INSIGHT: ‘We’re living in a cowboy town and there’s nothing anyone can do about it’
Hardly a week goes by when another young man’s life is lost on the streets of New Providence - a victim of gang violence which still plagues our country.
WORLD VIEW: MILLIONS LEFT BEHIND AS RICH NATIONS GRAB COVID VACCINES
DEVELOPING countries, including the member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), are being left behind in the rollout of vaccinations against COVID-19 now underway in rich countries.
INSIGHT: Let the games begin
THE silly season might be stranger than usual because of COVID-19 restrictions – but things are starting to move on the political front. With his resignation last week from the Free National Movement, House Speaker Halson Moultrie may have catapulted himself into the political wilderness. He has seemingly committed himself to his convictions – even though the Bahamian people may not always be clear on what they are.
INSIGHT: ‘I can’t make any apologies for the way God created me and who I am’
A DAY after he quit the Free National Movement, House Speaker Halson Moultrie said he has no intention of resigning from his Parliament post but suspects the governing party will try to prorogue Parliament to remove him.
INSIGHT: The dynamics of suicide
During the past few months, The Bahamas has had an increase in suicides and suicidal attempts. According to Commissioner Paul Rolle, there were 11 suicides reported in 2020, a slight increase from the eight reported in 2019.
WORLD VIEW: A second UN term for a champion of causes crucial to the Caribbean
UNITED Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced his availability to serve a second term when his current term ends on December 31.
INSIGHT: When you read ‘no comment’ or ‘not available’ it’s not for a lack of trying
Based on many accounts of ongoing experiences, it is evident the once treasured Fourth Estate of The Bahamas is now an ignored entity which is shown much disrespect by its formerly eager partners - Bahamian Cabinet Ministers.
INSIGHT: Clumsy words which could cost the government dear
LAST week’s events in the House of Assembly may rank among the darkest of days of Bahamian political history. As a people, we have far too often entertained the level of buffoonery that goes on when the people’s business should be what’s being tended to. Nonetheless, as we have not made it clear to our Members of Parliament the code of conduct we would like to see adhered to, we continue to be subjected to the same type of antics.
INSIGHT: One man’s gaffe turns the spotlight on an issue we should be alert to
THE comments of Police Commissioner Paul Rolle during his presentation of crime data from 2020 incensed many people across the country – but we have an opportunity to learn from this moment. The gaffe - Commissioner Rolle referring to men who committed suicide in 2020 as being “weak” because they were unable to deal better with domestic issues – is a problem that reaches much farther than one man’s ignorance.
INSIGHT: Is this how we treat people asking for our protection?
TEN asylum seekers are seeking damages and an injunction preventing the government from deporting them after claiming in a lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court that they were falsely imprisoned and wrongfully deprived of their liberty.
WORLD VIEW: Trump-Pompeo parting shots hurt the Caribbean
AS they are preparing to exit the White House and the State Department on January 20, the outgoing Donald Trump administration has planted some explosives for the foreign policy of the government of Joseph Biden, Jr.
INSIGHT: Will shifting dynamics result in a changing of the guard?
AS the political temperature heats up with just a year until the next general election, the Bahamian electorate will have many questions to ask. After Hurricane Dorian and the economic wrecking ball of COVID-19, any political party would face a struggle to stay in favour with fickle voters.
INSIGHT: The numbers don’t lie - the system doesn’t work and needs torn up
WITH the publication of the national exam results at the beginning of the year, one thing is apparent. The performance of Bahamian children in these examinations continues to trend in the wrong direction. Of the 6,073 students who sat the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) exams, only 365 – an incredibly low six percent – received at least a grade C in five subjects.
INSIGHT: So Minister, the PM doesn’t want drilling - what’s your personal view?
Despite cries from environmentalists Bahamas Petroleum Company has pressed ahead with its oil excavation in Bahamian waters, confident its operations are covered by an iron-clad agreement which now leaves the Government and people of The Bahamas with no say.
INSIGHT: Bring on the vaccines as it’s our only realistic route back to a life of normalcy
IF I had only a dime for how many times I’ve heard 2020 called “the worst year ever” or “a year to forget”. Indeed, 2020 inflicted what seemed to be an unending loop of trauma on people all over the world. It wasn’t until the end of the year that we were all ready to remove our hands from our eyes to see the possibility of change in the near future as a result of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
