Bahamian Politics
Roberts: Patterson misguided on Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival - Jan 27, 2015 - 9:07:19 PM
 Many were shocked at
the media comments attributed to the President of the Bahamas Christian
Council on the eve of the inaugural Bahamas Junkanoo. With all due
respect, we are obliged to ask whether President Dr. Ranford Patterson
has ever attended the Boxing Day and New Years Day Junkanoo parades that
have been held for well over one century in our fair Bahamas?
Is
President Patterson suggesting that other similar cultural festivals
celebrated in many countries in this region and around the world for
literally centuries are the cause for the instances of rape, incest and
sexual immorality occurring in those countries?
News :
Bahamas Information Services Updates
PM Christie: Maintaining public confidence in our banking system - Jan 23, 2015 - 2:52:11 PM
 Nassau, Bahamas - The following are the Prime Minister’s Remarks in the House Of Assembly on Wednesday January 21st, 2015.
The one thing we should all be united on at all times is the need
for a stable banking system. What this means is that we should never do
or say anything that undermines public confidence in the stability of
our banking system. It means that we need to avoid doing things
publicly, or saying things publicly, that may jeopardize the stability
of a particular bank or undermine public confidence in it...
Bahamian Politics
Hon. Hubert Minnis on Resignation of Senator Heather Hunt - Jan 22, 2015 - 9:29:40 PM
 Pursuant to the policy
which I announced in May, 2012, of periodically reviewing the
membership of the Senate, thus allowing as many persons to serve as
Senators as could do so; and therefore, to make changes in the
composition of the Free National Movement’s members in that Chamber from
time to time, I held a discussion with Senator the Honourable Heather
Hunt this morning.
Senator Hunt agreed to tender her resignation as a Senator.
I
wish to thank Senator Hunt for the outstanding and important role that
she played in the Senate, during the past two and a half years plus, and
generally as an emerging young leader in our country.
Bahamian Politics
DNA: Where is the Outrage by Bahamians? - Jan 18, 2015 - 3:06:15 PM
 Noted Author Lisa Borden once wrote: “If you aren’t outraged, then you
just aren’t paying attention”. On January 1, Bahamians around the country got a
wake-up call and for the first time many individuals started paying attention
to the current state of affairs in our small nation.
As Bahamians, we must all be asking ourselves: how did we get here? How
did we get to the point where we now boast a staggering crime rate, illegal
immigration concerns, record unemployment, a stagnant economy and now, an
increased tax burden despite a failure to properly collect current outstanding
taxes?
News :
Bahamas Information Services Updates
Minister Halkitis communication on VAT Implementation - Jan 15, 2015 - 12:48:43 PM
 Nassau, Bahamas - Enclosed is a Communication by
The Minister of State
for Finance, the Hon. Michael Halkitis:
VAT Registration: As at January 12th,
2015, a total of 5450 taxpayers have been registered for VAT. This
amount is approximately 950 more than the potential amount of taxpayers
projected for registration. The VAT Department continues to register
businesses.
Compliance Work: The VAT Department has
commenced it compliance work by conducting a series of field visits in
response to taxpayers’ complaints as well as to provide assistance to
the VAT registrants...
News :
Bahamas Information Services Updates
Bahamas Attorney General Opens the Legal Year of 2015 - Jan 15, 2015 - 12:28:33 PM
 Nassau, Bahamas - Today, Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson, QC,
addressed leaders in the justice system to open the 2015 legal year with a
speech that focused on the theme of communication, cooperation and
collaboration at all levels of the justice system.
She began by commemorating Majority Rule Day, and stressed
that all Bahamians have a special obligation to ensure the nation does not
regress in the face of challenges to freedom and safety.
“We must work to create a safer and better Bahamas for our
children and our children’s children,” she said...
Bahamian Politics
Opposition Leader's Statement On Bank Of The Bahamas - Jan 14, 2015 - 4:19:04 PM
Nassau,
Bahamas - Opposition Leader Hon. Dr. Hubert A. Minnis led a
demonstration on January 14th, 2015 over the alleged
mismanagement of affairs at the Bank of The Bahamas and the recent $100
million bail out by the PLP Government in Nassau.
Flanked by FNM Members of
Parliament and supporters, the group marched from the Post Office on
East Hill Street to the Bank of The Bahamas on Shirley Street, where Dr.
Minnis read the following statement...
Bahamian Politics
Roberts: FNM’s diabolical plot for Bank of The Bahamas - Jan 13, 2015 - 4:50:08 PM
Nassau, Bahamas - The following is a statement by the National Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party, Bradley B. Roberts:
The
intentions of the Free National Movement are to create more problems
for the Bank of The Bahamas and blame it on the current PLP government
who has worked diligently and responsibly in designing and executing a
rescue plan for the bank saddled with $100 million worth of bad loans
approved by the FNM appointed Board of Directors when Dr. Minnis sat as a
member of the cabinet...
Bahamian Politics
DNA: Vat: Victimizations. Aspersions. Transgressions. - Jan 13, 2015 - 12:00:05 PM
Rather than take legitimate steps to address the myriad of problems
which plague the business community in the wake of Value Added Tax (VAT) implementation,
this PLP government and its agents have chosen instead to victimize and
castigate business owners over their attempts to remain viable in the new
environment.
As has been the Modus Operandi of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP),
E.J. Bowe has been brought out of retirement and obscurity to further the
government’s VAT agenda as head of the Price Control Commission. Bowe’s
reappointment to the commission is again a reflection of this administration’s
lack of vision...
Bahamian Politics
(Video) New Year's National Address by Hon. Dr. Hubert A. Minnis - Jan 9, 2015 - 8:34:00 AM
Nassau,
Bahamas - The following video is the Leader of the Opposition (Free
National Movement) the Hon. Dr. Hubert A. Minnis' 2015 New Year's
address given on January 7, 2015.
He provides his party's vision
and touches upon current issues with crime, VAT, education,
unemployment, the inner city, the new immigration police, and much more.
Bahamian Politics
Canon Campbell: A National Cultural Commission Must Be Put in Place - Jan 8, 2015 - 6:08:42 PM
Happy Majority Rule, Bahamas.
Again
we congratulate our Prime Minister for having the intestinal fortitude
for doing the right thing, elevating January 10th, every year, to the
ranks of a National holiday.
I thank all these who stood with the
movement in keeping the campaign alive so that this would happen.
However, the campaign is not complete. A National Cultural Commission
must be put in place, as promised by the Prime Minister. Such a
commission should be mandated to draw up a frame work for national
celebration. Until that happens...
Bahamian Politics
"VAT Implementation: A Titanic Failure," says DNA - Jan 8, 2015 - 11:28:57 AM
The
first week of Value Added Tax (VAT) implementation has been a proverbial nightmare
for both businesses and consumers around the country. As expected, this
Christie administration has again failed at the execution of a major policy
initiative; and has, in effect, betrayed the confidence of the people of this
country, yet again!
After
being promised a reduction in the cost of living, Bahamians now face drastic
increases on even bread basket items while seeing no increases in their
salaries and no economic improvement. After being promised Mortgage Relief,
thousands of already struggling homeowners are waiting with bated breath for
confirmation on whether or not VAT will also be added to their mortgage
payments...
Bahamian Politics
Roberts: Minnis flip flops again on VAT - Jan 7, 2015 - 4:22:49 PM
Minnis’ recent political
bluster to repeal part of VAT if elected only further entrenches and defines
his leadership character as a flip flopper extraordinaire who does not know his
own mind or appreciates the challenges and needs of the country.
As a FNM Minister, he
agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendation that The
Bahamas’ public finances were in need of tax reform and that VAT was the most
viable option. When the FNM lost the election in 2012, his cabinet colleague
Laing reiterated the pro VAT policy position of the FNM had the party prevailed
in the 2012 general elections. By the 2014/2015 budget debate, Minnis told the
House and the Bahamian people that while he agreed that the country’s system of
taxation was in need of reform, the FNM...
Bahamian Politics
Bahamas Sr. Government Officials Put On Notice Ahead of VAT Implementation - Dec 31, 2014 - 7:48:45 PM
Nassau, Bahamas - The following is a statement by Andre Adderley:
RE: Clean Hands; The Government Of The Bahamas; Prime Minister Perry
Gladstone Christie; Leader Of The Opposition, Dr. Hubert A. Minnis; The
Public Disclosure Act (chapter 9); The Public Disclosure Commission;
Imposition Of Vat Tax Regime And Associated Fines For Non-compliance and
(Declarations of Members of Parliament, Senators, Senior Public
Officers and Public Appointees, who are required to declare their
assets, income and liabilities as of the 31st December of each year, and
associated fines for non-compliance)...
Bahamian Politics
"VAT: Bad for Business, Bad for Bahamians!" says DNA - Dec 30, 2014 - 6:01:43 PM
As 2014 comes to a close, thousands of Bahamians across our archipelago
are preparing for the January 1 implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT).
Already struggling families must now brace themselves for additional cost of
living increases and business owners who had been planning expansions and new
hires have opted to shelve those plans as they wait to see what effect the new
regime will have on the economy.
In just days, the new tax regime threatens to completely and
indefinitely alter the economic landscape of the country, and not for the
better. Even worse, in the lead up to the launch of the new tax laws, the
government bungled the campaign which had been expected...
Bahamian Politics
Peter Turnquest on Statement on Value Added Tax Implementation - Dec 30, 2014 - 5:34:04 PM
 Freeport, Grand
Bahama Island - The following is a statement from Peter Turnquest,
member of parliament for East Grand Bahama and FNM Deputy Leader:
After
months of denial, it appears that the Government is finally prepared to
admit that the Value Added Tax program has been rushed and that it will
not be fully prepared for implementation on January 1st, 2015, leaving
the general public to question the ability of the Government to
effectively manage this significant and important change to the
country’s tax structure.
While the Government will force the
initiation of this increase in Bahamians cost of living, it is doing so
without due consideration...
Bahamian Politics
FNM Leader Speaks Out On Bank of The Bahamas - Dec 23, 2014 - 11:33:53 PM
"This
country needs change! We cannot continue with the same. Someone must be
accountable for Bank of The Bahamas. Why hasn't the management team
been fired? Why was the Managing Director and the board pardoned? There
needs to be strong leadership - with consequential decisions (dismissal
of board). Not business as usual. The Bahamas deserves better than this!
Christie and the PLP are making the Bahamas the laughing stock of the
world. Blatant cronyism."
- Hon. Dr. Hubert A. Minnis, Leader, Free National Movement
Bahamian Politics
Roberts: Watson well aware of foreign bribery charge involving BEC - Dec 23, 2014 - 2:41:41 PM
The issue of a BEC board member accepting a
$300,000 bribe in exchange for a contract is a matter of public record
as I have addressed the matter of the problematic diesel generators in
the halls of Parliament in May 2003 as the minister with responsibility
for BEC.
Having said that, I was very surprised to read in one of
the dailies today that former Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson denied
any knowledge of this very public event and struck at the very heart of
governance which is public trust. There was commentary on this matter
in Parliament and the serious nature of the allegations had to
necessitate discussions at the Cabinet level. Frank Watson was both a
Parliamentarian and a senior Cabinet Minister so his denials are
extremely surprising to me...
Bahamian Politics
Senator Storr responds to Branville McCartney's “The Folly of Fred Mitchell” - Dec 17, 2014 - 3:36:05 PM
 I find the commentary titled “The Folly of Fred Mitchell” by Branville McCartney to be entirely comical and misplaced.
This
cannot be the same fellow who publicly supported the new immigration
measures and more recently, just two weeks ago, reportedly in the
graveyard of a church in Fox Hill congratulated the Immigration Minister
on the new policies and urged him to stick to it.
Now McCartney
says that he will not blindly follow any policy and seeks to pin on the
minister and by extension the government something which the minister
and the government...
Bahamian Politics
DNA: Fixing Grand Bahama - Dec 17, 2014 - 1:54:47 PM
Since the havoc wrought by the
passage of back to back hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, the island of Grand Bahama
has struggled to regain its economic footing. The closure of one of the
island’s largest employers dealt a near deadly blow to the nation’s second
city. Once a bustling metropolis, the city of Freeport has become a ghost town,
a shadow of its former self. Unfortunately for residents on Grand Bahama, the
economic policies advanced by both the former and current administrations have
done little to breathe new life into the island.
Since taking office in 2012 this
PLP government has failed to deliver on any of the promises made over the
course of the election campaign...
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