Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham: ..."government and other institutions are no substitute for personal responsibility and family life."

PM Ingraham calls for volunteers

tribune242 editorial


IN HIS address to the nation last night on crime, Prime Minister Ingraham outlined his government's plans to introduce legislation in Parliament to "further aid in the shared battle we are waging against criminality." (See story page 1).

He also pointed out that "government and other institutions are no substitute for personal responsibility and family life."

To get the whole community involved in an attempt to recapture family and social values, he announced that on November 1 a National Volunteer Register will be launched. At this time members of the community will be invited to volunteer their time to mentor young men and women, assist in community centres with after school programmes and join outreach programmes into urban neighbourhoods to encourage parental and child involvement in school activities. Also needed are volunteers to work with existing youth organisations in their programmes and many other social activities that can help change a society.

He found distressing not only the high murder count, but "what those numbers represent".

"For all of our good fortune as a country," he said, "we have in significant ways lost a sense of ourselves and of what is essential." He quoted one writer as reminding us "that 'what is essential is invisible to the eye'."

He said that Bahamians longed for something more than the outer trappings of material success. They longed for the invisible that the eye cannot see -- community and fellowship; peace and well-being.

"Remember," he said, "when the old people used to tell us that all you have is your good name and your reputation and that you don't leave this Earth with any of your worldly goods."

"Our most precious possessions," he said, "are invisible to the eye like a good conscience or the service we give with no expectation of recognition or reward.

"This crisis of culture and community manifested in an unprecedented level of criminality requires us to deal with essentials invisible to the eye like values, attitudes, social trust and mutual respect.

"We will get the crime numbers down," the Prime Minister promised. "But most crimes are symptoms, not root causes.

"Even as we relentlessly combat the criminals, provide law enforcement and the judiciary with the tools and resources they require and modernize our laws, there is something else as urgent, as essential -- it is urgent and essential that we renew, restore and replenish our sense of community choosing a culture of life over a culture given over to deadly violence."

Mr Ingraham emphasised the fact that "poverty is not an excuse for crime" -- a rack on which many Bahamians today hang their hats as they shrug off all responsibilities.

Using himself as an example of one who fought against the odds of birth and won, he said: "I too grew up poor. A two-parent family is our ideal. I am the child of a single parent and I was raised by my Grandmother.

"Many children from two-parent families get caught up in crime while many children from single-parent households are good citizens and fine young people.

"In the end," he said, "it is the quality of parenting, not the quantity that is essential.

"I grew up," he continued, "in what was then a remote part of Abaco called Cooper's Town. I came up at a time when there were few opportunities for a poor boy like me born to a single parent. The first time I met my father was when I was 11 years old.

"Even though I didn't possess material wealth, I had wealth more everlasting: Mama, who instilled in me a sense of my own worth as belonging to her and as a child of God.

"She schooled me in the knowledge that the land of my birth, The Bahamas we all love, is a land of opportunity for anyone willing to work hard.

"As a boy, never in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine becoming an attorney, Member of Parliament or minister of government let alone prime minister. But having been given this great privilege I have dedicated my public life to providing every Bahamian boy and girl with opportunities I never had.

"This is why," he explained, "I have never stopped working to make sure that every Bahamian child on every island in every settlement in The Bahamas has decent schools and access to higher education. This is why my Government ensures that everyone meeting a certain criteria and academic standards can attend the College of The Bahamas at public expense. And that is why since coming to office in 2007 we increased scholarship funding from $400,000 to $7.75 million. And this does not include bonded scholarships, the All Bahamas Merit Scholarship or Bahamas Commonwealth Scholarships.

"I say to you, young Bahamians: While your country may give you a hand-up, you are not entitled to hand-outs."

"So, even while we have much to improve as a country including the quality of our public education system, young Bahamians, men and women, you have more opportunities than any generation in Bahamian history.

"And so we must not throw up our hands or find easy excuses; instead let us unite to help to restore law and order and civility and community by getting involved."

PM Ingraham pointed out that "unless more of us get involved, none of us is truly safe. In the end community engagement and service will be more effective in combating crime than iron bars and gated communities.

"Our task," he said, "is not only to stop criminals from breaking into our homes and businesses. As urgently we must stop them from wanting to do so in the first place."

And so, Bahamians, the task is ours. We hope that many will take up the Prime Minister's challenge and get actively involved - for our sake and that of the next generation.

October 04, 2011

tribune242 editorial

Caribbean Blog International

...it was 'truly remarkable' that no one was seriously injured or killed as a result of Hurricane Irene - says Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham

PM says it is 'truly remarkable' that no lives were lost in Irene

tribune242





8pm - Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said it was 'truly remarkable' that no one was seriously injured or killed as a result of Hurricane Irene.

He addressed the nation in a taped television address at 8pm Friday evening to provide information regarding the storm damage and advise on what efforts will be taken to help those most affected by the dangerous storm.

In all, he advised that 1,016 people spent the storm in hurricane shelters. 156 of them in New Providence, 860 elsewhere in the country.

Assessment teams comprising Cabinet Ministers and public officers are being dispatched to all affected communities Saturday.

"The first of those departing for Cat Island tomorrow will, in addition to Ministers, include representatives from NEMA, the Department of Social Services, the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), The Water and Sewerage Corporation, Bahamas Electricity Corporation, Bahamas Telecommunications Company, Bahamas National Geographic Information System (BNGIS) Unit, the Department of Meteorology and members of the Royal Bahamas Police and Royal Bahamas Defence Forces," said Mr Ingraham.

A flight will also take three Defence Force officers to Cat Island, Acklins and Crooked Island Saturday morning laden down with food, blankets, sheets, pots and tarps.

He intends to personally visit affected Family Islands starting Saturday, including Grand Cay, Green Turtle Cay and Murphy Town, Abaco as well as Cat Island, Exuma, Inagua and other islands in the Southern Bahamas where he expects to spend at least two days.

In New Providence, where most of the damage was limited to fallen trees, branches and other debris, 40 teams from the Department of Environmental Health Services were mobilised on Friday to clear major arteries that were blocked.

Both DEHS and Ministry of Works also sent out crews on Thursday even before the all clear was given. Most of the clearing work should be completed by the end of Saturday and the verges will be cleared by Monday.

"Preliminary indications are that serious structural damage was sustained by Government offices, clinics, schools, police stations, and other infrastructure facilities including public docks in Coopers Town and Moores Island, Abaco and in George Town Exuma as well as to private dwellings and businesses in some Family Islands notably in Acklins, Crooked Island, Cat Island, Mayaguana, Exuma and some communities in Abaco.

"Most other island communities have reported varying degrees of damage to private homes, businesses, farms, fishing boats and churches. Roofs of homes, and other building sustained damage in Mayaguana, Rum Cay, San Salvador, Cat Island, Long Island, Eleuthera, Spanish Wells and Harbour Island, Exuma, Abaco, Grand Bahama and New Providence."

Some hotels and beaches in Exuma were damaged and hotel properties in New Providence and Paradise Island also experienced some minor damage.

The Prime Minister said there were reports of flooding in parts of Cat Island, Exuma, Mayaguana, San Salvador, South Eleuthera, North Long Island, Freeport at Queen’s Cove, the Fishing Hole Road and West End, Rum Cay, Central Abaco (Murphy Town) and "in low lying areas of New Providence, in particular at Lady Slipper Avenue off Soldier Rd and at Trinidad Avenue in Elizabeth Estates and to a lesser extent at the usual places prone to flooding."

The Bahamas has not been left alone to finance all the repairs that are going to be necessary. "Even before the storm had departed our waters offers of assistance have been received from the Government of the United States of America, from private sector friends of The Bahamas around the United States and from our sister Caribbean state, Jamaica whose Defence Force will fly a reconnaissance flight over Inagua tomorrow," he said, "The Caribbean Development Bank today advised of availability of an Emergency Relief Grant of up to US $200,000 and soft loans if required."

The Prime Minister advised that the storm will likely create some financial setbacks for the country, but he said the Government will focus on "on creating every opportunity for greater economic recovery, with particular emphasis on job creation. We will continue to provide social support where necessary, so that those most affected can receive the relief they need"

August 26, 2011

tribune242

Caribbean Blog International

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham appeals to all Bahamians to assist in the crime fight... says the government is resolute in its effort to reduce the level of criminality

Ingraham: All Bahamians must assist in crime fight

By Krystel Rolle
Guardian Staff Reporter
krystel@nasguard.com

Acknowledging that crime is unacceptably high, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham yesterday appealed to all Bahamians to assist in the crime fight, adding that the government is resolute in its effort to reduce the level of criminality.

“On the issue of violent crime I use this occasion to appeal to all citizens and sectors of society -- schools, churches, civic organizations, the business community and others -- to support efforts to combat crime and its causes,” Ingraham said during the Free National Movement’s Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at the Cousin McPhee AME Church on Carmichael Road.

“And I appeal to all sectors of society, including those in politics, to refrain from associating with and from making statements that excuse criminality or give comfort to criminals.  Together we can defeat those who seek to destroy our peace, tranquillity and economic well-being.  They are a small minority and we must determine, as the majority, not to allow the small number of bad apples among us to poison our environment.”

Ingraham said statistics show that crimes are being committed by persons from all walks of life, including those who come from good family backgrounds.  He added that the country is “challenged” by violent crime and unemployment. “We are best able to tackle both,” he said.

Ingraham noted that his government brought the country out of troubles before and is prepared to do it again.

“By our deeds, we and others are known.  Others governed during a time with violent crime and murder spiralled to unprecedented levels, unchecked drug trafficking and related crime changed the mores and behavior of far too many of our people and unemployment reached historic highs.  We brought our country back from those terrible lows and we are working diligently now to stop and reverse the threats to the quality of life of our people,” he continued.

His statement came one day after the 92nd murder was committed in the country.  A Haitian man was killed in his store on Palm Tree Avenue on Saturday evening.  He was shot in his neck during what is believed to be an attempted robbery.

The unemployment rate in New Providence dropped slightly from 14 percent to 13.2 percent.  Grand Bahama’s unemployment rate dropped from 17.4 percent to 15.4 percent. However, the number of people who are no longer looking for work (discouraged workers) also dramatically increased by 34.8 percent.

But despite those challenges Ingraham said the country has much to celebrate. “We also have significant national accomplishments, and are nowadays respected the world over.  It is in our power, with God’s help, to raise levels of civility and common accord between citizens and to win greater peace in our communities,” he said.

Ingraham, who is serving his third non-consecutive year as prime minister, noted some of the national accomplishments his government made over the years.

He said his government improved and extended telephone services, including cellular phone service to the most remote settlements of the country, and made the introduction of cable television and internet services throughout the country possible.

Additionally, he said the government made it possible for the further expansion of the broadcast industry.

“Now every Tom, Dick, and Harry can call radio stations and say what the Lord put in their hearts or what the devil put in their heads,” Ingraham said.

Meantime Dr. Ranford Patterson, pastor of Cousin McPhee Church, called on FNM’s to help restore the nation. He said it will take people who are willing to stand for righteousness.

“This is still the greatest nation,” he said, adding that Bahamians must return to the ideals of the past.

“We must become caring again,” Patterson added.

Aug 22, 2011

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

The social vision of Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and the Catholic social tradition

Hubert Ingraham’s inclusive social vision

FRONT PORCH

BY SIMON

To compare the social vision of Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham with that of the Catholic social tradition is not to suggest that they are identical. But they do bear a resemblance which led to collaboration between the prime minister and the late Archbishop Lawrence Burke, S.J., on a variety of ground-breaking social initiatives.

Bishop Burke, a Jesuit, was never seized by the hackneyed theology of those religionists who view politics and statecraft as inherently corrupt. “He understood modern life and the challenges of those responsible for the conduct of the business of state... ” He saw government as an indispensable means of advancing the common good and often preferred dialogue and private persuasion over hectoring and haranguing national leaders.

This does not mean that he did not have a prophetic voice. He famously and publicly chastised a now sitting member of Parliament for the latter’s comments related to the illegal migration of Haitians to The Bahamas. Bishop Burke’s response was swift and unequivocal, emanating from a first principle that ordered his social witness and mission and efforts in the realm of social justice.

It is the same principle or lodestar that has guided Hubert Ingraham’s ethic of care and compassion and his extraordinary social agenda: the defence of the dignity of the human person. Guided by this principle, Mr. Ingraham has expended political capital and energy combating inequality, prejudice and discrimination while expanding social and economic justice and mobility.

Remarkable

What is remarkable for a man of his age and times is that he has fiercely resisted the temptation to stigmatize various social groups or to pander to the baser instincts of some in The Bahamas who seek to maintain old prejudices or to scapegoat others.

The country often acknowledges those women from Dame Dr. Doris Johnson to Dr. Sandra Dean-Patterson who have enhanced women’s rights. Along with them, any hall of fame honoring champions of female equality must include Hubert Ingraham.

He has appointed or facilitated women attaining high office in government, including an unprecedented number of women to senior cabinet portfolios, and the first female chief justice and governor general, as well as senior posts in the public service.

Mr. Ingraham’s successive administrations instituted sweeping social legislation to secure greater opportunity for and to advance the equality of women and their children. As Hubert Ingraham was acting vigorously and boldly to improve women’s rights, there were some who conspicuously and in a self-congratulatory manner made speeches, travelled the globe and even collected awards for supposedly being champions of women’s rights.

When the courage of conviction was needed both of these evaporated in the face of political opportunism by some. It was Hubert Ingraham who was the profile-in-courage and proved to be more committed to feminist ideals when it came to amending the Constitution to make Bahamian women equal to men in the automatic transmission of citizenship to their children born to a non-Bahamian spouse.

Sadly, the party of Dame Doris Johnson failed to redeem itself on this glaring constitutional omission. It was the PLP who, at the Independence Conference in 1972, did not support the FNM’s progressive view that Bahamian men and women should enjoy equality in all things including this citizenship question.

During a break in the formal talks in London, when a senior PLP leader was pressed by an FNM delegate on the matter, the flippant response was that if Bahamian women got such a right, they would then want the right to use the men’s bathroom.

Opportunism

In the 2002 constitutional referendum, the PLP seemed on the verge of correcting a mistake it made three decades earlier, initially voting in favor of the citizenship question in the House of Assembly. But rank and hypocritical opportunism hijacked the remnants of progressive and liberal ideals that were calcifying in a party that abandoned the struggle for equality for Bahamian women on various fronts.

Returned to office in 2002 with the promise of constitutional reform and purportedly ardent female and male proponents of women’s rights and equality in the Cabinet, the PLP for a third time failed to do the right thing constitutionally on behalf of Bahamian women.

Then came the matter of proposed domestic rape legislation. Last week in a speech at a celebration luncheon for the 30th anniversary of the Bureau of Women's Affairs, Prime Minister Ingraham noted:

“It is an unfortunate and painful reality that when one seeks to equalize conditions that are glaringly offensive, the effort sometimes fails to attract support from those who would benefit.

“This was most recently demonstrated, for example, by the public debate which arose around my government’s initiative to extend protection in law to married women who may be abused by their husbands.”

He continued:

“Indeed, it appears that many in our society, both male and female, are not yet convinced that women are equal; instead stubbornly holding on to outmoded and long discredited 19th century social mores and laws which regarded women as chattel, incapable of making their own decisions and unqualified to vote, own property or defend themselves against the decisions of male relatives.”

While it is disheartening that such a regressive mindset still pertains among many, the sickening reality is those flamboyantly dressed in progressive garb, who mercilessly exploit such regressive mindsets for political advantage.

Courageous

Refreshingly, the PLP has been more progressive on removing discrimination against gays and lesbians and protecting such persons. It was the Pindling administration that decriminalized consensual sexual acts between gay people of consenting age.

In 1998 when a cruise ship with gay passengers travelling to Nassau stirred up the fire and brimstone and scapegoating and hypocrisy of some religious leaders and other belligerents, Hubert Ingraham made one of the most courageous and progressive responses ever by a Bahamian prime minister. It read in part:

“I have been chilled by the vehemence of the expressions against gay persons made by some in our newspapers and over our radio talk shows. Admittedly, there have also been expressions of reason and understanding on this matter on the editorial pages but these have been largely lost in a sea of bitter, poorly-reasoned diatribe.”

He pressed further:

“I do not believe that the future of The Bahamas will be placed in danger because chartered cruises by gay persons are permitted to continue to call at Bahamian ports. The future of The Bahamas is not threatened by foreign persons of homosexual orientation. Homosexuality is not a contagious disease; and it is not a crime in The Bahamas.

“Insofar as family life is concerned, studies conducted in developed nations around the world, most notably in North America and Western Europe, maintain that homosexuals are born and raised by well-adjusted loving heterosexual parents; and that well-adjusted homosexuals have given birth to and raised well-adjusted heterosexual children. While research has not been conducted in The Bahamas, the results would very likely be quite similar among Bahamians.

“An individual’s right to privacy is a basic human right cherished by all people. It is a right which citizens of democratic countries expect to be respected by their government.”

Option

One of the modern additions to the Catholic social tradition was a more pronounced and articulated option for the poor which placed the needs of the poor more deliberately at the heart of Roman Catholicism’s witness on social and economic justice.

Hubert Ingraham’s unrelenting, expansive and dogged focus on responding to the poor and promoting social and economic mobility grew out of his own life story and remarkable personal and public journey.

From helping to stimulate job creation to social development efforts in housing, education and health care, he has uplifted thousands of our poorer citizens. His massive increases in social assistance and landmark social legislation has helped to alleviate the burdens of poorer Bahamians whose daily struggles and ambitions he knows by lived experience.

In his person and his policies he has upheld the dignity of poorer and vulnerable Bahamians. While it is easy for some to caricature him because of his sometimes gruff personality, history will recall that he responded in a more Christian manner to various matters of social concern than some of his supposedly Christian critics including some religious leaders who presumed to be able to read the heart and soul of Hubert Ingraham.

History will also recall that his record of care and compassion will be measured in countless deeds, not the rhetoric of those who talk about compassion but whose records pale in comparison.

Moreover, Hubert Ingraham has enacted a more progressive and socially liberal agenda than those who cloak themselves in progressive rhetoric easily abandoned at the altar of greed and political convenience.

When a then former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham retires he will be able to go fishing, at peace with his record and his conscience that he significantly advanced the cause of social justice and progressive politics. Even some who now cuss or criticize him on a regular basis may eventually do some soul searching and reflection. And, maybe they will accord him the recognition that is his due for creating a more progressive, tolerant and just Bahamas.

frontporchguardian@gmail.com

www.bahamapundit.com

Jun 28, 2011

Caribbean Blog International

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham seems more concerned about women's rights in The Bahamas than many Bahamian women, who appear quite content to continue to walk a few paces behind their men

tribune242 editorial



PRIME Minister Ingraham resurrected the issue of women's rights at a luncheon given last week to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Bureau of Women's Affairs.

Mr Ingraham seems more concerned about women's rights than many Bahamian women, who appear quite content to continue to walk a few paces behind their men. Although women are no longer -- as they once were -- classified on our statute books with "children and lunatics" -- their children still cannot claim Bahamian nationality if their husband is not a Bahamian. However, the irony of the matter is that illegitimate children of a Bahamian woman are Bahamian citizens even though the children's natural father might be a foreigner -- and even though they might be born outside the Bahamas. So any child who wants Bahamian citizenship is better off if his mother is unmarried. Also, as in Common Law a child's nationality follows that of the father, children of Bahamian men married to foreign women, are also Bahamian -- regardless of where they are born.
The only children left out in the cold -- and at the discretion of the whim of a politician -- are the legitimate children of a Bahamian mother and a non-Bahamian father.

Make sense? Not to us, but if the rejection of the referendum to right an obvious wrong is to be the yardstick, its seems that illegitimacy has more status in this country than legitimacy. And given a chance by the Ingraham government in a free vote on February 27, 2002 it was the women themselves who rejected the referendum, and decided to remain unequal.

Of course, it was the PLP Opposition that muddied the waters and confused the electorate. The PLP apparently thought that the defeat of the referendum would be a defeat of the Ingraham government at the polls -- which it eventually was.

On the floor of the House -- and led by then Opposition leader Perry Christie -- the PLP did a most interesting two-foot shuffle. Having had an inordinate amount of time to consult with the government on the proposed referendum, which Prime Minister Ingraham assured them would not include any issue with which they disagreed, and after a five-day debate in the House on the proposed referendum, 39 of the 40 MPs voted "yes" to the referendum. All questions that were to go to the public for its vote, the Opposition on the floor of the House had agreed.
However, when it came time for the public to vote, the PLP -- again led by Mr Christie -- ordered their supporters to vote "no."

Surprisingly Mrs Alyson Maynard Gibson, at that time PLP MP for Pinewood, threw out the red herring that a "yes" vote for the referendum, which would make Bahamian women equal to their menfolk, would create a "marriage of convenience" market in the Bahamas. Why should it be more of a marriage of convenience for Bahamian women than for Bahamian men? Apparently she had no answer.

If Mrs Gibson had looked carefully at the 1973 Constitution and the proposed change, she would have known that this was not true. The nationality amendments to the Constitution were to make Bahamian women equal, not give them more rights than Bahamian men.

But all that did not matter. We have never seen or heard such jiggery-pokery as the PLP pulled during that referendum. It had become so political - PLP vs FNM -- that in the end the real issue was lost. As a result Bahamian women remain second class citizens -- and they have only themselves to blame.

"We put in our Constitution," Mr Ingraham said at the time, "a provision that gave to Bahamian women who had children outside of a marriage more rights than a Bahamian woman who was in fact married."

And so it remains today. It's now up to Bahamian women to do something about it.

About a year later -- by now Mr Ingraham had lost the 2002 election and Mr Christie was Prime Minister -- we attended a wedding at which Mr Christie was also present. The date was May 30, 2003. The place-- St Anselm's Church, Fox Hill.

Outside of the church we introduced Mr Christie to a Bahamian woman from an old and respected Bahamian family who had married a foreigner and whose children were left out in the cold by the defeated referendum. We brought the matter to his attention. He gave her his most affable smile, and, never at a loss for words, assured her that on his watch all wrongs would be made right. He said he knew that Mr Ingraham could not get the referendum through, but he, Perry Christie, certainly could. As Prime Minister he intended to do so.

That conversation took place eight years ago. Since then the young Bahamian man and his foreign wife, whose wedding we attended, have had four handsome Bahamian boys -- one of them born in England. Mr Christie was prime minister for five years and today the children of Bahamian women, whose husbands are foreign, are still out in the cold.

From the day of that conversation no more was heard from Mr Christie's quarter about women's rights, nor about doing something about the referendum that he helped scuttle.

June 27, 2011

tribune242 editorial

Caribbean Blog International