Chamber chief queries if DevCO sale to follow port and harbour exits
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Bahama’s Chamber of Commerce president has questioned whether Hutchison Whampoa’s imminent exit from its port and harbour assets will also spark the sale of its Bahamian real estate holdings.
Dillon Knowles, newlyappointed and giving his personal rather than the Chamber’s views, told Tribune Business that the Freeport Container Port and Freeport Harbour Company have always been the Hong Kong conglomerate’s “reason for being in Grand Bahama” rather than its investments in Grand Bahama Development Company (DevCO) and other land-related assets.
As a result, in the wake of last week’s announcement by CK Hutchison Holdings that it plans to sell all its international port operations, which almost inevitably include the Freeport Container Port and Freeport Harbour Company, he queried whether it
will now seek a buyer for its 50 percent equity interest in DevCO that includes Board and management control.
Speaking after it was revealed that a consortium featuring Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Hutchison’s long-standing partner in the Freeport Container Port, are the preferred buyers for the global port interests, Mr Knowles told this newspaper that he was neither “overly excited” nor “anxious” about the deal’s implications for Grand Bahama once it is concluded.
“The question for me, though, is if Hutchison exists the Port business, which is their reason for being in Grand Bahama, will they exit the land business they are also in?” the GB Chamber president asked. “DevCo and the Freeport Development Company, which has just under 1,000 acres of land between the Container Port and the airport - the Sea Air Business Centre.
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMIAN-OWNED airlines have been hit with demands for up to $1m-plus in retroactive fees that have caused some to question if they “can survive” in an increasingly hostile environment.
Sherrexcia ‘Rexy’ Rolle, Western Air’s president, chief executive and general counsel, in a written response to Tribune Business inquiries confirmed that the airline last Thursday received an invoice from the Bahamas Air Navigation Services Authority (BANSA) mandating that it pay an extra “$1.3m-plus” for the three-year period between May 2021 to end-July 2024.
Revealing that this represented a 118 percent increase, or more than doubling, of the $1.1m already paid by Western Air to BANSA during that same timeframe, she said: “Yes, we have received what appears to be a retroactive invoice from BANSA. It should be noted [that] Western Air has consistently paid every invoice issued by BANSA in full since the inception of its billing.
“Western Air has paid over $1.1m in fees to BANSA. In fact, BANSA’s
own records indicate that we have actually paid more than we were invoiced. However, on March 6, 2025, we received an invoice from BANSA for $2.4m-plus covering the period from May 2021 to July 2024 - charges that have never previously been billed or communicated to us.”
Paul Aranha, founder of TransIsland Airways, told this newspaper his company also received a BANSA invoice on the same day as Western Air demanding that it pay a total retroactive sum almost triple what the Authority has to-date billed it for the May 2021-July 2024 period.
Disclosing what Tribune Business calculated was a 198.5 percent, or six-figure, increase, he said he
has already engaged attorneys to “handle” the matter while warning that - if BANSA does not alter its stance or back down - TransIsland Airways will likely leave The Bahamas and relocate to another jurisdiction.
Asked what will happen if the situation remains unchanged, Mr Aranha replied: “I don’t think we will continue operating. We will look elsewhere for our aviation involvement. We’ll take our very capable Bahamian team with us wherever we go. This is not an environment we can realistically continue to exist under.
“We’ve already referred it to the lawyers. As far as I’m concerned they’ll be handling the rest of this. Negotiations are typically fruitless with people when you have this great of a divide. I’m skipping the negotiating part and referring it to the lawyers. When there’s something so obviously wrong there’s an obligation to take a stance on it.”
Both Ms Rolle and Mr Aranha challenged how BANSA can now retroactively impose massive fee hikes on flights it has already provided services to and which occurred as far back as almost four years ago.
‘Scrambled eggs’: Mass imports counter to agriculture objective
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMIAN farming advocate has described the Government’s agriculture policy as akin to “scrambled eggs” with last week’s mass importation of cheap eggs running counter to efforts to boost local production.
Caron Shepherd, the Bahamas Agro Entrepreneurs Group’s president, told Tribune Business that Super Value’s mass purchase of cut-price eggs from the Dominican Republic effectively underminesat least in the short-term - the Davis administration’s stated policy objective of expanding domestic
production via the multimillion dollar Golden Yoke initiative.
Asserting that “nothing has happened” in the two years since it was
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
A FORMER health minister yesterday asserted that the Government’s promise of free medicines for 160,000 Bahamians with chronic non-communicable diseases is “surreal” given its struggles to pay existing bills.
Dr Duane Sands, also the Free National Movement’s (FNM) chairman, challenged how much it will cost - and where the Government will find the money to pay - for Dr Michael Darville’s pledge to massively expand by almost four-fold the number of Bahamians receiving free medication.
Speaking as other physicians, talking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that “the Government right now owes us for last month’s National Health Insurance (NHI) services;
DR DUANE SANDS
Go further than the law by developing ethical culture
Acompany’s ethics must extend beyond its regulatory requirements. An integral part of this process is establishing a culture of integrity, transparency and
accountability in decisionmaking. Even when the law remains silent, ethics demands that businesses do the right thing regardless of the law’s requirements.
These two forces do not always align. This article will delve lightly into key priorities that must be embedded within companies, and how they can navigate between ethical and legal considerations.
Key ethical priorities
The foundation of any ethical system is a clearly defined code of ethics.
This document serves as a moral compass for decisionmaking and behaviour. In addition to following legal requirements, it should articulate the company’s values and ensure employees know acceptable ethical behaviour in different situations. However, having a code is not enough. It must be reinforced through continuous communication, training and leadership endorsement. Employees must see that ethical behaviour is not just encouraged but expected.
Second, ethical training programmes play a crucial role in reinforcing these values. Regular workshops and discussions allow employees to engage with real world dilemmas and develop the critical thinking skills to navigate complex situations. Leadership must drive and participate in these sessions. When leadership actively participates in these sessions, it sends a clear message that ethics is a priority at every level of the company. Beyond structured training, fostering a culture of open dialogue where employees feel comfortable discussing ethical concerns is equally important. If ethical considerations are treated as an after-thought, companies risk a disconnect between their stated values and actual business practices. Third, a robust reporting mechanism is another essential element of an ethical workplace. Employees must not fear retaliation for reporting unethical behaviour. Providing confidential whistleblower channels encourages accountability and strengthens trust within the company. However, for such mechanisms to be
effective, companies must demonstrate a genuine commitment to investigating concerns and taking corrective action. A reporting system that exists only in theory, but fails in practice, can breed cynicism and discourage employees from speaking up.
The ethical dilemmas
Despite these efforts, companies often encounter ethical dilemmas where compliance with the law does not necessarily equate to ethical conduct. For example, companies may comply with environmental laws but fail to adopt more sustainable practices if they are not legally obligated to. This example shows that legal permissibility sometimes differs from ethical responsibility.
Conflicts of interest present another common ethical challenge. A decision that benefits a leader personally, such as steering contracts towards a company they own, may not violate any legal statute, but it raises serious ethical questions. Individuals without a strong ethical framework can rationalise decisions that, while technically legal, compromise a company’s integrity and reputation. This is where ethical leadership becomes indispensable. Leaders must set the standard if inconvenient or unpopular decisions must be made.
THE developer behind the $200m Rosewood resort project located on Exuma’s Sampson Cay yesterday rejected allegations it has breached the conditions of its environmental approvals in starting work.
Yntegra Group, responding to videos and photos circulating on social media claiming it had violated the terms of its Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) and was working without Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) supervision, denied this was the case. for a geotechnical survey by clearing a portion of Sampson Cay.
In a written response to Tribune Business, the developer said it informed the regulator that an area would be cleared of invasive casuarina plants to place the equipment needed to conduct a geotechnical survey permitted by the CEC. An environmental monitor will also be on-site while work is being conducted.
“Work has not begun on that CEC. Yesterday
Union:
[Saturday] we offloaded the equipment for the geotech work and only cleared an area of invasive casuarinas to place the equipment,” said Yntegra. “DEPP was notified of this in advance and in writing. We have the environmental monitor scheduled to be on-site daily for the duration of this work as required.”
A CEC was granted on October 8, 2024, to conduct the geotechnical investigation work for the project, which allows the developer to drill 31 boreholes to the depth of 30 feet. The CEC prohibited mass clearing or burning on the property
without clearance from the DEPP, and required a full-time environmental monitor to be engaged to ensure compliance with the environmental management plan (EMP).
As images of heavy equipment being offloaded on to a cleared area of East Sampson Cay circulated over the weekend, a petition to halt the environmental clearance granted to Rosewood Sampson Cay was launched online by Eric Carey, environmental consultant for the neighbouring Turtlegrass Resort.
Robert Coughlin, the Turtlegrass Resort and
‘Nothing we can
do
about’ Vybz Kartel concert
By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
ONE of the two trade unions representing artists and entertainers is pledging to “fix the music industry” while conceding that it can do nothing to stop the upcoming Vybz Kartel concert.
Linc Scavella, the United Artists Bahamas Union (UABU) general secretary, said of the Jamaican dancehall artist’s performance: “We realise that all of the Government agencies have supported that, and so there’s nothing we can do about that.” But he added that the UABU plans to hold a meeting with promoters and religious leaders to “show them some things” after making progress over its recognition with the labour minister.
“She [Pia Glover-Rolle] has reshook the dilly tree, and some of the dillies that drop were green, but a few ripe ones were there,” Mr Scavella said. “And so what we are working toward now is we are going to have a meeting with all of the promoters that brings in foreign artists. We’re going to invite the press to that meeting.
“We want to have religious leaders there who the press may want to ask certain questions of as it relates to foreign artists
coming in this country. But why we want them there is because when our union or the other union approves an act to come in, we want to know what their concerns would be. Pretty much like what we pushed for earlier.
“So we’re going to have that meeting with all of the promoters, the Christian Council and some of the religious leaders who may not be in the Christian Council,” Mr Scavella added. “We are looking forward to meeting with all of the promoters in the country. We about to launch our website, and in that meeting, we want to show them some things that we are planning to do to fix the industry.
“We want them to be there to help us to fix the music industry so it could function as a music industry. We want to fix the music industry where you have promoters, booking agents, managers, everyone working together. So you don’t have all of the gangsterism and under the table stuff. And so that’s what we plan to do. By meeting with them, we want to show them some things on our website how we plan to go about that.
“And we going to ask all of the promoters for their assistants. We also want to invite the Christian Council and those so they can have their say, because we want to be cognisant of the fact that we don’t want to let
any and everything into the country. And so we want all of that to be addressed in that meeting.”
The union is also working ensure the Department of Immigration’s policy is amended so that they become an option to be consulted when foreign artists seek to perform in The Bahamas. At present, it is only = the Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union (BMEU), the legacy union, that is consulted.
Mr Scavella said that, as a Trade Union Congress (TUC) affiliate, Mrs Glover-Rolle has informed the Department of Immigration that the UABU is certified.
“She has been communicating with us and was able to resolve one or two of our issues,” Mr Scavella said.
“So we are kind of deploying common sense and trying to get with the Immigration Department to get them to what you would call amend their policy, where it would read that the foreign artists coming into the country would have to approach either of the two appropriate unions. And so that’s where we are on that.
“One of the items was our annual return that we have submitted a few months ago. Last year, we had not received the compliance certificate for that. She has resolved that. And then also the other matter was Immigration had said to us they needed something
Island Club’s principal, previously raised concerns about the environmental impact of Rosewood Sampson Cay and threatened to halt his $75m project at the $25m first phase - and abandon his ambitions - if the larger resort was allowed to significantly alter the environment shared with his sustainable eco-property.
The petition gained over 50 signatures in the first few hours, and called for a “halt” to the approval process until a comprehensive environmental analysis of the seabed dredging is conducted.
coming from her, saying that we were certified, are registered, and were in compliance with the Industrial Relations Act. And so she has provided them with that information.”
Mr Scavella said the next step would be to attempt another meeting with the BMEU to discuss forming a board or council consisting of members from each union. Both the minister and director of labour, Howard Thompson, have been urging both unions to get together and divide and balance the work among themselves.
Mr Scavella said he plans to pitch to his union at an upcoming meeting reaching out to the BMEU once
“We urge you to ensure that a thorough environmental analysis is conducted, particularly focusing on the impacts of the required seabed dredging, especially through seagrass meadows, that are necessary for access to the proposed marinas and supply dock,” said the petition. Highlighting key concerns such as the lack of seabed dredging analysis, safety concerns, inland dredging issues and inadequate public insight and feedback, the petition urged decision makers ahead of this week’s Town Planning Committee public consultation to “prioritise environmental integrity and community well-being”.
“The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) released in July 2024, and the recent submissions to the Bahamian Department of Works, do not include any analysis of the seabed dredging required for the project. This oversight is critical, as the dredging will directly affect marine ecosystems and local habitats,” said the petition.
“It is imperative that the community is afforded an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the environmental impacts of
again. If the UABU agrees, he said his hope is that the leader of the BMEU is open to the proposal.
“At our next Board meeting, I am prepared to put to the Board that we make another attempt - since the Government is now saying that that union is certified - that we make another attempt to meet with that union, again with a view of addressing some of the issues,” Mr Scavella added.
“We are now discussing the amendment where it would say that, instead of the Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union alone, it would include UABU. So once that is done, like I said earlier, we will make another attempt to meet
the seabed dredging. The absence of public consultation undermines our ability to safeguard our natural resources and community interests.
It continued: “The design of the proposed marinas poses safety risks for boats and staff, particularly with openings facing east on a barrier island exposed to significant wind and tidal actions during weather events. A comprehensive review of these safety concerns is essential.
“While the project mentions inland dredging of over 240,000 cubic yards in two marshland regions, it fails to address the broader implications of such activities on our delicate ecosystem and the collateral damage of completely destroying these environments for the entire area.”
Rosewood Sampson Cay last week submitted an application to the Department of Physical Planning for permission to construct 10 units, staff accommodation and facilities, food and beverage dispatch and storage, service utilities, a clubhouse, padel courts, wellness and fitness centre, lounge and coffee bar, specialty restaurants, arrival
with the BMEU with a view to work in tandem as it relates to the foreign artists coming into the country so we can be on one accord.
“I would just like for the president of that organisation to be open-minded and be cognisant of the fact that we are all musicians, and entertainers and artists, in our own rights, and we should be fighting for the same thing. That is the benefit and the welfare of the musicians, entertainers and artists in the country. Both unions should be doing that, and so I want the president to be cognisant of that.”
CHAMBER CHIEF QUERIES IF DEVCO SALE TO FOLLOW PORT AND HARBOUR EXITS
“They have been clear they have never been interested in developing any of the real estate assets. They have always seen it as a land bank. The question is: Are they going to hold it as a land bank or offload it to someone else? I cannot foresee it being part of the Blackrock deal.
“Hutchison has always said land never spoils. They’re prepared to hold it for an eternity until the right deal comes along. I’m curious whether this deal coming along will free the value of it.” Hutchison’s partner in the 50/50 DevCo joint venture is Port Group Ltd, the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) affiliate, although the Hong Kong conglomerate has Board and management control.
DevCO, which has 70,000 acres available in its development inventory, and Hutchison have frequently been criticised for “land banking” rather than seeking to further develop their extensive holdings. This, observers have argued, has
hindered economic growth and development in Freeport and contributed further to the city’s decline over the past 20 years. The relationship with Port Group Ltd has also been far from smooth. Given that CK Hutchison and its affiliates have already off-loaded the Grand Lucayan resort and Grand Bahama International Airport on the Government, and now seem set to exit their key port and maritime-related assets, a sale of DevCo and its other remaining real estate assets appears likely as this would seal its departure from Grand Bahama and the wider Bahamas.
Mr Knowles, meanwhile, predicted that Blackrock and MSC’s impending acquisition of the Freeport Container Port, in particular, will not have much impact on Grand Bahama either way - for good or bad. While Hutchison has long held the majority stake in the transhipment facility, at 51 percent, MSC has owned the remainder at 49 percent thus giving it a strong
we haven’t been paid yet”, he suggested that the minister of health and wellness’ House of Assembly presentation was made to “put a chicken in every pot” with a general election now at most 18 months away.
voice in its management and development. With CK Hutchison now seemingly poised to make way, all this means is that MSC and its partners will move from minority to full control. “Generally speaking, Blackrock is not an operating entity. It’s an investment company,” Mr Knowles said. “They hold assets for financial gain, but I would imagine MSC would be the operator as MSC is currently actively involved in operating the Container Port.
“If the Container Port is acquired by this new consortium, likewise for Freeport Harbour Company. It’s a true 50/50 partnership with Port Group Ltd but with Hutchison having Board and management control. Management control would transfer over to Blackrock and MSC. And I imagine MSC would be the operating entity, not Blackrock.
“I don’t see, in any of these changes, anything significant for Freeport in either direction. Freeport will be kind of a blip on the radar with this deal because this deal is
a multi-country, multi-port deal. We just happen to be along for the ride. I’m not believing there will be much of an impact.”
Both the Freeport Container Port and Freeport Harbour Company are strategic assets of significant importance given their proximity to the US eastern seaboard and major global maritime shipping lanes between the entire Western Hemisphere and Europe and Africa.
Fears have been expressed that MSC could exploit Board/management control of Freeport Harbour Company, once the deal is closed, to deny rival cruise lines and cargo/freight companies access to the facility. Bit, while MSC is fiercely competitive, it would also have to answer to Port Group Ltd and, more importantly, its Blackrock partners should it engage in practices seen as unfair or anti-competitive.
This would act as a check on such actions by MSC and Terminal Investment Ltd, its port operations and infrastructure arm that is the entity involved in the
consortium. Mr Knowles, too, voiced doubts that MSC would behave in such a manner as suggested by unnamed sources in other media reports.
“The reality of it is in business you want as much business as you can get,” the GB Chamber chief told this newspaper. “MSC only has a finite amount of business that it’s going to run through the harbour. I don’t see why they would limit other people coming into the harbour. They may give themselves preferential treatment, but I don’t think it would be in their best interests to manipulate it.
“I understand MSC and Royal Caribbean were supposed to be collaborating on developing Billy Cay into a new cruise port within the harbour. They seem to have a synergistic approach to things and not adversarial.. Structures change all the time. I’m not overly-excited about this [deal] and I’m not anxious about this either. To me, it’s just part of the changing factions of the world.”
CK Hutchison, unveiling its net $17.165bn exit from
international ports operations via their proposed sale to the MSC/Blackrock consortium, said the agreement involves some 43 ports spread across 23 different countries.
With operations in China and Hong Kong not included in the deal, subtracting these from all the ports listed on Hutchison Port Holdings’ website leaves the same number of facilities and countries as detailed in the statement announcing the deal. To reach the 43 ports and 23 countries number, the Freeport Container Port would have to be included in the sale but this could not be confirmed before press time last night.
The Hutchison Port Holdings’ website also denoted Freeport Harbour Company as being part of its Bahamian port operations, implying that this is also included in the sale. Blackrock, which oversees $11.5 trillion in assets and is regarded as the world’s largest investment firm, has partnered on the deal with Terminal Investment Ltd, the port operations and infrastructure arm for MSC.
“It is clear that we’re in election season,” Dr Sands told this newspaper. “The minster of health has this proclivity of making promises that he may not be able to keep. I am advised that the Public Hospital Authority’s accounts with large suppliers of pharmaceuticals have been cut-off for non-payment.
facilities. How is it you can’t keep medications in stock now but you’re going to increase their availability to 160,000 people? How is it you can claim to be expanding the benefits for NHI when you cannot pay the bills now, and providers cannot be paid on time?
“And, if true or not, there is a serious shortage of medications in the public health
“We owe vendors for dialysis, we owe vendors for garbage collection. It is surreal for the minister to make these promises when the PHA and Ministry of Health are in such a serious cash crunch as it is, and the Government is in such
a serious cash crunch when we see them at this massive $395m deficit in six months. That does not even include bills incurred that have not yet been paid.”
Dr Darville, during his mid-year Budget debate presentation last week, said the National Chronic Drug Prescription Plan, which provides free medication to just over 44,000 Bahamians, will be transferred from the National Insurance Board’s (NIB) oversight to that of NHI. And he promised it will be expanded to serve 160,000 Bahamians with chronic non-communicable illnesses - a near four-fold customer jump.
However, Dr Sands said that “every year” there is a challenge associated with funding the National Chronic Drug Prescription Plan. During the first six months of the present 2024-2025 fiscal year, the Davis administration took some $11.057m - more than one-sixth of the $60.275m Budget reserve - to finance the initiative.
“Let’s dissect this a bit more,” the ex-minister added. “The National Chronic Drug Prescription Plan came from an overage of excess funds in a sub-category at NIB. It was collecting monies that had not been used. When the National Chronic Drug Prescription Plan started, it was using monies already collected but there was no new funding source to sustain it.
“Every year the question is where monies are coming from to fund the National Chronic Drug Prescription Plan. If we now have a situation where you say you are going to move those benefits to a different line item, then show us a sustainable funding source to pay for it. You are promising so many things but not providing the level of funding to make it happen.
“It’s left to the institutions to do what they can do. That’s not an effective strategy. You’re telling NHI to introduce catastrophic healthcare services. While I support that, show us where the money is coming from. This administration is unable to connect the dots,”
Dr Sands said.
“While I am sure it is a wonderful benefit people deserve, it’s one thing to promise something and one thing to deliver on it and have the ability to pay for it. They [the Government’, quite frankly, have not demonstrated an ability to pay their bills in a timely fashion.”
Dr Sands suggested that the target date for completing renovations to Princess Margaret Hospital’s accident and emergency facility, first January 2025 and now May, kept getting pushed back because the Government was struggling to pay its contractors and vendors. And he added that garbage at Freeport’s Rand Memorial Hospital was “overflowing”.
“Really it’s about pork barrel politicking and nothing more,” the FNM chairman added. Dr Darville last week said the National Chronic Drug Prescription Plan expansion will benefit Bahamians suffering with hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, renal insufficiency, and mental illness but gave no specifics or timelines while saying details will be provided later.
“Once transferred to NHI, the 160,000-plus registered NHI members who suffer from chronic noncommunicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancers, renal insufficiency, mental illness and other illnesses will finally have access to life-saving medications free of charge,” Dr Darville said. “This is a huge initiative by our administration and will change medical outcomes.”
He said the policy would improve medical compliance, save Bahamians thousands of dollars and keep people out of hospitals.
“Under the complete universal primary healthcare package, NHI patients would see the doctors free, get the labs and diagnostics free, and very soon all medications for chronic noncommunicable diseases will be provided free of charge for both private and public patients at healthcare facilities across the country that accept NHI,” Dr Darville added.
SBDC breaking down disability ‘stereotypes’
By ANNELIA NIXON
THE Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) says it is working to help entrepreneurs with disabilities via legal reforms following last week’s forum and expo.
The Small Business Development Centre (SBDC), in partnership with the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, the Ministry of Social Services, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the University of The Bahamas, staged the event as part of their Entrepreneurs with DIsabilities Initiative which launched the end of 2024.
Featuring panel discussions and “an expo of companies with assistivetechnology, businesses owned by people with disabilities, food and drink vendors, and other businesses and organisations”, it allowed entrepreneurs to network while providing insight on business development and opportunities for
business owners with disabilities to “highlight their products.”
Alexia Johnson, the SBDC’s communications and marketing team head, said the initiative is offering grant funding to “eligible participants”.
She added that the SBDC is working with relevant parties to “encourage improved legislation for entrepreneurs with disabilities” and “break the stereotypes about people with disabilities”.
“It encourages entrepreneurs with disabilities to achieve financial independence while empowering them to make a difference in the community through their own ideas,” Ms Johnson said. “Additionally, this breaks the stereotypes about people with disabilities, which will further encourage others with disabilities to do the same.
“Furthermore, supporting entrepreneurs with disabilities drives business growth and creates job opportunities, further benefiting our economy.”
Phyllice Bethel, the SBDC’s deputy executive
director, revealed that younger entrepreneurs have also shown an interest in the training and mentorship programme offered through the initiative.
She added that access to funding, business training and physical access are road blocks for some of the disabled. “At the SBDC, we believe entrepreneurship should be accessible to all Bahamians,” Ms Bethel said. “So through the disabled entrepreneurs initiative, we have conducted the Business Blueprint Training Course, equipping entrepreneurs with essential business skills in accounting, marketing, branding, etc.
“We’ve hosted master class sessions where participants received oneon-one guidance from industry experts. We’ve also facilitated a mentorship programme pairing entrepreneurs with mentors, many of whom are thriving business owners and industry leaders with disabilities themselves.
“What is the impact of the entrepreneurs with disabilities initiative? To date,
docks, a beach club, pools, main road and service road.
Felipe MacLean, Yntegra Group’s chief executive, told Tribune Business the development will generate more than 400 jobs and benefit surrounding small businesses which will provide supplies and services for the development.
He said the project was going to be “transformational” for Exuma, and the developer will be “very
cognisant” as the Rosewood brand is well known for its environmental and sustainability principles. “This is a transformational project for Exuma. This is something that is going to be very impactful to the community. We are bringing one of the top brands in the world for this development. It’s a brand that is known for their environmental and sustainability principles. So we’re going to be very cognisant
on that end,” said Mr MacLean.
“This is a project that has an initial financial commitment of $200m, and it’s going to generate 250 workers for the construction and 150 workers during operation. So you’re talking right there about 400 jobs for Exuma. This is a project that is going to have a big impact, also on the islands surrounding the projects for small businesses that are going to be servicing our project.”
58 entrepreneurs with disabilities enrolled in our training course and mentorship programme. Of this group, 20 are between the ages of 18 and 35, reflecting strong interest from younger entrepreneurs,” she added.
“These entrepreneurs are breaking into diverse industries with the most popular sectors being 17.5 percent of registrants in the agriculture sector, 15.8 percent in arts and crafts, 10.5 percent in cleaning and landscaping. Despite our progress, significant barriers remain. Entrepreneurs with disabilities who participated in our recent survey revealed that 41 percent struggle with access to funding.
“Twenty-six percent need better access to business training and skill development; 20 percent face challenges with accessibility to business facilities. This data underscores why today’s event is so important. The Enable Forum and Expo is designed to be a catalyst for change. For entrepreneurs with disabilities, this is an opportunity to gain valuable insights,
make key business connections and explore resources to help launch or expand your business. For the wider business community, today is a chance to learn how to make businesses more accessible and inclusive.”
Mario Bowleg, minister of youth, sports and culture, added: “My ministry is a firm supporter of a fair, inclusive and equitable society, and that means that we believe persons with disabilities can be business owners too. I add, too, that by saying that young persons with disabilities can be business owners, too.
“Young people face many barriers to fully participating in society. Having a disability as a young person exacerbates those barriers. It is therefore important that we provide an enabling environment that supports the independence of disability youth and as entrepreneurs,” he said.
“My ministry and, by extension, the Government is aware that we can spare no effort in support of our disabled community and in the advancements of the prosperity of that society.
For this is not a one-time deal. Rather, it is only the start towards sustainable and long-term support for our entrepreneurs with disabilities, and particularly, your young entrepreneurs with disabilities.
“This is an indication that progress is being made, and that sectors and agencies can come together to create a more equitable and inclusive society… Disability does not mean inability, and just because a man lacks eyes does not mean that he lacks vision. As we focus on the amazing abilities of our entrepreneurs, let us continue to take action to empower persons with disabilities, because when they thrive, The Bahamas thrives.”
‘Scrambled eggs’: Mass imports counter to agriculture objective
unveiled, she argued that the Bahamian people would have been better served if the Government had invested the $15m
allocated to the Golden Yoke programme directly with existing Bahamian egg farmers so that they could expand production.
Ms Shepherd asserted that, if this had happened,
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The Bahamas would have been producing more of its own eggs and not have to rely so heavily on mass imports from the Dominican Republic to slash sky-high egg prices that have been driven up by bird flu in the US. She branded last week’s Super Value shipment as “a stop-gap measure” and compared it to “a band aid on major surgery”.
Suggesting that Bahamians have little choice but to “trust” their health and safety regulators that the imported eggs are fit for human consumption, Ms Shepherd told this newspaper that local farmers are unable to compete on price with their Dominican Republic rivals because they lack the funding and resources to scale-up production and generate economies of scale.
“We still have egg producers here, but they are not able to produce on that large scale because they don’t have the funding,” she said. “Obviously, it negatively affects us because, one, we are having eggs come in at a cheaper rate. That’s number one. As long as the farmers have the resources to expand production, increase the size of their farms, they are going to produce more eggs.
“Definitely we need to get the resources in place and expand the production of farmers doing egg production at the moment, which is what we’ve been agitating for for at least
ten years. They cannot compete with the prices coming in from the Dominican Republic immediately but, eventually, yes. Once they are able to expand, they’ll be able to do it, and eventually we’ll be able to put a moratorium on egg importation.”
Asked whether the mass importation of cheap egg imports runs counter to, and in a way undermines, the Government’s stated objectives of slashing The Bahamas’ food import bill by 25 percent, boosting domestic production and enhancing food security and the country’s ability to feed itself, Ms Shepherd agreed that it does.
However, while it does immediately satisfy Bahamian demand for cheaper eggs, she added that the benefits may only be shortterm. “It does undermine that process,” Ms Shepherd told Tribune Business “However, it doesn’t necessarily stop it - our goals and objectives to increase egg production in The Bahamas to a level where we don’t have to import eggs.
“It’s a stop-gap measure they’ve put in place. It’s a temporary fix. We need to have a long-term solution to egg production. Now, they’re trying to appease the community by saying ‘we’ve got eggs, we’ve got eggs’. However, that was not the objective to just get eggs.
“The objective is for us to produce our eggs, reduce the imports and put a dent in importation. They have done a stop-gap measure that’s a temporary fix. They have put a band aid on major surgery. The objective was not the mass importation of eggs,” she added.
“The farmers know how to grow eggs. They already know how to produce eggs. I’m sure if they had pumped the $15m [for the Golden Yolk project]
into existing egg producers we would not have an egg shortage today or eggs at $13 a dozen. I’m quite sure of that. They did not think this process through properly. It’s scrambled eggs.”
Turning her attention to the much-hyped Golden Yolk initiative, Ms Shepherd said: “Nothing is happening. Where they had the ground-breaking nothing is there, absolutely nothing. The ground is as parched as parched can be. Nothing exists. Not a chicken, not a grow house. We had fanfare, everything going on, and 24 months later there’s nothing in existence where you had the ground-breaking.....
“What should have been done differently is the $15m should have been invested with the egg producing farmers and those farmers would have been able to increase the production of their eggs. At least we would have eggs now. It should have been a capital injection into the existing egg producers. The egg producers can then expand their business and produce more eggs.
“It should be the farmers themselves doing what they do best, and that’s farm. The Government just needs to put the necessary facilities in place for the farmers to do what they do best. They could have provided those grow houses to existing chicken producers to let them do what they have to do. That would be more productive.”
When the Golden Yolk initiative was unveiled at end-February 2023, the Government’s ambition was that it would slash the country’s food import bill by $12.5m annually. The aim was to increase Bahamian egg production from 750,000 to more than 27 million eggs per year, with 38 new egg houses established on 12 islands and 13m eggs produced in the
Family Islands. These eggs were to be priced at $4.
Journalists were taken to view D & T Farms on Gladstone Road, described as a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative, which currently houses 2,000 egglaying chickens providing over 70 dozen eggs on a daily basis. The farm also houses a piggery.
A site that currently houses 10,000 chicks which arrived in The Bahamas recently was also viewed. Government officials said they will be part of the ‘Golden Yoke’ initiative that is being overseen by Justin Taylor, a poultry scientist and expert in the field of chicken farming. At the same site, there are currently 1,000 layers already providing eggs for general consumption.
Troy Sampson, BAIC general manager, said it is anticipated that around 20,000 eggs will be available for local consumption once the initiative gets underway. Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said he does not want the Golden Yolk initiative to be seen as a “golden joke”, adding that it is “real”.
“The birds are real, the infrastructure is real, the land is real, the people are real and the benefits, the most important part for the Bahamian people, is as real as [it] could ever be,” he argued. The minister added that vendors selected for the programme will sell their eggs to the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) or Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC).
Then will then resell these eggs to the public at a lower price. Explaining the advantage of being an archipelago building an egg production industry, Mr Campbell added that if one island experiences a problem with its chicks, the other islands can make up for it.
“So now we have several different locations, islands and cays that are going to be totally self-sufficient with eggs,” Mr Campbell said. “So unlike some of our brothers and sister countries that are one land mass, when they’re impacted by a disease like bird flu, it wipes out everything.
“Fortunately for us in The Bahamas, if we have an outbreak in Andros, we’re able to alleviate that with our other islands that are separated by bodies of water. So we want to show people not just the natural sun, sand and sea beauty of it, but the fact that we have an advantage in an industry to ensure that what we provide to the general public is safe and sound and will be consistent. And that’s the key for us.”
BAHAMIAN AIRLINES HIT WITH UP TO $1M ‘RETROACTIVE’ FEES
And they argued that it is an impossibility for their carriers to now go back and demand that passengers on those flights pay more to cover higher fees that did not exist back then.
The fees at the heart of this latest aviation drama are those levied under the fledgling air navigation services regime overseen by BANSA. These fees are split into two types - origin/ destination charges, which are levied on planes that take-off and land in The Bahamas, and then overflight fees. The latter are levies paid almost entirely by international carriers that fly through Bahamian air space without stopping in this nation.
BANSA is restructuring its air navigation services fee regime in a way that shifts the financial burden of these fees on to takeoff/landing fees, and away from overflight fees. Tribune Business previously revealed how these changes will potentially impose six-fold and greater fee increases over the next four fiscal years through 20282029 on carriers that are Bahamian-owned or service this nation.
However, what was not known at that time was the extent to which BANSA planned to impose this new structure - together with the associated fee rebalancing and hikes - retroactively for the period between May 2021 and July 2024. That only emerged with the arrival of last Thursday’s billings, which followed a consultation meeting with aviation industry stakeholders on the reforms on Wednesday, March 5.
To the surprise and shock of many who attended, the meeting was not chaired by a Cabinet minister or senior Department of Aviation official but, instead, Jerome Fitzgerald, the Prime Minister’s senior policy advisor. Also present was Lenn King, BANSA’s director, who did not reply to a Tribune Business e-mail seeking comment, and the Government’s Spanish consultants, ALG Group.
BANSA’s February 2025 consultation paper on the air navigation services fee proposals, using heavily-guarded and technical language, did give a hint of what was coming. It referred to the over and under-recovery of fees during the May 2021-July 2024 period, and said these would be adjusted for “the difference between the actual costs for the provision of services as allocated to overflights and origin/ destination respectively”.
And, with fee income set to be reallocated according the cost incurred in providing these two separate
services, the BANSA paper said airline operators and carriers would either receive a “credit” if they had paid more than their fair share or a “debit” demanding they pay extra to cover their under-billing. Those carriers receiving a “credit” would have this applied against their fees moving forward.
With the burden being re-directed towards takeoff and landing fees, their retroactive imposition will largely fall on Bahamianowned carriers and others that service this nation.
Mr Aranha, in particular, argued that this makes no sense given that a potentially crippling burden is being placed on carriers that represent “the lifeblood of the economic engine of this country” by bringing in The Bahamas’ stopover visitors.
And, given that the overflight fees component is being substantially reduced in the air navigation services regime restructuring, those carriers likely to be the recipients of The Bahamas’ “credits” are the US and foreign-owned commercial passenger and cargo traffic that flies over this nation without stopping here. In effect, the restructuring represents a wealth transfer from Bahamian to US and foreign-owned airlines.
Ms Rolle, in her reply to Tribune Business, warned that the inevitable impact of BANSA’s unexpected retroactive fee increase will be higher ticket prices and air travel costs for both Bahamians and international travellers to pay for it. Besides impacting access to the destination, she said the sudden billing lacked “due process” and gave little opportunity for Western Air to challenge or query the fees. And she also voiced concern over anti-competitive and “unfair trade practices”, as the fee exemption granted to “state-owned aircraft” in BANSA’s 2024 ‘Notice of Intent’ appears to pave the way for these charges not to apply to Western Air’s major rival, state-owned Bahamasair.
“What makes this particularly concerning is that it appears this invoice is based on BANSA’s new charging scheme, which was only announced in April 2024 and was set to take effect in July 2024,” Ms Rolle wrote.
“BANSA was still in consultations and discussions with Bahamian and foreign carriers about this charging scheme well into 2024, so we are unclear how these new charges would be enforceable from 2021, when they were unknown and not final. Especially when BANSA invoices
were being issued and paid by Western Air for years without these new charges ever being included.
“Essentially, we are being retroactively charged under a fee structure that did not exist at the time these flights occurred, making this an arbitrary and unprecedented financial burden. The airline would not have had the ability to consider this new charging scheme into its operational costs prior to July 2024.”
Setting out Western Air’s concerns, Ms Rolle cited the “lack of prior notice and due process” from BANSA. She added that every invoice sent by the Authority to Western Air during the period May 2021-July 2024 showed no outstanding monies were owed because all were paid on time.
“Suddenly applying new fees to past flights disadvantages carriers, given inadequate and untimely notice of the specific charges,” she added. “Unexpected, retroactive fees increase operational costs, which inevitably affects ticket pricing and the cost of travel for passengers. Airlines already face significant rising operational costs and passengers face significant fees, and such unpredictable charges only worsen this.
“BANSA’s 2024 Notice of Intent exempts ‘stateowned aircraft’. It is unclear if this exempts our friends at Bahamasair, which is a government-owned airline. But if it does, it raises serious questions about unfair competitive practices if only private airlines are being forced to bear these high navigational costs a government-owned airline, which receives a subsidy, is exempt from.
“This places us on a more uneven market field if only Western Air and other private carriers are expected to absorb these new costs. We have not received an itemised bill or any invoices relating to these alleged charges,” Ms Rolle continued.
“If the intent is to retroactively bill us from 2021 with new charges, this fails to give us an opportunity to verify, reconcile or correct any billing queries within a reasonable time. Again, all invoices issued, Western Air pays. No previous invoices were issued reflecting anything owed.”
Summing up Western Air’s position, Ms Rolle said: “Western Air has formally requested clarification from BANSA on
this retroactive billing and a full breakdown/ itemised bill of the charges. We remain hopeful for a resolution that ensures fairness, transparency and proper industry regulation.”
Mr Aranha, meanwhile, told Tribune Business: “It’s laughable that we received a near three-fold increase in retroactive billings for air space services that have already been paid and, in most cases, paid for. We don’t have the option to go back to our customers and say: ‘We’re really sorry. The Government of The Bahamas has changed how they bill for air navigation services fees. Please pay more for your flight’.
“It’s not a realistic option to go back to our passengers and say: ‘Hey, unfortunately the flight you took in 2021, four years later the Government of The Bahamas has decided to change the fees and increased the bill for services already provided and paid for, so you have to pay more’. We’d be laughed out of the room.”
Questioning what else the Government, or its agencies, may decided to retroactively bill for and hike the fees, Mr Aranha said no industry or “rightthinking person” could support such an approach.
“I don’t know why BANSA and its consultants have decided an industry operating on very slim margins can take a surprise hit retroactively for air space fees,” he added.
“Going forward, while it will impact the demand for air space going into The Bahamas, you can at least budget for these fees... But you cannot go retroactively and say it’s not good enough and come up with this suddenly. If they want to subsidise foreign operators that overfly The Bahamas and give them a credit, that’s fine. But they should not think they can fix this problem by shifting it on to local operators.
“Second, as a country dependent on tourism, and an archipelago so dependent on air transportation, you’d expect to see incentives for people to fly - not a never-ending stream of increasing costs. Air transportation incentives are important to the ongoing support of the Family Islands, ongoing support of the tourism industry, and is the lifeblood of the economic engine of this country,” Mr Aranha said.
“These fees are consistently wrecking the machine. We need to be able to incentivise people to add
and operate more airlines. It’s a highly-regulated environment where you have an ever-increasing cost and burden of regulation. There’s got to be a point at where we say this is an industry that’s important to us: We need to support and encourage it. And it’s got to be more than a Junkanoo rush-out.
“It has got to be a cost structure that makes it attractive. Every single day the scheduled airlines have the pleasure of competing against their tax dollars because Bahamasair is subsidised to the tune of $20m-$30m annually from the public purse,” he added.
“But we do have the intention of paying all of our bills at the original rate we were made aware of versus this new retroactive billing. That’s a very important point for me. We’re not trying to skirt our financial obligations.”
The Bahamian aviation industry has faced a barrage of multiple new and increased fees in the years following Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19.
Besides the up to threefold and six-fold increases in Customs ‘inbound’ and ‘outbound’ fees unveiled in last May’s Budget, the sector has also faced the imposition of airport infrastructure improvement fees at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) and jumps in landing and other fees. Further fee increases, along the lines of those implemented in Bimini, are almost certain to follow to pay for upgraded Family Island airports.
Tribune Business previously reported aviation industry sources as asserting that the jump in BANSA’s origin/destination charges, and simultaneous reduction in overflight fee rates, appeared designed to appease the US government and foreign airlines.
The US Department of Transportation previously voiced “serious concerns” about the level of the fees and whether they are excessive when compared to the actual expenses The Bahamas incurs for providing air navigation services.
And it also challenged whether the level of charges is compliant with the Air Transport Agreement treaty agreed between The Bahamas and US, sparking discussions at the diplomatic level between the two countries over revising the BANSA fee structure. However, Article 28 of the Chicago Convention in International Civil Aviation
does appear to give sovereign states such as The Bahamas the right to set their air space fees.
The US Department of Transportation’s concerns over whether The Bahamas’ fees are excessive likely stem from the fact that this nation, in 2021, agreed a 10-year deal where the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continue managing Bahamian air space above 6,000 feet. The FAA also agreed to waive the cost of air navigation services it was providing and accept a mere $80,000 fee per annum.
As a result, both the US government and members of the Airlines4America consortium - the likes of American Airlines, Jet Blue, FedEx, Delta, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and the United Parcel Service - are arguing that The Bahamas was offering very little in services for the money it is taking in.
Asserting that the fees should only cover the cost of providing the service, they allege here was no justification for “the tens of millions of dollars” that The Bahamas is collecting given that it is just paying, at most, $80,000-$100,000 to the FAA - sum equivalent to 1 percent of the charges. They claim this “runs afoul” of global best practice and agreements, plus the US International Air Transport Fair Competitive Practices Act 1974.
The commercial passenger and cargo airlines, especially, have been using regulatory challenges and other aggressive lobbying/pressure tactics to force The Bahamas to back down. And it is they who stand to benefit most from the proposed cut in the rates for transiting Bahamian air space as they constantly have flights moving between the North and South America continents.
The Bahamas, though, will argue that it needs the air navigation services revenue to build the human, financial and physical resources necessary to eventually take over management of its entire air space from the FAA. And the monies raised are also designed to ensure its civil aviation regulatory regime - Civil Aviation, BANSA etc - no longer has to be financed and subsidised by Bahamian taxpayers via the Budget. Civil Aviation, for example, is due to receive an $8m subsidy during the current 2024-2025 financial year.
HOW ONE SMALL BUSINESS IS NAVIGATING TRUMP’S ON-AGAIN, OFF-AGAIN TARIFFS ON CANADIAN GOODS
By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer
AT Fishtown Seafood, owner Bryan Szeliga is worried about the oysters.
Szeliga, who operates three retail and wholesale locations in Philadelphia and Haddonfield, N.J., sells a range of seafood. But briny, slurpable oysters are the biggest part of his overall business. And 60% to 70% come from Canada.
The Trump's administration's on-again, off-again 25% tariffs on imports from Canada — which went into effect on Tuesday only to be suspended on some items for a month on Thursday — are giving Szeliga whiplash.
The flip-flopping is making it tough to plan ahead. And if the tariffs do eventually go into effect, he'll likely need to raise prices and offer his customers fewer choices of oysters.
"Part of the problem of the 'chaos and shock and awe' approach to the
negotiation is you can't actually really business plan based on knowing what is and isn't actually going to happen," he said. "That's a big problem."
Szeliga started Fishtown Seafood four years ago after other jobs in the food industry including chef and working for a nonprofit. His customers include neighborhood locals and others who shop at his retail shops as well as restaurant wholesale clients.
He sources some of his U.S. products directly from fish farms but for Canadian oysters he goes through dealers.
"They're larger companies that aggregate from all the (seafood) producers and then and then distribute throughout the country," he said.
There's also a quality consideration.
"Canadian oysters simply have the size, flavor profile, and brand recognition that
our customers prefer and have grown to love," he said.
Trying to plan On Tuesday, most of his suppliers told Szeliga they'd be raising prices. He only made one purchase while the tariff was in effect, buying some "sweet petite" oysters from Prince Edward Island, to make sure a wholesale client had enough product. He paid the whole 25% markup himself and didn't pass it along to his client, eating the extra cost. The suppliers' price increases are likely to come down now that the tariffs are postponed, but only for a month.
Now that he has a month reprieve, Szeliga said he plans to adjust his own inventory and work with his wholesale clients to plan out a menu that will be less affected by the tariffs. That might mean replacing higher-priced, higher-quality oysters with domestic
or lower-priced Canadian offerings. "Now that we have a picture of what this is probably going to look like, let's just start designing out your menus so that we're prepared and it's not complete bedlam again," he said. "Even if prices come down, we know prices are going to come up to X, Y, Z (when the tariffs return)." He said he'll be asking his clients, "What products are going to work for you in a month?"
A blow to the burgeoning oyster market
Szeliga isn't alone with his concerns – the entire oyster market could be affected.
The total value of U.S. imported seafood in 2023 was $25.5 billion. Canada, as the largest supplier, delivered more than $3.6 billion in seafood products to the United States in 2023.
Imports of seafood from Canada into the U.S. rose 10% in 2024 to $3.96 billion, according to the USDA. While oysters are just a fraction of that – the most popular seafood remains shrimp, salmon and tuna – oyster demand has been growing. In 2022, oysters joined the National Fisheries Institute Top 10 List for the first time ever.
Szeliga has watched as the popularity meant more and
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more restaurants, beyond just oyster bars, began offering the bivalve on their menus. He worries that growth will now "fade and fizzle."
"I think it's really going to take the momentum out of what is a growth industry," he said. Limiting choice, raising prices
Szeliga said he'll likely limit the number of oysters he carries in his shop from 12 to about 10 to make sure he can still offer a range of higher and lower price oysters that his customers want, even if he no longer carries the most expensive options.
Switching to oysters harvested only in the U.S. isn't an option, because although there are numerous types of oysters available on U.S. coasts, the majority of U.S. seafood is imported. Canada is the largest supplier of seafood to the U.S. That's hard to match.
culture, employees, customers and stakeholders develop greater trust.
treating them separately from legal compliance. Moreover, staying on top of changing regulations and ethical best practices is imperative for a company striving for a higher moral standard.
In short, businesses that ultimately prioritise ethics alongside legal compliance build more substantial, more resilient organisations. When ethical considerations are deeply embedded in company
Honduras holds primaries as voter frustration simmers over security and the economy
By MARLON GONZÁLEZ Associated Press
VOTERS in Hondu-
ras will select candidates from the three main parties Sunday to compete in November's general election for the presidency in a country that remains deeply polarized, but skeptical of leaders from the left and right who have failed to deliver on improving security and the economy.
The election comes at a time when President Xiomara Castro — Honduras' first female leader — of the leftist LIBRE party has a tense relationship with the United States.
She had raised the possibility of ending U.S. access to an air base the U.S. military uses for regional operations and said that she would withdraw from the extradition treaty that sent her predecessor to the U.S. on drug trafficking charges, before eventually backtracking. Her own extended family has been dogged by allegations of ties to drug traffickers.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio notably left Honduras off of his itinerary when he made his first overseas trip to Central America last month since taking up the post. Who are the candidates?
Sunday's election will offer voters choices of continuation in the form of Castro's defense minister, Rixi Moncada, who has the president's support. Moncada's refusal to resign her position to run for office
has been criticized, in part because the military is charged with guarding the ballots.
Former first lady Ana García offers the possibility of a return to the recent past as she seeks the nomination of the National Party of Honduras. Her husband, ex-President Juan Orlando Hernández, belongs to the party.
Hernández is serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking. At her closing campaign event, she played an audio recording of her husband saying "a vote for Ana is a vote for me, a vote for a better life."
Candidates disillusioned with the president The conservative Liberal Party of Honduras features a face-off between two people who once supported Castro, but became opponents.
One of them, Salvador Nasralla, helped Castro win the presidency in the 2021 election by ending his independent candidacy to join her coalition. He served as vice president, before leaving the administration, saying he had been marginalized. The other is Jorge Cálix, a young lawyer and politician, who was once a member of LIBRE, but left after Castro failed to support his bid to lead Congress.
Nasralla has expressed admiration for Argentina's libertarian president, Javier Milei, while Cálix says he wants to emulate popular El Salvador President Nayib
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NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that ABNER MEUS of #122 Triana Drive, Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 10th day of March, 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
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Rentals dealing with basic painting, carpentry, plumping tasks on a day-to-day basis.
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• You will be expected to be versatile with multiple duties and responsibilities, including but not limited to:
• Carpentry: installing cabinets, doors, countertops and fooring including tiles, carpets or other hardwood and laminate coverings.
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Bukele's heavy-handed security policies.
"If a millennial did it in El Salvador, why can't another millennial like me do it here," Cálix has said.
In total, 10 candidates will compete for the nominations of the three parties.
Eleven smaller parties will choose their candidates through their own internal processes at other times.
Voters will also choose in ballot races for seats in Congress and mayorships. About 5.8 million Hondurans are eligible to vote.
What are voters saying?
Long lines had already formed by the time polls
opened Sunday morning, although some centers were forced to remain temporarily closed because they lacked electoral materials.
The issue generated distrust among voters, some of whom opted to go home.
"We see that it is clear that our rights are being violated, and we ask the Armed Forces to take responsibility, because this is a mockery," said Sandra López, a 54-year-old lawyer who came to vote and found her center closed.
The head of Honduras' Armed Forces, Roosevelt Hernández, said that officials weren't given enough
NOTICE is hereby given that CARLINE MEUS of #122 Triana Drive, Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 10th day of March, 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
time to deliver all the electoral material. Meanwhile, the National Electoral Council said that materials were distributed nationwide and that it would later provide a report on the delay.
Vizmar Zepeda, an unemployed 29-year-old journalist, said the elections should be transparent and free of fraud.
"I think that this leaves a lot to be desired on the part of the National Electoral Council, and people are already starting to doubt that the elections will be transparent," he said.
Voter participation
in the central park of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Jan. 6, 2018.
Participation in the open primaries has historically been low, owing in large part to fears that being identified with one party could limit chances of employment if another party's candidate wins in November.
Political analyst Miguel Cálix said that he hopes the primaries are transparent and without problems, but that hasn't always been the case.
"The primary votes historically have been the worst electoral exercises in Honduran democracy," he said, noting that they've been full of irregularities.
NOTICE is hereby given that
YLVETA CLEARE of Sandilands Village, Fox Hill, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 3rd day of March, 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
SALVADOR Nasralla is surrounded by supporters as he arrives for a rally where he reaffirmed his claim on the presidency of Honduras,
Photo:Fernando Antonio/AP
Wall Street ends its wild week with what else but more swings
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
WALL Street rose on Friday, but only after careening through another wild day. It was a fitting ending to a brutal week of scary swings dominated by worries about the U.S. economy and uncertainty about what President Donald Trump will do with tariffs.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% after storming back from an earlier loss that had reached 1.3%. It was coming off a punishing stretch where it swung more than 1%, up or down, for six straight days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 222 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%. The wild week, which was the worst for the S&P 500 since September, left the index a little more than 6% below its all-time high set last month.
The head of the Federal Reserve helped ease the market's worries on Friday afternoon after saying he thinks the economy looks stable at the moment, and he doesn't feel pressure to cut interest rates in order to prop it up.
Traders in recent weeks had been building bets the
Fed would have to cut its main rate more than three times this year following a stream of weaker-thanexpected reports on the economy. But Jerome Powell pushed back on speculation he and other Fed officials could feel pressure to act soon.
"The costs of being cautious are very, very low" right now, Powell said about holding steady on interest rates. "The economy is fine. It doesn't need us to do anything really. We can wait, and we should wait."
A highly anticipated jobs report released Friday morning may have given him leeway to do just that.
The U.S. Labor Department said employers added 151,000 more jobs last month than they cut. That was slightly below economists' expectations, but it was an acceleration from January's hiring.
Recent, discouraging surveys had shown souring confidence for U.S. businesses and households because of uncertainty around Trump's tariffs, and economists were waiting to see if Friday's report would show if that was translating into real pain for the economy and job market.
"To sum it up: today's print wasn't as bad as feared," according to Lindsay Rosner, head of multi sector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Some economists, though, also warned the jobs data included concerning details underneath the surface that could imply trouble ahead. The number of people working part time who would rather be full time rose 10% in February from January, for example.
"The market might breathe a sigh of relief that the labor market was still looking healthy, but a deeper dive shows that spring could be a more challenging season," said
Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
The whiplash actions from the White House on tariffs — first placing them on trading partners and then exempting some and then doing it again — have raised uncertainty for businesses.
That sparked fears businesses might freeze in response to what they have described as "chaos" and pull back on hiring. U.S. households, meanwhile, are bracing for higher inflation because of tariffs, which is weakening their confidence and could hold back their spending. That would sap more energy from the economy.
FINANCIAL news is displayed as people work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
Trump said Friday he wants tariffs to bring jobs back to the United States, and he gave no indication more certainty is imminent for financial markets.
"There will always be changes and adjustments," he said in comments from the Oval Office. "There could be some disturbance," Trump said about the effect on the economy before saying, "I solved a little bit of that" by giving a one-month reprieve on tariffs for Mexican and Canadian imports for automakers.
In the bond market, Treasury yields initially fell after the jobs report but rose after Powell's comments pushed traders to ratchet back expectations for four or more cuts to rates this year.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell as low as 4.22% before climbing to 4.30%, up from 4.28% late Thursday. It's been generally sinking since January, when it was nearing 4.80%, as investors have ratcheted back expectations for the U.S. economy's growth.
THE WEATHER REPORT
On Wall Street, Walgreens Boots Alliance climbed 7.5% after the pharmacy and drug store chain agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners. The buyout would take the struggling chain private for the first time since 1927 and give it more flexibility to make changes to improve its business without worrying about Wall Street's reaction.
Broadcom rose 8.6% after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The chip company also gave a forecast for upcoming revenue that topped analysts' expectation, thanks in part to strong demand for its artificial-intelligence offerings. They helped offset Hewlett Packard Enterprises, which slumped 12% after reporting profit for the latest quarter that fell just short of analysts' expectations. Costco sank 6.1% after the retailer reported a weaker profit for the latest quarter than expected.
