Dear Minister Gibson,
No doubt you are aware of the controversy concerning the speed and manner in which the application by Anna Nicole Smith for Permanent Residence was dealt with by the government.
Perhaps you can help resolve some of the issues raised by answering a few questions Bahamians are asking in the barbershops and in the beauty salons.
When did Ms Smith apply for a Certificate of Permanent Residence?
Who made the application on her behalf?
Was it her lawyers, Callenders & Co or Lockhart & Munroe?
Prior to applying for Permanent Residence, how often did Ms. Smith visit the Bahamas?
What was the longest period that she stayed in The Bahamas?
When did she last visit The Bahamas prior to her application for Permanent Residence?
You ﾠsay that both of you are good friends?
How long have you known her?
Has she ever met your wife, Jackie?
Has she ever visited your home?
Have you and Mrs Gibson ever been to dinner with Ms. Smith or have the two of you ever visited her in Texas or elsewhere in the United States?
You see it is a little surprising that a Minister of the Government would visit a person to whom he has just granted a Certificate of Permanent Residence in three weeks both in hospital (after a Caesarean section surgery) and at home (after the death of a child) unless they were very good family friends.
We have seen no reports that Mrs Gibson ever visited Ms Smith in hospital or at home which would be more likely the case if you were close family friends.
We want to ensure that for the integrity of the process this friendship is real, on the level and not established at around the same time as the application for Permanent Residency.
When did you first become aware of Ms. Smith’s application for Permanent Residency?
How did you become aware of the application?
Were you aware that the application was going to be made or did you become aware of it after it was made?
Did you personally deliver to Ms. Smith her letter from the Department of Immigration advising her that her application for Permanent Residence was granted?
Did you receive the cheque payable to the Public Treasury for $10,000 fee from an employee of a law firm?
How many applications for Permanent Residence are presently outstanding?
For what periods of time would such application be outstanding?
How many are in excess of three weeks?
How many other applications for permanent resident status have been processed in a three week period?
No doubt you will agree that these are relatively simple questions and the answers to them are not complex?
The people of The Bahamas would like to know the answers and would like to satisfy themselves that the whole process was above board and that their elected officials acted with propriety?
I thank you for your indulgence,
Yours sincerely,
GENEVIEVE JOHNSON
Nassau, Bahamas
Source: The Tribune
