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FNM: Nothing to hide over China L! ADS SEL PHOTO 351 002 / 502-2

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ORGANISER OF MARCH ‘QUIZZED

BY POLICE’

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net AS momentum builds on social media for a “Black Friday� protest, lead organiser and community activist Ranard Henfield yesterday raised alarms that his efforts have put him under the scrutiny of the police.

Mr Henfield claimed that he was approached by SEE PAGE SIX

MPs unmoved

by PM’s threat to reveal talks

By KHRSNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net  SENIOR Free National Movement members yesterday insisted that they were not concerned or moved

by Prime Minister Perry Christie’s threat to reveal documents detailing the previous FNM administration’s efforts to partner with the Chinese for agriculture and fisheries developments, saying this was a mere deflection away from the failures of the Progressive Liberal Party government.

FNM Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest and Long Island MP Loretta ButlerTurner said the troubling

concern for many Bahamians is the Christie administration’s affinity for conducting business in “secret�.

While both MPs acknowledged that Chinese investors were engaged in major projects during FNM terms in office including Baha Mar and Hutchinson Whampoa for the revival of Grand Bahama’s economy in 1992 and 1993, they maintained that these dealings were done in a transparent manner.

This, Mr Turnquest said, was a major difference between the current PLP administration and the then Ingraham led government.

SEE PAGE SIX

SEARS SEEKS TRANSPARENCY IN GOVT’S FOREIGN DEALINGS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Fort Charlotte candidate Alfred Sears called yesterday for more transparency from the government concerning its dealings with China and other countries.

The Christie administration has faced a barrage of criticism following revelations of its consideration of various business ventures involving the Chinese, including its granting of an “approval in principle� to a company, Caribbean Global Timber Limited (CGTL),

for a forestry project on 4,500 acres of land in North Andros.

Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett has said that no license has been issued to the company because it has not met all the conditions necessary to obtain them. It has been reported that the majority of CGTL’s directors are Chinese, however Mr Dorsett said on Monday that the principals of the company include Bahamian and American citizens who have sought additional assistance from a Chinese industrial and commercial SEE PAGE SIX

AMERICA LOOKS TO TRUMP

DONALD Trump was edging closer to victory in the US elections last night in a tight race, with several states still to call in the early hours of the morning.

Upsetting the pre-election polls, the Republicandidate, pictured above with his wife, Melania, surged ahead of Democrat rival Hillary Clinton and established a lead that saw him move towards the 270 electoral college votes needed to secure the presidency.

At the time of going to press, he stood at 264 votes compared to Clinton’s total of 215 - and ahead in counting in Wisconsin, Michigan and Arizona.

SEE PAGE 12

THE ELECTION party at the US Embassy in Nassau last night, including ChargÊ d’Affaires Lisa Johnson, second from right.

ACTIVISTS’ CLAIM OF BEING ‘MARIJUANA BROWNIES’ IN FEAR FOR LIVES UPHELD PUT STUDENTS IN HOSPITAL A CLAIM by five Bahamians that their lives are in danger because of their political advocacy and that some of them have had to flee the country has been firmly upheld by a leading international human rights authority.

A petition made on behalf of Fred Smith, Francisco Nunez, Joseph Darville, Kirkland Bodie and Romauld Ferreira by the Grand Bahama Hu-

man Rights Association (GBHRA) last month asked that the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) request that the Bahamas government adopt precautionary measures to prevent irreparable harm to their lives.

The IACHR found that the five members of Save The Bays are in “a serious and urgent situation since SEE PAGE FIVE

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net  FIVE students from Doris Johnson High School were rushed to hospital last week after they allegedly ate “marijuana brownies� while on campus, police said.

Officer-in-charge of the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) Superintendent Samuel Butler said he could

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

not confirm or deny what the teens ingested or if it was an illegal substance, but said his team is awaiting the results of “chemical analysis� from the Princess Margaret Hospital to determine the next move.

He said the students told his officers that they were given the brownies by a classmate and “got sick� a few minutes later.

SEE PAGE THREE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, November 9, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Port Lucaya marketplace back open for business

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE Port Lucaya Marketplace is open for business and thousands of visitors were out shopping and dining in the restaurants – a welcomed sight for merchants and straw vendors in Lucaya.

Two cruise ships – The Infinity and the Sunshine - were in port on Tuesday.

On Monday, the Celebrity brought some 3,500 passengers to the island.

Many of the merchants and straw vendors were happy to be back to work for the first time since Hurricane Matthew pummelled parts of The Bahamas in early October. This comes after weeks of repair and restoration of the Marketplace, which sustained severe hurricane damage on October 6.

“I feel great to be back at Port Lucaya Marketplace after being home for three weeks,” said woodcarver Gordon Higgs.

Mr Higgs - a vendor at Port Lucaya for over 20 years - is optimistic that the

tourism business will get better as more and more ships begin calls at the port, and when the two hotels in Lucaya are reopened.

“Grand Bahama is getting back together gradually every day; yesterday we had a ship in but it was somewhat slow, and today we have two in and it has really picked up,” he said.

The Infinity cruise ship was scheduled to call at Coca Cay, but due to rough seas the ship was diverted to Freeport instead. The Sunshine was scheduled to call on Monday, but sailed in on Tuesday.

Mr Higgs estimates that about 5,000 cruise visitors were on island in the past two days.

“On Friday when Port Lucaya Marketplace opened, the Balearia brought some passengers, but the ship that came in yesterday (Monday) had 3,500, and combined with these (two ships) today we had probably at least 5,000 people on the island, and the straw vendors and hair braiders are making a dollar - God is great,” he said.

Straw vendor Viola Hep-

TOURISTS browse the marketplace.

burn said she was happy to see tourists at Port Lucaya again.

“God has spared us and we are grateful that we are here today. You see what I see - I see white foot, that’s what the old people used to say – that’s tourists. That mean we are blessed - the straw vendors, the shops, taxi drivers, and tour buses - God is good,” Ms Hepburn said.

Meanwhile, a straw vendor who is new to Port Lucaya, but grew up as a young girl in the straw business, was also grateful to be working again.

“I used to work at Royal Oasis for many years and after the storm I became unemployed, and so I know what it is not to have a job,” said the vendor, who identified herself as Beverly. “I am grateful to be back to work. There are a lot of tourists walking around today and I made a few sales, and I am grateful for that.”

Despite the challenges she has faced in her life and losing her daughter at the age 18, the vendor said that God is awesome and urged people not to be discouraged by the loss they may have suffered because of the storm.

Straw vendor Dorothy Pratt Bain said: “I am glad to be back to my shop after a month. In all things, we must give God thanks even though we had some damages in the Port Lucaya area. Fortunately, no lives were lost.”

Mrs Bain, who has operated for 16 years at Port Lucaya, said some of her items were stolen from the shop after the storm. She has been assured that the items will be replaced.

“I have been doing straw work all my life. I am very happy to know that the cruise ships are coming back to Grand Bahama.

WOODCARVER Gordon Higgs is optimistic that the tourism business will improve.

Through God’s help we will make it and things will be better, this is just restoration time. We are grateful that two ships are in and we are making a few dollars, so to God be the glory,” she said.

Althea Knowles, a 30year straw vendor at Port Lucaya, is very pleased to be back at the marketplace and seeing visitors again.

“We are delighted to be back to work, and we are thankful the cruise ships have started to come in, and we are delighted to see them here and it is great to have two ships in today.

“We are happy and we must realise that we cannot control nature. God is in control, and I thank God we did not lose any lives.

Material things were lost and some of my fellow vendors have lost everything out of their shops, but we are still here to speak about it and eventually we would get back up on our feet, but through the grace of God,” she said.

DOROTHY Pratt Bain said some of her stock was stolen.

IMMIGRATION INVESTIGATION INTO DENIAL OF ENTRY FOR 23 BRAZILIANS

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell has confirmed that his ministry is investigating reports that 23 Brazilians were denied entry into

the Bahamas “without any justification” earlier this month.

In a press statement, Mr Mitchell said “the details surrounding the Brazilian nationals are being investigated and the ministry is in contact with the Embassy of Brazil”.

“The ministry further wishes to advise that the immigration policy of the Bahamas is designed to allow visitors easy access to our shores, and it is applied fairly to all visitors.”

His comments came after a Brazilian website posted an article about the depor-

tation of 23 Brazilians on November 2.

According to the report, there were 24 Brazilians on Copa Airlines flight 196 into New Providence, and “the only one allowed to stay in the country was a friend of a Brazilian embassy employee”.

The story also claimed that the Brazilians were immediately sent back from the airport “without any justification despite having all their documents in order”.

The report said that the persons that were deported also claimed that

authorities did not allow them any contact with their Brazilian embassies and they went “17 hours without eating”.

The Tribune attempted to contact the Brazilian Embassy for comment but calls were not returned up to press time.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 9, 2016, PAGE 3

Civic group wants action as authorities reject health report

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A GRAND Bahama civic group is calling for “swift intervention in the relocation and settlement of affairs of residents” in the Pinder’s Point and Lewis Yard communities following the rejection of an Environmental Health Risk Assessment report by two leading international authorities which they deemed “suspicious”.

Residents in the two communities have complained about the ongoing pollution from nearby industrial plants over the past three decades, and claimed that many people suffer from respiratory ailments and have died of cancer.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Perry Christie and Minister of Health Dr Perry Gomez, the Pinder’s Point, Lewis Yard

Committee officially stated its rejection of the findings of a report by the PanAmerican World Health Organisation (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), which conducted an independent environmental health risk assessment of Pinder’s Point, Lewis Yard and the surrounding areas.

The report found that there are no environmental and health risks to residents living near the industrial plants.

“The Pinder’s Point, Lewis Yard Committee, speaking on behalf of all the residents living around the industrial plants in Grand Bahama, hereby advise that we as a united group reject the report that was produced by PAHO/WHO, and we are suspicious of the recommendations made by this report,” the committee wrote.

“We are made to under-

stand that this report has been tabled in the House of Assembly by the Honorable Dr Michael Darville.

It is a mystery to us why the Bahamas government has seemingly abandoned the residents of the industrial basin in GB, when it is an established fact that the residents have suffered, and are continuing to suffer because of the pollution by these industries, and most especially by the refinery now owned

by Buckeye.”

In August, Minister for Grand Bahama Dr Darville, along with representatives from PAHO/WHO in Washington, met with residents of Pinder’s Point to reveal the findings of a yearlong environmental health risk assessment conducted in the area from December 4, 2014, to November 30, 2015.

Two previous reports were concluded - by Mike

Wallace in 2014 which indicated that there were no toxic chemicals in the air, and by Abigail Pedican, which indicated the same.

Dr Darville indicated that the government decided that it was necessary “to contract a world-renowned organisation to come to Grand Bahama and … to conduct a study that was free of contamination from the government and placed in the hand of an independent organisation”.

But residents did not accept the findings of the reports and expressed doubt in the findings.

In 1989, the Grand Bahama Catholic High School and Hawksbill Senior and Junior Schools were relocated from Hawksbill area due to ongoing pollution and emissions that were making students and teachers ill.

The government relo-

cated the Lewis Yard Primary School last year to the St Vincent de Paul School campus in Hunters. However, due to hurricane damage caused by Matthew the school was relocated temporarily to the Church Hall at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Pinder’s Point.

According to committee member, students and teachers were dismissed early from school. He believes that the dismissal was due to strong chemical odours in the area on November 1.

“When the Prime Minister and his entourage drove through the community to view hurricane damages recently residents say the odors were piping, very strong. He and his team sped through and did not stop,” said one of our committee members.

One member said that while the school was relocated to Hunters, student

ILLEGAL FIREARMS SEIZED AFTER HIGH-SPEED CHASE

SOME of the items reportedly found by police after a high-speed chase through Carmichael Road yesterday morning. Police seized two illegal firearms.

By RASHAD ROLLE Sunset Park area off Carmi- when the vehicle turned off a nine-millimeter handgun Tribune Staff Reporter chael Road. the track road and came to with 11 rounds of ammunirrolle@tribunemedia.net When they responded, a stop. Both suspects fled tion. The two suspects are officers saw two men alleg- the vehicle on foot. assisting police with their POLICE officers seized edly behaving suspiciously Officers chased the car investigations into a numtwo illegal firearms after a in a black Honda Accord. and arrested one of the ber of serious crime related high-speed chase through The men fired gunshots suspects hiding in nearby incidents.

Carmichael Road early yes- at the officers and quickly bushes. Shortly afterward, terday morning. sped away, leading police officers found the other susAccording to a state- on a high-speed chase. pect in a nearly community. ment, the Royal Bahamas The chase continued Police searched the vehiPolice Force received re- throughout the Carmichael cle and recovered an AK-47 ports shortly after 9.30am Road area onto Tonique assault rifle with 19 rounds about gunshots heard in the Williams-Darling Highway of ammunition along with

‘MARIJUANA BROWNIES’ PUT STUDENTS IN HOSPITAL from page one

An 18-year-old student was taken into custody and questioned in relation to the incident, but has not been charged, The Tribune understands.

“On Friday we got a report from the school about an incident where some children fell ill,” Supt Butler said. “It was alleged that they may have participated in eating what was referred to as marijuana brownie.

We have a record of at least five children who were taken to the hospital.

“We cannot confirm what substance they did in fact consume. When we went to investigate we were pointed to a student who allegedly supplied the kids. We found

nothing in his possession and nothing in the possession of the children that were ill. So we are waiting for the hospital to give us a chemical analysis of what was in their system.

“So just to be clear, yes we got the report, yes there is a police investigation but we do not have a final determination from the hospital about what was in their stomach.”

Supt Butler said police searched the home of the alleged teen supplier and discovered a small amount of marijuana at his residence.

“I left instructions for him to be charged with that offence but I am out of town and I am not sure he was,” Supt Butler said.

Education Director Li-

onel Sands said the Ministry of Education was informed of the incident and he is awaiting the report from the DEU. “We were told that several students were ill as a result of eating cookies or brownies. I am told that another student gave them or sold them the cookies.

I don’t know the origin of it but I was told that the cookies made them ill,” Mr Sands said.

“I don’t know what was in it, there is an ongoing investigation to determine the nature of the cookies and where they came from and where the person who sold the cookies came from.”

The students have since been released from the hospital. Investigations continue.

TWO US VISITORS HELD FOR FAILING TO DECLARE $64,000 AN American man and woman from New Jersey were taken into custody for failing to declare $64,000 and making a false declaration on Monday, police said.

According to police reports, shortly after 11am, the two were returning to the United States, when US Customs and Border Protection officials detained them at the

US Pre-Clearance Departure Lounge at the Lynden Pindling International Airport for failing to declare $64,522.

They are expected to face court charges soon.

would leave school only to return home to “the same smelly community at the end of the day. “This is unconscionable,” the member said.

In the letter, the committee stressed that the residents are tired of promises.

“We assert that the evidence that there are significant health risks to the residents is an established fact, especially due to the closure and relocation of four schools over a 30-year period because of the pollution.

“We are therefore asking for the government’s swift intervention in the relocation and settlement of the affairs of the residents in a manner and fashion that is fair and satisfactory to the residents concerned. After years of promises the residents are no longer willing to listen to talk and are demanding results,” the committee said.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, November 9, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

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Bahamian minnows swim with the sharks TENNYSON Wells, who could see only the financial gain, not the destruction of long line fishing to our fisheries when he was Agriculture Minister in the early nineties, seems to take the same view of the controversial $2.1 billion proposal to invite the People’s Republic of China to partner with Bahamians in our fishing industry. To facilitate this the Bahamas government pledged the lease of 10,000 acres of Crown Land at Andros for the venture.

The only problem that Mr Wells had was that current Agriculture Minister Alfred Gray was not “upfront with the people” about the project from the very beginning.

“He should go to the people who are in the industry. Talk with the farmers, fishermen, processors, because we produce seafood now that is being exported to Europe, US, and Canada. So if we can produce more, if it’s there and the fishery is properly managed, I don’t see a problem with it,” he told The Tribune last week.

As usual, Mr Wells saw a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, not the potential dangers at the end of a very dark tunnel.

This was his same attitude when, as Agriculture Minister, he promoted long line fishing — in fact Prime Minister Perry Christie was also a proponent of long line fishing when he was Agriculture Minister in the Pindling administration.

Apparently Bahamians only became aware of the threat to their fisheries when Mr Wells started his longline campaign with speeches at the various service clubs. He lit a match to their tempers when he made it known that his Ministry was exploring the controversial method to develop the deep sea industry and create jobs. There was an uproar in the town when a longliner trespassed into the Stuart Cove dive complex and started killing the trained sharks. In addition to destroying the sharks, their hooks were ripping up the coral from the seabed. In the flick of an eyelid a major tourist attraction was being destroyed. The town went wild — demonstrations, petitions and general unrest. Although Bahamians wanted a total ban, long line fishing was banned to the extent that no one can go into the long line business today without the written permission of the Governor General.

The first we heard of long-line fishing after that long and drawn out fight was an item published on February 4, 2014 in The Abaconian when there was speculation that long line fishing might be increasing in Bahamian waters. The Abaconian reported that “on a recent beach-combing trip Ministry of the Environment Warden Keith Bishop found a large amount of buoys, ropes, clips, hooks and fishing line washed on beaches in Southern Abaco from long line fishing vessels.”

And now we have the Bahamas concocting a pitch to the Chinese because, in the words of PLP chairman Bradley Roberts, The Bahamas is “cash strapped” and there are few jurisdictions in the world from which to get capital, except, of course, China or the United Arab Emirates - “two cash rich jurisdictions.”

And so our ill-informed little minnows have decided to swim with the sharks. All they can see is the pot of gold, not knowing that in the end it will elude them. Before even putting this idea in the form of a proposal, our government should have firstly investigated China’s reputation in the fishing industry. They should also have investigated China’s dispute in the Spratly islands in the South China Seas — that’s if they are even smart enough to find those islands on the map. China dismissed the Hague’s ruling earlier this year that she has “no legal basis” for her claims to economic

rights across large swaths of the South China Seas. According to China the ruling is “a farce.” Yes,a “farce”! So only time will tell how it will all end. Our Bahamian legislators should try to better understand the treacherous world in which we live before their blind ignorance leaves future generations to the mercy of another “farce” – this time in The Bahamas.

In the proposal that Minister V Alfred Grey approved for our ambassador to present to the People’s Republic of China, it is proposed that our government “provide fishing licences to each of the 100 corporate entities participating in the initiative, consistent with existing laws” — those laws being that only Bahamians can fish in Bahamian waters. It goes on to say that only Bahamian farmers and fishermen will make up the workforce. However, the proposal concedes that probably each of the 100 entities “will require the services of one fishing and one farming expert, for a limited period who will probably be Chinese” – that works out to 200 Chinese. Remember the Chinese are a smart people. They too have an unemployment problem, so wherever their money goes so go their unemployed. We have Baha Mar and the Pointe as examples.

And after they have helped us deplete our waters with their avaricious methods, they will sail off looking for new depths to plunder, leaving your grandchildren floating on shallow and empty seas.

Time magazine of August 24, 2016 has an article that all Bahamians should read.

Entitled: “The Fight to save the world’s seas from China’s bloated fishing industry” it was written by Charlie Campbell.

“New data from environmental groups indicates that Chinese fishing ships are disguising their true location, employing destructive fishing techniques and flouting the territorial boundaries of sovereign nations,” says Time.

“The frigid waters off Japan’s eastern coast teem with sardines, mackerel, anchovy and scallop,” writes Mr Campbell.

“They are some of Asia’s most fertile fishing grounds, inspiring an exquisite seafood-rich national cuisine, and supporting a domestic fishing industry worth some $9 billion each year. Today, though, this natural bounty is under threat from a stealthy interloper: an armada of up to 200 Chinese fishing boats, which recently set up camp at the edge of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“The boats,” he continues, “are allegedly using destructive fishing practices like drift nets to ‘vacuum up’ all manner of sea life, one Japanese official reveals to TIME. ‘This area is a breading ground so they are catching lots of juveniles,’ says the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. ‘It has had a massive impact on Japanese fisheries.’

“Some Chinese vessels have even entered Japanese waters, raising regional tensions and prompting Japan’s Foreign Minister to summon the Chinese ambassador for an explanation. But Japan is only the latest country to feel the brunt of China’s bloated fishing industry, which suffers from overcapacity owing in part to huge government subsidies. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) Chinese fishing is reaching ‘crisis point’ for some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, say environmentalists exacerbated by China’s own chronically depleted coastal waters. Last week, China’s Ministry of Agriculture said 13 million tons of fish are caught in Chinese territorial waters each year — 4 million to 5 million tons more than what’s sustainable.”

“Environmentalists now warn that without action we could face mass extinction on the seas”.

To read the whole article, visit: <http:// time.com/4463943/japan-china-fishingmarine-iuu-environment>

Urban Renewal above reproach EDITOR, The Tribune IN my humble opinion, Urban Renewal is to date, at its core, one of the most progressive social outreach concepts the present government has proffered. Unfortunately, the two wellrespected co-Chairs cannot seem to keep Urban Renewal above reproach.

It is always so sad when something good, even if only conceptually, is besmirched.

All government ministries, agencies and programmes must be accountable and transparent.

I have witnessed first hand how this programme seeks to ameliorate social challenges.

Ideally the programme seeks, in imitation of Christ, to minister to the least among us.

I call on Mr Algernon Allen and Pastor Cynthia “Mother” Pratt to continue this great ministry, while remaining transparent and

accountable to the Bahamian communities they serve.

Good ideas and programmes should transcend the government which sponsors it, and Urban Renewal is indeed one such programme.

BISHOP SIMEON B HALL Senior Pastor Emeritus, New Covenant Baptist Church Nassau November 5, 2016

Bahamas agriculture - part 2 EDITOR, The Tribune.

FOLLOWING from the first part of my discourse I would take the opportunity to examine the input of the government of The Bahamas to developing an agricultural sector since independence in 1973.

Up to the time of independence the Hatchet Bay company, owned and operated by an American industrialist Austin Levy, out of Alice Town in Eleuthera, was providing dairy products as well as chicken to the Bahamian public through its outlets in Nassau. However the operation was bought out by the government and managed by the newly incorporated (quasigovernment) Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. In a few short years the whole concern went bankrupt and was subsequently closed.

However, BAIC was charged with developing and assisting commercial agricultural projects for the benefit of the Bahamian population and entrepreneur. At the same time the then Minister of Agriculture had determined that The Bahamas would be self sufficient in food production within ten years. Unfortunately no successful projects were developed, and by 1985 the farming population in the country had seriously declined and local production was at a very low ebb. Since then the number of farmers has continued to decline to the state it is in today, with less than 1000 farmers active in the country providing much less than 1% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Successive governments have all laid out in their election manifestos the importance of renovating the agricultural sector as an important instrument in feeding ourselves. To date none has put any serious commitment into developing a programme with long reaching planning and commitment.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net The most catastrophic situation occurred when the US government handed over the BARTAD project to the Bahamian government in the late 1970’s as a fully functional research and farmer training facility. Due to lack of Bahamian financial and management input the project collapsed.

Ironically the new government impetus to self sufficiency initiated the BAMSI institute on the same site as the defunct BARTAD project. This project seems to be shrouded in secrecy and any positive press releases are purely “in house” with no independent verification of what is really going on. To top the whole BAMSI matter, the minister of agriculture last month declared erroneously and unconvincingly to the public that this operation had already injected $100 million of local production into the consumer’s bread basket. Considering the injection of many millions of taxpayers dollars into this project why have encouraging results not been seen at this time?

As is so often the case the public has been inundated with political jargon about self sufficiency, but farmers on the ground have seen no progress in farming assistance through extension (education) services, veterinary services for animal husbandry, and fisheries assistance.

If we compare ourselves to the United States and Europe we fail miserably.

These countries place a real value on agricultural production and its importance to their national economies.

To this end they have developed extremely efficient outreach programmes, and invested heavily in subsistence support and guarantees in the form of farm aid.

In short they have created a favourable environment to maintain and further develop the sector.

To a similar end for Ba-

hamian agriculture the government needs to address some serious shortfalls, listed below.

Lack of genuine access to public land through non existent lease programmes, which at least should layout conditions and commitments for both the landlord and the lessee.

No real concessions to ventures, which should naturally occur through a now highly manipulated and cannibalised encouragement act. All inputs should become duty free automatically.

A non existent educational and extension service from a ministry that functions only to farm paper by shuffling documents to and fro internally.

Lack of realistic assistance with storage, marketing, and processing logistics. And at the other end no assistance with farm inputs, varieties, grow out conditions and requirements.

• A dearth of assistance with setting up businesses through the supposed SMBE programme.

• No creation of a favourable environment to encourage local entrepreneurs to venture into any agricultural enterprise.

• No agricultural development plan applicable to the farmer. No research, breeding and evaluation trials.

• No tapping of the wealth of Bahamian expertise that already exists outside of government in the private sector.

In short, to date the government has made no genuine input into developing a viable agricultural sector.

But of course it is much simpler and easier to bring in foreign enterprises and governments to develop in their own interests, and not the interests of the Bahamas. Where are the rules and regulations to protect our own natural resources whether terrestrial or marine?

JOHN HEDDEN Abaco, November 7, 2016. email jondgaul@gmail. com

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 9, 2016, PAGE 5

ACTIVISTS’ CLAIM OF BEING IN FEAR FOR LIVES UPHELD

Nygard quits his plan to subpoena PM

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net CANADIAN fashion designer Peter Nygard has abandoned his bid to subpoena Prime Minister Perry Christie to give evidence in committal proceedings against him in the Supreme Court.

In yesterday’s expected hearing of the application that had been foreshadowed by Elliot Lockhart, QC, Nygard’s second lawyer on the case Damian Gomez, QC, revealed to the court that the Lyford Cay resident was no longer pursuing that course of action.

Instead, Mr Gomez said that Mr Nygard was filing an application to set aside the injunction currently against him concerning his property.

However, due to the late filing of the affidavit, his team would agree to adjournment and bear legal costs for the delay.

The move did not sit well with Fred Smith, QC, and lead counsel for Save The Bays (STB) who said that this was just another attempt by Mr Nygard to thwart the continuation of the committal proceedings at the eleventh hour.

Justice Bain said she would hear Mr Smith’s preliminary objection to the application today at 10.30am.

STB’s battle with Mr Nygard over the construction/development activities at his Lyford Cay home stem from allegations that they have led to substantial growth of the property. The group claims that the Lyford Cay resident has almost doubled his property’s acreage, from 3.25 to 6.1 acres, since he acquired it in 1984, by allegedly reclaiming Crown Land from the sea.

The advocacy group has alleged that Mr Nygard achieved this without the necessary permits and approvals, claims that have been denied by the fashion designer.

That comes against the backdrop of Justice Bain’s ruling in 2013 that until the conclusion of judicial review proceedings challenging the legality of the construction of a groyne and the dredging of the seabed off Nygard Cay, neither activity could continue.

However, since then, STB has submitted photographic evidence in court alleging that the opposite has happened and that dredging has continued.

Dawson Malone, Romauld Ferreira, Adrian Gibson and Crispin Hall appeared for STB with Mr Smith.

Wayne Munroe, QC, and Tommel Roker appeared for the Crown.

from page one

their lives and personal integrity face an imminent risk of irreparable harm”.

In a ruling dated November 4 It said it required The Bahamas government to adopt the necessary measures to protect their lives and those of their families, to ensure the five men could pursue their work as human rights defenders without being subject to threats, harrassment or intimidation, to agree with the petitioners on the measures to be adopted and to report on investigative actions taken.

Last night, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration said it “regrets” to learn that the IACHR has granted the GBHRA petition. In a statement, the Ministry said its review of the allegations by Mr Smith and the other petitioners found they were not properly grounded in facts and were without evidentiary support or legal merit. “The Ministry finds it especially regrettable that the IACHR made its decision despite periodic communication from the Government that while the matter was under review a formal response was being finalised and would be issued soon,” the statement said.

PETER NYGARD

APPEAL COURT UPHOLDS ATTEMPTED MURDER CONVICTION

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE Court of Appeal has affirmed a jury’s conviction of a man who stabbed his estranged wife 14 times during a holiday visit to the Bahamas.

Michael Scott, a Jamaican who lived in Miami, Florida, came to Nassau to spend time with his family and make up with his wife, Sheneka Colebrooke, on December 20, 2009.

However, he had not expected to see his wife on the road in Palm Beach Street in the early hours of that day with 21-year-old David Rolle, her lover, because she had told him she was not involved with anyone.

At his trial in the Supreme Court, it was claimed that Scott tried to kill his estranged wife in the road – not far from the home where she lived with her mother.

He stabbed Rolle, causing his death, and then repeatedly stabbed his wife, the court was told during the trial.

Scott had argued self-defence at trial, claiming that he was attacked by Rolle and that it was during their scuffle that Ms Colebrooke had been stabbed.

While the jury returned a guilty verdict of 8-4 for murder, it was not accepted because it was not unanimous as was the panel’s verdict of 12-0 for the attempted murder charge.

He and his lawyer Murrio Ducille had appealed the conviction on the grounds that the judge failed to adequately put his client’s case of self-defence to the jury while furthering the prosecution’s case by allowing himself to assume the role of advocate in asking questions.

Mr Ducille had also argued that the judge was duty-bound to address the

issue of good character, as his client had no prior runins with the law.

Mr Scott also believed that the 34-year sentence imposed on him was manifestly harsh and excessive.

In a written ruling handed down on Monday and published on its website yesterday, the appellate court panel of Justices Dame Anita Allen, Stella CraneScott and Roy Jones did not accept any of the grounds argued by the appellant when they dismissed his appeal of his conviction.

“In light of the evidence before the court, it is difficult to see how the learned judge could have directed the jury relative to the attempted murder charge any more succinctly than he did,” Dame Anita said.

“Indeed, he correctly told the jury it was a question for them whether on the evidence they could find that the appellant inflicted unlawful harm on Sheneka intending to kill her, and further that they had to find that the offence of murder was not completed because of circumstances independent of the appellant’s will.

It is to be noted that the evidence against the appellant on the charge of the attempted murder of his wife, was simply overwhelming, and no matter how fairly the case is put, it would naturally appear to be onesided.

“Having read and considered the whole summing up it is clear that the learned judge put the appellant’s defence of accident in the best way he could; and reminded the jury of all of the evidence relating to that charge, which was of assistance to him in his defence,” the appellate president added.

Concerning the ground of the judge allowing himself to assume the role of the advocate, the appellate court noted that Section 168 of

the Evidence Act provides that the court in its discretion may ask any question in any form at any time to any witness, and with leave of the court, any party may cross-examine the witness upon any answer given in reply to any such question.

“The discretion to ask questions by a trial judge must be exercised with due regard to his role in a trial, and subject to his duty to ensure the fairness of a trial. Having examined the questions to which counsel referred the court, and after anxious consideration, and application of the relevant principles, I am of the view that none of the impugned questions invited the jury to disbelieve the appellant’s case; none made it impossible for his counsel to properly defend him; none were so ‘prejudicial or irremediable that an appellate court would have to condemn the trial as unfair,’” the court said.

On the issue of good character, the appellate court stressed that the issue was not raised by counsel below “and we have not been provided with any explanations for counsel’s omission.”

“Consequently, the questions for this court are one: whether the judge had a duty to raise good character on counsel’s failure to do so; two: if he was under such a duty whether his failure to do so, and to give a good character direction, was fatal to the fairness of the trial, or to the safety of the conviction.

“It emerges from the authorities, firstly, that while it is counsel’s duty to raise the issue of good character, in cases where it is obvious that good character may be in issue, the trial judge should enquire. Secondly, that only where there are good reasons for counsel’s failure to raise good character, will that issue be ordinarily permitted to be

PAIR ACCUSED OF ROLE IN SHOOTING PM’S AIDE FACE DELAY IN CASE TRANSFER

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net TWO men accused of having a role in the shooting of a police aide attached to Prime Minister Perry Christie will not have their case transferred to the Supreme Court until next month.

Tahnarze Ferguson, 22, and 18-year-old Jorel Augustine were due to appear before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt for the presentation of a vol-

untary bill of indictment.

However, the documents were not ready.

Police prosecutor Sgt Timothy Saunders asked for an additional four weeks to have the documents ready.

The request was granted and the matter adjourned to December 6 at noon.

The pair awaits trial on a charge of attempted murder of Sergeant Brent Dixon who was shot on Monday, September 5.

According to initial reports from police, Sgt Dixon had just pulled into the

driveway of a home on Odle Corner when two men with handguns approached and demanded cash. A struggle followed and the officer was shot. He returned fire and shot one of the suspects while the other fled the area on foot, it was reported earlier.

Both Sgt Dixon and the injured suspect were taken to hospital for treatment.

Ferguson and Augustine will not be allowed to enter a plea to the charge until they are formally arraigned before a judge in the Supreme Court.

raised for the first time on appeal, but at the end of the day once credibility was a crucial issue in the trial, and it is not possible to say that a jury would inevitably, or without a doubt have convicted, such failure will be fatal to the conviction.

“There was no dispute that the knife he held inflicted the injuries on her and the appellant’s defence was accident, an assertion that Sheneka was lying.

While the appellant’s credibility was equally critical, there was other evidence, namely that of Sidney Evans and George Symonette, which negatived his version of events and consequently his credibility; and bolstered the case for the prosecution.

“Moreover, the medical examination of Sheneka by Dr Tanya Garcia revealed 14 stab wounds. All of this evidence when taken together contradicted the

appellant’s defence of accident; weakened his credibility; and bolstered the case for the prosecution.

In my view, the nature and strength of the evidence in the present case wholly outweighs any assistance a good character direction as to the appellant’s propensity and credibility would have afforded him,” the appellate court said.

Concerning the harshness of Scott’s 34-year sentence, the appellate court noted that the sentencing court “must assess and give appropriate weight to all of the relevant and competing circumstances.”

“When considering an appeal from such an assessment, an appellate court

will only find a sentence unduly severe where, it ‘falls outside the range of sentences which the judge, applying his mind to all the relevant factors, could reasonably consider appropriate. I wholeheartedly agree with the reasons given by learned judge for not giving the raised matters of mitigation any weight and would therefore dismiss the appeal against sentence,” the court ruled.

Crystal Rolle assisted Mr Ducille in arguing the appeal.

Garvin Gaskin, director of public prosecutions responded for the Crown and was assisted by Olivia PrattNixon and Cephia PinderMoss.

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PAGE 6, Wednesday, November 9, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Organiser of march ‘quizzed by police’ from page one undercover officers, who allegedly identified themselves to be a part of the Security Intelligence Branch, on Monday while on his way to submit an application for permission to protest in Rawson Square.

“The officer said, ‘we just want to know more about it (the protest), what’s the route, who’s involved, why are you doing this, who else may be behind it?” Mr Henfield said he was asked .

“So I said just me, and explained why I’m doing it, that it’s non-violent and more of a promotion to tell parliamentarians what we need to happen in this country to empower and enrich us.”

Mr Henfield said that his concerns were amplified the following day when an officer with whom he was familiar, warned him of a potential attack. He said he was now making arrangements to get his family out of the country ahead of the demonstration.

“Then an officer called me and said to me ‘we support you but you should not go home, do not go home the night before the protest’.”

He said: “I said that it would be the stupidest thing for the government to have something happen to me because it would give more momentum to the movement.”

The silent protest, titled “We March”, will begin at Arawak Cay at 1pm on November 25. From there, participants will walk to Parliament and remain there until 1am the following day. The event posted on Facebook has attracted significant support from activists and civic organisations, including environmental group Raising Awareness

THE POSTER advertising the protest march. about the Bahamas Landfill a temporary community (RABL). Protests are also school aimed at continuexpected to be staged in ing the education of the Grand Bahama and Abaco students of all ages while on the same day. government schools were Mr Henfield is the found- closed due to the damage er of the Our Carmichael caused by Hurricane MatCommunity Initiative, a thew. The initiative has programme that has seen also been nominated for a viral growth since it was es- Bahamian Icon Award for tablished in October, 2015. its contributions to humaniIn addition to co-ordinating tarianism. relief efforts with social meFor the upcoming march, dia group HeadKnowles, participants have been Our Carmichael opened asked to wear black cloth-

ing and not take part in any media interviews.

“Our children are undereducated,” said a post on the event’s Facebook page.

“Our family members are unemployed. Our businesses are closing down. Our police are ill equipped and out-gunned by criminals.

Our salaries are depleted by the high cost of living.

Our people aren’t safe in our communities. Our land, fish and forestry are about

to be given to China and other foreign entities. Our air is polluted and our islands are covered in trash.”

The event’s page further outlines a 17-point petition of demands for lawmakers, among which includes: a referendum on term limits for MPs and the prime minister; the introduction of a national lottery; waste management reform; and to strip the Cabinet posts of Jerome Fitzgerald, minister

of education, and V Alfred Gray, minister of agriculture and marine resources.

Other demands listed on the event’s social media page were: “Cancel all negotiations on these Chinese fishing, agriculture and forestry ventures and issue our Crown land to our people with an annual lease fee.

Implement Marco’s Law immediately to protect our children from predators.

“Show us the $600 plus million from VAT. Enact laws to empower civil society organisations in hurricane relief efforts and community development. Enforce public disclosure and advise the commissioner of police to arrest any MP that has failed to disclose.

“Table a bill to introduce an all-Bahamian cruise industry with vessels owned

by Bahamians only. Lift the moratorium on taxi plates and end the practice of leasing plates, which is truly a form of indenture labour.

Allow civil servants to participate in demonstrations and to have second sources of income. Cap the interest rates banks can charge on mortgages, personal loans and credit cards.”

Yesterday, Mr Henfield attributed the widespread interest the event has attracted so far to its apolitical stance.

“It’s not aligned with any political party, it’s gone viral and there is one organised in Grand Bahama, and one in Abaco. Before people weren’t vocal about support of a protest, and now it’s being received well and it’s turning out to be a movement of the people.

“We want our country and our voice back. I don’t want to put anybody’s life at risk; I’m prepared that something may happen for me. I can’t step back, I’m just going to get my family to stay safety.”

FNM: NOTHING TO HIDE OVER CHINA from page one

“Not at all,” he said when asked whether there was any concern over Mr Christie’s threat to table the documents in the House of Assembly revealing the FNM efforts to partner with the Chinese in the House of Assembly.

He continued: “They are trying to divert attention from their abysmal leadership to date. Digging up all this information from the past is a diversion. Most Bahamians recognise what they are trying to do.

“They are depending on a foreign government to bail them out of their dismal failure and ceding control of large amounts of land and economic activity reserved for Bahamians.

“I think the thing the government misses is this has nothing to do with xenophobia or disliking investments with the Chinese. What we have concerns about is the amount of investment of a state owned nature or influence by the Chinese state.

“With recurrences of this kind, decisions then become entangled in politics and geophysics. We don’t

FNM deputy leader Peter Turnquest said the PLP is trying to divert attention. know how that will develop in Grand Bahama. by the Export Import Bank “If that is what he is at the beginning of the deal in 20 to 30 years. You don’t want that kind of ownership pointing to he is being mis- because financing was in to be ceded to any state leading and engaging in jeopardy. So that project back and forth argument. wouldn’t have been comowned entity.

“But no one can ar- That doesn’t make sense. pleted if they didn’t find “If you talk about the some source of funding.” gue that the investments of Hutchinson Whampoa Baha Mar deal and the fiMeanwhile Mrs Butlerwasn’t an economic driver nancing that was arranged Turner, who was a part of

the last Ingraham Cabinet, took exception to the government’s lack of transparency.

She said the “proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back” was recent controversy surrounding Agriculture and Marine Resources Minister V Alfred Gray. It involves a $2.1bn agriculture and fisheries proposal for Andros by the Bahamas Embassy in China that would involve Chinese investors.

She said: “I think why we are concerned is that everything the government seems to be doing is almost exclusively with the Chinese government. Now we are talking about something as precious as this country’s fishing industry. That is the one that Gray has said he gave his consent to discuss.

That is the proverbial last straw.

“We have no difficulty with Bahamians being able to harvest fish and to be able to export. If they are going to have a discussions this is way advanced and that is frightening.

“Fifteen per cent of the Chinese diet is made up of sea food protein they have

over fished in their part of the world. Their mechanisms are alien in the way we fish in this country.

“When we brought the Chinese to this country it was agreed to by an act of Parliament,” she continued.

“The difference between the FNM and the PLP they are making secret deals.

I have no fear of what the prime minister threatens to bring. Mr Christie and his administration they have a proclivity for doing things in the dark. That is what is most troubling.”

In the House of Assembly on Monday, Mr Christie revealed that the previous FNM administration held talks with the People’s Republic of China and private Chinese companies through the Bahamas State Investment Administration Bureau for projects and cooperatives, which included Crown land acquisition.

However, he stopped short of tabling the documents, and instead invited FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis to review the files so that he could be informed without “having to make it into some ridicule of a nation”.

SEARS SEEKS TRANSPARENCY IN GOVT’S FOREIGN DEALINGS from page one

investment company.

This revelation comes after reports that Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries V Alfred Gray gave the go ahead to embassy officials in China to pursue a potential agriculture and fisheries partnership between China and The Bahamas.

Reacting yesterday, Mr Sears said if he were prime minister he would be particularly transparent about deals that could

impact the sovereignty of the country.

“There should be a complete disclosure to the Bahamian public and to the Parliament of the contracts and other commitments, loans, that the government has made with all state agencies, including with the People’s Republic of China as well as proposals which are being considered by the government for any commercial or other commitments from the Bahamian state to any foreign entity

either directly or not,” the former attorney general said.

“This level of disclosure will avoid any mischief, public hysteria, or distrust and therefore assure the Bahamian public that the conduct of its affairs is being done in a transparent manner and the public will be able to evaluate for itself whether there is any concentration of investment or commitment to a foreign state entity that could have geostrategic implications for

the Bahamas and for the sovereignty of The Bahamas.”

Mr Sears said he would apply certain principles when considering when he would inform Bahamians about certain deals.

“If there is any application that contravenes a long standing policy, such as the policy with exclusivity for Bahamians in fishing, that should be a non-issue unless one is prepared to seriously consider the policy. If that is to happen, it should be

after widespread consultation with stakeholders, the industry and also Parliament. Any Heads of Agreement, as the Privy Council has indicated, one that would have a material impact on people’s way of life, there should be prior consultation, details of proposals should be put up for public comment and this is before consummating any agreement. Agreements which involve concessions of public goods should always be transparent and there should

be a comment period and also where agreements are consummated they should be released and laid on the table of the House of Assembly so there should be a public record and the representatives of the people have an opportunity to review and make public comment on it.”

Mr Sears has announced plans to challenge Prime Minister Perry Christie for the PLP’s top post at the party’s next convention. He recently released a platform of his policy ideas.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 9, 2016, PAGE 7

DNA deputy leader Christopher Mortimer with the party’s Freedom of Information Act proposal - titled the Right To Information - watched by leader Branville McCartney yesterday.

DNA releases draft version of Freedom of Information Act

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE Democratic National Alliance yesterday released the party’s draft version of a Freedom of Information Act, with Deputy Leader Christopher Mortimer daring the Christie administration muster up the courage to “do what is right for the Bahamian people.”

During a press conference at the party’s East Street South headquarters, Mr Mortimer presented many of the key details of the 26-page document, proclaiming that the DNA has taken the initiative to make all the necessary amendments to all previously discussed drafts and produced a “ready to enact” piece of legislation.

Mr Mortimer said the

DNA’s perspective has been and continues to be that any information related to business done on behalf of the Bahamian people, is information that Bahamians should have access to.

The draft document presented on Monday is highlighted by changes to the perimeters of exempt records, legal privileges and publication on information by public authorities.

The draft document calls for full access to all documents that have been made available as a part of Cabinet deliberations, with Mr Mortimer maintaining that his party’s legislation would void the potential for government “secret deals.”

Additionally, the DNA’s law would end the “power of privilege” hinted at in other pieces of legislation, which would allow government ministers to select

which portions or aspect of documents are allowed into the public sphere.

Further to those two alterations, the DNA has also moved to cut the length of time needed before a document is made public from 15 years in other drafts to five years in this incarnation put forth by the DNA. Mr Mortimer, the DNA’s candidate for Nassau Village in the 2012 general election, contended that Bahamians could no longer expect “real democracy” in a town in which vital information is being kept secret.

Admonishing successive governments for what he termed an abundance of “secret deals”, Mr Mortimer said flaccid attempts by both the FNM and the PLP to enact FOIAs have proven that both parties have no interest in being honest with the electorate.

“One of the cornerstones, one of the basic tenets of open democracy is the ability to have…. access to information,” stated Mr Mortimer.

He continued: “And as we can see over the past several weeks, but definitely over the last five years, maybe the past 25 years, the need for the people to have access to information about governance in the country.

“For far too long we have had governments, Cabinets deciding to make decisions on behalf of the Bahamian people; with really no accountability of that information to make sure they understand what is going on,” he added.

Mr Mortimer went on to accuse the 2007-2012 Ingraham administration of presenting “pieces of paper that they called the FOIA,

that were riddled with holes.”

He said the party stopped short of providing substantial and necessary guidelines for implementation, resulting in the document’s political demise.

Subsequently, Mr Mortimer said the Christie administration’s attempt to produce its own FOIA is also wanting.

In May of last year, the government released a draft of a revamped version of the legislation.

The legislation was supposed to be tabled in the House of Assembly last month, but Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald said this was delayed due to Hurricane Matthew. The bill is expected to be brought to Parliament before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Mr Mortimer said his party’s commit-

ment to open, honest and responsible governance is clear even in the naming of its document.

He indicated that the party viewed the often-used “freedom of information” title as exhausted and tainted by previous administrations.

As a result, Mr Mortimer said the DNA has opted for a “right to information” title.

To date, the DNA said it has presented its draft to several civic bodies, with the hope that they would offer feedback and support.

The party plans to “handdeliver” its document to both Prime Minister Perry Christie and Mr Fitzgerald in the coming days.

According to party officials, if elected in the next general election, plans are in place to enact the legislation by July of 2017.

MCCARTNEY: WE WILL REVIEW EVERY DEAL WITH CHINA

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney yesterday said his party is “eager” to review “all aspects of every deal” between the Christie administration and the People’s Republic of China.

Mr McCartney said his party has been noticeably absent from ongoing public discourse over the recent revelation that Minister of Agriculture V Alfred Gray gave the Bahamas ambassador to China the go ahead to discuss a $2.1b agriculture and fisheries proposal for Andros, as it was in search of “all the details and sides in this complex puzzle.”

After the matter was made public, the government said it was not considering such a proposal.

Mr Gray has also been on the defensive about the issue, saying the ideas in the leaked proposal were put forth by the Bahamian ambassador and not Chinese officials, however public outcry over the matter remains high.

Addressing the fallout over the matter, Mr McCartney said details of this latest “secret deal” have to be made public in order for everyone to get a complete understanding of the dilemma.

He called “blanket claims” put forth by the Official Opposition “misplaced”, citing that while he is opposed to overarching Chinese involvement in the

economic expansion of the Bahamas, there are technological and structural advancements that could be aided by foreign governments, companies, citizens and agencies.

On Sunday FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis said if his party were elected the government in the upcoming general election, his party would review and reverse any “secret deal” that gives land or fishing rights to foreigners.

Calling into question this assertion, Mr McCartney said the comments were made in “vacuum” of political rhetoric and fear tactics.

“You don’t know what the deal is. We don’t know,” stated the former Bamboo Town MP. He added: “We all have to work to see what exactly these deals pertain before we run out and call for all of this outrage. Not knowing what the deal is with these agreements - the Baha Mar deal has been sealed, this deal is still not clear - once we have clarity we will go forward.”

He said the “panic” over Chinese investment in the country should not be encouraged before clarification is sought.

“We need to see what the deals are.”

However, he added that the government has issues with transparency.

“The people have every right to be concerned as the government and the prime minister have shown that they are incapable of doing right by the Bahamian people. This isn’t me siding

with the government, this is me just saying that our issues with the PLP should not push us to be brash to any and all investment and project that involves foreign groups.”

“Certainly, listening to the government and when the government says, in particularly the prime minister that he did not know anything about the Crown land concern, I find that most amazing. As a matter of fact, it brought me back to the time he said he didn’t know about the letter of intent (LOI) and two years it transpired that he knew about the LOI.” He continued: “(The prime minister) is asleep at the wheel. He went out to lunch and never came back. Something is fishy with that and on the other hand, if I may, if he did know and he is not being truthful again to the Bahamian people, I have said it before and I will say it again, you cannot trust the PLP.” Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett on Monday said neither his ministry nor the government has issued a licence to any company in this country for forestry harvesting in Andros.

He admitted that a proposal of this kind, submitted in 2015, was approved in principle by the government’s Forestry Unit, but maintained that to date all the conditions imposed by the Forestry Unit were not satisfied, therefore no licence was issued.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, November 9, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

What the Chinese fishing proposal means for The Bahamas

A

FIRESTORM erupted last week over leaked reports that the Christie administration was in talks to hand over farming and fishing rights to the Chinese.

Despite the fact that a detailed official report was circulating, and the fact that a cabinet minister had authorised the talks, government spin doctors went into an immediate frenzy.

Alfred Gray - the minister at the centre of the storm - first claimed the reports were “utterly false” and then dismissed them as political gamesmanship.

Other spokesmen castigated critics for being antiChinese and pointed out that it was former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham who had initiated relations with the People’s Republic in the 1990s.

It is also true that China signed a Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural co-operation with Gray’s predecessor under the last Ingraham administration, Larry Cartwright.

A team of Chinese experts toured Abaco back then, and government politicians promoted investments in food production and processing on 5,000 acres of Crown land. There was also talk of mariculture projects - but nothing came to pass.

Nevertheless, in 2013, the Chinese ambassador noted that his nation was “very keen” on investing in The Bahamas, especially in the areas of renewable energy, agricultural production and fisheries.

Probably the biggest difference between the Ingraham initiative and the

current proposal is that, today, Bahamians know the government is politically desperate to restart the Chinese-owned and -controlled Baha Mar project.

And since this government conducts most of the people’s business in secret, there is no way to know what quid is being offered for which quo. We have to assume that an exchange is taking place, as the Chinese are not here for charitable purposes.

A second big distinction between this initiative and the one discussed under the Ingraham administration is that it potentially involves large-scale commercial A SHOAL of tuna - one of the species likely to be targeted by any large-scale fishing operation. fishing in Bahamian waters by foreign interests. ing commercial fishing here, as much as 95 per cent from company. There was no Indications are that the Bahamian waters could 1950s levels, scientists say. advance public discussion, Chinese want to fish for mi- conceivably be fished-out Other reports say that over- but political reaction was gratory species like Wahoo, within a few years. And fishing and pollution have swift and, ultimately, no Tuna, Dolphin, Marlin and since our marine resources so depleted China’s fishery fishing permits were given Kingfish. This would dra- are an important asset for resources that in some plac- and the boats left The Bamatically impact the coun- tourism as well as an essen- es there are virtually no fish hamas. try’s lucrative In 2007, the government tial food sup- left. sport fishing ‘In 2004, a fleet agreed to allow Chinese ply, it would industry, and of Korean fishing n August, Time Mag- interests to “experimenseem suicidal affect relaazine reported on tally” harvest sea cucumnot to protect tions with boats arrived off the fight to save the bers and shark fins under them.

Andros under neighbourworld’s seas from China’s the banner of a Bahamian Scientists ing countries the banner of a say overfish- bloated fishing industry. company called Sunco who share overfishing Fishing. Sharks were later ing is the big- Unregulated our pelagic nominally Bahamian gest single and destructive fishing protected, but the cucumcompany. There resources. threat to the methods have led envi- bers are still being harvestAnd who was no advance oceans (and ronmentalists to warn that ed. Local fishers say there is to say what our food sup- without serious action the are six Chinese and two other spe- public discussion, ply). And the oceans could face mass ex- Bahamians on board the cies would be but political Sunco vessel.

Chinese, un- tinctions. targeted by reaction was swift In 1993, we were faced Marine biologists Nicola fortunately, a Chinesehave a ter- with a similar stark choice. Smith and Dirk Zeller reowned fish- and, ultimately, no rible reputa- A faction within the cabi- cently published a paper ing fleet? Al- fishing permits were tion in this net, led by Agriculture and in the US marine fisherready there is given and the boats regard.

Fisheries Minister Tenny- ies bulletin that sought to a Chinese opSome of son Wells, wanted to allow reconstruct catches in The eration here left The Bahamas.’ the world’s fleets of foreign longline Bahamas from commercial harvesting most im- fishing boats to trawl our and non-commercial secsea cucumbers, using a ves- portant fisheries are in the waters. Using extended tors for 1950-2010. They sel owned by a nominally South China Sea. But high- lines (often miles long) also estimated the demand Bahamian company. pressure exploitation by with thousands of baited from tourism over the same With up to 100 joint ven- China and other nations hooks is a highly indis- period. ture companies undertak- have reduced fish stocks by criminate method fishing The reconstructed total that catches large numbers catches (ie, reported catchof target and non-target es and estimates of unrefish, as well as other ocean ported catches) were 2.6 animals. times the official landings.

Back then, longliners This was mostly due to unwanted access to the same reported catches from the migratory species (includ- recreational and subsisting sharks) that the Chi- ence fisheries, the researchnese are now interested in. ers said.

Public opinion was quickly “We found that recreamobilised and the govern- tional fishing accounted for ment eventually banned 55 per cent of reconstructed longlining. Other methods total catches. Furthermore, of industrial fishing are 75 per cent of reconstructed also banned here - includ- total catches were attributing drift netting, purse able to tourist demand on seine netting and hydraulic fisheries. Incomplete acdredging. But we are still counting for catches attribfaced with declining catch- uted to the tourist industry, es. therefore, makes it difficult For example, targeting to track potentially unsusspawning aggregations has tainable pressures on fishcaused Grouper stocks to eries resources.” plummet, and Conch is But the bottom line is that more and more difficult to there are no scientific stock find. Crawfish and scale fish assessments of migratory are being heavily depleted fish in Bahamian waters. by poachers.

A statement issued by the In 2004, a fleet of Kore- Bahamas National Trust an fishing boats arrived off (BNT) over the weekend Andros under the banner advised against the Chinese of a nominally Bahamian fishing proposal and also

I

referred to possible investment in the agricultural sector on Andros. The BNT said this appeared to conflict with current government policy that seeks to take account of the fragile ecosystems that the island supports.

“We referenced specifically the Andros Ecosystem-Based Master Plan funded by the Inter-American Development Bank that is currently being formulated by technical experts in the Office of the Prime Minister,” the BNT statement said.

Government spokesmen - including the Prime Minister - have failed to clarify this apparent conflict. But research has already demonstrated that ecosystems on Andros are worth about $260m a year.

This includes five per cent derived from forests, 23 per cent from wetlands and seven per cent from reefs. Commercial fishing (including crabbing and sponging) generates $70m a year, while tourism produces $43.6m.

The impact of agriculture on Andros is no more than $1.23m annually - or about one per cent of the overall economic impact from all activities on the island. And farming had the lowest revenue-per-person-employed out of all activities on the island.

In other words, we can earn more from crabs than crops.

It will take constant vigilance and a determined public response to prevent initiatives like the one recently authorised by Alfred Gray from destroying our marine resources. The government’s deliberate lack of transparency seeks to avoid public scrutiny so that deals can be made behind closed doors.

• What do you think?

Send comments to lsmith@ tribunemedia.net. Or visit www.bahamapundit.com

A Memorial Service for Gillian (Gill) Jean Scates, 67 of Winton Heights, Nassau, and formerly of London, England, who died on October 7, 2016, after a short illness, will be held on Saturday November 12, 2016 at 4:30pm at St. Anne’s Anglican Church, Fox Hill Road.

Officiating will be Fr. Hugh Bartlett Gill was predeceased by her parents, Henry James and Elsie Patricia Taylor.

Gill is survived by her husband, Henry (Rusty) Scates; her son Adam Scates and his wife, Zena; her daughter Katie Scates-Conway and her husband Mike; her 2 granddaughters Leah and Ellie Scates; and her 2 grandsons Henry Scates and Harry Conway; her brother Martin Taylor and his wife Linda; her aunt Jean Szostak; her sisters-in-law Sue Farquharson, Di Scates and Debbie Lopez and her husband Manny; her nieces Carol Gates and Judith Murray; her nephew Ian Taylor; her grand nieces Nicole Gates, Erin Murray, Zoe Taylor and her grand nephew Jackson Murray; and many other family and friends.

As this is a celebration of Gill’s life, the family requests that bright colours are worn.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Gill Scates Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Please contact the family for more details.

THE THETRIBUNE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 2016,PAGE PAGEA9 9 Wednesday, November 9th9, 2016,

SAMSUNG IN A FURTHER SPIN OVER WASHING MACHINE RECALL IN ANOTHER blow to one of the world’s leading consumer brands, US authorities have announced a recall of nearly three million Samsung washing machines following several reports of injuries - including a broken jaw - due to “excessive vibration”.

The move comes a month after the South Korean manufacturer recalled millions of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from consumers around the world, because of a mysterious problem that caused the phones’ batteries to overheat and catch fire. Since then, the company stopped producing that device entirely, while estimating the debacle will cost it $5.3 billion.

Samsung said that its washing machine recall would also extend to models sold in Canada, although it said no injuries had been reported in

that country.

The company launched an earlier, unrelated recall of washing machines in Australia in 2013, after authorities said an electrical problem in certain models was causing fires. Australian authorities last year called that problem “a major safety failure” after receiving complaints that the company was offering repairs but not a refund or replacement, as required by Australian law.

The current recall comes after weeks of discussions between Samsung and US authorities about reports that the drums in certain toploading washing machine models can become unbalanced and cause severe vibration, in some cases causing the top of the machine to detach from the chassis. Samsung was hit with a lawsuit over the summer by

TECHTALK

attorneys representing consumers in Texas, Indiana and Georgia who claimed their washing machines “exploded” while being used.

In a statement , the US Consumer Product Safety Commission cited 733 reports of Samsung machines that experienced “excessive” vibration and nine related reports of injuries, including a broken jaw and an injured shoulder.

Samsung said the problem occurred when a high-speed spin cycle was used to wash bedding or other bulky items. In a statement, the company’s US subsidiary said it’s working with retailers and the commission to inform consumers about the problem.

In the current recall, the company is offering consumers a choice between a free repair and a rebate toward the purchase of a new washing machine. Consumers who purchased an affected model in the last 30 days are being offered a full refund. The recall affects 34 models of top-loading washing machines manufactured

between 2011 and this year. They were sold at Best Buy, The Home Depot, Lowes, Sears and other stores for prices between $450 and $1,500.

Meanwhile, a Samsung phone user in France says her Galaxy J5 smartphone caught fire and exploded on Sunday. The model is different from the Galaxy Note 7 that has been recalled worldwide.

Lamya Bouyirdane said that she noticed the phone was very hot after she asked her four-year-old son to pass it over during a family gathering at her home in Pau, south western France. She said she threw the phone away when she realised it had “swollen up” and emitting smoke.

The phone then caught fire and the back blew off. Her partner quickly extinguished it.

Samsung said in a statement that it cannot comment on the case yet because the company has not investigated it.

BRANDON BAILEY Associated Press

DUBAI BIDS FOR FIRST HYPERLOOP TRANSPORT SYSTEM

UBER HAILS NEW DIRECTION FOR TAXI APP UBER is taking its ride-hailing app down a new road in an effort to make it smarter, simpler and more fun to use.

The redesigned app also will seek to mine personal information stored on smartphones in a change that could raise privacy concerns, even though it will be up to individual users to let Uber peer into their calendars and address books.

The change represents the biggest overhaul in four years to Uber’s popular app, which is used by millions of people to summon cars in more than 450 cities around the world for rides that are usually cheaper than traditional taxis.

The new design and features, which began to roll out last week, are designed to save passengers time and money.

As part of the new look, Uber will spell out more clearly how long it will take and how much it will cost to reach a destination in different types of available cars. The app will also recommend the best places to be picked up in congested areas and study a rider’s travelling history, listing

frequently ordered destinations as “shortcuts”.

In another time-saving move that will test how much users trust the San Francisco company with their personal information, users will be able to give the app access to their calendars so addresses listed in an entry can automatically appear in the Uber app near the time of the appointment. Also starting in December, Uber will also seek access to users’ personal contacts so they can ask for a ride to where a friend currently is, even if the friend is not at home. If this feature is activated, Uber’s app will contact the friend to ask if he or she is willing to share the current location. If the friend doesn’t have the Uber app, the request will be sent through a text message to the mobile number listed in the address book.

Uber says it doesn’t expect privacy objections because users will have to agree to allow the app to scan their calendars and address books.

MICHAEL LIEDTKE Associated Press

DIRECTOR FOCUSES ON 120 FRAMES-PER-SECOND OSCAR-winning film director Ang Lee believes the new faster frames-per-second technology that makes for hyperrealistic action is worth trying again and will use it in his next project, the boxing movie “Thrilla in Manila”.

The Taiwanese-born American director shot “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” in 3D, 4K resolution, at 120 framesper-second, five times the traditional 24 frames per second.

The result is sometimes-jarring realism, with actors’ faces seen

in unfiltered intimacy and background scenery so detailed it seemed artificial.

Lee, however, wants viewers to watch the film - about an American soldier’s publicrelations tour after fighting in the Iraq war and which comes out in the US this week - with an open mind. “ I think it’s a lot to take in.

I don’t think we should make up our mind yet because it’s something that just begin,” he said, noting the newness of the technology. “I think it’s a legiti-

mately good format for artist expression.”

The faster format has other advocates. Peter Jackson tried at 48 frames-per-second with “The Hobbit” trilogy, and James Cameron has said he will use it in “Avatar” sequels.

“Thrilla in Manila” is a film scheduled for 2018 about the final fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in the Philippines capital in 1975.

ANGELA CHEN Associated Press

THE futuristic city-state of Dubai announced a deal yesterday with Los Angelesbased Hyperloop One to study the potential for building a line linking it to the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi.

Organisers suggest the travel time from Dubai to Abu Dhabi by hyperloop would be only 12 minutes, significantly shorter than the hour-plus journey it now takes by car between the two cities. Hyperloop co-founder Josh Giegel suggested the cost would be “somewhere between the cost of putting a road in and a high-speed rail”.

A hyperloop has levitating pods which carry passengers and cargo powered by electricity and magnetism that hurtle through low-friction pipes at a top speed of 760 mph.

In October, Dubai hosted a competition to design a hyperloop track, at which designers presented ideas for a possible track between Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, Dubai International Airport and Fujairah International Airport.

Under their plans, the hyperloop trip of 90 miles over a mountain range would be 10 minutes or less, compared to the current hour and 20 minutes by road. The deal announced yesterday would be far simpler.

There would be several stations throughout Dubai connecting the hyperloop system to Abu Dhabi. The pods would then be able to carry passengers and cargo between the cities. Yesterday, Hyperloop officials showed several circular station models for Dubai, including one at Emirates Towers on Dubai’s main artery, Sheikh Zayed Road.

However, no financial terms were immediately discussed and the technology itself remains under testing. Referencing longhaul carrier Emirates and Dubai’s driverless metro, the longest in the world, Hyperloop CEO Rob Lloyd said: “This has become a transportation hub and leader in the world.

In the Emirates, we believe everything is possible.”

Already, government-backed port operator DP World has signed an agreement with Hyperloop One to explore the feasibility of the using the technology at Dubai’s sprawling, man-made Jebel Ali Port.

For now though, Hyperloop One continues its tests in the Nevada desert. “We do aspire to build the world’s first hyperloop here in the United Arab Emirates,” Lloyd said.

“That is our aspiration. We have a lot of work to do.”

JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

• LG IS stepping up its Android game, beginning the rollout of Android 7.0 Nougat to the G5 smartphone yesterday.

The G5 is the first non-Google phone to receive the update. Meanwhile, the recent Google Pixel and LG’s V20 were shipped with Nougat.

LG said G5s in South Korea will get the update first, with the Americas and Asia getting Nougat “in the weeks to come”. Samsung, meanwhile, will begin a public beta test for Nougat on its Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge phones today.

Google’s new operating systems have until now launched with Nexus phones, like last year’s 6P, while other Android users have had to wait months until their phone manufacturer and/or network carrier pushes out an update.

Nougat brings new features like the Google Assistant, Instant Apps and better multi-window support.

• THE Obama administration is designating roughly 25,000 miles of US highways as “electric vehicle charging corridors” where drivers will never be more than 50 miles from the closest charging station.

The White House says the network of 48 corridors will run through 35 states. The federal government is developing signs to help drivers find charging stations, like the existing ones for gas, food and motels.

Creating the corridors requires more charging stations. The White House says General Electric, Nissan, Pacific Gas & Electric and others will help expand the number of stations.

• SAMSUNG says it will offer an artificial intelligence assistant service in its forthcoming flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone - due to launch in Spring, 2017 - as the South Korean firm seeks recovery from its global smartphone recalls.

The S8 will let users order food or perform other tasks without going through a third-party application but by simply asking the phone’s virtual assistant, Samsung said on Sunday. The artificial intelligence service will also be made available in Samsung’s other consumer electronics products, such as refrigerators.

• MICROSOFT is adding a new programme called “Teams” to its Office 365 suite of internet productivity software to match competing online services like Slack, which let workers chat and share information on the job.

“Teams” provides a central place online for workplace groups to chat, share files and perform other tasks. “Teams” can also incorporate artificially intelligent “bots” and other software programmes created by outside developers.

• GENERAL Motors has started making the Chevrolet Bolt hatchback, which can go more than 200 miles on battery power and costs less than the average new vehicle in the US. Analysts say the Bolt’s 238-mile range on a single charge, plus a net price of around $30,000, should make it an attractive alternative to cars with internal-combustion engines.

• CHINA’S plans for a permanent space station remain firmly on track with the successful launch of its new heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket that will enable ambitious future missions, including a planned trip to Mars. The towering rocket that blasted off last week from the Wenchang launch centre will be used to launch components for the Tiangong 2 space station and other massive payloads.

China launched the Tiangong 2 precursor facility in September and sent up two astronauts in midOctober to live aboard it for 30 days.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, November 9, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Environment groups raise objections to Andros plans TWO leading environmental groups have joined the chorus of those expressing reactions ranging from disbelief to outrage upon learning that the government has authorised negotiations with China for 10,000 acres of Crown land in Andros, farming and fishing rights, and 4,500 acres of Crown land for timber harvesting.

Waterkeepers Bahamas and Save The Bays said that “as partners in the struggle to call attention to climate change, and as champions of transparency, accountability, freedom of information and protection of the many natural resources with which The Bahamas is blessed, we hereby go on record opposing the granting of any such rights to foreign

governments to farm, fish and harvest the precious resources of The Bahamas”.

The groups said that it was not their intention to cast aspersion or blame on the current or previous governments as both had contributed to the country’s growing dependence on a foreign government.

“Nor do we wish to cast blame on the representatives

of the People’s Republic of China,” the groups’ statement said. “It is clear that with one fifth of the world’s population, the most populous nation on the face of the earth must find ways to feed itself in the future. We simply wish to reiterate that The Bahamas, which already faces a precarious future with some predicting that as much as 80 per cent of our land mass will

be underwater due to rising seas in our grandchildren’s lifetime, this tiny island nation may not serve as a temporary foodbasket for a giant, risking the depletion of conch, crawfish and fish or losing Crown land with tens of thousands of Bahamians awaiting grants. Our arable land is already shrinking and we can ill afford to donate more.”

The groups said they stood “firm and united” with others in the environmental and freedom of information movement.

“Please do not give away what makes the Bahamas one of the most desirable places to live, work and play on earth. Please, listen to the voices of the people who love The Bahamas and want the best for its future.”

PUTTING FALLEN TREES TO A GOOD USE

TREES that were rooted up and damaged by Hurricane Matthew have been gathered to turn into mulch. The government has put into effect a chopping machine at the city dump that turns the trees into mulch. The public is welcome to gather a few bags to help beautify their yards.

Photos: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff

READERS REACT TO DECISION ON VOTERS CARDS FOR ELECTION AFTER the news that Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall had accepted legal advice to allow Bahamians to use their voter’s cards from a previous election to register to vote for next year’s general election – without requiring a passport or birth certificate – readers gave their views on tribune242.com.

Realfreethinker said: “What a train wreck this country is headed for. Is there any part of this government functional?”

There was this from Sheeprunner12: “Call in the United Nations election monitoring experts . . . it’s our time!”

BahamaPundit had a worrying prediction: “What will happen is after the elec-

tion the losing party will challenge this and the election results will be thrown out. Absolute chaos and anarchy could ensue.”

Licks2 had this to say: “I don’t get their reasoning for real! This was the reason many persons did not get registered so far . . . we were told to bring our passports . . . and they only wanted the e-passport at that. The e-passports were costing $150 a pop making it difficult for many persons to get one. They now realise that

only the persons with disposable funds were ready to get registered leaving the mostly grass-root persons – the base of the PLP – who could not readily afford the $150 for the new passports, lagging behind in getting registered! They do have a data bank with persons who have been registered for decades. A simple comparative with presented voter’s card and data banks will show who are legally registered!

“Those who are register-

ing for the first time are the only ones who absolutely need to present a passport for proof of eligibility! Now yinna watch how many persons will bum rush they office . . . grass roots need don’t have to pay $150 to register to vote!”

Thephoenix562 said: “I registered two months ago using my old voters card and new national insurance card, I had no problem. My passport has been expired for three years.”

Publius didn’t think the

system had changed: “I’m so tired of the stupidity in this country. This was always the procedure. It is only a problem if the PC has reason to believe the voters card from the previous election register is not authentic or cannot be otherwise verified according to law. At that point, he demands proof of citizenship.

Otherwise you can register with your old voters card and another form of positive ID. Obviously if you are a first-time voter you must provide proof of citizenship as you would not have ever been registered before and hence would not have been on the old register of voters.

“Otherwise, when will the delusion ever end in this country? Is the AG really trying to make people think that the voter registration is down some 80,000 voters from the same period last election because people didn’t have e-passports along with their 2012 voters card? The Bahamian people are simply not interested in any of the options available to them. All political parties need to stop lying to themselves and to the public about why voter registration is so historically low this time around.”

• Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 9, 2016, PAGE 11

Hurricane vouchers to CABLE BAHAMAS SPONSORS BALL be issued this week VOUCHERS to assist victims of Hurricane Matthew in securing building materials to repair their stormdamaged homes will be issued by the end of this week, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Director Captain Stephen Russell said yesterday.

Capt Russell told The Tribune that NEMA would start issuing the vouchers this week “to persons whose homes would have been assessed and they only require material assistance.”

He said NEMA has identified “some local stores” in New Providence willing to participate in the home repair programme, aside from three establishments on Andros that have expressed an interest in the initiative.

Capt Russell also said NEMA will commence its home “repair and reconstruction” phase, which will see the agency assist hurricane victims in providing building materials as well as labour, towards the end of this month.

Last week, Minister of Labour and National Insurance Shane Gibson, the government’s Hurricane Matthew czar, said following conversations with the Ministry of Finance, it was determined that vouchers would be utilised for the Hurricane Matthew repair programme on New Providence, Grand Bahama, and North Andros.

At the time, Mr Gibson said the vouchers would be colour coordinated by island in denominations of $100, $300 and $1,000 and redeemable at approved establishments that have agreed to participate in the programme. Mr Gibson also said at the time that three establishments on North Andros and two in Central Andros had expressed an interest in redeeming vouchers for the repair programme.

“We’re now getting ready

AT yesterday’s NEMA meeting were, from left, Captain Stephen Russell, director of NEMA; Shane Gibson, Minister responsible for Recovery and Restoration; Prime Minister Perry Christie; Anthony Robinson, president & CEO FOCOL Group; Dexter Adderley, managing director, Sun Oil Ltd; Clinton Rolle, deputy general manager, Sun Oil Ltd; Darren Francis, finance manager, Sun Oil Ltd. to go into relief assistance to aid in restoration efforts. tainly welcomed. And so in terms of materials probaAs such, Capt Russell what FOCOL is doing is a bly by the end of this week,” said the donation is proof fantastic effort on behalf Capt Russell said. “And if that FOCOL and Sun Oil of a successful company, I not (yesterday) then (to- Ltd are both “tremendous should say.” day), definitely by the end corporate partners.”

Last week, Mr Gibson of this week we’re going to “…What they’re doing said the government had issue vouchers to persons here, is showing something received applications - colwhose homes would have in a tangible way for per- lectively adding up to $1.4 been assessed and they only sons who would have been million in relief requests require material assistance. impacted,” he said. “That submitted by persons seek“So we’ve established speaks volumes about that ing to utilise the exigency some local stores here in organisation. We need quite order declared in the wake New Providence who will a bit of funds, there’s quite of Hurricane Matthew. take part in our coupon a bit of work to be done.

Mr Gibson said at the and voucher programmes We getting some figures time that NEMA had prowhere we’re going to issue from Grand Bahama, al- cessed some 77 applications, vouchers or coupons to per- most 1,000 homes or more with a total dollar value of sons where they can go to received major damage, $1,338,452.92. The applivarious hardware stores to probably another 700 that cations were over $10,000 secure materials to carry received minor damage, we each, Mr Gibson said. out their repairs. And then almost have to rebuild alOf that number, Mr Gibwe go on to another phase, most 100 homes in Grand son said $1,226,152.61 were repair and reconstruction Bahama. Those are some of applications for household where persons who need the preliminary figures that furniture and building materials and labour assis- are coming in now. supplies; $74,856 were aptance. That’s another phase “Similarly in Andros we plications for vessels and we’re going to go into well probably need to rebuild machinery equipment, and into the end of this month.” over 50 homes, I’m quite $37,444.31 were applicaCapt Russell made his sure probably another 100 tions on behalf of “charitastatements on the heels of homes need major, ma- ble organisations.” a $50,000 donation by Sun jor repairs. That’s going The 180-day exigency orOil Limited, a subsidiary to be a costly venture. So der, declared effective from of Freeport Oil Compa- whatever funds we can get October 7, allows residents ny Limited (FOCOL), to from corporate Bahamas, affected by the storm to imNEMA to assist with hurri- private citizens, friends of port certain items into the cane relief efforts in Grand the Bahamas, to assist us country duty and tax-free.

Bahama. Yesterday’s do- in our efforts of generat- It only covers New Provination came just weeks ing funds to assist with our dence, Grand Bahama, the after FOCOL donated a repairs and reconstruction Berry Islands and North $100,000 to the government programme are most cer- and Central Andros.

CABLE Bahamas has announced that it has once again partnered with The Bahamas AIDS Foundation for its 23rd annual Red Ribbon Ball on Saturday, November 12.

The charity event will be held at the Atlantis resort’s Grand Ballroom under the theme, “Beyond the Mask” and is expected to raise thousands of dollars towards AIDS/HIV awareness, research and treatment.

Over the last 16 years, the company has shown its support for this cause through its generous donations to The Bahamas AIDS Foundation and its strong attendance at the annual ball.

“We know The Bahamas AIDS Foundation works so hard to bring education and awareness to assist in the prevention, treatment and care of those persons living with HIV/AIDS in The Bahamas,” REV Marketing Manager Melissa Baker said. “We applaud their efforts and pledge to continue our partnership in the fight against HIV/AIDS in The Bahamas and worldwide.”

The ball seeks to make advances towards eradicating the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and the discrimination that affects those infected with the disease in Bahamian society.

Bahamas AIDS Foundation President Lady Camille Barnett expressed hopes that the community would become more empathetic and realise that people living with HIV/AIDS are just everyday citizens.

“We have people in our community who are HIV positive and don’t want others to know,” Lady Barnett said. “So they’re keeping this secret. They have this mask up, but we want people to look beyond the mask and see that they are human beings. They are brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles who need our compassion.”

In addition to advancing

The Bahamas AIDS Foundation’s mission of achieving zero discrimination for HIV/AIDS patients, the annual ball will assist the organisation with providing widespread education and awareness as well as support for people living with HIV/AIDS. As all proceeds from the Red Ribbon Ball go towards The Bahamas AIDS Foundation, the event serves as a major fundraiser and is critical to the continuation of the organisation’s education and awareness workshops and research efforts.

Along with its many fundraisers and community initiatives, the organisation also provides thirdline treatment to several patients – at an expense of $24,000 per year – as well as an after-school programme complete with tutors and a career development coordinator for youth infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. “All of these things require funding and that’s why the ball is such a key part of what we do,” Lady Barnett said, adding that hosting the annual ball would be difficult to accomplish without the help of corporate sponsors.

“Cable Bahamas always makes a donation towards the ball, which is great,” she noted. “We try to give people a top-of-the-line experience and that requires spending a significant amount of money. So, knowing you have some corporate sponsors who are supporting you makes all the difference. We wish that we had lots more corporate sponsors like Cable Bahamas. We’re quite pleased to have them as a partner.”

The 23rd Annual Red Ribbon Ball, a masquerade event, will include a champagne reception, prizes, a silent auction and live entertainment from Fred Ferguson and the Tingum Dem Band.

Tickets for the Red Ribbon Ball are $250.

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PAGE 12, Wednesday, November 9, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

MARKETS TAKE A BEATING AS TRUMP MOVES TO VICTORY HONG KONG Associated Press

SUPPORTERS of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cheer as they watch election returns last night in New York.

TRUMP ON THE BRINK OF VICTORY NEW YORK Associated Press

DONALD Trump scored victories in the nation’s premier battleground states — and threatened even more in the industrial Midwest — as his White House prospects improved early Wednesday with a handful of battleground states still too close to call.

The New York billionaire’s working-class appeal appeared to resonate across America far more than preelection polls suggested.

Friends and foes alike acknowledged the very real possibility of a Trump victory.

“STOP saying ALL pollsters missed it,” Trump campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, also a pollster, tweeted late Tuesday.

The show of confidence came after the Republican nominee won Ohio, Florida and North Carolina. Trump also seemed to be exceeding expectations in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — all states that make up part of the Democratic Party’s “blue firewall.” Those three states, in addition to New Hampshire, remained too close to call.

Trump’s strong showing triggered an explosion of excitement inside the Manhattan hotel where he was expected to appear once a winner was announced. His supporters chanted “USA!” as the New York billionaire gathered privately with his family inside Trump Tower.

Ohio Pastor Darrell Scott, who leads Trump’s National Diversity Coalition, said presidential hopeful was loose and relaxed.

“Everyone was nervous but Trump,” Scott said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan called Trump Tuesday night to congratulate him on his “big night,” according to Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. She said they had a “good con-

versation.”

Earlier in the day, Trump refused to say whether he would accept the election results, injecting new drama into the final day of a turbulent election season. He also continued to raise doubts about the integrity of the election system, warning of possible voter fraud as his campaign sought an investigation into early voting hours in battleground Nevada.

Those warnings were largely forgotten as the political world envisioned a possible Trump victory.

“If Trump wins, he does deserve the benefit of the doubt because he was right on his chances and so many of us were wrong,” tweeted conservative leader Erick Erickson, who had aggressively fought Trump’s candidacy.

Trump’s near-daily warnings of a “rigged election” had become central argument from an outsider candidate who has repeatedly challenged the norms of presidential politics.

His outsider status ultimately helped him more than it hurt.

Trump’s political inexperience allowed him to cast himself as a change agent just as frustrated voters in both parties were hungry for change. The message was particularly effective against Democrat Hillary Clinton, a fixture in public service over the last three decades.

Yet his inexperience also fueled a series of self-created controversies, whether a days-long public feud with the parents of a slain soldier or late-night tweet storm citing a beauty queen’s “sex tape.” He insulted opponents from both parties in unusually personal terms, lowering the bar for political discourse in a way never seen before on the national stage.

Ever the showman, his strategy relied almost ex-

REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Donald Trump looks at his wife Melania as they cast their votes in New York yesterday morning. clusively on massive rallies to connect with voters, ignoring the less-glamorous grunt work that typically fuels successful campaigns.

Pre-election polls suggested he was the least popular presidential nominee in the modern era. Yet the incomplete election results suggested that his approach worked, both in traditional battlegrounds and areas where Republicans hadn’t won in decades.

Still, it’s unclear whether Trump’s strength was borne from support for him or opposition to Clinton.

Debra Sindler, a 60-yearold real estate agent from Savannah, Georgia, said she wrestled with whether to support the New York billionaire even as she walked to the polls.

“It was really hard to vote for Donald Trump,” she said.

DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gives a thumbs up to supporters outside Douglas G Grafflin School in Chappaqua, New York, after voting.

THE STORIES OF THE NIGHT IN THE US ELECTION THE nation’s fractures were reflected in surveys of voters as they left polling stations. Women nationwide supported Clinton by a double-digit margin, while men were significantly more likely to back Trump.

More than half of white voters backed the Republican, while nearly 9 in 10 blacks and two-thirds of Hispanics voted for the Democrat.

And people were markedly unhappy with the choice in front of them, the exit polls found. More than half of voters for each candidate cast their ballots with reservations about the one they voted for or because they disliked the alternative. Only 4 in 10 voters strongly favored their candidate.

In contrast, about twothirds of voters in 2012

strongly favored the candidate they chose.

•••

The night’s second big mystery was which party will control the Senate, now Republican-dominated.

Democrats needed to gain five seats to take an outright majority. If they gained only four — and if Clinton were elected — her vice president would be able to break 50-50 Senate ties.

Democrats blew two of their chances, as Republican Rep Todd Young thwarted a comeback by Evan Bayh, a former Democratic senator and governor, in Indiana; and as Sen Marco Rubio of Florida held his Florida seat against a challenge from Democratic Rep Patrick Murphy.

But Democrat Tammy Duckworth toppled Sen. Mark Kirk in Illinois, and with undecided races elsewhere, Senate Republicans were not home free.

••• To no one’s surprise, Republicans kept control of the House, if with thinned ranks. They came into the election populating that chamber in numbers not seen since the 1930s.

The breakdown going into Tuesday: 247-188 for the GOP, with three vacancies. They won at least 218 House seats Tuesday night.

••• Trump pronounced in advance that the election is rigged, in what sounded like

a hedge should he lose. He warned without evidence that Clinton partisans would commit fraud and prodded his supporters to watch for misdeeds at polling stations. The prospect of vigilante election monitoring and the anger seething behind that impulse raised concerns about confrontations Tuesday, especially if the result was close.

But there were no early reports of large-scale fraud, intimidation or hacking — just long lines, an assortment of voting-machine glitches and some frayed nerves.

••• California, the first state to approve medical marijuana two decades ago, gave a big boost to the campaign

to end the drug’s national prohibition when voters passed a ballot measure to legalize the recreational use of pot. Voters in Massachusetts did the same. Arizona, Maine and Nevada also weighed whether to take that step.

Florida, one of three states deciding whether to permit marijuana for medical purposes, approved the idea. Montana voted on whether to ease restrictions on an existing medical marijuana law.

Arizona, Colorado and Maine were deciding whether to raise the minimum wage to $12 by 2020; Washington state is considering $13.50. The federal minimum is $7.25. Voters in several states may tighten controls on guns and ammunition.

THE rising prospect of a Trump presidency shook financial markets around the world Wednesday, sending Dow futures and Asian stock prices sharply lower as investors panicked over uncertainties on trade, immigration and geopolitical tensions.

Dow futures plunged more than 4 percent and Japan’s major index nosedived 6.1 percent, its largest drop in years. The Mexican peso likewise tumbled and investors looking for safe assets bid up the price of gold.

“Rightly or wrongly, markets are going to be concerned about a Trump victory, particularly given the potential consequences for world trade and its impact on many large companies in the U.S. stock market,” said Ric Spooner, chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.

During the campaign, Trump has threatened to greatly restrict immigration to the US, renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, reject a Pacific Rim trade initiative known as the “TPP.” He also has vowed to build a wall along the United States’ southern border and force Mexico to pay for it.

Economists have said a Trump win could put the Mexican economy into contraction, and as results emerged Wednesday, the Mexican peso swooned 11.5 percent to 20.73 pesos to the dollar.

Shares had been higher early in Asia’s Wednesday trading session but then turned sharply when Trump first gained the lead in the electoral vote count.

As of 11:30 EST (0430 GMT), Trump had taken 244 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton’s 209. It takes a minimum 270 votes to win.

Pricing in a possible Trump victory, Dow futures were down 4.3 percent or 791 points at 17,496.00 and S&P futures had dropped 5.0 percent to 2,028.60.

Shares tumbled across Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plunged 6 percent to 16,153.40 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slumped 3.6 percent to 22,086.73. South Korea’s Kospi shed 3.4 percent to 1,935.98, the Shanghai Composite index fell 1.3 percent to 3,106.23 and Australia’s S&P ASX/200 in sank 1.9 percent to 5,156.60.

“Rightly or wrongly, markets are going to be concerned about a Trump victory, particularly given the potential consequences for world trade and its impact on many large companies in the U.S. stock market,” said Ric Spooner, chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.

“Like Brexit, the rally over the last two days increases the downside potential if Donald Trump does win the election,” he added, referring to Britain’s unexpected vote to leave the European Union that shook world markets.

The price of gold, seen as a safe place for investors’ money in times of uncertainty, soared 4.7 percent to $1,334.30 an ounce.

The election uncertainty also jolted currency markets, sending investors fleeing from the dollar.

The greenback plunged 3.5 percent to 101.26 yen from 105.46 earlier in the day.

The euro rose to $1.1293 from $1.1020.

Trump has threatened to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and vows to build a wall along the United States’ southern border and force Mexico to pay for it.

Financial analyst Gabriela Siller of Banco BASE issued a forecast earlier Tuesday that a victory by Donald Trump could cause the rate to fall to 24 to the dollar next year and lead to a 3 percent economic contraction in Mexico.

Energy markets were also roiled. Benchmark U.S. crude futures lost $1.65, or 3.7 percent, to $43.33 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.