Columns : Letters to The Editor
Jeff Lloyd: Government Failure to Pay Reserve Teachers - Jan 2, 2017 - 12:39:48 PM

It saddens me to learn that nearly 200 educators in our country have gone without pay for several months. Teachers form a necessary foundation in our youth that becomes the bedrock of our society.

Without the sacrifices of these men and women who left retirement to come back to a profession many have devoted their entire life to, many of our young people would be subject to impossible learning situations. How have we repaid them? We have shouted from the tops of our lungs that they simply do not matter. We have expressed to them that we care more about Christmas decorations, and explicit dance parties than we do about them...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Solomon's Rule - Dec 10, 2016 - 2:25:28 PM


Dear Editor,

Excluding the Lord Jesus Christ, the biblical King Solomon is considered to be the wisest man who ever lived.

Solomon once faced the daunting task of determining which of two prostitutes was the true mother of a child that both claimed to be the mother of.

Solomon was able to determine the true mother by identifying the one who had genuine concern for the welfare of the child.

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Leadership – Don’t Let The Good Ones Down - Dec 3, 2016 - 11:18:50 AM

Leadership is hard. Leadership pulls and tests and many times hurts in ways those not in that position can never understand. Leaders are put on unreasonable pedestals and then quickly torn down from them at the first sign of weakness or humanity. We all have our grand opinions about what a leader should be and do, but have no idea what being in that position really entails. We are all experts in leadership though most of us have never seen the calling or office, and do not want it unless we believe it will give us power we are not fit to have. If you have a TRULY good leader (not 'good' by our warped standards of 'what is in it for me'), fight for him or her the way he or she fights for you. One of the reasons we have so many bad leaders is we keep letting the good ones down, and we let them get consumed either by our own personal issues or by the system. The bad leaders stick around and keep getting to the top because they are part of the system and their lust for power won't let them let go. If we keep blocking and failing the good ones, we will only be left and stuck with the bad ones...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Why I will NOT march - Nov 23, 2016 - 3:59:40 PM

This week Friday, citizens from across the country are expected to partake in demonstrations against the government, planned for the islands of New Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco called “Black Out.” I will not be one of them.

Let me preface this article by expressing my unwavering support for free speech and the freedom of assembly in The Bahamas. They are vital pillars of our constitution and what makes our democracy exceptional, and I applaud any Bahamian who exercises such rights.  That said, those who are in support of the government also have the right to free speech protected by the same constitution and they equally, have a right to speak and stand up for their truth...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
"PLP: More whistling past the graveyard" - Nov 21, 2016 - 1:42:31 PM

Confirming a lack of understanding of the depths of the economic problems facing the country, Prime Minister Christie announced a “Competitiveness Council” to work out of his office to improve The Bahamas declining status in the ease of doing business ranking while saying the country’s slippage in the rankings ‘doesn’t represent who the Bahamas is”.

In other words the Prime Minister is appointing this council in a half hearted attempt to quell the noise in the market about the difficulty of doing business here.

Symbolism over substance is the hallmark of this administration...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
March On Bahamaland? - Nov 15, 2016 - 11:45:56 PM

The state of The Bahamas, and it’s future, have led me to break down the national anthem of the country as it now has new meanings within every stanza:

LIFT UP YOUR HEAD TO THE RISING SUN, BAHAMALAND;
 Lift up your head and look around you. High murder rates, drug trafficking, violent crimes, repression of your people for the sole purpose of flooding politicians in power with money illegitimately; money that when taken away from the country to line their pockets leads to an increased national debt, infrastructure that has not been updated since the late 1990’s and a broken educational system...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Pamela Burnside: Ball of Confusion - Nov 6, 2016 - 8:05:24 PM

Dear Editor,

There is so much confusion going on in our country, it is overwhelming! Once again we have indeed become a ‘nation for sale’! It is truly a frightening state of affairs when each day brings to light another confusing debacle being perpetuated by “gubment’s” total mismanagement of the country’s affairs and purse.

The following is a list of some of the many serious issues that now face the Bahamian people:

Protection of Bahamian sovereignty: Examples abound showing how the gubment is being dazzled and hypnotized by the dangling of monies before their myopic eyes!

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Bahamas needs to introduce a strong Freedom of Information Act - Nov 6, 2016 - 11:27:05 AM

Transparency International, the global anti-corruption movement, and its partner organisations in the Caribbean, including Citizens for a Better Bahamas (CBB), call on the government of the Bahamas to introduce strong Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation.

A FOI Act is a powerful tool in the fight against corruption. It empowers citizens by giving them a mechanism to gain answers to questions they have about how their country is governed.  A FOI Act promotes government transparency and accountability, and mitigates any perception of corruption within the government...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
"Prime Minister Christie's assurances ring hollow" - Nov 6, 2016 - 11:24:00 AM

Foreign Direct Investment is one of the many tools for economic growth, but Mr. Christie’s assurances that he will “protect Andros” agriculture and fisheries from Chinese Government exploitation rings hollow.

In fact this proposal harkens back to former FNM Agriculture Minister Tennyson Wells’ secret proposal for long line fishing that was met with equal opprobrium.

Since these “investment” ideas are pieced together in secrecy the Government is obviously not confident that they can include Bahamians in their proposed policies in their infancy for fear of recrimination...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Pamela Burnside: Say What 3? - Oct 19, 2016 - 12:17:32 PM

Following the disastrous aftermath of the monster Hurricane Matthew and the need for hundreds of millions of dollars ‘to fix the country’, it is unbelievable to hear talk about the possibility of a ‘hurricane tax’ to be levied on us, the already suffering public, when we have been constantly bombarded with evidence of the blatant, irresponsible spending by government of OUR monies over the past several years: e.g. travelling first class here and there all over the world with huge entourages of useless friends, families and lovers whilst staying in the most expensive hotels and wining and dining on OUR dime; spending millions over budget for carnival foolishness; losing millions upon millions in government ministries from ‘tiefing’ public servants with no recompense or prosecution; and the list goes on and on like there is no tomorrow, whilst we are teetering precariously on the financial cliff of ruin!

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Pamela Burnside: Say What 2? - Oct 1, 2016 - 9:20:32 PM

Dear Editor,

Here we are, recently downgraded, teetering precariously at the cusp, faced with the very real danger of falling off the financial cliff into financial ruin whilst we wait in line for another financial evaluation in a few months. Enter the pompous carnival chairman, who, after throwing away tens of millions of our dollars from the public purse over the past two years for another disgraceful and useless weekend party, blithely and blatantly fixes his mouth to declare “I’ve said from the first day I took on this position that this is not a profit exercise, it has never been and it never will be.”

How incredibly stupid and financially irresponsible!

To all of you who were out there all night drinking and jumping up and down, and on the street wining up, how much of that “multiplier effect” and “economic impact of S70 million” have you been able to put in your pocket and take to the bank...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Pam Burnside: Say What? - Sep 28, 2016 - 12:00:00 AM

The public was left flabbergasted yesterday when a news report was delivered describing the damaging effects to electrical equipment and appliances that result from constant power cuts and inconsistent power surges, which were blamed for crippling PMH’s surgical efficiency for the past several weeks!

Wow – what an amazing revelation - this unprecedented delay in understanding can only be attributed to the fact that the rabbit hole must be powered by solar energy!

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Kirkland “KB” Bodie: "Carnival Fables & Fairy Tales" - Sep 8, 2016 - 12:40:24 PM

Dear Editor,

There is a recently released movie, a true story entitled, "Florence Foster Jenkins". This film aptly describes the state of leadership in our country today to a tee. Just like Aesop's fables, and many of the fairy tales we grew up on, those tales seem to be manifesting right before our eyes. From "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", to "The Tortoise and the Hare", to "The Emperor's New Clothes", all the way to "The Dog and His Bone".

With that being said it all brings me to my main point, we seem to have a certain section of the media that is simply regurgitating misinformation given by our elected so-called leaders, especially when it comes to this Carnival debacle. They seem to not be digging deeper and asking the relevant questions...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Rick Lowe: Negotiating economic harm - Sep 5, 2016 - 8:01:46 AM

Continually “negotiating” with government over the terms of negative public policy and suggesting this process helps make a bad public policy more palatable at the outset, is as corrupt as the bad policy itself.

Claiming victory today over lessening the policies impact is pyrrhic and does not remove the negative effects of the policy, nor does it prevent the government from changing and making the policy even more burdensome in the future..

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Bannister: Pray For Our Children - Sep 4, 2016 - 8:15:39 PM

Nassau, Bahamas - On Monday our precious children will return to schools throughout our country that are in the worst state of disrepair in modern memory.  Several of the school campuses are in such a woeful state that they are downright dangerous.

It is telling that this government has prioritized the spending of millions of our hard earned tax dollars on a weekend party called Carnival, but refuses to make a similar investment in the education of our innocent young children...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Mr. Blackburn and his quest to Digicel-ized the Bahamas - Sep 3, 2016 - 11:39:50 PM

Dear Editor

This is one of the most sordid stories on alleged corruption involving a 2016  US presidential candidate foundation and Haiti's largest private investor Digicel lead by its CEO at the time Damion Blackburn on the vulnerable people of Haiti. Because in this case, an entire country that was already one of the world's poorest nations suffered a terrifying disaster with Digicel and this US based "Foundation" was only too happy to act like saviors while taking advantage of the poor people of Haiti at their greatest hour of need...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Pierre Dupuch Questions Proposed Government Health Monopoly - Sep 1, 2016 - 11:50:31 AM

What is the difference between a government monopoly and a private monopoly?

What is the difference between a socialist and a capitalist?

Every time you turn around, somebody is complaining about the "Government."

What they should in fact be complaining about is the creation of government monopolies.

We should be careful not to jump from the frying pan into the fire by becoming so anxious that we are prepared to change the government monopoly and substitute it with a private monopoly....

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Cedric Moss responds to Dr. Duane Sands - Sep 1, 2016 - 10:50:35 AM

Dear Editor,

I read with sadness comments attributed to Dr. Duane Sands in which he shared his belief that the law against abortion in The Bahamas should be amended to permit abortions in cases where microcephaly has been identified. Dr. Sands has repeatedly called for abortion to be made legal in The Bahamas, so while saddened by his microcephaly comments, I’m not surprised by them. Actually, I wonder if his recent comments are part and parcel of his back door approach to seek to have our law against abortion repealed in a gradual way.

Dr. Sands seems to believe that if an unborn baby has a birth defect, or is simply unwanted, he or she should be aborted (meaning, legally murdered). Thus, to my mind, Dr. Sands does not value babies in the womb. But more than that, he does not seem to fear God, the Creator of all babies...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
Pam Burnside: Down the Rabbit Hole, Part 3 - Aug 24, 2016 - 3:43:40 PM

“AbracaDAbra!” shouted the Emperor perched atop a golden podium securely mounted on the armoured tank. With a flick of his voluminous red silken cape and a dramatic flourish (worthy in motion to his junkanoo shuffle) of the magic wand held firmly in his right hand across his upturned silken black top hat, the air was immediately filled with thousands of sparkling fireworks shooting straight up into the darkened Moody night sky, along with plumes of thick white smoke befitting the importance of his announcement! He would not be outdone by the fireworks of the recent Olympics, especially since he was wearing his golden replica!

His subjects, pressed excitedly against the metal barriers, turned their heads upwards to the sky to watch in jaw-dropping amazement as the stupendous fireworks erupted and crackled in thunderous abandon against the darkness...

Columns : Letters to The Editor
What about government’s foreign workers? - Aug 23, 2016 - 11:28:02 AM

The Department of Statistics recently released work permit details for the private sector. A total of 9,208 permits were granted for 2015. All this confirms there is no need for our xenophobia. For the economy to grow, the country needs even more foreign expertise.

Of course this concept will never be uttered by the immigration department. In fact at the close of an otherwise factual press release, the usual worn script is offered up. You know how it goes. Something like “the Department of Immigration’s job is to “Bahamianise” the work force...