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The Tribune
Volume:115 No.113, MAY 4TH, 2018
Established 1903
Weekend
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1
WEEKEND: I LOST MY WIFE AND CHILD TO LUPUS - BUT I WON’T GIVE UP
Govt to swing the axe again Ministries likely to face cutbacks in year’s budgets By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
down last July. He was asked about initiatives, like the establishment of an anti-corruption THE ten per cent reduc- unit, his ministry would be requesting tion in spending funding for in ordered last year this upcoming may be set to budget cycle. increase in the “To improve 2018-2019 budget service,” he said, cycle, Immigra“some better tion Minister facilities, one Brent Symonof the problems ette revealed we’re facing is yesterday. asking is one Mr Symonette thing – the govtold The Tribune ministries are BRENT SYMONETTE ernment also has to bring public facing another cut, or at minimum will be expenditure within line of a expected to hold firm to the SEE PAGE THREE ten per cent decrease set
WILD THOUGHTS FOR A WILD WEEKEND
SEBAS Bastian’s property development arm is threatening to sue the Ministry of Works over “discriminatory and biased treatment” of its $50m corporate office project. The Island Luck chief’s Veridian Development Group on Wednesday issued
the Ministry, and Town Planning Committee, with a seven-day ultimatum to lift the eight-month “Stop Order” that forced work at the western New Providence project to grind to a halt. Tribune Business sources yesterday suggested that the lengthy stall could have cost Mr Bastian’s company up to $25m. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
NON-BAHAMIAN labourers on The Pointe’s construction site triple the number of Bahamian workers at the downtown Nassau development, an investigation into its work force complement has revealed. A Department of Labour report, according to Labour Minister Dion Foulkes, says there are 73 foreign workers and 24 Bahamians presently working on the site. Asked whether this supported the view that The Pointe’s developers – China Construction America – were in breach of the specified worker ratio of 70 Bahamians to 30 foreigners detailed in the heads of agreement, Mr Foulkes said: “They are not in breach.” SEE PAGE FIVE
POLICE TO PROBE SLAP TWO
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Royal Bahamas Police Force says it will not condone acts of impropriety committed by police officers toward members of the public. The statement came after two viral videos drew criticism across social media in the last week for depicting officers’ physical attacks on people. In the most recent video, posted to Facebook on Wednesday, an officer struck a man in the face at least twice. The man did not appear to be resisting arrest. SEE PAGE THREE
BASTIAN: LIFT STOP ORDER OR I’LL SUE By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMIANS OUTNUMBERED - BUT POINTE ‘NOT IN BREACH’
MACHEL MONTANO, left, and DJ Khaled at a press conference yesterday ahead of this weekend’s Bahamas Carnival Experience. The two star at the carnival weekend, alongside other top names such as Destra and a host of Bahamian artists. See Weekend section for more.
CARELESS DRIVER FINED $5,000 FOR CRASH THAT KILLED MAN By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A 59-YEAR-OLD woman was yesterday ordered to pay a $5,000 fine or face two years in prison for killing a man after crashing into his vehicle, moments after she allegedly attempted to flee the scene
of an earlier crash two months ago. Deputy Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain further ordered that Angela Colebrooke, of South Beach Drive, also receive grief counselling for causing Chet Smith’s death on East Street and Malcolm Road on February 26. Before being sentenced,
Colebrooke had pleaded guilty to the one count of killing in the course of dangerous driving with which she was charged. The Crown had maintained that shortly after 1pm on the date in question, Colebrooke drove west along Malcolm Road
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE SEVEN
OIL EXPLORER NETS EXCLUSIVE DRILLING DEAL By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
AN oil exploration “game changer” for The Bahamas took “a huge step forward” yesterday with the signing of a three-month exclusivity deal on a drilling joint venture. Simon Potter, of Bahamas Petroleum Company, said it had reached agreement with “a highly respected, major international oil company” to begin negotiations that could result in in the “spudding” of a well near Andros. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
PAGE 2, Friday, May 4, 2018
WRITERS SHINE IN POETRY CONTEST
THE TRIBUNE
WINNERS and participants in the Scars Beneath the Surface Poem Competition. PARTICIPANTS in the Scars Beneath The Surface poetry competition did battle yesterday with prizes awarded to the victorious young writers. First place was awarded to Michaella Lockhart, of North Eleuthera, pictured right. Below is pictured Africana Knowles, of Claridge Primary, reciting her poem, which won second place in the contest.
Photos: Donavan McIntosh
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, May 4, 2018, PAGE 3
Govt to swing the axe again
from page one
certain percentage of the GDP. “So we all know last year we took a 10 per cent cut. We’re also going to have to take a cut or hold the line this year so it’s very difficult to make progress. “So the corruption unit will probably be borrowing people or seconding people from the (Royal Bahamas) Defence Force or something like that, so that’s what we have to look at.” Last July, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced a variety of conservative fiscal measures, including a ten per cent cut in spending in all government ministries and no new public sector hiring. The initiative was met with some scepticism, with people such as former Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller urging caution as severe austerity measures could trigger a recession. Former Finance Minister James Smith, also an ex-Central Bank governor, told Tribune Business the Minnis administration had
“very little wiggle room” to achieve such cuts because so much of the government’s annual budget was consumed by fixed costs. This included civil servants’ salaries, debt servicing and repayments, and building rentals and other contracts that were already locked in, which were “way up there” in terms of the proportion of the budget they account for. Mr Smith further warned that civil service “buy in” at all levels – from top to bottom – was vital if the government’s fiscal consolidation is to succeed, as he likened the public sector to “a big aircraft carrier that is hard to turn around.” In March, Finance Minister Peter Turnquest told Tribune Business the government’s finances “will collapse in on themselves” unless the national debt’s increase is halted, warning Bahamians “more pain will be involved.” Mr Turnquest said there was “no way” for a quick fix to The Bahamas’ fiscal woes, arguing that the predicament was “just that significant”.
BRENT Symonette. Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration.
“It’s an issue that is supposedly happening here,” Mr Symonette said. “I hear on the street what you hear on the street. But no one is reporting it. “We are in the process of doing a corruption unit here and that comes along with a tipsters number,” he continued. “The problem is if you need a work permit in this country, you’re not gonna report an immigration officer for bribery. You know the clan here will never, in other words, for someone to report that I’m gonna have to give them citizenship and that was the problem we have with the Witness Anonymity Bill. “You can’t hide a witness in this country. You try hide me, you can’t hide me.” He added: “We’re trying to work on that (corruption
unit) for the next budget year, we don’t have to do that in the Immigration Act, we can do that policy wise.” A survey by Transparency International released last month revealed zero action was taken over the 6 per cent of bribery demands reported to authorities. The Global Corruption Barometer survey found that despite “one in ten Bahamians” disclosing they had paid a bribe within the past year to obtain public services, few reported this corruption to law enforcement, claiming that corruption is “rooted in the fabric of Bahamian society”. Earlier this year, Bishop Simeon Hall advised members of the Haitian community against feeding on “the corruption sometimes found in the Department of Immigration.”
Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff
CORRUPTION UNIT PLANNED FOR IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
THE Department of Immigration is slated to get its own corruption unit in this upcoming budget to target longstanding allegations of bribery and other abuses by officers that have never been formally reported. Immigration Minister Brent Symonette told The Tribune he hoped to create a better reporting environment with the introduction of a hotline for persons to come forward with complaints anonymously. He flagged the upcoming initiative in an interview with The Tribune, underscoring the critical need to remove the spectre of corruption that has dogged the department.
POLICE TO PROBE SLAP TWO from page one
“The public is hereby notified that videos which are circulating on social media, involving the conduct of police officers on duty towards members of the public, have been brought to the attention of the Acting Commissioner of Police Emrick Seymour,” the RBPF said
in a statement yesterday. “Consequently, he has ordered a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding such incidents, and encourages anyone with information on any of these incidents to report it to the police so that the appropriate action can be taken.” “Members of the public can be assured that the Royal Bahamas Police
Force will not condone any act of impropriety perpetrated by any member of the force towards members of the public. The administration of the Royal Bahamas Police Force takes all matters concerning the conduct of officers seriously. The public is reassured that every effort will be made to continue enhancing the professional image of the force.”
His comments echoed longstanding allegations that officers solicit thousands of dollars in bribes from migrants. When contacted by The Tribune, Bishop Hall said migrant victims refuse to name corrupt officers because they feared reprisal, like a denial of their application or revocation of their status. The corruption unit will likely be staffed by seconding personnel from the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, Mr Symonette said. The Immigration minister also addressed the US State Department’s Human Rights Report, which noted the treatment of persons in detention as the most significant human rights issue affecting the country. The US report stated
foreign male prisoners frequently reported threats and targeting by prison guards, and referred to the allegation of a Bahamian-US dual citizen who reported in June that officials at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services placed a bag over his head and beat him with a golf club.
The report did not include any further information on the claim or whether it had been investigated. Yesterday, Mr Symonette said: “I heard it on the news. The American Embassy has not come to me as the minister responsible for immigration about any issues in that report.”
PAGE 4, Friday, May 4, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
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North Korea and Iran nuclear threat SINCE the horror of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to secure Japan’s surrender and the ending of the Second World War in 1945, the ultimate nightmare for successive generations throughout the world has been the threat of global annihilation through the possible use of new, even more powerful and destructive such weapons. During the intervening years, preventing their spread through the 1970 Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons has been a top priority for international policy-makers. During the Cold War, the parity between the USA and the USSR within a controlled governmental environment provided an effective nuclear deterrent which prevented deployment of these weapons while major wars took place in Korea and Vietnam together with smaller proxy conflicts in Africa that tested the state of East-West relations. Moreover, even at times of extreme danger over issues like the status of Berlin or the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 – when the Soviet Union ultimately stepped back from the brink in the face of President Kennedy’s strong response to installation of its missiles on Cuban soil - historians contend there was invariably an expectation that an accommodation would eventually be reached between the antagonists because the alternative was mutual destruction on a massive scale that was too terrible to contemplate. Nonetheless, inevitably over the years there has been some proliferation of weapons of mass destruction so that, in addition to the US, UK and France as the original nuclear states, others like China, India and Pakistan (as well as Russia, of course, following the collapse of the USSR) also now possess them. The issue dominating today’s international discourse is how to prevent their further spread, by stopping, in particular, Iran and the so-called rogue state of North Korea, whose efforts to develop a nuclear weapons programme are well documented, from continuing their quest for a nuclear capability. Some see as hypocrisy the insistence of the existing nuclear states that they alone should hold such weapons. But it is clear that some of these at least are mature working democracies which support core values like human rights, environmental sustainability, international law and the rule of law within their own countries. Adherence to such values has earned these nations public trust that nuclear weapons would only be used as a last resort for defensive purposes in protecting themselves. By contrast, although as sovereign countries they have the right to selfdefence, North Korea and Iran cannot be trusted to have nuclear weapons because there is a general belief these should not be in the hands of dictators or autocrats who violate human rights, disrespect international law and are overtly hostile to other countries – for example, North Korea’s explicit threat
to attack the US mainland with missiles and Iran’s state-sponsored terrorism together with its declared intention to destroy Israel. There is also the danger in these countries of such weapons falling in to the hands of terrorists. At this stage, it is surely hard for anyone to discern accurately the reasons for North Korea’s apparent change of heart in showing a new conciliatory approach and a willingness to negotiate. Only last year, its most powerful nuclear test took place with the launching of missiles capable of reaching the US mainland while the two presidents traded insults and threats of war that sparked global security fears. Now, there has already been a landmark summit between the two Koreas to discuss denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and a permanent treaty to replace the armistice of the 1950s; and the forthcoming meeting between the North Korean and US presidents is now awaited with huge expectation. As for Iran, the other signatories of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - under which it agreed to cease its nuclear weapons programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions are reported to be urging Mr Trump not to withdraw from the deal unilaterally. But the latest evidence based on what is claimed to be new Israeli intelligence suggests that Iran has been continuing secretly to develop nuclear weapons in breach of the agreement. Though unconfirmed, these intelligence reports may convince him to withdraw, not least because he has consistently condemned the agreement as a bad deal. How the US handles the current twin threats posed by North Korea and Iran could have repercussions worldwide. It is salutary to read the views of the former CIA director, retired General Michael Hayden, about the need for decisions in the White House to be taken on rational grounds based on evidence, truth and facts and an assessment of what he terms objective reality. He contrasts this with the President’s tendency to rely on emotion, instinct and personal experience and vision --where truth and fiction can become blurred -together with campaign promises that may no longer be relevant in the light of changed circumstances. Meanwhile, it remains difficult for the man in the street to know for sure what is really going on in a world where the truth may be distorted by the plethora of information from many different sources - including Russia’s campaign of disinformation - which are also often anonymous and impossible to verify. In such dangerous times, the rest of the world can only hope the US President will listen to his advisers and respect the expertise and guidance of those around him who are more experienced than he is in international affairs. Perhaps the arrival of a new Secretary of State, who reportedly is closer to Mr Trump than his predecessor was, will make a difference.
What’s in a name? EDITOR, The Tribune.
A NAME is a very serious thing! I would like to say a sincere ‘thank you’ to whomsoever made the decision to remove the revered name of “Junkanoo” from the middle of “Bahamas Carnival”. Now our proud centuries-old tradition is back in its rightful place! Secondly, and in the same vein, I would like to strongly entreat the Bahamian public (particularly politicians and the media) to treat our proud
nomenclature of “Overthe-Hill” with the deep respect it deserves and not besmirch this rich heritage by referring to it as the ‘inner city” – another foreign abomination which has no place within our proud history. Unfortunately, persons use these names without thinking of the serious damage they can do, and before you know it, they become that self fulfilling prophecy we do NOT want! I commend and support the Prime Minister for making bold steps to lead
us back once again towards that other extremely important name of “Community” by inculcating those values which defined us as a people. Let’s “be who we is, and not who we ain’t” by using those names we can lay claim to as our own – names that were a positive reflection of who we were, who we wanted to be, and the roads we were prepared to take to get us there! PAM BURNSIDE Nassau, May 3, 2018.
Government facilitated moral decline EDITOR, The Tribune. IN a few days, barring divine intervention, the moral sensibilities of an overwhelming majority of Bahamians will be assaulted by the public nudity, brazen vulgarity, and unbridled debauchery of carnival. Yes, thousands are planning to descend on our streets and in our public spaces, determined to be on their “worst behaviour”, as they debase themselves without any regard for the young or respect for the old. And once again, they will put on pornographic parades and shows in breach of our public decency laws, as the police look helplessly on. What makes this state of affairs worse is that carnival is facilitated by government permits and funded by tax dollars. Yes, I know the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr. Michael Pintard, has been saying that the FNM government is not funding carnival, but by that he can only mean that carnival is not being funded with millions of dollars in cash like the PLP government inexcusably did. Because the FNM government is still in fact funding carnival with thousands of dollars in kind through free advice to the so-called private owners of carnival, free police security, and free clean up of the mounds of garbage that will be left on our streets and on Clifford Park and Arawak Cay — garbage that should be cleaned up by the socalled private owners of carnival. While the Minnis-led FNM government can rightly say that it has separated itself from the Christie-led PLP government and its fiscal irresponsibility regarding carnival, the same claim cannot be made about the moral irresponsibility of carnival. Regarding the moral irresponsibility of carnival, Peter (the Minnis-led FNM
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net government) is no better than Paul (the Christie-led PLP government). Both of them see nothing wrong with groups of men and women frolicking in our streets and public spaces and engaging in sexually degrading and lewd conduct. Both of them see nothing wrong with the government promoting and facilitating an environment of excessive alcohol consumption and disregard for public decency laws, where virtually naked women erotically wine, gyrate, and have virtual sex in public with characterless men inflamed with lustful passions. Yes, regarding the moral irresponsibility of carnival, Peter is no better than Paul. No doubt, in a few days Minister Pintard will be gloating over the fact that the FNM has been far more fiscally prudent than the PLP in minimising the financial cost of carnival to the nation. But what about the moral cost to the nation? I guarantee he will be silent on that. Yet, the moral cost far outweighs the fiscal cost, because while we can recover from the fiscal damage of carnival, recovering from the moral damage of carnival is not so easy. And both the Christie-led PLP government and the Minnis-led FNM government are accountable to God and the Bahamian people for the moral damage of carnival. I have no doubt that there are some cabinet members in the Minnis-led FNM government who do not support carnival, just as there were some cabinet members in the Christie-led PLP government who did not support it, and I commend them. However, since cabinet members have collective
responsibility, they should all collectively hold their heads in shame for aiding and abetting moral and social decline in our nation through the introduction and continuation of carnival. I say this because it is irrefutable that in carnival, the road parade especially, women are portrayed as sex objects for the pornographic gratification of men. And it is also irrefutable that such sexual objectification of women increases the probability of the physical and sexual abuse of women and young girls at the hands of men and boys who see them not as persons to be nurtured and protected, but as objects to be used and exploited. Yet, this is the type of moral and social decline that those who have been elected for good governance are facilitating and funding. Then, like someone suffering from amnesia, they come to the church asking for help to address the very same moral and social decay that they themselves have helped to create in large measure. Those of us who belong to Jesus Christ need to pray that God will give us and our leaders a true sense of national, godly shame that we should have about carnival and other evidences of moral decay in our nation. And let us pray that God will grant us national repentance and thereby remove our national disgrace. Yes, righteousness (not a good economy or anything else) still exalts nations, and sin still remains a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34). Let us pray that we will be a people who truly pursue righteousness so that we will be a nation that is truly exalted. PASTOR MOSS Nassau, May 2, 2018
CEDRIC
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, May 4, 2018, PAGE 5
CHINESE workers at The Pointe.
Bahamians outnumbered but Pointe ‘not in breach’ from page one It is unclear if Mr Foulkes meant the clause concerning worker numbers applies to the entire site inclusive of the British Colonial Hilton’s present staff and not just the construction site. When contacted for his view yesterday, Bahamas Contractors Association (BCA) President Leonard Sands rejected the suggestion that the clause may apply to the project as a whole, adding the HOA applies to construction. He said while the developer is only needing specialised foreign workers, the government should consider only awarding CCA a portion of the agreed upon concessions. This, he said, is only right until the full complement of Bahamians are employed on the project. The revelation follows Mr Foulkes’ meeting on Wednesday with Daniel Liu, president of The Pointe, his vice-president and their legal counsel. While acknowledging
the disproportionate work force, Pointe officials said at this present stage of construction, representing the second phase of development, specialised post-tension concrete structure workers are needed to complete this phase in a very short time frame, the minister explained. This was previously reported by The Tribune and drew the ire of the BCA. The organisation believes Bahamians could have facilitated all phases of the project and has strongly criticised the government over the situation. In a press statement, Mr Foulkes said: “A report produced by the Department of Labour, with respect to the composition of the workforce at the project, was presented for review and response. “The report reveals that there are 73 non-Bahamian workers and 24 Bahamians presently on site. The heads of agreement calls for a 70 per cent Bahamian/30 per cent non-Bahamian workforce composition. “The explanation noted
is that the present stage of construction, representing the second phase of The Pointe development, is the erection of the superstructure. This requires specialised post-tension concrete structure workers to complete this phase in a very short time frame. “Qualified Bahamians have and continue to be sought,” Mr Foulkes’ statement continued. “In the following phases, substantially more Bahamian workers and contractors will be engaged in order to comply with the overall 70 per cent Bahamian/30 per cent non-Bahamian workforce composition. The Pointe development construction is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2020. “With factors related to the technical aspects of the present construction phase and the expected longterm buildup of Bahamian workers, the Ministry of Labour has concluded that The Pointe development is not in breach of the heads of agreement. The British Colonial Hotel complex
RECALL NOTICE ISSUED FOR ROSE ACRE FARMS EGGS THE Department of Agriculture has advised the public of a voluntary recall of eggs produced by Rose Acre Farms’ Hyde Country Farm. The Bahamas has been determined by the United States Food and Drug Agency as one of the international locations where the recalled eggs were distributed, according to a press release from the department. These eggs were sold under multiple brand names including Coburn Farms, Country Daybreak, Food Lion, Glenview, Great Value, Nelms, Sunshine Farms, Publix and Sunups. According to the department, an image was posted on social media “purporting that contaminated eggs were being sold by a local retailer”. The Department of Agriculture said, “We wish to advise the public that our inspectors have reviewed the batch information on the cartons on the shelves and have determined that they are not from the original recall list. The department advises, however, that the public exercise due caution and inspect the numbers carefully in the event that products on the shelf are added to the expanded list.” Consumers and retailers should check cartons or packing of their eggs for the following: Plant number P-1065; lot code or
Julian date between 011102; plant number P-1359D; Julian date 048A or 049A; and best by dates APR 02 and APR 03. Plant numbers and Julian dates are printed on individual boxes, with the Julian date following the plant number, for example P-1359D-048A. Consumers are advised to not eat any eggs from the lots listed above. “If they have any of the above products they are advised to discard the product or return to their place of purchase,” the department advised. “Practice safe food handling and preparation measures. Wash hands, utensils and surfaces with hot soapy water before and
after handling raw eggs and raw egg containing foods. Preparation surfaces and food cutting utensils that may have come in contact with the potentially contaminated eggs should be thoroughly cleaned.” The department advised the public to continue to monitor the media for any additions or updates to the contaminated eggs list.
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also owned by the developer of The Pointe, has two non-Bahamian workers and 275 Bahamian employees. “Upon completion, The Pointe development will boast 500 full-time Bahamian workers. The Ministry of Labour, and by extension, the Department of Labour, remains committed to employment and contractual opportunities for Bahamians.” In mid-April, The Tribune reported that around 100 Chinese nationals remained in the country following the completion of The Pointe’s parking garage for specialised purposes. The workers, this newspaper was told, were tasked with laying an apparent intricate steel foundation for the next phase of the project. This came as developers erected additional material to obstruct the view of ongoing work on the compound. At the time, Mr Sands accused CCA of using this
as a means to “hide something” from Bahamians. He said the BCA was also considering a demonstration at The Pointe. Until yesterday, the government had not been forthcoming with information on the workforce numbers. “The Bahamian Contractors Association is questioning how it was allowed to get to this point in the first instance because that is a dereliction of duty,” Mr Sands said last month. “If you have a duty to ensure that someone lives up to their contractual agreement it is your job to put in place a procedure for checking to ensure that the heads of agreement guidelines are met and held. “It should not be an association or private citizen or non-governmental agency to go and find that out for you. “Let’s say they are in violation, what do they get? Do they get a change to hire some more persons so the ratio is what it should be? How is that process going
to roll out? Do they have a PSA that says right now we have a certain number of Chinese and we need hundreds more Bahamians? “That needs to happen immediately or else the project needs to cease until they become compliant. We need to know how that is going to work.” He had previously demanded a head count of those working at The Pointe. Tribune photographers previously monitored who went on to the construction site and with the exception of three or four Bahamians and a guard at the gates of the development, everyone else appeared to be Chinese. In both January and February, this newspaper observed workers on the site and it was a similar story. Dozens of Chinese builders walked on to the site every day from a building, which lodges the workers opposite the development, and virtually no Bahamians were anywhere to be seen.
PAGE 6, Friday, May 4, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
‘Don’t let big business drive out the small man’ By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PINERIDGE MP Frederick McAlpine is concerned the benefits of the government’s Over-the-Hill tax exemption and rejuvenation plan will go to the wrong people. “I think it’s a good initiative but my concern is, will this be for Over-theHill communities or will it be for those who have the financial means to take advantage of the benefits
before poor people do?” he asked. “How will we prevent people coming into the community to invest who are already doing well? How can we ensure the small man gets the breaks he needs?” Concerns like these have persisted ever since Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced his vision several years ago. Officials hope the project boosts local Over-the-Hill businesses while also enticing new ones into the community.
“We’re moving in the right direction but we need a little more information about how we’re going to deal with this and how this will work,” Mr McAlpine, a Free National Movement MP, said yesterday. Nonetheless, the programme’s organisers have been robust informing the public about the initiative, hosting its most recent town hall event Wednesday night. James Smith, former Central Bank governor, called the programme’s plans “ambitious, well intended and tricky” yesterday. Acknowledging statistics from Financial Secretary Marlon Johnson that 70 per cent of businesses Overthe-Hill operate outside the formal economy, he said: “To access the benefits you have to at least be registered and have a business licence and in the majority of the cases, these people are not. Even before you can give the benefits to those most deserving, you have to first get them compliant. I don’t know how long that will take.” Mr Smith expressed concern that rent prices will skyrocket because of tax exemptions. Roughly half the people living in the Centreville and Bain and Grants Town constituencies live on rental properties. “If there is a building that is eligible for duty free material for renovation purposes and I’m an absentee landlord and get duty free materials to improve the building, I might not pass on that benefit to you who are there now; I’m going to rent it to people who could pay higher rent,” he said. “You’d end up displacing the people you intended to support.” Dr Nicola Virgil Rolle, director of the Economic Development and Planning Department in the Office of the Prime Minister, has said the government is looking to build affordable housing units in the communities to prevent this. Construction, she said, should be mobilised in three years. Mr Smith said a system of rent control could be applied. “If I’m the absentee landlord and I use duty free
REV FREDERICK MCALPINE, member of Parliament for Pineridge. materials, my increase in rent prices should take into consideration the money I saved when paying for the materials,” he said. Mr Smith said a better way of helping impoverished communities might have been to directly give a subsidy to residents in need rather than offer blanket tax exemptions to people and qualified businesses in a zone. “Give them an explicit subsidy,” he said. “It’s like the position I’ve always taken on the value added tax. When you say you want to take the tax off items like (diapers), you’re telling me wealthy people don’t have babies and yet they probably buy more Pampers than the guy you are trying to help. It’s better to leave the tax because otherwise you are creating loopholes people will take advantage of. Moreover, when you say duty free or elimination of a tax, you’re presupposing
that I pay taxes even though many low-income homes do not. Instead, you could go into households, identify those in need and give money as part of social services allocation system in a way that’s similar to food stamps. That’s more effective and efficient and it gets directly to a person who needs it. “We all have this soft spot almost instinctively for the downtrodden but it’s a very difficult thing to get this right sometimes,” he said. “We’re all Bahamians. So many people have so much more than others. Some people try hard to get on their feet. Nevertheless, I think the state has a responsibility to close the income gap and deliver basic amenities to all people who call the Bahamas a home. I’ve always supported programmes that cater to those who are at risk.” During Wednesday night’s town-hall, Dr Minnis
stressed the initiative is more than a tax exemption programme and involves a holistic approach to addressing the communities’ problems. Critics, however, have questioned whether the anticipated annual $5 million budget for the project is enough to accomplish its grand plans in the foreseeable future. Mr Smith does not share this concern. “I wouldn’t criticise something because it starts off small,” he said. “There always has to be a balance in terms of where the government allocates resources and in this case, you still have the rest of the country to think about. Furthermore, starting off small allows you to course correct more easily than you would do if you rush into it.” According to a White Paper on the plan, the tax breaks would last for five years with the option of renewal.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, May 4, 2018, PAGE 7
CARELESS DRIVER FINED $5,000 FOR CRASH THAT KILLED MAN from page one
East in a manner dangerous to the public, which ultimately caused Smith’s death. According to a summary of the facts, around 1.10pm on February 26, the police control room received reports of a traffic accident at East Street and Malcolm Road involving
three vehicles. As a result of the information they had received, officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s traffic division responded and confirmed the reports. Investigators subsequently confirmed that a grey 2006 Nissan Bluebird, licence plate AF6713, driven by Colebrooke, was involved in an accident with
a white 2011 Ford Transit, driven by Chiance Walks that was headed east on Malcolm Road. Colebrooke’s car did not stop after that first collision and continued west in the east-bound lane of Malcolm Road. While travelling inA5MAIN that direction, however, her car collided with a grey 2001 Honda Accord that was being driven by Smith,
The CEO stated that
not just the economy, but
fs fail to deliver ‘MOREfor TECHlawyers FIRMS TO mons FOLLOW GIBC’S PATH’ ntempt hearing By DENISE MAYCOCK
who was travelling south on East Street. According to initial reports from police, the impact from Colebrooke’s car caused Smith’s car to enter the northbound lane on East Street and collide with a Ford F250 truck. Smith received serious injuries as a result of the collision and died at the scene. Police Chief
Superintendent Craig Stubbs had previously told The Tribune that Smith was likely to be driving between five to ten miles per hour or may have even been stationary when the fatal accident occurred. He also said all vehicles involved in the crash were registered and Tuesday, properly licenced, but could not say at the time if they were
properly insured. On February 27, a pathologist at the Rand Laboratory at Princess Margaret Hospital, performed an autopsy and determined Smith’s death was the result of blunt force trauma to his neck, chest and torso. Around 9.15am on May 3, officers arrested ColeSeptember 20, 2016, PA brooke in relation to the incident. She was later charged.
SON as a on result appearsReporter for Save $1m the isBays Tribune Freeport being spent the of theconstruction digital economy in dmaycock@tribunemedia.net deployment its employGrand Bahama,” ter undertaken withouthe said. as a watching brief to the of work ees to Grand Bahama from Mr Thompson a.netA TECH proceedings, said the at- the appropriate permits and said the company the UK and the US to train project advances the techtorneys should been in a manner that had caused planning to establish a have Bahamians. The company nology vision for Grand terday the present. multi-million-dollar ven- expects to havesignificant an annual damage Bahama. to It involves capiBahama llture not in Grand surrounding environment “Mr Keod Smith is an of$50m economic impact by tal investment, providing 2020. employment, and providing o believes frus- the ficerskilled of theworkcourt,” he said. of Clifton Bay. that“He will emerge from In addition to direct eco- the2014, necessary training in the aforce conIn January Keod has counsel. Counsel its business will attract simi- nomic benefits, he said that technology industry. atlarhad Smith filed a series of affihas confirmed both of his entities to the island. the skilled local workforce Ian Rolle, president of sultGIBC of Digital davits other claiming Justice clientsisfor hear- attract the scheduled first will inevitably the that Grand Bahama Port ALISTER Williams at a previous court appearance. foreign technology comias on ings. Bain should recuse herself I simply say technology the whole innovators to Authority, commended the panyis approved the initiated who Grand Bahama. government for the passing review prorecusalunder process by from a judicial new Enter“We are to beasa she ofhad the allegedly Commercial Enterial re- Commercial ceeding Keod Smith was found toexcited prises Act recently passed part of the community,” he prises Act, which allows ansion be answerable called made a series of decisions by the Minnis administra- and said. “In addition to the sig- companies like GIBC to be dtion Cay.to on based on her attracted affiliation with by the court to show attract new and nificant positive economic to Freeport. Derek the Free National Movecause why they not diverse technology firms to should contributor and matched it is alleged Williams also impact for Bahamians, He said the government By NICO SCAVELLA Grand Bahama. a DNA profile previously robbed Bowen of two cell ppear ment. be committed.” we estimate the value to and GBPA are working on Tribune Staff Reporter Greg Wood, CEOjudicial of be $50m obtained by Williams. phones and an iPod. by 2020.Ten We months will a number of other initia- nscavella@tribunemedia.net a Bain later, Keod “These review GIBC, said the company firmly establish Grand tives that will stimulate the Ms Oefelein said the According to initial ing to Smith attempted to withproceedings have been held WHILE the belt found chance that an unrelated reports, Bowen was found was attracted to Grand Bahama as the tech hub in growth of the technology hould for Mr much Smith. the The time draw the applications wrapped around pregnant person, chosen at random shortly after 8am on SepBahama up notby so Caribbean.” industry. prison the recusal, notwithstandcome to Marisha from the general popula- tember 9, 2016, by other because has of the new for law,the court Mr Wood indicated that “I think it is a significant schoolteacher the strong gov- they ofbutaf-because ing creating a sectionindustry of an inaffidatakeofsome actionareforabout that we are plan- Bowen’s neck two years tion, would match that tenants of a complex on ernment’shim vision create careeravailopportunities ning to entitled develop a pipeline ago had blood on it and DNA profile is approxi- Red Sea Road, off Sumner Smith, vit filedand in January to to make himself “frayed”, it did not mately one in every 160 Street, suffering from a a technology hub on the not just jobs. of Bahamians edisland. by able to the court.” “Justice Bain, who is she?”to fit into was have any traces of the quadrillion individuals. single wound to the body. “We are looking for this particular industry… 2014. Fred He alleged the judge once “It is notAs so for muchMr the Ryan, However, Ms Oefelein, in She was pronounced people who are smart and as there is a significant DNA belonging to the man especifics no of under formerfor Prime Smith added the let-and worked the bill in thisthatmotivated, her evidence, said Williams dead at the scene. we hire as a demand this particular accused of killing her. Detective Sergeant can be excluded as a conparticularter case, but have it is been orning Hubert Ingraham, should made During previous proceedcompany basedMinister on values, industry,” Mr Rolle said. about abilities,opand skills “Now is to time ons of government’s that in shethat was appointed a for the Nathanial Lloyd, attached tributor to the DNA profile ings, Detective Corporal available atcoman earlier the forensic section of obtained from one of the Javod Frazer said he saw mitment portunity. to realising its order. We can high-ranking train skills, Bahamas positiontointake theadvantage to WILLIAMS, 30, whoPolice is charged with killing Marisha Bowen. the Royal Bahamas vision for the country - that abilities can be improved, of a very unique ALISTER oral swabs. blood on walls, the floor opporCause Attorney General’s Office Justice Bain adjourned Hanna/Tribune was the deciding factor for and values don’t change so tunity, and I applaud the Force, testified how his Yesterday also saw brief Photo: and Shawn miscellaneous items preme because of her ties to the theatproceedings 2.30pm analysis of the belt revealed us,” he said a press con- to testimony from Miriam in the Guyanese womit is important we get values government for leading the August FNM and her and twoIsons to consider the next step. ference yesterday. apartment before right and everything elsethat cause, pray Freeport it was frayed on one end, Brown, a tenant in the an’s “We are When committed h men. were fathered by a person theto matter will takerecare of itself,” he continue to benefit from was “saturated” with red/ apartment complex where ultimately finding her “lifehelping realise your said. were been you he claimed isdifferent a closeinitiatives friend that are brown stains and had blood Bowen lived. Ms Brown less” and “nude” body lying sumed, both lawyers on it. vision to making Grand said around 7.30am on in a “large accumulation” Senator Kwasi Thompgoing to be introduced.” khart, absent and Bain and advisor to Mr IngraHowever, Rachel Oefe- September 9, 2016, she of blood in her bed. Bahama astill technology hub Justice son said that GIBC’s Mr Rolle believes that both made a decision. we all know it can be,” he presence is a ham. Det Cpl Frazer said the major step the establishment of the lein, a forensic DNA was lying down listening to tempt Smith also claimed “As this is a matter pledged. forward for in GrandKeod Bahama technology sector will analyst from Florida, in the news when she heard woman had what appeared According to Mr Wood, and that Justice hadthe made Keod Smith Derekthe region’s becoming tech- Bain increase island’s popu- her evidence, said Allister screams from downstairs to be a yellow dress with GIBC’s initial nology why hub. several rulings lation a veryof unique way. Williams can be excluded and someone asking: “How suspected blood coverustice in in favour Ryan investment to show cause By LAMECH JOHNSON Sumner Street, according to ing her “Has heasbeen cost is around $3m to get face, well seen as a “This government has who “We in believe the tech sector as a contributor to the you get inside here?” orning Fred Smith, the past they should not be cited Staff Reporter reports. Sheshe was also black physician?” thewrapped chief m DNA profile obtainedinitialMs the company started in been focused on making will bring about theTribune Brown said heard cloth belt right t Freeport. “de- for had been affiliated with the contempt and commitThe offices will be technology the third pillar type of persons here ljohnson@tribunemedia.net trate asked. that remark just once. around her neck. He said to from the two items she andpregnant. empts FNM, only be prison, located inted the to Jasmine Cor-it is She saidwas she told walked over visible injuries to of imperaour economy, and itand has “can the island to excause that to her employer, DNA Labs Williams that he he noticed Mr Smith said no, International received for to the window and saw a the woman’s neck and chin porate Business Centre. court as coming about as tive for Keod Smith and been our visionplained to advance happen,” he said. A MAN was arraigned would not be allowed to enwithstanding his req analysis, that is a swab of Ms Armbrister walking and also a grey towel with ervice Derek Ryan to be person- a result of her bias.” yesterday belt in buckle connection a plea tothe thesource charge Chief Magistrate and the beltter towards of until the blood stains in the area ofFo Derek ally served and for them to Justice Bain, in Decem- with thethe September 9 killhe is formally arraigned bemade a note itself. sound. However, Ms Brown her right arm. for William be present in court to show ber 2014, found Keod Smith ing of schoolteacher In his testimony, Det Sgtforesaid Maria judge in the Ms Supreme be seen a physician she advised ArmAfter anbyautopsy com- a that cause,” the judge said. guilty of contempt for the sha Bowen. Lloyd said evidence fromCourt. brister not to do so because menced his presence, Deto prisonin but could not two vaginal swabs and two that woman got shot in the Cpl Frazer said Dr Caryn ase of “Nevertheless, the court “scandalising” affidavits he Alister Williams, 30, Smith’s subsequent re He is also set to return to SCAVELLA deathSmith of Perez Dames. was not required oral swabs of the Guyanese leg on a previous occasion. Sands, the pathologist d By NICO been will had filed whichMajor undermined not allow Keod stood before Chief MagMagistrate’s Court on Octhat his client be detain Tribune Staff Reporter According to integrity police toofenter a plea to the teacher suggested that “fricMs Brown said Ms Arm- conducting the operation, Comthe judge and Derek Ryan to frus- the istrate Forbes for tober 24 did for as a told, presentation the sick bay out in the inte nscavella@tribunemedia.net tion” or “force” occurred. reports, shortly after charge and his matter was Andrew brister and said further pointed injuries ocates. trate the process. The and the judicial system. His court Additionally, Det a Sgtof ashe thesermurder of Ms Bowen, voluntary bill of indictWilliams will have 9pm on April 27, police adjourned to July 3 for subsequently moved to the left and right sides oft 31-YEAR-OLD ed Aan adjourns then lawyer, Mr Ryan, was native this matter to a were said the presence ofment, in Abaco called vice of a voluntary bill of ofLloyd fromwhich the window. Bowen’s skull, Guyana who had will facilitate Msply for bail at and the also Sup man arraigned in a the court to the wasdate material on the twothe transfer informedindictment. that he “can- taught atseminal to enable Williams of is on trial overto pointed out an embryo. to the area also of Charles Charles W SaunCourt if he desires a the case Court yestervaginal swabs suggested allegations he murdered the hisMagistrate’s re- make the ders further effort to serve not escape liability” Roger of Thompson and He wasfor remanded to theBaptist School since ahead trial. the higher court. day accused of murdering Sawyer Highway in Marsh Harbour, they dis- Bahamas Department of that sexual intercourse former CW Saunders Bap- Fania Joseph are the two affidavits. Keod Smith Derekwhere another man in Marsh Har- and 2014. Before he was remanded Crown attorneys on record tist teacher on September covered the lifeless Correctional in occurred. asked At abody contempt hearingServices a Ryan. If the court is unbour, Abaco, last Friday. She was found lifeless During previous proceedto prison to await trial, his for the matter, while Stan9, 2016. a man withmonth an appardepending on Adnardo Major, with of ofeffecting herealater, the Mrinterim, Lockhart successful ings, Ms Oefelein said onelawyer with a slit throat shortly Nathan Smith made He is charged with ley Rolle and Marianne ent gunshot to thefor whether or nota he exerDundas Town, stood appeared Keod Smith, service onbefore Keod Smith and wound of the two vaginal swabsallegations murder, robbery, and Cadet from the Office of after 8am on the day in that his client head. cises his right to the apply in question contained a Chief Magistrate Joyann Keod former Progressive Liberal question Derek Ryan on theThe return receiving significant in connection the Public Defender, reprein her fraction,” apartment “suffered injubody was examined to the Supreme Court for “sperm Ferguson-Pratt charged which with the incident. Concern- sent Williams. swith andone date, Party MP, and expressed the court will then in intenants count of murder by a doctor at the scene and bail and is successful by other of a comwhile policecharge, custo- The trial continues. turn indicated one maleriesing the in robbery chamhis reservations the plex on Read make substi- dead. concerning the an Aprilorder 27 of pronounced doingabout so. Sea Road, off dy”. e sen- tuted service,” Justice Bain proceedings and argued that the court had already stressed. an, Mr The two lawyers will arrived at a determination ived a now have until October 12 without first considering ber 12 to voluntarily make them- any evidence to refute the G Eu- selves available for service pair of contempt. edical or the documents are inThe judge ruled, after a n Port directly served by other hearing in March 2015, that cating court-approved means. the court would proceed been A ruling concerning a with notice against the ate past site visit to Nygard Cay has torney to show cause why hronic been adjourned to Wednes- he should not be committed to prison. day, September 21. me for However, the judge Justice Bain is presidfor his ing over the judicial review stayed contempt proceedI for- filed by the Coalition to ings pending the outcome s time Protect Clifton Bay which of Keod Smith’s application ates of is challenging an applica- before the Court of Appeal. ardise tion by Peter Nygard to furIn January of this year, he let- ther develop his premises in Mr Lockhart was unable Lyford Cay and gain a lease to convince appellate court given for Crown land reclaimed judges that his client’s apth re- from the sea. peal was not premature and atient Fred Smith, lead coun- Mr Smith’s appeal was disvel to sel for the environmental missed. e pro- group, alleges that over the Mr Smith represented the last 30 years, Nygard Cay Mount Moriah area from who has nearly doubled in size 2002 to 2007.
BELT ‘DID NOT HAVE DNA ON IT’
SUSPECT ACCUSED OF SLITTING TEACHER’S THROAT FACES COUR
ABACO MURDER SUSPECT CHARGED
RGED OVER TRIPLE SHOOTING
d to is cliceived prison
PAGE 8, Friday, May 4, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Grand Bahama ‘worse off’ under FNM government By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net PLP LEADER Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday Grand Bahama is worse off now since the Free National Movement took office almost one year ago, blaming the Minnis administration for disrupting the island’s economic revival by revoking the Freeport Incentive Act. Mr Davis stated the law passed by the former PLP administration provided the stimulus to spur investments that would have resulted in the injection of hundreds of millions of dollars into the economy of Grand Bahama. “Now nothing is happening,” he said, the same day a tech company held a press conference on the island announcing it was moving operations to Grand Bahama with plans to have an annual economic impact of $50m by 2020. Greg Wood, CEO of GIBC Digital, said the company was attracted to Grand Bahama because of the Minnis administration’s vision to create a technology hub on the island. Meanwhile, Mr Davis said: “They (the FNM) announced almost immediately that they were going to revoke the FIA...and once they did that those who were going to spur the economy by spending money stopped.
LEADER of the Opposition Philip ‘Brave’ Davis tours Port Lucaya Market Place with Senator Fred Mitchell. Photo: Vandyke Hepburn “So, we have lost one year of investments – the GB Shipyard was going to spend money, and a number of entities in GB had committed to spending hundreds of millions of money on the context of what was provided for them in the Freeport Incentive Act.” Mr Davis, leader of the Progressive Liberal Party, arrived in Freeport on
Thursday and will be in Grand Bahama for the next two days. He, along with Senators Fred Mitchell and Michael Darville, plan to meet with residents in Freeport, and East and West Grand Bahama. They went to the Port Lucaya Marketplace on Thursday afternoon where Mr Davis met and spoke with straw vendors. Mr Davis stressed that
the PLP had a number of projects and initiatives that flowed from the Freeport Incentive Act that would have helped the economy of the island. He also noted that they had an arrangement for the sale and revitalisation of the Grand Lucayan resort. “All that was required was to flip the switch. What has happened to that, God only knows,” he said,
The PLP leader noted that there is so much uncertainty surrounding the sale of the property under the present government, which has yet to close a deal on the sale of the hotel. “One of the best parameters to know how any economy is doing in the Bahamas is to visit the straw markets. If it is doing dismally then you can take from that what is happening in the economy as a whole,” Mr Davis said. One straw vendor told Mr Davis that things are terrible at Port Lucaya. “The ship is in, and no one is out here,” she said. With the hotel closed, Mr Davis believes that reopening the casino would help to attract more tourists to Port Lucaya. “The casino has been closed and we have been hearing from time to time it is going to open. That could be an attraction in the daytime to help bring tourists here,” he said. “There is no doubt that GB is in a worse state. They need to fix GB. The only thing that interrupted the upward trajectory for the economic revival of Grand Bahama was Hurricane Matthew,” he explained. When the PLP left office, Mr Davis said there was an apprenticeship programme in place at the Grand Bahama Shipyard to train more than 300 Bahamians to replace the expatriate workforce.
He said the performance of the five FNM MPs on Grand Bahama is unsatisfactory. Mr Davis also indicated that many of the contractors the PLP left in place for the construction of various capital works projects, including the new fire station, Fishing Hole causeway, Smith’s Point seawall, and renovations for schools and clinic, are not being paid. “What are the MPs doing to ensure that happens, recognising that the Minister of Finance (Peter Turnquest) is one of those members. Why starve the contractors? He is paying some huge bills to a single vendor of the Bahamas of funds over $40m or $60m,” Mr Davis claimed. “I ask FNMs to call on the government to make them accountable. You have five MPs and three senators, call on them to account,” he said. Mr Davis noted that the PLP also had a plan in place for East End with Carnival set to sign an agreement for a cruise port. He said the Christie administration had negotiated a heads of agreement that would have been benefited many Bahamians. “When we left, Carnival was ready to put a shovel in the ground. Why after eight months a shovel is not in the ground? Every day that goes by it gets worse,” he said.
READERS RESPOND TO TECH HUB PLAN FOR GRAND BAHAMA AFTER Grand Bahama received a major boost with GIBC Digital, a New York-headquartered firm, pledging an annual $50m economic impact by 2020, readers gave their reaction on tribune242.com. HonestTruth was pleased: “This is absolutely fantastic news, please keep up the good work and let’s get Freeport back to where it once was. I love this direction and vision.” But Proudloudandfnm wasn’t so sure: “Does not appear to be for locals. I have no idea what they do. Seems to be more for highly trained IT professionals. Not exactly good for the locals. But we will
see. It definitely is along the lines to help to slow brain drain so this may be a very good thing in the long term. But it does not end our troubles right now it will not bring Freeport back to life. We need our hotels reopened and we need that 1% processing fee waived for maritime and we need that incredibly ignorant 25% C-10 fee eliminated. I’m also not buying that line about
each job creating 2.5 jobs in service and tourism. But as long as this does not Oban out it can be good for the country in the long term. Still have no faith in Minnis or Kwasi so I wait and see . . .” BahamasForBahamians had this to say: “Until we reduce the cost of energy in The Bahamas - articles like this will come and go without any real activity. We cannot compete with countries who charge less than a fraction than we do for the most expensive fixed cost in the tech sector: electricity. Additionally, we have archaic laws that deal with intellectual property and other
tech-related factors. When we see changes in that regard, then these Silicon Valley pipe dreams can actually come to fruition.” Realitycheck242 said: “Great news for tech savvy young Bahamians . . . This would never have happened under the PLP . . . This is only the beginning. After one year there are signs of this ship of state beginning to turn.” Dawes posted this comment: “It’s a start, and hopefully more will follow. Whilst it may initially not help many unemployed Grand Bahamians it will help in the long run, as another industry is now set up over here that
Bahamians can work in without having to leave. It has taken over 15 years for Freeport to get to where it is today (and some would say 30 years), so it will not get out of the quagmire it finds itself in overnight. But if they can get this one and another 5-10 it will be a start – and, also, get that hotel re-opened then things would be looking up.” And ThisIsOurs said: “I think it’s great news for Freeport if they open, ‘some’ people who are not earning an income may have an opportunity to, also they’re not destroying the environment. But I’ve seen too much sexy terms used by this administration.
I had so much hope on May 11 2017, then as the months rolled on I started wondering, then it became apparent to me what was happening . . . they were running an election campaign. It was ALL about PR, all a marketing scheme, catchy terms, hype up the crowd but no real substance. I believe we can be Silicon Valley too, but we ain’t gonna be it with a 90 percent foreign tech workforce. That’s the definition of a mobile unit that can pick up and leave when they feel like it.” • Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, May 4, 2018, PAGE 9
CONCERN OVER MOVES TO SELL LIGHTHOUSE POINT By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
DESPITE serious pushback from environmental groups and residents in Eleuthera, sources on the island are concerned there is “serious” movement in the sale and development of Lighthouse Point. One source on the island claimed the latest “pitch” to push the deal has come from Central and South Eleuthera MP Hank Johnson. The source claimed Mr Johnson has, in recent weeks, used at least one party branded function to “extensively sell” residents on the pros of a potential Disney-led Lighthouse Point development. When contacted yesterday, Mr Johnson said he could not speak about the claims, but did say “rumblings” were in the air about Lighthouse Pointe. “Yes, at this time, there is nothing I can say to you on this matter,” he said. “There is nothing that I can say. There are rumblings in the air, but I have nothing to say further to that.” Currently, a group called One Eleuthera is at the helm of the battle against any large-scale
development at Lighthouse Point, widely considered to be one of the most important, unexplored archaeological and scientific sites in The Bahamas. The 700-acre property is being advertised for sale by Bahamas Realty, and is listed on the Bahamas Real Estate Association’s website. The area is being
DEIRDRE CLARKE
marketed as an “ideal setting for a grand vision, with exceptional beachfront acreage, colourful coral reefs and a breathtaking landscape.” The realtor has also dubbed it as “the perfect locale for a vacation home, hotel and marina development.” The Tribune understands Lighthouse Point, despite its history and importance
to the island of Eleuthera, sits on a privately-owned property that is now listed for sale. Meanwhile, Cabinet Press Secretary Anthony Newbold yesterday said he was “unaware” of any proposed development for the Lighthouse Point property. Mr Newbold, as a result of his post, would be aware of any capital works being
approved by Cabinet. In March, Holly Peel, a long-time resident of Eleuthera who contacted The Tribune with concerns over how the property was being handled, called on the government to get involved and help the group pushing to keep the property. Mrs Peel said there is growing panic throughout the island’s community that the sale, if completed, could
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result in a major development which could destroy the historical landmark. “The record will show, the people of Eleuthera have never taken kindly to our historical points being ran over and mismanaged,” she told The Tribune. Officials at Disney Cruise Lines yesterday promised a statement on the matter, however, one did not arrive up to press time.
PAGE 10, Friday, May 4, 2018
COSBY AND POLANSKI EXPELLED BY FILM ACADEMY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The organisation that bestows the Academy Awards said yesterday that it has expelled two prominent members convicted of sexual offenses, Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski, from its membership. It’s the first major decision since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences implemented revised standards of conduct for its over 8,400 members following its expulsion of disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein in October. In Polanski’s case, the expulsion comes more than 40 years after he was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl he plied with champagne and Quaaludes during a photo shoot, and 15 years after he won a best director Oscar. Polanski’s attorney Harland Braun said the decision “blindsided” the director, who learned of his expulsion from media reports. Braun accused the academy of failing to follow its rules and give Polanski’s team a chance to respond to efforts to expel him.
RAID UNCOVERS FAKE POLICE IN MEXICO MEXICO CITY (AP) — Prosecutors and soldiers raided the headquarters of a local police force in central Mexico and found a strange thing: 113 of the 185 officers weren’t police at all. The Public Safety Department in Puebla state said late Wednesday the 113 are facing charges equivalent to impersonating an officer and that the state government would take over policing duties in the town of San Martin Texmelucan. Puebla’s interior secretary Diodoro Carrasco said the town government had lost control and could no longer guarantee the safety of residents. He cited multiple instances in which bound or dismembered bodies had been left on the town’s streets. Some of the fake officers presumably paid to avoid vetting and registration procedures. Others weren’t registered as police in any way, but video provided by the state government showed them wearing uniforms.
THE TRIBUNE
COULD THE ZODIAC KILLER BE DISCOVERED AT LAST? SAN FRANCISCO Associated Press
NORTHERN California detectives still trying to identify the infamous Zodiac Killer who targeted victims in the late 1960s and taunted investigators with letters say they hope to try the same DNA tracing technology recently used to arrest a suspect in another string of cold-case serial slayings — those blamed on the Golden State Killer. But first they have to get a better DNA profile. Several months ago, the Vallejo Police Department sent two letters written by the Zodiac Killer to a private lab in hopes of finding his DNA on the back of the stamps or envelope flaps that may have been licked. They are expecting results soon. “They were confident they would be able to get something off it,” Vallejo police Detective Terry Poyser told the Sacramento Bee. Poyser said he hopes a full DNA profile will be found that will enable detectives to try the same DNA sleuthing techniques that were used
to arrest Joseph DeAngelo last month. Authorities suspect he committed at least 12 murders and 50 rapes in California between 1976 and 1986. Investigators uploaded DNA collected at one of the crime scenes to an open-source genealogical website and found a partial match to a distant relative of DeAngelo’s. From there, they painstakingly constructed a family tree dating back several generations before they zeroed in on DeAngelo. Some privacy advocates say they are concerned with the process and worry about future abuses, but detectives investigating the Zodiac Killer say they hope the technique will help solve one of the most vexing cold cases in the country. “That’s a great idea,” said Gary Harmor, founder and director of the Serological Research Institute, a private DNA lab. “I think we’ll see more investigations use this technique.” Detectives in Southern California are testing DNA collected from a doublemurder and rape to see if
A SAN Francisco Police Department wanted bulletin and copies of letters sent to the San Francisco Chronicle by a man who called himself Zodiac are displayed yesterday in San Francisco. they can be tied to DeAngelo. Another man, Craig Coley, was recently cleared of those crimes after spending 38 years in prison in the murder of a 24-yearold college student and her four-year-old son in 1978.
The Zodiac Killer fatally stabbed or shot to death five people in Northern California in 1968 and 1969, then sent taunting letters and cryptograms to the police and newspapers. The Vallejo police are the lead
investigators because the first two victims were killed there. The suspect was dubbed the Zodiac Killer because some of the cryptograms included astrological symbols and references.
Trump’s story changes on payments to porn star WASHINGTON Associated Press PRESIDENT Donald Trump insisted yesterday his reimbursement of a 2016 hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels had nothing to do with his election campaign. But the surprise revelation of the president’s payment clashed with his past statements, created new legal headaches and stunned many in the West Wing. White House aides were blindsided when Trump’s recently added attorney, Rudy Giuliani, said on Wednesday night that the president had repaid Michael Cohen for $130,000 that was given to Daniels to keep her quiet before the 2016 election about her allegations of an affair with Trump. Giuliani’s revelation, which seemed to contradict Trump’s past statements, came as the president’s newly configured outside legal team pursued his defense, apparently with zero coordination with the
West Wing. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she first learned that Trump had repaid the hush money from Giuliani’s interview on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity”. Staffers’ phones began to buzz within moments. Deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley, who had pre-taped an interview with Fox News earlier on Wednesday evening, was suddenly summoned to return for a live interview. While Giuliani said the payment to Daniels was “going to turn out to be perfectly legal,” legal experts said the new information raised a number of questions, including whether the money represented repayment of an undisclosed loan or could be seen as reimbursement for a campaign expenditure. Either could be legally problematic. Giuliani insisted Trump didn’t know the specifics of Cohen’s arrangement with Daniels until recently,
telling “Fox & Friends” yesterday that the president didn’t know all the details until “maybe ten days ago.” Giuliani told The New York Times that Trump had repaid Cohen $35,000 a month “out of his personal family account” after the campaign was over. He said Cohen received $460,000 or $470,000 in all for expenses related to Trump. But no debt to Cohen was listed on Trump’s personal financial disclosure form, which was certified on June 16, 2017. Asked if Trump had filed a fraudulent form, Sanders said: “I don’t know.” Giuliani said the payment was not a campaign finance violation, but also acknowledged that Daniels’ hushed-up allegations could have affected the campaign, saying: “Imagine if that came out on October 15, 2016, in the middle of the last debate with Hillary Clinton.” Questions remain about just what Trump knew and when.
Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, is seeking to be released from a non-disclosure deal she signed in the days before the 2016 election to keep her from talking about a 2006 sexual encounter she said she had with Trump. She has also filed defamation suits against Cohen and Trump. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One several weeks ago, Trump said he did not know about the payment or where the money came from. In a phone interview with “Fox and Friends” last week, however, he appeared to muddy the waters, saying that Cohen represented him in the “crazy Stormy Daniels deal”. Sanders said yesterday that Trump “eventually learned” about the payment, but she did not offer details. For all the controversy Giuliani stirred up, some Trump supporters said it was wise to get the payment acknowledgement out in the open. Said former New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie: “You know, there’s an old saying in the law, ‘Hang a lantern on your problems.’ ... So the fact is that Rudy has to go out there now and clean it up. That’s what lawyers get hired to do.” Daniels herself weighed in via Twitter, saying: “I don’t think Cohen is qualified to ‘clean up’ my horse’s manure. Too soon?” Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, who engaged in his own press tour Thursday, slammed both Trump and Giuliani. “The admissions by Mr. Giuliani as to Mr Trump’s conduct and the acts of Mr Cohen are directly contrary to the lies previously told to the American people,” he said. “There will ultimately be severe consequences.” Trump is facing mounting legal threats from the Cohen-Daniels situation and the special counsel’s investigation of Russian meddling in the election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.
HOUSE CHAPLAIN RETURNS AFTER SCALDING LETTER TO SPEAKER WASHINGTON Associated Press
THE embattled chaplain of the US House of Representatives has won his job back just hours after sending a scalding letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan that accused a top Ryan staff aide of telling him “something like ‘maybe it’s time that we had a Chaplain that wasn’t a Catholic’”. Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, forced Reverend Pat Conroy to tender his resignation last month, sparking a firestorm. Ryan has said he was dissatisfied with Conroy’s pastoral care to lawmakers. But in a statement yesterday, Ryan — himself a Catholic — reversed course. “It is my job as speaker to do what is best for this
body, and I know that this body is not well served by a protracted fight over such an important position,” Ryan said. Ryan’s statement came soon after Conroy delivered a two-page letter that said he has never “heard a complaint about my ministry” as House chaplain. Instead, Conroy says top Ryan aide Jonathan Burks told him the speaker wanted his resignation, and cited a prayer last year that was potentially critical of the GOP tax bill. “I inquired as to whether or not it was ‘for cause,’ and Mr Burks mentioned something dismissively like ‘maybe it’s time that we had a Chaplain that wasn’t a Catholic’,” Conroy wrote to Ryan in a letter that was also sent to House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Ryan did not directly address Conroy’s explosive charge, saying, “To be clear, that decision was based on my duty to ensure that the House has the kind of pastoral services that it deserves.” Burks, in a statement released by Ryan’s office, said “I strongly disagree with Father Conroy’s recollection of our conversation.” Conroy also wrote that Burks mentioned a November prayer regarding the GOP tax bill that upset many Republicans. Then, Conroy prayed for lawmakers to make sure that “there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans.”
HAWAII VOLCANO ERUPTS HONOLULU Associated Press
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted Thursday, releasing red lava into a residential neighborhood and prompting mandatory evacuation orders for nearby homes. Hawaii County said steam and lava poured out of a crack in Leilani Estates, which is near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island. The eruption comes after days of earthquakes rattled the area’s Puna district.
Earlier in the week, the crater floor of the Puu Oo vent collapsed. That caused magma to push more than ten miles (16 kilometers) downslope toward the populated southeast coastline of the island. Hawaii County spokeswoman Janet Snyder said red lava emerged Thursday on Mohala Street. The county has ordered evacuations for homes from Luana Street to Pohohiki Road. Snyder didn’t know how many homes were covered by the evacuation order.
THE TRIBUNE
‘The Bahamas’ own street philosopher’
TO donate to the Potcake House Fire Relief Fund: Go into or electronic transfer to any Bank of The Bahamas branch, to Acct #5510082190 (Main Branch 157) in the name of Loxley Thompson.
Friday, May 4, 2018, PAGE 11
PAGE 12, Friday, May 4, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
US OFFICIAL VISITS FREEPORT BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
CHARGE d’affaires at the US Embassy in the Bahamas Stephanie Bowers recently made a courtesy call on Minister of State for Grand Bahama Senator Kwasi Thompson at the Office of the Prime Minister in Grand Bahama. It was her first official visit to Freeport since assuming office on March 1. Mr Thompson presented
Ms Bowers with a basket of honey products produced by youngsters participating in the Youth Apiary Programme. He said: “We are very pleased to welcome her and her team to GB. We assure this is going to assist us in continuing the very important relationship we have with the US. “GB also is very keen on continuing the relationship with US Embassy, and it is a pleasure to welcome her to the island of GB,” Mr
Thompson said. Ms Bowers said she is looking forward to continuing the strong partnership between the US and The Bahamas. “I am honoured to be here. I recently arrived in The Bahamas, and I look forward to continuing our strong partnership. The US and The Bahamas have mutually aligned goals, and we look forward to strengthening our partnership and moving forward together,” she said.
DURING her first visit to Grand Bahama, US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Stephanie Bowers recently paid a courtesy call on Minister of State for Grand Bahama in the Office of the Prime Minister Kwasi Thompson. Mr Thompson presented Ms Bowers with a gift basket of Bahamian products made by Youth Apiary Programme participants. The basket contained candles, soap and honey. Photo: Lisa Davis/BIS