02232024 NEWS, SPORTS AND BUSINESS

‘DODGING JURY DUTY IS SLOWING JUSTICE’

Davis encourages people to carry out their civic duties

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said a significant challenge to swift justice is the avoidance of jury duty.

“Many Bahamians don’t want to serve,” he said. “We talk about swift justice, but we need to encourage

people that when they’re called upon to provide service, to do so as part of their civil duty. But then anytime they see their name, they go try to make excuses to be excused.”

Mr Davis spoke during a Q&A session at the Fox Hill Community Centre, which featured constituency

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

OFFICE of the Prime Minister director of communications Latrae Rahming said Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis would “have a conversation with the commissioner of police” if the pattern of adverse inquest findings against officers in

killing cases continues. Jurors in the Coroner’s Court have returned four homicide by manslaughter findings against police in the last year. Relatives of the men killed in the incidents are, in most cases, impatiently waiting for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to say

Rahming defends OPm’s t R avel budget Rise

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

OFFICE of the Prime Minister director of communications Latrae Rahming defended the OPM’s travel budget increase yesterday, saying the prime minister’s travels are “always in the national interest” and aligned with the government’s foreign policy agenda.

His comment during yesterday’s OPM press briefing came after the mid-year

budget revealed the OPM’s travel budget has increased to $2.1m, up from $569,721.

Mr Davis’ frequent travels have repeatedly drawn attacks from critics and the Opposition.

Mr Rahming said the government receives various requests that require officials to travel. He said sometimes it is adequate for technocrats or the

NEIL HARTNELL Tribune

CARNIVAL’S

5.5m visitor surge to Grand Bahama in 2028, it was revealed yesterday. Deputy prime minister Chester Cooper said Carnival’s expansion combined with the $80m Freeport Harbour development will - in four years’ time surpass Nassau’s 2023 visitors record.

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A GRAND Bahama police constable was interdicted from the police force and charged yesterday with raping a 28-year-old woman. Assistant Chief Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans charged Constable Deniko Sampson, 26, with rape. Sampson allegedly had sexual intercourse with a woman without her

PATRICK STUART, the homeless man who was brutally beaten in a recent viral video, during a

munity meeting at the Fox Hill Community Centre yesterday. For story see PAGE FOUR. Photo: Dante Carrer

PM conducts walkabout in Fox Hill

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis chats with a woman from the Fox Hill community during a neighbourhood walkabout yesterday.

Photos: Dante Carrer

‘Dodging jury duty is slowing justice’

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residents.

A man asked the prime minister about solutions to the lack of swift justice, stressing that delays have led to people becoming disgruntled waiting for resolutions.

Mr Davis said solving crimes isn’t the issue, with someone arrested or charged in 90 per cent of murder cases. He said the “elephant in the room” for many years is having the necessary resources available in the courts.

He said trials used to finish much quicker and noted the government’s plan to increase the number of judges.

“I would finish a murder trial with the judges within a week,” he said. “The longest trial I had back in the day in a murder was two weeks.

That’s a long time. But today, a murder trial taking two, three months. So, something is happening. I’ve raised this matter as well, that we need to see why trials are taking so long.”

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe, who attended the event, said he plans to write Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder about various concerns.

“We now have 12 judges who all have five weeks vacation, which is 60 weeks a year, which is over a year of trial time,” he said. “So, we’ll tend to canvass all of the system issues that the prime minister is talking about and perhaps get a bit creative.”

Mr Munroe said there would be talks with the judiciary and private Bar members about expediting the trial process.

PM ‘conversation’ with COP if police manslaughter findings continue

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whether any officer will be charged with a crime in the matters.

During yesterday’s weekly press briefing, Mr Rahming said: “I want to begin by saying the prime minister is an advocate for justice.”

“He believes in accountability, regardless of the persons involved in the matter.

“I think what it is, this is a vindication that there’s a system of justice that works, and I think that the government intends to make sure that the courts that

oversee these matters get the resources they need. So, his view is that he is an advocate for justice and where there is wrongdoing, that person should be held accountable regardless of who they are.”

Inquests do not determine criminal liability. Relatives of those killed are continuing their pursuit of justice. Once rare, adverse findings against police have become more frequent. In addition to homicide by manslaughter, jurors could return findings of justifiable homicide or homicide by murder.

The most recent manslaughter finding came on Tuesday at the end of the inquest into the deaths of Richard “Buddy” Bastian and Harold “Kevin” Brown, who were killed on Tonique Williams-Darling Highway around 1am on December 2, 2017.

In August, jurors returned the same finding in the case of Deangelo Evans, who was killed on Sandy Lane in Mason’s Addition on May 27, 2018.

In May, jurors returned a manslaughter finding in the case of Azario Major, who police killed outside

Woody’s Bar on Fire Trail Road on December 26, 2021.

A week later, the policeinvolved killing of Shanton Forbes was also ruled a homicide by manslaughter.

Some killings have been found to be justified. In December, for example, jurors concluded police were justified in killing Royal Bahamas Defence Force leading seaman Rodney Adderley, Jr, on Dunmore Avenue on January 10, 2022. That was one of four justified homicide findings that jurors made last year.

Rahming defends OPm’s t R avel budget R ise

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minister of foreign affairs to travel, but some matters require the prime minister’s attendance.

“When you see the prime minister make a decision

to travel anywhere, it’s because the meeting agenda requires his attendance, particularly at the head of government level, like CARICOM level, or at COP,” he said. “The prime minister

recently travelled in Africa, the non-aligned states. It was entirely focused on the government trying to expand its diplomatic relationship with other African countries.”

Mr Rahming’s comments

did not persuade many critics of the Davis administration’s travel habits, some of whom said on social media that the government has not quantified the benefits of the various trips.

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis speaks during a community meeting at the Fox Hill Community Centre yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

OPM communications director Latrae Rahming.

Photo: Dante Carrer

Beaten on the street - but police rally to the aid of Patrick

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

PATRICK Stuart, the man a group of teenagers viciously attacked last week, said he feels “okay” now and is taking things day-by-day.

A viral video showed a group of teenage boys attacking the 40-year-old homeless man. The video disturbed many, not least because Mr Stuart did nothing to provoke the attack.

Since then, the Royal

Bahamas Police Force, the Ministry of Social Services and other businesses stepped in to help Mr Stuart.

Mr Stuart was shy while speaking to reporters at the Fox Hill community Centre yesterday after the Royal Bahamas Police Force hosted a round table with community members.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Shenique Ford said she was grateful for people who reached out to Mr Stuart, thanked a local barber for giving him a free

haircut and praised Burger King for treating him to lunch.

“When you look better, you feel better,” ASP Ford said. “And when you feel better, you do better. So, in order for step one to take place in the transition of Patrick, Patrick had to do some stuff.”

ASP Ford said when they reached out to a barber to cut Mr Stuart’s hair, it was the start of the 40-year-old taking a new leap in his life.

“When Patrick got that haircut, he said wow, if my

mom could only see me now.”

Prime Minister Philip Davis also applauded the efforts of the police and the community to help Mr Stuart.

Mr Davis led the media, the police and others on a two-hour walkabout throughout the Fox Hill community, stopping to talk to dozens of residents, many of whom spoke to him about issues ranging from finding employment to loved ones lost to violence.

WILSON SAYS SMUGGLED ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO FOUND IN CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL CONTAINERS

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FINANCIAL Secretary Simon Wilson said officials have found illegally smuggled alcohol in containers with building supplies. He elaborated on how people smuggle alcohol and tobacco in the country after Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said on Wednesday that nearly $100m is lost yearly through illegal smuggling of these items.

“One, they are hidden in containers, large-scale smuggling, so you might have a container and have it as a building material,” Mr Wilson said yesterday during the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly press briefing.

“We caught one where there were building materials, and there were twelve pallets of beer. They only cleared the building materials. Most

building materials are duty-free, and beer is at, like, 40 per cent.”

“The other way, especially for tobacco, is that they are putting it in luggage. You know tobacco is 230 per cent duty, a minimum. So, tobacco is a very high-duty product, and so these people put it in luggage and so forth and just bring it in.”

Mr Wilson said the government has a plan to compensate for the losses, which he said impacts legitimate businesses.

“We have realised that legitimate importers of alcohol and tobacco saw a consistent decline in their sales,” he said. “So, we recouped by discouraging persons from smuggling, and then people will purchase from legitimate importers and distributors who pay their taxes.”

“Two months ago, we came across a warehouse where we retrieved over a million dollars in cash and goods.”

WESTERN Air is to begin jet service between Nassau and Eleuthera today. The airline will provide direct flights on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and Sunday evenings. The EMB145 LR, 50-seater jets, will have a flight time of 15 minutes.

“North Eleuthera has been one of our most requested routes. We look forward to the opportunity to serve the community and make the travel experience between Nassau and Eleuthera more convenient and enjoyable” said president and CEO Rexy Rolle.

The new route marks the airline’s tenth destination.

“Our National Aviation Strategic Plan outlines our unwavering support for our domestic airlines and also our priority to increase airlift connectivity to Nassau/PI, Grand Bahama and our Family Islands. Western Air continues to model excellence and this new, highly-anticipated service will support the unprecedented demand for additional capacity into Eleuthera”, said Dr Kenneth Romer, director of aviation and deputy director general of Tourism.

FINANCIAL SECRETARY SIMON WILSON

PATRICK STUART, the homeless man who was brutally beaten in a recent viral video, during a community meeting at the Fox Hill Community Centre yesterday.

Photos: Dante Carrer

Urban Renewal project looks to rid Englerston of 600 derelict vehicles

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

SIX hundred derelict vehicles will be removed from the Englerston community, the start of a project government officials hope to extend to other constituencies in New Providence.

Housing and Urban Renewal Minister Keith Bell said after the derelict cars are removed, his ministry will work with property owners who want to sell their properties to the government, which would build low-cost homes in the areas.

During a tour of Englerston yesterday, he said that in many communities, derelict cars have sprung up on private properties that the owner has either abandoned or not checked in many years.

Acting director of the Department of Environmental Health Services Launa Williams said health inspectors assessed areas, and vector control officers visited the places to set traps for rats because removing vehicles will “disturb the habitats for the rodents”.

Environment Minister Vaughn Miller said a survey of derelict vehicles found that Englerston was the “most challenged area”. He said officials will eventually deal with dilapidated buildings as well.

Police are concerned that guns, ammunition and drugs are stored in derelict vehicles.

“We have intelligence that tells us that because cars are assembled here or gathered here, persons would be looking for somewhere to dump a vehicle instead of going

down where they supposed to go,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Anthony Rolle.

“They will come to these communities and park it right in the front and this is how you have an overflow of these vehicles.”

“These sites are places where they do scrap metals. They just go and dump their debris. So we also want to send a clarion call to these scrap metal places. You have to secure your debris or your product within the boundary of your property.”

A toy gun was found in a car during yesterday’s walkabout.

“This is a perfect example of why these vehicles need to be removed from these communities because that’s what they do,” ACP Rolle said. “This could’ve been used in the commission of some crime.”

Police also found a Mercedes Benz Jeep with a disc that did not belong to the vehicle –– a fraudulent use of a license disc, police said. Mr Bell noted that the law bans importing cars older than ten years.

“Coming into these communities, we have tasked all of the different departments and entities to make recommendations to this government as to whether or not we ought to ensure that we again review that and even reduce that,” he said.

“You will take note that if you go down to customs right now, there are a number of vehicles which have been severely damaged in accidents in the United States, etc. Those vehicles are not to come into the country. That’s our position unequivocally.”

POLICE search derelict vehicles during a press event to promote an Urban Renewal initiative to remove

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India wants to boost rooftop solar power

JUST a few years ago, someone who wanted to install a rooftop solar connection in India faced getting multiple approvals, finding a reliable company to install the panels and spending heavily before seeing the first surge of clean energy.

But that’s changing. The government has streamlined the approvals process, made it easier for people to claim subsidies and pushed mountains of cash — including $9 billion announced this month — to encourage faster adoption of technology that’s seen as critical for India to reach its clean-energy goals.

“We had to get 45 signatures to set up a small rooftop solar connection in 2021,” said Shreya Mishra, CEO of Mumbai-based Solar Square, one of India’s largest rooftop solar companies. “Today it’s almost instantaneous.”

For this sun-soaked country, growth in rooftop solar can’t come soon enough. India last year became the world’s most populous nation, with 1.4 billion people and a hunger for energy that is rising fast.

Yet India, one of the world’s biggest emitters of planet-warming gases, is also highly vulnerable to climate change. Its people are affected by deadly floods, extreme rainfall, extreme heat, prolonged droughts and cyclones with increasing frequency. A study earlier this year found that nine out of India’s 28 states will be among the world’s hardest-hit regions due to climate change by midcentury.

India has grown its clean power rapidly in recent years and has the fourth-most installed renewable power, trailing only China, the US and Brazil. It had 180 gigawatts as of December, enough to power about 18 million homes, with nearly half from solar.

But most of that solar power comes from numerous football-field-sized solar farms. Less than 15 percent comes from rooftop arrays, and India has so far managed to set up only 11 gigawatts of rooftop solar. That’s far less than the 40 gigawatts it hoped to have by 2022.

Energy experts say rooftop solar is essential to bring power to remote areas, where it can be installed cheaply where it’s needed and avoid the cost of transmitting the energy over long distances.

India’s latest push was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the $9 billion would provide “free electricity” for up to 10 million homes.

Neeraj Kuldeep of the New Delhibased think tank, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, has tracked rooftop solar for nearly a decade. A report from CEEW last year found that only 50% of Indians are likely aware of rooftop solar as an energy solution and most of those who were aware thought it was too expensive. The report released last November recommended subsidies for consumers who can benefit from small rooftop solar arrays but can’t afford them.

Kuldeep said consumer awareness about rooftop solar is one key to driving

growth. Others are efficient governments at both the federal and state level, and finding the right “fit” for a particular user’s power needs.

Experts say another is getting buy-in from state-owned electricity companies who sometimes see rooftop solar as a threat to their profits.

Kuldeep said that’s short-sighted. The companies can often actually make more money if they help install rooftop solar in a low-consumption home, he said. That’s because they cut their transmission and distribution costs to carry power to a house with a subsidised bill that already earns them little profit.

Installations have also risen since the government launched a national rooftop solar portal in 2022 that consumers can use to claim and steer government subsidies directly to their bank account, say experts and rooftop solar companies.

Mysun, a rooftop solar company based in New Delhi, offers potential buyers a “solar calculator” on its website where they can enter their location and current electricity costs to see what kind of savings they could expect. CEO

Gagan Vermani said it’s about simplifying the process for potential customers.

“We need to start thinking of (rooftop solar) with consumer needs in mind rather than thinking of it as building solar infrastructure,” he said.

Those who are already hooked up with panels on their roofs tout the benefits of cheaper electricity and greater agency over their own power.

“It is a little expensive but it’s totally worth it,” said Ruchika Chahana, who lives in the affluent Greater Kailash neighborhood in New Delhi. Chahana installed rooftop solar in her home nine months ago at a cost of nearly $5,000. She said her summer electricity bills have fallen to about $50 a month, from $200, and her family feels great about “doing something to save the planet.”

In Bengaluru, Satish Mallya saw rooftop solar as essential both to save money and avert carbon emissions. He took the lead in installing 65 kilowatts of solar atop the 120-unit apartment complex he lives in, and the building’s electricity costs have dropped $700 a month.

That 2020 installation was “challenging” because of bureaucratic hurdles, said Mallya, who serves as vice president of a citywide group that represents apartment dwellers and owners. He’s helped many others set up their own rooftop solar connections in the years since, and says the process has gotten easier.

Mishra, of Solar Square, said she’s seeing a big increase in interest in a technology that she calls “a key part of India’s energy future”.

“As an Indian and an entrepreneur, I’m extremely proud of seeing this getting built up,” she said. “I think building energy infrastructure is the greatest nation-building thing we can do.”

By SIBI ARASU, Associated Press

EDITOR, The Tribune.

SO I’ve been extremely vocal through my podcast and other postings on social media as to my extreme vexation about The Bahamas and the blacklist.

I’ve got many Bahamian friends and friends of other nationalities messaging and asking me why I’m so uptight about the removal of The Bahamas from the black list.

They point out isn’t that a good thing.

And I answer it’s a necessary thing, but that doesn’t make it good.

I’m desperately trying to alert the masses that as I see it our sovereignty is being infringed yet again and we are being mandated and manipulated into making changes to a sector of our economy of which we were once so very proud, and which we widely touted, namely the shield of secrecy with respect to our financial services industry.

The Bahamas and many other small island states thieved off of this ability and up to about twenty-five years ago the industrialised world accepted our sovereign positions and our autonomy to a very large extent.

With the explosion of the super rich and billionaires world wide, and with their reluctance to pay the ridiculously high taxes in the countries of their birth, they sought out tax havens such as The Bahamas, to, in many instances, hide conceal and shield their money from their governments and avoid their obligations.

This was, however, viewed worldwide as their problem by and large and was addressed in the individual countries that were affected.

As we can see, however, this wasn’t good enough so the industrialised nations sought to bring about changes to the laws in countries such as ours. Quite frankly they didn’t just attempt to they in fact did through the use of various bullying tactics.

It should be borne in mind that The Bahamas, as with other jurisdictions, already had legal mechanisms in place to which the requesting countries had to adhere.

But the attainment of the information was not necessarily guaranteed and in many instances the requests even when the correct process had been followed was denied.

Again this was an impediment to big brother so they found another way. In the early years of the intrusion they overcame this by applying pressure to the banks in the USA or elsewhere that has branches locally by imposing fines on the US counterparts to ensure the information was forthcoming.

During this period we saw many of these billionaires and the super rich renouncing the citizenships of their birth and taking up Bahamian or other citizenships and, or, taking up permanent residency elsewhere as many of these industrialized nations differentiated with the tax rates and obligations imposed upon those persons resident at home as opposed to elsewhere.

We also saw major companies such as Apple use jurisdictions such as Ireland that provided them with a safe place to domicile their immense profits free of the grasp of the tax man. Well that didn’t sit well with the USA and the other industrialized countries and as with the USA they still recognised and designated these individuals ‘as persons of interest’ thus allowing them to still implement taxes. We see that Apple has been involved in a long embittered ten year battle with the EU over taxes resulting in a ruling from the European Court of Justice in November 2024 that Apple received favourable tax status from Ireland and owes € 13B to the EU as a result of the favourable tax status extended to them.

The difference here is Ireland has stepped up to the plate in full support of Apple and contends that Apple paid all its taxes levied against them. It’ll be interesting to see how this is finally resolved.

In the Bahamas we can for the most part trace our dilemma that’s presently engulfing us to that packet of financial legislation put in place by the Ingraham administration in 2000. This came about only because of the blacklisting by the O ECD.

But our sovereign rights had been chipped away before that and for that we have to harken back to the 1980s and the halcyon days of the cocaine trade. If you’d recall it was possible to go into banks locally and abroad and deposit suitcases full of cash and then the US imposed the up to $10,000.00 deposit limit and anything above had reporting requirements.

In The Bahamas we did not follow suit.

O ne could at that time also open bank accounts with no hassles. That’s no longer the case in The Bahamas as anyone who’s ever tried to open a bank account can attest to.

Amazingly the situation today is that as a Bahamian I can still go into any commercial bank in the US and within an hour have an account opened.

In The Bahamas,

however, we have a long arduous process and this is as a direct result of rules and regulations being applied to us from outside our boarders.

As a practising attorney attempting to open accounts for corporate clients I can say without reservation it now routinely takes months. The level of background information we must provide is onerous and they run a World Search report on everyone.

O nce we capitulated we were then open game and entered a chasm that’s been widening ever since and thus the saga continues.

But where’s the equality amongst nations? It no longer exists. Big brother constantly reminds us to sit small and stay in our corner and we are powerless to do anything.

We will not have a meaningful voice if we can’t approach them as a bloc. Through their might and power they will always dictate to us.

Conversely look at how China and India have drastically increased the purchase of oil from Russia since the implementation of sanctions placed upon them as a result of the war in the Ukraine and the USA powerless to stop them.

Furthermore how European nations made it quite clear at the commencement of the sanctions that they’ll continue the purchase of natural gas from Russia as its vital to their society and again not a whisper from the USA.

This alone makes it abundantly clear the difference between countries that can exert their sovereignty and us small island nations that take orders.

This is the dilemma in which we find ourselves, one that we will be irretrievably locked in unless we increase our bargaining position.

But our politicians are too myopic in their positions and fail to look at and/or seek alternatives.

We must learn that we can have a greater say and opportunities if we ensure that CARIC O M has some real teeth as seek alliances with India and many of the 55 African Nations and South America.

It takes intestinal fortitude and cojones to even attempt to do so admittedly and with the present kakistocracy that’s not a possibility.

When will we learn.

When will we stand up and be counted. Statistics would indicate that at 57 I’ve probably lived longer than the time I’ve got left so in order to protect this Bahamas that we all love so dearly for my children and grandchildren it’s time to take a stand. March on

THE POLICE K9 unit search derelict vehicles during a press event to promote an Urban Renewal initiative to remove derelict vehicles in Englerston yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

REGIST R A R QUESTIONED OVER DOCUMENTS ON Gibson’s land buys

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

TESTIMONIES con-

tinued yesterday in the criminal trial of Long Island MP Adrian Gibson and five others.

Damian Gomez, KC, questioned Registrar General Camille Gomez-Jones about documents she entered into evidence.

Earlier this week, she submitted registration records of companies connected to the accused and conveyances of land Mr Gibson allegedly acquired between 2018 and 2020.

During cross-examination, Mr Gomez asked the witness about registration dates for Baha Maintenance and Elite Maintenance, as well as the business owners of the companies.

It was revealed that Elite Maintenance was incorporated in 2018, and Baha Maintenance was incorporated in 2020.

Regarding Elite Maintenance, Mr Gomez said if the company was incorporated in 2018, “how could it be associated with the

purchase of a property on the 13th of February 2019?”

Mrs Gomez-Jones said: “The document you’ve shown me demonstrates that this existed as a business before it was incorporated in the registry.”

Mr Gibson is facing charges concerning his tenure as WSC executive chairman under the Minnis administration.

The charges stem from Mr Gibson’s alleged failure to declare his interest in contracts awarded by the WSC.

The FNM politician is charged with Mr Elwood Donaldson, Jr, former WSC’s general manager, Rashae Gibson, his cousin, Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson and Jerome Missick.

Mr Gomez, KC, Murrio Ducille, KC, Bryan Bastian, Ryan Eve, Raphael Moxey, Christina Galanos, Ian Cargill and Donald Saunders represent the defendants.

The Crown’s prosecutors are acting Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier, Cashena Thompson, Karine MacVean and Rashied Edgecombe.

PM announces initiative to help homeless in GB

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip Brave Davis announced that a social initiative launched by the Ministry for Grand Bahama involving the restoration of houses for homeless families are underway in Freeport.

He also revealed that 100 persons have been engaged in a cleanup exercise in the area in preparation of the halfway-housing project at Tripp Circle.

This is the Prime Minister Davis first official visit to Grand Bahama since being elected to office. He was accompanied by Myles LaRoda, M.P. Minister of State, Office of the Prime Minister, David Davis, Permanent Secretary (OPM); Mr. Leon Lundy, Parliamentary Secretary (OPM); and Mr. Jerome Fitzgerald, Senior Policy Advisor (OPM).

Mr Davis said the initiative, spearheaded by the Ministry for Grand Bahama, is in collaboration with the private sector in Grand Bahama to alleviate social ills that affects some residents.

He said 14 abandoned houses that were previously occupied by the Royal Bahamas Police Force at Tripp Circle would be repaired and renovated so that eight homeless families could be relocated there.

“I am aware there are many homeless persons in Grand Bahama, and, unfortunately, they are living in

GB police officer faces charge of raping woman

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consent in Freeport, Grand Bahama, on February 18.

The defendant was informed that his matter would be moved to the

Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Mr Hanna said he intends to make an emergency bail application before the higher court to prevent

his client’s remand at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Sampson’s VBI is set for service on May 25. Brian Hanna represented the accused.

Man accused of ar Med robbery, possession of a Gun and leadinG police on car chase

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 44-YEAR-OLD man was imprisoned yesterday after police allegedly caught him with a stolen vehicle after a chase in Montell Heights last weekend.

Assistant Chief Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans charged Alex Williams with possession of unlicensed ammunition and two counts of armed robbery. Williams, while allegedly armed with a .40 Austria Glock pistol, is accused of

robbing Jamal Forbes of $311 and Genovia Pinder of her $12k 2012 Chevy Traverse Jeep in the Sears Hill area on February 18. Later that day, the accused allegedly led police on a high-speed chase on Montrose Avenue in the same stolen vehicle. After abandoning the car and trying to evade capture on foot in Montell Heights, the defendant allegedly threw the gun into a nearby school shortly before his arrest. Authorities later recovered the Glock pistol with six rounds of ammunition in that vicinity.

Although Williams pleaded not guilty to the firearm charges, he was informed that the armed robbery charges would proceed to the Supreme Court by way of a voluntary bill of indictment.

Although he was granted $7,000 bail with one or two sureties for the firearm charge, he will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services on the armed robbery charge. His firearm trial will begin before the magistrate on March 22. His VBI is set for service on May 16.

Man Given coMMunity service after he adMits stealinG $2K froM starbucKs while e Mployed

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was ordered to serve 250 hours of community service yesterday after admitting to stealing just over $2,000 from a Starbucks at Baha Mar while working there in the last

two months. Magistrate Kendra Kelly charged Justin Paul, 21, with four counts of stealing by reason of employment. While working at the Starbucks Coffee Shop at the Grand Hyatt, Paul stole $2,040.85 from his employers between January 29 and February 4.

After pleading guilty to the charge, the magistrate ordered that he fully reimburse his former employer and do community service. Defaulting on these conditions would result in a five-month prison term. Paul will report to the court for his community service on May 3.

Man pleads Guilty to possession of two ounces of M arijuana, fined $700 by court

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was fined yesterday after he was found with over 2oz of marijuana this week.

SENIOR Magistrate Shaka Serville charged

Roberto McPhee, 41, with possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply and possession of dangerous drugs. McPhee was found with 2oz of marijuana and an additional gram of marijuana on February 21 in New Providence.

conditions that jeopardize their wellbeing and their health,” he said.

“I was taken by a dilapidated building where persons are living, and that it is intended that the building will be taken down, and because those persons will be displaced and homeless, even though they are homeless now because they are squatting in these dilapidate apartments.”

Mr Davis and his entourage visited the condemned apartment building situated on East Mall Drive, across the street just east of the Office of the Prime Minister in the Harold DeGregory Government complex.

He said Grand Bahama Minister Ginger Moxey has spearheaded a collaboration with corporate Grand Bahama and the RBPF to renovate homes owned by the RBPF. He said the homes have been abandoned and sitting idle, and in many instances in a bad state of repair.

“They will be undertaking renovation and repair of all 14 buildings, and there they will relocate those persons living in dilapidated state that I saw today. They would be relocated there for a short period to get them used to living properly. We will try to provide some counselling and rehabilitation of their mindset and getting them into

mainstream life again. That might take two to three months, and we will find jobs for them afterwards so they can go on their own.”

“That exercise I am advise will continue because the number of persons there are much more than others that find themselves in that situation and we need to find relief for them.”

In the meantime, the Prime Minister also noted that jobs have been created for Bahamians through the initiative.

“I am advised 100 young men and women are engaged in a cleanup exercise in that area where the homes are in Tripp Circle and they are there cleaning up and I can see relief in their eyes, and the dignity that they are doing something to earn a living as opposed to getting a handout. They are getting a hand up and that was really encouraging to me, and hopefully we can find ways and means to keep them engaged along the way. For time being it is only a oneweek job, but I charged the Minister to look at how we can keep them going in the future.”

Minister Ginger Moxey expressed her excitement with the initiative. “Today is a great day. Grand Bahama has been through so much over the past few years with

many hurricanes, including Dorian and the pandemic. We are all in this together and one of the initiatives we have pledged is our new unit called Partnerships for Development. And with that we are bringing in NGOs, businesses, the regulatory bodies. and communities at large together to make things happen. Our administration promised we would bring relief to the people.”

Speaking on the recovery effort, Prime Minister Davis expressed his disappointment with the slow pace of recovery in Dorian stricken areas in Abaco and Grand Bahama.

“I have been apprised of the restoration efforts with respect to Dorian recovery,” he said. “I am not satisfied with the pace that is occurring. I have spoken to the Minister of State who has been charged with the responsibility of that aspect of my ministry. He too has expressed his dissatisfaction on the pace, and we are committing ourselves today to find mechanisms, means, and structure to accelerate the pace in which relief could be had to our people in the stricken-Dorian area. And that is the commitment we made today, and hopefully we will see the results of that in short order,” he said.

After pleading guilty to the charge and accepting the facts, the accused was fined $700 for the larger drug charge. He risks two months in prison if he fails to pay his fine. The simple possession charge against him was withdrawn.

ADRIAN Gibson speaks with his lawyers outside court.

Sunk in Nassau harbour: The Fancy and the Pilot Boat

TWO vessels were lost in Nassau harbour – one of them huge and famous, the other a tiny nameless rowboat whose loss is commemorated with a 20-foot stone tower on the country’s busiest street. The first vessel was known as The Fancy, and she was lost late in 1696 for political reasons, though in the world of privateers, pirates, and crooked governors, very little is verifiable.

The story of this ship hinges on its captain, Henry Avery, born near Plymouth, England, to a fallen family. He joined the Royal Navy and rose to shocking prominence in May of 1694 at La Coruña Spain in a mutiny from which he emerged in command of a 46-gun Spanish warship (Charles II) under Captain Gibson.

The next few months were dizzying and demonstrated Avery’s duplicitousness.

Renamed The Fancy he took the ship to a pirate kingdom in the Indian Ocean, careened it to make it much faster, made a crew of 150 men and alliances.

First Avery overtook and captured a major French privateer, then banded with five pirate ships to attack a fabulously valuable treasure fleet. The 25 ships belonged to a Murghab or Arab king, going from the Red Sea to India. Avery won the battle and captured princesses, then spent days engrossed in torturing them, looting some £600,000. In August 1694 he slipped away for the Bahamas, skipping out with most of the loot.

So damaging was this to the East India Company that British parliament declared Avery hostis humani generis: an enemy of humanity.

The Fancy landed at Royal Island west of Spanish Wells, in March of 1695, and Avery, under the fake name “Captain Bridgeman” sent an emissary to Governor Nicholas Trott, whose tenure had only begun the year before. He offered to bribe the governor, who was paid £300, with £850. Trott hadn’t seen the Royal Navy in years, and was facing capture by French who had just taken Exuma.

So, he had the governing council welcome Avery and The Fancy, which anchored in Nassau.

At the time only about 27 men were able to defend New Providence; not enough to man the guns. Avery’s ruse was that he and his men were illegally trading slaves,

By Eric Wiberg

however, when he did find slave traders, the Pirate Museum of Nassau, says he captured the traders and “sold” them to slaves! In the hold of The Fancy, the inhabitants found incredible assets, including 50 tons of elephant tusk, foreign coins, many cannons, and barrels of gunpowder. Of course, Trott denied knowing that Bridgeman was Avery. The very sleepiness of New Providence, with so few people to entertain such wealthy pirates played to Governor Trott’s favour. Soon Avery and his colleagues slipped back to England aboard ships named Isaac, and to Ireland aboard the Sea Flower, under Captain Faro, which was intercepted while landing treasure. Once again Henry Avery escaped and vanished, dying in obscurity.

What of The Fancy, one of the most successful pirate ships ever? In his book The Pirates’ Pact, Douglas Burgess states his view that “Trott had stripped Fancy of everything valuable, and it was lost after being violently driven against some rocks, perhaps deliberately on the orders of Trott, who was eager to rid himself of a key piece of evidence.” While difficult to ascertain – after all, we still don’t know where in Nassau Governor Woodes Rogers is buried, it was known to be in Nassau, abandoned in a hurry. Given that it was one of the most soughtafter ships in the world, it is plausible that it never left Nassau. Sunken ships can be silent ships, even at the doorstep of a colony’s capital.

In fact, The Fancy is believed to have wrecked at what is now Hurricane Hole Marina, under the original Paradise Island Bridge. Old clay pipes dating from the late-1600s have been found there, and apparently when

the marina was expanded, pilings were driven right through the timbers, some of which may be extant, even today… Most readers will have passed the spot along West Bay Street opposite the Road Traffic Department and Bahamas Girl Guides many times. For 160 years, an obelisk 15 feet tall and 20 feet above the road has quietly kept vigil over the spot where five men died trying to save two others. All of them were in boats, and all were tackling the gargantuan waves curling over the bar protecting the entrance to Nassau Harbour. This is their story. Thirty feet from Bay Street

in the direction of the first fish-fry shacks at Arawak Cay, stands the monument constructed of limestone block, installed in 1861 to commemorate the heroism of five Bahamian men who gave their lives on a rescue mission. On Tuesday, 26 February 1861 the “two men drifted from Nassau Harbour in a boat;” believed to be a pilot boat. Their cries for help were heard by a hardy group of volunteers on shore. Their names were Issac Knowles, Felix Buby, Joseph Henry Strachan, Thomas Edden, and Joshua Edwards, and they soon set out in their own overcrowded little vessel.

Pilot boats and the folks

who operate them are not ordinary. Throughout their long history, these boats have resembled the men and women who venture out to meet ships: fast, sturdy, and aggressive. “Used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships, pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast, because the first to reach an incoming ship got the business.” If pilots and ship masters waited for calm weather to approach port, few supplies and people would ever reach land; the transfer is risky, dangerous, and often fatal. This inscription dedicates the obelisk “in memory

of [the five men] who perished on the Bar of Nassau Harbour whilst gallantly volunteering their services in the effort to save two men belonging to the PilotBoat which had been upset by a heavy sea.” In the ten months remaining of the same year, the Bahamas Legislature erected this obelisk to commemorate “their gallant conduct and self-sacrificial heroism.” The monument commemorates men drowned trying to prevent others from drowning, giving the rest of us much to contemplate while about our daily business from Bay Street or the Western Esplanade.

TOP right: Pirate Henry Avery. Top left: A map from the 1700s of Nassau harbour. Above: Henry Avery’s ship - The Fancy. Bottom and obelisk at Western Esplanade on West Bay Street commemorates the lives of five men lost while trying to save two others.

I stopped by a building while on Dowdeswell Street

SOME things you just have to set eyes on to appreciate. Like Beyonce. Or Taylor Swift. Or a building on Dowdeswell Street that was recently transformed.

Or a hellhole on Kemp Road that needs to be demolished.

Or the swarm of catamarans in Montagu Bay that are flushing their effluent overboard. We talk so much. We’re rarely at a shortage for words, any of us. Maybe we should spend more time staring, really seeing.

What prompted this was a pass through Dowdeswell Street last Saturday where I was determined to stop at Rip Ty’d Craft Brewery and see what it was like after digesting the novel just published by one of its founders, who writes under the pseudonym of Bruce Brewer.

Both the brewery and the novel, Rigged, Brewery Tales, (Newman Springs Publishing, 2023) were easily worth the time spent with them.

Rigged, an autobiography oddly written in the third person, takes on a journey of friendship between two men, both fully heterosexual, but a friendship that at times borders on too intense for the adrenaline

By Diane Phillips

rush it provides. The subtitle, Nassau, Bahamas, Hideaways & Places Laced in Drama, provides a clue as to what lies between its covers. The pages turn like the weather – sometimes light and breezy and fun and other times, dark and stormy. The book is sprinkled with tales of places you know and at times you can taste the conch salad Brewer describes or smell the aroma of fresh johnny cake. It’s a downhome tale of intrigue, a touch of sensuality, conflict, betrayal and resolution. And it is dedicated to the charm of Dowdeswell Street which is what brings us back to where we started and why much of this week’s column is a pictorial. All of us pass buildings, signs, trees, shops, restaurants, offices, so many images a day that are a blur before our eyes as we dash here and rush there. They are stationary and we

are moving and yet every now and then, something catches our eye. We stop and stare. Not like we stare at Beyonce or Taylor Swift, but for a moment we halt, in limbo with our forward movement.

So here I am on Dowdeswell Street heading east toward Rip Ty’d Craft Brewery and out of the corner of my eye I spot a building and do a doubletake, slam on brakes and stare. Librery House has been totally transformed. The once drab and dull brownish building that housed the offices of former Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest is now light and lovely, adorned with sherbet limes and deeper greens, its parapet gently cloaked in artwork created by an artist who had to be lifted by crane and bucket truck to paint in place.

Librery House now lit up the entire western end of Dowdeswell Street, giving

the area new life. It stands stately and proud, sunny and bright, artwork covering the entire façade, sprucing up the entire block around it.

I offer silent congratulations to the Turnquest

clan and to Carol Lashley, in particular, who I am advised drove the project that is proof of why art in public places works.

I can only stop for so long. That beer at Rip Ty’d awaits. I climb back into my car. But there is The Little Schoolhouse on Dowdeswell Street on the south side and I have to stop again, get out, walk around and admire the proportions, the classic lines of the cottage turned schoolhouse.

Further along, there is a house that I watch with worried eyes every time I pass, so afraid one day it will just crumble to the ground, taking with it the intricate detail of its now faded beauty. What will it

take to rescue it before it is too late and we lose yet another treasure?

I make it at last to Rip Ty’d on the north side of Dowdeswell. It is shortly before closing, but the hostess is more than accommodating and the beer I order, a Porter called Loose Goat, is about as good as I have ever tasted in my life which includes tough competition, sampling at the Guiness booth at the London Boat Show. The Porter is dark, creamy and silky and I listen to the tale of how the idea of the brewery started one day as friends gathered on Rose Island.

It was a very good Saturday, indeed.

THE

A BOOK by Bruce Brewer, Rigged - Hideaways & Places Laced in Drama, Nassau

at Rip Ty’d Craft Brewery, just off

FIRST BAHAMAS BRANCH OF TOASTMASTERS

THE First Bahamas Branch of Toastmasters Club 1600 hosted its highly anticipated Ladies Night Toastmasters meeting at the Baha Mar Convention Center on Thursday, February 15, creating an evening filled with cheer, entertainment, and camaraderie.

The theme for this year’s event was “Under the Influence,” and it certainly left a lasting impression on all attendees.

“This event proves to be very valuable to the organisation’s recruitment efforts and its goal of building better communicators,” said club president Stefan Bonimy.

The ballroom was abuzz with excitement as the room was packed with eager participants, all gathered to celebrate and show appreciation to women for their impact on Toastmasters and the wider community. The meeting traditionally held around Valentine’s Day, continued to offer a touch of romance to the evening, creating an atmosphere of warmth and connection.

Great highlights of the night included the distribution of prizes, generously sponsored by local businesses and organisations. Lucky prize winners walked away with large Smart TVs, jewelry sets by Sunisle Watch & Clock Centre, gifts by Couples’ Paradise, The Nassau Florist, Boiling Point, The Bush Garden Seafood and Steakhouse, Sukoon Esthetics, gas vouchers by Sun Oil, and also a round-trip flight voucher sponsored by BahamasAir.

Additionally, when ladies weren’t winning prizes, they won opportunities to be pampered and catered to during the event as a members’ auction was held. It added a delightful surprise to the event where all proceeds go toward the club’s community outreach programs. Auctioneer Carlos Palacious had the audience gasping for air as they laughed at his pitches for members being sold to the highest bidder.

The main event however was the education program featuring the great chairman Chervez Brown and a competition between four dynamic speakers, each bringing their unique perspective and flair to the stage. William Godet, John C Fowler, Lynden Rolle and Azano Major captivated the audience with their insightful presentations which covered a wide range of topics.

Azano Major stood out

as he delivered an exceptional speech and also walked away with two prestigious awards – the Speaker of the Night and the coveted Ladies’ Choice Award. Major’s charisma and command of the stage left a lasting impression on the audience and showcased the high caliber of speakers developing within Toastmasters Club 1600.

“This was a great opportunity for our newer and younger members to showcase skills they’ve been learning at our meetings and I commend them all for having great performances,” said programme organiser, vice-president education Camron Reckley. Ladies who attended the event expressed their overwhelming satisfaction, describing the evening as one to remember and communicated to eagerness to attend more in future.

Toastmasters Club 1600 continues to build its legacy in the community, providing a platform for individuals to enhance their communication and leadership skills. This year, members continue to participate in the club’s outreach programs which have positively influenced institutions such as CH Reeves Junior High School, Centreville Primary School and Mt Carmel Preparatory Academy among many others.

GIRL GUIDES

OVER 400 Sunflowers, Brownies, Guides, Rangers and leaders marched into the Church of God of Propecy, East Street to begin the celebration of another Guide Week. Using the theme: “Our World, Our Bahamas, Our thriving Environment.”

The patron, Cynthia Pratt, received a warm welcome at her first appearance to a Girl Guide function. The speaker for the occasion was Shenique Smith, director of the Nature Conservancy. She urged the girls to learn all they can about the flora and fauna of The Bahamas and be good stewards of the environment,to ensure that they are there for the future. She issued

each level with specific challenges that would indicate their stewardship over the coming years. Bishop Hulan Hanna commended the association for its work and promised his support. He especially encouraged the parents to support their girls in being faithful to the environment pledge which they made, during the ceremony.

KIWANIS CLUB OF OVER-THE-HILL

On Friday, January 19, a group of ten members from the Kiwanis Club of Over-The-Hill lead by our President Dominique Gaitor, travel to Cat Island to charter our second Key Club at the Arthur’s Town Comprehensive School. In addition to the latter we made a donation of a Glucometer, 200 lancers, 200 strips, and 200 alcohol swaps to assist the nurse with dealing with their diabetic patients.

PILOT CLUB OF NASSAU

PILOT Club of Nassau celebrated in grand style

teachers of the class: Joseph Darville, and Bernadette Ramsey Johnson.

Since their 40th class reunion in 2016, the QC 76ers have remained deeply connected to each other. They recognise that their parents’ generation has so much to share, and the class wanted to honour them, show them love, and listen to their stories. The event was a joy for all who attended. There was lots of lively conversation, connections, and laughter. As one parent happily put it: “It should have been longer!”

this past weekend at the Memories Ball, our signature fundraising event hosted on Saturday, February 17, at Margaritaville Beach Resort.

This year, as Pilot Club of Nassau celebrates its Golden Jubilee, it was an honour to recognise our Past Presidents, under whose patronage the Ball was held, for their legacy which has pillared our club over the last 50 years - leaders including Esther Culmer, Frances Ledee, Katrina Cartwright, Elizabeth Sweeting, Brenda Ingraham and Rita Sands Spriggs just to name a few, who have all guided us with dedication and commitment, shaping the foundation of our shared voyage.

It was especially memorable to pay extended tribute to Emeritus Frances Ledee, our only living charter member, who was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

What a night of excellence, elegance and exuberance! We are grateful for the support of

everyone who attended the event, helping us to achieve a “sold out” status, our incredible sponsors and the tremendous effort made by our club’s fundraising division for the “return of the ball” after a hiatus due to COVID-19.

First Lady and fellow Pilot Ann Marie Davis was also in attendance and brought congratulatory remarks, expressing her excitement for the Ball’s return. Proceeds from The Memories Ball will aid the continued community service initiatives of the Pilot Club of Nassau.

QUEEN’S COLLEGE CLASS OF 1976

The Bible tells us to honour our father and mother, and on February 19, the Queen’s College Class of 1976 did just that. The class hosted a luncheon event for the parents of the class members. The event was well-attended by classmates, parents, parental figures, and two former

The parents and teachers were treated to a solo and a liturgical dance all performed by members of the class. They were also treated to a delicious threecourse meal prepared by University of the Bahamas culinary students, and they received a commemorative bag and blanket as gifts.

Parents who were unable to attend were recognised at the luncheon and they also received the commemorative gifts. A special candle in green and white was lit in memory of all deceased parents.

Henceforth, the Queen’s College Class of 1976 marches on.

JOIN THE CLUB

OUR Clubs and Societies page is a chance for you to share your group’s activities with our readers.

To feature on our Clubs and Societies page, submit your report to clubs@tribunemedia.net, with “Clubs Page” written in the subject line.

For more information about the page, contact Stephen Hunt on 826-2242.

SCENES from the parade by Sunflowers, Brownies, Guides and Rangers to mark Guide Week.

KIWANIS Club of Over-The-Hill: Standing from left, chair Heath Campbell, treasurer Solomon Gibson, past president Quintin Percentie, president elect Jovon Woodside, chair Stanford Burrows, chair Kaleel Solomon, Nurse Thacker from the Ministry of Health Clinic, Cat Island, distinguish president Juan Gibson, president Dominique Gaitor and chair Tino Cash.

QUEEN’s College Class of 1976: A luncheon hosted by the club for parents of the class members was held on Febraury 19.

Branch

TOASTMASTERS: From left, Stefan Bonimy (president), Toastmaster Azano Major, Camron Reckley (vice-president, education).

SPORTS

Rattlers ‘built’ like champions

For the past two years the Hugh Campbell Classic trophy went to Grand Bahama with the Sunland Baptist Academy Stingers but for the 40th edition of the tournament, the championship hardware stayed home thanks to the CI Gibson Rattlers.

In the third battle of New Providence versus Grand Bahama, the Rattlers prevailed 75-71 last night at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium to derail the Stingers’ chances of a three-peat in the prestigious tourney.

Rattlers vs Stingers

The Rattlers came ready to play against the Stingers. They put the defending champions on notice with an early 12-2 run to start the game. The GSSSA basketball title holders shot 53.8 per cent in the first quarter which included three makes from three.

Meanwhile, the GBSSAA basketball champions were held to 35.7 per cent shooting from the field and got outrebounded 13 to six.

The Rattlers capped off the first quarter of the contest ahead by five (18-13).

Head coach Kevin “KJ” Johnson was overjoyed to claim his sixth title for CI Gibson and be tied for the most tournament wins.

“It feels good, we dedicated this season to our fallen friend ‘Rambo.’ They worked extremely hard this week to prepare to get the championship and by the grace of God we won it and they deserved it because they worked hard,” Johnson said. The Stingers tried to shake off a sluggish start

and gained some ground to pull within four (24-20) with 4:55 on the clock in the second period.

However, the hot shooting from the field continued for the newlycrowned champions who kept their percentage at 50%. At this juncture of the game, the Rattlers were winning the battle in

second-chance points 11 to five and bench points seven to three.

The Rattlers wasted no time in advancing by double digits 30-20 and proceeded to go into the break leading 36-24.

It was a game of runs for the top New Providence and Grand Bahama teams the entire way but,

according to Coach Johnson, his team wanted it more. “Sunland is a very good team, they shot the ball extremely well. They are tough, #10 and #5 are very good players. We knew we were a little better than them in terms of our

BAHAMAS DEFEATS PUERTO RICO 88-77 IN FIBA AMERICUP QUALIFIER

TEAM Bahamas, with its best performances coming off the bench, knocked off Puerto Rico by 11 points last night to win their opening match of the FIBA AmeriCup 2025 Qualifiers.

Playing in their first of two games this week, The Bahamas men’s national basketball team pulled off a 88-77 victory at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente Gymnasium before they host Puerto Rico here on Sunday at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.

The team, without the top players who were unable to travel because of their commitments to the NBA, had all six players coming off the bench leading their attack.

Domnick Bridgewater was the top scorer with 20 points, six assists and three steals, Kentwan Smith had 17 points, five rebounds, three steals, two block shots and two assists, Kai Jones contributed 13 points with seven rebounds and two steals and David Nesbitt also helped out with 10 points and three rebounds.

Tavario Miller scored nine points with nine rebounds and Eric Gordon added eight points with five assists.

“To walk out of a hostile crowd with a victory makes it that much special,” said Jones, a NBA free agent

the CI Gibson Rattlers dethroned the defending champions Sunland Baptist Academy Stingers 75-71 last night to

title at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium. Photo: Tenajh Sweeting/Tribune Staff

COACH MOSES JOHNSON, far left, directs the players of Team Bahamas.

EQUESTRIAN ATHLETES KATERINA AND SIENNA MAKE THE MOST OF GRAND CARAIBE TOUR

EQUESTRIAN athletes Katerina Coello and Sienna Tinker made the most of The Bahamas’ first-ever invitation to the Grand Caraibe Equestrian Competition Tour, using the golden opportunity to showcase their talents and the quality of Bahamian equestrian sport.

The Grand Caraibe Tour is a prestigious, internationally renowned show jumping event highlighting exceptional equestrian talent amongst the southern Caribbean nations of Suriname, French Guyana, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

In recent years the competition has begun to involve other nations in the region as the organisers recognise the potential to offer a unique platform to foster inter-Caribbean exchanges.

Top junior riders Katerina Coello and Sienna Tinker did the honours for The Bahamas in its debut, competing as individuals in the Espoir (1.0m) category in the Martinique Leg of the Tour, which took place at the EquiLibre facility in Le François, Martinique.

“This past week in Martinique was absolutely amazing, and surprising. Going into this new country not knowing what to expect I was truly shocked at the experience I had,” Tinker said.

“From the incredibly welcoming people to the wonderful views, amazing horses, and the undeniable support I received from our team, and organisers, Martinique was an unforgettable experience.”

She noted that she met people from all across the Caribbean, and learned about their cultures and experiences within the equestrian community.

“With this, I can confidently say this trip was a lovely experience and I can’t wait to do it again,” she added.

Coello said she had so much fun on this trip, everyone was so welcoming and friendly.

“I got to meet a lot of new friends along the way and they were very encouraging towards me,” she said. “I also had a great time with my coaches who taught me various amounts

of new things that I will take with me throughout my riding journey. “I definitely would love to compete more as this trip has shown me it is possible to improve just with one weekend.”

More than 100 athletes from eight nations (Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Bermuda, French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique and Suriname) competed at three levels (Espoir, Elite and Grand Prix) on Martinique-based horses dedicated especially for the competition.

Coello, riding Kenybest, and Tinker on Valentino des Graves, rode superbly throughout the two-day competition, making easy work of French course designer Joseph Martin’s initial track of 12 obstacles and a six-obstacle jump-off.

On Saturday Tinker (Valentino des Graves) and Coello (Kenybest) placed 6th and 11th respectively out of 43.

On Sunday, Coello and Kenybest made the jumpoff and finished 13th. Tinker and Valentino had a strong round but finished with four faults, dropping them out of the ribbons.

The athletes rode under the guidance of the Bermudian Grand Prix rider Raishun Burch and Level 3 FEI Official Heidi Mello, who most recently served as Chef d’Equipe for Bahamian rider Millie Vlasov at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.

Burch congratulated the girls on a successful week at Grand Caraïbe Martinique.

“It was a pleasure to work together with some of you for the second occasion and some for the first time,” Burch said.

“Each competition we look to improve and learn and I think we certainly did that all around.

“Thanks to you parents, who do a big part behind the scenes and Heidi & Cathy for managing/cocoaching the kids on the ground. Looking forward to the next time.”

Mello said it was a pleasure hosting the Bahamian girls.

“The girls were rock stars and a pure pleasure to have,” she stated.

Equestrian Bahamas Federation president Cathy Ramsingh-Pierre, who also made the trip, thanked Burch and Mello for their expertise and willingness to guide the Bahamian athletes. At the same time, she praised the athletes’ local coaches.

“Our athletes’ performances were a testament to the excellent technical foundation that they have received in their training

SPORTS CALENDAR

FROM PAGE 11

programmes at home. So their success has been a victory for our entire equestrian community.”

Ramsingh-Pierre also thanked M. Didier Bigot, president of the Comité Régionale d’Equitation (CRE) Martinique, for the warm welcome offered to the Bahamian delegation.

“My goal in accompanying the riders was to connect with the organisers of the Grand Caraibe

Competition Tour, and to secure invitations to future events so that our riders can be a part of the robust competition series that exists in the southern Caribbean,” said Ramsingh-Pierre. Mission accomplished. The Bahamas looks

registrants is February 23, 2024.

BASEBALL SEYMOUR CAMP

THE Anfernee Seymour Foundation is scheduled to hold a baseball/softball camp at the Murphy Town Softball Field in Murphy Town, Abaco, February 23-25. The camp is set to be held between the hours of 9am and noon. Interested persons are urged to come out and participate.

BASKETBALL CHANGE IN VENUE FOR NEX-GEN CAMP

earn prizes are available. Individuals interested can send an email to contact@ besf242.org or reach out via Whatsapp at 242-425-2288. Persons must provide their full name, email and phone number. The deadline for

THE Nex-Gen Camp, which was originally scheduled to be held at the Hope Center, has been changed to the Teleos Basketball Gymnasium on Carmichael Road. Space is limited so persons are asked to book

forward to competing in the fourth and final leg of the 2023-2024 Grand Caraibe Tour which will be held in Guadeloupe, May 8-12, 2024. The Federation hopes to field a complete team, accompanied by local coaches, for the event.

their reservations as soon as possible.

JRC Basketball Academy will stage the third annual elite training camp June 24 to July 13 each day from 9am to noon.

The camp is open to boys and girls who will be placed in groups from ages 6-9, 10-13 and 14-18.

The camp will be conducted by coach JR Cadet, owner of JRC Basketball Academy and an experienced 10-year FIBA pro basketball player who played on the Bahamas men’s team that played in the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament.

The special guest at this year’s camp will be coach Dalton Reitmeier, the head coach at Rabun Gap School USA - a four-year NCAA athlete and former player at IMG Academy.

BRINGING THE CARIBBEAN TOGETHER: Eight nations competed in the Martinique leg of the Grand Caraibe Tour. Back row, from left to right, riders from Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda and The Bahamas. Front Row: Riders from Martinique.

SIENNA Tinker and Katerina Coello celebrate.

SIENNA TINKER, aboard Valentino des Graves, placed 8th overall in the Espoir class.

KATERINA COELLO, aboard Kenybest, placed 11th and 13th in the Espoir class with clear rounds on both days of competition.

Team “Berhamas”: The Bahamas athletes shared a coach with their Bermudian counterparts. L-R: Tyler James (BER), Kimoy Cruikshank (BER), Kayla Bardgett (BER), Coach Raishun Burch (BER), Katerina Coello (BAH) and Sienna Tinker (BAH)

Sunland Baptist basketball coach

Bonnie Basden making an impact

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE her handicap that has been limited to her wheelchair since 2019, Bonnie Basden continues to make an impact on the Sunland Baptist Stingers senior boys’ basketball programme.

The former female national team basketball player turned coach, for the past year and-ahalf, has been forced to use an oxygen system full time, but it has in no way deterred her from honouring her commitment to helping as many young boys through her House of Hoops and Dreams in the Royal Bahama Estates in Grand Bahama.

“My life has changed because I’ve always been a very independent person and a go-getter,” she said. “I’ve always been very aggressive and a very physical person, having played basketball on the Bahamas women’s national basketball team in the early 80s.”

Basden, 62, played up until the age of 55. She followed in the footsteps of her parents, Elaine TurnerSands and Basil Sands Sr and her big brother Basil ‘the Kid’ Sands, who all played basketball with her other brother Desmond Sands.

CI

The mother of one biological son, 34-year-old Anthony Basden, who resides in Florida and adopted son, Darnell Basden, 19, who attends college in California where he is playing basketball, said being around the sport is what keeps her going.

“You can’t keep a good woman down and I thank God because I could have been a lot worse,” said Basden, who is still trying to get an explanation as to what went wrong medically to put her in the position she’s in.

“I thank God because I’m still able to do the things that I love and I enjoy being around sports and I’m still able to do a lot of things that I’ve been doing for the last 25 years,” she added.

Like head coach Jay Philippe and his assistant Marco Cooper, Basden has been responsible for hosting 10 of the boys from last year’s championship team who stayed with her and this year.

They either occupy two of the three bedroom houses or a bunk house that can facilitate from eight to 14 players at a time in the two complexes combined.

“I tutor them, help them with their school work and teach them life skills as I mentor them,” said Basden, who coached at Sunland from 1998.

“I was never employed at Sunland. I also served as the PTA president from 1996 to 2020, but I have also helped the athletic programme.

“My first under-17 championship was in 1999 when we beat the Catholic High Crusaders. I didn’t win a senior boys’ championship at Sunland until coach Philippe and Cooper came in 2015.”

Before the Stingers shined in 2015, Basden said she remembered coming to the prestigious Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic on a Wednesday each year and by Friday, they were on the plane heading back home after being eliminated.

“I never gave up. We kept coming every year,” she stated. “We took our licking and kept on ticking. Now we’re the two-time champions. So it’s all about the development of the programme and never giving up.

“The programme we have made under coaches Philippe and Cooper is just amazing. It’s awesome. It’s wonderful. They used to call us “sizzy land” because we were always at the bottom of the chart when it came to winning, but now we’re winning in volleyball, soccer, basketball and we’re doing very well in track and field. We’re a well-rounded school with a well-rounded programme, so we’re grateful.”

Basden, according to Philippe, has been more of a “stepmother” to him.

“Coach Bonnie is an angel on earth, not just because of what she did for me, but there were more than 40 players from the islands, whom she recruited and let them stay in house.”

Gibson Rattlers senior boys upset Grand Bahama’s Sunland Baptist Academy Stingers 75-71 to win 40th Hugh Campbell Classic title

FROM PAGE 11

personnel and we wanted it more and we felt like once we controlled the game in terms of rebounding the basketball and slowed down #10, we were able to get some good work done,” he said.

The game intensified in the third quarter for both teams as the championship hung in the balance.

The Stingers showed signs of life and with the Rattlers up 41-27, they reeled off an unanswered 7-0 run.

With under a minute on the clock, the defending champions came down the open court and threw down a massive dunk to draw within one (42-41).

Nonetheless, the Rattlers responded with a run of their own and concluded the third period in charge 51-47. Tashon Butler was firing on all cylinders from the opening tip through three quarters scoring 18 of his game-high 27 points.

He poured in nine points in the fourth quarter alone to not only bring home the victory for the CI Gibson Rattlers, but also secure his Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

Down the stretch, the Stingers splashed back-toback threes to cut into the lead 67-61. Despite a valiant effort to regain their footing in the game, the Stingers were unable to recover.

The Hugh Campbell Classic basketball championship was last won by a team from New Providence in 2019 so for coach Johnson the win felt extra good.

“It is about time it stayed in New Providence. Freeport has been taking it. We are happy we pushed it and we got it done,” he said.

Butler ended his Hugh Campbell journey with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Gerrard Rolle chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Edwin Ferguson amassed 25 points,

eight rebounds and six assists for Sunland in the tough loss. Congrats to the Ratters!

KNOWLES BROTHERS IN LEAD AFTER DAY 1 OF SIR DURWARD KNOWLES NATIONAL JUNIOR SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS

FROM PAGE 11

six races in the E-Class series, followed by Joss Knowles on the Lady Kayla with four.

Meanwhile, Norman Cartwright from New Providence turned in a pair of victories in the Laser class to snatch the early lead and in the Sunfish class, Aidan Sumner, also from New Providence, got a victory and second for three points to lead that field.

The first day of competition concluded with the opening ceremonies in which the British High Commissioner to the Bahamas Thomas Harley unveiled the naming of the new E-class boat that was built by Long Island’s Mark Knowles.

BAHAMAS DEFEATS PUERTO RICO 88-77 IN FIBA AMERICUP QUALIFIER

FROM PAGE 11

after he was released by the Charlotte Hornets last year. “We have basketball players. We have people who understand the game, people who make it easier for the younger guys and people who make sacrifices, playing overseas, and they came here and made it happen.”

Head coach Moses Johnson, who was assisted by Evan Gordon and Nashad Mackey, saw Rashad Davis leading all starters with seven points and three rebounds.

The other starters, Jaraun ‘Jino’ Burrows had two points with two rebounds, Godfrey Rolle also had two points with three assists and both Aaron Levarity and Emmanuel Newsome didn’t score. Coach Johnson noted that he was very pleased with the performances of the team, noting that Bridgewater “has a lot of heart for a lil guy, but he goes out there and gives you 100 percent every time.

It was an exceptional outing for him.”

And as for Jones, who came through with some big performances in the paint, coach Johnson said “Kai (Jones) was just Kai. He did his stuff. He got in foul trouble, but he came back and did what he had to do.

“He secured the boards and played great defence. He changed a lot of shots. That’s all we could ask of him.”

After opening a 30-15 first quarter lead, the Bahamas extended their margin to 47-33 at the half.

Coming out of the lockerroom, the Bahamas stayed ahead 72-67 and although they were out-scored 20-17 in the fourth, they held on for the win.

Tjader Fernandez led Puerto Rico with 17 points, six assists and five rebounds. Davon Reed helped out with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists in a losing effort.

Puerto Rico outrebounded the Bahamas 37-34 and held a slim 13-12 advantage in turnovers. The Bahamas, with a 4-12 edge in block shots, played much better offensively, shooting 33-for-62 from the field and 14-for-32 from behind the three-point arc.

The two teams will complete their home-andaway series on Sunday at 8:10pm at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

“We are asking the fans to come out. Game two will be no different. We will turn up the intensity because we will be at home,” coach Johnson said.

“Game one is behind us, so we’re coming now to get another W (won).”

Playing out of Group D, the Bahamas will be back in action for the second round against Cuba and the United States of America.

In between time, the Bahamas men will also play in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Valencia, Spain, July 2-7.

Hartley presented the red and blue boat called The Independence with the No.50 placed on it to the young sailors of the Bahamas to learn to sail in to become the next Olympic champions of the Bahamas. Clay Sweeting, the Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs, in declaring the championships open, said after a two-year hiatus and with sailing now being named the national sport of the Bahamas, it was only fitting that they bring back the championships. “I’m honoured to be a part of this event, not only to showcase the incredible talent of our young people, but this youth regatta also underscores the importance of unity,

the importance of teamwork and the rich maritime legacy that defines our nation.”

Also in attendance at the opening was Governor General Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt.

Charlotte Albury, daughter of Sir Durward Knowles, said her mother, Lady Holly, and the rest of their family, are appreciative of the government for keeping Sir Durward Knowles’ name and his legacy alive. She noted that he put the Bahamas on the map in sailing in Melbourne, Australia in 1956 at the Summer Olympics with Sloane Farrington as crew and then bringing the gold home in 1964 in Tokyo, Japan with Cecil Cooke

as crew. But she said that in 1988, her father was the oldest sailor at the age of 71.

On his 100th birthday, he was the oldest Olympian alive.

And February 24 would make six years since he died, so the timing of the regatta was on the right weekend.

“We know he’s looking down with a big smile and saying ‘they still remember me.”

As for the competition, Emit said he’s doing this one for the late Sir Durward Knowles.

“Everyone is sailing very fast, so I had to push a little harder,” said Emit, who noted that he was pleased to be ahead of his older brother. “I know it’s going

to be stiff competition the rest of the way, so I just have to be ready.”

In response, 16-year-old Joss Knowles said the competition was good but, at the same time, it was very tricky with the wind going up and down.

“It just motivates everyone to come back and have a better day.”

Said Joss of his brother Emit: “He had a lot of speed with his crew, so they are always going to be a treat, no matter how far I am in front or behind them.”

Day two of the racing in Montagu will continue at 9am and the championships will wrap up on Saturday with the crowning of the champions in all classes.

If they are successful, the team will advance to the Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 26 to August 11.

The Bahamas advanced to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament after winning the Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament last year in Argentina.

While they won’t have Chavano “Buddy” Hield (Philadelphia’s 76ers), Deandre Ayton (Portland Trail Blazers), Eric Gordon (Phoenix Suns) and head coach Chris DeMarco (Golden State Warriors) for these two games this week because of their commitments to their teams in the NBA, they are all scheduled to play in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

BONNIE Basden sits in front of the Sunland Baptist Stingers’ players and coaching staff.

CHAMPIONS IN 2024: the CI Gibson Rattlers dethroned the defending champions Sunland Baptist Academy Stingers 75-71 last night to take home the 40th Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic championship title at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium. Photos: Tenajh Sweeting/Tribune Staff

‘Get Your Rear in Gear’ fun run/walk back for year three March 16

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

MARCH - Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month - is right around the corner and so is the third edition of the ‘Get Your Rear in Gear’ 5k Fun/Run Walk event set for March 16 at Goodman’s Bay Park.

The event will carry out the vision and legacy of the late Andrea Darville who passed away after a battle with the disease in 2022. The proceeds from the awareness event will be donated to the Andrea Darville’s Blue Hope Grant fund which assists persons who are in an ongoing battle with colon or rectal cancer.

Emily Darville, local event director for GYRIG, feels it is her duty to continue to help others for a worthy cause that was not only near and dear to her late sister but also to her.

“For me this is my life’s work right now because this is the last project that Andrea was working on and I know how much it meant to her and she was literally pouring her everything into getting GYRIG Bahamas to happen.

“She had done all the registration processes and got the Colon Cancer Coalition registered as a non-profit organisation here so I didn’t want her work to go in vain. It is amazing how even though

she was battling and struggling with colon cancer, she thought not only about herself but other persons and wanted to find a way to assist other people who are battling the similar disease that she had,” Darville said.

GYRIG was initially started in 2022 and experienced an increase in participation and support last year with 130 participants. For the third edition, Darville is hoping to have up to 200 participants on board for March 16.

“The first year Andrea passed so I had literally just a few weeks to organise, catch my bearings and get the race going. Our first year we really didn’t have the numbers that we wanted with a little under

100 persons participating.

Last year, I saw there was growth so it is promising.

“We had about 130 persons and this year we’re off to a good start. It is always a bit slower earlier in the registration process but during the final week everyone starts to register up until the morning of the race.

“I am hopeful and would like to see 200 participants,” the event organiser said.

The cost for registration is $25 for adults and $12 for children 17 and under. As previously mentioned, proceeds will go to the Andrea Darville Blue Hope Grant at the Cancer Society which has gotten up to $30,000 in donations over the years to assist those affected by colon cancer.

Darville gave more insight on lending a helping hand to members of the community.

“You can apply for a $1,000 grant which assists persons who are battling with colon or rectal cancer with treatment or retesting which is very expensive. I am just so proud of this initiative because everyday I get to help someone it makes me feel great that I am continuing the work that Andrea did and it is keeping her name and legacy alive,” she said.

In efforts to raise more awareness about colon cancer in The Bahamas, gastroenterologist Dr Eugene Marcus Cooper will be in attendance at GYRIG to provide more information on the disease, informational pamphlets

will be distributed and stations will be set up to assist in this regard. “We have to get the conversation started. Let’s start talking about it more so people can pay more attention and not just brush things off when they experience changes in their body. Dr Marcus Cooper is partnering with me and he feels like if we can talk more about it, we can kind of break that stigma and people would be a bit more comfortable to share what is going on with them and know where to go to seek the help that they need,” she said. The 5k fun run/walk starts at 6:30am. Persons interested in registering can complete the process via https://donate. coloncancercoalition.org/ bahamas

BAHAMAS JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION TO HOST ITS 4TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS MARCH 11-14

THE Bahamas Junior Golf Association is slated to host its fourth annual Junior National Golf Championships at the Bahamas Golf Federation’s Driving Range March 11-14.

According to association president Gina GonzalezRolle, before the Ministry of Education approved golf as a part of the school curriculum, said she was told that never in her lifetime would she ever see golf in the school curriculum.

“Four years later we can happily say not only has golf been a part of the school curriculum for four years, but that scholarships have been granted to our junior golfers and Bahamian students who thought they were not able to play sports, are now top athletes in junior golf,” she said. “Our kids realise that they don’t have to only swim, do track and field, or play basketball to be an athlete, but they can play golf and get a scholarship and if that’s not enough, The University of The Bahamas has a competing golf team in which we are so proud of, as a lot of their students came through our junior programme.

“We have started our training with tiny fouryear-olds, who could hardly hold a golf club, but they start and just like other sports they may be slower to begin because of their age and strength but because the race is to those that endure to the end, we know that we will have great Bahamian golfers once they continue to work and be trained.”

The week of March 11, said Gonzalez-Rolle, will go down in history as the 4th annual inter school golf championships will be staged with students from

schools across the country, including Exuma, Grand Bahama and New Providence. “When I spoke with Minister (of Education) Glenys Hanna-Martin two years ago, her vision and love for Bahamian children blew my mind. I knew that she would grow sports through education,” Gonzalez-Rolle said.

“When I spoke to Minister (Youth, Sports and Culture) Mario Bowleg, his vision was to grow sports and continue to make the Bahamas proud and I feel like golf has done just that.”

She noted that they have been able to develop their Bahamian junior Richard Gibson, who is placed 323 in the world and Nolan Johnson, Heath Cliff Khan and president Lynford Miller. “These are all the best amateur golf players in the world and three of them have come through the Bahamas Golf Federation’s junior programme,” Gonzalez-Rolle said.

“I think that absolutely speaks volumes for a sport that’s been hardly recognised or supported. I am proud to say that The Bahamas Golf Federation,

with the support of Fourteen Clubs, has worked tirelessly to ensure that golf will be recognised as the sport of choice in this country, and I believe that our dream will be a reality in my lifetime.”

This year’s tournament is being sponsored by Doctors Hospital, RF Bank and Trust, Lightbourn Trading, Sand Dollar Imports, Brice Newbold Foundation, Aquapure, Capital Union Bank, Bahamas Waste and the Baha Mar Foundation, who have supported the association since the beginning.

FIRST-EVER JUNIOR GOLF TEAM FORMED IN MARATHON

On Saturday, February 11, Lisa Rahming, Member of Parliament for the Marathon constituency, demonstrated her commitment to youth development by facilitating an impressive induction to golf for a group of individuals from the Marathon constituency.

This initiative was made possible through the sponsorship of Craig Flowers, a prominent business leader, and coach Ian Coerbell from 242 Golf Academy.

Under the guidance of MP Rahming, young girls and boys from the Marathon constituency were afforded the unique opportunity to form the first-ever Marathon Constituency Junior Golf Team.

Rahming was excited to witness the enthusiasm and

‘BUDDY’ HIELD SCORES 14 FOR 76ERS IN LOSS TO KNICKS

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP)

— Jalen Brunson had 21 points and 12 assists with Spike Lee cheering from courtside, and the New York Knicks spoiled Kyle Lowry’s Philadelphia debut with a 110-96 win over the 76ers last night.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points, Josh Hart had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Precious Achiuwa added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks.

All-Star Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 35 points. Maxey made 11 of 24 shots but had little other offensive help, a common theme for the Sixers in MVP Joel Embiid’s absence.

Chavano “Buddy” Hield contributed 14 points, six assists, two rebounds, a steal and a block.

Lowry could add some punch off the bench. He won a championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 while playing for Nick Nurse, who is in his first season coaching the 76ers.

A six-time All-Star, Lowry received a standing ovation late in the first quarter when he checked in for the first time since he signed last week. The public address announcer noted the moment, saying, “making his Sixers debut, from North Philly, No. 7 Kyle Lowry!” Lowry, who played in college at Villanova, went up-and-under on the Knicks and scored his first bucket about 40 seconds later. Lowry’s homecoming was short-lived — he took an inadvertent elbow to the face on a driving layup from Knicks forward Jericho Sims. Lowry buried his face in a towel and went straight to the locker room.

He received stitches and returned with an adhesive bandage on his forehead in the third quarter.

By then, the Knicks led 71-56 behind their own former Villanova stars — Brunson, Hart and Donte DiVincenzo. The trio of national champions had a bulk of the crowd cheering for them, because of their local ties and with plenty of Knicks fans in the house.

passion displayed by all the children during the induction, and she is eager to continue supporting their growth and development in the sport of golf. This initiative aligns with Rahming’s vision to provide diverse opportunities for the youth of the Marathon constituency, thereby promoting holistic development and fostering a culture of excellence.

By introducing the young constituents to the sport of golf, Rahming aims to enhance their reach and knowledge, while also instilling important values such as discipline, perseverance and teamwork. As the Marathon Constituency Junior Golf Team begins its journey, Rahming looks forward to witnessing the positive impact of this

HOBE SOUND, Fla. (AP) — The PGA Tour will have to wait for the 15-yearold son of Tiger Woods. In a pre-qualifier for the Cognizant Classic yesterday, Charlie Woods took a 12 on one hole and shot 86.

The teenager didn’t make a birdie at Lost Lake Golf Club and tied for 110th among the 112 players who turned in their cards.

The top five and ties from each of four prequalifier sites advance to the Monday qualifier, from which four players earn a spot in the Cognizant Classic at PGA National.

Charlie Woods has played the 36-hole PNC Championship with his father the last four years in a scramble format.

He ran into trouble early with a pair of bogeys and a double bogey on the par-5 fifth hole. But it was on the seventh, with water down the right side and water behind the green, where the teen’s hopes ended for good. He made a 12. Woods made the turn in 47 and had two bogeys and a double bogey on the back for an 86. The leading score was a 65, and it took a 67 to advance.

MP Lisa Rahming with some of the aspiring young golfers in the Marathon constituency.

GOLFERS and stakeholders at a press conference ahead of the Jr Golf National Championships at the Bahamas Golf Federation’s

Gov’t targets $50m yearly via delinquent property tax sales

auction on April 2, 2024.

Among the properties listed for sale is a hotel on the south-west corner of Shirley Street and Village Road.

The commercial properties advertised for sale are in New Providence, Abaco, the Berry Islands, Eleuthera, Exuma and Long Island. Vacant land holdings are located in New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Bimini, Long Island, Eleuthera and Exuma. Given that Bahamian-owned real estate does not attract real property tax in the Family Islands, all those non-New

Providence listings are likely owned by foreigners. The Real Property Tax Act reforms passed to accompany the 2022-2023 Budget sought to “expand the exercise of the power of sale for tax arrears to all property except owner-occupied property beneficially owned by Bahamians”. This made clear that the tax authorities cannot seize, and sell, Bahamianowned residential property that the owners are living in. This was likely done to ensure Bahamians are secure in their own homes, and also possibly with one eye on votes. Yet with the real property tax exemption

threshold now increased from $250,000 to $300,000, many middle income Bahamians - as well as those earning lower incomes - are paying no tax at all and not affected by the latest move.

Delinquent commercial, residential, foreign-owned land and foreign-owned owner-occupied properties are subject to the ‘power of sale’. “Residential” applies to duplex and triplex-type complexes that are rented out by their owner landlords who do not live on property.

Mr Wilson yesterday maintained that the Davis administration is not on a “runaway train in expenditure”, and said two large

revenue flows - real property tax and Business Licence renewals and fees - will come in between

February and April to help reduce the fiscal deficit. He said of the midyear Budget: “Recurrent expenditure grew by $8m, capital expenditure grew by $70m, the GFS deficit went down by $90m. So the numbers tell the story there has not been a runaway train in expenditure.

“If you look at the flows in expenditure and revenue, expenses pretty flat-line. We pay salaries every month, basically the same amount every month. Revenue is very, very cyclical.

“Business Licence revenue is due March 31. We get the bulk of our Business Licence revenue between the second half of February and the end of March. We get the bulk of our property tax revenue between the second half of February and the end of April. So those are two big flows which are going to contribute to the reduction of the deficit.”

Mr Wilson said the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 1.8 percent economic growth forecast for 2024 will be adjusted due to the “positive” tourism numbers that he expects to continue throughout the year. He added: “The IMF has a growth projection or

GB airport demolition start ‘within 30 days’

Business Outlook conference in March 2023, did not linger too long on the subject in yesterday’s presentation while asserting that the Government was “still hopeful for completion in 2025” despite the year’s delay.

“The cornerstone of any thriving economy is its connectivity to the world, and the heart of this connectivity lies in our airports,” the deputy prime minister told attendees. “Last year, you heard me say you were getting your airport, and you are indeed getting your airport.

“Despite the prophets of doom amongst you, the winning bidder is progressing steadily. Suffice to say it a complicated consortium and there are a lot of lawyers involved.” It is unclear whether the make-up of the winning consortium has changed, or its source of financing, which was originally set to come from the UK government’s export financier and provider of trade credits and guarantees.

Tony Myers, Bahamas Hot Mix’s (BHM) chairman, the company itself and CFAL president, Anthony Ferguson, were

all members of the Bahamian investor group last year named as spearheading what was then billed as a complete overhaul of Grand Bahama International Airport. They were joined in Aerodrome Ltd by two fellow Bahamians - Anthony Farrington, an engineer; and Greg Stuart, a businessman.

BHM’s involvement in the project was through its UK-based international arm, BHM Construction International. The group teamed with Manchester Airport Group as its operating partner, with financing for the project to be provided by UK Export Finance, the British government body.

While Manchester Airport Group remains, several sources have suggested that UK Export Finance may no longer be involved, although that has not been confirmed. And, given that Mr Cooper is sticking to a 2025 completion timeline, it is also possible the redevelopment may have been scaled back from the original $200m overhaul that included international cargo, warehouse and logistics ambitions.

Mr Cooper said the airport project has been given the go-ahead, although no

details beyond the immediate term were provided. “The Grand Bahama International Airport will undergo a transformative construction phase that promises to redefine our island’s access to global opportunities,” he added.

“I can tell you definitively that the partnership with Manchester Airport Group, renowned for their expertise and innovation in airport management, is a testament to the ambitious scope of this project. We have executed an agreement with them.

“Their mandate to update the business plan and complete conceptual designs within the next 45 days has set the stage for a facility that will not only meet international standards but exceed them. As you can see, the mockup designs showcase the future of air travel in Grand Bahama. These designs are not just blueprints; they are a vision of efficiency, beauty and innovation, in line with the feel and culture of Grand Bahama,” Mr Cooper continued.

“Furthermore, the involvement of a local Grand Bahama construction company for the demolition phase, commencing within the next 30

days, underscores our dedication to empowering local businesses and integrating them into the fabric of our developmental narrative. We anticipate that when the vertical construction begins, it will move quickly. We are still hopeful for completion in 2025.”

Ensuring Grand Bahama has an airport with the capacity and capabilities to handle ever-growing volumes of visitors, as well as locals, is critical to the success of projects such as those either initiated or contemplated by the likes of Carnival, Royal Caribbean’s consortium, the Grand Bahama Shipyard and Weller Development’s Six Senses resort.

“In the recently executed pre-clearance agreement with the US, we have left the flexibility to add the return of Freeport pre-clearance, which will enhance the economy and create a much greater ease of travel for Grand Bahamians,” Mr Cooper added yesterday.

“We are also planning for the introduction of a digital Immigration card in The Bahamas, following the Immigration Amendment Act, a forward-thinking initiative that promises to enhance the efficiency of

the immigration process, improve national security, boost tourism and align The Bahamas with global digital trends.

“This represents a significant step in modernising the country’s Immigration system, offering benefits to travellers, residents and the Bahamian government alike.” Mr Cooper also provided few details on the Government’s search for a buyer for the Grand Lucayan resort.

“We also continue to work on the upgrade and the sale of the Grand Lucayan resort,” he said. “Interest in this iconic property remains very strong and we are making strides, but we’re doing it carefully and deliberately, so as to avoid any unforeseen issues.

“Meantime, the anticipated occupancy rates for 2024 are surpassing those of 2023, and room revenue is up 35 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, reflecting the growing confidence in Grand Bahama’s tourism sector.”

Turning to Grand Bahama’s tourism performance as a whole, Mr Cooper described the island as the fastest growing in The Bahamas for air arrivals and the third-fastest for total visitor numbers - albeit both measures are coming off a very low base.

Noting that Grand Bahama received 559,812 visitors in 2023, he added: “This does not include guests who arrive via Nassau and travel onward to Freeport. This figure is not just a number; it represents a robust 44 percent increase over the previous year, 2022, and a significant 7 percent increase over the pre-pandemic year of 2019....

“Grand Bahama is, in fact, the fastest growing

estimate and, obviously, when you look at the actual figures on the ground, you will see that the number will be adjusted. Tourism has been following very, very well. January numbers have been very, very positive. We expect them to continue on to the first half of the year, and tourism is the main driver of the economy.

“So, when the IMF does their modelling, it’s a global model with all kinds of different factors and so forth.

But you have to look at what the actual numbers are on the ground, what the performance is and the latest information will tell you that performance has been very strong.”

destination in the Bahamas by air arrival and the third fastest growing island overall. The cruise sector has also seen phenomenal growth, with 467,215 cruise visitors making Grand Bahama their first port of entry.

“This represents a 48 percent increase over 2022, and 12 percent above 2019 pre-pandemic levels, highlighting the island’s capacity to host and entertain large volumes of tourists with its unique blend of natural beauty and cultural richness,” Mr Cooper continued.

“Turning our attention to aviation and airlift, the opening of the newly renovated domestic terminal on January 2nd, 2023, marked the beginning of a year of significant progress. Throughout 2023, Grand Bahama experienced a 32 percent year-over-year increase in air arrivals and 1 percent ahead of pre-pandemic levels.

“With enhanced services from key markets such as Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Montreal, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham, Toronto and even Milan, Italy, this expansion in services represents a 4 percent increase in seat capacity over 2019 and a remarkable 68 percent increase over 2022,” he added.

“Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2024, we are already witnessing continued growth with American Airlines increasing its frequency into Freeport from Miami, and Western Air scheduled to launch their inaugural Freeport to Fort Lauderdale service in midMarch. This momentum is expected to push our seat capacity for the first three months of 2024 to exceed the levels of 2023 by 7 percent.”

FREEPORT ‘COULD ATTRACT $100BN IF THE

island; a partnership characterised by broad representation, integration and above all deep collaboration.”

Mr Hayward identified the others as an upgraded, competitive regulatory regime and a commitment by the GBPA’s owners, directors and management to operate the quasi-governmental authority as a “bona fide world-class institution” that is not solely run for the benefit of its shareholders but attracts

“blue chip foreign investment” to make the city an “elite player” locally and internationally.

“The rules governing Freeport are 70 years old, and the rules have been significantly diluted since the signing of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement in 1955, precisely when they desperately needed to be strengthened and updated to cope with economic shocks, stronger storms and a more competitive global environment,” he said.

“It is past time for a comprehensive overhaul

–one that allows the city managers to perform their caretaker role more effectively, with supercharged bylaws that facilitate worldclass city development. One that takes into account the realities of 21st century commerce and grants the Port Authority the tools necessary to be able to offer investors and local businesses a seamless route to profitability.

“One that prioritises flexibility, dynamism and ease of doing business, removing red tape, bureaucracy and a two-speed licensing and

approval process between Freeport and Nassau that has plagued Freeport for too long.”

Noting that Freeport now faces major competition from rival free trade zones, Mr Hayward added: “When the Hawksbill Creek Agreement was signed in 1955, Freeport was one of only two free trade zones around the world. Today, 70 percent of countries around the world have a free trade zone – most with a considerably more competitive regulatory regime and ease of doing business than ours.

“We live in a highly competitive international environment, and despite our proximity to the US and our infrastructure it is still not easy to attract the quantity and quality of foreign investment needed for Freeport to reach its full potential.”

Mr Hayward said it frequently takes “a Herculean effort” to get investment projects approved and moving, adding that the GBPA and government “run against the clock” for fear a major storm or

negative economic impact could deter investment.

“Crucially, the new regulatory regime must resolve uncertainties concerning current and future tax obligations, a grey area that causes a great deal of anxiety among prospective investors and our current business owners and residents,” he said. “I know this because I hear it all from you on a daily basis. As the old adage goes: ‘Nothing kills investment like uncertainty’.”

GB Shipyard targets tripling revenue to $250m by 2029

FROM PAGE A20

Yard,” Ms Turnquest said, “but let me be clear. It’s not a donation. It’s an investment we are committed to repaying through hard work, innovation and strategic vision.

“We project that our $80m turnover today will grow to $250m within the next five years. This growth is not wishful thinking. It is grounded in the reality of an expanding cruise ship industry demand and the increased demand for LNG (liquefied natural gas) tanker dockings and repairs.

“More so, our reputation as being the most efficient ship yard in the Caribbean and on the US eastern seaboard positions us as a prime destination for ship repair and maintenance. The market is not only stable but it is thriving. In 2024, we find ourselves with a mere 90 days of repairs to sell,” she continued, “a testament to the incredible demand for our services.

“Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, our dock is already booked solid with firm reservations stretching out to 2029.” And while the previous annual record for cruise ships serviced was 21, Ms Turnquest said that “I can tell you by 2026 we currently have more than 21 named cruise ships scheduled for the docks that have not even arrived yet. I think we are world class even as we wait.

The Grand Bahama Shipyard’s shareholders are the world’s two largest cruise lines, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, each with 40 percent equity ownership, while the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) Port Group Ltd affiliate owns the remaining 20 percent.

Ms Turnquest said the survival of a one-dock operation was extremely rare, which is what Grand Bahama Shipyard has been relegated to for the past four years after it lost two of its three docking facilities to a combination of Hurricane Dorian and an

industrial accident on April 1 in that same year of 2019.

The loss of its then-biggest dock cut the Shipyard’s revenues by 50 percent, she said, adding: “Imagine this. In 2019, when we lost two-thirds of our assets and ended the year with a one-dock operation just like that. Generally, a onedock operation doesn’t survive, and that’s where we are today with one dock operational.”

The COVID-19 pandemic became “the third strike against us in less than a year”, Ms Turnquest added. She said: “If I’m truly honest, going through this adversity challenged us as a company and caused us to come out of our proverbial comfort zone and required us to focus on getting the recipe for ship repair right.

“There was no more fudge, nowhere to hide and failure was not an option for Grand Bahama Shipyard and, by extension, Grand Bahama... With the loss of dock two (the then-largest dock), the

Caribbean and east coast US were left without a dock for routine and emergency repairs for the majority of the cruise ship fleet. There are no docks in the region capable of taking the new, larger cruise ships.”

Explaining why Grand Bahama Shipyard’s shareholders hung in there, Ms Turnquest said: “They recognise the market going forward for the business is strong, and investing in new docks was desirable from both a business point of view and as a strategic investment to support the cruise industry.”

Now, with the two new docks under construction, the Shipyard’s chief financial officer hailed them as “heralding a new era of growth and prosperity for Grand Bahama Shipyard” while describing them as “state-of-the-art facilities”.

The first, smaller dock, named 2XL, will have the capacity to lift ships weighing up to 93,500 tonnes and accommodate those up to 357.39 metres long. Grand Bahama Shipyard’s

previous largest dock could only lift 82,000 tonnes, and Ms Turnquest said: “This dock will be able to dock 90 percent of the existing cruise ship fleet in the world.

“Let me put a little nugget in there. I’m saying this smaller dock. This will be the biggest dock in this hemisphere. It will arrive in Freeport in the fourth quarter of 2025, and we will dock the first ship in it on January 1, 2026.”

However, it will only be the largest until the “mega dock” arrives. That will have the ability to lift 130,000 tonnes and accommodate ships up to 413.96 metres long. Set to arrive in Freeport in the 2026 third quarter, and be in service before year-end 2026, Ms Turnquest said: “We will break our own record of having the biggest floating dock in the hemisphere where we will then have the biggest floating dock in the entire world.

“Another nugget here. With the mega dock we will be able to dock 100

FOCOL eyes 25% profit surge plus acquisitions

FROM PAGE A20

project we have in Grand Bahama.

“Right now I’m in another Caribbean country closing on a new acquisition. I literally just left the lawyer’s office. We’re closing on a transaction here.”

Disclosing that FOCOL Holdings is also involved in a vessel purchase, he added: “That’s just three transactions that we’re working on. “We’re a couple of days shy of being able to announce the details, but it’s another expansion of our business here. We’re a day or two away from closing. That’s just an example of the wide range of opportunities we are embracing at the moment. The proceeds of the rights offering are to support these acquisitions, and the capital to budget for various strategic initiatives we have.”

Mr Adderley declined to comment on market suggestions that FOCOL Holdings is also mulling a $40m preference share issue, which is a form of debt, saying he wanted to focus on a rights offering which “we are very confident will be oversubscribed. We are very confident n the rights offering at the moment”.

The renewable energy deal Mr Adderley referred to involves FOCOL subsidiary, Bahamas Solar and Renewables, and a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with GB Power that will see the latter buy electricity at an average rate of nine cents per kilowatt hour (kWH) from the former’s 5 Mega Watt (MW) solar facility.

FOCOL is also likely to be interested in the Government’s recently launched bidding processes for the supply of up to 100 Mega Watts (MW) of solar energy in both New Providence and across the Family Islands. And it is also thought to have sought an opportunity to supply Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) with liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its New Providence Clifton Pier plant.

The rights issue, which involves a total five million new shares potentially being issued at $5 each, and could take outstanding stock to 105.2m if fully subscribed, will close on March 22. The offering prospectus, though, which has been obtained by Tribune Business, gives few specifics on how existing shareholder

monies will be used if they participate or why the equity capital is being made now.

“Management is cognisant of climate change initiatives focused on reducing worldwide carbon emissions,” the prospectus said. “Locally, the Government of The Bahamas implemented mandates to increase the usage of renewable sources of energy to 30 per cent by year 2030. The company continues to expand into the renewable energy sector by integrating it into our current business model.

“We are encouraged by the record level of visitor arrivals during 2023. We are also encouraged by the announcement of several major resort development projects throughout The Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands which are

expected to further stimulate construction sector growth. Continued growth in the tourism and construction sectors will enhance the company’s future profitability.”

FOCOL Holdings is forecasting that profits will grow by more than $8m over the next three years, increasing from last year’s $32.621m to $40.833m by 2026. Profit for the current 2024 year is forecast at $34.026m, and for 2025 at $37.226m.

“Net income for the year ended September 30, 2023, was $32.6m compared to $21.4m in the prior year,

representing an increase of $11.2m or 52 percent,” the company said. “FOCOL’s 2023 performance represents a return to the company’s pre-pandemic level of earnings combined with early signs of growth across various business segments. “The combination of a rebound in the local economy and early results from new investments initiatives contributed to the steady upward trend in the company’s overall performance... Investments in fixed assets were made to strengthen

percent of the current and planned cruise ship fleet.” She added that the docks will “cement our status” as a leader in the global ship repair industry, as each will come with four Liebharr cranes. The “footprint” for the new docks is already being dredged, and the $600m project will also see the installation of new mooring pilings to protect them against Category Five strength hurricanes as well as the extension of the Shipyard’s existing finger pier to 722 feet. Power, water and piping upgrades are also required.

Describing the Shipyard as “a beacon of excellence in the maritime industry”, Ms Turnquest said that prior to 2019 it had become “the biggest cruise ship repair facility in the world”. She added that, in 2016, of the 65 cruise ship repair referrals that year, the Shipyard captured 21 or almost one-third of them while its nearest competitor gained just five.

the company’s infrastructure in the wholesale and retail business segments. Additional investments were made in power generation assets during the year.” Shareholders who do not take up their rights, or exercise their full allocation, will find their holdings in FOCOL diluted. The prospectus shows Sir Franklyn Wilson, the company’s chairman, as holding around 36-37 percent of its issued and ordinary shares. Total shares held by Board members and executives are equal to 49.643m, not far off half the outstanding and issued stock.

the timeline for completing the initial two vessel berths, but was reassured by cruise line executives present that it really was 2025 and not 2026.

A senior Carnival executive later confirmed that Celebration Key will start operations in July 2025. The first $500m phase, featuring two cruise berths, is forecast to create 700 full-time jobs including 300 Bahamians to be hired directly by the cruise line.

“It has on my paper by 2025; that’s prophetic, but I believe it should say 2026. 2025? Good,” the deputy prime minister said. “In addition to the first two berths slated to be completed by 2025, the expansion will add two more berths and be completed in 2026.

“I like to keep the pressure on and as, when the investor says they will be done by 2027, why not 2026? I’m delighted the first two berths will be completed in 2025, with the next two completed in 2026. The expanded cruise pier will accommodate up to four Excel-class ships simultaneously. The $100m additional investment means more jobs, more opportunity and more money in the economy of Grand Bahama.

“As a result of these investments, we expect that visitor arrivals in Grand Bahama will exceed 1.4m by the end of 2025, and 2.3m by the end of 2026, and 3.3m by the end of 2027. Ultimately, Carnival projects Celebration Key will be a $600m project that will welcome nearly four million guests annually to Grand Bahama by 2028,” Mr Cooper continued.

“I want to point out that this is the largest Carnival project anywhere in the world. I want to point out, Grand Bahama, you are set to have the world’s largest cruise line’s largest project on planet Earth and, over the next two decades, the project will drive substantial growth in Bahamian

employment, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and government revenue.” Drawing on the findings of an economic impact assessment study by Tourism Economics, the consultancy frequently hired to produce such reviews for Bahamasbased tourism projects, Mr Cooper said Celebration Key - over two decadesis forecast to create 2,500 direct Bahamian jobs, boost the country’s GDP by $9.7bn and generate $3.2bn in extra government revenues.

It was not clear when those “two decades” begin, or which years will be covered, but dividing the GDP and government revenue figures by 20 gives an annual impact of $485m and $160m, respectively. Describing this as “big news” for Grand Bahama’s economy, Mr Cooper said Celebration Key was not the only cruise-led project being counted on to stimulate the island’s revival.

“In a remarkable partnership of Royal Caribbean, ITM Group and MSC, we will soon see formally announced plans to develop an $80m cruise port and water park at Freeport Harbour. This is only the first phase of this development. These entities have come together, and this project will be presented to you and completed by the end of 2026.

“Big things are happening in Grand Bahama by 2026. The development has

the capacity for 20,000 passengers a day and a total of 1.5m visitors a year by the end of 2027.” Several sources have suggested that the scale of cruise line investments, by both Carnival and the Royal Caribbean/MSC group, indicates that the lines could ultimately be looking at home porting on the island - albeit several years out.

Both projects have been in the works for some time. Carnival’s development, originally conceived under the last Christie administration some eight to nine years ago, was initially targeting a site in east Grand Bahama before it was encouraged to look in the Port area.

And Royal Caribbean’s plans for Freeport Harbour first emerged under the Minnis administration prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, although they were then tied to the ultimately failed Grand Lucayan purchase. MSC subsequently joined the group, and a deal with Freeport Harbour Company - owned jointly by Hutchison Whampoa and a Grand Bahama Port Authority affiliate - has been awaited for years.

It is unclear when the Freeport Harbour project will be agreed and proceed, given that the go-ahead was expected last year but did not happen. Mr Cooper, eager to “put this in context”, said of the cruise line investments: “Earlier today I said Grand Bahama saw visitor arrivals in 2023 of roughly $600,000.”

Noting that Nassau Cruise Point welcomed a “record” 4.5m passengers to the Bahamian capital in 2023, the deputy prime minister added: “Given the indication from the Royal Caribbean, ITM and MSC project of 1.5m visitors, and given the potential four million visitors expected from Carnival’s Grand Bahama operations, we - in 2027, in a full year of operations with both facilities completed, will welcome to the

island of Grand Bahama some 5.5m visitors.

“So, keep this in perspective, that is one million more than the Nassau Cruise Port welcomed in 2023. This is simply phenomenal, ladies and gentlemen. We have two significant international entities who are putting hundreds of millions of dollars on the ground in Grand Bahama,” the deputy prime minister added.

“They have indicated that to support their investments in Grand Bahama they must bring to the island of Grand Bahama 5.5m visitors. This is simply phenomenal, ladies and gentlemen.” Juan Fernandez, Carnival’s vice-president of destination operations, later told the same conference that Celebration Key will accommodate 18 ships sailing from 11 different home ports - including Barcelona in Spain.

With the other ports ranging from Galveston in Texas to Baltimore on the US east coast, and all points in between, he echoed Mr Cooper’s forecast that the Grand Bahama destination will host an “amazing” four million passengers annually in 2028.

Reaffirming that the development is for real, with construction work already started, Mr Fernandez added that 36 piles that will form the foundation for the cruise ship docking pier have already arrived in Grand Bahama and are being driven into the ocean sea bed currently. “We’re working around the clock,” he promised. Pre-cast concrete slabs and other construction materials are being manufactured in Nassau and shipped to Grand Bahama. ‘We’ve elevated the land 12-15 feet to protect it from storm surges,” Mr Fernandez said. “That’s already completed and the land has settled.

“The lagoons are already dug out, and we have started laying out the electrical and plumbing on the site, and have already started building the

foundations for restrooms and back of house. Onsite today we have 184 Bahamian workers. They are on the construction side. Ninety-six percent of landside employees are Bahamian.

“We currently right now have 29 different Bahamian contractors, construction companies that are working on the site. I will say that more than 90 percent of are from Grand Bahama, so that’s huge.” Mr Fernandez said Greython, the USbased construction manager for Celebration Key, will only perform 5 percent of the work itself “and 95 percent of the jobs on-site will be sub-contracted to Bahamians.”

Promising that there will be “many more to come” when it comes to local contractors, Mr Fernandez said Carnival will seek to hire more Bahamian management executives for Celebration Key in the second and third quarter this year, with supervisors to follow in the fourth quarter. Operational hirings for posts in housekeeping, life guards, landscapers, guest services and maintenance will occur in early 2025.

Mr Fernandez said Carnival had already finished interviewing the majority of applicants seeking to operate Celebration Key’s large retail stores, sized at 1,200 square feet and upwards, with winners to be unveiled in March. Responses to the tender for standard stores, between 600 to 800 square feet, were “a good number” with that process due to close today and contracts to be awarded in April.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for persons seeking to occupy artisans’ booths, sized at 150 square feet, will be launched in fall 2024.

Large food and beverage winners are being decided now, while the 14 “standard” size food outlets - such as coffee shops and food trucks - “received more than 40 responses” and will be awarded in April.

“I’m extremely excited about this destination that’s going to come to life. The destinies of Carnival and The Bahamas are intertwined,” Mr Fernandez said, pointing out that the 50th anniversary of the company’s first cruise to this nation and the latter’s 50th independence anniversary celebrations took place one year apart.

“This project is the biggest project we have made anywhere in the world. It will be a very unique destination and intertwine our futures even more. For Carnival to be successful, Grand Bahama needs to be successful.”

During audience questions, Carnival executives said they are “definitely” considering how Bahamian visitors can have access to Celebration Key while warning that International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) regulations mean they cannot simply open it up to land-based visitors.

“As is fitting for our plans for Grand Bahama, our vision for Celebration Key is quite grand, and we’re already thinking about the next phase of expansion and development,” said Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president.

“Building the second pier now allows us to implement growth plans and build itineraries with certainty, and signals to the local community just how important this development is to Carnival Cruise Line and the future of the island.”

Freeport ‘could attract $100bn if the economic model is right’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A GRAND Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) director yesterday argued “Freeport needs $10bn, and could attract $100bn if we get the model right” amid a peace offering from the deputy prime minister.

Rupert Hayward, the late Sir Jack’s grandson, told the Grand Bahama Business Outlook conference there were “four pillars” in a model he believes can finally unlock the city’s true potential and eliminate the “false dawns” that have blighted efforts to revive its economy over the past two decades.

He nevertheless argued that, despite having a population that is 20 percent or one-fifth the size of Nassau’s, the city of Freeport remains a “huge net positive contributor” to the Public Treasury by pouring $200m annually into its coffers via taxes and fees.

“Compared to the widest conceivable estimation of government’s annual

HAYWARD

expenditure in Freeport, Freeport is already a huge net positive net contributor to The Bahamas economy and The Bahamas’ Treasury,” Mr Hayward said, adding that the sums sent to Nassau will increase significantly if some $2bn worth of “pipeline” investment projects come to fruition. The Government, though, has signalled its desire to launch arbitration proceedings against the GBPA and its shareholders, the Hayward and St George families, on the grounds

that Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority has not paid cumulative billsalleged to be around $150m - to cover Nassau’s costs in providing public infrastructure and services over and above its tax earnings from the city.

This is disputed by the GBPA, and Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, yesterday seemingly used the same conference to signal the Government’s desire to avoid a confrontation with the city’s governmental authority and 3,000 business licensees.

“I came here today to convey several messages,” Mr Cooper said. “First, I want it to be known that our administration is your friend. We care deeply about Grand Bahama and her people. The Government is not the adversary of Grand Bahama or anyone living or operating in it.

“The success of Grand Bahama is the success of The Bahamas. For too long, progress has been delayed

in Grand Bahama because of political polarisation, partisanship and territorial attitudes. Let me also say that, for the sake of Grand Bahama and her people, we must collaborate.

“Even where we have differences as stakeholders we must remember as leaders that we have a collective mission to get positive results for the people of Grand Bahama. We must work together. That is the only way we will succeed and move forward – together. We must listen to each other and respect each other. And we must understand that compromise is often the key to progress.”

That will have fitted nicely with Mr Hayward’s “four pillar” economic model, in which he described the “most important” as being a close, collaborative relationship between the GBPA and the Government. “The success of Freeport, the prosperity of Grand Bahama and the positive economic impact on the entire Bahamas could be multiplied many

times over if we could unlock the full potential of our second city,” he said. “But I’m convinced we cannot sit back passively and wait for the change we require to happen. The last 20 years have provided crucial lessons. They have exposed the fragilities of Freeport’s economic value proposition in light of the large storms and global economic shocks, and I think it would be remiss of us to simply expect the issues of the past to disappear on their own. “We have all seen false dawns before here in Grand Bahama. We have heard about big plans, grand visions that sadly haven’t materialized. There is understandable scepticism when I talk to people on the streets because we’ve heard it all before and the truth is that even at the best of times, the windfall from Freeport’s successes has failed to trickle down to the average Bahamian,” Mr Hayward continued.

“We all have to be realistic as to why this happened and learn from our failings

and commit to change, so that the last 20 years will never happen again. Now I believe the future success of Freeport and our ability to build a robust economic model and world class value proposition rests on four key pillars.”

Describing the cornerstone as a close relationship between the Government, and the GBPA and its licensees, Mr Hayward explained:

“Freeport was originally conceived as a groundbreaking public-private partnership – emphasis on the third P, our partnership – where government and GBPA worked hand-inglove, tapping into global financial markets to deliver considerable economic benefits to Grand Bahama and the country as a whole.

“We must return to this foundational idea, this time creating a true PPP between the Port Authority, its licensees, the Government of The Bahamas and every resident of every community on the

SEE PAGE A17

RUPERT

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

CARNIVAL’S extra $100m investment to double the volume of ships its new port can handle will lead a cruise-driven 5.5m visitor surge to Grand Bahama in 2028, it was revealed yesterday.

Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, told the Grand Bahama Business Outlook that Carnival’s Celebration Key expansion combined with the 1.5m visitors to its rivals’ $80m Freeport Harbour development will - in four years’ time - attract to the

island one million more passengers than visited Nassau during the latter’s 2023 record year.

Describing the imminent impact from Carnival’s now-$600m project, as well as the Royal Caribbean, Mediterranean Shipping Company and ITM Group consortium’s development, as “phenomenal”, he said both investments will fill a void in Grand Bahama’s product offering by providing destination experiences.

Carnival’s additional outlay will extend Celebration Key’s docking pier so that the port can double the number of Excel class vessels, the largest class it operates, it accommodates from two to four

on a daily basis. This will result in some 10,000 passengers visiting the cruise line’s “largest project in the world” almost every day.

“Today is another grand day for Grand Bahama,” Mr Cooper told the conference. “I am pleased to announce that Carnival has indicated its intentions for additional investment in Grand Bahama over and above the more than $500m already announced.

“Carnival plans to expand its footprint with additional investments of $100m. In addition to the two berths slated to be completed....” Mr Cooper then queried

SEE PAGE A18

Gov’t

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Grand Bahama Business Outlook that the company’s $600m investment in two new docks has left it “poised to revolutionise the landscape of ship repair” and exploit a market that is “not only stable but thriving”.

Disclosing that the Freeportbased ship repair yard has only “a mere 90 days of” repair dock space to sell in 2024, she added

that for “2025 and beyond our dock is already booked solid with firm reservations stretched out to 2029” by the cruise lines and other vessel types. And the Shipyard already has more cruise vessels booked for 2026 than the 21 it handled during its previous busiest year of 2018.

The first of the two new docks, which are being manufactured in China, is set to arrive at the Shipyard in the 2025 fourth quarter and receive its first vessel on New Year’s day 2026, Ms Turnquest told the conference.

And the second, larger “mega dock” facility that is capable of accommodating the Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, will be received in the 2026 third quarter and go into service before that year’s end as the Shipyard moves to reward its shareholders for their confidence in its future prospects.

“Our shareholders’ investment of $600m underscores their confidence in the future of our

GB airport demolition start ‘within 30 days’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE deputy prime minister yesterday pledged demolition work at Grand Bahama International Airport will begin “within the next 30 days” after the Government “executed an agreement” with the UK operator.

Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, told the Grand Bahama Business Outlook conference that Manchester Airport Group (MAG) has been charged with updating the business

plans and designs for a transformed airport which he promised will “exceed” international standards.

Shrugging off “the prophets of doom”, he appeared to blame attorneys and the complexity of the winning bidder’s consortium for the nearly year-long delay in making tangible, physical progress on what was initially touted as a $200m redevelopment that was set to start work in April/May last year.

Mr Cooper, who unveiled the airport deal at last year’s Grand Bahama

SEE PAGE A16

FOCOL eyes 25% profit

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FOCOL

Dexter

the right offering monies will support. “What I can say is that we have a wide range of opportunities that we are embracing at the moment,” he told this newspaper. “Certainly, renewables is one of them. We’re about to break ground in just a few months on the renewable

- are what

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Finance’s top official yesterday disclosed that the Government is aiming to raise between $25m-$50m annually from selling real estate owned by property tax delinquents.

Simon Wilson, the financial secretary, said the Department of Inland Revenue has included 122 delinquent commercial properties and vacant land in the first batch of real estate where it is seeking to exercise its “power of sale” to recover unpaid taxes.

Speaking at the Prime Minister’s Office’s weekly media briefing, Mr Wilson said the listings will be updated every two weeks. He explained that the Government is owned more than $700m in delinquent real property tax arrears that it is looking to recover, and is aiming to generate up to $50m annually from selling real estate owned by tax deadbeats.

“Our delinquency is around $700m,” Mr Wilson said. “We’re targeting between $25m to $50m a year from the sale of delinquent properties.

We have started the process of the power sale for property tax, delinquent property tax. We have 77 undeveloped properties for sale, we have 45 commercial properties for sale. Every two weeks we will be doing that.”

The Department of Inland Revenue is exercising its power of sale under section 25 (a) of the Real Property Tax in a bid to recover the sums outstanding. It is using the lien, or charge, it has over these properties to sell them via a public

SEE

JUAN