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The Tribune Weekend L ATEST NE WS ON TRIBUNE242.COM
Volume: 112 No.180
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2016
PRICE - $1 (Abaco / Grand Bahama $1.50) The Tribune
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Boy’s record dive attempt
Inside Weekend
PM: No secrecy over Baha Mar Christie questions fitness of opponents to serve after criticism By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday there is “nothing secret” about Baha Mar and that lawyers have instructed him not to divulge relevant details because of the sensitivity of the matter and the amount of money being transacted among parties. He criticised public figures yesterday, questioning whether they are fit for public service in view of their criticism of the government’s limited revelation of details surrounding a recently struck deal with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to get Baha Mar remobilised. Mr Christie’s comments
came during a groundbreaking ceremony at the Bahamas Technical & Vocational Institute (BTVI) to mark the beginning of construction of a $2.3m smart classroom complex at the institution. Though he was expected to focus on the need for technical education investments in the country, it was clear Baha Mar was on his mind. Striking a tone of defiance and frustration, he frequently diverted his focus toward defending his government’s actions from critics who say insufficient details about Baha Mar were revealed during his evening press conference on Monday.
HEALTHY LUNCHES Page 7
Meet ‘Shark Boy’
12-year-old dives into his tory
Interview, pages 4&5
WOMAN HELD AFTER FATAL STABBING OF BOYFRIEND
By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net A WOMAN is in police custody after she was accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death during a heated argument early yesterday morning. The murder took place shortly after midnight on Ida Street. It brought the country’s homicide count to 68 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records. Officer-in-Charge of the Central Detective Unit, Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander said the suspect called the police and reported that she had just stabbed her boyfriend. “Police went to the home through Ida Street around 12.30am where they met the lifeless body of an adult male who appeared to have been stabbed to death,” Chief Supt Fernander said.
TEENS SORRY FOR PART IN KILLING OF SCHOOLBOY By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
SEE PAGE SEVEN
on behalf of the government said the allegation that citizenships have been offered to secure the deal “is false”. Dr Minnis also questioned whether the government has provided “over a thousand work permits to Chinese nationals to do work that Bahamians can do” regarding construction work at the resort. He also asked if it has exempted the Chinese from paying value added tax (VAT), hotel and casino taxes “for a specified period of time” as part of the deal. SEE PAGE SIX
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SEE PAGE TEN
FNM LEADER CALLS FOR MORE CLARITY OVER DEAL By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday called on the Christie administration to reveal whether it has granted “automatic citizenship” to “hundreds of Chinese nationals” as part of the recently announced deal with the Export-Import Bank of China to open the shuttered $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort. A statement released by Bahamas Information Services yesterday afternoon
Weekend
PRIME Minister Perry Christie speaking yesterday.
Photo: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff
GOVT: NO CITIZENSHIPS OFFERED By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
IN response to mounting concern over the concessions offered to Chinese investors to remobilise Baha Mar, the government denounced claims that induce-
ments of citizenships and private islands were offered to kick-start construction efforts at the stalled $3.5bn Cable Beach property. “The government will not be distracted from its efforts and will continue to work for and on behalf of the Bahamian people,” a statement
released by Bahamas Information Services noted. “There have been allegations that we have offered citizenships. This is false. There have been allegations that we have given away or sold islands. This is false.” SEE PAGE SIX
TWO teens sought forgiveness yesterday from the parents of Adonai Wilson moments after they admitted involvement in a scuffle that led to the 16-year-old’s stabbing death. The pair, 17 and 15, appeared before Justice Bernard Turner for the continuation of their trial alongside a third accused also 18 - related to Wilson’s December 9, 2015 murder. However when the matter was called, the lawyers for the younger teens, Ian Cargill and Roberto Reckley, asked the judge if the charges could be re-read to their clients. The 17-year-old pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted guilt to the lesser charge of manslaughter. His 15-year-old co-accused also pleaded not guilty to murder while admitting to attempted causing harm. SEE PAGE TEN
HEAVY RAIN AND STORM WARNING FOR RESIDENTS IN SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net RESIDENTS in the southeast Bahamas were expected to experience pockets of heavy rain and thunderstorms last night, as a tropical wave called Invest 99L continues to move through the islands. Deputy Director of the
Department of Meteorology Basil Dean said the system is producing tropical storm-force winds, though it has yet to form a closed circulation associated with tropical storms or depressions. He said meteorologists have discovered that the winds have “died down some” and the shower activity has become disor-
ganised, but residents in the entire Bahamas should prepare for rain beginning today until Tuesday. Mr Dean said regardless of tropical cyclone formation, gusty winds and heavy rain “are highly” likely to accompany this system and could result in severe flooding over the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas, which
includes Long Island, Ragged Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, Mayaguana and Inagua. “There is a 50 per cent chance the system could strengthen into a tropical depression or tropical storm but that would not be until it is well out of our waters,” Mr Dean said on Thursday. SEE PAGE TWO