"I'm not selling Visas"

[Jer]

http://www.thenassauguardian.com/national_local/293198469105344.php

[pharoah]

What is amazing with this visa scandal is that our police is still investigating after almost a full year!

Also as minister responsible for his ministry, Minister Mitchell should be able to account for the exponential increase in visas issued under his watch. As always he tries to cloud the issue. When will our ministers be accountable?

[nationbuilder]

Hey whatsayu, how come you didnt post this?

Visa Documentation Revealed

"All holders of public office, most particularly Ministers of Government, have a duty to serve and to account to the Bahamian people for their conduct in public office. When they are called to account, based upon convincing and plausible information, a Minister should be forthright and forthcoming in his response," Senator Carl Bethel said Tuesday.

Minister Fred Mitchell has failed to give a full accounting of the discharge of his duties or his perceived failure to adequately perform his job as a Minister of Government in relation to the visa scandal.

The specific concerns of the FNM about the visa scandal were first expressed in a press release in September 2005. From that time to this, a period of more than 16 months, there has been no public accounting or explanation from Mr. Mitchell or the PLP Government.

In response to the very serious allegation and verifiable assertion that the number of non-immigrant visas issued to Haitian nationals during his tenure as Minister had explosively grown from about 200 a year to more than 2,000 a year for more than three years in a row, Mr. Mitchell has sought to rely upon a laughable red-herring, seeking to divert public attention. He has chosen to disclose the private business of a constituent of Holy Cross who, under dire circumstances I, as M.P., sought to assist for a limited period of six months.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Mitchell would drag the business of a physically handicapped and physically ill person into the public arena to cover-up his failures and incompetence as Minister and his dereliction of duty. The fact of the matter is that he needs to account for the huge increase in Visas issued by his Ministry. He must do so forthwith.

Every MP properly acting in the discharge of his functions will, in the course of a parliamentary term, have good reason to write many, if not hundreds of, letters to different government departments every year on behalf of constituents.

Nothing said by Minister Mitchell has gone any further in explaining how and why the number of visas issued to Haitian and Chinese Nationals skyrocketed from 200 a year to more than 2,000 a year under his superintendence. The Bahamian people have a right to be concerned about this. Bahamians have a right to demand answers.

It is not “gutter politics” to call upon a Minister of Government to account for the conduct of his office. What is in the gutter is the levels to which the PLP Government is stooping to hide and cover-up its wrongdoings. The Free National Movement will not be cowed into silence, but will vigorously stand for the best interest of Bahamians.

Is the Minister suggesting that anytime his conduct is criticized or he is called to account, then such a requirement is gutter politics? Is he above criticism? No he is not, and he must give a full account for the stewardship of his Ministry.

Documentation Revealed

It is also surprising that the Minister is quoted in the newspapers as having asserted that: “I defy anyone to show that I have personally issued any visa or instructed anyone to issue any visa to anybody.”

This barefaced statement is not supported by the facts or the documentation in my possession. The documents prepared by the Visa Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that on November 13, 2004, five visas were issued to five Chinese nationals on behalf of Sidney Stubbs, PLP MP for Holy Cross “as instructed” and were personally “approved” by someone described in the Ministry’s own document as “Minister”.

CLICK HERE NOW FOR PDF VERSION OF VISA LEDGER (http://www.freenationalmovement.org/images/mofa_ledger.pdf)

The document says that the said visas were “signed by D. L. as instructed…”. The document also shows that “D. L.” is an officer in the Visa Section.

Minister Mitchell plainly has direct access to all the files in his Ministry. He needs to fully explain these entries in the Ministry’s own documents. Since he is busy trying to investigate me, and not the visa scandal, perhaps he should also fully disclose his own involvement in this particular matter, and why it is that the Ministry’s own document strongly suggests that the Minister personally instructed staff to issue visas to Chinese nationals on behalf of his colleague, Sidney Stubbs.

Finally, it is interesting that Minister Mitchell has not had anything to say about the extra-judicial summary deportation of five Bahamian Baggage handlers with the complicity of Mr. Mitchell’s Government; a topic about which I also spoke at length in Fox Hill.

[pharoah]

If those documents are authentic. Not only are minister mitchell unaccountable he might turn out to be a liar.

[watsayu]

What is amazing with this visa scandal is that our police is still investigating after almost a full year!
Also as minister responsible for his ministry, Minister Mitchell should be able to account for the exponential increase in visas issued under his watch. As always he tries to cloud the issue. When will our ministers be accountable?


.... our police force hands are tied... notice from investigation to investigation the public never goet a report... think about it.. police had to decide on the rape charges for one of our ministers, they were told what to do and the case was closed.... police were told to keep quiet in the baggage handlers situation... and there are host more....

I am of the belief, that our commissioner is not motivated anymore, hell he is saying let these suckers bury this country... cause they certainly do not want the police to save it..... We are in trouble... Lord Help Us !!!

[WinterGrace]

If those documents are authentic. Not only are minister mitchell unaccountable he might turn out to be a liar.


He was found to be one a very long time ago.

[pharoah]

It looks like carl get him good. i guess he will say that someone falsified the records and they conveniently set him up! That will be another lie.

[pharoah]

24th January
“Visa Scandal” Row
By Quincy Parker

The verbal jousting between FNM Senator Carl Bethel and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell over an alleged visa scandal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues, despite the minister’s vehement denials that there is any proof of such a scandal.

Senator Bethel on Tuesday insisted that it is a "verifiable assertion" that the number of non-immigrant visas has exploded during Minister Mitchell’s tenure at Foreign Affairs – the latest salvo in his assault on Minister Mitchell over what he claimed is the minister’s personal involvement in a visa scandal.

In response to Minister Mitchell’s insistence that there was no proof that he was personally involved in the issuing of any visas for anyone, Senator Bethel on Tuesday released a copy of a document he said was a page from a ledger in the visa section at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The document purports to show the granting of visas for four Chinese nationals, among many others, mostly for Haitian nationals.

The supposed ledger page contained handwritten records of who approved visas and why, and a handwritten notation in the "approved by" section indicated that someone identified as "the minister" approved the visas, which were apparently issued in November of 2004, and set to expire in February 2005.

But on Tuesday, Minister Mitchell said, "There’s not one shred of evidence that I ever issued any visa or issued any instructions for any visa to be granted, and with regard to something which…he has attached which shows that I approved it, anybody could write down anything.

"The fact is, I defy him to get some piece of paper which said that I said to give anybody a visa. It ain’t there. I could tell you that on a stack of 10 Bibles."

Under the "reason" rubric on the purported document, Holy Cross MP Sidney Stubbs’ business is listed, again in handwriting, along with some other words, most of which are illegible.

In a Tuesday press statement, Senator Bethel said the minister ought to disclose "why it is that the ministry’s own document strongly suggests that the minister personally instructed staff to issue visas to Chinese nationals on behalf of his colleague, Sidney Stubbs."

While saying there is no evidence to prove that he has ever issued a visa to anyone, Minister Mitchell said that even if he had it was within the discretion of the minister of Foreign Affairs.

He said earlier that he didn’t know of any PLP operatives who had improperly or unlawfully gotten visas at his behest, and said Mr. Bethel should either furnish the police with the proof that the ministry was improperly issuing visas, or "shut up and be quiet."

Minister Mitchell continues to assert that police investigations – of a very sensitive nature – are underway into the allegations that visas are being issued in an improper way.

According to Senator Bethel, nothing Minister Mitchell has said "has gone any further in explaining how and why the number of visas issued to Haitian and Chinese nationals skyrocketed from 200 a year to more than 2,000 a year under his superintendence."

The FNM raised the issue of a supposed visa scandal involving Minister Mitchell in September 2005, and according to the press release issued by Senator Bethel – issued on Tuesday – "from that time to this, a period of more than 16 months, there has been no public accounting or explanation from Mr. Mitchell or the PLP government."

The senator accused the minister of relying on a "laughable" red herring to deflect attention from "the very serious allegation and verifiable assertion that the number of non-immigrant visas issued to Haitian nationals during his tenure as minister had grown explosively from about 200 a year to more than 2,000 a year for more than three years in a row."

The supposed red herring is a letter written by Mr. Bethel in 2002, while he was Holy Cross MP, to then Foreign Affairs Minister Janet Bostwick requesting visas for six Haitians at the behest of his constituents.

Senator Bethel responded to Minister Mitchell raising that point by saying that he had made the request "under dire circumstances…to assist (a constituent) for a limited period of six months."

The senator also noted that it is "interesting" that Minister Mitchell has not had anything to say about the extra-judicial summary deportation of five Bahamian baggage handlers with the complicity of "Mr. Mitchell’s government."

Minister Mitchell has said there was no reason to believe that the government colluded with US authorities to aid in the arrest of the five men and the matter was strictly a law enforcemen

[pharoah]

Fred is so predictable!

[12play]

He was found to be one a very long time ago.

Indeed, the Minister to this day insists that he has nothing to do with the Bahamauncensored web site, even though the site is his chief defender and supporter, and even though they have the same talking points, interests and arguments!

[de redhead]

If those documents are authentic. Not only are minister mitchell unaccountable he might turn out to be a liar.


The document could be authentic yet the notation could be false. Someone had to have made a copy of that page and deliver it to Carl Bethel. Are we to believe that a person that would go to that length to implicate The Minister and attempt to make him look bad would not also place a false notation in the ledger indicating that The Minister approved those visas even if he did. I am not saying that it is necessarily so but it seems to me that any person that would knowingly deliver incriminating documents about his/her employer to that employer's rival would also be willing to fabricate said incriminating documents.

[WinterGrace]

Fred is so predictable!


Notice how Fred said this:

"There’s not one shred of evidence that I ever issued any visa or issued any instructions for any visa to be granted, and with regard to something which…he has attached which shows that I approved it, anybody could write down anything.
"The fact is, I defy him to get some piece of paper which said that I said to give anybody a visa. It ain’t there. I could tell you that on a stack of 10 Bibles."

1) He knew what was put down on that ledger, he knew that only "Minister" would be noted, so he is clearing his name before the evidence appears.

2) If there was a problem with who was to approve them...why were those visas given out?

3) Fred could afford to swear on a million bibles that does not matter because he does'nt believe in God anyhow.

[nationbuilder]

3) Fred could afford to swear on a million bibles that does not matter because he does'nt believe in God anyhow.

lol!

[islandgyal]

honest, all of this uproar over a bunch of one-year visas for some haitians and jamaicans? if we were talking permanent residency, right to work permits being handed out, THEN i might get concerned. not saying that fred shouldn't have lied, but am wondering about these nassau types that they can't seem to get their story stories straight from day to day.

hurry, tho: in the meantime, our eleutheran politicos need nannies, okay?

:hammer:

[watsayu]

honest, all of this uproar over a bunch of one-year visas for some haitians and jamaicans? if we were talking permanent residency, right to work permits being handed out, THEN i might get concerned. not saying that fred shouldn't have lied, but am wondering about these nassau types that they can't seem to get their story stories straight from day to day.

hurry, tho: in the meantime, our eleutheran politicos need nannies, okay?


... madam senator, are you from eleuthera or is that a joke (LIE) howevr you want to state it ?