08102021 BUSINESS AND FEATURES

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021

$5.10 NAD plans $28 private aviation passenger fee

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AVIATION operators yesterday described fees as “a dirty word” after Nassau’s main gateway unveiled plans to create equality between commercial and private plane passengers by levying a $28 charge on the latter.

Anthony Hamilton, Southern Air’s director of administration, and president of the Bahamas Association of Air Transport Operators, told Tribune Business that it was “not a good time” for the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) to be eyeing fee increases given that the aviation and tourism sectors - as well as the wider economy - are battling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There’s an ongoing discussion right now regarding fees,” he explained. “Fees are a dirty word in the industry. You’re battling right now with revenue, and the margins are very thin.

It’s not a good time.” However, Mr Hamilton and both international and Bahamian airlines will not be impacted by the latest fee, which is targeted only at passengers on general aviation or private planes arriving from international destinations.

The Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) operator, unveiling its plans in a public consultation document, said the so-called “airport improvement fee” would be used to help finance some $30m worth of “airside infrastructure” upgrades required at the airport.

It added that the charge would bring more equality, with all private plane passengers now contributing more to LPIA’s upkeep like their commercial airline counterparts, while arguing that the fee - which is inclusive of VAT - was competitive, and in many cases lower, than what was levied at rival US and Caribbean airports.

“NAD proposes to implement an airport improvement fee (AIF) for all passengers arriving via general aviation flights to the Lynden Pindling International Airport,” NAD said. “General aviation passengers, unlike commercial passengers, currently pay no direct airport improvement fees to NAD for their use of the airport.

“The fee will be $28 (VAT inclusive) for passengers arriving to Nassau via

SEE PAGE 6

$5.13

Water Corp ‘author of own demise’ on supply cut-off

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE Water & Sewerage Corporation has been blasted as “the author of its own demise” over $644,000 in unpaid bills that resulted in water supply to central Eleuthera residents being cut-off for several days last October.

Justice Indra Charles, in a scathing August 6, 2021, verdict found that the state-owned water supplier’s “silence and/ or evasiveness” on how it planned to pay these debts gave Aqua Design little choice but to cease supplying the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s customers from its reverse osmosis plant at the former US naval base.

Suggesting that the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s inaction had “broken the camel’s back”, Justice Charles said the sums owed to Aqua Design would likely have continued to soar if the latter had not taken “such a drastic step” of shutting off water supply. She added that the utility “continues to be delinquent”, requiring the Supreme Court to order that it pay a further

• Unpaid $644k bill let to Eleuthera woes • Verdict places PM at centre of events • Judge slams utility’s debt ‘evasiveness’

ADRIAN GIBSON

DR HUBERT MINNIS

$454,195 to Aqua Design while the parties awaited her ruling.

The Supreme Court verdict provides a completely different perspective on a saga in which both the government and Water & Sewerage Corporation accused Aqua Design of “endangering the lives of Bahamians”. Desmond Bannister, deputy prime minister, said the company’s behaviour was “the nastiest, most callous conduct I’ve ever seen” in deciding to cease water production at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Justice Charles

dismissed the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s case in its entirety and found completely in favour of Aqua Design’s contention that it had “properly executed” the termination of the water supply agreement between the two parties for Central Eleuthera. She also awarded costs to Aqua Design, which has potentially saddled Corporation customers (and Bahamian taxpayers) with a $221,265 legal bill.

And Justice Charles’ verdict has also embroiled the prime minister in the chain of events that led up to the Central Eleuthera cut-off. With Aqua Design

BAHAMAS First has issued Colina General Insurance Company with 90 days’ notice that it plans to terminate their agency relationship because of the latter’s parent re-entering the underwriting business.

Both insurance businesses were tight-lipped when contacted on the issue yesterday, but wellplaced sources - speaking on condition of anonymity - confirmed that Bahamas First had been prompted to act at least in part because Colina General’s parent group has now become a direct competitor.

Patrick Ward, Bahamas First’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business that the two parties’ “relationship is effectively going to change” but declined to go into

becoming increasingly frustrated over “fruitless” efforts to address the arrears owed to it, it wrote to Dr Hubert Minnis on September 29, 2020, to warn of “the backlash that the termination” of its contract and supply agreement would have for Central Eleuthera communities.

However, despite receiving acknowledgement that its letter had been received and a response was imminent, no reply from Dr Minnis was received by October 9. This, and further inaction by the Water & Sewerage Corporation, resulted in Aqua Design cutting-off supply some ten days later on Monday, October 19.

Adrian Gibson MP, the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s executive chairman, could not be reached by phone for comment yesterday while this newspaper’s What’s App message was not returned before press time. However, the content

SEE PAGE 5

Ministerial ‘intervention’ call as Morton Salt releases 24

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE minister of labour was yesterday urged to “intervene” in the planned termination of 24 Morton Salt workers amid union complaints that the company had failed to follow the law or their industrial agreement.

Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president who acts as the legal representative for the Morton Salt line staff union, told Tribune Business that Dion Foulkes, his ministry and the Department of Labour needed to involve themselves in a situation where the salt harvester had failed to follow the redundancy provisions set out in the Employment Act. He also raised fears that the company may not honour provisions in the two sides’ recently-signed industrial agreement where it agreed to offer termination/redundancy pay up to

• Union complains law not followed • Says industrial deal not registered • Most affected staff there 35+ years

OBIE FERGUSON

DION FOULKES

a maximum of 40 weeks for line staff, which is significantly in excess of the Employment Act’s statutory minimum of 24 weeks or six months’ pay.

A Morton Salt spokesman did not return Tribune Business calls and messages seeking comment before press time. However, Mr Ferguson argued that Mr Foulkes and his officials have an extra obligation to

intervene in this particular situation as the minister presided over certain aspects of the two sides’ industrial agreement negotiations.

And he further asserted that then-registrar of trade unions/director of labour, John Pinder, had failed to issue the certification confirming that Morton Salt’s industrial agreement with the Bahamas Industrial Manufacturers & Allied

Bahamas First severs Colina General tie-up

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

$5.17

• Move comes as Colina re-enters underwriting • Both parties tight-lipped on developments • Concerns raised over implications for Act specifics other than to say the move did not reflect anything untoward by either party.

“It’s not something I can officially comment on,” he replied, when asked if Bahamas First had given 90 days’ notice of its intent to terminate a relationship that saw Colina General write several million dollars worth of business for it annually. “We don’t comment in public about contractual issues between Bahamas First and other entities.

“While the relationship is effectively going to change, I cannot comment one way or another about the rationale behind it except to say there was nothing untoward

about this development on either side.” It is understood that the official date of termination is at the end of October 2021.

However, Tribune Business was told that a key factor behind Bahamas First’s move is that Colina and its parent, A.F. Holdings, have re-entered the property and casualty underwriting business that they exited more than a decade ago. Sources said Indigo Insurance (Bahamas), which was licensed on May 5, 2021, by the Insurance Commission, is the name of their new carrier.

Colina was even more tight-lipped than Bahamas First when approached by this newspaper for

comment, not even referring to the agency termination of Indigo Insurance (Bahamas).

A spokesperson said via e-mail: “Colina General Insurance Agents & Brokers (Colina General) is a significant broker in the property and casual market.

“The company has grown considerably over the years and has expanded its partnerships with several reputable AM Best-rated general insurers...... As leading brokers within the industry, Colina General continues to prioritise the insurance needs and service expectations of its clients as a core commitment.”

SEE PAGE 6

Workers Union (BIMAWU) was properly registered with the Department of Labour.

Morton Salt informed Mr Foulkes of the imminent redundancies in an August 6, 2021, letter that has been obtained by Tribune Business. Vivian Moultrie, the Inagua-based salt harvester’s operations manager, confirmed that 18 line staff and six managerial staff will be impacted, eight of whom have been with the company for 40 years or more.

Another five have been employed for between 35-39 years, with the longest serving racking up 46 years.

The redundancies were justified on the basis that available work had “diminished” while there were no other roles the impacted

SEE PAGE 4

$5.18 Pearl Island happy to have ‘survived’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN destination provider yesterday said it is preparing to receive its first post-COVID cruise ship guests this Thursday after hotel clients kept it afloat over the past several months.

Peter Rebmann, Pearl Island’s managing partner, told Tribune Business it will finally welcome passengers from Royal Caribbean after 17 months of cruise ship inactivity with no business from that sector at all.

He said: “To be honest, we didn’t have the cruise ship business so far because we just installed a new reverse osmosis system on our island. So I need first to have fresh water, which I put in place yesterday. So we are hoping that we can welcome the cruise lines on Thursday.

“So we are starting with the cruise ship business, but Royal Caribbean has been here for the past three weeks. I’m not sure about Carnival. We don’t have Carnival Cruise Line in our contract, but Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises are already coming here. So that will be interesting.”

Having survived with hotel guests since the tourism industry reopened in November, Mr Rebmann said: “Before coronavirus we had three or four cruise lines a day, but now we maybe get three cruise lines a week. So we are still a long way to go in getting back in shape.

“I know the hotels are doing very well. I myself was at Baha Mar and Atlantis, and they were crowded. So I’m happy for the hotels and they certainly are the largest employers outside of the government, so that’s a huge help for me certainly. We have been getting lots of business from the hotels for the last four weeks we have been open, and we have seen tons of online bookings all from hotel guests.”

Optimistic that business will pick up throughout the remainder of 2021 despite the rise in COVID-19 case numbers, Mr Rebmann said: “It’s not only Royal Caribbean. Don’t forget we have the holiday season in the US and Canada.

“We have many tourists that will be coming in for two or three-week holidays, so it’s not just the thousands of people coming in a day before the Navigator of the Seas is leaving, but that helps on top of it for sure,

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PAGE 2, Tuesday, August 10, 2021

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Tuesday, August 10, 2021, PAGE 3

BTC CHIEF: 5G SWITCH THROUGH ‘NATURAL ATTRITION’ THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) chief executive says the transition to 5G (fifth generation) mobile technology will occur by “natural attrition” as there is still “lots of life left” in its existing network.

Andre Foster, pictured, made the disclosure at the Mobile World Congress 5G Caribbean Virtual Summit during a panel discussion hosted by Carlos Bosch, head of technology at GSMA North America, which focused on digital transformation in the Caribbean. Besides the BTC chief, other panelists included Aileen Corrigan, Digicel’s chief digital officer, and Mike Antonius, Telesur’s chief executive.

“BTC is progressive with its technology. There’s definitely a future towards

5G, but as we consider our economy and what our customers need today, we see that there’s still a lot of life left in our LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network,” Mr Foster said.

“The transition to 5G will happen by natural attrition.

There are a lot of things we’re doing on the existing network. Working to get our VOLTE deployment up and running. We’re keeping pace with the rest of the world and right now we’re

focused on where to place the investment to ensure that we provide access to connectivity to all citizens of The Bahamas.”

Mr Foster, giving his views on digital transformation in The Bahamas, said: “Our digital transformation continues to be an amazing journey for us and for our customers. I look at digital transformation from both the customer’s and the operator’s perspective. As an operator, I’m laser focused on making sure that we have resiliency and a scalable infrastructure so we can enable connectivity wherever our customers are.

“We’ve built a fibre-rich network, not just connecting every home but connecting our islands, through our Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network. As technology continues to

evolve, our customers will benefit from the efficiency coming into the network.

This results in a transition from infrastructure-based solutions to software-based solutions and software defined networks.

“These efficiencies bring the innovation that makes life easier for our customers. Some of these new AI (artificial intelligence) driven innovations include the use of WhatsApp, not just for mobile top-up, but also for customer care,” Mr Foster added.

“From the customers’ perspective, we’re really trying to make access to technology as simple and convenient as possible. By that I mean we’ve introduced convergence, which is the ability to combine our fixed and mobile networks to bring the best

value for our customers.

For us, it is ensuring that our customers have the best-connected home, and the best mobile network at the most competitive price point possible.”

BTC said customers have benefitted from its continued fibre-to-the-home build-out during the 2021 first half, with Internet speeds starting at 100Mbps (megabits per second). It has also invested in green containerised central offices, and sought to infuse artificial intelligence into its customer service.

“We strongly believe that our robust telecoms infrastructure is the underpinning of digital transformation. We want to give a 360-degree experience and provide our customers with seamless connectivity, whether at

home or on the go,” said Mr Foster.

“Bringing together our fixed and mobile services allows them to adopt more. The pandemic has no doubt unleashed many digital entrepreneurs, many of whom depend on our broadband product to conduct their business. As the leading telecommunications provider, we’re enabling connectivity and we’re focused on providing as much capacity as they need.”

BTC said it has doubled broadband speeds twice in the past year-and-a-half. It initially doubled the entry speed from 25Mbps to 50Mbps. It then doubled entry level speeds from 50Mbps to 100Mpbs. These upgrades came at no added cost to the customer.

REAL ESTATE CHIEF GIVES ‘LOOPHOLE’ PLUG PLEDGE THE Bahamas Real Estate Association’s (BREA) recently re-elected president has pledged to plug “loopholes” in the laws governing the profession so that licensed agents can be better protected against foreign intruders.

Christine WallaceWhitfield, re-elected as president for a record fifth term, together with BREA’s new Board, argued that the Real Estate (Broker and Salesman) Act 1995 was failing to sufficiently protect the rights of Bahamian practitioners. The new executives introduced a three-pronged strategic plan at BREA’s annual general meeting, dubbed “determination on steroids”, in a bid to take the industry to new heights.

“We are fired up and ready to resume our legislative and industry standards agenda,” said Mrs WallaceWhitfield. “We have three high priority goals, and I have every confidence that with the energy and determination on steroids of this new board, 2021 will be the year we will achieve these goals that will take this industry to new heights.”

The top priority, she said, is protecting licensed Bahamian BREA agents.

“That means amending the current legislation and closing the loopholes,” she said, describing the 26-yearold Real Estate Act of 1995 as outdated. “The industry has changed dramatically since that Bill was enacted, and the Act needs to be updated to keep pace,” she added.

“We have experienced a huge increase in foreign investment but, at the same time, we have witnessed a spike in foreign agents doing business here, accompanying or meeting someone they know, engaging in property transactions. The law needs to be amended to make this a criminal charge with fixed penalties and fines. I would not dare go to Florida and show someone’s property and expect to earn a commission.

“The only reason people come here to do it is because they can. They can get away with it and make tens of thousands of dollars in a single transaction. All we are asking is that when a foreign agent comes here, he or she works with a local BREA-licensed agency whose associates know the market, the law, the taxes and requirements for closing,” Mrs Wallace-Whitfield said.

“Buying property, especially for someone buying in a foreign country, is not like buying a car or a set of tools.

Local knowledge is critical, and the BREA licensing ensures that our agents are knowledgeable, which protects the reputation of The Bahamas, too.”

With The Bahamas viewed as a safe haven during COVID-19, Mrs Wallace-Whitfield said BREA saw a spike in the number of foreign appraisers also operating illegally.

Under the Act, the only exemptions from using a BREA-licensed agent are a peer-to-peer sale, which is a property owner selling directly to a buyer, or a developer employing a resident agent for the sale of property or a unit in

BREA is aiming to work with government to welcome foreign investment while updating 26-year-old legislation, and closing loopholes that enable foreign sales agents to work in The Bahamas because there are no fines or penalties such the illegal activity. The new board, back row from left: Brian Austin; James Bernard; Mike Lightbourn; Carlyle Campbell. Front row from left: Helen Dupuch, Kim Kikivarakis-Dillett, Sara Callender, treasurer; Christine Wallace-Whitfield, president; June Fife, Kimra Ritchie Sweeting and Tracey Barone. Not pictured are Sally Hutcheson, vice-president; Cara Christie, secretary; Nikki Boeuf and John Constantakis. that development.

According to Mrs Wallace-Whitfield, some of those agents, especially in the Family Islands, are reaching further into surrounding communities along with handling re-sales.

Though both practices are illegal, there are no stated penalties and little enforcement except by the ethics committee reporting to local Immigration officials and

hoping action will follow.

One of only a handful of BREA members to hold the distinction of ‘Realtor’, Mrs Wallace-Whitfield said BREA does not want to discourage foreign investment. “We just want them to play by the same rules that Bahamian developers do,” she added.

While much of BREA’s energy between now and May 2022 will focus on

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protecting licensed agents, the second goal will demand more of them.

“We want to step up our service level, ensure that we are competent in all the technology people depend upon, and we want to create a culture of unmatched customer care,” Mrs Wallace-Whitfield said. “To do

that, we will seek to require more in the way of continuing education to maintain certification and licensing.”

The third goal is one BREA has been pursuing for years – a seat at the table when decisions impacting the real estate industry are being considered.

“They (legislators or

advisors in the AttorneyGeneral’s office) come to us the day before, the day of or the day after,” said Mrs Wallace-Whitfield. “We need a seat at the table when discussions begin, not after decisions are made.

“We are more than 700-strong, hard-working professionals who take our positions seriously and the work we do is a major contributor to the economic engine of The Bahamas.

Our members and our organisation will be treated with respect.”

Working with the president to achieve those goals will be the recently-elected board including Sally Hutcheson, vice-president; Sara Callender, treasurer; Cara Christie, secretary; and directors Brian Austin, Tracey Barone, James Bernard, Nikki Boeuf, Carlyle Campbell, John Constantakis, Kim Kikivarakis-Dillett, Helen Dupuch, June Fife, Mike Lightbourn and Kimra Sweeting.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, August 10, 2021

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BICA president: Tough times increase fraud

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

environment, like what we have with COVID-19, and this would not be specific to The Bahamas but regionally and globally, there’s a tendency - when people aren’t able to make ends meet, they are generally a lot more relaxed in their personal views and values, and their primary concern is to feed their families.”

Mr Gomez and other accountants also predicted an uptick in forensic accounting assignments to track and trace monies siphoned off from the government’s COVID-19 unemployment benefits payments and other such support schemes. A manager at the South Andros

National Insurance Board (NIB) office was last year charged with fraud, along with 14 other individuals, relating to unemployment benefit claims.

Mr Bowe, however, said: “When a control environment is not operating as it typically did because COVID-19 changed a lot of things, and it changed fairly quickly, the change in control environment typically takes time to catch up to those lapses. People can dip into them and take advantage of those lapses. I think this is more of an environment issue more than anything else. It’s not just in our country but it is going on all over the world.”

The BICA chief added that what happened at NIB is “not very surprising”, and said: “When you have a situation like a large-scale disaster, it is the government’s first response to go out and help people, but in the process of helping people a few things may slip through the cracks.

This is an ongoing situation because if it was perfect from day one then no one would get aid.”

Responding to questions about the public procurement weaknesses highlighted in the US Investment Climate Statement on The Bahamas, Mr Bowe said: “Going back for many years, this has been a

bone of contention for the government and has been pointed out by all of the related agencies from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and so on and so forth.

“The government is in the process now of trying to cure this. What I understand is that they do have a process in place, so it’s not fair to say that they don’t.

The question is now how do they go about making it stronger?”

The Ministry of Finance, in response to the US Investment Climate Statement, said the government had already passed procurement legislation in February this year and was

Inspection outsource to cut approval ‘bottleneck’

break to amend the Building Regulations Act and allow for third-party inspections to be conducted by qualified architects and engineers.

Responding to concerns that allowing construction industry professionals to check each other’s work may lead to collusion, Mr Knowles said: “With legislation, just like anywhere else in the world, there has to be a code of ethics that people sign on to.

“The same possibility of collusion in the private sector will be the same possibility for that in the public sector. I think the concerns over industry collusion are a little overblown. I think once a construction professional is granted a license, they are supposed to meet a certain criteria and a certain code of ethics that is clearly indicated and clearly identified within the legislation. If you are found to violate

any of the ethics you can be sued. I think in the private sector there is more risk, so I don’t think it will be that much of a problem.”

Michael Pratt, president of the Bahamian Contractors Association, added: “We have been waiting on this for the past several years. This is something we have been fighting for for quite some time now.”

Referring to a proposal that the joint council of construction industry associations put forward to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in October 2019, in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, Mr Pratt said: “Along with the move towards private sector-led building inspections we have also seen movement on a change to the building codes. They have assigned someone in the Ministry of Works and they are working on upgrading the codes as we speak.”

Ministerial ‘intervention’ call as Morton Salt releases 24

THE Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) president yesterday said tough economic times often result in an increase in fraudulent activity as persons turn to such activities to “make ends meet”.

Diveane Bowe told Tribune Business he does “not feel as strongly” as his colleague, Craig Gomez, regarding real and expected increases in forensic audit activity arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said: “When you have a depressed economic

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net CONSTRUCTION professionals yesterday said that allowing licensed engineers and architects to perform third-party building inspections will help “reduce the bottlenecks in the Ministry of Works”.

Quentin Knowles, the Bahamas Society of Engineers (BSE) president, told Tribune Business that such changes to the Building Regulations Act - which

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would enable third-party building inspections to be outsourced to the private sector - was something the industry has been calling on for years.

Mr Knowles said: “This is something we have been behind several ministers for, because they obviously do have a serious bottleneck down at the Building Control Department. What happens is that sometimes a lack of adequate resources, and this is not due to a lack of talent; it’s just that they don’t have sufficient, qualified inspectors available in the department.”

He was responding after the deputy prime minister and minister for works, Desmond Bannister, said the government plans to go to Parliament when it returns from its summer

FROM PAGE ONE employees were capable of performing. Mr Moultrie, revealing that the redundancies are set to take effect from August 23, 2021, said: “As a result of the prevailing circumstances, particularly those associated with the current plant efficiencies, it is necessary to make the employees redundant as the requirements of Morton Bahamas for employees to carry out the work done by the employees have diminished and are not expected to return for the foreseeable future.

“Further, we are able to confirm that efforts towards reassignment have been made to the greatest extent possible, and that there are currently no other positions within Morton Bahamas which require filling or to which the employees’ experience and skill set would be relevant.

“Outside of the employees, Morton Bahamas does not intend to make any other employees redundant at this time. In accordance with the Employment Act, should Morton Bahamas have cause to recruit employees in roles relevant to the employees within the ensuing 12 months, the employees will enjoy priority in this selection process.”

Those impacted range from maintenance and production supervisors to equipment operators, mechanics, technicians and plant operators. However, Mr Ferguson asserted that Morton Salt had breached the law’s redundancy provisions by failing to write to union president, Jennifer Brown, and give her two weeks’ notice of the terminations.

Asserting that the union president had denied receiving any such letter from the salt harvester, he blasted: “Under the Employment Act, the redundancy provisions in section 26 a) require that the employer notify the union with two weeks’ notice.

“The two weeks’ notice must be in writing to the president. That did not happen. They sent a notice to the minister, but did not send a notice to the union.

The two sides ought to have had a meeting, and go through the process of selecting who was made redundant and when it was to take effect.

“What we’re saying is that the employer, Morton

now moving to implement it by September 1.

Mr Bowe, though, said he had never encountered any issues when participating in past government procurement processes.

He added: “The government even issues a procurement notice now that lets you know something is coming down the pike even before they issue a RFP (Request for Proposal), but this is specifically for the projects my company is involved in and have sought to bid on. I can’t give a broader view other than that. From my perspective, the government seems to follow a defined process of procurement now.”

Salt’s, action is unfair and they ought to be made to deal with this matter under unfair dismissal because they are in breach of section 26 a).”

Mr Ferguson also questioned whether Morton Salt would uphold the 40 weeks’ maximum redundancy payout clause in the two sides’ new industrial agreement despite the Department of Labour’s failure issue the certification of registration even after the changes it recommended were made.

Describing the upcoming redundancy exercise as “very disingenuous”, the TUC chief nevertheless conceded: “We’re not saying the company cannot make employees redundant. The law provides for it, and certain economic situations dictate it. I do not object to it if that is the correct position.

“All we’re saying is that if you’re going to do it, if the situation arises, follow what you agreed to. It [redundancy] is not a major problem. The world has changed, circumstances have changed and if you do it, do it in the correct way.

“If you are going to exercise redundancy and the situation warrants it, you have an Act that says how the process is to be handled in the absence of an industrial agreement. Where you have an industrial agreement you are supposed to comply with it.”

Pointing out that the majority of workers impacted have been with the company for “a very, very long time” of 35 years or more, Mr Ferguson said he was now awaiting instructions from the union president before determining the next move.

“These are the type of matters the department of labour, minister of labour, ought to intervene in because the minister was part of the [industrial agreement] negotiations,” he added. “The minister of labour in some instances presided over these matters and it came to an end.

“The ministry made some recommendations with respect to the law, and the union and company met and agreed to correct the industrial agreement. It was sent on to the ministry and not registered for whatever reason. That requires a ministerial intervention.”

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Tuesday, August 10, 2021, PAGE 5

Water Corp ‘author of own demise’ on supply cut-off FROM PAGE ONE of Justice Charles’ verdict raises serious questions that demand answers from himself, the prime minister, board and executive management at the Water & Sewerage Corporation.

After obtaining an emergency injunction from Justice Charles on October 22, 2020, forcing Aqua Design to restore water supplies, the Water & Sewerage Corporation subsequently filed a summons alleging that it was Aqua Design that “breached its obligations” when it cut-off water supply and threatened to dismantle its reverse osmosis plant “during the peak of the global COVID-19 pandemic”.

The state-owned supplier sought multiple Supreme Court declarations, including that Aqua Design had committed “a repudiatory breach” of their water supply agreement and that it was not entitled to cut-off supply.

It also sought declarations that Aqua Design turn over the reverse osmosis plant to itself and it become the utility’s property, and even if it had failed to make timely payments it was not a default event/material breach of their agreement.

The Water & Sewerage Corporation claimed that Aqua Design had “acted arbitrarily, irrationally and/or unreasonably” in terminating their central Eleuthera agreement, but the company, a subsidiary of SUEZ – Water Technologies & Solutions, stuck to its argument that the break had been done properly and that it needed two months to “demobilise” the plant and remove all its materials and equipment.

Noting that the relationship between the two parties dated back to 2001, Justice Charles said they agreed on August 12, 2012, that Aqua Design would construct a reverse osmosis plant to supply Central Eleuthera.

The deal was due to expire this Friday, August 13, or when 2,190m gallons of water was supplied - whichever milestone was hit first.

The Water & Sewerage Corporation provided only the land for the reverse osmosis plant, but problems in the two sides’ relationship only arose when the state-owned water supplier “refused any direct dialogue with respect to payment of its invoices.

“In or about May 2020, Aqua Design brought it to the attention of Water & Sewerage Corporation that the arrears were growing at a disturbing rate. Water & Sewerage Corporation was unresponsive on the issue of providing a concrete schedule of payments to address the arrears,” Justice Charles wrote.

“On or about August 19, 2020, Aqua Design issued notices of default to six of its plants, including Central Eleuthera,

demanding payment within 30 days... The default for the Central Eleuthera plant was said to be arrears in the amount of $644,010.

“Water & Sewerage Corporation failed to settle the arrears by September 20, 2020, as demanded although during the month of September 2020 it settled arrears with some of the plants excluding the plants at Exuma and Central Eleuthera.”

Aqua Design sent two further letters in late September and early October 2020 to demand payment of the outstanding debts, and warned that if the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s default was “not cured” it would cease water production and dismantle the Central Eleuthera reverse osmosis plant.

“Aqua Design made fruitless efforts to contact those in authority at Water & Sewerage Corporation to address the pressing issue of increasing arrears without meaningful response.

Cognisant of the backlash that the termination of the [agreement] would have on the local communities, Aqua Design wrote to the Prime Minister on September 29, 2020,” Justice Charles wrote.

“Aqua Design received an acknowledgment that a response was forthcoming. By October 9, 2020, no response came from the Prime Minister. Fearing that their demands were being ignored by Water & Sewerage Corporation, Aqua Design notified Water & Sewerage Corporation that, if the default is not cured by October 16, 2020, the [agreement] would be immediately terminated.”

Aqua Design had expected this warning to trigger payment. It spoke with David Davis, permanent secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, that same day who confirmed that it had been received but had been passed on to “the minister” (presumably Desmond Bannister, who holds ministerial responsibility for the Corporation) and Mr Gibson without the prime minister seeing it.

Mr Davis promised that he would inform the Prime Minister over the weekend, and that Aqua Design would hear from the Government on Monday, October 19. Aqua Design wrote to Mr Davis that day, setting out the $644,010 that was owed, but claimed “its efforts to have dialogues with the proper personnel were fruitless”.

It subsequently wrote to Elwood Donaldson, the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s general manager, that same evening to inform him that it was terminating the agreement and ceasing water production. That night it “cut off the supply of water to the residents of Central Eleuthera during the peak of a deadly COVID-19 pandemic”.

It appears that this finally triggered action from the

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that HAROLD CHERENFANT, of East Avenue, Carmichael Road, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 3rd day of August, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that JENIKA ACCEUS, of Opulent Drive, New Providence, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 10th day of August, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

government. “On that same evening, the executive chairman of the Water & Sewerage Corporation made an urgent and direct plea to the Office of the Prime Minister, the minister of finance and the minister of works to provide funding so that Aqua could be paid the arrears,” Justice Charles wrote.

“The letter states that Water & Sewerage Corporation does not have the financial capacity to make the payments demanded by Aqua Design. It is alleged that the prime minister directed the treasurer to transfer the sum of $644,010 to Aqua Design by electronic bank transfer. On the day following the termination of the [agreement] for Central Eleuthera, Aqua was paid the sum of $644,010.”

Water & Sewerage Corporation subsequently persuaded Justice Charles to issue an injunction forcing Aqua Design to maintain water supply. She, however, also ordered that the stateowned utility continue to pay its bills as they come due - something it failed to comply with, as Aqua Design issued another letter on October 26, 2020, alleging that some $516,441 continued to be owed.

The Water & Sewerage Corporation asserted that Aqua Design’s conduct “to cut off the water supply amidst the COVID-19 pandemic was unashamedly disgraceful and the conduct was a serious criminal offence” under relevant Bahamian law, but the company asserted that the non-payment left it with little choice but to terminate their agreement.

Ferron Bethell QC, representing the Water & Sewerage Corporation, argued that the agreement enabled his client “at its

option” to only pay interest to Aqua Design. However, Justice Charles branded this “a preposterous argument” as it would mean that the utility could pay interest-only on the overdue amounts until the contract expired without Aqua Design being able to demand full payment.

Finding that non-payment of Aqua Design’s invoices within 30 days was a default breach of the agreement by the Water & Sewerage Corporation, Justice Charles said “the clarion calls from Aqua Design fell on deaf ears” despite it giving the state-owned utility and the government extra time more than 60 days - to pay.

“Simply put, Aqua Design took the action to cut off the supply of water during a pandemic when the other party had been delinquent in paying its bills. Water & Sewerage Corporation blames the COVID-19 pandemic and argues that Aqua Design should have extended time to the end of the pandemic,” Justice Charles wrote, noting that the government had even threatened to criminally prosecute the company and its employees.

“It is plain that the delinquency of Water & Sewerage Corporation started before COVID-19 and, in any event, Water & Sewerage Corporation has failed to demonstrate any legal basis either in law or in the agreement to bolster its submission that Aqua Design should have extended time to the end of the pandemic......

“Instead, it refused and/ or failed to respond to Aqua Design. It was only after Aqua Design turned off the water supply on the evening of October 19, 2020, that the chairman wrote the Prime Minister, minister of finance and minister of works,”

Justice Charles added.

“It seems to me that if Aqua did not take such a drastic step, the arrears would have continued to burgeon. Aqua has its employees and sub-contractors to pay also. But I believe that Water & Sewerage Corporation’s silence and/or evasiveness in dealing with this issue broke the camel’s back.”

Justice Charles, echoing Luther McDonald, attorney for Aqua Design, questioned why the Water & Sewerage Corporation had failed to behave like an “ordinary citizen” by not discussing how it intended to pay the arrears owed to its supplier.

“In my judgment, Water & Sewerage Corporation was the author of its own demise. Water & Sewerage Corporation could have cured the default with reasonable diligence,” Justice Charles wrote.

“Mr McDonald argues that Water & Sewerage Corporation cannot be heard to speak of reduced cash flow, and that it had to wait on the government for assistance. He correctly maintains that nowhere in the agreement is the liability of Water & Sewerage Corporation to pay made subject to its cash flow or to it receiving help from the government.

“Even as the parties awaited the delivery of this judgment, Water & Sewerage Corporation continues to be delinquent necessitating Aqua Design to file a Notice of Motion on April 8, 2021, seeking payment of arrears. On 15 April 2021, the Court ordered that Water & Sewerage Corporation shall pay the sum of $454,195 on or before April 21, 2021,” Justice Charles added, noting that it was paid.

“While I am fully cognisant of the financial strains

PUBLIC NOTICE

that COVID-19 and, prior to that, Hurricane Dorian, have caused to this fragile economy, priority must be given to an essential commodity, such as water, even if consumers are not paying their bills on time. In fact, many of us may be delinquent in paying our bills or loan repayments as they fall due, but we sit down with the lender and enter into some form of settlement discussion.”

Despite the $644,010 payment by the government on October 20, Aqua Design continued to be owed $516,441 relating to its July-September 2020 invoices.

Aqua Design was concerned debts owed for all its Bahamas plants were “ballooning”, and Mr McDonald asserted: “In a pique of moral selfrighteousness, Water & Sewerage Corporation now turns around and says that the plant is their property.”

Justice Charles ruled that Aqua Design was entitled to remove all its materials and equipment at the plant, while leaving it in a neat and clean condition. The Water & Sewerage Corporation is only entitled to what is left behind.

“There is no legal basis to prevent Aqua Design from switching off its supply of water if the arrears are not paid within a reasonable timeframe,” she added. “There is also no legal basis for Aqua Design to give Water & Sewerage Corporation sufficient time to secure another supplier.

Communication is key to a healthy relationship. Communication cannot be a one-way street.”

Still, Justice Charles has stayed execution of her judgment until September 10, 2021, at the request of attorneys for both sides as they seek to work out their differences.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, MARINA CURLINA PLASCEL of Curtis Road, Gambier Village, P.O. Box SP-61792, New Providence, Bahamas intends to change my name to MARINA CURLINA DEAN. 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, N.P., Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

The Public is hereby advised that I, KESNEIL DELROY DEAN of Freeport, Grand Bahama intend to change my name to KESNEIL DELROY CULMER . If there are any objections to this change of name

by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

MONDAY, 9 AUGUST 2021

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:

CLOSE

CHANGE

1978.09

-1.60

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

-0.08 -114.37

-5.47

(242) 323-2330 (242) 323-2320

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 6.50 33.95 1.62 2.90 1.67 6.00 7.00 3.60 6.01 3.80 6.16 12.00 2.71 7.76 10.71 9.55 14.31 4.10 8.85 16.00

52WK LOW 3.40 22.65 1.46 1.62 1.35 5.00 6.00 2.80 4.25 2.47 5.00 9.75 2.10 5.30 9.50 8.35 13.00 3.42 8.00 15.20

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

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 RF Bank & Trust (Bahamas) Limited Focol Finco J. S. Johnson

SYMBOL AML APD BBL BFH BOB BPF BWL CAB CBB CBL CHL CIB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FCL FIN JSJ

Bahamas First Holdings Preference Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Bahamas Class A Focol Class B

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 104.00 100.49 100.95 100.53 100.30 100.62 100.70

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.25 100.00 100.95 100.29 100.05 100.62 100.46

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

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

CLOSE 6.50 39.95 1.60 2.51 1.35 6.00 6.97 3.25 5.99 2.74 5.95 9.80 2.51 7.75 11.41 9.55 14.00 3.99 8.35 15.50

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 (0.10) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGRS710237 BSBGRS880378 BSBGRS630211 BSBGRS700238 BSBGRS700246 BSBGRS770249 BSBGRS790262

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.03 100.19 100.27 100.05 100.62 100.72

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.03 100.19 100.27 100.05 100.62 100.72

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

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 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 BGRS71023 BGRS FL BGRS88037 BGRS FL BGRS63021 BGRS FL BGRS70023 BGRS FL BGRS70024 BGRS FL BGRS77024 BGRS FL BGRS79026

LAST CLOSE 6.50 39.95 1.60 2.61 1.35 6.00 6.97 3.25 5.99 2.74 5.95 9.80 2.51 7.75 11.38 9.55 14.00 3.99 8.35 15.50

VOLUME 100 6,480

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 0.000 0.110 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 0.000 0.000

VOLUME

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.020 0.030 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 0.000 0.000

P/E 27.2 42.9 N/M N/M N/M N/M 18.9 -7.4 42.8 14.9 13.3 13.6 24.6 16.6 17.7 13.1 17.2 19.7 8.9 24.6

YIELD 2.62% 3.15% 1.25% 1.20% 0.00% 0.00% 3.73% 0.00% 0.00% 4.38% 3.70% 7.35% 17.29% 0.77% 2.87% 2.51% 3.86% 3.01% 2.40% 3.94%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 4.53% 4.42% 4.81% 4.53% 4.56% 4.50% 4.53%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 22-Oct-2023 26-Jul-2037 12-Dec-2021 29-Jul-2023 29-Jul-2024 4-May-2024 28-Mar-2026

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.43 4.47 2.17 202.18 190.86 1.70 1.81 1.78 1.07 8.75 10.46 7.40 15.99 12.72 10.39 10.00 10.43 14.89

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.67 1.73 1.75 1.03 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

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 Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.43 4.47 2.17 202.18 190.86 1.70 1.76 1.77 1.04 8.75 10.46 7.40 15.99 12.72 10.39 N/A 10.43 14.89

YTD% 12 MTH% 1.85% 4.26% 0.77% 1.44% 1.14% 2.84% 0.14% 5.02% 3.25% 31.13% 1.37% 1.52% -2.05% -2.21% 0.36% 0.76% -1.28% -2.30% 3.13% 5.76% 4.29% 7.07% 1.70% 3.85% 14.99% 38.64% -1.20% -0.36% 3.43% 0.76% N/A N/A 3.00% 25.60% 7.90% 48.70%

NAV Date 31-May-2021 31-May-2021 28-May-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2021 30-Jun-2021 30-Jun-2021 30-Jun-2021 30-Jun-2021 30-Jun-2021 30-Jun-2021 30-Jun-2021 30-Jun-2021 30-Jun-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021

MARKET TERMS 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

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

PAGE 6, Tuesday, August 10, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Bahamas First severs Colina General tie-up FROM PAGE ONE However, multiple sources said the manner of Colina’s re-entry into property and casualty underwriting had caused some disquiet within certain segments of the Bahamian insurance market. One confirmed: “Colina is in the general insurance business.

The have an insurance company that is licensed by the Insurance Commission.

“They already had the agency, and now they have formed an insurance company that was licensed six months ago and started to trade three months ago.

Colina, the agency, did business with three other insurance companies in The Bahamas. One of those companies has issued a termination of agency notice, while at least one other is contemplating doing the same thing.

“The reason is that they’re not going to allow Colina to cherry pick business from their insurance companies and give them the scraps.” The source said they were not opposed to the extra competition that Colina will provide, but suggested its market entry could have been handled better by informing the likes of Bahamas First in

advance and pledging to keep the existing book of business with those carriers.

Tribune Business understands that Security & General and Guardian General are the two other underwriters that Colina General writes business for. “It wouldn’t surprise me if all those entities are not considering the same kind of response as Bahamas First,” another contact added. “They’ll have to make their minds up.”

This newspaper was told that Colina’s property and casualty underwriting ambitions have now come “full circle”. It entered the market in 2002-2003, but

NAD plans $28 private aviation passenger fee FROM PAGE ONE private aircraft from international destinations.

The new fee is consistent with NAD’s agreement to manage LPIA and determine fees and charges.”

NAD added: “LPIA typically has a mix of both commercial traffic (approximately 60 percent of landings) and general aviation or private aircraft traffic (approximately 40 percent of landings) operating from the airport.

“Notwithstanding the significant percentage of general aviation landings, revenue attributable to all general aviation operations at the airport accounted for an average of only 11 percent of total aeronautical revenue respectively in financial year 2018, 2019 and 2020 (excluding NAD’s passenger facilities charge).

“General aviation’s average contribution inclusive of the passenger facility charge was 3.29 percent for financial year 2018, 2019 and 2020,” the airport operator added. “The majority of

LPIA aeronautical revenue comes from commercial passenger fees (61 percent) and commercial landing fees (24 percent).

“Presently, no passenger fees are assessed to general aviation (non-commercial) passengers. Passenger fees typically go toward capital and other airport improvements and to support the airport’s debt service obligations.

“With the implementation of a general aviation airport improvement fee, general aviation operations will begin to contribute a fairer share of the revenue required for the capital improvements, maintenance and debt servicing of the airport.”

Basing its fee benchmarking exercise on a 10-seat Piper Aztec Navajo

PA31, which it said is a common visitor to most airports, NAD said: “LPIA has charges comparable to two New York area airports, but US airports generally have low landing fees, in part due to subsidisation from the FAA’s Airport Improvement Programme and some state programmes. LPIA receives no subsidisation from the government.”

Turning to how the fee income generated will be used, NAD added: “The proposed AIF fee will be used to assist the funding of planned investments at the airport. At this time, it is anticipated that some $30m will need to be invested in airside infrastructure improvements inclusive of pavement surfaces and lighting among other needs.

was forced to exit some years later after its strategy of undercutting all competitors on premium pricing, and underpricing risk, was exposed by the explosion at the late attorney, Colin Callender’s, Lyford Cay home and several other high-profile, costly claims.

It ultimately ended up exiting by selling the book of business it possessed then to, ironically, Bahamas First.

“Hopefully they’ve learned from their mistakes,” one source said on condition of anonymity. Another added: “They closed with big losses. We knew at some point they would do this and come

back into general insurance; it was only a matter of time before they said: ‘We’re going to take that premium back’.

“The question is what is fundamentally different from when they were in it before? Is it going to be riskier, undercutting, taking more risk and hoping to make up? We’re not surprised.”

Meanwhile, Tribune Business was also informed that concerns are being raised in the insurance industry as to whether Colina’s move violates section 22 of the Insurance Act, which stipulates that “no company may be registered to carry

on both long-term (life and health) and general insurance business at the same time”.

While Colina is likely to argue that Indigo is a separate company from its life and health business, this newspaper understands queries and concerns are likely to be raised with the Insurance Commission.

“It’s always been the regulator’s opinion that the two should be kept very far apart,” one source added.

“If Colina is allowed to do this, not only do they have a general insurance agency but an insurance company and life and health insurer.”

“Asphalt has a life of 20 years and as such fees implemented should cover these capital costs in part over that period. The increase in general aviation revenues is meant to fund needed major construction projects to better serve general aviation passengers and reduce their delay impact on commercial flights and passengers.”

The airport operator continues: “Management continues to take steps to meet NAD’s operating and required capital expenditure programmes, fund debt service requirements and comply with financial covenants as The Bahamas recovers from the current pandemic.

“The new fee allows general aviation to contribute more fairly towards NAD’s maintenance of a strong financial position. Further, the fee will help NAD meet its debt service and financial covenant obligations, and for NAD to fund important regulatory, security, maintenance and capital projects to ensure efficient and safe airport operations.”

NAD is aiming to implement the new fee on February 1, 2022, once it is approved by the Airport Authority and gone through consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

Pearl Island happy to have ‘survived’

“So we now have to clean and service our equipment so we can provide quality tours. We have boats and motorcycles that we need to constantly keep running or the salt will eat up everything alive, and when you are not using all of tour technical equipment for 15 months with no business, everything falls apart, so our renovation costs were tremendous.”

Despite these challenges, Mr Rebmann said he is “glad to be in business” and happy to have “survived”. He added: “With cruise ship guests you need to be 100 percent perfect because it is a different level of business we have with them, but we are ready for this Thursday.”

FROM PAGE ONE

too, with some coming two days earlier. They are looking for tours in Nassau, so we also got quite a lot of people from the cruise lines which now have Nassau as a home port.”

Still, Mr Rebmann lamented: “Due to the amount of time we have been closed the salt water has affected all of our equipment, and the costs are still mounting despite having no revenue coming in.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

10 eXTRA Tuesday, August 10, 2021, PAGE 7 FIelD 11 DX1ST GeARS 12 mOUSe peepS 13 pOINT DX1ST 15 ROUTe SHeeR 18 F I E L D SUGAR 2 The Sunshine Puzzle has been a firm favourite with readers of the Express for many FOR YOUR CHANCe TO WIN £100 CASH read down the lette TeNSe ANSWeRS years. all you need to do is find the correct home for the listed words. We have 2 1 2 ACROSS The Sunshine Puzzle has been a firm with readers 1of the Expressbridge for many 2 FORM YOUR U STO WIN E £100 CA eAGeRl Y favourite helped you by placing two. Here are the words that go into the grid: European – one beside a OCHANCe 2 years. all you need to do eNDleSS is find the correct home for the listed words.

We have ACROSS road (8) ASIDe helped you by placing two. Here are the words that go into the grid: 1 European bridge – one beside a HeAveNS 5 First of students is without loose road (8) ASIDe JUDGE PARKER CARPE DIEM 10 is without loose2 eveNT HeRSelF trousers (6) 5 First of students eveNT pACkAGe 10 Plant thief cries out to begintrousers (6) eXTRA 2 10 Plant thief cries out to begin eXTRA ReADeRS with (2,3,5,5) with (2,3,5,5) FIelD FIelD SUSpeCT 11 Ring about Georgia getting 11 no Ring about Georgia getting no 11 GeARS herb (7) GeARS ABUNDANCe herb (7) 12 Distinguished men, ten, I mOUSe D AmUSemeNT 12 Distinguished men, ten, I mOUSe confused (7) 1 peepS confused (7) ATTITUDeS 13 Returning volunteers, looked 2 peepS pOINT 13 Returning volunteers, lookedafter, were there (8) ClASSROOm 15 Prayer before meal13provided by 3 ROUTe pOINT after, were there (8) DeTeRmINe For today’s solution call: 0907 181 woman (5) 2584 4 SHeeR provided by *Calls cost15 80p Prayer per minutebefore plus yourmeal telephone company’s network access eleCTRONS 18 Left by one Conservative, it’s 17 charge.

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THE TRIBUNE

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8

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18 Respect I possibly show those that have paid (8) 19 Water rate? (4) 20 Wicked impulse that makes men do havoc (5) 21 Put off by act that included a song (7)

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution

urbanity (10)

20

Call 0907 181 258616 for today’s Target solution

*Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network 19 access charge. All puzzles use The Chambers Dictionary 21

11 In vulgar fashion usually (8) 12 Stopped work and went to bed (7) 14 Revised point I’d raised with Edward (6) 16 Recorded like scores of orchestral pieces (5) 17 The lowest sort of people but always found at the top (4)

EASY PUZZLE

15 Commanding individual with important role to play (7,3)

pent petal pile pill pine pineal pint pinta plain plaint plait plan plane planet plant plat plate platen plea 11 pleat pliant 13 TAIlplANe taipan tape 14

Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Across: 1 Come to grips, 9 Nominal, 10 Vesta, 11 Echo, 12 Lacerate, 14 Rector, 16 Defect, 18 Go astern, 19 Foot, 22 Token, 23 Jobless, 24 Personality.

Across: 1 Smart cookie, 9 Notable,

Down: 2 Oomph, 3 Erne, 4 Oilman, 5 Reviewed, 6 Passage, 7 Interrogate, 8 Taken to task, 13 Fortunes, 15 Crackle, 17 Trojan, 20 Overt, 21 Abel.

Down: 2 Muted, 3 Ruby, 4 Clever,

10 Sepia, 11 Bode, 12 Set aside, 14 Nippon, 16 Clutch, 18 Aversion, 19 Epic, 22 China, 23 Ransack, 24 Breadwinner.

5 Obstacle, 6 Imprint, 7 In abundance, 8 Take the cake, 13 Moussaka, 15 Premier, 17 Sorrow, 20 Plane, 21 Anon.

Across 1 Concise biographical sketch (7)

Down 1 Vertical (5) 2 A few (3,2,3)

4 Drive forward (5)

3 Release from a liability (6)

7 Accustomed (4)

4 Solvent (2,3,5)

8 Neighbouring (4-4)

5 Put into common fund (4)

10 Hawk, for example (4,2,4) 12 Thick rope (6) 13 Dismal (6)

6 Theft (7) 9 Approximately (4,2,4)

15 Burst out from concealment (5,5)

11 Memento (8)

18 Game of chance (8)

14 Good-humoured teasing (6)

19 Warm and comfortable (4) 20 Money resources (5) 21 Setback (7)

12 Monotonous (7)

16 Unprincipled person (5) 17 Large marine food fish (4)

S T U V W X Y Z

36

35

4

25

18

8

30

24

13

33

20

34

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27

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32

14

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12

11

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29

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5

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31

11

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2

3

4

5

6

7

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9

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PAGE 8, Tuesday, August 10, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

WOMEN GIVE ADVICE TO NEW BREASTFEEDING MOMS

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net THE benefits of breastfeeding have been widely shared and publicised accepted by researchers and mothers alike around the world.

And as August is National Breastfeeding Month, new mothers will now have resources available to them from which they are seek information about breastfeeding and why it is considered so important for your child.

However, even equipped with the best information, some women still struggle when it comes to breastfeeding their newborn, whether it’s first, their second or

even third time around.

New mothers often don’t know what to really expect when it comes to the practicality of breastfeeding during day-to-day life, even though they may have some knowledge.

To help those first-time mothers, women who have been down that road before, are sharing their advice as to how to best navigate the waters.

Breast milk is said to be the best option for babies as it contains the right balance of nutrients.

Breast milk is also easier than commercial formula for babies to digest, and the antibodies in breast milk boost an infant’s immune system.

But sometimes doing what is best is not the

easiest thing.

Bethany, a mother of two, said knowledge is power and overcoming discouragement will help a new mother with the “stickability” that is necessary for breastfeeding.

“Learn all you can about breastfeeding and why it is important. When you have this knowledge, you have more reason to stick it through, because sometimes it will get annoying and you will want to, at times, quit. But if you know what the breast milk does for your baby it will give you more reason to stick it out,” she said.

WebMD medical experts, the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Obstetricians and

Gynaecologists all strongly recommend breastfeeding exclusively (no formula, juice, or water) for six months, if possible. After the introduction of other foods, they recommend continuing to breastfeed through the baby’s first year of life.

“A baby’s thirst and hunger are just like ours.

Sometimes a baby will go to the breast for a quick drink, or a snack, or a full meal,” said mother-of-two Belinda.

“How often you feed the baby depends on them and their appetite. So learn your baby and wait for them to show you their pattern.”

Lauren was not fully successful when it came to her breastfeeding journey with her first two children,

however, she said she was able to get it right the third time around.

“My last child breastfed up until age three,” she said.

“However, it was not easy with my first two kids because I was a working mother. I was not always there to feed my babies or to pump to leave breast milk. So I turned to baby formulas, and I beat myself up about it. But I had to tell myself, ‘You are a good mom. You are already doing what’s best for your baby, so don’t beat yourself up when it’s hard.’ My advice is this: It will be challenging, but it gets easier.”

Melissa encourages new mothers not to compare themselves to other women because no one’s journey

will ever be the same.

“This is a very unique journey and any advice that I give is based on my personal experience. But I know comparing yourself to other mothers and what they do when it comes to breastfeeding and feeling down about the job you are doing is not good. Do what is best for your baby, you and your life,” she told Tribune Health.

The one thought that kept Crystal going was knowing that breastfeeding will not last forever.

“This too shall pass. Baby teething, being fussy, constantly nursing? It will pass.

Baby has a cold and can’t nurse as well? It will pass.

Nipples sore from a growth spurt? It will pass. Nothing is forever,” she said.

tend to be more intense with virtual reality and augmented reality.

VR refers to technology that entirely blocks your view of the real world and replaces it with an immersive, artificial environment.

It’s widely commercially available through popular gaming platforms like Facebook’s Oculus devices and Sony PlayStation VR. VR can result in severe levels of nausea that increase with duration of use. This can make certain applications and games unusable for many individuals.

AR, on the other hand, overlays a simulated environment onto the real world. These could include head-mounted devices that still allow you to see what’s in front of you or something like Pokémon Go on your phone or tablet. AR tends toward more severe oculomotor strain.

Even if you haven’t used VR or AR devices before, chances are you will within the next 10 years. A rise in the popularity of AR and VR use will likely trigger a rise in cybersickness symptoms. Market research firm Research and Markets estimates that adoption of these technologies for work, education and entertainment may grow over 60 percent and reach over $900 billion by 2027.

like severe headache, eye strain or dizziness could affect your coordination and attention. If these side effects persist while you’re operating a vehicle, it could lead to a car accident. It’s unclear whether the user, software company or some other party would be responsible for injuries potentially caused by device use and cybersickness symptoms.

Not much is currently known about how chronic cybersickness affects daily life. Just as there is extreme variability on who is more prone to motion sickness, with some up to 10,000 times more at risk, some people may be more prone to cybersickness than others. Evidence suggests that women, those who don’t play video games often and people with poor balance may experience more severe cybersickness.

Dealing with cybersickness symptoms If you are struggling with cybersickness symptoms because you’re using your computer or phone for longer periods, there are ways to help relieve the discomfort. Blue light glasses are designed to block out some of the blue light waves emitted by your device screen that can lead to eye strain and sleep irregularities. Zooming in on a screen or using larger font sizes may also help reduce eye strain and make daily work more sustainable.

SCREENTIME CAN MAKE YOU FEEL SICK – HERE ARE WAYS TO MANAGE CYBERSICKNESS

By ANGELICA JASPER PhD Candidate in Human Computer Interaction, Iowa State University DO you ever feel like the light of your computer screen is burrowing into your eyes and making your head pulse? Or feel dizzy or nauseous after looking at your phone? While you might think these sensations are just eye strain or fatigue from looking at your screen for too long, they’re actually symptoms of a condition called cybersickness.

These issues may seem like a necessary evil with the rise of work from home, remote learning and days spent endlessly scrolling online. But I can assure you as a researcher in human computer interaction specialising in cybersickness that there are ways to anticipate and avoid feeling sick from your screens.

What is cybersickness?

Cybersickness refers to a cluster of symptoms that occur in the absence of physical motion, similar to motion sickness. These symptoms fall into three categories: nausea, oculomotor issues and general disorientation. Oculomotor symptoms, like eye strain, fatigue and headaches, involve overworking the nerve that controls eye movement. Disorientation can manifest as dizziness and vertigo. And several cybersickness symptoms, such as difficulty concentrating and blurred vision, overlap categories. These

issues can persist for hours and affect sleep quality.

People can experience symptoms of cybersickness through everyday devices like computers, phones and TV. For instance, Apple released a parallax effect on iPhone lock screens in 2013 that made the background image seem like it floated or shifted when a user moved their phone around, which many people found extremely uncomfortable. As it turns out, this was because it triggered cybersickness symptoms.

Parallax scrolling on websites, where a background image remains static while foreground content moves as you scroll, can also elicit these symptoms.

The parallax effect, commonly deployed in many websites and games to give an illusion of depth, can lead to cybersickness symptoms.

There isn’t total agreement among researchers about why people experience cybersickness. One prevailing idea, sensory conflict theory, hypothesises that it’s from a mismatch of information perceived by the parts of the body that regulate vision and balance.

Your eyes receive information that tells them you’re moving even though your body isn’t. Everyday technology design can trigger this conflict between visual perception and physical experience.

Cybersickness in virtual and augmented reality Cybersickness symptoms

Cybersickness symptoms could be dangerous While cybersickness symptoms may initially appear benign, they can have enduring effects lasting up to 24 hours after device use. This may not seem like a big deal at first.

But these lingering symptoms could affect your ability to function in ways that could prove dangerous.

For instance, symptoms

• This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.

Read the original article here: https:// theconversation.com

THE TRIBUNE

Does pain have you afraid to urinate?

THE COVID-19 pandemic has a lot of people in our community working from home and this has afforded many of us the opportunity to become more aware of our daily bathroom habits.

A hectic life in the workplace in the past often distracted most of us from taking note of how often we had to urinate in a given day. There are many unfortunate individuals that no matter their surroundings or circumstances, they are very aware of every time they have to urinate because sadly it just hurts so very much. Are you afraid to pee because of the pain of urination?

Many men and women are unfortunately plagued by recurrent episodes of painful urination called dysuria.

There is a prevalent misconception that a urinary tract infection is always the cause of every occurrence of pain upon urination.

Patients often take courses of antibiotics with no resolution of symptoms.

There are many causes of dysuria that are not related to an infection.

There is tremendous bacterial resistance in the community against many commonly prescribed antibiotics for urinary tract infections (UTIs).

The fluoroquinolone antibiotic class, such as Ciprofloxacin has as high as a 35 percent resistance rate against the common E. coli urinary tract bacteria. Ampicillin has about a 55 percent resistance rate against E. coli bacteria in many scientific studies.

Ciprofloxacin and Ampicillin are two of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics given empirically for urinary tract infections and in many cases the urinary tract infections are inadequately treated due to high bacterial resistance rates.

Two antibiotics that have low bacterial resistance rates for most urinary tract infections are Nitrofuratoin and Fosfomycin.

But the world is running out of reliable antibiotics and the indiscriminate use of these two antibiotics could eventually lead to increased resistance in the community for both these drugs.

Urinary tract infection management should involve collecting a mid-stream urine culture sample that is sent to a microbiology lab to determine the antibiotic sensitivity and resistance profile of the bacteria present in the urine.

Urine lab cultures are not a perfect tool, as studies have shown that about 20 percent of negative urine cultures that show no bacteria being present in the urine, are actually cases of false negative results.

Bacterial DNA testing of sterile negative urine cultures have shown to actually be positive for bacteria in about one in five cases.

Although urine culture tests are not perfect, it is a necessary test to try and avoid the overuse of antibiotics for query urinary tract infections.

Other potential causes of painful urination include: 1. Sexually transmitted diseases

STIs such as chlamydia, gonor- urination and painful bladder and rhea and syphilis can infect the the course is not infective. urinary tract system and lead to Fortunately, interstitial cystitis painful urination. Discharge may is not a common disorder. be an accompanying symptom in 6. Referred pain both men and women.

Pain can originate elsewhere A STI requires treatment of and be referred, leading to pain the patient and all sexual in the urethra of painful contacts.

‘The world urination.

2. Urethral stricture Kidney or ureter stones A scarring within the is running can lead to dysuria, as can urethra can lead to pain- out of ovarian cysts in women. ful urination. There is reliable 7. Vaginal tears often a reduced strength In women, particularly in the urinary stream and antibiotics.’ postmenopausal women usually increased uriwith decreased vaginal nary urgency and frequency, with lubrication, vaginal microtears incomplete bladder emptying. during sexual intercourse can Urethral strictures may result cause discomfort during urination. from a sexually transmitted disThe urethra of a woman is very ease, or it may be the result of short and anatomically there is a trauma, which might be secondary short distance between the anus, to a previous urethral catheter or with numerous normal bacterial pelvic bone fractures. flora, and the vagina.

3. Urethral syndrome Sadly, many women suffer Inflammation and irritation recurrent dysuria post-intercourse of the urethra that is not related and urinary tract infections and to an infection, can lead to pain vaginal microtears are a potential within the urethra and pain- cause, as is urinary tract infection ful urination. Irritants such as caused by bacteria transferred spermicides, douches, bubble from the region of the anus into baths, scented sanitary napkins, the vagina. prior radiation or chemotherapy, 8. Pelvic inflammatory disorder amongst others can lead to urePID starts with an infection in thral syndrome. the vagina or cervix that ascends 4. Infection of the prostate into the uterus, fallopian tubes or In men, an infection of the pros- ovaries. tate can lead to painful urination Symptoms may include painand often discomfort in the peri- ful urination urethral pain, pelvic neum, pain after ejaculation and and abdominal pain, possible sometimes pain within the pelvis fever and chills, abnormal vagiwith increased urinary urgency nal discharge and painful sexual and frequency. intercourse.

5. Interstitial cystitis The causes of painful urination Is also referred to as painful are numerous. bladder syndrome. It is often a Many men and women wrongly diagnosis of exclusion, but the assume that each episode of painhallmark of the condition is no ful urination is a urinary tract bacteria found in the urine. infection, although a urinary tract Men and women with intersti- infection should be investigated tial cystitis are quite commonly as a cause. treated with recurrent antibiUrinary tract infections are otic courses because of painful often inadequately treated as

Tuesday, August 10, 2021, PAGE 9

commonly prescribed antibiotics fail to eradicate resistant bacteria.

Recurrent episodes of painful urination should be investigated by a urologist so that the cause can be determined, and the appropriate management can be employed.

If a urinary tract infection is the cause of recurrent dysuria, then a functional or anatomical abnormality must be ruled out as the precipitating cause of the urinary tract infection.

An obstructive prostate or urethral stricture could lead to incomplete bladder emptying and recurrent urinary tract infections in men and uterine fibroids could cause extrinsic compression on the bladder in women and also lead to incomplete bladder emptying and recurrent urinary tract infections.

Poorly controlled diabetics or undiagnosed diabetics can lead to the development of a neuropathic bladder with impaired nerve function of the bladder so that the bladder is never emptied completely and those afflicted often have large residual urine volumes in their bladder, whereby bacteria often proliferate.

Seek compassionate, comprehensive and compassionate urological care for any urinary disorder include painful urination.

• Dr Greggory Pinto is a boardcertified Bahamian urologist and laparoscopic surgeon. He has trained in Germany, South Africa and France, and is a member of the European Association of Urology. He can be contacted at OakTree Medical Center, #2 Fifth Terrace & Mount Royal Avenue.

Telephone: (242) 322-1145 (6) (7); e-mail: welcome@urologycarebahamas.com, or visit the website:www.urologycarebahamas.com.

Wellness in the workplace

By HANNAH FOSTERMIDDLETON, BSC (HONS) Physiotherapy, MCSP, SRP Genesis Physiotherapy

MY LAST column was about how important good posture is for our mobility and the avoidance of aches, pains, and even permanent damage to our skeletal system. Following up on that, I want to share a conversation I had with the ergonomist Estella Thompson.

For those of you not familiar with the word, it is used to describe a professional who studies, designs, and evaluates human work systems with the goal of optimising the performance and safety of those systems. Basically, how we sit, stand, use a computer or any other piece of equipment in our work.

These days, the workplace can be in a traditional office or a home office, as many more of us were forced to disrupt our normal working lives by the pandemic restrictions.

So, workplace ergonomics is the science of designing the workplace, keeping in mind the capabilities and limitations of the worker. The process of ergonomic

improvement in the workplace became apparent that this would removes risk factors that can lead be a long-term arrangement. to musculoskeletal injuries and So, if you have not yet abanallows for improved human per- doned your sofa or kitchen chair formance and productivity. If you as a make-shift workstation, there feel and are comfortable physi- is no time like the present to do cally, whether sitting or standing, it to prevent injuries and improve this automatically your productivity allows you to be more ‘Having a through good ergonomproductive. ics. Having the correct In a traditional office comfortable posture whether sitting environment where we working or standing at a workhave all the standard environment station, even if it is one office equipment in an created in your home, appropriate space, i.e. allows us to will help you avoid eye desk, chair, computer enjoy and strain, head, back and and so on, it is easier produce other aches as you and to set up properly. If your spine will be in we are working from a effectively.’ as natural a position as home office, that may possible.

Remember be a different story altogether. your adjustable chair, your moniWe may have had to urgently tor stands riser, your keyboard, find and transform a space for and mouse from the office? All ourselves to work in or for our of those helped you achieve good children to home school. At first, posture when used correctly. we thought remote working and With ergonomic-friendly tools, learning would be a short-lived we can prevent muscuarrangement, but it soon loskeletal disorders that can affect the lower back, neck, WHEN working shoulders, elbows, from home for forearms, hands extended periods and wrists. of time, be aware Although many of your posture. companies sent the majority of their employees to work remotely with laptops, these devices are not made for you to spend long hours on. As practical as they are in some ways, without a good setting, they are adding pressure to the body, especially the back and neck. Setting up a designated workspace will help you avoid injuries. You may not have the money to equip yourself with office items right away, but there are set-up solutions you can employ without breaking the bank. Find a suitable chair that allows you to sit straight, your

spine supported by the back and your hips slightly higher than your knees, feet planted firmly on the floor. Use a table or a desk at the correct height for your laptop or computer to be at eye level and which allows your arms to be at right angles to the body and your wrists aligned with the tabletop.

There you are - ready to work as usual!

Ergonomics also impacts your mental health. Having a comfortable working environment allows us to enjoy and produce effectively. It is all too easy to get distracted or distressed as working from home in these difficult times means learning to handle the many different demands from our families. It is important to establish a quiet space for work and to treat it as if you were still actually leaving to go to a workplace. This means, set yourself a work-day routine, with work hours. You are not on duty 24/7, so develop healthy habits - time for work and time for family or recreation. The e-mails will still be there in the morning, just as they were when you got to the office. Be safe, be healthy and be happy at home and at work!

• For questions and comments, call Hannah Foster-Middleton at 356 4806, e-mail genesisphysiotherapy@gmail.com, or visit www.physiotherapybahamas.com.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PAGE 10, Tuesday, August 10, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

‘Instagram therapy’ and how women use social media for mental health support, solidarity

By FANNY GRAVELPATRY PhD candidate and public scholar, communication studies, Concordia University WOMEN make up the majority of people living with mood disorders in Canada. However, treatments and resources that are adapted to their needs are still lacking. Looking for ways to feel better, many women are turning to social media platforms like Instagram.

To make sense of the phenomenon called “Instagram therapy”, I interviewed more than 20 women in 2020 who use Instagram for mental health care. I found that women turn to the image-sharing platform to counter the lack of available resources.

Instagram allows them to tackle issues related to their gender identity, connect to others with similar experiences and, ultimately, feel less alone.

Even though awareness about mental health has increased, especially during the pandemic, gender-based stigmas, biases and expectations continue to affect women’s well-being at a growing rate.

Hysterical histories These issues date back to 19th-century psychiatry.

Women were portrayed as hysterical or “crazy,” and over-represented among the mentally ill, entertaining the idea that insanity is inherent to women’s nature.

Consequently, women are not only more susceptible to being labelled as mad, but traditional psychology also tends to generalise their experiences, not taking into consideration that gender is lived differently depending on race, sexual identity and other social determinants.

Today, even though years of research have challenged the association between women and madness, gender norms continue to affect women’s well-being and accessibility to adequate care.

Validation and community For the women I interviewed, Instagram acts as a tool to tackle these norms as well as seek validation and community.

While Instagram therapy has been called out as dangerous, my research reveals that Instagram actually helps women progress in their recovery because they can access information and make connections that are not possible otherwise.

Cécile, a philosophy student, decided to seek help for her eating disorder right before the pandemic. When the lockdown started, she recalls her Instagram feed being full of memes about weight gain during quarantine, something

that was particularly triggering. Instead of leaving Instagram, one of the few places where she could still connect with people, she decided to start following hashtags like #bodypositivemovement and share her recovery journey in her Instagram stories.

Cécile uses her stories to change the conversation around dieting and add links to existing resources.

For her, doing this work really “helps women to feel less alone, it creates a feeling of solidarity.” Émilie, a biracial woman living with generalised anxiety, doesn’t share her personal journey on Instagram, but actively uses the content of accounts such as @browngirltherapy and @letterstoblackwomen in her recovery process. Her mental health, she tells me during our interview, cannot be dissociated from the everyday racism she experiences as a Black woman — the content she follows on Instagram allows her to address this dimension.

“It provides validation for things that are not necessarily addressed in therapy or that I feel I can’t talk about with the people around me.”

For example, it is thanks to these accounts that Émilie became aware of many micro-aggressions she was experiencing but didn’t know had an effect on her well-being.

illness and social media are coupled together.

Indeed, social media researchers have demonstrated that Instagram can be empowering, but also harmful in perpetuating unrealistic gender expectations.

Instagram’s algorithm structures our networked interactions in ways that push forward certain content and shadow others, encouraging standardised definitions of femininity and self care to endure.

For example, Instagram promotes aesthetically pleasing models of recovery such as bubble baths and scented candles that continue to put the responsibility of wellbeing in the hands of women instead of social infrastructures.

Women are therefore not only compelled to use Instagram to address the lack of mental health resources, but also for the self-realisation, empowerment and transformation that it promises.

Challenging the gender gap But to think that Instagram could challenge the gender gap in mental health is not what automatically comes to mind when mental

Reframing the conversation But however diverse social media’s impact on mental health can be, my

participants’ stories shed light on the necessity to reframe the discourse around social media and mental health. While there is a tendency to focus on how Instagram aggravates women’s mental health, there is a pressing need to acknowledge that women also turn to the platform to consult information related to their health and find recognition.

This is especially important because Instagram currently polices mental illness-related content in ways that are harmful to these communities. We must recognize that Instagram is not always bad for mental health in order to hold the app accountable for further stigmatizing women. Actu-

ally, it should be the responsibility of Instagram to assure that women can continue to create and access vital information and communities without being censored.

Finally, content posted online represents an important body of knowledge that must be taken seriously if we ever want to create resources that are better tailored to women’s needs.

Attending to the complexity of women’s Instagram use allows us to better understand the limits and possibilities of digital care when our health is increasingly tied to mobile apps.

The government of Canada is developing a virtual care platform to help Canadians navigate mental

health issues. The digital tools will be designed to help users connect to mental health providers and find reliable information while reducing the pressure on the healthcare system.

Looking at how women are using available platforms and networks like Instagram can help adapt these technologies to their needs and potentially reduce the gender gap.

• This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Read the original article here: https:// theconversation.com

THE MOMMY SHOWER TREND IS THE PERFECT WAY TO SHOWER MOMS-TO-BE WITH LOVE (BPT) - Whether it’s a first child or she’s been pregnant before, expecting a baby is an exciting journey. As the due date nears, that anticipation grows and friends and family enjoy sharing in the anticipation. Baby showers are the most common tradition for celebrating motherhood, but unfortunately, the pandemic has put gatherings like these on hold. Now, you may be looking for new ways to celebrate baby and honour the mom-to-be so she feels loved.

“Pregnancy has been really challenging right now. Between the stresses of trying to stay healthy and social isolation, moms deserve a little extra love and care,” said Lauren Burnham Luyendyk, mom to a three-year-old and currently pregnant with twins.

Sentiments like these have inspired the newest trend in celebrating momsto-be: the Mommy Shower.

special escape with their significant other and enjoying a night out with friends,” said Burnham Luyendyk.

Each Mommy Shower experience can be found on Schick Intuition’s Instagram Guides, and feature a variety of luxurious and indulgent products for a pampering shower moment, including a Schick Intuition Razor which helps lather and shave in one step, removing the need for shaving cream or gel - ideal for moms with a baby bump.

You may not be able to have a baby shower or throw one for a loved one, but you can transform the shower experience into a special retreat that celebrates Mom and

makes her feel special and supported.

How to create a Mommy Shower “I co-created three

specific Mommy Shower experiences inspired by three things moms look forward to during their pregnancy: fulfilling those crazy cravings, having a

Here’s how to bring these shower experiences to life The Babymoon Bath: While not the full vacation she’s missing out on, The Babymoon Bath will give her a taste of a tropical escape before the little one arrives. From the feeling of a bamboo bathmat and the delicious-smelling Schick Intuition Island Berry Razor to a tropical smoothie and an exfoliating

sand scrub, she can enjoy a babymoon from the comfort of her own tub.

The Shower Soiree: Turn that last pre-baby night out into the perfect night in by giving her a reason to dim the lights and turn up the party. From a belly bumpin’ shower speaker to a nutritious yet delicious mocktail, The Shower Soiree will empower mom to let loose and feel the good vibes before baby arrives.

The Craving Cure: This mouth-watering bath experience will satisfy all of her pregnancy cravings. Include a cocktail-scented candle, a chocolate face mask and an ice cream bath bomb, and this experience will help mom get ready to indulge in much deserved self-care.

The pregnancy journey can be a tough time, but Mommy Shower experiences are the perfect way to help moms feel cared for during pregnancy and long after the baby is born.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 10, 2021, PAGE 11

TAMARA BELIEVES IN CELEBRATING THE HERE AND NOW from page 12

box when it comes to your decor.

“Everyone loves fresh flowers, but they can be expensive, and so there are other ways that you can create that fullness on your table without having to spend so much on flowers,” she said.

The key to having a successful smaller party is to make sure that the theme and mood of the party are reflected in the guest list.

This means not mixing lively guests with more settled ones and making sure the entertainment and the

music suit the tone of the party.

Tamara got started in event planning after she was asked to plan a formal event for the 50th anniversary of her sorority.

The event came off so well that more and more family members and friends asked her to help with their functions.

Eventually she realised that she could make income from event planning, and once she had to plan her own wedding she knew she could make it her career.

“I had a small wedding at Sapodilla and I had gotten a quote to the rent the decorations for $14,000, which I

thought was crazy and I just thought I can make better use of that money and so I went to the bank, got a loan and purchased all of the items that I needed for my wedding,” she said.

After that celebration, her plan was to rent the items out to recoup her investments. The business took off and she was able to add to her collection. Now, she has three warehouses full of items that she uses for her own functions and also rents to other vendors.

“I don’t mind renting items out that would otherwise just be sitting in storage,” she said.

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 77° F/25° C

TAMPA

TONIGHT

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Breezy in the morn‑ ing; mostly sunny

Partly cloudy with a shower late

Breezy in the a.m.; periods of sun

Breezy; afternoon showers

A couple of t‑storms, mainly early

A heavy t‑storm in the a.m.; breezy

High: 90°

Low: 80°

High: 90° Low: 79°

High: 90° Low: 80°

High: 89° Low: 79°

High: 88° Low: 78°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

100° F

85° F

100°-85° F

99°-84° F

97°-85° F

96°-86° F

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 79° F/26° C

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

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

7‑14 knots

S

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 80° F/27° C

7‑14 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 80° F/27° C

E

W S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

N

| Go to AccuWeather.com

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 78° F/26° C

MIAMI

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 80° F/27° C

6‑12 knots

KEY WEST

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 82° F/28° C

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 90° F/32° C Low .................................................... 82° F/28° C Normal high ....................................... 89° F/32° C Normal low ........................................ 76° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 92° F/33° C Last year’s low ................................... 80° F/27° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ............................................... 12.47” Normal year to date ................................... 21.33”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 80° F/27° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 79° F/26° C

N

S

E

W

7‑14 knots

S

8‑16 knots

ANDROS

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

tiDes For nassau High Today

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

9:47 a.m.

10:07 p.m.

3.0 3.4

3:52 a.m.

3:54 p.m.

0.4 0.3

Wednesday 10:31 a.m.

10:49 p.m.

3.1 3.3

4:31 a.m.

4:40 p.m.

0.3 0.4

Thursday

11:18 a.m.

11:34 p.m.

3.1 3.2

5:12 a.m.

5:29 p.m.

0.3 0.5

Friday

12:08 p.m. ‑‑‑‑‑

3.2 ‑‑‑‑‑

5:55 a.m.

6:23 p.m.

0.3 0.6

Saturday

12:23 a.m.

1:02 p.m.

3.0 3.2

6:42 a.m.

7:23 p.m.

0.3 0.7

Sunday

1:17 a.m.

2:02 p.m.

2.8 3.3

7:35 a.m.

8:28 p.m.

0.3 0.8

Monday

2:17 a.m.

3:06 p.m.

2.7 3.3

8:34 a.m.

9:37 p.m.

0.4 0.9

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:42 a.m.

7:48 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

8:33 a.m.

9:36 p.m.

First

Full

Last

New

Aug. 15

Aug. 22

Aug. 30

Sep. 6

CAT ISLAND

E

W

uV inDex toDay

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 79° F/26° C

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 81° F/27° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

7‑14 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° 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: 80° F/27° C

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 88° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

N

E

W

E

W

N

S

S

8‑16 knots

8‑16 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS

L

CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday:

WINDS E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ENE at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots NE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots

WAVES 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑6 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 7 Miles 8 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 9 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 8 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 9 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 87° F 86° F 87° F 87° F 86° F 86° F 85° F 85° F 87° F 87° F 88° F 88° F 87° F 87° F 85° F 85° F 86° F 86° F 84° F 84° F 87° F 87° F 85° F 85° F 86° F 87° F

PAGE 12

TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021

The bold and the beautiful Olympic hairstyles to inspire

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net THE 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games may have come to a close, but their effects can still be felt, especially here in Bahamas where will continue to celebrate the two gold medals won by our 400m champions Shaunae Miller and Steven Gardiner.

Over the past few weeks, the Summer Olympics – which

had to be put on hold last year due to the pandemic – offered a showcase for world-class athleticism and sportsmanship.

The thrills, the chills, the defeats and the triumphs were, however, not all that made a lasting impression on us. There was, of course, also the fashion.

Established and up-and-coming designers and brands showed their support for the athletes, sponsoring various countries’ uniforms. But addition to their attire, some of

the Olympians also caught our attention with their interesting and unique hairstyles.

Some of the bolder hairdos made us do a double take in admiration or in bewilderment.

Maybe it was the postponement of the Games, an effect of the pandemic, or just a celebration of individuality, but the following athletes chose to let their personality shine through with their hairstyle choices to a degree that hasn’t been seen before.

•Raven Saunders, Shot Put Silver Medallist, USA Raven secured the silver medal in the women’s shot put during. She is a lady with a truly big personality. Raven dyed one half of her buzz cut purple and the other half green. She is sometimes nicknamed “The Hulk”, so she wore a face mask recalling the powerful Marvel superhero, but she also wore a mask adorned with the smile of the Batman character “The Joker”.

•Shaunae Miller-Uibo, 400m Gold Medallist, The Bahamas Our now two-time gold medallist served us variety of looks, changing her hair several times during her events. We saw her in red and blue hair as well as with the infamous pink hair that she wore when she snagged the gold medal during the 400m finals.

•Christina Clemons, 100m Hurdles, USA She is no stranger to sporting interesting styles on the track. Her half-braids hairstyle accented by butterfly clips was certainly a cute look that also served as a nod to the natural hair movement.

•Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Gold and Silver Medallist in the 100m and 4x100m relay, Jamaica In true Shelly-Ann fashion, the Olympian sped along the track with vibrant yellow and burnt orange hair. She not only made a statement with her once again stellar performance, but with her outstanding hair choice as well.

You Go Girl

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net LIFE is meant to be celebrated, and even though current restrictions may limit the numbers of individuals who can attend those celebratory events, they can still be memorable and fabulous.

Tamara Knowles, the owner of Shindigzzz, a party planning and decorating service, says COVID -19 and its consequences has reminded people that there is a lot to celebrate.

“Small parties have always been my niche; I prefer events where there are 100 or less guests,” she explained.

“When you have a smaller guest count, you can focus on the details and making it a more elaborate and personal experience for your guests.”

She added that one result of the

pandemic is that it people are no longer waiting for the funds or to reach those milestone events to go ahead and plan special celebrations.

And the current gathering restrictions make intimate gatherings a necessity, “COVID has taught us that things can change so much and so you can’t take anything for granted. I think people are realising that they don’t have to wait to celebrate, that anything can be turned into a celebration. For example, I recently did a 56th birthday party for a client. She decided, you know what, I don’t know what will happen in the next four years, or if she would make it to 60, so she decided to celebrate 56 now. I tell my clients nothing is promised so celebrate every occasion as if it is your last.”

Although it can be difficult to pare down a guest list in the Bahamas

•Gabriela DeBeus-Stafford, 1500m, Canada In the pack of women running the 1500m, Gabriela not only stood out because she led the group to win the heats and advance to the semifinals, but her short cut rainbow-coloured hair also made her hard to miss for viewers at home.

TAMARA BELIEVES IN CELEBRATING THE HERE AND NOW

where people tend to have larger extended families and many friends, Tamara said it becomes easier when you hone in on who is truly important in your life.

“When my clients are trying to figure out the guest list, I say to them if it is a person that you have not spoken within the past month, they are probably not in your tight circle and they don’t need to be included, because you can’t include everyone,” she said.

Having a smaller guest list does decrease costs, but Tamara said there are other ways you throw a fabulous party and have it come in under budget.

One suggestion is to hire one vendor to do the decor as opposed to shopping around.

“One vendor who supplies everything that you need can get you a better discount because often they will have all the items that you need. Then it is a one-stop shop.”

She also suggests being flexible and thinking outside of the SEE PAGE 11