“2018 murder count lowest in nine years” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “With 90 murders recorded in 2018, The Bahamas has seen the lowest murder count since the 85 reported in 2009.

Murders decreased by 26 percent in 2018 compared to 2017 when there were 122 murders.

Police reported last year that while rape increased by 12 percent, murders, shootings, armed robberies and stolen vehicles saw  significant decreases compared to 2017.

Minister of National Security Marvin Dames attributed the decrease to the police force’s adjustment of operational strategies.

During the budget debate last June, Dames said when the Free National Movement came to office Bahamians were tired of high murder rates and ‘demanded that this administration get to work.’

‘We did’, he said. ‘We initiated and executed our short, medium and long term goals in our crime plan.  And while we are certainly not resting on our laurels, we are making inroads in reducing crimes.”

First allow me to say that it is never a good idea to make crime a political issue, because it entails much more than the legislators and the police but it also involves the people at large, but at the same time to not acknowledge that maybe that something positive may have been done is very disingenuous; because if the crime rate had escalated beyond the statistics of the previous years many, if not all of us,  would look to the government to shoulder the blame.

There are many amongst us that would say that to ‘celebrate’ a low murder rate is a poor barometer of the state of a country but while I really do believe that anyone is ‘celebrating’; as the Minister for National Security suggests, we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do, there must be some acknowledgment that maybe the Ministry of National Security, along with the Royal Bahamas Police Force and all other branches of national security are indeed making some progress and should be encouraged in their efforts if they are not going to be commended.

END

 

First let me give a definition of “undeliverable mail” for all the persons who seem to either not understand the term or wish to mislead others who do not understand the term.

“Undeliverable Mail” is usually mail that CANNOT be delivered because of incorrect or incomplete addresses or just illegible addresses.  This mail, being deemed undeliverable, if it cannot not be returned to sender because  of no return address then becomes property of the Post Office and is usually labeled ‘dead mail’ and stored away.

“Minister confirms undeliverable mail was shredded” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Minister of Transport and Local Government Renward Wells confirmed that the postmaster general authorized the shredding of undeliverable last month.

‘Customers can be assured that the post office department takes the security and delivery of mail very seriously and that operations remain within the ambit off the law.’ Wells said in a statement.

‘To assist our efforts, all customers are encouraged to clear their private boxes regularly’

‘The Minister of Transport and Local Government has resolved that the standard of the post office will be restored to one that will regain respect of our international partners.’

He said the last deliberate destruction of undeliverable mail occurred on November 1 and 2.”

So what has been going in is a return to normal procedure but if this is the case then what is the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Member of Parliament for Englerston complaining about?

It would appear that former Minister and Aviation; Ms. Hanna-Martin, was alerted to claims of mass shredding that was taking place at the General Post Office and instead of taking the matter to the police to report the ‘illegal act’, she [Mr. Hanna-Martin] found it more prudent to raise the matter in the House of Assembly and I ask her and others that should be more aware of what is going on; how are you not embarrassed all the time as you lose your personal credibility when you offer such foolishness as grand malfeasances by the current Free National Movement (FNM) government and it turns out to be nothing out of the ordinary at all?  Is your reputation really worth that little to you?

Surely there must come a time when you feel some sort of shame about yourself but is seems that each and every time the people have thought that they have heard the last stupid statement from Her Majesty’s Royal Opposition; they double down and out do themselves and attempt to deliver them another undeliverable message.

THE END

 

This week has been primarily dominated by comments made by the prime minister when he suggested that he was not very concerned about a national strike threat.

“PM dismisses nat’t strike threat” – The Nassau Guardian – 05.12.2018

Excerpt from this article; “Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said yesterday he is not concerned about any threat of a national strike, but more concerned about how the Saxon Superstars will perform in the approaching Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade.”  Even after it was suggested that these comments were taken out of context by a seasoned news reporter, the feeding frenzy continued.

It was my opinion that these comments, in their proper context, suggested that the prime minister was and is confident that the matters were being competently dealt with by those responsible for their resolution but what I find truly interesting is while is while most found this issue to actually be ran issue, there does not seem to be the same ‘appropriate’ outcry over issues which actually seem to be more important and pressing, in my opinion.

“Cameras broken at murder scene” – The Tribune NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames said yesterday law enforcement will ‘go vigorously’ after those responsible for the two double homicides that occurred in the capital this week.  As Monday’s shooting occurred at Sandilands Rehabilitation Center, Mr. Dames also said he is working with a team to create a ‘robust policy’ to improve security at ‘all government properties’.

Mr. Dames also confirmed that Sandilands’ surveillance cameras were not working at the time of Monday’s incident.  He made the remarks yesterday following a graduation ceremony for inmates at [The] Bahamas of Correctional Services.  On Monday morning, Neil Deveaux and Ashlee Hilton were ambushed in their car as they attempted to leave Sandilands following a physical therapy session for Deveaux, who was shot several months ago.”

So let me just ask, if the CCTV system is outside the very gates of The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services are “not working” or were not at the time of this incident; then realistically what are my expectations in the rest of the system being operational?  While these may not save the lives of the two persons killed in this incident this should be a very real concern for all of us but yet we rather rant and rage about the prime minister not being overly concerned over labour disputes which are being addressed.

We as a nation are not really serious.

THE END

“McAlpine: I put country first – Always” – the Tribune

Excerpt from this story; “AS HE slammed Free National Movement Chairman Carl Culmer for calling him a hypocrite, Pineridge MP Fredrick McAlpine yesterday suggested the FNM chair was not a real leader.

Mr. Culmer made the remark about the FNM backbencher last week as he deemed Wednesday’s march outside Parliament a failure organized by the Progressive Liberal Party.

Despite siding with protesters who demonstrated against the Minnis administration, Mr. McAlpine insisted he was not a hypocrite or anti-FN but said the party does need a ‘come to Jesus moment’ having faced two protests in less than six months.”

I have had conversation with the Hon. McAlpine and we have made peace and I refuse to attack or bash him because of his view but I would like to ask him exactly what does he mean when he says, “I put country first – always”?

For some putting country first seems to mean to bring immediate relief to the persons of that country or to do whatever it takes to bring about this relief and is what most person expect of a government when they vote them in; especially in the manner in which the current Free National Movement government was voted in.

For others, putting country first means setting long terms goals for the country so that in the future the country will have a solid foundation on which to build and grow and NO the previous  Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government did not leave one in place, so I do not what to hear them carry on with that again.

Both of these views have their potential merits and both have their potential pitfalls.

If one were to bring immediate relief to the masses no matter what, given the state the country has been in, then one must ask at what cost?  How does one achieve such a lofty goal and if one looks to take the second route, then how much can the people actually  bear in the attempt to achieve long terms goals for the betterment of the country?

It would be foolish and irresponsible to accept any and everything that any government does or says without question but as you question, at the same time you must be willing and able to offer viable solutions and take the ‘heat’ for your criticism; well within reason.

I have not been pleased with everything that this government has done to date but as I criticize them, I at the very least offer a solution.

Today, the Free National Movement (FNM) member of parliament for Pineridge gets into a spat over what is hypocritical as it pertains to the direction in which the governing Free National Movement is taking the country and my opinion is exactly how does one define ‘country first’?

“Country First” like the phase “Nationalist” basically off the very same concept, are both catchy terms but how do you define each in the best interest of any nation because no matter which direction you take to improve the lives of the of the people of The Bahamas through true change, someone will be dissatisfied and/or made to ‘suffer’.

END

 

“No relief from power bills – More expensive fuel to blame” – The Nassau Guardian 05.11.2018

Excerpt from this article; “Consumers who have seen their Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) bills spike in recent months might not get any relief for months as the electricity company continues to grapple with generation issues stemming from a fire that impacted two of the Clifton Pier power station’s largest engines in September.

Chairman of BPL Dr. Donovan Moxey said BPL is working on securing additional assets to compensate for the loss of those engines, but said that might not happen until next summer.

‘The spike in the cost of electricity is due to a number of factors,’ he said during a press conference on Friday at BPL’s Tucker Road headquarters.

‘First of all, we lost some critical assets at Clifton Pier, about 60 – 70 megawatts that was used to generate electricity for New Providence, given the fire that we had.

‘This particular generation assets were running on heavy fuel oil (HFO), which is the least expensive of the fuels that we use to generate electricity.’

‘We had to shift that load to Blue Hills (power plant).  Blue Hills runs on mostly on ADO, automotive diesel oil, which is much more expensive than HFO.’

‘So, when we lost those assets at Clifton and we had to shift our load to Blue Hills, we ended up utilizing the more expensive fuel, and right now our fuel mixture is 70 percent ADO, 30 percent HFO.’

‘So that’s what caused that inherent spike in the cost of electricity”

“The spike in cost of electricity is due to  number of factors”  and still waiting to hear which one these factors makes the public at large liable for the increased cost in the generation of power.

I had a calming down period to undergo as I experienced what could be described as a period of ‘rage and violence’ when I first read this article and the reasoning behind the increase in power costs and would like to first say that I find the actions by Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) and the government allowing it actually happen simply unconscionable; especially with the present state of the economy.

Indulge me in a simple analogy of this situation to highlight my position.

If I am own a car service and have an arrangement with a client to pick them up from a certain location and take them back there for a prearranged fee; I then cannot go demand compensation from them if my car has broken down and I have to rent another car to fulfill my obligations and this is exactly how I see the present situation with BPL.

How can they reasonably expect for the consumers to pay higher fates plus VAT due to mechanical issues that they have encountered?  These concerns are noted by me but really are not my financial concerns as I have already have an agreement with the power company to supply me power at a set rate.  The only way that I can reasonably engage the power company when considering a power rate increase would be if or when the price of fuel rises on the global market and we have already seen that they are NOT interested in this conversation because when oil prices fall, the rate of electricity still remains constant; well they have never done it to my recollection.

What I find seriously unjust about what is going on here is the fact that Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) has passed these costs onto  it consumers with the blessing of the Utilities Regulations & Competition Authority (URCA ) a state owned organization, instead of taking the lost of for faulty or malfunctioning equipment; it is fact that this now increases hardship on the average person who now is even more pressed when making the decision between lights and food and it also discourages economic growth as some employers will now be forced to cut back, not hire and even having some small businesses who are at this very time just breaking even to probably go out of business.

It is my opinion that this more by BPL only serves to negatively impact the country at large

END

 

 

Even as I may be greatly criticized for what is termed as unfair commentary against the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) because they are not the government; I feel compelled to address them just based on their blatant hypocrisy and duplicity.

“Christie urges Brave t lean on PLP’s” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Former Prime Minister Perry Christie urged Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis to ‘not fall victim’ to a narrative that will be created to defeat him.

“You play your role in this democracy,’ Christie told Davis while speaking in front of a crowd of party supporters at former PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts’s memorial at PLP headquarters on Wednesday.

‘You continue to play your role in this democracy, pushing forward making the sacrifice you are making, and relying on the goodwill and strength and conviction of these people.”

What I find amazing is the constant use of the word of democracy by the former leader of the Progressive Liberal Party, as he encourages the present leader to stay the course of democracy in the party when both of these men played a part in stifling democracy not just in the country but in their very own political organization.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) held its first party convention in over 2016, with the last one before that being held in 2009 and this is in spite of the fact that the party’s constitution calls for a convention very year.

Now, as Brave takes over and is encouraged to carry on with the works of democracy in the party; they [the Progressive Liberal Party] have held two conventions since being defeated in 2017, this would be in keeping with their new found convictions but their upcoming convention; which would continue these democratic works, has been out on pause due to ‘financial’ considerations.

Maybe this reason is plausible maybe not but you as already proven that you have a real struggle with democracy, even though this is one of the principles of governance in The Bahamas which was brought to Independence by the Progressive Liberal Party itself. 

This have been proven when you were a government by the way that you governed the country and by the way that you run your very own political organization, so the use of the word “democracy” by anyone in the present Progressive Liberal Party, especially those that Aare a part of the ‘old guard’ demonstrates the improper use of this word.

END

 

 

 

 

“Don’t be fooled, ‘prove your status’ makes us all Jean Rony” – Insight ‘The Tribune

Excerpt from this article; “The Social Media frenzy about the identity of Jena Rony Jean-Charles for him to ‘prove who he is’ promotes a serious threat to the presumption of innocence in The Bahamas.  Targeting Jean Rony puts everyone’s freedom and presumption of innocence at stake.  We are all potential Jean Ronys.

Jean Rony has committed no immigration nor other offence known to law.  Like most of us, he was “born” in The Bahamas and was exercising his constitutional right to move freely when he was falsely, illegally detained and expelled from the country.

This is a result of Fred Mitchell’s 2014 ‘Prove your status’ and ‘produce your papers’ upon demand policy.  Jean Rony was thereby presumed to be guilty of no known offense under the law.  Because Fred Mitchell (PLP) and now continuing with Brent Symonette (FNM), he was merely by policy, deemed born with original sin.

It can and will happen to any of us.”

First, let us dispel with the notion that Jean Rony Jean-Charles has committed no immigration nor other offense known to law; first he did not by our current immigration laws, apply for citizenship when he had reached the age of eighteen and thereby violated the spirit of not only the constitution but also immigration policy; the play with semantics now by Fred Smith only serves to further the divide with persons whom held some sort of empathy for his client as he now seeks to apply for citizenship.

As Jean-Rony applies for citizenship, a matter that should not be addressed until the whole issue of who he really is is cleared up, we must look at the fact that not only did Jean Rony attempt to perpetuate a fraud on the country by not applying for citizenship thereby living without the responsibility of being a contributing citizen; there is also the issue of him being in the criminal system when he himself admitted to being arrested for possession of marijuana, fined and jailed for a month, while seeking to claim he has violated “no immigration nor other offense”.  While this may be seen as a very minor offence, it should be considered when considering citizenship as now we already have a man lying to conceal two criminal acts.

No, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis nor Fred Mitchell or even myself do not need to prove that we are the persons that they are on our birth certificates because we all have documents in support of who were are; when arrested, detained and deported Mr. Jean Rony seemed unable to produce any documents attesting to who to exactly who he is and it seems to date that he is even unable to.

The recent attack by Fred Smith QC is nothing more than a ‘smoke screen’, in my opinion as he attempt to invoke the distain that American had for the “Papers Please” law of Arizona back in 2010 and I would ask him did this practice just become ‘wrong’ as his client’s future came to be in jeopardy due to the ‘shell-game’ which he attempted to play with the government and lost?

As Fred Smith seeks to further erode the sovereignty of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas with his asinine ‘hit and miss’ commentary’’ I would enquire of him how is he seeking to now help his client while playing this high stake chess game.

END

People keep asking for the Free National Movement (FNM) to stop using the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) past performance or lack there off in office as an “excuse” to rationalize what the present government is doing but then the Progressive Liberal Party turns right around makes statements which are not familiar to or even closely acquainted with to the truth and I feel it is totally necessary to remind them of their past malfeasances that they perpetrated upon the people of The Bahamas.

“Darville hits out over proposed NHI tax”- The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Progressive Liberal Party Senator Dr. Michael Darville has said the proposed two percent tax to fund National Health Insurance (NHI) would be an additional burden on the Bahamian people given the country’s economic state.

According to a policy paper released by the National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA) this week, employees would pay two percent of their salary to a maximum of $42 per month, with the employer paying the reminder premium.

The revamped NHI would cost taxpayers $100 million a year, according to Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands.

In an interview with The Guardian, Darville said the Minnis administration should have followed the blueprint left by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) administration with regard to NHI.”

As I slowly raise my hand to ask the most obvious question – ‘Exactly what plan do you refer to Senator Darville?’ I also ask for him to please not insult the intelligence of the Bahamian people; just stop it and keep this in the halls of the Progressive Liberal Party headquarters where it seems to be acceptable.

Further exception from this article; “The Christie administration introduced the enrollment and primary care phase of NHI in 2017.

It did so with no public insurer and no means of funding the program.

Back in February 2015, the opposition leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said his party will not support taxing Bahamians to fund NHI.

Pointing to these comments, Dr. Darville said ‘It’s very much [hypocritical].  What you are seeing now is pretty much the exact same blueprint the Progressive Liberal Party left behind, excerpt for the modality for payment and the fact that we made it empathically clear that we would not initiate a tax on the Bahamian people until we felt confident the economy could sustain it.”

Exactly what you saying here Senator Darville?

As I need clarification.

Senator Darville you state that “…..the Minnis administration should have followed the blueprint left by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) administration with regards to NHI” but then go on to say; “what you are seeing now is pretty much the exact same blueprint the Progressive Liberal Party left behind except for the modality of payment….” First is it the same model or not and also Senator Darville no one in the previous Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government has ever said exactly how NHI would be funded, so there was no model of funding to follow although there was the intimation that there would have been a tax to fund the program in the original bill as introduced and passed by a Progressive Liberal Party government and then there is this curious and odd statement “…..until we [the Progressive Liberal Party] felt confident that the economy could sustain it [a tax to fund NHI” and I wonder exactly when that would have been because after four economic downgrades and the country slowly slipping toward a fourth, it did not seem that it would have been anytime soon under a Progressive Liberal Party government.

The Progressive Liberal Party government introduced the National Health Insurance plan in May of 2017 and at that time had no plan to fund it.  The Free National Movement (FNM) party came to power and continued to implement the program by upgrading medical facilities throughout the country and introducing the National Prescription Program.  The PLP then came back to power and from 2012-2017 did little to nothing to further advance NHI much less seek a way to fund the program but now Dr. Darville seeks to misguide with talks about a plan that he and his government had left in place.

In my opinion, the truth is that, the former Progressive Liberal Party administration never had a plan to fund the program beside taxation; they were just unable to given the way they ran the country’s economy but now they seek to demonize others for attempting to bring to fruition something that they were too lazy or too inept to bring about but will undoubtedly then seek to take full credit for when it is actually up and running.

In closing I would just like to say, it would have been advantageous for the previous Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) administration to have left a plan in place to fund this highly touted and anticipated initiative but unfortunately they did not.  Also, although as this tax has not been finalized, as the government is still in a period of consultation, the rumors of a tax so close to the increase of the VAT rate only serves the opposition message of “the war on the poor”

By the way, who contacted Senator Darville for serious and honest commentary on this subject in the first place?

THE END

It would seem that twice in one week the Bahamas Christian Council (BBC) has overstepped its bounds and gotten involved into areas the politics of the country which should not concern them, when or especially they seem to be failing at their very own role in society.

“You told us that you were broke” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “The government’s decision to buy the Grand Lucayan hotel for &65 million has reignited concerns regarding whether the 60 percent value-added tax (VAT) hike was necessary to dig the country out of debt as indicated by the government, Bahamas Christian Council President Delton Fernander said.

‘What I believe has happened in the short term is the message has been challenging,’ Fernander said.

‘You told us that we were broke,’ he continued, referring to the Minnis administration.

‘You told us about austerity measures, but yet we spend a tremendous amount of money, albeit to save our economy as is being purported.  But we are challenged now to stop and think: Was this to settle debt when taxes were raised or to put money in the kitty so that we could have it to spend?”

Bishop Fernander exactly what it that “they” who sent you want you to say?  I mean that you want to say here?

You indicate that you understand the austerity measures put in place and the purchase of the resort to ‘save the economy’ but at the last moment you pull back on that understanding, leaving others to wonder if you understand and believe the message that you have been sent to deliver, I mean which you wish to convey.

Earlier this week to sought to chastise the government for not assisting the nation of Haiti at this time but have yet to outline what the Christian community [Bahamas Christian Council] and the Church is doing to help and now again you seek to chastise the government but at this time the message given to you; I mean your message is unclear.

There seems to be an attempt to question where the money is coming from if the VAT rate was increased to service the national debt which would be a valid question if the BCC had not been caught asking the government to financially contribute to the efforts to aid the nation Haiti and this question that you seem to want to ask totally contradicts the question of was the tax hike necessary to help the country get out of debt. 

Do you need a moment to check with ‘the sender’ so that you may clarify your message?

As I end, I will return to the responsibility of the Church in society as I quote Mark 16:15; “Go ye into the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”, even if there are those among us that reject the Christian faith; wouldn’t it be your responsibility to at the very least show the benefits of living in harmony, while showing love and peace toward one another?

END

As the leader of the opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Philip ‘Brave’ Davis objects to term limits for the prime minister post, the Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), Senator Fred Mitchell announces the party’s upcoming convention for the PLP as the party seems to seek to change it public perception/image by making it seem to be democratic.

“PLP convention set for November” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis yesterday confirmed the party will host a convention ‘before the end of this year’ in alignment with the party’s constitution.

Davis said the details are expected to be discussed at the party’s leadership council this week, but PLP chairman Senator Fred Mitchell told The Guardian that the PLP will host a convention November 14-16 with all leadership positions up for grab”.

 

It is interesting that a political organization that held a convention in January 2017, months before the 2017 general election, its first convention since 2009, now seeks to have a convention almost every six months in order to seem democratic, while conceding to operating in an undemocratic manner for over eight years. 

What is more interesting is the fact that the people who seek to control this new and strange activity in the party are the very ones that were present the entire time as they violated their very own constitution; violating the rights of members of the party but isn’t this the very reason as to why the leader of the opposition objects to term limits for the office of the prime minister; “To legislate term limits may well be depriving the citizens of what they desire?”

Really, how do you now as the most undemocratic political organization in the country, now seek to pull the veil of democracy out at your convenience? 

We do not buy it.

So there we have it, a tale of a political organization which now attempts to dabble in democracy after having deprived its very own elected and paying members of their constitutional right to choose its leaders for years. 

As the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) sets yet another convention date, proclaiming “all leadership positions up for grabs”, many still wonder about the democracy of this process where the stalwarts far outnumber the delegates.

END