January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
‘Cos he’s bad, bad, Ewart Brown...’
Baffling decision by deputy premier compounded by insults to the press
The Quorum group spent years and millions of dollars developing a detailed plan for a five star hotel and entertainment complex at the old Club Med site that had broad community support. Then out of the blue they get dropped like they were Ashfield Devent and replaced by this group KJA.
Dr. Brown says that the Quorum group had not satisfied Government’s conditions, but refuses to say what those conditions were. And when asked if KJA were up to the task he said that Government was convinced of their ability. Well, whoop-de-doo! These are the same people who were convinced that Pro Active could build a school!
Remember we’re talking about a politician who has already confessed to lying to us so that he could get what he wanted. And he’s since admitted that he continues to commit lies of omission. Granted that’s a distinction lost on most politicians, but it’s an important one for we taxpayers who are funding all this.
Then he has the nerve to claim that previous deals have been scuttled by local press coverage.
Now he says that if he doesn’t like a question (or indeed the questioner or the newspaper they write for) he feels no obligation to answer it. Apparently the definition of a “plantation” question is “any question where a truthful answer might incriminate me”. The PLP continues to subject the ideal of Government transparency to “death by a thousand cuts”. But then again, even the most ardent PLP supporter must have given up on all those election promises by now.
The Bermudian Public has a right to know what’s going on and the press is merely asking Dr. Brown to fulfill his obligation as an “Honourable” Member of Parliament to tell us. The “harassment” he and the rest of the PLP Hierarchy feel is only a pigment of their imagination.
Refusing to answer legitimate questions from the press is not what democratic governments do. I guess this is what we get from the “Cultural Exchange” agreement the PLP has with Cuba. The PLP has yet to arrest reporters for doing their jobs, but you know they would if they could. We get an authoritarian Government that stifles the freedom of the press, but I can’t see what Fidel gets. Although, I guess all the pilfered money has to go somewhere.
On an unrelated matter: MP Dean Foggo’s agreement to undergo random drug testing is commendable for someone purporting to be a leader in the community. However, it’s like the utility infielder on the San Francisco Giants agreeing to steroid testing. It’s all well and good, but it’s Barry Bonds we all want to know about.
For all the influence the backbench has on Government policy, I really don’t care what Mr. Foggo smokes, pops or snorts. But I need to be confident that Cabinet Ministers aren’t making policy decisions over a bucket of crack. On second thought, maybe it is related.[[In-content Ad]]
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