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Volume: 122 No. 87, March 27, 2025
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‘NO PLAN TO IMPOSE NEW TAXES ON FOOD’
Bill tabled to regulate unhealthy foods with option to tax items By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net WITH 71 percent of Bahamian adults overweight, the Davis administration tabled a bill aimed at curbing noncommunicable diseases through tougher food regulations and the option to tax unhealthy products
— though Health Minister Dr Michael Darville stressed the government has no plans to impose such taxes. After tabling the Health Promotion and Wellness Bill 2025 in the House of Assembly, Dr Darville emphasised to The Trib une that the bill gives SEE PAGE THREE
‘What role Will Canadian Company play in eleCtions?’ By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement Deputy Leader Shanendon Cartwright urged the government to “come clean” about the possible involvement of a Canadian company in the operations of the Parliamentary Registration
Department. Mr Cartwright named the company, Canadian Bank Note, and raised concerns in the House of Assembly about its potential role in handling aspects of the electoral process. He referred to comments made by Wayde Watson during last year’s SEE PAGE FOUR
Hoping for an opportunity DOZENS of job seekers lined up from as early as 7am in Freeport yesterday, hoping to secure one of more than 600 positions offered through a hiring drive linked to Carnival Cruise Line’s Celebration Key project. See PAGE TEN for story. Photo: Vandyke Hepburn
Defence Force officer accused of Green sCheme kissing and groping two teen cadets may reWard or penalise partiCipants By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A 25-YEAR-OLD defence force officer has been accused of indecent conduct with two
17-year-old female cadets at a defence force base last week. Assistant Chief Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans arraigned DiMaggio Barrett on two counts of indecent assault yesterday.
Prosecutors allege Barrett kissed one of the cadets without her consent on March 19 in New Providence. He is also accused of touching another cadet’s SEE PAGE SEVEN
Tugboat and barge continues to do damage to Abaco reef one year later By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net ONE year after a tugboat and barge ran aground on a coral reef in the protected Fowl Cays National Park, the vessels remain stranded, with debris continuing to destroy critically endangered coral and frustrate
conservationists, divers, and Abaco residents. The grounding occurred in late March 2024, when the vessels — en route to Baker’s Bay — encountered rough seas and became stuck atop a reef in the marine park, which is managed by the Bahamas SEE PAGE THREE
BARGE and tug still aground at Fowl Cay, Abaco.
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net BUSINESSES and households participating in new government-approved green initiatives could qualify for cost-saving incentives — but risk stiff penalties if they fail to meet strict emissions reporting requirements under new regulations tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday. The Emissions Reduction Initiatives and Incentives Regulations, 2025 require SEE PAGE 12