Whereas:- Four hundred and eighty-one years ago the rediscovery of this Family of Islands, Rocks and Cays heralded the rebirth of the New World; And Whereas the People of this Family of Islands recognizing that the preservation of their Freedom will be guaranteed by a national commitment to Self-discipline, Industry, Loyalty, Unity and an abiding respect for Christian values and the Rule of Law;
On March 24th of Thursday past, the Honorable House of Assembly was called for a special sitting, for the sole purpose to give Mr. Sidney Stubbs the elected members for Holy Cross, an extension on his bankruptcy proceeding. This was done on Holy Thursday. It was also on Holy Thursday that Judas of Iscariot betrayed our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our constitution clearly states that we are a Christian calendar. It is a time of deep reverence and reflection ﾖ it commemorates the ransom sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. Sadly, this Holy Thursday was made into a mockery ﾖ it was a desecration of the week of holy observances and a betrayal of our constitution.
Article (48) of the Bahamian Constitution addresses the ground upon which a person is disqualified from being elected to the house of Assembly. It clearly states in 48 (d) that if a person “has been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in The Bahamas and has not been discharged;” he or she is unqualified to sit in the halls of the Honorable House of Assembly.
The supreme court of The Bahamas has adjudged Mr. Sidney Stubbs as being bankrupt; therefore, he is no longer qualified to sit in the halls of parliament. Mr. Stubbs has had other questionable conduct that came to light; the most recent being the questionable granting of fishing rights to a company that had a Korean link ﾖ we all know of the Korean boat scandal. One now understands the reasons for such desperate behavior.
Mr. Stubbs has not been able to take his seat in the honorable house since the Supreme Court adjudged him “bankrupt,” yet he draws a salary every month as the elected member for Holy Cross ﾖ which the constitution says, he is not qualified to receive. The workers from the Royal Oasis Hotel and Casino are without jobs. They are about to become bankrupt through no fault of their own. They are losing their homes and cars and their children are being taken out of school ﾖ but he draws money from the public purse every month. Where is the moral conscience of the government, or is political consideration far more important than our constitution and the people of The Bahamas?
Where is the Christian Council? The Catholics, Anglicans, and Baptist? Where is the whole Christian community who have not decried this sacrilegious sitting of the house during holy week ﾖ one day before Good Friday? No less despicable was the government “voting” for an extension for a person who has displayed pervasive dishonesty more than once. Their silence is deafening! I am sure that their moral conscience has not gone the way of the thirty pieces of silver, for they are moral and upright ﾖ they will speak soon I am sure. “Political Consideration” means nothing to them ﾖ they cannot be bought!
The government leader in the house in putting forth the position of political consideration over the spirit of the constitution, dishonestly and contemptuously compared this bankruptcy extension vote for Mr. Stubbs with that of a murderer seeking an appeal. How insulting to all Bahamians! For all we know, murderers in The Bahamas are not given bail during an appeal and they are taken away from the pleasures of daily life. However, Mr. Stubbs enjoys the pleasure of his monthly salary from the public treasury as if he were a qualified Member of Parliament. How disgusting! How dishonest to compare the two! This is clearly political consideration over moral conscience and the Constitution of The Bahamas.
Where is the moral conscience of Prime Minister Christie, and the PLP to do what is right and call a bye-election in Holy Cross? Instead, they conspire like the Sanhedrin Council to have the spirit and the letter of our constitution impaled to the stake of political consideration, and deny what they know to be true, just, and moral standing right before their very eyes. Ironically reminiscent of that fateful Friday, two thousand years ago!
They deny their moral conscience and ignore the constitution of The Bahamas. If this stands, then the collective conscience of our country ﾖ its flesh that is comprised of its constitution, will be left to the hyenas of dishonesty and contempt and its bones to the vultures of political consideration. We are now entering “TERRA INCOGNITA” ﾖ May God help us all!
Michael M.P. Edwards
