09052016 news

MONDAY i’m lovin’ it!

HIGH 90ÂşF LOW 79ÂşF

The Tribune L ATEST NE WS ON TRIBUNE242.COM

PARTLY SUNNY

The People’s Paper

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

ds Classifier h 12, 2012 Monday, Marc

N G A I B A R

D E R F I N

-%

$" ) Ĺš( Š0ÂœÂ‘Čą Â?Â&#x;Š—ŒŽ

Čą

help wanted

˜•Â? Ž› žŠ—Â?Â’Â?¢ ȹǛŗȹ ž¢ Â’Â?‘ȹ ŠœœŠž Ĺ˜ ”

Čą Š— ›ȹÂ?Â˜Čą Œ˜Â?’Š Â? ÂŽÂĄÂ?Čą Â˜Â˜ČąÇ­Čą ŠœÂ?Čą ˜ŒŠÂ?ÂŽÂ?ǹȹ ž•ěȹ Â?

ŚŖř

Ç›ČąĹœĹ?ĹœČŹ

tuition school

SEE INSIGHT BY RICHARD COULSON

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Trade

S A M A B A H

Cars Fo Real r Sale Help Estate W Rental anted and m Ads much uch, more. ..

cars for sale

HAS PM SAVED BAHA MAR?

e TheTribun

real estate

Volume: 112 No.186

Biggest And Best!

PRICE – $1 (Family Islands $1.50)

CARS! CARS!

CLASSIFIEDS TRADER

Call today 328-0

AT STARTING

for rent

Shock at move on labour laws L! ADS SEL PHOTO 351 002 / 502-2

$25

LAWYER WARNS ON GOODMAN SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTARY

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net A VETERAN lawyer yesterday called on critics of the recent decision for Kofhe Goodman to be retried concerning the murder of 11-year-old Marco Archer to read the entire Court of Appeal judgment before their hasty actions and angry comments result in a permanent stay of a retrial.

SEE PAGE FIVE

Bosses: Sandals jobs response is knee-jerk

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation Chairman Gowon Bowe yesterday cautioned the government against fast tracking labour laws in a “knee-jerk response� to the shock mass redundancy action by Sandals.

Mr Bowe said the Chamber was extremely concerned about the onemonth timeline proposed by the Labour Department to bring “emergency legislation� that would criminalise mass redundancy without

government consultation.

Calling the government’s proposal a “food for thought document,� Mr Bowe called for a mature and thorough consultation process that drew from proper analysis not “sentiment or gut feeling,� pointing to the growing “violent� negative reaction to the proposal from the business community. “In order to properly deliberate any type of consideration that is going to be far ranging, there needs to be the timelines in order to permit it to be done,� he said.

SEE PAGE THREE

SHOOTING VICTIM DIES IN HOSPITAL FROM WOUNDS A MAN died in hospital of his wounds early yesterday after reportedly being shot in the Union Village area on Friday night.

A family member confirmed to The Tribune last night that Antone Arty, aka “TP�, was pronounced dead around 1am Sunday.

He was believed to be have been shot multiple times about the body.

When contacted by The Tribune last night, head of the Central Detective Unit Chief Superintendant Clayton Fernander confirmed the man’s death.

Last Monday, the 27-yearold son of National Congress of Trade Unions of the Bahamas President John Pinder was shot multiple times and killed while playing video games in his Hillside Park home after a gunman or gunmen opened fire through a window. He has been identified as John Pinder Jr. On Friday, police said two people were taken into custody in connection with Pinder’s homicide.

The homicide total for the year now stands at 70, according to The Tribune’s records.

YOUNGSTERS getting a free haircut at a back-to-school jamboree hosted by Golden Isles MP Michael Halkitis yesterday. The event included food, games, hair plaiting, provision of school supplies, scholarships and a more for students in the constituency. See page eight for more photographs.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

BANNISTER RAISES CONCERNS AS CHILDREN HEAD BACK TO SCHOOL

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Minister of Education Desmond Bannister yesterday expressed concern that thousands of children set to return to classrooms today will face shortages in teaching staff and uncompleted repairs,

with some schools being in such a “woeful state� that they pose a danger.

Mr Bannister, the Free National Movement’s candidate for Carmichael, called on Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald to publicly state the number of teacher shortages in each public school throughout the islands.

Last week, Mr Fitzgerald acknowledged his ministry’s concern over the “unexpected� applications for early retirement from over 100 public school teachers this year.

Mr Fitzgerald said 119 teachers applied for early retirement this year, which, for him, was a “big number� by the ministry’s standards

that came “unexpectedly� to officials. He also indicated that the ministry has seen “a number� of teachers give notice of their intent to resign within the last two weeks and that he expected “more unforeseen resignations� to occur before the start of the new school year.

SEE PAGE EIGHT

MINNIS PUSHES FOR MORE PM: GOVT HAS BEEN TOLD CLARITY ON AGREEMENTS BAHA MAR BUYER’S NAME FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis has again called for full disclosure from the government in the Baha Mar matter, questioning what “side letter agreements� the Christie administration made with Chinese officials to remobilise the stalled resort.

Dr Minnis referred to aspects of the original Baha Mar deal negotiated by the

first Christie administration that he said did not come to light until the FNM won the 2012 general election and uncovered the details.

He questioned if concessions agreed to by the government in connection to the new Baha Mar deal would remain hidden unless the FNM won the next general election.

SEE PAGE SIX

By TANEKA THOMPSON Tribune News Editor tmthompson@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie said he and a government delegation that travelled to London, England, to meet with investors last week were informed about the identity of the anticipated buyer for the beleaguered Baha Mar resort, however he said he could

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

not name the group because of the delicate stage of negotiations.

His comments were aired on ZNS News last night and came about a week after he suggested on a local talk show that the government did not yet know who the prospective buyer of the $3.5 billion resort is.

SEE PAGE SIX

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, September 5, 2016, PAGE 3

Zika fogging to blame for deaths of local bees

By RICARDO WELLS Tribunbe Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net AN ENVIRONMENTAL Health Services executive has acknowledged that insecticides being used in fogging efforts to prevent the spread of the Zika virus are responsible for the increase in deaths of indigenous bees.

Responding on Friday to questions over health and environmental hazards related to fogging activities in New Providence, Assistant Director of the Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) Andrew Thompson confirmed that bee populations on the island are at risk once exposed to the chemical agents in the insecticides being used.

In recent days, there have been several reported of bee populations being harmed with some reports of bee deaths.

Some have questioned if this is connected to Zika fogging.

Eastern New Providence residents reported incidents of dozens of dead bees around their properties.

One said 52 dead bees had to be fished out of her pool on Friday in a post on Facebook.

Addressing these claims,

Mr Thompson insisted that the occurrence was not new, asserting that all fogging advice issued by the department calls for local bee breeders and keepers to secure their respective bees to avoid such problems.

Despite this claim, however, The Tribune could not find any recent public document presenting such an advisory.

Mr Thompson also dismissed fears that this could completely wipe out the indigenous bee population, indicating that nature has a way of guarding against such an occurrence.

“We have been doing fogging to this extent for years,” he said. “Nature has a way of correcting this course of action, I know that one line of thinking will lead to some mass panic, but the bee populations always bounce back.”

He said that bees 20 or 30 feet above the ground would avoid the effects of fogging.

DEHS officials executed fogging activities in several areas of New Providence over the last week. On Wednesday evening, officials focused their attention on the Nassau Street to Mackey Street and Wulff Road to Bay Street corridors, followed by sections of eastern New Providence

FOGGING operations under way in the Village Road area last week.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff cases are a mix of travel as- bic Health are intensely quitos; wear long sleeved, on Thursday.

Eight confirmed cases of sociated incidents and local monitoring the situation light coloured clothing and Zika virus have been con- transmission, however fur- with an active surveillance use mosquito repellent. firmed in New Providence ther details about the cases programme and providing Symptoms of Zika inwere not given. medical care to affected clude rash, red eyes, joint by health officials.

The statement said the persons.

The statement pain and fever. Some peoOn Thursday night, health officials released a Ministry of Health and added that people should ple infected with the virus statement which said those the Department of Pu- avoid being bitten by mos- have no symptoms.

SHOCK FROM BOSSES AT MOVE ON LABOUR LAWS from page one

“There is nothing that would prohibit or prevent all of the stakeholders going back to their knowledgeable bodies and saying this is priority and other considerations get put onto the side to make sure we get all the information as quickly as possible. But we don’t put ourselves in a timeline that puts a gun to their head that effectively either makes the process a farce because it’s a predetermined decision, which will lose the credibility of the Tripartite Council, or on the flip side simply give fodder for the press and others who want to make mischief to simply say ok you didn’t meet the timeline.

“When you do that what you should be saying is, and I don’t think you should call it emergency legislation, it’s not like we had a catastrophe and you’re declaring a

state of emergency. It has to be maturity and says that we want to act swiftly, but prudently and with careful consideration.”

The Department of Labour’s recommendations were outlined in a document dated August 31, 2016, that was obtained by The Tribune last week.

The proposals seek to make it a criminal offence for employers to fail to consult or notify the relevant minister or bargaining agent about their intention to make ten or more workers redundant.

The government has also recommended that employers consult the minister and bargaining agent at least 60 days prior to the redundancy exercise whenever an employer is proposing to make ten or more employees redundant.

According to the document, the government plans to not only force employers to give it and unions

substantial notification of redundancy plans and to consult them, but to also remove the cap in the Employment Act which ensures that there is a 12-year limit on the redundancy pay an employee is entitled to under the law.

Yesterday, Mr Bowe said the proposal was a prime example of why the National Tripartite Council is a critical tool to facilitate healthy discussions between the government, employers and workers.

“Sometimes a circumstance does necessitate action,” he said, “but we have to be very careful that the action is not in reaction to the circumstance but more prioritising particular considerations because of a circumstance. So don’t react to one event because that one event whilst it may not be palatable does not represent what is normally taking place and you can address that one event very specifi-

cally but legislation has to be looking at the wider activity and given to what is normal.

“When you have an investing public whether Bahamian investors or foreign investors if they are not abiding by what you consider to be equitable practices then the government always has the right to revoke licenses and permissions to operate.”

Mr Bowe reflected on the successes of consultation on the government’s initiatives of value added tax (VAT) and the minimum wage increase. He lamented that the good faith achieved through the government’s handling of those issues would be threatened by a rushed and disingenuous consultation on labour issues.

“If you look and take the VAT element as a prime example that when government reacted with maturity, they had made up

their minds but when the studies and fact-based information was presented back you may say that it didn’t change the decision to implement VAT but it changed the decision over the rate, over the exemption levels, it also changed some of the administrative decisions,” he said.

“So when you look at this one and draw a corollary what you can say is ‘okay we want to have a situation where there is some level of communication required before actions are taken and ultimately that there is some recourse if it is seen to be inequitable, but what are the mechanisms that we want to have. The principles are not ones that businesses necessarily resist, they certainly want the freedom to be able to deal with their staff on their terms because most times it’s not like we are forcing people to work when you come into a circumstance

POLICE SEARCH FOR SUSPECTS AFTER THREE HURT IN SHOOTINGS POLICE are seeking the public’s help in locating the suspects responsible for two weekend shootings that left two men and a woman detained in hospital.

In the first incident, shortly after 10pm on Saturday, a man was involved in an argument with two men armed with handguns at a home located at Millers Heights off Carmichael Road, that led to him being shot.

The suspects fled on foot after the incident.

The victim was rushed

to hospital where he is detained in stable condition.

In another incident, shortly after midnight on Sunday, three men believed to be Hispanic males were put out of a nightclub located on Woods Rodgers Wharf after creating a disturbance.

Shortly after 3am, one of the men returned to the club armed with a handgun, where he got into an altercation with a man identified as the disc jockey, who attempted to disarm him.

This led to the disc jockey,

the armed man and a woman at the club being shot.

The armed suspect then fled the scene in a Nissan vehicle. Police later recovered a .40 handgun in the area, believed to be the weapon used in the shooting. The man and woman were taken to hospital, where they are detained in stable condition, police said.

Shortly before 7am Sunday, police acting on intelligence, went to a home located at Mt Pleasant Avenue, where they arrested the suspect who had been shot.

The suspect was taken to hospital, where he is detained in stable condition under heavy police guard.

Police are also investigating an armed robbery that occurred on Saturday night at a home on Jabal Drive off East Street South.

According to police reports, a man was at a home when two men armed with handguns robbed him of his cell phone before fleeing on foot.

Anyone with information on these incidents or any other crime is asked to call po-

lice at 919 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS (8477) in New Providence or 1-242-3008477 in the Family Islands.

you choose whether you accept the terms and conditions under which you work.”

He added: “The only thing we need to have is large principles set out in the Employment Act. Keep it at a principles base, my principle is I want equity, but I am not trying to legislate morality because it is impossible to legislate morality and at the end of the day it usually backfires because you usually legislate morality upon those who actually act in a moral way and you create incentive for those who are immoral to find loopholes.”

The Chamber will commence consultation with its stakeholders, including international centres like the International Labour Organisation (ILO), according to Mr Bowe, who suggested that redundancy issues would become marginal if pension legislation was established.

PAGE 4, Monday, September 5, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jrolle@tribunemedia.net

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 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 1972-

Published daily Monday to Friday

Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207 TELEPHONES

News & General Information Advertising Manager Circulation Department Nassau fax Freeport, Grand Bahama Freeport fax

(242) 322-1986 (242) 502-2394 (242) 502-2386 (242) 328-2398 (242)-352-6608 (242) 352-9348

WEBSITE, TWITTER & FACEBOOK www.tribune242.com

@tribune242

tribune news network

President Donald Trump - threat even to Bahamians?

THE end of Tuesday, November 8, 2016, cannot come and go soon enough for us. Hopefully when the ballots are counted at the end of the US elections that night, the pointing index finger, inflammatory and often crude rhetoric spewed from the pouting lips of Donald Trump will be gone from our TV screens forever.

Why should we be so concerned about the US elections when there are so many serious problems right here on this small island chain?

That is a good question. But although we are gravely concerned about the direction of the Christie government, and the lack of a unified opposition, at least no leader in The Bahamas has his finger on the nuclear button that could blow us all off the face of the Earth. Yet an erratic, thin-skinned Donald Trump, if elected would have this power. It’s enough to cause sleepless nights as one watches the biggest scam ever being pulled on the American people by Trump’s handlers.

By attempting to convince Americans that their candidate is “presidential”, his handlers daily try to transform him into someone that he is not. They script him, they prompt him, they see that his coat fits right, that his tie is in place, that he can stand erect next to the Mexican president, shake hands with a courteous bow of the head and look “presidential.” But there is nothing about this thin-skinned, narcissistic man that is presidential.

When morning dawns, no one knows which Donald Trump will face the day the one controlled by his handlers to fool the public, or the real Donald Trump, whose greatest love is of himself? No one can believe what he says, nor even know what he himself believes in — he changes from minute to minute, from day-to-day, from crisis-to-crisis to suit the moment.

He is an overgrown bundle of confusion.

He thinks he is amusing, that he is the best of God’s creations. Someone, should give him a good shake and tell him the truth.

The tragedy is that despite this farce so many Americans are falling for the scam.

This alone indicates that all is not well among many working class Americans.

Bruce Blair, writing in Politico Magazine on June 11, 2016, had this to say about Trump and the power he could have over a nuclear arsenal.

“So where’s the beef in the criticism of Trump’s nuclear mind-set? What’s the rational basis for fearing him fingering the nuclear button? As far as Trump’s expressed policy views are concerned, there is precious little grist for concern, let alone alarm. Something else is worrying people, and it is not hard to put your finger on it: his character and personality—his tendency to see only one image, in black or white, in a Rorschach collage, to rush to an absolute judgment on the basis of ambiguous or mixed evidence, to vilify the motives and evil-doing of foreign hands, to divide the world into winners and losers, and to castigate people with whom he disagrees, perhaps including advisers offering a different or more nuanced opinion. These are the sorts of habits of Trump’s mind and emotional reflexes that lie at the heart of fear that a President Trump would be more prone than his predecessors to angrily order up a nuclear strike.”

Early on in his campaign, he vowed to

order the military to commit war crimes, such as the reintroduction of waterboarding, killing families of terrorists “and even worse”. When it was suggested that military officials would refuse to follow orders, he barked, index finger pointing: “The military would not refuse my orders, even if they consider them illegal.”

To which US Army General Martin Dempsey (retired) replied: “We take our oath to the Constitution, which is to say the rule of law. And we are duty-bound not to follow any order that is illegal or immoral. If an order is illegal or immoral, we should and would resign, because we couldn’t follow it.”

Possibly Trump is so ill-informed that he has never heard of the Nuremberg trials (1945-46) after World War II. These trials decided that “the fact that a person acted pursuant to the order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him”.

And that moral choice is resignation.

And, as Mr Trump was informed, a military man would resign, before following illegal orders. We wonder how our “I am all powerful” would take such a rebuff?

Within one hour and 34 minutes after the verdicts at Nuremberg were announced 10 Nazis were hanged. Hermann Goring cheated death by suicide, while Heinrich Himmler, also committed suicide 17 months earlier. Of course, Adolph Hitler took cyanide, then shot himself in a bunker, 55-feet under the chancellery, which was his headquarters.

And now we learn that Mr Trump wants to cosy up to Vladmir Putin, mainly because Putin caressed his ego and declared: “Donald Trump is a really brilliant and talented person, without a doubt.” Putin was probably laughing to himself knowing that the narcissist would get caught in the Putin spider web.

By now Trump should be aware that the US is an important member of NATO, and that Russia opposes the expansion of NATO into what Russia considers its area of influence. However, Mr Trump might not know that the Ukraine — if he can even find it on the map — is torn between a faction that wants to be with the West (NATO) and those who want to remain with Russia. Is he even aware of how Russia arbitrarily snatched the Crimea from the Ukraine?

Now whose side will he be on when he and his new-found buddy, Putin, get together?

Will he point his finger in Putin’s face, pucker his lips, go red in the face and inform Putin of who is boss?

Donald Trump’s international knowledge is so shallow that this alone should eliminate him from the White House. He has handlers now to present him to the public. Who will be his handlers in the White House to keep him looking and behaving “presidential?” This too is a worry.

Or, after he has pressed the fatal button, will he sit cross-legged on the ashes and with his silly grin on his face declare: “Didn’t you know, I was only being sarcastic?”

No, November 8th cannot come soon enough to hopefully remove this threat, not only from the United States, but from all of us who share this planet.

Negotiating harm EDITOR, The Tribune CONTINUALLY “negotiating” with government over the terms of negative public policy and suggesting this process helps make a bad public policy more palatable at the outset, is as corrupt as the bad policy itself.

Claiming victory today over lessening the policies impact is pyrrhic and does not remove the negative effects of the policy, nor does it prevent the government from changing and making the policy even more burdensome in the future.

“Negotiating better

terms” for Value Added Tax or Tax Compliance Certificates for example, while agreeing with the general principle of these negative public policies, continues to add to government red tape and the size of the country’s already bloated bureaucracy, and the eventual downfall of the market system.

If the political directorate was sincere with their “negotiating” would government spending still be on the drastic rise? Would they be threatening to present more legislation of a fascist bent to harm prospects for

employment?

The list can go on, but suffice it to say, the business community needs to take a moral stand. The government needs to be left to be hoisted by its own petard for its bad public policy.

Unfortunately negotiating compromise with the government makes one complicit with the implementation and outcomes that have been foisted upon all Bahamians in recent years.

RICK LOWE Nassau, September 4, 2016. www.weblogbahamas.

Stop the naysaying EDITOR, The Tribune RIP Van Winkle is awake. Like a new born babe, he is screaming and kicking in excitement at the joy of finding a place in University of the Bahamas, National Health Insurance scheme and a real plan to complete the Baha Mar construction and open the hotel that was closed during his long, deep sleep.

He knew these were all good occurrences for the continued growth and development of his village.

Of course, I am being cynical with equating Prime Minister Christie to the fictional Rip Van Winkle. Elements of the media derisively talk about the PM falling asleep.

Well, like the storied Rip Van Winkle, he must have woken up as the PM and his government have moved at a furious pace to make things happen and the crowning achievement was delivering a long needed financial solution for the many Bahamians who have “skin in the game” at Baha Mar. One small Bahamian contractor who is owed a low six-figure amount said, “I am elated for me and my family with the government’s announcement for full or partial compensation. The naysayers and second guessers who have nothing to lose, could kiss my furry foot.”

The recent announcement by the PM on Baha Mar created a “shock and awe” effect in the community. Some felt, and perhaps even wished, that the PM could and would accomplish nothing in his tireless, late night, discussions with the Chinese Exim Bank. When he did achieve a solution, the “success” goalposts shifted.

Everybody and their Ma had an opinion. One selfpromoted comedian who moonlights as a know-it-all political pundit, injected his ill informed views on the wisdom of parties to the Baha Mar agreement sealing legal documents.

A legal opinion from Wayne Munroe, a respected member of the Bahamas Bar did not mean a thing.

What a spectacle! The Nassau Guardian was not to be left out. They had a screaming editorial headline, “Not believing in Bahamians”.

We have learnt from our preachers that the greatest testimony comes from those

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net who have walked through the fire and survived. Well, those parties who are owed plenty money were beaming with excitement at the prospects of financial recovery from the PM’s efforts.

From my choice seat in front of my TV, they all looked and sounded like Bahamians to me; black, white, PLPs, FNMs and maybe even some DNAs. It was indeed a glorious day for these creditors, and by extension the entire Bahamian economic community.

Apart from the weak and negative responses from the media, who obviously find it very difficult to compliment PM Christie on anything, the response from former Baha Mar director Dionisio D’Aguilar was biased and foolish. He castigated PM Christie over the last year, for wasting his time and government resources in pursuing the China Exim Bank to pay Bahamian creditors. Then on the PM’s announcement of a resolution, he quickly and effortlessly shifted to the demerits of The Bahamas Government doing a deal with the Communist Chinese saying “They are not culturally the same as us”.

It was a shocking and prejudiced statement, considering it was his principal, Mr Izmirlian, who successfully encouraged the Chinese to invest billions in the Baha Mar project. Other statements from this gentleman who purports to be a seasoned businessman were downright absurd things to say - “They (Chinese) can reduce prices and drive down the quality of the tourist product and threaten the commercial viability of Atlantis. This agreement that Christie and his group has put together is a bad deal for The Bahamas. They can run on about it all they want, but it’s a bad, bad deal.”

The Chinese interest is investment in name brand real estate. Hotels in particular have become increasingly attractive given the increase in Chinese tourists visiting the US and Europe.

According to a recent report by China Luxury Advisors Inc, the number of Chinese tourists travelling

outside the country is expected to double to 234 million by 2020, accounting for $422 billion in spending. In 2014, Chinese investment in US real estate opportunities was less than $4 billon.

In 2015, it was greater than $10 billon. The Chinese Insurance company, Anbang, bought the Chicago based Strategic Hotel & Resorts for $6.5 billion. Strategic operates luxury hotel flags like Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Intercontinental.

Anbang also owns the prestigious JW Marriott Essex House in Manhattan and the venerable Waldorf Astoria. They made a $14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels, which was eventually withdrawn.

My point is that Chinese investors seek stable, long term returns in the hotel sector. They ensure satisfactory performance by having management contracts with iconic hotel companies. In the Bahamas, China Construction, the current owner of the British Colonial Hotel development, has a management contract with Hilton and the boutique hotel they plan for The Pointe development will be under the Hard Rock brand.

It’s a stupid suggestion that such reputable hotel management entities would engage in deliberate programmes to hurt Atlantis or the Bahamas tourism product.

In fact, in reviewing the acquisition strategy of the Chinese in the US hotel sector, it is obvious that they seek value in high end, luxury brands. This can only be a positive development for the Bahamas and further Chinese investment in the Baha Mar project The country does not care if the media and misguided souls are not “cheerleaders” for PM Christie successfully negotiating a Baha Mar transaction that will yield direct financial benefit to long suffering Bahamian stakeholders. But for Christ’s sake, be sensible, fair and responsible in your commentary. Chinese investment in Bahamas hotels that can attract Chinese tourists are beneficial to The Bahamas.

I admonish the “doubters and haters”. In the words of Leviticus 19:16, “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people”.

LAWRENCE HARRISON September 2 ,2016.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, September 5, 2016, PAGE 5

LAWYER WARNS ON GOODMAN SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTARY from page one

Wayne Munroe, QC, was the court appointed lawyer who successfully argued on Goodman’s behalf in the Court of Appeal that adverse pre-trial publicity, misconduct of Goodman’s defence lawyer and a jury irregularity were major grounds for his client’s case to be reheard in the Supreme Court.

Shortly after the news broke, disgruntled Bahamians took to social media to vilify the judiciary, Goodman and his lawyer and questioned whether victims of crime could receive justice.

Mr Munroe, when contacted by The Tribune yesterday, expressed little concern for his or his client’s personal safety or comments questioning their moral fibre. However, he did caution the people to be responsible in their reactions to the ruling less there be a permanent stay on the matter.

Mr Munroe could not say if he would be retained for Goodman’s unlikely bail application or inevitable retrial.

He did note, however, that whoever is retained

by Goodman can very well gather the prejudicial and non-factual comments that have been published and make a case as to why a retrial is not possible as has been done in other jurisdictions, including the United States.

Mr Munroe implored the general public to read the Court of Appeal’s decision in its entirety.

“The people who are in fact running on need to read the judgment and they will see that that sort of behaviour is most likely to mean that his trial cannot be set quickly and therefore he is likely to be granted bail if it is delayed,” Mr Munroe said. “If the comments and behaviour escalate to the extreme it becomes possible that he cannot get a fair trial and his matter is stayed forever.

“So people need to learn to read digest and understand so they don’t end up bringing about the results they claim not to want.”

“They’re very short minded people,” Mr Munroe said of the critics.

“I haven’t been following all of them, only the ones that show up on my (Facebook) news feed.

However, for the ones I have seen, clearly those persons were present when this alleged incident happened and they need to make themselves available to the Office of the Attorney General to place themselves on the witness list,” he added.

“If indeed we were ever to get to the point where execution is decided by a jury as I’ve recommended in the past, then we would and should want an accused person to have a fair, unprejudiced and robust trial so that if a conviction is reached and execution is decided, there would be no arguments that a fair trial did not occur. That what the whole process of right to

a fair trial is about.”

“The comments by those individuals show that they don’t understand and more importantly, a lot of their comments are factually incorrect,” he stressed.

Last Thursday, Justices Dame Anita Allen, Jon Isaacs and Stella CraneScott were all in agreement that Goodman’s trial lawyer Geoffrey Farquharson’s conduct during the four-month trial was “persistent, deliberate, and gross”.

However, appellate President Dame Anita dissented from the opinion of Justices Isaacs and Crane-Scott that Goodman’s chances at a fair trial had been hampered by adverse coverage which included National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage’s announcement on “Marco’s Law” two weeks prior to the start of trial in April, 2013, notwithstanding that the case had no evidence or charge concerning kidnappings or sexual assault.

The judges were in agreement on their concern that a physical altercation had taken place between two jurors during the lunch break on the day of the summation.

A retrial was ordered for as soon as possible. Goodman, however, had sought a deferment of a retrial if the court were to allow the appeal against his murder conviction and death sentence.

The Court of Appeal’s 72-page judgment can be found on its website.

MARIA Daxon with her legal representatives Wilver Deleveaux and Glendon Rolle outside the Central Police Station on Friday

$100 bail granted for attorney charged with libel of police

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net A DAY after being charged with intentional libel of two senior police officials, attorney Maria Daxon was granted bail on Friday morning in the Supreme Court.

Justice Bernard Turner granted Daxon bail in the sum of $100 and she was released from the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services at Fox Hill. Her trial will be held on October 5.

Daxon was charged in Magistrate’s Court on Thursday with two counts of intentional libel of Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade and Assistant Commissioner of Police Leon Bethell.

Daxon, a former police constable and vocal de-

fender for the rights of police officers, stood before Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes facing two counts of intentional libel concerning alleged statements written about two of the most senior ranked officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

It is alleged that she, between August 26 and August 30, wrote defamatory statements about Commissioner Greenslade and ACP Bethell, which were likely “to injure and expose” the officers to “general hatred, contempt or ridicule.”

Daxon elected to have the matter heard in Magistrate’s Court and pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

During the arraignment her lawyer, Glendon Rolle, questioned if the prosecution had actually done an investigation before charging his client.

The chief magistrate said

that issue did not concern the court.

“I simply adjudicate matters that come in my court.

Beyond that I cannot speak to the mind-set of the investigator,” Chief Magistrate Forbes said.

Mr Rolle asked to receive the statements the prosecution intends to rely on for the charges.

On the question of bail, police prosecutor ASP Marlon Fulford noted recent amendments to the Bail Act made the charge of intentional libel a non-bailable offence in Magistrate’s Court.

Daxon was then told by the chief magistrate that she would have to make an application to the Supreme Court if she desired a bond ahead of her trial and was remanded to the Department of Correctional Services in the interim.

SECOND MAN ACCUSED OVER FATAL SHOOTING OUTSIDE HOME åBy LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A SECOND man has been remanded to prison after being arraigned on Friday in connection with the killing of Martin Nixon ten days ago.

Kyle Newbold, 24, stood before Magistrate Constance Delancy facing a murder charge for the August 23 shooting death.

According to initial police reports, shortly after 11pm off Blue Hill Road South, Nixon was involved in an argument with another man in front of a home that led to him being shot.

He was rushed to the hospital, but died of his injuries early the next morning.

Like his co-accused, 22-year-old Christopher McQueen, who was arraigned on Monday, Newbold was told that he would not be required to enter a plea to the allegations until he is formally arraigned in the Supreme Court.

He was told that when he returns to Magistrate’s Court on October 20, he would be presented with a voluntary bill of indictment transferring the matter to the higher court for trial.

Newbold, due to the nature of the charge, was remanded to the Department

of Correctional Services without bail. However, he was advised of his right to make an application for a bond in the Supreme Court.

Prior to his removal from the courtroom, his lawyer Nathan Smith advised the magistrate that Newbold suffers from a severe heart condition that requires monitoring.

Mr Smith requested that his client be seen by the prison physician on his

admission to the facility.

He also asked the court to make the authorities at the facility aware of his client’s

September 8 appointment at the Princess Margaret Hospital that he said cannot be missed.

The magistrate said she would write to the Commissioner of Prisons with the requests.

PAGE 6, Monday, September 5, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

FNM LAUNCHES PETITION FOR BAHA MAR ANSWERS

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

SEEKING to increase pressure on the government to release all documents related to the Baha Mar negotiations, the Free National Movement yesterday announced it is collecting signatures for an online petition to demonstrate the level of public “disgust” over the sealed deal.

FNM Chairman Sidney Collie urged Bahamians to endorse the petition, reiterating the party’s stance that Prime Minister Perry Christie was duty-bound to make the agreement public.

“Bahamians are shocked and dismayed that the Christie-led government requested that the deal this government made with the Chinese be sealed by the courts of The Bahamas,” he said in a statement yesterday.

However Mr Christie has said that the court documents were sealed at the request of the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM).

“This petition gives the people a tangible way to voice their disgust at how the prime minister shrouded his secret deal with the Chinese, unwilling to allow the people to review the contents and see for them-

selves what has been decided about their future,” Mr Collie added.

“Bahamians if you are concerned about your future, the future of your children and grandchildren, the Free National Movement urges you to sign this petition.”

Mr Christie announced that a deal had been reached between the government and CEXIM to remobilise the stalled resort during a nationally televised press conference last month. However, he did not provide any clarity on a definitive buyer or sale price, or details on how unsecured creditors will be paid.

The FNM has railed against the secrecy surrounding the deal, citing mounting public distrust in the Christie-led government amid speculation over the concessions given by the government.

The online petition states: “We request that Prime Minister Perry Christie immediately unseal all the documents related to the secret Baha Mar deal he made with the Chinese. We have lost faith in the prime minister and cannot just trust him to tell us what is in the deal. We are concerned about our future and just want to know what the government gave away to the

Chinese in this deal.”

Mr Christie has repeatedly defended the move to keep the court documents sealed. Last week he maintained that such a process was standard and that global businesses cannot be expected to conduct their “sensitive negotiations” in the media.

On the controversial issue of concessions, he said China Construction America (CCA) will be given the same concessions by his government that were given under the Hotel Encouragement Act by the former Ingraham administration.

Yesterday, Mr Collie said: “At every turn the Christie-

led PLP government has proven itself to be the worst government in our history.

Once again, they have demonstrated that they cannot be trusted because they have shielded from Bahamians – the very people they represent, the details of the secret deal they struck with the Chinese.”

“Until the prime minister releases these documents,” he added, “the FNM will continue to be the voice of the people and demand accountability from this government.”

Persons can sign the petition at www.ourcauseourvoice.com/unseal-the-documents.

MINNIS PUSHES FOR MORE CLARITY ON AGREEMENTS from page one

His comments come as the Christie administration faces mounting backlash over the fact that the court documents relating to the government’s agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) over the new deal have been

sealed.

“In the first Baha Mar agreement, there were side letter agreements for deferment of casino taxes and we didn’t know that until we came to office,” Dr Minnis said yesterday.

“There was also an agreement to make additional marketing contributions from the government.”

He said the Christie administration already has a deficit of trust with the public due to reneging on its promise to abide by the results of the 2013 gaming referendum, withholding the Rubis oil spill report for more than a year, the failed mortgage relief plan and the fact that the National Intelligence Agency is still operating without a legal framework in place.

He said despite attempts

by Prime Minister Perry Christie and other government officials to assuage fears over the deal, the Bahamian people want to know what the government has agreed to.

“The question now is what about the side agreements? Are there any side agreements like you did with the original Baha Mar deal? The question is how

many side letter agreements do they have now?

“The side letter agreements were not made public, not until we came in,” Dr Minnis said. “Are they giving away land to the Chinese? Is that a side letter agreement or is it in the original agreement that has been hidden?

“Would land in Andros be a part of a side agreement, to provide the Chinese (with an avenue) to do farming for their developments like Baha Mar and The Pointe, compromising Bahamian farmers and establishing a monopoly by the Chinese?”

Last week, Prime Minister Perry Christie said the Baha Mar court documents were sealed at the request of CEXIM. He told the House of Assembly such a process was standard and

that global businesses cannot be expected to conduct their “sensitive negotiations” in the media.

He said the Supreme Court would lift the seal “if and when it deems it right.”

On the controversial issue of concessions, he said China Construction America (CCA) will be given the same concessions by his government that were given under the Hotel Encouragement Act by the former Ingraham administration.

“My advisors instructed me to be cautious about what I say given the court order. I can say that CCA was given Hotel Encouragement Act concessions (for construction) by the FNM and will be given the same concessions to complete the construction by my government,” Mr Christie said last week.

In late August, the government shot down claims that inducements of citizenships and private islands were offered to kick-start construction efforts at the stalled $3.5bn Cable Beach property.

“The government will not be distracted from its efforts and will continue to work for and on behalf of the Bahamian people,” the government said in a statement released by Bahamas Information Services.

“There have been allegations that we have offered citizenships. This is false.

There have been allegations that we have given away or sold islands. This is false.”

“Nothing has been given by way of concessions that has not been offered before to previous investors,” the government’s statement added.

PRIME Minister Perry Christie with Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Cruises on Thursday, during meetings with investors in London from

September 1-4.

PM: GOVT HAS BEEN TOLD BAHA MAR BUYER’S NAME from page one “We were informed as to the company itself, it is obviously multi-faceted in every which way, it’s a conglomerate,” Mr Christie said from London, flanked by members of his delegation.

“We are unable to speak at this stage as to who they are because again negotiations are taking place in Beijing and in Hong Kong and for that matter elsewhere with respect to an agreement being arrived at - the EXIM Bank, the importance of us participating as much as possible and insofar as knowledge of what is taking place so that we are in a position at all times to protect the interest of our country.”

He added: “We are welladvised by the best of the best when it comes to law, we are not taking anything for granted. We are taking maximum steps to protect the best interest of the Bahamian public, particularly those who were working, those who were sub-contractors and those who had franchises in the Baha Mar complex.”

Two weeks ago, Mr Christie announced that construction on the stalled resort is expected to resume this month in a move to have the project open

no later than the end of the 2016/2017 winter season.

He said the government had reached an agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to remobilise the property.

However he has faced considerable criticism for announcing the deal without revealing specifics about the agreement, such as the name of the “worldclass operator” that will purchase the resort and more details about payments to former employees and Bahamian creditors.

During the London trip, the government delegation also met with officials of Hutchinson-Whampoa and the Mediterranean Shipping Company Ltd (MSC), owners of the Freeport Container Port.

MSC has planned a $300 million expansion of the Freeport Container Port, which is expected to create 600 jobs.

“We agreed a date for breaking the ground on and commencing construction,” Mr Christie told ZNS. “That is going to happen we think some time in the month of October, most certainly we’re looking forward to certain discussions to really anchor that particular date.”

MSC also intends to launch a maritime training school for Bahamians

in Freeport, in conjunction with the College of the Bahamas.

“We spoke about a training academy in Freeport and the difficulties they had,” Mr Christie said. “We indicated to them that by greater collaboration with the government we could bring about better results quickly. We had a full discussion on the way forward with respect to phase five and possibly phase six of the expansion of the Container Port.

“Along with Mediterranean Shipping we had discussions on other subsidiary industries that could come about with respect to the port. We discussed timing again and what we have to do to bring about the start of construction and we feel very good about it because all through this we’ve been looking at the creation of good jobs and sustainable jobs for Bahamians.”

Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe, Attorney General Allyson MaynardGibson, Minister of Grand Bahama Dr Michael Darville, Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald and Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister Sir Baltron Bethel accompanied Mr Christie on his trip.

The delegation was in London from September 1-4.

MORE POWER OUTAGES ACROSS NEW PROVIDENCE MORE “generation challenges” are being blamed for power cuts across New Providence which blighted the weekend for customers of Bahamas Power Light (BPL), many of whom were without electricity for hours and suffered repeated outages.

BPL said last night it was still trying to restore power to Lyford Cay, parts of Paradise Island, Fire Trail Road, Carmichael Road, West Bay Street including Vista marina, East Street south, Blue Hill south, Ernest Street, Winton, Windsor Field, Soldier Road and Gladstone Road, hoping

to have the issues fixed by 10pm. But customers were posting on the company’s Facebook page around that time that others areas such as Yamacraw and Charlotteville were blacked out.

The company had been experiencing issues for two days. In a statement at 7.55pm on Friday it announced: “As a result of one of our main generators experiencing a challenge and needing repairs we encountered outages in several areas. Some sections of each area affected have been restored. Due to an overload another generator experienced a challenge result-

ing in Eastern and Western outages. By midnight power shall be restored to all of New Providence.”

However, the problems persisted throughout Saturday and Sunday, with irate customers in a dilemma over whether to stay inside in the heat or go outside and face mosquitoes with potential Zika virus. There was also concern for children returning for the start of the new school year today.

The company announced power had been restored to JFK Drive, Sea Breeze, Bernard Road, Skyline Drive and Palmetto Avenue last night.

insight@tribunemedia.net

the stories behind the news

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Has Perry Christie saved Baha Mar?

W

ith all the noise in the market we have got to buy the fish and accept that the Prime Minister has negotiated a deal, however sloppy and incomplete it may be, that just might rescue Baha Mar - and with it, the Bahamian economy and a final Moody’s downgrade.

Based on what we’ve been told, it’s a pretty strange catch. We see the prime lender, the ExportImport Bank of China (CEXIM), agreeing to put up $100m for Bahamian claimants. But who knows how much more to complete the huge project so it’s fit to open? Figures like $300m up to $1bn are thrown like chips around a roulette wheel. And the bank still wants to recoup its $2.5 billion loan.

What’s amazing is that all these bucks are on the table with no news about one key fact: who will be the new owner/operator of the project, without whom all the lofty towers will remain a pile of dead concrete and re-bars? Still buried under the secrecy sealed by our Supreme Court, the Prime Minister only says that it’s a “very delicate matter still being negotiated”.

In blunter terms, no deal has yet been agreed. All the hard issues are still floating: Purchase price or lease arrangement? Terms of operating agreement?

Brand name for marketing?

Concessions? Above all, has the purchaser’s name been cleared by Government? Or is it the reputed billionaire Macao gambling mogul whose image would taint us?

We regret that Jerome Fitzgerald has had to spend six weeks of sleepless nights negotiating for his admiring mentor Perry Christie (does he keep a bed at the Education Ministry for late duties there?) but the “trust” he ardently seeks will only be granted when Government chooses to reveal what is really under the blanket, and when payment of the $100m is actually made by the promised September 30 date.

We can be grateful that at least Bahamian employ-

After all the legal manoeuvres, rhetoric and agreements, Richard Coulson doubts any progress has been made on the stalled mega resort ees, contractors and businesses see money down the road. But that should not blind us to history, to the incompetence and favouritism that have plagued the Government in its handling of Baha Mar ever since June 29, 2015. On that date, the company sought protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code, putting itself under the jurisdiction of the American federal courts. Our Government fought that motion tooth and nail. Naturally, the US District Court would not accept the case unless the Bahamian court, exercising its usual comity, agreed to co-operate.

and get Baha Mar back on track, using our own procedures for liquidation and winding up, and our own appointed liquidators.

Here we are, 14 months later, with not one issue finally resolved. We are no further ahead than if the Chapter 11 process had been allowed to proceed.

Instead of the tried and true system of a US Courtappointed trustee supervising a detailed, carefully negotiated, reorganisation plan, we have seen impotent local liquidators appointed, then receivers for the bank’s interests, and finally an ad hoc credit committee of five newly

ploy to consolidate more power in the hands of foreign owner Sarkis Izmirlian at the expense of suffering citizens - a patently absurd charge. Under Chapter 11 (amply explained on the Internet) supervision of the estate is immediately transferred to the District Court, which must follow detailed procedures for protecting all claimants equitably, from the mighty Chinese bank to the lowliest Bahamian employee, as well as the equity owner.

Mr Roberts has even accused Mr Izmirlian that the $80m he initially proposed to pay employees was a sham, charging that he never had the money to do so. In fact, the whole Chapter 11 process was cancelled (at the Bahamas Government instigation) before he could execute his offer. There was no bluff; it was well known that the Izmirlian family had deep enough pockets. Government simply did not want Izmirlian cash a year ago, even for hard-working Bahamians, if that allowed Sarkis to stay in the game.

The legal blockage was

“None of Sarkis Izmirlian’s detractors mention the frequent reports of his previous staff that he was an excellent employer, imaginative in his directions and sensitive to their needs. That kind of news does not fit the government’s political agenda.”

But Justice Ian Winder of our Supreme Court faced two bitterly fighting applicants - Sarkis Izmirilian’s Baha Mar arguing for Chapter 11 v the Chinese arguing against. The deciding vote was cast by Attorney General Allyson Maynard, who threw our Government’s weight on the Chinese side. The die was cast: Justice Winder had no choice but to rule with the 2-1 majority, and the US courts had to decline jurisdiction.

The Prime Minister grandly declared that the Bahamian legal system would swiftly and efficiently resolve all the issues

chosen individuals, all new to the case and one with a serious conflict of interest. Fourteen months have been wasted.

What was the true reason that our Government fought so hard to defeat Chapter 11? The Attorney General claimed it would impinge on our “sovereignty”, a laughable argument directed at the lowest level of populist chauvinism. At the time and right up to date, political mavens like Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Bradley Roberts have claimed that petitioning for Chapter 11 was somehow an insult to Bahamians and, even worse, that it was simply a

simply part and parcel of the campaign of personal vilification against Izmirlian led by Ministers Mitchell and Gibson and even joined by rash comments from the Prime Minister himself, and carried on to the present by his obvious mouthpiece, Bradley Roberts, and his colourful organ Bahamas Press. This campaign of abuse against a well-meaning foreign investor must be rare among civilised nations, matched only by President-forever Robert Mugabe’s diatribes against the long-gone white settlers in Zimbabwe, the country he has destroyed.

Perhaps Mr Izmirlian was unwise in conceiving

a project of Baha Mar’s grandiose size and design.

If so, any possible failure will not be a crime against the Bahamian people, but simply a business misjudgment, fully shared by our Government whose various administrations approved the plans. None of Mr Izmirlian’s detractors mention the frequent reports of his previous staff that he was an excellent employer, imaginative in his directions and sensitive to their needs. That kind of news does not fit their political agenda.

Just a few months ago, Mr Christie, after initial friendly noises, rebuffed without any serious discussion Sarkis Izmirlian’s latest offer to fund the restart and assume management. It seems clear that at a high level of the PLP, a cold-blooded decision was made, and continues, to throw Sarkis to the wolves because the Chinese might do more for the nation, like (maybe) creating a local bank to trade the renminbi.

Our oriental friends, lovely as individuals, fought Chapter 11 because it would leave Izmirlian as technical “debtor in possession” while they wanted the whole hog immediately.

Well, they got it, and after 14 months still don’t know what to do with the costly creature.

Nowhere has it been officially acknowledged that the state-owned construction company known as China Construction America (CCA) made a hash out of building Baha Mar, where it had the plum job of prime contractor with thousands of its own native employees. It’s on record that, through the winter-spring months of 2014-2015, constant meetings were held between owner and contractor to correct obvious deficiencies and get CCA to agree a completion date for a product acceptable to guests. This could never be achieved. With no opening date set, thus no source of income, Izmirlian had to close down. And now, we hear frequent stories of CCA overcharging and stonewalling on paying claims of sub contractors here and abroad. A good citizen?

“Here we are, 14 months later, with not one issue finally resolved. We are no further ahead than if the Chapter 11 process had been allowed to proceed.”

Big construction projects are always subject to change orders and disputes.

I am no expert, but for two years I had, as neighbour, an American civil engineer who worked daily at Baha Mar. Many nights he came home exhausted and dispirited, and threw off his hard hat declaiming “This the worst project of the many I’ve worked on.

The Chinese are impossible; they don’t understand building a hotel, make endless mistakes, never admit them and never change their ways.” He was well paid but quit in frustration weeks before the shutdown.

That was just one man’s observation, but a pretty acute one, with no private axe to grind.

That is all history, and I agree that we should move on from the past and look to the future.

But that immediate future includes rewarding the very same CCA by offering them the completion job at Baha Mar, retained by their cousins, the Chinese EXIM Bank.

There’s a well-known saying that those who fail to study the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them. That may well fit Mr Christie’s rescue of Baha Mar. • Richard Coulson is a retired lawyer and investment banker born in Nassau and from a long line of Bahamians. He is a financial consultant and author of A Corkscrew Life - adventures of a travelling financier.

PAGE 2 MONDAY, September 5, 2016

Email: insight@tribunemedia.net

Prime Minister Perry Christie (centre) meets with Hutchison Whampoa Executives in London at the weekend. The Bahamas delegation included Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson, Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister Sir Baltron Bethel, Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchecombe, Minister of Education, Science and Technology Jerome Fitzgerald, and Minister for Grand Bahama, Dr Michael Darville.

How many firms does it take to spin a lie?

Stanley Cartwright says no amount of public relations trickery - all at taxpayers’ expense - can hide the government from serious questioning over the Baha Mar deal

T

here has been a lot of commentary over the past few weeks on the secret Baha

Mar deal.

The Government had thought that by announcing a framework agreement between the Export Import Bank of China and the construction company, China Construction America (CCA), they would receive a much needed boost in public support. This however backfired spectacularly.

The Bahamian people saw through Prime Minister Perry Christie’s smoke and mirrors and sent him on his merry way.

The promises that he made we had all heard before, but what was worse was that our Prime Minister was on national television pretending as if he had won a great victory for our country when in truth he had done the reverse. Our leader, in his usual shuffling ways, failed to point out that he was now dancing to the tune of the Chinese.

That is the only conclusion one can arrive at when you secure a deal that protects their interests over ours.

The Chinese will be made whole and receive all their outstanding monies that are owed to them while Bahamians will have to negotiate with a view to receiving half - if that!

The completion of the resort will be left up to the same CCA who caused this mess in the first place, and other creditors are still left out in the cold. The Prime Minister also attempted to pour honey into the ears of the former Baha Mar workers by claiming that he had (again) secured a great victory by getting them their

severance pay.

We must truly be living in ‘La La Land’ when the Prime Minister of a country gets up and seeks praise for something that the people are legally entitled to. But wait: let us not forget that Christie also was quick to point out that the Chinese were under no obligation to make such payments without explaining how this came to be. It was you, Mr Prime Minister, and your Government that pushed the resort into liquidation, thus obfuscating the Chinese from having to settle what they owe. It was you Mr Prime Minister, and your Government, which forced us down this road which caused the termination of over 2,000 plus Bahamians ... but you now want us to believe that you were looking out for our best interests?

Another untruth that this Government was pushing in their now infamous press conference was that thanks to their efforts, Bahamian creditors will now have the chance to receive some of their monies that they had no prospect of receiving under the Chapter 11 brought forward by Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar’s developer.

We thought we should lay some truth out there for those who want to know. In the court-filed and publicly available Plan for Reorganisation of Northshore Mainland Services Inc, filed on August 26, 2015, here is what the Chapter 11 says - not what anyone has to interpret - in black and white: “The Plan presents the best available alternative to allow for the expeditious resumption and completion of construction of the Project, thereby capturing

Prime Minister Perry Christie meets with Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of Mediterranean Shipping Company Cruises on Thursday as a Bahamas government delegation attended business meetings with investors in London. the Project’s significant value as a going concern for the benefit of all interested parties, including the economic welfare of The Bahamas. Once completed, the Project is projected to generate nearly 5,000 new jobs and have an annual payroll in excess of $130 million, representing 12 per cent of the GDP of The Bahamas. Most notably, the Plan does not impair the legal or equitable rights of Bahamian creditors or the Government of The Bahamas, whose Claims will simply “ride through” the Chapter 11 Cases. The Debtors submit that timely confirmation of the Plan is unequivocally in the best interests of their creditors and estates.”

It should also be noted that that the committee of unsecured creditors unequivocally supported this plan.

So why did the Government oppose it? Maybe they were working on behalf of their real masters - and not

us, the Bahamian people. It does leave you to wonder how the interests of Bahamians are truly being served when even the committee to oversee their claims has only one Bahamian, James Smith, on it, and he didn’t even know he had been appointed until it was announced via the press!

So come on Progressive Liberal Party (PLP): just stop with the charade.

You’re not even pretending to be above board on this.

So it was with some amusement as we watched over the last few weeks as many PLP Members of Parliament and Cabinet ministers were vividly (and some flamboyantly) perturbed by the response of the public at large on this matter.

After all, we can only assume that they believe we are all idiots, so why weren’t the sheep buying their little public relations stunt?

We could hear them now in their huddle masses: how is it that no one believes us? What more do these Bahamians want? We giving them a few dollars before Christmas; surely someone should be patting us on our backs, right? Why are people so concerned about the details? How is it that

the plan didn’t work?

Yes, we are sure these and many more questions were asked.

So what did our Government do in response? What they’ve done all along - hire more public relations firms to manipulate us into buying the garbage they are pushing.

So far we know the Government has contracted Fleishman Hillard, the third largest PR firm in the world, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, and now a third foreign crisis communication firm out of Canada, all on the public’s dime.

Does anyone know what the value and terms of these engagements are? How many millions of taxpayers’ dollars are being exported to these companies to turn around to feed us propaganda?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

After all, some of these firms have no problem boasting about their accomplishments in the Bahamas. If Greenberg is to be believed, as per their own website, in 2012 they helped to “elect a new government and prime minister in the Bahamas”. Interesting. So no surprise that they are now working for the Gov-

“How is it that no one believes us?

What more do these Bahamians want? We giving them a few dollars before Christmas; surely someone should be patting us on our backs, right?

Why are people so concerned about the details? How is it that the plan didn’t work?” ernment of the Bahamas.

Very interesting.

We again ask the question, very clearly: how much are these international firms being paid, and what exactly are they doing in the Bahamas? If everything is above board then the Government should have no difficulty tabling their contracts in Parliament and disclosing what it is they are contracted to do. If it is on our behalf, then there should be no concern.

They should not be engaged to run the Government’s re-election campaign off the public purse. We hope that is not the case.

So perhaps when our beloved and all-knowing Prime Minister returns from his trip to London to meet with Hutchison Whampoa and Mediterranean Shipping Company Cruises (which of course he did not inform the public about before he departed), perhaps he would reveal both the details of his secret Baha Mar deal and the contracts of these firms.

We shall wait and see.

• Comments and responses to insight@tribunemedia. net

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 PAGE 3

New British PM strikes positive notes on ‘Brexit’ S

INCE the vote in The real work negotiating Britain’s referenBritain’s exit from the dum in June to European Union starts today leave the European Union (EU), the nation’s with the return of Parliament, political landscape has says Peter Young changed dramatically with the negotiation of ‘Brexit’ and more loosely aligned rise for 25 years. Furthernow top of the agenda. more, outside the EU, and How to put this depar- EU. However, Mrs May has with industry and business ture from the EU into effect in the best possible way taken up the reins of ‘Brex- no longer wrapped up in for Britain and to secure a it’ in a forthright manner EU red tape and bureaufresh relationship with the and it now looks as though cracy, Britain can now trade bloc is the government’s the Remainers are fight- freely under World Trade main priority. It is likely ing a losing battle. She has Organisation rules and with to dominate parliamenta- demanded that all govern- lower tariffs which it can ry business as soon as the ment departments should negotiate itself.

The former governor of House of Common returns consider how ‘Brexit’ will today after its long summer affect them and report back the Bank of England, Lord recess. Disengaging from on the best ways of making King, has said that Britain may be better off leaving 40 years of EU member- a success of leaving.

In the face of a tradition- the EU since it will be betship has been described as an ‘absolutely massive ally pro-EU Civil Service, ter placed to rebalance its task’, so this is a most sig- she has made it clear that economy from consumer nificant time for the whole the job of Whitehall de- spending to exports. He partments is to implement rejected the government’s country.

At last week’s meeting of the decisions of ministers; and the Bank’s predicthe cabinet held at Cheq- and, with her experience tion of a recession under uers, the British Prime Min- and knowledge of how gov- ‘Brexit’ and that producister’s country residence in ernment works after be- tivity would suffer, saying Buckinghamshire, Theresa ing a successful and tough that their forecasts of the May reportedly followed up Home Secretary (minister consequences of leaving her earlier statement that of interior equivalent) for were for the most part pure ‘Brexit means Brexit’ by six years before becom- speculation.

Meanwhile, the situation confirming that that meant ing Prime Minister, she is there must be no turning more likely than not to get within the EU itself seems to be worsening - the imback on the EU referendum her way.

Even though the ‘Brexit’ migration crisis, a failing vote.

She urged her colleagues negotiations will affect all eurozone and increasing departments, euroscepticism amongst to seize the the three member states. many and ‘It is becoming main players A post-‘Brexit’ summit varied new increasingly clear in her cabinet between Germany, France opportuniwill be the and Italy merely resulted in ties offered that the Remain Secretaries of calls for more Europe, not by ‘Brexit’ side had cried State for For- less, and Brussels is apparand to forge a eign Affairs, ently now considering fresh new positive wolf with its soInternational moves to turn the EU into role for the called Project Trade and for a federal superstate with its UK, which Fear about the Exiting the own president and governshould work EU - respec- ment, treasury, army and to the benefit likely disastrous Bo- border force so that indiof everyone so economic effect of tively, that all could Britain quitting the ris Johnson, vidual nations will cease to Liam Fox and exist. share in fuDavid Davis, Apart from growing opture prosper- EU.’ who have al- position in Germany to ity. But leavready been Chancellor Angela Mering the EU did not mean that Britain was distanc- dubbed ‘the three Brexi- kel’s immigration policy, countries like Hungary, ing itself from Europe as teers’.

With such obviously Poland, the Czech Republic such so that co-operation portfolios, and Slovakia are refusing to should continue to the mu- overlapping tual benefit of European there are bound to be turf accept more migrants uncountries in, for example, wars which may be compli- der EU mandatory quotas. key areas like security and cated further by, for exam- The eurosceptic far-right is the environment as well as ple, political heavyweight growing stronger in France, and Chancellor of the Ex- the Netherlands and Ausmany others.

According to reports of chequer Philip Hammond, tria while Denmark and the meeting, it was decided who reportedly wants to be Sweden appear to be there should be no second responsible for setting the against handing more powreferendum, members of future of financial services ers to Brussels, and there parliament would not get and is insisting on the UK are fears in Italy that a refa say on when Article 50 staying in the single market erendum in October about of the Lisbon Treaty (the and thus having to make constitutional reform may formal mechanism for leav- concessions over EU mi- be used to voice frustrations with the EU. ing the EU) should be trig- gration.

He has also reiterated, Back in Britain, there gered, and there would be no General Election before however, his belief that seems to be general agree2020. The latest polls show from now on the UK should ment amongst commentathe Conservatives with a be ‘outward looking’ and, tors that, so far, Mrs May large lead over the Labour with its competitive busi- is taking the right course to Party as the main opposi- ness environment, should reflect the will of the people continue to attract invest- in the referendum. The eartion.

The key issue remains ment from the world’s larg- ly indications are that she how to continue to main- est companies. Both the is likely to stick to her guns tain access to the huge EU demand for a massive in the fashion of her illusEU single market without tax payment by tech giant trious predecessor, Baronbeing forced to accept the Apple and the apparent ess Thatcher, who, despite free movement of people. breakdown of EU/US talks her critics, was famed for Brussels is still demanding about a Transatlantic Trade her self-certainty in govthat the UK will have to and Investment Partnership erning which gave her colaccept such migration if it are likely to make the UK a leagues and the country as wants this access, but min- more attractive alternative a whole a sense of clear direction during her 11 years isters have decided to insist for investment. as Prime Minister - and to on a ‘unique’ or ‘bespoke’ s the new gov- such an extent that she was future relationship with ernment moves said by many to have put the EU - not, for example, ahead to deter- the ‘Great’ back into Britsimply copying other countries like Norway. Immi- mine the UK’s post-‘Brexit’ ain.

Perhaps the arrival on gration controls would be a interests and requirements red line in negotiations so before starting negotiations the scene of Mrs May at that any new arrangements under Article 50 to forge a such a momentous time would have to include limi- new relationship with the as departure from the EU tation of the numbers of EU, it is becoming increas- will herald a new period of migrants entering Britain ingly clear that the Remain prosperity for the nation as while ensuring a positive side had cried wolf with it commits itself to exercisoutcome for all those who its so-called Project Fear ing its power and influence wished to trade in goods about the likely disastrous worldwide without the coneconomic effect of quit- straints of EU memberand services.

These decisions come ting. In addition, the latest ship.

There are reports that while pro-EU campaign- research from the Electoral ers have mounted a legal Reform Society suggests the first day of the Tory challenge to the govern- that former Prime Minister party conference in Octoment’s view that Parlia- David Cameron’s promi- ber will focus on ‘global ment’s authorisation is not nent role in the campaign Britain’. That alone should needed to activate Article backfired as did President be a serious and welcome 50 and a Remain organisa- Obama’s intervention urg- sign of a nation ready and tion has rejected any idea ing people to vote to stay in willing to spread its wings again on the international of leaving the single mar- the EU. There has been no repeat stage. ket even though it admits that free movement must of the 2008 financial cri• Peter Young is a retired be managed in some way in sis, interest and mortgage order to avoid pressure on rates have fallen rather British diplomat living in public services and local than increased and while Nassau. From 1996 to 2000 communities. Moreover, the pound sterling has low- he was British High Comone of the contenders in ered in value this is helping missioner to The Bahamas. the Labour Party’s leader- exports. The most recent TO ADVERTISE ship contest, Owen Smith, economic news and statishas come out strongly in tics have been good - the IN THE favour of a second ref- stock market, consumer credit and retail sales are erendum while former TRIBUNE, Cabinet Secretary, Lord up, unemployment is down CONTACT O’Donnell, has suggested and output in the manufacthat the UK could end up turing sector has recorded 502-2394 remaining in a broader its biggest month-to-month

A

WITH her experience and knowledge of how government works after being a successful and tough Home Secretary for six years before becoming Prime Minister, Theresa May is more likely than not to get her way over ‘Brexit’. Inset, Brexiteers (from top) Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox.

PAGE 4 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

THIS WEEK IN The Tribune

Today Insight - has Perry Christie saved Baha Mar with the announcement of an agreement with the Chinese bank? Richard Coulson detects no progress.

Business - the government’s proposed new labour laws are not finding favour among private employers. Neil Hartnell reports.

Sports - Alex Cooper, a Bahamian with hopes of playing in the NFL this season, has been released by the Cincinatti Bengals. Renaldo Dorsett reports.

Plus the latest properties for sale and rent in the Home Buyers’ Guide.

Tuesday Woman and Health - weekly advice on taking care of your mind and body and women making waves in The Bahamas.

Plus comment from Nicole Burrows and sporting mischief and mayhem with Inigo “Naughty” Zenicazelaya.

Wednesday Tribune Tech - a weekly look at what’s new in the world of technology.

The build up to the NFL season continues with a look at the NFC and AFC divisions and who will top them.

Thursday Obituaries and Religion, a weekly review.

Young Man’s View - trenchant opinion from Adrian Gibson on the hot topics in the country.

The Tribune’s ‘experts’ pick their winners for the first round of NFL games.

Friday Weekend - a 28-page section devoted to the best in arts, music, fashion, food, books, entertainment, gardening, animal matters, fitness, history and interviews.

Sports - The Finish Line, a look at the local sports scene, by Brent Stubbs.

Plus A Comic’s View - Naughty’s unique take on the week in The Bahamas.

Saturday The Tribune’s Top 5: a special video review of the week’s top stories by Khrisna Virgil on www. tribune242.com.

Every day in The Tribune, news, business, sports, weather and Classifieds Trader.

Plus breaking news and updates on your mobile-friendly tribune242.com

OFFICERS with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) move through the Elfers Parkway area of Pasco County, Florida, offering assistance to citizens in need of help or evacuation due to flooding.

Hermine leaves two dead and wrecks Labor Day plans HERMINE spun away from the East Coast of the United States yesterday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to whip up dangerous waves and rip currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the Labor Day weekend.

As it churned hundreds of miles off shore in the Atlantic Ocean, the storm picked up strength again, and forecasters said Hermine could regain hurricane force later as it travels up the coast. It was expected to stall over the water before weakening again to a tropical storm by tomorrow.

“It’s just going to meander for a few days,” said

Dennis Feltgen of the National Hurricane Center, explaining that Hermine was unlikely to make landfall again but was positioned to batter the coast with wind and waves.

Governors all along the Eastern Seaboard announced emergency preparations. Tropical storm watches and warnings were in effect from Virginia to Massachusetts, with special concern focused on New Jersey and Delaware, where Rehoboth Beach could experience gusts up to 50mph and life-threatening storm surges during high tide late last night and into today.

On the Virginia Beach boardwalk, the Atlantic Ocean roared with unchar-

acteristically large waves, drawing only a couple of surfers into the choppy white water. But hundreds, if not thousands of people, had descended onto the beach for the traditional last weekend of summer.

Umbrellas and canopies dotted the sand under partly sunny skies.

Tropical storm-force winds are possible today in New Jersey. Governor Chris Christie warned that minor to moderate flooding was still likely in coastal areas and said the storm will cause major problems, even as it tracks away from land.

“Don’t be lulled by the nice weather,” Christie said, referring to the bright sunny skies along the Jersey Shore yesterday. “Don’t think that nothing is going to happen, because something is going to happen.”

New York City planned to close its beaches today because of rip currents, and the ban could extend into tomorrow, depending on weather conditions, officials said.

Long Island authorities urged people to evacuate the summer getaway known as Fire Island to avoid any storm surge and coastal flooding. Emergency officials warned that anyone who stays will not be able to leave after ferries shut down last night.

Hermine rose up over the Gulf of Mexico and hit Florida on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm across Georgia. It has caused two deaths, inflicted widespread property damage and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people from Florida to Virginia. On Saturday, high winds tipped over an 18-wheel truck, killing its driver and shutting down the US 64 bridge in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Earlier in Florida, a homeless man died from a falling tree.

The Anclote River northwest of Tampa was forecast to go well into major flood stage yesterday afternoon.

Emergency managers is-

sued mandatory evacuations for some low-lying mobile home parks and apartment buildings.

At 5pm, Hermine’s top sustained winds were steady at 70mph as the system moved east-northeast at 5mph. The storm was centred about 335 miles east of Ocean City, Maryland.

Since sea levels have risen up to a foot due to global warming, the storm surges pushed by Hermine could be even more damaging, climate scientists say. Michael Mann at Pennsylvania State University noted that this century’s one-foot sealevel rise in New York City meant 25 more square miles flooded during Superstorm Sandy, causing billions in additional damage.

“We are already experiencing more and more flooding due to climate change in every storm,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a geosciences professor at Princeton University. “And it’s only the beginning.”

Associated Press

THE TRIBUNE

FNM ‘missed opportunity’ by keeping its leader

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER Democratic National Alliance candidate said yesterday that the Free National Movement lost a “golden opportunity” at its recent convention to be a formidable force going into the next general election.

Delano Munroe, Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP) president and CEO, said if the leadership of the Official Opposition had changed at their convention held at the Melia Nassau Beach Hotel in July, the party would have had considerable momentum to mount a challenge to the governing Progressive Liberal Party at the polls in 2017.

Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner had strongly criticised FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis in the lead up to and shortly after the party’s contentious convention, which saw her withdraw her bid for the leadership of the party hours before delegates were set to vote.

She has since urged her supporters to back Dr Minnis and the FNM notwithstanding her prior criticism of him.

Mr Munroe who yesterday admitted his respect and support for the woman who had sought to become the first female prime minister of The Bahamas, said the FNM is “not even a formidable force to consider at this point.”

“The FNM seems to still be trying to catch themselves after convention but it’s been about six weeks now and it’s almost like they’re an afterthought,” Mr Munroe said.

“The FNM lost a golden opportunity to be a formidable force in the 2017 general election when they booted Loretta ButlerTurner from gaining the leadership position. It is my opinion that, if at the helm, she could have attracted undecided voters, disenfranchised voters from all political divides and definitely attracted the type of funding and candidates needed

THE government’s commitment to effective rehabilitation and public safety will be put to the test when the Parole Re-entry Steering Committee delivers its recommendations for a parole system and the reintegration of past offenders into Bahamian society, according to committee Co-chair retired Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez.

Archbishop Gomez told The Tribune yesterday that the 18-member committee was on track to submit its report to Cabinet by the end of the first week in October after a six-month timeline of widespread research and consultation.

He added that the committee expects to complete legislation for the parole system in a week.

“It’s been very interesting so far,” he said, “it’s just a matter of pulling it together, and just a matter of what the government will do. It’s all in favour of rehabilitation and outlining how it can be done and it will involve certain changes. The government will have to spend a little more money employing people, but the biggest challenge will be

| “Leader in Personal Banking Services”

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ASSISTANT MANAGER, HUMAN RESOURCES Commonwealth Bank is the premier Bahamian Bank with branches located in New Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco. We are committed to delivering superior quality service, to training and developing our employees, to creating value for our shareholders and to promoting economic growth and stability in the community.

ROLE OVERVIEW: The position of Assistant Manager, Human Resources is an important position within the Bank responsible for providing support to the Human Resources Department to enhance the efficient service rendered to all employees and performing all functions in a professional manner.

DUTIES: The Assistant Manager, Human Resources provides assistance to the HR Managers in the leadership and coordination of HR functions within Recruitment and Employee Relations. The position holder assists in developing and implementing HR strategy and programs, designing and implementing new and existing HR policies and systems aimed at attracting, motivating and retaining talent, and controlling HR costs to derive maximum benefit. Duties include, but are not limited to:- assisting with formulating and administering HR policies and programs related to people management, attraction, deployment and development to build and maintain a positive and performance oriented culture within the Bank.

QUALIFICATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

DELANO MUNROE to mount a successful victory at the polls for 2017.

She would’ve been a visible and tangible change to the political establishment that this country has been used to since Majority Rule.”

When asked if he agreed with other critics of Mrs Butler-Turner who said she should not have conceded before the count of the votes, he said no.

“Kenny Rodgers said it best, you got to know when to hold them and know when to walk away. I believe she saw the writing on the wall leading up to the elections at the convention and saw that the decks were not stacked in her favour and decided to end her bid.

“While some will argue that she may have never known the outcome, we must remember that Mrs Butler-Turner is a seasoned politician and she understands this game very well.”

Mr Munroe believes that as it stands when considering the state of all the political parties, “the 2017 general election will be more about who will win the opposition.”

“Despite everything that

the PLP government has going against them they could easily emerge victorious in 2017,” he said. “At the present moment if the opposition party and third parties don’t get it together quickly, get their message out to the masses and generate the type of momentum needed to take them from now straight until 2017 they might as well pack up shop, save their money, resources and time.”

Mr Munroe was acquitted of theft allegations in 2012.

The allegations thwarted his bid for the MICAL seat on the DNA’s ticket.

Yesterday, he said that Bahamian politics “is not for the faint hearted, easily timid, thin skinned, sensitive and fearful individuals.”

“We seem to specialise in gutter politics and blatant victimisation in The Bahamas and this is why decent men and women who have something of value to offer to the political process is staying away from entering front line politics,” he said.

“We need to change the dynamics of politics in this country to attract good candidates to these parties.”

PAROLE COMMITTEE TO DELIVER RECOMMENDATIONS

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

Monday, September 5, 2016, PAGE 7

the general public, to create the climate in which to try to help people.”

Archbishop Gomez added: “It’s certainly going to involve some further expenditure if you really want to do it and do it properly. It’s about are we interested in public safety and are we interested in giving people a chance to change and given the number of young people in the place, you got to create a (parole) system.”

The committee is part of the government’s overarching strategy to address the challenges of crime in the Bahamas through its Citizens Security and Justice Programme, financed by a $20 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank.

The Ministry of National Security projects that 95 per cent of incarcerated criminals are expected to reenter society over the next ten years, with statistics indicating that 45 per cent of persons housed at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) are on remand.

Yesterday, Archbishop Gomez remarked that it was alarming to see the number of young men incarcerated at the BDCS. Recommendations will

feature physical upgrades to the correctional facility as well as suggestions on staff guidelines and procedures, according to Archbishop Gomez, who acknowledged that the culture and attitudes of guards should be routinely addressed.

“If you’re talking about rehabilitation, you have to have a physical environment that is conducive to that,” he said. “Since the government changed the name from prison to department of corrections there has been a shift towards creating that environment. The whole basis is making rehabilitation the main work, the former emphasis was on punitive.

“It cannot be compelled but at least the whole direction of the institution will be toward rehabilitation and reform. It’s a work in progress (staff attitudes), can’t do that overnight that is a fundamental issue that has to be addressed on an ongoing basis.

“It’s not an overnight method, I think if all hands are on deck I think there will be a positive effect.

In the final analysis its is a matter of safety, we have a very strong recidivism rate and a good parole system will have a good impact on that.”

• Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources, Business Management, Industrial and Organizational Development, or a related field • Obtained or pursuing PHR or PHRi certification • Minimum 5 years Human Resources Management experience KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES: Knowledge: The incumbent must have proficient knowledge in the following areas: • Human resources management • Human resources information systems – ABRA • Mentoring and coaching • Change management • Understanding of the relevant local legislation and HR policies and procedures Skills: The incumbent must demonstrate the following skills: • Strong Leadership skills • Strong Management skills • Good counselling skills • Effective public relations and public speaking skills • Effective time management skills • Effective Interviewing skills • Team building skills • Problem solving skills • Strong customer service skills and the ability to deliver consistent high quality service • Effective verbal, and listening communications skills with demonstrated ability and maturity to effectively handle different situations • Effective written communications skills including the ability to prepare reports, policies and procedures • Strong computer skills, with proficiency in Microsoft Office suite  Effective organizational skills • Stress management skills. Not easily overwhelmed. Able to multi-task in a fast paced working environment while maintaining efficiency and accuracy • Ability to analyze problems, identify alternative solutions, project consequences of proposed actions and implement recommendations in support of goals • Research, analyze and evaluate new service delivery methods and techniques Personal Attributes: The incumbent must maintain confidentiality, use sound judgement and perform independently while performing the duties of the Assistant Manager. The incumbent must also demonstrate the following personal attributes: • Maintain standards of conduct • Display characteristics of honesty, integrity and sound ethics • Possess cultural and business awareness and sensitivity • Be respectful • Be flexible REMUNERATION PACKAGE: Commonwealth Bank is a Great place to work! We offer an exciting work environment with the opportunity for growth and development. We also offer a competitive compensation package, reflecting the successful applicant’s experience and qualifications, including a performance based incentive plan, health, vision, dental and life insurances and a pension plan.

Qualified individuals should submit complete resumes

by September 9, 2016 to:

www.careers.combankltd.com/careers or Submit a resume to: hr@combankltd.com “ Commonwealth Bank sincerely thanks all applicants for their interest in becoming a part of our team, however, only those applications being considered will be contacted.”

PAGE 8, Monday, September 5, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

BANNISTER RAISES CONCERNS AS CHILDREN HEAD BACK TO SCHOOL from page one

Mr Fitzgerald at the time said the ministry had focused its attention on ensuring that the Family Island schools are staffed as best as possible, adding that the Ministry of Education will likely have to employ some 30 “supply teachers” in order to fill the vacancies that were created.

The minister noted that the capital was not an issue for the ministry, as he said New Providence has enough teachers “we can bring in in order to fill the void”.

However, Mr Bannister called for more details on teacher shortages.

“I call upon the minister of education, if he truly cares about accountability, to publicly provide an accounting of the shortage of teachers in each school, so that parents will be fully informed of the plight that their children face,” Mr Bannister said in a statement.

“But I know that my plea will fall on deaf ears. He will not do so. This is not a government of accountability.

“Our precious children will return to schools

throughout our country that are in the worst state of disrepair in modern memory. Several of the school campuses are in such a woeful state that they are downright dangerous. It is telling that this government has prioritised the spending of millions of our hard earned tax dollars on a weekend party called carnival but refuses to make a similar investment in the education of our innocent young children, a group that represents hope for the future of our country.”

Mr Bannister called the teacher shortage “a

scandalous shame” that is “painful to see” because “thousands of our bright young children will be reporting to classrooms without teachers.”

“Many will have no desks or chairs,” he claimed.

Mr Bannister stressed that teachers, parents and students deserve better than having to endure overcrowded classrooms, incomplete repairs, equipment and supply shortages and unsanitary conditions on various campuses.

Public school repairs were expected to cost between $9m and $10m this year.

CONSTRUCTION work under way at a school in a picture provided by Desmond Bannister. The location and date the photograph was taken were not specified.

HALKITIS HOSTS JAMBOREE BEFORE THE START OF THE NEW TERM

MICHAEL HALKITIS, Golden Isles MP, hosted a back-to-school jamboree with food, games, free haircuts and hair plaiting, school supplies, scholarships and a whole lot more for students in the constituency.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

GERRAN NOTTAGE, CEO of My Own Water Sports, distributes supplies during the ‘Back To School Splash’ recently.

PARENTS and students in the Nassau Village community got a much-needed boost in time for the new school year last month with the first ‘Back To School Splash’, hosted by local tour company My Own Water Sports.

Some 50 children received backpacks, school supplies and free haircuts while enjoying music, pizza and ice cream.

My Own Water Sports CEO, Gerran Nottage, grew up in Nassau Village and his father, Clifford Nottage, also ran the family business Paradise Ocean Sports in the immediate area. Mr Nottage realised that while the new school year is an exciting time, for families with limited resources it is challenging.

Several years ago he began making personal donations to area residents before launching an official company initiative this year.

“Nassau Village is an area that I know,” Mr Nottage said. “I understand what can happen when children aren’t given the right

opportunities or the right tools to succeed. They can fall through the cracks and that’s when we see a lot of potential wasted especially in our inner city communities.”

Mr Nottage is a licensed boat captain with a Master Tech Certificate in Marine Motors from the Marine Mechanics Institute in Orlando, Florida. He has worked in the motor sports industry for more than 13 years and began his own company in 2009.

“I was fortunate enough to be able to follow the dreams that I had growing up,” he said. “It’s important that persons who have achieved their goals commit to providing similar opportunities for those in need.”

In the future, the company plans to offer scholarships in Marine Studies to underprivileged children through its non-profit arm My Own Foundation. Mr Nottage also confirmed that his company will continue to host the ‘Back To School Splash’ event in the coming years.

GERRAN NOTTAGE, CEO of My Own Water Sports, distributes supplies during the ‘Back To School Splash’ in Nassau Village.

PAGE 10, Monday, September 5, 2016

Hazard team cleaning up chemical spill at BORCO

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A HAZARDOUS materials team was still cleaning up a chemical spill at the BORCO plant in Grand Bahama three days after nearby residents of Pinder’s Point reported hearing an explosion.

Residents said they heard a “loud bang” on Tuesday night and saw men wearing protective hazmat suits, masks and breathing apparatus putting sand down in the area to contain the spill.

A representative of BORCO told The Tribune on Friday that their corporate office would be releasing an official statement concerning the incident.

According to a reliable source, a sub-contractor was transferring chemicals from one container to another at the plant when a spill occurred during a rainstorm on Tuesday night.

The chemical had stained the road and grounds on the south west side of the plant where the spill had occurred.

Bertha McPhee Duncanson, chief health inspector at the Department of Envi-

ronmental Health Services, was out of office and could not be reached on Friday for comment.

According to reports, nearby residents who reported hearing a bang late on Tuesday night, had contacted BORCO, but were told that no such incident had occurred at the plant.

Bertram Pinder, chairman of the Pinder’s Point/ Lewis Yard Environmental Committee (PPLYEC), said he had not been contacted or informed by anyone at the company about the spill.

“When I went down there on Thursday morning I saw them cleaning up inside the fence to the west, but I did not know a spill had occurred,” he said.

Mr Pinder went to BORCO after a resident had informed him about the spill. “I was not given any information as to what happened when I went down there,” he said. “A resident had contacted BORCO after hearing an explosion around midnight and was told nothing had happened.

They did not inform anyone in the community about a spill.”

He said it appears that the company is trying to

THE TRIBUNE

WORKERS wearing protective clothing are seen cleaning up a chemical spill at the BORCO plant on Friday. keep the incident “hush deaths and the high inci- we want to be moved out is no health risk to people hush” from the residents dents of cancer in that area, this area together as a com- living in the area. Mr Hepand the relevant authorities. and have been agitating for munity,” she said. burn said that Tuesday’s “We are very disappointed the relocation of the com“We don’t want to be liv- spill shows otherwise. by this latest incident and munity. ing here any more because “Here we have plant about the results of the reIn 1995, a tank explosion it is affecting our health. workers wearing chemical cent PAHO/WHO report, and fire at BORCO forced We have suffered for 30 suits complete with respiespecially the way that it the evacuation of hundreds years and we don’t want rators while cleaning up a was presented to residents,” of residents from their our grandchildren to go spill that spewed dangerMr Pinder said. homes for couple of days. through this; it has been too ous and probably lethal The PPLYEC is conA resident identified as long, we need to be moved chemicals into the Buckeye cerned about ongoing pol- Laverne said Tuesday’s out of this area.” yard, onto the road, into the lution, including the chemi- night incident was a reShuffel Hepburn, a local nearby bushes and most imcal emissions and oil spills, minder of the dangers of businessman, said that a portantly into the air that in the area by nearby in- living so close to the plant. month ago the Minister for the residents of Seaco Town dustrial plants over the past “We have been enduring Grand Bahama told resi- breathed that night. Unfor30 years. The residents be- these unsafe and unhealthy dents of Pinder’s Point that tunately, the road and bushlieve it is the cause of many conditions for many years; he has evidence that there es continue to tell the tale,”

PATRICIA HERMANNS

NIB APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR THE National Insurance Board has appointed Patricia Hermanns to the post of director.

The appointment took effect on September 1.

According to a press release from NIB, as director Ms Hermanns serves as NIB’s CEO and heads the executive management team responsible for the day-to-day operations of the social security organisation.

She is a former banking executive with more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services sector.

According to NIB, she is credited with managing corporation transitions for

greater efficiency and effectiveness, and successfully launching new life and health insurance as well as investment products and services.

She currently serves as a director of Bahamas Power and Light and Bahamas Resolve Ltd and is a trustee of the Anglican Diocese Pension Fund and the Governor General Youth Award.

The three-year contract of NIB’s former director Rowena Bethel was not renewed when it ended in July. Shortly after her contract expired, Ms Bethel told The Nassau Guardian that NIB was plagued with infighting at its highest level.

OLYMPIC HERO KNOWLES SUPPORTS COOPER AWARDS SIR DURWARD Knowles, who won the Bahamas first Olympic gold medal in 1964, has added his support to the 2016 R E Cooper Sr National Meritorious Awards, which is set to take place on October 29, at the Atlantis Ballroom on Paradise Island.

Sir Durward is a silver sponsor of the gala event, which will recognise and pay tribute to outstanding people who have contributed to Bahamian development through service. The event, which is named after the Rev Dr R E Cooper Sr, who delivered the message at the first Ecumenical Service to usher in independence in 1973, was started 31 years ago to honour those who have given so much to help others.

Dr Cooper Sr was an educator who made a difference in the lives of thousands of Bahamians, giving out hundreds of scholarships through the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, and was instrumental in the establishment of the Jordan Prince Williams Memorial High School.

Some outstanding people have already been named to receive an award this year

- Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, pharmacist Clinton McCartney, businessman Alphonso Elliott, financier James Schaeffer III, musical icons and cultural activists the Munnings brothers, Fred Jr and Raphael, insurance executive Stephanie Hanna, media personality Steve Mckinney, businessman George Myers and educator Sidney McPhee. More will be announced this week, organisers said.

Sir Durward, who is known for his philanthropic and humanitarian efforts, was encouraged by the legacy of R E Cooper Sr, who fought hard to get young Bahamians educated. With Atlantic College, which is celebrating 20 years this year, being the recipient of the scholarship donation through this event, he felt that the continuation of educating Bahamians, especially those in the inner city, should receive his support.

Fr George Clements and Trumpet Awards founder Dr Xernona Clayton are among notable speakers at the event. For more information visit www.recooperaward.org.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, September 5, 2016, PAGE 11

THE RACE IS ON AS ATLANTIS CHEERS ON TURTLE A LEATHERBACK turtle sponsored by Atlantis, Paradise Island, as part of its marine conservation efforts is aiming to be the fourth winner in five years for the resort in a marathon ‘race’ from its nesting beaches to its foraging grounds.

Calypso Blue V began this year’s Tour de Turtles on August 1 - the official start date - off the western Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico after leaving Costa Rica in June. Up to Friday, the turtle has travelled 2,278 miles in 95 days since its release.

Atlantis is sponsoring

Calypso Blue V as part of its continued support of marine conservation efforts through the Blue Project. Started in 2008 by Sea Turtle Conservancy, the Tour de Turtles event follows the migration of participating sea turtles in real time using satellite telemetry. This year, four endangered species of sea turtles – loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill, and green - are being tracked for three months from their nesting beaches to their foraging grounds.

The annual marathon is, according to Sea Turtle Conservancy, meant to be

a fun and educational journey through the science, research and geography of sea turtles. It also helps to bring awareness to many of the threats that sea turtles face in the wild through the Causes Challenge.

Like her predeceasers, Calypso Blue V has also taken up the Causes Challenge and her marathon participation is helping to bring awareness to the impacts of commercial trawl fisheries on sea turtles.

Sea turtles can accidentally be captured, injured or killed by commercial trawl fishermen who drag large funnel shaped fishing

nets in the water behind their boats. These trawl nets catch all marine life indiscriminately.

Turtles can become tangled in the nets and then drown after being held under water for too long and cannot reach the surface for air. They can also sustain internal injuries from hooks or external injuries from entanglement, including strangulation or amputation.

These injuries and deaths take place both while turtles are migrating through fishing areas and in fishing areas that are used as feed-

CALYPSO BLUE V, a leatherback turtle, is being sponsored by Atlantis, Paradise Island, to support marine conservation. ing grounds by sea turtles. athon. Calypso Blue V’s Atlantis’ Calypso Blue I, progress can be tracked at Calypso Blue II and Calyp- www.conserveturtles.org/ so Blue IV all won the mar- trackingmap.php?id=139.

Fresh Prepared, In-store, Daily.

“ My chicken puts a smile on everyone’s face.” - Jean

The race is on.

00

days to go

#TheCountdown to back to school is here.

PLAY. POST. WIN!

SHARE PICTURES OF YOUR CHILDREN FOR A CHANCE TO WIN! Visit us on Facebook and Twitter for details!

/ScotiabankBS

@ScotiabankBS

#TheCountdown

†Conditions apply. Subject to credit approval. ® Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence.

2

FOR

5

$

Egg & Cheese on Egg an English Muffin

(Incl. VAT)

®