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Volume: 121 No.130, May 31, 2024
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CULMER: MINNIS WAS WORST LEADER EVER Former FNM chair tells Cultures come together of poor communication at Lookout Cay opening and lack of information By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net CARL Culmer lifted the lid on his tenure as the Free National Movement’s chairman yesterday and described former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis as the worst leader he has served in any capacity. The relationship between party leader and chairman is one of the most critical
in politics, especially for a governing party. Although Mr Culmer relentlessly championed and defended Dr Minnis as the FNM’s chairman from 2017 to 2021 and appeared publicly to be one of the Killarney MP’s closest allies, he told The Tribune that Dr Minnis shunned him and ignored his advice. He said he wanted to SEE PAGE THREE
THOMPSON ENDS SPECULATION, ENDORSES PINTARD FOR LEADER By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net TWO days before the Free National Movement’s convention, East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson has ended speculation by endorsing Michael Pintard in his leadership race against former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.
Insiders have seen Mr Thompson as an ally of Dr Minnis in the past, and the former prime minister reportedly supported his bid to lead the party when he ran for leader in 2021. “We have a critical choice to make June 1 on who will lead our party towards that victory,” Mr Thompson said SEE PAGE THREE
MICKEY and Minnie Mouse, dressed in their Bahamian attire, take the stage alongside Junkanoo performers as Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis and Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper look on during the Community Celebration for Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point in Eleuthera yesterday. For story see PAGE FIVE. Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
Wilson says reporter’s claim that $500M SWING he lied to media is ‘unfounded’ IN FORECAST PROMPTS CALL FOR ANSWERS By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Digital Editor aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
FINANCIAL Secretary Simon Wilson called a Nassau Guardian reporter’s claim that he had lied
to the media “scandalous” and “unfounded” - in a row between the two at a briefing on the 2024-2025 Budget at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday. The incident began after Mr Wilson invited questions
from the media during his appearance at the press conference, broadcast live, with Mr Wilson reacting angrily to the first question, from Nassau Guardian SEE PAGE THREE
HALKITIS DEFENDS GOVT’S $10M SALARY REVIEW By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis defended the Davis administration’s decision to allocate $10m toward reviewing salaries in the public sector. He said the government would not hire a private company to review salaries.
Free National Movement chairman Dr Duane Sands said the allocation is “a lot” and expressed scepticism about what the money would be used for. Although public sector salaries increased by $35m this fiscal year, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said on Wednesday that salaries are too low. SEE PAGE FOUR
MINISTER of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE government has completely overturned its medium-term Budget projections by forecasting a more than half-a-billion dollar swing that will drive it to a $448.2m fiscal surplus at end-June 2026. Kwasi Thompson, the Opposition’s finance spokesman, demanded the Davis administration “give the Bahamian people an explanation” for why the Budget forecasts have been so radically revised. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS