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.

Hubert Minnis All In Political Game

The Lost Cause of Hubert Minnis

By Dennis A. Dames
Nassau, The Bahamas

This is an open letter to The Most Honourable, Dr. Hubert A. Minnis, MP, Killarney Constituency.

Dr. Minnis, you were the leader of the FNM for the 2017 general election.  Under your watch, Mr.

Edison Key – an FNM incumbent, was heartlessly undercut and denied a FNM party nomination to run in the 2017 elections.  You were the leader then – remember?

Now, you and your supporters say you should be given the chance to run again, just because you are a FNM party incumbent candidate.  Well bro, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Expulsis piratis restituta commercia Bahamas

We need a Bahamas where pirates are not in control

By Dennis Dames

I am impressed by Jamaica’s political maturity - when I consider it to that of the sluggish nature of Bahamian politicans and politics in The Bahamas.  For example, I think that the system of national checks and balances in Jamaica is far more advanced than that of The Bahamas.

For instance, when I read about the Integrity Commission in Jamaica – I smile, because it would be like an unwanted hassle-breaker to Bahamian politicans!  They would therefore not want any part in establishing such an honorable national office – in my humble view.

Our very our media and Bahamian people are still advocating for a simple Freedom of Information Act – after all these years of slick promises from no-good Bahamian politicans and national leaders.

We need a total rejuvenation of Bahamian politicans and in Bahamian politics in The Bahamas - in my dear opinion, because what we have been working and living with since 1973 is grossly inadequate for a solidly prosperous future for our beloved posterity and nation.

“Expulsis piratis restituta commercia”

Hubert Minnis is A Persona Non Grata in Bahamian Politics

Analysis: Hubert Minnis Has Fallen on His Own Sword

Hubert Minnis Final Act of Political Folly

By THE GATE KEEPER

Nassau, The Bahamas

Hubert Minnis has fallen on his own sword, a stark and brutal end to a political journey marked by both triumph and turbulence. In a recent leadership vote within the Free National Movement (FNM), Minnis suffered not just a defeat but a resounding rejection, receiving a mere 163 votes against Michael Pintard’s commanding 486.

This outcome raises a fundamental question: why would Minnis, once decisively rejected by the electorate in 2021, willingly submit himself to such public and profound humiliation? The answer may lie in a tragic blend of political hubris and strategic miscalculation.

This debacle is not merely a reflection of a leader out of step with his party; it is an emblem of a political career that has veered into the realm of self-sabotage. Minnis’s attempt to reclaim authority within the FNM was less a battle for leadership and more a misjudged skirmish that ended in his complete and utter capitulation.

His decision to run in the face of such obvious party sentiment was less an act of courage and more a misfire of epic proportions, illustrating a profound disconnect from the political realities of his diminished stature.

By thrusting himself into this leadership contest, Minnis has not only obliterated his political influence but has also inadvertently amplified Pintard’s stature, cementing his role as the party’s new cornerstone. Each vote for Pintard echoed as a resounding repudiation of Minnis, effectively banishing him from the political arena he once dominated.

The implications of this political suicide are far-reaching. Minnis’s fall from grace serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of clinging to power beyond one’s expiry date.

It underscores a bitter truth in politics: that the refusal to recognize one’s waning influence can lead to ruinous consequences, transforming leaders into relics of their former selves.

In the aftermath of this debacle, the FNM finds itself at a crossroads, now rallying behind Pintard’s vision of renewal and distancing itself from the Minnis era—a period that will likely be remembered more for its ignominious end than its achievements. As for Minnis, his legacy will be marred by this final act of political folly, a sad denouement for a figure who once held the nation’s highest office.

This stark transformation within the FNM should serve as a critical warning to the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP): stay alert and take nothing for granted, as political landscapes can shift dramatically and unexpectedly.

As this chapter closes on Minnis’s career, the lesson is clear: political power is as much about knowing when to hold on as it is about knowing when to let go. Unfortunately for Minnis, his grasp extended far beyond his reach, leaving him not just defeated but disgraced.

Source / Comment

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

CUBA-US RELATIONS: TIME WAITS FOR THE BAHAMAS NO MORE

By Gilbert Morris:

 


Actually, time never had time for us because we are too wasteful. Now, after all this time, in what state are we to face whatever blows in from this Cuban-American possibility?  Whatever comes has already happened.  It is the realisation of what it has done and will do to us that will come slowly; because we will be in our habit of denial for decades to come.  You should note that the in The Bahamas, there has not been a significant investment from an American investor in 25 years.

The analysis on us is that The Bahamas is where investments go to die.  We had our chance 30 years ago.  And when our mojo was lost, we responded by saying "Its Better in The Bahamas", even as we erected further impediments to good investment.  And as usual, we will not innovate to meet the challenge caused by our venality, self-indulgence and plain stupidity.  Instead, our cronyocracy will act to snatch every opportunity to reduce potential broad economic activity to personal 'fee collection'.

They will not respond with strategies to correct decades of slothfulness.  Instead they will react to protect their personal hides; sighing that our shrinking economic prospects is from the impacts of "globalisation".  They will send itinerant fools to evangelise this nonsense and our people, (swaddled with bad education, holding politicians high with such 'messianic fervour' that a basic job is now a political favour ), will prove unable to be that check in democratic terms, to force their hopes for, or vision of themselves upon those who presume to govern them.

Soon the offices of the state will be used openly to secure personal advantages against any striving Bahamian with ambition. These forebodings are not unique to The Bahamas.  This is the road to the death of prosperity and the result of cronyist lackeynomics, poor education and societal malaise that fuels the engine of criminality that ensures the efficient destruction of generations upon generations.

It is the result of decades of bumptious tomfoolery and convoluted excuses masquerading as a concept of life.  In one real sense Cuba has already 'eaten our lunch'.  A nation under a half century embargo by the largest economic power in human history and yet, they surpassed us in tourism - an industry we pioneered - a decade ago, and, disgracefully - we are sending our students to them for education.

Our country does not appear on a single world leading benchmark.  (Oh dear, I made an error.  We have amongst the highest homicide rates in the world.  I do not wish to diminish our accomplishments).  Our Ministers of the cloth cling to every vice as the nation rots; the lights are on in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and we cannot keep power in Nassau; a city named after the Prince of the most efficient country in the world; our young people wail concerning the incompetence of their governments, only to find their governments, which do not have time for governing, with all the time in the world to counterattack them for expressing their fears; we have placed our entire birthright in the future value of beachfront property, which is more likely to lose value in the next 20 years; we are capitulating to join a trade organisation - the responsibilities of which will increase red tape and the slow pace of governance processes - when our greatest economic opportunity in 50 years is in services; our government Ministers are trading on their positions in the very face of the public, whilst imposing draconian rules to punish poor Bahamians for failing to meet tax obligations they themselves have not met, despite a stranglehold on the nation's resources through their crony networks. What of vision and the future?

I wrote in 2012 that The Bahamas and Cayman Islands should be to Cuba what Singapore is to China.  But of course, we are too busy busting up, shoving down and undermining fellow Bahamians - under two lunacies called PLP and FNM - as we run down our true potential for deals like Baha Mar, or pursing foolishness such as VAT, WTO and rescuing Bank of The Bahamas.  As usual, we will have convenient excuses...even where none are possible.  And we will twist ourselves as if in the Exuma wild oceans currents, to explain our only resilience: wutlessness as worthfulness.

Gilbert Morris - FaceBook

The governing majority has failed us on the Stem Cell Research and Therapy debate ...and so has the official opposition

Talking Sense: Political Hyperbole On The Medical Frontier

By NOELLE NICOLLS

khalilanicolls@gmail.com

WHEN politicians train to be politicians, one of the first lessons they learn is about the use of hyperbole, the art of using obvious and intentional exaggeration to make a point.  It is a political tool that Bahamian politicians are very familiar with and use with great frequency (Full disclosure: the media profession is no novice when it comes to the art either)!

With true hyperbole, however, the extravagant statements are not intended to be taken literally; they are intended to make a point.

Trouble is, listening ears often miss the point, and instead come away believing the exaggeration.  While talking heads, on the other hand, sometimes buy into their own hype, and use intentional exaggeration to get away with spreading outright lies.  Too much hyperbole can really create one messy affair.

Needless to say, one has to be astute to weed through the mess.  Let us take, for example, the Stem Cell Research and Therapy Bill, currently being debated in the House of Assembly, which has been painted as “revolutionary” by its proponents.

Much has been said about the benefits that stem cell research will bring to The Bahamas: $100 million annually, new jobs, spillover effects on all areas of the economy, lead scientists who will relocate to The Bahamas and create institutions and centres of excellence, and new medical treatments for Bahamians.  The impressive list goes on.

The way in which this adventure is being trumped up has certainly made me weary.  For one simple reason: Our politicians have a knack for trumpeting revolutionary projects that never live up to their promise.  And I would hate for us to venture into another one of those limp experiments at the expense of matters of real national importance.

Let us not forget, a few years ago, telemedicine was the revolutionary technology that was supposed to transform health care in The Bahamas, “bridging the islands of the Bahamas medically”.  The Bahamas was supposed to become a nerve centre for the Caribbean, using the success of connecting the Family Islands as the launch pad for a worldwide breakthrough in the developing world.

The Free National Movement government launched a tele-radiology pilot project in two community-based clinics: The South Beach Clinic in New Providence and Eight-Mile Rock Clinic in Grand Bahama. Radiologists at Princess Margaret Hospital or Rand Memorial Hospital consulted regularly with technicians and patients at the two clinics.  They used a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) to store, share and archive imaging data.

The idea was to link the entire Bahamas into the PACS system.  International partners could also be plugged in, so a doctor in Nassau would be able to consult with a radiologist at the University of Miami.  The government was hoping to use the technology to provide other long-distance services like pre-natal ultrasounds.

The government also launched a virtual skin clinic in Abaco, which treated 42 patients in its first month of operation.  The government eventually rolled out the programme in Andros, and had plans to replicate the skin clinic model with paediatric clinics.

The government made some positive inroads with telemedicine, but whatever happened to the promised renaissance?

Recently, a $100,000 telemedicine lecture lab was launched in the oncology centre of PMH thanks to a donation from the Bahamas Telecommunications Company, evidence that the telemedicine dream is still alive, but not evidence of a revolution.

When telemedicine was the hot topic, Dr Hubert Minnis, the Minister of Health at the time, promoted it as a forward thinking project by a visionary government.

“(Telemedicine) is extremely futuristic; that is what this Government is all about.  It is not just about today, but it is about tomorrow and tomorrow we will be able to expand that so that not only will we be taking the Emergency Room to the Family Islands, but we will be able to expand the service so that we will be in a position to also take Intensive Care Unit and other facilities to the Family Islands,” said Dr Minnis in 2007, on the occasion of the pilot project launch.

Unsurprisingly, the Progressive Liberal Party government is now framing its interest in stem cell research in the same light, as catching the wave of the future.

Oncologist Dr Arthur Porter, former head of the government’s stem cell task force, predicted a global “renaissance” in the use of stem cell therapy “over the next ten years”.  He positioned the government as being forward thinking by getting ahead of the curve.

However, Dr Porter did not predict he would be embroiled in an international scandal just six months after his stem cell prophesy.  He is currently being held on an international arrest warrant in connection with an alleged million dollar kickback scheme in Canada, where he faces charges of fraud, conspiracy to commit government fraud, abuse of trust, secret commissions and laundering the proceeds of a crime. Dr Porter denies all of the charges against him.

Nowadays it is hard to take the government seriously, when political leaders have such a loaded track record of rhetorical dishonesty.  And it is almost impossible to take the government at its word, when it keeps dangling carrot sticks of some awe-inspiring future that is likely to have no impact whatsoever on the quality of life for the average Bahamian.

During debates in the House, Minister of Health Dr Perry Gomez boasted about the story of an infant born in Italy, who was recently treated successfully using stem cell therapy.  What Dr Gomez did not say is that tracheomalacia, the condition that afflicted the child causing her to need a new trachea, is a very rare condition.  The story is touching, but how relevant is it for the average Bahamian?

Bahamians are afflicted with common diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, kidney disease.  All of these are top contenders for potential stem cell therapies.  However, stem cell medicine is still in its infancy, from commercial and scientific points of view.

In 2011, the company that conducted the world’s first Federal Drug Administration approved clinical trial using human embryonic stem cells on spinal cord patients aborted the experiment and left the stem cell business entirely.  Geron, the leading Silicon Valley biotech company in question, directed its resources towards experimental cancer drugs, which were much more advanced in their development.

The company was awarded a $25 million loan from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine for the trail, but it returned the money: $6.5 million, the amount it had borrowed so far, plus interest.

The company determined it did not have sufficient financing to continue its experiments with stem cells and cancer treatments at the same time.  And despite having spent $150 million over 15 years investing in its stem cell treatments, it chose to go with its cancer research.

There may obviously be other factors at play here, but one conclusion that can be drawn at face value is that stem cell medicine is a bad bet for Bahamians hoping for a cancer treatment in this generation.

At best, researchers “estimate that the time lag between research expenditure and eventual health benefits is around 17 years”, according to a report by the Welcome Trust, a UK based biomedical research and the medical humanities firm.

Of course, anything is possible.  At the end of the day, treatment is not the same as a cure.  The promise of stem cell therapy is a cure for disease.

Either way, stem cell medicine is a highly specialised niche market in the medical field and will likely be so for years to come.  It seems doubtful that stem cell treatments for common conditions will become mass market in the near future, based on reports about the industry.  At some point, they will be available to an exclusive few by virtue of their cost.  And now, they are available to an exclusive few because patients have to meet “a very strict set of criteria” to qualify for treatment, based on rigid clinical research trial protocols.

Last year, when the Bahamas Heart Centre (BHC) in conjunction with Advanced Innovative Medicine Inc of Orlando, Florida, conducted The Bahamas’ first cardiac stem cell implantation, Dr Conville Brown, BHC director and CEO said: “The expansion of the patient’s stem cells is a procedure that generally attracts a price in the region of $20-30,000 just for the cells.  And nobody has put them in yet and nobody has taken them from the patient yet, so the general price is somewhere easily around the $40-50,000 range.”

The 62-year-old cardiac patient, who was a medical tourist, had advanced coronary artery disease.  He had already undergone bypass surgery on a number of occasions, after his first heart attack in 1989.  The stem cell treatment was considered a “last option” before considering a heart transplant.

Stem cell research is not your average field of study.  It would be irresponsible to mislead people by hyper inflating the benefits they are likely to reap with rosy portraits of an uncertain possible future.

There is another important aspect of the stem cell debate that needs to be explored.  Let us look at our national healthcare needs.  If The Bahamas was to aspire to global dominance in any area of medical research, it would seem more prudent to fix our eyes on area of medicine that was a) of great relevance to the Bahamian people, and b) best served by our natural resources, national infrastructure and areas of technical expertise.

An obvious example comes to mind: breast cancer research, considering Bahamian women suffer from the disease at disproportional rates to the rest of the world.

In the government’s speech from the throne, which established its legislative agenda, it committed itself to “facilitating the Public Hospital Authority’s acquisition of new cancer screening technology to ensure that Bahamian women have access to-state-of the art mammogram machines”.  Makes sense.

Telemedicine is another good example.  It was in fact a good idea (even if oversold), considering we desperately need ways to bring basic and advanced medical services to the remote corners of our archipelago.

Let us examine another healthcare example, an overlooked area of need.  There are two main government entities responsible for delivering health care services in the Bahamas: the Public Hospital Authority (PHA), which manages the hospitals and the Department of Public Health (DPH), which manages a network of 55 health centres and 59 satellite clinics across the archipelago.

Every year, we have a flood of young doctors graduating from institutions such as the University of the West Indies (UWI) entering the professional ranks in The Bahamas.  And yet, the Department of Public Health is still chronically short on doctors.  It has to import doctors from around the world to work in The Bahamas.

How is it that we have so many people entering the medical profession in The Bahamas and yet we still have to import doctors?  Here is a problem the government might want to invest some time and money into solving.

Junior doctors, particularly those coming out of the UWI system, are required to participate in a mandatory internship programme with the PHA.  Many of them are scooped up by the PHA at the end of their internships and choose to remain in the hospital system, because they are able to continue understudying experienced doctors and develop new skills in areas of specialisation.

If they were employed to the DPH, they would be limited to practising general medicine, for the most part, and have to take up Family Island posts, where they would serve as resident experts unto their own.

Here is a problem that affects the day-to-day lives of Bahamians in an area of critical need.  Our medical professionals, particularly young professionals, need greater access to training and more incentives to enter the Department of Public Health’s system.

There, government has a buffet of healthcare needs to choose from: a shortage of doctors in public health, a shortage of surgeons and specialists in the medical profession generally, a breast cancer rate that is out of control, high rates of prostate cancer in our male population, and a long awaited national health insurance scheme, among other immediate concerns.  A responsible government would channel its resources and build human resource capacity in areas of true need for its people.

Sadly, none of this logic seems to matter because stem cell research in The Bahamas has a celebrity champion with money to spend.

I am reminded of the research I did last year about the funeral services industry.  For decades, the government has failed to enact regulations to bring the industry in order.  It is the wild wild west in funeral services in The Bahamas.

The lax regulation of sanitation standards, for example, is having a serious impact on public health.  The nonexistent regulation of funeral service practitioners has given birth to players who employ embalming and burial practices that dishonour the dead.

The government has turned a blind eye.  Meanwhile, families, according to members of the industry itself, are “being bamboozled” by the system, and our dead are being habitually dishonoured.  The government has no shortage of excuses for its failure to act. Apparently, it is waiting on the industry to come forward with its own draft regulations.

The whole matter forces us to ask serious questions about how the government establishes its legislative priorities.  Perhaps the funeral services industry needs to get itself a celebrity backer.  Because stem cell medicine, a priority only for a few private medical companies prior to 2012, has managed to become a front burner issue for the government when it was never on the legislative agenda to begin with.

When the Stem Cell Research and Therapy Bill becomes law, the obvious question will be how is the government going to set its budgetary priorities in the health sector?

The government recently announced a possible new partnership with the University of Miami, who might help the government with its regulation of the industry.  I am curious to know what kind of government resources will be allocated to the regulation and oversight of this industry, and sustaining a relationship with the University of Miami.  Will the taxes associated with the industry sufficiently cover all of the government’s incurred expenses?

What frustrates me about how the stem cell debate has evolved is that our foray into the industry could have gone down without much fanfare or controversy, with sobriety and restraint, had it been a side project for which the government was only obligated to get involved in from a regulatory point of view to ensure public safety and the rule of law.

But no, the project has become a side show, having been trumpeted as “ground zero” for the next medical revolution in the Bahamas, based on claims that have not been sufficiently substantiated.

Stem cell technology might be revolutionary in the field of medical science, but it is not at this juncture the revolutionary answer to our healthcare needs or our economic woes.

The governing majority has failed us in this debate and so has the opposition.  Both have wasted the people’s time overplaying their hands, proffering base arguments that have caused more confusion than clarity, more petty squabbling than true debate.

I hope discussion ends on this bill quickly, so the government can proceed to matters of true concern. And I hope any expense incurred by the people on this stem cell adventure is offset by fees and taxes paid by those who have the real vested interests.

• Noelle Nicolls is the Tribune’s Features Editor. She is also a travel writer, women’s activist and entrepreneur. Follow her on Twitter @noelle_elleon. For questions or comments, email khalilanicolls@gmail.com.

August 06, 2013

Tribune 242 

Lessons from the 'Mother of Parliaments'

tribune242 editorial:


THE pulsating and historic general election in Britain on May 6 has resulted in stalemate - a hung parliament which was last seen in that bastion of democracy more than 35 years ago.

In 1974, the Conservative incumbent prime minister, Edward Heath, was forced to resign after failing to secure a deal with the Liberals.  With a slim lead over the Conservatives (also known as Tories), Labour leader Harold Wilson formed a new government.  But, without sufficient support in the House of Commons, he had to call another election in October of the same year which he won with a tiny overall majority.

In Britain, proportional representation does not apply.  So the political party with the most votes over all other parties is the outright winner under the first-past-the-post system.  This avoids horse-trading and deal-making and is considered to produce strong governments with a mandate to take decisive action.

In last Thursday's election the Tories won 306 seats against Labour's 258 but failed to win an overall majority.  The Liberal Democrats with 57 seats hold the balance of power together with the other minorities in a legislature of 650.   According to latest reports, Labour has put out feelers to the Lib Dems.  But an alliance between the two would still leave them without an overall majority and would require other deals with minorities like the Scottish National Party, the Greens and others.

More likely is a Conservative minority government or some sort of coalition between the Tories and the Lib Dems as long as they can reconcile, in the short term, their differences on major issues like the economy - notably, where to apply the necessary spending cuts to tackle the nation's huge debt and deficit - immigration, education, the European Union and (most significantly) electoral and other political reform.  The Lib Dems have for long championed the introduction of proportional representation.  Their gain at this election of some 23 per cent of the votes but only 8 per cent of the seats has strengthened that case.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has already spoken of the moral right of the Conservatives under David Cameron, with the largest share (36 per cent) of the popular vote and 47 more seats than Labour, to lead a new government.  But without securing some form of accommodation (coalition or informal power-sharing alliance) with the minority parties he will not have a mandate in the House of Commons to govern.

Until he does so, under constitutional convention the incumbent prime minister, Gordon Brown, remains in power since the business of governance has to be maintained.  While political deals are made, the government must continue to function.  The money markets, not least, react badly to political instability.

As this fascinating drama of political intrigue and manoeuvre unfolds over the coming days, the controversial issue of proportional representation is likely to take centre stage; particularly if Cameron is forced to make concessions about electoral reform as the price for Clegg's political support.

There are already indications that a new cross-party parliamentary commission may be set the task of studying it and making recommendations.  Nonetheless, introduction of proportional representation or some version of it is clearly a long way off.  It appears to work in countries as diverse as Germany and New Zealand.  But, whatever form it might take in Britain, it would represent a seismic shift in well-established electoral procedures and would probably require a referendum.

With our political system based on the Westminster model, are there lessons to be drawn from the British general election for the Bahamas and its body politic?  A hung parliament demands greater cooperation among the political parties.  A coalition government will be under greater pressure always to put the national interest first. Could such solidarity be translated in some way to politics in the Bahamas?

In our small country, where the ideological differences between the parties are not great, opposition politicians are nevertheless intent on trying to show their constituents that they are active.  So they seem to criticise government policy and actions almost for the sake of doing so.

Certainly, they need to scrutinise what the government does and keep ministers in check.  But there is room for less bickering and gratuitous criticism and, instead, for more cooperation in relation to issues which may be controversial but which need to be resolved for the sake of ordinary Bahamians.

Can attitudes in The Bahamas change and government become more inclusive for the benefit of us all?  Can our own politicians be less confrontational and work together more effectively for the common good?

As events in London develop, there may indeed be lessons to be learnt by us here at home.

May 10, 2010

tribune242

Sidney Stubbs can Only Hold On to His Holy Cross seat in the House of Assembly as long as He has An Appeal outstanding in His Bankruptcy Matter

Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall indicated that if there is an appeal before the Privy Council, Mr. Sidney Stubbs needs to pursue that before he can ask the Supreme Court to annul the bankruptcy order issued against him in March

Stubbs Appeal In Doubt

 

 

 

By Candia Dames

Nassau, The Bahamas

29th November 2004

 

 

Nearly one week after Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall adjourned the Sidney Stubbs bankruptcy matter, officials of the Progressive Liberal Party say they have still not been able to confirm whether the Holy Cross Member of Parliament has an appeal before the Privy Council.

His attorneys could not say last Tuesday whether there was in fact an appeal and have not yet given an indication that there is one.

While the legal team filed a notice to appeal to the Privy Council in September, it still remains unclear whether it moved ahead with that intent.

A PLP official told the Bahama Journal that the uncertainty surrounding the alleged appeal is creating frustrations for the party, which is seeking to speed up the legal matter.

When he adjourned the case last week, Sir Burton indicated that if there is an appeal before the Privy Council, Mr. Stubbs needs to pursue that before he can ask the Supreme Court to annul the bankruptcy order issued against him in March.

When asked on Sunday whether he has an appeal before the Privy Council, Mr. Stubbs told the Bahama Journal that he does not speak to the press and any statement in this regard would have to come from his attorneys.

Up to last week, attorney Wayne Munroe, who represents Mr. Stubbs’s former creditor, said he had received no notice from the MP’s counsel that an appeal was indeed active.

The hierarchy of the PLP is reportedly concerned that the matter may be dragging on too long and was considering whether to indicate to Mr. Stubbs formally that the party needed to start preparing for the eventuality of a bye-election.

Mr. Stubbs can only hold on to his seat in the House of Assembly as long as he has an appeal outstanding in his bankruptcy matter.

It could be why he and his legal team are for now keeping quiet on whether they actually have an appeal active.

In September, the House of Assembly approved a resolution granting him an additional six months to pursue an appeal.

Last Tuesday, Sir Burton made it clear to the court that there was no appeal presently before him as it relates to Mr. Stubbs’s bankruptcy matter.

The Free National Movement has insisted that the Holy Cross-seat became vacant the moment Supreme Court Justice Jeannie Thompson declared the MP bankrupt in March.

When contacted on Sunday, the FNM’s candidate for Holy Cross Carl Bethel told the Bahama Journal that he wanted to steer clear of making too many public comments at this time on the matter which is still before the courts.

But he reiterated the position of his party as it relates to the latest debacle involving Mr. Stubbs.

“The government really has to decide whether they are going to honour and uphold the constitution or whether they’re going to play politics with it,” said Mr. Bethel, who is also the party’s chairman.

“They know that Sidney Stubbs has no appeal to the Privy Council.  His seat is vacant under the constitution and it is really an abuse of the constitution…the fact of the matter is if there is an appeal, the other side ought to have received concrete evidence of such a thing.”

Raynard Rigby, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman says Embattled Holy Cross Member of Parliament - Sidney Stubbs still has The Party Support

Raynard Rigby added that talk of a possible bye-election is premature, because Mr. Stubbs has not yet exhausted the time provided under the constitution for him to have his bankruptcy order discharged 

Chairman Says PLP Fully Behind Stubbs

 

 

By Candia Dames

Nassau, The Bahamas

22/07/2004

 

 

 

 

Despite his legal troubles, Holy Cross Member of Parliament Sidney Stubbs still has the full support of the Progressive Liberal Party, PLP Chairman Raynard Rigby said Wednesday.

“Mr. Stubbs lodged his appeal, the matter is still before the courts and so he is still entitled to due process under the constitution,” Mr. Rigby said.

He added that talk of a possible bye-election is premature because Mr. Stubbs has not yet exhausted the time provided under the constitution for him to have his bankruptcy order discharged.

Although Mr. Stubbs has said he has repaid the debt that led to Supreme Court Justice Jeannie Thompson declaring him bankrupt nearly four months ago, he still has to have the order reversed before he can participate in proceedings of the House of Assembly.

His time would expire around the same time that the House comes off its summer recess in late September.

“Our support is in line with the protection given to him under the constitution,” Mr. Rigby told the Bahama Journal.

“I’ve spoken with his attorneys and I have been advised that he still has a number of options available to him, and they are exploring those options with a view to bringing the matter to an end.

“If they are successful in their options then obviously there would not be a bye-election in Holy Cross.”

However, Mr. Rigby said earlier in the week that should a bye-election be called, his party would undoubtedly be victorious.

But Free National Movement supporters say this would be unlikely.

“Having been lost or hiding himself from the many embarrassing moments of his embattled colleague and party, Mr. Rigby appears to have lost touch with reality as to what is going on in New Providence and The Bahamas at this time,” read a statement from the Action Group of The FNM issued Tuesday.

“In its current state of unacceptability, the PLP would be hard-pressed to win a seat in a bye-election or any kind of election in New Providence or elsewhere in The Bahamas.”

Sources within the PLP, meanwhile, have told the Journal that thought is already being given to who the PLP would run should a bye-election be called, with some speculating whether this would be an ideal time for CDR leader Dr. Bernard Nottage to accept what amounted to an invitation from Prime Minister Perry Christie for him to rejoin the PLP.

Last week, Mr. Christie told the Journal, “Everyone knows that I have a great deal of personal affection and a great deal of political admiration for Dr. Nottage, and most certainly look forward to the time when a process can be engaged in - if that is the wish of Dr Nottage - towards his becoming a full fledged member again of the Progressive Liberal Party.  I believe that is where he ought to be.”

For now, PLP officials are saying on the record that they are hopeful that Mr. Stubbs would once again take his place on the backbench when Members of Parliament return from their summer recess in September.

Senator Edison Key Resigns From the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP)

"I'm just looking for a bright future," says Edison Key

War In PLP - Key Leaves Party

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

24/02/2004

Claiming that forces within the party have launched an all out war to decapitate him politically, former Senator Edison Key has resigned from the PLP.

"I see this situation getting worse each day and I figured maybe this is the time to just give it all [up] if that's what they want," Mr. Key said in an exclusive interview with the Bahama Journal Monday.  "I was in my bed and this came to me that maybe I should just relinquish my ties with the PLP for the time being."

He added, "Let them do what they want to do, maybe they're better off without me."

Mr. Key's change of heart comes exactly one week after the Journal revealed in an exclusive report that he had resigned from the upper chamber on January 10.

Last Monday, when asked by the Journal if he intended to resign from the party, Mr. Key said, "I've been a part of the PLP from 1970.  I've been through all the struggles and trials and tribulations.  I ran here in Abaco when you [would have been considered] an outcast to even identify with the PLP, especially a white man in an all white area."

He said then that he would not leave the party.

But he said Monday that things have changed since last week and that some members of the party have lined up to throw daggers at him.

Mr. Key said in a letter to PLP National Chairman Raynard Rigby that, "This decision has come about due to the unfortunate chain of events that have occurred over the past 20 months culminating in my resignation as Senator in the new Progressive Liberal Party Government, effective January 10, 2004.  Kindly convey my very best wishes to all Stalwart Councilors when next council convenes."

Mr. Rigby said in a release to the press last night that, "As is the custom, the letter will be forwarded to the National General Council of the party and to the leadership council."

He added, "It is with regret that we have received Senator Key's resignation.  It is most unfortunate.  The party will continue its work in Abaco and the rest of The Bahamas."

Mr. Key reiterated to the Journal Monday, "It creates deep pain, it goes right to the soul and that's what I've felt for the last year and ten months under this administration.  I really feel sorry for them because it seems that they have no direction and no director.

"Maybe that's saying it pretty harsh, but I think it's time for the people of The Bahamas to wake up and get a government that will give The Bahamas back to the people.  It's now become a government that's become almost a dictatorial system and it's time for a change"

But he insisted that now was not the time to reveal the contents of his letter of resignation from the Senate, a copy of which he said has been sent to Senate President Sharon Wilson.

Last Thursday, Mr. Key told the Journal that his meeting with the prime minister "went well" and that he had a "frank" discussion with the nation's leader.

He said, though, that he feels that he no longer belongs as a member of the party so he has opted to pull out.  But he said he was not prepared to align himself with any opposition party because the Free National Movement, in particular, is also facing a leadership crisis.

"I'm just looking for a bright future," said Mr. Key, who was in Nassau on Monday.

When asked whether he thought there was a viable alternative to the PLP, the former Senator said, "If there were a strong opposition, the PLP [would be] in trouble.  But even the opposition needs [to get] it together.

"You see, I know how to fight the opposition, but I never had any ammunition to fight the PLP.  I have no bullets that can penetrate the PLP.  It's like shooting one of your own family.  You don't do that.  I'm talking in a political sense now."

The Journal also asked Mr. Key what it will take for him to rejoin the PLP. 

He said, "Hope and help - and help and hope that really means it, [a leader who] says what [he] means and means what [he] says.

"Good leadership."

Asked if he may consider joining an opposition party in the future?  He said, "You never know.  The king dies, a new king comes up."

Mr. Key also said he was hurt by a column that was published Sunday on bahamasuncensored.com, a website that is the offspring of fredmitchelluncensored.com, which says its views do not represent the views of Minister Fred Mitchell, his Ministry or the Government of The Bahamas.

The column states, "The PLP, like most other parties, has its hardliners.  There is a herd instinct.  And so not withstanding the fact of all the history that has gone on before, the immediate reaction of too many was to denounce him, to remind him of his race, and to tell him as impolitely as possible go about his business.

"Then there are those who have impugned his motives by saying that the real reasons are economic and the fact that certain personal benefits did not come to him.  But all politics is about personal benefit of one kind or another.  Another set urged the PLP to cut Mr. Key off at the knees, decapitate him politically if it could be done.

Edison Key Says That He Would Not Rescind His Letter of Resignation from The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP)

There is no way in the world that I can go back on my decision of my resignation from the Progressive Liberal Party - PLP; and therefore it is final, says Edison Key 

Edison Key: "It is finished."

Key Shakes Up PLP

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

20/02/2004

Former Progressive Liberal Party Senator Edison Key revealed to the Bahama Journal last night that two government ministers asked him to rescind his letter of resignation, but he said there is no way on earth that will ever happen.

Mr. Key also said that he hopes that his resignation sent a strong message to the party that it needed to get its act together.

"I hope it will be a wake up call for the leadership in the party," he said.  "And I hope that it will only cause the support out there to grow stronger and [create] unity within the rank and file of the party."

He said he met with Works and Utilities Minister Bradley Roberts, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell and the Member of Parliament for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador Philip "Brave" Davis, Wednesday night who asked him to think twice about the decision he had made.

Mr. Key said these men are people whom he respects highly, but he said after a "frank talk we came to the final conclusion that my decision is final."

"Progressive Liberal Party and, therefore, we agreed that I need to submit an official resignation to the president of the Senate, which I will do very shortly and it will be official," he said. "In the meantime, I guess you could call me Senator."

 

Mr. Key spoke to the Journal about a meeting he had with Prime Minister Perry Christie in Nassau Thursday morning at which time he said he personally delivered a copy of his letter of resignation, which he was considering making public to the media.  He said he presented the letter in front of three Cabinet Ministers.

Mr. Key added he was "a little bit angry" that the prime minister did not get the original letter more than a month ago.

Mr. Key also said his letter outlined the manner in which he was treated since becoming a Senator under the re-incarnated PLP government.

He said he made it clear to Mr. Christie that he respected the office of Prime Minister, even though he criticized the country's leader earlier this week for lack of direction and poor leadership.

"The office of Prime Minister to me is an office that I respect next to the office of God," Mr. Key said.  "I am a Bahamian citizen.  I have nowhere to go and if we can't respect the person who holds the office, that's one thing, but the office of Prime Minister should be there to protect every single Bahamian for justice and right.

"I hope that prime ministers now and in the future will recognize the important role that they have to play as the leader of our country."

He said his meeting with the prime minister went "very well."

But he said, "I told him how I had tremendous hopes during the campaign and up until a few months after the election.  I told him how disappointed and hurt I am about the way I have been treated.  I told him this thing goes deep to my soul and there is no way in the world that I can go back on my decision of my resignation and therefore it is final.

"It is finished."

Mr. Key said he and the prime minister "parted on a very good note."

When asked if he thought his resignation hurt the party, he said, "I certainly hope not."

"I never had any intension to hurt the party.  That is not my intension.  I hope that it will only make them stronger and bring the people together in one accord and not divide it like it is today because it looks like we are becoming further and further apart."

Mr. Key added, "The decision I made was for Edison Key.  Other people will decide what they want to do."

"I've given 30-something years to this party and I'm still very much alive," he said.

Mr. Key added that he did not feel that he needed to attend a PLP council meeting held Thursday night because he didn't think Members of Parliament and party officers would speak freely if he were present.