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BELINDA DRAWS A LINE IN THE SAND LET THE GAMES BEGIN

Union leader sets date for teachers to launch action

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net BELINDA Wilson has told teachers to get ready to take industrial action on August 22, insisting the government has had ample time to bring closure to matters of concern for educators.

The announcement came yesterday, on what was the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum given to the government last Thursday.

“I’m asking you to get

ready, get ready, get ready for action on Monday, August 22, 2022, the first day of school,” the Bahamas Union of Teachers president said in a recording disseminated to the membership.

Mrs Wilson explained that while she had been in constant contact with the lead negotiator every day since last week, there were a few articles of their expired industrial agreement that had caused an impasse.

SEE PAGE FIVE

FNM leader Michael Pintard yesterday told youngsters he had been in a neighbourhood gang as a youth, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, before turning his life around - and urged them to avoid getting into trouble.

Mr Pintard was speaking as Bahamian NBA player Buddy Hield held

his annual summer basketball camp for hundreds of youngsters in Grand Bahama. Mr Pintard said he had made a decision to “change my life” as he called on youngsters to avoid mixing in bad company.

The first camp kicked off in his native soil of Eight Mile Rock, and the second in Freeport on Thursday at the Jack Hayward High School gymnasium.

SEE PAGE TWO

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE finding that 99 percent of Bahamian firms had no interest in seeking debt financing in COVID’s aftermath was yesterday branded “irrelevant” by a small business adviser, who warned: “We have a new monster in the house.”

Mark A Turnquest, of Mark A Turnquest Consulting, told Tribune Business that “the climate has changed significantly” for business financing since the outcome of a 2020 Inter-American Development Bank survey.

He said the biggest impediment to accessing this is the post-pandemic condition of many companies.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

‘LET OFFSHORE BANKS HAVE BIGGER ROLE’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

PINTARD: MY ESCAPE FROM GANG CULTURE

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

BUSINESS: WE FACE ECONOMIC MONSTER

BAHAMIAN athletes enter the stadium during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, yesterday. See SPORTS section for full coverage.

Photo: Aijaz Rahi/AP

THE Bahamas has been urged “to find creative means” to allow so-called ‘offshore’ financial institutions to participate in the local economy and help narrow an estimated $748m small business “financing gap”.

The Inter-American Development Bank argued that such reforms would develop a “potentially valuable bridge between the real economy and the offshore financial sector” - especially when it came to financing micro, small and mediumsized enterprises that are frequently capital starved.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

HAITI STEPS IN FOR FUNERAL COSTS THE NEXT

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ACTIVIST Louby Georges said the Haitian government has committed to cover the burial costs of those who perished at sea after their boat capsized in waters off New Providence earlier this week.

Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, Mr Georges said he was told directives were given to officials at The

SURVIVORS cling to the overturned boat last week.

Haitian Embassy to notify the Bahamian government

of the issue.

“What I can confirm and what I also understand is that the Haitian government, the central government in Haiti through the Minister of Foreign Affairs has announced or given directive to the embassy here (in The Bahamas) and they have decided that they are willing to foot the bill for the funeral costs for everyone,” he said.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE THREE

EDITION OF THE TRIBUNE WILL BE ON TUESDAY AFTER THE HOLIDAY

PAGE 2, Friday, July 29, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

NBA player Buddy Hield hosts a second basketball camp in GB yesterday at the Jack Hayward High School gymnasium in Freeport.

Photos: Denise Maycock/Tribune Staff

Pintard: My escape from gang culture from page one This is the fifth Buddy Hield Basketball Camp and Clinic held in The Bahamas. Through his foundation, Buddy helps in the development of young Bahamians through the sport of basketball.

During the opening of the second camp, several successful Bahamian entrepreneurs and professionals, including Mr Pintard, were invited to share their stories.

Mr Pintard, Member of Parliament for Marco City, commended Buddy for holding the camps.

“We are so grateful to Buddy Hield and his foundation for recognising that if The Bahamas is going to succeed, we need to reach (the youngsters),” he told the campers.

“Buddy knew this years ago and he decided to support The Bahamas by supporting you.”

Mr Pintard believes that among participants there could be someone who will follow in the path of Buddy Hield, playing ball in the NBA, WNBA, or Europe or South America.

“We have no idea who you will become… but we know that within all of you there is something great, he said, Mr Pintard noted future leaders of the country must do what past generations have not yet done – to increase Bahamian ownership in The Bahamas’ leading economic sectors.

“My generation have done some incredible things and the generation before me, but despite everything we have done... the persons who control the tourism industry in The Bahamas and persons who control

the financial services industry in The Bahamas, the number is so small you could put them on a Bahamasair jet and fly them out the country - that’s how few (Bahamians) control the economic activity in your country,” Mr Pintard stressed.

“We believe that more of you can own the country you are born in – that’s important. So, my generation, we have not accomplished that as yet.”

Mr PIntard told campers they must also learn life skills so “you can earn a greater portion of the rock that you are on”.

Sharing his life experience growing up as a youngster, Pintard told them he decided to turn his life around from being in a neighbourhood gang, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol from grades six through ten, and hanging with the wrong crowd.

“I made a decision to change my life because none of that was working for me,” he said. “I used to run with some people who were not good for my development.”

The campers were encouraged to make the right choices and listen to positive people who would encourage them.

Mr Pintard stressed their involvement in basketball camps would develop their character and provide them with opportunities.

“You may end up where Buddy Hield is,” he explained. “So, basketball opened pathways for Buddy that was unimaginable when he was growing up - this is what basketball has done for him. It can also pay for your education.”

Mr Pintard said playing basketball also contributes to their physical fitness and

helps them to develop good character and relationships.

He noted that basketball camps are a recreational activity that keeps young people off the street and out of trouble.

“You can build a community spirit through recreation activities like basketball, and that’s why these camps are important,” he said.

The Grand Bahama MP encouraged campers to set high goals.

“As good as Buddy is, he needs to see the goal to have an opportunity to hit the shot,” said Mr Pintard. “God has placed in you a tremendous amount of talent; we are relying on you to build a powerful tomorrow for the Bahamas,” he said.

Buddy Hield thanked all the presenters, including Shurmon Clarke, human resources director at Pharmachem; a representative from Eden Farms, businessman Clayvon Duncombe, and Mr Pintard for imparting words of encouragement to the campers.

“I hope you take something from each of the presenters today,” he told camp participants.

Buddy explained playing basketball is not a lifelong career. “I play basketball, but when I am done with basketball… I can’t rely on the money I make; I have to find some life skill I want to jump into because it is only so long that I can play basketball.

“I know I am not going to play basketball for a long time. The ball only bounces for so long; you are not going to be playing basketball until you are 40, 45, or 50 - the reality is that it is not going to happen.

We need one of you guys to take my job, and take my spot (in the NBA),” he said.

LATE NEWS: ONE DEAD, ONE MISSING AS BOAT CAPSIZES A BOAT last night capsized, with the death of at least one person.

The vessel capsized off Andros, said police late last night, with one man

killed and another man missing.

A third man survived, said officers.

The vessel was en route to New Providence.

The initial police alert came in shortly after 9pm.

No further details were available at the time of going to press.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 29, 2022, PAGE 3

Munroe: We must all do our part to fight crime

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe says the answer to addressing crime is for Bahamians to realise it is about “us” as he urged everyone to do their part in the fight against crime.

Mr Munroe spoke a day after four-year-old, Kenton Seymour Jr, was shot and killed by a stray bullet while he was driving with his parents on West and Fleming Streets.

The incidents were two of three shootings that occurred on Tuesday.

Since then, many have expressed outrage at the increasing levels of violence in the country, calling for more to be done to address the issue.

Asked to respond to the recent spate of violence yesterday, Mr Munroe said studies show that crime is a multifaceted problem.

The minister spoke to reporters after viewing the body of former House Speaker and government minister Vernon J Symonette in the foyer of the House of Assembly yesterday.

He said: “There is this concept that criminals suddenly appear and with a stroke of a pen they could disappear.

The studies that resulted in the crime plan, acknowledged that crime is a multifaceted problem, it acknowledges that we have to identify youth at risk and divert them from criminal conduct.”

Mr Munroe reiterated the idea that crime has been an ongoing issue in the country.

He said the harsh reality is “we need to raise our young men better”.

“We need to be very clear about it, we need to raise our young men better - that

POLICE at the scene of the a shooting in Fleming Street in which four-year-old Kenton Seymour Jr was killed. means as we have started to do, reducing the age of intervention from junior high school to senior high school, from primary school into junior high school so that we catch the young men before they get to a life of crime,” the minister told reporters.

He also appealed to members of the public to do their part in the fight against crime.

“So, the answer to crime is for us to realise it’s about

us. We have to intervene in young people’s lives. We have to recognise when they’re off track and we have to take responsibility and say come here young man let me set you right. So, we can’t look for anybody else other than ourselves, when we stop doing that then we will start making a difference in young people’s lives,” the member of parliament said.

As a result of the recent spike in crime, Prime

Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis was asked yesterday his government’s views on capital punishment.

He said: “Well we believe in the rule of law and that is on the books. We believe the execution of the law rests in the hands of the courts and the courts have made some determination as to what will attract capital punishment or not and we will not interfere with that.

“All I’ll say is that it’s

on the books and if, and whenever, the law takes its course, the law will take its course.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander pledged to take an aggressive approach in the fight against crime, with specific focus on tackling gang violence.

The police chief warned officers “will take the fight to the criminals” to disrupt

Photo: Austin Fernander gang related activities and reduce violent crime.

“We will take the fight to them,” he said. “If we don’t, we will continue to move from one scene to the next and I believe it’s high time now that we do just that to disrupt what’s going on. So, we are asking and appealing to members of the public to please assist your Royal Bahamas police force as we continue to make safer communities.”

‘DECLARE CRIME A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY’

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL youth activist has called on the government to formally declare crime as a “public health emergency” due to the overwhelming spate of homicides and shootings in the country.

Tavarrie D Smith raised alarm over the issue after four-year-old Kenton Seymour, Jr was killed by a stray bullet on Tuesday.

The child was in a car with his family in the West Street and Flemming Street area when armed men in pursuit of another man fired shots in their direction, ultimately hitting the child. He died in hospital moments later after the shooting.

In a statement to The Tribune yesterday, Mr

Smith said: “The senseless killing of baby Kenton is a grim reminder of the cycle of violence that continues to plague this nation. It is an “outward manifestation of an inward cancer” that is eating away at the very core of what makes us Bahamian”.

He also gave several recommendations on how the country can tackle the issue.

These include: “The immediate mobilisation of resources so that our courts, police and supporting agencies can effectively do their jobs without barriers or delay; the expedited hiring of social workers, inner-city educators, truancy officers, judicial and law enforcement officers, and community agents to help aid in the fight against crime.”

The attorney added: “The

investment of meaningful resources in non-profit organisations who are specifically engaged in programmes like rehabilitation, offenderreentry, family reunification, diversion and disposition programmes, juvenile justice, criminal justice reforms, and social justice initiatives; the engagement of the best and brightest among us to brainstorm realistic solutions to crime.”

Mr Smith said there is a need for Bahamians to take action rather than just offering sympathy all the time.

“Baby Kenton does not need your condolences, what he needs is your action,” he urged.

“We, as a nation, have been here before, burying our toddlers, young children and school age

children who were innocently at the right place, but at the wrong time. I sincerely hope that this recent incident moves Bahamians to action and advocacy, rather than just a display of sympathy, so that we don’t ever have to be here again,” Mr Smith added.

President of the Bahamas Christian Council Bishop Delton Fernander also echoed similar comments to The Tribune yesterday, saying more needs to be done to protect the most vulnerable in Bahamian society.

He also said Kenton’s killing had left him feeling horrified.

Bishop Fernander said: “Not only is he so young, but to think that this violence has moved to a place that the innocent and those

who cannot protect themselves in our society are being senselessly killed.

“We as a society, have to do more to protect the vulnerable in our society and to take this crime and gun violence into hand. Because per capita, it will lead us to a place that it will destroy all that we are doing to revive the economy, and to live in peace and tranquility, as a Christian nation.”

The religious leader said the country is now at a place where the Christian values of our nation are being eroded with all of these attacks.

“This is why we worked so hard to remain a Christian nation because the values have passed on from generation to generation and have worked. And have produced societies with less

crime, more appreciation of life and appreciation that we are and what will be is all in God’s hand.”

When asked what advice he would give so tragedies like this would not happen again, the Bishop responded that he’s been saying repeatedly that crime needs to be seen as a national problem, not a police, church, or parental problem but rather as a nationwide issue.

He said it’s time for the community to work together.

He added: “If we don’t bring it together under one umbrella, and make it a national concern, it won’t really bother us until it’s our child or towards someone in our family being affected.

And we could have dealt with it nationally.”

HAITI STEPS IN FOR FUNERAL COSTS from page one

“Well, families of course may claim their loved one’s bodies and they will decide how they want to go about with the funeral services and everything but for those that are not claimed, definitely the Haitian government has decided that they will pay for the funeral costs so there won’t be any burden on the Bahamian government.”

During a press conference on Wednesday, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander made a strong appeal for family members of deceased victims from Sunday’s boating tragedy to come forward to assist with the identification process.

So far, 17 Haitians, including a young girl, have been confirmed dead, while several people are believed to be still missing.

Since the incident, Mr Georges told The Tribune

he has received scores of phone calls from concerned loved ones wanting to know the whereabouts of their missing relatives.

“In fact, just about half hour ago, I had a lady who was messaging me on social media all week. She wanted to find out if her family member was at the detention centre and amongst the survivors,” he added.

“I asked for the name and she gave me the name and it was very difficult and heartbreaking for myself to announce to her that I see the name here or on the list amongst the ones that passed away and she was very distraught on the phone.”

The activist said some family members of the deceased have already identified them and even started to make funeral arrangements.

He said: “There has been and I can confirm that there have been family members

that has gone to the hospital to claim their family members bodies and those who started to make arrangements with funeral homes of their choice.

“I can confirm that the baby the little child, the one-year-old that was on the boat along with her mother, for sure those two have been claimed and was with the family members yesterday at the funeral home.”

Mr Georges added: “They went there after they would’ve come from the hospital. They took the identification; the child’s birth certificates and that sort of stuff. They had IDs for the mother so they would’ve brought in all of that stuff and they would’ve positively identified the bodies and so they signed the necessary paperwork, and the hospital is ready to turn the bodies over to them and onto the funeral homes.”

Police said some 50 people were travelling on a 33ft twin engine vessel when it overturned in rough seas near Blackbeard’s Cay around 1am on Sunday.

Officers suspect the boat travelling to Miami as a part of a human smuggling operation.

Yesterday, Mr Georges was asked how affected families were coping in view of the incident.

He said for some, there is a sense of regret while others are struggling to come to terms with tragedy because they were not aware that loved ones were planning to go on the voyage.

“That sense of regret is there,” the activist told The Tribune. “They are going through the grieving process. It’s still hard to believe and understand. You have to understand that these persons were not sick and elderly and they were not bedridden so there was

no expectation that your family members would just perish and in such a tragic way.”

“Some of the family members that I spoke to, they were actually unaware that their family members were going to take the voyage.

In fact, some of the people hailed from various family islands like Harbour Island, Eleuthera and that sort of thing so the ones here in Nassau, they were not aware.

They did not know so they’re still in a state of shock.”

He added: “However, for the ones that I’ve spoken to so far. They have decided that they will take up the responsibility to try to send their family members or lay them to rest as best as they possibly can.”

At last report, some 22 Haitian survivors from Sunday’s deadly boating accident were said to be in custody.

On Tuesday, Labour and Immigration Minister Keith

Bell told reporters that only two of them had work permits to be in the country, which he said will likely be revoked.

He also revealed work permit holders along with those in custody are expected to be repatriated once investigations are completed.

Yesterday, Mr Georges appealed to those considering making such a voyage not to do so, saying the risks are “just too great”.

“There is three possible outcomes. You either make it, you may die out there or you may be arrested.

There’s just too much risk and when you look at and think about the amount of money that is being spent on a single individual for these voyages, you can invest that in my opinion sorting out yourself here,” he added.

“So, I try to discourage everyone from taking those voyages.”

PAGE 4, Friday, July 29, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

More vaccinations means more freedom for the country - PM

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis was present for the roll out of paediatric vaccines yesterday and said the more children become vaccinated the more freedom the country can have.

The Bahamas received 24,000 paediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which can be offered to children aged five through 11-years-old.

They were donated

by France through the COVAX facility.

Previously, only people age 12 and older have been eligible for doses.

Yesterday, Mr Davis urged parents to get their children vaccinated as a preventive measure.

He said: “Children contract the virus and when

they do the vaccine prevents serious illness and death. So, we are encouraging all parents to seek to have their children vaccinated. Being vaccinated also allows us to open up the economy more, it can give us more freedom.

“Today I am quite encouraged by the number of parents who booked their children to be vaccinated and we are looking forward to have as many of our children vaccinated.”

When asked by reporters if the mask mandate will be lifted before the year is over, Prime Minister Davis jokingly told reporters he would hope to do so by next week if another 20,000 persons get vaccinated.

“I would hope to do so next week, if you could assist us by getting another 20,000 persons vaccinated by next week, we would

like for you to have it off by next week,” he told reporters.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville was also present at the Mall at Marathon yesterday.

According to the Minister of Health and Wellness, 66 people booked appointments yesterday via the government’s website.

“We encourage parents who are interested to please come out,” he said. “We are receiving walk-ins but at the same time we are doing booking. We intend to ensure it will be available at other centres through The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”

More than 169,000 people in The Bahamas have been fully vaccinated against the disease since the start of the government’s vaccination programme last March.

YOUNGSTERS began to receive their vaccinations yesterday after vaccines arrived for children as young as five.

Photos: Moise Amisial

territories in the Americas, with the majority in the United States, Canada and Brazil.

To date, no deaths from monkeypox have been reported in our region, according to PAHO. During a virtual press briefing, Dr Ciro Ugarte, director of health emergencies, highlighted one of the most important aspects of

PAHO’s response is to support member states such as The Bahamas by exchanging updated and detailed information on what is happening at the global and regional level.

Dr Ugarte explained PAHO has developed and shared alerts and updates, trained laboratory technicians from all member states from the Americas on

diagnostic and has also provided laboratory supplies.

This comes after Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville revealed on Tuesday his ministry was working very closely with PAHO to devise the necessary strategy in regard to monkeypox.

Currently, there are no suspected cases of the virus in country.

PAHO: BE VIGILANT OVER MONKEYPOX

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has urged countries in the region to remain vigilant in light of monkeypox being declared a global health emergency.

Nearly 5,300 monkeypox cases have been confirmed across 18 countries and

Dr Darville said the ministry is in negotiations with PAHO for the acquisition of monkeypox vaccines, adding the doses, once acquired, will be administered to high-risk individuals.

Dr Ugarte added: “I would like to highlight that this week 41 countries, 32 from the Americas are meeting in Brasilia to analyse which are the best approaches on surveillance alert and response to pandemics. One of the areas they will discuss this Friday specifically is how we align our response on monkeypox on the detection, diagnostic, clinical management, vaccination also, of course, the public health measures that are clearly one of the best approaches that we will have to implement on this outbreak.”

Meanwhile, PAHO deputy director Dr Mary Lou Valdez said nearly all cases continue to be reported among men who have sex with men between the ages of 25 and 45 years. She was speaking on behalf of director Dr Carissa Etienne, who was absent during Wednesday’s briefing.

She noted: “However, we should be clear that anyone regardless of their gender or sexual orientation can get monkeypox. The pattern of transmission offers a unique opportunity for countries to work closely with affected communities to ensure people know how to protect themselves and what to do if they exhibit symptoms.

“We are also working with civil society and LGBTQ+ communities to alert at-risk groups about monkeypox symptoms and

to provide information about how they can protect themselves.”

During the virtual briefing, officials were asked whether it was necessary for countries to launch mass vaccination campaigns given monkeypox was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

PAHO’s head of infectious disease threats responded that at this point, officials did not recommend for countries to do so, saying the risk for the general population is very low at this point in time.

Symptoms of monkeypox include skin rash, fever, headache, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion and can last up to two to four weeks.

Anyone with suspected symptoms of monkeypox is asked to call their health care provider or the nearest public health community clinic.

Additionally, PAHO’s deputy director acknowledged that a vaccine-derived polio type 2 case was reported in the United States. Local health authorities are investigating the case and PAHO will share further information as it becomes available.

Dr Valdez said: “Today, the regional polio vaccination rate is at 79% well below the recommended 95% threshold and the lowest coverage reported since 1994.This is extremely worrisome, because without adequate vaccination coverage, our region remains vulnerable to outbreaks.

That’s why I want to leave you today with a reminder that we cannot afford to be complacent.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 29, 2022, PAGE 5

PM: Priorities are finance and relief to Bahamians

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis revealed yesterday that stabilising the country’s finances and bringing economic relief to Bahamians will be key priorities for his administration for the remainder of year.

Mr Davis – who was elected to office last September- was asked about his government’s agenda and their main areas of focus for the rest of the year.

“Well, we set it out in our budget communication,” the prime minister responded reporters.

“Our continuing to stabilise our finances, our continuing to bring relief to our people. We have done so in some of the initiatives that we have already put into place like ensuring that we bring some initiatives to relieve the pressures brought on by inflationary pressures because of what’s happening worldwide.

“Like for example, lowering our import duties and being more effective in connecting our finances,” he added.

Surging gas prices and high food costs – largely a direct result of inflation and the ongoing RussianUkranian war - have been among the list of grievances expressed by Bahamians in recent months.

In his budget communication in May, Prime Minister Davis announced a series of relief measures aimed to assist Bahamians struggling with the inflationary high cost of living.

The proposed measures include increased social assistance, targeted minimum wage increases for workers in the public sector, duty reductions on certain food items among other things.

Yesterday, Mr Davis told reporters the government had also been negotiating with several shipping companies to bring in imported items at discounted rates.

“We have also negotiated with some of and we continue to negotiate with some of the transport shipowners to lower the cost of containers,” Mr Davis added.

“We’ve been successful in at least identifying savings

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis gives a youngster a high five in the first day of vaccinations for children as young as five yesterday. Mr Davis is flanked by Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville, and Minister of State for Education Zane Lightbourne at the Mall at Marathon vaccination site.

Photo: Eric Rose/BIS for containers coming from the far East. At least 40 percent of the costs has now been reduced in respect to that. We hope to have that being passed on to consumers so those are some of things, but my primary goal is to relieve the suffering that our people are having.”

Mr Davis also spoke to the issue of mental health in the country, which is something he said his government is addressing.

Earlier this month, the government tabled the Mental

Health Bill 2022, which, once enacted, will allow people suffering with mental illness to be better protected.

“There’s a mental health issue in our country,” the prime minister said.

“It’s not manifesting itself as people would think but it’s simmering and it’s something that we’re addressing as well because we need to have our people feeling good about themselves and not (being in a) depressive state brought on by all of the issues that’s attentive

BELINDA DRAWS A LINE IN THE SAND from page one

“There are a few articles that we have not agreed on and one in particular that is causing an impasse,” she said. “I’m certain that the union is following the law in this matter and is unable to agree on this article, which violates the law and also violates your rights as a teacher and as an employee in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

“As for the financial package inclusive of the salary increases lump sum payments and other benefits, “I am still awaiting the government’s final position.

“Also based on information received they have been in discussions with the Ministry of Finance over the last few days up to yesterday.”

In June, union members voted unanimously to take industrial action. However, none was taken because consideration was given to internal exams, external exams and report cards.

“Well you have worked over time and ensured examinations were held and the report cards were completed,” she further told teachers.

“Be advised that I will

BAHAMAS Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson. not be signing any subpar, incomplete or partial industrial agreement.

“I will sign off on the financial proposal and the full industrial agreement that you the members voted for us to accept and for me to sign off on.

“I am saying to you today that the government has had ample notice. They’ve

had sufficient time for us to conclude and sign off on a full agreement.

“So, I’m asking you to get ready, get ready, get ready for action. On Monday, August 22, 2022, the first day of school you will receive further information and instruction on the industrial action that we will be taking.”

to persons, particularly the most vulnerable.”

He was also asked whether the government planned to advance legislation on gender equality regarding the transfer of citizenship at the end of the year.

However, Mr Davis could not commit to it because he said it was not a priority for his administration at this time. However, he noted the matter was under review.

The government has previously said it intends to

bring legislation to allow both Bahamian men and women to pass on citizenship in any circumstance.

Last month, Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the government wanted to advance legislation on the issue by the end of summer.

However, yesterday, Mr Davis said: “I will not raise my expectations for the end of the year. Those things are under review. They are not a priority right now.

The priority for me is to relieve the suffering and

mental anguish to what are people are going through right now,” he said.

Currently, children born outside of the country to a married Bahamian woman and a foreign man are not automatically granted Bahamian citizenship and thus must apply to receive it.

Bahamian men who have children with foreign women out of wedlock also cannot automatically pass on citizenship to their children.

PAGE 6, Friday, July 29, 2022

The Tribune Limited

THE TRIBUNE

PICTURE OF THE DAY

NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Pintard’s path shows a way out IN recent times, we have heard a lot about gang culture. We have heard of turf wars, and of the battle taking place on our streets that has seen the murder count spiral.

Credit then to FNM leader Michael Pintard for opening up yesterday about his own past.

He was speaking at a summer basketball camp held by NBA star Buddy Hield in Grand Bahama – where he told participants that as a young man he was involved in gang life.

He said he had been in a neighbourhood gang, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol from grades six through ten. He said he was hanging around with the wrong crowd.

So what did he do? He decided things had to change.

He said: “I made a decision to change my life because none of that was working for me. I used to run with some people who were not good for my development.”

For those in gangs today, sometimes it may seem there is no way out. It may seem impossible for them to have aspirations of building a career, perhaps owning a business. Crime is too wound into their lives sometimes to see a life without it.

So to see someone like Mr Pintard can be an example, an inspiration. He has stepped away from that path and risen to the point where perhaps he might be a future Prime Minister.

We hope it might also be an inspiration not just for the youngsters who

could follow his lead, but for some other leading lights in the political world.

They too can tell of their past and show how they have stepped away from links in the past they may not have been proud of.

We have heard too many tales over the years of people with criminal affiliations becoming entangled with the lives of politicians, and not being disavowed.

But for the young people today who may be involved in gangs, we need to show them there is a way out, a future – and Mr Pintard’s words can encourage those who feel they have no hope.

We applaud Mr Pintard, not just for his words, but for having had the courage long ago to make that step. He may wish to lead the nation one day, but in this at least he can lead the way.

Teachers The teachers’ union is threatening strike action for the first day of school – August 22.

This comes after a seven-day deadline issued to the government expired yesterday.

Negotiations, it seems, are at an impasse – with one item in particular causing a problem.

With the three-day weekend for the holiday upon us, don’t hold your breath if you think that’s going to be resolved imminently…

FIREWORKS explode during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, yesterday. See SPORTS section for more.

Photo: Manish Swarup/AP

Readers have say on shootings AFTER the fatal shooting of four-year-old Kenton Seymour Jr, readers of www.tribune242.com had their say on the wave of violence affecting the country.

Godspeed summed up the mood, saying: “The country has gone right down the drain.”

Tribanon said: “This article seems intended to remind us not only of the terrible grief that accompanies the untimely loss of a loved one, but also the frightful reality that, after years of unchecked and increasingly violent crimes in our society, we find ourselves placed by successive incompetent governments on the spinning roulette wheel of ‘sudden death at any moment due to criminal violence’, and that wheel could stop at anytime on a number that is bad for ourself or one or more of our loved ones.”

M0J0 said: “It is a sad situation but no government will ever be able to fully cut crime. Its not a political problem but a society problem. We have to go to the root of the problem.”

ThisisOurs added: “This happens when we say “it’s ok let them kill themselves.

Its only people “known” to the police”, now it’s on our doorstep. I dont know if we can claw this back, not because it cant he done but because the high profile man who contributing to both political parties and have senior law enforcement officials on his payroll will have to be brought down.

“Wickedness in high places.”

Carltonr61 said: “The nonvaccinated, locked out of society and the work force are committing the killings and crimes. As expected. Doctors Christie and Knowles at Sandilands warned the FNM of impending social epidemics spreading into cultural negativity dynamics. women are denied jobs because they refuse the vaccination that POTUS JUST PROVED DOES NOT PREVENT COVID, but helps cases as his. Discriminated, denied education, a place in the world, marginalized, unwanted unless you bow to covid vaccine 199% failed shot of prevention - ask Biden - ,so the non vaccinated - strung out to die, have what to gain or loose. the Gates mandate has placed humanity in hell while he lives in his glass palace, His money is here as again leadership never mentions God. Our new Moses has not bent to the golden vaccine calf.”

After Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander pledged an aggressive approach to tackling crime,

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net ThisisOurs said: “How many years now has this aggressive approach failed?

Wasnt is just a few short months ago when they told us not to be too concerned because the criminals were only killing each other.

This police commissioner appointment system isnt working, they keep assigning the same old tired minds.”

Cobalt said after the initial shooting report: “Why do you always tend to blame politicians and police for our high crime rate?

Crime is a social problem inwhich much of the blame rests with the general public residing in the Bahamas. We the people are responsible for crime, not the government! Citizens of the Bahamas have a duty and responsibility to obey the law. Police officers and government leaders can only operate in retrospect to criminal activity by arresting, prosecuting and convicting criminals.

“Put the blame where it belongs!! We the people are responsible for crime!!”

DDK replied: “Bahamas governments ARE a social problem. Put blame where it belongs.”

JokeyJack said: “New World Order - population control. Shut down the food and fuel supply and they will go crazy and kill each other.”

John added: “‘I the beginning of creation, God bequeathed to mankind a world of perfection and peace where humans are expected to live in harmony with one another.’ Fast-forward to the present world of today, and you will see that it is a complete contrast to God’s initial plan.

We see a world plunged in utter chaos, crime and turmoil, among others. The reason for these transformations is not far fetched.

“In fact, it is in fulfilment of the scriptures that as the earth grows near its dying days, the world would be thrown into utter peril (2 Timothy 3:1). It went further to give an apt description of the evil to be perpetrated by mankind.

“Let’s take a look at the unprecedented height of immorality in the society today: incest between relatives, legalisation of homosexuality and abortion in many countries, traitors, persecutors, despisers etc. Flagrant disobedience by children to parents and constituted authorities, increase rate of cultism among the younger generation, drug abuse,

alcohol and all manner of addictions. Blasphemers of the church of God, and that which saddens me most is the recent spate of money ritual going rife among today’s youths.

Every single of these variables are perfect fulfilment of the scriptures, indicating that the world is in its twilight.

“We have to be reminded that no one is immune to the sin and peril of the last days, because we are all offspring and descendants of the first man, who by virtue of their disobedience in the Garden of Eden passed that seed of sin and wickedness down through generation. The only one true way we can be free and insulated from these evils is through Jesus Christ, Who was conceived not by man but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

“It is pertinent to make that decision to ensure your safety here in the world and assurance of a Joyous eternity with the Lord. There is basically no fun and reward in a life of sin, as it breeds only guilt, death and eternal anguish (Ezekiel 18:20). Would you rather continue in sin, living with the guilt it brings? Would you lose eternal happiness or embrace salvation and enjoy peace of mind, safety in the Lord and ultimately fellowship with Our Lord in eternity? Christ died for our sins (1st Corinthians 15:3) His blood was shed for our sake (Matthew 26:28) It is the only way known to man to escape the dangers of this present world and a place in glorious eternity. Wouldn’t you rather do the needful now?

Go on your knees and bare all to Christ, repent of your sins. (Act 3:19) Be committed to your decision and you shall continue to have victory, peace of mind and joy of a place in heavenly eternity.’

Sheeprunner12 added: “The wealthy elite are supported by the political class.

Sometimes, they are one and the same. The underclass will always be blamed for social dysfunction and crime (Cobalt). And the elite will disingenuously seek to provide “programs” to reform them.

“But the deliberate and covert means used by the political & wealthy elite to control the underclass will always result in crime (Tribanon). For example, poor education, lack of job opportunities, poor housing, poor healthcare, political handouts, police brutality etc.

“There’s validity in both arguments.”

• Join the conversation at www.tribune242.com.

THE TRIBUNE

PAIR ACCUSED OF ARMED ROBBERY

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN and a man were arraigned in Magistrate’s Court yesterday on charges of robbing another woman at gunpoint, with the female defendant also charged with trying to cash a fraudulent $3,000 cheque.

Danella Knowles, 24, represented by Attorney Wendawn Miller-Frazer, alongside co-accused Mark Rolle. Jr, 24, stood before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on shared charges of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Ms Knowles also faced four additional charges of receiving, attempted fraud by false pretences, uttering a forged document and possession of a forged document.

On July 22 in New Providence, the defendants were accused of conspiring to and proceeding to rob Vashti Glinton with a handgun. During this incident, the two reportedly stole Ms Glinton’s $12,000 Ford F-150 Triton XLT vehicle, $700 in cash and a cheque valued at $3,000.

Later that same day,

Knowles is said to have attempted to fraudulently cash this same $3,000 cheque at CIBC FirstCaribbean bank on Carmichael Road, knowing it not to be genuine.

While the armed robbery and conspiracy to armed robbery charges are indictable offences that will proceed before the Supreme Court, Knowles elected to also have her remaining charges tried before that court as well.

Both defendants were informed that they were not required to enter a plea, and their case would proceed by way of a Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI).

Although Knowles was granted $5,000 bail with one surety for the fraud charges, she, along with Rolle, will have to apply to the Supreme Court for bail for the remainder of their charges. Until bail is granted, both defendants will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Before being taken back into custody, Ms Knowles was allowed a brief moment with her mother.

The defendants are expected to be served their VBIs on October 4.

MAN ACCUSED OF GUNPOINT RAIDS

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was remanded in Magistrate’s Court yesterday for charges of robbing two woman of their $1,000 iPhones at gunpoint.

Michael Pratt, 20, stood before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans on two counts of armed robbery.

On March 26 in New Providence, Pratt is accused of robbing Anfernee Walkes with a handgun of her $1,000 iPhone 13. On that same day, he is further alleged to have robbed Precious Rolle at gunpoint of her $1,000 iPhone 12 Pro. Due to the serious nature of the offense Pratt was not

required to enter a plea and was informed his case would proceed by way of Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI) Magistrate Vogt-Evans then explained that should Pratt’s VBI not be served in a timely manner his case would proceed by way of preliminary inquiry.

Pratt was also told of his right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail, where his trial is set to begin.

Until such time that bail is granted, he will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS).

The defendant is expected to be served his VBI on October 31.

THREE TEENS ACCUSED OF ENDANGERING OFFICERS

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THREE male teenagers were remanded in custody yesterday for endangering the lives of three police officers with a gun. Jeffrey Toussaint, 19, and two 17-year-old boys appeared before Magistrate Kara TurnquestDeveaux. All three faced three counts of possession of a firearm with the intent to endanger life.

On July 24 in New Providence, the defendants are alleged to have endangered the lives of Cpl Pedrio Hield, PC Anton Forbes and WPC Bradnique

Adderley with a handgun.

Due to the nature of the offence, none of the defendants were required to enter a plea. The magistrate informed them that their case would proceed by way of Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI).

The three defendants were also told of their right to apply for bail through the Supreme Court, where their trial will ultimately be heard.

Until such time that bail is granted, all three will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS). They are expected to return to court for service of their VBIs on November 23.

$300 FOR ASSAULTING EX-GIRLFRIEND

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was fined $300 yesterday for assaulting his estranged girlfriend during an argument.

Delano Beckford, 44, appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on a charge of assault.

At around 11:55pm on July 10 on Meadow Street, Beckford is said to have assaulted his ex-girlfriend, Jessica Russell, by striking her about the body.

While the defendant

pleaded guilty to the assault charge, he said he only pushed Ms Russell during an argument the two had that day.

Magistrate McKinney sentenced Beckford to pay a fine of $300 or risk a month in prison. Beckford was further bound to keep the peace for a year and warned also not to have any contact or interfere with Ms Russell.

A breach of any of these conditions would result in the defendant spending three months in custody.

MAN DENIES DECEIVING OFFICER

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was arraigned in Magistrate’s Court yesterday for trying to deceive a public officer.

Antwan Sands, 50, appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on a charge of deceit of a public officer.

On April 12 in New Providence, Sands is accused of trying to deceive chief clerk

Nancy Saunders while she was executing her duties.

The defendant pleaded not guilty. When asked by prosecutor Inspector Timothy Bain if he has any other pending court matters, Sands indicated he had another trial set for September.

The bail hearing was deferred until today for prosecution to properly review Sands’ police record.

His trial in this matter is slated for August 10.

Friday, July 29, 2022, PAGE 7

NTA HOLDS GRADUATION

THE National Training Agency held a graduation ceremony yesterday for its 19th cohort at The National Training Agency on Gladstone Road and Munnings Drive.

Former Minister of Labour Shane Gibson was the keynote speaker.

Photos: Moise Amisial

PAGE 8, Friday, July 29, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

A biblical solution to a present-day problem

By EVA VON DASSOW Associate professor of Ancient History, University of Minnesota STUDENT loan debt is one of the most burdensome forms of debt in America today. According to oft-cited statistics, approximately 43 million Americans have student loan debt, cumulatively amounting to around $1.7 trillion. The exorbitant costs of higher education in the United States, combined with the fact that educational credentials serve as a ticket to decent employment, require many students to take out loans that follow them long past graduation – and that are almost impossible to discharge in bankruptcy.

Hence, calls for cancellation of student loan debt by legislative or executive action keep intensifying, and President Joe Biden is expected to respond by ordering cancellation of some amount, notwithstanding arguments against any blanket debt amnesty.

Yet this very policy is inscribed on the US Liberty Bell. “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof!” it declares, quoting the biblical Book of Leviticus, 25:10. The Hebrew word translated “liberty,” “deror,” actually refers to debt amnesty.

In the world of the Bible, it was customary to cancel all noncommercial debts from time to time. As a scholar of the ancient Near East, I’ve read many cuneiform tablets that record how people then – like Americans today – often went into debt to meet living expenses. They might mortgage their property to keep a roof over their heads, only to find that ever-accruing interest made it impossible to pay off the principal.

They faced the additional risk of debt bondage: People lacking sufficient property to secure their

PART of a restoration edict of Ammisaduqa, one of the rulers of ancient Babylon, above, and detail of a relief of King Hammurabi before the sun-god Shamash, from a stone stele inscribed with his proclamation of laws and dedicated around 1750BC, discovered at Susa in present-day Iran, right. debts would have to pledge their dependents or even their own selves to their creditors. Their creditors thus became their masters, and those pledged for debt were effectively enslaved, unless and until they were redeemed. A decree of debt amnesty would wipe the slate clean, springing people from bondage and restoring their freedom as well as their fortunes.

KINGS CLEAN THE SLATE

The earliest recorded instances of this practice come from ancient Sumer, a land in the south of what is now Iraq. Urukagina, ruler of the city of Lagash around

2400BC, decreed a debt amnesty soon after he came to power, releasing people living in debt bondage to go home and even clearing the prisons. In the Sumerian language, this amnesty was termed “amargi” – “return to mother” – for it restored people to their families.

Urukagina was not the first to issue such a decree, and it may already have become traditional by his time. The practice of decreeing debt amnesty is widely documented in the Semitic-speaking kingdoms of Syria and Mesopotamia during the early second millennium BC. Debt amnesty was routinely triggered by the death of a ruler: His successor would

raise a golden torch and decree “anduraru,” or “restoration” – the Akkadian equivalent of Hebrew “deror.” The stated purpose of such decrees was to establish or reestablish equity. A king’s foremost duty was to maintain “justice and equity”, as Hammurabi of Babylon claimed to do when promulgating his laws around 1750BC. While lending at interest was not considered unjust, debt that deprived families of their property and liberty created inequity, which had to be remedied. A decree of “andurāru” restored equity, liberty and family property by canceling debts incurred for subsistence – including tax arrears owed to the state – while leaving commercial debts untouched.

When Hammurabi was on his deathbed, his son Samsu-iluna took power and issued a decree remitting noncommercial debts, canceling arrears and forbidding their collection; thus, he declared, “I have established restoration throughout the land.”

A decree of restoration could also be issued to address political or economic crisis. The usurper or conqueror, having subjected a people to his rule, could establish their

“restoration,” both remitting debts and enabling those captured during hostilities to go free. Hammurabi himself did this upon conquering the kingdom of Larsa, which was part of ancient Sumer.

Thus the conqueror could pose as a liberator setting a disordered realm to rights.

The idea was to restore the inhabitants of the land to their original condition, before incurring debt, losing their property or losing their liberty.

NOT SO FORGIVING

The issuance of debtcanceling decrees was sporadic, not periodic, so one never knew when it would occur. But everyone knew it would happen sooner or later. Financiers would therefore prepare for this eventuality to avoid taking losses whenever debts were abruptly remitted and their collection prohibited. They used various methods to insulate transactions and investments from debt remission – because otherwise who would ever offer credit to those in need?

They developed legal fictions to disguise mortgage loans, debt bondage, and the like as contracts of other kinds, avoiding their

THE LIBERTY BELL, with its famous crack, in Philadelphia.

cancellation by decree. The decree of Ammi-saduqa, a king of Babylon in the 17th century BC, explicitly prohibits such subterfuge, but regulation was a step behind entrepreneurs.

Clever financial instruments immunised debt from amnesty and kept credit, as well as profit, flowing.

Ultimately a programme for periodic debt cancellation was developed in biblical law. The Book of Deuteronomy requires remission of debts among Israelites every seventh year, using the term “šemittah” – “remission” – and stipulating that every creditor should remit the debt owed him. The Book of Leviticus adds the requirement to proclaim amnesty, Hebrew “deror,” after every seventh cycle of seven years, restoring every Israelite to his property and family in the 50th year – the jubilee year.

Recognising that a predictable debt amnesty would only make creditors’ planning easier, Deuteronomy 15:9 warns against refusing to lend as the seventh year approaches.

The biblical authors must have had some experience with creditors’ efforts to evade the requirement to remit debts. According to the Book of Jeremiah, when Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, decreed “deror” in the face of the Babylonian invasion of 587BC, creditors agreed to release their enslaved fellow Judeans, then found ways to force them back into bondage.

Not only was the ostensible purpose of debtremission decrees defeated by creative credit instruments, the true purpose of such decrees was not to fix the problems that made them necessary. People would still need to go into debt to survive, pay their taxes and keep a roof over their heads. They would still risk impoverishment, debt bondage and eventual enslavement. Sporadic debt cancellation did not eliminate chronic indebtedness, nor was it meant to.

Instead, the function of such decrees was to restore socio - economic balance – and the tax base – enough that the cycle of borrowing to survive could start over.

In a sense, debt amnesty actually served to restore society to its ideal state of inequity, so that it would always need the same remedy again.

This dynamic is worth considering amid calls for canceling student loan debt. Certainly a student debt amnesty would benefit millions whose lives are shackled by interest on loans they took out in the hope that a degree would guarantee them gainful employment.

It would do nothing to address the problems that make incurring such debt necessary.

As long as higher education is treated simultaneously as a private good and a job requirement, people will still need to go into debt to get degrees.

Then the same remedy will have to be applied again.

• Originally published on theconversation.com

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 29, 2022, PAGE 9

When fear of violence shrinks, aggression becomes allconsuming

By Diane Phillips I AM terrified of guns, of any kind of violence, in fact.

Even the sound of a raised voice scares me.

So when my son-in-law suggested I try Oculus, the virtual reality phenomenon that is creating massive financial losses for Facebook (now Meta), I said sure, why not. I figured being a virtual reality experience, it would take me to places I had never been or fly me through galaxies not served by commercial airlines.

I also figured that at the rate Facebook was losing money on this virtual reality gig, (more than $10 billion in 2021 alone) there was no telling how long the opportunity to try it would be around so I’d better jump at this invite.

Of course, I had no idea the software on this particular Oculus set which my son-in-law had borrowed would include a game with guns.

First, a brief on Oculus.

Oculus is the amazing Metaverse reality that takes video games to a new dimension. Trying it is a life-changing event. Once you have experienced it, you will never be able to un-know virtual reality.

Here’s how it works. You stand in a safe spot with plenty of room to swing your arms, slip the headset on, tighten the straps for a secure fit, look through thick protruding eyes and grab hold of controls in each hand that with learned dexterity will allow you to move, track, attack or slay whatever is coming straight at you from somewhere out there. Don’t try this alone, at least not the first time.

Once you are set and have watched the tutorial, you’re good to go - racing to keep up with artistically-designed pieces that come flying at you so fast your heart is thumping, adrenaline pumping, there’s no stopping you now. You’re in the game, hand controls flying in split-second movements, forward, back, faster, closer, up, down, sideways, pushing, punching, moving, tracking.

Game One. Blocks of all colours and I’m learning the controls, getting better by the mini-second. Heart beating faster. Game over too soon.

“That was fun,” I said to my son-in-law, catching my breath. We are standing in the kitchen, dining area,

occupying our time while the baby napped.

“Ready to try another one?” he asked.

“Sure.”

I strap the headset back on, grab the controls and get set. And then it happens. A gun appears, a pistol flying at me. I start to scream and then remember the baby sleeping.

“Stop it, stop it, please,” I beg, rushing to yank the headset off.

The gun was only virtual but the panic I felt was real.

I have no idea why. My sonin-law, you might as well know, is a pretty cool head and he talked me out of my fear and right back into the game which he re-started. I put the headset back on.

Calmer now, I breathe in.

The game starts. The gun is coming at me. I grab it and start shooting. Suddenly I could not stop. Faster, faster, I wanted to slaughter every virtual object that came my way. I wanted to rule, to win, to be the best shot there was.

The score appeared on the screen. I was about as lousy a shot as you could be, level failed.

That did not matter.

What mattered was that with a gun in my hand, even a fantasy gun, I was transformed into something I did not recognise.

The power was intoxicating and if it could do that to an individual who cowers at the sound of a voice raised in anger, what could it do to a young man at risk who was abused or neglected as

a child?

What could it do to the gang member whose identity is dependent on showing he knows no fear?

What could the reality of fantasy violence as a tool do to the behaviour of society as a whole?

Now I understood what all the talk about video games and their impact on violence was about, conversations that I have to confess I never paid much attention to partly because I was never a gamer and partly because I think entertainment, like music, is a matter of personal choice.

The fear of regulating what people listen to is greater than the fear of what that music or that game does.

But now I saw first-hand the transformation from woeful wimp to virtual bully, a silver-haired gun slayer.

There is a body of evidence supporting the links between seeing, hearing and playing with violence and what happens in some, but not all, societies.

In the Far East, for instance, where some of the best video games were created, the incidence of criminal violence is far lower than it is in the US or The Bahamas, though there is growing concern

in India where adolescents seem hooked on tech games. Studies from Harvard, the Pew Institute and the American Psychological Association all confirm a direct relationship between extensive video game absorption and not only violent behaviour, but equally concerning, a reduction in empathy and compassion for others.

A report from the National Center4research. org says “Studies have shown that playing violent video games can increase aggressive thoughts, behaviours, and feelings in both the short-term and longterm. Violent video games can also desensitise people to seeing aggressive behaviour and decrease prosocial behaviours such as helping another person and feeling empathy…”

And another source: “According to many studies, video games can increase aggressive behaviour, cause emotional outbursts and decrease inhibitions in many people (Kardaras 2008). As a result of the increased exposure to this modern phenomenon, a mounting body of research is linking video games to violent, aggressive and antisocial behaviour.”

It has been a 40-year long

journey since the days of Donkey Kong and the lead Super Mario, nearly a half century of growth in an industry that has the power to sharpen skills and potentially dampen respect.

Where will it grow from here? Metauniverse has a chance to take the technology it developed for its mind-blowing virtual reality experience and put it to good use.

Imagine students in classrooms with headsets learning about how vast the galaxy is by flying through a night sky filled with millions of stars? Or a group of students experiencing what it is like to grow rice in China or grapes in France or what it feels like to lose a loved one to gunshot in a barrage of fire in a school shooting and follow that shooter, should he survive, through his life in prison.

Then virtual reality will truly be a game changer.

Right now, the message is mixed but given the tragedies of the past weeks here at home and the availability of the most incredible technology that could create good and may be contributing to bad, it’s time to take a look at the most unlikely places for solutions, transforming the world of video games.

Funeral Service for IVAN ABIDIAL JAMES, 82 of Ruby Avenue, Cable Beach, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 4th, 2022 at The Parish Church of The Most Holy Trinity, #14 Trinity Way, Stapleton Gardens.

Officiating will be Reverend Fr. DeAngelo Bowe. Interment will follow in Lakeview Memorial Gardens & Mausoleum, John F. Kennedy Drive.

Due to current Government regulations in respect of Covid-19, masks and physical distancing are required.

POLICE tape at yet another crime scene - but are there other solutions to stop the murders?

Back to School The Tribune Back to School special will be published in August.

If you have a family member who has graduated, please send a photograph and details to: kherig@tribunemedia.net or shunt@tribunemedia.net Schools are also encouraged to email information.

Left to cherish his memories are his, Wife: Eleanor James; Children: Ivan & Anya James, Abigail Minus, Troy Swan, Jeremy Rolle; Grand children including: Ashley Minus, Jivan and Jonathan James, Doyle Storr Jr. and Troy Swan Jr.; Sisters-in-Law: Dorothy Jean James, Lucille James, Elverna James, Inez Farrington and Berthamae Tynes; Numerous nieces and nephews including: Descendants of the late William James, Descendants of the late Olga Brown, Descendants of the late Eric James, Descendants of the late Carmi James; Other relatives and friends including: Craig Flowers and family, Nigel Ingraham and family, Greg Woodside and family, Anthony Sampson and family, Earl Fountain and family, Anthony (Tony) Allen and family, Dr. Joseph Evans and family, Willie Mays and family, Vernal Sands, Cat Island Clans – the King, McKay, Moncur, Seymour, Greenslade families, and the descendants of Justina Wallace-James and William James of Montego Bay, Jamaica, Descendants of the late George Joblin (New Bedford, Massachusetts), Descendants of the late Stanton Kurzman (Newton, Massachusetts), Barbara Hanna, Simeon and Beulah Smith and family, Donald and Clara Dorsett, Charles Colebrooke and family, Ollimae Tynes, Dirk and Ian Tynes, Soup Kitchen of the Most Holy Trinity.

May His Soul Rest in Peace!

Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians & Crematorium, #44A Nassau Street on Tuesday August 2nd, 2022 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Cremation will follow.

PAGE 10, Friday, July 29, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

FIVE DEAD, 68 MIGRANTS ARE RESCUED

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Associated Press AT LEAST five Haitian migrants drowned and 68 others were rescued Thursday after a suspected human smuggling boat dropped the group off in waters near an uninhabited island west of Puerto Rico, officials said.

Federal and local authorities searched the area near Mona Island for several hours after receiving a call from rangers with Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural Resources who first spotted the migrants.

Officials determined that no additional people were missing, based on interviews with survivors, US Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad told The Associated Press.

He said 41 men, 25 women and two children survived, adding that none had any urgent medical issues.

Jeffrey Quiñones, spokesman for US Customs and Border Protection, said all migrants aboard the boat were Haitians.

Most human smuggling boats that carry Haitian migrants to Puerto Rico depart from the neighbouring Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Some capsize in the treacherous Mona Passage that separates the two islands while other boats drop off migrants in tiny uninhabited islands before reaching Puerto Rico.

RESCUED migrants walk on the shore off Mona Island, west of Puerto Rico, yesterday. At least five migrants drowned and dozens others were rescued after a suspected human smuggling boat dropped the group off in waters near the uninhabited island west of Puerto Rico, officials said.

Unexpected deal would boost Biden climate change pledge WASHINGTON Associated Press AN UNEXPECTED deal reached by Senate Democrats would be the most ambitious action ever taken by the United States to address global warming and could help President Joe Biden come close to meeting his pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, experts said Thursday, as they sifted through a massive bill that revives action on climate change weeks after the legislation appeared dead.

The deal announced late Wednesday would spend nearly $370 billion over ten years to boost electric vehicles, jump-start renewable energy such as solar and wind power and develop alternative energy sources like hydrogen. The deal stunned lawmakers and activists who had given up hope that legislation could be enacted after West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said he could not support the measure because of inflation concerns.

Clean energy tax credits and other provisions in the 725-page bill could “put the US on track to reducing emissions by 31-44% below 2005 levels in 2030,’’ according to an analysis released late Thursday by the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm.

Additional action by the Biden administration and Democratic-controlled states could “help close the rest of the gap to (Biden’s)

target of a 50-52% cut in emissions by 2030,’’ said Ben King, the group’s associate director.

But approval of the bill is far from certain in a 50-50 Senate where support from every Democrat will be needed to overcome unanimous Republican opposition. Sen Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz, who forced changes in earlier versions of the plan, declined to reveal her stance Thursday.

In the narrowly divided House, Democrats can lose no more than four votes and prevail on a possible party-line vote.

Still, Biden called the bill “historic” and urged quick passage. “We will improve our energy security and tackle the climate crisis — by providing tax credits and investments for energy projects,’’ he said in a statement, adding that the bill “will create thousands of new jobs and help lower energy costs in the future.’’

Environmental groups and Democrats also hailed the legislation.

“This is an 11th-hour reprieve for climate action and clean energy jobs, and America’s biggest legislative moment for climate and energy policy,’’ said Heather Zichal, CEO of America’s Clean Power, a clean energy group.

“Passing this bill sends a message to the world that America is leading on climate and sends a message at home that we will create more great jobs for Americans in this industry,’’ added

Zichal, a former energy adviser to President Barack Obama.

Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of the League of Conservation Voters, summed up her reaction in a single word: “Wow!” Sen Tina Smith, D-Minn, tweeted that she was “stunned, but in a good way”.

Manchin, who chairs the Senate energy panel, insisted that he had not changed his mind after he told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer two weeks ago that he could not support the bill because of inflation concerns.

“There should be no surprises. I’ve never walked away from anything in my life,’’ he told reporters on a Zoom call from West Virginia, where he is recovering from COVID-19.

Manchin said called the bill an opportunity “to really give us an energy policy with security that we need for our nation” while also driving down inflation and high gasoline prices.

The bill, which Manchin dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022”, includes $300 billion for deficit reduction, as well as measures to lower prescription drug prices and extend subsidies to help Americans who buy health insurance on their own.

Besides investments in renewable energy like wind and solar power, the bill includes incentives for consumers to buy energy efficient appliances such as heat pumps and water

heaters, electric vehicles and rooftop solar panels.

The bill creates a $4,000 tax credit for purchases of used electric vehicles and up to $7,500 for new EVs. The tax credit includes income limits for buyers and caps on sticker prices of new EVs — $80,000 for pickups, SUVs and vans and $55,000 for smaller vehicles.

A $25,000 limit would be set on used vehicles.

Even with the restrictions, the credits should help stimulate already rising electric vehicle sales, said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst for Edmunds.com. Electric vehicles accounted for about 5% of new vehicle sales in the US in the first half of the year and are projected to reach up to 37% by 2030.

The bill also invests over $60 billion in environmental justice priorities, including block grants to address disproportionate environmental and public health harms related to pollution and climate change in poor and disadvantaged communities.

Beverly Wright, executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, called the bill a step forward, but said she was concerned about tax credits for “polluting industries” such as coal, oil and gas. “We need bolder action to achieve environmental and climate justice for ourselves and future generations,’’ she said.

The bill would set a fee on excess methane emissions by oil and gas

producers, while offering up to $850m in grants to industry to monitor and reduce methane.

The bill’s mixture of tax incentives, grants and other investments in clean energy, transportation, energy storage, home electrification, agriculture and manufacturing “makes this a real climate bill”, said Sen Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “The planet is on fire. This is enormous progress. Let’s get it done.”

But not all environmental groups were celebrating.

The deal includes promises by Schumer and other Democratic leaders to pursue permitting reforms that Manchin called “essential to unlocking domestic energy and transmission projects,’’ including a controversial natural gas pipeline planned in his home state and Virginia.

More than 90% of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline has been completed, but the project has been delayed by court battles and other issues.

The pipeline should be “at the top of the heap” for federal approval, Manchin said, and is a good example of why permitting reform is needed to speed energy project approvals. Manchin, a longtime supporter of coal and other fossil fuels, said environmental reviews of such major projects should be concluded within two years, instead of lasting up to 10 years as under current practice.

“Other countries around around the world

— developed nations — do it extremely well, and they do it in a very short period of time. We should be able to do the same,’’ he said.

While permitting reforms would be considered in separate legislation, the budget deal would require the Interior Department to offer at least two million acres of public lands and 60 million acres of offshore waters in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska for oil and gas leasing each year. If Interior fails to offer minimum amounts for leasing, the department would not be allowed to grant approvals to any utility-scale renewable energy project on public lands or waters.

That requirement “is a climate suicide pact”, said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group.

“It’s self-defeating to handcuff renewable energy development to massive new oil and gas extraction,’’ Hartl said, adding that new fossil fuel leasing required under the bill would “fan the flames of the climate disasters torching our country.’’

But an oil industry group blasted the bill as punitive and inflationary.

“We are very concerned about this bill’s potential negative impact on energy prices and American competitiveness, especially in the midst of a global energy crisis and record high inflation,” said Anne Bradbury, CEO of the American Exploration and Production Council.

CLIMATE CHANGE ‘MADE UK HEAT WAVE TEN TIMES MORE LIKELY’

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer HUMAN-CAUSED climate change made last week’s deadly heat wave in England and Wales at least ten times more likely and added a few degrees to how brutally hot it got, a study said.

A team of international scientists found the heat wave that set a new national record high at 40.3 degrees Celsius (104.5 degrees Fahrenheit) was made stronger and more likely by the buildup of heattrapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. They said Thursday that temperatures were 2 to 4

degrees Celsius warmer (3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in the heat wave than they would have been without climate change, depending on which method scientists used.

The study has not been published in a peerreviewed scientific journal yet but follows scientifically accepted techniques, and past such studies have been published months later.

“We would not have seen temperatures above 40 degrees in the UK without climate change,” study senior author Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College of London, said in an

interview. “The fingerprint is super strong.”

World Weather Attribution, a collection of scientists across the globe who do real-time studies of extreme weather to see if climate change played a role in an extreme weather event and if so how much of one, looked at two-day average temperatures for July 18 and 19 in much of England and Wales and the highest temperature reached in that time.

The daily highest temperatures were the most unusual, a one-in-1,000year event in the current warmer world, but “almost

impossible in a world without climate change,” the study said. Last week’s heat smashed the old national record by 1.6 degrees Celsius (2.9 degrees Fahrenheit). The average over two hot days and nights is a once a century event now but is “nearly impossible” without climate change.

When the scientists used the long history of temperatures in England to determine the impact of global warming, they saw a stronger climate change influence than when they used simulations from climate models. For some reason that scientists aren’t

quite certain about, climate models have long underestimated extreme weather signals in the summer in Western Europe, Otto said.

With climate models, the scientists simulate a world without the 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming since pre-industrial times and see how likely this heat would have been in that cooler world without fossil fuel-charged warming.

With observations they look at history and calculate the chances of such a heat wave that way.

“The methodology seems sound, but candidly, I didn’t need a study to tell me

this was climate change,” said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd, who wasn’t on this study team but was on a U.S. National Academy of Sciences panel that said these types of studies are scientifically valid. “This new era of heat is particularly dangerous because most homes are not equipped for it there.”

The World Weather Attribution study refers to another analysis that estimates a heat wave like this would kill at least 800 people in England and Wales, where there is less air conditioning.

SPORTS PAGE 11

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2022

Go Team Bahamas!

MAKING AN ENTRANCE: Athletes of The Bahamas’ team enter the stadium during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net BIRMINGHAM, England — While they are set to start competition today, the Bahamas team was just overjoyed to make their grand entrance into the Alexander Stadium for the opening ceremonies for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Last night, swimmers Izaak Bastian and Lilly Higgs jointly carried the Bahamian flag to lead the team as the first of the countries from the Americas, which was the third contingent to be introduced to the cheering supporters.

The Americas followed the Oceania and Africa and ahead of the Caribbean, which was led by Anguilla.

The games, better known as the Friendly Games, was officially opened by Prince Charles, who read a letter from Queen Elizabeth, which was taken out of the baton that has travelled around the world from last year.

Indeed, the ceremonies marked the start of the games and Bastian said he was delighted to be a part of the event, sharing the moment with Higgs as they carried the Bahamian

flag during the parade of athletes.

“It was truly an honour to have been selected to carry the flag, especially because I’ve been coming on these senior international meets for a while.

It’s been like four or five years so to finally move up the ranks and to be one of the senior members of the team, it’s something special.

“It was a good experience for everybody. Now we’re trying to get in bed so those of us who are competing tomorrow can be ready to perform at our best and give it our best shot. We have a couple of individual events and mixed relay tomorrow, so hopefully we can start out strong.”

Bastian said it was great being out there with Higgs because they’ve been to so many meets, both junior and senior level meets together, and this turned out to be one of their greatest moments carrying the flag. They were joined by the rest of the swimming contingent, boxers Carl Hield and Rashield Williams and triathlete Armando Moss, along with the members of the coaching staff and delegation representing the Bahamas.

The remainder of Team Bahamas, including

SWIMMERS Lilly Higgs and Izaak Bastian hold the Bahamian flag during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, yesterday. wrestling, judo, cycling and track and field, are expected to start arriving this weekend as the majority of them will be competing during the final week of the games that will wrap up on August 7.

With the ceremonies over and done with, Bastian, however, is hoping that he can also lead by example when the swim competition gets underway

WNBA’s Griner tells drug trial: ‘My career is my whole life’

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press KHIMKI, Russia (AP) — American basketball star Brittney Griner testified at her drug possession trial in Russia that an interpreter translated only a fraction of what was being said while she was detained at Moscow’s airport in February and that officials told her to sign documents, but “no one explained any of it to me.”

The testimony by Griner, came on the same day that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home the WNBA star and another jailed American, Paul Whelan in a sharp reversal of previous policy. Details of the proposal were not announced, though a person familiar with the matter said the US

Jonquel, Page 14

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medallist Brittney Griner sits in a cage at a court room prior to a hearing in Khimki, just outside Moscow, Russia, on July 27.

(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) has offered to trade convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Whelan and Griner. The person insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Griner, testifying for the first time in her trial, also

said that besides the poor translation at the airport, she received no explanation of her rights or access to a lawyer during the initial hours of her detention. She said she used a translation app on her phone to communicate with a customs officer.

Griner has been held since mid-February after police said they found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She has pleaded guilty to the charges but says she had no criminal intent in bringing them into the country and packed in haste for her return to play in a Russian basketball league during the WNBA’s offseason.

At one point in her testimony, her tone turned emotional as she said she has always followed the rules and tried to never let down her team.

SEE PAGE 15

today. “Things are looking good for us. We had some travel issues individually and some people are still adjusting to the time difference and the food and all that stuff that comes with the games village,” he said.

“But everybody is trying to get settled and feel out the water. Hopefully things will continue to go well.

Luke-Kennedy Thompson will be the first

Bahamian to compete in swimming today at the Sandwell Aquatic Center.

He will be entered in lane six in the first of three heats.

Higgs will be joined by Rhanishka Gibbs as they compete in lane two and seven in the last of five heats in the women’s 50m breaststroke.

Davante Carey will go in lane one of the fourth heat of the men’s 100m backstroke where there are a total of five heats.

Katalyn Cabral will also get in her first event when she contests the women’s 100m butterfly in the second of five heats.

The Bahamas will also be entered in the first of three heats in lane two of the mixed 4 x 100m relay to close out the morning session.

Hopefully from their performances, all of the swimmers will return during prime time to compete in either semifinals or in the finals. Also, former swimmer turned triathlete Armando Moss will be making his international debut when he too competes in the triathlon competition today at 8am EST at Sutton Park.

He is the 27th of 47 competitors listed to compete in the men’s individual sprint final.

BODYBUILDING AND FITNESS FEDERATION FORCED TO WITHDRAW FROM CAC THE Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation was forced to cancel all plans for travel and withdrew from the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships.

The 17-member team intended to travel to Barbados this weekend for the top competition in the region, but cited a lack of funding in the appropriate timeframe to successfully book all aspects of travel logistics.

BBFF president Joel Stubbs said the organisation needed $36,000 to travel but came up short in their fund-raising bid.

The BBFF received $20,000 from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture but the funds were not cleared until noon yesterday.

SEE PAGE 12

JACKSON SAYS THERE COULD BE ‘CUTOFF’ POINT FOR NEGOTIATIONS

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer BALTIMORE (AP) — Lamar Jackson’s contract negotiations are lingering into training camp, and the Baltimore quarterback says at a certain point, it could be time to put those talks aside.

“There’s probably going to be a cutoff at some point, yes,” Jackson said yesterday.

The latest update from the Ravens’ star quarterback wasn’t exactly earth shattering: Yes, negotiations are ongoing.

No, he wasn’t going to publicise details about topics such as guaranteed money. Yes, he thinks a deal will eventually get done,

SEE PAGE 12

PAGE 12, Friday, July 29, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

4-time F1 champion Vettel felt like retiring for a long time

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Sebastian Vettel considered retiring from Formula One for quite some time before finally announcing yesterday this season will be his last.

The German, who joined Instagram on Wednesday, used the platform one day later to announce he plans to spend more time with his family and work on causes close to his heart.

Vettel won his four F1 titles from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull, but his last victory was with Ferrari in 2019. His best finish this season with Aston Martin is sixth.

“I feel that obviously this decision has been in my head for so long now, and has taken so much energy to be honest, and maybe even at times distracted me,” he said Thursday.

“There was a lot of thought leading into this. I think it’s the right time for me to do other things.

“So much dedication means also a lot of time spent in your head, in your thoughts, but also physically away from home, from kids, family,” added the 35-year-old.

“I’ve grown other things, other than the children who are growing, it’s other interests and views. I can’t ignore these voices.”

He has been increasingly outspoken on environmental issues.

“It’s one of the one of the factors that definitely played a role,” he added.

“I understand that part of my passion, my job is coming with things that I’m not a fan of, obviously, travelling the world, racing cars, burning resources.

Once you see these things, and once you’re aware, then I don’t think you can really unsee.”

Vettel has won 53 races, the third-highest total in F1 behind Lewis Hamilton (103) and Michael Schumacher (91).

He won an F1 record 13 races in 2013.

GERMANY’s Sebastian Vettel celebrates on podium after taking his Toro Rosso to victory during the Formula One Grand Prix in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sept.14, 2008. Four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel says he will retire at the end of the season to spend more time with his family. The German driver won the F1 title from 2010-13 with the Red Bull team. His last race victory came with Ferrari in 2019. He has been largely unsuccessful this season with Aston Martin with a best finish of sixth place.

(AP Photo/Alberto Pellaschiar) Vettel became the young“It’s sad. Obviously it’s “I feel we live in very Ferrari driver Carlos est world champion at 23 going to be strange not to decisive times and how Sainz Jr and George Rusin 2010 and later became see Seb in the paddock,” we all shape these next sell of Mercedes praised the third driver to win four Leclerc said. “I arrived the years will determine our Vettel’s endearing human consecutive championships first year and I was prob- lives. My passion comes side. after F1 greats Juan Miguel ably very weird to him with certain aspects that I “Everyone in the padFangio and Schumacher, because I was just shy and have learned to dislike,” dock loves him and you will his idol. Mercedes driver didn’t know what to say. Vettel said. “They might be hear anything saying a bad Lewis Hamilton has since Now he’s a friend and he solved in the future but the word about Seb,” Sainz won four straight. always texts me.” will to apply that change said. “I hope we will see Vettel’s title bids with Along with Hamil- has to grow much, much him back helping the sport Ferrari were unsuccess- ton, Vettel has also been stronger and has to be in some of the ways he’s ful after promising starts increasingly vocal about leading to action.” been very vocal about.” were undone by driver human rights conditions in Vettel’s team is sponRussell called Vettel errors. He led the stand- countries where F1 races. sored by Saudi state oil “such an inspiration” and ings at the midway point in “I am tolerant and feel firm Aramco. will miss the meetings 2017 and was in contention we all have the same rights Red Bull driver Sergio when Vettel spoke up for the following year, only to to love, no matter what we Perez understood Vettel’s drivers. lose both championships look like, where we come decision.

“You do learn how much to Hamilton. He crashed from and who we love,” he “It’s extremely per- general knowledge he has, from pole at the Singapore said. sonal. It’s how you feel and how much F1 knowledge,” Grand Prix in 2017 and His stance on protect- what you want to do,” the Russell said. “It is quite swerved off track into the ing the environment has 32-year-old Mexican driver inspiring to see. Above all barriers when comfortably also escalated. At the said. “You put other pri- he’s just a great bloke, a leading the rain-soaked Austrian GP in Spielberg orities in place and you are great human being.”

German Grand Prix the three weeks ago, he wore not willing to pay the price World champion Max following year. a T-shirt with “Save the of being an F1 driver.”

Verstappen praised He was stunned when Bees” written on it. At Vettel’s former Red Bull another of Vettel’s Ferrari did not renew his the Canadian GP in June teammate Daniel Ric- achievements: growing his contract after he struggled he had the message, “Stop ciardo said F1 will miss new-look, floppy, surfer’s to compete alongside new- mining tar sands. Canada’s Vettel. “You’re losing a bit hairstyle. “It grew back comer Charles Leclerc in climate crime,” written on of a legend of the sport,” magically,” Verstappen 2019, and again in 2020. his race helmet.

Ricciardo said. said. “I wish I had that.”

Trump says Saudi-funded tour creates ‘gold rush’ for players BEDMINSTER, N.J. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump played another round at his home course yesterday, this one different from so many others. He was part of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational pro-am, put on by a breakaway league he says is creating a “gold rush” for players.

The third LIV Golf event, which starts today at Trump National Bedminster, added four new players to the 48-man field that illustrated how the disruption goes beyond the PGA Tour.

Henrik Stenson of Sweden is among the newcomers, which led the European tour to strip him of the Ryder Cup captaincy for the 2023 matches in Italy.

Stenson was made aware during his news conference of a report in The Daily Telegraph, later matched

by Golf Digest, that Luke Donald would be Europe’s captain.

“I don’t feel like I’ve given it up,” Stenson said.

“I made every arrangement possible here to be able to fulfill my captain’s duties, and I’ve had great help here from LIV to be able to do that. And still, the decision was made that I was to be removed. I’m obviously disappointed over the situation. But it is what it is, and yeah, we move on from there now.”

By adding Stenson — the other three were Paul Casey, Charles Howell III and Jason Kokrak — LIV Golf now has 12 former major champions on its roster, though only five

among the top 50 in the world ranking.

“You have really the best players in the world, many of the best players, and soon you’ll probably have all of them,” said Trump, who played in the pro-am with Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, along with his son Eric.

“Remember this, if there’s a merger (between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour), the people who didn’t come will never get anything except a thankyou from the people who took advantage of them.”

There is no conversation at the PGA Tour about a possible merger.

Commissioner Jay Monahan said last month that while the tour welcomes healthy competition: “The LIV Saudi golf league is not that. It’s an irrational threat, one not concerned with the return on investment or true growth of the game.”

Trump felt slighted when a World Golf Championship left his Trump National Doral course near Miami after 2016 when a replacement title sponsor could not be found.

Back by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, LIV Golf has been awarding massive money — various reports put total signing fees at around $1 billion so far. The PGA Tour has suspended players who join for violating regulations that require a release to play overseas. It does not grant releases for tournaments held in North America.

The prize money at LIV Golf events total $25

FORMER President Donald Trump plays during the pro-am round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, NJ., yesterday. million, with the winner getting $4 million. Last place in the 54-hole events with no cut is guaranteed $120,000.

“What they are doing for golf is so great, what they are doing for players is so great,” Trump said.

“Their salaries are going to go way up. The PGA was not loved by a lot of the players, as you know, for a long time. Now they have an alternative and nobody would have ever known there was going to be a gold rush like this.”

Norman has said LIV Golf would support any player who chose to challenge the suspension in court. That hasn’t happened on the PGA Tour yet, though Ian Poulter and Branden Grace were among four players allowed to play in the Scottish Open when a British judge issued a stay against European tour suspension.

Poulter and Lee Westwood said they still have no clarity from the European tour on future tournaments

FORMER President Donald Trump plays in the pro-am round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, NJ., yesterday.

(AP Photos/Seth Wenig) or their eligibility for the schedule. “I’ve had no Ryder Cup. correspondence on that.

Europe’s points system That’s an event, a qualifytypically begins in Sep- ing event, for the European tember. “I’m still eligible Ryder Cup team.” to play on the European The European tour’s tour. I don’t think I’ve flagship event is September been banned from play- 8-11 south of London, held ing any events,” Westwood a week after a LIV Golf said, adding the BMW event outside Boston and a PGA Championship at week before the LIV event Wentworth is still on his in the Chicago suburbs.

CAC GAMES FROM PAGE 11

“We are grateful and thankful to the government for the monies received that were needed for travel but we did not receive the requested or the required amount. We pursued every avenue to purchase tickets, and it is unfortunate because Cropover is happening in Barbados this weekend and that is a big event in that country,” Stubbs said.

“Right now the team is deflated but nonetheless we will shift our focus to one or two shows that will happen in the region in Caracas, Venezuela and Miami, Florida. We encourage corporate Bahamas to try to open a dialogue with us and try to form partnerships. I want to thank all the athletes who have made the sacrifice and let them know that the federation will be behind them to back them and give them the platform needed to achieve their fitness goals.”

The 49th International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness’ (IFBB) CAC Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships began yesterday and will conclude Monday in Bridgetown, Barbados.

The BBFF has a rich tradition of successful performances at the CAC Championships.

In 2021, struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic, The Bahamas still managed to field an eight-member team to El Salvador, for the CACs. The team won a total of nine medals - two gold, three silver and three bronze.

Said Kaif Young, Men’s Physique – Class F competitor: “Other countries invest in bodybuilding year round because they provide support and bring income into the country. As an athlete, I’ve been dieting and working for months so it’s disheartening. We really wanted to go to the CACs, rep the country and possibly even bring back the pro card.”

Fania Joseph, Women’s Bikini – Class B competitor added: “After prepping for months I felt very depressed knowing that we won’t be able to compete against our peers in the region. I hope that going forward we can provide the sport of bodybuilding the funding that it needs to go out and represent the Bahamas, because that is what we are doing.”

JACKSON FROM PAGE 11

and yes, he hopes that will be before the season. The most significant takeaway was probably the fact that Jackson seems willing to put a deadline on negotiations.

That’s not a huge shock — contract talks during the season can be a distraction — but it suggests that if the Ravens don’t reach a longterm deal with him soon, this saga could stretch into next offseason.

“I get to talk to both sides, and both sides are very motivated to get the job done,” coach John Harbaugh said. “So, I feel like that’s kind of where it’s at.”

This season is Jackson’s fifth-year option, and it’s surprising that his contract status remains so uncertain.

Josh Allen, another star quarterback drafted the same year as Jackson, signed his big extension last offseason. Kyler Murray received one earlier this month, and he was drafted a year after Jackson.

Still, the fact that this negotiation is going differently doesn’t mean it needs to cause drama.

“If Lamar is not concerned about the contract, nobody should be concerned about the contract,” receiver Rashod Bateman said. “That’s not up to us.

We’re going to let whoever handles that handle it. We’re just going to play football. That’s what we’re called here to do, and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”

The franchise tag means the Ravens don’t have to worry too much about losing Jackson after this season, and neither side has shown any significant acrimony publicly. Jackson missed voluntary OTAs but was in attendance for mandatory minicamp, and he was on the field for the start of training camp this week.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 29, 2022, PAGE 13

COMMONWEALTH GAMES: BOXERS WILLIAMS, HIELD READY TO FIGHT

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net BIRMINGHAM, England — With their competition expected to start today at the NEC Building, the two-man team of Carl Hield and Rashield Williams both indicated that it’s now or never for them to get through the rounds and ascend the podium.

In the case of Hield, who will be the first in action on Saturday, he’s aiming for his second games’ medal, while Williams, who will be fighting as a professional, will be seeking his first medal on the global stage.

The duo, along with Vincent Strachan, the president of the Bahamas Amateur Boxing Federation who will serve as the team coach, were quite relaxed yesterday at their games village site at the Hilton Hotel just before the start of the opening ceremonies.

Also present with them were chef de mission Roy Colebrook, who has direct responsibility for the entire 26-member team representing the Bahamas in boxing, swimming, cycling, judo, wrestling, track and field and triathlon.

Hield, a bronze medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in London, England, gave God thanks for

giving him the strength and the Bahamas for allowing him to make his fifth appearance.

“There’s not a lot of boxers around, so I have to keep the flag going until some of the younger boxers come along,” Hield said.

“Until I reach 40, that will be the last chance for me to compete until some of the younger boys can step it up and carry the flag.”

At age 35, Hield said it seems as if he found the fountain of youth in his training sessions in Miami, Florida, with the Cubans before he went to Kansas City for a week where he was able to get in two sparring sessions.

“I think my preparation was good and my technique is good. It’s just about going into the ring and execute the plans. Whatever the results, you have to live with it,” he said.

“But my goal is to execute to win. I’m looking to get my second Commonwealth Games medal.

“I have to get into the finals and go for the gold or the silver. I have a bronze medal, so I have to change that colour. The last games, I didn’t get the judges’ decision, so I’m planning not to leave it up to the officials.”

Hield will be fighting out of the round of 32 in the light middleweight category

CHEF de mission Roy Colebrooke, far left, boxers Rashield Williams and Carl Hield, and coach Vincent Strachan, far right, stand beside the Commonwealth Games mascot. or 67-71 kilogram against Abdul-Afeez Osoba from Nigeria. He said he’s not concerned about who his opponent is.

“When you reach into the ring, it’s a whole different ball game,” Hield said.

“When we get into the ring and he can’t adapt and I can adapt, he will get beat. I just have to execute my game plan that I was working on for the past two months.”

With Williams joining him, Hield said he’s delighted to have him on the team and with the “good food, massage and some good sleep,” he feels they will do very well. He added that having their hotel in walking distance to the arena is a plus for their preparation for the games.

The 32-year-old Williams, making his third appearance at the games and the first since pros were allowed to compete, said he’s mentally and physically prepared and he is

confident that at the end of competition, he should be able to claim one of the medals.

“My conditioning is good.

I had a good training camp in Miami, Florida and I’m ready to go,” Williams said.

“I just have to make sure that my weight is right and once I do, I will do some damage.”

Dropping down from the welterweight division to the light welterweight, Williams will have to wait until Sunday before he steps into the ring. He will take on the winner of Saturday’s bout between Jonas Junias of Namibia and Colin Caleb of Nauru.

“It doesn’t matter who comes forth. I just have to step in the ring and do my best,” Williams said. “I just want to step in the ring and I know I will get a medal.

I’m not concerned about nothing. I am ready to go.”

Williams said Hield, whom he considers to be a

“clown,” will be competing together once again, but this time they are anticipating leaving Birmingham with some hardware.

Strachan concurred with both boxers, indicating that he too is confident that they will medal.

“They have been preparing themselves well over the last several months and seeing what I am seeing now, I am confident that we would do remarkably well in this tournament,” Strachan said. “The food is great, so it makes it better because the boxers are in a great frame of mind.”

With the boxers not competing until Saturday and Sunday, Strachan said both Hield and Williams will continue to be on the cutting edge so that they can go into the ring and represent the country to the best of their abilities.

Colebrooke said he expects nothing but the best from the team.

“Everyone is in good spirits. That’s one of the key elements of the games,” Colebrooke said.

“When they feel good is when they perform good. I believe all of the conditions of the games at this time is very good for the boxers.

“Their training will now have to speak for itself.

There’s no more preparations. This is the time to go into the ring and execute their plans. I can tell you one thing, I will be outside of the ring, so that’s a double fight they will have.”

Colebrooke, however, said he’s not just looking for a great showing from boxing, but all of the disciplines for the Bahamas at the games that will run through August 7.

“I expect for us to bring back some hardware in boxing,” Colebrooke said.

“They can set the stage for the rest of Team Bahamas if they can get on the podium and win a medal.”

A golden opportunity for female athletes at Birmingham 2022

By COURTNEY WALSH Associated Press THE long-established Commonwealth Games will be bringing in something new.

The quadrennial event that opened yesterday in Birmingham will be the first multi-sport international meet to host more medal events for women than for men, and is running in tandem with its largest ever para sport programme.

There’ll be 136 gold medals awarded to women, 134 on offer for men, and 10 in mixed events when the 11-day Commonwealth Games, which started out in 1930 as the British Empire Games, is staged in England for the third time.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce could be lining up for one of them, just weeks after she won the 100 metres at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

The 35-year-old Jamaican, a five-time world champion in the 100 and three-time Olympic gold medallist, has never claimed an individual gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

Fraser-Pryce led a medal sweep for Jamaica in the 100 at the world championships in front of Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah.

She finished second to Jackson in the 200, with Dina Asher-Smith of Britain taking bronze to prevent a back-to-back sprint sweep for Jamaica.

After finishing off with a silver medal with the Jamaican women’s 4x100 relay, Fraser-Pryce posted a message to fans on Facebook: “See you at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham!”

Asher-Smith already started thinking about Birmingham when she took bronze in the 200. “Can’t wait to go to the Commonwealth Games next week, halfway across the world!” she said in a post-race interview with the BBC. “I still think the crowd at the Commonwealth Games is going to be amazing ... better, because I’m a Brit.”

The Indian contingent had a setback on the eve of the Games, when Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra withdrew from

GOLD medallist Shericka Jackson, of Jamaica,, silver medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, of Jamaica, left, and bronze medallist Dina Asher-Smith, of Britain, celebrate after the final of the 200 metres at World Athletics Championships on July 21 in Eugene, Oregon.

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull) the team after doctors recommended he focus on rehabilitation for the groin injury he sustained on the way to a silver at the world championships last week.

“Needless to say, I am hurt about not being able to defend my title and missing out on another opportunity to represent the nation,” Chopra said in a statement posted on Twitter. “I am especially disappointed about losing out on the opportunity to be Team India’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony, an honour I was looking forward to.”

A highlight of the Games is the inclusion of women’s cricket for the first time, and World Cup champion Australia will be seeking to add to its recent dominance.

The Australians are weighing up whether they’ll march in the opening ceremony, which is the night before their big opening match against India.

The opening ceremony concluded at 10.30pm and their first match today starts at 11am, with a significant crowd expected at Edgbaston.

Australia coach Shelley Nitschke on Tuesday said the team’s priority was continuing its winning run in the big events. “(There) is big motivation. It is the first one,” she said. “We are really keen to put our best foot forward and hopefully

GOLD medallist Shericka Jackson, of Jamaica, centre, silver medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, of Jamaica, left, and bronze medallist Dina Asher-Smith, of Britain, pose during a medal ceremony for the women’s 200 metres at the World Athletics Championships on July 21 in Eugene, Oregon.

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

BRONZE medallist Dina Asher-Smith, of Britain, celebrates after the final of the women’s 200-metre run at the World Athletics Championships.

(AP Photo/David J Phillip) add a gold medal to the mix.”

A medal is also the main target for India, runners-up

to Australia at the last T20 World Cup. “This tournament is very important for us,” India captain

Harmanpreet Kaur said.

“This time we’re playing for medals. We’ve grown (up) watching these ... and this

time we’re glad we’re also getting opportunities to be part of this big event.”

In swimming, English champion Adam Peaty will be seeking a third Commonwealth Games gold medal in the 100 breaststroke when he returns to the pool after a fractured bone in his foot forced him out of the World Aquatic Championships at Budapest in June.

The world record holder and Olympic champion is among a star-studded roster of swimmers from the Commonwealth in attendance.

Australia is expected to lead the way in the six-day meet starting today.

The Australians placed second on the medal tally in the World Championships last month and will be strengthened by the return of Tokyo Olympic stars Emma McKeon and Ariarne Titmus.

But Australia will be without top-ranked backstroker Isaac Cooper, who was sent home from a recent training camp in France for disciplinary reasons including the misuse of medication.

Like all major events in the COVID-19 pandemic, there’ll be athletes among the roughly 5,000 attending from 72 nations or territories who’ll be impacted by the coronavirus.

Commonwealth Games medical advisor Dr Peter Harcourt said about a dozen athletes a day had tested positive after arriving at the village from the 1,200-1,400 daily tests.

A positive test to coronavirus does not automatically preclude an athlete from competing.

The decision will be made by each team’s medical staff based on a combination of factors including vaccination status and a cycle threshold (CT) to determine shedding levels.

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PAGE 14, Friday, July 29, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Sun beats Storm in Sue Bird’s final game in Connecticut

By PAT EATON-ROBB AP Sports Writer UNCASVILLE, Conn.

(AP) — Alyssa Thomas scored 19 points and the Connecticut Sun spoiled former UConn star Sue Bird’s final scheduled game in the state, beating the Seattle Storm 88-83 last night.

Brionna Jones added 13 points, and Courtney Williams and DeWanna Bonner each had 12 for the Sun (20-9).

The 41-year-old Bird finished with 14 points and seven assists for the Storm (18-11). Two other former UConn stars, Breanna Steward and Gabby Williams, had 17 and 16 points respectively.

Bird, who plans to retire at the end of this season, hit her first two shots of the game — both 3-pointers — and had eight points in helping Seattle to an early 18-8 lead. The Storm led 24-21 after a quarter.

But Connecticut closed the first half on an 11-3 run. A one-handed set shot from Thomas gave Connecticut its first lead just

before halftime and Connecticut went into the break up 44-40 and led 72-68 after three quarters.

Williams, tied the game at 83 with a steal, a nice spin move and a layup. But Natisha Hiedeman hit a 3-pointer at the other end for Connecticut. Neither team could hit a shot from the floor over the final 2:42 and Connecticut held on for the win.

The arena was awash in UConn gear, Bird national team jerseys and her familiar No. 10 Storm jersey.

Stephanie Brune, 28, of Lakeville, Massachusetts, wore a goat’s-head hat, complete with horns, and said she considers Bird the greatest of all time.

“She’s a pioneer for our age group,” Brune said.

“She’s a leader through and through and she’s phenomenal.”

The game was the first sellout in Uncasville since the 2019 WNBA Finals and many of the fans were there to see Bird. They gave the 41-year-old a standing ovation during a pregame ceremony and another during player introductions.

SUN forward Jonquel Jones (35), of the Bahamas, blocks the shot of Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd (24) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game last night.

(AP Photos/Bryan Woolston)

SUN forward Jonquel Jones (35) collides with Storm centre Tina Charles during the first half last night. She scored nine points.

“I appreciate that they honour and welcome back the UConn players,” said Sun coach Curt Miller. “But through and through they are Sun fans, and I appreciate that balance.”

Connecticut gave Bird several gifts, including a

selection of books curated by her sister Jen, who owns a book store, and a 2002 vintage bottle of wine.

Bird played 30 miles north at UConn from 19982002, leading the Huskies to two of its 11 NCAA championships.

Her former college coach, Geno Auriemma, watched from a sky box.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont declared yesterday “Sue Bird Day” in Connecticut. “(Bird) is a trailblazer, whose tenacity has elevated

the sport of basketball.

Connecticut is proud to be part of her journey,” he tweeted.

The Storm started four former UConn players: Bird, Stewart, Williams and Tina Charles, who also finished with 14 points.

BARCELONA AGREES TO SIGN KOUNDÉ

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press

GERMANY’s Alexandra Popp celebrates scoring her side’s second goal during the Women Euro 2022 semifinal soccer match between Germany and France at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England, on Wednesday.

(Nick Potts/PA via AP)

England and Germany set for historic Euro 2022 final LONDON (AP) — England against Germany at Wembley Stadium. A final that underlines the growing stature of women’s soccer in Europe and echoes decades of history.

When host nation England takes on Germany in the European Championship final Sunday, it will have a tournament-record crowd of nearly 90,000.

Euro 2022 as a whole will be easily the best-attended ever. It beat the previous mark of 240,000 part-way through the group stage.

“It’s going to be a great festival of football,” German coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said Wednesday.

“That’s a classic in soccer, England-Germany.”

England is aiming to win its first major women’s tournament title on the site where the English men’s national team beat West Germany to win its only major title to date, the 1966 World Cup. Germany has won all eight European finals it’s played — and crushed England 6-2 in the 2009 final — but its momentum had seemed to slow in recent years as other countries invested heavily in women’s leagues.

WHAT IT MEANS England has scored a tournament-leading 20 goals on its way to the final, more than half in two storming wins over former European champions, 8-0 against Norway in the group stage and 4-0 against Sweden in the semifinals.

Beating eight-time winner

GERMANY’S ALEXANDRA POPP, second right, celebrates scoring her side’s second goal during the Women Euro 2022 semifinal soccer match between Germany and France at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England, on Wednesday.

(Nick Potts/PA via AP) Germany would be the perfect way for England to write history.

England showed it is possible back in February, winning 3-1 in Wolverhampton for its first-ever victory against Germany on home soil.

Germany’s fans are used to their team winning titles, even if it’s not quite the allconquering dynasty it once was. Since Germany won the Olympic gold medal in 2016, Euro 2022 marks the first time it has got past the quarterfinals of a tournament.

THE KEY PLAYERS Forwards Alexandra Popp and Alessia Russo have made very different contributions. Captain Popp has scored in each of

Germany’s five games — a new record — and started all except the opening game against Denmark.

Russo has started none but is the ultimate impact substitute.

After missing the 2013 and 2017 European Championships with injuries, Popp is making up for lost time as the joint top scorer with England’s Beth Mead on six goals. Popp has her club teammates around her as one of five Wolfsburg players in the starting lineup for the 2-1 win over France, when she scored twice.

Popp started out as a full back at now-defunct FCR Duisburg and won her first European club title aged 18. She studied at a

sports-focused high school with a special permission to let her take soccer classes as the only girl alongside boys from the academy of men’s club Schalke, and is also a fully qualified zookeeper.

Russo’s explosive impact off the bench has been crucial. The Manchester United forward, who played college soccer at the University of North Carolina, has scored four goals as a substitute at Euro 2022, including a backheel through the goalkeeper’s legs against Sweden in the semifinals. Her assist for Ella Toone’s goal to send the quarterfinal against Spain to extra time was just as valuable. “I think when you’re enjoying your

football you play your best,” Russo said. “Maybe (the backheel against Sweden) does show a bit of confidence — but I’m just loving playing football.”

THE COACHES England’s Sarina Wiegman and Germany’s Voss-Tecklenburg have already secured a place in history as players and coaches.

Voss-Tecklenburg has been a driving force in German soccer for decades — 125 games played for the national team and four European titles, a UEFA Women’s Cup (now the Champions League) title as coach in 2009, even five years editing a women’s soccer magazine.

She has noted England’s slow start against Sweden in the semifinal, when the hosts were on the defensive. “The first 30 minutes against Sweden showed that you can hurt (England), and that will be our task,” she said.

Wiegman played 99 times for the Netherlands and coached the Dutch to the 2017 European title before joining England, and is still unbeaten in 11 games as coach at the championships.

“We said before the tournament and we still say it every time that we want to inspire the nation,” Wiegman said. “I think that’s what we’re doing and we want to make a difference, and we hope that we will get everyone so enthusiastic and proud of us and that even more girls and boys start playing football.”

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Xavi Hernández can scratch the last item off his wish list after Barcelona struck a deal for France defender Jules Koundé yesterday.

Barcelona said that Sevilla agreed to transfer the highly touted centre back for a still-undisclosed sum. The deal will be complete after the 23-year-old Koundé undergoes a medical exam.

Koundé, who also drew interest from Chelsea, will provide Barcelona’s coach a skilled and versatile defender as the team tries to transition beyond a backline still led by the 35-year-old Gerard Piqué.

The France international will join Ronald Araújo (23) and Éric García (21) as Barcelona’s young core of central defenders playing with Piqué.

Koundé would be Barcelona’s third major signing after it sold 25% of its Spanish league television rights for the next 25 years as it tries to both claw its way out of staggering debt and rebuild a competitive team after winning nothing last season.

Already this month Barcelona secured the transfers of striker Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and winger Raphinha from Leeds for around a combined 110 million euros ($111 million).

Spanish sports media reported that the Koundé deal could cost Barcelona another 50 million euros ($50.8 million).

“Sevilla is a great club, (but) Barça is a step forward in my career in every aspect,” Koundé said in a video released by Barcelona with the player wearing a Barcelona team polo.

Xavi had asked club president Joan Laporta for a top striker and a quality defender to get his squad back to challenging for titles. “Xavi played a big role in me coming here,” Koundé said in fluent Spanish. “I spoke several times with him and I was thrilled with his plan for the team. I believe that we see football in the same way. I want to do all I can to play the maximum number of minutes, adapt to the team, and have a leading role in this club.”

Koundé, both fast in defence and an attacking threat on set pieces, has been considered one of the most promising young players at his position in the Spanish league since joining Sevilla in 2019 for 25 million euros ($25.4 million) from French club Bordeaux.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 29, 2022, PAGE 15

BAHAMAS SUFFERS FIRST LOSS AT BILLIE JEAN KING CUP

ELANA MACKEY, above, and Sydney Clarke, far right, in action yesterday at the Billie Jean King Cup in the Dominican Republic.

AFTER a day off on Wednesday, Team Bahamas returned to competition in the Billie Jean King Cup and they suffered their first loss against host country Dominican Republic yesterday.

Elana Mackey, again playing the opening match, dropped a 6-1, 7-5 decision to Dominican Republic’s Ana Carmen Zamburek in one hour and 22 minutes.

In the #1 rubber match, No.1 seed Sydney Clarke fell short as well, losing 6-0, 6-2 against Kelly Williford from the Dominican Republic in just 54 minutes.

Teaming up for doubles for The Bahamas was Sierra Rodgers and Sydney

Clarke, this being Rodgers’ debut. The duo, however, had a tough battle as they lost 6-2, 6-0 to Williford and Chati Reynoso in 55 minutes. With the loss, the team will now play for positioning as it is now out of contention for promotion to Group I. The team is now 2-1 in BJK Cup tournament play.

The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) encourages the team of Clarke, Mackey, Rodgers and player/captain Simone Pratt to continue to play strong as they wrap up competition on Saturday.

The team is sponsored by Fidelity Bank and Trust Bahamas Limited.

TOM BRADY IS BACK, BUT HE’S HARDLY THE ONLY STORY FOR BUCS

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Tom Brady is back for a 23rd season, his third with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But that’s hardly the only major storyline for the defending NFC South champions as they begin training camp.

Todd Bowles is starting his second stint as a NFL head coach and the Bucs are stockpiling highprofile offensive talent to help Brady pursue an eighth Super Bowl title — as evidenced by the signing Wednesday of seven-time Pro Bowl receiver Julio Jones.

Brady, who turns 45 soon, led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns last season and cited “unfinished business” as one of the reasons he decided to end the brief retirement he announced in February.

The Bucs did have another retirement to contend with: tight end Rob Gronkowski, who announced he was stepping away — again — in June. They signed veteran Kyle Rudolph as his replacement.

“We’ve got to replace Gronk’s catches. We’ve got an extra weapon, especially in the red zone and out in the field, and we’re going to put him to use,” Bowles said of Jones. “It gives us a chance to be more creative in some of the things we do.

We’re happy to have him.”

Jones played 10 seasons for the NFC South rival Atlanta Falcons before injuries sidelined him for seven games two seasons ago and contributed to the worst statistics of his career with the Tennessee Titans last season (31 receptions for 434 yards and one touchdown in 10 games).

The Titans then released

TAMPA Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady throws a pass during an NFL football training camp practice in Tampa, Florida.

(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) the 33-year-old receiver, who has has 879 catches for 13,330 yards and 61 touchdowns over 11 seasons.

“I’m looking forward.

I’m not looking backward,” Jones said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to be a part of something special. ...

Just looking forward to getting to work.”

The Bucs topped Jones’ wish list for potential destinations: A chance to play with Brady and pursue a Super Bowl ring simply was too good to pass up.

“It’s a surreal moment.

It’s amazing. I’m ready to go,” Jones said.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about accountability. I have to be accountable for him, the team and everybody.”

Jones is now part of an already dynamic group of playmakers, including receivers Mike Evans, Russell Gage and Chris Godwin, who’s recovering from surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral

ligament in his right knee.

“When all is said and done, I’ve still got to come to work. I still have to put the work in,” Jones said. “You can see Julio is with the Bucs, and we’ve got Mike (Evans), we’ve got Tom (Brady), but we’ve all got to put the work in. Nobody is going to give us anything.”

Bowles is the one who’ll be responsible for a cohesive team. He succeeds Bruce Arians, who announced his retirement in March shortly after Brady ended his six-week retirement.

But Bowles has been a part of the Bucs since 2019, when he became defensive coordinator. Prior to that, he went 24-40 over four seasons as coach of the New York Jets from 2015 to 2018.

The 58-year-old who played eight seasons in the NFL joked Wednesday that “we might be here for 24

hours” if he tried to detail the difference between taking over the Bucs now as opposed to the Jets seven years ago.

“When you’re a firsttime head coach, no matter what they tell you, there are some things that are going to happen that you’re going to have to deal with that you’re not sure about making decisions that you have to make them on,” Bowles said after practice.

“Having seen everything, understanding my strengths, my weaknesses, understanding everyone around me — it’s different because I’ve been here for three years,” Bowles explained.

“I didn’t have to build a staff and get acclimated to the building or anything else like that. So that part, from a camaraderie standpoint, that’s been great. It really feels like it hasn’t changed for me.”

A POLICEMAN removes the handcuffs from WNBA star and twotime Olympic gold medallist Brittney Griner in a courtroom prior to a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia. (AP)

GRINER

FROM PAGE 11 “My career is my whole life,” she said. “I dedicated everything -- time, my body, time away from my family.

I spent six months out of the year away from everybody, and with a huge time difference.”

Her arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington ahead of Russia sending troops into Ukraine later that month.

The slow-moving trial and Griner’s five months of detention have raised strong criticism among teammates and supporters in the United States, which has formally declared her to be “wrongfully detained” — a designation sharply rejected by Russian officials.

Griner, 31, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Trials in Russia proceed even after a guilty plea, and there has been speculation that her admission was a bid to move the legal process along in hopes of a possible prisoner swap.

At the start of Wednesday’s session, Griner’s lawyers asked that she be allowed to testify outside the cage that is standard for defendants in Russian courts, arguing it was too small for the 6-foot-9 (206-centimetre) athlete to testify while standing.

The judge denied the request but allowed her to speak while seated.

During her testimony, the Phoenix Mercury standout and two-time Olympic

gold medallist described making a gruelling 13-hour flight to Moscow from Arizona while recovering from COVID-19.

Griner said she still does not know how the cannabis oil ended up in her luggage but explained she had a doctor’s recommendation for using it to address chronic pain from her sports injuries.

“I still don’t understand to this day how they ended up in my bags,” Griner said, adding that she was aware of the Russian law outlawing cannabis oil and that she had not intended to break it.

“I didn’t have any intent to use or keep in my possession any substance that is prohibited in Russia,” Griner said, adding that she understood the charges against her.

“With them being accidentally in my bags, I take responsibility, but I did not intend to smuggle or plan to smuggle anything into Russia,” she said.

She recalled being pulled aside at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on February 17 after inspectors found the cartridges.

Along with an interpreter who provided only a barebones translation, Griner said she received neither an explanation of her rights nor quick access to her lawyer, but instead was presented with some papers.

“There were documents that I had to sign,” she said.

“I can only assume that they were about the search and the cartridges.”

A woman who presented herself as an interpreter only told her where to sign,

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medallist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. American basketball star Brittney Griner returned Wednesday to a Russian courtroom for her drawn-out trial on drug charges that could bring her 10 years in prison of convicted.

(Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP) but did not “explain the contents,” Griner said, and “I didn’t know exactly what I was signing.”.

She said her rights “were never read to me, no one explained any of it to me.”

At one point, she got on her phone “and I contacted my spouse, my sports agent and my club team’s translator” in Yekaterinburg, where she plays for a club in the Ural Mountains city.

“Nothing was ever explained to me thoroughly at all,” Griner said.

“There was a lot of short words – ‘sign here’ - and at that point, I felt like being held against my will so that’s why I contacted my family and my agent and asked for legal representation.”

After several hours, she was finally allowed to hand over her personal belongings to a lawyer before being led away in handcuffs, Griner said.

She said she received only a cursory translation of the charges against her during the investigation.

Griner described other instances of language confusion when an interpreter struggled to properly translate the accusations against

her during a meeting with a detective.

“The translations weren’t very good,” Griner said.

“I remember one time him receiving stacks of paper that he was supposed to translate to me, and he looked at them for a brief moment and (his) exact words were: ‘Basically you are guilty.’”

Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, told reporters after Wednesday’s session that Griner “repeatedly underlined that she had no intention to bring the forbidden substances into Russia.”

The next trial session was set for August 2. Griner’s trial began July 1 in the Moscow suburb of Khimki where the airport is located, and it is unclear how long it will last.

The court has held five previous sessions that were short, and her detention has been authorised until Dec. 20.

On Tuesday, a Russian neuropsychologist testified about global use of medicinal cannabis, which is illegal in Russia. Griner’s defence team has submitted to the court a US doctor’s letter

recommending she use cannabis for pain.

Griner said Wednesday she used medicinal cannabis for relief from pain due to injuries sustained during her career, adding that it is widely used in the US because it has fewer negative effects than some other painkillers.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said last week that the legalisation

of cannabis for medical and recreational use in parts of the US had no bearing on what happens in Russia.

Elizabeth Rood, the US Embassy’s charge d’affaires who has been attending the trial, said American officials “are going to continue to monitor the case of Ms Griner very closely, as well as the case of all US citizens detained or in prison in Russia.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 29, 2022, PAGE 17

Bahamas ‘nowhere near crisis’ despite new US recession fear FROM PAGE A24 there was “no point in trying to fudge” the potential negative consequences for The Bahamas.

But, while the US is this nation’s major tourism source market and trading partner, Sir Franklyn said The Bahamas was “not in crisis” despite fears that growing global headwinds will disrupt the post-COVID economic recovery and fiscal consolidation efforts designed to eliminate the deficit and rein in an $11.8bn national debt.

“Overall, it’s not good news, no point in trying to fudge that,” he told this newspaper of the latest US economic news. “It’s not good news, but there is some basis for mitigation.” Besides potentially curbing travel and related spending by Americans, Sir Franklyn acknowledged the “psychological” impact yesterday’s developments may have in terms of undermining business and consumer confidence in the short and medium-term outlook.

However, he argued that The Bahamas’ high-end tourism product would likely weather any economic storms better than Caribbean rivals because it was targeted at a wealthier client base. “The Bahamian economy is influenced by people whose income levels are such that they can ride this thing out a little better than the average income earner,” Sir Franklyn said.

“If you have wealth of $1.2bn, and you go to $1.1bn, what difference does it make save and except ego? The point I’m making is that people at the high end of the totem pole are able to ride these things out a little better, and they tend to have a stronger impact on the Bahamian economy than a number of other economies in the Caribbean.”

The US Commerce Department yesterday announced that US GDP declined by an annualised

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

THURSDAY, 28 JULY 2022

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 6.70 53.00 2.47 2.61 2.60 6.10 10.05 4.15 10.00 3.65 8.25 17.50 2.65 10.75 11.25 10.85 18.10 4.00 11.00 16.50

52WK LOW 5.30 33.80 1.60 2.20 1.30 5.75 6.96 2.82 5.40 2.27 5.95 9.80 1.99 7.75 10.02 10.00 13.10 3.50 8.20 15.50

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Benchmark Bahamas First Holdings Limited Bank of Bahamas Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Cable Bahamas Commonwealth Brewery Commonwealth Bank Colina Holdings CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Limited Focol Finco J. S. Johnson

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

Bahamas First Holdings Preference Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Bahamas Class A Focol Class B

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

SECURITY Fidelity Bank (Note 22 Series B+) Bahamas First Holdings Limited

CLOSE

CHANGE

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

2572.47

-44.56

-1.70

344.23

15.45

SYMBOL AML APD BBL BFH BOB BPF BWL CAB CBB CBL CHL CIB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FCL FIN JSJ BFHP CAB6 CAB9 CHLA FBBA FCLB SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.10 100.57 100.43 100.43 100.34 100.23 100.00 100.00 100.98 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.10 100.34 99.96 100.43 100.04 100.00 89.62 89.00 90.24 90.73

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.52 4.69 2.22 207.86 212.41 1.74 1.84 1.83 1.03 9.37 11.83 7.54 16.64 12.84 10.77 10.00 10.43 14.89

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.69 1.75 1.76 0.97 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BGRS FL BGRS76026 BGRS FL BGRS95032 BGRS FL BGRS97033 BGRS FL BGRS75022 BGRS FL BGRS81037 BGRS FL BGRS88028 BGRS FX BGR129249 BGRS FX BGR131249 BGRS FX BGR132249 BGRS FX BGR136150

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGRS760265 BSBGRS950320 BSBGRS970336 BSBGRS750225 BSBGRS810375 BSBGRS880287 BSBGR1292493 BSBGR1312499 BSBGR1322498 BSBGR1361504

LAST CLOSE 6.70 39.95 2.44 2.35 2.51 6.10 9.75 3.88 9.98 3.59 8.06 16.00 3.00 10.26 11.67 10.85 18.10 3.90 11.00 15.50 1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00 LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.10 100.45 100.09 100.54 100.34 100.00 89.62 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 6.70 39.95 2.44 2.35 2.51 6.10 9.75 3.88 9.98 3.25 8.06 16.00 3.03 10.26 11.74 10.85 18.10 3.90 11.00 15.50 1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

VOLUME 4,000

3,300

1,000

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.10 100.45 100.09 100.54 100.34 100.00 89.62 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Financial Conservative Fund Leno Financial Aggressive Fund Leno Financial Balanced Fund Leno Financial Global Bond Fund RF Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund RF Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund RF Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund RF Bahamas International Investment Fund Limited - Equities Sub Fund RF Bahamas International Investment Fund Limited - High Yield Income Fund RF Bahamas International Investment Fund Limited - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

MARKET TERMS

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (0.34) 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

(242) 323‐2330 (242) 323‐2320 EPS$ 0.239 0.932 0.000 0.140 0.070 1.760 0.369 -0.438 0.140 0.184 0.449 0.722 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.203 0.939 0.631 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

VOLUME

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.020 0.080 0.000 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.000 0.120 0.220 0.720 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.120 0.200 0.610 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25% 6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 4.56% 4.31% 4.31% 4.43% 4.87% 4.33% 5.55% 5.60% 5.65% 5.69%

NAV 2.52 4.69 2.21 197.44 202.39 1.74 1.84 1.83 0.97 9.37 11.79 7.54 15.94 12.47 10.74 N/A 10.43 14.89

YTD% 12 MTH% 0.99% 4.22% 0.36% 5.78% 0.67% 2.74% -2.97% -2.35% -4.72% 6.04% 1.37% 3.03% 1.19% 5.23% 1.62% 4.13% -5.25% -6.07% -0.02% 10.36% -0.33% 18.23% 0.22% 3.05% -3.89% 14.76% -1.04% -2.57% 0.81% 4.20% N/A N/A 3.00% 25.60% 7.90% 48.70%

P/E 28.0 42.9 N/M 16.8 N/M N/M 26.4 -8.9 71.3 17.7 18.0 22.2 29.7 22.0 18.2 14.9 22.2 19.2 11.7 24.6 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

YIELD 2.54% 3.15% 0.82% 3.40% 0.00% 0.00% 2.67% 0.00% 0.00% 3.69% 2.73% 4.50% 14.32% 0.58% 2.79% 2.21% 2.98% 3.08% 1.82% 3.94% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025 20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 18-Jan-2026 25-Sep-2032 17-Apr-2033 7-Sep-2022 26-Jul-2037 26-Jul-2028 15-Apr-2049 15-Jul-2049 15-Oct-2049 21-Apr-2050

NAV Date 31-Mar-2022 31-Mar-2022 25-Mar-2022 31-Mar-2022 31-Mar-2022 31-May-2022 31-May-2022 31-May-2022 31-May-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Jan-2022 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | CORALISLE 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

HUBERT EDWARDS rate of 0.9 percent in the three months to end-June 2022, after contracting by 1.6 percent in the first first quarter. While a recession would have to officially be declared by the US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), two consecutive quarters of economic shrinkage meet that definition, leading many to say the US is in an “unofficial recession”.

This capped a week that saw the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warn of increasing global economic headwinds, especially when it comes to food and energy prices, as it slashed its world economic growth forecast for 2022 by 0.4 percentage points to 3.2 percent. And then the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, hiked interest rates by 75 basis points to a range between 2.25 percent and 2.5 percent as it aims to curb inflation running at 40-year highs.

But Sir Franklyn struck a more bullish tone, telling Tribune Business: “We are nowhere near crisis point at this stage, globally or locally. We are nowhere near crisis point......There are signs, let me put it no further, but there are signs that the global oil prices may be headed towards a place where there are downward pressures. It’s not a crisis. It’s [the US contraction] not good news, but it’s not a crisis.”

Oil prices last night stood at $96.58 per barrel, as measured by the West Texas Intermediate index, and $107 per barrel under Brent Crude. Sir Franklyn indicated that current

market prices may encourage some oil producers to pump more, and added: “We’re tracking it and will see. God willing if it starts to go this way, we think there will be downward pressure on oil prices.

“In The Bahamas’ case, that could be very significant in counter balancing the impact of a US recession. There are headwinds and tailwinds, and where we are some positive things are happening and some unfortunate things are happening, but overall I think we’re going in the right direction.” He also suggested that price falls for commodities such as lumber indicated some elements of the post-COVID global supply chain crisis are starting to work themselves out.

Hubert Edwards, principal of Next Level Solutions, a Bahamas-based risk management consultancy, told Tribune Business that any US recession is “always going to spell trouble for us” in The Bahamas and Western Hemisphere, but much depends on whether the contraction continues into the 2022 third and fourth quarters - and whether it is to the same extent or lessening.

“If we get to the third quarter and see continuing contraction in a significant way it may eventually have a knock-on effect on The Bahamas,” he added. “It would have implications for tourism and just the robustness of the economy.

We are enjoying a decent comeback in terms of our consolidation.”

PAGE 18, Friday, July 29, 2022

‘Break down offshore barriers’ to aid SMEs FROM PAGE A24 the BIA as areas targeted for international investors.”

Noting the regulatory barriers that limit foreign investor participation in the Bahamian economy, the IDB report added: “Foreign direct investment requires the approval of the BIA, and large foreign investments require the approval of the National Economic Council (NBEC), which includes members of the Cabinet and thus may also be susceptible to lobbying by local interests.

“Decisions can take on average 60 days, and the process would

benefit from increased transparency.

Additionally, non-Bahamians need a permit to buy land. Both requirements discourage investments in land-intensive sectors such as agriculture by non-Bahamians.

“Furthermore, due to strict foreign exchange controls to maintain the current currency peg, international banks are not allowed to invest in domestic securities, are only permitted to hold Bahamian dollar balances for the purpose of paying local expenses, and are not allowed to have Bahamian customers.”

NOTICE

BRADFORD INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS INC. (In Voluntary Liquidation) Notice is hereby given pursuant to section 138(4), that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 23rd day of December A.D. 2021.

Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is Ruth L. Robinson of No. 50 Sunderland Road, Stapledon Gardens, Nassau, Bahamas, P.O. Box SP-62496. All persons having claims against the above-named Company are required on or before the 13th day of August A.D. 2022 to send their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to the Liquidator of the Company, or in default thereof they may be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.

Dated this 29th day of July 2022.

The Bahamas has traditionally kept the international financial services industry walled-off from its domestic counterpart, although these barriers were somewhat broken down by compliance with the European Union’s (EU) demands for the elimination of socalled ‘ring fencing’ which previously saw tax breaks and incentives offered to the so-called ‘offshore’ sector that others were not able to access.

“There is an opportunity to find creative means to allow offshore entities to participate more closely in the Bahamian economy while maintaining their offshore status and privileges,” the IDB argued. “Not only is there a need for financing, but traditional means of financing are inadequate for a variety of reasons such as collateral requirements, size

of financing,and terms of financing.

“As of 2017, there were approximately 800 investment funds with over US$85bn in assets [domiciled in The Bahamas], and many of these funds are familiar with complex and non-traditional financial instruments such as venture capital and private equity. Therefore, these entities not only have the capital, but also possess the expertise and interest.

“One potential avenue of exploration would be connecting promising nonbank financial institutions, such as those involved in private equity, with offshore financial entities interested in investing locally.

These offshore financial entities would invest with approval from the Central Bank to ensure that inflows of foreign currency are

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that SANDRA SAINVIL-DUVERNY of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th day of July, 2022 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

adequately regulated, while local Bahamian investment funds, unhampered by rules targeting non-Bahamians, can invest freely.

“However, for this to occur, substantial regulatory reform and government support would be needed to create this narrow yet potentially valuable bridge between the real economy and the offshore financial sector.” The IDB’s theory is that this will increase financing options, and capital inflows, for MSMEs who have struggled to raise the required funding from domestic sources.

Estimates of the ‘financing gap’, or funding shortfall, for this sector range from the IDB’s $180m projection to the $748m derived

by Canadian consultants who put together the Bahamas Development Bank’s (BDB) turnaround plan.

International Financial Consulting, employed data obtained from the Small Business Development Centre (SDBC), IDB and commercial banks to come up with figures indicating that Bahamian SMEs suffer from a “financing gap” equivalent to between $8,000 to $30,800 per firm.

Meanwhile, the IDB report said VAT’s introduction in 2015 had only added to the costs and complexity facing small businesses when it came to sourcing debt financing. With the 10 percent levy applying to loan fees, as well as services provided by financial intermediaries, accountants and

THE TRIBUNE

attorneys, it added that “the additional tax burden can incrementally accumulate for MSMEs”.

While these payments could be ‘netted off’, or reclaimed, as an expense against companies’ output VAT, the report said some may have to claim this as a refund or credit and therefore be subjected to an audit review. “ “Therefore, benefits of contracting an auditor are further compounded for businesses wishing to reduce their cost of accessing finance. Furthermore, the use of collateral to secure loans also incurs a stamp duty of 1 percent on the loan itself, which is another fixed up-front cost for MSMEs,” the IDB added.

“Therefore, consideration should be given to making MSMEs exempt from stamp duty and VAT when seeking financing.”

It also said having to become a VAT registrant, for companies with an annual turnover of $100,000 or greater, and make quarterly filings and payments to the Department of Inland Revenue, “can be particularly burdensome” for MSMEs. “Although firms can then also benefit from VAT refunds for inputs, this would also subject them to potential audits. Over the last two years, only 63 percent of MSMEs and 44 percent of large firms indicated that they had applied for business licenses,” the IDB report said, referring to the results of a survey conducted of Bahamian businesses.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, BURNEL LEROY FERGUSON of P. O. Box N-1150, Skyline Lakes, New Providence, Bahamas, intend to change my name to BERNARD LEROY FERGUSON. 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, New Providence, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that FRENDLEY PHILIPPE of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th day of July, 2022 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 29, 2022, PAGE 19

Doctors enjoys up to 40% non-COVID revenue rise FROM PAGE A24 inspection of both sites and gives the go-ahead.

Demolition work at Freeport’s former First Commercial Centre, the site of Doctors Hospital’s new Grand Bahama hospital, is scheduled to be completed by August 8, and Mr Deveaux said it remains on track to open by mid-2023. He disclosed that Nassau’s “tight labour market” had driven the company to target Grand Bahama for “back office” workers in areas such as finance and administration, who will be placed across its facilities and not just on that island.

And Doctors Hospital’s financial chief said inflation was “not a material concern” for the healthcare provider despite seeing price increases ranging from 3 percent to 7 percent since its 2023 financial year began on February 1, 2022.

Prices for its out-patient services have been held constant and, with trends over the past two months not signalling the need for any increases, he added that end-consumer costs may “go in another direction” - down.

Tribune Business reported yesterday that Doctors Hospital had enjoyed a $58m revenue boost from COVID-19, spread over the past two financial years, and Mr Deveaux affirmed it is now refocusing on “organic” or natural growth by

expanding the provision of healthcare services throughout The Bahamas having viewed the pandemic’s impact as a one-off event.

The relaxation of COVID restrictions at home and abroad, especially in the US, has significantly cut testing demand while vaccinations and more moderate strains of the virus have lessened hospitalisation rates.

“Our in-patient census may have two to three COVID patients in an overall census of 35-37 patients, which is less than 10 percent. That’s great news for the country,” Mr Deveaux told this newspaper.

“On the testing side, we’re still doing a decent amount of testing, anywhere from 15,000 COVID tests per month. That’s a fairly low level for us. That’s obviously much lower than the peak of 100,000 per month. But the key narrative that we’re happy about is when you look at non-COVID revenues and compare that to preCOVID, which means you have to look at almost financial year 2019.

“We’ve seen a very significant uptake in organic or core activity. People had deferred traditional healthcare services for so long, so there’s a bit of a catch-up surge that we’re experiencing in the non-COVID space,” he added. “We have actually seen, when you look at pre-COVID revenue

developments, our preCOVID revenues were anywhere from $5m-$5.5m a month.

“What we have now seen in the first quarter [for the 2023 financial year] is our non-COVID revenue is actually on a run rate of $7m per month. That’s a very significant change in our core business in a very short period of time. That tells us there’s pent-up demand and, as a result, we’re expanding access to our services..... The key thing has become, looking at pre-COVID organic to our current organic revenues, that’s gone from $5m-$5.5m to $7m a month.”

That represents a monthly revenue increase of between 27 percent and 40 percent for nonCOVID income compared to pre-pandemic data. Mr Deveaux estimated Doctors Hospital had earned around $4m in COVID-related revenues for the 2023 first quarter, which represents the three months to endApril, and said: “I think our first quarter run rate is unlikely to be matched in the second and third quarters; we don’t expect the same level of activity through the year.”

Doctors Hospital is expanding medical services access by creating a new specialist internal medicine group at premises on Dowdeswell Street on New Providence, as well as adding two operating theatres at a new outpatient

surgical centre in Centreville. COVID testing sites at Carmichael and Meldon/ Palmdale, now that US and Bahamian entry restrictions have been relaxed, will be converted into medical access centres.

“We didn’t wait until COVID had started to wind down to identify expansion opportunities. People need more access to high quality and affordable healthcare,” Mr Deveaux said. “What we’re very proud of, and we’ve committed to this, is we’ll have price and quality leadership in the outpatient space. We have that as our value proposition. We have to demonstrate we are accessible and affordable, and then have price leadership. That’s what we’re up to.

“What we have in mind, in the next 30 days we’ll be opening up a brand new pharmacy and drug store at The Pointe in downtown Nassau, Bay Street, to cater to the downtown market and increasing tourist population whose medical needs and pharmaceutical needs are not really served in downtown. We hope to bridge that gap. Within the next 30 days, people can expect that to open.”

And, within “the next 90 days”, Doctors Hospital’s

clinic in Georgetown will open as a location where NHI beneficiaries will be able to see their doctor freeof-charge and also obtain their medical prescriptions.

“We’ll have an x-ray on the ground and portable ultra sound,” Mr Deveaux said.

“We might even make a decision to put more imaging on the ground.”

Alluding to the recent tragedy at Sandals Emerald Bay, where three guests died from carbon monoxide poisoning, he added: “We need to provide reassurance to tourists and residents that quality health care is provided. We intend to meet their urgent healthcare needs, and if something happens beyond that co-ordinate evacuation to Nassau or back to the US. We view that as critically important.”

Pointing out that ease of access to quality, affordable healthcare is a key factor for investors and tourists in determining their intended destination, Doctors Hospital’s chief added: “We believe that’s a role we must play, and look forward to doing that at a national level.”

Revealing that Doctors Hospital had not felt the impact of global inflation until its new financial

year started on February 1, Mr Deveaux said: “This year we’ve seen inflation anywhere from 3-7 percent, especially on things we import. We have managed that mostly by not changing prices on the outpatient side, keeping things affordable and accessible, and it’s really been on the in-patient side where most inflation has been felt.

“Right now, it’s not significant enough to pass on to patients on the outpatient side. We’ve not seen anything over the last two months in particular that suggests we need to change prices to the end consumer, and we may be going in another direction in our out-patient space to make it easier with access and affordability. Right now, inflation is not a material concern.”

Mr Deveaux said the Eight Mile Rock clinic had “got off to a fast start”, seeing between five to seven patients per day, and this count is expected to rise to around 20 once it joins the NHI provider network.

CALL 502-2394 TO ADVERTISE IN THE TRIBUNE TODAY!

Employment Opportunity Senior Program Director Offshore Private Bank seeks qualified candidates to fill the position of Senior Program Director for a Charitable Trust of which the Bank is the Trustee.

The Organization: Templeton Religion Trust ("TRT") is a globally-active charitable entity

established in The Bahamas by Sir John Templeton in 1984, and operational since 2012. TRT supports research and public engagement projects (storytelling) advancing its mission to enrich the conversation about religion through (i) increasing the quality and extent of the engagement between the sciences and theology, (ii) promoting constructive engagement between persons and traditions representing diverse points of view (pluralism), and (iii) supporting individual freedom, free enterprise, and character development. Through its grantmaking and dissemination efforts in support of interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of the sciences, theology, and philosophy, TRT seeks to improve the well-being of individuals and societies through spiritual growth and the discovery and progressive understanding of spiritual realities and spiritual information.

Position Summary: Reporting to the Chief Grants Officer (CGO), the Senior Program Director plays a key role in developing and maintaining the grant programs of the Templeton Religion Trust. The scope of the Trust's work is global, with an emphasis on attracting talented project leaders to its strategic initiatives and grant programs.

The Senior Program Director leads a team responsible for managing the full life-cycle of the grantmaking process for those proposals and grant programs that fall within his or her particular sphere of responsibility within the Trust's overall portfolio of grants and programs. The Trust's grantmaking is relational or proactive rather than via open submission. The grant-making life­ cycle begins with the cultivation of proposals based on personal contact with prospective applicants, in most cases within approved strategic plans and initiatives, and proceeds through review, decisioning by the Trustee, monitoring the performance of successful proposals, and closeout, including outcomes/impact assessments of closed grants to inform future programs.

During the life-cycle of a grant-funded project, the Senior Program Director leads the team managing the Trust's relationship with the grantee, including oversight of all official communications (including public engagement) pertaining to the grant. Along with the CGO, the Senior Program Director plays a key role in the growth and development of the organization, with respect to staffing and structure as well as TRT's overall strategic priorities. S/he also has an enhanced role with respect to the communication of TRT's strategic priorities to the wider public (including but not limited to prospective grantees).

Primary Areas of Responsibility

Manage the life-cycle of the grantmaking process, including the Trust's relationship with project leaders and grantee organizations, for all grants and programs that fall within his or her sphere of responsibility within the Trust's portfolio.

Develop new ideas for program strategies and initiatives, key projects, and funding competitions, draft descriptions of same, and manage implementation in close collaboration with the CGO and other program and administrative staff.

Communicate the Trust's fundamental mandates (donor intent) and strategic priorities (specific to TRT at any given point in time) internally and externally.

Participate in all aspects of the grant proposal submission and review process, including proposal referrals to and from other Templeton sibling organizations (that is, the John Templeton Foundation and Templeton World Charity Foundation).

Secondary Areas of Responsibility

Develop special projects in collaboration with the CGO. Evaluate the performance of grants and grantees within his or her sphere of responsibility.

Participate in professional development opportunities.

Criteria & Relevant Skills

PhD preferred in either (i) philosophy, theology or religious studies, (ii) the psychological, cognitive, or social sciences, or (iii) international relations/development. Masters degree will also be considered from exceptional candidates with strong professional experience.

Eight or more years of professional experience in a high-performing, fast-paced, and team­ oriented setting. Experience both inside and outside the academy would be relevant.

Significant experience with strategic and/or organizational planning.

Familiarity with grantmaking processes (either as a grant maker or grant seeker) Experience managing multiple, complex projects simultaneously.

Strong interpersonal communication skills.

Demonstrated experience with time management and cost budgeting.

Capacity to work effectively across academic disciplines.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with attention to detail.

Experience with writing and editing technical material.

Proven capacity to work with scholars and project leaders in a wide range of academic and non­ academic settings, as well as within a small but diverse office setting.

Skill with developing relationships as well as building and sustaining professional networks.

Ability to travel on a regular basis (approximately 20%).

Strong personal interest in and enthusiasm for the Trust's mission and strategic priorities.

Adaptive and flexible work ethic appropriate to a dynamic, growing organization.

A humble spirit and desire to work for the benefit of others.

Interested candidates wishing to learn more should visit templetonreligiontrust.org.

Competitive salary & benefits package are commensurate with experience.

Qualified candidates only should submit CVs via email to: Manager, Human Resources at hr@ftbbahamas.com on or before August 12, 2022.

PAGE 20, Friday, July 29, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

‘New monster in the house’ on small business funding FROM PAGE A24 fledgling 242 Small Business Association and Resource Centre, Mr Turnquest told this newspaper that many are still struggling to pay their bills and remain current with existing debt - never mind take on new facilities - due to COVID’s economic devastation.

“Access to financing is better, but it’s not an easy road,” he said. “It’s not a straight line. It’s not going to solve all challenges. It’s not a quick turnaround with access to funding. My interviews with a lot of small businesses in the past seven to eight months have shown there’s not only problems with shipping costs and inflation, but they’re catching hell with respect to operating businesses.

“That means a significant number of them are

currently in bad shape with existing loans. There are a lot of outstanding loans with the bank... There are a lot of bad commercial loans that are out there, and that’s a hindrance and is preventing future loans. You’ll find a lot of companies are in big trouble because they have not recovered.”

Mr Turnquest added that many were also avoiding the banks and other lenders over loans that were either now in arrears or non-performing, rather than approaching them to restructure credit facilities or extend forbearance. This, he warned, will act against them by undermining their ability to obtain future credit they survive the present situation.

“They ain’t calling the banks and are ignoring the loan,” Mr Turnquest argued. “They’re damaging

their future reputation and credit. The hurricane [Dorian] and pandemic, they’ve taken their toll mentally on some, and that is the worst thing that can happen to an entrepreneur - when you’re mentally crushed, and you lose hope to further your entrepreneurial spirit. This the worst I have seen in entrepreneur mentality.

“Shipping costs have gone up, light bill is going up, the cost of gasoline has gone up. Access to financing is not the problem. It’s the mental condition of the MSME owners; their ability to recover mentally from this debt they had before Dorian and COVID. Now, the cost of living and inflation is taking its toll.

“While there is access to funding, they cannot accept it because they have so many outstanding bills and

the cost of doing business is so high. It’s very difficult for them to run a business now.

We have a new monster in the house; high inflation, high costs, the mental problems with small business owners who cannot pay old debts or current debts,” he continued.

“Access to funding is strong. We have a lot of money in the bank. But we have a bigger problem. It’s like an oxymoron. We have money but people can’t qualify. That’s the reality right now.” The IDB, in its latest quarterly bulletin, had referenced the findings from a survey of Bahamian businesses - largely conducted in December 2020, just after COVID’s peak when restrictions were still in place - which showed 99 percent had no desire to take on debt financing.

“Only 12 percent of these firms believed that they had sufficient capital,” the IDB said. “The remainder did not apply for credit for several reasons, including collateral requirements (11 percent), unfavourable interest rates (13 percent), and complex application procedures (11 percent).

“Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly vulnerable to these concerns because they are less likely to have a dedicated team or person to handle complex loan applications (which may also include Know Your Customer requirements), more likely to be asset-light (especially in an economy

that is service-oriented), and more likely to be seen as risky and thus warrant higher interest rates.”

While The Bahamas’ first-ever credit bureau could help lower collateral requirements and interest rates for MSMEs with a solid business record and credit history, the IDB said the benefits could be limited to just companies that already “have substantial creditworthy relationships with utility companies, contracts with suppliers, and/or long-term rental agreements”.

Mr Turnquest yesterday said that MSMEs with sound business plans and/ or financial projections, and backed by credible financials and intermediaries who were advising them, are able to access credit either directly from lenders or via government agencies such as the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC), Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund and Bahamas Development Bank.

The IDB, though, noted that just 42 percent of MSME respondents to the December 2020 survey confirmed their financial statements were subject to an external audit, which added to the difficulty of accessing the formal capital markets and other financing forms.

Personal/consumer loans were shown to account for around three-quarters of total outstanding Bahamian credit

over the four years between 2018 and 2021, although this share had declined slightly from 75 percent at the beginning of the period to 71 percent at the end.

This was not broken down between mortgages and consumer credit, with the private sector and the Government both enjoying a 14 percent share.

With the report implying that insufficient capital is being directed to the Bahamian private sector, the IDB said: “Although the share of credit as a percent of GDP has stayed relatively steady for the last five years, access to and the cost of finance, especially during the pandemic, has worsened drastically since 2014.

“In 2014, 28 percent and 11 percent of Bahamian firms said that access to, and the cost of finance, were major or very severe obstacles, respectively. By December 2020, these figures almost doubled to 52 percent and 19 percent respectively, according to Compete Caribbean’s Innovation Firm Performance and Gender (IFPG) Survey.

“The decrease in the perceived access to and cost of finance is not surprising considering the unique macroeconomic conditions, and the fact that domestic banks were broadly tightening their balance sheets in preparations for expected defaults and increase in non-performing loans.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 29, 2022, PAGE 21

Banks told to build ‘stronger connection’ with non-profits FROM PAGE A24 “What we want to do is support small non-profits; those focused on grass roots communities.

“We have to figure out a better mechanism for them to manage their affairs, and a stronger relationship with the banks would be beneficial. It’s beneficial to start the conversation. If you have a segment that has well over 1,000 non-profits, and we want to facilitate the growth of small grassroots non-profits to do work in communities, it makes sense there be a stronger relationship with the banks.

“In some countries they have products tailored to the needs of groups doing social and community work, and we don’t seem to have that in this country..... It ultimately doesn’t create an environment for small non-profits to grow. If an inordinate amount of time is spent on paperwork and follow up, it will not generate that kind of growth.”

The ORG chief said nonprofits in major countries such as the US enjoyed easier access and lower fees for banking and related financial services in recognition that they were providing services that meet community needs, filling voids where national and local governments were not present or lacked the necessary resources.

Mr Aubry said he knew of no specific cases where non-profits have been denied the chance to open

a bank account, or have had an existing facility closed on them, but said the latter measure can be enforced if a group is in non-compliance with legislation passed to regulate the NGO sector in 2019.

That was driven by the need for The Bahamas to comply with rules set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering and terror financing standard setter, for the regulation of non-profits to prevent their potential abuse in the commission of financial crimes.

It remains one of two areas where The Bahamas has yet to be deemed in sufficient compliance with the FATF’s 40 recommendations, although submissions have been made for an upgrade.

Mr Aubry, who disclosed that ORG is set to release a study on the non-profit sector’s impact this fall, said the group had “allocated a portion of its time” over the past five years to help build capacity among NGOs because “there are so many rules”.

“I would say the challenge with banking has

been noted for a while. It’s not anything new that nonprofits had complained about, and the ease of doing business,” he added.

The ORG chief said that, when the 2019 Act and subsequent revisions were introduced, some non-profits had been “waiting eight years” to obtain their registration from the Registrar General’s Department and be recognised as a legal entity able to open a bank account.

Registrations “accelerated” after the legislation was passed, and Mr Aubry said: “The Attorney General did share information earlier this year that over 1,000 entities were registered under the Act. The vast majority were affiliated with churches.....”

However, he added that after obtaining their registration, non-profits need “a legal body to exist or operate under”, meaning they have to incorporate under either the Companies Act or the Foundations Act. In doing so, they thus have to comply with the requirements of whichever Act is relevant, which Mr Aubry

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said can be “prohibitive” for small non-profits with minimal staff that are focused on serving community needs.

Civil Society’s Mr Hamilton, meanwhile, urged Human Rights Bahamas and the non-profits involved to contact himself so that he can try to address their bank woes having dealt with a similar matter previously. “We know there was a backlog of non-profits to be registered. We’ve got quite a bit of it cleared, although I can’t say it’s all cleared,” he added.

“I think we’ve come a long way in the sector with regard to bringing the regulations to the sector. There’s still some work to be done, and it’s not complete at this point. We’ve made some tremendous headway but there’s still work to be done, and I’d be happy to

lend assistance to help them get resolution. Whatever the situation is, we’d like to

have an opportunity to help them get that addressed.”

PAGE 22, Friday, July 29, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

BAHAMIANS SHOULD NOT FEAR DIVERSE WORKFORCE W

HEN discussing the movement of people from one place to another, it can become a little confusing to know the correct terms to use. There are many different words used to talk about people on the move, such as ‘migrant’, ‘immigrant’, and ‘emigrant’.

When these groupings descend on another country, financial security naturally becomes a priority. There appears to be a prevailing paradox that exists between the wider community, which says ‘get the foreigners out’, and the business owners, many of whom believe Bahamians are ill-equipped to meet the demands for a productive 21st century workforce.

The Bahamas, then, has a long and rich history of

both legal and illegal Immigration. Refugees have long sought the richness of our land to better their economic situation and share in our diversity. No intelligent person questions the value of an ethnically, and otherwise, diverse workforce. The fundamental question, though, remains: How much can our nation and economy absorb without adversely affecting the birthright of Bahamians?

One argument is that we are all immigrants or the ancestors of African slaves, Bermudians, Americans and Europeans, who migrated here from 1648 onwards. The act of independence, and the formation of our constitution, has both legitimised and clarified this matter

IAN FERGUSON of citizenship. There is no ambiguity around who is a Bahamian, and while some might disagree with the contents of the constitutional

document and demand changes, what currently stands is to be respected as the law.

Our sad reality is that until we clarify these matters, and resolve some pressing Immigration challenges, we cannot move forward with further discussion of how many of those, who we refer to as ‘stateless’, can make a more meaningful contribution to the Bahamian workforce.

Bahamians must not fear workplace diversity, but approach the issue with sober contemplation and discussion. Guidelines and parameters that are fair must be established, so that everyone can make their contribution while avoiding the exploitation of any one grouping.

A diverse workforce provides many advantages to the nation at large. Programme and training that help immigrant employees navigate the workplace, and help non-immigrant employees to understand the benefits of diversity, will improve working conditions for everyone, increasing company profitability and, ultimately, our economic resolve.

This assimilation of which we speak should not require a person’s surrender of their heritage and national allegiance. Assimilation simply means that we respect and accept others - their customs, cultural norms, laws and patterns of behaviour - which do not violate what we deem sacred and lawful.

When there are issues of

friction between immigrant and non-immigrant populations, this must be met with a great deal of restrained communication, where the goal is to reach a happy medium that respects the national climate and identity of the home nation.

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.

Saturation and gas prices squeeze trucking market

NOTICE

The Public is advised that the Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plan for Great Stirrup, Bahamas was filed with the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Limited (NCLH).

A public meeting will be held on August 9th, 2022 at 6p.m at the Great Harbour Cay, Berry Islands, Community Center.

Persons may also attend virtually by accessing the meeting ID https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85051250647.

Information about the project and a downloadable version of the document is available online until September 7th, 2022 at https://ccshort.com/NCL-GSC-EIA and the hardcopies may be accessed at the local Administrators Office.

All inquiries can be submitted to the Director of the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection at Inquiries@depp.gov.bs and submitted to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Limited (NCLH) at gscpubliccomments@ nclcorp.com

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN trucking company owner yesterday said he would have been forced out of business if not for clients who understood his prices must rise to combat higher fuel costs.

Justin Knowles, owner/ operator of Just in Time Trucking, told Tribune Business that industry profit margins are typically thin with companies making only 15 percent at best.

Operators, especially independent ones, have in recent months felt the evertightening squeeze from higher fuel prices that have represented a “very big jump, and any sort of profits there are gone. I actually have to dig into my pockets now to make a living,” Mr Knowles said.

“The guys with one, maybe two trucks, for them it’s not a big deal with the fuel prices. Any time you get past four trucks and up,

that’s when the percentage gap closes or your profit margins become minimal.

Once you get past a certain amount of vehicles, the profit margins then start to increase again, and once you get to the two to three-truck margin, your profit shrinks to anywhere between 5 percent to 10 percent.”

Larger trucking companies enjoy economies of scale and greater efficiencies, as they are able to spread their costs over a larger number of vehicles, while maintenance and down-time for individual trucks becomes less of an issue. However, a smaller trucking company with three or four vehicles feels an immediate chill from one being taken off-road.

As a result, individuals who have one or two trucks have “no incentive to grow in the market for truckers”.

Mr Knowles added: “Right now, and honestly and truly, as a trucker that has been in this industry for all of my life going on to 17 years, the market is

totally over-saturated. It’s not about loyalty and it’s more about the bang for the buck or the quickest person that could get it to my job site. They don’t care if it’s damaged, they don’t care about any of that stuff.

They just want it at their job site.”

This has resulted in independent truckers flocking to the Arawak Cay port on a daily basis as they compete for loads. “The port has its regulations to get in and out of the facility, and as long as you adhere to the regulations then there is never an issue,” Mr Knowles said.

“If gasoline goes up to $9 a gallon then The Bahamas is in problems because, don’t forget, any part of freight movement has to be moved by a truck. If it comes on a boat or comes in a plane, it has to go on a vehicle or truck to get to the consumer. As truckers we get pinched all the time, but at some point and time we have to stand up for ourselves and do what we have to do.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, July 29, 2022, PAGE 23

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER DISSUADED FROM EXPANDING USE TO ARRIVALS

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN software developer yesterday said individual Customs officers have discouraged him from submitting a proposal that would save “major time” on entering air arrivals data.

Clyde Symonette, Information Specialists Ltd’s (ISL) managing director, told Tribune Business he had approached a “line staff” official over implementing his Single Window Management (SWIM) software for air arrivals clearance when the Minnis

administration was in office.

However, he was dissuaded from submitting a formal proposal because Customs would “prefer to use one system”.

Mr Symonette admitted he never moved forward with the idea after that encounter, saying: “After that, I decided not to go any further with my proposal.” The SWIM software is already in use by Customs for its ‘Click2Clear’ entry system, and he added that the product is already “saving time and money for the users”.

Customs brokers took time to become familiar with Click2Clear due

to how long it took to input entries into the system, while the process was afflicted by typical glitches and teething problems at the outset. The SWIM software allows users to upload their invoices directly into the Click2Clear system.

The SWIM software allows Customs officers to check the tariff on any item one time, and it shows up as a featured item instead of having to check - and double check - the system or log for what a tariff number is, “so it gets smarter and smarter every time you use it”.

Mr Symonette said: “The SWIM is a powerful product

and it is working very well.

We want the Government to use it for airport arrivals and they didn’t even give us an opportunity to submit our proposal. We would have given Bahamians and tourists alike the ability to get online, fill in their declaration form and attach their documents so that by the time they get to Nassau all of that stuff would be already in the system.

“They can present that to the Customs officer, and all the Customs officer has to do is just make their inspection. This is the kind of stuff SWIM could do for the Customs Department, but they didn’t even let us

get a chance to submit a proposal.”

Implementing the software for air arrivals would cost a six-figure sum at most, but Mr Symonette described this as doable and something that will “save the Government major time and maximise revenue”.

“Because the Customs officer’s mind was locked into using one system they were not even prepared to have a discussion on how we could tie into that system,” he added. “With SWIM you can capture everything on the front end and it still goes in the system using the Click2Clear, because that’s

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 95° F/35° C Low: 75° F/24° C

TAMPA

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Breezy with more clouds than sun

Mainly clear

Sunny, breezy and pleasant

Breezy; an afternoon thunderstorm

A t‑storm in spots in the afternoon

A t‑storm in spots in the afternoon

High: 89°

Low: 79°

High: 88° Low: 78°

High: 89° Low: 80°

High: 88° Low: 78°

High: 89° Low: 79°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

96° F

84° F

96°-85° F

98°-88° F

99°-87° F

99°-88° F

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

N

almanac

E

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ABACO

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High: 89° F/32° C Low: 79° F/26° C

8‑16 knots

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WEST PALM BEACH High: 92° F/33° C Low: 80° F/27° C

8‑16 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE E

W

FREEPORT

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

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E

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High: 90° F/32° C Low: 80° F/27° C

MIAMI

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 80° F/27° C

7‑14 knots

KEY WEST

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 90° F/32° C Low .................................................... 79° F/26° C Normal high ....................................... 88° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 75° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 95° F/35° C Last year’s low ................................... 75° F/24° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ............................................... 37.68” Normal year to date ................................... 19.29”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 79° F/26° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 77° F/25° C

N

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

2.5 3.2

3:16 a.m.

3:03 p.m.

0.6 0.4

9:41 a.m.

10:00 p.m.

2.6 3.2

3:52 a.m.

3:42 p.m.

0.5 0.5

Sunday

10:20 a.m.

10:36 p.m.

2.7 3.1

4:27 a.m.

4:22 p.m.

0.5 0.6

Monday

10:59 a.m.

11:13 p.m.

2.7 3.0

5:01 a.m.

5:03 p.m.

0.5 0.7

Tuesday

11:41 a.m.

11:52 p.m.

2.8 2.9

5:37 a.m.

5:48 p.m.

0.5 0.8

Wednesday 12:26 p.m. ‑‑‑‑‑

2.8 ‑‑‑‑‑

6:15 a.m.

6:38 p.m.

0.5 0.8

Thursday

2.8 2.9

6:57 a.m.

7:34 p.m.

0.5 0.9

Today

9:03 a.m.

9:24 p.m.

Saturday

12:36 a.m.

1:17 p.m.

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 77° F/25° C

N

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8‑16 knots

S

10‑20 knots

ANDROS

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

uV inDex toDay

6:36 a.m. Moonrise 7:57 p.m. Moonset

7:13 a.m.

8:57 p.m.

First

Full

Last

New

Aug. 5

Aug. 11

Aug. 19

Aug. 27

CAT ISLAND

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TO ADVERTISE TODAY IN THE TRIBUNE CALL @ 502-2394

| Go to AccuWeather.com

TONIGHT

High: 95° F/35° C Low: 79° F/26° C

what we’re doing right now for businesses using it.

“So we have the technology in place and it is working right now, so it is just a matter of using SWIM as your front-end into your system and it is an easy integration.”

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 77° F/25° C

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C

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High: 87° F/31° C Low: 78° F/26° C

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LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 77° F/25° C

10‑20 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 88° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS

are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

RAGGED ISLAND High: 86° F/30° C Low: 78° F/26° C

H

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 78° F/26° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 88° F/31° C Low: 78° F/26° C

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marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday:

WINDS SE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 12‑25 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 12‑25 Knots ENE at 12‑25 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 12‑25 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 12‑25 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots

WAVES 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 4‑8 Feet 4‑8 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑6 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 7 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 84° F 84° F 84° F 84° F 83° F 83° F 84° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 85° F 86° F 84° F 84° F 84° F 84° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 84° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 83° F

business@tribunemedia.net

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2022

$6.92

$6.97

$6.96

Doctors enjoys up to 40% non-COVID revenue rise

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net DOCTORS Hospital plans to unveil its new Bay Street pharmacy within 30 days, a top executive revealed yesterday, with monthly nonCOVID revenues up to 40 percent higher than pre-pandemic comparatives.

Dennis Deveaux, the BISXlisted healthcare provider’s chief financial officer, told Tribune Business that top-line income unrelated to COVID testing and hospital treatment enjoyed a $7m monthly “run rate” during the three months to end-April - a level that was up to $2m higher than prepandemic figures.

With COVID sufferers now making up less than 10 percent of Doctors Hospital’s typical daily patient census, and combined PCR and rapid antigen tests having fallen off to around 15,000 per month compared to a 100,000 peak, he added

DOCTORS HOSPITAL ENTRANCE

• Set to open Bay Street pharmacy in 30 days • COVID monthly testing at 15k from 100k peak • Price increase of 3-7% ‘not a material concern’

that Doctors Hospital is now focused on “expanding access to our services” as it executes on multiple expansion opportunities.

Mr Deveaux told this newspaper that the company’s downtown Nassau pharmacy and drug store, which will be located at The Pointe, is intended to “bridge the gap” for both Bahamians and tourists who frequent the area as their medical needs are presently “not really served”.

He added that construction on Doctors Hospital’s Georgetown clinic is 75 percent complete with plans to open the facility within the next three months. Both that location and the justopened Eight Mile Rock clinic in Grand Bahama will be enrolled as providers in the National Health Insurance (NHI) network once the Authority that oversees the scheme completes its

SEE PAGE A19

‘New monster in the house’ on small business funding

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE FINDING that 99 percent of Bahamian firms had no interest in seeking debt financing in COVID’s aftermath was yesterday branded “irrelevant” by a small business adviser, who warned: “We have a new monster in the house.”

Mark A Turnquest, of Mark A Turnquest Consulting, told Tribune Business that “the climate has changed significantly” for business financing since the outcome of that December 2020 survey that was referenced by an InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) report.

Confirming that funding availability for micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) has improved

markedly, with the Davis administration continuing its predecessor’s pledge of providing $50m annually over the next five years for a total $250m, he argued that the biggest impediment to accessing this is the post-pandemic condition of many companies.

Based on his own research, both talking to his MSME clients and as president of the

SEE PAGE A20

MARK A TURNQUEST

Bahamas ‘nowhere near crisis’ despite new US recession fear

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A PROMINENT businessman yesterday sought to reassure that The Bahamas “is nowhere near crisis mode” despite mounting global economic gloom with suggestions that the US is now in an “unofficial recession”.

Sir Franklyn Wilson, who is chairman of BISXlisted FOCOL Holdings, the Shell wholesaler, told Tribune Business that an increasingly volatile global economy may be “counterbalanced” by “signs” that elevated global oil prices may ease.

Speaking after it was reported that the US

SIR FRANKLYN WILSON economy shrank in the 2022 second quarter, the second consecutive quarter of contraction and which would meet the definition of a recession, he acknowledged

SEE PAGE A17

Banks told to build ‘stronger connection’ with non-profits

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN non-profits need “a stronger relationship with the banks” if the sector is to grow and better meet society’s ever-increasing needs, a governance reformer argued yesterday.

Matt Aubry, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas needed to follow the lead established by countries such as the US, Canada and the UK in developing products specifically tailored to the needs of non-profits.

Agreeing that the volume of paperwork faced by

ORG and other non-profits remains “onerous”, he nevertheless joined Anthony Hamilton, Civil Society Bahamas president, as both men said they were unaware that such groups are still being denied access to bank accounts or having such facilities closed by banks without any warning.

That assertion came from Human Rights Bahamas, which said it was speaking on behalf of non-profits and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that did not want to be identified.

Yet, while he and others were unable to support the claims, Mr Aubry nevertheless told this newspaper:

SEE PAGE A21

$7.27

‘Break down offshore barriers’ to aid SMEs • IDB tells Bahamas: Build ‘bridge to real economy’ • VAT/Stamp Duty elimination for SME financing • Total private sector credit ‘less than third of peers’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas has been urged “to find creative means” to allow so-called ‘offshore’ financial institutions to participate in the local economy and help narrow an estimated $748m small business “financing gap”.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in its latest Caribbean Quarterly Bulletin, argued that such reforms would develop a “potentially valuable bridge between the real economy and the offshore financial sector” - especially when it came to financing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that are frequently capital starved. It also urged that this sector be exempted from VAT and Stamp duty levied on financial instruments when seeking funding.

Noting that total outstanding private sector credit, at 58 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), was “less than a third of that of” The Bahamas’ peers, the report said exchange control restrictions and reserving certain sectors for 100 percent Bahamian ownership only deterred foreign investment that could prove an invaluable source of business financing.

With the ‘offshore’, or international banking sector, possessing total balance sheet assets of over $153bn at end-2020, the IDB said: “There is potential for these ‘offshore’ assets to play a more active role in the Bahamian economy, especially in the provision of much-needed financing. Since 2018, the fisheries industry has received almost no credit from domestic banks yet, according to the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA), this sector is reserved specifically for Bahamian nationals.

“Furthermore, like the fisheries sector, agriculture has received negligible financing from the domestic banking industry but, with respect to food security, only agro-industries, mariculture and food processing are explicitly listed by

SEE PAGE A18