Loretta Butler-Turner in the House of Assembly.
By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
FNM DEPUTY Leader Loretta Butler Turner said she will continue her crusade to stop Bahamians from losing their homes despite her decision to postpone her march against Prime Minister Perry Christie.
In an interview earlier this week, Mrs Butler-Turner said the Prime Minister abused his power when he called the managing director of First Caribbean Bank and stopped the repossession of the home of VAT co-ordinator Ishmael Lightbourne. Mrs Butler-Turner then urged activists and struggling homeowners to join her and the FNM in a peaceful protest outside Parliament to demonstrate against Prime Minister Christie.
However, Mrs Butler Turner said the march has been postponed and instead she is now gathering the names and information of Bahamians whose homes are being repossessed so Mr Christie can “call the bank for them too”.
“Right now, I am gathering information that will help me so when I speak to the issue, I will know what I am
talking about. If Mr Christie can make a call for one person he can do it for all. The same call he can make to a private bank and intervene, he can call government-owned banks and the Mortgage Corporation and help others,” she said.
“I am also asking some attorneys to intervene on behalf of people who are losing their homes. I am trying to get them some pro bono work because I do not want to see people losing their homes. So I am compiling a list of all the people that need the Prime Minister to make a call for them and then I will present it to the press and to Mr Christie.”
In a press release issued Wednesday, FNM Chairman Darron Cash said he agrees that Bahamians should march in “protest of the PLP’s failure and deceit on the mortgage relief programme”. However, he questioned who should lead that protest.
“Furthermore,” he said, “the Deputy’s statement should be taken in context. Yes, she did call for people to join her. However, the inference was very clear that the issue would be discussed with her Parliamentary colleagues to assess their perspectives. The issue was in fact discussed and the consensus position was precisely as was well articulated by the party leader Dr Hubert Minnis – the Party would not lead such a march or demonstration. The team understood that the FNM’s involvement in any such protest as a lead organiser – at this time – would immediately give the Government further excuse for under-performance by insisting that the people’s protest was politically motivated.”
Comments
birdiestrachan 10 years ago
Butler turner knows that the Government had a plan to save persons home. 10 million dollars was set aside for this plan. The Banks did not buy into the plan. They say the PM break the law by calling the bank , but yet they want him to break the law over and over again for others. by calling the bank
Butler Turner could not care less about persons loosing their homes. It is all about cheap political points. Who has she reached out to help?
TalRussell 10 years ago
Comrade you have stop snacking on jokes about weight issues, cause it go'in make your intelegance, even more bloated to be acting like a 7 year-old child.
John 10 years ago
When you drive through the inner city, or the East end of downtown or In the Southern part of the island and the Southwest the number of "For Rent" signs on buildings is depressing. One mall is almost completely empty, a ghost town by itself. Even though a number of these buildings that once housed a thriving business, operated by a Bahamian local, is now occupied have been taken over by web shops, each "For Rent" sign may represent a Bahamian family that no longer has an income and cannot pay their mortgage. Seven years in recession is a long time, and even as the economy climbs out of it there will be more casualties. If there is a recovery, many persons may sell off their homes and downsize their living expenses, so as not to be caught 'off guard' by another recession. There is a difference in living in a two bed two bath house in Stapleton, where you can sleep knowing the bills are paid, and living in a 4 bed 3 bath house in the West and the light is disconnected every other month.
concerned799 10 years ago
An empty mall. An economy struggling. But wait! Aren't cruise ships twice the size they used to be? Isn't the harbour full of them?!
Could it be a cruise industry driven tourism model does NOT work?
And if it doesn't why is the Bahamas not reconsidering what role if any cruise ships should play in its tourism development?
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