“WARPATH – BPL union doubles down threaten PM” – The Nassau Guardian

Except from this article; “Leaders of the managerial and line staff unions at Bahamas Power and light (BPL) yesterday demanded the government intervene regarding BPL’s plans to reduce the staff complement, warning that failure to act would result in Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis returning home in darkness.

‘You are not going to be riding around in your Range Rovers to Buckingham Palace to have tea and crumpets, right, and the people are getting put out to pasture.’ Said Bahamas Electrical Workers Union President Paul Maynard at Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union headquarters at Farrington Road.

‘The prime minister is supposed to come back on Sunday.

Well, he may land in darkness.”

Let me first say that these threats by the union chief seem oddly reminiscent of past threats by another union boss wherein he had threatened to turn New Providence into a “Little Egypt”; at this time 2010-2011 the city of Egypt was experiencing extreme internal turmoil where a large number of that population demonstrated against poverty, corruption and political oppression; the question is exactly does Paul Maynard wish to achieve with these threats?

Mr. Maynard says “….a failure to act would result in Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis returning from London, England to meet New Providence in darkness.”, let me first ask the union boss is he not even considering a sit down with the prime minister after the prime minister returns before he carries out his threat of holding the people of The Bahamas hostage for services that they will still be billed for?

As the prime minister’s plane approaches the Sir. Lynden Pindling International Airport from the north to line up with the runways, the prime minister should easily be able to identify his home in this ‘darkness’ that is being ‘warned’ of, due to the fact that he has generators; my point is this and is very simple, Mr. Maynard and his cohorts, who probably also have generators also, will only be hurting and probably fall out of favor with the very same persons whose interests they claim to represent or be protecting – this tactic is an old one and has long been played out for one simple fact – because you cannot disenfranchise the very people with whom you wish to gain favor, it does not work that way in The Bahamas anymore.

It would be considered heartless not to empathize with the people being made redundant by this move to an automated system by BPL and I personally would rather deal with an actual human being while making enquires at the cooperation but it would seem that the company is progressing and making the necessary adjustments but the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union would have you believe that persons are just being thrown out onto the streets without any further consideration and this is representative of the truth as “BPL’s CEO Whitney Heastie advised, that BPL intends to offer employees ‘attractive’ voluntary severance packages (VSEP’s) and no employee will be forced out.”  

So as union boss Paul Maynard rants about the ramifications of the right sizing of the cooperation he is not be honest with the people of the country and with those that he represents when he intimates that persons will be put onto the streets and let to ‘die’ and this in verified in the story “BPL moving forward with ‘rightsizing’ despite threats” and make no mistakes these are threats that border on acts of terrorism.

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“Ministers vow poll won’t alter agenda – No ‘instant fixes’ for position govt. inherited from PLP” – The Tribune 13^th April 2018

Excerpt from this article; “ACTING Prime Minister Peter Turnquest admitted yesterday the government’s communications with the public have sometimes missed the mark and says it plans to ramp up it public relations efforts soon.

His statement came after poll results by marketing and research firm Public Domain showed fewer than 50 per cent of Bahamians say they are generally satisfied with the performance of the government.

Mr. Turnquest said the results did not make him ‘feel badly’, nor would they disrupt or prompt it to change course.

In a few years, he said, hopefully Bahamians will look back at this period and characterize it as a rebuilding phase.”

First, at this time I would like to issues a challenge to anyone, and I do mean anyone, who wishes to contradict the government’s current position of ‘no quick fix’ to counter this statement’ position with a ‘quick fix’ which would stabilize the economy and turn it around; if this has not already been done.

The government’s real problem, as per their own admission, is one of the lack of communication to the people that have elected them to these positions and this is a very serious problem because even if you are doing ‘great works’ and ‘moving mountains’ on the peoples behalf, the people would like to know what are these ‘great works’ and exactly why did you move that mountain that has been there since “King Hatchet was a Hammer”.

It is well known that in the world of politics that you must always keep people informed as to what you are doing because most will not go out and seek the information and will then tend to accept the first explanation that they get, no matter from whom or how erroneous.

It should be seen as commendable and courageous for the government to not mind the noise in the market and to stick to their beliefs if they fervently believe that they are for the betterment of the country, even in times when others around them do not see the vision and therefore, this position has brought you nothing more than grief but the only way to bridge this gap between your vision and what the people are experiencing is for  the Free National Movement (FNM) government to inform the people of its ‘great works’ because if they don’t then it goes against the very basic principles of transparency and accountability and if they are a government that wishes not to adhere to these two axiomatic principles, then they will go the way of the governments before you that thought that they did not have to be accountable and transparent with the people of the country.

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What I find utterly amazing is the fact that the official opposition, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), along with its supporters would now seek to take the words of truth spoken by a member of the Minnis administration and spin them for political gain; when in all actuality they are nothing more than a symbol of freedom of speech, a cornerstone of true democracy – apparently something not known or frowned upon in the halls of the PLP, both as a government and a political entity.

“Govt. losing creditability’ – McAlpine hits out over Oban deal” – The Nassau Guardian – 04.06.2018
“Charging that the Minnis administration appears to be in a desperate state for investment, Pineridge MP Fredrick McAlpine said yesterday that the government is losing credibility with voters over its performance, particularly its handling of the Oban Energies deal.
McAlpine urged Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis to listen to the people before it is too late.
‘The reality is we are losing creditability with voters based on our performance thus far,’ he said when called for comment.
‘That’s rough and maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but that’s the God’s honest truth.’
‘We are losing creditability with our supporters and the Bahamian people based on our performance. However we have an opportunity to fix it.”
Indeed, with free speech comes consequences and responsibilities and I am sure that the Free National Movement (FNM) member of parliament for Pineridge is fully willing to accept these consequences and responsibilities for these words and action in this instant as he seeks to represent the people who elected him to office.
With this being said, I would strongly caution the opposition for picking up this issue in the manner in which they did because it would be best for them to first be very mindful of the lack of democracy and freedom of speech within their very own political organization when a certain member of parliament thought it in the best interest of keeping his job to not represent the best interest of the persons who had trusted him enough to elect him as their member of parliament.
It is utterly amazing that they would attempt to have done this while also attempting to persuade their supporters and others that they offered an open and transparent political organization but would not allow one of their own to speak up in the best interest of the people that elected him to power and now seek to criticize one on side opposite for doing exactly this.
END

While I fully support Dr. Hubert Minnis as prime minister and as the leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), I implore him to understand that he cannot reasonably continue to send the message that the government; this or any government, will be “open and transparent” only when it is convenient for them. This is the easiest and quickest way to lose credibility and to diminish your political capital.
While the Oban issue seems to be dying down; the issue of the prime minister signing a heads of agreement, ceremonial or not with so little information being offered to the people of the country we now have this being followed by the dismissal of the chairman of the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation (AMMC), Reese Chipman; member of parliament for Centerville and Farm Road as chairman of that corporation.

“PM: I was right to sack Chipman – But Minnis won’t actually say why he swung the ax” – The Nassau Guardian; March 27, 2018.
Excerpt from this article; “While telling reporters he will not reveal some of the details surrounding Centerville MP Reese Chipman’s firing as chairman from a government corporation, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said he did what was ‘right’.
This decision he said will not hurt his relationship with Mr. Chipman who was on Saturday [24th March 2018] fired by the prime minister as chairman of the Antiquities Monuments and Museums Corporation.
‘I do what I think is right,’ Dr, Minnis said yesterday. ‘You voted for me to do a job. I told the Bahamian people that if there is any undoing or what I consider against our policies in either party be it the Progressive Liberal Party or Free National Movement, then we will deal with it appropriately. We (are) dealing with society.”
While the prime minister suggests here that he has given ‘some details surrounding’ the termination of Mr. Chipman from the corporation, the truth is that to date and to my knowledge, no details have been given by the prime minister or his office as it relates to the details surrounding this issue. This one point then makes the entire firing ‘ripe’ for supposition and speculation by those that wish to create discord within the government for many reason but the main one being that it would seem to contradict the campaign promise of “an open and transparent government”, this has a lot of people who wish well of this prime minister and this government somewhat concerned as they see the present prime minister following in the footsteps of his predecessor; the “Hon.” Perry Christie.
Yes indeed, we did vote for you to do a job and in doing so you promised to set a new standard; which should have been the norm and which it seems that you presently have been attempting to do but you cannot not without telling the people that you work for as to why do did what you did. The prime minister say that this firing will not hurt his relationship with Mr. Chipman but will the lack of information to the public, as to what brought about this action hurt his credibility with his supporters?
I will close as I opened, while I fully support Dr. Hubert Minnis as prime minister and leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), I implore him to understand that he cannot reasonably continue to send the message that the government will be “open and transparent” only when it is convenient for them; we had a government that tried this and we can see what happened to them
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To my ‘woke’ countrymen, I ask that you please enlighten me as to how the Oban deal is binding, no matter what a foreigner is suggested as suggesting; but is this what he is really suggesting?

“Ceremonial Signing is Binding” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article; “OBAN Energies President Satpal Dhunna has said Peter Krieger, he company’s non-executive chairman, signed a heads of agreement with the Bahamas government during a ‘ceremonial’ at the Office of the Prime Minister three weeks ago, because he, Dhunna, could not make it.

In a March 7 letter addressed to the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Dhunna said he signed ‘the original counterparts’ of the heads of agreement ‘for and on behalf of Oban Energies’ in Nassau prior to his return to London.

‘As I am unable to return for the ceremonial signing scheduled for February 19, 2018, Peter Krieger, non-executive chairman, attended under the consent of Oban Energies, including but not limited to its members, the ceremonial signing for and behalf of Oban Energies LLC’, Mr. Dhunna’s letter notes.

‘Oban Energies…hereby considers itself bound by the head of agreement and is fully committed to progressing the project in accordance therewith.”

So he could not make himself available for the ceremonial signing of a possible multibillion dollar deal and note the use of the word; possible because as the agreement is currently drafted nothing has been finalized yet to the best of my knowledge, no matter what is who has what to say; I do stand to be corrected but as the president of Oban states “Oban Energies…hereby considers itself bound by the heads of agreement and is fully committed to progressing the project in accordance therewith” exactly what does this mean?

“According to the heads of agreement, once Oban has completed the EIA [environmental impact assessment], the government, upon receipt of it, has 60 days to offer feedback”,  it is true that the government cannot cancel the deal but could this possibly mean that the project could not proceed without the government’s approval upon the successful submittal of an adequate environmental impact assessment report?  If this is what this means then those that would suggest that the ‘deal is sealed’ are being less than honest with the people of the country, simple.

I do have concerns about the project and the first question that I would like to ask of Prime Minister, the Hon. Hubert Minnis is if the two previous prime ministers, in the Hon. Hubert Ingraham and the Hon. Perry Christie, by my research, turned this deal down for various reasons; what makes him feel that he has the ‘magic touch’ to actually make this deal a success, I am sure he will address this point when he gives his contribution in the House of Assembly and addresses this matter.

We patiently or impatiently wait.

END

“Darville: Oban HOA cause for concern – Govt. can’t terminate agreement based on impact report” – The Nassau Guardian”

Excerpt from this article; “Former Minister of Grand Bahama Dr. Michael Darville said yesterday that he has ‘great concern’ with certain provisions contained in a heads of agreement the government signed with Oban Energies to build a multibillion dollar refinery on Grand Bahama.

Darville, who served under the Christie administration, which agreed to the project in principle, said that fact that the agreement was signed without an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a major issue.

According to the heads of agreement, which was tabled in the House of Assembly on Thursday night, ‘the government shall not have the right to terminate these heads of agreement based upon any EIA reports, but instead shall work with the developer to mitigate any concerns.’

I have great concerns about it,’ he said regarding that clause.”

Beside to point out the fact that many do not really care about the opinion of Dr. Darville on this matter and many other matters, I would also like to point out that Senator Darville’s comments seem to serve to do nothing more than to mislead the public at this point, as they are incomplete but then this can also be associated with the incomplete thought process associated with many in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP); as a political organization and as a government.

For some reason or the other, Dr. Darville, wishes to mislead the public into thinking that the heads of agreement, as signed, will lock the government into an undesirable deal no matter the outcome of an impact assessment report but is this really so?

“According to the heads of agreement, once Oban has completed the EIA, the government, upon receipt of it has 60 days to offer feedback.

That clause also notes that Oban as the right to abandon the project.

‘If, as a result of the government’s review of an EIA, the government determines that the relevant portion of the development (as proposed to be constructed) cannot be implemented in a environmentally safe and sustainable manner, then the government shall propose that the developer take additional specific precautions or make specific modifications to the proposed development in order to address the government’s specific concerns,’ the agreement said.”.  I take this to mean that the developer cannot go ahead with the project until it has met the required standards as set by the government after they [the government] has scrutinized the pending EIA, if this is the case then why is Dr. Darville running down the streets with talks of the possibility of the sky falling?

Darville then goes on to say; “I would not have signed the heads of agreement without an environmental impact assessment to ensure that the project would be viable and safely protocols necessary to protect our environment in that sensitive area were in place.”   The problem that I have with this statement by the ‘good’ Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) senator and former minister of Grand Bahama is that if the project was approved in principle under the previous administration, then why is this Free National Movement (FNM) administration in the process of having to await one?  Surely the previous administration would have had one being put together, since this is the way that they did business and was not about putting the ‘cart before the horse’.

Surely there is something very suspicious about the comments of Senator Dr. Michael Darville and I find it amazing that with all of the other legitimate issues of concern that can and should be raised over this project by Senator Darville; as an opposition senator and resident of Grand Bahama, he would choose one that is moot before it is even spoken – is he this incompetent?

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It is extremely amazing that Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Member of Parliament for Ragged Island and Exuma and shadow minister of finance, would label the Free National Movement government’s mid-year budget report as ‘voodoo economics’, especially when the economy has shown signs of stabilization and actual improvement; something that never occurred under the previous PLP administration.

“PLP: Mid-year budget is voodoo economics” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Labeling the government’s mid-year budget communication, which boasted increased GDP growth and decreased spending, as ‘voodoo economics’, the official opposition yesterday called on the Minnis administration to substantiate its fiscal claims about the Bahamas economy.

In the Minority Room of the House of Assembly, Shadow Minister of Finance and Deputy Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chester Cooper described Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest’s mid-term budget communication as ‘prettying up the books’ without providing the ‘underlying realities’.

The mid-year budget communication today by the honorable minister of finance demonstrates what we have been saying all along; this government has no vision and no strategy for managing and growing the economy.’ said Cooper alongside his parliamentary colleagues.

‘We heard nothing new.  We heard nothing that inspires confidence.’

‘Without fail, the minister of finance presents figures distorted by caveats and double speak to try

knit together something coherent that tries to make the government look good.

‘However, we see it for what it is – more voodoo economics from a government that promises much but delivers little.”

First, allow me to say that nobody ever promised as much as the Hon. Perry Christie and was unable to deliver now with that being said, if the facts are as presented with “….the country’s fiscal position has improved compared to the same midpoint last year, most notably the GSF deficit for the first six months of this fiscal year totaling $198 million, down from the $290.3 million deficit under the previous administration at the midpoint of the 2016/2017 fiscal year”, then either the shadow minister wishes the public to deny the facts (numbers) or he himself is lost in a mist of his party’s “Gold Voodoo Mist”, this is all be revealed during the actual debate.

Also to be noted here is that if these figures are indeed true and the economy is indeed improving , then the Progressive Liberal Party’s assertion that the Free National Movement has no plan is embarrassing, as they [the FNM] has been able to do without a plan that which the PLP could not do with a plan.

What is sad here is the shadow minister would actually state for the record; “…we have heard nothing new.  We heard nothing that inspires confidence”, the fact of the matter is that if what has been going on in the country, as it relates to the country’s economy, does not inspire confidence within Mr. Cooper and his team then it is as former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham once said, “What is good for the country is bad for the PLP”.

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

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I find it beyond difficult to find the exact words to describe the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) under the leadership of the Hon. Philip ‘Brave’ Davis.  The idiocy of his statements makes one cringe in despair, as we see an “intelligent” individual display the intellect of a pure idiot.  This may seem a bit harsh but it is all that I can seem to muster at this point as I attempt to be as diplomatic as possible about his statements since becoming the leader of that ‘great’ political organization and if they [the PLP] are to be a force to reckon with or just an organization to make a valuable contribution to the progress of The Bahamas in the future, they simply cannot do it with the present party leader at the helm.

“Davis critical of labor initiative, but Foulkes says govt. won’t be distracted” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis yesterday branded as a shameless public relations exercise a job registration event hosted by the Department of Labor in Grand Bahama on Saturday.

However, Minister of Labor Dion Foulkes said thousands of Bahamians remain jobless as a result of the PLP’s shameless mismanagement in government, and the Minnis administration is preparing Grand Bahama for many jobs that will become available.

Foulkes said the ‘Labor On the Blocks’ initiative has led to 800 jobs for Bahamians on New Providence and a ‘number’ of Grand Bahama residents were hired on the spot on Saturday.

The minister said that about 1,300 job seekers were added to the department’s labor database on Grand Bahama as a result of Saturday’s event.

‘The database is most important as significant number of job opportunities are set for Grand Bahama in the near future,’ Foulkes said.”

Now it would appear that job creation by the Free National Movement (FNM) government is nothing more than a “shameless public relations exercise”, even after 800 plus persons gained employment which, I guess, cannot compare to the party-type atmosphere of the Progressive Liberal Party’s version of job creation, also known as Junkanoo-Carnival; which took millions out of the country’s coffers only to produce several hundred short term jobs; if that, short terms jobs which produced a very minuscule or very limited boost to the economy, if any at all, this is the very definition of “shameless”.

It would appear that the opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) does not know what to say or do as the government seems to be actually delivering on its promises and the only thing that they [the PLP] an do at this point, to their own determent, is to pick at very little things and attempt to make them issues but as I have said before it seems as if no one is actually listening.

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

END

Normally a member of an organization is advised to praise in public but criticize in private, this is why Fredrick McAlpine, Member of Parliament for Pineridge, has been so heavily criticized by supporters of the Free National Movement(FNM) and being praised by members of the opposition but sometimes when the message is not getting through you have to say what you have to say publicly, even if your voice breaks and the opposition should not really praise what it being said as it exposes them for the duplicitous, hypocrites that they are.

The message that the Pineridge Member of Parliament delivered was simple and axiomatic but yet necessary; which was that the governing Free National Movement (FNM) will not succeed if it is perceived to be doing the very same things that the opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) did when it was the government, which actually got them thrown out of office and essentially this was forgetting their purpose of serving the people and thereby allowing power, arrogance and avarice to take hold of them.

“McAlpine chides FNM for House antics” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Pointing to House Speaker Halson Moultrie’s controversial speech in the House on February 7, Pineridge MP Fredrick McAlpine said yesterday that he was ‘frustrated’ and concerned that ‘honorable man and women’ in the House would ‘display such dishonorable conduct.’

During his speech, Moultrie attacked Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis, former Chief Clerk of the House Maurice Tynes, and PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell.

McAlpine was one of six government MP’s to contribute to debate on a motion of no confidence in the Speaker tabled by Davis.  That motion was later amended by Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells and put forth as a motion of confidence in the speaker.

While he agreed with the opposition’s plight, McAlpine said he could not support the no confidence vote.”

There are several things that can be taken from McAlpine’s contribution; one being that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) represents poor governance and is not an example to emulate, because to follow in their footsteps would be to your detriment and two; that persons within the party [PLP] who reference his comments as discord within the Free National Movement (FNM) government, seem willing to admit to their approval of the PLP as a government.

So now we have a desperate Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) party frantically attempting to get its message out and to be heard, so frantic that they do not seem to realize that the actual message given by the Pineridge member of parliament was/is not to be like the former government, who still has ‘key’ members in place who the country held responsible for bringing the country to its breaking point; surely you cannot or should not use these people to spread your ‘new’ message.

They, as the oldest political organization in the country, just do not seem to be too bright because even the ‘dumb’ among us would realize that as they launch the latest attack on the governing FNM, they are also attacking themselves.

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

END

It has become my most fervent belief that the current move by the opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in their attempt to bring a vote of no confidence against the Speaker of The House of Assembly, Halson Moultrie is to serve two purposes; one, to make it appear as if he opposition is holding the government’s feet to the fire and two; more importantly, to highlight and label the comments of the speaker as being misogynistic  and thereby label anyone that supports him, his parliamentary colleagues, as such if they do not support their motion, the only problem that they have is that no one is listening to them anymore.

“Davis seeks to remove Moultrie – PLP leader set to move no confidence motion; PLP Chairman calls for supporters to assemble at Parliament” – The Nassau Guardian – 12^th February 2018

Excerpt from this article; “Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis has written to House of Assembly Acting Clerk David Forbes indicating that he or another member of the opposition will seek to move a vote of no confidence in House Speaker Halson Moultrie because he is not fit to hold that office.

The letter is the latest in a battle between the speaker and the opposition after he suspended all four PLP MP’s.”

This move can only serve one of these two purposes because there is very little that the opposition can do, in way of bringing about the removal of Moultrie though a vote of no confidence if there are only four of them in the House of Assembly, while the government controls the other twenty eight (28) seats.

It is amusing, because at any other time a move like this would be seen as smart politics but at this time when nobody is listening to you, it makes no sense and is more like going into the wilderness and screaming out in hopes that someone would hear you; it makes no sense but seems to be exactly what the Progressive Liberal Party is prepared to do, as this is essentially what they have been about of late, actions and words that make no sense.

So we sit one day before the opposition wishes to make this ‘bold’ move, and maybe they are at this very moment attempting to convince members of the governing party to follow them down this path but I think they will have a long wait because as I have said, most of the country no longer listens to them anymore.

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

END