	STAN BURNSIDE MISSING FROM THE TRIBUNE...
TOMMY FLUBS IT AGAIN...	PLP CASTIGATES FNM'S SHALLOW APPROACH...
ON JANET JACKSON’ S BREAST...	LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...
THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...	SHUTTING THE COUNTRY DOWN...
GROUPER BAN ENDS...	CLEANING UP THE JET SKI BUSINESS...
INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL REPORT...	HAROLD MILLER - 103...
DORIAN ROACH WEDS...	NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA...




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

15^th February, 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.*
TRADE UNION LEADERSHIP DOUBTS...	WHAT THE PM SHOULD DO ABOUT BEC...
HAITI INITIATIVE SUCCESS IN WASHINGTON...	THE FNM’S FLIP FLOP ON HAITI...
CENTRAL BANK BRIEFS PUBLIC SERVANTS...	BUILDING NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS...
ALL OUT WAR ON MITCHELL...	THE JUNKANOO RESULT CHANGES AGAIN...
THE SOLOMONIC COLINA DECISION...	HIGGS GRADUATION SPEECH...
HARROLD ROAD TO BE FIXED...	THE DUMP IS BURNING AGAIN...
CAN THE YOUNG HAVE BANK ACCOUNTS?...	‘NINETY’ KNOWLES HAS TO GO...
THE WEEK WITH THE PM...	HEART BALL PHOTOS...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...	NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA...




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

22^nd February, 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.*
WHAT EDISON KEY HAD TO SAY...	CAN THE OPPOSITION TAKE COMFORT?...
SEAN ISAACS AKA ADDERLEY GUNNED DOWN...	NEW ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP...
MITCHELL TAKES THE STUDENTS ON A TOUR...	GRAY RESPONDS ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT...
MAN SHOT DEAD ROBBING A HOME...	THE LATEST ON HAITI...
TURKS & CAICOS AIRCRAFT HIGHJACKED IN HAITI...	TWO LAWYERS CHARGED...
BLANKENSHIP REARS HIS HEAD...	A WARNING ON INDUSTRIAL UNREST...
THE GALANIS’ 50TH ANNIVERSARY...	THE PM AS RIGHT HONOURABLE...
OBITUARIES...	LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...
ROTA-VIRUS ADVICE...	SIDEBURNS TO GUARDIAN...
	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

29^th February, 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.*
ARISTIDE IS FORCED OUT...	THE FOREIGN MINISTER SPEAKS AT THE UN...
AMBASSADOR TO HAITI RETURNS TO NASSAU...	RODNEY MONCUR WANTS TO HAVE SAY...
EDISON KEY RESIGNS FROM THE PLP...	THE PARTY CHAIRMAN RESPONDS...
RUDY KING AND THE $400,000 AMEX BILL...	PHIL GALANIS RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS...
HUBERT INGRAHAM’S LEGACY BUILDING...	FOUR LITTLE BOYS ON BAIL...
STILL MESSING WITH FREEPORT’S LOCAL COUNCIL...	ANDRE CARTWRIGHT DIES...
NEW AIRSTRIP FOR RUM CAY...	B.U.T.’S FALSE DEMANDS...
BRENT MALONE DIES...	HUGH CAMPBELL TOURNAMENT BEGINS...
THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...	LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...
CELEBRITY NOTES FROM GRAND BAHAMA...	REV’D FR. HOWARD HANNA DIES...



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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