Posted by The PM on July 08, 2001 at 12:22:07:
In Reply to: News from the other islands posted by Sen. Fred Mitchell on July 02, 2001 at 17:39:28:
Mitchell:
What is happening on Mayaguana boy?
PM
: because of sharks in the waters. The useless Minister of Immigration Earl Deveaux had this to say about it on Tuesday 26
: June: "While the country sympathizes and acknowledges the plight of the Haitian immigrants, The Bahamas' first priority lies
: elsewhere, first to The Bahamas and to the Bahamian people. Haiti has had billions of dollars fraudulently abused, but unless
: this issue is addressed these people will continue to leave home." There is nothing like the obvious to sound so profound out of
: the mouth of an FNM Minister of the Government. Caricom has no more important issue than the Haitian problem to discuss.
: This is all the more so since Haiti is a member of Caricom. President Jean Bertrand Aristide is coming to The Bahamas for the
: conference. All Bahamian political groups should attempt to see President Aristide and impress upon him the need for a
: political and economic solution in Haiti. The U.S. and other aid donors have made it clear that unless there is some movement
: toward true political pluralism in Haiti there is going to be no aid to his Government. One can't be sure if this is shooting us in
: the foot. The Bahamas needs the assistance of the international community to solve this problem. Both the Immigration
: Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister can't be stating the obvious. They must together work assiduously and actively to keep
: this issue on the front burner, otherwise we will continue to see the kinds of tragedies unfold like we had in Rum Cay.
:
: THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE MEETS
: In our system when Committees of the House are appointed, whether standing committees or
: select committees, the Government has a built in majority on those committees. That means on
: a usual five-member committee, the Government will usually have three members and the
: Opposition two members. Not so the Public Accounts committee. The Public Accounts
: Committee has a built in majority for the Opposition. It was used to good effect in the past
: when the FNM was in position, it called Richard Demeritte, the then auditor general for the
: position on the Government accounts. Now Perry Christie, the Leader of the Opposition who
: sits with Bradley Roberts MP PLP Grants Town and Philip Galanis (PLP) Englerston as a part
: of the Public Accounts Committee have convened the Committee. The FNM members are two
: dissident FNMs, Elliot Lockhart the Member for Exuma and Anthony Miller, the Member for South Eleuthera. The
: Committee met on Tuesday 25 June. They met for four hours to examine the allegations against Frank Watson, the Deputy
: Prime Minister. You will remember that Bradley Roberts the MP for Grants Town made certain allegations about Mr.
: Watson. He said that Mr. Watson's company had bounced cheques with the Customs Department. The cheques were signed
: by Mr. Watson. He said that the cheques were not made good until Mr. Watson became the Minister of Works in the new
: FNM Government in 1992. It was done by giving contracts to various cronies of Mr. Watson and then the moneys deducted
: from those contracts to make good the bounced cheques. Mr. Roberts called on Mr. Watson to resign. Inside the FNM,
: there is great consternation about this. Backbenchers share the view that if Brent Symonette had to resign, then Frank Watson
: who is alleged to have done something much worse cannot continue to stand as a Minister of the Government. Of course, we
: know that Mr. Watson is the 's man. Remember Mr. Ingraham said that Frank was the only man he could trust.
: We will see when the Public Accounts Committee has reported how far he will trust him from then. The first witness was the
: Treasurer for the country. The committee adjourned after four hours and is to meet again when the Treasurer returns with more
: information for the Committee. The Treasurer was asked to explain the procedure on how cheques are processed in the
: Treasury. Also to come before the Committee is acting auditor general.
: NIKI KELLY ON BRENT'S RESIGNATION
: The Opposition political community is more and more pleased with Niki Kelly. She is relentless in her
: investigative reporting. We keep wondering when The Tribune who hates the PLP editorially will try
: to clip her wings. So far Tribune Publisher Eileen Carron has defended Ms. Kelly's right to say what
: she wants, although the Carrons do not agree with what she writes. But we want to make it clear that
: should the PLP become the Government we would expect the same thorough examination of the
: PLP's public policy. What Ms. Kelly does is absolutely essential to good public policy. That said,
: Ms. Kelly had an interesting take on the Hubert Ingraham's double standard when it
: comes to the resignation of Brent Symonette who is white and Frank Watson, who most people
: believe is Black. Said Ms. Kelly: "In view of the recent revelations involving Nassau Transfers, it is
: hypocritical of Mr. Ingraham to demand a level of accountability from Mr. Symonette that he is not prepared to demand of Mr.
: Watson." Then Ms. Kelly quotes from the Prime Minister speaking of Mr. Symonette's resignation. The said that
: it was "a reality and a requirement that those who are involved in public life be and appear to be, above reproach in the
: conduct of the people's business and interest, and duty must not appear to conflict." Ms. Kelly concluded: "I don't know how
: Mr. Ingraham could utter those words with a straight face. Or is this yet another example of our double standards - this time
: based on race?" Well said. And the irony of the comment is that the that he is would only use the fact that he has
: fired Brent Symonette who is white to try and fool the Bahamian public that the PLP's stories about him being overly pro-white
: are not true. The reality is that a day after accepting Brent's resignation, Mr. Ingraham showed his true colours by saying that
: Brent's action was not a bar to return to public life.
: MISS BAHAMAS PAGEANT IN TROUBLE
: After such a stunning success in the most recent Miss Universe pageant with our contestant, Miss Bahamas Nakera Simms
: winning Miss Congeniality, it came as a shock to the country the news that the Miss Universe licence or franchise has been
: withdrawn from the Miss Bahamas Beauty Pageant Committee. Up to Tuesday 26 June, Agatha Watson who chairs the
: beauty pageant committee could only confirm that the franchise has been withdrawn but could not say why, except that it might
: be related to a dispute over fees.
: INGRAHAM ON AIDS
: The Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham spoke at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday 25 June.
: This time it was as a contributor to the important forum on HIV/AIDS and what to do about it. Mr. Ingraham on behalf of The
: Bahamas endorsed the call of Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, for a world fund to deal with the disease. We agree that the
: funding is important. But what is Mr. Ingraham going to do for The Bahamas? Will the Bahamas give money to the fund?
: There was no sign in the speech. But he also has to work on public education in The Bahamas and more aggressively. The
: society continues to bury its head in the sand on this issue. AIDS must also be at the top of the agenda after the Haitian
: problem with other Caribbean leaders who must work to curb the homophobia in their societies, the principle obstacle to
: tackling AIDS as a problem. The disease is still seen as mainly a homosexual man's disease or as the Jamaicans say a disease
: for "chi-chi men". While they believe that, the fact is that teenage girls in our societies are the ones who suffer the most from
: the disease on the basis of proportional representation with a five per cent threshold. Let us know what you think about the PLP's
: proposals.
: SENATOR MELANIE GRIFFIN ON DUMP SCANDAL
:
: The Government finds itself in another scandal in the Ministry of Health. Senator Melanie Griffin, speaking in the Senate during
: the Budget debate last week, accused the Ministry of Health of endangering the environment of the country by using unsafe
: practices at the dumpsite. Senator Ronnie Knowles must be made to fully account
: for misleading the Senate in denying Senator Griffin's claims.
: JAMEICA DUNCOMBE ON THE GOLF ASSOCIATION
: The young golf pro Jameica Duncombe is angry and upset with the Bahamas Golf Federation. She is now 18 and
: says that she is sick of being treated like a child. Her response was published on 27 June. The response was
: quoted by Brent Stubbs, The Tribune sports reporter. Ms. Duncombe was upset because of a seemingly casual
: remark made by Ambrose Gouthro, President of the Golf Federation. He was asked why Ms. Duncombe was
: not selected to play for this year's Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship on the Bahamian team. He said that
: she did not seem to have any interest in playing with the team. Ms. Duncombe's response: "I don't appreciate the
: comments they made at all. If they would have contacted me, they would have found out why I won't be able to
: play this year. Firstly, right now I'm in summer school and I have sessions all summer long. I decided to concentrate on my
: studies this year and play less golf because I want to play more golf next year. And secondly, when I came home during spring
: break, I brought a guest with me and I found it most embarrassing that I couldn't get the opportunity to play on one of golf
: courses and nobody stood up for me. Ms. Duncombe was referring to an attempt to play on the Paradise Island Golf course,
: newly refurbished, where she played as junior. She was refused because she did not have membership, said to cost $50,000.
: She was not allowed to practice there. This is an interesting matter. You see we as a country always rally around these folk
: when they win and bring glory to the country, but we do not want to make the necessary sacrifices to help them along the way.
: Ambrose Gouthro probably meant no real harm with the comment but it bears trying to heal these wounds. (Tribune photo)
: CHARLES CARTER'S NEW RADIO STATION
: The Tribune says that former PLP MP, Minister and Senate Leader Charles Carter has started test broadcasts of his new radio
: station Island Broadcasting at 102.9 FM. Mr. Carter said that his station is expected to appeal to a more mature audience and
: will not be a 'teeny bopper' station. We wish Mr. Carter well. Full time broadcasting begins in August. Charles Carter
: resigned his seat in the Senate in 1993 because he was prohibited in law from getting a licence to broadcast as long as he was
: an active politician.
: ROYAL WEDDING TO RICHA SANDS AND AFRICAN KING
: The Bahamas Faith Ministries has reportedly written to the Richa Sands and her fiancé King Francois Ayi Foli- Bebe of Togo
: and told the couple that that the wedding of the couple could not be accommodated at Bahamas Faith Ministries Diplomat
: Centre on Carmichael Road. The wedding is now to take place on 7 July at Golden Gates Church of Bishop Ross Davis. The
: move of site reportedly is related to the fact that a donation of million dollars was to be given to Bahamas Faith Ministries by
: the King and the donation never materialized. The news was said to have devastated Miss Sands. It should be noted that the
: letter from Bahamas Faith Ministries spoke of "not enough planning," and "not enough time" but one would think that because
: Ms. Sands is a tithe-paying member of BFM surely she should have privilege of being married there, independent of anything
: he husband to be did or did not do for the church.
: RAINY NASSAU
:
: The weather office called it a 'tropical wave' which produced a line of squalls. Whatever you call it there was a lot of rain in
: Nassau this past week. 6.75 inches of rain fell on New Providence Wednesday 27 June. The following day, electricity was off
: for long periods across the island. One clap of thunder BEC did not disappoint. The Tribune showed this photo of a
: Dowdeswell street shopkeeper sweeping out the rain.
: NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA
: Immediate Response - As promised top ZNS newsman Darrold Miller took his popular call-in show 'Immediate Response'
: on the road to Grand Bahama this past week. Callers to Thursday and Friday's shows left no doubt whatsoever: the FNM is in
: serious trouble in Grand Bahama and the words 'economic boom in Freeport' are a political no no.
: They Just Wouldn't Say It - Despite many tries, Darrold just couldn't get any of his guests to utter the words "Yes, there is
: an economic boom in Freeport." Not Eight Mile Rock FNM MP Pastor Lindy Russell, not Chief Freeport City Councillor
: Burton Miller, not even Grand Bahama Port Authority spokesman and heir apparent Barry Malcolm. The callers were just too
: mad. Just too outraged at the many wrongs now going on against Bahamians in the 'magic city'.
: C.A. Bashed - On one of the shows, the suggestion was made that Minister C.A. Smith might be potential leader of the
: FNM. A well-known and respected FNM general immediately called up to say "C.A. better not lead anything because he
: would sell this country out from under the feet of the Bahamian people…" As if Hubert Ingraham is already doing just that.
: Maurice Moore, a guest on that show (see following story) tried to quiet the FNM general who replied: "I will shame C.A.
: anywhere I catch him because he doesn't look out for Bahamians." Later in the week, one of C.A. erstwhile generals contacted
: this site to say "Let all the people who he has been helping vote for C.A. because none of them can even vote!... if Hubert don't
: take that [expletives deleted] out then the people of Pineridge will do it."
: No Unnecessary Baggage - Our insiders tell us that while meeting with his MPs just hours before his address to the nation,
: Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham warned them that he would go into the General Election with no unnecessary baggage. We
: wonder what that means...
: FNM's 'First Born' Calls For New Leader - Maurice Moore, founding member of the FNM, former High Rock MP,
: Minister of Government and Ambassador for The Bahamas, has called on his party to choose a new leader before the General
: Election. Mr. Moore, considered in Grand Bahama as the 'first born' of the FNM, raised eyebrows among party faithful in
: Grand Bahama recently when he made no secret of his support for dissident FNM MP and would-be leader Tennyson Wells,
: squiring Mr. Wells around town during several visits here. Moore, who retains considerable support in Grand Bahama and
: within the FNM, has been put out to pasture by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.
: Leader-elect Call Gathers Strength - "Prime Minister Ingraham is an honourable and honourable men do honourable things
: and August 2002 is not an honourable thing and totally unacceptable." This from once staunch supporters of soon to be former
: Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham in Grand Bahama. News From Grand Bahama was told that Mr. Ingraham is in the habit of
: taking over forty calls early each morning from various generals around the country and that since his address to the nation
: about staying on the phones have stopped ringing. "Many generals see that the people and have started to hitch their wagons to
: new horses."
: Lindy Bails Out - EMR MP Pastor Lindy Russell was so shocked by his reception during the first hour of 'Immediate
: Response' that he refused to return for the second half of the show. His repeated excuse to callers concerns was that he "didn't
: know" or that he "wasn't aware" of Bahamians were being displaced everywhere in the new Freeport economy.
: Bahamians Out - Cubans Stay - A Bahamian band working at the 'Our Lucaya' hotel complex is currently employed for
: one day a week and has now been given notice of termination. Meanwhile, a Cuban band working at the same property
: remains fully employed. Whose Lucaya is it anyway? The musicians complained to no avail that this is The Bahamas and
: Bahamians ought to be first in their country. After 45 years in the hospitality industry glass ceilings are being created over
: Bahamians all around Freeport with many stuck as mere supervisors with glorified names while imports fill the lucrative and
: powerful jobs.
: Severance By The Month - Some weeks ago, we reported the termination of Resorts at Bahamia Training Officer Vernell
: Butler. Downsizing or 'right-sizing' they said. We charged that it was simply a decision to save money of which the hotel's
: owners - the Driftwood Group - were in short supply. Now we can report that Ms. Butler is said to be receiving severance
: pay by the month. And, get this, a new training officer has been appointed; this one an expatriate said to be closely related to
: one of the principals of the Driftwood group. Sources say that this person was brought out of retirement to displace a
: Bahamian. A favourite saying of Minister of Tourism Tommy Turnquest seems to apply: "That cannot be right."
: Gerrymandering High Rock - We reported previously that a piece of the Lucaya constituency was to be taken over to High
: Rock in an effort to gerrymander assistance for High Rock FNM MP Minister Kenneth Russell. Sources now tell News From
: Grand Bahama that the piece in question is an area known as Royal Bahamian Estates. The trouble is that hundred upon
: hundreds of the voters in this upscale community trust the PLP's candidate Dr. Marcus Bethel with their health, indeed, their
: very lives. So what's a vote, compared to a life? Good try, guys.
: How Do We Know? Bitter complaints have been coming from Freeport FNMS into News From Grand Bahama about the
: sources of our information. "You guys have stuff on the website that we don't even hear until weeks later and it turns out to be
: true," carped one FNM insider, "It has got to stop." What can we say?
: Geneva Rutherford Does It Again - Less than two weeks ago, Senator Geneva Rutherford gave a speech at a high school
: graduation exercise in Freeport. The speech was long and pitched way above the heads of the students. Many complained to
: us about the speech, but - figuring that it is the political season after all - we said nothing. Now, would be candidate
: Rutherford has gone and given the same speech all over again at yet another graduation exercise. Someone must take her aside
: and tell her that the voters of Pineridge (if she and Mr. Ingraham succeed in denying C.A. Smith his nomination) won't stand
: still for erudite posturing that doesn't address their concerns. Or maybe she just needs a better speechwriter.
: Coaches Fight - In a disgraceful display in what not to show children about resolving conflict, two track coaches came to
: blows at this past weekend's Bahamas Games trials in Grand Bahama. Student athletes watched in amazement as the coaches
: rolled on the ground in their mindless aggression. The situation developed after interventions from other coaches, parents and at
: least one major financial backer of children's sports were unsuccessful. "All over foolishness and egos," said one parent.
: Unfortunately, Churchill Tener-Knowles, head of the Grand Bahama Sports Council and known as peacemaker, was not
: present during the altercation. No word on whether the Council intends to deal with the incident. We shall see.