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T R I B U N E 2 4 2 . C O M
Biggest And Best!
Volume: 123 No. 143, Friday, June 19, 2026
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: PRICE–$1
TAXPAYERS TO FUND $1BN CIVIL SERVICE Bahamians face record public worker wage bill for upcoming year By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net TOTAL compensation paid to the Bahamian civil service will breach the $1bn mark for the first time in the upcoming 2026-2027 fiscal period, it has been revealed, with its ranks having expanded by 2,342 persons over the past four years. Budget documents show that the total bill for central
government employees is forecast to hit $1.013bn during the 12 months to end-June 2027, all of which will be funded by Bahamian taxpayers. The just-disclosed Fiscal Strategy Report 2026 breaks this figure down into $868.2m in wages and salaries; an additional $96.9m in allowances; and some $47.9m in National Insurance Board (NIB) contributions. SEE BUSINESS FOR STORY
RBDF DISCHARGES MARINE ACCUSED IN COCAINE RING A ROYAL Bahamas Defence Force marine accused with two police officers in an alleged 400kilo cocaine trafficking conspiracy is being discharged from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the agency said yesterday. The RBDF said Marine Raemon Russell, who was arrested and charged before
Florida operator defends Bahamas jet ski industry
the courts on June 17, had previously requested to leave the force and was on leave exhausting his outstanding leave. He later applied to rescind his discharge request, but the RBDF said it has initiated the process for his discharge, subject to DRUG - SEE PAGE THREE
JON ROSEN Owner & Operator of Jetski Fort Lauderdale holds press conference on Cabbage Beach to advocate for local jetski operators. Photo: Nikia Charlton By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net A FLORIDA jet ski operator has defended The Bahamas’ watercraft industry after the latest US Embassy warning, arguing that the alert exaggerates the danger of rentals and risks damaging the livelihoods of
Bahamians who depend on tourism. John Rosen, owner of Jet Ski Fort Lauderdale, spoke at Cabbage Beach near Atlantis yesterday after the embassy warned Americans about “serious and ongoing” dangers linked to jet ski rentals in The Bahamas. In a video message on Monday, US Ambassador Herschel Walker
said Americans had died, visitors had been hospitalised and US citizens had been sexually assaulted by jet ski operators who took victims to isolated islands. The embassy said six US citizens have been hospitalised in jet ski accidents since August 2024, with three JET SKI - SEE PAGE FIVE
Today’s Crown rests in two-and-a-half InAround Da Islands: year WSC corruption trial By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter kcampbell@tribunemedia.net THE Crown closed its case yesterday in the criminal trial of former Water and Sewerage Corporation executive chairman Adrian Gibson and others, ending more than two and a half years of prosecution evidence in one of
the country’s most closely watched public corruption cases. Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier announced the move before Senior Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson after prosecutors completed their examination of Alexandria Mackey, Gibson’s GIBSON - SEE PAGE THREE
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ADRIAN GIBSON