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Kelly’s facing ‘zero’ hit from Taylor Industries By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
K
ELLY’S Home Centre leads the Bahamian unsecured creditors who will receive nothing of the debts owed to them by Taylor Industries, its liquidator has revealed. Andrew Davies, the Crowe Bahamas accountant, warned in his second report to the Supreme Court that the Mall at Marathon’s anchor retail tenant will not see a single cent of the almost $12,000 owed by the now-defunct 74 year-old
• Among creditors likely to recover nothing • Defunct firm’s inventory realises just 40% • Similar recovery success for receivables electrical retailer and contractor. Confirming his initial analysis that all proceeds from the Shirley Streetbased firm’s winding-up will almost certainly go to the government and former employees, Mr Davies said the Department of Inland Revenue’s (DIR) claim for $18,327 in unpaid valueadded tax (VAT) will rank as a “preferential creditorâ€?. A Florida-based
vendor, Peninsular Electric Distribution, has also submitted a claim for $134,750, but Mr Davies’ report indicated unsecured creditor prospects for recovering even a single cent are slim to non-existent. Disclosing the creditor claims received by the date of his December 13, 2019, report, Mr Davies detailed: “Kelly’s Home Centre Ltd in the amount of $11,895. This claim has
been classified as an unsecured creditor claim by the liquidator. “Given that the unsecured trade creditors are not expected to receive any distribution from the liquidation, the liquidator expects to have minimal ongoing contact with this creditor class for the remainder of the liquidation process.�
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Bahamas ranked 81st in world for corporate bribery By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas 81st ranking in a new global bribery index must serve as a wakeup call to “keep our foot on the gas pedal� in the fight against corruption, governance reformers urged yesterday. Matt Aubry, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, told Tribune Business that the 2019 Bribery Risk Matrix released by TRACE International further reinforced the importance of The Bahamas keeping the battle against graft “on the front burner�.
The Matrix, which focuses more on business and corporate-related bribery when compared to other indexes, found The Bahamas posed a “medium risk� with a combined score of 48 across four categories. This nation was ranked below several Caribbean rivals that fared better than The Bahamas, including St Vincent and the Grenadines in 49th; Jamaica in 50th; Dominica in 54th; St Lucia in 61st; St Kitts and Nevis in 63rd; Antigua and Barbuda in 64th; Barbados in 66th; and Grenada in 67th. The Bahamas gained the same score as Azerbaijan
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Realtors close on reforms to ‘take it to another level’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas Real Estate Association’s (BREA) president says the industry is “almost there� with reforms to its governing Act that are designed to “take it to another level�. Christine Wallace-Whitfield, pictured, told Tribune Business that the proposed changes to the Real Estate (Brokers and Salesman) Act were vital to “tightening up� the law in a way that will best protect BREA’s 700-plus members, their clients and an industry that generates millions of dollars annually for Bahamian gross
domestic product (GDP). Pointing out that the Act has not been substantially upgraded since its implementation some 23 years ago, Mrs Wallace-Whitfield said real estate legislation needed to keep pace with changing market conditions as well as evolve in accordance with other laws impacting the sector.
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Minister’s pride on tourism ‘shake-up’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister has voiced pride at “really shaking up� the Ministry of Tourism’s workforce after discovering that the nine percent aged under 30 accounted for nine out of 10 resignations. Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business that a manpower audit of the ministry’s staff had proven “very revealing� as he denied
claims that 14 employees had recently been laid-off or terminated. Responding to a social media “voice note� being circulated by Fred Mitchell, the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) chairman, Mr D’Aguilar said the Ministry of Tourism does not lay-off or terminate any worker. Rather, because all are contract workers, they are subject to regular performance reviews with the possibility that their
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