PLP is to blame

March 6, 2010

Dear Sir,

Although a budget is an estimate of revenues and expenses that the Government will use to implement the PLP policy for the next year, the estimates must be accurate and based on real figures; otherwise all the time and expense used to produce a budget is a waste of time and money!

The Auditor General will not or cannot vouch for or qualify the accuracy of many items in the Budget. How can you run a efficient organisation if you don't know the figures you have to spend. I will tell you Mr. Editor if you are the PLP you just go ahead and spend and let someone else sort it out and pay for it later.

The PLP budget shows the Government can no longer live off the fat of the old UBP economy and like it or not, it's the responsibility of the PLP for our financial situation and blaming our problems on everyone else in the world and the old UBP just isn't true. Who are they trying to fool, their own supporters? Maybe so. PLP supporters don't feel betrayed.

I don't think the PLP government will be able to financially manage the Corporation of Hamilton any more than they can manage the finances of the country.

All the debt the PLP is accumulating is selling us back into slavery to the money masters!

CHARLES SPANSWICK

City of Hamilton

Make term illegal

March 6, 2010

Dear Sir,

I have known both Dueane Dill and Rolfe Commissiong for many years. I have experienced and witnessed how they treat people, how they conduct themselves and how they carry a conversation.

Well done Dueane for standing up to the bully.

It is time for the Human Rights Commission to place "house nigger" as a racist term so that victims of this verbal abuse can sue the perpetrator in a court of law.

CHERYL POOLEY

Smith's

Seeing the light

March 7, 2010

Dear Sir,

A year or two ago, I had Dale Butler at my home to talk about how badly the PLP Government was running this country. I pointed out certain things a vast majority of people were saying and what was obvious to them that what was going on was not right. I spoke on the lack of accountability, the suspected corruption– but, whatever I told him, he said that he had not heard these things from anyone and I told him that if he hadn't heard these things, he was either not listening, or that the people were telling him what he wanted to hear. He played the perfect politician with his answers and would not admit to anything that I had said.

After reading his speech in yesterday's paper, apparently he has finally seen the light and I have to give him credit for that. I am sure all of the Ministers and the PLP backbenchers know darn well that the leadership of Dr. Ewart Brown has taken Bermuda to the depths. They know this man is ruining the country and yet they say nothing until now as Dale Butler has spoken out. Yes, some of them were against the Gaming Bill the Premier tried to sneak through, but that is not enough.

Mr. Editor, those people can't see or won't see what is going on and in that bunch, I have to include one of his biggest supporters, Rolfe Commissiong who is suppose to be a race relations adviser whereas he is nothing but a race stirrer with his alleged nasty racial remarks, and what is truly disgusting is the fact that the Ewart Brown Government sees fit to pay him $170,000 over 20 months of our tax payer money to stir up ugly racial feelings.

Dale Butler commenting on Rolfe Commissiong's aleged remarks to the BDA's Mr. Dill, was absolutely right in saying: "Those types of conversations are of the dead school, not even the old school!" But in my opinion, Rolfe Commissiong and Ewart Brown are cut from the same cloth and they know the meaning of divide and conquer. By keeping a certain segment of the community racially stirred, means the PLP will get their votes. There is a method to their madness.

Dale Butler states in his speech that the people are worried! I wonder when this thought occurred to him. Where was he when Larry Denis put his report out informing everyone about the unaccountability, the possible fraud, the possible corruption, at one point, the $1.3 billion that was unaccounted for, millions of dollars in over-runs and the rest – and for this, Larry Denis was thrown into jail by the EB Government and then this same questionable Government tried to get him fired? So again I ask, where was Dale Butler? The people have been worried for a long time, and anyone with an ounce of brain could see this – but one thing for sure, I am really glad that Dale Butler has finally woken up to see the light and the reality of the horrendous situation the Ewart Brown leadership has put us in. The alarm bells have been going off for years now and he is just hearing them. One does wonder! This part of Bermuda's history is so disgusting that I am ashamed for Bermuda. Ewart Brown has not only insulted the intelligence of the Bermuda people, he has insulted his own Cabinet. He hasdeceived them many times and if he doesn't leave before October, he will deceive them again. If that is not fodder in their faces, I don't know what is. To his Cabinet Ministers – Just remember, he is the pigeon and you are the statues!

Dale Butler goes on to say that heads should roll! Ha, Governments anywhere else in the world (except for a dictatorship), Ministers, Presidents, Prime Ministers etc. have resigned. This is because even though these people have performed some unethical behaviour, there was a sense of "doing the right thing", but these leaders here have no sense of honour, so they don't do the right thing. Half of the PLP leaders along with some Ministers and most of the PLP backbenchers should have resigned long ago, but no, there's that almighty dollar sign in front of their eyeballs and the lack of honour (a word they have no respect for and is sadly before all of their names) that keeps them grabbing for more. How shameful is that?

Bermuda has become another Turks and Caicos and we need the same type of investigation that was done there to be done here before the Ewart Brown Government bankrupts Bermuda. I think it is time that a thorough investigation into all Government accounts should be performed, also the accounts of certain PLP Ministers.

Mr. Editor, the people of Bermuda need to be more aggressive when it comes to the way this island is run – but no, they sit back and wait. In other countries you would have thousands of people marching the streets in protest of what they feel is wrong. We as citizens of Bermuda who are not happy with the current Government need to protest. We put these people there and we should be able to take them out. We should be marching by the thousands down Front Street on the Cabinet Building asking for Ewart Brown to resign, and to take the Finance Minister along with him, because she did not use her power to put a stop to the insane spending. October is too far away and a lot more damage could be done by then. We are only a spit in the ocean and this man acts as if we are some majority stakeholder on the world stage. Some say he is visionary … he probably is – for himself!

Wake up Bermuda … What are you afraid of? Right is right and wrong is wrong, regardless of who you are!

PAT FERGUSON

Warwick

Suing Butterfield

March 8, 2010

Dear Sir,

I'm wondering if and when some BNTB shareholders will finally have the guts to signal enough is enough and sue the Bank/its senior officers and Directors for suspending shareholders' rights?

Last week's CIBC et al's opportunistic capital infusion into the Bank was done without prior shareholder approval and results in the more than 2,600 common equity shareholders losing almost all of their equity. Perhaps following Government's lead, the Bank was just following suit in suspending its shareholders' rights, thinking it could do what it wanted and no one would protest.

In recent years, shareholders collectively have lost several hundred million dollars in the value of their shareholdings as the Bank suffered large and continued losses. Some large shareholders have lost more than $10 million each. Where were they as the stock price sank? When did they demand changes in the Bank's strategy, a seat on the Board, or new management to help determine how best to turn around the Bank? If they didn't care then, why should they care now, when the value of their equity is almost gone?

Well, this time is different.

It's not about the money.

It's about the principle.

We've seen the Bermuda Government/the Premier circumvent widely-accepted practice and the rule of law (OK … some actions are "alleged", for no one's been indicted yet). Yes, sometimes the public has complained or gathered near Government buildings. But Bermudians generally tend to sit back and let the world spin, showing far too much patience in my book for errant behaviour. As a whole, we don't do anything that results in people being prosecuted or people changing their ways. So we're taken advantage of by people who think the non-responsive behaviour will continue – to the benefit of their own agenda/pocketbook. When will there be enough pain or recognition of wrongdoing to take real action?

Is it not time for the Bank's shareholders to put management on notice that the rule of law cannot be circumvented and that the Bank should have put the deal to a shareholder vote? The money's gone, but do ethics and principles have to be too?

The Bank likely will argue that time was of the essence, that it was going to announce a huge loss (almost equal to the market value of the outstanding equity), that it had to act quickly to avoid panic and a run on the Bank (which might have proved particularly challenging to Government's "cog in the wheel"). The Bank was losing a lot of money for several years, so isn't this fearmongering at odds with the facts or how a prudent management team should have addressed the challenges over several years and not just prior to a year-end earnings announcement?

What's the process spelled out in the Bank's bye-laws for prior shareholder approval of material transactions or a material change of ownership? On what basis did the Bank believe it had the right to suspend its bye-laws such that typical company shareholder rights were denied?

Perhaps some insiders can help shed light by posting their story anonymously at www.wikileaks.org

So, although I wish new management every success, it's also time they knew that more than just the new investors/CIBC will be holding them accountable. Suing the Bank may not win the plaintiffs back the value of their lost equity, but there's value in demonstrating that at least someone's thinking about the principle of it all. And, then – maybe – Government will take note as well for the betterment of us all.

Let's hope some shareholders have what it takes.

CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN

City of Hamilton

Caricom or Budget?

March 10, 2010

Dear Sir,

How is it that the leader of the Government considers a visit to Caricom more important than the debate on his own Ministry? Perhaps he should explain to us why he needs to attend this particular Caricom meeting and why it is so important for him to do so rather than remaining here in Bermuda to support his own Budget?

It is my understanding that Bermuda's Associate Membership of Caricom merely allows our representative(s) to attend and speak at Assembly Meetings. The casting of a vote by Associate Members is not permitted, so why in the world does he need to be there?

Yet again we witness poor judgment from the Premier. His priorities are certainly not Bermuda's. Is it any wonder that most Bermudians can't wait to see the back of him in October? Frankly, it can't come fast enough …

ALLAN D. MARSHALL JP

Smith's

Fraudulent MPs

March 10, 2010

Dear Sir,

I would like to address the three former UBP MPs (Donte Hunt, Mark Pettingill and Shawn Crockwell) who now sit in the House of Assembly under the banner of the Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA) and why they need to resign their seats to contest by-elections.

These three MPs ran in the last election as UBP candidates under the campaign slogan "Trust" and shortly after the election there were rumblings that there would be resignations from the UBP for the formation of a new political party. Then last November or thereabouts we saw the resignation of these three MPs from the UBP, yet not one of them seems to have given any thought to the electorate, especially that segment of the electorate that cast votes for them as UBP members.

The number one core value of the BDA is "A democratic process with integrity and broad participation by all Bermudians". Additionally, the slogan of the BDA is "A Better Way". If these MPs do not resign their seats and allow the constituents that elected them to reaffirm them as House members or choose a different representative, how can they stand behind this core value? Where is this "better way" that they want us to believe in if they do not resign their seats and go back to the electorate is it not politics as usual? When Dr. Brown made the announcement after the 2002 election that "We had to deceive you" there was uproar from a fairly vocal section of the Bermuda electorate who did indeed feel deceived as they had cast their votes, presumably for the PLP under a Dame Jennifer Smith leadership. This situation is no different because these three MPs won their seats as UBP candidates, not as members of another party, so to continue to sit in the House under the BDA banner without the expressed will of the people is fraudulent.

I say to each of these MPs, do the honourable thing, resign your seat and stand again for election on the BDA platform (whatever that is) and under the BDA umbrella and let your constituents decide. If you are as valuable to Bermuda as you claim to be, you should win your seats easily.

Funny thing is when I posed this to the BDA via their Facebook page the response was if the MPs had resigned their seats in November when the BDA was formed they probably would not have won the by-elections. This was an interesting response to me because what it says is that these persons only won their seats because they were UBP candidates and their value to the constituents at the time of the election was based on them carrying the UBP banner. With this response it is clear that the BDA acknowledges that the electorate in these constituencies voted for the party and not the individual candidate, which is even more reason for these MPs to resign their seats and allow the people to speak.

I would be the first to agree that the current PLP Administration seems to have gone a little wayward, which could give a new quality political party some footing with the electorate but this new party needs to prove that it is different from the existing parties. The only way, at this point to show it is different is to be willing to stand on what it represents and let the people make the decision on the way forward.

I tend to keep my finger on the political pulse in Bermuda, as many are aware, and the BDA should know that there are many like me who are willing to give them a chance but before that even begins to happen we need to know that it is not business as usual. The BDA has to be a part of ethics and integrity and these cannot be in word alone, we need to see direct and consistent practice of this.

So to Donte Hunt, Mark Pettingill and Shawn Crockwell the seats in which you sit in the House of Assembly do not belong to you, they belong to the electorate so show that you have the political fortitude and give the people the say as to whether they want you to continue sit in those seats in the House or not. Prove through your actions that the BDA is a better way.

In closing, this call for resignation also goes out to Wayne Furbert and Darius Tucker as they were not elected by their constituents to sit as Independent Members.

GUILDEN M. GILBERT Jr.

Nassau, Bahamas