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Volume: 120 No.256, November 30, 2022
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DORIAN BREAKS ‘CANNOT GO ON’
Aid for hurricane-hit areas costing treasury purse ‘$50m a year’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE MINISTRY of Finance’s top official last night warned that Dorianrelated tax breaks “cannot go on indefinitely” in their present form as they are costing the Public Treasury “probably $40m-$50m per annum or higher”. Simon Wilson, speaking prior to tomorrow’s expiration of the existing Special Economic Recovery Zone (SERZ) order for Abaco and Grand Bahama, told Tribune Business a “rebalancing” more than three years after the Category
BRIDGE TOLLS MAY GO UP - BUT NOT FOR CARS
Five storm struck is now necessary because New Providence taxpayers and those on other islands cannot “cross-subsidise” these concessions for ever. Asserting that the tax revenue foregone, in a bid to speed up both islands’ recovery, is “significant” and “not inexpensive”, he added that the government was also concerned about the SERZ orders being abused for tax evasion, fraud and other illicit purposes at a time when the Public Treasury needs every cent it can get due to the precarious fiscal position.
CHIEF labour consultant Bernard Evans said negotiations between the Bahamas Public Service Union will be satisfied by the end of the week. Last week, a local daily reported that BPSU president Kimsley Ferguson hinted at industrial action
By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net
NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe expressed disappointment yesterday in the country’s murder toll which is the highest since 2017, saying “if one person is murdered, I am disappointed.” “We are disappointed when people decide that they want to kill other people. It’s our job to stop them from wanting to do that. And if they do it, catch them and imprison them and correct that behaviour. “For the record if one person is murdered, I am disappointed,” Mr Munroe told The Tribune. His comments came in response to the nation’s rising murder toll, which has now surpassed last year’s count of 119. SEE PAGE FOUR
SURVEYS BEGIN OVER SHANTY TOWNS ISSUE By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE GOVERNMENT’S shanty town committee has started surveying several irregular communities in the country as it seeks to crack down on the growing problem, according to Works and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears. He said yesterday that surveys will have to be expanded to more islands that are also grappling with the vexing issue. A multi-agency committee, composed of representatives from various government departments, ministries and law enforcement agencies, was formed earlier this year SEE PAGE FIVE
FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
BPSU NEGOTIATIONS ‘TO BE SATISFIED THIS WEEK’ By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
MUNROE LEFT ‘DISAPPOINTED’ BY INCREASED MURDER TALLY
during an appearance on a radio show, noting the union had sent a letter to the Office of the Prime Minister at the beginning of the month, however, there had been no response to date. In response to these claims, State Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle had previously told this SEE PAGE THREE By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net THE Bridge Authority yesterday announced a possible toll increase for vehicles with heavy equipment and weight restrictions on the Paradise Island bridges next year pending an assessment on the traffic impact on the structures. Basil Longley, chairman of the Bridge Authority, said yesterday that due to the age of the Paradise Island bridges, the entity has devised a plan for dealing with concerns about the integrity of the structures. “We have a very structured plan. We have a maintenance team. We have consultants that work with us. We have
the Ministry of Works for which we are part and we use. Their engineers and inspections occur on a periodic basis that they come in and they evaluate and we go out and get quotes on what the work costs and we build all that into our costs,” Mr Longley said at a press conference. “The bridges have some age to them. But the last assessment which was done fairly recently, the structure of the bridges are sound. We don’t have any issues there,” he said. “What we’re looking to do now is to kind of get some assessment on the traffic impact on the bridge. So the cars for example are fine, but periodically there is heavy equipment that has to travel SEE PAGE THREE
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
ALICIA WALLACE: 16 DAYS TO TAKE STEPS TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
- SEE PAGE EIGHT