OPENING REMARKS
Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the ever faithful Constituency of Bain & Grants Town to contribute to a debate for A BILL FOR AN ACT TO AMEND THE TARIFF ACT (1966) TO PROVIDE FOR DUTY-FREE CONCESSIONS ONCE IN EVERY FIVE YEARS ON CERTAIN FRANCHISE VEHICLES, such as licensed Taxi-Cab’s, Livery Car’s and Omnibuses. Likewise, the Bill provides for a 50% reduction on vehicles up to 3 years old at the maximum.

TRANSPORTATION & HISTORY
Mr. Speaker, I rise on this topic for it is true that familiarity does at times breed contempt. Familiarity, in this particular instance causes gratitude to be in short supply. And that is clearly the case when the subject of taxi, livery and tour professionals is brought up in the public domain; gratitude is in short supply. I believe that is so because taxi, livery and tour professionals have always been around in the Bahamas, so in many cases we overlook and minimize the historical role taxi, livery and tour professionals have played in the Bahamas.

Mr. Speaker, I dare say that at every pivotal and positive point in the history of the Bahamas, those professionals who were and are still a part of the transportation industry played a major role. As far back as 1957, it was the professionals of the transportation industry that launched a strike in civil disobedience to the spiteful policies of exclusion by a minority government. Mr. Speaker, the circumstances that were the catalyst for the strike is aptly told in the late Sir Randol Fawkes’ book, “The Faith That Moved the Mountain,” of which I would like to read a few excerpts:

“The original dispute surfaced on November 1, 1957, as a result of government’s granting to the white tour companies the exclusive franchise to operate transportation services between the new Nassau International Airport and the city. To cope with the lion's share of the business, the tour companies purchased a fleet of cars and buses and informed members of the Bahamas Taxi-Cab Union, their former employees, that their services were no longer required. The officers of the union wandered, in vain, from pillar to post in search of a government department who would listen to their grievances.

“So in desperation on Saturday November 1, 1957 the Taxi Cab Union under the leadership of Clifford Darling, Nick Musgrove, Lochinvar Lockhart, Jimmy Shepherd, Cyril Ferguson and Wilbert Moss blocked all traffic to and from Nassau International Airport for hours while the Commissioner and his policemen looked on helplessly.”

Mr. Speaker, we all know the glory of truce and justice that resulted from the stand taken by taxi drivers with the help of other Union luminaries such as Sir Randol Fawkes, Cadwell Armbrister, Clement Pinder and now Rev. Father Anthony Roberts. That was in 1957.

Mr. Speaker in 1967, it was again the professionals of the transportation industry, who galvanized their homes and communities through assertive activism to get the majority of Bahamians out to vote to bring in Majority-Rule. Sir Clifford Darling led the charge and became a Member of Parliament. He also served as a Minister in the Pindling Government. He was the Minister responsible for National Insurance when it was introduced as the most progressive piece of legislation in the history of the Bahamas.

Mr. Speaker, Sir Clifford Darling’s further elevation to the highest Office in the land as Governor-General was a most significant acknowledgement of the high-esteem in which taxi-drivers are held by the PLP Government. Mr. Speaker, Sir Clifford Darling’s rise to high Office, only proves that taxi-drivers are more than just taxi drivers. Many are Statesmen and businessmen. Many have their own businesses and many have been successful.

Mr. Speaker, many transportation professionals have put their children through school based on their dedication to the transportation industry. Many, if not most of the children of transportation professionals have gone on to be equally great Bahamians, such as the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, whose father was a taxi cab driver. And the transportation professionals of today have followed in the footsteps of those who pioneered the transportation business for the majority.

Mr. Speaker, when the people’s government moved toward Independence and responsibility for entertaining millions of tourists to our independent shores, it was and still is the transportation professionals who rose to the occasion. Mr. Speaker, after Immigration and Custom’s Officers, transportation professionals are the first to greet our important visitors.

It is the transportation professionals that extend a warm and friendly welcome to our visitors. It is they who can influence whether our visitors have a happy and enjoyable vacation. It is they who can speak about the great resilience of our people. It is they who tell the visitors about our history, both the good and the bad, as a people. It is they who could influence, in a positive way, whether the tourists make a return visit.

However Mr. Speaker, it is also the transportation professional that can give visitors the wrong impression of what we are as a people if their behavior is not consistent with how Ambassadors of Goodwill should act. Mr. Speaker, it was brought to my attention that on October 21, 2002, a squabble at one of our resorts erupted because a tourist believed that a taxi-cab driver was charging them one dollar too much. And I am told that the argument ceased when the taxi driver was most unkind and unprofessional by telling the tourist to take the dollar and put it somewhere it should not go. I am also told that many times, though regulations state that a certain fare is the law, that some taxi drivers tell their passengers that the regulations cannot tell them what to charge for the use of their cars.

Mr. Speaker, this behavior when and if it happens cannot be good for the type of atmosphere we as Bahamians should be trying to create for the visitors or even residents on our shores. It is in that regard that I admonish all transportation professionals to not think more highly of themselves then they really ought to. I remind them that like the pieces to the puzzle, while all pieces are valuable to complete the picture, one piece is not the picture.

Mr. Speaker, it is an historical fact that the Progressive Liberal Party has benefited greatly from the dedication of the professionals in the transportation industry. And to that end the PLP and transportation professionals have always been kindred spirits. We of the PLP have always supported taxi cab drivers and they in turn have always supported the PLP. It was the PLP that looked out for transportation professionals by moving to periodically issue license plates.

However in 1992, the FNM Government systematically went about taking the plates away on a selective basis and giving them out on a selective basis. It was also the FNM Government who in May 1999 offered duty-free status on vehicles imported for use as taxi cab’s and omnibuses. Mr. Speaker, they announced this as if it was a glorious event for Bahamians to eternally thank them for. But the concession expired one year later on June 30, 2000 and it was only 50 % duty free.

Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous FNM Administration, it would not be the mandate of the new PLP Government to use the issuance of taxi plates and duty free concessions as a political ploy or election gimmick, as it was done prior to the last elections.

Mr. Speaker, it is again a new day for the transportation industry, as it was in 1967 when the previous PLP Administration took Office. It also seems to be a new day for the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union, as their recent election of Officers brought forth a new President. I take this opportunity to congratulate the new President of the Union, Mr. Leon Griffin. And I pray that it will be his desire to work along with this government in the best interest of the national transportation industry; for clearly the Progressive Liberal Party is the transportation industry’s friend. And as it is said in the scriptures, he who has friends must himself be friendly.

Today Mr. Speaker, as we move into the phase of participating in a global village, it will again be the professionals of the transportation industry that will play a pivotal role. And of course, we can never minimize the role of transportation professionals when it also comes to provisions for Bahamians attending weddings and funerals every weekend.

Transportation professionals have been and will always be a major entity in the functioning of the nation. I want to encourage them to dress properly at all times; to put their best feet forward; to keep their vehicles clean and to offer some of our wonderful Bahamian music to those visiting our shores. Take pride in what you do for your country and for God and strive to be at peace with all persons as much as it is humanly possible
 

TRANSPORTATION PROFESSIONALS & TARIFF AMENDMENT

Mr. Speaker, the new PLP Government is overjoyed to be embracing this opportunity to carry out it’s pledge to bring relief to transportation professionals by bringing this Bill for an Act to Amend the Duty Free Concessions, where vehicles can be brought in once every five years with exemption. Mr. Speaker, for the transportation professional, this is really a logical and sound advantage to the enhancement of their enterprise because the reality is that a new vehicle reduces substantially the maintenance cost to franchise owners.

This amendment likewise causes agencies of the government to also enhance the travelling of tourists to our shores, for the investment of a new vehicle for transportation professional’s means that returns on their investments must be viable and reliable. So we all must play our part if we are to continue to be the leading destination in the Western Vacation World. We in the government trust that transportation professionals will embrace this opportunity to upgrade their vehicles and advance their station in life, as they assist in improving on the tourist product of the Bahamas.

TRANSPORTATION, TOURISM & BAHAMASAIR
However Mr. Speaker, we know that there would be no need for a vast transportation industry if tourists were not travelling to our shores. We know this is true because we do have a vast tourist industry that travels to our shores by sea and air. And while we value tourist by whatever means they arrive on our shores, the reality is that stop-over visitors travelling mostly by air are the tourist that bring in the most revenue for the Bahamas.

Mr. Speaker, I say that to say this, it is a shame and also criminal that the previous FNM Administration didn’t feel the same way. Oh yes Mr. Speaker, they talked the talk of being concerned about tourists, but all they could come up with was the stupid and infantile slogan of “Hip to Hop to The Bahamas.”

Do you remember the millions of dollars they spent on that slogan in 1992, Mr. Speaker? Do you remember how ingenious they thought that slogan was at the time, Mr. Speaker? And do you remember how quickly they had to shelve that idiotic slogan, when someone obviously told them that their unique definition of genius was confined only to the Bahamas?

Mr. Speaker, who was the genius that thought up that stupid slogan? Mr. Speaker, even my grandchild would wonder what kind of human being would think of such a stupid slogan, and much worse let people know that it was thought to be a good idea.

And Mr. Speaker, do you remember after the terrorists attack of September 11, 2001, Tommy Turnquest, another FNM tourism genius, decided that he should pull out all advertisements in the United States and start looking for tourists in Europe? Do you remember that even Dr. Frankenstein, the creator of the 1992 and 2001 Tourism Ministers, had to step in as Prime Minister and rescind the idea of pulling up stakes in America? If we cannot say anything else, at least we know under the FNM stupidity was a consistent theme running through tourism.

However, Mr. Speaker, in between the 1992 Hip to Hop slogan and the 2001 abandonment of tourists in America, many other things happened under the FNM Administration. Many things happened that has substantially injured the ability of tourists to reach our shores for our transportation professionals. Many things happened, and based on the position of the government at the time and what reality has since borne out, many of those things could only be considered criminal.
Mr. Speaker, we all know that the Member for Montagu took a most strange route to this Parliament, for he is the only Member in this place who was forced to resign or be fired from the Chairmanship of the Airport Authority. And why did he place himself in this infamous position? Because he gave his company a government contract to do road works at the airport; and how was he punished by his so-called accountable government at the time?

He was rewarded with a nomination for the seat he now holds. And yet some people still foolishly say that with the FNM crime did not pay. One has to wonder how legitimate him being the Member for Montagu really is, when by all accounts he should be a Member in the Constituency southeast of Montagu.

Mr. Speaker, tax paying Bahamians and residents should also recall that in late 1997 until the FNM was kicked out of Office with extreme prejudice, the now Prime Minister and myself asked many questions surrounding the status of aircraft’s used by Bahamasair. We asked about two 737-200 ADV Jet Aircraft purchased from PLM International. We had asked them to table in Parliament the Technical Competency Report on the valuation of the purchase of the two planes. In other words, we both sought proof that the tax-payers of the Bahamas was receiving value for money.

Mr. Speaker, after our repeated request for answers to these questions the answers never came because the answers would have shown from then just how incompetent the FNM Administration really was. Mr. Speaker, we got no answers because, I can tell you today that no Technical Competency Report was ever done. Mr. Speaker, can you imagine a government responsible for the lives of passengers on planes under its control, not even having a competency report?

Mr. Speaker, could you imagine a government in charge of the people’s finances not even knowing if they got value for the money spent on two planes? Mr. Speaker, could you imagine the harm that could have been done, if transportation professionals could not move the tourists because the aircraft’s belonging to the government couldn’t get tourist here safely, profitably, or on time? Mr. Speaker, “Hip to Hop to the Bahamas” was an all time stupid slogan, but the purchasing of two planes without any knowledge of their value had to be criminal.

But that’s not all Mr. Speaker. The taxpaying public as well as the transportation professionals would not feel satisfied if I did not finally tell them the conclusion of the missing $135,000 dollars in another criminal exercise of leasing planes at Bahamasair. And this is important to what we are discussing today, for if criminal intent was not the focus of the previous Administration, transportation professionals would have had more tourists to cater to, because more flights would have been coming to the Bahamas via our national flag carrier.

Mr. Speaker, all must remember the fiasco surrounding the now disgraced former DPM, Frank Watson, as Minister responsible for Bahamasair over the $135,000. All may likewise remember the even greater infamy in which the Member for North Abaco now exist for his remark in the year 2000 that if he finds that anything untoward went down with the $135,000—he’d cut the hands off of the guilty party. Well Mr. Speaker, we now know that the former Prime Minister was only talking to hear himself. For we also know that for him to justify cutting off anyone else’s hands, he would have had to cut his own off first.

And by the way, Mr. Speaker, where was Mr. Bahamasair, the self- proclaimed expert on how Bahamasair should function, the Member for Lucaya, while all of these shenanigans were taking place? Why couldn’t we hear from him then on how Bahamasair should be conducting the people’s business? In fact, we hardly heard him at all on any subject before now. Was the Member’s tongue tied? All of his big talk now on what Bahamasair should and shouldn’t be doing; and all the big talk before about how late Bahamasair was because he had to catch a flight from Freeport to Nassau. But when it came to tiefin the people’s money, we couldn’t hear one peep from him. Why?

However Mr. Speaker, we now also know that since being filed in early 2001, the litigation case styled “Bahamasair Limited v Brinks Commercial (Aviation) and Giles Filiatreault” remains pending in Superior Court for the province of Quebec, Canada. Mr. Speaker, this case arose as a result of Bahamasair’s cancellation of a botched airplane lease agreement with Brink’s Commercial (Aviation). It also arose too as a result of the new PLP in Opposition and our constant assaults on the funny smell arising from the deal.

Mr. Speaker, in a letter dated July 1, 2002 the legal counsel for Bahamasair, Mr. George Carneal of the Law Firm Hogan and Hartson, Washington D.C., has provided an update on this case and strongly recommends Bahamasair’s dismissal of this law suit. Mr. Speaker, this recommendation comes as a result of Counsel believing that it is time to put a halt to the throwing of good money after bad in its quest to recover $135,000.

Mr. Speaker, for reasons cited in Mr. Carneal’s letter, particularly with respect to the unlikelihood of Mr. Filiatreault’s being able to refund the money to Bahamasair and the continuing mounting legal fees, I wholeheartedly support this legal advice.

Mr. Speaker, the cost to date for what was always a wasted exercise is $50,000. Mr. Speaker, the worst kind of criminal is one when accused denies he’s a criminal and then is not around when it’s time to face his criminal acts. But in this case Mr. Speaker, the ring-leader or partner in crime is still around.

And it is in that regard that I condemn, denounce and repudiate the Member for North Abaco, who calls himself the only RT. Honorable. I condemn him for not only participating in the conspiracy of helping his former Cabinet Minister cover up something untoward and criminal about the $135,000 plane deal; but also for advancing the conspiracy by wasting taxpayer’s money on a court case that he knew he could not win.

Mr. Speaker, this was a very simple case, either all the legal chicken heads in the previous Administration were incompetent and could not read an agreement; or something criminal was the intent. Or maybe it was both; the lawyers were incompetent and the non-lawyers were criminals. I will leave it to the Bahamian taxpayer to decide, if they haven’t already decided like we in the then Opposition did years ago.

So Mr. Speaker, what did the land transportation professionals have hampering them under the FNM Administration? They had a government who promised to be open and transparent, but what did they get? A government that was secretive, dishonest and doggedly determined to undermine the transportation industry.

They had a government that claimed to be frugal in the spending of money and objective in their governance. But what did the transportation professionals get? A government that would spend like drunken sailor’s to achieve a political objective or to cover up corruption and not one Government Member being invited to resign his/her post.

Mr. Speaker, that was the effect of the shenanigans at Bahamasair on the land transportation professionals. But I can assure them that the days of shenanigans are over at Bahamasair. The days of no one being accountable and credited with the things they do whether good or bad at Bahamasair are over. I can assure the land transportation professionals and Bahamians in general that this Minister will cover for no one and will always let the chips fall where they may when the people’s money is at stake and untoward behavior is found.

CONCLUSION

Mr. Speaker, before I conclude, I wish to inform the Bahamian public, inclusive of transportation professionals, that though the repaving of Harrold Road was a part of the Nassau Road Improvement Project as a major thoroughfare to be reconditioned, my Ministry will be repaving the following areas in short order:

*Baillou Road at the roundabout to Harrold Road at the rounabout to Sir Milo Butler Highway.
 
Mr. Speaker, I wish to conclude by again encouraging those persons of the land transportation industry to take advantage of the opportunity presented in this Bill before the Parliament today to upgrade the main tool of their services—the vehicles in which tourists must travel. I would hope they find encouragement in knowing that this new PLP Government is in power to help them advance their station in life and advance the tourism product of the Bahamas.

We in the government are committed to bringing about a first world experience to our tourists who don’t want to travel half way around the world for an exotic adventure. It is the transportation professional that has always been an integral part of making the tourism experience, dignified, profitable and rewarding. And now the chances of that finally being sustained can be found in the new PLP Government and legislation such as this one designed to help the transportation professional move the country forward.

I invite all transportation professionals to join in with the government in making the Bahamas the stop off point that we’ve always wanted it to be.

ON BEHALF OF THE GREAT CONSTITUENCY OF BAIN & GRANTS TOWN, I THANK YOU MR. SPEAKER.