Bahamian Politics
Sidney Collie on the Release of the Carnival Report - Sep 28, 2016 - 8:14:54 PM

Sidney Collie, Chairman of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement on the release of the 2016 Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival’s Economic Impact Report:

“It has taken months for this Government to release the 2016 Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival’s Economic Impact Report to the public, and the findings are just one more example of why we need more transparency from our Government. The 2016 Junkanoo Carnival report reveals that the PLP Government went over budget by more than five million dollars...

Bahamian Politics
Dr. Minnis Statement on Baha Mar Employees - Sep 28, 2016 - 2:37:08 PM

Dr. Minnis, Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement on former Baha Mar employees being told to be grateful that they are receiving any of their back wages:

“The FNM has stood with the Bahamian people demanding that the PLP Government fix the injustice that was brought upon the former Baha Mar employees when they were laid off without receiving their pay. We are amazed to hear the comment from the Government’s representative on the claims committee,

Bahamian Politics
Minnis Responds to PM's Address on Baha Mar - Sep 27, 2016 - 7:42:29 PM

Dr. Minnis, Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement on former Baha Mar employees finally receiving their back wages:

“The Free National Movement is happy that the long ordeal for thousands of Bahamians is finally over and they have started to receive their wages for completed work that are long past due. The FNM stood with the people for over a year as we carried this fight forward, holding the PLP Government’s feet to the fire over this matter forcing them to face the voices they so often ignore or silence. Last week, when The Bahamas found out that the PLP’s secret deal did not include the payment of CCA contractors for work done at Baha Mar, we once again stood with the people and let our voices be heard, calling on the embattled Prime Minister..."

Bahamian Politics
Dr. Minnis on the Princess Margaret Hospital AC Outages - Sep 26, 2016 - 6:05:00 PM

Nassau, Bahamas - Dr. Minnis, Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement on reports that the Princess Margaret Hospital air conditioning outages are being caused by BPL inefficiencies:

“This Government has set up an appalling system of ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. Baha Mar sits in their ‘have’ category, while it continues to sit and utilize electricity even though it has over $26 million in unpaid bills that the government decided to ignore. On the other side are the people and those families that sat with no electricity over the summer and endured sweltering heat.”

Bahamian Politics
Minnis on Reports of AC outages at Princess Margaret Hospital - Sep 25, 2016 - 5:13:22 PM

Dr. Minnis, Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement on the reports coming out of Princess Margaret Hospital that the operating rooms have been without air conditioning for two weeks:

“As a Doctor and the former Minister of Health, I am appalled by the alarming reports coming from Princess Margaret Hospital that there has not been air conditioning in the operating rooms for two weeks. It is unacceptable that patients are being turned away from their scheduled procedures and told to go to Doctor’s Hospital. Princess Margaret Hospital serves those most in need, some who cannot afford health insurance...”

Bahamian Politics
Roberts: Did the FNM abuse the nolle prosequi with corrupt pay for play scheme? - Sep 25, 2016 - 5:00:37 PM

I would be remiss if I did not remind the Bahamian people of the FNM’s wanton abuse of the nolle prosequi while in office.

Serial loser Dr. Duane Sands was in the media recently talking about integrity in public life, but where was Dr. Sands when his uncle in his role as the Attorney General issued a nolle prosequi in the premeditated, cold-blooded and calculated murder of a young black male at the hands of a member of the Mosko family. The assailant fled into exile in Greece to escape justice only to return to The Bahamas to have a FNM government assist him in escaping justice with the issue of a nolli prosequi...

Bahamian Politics
Collie responds to DPM Davis' statement on the Sandals’ ‘Nolle Prosequi’ - Sep 23, 2016 - 5:52:34 PM

Nassau, Bahamas - Sidney Collie, Chairman of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement regarding Deputy Prime Minister Brave Davis stating he that the Sandals’ ‘nolle prosequi’ shows that the PLP Government is looking out for foreign investors over the Bahamian people:

“The split in the PLP Government continues over the ‘nolle prosequi’ granted by Attorney General Allison Maynard in the Sandals affair. Deputy Prime Minister Brave Davis, when asked if this action showed that the PLP Government prioritised foreign interests over Bahamian interest stated, ‘I think this is something they could point to that may lend some credence to it.’ This comes on top of Minister of Tourism, Obie Wilchcombe also stating that Minister Gibson ‘spoke for many of us’ in regards to disagreeing with the Attorney General’s action...

Bahamian Politics
Dr. Minnis on the Baha Mar deal - Sep 23, 2016 - 9:43:04 AM

Dr. Minnis, Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement on the continued failures of the PLP Government to protect all Bahamian Baha Mar creditors:

“Once again we continue to find out more reasons why the embattled Prime Minister should release all the documents related to the secret Baha Mar deal he struck with the Chinese. This time we find out that he did not guarantee that all Bahamians that worked on the Baha Mar project would be paid the money owed to them for previously completed work. The Prime Minister stated in his original vague announcement that the PLP Government had guaranteed Bahamian contractors and creditors would be paid, we now know this to be false...

Bahamian Politics
Kemp: New Leaks threaten our Financial Services Sector - Sep 23, 2016 - 1:18:41 AM

The financial services sector is under tremendous pressure yet again after reports of leaked information to a German website confirms to the names of hundreds of persons operating “letterbox” companies as shell companies for laundering money inside The Bahamas. Coming off of the heels of the “Panama Papers” scandal, in what followed was de-risking fears; we are now facing the lash of our own “leaked emails” that will cause further harm to our jurisdiction if we do not act with the right message.

The news is shocking to the DNA even as we have been watching with keen interest what’s taking place with regard to the de-risking phenomenon sweeping through offshore financial centres around the world.

Bahamian Politics
Alfred M. Sears “Listening Tour” to Abaco to meet with Stalwarts and Branch Executives of The Progressive Liberal Party - Sep 22, 2016 - 11:28:07 PM

Nassau, Bahamas – Alfred M. Sears, Queens Counsel, PLP Candidate for Fort Charlotte, accompanied by his wife Marion, took his “listening tour” to Abaco this weekend and the visit was a resounding success.

The people with whom he met were excited about Sears’ bid for the leadership of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and welcomed him warmly, embracing his change agenda and assuring him of their support.

“This tour afforded me the opportunity to engage with Stalwart councilors, Branch members, residents and Local Government officials...

Bahamian Politics
Dr. Minnis on the Ratification of 3 New FNM Candidates - Sep 22, 2016 - 9:46:10 PM

Dr. Minnis, Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement on the ratification of new FNM candidates for the 2017 General Election:

“I am excited to announce that the Free National Movement (FNM) has ratified Marvin H. Dames; Mark A. Humes; Walt Whitman Saunders, and Loretta Butler-Turner who will represent the FNM in the in the 2017 General Election in Mount Moriah, Fort Charlotte, MICAL, and Long Island Constituencies Respectively....

Bahamian Politics
Roberts remarks to PLP National General Council Meeting - Sep 22, 2016 - 7:36:33 PM

The amount and angle of the myriad of commentaries in the public domain on any number of national issues proves that we are in the middle of the silly season.

The positive news of the payments to over 2,000 displaced Baha Mar employees and more than one thousand unsecured Bahamian creditors augurs well for the future strength and growth of our economy. The Director General of Tourism said recently that the new owner of Baha Mar will be announced by the end of this month. This too is good news councilors.

In this fair commonwealth there are two stories: There is the story of success beyond anybody’s imagination and then there is the story of failure, bitterness and sour grapes...

Bahamian Politics
Chairman Collie on the "Attorney General Not Informing the Labour Minister of the Nolle Prosequi" - Sep 22, 2016 - 2:30:42 PM

Nassau, Bahamas - Sidney Collie, Chairman of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement regarding the Labour Minister stating he was not informed of the ‘nolle prosequi’:

“The PLP Government has shown that they like to keep secrets from the Bahamian people and now it appears that they are keeping secrets from their own Ministers. The Minister of Labour, Shane Gibson, has said that the Attorney General never informed him that she issued the ‘nolle prosequi’ direction in regards to the Sandals case even as he was meeting with the union. This PLP Government can’t even get on the same page when dealing with one resort’s issues how can they deal with the problems they continue to create with the huge Baha Mar debacle...

Bahamian Politics
Roberts: Sandals Nolle Prosequi maintains integrity of the judicial process - Sep 21, 2016 - 11:34:06 PM

The Progressive Liberal Party takes note of the headline story in one of the local dailies on the Nolle Prosequi issued by the office of the Attorney General in a private prosecution matter involving the management of the Sandals Resort. We also note the public position taken by a labour executive on the matter.

We are advised that the Bahamas Hotel Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (BHMAWU) also initiated civil proceedings against the hotel executives and the Office of the Attorney General determined that it was an abuse of the judicial process to have the matter simultaneously litigated in the criminal courts, thus the Nolle Prosequi...

Bahamian Politics
Leader of the Opposition on Healthcare in The Bahamas - Sep 21, 2016 - 7:03:47 PM

As a General Election nears, seems the governing Progressive Liberal Party, after 4 years of nothingness, is staggering to the finish line particularly in the area of health care on Grand Bahama and throughout the wider Bahamas.

During the 2012 General Election campaign, the PLP touted a new hospital for Grand Bahama as a major promise.  With only months remaining in office, it has become even more clear that this is a government big on promises and plans, but produces very little or in most cases, nothing.  The repeatedly announced plans for a new state of the art fully fledged hospital now prove yet another broken promise...

Bahamian Politics
Butler-Turner: PLP Puts Foreign Interests Ahead of Bahamian Workers - Sep 21, 2016 - 5:10:20 PM

Nassau, Bahamas - The following is a statement by Loretta Butler Turner:

The revelation of a nolle prosequi by the Attorney General, which was expediently and suspiciously issued the very day that approximately 600 Bahamians were made redundant by Sandals Resort, is a blatant demonstration of the callous and uncaring attitude of the PLP toward the rights of Bahamian workers.

The PLP is disrupting the judicial process and playing fast and loose with the rule of law by intervening in a private matter that affects the lives of hundreds of Bahamian workers and their families...

Bahamian Politics
DNA Candidate for Bain & Grants Town doing Home Repairs in Constituency - Sep 21, 2016 - 10:00:18 AM

The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) and its candidates continue to make inroads in their respective constituency in particular their candidate in the Bain and Grants Town Community, Brenda T. Harris who along with her team are doing an impressive job in that Constituency, that have her name buzzing thorough out the community.

A team of volunteers from the DNA Bain and Grants Town constituency office and the DNA Men’s Alliance recently spearheaded a minor home repairs project that left a number of residents with a smile on their face, expressing gratitude for the kind gesture...

Bahamian Politics
Dr. Minnis: Crime is literally killing our communities - Sep 14, 2016 - 11:22:23 PM

Nassau, Bahamas - Dr. Minnis, Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement on the recent spurt of murders:

“It is with great sorrow that I extend mine and the FNM’s sympathy to the families affected by the recent spurt of murders. It is truly a sad day in The Bahamas when our children are involved and killed or shot in shootings in their neighbourhoods. Our children should feel safe and not under the constant fear of being innocently caught up in shootings while innocently coming back from the water pump...”

Bahamian Politics
Roberts: Has Dr. Minnis sold out the FNM lock, stock and Barrel? - Sep 14, 2016 - 6:09:30 AM

Nassau, Bahamas - The following is a press statement by Bradley B. Roberts National Chairman Progressive Liberal Party:

I note with interest the cavalier approach of the country’s resident gadfly Dionisio D’Aguilar to representing the interests of the Bahamian people in our most democratic of institutions, the Bahamas Parliament. When asked about running in the next general elections by one of the dailies, Mr. D’Aguilar had this to say: “Well let’s put it this way, they’ve asked me if I would run; I said that I would be interested, and so they are looking for a seat (to place me) and they’ll get back to me. That’s where it is,”

It is an established fact that Dionisio D’aguilar is the mouthpiece of Sarkis Izmirlian and has been for more than one year...

Bahamian Politics
PLP: Never Be Quick To Judge, Be Quick To Take Action - Sep 13, 2016 - 12:09:30 PM

The Women’s branch of the Progressive Liberal Party wishes to lend its voice to recent events of human interest, criminal conduct, our apparent inhumanity and the collective response to these issues of national import.

We refer to the recent but unfortunate events of death by violence and the criminal abandonment of an unwanted baby as reported in the news of record and on social media. These events should sensitize us all to realize that we need to take a determined effort to educate our women and the public at large as education in its many forms will always be the key to unlocking the viability of our future as a free, modern democratic state with a civil society...