90 Minute Video: Town Hall On Corporations

March 5, 2019

The Ministry of Home Affairs is holding a town hall meeting this evening [March 5] on Government’s plans to “reform” the Corporations, and you can watch the full 90-minute video below.

On Friday, the Minister of Home Affairs Walter Roban tabled a Bill to “start the process of much needed reform of Bermuda’s municipalities” which “proposes to repeal of elections in the Corporations of Hamilton and St. George, and continue these corporations as quangos.”

Update: The live broadcast has ended, and the 90-minute video is below

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Comments (12)

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  1. Trump supporter says:

    No buses now almost losing an airline route. And these guys want to ruin/manage what’s been working all these years.
    Well done voters.

  2. Real Deal says:

    What about St Davis

  3. Real Deal says:

    yes these were important details

  4. Real Deal says:

    communication is key

  5. Real Deal says:

    when there is not need there will be no jipzs cars they don’t want to wait around for nothing. so until you fill the needed leave the jipzs cars alone because that is the only option many have for a ride were they got to go

  6. Sheila says:

    4 votes for, 177 against a quango on the Government survey for changing the Municipalities Act. – So we really do listen to the people!
    The 2011 Amendment to the act basically gives the Minister power over the Corporation if it is deemed not to be in the best interests of the people. The Corporation has to have the Minister’s approval for any major expenditure.anyway. The Act states that a person is disqualified from being a member of the Corporation if a Member of the Legislature or another Corporation. The Minister may attend meetings but may not vote.
    The funding is by grant and not a “given” and to my mind the Minister implied funding would be given to a quango. Why not just increase the grant?
    He is taking away the right of the right of the residents to vote – what else is going to be taken away????
    Where is the money coming from for the Mega Super Yacht Marina? Not saying not needed but it’s not going to happen in the near future .
    The Minister failed to answer the question about the appointees to the quango receiving a salary or not and to my mind was rather insulting to the stellar job done by the Corporation and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

    • Concerned St. Georgian says:

      Right on Sheila.
      The Government is in financial distress. How is it going to find more money to take over the Corporations?
      The Government should keep the Corporations as they are and provide any additional funds to them. Whatever happens, the money will come out of taxpayers pockets.. If it is not broken then don’t fix it. In my opinion, Government is more than partly responsible for creating the situation that the Corporation of St George’s in in today. It has been strangled in to the situation it is in now. AND NOW, the death blow! Well planned out by the PLP over many years of preparation for this final blow. I, for one, would like to find out what the real motive is?
      Words to the effect from one commentator at tonight’s meeting: Government’s takeover of the Corporations is only the beginning. What will happen next?. One day we will look back on this as the beginning of Government’s total control over everything. We are no longer living in a democracy. Governments reply: You elected us in to govern as we see fit and that is exactly what we will do.
      There was a full house at tonights meeting and I did not hear anyone in support of Governments takeover of the Corporation of St. George, The PLP Government is not listening to to the majority. The majority’s say does not count any more.
      I didn’t hear a word from any St George’s Parliamentarians that were in attendance. Why?

      • truthertz says:

        “I didn’t hear a word from any St George’s Parliamentarians that were in attendance. Why?”

        Because they only care about their constituents in the run up to the election. Once in power then their only concern is what their Party desires. For instance, see MP Renee Ming’s vociferous opposition to the OBA’s temporary stewardship when they were in Government. Now listen to her opposition to the PLP’s proposed takeover. Crickets…

        They want total control of the Corporations so they can take on their assets and revenues. The Government is broke and the only way they can raise revenue is taxing the people even more and taking from the Corporations.

        They are in a world of trouble in the next budget as their plan to ‘balance the budge’ by raiding and not paying into the sinking fund will leave them with a massive hole to fill. IMO they see the revenues from the Corporations’ as being one way to help fill that gap.

        And you are correct regarding the PLP’s power hungry nature. Look at how they stripped the independence of the Gaming Commission and BTA almost as soon as they got into power. And now this. There us an undeniable trend of consolidating power. Truly scary times.

        • Kevin says:

          The plp have become the thing they cried to the masses about the OBA they said they were arrogant and a dictatorship.There has never been a government that fit that description better than Burt and his circus. They took away the corporations revenue in their first term in control shut down the police station , fire station and golf course. They failed to attract any of the smaller Cruise boats so St.Georges became a ghost town. The OBA came into power and the corporation was given some revenue through the fuel tax and the BTA which was formed under the OBA went out and found smaller cruise boats to visit St.Georges. The plp have done nothing to assist and have done everything to destroy ..yet they were voted in. Its mind boggling how clear and simple that choice on election should have been but maybe common sense obviously isnt that common
          There will be an election in 2 years lets see if st.Georgians can truly express their feelings and send the plp a clear message that dictatorship has no place here

  7. BS says:

    1.5 hours of BS, that I did not vote for. Can I get that vote back?

  8. Kenny says:

    And I’ bet the St. George’s MPs sat in their little seats mute and saying yes to all of this while they were voted into govt to work FOR stgeorges and her people… NOT to agree with whatever their ‘masters’ are doing.

    I luv them both as people, but they’re not doing their jobs for stgeorges… not Kim, Renee nor Lovita!!

  9. Ringmaster says:

    It is very clear that the PLP want total control. Why did the Minister only give 2 options? There are at least 3, starting with leave the Corporations alone. The PLP don’t have the capability to govern Bermuda let alone add the Corporations to ensure their destruction. Bermuda has reached its debt ceiling so where is all this so called funding coming from? Only one source – sell the assets off to foreign investors. So muc for Bermuda for Bermudians.