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Volume: 120 No.66, April 5, 2023
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POLICE QUESTION EX-PM MINNIS Investigation into last administration’s food programme confirmed By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net FORMER Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said police officers interviewed him earlier this year as part of an extensive criminal investigation into his administration’s COVID-19 food assistance programme. Dr Minnis, who The Tribune contacted, said three senior officers interviewed
him for over an hour. He said police gave him the option to be questioned at a police station or a neutral location. He chose the latter and was accompanied by his lawyer. In the first official confirmation of the criminal probe, Deputy Commissioner of Police Leamond Deleveaux said yesterday that more than 75 people
iHoP draws crowd for grand oPening
COURIER company Blue Postal is closing the “clearance/courier arm” of its Bahamian operations. Some customers awaiting overdue packages received notices of the plan this week. However, Blue Postal officials could not be reached for information up
SEE PAGE SEVEN
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ATLANTIS yesterday revealed it is bracing for a $17m year-over-year hike in electricity costs despite “still setting revenue records” through 2023’s winter tourism season and into the upcoming peak Easter weekend. Vaughn Roberts, senior vice-president of government affairs and special projects, told Tribune Business that the Paradise Island mega resort and wider tourism industry had “lobbied as hard as we could” over the up to 163 percent fuel charge increase unveiled by Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) but were informed by the government there was “nothing it can do”.
cHild abuse cases uP near 50 Percent
SEE PAGE THREE
to press time yesterday. News of the company’s purported plans comes after The Tribune reported last week that several companies had been temporarily barred from clearing imported shipments because of allegedly failing to pay taxes to the government. Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial
atlantis bracing for $17m bPl bill increase
FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
customers left frustrated as courier comPany closes By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
CLASSIFIEDS TRADER
HUNDREDS of Bahamians waited in line, some from the very early morning hours, to be among the first to experience The Bahamas’ newest US restaurant franchise, the International House of Pancakes (IHOP), and to possibly be selected for a year’s supply of free pancakes. See FULL STORY on Page 2. Photo: Austin Fernander
‘Hundreds of millions of tax dollars’ owed to govt By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net THE government’s top finance official says “hundreds of millions of dollars” is owed in VAT and other tax arrears — an estimate that does not even include the $800m owed in real property taxes. Finance secretary Simon Wilson’s comments came as the government seeks to crack down on tax delinquents and businesses
FINANCIAL Secretary Simon Wilson suspected of evading VAT and Business Licence fee payments.
Last week, the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) conducted an islandwide sweep of Harbour Island companies, seizing assets of at least two businesses suspected of owing $1.3m in taxes. Meanwhile, several courier companies have been temporarily barred from clearing imported shipments over their failure to pay up to “seven figures” in due taxes to the government.
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE THREE
NEARLY 200 child abuse cases were reported between January and March 2023 in New Providence, a near 50 per cent increase over the same period in 2022. According to statistics from the Department of Social Services, there were 191 reported child abuse cases, up from 90 during the same period last year. Categories of child abuse include abandonment, neglect, and rape. Most abuse cases involved sexual abuse, with 51 reported cases up to March, an increase from 28 in 2022. SEE PAGE FIVE
FULL SCHEDULE SEE PAGES 14-15