OBITUARIES THURSDAY
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The Tribune L AT E S T
Volume: 123 No. 133, Thursday, June 4, 2026
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FISHERMEN FACE THREAT OF 12.5% TRUMP TARIFF US warns of rise in export tax over Bahamas’ lack of laws against forced labour By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A SENIOR fisheries executive yesterday asked “where does it end” as the Trump administration threatened to hit Bahamian exports to the US with 12.5 percent tariffs after finding this nation is failing to combat imported goods made with forced labour.
Adrian LaRoda, president of The Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA), told Tribune Business that imposing such US border taxes on spiny lobster threatens to place a key fisheries product “at a serious competitive disadvantage” and undermine a major portion of the industry’s annual $90m global exports. See BUSINESS FOR STORY
POWER BILLS ‘FIVE TIMES’ MORE THAN REGIONAL AVERAGE By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ANNUAL Bahamian household spending on electricity bills is “five times’ higher” than the Latin American and Caribbean average, an Inter-American Development Bank (IDN) report has revealed, due to “structural generation and system inefficencies”. The multilateral lender, in its first quarterly
Caribbean bulletin for 2026, said Bahamian energy costs cannot be blamed on oil price volatility alone and noted that the sustainability of Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) Equity Rate Adjustment tariff structure - which ensures the first 200 kilowatt hours every month are free - depends on reducing generation costs and boosting efficiency. See BUSINESS FOR STORY
Left: Dr Tami Francis, director of the National Insurance Board.
HIGHER EARNERS FACE NIB RATE NIB DIRECTOR INSISTS PENSION HIKE AS PENSION BENEFITS RISE FUND IS ‘ACTUALLY NOT IN CRISIS’ By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net WORKERS earning more than $810 a week will pay about $4 more per month in National Insurance contributions from July 1, while pensioners will receive a monthly increase as the National Insurance Board rolls out its latest statutory biennial adjustments.
The changes, announced yesterday by NIB Director Dr Tami Francis, include a 1.5 percent increase in pensions and grants and an increase in the insurable wage ceiling from $810 to $830 per week. The adjustments fall under the National Insurance Act framework governing mandatory biennial reviews, a system INCREASE - SEE PAGE FOUR
The Tribune’s next issue will be Monday, June 7 due to the holiday
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL Insurance Board Director Dr Tami Francis insisted yesterday that the pension fund “is actually not in crisis” after government warnings and actuarial concerns pointed to deep long-term pressure from a shrinking workforce, rising retiree numbers and demographic decline.
Dr Francis said the fund’s position has improved since the 1.5 percentage point contribution rate increase in July 2024, which she said is generating about $4m in additional monthly income and helping to stabilise short and medium-term finances. “This is not a full stopgap measure – no, just contribution rate is just not the only CRISIS - SEE PAGE FOUR
We wish everyone a happy and safe Labour Day weekend
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