Constitutional reform Pt. 1: ... ...After 39 years of constitutional practice in The Bahamas, it is now time that we examine our constitution ...to determine if it conforms to the demands and expectations of contemporary Bahamian society... ...Does the Bahamian constitution reflect the contemporary shared expectations and experiences of the Bahamian community today?

Constitutional reform Pt. 1

By Alfred Sears

On Wednesday, August 1, 2012, Prime Minister Perry Christie, in a communication to the House of Assembly, announced the appointment of a Constitutional Commission to review and recommend changes to the Constitution of The Bahamas, in advance of the 40th anniversary of Bahamian independence.  The commission is chaired by Mr. Sean McWeeney, Q.C. and the members include Mr. Loren Klein, a member and technical co-ordinator of the commission’s secretariat; Mr. Carl Bethel; Madam Justice Rubie Nottage (retired); Mr. Mark Wilson; Mr. Lester Mortimer; Mrs. Tara Cooper-Burnside; Professor Michael Stevenson; Dr. Olivia Saunders; Mr. Michael Albury; Ms. Chandra Sands; Ms. Brandace Duncanson and Mrs. Carla Brown-Roker.

The newly-appointed commission will be able to complete the constitutional review process that had been started by the Constitutional Commission, that had been appointed by Prime Minister Christie on the December 23, 2002, under the joint chairpersons Paul Adderley and Harvey Tynes, QC, but which process the government abandoned after the 2007 general election.

This series of 20 articles on constitutional reform in The Bahamas, parts of which were first published by The Nassau Guardian in 2000 and are now updated, is intended to engage the Bahamian community in public conversation about the constitution in a frank and constructive manner, in light of the changing shared experience and expectations of contemporary Bahamian society.

While I will examine the limitations of the constitution, I will also provide recommendations, informed by the experience of other constitutional democracies, to assist us in creating a more perfect democracy in The Bahamas.  It is my hope that these articles will encourage public discussion about our governmental structure, citizenship, fundamental rights, the independence of the judiciary, campaign finance reform, public contracts, the Privy Council, the death penalty, republican status and the need for more effective checks and balances in our system of government.

The Constitution of The Bahamas, framed during the early period of modernization in The Bahamas, concentrates too much power in the Office of the Prime Minister, discriminates against women; does not guarantee the right to vote, the freedom of the press, protection of the environment; and does not promote economic and social rights.

The American legal scholar, Professor Myres McDougal, asserted that a constitution should be “a living instrument, a dynamic and continuing process of communication, practices and decisions.  It is made and continually remade in response to the changing demands and expectations of the people under ever-changing conditions.  It should reflect not only the shared expectations of the original framers of the constitution, but also those of succeeding generations.  It should also reflect the contemporary shared expectations and experiences of community members today.”

The Bahamas Independence Order 1973, an act of the British Parliament, provides for The Bahamas to become an independent sovereign nation.  The constitution is actually the appendix to The Bahamas Independence Order 1973.  The representatives of the Bahamian people at the Constitutional Conference in London in December, 1972 comprised the following individuals: Sir Arthur Foulkes, Sir Orville A. Turnquest, Sir Lynden O. Pindling, Sir Clement Maynard, Arthur Hanna, Paul Adderley, Philip Bethel, George A. Smith, Loftus A. Roker, Cadwell Armbrister, Norman Solomon, Sir Milo Butler, Sir Kendal G.L. Isaacs, Mr. Carlton Francis and Mr. Henry Bowen.  These 15 men are collectively known as the framers of the Bahamian Constitution.  There were no Bahamian women represented at the Constitutional Conference of 1972.  Therefore, the review of the constitution will afford Bahamian women, for the first time in our history, an opportunity to be directly involved in the remaking of our constitution, as members of the Constitutional Commission, members of Parliament and electors in any referendum.

The form and structure of the Constitution of The Bahamas was patterned after the constitution of Jamaica of July 25, 1962, which was itself patterned after the Nigerian constitution of October 1, 1960, incorporating a bill of rights based on the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.  All of these constitutions were drafted under the supervision of the Colonial Office in London.  The heading of chapters, the numbering of the parts, and over 60 percent of the sentences, clauses, phrases and words used in the Bahamian Constitution are to be found in exact form in the constitution of Jamaica and the earlier constitutions of Nigeria and Sierra Leone.  Due to this Westminster constitutional model received by The Bahamas and other Caribbean countries, Professor Trevor Munroe, in his book “The Politics of Constitutional Decolonization: Jamaica 1944 to 1962”, argues that the real founding fathers of these constitutions were not the Nigerians, Jamaicans and Bahamians, but the British who promoted the model to their former colonies.  Similarly, the noted constitutional lawyer, Berthan Macaulay, QC, argued that the Westminster constitutional model is an attempt by the British to “implant the legal form, conventions and understandings and governmental history of an alien people into ex-colonial societies, and expect them to grow overnight without regard to the conventions, understandings and history of the local people... In their inflexible form these constitutions leave much room for those who seek absolute power, or whose goal is the achievement of almost unlimited power, in short, dictatorship.”

The present constitutional review will provide the entire Bahamian civil society an opportunity to shape and model a constitution in our own image.

As we review the Constitution of The Bahamas, we should learn some lessons from the constitutional practice of the United States of America.  The Constitution of the United States, adopted in 1789, is the oldest written constitution in our hemisphere.  It is a living document, given new meaning and vitality under ever-changing conditions through Supreme Court decisions and formal amendments.  It extends its protection to all persons in the territory of United States, citizens rich and poor as well as aliens.  In establishing a national government, the United States’ constitution sets up three branches and provides mechanisms for them to check and balance each other.  It balances central federal authority with dispersed state-reserved power.  It protects the citizenry from the government and gives the power of judicial review to the judicial branch of government.

The limitations of the original United States constitution are very apparent from a brief historical review.  In 1789 when the constitution was founded, African Americans were still in slavery and, as property, were not considered as full citizens.  However, there has been a continued process of correction, through constitutional amendments, judicial decisions, legislation and executive measures to create a more perfect democracy in the United States, as the society moved from an agrarian to an highly industrialized nation.  The first 10 amendments of the United States constitution were passed in 1791.  The 13th Amendment, adopted in 1865 immediately after the Civil War, abolished slavery.  The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, gives citizenship to all persons born in the United States and guarantees due process and equal protection of the laws.  Bahamians who had children in the United States, such as the parents of Sir Sidney Poitier, were and are the beneficiaries of this provision.  The 15th Amendment, adopted in 1870, guarantees the right to vote irrespective of race, color or previous condition of servitude.  Up until 1971, the United States constitution had been amended 27 times.

Similarly, our sister Caribbean countries have also been trying to bring their constitutions in line with the shared expectations and aspirations of their contemporary societies.

Constitutional reviews have been undertaken and amendments proposed or effected, for example, in Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.  Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago have totally replaced their independence constitutions.

After 39 years of constitutional practice in The Bahamas, it is now time that we examine our constitution to determine if it conforms to the demands and expectations of contemporary Bahamian society.  Does the Bahamian constitution reflect the contemporary shared expectations and experiences of the Bahamian community today?

 

• Alfred Sears is an attorney and a former minister of education, and chairman of the Council of The College of The Bahamas.

Aug 16, 2012

thenassauguardian

...unless and until we fix whatever is wrong with our tourism industry (and fix it urgently) ...the economic and social dislocations currently being experienced in The Bahamas will continue unabated

What needs to happen in tourism

CFAL Economic View

The Ministry of Tourism’s ‘Islands of The Bahamas Arrivals Report’ released earlier this year contains some very useful and informative data on the tourism industry in The Bahamas, and a lot more information on the economic performances of those countries from which our visitors originate.

The report, compiled by the ministry’s research department, provides a summary of total visitor arrivals to The Bahamas for the year 2011, in what appears to be a record-breaking total of 5.234 million.  That figure is broken down further to show that only 1.29 million of those visitors (or about 25 percent) arrived by air.

There is something troubling about that figure when it is taken into account that about 25 years ago The Bahamas was boasting total air arrivals in the region of 1.5 million.  What is more troubling is the fact that we are in the midst of the worst recession ever experienced in a modern Bahamas and the agency which oversees our most important industry appears to be offering no concrete solutions.

Almost 75 percent of the report outlines the economic challenges facing the United States as a result of the crash of the housing market there, and the subsequent financial meltdown.  The rise in unemployment, particularly in the northeastern states, is highlighted perhaps to remind us that the reason for the poor performance of our local economy is tied to employment levels in the U.S.  It is also noted that Texas, contrary to popular belief, generates more tourists for The Bahamas than many of the northeastern states.

Similar information is provided on Canada and the western European nations whose citizens also visit The Bahamas, although not in such great numbers as the Americans.  Again, the intent is presumably to inform us that it is the global slowdown in economic activity that is adversely affecting our visitor arrivals (by air) and consequently contributing to the slow economic growth figures.

Those examples, or more appropriately arguments, would have been more persuasive had we not been made aware from other sources that air arrival tourists were up and growing impressively in our competitor destinations, such as Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Cancun, Mexico.  Some mention of the costly and perhaps unsustainable subsidies to the industry in the form of ‘companion airfare’ is given as a successful policy response to the crisis.

For more than half a century tourism has played a pivotal role in the economic development process of this country.  It has accounted for most of the foreign direct investment, more than 50 percent of direct and indirect employment, and has provided the necessary level of foreign exchange inflows to not only fund our insatiable import appetite but also to support the important one-to-one peg between the U.S. dollar and the Bahamian dollar.

Changes needed

In other words, unless and until we fix whatever is wrong with our tourism industry (and fix it urgently), the economic and social dislocations currently being experienced in the country will continue unabated.  Large numbers of skilled and semi-skilled Bahamians will join the unemployed labor force. Unable to meet their debt commitments, they run the risk of losing their homes and other assets acquired during better times.  Unable to provide the needed level of support for their immediate families, the inevitable household tension could rip families apart.

What is needed is a recognition of the importance of the tourist industry to The Bahamas in general and to the partial solution to the current economic crisis in particular.  In the short-term, attempts to stimulate other less important parts of the economy or programs to diversify production from our main service provider simply will not create the number or types of jobs sufficient to absorb the unemployed.

The tourism plant, in terms of existing and planned hotel rooms, needs some form of re-tooling to ensure it is functioning at its optimal potential.  We know for instance that the costs of labor and utilities are out of line with our competitors, placing the country at a pricing disadvantage.  Those areas need to be addressed, perhaps by permitting the hotel operators to produce (hopefully more efficiently) their utility needs rather than relying on the inefficient state-owned corporations.

Above all, we need more air-arrivals since that category of visitor spends more than 10 times what is spent by their cruise counterparts, making a larger contribution to employment and output in the country.  The Bahamas at this time in our history needs a fresh, focused and comprehensive plan to increase the number of air arrivals in order to produce the required number of jobs and to begin the process to effectively reverse the unemployment trend.

 

• CFAL is a sister company of The Nassau Guardian under the AF Holdings Ltd. umbrella.  CFAL provides investment management, research, brokerage and pension services.  For comments, please contact CFAL at: column@cfal.com

Aug 15, 2012

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

2012 will go on record as being one of the worst years in the history of the Free National Movement (FNM)

The Bahama Journal


Dear Editor:
 


2012 will go on record as being one of the worst years in the history of the Free National Movement (FNM). This was not supposed to be the case, however. You see, this month and year marks the 20th anniversary of the FNM’s stunning victory in 1992 (August 19) against the legendary Sir Lynden O. Pindling and his Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Government.

For 25 years Sir Lynden was the undisputed ruler of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. His erstwhile political son, Hubert A. Ingraham, led the perennial official opposition party to what many described as a momentous event in the annals of the history of the modern Bahamas. This would have also been a little over three months into the fourth non-consecutive term as prime minister for Ingraham had the FNM pulled off the May 7 General Election. But the Bahamian electorate voted against Ingraham and his party.

After all was said and done, only nine out of 38 candidates for the FNM were able to win a seat in the House of Assembly. The remaining 29 seats were won by PLP candidates. Many of the future leaders of the party were defeated by relatively unknown candidates. One of the FNM’s brightest candidates to fall in the May 7 electoral contest was Charles Maynard, former Member of Parliament for the Golden Isles constituency and minister of youth, sports and culture in the Ingraham administration. Like thousands of Bahamians, I was astonished and saddened after learning that Maynard had died on the early morning of August 14 in North Abaco. What makes his passing all the more shocking is the fact that he was only 42.

He was a great asset to the FNM as a chairman. I always enjoyed listening to him give radio and television interviews. He was very articulate and professional in defending the policies of his party despite being harassed and harangued by his political foes while on the radio. He always arose above the fray. He never got into mudslinging or character assassination in order to score brownie points. He always had a smile. What makes his membership to the FNM so unique is the fact that many of his family members have deep roots in the PLP.


 Yet despite having grown up in that party and having served as one of the leaders of the now defunct Coalition for Democratic Reform party, he decided to join the FNM party. His death is a major setback to a party that is in the midst of a by-election campaign. Perhaps FNMs in North Abaco will rally behind Dr. Hubert Minnis and throw their support behind his candidate Greg Gomez in tribute to a man who was determined to rebuild a great political organization that appears to still be reeling from the devastating loss it suffered on May 7.

Who knows? Maybe his death will serve as a unifying factor for a party that many political pundits are saying is badly disjointed. Maynard’s sudden passing teaches us all that death is the great common denominator. All of Adam’s offspring will be taken by the icy, cold hands of death. The Old Testament Book of Job 14:5 reads, “Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with Thee, Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass.”

Maynard’s death has put everything into perspective. In the last analysis, the only thing that will matter on the day we die is whether we had been fully obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ. How many elections we have been able to win or how famous we have become or how much wealth we have amassed won’t matter on the other side of death. Life is so fragile; so uncertain. You never know where the Grim Reaper is. My condolences to the Maynard family. My prayers are with you during these troubling times. I truly hope that the fallen former FNM chairman is in the presence of God and His holy angels in heaven. May his soul rest in peace.

15 August, 2012

Jones Bahamas

Caribbean Blog International

The Free National Movement (FNM), Charles Maynard and the North Abaco Bye-election

By Dennis Dames

The official opposition Free National Movement (FNM) has raised the stakes tremendously for the upcoming by-election in north Abaco by sacrificing their Chairman – Charles Maynard.

Like a confident gambler in a poker game, the party has gone all-in in the Abacos.  Will the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) call the bet by sacrificing their very own big man in the Chairman’s seat; or will they fold?

The approaching by-election in north Abaco has just gotten exciting, and the FNM has let it be known that they intend to go all-out to retain the seat left vacant by the Rt. Honorable Doctor – Hubert Alexander Ingraham.

The FNM clearly believes that the PLP has not got the guts to answer their wager, or they could simply be calling them bluff.

In any event, Charles Maynard is on the table – and in order for the PLP to win the game in Abaco, their Chairman will have to be the bundle used to match the FNM’s stake.

It remains to be seen if the PLP’s wizards will be allowed to call the FNM’s pot at the north Abaco poker table.

The PLP has got enough chips to control the game for at least four more solid years; so – they could go south and leave the FNM and their dead chairman alone in the room.  Only time will tell if the PLP will hold-up, fold-up, walk away or run in north Abaco.

Caribbean Blog International

The Christie-led government has remained noncommittal concerning oil drilling in The Bahamas

PM still committed to referendum on oil drilling

By Candia Dames
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com

While a referendum on oil drilling is not currently the priority of the Bahamas government, Prime Minister Perry Christie told The Nassau Guardian he remains committed to such a referendum.

But he said “there would have to be serious indications that there is oil and natural gas in commercial quantities”.

“I committed my party to if we are going to have oil drilling in The Bahamas while we are in power, we will do so by seeking the support of the people of The Bahamas, so the answer is yes,” said the prime minister when asked recently by The Nassau Guardian whether the referendum was still planned.

He said,  “One of the dangers for The Bahamas is that concessions are being given to explore in the same area by the Cuban government and it would be a very interesting development as they are in a position to start exploring and digging a well before us.

“If they were to find a well then it makes it almost a compelling case for The Bahamas having to do the same thing.  And so, we’re not going to look a gift horse in the mouth and play crazy with it.

“But at this particular time we have to continue to assess where we are on that subject matter to see whether in fact the company (Bahamas Petroleum Company) is in a position to finance drilling because it’s a huge sum of money involved in that.

“This is not a $50 million or $60 million kind of enterprise.  This is a hugely expensive enterprise, particularly with the environmental safeguards that should be in place.

“And so, at some stage or the other the company will come forth to us to say,  ‘listen, we are ready to do the following things and this is the evidence we have that you have fossil fuels there’ and we’ll see.”

Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) has committed to spudding its exploratory well in Bahamian waters by April 2013, although recent reports from the company indicate this drill date could be pushed back later in the year.

BPC is looking to bring on an operational and equity partner for the drill, The Nassau Guardian previously reported.

The Christie-led government has remained noncommittal concerning oil drilling in The Bahamas.

“We do believe that the Bahamian people ought to be consulted,” said Kenred Dorsett, the minister of the environment, previously. “Whether it goes the extent of a referendum, that will have to be determined based on the costs. That is a matter for the Cabinet to decide.”

Prior to the election in April, the previous government suspended BPC’s oil drilling licenses. There has been no formal announcement from the new government as to whether these licenses have been renewed.

The Christie administration has also committed to a referendum on gambling, which the prime minister has said will be called by the end of this year; and a constitutional referendum on citizenship matters, which the government intends to call before the end of the term.

Aug 13, 2012

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

The local gambling debate: ...The number houses, Bahamian culture, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and numbers kingpin and former PLP Treasurer - the late Percy Munnings ...and the call to legalise the native numbers business; tax it, and strictly control it ...so that it is not allowed to grow into an octopus of destruction

The Destructive Face Of Casino Gambling

Tribune242 Editorial



AS A follow up to our comments in this column yesterday a Tribune reader has sent us an interesting article from London’s Daily Mail on the Englishman’s destructive addiction to the roulette machine and Labour’s admission that it made a mistake by relaxing gambling laws thus allowing casinos to flourish.

All the observations in the Daily Mail article are among the reasons that we made it clear in this column yesterday that our comments about the ever present “numbers racket” to the growing presence of web shops did not include the more sophisticated casino tables of the hotels.

However, with the number houses becoming over the years almost a part of the island culture, it is going to be impossible to shut them down. It must be particularly hard for the PLP to even consider closure, considering that their party’s treasurer Percy Munnings was the acknowledged numbers boss and with his gains a generous financial supporter of his party for many years.

If Percy Munnings could get away with it, reasoned the little numbers man, then why couldn't he? It was a reasonable proposition. Despite the police raids, the back room numbers trade became bolder and more entrenched.

This is why we accept that it has been allowed to become so much a part of the fabric of the Bahamas that government might as well capitulate, legalise it, tax it, and strictly control it so that it is not allowed to grow into an octopus of destruction.

However, allowing Bahamians into the hotel casinos is another matter and we agree with Robert “Sandy” Sands, senior vice-president of external and government affairs of BahaMar, that Bahamians are not “disciplined” enough to be able to gamble locally. Not only are Bahamians not disciplined enough, but neither are Britons — in fact few members of the human race, unless they have entrenched religious convictions, and strong wills, can easily escape the temptation of easy money.

Mr Sands’ comments came after Prime Minister Perry Christie, while promising a referendum before the end of the year to legalise gambling and create a national lottery, vetoed the referendum being extended to open casino gambling in the hotels to the local population.

According to the Daily Mail article, written by Sarah Bridge and Abul Taher, the extent of “Britain’s addiction to controversial casino-style gambling machines” was revealed with the disclosure “by two bookmaker giants that more than £12 billion was wagered on their machines in the first half of this year.”

The figures revealed by the “bookies” was staggering.

But the most interesting part of the article was the admission by Shadow Culture Secretary Harriet Harman, who was a senior member of the Cabinets of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, that her government had made a tragic mistake.

“I think we were wrong,” the Mail quoted her as saying:

“We have made a mistake and we need to do something about it.

“If we had known then what we know now, we wouldn’t have allowed this.

“It’s not just ruining the high street, it’s ruining people’s lives.”

The Mail reports that this is the first time that Ms Harman, who is in charge of Labour’s gambling policy, has explicitly blamed the Labour government for the increase in gambling.

Ms Harman spoke out after hearing stories from people hooked on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOTNs) that encourage people to stake £100 at a time on roulette, blackjack or poker games hoping to win £500.

“I have received the most heart-rending letters and e-mails and calls that I’ve ever had in 30 years of being an MP,” she said, “just saying, “Please, do something about this. It’s ruined my life, it’s ruined my family, it’s really dangerous.”

“And the problem is, it’s getting worse,” she said, “that is why we need the law changed so that something can be done about it.”

Ms Harman told the Mail that FOTBs were “bringing casinos right into the high street.”

“These machines,” she said, “are like mini-casinos— they’re not like the small machines you have in seaside arcades. People get addicted and lose all their money.”

This is a matter that has to be studied carefully. If it is decided to allow the betting shops that we now have, they have to be strictly controlled so that they do not grow into a greater menace than they are now.

Government now has to decided whether to close down all local gambling, or strictly control and tax the numbers and web shops. But the ridiculous situation of turning a blind eye to open and defiant illegality can no longer continue.

August 08, 2012

Tribune242 Editorial

Caribbean Blog International

...the numbers business is not only popular and a cultural norm ...but is one of the biggest contributors to the Bahamian economy ...says - business consultant, Paul Major

Gambling Debate Intensifies


By: Theo Sealy & Rogan Smith
The Bahama Journal



Two top clergymen, a leading hotelier, a business consultant and a college professor locked horns tighter than ever last night over the controversial gambling issue.

Retired Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) President Dr. Ranford Patterson, Kerzner International VP of Public Affairs & Retail Services Ed Fields, business consultant, Paul Major and educator and civil activist, Margo Blackwell all participated in a Jones Communications Network (JCN) town meeting series at the Harry C. Moore library where they each took turns highlighting the benefits or pitfalls of gambling.

The panel was split.

Opponents argued that gambling was destructive and against God’s will, while proponents touted the economic benefits that could be gained from its legalisation.

The Christie administration has announced plans to hold a referendum before the end of the year so that Bahamians can decide whether they want gambling legalised.

The BCC has repeatedly stressed that it is “diametrically opposed” to gambling and it didn’t stray from that premise last night.

“To engage in this gambling . . . one is going counter to what Jesus stands for and for what the church is here to promote. We believe that gambling is, in its final analysis, an affront to God,” Archbishop Gomez said.

“Our problem in the church is we have been compromised by our members in that so many of our members gamble and so many of our members do not really believe what the church teaches us because if they really believed, they would apply it in our lives. So, there are a lot of persons who belong to the church who participate in gambling because they aren’t putting into practice the teachings of the gospel. Gambling produces social dislocation. That is not disputed even by persons who engage in gambling.”

Mr. Major, meantime, said the church cannot legislate morality.

“It comes down to a matter of civil liberty – people deciding what they want to do with their disposable income,” he said.

“The only ones who don’t benefit from gambling are the government and the citizens who don’t gamble. At this stage in our development and enlightenment we should not be so concerned about whether Bahamians gamble.”

Dr. Patterson said with gambling, “we can only lose, not win.”

“The negative effects outweigh benefits. It can destroy a family. Every day in our ministries we are confronted with persons who are marginalised, persons who are experiencing loss, persons whose lives are falling through the cracks and that is why we feel so strongly about this because we see the devastation. That’s where our passion comes from,” Dr. Patterson said.

“Think of the devastation that we now see and the proliferation of the web shops. We believe it’s only going to get worse and our people are going to suffer as a result of it.”

But, one audience member chastised the church for its weak arguments on the controversial issue.

“I have been listening to a lot of debates on this gambling subject and it seems that the church is relying on the argument of morality. As it stands right now those arguments are not standing up very well against the arguments that these other panellists are presenting. Why isn’t the church presenting strong arguments about the economic and social impacts of the numbers business? These are the issues we need to present as opposed to what is morally incorrect,” she said.

Mr. Major, meantime, sought to dispel the notion that the ‘house’ always wins.

He told the panel and attendees that two number houses “went broke” because they couldn’t pay out winnings.

“On average 60 to 70 per cent of winnings go back out,” he said.

When challenged to substantiate his claims by providing the statistics, Mr. Major responded, “Trust me, trust me.”

He later said the numbers business has attracted 150,000 account holders.

He said 120,000 of those individuals have online accounts, while the remaining 30,000 individuals are walk-in customers to various web shops throughout the country.

Mr. Major suggested that the numbers business is not only popular and a cultural norm, but is one of the biggest contributors to the Bahamian economy.

Ms. Blackwell, careful to “stay far away from moral and social values as possible,” said she felt that Bahamians are being denied a right to gamble.

“I am a young lady who has lived her whole life being discriminated against in an independent Bahamas by a constitution that allows people who are not Bahamian to do something in my country that I am not allowed to do. I have a real problem with that,” she said.

Mr. Fields, meantime, said the gambling issue is not about its decriminalisation, but its liberalisation.

Churches have over the years demonised gambling in The Bahamas, but many have turned to major resorts for donations even though a good chunk of their revenue comes from casino dollars.

Mr. Fields said in his 16 years at the Paradise Island resort, he has received a letter from every single denomination in The Bahamas requesting donations.

He later questioned the difference between church raffles and the numbers business.

“Either you are hot or you are cold. The reality is that if I buy a raffle ticket my intent is to win over someone else…we are in a quagmire trying to justify this thing. Either we like them all or we wipe them all out. It cannot be a case of juggling. It cannot be that it is okay for the church to gamble through raffling but it is not okay for Bahamians to do the same through gambling at numbers houses,” Mr. Fields said.

“Yes numbers is illegal and perhaps there is a problem with the concept that because it is illegal on the books the donation from that illegal gambling is a problem. But there is not a problem with the church asking donations from an entity that has legal gambling. So gambling is okay if it is legal? That must be what the message is.”

Mr. Fields said if Bahamians vote to legalise the numbers business, the government could take a percentage of the money and set up counselling for addicts.

Gambling proponents say if the numbers business is legalised it could fund various government initiatives and provide millions of dollars to the public purse.

“It would do well for us here in the country if we go ahead with legalising the numbers business. It can contribute significantly to health care, sporting and education, overall helping with national development. We need to move forward with this and try to look at the positive side of how beneficial gambling can be, economically, to The Bahamas,” attorney Wallace Rolle said.

JCN CEO Wendall Jones moderated the town hall meeting.

August 10, 2012

Jones Bahamas

Caribbean Blog International