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Volume: 121 No.112, May 2, 2024
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‘POOREST PAY THE MOST FOR ELECTRIC’ Minister talks of more equitable rates - but no details on BPL plans By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net ENERGY and Transport Minister JoBeth ColebyDavis suggested that Bahamas Power and Light’s tariff rates could be made more equitable, saying the “least able to pay” are currently “paying more than large businesses.”
She noted that BPL’s base tariff has not changed since 2010 and that a review of the power company’s rates is underway to determine effective prices and classifications. She did not give insight into the administration’s reported plan to separate BPL’s generation,
JOHNSON SET TO CHALLENGE DUANE SANDS FOR CHAIRMAN
A royal occasion
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net FORMER Yamacraw MP Elsworth Johnson said he has nominated himself for chairman of the Free National Movement, setting up a clash with incumbent Dr Duane Sands at the party’s upcoming convention. Mr Johnson declined to directly say whether he has the support of FNM leader Michael Pintard. “Knowing the leader, he supports the rich
SEE PAGE THREE
‘KENYA TROOP DEPLOYMENTS TO BEGIN BY MONTH’S END’ By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said Kenya is expected to begin deploying troops to Haiti on May 26. The date could put local Defence Force officers expected to join the multinational force to stabilise
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Haiti on alert, though Mr Mitchell said he could not give a timeline. A transitional council installed last week to help bring political stability to Haiti after Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned, chose Fritz Bélizaire to be prime minister. Mr Bélizaire was Haiti’s sports SEE PAGE THREE
TRIAL BY JUDGE ALONE BILL TABLED FOR DEBATE GOVERNOR General Dame Cynthia “Mother” Pratt pictured outside Buckingham Palace yesterday after meeting King Charles III and being made a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, with the honour bestowed by Princess Anne. Photo: Copyright of Andrew Owen/Country Special Reports Ltd (UK)
JURY DISMISSED OVER A POLITICAL CONNECTION By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A JUDGE dismissed the jury in North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish’s rape trial yesterday after learning that a juror had a close relationship with the leader of the opposition, Michael Pintard. Reporters were not
allowed in the court when the jury was empanelled on Monday, so it is unclear what was asked and discussed before the jury was confirmed. Whether the press is allowed to observe and report on the jury selection process is up to the discretion of the judge. Justice Renae McKay set SEE PAGE FIVE
NORTH Abaco MP Kirk Cornish. Photo: Dante Carrer
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net WEEKS after current and former chief justices called for more bench trials, the Davis administration tabled a bill in the House of Assembly yesterday that would allow people to be tried by a judge alone for indictable offences, a potentially significant change to the country’s judicial system. The Trial by Judge Alone Bill, 2024, lets accused people waive their constitutional right to a jury trial SEE PAGE FIVE