School needs crosswalk

This was sent to Trannsport Minister Terry E. Lister and copied to The Royal Gazette

November 25, 2010

Dear Sir,

I recently visited my grandchildren who are students at Somersfield Academy in the early grades. Not having a Bermuda driving licence, I collected the children and accompanied them home by bus.

First of all, I would like to praise the bus drivers. They were courteous, helpful and drove with utmost care. I congratulate them for it cannot be an easy job driving during the busy hours when children are travelling to and from school.

However the danger attempting to cross the busy road to catch the bus outside the school is enormous. I gather that the school has repeatedly requested a pedestrian crossing, but to no avail. Surely the Ministry of Transport is fully aware of this necessity. Will it take a tragic accident to facilitate this action? I myself was terrified when attempting this crossing. In order to allow us to cross, I was obliged to stand in the middle of the road and put my hands up hoping that the oncoming traffic would stop. I ask the Minister to take action before it is too late.

ELIZABETH GASOI

Rule hurts real estate

November 24, 2010

Dear Sir,

When will the Government of Bermuda stand up and admit that the current restraints on Bermudians married to non-Bermudians are having a serious and detrimental effect on our housing market? This legislation is not only discriminatory and punitive towards Bermudians on the basis of their marital choice, but in the current economic environment is adding to the lack of confidence in our housing market. Bermudians are currently waiting up to six months to have their licences to purchase property approved.

Even if you agree with the Government’s rationale for the need for licences, it must be admitted that this is an unacceptable delay.

The “subject to licence” clause puts Bermudian buyers at an initial disadvantage in vying for property, and then leaves families in a state of limbo whilst they await the permission to purchase. How are Bermudians meant to plan for a closure date when there is no guarantee regarding when their licence will be approved? What dampening effect is this having on the buoyancy of the housing market in a climate already restricted by the austerity measures of local banks? Ask the real estate agents and commercial property assessors, and they will confirm that this policy is a hindrance and a disincentive in the movement of property.

If Government insists that the property licences are necessary, then they have a duty to ensure that these are processed swiftly and effectively to minimise the inconvenience experienced by Bermudians and their spouses. For a start, there should be a guaranteed processing period which does not exceed 8 weeks. If the Ministry responsible cannot deliver this, then a long hard look must be taken at whether the legislation is justifiable.

DR. KATHERINE MICHELMORE

Bermuda Democratic Alliance

Don’t drop standards

November 26, 2010

Dear Sir,

Re Customs lowering standards

While the phrases Catch 22, Damned if you do and damned if you don’t, can be said to have little effect on minor things, it has a much more serious effect when used to lower recruit entry standards to get the required numbers needed to do the job.

Customs need staff to control our borders, which means the interdiction of drugs, guns, etc. So we give college, university, and masters degree holders an opportunity to become a protector of our borders by lowering the pass mark from 70 to 60 and give them the test a week before the exam. This means that you are now up to staff strength and up with more staff problems. This job requires quality people. Serious, mature, honest and dedicated people. You should not lower the bar.

Yes, the standard in education has fallen and obviously needs to be fixed. it is truly the bedrock of knowledge. If you can’t read, you can’t reason. Standards should not be lowered in crucial positions such as Customs, Police, Prisons. You will never get the standard back once it is lowered. It is not a short term fix. It will get so bad that the staff who are recruiting, training and passing recruits will drop their standard and let people slip through. This will come back to haunt the service.

There was a person who had a large marijuana sticker on the back door of his car when he applied for a job and got the job. There was an officer who got by the entrance exam because he had phony education certificates and was on the job for three years before it was discovered that he could not write. This is what lower standards can do. When it is easy to get in, everybody and anybody comes to your door. They come just for the money and not the profession.

All critical jobs as noted, should have a cadet programme where the best people can get the job and keep the standards high. This cadet programme can overlap all three occupations over a given time so that the cadet can decide which one he or she wants to pursue. When the decision is made, then the recruit can be fixed to that area for further training until they become a full-fledged officer. The recruit can even transfer to any of the other occupations without re-entry. These are all Government departments and their time of service will continue.

GERALD L. BEAN

Paget

UBP has no future

November 24, 2010

Dear Sir,

Michael Dunkley’s decision not to move to the BDA and Kim Swan’s diatribe against them, initially made me think that they truly believe that the UBP has a future. Frankly, I have been sincerely amazed that the politicians (I did not say members) of the UBP seem to have this idea that they are going to, some day, form the Government. Amazement aside, I consider myself fairly well informed; reasonably well educated; well read; and even able to look at both sides of the coin ... and I cannot understand how these people actually think they will win again.

The UBP has the same people, saying the same things and doing things the same way as they always did or, at least, that’s what they look like to the public. There are no younger people to speak of; no new ideas; and as far as I can see nothing new on the horizon. They seem to continue to blindly follow the mantra that “they are good people, who did wonderful things in the past and that they have solutions to all our problems”. They simply fail to look at the statistics and, to a point, they don’t seem to understand why many black people who voted for them up to 1998 will never vote for them again.

I do understand one possible rationale for all this posturing and this presumably speaks to Michael Dunkleys reluctance to switch ponies in midstream. For the moment, the UBP is the Official Opposition and, because of that, their MPs and Senators have a pulpit from which to speak. There’s no doubt in my mind that politicians almost always have two common traits: they all think they have an answer and they all love to talk !!

The next election does not have to be called until January 30, 2013 (you could look it up). Bet you a dime we start to see some horse trading closer to that date.

POLLY

City of Hamilton

Education is the key

November 26, 2010

Dear Sir,

I would like to respond to your correspondent by her letter dated November 23 about “the deep divide between black and white Bermudians” being above all economic, and about how to eliminate that division. Let’s first look at some Census data, which is, effectively, the only standardised data available.

The 2000 Census revealed that 32 percent of black households in Bermuda were in the poor and low income brackets, combined. Just 25 percent of white households were in those lowest income brackets, combined. Black households in the middle and high income (“affluent”) brackets accounted for 45 percent and 23 percent, respectively, of all black households, compared with 40 percent and 35 percent respectively for white households. (The above refers only to all black and white households. The Census Report of 2000 reveals more precise differences between the relative economic positions of Bermudian vs non-Bermudian black, white and “other/mixed” race households. Generally, though not in all cases, higher incomes are skewed in favour of non-Bermudians, both black and white.)

Eleven percent of black Bermudians aged 16 years and older had achieved an educational qualification of university degree standard compared with 23 percent by white Bermudians. Thirty-five percent of black Bermudians (over one third) had no secondary or tertiary educational qualifications at all, compared with 26 percent of whites. The proportion of both black and white Bermudians who achieved a secondary or technical/vocational educational qualification was roughly similar (53 percent and 50 percent, combined, respectively).

The median income for workers in Bermuda holding a degree from higher education (PhD, MA, BA, etc.) was $64,344. The median income for workers with a secondary education qualification was around half that. For those with “no formal certificates”, it was less than $30,000. The higher (or lower) educational attainment equated very clearly to higher (or lower) relative income.

Prioritising the educational achievement of a community is the bedrock the foundation of that community’s welfare, harmony and, not least, prosperity. If the goal is, as it should be, to aim for economic and social equality of opportunity for all Bermudians, regardless of race, gender, creed or any other distinction, the first and foremost ambition of parents, families and the government must be to educate young Bermudians to the highest possible standards. The most effective and enduring way to bridge the “economic divide” is by means of, first and above all, a commitment to reconciling the “educational divide.”

That means, particularly with regard to the public school system: first, using the expertise and experience of education officers to increase the standards and quality of teaching, including regular and high quality teacher training opportunities and incentives; second, funding the employment and deployment of educational resources (including well paid teachers) effectively and efficiently, as a national priority; thirdly, integrating the role of parents, families and teaching professionals in the education of Bermuda’s young people; and finally, that those in government must not simply articulate a policy priority in favour of education (which all politicians do anyway) but actually and materially exercise their political will to achieve the educational goals that the people of Bermuda demand in the interests of a better and more equitable community.

GRAHAM FAIELLA

London, UK

Tournament a good start

November 25, 2010

Dear Sir,

As talented as some Bermudians are in basketball, it’s sad to see none of them ever thinking of what it would be like to play in the NBA. Most of these other teams they choose to play for never get viewed and so people forget how good a basketball player he/she really is (unless they’re playing college basketball where there’s a chance their team might make it to the Final Four).

It hurts even more to know scouts don’t even consider coming to Bermuda to notice we have raw talent that needs a chance to be able to see what a NBA court looks like. It’s like we always second rate ourselves or they do it for us.That event from Chris Crumpler might just be the beginning stage of something that could start a good chain reaction but it would be nicer if a scout from America saw that event, liked what he saw and in the end,said to himself “that guy looks worthy of playing for a team in the NBA”.Think of how that would elevate Bermuda.

N 2 NBA

Devonshire