...in the face of a general election — I have decided to rate the Free National Movement's (FNM’s) best and worst Cabinet Ministers from 2007 to 2012... in Hubert Ingraham's Cabinet

Best of the FNM Cabinet

By ADRIAN GIBSON
 ajbahama@hotmail.com


IN this increasingly hyper-partisan and thorny political environment—in the face of a general election—I decided to rate the  FNM’s best and worst ministers from 2007 to 2012, measuring the  ministerial performances of each and rating them on a scale from one to  five. Last week’s YMV column listed the one-star, bottom-tier ministers who I felt had mismanaged the sky-high expectations of the Bahamian  people.

Although a mixed crew of personalities comprises the Cabinet, whilst  there are/were weaklings and acutely despondent, chronic underachievers  in the executorial assemblage, there are first-rate go-getters and hard workers who have given praiseworthy service.

Frankly, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham will not be rated among his portfolio of ministers. I will discuss him and  his legacy at a later  date. However, he has offered firm leadership and has proven himself as a political Einstein who relies on good common sense and his political  capital during rough times.

Although he initially appeared shorthanded in terms of his Cabinet  selections, PM Ingraham seemingly projected the image of at least  having his glass half full. Consistent with his political DNA (no pun intended), the PM does not employ a reckless or impetuous approach to  the decision-making process, making concrete decisions so that the country could’ve battled the gloomy economic recession. Frankly, he has  had the political will to make unpopular, sober-minded decisions in the  best interest of the country.

By and large, PM Ingraham has correctly renegotiated land deals that  were out-and-out land grabs, modernised the country’s infrastructure, fostered the entrepreneurial spirit whilst also creating a shareholding  society, assisted the poor and downtrodden and brought some semblance  of transparency and integrity back to government, thereby heightening investor confidence and methodically exposing the ministerial inconsistencies of the previous administration. Moreover, the PM has effectively stabilized and managed the country’s affairs even as the country faced what, only a few years ago, seemed to be insurmountable  economic odds.

Undoubtedly, history will record him as the Bahamas’ best Prime  Minister thus far.

In rating Mr Ingraham’s best Cabinet ministers, I’ve decided to  utilize a tier system, placing the best of the best major portfolio ministers in tier one. Tier one represents those ministers whose  performances were absolutely outstanding whilst tier two represents those ministers who rendered “good-to-very good” performances.

 Tier One

The fifth best minister is DPM Brent Symonette, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Immigration. First, I must give kudos to Mr Symonette for  correcting the deplorable incidents of overcrowding at the passport  office and for quickly implementing machine-readable e-passports. In the past, I have criticised Mr Symonette as having performed grimly as a minister, however his effectiveness of late has been duly noted.

Unlike his former junior minister, Mr Symonette has been a quiet and smooth operator, never exhibiting any groundless braggadocio or  showmanship.

At Foreign Affairs, the DPM has been superb, having negotiated  numerous OECD-pleasing Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs)  without a hitch; facilitated an agreement that allows Bahamians to travel to European countries without the headache of signing up and waiting for a Schengen visa; overseen the speedy processing of immigration matters and the cessation of the silly practice where Bahamians returning home were required to fill-out an immigration form; supervised the smooth transition of Chinese workers coming to the Bahamas to build the stadium, roads, docks/bridges and BahaMar; and managed to foster the settlement of a maritime border issue between the Bahamas and Cuba after about 50 years (Paul Adderley, the former Attorney General, and others had been attempting to resolve the issue since king hammer was a hatchet). Under Mr Symonette, the illegal immigration situation was efficiently confronted, without him once having to impersonate anyone and don an immigration officer’s uniform.

Even more, there hasn’t been any escapes from the Detention Centre in recent time and, even with its infrastructural improvements, the Detention Centre is no longer seen as a residence—he has hurriedly facilitated the repatriation of illegal migrants.

Of late, Mr Symonette has seen to it that the immigration policies of the Bahamas have been enunciated and the immigration department has seemingly adopted a more proactive approach centred on deterrence.

Seemingly, the department has allotted resources to properly educating foreigners on legal ways to access this country—e.g. the campaign in Haiti.

Frankly, there seems to have been a deepening of trade relations between the Bahamas, Europe and North America and the creation of stronger alliances and a stronger commitment to addressing common issues, such as inter-jurisdictional crimes and drug trafficking. I would like to see better multilateral cooperation between small island states in the hemisphere on environmental matters, particularly since larger countries prefer dealing with smaller countries in blocs.

That said, Mr Symonette has been somewhat unfairly dogged by allegations of conflict of interest, particularly as it relates to the road works. This has not distorted his quiet consistency in his ministry and, moreover, he has represented the country well at diplomatic events.

Larry Cartwright, the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources and a Long Islander (home town boy!), has actively pushed the development of agriculture. He roars into the fourth spot. Mr Cartwright is an unpretentious, hands-on minister who participates in each project, from the planning stages to implementation. The outgoing MP for Long Island has, with limited resources, been progressively promoting farming and economic diversification alongside BAIC chairman Edison Key. Mr Cartwright and Mr Key have brought substance to BAIC and have made farming a real agenda item, as opposed to merely paying lip service.

During the past five years, the agriculture minister and Mr Key have been attempting to reverse 70 years of farm decline, whilst seeking to address inefficiencies in produce distribution and marketing and correcting the unfavourable shipping conditions that cause spoilage during transport.

Under Larry Cartwright, a fruit tree planting project – where two farmers were contracted to "moss" 15,000 persian lime plants and mango, avocado and sugar apple trees imported for sale to farmers at cost – was initiated; provisional greenhouses for schools and a school garden programme; implemented an embryo transplant programme; promoted agribusiness expos; implemented the backyard gardening initiative (with lessons and a start-up kit); purchased farm tractors for North Andros; established a weekly farmers market at GRAC; continued the "feeder farm" roads and land clearing programme for Family Island farmers, 50 per cent of which is subsidized by government; instituted duty exemption on all imported items being utilized by registered farmers and fishermen for job-related tasks; overseen the refurbishment of packing houses, the abattoir and the produce exchange in Freeport as well as ongoing renovation of the Produce Exchange on New Providence; established a fresh produce market on Gladstone Road; established marine protected areas in Abaco, the Berry Islands and Exuma; has pressed for legislation to regulate Cooperatives; has sought to ensure that fishermen and the Bahamas’ natural resources are protected from bald-faced poachers by seeking the engagement of the Defence Force in high priority fishing areas; has given new life to cottage industries and sought to empower entrepreneurs from island to island in to create an authentic Bahamian souvenir experience; and pushed for the passage of a new animal control bill to control stray and roaming animals and also sanction their owners.

Moreover, as a farmer himself, the minister's recognition of the urgent need to resurrect agriculture and fisheries has, in conjunction with FAO consultants, led to the creation of the first five-year development plan for agriculture and fisheries.


Overall, Mr Cartwright simply performed his job without much fanfare and did well.

Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace—Minister of Tourism and Aviation (MOTA)—has reinvigorated his ministry’s approach to marketing and developing our tourism product, boosting morale that was at an all-time low in the wake of Neko Grant’s disastrous reign whilst also recapturing and expanding upon market share. Mr Vanderpool-Wallace is a highly respected, regional tourism guru whose performance, particularly over the last two years, has breathed life into sluggish tourism numbers. He has advanced sustainable tourism, targeting new markets and nurturing wider market share—incorporating a focus on regional and Latin American tourism and airlift. I’m pleased to see that greater emphasis has been placed on deepening the Bahamas’ appeal to corporate, religious and sports groups as well as medical tourists.

In the past, I complained that there wasn’t any sustainable promotion of domestic and foreign tourism throughout the archipelago. I called for the promotion of the collection of islands as different, unique destinations and the minister has shared that vision and seemingly sought to focus heavily upon that.

Just this week, the tourism minister has virtually brought Bahamasair a new lease on life, having the MOTA and Bahamasair coordinate on tourism while restoring Bahamasair’s local/international credibility.


To the minister's credit, he has overseen the implementation of a 1-800 toll free line that is operated by Bahamians, created the Bahamas.com website, has revitalized and jumpstarted the BahamaHost programme and implemented a companion fly-free promotion to boost the tourism industry on the Out Islands.

Today, the redevelopment of Bay Street is another feather in the tourism minister’s cap, in addition to increasing airlift to the Bahamas during a recessionary period.

John Delaney, the Attorney General, comes in at number two as he has attempted to correct much of the malignant neglect of his office by previous office holders. Mr Delaney is an affable chap who has superbly managed and implemented an aggressive legislative agenda with a view to carrying out speedier trials and alleviating the backlog of cases in our molasses-like legal system. The administration of justice under John Delaney is on an upward spiral with progressively more suspected criminals being tried in 18-24 months.


Moreover, his administration has proposed and seen to the establishment of magistrates courts on various Family Islands, has overseen the construction of a remand court at the prison and has seen to the improvement of the courts' infrastructure and the administration of justice/legal system with the building and refurbishment of new court buildings (e.g. Nassau Street, Ansbacher building).

Competent justice initiatives have be undertaken since many violent criminals take comfort in knowing that a matter would likely not be brought to court or, after a considerable time lapses, that they would be granted bail.

Moreover, Mr Delaney has taken initiative relative to the recruitment, payment and tenure of judges; the recruitment and hiring of attorneys to quickly move criminal matters along and deal with issues such as trade reform; and, purportedly, offering incentives to a few experienced and brilliant local lawyers to leave their practices – even if shortly – to sit on the Bench.

He handled the squabbles within the AG's office, relative to the Director of Public Prosecutions saga, with dignity.


There is a tie for the number one spot—shared by Desmond Bannister and Dr Hubert Minnis.


Desmond Bannister, the Minister of Education (MOE), has shown humility and pureness of purpose in addressing the issues plaguing the education system. Once Carl Bethel was bounced from the Cabinet and Mr Bannister was given an opportunity to shine, he provided a morale boost from the ministry/department and, through worthwhile initiatives, is earning the confidence of the nation. He seems cool under pressure, exhibiting the political will to make tough decisions.

Who else was thinking about smoking out persons illegally registered to vote in a constituency in which they didn’t reside long before the general election? Mr Bannister had the guts to press for a cleaner register and decided that one doesn’t have to wait until after the election to go to the election court—instead addressing the issue pre-election.


Mr Bannister has brought much of the critical management needed to coordinate and bring the MOE to a point where the organization and its employees have strictly defined roles. Moreover, he has cleaned up corruption and eliminated the notion by certain high-ranking officers that they were running their very own little fiefdoms.


The minister is wisely carrying out early repairs and preparations for school openings in September. Indeed, there is also a need for the training and re-training of teachers. Frankly, the ministry must align the curriculum with the development needs of the country in order to imbue a strong sense of self, speak to nation-building, address the question of self-reliance and entrepreneurship, teach the Constitution, etcetera.

Mr Bannister has established a sexual complaints unit; a boys mentoring programme; implemented consistent standards for graduation ceremonies in all public schools; held a back-to-school parent seminar; sought to clearly define the grading system for national exams; revised guidelines for hiring new teachers; established scholarship programmes and increased scholarship awardees; conducted an in-house audit; and implemented cost cutting measures such as requiring staff to leave government vehicles parked at the Ministry after office hours. Mr Bannister has also followed through on his pledge to personally oversee school repairs and construction before paying a dime. Upon appointment, he met with security officers to address shortages and security concerns at schools.

During Mr Bannister’s administration, several schools have either been completed or refurbished.  Health Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is the other top minister sharing the number one billing. Dr Minnis has modernized and reformed the healthcare system in the Bahamas. Dr Minnis—one part of the M & M (Minnis & Maynard) election team—is also set to put an “Old Testament political beat down” on his challengers for the Killarney seat during the upcoming election.

I have personally found him to be an upstanding, man of his word.  The health minister has modernized the hospital, overseeing improvements at PMH and the Rand in Grand Bahama whilst initiating e-medicine, which is an innovative, technological advancement for an archipelagic nation where critically ill Family Islanders may be in dire need of immediate healthcare.

During his tenure, Dr Minnis effectively addressed disgruntled nursing staff and their union as well as issues such as insufficient supplies and equipment and medicinal shortages at the hospital's pharmacy.

Dr Minnis must be credited with instituting insurance for nurses, proactively tackling the swine flu epidemic, the remodelling at accident and emergency, renovations to the emergency room at the Rand Hospital (Grand Bahama) and generally showing an interest in PMH's staff and the wider public. He has also overseen the passage of a national prescription drug plan, which has assisted Bahamians with accessing much-needed medication.

Other pluses for Dr Minnis include the reduction of the infant mortality rate during his administration; the early detection of epidemics (dengue, malaria) and the ensuing immediate deployment of health professionals throughout the archipelago; and his encouragement of exercise and healthy lifestyles among citizens who are increasingly becoming overweight.

Tier Two

Lastly, the ministers in the tier two category are all good ministers. In this category, Works Minister Neko Grant (who has the distinction of being on both the best and worst lists), Minister of the Environment Earl Deveaux and Minister of Labour and Social Services Dion Foulkes make up the last of the FNM Cabinet’s brightest ministers.

The above mentioned ministers will be highlighted at the end of next week’s column, where I would offer my reasons as to why they make the list.


 Caribbean Blog International

...exactly why was Ken Russell fired from Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's Cabinet?

Cabinet rules that led to firing

By LARRY SMITH



WELL, this is all very confusing, isn’t it?

Just before an election the leader of the FNM gets into a nomination spat with a three-time successful candidate in one of the party’s Grand Bahama strongholds.

The 58-year-old candidate is a Cabinet minister, who has complained publicly about changes to the boundaries of his High Rock constituency, recently redrawn as East Grand Bahama. And in quick time, he is sacked from the Cabinet and starts behaving like Tennyson Wells – right before the election.

So what is this all about? Where does party business end and government business begin in this political squabble? And exactly why was Ken Russell fired?

Social media websites were deluged over the weekend with questions and opinions on these unusual developments. Most of those comments, and much newspaper coverage as well, focused on the nomination issue, and the supposed rift between “original” FNMs and so-called “Ingrahamites”, who joined the party after 1990.

For example, Ivan Johnson in The Punch said the controversy revolved around Russell’s “gross disrespect” of Ingraham over the nomination issue. And tensions were so high at a meeting in Grand Bahama on Sunday, The Punch said, that a special security detail had to accompany the prime minister.

This was denied to me by individuals who attended the packed meeting in Freeport, and an online video of Ingraham’s remarks showed no evidence of dissent or hostility amongst the exuberant crowd of FNM supporters, despite Ken Russell’s obvious presence in the audience.

“The PM has enraged the Cecilite FNMs with his cold and harsh treatment” of Ken Russell, Kendal Wright and Verna Grant, The Punch wrote on Monday. Meanwhile, Russell had earlier told the Freeport News he did not know why he was fired. Branding Ingraham a “tyrant”, he said he would seek to run in the next election anyway.

However, insiders say the sacking had little to do with Russell’s attempt to hold onto the FNM nomination, or to any disagreement over the redrawing of constituency boundaries. He was fired because he publicly opposed a Cabinet decision.

Under our system of government, ministers must support in public the collective judgment of the government and their Cabinet colleagues. A minister who cannot support a major government policy is expected to resign. Or face dismissal by the prime minister.

This is clearly spelled out in The Manual on Cabinet Procedure: “A fundamental principle of Cabinet government is unity. It is important to present a united front to the public. If any minister feels conscientiously unable to support a decision taken by Cabinet, he has one course open to him and that is to resign his office.”

And in a telling comment to The Tribune by Maurice Moore – one of the original so-called “Cecilites” and the former parliamentary representative for High Rock – “Russell didn’t handle the matter correctly.”

In fact, the reason for Ken Russell’s firing goes back to the waning months of the Christie administration, when the government received a proposal from an American company known as Beka Development. Beka reportedly wanted to acquire 64,000 acres in east Grand Bahama at a concessionary price of $2,800 per acre.

According to Sir Arthur Foulkes, writing in The Tribune in March 2007, “Mr Christie and his colleagues in the PLP government must have taken leave of their senses even to entertain such a proposal. But it is obvious that preliminary talks have taken place and that Beka has been encouraged to proceed.”

Since then, Beka has turned its attentions to the island of Eleuthera, where it is supposedly pursuing a multi-million-dollar project on privately owned pristine coastline at South Point. This project is opposed by environmentalists, and last summer Beka said its failure to advance the Grand Bahama project was also due to environmental issues, “and the fact that 80 per cent of the required land was government-owned”.

Meanwhile, the original east Grand Bahama project seems to have morphed into something else. Last year, The Tribune reported that a mysterious company called “the Cylin Group, whose principals include the daughter of the Chinese defence minister, was looking at a major tourism development on 2,000 acres of land in the Sharp Rock area”.

This project was said to include hotels, a casino, a cruiseship terminal and a marina to be built by Chinese companies. Most of the land was said to be owned by the Grand Bahama Development Corp (Devco) and the Port Group. Devco is half owned by the Port Group and half by Hutchinson Whampoa, a Chinese company.

Insiders say that after the FNM took office in May 2007 the Grand Bahama Port Authority told government it had not agreed to transfer any land to Cylin, and subsequent inquiries as to where the money for the project was coming from were not favourable. “Nevertheless, the government gave the project the benefit of the doubt and allowed it to come before Cabinet, where it was voted down on four separate occasions.”

In Ingraham’s own words, “we would like to have any kind of project in Grand Bahama, but we also want to do things that we think make sense and not everybody who comes along and says we’ve got something is somebody who we could trust”. He added that Russell promoted the project in public even though it had been rejected by the government four times.

On Monday, Russell admitted as much to The Freeport News. He said he was working with investors seeking to do a $1.5 billion development on Grand Bahama. He acknowledged that the investors had applied to the Port Authority for land but their request had been turned down. Very little is known about this proposed project or the developers themselves.

The nomination issue is a separate matter, insiders say. This is apparently a case of the FNM leadership trying to recruit fresh talent to revitalise the party ahead of an election. However, there are those who argue that the Cabinet rules issue was a pretext to get rid of Russell, an ineffective minister who was obstinately refusing to step down as a candidate despite an earlier undertaking to do so.

In this context, there is no doubt that the FNM leadership has the biggest say in deciding the slate of election candidates. According to the party’s constitution, candidates are recommended by the executive committee (chaired by the party leader), after consultation with constituency associations. The recommendations are then ratified by the FNM council, which is also chaired by the party leader.

“I met with the High Rock, now East Grand Bahama, Constituency Association earlier this afternoon,” Ingraham told the crowd in Freeport on Sunday, “and invited them to put forward the names of at least two candidates that you could consider to carry your party’s flag for East Grand Bahama in the next election, and I expect to hear from them in short order.”

He added that some sitting FNM members of parliament will resign of their own volition and others will be asked to make way for new candidates.

The subtext to all this is the future of the Grand Bahama Port Authority itself – a private franchise with enormous value for the country as a whole. Insiders say that the island’s economic woes combined with the Port Authority’s lack of direction creates a huge dilemma for the government, which does not want to be seen as intervening heavy-handedly in private enterprise, abrogating the Hawksbill Creek Agreement or pre-empting the courts.

But at the meeting on Sunday Ingraham put the GBPA on notice. “After the next election we will say to the Port Authority, this or that. And so it will be very much a question of Grand Bahama’s future in the next general election, which will take place not long from now.” It is not clear what he meant, and Ingraham declined to elaborate for me.

Meanwhile, the opposition PLP is said to be working assiduously behind the scenes to get disgruntled FNM’s to run for the PLP or cross the floor and support a vote of no confidence in the government. This would presumably force the prime minister to dissolve parliament, after which a general election must be held within 90 days.

If this does not happen the government can constitutionally continue in office until May 2 (the date of the 2007 election), when parliament must be dissolved and an election held within 90 days. So theoretically, the prime minister has until the end of July to hold elections, although most observers believe a February poll is more likely.

Of course, most observers believed a November election was in the cards too.


• What do you think? Send comments to larry@tribunemedia.net, or visit bahamapundit.

December 15, 2011

tribune242

Caribbean Blog International

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham on the firing of the Minister of Housing, Kenneth Russell from his Cabinet

PM: Why I fired minister


By DENISE MAYCOCK
Tribune Freeport Reporter
dmaycock@tribunemedia.net


BEFORE a packed room of FNM supporters, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham yesterday explained in detail why he fired Minister of Housing Kenneth Russell from his Cabinet.

He met with the FNM's High Rock Council and has invited members to put forth at least two names as candidates that the party could consider for the new East Grand Bahama seat in the next general.

Supporters turned out at the Foster Pestaina Hall at Christ the King Church at 4pm to hear from Mr Ingraham.

He was greeted with cheers and applause as he made his way into the auditorium. Also present were Brent Symonette, deputy leader, MP Zhivargo Laing, Senator David Thompson, and former Cabinet Ministers and MPs Maurice Moore, and C A Smith.

Prime Minister Ingraham said he did what any Prime Minister would do to a minister who acted in a manner inconsistent with the Cabinet of the Bahamas.

Mr Ingraham stated that sometime ago, he had sent Brent Symonette, the deputy leader of the FNM, to speak with Ken Russell about stepping aside.

Mr Russell, he said, had sent a message with profanity back with Mr Symonette.

Mr Ingraham said he had chosen Russell to replace Maurice Moore in High Rock, and had appointed him to his Cabinet.

He stated that the party is always in search of new and additional talent and that was the purpose of asking Mr Russell to step aside.

The Prime Minister said he spoke with Mr Russell himself and informed him that after the next election, if the FNM was successful, he did not intend to put him back in Cabinet, and suggested that he step aside so the party can nominate someone else.

"I made him an offer of what will happen for him if he did that. He told me he would get back to me next week," Mr Ingraham said.

The Prime Minister said at a meeting in Grand Bahama, Elkenny Pinder and Mr Russell had questioned him about a proposed project for East Grand Bahama.

Mr Ingraham said the matter was considered by the Government of the Bahamas on four separate occasions, and on each occasion they could not and would not support the project.

"In fact, we would love to have a project like that in Grand Bahama and in the Bahamas, but ... not everybody who comes to the Bahamas and says we got something is somebody who you could trust," he said.

After returning to New Providence, Mr Ingraham withdrew the offer he made to Mr Russell.

"I told him the offer I made last week is hereby withdrawn, because if it wasn't so near to the election, 'I would fire you for what you did,' " he said.

"He (Mr Russell) explained himself but that did not change my view. I told him I decided that he had to tender his resignation."

"He did not tender his resignation and so I dismissed him. Although I dismissed him, he is still my friend," Mr Ingraham said.

Mr Ingraham also said that Mr Russell had made a remark, "Who does Hubert Ingraham think he is?"

"I am the leader of the FNM. You elected me as your leader. I assure you I did what any Prime Minister would do to a minister who acted in a manner inconsistent with Cabinet of the government of the Bahamas.

"There is nothing personal, I did what had to be done," he said.

While in Grand Bahama, Mr Ingraham met with the High Rock, now East Grand Bahama Constituency Council, and invited members to put forward to the party at least two candidates that the party could consider to carry the party's banner in East Grand Bahama in the next general.

"As you know Grand Bahama is important to the FNM. It is important for the FNM to renew itself by bringing in new additional talent.

"Maurice Moore made it possible for Ken Russell; David made it possible for Zhivargo Laing, and I got in Abaco because Charles Bootle made room for me," he explained.

"We want for this election to put forward the best team that we can. In order to do that, some of our members who are now in the House are going to retire.

"Some have asked to go on their own volition, and some are going to be asked not to go again," Ingraham said.

The leader of the FNM said he will unveil to the Bahamas in the coming weeks, the FNM's line up for the next general election.

"I am asking Grand Bahama to continue to support us. We are the best party for Grand Bahama and the best for the Bahamas.

"The evidence of our goodness in Grand Bahama can be seen, heard and touched. Your choice in the general election is going to be very simple, PLP or FNM; Hubert Ingraham or Perry Christie would be Prime Minister of the Bahamas.

"Never mind the noise in market. It is, will be, PLP or FNM. You are in safe hands with the FNM.

"Grand Bahama, we want to inject in our parliament some new blood.

"We ask Grand Bahama to accept the new blood. We want you in GB to select at least two names for the seats in Grand Bahama," the Prime Minister said.

Mr Ingraham said the seats that were reconfigured in Grand Bahama were done in response to the feedback from the people

"We have not reconfigured Marco City and Pine Ridge, we reconfigured those seats for a reason. We listened to your cry in Grand Bahama and much of what we do is in response to what you say," he said.

"There is nothing sinister about what we are doing. We do have your best interest at heart," he told residents of Grand Bahama.

Mr Ingraham then asked supporters to stand in recognition of the late FNM stalwant Ron Darville who died yesterday.

December 12, 2011

tribune242

Caribbean Blog International

Kenneth Russell: Minister of Housing and Member of Parliament for High Rock was fired from Hubert Ingraham's Cabinet

KENNETH RUSSELL FIRED FROM CABINET

By PAUL G TURNQUEST

Tribune242 Chief Reporter

pturnquest@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Housing and Member of Parliament for High Rock Kenneth Russell was fired from the Cabinet of the Bahamas at 9.30am today, The Tribune can report.

According to party insiders, Mr Russell’s termination came as a result of him “breaking Cabinet protocol” and allegedly discussing Cabinet decisions in the media. Reportedly Mr Russell’s challenge to his party leader, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, that he would be running in High Rock despite his party’s wishes was the “final straw”.

The Minister of Works and Transport, Neko Grant, will now take over responsibility of the Ministry of Housing.

FNM Chairman Carl Bethel told The Tribune yesterday that he could not comment on Mr Russell’s termination as it was a Cabinet decision and “not a party matter”.

However, PLP MP for Fox Hill  Fred Mitchell said that there is no question that the FNM Cabinet has “collapsed”.

Claiming that there is a tremendous amount of resentment in the FNM, Mr Mitchell called on Mr Russell, Clifton MP Kendal Wright and Eight Mile Rock MP Verna Grant to join with the PLP and vote Mr Ingraham out of office. 

“The handwriting has been on the wall for days, the collapse of the FNM Cabinet as we knew it. Constitutionally, the position has now been regularised with the dismissal of Kenneth Russell from the Cabinet,” Mr Mitchell said.

Recalling his earlier statements published in The Tribune, Mr Mitchell said that he questioned how Mr Russell could remain in the Cabinet given the fact that he publicly dissented from a decision of the Cabinet and was chastised by the Prime Minister for doing so in the House of Assembly.

“I understand that the situation became more untenable for the former Minister when he made his position pellucidly clear about opposing the will of the Prime Minister at the meeting of the party held last evening in Freeport,” Mr Mitchell added.

“The Prime Minister acted this morning to dismiss him once he heard the content of his comments. Mr Ingraham had to act to help to frighten the other troops and keep them in line. My concern is for the stability of the government and ultimately the country. What we see happening is only the tip of the iceberg, a desperate attempt by the Prime Minister to save himself.

“This is 2002 revisited. Firing ministers, attacking his own people. Mr Russell, Kendal Wright and Verna Grant should join us in the PLP and vote Mr Ingraham out. The government is operating on a knife’s edge. It is time for the Prime Minister to go to the people and put himself out his misery and allow the PLP the opportunity to govern. I remind the Prime Minister that in the circumstances when the new Parliament meets, the maxim will be: the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Mr Mitchell said.

 December 09, 2011

tribune242

Caribbean Blog International