OBITUARIES THURSDAY Sunny day? McFlurry required
HIGH 83ºF LOW 72ºF
CARS! CARS!
The Tribune L AT E S T
Volume: 123 No. 5, Thursday, November 27, 2025
N E W S
CLASSIFIEDS TRADER
O N
T R I B U N E 2 4 2 . C O M
Biggest And Best!
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: PRICE–$1
SARKIS VINDICATED IN SETTLEMENT WITH CCA Settlement brings decade-long fight to an end for Izmirlian and protects downtown resorts By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SARKIS Izmirlian’s deal to settle his multi-billion damages award against Baha Mar’s main contractor will end the threatened winding-up of two other major Nassau resorts, it was revealed yesterday. The Lyford Cay-based developer, who conceived and executed the Cable Beach strip’s $4.2bn transformation into today’s mega resort complex, disclosed
that the “resolution” struck with China Construction America (CCA) “meets our expectations,” although neither party unveiled the sum that Baha Mar’s original developer will now be paid to end their decade-long fight. However, papers obtained by Tribune Business reveal that - provided the settlement is approved by the New Jersey federal bankruptcy court at a December 2, hearing - all legal battles between Mr Izmirlian and the Chinese
state-owned contractor will cease provided the deal is implemented in full. The documents confirm that, apart from ending CCA’s bid to overturn Mr Izmirlian’s now-$1.8bn damages award by the New York state courts, the settlement will also halt his own bid to wind-up the immediate parent entity for downtown Nassau’s British Colonial and Margaritaville Beach resorts before the Bahamian Supreme Court.
SARKIS IZMIRLIAN
See BUSINESS for full story
Sands claims 3,000 voters ‘unlocatable’ in Golden Isles due to outdated register By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
FNM CHAIRMAN DUANE SANDS
the number is far less than that.” He said the register has not been properly reviewed or maintained. “Scrutiny of the registry has simply not been done — not just in Golden Isles, but across the country,” he said. Dr Sands noted the Parliamentary Registration Department’s recent removal of names from the national roll.
“The government, as you know — or the Parliamentary Registration Department — removed some 15,000 people from the register, but they did not say who those 15,000 people were,” he said. “We know that many, many other people have been added to the register.” He argued that the country’s population movement
Unions slam pay rise as ‘crumbs’ with some workers receiving nothing
HEALTHCARE CRISIS
FREE National Movement chairman Dr Duane Sands warned that the national voters register is so outdated it undermined the accuracy of the Golden Isles by-election, calling the list used “almost 15 years old,’ with as many as 3,000 voters “unlocatable.” Dr Sands said both the
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net UNION leaders are slamming the government’s salary increase rollout for some public officers, with one president calling it “crumbs” and others saying some workers received nothing at all. Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU) president
FNM and the Progressive Liberal Party struggled to verify voters during the contest. Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell, the PLP's chairman, declined to comment yesterday. “There are thousands of people that we could not locate,” Dr Sands said. “The PLP, I believe, had the same experience. Notwithstanding the fact that there’s supposedly 7,900 persons on the register, I suspect that
Kimsley Ferguson told The Tribune yesterday that he has been inundated with calls from disappointed employees, including police officers, support staff, finance and accounting staff. “I am trying to wrap my head around what the government is doing,” he added. Meanwhile, Bahamas Union of Teachers president
(BUT) president Belinda Wilson described the pay increases — which she said ranged from $150, $200 and $341 — as “crumbs” and urged teachers to stay tuned for possible industrial action. Bahamas Customs Immigration and Allied Workers Union (BCIAWU) president Deron Brooks said STRIKE - SEE PAGE THREE
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
MISSING - SEE PAGE FOUR
“Invest in our healthcare infrastructure, prioritise fair treatment of healthcare workers, and commit to prevention and education as national strategies. The time for speeches has passed; the time for decisive action is now.” A powerful message from Muriel Lightbourn, president of the Bahamas Nurses Union, writing in today’s Tribune.
See PAGE SEVEN