Bean: “Look Forward To A Governor General”
Speaking on Friday [Mar 14] in the House of Assembly, Opposition Leader Marc Bean said he personally looks forward to a Bermudian becoming Governor General, saying he has “enough trust and faith to know that a Bermudian can be the highest representation of us as a people and our statehood.”
Audio excerpt of Mr. Bean’s speech:
Mr. Bean said, “There is a motion on the order paper by the Honourable Dennis Lister whereby I think we can delve a little deeper into whether or not we are getting our bang for our buck.
Mr Lister’s motion reads:
“That pursuant to Part IV of the Parliament Act 1957, be it resolved that given Bermuda’s colonial status, a Select Committee of the House be appointed with a mandate to examine and review the viability of the decolonisation of Bermuda, and report to this Honourable House on its findings and recommendations.”
Mr. Bean continued, “With all due respect….all due respect to His Excellency and the Deputy Governor and the lovely staff, and very efficient staff at Government House, I personally think that MP Walton Brown would share my sentiment that I personally look forward to when a Dame Jennifer Smith or a Sir John Swan or a Dame Pamela Banks – will one day assume that property and this budget as a Governor General.
“I have enough trust and faith in we Bermudians – I could care less what political stripe you come from – but I have enough trust and faith to know that a Bermudian can be the highest representation of us as a people and our statehood.”
[Note: The beginning of the audio sounds like Mr. Bean is saying "$5 million", but that is due to a less than ideal clip, he was actually saying "$1.5 million", which is the allocation in the budget for the Governor]
“[Note: The beginning of the audio sounds like Mr. Bean is saying “$5 million”, but that is due to a less than ideal clip, he was actually saying “$1.5 million”, which is the allocation in the budget for the Governor”
With all due respect to MP Bean, the PLP Party and all of the staff up at Alaska Hall, but i think we have a lot of other problems and issues that are far more pressing to be dealt with than discussing whether or not we are getting bang for our buck with the UK appointed Governor!
I do not see the need for a Governor being sent here every 4 or 5 years. If England sees the need to send a representative from England why don’t they pay his wages and whatever expenses needed to maintain the Governor here. It’s a waste of public funds. Either get rid of the Governor post or the Premier post.
YES Mr Bean we are definitely getting our “BANG” for our buck.
Thanks to the PLP/BIU we have a $2.324BILLION dollar DEBT
now that’s a good bang.
And we are still borrowing $276Million per year to pay you and the civil service.Now that is an ADDITIONAL” bang for our buck.
Don’t forgat the $100Million plus that we are paying in interest every year on our bang for the buck,thats another bang.
Another term of the PLP and we can “DOUBLE” our bang for our buck.
This post should be independent of Bermuda politics.
Best served by someone who has no direct interests in Bermuda to protect and cause bias.
Divisive PLP at it again.
I can’t imagine a locally appointed Governor General being able to completely excise themselves from local politics. The system of bringing in a person with no direct ties to Bermuda and rotating them out on a regular basis provides at least a reasonable amount of independent oversight on the dealings of government and the police.
All one has to do is look at the political nonsense of the last 8 years (including the last year and the last two months – both parties) to see why the governor needs to be a non-Bermudian.
“Until the colour of a mans skin is of no-more significance than the colour of his eye there will be war…” H.I.M. of Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Salassi.
Having a representative sent over here from England to rule over Bermuda is “the right thing” Can anyone imagine if we did have a local with that type of “Power”? Without any doubt, we will at some point in the future find ourselves “without a pot to piss into nor a window to toss it out of”.
In the 14 yrs. the Progressive Labour Party ruled should be a prime example of what is possible when we have “the blind leading the blind”
Can you imagine Chrisy as Governer?????? Lol
Hmmm! is the present Gov applying a little heat on a past government that cost of us 100′s of millions?
I was wondering the same thing.
Bean invokes the “baby jeebus” to justify his own prejudice. He has no business offering his opinion of this or anything else for that matter.
John Swan- bless his heart
Dame Jennifer- no way in hell
Dame Banks?
More spin from the PLP.
You can’t make this crap up.
Addendum:- Some did not like the way things were in the 70′s so they assassinated the Governor.
Wonder what is next.
Shalom.
The Premier nor cabinet members can account for the monies- paraphrase on my part.
He must be talking about previous Governments.
Help …OBA been in power just over a year.
Get real dood and stop trying to take the heat off.
Really?
With all the issues that we face as of now the PLP thinks that independence is at the forefront and will somehow alleviate all our issues?
Just a few years ago the PLP initiated an independence paper. So why do we have to do it all over again? And if I remember correctly that paper lied about the fact that they could not find one example of where a country achieved independence via a referendum. So what exactly is this paper going to find this time?
The majority don’t want independence while overseas investors continually cite Bermuda’s relationship with the UK as being a positive when choosing Bermuda to be their domicile.
What real benefits (i.e. not emotional or symbolic) would an independent Bermuda provide that we don’t have now?
Don’t hold your breath waiting for an answer!
Dang, those tree frogs are loud today, & it has not even been raining.
….just another diversion from the PLP to take attention away from the real issues.
A myth surrounds the appointment of a British governor and that myth says that the governor is the queen representative to Bermuda when in fact it is the British government that appoints the British governor. It is in reality a diplomatic post put in place to safe guard British interests. I remember the shock express by former PLP premier Cox when in a overseas meeting touching on Bermuda’s interests as a financial centre; that interests was seemly thrown under the bus by than labour prime minister Gordon Browne. Premier Cox was surprise that the British prime minister did not uphold Bermudian interests and she is not alone in that false belief that a British governor is there to ultimately look after Bermudian interests? That is the myth. Now there is a role that a British governor plays in the Bermuda’s constitution; it’s a powerful role; all members of parliament swear allegiance to the queen through him and not to our country or to the people of Bermuda. No laws can be passed in Bermuda’s parliament and become law unless the governor signs it. The governor has the power to dissolve Bermuda’s parliament and of course that would be directed by the British government. This is a classical colonial relationship; one of a very few that remains in existent in the modern world. Now I agree with opposition leader Bean that Bermuda should have it’s own governor -general a Bermudian. But that will never come to pass unless Bermuda becomes an independent country; the British will never allow a Bermudian governor general unless we became an independent nation. Here is a thought what if Scotland voted to regain it’s status as an independent nation in it’s own right in the up coming referendum to decide the question? I never thought South Africa would see black majority rule when it did and the question of a black president of the United States? All have become realities before Bermuda moves towards nationhood. Prove me wrong once again Bermuda.
Extremely well presented with intellectual thought and facts Mr. Williams. Best comment so far that reflects some real thought to this issue. Bermuda needs to grow up someday or Mother will eventually throw them out regardless.
Al, the Governor cannot sneeze & wipe his nose without the consent of the Bermuda Government. The only way the Governor will step in is if Bermuda is in dire need of interference from Britain.
Well, the UK sat quietly by & let your beloved PLP run us into huge debt that will take generations of good governaance to recover from, & the Governor sat by & did nothing.
A question for you. What makes President black? He had a white mother, a black father, who took off, & was raised by white grandparents. So, what does that make him?
You will he cant stand in the white line they will kick him out lol plz
Again, in English this time.
Maybe you should ask all the people that voted for him based on what they thought he looked like..
So… no, then? You DON’T have a good reason to go Independent?
While there are some things Mr Williams says is true, i do not think either we can have a governor general!For the fact we have too many idiots already on both sides of house, how ever doing away with the acting governers job and having a local there would be just as good, just in case we ever do go indepentent, it would be a smoother transaction..Those who think the governor has the final say must just look back at what E.B did??
Mr. Williams,
It has been shown time and again that the vast majority of Bermudians do not want independance. You certainly are within your rights to pine for it, but your writings seem to peg the majority as anti-Bermudian and ignorant because they don’t hold your position.
Mr. Williams, I don’t know whether to applaud or be embarrassed for you your ability to segue from our having not so long ago a leader who was ignorant of our relationship with the UK to our having independence.
Will Bermuda ever be in a position to become independent? Probably sometime in the future. But I can only hope that it will not be in our near future.
At the moment we’re in an enviable position. The people of Bermuda enjoy the benefits of being a dependent territory, ie travel, reside, work, education and support in the UK, in return for a more or less honorary position given that it’s exceptionally rare for the Governor to exert any sort or power aside from ceremonial.
Do I mind that the Governor could do the things you suggest? Not in the slightest. Why? Because, as you’ve exampled, we’re of little interest to the UK. We basically govern ourselves, don’t cost them much and don’t make a fuss. The Governor’s not going to do anything unless the government warrants it, and given that he just sat by and watched the PLP government rather than stepping in, suggests that it’s not going to happen unless things get really really bad and I have faith in Bermuda and Bermudians that we will not let things go so far.
Seems the writer, and PLP party and supportes, seem to skillfully sidestep the gross mismanagment of the economy, thousands of supporters with no employment. What is he , the PLP , or others doing to boost confidence, explore ways to create a hiring climate.
Just answer how having a Bermudian Governor General serve to create “JOBS” for working class Bermudians. Heads out of the rediculas indipendance, and idol worship , and Face reality of the gross plight we ae in.
What the governor provides to Bermuda is a power check. If corruption becomes too high, like Turks and Caicos in 2008, the governor can put his/her foot down. The governor would also step in if there was a threat to democracy.
The governor is a moderator, not completely independent due to British interests, but no-one is. A Bermudian will have, or at least be seen to have, too many conflicts of interests to play the moderator role.
Independence actually would remove the power check completely, resulting in the increased possibility of corruption and degradation of democracy. It sound like a nice word, but in this case it actually has teeth.
BEAN leave the Governor alone, you just continue to help find the money lost by the PLP / BIU during the 14 years of He– we had to live through.
What the naysayers continuously forget is that we do in fact get bang for our buck!! $ 1.5 million is a drop in the bucket for our debt problems but we as Bermudians enjoy the right to live and work anywhere in the EU, because of our close ties!! Also it is absolutely a complete waste of time by bean to be mentioning this, because any body with half a brain knows that our laws and are set up in a way that we cannot have a Bermudian Governor, I guess the half a brain requirement rules bean out from understanding this!!!!!
This story is just ridiculous–get on with the work of fixing this country Mr. Bean and company–You all act as if you have all the time in the world to stop the rot—In the words of Mr. Lister–get cracking!
….”enough trust and faith to know that a Bermudian can be the highest representation of us as a people and our statehood”……….
ha..ha..ha… what a load of baloney, first prove your faith and trust with our elected Premier, then we might listen ……
Buy Bermuda !
I think the Governor has a pile more experience than our “Leader” of the Oppositon! I’m sure the Turks and Caicos are happy they had a Governor to intervene when they were in dire straights … thank God the PLP were voted out before that had to happen here.
Bean is a naive fool. Nice guy I hear, but a naive fool.
Another excercise in stirring up emotion & deflection from what really needs to be dealt with like “Where did all d monee go Paula?”
The UK will never allow a Bermudian to be the Governor or Governor General.
Mark…Mark…Mark…you can and do certainly set out to annoy and annoy…and regress to a level of disshevelment…well………you have succeded again…..you are ingenuous though and ….annoying as all get out…..you….and your party have put us in serious stinky boo booz…you know this….and yet you seek to incite rediculous response to your disengenuous banter….please Mark…havd more genuin co ern for the Gowd aufull .ess yoj and yourz left us in and stop your stupidity…now you may feign hurt feelings …but I find you to be shallow and defunct of necessary resposability…towards your home …your people ….and self respect…control your baser need for lack of the ability for what you and yours selfishly desire …want …need…you are obviously Jonsing for what you cannotreasonably ha e….time for rehab mate…there was a guy at a malibu rehab…i saw him in a commer ial he said “I was an addick for 10 years…now I’m nooooooot….I can only suggest you go there….ask them teach you fo respect y’people.
Please…don’t get me wrong Mark…when I say adict…I propose money…power…lack of regard of the resposability tuit…
Looking forward to a viable opposition
The Betty Trumps could be the Governor General[s]….oops, I forgot they are not Bermudian !
I am very well aware that polls show that the majority of Bermudians are not for an independent Bermuda; but that is not going to stop me from being a consistent advocate for Bermudian independence and I prove that when I rejected the call made by than PLP leader; the Late L F Wade for PLP supporters to boycott the than former UBP premier Sir John Swan referendum on the question of Bermudian independence. To me the question of one’s nation or national independence is far above political loyalty to a political party and I had supported the PLP since age 18.
It is not in Bermuda’s interests to remain a British Overseas territory; when it comes to national interests; Britain will always look first to safe guard it’s own interests even if those interests are in conflict with Bermuda’s national interests. Further to that I don’t see why Bermuda must continue to finance Britain’s diplomatic presence here. Countries fund their own diplomatic presence within the countries that they have diplomatic relations with. It is only in a colonial contexts where the colonial subjects are task to pay for the colonial power within their countries.Well you might say that Bermudians flocking over to England to take advantage of Britain’s Liberal social programs. Well that is not my desire; to me Britain is another man’s country and I am not prepared to be called an economic refugee justly by a British citizen; while at the same time demanding that a British citizen must get a work permit before working in Bermuda. One of these days some one in Britain is going to take both Bermuda and Britain to the European court to test just this issue on the lack of reciprocal policies when it comes to immigration matters between Bermuda who wants to enjoy all the benefits of Britain’s social programs but will bulk at the thought of an even more open Bermuda. Yes I am well aware of all the responsibilities that goes along with national independence; but this a world of independent nations even it the state of international relations is based upon interaction though trade and cultural influences between those nations.
14 years u had 4 governors (if i am right) not once did u implement a Bermudian governor! To hell with the distractions just help us get outta the **** HOLE!
Might not have much left to argue over, but at least we will have a Governor General. Nice one Bean.
Mark is a sour, hatred filled man who just hates anything white. If it were a black man running as Governor, this would not be a topic of conversation.
When we talk about transparency, well, we can see right through you Mark Bean.