Save the Corporation

July 1, 2010

Dear Sir,

It always amazes me how the people are hoodwinked by the politicians of the day. We need our Government to absorb the Corporation of Hamilton like they need an injection of common sense.

Who will benefit from a takeover? It will be like any corporate takeover, they will divide, split and dismantle. The city will be a mess. The leaders cannot control their own spending and so they want an injection of cash. Shame. Change your ideas fearless, wasteful leaders and lead by example. Stop the spending. Unclear message? Just say no. Enough is enough already.

BOYD VALLIS

Sandys

Measuring the rainfall

July 2, 2010

Dear Sir,

Until quite recently, the Government rainfall statistics were recorded in the central parishes. This perhaps made more sense because as we all know the rainfall patterns across Bermuda vary widely and a central measuring station would more likely be representative. Only last year we had serious flooding around Hamilton due to intense rain but in St. George's they recorded just a quarter of one inch of rain. Ideally, the rainfall should be measured in the west, east and central and recorded as such. They shouldn't be averaged across Bermuda as the result would not be truly indicative of what happens locally. Won't be perfect but better than what is currently recorded.

This part of the year is very dry but in January, February and March of this year my water tank overflowed seven times. The public water supply system should be able to cope with a few months of dry weather but Government seems to cry drought whenever we have more than a couple of weeks of dry weather. This should not be so and I suspect the blame game for failing to meet public and in particular water trucker demand is more than just a little less rain.

Long term rainfall records are maintained by Government and the severity of the current drought can easily be established against them. While I doubt it is anywhere close to a suggested worst drought in 30 years, with a lessening of Bermudians' conservative water practices, an increased expatriate population and I suspect a failure of Government to properly operate and maintain its water systems, the shortages are far worse than they need have been.

The following are rainfall figures for the Airport and Pembroke in 2010. The Pembroke figure is recorded on a Davis instrument so while not as scientifically accurate as the equipment used by the Bermuda Weather Service, I believe the results to be accurate based upon daily recordings.

2010

Airport Pembroke

January

6.06 5.77

February

3.67 4.93

March

5.13 7.20

April

1.11 0.68

May

1.21 1.92

June

0.79 0.71

Totals to date

17.97 21.21

We exercise traditional water conservation practices, do not have a well for flushing and are not connected to the mains. We average about 30 gallons of water per person per day. Our tank is still 66 percent full.

WATERMAN

Pembroke

Water ship is needed

July 2, 2010

Dear Sir,

Isn't it about time that a container ship with water be brought in? We are in drought conditions and we can only get one load of water if we can get anyone to answer at the water truck locations, and some can't even get that and we are now in "dire straits!"

Who is in charge? Can they not see we need water. It's about time someone gets the "ball rolling" and bring water into Bermuda before we get to this stage.

THIRSTY

Warwick

Slow overseas mail

July 2, 2010

Dear Sir,

The following letter was sent on June 17 and followed by a telephone call one week ago. As I have had no response I thought you may want to print the letter so people will be aware of how air mail is being dealt with.

June 17, 2010

Dear Mr Outerbridge (Postmaster General),

Earlier this week I visited Warwick Post Office. I was concerned about two pieces of mail which had been posted to the UK some weeks ago and had not yet arrived. Both pieces were sent by air, one was letter rate and the other a parcel for which I had a receipt with a tracking code. The lady at the post office was only able to establish the date the parcel should have left Bermuda and the fact that it left via Air Canada so the following day I decided to follow up with a call to the mail facility at Ferry Reach.

A manager by the name of Sam Brangman was very helpful and in a short time he was able to tell me that the parcel had arrived in the UK that day and hopefully would arrive at its destination in a few more days. Later that day I learned from my sister that she had received the letter rate envelope that day.

During this time I established that all mail to the UK goes via Canada and that of course explains why my mail has taken three weeks to get there! Surface mail is not an option from Bermuda any more, yet the post office charges air mail prices for surface mail service and doesn't even bother to let the public know that our mail is going a roundabout route and will obviously take longer. So much for thinking that the piece of mail you pop in the box on Friday is going out on BA on Saturday night.

Maybe you could clarify why our mail goes via Canada and not direct on BA? I shall look forward to your reply.

SUE GARLAND

Warwick

Premier's tired old act

July 2, 2010

Dear Sir,

Once again the Premier pretends not to understand the issue.

The complaint made in the Public Accounts Committee was not that the contract with Global Hue was renewed, it was that the contract was not put out to tender, allowing others to bid.

This is very similar to John Jefferis being granted better lease terms at Coco Reefs and many Government construction contracts going to Correia Construction.The issue has nothing to do with racism. John Jefferis and Dennis Correia are white. It is to do with lack of transparancy, lack of tendering and the perception by those of us outside the Premier's inner circle, that all the best contracts go to close friends of Ewart Brown.

If there is one thing more demeaning to black people than the Premier's trivialisation of racism for political gain, it is that he believes they are gullible enough to fall for his tired old act.

HOPING FOR A BETTER PREMIER

St. David's

TCD change costs us

July 1, 2010

Dear Sir,

The Gazette reported several weeks ago on a strategy position for the Bermuda Democratic Alliance to look at partial privatisation of the civil service.

I sincerely hope that should BDA or the UBP ever get the chance that they not follow the example set by the PLP government. They hired Bermuda Emissions Control Ltd. to take over the general testing of motor vehicles and to undertake emissions testing. While I believe that we all approve of the improvements made in service, the cost to the taxpayer is enormous.

Using data from Government's own Approved Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for TCD going back to 2004/05, we see that there were eight examiners performing 44,636 vehicle exams and 6,628 driving tests. In 2009/10 there were nine examiners performing 49,542 vehicle exams and 6,517 driving tests.

The problem is that TCD no longer performs the vehicle exams BECL does! So now we have nine TCD examiners only doing driving tests. By my rough reckoning allowing for holidays that works out to about 15 driving exams per examiner per week. Now maybe some of these are part-time but their workload is miniscule to what it was! Why do we need so many?

BECL has a five-year contract and is getting paid by TCD $2.4 million per year to do the vehicle exams and the emissions testing.

Why isn't vehicle testing and emissions testing being performed by TCD staff? All BECL staff have had to be trained and so could TCD staff. Yes there is a lot of brand new vehicle testing equipment but government has paid for that. From reports in the media BECL has paid only for the emissions testing gear. A quick search on the Internet will show there to be several sources for this equipment so it's not like we are dealing with top secret or hugely expensive gear.

Does having about ten courteous examiners who I am sure know their stuff together with six emissions testing machines justify the $2.4 million per year? I think not. Just think of the good that money could do in our community. A new Salvation Army homeless shelter, jobs for summer students, summer school for children who need the help. I'm sure the list of worthwhile projects is huge. How about $12.8 million devoted to paying down our national debt over five years?

Government should break this contract and hire the staff. What was the Minister of Transport thinking?

ALBERT SODERGREN

Devonshire

Out in the open

July 3, 2010

Dear Sir,

I am typing this letter as a rebuttal to Toni Daniels, a BDA supporter, who claimed I am "petty and churlish" in your letters' column. She went on to say that my "attacks" on her beloved party and MPs are antiquated and ineffective.

Let me start off by saying that my first and foremost quarrel with your party, Ms Daniels, is your "MPs" are false. Those "youthful talents", as you referred to them, were not elected under your BDA banner. Stop the hogwash by Pettingill that it would be a waste of money on a by-election. How much money did you "waste" to form that party? It's never a waste to properly have the people behind you. Face it. You all would have had the rug torn from under you.

Secondly, youthful talent? Young United is growing and maybe you didn't know, but I am 23. I am a 23-year-old who had your party scrambling for answers to my "attacks" (as you say), deleting posts off their wall by your members and their "churlish" comments to me, and even had PLP stalwarts buzzing e-mails wondering who is this Robert Davies who has the BDA pinned to a wall? So clearly my tactics are far from ineffective, so much so your chairman, Mr. Fahy, kept trying to get me to stop speaking the truth and meet in private while some of your members told me, "you're just a hater, just be quiet and leave the page".

This is my third point. Mr. Fahy showed he is antiquated. Antiquated Bermudian politics warrants back door convos out of the public eye. New Bermudian politics has open, candid conversations for everyone to see and take note.

Also, I was voicing the concerns of many Bermudians who are downright angry at your "MPs" exodus. I also was not going to allow your Mr. Pettingill to lie about his house and UBP caucus attendance record. So, my politics is one that speaks truth openly and frankly. Your letter was in fact petty and churlish as you offered no reason why you called me those names, and no solutions, just a character attack on me.

Your politics are blinded by your party, another antiquated Bermudian political trait. I do not fear standing up for my concerns nor my party as sadly, SADLY many Bermudians do fear because of old ways of politics. I am also not churlish. Did you read that word properly? It means rude, uncouth, and soil-like. I was not rude, uncouth, and what I was saying is far from soil, madam.

It seems your party's main issue is you think you can throw stones at the PLP and criticise them, but when you are challenged you do exactly what you say the PLP/UBP do and label the "attacker" as petty and foolish. Your party is disillusioned and you're far too similar to the UBP and you know this, but people like your "youthful talent" want to say all the ideas you have are your own, rather than taken, especially one of your MPs who acts as if he himself drafted all your "own" ideas. Having said all this, thank you for your letter. It encouraged more people to visit your party's wall and see my points and I've received wonderful feedback encouraging me. You see how speaking in the open is better? Perhaps "a better way"?

ROBERT DAVIES

Young United

Devonshire