NDP leader wants party to join DNA
By JUAN McCARTNEY
Guardian Senior Reporter
juan@nasguard.com
The National Development Party (NDP) appears to have dissention in the ranks as its leader, Renward Wells, is reportedly trying to have the party immediately merge with Bamboo Town Member of Parliament Branville McCartney’s newly formed Democratic National Alliance (DNA).
In e-mails leaked by at least one NDP member yesterday, Wells urged members of his party, as well as the People’s Deliverance Party, headed by attorney Paul Moss, and Workers Party leader Rodney Moncur, to join the DNA by tomorrow.
NDP members were said to be concerned that McCartney’s leadership would be automatic without members having a say.
Wells claimed that Moss agreed to join the DNA and accept McCartney as leader.
“The solution is for all of us to join the DNA, Bran leads, Paul and I agreed to that already, and the other positions voted on quickly,” said the leaked e-mail. “Obviously the NDP cannot nor do we desire to have our way in everything.”
However, a source close to Moss who did not wish to be identified, said that he never agreed to join the DNA.
NDP member Ethric Bowe discovered Moss’ position and sent a scathing response to Wells yesterday morning.
“Renward, I just spoke with Paul and he again categorically and absolutely denied what you claim in this e-mail,” wrote Bowe.
“…You are creating something far worse than (Prime Minister Hubert) Ingraham could ever create. DNA appears more dangerous than Hubert Ingraham could ever be and based on what you have done to date I would prefer to support Ingraham or (Progressive Liberal Party leader Perry) Christie than DNA.”
Bowe had expressed his desire to join the PLP if the NDP and the DNA could not come to terms.
NDP members were said to be meeting last night. Wells had called for a meeting with the DNA yesterday, but it is unclear if that was the same meeting.
On Tuesday, Wells claimed the NDP was invited to join the Free National Movement. The FNM yesterday denied Wells’ claim and said he initiated the talks.
4/14/2011
thenassauguardian
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Showing posts with label Workers Party Bahamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Workers Party Bahamas. Show all posts
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The national spotlight is now on Branville McCartney
The next step for Branville McCartney
thenassauguardian editorial
Branville McCartney is no longer a member of the Free National Movement (FNM) and he will remain outside the FNM as long as Hubert Ingraham is in control of the party.
On the day Ingraham made his statement to the House of Assembly in the debate on the sale of 51 percent of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), McCartney upstaged the prime minister and the governing party by resigning.
McCartney must now consider his steps carefully, or he will be remembered as someone who had potential.
His options are to run as an independent; to join the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP); to form a political party; to join a coalition of candidates; or to retire and leave politics.
Clearly McCartney wants to continue in politics, so retirement won’t happen.
If McCartney joined the PLP, he would be at the end of a long line of people who want to be leader after Perry Christie. Those men and women would let him know right away that he could not jump that line.
Running as an independent, forming a party or joining a coalition of independents all appear more likely options for the Bamboo Town MP.
If McCartney wants to form a party, he needs to get to work on that right away. He needs to find candidates and money. To run a serious campaign, McCartney would need millions. He would also need to find serious people to stand with him.
The problem small parties such as the Workers Party, the National Development Party and the Bahamas Democratic Party have is that they are not comprised of enough people capable of governing a country.
Standing as an independent, or with a group of independents, would be simpler. The key here would be for McCartney to try and win his seat, challenged by both the PLP and FNM. He should not assume that Christie and the PLP would cut a deal with him. The PLP needs every seat it can get in what looks like another close election.
McCartney has repeatedly said his move away from the Ingraham Cabinet and the Ingraham-led party was based on conscience. If he is to be an enduring force in Bahamian politics he must now prove to his constituency and the country that he has a vision for The Bahamas and that he has the intelligence and will to execute that vision.
So, the Bamboo Town MP needs to start talking. And he needs to talk often. His constituents and the country want to know if he has what it takes.
The national spotlight is now on “Bran.” We’ll shall all see if he can harness the mass dissatisfaction with the old political order, transforming that raw energy into results at the next general election.
3/22/2011
thenassauguardian editorial
thenassauguardian editorial
Branville McCartney is no longer a member of the Free National Movement (FNM) and he will remain outside the FNM as long as Hubert Ingraham is in control of the party.
On the day Ingraham made his statement to the House of Assembly in the debate on the sale of 51 percent of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), McCartney upstaged the prime minister and the governing party by resigning.
McCartney must now consider his steps carefully, or he will be remembered as someone who had potential.
His options are to run as an independent; to join the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP); to form a political party; to join a coalition of candidates; or to retire and leave politics.
Clearly McCartney wants to continue in politics, so retirement won’t happen.
If McCartney joined the PLP, he would be at the end of a long line of people who want to be leader after Perry Christie. Those men and women would let him know right away that he could not jump that line.
Running as an independent, forming a party or joining a coalition of independents all appear more likely options for the Bamboo Town MP.
If McCartney wants to form a party, he needs to get to work on that right away. He needs to find candidates and money. To run a serious campaign, McCartney would need millions. He would also need to find serious people to stand with him.
The problem small parties such as the Workers Party, the National Development Party and the Bahamas Democratic Party have is that they are not comprised of enough people capable of governing a country.
Standing as an independent, or with a group of independents, would be simpler. The key here would be for McCartney to try and win his seat, challenged by both the PLP and FNM. He should not assume that Christie and the PLP would cut a deal with him. The PLP needs every seat it can get in what looks like another close election.
McCartney has repeatedly said his move away from the Ingraham Cabinet and the Ingraham-led party was based on conscience. If he is to be an enduring force in Bahamian politics he must now prove to his constituency and the country that he has a vision for The Bahamas and that he has the intelligence and will to execute that vision.
So, the Bamboo Town MP needs to start talking. And he needs to talk often. His constituents and the country want to know if he has what it takes.
The national spotlight is now on “Bran.” We’ll shall all see if he can harness the mass dissatisfaction with the old political order, transforming that raw energy into results at the next general election.
3/22/2011
thenassauguardian editorial
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Elizabeth by-election: FNM ahead by one vote
tribune242:
ONE vote decided the winner of the hotly contested Elizabeth by-election, unofficially leaving the FNM's Duane Sands as the representative for the area vacated by the PLP's Malcolm Adderley last month.
Nevertheless, Prime Minister and leader of the FNM Hubert Ingraham said that the governing party would not be declaring victory just yet, admitting that things can go "either way" following today's recount.
As The Tribune predicted, the election came right down to the wire as Dr Sands unofficially won the contest with a total of 1,501, beating his closest contender PLP Ryan Pinder, who obtained 1,500 votes.
In the end third party candidates and low turn out made a huge difference in this election.
While typically for a general election the voter turn out is in the 90 per cent range, approximately 64 per cent of voters turned out on Tuesday.
Altogether third party candidates gathered a total of 141 votes. Literally had any of these votes cast for the NDP, BDM or Workers' Party gone to the PLP or FNM it could have been a game changer.
However, yesterday's "official unofficial results" left FNM's cautiously optimistic and PLPs saying they were not willing to give up as yet.
Returning officer Jack Thompson told The Tribune yesterday that there would be no official recount until today.
There were a lot of factors at play in the Elizabeth by-election, among which is the issue of contested and protest ballots. While the challenged votes were included in the tally, the protested votes were not.
According to Mr Thompson, voters whose names were on the register, but were disputed by party agents, were challenged and required to swear an oath.
Voters whose names were not on the register or had questionable voter cards were protested and required to vote on coloured ballots.
Mr Thompson did not have the official numbers of challenged or protested votes up to press time.
Weeks ago, members of each contending party in the by-election raised an alarm over irregularities with the voting register published by the Parliamentary Registration Department.
Party members claimed they were unable to find hundreds of people on the register during house-to-house visitations. They were not satisfied everyone on the list had lived in the constituency for three months.
One of the biggest side stories of this election was Tommy Turnquest's revelation at an FNM rally the night before that 35-year-old Ryan Pinder had never voted in the Bahamas but had deemed it important to vote in two US elections.
This fact left Mr Pinder vulnerable to open mocking by his opponents.
FNM Chairman Carl Bethel said when Ryan Pinder arrived at Thelma Gibson yesterday morning, the FNM supporters gathered outside sang the US national anthem.
When their candidate Dr Duane Sands arrived, the group sang the Bahamian national anthem.
NDP candidate Dr Andre Rollins said that he was embarrassed for Mr Pinder.
Dr Rollins said that had the FNM come out with this information sooner, the PLP candidate would have never been able to overcome it.
PLP candidate Ryan Pinder called Tommy Turnquest's revelation about his voting history "gutter politics" and said he was not going to respond.
However, PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts said this was nothing but FNM "propaganda" that was being used as a "red herring" to distract PLPs.
Roberts said it was "not a big deal" and that Turnquest's comments were not a matter of any substance. He further suggested that Pinder had renounced his US citizenship before he nominated and that the FNM was aware of this all along.
PLP Deputy Leader Philip "Brave" Davis chiming in on his candidate's voting history said he thought it was disingenuous of the FNM to reveal this information at the last minute giving Ryan Pinder no chance to respond.
He pointed out that during the time in question, Pinder was living and working in the United States and so would not have had the residency required to vote in a Bahamian election.
There were no major disturbances yesterday but police had to be called to quiet rowdy FNM and PLP supporters who gathered outside the polling station at Faith Temple, where the votes were tallied.
Tensions were mounting with supporters of both parties shouting at each other and becoming increasingly aggressive.
The man who was the catalyst for all the excitement on Tuesday, former PLP MP for Elizabeth, Malcolm Adderley, was suspiciously quiet and spent the day away from the spotlight.
When contacted by The Tribune he refused to comment on the election proceedings, saying, "I'm not speaking today."
The election was plagued by low voter turnout and throughout the day swing voters said they were still unsure of who they were throwing their support behind.
The low voter turn out concerned both parties with leader of the opposition, Perry Christie, saying he and his members were getting anxious because voter turnout has been so low.
BDM candidate Cassius Stewart suspects the voter turnout was low because many of the people who appeared on the register weren't actually eligible to vote.
He said if a better analysis of the registry could be done, it may reveal that turnout among eligible voters could be closer to 70 per cent.
Meanwhile, supporters of both major parties are eagerly awaiting the outcome of this morning's recount.
February 17, 2010
tribune242
ONE vote decided the winner of the hotly contested Elizabeth by-election, unofficially leaving the FNM's Duane Sands as the representative for the area vacated by the PLP's Malcolm Adderley last month.
Nevertheless, Prime Minister and leader of the FNM Hubert Ingraham said that the governing party would not be declaring victory just yet, admitting that things can go "either way" following today's recount.
As The Tribune predicted, the election came right down to the wire as Dr Sands unofficially won the contest with a total of 1,501, beating his closest contender PLP Ryan Pinder, who obtained 1,500 votes.
In the end third party candidates and low turn out made a huge difference in this election.
While typically for a general election the voter turn out is in the 90 per cent range, approximately 64 per cent of voters turned out on Tuesday.
Altogether third party candidates gathered a total of 141 votes. Literally had any of these votes cast for the NDP, BDM or Workers' Party gone to the PLP or FNM it could have been a game changer.
However, yesterday's "official unofficial results" left FNM's cautiously optimistic and PLPs saying they were not willing to give up as yet.
Returning officer Jack Thompson told The Tribune yesterday that there would be no official recount until today.
There were a lot of factors at play in the Elizabeth by-election, among which is the issue of contested and protest ballots. While the challenged votes were included in the tally, the protested votes were not.
According to Mr Thompson, voters whose names were on the register, but were disputed by party agents, were challenged and required to swear an oath.
Voters whose names were not on the register or had questionable voter cards were protested and required to vote on coloured ballots.
Mr Thompson did not have the official numbers of challenged or protested votes up to press time.
Weeks ago, members of each contending party in the by-election raised an alarm over irregularities with the voting register published by the Parliamentary Registration Department.
Party members claimed they were unable to find hundreds of people on the register during house-to-house visitations. They were not satisfied everyone on the list had lived in the constituency for three months.
One of the biggest side stories of this election was Tommy Turnquest's revelation at an FNM rally the night before that 35-year-old Ryan Pinder had never voted in the Bahamas but had deemed it important to vote in two US elections.
This fact left Mr Pinder vulnerable to open mocking by his opponents.
FNM Chairman Carl Bethel said when Ryan Pinder arrived at Thelma Gibson yesterday morning, the FNM supporters gathered outside sang the US national anthem.
When their candidate Dr Duane Sands arrived, the group sang the Bahamian national anthem.
NDP candidate Dr Andre Rollins said that he was embarrassed for Mr Pinder.
Dr Rollins said that had the FNM come out with this information sooner, the PLP candidate would have never been able to overcome it.
PLP candidate Ryan Pinder called Tommy Turnquest's revelation about his voting history "gutter politics" and said he was not going to respond.
However, PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts said this was nothing but FNM "propaganda" that was being used as a "red herring" to distract PLPs.
Roberts said it was "not a big deal" and that Turnquest's comments were not a matter of any substance. He further suggested that Pinder had renounced his US citizenship before he nominated and that the FNM was aware of this all along.
PLP Deputy Leader Philip "Brave" Davis chiming in on his candidate's voting history said he thought it was disingenuous of the FNM to reveal this information at the last minute giving Ryan Pinder no chance to respond.
He pointed out that during the time in question, Pinder was living and working in the United States and so would not have had the residency required to vote in a Bahamian election.
There were no major disturbances yesterday but police had to be called to quiet rowdy FNM and PLP supporters who gathered outside the polling station at Faith Temple, where the votes were tallied.
Tensions were mounting with supporters of both parties shouting at each other and becoming increasingly aggressive.
The man who was the catalyst for all the excitement on Tuesday, former PLP MP for Elizabeth, Malcolm Adderley, was suspiciously quiet and spent the day away from the spotlight.
When contacted by The Tribune he refused to comment on the election proceedings, saying, "I'm not speaking today."
The election was plagued by low voter turnout and throughout the day swing voters said they were still unsure of who they were throwing their support behind.
The low voter turn out concerned both parties with leader of the opposition, Perry Christie, saying he and his members were getting anxious because voter turnout has been so low.
BDM candidate Cassius Stewart suspects the voter turnout was low because many of the people who appeared on the register weren't actually eligible to vote.
He said if a better analysis of the registry could be done, it may reveal that turnout among eligible voters could be closer to 70 per cent.
Meanwhile, supporters of both major parties are eagerly awaiting the outcome of this morning's recount.
February 17, 2010
tribune242
Elizabeth by-election: 1,700 voters a no-show
By Krystel Rolle ~ Guardian Staff Reporter ~ krystel@nasguard.com:
More than 1,700 people registered to vote in yesterday's historic by-election were a no-show.
There are 4,943 people on the register. However, according to the unofficial figures only 3,210 people cast their votes yesterday.
In addition to the Progressive Liberal Party's Ryan Pinder and the Free National Movement's Dr. Duane Sands, candidates in the by-election included Bahamas Democratic Movement leader Cassius Stuart, Workers Party leader Rodney Moncur and National Development Party chairman Dr. Andre Rollins.
The unofficial results show that Sands received 1,501 votes, Pinder got 1,500 votes, Stuart got 115 votes, Rollins received 73 votes and Moncur got 21 votes.
The Elizabeth seat became vacant last month when former PLP MP Malcolm Adderley resigned from the House of Assembly. He also resigned from the party.
In polling division number one, Sands received 108 votes; Pinder got 91 votes; Stuart got nine votes; Rollins received four votes and Moncur got two votes.
In polling division number two, Pinder received 145 votes; Sands got 111 votes; Stuart received five votes; Rollins got three votes while Moncur did not get any votes.
In polling division number three, Pinder got 141 votes; Sands received 134 votes; Stuart got 14 votes; Rollins got eight votes and Moncur got three votes.
In polling division number four, Sands received 188 votes; Pinder got 164 votes; Rollins got nine votes; Stuart got six votes, and Moncur received three votes.
In polling division number five, Sands got 106 votes; Pinder received 62 votes; Stuart received 16 votes; Rollins received six votes and Moncur got one vote.
In polling division number six, Sands got 157 votes; Pinder received 121 votes; Rollins got 11 votes; Stuart got nine votes and Moncur received one vote.
In polling division number seven, Pinder received 129 votes; Sands got 123 votes; Stuart and Rollins got two votes each, and Moncur got one vote.
In polling division number eight, Sands got 129 votes; Pinder received 106 votes; Stuart got nine votes; Rollins got five votes and Moncur got three votes.
In polling division number nine, Pinder got 86 votes; Sands got 85 votes; Stuart received 11 votes; Rollins received six votes and Moncur got two votes.
In polling division number 10, Pinder got 168 votes; Sands got 130 votes; Rollins got 12 votes; Stuart received 10 votes and Moncur got four votes.
In polling division number 11, Pinder got 164 votes; Sands received 122 votes; Stuart got 13 votes; Rollins got six votes while Moncur didn't get any votes.
In polling division number 12, Pinder received 123 votes; Sands got 108 votes; Stuart got 11 votes and Moncur and Rollins got one vote each.
Returning Officer Jack Thompson said five of Pinder's votes were challenged and were not counted last night.
Thompson added that one of Stuart's votes was also challenged.
Election officials will recount the ballots today.
February 17, 2010
thenassauguardian
More than 1,700 people registered to vote in yesterday's historic by-election were a no-show.
There are 4,943 people on the register. However, according to the unofficial figures only 3,210 people cast their votes yesterday.
In addition to the Progressive Liberal Party's Ryan Pinder and the Free National Movement's Dr. Duane Sands, candidates in the by-election included Bahamas Democratic Movement leader Cassius Stuart, Workers Party leader Rodney Moncur and National Development Party chairman Dr. Andre Rollins.
The unofficial results show that Sands received 1,501 votes, Pinder got 1,500 votes, Stuart got 115 votes, Rollins received 73 votes and Moncur got 21 votes.
The Elizabeth seat became vacant last month when former PLP MP Malcolm Adderley resigned from the House of Assembly. He also resigned from the party.
In polling division number one, Sands received 108 votes; Pinder got 91 votes; Stuart got nine votes; Rollins received four votes and Moncur got two votes.
In polling division number two, Pinder received 145 votes; Sands got 111 votes; Stuart received five votes; Rollins got three votes while Moncur did not get any votes.
In polling division number three, Pinder got 141 votes; Sands received 134 votes; Stuart got 14 votes; Rollins got eight votes and Moncur got three votes.
In polling division number four, Sands received 188 votes; Pinder got 164 votes; Rollins got nine votes; Stuart got six votes, and Moncur received three votes.
In polling division number five, Sands got 106 votes; Pinder received 62 votes; Stuart received 16 votes; Rollins received six votes and Moncur got one vote.
In polling division number six, Sands got 157 votes; Pinder received 121 votes; Rollins got 11 votes; Stuart got nine votes and Moncur received one vote.
In polling division number seven, Pinder received 129 votes; Sands got 123 votes; Stuart and Rollins got two votes each, and Moncur got one vote.
In polling division number eight, Sands got 129 votes; Pinder received 106 votes; Stuart got nine votes; Rollins got five votes and Moncur got three votes.
In polling division number nine, Pinder got 86 votes; Sands got 85 votes; Stuart received 11 votes; Rollins received six votes and Moncur got two votes.
In polling division number 10, Pinder got 168 votes; Sands got 130 votes; Rollins got 12 votes; Stuart received 10 votes and Moncur got four votes.
In polling division number 11, Pinder got 164 votes; Sands received 122 votes; Stuart got 13 votes; Rollins got six votes while Moncur didn't get any votes.
In polling division number 12, Pinder received 123 votes; Sands got 108 votes; Stuart got 11 votes and Moncur and Rollins got one vote each.
Returning Officer Jack Thompson said five of Pinder's votes were challenged and were not counted last night.
Thompson added that one of Stuart's votes was also challenged.
Election officials will recount the ballots today.
February 17, 2010
thenassauguardian
Friday, January 15, 2010
Workers Party Leader Rodney Moncur Nominated For Elizabeth Constituency Bye-Election
WORKERS PARTY STATEMENT ON THE CANDIDACY OF RODNEY MONCUR FOR THE ELIZABETH CONSTITUENCY BYE-ELECTION
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2010
The people of Elizabeth constituency, like all the other voters of this country, have come to a political cross roads and a serious decision has to be made.
Let us not make idle distinctions between PLP and FNM; we the voters, having tried both parties for long periods of time in the past, have come to the conclusion that they are one and the same. They are a narrow class of relatives, friends, school-mates, business partners and professionals who have dominated Bahamian politics for a whole generation.
If we just take a snapshot of the recent political history of Elizabeth we will see where Elma Campbell, Ambassador in China, who ran against her cousin Malcolm Adderley, a lawyer, and was beaten by him, is the first cousin of Dwayne Sands who now wishes to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Malcolm Adderley from the House of Assembly to become a Judge of the Supreme Court.
We leave it to the good doctor to tell the people of Elizabeth whether or not he too is the cousin of Malcolm Adderley and if so, solemnly affirm that he never had any conversation with Adderley before his resignation regarding how the seat would be passed from one cousin to another.
Before Elizabeth came into existence, another constituency, called Malcolm Creek, included parts of Elizabeth and was represented for a significant period of time by one Marvin Pinder, a prime PLP operative.
This same Marvin Pinder, who was a PLP Minister, is the father of Ryan Pinder, the PLP candidate for Elizabeth in the up-coming bye-election. In this case, power over the people is being passed, not from cousin to cousin, but from father to son.
And then, there is the classic connection between former law partners Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and opposition leader Perry Christie, which smacks of the enigmatic relationship that existed for years between Lynden Pindling of the PLP and his schoolmate, Cecil Wallace Whitfield of the FNM.
And while we are looking at the illustrious personalities that have dominated Bahamian politics for a generation, we cannot forget the venerable patriarch of the FNM, Sir Orville Turnquest, former Governor-General, father of Tommy Turnquest, the hapless Minister of National Security and uncle of Dwayne Sands.
And the record shows that this Dwayne Sands is the son of Basil Sands, who served diligently, for a significant period of time, under the PLP regime as the Chairman of Bahamasair and, therefore, featured prominently in the Commission of Enquiry which Hubert Ingraham appointed in the early 90s, as a smoke-screen to fool voters that Pindling was being punished for his misdeeds.
Now we are only looking here at Elizabeth; but if we look at all the other 41 constituencies we will find strong, convincing evidence of the existence of this closed, tight-knit, narrow class of, relatives, friends, school-mates, business partners and professionals who have dominated Bahamian politics for a whole generation.
Of course, like every other Bahamian, they have the constitutional and moral right to offer themselves for election to public office; and we, the voters, election after election, have historically delegated public authority to them in good faith, sincerely believing and hoping that they would use the high office, not for personal gain, but to manage the affairs of the nation honorably and efficiently, bringing peace, security and prosperity to all.
If, in our opinion, they had done a good job of governing over the past 53 years, we would not be declaring today our intention to field a candidate in the up-coming bye-election in Elizabeth.
But both parties, the PLP and the FNM, have taken turns in making false promises and declarations to the Bahamian voters to seize and hold on to power for personal gain and, in the process, they have mismanaged the economy, they have corrupted the public institutions and they have done gross damage to the delicate social fabric of the country.
Even before the global economic downturn, the level of joblessness had been too high for too many years. Too many qualified people, especially young have had to wait and search diligently for months and months, and sometimes even years, for a job, simply because there are not enough jobs being created on a consistent basis.
The PLP and FNM governments from 1967 to 2010, all failed to plan for economic development and the consistent creation of jobs. Not one of them ever produced a National Development Plan for this country. They have all played government-by-ear and have played it badly. Consequently, the economy has been stagnant for years, with tourism not increasing substantially for almost twenty years.
The PLP-FNM government have failed so miserably from the early 90s to now to monitor the international climate in which our financial services sector must operate, that The Bahamas has been named and shamed over and over by the industrialized countries for running a sub-standard, almost shady, jurisdiction; and they are now forced into a humiliating situation of signing dozens of treaties in a few months time to save the industry from international sanctions and to try to stop major off-shore banks from closing down and leaving the country.
We charge that one of the major public institutions that have been corrupted by the PLP-FNM is the public education system. Over the years, the PLP-FNM class has provided segregated education for their children in private schools, using a substantial amount of funds from the Government, of course; and when the cost of educating their children abroad became too high, they created a scholarship fund with Government money, which was abused so much by them that poor people never got a chance to benefit from it and now it has been discontinued because of the abuse and corruption.
While all of this has been going on, the physical infrastructure of the public school system has being deprived of financial support and administrative attention, so much so that CC Sweeting High School students in 1983 would have burned down their dilapidated school, if it had not been for the Workers Party who taught the young people that public protest was the legal and much more productive reaction than arson.
Because of gross neglect and abuse, the public school system under the PLP-FNM government over the past 53 years eventually deteriorated into a breeding ground for gangs and other anti-social groups and today crime, perpetrated by a generation of thugs that have grown up under this corrupt and inefficient PLP-FNM coalition of selfish and narrow interests, is our number one problem.
Despite his promises late last year, the Prime Minister Ingraham, in our opinion, has not yet given the nation any definitive statement on the initiatives that his lost and confused Government will adopt to prevent the spread and increase in crime in this country. The Leader of the Opposition, in his inimitable style, has made no statement on crime and is not expected to do so.
The Workers Party believes that punishment for heinous crime such as murder, rape armed robbery and so on should be swift, severe and certain. In light of this philosophy we view most of the efforts discharged by the FNM Government so far as being limp-wristed and not having the virility that is needed in this time of social crisis.
The Ingraham Government has adopted a soft approach in this matter for too long; and now it has exploded and is beyond control. Limp-wristed activities such as electronic monitoring bands around criminals’ ankles while they are out on bail are ludicrous.
Young men have already been heard laughing and joking at how they will inactivate those gadgets in short order and how, given the fact that the Government can not keep simple traffic lights working all the time, it is certain that they will not be able to keep such a complex high-tech system working all the time.
The Workers Party’s position is that we do not need bracelets on murderers’ ankles; we need ropes around their necks, as is mandated by the age-old laws of this country. We need firm-wristed and hard-fisted strategies to wrestle this crime monster. Nothing else will do.
But the legal and judicial process has been corrupted by political malpractice; and the cold, clear truth is that the PLP-FNM cabal of lawyer-politicians makes a lot of money negotiating bail for their murderer clients, who, upon being released into this peaceful community, wreak tremendous havoc of revenge, intimidation and more murder.
So, we have come to challenge you, the voters in Elizabeth to make a historic step and vote against both the PLP and the FNM in the upcoming bye-election. Send a clear message to these covenant-breakers that they have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
We have come to you with a challenge to invest in a promising political future by casting your votes for Rodney Moncur, Leader of the Workers Party and sending to Parliament for the first time, a representative who is bold and energetic, who has surrounded himself with good sense and who is saturated with love of God, family and you.
Sign
Allan Strachan
Workers Party
Chairman
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2010
The people of Elizabeth constituency, like all the other voters of this country, have come to a political cross roads and a serious decision has to be made. Let us not make idle distinctions between PLP and FNM; we the voters, having tried both parties for long periods of time in the past, have come to the conclusion that they are one and the same. They are a narrow class of relatives, friends, school-mates, business partners and professionals who have dominated Bahamian politics for a whole generation.
If we just take a snapshot of the recent political history of Elizabeth we will see where Elma Campbell, Ambassador in China, who ran against her cousin Malcolm Adderley, a lawyer, and was beaten by him, is the first cousin of Dwayne Sands who now wishes to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Malcolm Adderley from the House of Assembly to become a Judge of the Supreme Court.
We leave it to the good doctor to tell the people of Elizabeth whether or not he too is the cousin of Malcolm Adderley and if so, solemnly affirm that he never had any conversation with Adderley before his resignation regarding how the seat would be passed from one cousin to another.
Before Elizabeth came into existence, another constituency, called Malcolm Creek, included parts of Elizabeth and was represented for a significant period of time by one Marvin Pinder, a prime PLP operative.
This same Marvin Pinder, who was a PLP Minister, is the father of Ryan Pinder, the PLP candidate for Elizabeth in the up-coming bye-election. In this case, power over the people is being passed, not from cousin to cousin, but from father to son.
And then, there is the classic connection between former law partners Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and opposition leader Perry Christie, which smacks of the enigmatic relationship that existed for years between Lynden Pindling of the PLP and his schoolmate, Cecil Wallace Whitfield of the FNM.
And while we are looking at the illustrious personalities that have dominated Bahamian politics for a generation, we cannot forget the venerable patriarch of the FNM, Sir Orville Turnquest, former Governor-General, father of Tommy Turnquest, the hapless Minister of National Security and uncle of Dwayne Sands.
And the record shows that this Dwayne Sands is the son of Basil Sands, who served diligently, for a significant period of time, under the PLP regime as the Chairman of Bahamasair and, therefore, featured prominently in the Commission of Enquiry which Hubert Ingraham appointed in the early 90s, as a smoke-screen to fool voters that Pindling was being punished for his misdeeds.
Now we are only looking here at Elizabeth; but if we look at all the other 41 constituencies we will find strong, convincing evidence of the existence of this closed, tight-knit, narrow class of, relatives, friends, school-mates, business partners and professionals who have dominated Bahamian politics for a whole generation.
Of course, like every other Bahamian, they have the constitutional and moral right to offer themselves for election to public office; and we, the voters, election after election, have historically delegated public authority to them in good faith, sincerely believing and hoping that they would use the high office, not for personal gain, but to manage the affairs of the nation honorably and efficiently, bringing peace, security and prosperity to all.
If, in our opinion, they had done a good job of governing over the past 53 years, we would not be declaring today our intention to field a candidate in the up-coming bye-election in Elizabeth.
But both parties, the PLP and the FNM, have taken turns in making false promises and declarations to the Bahamian voters to seize and hold on to power for personal gain and, in the process, they have mismanaged the economy, they have corrupted the public institutions and they have done gross damage to the delicate social fabric of the country.
Even before the global economic downturn, the level of joblessness had been too high for too many years. Too many qualified people, especially young have had to wait and search diligently for months and months, and sometimes even years, for a job, simply because there are not enough jobs being created on a consistent basis.
The PLP and FNM governments from 1967 to 2010, all failed to plan for economic development and the consistent creation of jobs. Not one of them ever produced a National Development Plan for this country. They have all played government-by-ear and have played it badly. Consequently, the economy has been stagnant for years, with tourism not increasing substantially for almost twenty years.
The PLP-FNM government have failed so miserably from the early 90s to now to monitor the international climate in which our financial services sector must operate, that The Bahamas has been named and shamed over and over by the industrialized countries for running a sub-standard, almost shady, jurisdiction; and they are now forced into a humiliating situation of signing dozens of treaties in a few months time to save the industry from international sanctions and to try to stop major off-shore banks from closing down and leaving the country.
We charge that one of the major public institutions that have been corrupted by the PLP-FNM is the public education system. Over the years, the PLP-FNM class has provided segregated education for their children in private schools, using a substantial amount of funds from the Government, of course; and when the cost of educating their children abroad became too high, they created a scholarship fund with Government money, which was abused so much by them that poor people never got a chance to benefit from it and now it has been discontinued because of the abuse and corruption.
While all of this has been going on, the physical infrastructure of the public school system has being deprived of financial support and administrative attention, so much so that CC Sweeting High School students in 1983 would have burned down their dilapidated school, if it had not been for the Workers Party who taught the young people that public protest was the legal and much more productive reaction than arson.
Because of gross neglect and abuse, the public school system under the PLP-FNM government over the past 53 years eventually deteriorated into a breeding ground for gangs and other anti-social groups and today crime, perpetrated by a generation of thugs that have grown up under this corrupt and inefficient PLP-FNM coalition of selfish and narrow interests, is our number one problem.
Despite his promises late last year, the Prime Minister Ingraham, in our opinion, has not yet given the nation any definitive statement on the initiatives that his lost and confused Government will adopt to prevent the spread and increase in crime in this country. The Leader of the Opposition, in his inimitable style, has made no statement on crime and is not expected to do so.
The Workers Party believes that punishment for heinous crime such as murder, rape armed robbery and so on should be swift, severe and certain. In light of this philosophy we view most of the efforts discharged by the FNM Government so far as being limp-wristed and not having the virility that is needed in this time of social crisis.
The Ingraham Government has adopted a soft approach in this matter for too long; and now it has exploded and is beyond control. Limp-wristed activities such as electronic monitoring bands around criminals’ ankles while they are out on bail are ludicrous.
Young men have already been heard laughing and joking at how they will inactivate those gadgets in short order and how, given the fact that the Government can not keep simple traffic lights working all the time, it is certain that they will not be able to keep such a complex high-tech system working all the time.
The Workers Party’s position is that we do not need bracelets on murderers’ ankles; we need ropes around their necks, as is mandated by the age-old laws of this country. We need firm-wristed and hard-fisted strategies to wrestle this crime monster. Nothing else will do.
But the legal and judicial process has been corrupted by political malpractice; and the cold, clear truth is that the PLP-FNM cabal of lawyer-politicians makes a lot of money negotiating bail for their murderer clients, who, upon being released into this peaceful community, wreak tremendous havoc of revenge, intimidation and more murder.
So, we have come to challenge you, the voters in Elizabeth to make a historic step and vote against both the PLP and the FNM in the upcoming bye-election. Send a clear message to these covenant-breakers that they have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
We have come to you with a challenge to invest in a promising political future by casting your votes for Rodney Moncur, Leader of the Workers Party and sending to Parliament for the first time, a representative who is bold and energetic, who has surrounded himself with good sense and who is saturated with love of God, family and you.
Sign
Allan Strachan
Workers Party
Chairman
Friday, December 4, 2009
Community Activist Rodney Moncur Wants Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham Booted
By Karissma Robinson:
Workers Party Leader Rodney Moncur is calling for Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham to be swiftly removed from office.
Mr. Moncur said the prime minister is "failing miserably" to carry out the laws of the land and hang all those convicted of murder.
He said the prime minister also failed to pass laws that would prevent murderers from being freed on bail.
"Politicians are playing games with human suffering and the prime minister, in particular, ought to be fired forthwith by the Bahamian people, not only for gross incompetence, but for his negligence in maintaining law and order at a time when too many children go to bed crying in loneliness and fear every night because their fathers and mothers have been murdered," said Mr. Moncur.
The party leader said the country has come to the end of one of the most tragic years in history.
He said the nation has witnessed, over the last twelve months, a continued degradation of law and order. In fact he said that the country is "decomposing like a dead body."
Mr. Moncur added that for five long years not one murderer has been hanged, as prescribed by law.
"The record shows clearly that the convergence of legal argument and legal free judgment, during his term of office, led to many murderers being freed to continue to terrorize out communities," said Mr. Moncur.
The issue of capital punishment, he said, is the law of the land and it should be enforced without reference to who believes in it or who does not believe in it. Mr. Moncur said the nation at large should become very suspicious of its leaders, when they prove that they do not have the guts to change the country’s laws out of fear of a political backlash.
Mr. Moncur said his organization is calling for justice and pointed out that a hanged murderer will be forever deterred from carrying out another act of cruel, inhumane and unusual violence of human life.
The Workers Party, along with family members of murdered victims, will be hosting a pro-hanging march at RM Bailey Park on December 12 to demand that no murderer is granted bail and that all murderers are hanged promptly.
December 2nd, 2009
jonesbahamas
Workers Party Leader Rodney Moncur is calling for Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham to be swiftly removed from office.
Mr. Moncur said the prime minister is "failing miserably" to carry out the laws of the land and hang all those convicted of murder.
He said the prime minister also failed to pass laws that would prevent murderers from being freed on bail.
"Politicians are playing games with human suffering and the prime minister, in particular, ought to be fired forthwith by the Bahamian people, not only for gross incompetence, but for his negligence in maintaining law and order at a time when too many children go to bed crying in loneliness and fear every night because their fathers and mothers have been murdered," said Mr. Moncur.
The party leader said the country has come to the end of one of the most tragic years in history.
He said the nation has witnessed, over the last twelve months, a continued degradation of law and order. In fact he said that the country is "decomposing like a dead body."
Mr. Moncur added that for five long years not one murderer has been hanged, as prescribed by law.
"The record shows clearly that the convergence of legal argument and legal free judgment, during his term of office, led to many murderers being freed to continue to terrorize out communities," said Mr. Moncur.
The issue of capital punishment, he said, is the law of the land and it should be enforced without reference to who believes in it or who does not believe in it. Mr. Moncur said the nation at large should become very suspicious of its leaders, when they prove that they do not have the guts to change the country’s laws out of fear of a political backlash.
Mr. Moncur said his organization is calling for justice and pointed out that a hanged murderer will be forever deterred from carrying out another act of cruel, inhumane and unusual violence of human life.
The Workers Party, along with family members of murdered victims, will be hosting a pro-hanging march at RM Bailey Park on December 12 to demand that no murderer is granted bail and that all murderers are hanged promptly.
December 2nd, 2009
jonesbahamas
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