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VOLUME:117 No.45, JANUARY 28TH, 2020
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That’s it - we quit
Valley Boys resign in protest over loss of Boxing Day title By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net THE Valley Boys resigned from the Junkanoo Corporation New Providence (JCNP) yesterday, saying they will no longer participate in upcoming parades managed by the body. The bombshell announcement came after parade management team chairman, Anthen Mortimer, announced the Saxons Superstars were crowned the official winners of the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day parades and Valley Boys took second place in both events. With 81.44 points, Valley Boys were the unofficial Boxing Day parade winners and the Saxons initially came in a close second with 80.01 points. However, the official results put the Saxons in first place with 85.01 points and Valley Boys in second with 81.44
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points after a three-point penalty. In a statement posted to the Valley Boys’ Facebook page, group chairman Brian Adderley said: “We trust that a new entity will be put in place to manage future Boxing Day and New Year’s Day parades so that justice and fairness can prevail in future Junkanoo competitions.” At a press conference yesterday, the JNCP said the decision was disappointing. However the body conceded that in light of the protest over unofficial Junkanoo scores this parade season, the Independent Review Committee (IRC) and “protest procedures in general” need to be reviewed. The JCNP said it is committed to reforming this “segment of the parade aftermath in short order” ahead of the 2020/2021 parades.
By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net
AS the government continues to closely monitor the deadly coronavirus in China, Foreign Affairs Minister Darren Henfield said yesterday that officials see “no real reason” to evacuate Bahamians studying in Wuhan. “(Evacuation) is not a consideration for us at the moment,” the minister told reporters at an agreement signing yesterday. SEE PAGE FIVE
US URGED TO AMEND WARNINGS
SEE PAGE THREE
ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander did not report to the Ministry of Health yesterday, but is actively handling its security matters since being briefed by the minister of health, according to his attorney. Attorney Wayne Munroe told The Tribune that the physical presence of ACP Fernander is not needed at the Ministry of Health and that the senior officer is
addressing security concerns relating to the ministry. “He is not at the Ministry of Health; he does not have any police resources at the Ministry of Health. When he said he will carry out his duties, people must have thought that he will follow instructions blindly, but that’s not the case,” said Mr Munroe, QC. After returning from forced vacation leave last week, ACP Fernander was given a letter informing him to report for a “special SEE PAGE SIX
TONY KEEPS ON RUNNING - AND GIVING BACK
SEE PAGE EIGHT
FERNANDER TAKES ON NEW JOB - BY REMOTE By SYANN THOMPSON Tribune Staff Reporter sthompson@tribunemedia.net
FACE-TO-FACE
By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE VALLEY Boys on Bay Street at Boxing Day’s Junkanoo parade. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
THE government believes travel advisories issued by the US State Department should be revisited, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Darren Henfield, who stated yesterday the warnings “are counterproductive” to the country’s tourism industry. The issue, the foreign affairs minister said, was among the many topics discussed with US Secretary of SEE PAGE SEVEN
2019 CAR SALES HIGHEST IN 5 YEARS sport By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
AUTO dealers received a “badly needed shot in the arm” from 2019’s 31.18 percent sales increase, it was revealed yesterday, marking the industry’s best performance since VAT’s arrival. Fred Albury, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s president, told Tribune Business the sector
will gain more “breathing space” if 2020 holds at last year’s total following
a 430-unit year-over-year increase in new auto sales for that 12-month period. Acknowledging that 2019’s surge will be difficult to match, especially given that post-Dorian vehicle replacement is likely to “taper off”, Mr Albury said he was working to the assumption that 2020 sales will be flat to slightly up following the industry’s best showing in the five years since 2014.
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PAGE 2, Tuesday, January 28, 2020
By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A PHOTO of a dead turtle hooked and tangled in fishing line in Bahamian waters has gained international attention after winning a prestigious photography award. The image, which was captured in 2017 by Canadian dive instructor Shane Gross, placed first in the conservation category of the 2019 International Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Gross’ girlfriend was leading a dive tour when they came across the turtle’s corpse. “There were tears in her eyes,” Mr Gross told the CBC. “She started telling me about this poor turtle that was entangled in the fishing line, which was also entangled in the coral, and turtles need to breathe air. “So the turtle was so entangled that it couldn’t reach the surface to breathe. And essentially the turtle drowned.” Mr Gross said he chose to take the photo to help raise awareness on the impact of marine pollution. He also decided to remove the fishing line to prevent any other marine animals from getting trapped. “This type of thing happens in the ocean every day. We just normally don’t get to see it. I mean, nobody wants to see that. But we have to because that’s the truth.” According to the CBC, this was the eighth time Mr
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Photographer hopes award-winning image of trapped sea turtle will inspire change Gross entered the photography competition, but the first time the photo contest included a conservation category. “This seemed like a very fitting image,” Mrs Gross said. “A category dedicated to images that show humans’ impact on the oceans. People who see the image have had emotional reactions. People get quite upset when they see it. Which I think is a good thing because this is our fault. “That dead stare right into the camera seems to strike people in a very emotional way. People don’t respond to statistics, they respond to individuals. I hope that this turtle
becomes kind of a representative for the oceans as a whole.” Mr Gross told the CBC that climate change, plastic pollution and overfishing have negatively impacted ocean life. He said he hopes the image he captured will inspire people to revise their “consumption habits” and alter them for the better. “(It’s) an individual turtle that is a victim and died in a horrible way because of our negligence. I hope that it can inspire a few people to be better toward the planet. “(There are) flip flops and other plastic items washing up on the beach every single day. ...you go
CANADIAN dive instructor Shane Gross who took the picture
to a beach that isn’t being cleaned every day and it’s just, you can barely see the sand because there’s so much plastic in it. I’m still hopeful because there is still a lot of beauty.” Mr Gross said while he still sees a variety of marine life on his diving excursions, he has noticed that their numbers have decreased compared to what they used to be eight years ago when he first moved to the country. He said he believed that businesses must “step up” to create change. He added that consumers must also hold them accountable. “There’s a lot of problems, but there is still hope,” he told the CBC. “I have to believe in hope.”
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, January 28, 2020, PAGE 3
Valley Boys resign in protest over loss of Boxing Day title from page one “On Friday past, the JCNP received an ultimatum from the Valley Boys Junkanoo group stating that if the IRC and its subsequent recommendations are allowed, they will no longer participate in the upcoming parades that (are) managed by the JNCP,” the JNCP announced yesterday. “Today, the Valley Boys followed up by submitting electronically a letter of resignation with immediate effect. While the JCNP is disappointed in the Valley Boys’ decision, the JNCP wishes them the best in their future endeavors.” At a press conference yesterday to announce the official results, JCNP president Dion Miller
was reluctant to comment further on the group’s resignation. He replied: “Well, the JCNP has combination of about 24 or 25 groups, the Valley Boys is one group in that pie. So we have six other category A groups. The JCNP represents a collective. So we look out for the best interest of all of our groups. Our job is to prepare for the parade and that’s with all of the groups, some the groups – whatever. We’re here for the greater good. So, we’re not going to focus on one or two particular entity.” Some observers have expressed frustration about having to wait for a month for official parade results. Mr Miller said the timeframe is nothing new, saying it was a “normal
occurrence” and that the groups are aware that the results can change. Yet, he admitted that the IRC process needs to be improved as he found it to be a bit outdated and lengthy. “I think that within 24 – 48 hours the parade (results) should be final; should be done and we can move on. So I’m in that leaning towards that where we could streamline the process to make this quicker,” Mr Miller added. Compounding the issue, the JCNP revealed in a press statement that the body took issue with several aspects of the IRC’s final report including the Fancy Dancers protest of a 10-point penalty for a vehicle blocking the parade route. “. . .The corporation’s
THE VALLEY Boys at Boxing Day’s Junkanoo parade. view is that a more in-depth investigation by IRC would have uncovered that the said infraction did not take place on the parade route as stated in the 2019/2020 JCNP Parade Rules,” JCNP noted. “The corporation is also of the view that all obstruction penalties constituted a more in-depth approach such as interviews, etc. The JCNP also takes issue with a ruling as it relates to a category A lead costume. The IRC report essentially gave two different rulings on the costume, resulting in the IRC recommending the JCNP to further investigate.” In spite of the
Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
controversy, Mr Miller defended the judging of the parades. “The JCNP takes every precaution to make sure the parade is fair,” he said. “. . .My job is to make sure that the process is fair, is transparent, and doing what we supposed to be doing and I’m quite confident and quiet comfortable with that.” The JCNP’s report, which is available online, revealed that the Valley Boys received penalties for visible cloth undergarment on some its members. The official category A results show that Genesis remained in third place but with 76.71 points after a
three point penalty. One Family was fourth place with 74.19 points after a 12 point penalty. Roots finished last with 69.31 points after a 10 point deduction. As for the New Year’s Day parade, Saxons Superstars came in first with 84.50 points, Valley Boys second with 81.44 points, One Family third with 81.10, and Roots fourth with 76.39 points. Meanwhile the Valley Boys posted on Facebook that the group will hold a general meeting this week to address the issues arising from the parades. Editorial View - Page 4
ABACO MARKETING CAMPAIGN TO GET EXTRA SUPPORT
By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net
MINISTER of Tourism and Aviation Dionsio D’Aguilar said yesterday officials will be revisiting their marketing campaign to include new updates about ongoing developments in Abaco following Dorian to help facilitate more visitors to the island. This announcement came after tourism officials received criticism from Abaco residents about an advertisement that excluded the island. Mr D’Aguilar said the new approach will also help change the narrative that the entire island is closed for business as a result of devastation left by the powerful Category Five storm. “…We are adjusting all of our information to incorporate the developments that are ongoing on Abaco, “ he told reporters yesterday. “The Ministry of Tourism will become a lot more specific in how it reports the development of Abaco.” Last week, the ministry came under fire by residents there after an image from the Bahamasair
UP and Away inflight magazine circulated on social media, showing a map of the islands of the Bahamas all highlighted in orange except Abaco, suggesting that the island is not open for business. The island was also not highlighted on the ministry’s website promoting areas of the country to visitors. Reacting to the image, many Abaconians took to social media to express their outrage and disappointment with the government’s decision to exclude Abaco from the list of possible tourist destinations. “This kind of advertisement will not help our economy,” said one angry Facebook user from Abaco. “There are many places in Abaco ready to welcome people. Why you leaving us out?” Meanwhile, another user added: “Abaco ain’t dead yet… plenty places are up open accepting tourists. They did us dirty for sure.” Responding to the public backlash, the minister said: “I want to let the residents of Abaco know, message received and message heard. “I think the Abaco residents, justifiably, got very
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annoyed that we weren’t being very aggressive enough in the beginning to get the message out that there are properties that are coming back on stream and that there are beginning to reopen and so I apologise for that. “I think we probably didn’t react quick enough and my team is being completely remobilised now to reconsider that and to update all of our information and to let the traveling public know what’s open and what’s not open.”
Giving an explanation on why officials decided to exclude Abaco as a part of the campaign, Mr D’Aguilar said: “So, what happened was after Hurricane Dorian, the Ministry of Tourism divided the countries into 16 destinations to get the message out that the country was open for business. “It identified Abaco and Grand Bahama initially after the storm that those two destinations were impacted by the storm and so, really shouldn’t be
considered as islands to visit immediately after the storm. “So, now here we are five months on and it’s time to consider that and I think the Ministry of Tourism probably didn’t react quickly enough to begin to change the narrative coming out of Abaco, so Abaco is obviously a destination back on the mend.” Noting the situation to be a balancing act, the minister added that it’s important for officials to not send the wrong impression out to visitors.
“...It’s a balancing act because some journalists who went down there the other day who’ve been there before said they wished that they hadn’t gone,” he added. “You don’t want the word to get out that they went to Abaco on holiday and they were shocked and appalled at the state of destruction. “So, you know as I say it’s a balancing act and as properties come back on stream, we will do our endeavour best to get that message out.”
PAGE 4, Tuesday, January 28, 2020
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Junkanoo upheaval FROM celebration to recrimination – that’s the path that Junkanoo has taken since the Boxing Day parade. When the Valley Boys hit Bay Street with their wildlife theme, the unofficial results put them top of the pile – but things got really wild when the official results overturned the scores and declared the Saxons Superstars winners. The Valley Boys were more than angry – they’d had enough. Yesterday, the group resigned from the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence. Valley chairman Brian Adderley had threatened that the group would not take part in any further parades organised by JCNP, and yesterday’s resignation followed through on that threat. It’s hard not to look at this from a broader perspective. Year after year there are problems with Junkanoo. There are routinely arguments over point deductions, there have been regular problems with delays on the route – and the 2018/2019 parade led to allegations of corruptions after recordings from a purported female judge emerged offering votes in return for cash. The investigation of those claims dragged on before the JCNP said there was no definitive evidence of corruption, but that took until November. So with so many problems, while the Valley Boys’ action might seem drastic, is it perhaps the shake-up Junkanoo needs to bring about the change it so badly needs? JCNP had its own disputes with government before the most recent parades – accusing the government, and Culture Minister Lanisha Rolle, of overstepping bounds. Mrs Rolle angered the JCNP by announcing a new Category B group,
but the JCNP quickly issued a statement saying the government doesn’t get to dictate membership, with the JCNP having previously said no to the group. That it took until last week for the Boxing Day result to be overturned – and until yesterday for the confirmation of the final New Year results – is another symptom of the problems facing Junkanoo. No one wants to see the parade, celebrate their group’s victory and then have it snatched away weeks later. Can you imagine the Super Bowl winners being told they had to give the trophy back three weeks after the last ball is kicked? Well, this is The Bahamas’ Super Bowl. Enough is enough – people may not agree with the Valley Boys’ resignation but there is a lot that could be done better in Junkanoo. A quicker, clearer decision process for starters – plus a fundamental rethink of what Junkanoo is and what its place in Bahamian culture should look like. When the streets are full and the music is pounding, this is a celebration of the best of The Bahamas – it lets our nation shine. When it is at its worst, mired in arguments and a lack of transparency, it is a symbol of our nation at its worst. Oddly enough, the place to start might be the same place the JCNP had problems with – government. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis had already said all parties would meet next month to discuss issues – those issues just got a little more pressing. Let’s find a solution, please, and get back to enjoying the rivalry of Junkanoo, rather than regretting its bitter aftermath.
Tackling US travel alerts WELL done to Foreign Affairs Minister Darren Henfield for taking up the matter of travel advisories when speaking to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week. Back in November, this column said that a travel alert prompted a question or two – chief of all who was talking to the US about these often out-of-date advisories that circulated? A giveaway is that one perennial warning that keeps featuring is mention of a ban on US personnel visiting the Sand Trap area – a reference that seems to date back to a shooting at a bar there in 2016. The bar is long gone, so why the continued warning? It hints at a lazy copy-and-paste being done time after time, resulting in alerts
that are at best of little use, at worst misleading. At the time, we urged action by the National Security Minister and the Tourism Minister, but it is Mr Henfield who has taken up the gauntlet. Safety is of course an important matter, a point Mr Henfield agrees with, but as he said yesterday, these alerts are counter-productive given the close links The Bahamas has with the US. Whether the concerns are taken on board or not, it is welcome news to hear that they have been raised instead of being overawed by our larger neighbour. We hope the US will listen – after all, we both share the goal of welcoming US visitors to our shores, and keeping them safe while they are here.
Winning Rasta vote EDITOR, The Tribune EXPRESSING his support for the decriminalisation of marijuana, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis may have endeared himself to the Rastafarian community, particularly Bobo Ashanti members of the late Prince Charles Emmanuel Edwards’ Ethiopian African Black International Congress (EABIC). To the Rastafari, marijuana is a sacrament. I recall an EABIC official boasting about the Rastafarian community having 10,000 adherents in The Bahamas, with the overwhelming majority presumably residing in New Providence. Constituencies such as Garden Hills, Bain and Grants Town, Carmichael, Golden Gates, Marathon, Mount Mariah and Bamboo Town will be near to impossible for the Free National Movement (FNM) to retain
in 2022, especially with a declining popularity among the grassroots. With a purported 10,000 adherents, the Rastafari community represents a potentially strong base of support for the FNM, particularly throughout the inner city constituencies. Minnis may have to emulate the late Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, who pandered to cult members in the lead up to the 1972 general election. Historians have surmised that the People’s National Party winning 37 of the 53 seats in Parliament was due to the thousands of Rastas who participated in that election. With his “Rod of Correction” cane that was given to him in 1970 by Haile Selassie I while on a trip to Ethiopia, in addition to him fraternising with Bob Marley, Manley’s bold political posturing paid off. With the destruction of
Prince Emmanuel’s BackO-Wall Rasta compound in 1966 by the Jamaica Labour Party administration of the late Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante, the arrests and imprisonment of Rasta leaders Leonard Howell, Robert Hinds, the Rev Claudius Henry of the African Reform Church and George “Bongo Watto” Watson of the Youth Black Faith, Rastas harbour grave misgivings about all governments of the West, the Minnis administration being no exception. Allowing Rasta adherents the privilege of smoking sacramental weed during their ritual may cause thousands of apolitical cultists to make an exception for Minnis in 2022. Time will tell if it will be sufficient enough to help the FNM win in 2022. KEVIN EVANS Grand Bahama January 26, 2020
We deserve better service EDITOR, The Tribune NOT long ago, we were reminded that the Bahamas is a difficult place to do business. We are stuck well over the 100th worst place to do business in the world. Successive governments have boasted that legislation planned or enacted would address this problem. So far there has been little movement. A part of that poor business environment, of course, is our generally poor customer service, which we have come to accept as a fact of life, although we would all wish it were not. Attitudes at the counter seem to get worse every year, and it is not unusual to sit in a public place and listen to complaints about bad attitudes and poor customer service. How surprising it is, then, to have the government create legislation that in fact demands bad customer service. The protocols required by legislation in connection with
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net the plastics ban violates the fundamental process of normal customer service and changes the vendor’s relationship with his customer for the worse. When planning a retail business, the vendor accepts responsibility for the packaging of the items of sale. They assume that normal customer service requires them to hand their customer their purchase in a way that is convenient for the customer. To make certain that is possible, they purchase the carrying device, add it’s price to the calculation of their overheads and include it in the price of the product. There is no reason to deviate from that simple business process. Instead, the legislation makes the customer responsible for their own convenience, while adding to the management concerns of the vendor. It
simply creates worse customer service. No one I have spoken to is opposed to the plastics ban. What they are against is being made responsible for a part of the vendor’s normal operation unnecessarily. There is no reason not to simply require vendors to use a different type of packaging as of a certain date and trust the business community to make the adjustment. If it results in increases in product cost, the politicians would just have to accept that that is the cost of operating in a more planet-conscious way, rather than pretending that they can avoid the cost of environmental vigilance by complicated and unnecessary legislation. Please return the responsibility and opportunity for good customer service to the vendor. By legislation, we have made going to the grocery store a reason to be upset. PAT RAHMING Nassau, January 27, 2020.
Abaco’s sorry trailer EDITOR, The Tribune THE most recent back and forth about the unfortunate, insensitive and cold state that the people of Abaco find themselves, are through no fault of their own. If Dr Duane Sands had the courage, he would be honest up front, instead of saying what is politically correct or what the FNM high powered spin doctors suggested. Dr Sands mysteriously deflected and confused the state of affairs and the body count that dashed the hopes and even caused some to believe their loved ROBERT Myers, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s principal, said the Bahamian economy is “running on 30 percent efficiency” because of its public education woes. That prompted these comments on tribune242. com Bahamianbychoice said: “Mr Myers’ concerns are spot on. There was a report released about five years ago that noted that
ones may still be alive. This is disheartening and downright cruel. Many said that they know that their loved ones are in the cooler and only want to bring closure. Why is that so hard? But instead of “bringing closure” the confusion and plot thickens. The people who work at the clinic have said, off camera, what the state of affairs really are. Mr Mills, showed the trailer sitting there. Why is it still there, are there any plans to bury the bodies? When is Sands going to address it himself?
of the then 5,000 plus high school students graduating there was an expectation that only 13.8% were prepared for postsecondary and of that 13.8% something like 8% came
Which mortician would now risk their lives to open a container of advanced state of decomposition? God help them if they do. All of this, in my opinion, will lie at the feet of Hubert Minnis and Duane Sands The people of Abaco are wise, they know what is going on, and nothing done can save lousy and weak Member of North Abaco, Darren Henfield. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. IVOINE W INGRAHAM Nassau January 19, 2020
from the private schools. I feel like the numbers have further declined. This means most graduates are woefully unprepared to participate in a dynamic economy. “Another part of this crisis is brain drain. The country is losing at an alarming rate educated professionals of all ages. They are being absorbed into first world economies easily.”
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, January 28, 2020, PAGE 5
CALL TO SPEED UP $450,000 HONORARIA INVESTIGATION By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net EDUCATION Minister Jeff Lloyd is anxious for police to complete their investigation into allegations that workers defrauded taxpayers of nearly $450,000 by manipulating a system of stipends and honoraria. Accountability, he said in a recent interview, must be seen to be done. Auditor General Terrance Bastian exposed the alleged scheme in a September 12, 2018 report that this newspaper revealed last January. His report
prompted the police investigation. The Ministry of Public Service eventually issued show cause letters to 10 people implicated in the scheme and required the high-level employees to defend themselves against allegations in order to avoid termination. The employment status of the employees is not clear. Public Services Minister Brensil Rolle said yesterday: “Because my permanent secretary was at the Ministry of Education at the time this matter was occurring, she set up an independent committee to
look at it so she could not be directly involved.” As for the police investigation, Mr Lloyd said: “We’ve been waiting now for the police to conclude investigations into that. The last report I received was that the police (were) still interviewing individuals and once that is concluded–– and we didn’t receive a timeline as to when that will be concluded––they will, of course, be sending their recommendations to us. The inspector that was in charge of that I spoke to him about a month and a half ago and he said they are proceeding with the investigation and he estimates there will
be another few persons he has to talk to to determine exactly if there will be a need for any other persons to interview.” The scheme resulted in taxpayers being defrauded of $448,230. There was no accompanying formal approval from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Public Service for the alleged payments. In one instance, an assistant accountant received 43 honoraria payments of $15,505 in 44 months while another accountant received $61,113 in 32 instalments in 20 months. The Office of the Attorney
General recommended ten people face disciplinary action for fraud. “What we are faced with in the ministry itself is there are individuals who feel whatever they feel about this and they are concerned there has not been a conclusion. It’s the little things that affect morale and this is not a little thing, it’s a big thing so you can imagine what the morale is within that particular department,” Mr Lloyd said. “We are more than delighted to bring this to a conclusion that let the chips fall where they may and whoever needs to be accountable be held
accountable and it may also reflect that there needs to be certain adjustments, changes within our system to ensure greater transparency and accountability and, of course, that’s what we in the FNM are all about,” he added. “Let’s make people more accountable, let’s make people transparent because you are dealing with the people’s resources. We said it’s the people’s time and we mean that. It’s your time to know how your money is being spent and your time to be given an account to know how that money is being spent.”
Students are staying in China - for now from page one
“One thing we know is that we don’t have any direct flights to The Bahamas from China and so the United States, Canada and elsewhere in the region which enjoy the capacity to have a direct flight (from there) would probably be the first place to look at, which should happen. “But, at the moment, we see no real reason to remove Bahamians from China. The World Health Organisation, PAHO have all indicated that it wasn’t necessary to issue any kind of advisory at the moment.” According to Health Minister Dr Duane Sands, there are also no plans by the government to increase entry screenings in the country as international bodies say this preventative method is not terribly effective. Since its outbreak in Wuhan, China, the virus has killed more than 80 people and sickened thousands worldwide, with cases already found in the United States, Canada, Thailand, France, Japan, South Korea and Australia, according to international reports. To date, there have been no reported incidences of the virus found in The Bahamas or among Bahamians living in Wuhan. Still, officials have said they will be watching the matter very closely. “We have our embassy in Beijing monitoring very carefully
CHINESE Premier Li Keqiang, left, speaking to people at a supermarket in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province yesterday what is going on in Wuhan,” Mr Henfield said yesterday. “We know that we had nine students. I think four were away, five remained and they are being monitored on a daily basis and quite frankly, even on an hourly basis to ensure that they’re okay,” the foreign affairs minister added. “Up until this time, all is well with them and they’re doing okay, and we will continue to monitor what’s going on with this virus.” Asked if there were any concerns of Chinese visitors possibly bringing the virus to The Bahamas,
the minister replied: “No, we don’t have any direct flights from China. We will continue to monitor our borders as people arrive (from) China and anywhere else.” His comments came after a Bahamian student in Wuhan posted in a group on Facebook, expressing fears over the virus. “…We came to China to better ourselves to come home to serve our country,” the student wrote. “An opportunity years ago that no one ever foresaw this would happen now in 2020. It is not airborne. It
is a transferable virus as in a person needs to come into contact with someone or something that has it. “We all are taking measures to protect ourselves and miss home very much. So please, understand that it is not a personal choice to be on lock-down and it is frightening. “... People are generally scared and worried that reside here. Rumours are spreading fast and it’s difficult to determine what is true and what is not.’ Meanwhile, another Bahamian living in Hong Kong added: “On top
of hand washing, I have stopped buying fresh fruits and vegetables or anything prepared that could have been exposed. Canned, frozen and jarred will have to do.” She added that she was even stripping labels off cans and jars and placing them in hot water and dishwashing liquid before opening to prevent catching the illness. “I am even quarantining my groceries,” she wrote. “I purchase and let sit for a few days and follow the official government website that lists places and
persons infected (where they) have lived, worked, visited. If after a few days no case is close to my area or connected to the supermarket then I start using my supplies.” Speaking to The Tribune on Sunday, Dr Sands said that while the concerns over the virus are understandable, there remain far greater threats in measles and influenza that many Bahamians have chosen to ignore. “So, in the time that we have been worried about coronavirus and some 56 people died at the same time we’ve had some 10,000 people die from measles. While we are worrying about corona, 4,0000 have died worldwide from influenza. The issue is people are far more likely to die from the flu or measles than you are from corona,” he said. Symptoms of the coronavirus can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and respiratory problems. It is spread from human to human, and is likely transmitted by coughing or sneezing. To help prevent the spread of infection, people are advised to wash their hands frequently, cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness. • Experts trace cause of outbreak - Page 11
PAGE 6, Tuesday, January 28, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
CAMPBELL CUTTING RED TAPE ON DORIAN RELIEF By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
IN response to frustrations, Social Services and Urban Development Minister Frankie Campbell said his ministry has removed red tape over requests for hurricane relief assistance to help residents on Grand Bahama. “Having heard the frustrations, the team and I got together to see how best we can reduce frustration and facilitate our clients,” he said in Freeport yesterday. “We removed some of the bureaucracy that was involved. Prior to this, we would be concerned that landlords have vendor IDs and tax compliance certificates, and business licences.
We have removed those effective Friday so that persons operating for less than $100,000 will not have to go through the bureaucracy, and that would facilitate our being able to give requested rental assistance in a more speedy fashion,” the minister explained. Additionally, in order to facilitate clients, he has asked the team to secure quotes as one less step that clients would have to go through. “We hope that those measures and those to come will reduce frustration for our staff and clients,” he said. According to Mr Campbell, it was also decided to separate persons who are seeking assistance relative to hurricane relief to one
section, from those seeking regular assistance to another section. A decision was also made, he said, to have two separate site locations to accommodate residents to reduce the number of persons coming to the ministry’s office in Freeport. The minister also indicated that the staff will return to normal hours of 9am to 5pm to serve the public. Due to limited office space at the NIB, hours to the public was reduced to 2pm. Mr Campbell said: “The one main thing that is going to be different, we heard about persons having to queue up from early in the morning only to be told the first 20 will be served. That we will change and persons will be served from 9am to
5pm on a first come first served basis,” he said. Mr Campbell said the Department of Social Services and its staff were also affected by the hurricane and can also relate to the frustrations being experienced by those affected. “We could not have been prepared for Dorian,” he said. “There was no handbook for us to follow. This is a fluid situation even at this point, so we continue to entertain suggestions and recommendations as to how best we can improve on what we are doing.” The ministry’s office in the Sun Plaza was severely affected by storm flooding and had to be temporarily relocated to the National Insurance Building, until repairs
MINISTER Frankie Campbell were completed. Last Monday, staff returned to the office. However, there is no office furniture to accommodate them and the many clients seeking assistance. People have to stand while waiting to be served because there are no chairs. During his visit yesterday,
Mr Campbell indicated they will acquire temporary furniture, and a tent to put outside as early as today to accommodate people coming to the department. “This is our pain as much as it is the pain of those seeking assistance,” he said. “The team here in Grand Bahama are also victims of the hurricane, and so they know of the frustration as they too are suffering the same frustrations. The minister said officials plan to meet with the IT department so that application forms can be made available online. Once an application is made online, he said the applicants will be called and told when they must come in to be processed.
Fernander takes on new job - by remote HOW The Tribune reported the story last week from page one assignment” to the Ministry of Health which officially began yesterday. However, in accordance with his position, Mr Munroe said that ACP Fernander compiled all the security matters of the Ministry of Health that need attention and will give instructions to be carried out. “His assessment is the issues he was briefed on relate to matters where you make complaints to different police agencies and they will investigate the matter. But insofar as crimes, he is the correct person to address those. And anything the minister told him, he said of course he will address them and insofar as security assessments, that is something he (ACP Fernander) can direct someone to do,” said Mr Munroe. He added, “Without going into detail, he told me that there are matters that they haven’t reported that if they want to report, he as ACP of crime (investigations) can direct the relevant agencies to them and if they want general assessment of their security,
WAYNE MUNROE, QC of course he can direct someone from the internal security division to go and vet their security to see if it is satisfactory. What they are talking about does not require his presence. There is no real need for his presence at the ministry,” said Mr Munroe. ACP Fernander was among eight senior officers forced on vacation leave early last year as part of the Minnis administration’s changes at the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Last month, upon his return from forced vacation leave, ACP Kendal Strachan was assigned to the Ministry of Social Services, with responsibility for
juvenile detention facilities. ACP Strachan has fought the transfer and filed a lawsuit against the government. Mr Munroe is expected to issue a letter to Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson responding to the security concerns at the Ministry of Health. “We will write to the commissioner of police and aspects of letters require clarification as in the previous case. Because his letter refers to the minister of health and because ACP Fernander went to meet with him unlike ACP Kenneth Strachan, who wasn’t asked to meet with the minister to talk about the problem — it was just transfer to a static post. I anticipate copying my response to the Ministry of Health as well,” said Mr Munroe. He continued, “I’ve received instructions and I will be responding to the commissioner of police with a revision letter and no doubt because ACP Fernander, so he has gotten information as a police he knows how to address. He will do his job and giving his position to the commissioner on these issues. That’s what senior commanders do.” ACP Clayton Fernander.
Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
MRS MINNIS IN BELIZE FOR CARICOM MEETING PATRICIA Minnis, wife of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, travelled on Sunday to attend an executive meeting and adolescent Forum hosted by the Spouses of CARICOM Leaders Action Network (SCLAN) in Belize City, Belize. The event began yesterday and ends today. Mrs Minnis, of the Office of the Spouse of the Prime Minister, has also been invited to serve as a panelist for the adolescent forum. The Office of the Spouse of the Prime Minister (OSPM) was officially launched on March 21, 2018, as a non-partisan office, which was established based upon a
CARICOM decision to fulfil the mandate for support of women and advancement of specific initiatives (including the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals) of various regional and international organisations, according to a government press release. “To date, OSPM has partnered with several organisations in advancing this mandate and launched several of its own initiatives to address national issues of importance, including issues relative to health, wellness, education and the empowerment of women and adolescent girls,” the press release noted.
“Further, OSPM is an advocate for promoting education and awareness as it relates to these initiatives thereby fulfilling the objectives of the SCLAN and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Mrs Minnis is an executive member of SCLAN, which committed to working with the first ladies and spouses of heads of government and of the Caribbean Community to champion the CariWac Initiative. CariWac is the Caribbean’s response to the UN Every Women Every Child global initiative (2010).” Mrs Minnis is expected back in the country on Wednesday.
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THE TRIBUNE from page one State Mike Pompeo during his two-day working visit in Jamaica with CARICOM leaders last week. US warnings issued in the past have cautioned American tourists or citizens against visiting certain areas in Nassau due to high levels of crime, with the most recent alerts prohibiting US government personnel from visiting the area of the former Sand Trap in New Providence. The alert also criticised activities involving commercial recreational watercraft, including water tours, stating that those activities were not being consistently regulated. Mr Henfield said while the government understands US officials have a duty to protect their citizens from potential harm, it still feels the advisories should be revisited going forward. “We try to reiterate to Americans at all times that travel advisories, we think are, although electronically generated, are counterproductive to our tourism industry and are counterproductive to the amount of businesses that are American-owned businesses that
Tuesday, January 28, 2020, PAGE 7
US urged to amend its travel warnings operate in a touristic environment,” Mr Henfield told reporters yesterday. “And, we also remind that we spend quite a lot of money in South Florida and so these advisories, we think, should be revisited. Prime Minister Minnis mentioned it when he was in Mar-a-Lago with President Trump last year. “And we continue to agitate that these advisories should be revisited.” The high-level meeting with Mr Pompeo, which had representatives from Jamaica, Belize, St Kitts, Haiti and many others, included discussions on shared democratic values and critical hemispheric matters. Noting the meeting to be a productive one, Mr Henfield said officials spoke on various topics of concern.
“I thought it was a productive meeting and it demonstrates the commitment of the United States of America to the Caribbean and The Bahamas in particular,” he said. “...I was able to share and thank (Mr Pompeo) on behalf of the Bahamian people for what they have been doing for us and for our recovery efforts. “…We discussed security issues (and) traditional issues that we discuss as strategic partners and security, education and the issue of travel advisories and other things germane to CARICOM/US relations.” Asked about the US secretary’s response to the travel advisory concerns, Mr Henfield replied: “He was conciliatory in his response. He understands that tourism is our main
MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.
bread and butter in The Bahamas and anything that goes against bringing up the number we get in tourism does not jive well with us.” Mr Henfield is not the only Cabinet minister to have raised concerns over US travel advisories for The Bahamas. Last February, Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar expressed dismay over the timing of a particular US alert, given that it coincided with the peak winter tourism season. Mr D’Aguilar had previously said it was important for The Bahamas to periodically update entities like the US Embassy on the work being done to address the crime issue in the country. Editorial View - Page 4
LAUNCH OF ACADEMY OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AIMED AT OFFERING WORLDWIDE SUPPORT
US ASSISTANT Secretary in the Bureau of Economic Affairs Manisha Singh and US Chargé d’Affaires Stephanie Bowers officially launched the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) inaugural pilot programme last night. Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest also attended the event. The academy is a new initiative supporting women entrepreneurs around the world. The programme is built around three main goals: to provide online education resources, foster networks that support access to mentorship and connect women through existing exchange programmes. The inaugural cohort will include 70 women from New Providence and 40 from Grand Bahama.
WOMAN STABLE AFTER DRIVE-BY SHOOTING A WOMAN is in hospital in stable condition after she was injured during a driveby shooting, police said. According to a police report, shortly after 1am yesterday, a man and a woman were driving on Mackey Street, near Chesapeake Road, when occupants of a black Honda vehicle fired shots in their direction,
injuring the female before speeding away. Paramedics transported the woman to hospital. Anyone with information that can assist with this investigation is asked to contact the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991/2, Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.
POLICE FIND ILLEGAL FIREARM, MARIJUANA POLICE recovered an illegal firearm and a quantity of dangerous drugs from the streets of New Providence on Sunday. In the first incident, according to reports, shortly before 1pm, operations officers acting on intelligence conducted a search of a bushy area on Tonique Williams-Darling Highway and recovered two
pounds of suspected marijuana. In the second incident, shortly after 2pm, operations officers acting on intelligence and with the assistance of K-9 officer Rexo conducted a search of an abandoned building on Quarry Mission Road and recovered six pounds of suspected marijuana and a 9mm pistol. No arrests were made.
US Embassy Academy of Women Entrepreneurs Launch at Hillside House yesterday evening. Pictured from (L-R) are: Davinia Blair, Small Business Development Center Executive Director; Manisha Singh, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs; Peter Turnquest, Deputy Prime Minister and Charge d’Affaires Stephanie Bowers. Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
PAGE 8, Tuesday, January 28, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
Tony keeps on running - and giving back for the success he’s achieved
ANTHONY LONGLEY, the first Bahamian International Director of Toastmasters International, is a successful international marathon runner
I
MAGINE running for 26 miles – 42 kilometers. There’s a special place on the endurance list for the people who run this distance in marathons around the world. As I interviewed Anthony Longley for this week’s Face to Face, I was impressed by all of his achievements. He is the first Bahamian to ever serve as International Director in Toastmasters International and he is the first Bahamian to speak at the Million Dollar Round Table. He is a veteran in the insurance industry and a professional photographer. He achieved it all on a high school education. He started from humble beginnings on West Street in Grant’s Town but has since travelled the globe motivating thousands of people along the way. It was when he told me he is a marathon runner who has competed in major races like the New York City and Toronto Marathons that I understood where his tenacity comes from. The thrill of the marathon taught him a lot about his personal life as well. There was a time when Anthony was at a low point in his career. It was 1985. He was still a newlywed and was working at an insurance company, but he was simply not succeeding. “There is a phase in running, where you get beyond the 15th mile and you hit a wall; sometimes even runners in their best condition hit the wall – well, I had hit the wall in insurance,” he explained. “I just couldn’t get another sale… I lost it emotionally and psychologically and I quit.” It was at that point that a relative of his in the insurance industry, Larry Mcphee, stuck by him and encouraged him for months. When Anthony
wanted to give up on his dream, Larry held it for him and eventually convinced him to get back in the race. By 1986 he was back in stride and working with Larry as a sales representative at what was British American Insurance (now BAF Financial). Today, he is a 36-year veteran in the insurance industry and an Executive Financial Services Representative at Colina Insurance. Not only that… he is 58-years-old and still running, still chasing new hopes and dreams, proving he can do anything he sets his mind to. Of his time at British American he said: “I will never forget what the manager there , Mr Keith Major said to me. He said, ‘All I want you to do is submit to my training, and I will deprogramme you from everything you have learned and reprogramme you for success’. The very next year, I qualified as a member of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) and attended my first annual meeting.” MDRT is an international organisation based in Park Ridge, Illinois and is one in which membership cannot be bought. It is the Premier Association of Financial Professionals. Anthony is also the first person from the Caribbean to serve on the management council which afforded him the opportunity to travel all over the world. “I remember on one occasion we were travelling to Tokyo and I was able to view the invoice from that trip,” he said. “It shocked me. It cost
them thousands to fly me there by Business Class. I was hoping it wasn’t a mistake and they end up sending me to a seat near the lavatory at the back! I was like… ‘look at me, a little black boy from The Bahamas’. It’s not of my own doing, but by the Grace of God.” Anthony, better known as “Tony”, also made history in Toastmasters International, a 350,000-member global organisation. He is the International Director for Region 8, which covers all of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Caribbean and Brazil. He is a “working ambassador” who meets with the Board to develop and implement policies and protocol. Toastmasters International is a worldwide non-profit educational organisation that empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. But even being a communicator did not come easily for Anthony. He had a speech impediment that would have made it nearly impossible for him to one day, deliver motivational speeches at such a high level. Through discipline and determination - and putting aside his pride - he went from a shy presenter at home Club 1600 in Nassau to achieving the organisation’s highest educational and leadership designation, Distinguished Toastmaster. Anthony also has great shoulders to stand on. He comes from a family of entrepreneurs and took great examples from men on his mother’s and father’s
ANTHONY is honoured by the recently-held Hubert Edward’s Success Summit. He is presented with his award by Hubert Ewards (left) and Rodney Bain side. His father, retired policeman and building inspector Eustace Longley hailed from Lisbon Creek, Andros. Eustace’s father Jack was the most respected sloop builder of his era. Anthony’s mother, Joyce Lockhart owned a corner store at their homestead on West Street. Her father, Sheffield built that home that the young Tony grew up in with his siblings. It is 100-years-old and still standing, still being occupied by Lockhart family members today. Sheffield was a boat captain who was navigating the mail boat when, on a voyage to Turks Island, he met his bride Louise Frith and built the West Street abode. Anthony wore the brown and tan uniform of his neighbourhood school William Sayle Primary. He spent most of his childhood years as a member of the Boy’s Brigade Band. As he grew, he went on to attend St Anne’s and then Jordan Prince William High Schools. Three weeks out of high school, he got a job at Island Merchants where, with some basic training in photography, he developed a passion. He went
on to work at John Bull while also working nights at Paradise Photography on Paradise Island. He and his coworkers Patrick Hanna and David Knowles would take pictures at the world famous Le Cabaret Theatre. They would head upstairs to the darkroom, develop those photos during the show and then head back down to the audience to pitch their sale, table by table. The trio are lifelong friends. He is still passionate about photography and running, both availing lifelong friends and lessons to him. He met Bernard “BH” Hanna in 1987 when he joined Toastmasters. BH was a veteran long distance runner who was spearheading the formation of the Roadmaster’s Running Club. He was also inspired by Alpheus “Hawk” Finlayson and became one of the founding members of the club. He is still a financial member to this day, and looks forward to the challenge of completing marathons. He remembers one of the most difficult being running in Canada for the Niagara Falls Marathon in 15-degree weather – but he completed it.
FAR left: Anthony with his wife, Jackie and daughters Antonia and Alissa; above: Anthony with his siblings Gloria, Basil and Helen at church. He serves at St Matthews in public relations; Left: Anthony received the Presidential Citation from Toastmasters International in 2016 from then President Jim Kokochi.
“I consider myself blessed with fitness at my age… I only laugh when I see the youngsters trying to beat me,” he said with a chuckle. “I can beat any youngster on the road and when they try to catch me, I smoke ‘em out!” The art of endurance to win a race was also an important lesson Anthony learned from his mother. He watched her perseverance in action as she built her house in South Beach over a 15-year period right out of her pocket without a mortgage. She would tend to the shop with her father in the day and at night, she would babysit at a hotel while studiously saving and joining Asue groups in order to build her own house. “We had good examples and then we had it instilled in us at an early age to strive for excellence,” Anthony says of himself and his siblings. None of them went to university out of high school, yet they all did well in their professional lives. Two of them went on to receive tertiary education as adults after they already had their own families. Anthony says their petite mother had a stern, strict hand and it helped to shape their character. He cherishes the support of his family; especially the support of his wife of 36 years, Jackie and their daughters Antonia and Alissa. “People use it as an excuse that they did not go to college,” he said. “You can educate yourself even outside of formal education. You have to learn from your experiences. Read a lot. Associate yourself with positive people and organisations. And, like in running, never give up.” Anthony is now at the stage where giving back means much to him: “Don’t be selfish when you are successful. Nobody gets there on their own. Someone had to help you.” “As one author said… we sit in the shade of a tree we did not plant, we are called to plant trees under whose shade we will not sit.”
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, January 28, 2020, PAGE 9
LLOYD LAUNCHES NEW CURRICULUM GUIDES By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
EDUCATION Minister Jeffrey Lloyd yesterday announced his ministry has revised curriculum guides for primary and high schools to ensure students are equipped with the practical skills they need to be successful in the 21st century. Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture, Mr Lloyd revealed the ministry is “launching curricula” for physical education at primary school level and mathematics, economics and commerce at junior and senior high school levels. He also said the ministry expects the curriculum revisions for language arts and social studies at the primary school level to be completed
“within the second quarter of this year”. “The 21st century education is far different than at any time in human history,” Mr Lloyd said. “Today we realise that there is a profound need for curricula to rethink the significance and applicability of what is taught simultaneously to strike a better balance between the conceptual and the practical. “Skills, we know now, are critical and vital as an outcome because…more and more employers (and) indeed the world itself, is demanding the immediate and effective application of useful skills. “In order for us in the Ministry of Education to ensure continual improvements in our instructional output, we are consistently assessing educational outcomes with a view to
adjusting our curriculum to enhance the overall academic success at our 172 public institutions.” Mr Lloyd also said the ministry has added nine new curriculum officers along with four subject secretaries to the team at the ministry. “These curriculum officers will be to oversee the instructional content in our classrooms while our subject secretaries will be responsible for managing the assessment process which includes testing and evaluation,” he explained. “In both the modern languages department and the visual arts department, (the) curriculum officer post has been vacant now for two years. In our career and technical education department, we have been without a curriculum officer for four years. So, we are pleased that we are now able to fill
EDUCATION Minister Jeffrey Lloyd these posts and provide the additional support for our teachers particularly our (vocational-technical) education and training educators, because this area is pivotal to us closing the skills gap in our workforce.” Mr Lloyd said the ministry wanted to ensure that
students in the country are equipped with the ‘Four Cs’: creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. He insisted the work of curriculum revision is “consistently ongoing”. “All of our curriculum documents will undergo a
continual three-year revision cycle,” he said. Yesterday, education director Marcellus Taylor acknowledged the importance of preparing students to function in a global world. “We have a goal in the Ministry of Education and it is reflected in a statement that talks about graduation rates,” he said. “It talks about us graduating 85 percent of our students by the year 2030, but the real intent of that goal is to produce students who are fit for 21st century living.” Mr Taylor said the revised curriculum will be introduced to schools in September. He also said the public can expect a revision every five years that can accommodate the needs of students in an ever-evolving world.
Double rapist loses bid to overturn 14-year sentence By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A DOUBLE rapist has lost in his bid to have the country’s highest court overturn a lower court’s decision to dismiss his appeal of one of his sentences without hearing the matter first. The Privy Council, in a written ruling, set aside Melvin Saunders’ petition to have the London-based tribunal prove the appellate court’s error in dismissing his appeal without holding an “oral hearing”. In doing so, the London court affirmed Saunders’ 14-year sentence for the crime. That sentence succeeds a 25-year sentence for raping another woman that was imposed in 1995. The Privy Council noted the “desirability and importance” of the provision of public funding to “impecunious defendants” who face “grave criminal charges in circumstances where complex issues of scientific expert evidence arise”. On October 15, 1996, Saunders was convicted by a vote of 8-4 of raping a woman three years prior on June 22, 1993. He was acquitted of an armed robbery that was alleged to have been committed during the rape. He was consequently sentenced to 14 years and 12 lashes for the crime. The sentence was ordered to run consecutively to a 25-year sentence he was already serving for raping another woman. During trial, the woman testified that on June 22, 1993, she was grabbed in the street by Saunders who threatened her with a knife and dragged her into woods where he raped her. She said she did not look at him because he said he would kill her if she did. During the rape, some of Saunders’ sperm got onto her leg; the rapist consequently used a piece of tissue to wipe the bodily fluids away. She was then bound and blindfolded,
put in a car, and taken to a beach where he raped her again. She was then driven back to a location close to where she had first been abducted and released. At no point did she see her attacker’s face. The woman, after being dropped off, then ran to the lobby of the resort where she was staying. The police were called and she and her husband went to the hospital. The following morning, the woman accompanied police to the location of the first rape, where an officer found a piece tissue that he preserved as an exhibit. On August 23, 1993, samples were taken from Saunders with his consent. During the trial, Keith Howland, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent, was called as an expert witness in the field of DNA analysis. His evidence was that he was able to identify two different DNA profiles from the piece of tissue; one relating to the woman and one relating to Saunders. While being crossexamined, Mr Howland explained that there was a possibility of the stain not coming from Saunders. In answer to questions by Saunders’ attorney at the time, Bradley Cooper, on whether he might find another person with the same DNA profile from the black race, Mr Howland said he would have to sample more than 100 million individuals before he might find a match. In response to questions from the jury, the special agent further explained that only identical twins would have the same DNA, and that even if brothers shared the same DNA, after testing four locations he could test further locations and there would be a difference. Saunders was ultimately convicted of rape and sentenced. He subsequently petitioned the Court of Appeal with regards to his 14-year sentence on two occasions, once on October 16, 1996 and the other
TWO MEN REMANDED ON UNLAWFUL SEX CHARGES By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
TWO men were remanded to prison yesterday over allegations they each had sex with a teenaged girl. Police claim 26-yearold Tavarous Munroe and 31-year-old Robert Johnson both engaged in unlawful sexual intercourse with 15-year-old girls. Concerning Munroe, of Old Cedar Street, it is alleged he had unlawful sex with a 15-year-old girl sometime in September of last year. Concerning Johnson, police claim he had
indecently assaulted a 15-year-old in September of 2018; had sex with his alleged victim sometime between October and December of 2018; and allegedly did so again on March 2019. The two men were not required to enter a plea to their respective charges when arraigned before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt yesterday. Bail was consequently denied and they were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS). They both have a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.
roughly two decades later. On October 7, 1997, the Court of Appeal dismissed Saunders’ appeal and consequently affirmed both his conviction and sentence without giving any reasons for having done so, according to the Privy Council’s ruling. Almost two decades later, in 2014, Saunders appeared before then-Senior Justice Jon Isaacs, who now serves as a judge in the Court of Appeal, on a constitutional motion founded on claims that he was being held in prison for longer that he lawfully should. At the time, Saunders argued that the second sentence was improper based on the Court of Appeal’s decision in the Andrew Bridgewater case regarding punishment for first time and second and/or subsequent rape offences. In that case, seven years was ruled for the first offence and 14 years for the second and/or subsequent rape.
His attorney at that time, Ramona Farquharson-Seymour, argued that based on the law at the time and the ruling of the Court of Appeal, her client should have only been given 14 years imprisonment and that he ought to receive damages for the number of years that he was held unconstitutionally. The lawyer did admit, when asked, that the flogging aspect of his punishment had not been carried out. Nonetheless, Mrs Farquharson-Seymour concluded that her client had been agitating for his release for some time and was asking for the court to hear his motion “because a day in Fox Hill is quite hard.” In February 2016, Saunders applied to the Court of Appeal for it to vary the 14-year sentence imposed in 1996 on the ground that his time spent on remand— 22 months—had not been taken into account when
he was sentenced nor when he appealed to the appellate court in 1997. However, the appellate judges unanimously dismissed his appeal, asserting they were not satisfied he had “made out a case for us to interfere with the sentence imposed some 20 years ago”. Saunders then petitioned the Privy Council, asserting that his recent appeal was dismissed “without an oral hearing”. In its written ruling, the Privy Council noted that Saunders’ appeal came before it in “very unsatisfactory circumstances”. The Board noted that the history of the matter was “incomplete”, and at such a “late date”, it was “not surprising that it is often undocumented”. The Privy Council further noted that in “many respects”, it is “not possible to confirm from contemporary records the accuracy” of the account that Saunders provided. However,
the Privy Council said it was “greatly assisted” at the hearing of the matter by Saunders’ counsel, James Wood, QC, who acted pro bono. Nonetheless, in addressing Saunders’ concerns about the DNA evidence, the Privy Council noted that in all the circumstances, the present case was not one in which Saunders was denied the opportunity to obtain expert evidence; conversely, the court said it came to the “clear conclusion” that any application for samples for the purposes of obtaining expert DNA evidence “was not pursued”. The London court found that the trial judge gave an “entirely appropriate direction” to the jury that the matters of fact were for their decision and that they “need not accept any opinion expressed by the judge”. In those circumstances, the London tribunal said they had no reason “to doubt the safety of the conviction”.
PAGE 10, Tuesday, January 28, 2020
H
AVING written two weeks ago about the watershed moment of the UK Parliament passing the Withdrawal Bill for Britain’s departure from the European Union, I hesitate to claim there has been yet another significant milestone in the Brexit saga. But this time, finally, it is for real and the goal has been achieved. Since the US mainstream media is obsessed with the Trump impeachment trial – almost, it seems, to the exclusion of foreign news – many people may not be aware that on Thursday last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement officially became UK law. This was after it cleared all stages in Parliament including the upper chamber House of Lords and received the Royal Assent from The Queen. The 600page document has also been signed by the Presidents of the EU Commission and Council of Ministers followed by the formality of ratification by the European Parliament. All this means that in three days’ time Friday, January 31 - Britain’s exit from the bloc will take place; at which point there will surely be collective cries of ‘Eureka’ and huge sighs of relief, even among some Remainers since people have become tired of the whole Brexit process.
THE TRIBUNE
It’s all done and dusted, time for Boris to deliver The
Peter Young column As I have reported earlier, a transition period will follow and is due to last until the end of December this year. During that time the UK will continue to adhere to EU rules and will negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU Commission (on behalf of the remaining 27 EU member states) while simultaneously seeking similar deals with a range of other countries including, most significantly, the US. Three and a half years after Britain’s EU referendum the unseemly wrangling among the political class as well as the general public has come to an end - and this week’s formal exit is without a doubt a solemn and
momentous event that could mark the opening of an inspiring new chapter in Britain’s long and rich history. Nonetheless, many Remainers are, of course, still opposed to all this. So it is unsurprising the naysayers who have been predicting economic collapse in Britain – the infamous Project Fear that did not materialise – continue their gloomy rhetoric and now warn it will take much longer than an 11-month transition period to achieve a free trade agreement with the EU. However, it is clear such a deal will be in the interests of both sides and, even though there will surely be hurdles on the way, many
believe Mr Johnson’s infectious optimism together with his tough approach in talking to Brussels will make a deal by the end of December achievable. So far, so good, say many commentators. But I fear he may have his work cut out to heal the deep-seated divisions in the UK over Brexit which persist despite the overwhelming endorsement of his EU policy at last month’s general election. Remainers will not be easily convinced that quitting the bloc is in Britain’s best interests, since they still maintain it could plunge the nation into isolation and economic decline. But their attitude may depend on what happens during the transition period, together with the performance of the nation’s economy, and whether Britain continues to cooperate fully with Europe in other areas despite taking back control of its laws, money, borders and trade policy. In view of the continuing divisions at this early stage, I believe it might be wiser to scale back the ostentatious Brexit
BRITISH PM Boris Johnson celebrations being launched by the government to mark Britain’s departure, including lighting-up government buildings, wide display of the Union flag, a large ‘countdown clock’ and much official partying. That said, a new commemorative 50 pence coin to mark the occasion - and bearing the words peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations - seems to strike the right note. With the nation freed from what many regard as the shackles and bureaucracy of a protectionist EU and its federalist ideology,
the key question now is whether this will be a moment of national renewal in a revitalised Britain as the nation’s potential is unleashed. Mr Johnson is said to want to move the whole country forward with Britain now free to govern itself and negotiate bilateral trade deals. He is quoted as saying most recently that ‘it is time to look ahead with confidence to the global, trail-blazing country we will become over the next decade and heal past divisions’. That is fighting and optimistic talk, indeed. But, having delivered Brexit as promised, he will now be judged inevitably on whether he can also fulfil the other commitments in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto – including, among many challenges, issues like crime, the National Health Service, social welfare, education and economic reform. A tough task for sure. But, with his dynamism and reputation as a liberal, modernising and ‘One Nation’ Tory, who is to say he cannot pull it off?
WHY BEING AT SCHOOL WILL BE THE TRUE HIGHLIGHT OF MY WEEK
HOLOCAUST survivor Marian Turski, centre with cane, attends commemorations at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland yesterday
An anniversary we must all remember ANOTHER example of the US media’s lack of coverage of foreign affairs was last week’s ceremony in Israel to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in Poland in which more than one million people were murdered during the Second World War. The memory of Auschwitz and the other concentration camps where six million Jews were killed is kept alive by the World Holocaust Forum which also leads the fight against anti-Semitism that is defined as prejudice against or hatred of Jews. This meeting bristled with world leaders including the Russian and French presidents, Britain’s Prince Charles representing The Queen and US Vice President Mike Pence. It was followed by a gathering at Auschwitz yesterday, the actual anniversary of the liberation, which was attended by some of the same dignitaries as well as some 200 Holocaust survivors. Mr Pence’s powerful speech was registered by the US media together with a report
of a supposed failure by Prince Charles to acknowledge and shake hands with him in a line-up when it turned out later the two men had been talking one-to-one shortly before the alleged snub. This seemed to sum up the extent of the media’s interest which was all the more surprising given local officials claimed it was the biggest political gathering since Israel’s foundation in 1948. Other speakers also talked of the unimaginable horrors and cruelty of the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany. With its belief in the superiority of the Aryan race and resentment and prejudice against Jews, anti-Semitism became official government policy and this led to their systematic extermination of Jews between 1939 and 1945. According to Winston Churchill in the abridged version of his famous work on the Second World War, when Hitler mingled in Vienna in the years following the First World War with extreme German nationalists he heard stories of ‘sinister, undermining activities of another race,
foes and exploiters of the Nordic world – the Jews’, and this seems to have been the genesis of his hatred of Jewish people. Historians say hostility towards Jews goes back to ancient times. They were seen as a race apart not belonging to any particular country and as people who wanted to destroy societies and control the world by dominating finance, banking and business. For too long, they have suffered violent oppression, not least the pogroms in Russia in the 19th century, as well as the unspeakable atrocities during a time of darkness and despair in Germany during the last war. Even though anti-Semitism has been less prevalent since the end of the war, except among extremists, reports suggest Jewish communities are now feeling threatened again across Europe and are being targeted – and this includes Britain where the opposition Labour Party has been accused of tolerating anti-Semitism within its ranks. So it is interesting to read
of the emphasis Europe is now placing on fighting such extremism. In a recent statement, the EU spoke of not being able to change history but that history could change future attitudes. It has reemphasised it places humanity at the centre of its values, protected by the rule of law, democracy and respect for what it calls fundamental rights. It was, therefore, no surprise that while the speakers last week condemned the terrors of the past and anti-Semitism in all its forms, they also stressed cruelty was still being perpetrated around the world for reasons of people’s religion, race and beliefs so the need to fight against this was as urgent as ever - with Prince Charles saying ‘hatred and intolerance still lurk in the human heart’. Overall, I think this meeting in Israel was a significant event which deserved much fuller media attention than it received. But it is good to note the wide coverage by the BBC and UK press of yesterday’s ceremonies at Auschwitz itself.
At 9.30 on Thursday morning this week, I am looking forward to being at Anatol Rodgers High School on Faith Avenue South. Why, you may ask? The answer is to watch some 90 students sitting at desks in the school’s large gymnasium ready to participate in the fourth annual national essay competition organised by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Nassau Institute. Proposed originally by the Institute more than four years ago, this contest is sponsored by the Templeton Religion Trust and is open to senior high school students enrolled in business studies programmes in both public and private schools in New Providence. At the Nassau Institute as a think tank, our mission as an independent, apolitical, non-profit organisation is to promote economic growth in a free market economy with limited government, in a society that embraces the rule of law and the right to private property. Working with the Ministry of Education, we wanted to help open up young minds to the basics of economics – and there is no better way of doing that than to get students to read a wonderful little book entitled ‘Economics in One Lesson’ by Henry Hazlitt, an American who has been called the great economic journalist of the 20th century. His book is claimed to be ‘The classic explanation of how the world works’, and in the words of Nobel laureate, Friedrich Hayek, there is ‘no other modern book from which the intelligent layman can learn so much about the basic truths of economics in so short a time’. It is written in an easy flowing style and explains a range of issues in a readily comprehensible form. So we supply paperback copies of this book to the schools concerned for the students to read in advance and the Department of Education devises an essay topic based on it. Believing as we do in encouraging young people and offering them incentives, we offer a range of nice prizes – cash and trophies and, for the overall winner, attendance at a three-day economics seminar in Atlanta under the auspices of the Foundation for Economic Education. We also give an individual certificate to all participants to record their attendance. I must say it has been rewarding personally to have been involved in this project over the last few years. It has been a joy to work with those concerned who have been directly responsible for the organisation of the competition – Gwendolyn Johnson, Acting Education Officer Business Studies – Senior High Career & Technical Education Section, Department of Education, Lakell Johnson, Senior Mistress, C R Walker Senior High School and Samantha Knowles, Trained TeacherComputer Studies, Central Eleuthera All Age School. They are very good at what they do and I have come to admire their commitment and professionalism. I hope all this explains why I am, indeed, looking forward to Thursday!
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, January 28, 2020, PAGE 11
Helicopter tried to climb to avoid clouds before crash CALIFORNIA Associated Press
THE pilot of the helicopter that crashed near Los Angeles, killing former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and eight others, told air traffic controllers in his last radio message that he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer before plunging more than 1,000 feet into a hillside, an accident investigator said. Radar indicated the helicopter reached a height of 2,300 feet on Sunday morning before descending, and the wreckage was found at 1,085 feet, Jennifer Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board said during a news conference yesterday. NTSB investigators went to the crash site in Calabasas to collect evidence. “The debris field is pretty extensive,” Homendy said. “A piece of the tail is down the hill,” she said. “The fuselage is on the other side of that hill. And then the main rotor is about 100 yards beyond that.” Some experts suggested that the pilot might have become disoriented because of fog but Homendy said investigating teams would look at everything from the pilot’s history to the engines.
“We look at man, machine and the environment,” she said. “And weather is just a small portion of that.” The pilot had asked for and received special clearance to fly in heavy fog just minutes before the crash and was flying at 1,400 feet when he went south and then west, Homendy said. The pilot then asked for air traffic controllers to provide “flight following” radar assistance but was told the craft was too low for that assistance, Homendy said. About four minutes later, “the pilot advised they were climbing to avoid a cloud layer,” she said. “When ATC asked what the pilot planned to do, there was no reply. Radar data indicates the helicopter climbed to 2,300 feet and then began a left descending turn. Last radar contact was around 9.45 am” Two minutes later, someone on the ground called 911 to report the crash. Some experts raised questions of whether the helicopter should have even been flying. The weather was so foggy that the Los Angeles Police Department and the county sheriff’s department had grounded their own choppers.
INVESTIGATORS work the scene of a helicopter crash, above, that killed Kobe Bryant and his 13-yearold daughter, Gianna. Left, pilot Ara Zobayan, who was at the controls on Sunday
Pressure mounting for Bolton to testify WASHINNGTON Associated Press
SENATORS faced mounting pressure yesterday to summon John Bolton to testify at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial even as Trump’s lawyers mostly brushed past extraordinary new allegations from the former national security adviser and focused instead on corruption in Ukraine and historical arguments for acquittal. Outside the Senate chamber, Republicans grappled with claims in a forthcoming book from Bolton that Trump had wanted to withhold military aid from Ukraine until it helped with investigations into Democratic rival Joe Biden. That assertion could undercut a key defence argument — that Trump never tied the suspension of security aid to political investigations. The revelation clouded White House hopes for a swift end to the impeachment trial, fueling Democratic demands for witnesses and possibly pushing more Republican lawmakers to agree. It also distracted from hours of
FORMER adviser John Bolton arguments from Trump’s lawyers, who declared anew that no witness has testified to direct knowledge that Trump’s delivery of aid was contingent on investigations into Democrats. Bolton appeared poised to say exactly that if called on by the Senate to appear. “We deal with transcript evidence, we deal with publicly available information,” Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said. “We do not deal with speculation.” Trump is charged with abusing his presidential power by asking Ukraine’s leader to help investigate
Biden at the same time his administration was withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in security aid. A second charge accuses Trump of obstructing Congress in its probe. Republicans are to conclude their arguments today. Yesterday, Trump’s attorneys, including high-profile lawyers Ken Starr and Alan Dershowitz, launched a historical, legal and political attack on the entire impeachment process. They said there was no basis to remove Trump from office, defended his actions as appropriate and assailed Biden, who is campaigning for the Democratic nomination to oppose Trump in November.. Former Florida Attorney Ggeneral Pam Bondi devoted her presentation to Biden and his son, Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukraine gas company at the same time his father was leading the Obama administration’s diplomatic dealings with Kyiv. The legal team argued that Trump had legitimate reasons to be suspicious of the younger Biden’s business dealings and concerned about corruption in Ukraine and that, in any event, he
ultimately released the aid without Ukraine committing to investigations the president wanted. Democrats say Trump released the money only after a whistleblower submitted a complaint about the situation. Trump has sought, without providing evidence, to implicate the Bidens in the kind of corruption that has long plagued Ukraine. Though anti-corruption advocates have raised concerns, there has been no evidence of wrongdoing by either the former vice president or his son. Starr, whose independent counsel investigation into President Bill Clinton resulted in his impeachment — he was acquitted by the Senate — bemoaned what he said was an “age of impeachment.” Impeachment, he said, requires an actual crime and a “genuine national consensus” that the president must go. Neither exists here, Starr said. “It’s filled with acrimony and it divides the country like nothing else,” Starr said of impeachment. “Those of us who lived through the Clinton impeachment understand that in a deep and personal way.”
GRENFELL FIRE FIRMS ACCEPT NO BLAME
LONDON Associated Press
Firms involved in building work on London tower bloc that caught fire have sidestepped any responsibility for the 2017 tragedy that killed 72 people, a lawyer for the inquiry said. As the second phase of an inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire opened yesterday, the lawyer for the inquiry said that submissions from the firms involved in the building’s refurbishment have expressed “no trace’’ of responsibility for the catastrophic fire. Experts in the first phase of the inquiry concluded that the work failed to comply with building regulations. “All core participants who played a material part in Grenfell Tower have laid out a detailed case that it relied on others, and how in no way was the work it did either substandard or noncompliant (with building regulations),’’ said Richard Millett, the lawyer for the inquiry. “In every case, what happened was, as each of them would have it, someone else’s fault.”
DEADLY CHINESE VIRUS TRACED TO ‘ZERO CO-OPERATION’ FROM PRINCE ANIMAL MARKET IN WUHAN CITY ANDREW IN EPSTEIN INVESTIGATION BEIJING Associated Press
NEW YORK Associated Press
THE deadly Chinese coronavirus outbreak began at a wholesale animal market in Wuhan city according to scientists from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention who said tests proved humans caught it from animals at the Huanan Seafood Wholesales Market. It is not clear which animal was carrying the pneumonia-like illness but the market was home to stalls trading dozens of different species, including rats and wolf cubs. Last week experts suggested the disease may have originated in snakes, which are known carriers of coronaviruses. The Huanan market was a hotspot with locals, who could choose to buy their meat “warm” meaning it had just been slaughtered. Yesterday, China
BRITAIN’S Prince Andrew has provided “zero cooperation” to the American investigators who want to interview him as part of their sex trafficking probe into Jeffrey Epstein, a US prosecutor said yesterday. Speaking at a news conference outside Epstein’s New York mansion, US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said prosecutors and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s lawyers and asked to interview him. “To date, Prince Andrew has provided zero cooperation,” said Berman, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan. Buckingham Palace declined to comment. Andrew announced last year that he was withdrawing from his royal duties amid renewed public attention on a woman’s claim that she had several sexual
SECURITY officials wear face masks as they march near Tiananmen Square yesterday expanded its sweeping efforts yesterday to contain a dangerous new virus, extending the Lunar New Year holiday to keep the public at home and avoid spreading infection as the death toll rose to 81. Mongolia closed its vast border with China, and Hong Kong and Malaysia announced they were barring entry to visitors from the Chinese province at
the center of the outbreak following a warning by Chinese officials that the virus’ ability to spread was growing. Travel agencies were ordered to cancel group tours nationwide, adding to the rising economic losses. China has confirmed more than 2,700 cases of the new virus, most in the central city of Wuhan where the illness first surfaced last month.
ATTORNEY Geoffrey Berman encounters with the prince at Epstein’s behest, starting when she was 17. Virginia Roberts Giuffre says that after meeting Epstein in Florida in 2000, the millionaire flew her around the world and pressured her into having sex with numerous older men, including Andrew, two senior US politicians, a noted academic, wealthy financiers and the attorney Alan Dershowitz, who is now part of President Donald Trump’s impeachment defence team. All of those men have
denied the allegations. Epstein killed himself in his jail cell last summer while he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Giuffre has said she had sex with Andrew three times, including once in London in 2001 at the home of Epstein’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. It isn’t clear what legal exposure Andrew might have in the case, if any. The age of consent for sex is 16 in England and 17 in New York. However, Giuffre claims that she was paid by Epstein for her sexual encounters with Andrew. That could constitute a violation of US sex trafficking laws if she was under age 18 or was coerced into unwanted sex acts. Andrew, who is eight in line for the British throne, and Maxwell have both denied any knowledge that Epstein was sexually abusing teenage girls.