By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 10, 2021 – This commentary addresses some very personal issues I have been informed are fodder for the gossip mill in The Bahamas controlled by hatemongers who are disciples of Satan. The fact that I am experiencing tremendous financial difficulties that may result in my possible eviction from the apartment I have lived in for the past seven years apparently is an ongoing topic of discussion among some persons in The Bahamas, including some supposedly good friends of mine.
Here are some facts that, at the very least, should douse the pernicious flames of the rumour mill. I have not had a regular paycheck in almost four years. More than a month into the new year, I am still struggling to develop a plan that would generate sufficient income on a regular basis to make it possible for me to keep abreast of my regular monthly rental payments as well as make consistent payments on my past-due rent.
Clearly, the decision by the Ministry of Tourism to not renew my one-year agreement for $1,000 a month to help promote The Bahamas internationally has dealt a “big blow” to my plans. I thought that BAHAMAS CHRONICLE was doing a very good job promoting The Bahamas, but I have been informed that the Ministry’s budget “has been decimated” and “our inability to renew many contracts has nothing to do with performance.” Knowing that the economic situation in The Bahamas has been allowed to deteriorate to a frightening level, I have accepted that explanation; however, although I am a naturalized American citizen, my navel-string is buried in Stanyard Creek, Andros, and I love the country of my birth and shall continue to promote it without financial remuneration until the Ministry is in a better position to renew my monthly stipend.
But my biggest disappointment with the current Government is the failure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to implement the terms of a proposal that I submitted when my diplomatic tenure at the Embassy of The Bahamas ended after four-plus years following the change of government in May of 2017. In that proposal, which I initially presented to Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis in November of 2017 when I was in Nassau promoting my novel WOES OF LIFE, I offered to continue doing what I did at the Embassy as Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager on a contractual basis.
I was subsequently informed by Ambassador Sidney Collie that a revised version of that proposal had been approved and sent to the Attorney General’s Office for review. When I contacted Attorney General Carl Bethel, he confirmed that it had been approved and sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, it was never implemented.
When my efforts to find out the status of my proposal did not produce any results, I contacted former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest — who is a past-president of the Rotary Club of Lucaya, the club in which I was a member when I was Editor of the Freeport News – and explained my dire financial situation and asked him to look into the matter for me. His caustic response was, “We can’t afford it. You should look for a cheaper place to stay.”
It was at this point that I realized that Peter was vindictively getting revenge against me for something I wrote about him in a column when he was seeking the nomination in 2012 to run for the East End constituency in Grand Bahama.
Here’s an excerpt from that column: “Then there are the two FNM candidates that many in Grand Bahama have compared to gunslingers in the Wild, Wild West who sold their services to the highest bidder. Knowledgeable sources say that both Peter Turnquest, FNM candidate for East Grand Bahama, and Norris Bain, FNM standard-bearer for Marco City, initially sought nominations from the PLP, with certain financial conditions attached, and it is now being speculated that the FNM’s offer was more attractive. If this is true, then both of these candidates have a credibility problem as a result of their mercenary proclivity.”
At the time I wrote that column, rumours were indeed rife in Grand Bahama that Peter had requested assistance with the payment of his mortgage from the political parties to which he submitted letters seeking to be a candidate. Apparently, he has never forgotten my reference to the specter of corruption that undergirded his political ambition and led to the alleged fraud allegations that forced him to resign as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. Karma is a bitch, isn’t it.
I have taken this extraordinary step of discussing my current situation publicly because I am indeed in deep, deep trouble financially. I have fallen so far behind in my back rent that I have received a summons from The Superior Court of The District of Columbia for a Virtual Court Hearing on Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. in response to court action being taken by my landlord because of the back rent that I currently owe. The summons comes with this ominous warning: “If the Defendant does not participate, a default may be entered.”
I fully intend to participate in the hearing. One of the really great benefits I have from having had the good sense to become a naturalized American citizen in 1982, I do not have the money to pay a lawyer, but Landlord Tenant Legal Assistant Network is providing me with a lawyer to appear with me virtually during the hearing.
So, for all of you rumormongers in The Bahamas who are “dragging my name through the mud,” those are the facts surrounding my current situation. Rather than use my need for financial help as “kerosene for your lantern of hate,” I have an account with the Royal Bank of Canada that I use to facilitate transactions with my public relations clients in The Bahamas to which you can make a donation to help me through this most difficult time in my life. My Royal Bank of Canada account number: 05285-735-231-3.
