Mr. Robert “Sandy” Sands, senior vice-president of external and governmental affairs at Baha Mar, says: ...while he supports regularising number houses ...he is not an advocate of Bahamians being allowed to gamble in local casinos

Bahamians ‘Not Disciplined Enough’ To Use Casinos


By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

ROBERT “Sandy” Sands, senior vice-president of external and governmental affairs at Baha Mar, said yesterday Bahamians are not “disciplined” enough to be able to gamble in casinos locally.

Mr Sands’ comments came after Prime Minister Perry Christie said that permitting Bahamians to gamble in local casinos will not be considered in the referendum on a national lottery.

Mr Sands said while he supports regularising number houses, he is not an advocate of Bahamians being allowed to gamble in casinos.

“I am a strong advocate of limited relaxation for Bahamians gambling in casinos. I believe the government should examine the opportunity for high net worth for persons who can verify their ability to sustain gambling for limited periods like over a month or something like that.

“I support gambling for persons who come on short term work permits, especially in the entertainment business. I also support gambling for persons of high net worth who have permanent residency in the country and people with second homes,” he said.

“However, I do not support opening the floodgates totally. We are not a disciplined enough community. I understand rights, but there are some rights we have to take away from individuals for their own benefit. We have to find the balance and even with the liberalization of the number houses there might be an opportunity where numbers may be able to be purchased through a window at the casino. But no I do not support Bahamians gambling in the casino.”

As it stands gambling is illegal in all forms for Bahamians and non-citizen residents of the Bahamas. However, Prime Minister Christie has promised a referendum on the legalisation of gambling and a national lottery before the year is out. He said a referendum is necessary to remove the “contradictions” that have led to gambling continuing to be illegal, yet widely practised and accepted.

Mr Christie said: “It is something that I think is very necessary to remove these enormous contradictions that exist in our country where every single Bahamian is walking around knowing that they (illegal web-shops) exist. We cannot have this system... where people are paying national insurance payments, making other institutional payments and then otherwise pretending that this activity is lawful. That cannot go on any further.”

He said he is working in the Ministry of Finance on scheduling a time for the referendum. He also said the former government “has done a lot of work on that” to the point where the former government created draft legislation.

It has been estimated that a national lottery could pump more than $190 million into the Bahamas’ economy annually.

Currently there are at least 16 independent numbers houses in New Providence alone, with another six in Grand Bahama and a few spread throughout the Family Islands.

The Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) has gone on record opposing the legalization of gambling in any form in the Bahamas.

July 06, 2012

Tribune242

Caribbean Blog International

What does the Bahamian electorate really think of Perry Christie? ... Is he more popular and more respected than Hubert Ingraham? ... Than Bran McCartney?

Christie’s keys to success (Pt. 1)

By Dr. Ian Strachan

Logic would seem to dictate that in this long season of discontent, in this season of record unemployment, in this season of record bloodshed, in this interminable season of frustrating, confusing, infuriating “road works”, in this season of collapse for many homegrown businesses, in this time of rising fuel and food prices, logic would seem to dictate that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), under Perry Gladstone Christie, will be swept into office and the Free National Movement (FNM) will be ingloriously swept out.

Logic would seem to dictate that the FNM will be hard pressed to secure seats in New Providence other than those held by Brent Symonette, Dr. Hubert Minnis and Loretta Butler-Turner.

But there are some problems with this assessment.  There are some very big questions looming like storm clouds over the PLP.  The first is whether enough people feel comfortable returning Perry Christie to power.  The second is whether the PLP has changed sufficiently or has a strong enough message to persuade crucial swing voters that the PLP is still the best alternative, despite how they feel about Leslie Miller, Bradley Roberts, Picewell Forbes, V. Alfred Gray, Shane Gibson, Allyson Maynard-Gibson and company.

It might seem reasonable to assume that the PLP hasn’t really lost much of its base since 2007.  In fact, that base should have grown over the last four years given all the suffering and fear in the country.  But the fact is, most Bahamians want to see a change in leadership in both established political parties, and they’re not going to get it.  So interest in this election might be lower than normal.  Even some traditional PLPs may register but stay away on election day.

It’s also reasonable to assume that some of the swing vote that was attracted to the National Democratic Party’s “Bahamians-first” message might gravitate toward the PLP, now that Dr. Andre Rollins and Renward Wells have joined and the NDP has fizzled.  Their inclusion bodes well for Christie, particularly if they both get nominations.  They will appeal to young change-minded voters.

But what do people really think of Perry Christie?  Is he more popular and more respected than Hubert Ingraham?  Than Bran McCartney?  Without the national affection and regard felt for former PLP deputy leader Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt to buoy him, can Christie gain the confidence and trust of the majority of voters?  The Christian community (which is mostly Baptist and Pentecostal) and the working poor identified strongly with ‘Mother’ Pratt. Where will the PLP get that kind of credibility from now?  Is Deputy Leader Brave Davis a help or a hindrance?  What about Chairman Bradley Roberts?  Should Christie have persuaded Dr. Bernard Nottage, a man highly regarded by swing voters and Bahamians generally, to go for deputyship?  Will the ghost of Lynden Pindling or the dignity and grace of Dame Marguerite be enough this time around?

Christie’s Achilles’ heel is the perception that he is a less decisive and results oriented, and a less effective manager than Ingraham.  This is a big sticking point for the swing vote and the professional class.  But Christie is not without advantages in this fight.  For one, he is the warmer of the two men in interviews and more of an inspirational leader than Ingraham.  The people may be tired of Ingraham’s short, dry-eyed approach and may want someone they perceive as more sympathetic and approachable at the helm.

Christie also has the luxury of sitting back and poking holes in all the FNM’s efforts to address the troubled justice and educational systems and the sputtering economy.  Christie knows most voters have short memories and don’t care about what the PLP did or didn’t do five to 10 years ago.  This is why he can say he supports hanging and not get laughed out of town.

Christie also has at his disposal the collective disenchantment, anger and fear that permeates the society.  He is likely to milk this for all it’s worth and it’s worth a lot.  Many of the angry and disenchanted will abstain from voting or vote DNA, but at least they won’t vote FNM.   If the PLP can get its base out to the polls and woo even half or a third of the angry voters out there, it stands a good chance of coming out on top--even if “on top” means heading a minority or coalition government.

Sep 05, 2011

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

...the continued - and in many cases essential -- presence of Haitians in The Bahamas is because many Bahamians have decided that certain work is beneath them

Bahamians vs Haitians in the Bahamas

tribune242 editorial


EVERY MAN will have his day in the sun.

Bahamians complain that if "something" is not done about the Haitian "problem," Haitians will take over the Bahamas. That consequence really depends upon Bahamians. Already the continued - and in many cases essential -- presence of Haitians in our country is because many Bahamians have decided that certain work is beneath them. "Not me!" they scornfully snarl. "That Haitian work!"

Well, if that's Haitian work, Haitians will always be needed to do it. In other words Haitians -- if essential standards are to be maintained -- are necessary to the Bahamian's social well being. As the late Dr Cleveland Eneas, a dentist, once asked -- long before there was a Haitian problem -- if every Bahamian became a doctor, dentist, teacher, etc, who would be left to clean his car so that he could practise his dentistry? These were the days when then prime minister the late Sir Lynden Pindling told young Bahamian Johnnies and Suzies that if the PLP became the government someone would be picking up after them -- "no longer would they be hewers of wood and drawers of water."

It was that disdainful attitude to honest work that opened the door to the Haitians. For three square meals a day and able to send money back to their families in Haiti, they had no objection to being hewers of wood and drawers of water, and any other honest labour that came in between.

In schools Haitian children are noted for being bright -- they are at the top of their classes, they walk away with many of the prizes, academically they push Bahamian students to the sidelines. It is not because they are brighter. It's because they work harder, and they work harder because it's the lot of the underdog. Chewing harder and longer at the bone is the only way an underdog knows how to become top dog.

Labouring Haitian parents have ambition for their children. They watch over them. As one MP noted in parliament: If you see a small child being walked to school by a parent you know that's a Haitian child. When they come from school, they don't sit on walls with their chums, or idle their time before a television set, or get up to mischief in gangs; they go home and do their homework. And in the evening they are at home -- still at their books -- with their parents.

The problem with many Bahamians is their idea of entitlement. They believe that they are entitled to the good life without effort. If this attitude is not discouraged at a very early age and the dignity of hard work raised to a higher level -- yes, the Haitians will eventually take over -- and Bahamians will only have themselves to blame.

Just consider the history of women. Treated in ancient times by certain tribes almost as pack animals, and even today by certain sects as man's possession to do with as he will, women are holding important posts in today's world. Some men complain that women are taking over. It is true, women have taken over because they have had to work longer hours for their achievements. The time came when women broke through the glass ceiling that held them down. They could no longer be ignored.

We recall as a child admiring the well built, slim frames of Fox Hill women, who walked daily downtown from Fox Hill, balancing a large basket of produce on their heads to sell in the market. And at night they walked back home with their earnings stuffed in a pocket of their long skirts. There was no problem of obesity in those days. They were strong, hardworking, handsome women. Today their highly educated granddaughters and great-granddaughters drive to work in cars and hold top positions in the country. These women worked and studied harder because they were competing in a man's world. Many men fell by the wayside, not because they were less bright, but because they took too much for granted.

When we returned to the Bahamas with three degrees from three different universities, and were helping form public opinion from a desk in The Tribune, we still could not vote in a general election.

Our Bahamian gardener, who could neither read nor write, had more say in the government of our country than we had when he marked his X at his polling division in a general election.

Bahamian women got the vote for the first time in 1962. Their fight was long and hard, but eventually they not only arrived, but they are dominating.

And so the future for the Haitians in this country depends upon Bahamians.

As Will and Ariel Durant pointed out in one of their many books on Civilization: "No great nation is ever conquered until it has destroyed itself" from within. The authors then listed the many causes for internal destruction, among them "disturbance of economic life by political disorder, the corruption of democracy... the decay of morals and patriotism..." and we might add the break down of the family.

July 12, 2011

tribune242 editorial

Caribbean Blog International

Ruth Bowe-Darville - President of the Bahamas Bar Association says: Bahamians who suggest abandoning the Privy Council as a final court of appeal are “treading in very dangerous water.”

Bar Council chief says Privy Council still needed



JUAN McCARTNEY
NG Senior Reporter
thenassauguardian
juan@nasguard.com



President of the Bahamas Bar Association Ruth Bowe-Darville has expressed concern over recent calls for the country to move away from the Privy Council as a final court of appeal in the wake of a controversial ruling on how the death penalty should be applied.

Bowe-Darville said Bahamians who suggest abandoning the Privy Council are “treading in very dangerous water.”

“Criminally, it’s one thing. Civilly, when you’re dealing with financial matters and the economic impact of it, litigants who come before our court, they need that assurance that there is some place of last resort that is independent and seen to be independent,” said Bowe-Darville while appearing as a guest on the Star 106.5 FM program “Jeffrey” on Thursday.

“Litigants who come before us with multi-million-dollar cases and they see us as a great financial center, they need the assurance that the Privy Council is there,” she said.

Last week, the Privy Council quashed the death sentence of murder convict Maxo Tido and ruled that the gruesome murder of 16-year-old Donnell Conover in 2002 did not warrant a death sentence.

When police discovered Conover’s body, her skull was crushed and she was badly burned.
But the Privy Council, while recognizing that it was a dreadful and appalling murder, said it did not fall into the category of worst of the worst.

Tido was sentenced more than five years ago.

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham announced in the House of Assembly on Monday that the government intends to bring a bill to Parliament before the summer recess to deal with “the question of the imposition of the death penalty in The Bahamas”.

The legislation would outline specific categories of murder.

Bowe-Darville said the government has to address the question of the death penalty through legislation, but has to be careful not to offend members of the international community.

“I think the question of the death penalty needs to be addressed. I think the country is torn by it because we’re in the throes of this crime epidemic as people have labeled it,” she said.

“People believe that the sentence of death and the implementing of the sentence is going to solve the problem — rightly or wrongly.

“The debate is wide open. Whether the passage of legislation will resolve the problem is yet to be seen, but we need to address it, not only for our own national or domestic needs, but the addressing of the death penalty issue also has international implications for us. It also has economic implications for us.”

Bowe-Darville said Bahamians must remember that the country is “a small fish in a very big pond.”

“The wider community out there with whom we interact internationally, they’re not for the death penalty and have long not been,” she said.

“We interact with them for trade; we look to them for funding. And so we have to consider those implications as well. [Certainly the prime minister] would have considered our greater good and he would consider our interaction with the wider world as well when the legislation comes forward.”

Jun 25, 2011

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

Branville McCartney says: ...move this, our beloved country, forward toward the future of empowerment that has been promised to us for almost 40 years

Branville McCartney
Press Release –
10th April, 2011


I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Right Honorable Prime Minister for his support and assistance over the years, particularly in support of me as the representative for Bamboo Town in 2007, as well as the Junior Minister of Tourism and Aviation and the Minister of State for Immigration. During my term, I represented the government and the Bahamian people to the best of my ability. I did those things that I believed were agreed upon by the present government. I know that I did my best. I have no regrets, and may have further comments in the future.

However, for now, I am humbled and honored by the overwhelming show of love and support that I have received from Bahamians of all walks of life, at home and abroad, particularly those in the great constituency of Bamboo Town, since my resignation from the Free National Movement.

In recent days, I have also been overcome with humility by the growing number of people who have come forward to express their interest in working along with me to move this, our beloved country, forward toward the future of empowerment that has been promised to us for almost 40 years.

I do want the public to know, as I noted in my address to the House of Assembly on the 23rd March 2011, that when I entered public life, I did so because I saw Bahamian families who were beginning to feel trapped and powerless in a society that appeared to be imploding all around them. I did so because I recognized a force of complacency in our youth, brought on by years of neglect and disrespect, which was draining them of all self- respect to the point that they were, and still are, failing out of society in larger numbers than ever before. I said that I was motivated by the idea that I could possibly be one of a new generation of public servants who could offer a clear vision of meaningful change and be that difference when it came to shaping the future direction of what is, potentially, the greatest nation in the world. I want the Bahamian public to know that my intentions remain the same and I remain steadfast and committed to that purpose.

As I also noted in the House of Assembly on that day, I remain steadfast to ensuring that our society, from Grand Bahama to Inagua, Long Island to Rum Cay, from Bain Town to my beloved constituency of Bamboo Town, will continue, on an even greater scale, to be a society free from the forces of complacency, oppression, insensitivity, bitterness, and self-doubt – a society where people will feel safe and secure both in and out of their homes; a place where people will feel like people again. As I continue my work in this vein, I again wish to thank the many people of our great country for their encouragement.

To the people of Bamboo Town and The Bahamas, when you next hear from me publicly, I will not be alone in presenting a real vision and mission plan for our country that will speak to your desires, your dreams, and your possibilities.

Like America, who against all odds elected its first Black President; like Trinidad, with its first female Prime Minister; and like Haiti, electing “underdog” musician Michel Martelly as President, it is my utmost belief that together, as a people united, Bahamians and The Bahamas, will join other countries around the world in redefining what is possible.

I ask all to remain encouraged and know that I am using my time away wisely and creatively to ensure that the next government of The Bahamas will be prepared to represent them well, by putting together a plan that will once again put people first.

I close with a paraphrased version of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

Therefore, do not lose heart. Although, as a country, outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. These momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal greatness that will far out-weigh all the troubles we are experiencing now. So fix your eyes not on what you see, but on what is yet to be seen.

Continue to keep me, my family, and our beloved country in your prayers.

Bahamas Blog International