OBITUARIES THURSDAY Cars Happy Meals: Hamburger Cheeseburger 6pc Nuggets
HIGH 86ºF LOW 76ºF
i’m lovin’ it!
CARS! CARS!
The Tribune
CLASSIFIEDS TRADER
Established 1903
Biggest And Best!
L AT E S T
Volume: 119 No.218, October 6, 2022
N E W S
O N
T R I B U N E 2 4 2 . C O M
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: PRICE–$1
BPL BILLS HIKE ‘FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN’ Retail chief brands fuel charge rises ‘completely insane’
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Federation of Retailers co-chair yesterday warned that electricity fuel charge hikes of up to 163 percent will be “the final nail in the coffin” for COVID-ravaged businesses yet to regain financial viability. Tara Morley told Tribune Business that many retailers and other companies had undertaken such “extraordinary” cost-cutting efforts during and after
the pandemic that there was little left to “trim” as she slammed Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) proposed fuel tariff increases as “completely insane”. Describing the situation as “infuriating for every single Bahamian citizen in the country”, she added that it was “mind boggling” that this nation has yet to begin the transition to renewable energy at an great scale despite its abundance of sun and other natural resources.
VOLUNTEERS HELP MAN SEARCH FOR HIS MISSING MOTHER
SEE PAGE THREE
SEE PAGE 10
FUSION Superplex is bracing for an increase of more than $400,000 in electricity costs due to Bahamas Power and Light’s bill hike, with its chief executive officer telling this newspaper the triple blow of higher electricity prices, increased food costs and an expected rise in employment wages has been known to “close down businesses”. Carlos Foulkes said the next year will be difficult
for the business. The CEO anticipates an increase in the facility’s power bill of about $466,000 in 2023, assuming the business’ consumption patterns from this year remain the same. “This increase in fuel surcharge will represent an increase of 62.8 percent of our annual bill. This year we paid $742,000 in electricity costs. With this new increase, we anticipate that our bill will jump to $1.2 SEE PAGE THREE
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
WITH Bahamas Power and Light on the “precipice of financial fallout”, there was no room to defer increasing the fuel surcharge, resulting in higher electricity bills for consumers, Public Works Minister Alfred Sears said yesterday. According to the minister, a glimpse of the power provider’s dire financial
CONCERNS OVER BUS SAFETY AFTER DAYLIGHT KILLING
FUSION BRACED FOR $400,000 ELECTRICITY COSTS INCREASE By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net
SEARS: BPL ‘IS ON THE PRECIPICE OF FINANCIAL FALLOUT’
By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net
VOLUNTEERS in Grand Bahama have been searching for 56-year-old Stephanie Chisholm of Eight Mile Rock who suffers from a mental illness and has not been seen since July. Jerad Bethel (pictured), the missing woman’s son, is concerned about his mother’s welfare because she requires care for a mental and medical condition. SEE PAGE SEVEN
THE president of a transportation union said the safety of bus drivers and passengers is a concern after the brazen daylight killing of a bus driver this week. Harrison Moxey, the United Public Transportation Company’s (UPTC) president, told The Tribune yesterday that the tragic incident has raised concerns of safety on buses. On Tuesday, police reported a double shooting SEE PAGE FIVE
PM INTRODUCES PUBLIC PROCUREMENT BILL 2022 By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis introduced the Public Procurement Bill 2022 in the House of Assembly yesterday, which once enacted will repeal the current law and bring new changes in relation to the country’s bidding process. According to Mr Davis, the main purposes of the bill is to increase transparency, create greater administrative efficiency, discourage
PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis. and detect procurement process abuse while at the same time, encourage the development of local
businesses, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), women or youth owned establishments among others. Plans to rewrite the Public Procurement Act 2021, which was initiated under the Minnis administration, were announced in August by the Davis administration, which called the law in its current format not workable. This was also suggested as the reason for their SEE PAGE FOUR
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
FRONT PORCH:
FAILURE BY LEADERS TO UNDERSTAND SOCIAL DYSFUNCTION
PAGE EIGHT