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Convicted of all but four charges

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

FREDDIE Solomon Ramsey faces a $10,000 fine and four years in prison after a jury convicted him last night of multiple bribery related charges stemming from the Alstom SA/Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) scandal.

The 79-year-old insurance executive was stoic when the jury’s four not guilty, 14 guilty verdicts were announced some three and a half hours after Justice Bernard Turner excused the nine member panel to deliberate on evi-

$600,000 COLLEGE LINK WITH ISLAND LUCK

dence alleging that French company Alstom SA paid more than $300,000 to a BEC board member to influence the awarding of the New Providence Phase Two and Three contracts between 1999 and 2003.

When asked by the judge if there was any reason why sentence should not be passed against him, his lawyer, Wayne Munroe, QC, said there was.

The attorney asked the court to arrest the jury’s verdicts pending the outcome of a hearing on Article 28 of the Constitution on the argument that

By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net

SEE PAGE SEVEN

“Bahamians don’t need an economist to figure out that the economy is shrinking. They look around to see friends, neighbours, or family members out of work and losing their homes, empty storefronts, the Baha Mar an empty shell with no activity and rising crime. Our people are struggling yet this government is focused on enriching their friends and allies, and not turning around our stagnant economy,� Dr Minnis said.

SEE PAGE SIX

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Tribune Staff Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net  HUMAN rights activist Erin Greene said Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller’s “campaign� to exile transgender people to a private island underscores a “severe degree of ignorance� regarding LGBT issues, as she raised concerns that his “hate speech� has incited fear among Bahamians in that community.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Ms Greene urged public officials and religious leaders to send a clear message that Mr Miller’s “heinous� comments will not be tolerated.

Meanwhile, lead spokesperson of Bahamas Transgender Intersex United (BTIU) Alexus D’Marco rebuked the former minister of trade and industry, saying he was “spewing venomous hate� that if allowed to continue, would feed “homophobic� and “transphobic� attitudes in the country.

SEE PAGE SIX

PLP: MILLER COMMENTS DO NOT REFLECT PARTY VIEWS

‘PLP ENRICHING FRIENDS WHILE PUBLIC SUFFERS’

By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net  FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis criticised the government yesterday for “enriching the lives of their friends, families and allies� while the public suffers.

In a statement, Dr Minnis said the country’s negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the second consecutive year is “worrisome� and confirms that The Bahamas “is in trouble�.

ACTIVISTS ANGERED AT CALL TO EXILE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY

FROM left, Alfred Sears, College of The Bahamas council chairman; Sebas Bastian, CEO of Island Luck, and Rodney Smith, president and chief executive officer of the College of the Bahamas, at yesterday’s announcement.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff HIGH SCHOOL and college students will benefit from a $600,000 partnership between the College of the Bahamas and the Island Luck Cares Foundation announced last night.

The Foundation’s initiative aims to help high school and college students further their education at certified institutions in the Bahamas or the United States. Schol-

arships worth a total of $500,000 will be offered for COB students with a further $100,000 going to high school pupils.

SEE PAGE EIGHT

THE governing party yesterday distanced itself from comments made by Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller about exiling transgender Bahamians, saying his remarks “do not reflect the policy position of the Progressive Liberal Party or the government of The Bahamas.�

In a statement, PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts said the party “respects the principles of freedom of choice, freedom of association and freedom of speech as protected rights under our supreme law� adding that the party “was founded and built on the foundational tenets of social justice and equality�.

SEE PAGE SIX

VOTING NO TO REFERENDUM MOSS: GOVT BACKING FOR YES OVER SAME-SEX FEARS A ‘SHAME’ VOTE LIKE NAZI PROPAGANDA

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Allyson Maynard-Gibson said it would be a “terrible shame� if Bahamians vote “no� to the constitutional referendum’s questions because of concerns about same-sex marriage.

This fear has nearly overshadowed the referendum’s attempt to address

gender discrimination in the Constitution, with numerous Bahamians telling The Tribune last week that concern about gay marriage will lead them to either vote “no� to the fourth question or all of the questions on the ballot.

Speaking to reporters outside Cabinet yesterday, Mrs Maynard-Gibson expressed hope that this will SEE PAGE THREE

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

MARCO City MP Greg Moss yesterday compared the government’s backing of the YES Bahamas campaign to propaganda methods utilised by Nazi Germany as he forecast the total failure of the gender equality referendum.

Mr Moss, leader of the newly formed United Dem-

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

ocratic Party (UDP), proposed that the democratic and responsible option would be to postpone the June 7 vote until the government could ensure equal funding and time were given to the campaigns that oppose the bills.

He called the referendum an exercise in “propaganda� and social engineering and accused the SEE PAGE THREE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, May 4, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Jack Hayward bridge to cut travel time in Grand Bahama

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmycock@tribunemedia.net THE newly built $4.3m Sir Jack Hayward Bridge was officially opened on Monday, providing much needed, shorter alternative commuting between Freeport and East Grand Bahama.

The late Sir Jack Hayward, principal owner of the Grand Bahama Port Authority Ltd, was instrumental in spearheading construction of the new bridge, warning that an alternative was needed to replace the 60-year-old Casuarina Bridge.

He was present when the contracts were signed, but passed away on January 13, 2015 before work had started. Naming the bridge in honour of Sir Jack was a fitting tribute to his legacy in the development of Freeport.

Prime Minister Perry Christie delivered the keynote address and was among the first to drive over the new bridge by police escort.

“This is a wonderful additional infrastructure and….

I believe Sir Jack would be proud,” Mr Christie told the Hayward family.

“This is a special occasion for you… and the wider

family; for Sarah St George and her brother, Henry, and their family…” he said.

Mr Christie said that the Jack Hayward High School and Jack Hayward Bridge will serve as symbols of Sir Jack’s existence, which is synonymous with the history and development of Freeport.

Mr Christie also noted that with the completion of the bridge, plans of the College of Bahamas becoming the University of the Bahamas are also finally soon to be realised.

Sir Jack had also stressed the importance of the new bridge being able to facilitate students travelling to the College of The Bahamas’ northern campus.

Mr Christie said: “Many years ago I had indicated to the College of The Bahamas that before I retire I would like it to be University of the Bahamas. Two weeks ago, the bill to promulgate the University of The Bahamas was given to Cabinet, and so we are about to usher in a new paradigm in The Bahamas, and one of the campuses will be connected in a more meaningful way by this bridge.”

Mr Christie also indicated that the history of Freeport, its origin, its challenges, the social integration

PRIME Minister Perry Christie, centre, cuts the ribbon to open the Sir Jack Hayward Bridge. amined in detailed how this the president for a day on thing works, and whether important matters dealing or not it should continue – with energy and national countries have to do that.” security,” he said.

Mr Christie stressed that The prime minister noted government is very near the that when he returns he will conclusion of the complex be “informing the country discussions and negotia- of where we are and what tions in terms of the future the future will be… that of Grand Bahama. will ensure that the maxi“Last night (Sunday) Sa- mum return is achieved for rah St George (vice-chair- the people of Freeport and man of the Grand Bahama Grand Bahama.”

Port Authority) met with He added: “There is no me in Nassau, where we interest on my part of interfurther discussed the way fering with ownership and forward, where I indicated no degree of coercion, but to her that I want to be able the country can’t wait, and to make a communication the country must be able to Parliament. It was sched- to explain to the rest of the uled to be on Wednesday, people why it is that we are but I am attending a meet- doing this in Freeport, and ing in Washington with not doing it in Exuma, or

process that took place over the past 61 years is critical to the health of the country because it is part of the nation’s history.

“We are going through an exercise – the country, the Port Authority, and its group of companies – some 61 years after the Hawksbill Creek Agreement was signed.

“We have had the most microscopic examination of the affairs of functioning, the impact of the GBPA and all of its subsidiaries.

We have done so because we believe future generations of Bahamians when they look back at the history would want to know that at a certain stage someone ex-

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn Acklins or Crooked Island.

“For better or worse, we have had a wonderful level cooperation from Sarah St George and her shareholders. We have been very direct in our discussions and I think they understand my role.

“We as a people must work together. We must recognise when the government makes the decision on this we are making a decision for the next 20 years, and therefore we are automatically tying the hands for another generation. That is why it is so important that we are right,” Mr Christie said referring to government’s positions on the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

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THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 4, 2016, PAGE 3

Yes campaign welcomes public debate on referendum

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net LYNN Holowesko, cochair of the YES Bahamas campaign and former Senate president, yesterday insisted that she and other members of the campaign were “fully interested in, prepared for and capable of” a public debate on the gender equality referendum.

Mrs Holowesko, speaking to The Tribune during the YES campaign’s Exuma launch, revealed that the group has received “several” offers to debate or discuss the legal ramifications of the proposed amendments.

She said the YES Bahamas campaign, as a part of its educational operation, welcomes an open debate on the issues.

She indicated that such a move would only magnify the assertions being put forward by the YES Bahamas group in its open forums and public presentations.

According to Mrs Holowesko, the “real life,

‘

We as Bahamians all know someone who each and every one of these bills would affect on a personal level.’

heart-wrenching” stories often shared by those in attendance have become the campaign’s best “selling points”.

She added: “Because we as Bahamians all know someone who each and every one of these bills would affect on a personal level.”

“It’s one thing to read words on a piece of paper, but it is another thing to actually see the sincerity in your face and hear it in your voice when you discuss these bills.

“That’s why these kinds of efforts are essential. The community meetings, the radio appearances and the face to face discussions,” she said.

“I want people to know that I myself lived through

and I am still living through the repercussions of the lack of bill one. I have four children, all with my American husband born at a time when I lived in America.

“Opting to move back home, my children were not afforded the right to be Bahamian through the Constitution despite me being a citizen of this great country.”

“When you widen the scope of these discussions and get the legal minds in and get the opposing views and allow the voting public a chance to ask questions; you get a full and best understanding and that is what we are working to achieve,” she said.

On Sunday, Think Bahamas! a group opposing three of four Constitutional Amendment Bills said it formally wrote Mrs Holowesko and her fellow co-chair Senate President Lady Sharon Wilson looking to gauge interest in a live debate.

Group spokesperson Pastor Cedric Moss told reporters that it would be “beneficial” for voters across The

Bahamas to hear simultaneously from both the YES Bahamas campaign as well as those on the vote ‘no’ side.

Mrs Holowesko led a team to Exuma on Tuesday.

In addition to launching the campaign’s Exuma operation, the team fielded the island’s first town forum of the gender equality referendum.

As a part of that forum, some 50 Exuma residents had an opportunity to openly discuss the legal and social ramifications of all the four proposed amendments.

Tuesday’s community meeting was held at the Kettle Centre in Hooper’s Bay. The YES Bahamas campaign yesterday launched its educational hotline to answer questions and aid the public with information related to the constitutional amendments.

The hotline is available weekdays from 5pm to 9pm and 9am to 1pm on weekends.

To contact the hotline, call 322-3010/11/12.

LYNN HOLOWESKO

‘YES VOTE WOULD CLOSE THE DOOR ON SAME-SEX UNIONS’

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

IN an effort to “silence the unnecessary noise in the market” surrounding the fourth Constitutional Amendment Bill, an official from the YES Bahamas campaign said yesterday that a “yes” vote to this bill would “effectively close the door on same-sex unions” in The Bahamas.

This is according to Cheryl Bazzard, co-executive director of the YES Bahamas campaign.

The former Progressive Liberal Party senator, expanding upon a statement from the Office of the Attorney General released Sunday night, said the Christie administration

has treaded carefully in its crafting of the fourth bill.

The amendment seeks to end discrimination based on sex in the Constitution, by inserting the word “sex” into Article 26.

She admitted yesterday that the Constitution was weakened through the contradictory positions of Article 15 and Article 26 (4)(c).

Article 15 protects the fundamental rights and freedoms of Bahamians, and in part, protecting individuals from discrimination based on “sex”.

However, there is no established legal definition of the term “sex” in Article 15, or in any other section of the Constitution.

According Mrs Bazzard, this is where the legal issues are derived and un-

derscores the need for an amendment.

She said the government has recognised that the Constitution has left itself exposed in this area, and because of the legal constraints of Article 26 (4) (c), the government cannot amend the Constitution to reflect a needed change without the approval of the people.

Article 26 (4)(c) states that the non-discrimination provisions of Article 26 do not apply to laws enacted before 1973 – laws such as Article 15.

“Sex” in amendment four is defined as “male or female,” which supporters of the referendum have said means at birth.

“What this effectively does is close the door to

an open interpretation of what (sex) means under Article 15. This now gives the court a direction to what it needs in saying that sex means male or female and not sexual orientation, not sexual preference; it effectively closes the door on same-sex marriage,” she said.

“When we look at Article 26 (4)(c) which enshrines marriage and the right of Parliament and the Constitution to discriminate on areas such as marriage, what the definition of sex in the Constitution does in defining it as male and female is that it points the court to a specific definition that it must look at when it is interpreting exactly what sex means.”

Those that oppose the

enactment of the bill four have argued that if a case in support of gay marriage is taken through the courts all the way to London’s Privy Council, The Bahamas’ highest court of appeal, the English court would rule in the favour of same-sex marriage.

Speaking directly to that assertion, Mrs Bazzard used the example of the Privy Council’s ruling on the death penalty.

She indicated that the court made its decision not on international merit, but on the rights enshrined in the Bahamian Constitution.

She pointed out that under Article 15 of the Constitution, all Bahamians’ right to life is protected and cannot be infringed upon.

“They didn’t use British

law or international rulings, it is our law that makes that call. Similar to the same sex-marriage (concern).

Our Constitution gives rights to all. We want to ensure that rights based on sex are protected for males and females. A male at birth is assured all rights granted to a male and a female at birth is granted all rights assured to a female.”

“Transgender, homosexuals and all other groupings are granted their rights assured to them through the sex they were born with.

Now we are looking to define that ‘sex’ is referring to ‘sex’ at birth and not sexual orientation, preference or anything else that can be perceived,” she added.

The referendum is set for June 7.

(equality reins).”

The debate about gay and transgender rights is not really controversial, Mrs Maynard-Gibson said, calling it healthy for this country’s democracy.

“It’s healthy for a democracy for people to ask questions and it is very respectful to answer people’s questions, that is what the government has been trying to do and what the constitutional referendum and the ‘yes’ campaign is trying to do,” she said. “I don’t really call it controversy. I think it’s exciting. It sends a message about how strong our democracy is that people are interested in having information. The ‘yes’ campaign is giving them the information that is required and is making it very

clear that it would be such a shame to vote for ‘no’ for something that this referendum is not about.

“What it is about is conferring equal rights in the manner in which citizenship is given and bill four is about ensuring that you are not discriminated against as a woman and you are not discriminated against as a man. It would be a terrible shame and the ‘yes’ campaign is doing a good job in this, to vote no for something that the vote isn’t about.”

In 2002, the PLP urged Bahamians to vote “no” in that year’s constitutional referendum, which also dealt with gender equality among other issues.

This call came after members of the PLP, in op-

position at the time, supported the referendum bills in Parliament. However, Mr Christie, then leader of the Opposition, successfully led a campaign to get the people to vote against the 2002 referendum. As a result the referendum was lost.

In August 2012, Mrs Maynard-Gibson said former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was to blame for the referendum’s failure.

She said her party did not support the “flawed process” and poorly drafted, unclear legislation that the then FNM government was trying to push through.

“Of course we want equality between Bahamian men and women but we must, one, respect our Constitution by not trying

to pass ten amendments at once, and secondly, on such a fundamental and important concept as the equality of Bahamian men and women, there must be certainty of intention,” Mrs Maynard-Gibson told the Senate in 2012.

“The process by which Mr Ingraham sought to amend the constitution was so flawed that it was the view of constitutional experts that the issue might have to be resolved by the courts – when Bahamians go to vote for or against a referendum every single one of us should be able to understand what we are voting for, we should be able to pick up that legislation and read it and understand it ourselves, we should not need the courts to tell us

what it means,” she said at the time.

Yesterday, the attorney general declined to give her view on the controversy about whether the vote “no” campaigns should receive public funds like the YES Bahamas campaign.

Such groups have threatened to sue the government if it fails to do so and Constitutional Commission Chairman Sean McWeeney has also suggested that the government has a legal responsibility to provide equal access to public funds to both the “yes” and “no” campaigns.

Asked about this yesterday, Mrs Maynard-Gibson said: “You need to speak to someone else about that.

That’s a matter for someone other than me.”

VOTING NO TO REFERENDUM OVER SAME-SEX FEARS A ‘SHAME’

from page one

not be the case while stressing that transgender rights have nothing to do with the referendum.

Last week, representatives of Bahamas Transgender Intersex United held a press conference urging the government to acknowledge the needs of their community, including access to healthcare and education without discrimination.

“This bill is not about the transgender comments,” she said. “We are focusing on what this is about. In 2016 Bahamians are ready and anxious for June 7 to come so that they can vote ‘yes’ to all four amendments, making it very clear that in today’s Bahamas

MOSS: GOVT BACKING FOR YES VOTE LIKE NAZI PROPAGANDA

from page one

government of “prostituting” independent institutions in a bid to manipulate public opinion.

“The government has been involved in this exercise since 2014,” Mr Moss said. “This is two years of trying to push propaganda onto the people. They’re not going to provide any money (to opposition campaigns).

There hasn’t even been the benefit of an acknowledgement of receipt of the letter from Save Our Bahamas.

“It’s not even money, it’s time, you can make money available today but you’ve had two years of trying to sway public opinion – clearly this is improper. There is nothing to prevent the government to reschedule it.”

Mr Moss is a panelist on the pastor’s forum hosted

by Save Our Bahamas. The religious group is lobbying against the fourth Constitutional Amendment Bill, which seeks to end discrimination based on sex.

However, Mr Moss is also against the second bill, which seeks to give women the same right as men to pass on citizenship to their foreign spouse.

He noted that the third bill was unnecessary because Article 13 of the Constitution gave Parliament the ability to make provisions as it related to citizenship. Bill three would grant any unmarried Bahamian man the right to pass on his Bahamian citizenship to any child he fathers with a foreign woman with proof of paternity.

The first Constitutional Amendment Bill seeks to give Bahamian women who are married to foreign men the right to pass on their Bahamian citizenship to any child of that union no matter where that child is born.

Mr Moss said that while he felt the first bill was worth passing, most persons have told him they will vote against all four bills because of their distrust of the government.

He maintained that the

referendum was just a smokescreen for the fourth Constitutional Amendment Bill. He said that he has received numerous calls from public servants in various departments, including the Passport Office, who say that members of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) community have already contacted them to state their intention to change their gender on government documents once the bill has passed.

“What is distressing,” Mr Moss said, “what is disconcerting, surprising, is to see the government’s continued attempt to sway the opinion of the people in what is meant to be an independent referendum.”

“Moving from subverting the presumed independence of the Constitutional Commission by turning them into a propaganda machine, but to go beyond that and launch a campaign using public funds to sway public opinion.”

He added: “What I think is the most surprising devel-

opment is the release that came out from the Office of the Attorney General. The desperation that’s showing right now is amazing, trying to manipulate public opinion and tarnish and abuse institutions that are supposed to be independent, to prostitute them trying to advance a political and social agenda that doesn’t coincide with the will of the people.”

He said: “This level of propaganda, we have not seen this in the world since Nazi Germany, maybe to a smaller extent Cuba but they have not gone to this level to use public money to sway public opinion.”

The Office of the Attorney General issued a statement this week in response to fears that the fourth bill will set legal foundation for same-sex marriage. The statement said that it was not possible for judges to interpret bill four as giving people the legal right to same-sex marriage in the future.

“While it is the role of judges to interpret the Con-

stitution and statutes, they must do so according to established legal rules,” the statement said.

“They are not free to ignore the language of the amendment or the will of Parliament.”

Yesterday, Mr Moss said the statement was both scandalous and “absolute nonsense” because the court was free to interpret the Constitution and laws.

He said he was appalled by the amount of misinformation and dishonesty from the government about the bills. He said the government was becoming in-

creasingly desperate in its attempt to subvert the will of the people.

“They are engaged in social engineering,” Mr Moss said, “they clearly want to change this country into an image that does not represent the people. It’s absolutely scandalous but I don’t believe that the people will be fooled.”

PAGE 4, Wednesday, May 4, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

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US defence secretary says Russia is ‘nuclear sabre-rattling’ STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — US Defense Secretary Ash Carter blasted what the US and its allies see as Russian aggression in Europe, saying Tuesday that Moscow is “going backward in time” with warlike actions that compel an American military buildup on NATO’s eastern flank.

“We do not seek to make Russia an enemy,” Carter said at a ceremony to install a new head of the military’s US European Command and top NATO commander in Europe. “But make no mistake: We will defend our allies, the rules-based international order, and the positive future it affords us,” he said.

Carter’s remarks reflect US aggravation with Moscow on multiple fronts, including its intervention in eastern Ukraine, its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and what Carter called Russian efforts to intimidate its Baltic neighbours — countries the United States is treaty-bound to defend because they are NATO members.

Carter said the “most disturbing” Russian rhetoric was about using nuclear weapons.

“Moscow’s nuclear sabre-rattling raises troubling questions about Russia’s leaders’ commitment to strategic stability, their respect for norms against the use of nuclear weapons, and whether they respect the profound caution that nuclearage leaders showed with regard to brandishing nuclear weapons,” he said.

The end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was thought to have virtually ended the prospect of nuclear conflict with Moscow.

But the speeches at Tuesday’s changeof-command ceremony emphasized the possibility of history repeating itself, or at least ending a period of warmer USRussian relations.

Senior White House officials said the US and its partners were shifting into a new phase focused on military deterrence to Moscow. Additional NATO forces that will rotate through countries on Russia’s eastern flank will be enough to defend NATO countries if Russia were to attack, said the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

To that end, the US plans to add a third US Army combat brigade in Europe in the coming year as part of a $3.4 billion initiative, Carter said. On Monday, he said NATO is considering establishing a continuous rotation of up to 4,000 troops in the Baltic states and possibly Poland.

That force, which could include some US troops, is among options expected to be considered at a NATO defence meeting in June. US officials said they were encouraging other NATO members to commit troops to the force as well.

But US attempts to control or direct Russia haven’t fared well. The US has been unable to end Russia’s occupation of parts of Ukraine and support for separatist rebels. And Washington is desper-

ately seeking Moscow’s help to enforce a cease-fire in Syria between the Russianbacked government and Western-supported rebels, and eventually usher President Bashar Assad out of power.

On both fronts, the United States has been running into brick walls with the Russians.

US officials said that they had “explicitly compartmentalised” the various issues the US is discussing with Russia. Yet it’s unlikely that Russia’s government sees it that way.

The US and NATO have sought to avoid provoking Moscow more than necessary, such as opting against opening new bases or permanently stationing troops in the Baltic countries. The Kremlin has raised concerns that permanent basing would violate a 1997 NATO-Russia agreement that prohibits permanent basing “in the current and foreseeable security environment,” and senior US officials said that NATO had decided to abide by those provisions.

Carter said he regretted the deterioration in relations with Moscow.

“We haven’t had to prioritize deterrence on NATO’s eastern flank for the past 25 years, but while I wish it were otherwise, now we have to,” he said at an outdoor ceremony, speaking from a podium framed by birch trees and drenched in sunshine.

Carter emphasised his hope that Russia will abandon what he called its confrontational approach.

“The United States will continue to hold out the possibility that Russia will assume the role of a constructive partner moving forward, not isolated and going backward in time as it appears to be today,” he said. “Much of the progress we’ve made together since the end of the Cold War, we accomplished with Russia.

Let me repeat that. Not in spite of Russia, not against Russia, not without Russia, but with it.”

Carter made no mention of two postCold War developments that many believe prompted, at least in part, Russia’s turn away from the West, namely, the expansion of NATO to Russia’s very doorstep and US placement of missile defences in Europe.

“We’ll keep the door open for Russia,” he said. But it’s up to the Kremlin to decide.”

Army Gen Curtis “Mike” Scaparrotti was installed Tuesday as head of US European Command and the top NATO commander in Europe. Scaparrotti most recently commanded US and allied troops in South Korea and has commanded troops in Afghanistan. He succeeds Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, who has pointedly and repeatedly warned that NATO must better prepare for an adversarial relationship with Russia.

By Robert Burns and Josh Lederman of the Associated Press

Auditor General is a true civil servant EDITOR, The Tribune.

IF we had a competition to “name the man of the year” in the Civil Service, there is no doubt my choice would be Mr Terrance Bastian, Auditor General.

Finally, after years of malpractice the Auditor General’s reports are going from his office to that of the Speaker of The House, avoiding the OPM - Ministry of Finance, where conveniently the release to the Speaker was timed based on what the report found.

Many times the Auditor General’s report was not tabled for years - Constitution Article: 136-{4)...without undue delay! Unfortunately the Auditor General’s reports, do not get debated.

If there is one change to

the Constitution, I would propose that it would be a requirement, annually, within three months of the tabling of the Auditor General’s report, for a full debate. Government must be accountable and fully transparent.

So has anything happened to the past exposure?

Abaco some $600,000 in Vehicle License fees missing?

Social Security food vouchers $200.000 missing, files shredded?

Freeport some “000’s missing.

Post Office Savings Bank monies missing.

NIB BAMSI fire and construction contract....and as they would say the list goes on.

Surely in a Westminster system, it is not good enough to hear and accept the comment of the Minister of Social Services, Melanie Griffin, and semingly push the issues of that Ministry under the rug, as if it is not important? Where is Ministerial responsibility? The police must be brought in and heads must roll.

Our Ministers need to understand that you are supposed to have our trust breach it and you have to resign. I am waiting Minsters!

Certainly Social Services Minister looked very frazzled being interviewed last evening.

W THOMPSON Nassau, April 27, 2016.

Equality umbrella must not leak EDITOR, The Tribune.

THERE is nothing like the spectacle of a Dame twisting herself into a knot.

We witnessed the febrile tantrum thrown by the former head of the judiciary – the third branch of our government that is now in the crosshairs of the legislature in what could become a truetrue constitutional crisis.

Was the Honourable Lady Justice Dame Joan Sawyer possibly upset because she was not asked to grant an in-camera audience to Sean McWeeney and Ruby Nottage so that she could lecture them on the constitution and why she thinks the document is fine as it is, thank you very much?

Her rant was bizarre.

Judges do err, of course.

That is why we have courts of appeal, the Privy Council and other forms of peer review to buck them up should they waffle on the finer points of applying and interpreting the law.

The constitution is the well whence all laws spring.

It is purposely not easy to change it. Were it a living being our constitution would complain about some of the blaring inconsistencies we left in it, either deliberately or inadvertently. None of the constitutions in our sister Caricom countries contain such bold discrimination and draconian barriers to citizenship.

Constitutional change is a legal process and this referendum was led by legal scholars including the aforementioned McWeeney and Nottage. The people were consulted and are now vigorously giving their views.

The public collectively hit the snooze button after the consultation phase of the process ended. They didn’t wake up until this year when they zeroed in on the two topics that always make Bahamians run hot – foreigners and gays. Never mind that the proposed changes mention the former only in relation to granting equal rights to women and men, and didn’t mention the latter at all – not by inference nor conjecture.

The Dame’s vapid contribution to the debate was to declare the entire democratic exercise unnecessary.

The whole thing, she let us

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net know, was frivolous, vexatious and a waste of Her Ladyship’s time.

It would be must-see TV to watch the Dame defend her dubious position at a Eugene Dupuch Law School moot. The future LL.Bs would rip her argument to shreds. As a lifetime amicus curiae or “friend of the court”, she knows that words matter.

She was either being deliberate, mischievous or noncompos factis.

In the scant time it would have taken to actually read through the four bills, Her Ladyship could perhaps finish a round of candy crush, or Sudoku or a robust game of scrabble, not to mention scour the TV Guide to see which Perry Mason rerun to watch (or whatever retired justices get up to in their spare time).

Equality, smality, what is wrong with these crazy people in this country? If you open the door to this equality foolishness the next thing you know these ingrates are going to be in the streets demanding to breathe clean air, or expecting to have a right to healthcare, or to be left alone in their own bedrooms. It will never end.

If we hadn’t given equal rights to uppity blacks and voting rights to those nagging women then this whole equality madness never would have started.

The Dame has given service to this country and to show our thanks we recommended her to the Sovereign for suitable awards and recognition culminating in her elevation to Dame Commander in an ancient order of chivalry. As one of Her Majesty’s Privy Councillors she is empowered to give advice, always in confidence, on high state matters. She earned her accolades.

But with privilege must come responsibility. Dame Joan has uselessly squandered so much of the high esteem in which we held her.

Not by her opposition to any or all of the four referendum bills. It is her constitutionally protected right to vote as she pleases, or to not vote at all. And she has a right to

freely speak her mind. Bear in mind though that free speech does not impose a demand to make sense.

School children of yesteryear would remind us that freedom gave all God’s creatures, even a cat, the unfettered right to gaze upon the Queen.

For being an intellectual, a card-carrying member of the elite in The Bahamas, in Caricom and throughout the Commonwealth, a revered member of the bar and of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn in the UK, Dame Joan has a duty to acquaint herself with the facts of any matter.

The constitution is like a giant umbrella that provides protection in times of need for all within our country and what we who proudly associate with the 4Yes camp are attempting to do is to remove a few of the qualifiers that patently discriminate against some of our fellow Bahamians. We cannot have the umbrella leak on even the tiniest minority group.

So let’s apply Dame Joan’s logic and reasoning to a time just 60 years ago. Selected blacks were extended privileges available to all whites.

We, therefore, should have left the status quo alone. But it is thanks in no small measure to some of those same blacks of privilege in 1956 who campaigned to turn advantages for a few into rights for all.

That same struggle continues today My Lady, only this time we are fighting for our sisters and brothers wronged and discriminated against by the very document that is supposed to guarantee equal treatment.

If the Dame can’t spare five minutes to read about a proposal to grant equality to her friends, neighbours and total strangers, don’t fret, all is not lost for our Bahamas.

The call has gone out for women and men who love freedom and equality to stand up for our brothers and sisters who have had to endure a heavy thumb on the scales of justice.

I submit, therefore, that Dame Joan’s case should be dismissed with prejudice (legalese for “don’t come back with this nonsense”).

THE GRADUATE Nassau, May 3, 2016.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 4, 2016, PAGE 5

THE WAR cemetery at Farrington Road.

Call to make war cemetery a national heritage site

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

AN international organisation has reached out to the Bahamas government in hopes of having the 72-year-old Nassau War Cemetery officially preserved as a heritage site, officials said yesterday.

Honorary Supervisor for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and former British High Commissioner to The Bahamas Peter Young said he, along with CWGC representative Captain Joe Sipos, met with Works Minister Philip “Brave” Davis on Monday to determine whether the government has plans to turn the Farrington Road cemetery into a heritage site.

They also met to discuss if the government would be interested in “partnering” with the CWGC for its upkeep and maintenance.

As it stands, the cemetery, previously known as the Royal Air Force Cem-

etery, has been under the care and maintenance of the CWGC since 1973 following a post-independence agreement between the Bahamian and British governments.

As such, Mr Young said any move by the government to declare the cemetery a heritage site would likely have “implications” on the financing for the site’s maintenance, as well as obligatory implications on the CWGC. However, Mr Young said he and the CWGC are “very happy” with the “positive reception” Mr Davis gave them on Monday, claiming that the Deputy Prime Minister said the government is prepared to work with the CGCW and make a “contribution” to the endeavour.

Mr Young also said the group plans to meet with the chairman of the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation today on the matter. “So we just want to be sure while Captain Sipos is here on his visit, we want to be sure

DRUGS AND GUN SEIZED

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

POLICE made significant drug and firearm seizures in Grand Bahama and Bimini earlier this week.

The first incident occurred in Bimini shortly after 9am on Monday at the international airport when officers stopped and searched a male passenger who was found with two pounds of suspected marijuana strapped to his body.

The man was arrested and taken into custody.

In Grand Bahama, officers of Operation Turf Sweep, acting on information, discovered over two pounds of suspected cocaine and a .9mm pistol, with a magazine containing nine live rounds of .9mm ammunition, in an area on Hudson Avenue around 11am on Monday.

No arrest was made in that matter.

On Tuesday, officers of Operation Turf Sweep, acting on information, went to Hearn Lane where they discovered an assault rifle containing ammunition. No arrest was made.

MAN HELD AFTER SHOOTING

A MAN is in custody assisting police with investigations into a shooting incident that left another man in hospital on Monday.

According to police reports, shortly after 3.30pm, a man was on Carmichael Road when a man armed

with a handgun shot him in the leg. The victim was rushed to hospital where he is listed in stable condition.

Police later arrested the suspect in connection with the incident.

Investigations are continuing.

HUNT FOR ROBBERY SUSPECTS

POLICE are looking for the suspects behind two separate armed robberies that occurred Monday night.

In the first incident, around 8.30pm on Monday, two men armed with handguns robbed a deli located on Elizabeth Avenue of an undetermined amount of cash before fleeing on foot.

In the second incident,

shortly after 11.30pm, a man had just pulled up to his home on Hamster Drive off Faith Avenue north in his silver coloured 2012 Kia Sportage, license number 162, when three men armed with handguns approached and robbed him of his vehicle before speeding off.

Investigations are continuing.

that we understand how a site qualifies to become a heritage site, and if the Bahamas government has any plans to make this a heritage site,” Mr Young told The Tribune. “Because it’s good for The Bahamas, this sort of site being kept well, and it’s good publicity for everybody that although the CWGC itself is doing the work, we are, after all on Bahamian territory. So we want to work together with people and we’re very happy that the Deputy Prime Minister responded so positively.”

The Nassau War Cemetery was built in 1944 and opened by the Duke of Windsor as Governor of

Photos: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff

FROM left, former British High Commissioner Peter Young, Captain Joe Sipos, Peter Bates of the Sun Flower Organisation and President of Installers Company Greg Curtis.

The Bahamas. It contains a major renovation project history of The Bahamas, the graves of 46 British and was completed in 2014. and I think it’s extremely five Canadian casualties A local firm, the Install- significant.” and the Nassau Memorial, ers Company, co-owned by Established by Royal which commemorates seven Peter Bates and Greg Cur- Charter in 1917, the CWGC British and two Canadian tis, has the maintenance is responsible for the comservicemen. contract. memoration in perpetuity Responsibility for the After an initial survey of the 1.7 million men and Nassau War Cemetery of the cemetery yesterday, women of the Commonwas transferred from the Capt Sipos, an inspections wealth forces who died in CWGC Head Office in officer for CWGC’s Cana- the two world wars. It is reMaidenhead near London dian agency, praised Mr sponsible for war cemeterto its Canadian agency in Young, Mr Bates and Mr ies and other burial grounds Ottawa five years ago.

Curtis for doing a “great in 150 countries.

Despite the agreement job” in maintaining the Farbetween the Bahamian and rington Road site.

British governments how“We’re very, very proud ever, Mr Young told The of this cemetery and the Tribune that the cemetery way it looks, and I believe had been neglected in recent firmly that, not in the fuyears and had fallen into dis- ture, but right now, this is a repair. However, with new historic property,” he said. funding from the CWGC, “It plays a huge part in the

PAGE 6, Wednesday, May 4, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Activists angered at call to exile transgender community from page one She said the organisation has been in communication with international human rights groups who have pledged support and are also willing to provide a safe haven for those transgender and gay people who might feel threatened.

However she declined to go into detail about this.

On Monday, Mr Miller told this newspaper that he would be the first to donate financially to having those in the transgender community exiled to their own private island to ensure “they stay out of the way” of generations of Bahamians who are depending on the success of the June 7 referendum.

The MP said he would give the group its first $1,000 toward relocating and that it was his constant prayer that “God would come now and just end the world” as their actions “go against His will”.

It is these words in particular that Ms Greene said she took exception to because they play on Bahamians’ sincere fear of God, which she said was “dangerous” in a fundamental Christian society where there is a growing lesbian, gay, bisexual and

transgender (LGBT) community.

“Words such as those from Mr Miller manifests a severe degree of ignorance about basic biology, about his role and function as an MP and as representative of both the government and citizens,” Ms Greene said yesterday.

“Unfortunately I think he is unaware and oblivious to just how dangerous this speech really is. His statements are anti-democracy, anti-humanity (and) antiChristianity.”

Asked if there were fears that the LGBT community could experience a proliferation of violent acts against them, Ms Green said: “Absolutely.”

She said the more visible the group becomes, the more they are perceived to be pushing an agenda, which could spark a higher risk of violence.

“While on the surface we might be quick to say ‘this is just ridiculous Leslie Miller’ or ‘let’s be happy he says what is on his mind’, this tone of speech is so dangerous because it is subtle and for the average Bahamian the violence is so subtle that you might glide over it.

“But starting a campaign to exile trans people to an island is subtly saying we

need to figure out how to exterminate them. Then when you bring out the religious talk you are playing on the sincere fear of going against their God and you may inspire in others a sincere belief that they have to exterminate all trans people to save the world. And that is dangerous to do in a fundamental Christian society,” Ms Green said.

In a separate interview, Ms D’Marco added that Mr Miller’s words could have serious implications on the country’s tourism industry.

She told The Tribune: “My whole thing is that tourism is our bread and butter. We have parents and businesspersons here in this country. We have tourists who (are) transgender individuals who have come to this country every year and by them speaking like this it is just loose and callous speech.”

“Coming from a member of Parliament, somebody who represents the people and with transgender individuals in his constituency, we need to be very careful and cautious of what we say and how we say it because the world is watching,” she continued.

There are more than 50 transgender male, female and youth living in The Bahamas, BTIU has said.

ALEXUS D’MARCO, director of The D’Marco Foundation, described Leslie Miller’s words as “loose and callous”.

PLP: MILLER COMMENTS DO NOT REFLECT PARTY VIEWS from page one His comments came one day after Mr Miller denounced the growing transgender community and urged people to financially contribute to having this sect of society exiled to their own private island to ensure “they stay out of the way” of generations of Bahamians who are depending on the success of the June 7 referendum.

Mr Miller also pledged to give the group its first

$1,000 toward this relocation. He told The Tribune that it was his constant prayer that “God would come now and just end the world” as their actions “go against His will”.

In his statement, Mr Roberts also reiterated that the upcoming referendum had nothing to do with same-sex marriage and urged voters not to be distracted.

“The PLP agrees with the Office of the Attorney General that the Constitutional

Amendment Bills currently before the Bahamian people have absolutely nothing to do with same-sex marriage, the expressed concerns of the LGBT community and the entrenchment of these laws into our Constitution will not bestow any new rights on members of that community,” Mr Roberts said.

“Notwithstanding the wide freedoms of expression and speech that we enjoy today and the timing of such expressions, Bahamians far and wide are

well aware and discerning enough to know that one issue has nothing to do with the other. The constitutional bills currently before the Bahamian people seek to achieve equal rights for women, men and their children under the law. The PLP unequivocally supports equal rights for all Bahamians under the law.

“As varying groupings use the current referendum debate and climate to draw attention to issues important to them, and they have

every right to, we must not become distracted and lose sight of the objective of the four constitutional bills before us; that is equality for all Bahamians under the law. No more, no less,” Mr Roberts said.

Last week, Bahamas Transgender Intersex United (BTIU) launched its multi-level equality campaign, “Bahamian Trans Lives Matter”, which seeks to secure equal rights for transgender Bahamians as the debate about the upcoming

gender equality referendum continues.

During a press conference at the Hilton, BTIU representatives called on the Christie administration to ensure that the fundamental rights of all genders of Bahamians are protected. However, the group stressed that it is not trying to shift the focus of the gender equality referendum.

The group is calling for equal access to healthcare, education and employment without discrimination.

READERS REACT TO MP’S SUGGESTION OF EXILE FOR TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS TALL Pines MP Leslie Miller’s suggestion that the transgender community should be exiled to their own private island prompted a heated reaction from readers on tribune242.com.

Fitmiss said: “Regardless of a person’s sexual orientation, he or she should be treated with respect and not shipped off to a deserted island. Yes I am concerned about what kind of country and world my child will face when he becomes an

adult. I can only train him in the way he should go and teach him to respect other persons regardless of how much he may disagree with their choices. At the end of the day the person who

sleeps with someone of the same sex is not going to a hotter hell than the married folks sleeping with someone that is not his or her spouse.”

Cmiller wondered: “Do we need to start letting our representatives take a sanity evaluation now? Like they wanted Izmirilian to do? What the hell???”

Licks said: “Give a foolish man a soap box and headlines and soon he will ‘show his colours’ . . . hate is not a

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proper word to describe this current ‘rant’ of Mr Miller!

He calls for the ‘exile’ of Bahamians for their ‘choices’ . . . and agreed to help pay to deport them?”

Sheeprunner12 asked: “Do all of you realise that these MPs actually represent the citizens of their constituencies? They speak for thousands of citizens . . . so when they speak ‘ignorance’ they are speaking for those who voted for them . . . So blame the Bahamian system of democracy that allows such persons to be nominated and elected to

represent us.”

Greentea said: “I cannot imagine thinking I was born in a body I did not mentally identify with and I am not willing to judge the humanity of those who have gone and are going through it.”

There was this from Jus2cents: “. . . a psychiatrist should analyse him. Look at what he says, saying ‘These people’ and treating other humans as if they’re another species, this kind of hate speech harkens to the times of slavery. This is why we should vote YES at the referendum, if women were

equal in law then maybe the women can better fix the nation. Obviously just thinking about equal rights has made some of the Bahamian men go insane.”

Stapedius took issue with the story: “The Tribune never looks for sensible commentary. A load of sensational rubbish these days.

But I guess this is what sells papers. Mr Miller is like Trump; good for comic relief but not serious about things that matter.”

• Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.

‘PLP ENRICHING FRIENDS WHILE PUBLIC SUFFERS’

from page one

“Times are good for them, but bad for the ordinary Bahamian. They are still awarding lucrative government contracts to their friends and allies. They turn a blind eye to rampant corruption that infects every aspect of what they touch as our people continue to suffer.

“Over the course of one year, we saw drastic drops in both our exports and our imports. On top of all this our debt is over 70 per cent of the GDP. Our economic situation is going from bad to worse with no plan from this government to turn things around. In fact their failures are only adding to our problems. Their reckless spending is siphoning money away from public services in order to service the debt.”

According to data from the Department of Statistics published in Tribune Business on Monday, the real or “constant price” GDP contracted by 1.66 per cent last year. That represented a second consecutive year of decline, following a 0.52 per cent fall in 2014, suggesting the Bahamian economy has been in recession for two years, Tribune Business reported.

The data also showed that the value of Bahamian goods and services exports, in current prices, declined by 6.6 per cent year-overyear in 2015. Measured in constant prices, they were down 7.2 per cent.

This was driven by a 35.8 per cent fall in the worth of goods exports, with mineral fuels and oils down $95m. Chemicals and related product exports decreased by $110.7m, while

local spending by international (offshore) companies dropped 8.3 per cent.

Goods imports, which normally account for 70 per cent of all imports to The Bahamas, fell by 16.6 per cent when measured in current prices – aided chiefly by the drop in global oil prices.

The value of imported mineral products dropped by $333.2m or 34.8 per cent, while iron/steel articles were down by $43.1m or 32.3 per cent.

The worth of imported machinery equipment declined by $59.6m or 12.2 per cent, while optical photographic and measuring apparatus experienced a $40.9m or 59.5 per cent drop in value.

Services imports slumped in value by 31.8 per cent, with construction leading the way through a 64.9 per cent or $417.3m decline.

THE TRIBUNE

from page one

Wednesday, May 4, 2016, PAGE 7

Ramsey guilty of BEC bribery

certain documents essential to Ramsey’s preparation for defence at trial were not disclosed.

Mr Munroe said there was no prejudice in extending Ramsey’s bail considering his client’s medical circumstances that could be verified in a social inquiry report produced for the court’s consideration.

Justice Turner said that he would, in the circumstances of Ramsey’s age and other “apparent personal circumstances”, extend the $40,000 bail bond ahead of the May 12 constitutional hearing.

However, Ramsey was ordered to surrender his passport to the Supreme Court at 10am Wednesday.

He must also report to the Elizabeth Estates Police Station on May 6 and May 9, on/or before 6pm.

“I will accede to your application but it is not to be taken that the court will not impose a custodial sentence should it come to that point,” the judge stressed.

Ramsey was acquitted of two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery concerning the Phase Two contract.

However, he was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and 12 counts of bribery concerning the Phase Three contract.

In yesterday’s summation of the evidence, Justice Turner firstly addressed statements made by Mr Munroe during his closing address to the jury last Friday.

Mr Munroe on Friday described his client as a “scapegoat” who, he said, was set up by Mark Smith who played on his client’s prior relationship with Smith’s father to further his own agenda.

He said that the average individual would not believe that a small country could be bullied by an OECD country that blacklisted The Bahamas during the period that the InterAmerican Development Bank DA-12 contract was being decided.

“But nice white people don’t do that. It’s that mindset that we have. It’s a bad mindset,” Mr Munroe said on Friday.

Justice Turner yesterday cautioned the jury concerning such statements.

“In as much as counsel referred to those issues, whether the prosecution

FRED Ramsey arrives at court for a previous appearance. has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt has nothing to do with gender issues, race or corruption. Put all those things out of your mind and focus on the evidence in this case and only the evidence. You are to be detached, objective and critical,” the judge said.

“I would also like to remind you that this (case) has nothing to do with any political persuasion. Contrary to belief, there’s one government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, no matter what political organisation may have been affiliated.

“This matter is about whether or not the prosecution has proven its case against the defendant. That defendant is here, Freddie Solomon Ramsey,” the judge stressed.

The 18 charges against the accused – four of conspiracy to commit bribery and 14 of bribery – con-

cerned the New Providence Expansion Phase Two and Three contracts.

It was alleged that Ramsey, being concerned with others, did conspire “solicit, or accept any advantages as an inducement to, or reward for, or used influence in procuring” for ABB Generacion and Alstom SA in the New Providence Expansion Phase Two contract with BEC between 1999 and 2003.

It was further alleged that Ramsey, on seven occasions during the same period, solicited and received a total of $321,107.81 in bribes from Alstom SA, formerly ABB Generacion.

“The verdicts on each count may not be the same,” Justice Turner said yesterday.

“You may find there’s evidence of soliciting but not accepting. Soliciting and accepting are individual concepts,” the judge said

Time is running out for Nassau and downtown redevelopment View from Afar

By JOHN ISSA THE growth of cruise stops in the Bahamas in recent times has been substantially due to the growth in the number of private cays.

This is fine as long as it isn’t the only growth but, unfortunately, that has been essentially the situation. The result has been that downtown Nassau has been in decline.

There are many causes for this, including the building of shopping malls on the new monster-sized cruise ships, the lack of sufficient shore attractions in Nassau and the lack of incentives for investing in the rebirth of East and West Bay Street.

But the main cause is that downtown Nassau has been - and continues - in decline as an attractive place to visit. We cannot let historic Nassau continue to die, especially since certain conditions exist which make it particularly timely for its rebirth.

1 The commercial docks have been moved from East Bay Street.

2 Many offices have

View from afar

By JOHN ISSA

moved out of downtown to the east and west of New Providence, leaving spaces available for creative redevelopment.

3 The Pointe development, the largest private investment in downtown Nassau in decades, is moving forward.

4 The government, present and past, have each indicated that they supported the redevelopment of downtown.

5 And most important is the fact that Havana is now open for cruises from the United States. Havana, especially Old Havana, is a very interesting and historic destination whose cultural appeal will make it a very serious competitor for Nassau.

That being the case, why can’t we give the property owners, or anyone wishing to buy and develop proper-

ty, whatever incentives are necessary to get redevelopment going. Of course, the projects would have to be in step with an agreed master plan.

It has been done before.

Incentives were tailormade for Atlantis, Albany and Baha Mar. Two cruise lines are currently planning to invest about $500m in Ocean Cay and a private port on Grand Bahama.

I would bet that these projects will be getting special incentives. Why can’t we do the same for our own Bahamian property owner and developers?

Time is running out: we need to act now. It is already late.

• John Issa is executive chairman of SuperClubs.

He is writing regularly in The Tribune.

before the jury retired to deliberate.

“They say Fred Ramsey was concerned together with others. If you accept the evidence, one of those others is principally Mark Smith. Smith speaks of others as Jose Rodriguez, Mark Contin and Abel Santamaria, officials from the Alstom company,” the judge said.

During trial, Smith alleged that Ramsey struck a deal that allowed him to receive a fraction of some $600,000 as a paid informant for the French company.

Smith has received immunity from prosecution notwithstanding his admission that he accepted a cut of hundreds of thousands of dollars to relay to Alstom SA information gathered by an insider to the tendering process that would bolster the French firm’s chances of winning the contract bid over its South Korean rival, Hanjung.

Smith said this occurred through a consultancy arrangement between his company and Ramsey, then partner of Caribbean Supplies Bahamas Ltd (CSBL) and a member of the BEC board.

The kickbacks were allegedly deposited to Ramsey’s US Bank Atlantic account.

It was revealed in court

by Smith that Alstom SA had written letters intended for then Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and then Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson as the company wanted BEC officials to reconsider the bid it felt was going to be rejected.

The jury also saw a letter Alstom SA received from then BEC Assistant General Manager Patrick Hanna in December 2000, who took issue with the French company’s attempt to discredit another bidder or the evaluation process and noted that the letters “are in direct contravention of the tender process”.

Inspector Deborah Thompson, of the Central Detective Unit, testified that Ramsey denied having any involvement in the bribe scheme during an interview in which 101 questions were put to him in the presence of his then lawyers Roger Minnis and Khalil Parker.

Justice Turner, in his summation yesterday, noted that former BEC execu-

tives confirmed that Ramsey served “as a member of the board from January 1, 1998 through to the end of 2000.”

The judge further noted that section nine of the Prevention of Bribery Act notes that lack of intention is not an excuse for receiving monies connected to bribery.

“Counsel for the accused said there’s no contest that monies were deposited to the account. They, in cross-examination, put it to the witness that this money was in fact commissions for work that CSBL did throughout the world.

Smith said this is not so.

Smith said the money was deposited for Ramsey’s assistance in securing the contract,” the judge said.

“In this case, Mark Smith has received immunity from prosecution, meaning he cannot possibly gain anything further from giving evidence. It does not, however, eliminate danger of such a witness giving false evidence,” the judge cautioned.

Justice Turner noted that the jury did not have the benefit of being provided details of Smith’s immunity and the extent of information rendered to the authorities, other than his cooperation and admission that he was an accomplice, party and conduit to bribery.

He also said there was no direct or documented proof of Smith calling or faxing Ramsey concerning the allegations.

He also advised the jury to be practical when considering the issue of immunity with the evidence itself.

“If you’re not sure Mark Smith is an honest witness, not speaking the truth or is a reliable witness, then you ought to reject his evidence,” the jury was told.

Garvin Gaskin, acting director of public prosecution, prosecuted the case with the assistance of Cordell Frazier.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, May 4, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

STUDENT TAKES ON JUNIOR TOURISM ROLE

AFTER successfully defeating 11 students from around the country, Gabriele Josephs of Mary Star of the Sea has been named the new junior minister of tourism.

Under this year’s topic, “Diversifying The Tourism Product Through Entrepreneurship” Gabriele and other students duked it out in a thrilling speech competition final.

As the junior minister, he receives the title, the Patrick S Bain Scholarship, an all-expense paid four-day trip to CTO Youth Congress, a $500 cash prize and a trophy. Mary Star of the Sea also receives $500 and a floating trophy to commemorate the accomplishment.

Paloma Cartwright,

from the NGM Major High School in Long Island, placed second and in third place was Jacquon Minnis, from CR Walker Senior High School.

Reflecting on his win, Gabriele said he was delighted to have been chosen to represent the Bahamas.

“I feel incredible for the opportunity. I feel incredible that I have the opportunity to represent the Bahamas and for the opportunity to speak to my peers about tourism,” he said.

“The mixture of the sun, sand and sea with the communal atmosphere, the friendly people and the incredible atmosphere and the beauty of our islands that makes the Bahamas so unique and this is what

I’m going to promote to the world.”

Evelyn Pinder-Dames, senior mistress of Mary Star of the Sea and coach of Gabriele, described him as being the model student.

“He is very focused academically. He also has a creative mind when it comes to writing and putting things together,” Ms Dames said.

“It’s a pleasure working with him because of his creativity and his natural flair for presenting himself.”

Sabrina Josephs, Gabriele’s mother, believes that carrying the title will bring out the best in him.

“The junior minister title gives him a platform for him to explore. I’ve seen something in him today,

that makes me feel as if he should be on a stage,” she said.

Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe marveled at the speeches given by the students.

The Junior Minister of Tourism Programme offers one candidacy per island including New Providence.

It is also open to Bahamian citizens of both government and private 11th grade students.

The Junior Minister of Tourism programme was launched in 2002 to promote awareness among high school students. The programme consists of three phases: sourcing interview, speech preliminaries and speech competition finals.

AFTER beating out students from around the country, Gabriele Josephs of Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Academy in Grand Bahama is the new junior minister of tourism. Pictured from left, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism Harrison Thompson, Gabriele Josephs, Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe and Director General of Tourism Joy Jibrilu.

Photo: Kemuel Stubbs

$600,000 COLLEGE LINK WITH ISLAND LUCK

SOME of those attending the announcement of the link between the Island Cares Foundation and the College of The Bahamas.

SEBAS BASTIAN, CEO of Island Luck, pictured giving remarks at the announcing of their partnership with the College of The Bahamas to offer scholarships to Bahamians.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff from page one Island Luck also announced the winners of its OWN Bahamas Entrepreneurship Programme for 2016, with the top $25,000 grants going to Kwivan Miller, who runs a speciality barbecue catering service, and Christine Wilson, who wants to set up a unique

mobile spa and salon to service busy professionals.

Selima Hauber, of Field to Fork Community Farm, Tamarind Burrows-Isaacs, of Brer Bookie Meat Co, Cicely Bethel, of The Lemonade Stand, Ryan Ferguosn, of MGM Scapes Lanscaping, and aspiring sketch artist Kody Conyers received grants of $10,000 each.

THE AUDIENCE at last night’s announcement.

FROM left, Ricardo Deveaux, president & CEO of the Bahamas Primary School Student of the Year Foundation receives a sponsorship cheque from Dariq Chase (formerly of Oakes Field Primary School), Scotiabank’s 2015 recipient, and Maxine Seymour, of Scotiabank.

SCOTIABANK BACKS STUDENT OF THE YEAR SCHEME

SCOTIABANK renewed its patron sponsorship of The Bahamas Primary School Student of the Year Foundation.

The bank will award a scholarship to the 2nd runner up of The Bahamas Primary School Student of the Year 2016.

“Scotiabank remains committed to helping young people in the community become better off,” said Maxine Seymour, manager of public & corporate affairs, sponsorships & philanthropy at Scotiabank.

“We are proud to partner with the foundation in celebrating the achievements of ambitious elementary school students. We wish these top performers every success as they embark on their high school journey.”

Scotiabank’s 2016 schol-

arship cheque was presented by last year’s recipient, Dariq Chase, during a special visit to the bank.

Dariq is a 7th grade student at Aquinas College and is making the most of high school, participating in drama, choir, Key Club, and Unesco Eco Club all while maintaining good grades.

He likes to read, swim and play video games.

Over 100 students from public and private schools in New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands will be recognised during the annual Bahamas Student of the Year awards ceremony scheduled for Saturday May 21 at 6pm at Golden Gates World Outreach Ministries.

Scholarship funds are paid directly to each recipient’s institution of choice.

THE THETRIBUNE TRIBUNE

Wednesday,May May4,4,2016, 2016,PAGE PAGEA9 9 Wednesday,

SMARTPHONE HEALTH

APPLE RELEASES SOFTWARE FOR MEDICAL APPS APPLE is edging its way further into health care with the release of new iPhone apps that patients can use to manage their own medical condition, from diabetes to pregnancy and even depression.

While there are hundreds of health-related apps on the market, Apple wants to put its stamp on a new ecosystem of treatment programmes. Rather than build the apps itself, the tech giant developed a set of software tools and templates - “CareKit” - that health care groups and health-tech startups can use to create their own programmes.

Apple says it wanted to help developers build easy-to-use apps for patients to record symptoms, get useful information, track their progress and even send reports to a doctor. Experts say the CareKit programme could help bring standards to a relatively new and unruly industry, while giving Apple a toehold in the growing health-tech market.

CareKit apps which hit the Apple online store last week include One Drop for diabetics; Start for people taking anti-depression drugs; and two apps from health startup Glow, aimed at women who are pregnant or caring for newborns. Apple says larger organisations, including the University of Rochester and hospitals at the Texas Medical Center, are working on CareKit apps for people with Parkinson’s disease and patients who have undergone heart or lung operations.

“These mobile tools can help people reach their health goals,” said Thomas Goetz of Iodine, a startup that used CareKit in the latest ver-

sion of its Start app. Along with providing information about sideeffects to depression medications, the app asks patients to record their symptoms and answer standardised questions to track how they are doing. Start uses a CareKit feature that lets patients send reports to their doctors; eventually, Goetz said, doctors will be able to respond by adjusting their instructions for medication, diet or exercise.

Data stored on iPhones is encrypted, and Iodine’s app provides cautions to make sure patients understand they are sending sensitive information to their doctors. Goetz said his company is also developing back-end software for medical of-

NEXT STOP MARS FOR SPACEX - IN 2018 ELON Musk, the billionaire founder and chief executive of SpaceX, plans to send a Dragon capsule to land on Mars as early as 2018 - a big first step toward his ultimate goal of colonising the ‘red planet’.

The Mars spacecraft will be called Red Dragon, Mr Musk said in his announcement last week. No astronauts will accompany Red Dragon on this first test flight.

Mr Musk said he wouldn’t recommend transporting crews in Dragons beyond the moon; its internal volume is only about the size of an SUV. California-based SpaceX already is using Dragons for space station supply runs, and the company could start flying Americans to the International Space Station by the end of next year.

Mr Musk said the upgraded Dragon is designed to land anywhere in the solar system. The propulsive landing system was tested recently at the SpaceX plant in McGregor, Texas.

Red Dragon would be launched aboard a mightier version of the current SpaceX Falcon rocket that may make its debut at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center by year’s end.

After successfully landing a lefto-

ver Falcon booster at sea earlier this month, Mr Musk said he would elaborate on his approach to establishing a city on Mars at an aerospace meeting in Mexico in September.

He maintains that re-using rockets is key to reducing launch costs and, consequently, opening up space. SpaceX now has managed to land a first-stage booster on land, as well as on an ocean platform. The recently retrieved booster could fly again on another satellite mission this summer.

NASA, meanwhile, has its own Mars exploration programme, intended to send astronauts there in the 2030s. The space agency contracted out station deliveries in the post-shuttle era in order to focus on that long-term goal.

Shortly after the SpaceX announcement, NASA’s deputy administrator, Dava Newman, said the space agency will offer technical support to Mr Musk’s company in exchange for Red Dragon descent and landing data from Mars.

No money will be exchanged, she stressed.

The window to embark on a Mars mission, whether robotic or human, comes only every two years because of planetary alignment.

AN ARTIST’S rendering provided by SpaceX shows a Dragon capsule sitting on the surface of Mars. (AP)

fices that will comply with federal confidentiality rules.

But Goetz acknowledged that doctors and insurers “are still trying to make sense of the world of health care apps. They’re trying to understand which ones are valid tools and which aren’t necessarily useful.” Apple’s software could help validate new apps, he said, by letting developers build on a standardised template from a well-known company whose products are used by large numbers of people.

Apple says it isn’t making money directly from CareKit, which grew from tools the company previously developed for researchers to create apps that collect iPhone users’ data

for health studies. But Apple could benefit if the apps gain wide adoption, making the iPhone an even more useful tool for millions of people with medical conditions.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has signaled he believes the iPhone and Apple smartwatch can play a bigger role in health care. But the industry is heavily regulated and Apple has not ventured into making specialised devices that would be subject to federal oversight. Instead, the company leaves it to the developers who use Apple’s software to determine if an individual app meets any health regulations.

BRANDON BAILEY Associated Press

A BLIP OR A BREAKTHROUGH? SCIENTISTS around the globe are excited as the world’s biggest atom smasher, best known for revealing the Higgs boson - or ‘God particle’ - four years ago, starts whirring again to churn out data that may confirm cautious hints of an entirely new particle.

Such a discovery would all but upend the most basic understanding of physics, experts say.

The European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) has in recent months given more power to the machinery in a 17-mile underground circuit along the FrenchSwiss border known as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

In a surprise development in December, two separate LHC detectors each turned up faint signs that could indicate a new particle, and since then theorising has been rife.

“It’s a hint at a possible discovery,” said Cornell University theoretical physicist Csaba Csaki, who isn’t involved in the experiments.

“If this is really true, then it would possibly be the most exciting thing that I have seen in particle physics in my career - more exciting than the discovery of the Higgs itself.”

The $4.4 billion LHC has reopened after a winter break to prepare for a restart in early May. CERN scientists are doing safety tests and scrubbing clean the pipes before slamming together large bundles of particles in hopes of producing enough data to clear up that mystery. Firm answers aren’t expected for weeks, if not until an August conference of physicists in Chicago known as ICHEP. The 2012 confirmation of the Higgs boson culminated a theory first floated decades earlier. The

“Higgs” rounded out the Standard Model of physics, which aims to explain how the universe is structured at the infinitesimal level.

The LHC’s Atlas and Compact Muon Solenoid particle detectors in December turned up preliminary readings that suggested a particle not accounted for by the Standard Model might exist at 750 Giga electron Volts. This mystery particle would be nearly four times more massive than the top quark, the most massive particle in the model, and six times more massive than the Higgs, CERN officials say.

The Standard Model has worked well, but has gaps notably about dark matter, which is believed to make up one-quarter of the mass of the universe. Theorists say the December results, if confirmed, could help elucidate that enigma; or it could signal a graviton - a theorised first particle with gravity - or another boson, even hint of a new dimension.

More data is needed to iron out those possibilities and, even then, the December results could just be a blip. But with so much still unexplained, physicists say discoveries of new particles, whether this year or later, may be inevitable as colliders get more and more powerful.

Associated Press

TECHTALK • AN Australian man long rumoured to be associated with the digital currency Bitcoin has publicly identified himself as its creator, a claim that would end one of the biggest mysteries in the tech world.

BBC News reported on Monday that Craig Wright told the UK media outlet he is the man previously known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The computer scientist, inventor and academic said he launched the currency in 2009 with the help of others.

Wright told the BBC he had decided to make his identity known to stop the spread of “misinformation” about Bitcoin.

• A SOLAR-powered plane landed in suburban Phoenix on Monday night after a day’s flight from California, the latest leg in its around the world journey using only energy from the sun.

The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 arrived in the suburb of Goodyear, southwest of Phoenix, at the end of a 16-hour trip from Silicon Valley. After Phoenix, the plane will make two more stops in the United States before crossing the Atlantic to Europe or northern Africa, according to the website documenting the journey. The single-seat aircraft began its voyage in March, 2015, from Abu Dhabi.

• AN OUTDOOR advertising company that owns thousands of billboards across the United States and around the world may be subject to a federal investigation to determine if its practice to gather mobile phone data to learn about people who are passing their displays in order to cater adverts to specific consumers is legal.

Senator Charles Schumer wants authorities to investigate Clear Channel Outdoor Americas, which has more than 675,000 displays in more than 40 countries and insists the information it uses is anonymous. Schumer says he believes the company has created “spying billboards”and is asking the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation to determine whether the tracking constitutes a deceptive trade practice.

• NEARLY four million Nissan cars are being recalled due to major safety problems where passenger air bags or seat belts could fail in a crash, leading to serious injuries or fatalities.

Nissan North America Inc said that 3.2 million cars may have a problem with a sensor that detects if the front passenger seat is occupied and if that passenger is an adult or a child. Defective sensors might incorrectly think that an adult is a child or classify the seat as empty, thus turning off the air bag.

Nissan will notify owners of the problem and offer to fix it for free. It is also recalling another 620,000 of its 2013-2016 Sentras, in which the air bag sensor isn’t shutting off when it should be.

• THE CREATORS of “Angry Birds” hope cinema audiences don’t get their feathers ruffled if some filmgoers pluck out their mobile devices at the end of “The Angry Birds Movie” and point them at the screen.

Rovio Entertainment is dropping a code in the closing credits of the upcoming animated film inspired by the mobile gaming sensation that will hatch an exclusive level for a new pinball-inspired game called “Angry Birds Action!” A level set on Piggy Island, home to the Angry Birds’ snout-faced adversaries, can only be unlocked if players pluck out their mobile devices and zap a code displayed during the film’s credits when it debuts on May 20.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, May 4, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Customs should alter tactics in dispute, advises Pinder

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Public Service Union President John Pinder believes executives of the Bahamas Customs Immigration and Allied Workers Union should adjust their tactics in negotiating with the government and drop their preoccupation with securing overtime pay and settle for a variety of benefits and increments instead.

His statement to The Tribune came after Labour Minister Shane Gibson said the Bahamas Customs Immigration and Allied Workers Union (BCIAWU) is

one of a few public sector groups that has not completed an industrial agreement despite years of negotiation with the government.

Speaking outside Cabinet, Mr Gibson said: “We heard some of the executives from the customs and immigration union on the radio yesterday talking about this government not being a labour friendly government and I just want to send a message to the executives because obviously they don’t want to complete this industrial agreement.

“We plead to the members and those hard working customs and immigration officers to look around you. Every single union be-

sides customs and the doctors have reached an agreement with the government.

And the doctors’ contract expired more recently than the customs’ contract.

“Every other one, the nurses union signed an agreement, Bahamas Union of Teachers signed a contract, BPSU signed a contract, the Bridge Authority signed a contract, ZNS, air traffic controllers have an agreement, every union has an agreement. Customs and immigration officers should ask a question, why is it that every other public services group signed an agreement but customs and immigration have yet to sign it? We have monies we want to pay

them. All we are asking is for customs and immigration executives to come to the table. We want to conclude the agreement. We want to do something for them.”

Several years ago, the BCIAWU broke away from the BPSU amid a dispute over the government’s decision to end overtime pay for the workers.

Mr Pinder said yesterday that the group must recognise that it lacks the leverage it thinks it has.

He noted that pressure from international organisations to significantly reduce custom tariffs and the development of technology that could be used to mod-

ernise customs related processes means that the officers should realise they will never get overtime pay.

“They are not being realistic,” Mr Pinder said.

“They need to forget about overtime and try and go and get some benefits; some risk allowance that would up the salary in the absence of overtime; get some allowances. But they need to focus on the need for IT education. Senior customs officers’ salaries are higher than someone who comes into the public sector with a CPA.” “From the time they took over with their own union, only thing they got were two lump payments. They

refuse to accept the fact that only so much you can get. They were advised by Obie (Ferguson) and others that leaving the BPSU would put them in a position to get their overtime back when the government made their decision to take them off it. But when BPSU had to negotiate with the government, we got them $400 increase a month for all officers across the board except guards who (got) $280 temporarily. We got them a shift allowance and shift premium. We got them insurance coverage and assistance with securing a career path where no officer needs to be in training for 12 months.”

TRUMP ALL BUT SECURES NOMINATION AS CRUZ HALTS CAMPAIGN

REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Sen Ted Cruz, R-Texas, hugs his wife, Heidi, following a primary night campaign event, Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in Indianapolis. Cruz ended his presidential campaign, eliminating the biggest impediment to Donald Trump’s march to the Republican nomination.

INDIANAPOLIS Associated Press IN A stunning triumph for a political outsider, Donald Trump all but clinched the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday with a resounding victory in Indiana that knocked rival Ted Cruz out of the race and cleared Trump’s path to a likely November face-off with Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Trump still needs about 200 delegates to formally secure the nomination, but Cruz’s decision to end his campaign removed his last major obstacle.

“Ted Cruz — I don’t know if he likes me or he doesn’t like me — but he is one hell of a competitor,” Trump said of his last fierce competitor whom he had dubbed “lyin’ Ted.” Trump, in a victory speech that was much lower-key than usual, promised victory in November, vowing anew to put “America first.”

Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders eked out a victory over Clinton in Indiana,

but the outcome will not slow the former secretary of state’s march to the Democratic nomination. Heading into Tuesday’s voting, Clinton had 92 percent of the delegates she needs.

“I know that the Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. They’re wrong,” Sanders said defiantly in an interview Tuesday night. But Clinton already has turned her attention to the general election.

She and Trump now plunge into a six- month battle for the presidency, with the future of America’s immigration laws, health care system and military posture around the world at stake.

While Clinton heads into the general election with significant advantages with minority voters and women, Democrats have vowed to not underestimate Trump as his Republican rivals did for too long.

Previewing Clinton’s general election message, top adviser John Podesta said Trump was “simply too big of a risk” to be president.

For months, Republi-

can leaders considered him a fringe candidate and banked on voters shifting toward more traditional contenders. But Trump tapped into Republicans’ deep anger with party leaders and outlasted more than a dozen experienced political rivals.

Party Chairman Reince Priebus declared the race over, saying on Twitter that Trump would be the GOP’s presumptive nominee.

“We all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton,” he wrote.

Indeed, Trump’s first challenge will be uniting a Republican Party that has been roiled by his candidacy. While some GOP leaders have warmed to the real estate mogul, others have promised to never vote for him and see him as a threat to their party’s very existence.

Even before the Indiana results were finalised, some conservative leaders were planning a Wednesday meeting to assess the viability of launching a third party candidacy to compete with him in the fall.

One outside group trying to stop Trump suggested it would shift its attention to helping Republicans in other races. Rory Cooper, a senior adviser to the Never Trump super PAC, said the group will help protect “Republican incumbents and down-ballot candidates by distinguishing their values and principles from that of Trump and protecting them from a wave election.”

Indiana was viewed as the last gasp for Cruz, the fiery Texas conservative. He campaigned aggressively in the state, securing the support of Indiana’s governor and announcing businesswoman Carly Fiorina as his running mate.

Cruz had clung to the hope that he could keep Trump from reaching the 1,237 delegates needed for the nomination and push the race to a rare contested convention.

“I’ve said I would continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory; tonight I’m sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed,” Cruz told

a somber crowd in Indianapolis.

Ohio Gov John Kasich is now the only other Republican left in the race. But Kasich has won just one primary — his home state — and trails Trump by nearly 900 delegates.

Kasich pledged to stay in the race, with his campaign manager saying the governor would continue to “offer the voters a clear choice for our country”.

Only about half of Indiana’s Republican primary voters said they were excited or optimistic about any of their remaining candidates becoming president, according to exit polls. Still, most said they probably would support whoever won for the GOP. Clinton, too, needs to win over Sanders’ enthusiastic supporters. The Vermont senator has cultivated a deeply loyal following, in particular among young people, a group Democrats count on in the general election.

Though Sanders claimed momentum, he has con-

ceded his strategy hinges on persuading superdelegates to back him over the former secretary of state. Superdelegates are Democratic Party insiders who can support the candidate of their choice, regardless of how their states vote. And they favor Clinton by a nearly 18-1 margin.

Exit polls showed about 7 in 10 Indiana Democrats said they’d be excited or at least optimistic about either a Clinton or Sanders presidency. Most said they would support either in November.

The exit polls were conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.

With Sanders’ narrow victory Tuesday, he picked up at least 43 of Indiana’s 83 delegates. Clinton now has 2,202 delegates to Sanders’ 1,400. That includes pledged delegates from primaries and caucuses, as well as superdelegates.

Trump now has at least 1,047 delegates. Cruz exits the race with 565, while Kasich has 152.

ARGENTINA’S MACRI WELCOMES PANAMA PAPERS PROBE

BUENOS AIRES Associated Press

ARGENTINE President Mauricio Macri said yesterday that he is open to being investigated over his role in two offshore companies that emerged in the “Panama Papers” leak.

Mr Macri said that he will co-operate with a federal judge who requested information on the companies

from authorities in Panama and the Bahamas.

The president said the companies were family businesses and he was a figurehead without compensation. He has also set up a blind trust to handle his financial holdings in response to growing criticism.

The case was launched by a federal prosecutor who asked for authorisation to

investigate whether Mr Macri “maliciously” omitted his role in the offshore companies in his annual tax declarations.

The former Buenos Aires mayor ran for the presidency last year on a promise to root out Argentina’s endemic corruption.

The Bahamas was named a key tax haven for some of the world’s wealthiest people who sometimes seek

to launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax according to the Panama Papers, a leak of some 11 million documents last month by a Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, to a German news agency. The news agency, Suddeutsche Zeitung, contacted the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) to help analyse the data that is being described

as the biggest leak in history. Mossack Fonseca reportedly played a major role helping clients use offshore centres, including 12 current or former heads of states and 17 relatives/ friends of such country leaders as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Macri shows up in documents of “Fleg Trading Ltd,” a now-defunct company that was incor-

porated in the Bahamas.

Mr Macri has said it was set up in the late 1990s to make investments in Brazil, but that investments never materialised and by 2009 the company was dissolved. The report further claims that the company, Fleg Trading Ltd, was not disclosed as an asset when Mr Macri became mayor of the country’s capital, Buenos Aires.