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VOLUME:115 No.200, SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2018
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INSIGHT: FACTS AND FICTION ON LIFE AT THE DUMP PAGES NYGARD’S KICKED IN THE GROYNE
‘Throw it out’
• Smith defence team aims to seek dismissal of corruption case • Prosecution admits part of its evidence cannot be relied on
SIR STEPHEN’S FINAL JOURNEY
By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
to cross-examine Health Minister Dr Duane Sands on the basis that the BTC phone bills associated with ATTORNEYS for Mrs Hanna proved that the former PLP Senator Frank call logs were flawed, and Smith on Saturday fore- that the defence should shadowed accusations of instead utilise the phone perverting the course of jus- bills. tice against the Crown after Mr Jenkins stressed that the prosecution conceded he was not conceding that that a key component of there has been a deliberate its evidence, the call logs manipulation between the by any officer accused and its or Crown witkey witness, are ness involved in flawed and thus the case. Howwarranted being ever, he said recently abanas the billing doned by the records were prosecution. being ventilated Damian in court, the Gomez, QC, Crown began to told Chief Magconsider what istrate Joyann the appropriate Ferguson-Pratt view would be that the defence to take concernwould in time ing the call logs, be making a no in that the proscase submission ecution doesn’t that there has want them to been a “deliberbe given “more ate falsification” weight than of the call they should be logs between given”. Smith and BarMr Jenkins bara Hanna effectively by agents of revealed that the Crown to the Crown had deceive the FRANK SMITH, top, and consequently Dr Duane Sands. defence in its abandoned preparation of the call logs as the case and the court into part of its evidence against drawing “adverse conclu- Smith, something Chief sions” against his client. Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt Mr Gomez’s submissions said she was just hearing for came after lead Crown the first time on Saturday, attorney Edward Jen- and something lead defence kins, QC, objected to the SEE PAGE FIVE defence using the call logs
By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net THE government has given Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard less than a month to remove barriers he built out into the sea near his Lyford Cay home. The deadline is the first court-enforceable order against Mr Nygard in more than a decade, and represents a settlement reached between the Lyford Cay homeowner, the government and environmental advocacy group, Save The Bays (STB) embodied in what is called a Tomlin order. The barriers are called groynes, and are structures typically built out into the sea from a beach to impede the natural longshore transport of sand on an eroding shoreline. SEE PAGE TWO
ABACO - 900 SHANTY TOWN HOMES SET TO BE RAZED By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net THE government is tasked with finding alternative housing for nearly 1,000 households in shanty towns across Abaco as the Shanty Town Action Task Force (SATF) recommits to the self-imposed deadline of clearing unregulated communities on that island on or before July 31,2019. Despite the government’s charge that it will not subsidise the relocation of residents, local officials over the weekend observed the ambitious feat will require significant public investment to meet targets. SEE PAGE SIX
THE FUNERAL service for Sir Stephen Isaacs, the chief justice, on Friday. Family, friends and colleagues from across the political spectrum attended the funeral. See page 11 for more.
WEEK-LONG POWER CUTS AS SECOND BLAZE HITS BPL By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
NEW Providence can expect load shedding for the rest of the week after a fire caused unprecedented damage at Bahamas Power and Light’s Clifton Pier station over the weekend while a second blaze broke out last night at the same location. The first fire broke out around 10.30pm on Friday, according to BPL’s CEO
THE CLIFTON plant on Friday. Whitney Heastie, who has since appealed to the public to assist the electricity provider by conserving energy so it can meet energy demands. The second blaze erupted
last night at about 10pm and Fire Services said that three units were on the scene as The Tribune was going to press. In a statement yesterday, Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip Davis called for full disclosure from the government in the face of what he claimed were “credible” social media reports alleging the fire was caused by negligence on the part of high-level employees. SEE PAGE THREE
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
VAT WINDFALL AS NEW RATE BEATS TARGETS
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
VAT collections in food stores since the 12 percent rate’s introduction have exceeded predictions by double digits, with Super Value’s owner admitting: “We were all wrong about breadbasket sales.” Rupert Roberts said Super Value collected “54 percent more VAT than expected” for July, before the bread basket foods’ zero rating took effect. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
PAGE 2, Monday, September 10, 2018
Nygard’s kicked in the groyne from page one A Tomlin order is issued when a court case is settled on certain conditions and, not withstanding settlement of the court case, the terms of the settlement remain enforceable in that court. This is the latest in Mr Nygard’s ongoing battle with STB over allegations the construction/development activities at his Lyford Cay home have led to a substantial extension of the property. The group claims Mr Nygard has almost doubled the size of his property, from 3.25 acres to 6.1 acres since he acquired it in 1984, by allegedly reclaiming Crown land from the sea. Yesterday, STB lawyer Fred Smith, QC, said: “Successive governments have ordered Nygard to
remove all of his groynes. Indeed, the Ingraham administration got a $2.7m quote to remove the groynes but the 2012 election overtook that event, and the PLP government thereafter protected Nygard and his (alleged) illegal construction.” Mr Smith continued: “STB issued their judicial review in June 2013 to prevent any further groyne expansions by Nygard, and in March of 2018, the government settled with STB on the basis that the prime minister responsible for Crown land, the Town Planning Committee, and minister of works would take action and make the decisions according to law. “And this has resulted in the Tomlin order by which the government issued a decision that they would require Nygard to remove
A MAP reportedly showing the groynes on the Nygard property.
CHANGES over the years at the Nygard property.
www.dunkinbahamas.com @dunkinbahamas
THE TRIBUNE
the groynes within 28 days, and failing which the government would do so. “The difference between this government order and all the previous ones from 2010 is that this order is embodied in a court order, and so if Nygard does not remove his groynes within 28 days and the government doesn’t do so after that, then STB can enforce the court order by mandamus. “We don’t have to go back to the government or anything else,” he added, “this is game over. “Save the Bays is watching 24/7 to make sure that the demolition order will be enforced.” The order was issued on Friday. Mr Nygard is due to appear in the Supreme Court to be sentenced for two contempt rulings on September 28.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, September 10, 2018, PAGE 3
Week-long power as second blaze hits BPL from page one
“As we speak now, our officers are still on the scene assiduously working to have this fire extinguished. “We also supported by the airport fire services – they’re here on scene and they’re doing their best to assist us with this fire.” Fire Services director Supt Walter Evans said last nigth that an investigation would begin immediately into the blaze. He said: “We need to determine exactly what was the cause. The depth at which we had to fight this fire and on Friday, we’re probably looking at a 25-30ft drop. “The officers had to walk on a surface which is a grid iron floor and just below that you can imagine the depth of it and you had what we believe to be sludge and maybe oil deposits and you had not just one fire, you had several fires ongoing below in that general vicinity. “Officer safety was of paramount concern and again the officers were very professional in what they did and we were happy to report that there were no officers who received any injuries. “As the Bahamian public may be fully aware, this
EMERGENCY crews at the scene last night at the BPL Clifton plant. has been the second fire within just a short span of a few days and the Bahamas Police Force Fire Service has responded. In the first instance, the fire which took place on Friday night, the operations for this fire took some four hours in duration to ensure that we were able to not allow that
DAMAGE at the BPL plant at Clifton after the fire.
fire to spread to any of the other unaffected areas at BPL. “The fire tonight – this is in the same general vicinity as the fire we had on Friday evening, so an investigation has been launched to determine what would have been the cause. “We know the kind of effect this can have on the Bahamian public and so the fire services is mindful and that’s why we’ve had to ramp up our response level to ensure none of these fires spread to a level whereby there was any major or catastrophic damage. “At this point, BPL will evaluate and they will comment on the extent of the damages. However, I can also reassure that an investigation has been launched. Fire Services teams will move in to BPL first thing Monday morning to conduct an investigation and to conduct inspection of the affected areas.” In a statement yesterday, Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip Davis called for full disclosure from the government in the face of what he claimed were “credible” social media reports alleging the fire was caused by negligence on the part of high-level employees. BPL’s hiring practices have come under fire in recent months from its workers union. Load shedding is expected to persist until Friday but residents will not be pre-warned due to safety concerns. During Saturday’s press conference at BPL’s headquarters, Works Minister Desmond Bannister
Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
stressed there have been numerous incidents in the past where the broadcast of scheduled outages has endangered customers. “It’s important to appreciate the advice that the safety authorities give to BPL,” Mr Bannister said. “If you tell someone the power is going to be off, if you tell the nation power is going to be off in a particular neighbourhood and a particular time, then those people in that neighbourhood could be in danger. “Over the years we’ve had too many incidents where people have been endangered; BPL doesn’t want to be responsible for that so we have to be very careful,” Mr Bannister said. Mr Heastie added: “We do understand certainly there may be damage to people’s property or appliances as a result of just abruptly shutting off power. We think that pales in comparison to someone doing some other harm as a result of knowing or targeting an area that may be out of power.” On Saturday, Mr Heastie explained a technician was making adjustments at a major diesel engine deck while bringing an out of service generator online when the fire started and quickly spread down to a basement and throughout the station. While there were no injuries, BPL will not be able to assess the damage to ascertain how much money or manpower will be needed to effect repairs until the area is deemed safe enough to traverse. “We want to make sure the area is safe for
MEDICIAL MARIJUANA EVENT TO BE LANDMARK FOR NATION By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
THE Medical Association of The Bahamas is hosting the country’s first medical marijuana symposium on Wednesday. In July, MAB president Dr Marcus Cooper told The Tribune there had not been widespread consultation with its membership on the subject of medical marijuana, but noted it was something he planned to bring up. Yesterday, Dr Cooper said the one-day medical conference followed an appeal by its membership for more information amidst speculation over risks and benefits. “There has definitely been an appeal,” Dr Cooper said, “people want to get more information. There has been a lot of talk, not a lot of facts presented and physicians in
particular want to know what are the risks and benefits, and what are the indications. “We have lots of speculation about its benefits. Everyone is saying it can treat everything from headaches to ingrown toenails but there has been no research backing that. Some of that has been because it’s been illegal for so long, so it has been delayed. “There is a lot of research going on,” he added. “I’m sure the field will move briskly now that there is legalisation (in some countries), and maybe The Bahamas can get on it.” The Medical Marijuana Symposium for Healthcare Professionals will be held at the British Colonial Hilton starting at 5.30pm on Wednesday. Health Minister Dr Duane Sands is expected to bring opening remarks, with listed speakers to include:
Henry Lowe, renowned Jamaican food scientist; Wendell Abel, deputy chairman of CARICOM’s Marijuana Commission; Dr Perry Kendall, a member of Canada’s task force on marijuana legalisation; Dr Damian Cohall, senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill; and Elliot Marshall, CEO of medical dispensary, Proper Rx. The symposium will be scientific in nature and
aims to educate healthcare workers on the risks, benefits and clinical indications of medical marijuana as well as current and future research. Presenters are also expected to address some of the social implications of medical marijuana with particular attention to youth and adolescents, Dr Cooper said. The symposium is open to all healthcare professionals for $20.
personnel to go inside,” Mr Heastie said, “once we have it cleared we will go component by component. We need to know what is the extent of damage, then we have to determine what it will take from a manpower or man-loading perspective to repair or bring back to normality. “We do have some assets that is becoming available and we believe by Friday, based on the load forecast and availability of those assets, that we will be at the end of the load shedding scheme.” Mr Heastie explained the state-owned utility company had enough surplus assets to meet the load for New Providence; however, the condition and availability of those assets presented
some issues. On Saturday, Mr Bannister thanked the multi-agency response to the blaze, which was not extinguished until around 3am on Saturday. “BPL is working professionally to seek to continue to make a difference,” Mr Bannister said. “This is a temporary incident,” he continued on Saturday, “this is not something that is going to stop our progress and we look forward to continue to give the type of outstanding service that BPL is seeking to give to the Bahamian people.” Yesterday, Bahamas Electrical Workers Union President Paul Maynard said no assessments had started yet.
PAGE 4, Monday, September 10, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
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It is now time for Bahamians to unite for country, not self IT should come as no surprise that many Bahamians find the PLP’s criticism of public healthcare somewhat disingenuous given their record of unconscionable neglect of the country’s health institutions. It also causes the public to wonder, in view of their record, what all their fuss is now about as they claim contracts are being awarded to party faithful at BEC/BPL. That said, it would be interesting if the former administration would explain how it spent $234m in the run-up to the last election, yet their board failed to repair the considerable damage suffered by the Princess Margaret Hospital and wards from Hurricane Matthew in 2015. While recognising the right of any individual or entity to avail themselves of whatever course of action to which they might feel entitled, we cannot understand how the head of the Consultants’ Union, a physician of such pre-eminence, could in good conscience, make demands or expect salary raises knowing that the hospital has no surplus funds to satisfy any demands at this time. Need he be reminded that all the cookies have disappeared from the cookie jar? The frustrations and complaints of the consultants, doctors, and nurses and the appalling conditions under which members of the PHA team have had to work are justified. No one can doubt or question that. However, nothing fruitful can result from the head of the Consultants’ Union proclaiming such a self-destructive “Strike” ultimatum at the very time that members of the PHA are delivering private donations of computers/ printers to his members; apologising to the radiology team for such unconscionable neglect and inviting private entities to assist the CDU team with fast-track renovations for both the Radiology Department and the old ICU section. Where does the Consultants’ Union suggest that we now find enough funds to raise salaries and provide health insurance for them at this time? The current chairman, board and PHA team, who have paid off mountains of debts, repaired ambulances for which the vendor had cut the PHA off for non-payment; undertaken repairs to the PMH roof and Corey-Newbold Ward; renovated the Labour Ward; approved software updates; finished renovations and installation of two brand new digital X-rays, CT scanner (PMH & Rand) PAX system in the Radiology Department before moving on to renovate the outdated A&E Department, children’s wards and laundry. It is most unfortunate that the doctors’ complaint for attention should come at this time. The Consultants’ Union’s silence in response to the Central Bank stating that the former PLP administration spent some $234m in the run-up to the election, instead of putting the money into repairing the Princess Margaret Hospital — was absolutely deafening! And to make matters worse, the consultants were fully aware that the PMH
had not issued a single patient’s bill, A&E charge sheet or obtained reimbursement from any health providers relative to its share of hundreds of millions in charges providing clinical care, hospital fees, radiological services, medicines, EMS and Air Ambulance flights for applicable Bahamians and thousands of tourists since 2012 — six years without any bills being sent out or monies collected. What a brilliant way to operate a business. No money coming in, yet hands out for a raise in salaries. Are there no managers with business skills anywhere in that institution? We have no recollection of Dr Munroe’s response when Parliament was informed during the Budget contribution in 2017 that the former administration approved monthly cleaning contracts for mini-hospitals in Exuma and Abaco – which were yet to be opened – to the tune of $424,638.84 and $500,000. We think that this is what the Consultants’ Union should not only be “shouting about”, but assisting the PHA team in doing something about. Wouldn’t it be far more beneficial for them to focus their combined efforts on patient care and regularising the efforts of team members before turning their attention to the merits of introducing physicians fees for applicable patients in a mutually agreed upon formula? Bahamians want opportunities for all. They are tired of the “all for me baby” attitude. They want affordable, first-rate healthcare, not lives cut short before they’ve had a chance to start. They want action, not promises. They want answers and accountability; not being told they don’t have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. They want jobs, not unemployment. Bahamians today love the colour green. Just to be clear, they’re not talking about the DNA. They are talking about green for the environment, green for the dollar and the green light for everyone to start moving. If we wish our country to move together – to take advantage of its unique opportunities - then it is high time our politicians, unions and others stop the deception and personal agendas that are being magnified while failing to address many of the pressing issues facing this country. Instead, Bahamians should stand as a unifying force in our nation to transform our nation’s delivery of health care. Public service is a gift of one’s self to one’s country. Public servants should always remember that they are employed by those who they represent for the benefit of every individual in the Bahamas; not for their own personal objectives. Blindly making statements without verifying the accuracy would be like jumping off the bridge without looking below. “While that would be a misfortune,” Britain’s prime minister Benjamin Disraeli once commented, let’s hope we never arrive at the point where should anyone pull us out “it would be considered a calamity!”
Mr Bannister EDITOR, The Tribune. DISGUSTED that Minister Bannister should comment on the fired Chair of BP&L in the manner he did especially as Government as the employer had not complied with the basic of sending Ms Osborne a letter explaining she was fired. Government is not above the Labour Laws. Letters to the Editor started appearing on this 80MW Aggreko RFP soon after the RFP - forget the recent chamber of
Commerce letter they were very late on the draw, why should a letter from them be more important than from a concerned citizen? The FNM promised transparency - this BP&L issue we have not seem it - allegations are flying around serious ones, we need a Special Committee of Parliament to within a short time frame call and take evidence as to the issues - Editor there are numerous issues… I would say too many. The FNM promised
everything would be above board well this is the test are things of Government, The People’s Government open to investigation and scrutiny or not? PM Minnis your call - let’s see you call for a House of Assembly Special Committee immediately, no delays. The People want the truth. Minister Bannister get ready to answer - much has to be cleared up. ABRAHAM MOSS Nassau, August 21, 2018.
Looting the coffers EDITOR, The Tribune.
YOUR Editorial on September 7, 2018, was amazingly perceptive and insightful. Make no mistake, the proposed Shell deal is good for The Bahamas and great for Bahamians. It will provide reliable, inexpensive power; something that we all yearn for. You are to be congratulated for seeing through the charade co-ordinated by a group of rich, powerful, influential and well-connected individuals who, in my opinion, have used their influence and power to confuse the process and to publicly attack those who would safeguard the interests of the Bahamian people. As I see it, the motive is simple: There is a huge amount of money involved, and from
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net my point of view they seek to ensure that all of it goes into their coffers. The letter writer W Thompson got it all wrong. Interestingly enough, his letter appears next to a letter by one Claude Hanna, who in his letter has closely scrutinised one of the powerful consortiums. First, one needs only to look at the names that appear on the Chamber’s letter to appreciate the huge conflicts of interest that the group is promoting. The Chamber should come clean by revealing the names of their members who have been promoting adverse interests for the award of the BPL contract. After all, it is the right thing to do, and the Bahamian
people have a right to know. Secondly, the conflicts of interest within URCA are alarming. URCA can safeguard the fairness of the regulatory process by ensuring that former employees of BPL who may have an axe to grind against their former employer are not involved in monitoring or enforcing the compliance process. The saving grace is that the URCA Chairman means well. He must ensure that URCA acts within the law. In the months to come, it will be important for Bahamians to be vigilant for the emergence of oligarchs who seek to control every aspect of business in The Bahamas to the detriment of the Bahamian people. J BLACK Nassau, September 7, 2018
Unseemly behaviour EDITOR, The Tribune CANON Sebastian Campbell, who advocated for many years for an indigenous national honours system, stated that he believed the refusal of former Prime Ministers Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie to accept the new Bahamian honour, Order of the Nation, was an embarrassment to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis. Actually, their refusal was an affront to the Bahamian state and to Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling, the Chancellor of the new Order, as the proposed honours for Mr Ingraham and Mr Christie were to be conferred by that state, with the investiture performed by the head of state. By rejecting the honours, which were to be bestowed on all prime ministers, Mr Christie and Mr Ingraham dishonoured the country and embarrassed themselves with petty excuses as to why they declined to be honoured by the state and by the Bahamian people. Both Mr Christie and Mr Ingraham have long known that this new indigenous honour would be awarded to all who serve in the high offices of Governor General and Prime Minister.
They were to be honoured following the privilege of serving as prime minister. By accepting the honours they would have shown respect for the Office of Prime Minister, which is bigger than any of its occupants. For them to manufacture excuses just as the new national honours are being launched undermines the effort at the moment of inception. That is a great pity. The honours are not the gift of the Prime Minister. It must be presumed that those who had a hand in shaping the Order of the Nation over many years and making the initial choices have acted in accordance with the will and wishes of the Bahamian people. In carrying out the investitures the Governor General is merely acting on behalf of the Bahamian people. Appropriately, all living former Governors General, Dame Ivy Dumont, Sir Orville Turnquest and Sir Arthur Foulkes, whose appointments were recommended by Mr Ingraham, and the Honourable Arthur D Hanna, whose appointment was recommended by Mr Christie, graciously accepted the new national honours. The former prime ministers were ungracious. Mr
Ingraham and Mr Christie appear to have colluded in refusing to accept the indigenous honours. They may have also colluded in trying to embarrass Dr Minnis. The former prime ministers did not refuse the honours as a matter of principle. After all, both of them accepted – from the Queen, no less – the honour of Privy Councillor with the title Right Honourable for life. Then they turned around and at the first opportunity refused, at its inception, an indigenous honour the establishment of which both of them supported. The Bahamian people expected them to demonstrate greater patriotism and sense of nationalism rather than appearing to be driven by private grievances. Their refusal is their embarrassment alone, and reflects poorly on their churlish judgment in this instance. The country deserves better from two men who should now be acting as elder statesmen and retired politicians after long political careers and considerable national service. DISAPPOINTED NATIONALIST Nassau, September 4, 2018.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, September 10, 2018, PAGE 5
‘Throw it out’ from page one
attorney Keith Knight, QC, said Smith’s legal team was never informed of prior to that hearing. “We should have been told long ago that this has been abandoned,” Mr Knight said. “We were never told.” Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt said for her part the matter was “troubling,” given that based on the legal discussions in court on Saturday, the Crown was using the call logs to show that Smith, the former chairman of the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA), was hounding Mrs Hanna for the $5,000 monthly payments he allegedly demanded from her after she got a cleaning contract from that institution. As such, Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt questioned how, as the tribunal of both fact and law, is she to now reconcile being told that the call logs, which were exhibited by the Crown, are “somewhat tainted because it is not correct.” “How could this court deal with that?” she asked. “How do I attach weight to that?” Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt also questioned why the Crown did not make that concession earlier, to which Mr Jenkins responded he did previously indicate to the court the Crown’s position that it concedes that there are discrepancies between the call logs and the phone bills in question. Nonetheless, Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt ultimately said she did not know if it would be right or judicious for her to preclude the defence from their line of cross-examination when it in turn relies on the Crown’s exhibit to execute that process. According to Mr Knight, as part of the overarching issue concerning the call logs, the Crown had claimed 93 percent of the calls between Smith and Mrs Hanna emanated from Smith’s phone. However, it has been established that while the call logs in question purport to show a number of outgoing calls from Smith’s cell phone to Mrs Hanna, it was the other way around. Conversely, Mrs Hanna’s phone bill showed that on numerous occasions dating back to January 2017, a number of outgoing calls were made from her phone number to Smith’s cell phone number.
FORMER MP Frank Smith outside court previously. Previously, Mr Gomez 2016, he received “many, said based on Mrs Han- many” calls from her, and na’s BTC phone bill, a that at one point, Mrs total of 64 calls were Hanna tried to call him made between the two, as some 14 to 15 times in one opposed to the 106 pur- day. According to Mr Knight, ported to have been made in a police officer’s report. however, between JanuAnd according to Mrs ary 26 and March 30, Hanna’s bill, she initiated 2017, based on call logs some 59 phone calls to there were 16 phone calls Smith, as opposed to the between the two, 15 of which Dr Sands initiated. five times he called her. When the Crown made And the one time Mrs its concession on Saturday, Hanna called Dr Sands, Mr Knight was attempting came on May 25, and not to walk through the call on May 10 following the logs associated with both FNM’s victory at the polls Dr Sands’ and Mrs Hanna’s as Dr Sands had previcell phone numbers in a ously claimed, the call logs bid to cross-examine him showed. Conversely, it was Dr over his previous testimony concerning himself and Mrs Sands who called Mrs Hanna’s phone relationship Hanna on May 10, accordsometime between Novem- ing to the call logs. Concerning the Crown’s ber of 2016 and the early concession concerning the months of 2017. Previously, Dr Sands call logs, Mr Knight argued claimed that after he first that based on the history spoke with Mrs Hanna by of who had custody of the telephone in November call logs in the matter, any
alteration of the data contained in the call logs could have only taken place while they were in the custody of the police. If so, Mr Knight said such an act is tantamount to perverting the course of justice, a criminal charge. Mr Knight said there is an “honourable way” for the Crown to deal with the matter, adding that as both sides belong to a profession that is “both noble and learned,” they are “expected to do the honourable thing.” Dr Sands, while being cross-examined, also revealed that the reason he did not speak with former Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez about Mrs Hanna’s complaints that she was being made to pay Smith $5,000 a month in exchange for him helping her to get a PHA contract was because Mrs Hanna claimed to him that she also had to pay Dr
Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff Gomez’s secretary $500 a mentioned anything about month. Mrs Hanna having to pay Dr Sands, in response $500 in his two statements to a question asked by Mr to police, something the Knight, said Mrs Hanna health minister denied. told him why she had to pay The matter continues the $500 to Dr Gomez’s sec- today. retary, though that reason Smith is facing 15 crimiwas never unearthed. How- nal charges concerning ever, Dr Sands conceded his alleged solicitation of that it was not an appropri- $65,000 in bribes from a ate payment for Mrs Hanna woman he is said to have to have been making. assisted in getting a conIn response, Mr Knight tract. He is currently out on noted that it was the first $50,000 bail. time the defence was hearIt is alleged that Smith, ing such evidence, and that between April 2016 and Mrs Hanna, while taking April 2017, in respect of his the witness stand, never duties as a public officer, indicated that she had to demanded and obtained pay Dr Gomez’s secretary $5,000 a month from Mrs $500 payments. Hanna, knowing he was not Mr Knight further lawfully authorised to do noted that Dr Sands never so.
PAGE 6, Monday, September 10, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Abaco - 900 shanty town homes set to be razed from page one
Preliminary numbers from the SATF’s Abaco census revealed there are 912 homes in the six unregulated communities surveyed, with the Mud and Pigeon Peas representing 62 percent of that figure. The figures were released by SATF Abaco chairperson Maxine Duncombe, who said data on 52 households was still incomplete. Labour Minister Dion Foulkes led closed door meetings with Abaco’s task force on Saturday at the government complex in Marsh Harbour, and established sub-committees to coordinate alternative housing and relocation, demolition works, special needs assistance, animal rescue, legal matters and public relations. Mr Foulkes acknowledged the lack of alternative housing in Abaco during an interview with The Tribune, but noted he did not want to preempt the recommendations of the Relocation and Restoration Committee tasked with presenting viable options to the government. He stressed the government would not be creating any housing programmes to facilitate relocation of shanty town residents, reiterating Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’
SENATOR DION FOULKES, Minister of Labour. Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff commitment to a national towns were either already to mobilise in the Family housing programme that relocated or in the process Islands. On Saturday, Mr would be available to all eli- of being relocated (before Foulkes said the landowner gible Bahamians. the court injunction). So of Exuma’s only shanty Mr Foulkes said: “There the process was working town community had volunis a lack of alternative in New Providence and I tarily cleared the property housing here in Marsh anticipate it will also work located on the outskirts of Harbour, Dundas Town, here in Abaco.” George Town. Murphy Town, Treasure Judicial review of the The SATF Abaco census Cay area, very little avail- government’s decision to was started on June 13, able rental units. In New eradicate shanty towns and surveyed communiProvidence, we do not have is being sought by 177 ties in the Mud, with 449 that problem. We had a lot shanty town residents from households; Pigeon Peas, of available units in New both New Providence and 184; Farm Road, 146; SandProvidence. Abaco, and the Supreme banks, 80; L & H, 16; and “(In New Providence) Court previously ordered Elbow Cay, 37. the majority of the shanty the government and utilA public-private partity providers to halt any nership could be among planned evictions, service options presented to disconnections or demo- Cabinet, according to Mr litions until the court Foulkes, who acknowlhearing. edged the relocation effort The government’s New could present a lot of busiProvidence SATF was dis- ness opportunities. solved due to looming court He maintained the action, but it has continued extent of private sector
involvement would be deliberated by the sub-committee. “The government is not making any special programme for this relocation process,” Mr Foulkes said, “there is no special consideration given to this exercise. “The prime minister has been very clear on that. We are going to do housing developments throughout the country but it will be made available to every Bahamian who qualifies.” On Saturday, Marsh Harbour Spring City Township Chairman Roscoe Thompson said he was discouraged by the pace of government efforts which appear to be considerably slowed by the court injunction. Mr Thompson questioned whether it was possible for Bahamians to bring action against the government for not conducting due diligence when granting or renewing work permits - a step he feels could reduce the number of residents in the Mud and Peas. “I’m discouraged in a way with what’s happening in our township with the Mud and the Peas,” he said. “And what’s taking so long to get the residents out of the area, to move them? I’m disappointed in the government in their stance on this issue. It doesn’t just go back to Minnis, it goes back to Perry Christie, it goes back to Hubert Ingraham, it’s just a continuous ball. It just seems a lot of times it’s a lot of hot air or a lot of talk. “Don’t get me wrong, we have to do it in a humane way and do it the legal way,
but there are ways we can address this situation that we seem to be avoiding.” However, Mr Thompson noted alternative efforts were hampered by the severe lack of rental units, which has affected teachers and other government officials assigned to the island. Mr Thompson said it was clear the government will have to seriously consider a low-cost housing scheme, but stressed it would have to actually be low-cost to accommodate applicants on or below the poverty line. He suggested lot prices that started at $5,000 to make it easier for lowincome applicants to build a home that satisfied building codes. Mr Thompson, a member of the Relocation Subcommittee, said: “I think it’s going to come to a point that the government is going to have to find some area where they’re going to have to develop land and open it up to all Bahamians. Is it going to be a $20,000 piece of property - it can’t be. It’s going to have to be where you fit into a bracket that you make between $7,000 and $12,000 a year. “I don’t think they’ve really even looked at it in depth. “Look at Spring City,” Mr Thompson continued, “that was supposed to be low income housing. How is $900 a month low income on a mortgage? They’re going to have to look at it more in depth, I don’t know what the solution is but for the government to sit here and say that they aren’t going to put any money into it, at the end of the day they will have to.”
UN AND HAITI ‘ACKNOWLEDGE’ GOVT EFFORTS TO ERASE SHANTY TOWNS By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net THE government’s plan to eradicate all shanty town communities in the country has been acknowledged by both the United Nations and the Haitian government, according to Labour Minister Dion Foulkes. Mr Foulkes, head of the Shanty Town Action Task Force (STATF), said the committee received acknowledgement from both parties. He spoke to The Tribune on the sidelines of meetings in Abaco. He noted the lack of international protest to the government’s efforts signalled its humane approach.
“We have written to the United Nations and we have apprised them of how we are going about doing this,” Mr Foulkes said. “We have also spoken to the Haitian embassy and the Haitian government and we have apprised them about what we are doing. “I think generally speaking it is a very sensitive and very humane manner in which we have embarked upon this exercise, and I think that is why you are not getting the type of opposition that you might have expected. He added: “The UN they have acknowledged receipt of our plan, they have not specifically analysed it and given us a response. The
Haitian government at its highest level has acquiesced to what we are doing.” People of Haitian descent, and Haitian migrants, represent the largest ethnic grouping on residents in shanty towns, Mr Foulkes said. Leave for judicial review - filed on behalf of 177 shanty town residents from both New Providence and Abaco, and nonprofit group Respect Our Homes Ltd (ROHL) - was granted last month. Shanty town residents are seeking to ventilate concerns the government’s “eradication policy” and subsequent evictions are unlawful, unconstitutional, and motivated by ethnic discrimination without clear title to land ownership. An affidavit filed by ROHL Director, and Rights Bahamas president Stephanie St Fleur contends the challenges faced by people of Haitian descent since
the 1950s have dramatically increased, most notably since November 2014 when new immigration and shanty town policies were introduced. On August 5, the Supreme Court ordered the government and utility providers to halt any planned service disconnections or evictions in shanty towns in New Providence pending a judicial review of the Minnis administration’s policy to eradicate those communities. The government has dissolved its STATF in New Providence pending the court hearing, but has continued with efforts in the Family Islands. Advocacy group Rights Bahamas has previously stated it intends to take its shanty town case to the international community – the United Nations Human Rights Council – and also to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018
THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS
Facts and fiction on life at the dump By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net A SOCIAL media post has sparked a war of words between senior personnel in the two most recent management units tasked with oversight of the New Providence Landfill; each side staking their claim as the “group that made the difference”. “Here is the part of the dump where used tyres are being stored.” It was this September 4 Facebook post that brought to the fore longheld tensions between the Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) landfill management team and the company it was brought in to replace, Renew Bahamas. The rest of the post, made to the Raising Awareness for the Bahamas Landfill’s Facebook page, read: “I’m going to say this hoping that a word to the wise gets to the right ears. This is exactly what went up in smoke a few years ago when they were at the top of the hill. I figured that there was a bonfire then because it was convenient. “Here’s hoping this isn’t the fuel for the first of the one in every two hundred years fires that we are supposed to believe to expect,” the post concluded. In the hours that followed, comments poured in from other concerned citizens, environmentalists and Michael Cox, Renew Bahamas’ chief executive. In addressing the issue surrounding the current condition of the New Providence Landfill, Mr Cox claimed the government’s refusal to meet with and help Renew, exasperated mounting issues at the property. “We have not abandoned the unit and we are still on-island trying to meet with the Government,” he wrote. “The Government is the one who is refusing to meet and work through the issues of their own making. “We offered to bale and export the tyres (at cost) so that this did not happen (without prejudice to ongoing issues). “There is around 1200 tyres per day coming in and they were warned of the risks… Everyone knows about this as we sent a small document offering to continue to help and we got no replies.” In a separate response, he said he was of the view the government does not want recycling elements at the property and is not serious about changing operations to properly protect the environment. “Actions always speak louder than words,” he wrote. The comments did not sit well with Thomasina Wilson, senior deputy at DEHS with responsibility for all landfills throughout the country, who, in several posts of her own offered to present evidence in support of her team’s work and welcomed anyone with an opposing view to visit the site for themselves. Insight took her up on the offer. During a nearly twohour tour of the multi-acre property, Wilson - who admitted her frustration with “the constant misinformation and false reporting” - insisted the government’s DEHS team has “worked our ass off to fix the mess (Renew) left”. “Enough is enough,” Ms
THE DUMP site as it is today - seen during a tour by staff from The Tribune.
THE DUMP as seen in 2016 - with waste mixed together, a defunct material recovery facility and waste in the area adjacent to the site entrance. Wilson declared. Our first stop - the tyres at the centre of the debate. “When Renew left, there was so much garbage around this facility, we could barely get around to the back of it. But you see them everywhere talking all the nonsense in the world. “It has gone too far.” Pointing to the back section of Renew’s former office, Wilson said: “We cleaned all of that up, we pulled this property back together. “Look at it, you can see every part of what we had to do. “But, they on Facebook talking like they saved this site. “Look at the distance between where the tyres are and where the materials recovery facility (MRF) is. I am talking hundreds of feet. But they come in and take pictures from funny angles to push the message that we are the problem.” Pulling up as close to the MRF as possible, she
continued: “We could have just left this entire area the way the did, but we need to access the back portion of this site “Renew dug a well right up under the MRF, tyres, (microwaves, fridges, stoves), metal, bottles; all sorts of waste was tossed and dumped any and everywhere around here.” Pausing her interview with The Tribune to address a tractor operator working to full in the well, Wilson is heard asking the operator about the amount of work he had to do to fill in the spot. His response - “all the boulders on this end,” pointing to six-foot wall partly erected around the MRF, “all of the wall and all the rocks we got from the hill,” the tractor operator added as he pointed towards a 10-foot hill next to the MRF, “all of that we put in there and it still ain’t full.” Wilson said: “See, all of those old bottles and
things? They leave so much bottles all over the place. You hear me? We couldn’t come this way (referring to the northwestern end of the property). We had to pick our way through.” According to Ms Wilson, things were left in such a hazardous state, her team was forced into shifting tipping operations over to “old spots”. In June, The Tribune reported concerns over what some believe to be the unregulated expansion of the New Providence Landfill. At the time, residents lining the landfill site near Fire Trail Road and Sir Milo Butler Highway, claimed tractors and other heavy duty machines could be seen on a daily basis, pushing the boundaries of the property closer to their communities. At the time, Wilson said efforts to compact several sections of the landfill and develop a southern entrance led to the speculation.
Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff Addressing the claims again yesterday, Wilson said DEHS’ decision to use cells they haven’t used since the late 1980s have led many near the property to confuse their activities with expansion. Pointing over to a deep crater supposedly dug-out by Renew just off from the MRF, Wilson said: “Look, this is what I am talking about. After all we did to get back to this point, we came across the big hole; we call it a well, but why dig it so close to the MRF and at that, under one of your shoots? “It makes me believe that they were only here to harvest certain waste. “Once they got what it is that they wanted, they couldn’t care less what happened to everything else,” she claimed. “It is sad because when you look at what we have here today, (Renew) wants all the credit for it. “But trust me, those who know - they know what all we had to do to save this site; to avoid the potential for fires. “It’s truly unbelievable because they took a site set aside for years of use, and through their bad practices and mismanagement, ran through it in less than two years.” “It was in such bad shape when we got the property back, we had to quickly compact the hills over on the old spots from back in the (80s) just to have somewhere to tip. “So that put us in a spot where we had to not only manage the day-to-day of the property, we had to work remediation and clean-up, all while trying to keep people from adding on to the wrong locations. “That is what frustrates me the most... We finally have this place operating to a point were we are now getting by again, and everyday we have to hear their nonsense. “I’m not here to go back and forth with no one. I am here to do my job; manage this property.” During the two-hour journey, Wilson got into a heated exchange with a man who’d sneaked on to
the site, sped past security personnel and dumped an entire load of used car parts. When approached by Wilson, the illegal-dumper claimed he’d seen no signs saying he shouldn’t be dumping the waste. “You just can’t do that man,” said Wilson. “We are working way too hard here for you to pull up here and do whatever you want to do. Please go and pick it up and take it to the right spot.” The man refused leaving Wilson no choice but to ban him from the site. A short while later, Wilson pulls up to a group of men and rolls down her window. After a brief stare down, one of the men can be heard saying: “We leaving now.” An hour later, over on the “old spots”, Wilson spent about five minutes chasing away a scavenger. Sporting gloves and clenching two mesh-sacks, the scavenger made his get away through a dirt path just north of Fire Trial Road. “We see the reports on the fire. We hear the news about our failures. No one, and I mean no one talks about all we are doing to address the many problems that occur out here on a day to day basis,” said Wilson. “This is what I want Bahamians to understand. We aren’t here doing things to harm them or the environment. We here trying to do all we can to manage this situation we call the dump.” Providence Advisors/ Waste Resources Development Group Consortium was chosen last week as the bidder for the investment and management of the landfill property. The consortium will be paid to transform the dump into what will become New Providence Ecology Park. As yet there are no definite timelines for when the company is expected take over the site. Wilson’s team will remain in place until then - theirs a dirty and seemingly thankless task.
PAGE 8 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018
INSIGHT
EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net
Enough of the blame game - it’s time to find solutions
By MALCOLM STRACHAN
IF I had a dollar for every time I heard a member of the government blame the previous administration for the state of affairs in the country, I would fare quite fine in our current economic climate. This administration has regularly reminded the electorate how terrible the previous government was, particularly when things are not looking so bright. No stranger to this hackneyed tactic, the Bahamian people have seen straight through this for a while now. Truthfully, it looks more like weakness and reaffirms theories about the Minnis administration’s inability to effectively lead. The fact is real leaders find solutions – they don’t continually waste time reminding everyone about
the problem. It’s as if they operators against the govare stuck in campaign mode ernment after its lack of when we need them on the consultation before “arbifront line shepherding us trarily” making its decision through uncertain times. to introduce a sliding scale Deputy Prime Minister tax and five percent patron and Minister of Finance tax, the government is Peter Turnquest gave the already slated to lose $8min government a tall order uncollected tax revenue. when he In his announced statement ‘It is maddening that his quest to to the balance the we are, yet again, at media, the budget in the mercy of a bunch finance three years. that could not be more minisWhile ter said disconnected from the we would wounds are still people. Though they not be in fresh from this posithe May promised different tion had announce- this time around, it the former ment, the feels eerily the same.’ governBahamian ment not people been so were stunned to hear that reckless with the country’s revenue targets may shift fiscal affairs. Surely, Minless than three months ister Turnquest would win after the Budget Commu- that argument any day of nication bombshell. the week. However, the As a result of a lawsuit Bahamian people are confiled by the gaming house cerned - nearly a year and
a half into this new government - what is going to be done about it? We have yet to see a concrete plan laying out a vision for the country. As disheartening as this is, we still have to hear the same tired campaign messaging regurgitated by the nation’s top two leaders in the prime minister and deputy prime minister. Everyone is asking the same questions, only to be ignored. What is the plan for The Bahamas? How long will it take for us to feel things are better in the country? We want our leaders to lead us as transparently as they promised they would - with vision and dedication to the common good. No more buzz words. No more blame games. We require them to put their election victory behind them and understand the responsibility that belongs to them today – governing the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The crushing defeat the Progressive Liberal Party received in May 2017 is evidence enough that the majority of the Bahamian people do not need any further convincing of how terrible their brand of governance was. What we need now are clearly delineated plans of the way forward. Too often, it seems as though they are shooting from the hip. Unfortunately, that will not be good enough. There have been a number of opportunities for the government to show it has the wherewithal to effectively lead. For instance, though there has been some traction on immigration, the Bahamian people do not get the sense that the proper planning went into this initiative. While it seemed the prime minister gave a clear indication that they would eliminate shanty towns, the poor execution has allowed Fred Smith to become known as a vigorous opponent of that cause. As he challenges the
GN 2090
DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest. government on the issue, there has been no impetus shown to change the law. Instead, the government would prefer to waste the taxpayers’ money in legal wrangling when they have the power to make the constitutional changes that would circumvent such issues. It is absolutely unconscionable. It is maddening that we are, yet again, at the mercy of a bunch that could not be more disconnected from the people. Though they promised different this time around, it feels eerily the same. People may feel even more limited under the current regime of increased taxes and belt tightening. Although crime has decreased year on year, citizens on New Providence are still weary of the ever present danger. Grand Bahama’s economy is still struggling and on the verge of complete collapse. The hurricaneravaged Ragged Island has not become the nation’s first green island, as we are in the middle of another active season. Immigration issues still plague us, despite the strides we’ve made in this regard. Further, The Bahamas is not becoming more diversified and being prepared to compete on the international stage. The government ought to be focused on transforming what it is that we do well. Tourism and financial
services have served us greatly, but we have to be diversified. Depending on tourism and banking alone may sustain us, but will not trigger the transformational change we need as a country. Our children depend heavily on the decisions made in Cabinet. Our leaders should always be operating with them in the fore of their minds and it should be shown in their actions. Likewise, the electorate must be open-minded to transformational change. We must move beyond mere talking with little action. Certainly, each citizen has a role to play in our success or failure. We cannot continue to wander aimlessly toward our future – stumbling through the present and blaming the previous government for the past. This is a task that we’ve entrusted our elected leaders to complete. And yet, while the mission is still far from being completed, it does not inspire confidence in an electorate when there is a habit of pointing fingers when the pressure is on. Real leaders accept challenges and see adversity as opportunities to be great. It is time for the government to decide how history will remember their names. Will they get their act together and rise to the occasion? Or will they amount to nothing more than another disappointment? Much remains to be seen.
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EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net
INSIGHT
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018 PAGE 9
The Privy Council and its history with slavery World View
By SIR RONALD SANDERS
R
ACISM was the bedrock of European colonialism in the Caribbean. The subjugation, oppression and exploitation of African people as “sub-human” was justified by colonial powers based on race and colour. A crucial fixture of the architecture of racism and oppression in British colonies in the Caribbean was a judicial system that assigned black people to the status of “property”. They belonged to someone else with no rights. Even when black people were “freed”, their rights under the law and their access to justice were practically non-existent. British laws and British Courts upheld and maintained slavery as legal, morally acceptable and wholly justifiable. In this connection, it is almost inexplicable that today there are people in the Caribbean who shamefully insist on retaining the Judicial Committee (JC) of the British Privy Council as their final court of appeal. The idea that rejects the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final appellate court for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries is that justice will be delivered fairly and rightly by a court of a former colonial power than it would be by a court of its own. This idea turns the record upside-down, ignoring history completely. The case history of the CCJ since its inception in 2005 amply demonstrates that, in 13 years, it has given ordinary people in four CARICOM countries more access to justice than did the JC of the Privy Council in 185 years. The very notion that Caribbean people would be treated more fairly and justly by foreigners than by their own smacks of an unjustifiable and, frankly, unacceptable self-contempt. Nationals of CARICOM have achieved all over the world in almost every field of human endeavour, including the law. Nothing justifies the mistaken view that Caribbean people are not the equal of any, or that the justices of the Privy Council are in any way superior, fairer or more objective than the justices of the CCJ. In terms of their fairness and immunity from political
pressure by governments, it is instructive that of the 79 cases heard by the CCJ as the final court of appeal in which four governments were involved, the governments lost 41 of them. In other words, the CJJ found against governments more often than they judged for them. In Antigua and Barbuda and in Grenada, referenda will be held in November, giving the electorate of these two nations the opportunity to amend their constitutions replacing the JC of the British Privy Council with the CCJ. An affirmative vote to do so would, at last, free the people of these countries of the colonial links to Britain under which their kin were transported into slavery, kept in bondage, technically “freed” into poverty without compensation for their brutal exploitation and then made to suffer a further near 100 years of apartheid-type exploitation before being released into independence, beginning just 58 years ago. Throughout the greatest part of that period, it was British-made laws and the JC of the British Privy Council that upheld the system of colonial exploitation. The JC of the Privy Council was created in 1833, the same year that the Act to abolish slavery was passed by the British parliament. The JC of the Privy Council, therefore, helped to enforce the laws of the colonial system that maintained the exploitation of Caribbean people. In the case of Antigua, the story of the slave called Grace is worth recalling. Grace was taken as a slave from Antigua to England in 1820 “in attendance on the wife of her owner”. Some 48 years earlier, another slave by the name of Somerset, had been freed in England by Justice, Lord Mansfield, who found that “the air of England is too pure for slavery to breathe in”. Mansfield ruled, on that basis, “the Black must be discharged”. But when in 1825, after her return to Antigua, a case was brought to the High Court of Admiralty seeking Grace’s freedom on the precedent of Somerset, she was denied that freedom on the basis that “a slave, though on landing in England becomes free, ceases
to be so when returned to the colony from which she came”. England’s air was “too pure for slavery to breathe in”, but British laws and British courts upheld and maintained slavery in Antigua and the rest of the Caribbean. Why any person, who claims Caribbean heritage with any sense of pride or belonging, would cling to the Privy Council and not opt for its own, cannot be explained by a fear the CCJ would be controlled by governments. That assertion has long been discredited for its falsehood. The literature on the independence of the CCJ is plentiful, including
the fact its Justices are not appointed by governments, nor do the governments pay their salaries. From time to time, those who argue for the retention of the JC of the PC as the final appellate court equate the performance of local courts in Caribbean jurisdictions to the CCJ. This is a false comparison. Even if it were accepted that local courts in Caribbean jurisdictions are subject to political pressure because justices are paid from the government treasury and are appointed by government bodies, the CCJ is completely independent of government control as has already been established.
Caribbean countries that retain the JC of the Privy Council let themselves down. Of the 52 nations of the Commonwealth that previously appealed to the JC, the majority, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand – Britain’s kith and kin - have long since left. Only ten independent Commonwealth countries continue to be tied to the JC, and, astonishingly, eight of them are from CARICOM countries. Their loitering at the doorway of the Privy Council could end in the door being shut in their faces, as has already been foreshadowed by one of its leading spokespersons
who warned that it was time for them to depart. “The Black must be discharged” would take on another meaning as the loiterers find themselves scrambling for an independent and competent final court of appeal. Thank goodness, the CCJ exists. • Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the OAS. He is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and at Massey College in the University of Toronto. The view expressed are his own.
PAGE 10 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018
INSIGHT
EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net
LET’S OPEN THE DOOR AND GRASP THIS AMAZING OPPORTUNITY By DR DESIREE COX
YOU can’t fit a square peg in a round hole, the old saying goes. The same is true for new ideas. The Dutch have a word that captures this: “draagvlak” (pronounced “draag-vaak”). Basically, in the context of new ideas, it means that every idea has a capacity and for a new idea or vision to take hold you have to create a carrying capacity for that idea in people’s consciousness and in the culture of their communities. Without sufficient “draagvlak”, your idea or vision will not thrive. Imagine placing your great big breeze block of an idea on top of a pin-hole size crack in the pavement – a community’s capacity to incorporate that idea into their consciousness, perception and their way of thinking. Your blockbuster idea is never going to become part of the pavement unless you find a way to expand that crack. When the Government of
The Bahamas implemented the 2013 Stem Cell Act and 2014 Stem Cell Regulation, it was after the establishment of a National Stem Cell Taskforce in 2012, numerous town hall meetings, discussions and taking soundings from the population before the laws were
tabled in the Houses of Parliament and ultimately enacted. The purpose of these laws is to foster innovation in research in stem cell and regenerative medicine, widely recognised as the future medical paradigm right here in these Bahama
islands which Columbus asserted was the “New World”. This new medical paradigm focuses on the science of our body’s own extraordinary capacity to heal and regenerate its tissues and organs, and the “translational medicine” that brings these medical and scientific advances to patients to significantly improve, and in some cases, transform their healthcare outcomes. Let’s say you don’t know or understand much about stem cell therapy or research. Let’s go further and say you’re not interested, that you don’t care about any of this. Here’s what’s worth caring about: The laws of The Bahamas in this area create a legal framework aimed at ensuring that stem cell and regenerative medicine is conducted safely and ethically; and this not only sets The Bahamas apart in the region, it also opens the door for extraordinary economic opportunities in the healthcare space not just for specialists - doctors, nurses, scientists - but also allied healthcare professionals and computer scientists/ developers, technologists, even designers and artists. How so? By creating a regulated environment for the safe and ethical development and evaluation of new medicines and therapies in the real world – translational medicine – data from promising research carried out in The Bahamas may be recognised by the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This would mean that some of the billions of dollars that currently flow into the US economy as a result of medical research would find a home in The Bahamian economy instead. Here’s where the unpronounceable Dutch word “draagkvlak” comes in. Although there have been a few international early adopters who have established safe and highquality stem cell and regenerative medicine research and therapy projects in The Bahamas, The Bahamas is not known as an innovation gateway
for healthcare, medical research, and/or translational medicine – not yet at least. I believe that Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and influencers in this country also do not fully appreciate the scientific and economic potential of our laws in this area. Last week, I mentioned that 85 percent of the jobs that will exist in 2030 have not yet been invented, that the lion-share of those new jobs will be in healthcare and health related fields; and, that people-in-the-know will be able to create their own jobs while many others will be left behind. Consider this a tip for people who want to make sure they are counted among those in-the-know. This problem of KOLs and influencers not seeing the opportunity – or in some cases deliberately pretending not to – is your opportunity. If you are looking to make a big move in this area that is set to explode with new opportunities you will need to understand the landscape of cellular therapy, regenerative medicine, precision-medicine and the breakthrough new business models for paying for new therapeutic innovations in these and other areas that will also have implications for The Bahamas, due to laws in the US and Brexit in the UK. Day two of The HEALinc Future Health Summit on Monday, October 8, will include the following topics and speakers: Benefits and Challenges of Translational Research in Regenerative Medicine for the Region, Dr Bob Hariri (MD, PhD, Founder and CEO of Celularity); Cellular Therapies, Digital Health and Precision Medicine: Implications for Medical Tourism, Renee Stephano, JD (Medical Tourism Association); Accelerated Development and Implementation of Regenerative Medicine Technologies Across Multiple Conditions and Disease States, Dr Marc Penn, MD, PhD, FACC (CEO Black Beret Life Sciences (BBLS) and Head of Research and Strategy, Okyanos Center for Regenerative Medicine,
Freeport, Grand Bahama); Prospects for Regenerative Medicine to Treat Aging and Aging-Related Medical Conditions, Professor Joshua Hare (Louis Lemberg Professor of Medicine, Molecular and Pharmacology, and Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami and Chief Science Officer for Longeveron); Tending the Soil to Sprout the Seed: Heterochronic Optimized Plasma Exchange (HOPE) Induces a Regenerative Phenotype in Native Aged Stem Cells, Dr David Haase (CMO, MaxWell Biosciences); Stemistry: Towards the Discovery of First-in-Class Drugs to Benefit Patients with Degenerative Diseases, Dr Mike Stein, MD, PhD (CEO of OxStem); Data and the Future of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Management, Dr Kala Fleming (IBM - Corporate Strategy and Innovation), Speaking with Investors in the Language They Understand, Dr Pamela Rossos (Miller Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Santa Clara University). Don’t miss out. Registration for special one-day passes for the summit opening ceremony (day one), day two and day three are available online at www. healincfuturehealthsummit. com. For more information, contact the summit organising team: USA/Canada (877) 426-5361; Bahamas (855) 826-1165; Worldwide (716) 442-3798. Dr Desiree Cox MD, PhD (www.desireecox. com) is the founder and CEO of the 2018 Inaugural HEALinc Future Health Innovation Summit (www. healincfuturehealthsummit. com). She is the first Bahamian Rhodes Scholar and first female British Caribbean Rhodes Scholar, a medical doctor, creative artist and published author. She has earned degrees from McGill, Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Her career achievements include honours by Oxford University and the British Medical Journal. In 2013, a 70-cent stamp bearing her photograph was issued by The Bahamas Government.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO PICK UP THE PHONE THERE are many reasons why we should all report crimes to the police. The most obvious is that if we do not, the offender will get away with whatever they have done and they will then be encouraged to do it again. If crimes are not reported, the offender is even less likely to be caught. When reporting a crime to the police, it is also important to know what an emergency call is and what a non-emergency call is. Emergency call An emergency call is defined as a situation where a person’s life or property is in danger or threatened. In-progress calls are where
Police advice
By SERGEANT 3150 NATHALIE RANGER
crimes are being committed at the time of your report. Examples of emergency calls: • Accidents with injuries • Attempted suicides • Rescue calls • Ambulance calls • Persons injured or bleeding • All fire calls • Strangers forcibly entering a house • Strangers carrying household articles, appliances from neighbour’s house • Someone trying to gain entrance to your home • Group of people with weapons preparing to fight • Automobiles stopping to pick up a person walking along the street and it looks that the person do not want to go, especially young children. • Shootings • Stabbings • Armed robberies • Rape Non-emergency call A non-emergency call is a situation where a person’s life and property is not in immediate danger. Included under this definition are crimes against property, crimes against people where the victim is not injured and offenders are not at nor near the scene. However, a police officer is needed to respond, investigate and take a report. Examples of non-emergency calls: • Smashed doors or windows in unoccupied homes or stores • Abandoned car on the street • Persons loitering • Information and rumours of impending crimes
• Persistent anonymous calls • Late discovery of crimes against persons or property Information the emergency operator will want to know • A description of the emergency you are reporting (what did you observe?) • The address or location of the emergency you are reporting • Your name, address and telephone number • Number of people involved • Descriptions of the people involved • Direction taken by the escaping suspects • Is suspect in a vehicle or on foot? • Plate number and description of vehicle • Other details and circumstances Please remember to report all crimes. We have heard of shopkeepers letting thieves go because they felt sorry for the offender who gave a sob story. Professional criminals know all the tricks and among criminals your shop could attract the unwanted reputation of being soft. Yes, it is time consuming and sometimes a bother to make a report, especially when you are in a hurry, but by making that report you could be saving either yourself or someone else the grief of being involved in a crime later on. The non-reporting of crime can also give a false sense of security in your area as well. After you have reported the crime to police, let your neighbours know what has happened. They can then guard against the same happening to them.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, September 10, 2018, PAGE 11
Tributes to chief justice in final farewell By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis praised Chief Justice Stephen Isaacs as a jurist who “demonstrated a balanced and even temperament” as he was laid to rest on Friday. The pomp of the state was on full display for the funeral of Isaacs, who died of cancer at the age of 63. His coffin, draped with the Bahamian flag, was carried down Bay Street from the Supreme Court building on Bank Lane to Christ Church Cathedral on George Street. It was accompanied by the Royal Bahamas Police Force band and a procession of family, friends, colleagues, law enforcement officers and elected officials. “We gather today then to mourn the passing of the late Stephen Gerard Isaacs,” said Dr Minnis, “to honour his legacy and dedicated service and to commemorate the role of the judiciary in our democratic polity. On this solemn occasion of state we recall, with pride and with mutual devotion, our common civic creed. “Beyond the creeds of faith or political affiliation and ideology, beyond other personal creeds, we share a faithful devotion to a democratic constitution and heritage. This common creed and heritage includes: free and fair elections, the protection of basic rights and freedoms, the rule of law, and an independent judiciary. “Free and fair elections,” said Dr Minnis, “are fundamental to a democracy. But, there is no genuine democracy without the rule of law. There is no genuine democracy without an unyielding respect for basic rights and freedoms. There is no genuine democracy without the equal treatment of all citizens before the law.” Dr Minnis, who was criticised for the lengthy time he took to appoint a substantive chief justice, emphasised in his tribute the joint importance of the three branches of government - legislative, executive
and judiciary. “Each branch has a role in promoting and safeguarding the rule of law and the dignity of the human person through adherence to the rights and freedoms of the individual,” he said. “Yet the judiciary plays a particular role in our democracy. The judiciary plays the lead role in safeguarding the Constitution by protecting the rights of citizens; by checking any abuse of power by the executive and legislature and by interpreting our founding democratic charter. The independence of the judiciary is therefore critical to the integrity and flourishing of our democracy.” As for the chief justice, Dr Minnis said he was “not only competent and independent in this consideration of matters brought before him, he was also possessed of what is referred to as a judicial temperament.” According to his obituary, he loved sports, especially tennis. His son, Stephen, said of him: “It is not possible to mention my father or his passions without discussing his love for tennis and the tennis community…In hindsight his echoing words ‘focus on the ball’ disclosed dedication to a much grander purpose and existence than himself.” Isaacs graduated from Buckingham University in 1981 with an LLB degree. He was admitted, sworn in and enrolled a counsel and attorney of the Supreme Court on September 17, 1982. He entered public service in 1994 as assistant registrar of the Supreme Court and later became registrar of the Supreme Court, registrar of the Court of Appeal and had a position on the Industrial Tribunal. He was appointed a puisne judge in 2002 and a senior justice on February 12, 2015 when he headed the criminal division of the court. He acted as chief justice seven times before he was appointed to the substantive post on July 9 this year. He died on August 24 after a reported battle with cancer.
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis pays his respects and, below, the service at Christ Church Cathedral.
THE FUNERAL for the late Chief Justice Stephen Isaacs) at Christ Church Cathedral.
Photos: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
PAGE 12, Monday, September 10, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Back to school, says ministry, as teachers express safety fear By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net TEACHERS and students have been ordered to return to the AF Adderley Junior High School campus today amid union concerns over the safety of ongoing construction. The Ministry of Education said an “extensive and detailed investigation” had found the campus was within occupation health and safety standards, and outlined its efforts to satisfy concerns levelled by teachers in a statement on Friday. The Bahamas Union of Teachers had previously asked the government to relocate eighth and ninth graders at AF Adderley due to ongoing construction, which the union believes makes the area unhealthy and unsafe even though it was fenced in. On Friday, BUT president Belinda Wilson replied to the government, suggesting it would be “more fruitful for the ministry to ensure that funds are paid to the contractors in a timely manner rather than threaten teachers”. In response to the government’s statement, Mrs Wilson spoke to the embattled history of teachers assigned to the junior high school on Baillou Hill Road that has persisted for more than a decade. She detailed an unsuitable and hazardous
BELINDA WILSON, president of the Bahamas Union of Teachers. environment with open trenches and sewerage overflow, and questioned education officials whether they would allow their own children to attend school under present circumstances. “From 2006, they were placed in trailers after the administration block and many classrooms were demolished,” Mrs Wilson said.
“Since 2017 teachers and students have been displaced as they were divided between two campuses. Teachers did not complain, the Bahamas Union of Teachers monitored the situation and expected the construction of the school to be completed by now bearing in mind that a few deadlines were missed.” Mrs Wilson continued:
Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff “On the return of teachers last week trenches were open, sewerage overflow, yard settled water from rain, electrical pipes were exposed, monkey tamarind was in an area easily accessible to the students. “The yard is congested with workmen, heavy equipment, back hoes and other equipment. The union and the teachers are of the view that the school is unsafe. Teachers and students should not be subjected to working under those conditions.” Seventh graders are currently located at Worker’s House, and the union has recommended eighth grades be placed at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium and ninth graders at the Mabel Walker school campus. The union suggests the government bus students to the stadium similar to the arrangement for seventh grade students. Mrs Wilson said union officials and two teachers have visited alternative sites, adding teachers were prepared to relocate and teach if necessary. “Instead of reaching an agreement with the teachers the ministry only want the teachers to return to the classrooms,” Mrs Wilson said. “Some of the classrooms on the main campus are a part of the construction work to be completed. The union’s priority is for the
teachers to be able to teach and the students learn in an environment that is conducive for learning.” In its statement on Friday, the ministry noted there had been no formal complaints about the campus when teachers returned for orientation, a full week before the school was opened to students. The ministry said teachers at AF Adderley brought complaints to the principal on the first day of school, September 3. Despite all efforts to address the teachers’ concerns, inclusive of forming a joint team of officials from Ministry of Education, and the acting director of labour and a safety inspector of the Occupational Health and Safety Unit – the ministry said teachers were still refusing to work on Wednesday. The ministry statement read: “Their report noted that even though construction is ongoing, those activities do not impede the delivery of the instructional output. Construction areas continue to be securely enclosed to ensure that students and staff are not given access to the construction site or exposed to any matter which could prove detrimental to their health. “Additionally,” the ministry statement continued, “all pathways accessible to staff and students have been found safe for traversing
and any foliage deemed detrimental to the health of students and members of staff, has been cut and removed from the campus.” The ministry noted it has considered recommendations put forward by the union and the Department of Education, but found only the stadium was available. It added the area was challenged, and other locations did not meet requirements for a safe learning environment. It outlined conditions for an alternative location, which included a structural assessment by the Ministry of Works; a costing proposal submitted to the Office of the Attorney General for vetting; liability insurance purchased by landlord or Ministry of Education; and a lease approved by the treasurer, permanent secretary or director of education. “The Department of Education values and respects our educators and wishes for an amicable and speedy settlement to all of their concerns that is satisfactory to all parties,” the ministry statement said. “We advocate for mutual respect and wish to avoid any disruption to the education of our children. It is for this reason that we expect teachers and students to report back to the AF Adderley Junior High School campus for their usual time on Monday, September 10, 2018.”
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, September 10, 2018, PAGE 13
Two dead in weekend violence By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net
TWO murders, including a drive-by shooting and a stabbing incident, occurred on the weekend. One man was killed in a stabbing incident at a bar on Tonique Williams Darling Highway shortly after 1am on Saturday. A second man was also a victim of the attack. He,
however, survived and was sent to hospital for his injuries. According to a Royal Bahamas Police Force statement, the two men were at a bar when they were approached by “a male armed with a knife, who stabbed them about the body, before running into a nearby residential area.” Paramedics were called to the scene. One of the
men died on scene, while the second was transported to hospital. He is listed in serious condition. The investigation is ongoing, though police noted a 37-year-old male Yellow Elder Gardens resident was taken into custody and is assisting with the investigation. On Friday morning, another man was killed in a drive-by double shooting in Fox Hill.
According to police reports, a group of men was sitting in front of a tree on Dorsett Street shortly after 9am when a dark coloured Kia Sportage drove towards them. Passengers in the Kia reportedly opened fire in the direction of the men, hitting two of them before the vehicle sped off. The injured men were taken to Princess Margret Hospital by private
vehicle, police said. One of the victims died at the hospital of his injuries, while the second man was treated and released. Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash reiterated to The Tribune yesterday that the motive behind this incident is still unknown. On Saturday, the RBPF said police in Abaco are investigating a shooting incident that occurred at a night club in Abaco.
“We are seeking to interview both the suspect and victim in this matter,” police said. Further details on the Abaco incident were not made available. Anyone with information on any of these incidents or any other crime is asked to call police at 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 328-TIPS.
GROUPS ARE WARY OF DISNEY PLAN IN FUTURE By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas National Trust and One Eleuthera Foundation are warning that although Disney Cruise Lines has said it has no immediate plans to block local access to the Lighthouse Point beach, “experience has taught” that such plans can be changed as development progresses. In a statement released yesterday, the organisations reiterated calls for more sustainable development to occur at Lighthouse Point, the privately owned 700 hundred-acre peninsula at the southern tip of Eleuthera. Noting there is already one cruise port established in South Eleuthera, the BNT and OE suggested Grand Bahama may be better suited for this initiative, as it “already boasts the necessary infrastructure needed to support such a massive development”. An online petition to save Lighthouse Point has gathered more than 20,000 signatures, a feat the BNT and OE say sends “a clear message to the government that (it) should instead support a sustainable development option”. Last week, BNT executive director Eric Carey said the public should continue to sign the petition and call for members of Parliament to support the initiative. “The BNT and the
Bahamas Chamber of Commerce have met with Disney representatives,” Mr Carey said. “Though we fully appreciate their intentions as well as the desire by our government to create jobs, Disney’s plan fails to create the kind of sustained employment opportunities which Bahamians want and deserve. “With one cruise port already established in South Eleuthera, we question why we should pitch another floating skyscraper on this breath-taking beach.” According to the statement, both the BNT and OE “remain concerned” about the loss of public access to an area “inextricably linked to the history and heritage” of Eleuthera. OE CEO Shaun Ingraham told the media the site has a “deep connection” to the Bannerman Town community, which used to be the largest settlement on the island. “While the developer has intimated no immediate plans to block local access to the beach, experience has taught us that such plans can, and are often changed as development plans progress,” the statement said. “Consider the failed Ginn Project on Grand Bahama and the failed cruise port which devastated over 14 dive sites on the island of Bimini; the country’s recent investor history is littered with examples of projects – which promise the world – but fail to live up
THE VIEW at Lighthouse Point. to the expectations set by developers.” Mr Carey said the organisations are not advocating for the site to be “locked away” from any level of development. However, he called for Lighthouse Point and its surrounding areas to be converted into a national park that will provide sustainable employment, using the development model outlined in OE’s shared vision for the site. “While the One Eleuthera Foundation and the BNT believe that Lighthouse Point is not the ideal location for such a development, we believe that other islands within our archipelago might be better suited for such a development, specifically Grand Bahama which already boasts the necessary infrastructure needed to support such a
MAN’S BODY FOUND IN CAR THE BODY of a man was found in a car off Gladstone Road on Friday. Police are waiting for an autopsy report to confirm the cause of death, but on Friday said foul play was not suspected at this time.
body was found after police were called to Firetrail Road shortly after 2pm. Investigations in the matter are continuing. In other crime news, police have identified the man who was found dead
suffering from a gunshot wound, as 60-year-old Shvnet Dormil of Plantol Street. On Tuesday, police were alerted that a man was slumped over in a car parked on the southern side
According to reports, the
in his car last Tuesday
of Plantol Street around
WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER DRUGS FOUND IN PLATE OF FOOD AT PRISON By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net A 60-YEAR-OLD woman is in custody after officials at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services uncovered a quantity of drugs hidden in a plate of food she
presented to be taken into the facility. According to police reports, shortly after 11am on Friday, officers conducted a routine search of two plates of food presented by a woman to the facility’s Property Intake Section. The search resulted in
the discovery of one ounce of what was suspected to be marijuana, concealed at the bottom of one of the plates. The quantity of drugs is valued at $100. The woman is expected to appear in Magistrates’ Court this week to be formally charged.
MAN HELD OVER $47,000 DISCOVERY By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A MAN who was discovered with a substantial sum of US currency in his possession was arrested in Grand Bahama on Friday, police reported.
According to police, officers of the Drug Enforcement Unit made the discovery after stopping and searching a vehicle in the area of Polaris Drive, Freeport. Assistant Superintendent Terecita Pinder reported that some $47,367 in US
currency was found and that the male occupant was unable to give a satisfactory account of how the monies came into his possession. The man, a resident of Freeport, was arrested and taken into police custody. Police are investigating the matter.
Photo: Barefoot Marketing massive development,” the statement added. “As citizens of this beautiful country, members of
the various organisations fully understand the role that cruise tourism plays in the Bahamas, it has become
apparent that this relationship needs to be reviewed and made more advantageous to The Bahamas.”
PAGE 14, Monday, September 10, 2018
CBS CHIEF QUITS AFTER ACCUSATIONS NEW YORK Associated Press
CBS chief Les Moonves resigned yesterday, just hours after six more women accused the veteran television executive of sexual misconduct. The resignation is effective immediately, CBS said in a statement posted on its website. The New Yorker magazine reported the latest allegations included Moonves forcing women to perform oral sex and retaliating when advances were turned away. Moonves acknowledged relations with three of the women but said they were consensual, adding he had never used his position to hurt the careers of women. The network didn’t address the allegations directly, but said Moonves will donate $20m to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement and equality for women in the workplace. Moonves again denied the allegations in a statement issued late Sunday.
THE TRIBUNE
Boom to be used to clean up Pacific Ocean debris SAN FRANCISCO Associated Press ENGINEERS are deploying a trash collection device to corral plastic litter floating between California and Hawaii in an attempt to clean up the world’s largest garbage patch in the heart of the Pacific Ocean. The 2,000ft (600m) long floating boom is being towed from San Francisco to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — an island of trash twice the size of Texas. The system was created by The Ocean Cleanup, an organisation founded by Boyan Slat, a 24-year-old innovator from the Netherlands who first became passionate about cleaning the oceans when he went scuba diving at age 16 in the Mediterranean Sea and saw more plastic bags than fish. “The plastic is really persistent and it doesn’t go away by itself and the time to act is now,” Slat said, adding that researchers with his organisation found plastic going
A LONG floating boom that will be used to corral plastic litter in the Pacific Ocean is assembled in Alameda, California. back to the 1960s and 1970s 1.8 trillion pieces of plas- cleanup system will comShipping containers filled tic that scientists estimate municate its position at all with the fishing nets, plasbobbing in the patch. The buoyant, U-shaped are swirling in that gyre times, allowing a support tic bottles, laundry baskets barrier made of plastic but allowing marine life to vessel to fish out the col- and other plastic refuse lected plastic every few scooped up by the system and with a tapered 10-foot safely swim beneath it. Fitted with solar power months and transport it to being deployed Saturday (3-meter) deep screen, is intended to act like a coast- lights, cameras, sensors dry land where it will be are expected to be back on line, trapping some of the and satellite antennas, the recycled, said Slat. land within a year, he said.
TEXAS OFFICER ARRESTED AFTER APARTMENT SHOOTING DALLAS Associated Press
A WHITE Dallas police officer was arrested yesterday on a manslaughter charge in the off-duty shooting of a black neighbor whose apartment she says she mistook for her own. Officer Amber Guyger was booked into the Kaufman County Jail after being taken into custody, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a news release. A jail employee said Guyger was released on bond. Online records initially showed Guyger was in custody, but she later was not listed on the jail roster. Guyger fatally shot 26-year-old Botham Jean on Thursday at Jean’s apartment. Lawyers for Jean’s family had been calling for Guyger’s arrest, saying the fact that she had remained free days after the shooting showed she was receiving favorable treatment. They held a news conference yesterday, shortly before the arrest was announced,
making another plea for the officer to be taken into custody and saying their team had presented new evidence — a witness and video footage — to prosecutors. They didn’t provide details. S Lee Merritt, one of the attorneys for Jean’s family, said Saturday that the man’s loved ones weren’t calling on the authorities to jump to conclusions or to deny Guyger her right to due process. But Merritt said they wanted Guyger “to be treated like every other citizen, and where there is evidence that they’ve committed a crime, that there’s a warrant to be issued and an arrest to be made.” Guyger, 30, is a four-year veteran of the police force. Police Chief U Renee Hall said the day after the shooting that her department was seeking manslaughter charges against Guyger. But she said Saturday that the Texas Rangers, who have taken over the investigation, asked her department to hold off because they had learned new information.
BREXIT RHETORIC DRAWS ANGER LONDON Associated Press FORMER British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has compared Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan for Brexit to putting the country’s constitution in a “suicide vest” and handing the detonator to the European Union — remarks that drew condemnation from colleagues yesterday. The attack, and Johnson’s choice of metaphor, widened the divide in the governing Conservative Party over Brexit. Johnson quit May’s government in July after rejecting her proposal for close economic ties with the bloc after the UK leaves next year. His article in the Mail on Sunday ramped up speculation that he plans to challenge her leadership. Johnson said May’s plan, which would keep the UK aligned to EU regulations in return for free trade in
goods, was a “humiliation” and amounted to “agreeing to take EU rules, with no say on those rules”. He also said that by agreeing that the UK’s Northern Ireland must effectively remain in a customs union with the bloc in order to avoid a hard border with EU member Ireland, “we have wrapped a suicide vest around the British constitution — and handed the detonator” to the EU. Foreign Office Minister Alan Duncan tweeted that the comments marked “one of the most disgusting moments in modern British politics” and should be “the political end of Boris Johnson”. Conservative lawmaker Tom Tugendhat, a former army officer, said on Twitter that he had seen the aftermath of a suicide bombing in Afghanistan, and “comparing the PM to that isn’t funny”. He said that Johnson should “grow up”.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, September 10, 2018, PAGE 15
THIS satellite image made available by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Florence, centre, on Saturday.
BEWARE SEA SWELLS FROM FLORENCE By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas currently faces no immediate threat from Hurricanes Florence and Helene and Tropical Storm Isaac, however chief meteorologist Basil Dean told The Tribune yesterday the country could be affected by very large sea swells generated by Florence as early as this afternoon. Mr Dean added that residents, those who own coastal properties, and mariners in the northwest Bahamas should pay particularly close attention to the storm. Up to press time, both Florence and Helene were Category One hurricanes. Florence is expected to make landfall between North and South Carolina in the United States later this week. It is expected that Tropical Storm Isaac will affect the Lesser Antilles, having a direct impact on Martinique around Thursday morning, with St Lucia and Barbados also experiencing heavy rains and hurricane force winds. Hurricane Helene is expected to remain in the open waters of the central Atlantic, and currently poses “very little threat” to land mass, Mr Dean said yesterday. Regarding the storms, Mr Dean said: “No immediate threat, I can say that upfront… But we anticipate
that Florence will shift more towards the west, northwest later on today (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday). “And should that take place, we can safely say that Florence should pass well to the northeast of The Bahamas by the middle of the week. “However, some indirect impact from Florence is likely, particularly for mariners traversing the waters of The Bahamas and also coastal properties in the northwest and central islands, as we do anticipate some very large sea swells to be generated by Florence, as it continues moving northeast of The Bahamas. “And those swells can begin to affect the Bahamas as early as tomorrow afternoon (Monday) and that will continue into the middle of next week. “And so residents in the northwest Bahamas in particular should continue to monitor Florence very closely.” Up to press time, Hurricane Florence was moving at about six miles an hour with estimated maximum sustained winds of 75mph. Mr Dean added the storm is expected to make landfall somewhere between North and South Carolina later in the week and said it could have a “devastating effect” for the East Coast of the United States. He noted heavy torrential rainfall, hurricane force winds, and a storm surge are all expected to affect the area and advised those
travelling in the middle of the week to keep an eye on the storm. Up to press time, Isaac was moving west at 9mph with maximum sustained winds of 65mph. “This storm should impact the Lesser Antilles sometime on Thursday morning and continue on that westward track,” Mr Dean said. “And that (should) keep it well to the south of the Greater Antilles, which includes Cuba, Hispaniola, and of course, Puerto Rico. “(The island) in the Lesser Antilles to receive direct impact will be Martinique. St Lucia would be just to the south of the forecast centre as well as Barbados. “But all of them would experience either some heavy rainfalls or hurricane force winds as a result of the passage of Isaac. And that will be sometime around Thursday morning.” Mr Dean said Helene is expected to make a “curvature” towards the northwest by today. This should keep it “pretty much over the open waters of the central Atlantic and becoming very little threat to land mass,” he said. “So we seem to be in good status as far as any direct threat from these three storms,” Mr Dean noted. “But Florence is the one that we want to keep our eyes on in particular because of the… sea swells.”
PAGE 16, Monday, September 10, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
RENOVATIONS AHEAD OF EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION THE PUBLIC Hospitals Authority has announced major renovations to prepare for the installation of equipment at the Princess Margaret Hospital. In a statement on Friday, PHA advised digital X-ray equipment will be installed on September 17 and a new 64 slice CT-Scanner will be installed in October. “Major improvements underway at the radiology department of the Princess Margaret Hospital, as the first two of four of the hospital’s X-ray suites are currently being renovated in preparation for the installation of new stateof-the-art digital X-ray equipment,” the statement read. “Additionally, work has commenced in the CTSCAN Room ahead of
the installation of a new 64-slice computed tomography scanner which is expected to effect a substantial improvement in accuracy over the 16-slice CT-SCANNER currently in use in the radiology department.” Upgrades include: new lead lined doors for radiation protection, the installation of medical gases infrastructure to support life sustaining measures for patients undergoing diagnostic tests, new ceiling tiles, a new paint job, new flooring, and upgrades to the department’s electrical systems. Once complete, the PMH radiology project will have completely upgraded the hospital to a fully digital X-ray and diagnostic Imaging platform.
WORK under way at Princess Margaret Hospital in the radiology department.