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NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

MORE ON THE PLP
This column is being written from London, the seat of the old colonial power that ruled The Bahamas.  In many ways we still look to this place as the font of knowledge. The laws and the law books still come from here.  But in so many ways the society is more progressive than Bahamian society, forward looking.

It is time to head home and next week the column should be written again from Nassau.  It has been one helluva week in The Bahamas. If you remember two weeks ago, Pierre Dupuch, the dissident FNM MP, shocked the Parliament with a revelation that a Member of Parliament, not necessarily a member of the House of Assembly, had sex with an underage girl and was therefore guilty of statutory rape.  Mr. Dupuch said that he encouraged the family to prosecute the person.  The rumour mill had been going with the story for months in The Bahamas.  Mr. Dupuch’s comment caused the dam to break.  No one actually called the name of the man involved though.  But then Henry Bostwick, the President of the Senate in a communication in the Senate on Tuesday 26 June named himself as the suspect, denied it outright and offered DNA samples in order to prove the case.  We have a comment below.

On Thursday 28 June, the Chief Slave our Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham ended his long and fully managed and orchestrated campaign to remain in office for a third term.  The man told a bold face lie two weeks ago when he said that he was not managing the campaign to have Members of Parliament and his council to beg him to stay on.  Remember Mr. Ingraham promised that he would stay for two terms only and that 1997 would be his last campaign.  The public accepted his word.  Now we know that he does not say what he means or mean what he says.  And so like all the other tin pot dictators, he is staying on.  Power is the only fact.

Whether Mr. Ingraham stays or goes, the PLP is still the only alternative to the FNM.  What concerns us is that the public continues to see the problem with the Coalition for Democratic Reform and Dr. Bernard Nottage, the PLP elected MP for Kennedy now head of CDR as the obstacle to that victory.  It is a difficult situation.  But while talks must go on, the PLP’s main responsibility is to work to win and to organize to win, just in case nothing can be worked out.  That possibility is not very bright at the moment.

This week, we had 15,774 hits on this site up to midnight 30 June.  That makes a total of 61,618 hits for the month of June.  Thank you for reading and please keep reading.

PERMANENT LINKS
11th Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling & Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden by Fred Mitchell
Address to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue

Address of Sean McWeeney / Pindling  funeral
Gilbert Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral coverage

Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting	Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral

e-mail timbuktu@batelnet.bs

INGRAHAM’S DECISION
Hubert Ingraham, the Chief Slave, has made his decision.  He had a paid political broadcast on the Broadcasting Corporation’s facilities on Thursday 27 June to announce that he had accepted his party’s invitation to lead them again for a third term.  He tried to dress it up in fancy language and tortuous legal wording.  He said that he would leave after leading the FNM through the next election campaign, on 19 August 2002 which would be the tenth anniversary of his acceding to power.  By that means he wants us to think that he has not broken his promise to the Bahamian people.  Perry Christie, the Leader of the Opposition was swift in his condemnation.  And as they say in Nassau he bored another you know what in Mr. Ingraham.  Mr. Christie said that Mr. Ingraham had disgraced himself. That we now know that Mr. Ingraham does not mean what he says.  He accused Mr. Ingraham of an outright deception.  Mr. Ingraham, he said could not simply wiggle out of a clear and unequivocal promise by some technical  means.  Mr. Christie said that two terms means two terms whether they are short or long, not ten years.   Mr. Christie said that Mr. Ingraham does not intend to leave ever, and he will now have to be removed by a General Election.  As we said above, it does not matter what Mr. Ingraham does, his time is up and the PLP must remove him before he destroys us all. Worthless man!

FNM MPS WANT LEADER ELECT AGAIN?
As we go to upload Sunday afternoon, reports are coming in of the first significant challenge to Ingraham's attempt to break his word and stay on for a third term. FNM Parliamentarians and others at the highest levels of that party were said to be meeting to gather resolve to tell the Mr. Ingraham that the Bahamian people won't buy a situation where he may or may not go in August. The MPs plan to insist that if he is going to go as Prime Minister and leader of the FNM, then everyone should know who the next leader is going to be. FNM MPs and other party insiders are saying that Ingraham double talked them as he double talked the country. They say they were given assurances that he would turn down the orchestrated draft for a third term. He reportedly told his parliamentary group and party council that if they wanted him to stay, he would stay. If they wanted him to go, he would go. It did not matter to him. They were shocked when Ingraham addressed the nation to say that he was staying on. The question of leader elect is apparently on again. We say that even this is utter foolishness. Suppose for instance that the next group of FNM MPs is markedly different from this one. In that scenario anyone whom they choose as 'leader elect' will have no currency with the new group. It would all be simple enough for the Chief Slave to again stage manage. The only thing is for Ingraham to go as he promised the Bahamian people. Anything else makes him a liar of the worst sort and a man not to be further trusted by the people.
 

BOSTWICK’S FOLLY?
The Senate no doubt could have heard a pin drop on Tuesday 26 June. Senator Henry Bostwick, President of the Senate had a statement to make.  The gallery by obvious arrangement was full of people and included in the normally vacant gallery of the Senate was the wife of the Senate President Janet Bostwick.  Mrs. Bostwick is the ever somnambulant Minister of Foreign Affairs.  You will remember that Pierre Dupuch, the dissident FNM MP, had on Tuesday 19 June said that there was a Member of Parliament, not necessarily a Member of the House of Assembly who had raped an underage girl.  He did not call a name. A name had been whispered about the place since then and The Punch, the twice weekly rag, may have come close to calling a name.  Henry Bostwick said this to the Senate: “I assure you that I, your presiding officer, have never stooped to such despicable, criminal and dishonourable behaviour.  Were it otherwise, I would do the honourable thing and resign from this office forthwith.”  He added that the statement by Mr. Dupuch was the latest “deliberate, vicious and cowardly attempt to unjustifiably discredit the Bostwicks politically.”  All persons in the political community were shocked by the statement.  Why would he make such a statement?  It reminded persons of the Monica Lewinsky / Bill Clinton (former U.S. president) affair. There, Mr. Clinton went before the public and especially in the face of his wife and said: “I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.” The next year he had to climb down from that statement and there was the famous impeachment and trial of the President of the U.S. that followed. It would seem therefore that such a statement would just feed the rumours further. It was a risky strategy. (Tribune photo)

ANOTHER CURIOUS THING ON BOSTWICK RELEASE
Bradley Roberts PLP MP, Tennyson Wells FNM MP and Telzena Coakley were all called by Senate President Henry Bostwick as amongst those persons who might have an interest in the matter of the allegations against him.  No one could figure out how these persons' names got called in his statement.  But the back channel chat is that somehow Mr. Bostwick linked these people to the allegations made against him.  It had the makings of a political conspiracy, as in these people have conspired to make this story about against me and used Pierre Dupuch who actually made the statement as their willing tool. What the country saw in this was yet another sign that there are cracks and fissures in the FNM.  If Senator Bostwick - and by extension his wife - sees the hand of Tennyson Wells, the principal FNM dissident in this, then you know Mr. Ingraham, the chief slave must believe the same thing as well.  If that is what they believe, can anyone doubt that the knives are out in the FNM?

WHAT ALGERNON ALLEN HAD TO SAY
The curious thing about Henry Bostwick’s statement is not only the names that he called beside Mr. Dupuch, but also the name that he did not call.  Mr. Bostwick did not call the name of Algernon Allen, who as far as most people could tell, was the only FNM beside Mr. Dupuch who had anything to say about the matter. Tennyson Wells did say that the matter had to be investigated. While speaking at the opening of a children’s facility in Cat Island, the week before last, Mr. Allen said that each person must be responsible for his own actions and that no one is above the law. Then he added that that was all he had to say for that time.  Now that was taken in the political community to be aimed and directed at the allegations made by Mr. Dupuch.  Only we did not know who Mr. Dupuch was talking about at the time.  Now that Mr. Bostwick has confirmed that he is the person about whom the rumours swirl, the question we must ask in light of Algernon Allen’s statements are multiple.  First, what does Mr. Allen know that we don’t know about this?  Secondly, why did Mr. Bostwick accuse Tennyson Wells and Bradley Roberts and non-Parliamentarian Telzena Coakley, and leave out Mr. Allen?  You all know that Mr. Allen is the most Machiavellian of characters. We call him the Minister of Idle Poetry.  So at this stage all we say is: “Things that make you go: Hmmm!”

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A SECOND TIME FOR BOSTWICK
The political community was reminded of another occasion when Senator Bostwick made a faux pas that seemed to be based on bluff.  He was then the Leader of the Opposition as head of the now defunct Bahamian Democratic Party (BDP).  He accused the then Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Hanna of appropriating the sum of $50,000 in a cheque made out to him by Resorts International. Mr. Hanna was then the Minister responsible for gaming in The Bahamas and Resorts International was the owner of the casino at Paradise Island. That was a serious allegation.  Mr. Bostwick went further, he said that he had a copy of the cheque made out to Mr. Hanna, which indeed he did.  Mr. Hanna challenged Mr. Bostwick to produce the back of the cheque.  Mr. Hanna said that the money had been endorsed immediately over to the Progressive Liberal Party and the back of the cheque would show that.  The House was immediately adjourned for Mr. Bostwick to produce the back of the cheque.  Mr. Bostwick claimed that the back of the cheque was not available at the time.  When the House convened, the Government produced the back of the cheque and it showed clearly that the moneys had been endorsed over to the PLP.  Mr. Bostwick had to concede that he misled the House.  This led to a formal resolution of censure against him.

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THE POLICE VISIT DUPUCH ON BOSTWICK
The dissident FNM Member of Parliament for Shirlea, one Pierre Dupuch had a visit from some senior, shall we say high-level police officers this past week.  They no doubt were calling at the so-called “invitation” (to use Senator Henry Bostwick’s words) to investigate the allegations made by Mr. Dupuch in the Assembly on Tuesday 19 June so far as they relate to Senator Bostwick.  Senator Bostwick, according to The Tribune’s report of 27 June by Tosheena Robinson said: “Insofar as slanderers may have sought to impugn my character by unscrupulous attempts to attribute such heinously criminal behaviour to me, I wish to go on record as stating unequivocally that there is, with respect to myself no truth whatsoever to any part of these rumours.”   According to The Tribune, Senator Bostwick then directed the police to question Bamboo Town MP Tennyson Wells, Mr. Dupuch, Grants Town MP Bradley Roberts and Telzena Coakley.  Ms. Coakley is a former nun, public servant, and sister of deceased former priest the late Charles Coakley.  See the story below on how she is alleged to be involved.  Reginald Ferguson who is the Assistant Commissioner of Police for the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Superintendent Marvin Dames are said to have visited Mr. Dupuch and asked what he knew about the allegations.  Mr. Dames had earlier told the press that apart from the public allegations in the House the police knew nothing about it.  Mr. Dupuch said that he had nothing further to say about it, but he did have something to show them.  Reportedly out of his drawer he fished a baptismal certificate and provided the good police officers with a copy for their perusal.  He told them they had better investigate.  It is reported that the gentlemen seemed so stunned that they left without the formal good byes that are required in these situations.  Must have been a shocker on that baptismal certificate.  Oh! By the way most churches give a certificate when the child is christened.  The certificate bears the name of the child, his or her birth date and oh yes, usually the parents.

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MRS. BOSTWICK MUST SAY WHAT SHE KNOWS
It is all fine and dandy to play the political wife.  You ought to stand by your man.  But this is no simple political wife.  The allegations made by Senator Bostwick have been completely and absolutely denied.  We must take Senator Bostwick at his word.  But his wife is not just that, as we said, she is the former Attorney General and now still a Minister of the Government.  Her presence at the Senate is not enough.  She must as former Attorney General tell the country that her husband having said what he said, she not only supports him as a wife but as a former Attorney General she must tell the country that no such allegation came to her notice.

BOSTWICK AND JESUS CHRIST
For the second time in a matter of public controversy, the image of Christ crucified has been used by Senator Henry Bostwick to defend himself.  The first time, many of the younger readers would not have been around.  It was shortly after the 1977 General Election.  Senator Bostwick was then chosen to head the Bahamian Democratic Party, the remnants of a split between the FNM and the United Bahamian Party over the leadership of the late Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield.  Mr. Bostwick as he then was told the press upon being chosen Leader of the Opposition that he would have wished for “this bitter, bitter cup” to pass from him at that time.  You remember the scene, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before being crucified.  And now, Senator Bostwick is quoted as saying that the last time a false allegation was made against him about the purchase of a luxury automobile, he facilitated the police in dispelling the false rumours regarding the purchase of the car; he presented them the car.  Now, said Senator Bostwick on Tuesday 26 June to the Senate: “To assist the police in this investigation, I now offer my body and my blood.” You remember this scene, this is my body, take this, this is my blood etc.  Things that make you go: hmmm! (Guardian photo)

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HOW THE BOSTWICK MATTER GOT STARTED
The question many people will be asking is what does Telzena Coakley, the former nun and latterly, the retired Registrar of Insurance, have to do with the matter to the extent that Senator Henry Bostwick would have her name added to the list of people to be questioned by the police?   Senator Bostwick has an obligation to say why he did this.  Is the person who is alleged to have been raped related in any way to Ms. Coakley?  And could it be that the stories - first heard at the FNM’s convention last year - emanated out of the FNM's Council where Ms. Coakley is said to be a member?  Then it is being said that these stories were repeated in an FNM forum at which Ms. Coakley was also present this year in a discussion about the Inheritance Bills. Ms. Coakley took a strong stand on the inheritance bills.  The allegations were reportedly heard by Errington ‘Bumpy’ Watkins, the fiery former United Bahamian Party Chair and former Member of Parliament, who is an FNM delegate from Long Island.  He reportedly repeated the allegations in a letter to the press.  Pierre Dupuch’s allegation in the House was the latest salvo.  But what we still can’t understand is why would Senator Bostwick go and put his name in all of this publicly?  The speculation is that it is pressure from the spouse, but certainly spouses in these situations have the most to lose.  So would it not have been better to simply grin and bear it? Like most things in The Bahamas it might simply have blown away. And then it begs other questions. On the face of it, the offer to give DNA samples through blood appears magnanimous and co-operative, but who is to say that the party who is alleged to have been raped will co-operate or that they will not be “persuaded” not to co-operate.  This is all very strange.

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ALL FUN AND JOKES ASIDE ON BOSTWICK
Politicians all have a peculiar relationship with one another.  Despite the difference of political sides, alliances sometimes hold over the political boundaries.  One such alliance is the situation that now obtains between FNM MPs who oppose Hubert Ingraham and the PLP MPs and Senators.  Right now it is in the interest of those who are FNM dissidents to have the PLP’s support to block Mr. Ingraham's return.  But we never forget that at the end of the day, it is our party interests that will ultimately prevail.  There are signs now at home that there is as we say in The Bahamas ‘backing back’ by the dissident community in the FNM. The view seems to be that it would be politically disastrous for Mr. Ingraham to be allowed to proceed without a leader elect.  They see that he will simply come back next year and refuse to go.  This is bolstered by the acceptance of men like C. A. Smith and Frank Watson, senior ministers, that their nominations may now be on the chopping block from a man who shows no loyalty or affinity to any beliefs.  With Ingraham it is all about expediency.  And so it is with Henry Bostwick - all fun and jokes aside.  The statement in the Senate about this allegation by Senator Bostwick treads on dangerous grounds. It uses the cloak of immunity of the Senate, from which no action criminal or civil can be taken to make certain statements, even attacking a private citizen whose name heretofore had not been called.  It lays him open to all sorts of political attacks and the statement just did not seem necessary. At the end of the day, it is his call but given the political community in The Bahamas treading into a moral area is dangerous ground indeed.  Politics should be concerned about public policy - not private behaviour unless and until that private behaviour becomes a matter of public interest as in a criminal charge.  No criminal charge was made here.  There was a mere allegation and no one's name was called.  There is an old saying in The Bahamas that if you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one who hollers got hit.  So why would one want to name oneself? Oscar Wilde was sent to jail, because he went on the witness stand and in trying to be too clever made a slip of the tongue that caused his prosecutors to be able to destroy his credibility on the witness stand. All fun and jokes aside, and having worked with Senator Bostwick for many years both adjacent and across the table, his statement is simply inexplicable.

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THE HAITIAN TRAGEDY CONTINUES
Edward Carrington, the Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has been in The Bahamas for two weeks in the run up to the Heads of Government conference being held in Nassau starting 3 July.  Last week, we ran a story about the death of Haitians on the high seas.  This week we are able to report that the remote island of Rum Cay in The Bahamas had the sad task of dealing with the burial of 11 Haitians who were drowned at sea near their Island in the southern Bahamas.  (See Tribune photo) The community has about 70 souls that live there, and was said to be stunned by the events. On Sunday 24 June at about 8 p.m. two partially naked men stumbled on to a marina in Rum Cay.  They sounded the alarm that their fellow countrymen were to perish on a 30-foot wooden sloop.  The sloop was designed to carry 15 persons but had 93 aboard. Eleven persons were already dead when found, six others feared dead.  Rescuers were prevented from getting at the persons in the water because of sharks in the waters.  The useless Minister of Immigration Earl Deveaux had this to say about it on Tuesday 26 June: “While the country sympathizes and acknowledges the plight of the Haitian immigrants, The Bahamas’ first priority lies elsewhere, first to The Bahamas and to the Bahamian people. Haiti has had billions of dollars fraudulently abused, but unless this issue is addressed these people will continue to leave home.”  There is nothing like the obvious to sound so profound out of the mouth of an FNM Minister of the Government.  Caricom has no more important issue than the Haitian problem to discuss.  This is all the more so since Haiti is a member of Caricom.  President Jean Bertrand Aristide is coming to The Bahamas for the conference.  All Bahamian political groups should attempt to see President Aristide and impress upon him the need for a political and economic solution in Haiti.  The U.S. and other aid donors have made it clear that unless there is some movement toward true political pluralism in Haiti there is going to be no aid to his Government.  One can't be sure if this is shooting us in the foot.  The Bahamas needs the assistance of the international community to solve this problem.  Both the Immigration Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister can’t be stating the obvious.  They must together work assiduously and actively to keep this issue on the front burner, otherwise we will continue to see the kinds of tragedies unfold like we had in Rum Cay.
 

THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE MEETS
In our system when Committees of the House are appointed, whether standing committees or select committees, the Government has a built in majority on those committees.  That means on a usual five-member committee, the Government will usually have three members and the Opposition two members.  Not so the Public Accounts committee. The Public Accounts Committee has a built in majority for the Opposition.  It was used to good effect in the past when the FNM was in position, it called Richard Demeritte, the then auditor general for the position on the Government accounts.  Now Perry Christie, the Leader of the Opposition who sits with Bradley Roberts MP PLP Grants Town and Philip Galanis (PLP) Englerston as a part of the Public Accounts Committee have convened the Committee.  The FNM members are two dissident FNMs, Elliot Lockhart the Member for Exuma and Anthony Miller, the Member for South Eleuthera.  The Committee met on Tuesday 25 June.  They met for four hours to examine the allegations against Frank Watson, the Deputy Prime Minister.  You will remember that Bradley Roberts the MP for Grants Town made certain allegations about Mr. Watson.  He said that Mr. Watson’s company had bounced cheques with the Customs Department.  The cheques were signed by Mr. Watson. He said that the cheques were not made good until Mr. Watson became the Minister of Works in the new FNM Government in 1992.  It was done by giving contracts to various cronies of Mr. Watson and then the moneys deducted from those contracts to make good the bounced cheques.  Mr. Roberts called on Mr. Watson to resign.  Inside the FNM, there is great consternation about this.  Backbenchers share the view that if Brent Symonette had to resign, then Frank Watson who is alleged to have done something much worse cannot continue to stand as a Minister of the Government.  Of course, we know that Mr. Watson is the Chief Slave’s man. Remember Mr. Ingraham said that Frank was the only man he could trust.  We will see when the Public Accounts Committee has reported how far he will trust him from then.  The first witness was the Treasurer for the country. The committee adjourned after four hours and is to meet again when the Treasurer returns with more information for the Committee.  The Treasurer was asked to explain the procedure on how cheques are processed in the Treasury. Also to come before the Committee is acting auditor general.

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NIKI KELLY ON BRENT’S RESIGNATION
The Opposition political community is more and more pleased with Niki Kelly.  She is relentless in her investigative reporting.  We keep wondering when The Tribune who hates the PLP editorially will try to clip her wings.  So far Tribune Publisher Eileen Carron has defended Ms. Kelly’s right to say what she wants, although the Carrons do not agree with what she writes. But we want to make it clear that should the PLP become the Government we would expect the same thorough examination of the PLP’s public policy.  What Ms. Kelly does is absolutely essential to good public policy.  That said, Ms. Kelly had an interesting take on the Chief Slave Hubert Ingraham's double standard when it comes to the resignation of Brent Symonette who is white and Frank Watson, who most people believe is Black.  Said Ms. Kelly:  “In view of the recent revelations involving Nassau Transfers, it is hypocritical of Mr. Ingraham to demand a level of accountability from Mr. Symonette that he is not prepared to demand of Mr. Watson.” Then Ms. Kelly quotes from the Prime Minister speaking of Mr. Symonette’s resignation.  The Chief Slave said that it was “a reality and a requirement that those who are involved in public life be and appear to be, above reproach in the conduct of the people’s business and interest, and duty must not appear to conflict.”  Ms. Kelly concluded: “I don’t know how Mr. Ingraham could utter those words with a straight face.  Or is this yet another example of our double standards – this time based on race?”  Well said. And the irony of the comment is that the Chief Slave that he is would only use the fact that he has fired Brent Symonette who is white to try and fool the Bahamian public that the PLP’s stories about him being overly pro-white are not true.  The reality is that a day after accepting Brent’s resignation, Mr. Ingraham showed his true colours by saying that Brent’s action was not a bar to return to public life.

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MISS BAHAMAS PAGEANT IN TROUBLE
After such a stunning success in the most recent Miss Universe pageant with our contestant, Miss Bahamas Nakera Simms winning Miss Congeniality, it came as a shock to the country the news that the Miss Universe licence or franchise has been withdrawn from the Miss Bahamas Beauty Pageant Committee.  Up to Tuesday 26 June, Agatha Watson who chairs the beauty pageant committee could only confirm that the franchise has been withdrawn but could not say why, except that it might be related to a dispute over fees.

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INGRAHAM ON AIDS
The Prime Minister and Chief Slave Hubert Ingraham spoke at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday 25 June.  This time it was as a contributor to the important forum on HIV/AIDS and what to do about it.  Mr. Ingraham on behalf of The Bahamas endorsed the call of Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, for a world fund to deal with the disease.  We agree that the funding is important.  But what is Mr. Ingraham going to do for The Bahamas?  Will the Bahamas give money to the fund?  There was no sign in the speech.  But he also has to work on public education in The Bahamas and more aggressively.  The society continues to bury its head in the sand on this issue.  AIDS must also be at the top of the agenda after the Haitian problem with other Caribbean leaders who must work to curb the homophobia in their societies, the principle obstacle to tackling AIDS as a problem.  The disease is still seen as mainly a homosexual man’s disease or as the Jamaicans say a disease for “chi-chi men”.  While they believe that, the fact is that teenage girls in our societies are the ones who suffer the most from the disease.

CONCERN OF TRAINEE CHEFS
An e-mail note was received by this columnist on Wednesday 27 June from a reader who is a trainee chef at the College of The Bahamas in the College of Tourism and Hotel Studies. She claims that the Minister of Education Dion Foulkes intervened in the awarding of a contract for the meals at the Bahamas Games.  According to the correspondent, the lowest bidder would have been the College itself but at the last minute the contract award was changed to a woman who is reportedly a known FNM supporter.   The FNM supporter also had a contract at the National Insurance Board. The correspondent says that what is most disturbing about this is that the awardee has a son who works as a Chef/Lecturer at the College.  Further the awardee is being allowed to use the facilities of the College to prepare the food.  This is a matter that must be investigated by Minister Foulkes and the truth revealed.  Our corespondent should know that this matter was referred to Senator Obie Wilchcombe for further investigation. Late word from our correspondent has it that the Minister has resiled from his position.
 

SHELL LETS GOMEZ GO

We knew it.  It was just a matter of time.  But you look at the history of Shell as a company and the elimination of Bahamians from positions of authority in the company.  Unfortunately Bahamians have no Government to protect them.  Anything goes under the Ingraham regime.  Now we have learned that the faithful employee Jerome Gomez (shown here with an assistant in a file photo) who took all the heat for the bad decisions of the marketing people of Shell overseas has been dismissed.  No reason was given for the decision, except they are restructuring.  This is not good.

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CHRISTIE ON THE CONSTITUTION
The Progressive Liberal Party has sent its official proposals to the Prime Minister on Constitutional reform.  The Chief Slave Hubert Ingraham wants to rush through constitutional changes before the term is over.  He has less than six months to do so.  You can click here to see what was recommended by Mr. Christie.  The operative part, however, is that the suggestions are just working suggestions subject to change.  Further, the PLP takes the position that the process of constitutional reform cannot and must not be rushed.  There must be wide and deliberate consultation.  There must be an all-party conference to come to some consensus before moving on with constitutional changes.  A change in the constitution will require a referendum.  Does Mr. Ingraham intend to disrupt this country’s economy twice this year, once with a referendum and once with an election?  Or is he trying to play a trick on us by joining the referendum with the election and thereby tricking people to vote for the FNM.  This writer believes that we ought to become a republic with an elected President.  Further, that the Senate should be elected on the basis of proportional representation with a five per cent threshold.  Let us know what you think about the PLP’s proposals.

SENATOR MELANIE GRIFFIN ON DUMP SCANDAL

The Government finds itself in another scandal in the Ministry of Health.  Senator Melanie Griffin, speaking in the Senate during the Budget debate last week, accused the Ministry of Health of endangering the environment of the country by using unsafe practices at the dumpsite.  You may click on here for the full report.  Senator Ronnie Knowles must be made to fully account for misleading the Senate in denying Senator Griffin’s claims.

JAMEICA DUNCOMBE ON THE GOLF ASSOCIATION
The young golf pro Jameica Duncombe is angry and upset with the Bahamas Golf Federation.  She is now 18 and says that she is sick of being treated like a child.  Her response was published on 27 June.  The response was quoted by Brent Stubbs, The Tribune sports reporter.  Ms. Duncombe was upset because of a seemingly casual remark made by Ambrose Gouthro, President of the Golf Federation.   He was asked why Ms. Duncombe was not selected to play for this year’s Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship on the Bahamian team.  He said that she did not seem to have any interest in playing with the team. Ms. Duncombe’s response: “I don’t appreciate the comments they made at all.  If they would have contacted me, they would have found out why I won’t be able to play this year.  Firstly, right now I’m in summer school and I have sessions all summer long.  I decided to concentrate on my studies this year and play less golf because I want to play more golf next year.  And secondly, when I came home during spring break, I brought a guest with me and I found it most embarrassing that I couldn’t get the opportunity to play on one of golf courses and nobody stood up for me.  Ms. Duncombe was referring to an attempt to play on the Paradise Island Golf course, newly refurbished, where she played as junior.  She was refused because she did not have membership, said to cost $50,000.  She was not allowed to practice there.  This is an interesting matter.  You see we as a country always rally around these folk when they win and bring glory to the country, but we do not want to make the necessary sacrifices to help them along the way.  Ambrose Gouthro probably meant no real harm with the comment but it bears trying to heal these wounds. (Tribune photo)

CHARLES CARTER’S NEW RADIO STATION
The Tribune says that former PLP MP, Minister and Senate Leader Charles Carter has started test broadcasts of his new radio station Island Broadcasting at 102.9 FM.  Mr. Carter said that his station is expected to appeal to a more mature audience and will not be a ‘teeny bopper’ station.  We wish Mr. Carter well.  Full time broadcasting begins in August.  Charles Carter resigned his seat in the Senate in 1993 because he was prohibited in law from getting a licence to broadcast as long as he was an active politician.

ROYAL WEDDING TO RICHA SANDS AND AFRICAN KING
The Bahamas Faith Ministries has reportedly written to the Richa Sands and her fiancé King Francois Ayi Foli- Bebe of Togo and told the couple that that the wedding of the couple could not be accommodated at Bahamas Faith Ministries Diplomat Centre on Carmichael Road.  The wedding is now to take place on 7 July at Golden Gates Church of Bishop Ross Davis.  The move of site reportedly is related to the fact that a donation of million dollars was to be given to Bahamas Faith Ministries by the King and the donation never materialized.  The news was said to have devastated Miss Sands.  It should be noted that the letter from Bahamas Faith Ministries spoke of “not enough planning,” and “not enough time” but one would think that because Ms. Sands is a tithe-paying member of BFM surely she should have privilege of being married there, independent of anything he husband to be did or did not do for the church.

RAINY NASSAU

The weather office called it a 'tropical wave' which produced a line of squalls. Whatever you call it there was a lot of rain in Nassau this past week. 6.75 inches of rain fell on New Providence Wednesday 27 June. The following day, electricity was off for long periods across the island. One clap of thunder BEC did not disappoint. The Tribune showed this photo of a Dowdeswell street shopkeeper sweeping out the rain.

NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Immediate Response – As promised top ZNS newsman Darrold Miller took his popular call-in show ‘Immediate Response’ on the road to Grand Bahama this past week. Callers to Thursday and Friday’s shows left no doubt whatsoever: the FNM is in serious trouble in Grand Bahama and the words ‘economic boom in Freeport’ are a political no no.

They Just Wouldn’t Say It – Despite many tries, Darrold just couldn’t get any of his guests to utter the words “Yes, there is an economic boom in Freeport.” Not Eight Mile Rock FNM MP Pastor Lindy Russell, not Chief Freeport City Councillor Burton Miller, not even Grand Bahama Port Authority spokesman and heir apparent Barry Malcolm. The callers were just too mad. Just too outraged at the many wrongs now going on against Bahamians in the ‘magic city’.

C.A. Bashed – On one of the shows, the suggestion was made that Minister C.A. Smith might be potential leader of the FNM. A well-known and respected FNM general immediately called up to say “C.A. better not lead anything because he would sell this country out from under the feet of the Bahamian people…” As if Hubert Ingraham is already doing just that. Maurice Moore, a guest on that show (see following story) tried to quiet the FNM general who replied: “I will shame C.A. anywhere I catch him because he doesn’t look out for Bahamians.” Later in the week, one of C.A. erstwhile generals contacted this site to say "Let all the people who he has been helping vote for C.A. because none of them can even vote!... if Hubert don't take that [expletives deleted] out then the people of Pineridge will do it."

No Unnecessary Baggage - Our insiders tell us that while meeting with his MPs just hours before his address to the nation, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham warned them that he would go into the General Election with no unnecessary baggage. We wonder what that means...

FNM’s ‘First Born’ Calls For New Leader - Maurice Moore, founding member of the FNM, former High Rock MP, Minister of Government and Ambassador for The Bahamas, has called on his party to choose a new leader before the General Election. Mr. Moore, considered in Grand Bahama as the ‘first born’ of the FNM, raised eyebrows among party faithful in Grand Bahama recently when he made no secret of his support for dissident FNM MP and would-be leader Tennyson Wells, squiring Mr. Wells around town during several visits here. Moore, who retains considerable support in Grand Bahama and within the FNM, has been put out to pasture by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.

Leader-elect Call Gathers Strength - "Prime Minister Ingraham is an honourable and honourable men do honourable things and August 2002 is not an honourable thing and totally unacceptable." This from once staunch supporters of soon to be former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham in Grand Bahama. News From Grand Bahama was told that Mr. Ingraham is in the habit of taking over forty calls early each morning from various generals around the country and that since his address to the nation about staying on the phones have stopped ringing. "Many generals see that the people and have started to hitch their wagons to new horses."

Lindy Bails Out – EMR MP Pastor Lindy Russell was so shocked by his reception during the first hour of ‘Immediate Response’ that he refused to return for the second half of the show. His repeated excuse to callers concerns was that he “didn’t know” or that he “wasn’t aware” of Bahamians were being displaced everywhere in the new Freeport economy.

Bahamians Out – Cubans Stay – A Bahamian band working at the ‘Our Lucaya’ hotel complex is currently employed for one day a week and has now been given notice of termination. Meanwhile, a Cuban band working at the same property remains fully employed. Whose Lucaya is it anyway? The musicians complained to no avail that this is The Bahamas and Bahamians ought to be first in their country. After 45 years in the hospitality industry glass ceilings are being created over Bahamians all around Freeport with many stuck as mere supervisors with glorified names while imports fill the lucrative and powerful jobs.

Severance By The Month – Some weeks ago, we reported the termination of Resorts at Bahamia Training Officer Vernell Butler. Downsizing or ‘right-sizing’ they said. We charged that it was simply a decision to save money of which the hotel’s owners – the Driftwood Group – were in short supply. Now we can report that Ms. Butler is said to be receiving severance pay by the month. And, get this, a new training officer has been appointed; this one an expatriate said to be closely related to one of the principals of the Driftwood group. Sources say that this person was brought out of retirement to displace a Bahamian. A favourite saying of Minister of Tourism Tommy Turnquest seems to apply: “That cannot be right.”

Gerrymandering High Rock – We reported previously that a piece of the Lucaya constituency was to be taken over to High Rock in an effort to gerrymander assistance for High Rock FNM MP Minister Kenneth Russell. Sources now tell News From Grand Bahama that the piece in question is an area known as Royal Bahamian Estates. The trouble is that hundred upon hundreds of the voters in this upscale community trust the PLP’s candidate Dr. Marcus Bethel with their health, indeed, their very lives. So what’s a vote, compared to a life? Good try, guys.

How Do We Know? Bitter complaints have been coming from Freeport FNMS into News From Grand Bahama about the sources of our information. “You guys have stuff on the website that we don’t even hear until weeks later and it turns out to be true,” carped one FNM insider, “It has got to stop.”  What can we say?

Geneva Rutherford Does It Again – Less than two weeks ago, Senator Geneva Rutherford gave a speech at a high school graduation exercise in Freeport. The speech was long and pitched way above the heads of the students. Many complained to us about the speech, but  - figuring that it is the political season after all – we said nothing. Now, would be candidate Rutherford has gone and given the same speech all over again at yet another graduation exercise. Someone must take her aside and tell her that the voters of Pineridge (if she and Mr. Ingraham succeed in denying C.A. Smith his nomination) won’t stand still for erudite posturing that doesn’t address their concerns. Or maybe she just needs a better speechwriter.

Coaches Fight  - In a disgraceful display in what not to show children about resolving conflict, two track coaches came to blows at this past weekend’s Bahamas Games trials in Grand Bahama. Student athletes watched in amazement as the coaches rolled on the ground in their mindless aggression. The situation developed after interventions from other coaches, parents and at least one major financial backer of children’s sports were unsuccessful. “All over foolishness and egos,” said one parent. Unfortunately, Churchill Tener-Knowles, head of the Grand Bahama Sports Council and known as peacemaker, was not present during the altercation. No word on whether the Council intends to deal with the incident. We shall see.

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NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

MR. MACHIAVELLI EMERGES FROM THE SHADOWS
Hubert Ingraham, the Chief Slave, was in a good mood this week.  He had plenty of opportunity to show off.  His brother Prime Ministers were in town.  He had Presidents galore in town for Caricom: the Presidents of the Dominican Republic, Guyana and Suriname were all here.  Then President Jean Bertrand Aristide of Haiti showed up.  Vincente Fox, the President of Mexico, followed him. Mr. Fox was lobbying Caricom states for a berth for Mexico as one of the non-permanent seats on the Security Council.  The Chief Slave must have felt like a big man.

We met at the Government House gardens, following the official opening, the Chief Slave and I.  Never know with this fellow.  Just this week, he was twisting and turning to try to determine who was going to be his successor.  This came after the party elders made it clear that his proposal on radio two weeks ago, that he would stay until August 19 next year then demit office, would not fly.  He was forced one day after his address to concede that a leader elect had to be put in place by the time he left office.  And so one is to be elected in August of this year.

The next fight in the FNM is going to be how this is to be done.  The Tennyson Wells forces, which include former MP, Minister and Ambassador Maurice Moore, want a special convention called to elect the Leader. Mr. Ingraham and his forces that include the Iago like Dion Foulkes want a more limited forum to choose in the National General Council of the FNM. The Ingraham forces say that is how it was done when Mr. Ingraham was invited to become Leader upon the death of Cecil Wallace-Whitfield.

The next problem will be who are to be the candidates for Leader.  The Prime Minister threw his weight in early by saying that the successor would come from the Cabinet.  Presumably that was meant to exclude Tennyson Wells who sits on the backbench.  He then added that it had to be a young person so that would seem to eliminate Frank Watson or C. A. Smith.  Late word was that the Chief Slave was trying to patch together a coalition with Tommy Turnquest as the Prime Minister in waiting and C.A. Smith as his Deputy.  This came after C.A. Smith went to Abaco to beg the Prime Minister to return his nomination to him for his Grand Bahama seat.  But Dion Foulkes is telling all his people that he has the votes and is the front runner.  Further, he was looking quite Prime Ministerial at the Caricom Conference opening, squiring his wife, who looked like a Prime Minister’s wife.  But there is a wolf at the door, lurking in the shadows and they had better not count him out.  He is the Minister of Idle Poetry, the man we call Mr. Machiavelli himself, as twisted as a corkscrew.  You don’t blink before he is upon you.  Never mind all that bit about ‘Precious Pearls’ and ‘Little Darlings’ of the nation. He has a bite like an asp.  We are talking about none other than Algernon Allen and at the moment that is the one who looks like he is going to emerge from the shadows.

As we go to upload, word has it that Dion Foulkes has repaired to Andros for quiet and private with Minister of Health Ronnie Knowles and FNM party man Edwin ‘Vikey’ Brown in tow to “find a deal that is acceptable to Ingraham and put all this infighting behind us.” Someone is bound to get left out. We will report.

Of course from a PLP perspective, all of this intrigue is just interesting social gossip.  It matters not who the Leader of the FNM is or will be.  They will be beaten at the next election.  It is the abysmal record of selling this country out that will sink the FNM.

There is a new photograph with this editorial this week. This columnist is pictured in Berlin, under the dome of the Reichstag (the German Parliament) as redesigned and reconstructed by Sir Norman Parkinson, the famous British architect and winner of a Europe wide contest for the job. The dome was built after the fall of the Berlin wall, when the German Government again established its capital in Berlin and is a replacement for one destroyed during the Second World War.

This week we had 19,422 hits on the site for the week ending Saturday 7 July at midnight, which is also the total number of hits for the month of July.  Thanks for reading and please keep reading.

PERMANENT LINKS
11th Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling & Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden by Fred Mitchell
Address to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue

Address of Sean McWeeney / Pindling  funeral
Gilbert Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral coverage

Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting	Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral

e-mail timbuktu@batelnet.bs

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY
The Bahamas celebrates its 28th anniversary of Independence, Tuesday 10 July.  Have a happy independence day.  For the sake of the nation, let us hope that next year this time the PLP is back in its rightful place as the governing party of this country.

JOEY LUNN SHOT TO DEATH
The crime situation in The Bahamas is once again spiralling out of control in a high profile way. Joey Lunn is a nurse, a senior nurse in a profession dedicated to saving lives.  She is now dead, shot dead at the Princess Margaret's private surgical ward.  Her sin: she happened to be on the scene with her patient.  According to early reports, the patient a man from Freeport was shot in Grand Bahama last week.  The culprits apparently came to finish off the man – one Saunders known as ‘Blackus’ in Nassau. Before agreeing to be airlifted from the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport, the man reportedly insisted on a police escort to the Grand Bahama airport for his safety. He refused to leave without it. Security was provided, so the police in Nassau should have been aware of the situation involved. In Nassau, there was no security provided.  The culprits shot up the hospital and in the process missed the person they reportedly came to kill but shot Nurse Lunn at point blank range in her chest killing instantly.  This is sad indeed. More to be told later, but on the face of it is someone has been negligent.

WHO WILL BE THE LEADER?
Hubert Ingraham wants to have it his way.  He wants to be able to choose his successor.  You will remember that he announced by radio two weeks ago that he was demitting office on 19 August 2001, ten years after taking office. Never mind that this is not what he said.  He told us that he would quit after two terms and the two terms will be up when he dissolves the Parliament this time.  He cannot be elected another time without breaking his promise to the Bahamian people. You will remember that he was the one who said in 1997 that that was his last campaign and that the people of Coopers Town would have to find another representative.  Now he says that he will not go as the representative for Coopers Town either.  He intends to ‘help’ his successor by sitting on the backbench as the MP for Cooper's Town for five years and then retire.  Mr. Ingraham's decision left his party in shambles. There was a palace revolt and he was told in no uncertain terms that he could not leave the FNM leadership without putting in place leader-elect. He has apparently deigned to agree to do so.  So he started off the campaign on Monday 2 July with an interview in the press, and seemed to identify Dion Foulkes and Tommy Turnquest as amongst those in the Cabinet who qualify for leadership.  He said that it would be someone in the Cabinet and a young person.  But what he does not count on is the fact that the sixty something  C.A. Smith, Minister of Transport, has ambitions. Algernon Allen has ambitions and so does Tennyson Wells.  Most people believe that at the end of the day it is going to be Tennyson Wells, who started his campaign early and is the most organized on the ground.  But as we said you can’t count out Mr. Machiavelli himself the Minister for Social Services Algernon Allen, shown in this Nassau Guardian photo giving a $90,000 cheque to the Rev. Canon I. Ranfurly Brown for the church’s adolescent house for boys.  Mr. Allen was also busy giving away money in Exuma with a $35,000 donation from the Government to the building of an old folk’s home in Exuma.  All of this is an orchestrated campaign to clean up his image and make him acceptable as the Leader of the FNM and the next Prime Minister.

MITCHELL AND INGRAHAM

The occasion was a garden party reception for the visiting Heads of State of Caricom for the Caricom Heads of Government meeting in Nassau on 3 July.  The place was Government House.  This Senator, columnist and nemesis of the Chief Slave Hubert Ingraham, was passing the official party to get to the exit.  Having spoken to Mrs. Delores Ingraham, the Chief Slave spotted this columnist out of his left eye and insisted that we shake hands, and shake hands we did.  As the flash bulbs went off for the historic occasion, this columnist reminded the Prime Minister of his roots and of the future with the flash of the PLP’s election sign. The photo is by Ephram Jones photographers. Said the Prime Minister, “You are always being political.” Things that make you go : hmmm!

THE PM OF BARBADOS
Back in 1993, the British Government invited several politicians to an international conference in the United Kingdom and a tour of Government offices in London for a week afterwards.  One of those persons was this Senator, another was then Leader of the Opposition in Barbados Owen Arthur. We hit it off completely and had a great time.  Shortly after our return to our respective homes, General Elections were called in Barbados and Mr. Arthur won the election hands down.  This senator attended the swearing in of the new Prime Minster at Government House in Barbados by then Governor General of Barbados the late Dame Nita Barrow. Owen Arthur is in Nassau for the Heads of Government conference and it was good to see him again.  Right now, he is considered a Caricom champion having been one of the few heads of Government to challenge the hegemony of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and their attempt to wreck the financial services sector in the Caribbean.  One can distinguish his position from that of our own Prime Minister who abjectly surrendered.

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THE PM OF TRINIDAD

Photographer Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services was able to capture this photograph in the lower gardens of Government House in Nassau on Tuesday 3 July at the reception put on by the Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest for the visiting heads of Government.  In this photo this Senator stands at the centre.  On the far left is the Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies Professor Rex Nettleford, an aide to the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Senator Mitchell, the Prime Minister of Trinidad Basdeo Panday, and Professor Kenneth Hall, the Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies Mona Campus in Jamaica.

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WHAT DID INGRAHAM COMMIT US TO?
The language seemed especially tortuous and ambiguous, but judging from the nodding of the Caricom heads assembled at the new Performing Centre for the Arts, formerly the Shirley Street theatre, we thought they heard Hubert Ingraham commit this country to joining the single market economy, a single approach to Caribbean tourism and to the free movement of people.  There was some rumbling in the crowd, even as the other heads seemed proud that Mr. Ingraham had finally come round to their position, but not quite.  Mr. Ingraham appears to have said that while the proposal on the free movement of travel was becoming less and less objectionable, The Bahamas still had reservations about the unregulated flow of migrants to The Bahamas.  The Minister of Tourism of The Bahamas Tommy Turnquest later clarified the Government’s position by saying that there would not be a single approach to tourism. But all seemed agreed that there is to be a single and concerted approach to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic throughout our countries.  The single market will mean that there will be free flow of goods, capital and people in the community. No one in The Bahamas is ready for that, and it appears from the response to the Prime Minister of St. Vincent who gave his maiden speech, the other Heads aren’t quite ready for it either.  Trinidad and Tobago is concerned that if there is actually free flow of people that half of Guyana will move to Trinidad within six weeks.  But see below what the Prime Minister of St. Vincent said on the issue.

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PM OF ST. VINCENT ON THE FREE FLOW OF PEOPLE
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines was attending his first Heads of Government conference and he had a firecracker of a proposal that had even the most dedicated Caribbeanists shaking their heads in disagreement.  You know the Heads of Government have talked about and committed each country with the exception of The Bahamas to a single market economy and the free flow of people, within the region.  Mr. Gonsalves said that so far it had only been talk. Mr. Gonsalves called for a “people to people” integration of the region.  Certain immediate steps must first be made, he said.  “Let us begin by abolishing on a reciprocal basis the requirement for a passport or such other travel document.  And remove the legal burden of residency status and work permits for Caribbean nationals in sister states.”  There was barely a ripple of applause from any Head of Government. But there was plenty of chuckling among the heads at this: “The intra-regional traveller is by and large looked upon with suspicion by immigration authorities of sister Caricom territories.  It is even more difficult than in colonial times for a Caricom national to enter the country of another.  It goes even further than this. Guyanese visitors are by and large looked upon with great suspicion by immigration authorities of sister Caribbean countries. While Canadians are welcomed with open arms in Barbados, St. Lucians and Vincentians are generally treated as unwanted strangers at the gate.  Meanwhile, Rastafarians are discriminated against by every customs and immigration officer in practically every country of the region, save and except Jamaica. And Barbadians are caricatured as smart men who must be watched closely at posts of entry - all this is totally unacceptable.  Neither Caricom nor some other form of union could service these indignities and irrationalities.” Things that make you go hmmm!

WHAT ARE THE AMBASSADOR'S PLANS?
There is a history in the country of public servants in protected positions in the public service making decisions to go into politics from the safety of the public service. While there is nothing legally wrong with this, it is incumbent upon those public servants to declare their interest early and not compromise their independence as servants of the public. There is talk going around that Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham intends to replace Elliot Lockhart as the Member of Parliament for Exuma. The PLP has already chosen Anthony Moss, businessman, to oppose Mr. Lockhart. Their is word going around the political community that a high profile diplomat, one of our most brilliant sons, has been convinced by Mr. Ingraham, who is on his way out, to run in Mr. Lockhart's place. It would be interesting to know whether these plans can be confirmed. It would surprise us, knowing the dedication to civic duty that we have always known about the individual concerned. The fact is that Mr. Ingraham is a lame duck. The tide has shifted significantly against the FNM in the country and this would seem to be the wrong time to join with the FNM.

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THE VISIT TO GERMANY
The pictures are finally available from the official visit to German prisons by this Senator with three other Caribbean officials.  The first picture is a group at a welcome dinner given by the Secretary of State for Justice of the city Government of Berlin held at our hotel on the evening of the first day. Mr. Kristof Flogge is pictured at second from left, with this Senator at centre.  During the visit, the German Minister of State in their Foreign Office indicated that Germany put as its highest priority in its relations with the Caribbean the abolition of the death penalty.  It also believed that there ought to be reform of the prison system in the Caribbean and to that end the invitation to Germany took place.  One of the public officials visiting from the Caribbean was Minister Dickie Bradley.  He was the only one at ministerial rank.  He told the German Minister that the Caricom countries all had high crime rates and the people of the Caribbean wanted crime to cease.  He said the death penalty was useful in that regard and that the support for the death penalty was strong.  He said that Europe was in no position to lecture the Caribbean since they themselves had the death penalty for many offences when they were at a similar stage of Caribbean development.  He said that his Government had abolished the Privy Council as the final court of appeal for his country because they had put obstacles in the way of executing persons.  He said that Belize intends to hang some people before their next election.  For my part, I made it clear that I opposed the death penalty but my party’s official position was that the death penalty was on the books and ought to be used in extreme cases.  The Jamaican delegate and the Trinidad delegate had similar positions.  But we were impressed by the prison facilities of Germany. We saw two facilities; a correctional facility for juveniles in Berlin, the capital city of Germany and a maximum-security facility in Hamburg, the port city and state in northern Germany.  In both facilities each inmate had an individual cell, individual sanitary facilities and a television in the case of the adult prisoners.  There was also the right to conjugal visits, whether you were married or single.  The policy was for rehabilitation, work and training.  The German government had impressive facilities for work, including fully functioning bakeries, a print shop, a workshop to produce car parts, to do woodwork, and a kitchen to cook the food for the prison itself. We pointed out that the Caribbean has a problem with resources.  We needed therefore assistance in public education; training and financial resources if we were able to do something about our prisons, which we all admitted, were in less than desirable shape. To this end, a follow up conference is being proposed in Kingston, Jamaica for next year, sponsored by the German Government and with a view to bringing together the stakeholders in the correctional sector throughout the four countries represented at the German visit to advance the cause further.  Shown from left to right on the balcony of the Reichstag are: the German Commissioner for Corrections Lt. Colonel John Prescodd, Attorney General Dickie Bradley of Belize, Vice President of the Bundestag, Mrs. Petra Blass, Senator Professor Ramesh Deosaran of Trinidad and Tobago and this Senator. Meanwhile a correspondent to this Senator wrote to say that he as a resident Bahamian in Berlin could not understand how the Germans could lecture us on human rights having regard to the deeply ingrained racism in Germany. More on this later, following a direct complaint to the Ambassador of Germany about my visit.

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CORRUPTION AT CENTRAL BANK?
The owner of the peremptorily closed Suisse Security Bank is fed up with the fact that his bank has been closed for six months and the judicial system in The Bahamas is unable to come to grips with his request to have his bank reopened. The case has been pending for sometime.  The owner on behalf of the bank took action to stop the Central Bank from winding up the bank compulsorily on the ground that the bank was not operating in the public interest.  There is some talk about the bank being involved in money laundering but no one at the Central Bank has reportedly been able to show any such proof.  In fact the proof seems to be in the opposite direction.  It appears that the bank was simply closed because of a vendetta by the Government in particular the Prime Minister against the owner of the bank Muhammad Harachi.  Mr. Harachi is a 21 year resident of The Bahamas who lives on Paradise Island.  What is being said now is that apart from the question of the vendetta, there is some corruption involved in the decision. There is talk of late night meetings and a request for the gift of a 1.8 million dollar piece of land on Paradise Island and when the refusal took place the licence for the bank was revoked.  All of this bears investigation but what is more important is that here we have a commercial centre, we keep boasting about the sophistication of our financial services sector and we can’t get judges to act quickly to make a decision expeditiously and to hear the appeals without delay.  As you know this columnist has said that at the first opportunity in parliament, we intend to tell the full story of the delays and tomfoolery attendant upon the filing and prosecuting of cases involving the air traffic controllers whose union the Government is intent on destroying. The case of the bank and the passage of its case through the Courts is also being investigated. At upload time, Suisse Security Bank and its owner Muhammad Harachi have announced that despite the delays in the court system the staff will be paid for another six month period.

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ERMA WILLIAMS RESPONDS
The response was swift and direct.  Last week you may remember in this column we reported how the contract had been allocated to the persons who are serving food for The Bahamas Games.  As the week concluded it appears that the contract went to the group at the former Hotel Training School.  But the person who originally got the contract was not amused by our story.  Erma Williams saw this columnist at the opening of the Caricom Heads of Government conference at the Performing Arts Centre on Tuesday 4 July. She originally got the contract but the contract was allegedly revoked after objections from the students at the school.  She said that she was hard working woman, who was a single woman who worked hard for everything that she has.  She said that she was in fact the lowest bidder. She was offended by the suggestion that she merely got the job because of politics.  And she added that not because she was an FNM supporter should she be denied the right to make a living.  She said that she knew this columnist’s mother and she was surprised at the story and thought it was unfair. She said that every Bahamian regardless of political affiliation is entitled to make a living in this country and she has always supported that view.  We therefore report her reply here.
 

ARISTIDE VISITS
The President of Haiti Jean Bertrand Aristide visited The Bahamas on Wednesday 4 July for one day to attend the Caricom Heads of Government conference.  While in The Bahamas Mr. Aristide met the Haitian community at the Church of God of Prophecy Auditorium at Joe Farrington Road on Wednesday evening.  He addressed some 4000 persons inside the auditorium and some 3500 outside the auditorium. Police security was said to be especially tight and all persons who entered the auditorium were searched before being allowed in. Mr. Aristide’s message was not profound. He thanked The Bahamas for their hand of hospitality to Haiti and he asked the Haitian community to love the land in which they were guests. The address was delivered in Creole.  No word on what Mr. Aristide said about his Government taking steps to stop the tide of refugees coming to The Bahamas.  Mr. Joseph Etienne, the eight year serving Ambassador for Haiti to this country, introduced the President but was booed and jeered by the crowd.  He is not apparently popular with the local Haitian community.  Mr. Etienne’s tenure in The Bahamas is about to be up.  He has stayed long past the time of other diplomats but it is expected that once the political crisis is settled in Haiti to allow for the return of normal relations with the international community, Mr. Etienne will be on his way to another post. (Tribune photo of President Aristide addressing the crowds, Guardian photo of him greeting local supporters)

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BUS DRIVERS DEMONSTRATE
Nicholas Jacques and Julian Ferguson, President and Executive Officer of the Bahamas Bus Operators Association were arrested on Wednesday 4 July just outside the Centre for the Performing Arts on Shirley Street.  They were demonstrating against the failure of the Government to live up to its promise to increase the fare of buses to one dollar on 1 July.  You guessed it. It was C.A. Smith who was responsible for the fare increase not going through on time. The same minister that has air traffic control in a mess.  The two drivers were released on $500 bail each. They are to be congratulated for the public demonstration at a time when the Leaders of Caricom were here.  That was the only way to embarrass the Government into doing something.  The PLP held a similar demonstration in 1963 during the official visit to The Bahamas of then U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. The Government has now announced that the fares came into force on Thursday 5 July. (Guardian photo of Police and demonstrators)

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JEROME SAWYER RESIGNS
In continuing musical chairs in the radio broadcast newsrooms, we can report that ZNS’ Jerome Sawyer has resigned from the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas, effective Friday 6 July and is going to join Charles Carter’s new FM radio station, now testing on 102.9FM, to head up its news division. Good luck to Jerome.

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MORE ON SHELL BAHAMAS
The story last week on the dismissal of Jerome Gomez brought a deluge of calls and e-mail traffic about Shell and its practices in The Bahamas.  At one time Shell was the leader in the market for gasoline.  Since the 1980s they have fallen to third behind Esso and Texaco.  Now things threaten to get worse as older dealers have been forced out of the business by exorbitant rents and franchise prices.  Shell Bahamas continues to make money but only at the expense of the dealers, and after spending millions on investments in new plants and marketing, the market share has not risen.  In one silly campaign they even admitted that they sold bad gas to the Bahamian public.  They were advised that it was a stupid campaign but the top brass ignored it.  They sent the very Jerome Gomez who they fired last week out to sell the bad campaign.   Within the past year Errington Thompson of Shell Wulff Road has bailed out, with Shell refusing to give him a goodwill payment for the business.  Peter Cancino and Algie Darville both long time dealers and founding members of the Dealer's Association are also gone. And Tommy Thompson is on month to month until Shell finds a dealer with at least $150,000 in cash to invest in the station that was once run by the popular Ken Perigord.  Shell has the reputation of being anti-Bahamian.  For the last year it has been eliminating positions held by Bahamians and bringing persons from outside the country.  Sylvia Paul, formerly Finance Manager, has been replaced by someone from Holland.  Captain James Wallace has been replaced by someone from the Dominican Republic. Jerome Gomez is now out.  In part of a consolidation move, Mr. Gomez’s position in marketing will be taken over by the new country manager.  And the new country manager is to run Jamaica, The Bahamas and Bermuda from Nassau.  The former manager Andrew Kerr has gone back to England where he is reportedly a dispatcher.  This, if true, seems quite incredible.  One has to ask the question then what special skill does the country manager need that Bahamians don’t have?  All of this is the result of several policies of the Government.  First, the government’s policy is to give a work permit virtually to anyone who wants it in their push toward conforming with globalization.  Secondly, the Government refuses to increase the profit margin of the oil companies or the dealers, so the oil companies are squeezing their profits from the dealers.  Some dealers, not only in Shell, are paying as much as $14,000 per month for rent.  Add to this the fact that The Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association has lost its voice in the public and we have a prescription for disaster within the oil industry in this country for Bahamians.

KEN PERIGORD
KPs Golden Oldies continues to ride the airwaves as the most popular Golden Oldies show, outpacing all the rest.  Ken has some 16,000 tunes available for choice on the show.  His show can be heard on 104.5 FM, that’s ZNS FM, every Saturday evening from 7 to 12 midnight.
 

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS FATE
Perry Christie, the Leader of the Opposition, issued a statement on Monday 2 July expressing the alarm of the party at the reports coming from the United States National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) on the crisis at the Nassau International Airport. The NATCA criticized the Government’s stand on the air traffic controllers in The Bahamas where they have replaced regular air traffic controllers with persons who had not been working in the tower for some two decades.  The U.S. Air Traffic Controllers said the situation was edging toward a safety factor.  The Miami Air Traffic Control Centre in Miami has been having to compensate for the lack of skill of the controllers in Nassau because of the unqualified personnel.  Said Greg Harris of the NATCA: “It is edging on a safety factor because you just never know if the Bahamian controllers are going to comply with the rules in place.  It appears that they are so overwhelmed with what is going on that they are not efficient.”  C.A. Smith, the Minister was back two days later with his own press conference saying that the Leader of the Opposition needed to apologize for causing alarm in the country.  Apologize his foot!  Mr. Smith knows full well what havoc he has created at the airport.  He produced a letter purportedly written by Barry L. McGlammery, Acting Manager of the Southern Region Air Traffic Division, who said that no operational errors had been reported to them.  But according to the NATCA, the reason there have been no operational errors is precisely because the air traffic controllers in Miami have been putting on extra manpower to compensate for the lack of skill in The Bahamas.  Opposition Leader Perry Christie is to issue a statement on the matter.  C.A. Smith ought to resign for being a Union Buster.  Further he and his wicked Government ought to be ashamed of themselves. The Air Traffic Controller’s case returns to the Courts on Monday 8 July in the Court of Appeal. C. A. Smith, don’t hold your breath waiting for an apology.

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SHANE GIBSON BECOMES A CANDIDATE
Shane Gibson, the President of the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union, has resigned from the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (BaTelCo).  He continues as President of the Union.  The reason he has resigned is to run for political office.  He is expected to be nominated as the PLP’s candidate against the FNM's Teresa Moxey Ingraham in the Golden Gates constituency.  Mr. Gibson has the support of his father King Eric Gibson in this matter.  We think that this is a good sign for the PLP that someone of Mr. Gibson's stature has joined the party and is willing to join the front lines.  We are confident that he will win. Congratulations to Mr. Gibson.

CHANDRA STURRUP EXCELS

And a hearty congratulations to Chandra Sturrup who this week almost ended the four-year winning streak in the 100 metres of the American Marion Jones.  This shows that Ms. Jones is vulnerable. Competing at the Athletissima 2001 in Lausanne, Switzerland on Wednesday 4 July, Marion Jones won the 100-metre race with 11.4 seconds.  Ms. Sturrup was just behind her in 11.4 seconds.   Debbie Ferguson and Savatheda Fynes also competed in the race.  Next time let’s take Ms. Jones out. (Guardian file photo)

BAHAMAS GAMES ON TRACK
The Bahamas Games appear to be on track to start on 13 July.  The games will run to 21 July.  The Secretariat said that they are still looking for an additional $400,000 in funding to be able to adequately finance their operations.
 

NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA

Party At St. George's - Our informants told us last week, but we were so incredulous we waited to confirm and to reconfirm. Yes, Minister of the Government C.A. Smith and West End & Bimini FNM MP David Wallace were at a gala campaign launch held for their generals at the house of Grand Bahama Port Authority Chairman Edward St. George. As one general put it, in conversation with another: "Man, we can't say nothing, cause if the PLP gets a hold of this, we're finished." FNM campaign generals were wined with the finest vintages and dined on the most choice cuts of beef and seafood available. Golf shirts, caps and other memorabilia were given out: "This ain't nothing," said one of the principals of the get-together, "If you'all win the Government again, you'll really see giveaway." When word got around, some generals were properly outraged at the venue of the 'do', while others were simply outraged that they weren't invited. Afterward, many toted away large packages of food covered with tin foil and many had to be roused from sleep under trees in the St. George's seaside gardens. The inappropriate nature of this affair almost defies comment, except to say to unsuspecting voters, look out! Reports say that Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was "livid" upon hearing the news and excused David Wallace the indiscretion as a "novice" politician but, said our information, "for a seasoned politician like C.A. this has to be the kiss of death as far as Ingraham and his C.A.'s own constituents are concerned."

Liquor Left Over - One sharp-eyed FNM not invited to the party reported above was driving by the house of David Wallace and spied large quantities of 'top-shelf' alcoholic beverage in the garage. He quipped "These are obviously the leftovers, so I'm waiting for my invitation."

FNM Entertainment - Everyone in politics is fascinated and amused by the dog and pony show currently being staged by the FNM over the question of leadership succession and this past weekend was one more chapter in the sad saga. FNM Grand Bahama party executives and politicians gathered at their Freeport headquarters to caucus over the process to be used for leader-elect. The meeting turned into a near melee when C.A. Smith attempted to lecture the gathering on constitutional process. One outspoken former party boss dashed to his back trunk and returned with a copy of the Bahamas constitution and proceeded to give Minister Smith a lesson in civics. Another party official, believed to be C.A.'s constituency rep on the FNM Council said: "I ain' supporting C.A. for no leader, not me." Meantime, Grand Bahama's two women senators and candidates-in-waiting were in attendance at the parley but confined themselves, as one correspondent said they were apparently instructed, to "smiling and shaking hands, making sure to stay far from the mucky cut and thrust".

Tennyson Wells Vindicated - One jubilant group at the FNM's weekend Grand Bahama meeting were supporters of former Minister Tennyson Wells, who were all about the place saying 'I told you so'. "Had the party listened to us about leader-elect" said one Wells man, "We wouldn't be in this mess now... and if Ingraham and his people were misguided then, this is obviously a load of foolishness that they're talking now." We only stand aside and smile.

Out In The Cold - In all this, faithful supporters of lame duck Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham are being left out in the cold. They are now finding themselves isolated in building intensity of the struggle to succeed to the FNM leadership. No where to go and little to trade in exchange for a new horse to which they can hitch their wagon. Ah well, there's always a home on the other side for right thinking Bahamians.

A Company Town - Freeport has always struggled with the oppression that sometimes goes with being a 'company town' and now, increasingly, Hutchison Whampoa, that Chinese conglomerate which is heir apparent to the Grand Bahama Port Authority is that company. this week, the Grand Bahama Hotel, Catering & Allied Workers Union accused Hutchison's 'Our Lucaya' hotels of using "intimidation and dismissal" to try to break the back of the union before it even starts it duty of representing the workers. The union won a vote to represent the bargaining unit at 'Our Lucaya' even after management tried everything it could think of to prevent a union victory. One source told News From Grand Bahama that "First, management wanted the security guards in the bargaining unit in the hope that they would vote against us. Now they say the security shouldn't be in the unit." Local union executive Lloyd Cooper was on the radio in Grand Bahama this past week warning that if a strike vote becomes necessary, hotel workers from other Grand Bahama properties including Resorts at Bahamia, the other big player in the market, would come out in sympathy.

Hutchison & The Labour Laws - Not content with the contretemps at 'Our Lucaya' Hutchison Whampoa's Grand Bahama Container Port deducted pay from longshoremen in its employ who presented valid sick certificates. Reports say that a whole crew of stevedores fell ill from some noxious odour aboard a ship which they were unloading. They all went to doctor and got two days off. After deducting their pay, the Hutchison company was advised that this was against the law and backed down on the issue. This story also raises the point of environmental and health safety officers, called for by activists last year at the harbour. How can prevent contagion and other harmful agents of various kinds from entering through our ports?

Bahamas Repeats at CAC - The Bahamas successfully defended its track and field CAC Youth Championship crown at the games held this past weekend in Grand Bahama. The field included Mexico and Puerto Rico, but lacked the powerful Cuban team. Congratulations to Anita Doherty and her GBAAA for successfully hosting the games.

15th July, 2001 This Week on fredmitchelluncensored.com
NURSES THREATEN A STRIKE...	CRITICISM OF THE MINISTER OF HEALTH...
FOUR CHARGED IN THE DEATH...	THE FNM PROPAGANDA ON EACH OTHER...
WATSON TO BE DITCHED?...	LIL MURPH’S STORY...
THE CONSTITUENCIES COMMISSION...	THE UNREST IN JAMAICA...
MORE ON ERMA WILLIAMS...	MAURICE GLINTON ON JUDGES AND THE COURTS...
ACCESS TO WTO...	THE BAHAMAS GAMES...
POLITICAL RUMOUR AT THE GAMES...	SHOULD THE GOVERNOR GENERAL CHANGE?...
ALTERNATIVE THEORY ON JANET AS GG...	THE LEGEND BALL...
HOUSE SPEAKER - JACKASS OF THE WEEK...	BRADLEY ROBERTS.ORG...
REICHSTAG DOME...	NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA...

Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl+home to return to the top of the page.

NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

BLOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR
The chief slave was in a good mood again.  He does not care any more. Come what may.  He boasted that at the end of the day, there would be plenty of blood on the floor.  There will be some old blood and some new blood.  And these people who are finished and disgraced and shouldn’t rear their heads, we are going to have to cut their heads off.

Tough words from the chief slave who is now also a lame duck Prime Minister.  It is interesting to see the buzz of excitement about the FNM now that the end of an era in their party is coming about.  Mr. Ingraham you will remember was grafted onto the FNM when the late Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield died as Leader of the Opposition in 1990.  It has been an uneasy marriage, with the so called Cecil Wallace Whitfield FNMs, like Tennyson Wells constantly complaining that Mr. Ingraham had stolen their party.

Mr. Ingraham is reportedly so furious at these snide remarks and what he considers the ungratefulness of the FNMs who could not have won the Government without him that at a party on Independence Day at Bismarck Coakley’s home (a tradition started by the late William Godet) Mr. Ingraham reportedly screamed at Roston Miller, former FNM Senator and former FNM Secretary General: “I guh give you’ll yuh  f..ing party back.  I hope you like it when you get it.” Things that make you go: Hmmm!

The Foulkes clan and the Turnquest clan have lined up on opposite sides of the fence so to speak but Mr. Ingraham is going to forge an alliance.  The talk is that he wants Mr. Turnquest for number one and Mr. Foulkes for number 2.  In that pursuit he has arranged for the Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest to step down as GG on 31st October.  An announcement was made on Thursday 12 July 2001.

The ostensible reason is that Sir Orville is suffering from a painful condition. Something is pressing on his spine.  The operation may threaten his ability to move.  It is quite sensitive so that this is the appropriate time to go.  But the more political amongst us say that this will free Sir Orville to hunt for the money and support to ensure that his son becomes Leader of the FNM, thus enjoying a privilege that he Sir Orville never got.

Further, the idea is to keep the Foulkes clan in check by dangling the promise of the Governor Generalship in front of Sir Arthur Foulkes.  This will keep Dion Foulkes satisfied with being number 2 to Tommy.

So that’s the way it lines up.  All very interesting gossip but nothing to do with how the FNM has sold the country out, been a model for abuse of public offices and of using the Public Treasury to bribe voters and run down the public administrative machinery.

The PLP needs to win the next election and it is about that business that those of us associated with the PLP ought to be concerned.

REICHSTAG DOME - The lead photograph on our site is now one of this columnist under the new Reichstag dome in the rebuilt German capital, Berlin. The photograph was taken during a recent official visit to Berlin hosted by the German Government. We had reported that the original dome was destroyed in the Second World War, but our correspondent from Berlin reminds us that the Reichstag dome was destroyed in a suspicious fire just after the Nazi's took over. At the time, they said it was a lone arsonist, but people suspect the Nazi's actually set the fire since the Nazis used that event as a pretext to seize the Government and the rest, as they say, is history.

This week we had 19,890 hit on the site up to midnight 14 July. This makes a total of 39,354 hits on this site for the month of July.  Thanks for reading and please keep reading.

PERMANENT LINKS
11th Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling & Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden by Fred Mitchell
Address to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue

Address of Sean McWeeney / Pindling  funeral
Gilbert Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral coverage

Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting	Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral

e-mail timbuktu@batelnet.bs

NURSES THREATEN A STRIKE
The nurses of the country are reeling in shock at the death of their sister Joan ‘Joey’ Lunn.  Nurse Lunn (pictured) died in a hale of bullets at the Princess Margaret Hospital last week (see last week’s column).  She was fifty-five.  At the time of her death at about 10 p.m. on Saturday 7 July she was serving tea to one Anthony ‘Blackus’ Saunders from Freeport, Grand Bahama.  Mr. Saunders’ wife was in the room at the time.  An armed gunman entered the hospital room; shot Ms. Lunn, pumped four shots into the already shot Mr. Saunders and then fled the scene, unimpeded.  The nurse died instantly.  The man survived.  Since that time the Government has beefed up security at the hospital.  Gun toting police officers were on the scene at PMH.  There were security officers with dogs.  But the joke about it was that some of the officers could not speak a word of English.  This Senator as Opposition spokesman on Labour went to a candlelight service for the dead nurse on Wednesday 11 July. What an Independence Day present! On Thursday 12 July, the Nurses held a press conference and blasted the Ministry for their lack of security.  At the vigil Nurse Creola Hamilton who is the President of the Nurses Union said that Nurse Lunn had told them in a meeting shortly before her death that the Government was not going to listen to them on the issue of security until something drastic happened. Ironically that drastic thing turns out to have been her death.  The Nurses are not sure they are being listened to.  At their press conference they told the Government that if Mr. Saunders were not moved by 12 midday on the 13 July, the entire nursing profession in The Bahamas would quit work.  Late word had it that the Government has moved Mr. Saunders.  That was because gunmen had been back to finish the job, according to what the nurses said.  We want to congratulate the nurses for their resolute action in this matter.  They have brought this arrogant Government to its knees.  And once again, dare we say it; women have led the way in bravery and courage.  They have said enough is enough.

CRITICISM OF THE MINISTER OF HEALTH
Since the crisis at the Public Hospitals, not one word has been heard from Ronnie Knowles, the Minister of Health.  Head of the Nurses Union Creola Hamilton (pictured by Bahama Journal) told the nurses at their vigil on Wednesday 11 July that she had not heard from the Minister of Health.  The normally voluble Prime Minister has had nothing to say.  And so a major shock takes place in the health system and we have again a sign of an uncaring Health Minister and Prime Minister.  We hope these nurses have something in store for them at election time.  Of course Senator Knowles' critics say it seems he does not care about anything, other than serving Hubert and making money.  But given his upbringing, one is surprised that he has not been heard from. No doubt waiting to find out what the chief slave is going to say. Opposition Leader Perry Christie issued a statement the day after Nurse Lunn died calling for an investigation into the matter.  He said that there were signs that the Government had acted negligently.  Information has it that when Anthony ‘Blackus’ Saunders was moved by air ambulance from Freeport, he refused to leave the Rand Hospital unless there was an armed guard.  He was taken to the plane by armed guard.  Yet on this end in Nassau, no armed guard was provided to guard against the eventuality of someone trying to finish the job. Now we have a dead nurse.  Someone must be sued.

FOUR CHARGED IN THE DEATH

All of the newspapers carried a bulletin from the Royal Bahamas Police Force with the picture of a man who was wanted in connection with the murder of Nurse Lunn.  His name is Kendon Alburn Brown.  He is 24 years old.  He was described as armed and dangerous. After the arrest warrant and bulletin was posted, the man walked into the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Thompson Boulevard and turned himself in. In addition to Brown, three additional people were charged late in the week with the murder of Nurse Lunn.  The four charged are shown in this Guardian photo on their way to court, from left: Myron Mortimer, 30, Warren Ellis, 26, Kendon Brown and Clarence Gray, 29. The police poster is also shown.

THE FNM PROPAGANDA ON EACH OTHER
Nothing can be more vicious than intra party propaganda and the war is really on in the FNM. On the one side, one leadership candidate is being accused of being a wife beater and they are saying that he gave his wife venereal disease twice.  Another is accused of being a heavy gambler and having run up a fifty thousand-dollar uncollectable overdraft at a local bank. Further, said one of the propagandists, if he became Prime Minister, we would lose our country over a gambling table.  Then there is the bit about one candidate being drug tainted.  The lame duck Prime Minister is backing Tommy Turnquest, (pictured) the Minister of Tourism and son of Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest to succeed him as Leader of the FNM.  He wants Dion Foulkes to be number 2.  But the Foulkes forces are having none of it.  The vote counters that they are, they say that they have the votes to beat any other candidate,.  The Ingraham-Foulkes-Turnquest alliance does not count Tennyson Wells, the dissident FNM MP, as a force to be reckoned with.  As for Algernon Allen, they think he is nothing but an also ran and will in the end drop out.  At least that was the talk at mid last week.  They have changed their tune a bit.  The word is that Algernon Allen was called into a confidential meeting and told that he ought to back out or compromise with the Ingraham team.  It must not have worked because Mr. Allen was back on Darrold Miller’s show Issues of the Day on Friday 13 July pushing his candidacy.  There was barely a call in opposition to him.  But we are told by one candidate that he is pursuing a scorched earth policy. “Any one who f…s with me, I will wipe them out,” he said.

WATSON TO BE DITCHED?
The latest to come out of the camp of Lame Duck Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is that Frank Watson is to get the axe shortly.  You will remember the allegations made about Frank Watson by Bradley Roberts in his address on the Budget (read it here).  You will also remember that many of the backbenchers in Mr. Ingraham's party think that it was unfair for Ingraham to direct that Brent Symonette, the Caucasian former Chair of the Airport Authority, should resign because of his conflict of interest and Frank Watson (who is believed to be Black) who is involved in a more serious conflict of interest did not resign.  So Mr. Ingraham has decided it’s time for him to go.  They say that this will allow him to appoint Tommy Turnquest as his Deputy Prime Minister.  This is becoming more and more of a joke.

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LIL MURPH’S STORY

Lionel Murphy was an FNM stalwart. He was a friend of mine.  He was also a good friend and supporter of Hubert Ingraham.  Sometimes you can’t figure out why a person just likes you but that’s the way it was with him.  He was a quiet and unassuming person but quite a successful businessman in the limousine business.  He supported the FNM and Hubert Ingraham faithfully. One hopes that Hubert did not turn his back on Lil Murph as he was called, like he did with so many of his friends like George Curtis of Freeport.  Lil Murph died last week. His body was laid out in the Free National Movement’s HQ on Friday 13 July.  There it was viewed by the Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest and by the FNM Cabinet Ministers. May he rest in peace.  Just a plain old good guy.

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THE CONSTITUENCIES COMMISSION
The first meeting of the colloquially called Boundaries Commission, now the Constituencies Commission took place at 10 a.m. on Wednesday 11 July.  Well, it was a meeting of sorts.  You know Bahamians and time.  Apparently the Speaker of the House is no exception.  As hard as life is for her with Bradley Roberts in the House, you would think that she would fix her face and learn her lesson and be on time and polite not only to Mr. Roberts but also to her own FNM Colleagues Minister Dion Foulkes and Tommy Turnquest who serve on the Commission. No dice.  All the players were there, including the Judge of the Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Marques.  Ten o’clock a.m. came and went. No sign of the Speaker. So every one cooled their heels.  Well at 10 minutes to the hour of 11, in she waltzed and sat down to convene a meeting without any apology for her lateness.  The meeting did not last very long.  The PLP’s Bradley Roberts made an intervention about what the PLP wants with the Boundaries.  We want to avoid gerrymandering and the restoration of constituencies to make sure that neighbourhoods that are homogenous get put back together. Three that stick out from the last election are St. Margaret's, Fox Hill and Ft. Charlotte.  Then we believe that the MICA constituency is too unmanageable.  We believe that Mayaguna and Inagua ought to be on their own and Acklins and Crooked Island put in with the islands closer to where they are.  You can click here for the full statement by Mr. Roberts.  There is some concern from FNMs that this Senator was going to challenge the appointment of Tommy Turnquest.  It was a serious point because he would have been reporting to his father, the Governor General.  The question appears to be moot so long as the Governor General resigns before the Commission reports. As a potential candidate, we also have a concern with Justice Ricardo Marques being on the Commission.  We believe that it is arguable that as far as this potential candidate one can say that he might have a prejudice against this candidate.  It may be necessary to assert this via judicial review to test the issue.  The meeting was adjourned after a short time with most of its members speechless at the Speaker’s behaviour.  Some speculation is that the Speaker may be miffed at the fact that the Prime Minister had reportedly forced the first meeting.   Who knows and who cares what her problems are?   What we want is for the Commission to give a fair distribution of the boundaries so that everyone has a fair chance to get elected to office.  We do not support a reduction in the seats.  And we especially want the restoration of natural boundaries.  The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 16 July at 3:30 p.m.

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THE UNREST IN JAMAICA
The Caricom Heads of Government conference in The Bahamas of Caribbean states was not over a week when serious riots and unrest broke out in Kingston’s infamous Tivoli Gardens.  This is a stronghold of Opposition Leader in Jamaica Edward Seaga.  Mr. Seaga was furious.  At the end of the disturbances, 29 persons were dead.  He accused P.J. Patterson the Prime Minister of deliberately fomenting the violence by sending in the police to provoke people, under the guise of trying to find weapons.  The result was that gangs reacted and 29 people including police officers and at least one soldier is dead.  The Government had to call in the army, and according to the BBC, Prime Minister Patterson was calling on the international community to help.  We can’t see how that makes sense.  It is really a purely domestic matter and the army of Jamaica by week’s end had calmed the situation down.  But when you think of it, what practically speaking could we in Caricom have done to help.  Could we send troops? Without the Americans, we don’t have an airlift capacity.  Do we know the players so that we could bring peace to the area?  No!  But we think that the best news that we have heard in this whole sordid business is that the business community of Kingston toured the area and have demanded that the Government to do something to eliminate and alleviate the extreme poverty and degradation in west Kingston.  Jamaica is such a lovely and rich place, there is no excuse fort he awful poverty in West Kingston.  We hope that Mr. Patterson takes note.  What also occurs to us is how we have to depend on the BBC, CNN and other foreign news operations to find out details of what is happening in our Caribbean back yard.  One wonders if Caricom is really concentrating on the right thing.  It seems to us that information policy and distribution ought to be reviewed with a view to helping us keep in touch with one another.  The press in The Bahamas reported that the police in Nassau are keeping watch, more watch than usual of the Jamaica flight into Nassau because they believe that the gang fighting that broke out in Kingston may spill out over here given the connection between drug guys in The Bahamas and Jamaica.

MORE ON ERMA WILLIAMS
Erma Williams who complained about this column's report on her bid to get to serve the food at the Bahamas Games looked like a happy woman at the games.  We almost went up to her to ask she had any food for sale.  (See the columns of last week and the week before for the details.)  Turns out that Ms. Williams is the mother of a friend of mine, a decent and friendly man.  But as these things go even FNM’s are complaining that many times Ms. Williams oversteps the mark.  They even thought that she was inappropriate and overstepped the mark in approaching me about the subject on this website.  Some remember her telling Judge Emmanuel Osadebay that his decision was wrong in the Zion Baptist Church where she is a member.  Now we hear that as a result of our reports on this website, she threatens to campaign against this Senator in the Fox Hill constituency.  Well as she said, she is a Bahamian and is entitled to her rights.  A relative assures me that she has a good heart. All we say is that it is a good practice in all one’s business dealings to do things in moderation, don’t be too aggressive or greedy, mind one’s mouth – as they say, speak some and hold some.

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MAURICE GLINTON ON JUDGES AND THE COURTS
The FNM likes to boast about the fact that they cleared up the backlog in the courts.  Not so says Maurice Glinton our friend and attorney out of Freeport.   He complains that last year the Privy Council ordered the Supreme Court of The Bahamas to rehear the Methodist Church case in which he is the attorney.  He said that the Chief Justice has been dragging her feet in getting the matter set down.  He has written complaining of it.  Now he has gone public on the question. He held a press conference on Wednesday 11 July. In it, Mr. Glinton alleged that it was indeed suspicious that Sir Joaquim Gonsalves Sabola, the former President of the Court of Appeal and former Chief Justice sat on the Methodist case.  The case arose out of a Government decision to transfer the property of the Methodist Church from the Caribbean based MCCA to a locally incorporated Methodist body.  Mr. Glinton challenged the legality of that transfer.  The Chief Justice Sir Joaquim ruled against him.  In the middle of the case he took the gift of citizenship from The Bahamas Government.  The Government was one of the defendants.  In the middle of the case, a resume of Sir Joaquim was faxed to McKinney Bancroft and Hughes, the attorneys for the other side. Only problem was it was sent to the wrong firm and now Mr. Glinton has it. The firm McKinney Bancroft and Hughes has an innocent explanation.  They say the Judge was only sending his resume in order to have it forwarded it on to another place where the Judge was to have a speaking engagement.  But even that is improper. This Senator in the Senate has always said that Sir Joaquim was a corrupt judge for that reason.  We are now more convinced of it.  But the report of foot dragging in the courts is one that the Air Traffic Controllers make and one that Muhammad Harajchi makes about his case against the Central Bank for shutting down his bank.  Different year. Same song!

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ACCESS TO WTO
Zhivargo Laing, the Minister of Economic Development aka Minster of Un-economic development, is off to Switzerland with an entourage of civil servants and an expert in World Trade Organization (WTO) affairs.  The reason: The Bahamas has been an observer in the WTO for a year now and has decided that it wants to join for real.  And so it is starting the process.  The Minister says it will take approximately five years.  For some reason the PLP dropped the ball on this one and did not include us in the talks on the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) that led to WTO. We got left out and now we have to take stringent realignment measures in order to take advantage of its provisions. The PLP supports the joining of WTO.  Hopefully, when we are the Government we will be able to better consult and communicate with the various stakeholders in the country what this will actually mean for us. Right now we have a promise of consultation from the Minister.  But with the FNM that usually means, I will tell you what is going to happen not ask you.

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THE BAHAMAS GAMES
The Bahamas Games that were the idea of PLP Minister of Sports Peter Bethel began in its fifth incarnation on Friday 13 July.  The games are held every two years.  They first began in 1989.  The idea is to bring all the athletes from throughout the archipelago to compete in sports.  It has been a great success.  Another PLP idea. These games are kind of disorganized. The swim meet did not come off on Friday 13 July because no officials showed up. Registration was late and chaotic. On opening night, the show ran a little too long and was a bit too ponderous for a sports opening.  The highlights: the arrival of Bahamen, the pop group which performed WHO LET THE DOGS OUT each in their own stretch limo and police escort.  Each player was escorted to the stage by a handler and a dog from the humane society.  Then came the roar of a helicopter overhead as the Golden Girls landed on the field.  Only three were in Nassau and the lit the Games' torch (Guardian photo). The crowd was thrilled.  The evening as we said ran a bit late and this Senator got up to leave.  There was no way I would listen to the Minister and Prime Minister and GG drone on about the subject.  The crowd roared when Minister of Sports Dion Foulkes announced that they would forgo their speaking opportunity.  Bahamen’s leader Isaiah Taylor was miffed that each of them didn’t get a plaque for their wall.  The Government who spent money on fireworks and limos and helicopters gave one plaque for the whole group.  Mr. Taylor said that it was insulting.   The Bahamas Games is part of the launch for the FNM’s campaign, following on the Caricom Heads of Government meeting two weeks ago. People are decidedly unenthusiastic about Ministers of the Government.  And at the games the only thing on everyone’s mind was the intrigue of who was to succeed the lame duck Prime Minister.
 

POLITICAL RUMOUR AT THE GAMES

The latest information about the political intrigue came at the Bahamas Games.  They say that the Cabinet was called together by the Prime Minister on Friday 13 July.  He asked them all to unite behind Tommy Turnquest for Prime Minister.  Everyone has apparently agreed.  The only one who stood up and said no was Algernon Allen.  Mr. Allen realizes that this is the closest that he is going to get to it.  Mr. Allen reportedly told the PM that he is trying to destroy the party and he will not be a part of it.  He said that he intends to soldier on alone is necessary.  Is that check or checkmate?  Depending! Next move Ingraham.

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SHOULD THE GOVERNOR GENERAL CHANGE?
The lame duck Prime Minister is now playing fast and loose with yet another institution of the Government.  This time it is the Governor General.  Most people don’t know how the choice of GG is done.  The constitution says that the GG serves at Her Majesty’s pleasure.  Remember that the Queen is a creature of the cabinet, so that means the Prime Minister chooses the GG. He advises the Queen. Mr. Ingraham wants to go out by choosing the first female Governor General.  Now the only one he’s got in his arsenal is Janet Bostwick, who is going to be divisive.  She is an unrepentant FNM ideologue and simply won’t be able to rise to the occasion of being GG for everyone.  The rumour as we said earlier is that Arthur Foulkes is being dangled in front of Dion as a possible GG as part of his deal to make Tommy Turnquest the Prime Minister.   But the thing about a woman GG might seem so attractive Ingraham that he won’t be able to resist it.   What the position ought to be is that if Sir Orville (shown in this Tribune photo) insists on resigning, no permanent Governor General ought to be appointed before the next general election.  The man who becomes Prime Minister ought to have the right to make that choice.  Mr. Ingraham should not tie the hands of the next administration and this will be more so if the PLP takes over as we expect to do next year.   The pension provisions are such that even if a person is GG for a day, once they retire they get full salary.  Their spouse gets half salary upon their death. Then there is the police protection and a car.   But just think of the embarrassment and damage to the institution. The PLP comes to office and yet Bostwick is the GG.  My God! What a horror story.

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ALTERNATIVE THEORY ON JANET AS GG
We posited an early theory about Arthur Foulkes succeeding Sir Orville Turnquest as GG that’s why Sir Orville is going early.  The idea is to keep Dion in line as Number 2.  But no say our friends. They say the Lame Duck Prime Minister wants to appoint the first female Governor General.  But Janet does not trust Mr. Ingraham to do it later rather than now.  So what she’s doing is forcing Mr. Ingraham to make the announcement publicly that she will succeed Sir Orville. Once this is done, he can get Janet to leave her constituency.  He wants her to go to give it to a younger person.  The way he was able to get Sir Orville to go was to promise to make Tommy the Prime Minister.  This thing is really being played out like a joke.

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THE LEGEND BALL

Congratulations to the Pindling family of the late founding Prime Minister of The Bahamas Sir Lynden Pindling for a fabulous and enjoyable Legend Ball.  The ball was held to raise funds for the Sir Lynden Pindling foundation.  The foundation is to help provide educational scholarships.  Some 500 people attended at Atlantis Ballroom, Paradise Island.  The date, 7 July.  The price, $200 per person. The music was by the Lou Adams Orchestra and Visage.  This Senator attended and joined old friends the Williams sisters at their table.  The photo is by Peter Ramsay, from right: Albertha Williams Bartlett, this Senator, Sharon Williams Stewart, and Elaine Williams. You may click here for a full spread of the night at the ball.

HOUSE SPEAKER - JACKASS OF THE WEEK
Rome Italia Johnson, the most partial Speaker in the modern history of The Bahamas has announced that she is putting her hat in the ring to run for Leader of the FNM and ultimately Prime Minister.  She told The Tribune, published on Saturday 14 July, that she had consulted on this and had been encouraged to do so.  He said that she was flattered to be thought of in that way.  She hopes to become the first female Prime Minister.  Some people have delusions of grandeur.  But who’s to say in a democratic society?  All we know is that she needs now to step down as Speaker of the House. She can no longer dispassionately and impartially carry out her duties while trying to become the Leader of a partisan faction in the House.  The PLP intends to make a statement when the Constituencies Commission reconvenes on Monday 16 July.  The Leader of the Opposition PLP Perry Christie will be writing to the Prime Minister with a letter of complaint.  Ms. Johnson reportedly told the FNM council that she had received a vision from God.  Our good friend Ken Demeritte had a great rejoinder to that.  What God he asked, because the one true living God was busy talking to him at the time so he could not have been talking to Italia.  For her vision and for her chutzpah, she gets the award of Jackass of the Week.

NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Tommy & Dion – The Word Is Down - Late word from Geneva’s, that FNM watering hole, confirms reports at the top of this site that Tommy Turnquest and Dion Foulkes are the Prime Minister’s choices to lead the FNM. Said our source, “Hubert will be down Friday to tell the delegates how things things will go and those who don’t vote right will be left behind.”  The camps of Grand Bahama supporters for the various FNM leadership candidates are lining up. But they all resent Friday’s coming visit by the Prime Minister: “If Hubert comes to tell us anything about how we should vote in our party of whom we should support, he’ll get what he’s looking for.”

PM's Marching Orders - Word this week from an elderly long time FNM in West End which seems to be shared by many in that constituency: "Hubert Ingraham is a presumptuous fellow who doesn't credit the Bahamian people with enough sense to choose his replacement. He should simply go and take some of those people with him who he brought and have been causing trouble in the party." This old FNM says there is a certain West End family "One was a FNM candidate and another wants to be. They all should go. They are more trouble than they're worth." We say it none of it matters anyway. The PLP is the answer.

Allen Supporter Gearing Up - Former FNM National Vice Chairman  'Iron' Mike Edwards is taking the gloves off in support of his candidate for the FNM leadership Algernon 'Minister of Idle Poetry' Allen. Mike returned home to Freeport this past week from Nassau with his charge from Allen, saying "Any process to elect the leader of the FNM that does not have the widest participation of the FNM family (a convention) is a process that would be considered undemocratic and I will not support it." Mike was in Kristi's, the Freeport eatery frequented by local politicos and bought EVERYONE breakfast. The campaign is on.

FNM Generals Want Pay - All over Grand Bahama, once dedicated FNM generals are demanding pay in order to campaign. "If they don't want to pay us," said one, "let them get the people they have helped the most to campaign for them - of course most of them can't even vote." FNM campaign insiders say this is the case in Eight Mile Rock Pineridge, Marco City and West End & Bimini. The majority of FNM MPs in Grand Bahama are perceived as having profited personally while catering and grovelling to Freeport's foreign investors.  This has left their key supporters disenchanted.

Dravo Rock Conveyor - Minister of Works and FNM High Rock MP Kenneth Russell was on the radio in Freeport this week sounding apologetic. Minister Russell who apparently never met an foreign investor to whom he could say 'no' revealed that all his ministry's criteria have now been met with the conveyor belt project and that the only thing now left to do is to have a town meeting to inform the people. Dravo Rock is a mining company that wants to carry aggregate overhead across the main road into Eight Mile Rock and all areas in west Grand Bahama. What the Minister didn't say in the press is that plans to construct and alternative route have hit a snag. Engineers say that the mountains of waste from cement construction in the area would "act like quicksand" if the alternative road were constructed using it as a base. Meanwhile, community activist Caleb Outten, now the PLP candidate for the area says once the Minister does what he feels he must, the forces opposed to the road will do what they must. Stay tuned.

'Our' Lucaya Backtracks - We reported last week on the Hutchison Whampoa group acting as a law unto itself where labour matters are concerned. Two bartenders at the group's 'Our' Lucaya resort were fired after 10 days of suspension. The move was widely seen as another attempt at union-busting. Scant days later, the resort was forced to reverse itself and reinstate the bartenders after the intervention of the Labour Department. Election must be coming.

Driftwood's Hard Working Tourists - FNM MPs C.A. Smith, David Thompson and Ken Russell have all been fielding complaints from constituents in the construction business over reports of obvious foreigners coming into Driftwood's Resorts at Bahamia as tourists and then engaging in gainful employment with the hotel's renovation project. "You can see them all over the place", said one contractor, "And at the same time Bahamian contractors are being strung for our money must be in the hope we'll get disgusted and leave." This is just one of the reasons the FNM will lose Grand Bahama.

Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl+home to return to the top of the page.

NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

A POLITICAL IRRELEVANCY
The country seems to have been totally distracted by the foolishness of the Free National Movement over who is going to succeed Hubert Ingraham as Leader.  Each day, the FNM biased press, is busy doing man on the street interviews and editorials praising Hubert Ingraham and engaged in endless discussions over who is going to be his successor.  When you really think of it, what is the relevancy of it all to the PLP and to the country at large?  No matter who becomes the next leader of the FNM, the FNM’s policies have been a failure for this country.  It should be their policies and the issues around their policies that we are debating not the personalities who want to lead.

The view has been expressed here that it is time for Hubert Ingraham to go.  He has been disastrous for The Bahamas, for Bahamians and their self-esteem.  He has sold the country down the drain, so that Bahamians no longer feel that the country is theirs.  He snaps to the tune of everyone that has a certain skin colour or speaks with a non-Bahamian accent, unless that accent is Haitian of course.  So what have we got to be proud of in that?  A Prime Minister, who is ashamed of us as a people, ashamed of whom he himself is.

We have a Finance Minister under the FNM whose word on the economy cannot be trusted.  One example is last year the Prime Minister gets up in the House of Assembly when he is seeking to push through the financial legislation and predicts that revenue will fall by 20 million dollars.  The Finance Minister earlier in the budgetary year had predicted that there would be a surplus of 1 million dollars for 2000-01. This year when he gave his budget speech, knowing that there will be a fall of 20 million in revenue, he still predicted that there would be a balanced budget.  How is that possible when the surplus that he predicted in 2000 for 2001 was only one million?  Remember the PM said that 20 million dollars in revenue would be lost in December for this year.

And so you get the impression that the FNM are simply spinners of deception.  This whole business of Leader elect is one giant distraction away from the real issue, which is the slow undermining of the esteem of the Bahamian people over the past eight years.

The FNM and any of its leaders will do anything it seems to win: trickery, bribery, subverting the institutions, lying, even trying to change history.  And so PLPs should not be bothered by this distraction.  Get in those houses and work those voters to encourage them to get registered and vote this worthless Government out of office.

This week we had 23,133 hits on the site.  That means that we had a total of 62,427 hits on the site for the month of July.  Thanks for reading and please keep reading.

PERMANENT LINKS
11th Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling & Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden by Fred Mitchell
Address to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue

Address of Sean McWeeney / Pindling  funeral
Gilbert Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral coverage

Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting	Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral

e-mail timbuktu@batelnet.bs

IVY DUMONT IN A CONFLICT?
In of those same tricks or sleights of hand that we spoke about in our editorial, Dame Ivy Dumont became the Chair of the Public Service Commission in January of this year.  This is the Commission constituted by Article 108 of the Constitution of The Bahamas, which is responsible for advising the Governor General on the appointment of Public Servants. You should remember this story.  The Senate that had not met in months was suddenly called into session to praise Dame Ivy Dumont upon her “retirement” from public office. What they did not say is that the Prime Minister needed to make space in the Senate for new appointments as political favours to his two buddies so Dame Ivy good soldier that she is agreed to step aside as of 31 December.  What the Prime Minister did not tell us is that she was not retiring at all; she was going on to be head of the Public Service Commission.  That appointment was entirely inappropriate given the fact that she was a sitting politician going to make appointments to the public service.  The charge could well be made that politics would dominate the advice she would give the Governor General on appointments to the public service.  The Prime Minister ignored the criticism and went straight ahead. Now the Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest has left the country on a cruise for three weeks with his wife and family. Dame Ivy has now been appointed Deputy to the Governor General in accordance with the relevant provisions of the constitution and will act as Governor General during his absence.  Is this not a patent conflict on the face of it?  The Governor General is responsible under the constitution for the appointment of public servants and their promotions and transfers.  The Public Service Commission of which Dame Ivy is the Chair is the body responsible for advising the Governor General.  So is Dame Ivy now going to advise herself?  She must step down from the position as Chair of the Public Service Commission.  The difficulty with Mr. Ingraham and the approach of the FNM is that public offices seem to be parceled out like candies as rewards.  You will remember that it was long rumoured that he wanted to appoint Dame Ivy as Governor General.  This is now his opportunity to do so even though he will be unable to give her the permanent appointment.  The public offices of The Bahamas are not political trading points.  This is gross abuse by the Prime Minister of the system, and he should be properly upbraided for yet again abusing public trust and confidence, and undermining the integrity of Bahamian public offices. (Bahama Journal photo)

SUISSE SECURITY BANK
The principal of Suisse Security Bank has now gone public with allegations that were intimated on this site two weeks ago.  The bank was closed down by order of the Governor of the Central Bank on 1 March 2001.  The bank was said not to have been operating in the public interest in that its capital base had been eroded by the freezing of three million dollars in litigation in the United States.  A liquidator was appointed by the Central Bank of The Bahamas.  That liquidator to this day has been unable to get though the computer codes to get access to the banks records in order to liquidate the bank.  Supreme Court Justice Hartman Longley decided against the bank’s application last week that the revocation of the license of the bank by the Central Bank was an unconstitutional acquisition of property under Article 27 of the Constitution.  The banks owner continues to pay the staff.  He has spent some 1.2 million dollars retaining the staff of the bank even though he has no legal requirement to do so. For this the Trade Union Congress President Obie Ferguson has lavishly praised him.   Mohammad Harajchi, the owner, has been living in The Bahamas as Permanent Resident for some 21 years. It was most unusual to see him emerge from behind his normally anonymous position into a press conference on Thursday 19 July to make specific allegations directly against the Governor of the Central Bank. Mr. Harajchi told the press that the Governor had asked him to do a private favour and when he refused, the revocation of the Bank followed.  Julian Francis, the Governor of the Central Bank was outraged at the suggestion.  He angrily denied the suggestion. He told The Tribune published on Friday 20 July: “I consider it a very very unfortunate thing that somebody could attack the character of a senior public official who is carrying out his responsibilities, and I certainly will be seeking advice as to how to deal with this matter, because I do not appreciate anybody calling into question my integrity.  I am deeply offended by this suggestion.  I really believe it is scandalous that somebody can come into this country and call into question the character of a public official.  It seems to me one does owe a certain sense of respect for the country one lives in.”  William Allen, the hapless Minister of Finance, was not to be out done.  He was equally as vehement.  He confirmed to the press that Mr. Harajchi had informed him of the allegation.  But he told The Tribune: “I didn’t believe Mr. Harajchi.”  The Minister of Finance privately wishes to have Mr. Harajchi deported from The Bahamas.  The Journal photo of the Harajchi press conference is shown along with a Tribune photo of the Minister of Finance and Mr. Francis.  No doubt the questions are going to get more pressing.  Mr. Harajchi is also said to be in the process of deposing affidavits of dates, times and places in a court action, which is expected to commence against the Central Bank shortly. Mr. Francis in a Bahama Journal interview denied that he had anything other than a normal business relationship with Mr. Harajchi. Mr. Harajchi is said to be preparing affidavits that will show date time and places where the two men and ate.

CIBC AND BARCLAYS
It is not clear exactly what is going on, but reports have reached us that both Barclays Bank PLC employees and CIBC employees in The Bahamas are at risk for losing their jobs within a few months, perhaps as early as September.  CANA has been reporting that CIBC, Barclays and Republic Bank in Trinidad are in negotiations to merge their interests into one company in the Caribbean.  It appears that the Trinidadian bank will become the new proprietor of the merged business.  Does this mean that both CIBC and Barclays will be leaving The Bahamas?  There are denials all around.  But the latest salvo is a report that letters were given to the staff of CIBC in Freeport last week.  Those letters confirm that the bank’s business is up for sale.  It says that when the sale is completed persons with over 20 years with the Bank are likely to be laid off.  Isn’t this something that the Government ought to be thinking about and preparing people for the worst? Barclays employees in Nassau were long ago alerted to the fact that something was going to happen.  People yet again are on edge.

NURSE LUNN BURIED
The church service for Nurse Joey Lunn, shot down in the Princess Margaret Hospital (See last week’s column) was held at the Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in the city of Nassau on Saturday 14 July. (See Tribune photo)  There was a full church.  The officiant was the Dean of the Cathedral Patrick Adderley.  Monsignor Preston Moss of the Roman Catholic Church attended.  His Grace the Archbishop of the West Indies Province Drexel Gomez was also there. The nursing profession turned out in full.  The Minister of Health Senator Ronnie Knowles finally surfaced at the funeral.  The nurses think that he was shockingly insensitive to their plight following the death of Nurse Lunn. Security has been tightened at the Princess Margaret Hospital. The person who caused the gunshots and death Anthony ‘Blackus’ Saunders is now on remand in Her Majesty’s Prison.  Bradley Roberts, the PLP MP for Grants Town has called on Senator Knowles to resign.  The security is so tight at the hospital that it is causing problems for the nurses.  They can’t get in to work because some of them don’t have ID cards.  Only in The Bahamas! As a footnote, Mr. Saunders was taken to Grand Bahama from the PMH and charged with three different counts regarding terror with weapons.  He was not granted bail.  But he is now in the maximum-security unit of the Fox Hill Jail, the same place that the people who are charged with killing the nurse and attempting to kill him are also remanded.  Again, only in The Bahamas! Perhaps they will finish the job in prison. While campaigning in Fox Hill last week, a prison guard expressed concern for his own safety and security in the situation.

A WHOLE NEW THINKING ABOUT SECURITY
Bahamians and especially The Bahamas Government don’t seem to be living in the real world.  In 1993 then Chief Inspector Wellington Francis presented the Ministry of Health with a report calling for increased security at the hospital. His report was ignored.  He was since fired from the Force.  But now his words have turned out to be prophecy.  Throughout The Bahamas people seem numb to these deaths of innocent people like Nurse Lunn. Businessmen are shot down for no reason.  Last week there was a fight in the courts and a policeman was stabbed in a domestic dispute that played itself out in the courts.  We appear in the Court of Appeal on Monday 23 July.  There is no police security and all the judges are at risk.  The Prime Minister opposes giving Magistrates guns to protect themselves and so Magistrates are at risk.  It is all very very foolish.  We need to rethink and deal with the real world of The Bahamas, not like we are living in the 1940s.

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EARL FARRINGTON ROBBED AND BEATEN
Well known Bahamian physician Dr. Earl Farrington was robbed and beaten at his home Friday night 20 July. Dr. Farrington was accosted by two men demanding the know the combination to his house safe. He is currently in Doctors Hospital in Nassau. The criminals are being sought by police.

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BOUNDARIES COMMISSION MEETS AGAIN
The week began as they say remarkably in politics. The Constituencies Commission, charged with drawing the constituency boundaries for the next election, met on Monday 16 July. Before they did, the Leader of the Opposition Perry Christie began by making an official complaint to the Prime Minister with regard to the declaration of R. Italia Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, for the position of Leader of the FNM.  The Leader of the Opposition called for her resignation saying that the Speaker’s position as Chair of the Constituencies Commission would be incompatible with a run for leader of the FNM.  It might well give the appearance that she is stacking the deck of the lines in constituencies in order to bolster her position as Leader of the FNM.  The Prime Minister accepted the Leader of the Opposition’s position and there was a consultation between the Speaker and the Prime Minister at 8:30 a.m. on Monday 16 July.  The result was a carefully worded letter from the Speaker withdrawing as the candidate for Leader.  Here is what the Speaker said in part: “I have concluded that it would not be possible to preserve the perception of impartiality and campaign as a candidate for the leadership of my political party while serving as Speaker of the House of Assembly, a position to which I was elected by all Members of the House of Assembly.”  She added with regard to her role as Chair of the Constituencies Commission: “I am expected and required to be impartial, it is also inappropriate for me to engage in any activity which would have the appearance of political partisanship.”  That, they thought, was that.  But then Dr. Bernard Nottage the PLP elected MP for Kennedy and Leader of the Coalition for Democratic Reform made an intervention in the House in which he argued that the damage had already been done.  The fact of her declaration alone was enough to cause her to resign from the Office of Speaker, since the issue of partisanship had already arisen.  Needless to say, no one took Ms. Johnson’s word as the real reason.  Mr. Ingraham clearly dictated the statement, and told her the facts of life. Imagine a woman saying in a statement as she withdraws from a race that she was running to show that the barriers to women “real or imagined” no longer existed. While the Speaker cannot be removed from office by anyone unless she voluntarily resigns or is otherwise disqualified from sitting as Member of the House, Mr. Ingraham no doubt reminded her that if she chose to resign as Speaker she would lose that $60,000 per year.  That is no chump change as they say!

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SIR ORVILLE COMMENTS
In continued use and trading of public offices by the Free National Movement administration, the Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest has announced his intention to step down (See last week's column). He told The Tribune in its Tuesday 18 July edition that he is stepping down earlier than expected. He intended to stay until 3rd January 2002, the seventh anniversary of becoming GG. He said he was doing this in order that the appearance of impropriety be avoided should his son become Leader Elect of the FNM and Prime Minister.  Sir Orville told The Tribune published on Wednesday 18 July: “I did not want anyone alleging that there is any nepotism within the country with a father and son holding the two highest offices in the country.  In my mind that just wouldn’t be appropriate.”  While on the face of it the comment seems acceptable, like he cares for the issue of propriety, it must be examined for more than what appears on the face of it.  First, we are not too sure that it is appropriate for the Governor General to be commenting to the press on the matter anyway, since it invites political debate.  But secondly, you have the situation where implicit in the comments is the belief that not only will Tommy Turnquest become the Leader of the FNM but also the Prime Minister, as a fait accompli as if we have no other choice.  Joining in this fatal and mistaken assumption is the press of The Bahamas, in lockstep fascination with a choice between incompetents (Wells excepted) for Leader of the FNM.  The fact is that the person who should be the Prime Minister of the country if there is a free and fair general election, after such a general election is Perry Christie, the Leader of the PLP, not a single one of those in the FNM.

INGRAHAM GETS HIS WAY WITH FOULKES
We must say that we are really disappointed in Dion Foulkes.  How, after all that has been said and done, could he capitulate so quickly to Mr. Ingraham’s demands and desires?  He has agreed to be number 2 on the political ticket to Tommy Turnquest as number 1.  He did not even put up a fight.  It should have been clear that in a free and open fight, he would have bested the younger Mr. Turnquest on any given day.  Mr. Turnquest is perceived by most to be a political puppet of the United Bahamian Party, Bay Street boy elite from the Eastern Road.  And then there is the belief by political observers that Mr. Turnquest does not yet know of a request from Lyford Cay that can be refused.   At least we thought Mr. Foulkes was a man who would stand up for Bahamians.  So it’s a real shame.  Someone close to the two of them was appalled at last week’s item that repeated (click here to see) some of the vicious propaganda being spread against the party’s candidates by the various camps within the FNM.  The person told this columnist that I am a dangerous man, that the comments crossed the line and that it was unnecessary.  Perhaps that person should consider this.   I have known all of the principals in the FNM: the Prime Minister, Algernon Allen, Tennyson Wells, Dion Foulkes, and Tommy Turnquest.  It is not possible to live in this country as long as I have and not know them and they not know me. Yet what I have found with the whole lot of them is that on the face of it there is civility but behind it is either acts of commission or omission, which deliberately seeks to harm my interests and those who are close to me. It is done in the name of politics and done with glee. Right now both Mr. Turnquest and Mr. Foulkes are members of the Constituencies Commission. Mr. Turnquest will be challenged by a court action to step down.  It is clear that Mr. Turnquest should not be a member since the report on the Commission must go to the Governor General who is his father.  He should not have accepted the appointment but he has.  The fact that his father is stepping down is neither here or there.  But both men, who are on the face of it intelligent and honest men, are willing it appears to engage in a constituencies commission exercise which is directly designed to harm my interests.  And this is not just partisan nitpicking.  Mr. Ingraham has gone out of his way in a personal way and by foul means to sabotage every effort of this Senator to get elected to Parliament.  Mr. Turnquest and Mr. Foulkes did nothing to say that it was wrong.  And what was done in Fox Hill in 1997 was wrong not just for me but for the people of the area who got no representation over the last five years from either Bill Allen in Montagu or Juanianne Dorsett in Fox Hill. Mr. Ingraham is now getting out but in a parting shot, in defiance of the constitution, in defiance of propriety and good governance is trying again to sabotage my election again by openly talking about abolishing the Fox Hill constituency.  Do I expect Mr. Foulkes for Mr. Turnquest to do anything about it?  No I do not.  I expect that they will support it.  And the Attorney General will seek to enforce it in the courts.  So let’s be frank about this.  It appears that they have no use for me on a personal and visceral level despite their civility, so one can cry no crocodile tears if facts that are reported on this site tend to influence voters about their true intentions and how they really act. No doubt their defense to all of the matters that have been directed at me spitefully and personally is that it is not personal but just politics.  That’s fine too, so why then should they be at all concerned about what I say that is about them?  It certainly is not personal.  When I see them act otherwise I shall act accordingly.  Until then I have to assume that they all mean to do me in personally. Mr. Ingraham, Mr. Allen, Mr. Turnquest and yes Mr. Foulkes but out of deference to our long time family relationship, I leave the jury out on that one for now.

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INGRAHAM SHIFTS GROUND
You will remember that Hubert Ingraham, aka the lame duck Prime Minister, was wiggling and twisting and turning in every which way and direction in order to get out of his promise to go after two terms.  He made an address to the nation on    July in which he said that he would lead the FNM up to the next election and then demit office on 19 August 2002.  That infuriated the FNMs who told him that he could not leave the FNM in August without having a chosen successor in place.  He conceded that point and has now agreed to a leadership convention 6 August.  He is busy twisting arms to make sure that Tommy Turnquest gets elected as his puppet.  He intends to sit on the backbench and then manipulate like the ventriloquist and his dummy from the backbench.   But things have changed again.  Now he has told the country that both he and Frank Watson, his Deputy Prime Minister, are to leave the day after the next election.  This will now avoid getting past the promise on two terms.  The fact is even if he served for one day after the election he would have had three terms as Prime Minister.  Mr. Watson is under fire himself for shady dealings as the allegations of Bradley Roberts show. What the FNM is trying to figure out now is how the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister can sit in the House of Assembly and collect their pensions at the same time as they sit in the House.  That means they will collect their MPs salary and their pensions as Ministers of the Government.  They intend to pass this legislation if they win the next election.  This is just shameful.  The truth is that when the special convention of the FNM is held on 16 August, and a leader designate (they are trying to avoid Leader-elect so it won’t be said that they are following Tennyson) Is chosen, Hubert Ingraham ought to demit office immediately, let the new man lead the party into the election.  That is the way it is done in the Westminster system.

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THE LATEST WORD ON THE FNM RACE
Dion Foulkes has now made it official.  He told The Tribune that he has agreed to be number 2 on a ticket that has Tommy Turnquest as number one.  He says he communicated this to the Executive Council of the party last week.  A formal announcement by Tommy Turnquest and himself is to be made at Walker’s House on McKinney Drive in Nassau, the home of the Bahamas Union of Teachers.   Opposing them will be Tennyson Wells and Algernon Allen.  Some say the two of those will have to form a team, if they are to have any chance of winning.  The bets are that Hubert Ingraham who is supporting the Turnquest/Foulkes Team will prevail and Allen and Wells will lose.  All we know is that will be a most unstable combination for this country.

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ELECTION DAY
Hubert Ingraham, the lame duck Prime Minister, told Darrold Miller of ZNS in an exclusive interview that the election would be held on or before 14 March.  We know that the register is to be revoked on 30th September.  The Boundaries Commission will report soon thereafter and then we are off to the races.
 

NEW ALLEGATIONS FROM BRADLEY ROBERTS
Bradley Roberts has taken a trip to Long Island to visit our supporters there. He was taken on extensive tours of the island and discovered amongst other things the rape of the environment by persons connected with MP James Knowles.  He also saw the hotel being built by alleged drug trafficker Dwight Major.  A brother of Frank Watson is building the hotel.  There were angry clashes in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 18 July between Mr. Roberts and Mr. Knowles over the allegations made about Long Island.  You should click here so you can read the whole thing in its entirety. The link is to the section on Long Island, but scroll up to read the entire address.  The meeting of the House was held so that a compliant parliament might amend several of the financial pieces of legislation that were passed in a hurry by the Parliament at the behest of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development last year.

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CHRISTIAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT BOYCOTT
The Independence Celebrations this year may have seemed to have gone without a hitch, but that wasn’t quite the case.  The keen eyes of political observers noticed that Bishop Samuel Greene, the new President of The Bahamas Christian Council and Superintendent of the Zion Baptist Union was missing and unaccounted for.  He was not at the ecumenical service at the Kendal Isaacs Gym.  He was not at the flag raising ceremony on Clifford Park.  He was not at the Golden Girls presentation.  The reason: he was miffed, reportedly at the fact that he was not chosen to preach the sermon at the church service on Sunday 8 July.  Dr. James Berger, the Presbyterian minister, delivered the sermon.  The Cabinet designs the service and their defense is that according to a roster put in place by previous Christian Council President Simeon Hall, the next on the list was Dr. Berger.  Not so said Bishop Greene. There has been an election and there is now a new Christian Council President and so there is a new roster. The Cabinet disagreed and won the day.  Not surprisingly, they insisted because Bishop Greene is thought to be a PLP supporter and they did not want a fire and brimstone message that would tell them all the things they have brought upon this country. The President never appeared at any of the official services.  Score one for Bishop Greene.

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CHARLES CARTER’S RADIO STATION

We say congratulations to Charles Carter, the former Member of Parliament, Minister of the government, general manager of the Broadcasting Corporation and all around good citizen on the start up of his radio station Island 102.9 FM.  It has been a life long dream of Mr. Carter to start a radio station.  His son Eddie joins him.  A team that includes Patty Roker, Krissy Love and Jerome Sawyer.  We wish them all well and invite folks to listen in and participate.  Now for a good evening radio talk show for those who can’t sleep at night. Mr. Carter who is pictured in this Peter Ramsay photo with Eddie his son and Mr. Sawyer say that the music format will feature more Caribbean music and in depth talk shows.

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BATELCO CLOSE TO PRIVATIZATION
They have finally completed the audit of BaTelCo.  This was reported in The Tribune of Wednesday 18 July.  The audit for the year ending 31 December 2000 was said to be the hold up for the sale of BaTelCo to the strategic partner. This senator is opposed to the sale of BaTelCo at this time and would urge a PLP Government to block the sale to any investor that does business with this Government. Any investor who does so should know that I oppose it and will do my best to block it.  This Government with a General Election so close does not have the mandate to sell BaTelCo.

NEW US GOVERNMENT WEBSITE

The United States Government at the U.S. Embassy in The Bahamas has announced a website for the use of those who want to travel to The Bahamas or from The Bahamas to the United States.  The site was officially launched by charge d’affaires Dan Clune, pictured in this Guardian photo.  You can find the site at www.usembassy.state.gov/nassau

ST. ANSELM’S NEW CHURCH

The Roman Catholic community of St. Anselm's in Fox Hill is getting a new church. It will replace at a cost of 1.6 million dollars the existing structure that has been in use since 1935.  The existing church has a capacity to seat 250 people. The old structure will be converted into offices.  The new church will serve the 645 members on the church roll and seat 520 people.  Monsignor Preston Moss is the priest in charge at the church.  Archbishop Lawrence Burke presided over the ceremony of breaking ground on Sunday 15 July.  The Guradian photo shows the Archbishop and parishioners looking on. Also stationed at St. Anselm's is Deacon Leviticus Adderley.

NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Rabid FNM Factions - FNM faithful in Grand Bahama, the supposed 'cradle of the FNM' are now split into rabid warring factions over the question of a successor to the leadership of their party. At the usual gathering places this week, representatives of the various factions competed to speak with our correspondent. Said one, "Hubert's candidacy for Tommy will go down in ashes here in Grand Bahama... we'll take all the money they're offering and still vote against Tommy."

Ingraham Doesn't Visit - The much-anticipated Friday visit to Grand Bahama by FNM leader Hubert Ingraham to give marching order about who to vote for in the leadership election was hurriedly cancelled. This after Mr. Ingraham was informed by his contact here that he would face a hostile reception from the various factions of the party with their own contenders in the leadership battle. "He ain't coming, cause he know what he'll meet," said an FNM general, campaigning for one of the would be leaders.

What Happens If Ingraham Loses - More and more this week, word into News From Grand Bahama suggests that a consensus is forming among those opposed to the Ingraham-backed candidacy of Tommy Turnquest for leader in the FNM that if Mr. Ingraham and his candidate fail in the contest, the new 'leader designate' would force Mr. Ingraham from office immediately. "He'll have to demit office before dark that very day; pack his georgie bundle and take some of the troublemakers that he brought when he goes...." Harsh words indeed.

Cussing Match - The newspapers reported this week that during a meeting between the Prime Minister and his MPs, a 'cussing match' broke out between Mr. Ingraham and a senior Minister over the suggestion that their be blanket support for the candidacy of Tommy Turnquest.  Just one more indication of the full-scale war that has erupted within the FNM. And these are the people who want to continue to govern The Bahamas?

'Uncle' Tommy - FNM campaigners are all around Grand Bahama reminding voting delegates to the party's upcoming leadership convention of a time last year when Tommy Turnquest, then the Minister for Immigration charged Immigration officers for being overzealous in arresting foreigners working without permits. The foreigners in question were in the employ of Hutchison Whampoa's 'Our' Lucaya resorts. In this connection, his FNM opponents charge that he behaved more like 'Uncle' Tommy and said "The only reason Hubert wants him is because he can be told what to do and played like a puppet on a string... we will have none of it."

Fast Ferry To Close - Travelling Grand Bahamians were up in arms this week at news of the impending closure of Fred Olsen's fast ferry service between Freeport and Miami. The ferry service is to end on the 24th July, putting 20 Bahamian into unemployment.  The ferry's operators blame the FNM Government for reneging on an agreement in principle to allow the ferry to operate between Freeport and Miami and Nassau and Miami. Minister responsible for Transport and Grand Bahama MP C.A. Smith cited Customs concerns about passengers and cargo travelling together. Informed sources say that the real reason for Government opposition is lobbying from "Bay Street interests which have controlled the waterfront in Nassau from the bridge to Prince George Dock since the days of rum-running". Supporters of the ferry service point out that passengers and cargo travel to and from Miami on the cruise ship 'Discovery' every day of the week. The Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce has also appealed to the Government to reconsider. The ferry service is popular because it is cheap, convenient and reliable.

Jackass Of The Week - For his role in stopping the Fred Olsen Fast Ferry and his lame excuses, the nominations are in and the votes counted for our JACKASS OF THE WEEK and the winner is, hands down: Minister for Transport and Member of Parliament for Pineridge C.A. Smith.

Stevedores Unrest - A spokesman for the stevedores who work the dock at Hutchison Whampoa's Grand Bahama Container Port have been on to News From Grand Bahama. "We have decided to give our union leaders one more chance to speak up for us before we shut this place down." The stevedores complain about 'slave wages', health and safety threats from stowaway snakes, insects, flies and other potential disease carriers as well as mysterious hazardous materials that they must handle. The disgruntled longshoreman say they have complained to all their Members of Parliament to no effect. "Every time we see anything about them, they're at some party being given by the Port, who are the very people we ask them to stand up to for us." Things that make you go, hmmm!

Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl+home to return to the top of the page.

NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

'67, '77, '87
There was a fascinating political discussion amongst a group of would be voters in the next general election.  They were trying to figure out what period in our history are we about to repeat when it comes to the next general election.  In the election of 2002, will we face another 1967, another 1977 or another 1987?  We'll go down what it means below.

In 1967, the PLP had four Members of Parliament.  The party had been split badly when some of its most prominent members Paul Adderley, Spurgeon Bethel and Orville Turnquest had a disagreement with the party over whether or not to boycott the proceedings of the House of Assembly.  The National Democratic Party was formed and there was a divided opposition that faced the juggernaut of the UBP in 1967.  The result: the PLP 18, the UBP 18 and there was one for Labour and one Independent.  The PLP won the Government and stayed in power for 25 years.

In 1977, the Free National Movement was the main opposition party.  But just before the General Election, the main body of the Free National Movement, led by Cecil Wallace Whitfield broke away and went on its own.  The Bahamian Democratic Party was formed.  That was really the rump of the dissolved United Bahamian Party that ran the country up to 1967.  Henry Bostwick headed that party.  The FNM and BDP, divided, faced the PLP in the 1977 election.  The result: a landslide victory for the PLP at the polls.  Conventional wisdom from that election is that a divided opposition cannot win against a united governing party.  This PLP victory came despite the fact that there was an ideological rift in the PLP when Carlton Francis, Arlington Butler, Edmund Moxey, Lionel Davis, Cadwell Armbrister, Oscar Johnson and Franklin Wilson all lost their nominations in what in PLP history has become known as the night of the long knives.

Then there was 1987. The Commission of Inquiry of 1984 had reported.  As the elections neared, the country was full of allegations against the Government of drug corruption.  People said the US. was against the PLP.  People expected the FNM to win but they weren't quite sure that the FNM was ready for the victory.  They had not convinced the people that they could govern.   The result: the PLP won the election.

And so what are we facing in 2002?  Will the Government change or will the PLP remain the Opposition although substantially strengthened?  Our bet is 1967.  What is your bet?

This week, we welcome the PLP candidates in Grand Bahama to our list of linked websites. Congratulations to Dr. Marcus Bethel and the team in Grand Bahama on their foray into the World Wide Web. Please click here. http://www.bahamiansfirst.com/

This week we had 23,521 hits on this site up to midnight on Saturday 27 July.  That makes a total of 85,947 hits on this site for the month of July. Please keep reading and thanks for reading.

PERMANENT LINKS
11th Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling & Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden by Fred Mitchell
Address to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue

Address of Sean McWeeney / Pindling  funeral
Gilbert Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral coverage

Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting	Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral

e-mail timbuktu@batelnet.bs

TWEEDLE DUM AND TWEEDLE DEE:
THE VENTRILOQUIST & HIS DUMMIES

It is official.  The candidates are all in.  Nominations for the leader designate and deputy leader designate of the Free National Movement were entered on Thursday 26 July.  The candidates are as expected: Tennyson Wells, Algernon Allen and Tommy Turnquest for Leader. For the post of Deputy Leader: Dion Foulkes and Lester Turnquest.  The election will take place at a special convention on Friday 16 August.   Until then we shall have to put up with an endless palaver and debate about who is most likely to be the successor to lame duck Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.  As you know, our view is that the candidates who will win are Tommy Turnquest and Dion Foulkes.  They are the candidates of the UBP wing of the party. The folks from the Eastern Road and the folks from Lyford Cay, all support the Foulkes / Turnquest combination.  They call themselves the dream team, although it's probably more like a nightmare. Some are saying they are really dumb and dumber or tweedle dum and tweedle dee. Whatever they are, it is clear that this is a case of the ventriloquist and his dummies.  The lame duck Prime Minister intends to lead the party into the general election.  So the people of The Bahamas will be voting for Hubert Ingraham not Tommy Turnquest.  And then to add insult to injury Mr. Ingraham intends to sit on the back bench and control the two from the back.  This makes for an interesting and undemocratic result.  What should happen is that Mr. Ingraham should step down immediately after the FNM leadership election on 16 August.

THE RESULTS OF FNM LEADER TRIBUNE POLL
Added pressure is being put on the Turnquest/Foulkes/ Ingraham/Bay Street Boys cabal by a poll in The Tribune Saturday 28 June.  The poll shows that Mr. Allen is by far and away the most popular of all the would be leaders of the FNM.  The Prime Minister is doing all in his power to stop Mr. Allen.  (See our story in News From Grand Bahama) The Tribune conducted two polls.  The first was a newspaper poll with respondents sending in ballots.  In that poll Mr. Allen won with 51 per cent of the respondents.  Second was Tennyson Wells with seventeen per cent.  Tommy Turnquest got thirteen per cent. Dion Foulkes got six per cent.  The others recorded no vote.  In the more scientific poll done by The Tribune's sister operation 100 JAMZ, the telephone poll of 1000 respondents showed Algernon Allen with thirty five per cent, Tommy Turnquest with twenty eight per cent; Tennyson Wells with eighteen per cent; Tennyson Wells with six per cent; C.A. Smith with five per cent; Dion Foulkes with four per cent; Carl Bethel with four per cent; no vote six per cent. This should give Hubert Ingraham and the UBP crew pause.  We still think that the 397 delegates are the ones that really will count in this equation and we think that at the end of the day Mr. Ingraham and the UBP crew will muscle them all in shape for Tommy.  But word is that in David Thompson's delegation from Freeport, the entire delegation of women will be voting for Mr. Allen even though Mr. Thompson thinks that he has them safely pledged for Tommy.  That's what Mr. Ingraham has to watch: people who pledge to him but secretly vote the other way.

TOMMY'S ROYAL WAVE
Hubert Ingraham has been trying to introduce Tommy Turnquest to what normal life is like.  You know a Friday night crowd down at the fish fry with the boys.  He has taken Tommy there a couple of times to get him used to it.  Last Friday, Hubert was not available so Tommy tried on his own.  But when his car reportedly pulled up, the official limo and driver, he took one look at the crowd and saw that Daddy Hubert wasn't there, he instructed the driver to toot the horn and did a royal wave to the fellows.  Just couldn't face the crowd on his own.

NORMAN SOLOMON'S KISS OF DEATH
They say that when Norman Solomon supports you for something politically, be careful.  During the past week Mr. Solomon went on the radio to say that he was supporting Tommy Turnquest for Leader of the FNM.  The kiss of death, say Tommy's FNM opponents.  They say it reinforces in the minds of the public who the UBP faction in the country supports.

MINISTERS SHOULD TAKE LEAVE
Dion Foulkes, Tommy Turnquest and Algernon Allen are all Ministers of the Government.  They get paid to work full time for the Bahamian people, not to campaign to be leader of their party.  While they are doing so, they are not doing any work. All they are doing is collecting a salary from the public treasury and use that to campaign for the position of leader of their party.  During the period that they are campaigning, they ought to step down and take a leave of absence without pay.  They are not putting their full attention to the matters of their portfolio.  They cannot. They must step down.

TOMMY, DION, HUBERT - SAME GENERATION
Hubert Ingraham is 54 years old. Tommy Turnquest is 41 years old.  Dion Foulkes is 45 years old.  So what is this business from Tommy?  Here's what The Tribune quotes him as saying on Friday 27 July:   "Now that Mr. Ingraham and Mr. Watson (Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson) have indicated their intention to step down as Leader and Deputy Leader of our party, we feel that now is the time to pass the mantle of leadership on to the next generation, our generation."   For Mr. Turnquest's information a generation is 30 years.  Mr. Ingraham is not even close to 30 years older than Mr. Turnquest is.  Frank Watson can be said to be almost from a different generation.  But certainly not Hubert Ingraham.  The fact that Mr. Ingraham has treated himself physically badly, overweight and smokes too much so that he looks like an old man, is leaving because he is tired of office, has nothing to do with a different generation.  Mr. Turnquest is going to continue Mr. Ingraham's policies and simply do what Mr. Ingraham says from the backbench.  So there is no generation change in fact as in age and certainly none in philosophy.  Mr. Ingraham and Mr. Turnquest are all the same.

LESTER TURNQUEST
We wish Malcolm Creek MP Lester Turnquest all the best in his epic struggle against the hostility at official levels in his own party.  Mr. Turnquest is seen as a maverick who speaks out on issues of the heart for and on behalf of his people.  The Prime Minister has been actively trying to crush his spirit.  The talk around town is that the secret support for Mr. Turnquest is growing.  Every day the calls are coming in saying that he should not worry, even though they are pledged to Messrs. Turnquest, Ingraham and Foulkes, they will vote Lester Turnquest.  FNMs are betting on a big surprise.

THE SPEAKER MUST RESIGN
R. Italia Johnson, who did not have the courage of her convictions, to stay in the race for leader of the FNM once it was pointed out to her that she would lose her $60,000 per year salary, just did not get the point of why she has to step down from the post.  We tried to point out to her that she needs to resign as Speaker.  Once she announced that she was joining the race for Leader of the FNM, she was bound to step down.  Pulling out of the race is not enough.  The damage of lack of impartiality was already done.  But after writing that stupid letter (see last week's column) in which she said that she recognizes the need to be seen to be impartial, she then proceeded to attend the nomination of candidates at the FNM headquarters on Thursday 26 July and proceeded to second the nomination of Algernon Allen.  Some Jackasses Of The Week just don't learn.

SOME SURPRISE SUPPORT
They say that in the Council Meeting on Thursday 26 July when nominations were entered for the posts of Leader designate and Deputy Leader Designate, mouths dropped open when Italia Johnson got up to second Algernon Allen's nomination for Leader.  People thought she was getting up to leave or go to the bathroom but no, she is supporting Algernon.  Dion Foulkes was said to have rolled his eyes in surprise and them shrugged his shoulders.

NEW PRESIDENT FOR COURT OF APPEAL
The Tribune of Saturday 28 July showed a picture of Burton Hall, being sworn in as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal, replacing Edward Zacca, the former Jamaican Chief Justice who has retired after serving for a year and a half as The Bahamas President of the Court of Appeal. The question is whether the Prime Minister consulted the Leader of the Opposition on the appointment, as he is required to do in law.  The PM reportedly takes the position that he does not need to consult the Leader of the Opposition when it comes to acting appointments.  That is nonsense and it violates the spirit and the letter of the constitution.  The real dope is that Mr. Hall is to leave the Court of Appeal and become the Chief Justice.  Dame Joan sawyer who is now the Chief Justice is to become the President of the Court of Appeal.  Outgoing President Zacca said in his final address to the Court on Wednesday 25 July that when the new arrangements are in place for the first time a Bahamian will be head of the Judiciary (Chief Justice) and head of the Court of Appeal.  We all laughed because he forgot that one of his predecessors Sir Joaquim Gonsalves-Sabola, now under the gun because he accepted citizenship from the Government of The Bahamas, during a trial involving the Government, was - as is said in this country - a 'paper Bahamian'.

NURSES THREATENING TO STRIKE
After all the abuse the nurses have taken from the Government and the threat of a strike, you would think that the Government would be contrite.  Not so.  The nurses now say that their expected pay raise of 14 per cent did not materialize at the bank on Friday 27 July.  They only got a five per cent raise.  They are threatening to strike again.

WHAT WILL WELLS AND ALLEN DO?
The scene was like a huge junkanoo festival outside the FNM headquarters on Mackey Street (See Guardian photo).  Scores turned out to support Algernon Allen's candidacy.  And out in the country it appears that he is the most popular of all the candidates.  The fact is though we out in the country do not vote and so a beauty contest out in the country, signs out in the country don't count.  The only thing that counts is what those 397 eligible delegates will do when the voting takes place on 16 August.  The Prime Minister is busy working the telephones, using the public treasury and the 10 million-dollar war chest of the Foulkes/ Turnquest combination to swamp the delegates with money and promises of more to come. If ever there was going to be the massive buyout of a leadership position, the Turnquest clan intends that Tommy will buy this one.  He only needs to buy 200 people, and he's got the leadership.  One story goes that the Family Island delegates friendly to Tommy and Dion were being flown in and put up at Sun International's swank Atlantis property.  Can Mr. Wells and Mr. Allen top that?  We know that Mr. Allen and Mr. Wells have money but if the war chest is indeed 10 million dollars, there is no way they can top that.  All of this is quite obscene.  But the question is what will the pair of them (Allen and Wells) do when they lose the election?  Mr. Wells especially will have to consider whether he continues to have a future in the FNM.  It will be miserable indeed.  Mr. Allen fired a shot across the bow in an interview published in The Tribune on Monday 23 July.  In it, he recalled what was alleged at the PLP's convention in 1998.  He said that the bitterness of that campaign caused Bernard Nottage to leave the PLP.  He said if that is the kind of campaign that the FNM wages then the wounds would not heal in time for the FNM to face the General Election.  But for now Mr. Allen relished the junkanoo crowd.

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ELECTIONS AT TENNYSON WELLS' BRANCH
The media in this country can be so bloody gullible. Here is the truth, as we know it.  At Tennyson Wells branch elections on Wednesday 25 July in Bamboo Town, scores turned up for the branch elections.  It appears that certain agents provocateur were called by the lame duck Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham himself to come to Mr. Wells' branch meeting so that they could sow the seeds of discord.  The result was that although Mr. Wells retained control over his branch, it gave the impression with all close races that Mr. Wells was indeed in trouble throughout his constituency.  All over the island you heard it in the political community that if Mr. Wells could not even control his branch, how could he control the country?  No one stopped to think that there was a conspiracy afoot to destabilize Mr. Wells.  The only outstanding issue was that there was tie vote for the council member, one Wellington Smith.  If you follow these things, you will remember that this is the council member of Mr. Wells' branch that defied Mr. Wells' wishes and moved the resolution at the council level to give Mr. Ingraham his desire as regards a third term.  Bamboo Town FNMs were furious at what they considered a political double cross. At the elections on Wednesday, Mr. Wells was accused of deliberately spoiling a ballot so that a tie resulted in the vote on Wednesday.  No, I did not do so, said Mr. Wells. It was agreed that there would be a re-run of the election on Friday 27 July.  But it was not to be.  In stepped the lame duck Prime Minister who told the country that he had asked Mr. Smith to withdraw from the race in the interest of the peace and the party.  Surprise! Surprise! Mr. Smith did.  This tends to confirm that indeed it was Mr. Ingraham who was the source of the discord in Mr. Wells' branch. Guardian photo of Mr. Wells and supporters talking to the media after the election.

THE ERRANT FNM COUNCIL MEMBER
Our story earlier talked about Wellington Smith who is now the former FNM council member for Bamboo Town.  Mr. Smith pulled out of the race when the lame duck Prime Minister ordered him to do so, but not before causing serious mayhem in the Bamboo Town FNM branch elections on Wednesday 25 July. The Prime Minister in making the announcement that Mr. Smith ought to withdraw tried to make it sound a magnanimous gesture for the peace and stability of the party.  But the real story is that the Wells faction was about to release certain information about Mr. Smith's past.  When they threatened to do so, the Prime Minister capitulated.  We understand but have not confirmed that Mr. Smith switched allegiances away from Mr. Wells last November when the Government at the instance of the lame duck Prime Minister offered him a $175,000 contract to build bus shelters in New Providence. Things that make you go: hmmm!

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SIR LYNDEN ON ONE DOLLAR

The Central Bank of The Bahamas has announced that the country now has a new one-dollar bill.  The new bill will carry the face of the founding Prime Minister of the country Sir Lynden Pindling who died on 26 August last year.  There will be some 30 million of them in circulation.  Lady Marguerite Pindling, the widow of the late Sir Lynden accepted the first of the new bank notes from Central Bank Governor Julian Francis.  She thanked The Bahamas Government for the honour afforded her husband.  The presentation took place on Monday 23 July.  The note is pictured.

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AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS LOSE CASE

The Government after defying the ruling of the Supreme Court  has now won the day at the Court of Appeal.  The decision on the appeal of the Government against the ruling of Supreme Court Justice Emmanuel Osadebay that the three month period of administrative leave for the air traffic controllers following allegations of concerted disruption at the airport was unreasonable was delivered by the Court of Appeal on Wednesday 25 July.  The decision was unanimous by the three-man bench headed by President Edward Zacca.   The decision came in the last day of the President sitting on the Court.  It came in a hurry and without much deliberation. The Court gave no reason for its decisions.  But it appeared to reject all the arguments put forward by the controllers.  The decision of the Court of Appeal is wrong.  It is perverse that a decision could be made so quickly on so complicated a factual matter and without reasons.  The decision is expected to be appealed to the Privy Council.  This senator represented the Air Traffic controllers and The Tribune published a photo just after the Court decision.

FOUR NEW PLP CANDIDATES

Party Leader Perry Christie and Chairman Bradley Roberts announced that four more candidates have been ratified by the PLP for the next general election.  The announcement was made before hundreds of people at the British Colonial Hilton on Sunday 22 July.  The four are Ron Pinder for Marathon, former MP Leslie Miller of Blue Hills, former MP Alfred Gray for Acklins, Crooked Island and Mayagauna and Sidney Stubbs for Bamboo Town.

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BANK MERGER CONFIRMED
CIBC and Barclays have confirmed that they are merging their Caribbean wide business in a new entity called First Caribbean International Bank.  The new entity will be owned 45 per cent each by the two banks and the balance by Republic Bank of Trinidad, which had earlier purchased Barclays' Trinidad business. The merger was announced in Nassau on Monday 23 July after months of denial.  Shares in CIBC were suspended from trading on The Bahamas Stock Exchange after announcement of the merger. Last week we reported on this site that employees expect that all those in the companies with over 20 years service will be let go. In making the announcement, the new company says that there will be minimal losses in jobs.  CIBC in The Bahamas had effectively transferred all of its decision-making functions on loans to  Barbados since last year.  Barclays was not in much of a competition in the local domestic banking business.  But regulators in The Bahamas ought to be concerned about the fact that this will mean a lessening in competition in The Bahamas and in the Caribbean.  Right now there needs to be a public investigation in the level of services provided by banks and the cost of various fees by banks to its customers.  The prices for various bank services appear to be usury.

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GUARDIAN DIVIDEND

On Wednesday 25 July Pat Walkes (pictured), the General Manager of the Nassau Guardian, the country's oldest newspaper, announced that after years of not being able to declare and pay a dividend, they are going to do so this year at 50 cents per share.  This should please the Bahamian shareholders who have been suffering through one series of bad management decisions after the next.  Is it not strange that this payment of a dividend comes after our favourite Jackass Of The Week former Managing Editor Oswald Brown was fired?  Only goes to show good will out in the end.

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GUARDIAN STAFF IS UNIONIZED
Shane Gibson, the President of the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union, has announced that his union is now the recognized bargaining agent for the Nassau Guardian.  The employees there are said to be elated after a two-year struggle.  Congratulations to the staff.
 

MORALE AT PRISON/STRIKE
There was a sick-out at the prison in Nassau on Friday 27 July.  The sick-out was called because Prison officers are fed up with the working conditions and lack of pay.  The prison is a nasty place to work.  It has crossed the threshold of cruel and inhumane punishment but the courts in The Bahamas have refused to recognize that fact. There are some 10 cases of TB at the prison. Some 170 officers have been passed over for promotions this year after waiting for years for the issue of promotions and pay to be settled.  The PLP's leader Perry Christie visited the prison last year and promised that if he wins the Government he will as the first order of business review the salaries of prison officers.  Help is on the way!

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GILBERT MORRIS/MAURICE GLINTON/LIONEL LEVINE
The combination of these three names in the headlines was quite a combination this week.  Gilbert Morris, a professor from George Washington University in Washington D.C. is in town for two weeks.  While here he spoke to The Tribune and attacked the Know Your Customer Rules implemented by the new financial legislation in The  Bahamas.  He told The Tribune that the rules are burdensome and ineffective.  You can say that again.  This country is the most tortuous place in which to open a bank account.  Our law firm was attempting to open a bank account at Commonwealth Bank last week and apart from all of the stuff about your passport, business licence and national insurance number, the bank also required copies of all of our bank statements from the last bank that we did business with for two years.  What a bloody joke.  They can keep their damn bank account.  Who the hell is going to go through that bull you know what?  The bank also asked for a reference from the last bank that you did business with.  So effectively, the banks are acting as a cartel and there is no freedom of movement from one bank to the next.  Maurice Glinton was also in town and he also spoke with The Tribune.  In his comments he said that he intends to challenge the constitutionality of these laws that have been passed for the financial services sector by Parliament.  He is absolutely correct. Mr. Glinton is becoming more and more vocal in his advocacy about the lack of properly functioning institutions in this country.   But the surprise of the week was Lionel Levine, an Englishman, living in The Bahamas for many a decade.  He rose to Mr. Glinton's defence that there appears to be a conspiracy to prevent Mr. Glinton's case against the Government on their forcible acquisition of Methodist Church property to be heard.  See the story below.

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WHAT LIONEL LEVINE HAD TO SAY
The following are excerpts from a letter written  to The Tribune by Lionel Levine, attorney-at-law, in support of Maurice Glinton, another attorney-at-law.  See 15 July story on Mr. Glinton's comments about the delays at getting his case heard in Court.  Mr. Levine supports Mr. Glinton's position. "On Friday last (20 July), you published not very prominently considering its importance, a report by Mr. Maurice Glinton concerning his frustration in securing a rehearing of an action by the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of the Methodist Church Act 1993, as directed by the Privy Council a year ago.   I can vouch for Mr. Glinton's underlying grievance and concern.  There were two Methodist cases concerning the Methodist Church Act 1993 that reached the Privy Council together last year.  One was mine.  Mr. Glinton's case was brought generally.  My case was brought by the Trustees of the Wesley Methodist Church…" Mr. Levine said that he read a report from a seminar held in Antigua last year and remembered some of its conclusions. He continued: "It was a report of a Justice Committee funded by the United Nations, which had considered the practical operations of the legal systems in all of the island jurisdictions in the Caribbean.  The Bahamas was included.  It appeared from the report that surveys had been undertaken in all of those jurisdictions and a high proportion of members of the Bar in each of those jurisdictions agreed that in a dispute between a private citizen and the government, the courts would always rule in favor of the Government.  I happened to glance at the statistical column and noticed that the percentage of lawyers so recorded was the same high figure in The Bahamas as in Guyana…" Mr. Levine then went on to say that the Supreme Court is carrying out the directive of the Privy Council to rehear his and Mr. Glinton's case and continued: "Ultimately does this not bring into issue the real value of protection given by the Constitution for the citizen, if it takes six years of obstruction to get an appeal before the Privy Council, and thereafter the directive of the Privy Council meant to lead to a determination of the question is being frustrated and thwarted all over again."

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FREE TRADE OF THE AMERICAS DEBATE
This Senator expects to lead a debate in the Senate on Monday 30 July with a view to raising points about public education on the question of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, what it means for The Bahamas, including our commitment to the rule of law, the role of the Foreign Ministry, Caricom, civil society, and access to the World Trade Organization.

ROMAN CATHOLICS AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

Archbishop Lawrence A. Burke hosted a conference from June 25-27 on restorative justice.  It was held at the Emmaus Centre in Fox Hill, New Providence.  Experts were brought in from New Zealand where they have had amazing success in reducing crime by as much as 70 per cent in the city of Wellington.   It is a programme that is tried and tested amongst young offenders.  The idea is that instead of punishment and retributive justice, the youngsters are taught to accept responsibility for their crimes, the harmful effects on victims and they are made to help restore the damage that they caused.  This is interesting and should be explored further in The Bahamas. The Archbishop is pictured among those attending the conference in this Tribune photo.

CRAIG GOMEZ AND THE MUSEUM
At a three-day workshop held at the Pompey Museum in Nassau, the Chairman of the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation Craig Tony Gomez made a promise to the country.  According to The Tribune, he told the workers from the Corporation at the seminar that the Corporation is looking into the question of making whole the disrepair of some of the country's historical sites.  Said Mr. Gomez: "We are looking to address these problems.  Corrective action will occur.  This will happen!"

CONGRATULATIONS TO MIKE AND RUTH ELLIS
Former Police Officer G. Michael Ellis and his wife Ruth are celebrating their 33rd wedding anniversary.  Congratulations to them! Mr. Ellis is now retired from the Force and works as Office Manager for Mt. Tabor Full Gospel Baptist Church under the pastorate of Bishop Neil Ellis.

CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY OF SHANE ROLLE
Shane Rolle was by all accounts a talented man, a young man.  He was a fixture of the beauty consultant field, last being the coach of the present Miss Bahamas Nakera Simms.  Mr. Rolle died two weeks ago after a long illness. During his lifetime he adopted the professional name Shane Rollea. Condolences to his family.  He was 32 years old.

PETER BETHEL AT FREEPORT POLITICAL MEETING
Former Deputy Leader, MP and Minister for the PLP Peter Bethel was in Freeport to attend a political rally on Saturday 28 July.  It was the rally in support of the independent candidacy of Rev, Frederick McAlpine for the Marco City constituency in Freeport.  Rev. McAlpine who was the last PLP candidate for Eight Mile Rock lost in his bid to get the PLP nod for Marco City so he has bolted the party and will run as an independent.  Mr. Bethel reportedly said that he supported Rev. McAlpine and urged his listeners to do the same.  Mr. Bethel told the audience that he was diagnosed with cancer and Rev. McAlpine was in regular touch with him and prayed for him.  He thought that this was the age of the independent because of the various rifts in the major political parties.  Things that make you: hmmm!

NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA

HOTEL INDUSTRY WOES...
Nijhof Gets Chinese Axe -  Hutchison Whampoa's Senior Vice President at 'Our' Lucaya hotels Marco Nijhof has "resigned his position effective August 1". Nijof is the first to feel the 'Chinese axe' following reported operational losses of 28 million dollars by 'Our' Lucaya. The hotel industry in Grand Bahama is rife with informed speculation that Hutchison Whampoa is now looking further for Bahamian scapegoats to hang for the losses. "The head of every major department in the hotel is foreign," said one insider, "so we want to see exactly how they propose to skip over those people to get at the Bahamian superisors below. We were not allowed to share our experience with the foreign management and so they have tried to re9nvent the wheel when it comes to starting up a hotel in Grand Bahama and they got burned. We could have told them better, if only they would listen. Now don''t blame us." News From Grand Bahama has been commenting for months about how Whampoa's hotel people have spent more energy trying to bust the union than in listening to their experienced Bahamian staff. As for Bahamian scapegoats, we shall be watching.

Driftwood Executive Next? - Trouble is brewing in the foreign management ranks of the Driftwood Group's Resorts at Bahamia. A Driftwood senior vice president has reportedly been throwing his weight around among top Bahamians at the resorts, formerly the Princess Hotels. Sources say that specific threats have been made against Bahamian managers "and this guy seems to come and go as he pleases," said one of our correspondents in the know, "apparently without the benefit of the proper paperwork from the Department of Immigration." Top professional FNMs in the hotel business are furious at the reports. "Some of the Bahamian managers who've been threatened are our people," said one, "and if we can't legitimately protect our own qualified professionals from this sort of browbeating and discrimination, how are we ever going to convice the people that we are serious about representing their interests?" We say amen to that, my brother. News From Grand Bahama understands that the appropriate complaints have been made, but that the senior Driftwod executive in question has "high-level political protection". We will watch this situation closely and report on what happens.

Driftwood Construction Supervisor Follows Fashion - Everyone knows that an organisation reflects the personality traits of its leadership, and Driftwood's Resorts at Bahamia is no different. Reports reaching News From Grand Bahama tell of the foreign Driftwood construction supervisor who almost brought the hotel's renovation project to a halt when he used vicious racial epithets against a local backhoe operator. The issue was apparently a burst water pipe and the Bahamian heavy equipment operator had to stand and listen to what a "stupid ni...er" he was and obviously "just out of the jungle". More senior managers quickly tried to defuse the situation and apologised for their colleague's behaviour, but the message was clear. Freeport has reverted to the 'bad old days' of being a city in which Bahamians have very little to say about anything. This and other similar occurrences are setting a combative tone between Bahamians and foreigners in the hotel industry which is both unfortunate and unproductive for the country's major breadwinner. Firm and proper leadership is the only answer. Vote PLP.

POLITICS, POLITICS AND MORE POLITICS...
Allen Candidacy Stilborn? - We know it's Grand Bahama and that Nassau is the centre of politics, but sometimes... word into News From Grand Bahama insists that we watch closely the leadership campaign of Algernon Allen who seems to have captured the wider FNM public support. Our sources say that by Thursday or Friday of this week Bulgie's campaign will come to an abrupt end. "Ingraham will 'suggest' to him that for private but good reasons, he should fold his tent and go quietly." Other sources say that Allen already knows these "private reasons" and is simply using his perceived popularity to negotiate his terms of surrender.

Foul Call In Lucaya FNM - It was a batle between two of our friends for FNM Lucaya Council representative to the party's August convention. Thomas Earl Godet, former high flying US resident industrial manager, now Taxi driver and entrepreneur versus 'Iron' Mike Edwards, former FNM National Vice Chairman and currently a builder in some vogue in this city. Earl complains "Mike was out on the streets signing up any and everybody just to vote for him. Yes, I lost by six votes and I'm not bitter, but that just can't be right." Formal complaints have been made, but who really cares? In the end, none of it will matter as the country realises the charade of this FNM leadership battle. Vote PLP.

PLP Scores Big In EMR - The issue is the now infamour conveyor belt. A plan to funnel mined rocks over the main community access road that the foreign mining company Dravo Rock, is forcing on the community of Eight Mile Rock, aided and abetted by the Grand Bahama Port Authority and The Bahamas Government. The scene was a town meeting, called by the Minister of Works and Grand Bahama High Rock MP Kenneth Russell to give the project a 'green light' after much community protest. The Minister's technical team was there to run interference, the Port's Public Relations 'wunderkind' Barry Malcolm was there to make sure everything went according to script. However, the Progressive Liberal Party's Grand Bahama 'A' Team was also there. Dr. Marcus Bethel, the PLP's erudite political dean of Grand Bahama led the charge, demanding to know why, when the political directorate denied that they were under pressure from the Government and foreign forces to accede to the conveyor belt; why are they determined to go against the wishes of the people? Popular Eight Mile Rock Activist, now PLP candidate for the area Caleb Outten was there. Senator Obie Wilchcombe, well-liked and skilled son of the soil was at his persuasive best. Even the PLP's Lucaya candidate Stephen Plakaris came to add sober counsel for the oppressed residents who so desperately want to save safe access to their community. By the time the PLPs had finished addressing the gathering, the main FNM general in the area asked FNM MP Lindy Russell point blank: "Are you going to stand with the people or are you going to stand with them over there?" By all accounts, the answer was evasive and unsatisfactory. The Port Authority representative is reported to have been widly gesticulating without success to let the tech reps take the heat.

Heated Demonstration Against Dravo Rock

Scores of demonstrators from Caleb Outten's group People United to Make Progress (PUMP) descended the very next morning on Dravo Rock to protest the 'green light' given to the controversial project. There have been promises of further protest if the project goes ahead. At issue is an alternative route to be constructed which has not yet been completed. Freeport News photo.

CDR Holds Rally - The PLP breakaway Coalition for Democratic Reform staged a rally at Freeport's Columbus Park this past Thursday. Commented one onlooker, "I think there were more FNMs there than PLPs" Things that make you go hmmm!

Resign Over Sovereignty Call - Attorney Rawle Maynard, former magistrate and legal counsel to the CDR has called for the Government to resign over the admission by Minister of Finance William Allen that The Bahamas was forced to enact the 'blacklisting' financial laws. Mr. Maynard quoted the Constitution and said the Cabinet violated its oath of office to defend and protect the Constitution of The Bahamas. Mr. Maynard's comments were reportedly blocked from the national radio ZNS which brought calls for Radio Bahamas' Grand Bahama Station Manager Martin Alburty to be recalled. "He's nothing but a propagandist," said one correspondent to News From Grand Bahama, "ZNS obviously has instructions not to carry anything that questions the actions of a Minister.... Shame, shame. What has become of acccountability and transparancy in Government?" ZNS reporters in Grand Bahama are reportedly now intimidated and in fear of their jobs if they report the news as they see it. Said our correspondent, "The FNM is all around saying how they want to 'deepen democracy'. Well, we cannot deepen our democracy with yellow journalism."