10/27/2006 12:10:00 PM I'll do everything I can to prevent hospital being built on the Gardens
Meredith Ebbin
Premier Alex Scott is promising that a new hospital will not be built on the Botanical Gardens. And he is pledging immediate remedies for those in need of housing. Next week's Throne Speech will also address the issue of reluctant witnesses refusing to testify in violent crimes. It may all come to naught for Mr. Scott if he is ousted by Dr Ewart Brown in tonight's election for party leader at Devonshire Recreation Club. But in an interview with Meredith Ebbin on the eve of the crucial election, he spells out what's in store for the country, if he is still premier after tonight.
The six-year work permit limit is coming into effect and many expatriates will leave the island. What will you do to fill the jobs void?
There is a concerted effort at training Bermudians - NTB (National Training Board). The future will be serviced by the training programmes in the technical areas. The private sector has an insurance institute that trains Bermudians. The College is getting involved. The reason for the immigration protocol is to ensure that always there is a continued opening, an opportunity for Bermudians.
This is not restricted to Bermuda. In actual fact, Cayman is following Bermuda… [Despite the labour shortage] We must keep the career paths fluid. You may have a shortage in one area, but we have to make sure that all areas are at least potentially open to Bermudians to be able to apply because we have young folks coming on board every day.
Would you concede that the PLP Government has made mistakes?
As far as I know. Jesus Christ was the only person who didn't make any mistakes. You can always improve on any decision you make. Thus the expression 'hindsight is 20/20 vision'. I would rather think that we continually improve on the decisions that we have made as opposed to saying 'that was a mistake'.
…When you find that some situation doesn't sit well with your stakeholders - enter the decision to site the hospital in the Botanical Gardens - there was an outcry. I personally sat down with Bermuda Hospitals Board, the designers, the [Health] Minister, took on board all the information available and persuaded the Hospitals Board and the Minister to have an independent group review and rethink it by going over all the information we have.
I think we will end up with a win-win situation. If we look at the acute hospital care needs for Bermuda and if we tailor-make it to our requirements, we can have a modern hospital plant that doesn't necessarily need 10 acres and it can be probably sited on a smaller space than we first anticipated.
Do you believe that certain open spaces here, like the Botanical Gardens, should be sacrosanct, protected from development?
I think so.
And if you could turn the clock back, would you still support a plan to build a hospital on the Botanical Gardens?
I am going to do everything humanly possible to see it sited elsewhere, meaning not in the Botanical Gardens. We've already said no to the Arboretum. On site is an option.
Did I hear you saying that open spaces are sacrosanct?
We should treasure open space. Bermuda has remaining about 35 to 40 per cent open spaces. Those areas should be treated as a resource that we use very sparingly. To say that we are going to have a moratorium on building on open space, can't say that…It would be wrong for me to say this is going to be protected that is going to be protected, but the notion of protection I sign off on.
What will you do to help people who are most in need on housing?
Minister Burch is literally going throughout the island now, presenting the plans that are on foot. The Throne Speech will give the arithmetic ... There is the 200-unit facility that is going to go next to where the Salvation Army has their residence [homeless shelter]. That will take a lot of people out from under the stars. This will be a Throne Speech item - there will be a formula that will really assist Bermudians who have found it difficult to afford housing. And I mean immediately. This will work for them in a way they don't have to wait necessarily for a house to be built.
Gang violence and crime make many people fearful and we currently have at least three unsolved murder cases, the most recent being the shooting of 18-year-old Jason Lightbourne. What would you do to encourage reluctant witnesses to testify?
That's going to be spoken to in the Throne Speech. The State will step in. Where some individuals are reluctant to bring a complaint, the state will become the one who takes the issue forward. When it comes to witness protection, we have been talking to other jurisdictions: the Cayman, BVI. Many of smaller territories have the same challenges we do.
Sustainable development: Ultimately, it requires some degree of sacrifice from individuals. How forceful are you prepared to be in order encourage people to give up their cars?
We have done symbolic things like riding the ferries. We have a car pooling gesture coming up. I do believe Minister [Walter] Lister is going to have a challenge in how we begin to diminish the amount of cars on the road…We have got to start taking these vehicles off in different ways. I have some thoughts, but I would like to listen to Minister Lister's thoughts on it. I think Bermudians have to realize it is in our collective interest. I don't know how tough we have to be, it is the framework in which we recommend that the community signs off on it. That is where sustainable development comes in…I think Bermudians are going to take the tough decisions. It's not going to be a government dictating, it's going to be a government communicating with the public and the public responding.
Graduation rates in the public education system are poor. We could blame teachers, parents, principals, administrators, policy-makers - even the kids themselves - but still make little progress. Where does the root of the problem lie?
Mrs. Simmons [Berkeley's principal] confirmed what young people have said, that the performance rate of students at the Berkeley has improved just by moving them to the new plant. Discipline has improved, no graffiti. We shouldn't dismiss giving the incentive to students to work… I do believe teachers will have to be held more accountable. I leave the rest to the Education Minister to go into the details of how we will improve the new system…Also, we sent away 20 some young men to vie for soccer scholarships to universities abroad. They had to qualify to go abroad for those scholarships by raising their academic levels. The Throne Speech is to speak to that area and the area of gangs by realizing, that if you find something that young people, especially young men like, if you can use it as a carrot, as an attraction for them to work for, they will improve.
You have said this week independence will be on the back burner. Will it be your platform at the next general election?
I wouldn't want to preempt the Central Committee and the parliamentary group and my [Cabinet] colleagues.
Mr. Horton and Mr. Perinchief come out publicly in support of Dr. Brown- will they still be in Cabinet if you are relected leader?
If you disagree with the leader under the Westminster system then the honourable thing is to step down. I think the onus and burden would be on those two gentlemen…
Our understanding is that some of your political rivals in the PLP would like to tax exempt companies. Have you heard this, too?
I've heard the words used by some of those who are campaigning, not any of my supporters.
So we're talking about income tax, specifically, for exempted companies?
I don't know, I wasn't there in the meeting. I did hear that income tax was mooted.
What effect do you think this would have?
It wouldn't be constructive. When it comes to international companies, right now I believe they contribute more than we could get out of them.
On race: Do you support the notion of a Truth & Reconciliation Commission?
No. That was a device that worked extremely well for South Africa. We have CURB, we have CURE. If people could improve their economic wherewithal, I think the racial divide would melt away… Are there racial problems? Yes. Do racial problems continue to exist? Yes. Do blacks get the short end of the stick? Yes. A Truth and Reconciliation would be an opportunity for people to sit there and talk, but what would happen after that?
