WOMAN & Health TUESDAY
SHAMROCK: McFlurry & Shake i’m lovin’ it!
HIGH 85ºF LOW 70ºF McGriddles
Sweet & Savory Mornings
CARS! CARS!
The Tribune Established 1903
Biggest And Best!
L AT E S T
Volume: 120 No.60, March 28, 2023
N E W S
CLASSIFIEDS TRADER
O N
t r i b u ne 2 4 2 . c o m
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: PRICE–$1
GOVT SEEKS TO KNOCK DOWN SHANTY HOMES
555 properties to be demolished if approval is given By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE government is seeking to demolish 555 shanty town structures in New Providence and Abaco –– with the Office of the Attorney General asking the Supreme Court to approve the order. This includes 232 unfinished structures and completed buildings on the north and south sides of the SC Bootle Highway, Abaco;
120 structures on The Farm near Treasure Cay, Abaco; 98 structures on All Saints Way, New Providence; 45 structures on Montgomery Road, north side of Cowpen Road, and 60 structures off Carmichael Road and Gladstone Roads, according to an Amended Summons filed in the Supreme Court on February 24. Defence force officers served shanty town SEE page one
7 percent increase on fuel margin is ‘liveable’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Bahamian petroleum retailers yesterday revealed they are seeking a “pennies on the gallon” margin increase equal to 7 percent of the landed cost of fuel to achieve their version of a “liveable wage”. Raymond Jones, the Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association’s (BPRA) president, last night told Tribune Business that such
Looking to the future
an adjustment was critical “to allow us to survive as retailers” given that existing price-controlled fixed margins simply cannot cover a multitude of everincreasing costs. Believing that “the Bahamian public will be OK to absorb a few cents more” on the per gallon cost of gasoline, he provided several insights into the increasing hardship faced by many gas station operators. FULLSTORY - SEE BUSINESS
CADETS have been busy at the LJM Maritime Academy - first taking part in a Founders Day Ceremony, then joining in a Battle of the Cadets. See today’s Education Page on PAGE 15 to learn more. Photo: Austin Fernander
22 Victims FINDING WAYS despite signED agreement TO COPE AFTER BIMINI BLAZE MEMBERS WAIT on payment By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net
A DAY after a fire shook the Porgy Bay settlement of Bimini, 22 displaced residents are rebuilding their lives with varying optimism. They include newlyweds, retirees, and a 17-monthold baby, most of whom were asleep on Sunday morning when they were
forced awake by the scent of smoke, loud noises of falling debris, or the screams and calls of neighbours. They are being temporarily accommodated in hotels and rental units on the island at the government’s expense. Anthony Weech, 40, estimated it will cost $25k SEE page one
TWO months after the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) and Bahamas Public Service Union signed an industrial agreement, union members are still awaiting back pay for hazardous allowance. BPSU president Kimsley Ferguson said he is concerned about the government’s unfulfilled commitments.
He was speaking to reporters after signing a $40m industrial agreement with the government. He said PHA’s managing director, Aubynette Rolle, advised him PHA is awaiting funding from the Ministry of Finance, adding the prime minister in a meeting last week promised to rectify the matter. SEE page one
$40M INDUSTRIAL AGREEMENT WITH BPSU SIGNED By Lynaire Munnings Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net UP TO 4,000 union members could benefit after a $40m industrial agreement was signed with the Bahamas Public Services Union yesterday. The three-year deal will increase allowances and salary scales, and covers the period from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025.
MIN Pia Glover and BPSU president Kimsley Ferguson sign the industrial agreement. Photo: Austin Fernander Officials said salary bumps would allow many public servants to receive
four to five incremental payments per year in addition to their usual increments. The disturbance allowance has been increased from $1,200 to 1,500 per year. The transport allowance has been increased from $250 per month to $300 per month, and casual mileage has been increased from $2 per mile to $3 per mile.
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE page one
FACE TO FACE:
Coralie Adderley: Leader, Entrepreneur and Mentor PAGE eight