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Volume: 112 No.140
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Key: Loretta a troublemaker JUNE 2016
...and Rollins needs another slap, says Abaco FNM MP
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net CENTRAL and South Abaco MP Edison Key launched into a blistering attack on some of his Free National Movement colleagues yesterday, branding Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner a “troublemaker” who will be dealt with by her constituents, adding that Ft Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins needed another slap from her to set him straight. Mr Key also defended Dr Hubert Minnis’ performance during the recent budget debate, telling The Tribune that Central Grand Bahama MP Neko Grant “ought to be ashamed of
By KHRISNA VIRGIL Tribune Staff Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday he anticipates that the government will be invited at some point to begin consideration of what it has to do to facilitate construction permits and “whatever else” China Construction America (CCA) needs in place to complete the unopened $3.5bn Baha Mar resort. SEE PAGE SIX
HISTORIC ROLE FOR RBDF RANGERS
himself” for criticising the party leader. His comments came when contacted yesterday about a critical email Mr Grant wrote to Dr Minnis about his performance during the committee stage of the budget debate last week when parliamentarians went through the line items of the budget. Mr Grant said it was apparent that Dr Minnis had not studied the budget, calling his behaviour “most disturbing” and “disrespectful”. As exclusively reported by The Tribune, he also accused Dr Minnis of being mostly absent from SEE PAGE THREE
SANDS: I’LL QUIT SENATE IF MINNIS STAYS AS LEADER DUANE SANDS announced last night that he will resign from the Senate if Dr Hubert Minnis wins the leadership contest at next month’s Free National Movement (FNM) convention. Dr Sands - who was appointed to the Senate by the FNM’s leader only last month - has said he is running for the post of deputy leader on a ticket with Loretta Butler-Turner, who will vie for leader, when the party elections take place at the end of
PM EXPECTS BAHA MAR TALKS - BUT NO DETAILS
July. They are challenging the incumbent leadership team of Dr Minnis and K Peter Turnquest. Last night, he told a radio talk show that if the present leaders were victorious at the convention he would step down from the Senate. Dr Sands, who replaced Lanisha Rolle when she resigned her Senate seat in mid-May after becoming embroiled in controversy over criticising fellow FNM SEE PAGE THREE
MEMBERS of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Rangers will be re-enacting historical military drills in full uniform at Fort Charlotte as part of a link-up with the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation. See page two for the full story and more photographs. Photo: Derek Smith/BIS
POWER COMPANY HAS NO PLANS TO WRITE OFF CUSTOMER DEBTS By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power and Light currently has no plans to write off any of its numerous delinquent accounts, an official from the utility provider said yesterday. However, the official would not say whether the corporation has been engaged in discussions with the Christie administration about a programme that would facilitate such an endeavour, or say if BPL has plans to implement any kind of debt forgiveness
plan in the foreseeable future. Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis announced that the government is working on a series of operational agreements with BPL with hopes of getting the corporation to forgive the debts of consumers who have been unable to settle balances for prolonged periods of time. Mr Davis, who has ministerial responsibility for BPL, said he had been informed that some 3,000 persons have fallen into this classification, insisting that officials now have to look at
these clients on a case-bycase basis to determine how best to resolve each matter. When contacted by The Tribune to ascertain the particulars of such operational agreements and a possible timeline for implementation, a BPL official said: “Our official statement is we don’t have any plans to do that at this time.” The official, who did not want to be named, then instructed The Tribune to refer any additional queries to Mr Davis. SEE PAGE SIX
PILOT KILLED IN BIMINI CRASH HAD NO LICENCE By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net AN official at the Department of Civil Aviation
has defended the agency’s practices after it was revealed that the pilot who died in a crash in Bimini last week was not licensed, telling The Tribune it was
the pilot’s responsibility to ensure he had the needed documentation. Acting Director at the
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE SIX
MAN ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTED SEX ATTACK ON 12-YEAR-OLD By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
A MAN was arraigned in Magistrate’s Court yesterday accused of the attempted sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. Renardo William Pinder, 25, appeared before Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes facing two counts of attempted sexual assault on the child. The alleged incidents occurred on June 12 and 19, 2016. Pinder was informed that, due to the nature of the offences, he would not be allowed to enter a plea until he is formally arraigned before a Supreme Court judge. The accused was told SEE PAGE SIX