No spending oversight

December 1, 2009

Dear Sir,

So Government finally admits what many of us suspected a $100 million shortfall after underestimating how much it would spend and overestimating how much it would take from the taxpayer.

Shame on the Finance Minister for allowing the free-wheeling, free-spending Premier to plunge this island into this kind of debt.

Miss Cox, where was the oversight from your Ministry?

Most of the overspending seems to be on frivolous self-serving projects for the Premier like Music Festivals and Golf Tournaments, which did not attract enough tourists to fill a couple of jumbo jets.

And where was the oversight from the House Parliamentary Committee, led by the Shadow Finance Minister, on all this spending? Has Bob Richards disappeared off the radar screen?

All right thinking taxpayers should be howling for the Auditor General to launch a full investigation.

Paula, a lot of us had high hopes for you being a force for moderation.

We hope you won't be just another lackey.

CL

Warwick

Taxis are squeezed

November 27, 2009

Dear Sir,

Please grant me the opportunity to air my opinion on the article and comments by the Minister of Works and Engineering Derrick Burgess printed in The Royal Gazette Monday, November 23, 2009.

Under the heading 'Unacceptable' for a below par taxi service on holidays, says Burgess, I would like to provide food for thought to your readers and the public using our taxi services provided 24/7.

I believe myself to be somewhat knowledgeable and familiar not only with the taxi industry but also the Bermuda tourism industry, as is Minister Burgess. I can say that Minister Burgess and I have a common history in parallels in the tourism trade, both of us go back to the beginnings of the Holiday Inn Hotel in St. Georges.

Over the years I learnt that our objectives are sometimes very much the same and in this case it is 'service' to the public. The best service possible obviously we are talking about!

I also must state that historically there have not ever been more than two Ministers of Tourism who understood, comprehended and have been able to produce and develop a real "Bermuda Tourism Product" which the BDOT could work, market and sale overseas by our very own BERMUDIANS.

We have reached an "ALL TIME LOW" in the tourism industry due to courtesy of unprofessional leadership, no tangible directives and very little management skills by the people in power.

It is easy to talk the taxi service down, but hard to take for us in the industry. Last year we experienced an all-time high fuel cost (but the Government profiteered on high tax percentage). We pay high customs duty on imported parts service and maintenance. The numbers of Minibus Services and Limousines have risen and done a deep cut into the taxi drivers income. The implementation of the Digital Dispatching and GPS locater added more to the operating cost. the last rate increase was a poor excuse. The economics of operating/driving a taxi hit rock bottom in 2008/09 and without some sort of financial adjustment, there is no betterment for the industry in the near future.

Yes, it is a fact that we have 600 taxis, but so what Minister Burgess, it means absolutely nothing. You may as well say that there are 300 or only 200 taxis on the road. The reality is that a large number of drivers have now taken a second job in order to provide for their families. Believe that, a few of us had to get other permanent employment and driving taxi is secondary to enable them to survive and maintaining financial security.

When a taxi driver has now a second employment he/she cannot because of a holiday, just jump into the cab and drive. I assure you most of us love to work holidays because of the higher rate. Many of us are working now between 12 and 24 hours per day to be able to pay bills and arrears inflicted last year.

We feel the downturn of the economy and can provide testimonials regarding the economic downturn.

Think about this, lets talk and walk the real issue!!!

In 1997 (12 years ago) Bermuda had 12,000 beds available for visitors per night and 600 taxis extending service Island wide.

The DOT reported for November 1997 26,712 AIR ARRIVALS, which were up by 7.21 percent over the 24,915 air arrivals in November 1996.

It is also reported that:

The US and Europe AIR ARRIVALS are down by three percent respectively but arrivals from Canada, the UK and the rest of the world were up by 0.8, 5.1 and 6.5 percent respectively over the same period.

What's happening today???

Do I have to mention the CURRENT AIR ARRIVALS!!! TOURISM? TOURISM? TOURISM?

Do you or anybody else think that in the taxi industry, its drivers, owner, operators had been forced THEN to seek a second job or alternative employment in comparison with today? NO, the cabs were rolling in and out of the airport and serviced hotels, cruise ships and the general public throughout the island — BETTER!

We cannot blame everything on the 'economic downturn', in all honesty we must have a good and hard look at who are the professionals of the trade and Government and responsible for the decision making process.

I realise that we are all passionate in what direction our leaders are taking us and our country is heading. We must learn from the past and act responsibly at the current time for the best result and outcome for our future and generation to come. As tourism is at this time a near dead horse I believe it will take tremendous efforts and changes in finding a Minister who is a dedicated professional, sensitive to its people's needs, knowledgeable of the characteristics of the Bermuda product regarding developing, marketing and sales.

We have to overcome the obstacles of the past, when a Master placed a crown on his head and anointed himself as the leader.

We are Homo Sapiens/Modern Human derived from Homo Erectrus (a forward thinking and walking being) for the sake of all, forget about what colour the skin.

We must rise to the level and accept ONLY the best, with best interest for all (by intellect and compassion) shall be elected by means of a 'DEMOCRATIC' process.

We must seek progressive, productive and dedicated politicians whose number one objective is to represent and serve the constituency's welfare.

FOR A DEMOCRATIC BERMUDA

Warwick

Everyone's business

November 28, 2009

Dear Sir,

Everybody's talking about crime but we don't seem to be winning that battle. Maybe the political will is not there, just like it's probably not there when the Government tries to deal with education. Let's face it, this is not easy when the community clams up and the Police are clearly not up to the task. I don't know the answer but we'd better come up with one ... and fast.

Bermuda has an economy based primarily on hospitality, construction and international business. Most of us are employed in one sector or another with the majority of the rest being employees of the Government. Most of us rely on our jobs for our income and the other side of that coin is that, if the jobs go or the employer cannot afford to pay us, then we are going to have some serious issues paying bills.

The hospitality sector is already tanking and that's probably the area where the salaries are smallest. Despite Dr. Brown's claims that hotels are going to sprout throughout the land, if you believe that I want to sell you a bridge ... and even the most diehard PLP-er has to be beginning to have some doubts about Doc's ability to deliver (although he sure can talk pretty). The construction sector is months away from drying up completely.

Sure, the foreigners will be the first to go but what we will see is smaller construction firms going out of business. And the international business sector is shrinking significantly but struggling to stay alive.

So where does crime come into this. I suspect the construction industry won't feel it but Bermuda is getting some bad press in the international travel sectors and the local newspapers, just doing their jobs, have criminal activity all over their pages. Bermuda's reputation as a 'safe' destination is no more ... and I had that from a horse's mouth, the Editor of a well known travel magazine. Ask any retailer on Front Street to tell you how their business is when tourists don't show up.

But the biggest impact will be felt in the international business community. Until now the shootings, the muggings, the home invasions and the general criminal activity has targeted local homes and families. The first international business executive or member of his family to get hurt ... shot, beaten, mugged, raped ... this house of cards is going to come tumbling down. The only business that will prosper will be Bermuda Forwarders. ... moving people out.

All I can say is that either we need to get the PLP to find some competent people to run things or we need to find someone else to be the Government.

CRIME FIGHTER

Southampton

Leaders deserve blame

October 30, 2009

Dear Sir,

We, as a black community, are collectively responsible for our young black males, including the criminals. They are our values and our priorities and the leadership that we have chosen and the kind of leadership that we have accepted (even tolerated!) that has created our society and has created our social problems (as well as any successes we may have had).

We will solve our own problems, if they are ever solved, no matter how many thousands of dollars we pay foreigners to tell us what we already know, or should know – or merely to entertain us, since we will go to listen to a foreigner when we will pay no attention to another black Bermudian who has been telling us the same thing for decades.

I believe in the value of having the insights and experiences of others injected into our thinking and discussions but many of our greatest failures are the direct result of our total dependence on, and the accepting "hook, line and sinker" of, the advice of some short-lived foreigner who knew less about Bermuda and its people than we do.

Our "young black males" and our old black male (and female) leaders all demonstrate – even if in very different ways – the extent to which we have all internalised the contempt and lack of respect for our black selves and each other, which was modeled for us for so many centuries by our white masters and rulers. But we now know that. So we are now responsible. So let us begin by not only bestowing the obligatory respect, status, privilege and prestige on our leaders but by demanding that they, in return, demonstrate the same respect, consideration and concern for the black community which bestowed the honour on them, including the least and most alienated among the black community. When our leaders humble themselves enough to both have and show true concern and commitment to our alienated, often unrepresented and disenfranchised, Blacks on the margins of our society, we may do more to address the crime and alienation than anything that the Governor may do, no matter how many foreigners he may import to solve the crime.

As long as so many of our high profile leaders demonstrate the kind of lack of respect and a lack of a sense of value for the rest of us in the black community, we cannot be surprised when those who think that they have nothing, or less, to lose, if they show the same lack of respect for both themselves, each other and the rest of us and so are prepared to kill themselves and us.

Only we, collectively, can solve our own problem of crime and we may have to change some of our own values and priorities to do so. Those high profile public figures who create the ethos and values of our society must accept their own share of responsibility for the nature of our society.

DR. EVA N. HODGSON

Crawl