Inside The Inner City With Valentino "Scrooge" Brown - October 10 2025

[00:00:00] Speaker A: This is Guardian Radio, your station for up to the minute news and intelligent, interactive and engaging conversations. 96.9 FM. The views and opinions of the hosts are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the management and staff of Guardian Radio. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah I represent Bamian. [00:00:37] Speaker B: People I from Nassau mamas bigger bitan bro where I from. [00:00:47] Speaker A: Right between west and Augusta where them two roads meet there is calling Wilkeson street manners and. [00:00:53] Speaker B: Respect was like a sign blind check. [00:00:55] Speaker A: It seems the ones that come in. [00:00:56] Speaker B: After quick to disrespect you see this. [00:00:58] Speaker A: Life in the ghetto never easy so. [00:01:01] Speaker B: Many hu break tell him greet me way I doing the best I can. [00:01:06] Speaker A: Trying to turn my dollar to 100. [00:01:09] Speaker B: Grand I represent the ghetto people I. [00:01:13] Speaker A: From Good night Bahamas and welcome to Guardian Radio969FM. I am your host Valentino Braun aka Scoochio, Scrooge or Daddy, host of the show that comes on every Friday at 6:30 to 8:00pm that show name is inside the inner city. Telephone numbers tonight are 3236-232325-43632-54259. I just want to say to all the listeners and all the callers, thank you. There are so many people who listen to the show. I'm really very grateful for that. See, we make a lot of sense. I'm proud to be able to give my time to help enlighten, solve some problems that we face in the country and also have some, like I say, some creative ideas, not just talking, but I've also applied it. So I'm not just talking on the radio. You know, I've worked with many agencies, many different governments from Iran, Nasser, Bahamas and internationally. I work with the IDB bank, anyone knows that bank that is one of the biggest fund donors of the Bahamas government. Whether it's the PLP or fnm, they help in major projects. They go and get paid and private consultants get information and they do their best to see how they can help the Bahamas government achieve the goals reducing poverty, housing. They do a lot of positive programs and they get a lot of insights from a lot of individuals around the country who are contributing to the development of the country. And I had an opportunity for about 2, 3 years to sit down with them and give them some ideas on what is needed for national providence. Based on my experience living inside the grandson area and doing a lot of programs and projects in the community to better the community. And one of those issues was to tackle crime. And one of those issues I added on that tackle crime was to get the tourism industry, which is walking distance in my community, to come over the hill so we could have American money in the hands of Bahamian people as long as they're properly trained. And that's a program and project that I'm working on as we speak right now, slowly but surely. And I'm still healthy and strong and keep on getting my private partners to sponsor and myself getting my business up and running so I could use my personal money to also assist with the development of the initiative in the grandstand community. And I worked with them many years on many different organization over the years. And all of the time working with them was always the interest in how we could better lives of the people, the impoverished people of Nassano, Providence and the family island. So today's topic, we're going to talk about the recent flooding. And then we're going to show you the solution to the recent flooding, mainly in the penguin garden. We also have Fort Charlotte. There's a discussion going on to a town hall meeting. There's former representative of being in the grandstand. The honorable Travis Robinson was speaking to a forum. I think he was speaking to Dr. Darwell concerning the construction of the hospital and how that interfere with the wells. And the wells are the runoff point for the flooding in that particular part of Fort Charlotte. And it's a major concern about constructing the airport, I mean, constructing the hospital, because they're saying that once that is constructed, would increase the flooding. Okay. And then we're going to listen to what the former prime minister of the commonwealth, the honorable Hubert Alexander Minnes, he gave his contribution in the house of assembly concerning the recent flooding in his constituency of Killarney. We know that there was speculation of him running to be the leader of the DNA. He shut that down, as well as other poison of interest. So they shut that down. But Newbert, Minnesota is still going to run. I don't know if he's going to run as a free national movement. He was not elected as a candidate by the opposition leader, Michael Pintard, but the former prime minister insisted, yes, he's going to run as an independent. But as much as I said some things against the former prime minister when it comes to leadership, but when it comes to his work that he does in the community, his connection with the residents of Kalani seems to be very highly respected based on the response that he's getting from many residents of Killarney. So that means that he probably was a good mp. He might not. He might. He was not a good prime minister when it comes to the lockdown because we were already frustrated. But he seems to be a good member of Parliament. He may he making some valid points. But the point before I play the clip, you know, the politicians in our country only respond when there's a disaster that draws the attention of the nation. Like the flooding in Pinewood. Okay. Or the shooting that left a few poisons, you know, shot. You know, we respond. But we've been having these same issues over and over. Just like the Pinewood residents said it. They they're tired of years of promise. PLB come in, say they're going to deal with the flooding. They don't deal with it. The F and M come in. They say they're going to deal with flooding. They don't deal with it. But there's a blueprint and there's a plan on how they can put down flood drains and do a drainage system. Has been different. Inception I've heard candidate for the Coalition of Independence, my good friend Graham Rutherford. He always talk about how they need to design a drainage. He always talked about they could do the drainage straight in the Sea Breeze Canal or something like that. But he always had a creative idea on what they need to do in Pinewood. So we are seeing residents in Pinewood, residents in Fort Charlotte expressing their concern to town. All mean and, you know, poisons like minutes who live in Killarney. He's explaining that in some of the wetlands that are around the airport that is being developed, you know, that was the drain off point. Now that some of the wetland has been described based on construction. He said that the airport road was never ever flooded before. Now that they're doing development in these particular areas. He said that the water now is in the road and there's flooding. He said if they don't watch out that the flooding would go to the airport itself. So we could see flooding at the airport where the airport could be underwater. If we continue some developments around the country, we don't look at the effects of it. I've heard the Honourable Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis talk about climate change, but yet still there are developments going around the country that mess up our mangroves and coral reefs. Cruise ships coming and dropping their lines, they polluting our ocean. There's reports that some residents are being itchy on the beach of some kind of. I don't know what their sand is in the water on jungle beach. Sometimes, you know, smelling this funny scent So I don't know, some people saying that there could be the emptying of the ballast tanks or sewer systems on few of the ships or ships that are passing through that are not cruise ship just open their sewer system and just lets it go in the harbor. And that floats down and goes on the beach. And sometimes you go and you see the fish, them jumping over the water. That's because of the allergic reaction of the acid inside the salt water. They're jumping because, you know it's acidic. And sometime when we were younger, swimming along off, we used to be getting itched too, you know, like a deep, foul smell. So there's many things need to be discussed in the country. But I want to play the clip about the former Prime Minister, Hubert Alexander Minnes. And like I said, these guys, they become the prime minister, they're in charge of the Ministry of Health, they're in charge. Their problems have been persistent in their community for many, many years. Like the sea wall that they wanted to build in Kalani. But as a member of Parliament, as the prime minister, you yourself never had audacity when you was in power or when you was the Minister of health and you became the minister, prime minister of the country. You know, the condition that the hospital was in, you still didn't did enough for the persons who respected you, who was your colleagues. You know, you did so much, but you didn't did what you supposed to do as a doctor. But in your constituency, you. You're in House of Assembly now, sir. You're talking about what needs to happen to Killarney, about the seawall needs to be built. A question needs to be asked when you were the minister and when you were the prime minister, why you did not do these things when you was the prime minister. That's the question needs to be asked. I don't like when politicians have the power, had the power to do these things, but they only see what's wrong when they become an opposition. Now all of a sudden, you see what the problem is. Now you want to speak on the model, you know, when you had the opportunity to fix the problem, you know, and to the Bahamian, that's a slap in our face because we completely don't understand it. Now he's making some good, good points in the House of Assembly lately. The former prime minister and former leader of the Free National Movement, honestly speaking, he's been making some good points. But the thing is, he had the power to do these things. Now he's over the power. He's making some good sense in order to get back in party as an independent or whatever it is to lead a new party. If he become the independent candidate and he win, you know, he could be first in line to run either the coalition of independence or the DNA, I don't know. Or the Free National Movement. I don't know how, you know, because that's the first step. If he could do that, he has some type of clout. If he could be reelected as a third time of Kalani. So that put him as a strong member in the House of Assembly. He's a multimillionaire, he has his team. What needs to be done? So I don't know. I don't know, but I know one thing. Had the power to fix the sea wall and do many things with the Princess Margaret Hospital, but did not. I mean, he did some things sometimes we wouldn't know as citizens. But you know, he did some good. Can't say he didn't do all bad. Did some good. He did some good, but you know, we didn't see all the good, but we know he could have done better. So we're going to listen to what he has to say concerning his constituency, which he represent. It also has been affecting the country. But I just want you to hear what's going on and why what I'm going to say about local government comes into play to ease the burden of these MPs so that they can. So that they wouldn't be so busy, they would not forget that this is a priority and they have busy schedule, traveling, going to a lot of meetings and talking to residents in the community. You don't have time to meet everyone. You don't have time to fix the problems that you say you're going to fix. That's why people always say, you know, you say you're going to do something promises and promises for, but you never get to it. There's a reason why. Because you cannot be able to maintain all of the complaints that are coming into your office. You may want to, but you don't have resources. Time is moving fast and you don't have a team. So sometimes you just push aside only when something happens. Serious. You had it on the book, now you want to speak on it to fix the problem. And that's going backwards in the country. We need better governance. That's why I want the people to country. Listen closely. What you can do in Pinewood, what you could do in Kalani, what you could do in Bienna Grungell, what you could do in any community if you Want to see change where you could be a part of it, you understand? Because we can't really continue to wait on government because government is too busy. One MP who represented being in Glenisana Martin, who's an extremely great politician, I highly respect her, the Minister of Education. We also have Mr. Watson being a grandstand both of these communities of thousands of people living in their community. They only get $150,000 in their community. We just had a flooding. Okay, how many people furniture has getting damaged. Do you think Ms. Ghanana man can pay for the damages done in that part of the community? Of all the furniture, fridge, microwave, electric outage that has been that got damaged in that. What's the job? The mildew. The mildew. Tropical storm in mildew that just left and it just was rain. She cannot. Not with $150,000. The same thing with Wade Watson. They cannot deal with all the needs of the people of these inner city community and the Bahamas at large the way how we doing politics in the country cannot sustain the people in this country that way. How we're doing things in the country where we are one Member of Parliament representing over 20, 30,000 people in one constituency. That is the most craziest thing, most senile thing I think we could keep up in this country. We are actually failing from the beginning. There is no way possible. None of these MPs who live in these constituents who are representative of these constituencies can deal with the needs and concerns of the community. They can't deal with the garbage collection on time. They can't deal with the flooding. They can't deal with the drains in the community that needs to be maintained at a regular basis. They can't deal with some spots in the community that need lights. They can't deal with the speed bump that need to be implemented to stop speeding around parks and et cetera. You understand? They can't be able to fix all the roads in any city and side corners in the community unless they get this information from a body of people who reside in this community coming together as a team, coming together and making that presentation to the board of local governors and local governors would make a presentation to the MP and the MP would make a presentation to parliament on what needs to happen in these communities to make these teams make the community a better, better place for all of us to live. No government right now. Whether you plp, fnm, DNA or coalition. Even if we change government the way how the system run with one MP representing 40, 30,000 people. That is the most stupidest thing in the world right now because he cannot maintain those individual. He cannot deal with all of the needs. He or she cannot deal with all the needs that the community needs to be accomplished. Not with $150,000. Okay. That is suicide. And that's why we are failing. Okay, so we're going to play the clip with the former prime minister and then I'm going to dissect through the lines. The chair recognizes the honorable member for Kalani. [00:17:04] Speaker B: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Speaker, I don't have much to say. We have taken. We have had almost a two months break and I've been informed by the business leader that during the last two weeks he's repeatedly been in communication with the government trying to find out what bill would we be debating and could not get any response. Could not get any response. I was informed just yesterday which you'd be debating and therefore would not have had adequate time to properly prepare. But Madam speaker, it's essential for me to speak especially about areas that would be affected in my constituency. Before I start, I want to extend condolence to the Iron family. Keith Arona, who's a prominent, well known businessman in the Farm Road community, Fleming street has passed away. Keith would have left a wealth of knowledge and made great impact within the Farmerwood community. Fleming street, everyone would know the business as Keith's Chicken Shack. And Keith at one time had expanded to the Grove east street on Balfour Avenue next to his brother's service station. That was short lived and he concentrated specifically on the Fleming street area. But he was a close friend, my father and family and I extend condolence to the entire family and Keith most certainly would be missed. But Madam speaker, this is a very interesting bill and bringing this bill forth is very, very timely. It makes me believe that this bill was brought specifically for Kalan. There are so many, so many things within this bill and what had recently happened affected Kalani and shows that this bill is very important, must be properly funded and that is very necessary. And at the same time, Madam speaker, not only passing, but it's essential that every aspect of this is enforced. Without enforcement, Kalani, my constituency will continuously be affected. Madam speaker, just recently we had a storm pass through our island. I was away, I was away and I had great difficulty. It's amazing. The average individual, when hurricanes or storms are traveling, they would leave the country. But for some reason I'm probably one of those Bahamians. Like most of us, when storm is traveling, you want to get back home to be with family, friends, property, etc. You feel that it's essential for you to be there protecting everything as if you can stop the storm from coming. But I wanted to come home and I was trapped in the US for at least two days post storm. But I was able to get back and deal with my personal matter as well as Killarney constituency. But even while off I would have been communicating with many of my residents and members of my team ensuring that Killarney is well looked after. But Madam Speaker, Madam speaker, within the Killarney area, when I say team, I'm talking about my Killarney team. Killarney team. Madam speaker, in the Killarney area we have a lot of wetlands. It is something we have been for years. It's not with this government, with my government, with previous governments, etc. But this storm brought forth the problems and the chaos we can see in the future. And I would hope that this government and future government recognize and realize the catastrophic effect that can occur within New Providence, especially the West. I have complained in this parliament repeatedly about filling in the wetlands. We had a great pond within the Tropical Garden area. That pond had multiple birds, turtles, fish, kids used to go there, play, play with the turtles, etc. And it was continuously being filled in. The turtles subsequently disappeared, fish subsequently disappeared, birds no longer no longer fly there. And the homes within the area, of course the pond was a drain off so that the area would not flood. But as a result of filling in the pond, many homes in our area now are flooded. [00:23:20] Speaker A: Flooded. [00:23:22] Speaker B: And then there's high tide. Because homes were built under filled in areas. When there's high tide the pond obviously would rise and water comes up in individuals yards and homes. And this is, this is very significant. Madam speaker, the airport is also being impacted. But before I talk about the airport, I want to take areas that are affected within the Tropical Garden constituency. The Kiskadee Kiskatie. Madam speaker, we have had cases where the water was so high that individuals were trapped in their homes two, three, four days and we had started the pumping mechanism in 2022 so that individuals could at least have some resolution to move back and forth. And I'm happy to see that the government is doing that with many areas because people want some degree of comfort. [00:24:30] Speaker A: But then. [00:24:32] Speaker B: Filling in wetland is one thing, but what is being done, Individuals are using investors, they are using garbage, trash can, all organic type substance. They're put, those are put first in the wetland. Then a layer of soil is placed on top of that. And therefore to the unknown individual when they look they're seeing land, not knowing that 6 inch below that land is nothing more than cans that you would have to move, bottles that you would have to move, cups that you would have to move. They're just occupying space. We have to stop that. It's dishonesty. Because when individuals try to build on that property, it may cost them more to build their foundation than actually build a home. Because they must go down deep enough to hit rock before they can even start coming out the ground. Many that I've seen and complained about, especially in the western area and now this land that was filled with trash on a surface of soil now have bush trees on it, grass that has grown, wild bush. Individuals pass, they would see, they see bush good land, thinking they're buying good land. But this dishonesty must stop. Behemoths are being robbed. Then the wetlands near the airport has likewise been compromised and commenced being filling. This started years ago. The airport road never used to be flooded or underwater. That wetland served a purpose on tropical and the airport route, it served as runoff for the airport. And Madam speaker, just recently, because of interference with Tibet land in that area, the airport road was underwater. It was underwater. And if we don't deal with it appropriately and stop the disturbance of that particular wetland, the water will eventually drained to the Runway. Our Runway is only a matter of time before being compromised. This shows that storm showed us how important it is for us to protect our wetland. The same thing happened in the Devonshire area. Individuals are sometimes trapped in their homes for days because of flooding. And this is throughout. Madam speaker, while I'm talking about the wetlands, we have had excellent maps of the flood flood areas, flooding prone areas within New Providence and the flood prone areas. Madam speaker, it's essential for us. [00:28:09] Speaker C: To. [00:28:09] Speaker B: Look at those maps, look at the flood prone areas. And if individuals want to build in those areas, there should be specific legislation and regulation dictating how their homes should be built. They should be built off the ground, maybe by stilts or at least elevated to a certain distance. [00:28:37] Speaker A: Why? [00:28:39] Speaker B: Because they are in areas that we know will be flooded. But at least give them the comfort that should a flood occur, they would not be disturbed within their homes because the water entering the homes causes a different problem. You have problems with the utilities, your electricity, your light, your refrigerator, all of your appliances are compromised, your beds, et cetera. But that's a short term effect. That's a short term effect. But let's look at what happens long term. We're only looking today about drying out individuals homes. Yes, that's necessary. But let's look at what happens tomorrow? That home is now predisposed to development of molds. So the health of those particular individuals are compromised. We don't look at that because that's happening tomorrow. We're concerned about what's happening today. Then we find that they having some problems that has to and they must be presented to the hospital facilities. Placing extra burden and taxes on our health care system. That is something we must do. There are maps showing us exactly where our flood prone areas are located. But passing the law is one thing, enforcement is another. Then Madam speaker, this bill also speaks about protecting the land in the west. Our roadway runs very close to the sea and with this little storm or whatever you want to call it that we had the road, the seawall has collapsed and the road is being compromised. Best Bay street near the Saffron Hill area is already falling apart. And if it's not repaired as quickly as possible, then one day you will find that the road basically has been cut in half. Half of the road would have already disappeared, fed into the sea, which would cost the government a lot more to repair as opposed to fixing it now while the road is just imaginable. [00:31:23] Speaker A: That was a wonderful analysis of the concerns of the community by the former Prime Minister of the Commonwealth Bahamas and concerning his community. Like I said, he is doing the research. He's finding what the concerns are of the residents. But like I said before, you know, you were Prime Minister, you could do something all these things in opposition you were speaking on these matters. I just don't understand if we're going forward or backwards or backwards forward. Because you know the issue of these problems. When you were the prime minister, why not put a team to implement these. Listen again people, we talk about how much money the government of Obama spend on traveling in the millions. Then we talked about there was a march that a protest with teachers and those who feel that the government didn't pay them in a timely fashion. So they had their showdown on Bay street, their protests and they were saying, if you don't want money, ring the bell. Okay. Many people are frustrated. Then the Prime Minister of the country, honorable Brave Davis, he came and he spoke to the people and he said, you know, I feel it for you guys and I was the one who gave y' all the raise because I know you all are the hard working, you know, and I listened and he didn't have time to continue. And he was trying to say I taught. So when I see, when I listened to the interview and I say when he said I taught seems to me that, you know, he probably already approved it and he thought like certain poison would take care of it. Probably the Permanent Secretary. But the Permanent Secretary, like he said, I was listening. You got to listen closely what he was saying before he was interrupted. You know, then he said that I'm gonna make sure by December that you would get it again. Sometimes like I say, people were saying the money that you're traveling with, okay, and paying certain PLP spokespersons, they, they are getting paid certain amount of money. They are behind gates and we, the civil servants, we're working hard. Now it's been delayed. So people protest, the Prime Minister responds. And in there I just like to listen to what they have to say and I watch their word and I see if I could pick through the line anything they're saying. And one thing I could pick is when he said that I taught and then he didn't have time to finish. So what are you saying? He taught that the money would be displaced to teachers and whoever would their money. But he did say that by December he would make sure that they get their money. So we heard former Prime Minister Hubert Alexander Minnesot talked about the flooding issues, the seawall in his community, especially out west, where he said that if they don't do something immediately to try and repair it, well, half the road will be gone and then there would be no traffic. So listening to the Prime Minister and he made some, some great, great points. Okay, so he talked about the wetlands and places that government what fill in. But they would put garbage balls, cans and etc, probably fill what they probably is taking from the inner city community and want to take to the dump. But instead of the guys, them taking a rock and taking the fill and put down all the shortcut and they put in these cans and ball, which is not going to be a good foundation, you know, to dig your foundation for you to put your block in because you got mushroom, remember now you have to hit ground so that you could put down the blocks for the foundation so that the foundation could be very strong that no water gets in from anon. What he is saying is that they put that first and they put curry. So if there's a surge underneath the ground that is not going to be stable enough for you on your foundation. So eventually you will be flooded. So what he is saying that if you do own these areas, make sure that they use the right material. Means that the rocks and stuff like that you could throw down there, you put the curry so that it's stable. You also say in the low Lying areas where you know it's going to be flooding. Build it up, build a foundation up. So you could go build a foundation like six, six or seven costs. But three course four costs could be in the ground and then four more costs could be up or you could go up even higher. You know, just have to build a deeper foundation so that when the water comes in your foundation, your door would be like at least 4 or 5 foot above the water. That's why you can stay on your house because in some cases they are saying that the water came in and reach up to some people's window and they couldn't go inside. So that's how high the water was. So I guess you have to build up a better, higher foundation. Some places you can build because there are wetlands and they drain off for the flooding. That means when the water comes in, it drains back off into the wetlands. That means the water resides. So that's more like a drainage. So I think there are some good points. But here I'm going to talk with Fort Charlotte and I'm going to tell you where local government comes in. Then I want to go with Fort Charlotte. I was listening to some of the interviewers and Pinewood Gardens. So number host boss Bastien was in the newspaper a few days ago. You know, he has aspiration to be a member of parliament. He wants to serve. We are the youngest elected politician in the history of the country. Former minister for being a grandstand is seeking to win the four Charlotte seat. So we have two young aspirin. One is a business, business boss, business owner. One is a politician and a pilot. One is filthy rich. He work his way up in society. He came from nothing and he worked his way up in society over the last 20 years. Now he's a successful multimillionaire and now he says that he wants to serve and he's going against going up against a young Travis Robinson who wants to redeem himself. He, he also wants to serve. So they're gonna wive for the Fort Charlotte seat. And there was some concern about Fort Charlotte listening to when Travis Robinson was debating the town halls meeting about the construction of the hospital. And they're saying that if you build the hospital and papal track, you know where the water wells are. When I was a kid, we would normally ride from here and we would go in the industrial garden over all the wells and we would end up actually by the caves. You know, we would end up in the back of the caves because there was a road that we could go through from There because that was underdeveloped. All our sources you see out west, they was in there. So we had a road that we left in the Botalco area. We hit on the H1 Nash highway, cut through there and then we'd end up in the cave way out west and come down in the back of the cave. There was a road in the back of the cave. I could always remember that we used to dub the museum and come to the cave with a bath towel. So just giving an insight recently from Fort Charlotte, cold water whales. But the whales were hot fish. You know, they are like teens cut out. You know where the water like square from Mars starts from Fort Charlotte in that vicinity of Chippenham where Dutchrow Garden was where Leslie Miller brother has his. He has his senator for at risk drug users situated right in the area right there. And then they have water wells and stuff and this where the water would drain off so that the Fort Charlotte residents, you know wouldn't state flooded for too long. And they saying that's going to interfere now that they're building this hospital. So all that has to be in consideration. All that has to be in consideration. There are some very pressing issues. But the thing is, what I don't really understand is that the members of parliament who have these, who are the members of parliamentary constituency, how have they done the research on what is the number one priority in that community? You know, because every five, five years, five, six, seven years we have a flooding or hacking of a of magnitude that either is gonna hit the Bahamas or older Bahamas or we're going to have a tropical storm and it affects us and we are flooding. And we have had this over and over. What are the goals of the mp? Knowing that they have these problems in their community but yet still they fail to act. The only time they act is when the storm comes again or the flooding comes again. You know, and they talk about the plans and what they need to do from what they need not to do. But nothing is done. We heard minutes stated that successive government has come in and have let the problem remain the same. But now they're talking about the same problem over and over and over again. The MPs in these communities need to find a way how not to be so busy, do the work of the country by going in parliament and speaking. But you need a team of people on the ground that is going to be able to fill the needs of the community. Because the MP is too busy, he don't have time. There's no way possible. The MP is going to deal with all these projects in a timely fashion in a five year period completed with the help of the community, with local government. He could go and sit in parliament. Okay. And local government itself in entirety is a mechanism to take the pressure off the MP because of the population and the issues concerning the community are too overwhelming for the mp. The community residents would know exactly what needs to be done. They need some speed bump needs to be put down here. Well, there's a yard with abandoned houses down there that needs to be fixed. All these will be recorded. There are dialect vehicles that needs to be moved. Okay? There are some at risk and some disabled people living in the community. Through this corner, through this corner. They need assistance. We need. We need the roads to be repaired. Okay? We need the garbage to be collected on a timely fashion because the rate that the garbage truck comes in the community, it is too slow. So times the garbage truck do come true in a two weeks period, the garbage has been dispersed from the dogs and the rat. We have a rat problem. We can identify these problems in the community and set information out because we have the connection for each resident in the community to identify. If you have a rat problem or rat infest infestation, you can contact the local government board or the representative of that part of that community. Because there's supposed to be seven governors for that community. So in an area like Bain and Grandstand, we'd have seven governors. Just say I'd be one crosshair. CB Morse would be one crosshair. We'd have some other community leaders who are not politically affiliated. Yes, you could be a part of a PLP or AFNM or the Coalition of Independence. But this here is different. This year is serving the people. You're here to help your body, you understand, but you're also here to help the people who have concerns and need and their needs to be a sense of urgency. And you guys are going to be in a sense of urgency. So we have seven governors. They're going to look at all the complaints of their particular community. They're going to present these problems to the board where the minister himself. It could be the minister. Bain and Grunstadt. It could be Glenisander, Martin. It could be the opposition leader, Michael Pintard, who want to see who has a community in Freeport. The board would identify problems in each part of the community. If there's flooding, they would identify it. They would have a team who would go assess that problem, come up with a strategic plan, find the best alternative on how they could get the flooding floodwaters reside by putting in the proper infrastructure of drains and piping system. Okay. And present this to the member of Parliament. And when he has his chance to debate in the House of Assembly, he could table this in the House of Assembly. Based on the information received from the local government which are the individuals who are elected by the people of the community who all put together their problems on it. It is documented, presented to the MP and the MP goes to the House of Parliament and says, Mr. Prime Minister, we need to put a drainage in Pinewood garden. It cost $20 million to put a drainage system in Pinewood Garden. We ask on behalf as a member of Parliament for the Pinewood constituency and a member of the local government committee. And this is the information and research that we have done. We can assure it in the host assembly. And this we like of the constituents of Pinewood Garden. Can we get the funding to build this drain for Pinewood Garden? And these are the kind of things that local government can do. The roads that we see in the inner city community, these potholes. The minister himself, he see this problem. But he is not a number one man. He's not a number two man. He's not a number three man. He's number one foreman. He can't get taint done like Chester Cooper. He can't get taint done like the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Mahmud honorable Brave Davis. He can't get taint on like the honorable Fred Mitchell. There are certain position in Parliament where your cabinet ministers and your bench, your back benches and some backbenchers just, just display dead or they feel that they can get the government agencies to really work with them. Here's why I'm saying this. Park benches are the ones who the primary secretary really don't respect them. They only respect the MPs like Chester Cooper, Fred Mitchell, like I said and Hon. Prime Minister. That's why so much development is happening in Exuma. Billions of dollars have been invested in Exuma. Reason why Chester Cooper has access to bpn. He has access to water and sewage. So when he has to do some type of roadway and Exuma and et cetera and et cetera, he sends this into the Ministry of BPL and he is the deputy Prime Minister. They can't turn him down. So instantly he is granted. But a bokbench mp, he ain't gonna get that kind of support. You know, no disrespect. Prime example I NBA and grandstand. You know, Mr. Watson, you know, he is the representative for the Community. I don't put no pressure on him and I don't like to bother with him because I know his hands full. So I do. I know his hands full. I know it's $150,000. I know that he dealing with a big population of over 30 to 40 to 50,000 people, kids, old people furnish arrangement, scholarships, all these stuff. So that's the last cause. He's going to help some people, but he's not going to be effective. Effective like the way I really effect that don't mean he's a bad mp. I'm just saying that he don't have the funds, he don't have the team, you know, he just don't. None of these MPs do because they do understand what's at stake. You need that local government board to take the pressure off the MPs, okay? They have the Free National Movement have their association, the PRB have their being in Grandstand association, the fnmrs there being a Grandstand association, that's different. That's party. We don't need that. What we need is a local government that has people from all walks of life who concerned with the community, who are doing good in their community with creative ideas and table it and say, this is what we need for our community, okay? Like the Pinewood Garden constituency. And a lady made a good valid point on the radio. She didn't show her face. So she said this. She was outside her house in Pinewood Gardens and you know, it was flooded and she standing up the knee high, she was saying, you know, all the furniture gone, you know, tv, all this stuff damaged, right? So she said that if we the people, you know, need to get together and check and filed a complaint against a real estate company that developed these houses in Pinewood Garden, you understand, and sue them. I mean, I'm not saying, you know, that's what I would like, but she is right because they are responsible. Knowing that the lands are low and if they were to build, they were supposed to advise the landowners that, you know, it's a low level line, it's a flood prone wetland, you know, you're supposed to build it higher. Like former Prime Minister Hubert made once you listen to what he said, he said in some of these low level, low level lines that the developers themselves shortcut, okay? So that means all the curry in Pine Garden, right? When they cut it down Claddle, they ain't put enough rocks, they didn't put enough fill to raise it up, went seven, eight feet, you understand? So basically all the hoses, you know, with water come in water come 3, 4ft, eventually it's going to get higher. So the hoses in Pinewood Garden supposed to build higher off the ground like Minnesota was trying to explain in some of the wetlands. So the foundation should be high, you know, like some of these things must see could be like nine cores a block. Now I say nine closet blocks but I mean like in the ground to reach thing up and also to be high on the ground, you know. So it could at least be at least five feet off the ground in these pinewood areas. But the horses are there. What is going to be the solution? Graham Rutherford always talked about adrenal system and ties in sensusi and now the government is looking at that. But the thing is, the representative for Pinewood Gardens over the course of the last 20 years, PLP and FM, what have they been doing? Taking the taxpayers money. But people have lose thousands and thousands of dollars every time these flood, flood and hurricanes and tropical storms come around and they lose all their furniture, you know. And some of these people are being paying their mortgage, you know, which is ridiculous. 150, $200,000 for these low cost homes that were actually crown land were given to the church. The church turning over to a certain faction and the faction them build the houses knowing that it's a low land line, right? You're overcharging the behemoth people. This crown land, some of these properties on these posts cost a little 5 or 10, $15,000. Okay. These properties are ranging prices from $15,000 to going for 150 to $200,000. You know, where you pay a mortgage until you, you know, if you're 20 and you get one of these, you can finish paying this mortgage when you're 40, you understand? Because they can take it out every month. You know, this highway robbery man would have been going on in this country, man. You see, you got to blame the political party, you gotta blame the church because the church is the one get the land as well. You understand? I've been hearing this, you know, minister stated this in his speech. He ain't named no one in particular. And he said this and he's the prime minister and this happened on his watch as well. He can't say anything happen on his watch. That's why he could say it himself because he do it himself. I can't say exactly where he do it, but he spoke on it and he was the prime minister for four years. So you don't think he some kind of development was going on like that on this watch. But he went trade on the other party. But listen closely. He said he didn't say it didn't just happen at one administration. He admitted it happened under multiple administrations. So many of these houses around the country are crown land were given to. Given to developers by the government, by the church, you know, and the church swindle people because the church gave the land to real estate guys. And they, they build homes and they charge the people, beaming people, not, not 5%, not 10%. They charges beaming people close to 70% because some people were paying their mortgage in Pinewood garden for over 20 something years. So definitely when a lady said that, right. How the houses were built. And we should. Yes. See, behemoths need to get together. You know, homeowners need to get together. The PLB and F M. All y' all weren't were in the flood. All y' all who. Who love party and like to put party before yourself. I bet you all y' all hey shuck up too, right? But from all the electric wire and stuff like you take the electricity, Hatcher was going to spare you if it's a PLP or FN meeting. The electricity in the wall was going to spare you because she's a plp. You walk in there with your barefoot, you think, you say, oh, he's a F M or use the use of PLP and I ain't going to shuck you or I ain't gonna flood you or the water say, oh, oh, ice the plb, the water, you'll flood me. Pine or garden, you know, water coming in. That's why you have to be a nationalist. Yes, you can have these party, but you can understand in a national issue you have to forget about the party. Forget about the party. Yeah, you support the party, but this is a national issue and that's the variety we have to put. So local government is key. Individuals who are elected by local government, appointed by the community, they have to be for the people. They can't go and say use a PLP or F and M. I don't like you. I'm not going to do nothing for you. No, your job is to come there and find the problem, find a solution, record it, write it down and present it to the Member of Parliament and let them go and host the parliament and table it and get the funding from the Prime Minister and from cabinet and then pass on to local government. And local government could trickle it down and make sure the roads are fixed on time, the potholes are fixed on time speed, speed bumps are installed in places where it needs to be installed. Young girls like Ariel, who lost her life on Carmichael Road, who ain't had no light on in the house, who currently resolved, who probably had no food in the house or, you know, and also had no light on the street corner that she was walking on. Coming from school, we can make a change with local government. We can make sure, identify these things and say we need a lamppost at that particular spot. We could say, you know, we have kids going to school. We want a bus. We want a bus for our kids in Pinewood Garden to take them to school. You know, we could say, you know, these are things that we can do with local government. You know, we could have a bus system just for our kids to pick them up and drop them from school. Instead of letting them walk home at night. Coming from school, from practice, like what happened in Young Area, we'd have a bus system and they could pick them up and drop them home. These are the things that we can do with local government, okay? This is one of them. This is one of the programs I worked personally with the IDB bank. So they went and got Renard Henfield. Let me just tell you all people how I've been working for the Bamian people, coming up with solutions and put myself out there. And I'm a poor man, but I always had ideas for the BME people. See, I'm a nationalist, okay? And I want the best for our nation. And to do that you have to be a nationalist, you understand, to see the concerns because you're not going to see the hurting and, and the pain that the Bahamian people is going through. If you be in war with these political party because they blind you, you know, your party could do better, but yet still you're blind because you're getting a little contract. But a nationalist sees it and he wants to change and I want to change. And these are the programs I did for the country, okay? And I sit down there and the IDB president was amazed at me. And they asked me if I get, if I get paid for the information they received from me. Because I had them down in Dana Grandstand for about a year and they did a survey about the things I'm talking about. And that's why they wanted to implement local government, because how I explained it to them, how the students from the University of the Bahamas explained it to them. How Dwight Scrooge, see, Dwight Scrooge here, he knew exactly what's going on with local government. Because he was right there from the reception with me going to the meetings every day. Dwight Scron, Morning Blend. He was. He was sitting on there taking notes and a part of it. And he himself spoke on it and he himself in the country. So they got Bernard Anfield, they got Dwight Scron from Guardian. I was at one board from inception. And they got these people to support die. They are what I gave them. They brought the office of the Prime Minister in at the IDB bank out there on Shirley street. All documented. Me. I know Prime Minister. I know, I know. Member, Parliament. All I am is a concerning citizen who has admired as. And people love what I was doing in my community. Not as a representative, you know, but as the concerned citizen who go there. Use his contacts by meeting a lot of Greeks and a lot of prominent people in the country, the Simonettes, like Brand Simonette and Robin Simonette, and get them to support me on little small programs like the cleanup program that we are doing right now in the NSCD community that they themselves are sponsoring. And they've been doing that for five years. Doing five years right now. Getting people like the Alexander Millis to come and help get a team of people so we could build a community center. And we did. We built two community centers in Lewisbury, Glenheim, Bahamas. I'm looking to build a turret one that's going to teach culinary, culinary cooking to kids in the community who wants to learn a trade, you know. So local government could change everything in this country. The problem is the politicians are afraid because they saying that. Or it could take away the power. No, this is going to help you guys because you guys cannot. You guys cannot get all these things done under your administration. Y' all are too busy. It's impossible. So local government could be that beacon that deals with inner city problems. We know we're going to fix it because why you guys are debating the whole assembly on murders and going at one another. The people who are in charge of local government, their only concerns is to put down the drainage system, get the garbage truck collected on time, come up with creative ideas on how they could transform the community into a vibrant community. Vehicles in the community. However, a system where we have poisons who will come running and do all the maintenance. With the drainage system, okay? Maintenance system. With the road, we have a maintenance team that goes around through every corner to make sure there are no more cars put back and spots that we already cleaned up. So we don't re spend money or reuse money to go back and clean something up again. So we'd have a team of poisons. A part of the local government goes around, check the corners to make sure that no one is dumping. And if there's garbage dump, we're going to have a quick response team to come and remove it immediately. Because we have access to the Ministry of Environment. So local government team will have access to bpl. Local government teams would have access to social service. Local government would have access to the government agencies for whatever need where this road works. We would be recognized and we have a quicker, faster response to help the people. So these problems that we face in the country, local government could help solve all those costs. You citizens in the country, you guys can make a difference. The only thing you guys are going to have to put aside is politics and put away the church and understand that if you guys work together, we could achieve a lot. You don't have to like me, but I mean you could be a part of a board. You don't have to like me, but you know that we have a goal. And our goal is stop the flood water from coming in the PLPOs. Stop the flood water coming from the FNM host. Stop the flood water coming in the coalition host and stop the flood waters from coming in. People who ain't a part of no political party are just swing waters. And vote for anyone who out with a comprehensive plan to better the community. Okay? That's what we want. Local government. You people ask for local government. Be a part of it. Okay, people, listen to me. Your mp issues of his community. Let me give you a prime example. Do you think Wade Watson, who is a good MP with $150,000, he has funerals every year. People get killed. Shoot. He has to find ways when people apply to him and ask him to bury those, he has to do those. You have back to school, right? You have old people whose lights are off, who you're going to have to go to BPL and get it turned on because they have a program where the MP would help you turn on your light frontal inch much education, he dealing with crime. He have to go to programs. He also have to travel. It's impossible. That way of thinking is finished in this country. Anyone who thinking that, anyone who thinking that in this time right now is a fool. The thing that MP could come in the community and change the community. Unless you have local government, half the people working with him in that community, it's a fool. I'm telling you, I analyze it. This is the only way we're going to change the country. And we're going to have to introduce local government in NASA New Providence. Don't be not afraid. The local government is going to do the needs of the MP and this is a plus to the MP because now what the MP has to do, he just goes speak on these things that needs to be happening in this community. And he's going to get the funding from the Prime Minister. And when the Prime Minister gives him the funding, he is going to take the funding and give to the local government association who will be hold accountable to make sure that the funds go to the right initiative. Okay? And then we could grow and we could grow, you know. And there's so much things local government can do. See IIS when it comes to Nazon, when it comes to crime, you have a lot of at risk guys who charge a serious offenses who live in each community. You have some guys who charged with serious offenses, they live in Mason edition. You have some guys living in east street, you have some guys in Fox Hill, but you have sometimes you have like 20 or 30 guys who reside in the community. But you wouldn't know because you wouldn't know that these guys live in your community. And they come out of the prison and some of these guys come into prison, they come right back into the community without you not knowing and they sell it in the community. Now they can't find a way so they sell drugs and then they start to link up with guys in and out of prison, they start to get guns and they start to, you know, cause a 24 hour because this is all they know. If we have local government and we're working with the prison and we're going to find out who all lives in this part of Lower Street, Hay street and Taylor street. And we go to the prison so that we can deal with the hardened criminals who come out and come back in the community. We know their offenses. So we're going to try find ways on how we could work with them so that we can limit their opportunities of them hurting our young children in the community or hurting old person in our community. Because mind you we had a 74 year old killed in a weak spawn and then a 13 year old, a 12 year old girl in a weak span, both killed by two, two persons of interest who were in and out of prison. Okay, so what we can do is when these people are being released from prison, we have our local government, we have our statistics by the prison to know who's coming out of prison in our community. So we expect them. So what we can do now is we could help them as well. So there's some type of something could come up. Well, we could say, brother, you know, you just come out, meet these individuals and say how we can help. They don't have a place to stay. Help them get a place to stay, get them back on their foot, talk to them and tell them, don't go back in the life of crime. You know, this is the first step. See, these things could change things. Instead of let these guys come right back in the community and roaming the community and end up running the community, controlling the community. You know, there's a guy that come into the community, right? The community quiet. One guy could come out of prison and come in the community and mess the whole community right up. So if we could control that and we can do that by local government because we could have the access to the files and all the names of individuals living in our respective community. And in some cases we have it all going on in each community. And you know what we could find out why so much Terry wars being going on. Why so much gang banging? Why does one don't like this one? Why this is going on now that we have this board. Because the information we're receiving from local government concerning these individuals might tie into the Fox Hill community. Because people are going to talk and say, man, you know, I know the guy, my son knew him and we were talking about it and they have a beef with some guy up in this area here. So I got the name. So all this can lead to, okay, we get two names now. Let's see how we could get information from Fox Hill, get the information from Baintown and see how we could strategize now and how we could pull these two guys together. Because we know, we know the local government board members here, we know the local government board members there. Let's get the police involved, let's get social service involved. Let's see how we could bring these two guys together and see if we can solve that problem. Because we know what the problem is. Because by helping local government, information is coming to you from residents in the community who are part of the board. So now you are reaching tens, you reaching a different chapter now on solving the country's problem. But now this is done by local citizens who are part of local government and citizen who also just want help. Local government is what we need. So I say to the Prime Minister, the Commonwealth, if you're not going to introduce local government, you're not going to get my vote. The coalition of independence, you introduce Local government to the Free National Movement. You're not going to get my vote unless you implement local government and make sure that everyone who's elected a part of local government has the heart and desire to help their people. They're not here for the P admin, F and M. But this could also decide if you guys could stay in power. Because if the MP of the Free National Movement was to continue to work with the local government and he does the right thing, this might could make him repeat as well as the opposition. If they're doing some good stuff and they're working with the local government, like still assisting with local government on some of the issues concerning the community, this would also give them the opportunity to put good candidates, you know, respectful candidates, you know, but four or five years, you understand, and people who are more concerned about the community, you know, local government is the way out. So people, it might not make sense to you guys, but I'm telling you, you could fix your problem in Pinewood Garden if you get your local government, go in and the people participate. Because all of y' all have lost furniture, appliances and thousands of dollars. You guys can do this. All right? We need local government in Nassau and New Providence. We need local government now. If anyone want to call in and contribute to the show, the Telephone numbers are 323-623-2325-431632-54259. You see, I'm making sense. We could deal with so much problems in our community. We don't have no more dialect vehicles in our community. We would be able to control with a lot of rats in our community. Like I said, we can identify those. And we have a rat program going on and we're going to tell everyone, put it on simultaneously. We're going to teach people from the Ministry, bring people from the Ministry of Wyoming as part of a local government team, show you how to dispose of the rat, show you also how to put down the rat poison to make sure that you don't damage the wildlife. We're talking about the cats, we're talking about the dogs who teach you how to put down the rat poison. And if there is a particular spot that is a hive, we could help the Ministry of Environment come in and put down cages and teach you also how to trap them and get rid of them. You know, to open a rat trapping business right now in the country. Some young guy out there. You're listening. Go and study for two months. Go to school. Learn some, some things. Contains about. About rat catching cages. Man, Start advertising my brother and get the latest set of chemicals and go around this country make you would make about a million dollars in about five years. If you and your team get together and come up with some comprehensive rat trapping poison program in the country and go to these businesses and see how you could eradicate the rats in those area, I think where you'd make plenty of money. Okay, think about it. One of you guys, you guys go into the rat killing business. That'd be many plenty money. We're gonna take this call on Guardian Radio. Go ahead, caller. You want inside in the city. [01:10:48] Speaker D: Hey, Scooji. [01:10:48] Speaker A: Yes, sir. How you doing? I'm fine. That's Chris. That's Chris. [01:10:54] Speaker D: Respect. Respect, Chris. All right, Kermit. I mean, sorry, Scrooge. Like, like the Jamaican brothers and sis. And I say this to what you say, calling if you making sense. How you mean? That's out of Jamaican. But what's he faced? How you mean? Young man, you making sense. You always make sense. But you know it's really serious what you're pointing out. And I was one of them persons them who hear about local government over the years but didn't give too much about it because it seems like the politics is getting walled back. [01:11:32] Speaker A: Yes. [01:11:32] Speaker D: A small country. In every country state do local government. I guess everybody get a political persuasion. So even like how you mentioned that some of the people who could serve on the board could end up even serving in parliament eventually if the people think they really care about the community and or the constituency. So I reached a conclusion. I think I have to agree with you what you're saying. I think it's the local government legislation is there, but they just ain't implemented into Nassau, New Providence. [01:12:06] Speaker A: Yes. [01:12:07] Speaker D: Yeah. So they just drag it. I think they just dragging their foot on that situation. So when you say if they don't say it, all of them, you ain't gonna vote for them. I guess all of them would say, yeah, they for local government. [01:12:19] Speaker A: Yes. [01:12:20] Speaker D: Be implemented in New Providence before the next general election. But we got hopeful we support would push it. [01:12:26] Speaker A: Yes. [01:12:27] Speaker D: Man, Dwight, don't be wasting time and don't be making no sense. He's been making sense. Yes, Dwight pushing for someone, you know, and he's get passionate. We need to open with local government. But when you really think about it, yes, that is the answer. [01:12:40] Speaker A: That is the answer. [01:12:41] Speaker D: Jesus being the answer. [01:12:42] Speaker A: Yes, yes, yes. Jesus answer everything. But look, yes, the local government is the answer first. [01:12:46] Speaker D: I feel like it must take the power away from not just taking it away. From the politicians. But people who might really. They have the real, real heart to understand what service is all about. They get it mixed up. It's like they just want position, you understand. So I. I think we have a choice to either vote in or elect who we think is the right people. Rather than just either general in the community or whatever or even going to the constituency office. And these people have an added oh that's FM or that's a PMP. And they do this when they was in power and all kind of. We might get skipped that. [01:13:20] Speaker A: Right. [01:13:20] Speaker D: $150,000 would you talk about. And whatsoever they that would be underneath local government. [01:13:25] Speaker A: Right. [01:13:26] Speaker D: We'll have more. I don't think. [01:13:27] Speaker A: Right. [01:13:27] Speaker D: I don't think when we have it NASA they will continue getting that big amount of things. I mean what local government is there for will be to do that job what they supposed to be doing. [01:13:37] Speaker A: Yes. [01:13:37] Speaker D: And it'll skip all of that friend. [01:13:40] Speaker A: Right. [01:13:40] Speaker D: Just bracing the money and getting done the place still the drainage being clean or whatsoever. People still complaining. This board would you talk about. I don't know how they doing it on the family. Like I say I can get interested in and I can support it. Right. I. The police has been on the board too. [01:13:57] Speaker A: Yeah. We need all everyone on the board. [01:13:59] Speaker D: Everyone on the board. When people come out of prison or people involved in the community. I don't know if we should just get police from the community but it should be of course. How do you say the senior officer. [01:14:09] Speaker A: Of course. [01:14:10] Speaker D: Yeah. Senior officer should be on it even if you have a junior or whatsoever. But I think the local government like you say sounds like it's the way to go. [01:14:19] Speaker A: Yes. [01:14:19] Speaker D: And why I have to agree not just because my boy school which all the things you've been doing. You said the people after you just get paid for it. [01:14:26] Speaker A: Non paid consultant and they asked me, they say if I was parking their homeland you would have been paid. They said I would have been a millionaire and I would have been a national treasure. [01:14:36] Speaker D: You know I don't have to tell you know you as a nationalist. [01:14:39] Speaker C: Right. [01:14:39] Speaker A: Yes sir. [01:14:40] Speaker D: Okay. And we respect you for that. [01:14:41] Speaker A: Yes. [01:14:42] Speaker D: And scoot you doing a lot of things without being an mp. [01:14:44] Speaker A: Yes sir. Yes sir. [01:14:45] Speaker D: Just go tell me something. You think if you would have been interested. I don't know. I really accentuated if you're interested. [01:14:51] Speaker A: Right. [01:14:51] Speaker D: And I might ask it before with being in parliament you think the people in the community would support you Skip all of that red and yellow F and M&PLP. And support you for what you'll be doing. [01:15:00] Speaker A: Listen to me. I might say this. I'm not exaggerating or trying to believe like I some type of thing. I don't look at it like that. I said shy person, you know, I like to be in the background. The only reason I come out to do this because I have a voice and I have a lot of solutions. So I speak out in my community. The people love me. They love me. They love me. They love me because I serve. I'm not a politician. Anyone could tell you if they know me. I've been doing basketball tournament for 20 some years. I'm doing, I've been doing, talking to, consulting with idb, bank governments. [01:15:32] Speaker D: It's good when they love you, right? [01:15:34] Speaker A: Yes. [01:15:34] Speaker D: You know, you said earlier that you don't have to like me, you know? [01:15:38] Speaker A: Right. [01:15:38] Speaker D: Good. We don't have to like one. [01:15:40] Speaker A: No, no. [01:15:41] Speaker D: And push and serve for the right reason. [01:15:43] Speaker A: Yes, yes. [01:15:44] Speaker D: So it's good to know they love you. [01:15:46] Speaker A: Yes. They love me. [01:15:47] Speaker D: I believe this might be a question mark. Not, not questioning what the people would decide to do if they would elect you to go in there without any colors or any major political. [01:15:56] Speaker A: I mean, independent. As independent. [01:15:59] Speaker D: Yes, yes. [01:15:59] Speaker A: But people vote for me. A lot of people ask me now why I'm not going to last two general elections. They told me when Travis Robinson run, that was my chance. They told me this one coming up. But you know, like I say, you know, if I get some more stuff done in the community and in the country as solutions and I feel that I can serve from capital where I could serve and serve the people because I know what the people need. Until then, I want to continue to grow. I'm going to accomplish some more stuff and I learned some more things on how to change the anomalies of the community and the country. How to build it up with housing, small business, deal with the crime issue, be able to abuse and be able to clean up in the community, keeping it clean in the community like I'm about to, then I think I'll be ready and I'll present myself because I know exactly what the people need. And I'm not going to go in there for money. My goal is to get out. [01:16:48] Speaker D: I tell you, as a nationalist, it ain't about you. [01:16:50] Speaker A: No, it's about serving ready. [01:16:53] Speaker D: It's about serving, doing these things without being in spite of how we feel that you'll be. And we will encourage you, maybe even financially support you to do it. [01:17:01] Speaker A: Yes. [01:17:02] Speaker D: You're doing it without Being inside there. So I, I, I, I salute you for that, brother. For the local government thing. I think we need to encourage our members of Parliament. Not just our members of Parliament, each others in the community local government. We need to encourage one another to study up on it and see what it could benefit us because rather than just sucking up to these members of parliament with these general and think about will remove some of those persons who like I say, have the wrong idea about it. Like, like how do I say they hoggish. [01:17:34] Speaker A: Yes. [01:17:34] Speaker D: They don't understand what service is all about. They going about it the wrong way. And we could raise funds and do all kind of things. We could get international help. [01:17:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:17:43] Speaker D: Things and stuff. [01:17:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:17:44] Speaker D: So I salute people like you and Dwight Strong. [01:17:46] Speaker A: Yes. [01:17:46] Speaker D: We're pushing it and don't stop. [01:17:48] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:17:49] Speaker D: I hope more people like me and others would, you know, just try to encourage you. They get it there. [01:17:54] Speaker A: Yes. [01:17:54] Speaker D: They're just scared to put it now. So I think you can take the power and the strain away from them. They ain't gonna be able to have us come in to suck up the hey minister. Hey mp. This in the area need to do. They still have some things to be able to give out contracts I believe. Yeah, they still do project but when it comes down to these communities and what's going on the community all the flooding and the train is not being. [01:18:14] Speaker A: They can't, they can't handle it. That's a waste, that's a waste of time. Can't handle it. [01:18:18] Speaker D: Nourish and keep up the good work. [01:18:20] Speaker A: Thank you very much. Thank you. [01:18:22] Speaker D: People who support you and help you. [01:18:23] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, man. I, I, I, I, I support people like the, the Simonettes brand Simonetta's wife Mana Mana Coulson newly the Melis family. I get the Dorset family for donating the property to Lewis Creek. You know so many others KK from Central Food Fair. You know, just so many people are the Moscows for helping us with the wall of respect on Lewis Creek that they brought their equipment, you know again to the seminars for their constant support of the garbage bin that has been supplied throughout the community of Lewis Street A street and Theater street free of charge. This is one initiative that we're keeping, keeping, keeping going and these things I do, no, I don't, I don't, I don't support, I don't ever talk to them. I know flowers and I know Sabas. I know Sebastian, my cousin. [01:19:26] Speaker D: With people like them because you know people buying numbers in the community and stuff. [01:19:30] Speaker A: Yes. All right then. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. We're going to take this next call. Go ahead, call her. You're on inside inner city. [01:19:38] Speaker C: Brother Brown, how are you? [01:19:39] Speaker A: Hey, how you doing, Mr. Thompson? [01:19:42] Speaker C: I hear you talking all this talk about local government. [01:19:44] Speaker A: Yes, sir. [01:19:45] Speaker C: Can you explain to the Bahamian people because local government is not in your province. What is this kind of local government you're talking about? Because I'm not getting any favorable response from the people in the family islands who have had it almost 30 years, eh? [01:20:01] Speaker A: Yes, sir. [01:20:02] Speaker C: So what's happening? [01:20:03] Speaker A: Well, I think that they are politically indoctrinated with their political party and they're not really using their power to see the needs of the community and presenting it to their representative of that community. [01:20:15] Speaker C: Well, the thing is they say they have to be not by party but by individuals, right? [01:20:19] Speaker A: Yes, sir. [01:20:21] Speaker C: And so what has been the result? [01:20:23] Speaker A: Well, you know, boy, so that's a hard one answer. [01:20:29] Speaker C: Because you got the people in zoo to say the lights keep getting cut off. [01:20:32] Speaker A: And that's why. [01:20:34] Speaker C: Yes, that's why the roads and everything like that. [01:20:37] Speaker A: That's why we need local government for. [01:20:39] Speaker C: The reason they have it in the family islands. How come it's not working in the family island, talking about that kind of local government? [01:20:45] Speaker A: No, they. I don't. I think that the people who has it there are not using it for their benefit because some people are appointed on the farming island are people who are inclined to political parties. The local government I'm talking about is a government that. That is people who are designed and understand, like yourself, like to fix the steps. Oh yeah, you understand. To help people with small business, those abandoned lots that has those abandoned houses and dialect vehicles. People like yourself who on the ground to be the ones who see these things, get funding and be able to go to the ministry of social service, go to the ministry of environment and immediately, effectively, once you speak, you have the contacts, they will come immediately and effectively and move these things. That's what we're talking about. And you could present the problems to the minister of that community based on local government. And he has to go to bait in the house of assembly and say that this is what Mr. Thompson gave me on the panel of people a part of the local government board. He said that we need a garbage. We need two garbage trucks for Fort Finchastle. The park needs speed bumps around the park. We have an old lady around there who has a granddaughter who is disabled, has no running water, has no light. We would like social service to come in and be able to see, this is what local government can do. That's the local government I'm talking about. [01:22:07] Speaker D: Okay. [01:22:08] Speaker C: Would local government be able to raise his own taxes? [01:22:10] Speaker A: Yes, sir. [01:22:11] Speaker C: Taxes on. In the community. [01:22:13] Speaker A: Yes. Yes, sir, we can. Yes, sir. [01:22:15] Speaker C: If we can get to raise taxes and be able to charge for different things. [01:22:20] Speaker A: Yes, because we could pay with the garbage truck. Yes, we could pay for the garbage truck that we need. We could take. We could collect our customs. And we say we need two garbage trucks so that the garbage don't build up in our community. We only have one. So now we get two. We. We use that tax and buy garbage truck, whatever is needed that we use it for. [01:22:38] Speaker C: Okay, so if the local government is able to raise their own taxes, what about all these boards and committees and authorities appointed by the prime minister? You have to eliminate them. [01:22:48] Speaker A: Yes, we're going to have to eliminate them because local government is going to be the one. We don't want those set from the. What you call them now when you. The Association Board of the Free National Movement or the association board from the plp. No, we want local government. That is for the people. That's what we want. [01:23:04] Speaker C: Yeah, I understand, but let me make the point clear. I'm talking about the boards, committees, authorities appointed by the Prime Minister. You see, he got all kind of things appointed. [01:23:14] Speaker A: Yes, sir. [01:23:15] Speaker C: He got all kind ambassadors. [01:23:16] Speaker A: Yes, yes, yes. [01:23:17] Speaker C: All of these people are taking money out of the public treasury. [01:23:19] Speaker A: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. [01:23:21] Speaker C: Because there's no benefit to us. [01:23:23] Speaker A: Yes, sir. There are no benefit. [01:23:24] Speaker C: They got a lousy police station right here. Central Police Station. [01:23:27] Speaker A: I spoke about that on here today. Yes, Sir. Yes, sir. Mr. Thomson, you do a wonderful job. Yes, sir. [01:23:32] Speaker C: And then you got the police double parking right down there on east street as you go toward Bay Street. I went through that today. [01:23:41] Speaker A: Wow. [01:23:42] Speaker C: You see? And I told the person was driving me, I'll report about that on my show, which I did. [01:23:47] Speaker A: Yes, sir. [01:23:48] Speaker C: But no local government. If once we can raise our own taxes, fine, but we got to get rid of all these crappy boards and committees and authorities appointed by the Prime Minister. [01:23:56] Speaker A: Yes, sir. [01:23:59] Speaker C: No, once you explain to people what type of local government you're talking about. [01:24:02] Speaker A: Yes, sir. [01:24:03] Speaker C: I think they could get a better grip on it now with all those things what you say you had with the IDB and them other people. [01:24:09] Speaker A: Yes, sir. [01:24:09] Speaker C: What did the government Obama say about it? [01:24:12] Speaker A: Well, what happened to government Obama said about it? $1 million for community senators around National Providence. That was the idea they put forward. You see, the Community center that Jerome Campbell is building now in Centerville. And the community centers they're building Ron Nasson who problems right now, Mr. Thompson. That is what the IDB bank invested in when they met me. And also to introducing to get the people to come in to put the plan for local government together. They was the one who funded IDB bank is the one who fund the government. The bomb is based on. They did that for me. Honestly speaking, it's in the bucket. [01:24:45] Speaker C: That's a loan or a contribution? [01:24:46] Speaker A: Excuse me? [01:24:47] Speaker C: That's a loan or a contribution. [01:24:49] Speaker A: I can't say if it's a loan or contribution. They only put it forward to. To say build a community center. When we talked about. I like when I said I'm building the community center, the grandstand. I told them, they say you're building the community to send the grandson. They asked me, so you rich? I said, no, I'm a poor guy. I said, I'm using my connection from the mail list, right? And then seminar who I know and I'm using those guys in the Moscows and see if I could get them to tap into their family. While friends come down and Lewis couldn't build a community center. And I said, they used that and they did that and that's good. Community center cost over a million dollars in Lewisbury. [01:25:19] Speaker C: It cost some money. Yeah. [01:25:20] Speaker A: And I was able to do that with Lucas Metropoulos, Sheila Pritchard. So I was able to use my partnership. But it didn't come with that. It come with the fact that he used my brain. So that is local government. So I used myself. What I was able to do to know it can work. Because I did it without a dollar and got million dollar instruction. Get million dollar instruction bill in the grand. So that's what the IDB bank was doing. They were taking information from me and they gave the government $21 million to the PLB government to build community centers all around national Providence. Yes, sir. They was very supportive of it. White people and international organization. They were very supportive of it because it makes sense. When I sit down and talk with them. Go look in the book. It's there. You don't believe me? Look in the urban design book that was done. You'd see me all through it. Students of University point some million dollars to tie in Bay street with over the hill to deal with poverty, to deal with crime and to deal with the social ills that we're talking about in this community, in our community. Ms. Thompson still left. I guess Mr. Thompson left. We got his Last caller. Go ahead, caller. We're going to take a call, please. That's it. So, yes, so people don't know the stuff I have contributed to the Bahamas, all right? I've done more than some prime ministers and members of Parliament, okay. With just my knowledge and the intuition from God that he blessed me with to go there and be able to interpret what he gave me and use that knowledge to be able to talk to people who have the power to make things happen. So you don't have to be. You don't have to have money. You just have to have the power. Blessing from God. And he would guide you in the right direction as long as your heart is in the right place. And he know my heart is in the right place because he know I love to help people. I've been helping people all my life, despite my past. And I was a gangster, but even when I was a gangster, I just was a violent person. But I was in poison. I love old people, I love children. I protected my community from rapists, armed robbers and thieves. The only thing I fought against was guys who come and do violent crimes, shoot gun in my community. I just was violent. But I always protected my community, but I always had a heart to see people suffer. When I know in this Bahamas that is 21 by 7, right? That has about 11 million visitors come visit our shore. Major investments is going on. Close to about seven or eight or nine billion dollars has been invested in Exuma, right. Nassau and a few of the farm, the islands. And yet still we are people being flooded. When we had plans for 20 years on how we could put a drainage system in Pinewood Garden. But we have these members of Parliament who have these documents would not enforce them. And only time they talk is when the flooding happened. And then it's a national issue. So that's why we need local government. So that when the politician are sitting in parliament, discussing and traveling, we have a mandate to go in the inner city community and Pinewood Gardens and stuff like that and address the problem and bring it to bring it to the parliamentarian, that we have this plan. We need to enforce this. We need to fix this so to make sure that it don't lose track that the member of Parliament for Pinewood Garden doesn't lose track, okay? That he stays committed. And the road work and implementation of drains would be ongoing until it is finished and then you still can make some amendments to it. So that's why we need local government to work directly with mp. But that's the local government. I Want. So when I speak, I speak on the. On the fact of the work that I did in Grandestan is still doing in the Lewis street and Hay street area. Now, I'm not rich, okay? I know a lot of rich, powerful people, but I don't beg them. I ask them for small teams that is going to benefit our community. So I'd like to give a shout out to Brian Simonett and his wife Robin Simonett to the mailist, to the Moscows, okay. To the Bacardi, to the Pritchetts, to the Dorsets, okay? For all those who support me in my endor, to make my community and the Bahamas a better and safer place, local government people, I want to say this to each and every one of them. Your mp who resides in your community, whether you're a PLP or whether you're mp, he cannot fulfill the needs of your community. You're always going to be in this position where you get flooded, okay? But if you, if you put local government and you work together, like what that girl said, that young lady, she's smart. She said, you know what? We need to get together and sue the company that built the homes in Pinewood Garden for the flooding. And she was correct. She was correct. And that's when local government, the comment. All right, local government is the way if you want to see change in the country. So I'm Valentina Brown, host of the talk show Inside Inner City. I'll see you next week on Guardian Radio. Mr. Thompson, to my friend Elroy, each and every one of you listen to the show who call in. You guys did a wonderful job. And listen, listen. I have done things for this country. No one paid. Great ideas, money are being put into government that is going on right now. That's me. But I don't like to talk about things. But when I want to show, I just want to show the BM people that you could do big things in this country. If you believe in God, believe in yourself and stay on the course of righteousness, okay? For the less fortunate. Because the father said if you do for the least. He's talking with the poor, he's talking with the baby, he's talking with the old and he's talking about the needy. You do unto me. Valentina Brown signing out. See you next week on Inside the Inner City on Guardian Radio. Bless up my boy Elroy. Oh, hello again. [01:31:45] Speaker B: I represent Bamian people. I from Nassau, Bahamas. [01:31:50] Speaker A: Big up. Don't take no B talk. No brave or no joke. [01:31:59] Speaker B: If you find fire, you're definitely find smoking on, bro.