March 6 - a significant date for Africa and the Caribbean

by Oscar Ramjeet:


March 6 is a significant date for both Africa and the Caribbean. It is on that date in 1957 (54 years ago) the first African state, known as that time the Gold Coast, was given independence from Britain and was renamed Ghana. It was also on that date 40 years after Ghana's independence (1997) that two Caribbean greats, Dr Cheddi Jagan and MIchael Manley, died within hours of each other. Jagan died at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore in the United States, and Manley died in Jamaica.

The Gold Coast was one of the richest countries in Africa conquered by the British and after a strenuous battle with Kwame Nkrumah the Brits decided to hand over independence to the country, which was renamed Ghana. Of course, by then, the country was stripped of its vast wealth by the British masters.

There are about 1,000 Ghanaians living in the Caribbean and a few of them hold top positions. I know of a High Court Judge in St Vincent, Frederick Bruce Lyle, who started his career in 1989 and a highly respected Senior Counsel in Belize, Fred Lumor.

Like many Commonwealth countries, Ghana, like Guyana, was not only robbed of its wealth, but suffered severe brain drain. However, reports from Accra state that the country sees a bright future.

Ghana has discovered oil in commercial quantities and is currently from December last year pumping 50,000 barrels of oil for export, which is expected to increase to 120,000 barrels a day within the next couple of months. It is understood that other fields are being discovered, together with immense natural gas deposits, which would place Ghana in the big leagues of oil producers in about five years. It is reported also that the country has a stable democracy since 1992.

Jagan, who had been the president of Guyana since 1992, became ill in Georgetown and was airlifted to the Johns Hopkins hospital, but succumbed on March 6, 1997, a week later. While his death was being announced throughout the region, another sad story broke of the passing of Michael Manley, who served three terms as prime minister of Jamaica.

Jagan was considered one of the greatest politicians in the Caribbean and the Western Hemisphere, but US President John F. Kennedy dubbed him as public enemy no. 2, no doubt because of his leftist tendencies and his close association with Fidel Castro, and other world leaders who had socialist ideas and did not see eye to eye with the US and even Britain.

Jagan's People's Progressive Party (PPP) won three elections -- in 1953, 1957 and 1961 -- before independence. He served as chief minister, and later premier. It was under his leadership that Britain suspended the 1953 Constitution and brought in British troops to the country, a move that shocked the world because the country was peaceful at the time. However, both Britain and the United States wanted Jagan out of the way, and worked out a way to do so.

The usual divide and rule strategy was used and race was brought into politics in Guyana when Forbes Burnham, Cheddi's deputy and a brilliant lawyer and a great orator, was prompted to challenge Jagan for the leadership and that move back in the mid-fifties sowed the seed of racial problems in Guyana.

Cheddi was out in the cold. It was not until 1992 he was able to take over the government, but died five years later following a heart attack.

In Guyana, the political climate is not good and at present the political parties are preparing for general elections to be held later this year. I sincerely hope that the politicians will see wisdom and work in the best interest of the country, which has suffered immensely since adult suffrage the 1950s.

Over in Jamaica, Michael, son of the famous Norman Manley, came to prominence after he defeated his cousin, Hugh Shearer, a former prime minister. He served three terms as prime minister of Jamaica, and was soon branded a leftist because of his association with Cuba's Fidel Castro, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and other well known socialist leaders at that time. He got rid of the jacket and tie, and introduced what he called the "bush jacket"

Michael Manley, who was the fourth prime minister of his country, and a keen cricketer, was married five times.

March 7, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

The world should fear a Saudi revolt

By Dennis Morrison, Gleaner Writer



Petrojam's billing prices for 87 and 90 octane gasolene jumped by $2.50 per litre in each case last week, the biggest movement in a single week since prices were liberalised nearly 20 years ago. And what is even worse news for motorists is that oil prices are predicted to continue rising in the short term, at least, if the political turmoil in the Middle East drags on.

A motorist I met at the service station last Thursday had the greatest difficulty understanding the runaway gasolene prices, even when the disruption in oil production in Libya is being offset by increased supplies from other producers. "Why should oil prices have gone up by US$20 per barrel in a couple of months when there is no shortage?" he asked.

Because oil fuels the engine of modern economies, perception of potential disruption in supply tends to have an exaggerated impact on prices as markets try to anticipate shortage. Geopolitical uncertainties, therefore, tend to feed price volatility, as is the case right now. Markets treat gold, a traditional safe haven in times of political and economic crises, in a similar way.

The volatility we are seeing in oil markets is being driven not just by events in Libya and the threat of civil war there, but by speculation that the political 'brush fire' that started in Tunisia and spread to Egypt could sweep the Middle East and North Africa. The US$20 jump in oil prices since January suggests that market watchers have begun to calculate the potential ramifications of the unrest spreading to Saudi Arabia, the giant oil producer in the region and the world's second largest, marginally below Russia.

There is a view that Saudi Arabia is unlikely to see major protests since Saudi culture is against civil disobedience, the king is popular, and demands for political reforms are muted. But demographically, the country is quite similar to other Arab nations now caught in the political cauldron. As in Egypt, people in the 15-25 age group in Saudi Arabia are the biggest bloc of the population, and unemployment among them is more than 30 per cent. This is the age group likely to revolt and join the Facebook revolutionaries.

Welfare benefits

To placate them, the king is disbursing a US$30-billion economic package of welfare benefits, including unemployment insurance, funds for affordable housing, and generous grants for sports and culture. With the backing of the powerful religious establishment and the economic goodies, the regime may be able to maintain calm. Except that the ferment in its majority Shia neighbour of Bahrain could feed discontent in the Shia population in the important oil-producing area of its eastern province.

Conscious of the risks, the Saudis have acted to bolster the regime in Bahrain by providing military reinforcements.

10% of world oil output

Saudi Arabia produces nearly 10 million barrels of oil a day, more than 10 per cent of world output. Libya produces just over 1.5 million barrels per day, less than 2.0 per cent. Just imagine the impact on oil markets if revolution were to break out in Saudi Arabia and disrupt production! The impact on the global economy would be of such a magnitude that the US would possibly intervene militarily. These imponderables are now the preoccupation of risk analysts and are behind the increased risks (higher than Bahrain and Morocco where protests have occurred) that financial markets have attached to Saudi Arabia's debts in recent weeks.

The possibility that the conflict in Libya could turn into a war of attrition will continue to be a factor in keeping oil prices high in the short term. But if it is contained and the Saudi regime is able to ward off any serious spillover from the political turbulence in the rest of the region, prices are likely to come down. In this case, the threat of rising oil prices scuttling the global economic recovery would lessen. And Jamaican motorists, as well as households, would get some relief at the pumps and in our electricity bills.

In the worst-case scenario, Jamaica would be confronting stagflation - no or low growth combined with high inflation. Even with the prices of many domestic food crops coming down to levels that make housewives happy, the pressure from higher costs for a range of imported food items is increasing. Wage increases are being kept tight in the private sector, and most public-sector workers are on a wage freeze, so consumer spending is falling. Hence, businesses are hurting and must contend with rising energy costs.

This is a tough environment in which to frame the upcoming national Budget. More than ever, the highest priority must be to accelerate investment initiatives where conditions are most favourable: the energy sector, where the electricity-generating system must be modernised to service a captive domestic market; agricultural output to supply the local market; tourism projects can be synchronised with market demand in the medium term; and the ICT sector, which still presents growth opportunities.

Dennis Morrison is an economist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com

March 6, 2011

jamaica-gleaner

Bahamas Blog International

The Arab world in convulsion

By Jean H Charles:



The world has changed after Jesus the Christ, God made man, came on earth some two thousand years ago. His mission is to redeem mankind from his state of sin and to offer to each man and to all men the possibility of eternal life if he profits of his free will capacity, to lead a life hospitable and charitable to each other.

The world has changed also since Mohamed, born in 572 AD in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, instituted the Muslim religion based on dreams he said he received from God, edited into the Koran, which is a compilation of verses for human conduct and moral practice.

To understand Christianity, the life and the preaching of Jesus have been studied thoroughly and through the ages. It is, as such, fit and proper to look into the upbringing and the transactional analysis of Mohamed to understand the Muslim culture.

Orphaned at a young age, Mohamed was raised and educated by his maternal uncle Abou Talib, a trader who travelled widely in the Middle East. Issue from the clan of the Koreishites, former nomads who became big commercial conservative entrepreneurs, they were isolated from and by the Jews and by the Christians.

At the age of 25 years old, Mohamed met the woman of his life, Khadija, a widow of 40 years old, independent and owner of her own business that she inherited from her deceased husband. He found in her a wife, a mother and stability. She bore him seven children, three boys and four girls. He lost the four boys, causing the casting of his personality as half a man, an abtar according to the custom and culture of the time.

Mohamed suffered a nervous breakdown with epileptic bouts, according to Ernest Renan, a prolific chronicle of the life of Jesus and of Mohamed. In one of his sleepless nights he revealed having received from God revelations edited into verses that became the Koran. He started to preach and to convert the members of his community.

His wife Khadija was the first Muslim convert. Through diplomacy, fights, struggles, cunning and proselytism, Mohamed succeeded in creating a universal religion from the Middle East to Asia, from Asia to Africa and from Africa to Europe. He was stopped at the gates of Europe by Charles Martel in 732 and by the Crusade invoked by Pope Urban II, who organized the Inquisition, an international armada led by King Louis VII of France.

Contrary to Christianity in general, and Catholicism in particular, the Muslim religion condones the intermingling of religion with politics. It does not accept the free will instinct of each individual. Bin Laden, a wannabe successor to Mohamed, wanted nothing but a Caliphate, a universal empire ruled by the verses of the Koran, with the law of Sharia imposed upon all men.

In the Muslim world, there were voices raised to support the concept of laicization and of nation building. Mustafa Kemal in Turkey was the prime example. The clan politics, the patriarchal doctrine, the veiled discrimination against women were and has been the hallmark of all if not most countries with a Muslim culture.

I had my personal encounter with the Arab culture when I visited Morocco some years ago. On the plaza of Marrakech, around the vendors and the snake charmer, I met a beautiful young lady named Fatima (the most revered name in Catholicism and the Muslim world). I felt she met the criteria for bringing her back home to meet my mother.

To approach Fatima I had to buy a jalaba (the long robe worn by men all over the Middle East) to pass for a Moroccan. I was seen as a wolf amongst the sheep because I had forgotten my tennis shoes in my maquillage to become a local. Fatima faced the risk of being flogged or stoned for daring to speak to a foreigner.

It has been as such until December 17, 2011, when a young man of 26 years old, named Mohamed Bouazizi, from Tunisia, decided to set himself on fire after he had been humiliated by a female public servant for selling fruits on the side of the road without a permit. Armed with a college degree he could not find work anywhere in the country.

This self immolation touched a chord in the anger and frustration of the people from their inept, incompetent and corrupt leaders. What the Muslim religious uprising could not produce in decades in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, has been accomplished in days by the citizen uprising for decent living, for jobs and for education.

After 23 years of repressive ruling, Ben Ali, a bulwark of the western powers against fundamentalism, was catapulted as a weak and rotten apple. His wife, a collector of villas and bank accounts instead of shoes like Imelda, was also thrown out of the country.

The Jasmine revolution as it has been called has extended to Egypt, butting out Mubarak after thirty two years in power. It is threatening Kaddafi in Libya, who has ruled this rich oil nation for the last forty years. It has ramifications in Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Bahrain.

The convulsion will produce a calming effect for the citizens of the region if they follow the Renan doctrine of nation building: turning the military into an instrument of development as in Vietnam, stabilizing the citizens in their territory with their culture, adequate infrastructure and ethical institutions as in Malaysia (a Muslim nation) and, last but not least, leaving no one behind, as in the United States under Lyndon Johnson circa 1968 that finally produced Barack Obama, a black president accepted by all.

The ingredients of the solution include a complete rupture with the past by accepting laicization, federalism, the rule of law, education for all, the respect for local culture while immolating the sacred cows such as tribalism and clan politics.

The Jasmine revolution must not follow the Haitian revolution of 1804 and the people power of 1986 that failed to provide a minimum standard of welfare and wellbeing responding to the aspirations of the majority of its people.

May the sweet scent of the jasmine, with its white colour that shines in the middle of the night, spread throughout the Middle East and from there throughout the world!

March 5, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

We must not forget the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)

By Ian Francis:


In 1980, many former regional politicians from the small states of the region journeyed to the capital of St Kitts and appended their signature to the Treaty of Basseterre. The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) came into existence, succeeding the old British-created organization known as the West Indies Associated States Secretariat (WISA), which in the early days was once led by leading lights as George Odlum and Gus Compton of St Lucia. Both men have since passed away and it is befitting that we pay respects to them and they rest in peace.

The OECS has existed for the last 31 years. With such longevity, the operations and achievements of the organization must be examined, as many of the deceased signatories might be asking what has happened to the OECS and the Treaty of Basseterre.

Some of the former signatories to the Treaty who have left this great earth include former prime ministers: Eugenia Charles of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Maurice Bishop of Grenada, Winston Cenac of St Lucia, Vere Bird of Antigua and Barbuda and Clive Tannis of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Franklyn Margetson of Montserrat. Dr Sir Kennedy Simmonds, who, at the time was the premier of St Kitts and Nevis and is still very much alive, was also a signatory to the Treaty. To all these former signatories, we can only wish God’s blessing and may they all rest in peace.

The OECS is an institution that continues to face the wrath of disregard and neglect by the Authority of the organization. According to the Treaty of Basseterre, the Authority is defined as each head of government of a signatory state. Therefore, there should be no confusion in the mind of readers as to who is the Authority of the OECS.

While it is not commonly known or suspected, there have been many jurisdictional incursions and resolutions between the CARICOM Secretariat and the OECS. The most recent incursion related to the CARICOM Secretariat hosting a diplomatic training workshop at a time when the OECS and many member governments have been involved in discussions with Spain, Chile and Brazil about diplomatic training for the OECS member states.

It was felt, and rightly so, that the Georgetown Secretariat should have backed off or return the multilateral funds for the workshop. To the dismay of the Castries Secretariat, the OECS Authority and the Standing Committee of OECS Foreign Affairs Ministers, although briefed about the incursion, did nothing to address the complaint.

With fairness and reality to the OECS, this organization should be given the lead responsibility for diplomatic training within its organizational jurisdiction, given the organization’s current maintenance of two diplomatic missions in Ottawa and Brussels. In addition, as the global environment revolves around many complex issues that ultimately affect the OECS, it is essential to have a well trained and competent career diplomatic corps that will be able to represent the organization and member states in various global forums where good skills, experience and knowledge can be applied.

This is one area in the OECS Secretariat that requires immediate attention and the Authority and Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs Ministers should see a priority. Management of diplomatic skills is necessary for the international functioning of the Castries Secretariat. It is quite possible that, if a result oriented parameter was established and maintained, the current poor OECS diplomatic representation in Brussels and Ottawa could have been avoided.

While the current stage of discussion about diplomatic training between the OECS and the three mentioned nations are unknown, the OECS might be interested in looking at the training model for diplomats in Jamaica or Trinidad, or for that matter all the More Developed Countries (MDCS), since they seem to have excellent track records on the international scene. The notion of picking a few personnel from various organs of a government and dispatching them overseas for diplomatic training require more thought and planning by the Castries Secretariat.

One final note of caution to the OECS and respective governments, there should be an agreement and full concurrence by regional governments as to who will be responsible for diplomatic training in the OECS. Is it the Secretariat or respective individual governments? Clarity is urgently needed.

The OECS organization is a necessity in the region and requires the full support and attention by member governments. In the context of support and attention, member governments must meet their financial obligations in a timely manner. Paying up arrears in full is excellent but the understanding is that the arrears cycle immediately restarts.

In conversation recently with a Secretariat official about member governments meeting their financial obligations, it would appear that the only OECS member that has paid up to date is the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis. If this information is accurate, then Dr Douglas and his government must be commended. If there are other governments who feel they should be accorded the same sentiments attributed to Dr Douglas, then this writer joins in extending congratulations.

The danger always looms when a regional agency does not receive monetary support from its membership. It forces the agency or institution into the unhealthy investment of time to seek out multilateral funders for makeshift projects in order to survive. Recently, regional observers saw the demise of Dr Karl Greenidge and other staff members from the CARICOM Secretariat, whose positions were funded by a foreign agency. To carefully quote the outgoing Czar of CARICOM, Sir Edwin Carrington, “Funds for Dr Greenidge project ran out and the funding agency was not willing to consider an extension.”

In my view, the above should be a powerful and timely warning to regional institutions who feel that multilateral institutions can meet their core operational needs. This is a fallacy and regional institutions should be aware of the potential pitfalls.

The wells are drying and Dr Greenidge might be the first victim. There are many more to come.

Ian Francis resides in Toronto. He writes frequently on Caribbean Affairs. He is a former Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Grenada. He can be reached at info@vismincommunications.org

March 4, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamas: Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) and the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA)... What's The Connection?

CWC and the URCA connection
By CANDIA DAMES
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com


A closer look


Government officials are often quick to point out that the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) operates independently.

URCA may be so independent that ministers aren’t quite sure which of them is responsible for the regulatory agency.

Is it Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing?

He said no. That would be Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette.

So we contacted Symonette.

He too said no. That would be Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest.

So we contacted him.

But Turnquest said that would be Attorney General John Delaney, who we were unable to reach.

Perhaps it is Delaney.

We are still unsure whether he would have referred us to another minister.

With URCA reviewing the pending sale of a majority interest in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC), in some circles questions are being raised about the affiliation former CWC executives have with the regulator.

CWC said last week that a foreign human resources consultant for URCA is a former CWC employee — not a current one as her LinkedIn profile had said. The Nassau Guardian based an initial story on what she was saying on that online professional profile.

Marsha Lewis left CWC in 2009, according to the telecoms company, and has been providing human resources consultancy to URCA since 2009.

So she is no longer with CWC.

On Friday, information came to our attention that her husband, Philip Lewis, is.

So we did some digging.

His LinkedIn profile confirmed that he is CWC Caribbean’s Vice President for Business Development.

We needed to be sure though that his LinkedIn profile was current.

So we confirmed through CWC that Mr. Lewis is still with the company.

We then sent a formal question to CWC: "Given that a former CWC executive is CEO of URCA (Usman Saadat), another former executive is the HR consultant for URCA (Marsha Lewis), and a current CWC executive (Philip Lewis) is married to the HR consultant, is CWC concerned in any way that there may be at the very least an appearance of conflict given that URCA is considering CWC's purchase of BTC?"

After The Nassau Guardian’s original story on Wednesday based on Mrs. Lewis’ LinkedIn profile — which has since been changed — CWC shot back, informing that Mrs. Lewis left the telecoms company in March 2009 to start her own business — LCI Inc., an HR consultancy.

Why URCA needed to bring in a foreign HR consultant is another issue. It was certainly the board’s prerogative.

And URCA has indicated that it is quite satisfied with Mrs. Lewis’ services.

Why Mrs. Lewis changed her profile to say she left CWC in December 2008, instead of March 2009, is not clear.

Following our inquiry on Friday about her husband, LIME CEO David Shaw approved a brief response from the company: “As the largest telecoms employer in the region CWC/LIME has been a corporate home to many people who gained experience with us and then moved on to other businesses or ventures.

“In this region, that’s not uncommon, especially in telecoms. And as for a conflict of interest, the legislation and regulatory framework were set up before we were the successful bidder.”

Indeed, The Nassau Guardian has no evidence to suggest that CWC had any advantage in the privatization discussions, but the connection to URCA is interesting to note, even if it is purely coincidental.

THE INTRODUCTION

URCA engaged LCI Inc, Mrs. Lewis’ company, in August 2009 “to provide assistance and advice in relation to URCA’s ongoing development of its human resource capacity.”

The former CWC executive was introduced to URCA by another former CWC executive — Saadat, the now CEO who at the time was URCA’s director of policy and regulation.

This was confirmed in URCA’s recent press statement.

“LCI’s selection by URCA’s then CEO was through an introduction of LCI by Mr. Saadat. URCA’s board endorsed the decision to engage LCI,” the statement said.

At the time of the approval of Lewis’ contract with the regulator, URCA pointed out, CWC was nowhere in the privatization picture.

“Public announcements by the government have disclosed that C&W did not participate in the government’s initial search for a strategic partner in the privatization of BTC, and was therefore not under consideration as a possible purchaser of BTC until 2010. From URCA’s perspective, there was no actual or perceived conflict arising out of the recruitment of Mr. Saadat or the engagement of LCI in 2009. “

The Nassau Guardian noted in a story on this issue this past Friday that CWC — though not a bidder in the BTC privatization process in 2009 — was on the government’s radar as Privatization Committee Chairman T. Baswell Donaldson advised Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham in 2009 that CWC had conducted a “lengthy” review of the opportunity to purchase 51 percent of BTC.

CWC in 2009 was one of the companies the privatization committee said it favored to bid for BTC. But CWC at the time decided not to proceed.

URCA has stressed that there is no conflict involved in the fact that two former CWC executives play key roles with the regulatory agency.

But is there an appearance of conflict?

It depends on who you ask.

The Progressive Liberal Party insists that there is.

Its chairman, Bradley Roberts, has said Saadat should not serve as CEO.

What’s clear is that URCA will not only have to provide the necessary regulatory approvals to CWC’s purchase of BTC’s majority shares, but it will also have to regulate the new company.

So the appearance of fairness and transparency is not only important in the approvals process, but in the ongoing regulation of the new BTC or whatever CWC will decide to call it.

Furthermore, URCA may need to provide repeated assurances to BTC’s competitors that CWC does not have an advantage in the regulatory process due to connections any of its key officials may have to CWC.

Competitors may get jittery at the knowledge that a former CWC CEO is now CEO of URCA, and that a current executive is married to URCA’s human resources consultant, who is a former executive of CWC.

But URCA’s Chairman Wayne Aranha said in a statement to The Nassau Guardian over the weekend the board has no concerns in this regard.

He advised that Mrs. Lewis’ company is an advisor to URCA in relation to certain human resources matters and initiatives.

“As such, Mrs. Lewis does not initiate or authorize transactions or otherwise make decisions for URCA relating to HR or any activities,” Aranha explained.

“To be clear, she has no involvement with regulatory matters and there is no issue of conflict.

“The board and I are aware of her husband’s employment. This does not concern me given the conclusion above relating to Ms. Lewis.”

USMAN SAADAT

In May 2009, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham informed the House of Assembly that URCA — which was about to be formed — would be headed by a non-Bahamian.

Usman Saadat became URCA’s director of policy and regulation, and later its CEO, a post he currently holds.

“We have already accessed the talent of someone from outside The Bahamas who will be the policy director of URCA,” Ingraham said in the House of Assembly in 2009.

He explained then that while it was the government’s hope to populate the entity with Bahamians, it might not be realistic in the near term.

“In this early phase...we will be required to access talent that may not be available in The Bahamas,” Ingraham said.

He noted then that the policy director’s salary will also be “far in excess of anything heretofore known by public sector enterprise.”

“I would expect that some of the salaries paid to some of the professionals will be higher than what is normally paid in other areas in The Bahamas,” he said without divulging the pay scale for those appointed to URCA.

URCA’s goal, the prime minister noted, is to “have a transparent, effective, well-managed and knowledgeable entity that can act independently: that has no axes to grind; no preferences, no bias to cause the sector to be regulated in accordance with the Communications Act.”

The bill to establish URCA was passed in Parliament in 2009, as part of a package of communications bills designed to restructure the communications industry in the country.

URCA made extinct the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). URCA has far more extensive powers, authorities and duties than the PUC.

In September 2010, Chairman Aranha announced that Saadat was the new CEO of URCA.

He said URCA received applications from the local market as well as regional and international candidates for the top position.

Saadat, who headed CWC St. Lucia, reportedly has more than 15 years of global experience in regulation and competition strategy, coupled with a proven track record of leadership roles in the communications industry.

It wasn’t long before concerns about Saadat’s appointment made it to the press.

Trade Economist Hank Ferguson asked on The Guardian Business Facebook Feedback months ago: “Should I be worried that the former CEO of Cable and Wireless is now the regulator for BTC which is being purchased by his former employers? This should concern us all.

“If I were a visitor to this country, I would be forced to believe that the local population did not have competent or capable people, as every major entity within the country seems to have foreign (non nationals) at the helm. Where are the Bahamians?

“I do not question Mr. Saadat’s capabilities and his work in St. Lucia but noted that when he resigned from that post he noted his desire to return to his home country.

“I assume he has lost that desire but it worries me that our dependence on foreign talent may come at the expense of developing our own skills and talent (and God forbid that he and others are not engaged in the transfer of skills).”

The timing of Saadat’s hiring to the regulatory body after he left his position at Cable and Wireless prompted one union leader to say “we smell a fish there”.

But URCA said in December 2010, “The appointment of Mr. Saadat as former DPR (director of policy and regulation of the Public Utilities Commission) is far from sinister and would not give rise to any reasonable person concluding that some untoward scheme was underway or otherwise provides a basis for one to ‘smell a fish there’.

“…This URCA board is very pleased with Mr. Saadat’s performance, firstly as DPR and now as CEO. The board is satisfied that no conflict of interest exists, and will ensure that none rises between Mr. Saadat’s duties as CEO (and an executive board member) of URCA and any past association that he had with Cable and Wireless.”

At the time, the names Marsha and Philip Lewis were not yet in the press.

But last Thursday, URCA said, “From URCA’s perspective, there was no actual or perceived conflict arising out of the recruitment of Mr. Saadat or the engagement of LCI (Mrs. Lewis’ company) in 2009.”

PLP CONCERNS

The PLP has expressed concern about the fact that a former CWC executive heads URCA at a time when URCA is considering the BTC sale.

“The Progressive Liberal Party finds it most interesting that Mr. Saadat’s resume made no mention of his return to the Far East to ‘settle down’ as noted by him as his main reason for resigning from Cable and Wireless St. Lucia in 2008.

“The PLP asks how is it that in less than eight months Mr. Saadat, with just 14 years of experience, was selected by the FNM government to become the director of policy and regulations at URCA in The Bahamas and was then instantly promoted to the position of chief executive officer at URCA,” a recent statement from the party said.

The issue was raised in the House of Assembly last week by Golden Gates MP Shane Gibson. It came after The Nassau Guardian article based on Mrs. Lewis’ LinkedIn profile.

“Now bear in mind, Mr. Speaker, that this thing was carefully plotted out. Cable and Wireless has a former employee working in the MIS (management information systems)department at BTC. Cable and Wireless’ former employee is in charge of URCA (Saadat).

“Cable and Wireless’ current employee is also a consultant to URCA. You see the picture, Mr. Speaker? This thing was carefully crafted and carefully designed.”

As previously mentioned, CWC subsequent to these statements released a statement saying Mrs. Lewis left in 2009.

Speaking in the House early Wednesday, Gibson said, “This didn’t just start. Don’t mind them saying (it), Mr. Speaker. Everybody knows that Cable and Wireless did not just parachute into this position where they decided to purchase BTC. This was carefully planned out and mapped out where they put their people in strategic positions to make sure that at the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, they get what they want.”

Gibson added, “I wouldn’t be surprised if this was condoned by the Government of The Bahamas, because when you look at that contract that they signed with Cable and Wireless the Bahamian people would wonder who is it that the government is representing.”

But Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing denied that Cable and Wireless had received any advantage in the BTC privatization process.

“I’d like to make it abundantly clear that any suggestion on the part of the member for Golden Gates that the government coordinated, orchestrated for any employees of Cable and Wireless to work at URCA or anywhere else in pursuit of this privatization is false, inaccurate and absolute nonsense, absolute nonsense,” Laing said.

“URCA is an independent organization and has employed and engaged at its pleasure. I want to make that abundantly clear, Sir.”

That independence will no doubt be important as the regulatory body considers whether to provide the green light for the sale of BTC.

2/28/2011

Bahamas: Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) and the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA)... What's The Connection? (Part 2)

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Were OECS voices heard at the CARICOM heads of government summit in Jamaica?

By Ian Francis



It is approximately eight months since the summit of CARICOM heads was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Since then, Jamaica’s Bruce Golding has passed the torch to a struggling Tillman Thomas of Grenada, who might soon have to face a revolt of his National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Since assuming the chairmanship, Thomas has showed some interest in the organization and it will be interesting to watch how he handles the appointment of the new Secretary General for the Secretariat; appointment of a new Chief Justice for the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and of course his own personal challenge of taking Grenada into the CCJ. These are interesting times and the region is watching closely.

The 56th Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) meeting recently held in Grenada seemed to have had great success. The only grumbling is that Antigua’s Baldwin spent too much time gazing in the skies hoping that the breakfast invitation from Barack and Michelle would arrive after a long pigeon journey from Washington to Mt Obama and then to the Botanical Gardens in Grenada. The pigeon arrived empty handed and a disappointed Baldwin lost interest in the Assembly.

With the growing popular uprisings in the Middle East, North Africa and Iran’s misguided decision to send naval ships through the waters of the Suez Canal, one can only assume that Washington is so engaged and concerned with these fast evolving events that the White House invitation will not arrive in the immediate future.

As Prime Minister Denzil Douglas of St Kitts and Nevis has stated, the leaders at the CARICOM inter sessional meeting that ended in Grenada recently needed to address their time in a process of careful analysis, deep discussions and the development of a strategic plan to guide the organization in future years. As Douglas lamented, he was hopeful that at the inter sessional meeting CARICOM leaders would channel their energy on the many issues facing the region.

While not dismissing Antigua’s concern about the popular uprising in Libya, the Republic of Haiti’s pending return by former president Aristide, who was kidnapped and forced into exile in South Africa, must be addressed by the region’s leaders. The despicable and vulgar action by the United States of America, which resulted in the abandonment of Aristide in a notorious and corrupt nation known as the Central African Republic, should have been strongly criticized by the CARICOM leadership.

Unfortunately, they went into mute mode and, like roosters, it took courage and principled leadership by former Jamaican prime minister; P.J.
Patterson to rescue Aristide from the corrupt African nation until South Africa was able to complete all logistical arrangements to welcome their new guest. PJ, Randy Robinson, Congresswoman Maxine Walters and others must be commended for rescuing Aristide from the Central African Republic.

The CARICOM leadership has no other alternative but to support Aristide’s pending return to his native Haiti. This is not the time to echo or repeat the voice of the United States State Department media frontline man P.J Crowley as to whether Aristide’s return will be helpful. Was Duvalier’s recent return to Haiti helpful? PJ Crawley should also give us a one liner about the State Department’s position on this notorious and repressive dictator whom the United States supported for many years. Aristide’s welcome must be hailed by our leaders to his native birth land and should even go further to ensure that the region becomes part of his security detail. This is the time to show the courage and leadership that Douglas called for and there should be no retreat. Aristide requires the region’s full support.

Since the rigged and shameless elections in Haiti. There are four frequent questions being asked about CARICOM’s Mission in Haiti. These are: (1) what is the specific role and purpose of the CARICOM Mission in Haiti? (2) What specific and concrete outcomes have been achieved by its presence and what specifically has the Georgetown Secretariat benefitted by virtue of their presence in Haiti? (3) Who is funding the CARICOM Mission in Haiti? (4) When will the Mission come to an end? What is the reporting mechanism? Who reports to whom and how are CARICOM governments engaged in this Mission? These questions need to be answered.

As the CARICOM inter sessional assembly became a reality in Grenada last weekend, there are still cries from OECS leaders expressing their concerns about uncontrollable crime and lawlessness in their jurisdiction.

At the Jamaica summit, Skerrit of Dominica and Spencer of Antigua suggested that Jamaica might be in a position to assist, given the nation’s experience with gangs and garrison control. Unfortunately, the suggestion fell on deaf ears. Many of the OECS have since retreated to their old colonial tactics of recruiting foreign sideline retired police officers to manage national security initiatives. The OECS region requires the active assistance and intervention of the More Developed Countries on crime and lawlessness in their jurisdiction.

In conclusion, drug interdiction and the presence of foreign fleets in our waters are important security measures; however, leaders need to identify other mechanisms that will rebuild capacities in our police forces and other security agencies. With a credible vision on crime, our leaders are also urged not to shy away from examining other key and important strategic security issues which include:

-- The role and function of IMPACS. Can this organization seriously contribute to the containment of crime and lawlessness in the CARICOM region or is it just another CARICOM regional organ that has found favour from foreign multilateral friends?

-- What can the Barbados based CEDERA contribute to crime containment and other national security issues? What direct and specific impact will the recent CARICOM agreement generate on crime and lawlessness in the region?

-- What is the current status of the Regional Security Service? Should this organization be re-examined or purged so thus resulting in a new and progressive organizational model that reflects global reality?

-- Can Jamaica assist in the restructuring of the Regional Security Service? How about Jamaica giving a secondment to the region by one of its capable national security team? Someone like Novelette Grant or Glenmore Hinds?

Crime and lawlessness need to be seriously tackled in the region.

Ian Francis resides in Toronto and writes frequently on Caribbean Commonwealth Affairs .He is a former Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Grenada. He can be reached at info@vismincommunications.org

March 2, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

Of protests and oil

Muammar Gaddafi's speeches grow ever more delusional. Last Thursday, he accused al-Qaida of putting hallucinogenic pills into the coffee of unsuspecting Libyan 17-year-olds in order to get them to attack the regime. But he also said something important. Defending his massacres of Libyan protesters, he pointed to the example of China, arguing that "the integrity of China was more important than [the people] on Tienanmen Square".

The Chinese regime will not be grateful to him for making that comparison, but it is quite accurate. Gaddafi, like the Chinese Communist Party, claims that there are only two choices - his own absolute power, or chaos, civil war, and national disintegration. The 'integrity of Libya' is allegedly at stake. Also, like the Chinese ruling party, he is willing to kill hundreds, or even thousands, of his own citizens in order to maintain his rule.

Ruthlessness will not save Gaddafi now: he has already lost control of more than half the country, and the oil revenues that enable him to reward his allies and pay mercenaries will soon dry up. But ruthlessness certainly did save the Chinese communist regime in 1989, when the army slaughtered between 300 and 3,000 young pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's central square. Might it need to deploy such violence again in order to survive?

So far, the current wave of revolutions has been an entirely Arab phenomenon, apart from some faint echoes in Iran, but the example of successful non-violent revolution can cross national and even cultural frontiers. It won't matter that it's a very long way from the Arab world to China if large numbers of young Chinese conclude that the same techniques could also work against their own local autocracy.

It is very unlikely that that sort of thing is brewing in China now. There were online calls for a 'jasmine revolution' last week, but few people actually went out on to the streets of Chinese cities to protest, and those who did were swiftly overwhelmed by swarms of police. Even the word 'jasmine' is now blocked in Internet searches in China, and tranquillity has been restored.

But what if the Chinese economic miracle stalled? Then the situation could change very fast, for the regime is not loved; it is merely tolerated so long as living standards go on rising quickly. And what could cause it to stall? Well, the economic side effects of the current wave of revolutions in the Middle East might do the trick.

Non-violent revolutions should not affect oil exports at all. Heavy fighting of the sort we are now seeing in Libya can damage oil-producing facilities and drive out foreign workers who are needed to run those facilities, but Libya is not a big enough producer to affect the global-supply situation much by itself.

What drove the oil price up to US$120 a barrel at one point last week (it later fell back to US$110) was not the loss of Libyan production, but the fear that as the contagion of revolution spreads, one or more of the major Middle Eastern oil exporters may fall into the same chaos. Then, the oil pundits predict, the price could hit US$180 or even US$220.

Never mind the direct impact of such an astronomical price on the Chinese economy (although China imports a lot of oil). Far worse for China would be the fact that the whole global economy would go into a period of hyperinflation and steeply falling consumption, for China is now integrated into that economy.

So the Chinese goose stops laying its golden eggs, and young Chinese start looking around for someone to blame. They would, of course, blame the regime - and, at that point, the Middle Eastern example of successful non-violent revolution becomes highly relevant.

Gwynne Dyer is a journalist who has covered international affairs for more than 20 years. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.

March 1, 2011

jamaica-gleaner

Bahamas Blog International