By Juan Mccartney ~ Guardian Senior Reporter ~ juan@nasguard.com:
In a move that caught many by surprise yesterday Bamboo Town MP Branville McCartney resigned his post in Cabinet, but told The Nassau Guardian that he remains a committed FNM MP and is loyal to the leadership of Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian last night, McCartney said that while he would not publicly comment on the reasoning behind his resignation as minister of state for immigration, or how it was done, he wanted his position to be clear.
"I will continue to represent the people of Bamboo Town," he said. "In fact, we're going to be taking Bamboo Town to a whole other level."
McCartney also said that he would remain a member of the Free National Movement (FNM) and has no intention of becoming an independent MP or any plans to "engage in any discussion about joining the Progressive Liberal Party."
"I wouldn't even entertain the thought," said McCartney, when asked about the possibility of switching his party allegiance.
"I am committed to the FNM and Hubert Ingraham. They are the best choice for this Bahamas at this time. And they have my full support."
McCartney then reiterated that the FNM is "without question" the party best-suited to govern the country. McCartney declined further comment.
McCartney was noticeably absent from the mid-year budget presentation in The House of Assembly on Wednesday. He was said to be on vacation with his family.
Sources close to McCartney said he had been planning to resign since January, but stayed on because he didn't want to hurt the FNM's chances in the Elizabeth by-election last month.
The move comes after there had been widespread speculation in political circles that McCartney was unhappy with at least two major decisions that were recently made in Immigration without his prior knowledge.
In a statement sent out Sunday evening, Prime Minster Hubert Ingraham confirmed that he had accepted McCartney's resignation, and while "the resignation of a minister or minister of state is always regrettable, I cannot say that I am completely surprised by Mr. McCartney's decision.
"Each of us in politics (is) bound to follow what we believe to be the best course of action in the interest of the people we are privileged to represent, and in accordance with our own convictions and perceptions at any given time," said Ingraham. "I have no doubt that Mr. McCartney, as he indicates, has given serious consideration to the action he has taken."
The Guardian understands that McCartney was not told that newly-appointed Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commodore Roderick Bowe would be leaving his post as deputy director of immigration last month in order to assume command of the RBDF.
McCartney reportedly learned of the plan to transfer Bowe when he read about it in the newspaper.
McCartney was also said to be very unhappy that the prime minister changed the national policy toward illegal Haitian migrants after a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince on January 12.
On January 14, Ingraham announced at an FNM news conference that as a result of the earthquake, the 102 illegal Haitian migrants at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre would be released and given some sort of temporary residency status. Ingraham also suspended the apprehension and repatriation of illegal Haitian migrants.
That news sparked heated debate among the general public.
On January 15, McCartney told The Guardian that his superiors made the call and his job was to ensure that the mandate was carried out.
"This was a decision made at a higher level. I am quite sure that the decision that was made is in the best interests of the country and it's something that we are carrying out," McCartney said.
However, there were reports that McCartney was not informed of the decision prior to its announcement and privately disagreed with the move, viewing it as a hasty decision as the situation on the ground in Haiti was still being assessed.
The public outcry forced Ingraham to repeatedly clarify the government's position on the issue, with the prime minister further stating that the government's policy would be that any new illegal Haitian migrants caught in the country would be taken to court and charged in order for the government to legally hold them for an extended period.
Two weeks later there still seemed to be some confusion as to what the government's policy toward illegal Haitian migrants was.
On January 27, Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette (the substantive minister responsible for immigration) and McCartney had two separate views on what should happen to a group of illegal Haitian migrants that landed in the Coral Harbour area the previous day.
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.
Not long after that, Prime Minister Ingraham showed up and said that his policy of charging the immigrants still stood.
The immigrants were charged with illegal landing that day. The men were sent to prison for six months, and the women were sent to the detention center, along with the children in the group.
McCartney has been widely considered as a front-runner for the leadership of the FNM in the future.
He was also widely praised as an effective minister of immigration.
In a statement sent on behalf of the PLP yesterday, PLP chairman Bradley Roberts said that the country should be told the "truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," regarding McCartney's resignation.
"The resignation of Branville McCartney as minister of state for immigration is a source of serious concern for the country," Roberts said in a brief statement sent out last night in the wake of McCartney's resignation.
"Mr. McCartney was responsible for driving the immigration policy of the government. In the midst of a crisis in immigration, the minister resigns," he said. "The prime minister must give a full and frank explanation for the comment of Mr. McCartney that he believed that he was being stagnated within Mr. Ingraham's Cabinet and could not fulfill his full potential." Roberts called McCartney's resignation "a serious indictment" of the current Ingraham administration.
"His resignation has exposed the truth of how Mr. Ingraham governs the country and his party," Roberts said. The PLP believes that the country is not well served by the conduct of public affairs led with bombast, harsh words and disrespect as a hallmark of governance. We warned against it from the day Mr. Ingraham first took office. Now the FNM has turned on one of its own."
March 01, 2010
thenassauguardian
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
