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The Tribune
Volume: 118 No.245, November 16, 2021
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AUDIT LIFTS LID ON MINISTRY FAILINGS
‘Many failures’ identified at Sports ministry Minnis ordered be ‘locked down’ By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net A CONTRACT awarded without Cabinet approval is among the problems Auditor General Terrance Bastian uncovered when he audited the National Sports Authority for the period between July 1, 2018 to January 2021. He also found instances where cheques to contractors were collected by a senior official of the
ROAD RAGER
Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture. The Office of the Auditor General’s report, tabled in Parliament yesterday, found poor maintenance practices at the agency, inadequate inventory controls and boards that were not able to carry out the functions of the authority, among other things. “We were concerned about the following,” the report said. “(A) The
WORKS and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears says officials have identified numerous irregularities with contracts the Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority issued before the September 16 general election. St Barnabas MP Shanendon Cartwright, the executive chairman of the body at that time, countered
yesterday that he operated fairly and sought to bring credit to the organisation. Golden Isles MP Vaughn Miller, however, rebuffed him, saying he was treated in a “low down, egregious way” before the election. “As a matter of fact,” he claimed, “leading up to the elections, as the Member of Parliament, my opponent was treated as the Member of Parliament. Contracts were issued in excess of
- SEE PAGE EIGHT
‘$62M WIPED OFF IN TAX AMNESTY
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE Government wroteoff $62m in outstanding real property taxes to gain just $37.5m in extra revenue via its recent amnesty initiative, it was revealed last night. Unveiling its fiscal performance for the three months to end-September 2021, the Government disclosed that it has “foregone” 65 percent more in taxes than it actually collected through this programme. Or, flipped the other way, it gained a sum that is 39.4 percent less than what it has written-off.
SEE BUSINESS SECTION
SEE PAGE THREE
ACCUSED DENIES DAMAGE TO STATUE
AUTHORITY ‘RENEWED ALL CONTRACTS’ PRE-ELECTION By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
FACE TO FACE: HOLDING HANDS WITH HAVANA
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
A WOMAN is in hospital with ‘significant injuries’ after a man hit her with his car during a confrontation and dragged her body a short distance before crashing and overturning. See story on page two. Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune staff
SEE PAGE TWO
‘A CLEAR AND RANK ABUSE OF POWER’
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
A SUPREME Court judge has dismissed the court action of Melissa Hall, a former general manager of the Bridge Authority, who sued the body in 2018 by claiming breach of contract of employment. The judge in the case called Ms Hall’s claim that she was entitled to three years’ notice “delusional”
and “a clear and rank abuse of power” adding that it was “disappointing” that the plaintiff called on thenMinister of Labour Shane Gibson to approve this. Ms Hall brought the action after the Minnis administration ended her employment in February 2018 with three months’ pay in lieu of notice. She had sought more than $600,000 in damages and costs. According to Justice Ruth Bowe Darville’s
ruling on the matter, Ms Hall was appointed a member of the board of the Bridge Authority on July 1, 2012 and was later appointed general manager on December 14, 2012. Her contract was dated January 7, 2013. That contract specified that her employment would continue indefinitely until either party gave proper notice of its end. According to that contract, she was supposed to be SEE PAGE FIVE
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
A 37-YEAR-OLD man has denied allegations that he trespassed on Government House property last month and caused $2,000 worth of damage to a Christopher Columbus statue. Shervandaze Smith SEE PAGE SEVEN
PETER YOUNG: STILL WE REMEMBER AND SALUTE THE FALLEN’S SACRIFICE
- SEE PAGE NINE