Video: PLP’s Roban On OBA’s 2000 Job Promise
The Government hasn’t shown any plans to create the 2,000 jobs they promised during the election, but have created jobs for their supporters and facilitated the employment of non-Bermudians, Shadow Minister of Home Affairs Walter Roban said.
Mr Roban said, “The PLP has taken note of the pre-election statement of the Government that they were going to facilitate 2,000 jobs over 5 years.
“We have yet to see any plan to even bring about 100 jobs, although it does appear that they have created jobs, one, for persons who supporting them during the election, and also facilitating the employment of non-Bermudians in an economy that is striving to keep Bermudians employed.”
“What will be the OBA’s strategy or plan about job creation…we have heard little thus far as it relates to the employment of Bermudians,” continued Mr Roban.
“So we await a clear, concise and forward thinking jobs plan from the OBA Government that will put Bermudians back to work and that will at least show some progress in their 2,000 job commitment that they made..”
Prior to last year’s election the One Bermuda Alliance released their Jobs and Economic Turnaround Plan, which Bob Richards — who now serves as Finance Minister — said would generate 2,000 new jobs in five years.
What we await is for you to go…a…way. You sure like to hear yourselves talk. Too bad nothing of substance was ever uttered while you governed.
Jt,
Maybe Roban should give Paula Cox a call and ask her what she had intended to do about the hundreds of people her administration put out in the street.
Agreed, bloody idiots.
Now that would be the question he,(Mr. Walter Roban) needs answered
Paula Cox was too busy telling us last September that the Bermuda economy was already rebounding. As stores and offices were closing daily, she was telling us that things were improving. That’s how clueless the PLP Premier / Finance Minister was.
And Roban? We all know where his head was at. Doing planning favours for his fellow-Ministers, which meant he had to resign in disgrace.
I didn’t know Premier Cox did that.
How about the thousands of people (civil servants) some OBA supporters are recommending that government put out in the street?
I’d like to see Bob Richards reveal the real extent mess bequethed on Bermuda by the PLP.
The PLP helped create more than 2000 highly paid jobs in finance and IB.
You can find them in Cayman, Sydney, Halifax and London.
Your competitors would like to thank you for training them up before shipping them out
That’s the only jobs they at P.L.P. created, because they aren’t here in Bermuda any longer
Brilliant!
We should definitely berate the OBA for their audacity and ambition in promising to deliver 2000 jobs over 5 years to Bermuda at the last election, as opposed to the PLP promising 0 jobs in their manifesto!
But yet the unemployment rate was much lower under the PLP than it is under the OBA.
I would give this man a lot more credit than I do at present if he were to offer solutions instead of constant insane criticism every time he opens his mouth.
The vast bulk of unemployment happened on his watch when he and his elected friends were living large. When they were warned that this (unemployment) would happen, it was criticisized as scaremongering. Out of his own mouth he says the OBA promised 2000 jobs in “5″ years, it’s as though he can’t figure out the difference between 5 months and 5 years. It appears that this whole regime has a problem with simple arithmetic.
Mr. Roban, sit back and observe how business professionals accomplish a dam near impossible task. You may learn something.
It’s true James, all you’ve mentioned and suggested for Mr.Walter Roban to do…because he certainly had done soooooo much wrongs
Only 1998 to go. My brother and cousin are now both employed , one after being out of work for 14 months.
By the way – should someone that was part of the problem which caused thousands of jobs to disappear – really want to challenge this.
My advice to the PLP , don’t bring up crime, education, unemployment, tourism, SDOs, contract for at least one year until you can prove that the OBAs results were worse than those of the PLP. Otherwise, you seem desperate and foolish.
they promised 2000 jobs over FIVE YEARS WALTER, did you even listen to yourself speak. we are FIVE MONTHS into OBA governance. do you understand the difference between a month and a year?
Oh come on Roban, no one listened to you when you were a minister and those who did wished they hadn’t you have no right to criicise any effort in getting any jobs back to Bermuda given that you contributed to the demise of Bermuda over the former years, fact is the previous government with their freinds and family consultants program cost us millions and the PLP shipped more jobs out of Bermuda than ever before which are now enjoyed in Cayman, Ireland to name only two. So please don’t come out of your corner spewing stupid and unfounded statements.
Roban,
WE DON’T CARE WHAT YOU THINK!
robain you are just a damn pain. go away… there is a lot to clean up and nothing can happen overnight (unless you’re the pee l pee) LOL
A buffoon in the best definition of the word. There is serious reconstructive work to be done to rebuild a shattered economy. This is not time for political windbags or buffoons.
Walter seems hell bent on ensuring the OBA remain in power for a very long time.
His asinine utterances are guaranteed to either turn people off or keep them from the polls—–again!!
everyone always says OBA cannot fix what the PLP created overnight? we know everything takes time but the oba should be working hard to clean up this mess. they offered us 2,000 jobs over the next 5 years…but the only people being hired are non-bermudians. and when mr. roban acknowledges the wrong doings of the oba you bermudians scold him? wake up bermuda! you should be on the OBA’s case not on mr. roban. he hasn’t done anything but ask for the 2,000 jobs we were promised. it’s a shame that every time a PLP member calls out the oba for false promises or something along those lines that everybody jumps on the PLP. maybe you need to talk to OBA.
you can’t create 2000 jobs overnight. the OBA is trying to bring international business back – and in doing this, jobs for bermudians WILL be created. please try to be careful when using phrases like ‘the only people being hired are non-bermudians’ – this is false, and not helpful. we are in a BIG mess on this island, largely thanks to the previous government. this is undeniable. look around. this is not due to the ‘global downturn – we could have weathered that if we weren’t put into massive debt through shocking spending. (i noticed premier cannonier sitting in economy the other day – no entourage or putting on of airs….it was refreshing)
repair will take time and we need to come together to achieve this. what is a shame is that the PLP continue to be part of the problem, and don’t seem one bit interested in a real solution. it’s so transparent, and belies a serious lack of maturity, ability to understand basic issues, and a true petulance.
That’s an old and tired line … bring IB back, given them anything they want and they will bring mucho jobs to Bermudians.
Wrong… while there are Bermudians who benefit what IB usually does is fill Bermuda with ex-pat workers bypassing our system with phony job applications and excuses that Bermudians aren’t qualified.
@ are you serious, maybe you should reserve your comments till at least half the term in office is up. To talk about it now just sounds dumb even after re reading it a few times………….
LOL
Wow…where do I begin? For 10 years the PLP was warned that term limits would kill our IB, reduce our competitive edge and be detrimental to employment. Yet, they proceeded and destroyed our island in the process. They really had to work hard to ruin such an amazing model as Bermuda Inc, yet they succeeded. Now, they have the outright gall to stand up and criticize when virtually everyone in Bermuda is trying to fix their mess? Simply astounding.
They had virtually no business ownership experience or executive management experience as ministers yet they were charged with charting the course of our whole country. How sad for Bermuda. They failed miserably.Go away PLP. We have suffered enough under your “guidance”.
You know, the PLP did not just waltz in & take over the Government in 1998 & two more elections after that.
It was Bermudian voters who put them in each time. So much for collective knowledge.
This time the OBA got in not so much by a shift in voting to them. It was PLP voters, fed up with the PLP, who did not vote at all who put the OBA in. They had good reason not to vote PLP. They also had good reason to vote for OBA, but they didn’t.
Too bad, because the OBA deserved a much larger majority than they got.
finally an intelligent and insightful comment
Did they really? They why all the discontent? Where are all the poorly paid worker and unemployed people coming from if this government is such a good one?
I don’t know everything that went on during the PLP but I don’t remember this much discontent and regret that I am seeing now.
Whatever you thought of the PLP when they were in government does not change their role now they are in opposition – which is to question the government of they day when they fall short of their promises. This behaviour of jumping on Roban is a bit like jumping on the whistleblower. Is it really the intention of you earlier posters to throttle Roban for doing the job he’s currently elected to do? Please say it isn’t so.
Walter – well done for keeping the OBA on their toes – now if the OBA would actually enlighten their electorate that would be refreshing.
They say “Promises keep Fools content”. What would you call a person who believes in “Political Promises”? The OBA LIED, Get Over It!!!!!
They had No Plans and Still Don’t. The economy is shrinking and Bermuda is sinking. More and More jobs will be lost. Please do not believe they have the ability or know how, to save this country. They will probably hire 2000 consultants
Whoa! Who created this death spiral in the last 14 years? You expect the OBA to turn it around at the snap of the fingers?
Get real! The IB chased away by Burch & Co. is not coming back anytime soon. All of those support jobs that IB demanded are not coming back anytime soon. Relations & trust which took decades to build were destroyed by the PLP. The OBA is an unknown to the movers & shakers of IB. So far so good but it is going to take time for that respect & trust in Bermuda to be regained again.
Money is the biggest coward. Money likes stability, something Bermuda has not had for 14 years.
Just Askin, you & your PLP supporters voted for this disaster. You got it. Now, sit back & let some people with real business talent clean up your steaming pile of scatt.
1. IB was never here to stay.
2. Money moves where profits are higher.
3. Never voted for or been a PLP supporter.
4. OBA has no real business talent.
5. This Death Spiral started way before PLP came into government.
It amazes me when I hear people say the former government did nothing but harm for 14 years when in REALITY the GDP for Bermuda Doubled from 3 to 6 BILLION under the PLP between 1998 and 2008 and decreased significantly between 2008 and 2012. This is a FACT that is easily checked if you are interested!
To give credit where it is due the PLP also created a job for the guy who makes lurid pink FOR SALE/FOR RENT/REDUCED signs. His business is booming:)
We’ve had 5+ years of unbroken economic contraction. That is much worse than the USA, most of Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America, and the Far East. The PLP likes to keep bringing up the myth that the recession was ‘inevitable’ and ‘worldwide’. In countries where there was recession, it was over years ago, while Bermuda’s keeps going.
Zombie Apocolypse, I think you better go onto the indexmundi site & look up Bermuda. You’ll see not only did we have the highest boom in economy in Bermudas history we also had the lowest unemployment rate in our history under PLP. Our GDP per capita more then doubled under the PLP as well, the swing for the worse didn’t start until the World Wide recession took grip of every country.
You mention USA but we don’t have the massive bail outs or the large scale protests or even the percentage of unemployment as they do. You make a point not to mention many other countries that are in a far worse situation then us, you mention the recession was over years ago but really what country is doing good financially at present. Even China went into a recession so it managed to touch every country & during this same time period it affected us.
Another myth from the PLP. Look at the last 5 years and tell us whether Bermuda’s economy was ‘booming’ (PLP myth) or contracting (fact).
“Even China went into recession”. Wrong again. China’s economy has been growing like crazy, without any recession at all.
Any more myths or lies you want to make up?
You Mr Roban are sounding more like an as#sss. For Christ sake the O.B.A. have only been in “Power” for a few months and you are expecting miracles over night. So Mr. Roban, the P.L.P. are the only ones who are capable of doing something over night right?
I believe the best thing for you and them others with nothing positive to say would be, “to say nothing at all”. By the way Walter, since you are only “Shadow Minister” you should remain in the damn shadows and give them who are in charge,the opportunity rule the Island because you lot at the Progressive Labour Party shown us you all were incapable of doing the job.
Man you’ve been saying that for a while – the OBA have been power for over a few months?
It’s been a lot more than a few months and things are getting worse instead of better.
You’re responding to comments made a year ago. I guess you don’t have an eye for detail.
After a few months of silence it is now Walter’s turn to come out of the the shadows of political obscurity..in the last week we have heard from Zane,Derrick, Beanie and now Walter all attempting to justify their sad excuse for a Political opposition..
Looks like they had a little meeting & decided to go out & stir the pot wherever possible.
If the PLP would have left some funds, even a little, the OBA could be
working wonders.
It really must have hurt to have your power trip dashed !
Sadly I just hope in two years we don’t still hear ” they are trying to fix 14 yrs. of PLP governance ” that doesn’t matter today and won’t matter in two years. So if that make you OBA supporters happy, keep saying it. Maybe you will convince yourselves.
PLP: Had years to create jobs.
Complains after 5 months that OBA hasn’t created jobs.
SMH
PLP lowered Bermudas unemployment rate from 4.5% in 1993 under the UBP watch to 2.1% in 2004 under PLP watch, look it up for yourself at indexmundi. This didn’t change until the World Wide Recession hit & unemployment rate raised significantly worldwide at the same time.
The unemployment rate when the PLP took over was under 1%. When they left office, 14 years later, it was an unprecedented 20%.
The worldwide recession myth again? You never learn do you. Remind me. When in the past 7 years has China been in recession, as you cliamed in your earlier post?
The PLP put Bermudians out of work,the OBA will put them back to work!
Really? Tell that to how many unemployed or underemployed Bermudians?
Campervan
The PLP also created a lot of security related businesses ,check out the breaking and entering that went on under their watch!