Time for accountability

March 15, 2010

Dear Sir,

On Saturday you published a letter under the heading "Suing Butterfield". Your correspondent challenged the right of the Bank to suspend its by-laws in order to do facilitate the investment by the Carlyle Group and others. The Butterfield Board cannot suspend the by-laws, and in fact the Companies Act says the directors must act in accordance with the by-laws. So what really happened? Shareholders need more facts.

The BSX rules impose a duty on an issuer to offer shares to shareholders on a pre-emptive basis, so that existing shareholders can buy more shares in order to avoid being "diluted". What was the nature of the dispensation given by the BSX?

I do not recall shareholders ever being asked to pass any resolution which had the stated effect of waiving the benefits of the right of pre-emption conferred by the BSX rules.

The intrinsic value of Butterfield's stock has been destroyed, and many people have lost a substantial part of their family wealth or life savings as a result. It is time for some accountability.

VIDOCQ

City of Hamilton

Change the law

March 16, 2010

Dear Sir,

August 7, 2003: Melanie Wedgwood – expatriate – chose to overtake a bus which was stopped in front of a pedestrian crossing in a school zone. Melanie Wedgwood found to be not criminally responsible (even though someone is dead because of her poor judgment), gets on a plane and with time the memory of what she has done will fade. She and her family get to go on with their lives.

Result: Young Bermudian girl dead, another child emotionally scarred for life, family haunted by her untimely demise for the rest of their lives. In their grief, try to effect change in legislation so that the death of their beloved young one is not completely in vain.

April 5, 2009: Luke Armstrong – expatriate – chose to drive a vehicle for which he did not have a valid licence while intoxicated and left the scene of the accident with his expatriate passenger. Convicted and sentenced to 15 months, serves four months and get conviction overturned. He gets on a plane and leaves "evil" Bermuda behind to the relief of his "not my child syndrome" suffering parents. He and his family go on with their wonderful lives.

Result: One Bermudian man dead, one Bermudian woman severely injured and one expatriate man with a head injury. Justice given now snatched away. The surviving victims of the crash to be haunted by the night their friend died. To be reminded of that night when they look at the physical scars they now bear. The family haunted by the deceased's untimely demise for the rest of their lives. Does anyone else see a pattern? When will Government do something about our legislation? When will vehicular manslaughter be added to the law books?

BERMUDIAN

City of Hamilton

Required reading

March 17, 2010

Dear Sir,

Today's Opinion by Mr. Kevin Comeau is an article that everyone should read, particularly The Minister of Finance. When will the Government start to listen? They ignore Bob Richards as a matter of policy, they seem to ignore anyone from BIBA, BEC and ABIC claiming that they are only scaremongering and politicking and that the good ship Bermuda is sailing along on a nice steady tack.

Mr. Comeau has no axe to grind, he's not in politics, he's not in business. It appears to me that he is deeply concerned about our future and has made some sensible, doable suggestions to help us get to grips with our deteriorating economy.

It is too late to recoup all the money which has been wasted in the last ten years but it is not too late to stop the bleeding. Will anyone listen to the voice of reason?

ALAN GAMBLE

City of Hamilton

Fight for our children

March 24, 2010

Dear Sir,

I am not normally one to voice my concerns publicly, but I have come to the end of my rope. Over the last few years as I reached adulthood, got married, had children, I have witnessed the unravelling of our country bit by bit. I have felt tension, concern, and fear for what decisions made by our Government will mean for my family and fellow Bermudians in the years to come. I was fortunate to have received an outstanding public education. My parents worked hard, and were able to use their savings over the years to support me (not without major sacrifice on their part), through a university education overseas. Now I am in the position that they were in years ago. I am in my 30s, I have two young children, the eldest of whom is attending a public primary school and receiving an excellent education. My youngest will follow when she is old enough.

In two years, my eldest daughter will reach the age to attend middle school, and this is where my fear sets in. What do I do now? Do I allow my children to continue in the public system and sacrifice their right to a good education? Do I work pay cheque to pay cheque and possibly manage to get them through private education without any backup savings for college or emergencies? The Minister of Education himself has admitted publicly that the middle school system was a failure. What am I to do with this? What is any parent supposed to do?

I work hard, I have a decent job, my husband does too, but we by no means have it easy. We do not go on yearly family vacations, our holidays are spent at home. And yet sending my children to private education for high school may not be an option. If I am finding it an impossible idea, how do other average Bermudians feel? How do single parents feel when faced with this dilemma? Most do not have the choice to send their kids to private school, yet the other option before us is to allow our children to have a substandard education.

I am fed up. I have stood by while our Government spends all of our hard earned money like drunken gamblers. I have watched as our tourism market has failed in its "Platinum Period". I have listened to expatriates talk of leaving the island as things get more violent and the economy less stable. But now you are messing with my children and I have had enough.

How many of our Ministers were able to enjoy the incredible free educations we received from Berkeley, Warwick Academy, Whitney, etc, back in the day? I would gather a good majority. These free educations you received allowed your parents to save and paved your future into becoming successful adults. Now you are turning your back on this education system. You are robbing our children of their right to a free and top standard education. Everyone deserves this chance to succeed, whether white, black, poor, rich or anywhere in between. Just because you cannot afford upwards of $15,000 a year does not mean your child should fail! Is this what our Island has become? Benefiting only the well off? Making sure that our middle class live pay cheque to pay cheque in order to provide futures for our children?

The Government has shown us that our opinions do not mean anything. They are going to sign off on whatever they feel. I know I am not alone in this. I know other parents are feeling the same fears that I am, as well as the anger. We have to fight for our children or we are all going to regret what the future brings.

BERMUDIAN MOTHER

Pembroke

IB affects everybody

March 24, 2010

Dear Sir,

If the quote in The Royal Gazette today, by Sen. Burch, is correct "…the Regiment has produced leaders in this Country, one of whom is speaking right now", then I trust he was referring to his leadership only in the Regiment. In politics, a leader is selected by a majority. Therefore, Sen. Burch is not a leader. Sen. Burch was appointed at the whim of one person, the Premier. Furthermore, Sen. Burch has never won a seat or been elected by the people. His terse style of informing the public about who can attend the IB meeting, is very Regimental. Do as I say or else! IB affects everyone in Bermuda and I encourage every landlord, taxi driver, landscaper, painter, shop assistant, supermarket cashier, office clerk, gas station attendant, etc. to attend the meeting next week. Ninety cents of every dollar earned in Bermuda is generated from IB.

IB is holding this fragile economy together right now. We should be bending over backwards to listen, foster good relationships and try to accommodate their needs. We all know that most senior IB personnel are afraid to talk out in fear of having work permit problems for their companies. I think private roundtable discussions with the IB companies would have been more beneficial in helping Sen. Burch formulate a new and improved policy regarding term limits.

As a Bermudian, I want to protect the livelihood of my fellow Bermudians but I don't think that IB is the area to look at. I think that a work permit holder acting as bartender or truck driver is much more of a concern. I thought they were closed categories. It might be useful for The Royal Gazette to reprint the six-year term limit policy along with the closed categories from Government, to make sure every Bermudian has the facts correctly.

CONCERNED

Paget

The real 'prostitute'

March 24, 2010

Dear Sir,

What a load of codswallop has been spewed today by one Senator Marc Bean! Only "pimps and prostitutes" care about the environment and see a connection between the health of the environment and the health of the community? How about the Senator who readily accepts a very generous salary paid out of the taxes extracted from those he terms "pimps and prostitutes"? Who's the real "pimp or prostitute" here?

A responsible Premier would immediately disenfranchise anyone who suffers so uncontrollably from verbal diarrhoea, and insults so many members of the community. I object strenuously to paying this man's salary. He obviously did not learn his language at his mother's knee.

HELLE PATTERSON

Hamilton Parish

Don't scapegoat BEST

March 25, 2010

Dear Sir,

I was very disturbed to hear a Senator, Mr. Bean, refer to us environmentalists as "prostitutes and pimps". As a teenage member of 'The Bermuda Environmental & Sustainability Taskforce' (BEST), I continue to find his strategy of name-calling and irrational arguments to be more juvenile than that of my fellow students! Bermuda faces a multitude of issues, involving social, environmental and economic factors, however how can Mr. Bean seriously suggest that the "birds, bees and trees", suggesting our natural environment, should be sacrificed? Does he not realise how interconnected social, economic and environmental issues are on this island, and that sustainability requires people/groups working on all aspects?

BEST is an environmental sustainability group, not an anti-gun violence group (though, of course, I support this cause and find it to be an important one). I am a member of BEST out of my own prerogative and not due to any "ulterior motives". I am only a "Muppet" in so far as I work with BEST to educate the public on environmental issues and I recognise that "It's not easy being green!", as Kermit says.

One group cannot solve all of Bermuda's issues, but with the support of so many Bermudians (as shown by the 1,500-plus people who came to see Southlands last Sunday) BEST is improving the environmental sustainability of our island so that when I grow up, and the generations after me, Bermuda will still be a beautiful place worth fighting for. Please stop using BEST as a scapegoat, Mr. Bean, and instead use your energy towards proactive solutions to the many important problems of our island.

CAITLIN O'DOHERTY

Warwick

The dangers of apathy

March 29, 2010

Dear Sir,

You can understand the rise and popularity of Hitler, Mussolini and Bush (recent vintage) by simply observing and being bemused by the ultra- partisan support given to this ethically suspect and financially inept government.

Arguing against fact is in itself a less then subtle attempt at spin, however when debt is spiraling out of control and monies are not accounted for, loyalty should give way to common sense. This is compounded by the fact that when the dust settles, the Average Joe PLP supporter will remain in Bermuda, living a less then acceptable life, while the very people they currently support will be sipping champagne on a sunny island just south of Florida.

If under a UBP government we experienced the current violence that is being played out daily on our streets (12 years in power means that the PLP own this problem) or the sub-zero tourism numbers or the depressing state of education or huge sums being spent on foreign consultants (mostly American) or the friends and family approach to allocating contracts and special positions in Government, we would be rioting in the streets. Giving a pass because of race is simply wrong, particular when it is at the expense of mostly black Bermudians that need a hand up.

A reasonably intelligent guy answering to the name Einstein once said that: "The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

BOB THE BUILDER

Southampton

Locals need a role

March 25, 2010

Dear Sir,

I accept gaming here in Bermuda, as shown by a letter I wrote last year on the possible gains of having International Poker Tournaments here.

There are a few reasons why. We already have a number of gambling acts here now from Bingo, Crown & Anchor, which is limited to cricket Matches, Off Track Betting, Football, we can bet on Big International Sports at the Off Track Betting places, and some places offer similar betting from there. Sport bars etc. Why not include another one, or are some of those who oppose gaming trying to protect the interests of those who offer chance here now? Secondly, it is an activity that has been proven to bring revenue into the area it is in. You know some of those places. There are many people who do it and many who don't, thus for so many gaming places to still be functioning after so many years, it has to be successful for those areas still doing it. Thirdly Gaming would be introduced here to bring more Tourist Revenue into the Government pot, give jobs and into private business pots.

Who is to do it is the sensitive area to answer. The Green Paper says Locals and Tourists. Tourists 7 days a week I agree and if need to be closed on Christmas & Easter Days, good. One part of me doesn't want locals play any day of the week, but another part says only three days a week like Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays, (the paycheck may get home to the family). No locals should be allowed to play if they have not paid payroll tax, alimony, child support, court fines, the minimum charges on credit cards, no local bank loans, and especially those on social assistance. No pay, no play. Keep computers updated. A local person must make reservations seven days in advance to play.

Did the Ambient Gaming Machines bring more tourists here? How many kept busy on them? Don't forget two reasons for gaming are to help more tourists come here and to have something else for them to do while here. What in depth study was done on the social effects of the Ambient Machines when the clubs and other places had them? Probably none. How about a survey done on the social effects of present day gambling?

There are only five areas the Gaming machines should be; one in St. George, Hamilton and Dockyard. These Gaming spots should only serve regular established fast foods and cold snacks, not a full sit down meal. The Restaurants already in the areas should do that and hopefully to midnight at the earliest. The Cruise Ships should be allowed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., thus Licensed Private boats as well in our waters. The private residences are a no-no.

Yes for locals to be able to operate these five Gaming spots. Can there be the 60:40 or 40:60 Rule? Yes as businesses do get backers. All will need to have a satisfying plan for permission. I hope Government, through a Gaming Board, will allow Local Business People to present their plans to own a Gaming Place here.

ROGER LAMBERT

Sandys