Prime Minister Davis crushes the “Deep State” in the Department of Immigration and political operatives elsewhere take cover
Shake up at Hawkins Hill. “Gang of 77” skate boarded out of Immigration?
Will the new Minister of Immigration Alfred Sears assume office this Monday 11th September free of the espionage, leaks and rear guard political activism his predecessor Keith Bell had to endure at the famed Hawkins Hill compound?
The nation was feted on a daily basis by direct leaks of in house confidential correspondence between Minister Bell and other high ranking top tier Civil Servants. Most of the leaked documents drew a clear pattern that they had been written with a view of embarrassing Minister Bell.
Now the axed Immigration top brass; Keturah Ferguson and Dwight Beneby will tote the legacy of their conduct and become known as the litmus test which defined how serious Prime Minister Davis takes his mandate to govern and how he views what many saw as outright political meddling and an unwarranted political confrontation.
The Official Opposition Free National Movement grew bolder by the day and Leader Michael Pintard left no pretense or guessing game as to how he was receiving his compromised information. Further, it became clear that Pintard’s convoluted description of current Immigration policy which Mr. Pintard was trotting out to the world was also a part of a sinister package.
“Can you imagine a Commissioner of Police doing in the public sphere what happened here. The Prime Minister was duty bound to act and move decisively and strategically. Mr. Davis has shown that he can make the right decisions at the right moment. He will not be seen as a vacillator or procrastinator. Mr. Davis took a page from his Mr. Ingraham and Sir Lynden and crushed the deep state in the Department of Immigration,” a high level source in the PLP Government told The Bahamian.
On Sunday September 4th Prime Minister Davis announced sweeping changes to his Cabinet in which Bell was transferred from Immigration and Labour portfolio to Housing and Urban Renewal and Sears, a former Attorney General in the Perry Christie PLP Government and the serving Minister of Works and utilities in the Davis PLP administration was dispatched to Immigration.
Insiders were of the view that Sears would not take up office until “certain house cleaning”.
Sears has been a victim of clandestine Opposition politics in the Ministry of Works and insiders said, “Sears is not going to let that dog and hamper his mission at Immigration. Shake. Rattle and Roll. Elsie or the baby. The Grits or the gravy”.
The Opposition unashamedly exposed the leaks of their material information and used these documents on the floor of the House of Assembly and at news conferences.
The FNM former Minister of Immigration Ellsworth Johnson and FNM former Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield flanked Pintard at these controversial news conferences.
“Ellsworth merely sat in the chair at Immigration. He did not even make a decision on when to move his own coffee cup. The Gang of 77 had him as a virtual prisoner. Unlike Brent Symonette, the white boss whom the FNM Immigration operatives worshipped and adored. Prime Minister Minnis would speak directly to the Gang of 77 when he wanted something done at Immigration. Ellsworth was completely neutered at Immigration by these very same forces,” our source commented.
“The fact of the matter is the FNM got extremely careless and very emboldened. Ellsworth made statements in support of allegations Pintard was throwing at Minister Bell only for it to be discovered that Ellsworth did not know what the hell he was talking about. The Gang of 77 had no respect for him because Dr. Minnis showed him no respect. To make it worse; they exposed the leakers to a reaction for their nefarious conduct. Political leaders do not put their supporters in harm’s way. Pintard will find his so called sources are now disappearing because they can see how they will be used in a self- serving political exercise,” a recently retired Senior Immigration Officer admitted.
The political pundit in the ruling PLP says cleaning house at Immigration is a foregone conclusion. “These people underestimate Davis. The legal fraternity will tell them Brave Davis is the Black Panther of our times. He moves with precision and stealth. Up all night designing, working and defining his strategy. Davis had as his first legal mentor Cecil Wallace Whitfield. What Davis learned from Cecil in those early years no one in the FNM has had that opportunity, or even come close. Match that with Davis’s disciple ship with Pindling and Davis’s association with Perry Christie ad Hubert Ingraham. Pintard and crew do not stand a possible chance. Davis lulls them into thinking they pulled one on him. Then he springs his trap and loud mouth, biggity, bossy types be crying like little Sally Saucer and begging for a second chance. You don’t have to believe me. Let the fellows tell you now Cartwright and Long Island and Pintard be genuflecting and begging to kiss the ring. That’s all I’m going to say about that,” the pundit said.