The Tribune

By ADRIAN GIBSON

ajbahama@hotmail.com

AS I travel this week, I began to think about what my first column for the New Year should be about and though I considered writing a 2013 review column, it was simply too depressing and so today I’ve chosen to write a collection of a few random thoughts concerning various aspects of our country.

So, to commence my random ramblings.....

Congrats Valley Boys!

Firstly, congratulations to the best group in Junkanoo—the Valley Boys. The Boys did my heart glad; I literally shuffled from the seat of the vehicle I was in when I got the whatsapp message that they had won the New Year’s Day Parade and—as forecasted—managed to two-peat! To my younger brother and sister—one a One Family Warriors fan and the other a Saxons fan—you both will have to endure a year of boasting, “hard mouth” and walking on eggshells whenever the topic of Junkanoo arises. To my buddies in the barbershop, when I return to Nassau—if you aren’t a Valley Boy—may the good Lord help you!

Bran McCartney and his political standing

I thought about politics lately—well, I always think about politics—but I got to thinking about Branville McCartney’s place in local politics and what the future might hold for him.

What Bran McCartney did with the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) had not occurred before the launch of that party with any other “third” party. McCartney rallied a slate of 38 candidates, some of whom were well known, well respected and qualified professionals in their respective fields. Mr McCartney capitalized on the discontent that so many Bahamians were beginning to feel about certain decisions made by the FNM (the BTC sale, the drawn-out road works and the inconveniences on the roads and loss of businesses, etc) and the feelings of mistrust that they had with the PLP. Admittedly, McCartney’s youthfulness and public appeal catapulted that party to the forefront of local politics, making the neonate grouping the first third party seen as a serious challenger for the people’s votes—a political outfit that could snag quite a number of votes from the “big boys”, even if they didn’t win a seat. Well, the DNA won no seat nor did their fanciful proclamations of winning the government come to fruition, but what that party did in 11 months of existence continues to resonate throughout political circles. What’s more, unlike so many other third parties preceding it, a handful of candidates were able to retrieve their deposits—the leader and deputy leader (Chris Mortimer) being among them. Noticeably, Bran McCartney had also managed to persuade the incomparable social and political activist Rodney Moncur to join him, leading Moncur to fold his generations old Workers Party and unite forces!

Frankly, the FNM cannot survive with the continued existence of the DNA. That’s a fact. If Branville McCartney is permitted to continue to freely roam the political scene, his dynamism and ability to galvanise everyday Bahamians could cause major fissures in the political landscape, particularly among disaffected FNMs who have shown a penchant for breaking ranks and expressing their dissatisfaction by either voting for a third option or simply staying at home.

Anyone who wrote Bran McCartney off as merely a political whippersnapper or greenhorn, an upstart who could not shake the political applecart, certainly would not describe him in such terms in the wake of the 2012 general election.

So, does this mean that Branville McCartney is merely keeping up appearances to maintain his political profile until the FNM holds a constitutionally mandated convention later this year? I’ve heard that McCartney has been courted by the “white knights” and other FNM bigwigs to return to challenge Dr Minnis with a surprise entrance onto the convention floor and a nomination for the leadership. Could this be so? I’ve also been reliably informed that there is a move afoot to broker a reconciliation between McCartney and former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, which would ensure Ingraham’s blessing of McCartney’s pursuit of the leadership and/or also seek to see Ingraham not tilt the scale in favour of any other candidate or against McCartney.

I highly doubt that McCartney would want to return to the FNM unless it’s in some kind of leadership post. That said, the current leader—Dr Hubert Minnis—won’t be a pushover either and, at this juncture, should reach out to McCartney—his cousin—and seek to ensure that they are on the same page, that McCartney wouldn’t emerge as the man to potentially unseat him.

On King Eric

Let me say that I was a fan of the late “King” Eric Gibson and was impressed by his musical contributions to the Bahamas. Frankly, in recent time, I’ve been told by my family that we are actually cousins. I think that King Eric represented some of the best of our Bahamian cultural offerings and his establishment of the King and Knights night club represented an era that saw the expansion and ownership of true, down home Bahamian music. He’s another icon from a bygone era who I feel took many stories of our historical and cultural development with him to the grave. From what I know, no one wrote an autobiography of his life.

One must also note King Eric’s contribution to local sailing and the development of our regattas. I think that such involvement in maintaining our native cultural expressions were noble and should never go unheralded.

My sincere sympathies to his family on passing!

Cable Bahamas and television/internet services in north Long Island

Cable Bahamas (CB) has really done north Long Islanders a disservice. During the last general election, cable services were extended from the south as far down as right before Deals settlement. What’s worse, the major hotels on Long Island—the Cape Santa Maria and Stella Maris Inn—are further north and they themselves are without cable services, whether that relates to the internet, telephone or television.

As a business person with a soon-to-be-launched business located just one settlement down in Bunches, one would be totally reliant on BTC if I would want any internet service and would be without any Cable Bahamas offerings. Certainly, no television! Unfortunately, folks such as my grandparents and so many others must continue to either pay exorbitant satellite costs or rely on the air-channels—six unclear, signal-dropping monotonous channels that emanates from some arrangement with Cable Bahamas. What’s more, the best about these channels is the nightly newscasts. There is a sizeable population of Long Islanders who live between the Deals settlement and Seymours, so Cable Bahamas cannot substantiate any claim to not have a consumer base that would warrant them running their lines or connecting these households to a full cable TV/internet roll-out.

Folks on Long Island who have the full rollout of cable channels told me that they do not know what they are watching, as the channels 5 and 12—the so-called guides—are both out of service.

Long Island is lacking infrastructure and development. I call on the government to pay greater attention to this idyllic place, which is seemingly being forgotten by the political establishment and where the economy is so depressed that young men and women leave in droves to live and work in New Providence, nearby Exuma and other more economically progressive Family Islands.

On another note, I really like the CB television advertisement with the two singers singing ‘Auld Lang Syne.’ It’s one of my favourite ads and the song should be recorded—in full length—by those singers and sold. I’d buy it.

I look forward to what 2014 holds for the Bahamas. This new year represents an opportunity for us to hit the restart button and to seek to develop our country in a more strategic, holistic manner.