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Volume: 112 No.177
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Baha Mar work starts next month L! ADS SEL PHOTO 351 002 / 502-2
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CONTRACTORS TO GET ‘SOME IF NOT ALL’ OF MONEY OWED
DEAL INCLUDES PAYMENTS FOR WORKERS’ SALARY AND BENEFITS
CHINESE BANK TO PAY FOR WORK AHEAD OF SALE TO RESORT OPERATOR
PM: ‘GOOD DAY FOR THE BAHAMAS, A GREAT DAY FOR BAHAMIANS’
By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net CONSTRUCTION at the stalled Baha Mar resort is expected to resume in September in a move to have the $3.5 billion resort project open no later than the end of winter in 2017, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced last night. While remaining tight-lipped on which “world-class hotel and casino operator� would purchase the Cable Beach development and the concessions granted in exchange for arriving at a deal, Mr Christie confirmed speculation during a nationally televised address that an agreement had been reached between the government and the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China. Under the terms of the agreement, Bahamian contractors still owed money will receive a significant portion, if not all, of their claims, while thousands of former Baha Mar employees will receive outstanding amounts due to them. Mr Christie said the deal had been had been approved by Justice Ian Winder of the Supreme Court just two hours prior, around 5pm. He even likened the efforts to conclude the deal to Shaunae Miller’s dramatic dive in the women’s 400m race at the Rio Olympic Games to win the gold medal for the Bahamas. SEE PAGES TWO & THREE
PERRY CHRISTIE, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, pictured with Denise Abrahamsen, representative of the Baha Mar former employees. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
MOODY’S DOWNGRADES THE BAHAMAS’ CREDIT RATING By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
MOODY’S announced yesterday that it has down-
graded the Bahamas’ credit rating by one notch mainly because of the country’s “low medium-term growth� prospects and limited fiscal space compared to similar
countries. Moody’s previously opened the door to the possibility of downgrading the country’s sovereign credit worthiness by “one or more
notches,� with a two-notch slash taking the country’s rating to ‘junk’ status. Yesterday’s announcement, however, means the country will avoid that worst-
case scenario, as its sovereign credit worthiness has been downgraded by a single notch, from Baa3 from to Baa2 with a “stable� outlook. SEE PAGE SEVEN
THREE MORE CASES OF ZIKA VIRUS CONFIRMED By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net THE number of confirmed Zika cases in New Providence has increased to four, officials announced yesterday during a press conference at the Ministry of Health. Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez said the three latest cases were identified during the last two weeks and were confirmed in recent days by independent testing labs. Due to the risk of the virus being spread sexually, health officials have recommended the use of condoms, with a special warning being given to pregnant women to use protection while having sex or not engage in sex at all during pregnancy. The Bahamas reported an initial case of the virus on August 10 in a male who had recently travelled to Jamaica. Officials have said that two of the three new cases were reported in women, none of whom are pregnant. Additionally, two of the cases were transmitted locally. Officials did not say where in New Providence the three new cases were identified. Dr Gomez said all patients have been treated for associated symptoms and are “doing well�. He noted that officials have tested roughly 83 suspected cases of the Zika virus, however, of the tested cases only four positive tests have been reported to date. On Monday, officials could not give clear details on how many of these suspected cases had been tested by a lab, speculating that more results could follow in the coming days. Officials attached to the Ministry of Health said they couldn’t give particular areas where cases are more prone to occur or have been reported. However, health officials have reiterated their public plea for residents to do their part in limiting breeding grounds for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the virus. SEE PAGE FIVE
SANDALS WORKERS LINE UP ‘WELLS WAS SACRIFICED TO REAPPLY FOR OLD JOBS IN LETTER OF INTENT ROW’ wBy NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net  DESPITE being some of the 600 plus employees made redundant at the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort last week, several former workers yesterday expressed no bitterness in having to reapply for their old jobs. In fact, some of the for-
mer Sandals employees present at the resort’s job fair at Christ the King Anglican Church in Ridgeland Park West encouraged their former co-workers to “come out� and interview for the very same jobs they held prior to August 15, with one saying they’ll “probably feel better after coming out and being interviewed�. SEE PAGE SIX
By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
FORT Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins went back on the offensive yesterday accusing the Christie administration of sacrificing Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells in the letter of intent controversy in a bid to protect senior party members who orchestrated
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
the signing. Dr Rollins branded the letter of intent (LOI) scandal as a “manufactured political controversy,� during an appearance on radio talk show “Darrold Miller Live� with host Darrold Miller. His comments come as recent revelations suggest that some members of the Christie Cabinet knew in SEE PAGE SIX