Prime Minister
Christie declares “Forestry Awareness Week”
Prime
Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie signed a Proclamation declaring the
week of March 16 - 21, 2015
‘Forestry
Awareness Week’ in The Bahamas and officially opened a Forestry Awareness
Symposium at the College of The Bahamas on Wednesday, March 18.A
highlight of the symposium was the planting of the national tree of The Bahamas,
the lignum vitae on the college campus in front of the Harry C. Moore Library.
Also
commemorating the event was the Environment Minister, Hon. Kenred Dorsett. In
an address to students at the Anatol Rodgers High School
on Monday, Minister
Dorsett highlighted the importance of the forest and trees in particular to our
very existence and the need to protect them.
“Trees
are the lungs of the earth” said Minister Dorsett and “they help us to balance
the amount of oxygen and harmful carbon dioxide in the air. Trees regulate
humidity in the air. Trees provide us with food, shelter, shade and jobs to
help support us and our families.”
Forestry
Awareness Week is being celebrated in The Bahamas this week from 16th
– 21st MARCH 2015. This event is celebrated globally every year on
the 21st March and is designed to educate the public and raise
awareness of the significant benefits provided by trees. Civil society is
encouraged to plant a tree in commemoration of this global event.
DPM Davis reports on
BEC fire
Most
of New Providence was plunged into darkness late
Friday and the power was not fully
restored until
Sunday evening. There were reports of a fire at the BEC Blue
Hills Power Plant with photos emerging on social media. Speculations about why
the blackout occurred were fast and furious, but Deputy Prime Minister Hon.
Philip Brave Davis issued a statement
on Tuesday about the facts surrounding
the island wide blackout.
“I
am advised that this (the island wide blackout) happened as a result of a
series of events at the Blue Hills Power Station. In the first instance, a
33,000 volt generator cable faulted, resulting in damages to a number of cables
and a fire in a cable trench.”
The Deputy Prime
Minister expressed his gratitude to BEC line staff who worked around the clock
to fully restore power to all of BEC’s customers within forty-eight hours.
“Supplies to
40% of the customer base were restored by
Friday Night/
Saturday morning, and
the restoration efforts continued until all supplies were restored by
Sunday
afternoon. It was a team effort involving both management and line staff and
for this I am truly grateful.”
Of course the
root cause of the fire is under investigation but the Minister was clear in pointing
out that on the day of the fire that resulted in the blackout, there was no evidence
of staff negligence. Usually in these type incidents, the assignment of blame
and culpability is reserved for the conclusion of a taproot investigation in
the circumstances surrounding this incident.
Compendium of Cooperatives
Bills passed in the House this week
The
compendium of bills to expand the regulatory framework of Credit Unions under
the Central Bank was unanimously passed in the House late
Wednesday afternoon with
Parliamentarians pledging their full support for the new regulatory regime.
Member for Pineridge, Hon. Michael Darville: These bills
are long overdue and will definitely pave the way for further growth of
cooperatives in our country.”
Member for South Beach, Hon. Cleola Hamilton: “It is
their hard earned money and we have a right to protect it.”
Member for St. Annes, Hon. Hubert Chipman: “(Credit
Unions are) all about people helping people. Credit Unions Mr. Speaker teaches
people how to save through salary deductions.”
Member for East Grand Bahama, Hon. Peter Turnquest: “There
is a common thread running through these compendium of bills before us today
and that is one of transparency, accountability and effective internal controls
to prevent abuse of the system and resource provided by the Bahamian people.”
The House of Assembly resumes on Monday, 23rd
March 2015.
Public Accounts
Committee to review BAMSI contracts
State
Minister for Works and Urban Development, Hon. Arnold Forbes said he welcomed a
request for a public hearing and review of the contracts issued by his Ministry
in connection with BAMSI on North Andros. He believed that the dormitory fire
and fallout was a “glitch on the screen;” he reiterated his government’s
commitment to transparency and declared that his ministry will be vindicated.
“…I
welcome the inquiry. It will show that what has happened with the fire and the
situation - there was just a glitch on the screen. You know, listen – this government
is about transparency – it’s about putting all the cards on the table; we have
nothing to hide about what has gone down at BAMSI and we believe we will be
vindicated at the end of the day as far as that is concerned” said Mr. Forbes.
Saint
Anne’s member, Hon. Hubert Chipman made the formal request to House speaker
Major to have the hearing publicly televised. Prime Minister Christie went
further and charged that the committee should expand that probe to include
contracts issued under the former administration. He also suggested that there
may be a review of the Ministry of Works and Urban Development.
Admitting
that there are some irregularities within his Ministry, Mr. Forbes agreed with
the Prime Minister’s suggestions. He expressed confidence that Deputy Prime
Minister would correct these anomalies.
“There
are some irregularities that have been noticed and we (the Deputy Prime Minister
and myself) are in the process of correcting those...there is a consequence for
every action or every inaction I would say” said Mr. Forbes. He said that the
option of discipline or this notion the “heads should roll” is also on the
table.
In Passing
In
a show of solidarity, a number of local entertainers including Kirkland “KB”
Bodie and Geno Davis addressed the media on Sunday 15th March 2015
to voice their support for the upcoming Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival Festival
scheduled for May 2015. Mr. Bodie told the media that after hearing the Prime
Minister commit to making the festival Bahamianized, he was sold on the idea
and is now fully onboard.
The
18th Bahamas National Spelling Bee championship is scheduled for this
weekend in Nassau and the winner will represent The Bahamas at the Scripps
National Spelling Bee scheduled to be held in Washington DC. The trash talking
among our confident youngsters is in full mode.
It is nearing Easter so CARIFTA is in the air. The
qualifying trials will be held
this Friday and
Saturday at the Thomas A.
Robinson National Stadium. The 2015 CARIFTA track and field championship games
will be held from 4th - 6th April in Saint Kitts and
Nevis.
It will be a plaid and Polka Dot affair at Sapodilla on
Friday night. Family and friends will celebrate the memory of the father of the
nation, the late Sir Lynden Pindling who would have been 85 years old on
Sunday, 22nd March 2015. His widow, Dame Marguerite the Governor
General, will lay a wreath at Sir Lynden’s mausoleum on that day at
9:30am.
The committee responsible for drafting the country’s
National Development Plan VISION 2040 was in Grand Bahama this week to consult with
the Ministry of Grand Bahama, the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and other
Non-Governmental Organizations in developing this national policy document.
The TUC met with the Minister of Labour this week to
discuss a number of issues including the compendium of Cooperative Bills and
the proposed minimum wage hike. The TUC has also publicly supported the government
over the implementation of National Health Insurance.
That
State Minister for Legal Affairs the Hon. Damian Gomez QC represented The
Bahamas at the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) hearing into
the human rights allegations made by the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association.
The hearing took place on Friday, 20th March from 1130 am to
12:30pm in the
Ruben Dario Room at the OAS. The event was live streamed on the OAS web site
and interested persons could still log on and access this event from the site’s
archives.
Miss
Bahamas Universe, Tomii Culmer relinquished her crown, resigning due to
personal reasons this week. The Miss Bahamas Organization (MBO) released a
statement to this effect
on Tuesday night and thanked Ms. Culmer for her
service and contribution to the organization and the country.
Labour
Minister, the Hon. D. Shane Gibson announced in the House this week that the
full implementation of National Health Insurance could take between ten and
fifteen years. I have been saying this all along. Media reports that the full
5.8% in additional “taxes” as they put it will be levied in January of 2016,
was misleading to the public. Only the basic benefits package will be rolled
out in January 2016. The Prime Minister indicated in the House during the
midyear budget debate that the NHI in South Africa took that country some 10
years to be fully implemented.
On a sad note, Dorothy Davis, mother of Deputy Prime
Minister Philip Brave Davis was laid to rest
on Friday in a service of
thanksgiving at the Zion Baptist Chrurch on the East and Shirley Streets. She
was eulogized by Rev. T.J. Morrison.
On
another sad note, Dwight Coleby and his #11 seed Ole Miss Rebels from the
University of Mississippi were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA
basketball championship tournament. They made it to the round of 32 when they
fell to #6 seed Xavier Musketeers 76-57.
And
on a happy note, the Eugene Dupuch Law School is the 2015 winner of the Caribbean
Court of Justice (CCJ) International Law Moot Competition. They have taken the
title four times in the competition’s seven year history.
Another
55 migrants suspected of entering the country illegally were interdicted in
Abaco in a two-day exercise and were transported to Nassau for further
processing. In other news, a Bahamian was arrested and charged in a Marsh
Harbour magistrate court with assaulting immigration officers during these
exercises.
About the author: Elcott Coleby is a Deputy Director at the
Bahamas Information Services. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in
Chemistry (B.Sc) and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). He provides
frequent commentary on public policy and communicates the works of the
government. Address all comments to the following email:
egcoleby44@gmail.com