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Volume: 119 No.2, November 23, 2021
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$100M ARREARS PUT BPL IN ‘DIRE STRAITS’ Company finances hit as customers continue to leave bills unsettled By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power & Light CEO Whitney Heastie revealed yesterday more than $100m in unpaid bills is owed to the company which is in “dire straits financially.” Mr Heastie stressed that BPL has reverted to its 50 percent policy, meaning when people are disconnected, there is a six-month window to repay the remainder of what is owed. At the height of the pandemic, the company revised this policy to a repayment plan of 25
percent with a 12-month payment window. However, Mr Heastie said this policy had made little difference. His comments came during a press conference yesterday in which Minister of Works and Utilities Alfred Sears unveiled the new BPL board. “BPL has had a longstanding payment plan,” Mr Heastie told reporters. “The payment plan was if you were disconnected you had to pay 50 percent of the arrears and then the other 50 percent would have to be paid over six months.”
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net NINETY-TWO percent of the people who died or were admitted to the Princess Margaret Hospital for COVID-19 in October were unvaccinated, according to the Public Hospitals Authority. Among those who died, two were partially vaccinated, two were fully vaccinated and 45 were
unvaccinated. Among those admitted to hospital, six were partially vaccinated, eight were fully vaccinated and 167 were unvaccinated. Those admitted to the hospital included seven children between the ages of zero and nine and 12 people older than 80. The latest numbers are in line with previous statistics which show COVID-19 continues to have a far greater impact SEE PAGE FOUR
- SEE PAGE EIGHT
NIB CHIEF’S THREE-YEAR DEAL WAS STANDARD LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net FORMER Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle has insisted the Minnis administration did nothing untoward when it executed a three-year contract of employment with National Insurance Board director James Moss. His appointment followed the exit of Dr Nicolla Virgill-Rolle, the former NIB director. SEE PAGE TWO
SEE PAGE FIVE
UNVACCINATED STILL DOMINATE NUMBERS
FACE TO FACE: A FIGHTER FROM HER FIRST BREATH
HOTELS HIT 90% ROOM OCCUPANCY
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
‘WE’RE BACK’
A VENDOR at the Straw Market yesterday, which reopened after 22 months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemiuc. See PAGE THREE for the full story. Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff
CRUISE LINE PI DEAL COULD RUN 150 YEARS By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE Minnis administration has effectively given Royal Caribbean a minimum 150-year lease over seven Crown Land acres on Paradise Island for its multi-million dollar Beach Club project. The lease, which has been obtained by Tribune Business, gives the cruise giant an initial 25-year lease then a 25-year extension, plus
AN ARTIST’s impression of the development. “no less than four additional options”. All these “options” are 25 years in length, meaning that when they are added to the first 25-year lease, Royal Caribbean can exercise its rights to potentially
occupy that land for oneand-a-half centuries. The agreement, which was executed on May 25, 2021, also commits Royal Caribbean to paying an annual $140,000 rent to the Government for use of land that it holds in trust for the benefit of the Bahamian people. Over a 25-year lease, this amounts to $3.5m in total rental income with VAT at 10 percent contributing a further $350,000 to the Public Treasury. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
MAJOR Bahamian resorts are set to enjoy occupancies “in excess of 90 percent” over the Thanksgiving holiday, said Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association president Robert Sands yesterday, adding: “We’re not looking back.” Mr Sands said based on advanced bookings the Christmas/New Year festive period is likely to start “earlier than normal” and last longer. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
PETER YOUNG: DE KLERK A HERO OR VILLAIN IN ENDING OF APARTHEID?
- SEE PAGE NINE