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Volume: 123 No. 44, Tuesday, January 27, 2026
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HAITIAN PASTOR IN $14,000 VISA SCAM Foreign Ministry staffer demanded money in Island Luck account By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net AN employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and three Grand Bahama residents are accused of orchestrating a visa fraud scheme that prosecutors say siphoned more than $14,000 from a church-linked effort to bring a Haitian pastor and his wife and their eight children to The Bahamas. Clevette Simmons of New Providence, along with
Grand Bahama residents Gonesha Joseph, Margaret Mathieu, and Mark Rolle, are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretences. The case, which involves 73 counts, is being heard before Magistrate Charlton Smith in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court. Prosecutors allege the defendants arranged for payments to be funnelled through an Island Luck account and a SCAM - SEE PAGE THREE
PHA late telling govt overtime fund ‘bust’ Chamber chief: PM must layout ‘concrete plans’ for Grand Bahama PRIME Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis swarmed by supporters as he arrived in Grand Bahama yesterday.
By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville has expressed concern over why the government was not notified earlier that the Public Hospitals Authority had exhausted its overtime funds for medical staff, suggesting a
breakdown in communication between the PHA and the government. Dr Darville said the delay in overtime payments owed to medical staff is a serious matter that officials are actively addressing, with him and PHA officials holding several meetings to resolve the issue in a LATE - SEE PAGE FOUR
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Prime Minister must lay out “concrete plans” for the Grand Lucayan and Grand Bahama International Airport when he speaks to the island’s future today, Dillon Knowles, the Grand Bahama Chamber of
Commerce’s president says. “We need particulars we can sink our teeth into,” said Mr Knowles, adding that Philip Davis KC cannot rely on more “promises” and “theoreticals” as he called on the Prime Minister to provide “clarity” for the island’s business community so that they can plan for their immediate and long-term futures with confidence.
Photo: Vandyke Hepburn
Warning that Grand Bahama “doesn’t take promises well in the best of times”, he added that the island was in desperate need of a major investor or project to “plant the flagpole” and undertake a development that will attract more investment capital to both Freeport and outside the Port area. Full story: SEE BUSINESS
Slain homeless man’s PLPS DIVIDED OVER TIMING OF PRE-ELECTION CONVENTION family seeks answers By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
SENIOR Progressive Liberal Party figures and supporters are split over whether the party should stage a voting convention next month, with critics questioning its value so close to a general election and backers urging a show of strength and momentum. The debate has intensified as attention turns to
THE killing of a 69-yearold homeless man on East Bay Street has left his family struggling to understand how a routine weekend night ended in violence, insisting he was not confrontational and never troubled anyone. Felix Morley died after being assaulted near Dunmore Lane on Saturday.
OPM Communications Director, Latrae Rahming. possible contenders for senior party posts, including VOTING - SEE PAGE TWO
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Police said officers on patrol saw a man striking Morley with a stick during an altercation. They intervened and found Morley unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. A 39-year-old man was taken into custody. Morley’s nephew, Cordero Seymour, said the family remains deeply confused about what led to the fatal encounter. While DEATH - SEE PAGE FIVE