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The Tribune
Volume:114 No.215, SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2017
Weekend
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1
Friday, September 29, 2017 fashion food culture music film books gardening art theatre
Weekend
RACE FOR THE CURE Page 21
Living the dream
From Andros to the boardroo m Interview, pages 4&5
WEEKEND: A JOURNEY WHICH FULFILLED A MAN’S DREAMS
Watch the film - every agonising, wrenching, awful second. Then give up Eugene’s killer By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE hugs and comforting words of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and his wife Patricia Minnis couldn’t answer the questions that consumed Kendera Woodside yesterday as she grieved for her son, eightyear-old Eugene, who was killed four days ago. “Why these people ain’t telling me they bringing my son right now?” she cried between screams as Dr Minnis tried to console the family at their Rosebud Road home where Eugene was shot by a stray bullet on Monday as he did his homework.
Three days after the murder that pushed the country’s struggle with violent crime into the national spotlight yet again, her pain remained acute. “He ain’t even live a life, my God,” Mrs Woodside cried. “He’s a baby. I could give my breath right now just for my baby to be right here. They take my heart out my body. “This my only son. They almost shoot my daughter too and they inside (the house) with me. What they do to my family? What they do to us? “Why they ain’ carry me? I live 29 years, He’s a baby.” Tonio Woodside, Eugene’s father, consoled his wife even as he struggled to maintain
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis meeting Kendera Woodside, the mother of murdered Eugene Woodside. Photo: Yontalay Bowe
composure. Dr Minnis said he felt the family’s pain. “What makes me feel even worse is that most of those we see in the yard, I, during my years as a medical doctor,
VIDEO OF PM’S VISIT ONLINE AT TRIBUNE242.COM would’ve delivered most of them so they are closer to me knowing they are my former patients,” Dr Minnis, a gynaecologist by profession, said. “The message we must send to the entire Bahamas is the police can’t fight this alone.
Each citizen has a responsibility and whatever information one has we must bring that forward. These criminals live among us.” Mrs Minnis, who emphasised to the family that her appearance before them was not a political move, called on women to wear black one day this week in mourning for murder victims. “As a mother, I’m calling upon all mothers because I really believe mothers can stop this,” said Mrs Minnis, who was tearful at times. “We have our sons who we cradle from birth and as they become men we are still with them. We have to speak with them. I think all women should wear black one day this week and mourn what’s happening in
our countries. Yes I feel for this mother more than I can say.” Dr Minnis said he will ensure medical attention is provided to Mrs Woodside, who is pregnant. “You can see the grieving and pain she’s going through,” he said. “I assured her that sometime today (Friday) we will have medical personnel come to look after her because she’s pregnant. I have to make sure that her and her unborn infant are both well and we will also make arrangements to make sure the necessary medical personnel look after her and see her on a regular basis to ensure the safety of her and her unborn infant.” SEE PAGE TWO
AG WARNS ECONOMY IN ‘GRAVE DANGER’
PLP CASUAL HIRES COST EXTRA $10M
THE Attorney General yesterday slammed deficiencies in the nation’s anti-money laundering regime as “entirely unacceptable”, warning they had put The Bahamas “in great danger”. Carl Bethel told Tribune Business he had been
BRENSIL Rolle, minister of public services and National Insurance, said between December 2016 and May 2017, the public purse ballooned by $16,532,738 because of the Christie administration’s hiring of new public service workers during that period.
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
so alarmed by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF) draft report on The Bahamas that he instructed his staff to begin work on addressing the flaws from early June. Mr Bethel blasted the former Christie administration for failing to tackle known weaknesses with the necessary urgency. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
In June, he told Parliament the cost to Bahamians of such increases was $10,149,738. The revision comes after he included more than 1,700 workers that were not in his original count. Amid the Progressive Liberal Party’s criticism of the Minnis administration because of its firings SEE PAGE SIX
PAGE 2, Friday, September 29, 2017
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PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis comforting the family of Eugene Woodside yesterday after the eight-year-old was killed as he did his homework.
Photos: Yontalay Bowe
WATCH THE FILM - EVERY AGONISING, WRENCHING, AWFUL SECOND. THEN GIVE UP EUGENE’S KILLER from page one On Wednesday, police said they had found the getaway vehicle they believe was used by the person responsible for the senseless daylight shooting that left Eugene and a man dead. The other victim was the gunman’s intended target, police have said. The silver coloured Nissan minivan was found early Wednesday morning in bushes on Boyd Road, near a cemetery. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 911 or 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 328-TIPS. Investigations continue.
23-YEAR-OLD MAN KILLED IN CAR CRASH ON QUEEN’S HIGHWAY By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A 23-YEAR-OLD man, of West Grand Bahama, was fatally injured in a traffic accident on Queen’s Highway in the Bootle Bay
area on Wednesday night. This latest incident brings the traffic fatality count on the island to six for 2017. According to police, the victim was driving in a grey Honda Accord sedan when he reportedly lost control and crashed into the
bushes sometime around 8pm. Asst Supt Terecita Pinder said officers responded to reports of a traffic accident in the Bootle Bay area, and on arrival ASP Pinder saw that a man had died. She said police are investigating
the accident, and are appealing to motorists to slow down, obey the speed limit, and to wear their seat belts. Grand Bahama recorded its first traffic fatality on August 4 when Carl Stubbs died as a result of
an accident on Settler’s Way. On August 7, three Italian visitors died in a two-car collision on East Sunrise Highway and Gedney Drive, involving a GMC Sierra Truck and a silver coloured Nissan
Tilda. Hospital employee Deangelo Sturrup died on September 1 when his car crashed on Grand Bahama Highway, near the domestic section of the Grand Bahama International Airport.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 29, 2017, PAGE 3
Mother’s race against time to raise funds for medicine
By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net THE mother of an eightyear-old boy diagnosed with a rare hereditary condition is again appealing to the public for help in securing the life-saving medication needed to treat her son. Fearing the next attack could come at any point over the next three months, Angelica Miller said she is in a race against time to raise $4,000 within the next four weeks. Angelica’s son, Tarique, is often described as a typical third grader. That is until his hereditary angioedema (HAE) flares up, at which point, “every living second is precious,” according to his mother. In an interview with The Tribune on Thursday, Ms Miller said while she is grateful for all the aid provided to her son over the course of the last five years, the monthly water drives, countless pleas to corporate Bahamas and cookouts have not yielded the nearly $8,000 needed to buy at least two vials of the medicine - Berinert – that is needed each year. Doctors have mandated that either the family or local health officials keep at least two vials of the medication on island every year. In cases where the drug is not available, Ms Miller is required to raise roughly $4,000 needed to buy each dose, officially request it from suppliers in the United States, board a
plane, physically pick it up and then deliver it to doctors in The Bahamas. Clearly flustered by the possibilities that her son could face in the coming weeks, Ms Miller said her only option is to “raise the money needed”. “There is no plan B, there is no do-overs in this situation,” she said. “If his next attack comes and we don’t have the medicine here, I don’t want to face that reality.” HAE is caused by a low level or improper function of a protein called the C1 inhibitor. With HAE, the blood vessels are affected. An HAE attack can result in rapid swelling of the hands, feet, limbs, face, intestinal tract, larynx (voice-box), or trachea (windpipe). During flare-ups, the body experiences major swelling, particularly in the chest cavity, resulting in restricted breathing. Patients suffering with the condition are unable to produce the necessary protein needed to reduce swelling and fluid retention in the body. Attacks of swelling can become more severe in late childhood and adolescence. Recalling an ordeal from last year when she had to rush her son to the hospital at 3am, check-in for a departing flight at 5am and sit through several delayed returning flights that evening, Ms Miller said she is terrified by what may come. “It’s not a pride thing for me, it’s all about Tarique.
HANDGUN AND AK-47 SEIZED POLICE made two gun seizures on Wednesday. In the first incident, around 5pm, officers from the Firearm Tracing and Gang Investigations Unit were conducting an operation at Dorsett Street in Fox Hill, when they saw a man who aroused their suspicion. The man, on seeing the officers, fired a shot at them with a handgun, police said. The officers returned fire and the male fled on foot, dropping his firearm to the ground. The officers gave chase but were unable to catch the male. The firearm was retrieved from the ground and found to be a Smith and Wesson pistol
containing three rounds of ammunition. In the second incident, shortly before midnight, officers from the Firearm Tracing and Gang Investigations Unit were conducting an operation at the Saunders Lane area off Rock Crusher Road, when they saw three men who aroused they suspicion. The males ran after seeing police. The officers gave chase but did not catch the men. The officers conducted a search of the area where the males were standing and found a Micro Draco AK-47 Assault Rifle with a magazine containing 21 rounds of ammunition.
DRUGS DISCOVERED BY POLICE OFFICERS from the Drug Enforcement Unit took a woman into custody after they seized a quantity of dangerous drugs from a home on Wednesday. Police said shortly after 11am, DEU officers executed a search warrant on a home located at Clifton Street, where they uncovered five pounds of marijuana. A woman living in the home was taken into custody. Meanwhile, two men were arrested by Mobile Division officers in two separate incidents on Wednesday for drug possession. In the first incident, shortly after 6pm, Mobile
Division officers were on routine patrol on Tyler Street, when they saw a man walking in the area acting suspiciously. The man was stopped, searched and two plastic bags containing a large amount of foil wraps in which marijuana was found. The man was taken into custody. Then shortly before 7pm, Mobile Division officers were on routine patrol on Dorsett Street, Fox Hill when they saw a man walking in the area acting suspiciously. The man was searched and a quantity of marijuana was found in his possession. He was taken into custody. Investigations continue.
TARIQUE MILLER, who faces huge costs for the medication he needs to tackle his rare hereditary condition. getting worse. God will never put more on that I could lose my baby.” shoulder, my passport in Of that attack last year, “I pleaded with the desk my hand and a small cooler you than you can bear, and in this case, I know if I do she said: “Tarique was agents there, explained with Tarique’s medicine. I my part the Lord will meet rushed to the emergency what the situation was. I gave those people a look, me along the way,” she said. room, it was around 3am. was horrified.” told them what the issue Ms Miller added: “Even- was; and got to the hospital “I just can’t go through We were already waiting on what I went through last one vial and it just so hap- tually I got on, and had as quickly as I could.” year because for the first pened, in this case, I was to sit through a couple of She told The Tribune: time in a long time, I feared already scheduled to travel delays. Like I said, the devil “I can’t face that reality of for it. was busy. In the middle of having my son’s life dan“I had to pick between the airport in Fort Laud- gling like that. Not again, I leaving my child in the erdale, I let out a scream. can’t. I can’t do that to him emergency room and jump- Everyone looked at me as again.” ing on a plane to Florida if I was crazy. I didn’t get Tarique was formally to pick up the medicine back in Nassau until late diagnosed by doctors at needed to save his life.” that night. the Joe DiMaggio Hospital She continued: “I got to “As if it wasn’t already in Florida in November of the airport in panic, got bad, I got off the plane 2014. on the plane, and once in and customs and immigraThose who wish to give Fort Lauderdale I rushed tion (officers) were trying assistance can do so by straight to the hospital to hold me up. The only contacting Ms Miller at 812there to get the medicine. thing I had on me was a 1615 for more information I had to fill out all sorts of small bag, tossed over my on ways to help. forms and I could feel the devil pulling at me. “After some time and some issues, I got the medicine and was able to head back to the airport to come home. But everything that could go wrong, went wrong. “I was told that the flight was closed. Meanwhile, my phone was ringing nonstop. Everyone wanted to know how far out I was because his condition was
PAGE 4, Friday, September 29, 2017
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Renewed focus on future of Europe THE resumption of Parliament at Westminster following the long summer break, together with another round of Brexit negotiations in Brussels, has ensured that the issue of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union is once again at the forefront of the nation’s political and economic agenda. Two other factors – the recent State of the Union address by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker calling for even greater EU integration and the surprise outcome of last weekend’s federal elections in Germany – have also now put the future of Europe back once more onto the centre stage of world politics. Having secured parliamentary approval, the United Kingdom government invoked last March Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which provides the mechanism for an EU member state to leave the bloc within a two-year period. The withdrawal negotiations that began soon after in Brussels were said gradually to have stalled. But in an effort to break the stalemate Prime Minister Theresa May has now called for a two-year transition or implementation period immediately following Britain’s departure no later than the end of March, 2019, during which it should continue to have, in particular, access to the single market including free movement of people while the final negotiations covering the detailed terms of the UK’s withdrawal may also run on. The EU has welcomed this as a constructive proposal and Mrs. May apparently hoped that it would kick start the so-called ‘divorce talks’. The British approach appears to be to link any financial settlement to the establishment of a free-trade deal of benefit to all. So far, the signs have been that Brussels has continued to adopt a tough stance, not least as a deterrent to other member states thinking of quitting the bloc. However, the latest and fourth round of talks have just ended on a positive and optimistic note with both sides acknowledging that progress has been made though serious differences remain. The next few months will be critical as the negotiations gather momentum. Mr. Juncker’s proposals for the EU to take a significant leap forward in pursuit of ever closer union with a view to becoming a federal state – more power transferred to Brussels from the nation states, a strengthened common currency for the entire bloc, extension of the Schengen agreement on removal
of borders and a fully fledged European Defence Union – will surely only increase Britain’s determination to leave with as good a deal as it can obtain. This blueprint for the future of the EU was predictable given that its reaction to any setback to its long term plans is simply more Europe. But the result of Germany’s elections represents a new and potentially threatening dimension. Even though Angela Merkel won a fourth consecutive term as Chancellor, the rise of the AfD (Alternative for Germany), a nationalistic and eurosceptic right-wing party which won some 13 per cent of the vote and more than 90 seats in parliament, and the decline of her Christian Democratic Union with only about 30 per cent of the national vote and which will now have to build a new coalition, will herald a period of prolonged domestic uncertainty and could even include a changed approach to the EU. It remains to be seen what effect this will have on the European Commission’s negotiating stance in the short term in relation to Brexit. Britain has made it clear that, liberated from the constraints of the EU it wants to be a free-trading, sovereign nation in charge of its borders again and making its own laws which should be justiciable in its own courts. It is prepared to meet its financial obligations and honour its commitments already entered into as an EU member, but in many ways it is bargaining from a position of strength. So, with two heavyweights fighting it out, the Brexit negotiations already under way to forge a new relationship acrossthe-board between the UK and EU countries, which involve an unravelling of the complexities and technicalities of the EU’s institutions, will continue to be an enormous challenge to both sides during the coming months and beyond. The conjunction of Brexit and the emergence of the far-right in Germany, the richest and most influential nation in Europe – together with a surge of nationalism in countries like Poland and Hungary which runs counter to Mr Juncker’s bold vision for greater EU integration – looks to the outsider to constitute perhaps the greatest challenge and threat to the bloc during the course of its nearly sixty years of existence. There will surely be a period of extreme uncertainty across Europe and only the foolhardy would dare to predict how events may unfold.
Minnis testing our patience EDITOR, The Tribune. IT is extremely unfortunate that the Prime Minister received the blow back that he did from the Bahamian people concerning how he decided to assist post-hurricane Dominican students, however all of the criticism he received was self inflicted. He obviously committed to an idea without thinking of the ramifications of it first. He could have tested the waters by advising the Bahamian people that he was considering such a move. I suspect he does not understand that this move establishes a precedent that is unsustainable. As I read the dailies regarding comments made by some of those in support of Dr Minnis’s idea, I could not help but notice that many of the names of those who commented were not Bahamian. Many of their comments reeked of a sense of entitlement and ingratitude; that
is exactly why many Bahamians have a problem with this decision. Many, not all, immigrants lack the expected gratitude they should have for their host country. Average Bahamians watch immigrants come into our country and do all sorts of things to eke out a living for themselves. Many are competing with Bahamians for jobs. Far too many Bahamians feel marginalised in their own country. This is a problem! It is disingenuous to say that those opposed to Dr Minnis’s idea are being unChristian. They are not opposed to helping those in distress, but the manner in which the help is being given. Many of those who now speak of what is and is not the “Christian” thing to do would eagerly support gay marriage or the LGBTQ agenda. Some of these same politicians were fired for unchristian conflicts of
interest in the past. I hope that all politicians in government at this time will remember that that nepotism is also unchristian. There are a million and one ways our country could help other countries affected by hurricanes. No one is suggesting that we should not be our brother’s keeper. This is not a situation that requires high emotions, but a rational mind, that understands that the only reason our country stays afloat is because we borrow substantial amounts of money. We need wisdom and commonsense in making decisions, not outbursts of emotion. Bahamians are some of the most generous, kindhearted people in the Caribbean, but our patience and generosity has limits. Our leaders should take note (ask Perry Christie). JB Nassau, September 28, 2017.
Mayaguana EDITOR, The Tribune. Mayaguana: A Forgotten Island IF you ask Bahamians to state something they know about Mayaguana, most will respond by asking, what or where is Mayaguana? This southern island is often treated as the stepchild of The Bahamas. Due to the constant neglect by successive Governments, the island’s development has been a slow and painful process throughout the years causing its residents to gradually abandon their home one by one. (Pop. About 160) For years, complaints have been made about the mailboat system and service which is supposed to deliver food and supplies weekly. However, these operators seem to be lackadaisical about the entire ordeal as they sail whenever they deem necessary. In April 2017, the locals waited an entire month before the Lady Mathilda showed up; with most of the goods spoiled or rotted by the time they arrived. Moreover, these residents were not compensated for items lost. After Hurricane Irma passed through the southern islands, Mayaguana’s already defective dock was completely destroyed. The Prime Minister visited the island soon after and while being taken to see the damages done by Irma, he decided that he simply did not have the time. Since then, locals have band together to remove whatever debris they could, but how long will it take before someone is sent to assess the damages and have the dock repaired? Furthermore, when will proper hurricane shelters be built to house the people of Mayaguana lest we are unable to evacuate again? We applaud the current Government for rapidly reacting in the wake of Hurricane Irma, but it is just not enough! While in the Lynden Pindling International Airport awaiting his flight to the MICAL constituency, The Prime Minister invited persons to address him personally. However, when approached by an inhabitant of Mayaguana, The Prime Minister brushed him aside and met with the residents of Inagua instead. Even more reprehensible, when addressing the Bahamas on the recent Hurricane Maria, The Hon. Hubert Minnis forgot to mention Mayaguana as a part of the islands that would be impacted first. If this is the people’s time, then it must not extend to the inhabitants of our little island. Mayaguana’s medical facilities include one clinic
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net with a Registered Nurse and a Clinically Trained Nurse. There are no doctors and no major equipments should an emergency arise. In fact, in the case of a medical emergency, an Air Ambulance (which can rack up fees in the thousands) has to be called in. Locals are left to pay these exorbitant fees, whereas in New Providence, public ground ambulance service is a meager twenty dollars! Due to the lack of jobs, residents aren’t equipped to pay for such services. In addition, there are also no banks, just a post office that requires payment when funds are being sent to or out of the island. Just recently, the decision was made to close the doors of The National Insurance Board’s Mayaguana office. This department was previously run by an employee from Nassau who was asked to return home. The office would be closed for three weeks out of the month. The last week of the month, another employee will be flown into Mayaguana to handle the Department’s affairs. Is it wrong to question why the Government, after providing an employee with a salary, rent and utilities, hardship and a Government owned vehicle for almost a year suddenly decides to close its Department doors only to have to fly someone in for just one week when it would be so much easier to hire and train a local to do the same job? This is called empowerment! Another issue that no one seems to want to address is the inexcusable condition of The Abraham’s Bay High School. The school consists of four rooms. One being the teacher’s quarters shared with the Principal’s office. How do we expect our children to learn when teachers are frustrated because they have to sit in their vehicles while waiting to teach their next class? Mayaguana, at one time, was known for farming. Nevertheless, this is something that cannot be fully pinned on the Government of The Bahamas. It pains me to see the younger generation neglect a trade that our ancestors took pride in while the few remaining elders labor in the hot sun to produce fruits and vegetables to either barter or sell for an income outside of pension. With the help of the government, a small program such as BAMSI would be beneficial to Mayaguana’s dying farming industry. The island is rich in soil and land simply needs attending to. It is my belief that locals may find it
intimidating or difficult to start on their own. Perhaps this can also be the government’s way of handing out jobs. Subsequently, the produce that is cultivated can be exported either throughout The Bahamas or Florida and revenue can be made, but, here again, we will require a reliable mailboat service. The roads are in desperate need of repaving, yet the government contracts the same company repeatedly to correct a problem that has never really been fully corrected! In 2013 a fatal airplane crash involved the deaths of three residents. This event initiated the construction of a new airport runway, lights included. However, the airport terminal has long been falling apart. These dignitaries should be ashamed to visit the island and see the condition of the island’s only airport and be okay with it! We are not asking for a state of the art airport, just a building that doesn’t leak when it rains or creaks when the slightest wind blows. Is it going to take another detrimental event to get things going? There is one hotel. No activities save for bone fishing, lounging on the powder white beaches, maybe kayaking or bird watching, if you like that type of stuff. There are no beachfront restaurants or propane gas stations. Bahamas Air agents are still communicating via a dinosaur radio and are still stamping the same tickets used since I was a child. They don’t even own a computer! There are a lot of things needed in Mayaguana: A bank for starters; hotels, a new dock, an ambulance and a new mailboat if this particular company isn’t willing to get their act together. While we realise that everything isn’t the government’s responsibility, the inhabitants of Mayaguana want to be taken seriously! As it stands, we have no choice but to fight for our future generations. We cannot solely rely on the few fishermen that go out to sea every day to earn a living, nor the bars or one single hotel to keep our island afloat. We are as much a part of The Bahamas as Exuma, Abaco and Bimini. It is our right to question our country’s stance on the growth of an economy, especially our own. We are not bashing the Government of The Bahamas or the previous Administration. Nor are we looking for handouts. We are not an ungrateful people, we are simply overlooked. ONE MAYAGUANA Mayaguana, Bahamas September 28, 2017.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, September 29, 2017, PAGE 5
PARADISE PLATES SERVES UP A TREAT HANDS for Hunger is putting the finishing touches on preparations for this year’s Paradise Plates, the organisation’s signature annual fundraiser that has quickly become known as one of the island’s most anticipated charity events. Scheduled for this Saturday at 7pm at Atlantis’ Grand Ballroom, this year’s Paradise Plates will not only feature a lavish array of delicious fare and drinks from the country’s top chefs and beverage purveyors, but a line-up of exciting entertainment too. Willis and the Illest Reggae Band will perform live, and on the turntables will be DJ Ignite. A Junkanoo rush out will cap off the evening. Paradise Plates will also feature a travel-themed raffle drawing for amazing
prizes including JetBlue and SkyBahamas tickets, and an exciting art and leisure silent auction. Guests can also expect to experience the craft of culinary celebrities like the 2017 Stoli Cocktail Master mixologist, Marv Cunningham; winner of Iron Chef Thailand Pastry Edition, Jason Licker; and members of the silver medalist 2017 Bahamas Culinary Team. This year’s indoor food festival will feature 40 restaurants and beverage purveyors, including some of the newest and hottest restaurants in Nassau. Guests will have the opportunity to sample signature dishes from first-time Paradise Plates culinary partners: Atlantis’ Sun & Ice; Biggity Bistro & Boutique; The Bearded Clam; Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar’s Café Madeleine and
3 Tides; Pink Octopus; Jason Licker; Pulpy Artisan Style Frozen Desserts; Wild Thyme; Aquafire Bar & Grill; Taj Mahal and Yummy Sky Juice. Hands For Hunger has also brought back some of the most popular participants from previous
years, including Atlantis’ Nobu and Olives; Dunkin’ Donuts; Jimmy’s Wines & Spirits; Le Petit Gourmet; Pirate Republic Brewery; One & Only Ocean Club; Louis & Steen’s New Orleans Coffeehouse; Graycliff Chocolatier; Aquapure; Old Fort Bay
Club; Young’s Fine Wine, Luciano’s of Chicago; Bristol Wines & Spirits; Drifter’s at the Fish Fry; Sands Beer; Sapodilla Fine Dining; 700 Wines & Spirits; Athena Cafe & Bar; Caribbean Bottling Company; Black Angus; Summer Palace;
John Watling’s Distillery; Pop Stop; The Island House’s Mahogany House and Shima; and 1648 Bar & Grille, French Leave Resort, Eleuthera. This year’s event is once again presented by ALIV, IL Cares Foundation and JetBlue.
McAlpine denies prejudice in Dominica comments By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter kr ussell@tribunemedia.net WHILE insisting he is neither xenophobic nor racist, Pineridge MP Rev Fredrick McAlpine said he has no regrets about comments he made criticising his own party’s plan to accommodate Dominicans following the destruction Hurricane Maria caused in Dominica. Despite criticism sparked by his remarks, the backbench MP said he saw nothing wrong with asking critical questions, which he said should not be mistaken as him being at odds with the Free National Movement. On Wednesday, in a blistering attack on the government’s plan, Mr McAlpine said once Dominicans experience a “better standard of living” in The Bahamas, they may not be inclined to return to their country. He further recommended wealthy Cabinet ministers take money from their own pockets to contribute to the island’s restoration efforts rather than give Dominicans safe haven here. Mr McAlpine also appeared to take a swipe at Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, who cried as he
FREDRICK McALPINE MP spoke of the decimation in Dominica, saying he is crying for his own people. Yesterday, he continued on the same track as he did on Wednesday and suggested the government give a financial gift to the county in addition to sending some Bahamians there to rebuild Dominica and paying them to do it. This he indicated should be done instead of allowing Dominican students and others into the country. “What was so wrong or asinine about the comment? Me saying that I think the Commonwealth of The Bahamas should assist those people in Dominica but we should take a view as to how we will assist them?” he told reporters yesterday in the foyer of the House of Assembly. “You are asking me to
let people into the country. I want to know how many people are going to be let into the country? Are these people healthy? Who’s coming with these people? How much money is it going to cost the Bahamian people? Will Bahamian jobs be at stake as a result of these people coming in? “Those are commonsensical questions that should demand straight forward answers. “I am not xenophobic neither am I a racist. I am a nationalist. The Bahamas is for Bahamians and at the end of the day while we appreciate that in order to build this country we are going to need people outside the country coming to assist us, but The Bahamas was built for Bahamians. That’s not being xenophobic. I am just a person who loves The Bahamas and believes that Bahamians should be first priority in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas,” Mr McAlpine also said. Asked whether he was concerned his comments would be seen by some as him standing opposed to his party, Mr McAlpine rejected this perception. “My party boasts about being liberal to the point that they’re able to allow its members of Parliament to
WELLS: MINNIS DOING THE RIGHT THING By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net WHILE he empathised with the economic depression faced by Grand Bahamians, former Cabinet minister Tennyson Wells yesterday disagreed with Pineridge MP Fredrick McAlpine’s position against the government’s decision to accommodate storm-displaced Dominicans. Mr Wells insisted that humanitarian aid rendered by the country did not negate or distract from local issues and the need for government action. “I can understand how an MP looking at that every day, or every week, could feel how he feels. I can understand that most of those people in the Family Islands, particularly in West End and Eight Mile Rock, I can tell you (the former) government did nothing for those people. So from that perspective I understand how he feels but that does not negate the country helping the neighbour on humanitarian basis, that has nothing to do with it. You may have problems in your home but if your next door neighbour don’t have anything to eat and you have two pork chops, you give them one and you still have one. I think Minnis is absolutely correct in what he’s doing.” The former Free National
Movement MP continued: “I support what the government did, I think they should assist, it’s the natural thing to do. If McAlpine is opposed to that I don’t agree with him, if we were in the same position all those countries would chip in and help. “I didn’t get the impression he was opposed, he was very nuanced in the language he used. But the principle is if we can help, we should help, and I think we can help. “When Bahamians have a mortgage to pay that doesn’t stop them from putting tithes in church. I think Mr McAlpine, if he’s opposed, I’d say he’s out of order.” In the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Mr McAlpine criticised his own party’s plan to accommodate Dominicans following the destructive wake of Hurricane Maria. He recommended that wealthy Cabinet ministers instead take money from their own pockets to contribute to the island’s restoration efforts rather than give Dominican people safe haven here. He also attacked his party’s policy for Grand Bahama’s development, his statement marked the first time this term the Free National Movement has received pointed criticism from one of its own in a public forum.
In what appeared to be a swipe at Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, who wiped tears from his eyes earlier in the day as he spoke of the destruction in Dominica and the harsh reactions some have had to his plans to help citizens there, Mr McAlpine said he is crying for his own people. A source close to the party yesterday were of the opinion that Mr McAlpine’s comments belied his dissatisfaction after not receiving a substantial post in the Minnis administration. Mr McAlpine is chairman of the Hotel Corporation. Meanwhile, yesterday Mr Wells said Grand Bahama’s economy is suffering: “If you go down in Grand Bahama, I went to West End, this was a month or two before the election. I spent half a day in West End just looking around talking to people and if you see the destruction from (Hurricane) Matthew I could see how people from Grand Bahama and I understand that most of those places are still like that today. “This new government,” he continued, “they should try to be cohesive and have unity but when you have an opinion and you feel you’re correct in what you’re saying I think he should be allowed to say it. He’s’ just one in 35 and some others may be feeling the same way.”
be free. The Free National Movement was built upon democracy and being able to speak one’s mind and convictions. “I support the Free National Movement. “Listen, let’s just get practical. People live in one house and have different opinions. But does it mean that they hate each other or they’re against each other? “We live in a time where people have the right to critical thinking. I am just being critical of my thoughts and trying to be protective of the country God has placed me in.
I wasn’t born in Trinidad (or) in Dominica. I wasn’t born in Haiti or Turks and Caicos. God allowed me to be born here on November 20, 1965. The Bahamas is all I know. This is where I was born. Am I wrong because I am saying, hey we can help folks, but how are we going to help these folks? “I’d also add. My suggestion has always been monetarily, why not give them financially and allow some of our Bahamian people to go down there and work and if you going to pay anybody pay our Bahamian people to go
down there and work and they still have the money and it’s still in the Bahamian economy?” He also said: “I hate to bring this up but let’s look at it. We are talking about perhaps bringing students from Dominica here. “What about the people who’ve been here and can’t get their children in school and we are making it so rigid even for them to get in school and they are here. So, I think we have to be fair we have to be balanced, all I am trying to do is strike a balance,” Mr McAlpine said.
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PLP casual hires cost extra $10m from page one of public service workers, Mr Rolle painted a picture yesterday of a public service where longstanding hiring rules were ignored or abused, especially in the lead-up to the general election. People who thought they were hired never received formal indications of this, he said, causing them to suffer the humiliation of not knowing the status of their employment. Mr Rolle said he missed the extra 1,700 people in his original count because “these are people who were sent to work but were not given a letter, were not told where they ought to go or
what they ought to do. “When the (member for Englerston) asked earlier whether we had terminated these contracts, as I said to her in a previous meeting, when you issue a contract for three months and it’s May, April, June, at the end of June there is a legitimate expectation that those contracts would’ve come to an end. “If you have the power to issue contracts and you only issued them for three months and you realised how important those three months are to your personal existence in the political arena it lays the impression that you are only issuing contracts to secure votes and after the votes you go about your way, you are gone. These individuals sat
around the Cabinet table. They could’ve confirmed these individuals, could’ve given them a one year contract. They chose to give them a three-months contract and now they come here and are pretending they don’t’ know what happened to these individuals. That is disgraceful; that is dishonest.” When he talked in June about the increase in public service workers over the past five years, Mr Rolle did not, he said, include many immigration and customs officers. He said yesterday that the former administration was not rigorous in choosing who could join these sensitive agencies. “I did not include the
151 immigration workers in that account, neither did I include the 123 customs officers that were hired,” he said. “A responsible government would not take individuals off the street and place them in a space that is extremely sensitive as customs and immigration is, without having regard for a check, a simple vetting. I am told by the professionals in the service that they advised the government not to take this course but the class started for customs the Monday morning and persons were advised up to Sunday night, you are in that class, go in that class. The result of that was that some of the individuals who were placed in that programme, even
though they had successfully completed the course, could not be recognised as customs or immigration officers; they’re called casual workers.” Mr Rolle said the Christie administration’s actions lead him to believe that it “embarked on a mission to perhaps destroy the public service by creating a parallel public service.” “This parallel system was created through the widespread use of hiring persons on contract at all levels notwithstanding the policy that people are hired on contract where their skills and experience cannot be found in the service,” he said. “This includes but certainly is not limited to the return of public officers
who are paid their salaries which were more than their retiring salaries, plus a pension and a gratuity at the end of their pension. Imagine a retired permanent secretary who retired from the service making $70,000 a year. If they served for 30 years their pension would be $70k and they receive for example a two-year contract from the government. At the end of the contract they must receive a gratuity of 15 per cent. When I see members coming here jumping up saying we don’t care about the civil service, I just remind them that in 2008 the government of The Bahamas decided that you just cannot have both; you either had pension or gratuity, but you can’t have both.”
‘PM SHOULD HAVE CONSULTED BEFORE DOMINICA OFFER’
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
OFFICIAL Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said before the government decided to allow Dominicans into the country, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis should have engaged in discussions on the move and offered Bahamians the concrete details. In an interview with reporters yesterday, Mr Davis seemed apprehensive to reveal whether the Progressive Liberal Party was fully on board with the government’s plan to relax immigration restrictions to allow some Dominicans into the country in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. However, he said, once it does not require a strain on the public purse, it might be something Bahamians can rally around. The Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP said he
would await further details as promised by the prime minister before the PLP took a definitive position. Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Darren Henfield defended the prime minister’s decision, saying Dominica remains in “dire straits”. “What I could say is he ought to have engaged in more discussions and appreciate what he was saying before he said what he did,” Mr Davis said yesterday, “and when he said it he ought to have come with the details as opposed to just a blanket offer as he did.” He also said: “Generally there is a standard policy of assistance to our CARICOM sisters in the time of disaster or need and the policy has always been that we would give at least $100,000 as an immediate gift and that is nothing new. You’ll find that most countries have what they call a standard relief package that they award immediately to
countries in need in circumstances such as these. “For example the Chinese (and) the Americans they all will just give an immediate sum to bring some instant relief and thereafter they would consider what further relief or assistance they will give and that will come of course after consultation and understanding specifically the needs of the country afflicted. “And so insofar as the PLP is concerned, we embrace that policy of granting immediate assistance as has been the norm where they immediately do a grant to these countries. Now insofar as any further assistance over and beyond that it requires a discussion and that discussion then determines what the country is able to do.” He continued: “The unfortunate fact here is that the xenophobic flames that have been fanned by the lack of details that we put into the public domain has caused everyone to pause to look and
to seek more details before they jump to any conclusion to support or otherwise.” For his part, Mr Henfield said the prime minister’s decision was a part of a comprehensive position taken in the region, adding that the offer from the prime minister was reasonable. He said: “I was in the United Nations General Assembly. I was the third speaker after Prime Minister (Roosevelt) Skerrit from Dominica and I could sense a very palpable presence in the assembly when he said his country had been basically decimated from what he called a war zone as a result of climate change. “His country is in dire straits. I think as a fellow Caribbean country as a member of CARICOM I think there is an obligation between CARICOM states to do all in their power to help and assist a fellow state in trouble to recover. “I think what we offered was quite reasonable. I think
the prime minister very clearly elucidated his plan how it will be done. I know as the foreign minister with the cognisance of CARICOM and the secretary general of Guyana these determinations will not be made independently of anyone or by The Bahamas. “We’ve been struck in the past and people have come to our assistance,” Mr Henfield said. On Wednesday, Dr Minnis was brought to tears as he shed light on how this process will work and outlined three categories by which Dominicans will be granted access to The Bahamas. Giving an impassioned contribution in Parliament where he repeatedly wiped tears from his eyes, Dr Minnis, his voice at times trembling, spoke of the decimation in the island nation as he made a case regarding the government’s reasoning to assist that country. Dominica suffered widespread destruction from both
Hurricanes Irma and Maria. At the time he said: “My government proposes to temporarily relax the immigration rules for a number of school children from Dominica who wish to continue their education in The Bahamas. “Permits to reside will be issued to students from Dominica, who, with the approval of parents, wish to study in The Bahamas. “There are three categories of students who may apply: children who have relatives in The Bahamas, and who can find lodging and support from family members; college students who may wish to study at the University of The Bahamas, and who seek boarding at UB; children of parents employed in companies, banks, etc, which have offices in The Bahamas, temporary employment transfers can be arranged with these institutions.” Dr Minnis will lead a team to Dominica on Monday, October 2, to assess damage there.
SHIPYARD CHIEF TALKS OF OPPORTUNITIES IN GRAND BAHAMA
By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
OF the $50m spent by the Grand Bahama Shipyard in its first eight months this year, only $18m or 36 per cent of that stayed in The Bahamas, according to the company’s CEO Dave Skentelbery. Many persons packed the Delphine Room of the Pelican Bay Resort on Thursday for the Grand Bahama Business to Business Expo 2017, to learn of the various business opportunities that exist within the industrial sector. Mr Skentelbery said many service opportunities
exist at the shipyard, including services for the recycling of hazardous materials and for equipment supply, as well as travel agency and laundry services, among others. He reported that the company spent more than half a million dollars on welding consumables that were flown in from Florida. “We fly in from Florida, fasteners, nuts, bolts, screws, nails, tape, plywood and welding consumables. Last year, we brought in welding rods and wires probably more than half a million dollars spent at the shipyard,” he said. Mr Skentelbery said the
company also purchases things such as electrical tape, masking tape, gloves, boots, overalls, installation material, and duct tape. “We buy things we cannot buy on the island and in large quantities. If you are interested in doing that come and talk to us; it is not going to make your business, it will be a part of your business. But if your cost is competitive, then do it,” he told participants. There are other opportunities too that exist, including the need for local transportation and a local supplier of life rafts and life-saving equipment, tank cleaning and tank blasting services.
Mr Skentelbery was one of two featured presenters at the expo. A representative of Buckeye also spoke about some of the opportunities at the oil storage terminal. The expo was the first in a series of such events hosted by the Office of the Prime Minister, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, and the Grand Bahama Port Authority. Kim Miller, senior manager of group corporate affairs, announced that the GBPA had allocated some $80,000 in capital for the start-up of four new businesses and the expansion of four existing businesses in Freeport. Businesses will have to square off in a ‘Shark Tank’ scenario to sell their business idea and why they should be given the money. Minister of Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson called on anchor businesses and companies in Grand Bahama to engage the services of local businesses where possible to improve the economy by spending and keeping some of their
millions here on the island. “All of the industrial companies we want them to fulfil their role by ensuring that they engage and use businesses that are in this room,” he said. “If a Grand Bahama business or entrepreneur can provide the service at a reasonable price give them the contract.” He indicated that the business-to-business expo is expected to generate muchneeded growth in the local economy. “Grand Bahama is called the industrial capital of The Bahamas. We cannot forget we have one of the largest shipyards in the world right in our backyard. “So the purpose of this expo is to cause as much of their millions of dollars to remain here in Grand Bahama. We want to ensure that businesses are able to take advantage of every opportunity that exists here in Grand Bahama,” he said. “We must ensure that local businesses and entrepreneurs are in a position to provide ancillary services to our anchor companies in the industrial sector.
“We are learning a painful lesson of why we must diversify our economy. Tourism alone is not enough,” Mr Thompson said. The minister of state also indicated that the Office of the Prime Minister remains focused on the economic revitalisation of the island. “The government has a focus strategy to improve our economy here in Grand Bahama. We are painfully aware of the present state of affairs in Grand Bahama. It does not make sense to sugarcoat it,” he said. “It will require a focus on the opening and redevelopment of the Lucayan Strip, focusing on iconic properties like Xanadu Resort and Royal Oasis. You should be assured that these are being aggressively pursued,” he said. Mr Thompson noted that improving the ease of doing business must also be addressed in Grand Bahama. He stated that there is need to actively market Grand Bahama as a place to do business in the technology industry.
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Friday, September 29, 2017, PAGE 7
Ramsey back in court over payments on bribery fine
By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net FREDDIE Solomon Ramsey is due to re-appear before a Supreme Court judge in a week’s time in connection with the judge’s orders last year for him to repay more than $200,000 to the Bahamas Electricity Corporation stemming from the Alstom SA/BEC bribery scandal, The Tribune understands. Court officials confirmed to The Tribune yesterday that the former insurance executive will appear before Justice Bernard Turner on October 5 in connection with that judge’s orders that
FRED Ramsey at a previous court appearance. BEC be repaid the entire to a prison sentence in $221,457.81 he allegedly connection with evidence received from French com- alleging that Alstom SA pany Alstom SA. paid more than $300,000 to In July 2016, Justice a BEC board member to Turner imposed a $14,000 influence the awarding of fine on Ramsey as opposed the New Providence Phase
Two and Three contracts between 1999 and 2003. Justice Turner said Ramsey had two months to pay off the fine or face six months in prison. In addition to the fine, the judge said he saw no reason why he should not order the entire $221,457.81 Ramsey allegedly received from Alstom as a result of the scandal be repaid, which he said should be paid to BEC or any successor of BEC within nine months. Failure to pay off the amount within that time, Justice Turner said, would result in that sum being applied to Ramsey’s real property tax and/or him facing a separate term of six
months’ imprisonment. Justice Turner also said that sum should be paid to the country’s consolidated fund should BEC no longer be considered a public body. Before that, Ramsey was acquitted of two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery concerning the Phase Two contract. However, he was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and 12 counts of bribery concerning the Phase Three contract. The 18 charges against Ramsey - four of conspiracy to commit bribery and 14 of bribery - concerned the
SECOND WORLD WAR VETERAN MCPHEE DIES
THE family of John McPhee wants Bahamians to know that “a hero has passed.” The 85-year-old veteran participated in the Second World War. His death over two weeks ago means only 13 members of the British Legion Bahamas Branch are still alive. Mr McPhee signed up in 1942 and served in the Bahamas Battalion. He was a pillar of his community, his family said. In an interview with The Tribune nearly four years ago he reminisced about serving in the war after training in Jamaican and Africa. Fortunately for him and other Bahamian soldiers, the war ended before they could go into battle. Sandena Neely, his grandniece, told The Tribune this week: “He would almost never miss a moment to let us know about his life as a veteran and we also
cherished the fact that he took his role very seriously. He served in recent years as the chaplain of the British Legion and also as the flag bearer at official ceremonies like Remembrance Day. This year, even though he was ill, there were a number of persons who passed away and he carried on his role as vicechairman even though he was ill which was a true testament to the fact that when you’re an old soldier you remain true to your calling.” Mr McPhee’s wife, Nellie McPhee, was married to him for 62 years. “They served as a beacon in this country for the institution of marriage and as a hallmark for members of our family as they displayed their love one to another through all the changing scenes of life, even to the very end,” Ms Neely said. During an interview with this newspaper in late 2013, Mr McPhee recalled his time of service. “They took us out of school because we had nothing to do and they put
us on a sailing boat and sent us to camp,” Mr McPhee, who was raised in Exuma, said as he recalled the moment he dropped out of school to enlist in the British Army. “Our parents didn’t know where we were so they came looking for us in the army. They wanted to take us back,” he said. For Mr McPhee, whose prospects were furthering his education, or joining the army, the choice was easy. “We could’ve gone to school and learned a trade but we didn’t accept that. We wanted adventure.” With six other young men, he left Rolleville AllAge School in Exuma for New Providence “with no shoes and a little paper bag with pants and shirts in them.” “In those days money was short,” he said in 2013. “We cut a car tyre, put a string between the toe and used that as a shoe.” His funeral will be held at 11am on Saturday at Kemp Road Ministries.
EXIGENCY ORDER TO HELP FISHERMEN By MATT MAURA Bahamas Information Services AN exigency order will be issued “as soon as possible” to assist Bahamian fishermen negatively affected by Hurricane Irma, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said Wednesday. The order will allow for the purchase of traps and fishing materials, and equipment destroyed as a result of the passage of Hurricane Irma. Prime Minister Minnis said his administration is “well aware” of the fact that Irma affected a number of Bahamian fishing communities in the midst of the vital crawfish season. An application for assistance must be filed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) through the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources. Dr Minnis also said the government is committed to providing relief to the nation’s farmers once the assessments have been
completed. Meanwhile, speaking in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Dr Minnis said Bahamas Power and Light had informed the government that repairs have been completed in Acklins, Mayaguana, Crooked Island, Andros and Bimini while officials at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) are reporting that broadband services throughout The Bahamas have been restored with some exceptions. Broadband services have been restored at Mortimer’s, Long Island, except for intermittent degraded services. Replacement equipment has already been shipped to Long Island with full restoration scheduled. Mobile services have been restored to Long Island and fully restored on Ragged Island. 3G Service is being optimised on Ragged Island and will be completed by month’s end. Fixed services have been restored on Bimini. Power issues are responsible for some degradation in
THREE ACCUSED OF TEACHER’S MURDER TWO men and a teenager accused of the controversial 2015 murder of former Queen’s College elementary teacher Joyelle McIntosh will return before a Supreme Court judge in about three weeks for a trial date fixture. Armando Sargeant, Johnny Mackey and a boy who cannot be named because he was charged as a minor, will appear before Justice Bernard Turner on October 18 concerning the November 11, 2015 attempted armed robbery and murder of the private school teacher. It is alleged that the teenager, who was 17 at the time of the incident, along with Sargeant of Kemp Road and Mackey of Bonaby Alley, attempted to rob Mrs McIntosh, at gunpoint, of her 2009 silver coloured Toyota Corolla worth $6,000. It is alleged that during the failed carjacking, the victim was shot multiple times in her head and body. She later crashed into a wall at the intersection of Parkgate and Village Roads. All three accused have denied the allegations.
ELDER John McPhee with his wife, Nellie. By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
New Providence Expansion Phase Two and Three contracts. It is alleged that Ramsey, being concerned with others, did conspire to “solicit, or accept any advantages as an inducement to, or reward for, or used influence in procuring” for ABB Generacion and Alstom SA in the New Providence Expansion Phase Two contract with BEC between 1999 and 2003. Ramsey is a former emeritus Free National Movement Council member and former parliamentary candidate for Fox Hill. He is also a former insurance executive.
service, however. On Acklins, 53 per cent of mobile services have been restored. Teams are currently working on full restoration. Fifteen customers are waiting for restoration of their mobile services on Long Cay. The optimisation of services in Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins and Long Cay (MICAL) is continuing, officials report. Meanwhile, officials at the Water and Sewerage Corporation report that the only major damage to its assets in the storm-affected areas was to the Ragged Island Desalination Plant. A temporary plant was installed on Monday. The permanent plant is being refurbished and is scheduled to be in operation by the end of October. Several key government agencies have been engaged in the “large-scale, clean-up” of Ragged Island – including the disposal of dead animals, which could have posed significant public health hazards for residents on the island.
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Dominica and the tears of Minnis
O
N Sunday, while intransit to the US, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, paid a visit to PM Dr Hubert Minnis here in Nassau. After the meeting, and hearing first hand of Dominica’s obliterated infrastructure, and despite not having an official plan of action in place, Dr Minnis announced the Bahamas would accommodate students from Dominica displaced by Hurricane Maria. I agree with Dr Minnis, we should help our Dominican brothers and sisters in need. There but for the grace of God go you or I. However, I also agree with my Bahamian brothers and sisters, that are asking for details on how this is all going to work.
AND THEN IT STARTED The politicos, reporters, talk show hosts, bloggers, social media personalities and most of the Bahamian populace had an opinion on the matter. It seems that not everyone is ‘Rockin’ with Doc’ on this one. The sentiments, both pro and con, spread like wildfire. So much so, that PM Minnis had to send in the ‘Bahamian Sean Spicer’ Press Secretary Anthony Newbold, to speak to the matter, reassure the general public. “Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has been ‘surprised’ by the polarising responses Bahamians have had to his offer that Dominican students be allowed to attend school here. The prime minister has also said the government will welcome other displaced Dominicans who have relatives here.” said Newbold. Mr. Newbold further stated “The prime minister has been surprised that an offer that was made to accommodate students for their education received that kind of reaction.”
Hold up, wait a minute. Wasn’t ‘accountability’ and ‘transparency’ a major portion of the good doctors election campaign? So why be surprised, when the voting populace holds you to it Dr Minnis? Yes, we elected you to make decisions, decisions to benefit all Bahamians, it didn’t mean we would remain silent and not ask pertinent questions regarding issues of national importance. What I find ironic in all of this, while Mr Newbold’s press Conference was taking place, Cabinet Ministers were allegedly trying to work out all the particulars and final details. The FNM appears to be eerily similar to the previous administration, whom they criticised vehemently for making knee jerk decisions that affected all Bahamians without having a proper plan in place nor consulting or informing the general public. Dr Minnis has come under fire from some, for announcing his decision before finalising the details of the plan. Mr Newbold tried to quell the mounting situation with these remarks: “Some questions raised are with merit and people have reason to ask the questions if they don’t have the answers and that’s what he’ll attempt to provide. “There are a lot of questions.” “It was not an offer that necessarily needed details at the moment (when it was made). What is happening now is exactly how it should happen; you’re in trouble, we want to help you. We’ll let your students come go to school with us. There
was never any intention not to let the Bahamian people know all of the details.” I’m quite sure the Bahamian populace want those details, sooner rather than later. CRY ME A RIVER To satisfy the general public, Dr Minnis took to the HOA on Wednesday, delivering a compassionate contribution in Parliament. Wiping tears from his eyes, Dr Minnis, made a passionate case for the Bahamas to assist Dominica, and gave a brief view of the plan in place, to facilitate his decision. “My government proposes to temporarily relax the immigration rules for a number of school children from Dominica who wish to continue their education in The Bahamas,” Dr Minnis told Parliament yesterday. “Permits to reside will be issued to students from Dominica, who, with the approval of parents, wish to study in The Bahamas. “There are three categories of students who may apply: children who have relatives in The Bahamas, and who can find lodging and support from family members; college students who may wish to study at the University of The Bahamas, and who seek boarding at UB; children of parents employed in companies, banks, etc, which have offices in The Bahamas, temporary employment transfers can be arranged with these institutions.” “The government will continue to apprise the general public on other details related to assisting children and young people from Dominica. “I will lead a team to
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis wiping away a tear in the House of Assembly. Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff Dominica on Monday, October 2. The purpose of the visit is to survey the damage for myself, and for others to see the level of devastation,” Dr Minnis said . I see a myriad of new questions coming out of this. However I will give the PM the benefit of the doubt, let’s see what he has to offer us upon his return from Dominica. What’s really piquing my interest is, did Dr Minnis cry for Acklins and Ragged Island? Did he cry for eight-year-old EJ killed by a stray bullet? It didn’t appear so on the video that’s circulating all over social media. Or what about the other eight children murdered this year, did he shed a tear for them? How about the 43,000 Bahamians living below the poverty level, and are hungry daily? Where are the tears for that ? Charity begins at home, then extends outward. Yes, it is a good idea that the PM has agreed to help the innocent Dominicans. But as in everything from now on, Bahamians demand sensible plans, policies and answers to pertinent questions. So I support the PM’s efforts with the condition that details are forthcoming. It is good that you have decided we will be our brother’s keeper. But please remember, The Bahamas is watching you Doc. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU The famous English novelist George Orwell was gifted with prescient insight on modern societies. His book ‘1984’ (which was written around 1948) foretold of the world to come. As a child growing up in
the time actually referenced in the book who was forced by strict English teachers to read and dissect every paragraph, even I doubted we would ever really come to such a dystopian nightmare where governments spy on their own citizens with impunity. This week, however, the Minnis Administration tabled what is generally known as the ‘Spy Bill’ in the House of Assembly. Many regular readers of this column know that I have written extensively (and voiced my objection strongly) when the previous Christie Administration attempted to introduce their version of this so-called Interception of Communication bill. Fast forward a mere few months later and here we are with a tabled bill that I honestly cannot say is as bad as the Progressive Liberal Party’s proposal. Because that would be a lie. In truth, this new Free National Movement bill is worse! I won’t belabour the point by listing the myriad of objections I have with this new ‘Spy Bill.’ Instead, I’ll just point out that it’s become painfully obvious that past and previous administrations seem resigned to legalise a programme that many, many Bahamians object to. Never mind that once upon a time Prime Minister Minnis (then Opposition Leader) was one of the biggest critics of this Bill. Never mind that Bahamians far and wide, as well as civic organisations, constitutional lawyers, political pundits and social media ‘mavens’ voiced their opposition to that Bill. Never mind all of that. I will just say that now
that we are faced with swallowing this Interception of Communication Bill —as the elders would say ‘by hook or by crook’- it would be a bitter pill indeed if we had to take it in its current form. The most significant change in language between this new bill and its previous incarnation is that it takes the power to authorize secret surveillance of citizens out of the hand of the judiciary and places it into the hands of the minister of national security. Seriously? So out of the frying pan and into the political fire then? No matter how much Bahamians may ‘like’ or ‘trust’ the current holder of that office (or the Commissioner of Police, for that matter) it is a political appointment. And by removing judges from the process the FNM has done a complete about-face on this issue in a most contemptuous way. They have made it tens times worse than anything the former government tried to pull on us, and that’s really saying something. Bottom line; this cannot and should not be. As much as I detest even entertaining it, the government must amend the Interception of Communication Bill to have the judiciary play the role it does in other countries with similar laws. That should be the first step before we even begin to have conversations and debates about the proposed legislation. Barring that (and I’m sorry to mix Orwellian metaphors), we have gone from “Four legs good, two legs bad” to “Four legs good, two legs better!” faster than even perceptive George could have predicted.
PAGE 10, Friday, September 29, 2017
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WRAY INSTALLED AS FBI DIRECTOR WASHINGTON (AP) — Chris Wray was formally installed as the new FBI director on Thursday in a ceremony notable for the absence of the man who appointed him: President Donald Trump. The ceremony in a courtyard at FBI headquarters was largely a formality since Wray has been on the job for about two months. But in a reflection of the unusual circumstances of the event, it took place without Trump. And Wray’s two direct predecessors as FBI director, James Comey and Robert Mueller, were also absent, avoiding potentially uncomfortable encounters amid an investigation that touches the White House. Trump’s absence was all the more striking given that President Barack Obama attended the most recent FBI director installation ceremony, for Comey in 2013, and spoke warmly about him.
SECESSION VOTE FOR CATALANS MADRID (AP) — Authorities in Catalonia intend to ensure that a disputed referendum on independence from Spain will take place peacefully on Sunday despite a crackdown on the vote by the national government, the region’s interior chief said Thursday. Minister Joaquin Forn said that Catalan officials are determined to proceed with Sunday’s vote for the region of 7.5 million people in northeastern Spain even though the central government in Madrid says referendum is illegal and can’t happen. “The (Catalan) government’s commitment is very clear: people will be able to vote,” Forn told reporters in Barcelona, the main city in Catalonia. Forn met with regional and national security officials to defuse mounting tensions ahead of the ballot.
THE CLEVELAND Browns staging a protest by taking a knee during the game against the Indianapolis Colts.
MESSAGE LOST IN NFL PROTEST FIRESTORM NEW YORK Associated Press
THE NFL says the message players and teams are trying to express is being lost in a political firestorm. The issues have been “overtaken by political forces,” NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said Thursday, referring to President Trump’s criticism of the league, team owners and players for kneeling during the national anthem. More than 200 players either knelt or used other means as expressions of unity last weekend. Lockhart said such actions are not a protest against the anthem or the flag. “One of the impacts is to distort the views of the NFL and particularly our players,” Lockhart said. Trump said NFL owners fear their players, and he renewed calls for action against those who kneel during the anthem.
“I think they are afraid of their players, if you want to know the truth, and I think it’s disgraceful,” he said in an interview that aired Thursday on “Fox and Friends.” He says “most people agree” with him. The players knelt last weekend in response to social injustice. Full teams, along with some team owners, linked arms either before or during the anthem. Three teams — Pittsburgh, Seattle and Tennessee — did not take the field until after the anthem. “They are under attack now and the (original) lesson has been forgotten,” Lockhart said. “It is important for everyone to understand what they are talking about, to not see everything in terms of who is up or down politically. “The NFL players are men of character, many of whom are leaders in their community. They are patriotic, support the military. ...
They understand their platform can be used to make the country a better place.” Lockhart insisted there will be no “leaguewide directive” for future demonstrations. “This is an issue that should involve the owners of the 32 clubs, the coaches and players to work out together,” he said. “There is very regular dialogue going on between the players, coaches and owners. This is an issue that has sort of gripped the headlines. We all care very deeply about this. “All of our owners don’t always agree with even each other, and the players often have a position at odds with the league, and we work hard to resolve those,” he added. “We have been united on this issue. They are all pulling in the same direction, but we understand each locker room is different.” On Thursday, Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker said he
and his family have received death threats since he told fans not to come to games if they felt disrespected by NFL players’ protests. The Pro Bowl tight end shared the “heartbreaking” threats in a social media post. “The racist and violent words directed at me and my son only serve as another reminder that our country remains divided and full of hateful rhetoric,” Walker wrote. “These words of hate will only fuel me in my efforts to continue my work reaching out to different community groups, listening to opposing voices, and honoring the men and women in the Armed Forces who risk their lives every day so that we may have this dialogue.” Detroit Lions defensive tackle Akeem Spence said on Twitter earlier Thursday that his father, a contractor, was denied a job on a house because of his protest.
130,000 FLEE REGION AS VOLCANO THREATENS TO ERUPT BALI, INDONESIA Associated Press
MORE than 130,000 people have fled the region around the Mount Agung volcano on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali, fearing it will soon erupt. The disaster mitigation agency’s command post in Bali said the number of evacuees has swelled to
about 134,200 by Thursday evening. That’s more than double the estimated population within the immediate danger zone, but people farther from the mountain are leaving too. Those who have fled are scattered in more than 500 locations across the island famed for its beaches, lush green interior and elegant Hindu culture, taking
shelter in temporary camps, sports centers and other public buildings. The volcano has been at its highest alert level for a week, sparking the exodus. Thousands of cows were left behind in the rural communities where farming is an important livelihood, but local animal husbandry officials were arranging trucks to remove them. The exclusion zone around the mountain extends as far as 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the crater in places. The local observatory reported a small plume most likely of water vapor after daybreak Friday, but no ash cloud. “I was very worried about
the situation” said Nyoman Suarta, who was leaving a village a few kilometers outside the official no-go radius. “So I decided to get out to save myself with my stuff and my pet,” he said, carrying a cage housing a bird. Agung, which dominates the landscape in the northeast of the island, last erupted in 1963, killing more than 1,100 people. It remained active for about a year. Volcanologists say the past week’s dramatic escalation in tremors indicates an eruption is more likely than not, but they can’t say with certainty when it will happen.
“I would definitely be following the advice to stay outside the exclusion zone,” said Heather Handley, an assistant Earth sciences professor at Sydney’s Macquarie University. The increase in tremors suggests an eruption is “imminent,” she said. Its eruptions in 1963 produced deadly clouds of searing hot ash, gases and rock fragments that traveled down its slopes at great speed. Lava spread for several kilometers and people were also killed by lahars — rivers of water and volcanic debris. Officials this week installed warning sirens in several townships.
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Bahamas Screen and Stage Association Bahamas Screen and Stage Association. Tonight, Bahamas Screen and Stage Association (BaSSA) will be having its first Meet & Greet. There will be a special presentation, along with a question & answer segment with filmmaker Lavado Stubbs of Conchboy Films. Writers, producers, filmmakers, theatre enthusiasts or those aspiring to work in the industry are asked to bring your business cards. If you have a project you are interested in producing, come prepared to pitch during our pitching session. In your pitch, kindly be prepared to tell the title of
JOIN THE CLUB OUR Clubs and Societies page is a chance for you to share your group’s activities with our readers. To feature on our Clubs and Societies page, submit your report to clubs@tribunemedia.net, with “Clubs Page” written in the subject line. For more information about the page, contact Stephen Hunt on 502-2373 or 447-3565.
Friday, September 29, 2017, PAGE 11 your concept, demographics it is geared towards, genre, a brief synopsis and what you need to complete project (writer, money, production crew, marketing, etc). Aim to be no more than 90 seconds.
Sunshine Pilot Club of Nassau Sunshine Pilot Club of Nassau. - The Sunshine Pilot Club of Nassau’s Carolyn Deleveaux has been crowned as an ambassador of Pilot International Founders Fund (PIFF) for 2017-18. The honour was bestowed at the club’s meeting at British Colonial Hilton on Tuesday, September 19. The PIFF provides funds for disaster victims, in addition to grants and scholarships, for qualified applicants. The Sunshine Pilot Club of Nassau is affiliated with Pilot International, a worldwide organisation of volunteers, who take an active part in helping communities to be a better place to live. Pilot International was founded in Macon, Georgia in 1921, and has been active in The Bahamas since 1974. There are five Pilot clubs in The Bahamas.
FROM left, president elect Jaychelle Hanna, Carolyn Deleveaux, crowned the Ambassador of Pilot International Founders Fund (PIFF), for 2017-2018, and Cecelia Christie, membership co-ordinator.
READERS HAVE THEIR SAY ON DOMINICA PROPOSALS THE debate over the Prime Minister allowing students of hurricane-hit Dominica to come to school in the Bahamas has continued online at tribune242. com DonAnthony asked: “Where to begin? Who cares if he cried, matters not one bit, what is he doing? That is what matters. And I support this effort 100 per cent. We have wonderful attributes as a people but we have some nasty, disgusting traits as well. Too much of our people are selfish hypocrites who love to play the victim and blame ‘foreigners’ for our own failings. And to say we are a Christian nation, what
a laughable joke . . . What if this eye had passed over Nassau instead of Dominica? These same selfish people would be begging on their knees for international help. It could have easily happened, just a slight shift in the high pressure system. It was not this year but our day is coming, if we do not help in this small way, who will help us?” Franklyn said: “Leadership! We the people of the
Bahamas and (Leaders in our Caribbean Community of Island States) do stand ready to help those who have found themselves victims of the latest hurricane disaster. And we the Bahamian people stand ready to help the people and survivors from our Sister State of Dominica. It makes me proud, as a Bahamian, the leadership role that our Government and our Prime Minister, Dr Hubert Minnis, has taken by stepping forward in this time of need and humanitarian goodwill. It is this example that the Bahamas and the Bahamian people are known globally, not only as a smiling face but a nation of
caring souls. It is this same spirit that led many Bahamians to fight in the World War I, again it was not our war but the true spirit of the Bahamian soul stood tall to the call then and that same true spirit stands tall today. True Bahamians standing to the call of ‘HELP’.” Grouper also backed helping the people of Dominica: “Instead of asking why Bahamians should help the students of Dominica students we should be asking how could we not help them. Even when we struggle there is great joy in helping others. In doing so it also lifts us up. Perhaps if we all focused on helping others we could all be
dancing on the table.” Referring to those who were against the Prime Minister’s decision, DEDDIE said: “The negative comments here go hand in hand with the state of the mindset of our country. Crime and a lack of care for our fellow man are the same symptoms from one common disease. I could remember a time when equally poor people would share the little they had with each other. My mother would cook a big pot of corn beef and white rice to share with others.” And there was this from TigerB: “We always get help from our neighbours,
the USA, it’s our time now, that’s how it works. We were really fortunate not to encounter that woman IRMA. We in Freeport cringed, then rejoiced when she turned southwest of us and messed up Key West, Florida . . . Hat’s off to the PM, But Puerto Rico Is a mess as well and so are the other small neighbouring Caribbean nations, maybe a Barbados, or Trinidad will do what we did here in helping the others. It’s called helping one another, no political gimmicks.” • Don’t miss your chance to join the conversation on tribune242.com.
PAGE 12, Friday, September 29, 2017
PREPARING FOR OCTOBER CLEAN-UP CAMPAIGN By GENA GIBBS Bahamas Information Services MINISTER of Environment & Housing Romauld Ferreira announced in the House of Assembly recently that his ministry is launching a National CleanUp Day in October. It will be launched in New Providence first then extend to the Family Islands. During a recent speech in the House of Assembly, he said: “Mr Speaker, I grew up on a clapboard house at the foot of Kemp Road. We had a broom for sweeping the yard, in fact all of the neighbours did; and every Saturday we did sweep the yard. “Today we live in a Bahamas where we have become accustomed to waste. Whether derelict vehicles, fridges, stoves, or bulk waste, there is garbage everywhere. This problem did not happen overnight nor will the fix be overnight, but it is a journey we must all take together.” Mr Ferreira said the theme of the clean-up campaign will be “Keep Our Bahamas Beautiful.” The theme implores cleanliness in our communities by reminding our people to “Be A Hero And Put It In The Can Man.” “The campaign will be executed in a five-phase approach with the goal to fully clean New Providence and maintain its cleanliness, and improve the general aesthetics. New Providence has been divided into five zones and each zone correlates with a phase,” said Mr Ferreira. He explained that each phase will encompasses the constituencies or zones as follows: Phase one (Bain Town, Grants Town, St Barnabas, Englerston and Centreville); phase two (Bamboo Town, Pinewood, Nassau Village, South Beach, Sea Breeze, and Fox Hill); phase three (Marathon, Freetown, St Anne’s, Fox Hill, and Elizabeth); phase four (Fort
Charlotte, Mount Moriah and Killarney) and phase five (Golden Isles, Southern Shores, Tall Pines, Garden Hills, Bamboo Town, Golden Gates, Carmichael and South Beach). “The clean-up campaign will require the full commitment and involvement of communities and stakeholders,” the Marathon MP said. “It will include the removal of garbage, appliances, furniture, derelict vehicles, rodents, and vegetation from lots and lot clearances.” Additionally, the ministry anticipates that the success of the initiative will translate into the speedy and effective removal of waste; efficient monitoring; ongoing public awareness and education; and enforcement. The ministry will partner with the media to get the message out. And there also will be school outreach in hopes that educating the children will mean they will educate the adults with whom they live at home. “To brand our messages, the project will employ the use of a mascot, which will signal to Bahamians the source of the message disseminated, and the expected environmental content. Posters for billboards will feature everyday people and celebrities and will be strategically placed at selected roundabouts throughout New Providence,” said Mr Ferreira. “The secret of an effective clean-up campaign is a good enforcement programme. Appreciating this fact, there will be collaboration with the Health Inspectorate Division of the Department of Environmental Health Services, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Agriculture, and community leaders who we expect to eventually take the lead in keeping their communities clean, green, and pristine. We also expect to receive corporate sponsorship and buy-in.”
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OFFICIALS from Aliv and the One Bahamas Foundation announce how the mobile network plans to assist the group.
ALIV PARTNERS WITH ONE BAHAMAS ALIV, the Bahamas’ newest mobile network, has partnered with the One Bahamas Foundation in a three-year commitment. The organisation was formed in 1992 and its mandate is to educate as well as promote unity and “sameness” across all sectors and across the country. The goal of the foundation is to demonstrate this unity through its annual community walk. ALIV has come on board as the official telecommunications provider for the foundation. Officials from the mobile network have said the company is committed to the betterment of people in the Bahamas, which the foundation promotes.