08152022 NEWS AND SPORT

WITH the completed installation of a $5m microrenewable solar plant Ragged Island has become the first major island in the country to be 100 percent solarOnpowered.Friday, Bahamas Power and Light commis sioned the new plant. This project began in 2019, in an effort to fulfil the government’s commit ment to have 30 percent of the country’s energy sourced from renewable energy by the year 2030. With it being the first of its kind in The Bahamas, the solar project was said to have been recognised earlier this year by the Car ibbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF) Industry Awards as the winner of the best resilience project. In attendance at the com missioning ceremony were Prime Minister Phillip STEP ONE ON PATH TO CLEAN ENERGY

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SEE PAGE THREE SEE PAGE TWO SEE PAGE FOUR AANIMALSGIVINGHOME MONDAY HIGH 89ºF LOW 79ºF i’m lovin’ it! Volume: 119 No.181, August 15, 2022 THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: PRICE–$1 Established 1903The Tribune CARS! CARS! CLASSIFIEDS TRADERHOUSE & HOME The Tribune Monday, February 8, To Advertise Call 601-0007 or 502-2351 Starting $33.60 Biggest And Best! LATEST NEWS ON TRIBUNE242.COM Good Days Start Here

TWO separate murders occurred within a 12-hour time frame over the weekend.Thelatest incident hap pened at around 10am on Saturday at a residence on Kenilworth Street. The victim wzs a 57-yearold man of South Beach Estates.Police said: “Preliminary reports indicate that the deceased was sitting on the front porch of his residence when he was approached and subsequently shot mul tiple times by two males who exited a grey Nissan Note.”

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net VISIT to the solar plant on Friday by Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis.Photo: Moise Amisial

OFFICERS TOLD TO AVOID FERNANDER

HEALTH Minister Dr Michael Darville says clin ics around the country should experience much needed renovations by the end of the year or early next year as he continued his nationwide tour of these facilities.Inthe wake of Hurri cane Dorian Dr Darville said it was realised that many healthcare facili ties throughout the Family Islands were not capable of withstanding another cata strophic disaster. “As the (then) shadow Minister of Health when I was in the Senate we real ised there were challenges from Inagua all the way to Grand Bahama,” Dr Dar ville said.

Photo: Austin Fernander INSIGHT LIVE EACH DAY AS THE GIFT IT IS SEE PAGE NINE SEE PAGE THREE

JUST FEET FROM RUSHDIE ATTACK

MURDEREDMORESEESWEEKENDTWOMEN

SEE PAGE SEVEN THE

UPGRADESFORDRAWNSCHEDULEUPCLINIC By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS Humane Society held an adoption drive at Super Value Cable Beach at the weekend. Omar Chemaly is pictured with Copper.

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings @ tribunemedia.net

COMMISSIONER of Police Clayton Fernander says if he had not been “dis rupted” by a forced leave and secondment in 2019, he would have been in his retirement by now. Leaving the Royal Baha mas Police Force by way of retirement was something he was planning for. He also revealed officers had been advised to stay away from him. The Commissioner, then an Assistant Commissioner along with then-ACP Lea mond Deleveaux, now Deputy Commissioner and ACP Kendal Strachan were forced to take vacation leave in Although2019. the former Minnis administration

Bahamian tells how she was witness of bid to assassinate author VICTORIA Allen, wife of a noted Bahamian psy chiatrist, has recounted the horrific stabbing of interna tionally renowned author Sir Salman Rushdie just after he took the stage at an event in upstate New York onMrsFriday.Allen, wife of Dr David Allen, was sitting in the third row of the open air amphitheatre, just feet away and described the very moment the event descended into shock and then some pandemonium with a few attendees openly crying and noticeably distressed.MrRushdie, 75, had just been introduced at the Chautauqua Institu tion, where he was about to be interviewed as part of a summer lecture series, when an attacker “dressed in black” lunged at him and began violently “pounding” the author.

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THIS still image from video shows Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, at left, being escorted from the stage as people tend to author Salman Rushdie, centre right, at the Chautauqua Institution, in Chautauqua, New York, on Friday. from page one “Brave” Davis, Deputy Prime Minister and Exuma and Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper, Public Works Minister Alfred Sears and BPL’s chairman PedroTheyRolle.agreed the solar plant at Ragged Island meant more resilience in the face of future hurricanes.Following this project, Mr Davis, who is also Min ister of Finance, said the Davis administration is pre pared to invest more than $36m in renewable energy infrastructure in Abaco and East Grand Bahama. “We will invest more than $36m in renewable infra structure in Abaco and East Grand Bahama,” he said. “The focus of this invest ment in Abaco will include $18m for the restoration of electricity services and the rehabilitation of physi cal infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Dorian. We will also invest $4.5m in the installation of five micro grids in East End Grand Bahama.”

THE SOLAR panels in Ragged Island.

from page one A 30-YEAR-OLD man is dead follow ing a traffic accident on Saturday night. The incident happened at around 8.40pm involving a resident of Imperial Park. Preliminary reports reveal the victim was travelling north on Golf Course Boulevard, in a white 2008 Ford Explorer, when he lost control and hit a utility pole. He was taken to hospital by Emergency Medical Services where he later died of his injuries.Police investigations continue.

STEP ONE ON PATH TO CLEAN ENERGY

Mr Davis said the cost of generating power on Family Islands is “too expensive” and “too inefficient”, which ultimately makes it difficult for families to keep afloat. “The cost of generat ing power on our Family Islands has always been too expensive and too inef ficient, and driven high prices across the board, making it hard for families to keep afloat and hard for businesses to survive and compete.”MrDavis said this pro ject served as the prototype to align with the country’s carbon footprint in hopes of providing “reliable and affordable:Accordingelectricity.toMrDavis, the government plans to earmark $1.9m for the solar rooftop programme. “Our administration will budget $1.9m for our solar rooftop programme, so that clinics, public libraries, and schools can be part of our nation’s renewable energy progress. I am excited to announce that the Ministry of Public Works is assessing eight government buildings for this completion.nolenge,projectsfindingislands,offorWhenprogramme.”askedbyreportersanestimatedtimelinetheinstallationonotherheexplainedthatfundingfortheservesasachalhowever,thereisdefinitetimelinefor

30-YEAR-OLD MAN DIES AS VEHICLE HITS POLE

Just feet from Rushdie attack

Mr Rushdie was stabbed in his neck and abdomen and had to be placed on a ventilator.However, as of yester day he was taken off the machine. He is said to be in the beginning phases of his recovery.“So,they were starting to introduce him. This is at about 10.45am and all of a sudden I saw this guy in all black rush up on the stage,” the former English profes sor told The Tribune. “I don’t know where he came from, if he jumped up on the stage from the audience or came from the back. “I could tell he was a very athletic type of guy and he rushed over and started pounding Rushdie with his fist and I couldn’t see a knife, but all I know is he was pounding with huge force.“People from the audi ence actually jumped up and pulled the guy off and then they scuttled Rushdie into the back behind the screen and it turned out the guy had had a knife and everybody was really shaken“Thereup. were women crying, but I thought ‘wow this is very interesting’ and the guy had been subdued by audience members and also appeared was a state trooper.”Despite being wrestled down to the ground, Mrs Allen said the attacker “did not give up without a fight.” He has since been iden tified as Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey. He was taken into cus tody at the scene and later charged with attempted murder 2nd degree and assault 2nd degree. Matar is being held at Chautauqua County Jail. He was arraigned Saturday and remanded without bail. “It was very alarm ing,” Dr Allen said of the moment following the attack. “I just got up and started taking a few snapshots.“Maybe I am shortsighted but I felt he was alone and since there were no explosions or anything I didn’t feel endangered at all. “The audience was such a civilised group. There wasn’t screaming or any thing and then there was an announcement on the loudspeaker to please remain calm. We would like everyone to evacuate the amphitheatre and everyone did.“They just turned and left quietly.”Shesaid hours later, all of the day’s events were cancelled.“Allof our programmes that day were canceled. We found out that Rushdie was rushed to hospital by heli copter for surgery.” Mr Rushdie is said to have spoken a few words since being removed from theMrventilator.Rushdie has a literary career spanning 50 years and has been subject to death threats several times due to the nature of his work.The novelist is one of the most celebrated and suc cessful British authors of all Time, with his second novel, Midnight’s Children, win ning the illustrious Booker Prize in 1981, according to theTheBBC.news agency said it was his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, published in 1988, which became his most controversial workbringing about international turmoil unprecedented in itsInscale.the Islamic world, many Muslims reacted with fury to the book’s publi cation, arguing that the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad was a grave insult to their faith. Death threats were made against Rushdie, 75, who was forced to go into hiding, and the British gov ernment placed him under policeIranprotection.quicklybroke off relations with the UK in protest and the country’s supreme leader, Ayatol lah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa - or decree - calling for the novel ist’s assassination in 1989 - the year after the book’s publication.Butinthe West, authors and intellectuals denounced the threat to freedom of expression posed by the violent reaction to the book.

THE TRIBUNE Monday, August 15, 2022, PAGE 3

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper in Ragged Island. Photos: Moise Amisial

4 offices, reception, conference room, kitchen

FOUR acres of suspected marijuana with an esti mated street value of $2.5m have been discovered in NorthPoliceAndros.said yesterday that a joint operation between the Drug Enforce ment Unit (DEU), Andros Police District, the Criminal Investigation Department, Real-Time Crime Centre (RTCC) and crime scene officers, contributed to the suspected marijuana fields being uncovered in North Andros.“The fields consisted of over 25,000 plants ranging in height from one foot to eight feet and over 20,000 seedlings.SixJamaican men, ages 52, 53, 42, 39, and two aged 43 were taken into custody and are assisting police with theirThisinvestigations.”isnottheonly siz able discovery made by authorities this year. In May, police arrested 21 Chinese nationals after 68 kilos of cocaine were seized in a $1.3m drug bust on a cargo boat near Arawak Cay.“Police dogs alerted their handlers to several floors in several areas on that vessel. On inspection of those areas the offic ers found a quantity of a substance believed to be that of cocaine. The total amount was about 68 kilos, which was an estimated street value of $1,300,000,” it was said at theAstime.aresult of the find, 21 persons were taken into custody, these are all Chinese nationals, these include 20 males and a female.”Police attributed this major drug bust to the “robust” amount of infor mation collected by police. He also thanked members of the public who continued to help authorities investi gate such matters. ACRES OF MARIJUANA FOUND By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net leader Michael Pintard. 1,056 sq.ft. $2,640.00 pm. Contact Mr. Sean McCarroll 327-1575

By LETRE SWEETING FREE National Move ment deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright has urged the government to come up with a strategy to address the issue of bail as the number of murders in the country continues to climb.The St Barnabas MP also called on officials to reconsider their position on bail after recent statistics revealed that the majority of persons murdered this year were on bail for seri ousHisoffences.remarks followed two weekendFurther,murders.onFriday an arraignment in a Magis trate’s Court revealed that not only a murder victimAyundo Louis but both of his accused killers were on bail on separate murder charges.Inview of recent comment by Police Commissioner Clayton Fer nander that he was hopeful the country “finishes the year strong” by staying under the 100 murder mark with four more months in the year, Mr Cartwright said that a concerted effort to tackle the issue of bail must be undertaken by the government.“Givenrecent revela tions by the commissioner of police with regard to the correlation of the majority of people who were mur dered this year being out on bail for serious offences, a concerted strategy to address the issue of bail must be articulated by the government,” he said. “The commissioner also noted that the majority of mur ders are gang affiliated. The attorney general last week said that the government is also looking at the penal code with regard to gang offences that might require a stand alone bill.”

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

FNM and ORG question plan to rewrite Procurement Act

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“The fact of the matter is that these laws already exist. While we do not expect police to tip their hand as to sensitive intelli gence, we have not gotten a sense that the emphasis on utilising the existing statute is occurring. Showing con nections to others charged with serious crimes and the frequency with which gang members kill and are killed would make sense from a prosecution stand point. While the issue of bail is a constitutional right, so is the right to a speedy trial. The government must carefully consider improv ing the function of our court system with regard to remuneration of judges and other resources,” Mr Cart wright said. He also asked the gov ernment to increase police visibility on the streets to deter violent crime against the average citizen. Mr Cartwright said his party stands in solidarity with the government and law enforcement to ensure the safety and well-being of Bahamians and reaffirmed his dedication to such a task.

FNM DEPUTY CALLS FOR GOVT STRATEGY ON BAIL ISSUE

“We are also very con cerned about the uptick in armed robberies targeting law-abiding citizens. One of the simplest tools to deter crimes of opportunity that armed robbers often seek to perpetrate is police visibility. Even though resources are strained, the government has committed to putting police in schools. We think police resources dedicated to more robust patrolling in general would be much more useful. This cycle of violence is becom ing a way of life and death for too many. We cannot tire in this fight and we must all stay vigilant as stake holders. As always, the opposition stands with the police and the government with regard to public safety and order in our beautiful Bahamas,” he said.

While the deputy leader stated that laws already exist to address the issue, he further implored the government to further con sider improving the judicial system so that they have more resources allocated to them to better address crime in the nation and ensure swifter justice.

THE TRIBUNE Monday, August 15, 2022, PAGE 5

FNM

THE Free National Movement and the Organisation for Respon sible Governance have questioned the Davis administration’s plan to fully rewrite the Public Pro curement Act in advance of them reporting their actions.Plans to amend the Public Procurement Act were announced in May, but on Thursday Attor ney General Ryan Pinder, QC, said the Act will be fully rewritten, prompting FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands, FNM leader Michael Pintard and ORG assistant director Steffon Evans to voiceFNMconcerns.leader Michael Pintard said that his party was “beyond disappointed - but unfortunately not surprised” at Mr Pinder’s comments last week, and accused him of misleading theHepublic.said: “Parroting the false information previ ously stated in the past by the Prime Minister, the AG repeated the lie that the PPA does not give the flex ibility to the government to deal with urgent matters or emergencies.“Itisclear that the AG and the Prime Minister have either not read the Act or they have decided to deliberately mislead the public. Either of these is a dereliction of duty and raises serious con cerns capacity to function effectively.”Headded: “Section 34 of the Public Procure ment Act speaks to what is called ‘Limited Bidding’ and it lays out how the governmentcan engage a single vendor to do work when the circumstances so demands. In Section 34 (c), it expressly grants per mission to the government to use limited bidding in instances of emergencies or other exigencies when a full procurement process would not be feasible. “So we do not understand why the AG and the Prime Minister would mislead the public to think that the PPA is stopping the govern ment from responding to any urgent matter when it is patently clear that the PPA anticipates these inevita ble situations and gives the government the flexibility to deal with the same.” Mt Pintard said: “What is plainly true is that the gov ernment does not want to trouble itself with fair and open and transparent bid ding processes for the vast majority of works that are not urgent matters. They want to be able to dish out large and small contracts to their cronies for purely political“Neitherends.the AG nor the Prime Minister can or would explain why the gov ernment continues to break the law and not publish the summary details of all rel evant contracts as required by the law.” He said the FNM would not support any attempt to lessen the transparency requirements of the Act. Dr Sands said the Davis administration’s failure to uphold the current Public Procurement Act before deciding to change it is “not responsible governance” and called for the govern ment to “abide by the law”. “It is clearly not respon sible governance,” he said. “Once you change the law, you do it the way you want. But until then, you must abide by the law. You can’t expect the general public to do as you say and not as youDrdo.”Sands added that the past actions of the Davis administration should be taken into account. “It is very disingenu ous now that they have approved a number of con tracts for millions of dollars and it is in defiance of the law. There is no excuse, they have willfully, neglect fully and regretfully broken the law. Guilty your honour, no explanation,” he said. Mr Evans said though the announcement of the gov ernment’s plan to rewrite the act is sufficient commu nication and notice, more communication is needed to gain the trust of the Bahamian people. “I think it is notable that they are communicating before this action is being taken,” he “However,said.based on the previous statements that have been made, there defi nitely needs to be taken into consideration com municating with the public on what will become of the release of reports on contracts that have been done in light of these new developments. It is going to be important in this pro cess of transition for there to be a plan to ensure that everything that has taken place since the bill was enacted, those contracts in that period, definitely need to be incorporated into the strategy of transition on the way forward and not simply abandoned. That would definitely not be a good example of responsible governance.”Heurged the Davis administration to always consult with relevant stake holders as they seek to build greater trust with the public and consider the public’s thoughts on these types of “Maintainingmatters. and living up to commitments that have been made and com municating very clearly along the way with the public is going to be key to collaboration, citizen participation and public consultation, which will ultimately inform how these processes should work, making them meet the needs of the govern ment and all other sectors that are involved,” he said.The Organisation for Responsible Government (ORG) is a not-for-profit civic foundation commit ted to realising the future of responsible governance in TheTheBahamas.Public Procurement Act was passed under the Minnis administration last year in response to longterm criticisms surrounding the procurement processes in The Bahamas. This Act requires the government to publish details of approved con tracts and procurement activities within 60 days of the award of the contract. In May, Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis told reporters the government was hoping to amend the Public Procure ment Act in the 2022/23 budget period with a view of making it “user friendly” to ensure better compliance and greater transparency. On August 10, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis added that before the legislation was brought to Parliament, officials would want to publish the pro posed changes and seek publicHowever,feedback.since assum ing office, the Davis administration has not yet complied with the reporting requirements of the cur rent Public Procurement Act, but instead called for the Act to be fully rewrit ten for transparency, ease of administration and the ability to be able to govern with immediate priority in instances that require it.

EDITOR, The Tribune. I WAS troubled to read in The Tribune a promi nent contractor in Grand Bahama gloating over the potential departure of the Del Zotto family. The patriarch of the Del Zotto family is William John Del Zotto. Born in 1942, he is the son of the late Wil liam Mario Del Zotto -- an Italian who migrated to the US during World War II. The elder Del Zotto worked as a brick layer for US Steel in Duluth, Min nesota. He would assist his son in getting started in the pre-cast concrete business, Del Zotto Manu facturing. William John Del Zotto invested millions in Freeport, via Gold Rock Concrete, Do It Centre and Home Design ApproximatelyCentre.130 jobs are at risk if the Ameri can investor leaves Grand Bahama. His financial tentacles are also in Min nesota, Florida and Texas. What this means is that Del Zotto does not need Free port in order to survive. That’s why he can noncha lantly turn his back on his multimillion dollar invest ment without any regrets. Del Zotto, unbeknownst to many Bahamians, is also an inventor, having invented and patented hundreds of pre-cast forms. The impasse between Del Zotto and the Grand Bahama Develop ment Company (DEVCO) is over the Devonshire sub division that Gold Rock reportedly had exclusive rights to mine aggregate. The subdivision is located on the Grand Lucayan waterway -- a network of canals dredged by LBI during the 1970s. For what it’s worth, the aggregate material at Devonshire is not as good as the aggregate Free port Aggregates mined before Hurricane Dorian. Despite this, Del Zotto was still able to produce the best concrete products in The Bahamas. In fact, Del Zotto Products ranked 17 in the world in 2014. The Del Zotto branch in Texas is managed by his son, William Mark “Billy”, recognised by Concrete Construction Magazine in 2016 as one of the most influential figures in the concrete industry. The aforementioned Freeport contractor and others are of the view that Gold Rock, by virtue of its privileges at Devonshire, was able to corner the con crete market on Grand Bahama. This alleged arrangement made it dif ficult for other concrete businesses to compete in the free market. At least this is the opinion of cer tain Freeport contractors. Whether or not there is any merit to these allega tions, no sensible person on the ground can deny the potential fallout caused by Del Zotto’s departure from Freeport. With the ending of the Devonshire agreement, the Bahamian contractors who are sali vating over the Del Zotto and DEVCO fallout are likening the former as a privileged kid who takes up his ball and goes home sulking once the game is no longer going his way. Where will the 130 dis placed Grand Bahamians go? Remember, as Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard said, these job losses will impact 130 families.Freeport cannot absorb 130 job losses. I can point to only one major development currently under construc tion, which is Solomon’s downtown Freeport. The state-owned Grand Lucayan Resort, which is running on fumes, is only open because it is being subsidised by the state. The tourism sector in Grand Bahama is not in the position to absorb 130 dis placed Grand Bahamians. Some months back Prime Minister Philip Brave was brutally honest when he informed the Press that while Dubai investors are eager to invest in The Bahamas, they’re not inter ested in Grand Bahama. To Grand Bahamians, those words cut deep. Del Zotto’s departure would serve to reinforce that narrative. The 130 Grand Bahamians and their families stand to lose far more than the Del Zotto family. It is absolutely imperative that DEVCO and the Grand Bahama Port Authority reach out to the Del Zotto with an olive branch. Despite the wellpublicised back-and-forth, I believe that reconciliation is possible. KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama. August 10, 2022.

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master” LEON E. H. DUPUCH, Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH, Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt . Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991 EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972Published daily Monday to Friday Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207 TELEPHONES News & General Information (242) 322-1986 Advertising Manager (242) 502-2394 Circulation Department (242) 502-2386 Nassau fax (242) 328-2398 Freeport, Grand Bahama (242)-352-6608 Freeport fax (242) 352-9348 WEBSITE, TWITTER & FACEBOOK www.tribune242.com @tribune242 tribune news network PAGE 6, Monday, August 15, 2022 THE TRIBUNE

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr AugustNassau, 11, 2022.

THERE is a certain jarring difference between the topics that the Commis sioner of Police, Clayton Fernander, is choosing to address and the issues on theRecently,street. he declared that he was hopeful that despite murders going up, up and up, that the police force would keep the murder tally to no more than 100 this year. At the time, the total was 85 – and another two murders this week end pushes that number higher still. So what did Commissioner Fernander choose to address when he appeared on television?Hespoke about bail, which is an issue, he spoke about corruption – but he also spent time talking about himself. He talked again about how he was forced to take vacation leave under the Minnis administration, and said how he was still searching for the reason behind the reassignment when that vacation came to an end. He talked of his relationship with former Minister of National Security Marvin Dames, and how some of Mr Fernander’s former colleagues had been told to stop talking to him. He talked of where the directive came from, saying: “Top of the police force. It was clear and it was sad to see that and some of those officers who did it have since left the Respectfully,organisation.”Commissioner, as the murder count keeps climbing higher, it’s time to stop focusing on yourself. What people want to be hearing from you is what you are going to be doing to stop the death count rising. They want to hear your policies, they want to hear what resources are being allocated to the task, they want to see and feel the police presence dealing with this year’s spike in murders. Your gripes about your reassignment – valid though they may be – are some way down the list of priorities behind keeping people alive and catching the killers of those who could not be saved.Also during the interview, Commis sioner Fernander said that had it not been for the disruption to his career, he would have been retired by now. He said it “only could be the good Lord working because at the same time if we were not disrupted, I would’ve been on pension as we speak and I was preparing for retirement”. How must officers feel that they are only being led by someone who isn’t retired already because of a mess cre ated by the former administration and leadership? How does that encourage officers to look to a future knowing the current leader is already so close to retirement – particularly senior officers who might have been the one to take on the mantle Regardlessinstead?ofwhat went before, Mr Fernander is in the top job now – and it’s time for him to stop dwelling on the past and put his every attention on what is going on right now on our streets. There is a big job for the police to handle with the number of deaths on our streets – and nothing should be a distraction from that. Simply put, it’s time to move on, Commissioner. Solar power It is a small step – but it could, and should, be a glimpse of our future. Ragged Island now has a solar plant, and it has become the first major island in our country to become completely solarThepowered.demands of Ragged Island are significantly smaller than on some of our other islands – but this should be the model for our future. We talk a lot about climate change and about the impact of greenhouse gases – well, this is the way we should be going.The Bahamas is famous for its sun shine – wouldn’t it reinforce our reputation to show that our nation can be powered by the sun too, and other renewable sources? We shouldn’t expect too much too soon, it seems – Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis played down talk of installation on other islands soon because of the challenge in finding funding.Buthe also talks about the prospect of bringing in funds through carbon credits for our country. If that avenue of fund ing was directed towards expanding our renewable energy programmes, it would be a very appropriate use of such money indeed.Ragged Island’s solar future is very welcome. A forward-thinking govern ment would seize the moment to build on that. Del Zottos on crime, Commissioner, not on yourself

EDITOR, The Tribune.

ANDREW ALLEN AugustNassau, 12, 2022

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A DOG looks for a new owner during the Bahamas Humane Society adoption drive at Super Value at Cable Beach at the weekend. Photo: Austin Fernander EDITOR, The Tribune. I WOULD have been at The Bahamas Bar for a period in excess of 46 years had I still been a member in good standing this same month. Unfortunately (for me) I was disbarred many years ago for an act of mal feasance. The punishment, such as it was, was far too long, but I have accepted my fate and moved on as a Business & Media Consult ant. The Lord Jesus Christ has been exceedingly won derful to me in this venture. Since the disbarment I have been consulted by scores of Bahamians who would have applied for a Grant for Crown Land, years and almost decades ago, to no avail except to sometimes receive a letter of Thereafteracknowledgement.itcould take an inordinate amount of time to access the relevant Grant, if ever at all. The process is cumbersome and very taxing. Many appli cants simply give up in frustration. More would have died while awaiting a positive response. This is dead wrong and must be addressed by the Davis administration.TheBahamas has hun dreds of thousands of acres of arable land which could be used for building and/ or farming on a medium to large scale. The land in most cases is just right where it is producing nothing of agricultural value and/or boosting the national econ omy. Land access for the average Bahamian is next to impossible here in New Providence. Many current residents of this island would, I submit, be more than willing to construct a primary or secondary home in their ancestral island, say in Andros; Cat Island; Exuma and even way down in Acklins and Crooked Island.Unencumbered land has value and is marketable in most cases. One is able to imagine the economy activ ity that would be generated if Crown Grants were made more readily available. It is also likely that many Nas sauvians would be prepared to return ‘home’ or simply to invest in viable commer cial ventures. I recall that the current Prime Minister, the Hon Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, QC, MP, would rail in the House of Assembly and wax elo quently about the necessity of liberalising applications and processing for Crown Land and to eliminate the baggage that comes with ‘Generation Property’ in many of the Family Islands. As the sitting Prime Min ister, Mr Davis is in the driver’s seat, so to speak, to immediately bring reso lution to both of these debilitating and vexing long standing issues. With all of this Crown Land simply sitting around, tongue-in-cheek, we have to come up with work able policies and initiatives to extract and maximise the value of granted land. Where possible, applica tions should be digitalised and responded to within a matter of weeks not months and even years. The land, after all, is a part of the patrimony of ALL Bahamians. This is ‘real gold’ and something that can be utilised immediately unlike the mining of arago nite and sand, which would be beyond the reach of the average Bahamian. In fact, Crown Land, is a low hang ing fruit that we all should be able pick and enjoy responsibly.I,therefore, invite the PM to reorganise and mod ernise the lengthy time between when an applica tion for a Crown Grant is made and when it is sound off on. I understand that some lawyers are charging big bucks to assist clients in this tortuous process and even then they are not granted the land applied for or at all. Over the years, sit ting Prime Ministers, who have carriage over Crown Land, seem to be reluctant to empower the unwashed masses with even a small plot of land. The personnel within the Office of the Prime Minister, historically, and factually, usually place applicants in ‘the prover bial dance’ for years and years. Up at the Depart ment of Lands & Surveys, most records and plans are contained in shabby look ing books and entries are often made by hand which often results in applica tions going missing and the inability to follow a paper trail. The Promised Land is already here but like the ostrich, our collective heads still appear to be in the sand.

AFTER 85 handgun murders so far this year, it is disturbing that Attorney General Ryan Pinder would continue to insist that “sen tencing guidelines” for gun possession can be left to the Court of NobodyAppeal.elected the Court of Appeal to decide how inappropriate it is for people to be walking around with handguns in our country. Rather, we elected an executive team (of which Mr Pinder is a part) to keep us safe. If that team is seri ous about addressing the appallingly high firearm murder rate that plagues our otherwise orderly soci ety, then it will spend no time whatsoever discussing the matter of sentencing guidelines with the Presi dent of the Court of Appeal, whose institution is at least partly responsi ble for normalising illegal firearm possession in The Bahamas.Instead, it will prescribe stiff minimum sentences for firearm possession (like most comparable countries) and leave their lordships no choice but to apply pub licly determined penalties to a matter that is our (the Bahamian public’s) busi ness and nobody else’s.

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TWO MEN were charged in the Magistrate’s Court on Friday with the shooting death last weekend of a 21-year-old man who was on bail for murder.Marvin Augustine, 22, and Ramero “Double O” Rolle, 23, stood before Acting Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain on a shared charge of the murder of 21-year-old Ayundo “Baby Souls”AccordingLouis. to a police report, at around 2pm on August 6 on Maxwell Street in the Rock Crusher Road area, the occupants of a black hatchback, believed to be the two accused, pulled up on a group of men outside a residence.Thetwo accused then reportedly opened fire on the group of men resulting in Louis being shot multiple times. The victim was later pronounced dead at the scene.Atthe time of his death, Louis was wearing an Electronic Monitoring Device (EMD) while on bail. Louis was awaiting trial for the 2018 shooting death of 45-year-old Okell Solomon Sr, outside his home.Due to the sever ity of the offence, neither accused was required to enter a plea in court. The accused were informed that their case would proceed by way of a Voluntary Bill of Indict ment (VBI).

Officers told to avoid Fernander

Mr Fernander also revealed he never sat down and spoke with the then Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis at the time. The Commissioner also claimed some of his colleagues stopped commu nicating with him due to an “instruction”.“WhenImoved about, some people stopped call ing. Some of my own colleagues stopped even communicating and some of them said they got instructions.“Saythey don’t want to see them ‘(or) want you around Fernander… have a family business and want to see you around, no officers around there’. “It came from the top because officers came and told me that certain people told them they don’t want them around Fernander.” Asked if the directive was from the top of the govern ment or the police force, he answered: “Top of the police force. It was clear and it was sad to see that and some of those officers who did it have since left theMrorganisation.Fernander and Mr Deleveaux filed a lawsuit against the government in 2019 after they were asked to take their accumulated vacation leave that year. But the Commissioner felt “somebody should speak“Weup”.did and you can see the end result of it. No contest after viewing the AG office and everybody backed out. Everybody just backed and said no contest and I don’t think it should just be left like that. Somebody should speak up.” The officers returned to the force shortly after the September 16 general election. At the time then Commissioner Paul Rolle said he was “extremely pleased” to have the assis tant commissioners rejoin the RBPF’s senior execu tive leadership team. Mr Fernander recounted a call he received that he was“Theneeded. Commissioner called me one morning and he indicated to me that he needed me back. He said there was no experience on the top floor. Crime was out of hand and he had spoken to the prime minister for myself along with the two other officers Ken Strachan and Deleveaux to come back,” the commissioner recalled.According to Mr Fer nander, there was no conversation about him being Commissioner at that time. In the weeks before his retirement and while on the RBPF’s show “Cop Talk Live”, Mr Rolle said it was imperative not to allow political polarisa tion to interfere in the organisation.“Takepolitics out of it,” he said. “Avoid this polarisation. And I say to Fernander, watch out for polarisation.”MrFernander made it clear he would not have a repeat of the same ordeal that happened to him. “It did affect the force in a big way because even then I still had a good core of officers who would’ve checked on me and had their concerns about what had happened. “I always even up to now, I use my situation as a testi mony to them that it could happen but I say to them that I will not sit while in this position to see some thing like that ever happen again. I would rather step down to see something like that.”

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THE TRIBUNE Monday, August 15, 2022, PAGE 7

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Both accused denied any involvement in the inci dent, claiming that they were both also wearing EMDs at the time of the murder.Both Rolle and Augus tine are currently ordered to wear ankle monitors as they await trial for alleged involvement in the 2021 murder of 25-year-old StervanteAlthoughMoss. the accused were denied bail, they can apply for bail before the Supreme Court, where their trial will eventually be held. Until Augustine or Rolle are granted bail, they will be returned to the Bahamas Department of Correc tionalTheServices.VBIsin this matter are expected to be served in court on November 29.

POLICE Commissioner Clayton Fernander says he’s frustrated by the court system, as he recounted how a man was out on bail within days after his arrest for possession of a weapon on two separate occasions. “Very much so and this (has) not just started,” Mr Fernander said when he was asked recently if he was frustrated with the court system. “Successors, com missioners spoke about it and I will continue to speak to Asit.” a guest on Jerome Sawyer’s “Beyond the Headlines” television show last week, Mr Fernander spoke about challenges with alleged criminals and high lighted a recent situation. “An individual was chased in a community, dropped a bag, and was able to get away. (We) found a weapon in the bag. We didn’t catch him right then,” the commissioner said. “Later that night, we found him in the Wilson Tract area, searched him and found a weapon. So, that’s two weapons found in his possession in one single day. He was put before the court and within two days he was back out on bail. “So, it is frustrating. We note that out of that 85 murders thus far for the year almost half of that the individuals who were killed were persons who were being monitored and out on bail for murder. That is a concern for us.” He also said: “If you check the print media about two weeks ago there was a judge who remanded an individual who applied for bail. He was charged for murder and applied and based on information we provided to the prosecu tor that if this individual is given bail either he get’s killed or if he is around his family somebody could’ve (gotten) killed. And the judge decide that he will deny bail. As I indicated he should be thanking the judge now because based on the intel that we had we note that persons were waiting for him to get bail and he would’ve been a number one target.”

As for what was his first course of action as com missioner, Mr Fernander explained: “I felt the crime situation is pretty much unacceptable at this time and I thought to bring some structure, accountability and better communication.”

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By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

Attorney General Ryan Pinder had previously said he does not believe it will be appropriate for the country to pass legislation that out right denies bail to people charged with murder given a recent Privy Council ruling that declared the matter

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now a murder trial takes almost a month. We have to look at those instances and determine what is wrong and we need to fix it.” Both Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander and National Security Minister Wayne Munroe recently expressed sup port for keeping people charged with serious crimes in custody rather than being released on Meanwhile,bail. Mr Fer nander talked about the topic of corruption on the force.“In recent times, I think we have a grip on it. We try to remind the officers and that’s the reason why we have those assistant commissioners in there to continue to talk to our offic ers even with training and all of that. So, the corrup tion level now within the police force you could see at a minimum, but if we do find that corruption is there you’re responsible for your own action and there will be course for that.” He also said that he was of the view that he and Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis were both on the same page when it comes to the fight against crime.“Yes, absolutely we are on the same page.”

pletedmurderwouldgoisdencetoagendaandtogether.allswiftthatAllysonjusticeandappointIatrun,entitledtionhaveawilllongsionerHowever,“unconstitutional.”theCommissuggestedthatintheruntheconstitutionneedtobelookedatforsolution.“Inthelongrun,wemaytolookatourconstitubecauseanindividualistobail.Inthelongwemaybeneedtolookthat,butintheshorttermbelievethatweneedtomorejudgestotrytomoveswiftly-swiftIcallit,”hesaid.“IalwayscommendMrsMaynardwhohadprogrammerunning-justice.ShebroughtofthestakeholdersWehadacalendarweknowwhatisontheandwedopre-trialsmakesurethattheevilinesup.IftheDNAnotready,let’squicklyandgetthatsothetrialnotbeheldup.“Backintheday,atrialusedtobecominoneweekbut

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By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net justified the vacation policy by citing fiscal measures, the officers believed the admin istration simply wanted to sideline them. When their vacation leave ended, they were sent on special assign ments for a year. The Commissioner is still searching for the reason behind the reassignment. He made his latest com ments as a guest on Jerome Sawyer’s television show “On the Record”. “I’m still trying to find out today what really hap pened but if you were paying attention and you listened to what the retired Commissioner Paul Rolle had highlighted, it pretty much just speaks for itself. I (am) not aware of why abruptly that happened the way it did and the reason,” heThesaid. host noted that despite the men being high ranking officers, nobody could give a reason behind the“Itdecision.couldn’t be (that they were) unhappy because they bragged about the success, that we did come together as a team and we made it happen after two decades. As I said and (it) only could be the good Lord working because at the same time if we were not disrupted, I would’ve been on pension as we speak and I was preparing myself for retirement.”

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Mr Fernander men tioned he had no issues with former National Security Minister Marvin Dames. “No I had none. Before the former minister, some times in some situations speak directly to the Com missioner, he will call me and speak to me. So, I had no issue with the former minister. As I always say he knew my family well and I knew his family well. “We had a good working relationship from grow ing up in the Criminal Investigation Department when he was the com mander and I supported him in a big way. Never had the opportunity to sit down with him to explain the reason for us….”

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from page one

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TWO ACCUSED OF MURDER

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CASTLE ISLAND

By ERIC WIBERG

FOUND them. As extraordinary as it is, it’s really that simple. The first WW2fWWII airplane I found home in Cable Beach took me 35 years. I gave the parts to the AMMC and arranged a reunion for the deceased pilots on the site this October. In July, you may have read the first of a number of articles for The Tribune outlining other WW2 air wrecks in Acklins and adjacent Castle Island. I vaguely planned to follow up on trying to find these planes for TV or a docu mentary. But then the list of accidents grew to 165 and it was too much to digest and afford.Then last week I boarded a Bahamas Air flight to Spring Point, Acklins, for the first time in 22 years. Why? Well, Rev. Newton Williamson is one of the last first-hand witnesses to WW2 U-boat torpedo sur vivors that I know (Long Island and New Providence have them too), and a histo rian always prefers sources. Also, I had three Acklins Island loose ends outlined in the July 4 Tribune article: 1) Who was the Ameri can widow mourning? 2) Where is the plane said to have crashed on Castle Island near southeast Ack lins under Captain Liddy? And 3) what ever hap pened to the plane under Lt Hunt from which four US Air Force crew parachuted weeks after Liddy? If I had time in just threeto-four nights I also wanted to interview Rev William son, photograph the places shipwrecked sailors ate, rested and were buried in 1942 and 1943, and just enjoy returning to beloved Acklins, home of the hardi est folks I know. I was met on the flight by my indefatigable host, Rev Felton Rolle, owner of Salina Point Bonefish Lodge where, due to his dexterity, I was to double the length of my stay. I relied upon him for eve rything, transport, guides, food.What happened in those few days was extraordinary, since I covered some 1,000 miles by plane (600 miles), car (300 miles on Acklins, 50 on New Providence), 35 by foot in ‘the bush’: 15 solo and 20 with guides, 30 miles by boat (to Castle Island and back to Acklins), and two miles swimming; the 17 hours on a mailboat don’t count since the thing didn’t move an inch that entire time!Capt Kendres Williams and I left at dawn in his Boston Whaler into rain storms, and over water so deep flying fish leapt. With precision we nudged into rocky Mundian Harbour (lighthouse keeper Jef frey Forbes pronounces it “moojian”), and offloaded a kayak, hundreds of feet of line, a cooler of food, mask and fins, and enough supplies to last three days. I’d been up much of the night before confirming my hunch, that the plane piloted by Liddy which was abandoned on Castle Island and not been found since, must have sunk into the biggest lake on the island, which is little more than two miles long and half a mile wide and uninhabited, the light inoperative. Ken and I felt our way from the bay over the berm into a small valley, trying to find the lake. After less than five minutes I suggested we take a right turn to hit the east end of the lake and when I looked up the quiet captain was already walk ing on – yes on – the “lake,” which turned out to be a salt flat just an inch deep. There, in the middle, was the engine of the Doug las A-20B ‘Boston’ Havoc which had landed auda ciously when his engine flamed out and died, he circled Castle Island five times, told the others to eject but they refused, the front landing gear col lapsed, ejecting Navigator Murray White and trap ping his right leg under the wheel, from which his comrades extricated him. They were rescued by a sub chaser, the wreckage sighted repeatedly from the air over the years until the plane gradually sank into the salt brine, where it remains, essentially pickled. Flamingos use the pro truding radial engine to nest on. There is no doubt this is precisely that aircraft, which was bound for Stalin and the USSR, and we found it in five minutes! Then all plans were put on hold: a large bomber was said to have crashed on LAND very near to my hotel! Felton made urgent calls, we visited elderly locals in Pompey Bay and experts at bush tracking in Delectable Bay. The next three days are a blur of 35 miles of walking: Day 1; Stanford Tynes, Iris Tynes, and Loftus A Roker all confirmed the details, as did Rev Rufus Forbes, and guides Charles Williams and George. An Air Traffic Controller at Windsor Field said a white man emerged from the bush with a para chute and scared local women. Iris said headmis tress Hester Tynes was so alarmed by a B-25 bomber circling the school errati cally looking for four lost airmen she told the chil dren to run for their lives, and when smoke was seen towards Portland, the chil dren thought their parents had been killed in the fields. I walked six miles alone in the bush and Salinas of Portland - six hours and nothing.Thenext day, eight hours with Charles guiding, again nothing, I feel asleep in the forest watching a humming bird and gecko and he had to come get me. Resigned, I gave up, and boarded the mailboat in Spring Point at 9am. At 2.30am, my captain instincts cut in when I realised the engine had finally started. Without much thought I grabbed my backpack and a little roller duffle with my monogram on it, and marched off the boat as the ramp was being raised. Without pausing to reflect that there was not a soul about, I then walked about eight miles non stop for 4.5 miles and saw that Charles’ light was on, so I called him to ask for drinking water, which he shared with me. By 5.30am, the sun was rising and I arrived at Port land, where the plane was said to have crashed. When the fuel transfer system failed the pilot ordered younger sergeants Billy Williams and Ralph Ste vens to roll out the bomb bay, and they landed on south Acklins and walked to Salina Point. But Arnold Stern was not so lucky, he landed two miles out to sea and swam to shore, leaving James Hunt to pilot the plane despite his being weakened by persistent pneumonia. He stabilised the plane, pointed it towards Pompey Bay, flew over the salina, and bailed, pulling the chord 500’ under the plane, which nose-dived to earth empty of people deep into the bush. All the men were rescued, first by a seaplane in Pompey Bay, which then took Hunt to the other three where Commission Chancy Tynes, supported by a Constable Forbes and others, mustered the three other men. They were whisked to Exuma then Guantanamo.Endofstory? Hardly! I was so fixated on finding my first WW2 land crash site that I was determined to find the plane by breakfast time, emerge from the bush and teach an online course – in the liquor store at Delectable Bay – at 10am. And I did, thanks the divine intervention of Rev Rufus Forbes. He happened to be up early and for the first time in months set out alone to cut cascarilla bark for soaking, beating and selling for Campari. I hap pened to be stowing my gear in the bush and getting outfitted for an exhausting day in the bush alone when he walked past on the trail, whistling in the dawn dark ness! Hark! I begged him to show me the plane; with grace and ease he did, and I thanked him by carrying two loads of his cascarilla branches out of the forest to the road, where Felton wasWhatwaiting.was at the site? Two Pratt & Whitney radial engines, 1,200hp each, at least three machine guns, ammunition which went off when the plane burnt, bomb sites, throttle, wheel assemblies, large camera, fuel transfer pump, bits of fuselage, tanks and much more!Even the pilot’s seat; I know as I had found over 40 pieces of another B-26 Marauder in Cable Beach. Locals were excited by all these finds, and I begged them to preserve the wreck as it is so that we can all visit it, and of course I immedi ately informed the AMMC. A larger B-18 bomber had ditched off Acklins at 6.30pm on September 4, 1942; all seven aviators under Lt Richard Ginter were able to escaped the water landing, in which the nose briefly dug into the sea. The men launched rafts and were rowing against an east wind in the rain one mile to south Acklins when the local constable, probably Forbes or Tynes from Salina Point, rowed out to offer assistance. The men had sent a Mayday, the US Navy in Guanta namo sent a flying boat, as well as a destroyer, so after a rough night without ciga rettes or insect repellant they were rescued at dawn the next day and taken to Cuba. The radio operator was named George Oakes. Subsequently the destroyer, USS Borie, salvaged what they could from the B-18 in shallow water, and then destroyed what was left. Rev Williamson reported a widow mourning her American husband at Pine field in the 1960’s: since no servicemen died in the three military crashes on Acklins in WWw I found the likely crash’ “the 1965 crash of a United States Air Force Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar [with] parts washed up on the northeast shore of Acklins.” (Source: Logically.ai, Aug. 12, 2022). What is more remark able? A self-funded person re-discovers two WW2 wrecks in four days? I went to Acklins to find planes and ended up trying to emu late the Acklins Islanders for their indubitable tough ness, skill, self-reliance and community spirit. Whether sandy soil, rich reefs, ambergris, boats washed up from West Africa, historic planes, bark, or bush medi cine, they will make the most of it. And so did I. Thank you Acklins.

Acklins gives up its WW2 secrets - in just a few hours

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2022

ERIC Wiberg with Rev Felton Rolle on Acklins. MACHINE gun ammunition, above, and throttle controls of a B-26 Marauder in the bush in Acklins.

A DOUGLAS HAVOC WITH his A20 engine to right, Capt Ken Williams is pictured with a shovel on the salt lake. REV Newton Williamson of Pinefield, Acklins, saw WWII survivors of a German U-Boat attack land in 1942.

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

• Nicknamed ‘The Prince of Podiatry’, Dr Kenneth D Kemp is the founder and medical director of Baha mas Foot and Ankle located in Caves Village, Western New Providence. He served as the deputy chairman for the Health Council for five years and he currently sits on the board of directors for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in his role as co-vice-chairman.

AT 1AM, my patient receives a phone call from the police. There’s been another car accident. He kisses his wife goodbye, puts on his overalls and grabs his work bag in the garage. Within ten min utes, he arrives at the scene, tonight and often times before the ambulance on call. The road is blocked by at least four police cars and the glare from their flash ing siren lights pierces his cornea in the darkness of the hour. After almost 40 years in this profession, he’ll never be fully comfortable with the nightmarish feeling that a night like this elicits. My patient, hereafter referred to as Mike, is a tow truck driver. He’s one of the few men responsible for towing vehicles that have just been involved in accidents, securing them appropriately for legal analysis later. Quite often, however, he’s called to do much more. On the night in question, he wades through the broken glass that blankets the road. As he approaches the vehicle, he hears a groan. Protocol dictates that he wait for the ambulance to arrive but the car flipped over and the steering wheel is now so deeply lodged into the victim’s stomach and upper torso that it’s likely his ribs are crushed. Mike suspects, based on the severity of the crash, that at least one of his vital organs is severely, and quite possibly fatally, injured.Thedriver was alone in the car, desperately struggling to breathe. There’s blood eve rywhere. Mike approaches the vehicle with a police col league. The inside of the car smells of alcohol, cologne and car freshener. The same freshener and cologne that Mike uses, which is why it was so readily distinguish able. They do their best to assure him that help is on the way. As the other police officers work to secure the scene and attempt to notify the victim’s emergency con tact, Mike stays with him. His lungs begin to collapse and as his breaths become shallower, Mike holds his hand and begins to pray. The experience is surreal. Holding a stranger’s hand during his darkest hour and asking God to keep him safe. In a time like this, it’s the only thing that Mike feels equipped to offer. The driver, a young male with his entire life still before him, uses what could be his last breaths and final words on this earth to express regret for not being a better son, a better brother and a better friend. His previous bucket-list desires now seem so frivo lous. All he wants is just one more day to apologise for not supporting those closest to him, for not showing the love he knew he should have. He always figured there was time later. A powerful sense of helplessness envelops both of them and, amid this audience of strangers, they both quietly begin to cry. As the ambulance arrives and Mike pulls away from the scene, he takes more than another mashed car and the memory of a man gled man with him. He didn’t know then whether the victim would survive but he knew that his sharing deep emotions and shedding silent tears filled his soul with meaning. He hopes that if the victim survives, the experience will change him and, in some way, enrich his life by making it more purpose-driven.Manypeople struggle to find their purpose and go their entire lives with out truly realising their full potential. The result can be an almost overwhelming sense of frustration and per sonal dissatisfaction. That, in turn, manifests itself in unwarranted displays of anger or even jealousy. This is particularly true when that individual feels impris oned by an environment where their differences and perceived attributes go unanimously uncelebrated. But there are others who are often asked to do things that they never signed up for and do it anyway, seamlessly transitioning into their life’s calling. The harshest circumstances always have a way of revealing who we really are. Throughout social media earlier this year, nurses all over the globe began shar ing their experiences with patients who were dying and what their final thoughts were. In the majority of cases, their patients spoke about their loved ones, those they’ll leave behind and those they hope to reunite with in the afterlife. Others express their greatest regrets in feel ing like they’ve wasted their life never living up to their true potential and with no conceivable opportunity to course correct. Many regret not taking better care of their health. Most, if not all, are sad for not spending more time with the people they love, the people who make them feel loved and supported and not saying to those individuals often enough how much they matter.Inour final moments, I hope that we as human beings have the benefit of clarity and a true under standing about what was and is important in life. Mike understands this well and as the emergency medi cal technicians approach, he steps aside as they assess the patient. He then assists when asked to help extri cate the jammed car door off its crushed hinges for easier access to the victim. After the ambulance leaves, he calls his son over to help strap the car wreck age. They flip it over and eventually get it towed, some two hours after they first arrived on the scene. The drive back home is quiet. Mike uses the time to thank God for his blessings and to ask for the continued grace and protection of his family. At the next car acci dent that he’s called to, he’ll enquire about the fate of the man whose hand he held tonight. For now he chooses to believe that he survived as the fear of the alterna tive prevents him from asking sooner. This way, for just a little longer, he’s able to keep the memory of the moment alive. Mike won ders how doctors, nurses and police officers can cope with this on a daily basis. He salutes them for collectively carrying this heavy cross and being the persons that we can call upon in our time of need. He also understands all too well now why a former minister of transport in The Bahamas dedicated himself to road safety. As a former police officer, he brought with him to his Cab inet post the memory of too many mangled bodies and crushedBeyondlives.that, every day, Mike chooses to be grateful because on his deathbed he never wants to be in a posi tion hoping for one more day of life to express the feelings that he rarely shared when there was time. He’s grateful for his family, his health and his job. He laughs often, hugs with his whole heart and says I love you with the strength of charac ter reserved for those who perpetually exhibit the best of humanity. He does this because over the years if there’s anything he’s learned, it’s that no day is promised and everything he loves could all be gone tomorrow.

One more day EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net INSIGHT MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2022 PAGE 9

So – that sounds like an IT problem and a need for the ability to act in times of emergency. How does that affect revealing regular contract awards? Mr Pinder cited examples such as needing to bring in an X-ray machine imme diately, but how many times in practice is that actually going to Morehappen? to the point, if changes need to be made, go right on ahead and make nec essary changes – but right now the law is the law and you need to obey it. Dr Duane Sands, the FNM chairman, was quick last week to respond on that point. He said: “Its clearly not responsible gov ernance. Once you change the law, you do it the way you want. But until then, you must abide by the law. You can’t expect the gen eral public to do as you say and not as you do.” He added: “It is very dis ingenuous now that they have approved a number of contracts for millions of dollars and it is in defiance of the law. There is no excuse, they have willfully, neglectfully and regretfully broken the law. Guilty, your honour, no explanation.” Steffon Evans, the assistant director of the Organisation for Responsi ble strategyratedtodefinitelyinthosewassincetakenthingthatplanthereofintosaid:concerns.alsoGovernance,expressedHe“Itisgoingbeimportantthisprocesstransitionfortobeatoensureeverythathasplacethebillenacted,contractsthatperiod,needbeincorpointotheoftran sition on the way forward and not simply abandoned. That would definitely not be a good example of responsible governance.” That’s a bit of a word salad but the point is the government cannot be allowed to ignore the law, hand out fistfuls of con tracts while they rewrite the law, then not report those under the new legislation, as and when that may be. That would not just be a lack of transparency, that would be as dark as mid night when the power blows at BPL yet again. The Davis administra tion, quite simply, has not complied with the reporting requirements of the Public Procurement Act. Note that word – it’s requirements, not an option. So what do you do if the police officer pulls you over and tells you that you broke the law? Well, off you go to court.Sowhat do we do if the government breaks the law and tries to pretend it doesn’tRewritingmatter?the law isn’t likely to be a swift process. How many contracts will be handed out under cover of darkness in the meantime? Where are the attempts to comply? Where is the voice in government saying these are the specific hurdles that stop us from following the law, but this is the full list of contracts we have awarded in the meantime? If there is a need to allow emergency awards in the event of disasters, by all means file your amend ments, and quickly given that it is hurricane season –but in the meantime, follow the law. Or why should anyone else?

to be in place for informa tion on all contracts to be released within 60 days of theirEitheraward.way, it’s been a long time since January and still nothing has moved forward. In fact, the gov ernment is planning to throw the whole law away and write a new one. Last week, Attorney General Ryan Pinder said: “The Public Procurement Bill, initially, we looked to amend certain aspects of that that we found trouble some. But once we were looking at in more depth, we figured a full rewrite of that legislation was neces sary in order to provide more transparency, better ease of administration and ability to govern effectively on that bill and ability to be able to govern with imme diate priority and instances that require it.” So what were the problems?Hesaid: “A lot of times the portal didn’t func tion appropriately and the mechanisms that were in place restricts your gov ernment from reacting immediately in times of exi gency that you would recall and know we’re still in a pandemic, we still have cer tain exigencies with respect to health reform, and our health care and the neces sity to react quickly.”

The law is the law - and the government should follow it

By STRACHANMALCOLM

IMAGINE if you will the following scenario: You’re driving home, and the police pull you over. When you ask what you did wrong, the officer tells you that you were speeding and so you have broken the law. Not to worry, you say, I’ll change that law when I get home, and off you drive, leaving behind the officer shouting after you that you’ve broken the law right now.Which brings us to our current government. It has been a year-anda-half since the Public Procurement Bill was passed, and a year since its enactment – and yet we find ourselves in a posi tion where the current government seems to be essentially ignoring it, while promising to change it at some indeterminate point in the Firstfuture.things first, the law laid down procedures required to bring about transparency with regard to public awardsallHubertthenWhencontracts.itwasintroduced,PrimeMinisterDrMinnissaidthatgovernmentcontractwouldbepublished

PAGE 10 MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2022 INSIGHT EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder, left, and FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands.

‘Once changeyouthe law, you do it the way you want. But until then, you must abide by the law. You can’t expect the notaspublicgeneraltodoyousayandasyoudo.’DrDuaneSands

‘The thatandimmediateablebilleffectivelyabilityadministrationbettermoreorderwasthatadepth,lookingoncetroublesome.thatcertainlookedBill,ProcurementPublicinitially,wetoamendaspectsofthatwefoundButwewereatinmorewefiguredfullrewriteoflegislationnecessaryintoprovidetransparency,easeofandtogovernonthatandabilitytobetogovernwithpriorityinstancesrequireit.’AttorneyGeneralRyanPinder

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online and in newspapers. He said public informa tion about contracts “will state what the contract is for, who it was awarded to and the dollar value of the

tonotadministrationthesent,seeweciselyamounts.”andwhatcontracts,governmentwhoablemasThecitizenscountry.adesonthatcaltherumourspering,theaddresshelp“Thiscontract”.Headded:willtoallwhistheandpolitimischiefhasgonefordecinourTheofBahawillbetoseeisgettingforpurposeinwhatThatisprewhatcannotatprewithcurrentbotheringattendtothe spirit of the law let alone abide by the letter of it. There have been excuses put forward – Economic Affairs Ministeranifydidthatpointedtard,Michaelleaderfromresponsebrusquebroughtlatterappointed.notofficercurementchiefbecausehinderedmentthelaterSimonSecretaryFinancialJanuarywhilecouldistrationDavisthatregulationsmanualsthereHalkitisMichaelsaidwerenoortheadminfind,inWilsonclaimedgovernwasaprohadbeenThatexcuseaFNMPinwhooutthelawnotspecthatsuchofficerhad

SO FAR in this attempt to answer the ques tion, “Has CARICOM reached its limits of regional integration”, it has been established that, after almost 50 years, the regional project has failed to deliver the commitments expected from the 1973 Treaty of Chaguaramas and its Revision in 2001. In summary, while the 2001 revision of the CAR ICOM Treaty laid the framework for a single eco nomic space (the Caribbean Single Market and Econ omy (CSME), the attempts at regional integration have made very little progress. Not even a Custom Union, let alone a Common Market has been established. The ‘Sovereignty’ of indi vidual states continues to be the dominant characteristic of decision making, result ing in inadequate or no implementation of regional decisions. The Secretariat, having started off brilliantly under William Demas and Alister McIntyre (two widely respected Caribbean figures), and with enthusi astic support from the then member governments, has drifted into paralysis and bureaucratic management, in addition to being poorly funded.Additionally, CARICOM expanded prematurely instead of focussing on deepening its integration. The admission of Haiti in 2002 has caused problems for trade and economic integration – one that is unlikely to be solved in the foreseeable future. Further, successive governments of Haiti have breached the 1997 CARICOM Charter of Civil Society in relation to free and fair elections, good governance, and civil and political rights. The Bahamas is not a member of the common market aspects of CARICOM. While it has participated beneficially in some aspects of “functional coopera tion”, its governments have been inconsistent in the coordination of foreign policy with other CARI COMJamaicastates.has continuously questioned the benefits of its own participation in CARICOM, focussing issues on its trade with Trinidad and Tobago only and ignoring the fact that it enjoys a large trade surplus with all other CARICOM states, especially those that are also members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Also depending on which political party holds office, Jamaican governments have chosen to do very little coordination of its foreign policy positions.

much for the cloistered immaturity of a political culture fixated by the obsessive compul sions of local control”. Sir Shridath also remarked with poignant resonance today, that had regional leaders implemented the mechanism proposed by PJ Patterson, “many of our countries would not be experiencing the extent of the terrible economic mis fortune and uncertainty they now Realistically,endure”. the challenges faced by CARICOM countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suri name with their present-day riches of oil and gas, is that none of them, individually, enjoys sustainable eco nomic independence. Each of them is dependent on aid for social and economic development and security in all its dimensions. Con sequently, this dependence deprives each of them of genuine political independ ence. As the late Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Lester Bird, put it in 1992, “No small state, severely limited in its natu ral, human and financial resources, can operate as if it were a large country. It is an marketssinglethemergesnomicembracedworldmakingandproblem-solvingapproachunrealistictodecision-inawhichhasecoalliances,andcreationofregionalasways to Givensurvive”.all this, CARI COM has not reached its limits of regional integra tion; indeed, CARICOM has barely scratched the surface of the economic and political benefits of integration.Theregion’s current leaders must navigate their countries through the maelstrom of high debt, continuing poor terms of trade, inadequate access to concessional financing for development, imported high costs for food and energy, inadequate technological infrastruc ture and the impact of Climate Change. While some of them, with oil and gas especially, may weather this storm for now, the underlying weaknesses of individual small economies will persist. A committed approach to the deepening of regional integration with effective machinery for implementation is the only answer.The adherence to a “Caribbean Community of Sovereign States” is unlikely to change. But its leaders should, at least rec ognise that “sovereignty” is only beneficial if it has force in dealing with an interna tional community. Many of the member states of the international community are fed-up with the constant demands on their taxpayers’ money from individual small and powerless states. They have themselves pur sued integration as their salvation as for instance, in the European Union, the federation of the United States of America, the federation of Canada, the federation of Mexico and the federation of Brazil. While Federation is a contemplation now too imbued with fear, at least deeper integration must be high on the priorities and commitment of lead ers as the 60th anniversary of CARICOM approaches. Leaders might usefully con sider adapting one of the Golding Commission’s rec ommendations, “to appoint an oversight body of three to five eminent CARICOM nationals to review CARI COM’s performance and, in particular, the compliance of member states…”. The review could be considered in July 2023 and delivered to the public. There is no shortage of solid, authorita tive work that would aid the review.AsDr Eric Williams, a renowned Caribbean his torian, who led his country, Trinidad and Tobago, to independence in the wake of the break-up of the West Indies Federation, advised with compelling prescience in 1962: “Sepa ration and fragmentation were the policy of colonial ism and rival colonialisms. Association and integra tion must be the policy of independence.”

ViewWorld ‘No country.’itoperateresources,andnatural,limitedstate,smallseverelyinitshumanfinancialcanasifwerealarge

HAS INTEGRATION?REGIONALLIMITSREACHEDCARICOMITSOF

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

The 2017 Jamaica Com mission, headed by former Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, which reviewed Jamaica’s relations with CARICOM, recommended that, if fundamental changes were not made to CARI COM’s processes, Jamaica should “withdraw from the CSME” but retain mem bership “similar to that of The Bahamas”. The latter event would put Jamaica in the same semi-detached position as The Bahamas, weaking the Organization even more. Note should be taken, however, that there were many valid observa tions and remarks in the Golding Report, regard ing reform of CARICOM, especially regarding imple mentation of its decisions. In 2003, 14 years before the Golding report, another Jamaican Prime Minister, PJ Patterson, a commit ted regionalist, proposed to a CARICOM Heads of Government meeting, a mechanism to facilitate the deepening of the regional integration. Seemingly con vinced, the leaders adopted “The Rose Hall Declara tion”. However, even then, there were signs of reti cence and reluctance with one Prime Minister insisting on accepting the Rose Hall Declaration “in principle”, not in practice. The Decla ration was never executed. This caused Sir Shri dath Ramphal, the elder Caribbean Statesman who chaired the 1992 West ity,supra-nationalancescheckswhich,regionalismittiontheing2014,toCommission,Indianobserve,inthatnothcameofDeclarabecauseoffered“aforallitsandbalagainstwasstilltoo

• Responses and previ ous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com.

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net INSIGHT MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2022 PAGE 11

Press R KELLY’S federal trial in Chicago that starts Monday is in many ways a do-over of his 2008 state child pornography trial, at which jurors acquitted the singer on charges that he produced a video of him self when he was around 30 having sex with a girl no older than 14 - with allega tions this time including bringing an underage girl to TheThere’sBahamas.one big differ ence: This time, prosecutors say, she will testify. Kelly, 55, goes into Chi cago federal court already sentenced by a New York federal judge to a 30-year prison term for a 2021 conviction on charges he parlayed his fame to sexu ally abuse other young fans. Among the most seri ous charges the Grammy Award winner faces at his federal trial is conspiracy to obstruct justice by rigging the 2008 trial, including by paying off and threatening the girl to ensure she did notTestimonytestify. by the woman, now in her 30s and referred to in filings only as “Minor 1”, will be pivotal. The charges against Kelly also include four counts of the enticement of minors for sex — one count each for four other accusers. All are also slated to testify. Even just one or two con victions in Chicago could add decades to Kelly’s New York sentence, which he is appealing. With the New York sentence alone, Kelly will be around 80 before qualifying for early release.

SUNWING Airlines, the largest integrated travel company in North America, has confirmed its winter plans to have flights from Canada to Freeport starting December 17. The Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation announced on Thursday Sunwiing is returning to The Bahamas after a twoyearFollowingabsence. the inaugu ral flight, more flights will arrive each Saturday from both Toronto and Montreal. These flights, available for booking now, are currently scheduled through to May 1, Deputy2023.

PAGE 12, Monday, August 15, 2022 THE TRIBUNE

AUTHORITIES in Norway have euthanised a walrus that had drawn crowds of spectators in the Oslo Fjord after concluding it posed a risk to humans. The 600kg female walrus, known as Freya, became a popular attrac tion in Norway in recent weeks, despite warnings from officials that people should refrain from get ting close and posing for pictures with the massive marine mammal. Freya liked to clamber on small boats, causing damage to them.Walruses are protected and as recently as last month officials said they hoped Freya would leave of her own accord and eutha nasia would be a last resort. Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries said Freya was put down early on Sunday “based on an overall assess ment of the continued threat to human safety”. “Through on-site obser vations the past week, it was made clear that the public has disregarded the current recommendation to keep a clear distance to the walrus,” it “Therefore,said. the direc torate has concluded, the possibility for potential harm to people was high and animal welfare was not being maintained.”

R Kelly accuser to give testimony on trial-fixing

Prosecutors at the federal trial plan to play the same VHS tape that was “Exhibit No 1” at the 2008 trial. While it was the only video in evidence 14 years ago, at least three other videos will be entered into evidence at the federal Prosecutorstrial. say Kelly shot the video of Minor 1 in a log cabin-themed room at his North Side Chicago home between 1998 and 2000 when she was as young as 13. In it, the girl is heard calling the man “daddy”. Federal prosecutors say that she and Kelly had sex hundreds of times over the years in his homes, record ing studios and tour buses. Before the 2008 trial, Kelly carried a duffle bag full of sex tapes everywhere he went for years, but some tapes later went missing, according to court filings. In the 2000s, bootleg copies of some videos appeared on street corners across the US. Kelly knew a conviction in 2008 would effectively end his life as he knew it. On June 13, 2008, Kelly shut his eyes tight and bowed his head as jurors returned from deliberations. As a court official read the jury’s deci sion and it became clear Kelly would be acquitted on all counts, tears streamed down his cheeks and he said over and over, “Thank you, Jesus.”Two Kelly associates, Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, are co-defendants in Chicago. McDavid is accused of helping Kelly fix the 2008 trial, while Brown is charged with receiving child pornography. Like Kelly, they have also denied anyDoublewrongdoing.jeopardy rules bar the prosecution of someone for the same crimes they were acquit ted of earlier. But that shouldn’t apply to the Chi cago federal trial because prosecutors are alleging different crimes related to Minor 1, including obstruc tion of justice for fixing the 2008Minortrial.1 first met Kelly in the late 1990s when she was in junior high school. She had tagged along to Kelly’s Chicago recording studio with her aunt, a profes sional singer working with Kelly’s music. Soon after that meeting, Minor 1 told her parents Kelly was going to be her godfather. In the early 2000s, the aunt showed the parents a copy of a video she said depicted their daugh ter having sex with Kelly. When they confronted Kelly, he told them, “You’re with me or against me,” a government filing says. The parents took it as a threat. “Minor 1’s mother did not want to go up against Kelly’s power, money, and influence by not following what he said,” the filing adds. Kelly told the parents and Minor 1 they had to leave Chicago, paying for them to travel to the Baha mas and Cancun, Mexico. When they returned, pros ecutors say Kelly sought to isolate Minor 1, moving her around to different hotels. When called before a state grand jury looking into the video, Minor 1, her father and mother denied it was her in it. Prosecutors say an attorney for Kelly sat in on their testimony and reported back to Kelly what theyProsecutorssaid. from the Cook County state’s attor ney’s office chose to push ahead with charges and to take the case to trial in 2008 despite what they knew was a major hurdle: their ina bility to call the girl in the video to testify. Any confidence Kelly may have had of beating similar charges a second time were likely dashed when he learned Minor 1 was now cooperating with theWhatgovernment.defence Kelly’s legal team will present this time isn’t clear.

NORWAY PUTS DOWN WALRUS

FREYA the walrus sitting on a boat in Frognerkilen in Oslo, Nor way, last month.

MUSICIAN R Kelly pictured outside court inPhoto:2019. Amr Alfiky/AP

A MAN was granted $9,000 bail in Magistrate’s Court yesterday on charges of possessing 24lbs of Indian Hemp with a street value of $24,000. Leroy Heild, 33, rep resented by Attorney Wendawn Miller-Frazer, appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on a charge of possession of dan gerous drugs with intent to supply.OnJuly 6 in New Provi dence, the accused was reportedly found by officers with 24lbs of Indian Hemp. These drugs have an esti mated worth of $24,000. In court, Heild pleaded not guilty to the charge. As there was no objections to bail from Prosecutor Inspector Timo thy Bain, the accused was granted $9,000 bail with one or two sureties. Under the conditions of his bail, Heild is expected to sign in at Carmichael Road Police Station every Monday, Wednesday or Friday before 6pm. Heild’s trial is set for September 12.

SUSPECT DENIES GUN POSSESSION

Prime Minis ter Chester Cooper, who is the minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, welcomed the resurgence of Grand Bahama as a potential major tourist destination.MrCooper said the air line’s return to Grand Bahama this holiday season speaks to the viability of the product. “Airlift and stopover visitors are critical to the economy of Grand Bahama and this will provide a much-needed boost for the tourism economy,” Mr Cooper said in a press state ment. “With our plans to redevelop the airport after Hurricane Dorian ravaged it, and the transformation of the Grand Lucayan Resort, we believe the potential for Grand Bahama really is limitless.”GrandBahama Minister Ginger Moxey also wel comed business back to Grand Bahama after the pandemic.“Sunwing’s return is a welcome development for Grand Bahama Island. This service is indicative of the growth of the tour ism sector and signals a major step in Grand Bahama’s recovery and revitalisation,” Minister Moxey said. She added that industry partners should look for ward to more news about Grand Bahama in short order that supports con fidence of an imminent turnaround.“Visitors will get to explore and experience our island and its diverse offer ings and send a distinct message to the world that Grand Bahama is indeed open for business and better than ever. We remain open to strategic partner ships and collaboration,” sheSunwingsaid. is a low cost charter service based in Toronto. Sunwing flights offer direct ser vice from airports across Canada to popular sun destinations across the US, Caribbean, Mexico and CentralSunwingAmerica.offers cus tomers exclusive deals at resorts, as well as cruise packages and seasonal domestic flight services from its many destination representatives.Thecompany also sup ports the communities where it operates through the Sunwing Founda tion, a charitable initiative focused on the support and development of youth and humanitarian aid.

AssociatedCHICAGO

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

MAN ACCUSED OVER INDIAN HEMP FIND

DEATH SUSPECTTHREATINCOURT

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was granted $5,000 bail in the Magis trate’s Court on Friday accused of threatening to kill a woman and assaulting her with a Demekogun.Johnson, 25, represented by attorney Wendawn Miller-Frazer, faced Acting Chief Mag istrate Subusola Swain on charges of a assault with a deadly weapon and threats of Ondeath.August 11 in New Providence, Johnson is alleged to have assaulted Mazie Cox with a handgun and threatened her with death. In court, the defend ant pleaded not guilty. Bail was granted to John son at the sum of $5,000 with one or two sureties. Johnson’s trial will com mence on November 24.

A MAN was remanded in Magistrate’s Court on Friday on firearm and ammunition charges. Shaquel McKenzie, 28, represented by attorney Wendawn Miller-Frazer, appeared before Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition. On August 9 in New Prov idence, the accused was reportedly found by police with a black G2C Taurus 9mm pistol. The serial number had been erased. He is also charged with pos sessing eight unfired rounds of 9mm ammunition at the time of his arrest. In court, McKenzie pleaded not guilty. The prosecution, how ever, objected to bail because he has outstanding warrants.McKenzie’s bail was denied at this time. Before being returned to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, the accused was informed of his right to reapply for bail before the Supreme Court. McKenzie’s next court date is set for August 19.

SUNWING CONFIRMS DECEMBER RETURN TO FREEPORT By LETRE SWEETING To advertise in The 502-2394contactTribune,

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

VETERAN quarter-miler Chris “The Fireman” Brown, now in his third year as the head coach at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, has been appointed as Ambassador-at-Large for Sports, along with former basketball player turned actor Rick Fox, a three-time National Basketball Association champion with the Los Angles Lakers. The honour was bestowed upon the men during the commissioning ceremony for five other ambassadors in the presence of Deputy Governor General Cynthia “Mother” Pratt, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell. Photo courtesy of Peter Ramsey SEE THE FULL STORY PAGE

Halep wins 3rd National Bank title ‘FIREMAN’ APPOINTED AMBASSADOR

SPORTS

The Bahamas Select team, preparing for its next window of the World Cup Qualifier this coming weekend, put up the best showing against the University of Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team.At the end of their four-game series against a variety of teams at Baha Mar yesterday, the Wild cats pulled away from the Bahamas in the second half for an impressive 98-74 decision to remain unde feated as the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s Summer of Thunder came to an Afterend.holding onto a slim 41-40 margin at the half, the Wildcats held a 56-52 lead before senior 6-foot, 5-guard Antonio Reeves caught on fire, hitting four three-pointers as he tra versed from one side of the court to the other to extend their lead to 70-59 with 11 minutes and nine seconds left in the Althoughgame.they had built insurmountable leads in the first half en route to blowout victories over the Dominican Republic, the Mexican Pro Team, and Carleton University, just the night before they had their closest encounter with the Bahamas in the finale.“We were challenged. We played a good Baha mian team with veterans and experience. That was what we needed to see,” said Orlando Antigua, an associate coach to leg endary head coach John Calipari.“Itwas a quick turna round from last night to an early game against a very coached and experienced team. We needed some of that out of this trip so that we can go back and watch the film and get ready for theAntiguaseason.”said with more than 800 fans coming to the Bahamas from Kentucky to watch the Wildcats play in the Baha Mar ballroom, they knew it would have only been a matter of time before they put together a run to derail the Bahamas. “It was a great experi ence. Our team enjoyed themselves, our fans enjoyed themselves,” he said. “When we get back, we will wait for a while and BJ Murray Jr and his South Bend Cubs head into the most pivotal matchup of the Midwest League regu lar season this week. The Cubs currently lead the second half of the West division standings at 25-17, just ahead of the Beloit Sky Carp at 24-18. The division rivals will meet in a sixgame series, August 16-21, with 18 games remaining in the regular season. The format for the 2022 postseason will consist of four teams per league in a best-of-3 division series, followed by a best-of-3 championship series. The four participants per league will be the winners of each division from both halves based on the best winning percentage of each half.Cedar Rapids has already clinched a spot as a first half division winner. In the event the same club wins both halves, the club with the next best full-season winning percentage in that division will advance. South Bend is currently second to Cedar Rapids in the overall division stand ings at 59-49. The 22-year-old infielder has made a successful transition to High-A base ball and his progression within the Chicago Cubs organisation.InanAugust 12 matchup with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Murray had a perfect day at the plate, 4-4 with an RBI and a run scored.Through 37 games with South Bend, Murray is hit ting .264, slugging .355, with a .751 OPS, with 32 hits, 12

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

SEE PAGE 16 By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net CHRIS

ANTONIO Reeves shows off his MVP trophy last night. Photo: Austin Fernander/ Tribune Staff

TORONTO (AP) — Simona Halep won the National Bank Open yes terday for the third time, beating Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Halep, from Romania, also won the title in 2016 and 2018 when it was called the Rogers Cup. It’s the 24th title of Halep’s career and first since switching to Patrick Mouratoglou as her coach.The 26-year-old Haddad Maia, who is from Brazil, has never won a tennis tournament at this level before but has rocketed up the WTA Tour’s standings thisSheyear.upset three seeded players at the National Bank Open: 13th-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, and 14thseeded Karolina Pliskova in succession.Ayear ago, Haddad Maia was ranked 183rd in the world, but entered this week’s tournament No. 24 and will crack the top 20 nextHalepweek. fell behind Haddad Maia 3-0 in the opening set and started yelling at herself. Some Brazilian fans — many of them in yellow national soccer kit — started chant ing “Bee-ah! Bee-ah!” to cheer on Haddad-Maia but they were soon drowned out by Romanian fans’ calls of toSee-moh-nah!”“See-moh-nah!ThechantingseemedrouseHalep.Adeep

18

BROWN

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SPORTS PAGE 13 MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2022 Jonquel, Page 15 BJ SERIESPIVOTALHEADEDANDMURRAYCUBSFOR SEE PAGE 16 Undefeated Wildcats beat Bahamas 98-74

forehand return on set point was just out of the reach of Haddad Maia’s extended racket sealed six consecutive games for Halep as she came back to take the first set. Haddad Maia seemed to shake off that stun ning comeback to start the second set, quickly winning the first two games and fending off Halep on two more for a 4-0 lead. Although Halep won a game back to slow Haddad Maia slightly and make it 4-1, the younger Brazilian immediately reclaimed that momentum to make it 5-1. Halep claimed another game before Haddad Maia could serve for the second set. Haddad Maia jumped out to a 40-15 advantage and then her serve hand cuffed Halep to win the set and force a decisive third and final set. For the first time in the match, Halep opened a set with a game winner and took a 2-0 lead when Haddad Maia’s return of her forehand went long. Later, an overhand smash at the net by Halep completed her own unblemished game for a 5-2 Haddadlead.Maia stayed in the match, winning another game. She made it 5-3 when her high backhanded volley dropped in for a point. Holding a 40-15 advan tage in the ninth game of the third set, Halep clinched her first title in Toronto when Haddad Maia put her return into the net.

PAGE 14, Monday, August 15, 2022 THE TRIBUNE

By

WASHINGTON (AP) — San Diego Padres dynamo Fernando Tatis Jr, one of the brightest, fresh est stars in all of Major League Baseball, has been suspended 80 games after testing positive for a perfor mance-enhancing substance and won’t play this season. MLB said Tatis tested positive for Clostebol, an anabolic steroid. Tatis said he accidentally took a medication to treat ringworm that contained the banned substance. The penalty imposed by MLB was effective immedi ately, meaning the All-Star shortstop — who had been out the entire season because of a broken wrist but was expected to return to the playoff contenders next week — cannot play in the majors until next year. Tatis will miss the remain ing 48 regular-season games thisAnyyear.postseason games the Padres play would count toward the 80 that Tatis must sit out, and he’ll serve the rest of the suspension at the start of next season. “Shocked eve rybody,” Padres star Manny Machado said after a 10-5 win over Washington. The 23-year-old Tatis, who signed a $340 million, 14-year contract before the 2021 season, became one of the most prominent players ever penalised for to42theStartheWashington.wheresaideralmoneyweorganisation’sSomebodybody’sMarch.WorldDominicanTatissionaboutTheriguezdrugs,performance-enhancingalongwithAlexRodandMannyRamirez.penaltywillcostTatis$2.9million.MLBsaidthesuspenalsowillpreventfromplayingfortheRepublicintheBaseballClassicnext“Obviously,everyverydisappointed.thatfromthestandpointinvestedtimeandinto,”PadresgenmanagerA.J.PrelleratNationalsPark,SanDiegoplayedFlashyattheplateandinfield,TatiswasanAll-lastseasonwhenheledNationalLeaguewithhomeruns.HewassetsoonrejointhePadresto boost a lineup that added star outfielder Juan Soto this month right before the trade deadline. In a statement released by the players’ union, Tatis said he was “completely devastated” and apologised to Padres management, his teammates, MLB and “and fans everywhere for my mistake.”“Itturns out that I inad vertently took a medication to treat ringworm that con tained Clostebol,” he said. “I should have used the resources available to me in order to ensure that no banned substances were in what I took. I failed to do so.”“I have no excuse for my error, and I would never do anything to cheat or disre spect this game I love,” he said.Tatis added that “after initially appealing the sus pension, I have realised that my mistake was the cause of this result, and for that reason I have decided to start serving my suspen sion immediately. “I look forward to rejoin ing my teammates on the field in 2023.”

Popovici went out in 22.74 and set the record by going 24.12 on the return lap to easily beat Hungarian butterfly specialist Kristóf Milák by 0.61. Italy’s Ales sandro Miressi claimed the bronze in 47.63. “This was a brilliant race, a joy to swim next to David,” Milák said. “David is a fantastic swimmer, I think the same crazy genius of the freestyle that I am in the butterfly. It’s great that his name will hit the head lines for long, long years.” Popovici’s emergence sets up a potentially huge showdown at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where American star Caeleb Dressel — winner of five gold medals at last summer’s Tokyo Games — will come in as the reigning gold medalist in the 100 Popovicfree.had his comingout at this year’s worlds in Budapest, sweeping golds in the 100 and 200 free. He didn’t get a chance to swim the 100 against Dres sel, who dropped out of the event for health reasons before the final. Milák, world recordholder in the 200 fly, hopes to also be part of the free style mix in Paris. “My goal is very clear,” the Hungarian said. “I just want to reach a level in this event to arrive to Paris 2024 with the capability of swim ming a time somewhere very close to 47 seconds.”

Jones and Sun topple Lynx in final game for Sylvia Fowles THE TRIBUNE Monday, August 15, 2022, PAGE 15

DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

ROMANIAN TEEN SWIMMER POPOVICI BREAKS 2009 MARK IN 100 FREESYTYLE

Popovici touched in 46.86 seconds at the Euro pean championships to top the time of 46.91 set by Brazil’s César Cielo at the 2009 world champion ships, which also were held at Rome’s historic Foro Italico.Cielo established his record on July 30, 2009, at the last major international meet to allow rubberised suits. It stood longer than any record in the event’s history, going back to 1905. Now, it belongs to one of the sport’s budding stars. “There was no rush and I had to be extremely patient about the world record,” Popovici said. “It has hurt but it’s always worth it and I feel fine right now. It felt great and it’s very special to break this record which was set here in 2009 by César Cielo.”Cielo still holds the record in the 50 free, which is among eight men’s longcourse standards that remain from the rubber-suit era.Five of those were set at those supercharged 2009 worlds.

LYNX centre Sylvia Fowles battles against Sun forward Jonquel Jones (35) for a rebound yesterday in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Sean D Elliot/The Day via AP) By RENALDO

JONQUEL Jones and the Connecticut Sun con cluded the WNBA regular season with wins in nine of their last 11 games and head into the playoffs as a legitimate title contender. The Sun (25-11) clinched the no.3 overall seed with a 90-83 win over the Min nesota Lynx yesterday at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Connecticut will host the no.6 seed Dallas Wings on August 18 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.Gametime is at 8pm and will be broadcast live, both on ESPNU and NBA TV. Jones and the other start ers played limited minutes in the finale and the reign ing MVP finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots. Every active Sun player on the roster saw playing time in the first quarter and the team took a 45-34 at half time. Jones scored 10 of her 12 in the first half and led the Sun to a 30-12 advan tage in the paint. In 33 games this season, Jones averaged 14.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. She also shot 51 percent from the field, 80 percent from the free throw line, and 37 percent from beyond the arc. Jones has recorded 11 double-doubles this season, just one of six players in the WNBA with more than 10 doubledoubles. She has scored in double figures in 27 games and finished top 10 in the league in blocks (38) and blocks per game (1.2). Jones also ranked third in the league with 283 total rebounds and fourth on average at 8.6 rebounds per game. She also posted aver ages of 1.1 steals and 1.8 assists in just over 26 min utes per Amonggame.her many acco lades this season, Jones became the Sun’s all-time leader in blocked shots. She reached the milestone in an August 11 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. She finished the game with 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Her block on Chennedy Carter in the third quarter gave her 267 to surpass the previ ous mark of 266 from Taj wasinMcWilliams-Franklin.Jonesnowhas270blocksherWNBAcareer.ShealsonamedaWNBA All-Star for the third con secutive year and the fourth time in her career. While her usage rate and minutes are slightly down from the 2021, Jones’ per 36 minutes are comparable to her 2021 MVP campaign. Her usage rate was 26.3 in 2021 in 42 minutes per game and is down to 23.3 this season in just over 26 minutes per game. The WNBA will debut another new playoff format this season. In previous seasons, top seeds have received first and second round byes but now the league will shift to a stand ard three-round bracket format.The first round will be best-of-three, while the semifinals and finals will be best-of-five.

Padres star Tatis suspended 80 games for positive drug test TODD AssociatedDYBASPress

ROME (AP) — Sev enteen-year-old David Popovici of Romania became the youngest swim mer to break the world swimming record in the men’s 100-metre freestyle Saturday, beating the mark set more than 13 years ago in the same pool.

After getting off to a great start with 11 points in the first half to keep the Bahamas in the game, Jaraun ‘Keno’ Burrows ended up with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two Kentwanblocks.Smith, however, was the top scorer with 18 points and six rebounds. Dominick Bridgewater, the talented young point guard, produced 12 points, five assists, five steals and three rebounds to help keep the Bahamas in the contest. Kadeem Coleby had nine points and three rebounds and Isnord ‘Kenny’ Wilkin son came off the bench with nine points as well, two rebounds, two steals and a block.Moses Johnson, in lead ing the Bahamas coaching staff, said they ran with the Cats for as long as they could.“The game went well. The first half we were con necting defensively. We got consistent stops and we got to score,” John son said. “In the second half, we just broke down mentally. Defensively, we let one guy hit four threes consecutively.“Wecan’tlet those lapses get to us when we are playing a good team like Kentucky. But all in all, I think the guys gave a good effort. We hung in there for the most part. It got away from us at the end, but I liked the effort from the team.”Having the ability to uti lise their size, the Bahamas was able to contend with the Cats in the first half. But he noted that it was the tale of two halves, and it just so happened that the game got away from them mentally in the second half. But one of the positive aspects of the game was the fact that Johnson said with several young players on this squad, it was good for them to get some exposure, especially down the end trailing by 20 (90-70) when he brought in most of the bench before Kentucky did the same thing with 1:31 on the clock and up 94-70. “I wanted the coaches and the scouts to see some of those younger guys,” Johnson said. “Playing in these types of games bode well for their development, so it was good to get them in there so they could be seen.”Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis and Minister of Youth, Sports and Cul ture Mario Bowleg were among the list of dignitaries in attendance at the games, along with Jeff Rodgers, the sports ambassador in the Ministry of Tourism and Eugene Horton, president of the BBF. The focus for the Baha mas men’s national team will now switch to the next window of the World Cup Qualifier at 8pm on Thursday, August 25 when they host Venezuela with National Basketball Asso ciation player Chavano “Buddy” Hield of the Indi ana Pacers being joined by Phoenix Suns’ Deandre Ayton and Kai Jones of the Charlotte Hornets. “We are asking every body to come out,” said Johnson of the game that will be played in the same venue. “We have our three NBA players for the first time, so it’s going to be really intense and it’s going to be really exciting for us.” The Bahamas, playing out of Group E, will then travel to Argentina for their next game on Monday, August 29. The Bahamas is cur rently sitting in sixth place, although tied with fifth place Panama with a 2-4 win-lossCanadarecord.is out front undefeated at 6-0, while Venezuela and Argen tina are second and third respectively, both at 5-1. The Dominican Republic is in fourth at 4-2. The Bahamas will close out play in the homeand-away series of games when they play Panama on Thursday, November 10, Argentina on Sunday, November 13, Venezuela on Friday, February 24, 2023 and Panama on Monday, February 27, 2023.

PAGE 16, Monday, August 15, 2022 THE TRIBUNE

then we will start prepar ing for the season. But this was a good way to go out with a victory.”

runs scored, five doubles, two home runs, 20 RBI and eight stolen bases. Murray began his 2022 season at the Low-A level with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.In39 games with the club, he hit .305, slugged .461 with a .902 OPS, 39 hits, including three home runs, 11 doubles, 31 runs scored and 25 RBI. Murray overcame a slow start in his first season at the Low-A level but became one of the club’s offensive leaders across all categories at the time of his newHeassignment.produced 11 multi hit games, highlighted by a season high 3-4 night with five RBI in his club’s 24-6 win over the WinstonSalem Red Sox. He previously earned Player of the Game hon ours when he finished 2-3 with a home run, double, an RBI and three runs scored in the Pelicans’ 9-1 win over the Columbia Fireflies, April 30. Murray began his day with a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning. He also doubled in the fourth inning. Murray was selected by the Cubs out of Florida Atlantic University with the 22nd pick in the 15th round, no. 454 overall in the 2021 MLB Draft. He spent his first season of professional baseball in the Arizona Complex League. Through 16 ACL games, he hit .286, slugging .482 with a .826 OPS, 16 hits, including two home runs, three doubles, a triple, 12 runs scored an eight RBI. anofFederation’sBahamasundefeateddecisionanthefromWildcatsMarofagainstfour-gameAtBahateamBahamasnightbasketballWildcatsteamlastdefeatedtheSelect70-59intheMarballroom.theendoftheirseriesavarietyteamsatBahayesterday,thepulledawaytheBahamasinsecondhalfforimpressive98-74toremainastheBasketballSummerThundercametoend.Photo:

MURRAY FROM PAGE 13 BJ MURRAY WILDCATS FROM PAGE 13 THE UNIVERSITY of Kentucky

Reeves finished with 22 points to lead the Cats, while 5-9 guard Sahvir Wheeler had 21 points, four assists and two steals and 6-9 forward Jacob Toppin added 20 points with five rebounds and two steals.

FernanderAustin / Tribune Staff

CHRISTOPHER Saintus gets his Atlantis award.

DAVID Prabu gets his award.

EDONEY Russell is awarded.

Hanna, a registered psy chiatric nurse, said as a keen lover of running and dancing, she participated in the event because you want to continue to enjoy her life to the fullest and this is one of the ways she can achieve that.“It was good. I’m glad the country is open so we can run and walk and enjoy activities in a safe envi ronment again,” she said. Mackey Williams, 53, called it a “piece of cake” or a “regular”“Besidesworkout.running, walk ing is what I do, so this was a piece of cake,” he said. “It was a good course. It should have been longer. We should have gone to the golf course, but thanks to my heavenly Father, I made it. This is what I do.” Providing some challenge for Williams was 51-yearold David Prabu. “It’s been a while since we had a chance to compete like this, so it was good,” Prabu said. “The competi tion was stiff, but at the end Mackey got away from me. He’s the top gun, but one day I am going to get him.” There wasn’t any competition for Eve Maycock-Dorsett as she comfortably controlled the tempo for the ladies’ seg ment of the run. “The race was a good race. Atlantis is always a nice, easy four-mile race to run,” she said. “I didn’t have much competition, but I’m so proud of myself being 58 years old this year and still running a good pace.”Christopher Saintus, a 17-year-old graduate of CI Gibson and a member of the 4-D Stallions Track Club, said he didn’t have much time to prepare having worked late the night before. “I usually run with these guys, so the competition was there for a while, but I managed to get away from them,” Saintus said. Roydon Miller, employed at Atlantis in their Secu rity Department, said after his wife registered him and his daughter, he didn’t turn down the opportunity to support his family. “It was a little rough because I haven’t exer cised in a while,” said the 46-year-old Miller. “I just kept walking. My daughter kept telling me ‘daddy you can do this,’ so I just kept pushing myself.”

KATHLEEN Grant receives her Atlantis award.

MACKEY Williams gets his award from Aisha Neely. KENNISA Major receives her award.

EVE Mackey-Dorsett receives her award. YVONNE Sturrup gets her Atlantis award.

ROYDON Miller gets his award.

THE TRIBUNE Monday, August 15, 2022, PAGE 17 EVERYBODY

LIESL Hanna receives her Atlantis award.

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Yvonne Sturrup, a teller manager at Atlantis, was the winner of the women’s short course walk race. “This is my second time doing it and I enjoyed it,” she said. “It’s beneficial for me because the older you get, the more you push yourself, so I enjoy it.” Edoney Russell, an 11th grader at St Augustine’s College, was the winner of the male youth walk. “The bridge was a little tough, but other than that, it was fine,” he said. “It was fun.”And Kennisa Major, a 15-year-old student at Queen’s College, won the youth female walk race. “This was a very good race. I really enjoyed it,” she said. “But the most challenging part was the bridge. But it was a good opportunity for me to stay in shape and take care of my health.”

CHRISTOPHER Sain tus, Eve Maycock-Dorsett, Mackey Williams, Liesl Hanna, Roydon Miller, Yvonne Sturrup, Edoney Russell and Kennisa Major were among the winners of the Atlantis Health and Wellness Fun Run/Walk Race held on Saturday. After a break because of the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, the early morning riser was back on the calendar and, according to Aisha Neely, the direc tor of health and safety at Atlantis, although they fell short of their target goal of 500 participants, they were pleased with the more than 300 registered entries. “Everybody looked as if they got in the walk and got a sweat as well,” she said, adding that their mission this year is to encourage a “better you” to ensure a “better us” in their community.Shenoted that if their employees focused more on their own personal fitness level, it would only make Atlantis a more conducive environment to work in and hence foster a greater sense of pride into the community.Inaddition to staging the run/walk from Montagu Beach, Atlantis also staged an in-house initiative that they coined the “Biggest Winner” weight lose com petition in two categories. For six weeks from July, the ‘Dynamic Duo,’ emerged as the group win ners over the ‘Fantastic Four.’ The team called ‘Thinner Than You’ got third.However, the biggest announcements came from the individual category where Kathleen Grant was quite emotional when she got her overall award and $2,500 for losing 40.9 pounds during the space of time. She beat out Davirian Barry from Aqua Venture and Edwardo Collie from Food & Beverage. “I would like to give God all the thanks and praises. This has been a challenge and so I’m overwhelmed and grateful,” said Grant, as she tried to hold back the tears. “It took a lot of hard work and sacrifices to get the weight down. “It was a tough jour ney for me, but I want to encourage persons to get on a health programme. It’s good for your body.” Grant, who declined to reveal her age, only to say she’s getting close to retire ment, said she was happy to represent the Atlantis casino as a croupier. The run/walk, covering a route either over the two Paradise Island bridges and back to Montagu or going pass the bridges and back to Montagu, drew a mixture of competitors from Atlantis and the community.

• Award winners are as follows:Male runners – Christo pher Saintus; Paulino Boyer and Tkai FemaleDavis.runners – Eve Maycock-Dorsett; Kara Wright and Cathyann Johnson.Malewalkers’ main route – Mackey Williams, David Prabu and Earl Bethel. Female walkers’ main route – Liesl Hanna; Thelma Taylor and Doris Thompson.Malewalkers’ short route – Roydon Miller; Roswell Cartwright and Mark McCartney.Female walkers’ short route – Yvonne Stur rup; Fernesta White and Georgeann Hepburn. Male youth walk ers – Edoney Russell; Tyriko Whymms and Trey Saunders.Female youth walk ers – Kennise Major; Roeisha Miller and Seren ityAtlantisCartwright.Biggest Winners Individually – Kathleen Grant, Casino, Davian Barry, Aqua Venture and Edwardo Collie, Food & Beverage.Atlantis Biggest Losers Team – Dynamic Duo, Fan tastic Four and Thinner Than You. IS A WINNER IN ATLANTIS FUN RUN/WALK

HEALTH & WELLNESS