BPC Shares tumbled after the surprise announcement that the government was suspending consideration of exploration licences in The Bahamas

Govt's "no to oil" shock hits BPC shares
By SCOTT ARMSTRONG
Guardian Business Editor
scott@nasguard.com
twitter.com/guardianbiz:



Shares in the company dedicated to drilling for oil in The Bahamas have tumbled after the surprise announcement that the government was suspending consideration of exploration licences.

BPC was due tomorrow to change its name to Bahamas Petroleum Company, and had expressed its desire to be listed on the BISX so that shares in the company could be sold domestically. BPC believes there could be as much as$12 billion in oil revenue underneath Bahamian waters waiting to be brought up, specifically in the area called Cay Sal Bank.

The company estimates that an oil industry could create around 15,000 jobs for The Bahamas, and to that end teamed up with Norwegian oil giant Statoil, insisting their partner had created the highest safety standard in the world for drilling, one which every other exploration would soon be forced to follow in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico spill.

But despite the assurance that The Bahamas had the'safest'company on board, the Minister for the Environment Dr. Earl Deveaux yesterday put on hold the exploration licence process, saying the government wanted to make sure it had a stringent set of environmental rules in place before it considered applications, and added it would also review all existing licences.

In the wake of that announcement shares in BPC, which owns five exploration licences in Bahamian waters to the east of Florida and Cuba, fell by 27 percent from 4.08 pence to 2.98 pence on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market(AIM).

That took the estimated value of the company from$45 million to$39.4 million.

The move by The Bahamas follows the U.S. issue of a six-month ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in July, after the explosion of a BP well caused the world's worst offshore oil accident.

BPC is reported to have said it would continue to analyse seismic data on its existing licences as it has not yet established a definitive drilling program.

A report on Reuters quoted the company as saying that drilling on BPC's Bahamian acreage did not face the same geological risks as those found in the Gulf of Mexico.

A spokesperson for Statoil told Reuters said the company was viewing the suspension as a"postponement".

BPC believes there could be multiple 500 million barrel fields in the 2.5 million acres it wants to explore.

Deveaux said yesterday: "The Ministry of the Environment has suspended consideration of all applications for oil exploration and drilling in the waters of The Bahamas. The ministry seeks, by this decision, to maintain and safeguard an unpolluted marine environment for The Bahamas notwithstanding the potential financial benefits of oil exploration.

"We are not seeking to interfere with any existing licenses and the people who have licenses know of the policy. The recent events showed us that(a)oil if it is to be found, will likely be in the marine environment and(b)we want to maintain an unpolluted environment.

"And so before we explore for oil we want to have the most stringent environmental protocols in place."

9/1/2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamas Government has suspended the consideration process for all oil exploration and drilling applications...

Govt suspends consideration process for oil exploration
By TANEKA THOMPSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
tthompson@tribunemedia.net:



GOVERNMENT has suspended the consideration process for all oil exploration and drilling applications until the country has stringent environmental protocols in place to mitigate against a catastrophic oil well leak.

According to Environment Minister Earl Deveaux, the new stipulation comes in response to British Petroleum's (BP) devastating oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico - which threatened fragile marine ecosystems and fishing industries - and the large volume of oil exploration applications inundating the government.

"The Ministry of the Environment has suspended consideration of all applications for oil exploration and drillings in the waters of the Bahamas. The ministry seeks, by this decision, to maintain and safeguard an unpolluted marine environment for the Bahamas notwithstanding the potential financial benefits of oil explorations," said a statement released by Dr Deveaux yesterday.

The release added that all existing licenses will be reviewed to ascertain any legal entitlement for renewal.

"We are not seeking to interfere with any existing licenses and the people who have licenses know of the policy. The recent events showed us that (a) oil if it is to be found, will likely be in the marine environment and (b) we want to maintain an unpolluted environment.

"And so before we explore for oil we want to have the most stringent environmental protocols in place," said Mr Deveaux when asked to clarify this point yesterday.

BPC Ltd recently partnered with Norwegian oil heavyweight Statoil to search for oil in some 2.5 million acres in Cay Sal Bank and hold five licenses for oil exploration. The government has not issued any licenses for oil drilling in Bahamian waters.

Environment Permanent Secretary Ronald Thompson said that while the ministry has yet to draft the necessary safety protocols, government will frame its future policies around existing ones from other countries.

"We haven't drafted any but there are ones that are in existence in other places where oil is currently being harvested or explored. We will in short order review all of those and come up with what we think will be the best (policies) for the Bahamas," said Mr Thompson.

Deepwater Horizon's oil rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers, and leaking an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil from BP's underwater well.

Yesterday's statement said that calamity underscored the need for precautions.

"Given recent events involving oil exploration and the efforts to prevent pollution, this prudent safeguard is essential to preserving the most vital natural resource of the Bahamas - its environment," said the statement.

Speaking to The Tribune, Mr Deveaux said more stringent protocols could have prevented BP's disaster. "Everything we learned about BP suggests that there were a few mishaps that could have been avoided," he said.

In May, Dr Deveaux said it would be "impractical and unreasonable" for the Bahamas to shy away from oil exploration or drilling as a consequence of the environmentally devastating oil leak off the coast of the US state of Louisiana.

"The world is not going to shy away from oil because of this accident. This is not the first or the last," he said at the time.

He also said earlier that proper management of resources would be vital to any oil discovery in Bahamian waters.

August 31, 2010

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International

Perry Christie: Brent Symonette's utterances on his administration's immigration policy have been quite confusing

PLP CALLS FOR CONSISTENT IMMIGRATION POLICY

By CANDIA DAMES
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com



The time has long passed for the Ingraham administration to articulate a clear and consistent immigration policy, according to Opposition Leader Perry Christie.

Christie's comments came in an interview with The Nassau Guardian after Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette, who has ministerial responsibility for immigration, said in a statement that apprehension exercises will resume September 1.

A day earlier, he had said there were no plans to restart apprehensions.

Christie said Symonette's utterances on his administration's immigration policy have been quite confusing.

"It seems to me that the deputy prime minister does not have a grasp of his portfolio, given the confusion that he is bringing about in the different statements that he is making as to the intention of the ministry(of immigration)with respect to illegal immigrants,"Christie said.

"It appears that he is now being directed by persons from outside of that ministry--either the Cabinet or some other force[perhaps]the prime minister--in terms of how he is looking in his pronouncements and there is a need to become more consistent in articulating the policy. And so that has resulted in a comical kind of development in one of the most pressing and urgent issues confronting the country."

Symonette faced similar controversy relating to his portfolio earlier this year when he contradicted Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's announced policies that undocumented Haitian migrants who came to The Bahamas after the January earthquake in Haiti would be charged before the courts with illegal landing.

Asked by The Nassau Guardian what would happen to a group of Haitian migrants who landed in The Bahamas not long after, Symonette said they would most likely be released.

Within hours they were taken to court and charged with illegal landing. The migrants were later repatriated.

Christie said there are various important reasons why a clear immigration policy must be outlined.

"It is very, very important that the country has articulated for it the policy of The Bahamas government with respect to the illegal immigration situation here in The Bahamas, especially at a time when we are discussing the proposed Baha Mar development, which contemplates thousands of work permits which already, I think, embraces the full understanding that immigrants are now a full part of the construction force in the country and that if we are going to in fact have the maximum benefit of a Baha Mar development, it has to take into consideration the government's policy as it is now working and as it will affect the construction industry,"he said.

"The Bahamas, faced with the level of unemployment, which is in itself related to the increasing crime, needs to have a clear, and coherent policy which we all can embrace and that is what we call upon the minister of immigration to do, to get it right with his colleagues and then come to the country and articulate a policy that makes sense to the country and one in which the community of immigrants who have become(legal)residents of our country can also themselves be a part of enforcing."

The Opposition leader recognized that successive administrations have been faced with the politics of immigration. He said immigration policies sometimes result in fear and concern and the loss of support among an increasing voting bloc--the Haitian community.

"This is a very difficult subject that at the best of times governments walk gingerly in dealing with issues relating to immigration, but it is an incredibly serious issue that will impact the future of our country and we need to have unanimity among the political directorate. There ought to be no division between the parties on what the policy of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas is,"Christie said."We need to be able to agree on an issue of that kind, to discuss it nationally and agree because it is an incredibly serious issue and one that is not going away. And the longer we take to be strong and bring our national will to bear on this problem it's going to continue to get worse, and we are going to rue the day that we delayed and procrastinated on having an immigration policy that can be strictly enforced with the concurrence of the population of our country."On August 16, Symonette issued a statement saying:"Persons who are found to be in The Bahamas illegally will be repatriated forthwith."

He said Thursday that in the interest of allowing illegal migrants who wished to leave immediately and voluntarily to do so, the government has allowed for a brief period of voluntary repatriation.

The current debate on illegal immigration was sparked by the change in immigration policy announced by the prime minister in the wake of the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince in January. But the immigration issue has long been a controversial one.

Under the Christie administration, then Blue Hills MP Leslie Miller had warned that the illegal immigration problem was a ticking time bomb.

8/28/2010

thenassauguardian

Brent Symonette: Illegal immigrant apprehension exercises will resume September 1, 2010

Brent Symonette: Illegal immigrant apprehension exercises set to resume
tribune242



THE Department of Immigration will resume illegal immigrant apprehension exercises on September 1 after a grace period for voluntary repatriation ends, said Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Brent Symonette.

In a statement released recently, the minister aimed to clear up the "confusion" over his ministry's repatriation and apprehension policies while maintaining that he has always been consistent in his remarks on the issue.

"There appears to have been some confusion relative to comments I made in an interview with the media on August 25 as to the time frame for the resumption of apprehension exercises of illegal immigrants from the Republic of Haiti or any other country," said Mr Symonette, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister.

"On August 16, I issued a statement noting: 'Persons who are found to be in the Bahamas illegally will be repatriated forthwith'.

"In the interest of allowing illegal immigrants who wished to leave immediately and voluntarily to do so, the government has allowed for a brief period of voluntary repatriation. That period will end on August 31. Apprehension exercises will resume as of September 1, consistent with my statement of August 16 relative to the resumption of such exercises.

Mr Symonette said his August 16 statement reminded the public of the government's long-standing policy with respect to illegal entry into the Bahamas.

"Having regard to the recent heightened infringement of Bahamas immigration law, notice is hereby given that with immediate effect, all illegal immigrants are requested to leave the Bahamas voluntarily.

"All persons who are here illegally are in contravention of the laws of the Bahamas, and are advised to return to their country of origin or be subject to apprehension and deportation.

"I also wish to recall the humanitarian decision of the Bahamas in suspending for a short period both apprehension and repatriation exercises following the devastating earthquake in Haiti in January of this year," said the August 16 statement.

Since a cataclysmic earthquake devastated Haiti's capital city, the Bahamas has resumed repatriation exercises for illegal immigrants from that country.

Over the past six months, 772 Haitian and 183 Jamaican nationals have been repatriated to the Republic of Haiti and Jamaica respectively.


tribune242

Bahamas Blog International

Kenyatta Gibson has not been performing - say Nine out of nine Kennedy constituents interviewed

Is Your MP Performing: Kennedy Constituents Displeased With MP
By NIKIA DEVEAUX:



Nine out of nine residents interviewed in the Kennedy constituency recently said their Member of Parliament, Kenyatta Gibson has not been performing.

While the constituents refused to give their names to the Bahama Journal, they minced no words when revealing that Mr. Gibson has made no positive changes in the community since he took his seat as the MP for Kennedy.

Some of the constituents had unique concerns, but whether their cry was that there are no programmes in place to assist the youth or that they need jobs, the nine constituents polled all agreed that Mr. Gibson is "never around."

"Kenyatta Gibson? I’ve never seen him around, and I’ve been living here since 1987. I don’t know if he happens to come around every time I’m not home, but all I can say is that I’ve never seen him in the area," said a man who only wanted to be identified as Mr. Mitchell.

Another constituent added: "Kenyatta? Well actually I don’t even know who he is to be honest. I’ve only heard the name from people around here. But me, I don’t know him. He’s not doing anything around here."

An elderly woman who has been living in the area for decades shared similar sentiments.

"He hasn’t done anything. Not a thing. The last time I saw him was when we put him in the House of Assembly and that was it. Since then I haven’t seen him," she said.

A second elderly woman who referred to herself as ‘Big Mama of Kennedy’ agreed and said she has not seen Mr. Gibson in the area since he became the MP.

While several of the residents simply complained about what Mr. Gibson is failing to do in the constituency, there were others who offered suggestions that they believe could make him a better representative.

"Just come around more often. Show your face and talk with the people; find out what’s going on with your constituents," a man who identified himself as Mr. Smith suggested.

"If you go riding around the area you will see children in the road. There’s nothing for them to do. I feel the MP should come up with some programmes or something for them to occupy their time and keep them from doing negative things," said a concerned constituent.

A young mother of one said the area’s main problem is the lack of jobs. She said Mr. Gibson should be doing what he can to change that.

"All of the young boys around here can’t find a job, and it’s been that way for years. I’m sure there’s some way Kenyatta can help them," she said.

Mr. Gibson resigned from the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in January 2008.

A year later he crossed the floor to join the Free National Movement (FNM).

In the aftermath, many political pundits and parliamentarians criticised the move, accusing the Kennedy MP of committing "political fraud" and turning his back on his constituents.

While some people said the move played a part in their rating of Mr. Gibson, others said it had no effect.

"It’s a big concern of ours. He changed a whole party and didn’t even come around to explain anything to the constituents. Someone could have come around and said ‘this is what happened and this is why I made my decision’," said an enraged resident who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"We found out about the whole situation from the television. What message does that send to us?"

Her neighbour, however, disagreed and added that as long as an MP has the people in mind his or her party choice should not matter.

"We should be voting for the man or woman we want to represent us. He has the right to choose what party he wants to be with. If I put you there to represent me, just make sure you do that. FNM, PLP or whatever…just represent me," she said.

For some constituents it is too late for Mr. Gibson to regain their trust, but others say there is still time for him to get his act together.

At the end of the day Kennedy constituents said they are ready for a representative – whoever it may be – who will make a change in the area.

August 26th, 2010

jonesbahamas

Bahamas Blog International

Optimistic that the Attorney General's office will eventually restore the confidence of Bahamians in their judicial system

New hope for the Attorney General's office
tribune242 editorial




OVER THE years there has been agitation -- especially from Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell -- for an all Bahamian judiciary.

Today the judiciary up to the level of the Supreme Court -- with the exception of a foreign magistrate in Abaco and another in Freeport -- is all Bahamian. However, it has never been in a worse state of confusion than it is now. The public has certainly lost confidence in the once honourable judicial system as cases mount, crime grows, and more criminals are returned to the streets because an early trial cannot be guaranteed them.

These are some of the many problems with which John Delaney, QC, the newly appointed Attorney General, is faced and which he eventually will have to solve. He has to track cases that should have been dealt with years ago, but were just allowed to slip under the blotter and get "lost." He has to deal with persons on bail who would probably be behind bars if their cases had been dealt with in a timely manner. However, because of an apparent lack of expert management in the office of the attorney general these persons with criminal records and pending trials are still roaming the streets and creating fear in the community.

In his contribution to the Budget debate in the Senate on June 23, Mr Delaney, after emphasizing that his department "has able and dedicated counsel at various levels for the prosecution of criminal cases, some of whom shoulder a disproportionate load relative to others at their level," pointed to his department's gravest problem. "However," he told senators, "an apparent inadequacy of senior managerial-level direction, control, operational focus and discipline over a number of years have left this department compromised in providing the appropriate level and quality of response needed to meet the demands it has faced and continues to face within the criminal justice system."

To get cases moving the Judicial Legal Service Commission appointed Mrs Vinette Graham Allen, a Jamaican, as Director of Public Prosecutions. Mrs Graham Allen, who has an outstanding record of managing and moving cases efficiently, took up her post this month. She has had senior management experience in Jamaica's Department of Public Prosecutions as its Deputy Director. She was Director of Bermuda's Department of Public Prosecutions, and Director and Principal of Jamaica's Justice Training Institute, where she was responsible for designing, developing, organising, coordinating and conducting training programmes in Justice administration.

She ran into difficulty in Bermuda where Bermudians were agitating for a local rather than a foreigner to head the DPP's department. As we understand it Bermuda has a similar problem to the Bahamas, and probably the efficiency of Mrs Graham Allen rattled too many slow-moving bones into unaccustomed action to get cases moving. Whatever the problem, when Mrs Graham Allen left Bermuda there were only 15 cases left of the 600 she found gathering dust on her arrival. This is just the kind of effort the Bahamas is looking for, and apparently, our Bahamian lawyers in the Attorney General's office also want this type of leadership and are cooperating with her so that cases can start moving through the system more efficiently. This is all the public wants -- there are too many unhealthy rumours about certain cases that have been pushed aside and seemingly forgotten.

It would seem that Mr Delaney's focus will be on current cases first to remove the concern of magistrates and judges over the question of bail. If the Attorney General's office can deal with accused persons without long adjournments, magistrates will no longer have to consider the length of time an accused has to remain in prison awaiting trial. There will then be no reason for magistrates to grant bail in serious cases.

Mr Delaney told the Senate that he was informed that 47 cases were processed for the year 2009 and 24 cases so far for 2010. "Giving the number of pending cases, on the one hand," he observed, "and the constitutional imperative of a fair trial within a reasonable period of time, on the other, the question of bail for persons charged with an offence becomes an issue." He said there were about 130 persons now out on bail for murder related offences.

"The processing of cases and the bail situation must be improved," he told the Senate, "and this government is determined to do all within its power to cause improvement."

It is going to take a long time because there is much to be done, but we are confident that Mr Delaney, with his new DPP, supported by deputy directors, Franklyn Williams and Garvin Gaskin, and their hard working legal staff -- a department of about 22 lawyers -- will eventually restore the confidence of Bahamians in their judicial system.

August 26, 2010

tribune242 editorial

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamas Immigration Dilemma

The Immigration Dilemma
By JUAN MCCARTNEY
Guardian Senior Reporter
juan@nasguard.com:

Back in the 1980s when the name Loftus Roker, then minister responsible for immigration, was spoken in the Haitian community, it was done so in hushed tones with an underlying sense of impending doom.

Illegal and legal Haitian migrants, adults and children alike feared Roker. And for good reason.

During Roker's heyday many in the Haitian community referred to him as"Daddy".

And many of those same Haitian migrants were constantly looking over their shoulders, fretting that'Daddy'and his team of eager immigration officers might swoop in at any time or place at schools, at the hospital, at church, in the middle of the night and have them swiftly back on Haitian soil.

Just as many Haitians feared Roker, many Bahamians at the time considered him a savior come to rid The Bahamas of undesirable aliens who"messed up their own country and were now coming to take over ours".

Conversely, there were those Bahamians who viewed Roker's reign at immigration as one of terror.

The Roker style is not in practice today.

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, when asked by a reporter a couple of years ago if the Department of Immigration should conduct raids'Roker-style', replied:"We are not of that ilk."

While there is no denying Roker's zeal and popular appeal at the time, in the end it should be noted that Roker was about as effective as every other minister of immigration The Bahamas has ever seen; which is to say that he was not very effective at all.

Nothing Roker did actually helped stem the tide of illegal Haitian migrants into the country. Illegal Haitian migrants as they have been doing for the past 30 years still flock to our shores today.

Fast-forward to the 21st Century, when just recently, Immigration and Royal Bahamas Defence Force(RBDF)officials(with some help from the United States Coast Guard)apprehended over 500 illegal migrants within several days.

Five-hundred Haitian men, women and children paid what would be considered a vast amount in their home country to cram like sardines into unseaworthy vessels, with little food or water and a high probability of drowning in a summer of record heat, in search of a better way of life.

One would recall the case of an alleged murderer reportedly of Haitian descent, who eluded police several years ago only to be recaptured upon trying to reenter the country at a Family Island port.

When recaptured, the young man reportedly told police that he had been hiding in Haiti, but things were so rough in that country that finding food on a daily basis was never assured. He reportedly told police that he knew that if he were imprisoned in The Bahamas, he would eat every day.

That a man facing the death penalty would reportedly utter such comments, also speaks volumes about our justice system, but immigration policies are the focus at the moment.

The point is that illegal Haitian migrants come here unabated, knowing the chance of being caught is slim and even if they are deported, they could always risk their lives again.

Many Haitians apparently believe they can enter The Bahamas almost at will. This may be because they are aware that like Roker, all immigration ministers in recent memory have subscribed to the policy of'round-up and repatriate'as the solution to the illegal immigration problem.

Round-ups(or apprehension exercises as the politically correct prefer to term them)alone have failed to solve the problem.

They are at best ineffective stopgap measures that have mainly been used as a publicity tool for the government.

But they are better than nothing.

How the administration of Prime Minister Ingraham has flip-flopped and mishandled the illegal Haitian migration issue since that devastating January 12 earthquake in Port-au-Prince would have been amusing to watch had the implications not been so serious.

First the government ceased repatriations and apprehension exercises in light of the earthquake. Then the government, in a move that prompted a firestorm of debate, released more than 100 illegal Haitian migrants from the Carmichael Road Detention Centre and gave the less than 60 former detainees who bothered to show up to register at the Department of Immigration, six months temporary status. To this day, the current status of those immigrants remains unclear.

From there the policy became even more muddled.

About two weeks after Ingraham declared the shift in policy, Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette(the substantive minister responsible for immigration)and the then junior immigration minister Branville McCartney had two different views on what should happen to a group of illegal Haitian migrants that landed in the Coral Harbour area of New Providence since Ingraham's announcement.

Symonette, who was interviewed as he was going into a Cabinet meeting, said the immigrants would"more than likely"be released.

Minutes later McCartney-who was not yet aware of what the senior minister had told reporters-said he planned to stick to the prime minister's previously stated policy of charging the immigrants with illegal landing before the courts.

Not long after that, Prime Minister Ingraham showed up and said that his policy of charging the immigrants still stood.

Ingraham's word of course superseded Symonette's and the immigrants were charged with illegal landing that day.

Little else was heard about illegal Haitian migrants since.

Now, after having done little for the past seven or so months, Symonette admits that there has been an uptick in illegal Haitian migration into The Bahamas and has urged that all illegal migrants turn themselves in to immigration officials to be returned home forthwith.

After Symonette communicated the words in English and Creole, a collective roar of laughter must have risen out of the Haitian community.

Does Symonette really expect Haitians who had come here illegally to all of a sudden do an about-face and volunteer to be returned home?

Surely not, considering that Symonette admits that apprehension exercises were still on hold and Director of Immigration Jack Thompson could up to last week give no firm timeline on when the exercises would resume.

And it is this ever-shifting, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants attitude as it regards Haitian migration since the beginning of the year that has conclusively shown that the current administration has never really had an actual workable plan with definable goals in place to deal with the issue.

And if we are mistaken and Prime Minister Ingraham and the Free National Movement actually have a plan in mind, then it seems that they lack the political will or courage to attempt its implementation.

Either way, this latest incarnation of the Ingraham administration, like all administrations since Independence, has failed the Bahamian people on the immigration front.

Ingraham's bark is worse than his bite

Some people criticize Ingraham for being too direct and gruff at times.

It's what some Bahamians would term as too"no manners".

Despite the'pit bull'persona Ingraham has generated, if you observe him carefully, you would see that at heart he is really a soft touch for those who find themselves particularly disadvantaged.

After Ingraham's 2002 referendum was rejected in spectacular fashion, he vowed that no more referenda would be held under his watch.

That referendum was rejected for numerous reasons: a terrible public awareness campaign; Ingraham's aggressive(and perhaps off-putting)selling of its agenda; an about-face by the Progressive Liberal Party(PLP), which voted for it in Parliament, but while on the campaign trail, advised Bahamians to shoot it down; and then there was the perception by many that the then government was trying to amend too much too fast.

If you watch the House of Assembly as intently as those in our profession do, you would sometimes catch Ingraham on the floor digressing in a retrospective manner about what he tried to do for women, for the tens of thousands of people out there who are technically Haitian but know no other home than The Bahamas.

Ingraham did try his best to bring some sort of major immigration reform, but in the end his best was not good enough and he seems to have still not fully gotten over that defeat.

But if that is the case, it's about time that he does.

The PLP not much better

True to form, the Opposition under the leadership of former Prime Minister Perry Christie has taken no clear position on the immigration issue since it once again became front and center earlier this year.

The Progressive Liberal Party(PLP)has sat idly by twiddling its thumbs in classic fashion, crying about non-consultation, hoping that the FNM will ultimately look so inept that the Bahamian people will give the party another shot at government.

Perhaps the issue is too big for the PLP, which has trouble making up its mind on various issues that have widespread implications--legalizing numbers, the marital rape issue, Baha Mar and Chinese labor to name a few.

The Opposition seems to be more suited to complaining about the landscaping of beaches, the direction of roads and the appointment of foreigners to public office.

Far be it from the PLP to actually propose an alternate immigration plan.

The only person in the Opposition who seems to have any focus on the issue is Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell, who while proposing no new ideas per se, at least has the issue on his radar.

Alas, Mitchell is even more of a soft touch than the prime minister.

Christie meantime has not shown a particularly keen interest in even acknowledging the problem.

Voices within the party that actually propose ideas about the issue such as former chairman Raynard Rigby are often met with derision.

That the PLP has not put the services of people as intelligent as Rigby(of which there are many in the party)to use in crafting a new national platform for the party, makes one wonder what, aside from ratifying candidates and throwing jeers at Cabinet members, has the party been doing for the past three years.

As the PLP learned when it was defeated amidst an economic boom in 2007, the Bahamian electorate is fickle.

The party must propose alternate solutions to the policies of the Ingraham administration if it is to set itself apart and regain the government.

Make the hard choices

Although the world and The Bahamas have made exponential progress in the past 30 years, little has changed since the 1980s regarding illegal migration.

The most notable immigration ministers since Roker have been Golden Gates MP Shane Gibson and Bamboo Town MP Branville McCartney, both of whom resigned in the midst of their respective tenures.

Gibson, who was widely compared to Roker in his aggressive approach, resigned amid the Anna Nicole-Smith scandal.

McCartney reportedly became fed up that Ingraham found his stance toward illegal Haitian migrants too aggressive and flashy.

Since McCartney's departure we are now left with Symonette, who seems to have too much on his plate.

He is the deputy prime minister, the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of immigration.

Tens of thousands of illegal migrants perhaps sit in shanty towns across the country mocking Symonette's recent hollow threat.

Ingraham seems content to leave this issue to the next generation of Bahamians.

Meantime, The Bahamas immigration policy cannot be clearly defined and the Bahamian people remain adrift in a sea of uncertainty, much like the Haitian sloops that depart Port-de-Paix and Cape Haitien, filled with human cargo in search of a better life.

However, the major difference between us and them is that the Haitians at least have some idea of their destination.

8/23/2010

thenassauguardian