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    The long saga of the privatization of BATELCO the telephone

Summary:     The long saga of the privatization of BATELCO the telephone company may be coming to an end   You will remember that former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham spent 100 million dollars of the taxpayers money to downsize a corporation that in the end is unlikely to get more than 150 million dollars when the half share is sold   The whole saga has been a disgrace in terms of the payouts and the displacement of the social lives of Bahamian families   Now it is said that on 14th July we will find out who is to buy the 49 per sent stake in the new BATELCO and who will become in effect its new owner and operator in place of the Government   We think that all tenders should be rejected   The patrimony of the Bahamian people should not be sold for some ideological reasons   The fact is that that the Treasury is counting on this money more than ever to make up the budget shortfall   Can you imagine   This is like selling the family s assets to save the family   In the end you ask yourself whether the last state is worse than the first   BATELCO SUCCESSFUL BID 14 JULY PRISON GUARD CHARGED FOR DRUGS     Security and safety at the prison has been a matter of concern for some years   The latest incident to show up the threats is the arrest of a prison officer for trying to smuggle some $25 000 of marijuana into the prison There is a clear need for prison reform One of the issues is the quality of the people who are prison officers and how much they are paid   The man was caught as a result of a sting operation but it will take much more than that to bring the prison up to scratch PM SAYS PAY DEADLINE IS DIFFICULT     The Prime Minister told the Bahama Journal this week that even when the pay packet comes due for civil servants in December it will be difficult to pay it   He was referring to the promise made to pay civil servants a postponed raise that is due to them on 1st July The PM has asked to postpone the raise to December The view of this column is that it should not be paid that in fact the IMF s request that the pay increase be postponed for one year from 1st July be negotiated or imposed   The Prime Minister said that he will have to find a way to pay it in December despite the difficulties   It was promised by the Minister of State that half of the money would be paid in December s pay packet   Everywhere in this hemisphere there are stories of Governments cutting back In the United States they have been laying people off in the public and the private sector   The public servants in The Bahamas are simply being unrealistic if they expect the Government to be able to pay   Notwithstanding that one supposes a promise is a promise   The view here is that the public is on the side of the Government on this one The Union leaders must be careful that they do not overstep the mark and then end up losing their leadership positions because they put their membership in an untenable position     The long saga of the privatization of BATELCO the telephone company may be coming to an end   You will remember that former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham spent 100 million dollars of the taxpayers money to downsize a corporation that in the end is unlikely to get more than 150 million dollars when the half share is sold   The whole saga has been a disgrace in terms of the payouts and the displacement of the social lives of Bahamian families   Now it is said that on 14th July we will find out who is to buy the 49 per sent stake in the new BATELCO and who will become in effect its new owner and operator in place of the Government   We think that all tenders should be rejected   The patrimony of the Bahamian people should not be sold for some ideological reasons   The fact is that that the Treasury is counting on this money more than ever to make up the budget shortfall   Can you imagine   This is like selling the family s assets to save the family   In the end you ask yourself whether the last state is worse than the first   BATELCO SUCCESSFUL BID 14 JULY PRISON GUARD CHARGED FOR DRUGS     Security and safety at the prison has been a matter of concern for some years   The latest incident to show up the threats is the arrest of a prison officer for trying to smuggle some $25 000 of marijuana into the prison There is a clear need for prison reform One of the issues is the quality of the people who are prison officers and how much they are paid   The man was caught as a result of a sting operation but it will take much more than that to bring the prison up to scratch PM SAYS PAY DEADLINE IS DIFFICULT     The Prime Minister told the Bahama Journal this week that even when the pay packet comes due for civil servants in December it will be difficult to pay it   He was referring to the promise made to pay civil servants a postponed raise that is due to them on 1st July The PM has asked to postpone the raise to December The view of this column is that it should not be paid that in fact the IMF s request that the pay increase be postponed for one year from 1st July be negotiated or imposed   The Prime Minister said that he will have to find a way to pay it in December despite the difficulties   It was promised by the Minister of State that half of the money would be paid in December s pay packet   Everywhere in this hemisphere there are stories of Governments cutting back In the United States they have been laying people off in the public and the private sector   The public servants in The Bahamas are simply being unrealistic if they expect the Government to be able to pay   Notwithstanding that one supposes a promise is a promise   The view here is that the public is on the side of the Government on this one The Union leaders must be careful that they do not overstep the mark and then end up losing their leadership positions because they put their membership in an untenable position

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