Salesperson's right, the island's going to hell in a hand basket

July 24, 2006

THIS morning as I walked out of a Front Street store, I overheard one of the salespersons say how this island is "going to hell in a hand basket". After reading the headlines this morning and hearing the morning news broadcast of the violence that occurred on the weekend, I'm positive that many others would agree with the statement.

Is this the "New Bermuda" that was promised by the Progressive Labour Party when they came to power in 1998? With all the restructuring and changes we've seen occur in the Civil Service, Customs especially, we've heard nothing but negative headlines involving either drugs or firearms.

I remember writing a letter to the editor of The Royal Gazette in June 2005 and in it mentioned an article published a few months prior about a teenager who claimed how easy it was to smuggle guns into Bermuda via the Bermuda International Airport.

The Collector of Customs, Mrs. Fostine-DeSilva, felt at that time that gun smuggling was not common in Bermuda and proceeded to make unnecessary changes in the Customs Department, supposedly for the better.

I hope that Customs officers are now receiving more than a one-day training session to familiarise them with guns and their component parts. I'm beginning to question if the Collector, who is responsible for ensuring that the ports are adequately manned and staff members are properly trained, is up-to-scratch herself.

Under this Collector's reign we've seen a failed CAPS project, an increase of guns being used in murders, a serious drug problem on this island, not to mention the amount of resignations from Customs officers.

Who is held accountable? If the Governor can intervene in an important Human Rights Tribunal hearing involving the unfair treatment of Mr. Troy Caines when the unqualified Canadian Joan Crown was hired over him by the Collector of Customs, I'm afraid we will never see accountability.

Unless Cabinet seriously addresses and deals with the staffing issues in the Customs Department, I'm afraid to say that we will see many more headlines involving drugs, guns and violence.

There's no point hiring over 100 trainee Customs officers just to try and eliminate overtime because you still have to provide uniforms for those individuals. So what money are you saving?

When Mrs. Fostine-DeSilva took on the responsibility of the front-line Immigration positions and promised that the job would be done better, I knew it would be detrimental because the Customs officers are being spread too thinly and are not allowed to function efficiently. It's all about how fast they can get the passengers through Customs and it's now proving to be disastrous.

Putting an Assistant Collector who didn't climb the ranks in place is not the answer either, as he, along with the trainees, is busy learning the basics. Too much experimenting is taking place at the detriment of the old Bermuda image.

Let the Immigration officers do the primary Immigration functions, let the Customs officers perform their own Customs duties (detecting contraband, etc.) and let the police officers go back to doing their police work (solving murders, etc.). Maybe then the Customs and Police Departments wouldn't be so understaffed with the need to continuously hire new officers.

It may be too late to claim back the old Bermuda but we must at least attempt to combat the escalating problem of violence in Bermuda before another senseless act is committed.

JENNIFER CAINES, Devonshire

Missing ferry service

July 24, 2006

I SUPPOSE that we are all proud of our Premier and the sacrifices he is prepared to make. He is prepared to give up the use of his expensive limousine for one day per month and plans to take advantage of the bus and ferry services.

As he will be travelling from Paget, I hope he will attempt to join the ferry at the Lower Ferry Station on Harbour Road. He will have an opportunity to meet a number of disgruntled people (mostly senior citizens) who have been deprived of a ferry service for almost a year.

Of course, everyone knows that the Government never feels obliged to provide a satisfactory explanation and there is no political downside in this particular area.

Obviously this won't be much of an inconvenience for the Premier, particularly in view of his recent salary increase, but it does penalise some of our elderly citizens who have had no alternative but to use taxi services since September 2005 and the costs can provide difficulties if one is surviving on a Government pension of $1,000 per month. I keep forgetting that we have such a caring Government.

CERVANTES, City of Hamilton

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