LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Is this the way we want to go?
July 15, 2003
Dear Sir,
So Randy Horton - the Mouth of the East - thinks that just because the United Bermuda Party is well organised, well financed and well supported... all that makes it a party of the past. I guess we should take his advice and act like the PLP... disorganised and broke... that's the way we want to go!
BACK TO THE FUTURE
City of Hamilton
Voting for my children's future
July 8, 2003
Dear Sir,
I suspect many people don't care much for politics. As the saying goes, "Talk is cheap". We selfishly want someone in office who will help make our lives easier. But now there is an election. We are asked to take sides and vote for the party can make our situations better or keep them from getting worse.
Therefore, I ask the question, why would anyone vote for the PLP?
Like most people, after the last election, I hoped for the best . The PLP would prioritise everyday important issues (housing) for the people that put them in office. What happened? The most important talking points about housing are the lack of it, corruption within the ministry and the theft of taxpayer's money.
Will disappointed families needy of decent housing be voting for the PLP? Will the taxi owners, prison officers, teachers, nurses and immigration officers vote for the PLP? How many times do they have to strike or march in protest to the dismissive and patronising remarks of their ministers?
Do we really care about our leaders' obession with fancy cars, kissing up to Cuba, seat belt laws, weird travel itineraries, new ferries, Hawaiian beach photos, demonising the foreign guest workers?
I will vote for the future of my children. It should not be that difficult to run this small country, but it seems to have become that way under the present leadership. So I'll vote for the UBP. They seem to have a new group of good people with vision for the future. I think they are the party that deserves another try.
VOTE FOR THE FUTURE
City of Hamilton
A rocky road ahead?
July 8, 2003
Dear Sir,
In what is obviously a sign of a rocky road ahead, getting rockier and rockier, Caricom members are split over whether to sign on to agreements with the US guaranteeing its citizens will be exempt from extradition by the International Criminal Court.
As a result, the United States has cut off aid worth $48 million to six Caribbean countries, and will cut off aid to others, like Barbados and Trinidad, who insist on thumbing their noses at the US over the ICC.
The six who were cut off are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Caricom meeting was unable to come up with a common Caribbean position. Trinidad, one of the sponsors in the UN of the ICC, made it clear that it would not sign a waiver for US citizens. Since the meeting ended, Barbados and St. Vincent officials have made statements that seem to indicate that they, too, will refuse.
But others, like Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Dominica are expected to sign the waivers rather than lose the US aid.
Some time ago, the Smith Government said that Bermuda was going to become a signatory to the ICC treaty, although to the best of my knowledge, they have never actually signed on the dotted line.
What are we going to do? Sign US waivers? Refuse to sign? We don't get any aid from the United States, but there are other things they could do to retaliate against us.
The United States is our major trading partner. The huge bulk of our tourist business comes from the US. The huge bulk of our exempt company business comes from the US. Bermudians are able to travel to the US without having to get visas to do so, unlike other members of Caricom. There is a Customs pre-clearance facility at the airport here, unlike the situation in the Caribbean.
We accept these things as if they were our right, but they're not. They are the gift to us of the United States.
There's no question in my mind that if Jennifer Smith obeys her radical instincts, as she seems to have done with Cuba, the US will have no hesitation about cutting them off.
What does the Smith Government, with its newly-found taste for talking to the press, have to say about that?
BORDERS
Devonshire
There must be a fairer way...
July 8, 2003
Dear Sir,
I am very upset at being disenfranchised. As a school teacher I have to take my vacations during the summer, so I will not be on the Island and able to vote. I know many other people are in the same situation. There must be a fairer way of holding an election.
LIZ COUNSELL
Sandys Parish
A breath of fresh air
July 10, 2003
Dear Sir,
Thank God. At last a breath of fresh air and common sense emanating from of the political arena.
To shelve the ferries as a proposal if the UBP get in, is an obvious priority - for health, education, crime and the elderly.
Now tonight on the news one is incredulous to hear that housing could be made available for around $2,000 a month for first time ownership buyers; that must be music to the ears of hundreds of people who have dreamed of owning their own homes. How could anyone resist: Integrity, open government and a piece of the pie?
A chance for the UBP to prove that it can be better the second time around, for the voter, a light at the end of the tunnel, a chance of a lifetime - take it and vote UBP.
DIANA WILLIAMS
Pembroke
Spending money in a better way
July 7, 2003
Dear Sir,
In the July 2 edition of The Royal Gazette, it was reported that Premier Smith, accompanied by two others, attended a Caricom conference at which Bermuda joined Caricom as an associate member. The public has been told that associate membership will cost $98,000 per year. I doubt that we will be told the real annual cost of first class travel, accommodations etc. that will be incurred by our government in attending Caricom functions.
About a year ago, we were told that the "benefits" of joining Caricom included: (1) a platform from which we could negotiate lower fees for Bermudians attending the University of the West Indies; (2) the Bermuda Stock Exchange being able to become a regional stock exchange; and (3) sharing of anti-drug trafficking tactics. Each of these objectives can be achieved without joining Caricom for (1), we could offer a reciprocal arrangement for West Indians attending Bermuda College; for (2) the Bermuda Stock Exchange can promote itself throughout the Caribbean without government assistance; and for (3) why would any police force on the planet deny us this short of assistance if we asked for it?
While it was somewhat encouraging that such alleged benefits were not repeated on July 2, we were told that we will be eligible to receive funding for HIV related problems. Does anyone really believe that Caricom, an association of nations that perceives Bermuda as "rich", will open its coffers to us for HIV or for any other matter? It seems to me that the only benefits in joining Caricom accrue to those who enjoy the first class vacations that go with attending Caricom functions. During the PLP's term in government, our teachers, nurses and prison officers have expressed dissatisfaction with their pay, but this hasn't slowed down the Bermuda government's champagne road show. Voters in the coming election should ask themselves if they would rather see their taxes spent on Jennifer Smith's next trip to Jamaica, or if they would rather see some of our nurses get a decent raise. Should we be giving $98,000 a year to Caricom, or should we give ten kids $9,800 each to go to university? Spending public money in such a frivolous manner demonstrates real disrespect for public duties (i.e. the duty to spend public funds responsibly). Any voter that agrees should spend the PLP a message at the polls - go pay for your own vacations - you're fired.
ANGUS LYNN
Spanish Point