05052023 NEWS, SPORT AND BUSINESS

‘citizenship fight was for everyone’

• Privy Council upholds ruling on birthright

• Man at centre of case tells of long journey

• Establishing paternity to be the next battle

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

The Privy Council affirmed yesterday that children born out of wedlock to Bahamian men are citizens at birth regardless of their mother’s nationality, a consequential ruling that transforms how citizenship is attained in The Bahamas.

The constitution was long interpreted as requiring people born out of wedlock to Bahamian men and foreign women to apply for citizenship at 18, a reality that impeded some in their efforts to travel and do basic activities like open a

bank account. Some Bahamian men even adopted their children just to pass on citizenship.

The Davis administration acknowledged yesterday’s ruling and said it would amend legislation to remedy other discriminatory citizenship policies like the inability of Bahamian women with foreign husbands to pass their nationality to children born abroad. Collectively, the Privy Council’s ruling and the government’s promised amendments could achieve what the referendums of 2002 and 2016 failed to do: equalize access to citizenship

SEE page S 4,5 & 10

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

DOwn $400m fOr Gb a irp Ort

PRIMe Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said his administration would draw $400m from the $1bn made available by the UK eXIM Bank to develop the Grand Bahama International Airport. his comment came yesterday during a question-and-answer period at the Caribbean Council

LAwyer: ‘ w e’re going to fight’ as OaG pulls settlement

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter Ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

ROMONA Farquharson

Seymour said the Office of the Attorney General has rescinded its offer to settle Corrections Commissioner Charles Murphy’s lawsuit against the government, declaring: “We’re gonna fight.”

The Tribune reported on Wednesday that Commissioner Murphy and his lawyer were reviewing the offer before a July trial.

The settlement agreement would mark the first time a high-profile public official has settled with the government following actions taken by the Davis

DOwnGra Des bring ‘re AL L ife consequences’ tO lOcal bank

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The GOveRNMeNT S declining creditworthiness has sparked “real life consequences” for a BISXlisted bank by forcing it to take a “much bigger than expected” $560,000 hit in its 2022 full-year results.

Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, yesterday told Tribune Business that successive downgrades of The Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating have resulted in the lender incurring a total $1.6m impairment charge to its $100m government debt securities holdings over the past two years.

Bahamas Investment Promotional event in London before the coronation of King Charles III.

“The UK eXIM Bank making available to us $1bn to draw down on is a step in the right direction for investments,” he revealed.

“We’re drawing down at least $400m for the redevelopment of the airport in Freeport, Grand Bahama, which will be a green airport.”

Last Month, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper revealed that a

Shannon tyreck rolle, represented by the now-minister of national Security Wayne munroe, was the applicant in the court action which has brought about a significant ruling on children born out of wedlock to a foreign spouse.

Bahamas Waste unveils truck celebrating 50th Indpendence

AS the countdown to the 50th anniversary of Independence continues, Bahamas Waste joined in events by unveiling a truck celebrating the nation.

The 50th Independence truck unveiling was attended by Seabreeze MP and Independence Secretariat chair Leslia Miller-Brice, along with members of the Independence Committee and Bahamas Waste representatives.

The ceremony was held at the Gladstone Road offices of Bahamas Waste.

Fransico deCardenas Managing Director of Bahamas Waste unveiled the companies truck design celebrating The Bahamas 50th Independence. He was joined by Independence Secretariat chair Leslia Miller-Brice and other representatives for the unveiling.

Photos: austin Fernander

Call for King Charles III to acknowledge and apologise for ‘horrific impacts’ of colonisation

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff Reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas has joined 12 other countries in demanding that incoming monarch King Charles III apologise and make reparations for the previous oppression and enslavement of indigenous people.

As King Charles III prepares to be crowned in London on May 6, 12 countries, indigenous people and advocacy groups are highlighting the effects of British colonisation.

A statement released on May 4, titled “Apology, Reparation, and Repatriation of Artefacts and Remains,” has been signed by Antigua and Barbuda, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The statement said: “We

the undersigned, call on the British Monarch, King Charles III, on the date of his coronation being May 6, 2023, to acknowledge the horrific impacts on and legacy of genocide and colonisation of the indigenous and enslaved peoples.

“Our Collective Indigenous Rights Organizations also call for a formal apology and for a process of reparatory justice to commence. We specifically call on King Charles III, as Head of State of our respective countries.

“We stand united in engaging a process to right the wrongs of the past and to continue the process of decolonisation.”

The statement outlined five demands of the British Monarchy, including that it start a conversation on “slavery’s enduring impact” and reparations. “Immediately commit to starting discussions about reparations for the oppression of our peoples, plundering of our

resources, denigration of our culture and to redistribute the wealth that underpins the Crown back to the peoples from whom it was stolen,” the statement said.

The statement also cited the need for the “repatriation of remains of (the) collective peoples that reside in UK museums and institutions” and the “return of all (the) cultural treasures and artefacts”.

“Immediately commit the Royal Family to acknowledge and adopt the renunciation of the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ made by Pope Francis in April 2023 and start the process of consultation and reparations for First Peoples,” the statement said.

This doctrine, which is used to defend European conquests beginning in the 14th century, was declared and established by Pope Francis in April of this year.

pm to dr Aw down $400m for gB Airport

LAwyer: ‘ w e’re going to fight’ A s oAg puLL s sett L ement offer

from page one

administration. All previous settlements within the last year came from lawsuits launched under the Minnis administration.

“I received the call from the Attorney General’s Office that they have received instruction to rescind the offer. I told (the woman) I’m not surprised,” Mrs Farquharson Seymour said yesterday.

“It does not appear or seem that the Attorney General is in control. I wouldn’t talk about the Prime Minister who is constantly out of the jurisdiction. He needs to get back home. He needs to know what’s happening.”

Mrs Farquharson Seymour had said the offer was in line with the OAG’s awards to other prominent

officials who sued the government in recent years, something she discovered after talking to other lawyers.

However, she said Commissioner Murphy’s case is unique because of certain “aggravating situations” that occurred, namely, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe’s comments about Mr Murphy.

Asked if she believes Wednesday’s article in The Tribune prompted the OAG to pull the offer, she said: “I don’t know. I gather (someone) must have been upset by it for us to dare to suggest that Mr Murphy ought to be entitled to more damages than others.”

“We’ll do our talking in court. We’re gonna fight.”

Commissioner Murphy was sent on administrative leave in September 2021 so officials could investigate

the case of Prescott Smith, who was imprisoned in possible breach of a Supreme Court order.

Mr Munroe later said an inquiry into several matters involving the commissioner would occur, including his handling of a prisoner who contracted COVID-19.

Mr Munroe’s involvement in sidelining Commissioner Murphy was scrutinised because his law firm represented Acting Commissioner Doan Cleare and Deputy Commissioner Bernadette ThompsonMurray when they sued the government under the Minnis administration for being forced on vacation leave.

The Commissioner has not been back on the job since he was sent on administrative leave and is now on pre-retirement vacation.

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said his administration would draw $400m from the $1bn made available by the UK EXIM Bank to develop the Grand

from page one

$200m Grand Bahama International Airport would be developed, transforming the facility into an international “air cargo hub” for the Caribbean and Latin America.

He said the project’s first phase is slated for completion no later than the first quarter of 2025.

Yesterday, Mr Davis

urged investors to invest in The Bahamas’ agriculture sector because food security is among his administration’s key priorities.

He also said the government aims to grow and diversify the economy while actively seeking support from industrialised nations.

“Our fundamental goal is to make life better for the people of The Bahamas. While this ought to be a self-evident truth for every

nation, it is sometimes obscured when we seek to attract foreign investment,” he said. “We invite the money in, without doing our best to make sure that there are genuine contributions to national development. However, my government believes that the potential for private wealth creation, and investment in projects for the wider public benefit, can go hand in hand.”

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after he pleaded guilty to having a loaded gun in his car.

Lusconder Jean, 21, and Pedro Knowles, 23, stood before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on shared charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition. Both accused faced additional separate charges of possession of ammunition.

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama police have arrested a Freeport man in connection with the discovery of illegal drugs in

On February 13 at around 11pm on West Bay Street, near Baha Mar, police stopped the accused in a burgundy coloured Nissan Note and found a black Taurus 9mm pistol on the floor of the front passenger side as well as 12 unfired rounds of 9mm ammunition.

A search of the defendants’ residences the following day found a single additional 9mm round in Jean’s room and six additional rounds of 9mm ammunition in Knowles’s room. Both men reversed their

the Freeport area. A 51-year-old man was taken into custody on Wednesday, after officers attached with the Drug Enforcement Unit executed a search warrant at about

earlier position and pleaded guilty.

Magistrate McKinney sentenced Lusconder to two and half years in prison for the firearm charge and one year for the ammunition charges to be served concurrently. While the firearm and it’s attached ammunition charge were withdrawn from Knowles, he was fined $500 for the ammunition found in his room or risk six months in prison. Both accused have the right to appeal sentencing within seven days.

mA n sentenced to jA iL for h Aving A LoA ded fire A rm in his c A r four ounces of m A rijuA n A L e A ds to m A n’s A rrest in gB

6pm at a residence in Caravel Beach.

A search of a red Chevrolet vehicle revealed about four ounces of suspected marijuana with an estimated street value of $250.

As King Charles III prepares for his coronation 13 nations “call on the British Monarch, King Charles III, on the date of his coronation being May 6, 2023, to acknowledge the horrific impacts on and legacy of genocide and colonisation of the indigenous and enslaved peoples.

Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth /AP

Bahama International Airport.

Photo: BIs

‘Transformative’ ruling on citizenship for children born out of wedlock

for children.

Shannon Tyreck Rolle, represented by the nowMinister of National Security Wayne Munroe, was the applicant in the

court action. Chief Justice Ian Winder ruled in his favour in 2020, breaking with a previous ruling by former Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall. In a three-totwo decision in 2021, the Court of Appeal affirmed CJ Winder’s ruling.

The case hinged on whether a reference to “father” in Article 14 (1) of the constitution applies when interpreting Article 6 of the document.

Article 6 says: “Every person born in the Bahamas after 9th July 1973

shall become a citizen of the Bahamas at the date of his birth if at that date either of his parents is a citizen of the Bahamas.”

Article 14 (1) says: “Any reference in this chapter to the father of a person shall, in relation to any person born out of wedlock other than a person legitimated before 10th July 1973, be construed as a reference to the mother of that person.”

The Office of the Attorney General argued that the reference to “father” in Article 14(1) should apply when interpreting “parents” in Article 6, such that only children of Bahamian women born out of wedlock would automatically be a citizen.

However, the Privy Council rejected the OAG’s interpretation of Article 6, finding it convoluted, cumbersome and “faintly absurd.” It said Article 14(1) only applies in strict circumstances where the word “father” is used in a clause and should not be used to qualify “parents.”

The Privy Council said that if a discriminatory approach was intended, the framers of the constitution would have used easier

and clearer ways to indicate this.

The appellate court also said it found no reason to interpret the clause in a discriminatory way.

“As has been shown, there is no requirement to adopt such a discriminatory reading of the provision,” the Board said in Lord Lloyd-Jones’ written ruling. “Moreover, the Board can see no possible justification for reading into the constitution such an approach reflecting, as it does, values which have long been rejected.

“Bahamian citizenship is an important and fundamental right and the provisions governing entitlement to citizenship are rightly entrenched in the constitution. In particular, Bahamian citizenship confers freedom of movement and access to The Bahamas. In the Board’s view, there can be no justification for introducing restrictions on entitlement to this right of citizenship by reference to such arbitrary and discriminatory considerations when there is no requirement to do so.

“For all these reasons, the Board concludes that

the reference to ‘parents’ in article 6 is a reference to biological parents and that article 14(1) does not import a requirement of legitimacy into article 6.”

Following the ruling, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, who is in London to attend King Charles III’s coronation, said he is committed “to ensuring that the country’s laws and policies are fair and just for all Bahamians.”

“As Prime Minister, I am dedicated to building a more inclusive and equitable Bahamas,” he said in a statement.

Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the ruling is an “important step towards ensuring equal citizenship rights for all children, irrespective of their parent’s marital status.”

“It is expected to impact the lives of many individuals in our country positively,” he said. “The Attorney General’s Office will work diligently to ensure the implementation of the Privy Council’s decision and to review the existing citizenship legislation in light of this new development.”

How to prove paternity is next as govt

to grapple wit H citizensHip questions

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

CHILDREN born out of wedlock to Bahamian men and foreign women won’t be recognised as citizens of The Bahamas until they prove that their biological father is a Bahamian through a process mandated by the government or determined by the courts.

How to prove paternity is a question the Davis administration will grapple with as it seeks to satisfy the expectation of people who now see themselves as Bahamian citizens following the Privy Council’s landmark ruling. The administration can address the matter through legislation.

Attorney General Ryan

Pinder told The Tribune: “Needless to say, you have to prove that your biological father is Bahamian, which means you have to prove paternity. A framework needs to be put in place for that.”

When Chief Justice Ian Winder ruled in favour of Shannon Rolle in 2020, he deliberately left the question of how to establish paternity unanswered.

Former Attorney General Sean McSweeney, the co-chair of the 2016 Constitutional Commission, said yesterday that requiring scientific tests is the ideal approach to establishing paternity.

“You always have to prove that the man is the father if it doesn’t happen in the context of marriage,” he said. “There are some who are saying they should just use an affidavit, but given the historical laxity with which Bahamians used affidavits, I think it would be dangerous to rely on that. There really should be scientific proof of paternity; at the moment DNA testing.”

“There will have to be steps taken to guard against abuse of the system. You certainly don’t want an industry being created out of this where people feel they could just get an affidavit of paternity and just get citizenship on that basis.”

Mr McWenney said in cases where a person’s father is dead, DNA tests could be performed “on anything the deceased person may have used”.

“You have to ask a scientist about that: how do you go about extracting the materials used for DNA testing?” he said.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe, who tried the landmark case before Chief Justice Ian Winder and the Court of Appeal, said people who will benefit from the Privy Council’s ruling must now be patient so the government can address the paternity issue.

“The matter isn’t fully resolved as far as this is concerned,” he said. “There were two issues. The first issue was a matter

of principle, the construction of Article 6, and that’s what’s been settled, that Article 6 means that a child of an unwed Bahamian father born in The Bahamas is a citizen.

“The part that isn’t resolved that the Chief Justice has to determine because it was referred back to him by the Privy Council, is how do you prove that your father is a Bahamian? Is it enough for your father to come up and say it? Does he have to do an affidavit? Does he have to sign your birth certificate or do you have to have DNA evidence? That hasn’t been decided. In the Supreme Court case that I did, it expressly said that issue is not being decided and it will await this outcome.

“If you go and dash to the Passport Office, they’re gonna consult the OAG and OAG will no doubt take a position. It would be irresponsible not to take a policy position which can apply to everyone, and so as the lawyer who did the initial case and the initial appeal, now as a member of the government, I would advise caution and a degree of patience while the government puts in place the policy to address that issue of paternity, because in reality, there’s no value in saying you’re going to rush and pressure the government because if you don’t get a passport, what can you do? Bring an action. Then you have to wait for a court date and the rest of that. It’s just as easy for you to wait and see how the government will bring about the matter.”

It is unclear what the DNA testing capacity is in The Bahamas.

“I think the Immigration Department and the Office of the Attorney General is going to have to treat with that to bring forward a solution,” Mr Munroe said. “There are a number of things that no doubt the government of which I am a member will be considering going forward and once it’s considered, then, of course, if it’s by virtue of legislation, we’d have to table a bill and the public would be able to see it and give their views.”

NatioNal Security Minister Wayne Munroe, who tried the landmark case before Chief Justice Ian Winder and the Court of Appeal.

‘Citizenship fight was for everyone’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE man behind the case that has sparked one of the most significant judicial rulings in recent Bahamian history said he always knew the matter was much bigger than his own quest for citizenship.

“My thing was never to just get my own documents,” said Shannon Rolle after the Privy Council ruled in his favour yesterday and affirmed that children born out of wedlock to Bahamian men are citizens regardless of the

nationality of their mothers.

“I felt this was something that I could get to make a change for everyone in this alien status. So my thing never was just for me.”

Mr Rolle said he found out he won the case a few days ago but kept the verdict a secret until the Privy Council released it on its website.

“My lawyer told me we found this out, it’s passed, but keep it to yourself. She said in a few days this is going to blow,” he recalled. “When she told me, I actually prepared for a lot of stuff. I did some research on it. I love how it finally

came through.”

Mr Rolle, whose father is Bahamian and whose mother is Jamaican, secured Bahamian citizenship in 2020 at age 20 through the normal application process. His brother and sister have since secured citizenship as well.

Mr Rolle is currently the owner of a general maintenance business. He said he attended the University of the Bahamas to study “electrical single phase.”

“Before we got citizenship, we went through the same things everyone goes through: not being able to open a bank account, not

being able to license a vehicle in your name, not being able to start a business. There was a lot of things you are deprived off when you don’t have citizenship,” he said.

Mr Rolle said his initial attempt to get citizenship was costly and futile.

“My first lawyer, she told me my father had to legally adopt me and if he could legally adopt me then I would be granted citizenship. So while doing this process, I think I paid a good amount of funds, near $3000, and on my 18th birthday she said it’s too late now for him to adopt

me because I’m 18,” he said.

Despite the difficulties, Mr Rolle said he is grateful for the experience.

“I feel like in life, people who go through things at an early age, it kinda makes your shoulder a bit broader and kinda makes you stronger throughout life itself, so to be honest with you, I thank God I went through that because it made me a stronger man today.”

Reflecting on the landmark ruling yesterday, Mr Munroe said he did not charge his clients.

“I didn’t require him

to pay me a fee,” he said.

“Generally you might charge a retainer, fifteen, twenty thousand dollars, but looking at these young people, they didn’t have it. When you have to file documents, sometimes it would take them a while to file the document, but if you confident that they have a right that must be vindicated, you can’t tell somebody bring me $15k. You know they’re not gonna get it. With these young people, two of them weren’t working at all. With Shannon, he was working but had expenses.”

Shannon Rolle, the man behind ne of the most significant judicial rulings in recent Bahamian history

The Tribune Limited

Citizenship ruling that truly matters

THOSE who have never been tangled up in issues over citizenship may not immediately grasp the scale of the impact of yesterday’s Privy Council ruling.

There are people who have time and again found themselves rejected by the country they want to call home.

Take a moment to read the stories of those affected by the ruling. Look at the story of April Finlayson, a Harvard-educated neuroscientist who found herself unwanted by The Bahamas.

She is the daughter of a Bahamian man and an American woman, and talked yesterday of how the ruling left her feeling bittersweet.

She said that she “just gave up on the thought of ever being Bahamian” and decided on a future somewhere else, after her fifth application failed. Our nation’s loss. America’s gain.

Elsewhere, Junisha Jean Pierre, a mother of four children, was overjoyed that her children won’t have to go through what she did.

She talked of the opportunities this would offer – the chance for scholarships for her children, and the fact they would not be charged double to attend the University of The Bahamas because they were not recognised as Bahamian.

Over the years, The Tribune has heard many stories of people who applied for citizenship when they reached 18 years of age, only to face long waits before a decision, if it ever came at all.

Some gave up on waiting and decided they would go to a nation that would accept them instead of the country they grew up in and called home.

One of those is Domonica Thompson, who got citizenship ten years after making her application. She talked of how the ruling would “alleviate a lot of stress on foreigners whose kids are born

here living in limbo”.

She added: “I think that it’s going to make it easier for a lot of parents who have children that were born in The Bahamas to now be able to claim what is rightfully theirs.”

This ruling erases one inequality, but others remain. Now there must be a push for Bahamian women to get the same rights as their male counterparts in all instances.

Why we have chosen for so long to allow people born here who have Bahamian ancestry to be rejected, treated as somehow being lesser, and delayed their simple request for their birthright to be recognised is baffling. We diminish our compatriots, and drive them away from our nation. We have too long told people in such situations that they are not welcome – perhaps not in words, but in actions.

No matter what the legal ruling, there has never been any excuse for keeping people waiting so long – a problem under both FNM and PLP administrations. People’s lives, people’s very identities have been treated as of no urgency.

We hope that this will be the catalyst for the government to erase all such inequalities over citizenship – but we note with concern the talk of the need for establishing paternity. We must not impose a new inequality in place of an old one – and if questions of paternity have to be raised, that should apply to all and not selectively based on parentage.

A right is a right, and it must not now be watered down.

But for now, listen to the voices of those affected by this ruling. Listen to the frustration of years of rejection and worry. Listen to the joy for what it means for the next generation. Listen – and ask what comes next.

Imagine the difference

EDITOR, The Tribune.

WE HAVE a lot of people who complain. We have many who blame.

But we have very few who are willing and are doing something about it.

It is with a certain amount of disgust that I all too often hear that ‘it’s only gangs killing each other’ or ‘let them kill each other off’. The story changes when it hits closer to home; but not for the better.

It ought to be a concern for the life of a human being lost, and those lives are lost (not irredeemably) before they kill or are killed.

These are lives that are created in the image of God, with the breath of life that He provides, just as we are, and

we feel fit to say they deserve to be chaff in the wind?

What are we willing to do to change the course of lives that are destined for ruin and destruction? Do we just believe it is up to someone else to interrupt their hopeless path in life?

That is the reason most are on that path in the first place, the ones who should have been responsible have opted out of the lives of these young men, leaving them without love and without direction.

Imagine, if just 100 of the 300,000 people (give or take) decide to do something to make a difference in the lives of young men who are lost and acting out what a significant difference that could make.

Imagine if the churches that spend so

much on building these edifices to the glory of God (who does not need a building built with human hands to display his glory), spend the money and the time dedicated to these temporary and extraneous things and invested in more actions that reach and help youth in at risk environments; what glory would that bring to God?

Imagine the difference if we would act in love instead of complaining, or dismiss the lives lost or the lives damaged by violence perpetrated or as the victim.

Imagine if we cared.

Imagine if we did something.

TIM ROBERTS Nassau, May 2, 2023

Tribune, contact 502-2394

EDITOR, The Tribune.

WHAT areas can The Bahamas look at to create new job opportunities for Bahamians, particularly youth? Tourism and services account for more than half of the country’s GDP and slightly more than half of the workforce. However, 2020-2021 COVID-19 epidemic devastated the economy, wiping out tens of thousands of jobs. Although there has not been a labour force survey since December 2019, the government agencies and outside organisations believe the unemployment rate is between 20 and 25 percent. Most of the tourists coming to The Bahamas, continue to come from the United States. The financial services sector accounts for 15% of the GDP, making it the country’s second-largest industry. To create new job opportunities for the Bahamas’ youth, the government

must invest in digitising commercial services and revitalising domestic productivity through small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those in non-traditional industries.

Compared to the other Bahama islands, Grand Bahama’s economy is the most diverse and has the least reliance on tourism. Duty-free area Freeport serves as the nation’s capital and is home to several American corporations. The Bahamas’ economic fate will be determined by the government’s efforts to revitalise the tourism industry, diversify the economy, attract foreign direct investment, manage debt obligations, and demonstrate fiscal responsibility. Tourism growth and the lifting of COVID restrictions

that had been in place for two years due to government borrowing, spending, and tax breaks related to the outbreak have been credited with the country’s recent economic growth. The government’s upcoming report will include tourism, renewable energy, airport and infrastructure development, mining, and agriculture initiatives. Furthermore, the government will allocate $300 million over five years to promote entrepreneurial activity, reiterating its support for small and medium-sized businesses (90% of all firms). Since its inception in 2018, the SBDC has made it one of its primary goals to bridge the wage gap between men and women and improve women’s economic engagement and empowerment.

2023.

RCL and PI proposal

EDITOR The Tribune.

AS A NATURE lover, I would like to express my feelings on the current debate over RCL’s development of a Beach Club on the Western end of Paradise Island. First of all, I totally agree with the fears of the various environmentalists. Opinions of expert environmentalists such as Joseph Darville should not be ignored. Who are the members of the Environmental Commission? What are their qualifications?

However, there is a second cause for concern, and that is the loss to the Bahamian populace of yet another beautiful beach. Can we not leave a few beaches in their natural state the way God made them? I shudder when I look at the artist’s impression of the proposed development with all those hideous structures. If we don’t start preserving some of our beautiful habitat now, in a few years there will be nothing left.

I appreciate the fact that

development is a necessary evil, in that it is important to our economy, but please, can we draw the line when it comes to giving away our natural resources to foreigners? Once a development gets started there is no going back, and another beach or location, once available to Bahamians for recreation is gone for good.

My two cent’s worth.

JOANNA ROBERTSON Nassau, April 28, 2023.

National symbols

EDITOR, The Tribune.

MINISTRY of National Security correctly, especially with the 50th anniversary, puts out a warning concerning the use of the National Crest and other symbols of the State.

I recall comment years ago back in 1973 when the colours of the new Bahamas flag was announced

and approved there was a warning that matching the turquoise might be difficult. Certainly that though has been true for the past 50 years we have seen variations and difference of turquoise and still do.

Shocked, passed OPM West Bay they seem to have a flag with the wrong turquoise when you compare with the flag flying

next door at Foreign Affairs. Suggest PS OPM does a check and remedy immediately. Maybe importers have to send a sample of the flags they have for sale of National Security and get them approved?

J L ROBERTS

Nassau, May 4, 2023.

JAMAL MOSS (Former Senator) Nassau, May 3,

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis chatting to attendees at events in London as the countdown continues to the coronation of King Charles III tomorrow.

Photo: BIS

Son says he fled when father was shot because he was ‘scared’

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE son of the blind man shot and killed by police while he was driving a motorcycle in 2018 told a coroner’s court yesterday that he fled the scene because he was “scared”.

Courtney Elvardo Thompson, 36, was shot dead on January 26, 2018. Acting coroner’s court Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux continued the hearing yesterday. It is said that on the night in question Sergeant S Braynen shot Thompson in the back of the neck as he rode as a passenger on a motorcycle, resulting in him falling on the road on Plantol Street off East Street.

Officers report that they opened fire on the motorcycle after the driver brandished a firearm at them.

Sergeant Braynen is represented by Attorney K Melvin Munroe. The interests of the estate of

the deceased were being represented by Joel Seymour. This case will not determine civil or criminal liability.

In his testimony, the victim’s son, Elvardo Thompson, said he had picked up his father to get food when on the way back he encountered the police, leading him to exclaim, “Oh s*** the man.”

After a police chase, he heard shots behind him and said he only looked back when his father first fell off the bike before fleeing the scene as officers stopped near the body.

“I was scared so I just went straight home and called my Grammy telling her to go check on Dad.” Thompson also said that he never had a firearm the night of his father’s murder and that he kept his hands on the motorbike at all times. The victim’s son appeared distraught after surveillance footage of the shooting was shown as well as photos of his father’s body.

During cross-examination, when asked why he was trying to evade the police he told them it was because his bike was both unlicensed and uninsured. He maintained the reason he didn’t turn back after his father fell off is because he was scared. He also said he was “unaware” of who fired the shot that killed his father.

When asked why he didn’t go to the police after this incident, he said “no one was looking for me and there weren’t any warrants out for me”.

In a previous hearing, ASP Randolph Deleveaux testified the alleged gunman was never found. Questioned whether his uncle, Lawrence Thompson, was present the night of his father’s shooting, Elvardo said that he “didn’t see him”. He went on to say that neither he nor his father saw his uncle that day.

This contradicts previous testimony made by Lawrence Thompson who

Court of Appe A l upholds prison sentenC e for three drug ConviC ts

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THREE men convicted of having $1.6m worth of marijuana off the coast of Andros in 2019 had their three-year prison sentence upheld yesterday by the Court of Appeal.

Howard Rolle, Clyde Dawkins and Pizzario Brennen attempted to appeal their possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply conviction from 2022 before Justices Sir Michael Barnett, Milton Evans and Sir Brian Moree.

On May 3, 2019, at 3.30 am, police with the assistance of a US Coast Guard helicopter intercepted a white “Go Fast” vessel travelling around the southern end of south Andros. The three defendants aboard the vessel were seen throwing what was believed to be trafficked drugs overboard.

Upon capturing the vessel, police recovered 43 crocus bags from the ocean containing 1,627lbs of marijuana with an estimated street value of $1,627,000. Among the drugs fished from the water was a Nike bag containing the NIB card of Pizzario Brennen.

In their appeal of their three-year prison sentence and $15,000 fine, the accused argued that they had not received a fair trial under Magistrate Samuel McKinney and the evidence did not support the conviction.

The Justices in the

Appeal Court noted that none of the three grounds of the convicts’ appeal had any merit and that Magistrate McKinney presided over their case fairly.

The ruling, written by Milton Evans, said: “I am satisfied that there is no merit in any of the three grounds. Firstly, I am not persuaded that the record provided for the appeal is in any way deficient. The Magistrate who had the benefit of seeing and hearing the witnesses as they gave their evidence was satisfied that none of the witnesses was discredited nor were any of the witnesses shaken during cross-examination. He further found all of the witnesses for the prosecution to be truthful and credible having observed their demeanour in the witness box as they presented their evidence.”

The ruling expounded on the fact that key evidence from one of the convicts’ arresting officers, Corporal Ferguson, directly proved the applicants’ guilt. It was for that reason that the Justices found the conviction by Magistrate McKinney sound.

Mr Evans said: “Secondly, and most importantly I agree with the finding of the Magistrate that the key witness at trial was Corporal Ferguson. As pointed out by the Magistrate, Corporal Ferguson maintained visual contact of the Go Fast vessel and its occupants from his aerial position from the

Funeral Service For

Bernadine Linda Pennerman-Simms, 59

of #69 J Frobisher Circle, Freeport, Grand Bahama will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 11:00am at Kingdom Worship Center, East Atlantic Drive, Freeport Grand Bahama. Officiating will be Rev. Peter Pinder. Interment will follow at Grand Bahama Memorial Park.

Left to cherish precious memories are her husband: Clifton Simms Sr.; parents: Albertha and Harold Pennerman (deceased); children: Bernard (Tatyana) and Brandan Grant, Clifton Jr.; siblings: Donnamie, Sonia and Bernadette Pennerman (deceased), Mispha Anderson, Pleasant, Patricia, Mickey, Utoney (Angella) Dave and Victor Pennerman, George Baptiste (Patrice); heart sisters, spiritual parents, god children; sisters and brothers-in-law: Angela Rolle, Lucyann (Dan) Deveaux, Dennis (Suzanne) Simms, Betsy (Prince) Mitchell; aunts: Cherlyn Pennerman, Cynthia Hepburn, Shantell (Vincent) Collie, Barbra Smith; uncles: Alfred (deceased) (Sandra), Pennerman, Leroy (Maggie) Pennerman, Wendell Duncombe, Harvey Hepburn; numerous nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews, cousins and a house of other relatives and friends too numerous to mention.

claimed to have both witnessed the shooting and confronted the police in its aftermath.

While being questioned by Mr Seymour on why he didn’t check on his father after the shooting he agreed with the lawyer’s assertion that he “panicked” as he was only 18 at the time.

Responding to the insinuation that he had hidden a gun in his waist as he rounded the corner to evade police, Elvardo maintained he never had a gun and that his hands were on the throttle “the whole time”.

Dr Caryn Sands, forensic pathologist at PMH,

presented her autopsy report to the magistrate which was officially entered into evidence. In it, she listed Courtney Thompson’s official cause of death as a gunshot wound to the neck. She went on to say that the bullet entered the neck from the front right side and exited through the left after it went through his esophagus and trachea. She ruled the victim died of extensive blood loss from that wound.

With the help of photos from the autopsy, Dr Sands indicated the victim had suffered a laceration to the back of the head from when he hit the

ground as well as abrasions to his back and leg.

Responding to a question from Mr Seymour, Dr Sands said it was “highly unlikely” the deceased could have survived the injuries he received from the shooting.

In a question from the jury as to how far the shooter was from the victim, she said there was no evidence of it being a close range shooting and it was more likely that the barrel was likely more than 3ft away from the skin. The case was adjourned for closing submissions at noon today.

beginning of his surveillance of the vessel and its occupants, the dumping of bags of suspected drugs from the vessel into the sea, the start of and throughout the chase of the vessel by him and the other crew members onboard the helicopter to the interception of the vessel by drug enforcement officers onboard a police boat waiting in the area, the search of the defendants and the vessel they were on by the intercepting officers, the escort of the defendants and their vessel back to the area where they were seen dumping bags of suspected drugs from their vessel into the sea and the retrieval of the bags of suspected drugs from the sea in their presence by the arresting officers.

“Ferguson’s evidence, in my view, once accepted by the magistrate was sufficient to establish the guilt of the appellants. His evidence was sufficient to fill any gaps which existed in the evidence of the officers on the police vessel. It is also clear that even if the evidence of the Nike bag was totally excluded, Ferguson’s evidence was sufficient to establish the guilt of Brennen who was found on the boat from which Ferguson saw the drugs dumped into the sea.”

“It is for the foregoing reasons that I would dismiss the appeals of each appellant and affirm the convictions and sentences imposed by the learned Magistrate.”

20 accidents at sea off New Providence

NEW Providence saw over 20 World War II aircraft ditch, crash, and explode into its adjacent waters. Most of these were to the south of the island, east, and north, and depended on direction of the winds, which air field was used, and complex night-time exercises using extremely bright Leigh Lights, and flying in formation. Mechanical failures from aircraft just delivered from American factories played a role as well.

Seventy-nine persons were killed in the waters, with five known survivors. The majority of waterborne accidents were on Royal Air Force training and transport bombers, like the B-25, B-24 and B-26’es, or A-20 or A-30’s, five were operated by the US Army Air Force – one was consumed by a microburst on final approach to Windsor.

Six airplanes were amphibious; PBY, PSP, PV-1, PBM, Kingfishers. Seven were with the US Navy, particularly at the Nassau Harbour ramp which became Pan Am and is now the

By Eric Wiberg

RBDF and BASRA base downtown. Six of the aircraft splashed out west, in Lake Killarney, Clifton Bay, or Delaport Bay. Ten of them either wrecked near or had pieces drift up in Montagu Bay, Eastern Foreshore, and Atoll Island. Three sank to the north so deeply as to be economically unsalvageable, and the balance fell out of the sky south of the capital island, off places like Yamacraw, or closer to Green Cay. Nine, or about half, of the accidents occurred in 1943, the balance split between 1944 and 1945. Survivors include Baxter and Davids whose seaplane hit the hanger at the harbour ramp, followed by Robert Allen of the USAAF who

swam away from a ditching on delivery on March 2, 1944. On 21 June that year James McLean, John Tickler, and John Vallance were lost when their RAF B-25 was lost ten miles east of Nassau.

Then the following week more staggering losses of life, when another B-25 bomber took off for training at 2.45pm. Radio communications were lost at 3.15pm, and later rescuers found an empty dinghy and oleo leg just 3.5 miles northnorthwest of Old Fort Bay. No trace of survivors was found, and Beaulieu, Keayes, Ogren, Smart, Stinson, Torrens, and Wallace, were all lost. On the 9th of April 1943 ditched at sea, crashed fifteen miles southwest of Clifton Bay. Yellow Orange light found by Lyford Air Sea Rescue. A Windsor Field aircraft on exercise sighted empty dinghy. Dinghy retrieved by surface craft, empty and damaged. Twelve days later ASR boat found an aircraft dinghy. All the men: Schafer, Waton, Goodman, Fenton, Farnsworth, Tomkins, and Burchell.

More troubling and not resolved, is a case of a B-24 on 29 October 1943, which went missing between Florida and Puerto Rico. Though a life raft signal seen, it was not confirmed then amongst aircraft wreckage was found a

tobacco pouch, and a shattered airplane piece; mysteriously, at about the same time four explosions were heard northeast of Green Cay. Many USAAF aircraft went missing in The Bahamas between West Palm (then Morrison Field) and Borinquen PR. The 23 December 1943 crash which claimed Frye, McLean, Wilcox, Petersen, Swire and Craig was no less frustrating, with the RAF crash boats noting it ditched in sea 6.5 miles from the New Providence airfield. Then the plane was discovered three weeks later, in just ten feet of water riddled with strong tides. There was no trace of crew. A resident on Athol Island confirmed the crash, and showed the Air Sea Rescue team parts of the disintegrated fuselage.

‘Radio communications were lost at 3.15pm, and later rescuers found an empty dinghy and oleo leg just 3.5 miles north-northwest of Old Fort Bay.’

with seven other trainees they too crashed into deep ocean about 3.5 nm north of Cabbage Beach, Paradise Beach. Several other aircraft searched and located wreckage. ASR launches HMS P-89 and HMS P-181 to the scene. The vessels found a dinghy matched to the wreck, and were trying to tow a portion of the fuselage three miles or so to shore

yet were unable. Prior to departing the wreck site, the ASR officers requested that a US Navy vessel destroy the remainder of the fuselage so as to avoid a hazard to navigation. No bodies were recovered.

and Smith crashed into the sea while on exercises 5 miles north of New Providence. ASR boats HMS T-170 and HMS P-191 found an oil patch and an airplane dinghy which helped match the oil to the plane with the same tail number, however they were unable to find survivors.

On July 10, 1945, a flying boat of the PBM-3 design in the US Navy was lost with a crew of 12 when on a flight to Exuma over Nassau they Flt to Great Exuma, flew FL to Windsor en route Exuma, but overwhelmed by severe storm 10 nm N of NP, last reported 8 nm N or Cabbage Beach, Hog/Paradise Island. USN PBM en route Banana River (JAX) to Great Exuma never arrived, never found. “Flew into a severe storm in that area and he and his plane and crew went missing.”

Later, on November 24, 1944, two bombers practising the blinding Leigh Lights against German U-Boats both collided in a dive – they essentially followed the light beams into the sea. This tragic error cost the lives of John Scammell, George Gamble, and David Strachan. Gamble was highly decorated, having sunk the German submarine U-964 the year before. On the other aircraft involved, Captain Allbut

Though without casualties, a PBY Mariner broke free of its mooring in a storm and had to be corralled back to base by boat on 11 December 1944. On April 9, 1945 Acton, Dumble, Hallett, Hutchinson, Moule, Scott, and Wild were killed when their B-25 ditched in a trail of smoke, crashed to the sea south of East Point. RAF ASR boat HMS P-2779 from Montagu was sent and the plane B-25 FY was airborne at 8.30pm to search. Two parachutes were found and later identified as issued to the crew of the missing aircraft.

Similarly, on April 21, a B-25 with Beyon, Hamlin, Hanney, Lunam, McLean,

Overall, the waters around Nassau and New Providence have everything researchers would want; more of them than around any other island barring perhaps Andros, access to the busiest airport in the country, the most SCUBA infrastructure, and fairly shallow waters, primarily to the south and east. In fact, two B-26 bombers have been found in these waters in less than a year, one has been salvaged post-war from Lake Killarney and no doubt more discoveries will follow. Also, the graves where the men were buried and dozens of sites relevant to WWII are still there.

A BOMBER with the tail number MB, and its crew.

A HAVOC A20 Douglas, above, and a North American Mitchell B25.

THIS shows how close Delaport Point is - in the centre left coastal of this image, the peninsula can be seen.

The impact of distressd properties on neighbourhood safety and value

EVERY bank and financial institution has them – loans that go bad. Monies lent with the best of intention to customers who have the best of intentions of repaying the funds borrowed to build or buy their dream home or grow their business. But when something goes wrong and they can’t honour the debt as they once did and the months and back due payments pile up to a point where they seem insurmountable, it is only a matter of time until the end is near. The lender comes along, takes the borrower to court, takes possession and boots them out.

It’s a process no one wants to see happen but it happens far more frequently than we realise.

Want to know just how often and how many repossessed properties there are in The Bahamas? Just look up distressed properties on any bank’s website. One bank in particular does an exceptionally good job listing every vacant lot, single family home, commercial property, Grand Bahama and Family Island properties with geographical, site and physical descriptions along with pricing. There are more than ten pages of listings. Another bank has fewer distressed properties but generally higher in value. The listings of distressed properties on yet another bank’s website reflects risks of some neighbourhoods that seem to pop up most frequently.

Property repossession is so common that just about every financial institution has a department or at least an individual assigned to it, even if they give it a fancier name. And there are real estate professionals who specialize in distressed property transactions. Of course, there are also smart investors with deep enough pockets to snatch what appears on a distressed property list quickly if it has potential and the price is right. Sometimes the lender

By Diane Phillips

has too much money in the game to make it worth a look.

The precursor to repossession is usually a soft approach. Banks and other lenders tend to go to extremes to work with those falling behind, accepting partial payments trickling in, hoping the customer will catch up. But patience is not always rewarded and by the time a single-family residence is repossessed the story around it is pretty predictable. The same owner who could not make payments also could not afford the costs of repair and upkeep. So by the time the lender gets to court, the judge signs off on the right to repossess, the homeowner is served and due process takes place, the property in the middle of the tug-of-rights can be in a state of shambles.

And that’s what the neighbourhood inherits. It’s the side of things we don’t often think about when our sympathies go to the family who lost their home. It’s natural to feel more empathy for a family that lost its home than for a bank that lost a few bucks.

It’s this other side of what happens to the unintentional bystander victims of repossession that gets far too little attention. What happens to the house next door, across the street, what happens to the community?

The lending institution takes ownership but not pride of ownership. They want to dump the property that turned out to be a bad deal. If you want to see how many there are, check out the bank websites noted above. Nearly every bank in The Bahamas has lists of

‘There are no winners when it comes to bad loans. But a note to all who lend – please stop the practice making the neighbour and the surrounding community the loser.’

distressed properties and distressed is the right word for most of them. And it is not just banks. Insurance companies, credit unions, other financiers all count on an individual’s or a company’s ability to pay back and all without fail have encountered the customer who at some point cannot or does not.

So strewn throughout New Providence, Andros, Abaco, Exuma and nowhere more so than in Grand Bahama are distressed properties owned by a bank or lender, properties left to fester with overgrown weeds, peeling paint, fallen down gutters, tree limbs stretching across others’ yards. Pools become cesspits of mosquito larvae since there is no electricity to operate a pump. At night, there are no lights, making the abandoned property an open invitation for the homeless grateful for a roof over their heads and not the least concerned about rodents or who holds the title.

Where banks win in court but fail to maintain the property awarded to them by showing a sense of responsibility, communities lose. Do they simply stick the result of a bad loan on a list and go about their business as if they are done? In one case in Dannotage Estates, a kind neighbour feeds the cats left behind and helps to keep the bushes trimmed. In another on Eastern Road, neighbours rake masses of leaves that pack the narrow street from overhanging untrimmed trees while everyone loads up on bug spray because of the nearly empty pool

filled with dangerous, green algae water. In many areas, abandoned buildings become hideaways and havens for drug dealers, rapists and other nefarious actors. In one case of a house that caught on fire several years ago across from a primary school, police have been

notified of young girls being pulled inside and attacked. Some lender holds papers to that property, but who owns the responsibility to make it safe?

There are no winners when it comes to bad loans.

But a note to all who lend – please stop the practice

making the neighbour and the surrounding community the loser. If you take possession, you must take responsibility. In the end, the offer you get for the property you want to sell will be higher. In the meantime, we will have safer, sounder communities.

distressed properties owned by a bank or lender, properties left to fester with overgrown weeds, peeling paint, fallen down gutters, tree limbs stretching across others’ yards.

Women react to privy council ruling on citizenship for children born out of wedlock

By LEANDRA ROLLE AND JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporters

WHeN april Finlayson’s fifth application for Bahamian citizenship went nowhere, the Harvardeducated neuroscientist left The Bahamas “in grief and despair” to establish a life in the United States.

Hours after the Privy Council ruled yesterday that people like her are Bahamian citizens at birth, the 37-year-old recalled the years she spent “on the periphery” in the Bahamas, shedding light on the marginalisation many like

her have felt waiting for citizenship.

i just gave up on the thought of ever being Bahamian, and i just decided to invest in a future somewhere else,” said Ms Finlyason, the daughter of a Bahamian man and an american woman. in many ways, Ms Finlayson would be the ideal type of citizen —productive, driven and committed to human development.

But even when she established the Leadership academy school in 2009, she felt excluded from the privileges of being a Bahamian.

aPril Finlayson

She moved to the United States five years ago, obtained a Master’s degree at Harvard University and is on track to get a PhD from that institution.

“What’s so interesting about today,” she said, “is that today was the final

submission for my doctorate. Then today was the day of the ruling, and i can’t help, but think of the serendipity that’s involved with that.”

Ms Finlayson is unsure whether she will return to live in The Bahamas. She said the landmark Privy Council ruling filled her with mixed emotions: joy about the outcome, but bittersweetness over what so many have and continue to endure.

Meanwhile, 28-year-old Junisha Jean Pierre said the Privy Council’s ruling sparked only elation in her. The mother-of-four does

not have legal status in The Bahamas but is delighted to know her children won’t suffer the fate she has endured trying to get Bahamian citizenship.

“They don’t have to wait until they are 18 to go out and apply for citizenship,” she said. “They could probably be able to get scholarships and go to the (University of The Bahamas) without being charged double, so they will have better advantages than me, and that is what i’m really thankful for.”

When children lack status, activities most parents take for granted can be challenging, as Ms JeanPierre discovered when trying to enrol her first child

DoMoniCa Thompson

will soon be a thing of the past.

“(My daughter’s dad) is not from (New Providence) and her and her sister can’t really go on the island to travel to him because they don’t have no passport or photo iD to go on the plane,” she said.

One person who knows what it is like waiting for citizenship when born to a Bahamian father and a non-Bahamian mother is 45-year-old Domonica Thompson.

Jean Pierre

in school. i couldn’t do it,” she said. “i had to let my mom do that because she had a Bahamian passport and my other kids, because the government was doing a pre-school grant and because of my status, they were denied, which i don’t feel is fair because all of my kids are under their father’s names and i was born here.”

With the new ruling, Ms Jean Pierre expects her children’s travelling woes

She said she got citizenship ten years after applying for the status— a fate her grandson, whose father is Bahamian but whose mother is not, will avoid.

“He was born in The Bahamas but he’s taken on the citizenship of his mother who’s currently going through the process (to get citizenship),” she said.

“(The ruling is) going to alleviate a lot of stress on foreigners whose kids are born here living in limbo. i think that it’s going to make it easier for a lot of parents who have children that were born in The Bahamas to now be able to claim what is rightfully theirs.”

a rgument esC alates into Fight at s an s alvador sChool

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff Reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

aN executive at a school in San Salvador was injured after an argument with a parent on Wednesday morning, police said.

Preliminary police reports indicate that around 11.50am on Wednesday, a parent and school executive were “engaged in an argument” when the verbal spat escalated into a physical

altercation.

in other crime news, local police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a man in connection with the stabbing of a 26-yearold man on Wednesday. around 10.40pm, the victim, a resident of Croton Street, Pinewood Gardens, was stabbed multiple times while visiting a relative near Charles Vincent Street. The victim is in serious condition at Princess Margaret Hospital.

Carrie Fisher gets Walk oF Fame star, on m ay the Fourth

LOS ANGELES

Associated Press

Carrie Fisher received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, a May the Fourth tribute to a beloved “Star Wars” actor that had a touch of stardust.

The late star’s daughter, Billie Lourd, wearing her mother’s portrait printed on her metallic dress, accepted the star on behalf of Fisher. She threw glitter, her mother’s favourite, on the newly unveiled star.

Mark Hamill, who played Fisher’s space brother, Luke

Skywalker, was also on hand, and recalled meeting the young actor when she was just 19.

“She played such a crucial role in my personal and professional life and both would have been far emptier without her,” Hamill said.

Several in the crowd were dressed as characters from the space franchise and C-3P0 and r2-D2 were present for the unveiling.

“Never forget the droids!” Lourd said on a wet day that gave way to sun.

Mark HaMill, from right, and Billie Lourd, daughter of the late actress Carrie Fisher, pose with Fisher’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame alongside “Star Wars” characters C-3PO and R2D2 during a posthumous ceremony in Los Angeles on yesterday.

Photo: Chris Pizzello/AP

SPORTS

FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2023

NBA, Page 13

Boxer Carl Hield ousted

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

As the lone ranger representing the Bahamas at the International Boxing Association’s World Boxing Championships, Carl Hield’s run didn’t last past his first bout. Competing in the 67-71 kilogram or light middleweight division, Hield went down 5-0 on points in the split/majority decision to Boniface Manina of Kenya on Wednesday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

“After three actionpacked rounds, to his stunning surprise, his opponent was declared the winner,” said Boxing Federation president Vincent Strachan. “Being fully aware of the scoring process, I have no doubt that he should have won.”

Veteran Hield, making his third appearance at the championships, was originally scheduled to travel with Rashield Williams and Tyrone Oliver. But the federation removed Williams from the team because of disciplinary actions and Oliver was recently shot to death.

Noble Prep Basketball: Day one in the books

By TENAJH SWEETING tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Noble Preparatory Academy’s (NPA) sixth edition of the Spring Classic Basketball tourney returned to Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium yesterday evening. The basketball-filled day started at 4pm to get the competition underway for the varsity senior boys and girls, and the junior boys and girls. Day one featured 14 rounds of intense basketball matchups across all divisions.

Geno Bullard, president of NPA, talked about how he felt after the first day of competition at the Spring Classic tournament.

“I think it’s going very well, we got off to a rocky start but it’s levelling out so far and it’s some good games closing out today. We are just looking to close out today and start off tomorrow with some exciting basketball,” Bullard said

He added that all the teams definitely came out to play, knowing that it is the last high school tournament for the year and teams are looking to get a little payback for in-season rivalries and he is excited to see it.

Senior Division

In game one of the senior boys’ division, the NPA Spartans took down the Mt Carmel Cavaliers 45-22.

Game two saw the CR Walker Knights topple their rivals CV Bethel Stingrays to win 37-31.

The CC Sweeting Cobras prevailed in game three of the senior division after they defeated the Jordan Prince Williams Falcons by double digits to win 40-20.

Meanwhile, the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins closed out Clement Howell High School 42-36.

For the girls, the Stingrays wrapped up the NPA senior girls after defeating them by double digits 32-16. The Knights fell in a close bout to the St John’s Giants 29-27.

In game three of the senior girls’ division, the RM Bailey Pacers forfeited their matchup against the Stingrays’ senior girls, giving them a win.

Shantelle Rolle, head coach of the Stingrays, talked about their win against NPA. “It feels very good coming out the first day playing the first game to get a win, it really feels good,” Rolle said.

Her advice to the team was to hustle hard, play

Hield said despite not having any other Bahamian travelling to support him, he patted himself on his back for having the ability to rise to the occasion and

compete at such a high level considering all he went through. He was referring to the fact that his mother, who was his number one supporter, passed away at the beginning of the year and he had to rally himself in the gym to continue to fight in her memory.

“To be able to recover from that situation with my mom passing and to get myself ready to get back into the gym a month later to get ready for this tournament, I feel pretty good about myself,” Hield said.

However, he said without the support of God, he would not have been able

to step into the ring and perform the way he did.

“I executed the way I should. I set up my game plan, but I didn’t get the decision,” Hield said. “I will just use the rest of my time here to prepare for the Central American and Caribbean Games in June so that I can get some sparring from the other boxers around the world.”

After the fight, Hield said he had an opportunity to lodge a protest, but because he didn’t have any other representative from the Bahamas, as a boxer, he was unable to do so. “I still feel happy that I was able

to carry the flag,” Hield said. “I just have to prepare for the CAC Games and the Pan American Games. Hopefully I will be able to perform much better than I did here. I mean, I performed very well, but I just didn’t get the decision.”

As he looks ahead to the two other major tournaments on the horizon, Hield said he’s anticipating getting in some more matches so that he can be able to withstand any pressure that is applied to him in the ring at the major championships. Hield will remain in Uzbekistan training until May 15.

defence and take care of the basketball.

Junior Division

In game one of five, the Queen’s College Comets claimed victory over the SC McPherson Sharks 25-15. Jerome Lucas, assistant coach of the junior boys, said it felt pretty good to get the first win out of the way and his advice to his team after a rocky start was to pick up the pacing and they were able to get the win.

The NPA Spartans sealed the win against the International School of Business and Entrepreneurship and Technology (ISBET) 28-20.

Van Hutchinson Jr, head coach of NPA’s junior boys, said it was a great start to the tournament for the team and they came out very aggressive and executed the plays in the right way. He added that he really wanted to see how the team would come out and play in the first game

THE NOBLE Preparatory Academy’s (NPA) junior boys compete hard against the International School of Business and Entrepreneurship and Technology (ISBET) to win 28-20. Photos: Tenajh Sweeting

after a few scrimmages and was impressed despite having some more things to work on.

In game three of the junior boys’ division, the Giants comfortably defeated Charles

Red-Line track club to host two-day meet this weekend

By TENAJH SWEETING tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Red-Line Athletics track club is set to host their youth and multievents classic this Saturday and Sunday at the Thomas A Robinson stadium.

The meet is set to get underway from noon to 6pm on Saturday and from 2pm to 6pm on Sunday.

The Red-Line event will be the first track club meet post-50th CARIFTA Games since the Star Trackers Classic in February.

The track club showdown will include up to 800 athletes of 45 different clubs from New Providence, Andros and Grand Bahama combined.

Tito Moss, head coach of the Red-Line Athletics

club, talked about his expectations for this weekend’s youth and multi-event classic.

“We expect that this meet will be good, keen competition. We are also having one of our senior athletes Samson Colebrooke coming down to compete, we [will] look for kids who fell short in qualifying for CARIFTA to be keen and hungry to compete to vie for meets that are coming up this summer,” Moss said.

The two-day meet hosted by the four-year old track club will feature the under 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, and 20 age groups.

Additionally, there will be an open division. The largest group of participants will come from the 15 and under category.

This year’s classic will include a multi-event for the first time ever for the under 11, 13, 15 age groups.

According to Moss, the multi-event will operate as a practice for the young athletes to familiarise themselves with the event ahead of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC)

Championships. The under 11 and 13 athletes will also get a chance to compete in the discus, javelin and shot put which is not normally done at the track club meets.

Moss added that javelin in The Bahamas traditionally starts at under 15 but he wants the kids to start throwing earlier as they do at Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).

Therefore, he wants this weekend’s track club event to serve as an opportunity to offer events to the youth that are traditionally not offered as the meet is built around them.

In addition to their focus on the 15 and under age group, the club decided to add the under 18 division

W Saunders 44-12. The Falcons junior boys also took down Clement Howell by an 18-point deficit after winning their game 36-18. In game five, the Sharks bested the IBSET junior boys team 46-31.

In the only game played in the junior girls’ division, NPA’s junior girls fell to the SJC Giants 20-14. Day two of the Noble Prep tourney continues 4pm today at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.

Napoli wins 1st title since Maradona played for the club

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer

ROME (AP) — Below a giant mural of Diego Maradona, Napoli fans celebrated the Italian league soccer title as if they were at the game — singing, jumping and lighting flares.

On the other side of Naples, at the stadium now named for Maradona, tributes to the club’s most emblematic player were everywhere: his image on banners, flags and scarves, his No. 10 on the back of shirts.

As Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti put it after the Partenopei sealed their first league title since Maradona led the club to the 1987 and

1990 championships, the late Argentina standout’s legacy made a difference.

“These fans have seen big coaches come and go. They saw Diego Armando Maradona play and perhaps his (impact) is also felt in this success,” Spalletti said.

Unlike the Maradona years, however, this Napoli title wasn’t about a single player but rather a well-run unit that often overwhelmed opponents with standouts in every department: league scoring leader Victor Osimhen at centre forward, league assist leader Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at left wing, passing expert Stanislav

SEE PAGE 12

PRO boxer Carl Hield.

Men’s national beach soccer team set to be named today

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Football Association has not yet released the names of its 12-member team, but beach soccer chairman Gavin Christie said they will have a very diversified squad to compete in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Beach Soccer Championships.

The team, according to Christie, a vice president of the BFA, will be announced today just in time for the start of the championships on Monday at the national beach soccer stadium. The Bahamas will be among 11 visiting countries participating in the World Cup Qualifier with all games free of charge for the spectators.

Making up Group A are El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guadeloupe and the Turks and Caicos. Group B will include Mexico, The Bahamas, Guatemala and Belize. The United States, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago and Dominican Republic consist of Group C. “These 12 teams will be competing for spots in the quarterfinals,” according to Bruce Swan, the BFA’s technical director. “The top two teams from each group will qualify with the best two third places for the playoffs.”

From Monday to Wednesday, the preliminary rounds will start at noon with the Bahamas playing at 7:30pm each night. After taking a break on Thursday, the quarterfinals will be

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Lobotka in central midfield and physical presence Kim Min-jae at centre back — not to mention their veteran coach.

Napoli clinched the trophy with a 1-1 draw at Udinese yesterday.

Osimhen equalised for Napoli early in the second half by redirecting in a rebound after Sandi Lovric had put Udinese ahead early on. “I’m happy for all Napoli fans worldwide,” Osimhen said. “No one deserves the scudetto more than Neapolitans — more than us. “I don’t care who scored, I just wanted to get the scudetto.” Napoli moved an insurmountable

played on Friday with the semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday.

With this being the biggest qualifier for CONCACAF, the top two teams who make it to the final will automatically qualify for the World Cup in Dubai later this year. In total those two teams will have to win at least five games during the tournament.

Based on what they have been doing over the past few weeks, Christie said the Bahamas is hoping to take advantage of their home turf to advance to the World Cup.

“We have a world-class coach with tremendous experience that has won four World Cups with Brazil and so we are fortunate to have him coaching us and guiding us in the right direction,” Christie said.

“Out of the 15 players we are working with, it’s a very diverse combination of experience mixed with youth and I’m excited to see and I can’t wait until Monday to show this team unravelled and show up for the first game on Monday.”

Christie, who was a member of the Bahamas team that hosted the last CONCACAF Tournament in 2017 when they won over Colombia and Mexico, said the BFA is delighted to have beach soccer back on the shores of the Bahamas in their fantastic stadium.

“The team has been prepping. We are ready. It’s always good for us to play at home in front of our home fans. They are like the sixth person on the pitch,” Christie said. “So we’re happy for that.

16 points ahead of secondplace Lazio with five rounds still to play.

Besides the 11,000 Napoli fans inside and 5,000 more outside the stadium in Udine in northern Italy, a capacity crowd of more than 50,000 watched the match on jumbo screens at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples.

“Napoli, this is for you,” Spalletti said.

“There are people here who will be able to get through difficult moments in their lives because they remember this moment. These people deserve all the joy.”

In Udine, celebrating fans invaded the field at the final whistle, while in Naples there were

“We travel a lot to play, but it’s time for us to showcase this because we travel a lot. Now it’s time to showcase the Bahamas to our people, to our family and to our fans. It’s time to showcase what we have been doing over the last 10 years.”

With the team evolving with some new players coming on board, Christie encouraged the public to come out and watch the Bahamas’ opening match against Guatemala at 7:30pm on Monday night.

However, he encouraged the public to view all of the games, starting at noon each day, which are free of charge.

Said Adam Miller, the liaison officer in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, representing Minister Mario Bowleg.

“It is this government’s mandate that we bring sports back to Paradise and this type of event is a great opportunity for us to showcase what we have to offer as a host,” said Miller, a former technical director of the BFA. “This is the third time we are hosting this event in the last 10 or 12 years, so we are capable, as

fireworks and delirium.

“You always told me, ‘We want to win,’ and now we’ve won. We’ve won all together,” Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis told the crowd at the Naples stadium before he embraced Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi.

De Laurentiis took over the club in 2004 when Napoli was declared bankrupt, restarting in the third division.

“This is the coronation of a dream that’s been going on for 33 years,” De Laurentiis added. “It’s been a long process.”

It’s the first time a club south of Italy’s traditional soccer capitals of Milan and Turin has won the league since Roma claimed the title in 2001.

a country, to host this type of event.

“This is a very important year, being the 50th anniversary of our nation, and this is an important event for the growth of beach soccer in the country.

“As a government, we realise that hosting these types of events are vital for our national teams, not only for them to qualify and move on to higher tournaments, but to showcase to the Bahamian people that we can compete on the international stage.”

Also present were goalkeeper Michael Butler, Lesly St Fleur, the most prolific Bahamian beach soccer goal scorer, and rising young player Cameron Hanna.

St Fleur said the expectations are very high for Team Bahamas.

“As a leader and a player on this team, I bring my experience to the team and guide the players and the expectations is to go out there and fight,” St Fleur said. “We just have to go out there and do our best and hope that we can come out victorious.”

St Fleur once again will be making the transition

Napoli matched the record of clinching with five rounds to spare, shared with Torino (in 1947-48), Fiorentina (1955-56), Inter Milan (2006-07) and Juventus (2018-19). In the 52nd minute, Osimhen slotted in a rebound off a shot from Kvaratskhelia following a corner kick. During his goal celebration, Osimhen broke his face mask and the Nigeria forward had to play without it for a few minutes while it was repaired by Napoli staff members on the sideline. It was Osimhen’s 22nd goal in the league this season and the 46th of his Serie A career, matching former AC Milan standout and current Liberia President George Weah as

from playing grass to beach soccer, having represented the Bahamas in both aspects of the sport.

“We started back in 2009 and it was new to everybody. Most of the players who played grass ended up playing beach. It was a kind of change because you played barefoot (in beach),” St Fleur said. “As we continued to train, we all got adapted to it.

“For me, it was kind of different and a challenge, but I love the sport, so I had to challenge myself. That’s how come I am where I am right now.”

Beach soccer, according to Butler, is one of the fastest growing sports in the world with most of the grass soccer players making the transition because soccer is shorter, more goals are scored and the competition is much more intense.

Butler, who comes home having played extensively in Florida and Canada, is expected to anchor the team as the goalkeeper.

He said he’s going to be like the second captain on the pitch.

“A lot of my team-mates look up to me and they ask me for my experience,” he

the top African scorers in Italy. Afterward, Osimhen — who has acknowledged that he would like to play in the Premier League one day — would not commit to remaining with Napoli.

“I want to enjoy this moment for the rest of my life. Then after the season my other dreams can come,” Osimhen said. “But for now it’s not a time to talk about my other dreams. I wanted to win this. ... For me this is just a moment.”

Napoli had a brief lapse during the first half during which Lovric found space within the area for a quick control and angled shot inside the far post in the 13th.

Napoli has dominated all season and didn’t lose

said “I think the team trusts me and I take my responsibility very seriously.”

And Hanna, who is returning for his third appearance on the team, said the preparation has been very intense with training every day with no days off.

“We have to come out and listen to the coach.

Sometimes we have morning and afternoon practices, so we really have to double down,” Hanna said.

“The training is going good. The guys are really committed to the training. Mike and Les are our experienced players, so we look up to them.”

Christie said beach soccer is so entertaining now because it’s a fast pitch with high intensity and there’s lots of music being played and that is why it is catching on like wildfire. He encouraged the public to come out and be entertained in the series of games being played next week from all of the teams coming in from the region. And to top it all off, he noted that there is no admission fee. All of the games are free of charge.

in the league until getting beat by Inter in January. A 5-1 victory over Juventus nine days later left no doubt that this was the Partenopei’s year. Napoli, though, wasn’t even considered a title contender before the season because of the departures of former captain Lorenzo Insigne, club record scorer Dries Mertens and defensive stalwart Kalidou Koulibaly. But Osimhen has developed into the most dangerous striker in the league. And dribbling wizard Kvaratskhelia has done far more than just replace Insigne on the left wing as one of the biggest revelations across Europe this season.

THE BAHAMAS Football Association’s 12-member team for the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Beach Soccer Championships is expected to be announced today just in time for the start of the championships Monday at the national beach soccer stadium on East Bay Street. The Bahamas will be among 11 visiting countries participating in the World Cup qualifier with all games free of charge for the spectators.

Klay scores 30, Warriors adjust to beat Lakers 127-100

By JANIE MCCAULEY AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 30 points with eight 3-pointers, Golden State limited Anthony Davis while allowing LeBron James 23 points, and the defending champion Warriors evened their Western Conference semifinal with the Los Angeles Lakers at one game apiece with a 127-100 win last night.

Stephen Curry added 20 points and 12 assists as Splash Brother Thompson shined to help Golden State make 21 more 3-pointers — giving the Warriors an NBA record for most in the first two games of a playoff series at 42.

James’ Cavaliers hit 40 against Atlanta in the 2016 second round.

Coach Steve Kerr switched things up and inserted JaMychal Green into the starting lineup for Kevon Looney, who had a career-high 23 rebounds in Game 1 but has been dealing with an illness. Kerr aimed to give a different look with scoring options and perhaps more freethrow chances by going hard at Davis in the paint — where Golden State got thoroughly outplayed in a 117-112 loss in the opener.

Thompson’s basket with 7:48 left in the third gave Golden State its biggest lead at 82-64 and the Warriors rolled from there. The Warriors had more fastbreak points and points in the paint. JaMychal Green matched his playoff career high with 15 points, while Draymond Green contributed 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists after insisting he had to get more aggressive.

The best-of-seven series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Saturday.

James shot 6 for 8 in the first with a pair of 3s for 14 points as the Lakers led 33-26. He retrieved a loose ball and let it fly for a pretty 3 with 7:47 before halftime but the Warriors were too much.

Davis followed up his brilliant Game 1 performance — 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and

BOXING FEDERATION EXTENDS CONDOLENCES TO FAMILY OF THE LATE SAM BROWN

THE Boxing Federation of the Bahamas has lost another member.

The late Sam Brown was a super heavy, trained by Shervin Johnson, the first president of the federation.

Brown, according to federation president Vincent Strachan, loved the sport and actually started boxing at the age of 26 years. His first match was in 1988 in Georgetown, Guyana, as a member of the Bahamas CARIFTA boxing team.

“His team members laughed and joked about how he would be knocked out because he never fought in an actual boxing event,” Strachan said.

“To everyone’s surprise, Sam knocked out all three of his opponents in the first round, including the Guyanese, who was picked to win the gold medal.”

Brown was voted most outstanding boxer in the tournament and the Guyanese people gave him the name ‘Bahamas Sand Truck.’ He never fully got deep into boxing after his outstanding performance in Guyana.

Brown was a talented musician and vocalist who devoted his time to night entertainment and his employment as a security officer at Princess Margaret Hospital.

“On behalf of the Boxing Federation and my family, we extend our condolences to Sam Brown’s family and Shervin Johnson, his coach and the Central Andros Boxing Association,” Strachan said.

“May his soul rest in peace and rise in glory.”

SUNLAND STINGERS EMERGE AS BASEBALL CHAMPIONS

THE Grand Bahama Baseball Secondary Schools Athletic Association (GBSSAA) completed its 2023 Steven Adderly/Bernard Aranha High Schools Baseball League on Wednesday at the Emera Baseball Park. Sunland Stingers emerged as the champions with a 3-2 nipping of Jack Hayward Junior High. The senior boys’ championship game was scheduled for Thursday between St George’s and Jack Hayward High.

RED-LINE

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so athletes that are vying for a spot at the 2023 NACAC under 18 and 23 championships set for July can go head-to-head against each other. The head coach

is expecting some good competition, especially from his athletes as the Red Line club had 10 members qualify for CARIFTA. The Team Bahamas members amassed one gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze medals. Athletes from Swift Athletics, Star Trackers, Road

Runners, Bahamas Speed Dynamics and other local clubs will look to make their mark at the Red Line classic. For persons interested in supporting the two-day meet, general tickets for two days are $18 for adults, and for kids over 3 the cost is $8. For two days in VIP

the cost is $24 for adults, and $12 for kids. There will also be one day tickets on sale. After this weekend’s event, the club will work on securing more scholarships for their 10 athletes set to graduate this year as well as their travels to AAU this summer.

RAYS BEAT PIRATES, OFF TO BEST START SINCE 1984 TIGERS

ST. PETERSBURG,

Fla. (AP) — Zach Eflin pitched seven scoreless innings, Randy Arozarena hit one of three Rays homers and Tampa Bay beat Pittsburgh 3-2 yesterday to finish a three-game sweep of small-budget teams off to outstanding starts.

Taylor Walls and Yandy Díaz also homered for Tampa Bay, which at 26-6 is off to the best start through 32 games since the 1984 World Series champion Detroit Tigers went 27-5.

Eflin (4-0) scattered three hits and struck out 10. The right-hander allowed just one baserunner to reach scoring

position, when Carlos Santana hit a two-out double in the seventh. Jason Adam gave up Santana’s two-run, twoout double in the ninth before getting his second save and completing a four-hitter.

The Rays have scored a major league-best 210 runs and allowed an MLB-fewest 96. Tampa Bay also tops the big leagues with 67 homers, while allowing the fewest with 20. Vince Velasquez (4-3) left after just three innings and 54 pitches due to elbow discomfort for the NL Central-leading Pirates (20-12), who have lost a season-high four straight.

The Public is hereby advised that I, MATTHEW LIVINGSTONE ORELIEN of Ridgeland Park, Nassau, Bahamas, intend to change my name to MATTHEW LIVINGSTON MAJOR If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ERIC RUDOLPH BAIN III, of #8 Hunts Close, Firetail Road, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 28th day of April 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that NAMRATHA GURUVAIAH SRIDHARA, of Village Road Apartment 3 No. #21, Brooklyn Road, New Providence, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 28th day of April 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ROSE JOHNSON, of Market Street #222, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of May 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that PATRICK GARY GUILLAUME, of Jones Town, Eight Mile Rock, Freeport, Grand Bahama applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 28th day of April 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ERIC JULIEN, of East Street North, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 28th day of April 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that JEAN YVES GELIN, P.O. Box SS19009 of #37 Jackson Street, Nassau Village, New Providence, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 5th day of May 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

Taxi reforms to force ‘boot straps pull up’

compliance with rules and regulations that will soon include a “code of conduct”.

Speaking after stakeholders met on Wednesday to further progress change, Mr Sands told this newspaper: “There have been a number of entities working collaboratively to ensure some of these reforms take place. We’re also encouraged by the fact the Government has agreed to a reasonable fare increase for the taxi drivers, which was a huge issue for them. We’re very hopeful the gazzetting of those rates will take place in a timely fashion.”

While Wesley Ferguson, the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union’s president, has been pushing for a 25-30 percent rate increase to ensure drivers and franchise holders can absorb increased fuel and operating costs, and still make money, both he, other union representatives and government officials have yet to provide details on the extent of the increase Bahamian and tourist passengers will face. The new rates have to first be published in the official government gazzette before they can take effect. Once that happens, Mr Sands disclosed that stakeholders can move on to address other issues such as “finalising” the code of conduct that will establish standards of behaviour that drivers must sign up to abide by.

A “cab service app” will also be introduced, where tourists will be able to put in the taxi’s number, comment on the quality of service and provide feedback electronically to the company operating it on the Ministry of Transport and Housing’s behalf. This will identify where action needs to be taken, and enforcement of the ‘code of conduct’ and other laws, rules and regulations will begin once all these efforts are properly rolled out.

Praising Jobeth ColebyDavis, minister of transport and housing, for “working on this in a time sensitive manner” with the tourism and taxi industries, the

BHTA president said his sector had brought their concerns and guest complaints “to the attention of the Government” over the last three to four months.

“We see this as pivotal in terms of reducing the level of guest dissatisfaction and raising the level of guest satisfaction, and will continue to work towards the sustainability of the tourism sector for the future,” Mr Sands told Tribune Business. “These initiatives, once implemented and once enforced, will go a long way to elevating the profile of the guest experience in tourism in The Bahamas.

“It was as a direct result of the elevated level of complaints we were receiving in this particular sector of our business that we decided to increase our push for more transformation and reform in this area. The dissatisfaction levels, and levels of complaints, have been going on for a long period of time.

“Now we’re very satisfied that by addressing them head on with stakeholders we will see some meaningful results and improvements. There’s no question some of these issues have been going on for a long period of time. This is not the majority. The majority of taxi cab drivers are true ambassadors for tourism in the country but there was certainly an element that needed their boot straps pulled up.

“We have to address certain concerns so that we raise the percentage of persons compliant under the rules and regulations that exist, and now this ‘code of conduct’.” Mr Sands did not specify the nature of visitor complaints about their ground transportation experience, or quantify the volume.

“The greatest level of satisfaction that a tourism resort or destination can produce is that visitor expectations are exceeded or met,” he said, “and once they leave the property they

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, DORIAN MONIQUE MAJOR of Palm Beach Street, New Providence, Bahamas, Mother of HENRI LEONARD CLEMENT MAJOR ORELIEN A minor intend to change my child’s name to HENRI LEONARD CLEMENT MAJOR If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this

Notice of Appointment of a Liquidator under Section 204 of the BVI Business Company Act

KNIGHTSBRIDGE WORLDWIDE CORPORATION

(In Voluntary Liquidation) Company No. 1397217

NOTICE is hereby given pursuant to Section 204, subsection 1(b) of the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 that OPIRA BUSINESS CORP. is in voluntary liquidation. The voluntary liquidation commenced on 3rd May, 2023. The Liquidator is Myron Walwyn of Travers Thorp Alberga, 2nd Floor Jayla Place, P.O. Box 216, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, VG1110.

Dated this 4th day of May 2023

Sgd Myron Walwyn Voluntary Liquidator

Notice

PUBLIC WORKERS’ CO-OPERATIVE CREDIT UNION LIMITED

The Nominations Committee, of the Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union Limited, in accordance with Sections 46, 47, 48, 73 and 79 of The Bahamas Co-operative Credit Unions Act, 2015, wishes to announce that applications are now invited from members in good standing who may wish to be considered to run as candidates for the below-listed posts, to become vacant at the next Annual General Meeting (AGM), to be held on FRIDAY, MAY 26th, 2023:

• Board of Directors (2)

• Supervisory Committee (1)

• Credit Committee (1)

No member may be elected to the Board of Directors, Supervisory or Credit Committees unless he or she has satisfied the Guidelines for Assessing the Fitness and Propriety of Applicants for Regulated Functions, regarding Fit and Proper Requirements, as outlined by our Regulator, the Central Bank of the Bahamas.

Further, please note that all interested members must meet the following criteria:

- Is 18 years of age or older (Section 50(a) of The Bahamas Co-operative Credit Unions’ Act, 2015).

- Is not disqualified from serving in accordance with Section 50 of The Bahamas Co-operative Credit Unions’ Act, 2015.

- Has qualifications or experience in matters relating to accounts, finance, business administration, commerce, or law; (Section 48(4)(a) (i) of The Bahamas Co-operative Credit Unions’ Act, 2015).

Interested members can obtain a Nomination Form from the Credit Union’s offices, Wulff Road (Nassau), or Oak Street (Freeport); or by email to sthompson@pwccu.org.

All members interested in serving on any of these three (3) Committees should submit: the completed/signed Nomination Form and a cover letter and resume outlining their qualifications and experience by 4:00 p.m., on Monday May 8th, 2023, to any of our offices, or via the email, listed above. No nominations will be allowed from the floor

Finally, all Member-sponsored RESOLUTIONS, for the consideration of the AGM, must be submitted by 4:00 p.m., on Monday May 8th, 2023, at any of our offices, or via the email address, listed above.

recommend the destination to family and friends. If we put these measures in place, and elevate the guest experience in the destination, it is likely they will recommend to family and friends to return to the islands of The Bahamas.”

Pledging that “similar concerns” over ground transportation in the Family Islands will also be addressed, Mr Sands added: “There are different elements that make up the whole guest experience. Accommodation is just one element of it. Transportation is a vital part of the linkage with the tourism experience. For many visitors, if not the first then it is the second line to greet them, and often the last to bid them farewell.

“First and last impressions are extremely important in any tourism destination. I think the mere fact the parties and stakeholders came together and put in place these transformative measures and

new codes, we have laid the foundation for beginning to correct a situation that, in the end, will only bring additional enhancement and comfort to the tourism product in The Bahamas.”

Lanecia Darville, the Road Traffic Authority’s chair, last week said the regulator agreed with the tourism sector’s call for professional standards to be imposed on taxi franchise holders and drivers - with unspecified penalties for violations - as part of the drive to improve the transportation experience for visitors.

Noting that there have been “persistent issues” involving the taxi sector’s interaction with tourists, she said that if the Government were to agree the fare increase that drivers have been demanding then it would want the sector to work with it to improve standards and conduct “in return”.

Ms Darville, acknowledging that it is critical for

The Bahamas to “elevate the transportation experience”, said the Road Traffic Authority is already reviewing a draft “code of conduct” for taxi drivers that has been prepared by the BHTA with the “ultimate intent” for it to roll-out industry-wide. She added that drivers and franchise holders could be required to sign up to the code, and agree to abide by it, when they come in bi-annually to renew their licences.

“We know there have been persistent issues with the the transportation experience, particularly from the visitor perspective, for quite some time,” Ms Darville said. “At the Road Traffic Department and Road Traffic Authority, for too long the focus has really been more so on regulating the vehicles as opposed to regulating the drivers as well as the experience itself. The question is how we can do that.”

Career Opportunity CAD TECHNICIAN

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supplied by architects and designers and make modifications to existing

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email: hr@palmcay.com

FTX’s US chief tells Bahamian liquidators: The $143m is mine

Detailing the latest move in the jurisdictional battle between The Bahamas and Delaware for control of the collapsed crypto exchange’s fate, Mr Ray and his team said: “The US attorney for the Southern District of New York has already seized more than $143 million in cash from FTX Digital Markets’ various bank accounts in the US over which the joint provisional liquidators no longer have any control.

“The debtors also have asserted avoidance claims in the adversary proceeding to confirm that the debtors stand first in line to recover this cash asset to the extent it is ever released by the [US] government, and those claims must be adjudicated in this court.”

Tribune Business previously reported how the Bahamian provisional

liquidators had sought to take control of the $143m just two days before Christmas 2022, but the US banking institutions holding the funds declined to co-operate because the trio at that time had no legal authority or status in that country because their Chapter 15 recognition application had not been approved. This gave the US Justice Department a window in which to swoop in one week later and, on December 30, 2022, seize assets that the Bahamian provisional liquidators are alleging belong to FTX Digital Markets and/or its clients and creditors.

More than $93m of the $143m was on deposit with Silvergate Bank, an institution well-known for providing services to the crypto and digital assets industries, with the

remaining near-$50m balance held at the 26th smallest bank in the US, Moonstone Bank. The latter is headed by Jean Chalopin, also chairman of Lyford Cay-based Deltec Bank & Trust, although the Bahamian institution has denied any links between itself and Moonstone.

Mr Ray’s bid to leapfrog the Bahamian liquidators and secure the $143m, which would be a valuable addition to FTX Digital Markets’ estate, was unveiled in legal arguments seeking to dissuade the Delaware Bankruptcy Court from giving the trio relief from the worldwide asset freezing order automatically imposed on all FTX businesses by the Chapter 11 proceedings.

Mr Simms and his colleagues are arguing this is necessary to enable them to progress FTX Digital

Markets’ liquidation in

The Bahamas, but their US counterparts - determined to block such a decisionare alleging the move does not benefit the “millions” of creditors who are part of the Chapter 11 recovery process and estate.

Pointing to the $7.3bn in digital and fiat assets recovered on behalf of FTX creditors/investors in the Chapter 11 proceedings, Mr Ray and his team again effectively argued that the Bahamian provisional liquidators should step aside and take a backseat - not least because they allegedly only possess $30m or “less than half of one percent” of what they control.

“The joint provisional liquidators seek relief from the automatic stay to pursue a declaration from a Bahamas court that billions of dollars in assets controlled by the debtors, and which they intend to distribute through their plan of reorganisation confirmed by this court, belong to FTX Digital Markets,” Mr Ray and his team asserted.

“The joint provisional liquidators offer no evidence as to why seeking such a declaration from a Bahamas court - rather than this court - would be in the interests of the millions of FTX creditors. Accordingly, the joint provisional liquidators’ motion must be denied.....

Virtually all property distributable to FTX creditors (other than property seized by the US government) is currently in the custody of the debtors.

“There is no material property in the custody of the joint provisional liquidators. The debtors believe, consistent with the joint provisional liquidators’ prior disclosures, that the aggregate amount of assets in the joint provisional liquidators’

custody today includes less than $30m of liquid assets and copies of customer data and information legally owned and provided by the debtors as to which the joint provisional liquidators now seek to exploit.

“These assets comprise less than one-half of one percent of the $7.3bn of liquid assets held by the debtors today.” Mr Ray and his team also asserted that their initial assumption, that 6 percent of FTX’s international customers had migrated to FTX Digital Markets, the Bahamian subsidiary, was incorrect. As a result, they argued that all investors creditors should participate in the Chapter 11 reorganisation where they will “receive fair and equal treatment”.

The FTX US chief also admitted that the primary reason he entered into the January 6, 2023, co-operation agreement with the joint provisional liquidators was to protect the value tied up in the $236m worth of high-end Bahamian real estate acquired by the crypto exchange’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, and his close associates.

“The debtors’ primary commercial purpose for entering into the co-operation agreement was to protect the value of real estate in The Bahamas held by FTX Property Holdings Ltd, a debtor, and to ensure that these properties could be sold in a consensual process,” Mr Ray and his team conceded.

Properties at Albany, GoldWynn, One Cable Beach and elsewhere were held by FTX Property Holdings, an entity that was included among those placed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware. However, the Bahamian provisional

BAHAMIAN DIGITAL PAYMENT FIRM TO OPEN LONDON OFFICE

FROM PAGE A24

expenditure, and tie those items directly to the heads of a budget to accomplish real time budget-based reporting.

“This is significant. This brings transparency, accountability, access and full inclusion of persons that need it. What we do is driven by the need of our

people, our Family Islands. Our banks are pulling out. They cannot justify the expense of a physical branch [and] paying persons to be on these islands because it’s not profitable for them. “

Philip Davis KC, also speaking at the Caribbean Council reception, slammed the “prejudices” that he asserted have resulted in The Bahamas being ‘blacklisted’ by the European Union (EU) for mere “administrative shortcomings” in the fight against tax evasion and avoidance.

He said “Despite the fact that we are still in our early years of national development, there are already a host of prevailing ideas about small island developing states, the Caribbean region generally, and The Bahamas in particular. Some of these ideas do not serve us well.

“Some are out of date. Some were never true. And perhaps the most widelyheld ideas are formed from our success in tourism and financial services: That what we are, that all that we are, are sandy beaches, shimmering sunsets, and a haven for tax dodgers.”

Pointing to The Bahamas’ achievement of a perfect ‘40 out of 40’ score for compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) anti-financial crime standards, Mr Davis questioned why larger countries are not punished for bank failures while smaller nations are blacklisted for technical deficiencies.

He said: “We find it odd that we are criticised for business failures when our regulatory regime is effective, and yet the same criticisms are not levied against those national jurisdictions who are currently experiencing a number of bank failures. Are the regulators to blame for the failures of Credit Suisse?

First Republic? Silicon Valley Bank?

“We fear we have fallen victim to the same kind of prejudices which have led the European Union to put us on a blacklist for what are effectively administrative shortcomings when some of their members engage in exactly the same legal activities that we do.

“In this, as in climate change, here again a more evolved idea of The Bahamas takes shape. We think it important to speak up globally, to engage in

liquidators had filed a motion with the Delaware Bankruptcy Court that FTX Property Holdings should be removed from the Chapter 11 proceedings and wound-up in The Bahamas.

Mr Ray’s admission is a tacit concession that Mr Simms and the PwC accountants would likely have won on this issue, given that it is established international legal principal that entities be liquidated and wound-up in territories where most of their assets are domiciled. However, he and team quickly reverted to their hardline stance. “The joint provisional liquidators’ motion is about the estate of FTX Digital Markets only to the extent that the estate of FTX Digital Markets is virtually empty and the joint provisional liquidators would like to fill it with property taken from the debtors,” they argued.

“The motion, indeed, begs the question of why the joint provisional liquidatiors would go to such efforts to re-route billions of dollars of claims to FTX Digital Markets with its paucity of assets. The joint provisional liquidators’ motion is, at heart, a request for a change of venue on some of the most core matters for these Chapter 11 cases....

“With all material property controlled by the debtors and protected by the automatic stay, there is nothing for the joint provisional liquidators to do in the Bahamas court unless and until this court determines that some of the assets of the debtors actually do belong to FTX Digital Markets and that the best interests of creditors is served by turning over such assets to FTX Digital Markets.”

international discussion and debate, in ways which previously was simply left to larger players. In doing so, we seek to join the rulemakers and not just remain a rule-taker.”

Mr Davis also defended The Bahamas’ response to the FTX crypto currency exchange’s collapse, adding that the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Act enabled the Securities Commission to secure and protect $3.5bn of investor and client assets even though this valuation has since been much reduced.

He said: “The financial services sector is an area where we have already made strides in diversification and innovation. The Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges, or the DARE legislation we enacted, made us the first jurisdiction in the world which made a serious effort to regulate the nascent digital assets industries, notably relating to blockchain technology and crypto currencies.

“Contrary to some of the more intemperate commentary made at the time, the experience last year of the failure of FTX in our jurisdiction proved the effectiveness of our regulatory regime. It was the strength of the DARE Act that enabled The Bahamas to act first, and to act decisively on FTX.

“Our Securities Commission was able to quickly put The Bahamas-based entity into provisional liquidation, ahead of their filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. We were also able to secure FTX assets, which had a market or trading value around $3.5bn at the time they were secured,” Mr Davis continued.

“The US debtors in the Chapter 11 themselves credited the Bahamian regulatory framework in the securing of assets. It is this robust regulation which was critical to The Bahamas achieving a perfect ‘40 out of 40’ rating with the FATF recommendations, a milestone which only six countries in the world have achieved.”

Mr Davis said the country’s main industries, tourism and financial services, have returned to ‘good health’ after the pandemic. “Visitor numbers are historically high, and the revenue earned has helped to right our economy postCOVID. While the tourism industry was closed during the COVID-related lockdowns, the financial services industry, in large part, kept us going,” he added.

Detailing the fall-out from Moody’s decision to downgrade The Bahamas’ credit rating from ‘Ba3’ to ‘B1’ in October 2022, Mr Bowe explained to Tribune Business: “When we completed the loan loss provision modelling we had a release of about $700,000. If you look at the quarterly and audited financials, that provision for loan losses, the excess was down by $700,000.

“However, the downgrade of the Government had a much larger impact than we were anticipating, and we had to take a $560,000 allowance for impairment all related to government securities. We were not expecting the $560,000, almost $600,000, on the Government securities. While the Government came out with a response to the credit rating, and gave the impression all is well, there are real life consequences for people who purchase and hold their securities.

“It’s necessary for the Government to factor that in so that when they go out to seek capital they appreciate the investment decisions factor in the prospect of immediate impairment [to those debt securities]. We’ve kept our government securities portfolio at over $100m because we’ve continued to roll over the debt. If you look at our balance sheet, almost all the investments are in government securities.”

As a result of the Moody’s-related impairment charge, Mr Bowe said Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) “slightly under-shot” the full-year 2022 profit target it projected earlier this year prior to audit completion. Rather than come in between $21m and $22m, and be almost flat with 2021’s $22.17m, the lender ended up at $20.9m aided by a $684,814 revaluation of its property assets that occurs every three years.

“We were expecting the release on the loan loss provisions, but we were not expecting the significant impairment on government securities,” he added. “We said we would be between $21m and $22m, but the sovereign credit rating had a greater impact than we estimated although it was not material. At the end of the day, it was largely in line with what we said in the quarterly results release.”

Mr Bowe said the impact to Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) results means the Government cannot afford to be insensitive to the effects its so-called ‘junk’ investment grade status has on both purchasers and holders of its debt securities. “There are three factors that need to be appreciated,” he said.

The limited number of alternative fixed income investment opportunities in The Bahamas outside government securities means institutional investors, such as banks and insurance companies, will always be active buyers of new issues and have large holdings on their balance sheets. However, Mr Bowe pointed out that these capital markets restrictions also mean that the same investors “have to absorb all the risk as there’s no opportunity to divest” in a negative environment.

“The second reality is that we can only invest so much without exceeding prudential limits,” he added, pointing out that Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) $106.5m investment in government securities almost matches its $109.345m in

net shareholder equity. “We’re showing confidence, but can’t go beyond that.”

Describing the third factor as a combination of the first two, the Fidelity chief said: “Over the past two years we’ve taken roughly $1.6m in impairments in relation to a $108m investment in government securities. We have a portfolio of over $108m, but can only carry $106.5m. The whole impairment issue is based on the probability of default, because that is driven by the credit rating which, in turn, is determined by your creditworthiness.

“The Government has to focus on regaining confidence of the rating agencies to move the country’s credit rating up.” This, Mr Bowe said, requires a credible long-term debt management strategy, economic growth plan and tax reforms as well as collecting all outstanding taxes due. “It is not as simple as rebutting what the rating agencies say, and saying we’ve never defaulted and don’t intend to, and we’re on our growth targets,” he added.

While voicing confidence that the Government will honour its obligations, and repay its debt to enable the likes of Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) to ultimately recover its $1.6m in impairments, Mr Bowe said that in the meantime he has to “abide by accounting rules and take the provision” unless the country’s credit rating reverses course and moves upwards.

Meanwhile, disclosing that the BISX-listed bank will be unveiling its 2023 first quarter results shortly, Mr Bowe told Tribune Business: “We are significantly behind where we want to be. But what we have realised is some of that is investment in the rest of the year.

“I will share with you that we are anticipating coming in at about $3.5m for the first quarter, which is somewhat behind where we wanted to be at $6m. Included in those numbers we have about $1m in additional provisions which we believe are temporary because we were restructuring a lot of delinquent loans in the first quarter. We heavily targeted bringing customers back into good standing but kept the provisions until they show six months of payments.”

Mr Bowe said a further $700,000 in expenses related to Visa and MasterCard licence fees associated primarily with Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) growing merchant services business. These had previously been split with its former Cayman Islands subsidiary, which has now been sold, and “this year we have borne all the cost. It’s not that the cost is different, but you have to pay that upfront.

“A lot of charges were borne in the first quarter, which were about $700,000, and we know that is going to accrue back to us,” Mr Bowe added. “What we are looking at is if you take the cost of the provisions, that additional $1m, and that $700,000, out we would have been closer to $5.2m.

“Our revenues were actually above last year, and our expenses were just above in those two areas. We are going to report coming in significantly behind where we want to be, but we have a number of initiatives we expect to bear fruit. We are not in any mode of saying the results are wholly unacceptable. They are not far off, but still behind.”

APPROVAL SOUGHT FOR $65M ROSE ISLAND HOTEL PROJECT

THE Government’s investments chief yesterday disclosed that approval is being sought for a $65m resort Rose Island resort project to join $1.3bn worth of New Providence developments that have already received the go-ahead.

Phylicia Woods-Hanna, the Bahamas Investment Authority’s (BIA) director, also assured a Caribbean gaming conference that The Bahamas is “moving forward” with its digital asset ambitions despite FTX’s implosion and said the country is “fast” making our presence known globally as the crypto currency centre of the world”.

Confirming that the Davis administration is also seeking investors to drive improvements in the Bahamian healthcare sector, she

said: “The approval for many of these investments was based in large part on the benefits that such developments would bring to communities in which they are based.

“As an example, for the island of New Providence, the Bahamas Investment Authority has approved $1.3bn in investments and projects such as a $20m luxury residential development on the southern-western side of our island. We are also looking to a new $65m resort on Rose Island, and an $85m solar power generation plant.

“We also must, in the midst of all major investments, ensure that our government’s infrastructure projects are resilient and sustainable. The country’s health infrastructure is a prime example of a system that must be resilient and sustainable. When it comes to human lives, there’s no second chance to get it right.

PM: BAHAMAS’ SURVIVAL AT STAKE OVER CLIMATE CHANGE

We must ensure that we get it right the first time. We are therefore looking for investors that can facilitate transformative change in our health sector.”

Mrs Woods-Hanna said

The Bahamas is also shrugging off the damage caused by the FTX’s crypto currency exchange’s collapse, and subsequent criminal charges levied against its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, in the southern New York federal courts.

“In spite of the severe setbacks over the past months in the digital crypto currency sector, we are fast making our presence known globally as the crypto currency centre of the world,” she charged. “We continue to move forward. We expect growth to continue exponentially in this area as we work to craft legislation to protect and support stakeholders in the sector.”

The BIA director added that the Government has approved more than $385m

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE PRIME Minister has warned that The Bahamas will “not survive” unless it can become more

in investment for Long Island since June 2022, the bulk of which is represented by the Calypso Cove cruise port project. “The administration is pleased to have approved a $250m investment in Long Island for the establishment of a new cruise port terminal, destination marina and residential resort with opportunities for the gaming industry as well,” Mrs Woods-Hanna said.

“This brings the total proposed investments for the island of Long Island since June 2022 to a total of $385m. For the island of Grand Bahama we have approved $1bn, and projects such as a $14m healthcare facility, a medical school, a hydroponic farm and scaling food production facility. This farming project will bring investments of approximately $430m from groundbreaking to full operation.”

Mrs Woods-Hanna pointed to the Government’s focus on investments in the

resilient against, and better adapt to, the impact of climate change.

Philip Davis KC, speaking at a Caribbean Council reception in London, reiterated previous statements that more than 40 percent of The Bahamas’ $11bn-plus

so-called ‘blue’ (ocean) and ‘green’ (environmental) economies, and its efforts to balance economic and social initiatives with conservation efforts. She said: “We are seeking new ways of attracting investors. We are looking to invest in our people, our communities, industries and our collective futures. We are seeking partners for sustainable, environmentally responsible investments - not only on New Providence but across our archipelagic country. We are working towards balancing economy and social development while protecting the environment.”

“[The Government] is committed to investing in renewable energy and sustainable initiatives related to the green and blue economies. We are seeing movement on that front with farming, ocean and coastal initiatives that are competitive and innovative on a global level.”

national debt was incurred from post-hurricane repair and restoration costs over the past several decades. That would place the combined hurricane bill at close to $5bn, and he added: “We estimate that more than 40 percent of our national debt is due to damage caused by hurricanes. That single fact casts an unflinching light on our situation. We are caught in a cycle of disaster, repair and rebuild. Each hurricane, such as that Category 5 monster called Dorian, unleashes catastrophic disaster, which forces us once again to have to repair and rebuild.”

Mr Davis asserted that climate change presents a greater challenge to The Bahamas than the growing influx of illegal migrants from both Haiti and Cuba.

“Closer to home in The Bahamas, we have to contend with the almost complete breakdown of the functions of the state in Haiti, and the weakness of the economy of Cuba, which is still heavily weighed down by the American embargo,” he said.

“Towering above the rising prices, the supply chain disruptions, and the misery and desperation of the thousands of Haitian and Cuban refugees who make their way to our shores, towering above all of these is the issue of climate change. For us, the threat of warming oceans, rising sea levels, severe coastal erosion and the incidence of catastrophic hurricanes, which are still growing in frequency and intensity, all contribute to a threat which is truly existential.

“If we cannot find ways to make our country more resilient to these shocks, we will not survive. If we cannot find ways to adapt, to reduce the loss of lives and livelihoods, we will not survive. For us, these series of global shocks present a stark truth about the need for active and urgent partnership,” Mr Davis continued.

“We are pursuing ways to grow and diversify our economy, while at the same

Mrs Woods-Hanna said further investment in digitising government services is a priority, with the results intended to improve transparency across government agencies.

“Another of our priorities is the continued digitisation of government processes, increased efficiency and effectiveness. We are changing the way we do business in The Bahamas...... investments in digital communications and operational systems, as well as digital file management and the use of automation, the speed of internal and outward facing processes,” she added.

“Digitisation will also include expanded access to government services, and a greater transparency across government sectors. Digitisation is just one aspect of what will ultimately be complete re-imaging of our national investments and promotional strategy.”

time actively participating in discussions seeking support from the industrialised nations. We are pleased that there are growing pledges to provide reparation for the damage being done by climate change. As we are on the receiving end of their carbon emissions, we welcome this move towards fairness and climate justice.”

Mr Davis said The Bahamas was making progress in efforts to monetise its natural carbon sinks, namely mangroves and seagrass, with the latter resource said to be capable of absorbing more carbon than the Amazon rainforest.

“We are also proud of the work we are doing in developing a market in blue carbon credits,” he added. “Thus far, our research findings indicate that our seas and seagrasses absorb more carbon than the Amazon rainforest. With such a sizeable resource, we see enormous potential in monetising and developing this new asset class, one which the IMF has already indicated that they will support.”

“Apart from these innovations in existing sectors, we are also diversifying into new areas of economic activity. So, for example, we see significant potential in strengthening our cultural and creative sectors, and to expand the commercialisation of the creative industries. As a starting point, we are furthering plans to build a tertiarylevel school for the creative and performing arts, which will develop the talent and skill needed to grow the sector.”

Mr Davis continued: “We are also strongly focused on enhancing our food security, and have recently launched initiatives to expand chicken and egg production. More broadly, there are infrastructural and development opportunities and needs, some related to the impact of climate disasters which I referenced earlier. In health and education, in the creation of jobs and the reduction of the cost of living, we invite investment partnerships across our full economic landscape.”

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SEPARATE GBPA’S ASSETS FROM REGULATORY FUNCTIONS

losses. I haven’t actually sat down and truly analysed it. If we were allowed to use a well for our irrigation that would help greatly, but that is part of GB Utility’s monopoly. We cannot use well water for irrigation. There’s nothing I can do about it. There’s no alternative.

“I’m not the right person to analyse if the increase is valid or not,” he added, “but the principle that the regulatory body is owned by the same people that own the water company is just wrong. I think moving forward the Government has to do whatever they can to separate the regulatory function from the assets so the owners of the utility company that has a monopoly cannot self-regulate themselves.

“I see the thing that URCA (The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority) doesn’t regulate water elsewhere in The Bahamas, but it cannot be a private company that selfregulates the water rates. There needs to be a separation of that.”

The GBPA is effectively regulating itself since GB Utility is directly owned by its affiliate, Port Group Ltd. Both the GBPA and Port Group Ltd have common shareholders, namely the

Hayward and St George families, and multiple parties have pointed to the obvious conflict of interest this represents without an independent third party to review GB Utility’s rate rise application and confirm it is justified.

However, any government intervention in the GB Utility water rate increases is complicated by Freeport’s founding treaty, the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. This gives regulatory authority for all utilities in the Port area to the GBPA, including for water, electricity and communications. This has caused numerous difficulties and legal battles over the years.

And while a clause in the Hawksbill Creek Agreement allows for the GBPA’s quasi-governmental powers to be devolved to a local government authority if 75 percent of its licensees vote in favour, this mechanism has never been acted on.

Tribune Business, though, revealed earlier this week that Grand Bahama’s new water regulatory regime appeared to have been implemented almost two weeks before GB Utility’s customers were warned of imminent rate hikes.

GB Utility’s new regulatory regime, which is posted on the GBPA’s website, states at page two that “this operating and regulatory

framework agreement [is] made effective as of the 2nd day of April, 2023”. That appears to confirm that the regime took effect almost two weeks before the water supplier’s customers were first informed of the impending rate increases, and new tariff structure, and one month before the GBPA gave its approval for the hikes.

The agreement, which was signed by Ian Rolle, the GBPA’s president, and Philcher Grant-Adderley, for GB Utility in her capacity as the latter’s chief operating officer, also refers to the water supplier’s Board of Directors passing a March 30, 2023, resolution in relation to the new regulatory framework on the page carrying their signatures. It is not totally clear when the agreement was signed, but it appears to have been between March 30 and April 2, 2023.

“It seems as if the utility’s Board approved of it before they even sent it out for consultation,” Mr Alnebeck said yesterday, adding that the rate increases seemed to have largely been motivated by GB Utility’s desire to recover its post-Dorian investment in reverse osmosis systems.

The water supplier has argued that this will provide greater sustainability, and resilience against natural

disasters, after Hurricane Dorian’s storm surge contaminated its wellfields. “It’s all driven by the cost of producing reverse osmosis water,” Mr Alnebeck said. “But everyone knows for the last 50 years they pumped water straight out of the ground and sold it and distributed it.

“That was different from Nassau, which has always had a water shortage and had to barge supplies in from Andros until it went to reverse osmosis. In Grand Bahama it was always pumped out because we had plenty of water underground and that kept the cost low for many, many years. Then the hurricane happens and, oops, the cost is no longer low so we need to do something about it.”

GB Utility, seeking to justify the recovery of at least some of its $15m Hurricane Dorian restoration costs from its customers, said that while the $5m investment in a reverse osmosis system will provide extra supply resilience and sustainability in the future this has come at a significant increase in operating costs and “a financial loss”.

“Reverse osmosis systems are extremely expensive to operate in comparison to well water plants, adding an additional $2.5m to the utility’s annual operating costs from 2021 at a financial loss

to the utility. This additional operating cost, to date, will not be recouped in rates retroactively,” GB Utility said in a presentation.

“GB Utility also experienced $3m in Hurricane Dorian-related infrastructure storm damage. In addition, there was approximately $2m in uninsurable losses associated with Hurricane Dorian including over $500,000 in costs to operate the free

water depots for residents and 25 percent discounts given to residents for water usage.

“These costs were at a financial loss to the utility and will not be recouped in rates..... GB Utility deferred the rate case for two years, at a significant financial burden and cost to the utility. To defer any longer will result in higher cost accumulation and consequently rates, and jeopardises the utility’s ability to maintain and produce potable water and remain functional.”

ACT, 2000

MGP Invest

(IN VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that in accordance with section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, as amended, MGP Invest S.A. is in dissolution. The dissolution of the said Company commenced on May 3, 2023 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered with the Registrar General in Nassau, The Bahamas.

The sole liquidator of the said Company is Kim D Thompson of Equity Trust House, Caves Village, West Bay Street, P O Box N 10697, Nassau, Bahamas. Kim D Thompson Sole Liquidator

THE WEATHER REPORT

$5.74 $5.74 $5.78 $5.71

‘Real life consequences’: Fidelity’s $560k Moody’s hit

By NEIL HARTNELL

THE Government’s declining creditworthiness has sparked “real life consequences” for a BISX-listed bank by forcing it to take a “much bigger than expected” $560,000 hit in its 2022 fullyear results.

Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, yesterday told Tribune Business that successive downgrades of The Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating have resulted in the lender incurring a total $1.6m impairment charge to its $100m government debt securities holdings over the past two years.

Warning that the Government cannot ignore the impact such downgrades have on lenders and their investment decisions, he added that the latest $560,000 charge had largely offset a $700,000 loan loss provision recovery and left Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) just short of the $21m-$22m

•

•

•

net income it had forecast for its audited 2022 financial results.

Mr Bowe also revealed to this newspaper that the bank was “significantly behind where we want to be” with its 2023 first quarter profits, which are set to come in 41.7 percent below expectations at $3.5m as compared to the $6m target. However, he reassured shareholders there was no cause for alarm as Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) had incurred a total $1.7m in costs that are either “temporary”

or will generate “accrued” income over the rest of 2023.

Of that $1.7m, some $1m related to loan loss provisions associated with restructured loan facilities. Mr Bowe explained that Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) has taken a conservative approach by not treating that credit as current until the borrowers concerned make six consecutive payments and demonstrate their creditworthiness, after which those provisions will fall away and be reversed.

And the $700,00 balance relates to MasterCard and

Taxi reforms to force ‘boot straps pull up’

Visa licence fee payments that were taken upfront during the first three months of the year. The Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief said this will benefit the bank’s performance over the remainder of 2023 by assisting with the expansion of its merchant services business, and added that the first quarter bottom line would have been $5.2m - closer to the anticipated $6m - if these costs were stripped out.

FTX’s US chief tells Bahamian liquidators: The $143m is mine

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FTX’s Bahamas liquidators face a three-way battle to regain control of some $143m seized by the US Justice Department after their US counterpart asserted he “stands first in line” to recover this asset from the federal authorities.

Brian Simms KC, the Lennox Paton senior partner, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accounting duo, Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves, are understood to have been locked in negotiations with the US Justice Department for several months to secure the return of cash that was seized from US bank accounts in the name of FTX Digital Markets, the Bahamian subsidiary they are responsible for liquidating

under the Supreme Court’s supervision.

But John Ray, who has oversight of the 134 FTX entities currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, is now alleging that he - and not the Bahamian provisional liquidators - should be first in the queue to recover this $143m if it is ever released by the federal authorities.

Separate GBPA’s assets from regulatory functions

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE GRAND Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) regulatory functions must be “separated” from its assets to prevent it self-regulating businesses owned by its shareholders, a Freeport hotelier urged yesterday.

Magnus Alnebeck, the Pelican Bay resort’s general manager, told Tribune Business this was especially needed in the case of assets that were monopolies such as Grand Bahama Utility Company (GBUC), the island’s water supplier, so that businesses and residential consumers could have confidence future tariff increases were only

approved after a fair and transparent process.

Speaking after the GBPA approved its affiliate’s rate hike application this week, he said Pelican Bay - likely one of GB Utility’s largest customers - would be “greatly” assisted if it could use its own well water to irrigate its grounds. However, he argued that it is prevented from doing this by GB Utility’s “monopoly” and will thus have to suffer the full impact of the increase.

Asked by this newspaper if he knew what the full financial effect will be from June onwards, Mr Alnebeck replied: “Only that it will increase our

SEE PAGE A23

Bahamian digital payment firm to open London office

By FAY SIMMONS jsimmons@ tribunemedia.net Tribune Business Reporter

A BAHAMIAN digital payments provider has unveiled plans to open a UK office in an announcement that coincided with the Prime Minister’s visit to London for King Charles III’s coronation.

Nicholas Rees, Kanoo’s chairman, speaking at the annual reception for the Caribbean Council, said: “We are taking up the charge from the Caribbean Council. We will be establishing Kanoo in the UK and that I’m pleased to announce tonight.”

Promoting Kanoo’s products and services, and their ties to the Sand Dollar, the Bahamian digital dollar that is backed by the Central Bank, he added: “We have a system in place today that processes revenue, it processes expenditure, it is customised and coded to the financial regulatory procedures of the country, and it is a sovereign wallet multi-signatory Central Bank Digital Currency payments system. “The first of its kind. This system will enable governments and institutions and small businesses around the world to process real-time payments, revenue and

• And cure long-standing ‘elevated level of complaints

• Transportation reform ‘pivotal’ to tourism sustainability

• Tourism chief: ‘Foundation laid’ to end visitor issues

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A SENIOR hotelier yesterday voiced optimism that taxi industry reform will cure “the elevated level of complaints” from tourists by forcing a minority of offending drivers to “pull their boot straps up”.

Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business the growing partnership between the tourism industry, Ministry of Transport and Housing, Ministry of Tourism and the taxi cab union is “laying the foundation to correct” an unsatisfactory ground transportation experience that visitors have been complaining about for too long.

Describing the reforms as “pivotal” to the tourism sector’s long-term sustainability, he added that while the majority of taxi drivers are “true ambassadors for tourism” these changes should force below-standard operators to raise their performance and

GOWON BOWE

SIMMS KC

MIN. Coleby-Davis and BHTA President Robert Sands met with members of the Bahamas Taxicab Union (BTU) and the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) last Wednesday.

Photo:Anton Thompson/BIS