The Corrupt Nature of Bahamian Politics in The Bahamas

Election Politics in The Bahamas: Who gets to eat - and who doesn't

By Craig Butler:

Bahamian elections are too often not about governance.  They are about access.

Access to contracts.  Access to appointments.  Access to the Treasury.  That is the sickness.

The winning party does not merely win office.  It gains control over how roughly $1 billion in public contracts is distributed.

And too often the real contest is not over policy; it is over who gets fed.

That is not nation-building.  That is budget politics dressed up as democracy.

Source / Comment

The Honourable Marvin Dames, and The Deceitful Progressive Liberal Party - PLP

The Hon. Marvin Dames, and The Prudent Drone Contract Honoured by The Ruling Philip 'Brave' Davis Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Administration

Marvin Dames' Righteous Vision for A Secured Bahamian Nation - The Bahamas

Recent claims about the drone contract under former Minister Marvin Dames are misleading.  For over three decades, he has served with integrity and distinction in global law enforcement, yet political narratives now attempt to tarnish his reputation.

Misleading statements and outright lies have become a common tactic of the Progressive Liberal Party.  For more than three decades, Marvin Dames has served at the highest levels of law enforcement, both in our country and internationally.  He has built a reputation that has earned him the utmost respect from the global law enforcement community, a reputation that continues to be upheld today.

However, his political adversaries, in their attempts to tarnish his character, resort to using surrogates to spread a lie.  Unlike many of his critics, Mr. Dames has a reputation that precedes him.  He has established relationships based on professionalism, honor, respect, and integrity.

Let’s unpack the falsehoods propagated by the PLP through their surrogates:

1.⁠ ⁠No Corruption.  No Scandal.

The official audit of the drone contract (2021–2022), a public document by the Auditor General, found no wrongdoing.

•⁠ ⁠No suspicious payments

•⁠ ⁠No side deals

•⁠ ⁠No missing money

The audit speaks for itself.

2. More Than Drones: A Vision for National Security

This was never just about purchasing drones.  The plan included establishing a Centre of Excellence and a training academy to build skills and capacity in drone technology.

The purpose of the academy is to train the next generation of drone pilots in The Bahamas and across the Caribbean region.  Key areas of focus include law enforcement, with partnerships involving the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Immigration, Lands and Surveys, the Disaster Risk Management Authority, and others.  Training opportunities have also been extended internationally.

The former Minister and the FNM were forward-thinking in this regard.

It is also important to highlight that Marvin Dames built an impeccable reputation in global law enforcement circles over three decades.  He has led some of the most critical divisions of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, including the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU), the Central Detective Unit (CDU), and the Central Intelligence Unit (CIU).

He earned respect worldwide for his knowledge, experience, spotless character, and integrity, qualities often missing in political life today.  Why would anyone attempt to discredit a man whose leadership helped dismantle international criminal networks and whose reputation still stands firm today?

 3. Who Chose the Vendor?  Not the Minister.

A committee of senior government officials; NOT the Minister, handled the bidding process.  Multiple local and international firms submitted proposals.

The committee carefully reviewed all bids and recommended the company that was most suitable, realistic, and cost-effective at the time.  The winning bid was not only capable and aligned with government policy but also well under budget, compared to competing bids exceeding $30 million.

For clarity:

•⁠ ⁠The Minister did not choose the company.

•⁠ ⁠Payments were processed strictly through the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury.

 4. COVID Changed the Timeline, But the Plan Continued.

When the pandemic struck, budgets shifted.  Out of the $17 million contract, only a small portion was paid by the FNM government before the 2021 election.  The vast majority of payments were left to be honored by the present administration.

Importantly, the vendor adjusted with no penalties, and the program continued under the PLP.

So why insist on playing political games, using surrogates to tarnish the good name of one of our most respected citizens, when the very same company is still being engaged by the current administration?

Even the former Commodore, in his farewell speech at the inauguration of Commodore Floyd Moxey, commended the Drone Academy for its work.

If the accusations are real, then let those making them come forward and show their faces.  Stop hiding behind surrogates.  The Bahamian people deserve honesty and accountability, not shadows and whispers.

 5. Results You Can See.

The drone program was part of a broader modernization strategy championed by Marvin Dames, which also introduced:

•⁠ ⁠ShotSpotter technology to detect gunfire

•⁠ ⁠Body cameras for officers

•⁠ ⁠A Real Time Crime Center (RTCC)

•⁠ ⁠Revitalized national CCTV coverage, which was nonfunctional before he took office

The PLP often claims that the FNM had no crime plan.  But the truth is, their own crime plan was simply to continue the very initiatives launched by the FNM and Marvin Dames. Instead of acknowledging this, they go to great lengths to discredit him.

 6. The Real Question: Why Hide the Success?

Why downplay a program that continues to protect our borders and support law enforcement operations daily?

They use surrogates to spread falsehoods about an alleged $17 million “misappropriation,” knowing full well that the FNM government disbursed only a fraction of that amount.  The majority of the $17 million remains under the present administration’s responsibility as the contract continues to be fulfilled.

If this was a corrupt deal, why is the current government still paying the same vendor and operating the same program?

 7. The Facts Are Clear.

To clarify:

•⁠ ⁠The Ministry of Finance alone is responsible for disbursing payments to vendors.

•⁠ ⁠The Minister did not choose the company awarded the bid. A committee of senior government officials, spanning RBPF, RBDF, Corrections, Finance, and others, led the process. The Minister had no interactions with the company or its executives.

•⁠ ⁠The Minister did not benefit from the bid.

•⁠ ⁠Less than $1 million was disbursed under the FNM administration.

•⁠ ⁠This was a Cabinet-backed policy decision, validated by an independent audit and implemented by independent officials.

Source / Comment

Branville 'The proven snake' McCartney Bombastically Speaks

FNM 'Judas' Branville McCartney Arrogantly Advises The FNM!

Stay out of FNM Business, Mr. Branville McCartney

By Dennis A. Dames
Nassau, The Bahamas

Did you hear that foul piece of political ordure which the FNM traitor, Branville McCartney so arrogantly advised to the party - that he so cruelly abandoned?  He had the audacity to gave counsel to the FNM about giving the former party leader Dr. Hubert Minnis a nomination to run in The next general election.

How politically arrogant could a turncoat become?  No one with sense in the Free National Movement – FNM party takes Branville ‘The proven snake’ McCartney seriously.

His beloved Democratic National Alliance – DNA still exists, but is presently on life support and is only in need of some intense loving boost to live a bit more - to simply add some cash to the public treasury.

Go and revive your needy political house, Mr.  McCartney, and invite your cousin – Dr. Hubert Minnis to be its leader.  That way, you and your sweetheart of a coz could get a royal cut-hip to safely propel both of you into the nearest political graveyard – once and for all mon.

The Decline of The Bahamas

The Steady Decline of The Bahamian Nation - The Bahamas

By Dennis Dames
Nassau, The Bahamas

The public's perception of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) is at an all time crying low - in my view. Recent bad news about the Force and some of its Officers has added unfavourably to how the Bahamian people see the Police, and their organization.

The Coroners Court has concluded lately that a number of Police Officers have committed manslaughter in the excution of their duties. This has left a totally bad taste in the mouths of many citizens and residents generally - and has widen the distrust between the Police and the general public - which has eroded further the national security of The Bahamas.

To make matters horribly worse, a senior Officer of the Force - who occupied a high position of trust and responsibility - is accused of engaging in serious criminal activities with a high profile, highly and politically connected, potentially rogue and criminal-minded attorney, and street gangsters; some of whom have been murdered on the streets of Nassau in recent times. This has created a public scandal of monumental proportions.

The leadership of the Police Force along with the government of the day - seem to be taking the matter very lightly - in my opinion. Thus, the Bahamian community's view of the Police and the government - is one of complete disgrace. The handling of such a serious situation to date has left one to wonder if the powers that be have decided that they will gamble politically and just pretend that all's well.

Well, all is not well in The Bahamas under the political and immoral leadership of the status quo and its devoted facilitators. The Bahamian public feels as if endemic wholesale corruption, incompetence and criminality in high places throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas - is the order of the day which the shamelessly corrupt leadership of the nation holds so dearly close to their demonic hearts and souls.

The fruit of such diabolical corruption in high places will continue to rip apart the Bahamian nation. The wickedly corrupt political and otherwise leaders in The Bahamas do not care about the future welfare of their own friggin children! So, the future of The Bahamas will be more and more of the much sought after devilish corruption in high places - while powerful criminals and blood-thirsty bosses have their way with impunity!

How very sad - as many so called good Bahamian men and women remained silent! It looks like every Bahamian citizen are standing on the sidlines just watching The Bahamas descend in to the pits of hell.

New Hospital Location

Nassau, The Bahamas - The New National Hospital Site Debate

By Dennis Dames

I always deride the announcement of a new site for our national hospital by Bahamas government officials - when enough room is right next door to do the trick - in my opinion.

Yes, the space is right next door - on the late Mr. Collins property!  Sometimes I wonder if government executives wear googles when they come to power.

Use Mr. Collins land to build a few more units like the recently constructed and beautiful main entrance of Princess Margaret Hospital - PMH on Shirley Street!  Therefore, I call on The Bahamas government to consider this, and move to the next step to make the vision of a new Hospital possible.

It's simple as 1-2-3 mon.

The Lincoln Bain of division, hate and entertainment

Lincoln Bain coalition real political motives are division, hate and entertainment

By: 

John Brown

:

What have we here...

Response to Lincoln Bain response:

1. The is a moratorium on aragonite mining. Curling license is to mine SAND only. He never said that he was mining aragonite.

2. You claim that they are mining from ships. How come no one has ever spotted them. The entire Bahamas is covered by both satellite and radar. There is a record of every ship in our waters. Where is the evidence. Scroll over the arrows and click to see the names of the ships and detail information. https://www.marinetraffic.com/.../centetony:24.5/zoom:7

3. Marcona Ocean Industries is a company registered in Florida. Tony Myer name is not in the records.

4. A simple check with customs would confirm that customs, police and immigration were on the cay.

5. In Michelle Malcolm interview, you said that the Symonettes been mining aragonite for 40 years. Aragonite mining did not start until 1971. Pop Symonette and the UBP were long out of power. Dillingham was a US company listed on the NY Stock Exchange.

6. Tony Myers said that he sold everything. You said that he held on to the mining license. Still no proof.

7. Tony Myers has a company in Alabama but sand and aragonite can easily be sourced from the US wholesale market with less hassle than mining here.

8. The Aragonite Bill was specific to Ocean Cay which is just one location. That does not mean that no Bahamians could get involved in the business at that location or any other location.

9. So you know how to write bills better than the AG office.

10. Curling does not have an aragonite license. The witness said that they were involved in illegal operations well that doesn't count and should be investigated.

11. You do not seem capable of understanding that the processed value is not the same as the mining value. It does not matter what your aggregate is used for. You can only charge what it is worth in your possession which is $50 per ton.

12. Everyone involved in mining also is involved in the end product business also. The money is not in mining. Most just breakeven for the returns at the end. Therefore there is nothing wrong with owning companies in other countries.

13. The Central Bank reports show that he paid all his local taxes in full and on time. Taxes are paid on volume at extraction, not at export. You are very confused. See exhibit A

14. The witnesses testimony can not stand up in court. Completely circumstantial about ownership and value.

16. You do an audit first and then say corruption it is the other way around.

17. You admit to tapping Manny Alexio phone and should be arrested for that. You even threaten to do the same to those around you. What type of Pastor are you?

18. Everything that you have produced is totally irrelevant.

19. Your real motives are division, hate and entertainment.

20. All of your videos are circumstantial, hearsay and exaggerated.

source

Flip-floppers and double talk in Bahamian Politics

Double talk

An up close look at duplicity and hypocrisy in nat’l politics

BY CANDIA DAMES
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com

The political landscape is forever changing and with it comes shifting political positions.

For some politicians, their views on issues of national import evolve due to certain developments that cast new light on these matters.  In some circumstances, this is quite understandable.

But for others, their positions shift based on political expediency and opportunity.

These are the flip-floppers, the hypocrites, the duplicitous bunch who may be stunned perhaps if confronted with past statements lined up against current views.

Very rarely do their words come back to haunt them; not because the evidence of their duplicity is not there, but because it often remains buried on the dusty pages of newspapers that are clipped and stored away.

These politicians depend on the short memories of the electorate, perhaps, or the failure of media to do a better job at making them accountable for their utterances and actions.

The examples of double talk stretch back years, and really take little digging to be exposed, especially in the technological age.

In opposition, some politicians latch on to pet issues — crime, the environment, education and others.  But in government, they sometimes lose whatever ‘passion’ they might have had for these issues.

To be clear, the flip-floppers are not unique to any one party or philosophical grouping.  They are on every side. They use words to score points, assuage fears and grab headlines.

Often, they change positions based on what side of the political aisle they may be on at the time.  In opposition, a politician’s view on a subject may differ entirely from the view he or she might express in government.

The archives of The Nassau Guardian reveal more than enough flip-flopping, duplicity and hypocrisy to write many weeks of articles.

Consider these few examples:

Dr. Bernard Nottage on the Coroner’s Court

In opposition, Dr. Nottage was a passionate advocate for crime victims and strong in his concerns about alleged police abuse.

He seemed to have little trust in the Corner’s Court or in the police to investigate themselves.

But as national security minister, his tone is different.

After two men died in police custody just over a week ago, Dr. Nottage cautioned the public against making assumptions until all the facts are known.

“I can’t rush to judgment,” he told reporters.  “I hold the commissioner of police directly responsible for the conduct of his officers.  He knows that, he reports to me regularly and my experience thus far has been where justifiable complaints have been made against police officers, the commissioner has been resolute in pursuing the matter to its lawful conviction.”

Further expressing confidence in the police and the coroner to do their job, Dr. Nottage said, “It is my view that even without the coroner’s involvement if the matter could be investigated by police that a thorough job would be done.

“But I don’t think that would satisfy the public and so that is why the coroner, who is an independent institution, is very important in this matter.”

In September 2012, after The Nassau Guardian reported on several fatal police shootings, Nottage said criminals cannot expect to brandish weapons at police without facing consequences.

In December 2010, he was not a minister.  Back then he expressed little faith in the police and in the Coroner’s Court.

On December 1, 2010, he called for an independent public inquiry into the death of Shamarco Newbold, a 19-year-old who was killed by police.

“It is not good enough to refer it to the Coroner’s Court, Mr. Speaker,” Nottage said in the House of Assembly.

“Neither is it good enough for there to be an internal inquiry on the part of the police.”

These days, it is good enough as far as Nottage is concerned.

As an aside, Nottage has yet to use his position of power to push for ‘Marco’s Law’ or the establishment of a sex offenders’ register, things he called for while in opposition, after the murder of 11-year-old Marco Archer in September 2011.

“I believe that out of this sad event will come new policies and perhaps even new legislation... possibly a Marco's Law.  I shall push for that," he vowed back then.

The legislation would seek to strengthen the penalties associated with child molestation, he said.

Perhaps Dr. Nottage will use his weight before the end of this term to push for the things he called for in opposition.

Darron Cash and BTC

Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Darron Cash has more than one example of being a flip-flopper, but for the purpose of this piece, I will focus on just one.

After Prime Minister Perry Christie told reporters last week that the government is considering appointing a select committee to examine the controversial 2011 sale of 51 percent of the shares of The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC), Cash lashed out in a statement.

He said, “The suggestion that [Christie] wants a probe of the BTC sale to Cable and Wireless first evokes disbelief, then laughter and pity”.

Cash then urged the government to “bring it on”.

He said probing BTC would be a “meaningless journey” that would waste taxpayer dollars.

Cash also accused Christie of trying to deflect attention away from his “nine months of colossal failure and ineptitude”.

And he said the prime minister was attempting to tarnish the legacy of former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.

Stunning words from a man who was so critical of the BTC deal back in 2011 that he wrote a lengthy article on why the deal was a bad one.

In fact, Cash himself urged then Prime Minister Ingraham to “take the Cable and Wireless/LIME deal back to the drawing board and design a better deal”.

Cash wrote, “I disagree with the government’s proposed action.  I believe it is wrong for the country, this decision to sell the country short.

“It is a betrayal of future generations, and like a bad stock on BISX — in which you have little confidence — the government is selling the next generation (my generation) short.”

In that piece, Cash seemed to have suggested that the deal would have reflected poorly on Ingraham’s legacy.  His tone has changed.

How could Darron Cash expect anyone to take him seriously?

If it is the FNM’s position that Christie’s contemplation of a probe is laughable or evokes pity, Cash should have been the last person to say so.

His position on the BTC deal was clear at the time he stated it.

Defending himself yesterday, Cash said, “As to my personal position regarding the sale of BTC, let me make one thing abundantly clear to the chairman of the PLP; my position on the sale of BTC has absolutely nothing to do with whether the present government should waste public money on a meaningless inquiry into that sale.”

The mid-year budget statement

This week, the Christie administration will present its mid-year budget statement, revealing adjustments in spending and providing a progress report on the state of public finances and the economy.

The practice of presenting the statement was instituted by the Ingraham administration, and every year during the debate that followed, the PLP’s position was that it was a waste of time.

In a statement on February 23, 2011, the PLP said the mid-year budget was “a waste of time, a public relations sham like so much of what this government does by sleight of hand”.

It was the message of the PLP during each debate of the mid-year budget under Ingraham.

For example, during debate in the Senate on March 16, 2009, then Senator Allyson Maynard-Gibson repeated what her colleagues had to say in the House.

“The mid-year budget review is a waste of time, staff resources and money,” she opined.  “The information in this mid-year budget could have been given in a one man press conference.”

A few days earlier, then Minister of State for Immigration Branville McCartney defended the Ingraham administration for bringing the mid-year budget.

“Our country should be forever grateful to our visionary prime minister, the Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham, for having the fore thought to introduce this concept of a mid-year budget report to Parliament,” McCartney said.

“…This exercise is critical towards our government’s effort to encourage and promote accountability, transparency, best financial practices and proper budget planning”.

This year, the mid-year budget statement will apparently not be a waste of time because the PLP is bringing it.

Such is politics I suppose.

Unemployment numbers

The Department of Statistics recently released new unemployment numbers that show the unemployment rate in The Bahamas decreased slightly from 14.7 percent to 14 percent.

The latest survey was conducted from October 29 to November 4, 2012.  It showed that 165,255 were listed as employed and 26,950 were listed as unemployed.

The governing party welcomed the news, saying it is evidence that Christie and his team are moving the economy in the right direction.

While it was only a slight decrease, Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis said it was good news nonetheless.

But unlike August 2011, the PLP had no concerns that the Department of Statistics did not count discouraged workers — that group of people who are willing to work but who have become so discouraged they have given up looking for work.

Back then when the department released numbers showing that the rate had dropped from 14.2 percent to 13.7 percent, the PLP criticized statisticians who had conducted the survey.

In fact, the party staged a demonstration. That’s right, a demonstration, placards and all.

During that protest, Elizabeth MP Ryan Pinder said unless discouraged workers are added to the unemployment figure, the overall statistics are “misleading”.

At the same protest, Halkitis said the Ingraham administration was excluding those numbers in an effort to show that the economy is turning around.

Why is no one in the PLP demanding that discouraged workers be included in the latest calculation of the unemployment rate?  Could it be because they are now in power?

At the time of that 2011 protest, Director of the Department of Statistics Kelsie Dorsett fired back, saying both the PLP and the FNM too often use the statistics to gain political points.

“Both the Free National Movement and the Progressive Liberal Party have short-term memories when it comes to how the process works,” Dorsett told The Guardian.

With politicians flip-flopping on so many issues like unemployment numbers, it is likely that the electorate will become even more suspicious, jaded, skeptical and untrusting of politicians.

After all, nobody loves a hypocrite.

February 18, 2013

thenassauguardian

Urban Renewal 2.0 is bigger than politics ...and for it to work effectively it has to be “above politics” ... says Prime Minister Perry Christie

Renewal 'Bigger Than Politics'

 

By DENISE MAYCOCK
Tribune Freeport  Reporter
dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FREEPORT - Prime Minister Perry Christie says Urban Renewal 2.0 is bigger than politics and for it to work effectively it has to be “above politics”.

“Our politics must always take second place to the essential issue of moving The Bahamas forward,” Mr Christie said on Wednesday at the official launch of the programme in Grand Bahama at the Hilton Outten Convention Centre.

 Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, and other cabinet ministers, including National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage, Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin, and Labour Minister Shane Gibson were also present.

Mr Christie expressed his complete confidence in the appointment of Algernon Allen, former FNM Cabinet minister, and Cynthia “Mother” Pratt, former PLP Deputy Prime Minister, to head the Urban Renewal commission.

He said both are distinguished Bahamians who have a feel for people and who have the capacity to rise above politics.

“As Prime Minister, I have to call on the all the people regardless of their politics.  The MPs in Grand Bahama all of them should understand that it is bigger than them.  

“We are all in transition and this is about establishing a culture in this country where young men know that if they walk into somebody’s house and rape or try to rape, they will be caught and they will be severely punished.

“This is the reason why in our selection for the leaders of the Urban Renewal commission, we chose two distinguish Bahamians – Algernon Allen, a former minister in the FNM government, is that he has demonstrated in a public capacity a feel for people, and young people in this country.

“And co-leader, Cynthia Pratt, who served as DPM, brings to this mission an incredible feel for people and one, who I think, like Algernon, has the capacity to rise above politics.”

In his remarks, Mr Allen said he comes “as a spiritual son of Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield, but also a philosophical brother of Prime Minister Perry Christie.”

He said that Urban Renewal is about changing lives – transforming a home, a street, and a community and uplifting those in need.

“This will be above politics.  We send a clarion call to all to join us,” Mr Allen said.

July 19, 2012

Tribune242

...two big stories from the Free National Movement's (FNM’s) first mass rally of the 2012 general election season

A Broader Vision for Over-the-Hill

Front Porch

By Simon

There were two big stories coming out of the FNM’s first mass rally of the 2012 general election.  First, Hubert Ingraham unveiled his party’s agenda for the next five years.  In a nod to the Internet age and to younger voters, the FNM released its manifesto online as Ingraham made the announcement.

It was a PR bonanza reinforcing the image of competence and organization of Ingraham and his government.  It further reinforced the image of tardiness and disorganization of Perry Christie and his party.

Earlier that week Christie announced that the PLP was ready to govern on day one.  Despite this assertion, and an earlier claim that his party was prepared for the campaign, the opposition was caught flat-footed.

Almost a week into a four-week campaign, the opposition failed to produce a manifesto, and this from a party that has been agitating for the prime minister to hurry up and name the date of the election.  If the PLP still has not produced a manifesto by today, nomination day, it does not bode well for the party in the minds of many voters.

The inability to beat or equal the FNM in releasing its manifesto is a major blunder by the opposition.  When it is released, a part of the story will be the question of why it took so long.  Many voters will ask what such a delay may portend of another Christie administration.

Upended

There was another major story emerging from Ingraham’s remarks at the mass rally.  The prime minister effectively upended the opposition’s urban renewal mantra with a broader vision of urban redevelopment, incorporating potentially far-reaching initiatives.

Ingraham pledged a Back-to-the-Island Initiative which he hopes will be the beginning of “the largest migration ever back to the islands”.  He suggested that it might relieve urban congestion and serve as a crime-fighting measure.  The prime minister also pledged to launch, “the most comprehensive youth outreach and social intervention programs in the country’s history”.

He made a down-payment on that pledge on Sunday past by fulfilling a promise he made in his national crime address last year.  That down-payment is an additional $1 million in grants for youth and urban outreach programs.

Urban redevelopment requires a comprehensive vision, a vision long held by community activists such as Rev. C. B. Moss.  Ingraham’s vision includes social, economic and infrastructural development.  He pledged an Urban Gentrification Fund to “help with the restoration of homes in designated historic areas of our traditional Over-the-Hill communities”.

Ingraham also proposed what holds the promise of becoming one of the most significant economic initiatives for Over-the-Hill in the modern Bahamas.  That groundbreaking initiative is the Native Food Market.  He suggested that such a market would offer “real hope and economic opportunities to scores of Bahamians.  It will help to revitalize Over-the-Hill.  It can help to reduce crime”.

He indicated that the market would include “a permanent space to exhibit and showcase the history of Over-the-Hill and of our rich African heritage.  There will also be exhibition space to showcase traditions like ring play and traditional African dances”.

Much of what is being proposed builds on the dreams of cultural leaders like Edmund Moxey and his Jumbey Village, as well as the dreams of cultural icons like the late Kayla Lockhart Edwards and the late Jackson Burnside.

What Ingraham and the FNM are proposing outstrips the lesser vision of Christie’s urban renewal plans.  Essentially, Ingraham has proposed an expansive vision of urban redevelopment.

It is a potentially grand vision with the extraordinary potential to empower individuals and communities Over-the-Hill and throughout the country.  Sir Lynden Pindling’s government demolished Jumbey Village and what it represented.  But it could not kill the dream.

Authentic

It is a dream that is being renewed and revitalized in unexpected ways.  Such is the nature of authentic visions and life-giving dreams.  They have a spiritual force that bends the arc of history towards their ultimate fulfillment.

It may be an irony of Bahamian history that neither Sir Lynden, the proclaimed Moses, nor Perry Christie, a protégé, effectively launched a sustainable program of transformation and redevelopment of Over-the-Hill.

This historic accomplishment may become one of the greater legacies of Hubert Ingraham.  Like the Dissident Eight, and thousands of others, including Edmund Moxey, Hubert Ingraham had to leave the PLP to realize his progressive dreams.

Though stylized as the party of the poor, there were and remain core elements of the PLP fixed on an elitist worldview in which academic qualifications, social status and high net worth account for more than other qualities of character.

Being labelled as the Delivery Boy and Rude Boy by the PLP elite was an unmistakable dig at Hubert Ingraham’s socio-economic background.  The inference: “How dare this poor boy who went to school barefoot, and who is not of our social standing, dream that he can become prime minister.  He should be grateful for what we’ve done for him and mind his place.”

Today, the PLP remains strong in traditional Over-the-Hill neighborhoods.  This, despite what many see as decades of neglect and betrayal of the residents of these communities.

What the Delivery Boy has accomplished in terms of dramatically improving the public amenities and services for residents of his constituency of Cooper’s Town and North Abaco is in stark contrast to what Christie has, as dramatically, failed to do in Centreville and Farm Road.

The greater the political power one obtains, the greater the obligation of serving the poor.  It is a fundamental obligation of public service that one leaves a legacy of uplifting the poor.  It is a test of a nation’s humanity, “how it treats its most vulnerable members.  The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation”.

Solidarity

Small bore “urban renewal” efforts by any party or the mere application of bandages or tourniquets to the problems of poorer urban communities are insufficient and insulting.  What is required are holistic responses in solidarity with those who live in these communities.

The PLP has too often taken for granted its support in poorer communities.  The FNM has too often taken for granted that it might not find more fulsome support in the very same communities.  The prime minister may be pleasantly surprised when he visits with residents of Bain Town and Grants Town this week.

Because of who he is, in terms of his record, biography and decades of public service, he will find that his message of an Opportunity Society will resonate with young people and residents Over-the-Hill.  He should be equally attentive to the voices and talents, needs and aspirations of those whom he meets.

While some view Ingraham being referred to as Papa as paternalistic, others view it as a sign of affection.  The Delivery Boy has become a father figure.  What is deeply hypocritical is that those who fawned over Sir Lynden as “Moses” and participated in the cult of personality around “Chief” now feign alarm at Ingraham being called Papa.

If The Bahamas ever risked slipping into dictatorship it would have been in the Pindling years aided and abetted by those who served as his courtiers and sycophants as he victimized others and presided over a government of mass corruption.

The two last terms of Sir Lynden’s premiership were not his best.  Indeed, they were arguably his worst.  For Hubert Ingraham, 2007 to 2012 and potentially the next five years may be among his best.  But, this is up to the Bahamian people.  And to the man who has journeyed from a poor boy to the Delivery Boy to Papa, his elevation to statesman is a work in progress.

Apr 17, 2012

frontporchguardian@gmail.com

www.bahamapundit.com

thenassauguardian

Those of us who understand the parliamentary practice of the Westminster system of government knew that the fired Minister of Housing - Mr. Kenneth Russell - had signed his own political death warrant

The Firing of Kenneth Russell

tribune242 editorial

"THE Cabinet Office announces that the Prime Minister has advised the Governor General that with immediate effect the Minister of Housing the Honourable Kenneth Russell has been relieved of all ministerial responsibilities arising out of conduct by Mr Russell inconsistent with his ministerial duties.

"Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has advised the Governor General to appoint the Hon Neko C Grant as Minister of Housing in addition to his responsibilities as Minister of Works and Transport."

The December 9th Cabinet announcement was terse and to the point.  Kenneth Russell, member of parliament for Grand Bahamas' High Rock constituency from 1997 was no longer at the heart of government's decision making.

Mr Russell is obviously a popular FNM representative in his constituency -- winning over his PLP opposition in the 2002 election by 314 votes, and increasing his winning margin by 548 votes in the 2007 election.  However, not only was he now out of the Cabinet, but with the reconfiguration of the boundaries, there was no longer a High Rock constituency for him to represent.

Mr Russell was upset that High Rock's name had been obliterated.  He made his annoyance known publicly only to be chastised on the floor of the House by the Prime Minister.

On December 8, The Tribune reported that according to reliable sources Mr Russell planned to run in East Grand Bahama -- the name replacing High Rock -- on the FNM ticket despite the party's wishes.  Apparently at a party meeting the night before Mr Russell had confirmed that he intended to run in the district, but to a Tribune reporter the next day, he refused to comment on reports that his decision was not supported by Mr Ingraham.

Those of us who understand the parliamentary practice of the Westminster system of government knew that Mr Russell had signed his own political death warrant.  The Cabinet announcement, which came the next day, was only a formality.

"Two key interlinked features of Cabinet are collective responsibility and confidentiality," said a paper describing Cabinet protocol.  "Members of Cabinet are collectively responsible for the decisions made by Cabinet.  While disagreement may be aired within the confines of a Cabinet meeting, it is a convention that Cabinet decisions will be fully and publicly supported by all Ministers, despite any personal views held by individual Ministers.  Ministers and any officials are expected to refrain from public comment on matters to be considered by Cabinet.  The confidentiality of Cabinet proceedings supports the principle of collective responsibility, by promoting open and free discussion including the airing of dissenting views and compromise."

Their duties are outlined in a Cabinet Handbook.

"Fidelity to Cabinet is seen as critical to maintaining the position of a Minister of the Crown, as Quick and Garran remarked in 1901, 'if any member of the Cabinet seriously dissents from the opinion and policy approved by the majority of his colleagues it is his duty as a man of honour to resign'."

In 1984, after the Commission of Inquiry into drug peddling, Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie, then members of the Pindling Cabinet, made it known of their concern about what was revealed in the inquiry and the corruption in the PLP.  So concerned were they that it was rumoured that they had planned to do the honourable thing and resign from Cabinet.  Sir Lynden, hearing these rumours, out manoeuvred them and their marching orders were quickly hand delivered.  They were both fired from the Cabinet with Mr Ingraham later being expelled from the party.

In Cabinet, the prime minister is described as primus inter pares -- first among equals.  He is first because it is his duty to select members for the cabinet with whom he can work and who will support the government's policies.  Only the prime minister can hire and fire his Cabinet.  From time to time there are Cabinet reshuffles to make certain that the prime minister has around him persons on whom he can rely to carry out government's agenda.

Mr Ingraham is a decisive man.  No one would expect him to have done less when confronted with a public show down from one of his Cabinet colleagues.  One only has to look to England to understand how ruthless some Cabinet firings can be.  Some of those fired over the years were very able men, who had the misfortune of becoming misfits on the Cabinet team.

In sharp contrast, we had the weak leadership of former PLP prime minister Perry Christie, some of whose cabinet ministers were like so many sputniks firing off in all directions.  Several of them seemed to be a government unto themselves, each making his own decisions and out on his own mission.

In the end, this can be seen as one of several reasons for his party's defeat -- the chief had lost control of his Cabinet.

December 12, 2011

tribune242 editorial

To address our crime problem comprehensively, we must address our way of life comprehensively... But we haven’t the will

Gangster’s Paradise Part 2

By Ian G. Strachan

This week we continue our series on crime in The Bahamas.  It seems fitting to take stock of the research and consultative work that Bahamians have already undertaken.  We will work backwards about 20 years, with reports we have easy access to.

We begin with Police Sergeant Chaswell Hanna’s 2011 study, “Reducing Murders in The Bahamas: A Strategic Plan Based on Empirical Research” (available at 62foundation.org/resources).  These are among the more interesting facts and observations made by Hanna.

First, the murder rate for the past 12 years (I have added the last two years):  2000-74; 2001-43; 2002-52; 2003-50; 2004-44; 2005-52; 2006-61; 2007-78; 2008-72; 2009-79; 2010-94; 2011-109 so far.

Between 2005 and 2009, the period Hanna studies most closely, 13 percent of murders involved domestic violence, 18 percent took place during robberies, eight percent happened outside or in bars and night clubs and 61 percent involved a firearm.

Hanna notes that of the 349 classified murders between 2005 and 2009, police were only able to build 243 cases – 231 charges were filed but only 130 murder cases were sent to the Supreme Court.  Only 34 cases were completed in the time frame and there were 10 murder convictions, eight manslaughter convictions and zero executions.

So for cases that actually were completed, there was a 53 percent conviction rate.  But of the 349 classified murders between 2005 and 2009, only 37 percent resulted in a trial.  And, so far, only five percent of murders resulted in someone being convicted of either murder or manslaughter.  To put this another way, 95 percent of the murders during this period remain unpunished.  This is despite the fact that police believe they have identified the murder suspect 73 percent of the time between 2005 and 2009.  Hanna claims that 54 percent of murder suspects offered a full or partial confession.

Hanna noted that “most local murder incidents in New Providence occurred in communities where annual household incomes fell below the island’s average.  This indicates that preventive strategies aimed at particular offenses ought to be complemented by, and complementary to, broader long-term initiatives to address poverty and social exclusion.”

There’s more.  He adds: “Findings in this study revealed that 46 percent of persons charged with murder [2005-2009] had prior criminal records involving violence.  In fact, 15 percent of these suspects had been previously charged with another murder.  Further analysis disclosed that 34 percent of persons charged with murder during the study period were on bail.”

 

Previous crime reports

From Hanna’s report we move to the 2008 National Advisory Council on Crime Report (available at 62foundation.org/resources).  The council was headed by Bishop Simeon Hall.  This report makes an array of recommendations from the standpoint of policing, the judicial system, incarceration and rehabilitation and prevention.  In addition to calling on government to encourage and assist citizens to establish voluntary crime watch programs, such as the citizens on patrol program and to expand the educational, vocational and entrepreneurial projects and programs currently being taught at the prison, inclusive of the training of personnel, the report pays particular attention to youth development.  It calls on government to:

• Strengthen and/or develop community centers and national afterschool programs.

• Strengthen rehabilitative services for all special populations – youth, disabled, substance abusers and persons diagnosed with mental illnesses by the use of multidisciplinary support teams.

• Promote positive lifestyles and culture for young people.

• Ensure the wider dissemination of information on youth organizations, programs and services.

• Strengthen the national educational curriculum to instill a greater sense of national pride and self-esteem in young people.

• Significantly raise the standards and performance of our education system and our nation’s students.

• Support and/or expand existing parental training.

• Strengthen and make mandatory the family life studies program in all schools.

Thirteen years earlier, in 1998, Burton Hall, David Allen, Simeon Hall, Jessica Minnis and others submitted the National Commission on Crime Report.  I have a particular interest in the following points made by the team, although these are only a fraction of the ones made:

• The incidence of “domestic violence” throughout The Bahamas is of such a level as to be a cause for grave concern among all residents, and innovative measures are required to cure this plague which replicates its consequences among succeeding generations.

• Commissioners are of the view that the reversal of our present problems begins with the elementary need to teach people how to parent.

• Commissioners add their voices to the lament of the small number of men who have remained as teachers in the system.  This problem tends to perpetuate itself in that young men, seeing teaching as “womens’ work,” would not be inclined to themselves become teachers.  The reasons for this are complex, and obviously tied up in the question of remuneration.

• New Providence is filthy.  That is the stark reality ... squalid surroundings strongly suggest a mentality conducive to other forms of anti-social activities, extending even to criminal behavior.

• We have no evidence that Haitians are, as a people, any more prone to violent or criminal behavior than are other peoples, including Bahamians.

• While a number of churches have developed community centers and host, for example, afterschool homework quarters, it appears to us that the physical facilities controlled by various churches remain largely underutilized.

The 1998 report revealed that really, nothing much had changed since the Consultative Committee on National Youth Development, led by Drexel Gomez, shared its findings in 1994.  Among many other things, it called on government to:

• Discontinue social promotion and, at the same time, produce alternative programs for under-achievers.

• Establish a training/research center for teachers to provide ongoing monitoring of the educational system with appropriate emphasis on the social, emotional and cognitive needs of Bahamian youth.

• Provide ... special incentives to males to enter the teaching profession.  Our committee considers that the virtual absence of male members of staff in the primary system is adversely impacting on the performance of male members of the student body.  Our committee is also of the view that this matter should be addressed as a national emergency requiring special measures to alter the present imbalance.

• Commission the Department of Statistics to conduct a youth labor survey

• [Initiate] A “Media Summit” at which the government and all social partners, particularly the media, advertisers and sponsors, will be invited to consider a national policy on the media and to identify ways and means to establish stronger indigenous media.

• [Cause] The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas [to] place special emphasis on the production of appropriate youth programs for television and radio.

• Encourage sponsorship of local educational programs by the creation of fiscal incentives.

• [Encourage] The private sector to promote and sponsor productions that convey a sense of Bahamian identity.

• [Develop] Community centers at the neighborhood level or constituency level.

The committee wishes to recommend that community centers be established as part of the fabric of each community to assist young people and adults with lifelong skills and personal enrichment programs.  Such facilities can rekindle the sense of community participation and cooperation among the people who must take charge of their communities.  The strategy employed by the government to ensure that at least a park is in each constituency throughout The Bahamas is an important step in the right direction. Equally important is the need for a policy decision to ensure that a community center is part of each community.

 

What have we done with this research?

More on this final note.  The committee envisioned that these centers would develop programs to “satisfy the educational, social, economic, spiritual, cultural, sporting, civic and community service needs.  Additionally, areas of day care, children’s programs, afterschool programs, teen programs, school drop-outs and adult education and senior citizens activities can be provided at the community center.  The goal should be to establish a community center in each neighborhood or settlement.”

Of course, former MP Edmund Moxey tried to model this in Coconut Grove as far back as the late 1960s and early 1970s, with his Coconut Grove Community Centre on Crooked Island Street and the now demolished, but not forgotten, Jumbey Village.

These initiatives involved a high level of community effort.  Sir Lynden Pindling is credited with calling for national service in the 1980s, but this idea was being advanced in his cabinet by men like Moxey from the nation’s first years.  Sir Lynden bulldozed and starved Moxey’s dream to death.  And in the 44 years since majority rule, I know of no other effort like the Coconut Grove initiatives by any church, state or civic group.

Why haven’t we acted on these recommendations as common sense as so many of them are?  What are we waiting for?  The people’s anguished call for the blood of the murderer will continue to go unanswered.  There will be no shortcut to peace and prosperity.  The hangman’s noose won’t save us.  The policeman cannot be everywhere at all times.  The prison cells cannot hold all the people who need to be confined, disciplined and punished.  There will be no shortcut to commonwealth.  To address our crime problem comprehensively, we must address our way of life comprehensively.  But we haven’t the will.

More next week.

Oct 31, 2011

Gangster’s Paradise Part 3

Gangster’s Paradise Part 1

thenassauguardian

CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Raging Debate in The Bahamas Dies A Sudden Death

CSME Shelved

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

14th June 2005

Seeking to bring an end to the raging national debate on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell on Monday announced that the government will not be signing the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas anytime soon.

In fact, Minister Mitchell said that it does not appear that the government will sign the Treaty, which establishes CSME, during this present term in office, which expires in 2007.

"There is a clear disconnect between the government and the wider community on this matter," said the Minister, who used the entire two hours allocated to him to contribute to the budget debate to address the CSME and other foreign affairs matters.

This meant that there was no room to address public service related issues or matters concerning his Fox Hill constituents.

Minister Mitchell said as it relates to the CSME, The Bahamas has reached the point where it must stop and review.

"The Bahamian people or more properly those who have created the din on the radio and in the press now have their wish," he announced.

"But they must know that it is not to me that they will have to answer for this, but to the future of this country."

Minister Mitchell said he was not panicked by the level of debate that led the government to decide to hold off on signing the Revised Treaty.

"The Bahamas has not signed the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and cannot now sign in these present circumstances," he said.  "What we are now engaged in is a programme of public education and discussion on the issue.

"This has become a matter on which people are attacking me personally on a policy which is the decision of the government.  I told both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister that I believe that my truthfulness has been called into question and my integrity challenged.  No Minister has to seek to ask permission of anyone to seek redress for attacks on his or her personal integrity."

He said what is particularly regrettable is that the forces who opposed the independence of The Bahamas in 1972 now seek to impugn his character by suggesting that he would compromise the sovereignty of The Bahamas.

Minister Mitchell said, "They are false prophets and crying crocodile tears because we know that they did not want The Bahamas to be free in the first place.  There is not a possible chance that this Minister, this individual, would compromise the sovereignty of The Bahamas."

Seeking to clarify what he called misinformation associated with the CSME debate, Minister Mitchell said, "It is clear that this matter of our participation in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas will not be decided within this present term.

There is too much misinformation, disinformation and emotion; too much political dishonesty.  There is simply too much politics.  Accordingly, the Minister of Trade kindly agreed for me to speak to The Bahamas Commission on Trade.

"The Trade Commission's co-chair, Raymond Winder, has indicated by letter that subject to certain clarifications, they are ready and willing to work on the issues...The politics will hopefully then be out of the matter, the Commission will be free to review all the issues arising from the current debate, without a deadline, and the Ministry can now continue with other valuable projects in our Foreign Affairs.

It is only left for the government to provide a formal remit.  It is my hope that this effectively brings an end to this matter."

The Minister also said there has been "considerable misinformation and deliberate disinformation" about the matter or reservations to the Treaty.

The government has said repeatedly that if it signs the Revised Treaty, it would seek reservations on the free movement of people; the monetary union; the Caribbean Court of Justice at the appellate level; and the common external tariff.

Addressing the confusion surrounding whether the reservations would have an expiration date, the Minister said, "The reservations that are proposed are without end.

With regard to this treaty; once you sign a treaty with a reservation, the provisions of the treaty against which there are reservations do not apply to The Bahamas, neither can they be questioned in any court.  These are sovereign decisions of a sovereign government."

Minister Mitchell said that the CCJ reservation has been the cause of "considerable confusion."

"The confusion has been engendered by unintelligent ‐ at the very least disingenuous ‐ commentary by attorneys who ought to know better," he said.

Minister Mitchell announced that he will be representing Prime Minister Perry Christie at the next Heads of Government meeting set for St. Lucia early next month.

"The process of public education on this matter is nowhere near complete and so the question of signing anything in July does not arise," the Minister added.

He also spent much of his time lashing out at detractors whom he said have been spreading half-truths.

Minister Mitchell pointed to former Minister of Finance Sir William Allen, and former Minister of Economic Development Zhivargo Laing, saying, "They have been fudging, half truths and shades of deception, confused the public on this issue...This is the political season and no matter what the truth is, the response will be fudging, misinformation and mix up."

While he gave no attention to the public service in his address, Minister Mitchell, under whose portfolio the public service falls, also took a stab at John Pinder, president of The Bahamas Public Services Union.

"He is involved now in a campaign for reelection," the Minister pointed out.  "I can only imagine that anything will be said for headlines.  I have accused him before of always wanting to engage in the politics of rowing.  I did not believe for one moment that he would resort to a deliberate untruth which should be clear to him and clear, as the lawyers say, on the face of the record."

Minister Mitchell said it is "nonsense" for Mr. Pinder to say that the government signed the Revised Treaty on December 21, 2004.

The Minister also slammed Chairman of The Bahamas Financial Services Consultative Forum Brian Moree, who has criticized the government for its handling of the whole debate, and has urged the Christie Administration not to sign the new Treaty.

Mr. Moree has said that it makes no sense to sign such a treaty and opt out of four of its major provisions.

But Minister Mitchell indicated that he's baffled that Mr. Moree is vehemently opposed to the free movement of people under the CSME, when only a few months ago, he, as chairman of the Forum, released a controversial report strongly asking the government to liberalize its immigration laws.

"There are other critics," Minister Mitchell said.  "They have said some pretty appalling things about me personally and about the government.  One group that comes with the unfortunate acronym of BARF seems especially personally motivated...I only say this to the public: one should always look to see why a comment is being made and what interest is being served by that comment."

He said that it is clear that the detractors of his government on the CSME issue have one motto, and that is not to let the truth get in the way of a good story.