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Govt plays down China partnership L! ADS SEL PHOTO 351 002 / 502-2

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• Media reports of $2.1bn venture denied • Minister admits approach over agriculture investment

PM’S UNEMPLOYMENT FEARS FOR GRAND BAHAMA

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net POLICE are investigating the murder of a 22-yearold man that took place on Monday.

Shortly after 10pm, police received a report of a man being shot at Wellington Street, off Market Street.

On arrival, police found the man, Reno Gilbert, with gunshot wounds. He was taken to hospital in critical condition, but later died.

This killing brought the country’s homicide count to 85 for the year, according to SEE PAGE SIX

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@ tribunemedia.net

be a “good thing� for the country because Bahamians generally “lack interest� in the agriculture industry.

He also admitDEPUTY ted that he told Prime Minister newly appointed Philip Brave DaChinese ambassavis stressed yesdor Paul Gomez terday that the proposal for a MINISTER of Agriculture that he could discuss the proposal partnership with and Fisheries V Alfred with “interested the Chinese for Gray. investors�. development of Both men were respondagriculture and fisheries in Andros was not before the ing to a report in The Nasgovernment for considera- sau Guardian on Tuesday, which stated that the tion.

But while he later criti- government had given the cised media reports about “green light� to its embassy the proposal, Minister of in Beijing to further pursue Agriculture and Fisheries such a partnership.

Despite the denials from V Alfred Gray yesterday said that such a plan could SEE PAGE SIX

MINNIS: LOCAL VENDORS WILL BE IMPACTED BY PHA’S USE OF INTERNATIONAL MANUFACTURERS

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday criticised the Public Hospitals Authority for extending its recent tender exercise for the “Provision of Medicines and Related Items� to international manufacturers.

Dr Minnis charged that the direct purchase of medication from manufacturers would have a destructive impact on local vendors and the industry. “The PHA wants to purchase medication directly from manufacturers, bypassing the distributors and

POLICE FIND DECOMPOSED BODY OFF CARMICHAEL ROAD

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

POLICE last night discovered a body in an “advanced� stage of decomposition and are appealing to members of the public who may have missing relatives to come forward to assist them in solving this case.

The discovery was made in the area of Lazaretto Road, off Carmichael Road, around 7pm last night, police said.

Head of the Central Detective Unit Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander told The Tribune that police have classified this as a sudden death, pending the results of an autopsy.

He said: “Acting on information, officers went to a bushy area about 80ft off the road where they came across a body in an advanced state of decomposition. “We can’t determine if it is a male or female or if there SEE PAGE SIX

22-YEAR-OLD MAN SHOT DEAD IN YEAR’S 85TH MURDER

SEE PAGE SIX

PRIME Minister Perry Christie speaks at NEMA‘s head office yesterday.

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Perry Christie is concerned about what the slowdown of the tourism sector in Grand Bahama in the wake of Hurricane Matthew could mean for employment on that island.

He said yesterday that the government is working to mitigate negative consequences, although it is unclear what steps could be taken to ensure that some of the biggest hotels on the island are quickly reopened and remain that way. “Memories and the Lighthouse (Pointe), they’re all closed,� Mr Christie said, referring to Grand Lucayan Resort, the 519room property consisting of the Breaker’s Cay and Lighthouse Pointe, and the 496room Memories Resort, which employs 500 people. “It appeared on the face of it that there

Photo: Tim Clarke

was a consideration to keeping them closed for a period of at least six months,�

Mr Christie said. “We are speaking to ‌ the owners because the hotels are directly linked firstly to a major company called Sunwing (Airlines) that has the lease of Memories and they provide aircraft that fly from Canada and from the United States of America to Grand Bahama to keep Memories filled and other hotels on the island.â€?

Mr Christie said while Sunwing believes in Grand Bahama’s commercial potential, he is concerned that “any decision that could require hotels to be closed for a period of six months will mean they will have to stop all their flights going into Grand Bahama.� “That has enormous implications and so we are in hourly discussions with respect to this matter with a view to trying to affect a formula that will result in the bare SEE PAGE TWO

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

EMPLOYEES WANT NATIONAL CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS TO INTERVENE IN OCEAN CLUB ROW

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net ANGRY hotel union members yesterday threatened to petition for the National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas (NCTUB) to serve as their “interim� bargaining agent over their dissatisfaction with their union’s handling of the One&Only Ocean Club’s temporary closure for hurricane repair efforts.

Members of the Bahamas Hotel Catering Allied Workers Union (BHSEE PAGE SIX

PAGE 2, Wednesday, November 2, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

BIFF TO ROLL OUT RED CARPET FOR OPENING NIGHT FILM ‘BLIND’ BLIND, a drama starring Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore, has been selected to open the 2016 Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) in Nassau in December with a red carpet screening in Rawson Square.

Leslie Vanderpool, the Festival Founder and Executive Director, announced the final programme details yesterday, including the closing film, Bazodee, a Bollywoodstyle Caribbean musical starring Machel Montano.

Ms Vanderpool said this year’s Festival will showcase 95 films from 26 different countries, including 31 features, of which several are international premieres and all are Bahamian premieres. Now in its 13th year, BIFF will take place from December 5 to 8 in Harbour Island and December 8 to 11 in

ALEC Baldwin and Demi Moore star in the opening night film, Blind.

MACHEL Montano stars in Caribbean musical Bazodee.

Nassau.

Michael Mailer, the director of Blind, will open the festival with a screening in Rawson Square on December 8. Blind tells the story of a novelist who lost his sight in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with

the neglected wife of an indicted businessman. It will be followed on the night by the documentary “Before The Trees Was Strange” directed by Derek Burrows.

Bazodee, a Bollywood style Caribbean musical set in Trinidad and Tobago, is described as being true to yourself and honest in love at all costs. It

closes the festival with an evening screening on Sunday, December 11, at Fort Stanley, Fort Charlotte.

Ms Vanderpool said there are five competition categories at BIFF this year, four in Spirit of Freedom - Narrative, Documentary, New Visions, and Sports Highlight - and Short Film. There is a special section for World Cinema.

One category has been dropped for 2016. “This year, in response to the strength of the Caribbean Films, we have decided to dissolve the Caribbean

Spotlight category,” Ms Vanderpool said. “Films that would be considered for the category have been distributed into other sections and eligible for a grand jury prize.”

Venues for the 2016 Festival include Romora Bay Resort and Marina, Pandora, Pirates Republic, Galleria Cinemas JFK, Blanc Du Nil, Fort Stanley and Rawson Square.

BIFF is a non-profit organisation committed to providing the local community and international festival-goers with a diverse presentation of films

from the Bahamas and around the world. In addition to showcasing films that might not otherwise be released theatrically, BIFF provides cultural experiences, educational programmes and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema.

It aims to raise the level of filmmaking, participation and education throughout the Bahamas and the world.

For information on the Festival and full film listings visit www.bintlfilmfest.com

PRIME MINISTER’S UNEMPLOYMENT FEARS FOR GRAND BAHAMA FROM PAGE ONE

NASSAU | FREEPORT | ABACO | ELEUTHERA | EXUMA | www.familyguardian.com

minimum impact on the economy,” he’s said.

“It’s only necessary to get one or two of the hotels up.

“It is critical that we recognise the significance from an employment point of view of the tourism sector in Grand Bahama because that has enormous implications to people who work, people who need to live.”

The Tribune understands that the Grand Lucayan Resort will re-open on November 7 and the Memories Resort will reopen on December 10.

Sunwing is expected to resume services on December 17 once Memories Resort reopens.

Nonetheless, Mr Christie said the government is looking for ways to stimulate the economy in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

“We know that we have to spend money for restoration so the idea is to do so as effectively as possible, to create jobs in the construction sector and we are having the benefit of having an innovation of public-private partnership where the private partner would put up the money for the construction on terms with the government, enables the government to continue its work without adding to the debt burden.

“So we settled yesterday, a committee of Cabinet, chaired by myself, a number of such contracts.

“We’re looking to do the same thing in Grand Bahama where a number of public sector contracts have been signed.”

Mr Christie was speaking at a ceremony at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Gladstone Road at which Mark Holowesko, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Director of Holowesko Partners Ltd, presented a $50,000 cheque to NEMA and pledged another $50,000, once the need is identified, towards local relief and restoration folowing Hurricane Matthew.

The donation by Holowesko Partners Ltd to the disaster relief fund brings the amount donated to NEMA to an estimated $1.4 million.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 2, 2016, PAGE 3

SEARS HITS BACK AT WILCHCOMBE OVER FESTIVAL POSTPONEMENT

FORMER Attorney General Alfred Sears has criticised Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe for “lecturing him on integrity” while not giving full disclosure about the circumstances surrounding the postponement of the Caribbean Muzik Festival.

In a press statement responding to assertions from his former Cabinet colleague, Mr Sears accused Mr Wilchcombe of playing “gotcha” politics while withholding pertinent details about the controversy. He said Mr Wilchcombe was singling him out, although there were others attached to the event, and insinuated that his motivation was political.

Mr Sears was a director of the festival until he resigned last December. He has previously disclosed that he is also a “minor shareholder” in the company Caribbean Music Festival Ltd. The four-day festival was postponed last year after two nights of activity. It was scheduled to take place from October 28 to October 31.

Although the Bahamas government is not responsible for the event, the Ministry of Tourism is one of its major sponsors, having invested more than $600,000 in the festival.

The festival was a part of the government’s efforts to fill the Bahamian calendar with musical and sporting events that would promote culture, encourage commerce and put a spotlight on the country’s tourism products year round. Michael Tomlinson, a Jamaican, is chairman and CEO of the festival.

Earlier this week, it was reported in The Nassau Guardian that Mr Wilchcombe said Mr Sears must be the one to answer why the festival has not been staged.

“The fact of the matter is that there is a commercial dispute be-

PLP leadership candidate Alfred Sears and Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe. tween the Ministry of Tourism and the company, Caribbean Music Festival (2000) Limited, relating to the postponement of a portion, two of three nights, of the 2015 Caribbean Muzik Festival and about the fulfilment of duties by both parties, pursuant to the commercial contract between these two parties to stage a series of festivals over the course of five years,” Mr Sears’ statement said.

“It is unfortunate that in the interest of full transparency that the minister has not shared with the public the contractual claims made by the company against his ministry and its failure to fulfil contractual obligations. While the minister publicly lectured me on integrity, the minister failed to disclose to the public that there is an outstanding contractual dispute between the

ministry and the company.

“In a letter dated November 4, 2015 from the company’s attorney, Obi Pindling complained that the Ministry of Tourism had failed to perform certain contractual undertakings, pursuant to clause 4 (a) of the Host Country Agreement dated December 8, 2014. Again, Mr Pindling wrote the Permanent Secretary at Tourism a letter dated November 30, 2015 reminding the ministry that this dispute had not been responded to by the ministry.

“Further, the minister of tourism failed to disclose to the public that the festival had been postponed at least on three occasions prior to October 2015, at the request of the minister, to ensure that the carnival festival had pride of place and no competition from the Caribbean Muzik Festival.

OFFICER WHO STRUCK FIGHTING STUDENTS ‘WAS PERFORMING HIS DUTY’

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

DIRECTOR of Education Lionel Sands yesterday said the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is “not concerned” about the attempts of a police officer to resolve a fight between two public school students by striking them with his nightstick.

The incident was captured on cell phone video.

Mr Sands said the position taken by the ministry was due to the view by officials that “the police (officer) was performing his duty and people were trying to disrupt that.”

Mr Sands added that the ministry “does not condone students fighting in the first instance,” whether on or off campus.

Attempts to get an official response from senior Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) officials on the officer’s actions were unsuccessful.

However, one senior officer told The Tribune that he was looking into the matter.

Mr Sands’ comments were in reference to a cell phone video circulating on social media showing two schoolgirls, both of whom The Tribune understands attend the Doris Johnson High School, fighting off campus.

In an attempt to stop the fight, what appears to be a police officer wearing a khaki uniform could be seen running over to the two girls, audibly calling for them to stop fighting. A third female student could be seen in the video running towards the first two girls, but she exits the video frame after seemingly receiving a stroke from the officer’s night stick.

The two girls continue their tussle in the background towards a chainlink fence, which is where the officer continues to admonish the two to cease their fighting. However, he struggles to get the two students to comply, as they continue fighting in earnest despite his commands.

Then, using his body as a divider, he presses himself between the two before using his free hand to strike one of the students with his nightstick.

That action drew a frenzied response from onlookers, who asked why

“The police was performing his duty and people were trying to disrupt that. We don’t condone students fighting in the first instance, and they shouldn’t have been.”

Director of Education Lionel Sands the officer was hitting one of the girls. At one point, a male student tried to get the officer to stop by grabbing onto the officer’s arm, but the officer kicked him away.

The officer then struck one of the students again on the mid-to-lower body with his nightstick. Two other female students then attempted to get him to stop, but he swings his nightstick and glares at them before asking sternly: “What happen to y’all?”

Towards the end of the video, as the fight between the two girls shifts towards the ground, the officer is seen using his feet to try and separate the two, before standing completely over one and yelling: “Stop! What happened to y’all? Get up!”

“No we’re not concerned because the police officer was doing his duty,” Mr Sands said when contacted for comment. “The police was performing his duty and people were trying to disrupt that. We don’t condone students fighting in the first instance, and they shouldn’t have been.”

Last year, a 16-yearold male student of Doris Johnson was stabbed multiple times and killed during an argument with several other school students shortly after school was dismissed early because of exams. The victim died a short time later in hospital.

That murder, which took place less than a mile from the school’s campus, capped a year of numerous documented fights in several schools in both New Providence and Grand Bahama.

At the height of the high school brawls last year, Mr Sands told The Tribune that the fights were the re-

sult of “poorly socialised” high school students, adding that there is “very little” the Ministry of Education can do to prevent such incidences from occurring.

At the time, Mr Sands called the brawls a “vexing” issue for the ministry and high school educators, adding that it is difficult to get to the root of the cause of the fights, as he said most, if not all of the brawls took place after school hours.

However, he stressed that the fights are not incidents that are “perpetuated” by the respective schools.

“For the most part our kids are not socialised,” he said at the time. “They are poorly socialised, and that has to happen in the first instance in the home where they become socialised, and understand that they have a responsibility to themselves and a responsibility to everybody else, so that they would act in a certain way.

“But that is taught at home first. And once it is taught at home it is supplemented by what is taught at school. We don’t have that unfortunately…and so the job of teaching becomes more and more difficult, because in order for the job to be effective, the kids must come to the classroom in the first instance socialised.”

“In each instance of postponement, the company had already paid artists and service vendors for the dates which were vacated.

The minister also failed to disclose to the public that days before the scheduled Caribbean Muzik Festival on October 28, 2015, the minister of tourism inexplicably withdrew the support of the ministry for the celebration of the Nassau Accord Ceremony and Programme, after the prime minister and governor general had been committed to the event.

“After demanding an explanation, it was relayed to the company that rather than support the celebration of the Nassau Accord October 28, 2015 as had been planned in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, the minister of tourism had suddenly decided to sponsor a year-long series of public events to celebrate the Nassau Accord instead.”

Mr Sears said while several persons were involved in planning the festival and served as directors of Caribbean Music Festival Limited, Mr Wilchcombe has “singled” him out for “whatever peculiar reasons.”

“I would expect that the comments of my esteemed colleague are not motivated by more than public interest.”

Mr Sears also said that Mr Wilchcombe met with Desmond Edwards, a director and minority shareholder of the company, on July 30. He said during this meeting, he was told Mr Wilchcombe “apologised for his ministry’s abandonment of the music festival and failure to live up to the terms of the agreements between the parties.”

“There was also an understanding that all parties would work together to realise the festival before the end of this year.”

He added: “I again reiterate that the making of innuendos, insinuations and allegations of wrongdoing by a public official, without full disclosure, against an individual without addressing the party in contract with a public entity does not contribute to the ease of doing business in the Bahamas or increase the confidence of Bahamian and foreign investors in contract with the government.

“It is not the right way to conduct the business of the country.

“The minister admitted in the interview that he has not contacted me with regards to any of the claims or assertions that he has sought to make in the press.

“I would expect that the honourable thing would be to contact me and request answers before making such reckless public statements.

“My numbers have not changed and as the minister has called me before he is welcomed to do so.

“Let us not allow internal politics taint the way we conduct business and address genuine commercial disputes.

“I live up to my responsibilities and do not deflect or play ‘politics’ with matters of business or national service.

“The minister, in the public interest, should meet with the company and seek to resolve the dispute in good faith or have the court resolve the matter.

“This old style of one-sided ‘gotcha’ politics must become a thing of the past,” Mr Sears said.

Mr Sears, the Progressive Liberal Party’s candidate for Ft Charlotte, plans to challenge Prime Minister Perry Christie for the party’s top post at its next convention.

Mr Wilchcombe has previously voiced his support for Mr Christie in the leadership race.

CALL FOR JUVENILES ON REMAND AT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES TO BE RELOCATED

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net POINTING to the landmark Court of Appeal ruling on the treatment of children in the justice system, child rights advocate and lawyer Tavarrie Smith called on Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson to immediately relocate juveniles on remand at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Mr Smith said that every day that minors are detained at the facility exposes the government to liability.

The Court of Appeal ruling, handed down in September, indicated that children - including those charged with serious crimes - cannot be remanded to prison unless certain conditions are met. Those conditions include sworn testimony that a child was of so “unruly a character that he could not be safely committed to a juvenile correction centre” or “is so depraved a character that he was not fit to be so detained.” The ruling pointed out that the Child Protection Act gave juveniles the right to be remanded to such a facility, and also noted that the right of a child to be separated from adults was included in the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which the Bahamas is a signatory.

“That case said that it is illegal to detain a child at the Department of Corrections, if one of three criterion or categories isn’t met,” he said.

“There are a number of juveniles currently at Fox Hill, still there, and one of those three things has not been met with them. So if the attorney general is serious about juvenile justice reform, she would start taking efforts to move them now.

“We have another facility, we have the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys and the Willamae Pratt Centre for Girls. We don’t need a working committee for that, we don’t need consultation for that, the ruling by the Court of Appeal is extremely clear.

If (juveniles) don’t fit one of those three things, they cannot be there and so if she’s serious she needs to move them and move them now.”

He added: “Every day that they are there, the government is exposing itself to

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liability because I can assure you that there will be lawsuits coming based on the fact that they are still there.”

The Tribune reached out to the correctional facility on Monday to determine the number of juveniles currently held on remand; however, no response was given up to press time.

In September, Mrs Maynard-Gibson told The Tribune that judicial procedures that govern the way juveniles would be processed and handled by the justice system going forward should be implemented “soon”. She indicated that Director of Public Prosecutions Garvin Gaskin has for some time now been working directly on the project.

Mr Smith noted that while he has not met with the attorney general personally, he has met with some of her advisors and technical team who are working to gather all of the primary issues affecting juveniles in custody and create workable timelines for reform.

When asked for comment on those efforts, Mr Smith said: “I’m not entirely encouraged as yet and I think that’s because as a country we always do this talk shop, committee meeting, consultation, kind of thing. We’re experts at committees and consultations, that’s who we are as Bahamians.

“But when I start to see some actual changes and movements taking place,

then I’ll start to give the attorney general some support,” he said.

The ruling was spurred by a case involving a juvenile who, charged with armed robbery and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in November 2014.

Last month, the London-based Privy Council quashed the murder conviction of a then juvenile, citing police detectives’ failures to properly adhere to the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s own guidelines concerning the treatment and questioning of juveniles in custody.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council noted that neither the testimony of police nor the detention record of the then 17-year-old Shavargo McPhee gave an explanation for the several periods McPhee was out of his cell during his 31 hours of detention before a confession was taken from him in the presence of a pastor.

McPhee, now 25, was convicted in 2011 for the November 2008 murder of Brendon Dion Strachan in Marsh Harbour, Abaco and sentenced to life in prison.

Wednesday, 2nd November 2016

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Government denies agriculture deal with China “THE story appearing in The Nassau Guardian under the headline ‘China in $2 bil. deal proposal – Govt eyes agrifishery plan with Chinese in Andros – Project calls for lease of 10,000 acres of crown land’ is utterly false.

“The Government is not considering the grant of crown land nor any other matter as set out in the article.”

This was the hurried statement sent out yesterday from the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries as Bahamian tempers grew at the thought that our country was being sold out to China.

But how could such a rumour start if someone behind the scenes was not promoting it as a good idea – or perhaps even a done deal?

No newspaper makes up a story without there being facts to back it up. And this article was not speculative, it had facts. It presented a well thought out plan as to how the project was to be operated, who was to share in it – “two Bahamian companies will come together in a 50-50 ownership structure to incorporate, and equally own, yet another company that will “participate” in the proposed ChinaBahama Agriculture and Fisheries Initiative.” It was so filled with facts that one was led to believe that the only detail left to complete it was an official signature, stamped with the country’s coat of arms.

As alarm bells rang throughout the community – even a short note from retired school teacher Patrick Bethel of Marsh Harbour, Abaco —at the fast pace that Beijing appeared to be acquiring our country, Tribune reporters started to dig for the culprit who apparently did the “deal”. The Christie government has wrapped the security blanket so tightly around all the dealings with the Chinese that Bahamians are rightly suspicious.

We hear that only Prime Minister Christie and the Attorney General are dealing with the Chow Tai Fook Enterprises offer to purchase Baha Mar. There is a report that some of this company’s casino licences have been rejected by certain countries in the free world. Bahamians want to know if this is true.

And if true, the reason for the rejection.

As we read the temperature of the town, Bahamians are no longer prepared to wait for the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act to find out.

Playing around with this Act for almost five years does not reflect well either on government’s ability or intention to deliver.

Bahamians are not only agitated, they are quite frankly at the end of their tether.

Time for secrecy is over. This country belongs to all of us - regardless of colour or race.

It has been built by generations of Bahamians, whose descendents came to these shores from all over the world. It is not solely the patrimony of the PLP. We have a right to know. And we want to know now.

Yesterday Agriculture and Fisheries Minister V Alfred Gray told our reporter that he thought such an agricultural proposal would be a good thing for the Bahamas because of Bahamians’ general “lack of interest” in the agriculture industry.

He went so far as to admit that he encouraged Paul Gomez, the Bahamas’ newly appointed Ambassador to China, to discuss such a proposal with “interested investors.”

According to the Guardian report on Tuesday, the Bahamas government gave its embassy in Beijing the “green light” to further pursue a partnership.

If this is true, it supports our conclusion during the first Christie administration that his government is composed of a cabinet of mini-states taking off in separate directions each on its own mission.

One minister claims he encouraged the newly appointed ambassador to Beijing — who obviously did a brilliant job of persuasion as he has returned with a detailed plan — only for Deputy Prime Minister “Brave” Davis to inform us that “no such matter is with government for consideration.”

Marvin Coleby, a Bahamian law student at McGill University’s Faculty of

Law, has written an insightful piece on the effect “of unregulated Chinese investment projects” in the Caribbean, including the Bahamas. “Their concerns hardly extend beyond their political terms and the short-term economic gain. Chinese investment throughout the region is dominated by state owned enterprises owned by the Chinese government,” he writes.

“Caribbean resources are increasingly owned by the Chinese state, and not, as they have historically been, simply by private investors. For this reason, among others, our leaders’ irresponsibility is detrimental to the long-term sustainability and independence of the region. Chinese state-owned enterprises own over $690 billion in investments abroad. Our region is but a small fraction of that staggering number.”

Mr Coleby points out the failure of a screening process in our region —unlike that in Canada where a screening procedure exists, “whereby investments over a certain amount must be reviewed by the appropriate industry minister and must undergo a test to determine how beneficial they are to Canada. Caribbean governments should consider such a useful tool. Without such a process our countries are exposed to significant foreign ownership of domestic economic industries. Even more worrisome are the international legal mechanisms that protect such foreign ownership and that can facilitate a type of control that limits domestic and regional sovereignty.”

He gives as an example of what could go wrong : “For example,” he writes, “imagine that countries A and B negotiate a BIT and that an investor from country A invests in a hotel project in country B. Further imagine that a labour union in the hotel industry in country B initiates a strike and that country B legislates changes to the industry.

“This change accommodates the demands of the labour union but in some way causes harm to country A’s investor’s profits in the hotel project.

“The investor now has grounds to sue country B in an international tribunal court whose judgment can be confidential, expensive to country B and result in a judgment against the state that will be borne by country B’s taxpayers.”

He gives several other examples of how one country’s control could destroy a defenseless little country such as the Bahamas.

“In The Bahamas alone,” he writes, “state-owned Chinese enterprises finance a multi-billion dollar hotel, own a major hotel, are in talks to purchase the country’s national airline, proposed to reconstruct its downtown core and proposed to finance the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, the state’s only electricity company.

“In other words, Chinese investment in The Bahamas targets the country’s tourism industry, which accounts for over 60 per cent of its GDP and for even more jobs.

“Bahamian leaders continue to irresponsibly accept Chinese investment projects with no proper screening procedure and no real evaluation of the societal effects of an industry’s foreign ownership on their citizens’ jobs.

“On these bare facts, this is particularly worrisome not just for Bahamian policymakers but also for employees in the hotel industry.

“The Bahamas is particularly vulnerable to Chinese investment due to ISDS provisions in its negotiated BIT with China.

“When The Bahamas’ BIT with China, signed in 2010, enters into force Chinese investors will be able to directly sue the country for any changes in the tourism industry that affect their investments.”

Mr Coleby’s article is worth reading in its entirety, particularly by members of this government, who think these investments are such a great idea.

His article can be found at – http://www.caribbean360.com/business/challenge-or-opportunity-stateowned-chinese-investment-in-the-caribbean-marvin-coleby

Reporting ‘a crime’ EDITOR, The Tribune.

I WISH to report a crime.

The police, and our court system seem incapable of dealing with this band of criminals, and we the people are to blame for their ability to rob us, abuse us, and steal a future from our generations to come.

Our elected members of parliament have betrayed us, they have sold the very soul of our nation to China, and in return we are instructed to sit small, keep quiet, and take the abuse.

I refuse.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net I will not sit quietly as this corrupt and morally vacant grouping of the absolute worst the Bahamas has to offer secure yet another deal for Chinese interests in our country.

How much more?! How much more are we to give?

They own the largest anchor project in the Bahamas to date, along with another in the heart of down-

town, properties scattered throughout the Bahamas, and now the government is offering them 10,000 acres of my crown land to compete against my brothers and sisters?

This isn’t folly, and this isn’t foolishness, it is criminal.

If all of this is true in my opion they are traitors to the interest of this country, and they do not deserve a mandate to lead.

CONCERNED Nassau, November 1, 2016.

Who has enough influence to stop this?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I FELT queasy in my stomach when I read The Guardian headline this morning – “China in $2 billion deal proposal • gov’t. eyes agri-fishery plan with Chinese in Andros •Project calls for lease of 10,000 acres of Crown Land”– Such announcements rarely seem to be made unless they are almost a done deal, or in fact already signed off.

This is horrible. More Bahamian land for the Chinese. But what they will do to our fisheries will be catastrophic! Our sports fishing tourism will be severely im-

Concerned about the influence of the Chinese EDITOR, The Tribune.

REFERENCE The Tribune of Monday, October 31st, 2016, and in particular to the comments of Govon Bowe and Philip Galanis on the influence of the Chinese on the economy of the Bahamas.

I do not frighten easily, but I wish to state that I am very concerned about the long term influence of the Chinese.

Are you?

ATRICK J BETHEL P Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas November 1, 2016.

pacted, if not ruined, and the pelagic fish will be wiped out.

But wait! We will have a 2$Bn influx in our economy!

Say what? Who will be getting the benefit of this cash injection? Certainly not Bahamian fishermen whose livelihoods will be wiped out!

Help! Who has enough influence to stop this? It is serious enough to call a protest rally!

LYNN PYFROM HOLOWESKO Nassau, November 1, 2016.

Dangerous tree EDITOR, The Tribune.

An Open Letter to The Ministry of Works, BPL and Light and BTC:· Gentlemen: SINCE October 6th, there has been a dangerous situation which exists on San Souci Road, just off Eastern Road.

As a consequence of the Hurricane Matthew, as soon as one turns onto San Souci Road from Eastern Road, one is confronted by an upended tree that is leaning two-thirds of the way over the road, directly before the first S turning in the road.

Not only is the tree in and of itself dangerous, but there are also wires hanging down over the road belonging to either BPL or BTC, I have no idea which.

This is an extremely heavily trafficked road being one

of the few through roads that allow access to Prince Charles and at this S turn, traffic is reduced to one lane only as the tree is hanging dangerously low over the road, plus the wires that are caught up with it.

Should this tree fall on a car, possibly filled with students from St Andrews School, who will be at fault?

I urge all of you to take some time to rectify this situation before an accident occurs.

We the public do appreciate your efforts after Matthew and I am simply trying to point out a situation which may have been overlooked.

I trust this will be handled with all due speed and consideration.

OLLEEN C DUNKLEY Nassau, November 1, 2016.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 2, 2016, PAGE 5

FESTIVAL COMMISSION THEFT TRIAL ADJOURNED UNTIL 2017

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE trial into the theft of $31,000 allegedly by former employees of the Bahamas National Festival Commission has been adjourned to 2017.

Benjamin Lightbourne, 26, and Kendyce Ferguson, 34, were due to return to Magistrate’s Court for the continuation of their case concerning allegations of stealing that occurred on March 16 and 23, 2015.

However, presiding Magistrate Carol Misiewicz was out of office yesterday, resulting in an adjournment of all matters scheduled for November 1 to January 25, 2017.

It is alleged that Lightbourne

Two former employees accused of stealing $31,000 and Ferguson on March 16 stole $24,404.43 belonging to the BNFC, situated on Collins Avenue, which they had access to at the time as a messenger and an accountant.

They are further accused of stealing $6,852 a week later.

The total amount – $31,256.43 – was reportedly stolen through cheques that were drawn in the name of one of the employees who cashed them at a local bank.

Lightbourne and Ferguson, who are on $15,000 bail, maintain that they did not commit the of-

fences, for which they can face a fine and/or up to five years in prison if convicted.

At the previous hearing on September 20, Magistrate Misiewicz heard testimony from BNFC Chairman Paul Major who was asked if he was familiar with Lightbourne and Ferguson.

Mr Major said he knew Lightbourne as a messenger at the BNFC. He had known Ferguson three to four years before her employment in the accounts department at BNFC.

He said that after Ferguson left the commission, he spoke with a private consultant who drew two particular cheques to his attention “that did not seem to be rightfully issued.”

The first cheque showed an amount for $6,852 drawn on the name of Abraham Jacque and the other in the amount of $24,404.43 in the name of Benjamin Lightbourne.

Major said he recognised the cheques which had his purported signature but said he had no recollection of signing them.

In cross-examination, it was suggested to Mr Major that he told police the signatures appeared to be legit.Mr Major said his testimony was consistent with

what he told police.

He did agree that there were other signatories required to validate a cheque.

Mr Major said himself, Felix Stubbs, Calvin Balfour and Simon Wilson were signatories and two of those were required for validation of cheques.

When shown the copies of the cheques with his “purported signature,” Mr Major said Mr Wilson’s signature appeared to be on it, “but I can’t say for sure.”

He maintained that he could not recall signing the cheques, The accused have retained Ian Cargill and Terrel Butler to defend them.

Police Sergeant Timothy Saunders is prosecuting the case.

ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF POLICE GIVES CAREERS ADVICE TO KINGSWAY ACADEMY STUDENTS

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean gave Kingsway Academy students, who will be looking for employment and careers, advice on what will be expected of them in the workplace on Monday at Liberty Baptist Church, Fox Hill.

ACP Dean spoke to the students about the attitudes and behaviour required to help them as they seek their first jobs, emphasising the need for study, hard work and professionalism.

Photo: Tim Clarke

MAN AND WOMAN ARRESTED FOR DRUG POSSESSION IN GREAT HARBOUR CAY POLICE in Great Harbour Cay, Berry Islands arrested a man and a woman on Monday after the seizure of a quantity of dangerous drugs.

According to police, around 2pm, officers were on routine patrol in Great Harbour Cay, when they observed a male and female who aroused their suspicion after they collected four boxes from a chartered aircraft and placed them in a white SUV

Blazer vehicle before driving off.

The officers followed the vehicle and brought it to a stop. A search was conducted of the vehicle and two pounds of marijuana were uncovered in the boxes, police said.

The two suspects were later taken to Nassau and are expected to appear in court later this week to be formally charged.

Investigations continue.

MAN FACING TRIAL IN CONNECTION WITH NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING GRANTED BAIL

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN awaiting trial in connection with a fatal nightclub shooting was granted bail in the Supreme Court yesterday.

Billy Johnson, 40, and his lawyer Jomo Campbell appeared before Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs arguing that the accused should be released from the state’s custody while he waits for his case to be transferred to the Supreme Court.

Johnson and 21-year-old Anfernee Jenoure are accused of accessory after the fact to murder stemming from the June 25 killing of Rozario Palacious at Club Crazy Moon.

According to initial reports, police received a call shortly before 7am about a body of a man lying in the parking lot near a nightclub on Elizabeth Avenue.

Officials have said that they believe the body had been there for two to three hours.

Ice Davis, 23, is charged with the actual killing.

It is alleged that subsequent to Davis murdering Palacious, Johnson and Jenoure - knowing that Davis committed the offence - helped him avoid the due process of the law.

Davis, Johnson and Jenoure will not be allowed to enter a plea for their respective charges until they are formally arraigned before a judge in the Su-

preme Court.

Since their arraignments in June, Davis and Jenoure have been granted bail in the Supreme Court.

Johnson’s bail application was heard yesterday where Mr Campbell argued that the prosecution’s case against his client was weak.

Basil Cumberbatch opposed the application for the Crown, disagreeing with Mr Campbell’s position. Senior Justice Isaacs granted Johnson $9,000 bail.

Johnson is scheduled to return to Magistrate’s Court today for the presentation of a voluntary bill of indictment which would fast track the matter to the higher court.

MARRIAGE OFFICERS, JUSTICES OF THE PEACE NOW ONLINE WITH a view to increasing the ease of business in the country, a complete listing of marriage officers and justices of the peace can now be viewed online, announced Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson yesterday.

During a short press conference at the Ministry of Legal Affairs, the attorney general said the marriage officers listing can be viewed at www.bahamas.gov. bs/rgd and the listing for justices of the peace is featured at www.bahamas.gov. bs/oag.

She said: “Future brides and grooms, if they wish, will be able to identify and

choose from an online list, a marriage officer to solemnise their wedding. Marriage officers have for some time been calling for a central database listing of all marriage officers.

“Licensed marriage officers can log on to the online Civil Registry Information System through the Registrar General’s Department website.

“The information system allows officers to update a marriage record with the marriage date and place of marriage and the names of witnesses.

“There are no fees associated with this service.”

PAGE 6, Wednesday, November 2, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

GOVERNMENT PLAYS DOWN CHINA PARTNERSHIP FROM PAGE ONE

the government, the report prompted Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday to criticise Prime Minister Perry Christie for his “deafening” silence on the matter.

It is not the first time he has raised concern on this issue. In July, while speaking at a rally at Christie Park, Dr Minnis said the government was negotiating with the Chinese for 10,500 acres of land in Andros.

The proposal reportedly projects a $2.1 billion injection into the local economy over ten years through an equal partnership between Bahamians and the People’s Republic of China. According to the report, the proposed partnership will entail the incorporation of 100 companies, with the agricultural products and seafood to be used for local consumption, and exported to China and the United States for sale.

The proposal also reportedly includes the option to lease 10,000 acres of Crown land in Andros.

Mr Davis said: “No such matter is with government for consideration.”

He noted that such an initiative would pose a conflict with the efFROM PAGE ONE CAWU) stationed at the Ocean Club, speaking on condition of anonymity, called on NCTUB President John Pinder, as well as Trade Union Congress (TUC) President Obie Ferguson, to “intervene” over their frustration with the BHCAWU, and its president Nicole Martin’s handling of the Paradise Island luxury hotel’s closure.

The employees claimed the union has not met with them yet to provide some sort of reassurance, nor offered to provide financial assistance and otherwise to the hotel’s 350 employees during the five-month closure.

Mr Pinder, when contacted yesterday, declined to comment, advising this newspaper to seek a response from Ms Martin or other BHCAWU senior officials before soliciting him for a response.

However, Darrin Woods, BHCAWU secretary general, told The Tribune that the union has scheduled a meeting with officials at the luxury hotel for tomorrow, after which he said union officials will inform members.

Mr Woods also denied assertions that the BHCAWU and Ms Martin are being complacent on the matter, charging that the union, through its various shop stewards and representatives for the Ocean Club, have informed its members “exactly what we’re doing” on the matter.

PHILIP BRAVE DAVIS forts of the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI).

In a statement yesterday, Mr Gray called the report “utterly false”. “The government is not considering the grant of Crown land nor any other matter as set out in the article,” the statement added.

However speaking to reporters before the statement was released, Mr Gray said the Bahamas ambassador to China approached his

ministry to see if it was okay to enter into discussions about Chinese investments in fisheries, factories and agricultural pursuits.

“I felt as minister that was a good thing if we could get them to invest in agriculture because agriculture is one of the industries in the Bahamas where Bahamians seem to lack interest generally speaking,” Mr Gray said.

“Our food security problem is such that if you have to pay $900 million for food from outside the country, any investment in the Bahamas in agriculture and agricultural pursuits as long as it does not compete with Bahamians who basically have no general interest in farming at any large scale, I thought it was a good discussion to have. I know of his interest in opening that discussion.”

However he stressed that there was no proposal on the government’s table.

“There is no proposal from the Chinese to the government, of which I know, there is no response to the Chinese government or investors, of which I know, the Prime Minister (Perry Christie) doesn’t know so we don’t know. I don’t know what this is about.”

Mr Gray added: “And anybody can make a proposal. I could pro-

pose to buy the prime minister’s office for $1.50, think I’ll ever get it?”

‘Secret deal’ However Dr Minnis insisted yesterday that the proposal was part of the “secret deal” Mr Christie negotiated with the Chinese to remobilise the Baha Mar resort.

Dr Minnis said: “The people have been asking for months what the embattled prime minister is going to give away as part of his secret Baha Mar deal and more and more, as we learn the truth, the harder it is to fathom that the PLP government had the Bahamian people’s best interest at heart as they negotiated this scheme.

“From fishing rights, and thousands of acres of lands being given away, to finding out the buyer is a Chinese company only because they stepped forward revealing that they are in negotiations to buy the resort.

“However, our embattled prime minister remains defiantly silent on the matter and his silence is deafening to the Bahamian people that simply want to know the truth.”

The Killarney MP said this “secret deal” that the prime minister “has made with his Chinese allies will destroy our agriculture and

EMPLOYEES WANT NCTUB TO INTERVENE IN OCEAN CLUB ROW Last Friday, One&Only Ocean Club General Manager John Conway confirmed that the hotel had delayed its reopening date to Valentine’s Day next year, stating that the hotel is still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

Management did not specify what will happen to the 350 staff in the meantime, but said they and the union have been informed of the extended period of closure. The hotel was originally expected to reopen in December.

“We have the union there, we’re paying $10 every week,” one employee told The Tribune. “At the end of the day, I know the union is not responsible for the closure, but at least her (Ms Martin) being the union head, she has yet to meet with the staff to try and reassure us that we’re going to have our job back, for one. Secondly, whatever changes (management) makes they (should) include the union or at least include the staff.

“Thirdly, we’re home from October 14 to February 14, that’s if they decide to open (the hotel). She has yet to meet with the staff.

At least she could help with some food vouchers or help people pay mortgages, help people pay rent. Right now our only source of income is unemployment benefit.

And that’s what the hotel referred us to do.”

The employee added: “We’re supposed to get Christmas bonus in the next couple of weeks, like the second week in December.

“I sure they’re going to want to take out their little $10 out of our Christmas bonus, even though we ain’t working, even though they don’t represent us.”

Another employee, in an email sent to The Tribune, claimed that since the hotel’s closure in October, he has had difficulty meeting his mortgage payments and is “behind” on his other bills.

Attempts to reach Ms Martin on her cell phone were unsuccessful yesterday.

Mr Woods denied assertions that the union has shirked its duties on the matter. He claimed that once the union received Mr Conway’s statement on Friday, it subsequently requested a meeting to determine the extent of the hotel’s damage, the closure itself, as well as “how the employees are going to be engaged.”

Once that is done, Mr Woods said the BHCAWU would then inform its members of the way forward.

“A meeting before we meet with the hotel is a premature meeting, because what could we say to the members if we haven’t met with the hotel yet?” he asked. “And it’s not as if we’re not doing any-

thing. The persons would call and we would say to them exactly - through the shop stewards and through the representatives for the area, exactly what we’re doing.

“But only until we get the meeting, because it would only be a gathering, not a meeting, until we meet with the hotel.”

When asked if the union had previously received any formal complaints from employees at Ocean Club on the matter, Mr Woods said: “Well, we had a meeting with a group of employees there at the Dune restaurant, just after the hurricane when they were using them for clean-up, in terms of how they would be compensated for it, and we worked out that issue.

“But as it relates now to the extended closure, because bear in mind the company communicated directly with the employees before they communicated to the union. And that is what we said to them, how could you communicate to the employees before you communicate to the union?

So what they did was put the cart before the horse.

“So now we are trying to get a meeting with them.

Once we have a meeting with them we can say to the members exactly what is happening.”

He added: “We can’t meet with them until we would have met with the hotel.”

fishing industries.”

“The Chinese will be able to use the fish and agriculture produced on Crown land to make the Pointe and Baha Mar self sufficient and not reliant on other Bahamian goods. This will not help our suffering economy but rather hurt it even more,” he said.

“The people deserve a transparent and responsive government,” he said, “not the current secretive one that has been hiding their secret deals with their Chinese allies from the Bahamian people.”

FNM Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner also weighed in on the issue yesterday. In a statement, she said the “relevant facts on a proposal of this magnitude need to be assessed in a rational and deliberate manner”.

“The full proposal should be released and made available for review and debate by the general public and the House of Assembly. Again, it is essential that the scale and details of this largescale proposal be fully disclosed,” she said.

“Transparency and accountability are imperative. The review of such a proposal must include discussions about the prevention of corruption.”

POLICE FIND DECOMPOSED BODY OFF CARMICHAEL ROAD FROM PAGE ONE

are any injuries. That is how badly decomposed the body is.

“So at this time we are investigating a sudden death and will await an autopsy. It appears as if the body was there over two weeks.”

He continued: “So we are appealing to members of the public who may have anybody missing to please come in and assist us.”

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS.

22-YEAR-OLD MAN SHOT DEAD IN YEAR’S 85TH MURDER FROM PAGE ONE The Tribune’s records.

On Tuesday, this newspaper reported that the country remains on a path to record the least number of murders for any year since at least 2010, with an average of eight killings a month.

As of November 2, 2015, the country had recorded 127 murders. This means murders have decreased by 33 per cent compared to this time last year, according to The Tribune’s calculations.

Police said a short time after Monday’s shooting, they arrested a man in connection with Mr Gilbert’s death.

“We have an adult male in custody,” Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander, officer-in-charge of the Central Detective Unit (CDU), said.

“We still don’t know the motive of the shooting at this time, but we have an individual in custody. And we feel where we’re at based on our inquiries thus far, we feel that we should - in another day or two - bring some closure to this matter.”

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call police at 911, 919, the Central Detective Unit at 5029991 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 328-TIPS.

MINNIS: LOCAL VENDORS WILL BE IMPACTED BY PHA’S USE OF INTERNATIONAL MANUFACTURERS FROM PAGE ONE

wholesalers,” he said. “They have no provisions in place for storage, distribution and management of such facility.

What will that do to local businesses?

“There will be no savings; they have to worry about storage, distribution and management, to find a way to prevent stealing, that would take away any profit they were hoping to make.

“But what they would have done is potentially destroy the local Bahamian industry and with improper storage of the medication, the potency or effectiveness of the medication may not be realised.”

Dr Minnis, the former minister of health, was referring to a purported PHA memo that was sent to manufacturers.

The memo stated that the PHA’s tender exercise to local vendors “did not receive the requisite response.”

It read: “To this end, the PHA is desirous of procuring these items via other methods, including but not limited to direct procurement from manufacturers.

“We are asking your company to confirm that you are willing and able to supply the following items in the listed amounts via a direct purchase from the PHA. Please see the attached list, and provide quotations for as many of the items you have available.”

The memo underscored that quotes should be inclusive of all shipping and insurance costs, and that items quoted must conform to the laws of the Bahamas.

Manufacturers were asked to submit quotes no later than the close of business today.

Yesterday, Dr Minnis said: “Is this the start of government trying to destroy Bahamian businesses? It would appear that they have embarked on destruction of the small businesses as is seen with them attempting to go directly to the manufacturers, and what is seen as being done with the land in Andros and the production of farm products by the Chinese destroying the local farmers.”

Dr Minnis was referring to a report published in The Nassau Guardian on Tuesday that indicated Chinese investors want to create an agro-fisheries project in Andros that would call for the lease of Crown land.

“This government is embarking on a destruction of Bahamian businesses as is seen with them moving to purchase medications directly from manufacturers,” Dr Minnis added.

“This government must be removed before they destroy this Bahamas,” he said.

The PHA declined to comment on Dr Minnis’ accusations yesterday.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 2, 2016, PAGE 7

TURNQUEST CRITICISES ‘ASININE’ COMMENTS FROM SHANE GIBSON

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest yesterday levelled a stinging criticism at Hurricane Matthew Czar Shane Gibson, saying it was “asinine” to accuse him of deliberately attempting to undermine the government’s relief efforts, while suggesting that the government could have a case of misappropriated funds in play.

The East Grand Bahama MP said Mr Gibson’s “defensive” posturing was “unfortunate” and was proof that he was not only uneasy, but “uncomfortable” about the way money has been spent in Grand Bahama nearly a month since Hurricane Matthew devastated the island.

The remarks came the day after Mr Gibson claimed in an interview with The Tribune that Mr Turnquest is intentionally raising the alarm about the government’s hurricane recovery efforts to sway international donors from giving money to a restoration fund. He

“The fact is whenever anybody challenges this government to be fair and honest and act with integrity and transparency they always revert to this thing about questioning people’s loyalty and patriotism.”

Peter Turnquest further accused the opposition deputy leader of wanting the government’s efforts “to fail”.

Mr Gibson told reporters yesterday that the government has collected $1.4m to date from donors for recovery efforts.

“A one word response to that is asinine. It’s an asinine statement,” Mr Turnquest said yesterday.

“And coming from a minister who has been around and involved in politics for a long time he ought to know better and he ought to lead us better. The fact is whenever anybody challenges this government to be fair and honest and act with integrity and transparency they always revert to this thing about questioning people’s loyalty and patriotism.”

He added: “It is a default

response for them whenever they are challenged and don’t have a good answer. Quite frankly it’s disappointing as a leader there is concern not only from the opposition, there is widespread public concern over the donations, how they are being made and how they are applied particularly from Grand Bahama where they have received almost $1m.

“Grand Bahamians want to know that they are going to be getting the benefits of the lion’s share of that donation to rebuild their communities as one of the hardest hit areas.

“So the question that I raise is simply to put the Grand Bahamian people’s minds at rest that these funds are going to be spent fairly and that they are going to benefit directly from the generosity of all of the

persons who have been donating to this hurricane restoration fund.”

Asked if he was suspicious about Mr Gibson’s defensive tone, Mr Turnquest said: “I think it absolutely does say a lot. I believe that it’s obvious and for him to have taken the positions that he’s taken to try and deflect away from the actual question to a matter of personal integrity, I think smacks of unease and (that he is) uncomfortable about something.

“We are still waiting for the report on carnival.

We are still waiting on reports from the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute. We are still waiting on the reports from Urban Renewal and we are still waiting on re-

ports from the music festival. We are still waiting on all kinds of financial reports and they have not been forthcoming. So do we expect that there is going to be detailed transparent reporting? Well I think the record speaks for itself.”

On Sunday, Mr Turnquest demanded that the Christie administration provide a thorough accounting of hurricane relief spending.

In response, Mr Gibson said on Monday, he was “shocked” at Mr Turnquest’s actions.

“He along with the FNM are intentionally saying these things, knowing that it’s not true, hoping that people won’t donate to the hurricane relief and hoping that the relief

is a failure,” Mr Gibson added.

“I am shocked because I was defending him all along saying, ‘no, he is not like that.’

“Why would he go to the press and say something - send messages to international donors telling them something is going on that is not going on?

Why would he do that?”

When asked about Mr Turnquest’s call for a thorough accounting on hurricane relief spending, the minister said: “NEMA tables their official report every year, auditors statements.

“Why would you ask that? Which government agency as soon as they spend a dollar reports that they spent a dollar? It doesn’t work that way.”

Seminars to assist Grand Bahama residents following hurricane A SERIES of post-crisis seminars, jointly sponsored by the Ministry for Grand Bahama, the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, will be held in Grand Bahama on Thursday and Friday to assist residents with their restoration efforts, both personally and professionally.

During a press conference at the Ministry for Grand Bahama on Monday, Minister for Grand Bahama Dr Michael Darville said these seminars are important because after an event like Hurricane Matthew, it is not known how people are affected.

The government, said

Dr Darville, has moved swiftly throughout Grand Bahama from east to west, with restoration following the hurricane, and this began with cleaning so as to prevent infectious diseases.

Officials are now in the phase of making assessments, both personal and technical.

Dr Darville said: “We found in our communities individuals who have been extremely affected as a result of Hurricane Matthew.

As a tripartite agreement between the Grand Bahama Port Authority, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry for Grand Bahama - we decided to come to-

gether as a team to put on a variety of seminars: one post traumatic stress seminar, as well as seminars for small and medium-sized businesses.

“One thing that we realised with the opening of our schools, was that some of our teachers and students were affected in a negative way and needed psychological assessment as well as counselling in order to rebuild their lives, and to begin to rebuild our community.”

He added: “This seminar is very timely because after an event like Hurricane Matthew, we do not realise the impact Hurricane Matthew has had on individuals and their abil-

NEW MH370 ANALYSIS SUGGESTS NO ONE AT CONTROLS DURING CRASH INTERNATIONAL NEWS SYDNEY (AP) — A fresh analysis of the final moments of doomed Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 suggests no one was controlling the plane when it plunged into the ocean, according to a report released by investigators on Wednesday, as experts hunting for the aircraft gathered in Australia’s capital to discuss the fading search effort.

A technical report released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which leads the search, seems to support the theory investigators have long favoured: that no one was at the controls of the Boeing 777 when it ran out of fuel and dove at high speed into a remote patch of the Indian Ocean off western Australia in 2014.

In recent months, critics have increasingly been pushing the alternate theory that someone was still controlling the plane at the end of its flight. If that was the case, the aircraft could have glided much farther, tripling in size the possible area where it could have crashed and further complicating the already hugely complex effort to find it.

But Wednesday’s report shows that the latest analysis of satellite data is consistent with the plane being in a “high and increasing rate of descent” in its final moments. The report also said that an analysis of a wing flap that washed ashore in Tanzania indicates the flap was likely not deployed when it broke off the plane. A pilot would typically extend the flaps during a controlled ditching.

Peter Foley, the bureau’s director of Flight 370 search operations, has previously said that if the flap was not deployed, it would almost certainly rule out the theory that the plane entered the water in a controlled ditch and would effectively validate that searchers are looking in the right place for the wreckage. “(It) means the aircraft wasn’t configured for a landing or a ditching — you can draw your own conclusions as to whether that means someone was in control,” Foley told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. “You can never be 100 percent. We are very reluctant to express absolute certainty.”

IN THIS photo from March 2014, HMAS Success scans the southern Indian Ocean, near the coast of Western Australia, as a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion flies over, while searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. (AP) The report’s release comes as a team of international and Australian experts begin a three-day summit in Canberra to re-examine all the data associated with the hunt for the plane, which vanished during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board.

More than 20 items of debris suspected or confirmed to be from the plane have washed ashore on coastlines throughout the Indian Ocean.

But a deep-sea sonar search for the main underwater wreckage has found nothing.

Crews are expect to complete their sweep of the 120,000-square kilometre (46,000-square mile) search zone by early next year and officials have said there are no plans to extend the hunt unless new evidence emerges that would pinpoint a specific location of the aircraft.

Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said experts involved in this week’s summit will be working on guidance for any potential future search operations.

Experts have been preemptively trying to define a new search area by studying where in the Indian Ocean the first piece of wreckage recovered from the plane — a wing flap known as a flaperon — most likely drifted from after the plane crashed.

ity to perform in the job place, and their ability to perform effectively in the community.”

The professionals, counsellors and administrators, were all brought together to ensure that residents take advantage of the counselling sessions.

Discussions have been held with the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce to see how assistance can be given to these businesses in their rebuilding.

The family seminar in Eight Mile Rock will be held on Thursday at Mt Zion Baptist Church in Jones town at 9am.

It will then move to West End to St Mary’s Anglican Church Hall at noon.

It will then be held at the Bishop Michael Eldon High School Auditorium at 3.30 pm for Freeport.

There is no need for registration for these seminars and they are free of charge.

Seminars for small and medium sized businesses will be held on Friday, November 4, at 9am and 2pm, and will focus on advice and recommendations for business owners on how to begin the rebuilding phase following the storm.

Both sessions will be held at Pelican Bay Hotel and those attending are asked to register at the Grand Bahama Port Authority or by contacting the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce.

MINISTER for Grand Bahama Dr Michael Darville.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, November 2, 2016

ATLANTIS AND MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE DONATE TO HURRICANE MATTHEW RELIEF ATLANTIS, Paradise Island and the Mid-American Conference have each presented cheques for $50,000 to The Bahamas Red Cross to assist with disaster relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

The Mid-American Conference made its donation through Atlantis’ YouCaring.com campaign that was launched immediately following the passage of the storm last month. The compassionate campaign encourages guests and friends of the resort to contribute aid to the country’s hurricane relief efforts. Atlantis committed to matching donations dollar for dollar up to $250,000 through the month of October.

Dr Jon Steinbrecher, Commissioner of the MidAmerican Conference and no stranger to the Bahamas through his involvement with college football’s Popeye’s Bahamas Bowl, said:

“I, along with our membership, have come to develop a deep love for the people of the Bahamas and for the fine staff at Atlantis, Paradise Island. It’s one of the unique and special relationships in all of intercollegiate athletics and it is our way of giving back to the country.”

Howard C Karawan, President and Managing Director for Atlantis, said that even though the resort itself only sustained minimal damage as a result of the hurricane, many of the resort’s near 8,000 team members were seriously impacted. The Conference’s generosity, he said, has greatly helped the efforts to bring relief to so many in need. “Atlantis has always been emotionally attached to the people of the Bahamas and we feel blessed to be part of this community.

Our hearts go out to everyone in the country who has been impacted by this

devastation. We graciously thank Dr Steinbrecher and the Mid-American Conference for benevolently answering the call to assist.

We know that Mr Gomez and The Bahamas Red Cross will put this donation of $100,000 to immediate good use to assist the members of our community in need.”

Bahamas Red Cross President Craig ‘Tony’ Gomez expressed appreciation on behalf of the humanitarian organisation.

“The Red Cross is grateful for the continued partnership with Atlantis and equally as appreciative for the generous donation from MAC. This donation will go a long way in helping to bring much needed relief to those persons who are still today, weeks later, living with the negative impacts of Hurricane Matthew.”

The YouCaring campaign ended on Monday

THE TRIBUNE

ATLANTIS President and Managing Director Howard C Karawan, accompanied by resort Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Ed Fields and Mid-American Conference Commissioner Dr Jon Steinbrecher, presented cheques totalling $100,000 to The Bahamas Red Cross President Craig Tony Gomez on Monday. Also pictured are Caroline Turnquest, Director General Bahamas Red Cross, Dr Daniel Johnson, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, and Anne Steinbrecher. and the resort will again be making another sizable donation to the Bahamas Red Cross in the coming weeks.

Atlantis has also donated ten container trailers of furniture to the Red Cross for

disbursement to Freeport and the other Family Islands as well as a container of hurricane supplies including mats, pillows and blankets. In an effort to offer additional support

for employees, the resort housed several families who were left displaced and continues to encourage all staff to use the established employee assistance hotline for counselling.

DISASTER RELIEF COMMITTEE GET FIRST-HAND LOOK AT HURRICANE MATTHEW DAMAGE MEMBERS of the National Disaster Relief Committee travelled to West End, Grand Bahama, and Lowe Sound, North Andros, on Saturday to get a first-hand view of the extent of the damage to those Family Island communities caused by Hurricane Matthew last month.

The objective was to tour the areas so as to make recommendations to the international and local financial communities on the support needed to get businesses up and running.

Pictured in West End, Grand Bahama, are (from left): Preston Cunningham, Senior Administrator for Grand Bahama; Melvin Seymour, Permanent Secretary; Jack Thompson, Permanent Secretary; Gowon Bowe, disaster relief committee; Dr Michael Darville, Minister for Grand Bahama; Nathaniel Beneby, disaster relief committee; Mike Maura, disaster relief committee; Captain Stephen Russell, Director, NEMA; and Tracey Knowles, disaster relief committee.

Photo: Patrick Hanna/BIS

SANDALS DONATES $20,000 TO FUND RELIEF FLIGHTS TO NORTH ANDROS, GRAND BAHAMA SANDALS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts, has partnered with HeadKnowles Foundation and donated $20,000 to fund relief flights to North Andros and Grand Bahama, two islands severely affected by the recent passage of Hurricane Matthew.

The flights will facilitate the distribution of much needed relief items purchased by the Sandals Foundation and will include water, canned goods, candles, matches, baby formula, diapers, toiletries and mosquito repellant.

The Sandals Foundation has also assisted the senior citizens of Bains and Grant’s Town with building materials for re-roofing, in partnership with the St Andrew’s Presbyterian Kirk.

Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc in the Caribbean early last month, causing much damage across the Bahamas and heavy loss of lives in neighbouring Haiti.

Within days of the storm’s passage, the Sandals Foundation mobilised a Hurricane Relief appeal for immediate assistance to those severely disrupted. Through its online donation portal, individuals and organisations were encouraged to donate with a commitment that 100 per cent of all funds received will go directly to the Haiti and Bahamas relief effort. Sandals’ worldwide representatives, travel partners, resorts and team members across all Sandals resorts have joined forces to support this

fund. Funding has allowed the Sandals Foundation to forge numerous partnerships with local and international organisations that are working on the ground in both Haiti and the Bahamas to assist the living conditions of those citizens most affected.

These partnerships will allow for the assessment and identifying of long term sustainable projects such as re-establishing educational opportunities for students particularly through the recovery of technology in schools and for Haiti, the construction of greenhouses.

Extensive partnerships have been established and efforts have also been extended to Haiti to include the provision of clothing and meals for hundreds of orphans, food, water and building materials for the Salesian Missions, and transportation, tools, fuel and equipment for experienced disaster relief volunteers to assist with cleanup and critical infrastructure repairs to impacted communities. The Foundation is also working organisations such as St Boniface Hospital, for clean-up and repairs to expedite the reopening of medical clinics, schools, and other community spaces. These efforts are made possible through partnership with All Hands Volunteers. Over 200,000 Aqua Tabs for water sterilisation hasve been provided for distribution in areas highly susceptible to the spread of cholera.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

PROTESTERS man a barricade during a deadly protest in Les Cayes, Haiti, Tuesday. (AP)

Boy killed in Haiti amid protest over delay in hurricane aid LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — A teenage boy was fatally shot in Haiti on Tuesday amid protests over delays in aid distribution after a Category 4 hurricane pummeled the Caribbean country last month. It is the second such death reported in the past week.

Journalists with The Associated Press saw protesters running through the streets of the southern coastal city of Les Cayes pushing a wooden cart with the boy’s body covered in a bloodstained white sheet.

“We want justice! We want justice!” they chanted as they gathered around the body.

Mayor Jean Gabriel Fortune said the boy was killed as police clashed with protesters when they tried to climb aboard a boat that had arrived from Puerto Rico days ago carrying supplies.

Fortune said an investigation is underway as a crowd once again tried to break into the boat on Tuesday.

“Police are trying to ease

the tension, but they are in a very difficult position,” he said, adding that the boat had docked at an old marine base where a Haitian anti-drug unit was operating.

Fortune said he was frustrated by what he called the inability and weakness of the central government of Port-au-Prince to act on aid streaming into Haiti after Hurricane Matthew hit the country’s southwest region nearly a month ago.

“We don’t even have the ability to move aid off a boat,” he said. “The food has been there for days.”

Most of the aid is flowing into Les Cayes and the coastal town of Jeremie.

The death angered hundreds of young men who paralysed Haiti’s third largest city by setting up road blockades with burning tires, tree branches and downed utility lines.

“Nobody here is getting any food. That’s why this happens,” said Junior Pierre Luc, a computer repairman

who had joined the protest.

A Haitian National Police spokesman reached by telephone did not immediately provide any specifics about the situation in Les Cayes.

A young woman died during a similar protest last week in the nearby village of Dame Marie that injured five other people when a fight broke out as authorities distributed food to hurricane victims.

Looters apparently threw stones and conch shells at police and U.N. peacekeepers, who responded with tear gas and projectiles as a crowd gathered around a boat delivering supplies.

That death also is under investigation.

U.N. officials say that about 69 percent of households in the southwest region hit by the hurricane have inadequate food consumption.

Overall, 2.1 million people have been affected, including nearly 900,000 children.

Roughly 141,500 people are still living in some 200 temporary shelters.

THE THETRIBUNE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 2016, PAGEA99 Wednesday, November 2nd, 2, 2016, PAGE

A WATCH FOR THE SERIOUS

TECHTALK

RUNNER

APPLE is not the first to add GPS functionality to a smartwatch but it’s the first to make something that feels like a running watch.

And its Nike Plus edition has features from Nike’s phone app for all models of Apple Watch.

The GPS edition of Apple Watch, known as Series 2, and the Nike Plus version - essentially a Series 2 watch with a custom wristband and watch face - address many of the shortcomings in the original watch and will appeal to the serious runner.

GPS IS IMPORTANT With built-in GPS, you can leave the phone behind. Accuracy is on par with other good GPS watches, which is to say, measurements are sometimes off, especially when tall buildings block GPS signals. The watch automatically calibrates to your running style, so it’s better than non-GPS devices even when there’s no GPS. GPS drains the battery more quickly, but disabling the heart-rate sensor during workouts can help extend it. While Series 2 is meant for stand-alone running, many people carry phones anyway. With it, you get slightly better accuracy and battery life.

IMPROVEMENTS Series 2 watches start at $369, though it’s $30 more for a larger screen, the optimal size for larger wrists. Non-GPS models, now called Series 1, are $100 less. All models get software updates that address two gripes with the original.

Apple’s Workout app now records your route, something other GPS fitness devices and apps have long done. And you can double tap the screen to record split times, or manual snapshots of how long it takes to run a stretch. Before, that was limited to mile or kilometre intervals.

NIKE EXTRAS Nike’s app offers a lot to like, including big yellow numerals for easy reading during runs and voice updates every mile and halfway towards your goal.

Nike keeps things simple for beginners by displaying just distance and time; turn on advanced mode for current pace and heart rate. But there are no manual splits, and average pace appears only when pausing or through the voice updates.

Nike excels in trying to motivate you even when you’re not running. It will keep asking “Are we running today?” by reminding you the weather is nice or that a friend is just ahead of you for the month’s total. A scheduling feature shows you weather forecasts in half-hour increments. After making a

APPLE’S high-end Mac laptops are getting a touch control strip above the keyboard, part of a long-awaited update aimed at reviving interest in a product often overshadowed by newer gadgets like the iPad and iPhone.

The new Touch Bar, which is both a narrow display and a control panel, replaces the old physical function keys on a traditional laptop.

It will offer a variety of controls that change according to the app or website that’s open. It also has functions that will be familiar to many iPhone users - showing word suggestions as you type, for example, or letting you scroll through a library of emojis.

selection, you get a notification when it’s time to run.

Though the app is available for all models, the Nike watch also has a colourful wristband sporting holes to help sweat dry.

It offers custom watch faces with one-touch access to the app.

BEYOND RUNNING Cyclists get similar speed and distance information, though the watch does not measure how fast you’re pedalling, something hard-core cyclists might want.

You can swim with Series 2, even with chlorinated or salt water, something most water-resistant gadgets don’t allow. The watch measures distance indoors by counting laps, though you need a pool large enough for at least five strokes per lap.

WHAT’S STILL MISSING Recording splits during runs is great, but people also want to know their average pace and time since the last split, rather than the beginning of the run.

And while Apple Watch syncs workout data with the phone’s Activity app, many longtime runners already have their favourite online repository, whether that’s Nike, Strava or Garmin. The ability to move data around is limited. While Nike offers an Apple Watch app, it will take time for others to catch up. Strava’s still requires running with a phone, while Garmin doesn’t have one at all.

ANICK JESDANUN Associated Press

MOMA ACQUIRES THE ORIGINAL SET OF EMOJIS FUELS GOOGLE’S SUCCESS YOUTUBE has emerged as a star in Google’s cast of services as the online video site upstages cable television for a younger generation of viewers looking for amusement, news and music on their smartphones.

The trend is contributing to an advertising shift away from traditional network television programming to the more eclectic and diversified mix of clips ranging from cute cat videos to sobering shots of street violence found on YouTube.

As more advertising dollars flow to YouTube, it’s making the already hugely profitable Google even more prosperous.

In its third-quarter report, Google’s corporate parent, Alphabet Inc, said its revenue climbed 21 per cent to $18.3 billion, better than analyst projections.

YouTube already has proven to be one of the best bets that Google has ever made since it bought the video site for $1.76 billion a decade ago.

At that juncture, YouTube consisted mostly of crudely made videos shot by amateurs and clips pirated from movie and TV studios that were threatening to sue the site

into oblivion. It had built a worldwide audience of about 72 million viewers when Google took control in November, 2006.

Since then, YouTube has evolved into a more polished channel that has spawned unlikely stars such as “PewDiePie” (Swedish comedian Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg) while largely making peace with studios by creating an automated screening system that detects pirated content. YouTube says it has paid more than $2 billion to studios that have chosen to leave their material on the site and share in the ad revenue generated by their clips.

Meanwhile, YouTube’s audience has surpassed 1 billion, with 80 per cent of the viewers outside the United States.

YouTube also boasts that its site reaches more people between the ages of 18 and 34 - the “millennial” generation - than any cable network.

That segment of YouTube’s audience is a major reason why more than half its video clips are watched on mobile devices.

MICHAEL LIEDTKE Associated Press

BACK in the day, before cars could drive themselves and phones could send stickers and animations, a Japanese phone company released a set of 176 emojis.

The year was 1999 and the tiny 12-by-12 pixel designs smiley faces, hearts of the intact and broken variety, cats, and so on - were mainly popular in Japan.

In 2010, Unicode Consortium, which now controls emoji standards, translated the emoji into the Unicode standard, which means that a person in France, for example, can send an emoji to a person in the United States and it will look the same, no matter what brand of phone or operating system they use.

Now, New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has acquired the original set of emojis - a gift to the museum from the phone company, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone.

“From the start, part of MoMA’s mission has been to display and collect the art (and

design) of our time,” said Paola Antonelli, senior curator of the Department of Architecture and Design at the museum.

“Our time is lived today in both the digital and the physical space.”

The museum’s other digital acquisitions have included the “@” symbol and video games.

The museum will show the emojis in its lobby to the end of the year, using 2D graphics and animations, and connecting the old emojis with the current generation.

Today, the Unicode Consortium recognises nearly 1,800 emojis. “(Emojis) as a concept go back in the centuries, to ideograms, hieroglyphics, and other graphic characters, enabling us to draw this beautiful arch that covers all of human history,” Ms Antonelli said.

“There is nothing more modern than timeless concepts such as these.”

BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press

A NEW York state law that makes it a misdemeanour to show a marked election ballot to others is unconstitutional and a violation of the First Amendment, according to a lawsuit brought as people increasingly look for ways to express their political opinions over the internet.

The lawsuit, carrying the names of three New York voters, was filed last week in Manhattan federal court. It seeks to have the law banning so-called “ballot selfies” thrown out.

The lawsuit said publishing a marked ballot on social media can be a powerful form of political expression and a way of adding credibility to claims of political support for various candidates.

FACEBOOK and Twitter have months to improve their response to online hate speech in Germany or face legal measures, the country’s justice minister said yesterday.

Heiko Maas said checks show that social networking sites have a patchy record of deleting posts that are considered illegal in Germany.

A two-month test conducted over the summer found that Facebook removed 46 per cent of posts flagged by users, while Twitter removed just one per cent.

MICROSOFT wants to bring life to common computing experiences by adding a third dimension to widely used software such as Windows and Office.

The new tools, part of a free “Creators Update” to Windows 10 early next year, promise to make it easy for people to create and share photos, drawings and other images in 3-D. APPLE says it needs “a little more time” before it starts selling the new wireless ear buds that are designed to work with its newest iPhones, which don’t come with a dedicated headphone jack.

The tech giant showed off what it calls “AirPods” in September, during an event where it also introduced the new iPhone 7 smartphones and said the AirPods would go on sale in late October. The company did not say when they will be released or why it needs more time.

TWITTER is killing off Vine, a mobile video app where people share short video clips that play in a loop. While beloved by users and a pioneer in its own right, Vine, which launched in 2013, never took off with the masses and has lost its lustre as of late.

AMAZON’S Fire tablets now have the Alexa voice assistant, which is meant to complement what users get on other Alexa devices, such as the Echo speaker.

Through voice commands, users can get the news read out to them or listen to music from services such as Amazon Music or Pandora.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, November 2, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Group urges government not to lose sight of Freedom of Information Bill IN reaction to the postponement of the tabling of the revised Freedom of Information Bill 2015, the Organization for Responsible Governance (ORG) has urged the government not to lose sight of the important legislation and has pledged to redouble efforts to educate the public on the issue.

ORG is an apolitical non-profit group advocating for open, accountable and responsible governance.

“We understand that Hurricane Matthew has created a shift of focus which may cause setbacks in the House of Assembly’s agenda,” the group said in a press release. “However, ORG cautions that, as the Bahamas rebuilds from this national disaster, the long-term recovery of the Bahamas and the sustainability of our economy must remain in focus. To that end, ORG and our partners in civil society and private industry will continue to fight to ensure that a

“We understand that Hurricane Matthew has created a shift of focus which may cause setbacks in the House of Assembly’s agenda.

However, ORG cautions that, as the Bahamas rebuilds from this national disaster, the long-term recovery of the Bahamas and the sustainability of our economy must remain in focus.”

Organization for Responsible Governance strong, fair FOIA is passed before the end of 2016.”

In October, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald, who has responsibility for the legislation,

said although it was initially intended to have the bill tabled in the House of Assembly by “late October 2016,” the bill will likely be tabled before the end of the year “due to the unforeseen setbacks caused by Hurricane Matthew.”

In response, Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis and Democratic National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney both urged the government to quickly enact the legislation.

“The support of MPs, party leaders and candidates in this goal is crucial and we are glad that Dr Minnis and Mr McCartney have declared that they are taking transparency and accountability seriously,” ORG added. “ORG and our 17 partner organisations aim to meet with the representatives to discuss the bill, its importance for their constituents and civil society’s suggestions for making it as robust legislation as possible.

We need to make sure that the MPs fully understand the bill when it is tabled.”

ORG also commended Mr Fitzgerald for acknowledging the role of civil society in FOIA. “ORG was pleased to see the minister thank civil society and the private sector and hope it is a sign that our suggestions will be reflected in the new bill. We recommend that the process continues as an open, transparent and collaborative effort, and look forward to working with the government and our various civil society partners to bring this bill to fruition.”

Earlier this year, ORG and 17 other groups drafted a series of suggested amendments to the bill aimed at ultimately creating a FOIA that “gives power to the people” and “keeps the government honest.” The amendments put forth in their recommendations would increase the scope of government entities subject to the FOIA, clarify what informa-

tion is eligible for discretionary exemption, denial, or referral, give the Freedom of Information Unit and information commissioner more autonomy and keep it beyond the reach of potential government interference, and provide better protection for persons who step forward with information on wrongdoing within government.

In September, ORG and its partners launched a joint public education campaign featuring an online petition to endorse passage of the bill with suggested recommendations from the groups. The group has since expanded campaign efforts with media appearances, as well as printed educational information and social media. The group is now preparing to launch a letter writing campaign and grassroots education drive and meet with MPs and leaders to discuss accountability and transparency.

For more information go to www.orgbahamas.com

JUNKANOO GROUPS RECEIVE SEED FUNDING

REPRESENTATIVES of Junkanoo groups have received seed funding for the Boxing Day 2016 and New Year’s Day 2017 parades from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

Dr Daniel Johnson, the minister, said on Monday at the cheque presentations that funding was made available in order that “the parades need not be cancelled, so that our culture can continue to be put on display for the country, the region and the world to see”.

Dr Johnson (centre) and Director of Culture Rowena Sutherland (centre right), are pictured with Junkanoo group representatives and leaders.

Photo: Derek Smith/BIS

RIDE FOR HOPE TO RETURN TO ELEUTHERA FOR TENTH ANNIVERSARY TO CELEBRATE the tenth anniversary of its first event, the 2017 Ride For Hope - which raises funds for cancer research in the Bahamas - will return to Eleuthera with a new format and a more efficient method of maximising monies raised.

The Ride for Hope Gran Fondo, a long-distance road cycling event in which participants ride a marked route, will be held on Saturday, February 18, and staged at Cocodimama resort in Governor’s Harbour. Rider participation levels will be linked

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directly to the amount of funds each rider raises, and each rider’s promotional package and recognition will also be based on what they raise.

Susan Larson, co-founder of The Ride for Hope, said: “We garner funds together to meaningfully impact a critical cause, and eradicate cancer from our shores. Our riders’ donations help save lives every day, and we are committed to helping riders do so by putting on a high-calibre event in 2017.”

After a successful event in Nassau earlier this year, Ride For Hope is returning to its roots - organisationally and geographically - and focusing solely on the Ride’s main goals.

“Firstly, planning a safe event for all participants, while ensuring funds are raised for an extremely important cause in the Bahamas,” Mrs Larson said.

“And, secondly, hosting the event in Eleuthera, one of the most beautiful and accessible cycling venues in the country.”

Partnership She emphasised that the burdens of cancer care and treatment are great and demand a partnership between all public and private stakeholders.

She added that cancer treatments are extremely expensive, and frequently beyond the ability of families across the nation to pay, and that cancer treatment regimes often create deep and lasting financial stress for families involved, at the very least.

Considered one of the most successful fundraising events in the Bahamas, the Ride for Hope has raised close to $3 million since its inception. Given meaningful corporate sponsorship, every dollar raised by participants goes to fund programmes

RIDERS at a previous Ride For Hope: The event has its tenth anniversary in 2017.

created and supported by Ride for Hope to assist Bahamians in the fight against cancer, through education, testing, earlyscreening, research and direct financial assistance.

Ride for Hope said it has used those funds to assist the Cancer Society in paying off the mortgage incurred building the acclaimed Cancer Care Centre on Collins Avenue in Nassau, and complete their headquarters in Eleuthera, and to create and maintain the Treatment Assistance Fund, the first of its kind in the country, which supports cancer patients with their treatment costs through financial grants. Ride for Hope funds the Cancer Society’s nationwide Cancer Education Program, a grassroots outreach effort that sends trained nurses to communities throughout the Bahamas to educate, raise awareness, and teach self-screening and good health choices.

The Family Islands Mammogram Screening Program is another ongoing Ride For Hope programme, which brings

women from family islands to New Providence for free mammogram screening. Ride for Hope also made a major contribution to the purchase of the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation’s digital mammography machine. “We are grateful for our riders, sponsors and volunteers who have made all of this possible,” said Mrs Larson.

Pledge However, Stephen Holowesko, co-founder with his sister, explained that while the number of riders participating in Ride for Hope has increased steadily over the years, the dollars raised per rider has decreased dramatically.

“Since inception, the rider count has increased an astonishing 450 per cent, yet funds raised per rider have gone down 71 per cent,” he said. “This reality has made the Ride’s organisers take pause and strategically consider the best way to fulfil our pledge both to our riders for a safe ride, and to our com-

mitment to raising funds.”

Karen Eldon, the Ride for Hope Administrator, said fundraising will be linked to the experience and will need to be raised, and submitted, in advance to help the event achieve its goals. “For all participation levels, the Registration Fee of $50 is required at the time of registration.

Registration closes on Friday, January 13th, 2017.

All fundraising money must be submitted no later than Friday, January 20th, 2017,” she said.

Mrs Larson said that the top four fundraisers will be recognised. “Prizes include round trip transportation to and from Eleuthera, a new bicycle, a spa package, or dinner for two at one of Nassau’s finest restaurants,” she said. To qualify for award levels, fundraising totals must be submitted by the January 20 deadline and winners will be announced at the High Carb dinner in Eleuthera.

Registration and information can be found at www.rideforhopebahamas.com

THE TRIBUNE

AS RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE TIGHTENS, CLINTON REVIVES TRUMP-WOMEN ISSUE KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (AP) — With just a week to go and the race for the White House tightening, Hillary Clinton — with help from President Barack Obama — unleashed a fresh offensive Tuesday against Donald Trump and his vulgar comments about women. Trump strove to blend a quieter, presidential tone with his usual tough rhetoric, warning that a Clinton victory would “destroy American health care forever.”

The White House contenders clashed from afar —Clinton in battleground Florida and Trump in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — with the sprint to next Tuesday’s finish well underway.

“For my entire life, I’ve been a woman,” Clinton, who would be the nation’s first female president, declared in critical Florida.

“And when I think about what we now know about Donald Trump and what he’s been doing for 30 years, he sure has spent a lot of time demeaning, degrading, insulting and assaulting women.”

Trump has faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in recent weeks, complicating his efforts to win over women in both parties. He has denied every accusation, but Obama said there was a pattern at work to which voters needed to pay heed.

“This is a lifetime of calling women pigs and dogs and slobs,” Obama said at a rally in Ohio. “The part we’re concerned about is if we start acting like this is normal.”

Scripted For Trump, he spent the day relentlessly on message, eschewing wild tangents and political fights in favour of carefully scripted remarks focused on health care and attacks on his opponent.

He cautioned that Clinton’s plan to strengthen “Obamacare” would lead to dire consequences, although he offered few specifics about his own plan.

“If we don’t repeal and replace Obamacare, we will destroy American health care forever,” Trump charged in a speech outside Philadelphia.

He also promised, if elected, to call a special session of Congress to replace the law. However, Congress would already be in session when the next president takes office, raising the question of just what he meant.

Clinton worked to ensure voters would not forget Trump’s most damaging moments six days before the election.

Alicia Machado, a former beauty queen who Trump previously described as “Miss Piggy,” introduced the Democratic nominee before her appearance in central Florida.

“He was cruel,” Machado said of Trump’s criticism of her weight. “For years afterward I was sick, fighting back eating disorders.”

Trump spent several days in late September assailing the winner of his 1996 Miss Universe pageant and encouraging his Twitter followers to view her “sex tape,” although none exists.

The Machado appearance was in line with Clinton’s broader closing argument against Trump.

“He thinks belittling women makes him a big-

US ELECTION ger man,” Clinton said. “He doesn’t see us as full human beings.”

Clinton also unveiled a television ad set to run in eight battleground states, including his remark caught in a 2005 video that he kissed women and grabbed their genitals without permission. Obama, amid his pitch to working-class voters in Ohio, tried to boil the choic e down to a question of character, saying the Oval Office “amplifies who you are. It magnifies who you are. It shows who you are.”

“If you disrespected women before you were elected, you will disrespect women once you’re president,” Obama said.

And speaking directly to men, Obama said “we have to get over the hump” of electing the first woman president.

“I just want to be honest with you because she’s been out there for so long sometimes in this culture we always want to see the new shiny object,” he said.

Trump, however, did not immediately take the bait.

In Wisconsin, he urged early voters there who “are having a bad case of buyer’s remorse” to change their ballots before Thursday’s deadline. Four states — Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania — allow early vote switches but the practice is extremely rare, according to the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College.

Still, frustrated Republicans were encouraged that Trump was focusing on policy prescriptions — for one day, at least — after a rollercoaster campaign marked by self-created controversy and political missteps.

Meanwhile, both sides continued to spar over the recent revelation that FBI investigators are again probing Clinton’s email practices.

A lawyer for Clinton aide Huma Abedin said Tuesday that her client learned from media reports last Friday that a laptop belonging to her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner, might contain some of her emails.

The attorney said Abedin has not been contacted by the FBI about the development and she will cooperate if asked.

The revelation has put Democrats on the defensive, at least briefly, and hurt Clinton’s plans to promote a positive message over the campaign’s final week.

“The Trump campaign is on the offensive and we’re expanding our map,” Trump aide David Bossie said, suggesting the campaign now sees opportunities to compete in traditional Democratic states such as New Mexico and Michigan.

Yet few Republican or Democratic operatives view the email news as a gamechanger in the race for Senate control. The balance of power in Congress could have profound consequences for the future of health care in America, among other policy debates.

Trump on Tuesday promised to replace the federal health care law with health care savings accounts, while allowing states to craft their own Medicaid programmes to cover the poor.

The nonpartisan Center for Health and Economy determined this summer that Trump’s proposal would lower premiums sig-

nificantly for policies purchased directly by consumers but also make 18 million people uninsured. The nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund predicted that 20 million people would lose coverage under Trump’s plan while Clinton’s would add coverage for 9 million.

Premiums Trump on Tuesday seized on projections of sharp health care cost increases as he campaigned in Pennsylvania, a state where some premiums are expected to rise by more than 40 percent. He was introduced by his running mate Mike Pence, who expanded Medicaid coverage as part of Obama’s law as Indiana governor.

Pence called Obamacare “a crushing weight” on the American economy.

“We’re going to pull it off the market so it stops burning up our wallets,” he declared.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016, PAGE 15

DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes the stage with Alicia Machado, who won the Miss Universe pageant in 1996, at Pasco-Hernando State College in Dade City, Fla. (AP)

WISCONSIN Gov. Scott Walker, left, listens as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with small business leaders, in Altoona, Wis. (AP)