Favouritism runs rife

May 15, 2007

Dear Sir,

The Brown Government just doesn’t get it! Lessons learned from the Bermuda Housing Corporation saga have been forgotten with each succeeding Cabinet shuffle. The recent disclosure that the Government’s granting of the emissions testing facilities to a local business without going through the tendering process shows, once again, that favouritism runs rife in the PLP administration. The PLP Government has given a new meaning to the phrase “private enterprise.” “Private” means don’t let any other young or progressive businessman or woman know about our plans. “Enterprise” now means “ Cabinet will decide who gets the lucrative contracts and who gets to do business the PLP way.” This is not about black. This is not about white. This is about transparency and integrity in Government. Sadly, the transparency and integrity promised by the PLP Government in 1998 eroded years ago. Vote them out.

EMISSIONS FAILURE

Paget

Fix our roads

May 16, 2007

Dear Sir,

“What happened to our roads?” Betty Davis uttered these words in “All About Eve” but I feel as though I re-live them each time I venture onto Bermuda roads these days. What has happened to our smooth roads? I had spinal surgery and each time I go over the patches and pot holes all over the roads I wonder just what plan is being followed in maintaining the roads. The owners of the outsize vehicles are partly to blame and the increase in traffic. Please fix the roads and publish the plans for future road maintenance so that I can look forward to smooth riding in the future. Sincerely,

Bumping in Bermuda

Hamilton

Jamahl failed Pem. West

April 25, 2007

Dear Sir,

I cannot sit around any longer and continue to read about how Jamahl Simmons was wronged and how we are racists and especially how he served his constituents well. Let me start by saying that I am NOT A RACIST. I grew up in Somerset and never once was the colour card a part of my life. I grew up knowing I had playmates, not black ones or white ones, just playmates. I do not see people for their skin colour but for who they are.

The constituents of Pembroke West were served well with the likes of David Dyer, ‘Tessy’ Terceira and Erwin Adderley to name a few. We were never served well by the likes of Jamahl Simmons. He was never seen around ‘Point’. He did not help constituents. He was never available. I even attended a meeting awhile back at the Spanish Point Boat Club where I stood up and commented, “so you are Jamahl. That’s what you look like?” He got the picture and after the meeting he came to me and asked me if I would campaign with him. I told him to just call me anytime. He never did. To this day I have not heard a thing from him.

The people of Pembroke West were tired of having a representative who did nothing. We finally took things into our own hands and got rid of Jamahl as our representative. I sympathise with Jamahl where his family situation is concerned. I know for a fact that he was offered a place to stay after Fabian with one of our own constituents. This offer was not taken up. Unfortunately it comes down to the fact that if things are so bad in your personal life then the right thing to do is to step down and deal with those things and let someone else represent us.

To Jamahl I say “stop playing the race card. We did not get rid of you because you were black, but because you did nothing for us in Pembroke West. You did not campaign here in this constituency and you were NEVER around or available for us.”

DONNA L. BARNES

Constituency 19 Branch

Committee Member UBP

P.s. I have lived in Spanish Point for 27 years and Jahmal was the worst UBP representative we have had since I moved here from Somerset all those years ago.

Apologies, Warwick Academy

May 15, 2007

Dear Sir,

In follow-up to my previous letter, May 2nd, published in

Mrs. Maggie McCorkell, Deputy Head Teacher of Warwick Academy, contacted me directly following publication of my letter, for further details concerning the offensive rider, and I passed on the licence plates and descriptions of the vehicles and drivers as best as I could. Mrs. McCorkell conducted her own investigation at the school, in conjunction with the police, and was able to determine that the offending bike was not owned by either a Warwick Academy student or a parent of a Warwick Academy student. We both agree that this does not mean that a Warwick Academy student was not driving the bike, only that the bike was not owned by anyone with present connections to the school.

I take responsibility for my assumptions and after speaking with Mrs. McCorkell, I am pleased to offer my apologies to the school, if I was wrong in naming students of Warwick Academy specifically with blame for the incident. Our investigations are inconclusive enough that it could have been students from any school involved. However, circumstances were that the offending riders were dressed in student uniforms similar to those worn by the school, and the riders turned into the school’s parking lot at the time of day that I would have expected students to be going to that school. The natural assumption was that the students belonged to the school.

I am sadly disappointed that my message could not reach the parents of the youths who were driving so irresponsibly. I am pleased, however, that the students have taken such an interest in this incident. I have been told that some initiatives may be introduced at Warwick Academy as a result of this incident, to ensure that at least some of our young drivers are taught responsible, courteous, safe driving techniques. Perhaps the other schools can join forces with Warwick Academy in offering driver education beyond the basic skills of Project Ride, to instil manners, courtesy, respect and responsibility in the youth, when they venture out onto Bermuda’s roads.

I would like to extend my personal thanks to Mrs. McCorkell for her assistance. Mrs. McCorkell has also asked me to convey that she would like to be contacted directly any time a Warwick Academy student is behaving in an inappropriate manner in public. She will address these matters as they arise.

TOM PANCHAUD

Southampton

Don’t be so biased

May 3, 2007

Dear Sir,

In the future, please try harder to conceal your unmitigated bias against Premier Ewart F. Brown and The Bermuda Progressive Labour Party.

In your totally unbalanced and blatantly misleading editorial, under the pretext of discussing security, you attempted to leave the impression that the Premier has added considerable salary expense to government. yet, you did not mention that for the past three years, Premier Brown has worked tirelessly night and day to capably manage two ministries for the price of one and for the past several months he has managed two ministries and a premiership for the price of one. You also did not mention that by not moving to Clifton, the Premier will allow the Government to collect $20,000 to $25,000 a month in rent, which will be surely be enough to pay for any additional security enhancements required by the police for his private residence.

Your comparison of Premier Brown’s security arrangements with those of previous premiers and your statistical reference to the 30-year gap since the assassination of Governor Sharples is amazingly simplistic if not downright ignorant. Guess what! Before Governor Sharples was assassinated, there had never been an assassination in Bermuda — how long was that period? Assassinations and crimes against public figures do not easily lend themselves to statistical handicapping — they just happen! Since you believe Bermuda is so different from the rest of the world, why don’t we in Bermuda seek an exemption from all of the security precautions taken at the airport? As a matter of fact, since we are such a perfect and peaceful society, why don’t we all do what we used to do — let’s not lock our doors at night or our cars or our bikes; let’s not have security in the department stores, hotels and office buildings. Why don’t you look at all of the security arrangements that were in place for everyone “back in the day” of Governor Sharples and David Saul, and suggest that everyone revert to them — not just the leader of our Government?

Meanwhile, your characterisation of the two recent security incidents involving Premier Brown as being relatively minor is presumptuous to say the least. Need I remind you that it was a homeless, deranged person who knifed and caused serious bodily injury to one of our tourists within the last few years? The Premier is an extraordinary prominent Bermudian in all of our media, and can easily become the subject of some mentally ill person’s delusions. And, if you think the person at the airport was so harmless, why don’t you invite him to have a private visit with you to ask him personally what he was going to do with the box cutters? I should warn you that people in the community are afraid of him because he has been convicted of causing serious bodily injury to someone with a knife.

You reached ridiculously far to bring in Premier Brown’s Mid-Ocean membership — who told you about it —Michael Dunkley? The membership is a fact, I understand, but what relevance does it have to what you were supposed to be discussing — the Premier’s security? Finally, your conclusion that Premier Brown has built up insulation between himself and the people tells us all why you wrote the editorial. The only insulation Premier Brown has built up is against people who are opposed to the PLP no matter how commendable their governance may be, and against people like you who stretch and manipulate the truth — in spite of the excellent job the Premier is doing for the people of Bermuda. I thank God that the Premier has developed thick skin in order to keep moving Bermuda forward in spite of a daily newspaper obviously owned in great part by, and in the camp of, the Opposition — witness your biased, erroneous editorial! Again — try to be a little less obvious next time, or in the interests of full disclosure, why don’t you change the name of your paper to “The Royal Opposition Daily”?

G. SHAWN GRANT

St. David’s

Editor’s Note: Unlike news stories, editorials are supposed to express a point of view, as the one referred to did. In other instances, Royal Gazette editorials have supported and/or given credit to, Dr. Brown’s government. This newspaper does not support any political party.