OBITUARIES THURSDAY “We got you covered under our radars”
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Volume: 123 No. 76, Thursday, March 12, 2026
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ELECTION ‘WITHIN NEXT FEW WEEKS’
Mitchell’s voice note hints Parliament to soon be dissolved By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
PLP CHAIRMAN FRED MITCHELL PLP CHAIRMAN FRED MITCHELL
PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell said yesterday that a general election will be held “within the next few weeks.” The unexpected announcement is the clearest indication yet that the country will head to the polls this spring. “This,” he said in a voice note, “is a country that is
facing a general election in the next few weeks, and it’s likely that the election campaign is going to heat up and the Bahamian people are going to be asked shortly who should be governing them for the next five years.” Under the constitution, the current House of Assembly will automatically dissolve in October 2026, if not dissolved earlier, triggering a general ELECTION - SEE PAGE FOUR
Sweeping education overhaul Super Value braces for $400k looks to lower school age to four monthly hit over new VAT rules By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Davis administration has tabled a sweeping Education Bill that would lower the compulsory school age to four in one of the most significant overhauls of the education system in more than 60
years. The bill would also formally regulate home schooling, impose mandatory accreditation on private schools, tighten financial oversight of public schools and introduce a national curriculum with measurable learning outcomes. If passed, the Education
Bill, 2026, would repeal the 1962 Education Act and replace it with a modern legal framework built around regulation, accountability and enforceable standards rather than broad ministerial discretion. Children would have to start school earlier. Under SCHOOL - SEE PAGE THREE
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A WOMAN shopping in a Super Value Foodstore.
SUPER Value is bracing for an up to $400,000 per month hit due to the government’s decision to treat the elimination of VAT on uncooked foods as ‘exempt’ rather than ‘zero rated’. Debra Symonette, the
13-store supermarket chain’s president, told Tribune Business that the planned tax treatment means Super Value and all other food stores, as well as the likes of gas stations and pharmacies, will from April 1 be unable to reclaim or ‘net off’ VAT they pay on input expenses linked SEE BUSINESS FOR STORY
Munroe rejects Minnis claim that unexplained increases in MPs’ wealth goes unchecked By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe yesterday rejected claims by former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis that unexplained increases in politicians’ wealth are not being investigated,
insisting that authorities already have powers to examine financial activity — including bank accounts — without a person’s knowledge. However, an anti-corruption advocate warned that if any such probes are happening, the public cannot see them, and that secrecy itself fuels doubt.
The clash followed remarks by Dr Minnis in the House of Assembly a week after the annual financial disclosure deadline. He questioned whether suspicious jumps in declared assets are ever scrutinised, saying some people enter politics with modest MUNROE - SEE PAGE SEVEN
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER WAYNE MUNROE