The 2003 PLP Convention has gone down as one of the most controversial in recent times. Under the theme “Transforming the Bahamas, securing our future”, this convention was anything but transforming or secure. Initially, it was promoted as an event that will unite its supporters but by closing night it was obvious that a serious division now exists in the party. This division is now to the point where party leader and Prime Minister the Honorable Perry Christie must make some hard and immediate decisions (no time to waste appointing a commission). Time is of the essence if his government is to avoid further embarrassment.
One can only speculate as to why the big bust up occurred between Agricultural and Fisheries Minister, the Honorable V. Alfred Gray and BAIC Chairman Sidney Stubbs on such a grand and historical occasion . This was an event where the leadership of the PLP should have been seeking common grounds and issues affecting the party. Instead Minister Gray utilized the occasion to lambaste Sidney Stubbs for reasons known only to him. It is a deep mystery as to why Minister Gray used this week of PLP activities to publicly indicate a concern about actions taken by Sidney Stubbs while in the execution of his duties as Chairman of BAIC. Certainly had Minister Gray been aware of any irregularities or breaches of Bahamian law prior to convention week, he was duty bound to bring it to the attention of the relevant of law enforcement authorities.
This revelation by Minister Gray was indeed a surprise. Sidney Stubbs by the responsibilities of his office is well aware of the initiatives taken by his PLP government to attract both foreign and local investors alike. To avoid giving potential investors the run-around a one-stop-shop approach was supposed to be in place, with BAIC working in full unison with all government ministries.
However, out of negligence, design or incompetence, Sidney Stubbs had approved an investment in the fishing industry without informing Minister Gray. Certainly, an investment of this magnitude even out of common courtesy should have had a stamp of approval by the fisheries ministry. Furthermore, at least two other officers at BAIC – Godfrrey Eneas and Arnold Dorsett, were formerly Director and Deputy Director at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Certainly they must have been consulted on this venture. However their misfeasance and nonfeasance as part of the BAIC Administration must be called in to question.
The fact that there is now a question as to who really own the boat and as to whether customs duty has been paid indicates that requisite procedures for such an investment have not been followed. Furthermore, there may have been breaches in the Bahamian immigration laws as well. This is most surprising as the Minister of Immigration is also the Member of Parliament for North Andros, the constituency where this investment is being made. Certainly the Honorable Vincent Peet, as a Member of Parliament, would have had an interest in this project and would have facilitated it from his ministry’s point of view.
In addition, Mr. Earlin Williams, President of Netsiwell – the company setting up the project – has previously been the consultant and has had a close relationship with BAIC for some time. Certainly he must be aware of government policies as it relates to doing business in the Bahamas. Ignorance of the law especially in this case cannot be a defense. Any decent Bahamian would find Mr. William’s attitude offensive as he is attempting to play the race card. Mr. Williams by picking on the decent, hardworking fishermen of Spanish Wells, Mr. Williams and others with his kind of thinking should by now realize that this type of backward thinking has no place in today’s Bahamas. The issue of race cannot be morally used to justify his actions. As a patriotic Bahamian, Mr. Williams must realize that the Bahamian waters and its riches are our greatest assets and must be preserved for future generations. We have already witnessed the devastating effect of bleach, gas and cleaning liquid, etc on our fragile coral reef’s ecosystem. Now he wants to add another more toxic substance notably cyanide to poison our beautiful reefs. No amount of money on this earth is worth destroying overnight something that took thousands of years to develop.
It appears that the Korean investors may have been duped and mislead by Sidney Stubbs and the BAIC administration. They may be innocent victims through no fault of their own, they may have relied on information provided to them by an official Bahamian agency such as BAIC. By being an innocent victim, it is not right that they should suffer loss, otherwise it could send the wrong message to other potential investors that it is too risky to do business in the Bahamas. The reputation that Bahamian government agencies cannot be trusted to provide reliable information is unacceptable. With Prime Minister Perry Christie boasting of vast foreign investment coming to the Bahamas this event could put much of this on hold.
Therefore, it should be quite obvious to Prime Minister Christie by now that for Sidney Stubbs to continue as Chairman of BAIC is a liability that the Bahamas cannot afford. The resignation of Sidney Stubbs must be immediately demanded or he should be fired. Failure to do so will send the message to the world that the Bahamas is not serious about doing business.. A Commission of Inquiry should be conducted with a view of identifying those responsible for this fiasco. Reports of impropriety and conflicts of interest must be dealt with to the fullest extent by Prime Minister Christie. Emphasis on his Code of Ethics now must be put to the test.
By Leatendore Percentie, DDS
Freeport, Bahamas.
November 27th, 2003
