“Government perceived as soft on immigration because of Campbell” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Fred Mitchell said yesterday the Minnis administration has been perceived as being soft on illegal migration largely.  This is because one of its Cabinet ministers was not only a product of that source, but has acted as a liaison for the Haitian community and the Free National Movement (FNM).

‘So it sent out a signal that once the FNM got in power that this whole situation of enforcement was going to ease,’ said Mitchell, a former immigration minister.”

This is is typical example of what happens when you cannot put a decent, logical thought together and continue to produce to what amounts to nothing more than what a lot of persons call ‘brain farts’.

Exactly what is Senator Fred Mitchell suggesting here? 

Is he suggesting that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) would never consider running a candidate with the background of Frankie Campbell?

Is Senator Mitchell suggesting that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) would never consider running the product of two illegal migrants?

Is he further suggesting, by extension, that a product of two illegal migrants cannot be a productive citizen of The Bahamas and should never be considered for high office?

What I find fundamentally flawed about this commentary by Senator Mitchell is that he is seeming to suggest that the present administration is being perceived as being soft on immigration because it ran Frankie Campbell in the first place, this seems to come very close to the xenophobic language that they [the Progressive Liberal Party] used during the election campaign but it just turns out to be just plain stupid or maybe it is both.

Senator Mitchell goes on to make these claims and the point that he is trying to make is actually lost in the ignorance of the message; as the point is an ignorant one, produced by an ignorant mind.  It would seem that Senator Mitchell is attempting to make a correlation between the two recent landings of illegal migrants and Minister Frankie Campbell being a Member of Parliament but there is no logical connection to be made, so he stands on a point of ignorance.

While we are on the subject of immigration and the perception of the present government being viewed as being soft on immigration, maybe the former Minister of Immigration would like to answer the questions being raised in another story in The Nassau Guardian; “RBDF: Sloop waited for patrol window – Patrols of western end of island only started again recently”, except from this article; “A Haitian sloop that made landfall three nautical miles west of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) base likely waited for a window of opportunity before coming ashore as the force had been patrolling that area just hours earlier, RBDF Commodore Tellis Bethel said yesterday.

Bethel, who spoke with The Nassau Guardian, said the only recently resumed patrolling the western portion of New Providence after being told to by the former administration to ‘stand down’ from patrolling that area.”

It would be interesting to know, who gave the order and why.

END

“Speaker appears to make pitch for MP’s raises” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Stopping short of calling for an increase for parliamentarians, Speaker of the House Halson Moultrie said yesterday that no one would sign up for a job agreeing to have his salary frozen.

‘Politicians make colossal personal sacrifices as well as financial ones,’ said Moultrie, as he addressed Parliament during the morning sitting.’

Moultrie raised the issue in the middle of a tribute in honor of former House Speaker the late Sir Arlington Butler, who died last Thursday.

‘There is an argument today that politicians knowingly sign up for the salary being offered,’ Moultrie said.

‘What is flawed about this argument is that every employee knowingly signed up for the salary they were being offered at the time of engagement, notwithstanding no one who has just started work would agree to have their salary scales frozen for more than 30 years.”

Now while this may be true what Mr. Moultrie must realize is that the long and short of it all is that it is insensitive for the government to even suggest it needs a raise and that at its first opportunity it will give itself one.  If we were to follow House Speaker Moultrie’s logic, then it would be the employers suggesting a raise, the people.

It is an insensitive suggestion as the government goes about the ‘painful’ exercise of ‘right sizing’ the civil service –cutting unnecessary jobs in order to decrease public expenditure because no matter how necessary the exercise; it may even be welcomed by some that understand our current situation, the long of short of it all is that the government is sending more persons to the unemployment line; these people are probably people already catching ‘internal hell’ and are now left defenseless to catch this ‘internal hell’.

A more sensitive government would instead of looking to give itself a pay increase find a way to put these monies into unemployment benefits because at this point in time there are persons that require the assistant much more than you, then as you grow the economy then ask the people of the country to assess your performance and ask for a raise.

Of course this will not be an easy task, as person have come not to trust governments but you must realize that this move to increase the pay of parliamentarian while citizens cannot even find jobs will only make person trust governments that much less.

As I make this commentary on what can only be described as insensitive behavior by the Free National Movement ((FNM) government, I must caution members of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) party as they seek to criticize the current government on this issue, as they were the ones that put it in play; no one knows what would have come to pass if they had actually won the 2017 general election. Then I must also caution them as a whole, as they seek to criticize the current administration with statements such as; “The Free National Movement thinks too much about statistics and figures and not enough about people,” PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell; is the chairman of the PLP suggesting that we should allow the whole to suffer in order to comfort the few?

Indeed, the current situation is a very difficult one brought about by decades of neglect and abuse of the public sector by both parties but can the Progressive Liberal Party honestly say that what is being done at this very moment is not necessary to correct this abuse, while they attempt to make a case for an uncaring government which it seems that the Free National Movement is to happy to help them with the recommendation for a pay increase at the most inopportune time.

END

While interim leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) states that they ‘heard the message that was delivered to us [the PLP] on May 10 and we are responding”, I would dare ask him, exactly what was the message as he understood it?

Excerpt from this article; “Reflecting on the Progressive Liberal Party’s PLP May 10 loss, Interim Leader Philip Brave Davis yesterday insisted that the PLP’s convention this week will show that the party has changed.

‘I hope that the convention will demonstrate to the Bahamian people that we have heard the message that was delivered to us on May 10 and we are responding,’ Davis told reporters after a prayer breakfast at Melia, Nassau Beach resort, which opened the convention.

‘So what they see at the convention, during the convention and post convention, will be a response to the message sent on May 10^th.

‘I expect us to reflect on where we are, understand the times and season that we are in and craft a new imaging of our party going forward.’

‘I think we need to be able to demonstrate to the Bahamian people that we are reworking our vision to reflect what the Bahamian people would like to see.”

As Mr. Davis states, they have listened to the message sent on May 10^th and as I have asked, exactly what was it that they got from this ‘message’? 

Mr. Davis and the Progressive Liberal Party would now have the Bahamian people believe that after six months as opposition, they have had a revelation and now have ‘changed’ and understand exactly what the Bahamian people need?

Would it not seem logical to Mr. Davis that if HE really heard ‘the message’ and really understood it, then he would/should realize that HE was/is a part of the problem and therefore cannot be a part of the solution going forward?

It is my opinion, that the Bahamian people rejected the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) to such a resounding degree because they had lost all confidence in them and saw them as being ‘corrupt’ or less than honest with them; doesn’t Mr. Davis see that if he wins he will also have to change his very own image in order to bring about a positive change within that party in the eyes of the people, because he to carries the stigma of the PLP being a ‘corrupt party’?

Mr. Davis speaks to crafting ‘’ a new imaging of our party going forward” but can he be a ‘bridge to the future,  as Perry Christie once purported to be when he [Mr. Davis] represents the image of the ‘old guard’, the persons that brought about  the deep mistrust of the PLP with the Bahamian people; this we will have to see as he promises “to demonstrate to the people that we [the PLP] are reworking our vision to reflect more of what the Bahamian people would like to see.”  But I have serious doubts that barring an act of God himself, that he will be able to convince the masses that the party’s image has changed along with its ideals, which it openly displayed over their last five years in government, over the past six months.

END

“Campbell faces new citizenship challenge” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article; “Two weeks after Transport and Local Government Frankie Campbell rejected speculation he has dual citizenship, Attorney Wayne Munroe, QC has confirmed he is looking into challenging in court whether the Cabinet minister’s citizenship can be rightfully established.

Of concern is whether the Southern Shores MP’s eligibility to run for Parliament and be elected to office was legitimate, Mr. Munroe said yesterday.  In an interview with The Tribune the lawyer said he was asked by former Senator Rodney Moncur to represent a constituent who wished to raise in court matters challenging Mr. Campbell’s Bahamian citizenship.”

Okay let me see if I have the facts of this case straight; Mr. Munroe, on the advice of Mr. Moncur seeks to challenge the citizenship of member of parliament Frankie Campbell based on an affidavit allegedly sworn to by Mr. Campbell’s mother and another woman along with another document on behalf a constituent of the Southern Shores constituency?

Just at faced value I must ask if it has already been established that his father was Bahamian, now deceased, then what is the problem but there seems to be other things at play here and most of them based in the realms of speculation, unless some are suggesting that Mr. Campbell was not born in The Bahamas and that he was brought here illegally.

So are some suggesting that he was actually born in Haiti and subsequently smuggled into the country?  This would suggest and it is speculated that his father or the man whose name he carries, Edwin Campbell, is not actually his father and further speculation is that maybe this is the reason as to why he [Edwin Campbell] never signed for Minister Campbell, a lot of speculation in that argument.

Then there is the constitutional argument; Mr. Moncur argues that as per Chapter Two of The Bahamas Constitution 3.-(1) “Every person who, having been born in the former Colony of the Bahama Islands, is on 9^th of July 1973 a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies shall, if his father becomes or would but for his death have become a citizen of The Bahamas in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, become a citizen of The Bahamas on July 10^th 1973.”, claims that this makes Mr. Campbell a non-citizen because at the time of his birth he was not a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and also Mr. Moncur claims that Mr. Campbell cannot claim citizenship from his father because his father was not married to his mother but the constitution itself states that “Every person who, having been born in the former Colony of the Bahama Islands, is on 9^th of July 1973 a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies shall, if his father becomes or would but for his death have become a citizen of The Bahamas.”  It has been conceded that Edwin Campbell is the father of Frankie Campbell, so therefore as he is a Bahamian citizen, by the constitution which Senator uses to base his case then becomes a Bahamian citizen; the constitution makes no stipulation of the parents having to be married.  Now Senator Moncur may be able to make a case for a poorly worded or presented affidavit but that is about it, as this does not prove any impropriety on anyone’s behalf beside that of poor workmanship.

So there are two theories as to why Frankie Campbell is not a citizen of The Bahamas; one suggesting that he was not born in The Bahamas and the other suggesting by The Constitution he was never a citizen of The United Kingdom and her Colonies because his parents were unwed and because of this was not automatically made a citizen when The Bahamas became independent in 1973.

Both arguments are simply amazing based in the fact that not only was Mr. Campbell able to obtain documents stating that he is a citizen of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas i.e. a Bahamian passport and other documents but he was also allowed to served on the Royal Bahamas Police Force for 29 years but also served in a diplomatic position in 2010 as Charge d’Affaires at The Bahamas Embassy in Port au Prince, Haiti.

So it would seem that Mr. Campbell was citizen enough to serve in these capacities but is not citizen enough to be an elected official despite the fact that both arguments as to why Minister Campbell should be removed from Cabinet and should resign as a member of parliament make no sense.

END

“BPL’s Elite List ‘Just A Privilege” – The Tribune 18 September 2017

Excerpt from this article; “FORMER Bahamas Electricity Corporation Executive Chairman Leslie Miller said yesterday there is a nothing ‘unusual’ about parliamentarians, top civil servants and churches being placed on a special ‘do not disconnect’ list at Bahamas Power and Light.

In fact, Mr. Miller claimed the list has been around since the 1970’s and remained in place through both the Free National Movement and Progressive Liberal Party governments.

The Tribune understands at least one serving FNM Cabinet minister and two former PLP Cabinet ministers currently owe BPL more than $10,000.”

While Leslie Miller is making it known that the existence of a ‘BPL Elite List’ is nothing new, the leader of the Opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Philip ‘Brave’’ Davis is in another room making another statement, which seems to be rather odd.

“Davis denies knowledge of BPL list” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Leader of the Opposition and former Minister of Works Philip Davis yesterday denied any knowledge of a special list at Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) for politicians who were not to be disconnected for non-payment.

Yesterday The Tribune revealed names and the amounts allegedly owed by several former and current parliamentarians who were on the list.

‘I was not aware of that and that it would not have been policy that I would have adopted.” Davis said.” But it was policy that he did adopt, although he is now intimating that he did so with even knowing.

Again as the leader of the Opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) attempts to distance himself from this ‘practice’, the former attorney general  of the former Progressive Liberal Party government makes it seem that either the leader of the opposition is totally unaware of what is going on around him or just lying.

“Maynard-Gibson: BPL list ‘not unusual’ – The Nassau Guardian 23 Sept 2017

Excerpt from this article; “Former Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson said yesterday while she was unaware of the list at Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) that exempted individuals from having their electricity supply disconnected despite non payment, it is ‘not unusual’.

Here we have the former attorney general denying the knowledge of such a list but willing to chime in that if such a list existed then there was nothing ‘unusual’ about it.  Let us say for a moment that she was unaware of said list, as she was unaware of the study into Rubis gas leak which her government commissioned and probably thought her office, how can she go on to condone such a practice?

She then goes on to defend persons privacy on said list; “She suggested that the list contained private information that should not have been publicized as she questioned the purpose of its release.”

Many question the purpose of much that was released under the former government; especially right before election but this is a story for another day.  Today, there is a point to be made and this is that ‘‘policy’ has changed or is being corrected and not longer will those that are able to pay their bills have their bills paid for by those struggling to keep food on the table, let alone the lights on.

The former administration has begun to spin the whole issue of ‘the list; and their spin is…”What’s the big deal?” As the former attorney general says it is ‘not unusual’.  Well the big deal is that no longer will the average citizen be made to suffer while those of means are given a free ride; this does not even make sense.

Indeed, the time has come to name names of persons who have taken advantage of their positions in the system, no matter what party they may have been attached to and letting the chips fall where they may.

END

This morning it was my intent to comment on Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) member of parliament’s Chester Copper’s demands for an answer on disaster insurance, wherein he claims that the Minnis administration wasted money when it renewed the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance (CCRIF) which was cancelled under the Christie administration due to its high premiums and low payouts; to me typical of insurance.  I was wondering that due to the cancellation of the policy under the Christie administration, which saw the country having to borrow large amounts of money for restoration efforts; was Mr. Cooper going to demand answers as to the whereabouts of funds that had gone basically unaccounted for but I have deiced to give him the time to think about he is trying to say, as another subject surfaced over the past weekend which I found much more troubling.

Fred Mitchell’s rant shortly after the general election, which he likened them [the general elections] to nothing more than a game of sorts resurfaced in another form as I conversed with a Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) stalwart who refused to see the failure of the of both referenda (Gaming and Gender) as an indictment on the Progressive Liberal Party but as he would rather believe it was more of a sign that the Bahamian people at large just being afraid of change. 

It is my opinion that this myopic view by the ‘old guard’ of the PLP will continue to be the downfall of that party, preventing its progression, even as Chester Copper attempts to change the narrative of the party’s focus in the eyes if the Bahamian electorate’s view, there will always be persons like Senator Fred Mitchell who will refuse to allow the party to move forward….progress.

My opinion, is that the old guard and those with the same said mentality fail to realize that the main reason that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) lost the last election so resoundingly was not that person were afraid of change; as they did change governments, voting out persons in areas that persons never thought would change, two areas being the Fox Hill and Centerville and Farm Roads, areas where persons were confident that would never change but yet they did.

It is clear that the Bahamian electorate lost all confidence in the Progressive Liberal Party’s ability at the time to successfully run the country but yet Senator Fred Mitchell still wishes to continue to return the country to a Progressive Liberal Party that just does not seem to know why they lost the general election and thereby wish to carry on with business as usual.

The Progressive Liberal Party continues fails for one reason, it is their nature.

END

The past week has been a trying one for most but today it is a day to be thankful.

If you believe in God or not; it is still a time to be thankful as for the most part, The Bahamas has been spared the destruction of Hurricane Irma ; a powerful category 4 and at times 5 hurricane that tore through parts of The Caribbean, leaving some islands simply decimated.

As I said, the country of The Bahamas was spared for the most part; as there was a quick move to evacuate the Southern Islands which would be most affected by the storm and we now stand ready and prepared to assist those that lost almost everything, like those in Ragged Island but it would seem that some did not see the fortunate side of how we faired, as they seek to make the effects of the hurricane; especially the possible economic impact political.

Many looked toward the Fergusons as source of international embarrassment for the country; as this family did some odd things as Irma approached but in the grand scheme of things these actions are totally explainable but nothing is more shameful than persons who go out of their way to ‘create’ a situation to criticize another person for.

The following excerpt is taken from the social media page of ‘Bahamian Jedi’, sponsored by whomever but for some reason heavily promoted by Obie Roberts, son of the chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), Bradley Roberts.

“LYING HUBERT MINNIS AND THE FNM GOVERNMENT, AIN’T KARMA A BITCH”

“The hotels were evacuated from Wednesday/Thursday and ALL port were closed for the last 4 days…supplies or tourist in…no supplies or tourist export.

So virtually no economic activity beyond the super markets, lumber yards and gas stations.  The govt. clearly lost in an excess of $100 million.  The govt. will have to offer tax concessions for affected islands This will only exacerbate the $722 million already as more money will be borrowed to defray government operations.

Much of what the govt. has planned for this fiscal year will have to be scrapped.  The money will simply not be there.  But let us watch Minnis and Turnquest explain this one away.

They pretend this scenario did not happen under the PLP govt. with Joaquin and Matthew.  They called it mismanagement and teifin.

Karma is indeed a bitch.

GET RID OF THE FNM CREW IN 2022”

One thing that I would agree with in this is, “….let us watch Minnis and Turnquest….” As is clear that this government deals with situation in a totally different manner than the government before it, but as for the “explain this one away”, what is this young man on and it is clear that he is still in the ‘dark’ as to why the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) was voted out.

What is there “to explain away”?

What I find worrisome here is that Mr. Roberts seems to be suggesting that it was silly to shut down the country in the first place but trying to give him some intellectual credit, I think he is trying to make a prima facie case as to why the PLP tanked the economy in wake of hurricanes Joaquin and Matthew but what he and others within that political organization seem to fail to realize is that a total lack of accountability by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government as it led to the monies borrowed for hurricane relief and other purposes was the main reason why that party was voted out as government. 

This lack of accountability brought great suspicion on the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government and these suspicions linger to this day as Mr. Roberts attempts to make a case for why the economy was downgraded four times under the PLP and what he must realize is that many are happy that they are not the government of the day.

Mr. Roberts seems to want to make a preemptive strike against the Minnis led administration, when he should at the very least allow to let the first  ‘shoe’ drop first, a very foolish move; I wonder who is advising this young man?

The Progressive Liberal Party continues to fail for one reason, it is their nature.

END

It is really sad and pathetic when anyone will make a statement without any supporting evidence, to further a political agenda; to me this is tantamount to ‘fear mongering’, especially in light of what should be considered good news.

“Davis is ‘relieved’ that downgrade avoided’ – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis said yesterday though he is relieved that international ratings agency Moody’s has spared The Bahamas another downgrade, he is taking a wait and see approach because the government has yet to provide a cohesive fiscal plan for the county.

Speaking to The Nassau Guardian, Davis said, ‘I am relieved by what happened.

‘I can now say that I can breathe a sigh of relief on it.

‘What I note is that a key factor will be the revision of our GDP.”

‘We have suspected all along that our economy is larger than how [it] was showing and it appears that, that position may bear more fruit when the Department of Statistics revises the status of our GDP.’

On Friday, Moody’s confirmed the country’s Baa3 rating.

However, the ratings giant has changed the country’s economic outlook from stable to negative.”

It would appear that anytime the Leader of The Opposition or anyone in his party gets caught not knowing what to say, when they really should be saying nothing at all, they resort to the language of ‘gloom and doom’,  this is amusing, because this is exactly what they had once accused the Free National Movement (FNM) of when in opposition, at which time they warned the then Christie administration of the missteps they were taking as it related to the economy, which led to four downgrades and here they are at it again as we have avoided yet another downgrade, with the possibility of at the very least, stabilizing the economic down fall brought about by the Christie administration.

In this ‘doom and gloom; language of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), the country, if the Minnis administration were to take the austerity measures which it took, which was partly the reason for the down grade being avoided, the county was supposed to have experienced another recession  but what does Davis say about these measures?

Referring to these plans announced by the Minnis administration and their impact on the Moody’s decision, Davis said, ‘I know that the report has spoken to that but what you have to look at is that those announcements that they made were not made during the budget debate.

‘And so, I have to treat that as suspect because it was always our view that the government, the way they talked down the economy, and I think this report speaks to that as well, how the government pictured our economy; and so I suspect these Moody’s people, what they have intended because of what they heard, the government than said that they are going to issue what I call these austerity measures.”

 …..What?!

It is my understanding that certain cut backs were announced [austerity measures] and carried out by the Minnis administration, as it related to attempts to stabilize the economy and as Mr. Davis admits he was fully aware of them and it would seem as if they may have a positive effect, so exactly what is he [Mr. Davis] talking about when he seems to struggles to make an issue of them not being in the Budget Communication?

Maybe former Minister of State for Finances, Michael Halkitis can shed some light on what is going on here.

“Former Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis said yesterday that the Christie administration was on the correct course with managing the country’s finances during the it’s term.

As a guest on Guardian Radio’s ‘Morning Blend’ with host Dwight Strachan, Halkitis said, ‘I believe we were on the right track.

‘Hurricane Matthew threw everything out of whack.

Before Hurricane Matthew we were headed for a [GFS] deficit of under $100 million, ‘Hurricane Mathew came in and devastated the country; devastated the economy and devastated the revenue of the government.’

The major storm ravaged parts if The Bahamas in October 2016 to the tune of an estimated $600 million, according to the Christie administration.” 

So now Mr. Halkitis brings us to another sour spot for the Christie administration as he seems to make an attempt to clear his name; that lingering question of exactly what happened to the money borrowed to aid in hurricane relief that he claims ‘devastated the economy’? 

Then there is the question; how many of these downgrades occurred between the period when Value-Added Tax (VAT) was introduced and proclaimed to be exceeding all expectations and Hurricane Matthew?

It is clear that while Mr. Davis claims relief over the country avoiding another downgrade, as he has overseen four while being Deputy Prime Minister, he also seems to attempt to make an issue out of a non-issue, while Mr. Halkitis does his best to clear his ‘good name’.

 The Progressive Liberal Party continues to fail for one reason, it is their nature.

END

In what can only be seen as the height of hypocrisy or the lows of duplicity, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) now calls for ‘justice and fair play’, after the recent arrests of several former PLP Cabinet members on charges of extortion and bribery but like former PLP member of parliament for Marathon once warned; if you touch one then you touch all, or something to that effect and personally I have no problem with this notion at all.

“PLP considering demonstration in anniversary of Sir Lynden’s death” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Senator Fred Mitchell said he party is considering holding a ‘mass gathering’ of supporters on August 26 in protest of the recent arrest and alleged ‘mistreatment’ of the former PLP parliamentarians.

‘As a result of the mistreatment of those people who are our former members of Parliament and senators, a lot of people have been asking for us to do some form of public demonstration,’ said Mitchell during a PLP branch meeting in Dundas Town, Abaco on Saturday.

‘I’m thinking that the anniversary of the death of [former Prime Minister the late] Sir Lynden Pindling comes up on the 26^th of August.  So we are thinking of having a mass gathering and a march to the mausoleum of Sir Lynden on the 26^th of August, which is a Saturday”

So now the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) seeks to, through the memory of the party’s former leader and the country’s first prime Minister, Sir Lynden Pindling, invoke some sort of sympathy in attempt to rally its base, which has all about abandoned them by calling for “Justice & Fair Play” – two things that the previous Christie administration knew nothing of; as they did what they wanted, when they wanted with no regard for the voice of the people whom they represented; only suing democracy when it benefitted them, that is at their convenience.

Senator Fred Mitchell and the rest of the Progressive Liberal Party seem to be no more than a shell of themselves; weak and frightened persons still hiding in the ‘shadow’ of Sir Lynden Pindling, afraid to stand on their own as they firmly grasping onto his coat tails in fear that they may ‘fall’ if they were to attempt to walk on their own.

It is indeed fitting that Senator Mitchell would make this announcement, the ‘mass gathering’ and all for “Justice & Fair Play” probably being his idea, one side note; wasn’t he the very same person that wished to violate the constitution of The Bahamas by revealing the private information of private citizens in the House of Assembly but then to look at his record, we must remember this is the very same man that set fire to the Constitution of The Bahamas under the fig tree outside The Supreme Court, saying “I intend to smite every enemy that dares to launch against me”, he was always one for the dramatic, in his attempt to become known at that time and to remain relevant today. 

I say that this must have been Senator’s Mitchell idea and bring up the fact that he seeks to remains relevant as there is also an announcement of the upcoming Progressive Liberal Party’s convention, October 22^nd through the 25^th.

I again ask whose agenda is Senator Mitchell fulfilling and whose interest does he serve?

END

 “Mitchell: Public service verification exercise farcical” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Senator Fred Mitchell yesterday called on the government to rethink its ‘farcical’ employee verification exercise.

Mitchell said it is ‘ridiculous and laughable’ to expect Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling, among others, to identify herself to the treasurer of The Bahamas or have their pay interrupted.

He said it is an ‘indignity’ to require ordinary Bahamians to stand in line to ‘prove who they are.”

I would just like to take the time to make a note of the fact that a  process intended to make an attempt to clean up the system and make it more effective and cost efficient is seen as ‘farcical’ by the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) senator.

As it pertains to the Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling, among others, to identify herself/themselves  to the treasurer of The Bahamas or have their pay interrupted my question is if she is being paid by the government i.e. from the public purse, why so it be an ‘indignity’ for her to verify but of course Senator Mitchell would like to paint the picture of Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling, standing on a line in the hot sun at C. R. Walker in order to comply with this new requirement of government employees but only Mr. Mitchell can paint such a picture of ‘gloom and doom’ which would be so far from the truth.

Also, the senator claims it in order for these persons to prove who they are but I dare to say that this process is about so much more than just this, but more of a process to verify that these persons who have checks going out every week and every month are actually still employed by the government and are still alive.

What is really ‘ridiculous, laughable and farcical’  is that Senator Mitchell actually took the time to come up with an argument against this process to clean up the public service pay roll, which sees money paid out, which the country can no longer afford, to persons that do not deserve it.

It is obvious that the senator seems to no longer have anything of worth to contribute to the national discourse and the forward progress of the national and should just simply walk away from it all.

Who is Senator Mitchell speaking for?

Whose concerns is he actually addressing?

Who does he represent?

One last point and yes I can get ‘dead’ petty with persons that seek to be ignorant and petty, with that being said I would just like to say I wish that I was the person to personally have to sign off on Senators Mitchell not being paid if he wishes to defy the verification requirement.

“Fred who?”

Maybe then he would really get the true appreciation of the concept of “tit-for-tat”.

END