Walter Roban Resigns From Cabinet
This evening [Nov.17] Walter Roban resigned from his position as Minister for Public Works.
Mr Roban, who has recently come under fire for his decision to allow Planning appeals by two fellow Cabinet Ministers, submitted his resignation to the Premier this evening saying, “In recent days there has been heightened public criticism of my decisions as Minister of the Environment Planning and Infrastructure Strategy in two particular matters.”
“This has brought about questions of the Government’s integrity and accusations of corruption of which I deeply regret. It was and is not my intention to see any accusations of this nature continue on the PLP Government with my presence in your Cabinet.”
“After careful consideration of the events that have transpired, I honestly feel this decision is the best for me and the Government.”
First appointed to Cabinet in June 2009, he served briefly as a Minister without Portfolio before being elevated to Minister of Health in September 2009 where he served through October 2010. From October 2010 through November 2011, he served as Minister of the Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Strategy, and in November 2011 he was appointed Minister for Public Works.
Mr Roban’s full letter follows below:
Dear Premier the Hon. Paula A, Cox,
I wish to tender my resignation as Minister for Public Works, effective immediately.
In recent days there has been hightened public criticism of my decisions as Minister of the Environment Planning and Infrastructure Strategy in two particular matters.
This has brought about questions of the Government’s integrity and accusations of corruption of which I deeply regret.
It was and is not my intention to see any accusations of this nature continue on the PLP Government with my presence in your Cabinet.
After careful consideration of the events that have transpired, I honestly feel this decision is the best for me and the Government.
I remain a steadfast supporter of your Premiership and the work you and our team endeavour to achieve. My work in the backbench will remain to support the mandate given to us by the people of Bermuda.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve our country.
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Articles that link to this one:
- OBA: ‘Questions Still Require Answering’ : Bernews.com | November 18, 2011
- New Public Works Minister: Michael Weeks : Bernews.com | November 18, 2011
- Video: Roban Speaks On Resignation : Bernews.com | November 18, 2011
- Video: Bean Speaks On Planning Review : Bernews.com | November 18, 2011
- Video: OBA Press Conference : Bernews.com | November 19, 2011
- Senator Fahy On Planning Appeals Review Delay | Bernews.com | April 16, 2012
- PLP & OBA On UBP Report, ‘Cover Up’ & More | Bernews.com | December 5, 2012
Good. Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. Right, next.
We have eight cows die the children of Bermuda are drinking the milk. My young brothers killing each other every 2 weeks….AND YOU PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT SOME LAND THAT EACH MINISTER OWNS!
Get a life!
Walter why you leave man? I don’t want the UBP to be in charge again. All they going to do is open up another prison for us guys called West Hell.
All they do is place a person like John Swan’s or Craig’s face on de wolfs body.
Right , next .
I agree with “get real” If anyone listened to Sir John Swan on Sherri Simons show you will realize why we are in this mess. Sir John thinks little of Bermudaian black men. He holds the white man up, because of Money and blames part of the issue we have on the aggressive black man??? Go figure and advocates for the OBA? No thanks.
Oh right, I forgot. This is all about race (like everything in Bermuda) and has nothing to do with things like integrity. Please.
no kidding – i consider myself to be a reaonsably intelligent articulate young black bermudian male, 21, private school educated from a lower/middle socio-economic background. growing up young, black, and male in bermuda conversations of race become convoluted by all kinds of ignorance; leaving to pursue a degree has dissipated that convolusion thank goodness and now i am able to consider this vey sensitive subject as objectively as i can…
one thing that i’ve realised is the lack of appreciation of how diverse experiences of contemporary bermuda are in terms of wealth, ethnicity, and obviously many other variables that manifests itself in comments like yours – a staunch commitment to not talking about ethnicity, or rather prematurely writing it off as relevant entirely, so that no productive conversation can take place on it at all so that no personal progress (which can lead to collective progress) can be made on it – on your part, as one who’s written off the significance of race, and others who are experiencing the reality of economic and social inequality by virtue of being born into a certain place at a certain time with a paritcular hue to their skin that aligns them with a paticular cultural-historical legacy.
race is something that everyone needs to talk about. what it means to be bermudian in modern day bermuda is something that everyone needs to talk about. when people use the word ‘race’ it is meant and understood in too many different ways for any kind of useful conversations to take place about it, so to commit oneself to overlook experiences of race when actually they don’t understand it, no matter how ridiculously complex it is and generous someone has to be to do it, it must be done…because its not our young white men, or young portugese men, or young fillipino men in the news everyone time someone is killed…its our young black men doing it to other young black men (which is only one manifestation of experiences of race on the island) and it is something that as a society we need to commit ourselves to understanding which will ultimately become a ‘big conversation’ on the contemporary bermudian experience in all its complexity.
i certainly meant to say:
so to commit oneself to overlook experiences of race when actually they don’t understand it, is to me, at the very least, sad…and i mean that that sincerely, it is genuinely upsetting.
no matter how ridiculously complex it is and generous someone has to be to understand experiences of race and be a part of change (for the better), it must be done…
Easy, champ. I don’t think that race is unimportant or something that should be dismissed. It’s just not relevant to this article. What is relevant to this article is that there is a minister who has doubt cast upon his integrity and so he resigned. Whether it was voluntary, or whether he was pushed doesn’t really matter.
I think that elected officials (and their appointees) should be held to a higher standard than the average citizen because they are acting on our behalf. They should do their utmost to ensure that their integrity is not called into question.
My point was merely that this has nothing to do with black or white. That’s all. I don’t know how you can infer the level of my understanding of race (or lack thereof) in the two sentences I wrote above is amazing, btw. I do understand that as long as you keep stoking the fires of hatred (as so many posts on Bernews try to do), well, you’re only going to keep those fires burning.
Fair enough and thank-you for the clarity! If you would’ve communicated your point as such first, then maybe I wouldn’t have felt compelled to respond as thoroughly as I did…and if you’re so concerned about certain comments ‘stoking the fires of hatred’ then you should be sensitive to how yours could be embedding the frustration of young bermudians like me…I think I made an assumption on your level of sensitivity to the racial dynamic on the island more than your knowledge (though they are obviously inextricable), but rhetorical comments like the one you left are all young people like me see, and not the insights that you could have offered. Thanks again for your reply!
NEXT – Get them all out.
Keep them coming.
Get real…it is unfortunate you look at this situtation in the matter. Laws and policies are in the place to safe guard residents and future residents. I am a Bermudian and find it very disappointing that our leaders are lacking integrity, honesty, openess, etc. This is not about a party but what is right for the country of Bermuda.
Can the real leaders please come forward?
This premier has some guts. Whatever you say about her, she’s fierce
Really–surely your kidding. Considering there is an upcoming election and her government has been tagged with some many instances of corruption and very poor decisions such as this, she -he-they had no other choice in the matter. And by the way, to you other folks, I would like for any of you to point to ANY government, Anywhere in the world that didn’t have their share of corruption. Canada-naaaaaaaa, the US–are you joking, the UK–get real, Italy–come on now. Ok, so do you get the point, corruption is part of parcel of all governments. I don’t condone it, but the juvenile comments presented by way to many of you is just that , JUVENILE.
indeed it does happen everywhere, but imho bermuda is different..
we are smaller, more intimate community. This govt does affects us much more directly than those other countries.
At least these other countries can theoretically survive if cut off from the rest of the world. If our reputation/trade relationships die, so do we as a country.
this is for show, he will be back soon in another form to claim his $168,000+ prize
neither him or cog are going back to 9-5pm like the rest of us
having read that resignation it looks like he was told to write his own suicide note. it’s so orchestrated and that does not require guts. guts would be to stand up and say this was wrong and we fixed it.
Say whaaat ! ! And more to come ; Where’s Neletha , where’s Terry , where’s de Kernal , heck where’s Ashfield … PAULAAAA HELPPPP SOS .
This could be a sign that the PLP is actually maturing and becoming accountable for its actions. Someone forced to resign – its good thing. See how far we have come since ‘We don’t care what you think”.
Or it could mean an election is looming and they have to do something to save face…
That’s right…if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the Cabinet (I mean kitchen)!
Bud loses another job.
That’s going to be one looooong resume.
Let’s be real. Paula wants to be reelected. She is doing all she possibly can to gain approval- bringing on board Vince Ingham.
It’s obvious that Paula forced the minister to submit a letter of resignation.
Paula, cut the crap, I could care less, get me EMPLOYED!!!!!
I agree with u wholeheartedly. It’s obvious she forced him. Glad ya not stupid
exactly – “here walter, sign this.”
The Premier could not afford to keep him on – too close to the election.
…could it be!? A glimmer of accountability and transparency? Well done Premier Cox, the pressure was on to show that you demand both and you delivered. Keep it up.
Dial Re-set!!!!!! Now let’s keep it 100% and overturn Zany Zanes permit……
I think it’s a real shame, I think he was a good honest Minister. He was just being too kind, It could of been handled differently, it frightens me when you have good fresh honest talent leave, and people like Col. Burch still in the mix.
Congrats to the Premier….. it was the right thing to do.
My respect for Roban just went up. It takes a big man to resign, right or wrong. In my opinion, I am beginning to think that the PLP is getting it. Well done to Hon. Paula Cox. You are leading from the front and your Ministers understand the importance of integrity and good governance. This resignation confirms this as this would have NEVER happened before.
For all of you PLP haters, you have to admit, the PLP are looking impressive!
He had NO CHOICE my friend–None!!
They always have a choice. How many times has the resignation of a Minister been called for and the do not? He could have stayed and plead his innocence, which he has BUT still resigned.
Nobody hates the PLP, that is just nonsense the PLP fills your head with to brainwash you into voting for them.
Speak for yourself. I do hate what the PLP puts out in the form of phony good governance. Just wait and see what’ll happen if they regain the governemnt,, so take your blinders off. As a former loyal PLP supporter I’ve seen the blinding light and it is painfully obvious what they are all about.
No you missed it can’t have open arrogance with an election in the next 2 months
Impressive? No. I’ve been following Bermuda politics for 3 years and this is the first glimmer of accountability for actions. Accountability is a bare minimum. It’s what you’re supposed to do. You don’t get brownie points for it.
I think impressive would have been “this was wrong and someone has to be accountable”. Not “i accept this resignation (that i wrote) sadly, he’s been an unswerving servant to the community…” it’s BS, and obviously saving face is deemed important in our culture.
Still, you’re right, it is good to see some level of accountability. Now will Mr. Bean follow through?
If “impressive” means putting Bermuda into over $1B dollars in DEBT, then I am impressed! A billion dollars worth of impressed. NOT!!!
At last someone with intregrity in a government riddled with no intregrity, no accountability and little ethics…..DeSilva and Furbert are equally complict in this exercise – they should resign as well IMMEDIATELY. There are plenty of others that have been complicit in questionable activities since 1998. They should also take note and remember “God does not like ugly”…….. Even Mr. Mughabe is now paying the price for a life badly lived.
He shows integrity, which most of the OBA members have none. Where are their resignations for imposture-isms. Did you hear Sir John on Sherry J saying that all he could not to right out beg for us to vote OBA? Sir John blaming the black men for the expats leaving island and saying that we need the white man because they have the money?
And that how John wants the country to be run, cater to the WHITE man.
Well we’ve tried catering to the black man…where has that gotten us??!?! How bout we stop catering to any damn body and just do what’s right for all of us?
One love Bermuda…
You are sooooooo right! I just wish all of Bermuda would take up that attitude.
Who the hell is this “white man” that you refer . Show me the target that is the sole beneficiary of everything. Guess what this is a world economy. There is no white man, there are just people. Bermuda has nothing, without the rest of the world, either embrace the world or have nothing.
Don’t know much about Bermuda do you?
You need to stop being racist. This island is sinking fast and unless white, black and everybody in between put aside these ridiculous racist views, we are ALL going to sink.
Well done Premier Cox!
The funny thing about this is know one is worried about the environment and the OBA/UBP have turned this in to political points.
Your still not going to win the next election. The PLP will band together just wait and see.
You very well know that history repeats itself, or did you not learn that these last elections.
Their may be some swing votes that are not sure right now, but when everyone goes to Vegas they always vote on black!!!
To all those who own apartments that are now empty , how you doin?
see you at the polls!
Doing just fine thank you! All my apartments are full! I have a black woman, a black couple, and a white couple living in them. How are you doing???
Must be nice… three apartments. Hope your tenants have super-secure jobs.
If the premier had to fire all her ministers for unethical behaviour she wouldn’t have anyone left in her Parliament!
This would be case for the OBA/UBP , no change there. But not the same for the PLP.
Wow, what a zinger – “special” sure got you there “Cancer”.
Self-destruction…they headed for self-destruction..who remembers that song?
Who is she gonna replace him with? EEENY, MINNY, MONNY, MOE!!!!!!
Where are the resignation letters from zane and flip flop furbert ??????
They have to go as well.
Exactly! They need to lookinto Zane DeSilva’s involvement in this too! Bernews, are you working on that angle of this story?
True, where is Zaney and Waynee resignation letters.
Coming soon I hope, not soon enough for some of us
Vegas. You are racist. Straight up.
Yeah, maybe, but he’s right though.
But she is making the right move and I am impressed.
Sometimes the issue isn’t the action but the motive behind it. That would show the sincerity of the action and indicate what future action would be if re-elected.
So what is this motive you speak of? You seem to know the inner workings of her mind. Do share with all of us, we are dying to know what the Premier is thinking.
I’ve seen this so many times before,
I little bit of heat and you have Mr. Roban quitting!
How very Bermudian of you, I guess that wasn’t part of
Your job description!
The question is, did he jump or was he pushed?
Vegas. This is why the country is in the state it is in now. People like u who vote parties in on race and not for the good of the country. Open up your eyes and look past the color.
Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity comes to mind: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Think about it!
Well said
Lets climb to the top of the Mountain and sing it loud and clear one last time.
BLACK BERMUDIANS ARE THE ONES WHO VOTE FOR COUNTRY NOT RACE!!! WHITE BERMUDIANS HAVE VOTED FOR THE SAME PARTY AND THE SAME PEOPLE FOR GENERATIONS. BLACK PEOPLE MOVE PARTIES NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND….so please lets not talk about brain washed, koolaid drinking, sheep following foolishness! that’s my vent for the day.
Give me one good reason why a white person would vote PLP.
Just one will do.
Perhaps because they hate Bermuda as much as you do .
That doesn’t make sense. So PLP supporters hate Bermuda that is why they vote for PLP?
Well the PLP are destroying Bda, so you destroy what you don’t like. DAH!
And old poor white person. Future care for seniors, prescription drug benefits, no land tax, pension raises above the rate of inflation. I think i gave you four.
All of these things cost money and the money is running out quickly. When the piggy bank is empty, will the PLP miss civil service payroll and screw their voters or will they screw “the poor old white person” and end future care, jack up the cost of drugs, increase land tax and continue to underfund pensions? Easy answer…
So when the UBP was publicaly advocating that they were racist (not in those exact words, but it was definately implied) and the PLP was citing change, you mean to tell me that white people still voted for the UBP? That alone speaks volumes on that race as a whole. Sad thing is that there are a few white people who are catching the heat for the actions of other whites who are the pinacle of evil! So yes, why would a white person vote PLP??
Bull. Dr Ewart Brown and the PLP core haters are the pinacle of evil! And he’s still pulling the strings!! That’s what scares me the most; his continuing influence on the PLP/EBP/UBP.
A vote for the PLP is a vote for financial slavery. And fronting a few business-type candidates in marginals ain’t gonna change that!
The PLP are out-UBPing the UBP!
I read with humour the comments here from people who have NO CLUE how the Department of Planning, the DAB, Independant Inspector for appeals and the Minister’s responsbility in the process. To remain silent and be thought a fool is better than to open your mouth and remove doubt.
Thanks for trying to speak some sense Delay. Thanks Stuart for your usual slanted tree-hugger version of the story. In Min. Desilva’s case he was granted planning permisison in principal. For the unknowledgable, this permission granted to allow a person to explore whether the development is feasible based on a laundry list of dos and don’ts. Once a plan is developed based on this criteria, it is submitted to planning for final approval consideration. It goes through the same criteria as a normal application and STILL may not be approved. All this talk about Min. Desilva being granted permission to build warehouses, he is at min. of a year away for MAYBE getting permission to build.
For Min. Furbert, he was asking to swap equal sets of land in order to develop a more disirable area on his property. The appeal included the submission of a “Article 34″ provision, which again for the unaware, is a legal undertaken that the owner will NEVER apply to develop the land subject to this order.
These 2 men were being afforded the same due process any ‘normal” citizen has the right to. Of the dozens of appeal filed this year and of the ones where the Minister went against the Inspector, I am sure the New-BP wet their pants when their mole in Planning told them this one. The amount of verbal diarrhea from Sen. Fahy has been overwhelming!
Get a grip….last day of his tenure, when he and the other ministers knew their fate within Govt. All three should go, along with many others
@ Bda Speaks, Thanks for putting it so clearly, I was understanding that everyone should be allowed due process, regardless of their positions.
This is a good description of the situation but it does not address the manner in which their “approval” was granted, and that is the bigger issue.
If it wasn’t dodgy then Mr. Roban wouldn’t have resigned, he would have responded with what you just said (hopefully in a less condescending manner). He said he resigned because of the allegations of corruption, would a load of BS, there have been countless allegations of corruption in recent year.
Also, if what you are describing is so true then Wayne and Zane should be up in arms because they have just been denied their due process by a backtracking gov’t for political reasons. But wait… they are the gov’t.
You say people have NO CLUE how planning works, well i say we should be having a long hard look at how gov’t works, regardless of whether it is PLP/UBP/OBA.
Well, after alot of pressure from the public, the right thing, or part of it, has been done. Now he should do the riht thing & resign as MP & as a member of the PLP if he really wants to get some respect.
& membership in PLP is in order for him too.
The whole sorry affair should not have dragged on this long. The Premier is at fault for doing nothing in the hope that it would simply ‘go away’.
People are fedup with the self serving corrupt antics of the PLP.
Window dressing like Johnathin Smith will not fix the mess they have created for themselves.
Must have hit a button & deleted a part.
Add Zane Desilva should resign/be fired too, give up position as MP & mmembership in PLP.
Drifter, you are a real OBA hack.
Its now the Premier’s fault.
Michael Fahy, is that you?
Sounds like a typical Fahy diatribe. Drifter you sound really desperate but I give an “A” for effort and a “A+” for comedic relief.
Senator Fahy isn’t scared to post under his real name…unlike some.
Yeah.. not because other people have REAL consequences to their careers if they use their REAL names…
I just think it speaks volumes that people are too afraid to use their real names for fear of retribution. “A government afraid of its citizens is a Democracy. Citizens afraid of government is tyranny!” ― Thomas Jefferson
Sorry to disappoint you!!! But there was no public pressure, as you would love it to be that required Mr. Roban to step down. Mr. Roban is just an upright citizen, who reflects upon what he does with great care. If he thinks he made a mis-step he will take things into his own hands to change it. So do not give yourself any praise and think it was “Public Pressure”. There is nothing that the OBA/UBP did to make Mr. Roban take such actions. This is just a decent politician who puts people first, and party, before himself. He is kind hearted and most giving person there could be, sometimes however in the game of politics this is often taken advantage of.
Many persons are not fed up with the PLP, so speak for yourself & OBA/UPB supporters when you say such statements. There are many that support the party and question the principles’ of the UBA/OBA and the negative messages of the OBA.
PLP do not have to window dress, we leave that to the OBA/UBP, and there are so many persons that are seeking to represent the PLP in the election and other wise. However, everyone can not be a candidate so many support the party in other ways. Sorry this is not what you wish was the case, but it is. But, just look at the quality of the candidates that have come forward, and the others you are just wishing you were a fly on the wall to see.
Sorry error, names changes so much, I am getting confused…..who are you….. is it OBA/UBP OBA/UBP……same, a rose by anyother name is still a rose…..
Just like the PLP/UBP or is it the UBP/PLP now that you have a former UBP leader as your Minister??? One that the PLP laughed at and criticised at length when he was in the UBP. People in glass houses…..you know the rest
Please the PLP have fewer members of the UBP than the OBA/UBP have. Your entire cabinet is made up of UBP MPs, the banner under which they were elected in under. So please do not make me lol. Wayne has finally come home to where he belongs. After all he was treated so badly by the UBP, that any right thinking person would have come to the PLP also. UBP lost several of its members due to how they were treated and race also became a factor. Please, the OBA is made up of three political parties, (OBA/UBP/OBA) and BEST, it is a ‘Coalition’ party. Lastly, this is not the same case for the PLP.
Isn’t it the PLP/UBP/BIU?
All I keep seeing is this UBP/OBA same party different name, rose by another name is still a rose crap…I’m guessing its safe to say the PLP is simply the black beret cadre under a different name, f***in racist pigs. You might want to put that stone down very gently.
Specialgirl4 :
How can you use the words “upright citizen” to describe a man who just resigned because of highly unethical behavior?
Stop drinking the Koolaid
I don’t think he resigned because of unethical behavior. There is nothing illegal or unethical in what he did.
The timing however was very bad political judgement, and him being a smart politician realised it was probably better to fall on his sword that to give the opposition a stick.
That is one special brand of kool aid you are drinking there special!
Seriously, if Paula asked him to resign and left Burgess on…she’s seriously lost it. I have another theory- Roban saw the mess he was left in Public Works and saw not other way to redeem the situation than to resign. Knowing him, he wouldn’t take on something that he would have to lie about to spin into a success. I’ve seen the face of evil and it’s not Roban. I’m betting on his resignation having been his own idea.
Could not agree more & I think Roban was bullied by DeSilva & Furbert . . . Now if only they would do the right thing & resign & withdraw their applications!
Robain is probably getting a day job with Island Contruction???
He will be back in another form in no time. I have met him once when I spoke with one of his friends who wasnt racist and disrespectful. He treated me with a glare like I was turd on his shoes meanwhile he has never met me. It was very disheartening.
I don’t know what this resignation means but he’ll be back in no time. There have been too many years of not caring and pointing fingers at everyone and everything to believe that all of a sudden they have learned that accountability matters. The govt. needs a change in power.
I plead to the PLP faithful to boot them for just one term and give us a chance to see what is really going on in govt.. These story’s werent meant to come out and who knows how much we don’t see. Just one term. Please.
You know you can vote them in at any time. Do not give them the chance to pat themselves on the back for a job well done when they havent. Just one term to check themselves. Wouldnt they be better after they have been brought back down to earth?
Well said
who cares!!! the way how i see it is the Island has gone backwards so we might as well get a new Government. PLP has done more negative the positive. This black/white crap needs to stop in Bermuda.. BOTTOM LINE.
The black/white stuff was not created by the PLP. The PLP was created so people could survive it.
Good line. However… each person creates his own reality. Or maybe that’s too deep for ya.
There will be a storm a brewing………..no one man or woman will be able to stop this…….get ready Bermuda!!!
Having personally climbed shrew de trees at Tuckers point Club to see finalization of building placements on top of protected caves and then “Joe Public” come out months later to march and think they can switch what is inevitable…….foolishness…….you people have no clue how this operation works!!!!
and somewhere out there Clair Smith realizes that karma does exist….bye Walter…hope you enjoyed France……
Damned if u do, damned if you don’t. If he hadn’t resigned people would be calling for it. If premier cox had fired him people would have said he should have resigned. It is either never enough or the ‘right’ action isn’t taken.
Don’t worry. The majority of people know that this govt especially under Premier cox will not stand for this type of stuff. The people that comment on the blogs are not the majority. The real majority will speak up on election day and show their support for their leader and Govt.
If they were not in election mode, Bud would still be a minister.
So Bud’s gone but what about the other two?
This was THREE PEOPLE involved in a conspiracy to subvert the planning process. Obviously DeSilva and Furbert were there with Roban, with their hands in the cookie jar. They were in it with him. How come they still have their jobs? They should also be fired.
Conspiracy?? to subvert the process. Where do you come up with this crap!
The decision was perfectly lawful and NOT secret, planning documents are public. You all act like this was some secret act that was revealed by some whistled blower.
NeverOBA, do you not get the basic points here? Can’t you follow the basic facts?
Roban did something blatantly wrong. He had to resign.
Three people were involved. That is what makes it a conspiracy. Something is a conspiracy when two or more people devise a plan and execute it. ALL of them are involved. They should ALL lose their jobs.
@’Bda speaks – I read what you had to say – if all that is correct I simply ask you one question – if Robain went by the book and if all this was on the up and up then “why was he fired?” don’t even think this was voluntarily done!!!
I think you may have misread or are mistaken– HE RESIGNED EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY!
Mr. Roban is a fine upstanding intelligent, individual, and he is also human. While I am extremely disappionted that he resigned, I understand that this is the kind of person he is. He did not do anything sinister or corrupt, but may have been attempting to give persons the opportunity for due process. Mr. Roban resignation suggests that is about party first and self second.
I am not convince that this issue is any form of corruption, but there may be a questions as to if he made the right decision to grant 2 business man, who also happen to be PLP MPs the right to due process. I am sure that Mr. Roban still has a lot to offer the PLP and Bermuda, and in the future I expect to see more from him. Hang in there Mr. Roban as I know better things are ahead for you. I also believe that this matter became more of a political football, rather than an issue about the environment. But you have just pulled the supporters and members of the PLP more together !!
Betty, “he did not do anything sinister or corrupt”?
Yes, he definitely did. That’s why he’s out of a job. Are you absolutely incapable of following what is going on?
Your political affiliation would not allow Mad Dawg and Others to review this situation any differently, but to shout out words like corruption. This use of the word by the OBA/UBP supporters is famous; it is the word they tend to throw around most frequently. Even when there is no evidence to support their attempts to have the party removed from government. Well live with it. It helps them to feel some sort of gain in political process.
This is not corruption no matter how you choose to spin it. The language used by BEST/OBA/UBP spin was to suggest that it was something sinister or corrupt. If this was about the environment those terms would never have been mention. It is political, more so than environmental. How many times have OBA/UBP members/supporters even mentioned about the environmental impact of this development in their comments? Zero times, and so this justified my position in regards to this matter.
How can it be corrupt when a Minister overrules a decision that he has the right to do? (This same process was done during the UBP/OBA era in power) This is nothing new, or surprising. There are no secrets here. Every application is available for viewing at the Department of Planning and Environment.
Special Girl (aka Betty) I have no political affiliation at all. You, on the other hand, appear to be a paid apologist for the PLP/UBP/BIU party.
I am a public citizen with a voice, I will share how I feel in regards to any issue, that I decide is worth debating. So please stop with the nonsense that anyone who chooses to speak or support a political position, is a paid blogger,,,,,,,,,,OH… unless that is what the OBA/UBP must be doing,as they tend to mention that frequently.
This is not about the enviroment. This is not about politics. This is about corrupt polititians bypassing the planning system for personal gain.
Anywhere else, in a mature democracy, the three of them plus the Premier would have been long gone either fired or resigned out of common decency. Look at how far the firings have gone at Penn State. People,the President, who knew but did nothing are gone.
Not in Bermuda. Certainly not in the PLP Government.
First line of defence is to keep quiet & hope it all blows over. Second line is to make excuses, shift blame. If that fails it is time to backpedal, transfer the perps to another job & hope that the public will be appeased.
By the posts above it is obvious that very little needs to be done to keep the lemmings happy. Sorry, but the rest of us want a much higher quality Government.
You’ll have your chance to vote soon enough. I do hope that you are not dissapointed with the results of democracy.
Nope we will have to suffer along with you. Their won’t be any change, the same voting the same expecting different results. Insanity.
Now walter has resigned will his ridiculous decision be overturned? This is the important issue!
I would like to say,nothing last forever not even your troubles. Well and on top of it all A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool from a mountain top. The last thing I would say what worries you, master you he had to go.
Do you smell something funny. My father owns a house in Dev. It has a basement area we would have liked to develop into a studio apt for my nephew/grandson. Been turned down 3 times. Room would not be rented. Nothing changes on outside of building. All internal work. Plans drawn up, people paid. Don’t care how its put, it still stinks. Guess who’s office turned it down
A shame that Roban was hung out to dry. De Silva and Furbert will still be prancing around looking like Hewey and Dewey with those goofy grins!
Roban’s disasters are not limited to the Planning approval. He was also the Minister in the recent Digicel debacle.
And wasn’t he mixed up in the Tucker’s Point SDO, just weeks after resigning from the bank that had a huge outstanding loan to Tucker’s?
Well done Roban. The standards of your colleagues has been raised. Lets get Vince in W&E as soon as possible! Hopefully Roban has learned a lesson about ethics and will be back to contribute in the future.
I figure Walter to be an upstanding individual period. I don’t know Mr Desilva that well and wayne of course if you go by his past acts seems wishy washy. Let me see if I get this correct. 1. This prosal by Zane and Furbert were rejected in the past correct? What were the reasons for the rejection? I understand Zane’s for instance encroached on the marsh land. It was not smack dab in the middle of it. But I understand it was turned down by planning and its technical officers.
2. Based on the rejected plans did Zane Desilva make adjustments to the proposal to please planning. This will determine if Walter was doing the right thing by passing (in principal)the plans because Zayne ammended based on plannings criteria.
3. If not Why would you pass them (in principal) during this time if you knew controversy will follow especially in the current limelight. Either way Walter was very naive to think this will go unnoticed. Will the next minister just pass the final plans? You have technical officers,civil servants that basically abide by the rules and regulations they must follow. Ministers and politicians will come and go but YOUR job will NOT! Stick to what you know is right. LISTEN to your Technical Officers and Staff they will not stare you wrong.Zane you should have remained patient and just changed your approach and plans to fit withing the plannning criteria. I can see this will not end well. Mr Roban integrity will take the blow for your impatience. This will not end well for anyone. Just look at Berkeley.
We should have Minister Zane Desilva and Wayne Furberts dealings investigated,
look at their integrity.
One less corrupt minister in government. Thanks for that! Looming elections sort a lot of things out – right… ms premier?
I can’t believe the level of stupidity that passes for intelligence in this island. It’s not hard to see why we are where we are, with people like you supporting this corrupt Government. But it’s OK, because that level of ignorance is self-correcting.
Eventually, the economy will totally collapse (the fact that many of you are out of work doesn’t seem to make the mental connection with you that the PLP is causing the island to slide into oblivion) and we will have widespread poverty, crime, home foreclosures. Just answer the question, how in 12 years, did Bermuda go from a balanced budget and a surplus, to being a billion and a quarter dollars in debt under the PLP? You can’t, because you don’t understand the question.
Meanwhile you’ll call me, and posters like me “doom sayers”, “racists”, “haters” and the like, all the while you listen to the siren’s song, as the ground beneath you crumbles. And when it all ends, just try finding your sistas and bruthas in the PLP hierachy. They won’t be here. They’ll have all bought their paradises in their own Martha’s Vineyard, with your money, and your permission.
Carry on suckers.
Couldn’t have said it better Viritas.
Good bye.
I can’t believe the level of arrogance in your post that you think is intelligent. Its easy to call corruption, but in a government that does not control the police and not a single politician charged for corruption, however that won’t stop you from making the accusations.
Your level of ignorance will soon be self correcting as well. No the Economy will not totally collapse, although I’m sure you want it to. This isn’t the first time Bermuda has had an unemployment problem and it won’t be the last. Ah yes, poverty is a new phenomenon, get real! Though overall crime is down over 3 years we’re living in lawless Afghanistan right… Just a lot of crap from the gallery. Ahh foreclosures are up in Bermuda, there is a shocker I’m sure I’ve read the same headlines in the US, Canada, UK, Europe, should I do go on??
The reason the PLP wins is because people like you think that PLP Voters are stupid, and with posts like this you insult our intelligence. To say you can’t answer a question on debt because you can’t understand the question is to think that all PLP voters who own houses don’t understand what a mortgage is.
Your lies are tired, your accusations are baseless, and no the PLP will be right here in Bermuda and the PLP will continue running the show. 2 Choices work with or work against, but you won’t get anywhere insulting the intelligence of the majority of the people in this country.
The PLP will carry on, and sooner or later you’ll realise its better to work together than to not.
Sucker
@Curious
Hahahaha! LaVerne? Is that you? Hahahaha!
It is you who insult the intelligence of ex-PLP voters by assuming that they believe your propaganda.
@ Veritas
You seem to be one of those that hopes that a ‘lie oft repeated will eventually be accepted as truth’.
The exisitng government debt is primarily related to the investment in Bermuda’s infrastructure that was undertaken by the PLP since 1998. Examples include – Dockyard Pier, Lefroy refurbishment, Port Royal Golf Course, Fast Ferries, Airport Runway and related upgrades, Sylvia Richardson Seniors Home, TCD, Berkeley, Cedarbridge, New Court Building, Tynes Bay maintenance, BHC Housing projects (Loughlands, Perimeter Lane, Anchorage, Southshore to name a few) new buses, Southside emergency medical facility etc.
There were also some necessary assistance provided for Bda College tuition, free bus fares, free daycare allowances, adjustments to payroll tax, elimination of the death taxes on primary residences, ongoing subsidies for the elderly, the introduction of future care for seniors etc.
With respect to the overall economy, whilst many deny the broad impact of the world we live in, it is true that the overall economic decline in the world has impacted us in Bermuda (and no, Bermuda is not another world in that regard).
A simple example. Insurers rely on their investment returns to bolster their available reserves to pay for claims and ongoing expenses. They therefore price their premiums to be competitive. When the investment returns were severely impacted by the US housing crises and other international economic factors, the companies had to have a serious look at the cost of doing business in Bermuda.
One clear factor is housing and interest rates.
Time does not permit for me to fully explain the causes of the increase in the cost of housing in Bermuda but most accept that the payment of housing subsidies by IB and the ‘loose availability of credit’ by the banks have been major factors over the past 5 to 10 years. In some respects, as painful as it is, we are seeing a necessary correction in housing prices in Bermuda. The ultiamte beneficiaries of the correction will be average Bermudians that now have a more realistic chance of buying a home in the future.
My current position is that certain expenditures have been higher than necessary and I await the expected reports from the Auditor General to highlight them. Notwithstanding, the majority of the expenditures were necessary investments in Bermuda’s future by the PLP.
I am also waiting for Bermuda to get beyond the next election to allow us to ‘collectively pull in the same direction for Bermuda’s future.’ In the meantime, I continue to applaud the PLP for the quality of new candidates that they are blending with the existing MPs as they forge ahead with plans for a future Bermuda that will benefit all of us. I also look forward to teh full slate of OBA and UBP candidates.
I am clearly not one of the naysayers. I am a realist. We have had greater fortunes in the past and I expect us to get back on an even footing with the rest of the world if we simply start being more focussed on the greater good for Bermuda.
But the fast ferries are not working properly, neither are the buses, college tuition had to go back up, dockyard pier is broken, cruise ships are not coming to use the broken pier, hardly anyone uses the st. davids medical facility. So all the money was spent but nothing was left to maintain these projects and pay the people to work in and on them. The “freebies” have come to a grinding halt. Have you been on a bus lately? It is not a pleasant experience
OH, please do not be so blank, all things over time need to have repairs and upkeep. This is the same as owning a car, bike or house. Repairs, repairs, and often at times replacement. Thing do not work forever……..
Unbelievable. I am speechless.
@starman Do you think that specialgirl really believes what she writes? I am baffled by her musings all the time as I can’t understand how someone can really think that way.
Usually a person puts money aside to do repairs and keeps this in mind when doing their budgeting. Unfortunately, our Minister has said that there is no money to get spare parts for most of the transportation system so they can’t be fixed or do you think that is Okay too? You are really baffling!
*that was for SPECIALgirl not you starman
Berkeley, Cedarbridge and Tynes Bay were built and finished prior to 2003. In 2003 the debt was about $150m, approximately the historical norm. It’s the explosion in debt since then that is the problem. Berkeley, Cedabridge and the building of Tynes are irrelevant to the discussion of what the $1.1bn was spent on.
If you add up all the other projects you list, it comes to about $200m. The other $900m or so was spent on current spending, wages, luxury travel, government cars, music festivals, feel the love festivals, diaspora initiatives, funding for the Bermuda soccer team, Faith Based Tourism, generous contracts for foreign consultants who were lucky enough to be friends with senior Bermudian politicians, and all that. In other words, it was largely wasted. It was the equivalent of taking out a mortgage in order to buy some groceries and a new TV.
And SpecialGirlBetty, the crappy ferries, buses, cruise ship pier, are all examples of what happens when there is financial mismanagement. If there was the money to upkeep these things, it would happen. There isn’t any money now, because the tax base has shrunk due to people relocating in other jurisdictions. So the ferries and buses are not being maintained and are falling to pieces. Have you been on one lately? They are wrecks. The govt is running on empty at the moment, as far as income is concerned.
Just more Cog-wash…electioneering at its best, a few more need to resign amid corruption at the highest level over the years and should have resigned a long time ago…still I will not change my opinion of our Finance Minister nor will I vote for the PLP in the next election as I did the previous one…
You bunch getting a tad worried? Not really as confident as you were, say a few weeks ago that the PLP were in the crapper.
The Cog has in the past few weeks, made nice ( some would say sold out ) with IB, vis a vis work permits, presented 3 very credible candidates for consideration and now made good on her promise to govern ethically..
The fence sitters might just be dusting off their green clothing and checking to see if it still fits..
LOL…
Wishful thinking for most, the PLP will win again. Most will vote the same expecting a different result. True definition of insanity. Oh well, what can you do. You get what you vote for, the rest of us will have to suffer along with you. That’s just the way it is.
107 comments and I won’t bother reading 100 of them. most of you rant on without any purpose and it makes Bermudians sound uninformed.
When will you realize that this online forum is fantasy, why don’t some of you just go up to the House of Assembly today and witness your elected officials debate?
Losers
@back to work…….I might as well coz I’m “out of a job!!!! ” and that’s not fantasy……..wake up Bermuda we deserve better than this!!!!
The level of frustraion in comments here is overwhelming.
Sad.
Thank you Mr. Roban for tendering your resignation. I wish that more of your colleagues who in good conscience would resign due to their incompetance, non-deliverables and questionable productivity…Mrs. Minors????
I’m sure any of you who have conections ustilize them, if you don’t you the fool. Today they call it networking and it happens everyday. however! what you are saying is some people should be exampt because of their position. Get real!!
…i guess then i am a fool…