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The Tribune The Established 1903
T H E P E O P L E ’ S PA P E R
Being Bound To Swear To The Dogmas Of No Master
JANUARY 11, 2017
Biggest And Best!
A tale of two marches
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THE SCENE on Bay Street at yesterday’s We March Bahamas protest march. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
‘Enough is enough’ says leader of We March protest By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net POINTING to the hundreds of protestors that flooded Bay Street chanting “enough is enough”, We March Bahamas lead organiser Ranard Henfield yesterday forecast that the movement was poised to “take over the government” at the election polls later this year. Mr Henfield praised the event’s turnout, which he claimed was three times the size of the group’s Black Friday march in November, as a sign that “the people have found their voice”. He pledged that the group was working on compiling information gathered through focus groups into “the people’s manifesto”, an election campaign tool that supporters can use to educate candidates vying for their vote. We March intends to
SIX PAGES OF COVERAGE INSIDE WITH PHOTOGRAPHS
SEE PGS 2-3,7-10
print and distribute 150,000 copies of the brochure at its next march, according to Mr Henfield, who said that organisers will not announce its date until they apply for Cabinet approval next week. “I think it’s three times the numbers we had on Black Friday,” he said. “I was expecting the numbers to triple and we saw that today. It shows you that the movement is growing, more people are prepared to stand up, more people are prepared to offer solutions and not cower to an administration that is trying to shut us down or muzzle us. SEE PAGE THREE
THE CROWD marching yesterday to mark the 50th anniversary of Majority Rule.
Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff
PM: MAJORITY RULE WAS FOR ALL BAHAMIANS By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net MORE than 1,000 people marched in solidarity with the governing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) yesterday morning, com-
memorating the 50th anniversary of a day Prime Minister Perry Christie described as “one of the most significant in the history of The Bahamas”. Dressed in colours representing the national flag, the participants marched for
nearly three hours, singing gospel songs and the National Anthem, from Windsor Park to Bay Street and finally to the Southern Recreation Grounds for a ceremony. Despite fears that the governing party’s march and the We March pro-
test would meet along the planned route, the Majority Rule Day march went on uninterrupted. Police did not give an estimate of the crowd size when asked by The Tribune. SEE PAGE SEVEN
‘BLACK PEOPLE BREED TOO MUCH’ SAYS ANGLICAN ARCHDEACON By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net ANGLICAN Archdeacon James Palacious yesterday said “black people breed too much”, adding that Bahamian women “should stop having babies” they cannot afford. Addressing a crowd of supporters at the end of a march to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Majority
Rule on the Southern Recreation Grounds, Archdeacon Palacious said unless “we find a way to control our reproductive processes” The Bahamas will be stuck recycling poverty. The archdeacon said while Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn’s proposal for state-sponsored sterilisation of women was “most unfortunate,” he agrees with the principle of what Mr Lightbourn was trying
to say. While speaking at the Free National Movement’s (FNM) televised convention last July, Mr Lightbourn proposed that the country adopt legislation that mandates unwed mothers with more than two children have their “tubes tied” in an effort to curtail the country’s social ills. His comments drew the ire of many people, with some parliamentarians, local advocacy groups, and others swiftly condemning him for his statements. He has since apologised for his comments. “We live in a society where the rich gets richer and the poor get children,”
ARCHDEACON James Palacious addresses supporters at the Majority Rule gospel concert, saying “We live in a society where the rich gets richer and the poor get children”. Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff Archdeacon Palacious said on Tuesday. “What I mean is this, unless we can control our re-
productive process we will always be recycling poverty. My member of Parliament Richard Lightbourn
made some most unfortunate remarks at the FNM convention, which he later apologised for, and that is important. Having said that let me say this too: the principal of what he was trying to say I agree totally. “Black people breed too much. We have too many children we cannot afford and as a result of that we digging ourselves more and more into poverty. If we can’t see that then something is radically wrong with us. “You have children on the lunch programme right now mothers, and you going having some more, come SEE PAGE SEVEN
22-YEAR-OLD MAN GUNNED DOWN YARDS FROM A CHURCH BY SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net
POLICE are investigating two more homicides, a shooting death of a 22-yearold man that occurred near a church late on Monday
night and the circumstances surrounding the death of a man who died in hospital on Tuesday after being shot along with three others on New Year’s Eve. Monday’s killing took place in the Blue Hill Heights area and brought
the country’s murder count to five for the year, according to The Tribune’s records. Last night, police also said that a man who was shot in the area of Sandilands Village Road late on December 31, died in hos-
pital on Tuesday. His death would push the 2016 homicide count to 114, according to The Tribune’s records. Another man who was also shot at the time died on the scene. SEE PAGE SIX
PAGE 2, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
THE WE March Bahamas protest yesterday.
THE TRIBUNE
Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
SOME of those taking part in the We March Bahamas protest yesterday.
RONNIE Butler at the We March Bahamas protest.
BOSTWICK AND SAWYER URGE BAHAMIANS TO STAND AGAINST INJUSTICE By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
AGAINST the backdrop of state-sponsored 50th anniversary Majority Rule celebrations, two historic Bahamian women yesterday urged Bahamians to stand with the We March movement against injustices that have persisted in the country since the hardfought milestone. Leading ladies Janet Bostwick, the first woman to be elected to the House of Assembly, and Dame Joan Sawyer, the first woman to serve as chief justice and president of the Court of Appeal, took to the stage at Pompey Square to provide their personal testimony on the importance of the We March Bahamas movement. “Fifty years ago,” Mrs Bostwick told reporters, “I was in the square in the night after the results had come in. I celebrated, we celebrated because we felt that the shackles have been removed. “We were no longer being ruled by a minority government. At that time it was just 18-18 but we felt that we were going to win and that the PLP would become the government. “We were fighting against inequality. We fought for justice, fair play, equal opportunity, 50 years later these are the things for which we still aspire.” Mrs Bostwick, former attorney general and minister of foreign affairs, is the mother of one of the We March organisers, John Bostwick II. She told reporters that she has felt “extremely burdened” by the reality that the country she will leave for her descendants is not one she would have envisioned fifty years ago. As she called for unity and solidarity to achieve a common goal, Mrs Bostwick pointed out that without these elements, she would not have been able to shatter a political glass ceiling in 1982. “Too many of the things for which we fought are still not attainable,” she continued, “and it is imperative that we fight but it is also imperative that we
fight together. “It is significant that when I won in 1982, I ran in a constituency which was specifically cut for the PLP victory. I could not possibly have won unless I got PLP support and it was because of persons who united to support me, irrespective of the party, that I became the first woman elected to Parliament. “It is that same unity which is needed now to fight the ills which face us. Crime is still rampant unfortunately, equality is not there, there is not sufficient opportunity available.” Mrs Bostwick said she was pleased to see that We March cut across discriminatory boundaries like economic class, colour, and age to form a “together movement”. “I march against a D average,” Mrs Bostwick continued, “we cannot accept that in education. I march against the misuse of our hard earned taxes. I march against the unaccountability, all of it, that is why I march. Fifty years ago and today it’s the same.” Delivering a fiery rebuke of several government initiatives like value added tax and Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival, Dame Joan urged Bahamians to be more critical as citizens and consumers. Siding with protestors decrying that the government’s investment in the carnival event was egregious, Dame Joan also criticised the morality of a festival where women make themselves “exhibits”. “You call that upward movement?” she asked. “No way, no time, must we as a people forget what our foreparents struggled for. You do not climb to the top on your back, women. “If you do that you become a doormat, you have no right to demand respect. Respect is earned, not given. Stand up for your rights, but stand as ladies, women of integrity, women of courage, women who are willing to work hard for what they get, women who are willing to sacrifice to ensure their children have a better today.” She also criticised the Cabinet Office’s denial of
We March’s request to occupy Rawson Square as they did on Black Friday last year. “So I wrote the Cabinet,” Dame Joan said, “I’m still of that view, you are breaching the Constitution, you cannot abuse your power to play favourites with a political party. The land belongs to all of us. You don’t have any right to discriminate against any of us. If I vote PLP, FNM, DNA, Independent, whatever I do that’s my right.” Stressing that her conviction was nonpartisan, she implored “all right-thinking Bahamians” to stand up for their rights. She noted that she marched not for herself but for her grandson, and the hundreds of young people that she has taken under her wing. “We need to be aware of our responsibility as citizens,” Dame Joan said, “not only to pay our taxes but to be sure that our taxes are not being wasted.” Referring to the 50th anniversary of Majority Rule, she said: “I cannot be jubilant when people in my country cannot eat.” “I know what most of my people suffer. I walked East Street barefoot when I was 12. I know what it is to live Over-the-Hill and have the draft fall on you in those wooden houses. I know what it is to go to the pump at 5am. “There is nothing wrong with hard work people,” she continued, “hard work makes your body strong, makes your mind clear… we don’t have time to waste. Time is not your friend, you have less than four months before there must be an election.” Referring to reports that women have been turned away from voter registration centres due to their attire, Dame Joan said: “I ask all right-thinking Bahamians to stand up for your rights. If you go to the parliamentary commissioner’s office or wherever to register to vote and he tells you about your exposure, tell him listen, you supposed to be looking at my face. You cannot deny my right or make up the rules as you go along. Who are you? We paying you.”
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, January 11, 2017, PAGE 3
‘Enough is enough’ says leader of We March protest from page one “The people have found their voice, and they want to be heard and we want to register, we want to vote, and we’re going to take over the government.” Notwithstanding setbacks that included a date change, and Cabinet’s denial of their request to occupy Rawson Square, the group’s second protest on the historic Majority Rule holiday attracted moe than 1,000 supporters, who marched with passion from the Western Esplanade to Pompey Square calling for immediate relief to a myriad of social and economic issues, and decrying a lack of transparency and accountability in governance. The march got underway shortly after 10am and an estimate was provided by a police officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because officers are now discouraged from giving such estimations. Chaos While organisers stressed that the event would be staged with decency and order, the march momentarily descended into chaos shortly before noon as calls grew for protestors to push on to Rawson Square rather than file into Pompey Square. Several persons moved through the crowds encouraging marchers to be defiant in response to the government’s denial of their request to occupy Rawson Square as they had done at the Black Friday march, pointing out that the space was not being used at the time. Pastor C B Moss said: “Their permit is for Pompey Square but the size of the square is such that Pompey Square is inadequate, and as Rawson Square is free and available then the people should (go). I suggest that the people go to Rawson Square where they can be properly accommodated. “I take the position that in April 1965, that they call Black Tuesday, I was on Bay Street just like this. The police at that time told us we couldn’t be there, to move, but we didn’t move, and that’s why we’re here today. We shouldn’t move, no, we should go to Rawson Square.” Incensed by this sentiment, some 300 protestors ignored the calls of organisers to abide by the permit, and marched past onlooking police officers repeatedly shouting “Rawson
RANARD Henfield speaking at the We March Bahamas protest march yesterday. Square”, “the power of the people is greater than the people in power” and “oh they scared, they scared”. Among protestors in that breakaway group was Free National Movement Leader Hubert Minnis, and several of his party’s candidates. “They march for a future and they want to be heard,” Dr Minnis said. “This is the people’s time the people will be heard. What the people are showing and telling the government is they are tired of things being thrown down their throat. They are tired of secrecy they want complete transparency and they want to know what’s going on in their country.” The break away group assembled at Rawson Square for about 15 minutes as protestors struggled to determine whether organisers were following them or remained at Pompey Square. However, the crowd dissipated once organisers took the stage in Pompey Square. “When we arrived at Pompey Square, someone suggested that we continue on to Rawson,” Mr Henfield explained. “I said no we have to do things in decency and order, so I went to the (police) inspector and I said we have permission to come to Pompey Square could we walk down to Rawson and make the block and come back, but he said no we can’t.
“So I told them no we can’t,” he said, “we can’t expect an administration to be accountable, to follow the law, if we’re not going to follow the law. John (Bostwick II) and I agreed, we can’t be breaking the law, you can’t be asking for the government to be law-abiding and accountable, because the crowd is angry.” Future Once at Pompey Square, protestors settled in for a series of speeches from civil society, community activists to concerned citizens, and beloved music icon Ronnie Butler. The platform also featured leading activist groups like ReEarth, the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association, and Citizens for a Better Bahamas. “This is serious business,” Mr Butler told the crowd. “Ain’t nothing jokey about this, I went down Burma Road 50 years ago, I’m going back again. I going back for all my Bahamian people. “I am here really and truly on this day, the holiday, whatever day it is don’t mean much to me right now, when I know there are so many people in this country suffering. It don’t mean much to me right now when those who have [a lot] of money and they wouldn’t give a dime to help all these poor people.
BISHOP Walter Hanchell at the We March Bahamas protest.
HELP WANTED Seeking a technical person to work as a
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PROTESTORS on the march yesterday on Bay Street.
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“They are all for themselves,” Mr Butler said, “but I’m not going to take much of your time. Let me just say this, monkey was working in a machine shop and he skipping and skipping around in this machine shop, and he’s happy because he has everything in the world he want. “One day he stuck his tail in the machine and look around and say ain’t long now. So I say to you, how long?” Mr Butler asked the crowd. The crowd replied: “Ain’t long now.” Striking a more sombre tone, mother Sonia Kemp made an impassioned call for community action to combat crime. Ms Kemp spoke of the immense grief suffered by herself and her family after her 19-year-old son Shaquille, a promising Bahamas Academy student with three scholarships lined up, was killed by a stray bullet in 2014. “I marched for a better future for my two small children,” said a 34-yearold protestor. A 40-year-old protestor said: “I’m marching for my children too, but not just my children, my children’s children. I’m marching for the country to change, nothing is fair in this country. I want equality in this country and I want things to be fair. I don’t want the government to think they can run this country any way they want
Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff to do it, without consequences. “And I need some people to be arrested,” the protestor continued, “this is the only place in the world where you don’t get arrested for white collar crime. The crimes that we have in this country, people need to get arrested, and until that happens I will continue to march.” The group’s manifesto will address five pillars: social, political, economic, and labour reform and better management of natural resources and the environment, according to Mr Henfield, adding that it would also feature Family Island and youth perspectives. “The end game isn’t to march,” Mr Henfield told protestors, “the end game is to put forth the people’s manifesto and by that you are able to say to any candidate this is what is in the best interest of the people, the best interest of the ma-
jority, not in the best interest of whoever owns Baha Mar. “I’ve had persons say We March is anti-PLP I can assure you today that plenty people that are a part of We March are PLP, FNM, DNA, Baptist, Catholic, Anglican, rich, black, white, poor. You know what we have in common, we are Bahamians. “Every administration wants power,” he continued, “me and you don’t care about power, we want to do more than survive we want to do more than pay our bills and cry. “We want to have savings, we want to have something to leave for our children, we want to enjoy life.” He continued: “We have to stand, we have to advocate, we have to keep pushing, but you have to register. It makes no sense if you march if you don’t get informed, you have to be informed.”
PAGE 4, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
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Murders continue, but the PLP has a plan NATIONAL Security Minister Bernard Nottage must have been carried away with the wild beat of the junkanoo drums during New Year Day’s Junkanoo Parade when he told our reporter that Bahamians would agree that the PLP government has the best policies to fight crime and improve people’s lives. The statement was as foolish as the promise made by Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis of 10,000 jobs within the first year should the PLP win the 2012 election. Instead of providing jobs, Baha Mar collapsed and with it 2,000 Bahamian jobs were made redundant. However, government continues to live in the hope that it can still win the confidence of the Bahamian electorate if, in the next few months, the Baha Mar resort will open and employment will start to flow. According to the Prime Minister Standard & Poor (S&P) misread the tea leaves when it kicked the Bahamas into the junk pile with a raw bone to chew on. Although Bahamians are upset by the downward spiral of its economy, Mr Christie says his administration “sits comfortable” with S&P’s announcement as it is a “simple misunderstanding with timing.” He contends that S&P sees positive economic growth on the horizon for The Bahamas, but not until 2018. Obviously, Mr Christie is putting our future in one basket — Baha Mar. Standard & Poor apparently does not have the same faith. While in Opposition, the PLP made crime a major issue. It promised the Bahamian people that if elected in 2012 it had the solution to crime. During its 2012 election campaign it erected billboards in strategic locations declaring that under the FNM there had been 490 murders during its five year administration. The PLP promised to reduce crime if elected. The Christie government won the 2012 election - mainly on Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ promise of 10,000 jobs in the first year, and the party’s assurance that it had the solution to the crime problem. However, the PLP government has had four plus years to prove its point on crime, but what are the results? From May 7, 2012 to December 2016 under the PLP there were 572 murders. Instead of going down murder was higher than for the same period under the FNM — the period on which it had focused its attention during its 2012 election campaign. Dr Nottage must believe that the attention span of Bahamians is not only very short, but their intelligence below
Securities Commission EDITOR, The Tribune. Re: A Bahamian broker/dealer has admitted to using almost $4 million in client monies, without permission, to fund its own operating costs and business development initiatives, with regulators now moving to finally shut it down. Tribune Business January 3rd. KUDOS to the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) for fearlessly doing its job. Forgive me if I am unable to see the difference between this regulated Bahamian broker/dealer and our regulated Bahamian National Insurance Board (NIB). The broker/dealer says it felt at liberty to spend its client’s money as it saw fit, and I have no doubt at all that the NIB executives feel that they too are at liberty to spend their client’s ( Bahamian Pensioners ) money as they see fit. I think that most NIB contributor’s will eagerly look forward now to (SCB) next move in shutting down NIB until it can be run professionally, as a TRUST ADMINISTRATOR of the Pension Funds that have been entrusted to it. It certainly “is in the public interest to do so”, if only to preserve what little is left of its assets. As a Scottish friend of mine is wont to say, “They inherited a small fortune and have made it smaller”. MONKEEDOO Nassau, January 6, 2017.
Baha Mar and VAT exemption
average. Now facing another election he comes with the same old assurance that Bahamians still believe the PLP has the best policies to fight crime and improve people’s lives. Does he really expect Bahamians to wait another five years to find that the PLP’s bag of promises is empty — and has always been empty? Shootings are certainly on the increase. Someone who was shot on New Year’s eve, died yesterday, bringing the murder figure for 2016 to 114. So far in the first 10 days of this new year we have already had five murders — a murder every other day for the opening of 2017. Where is Dr Nottage’s promised solution? When will it be revealed and put into effect so that we can see results? Now let us see how our little nation ranks in the world’s view. According to NationMaster, a resource for country statistics, their latest report for homicides per 100,000 residents, the Bahamas ranked ninth against Lesotho, Honduras, El Salvador, St Kitts and Nevis, Venezuela, Belize, Guatemala, and Jamaica. The last ranking taken for the Bahamas was in 2011. We all know that since then crime has climbed even higher. There is then the more recent IDB report on crime and violence in the Bahamas. According to the IDB “the murder rate in the Bahamas has more than doubled in the last 10 years and is now among the highest in the Caribbean region. Between 2000 and 2014, the rate of homicides reached its high in 2011 (37.4 per 100,000 population) and dropped slightly to 31.9 in 2014. “At this rate (per 100,000 population), The Bahamas has the tenth highest murder rate in the world, just beating out South Africa, Jamaica, which was sixth, and Honduras and Venezuela.” Despite this bleak outlook, the National Security Minister, had this to say above the noise of the Junkanoo drums beating in the New Year: “I think when you look at the whole broad spectrum and public policy and the impact that it has had on the quality of life in our country, there’s no doubt that the only party that has a plan, a strategy, projects, policies that have been benefiting people is the PLP and I think anybody taking a fair look at the progress of the country over the last four years would admit that the PLP is well suited to see its policies through over the course of the next five years.” Please, Dr Nottage, don’t insult the Bahamian people with high sounding phrases that neither you nor your colleagues can support - or deliver on.
I READ in the press lately that China Construction America (CCA) informed their subcontractors by email that the work done at Baha Mar Ltd is ValueAdded Tax (VAT) exempt, which has provoked comments from different politicians due to the secrecy of the Government’s agreements. However, all fail to understand how VAT works and also begs the question: is this really something new? Only one person (Gowon Bowe) pointed out correctly how VAT works and the fact that it’s really not an exemption but a delay in the Government receiving its revenue in taxes, as all VAT paid now will be deducted from the VAT due when collected from Baha Mar Ltd clientele (the final consumer). And now we know via the CCA email that all VAT so-called incorrectly exempt means Baha Mar Ltd will have no VAT to deduct when they collect from their clients, therefore paying VAT in full once Baha Mar Ltd starts. As Mr Bowe correctly pointed out, this is not a big deal because the Government is not losing a single dollar in VAT; the only thing this email points out is that the Government is delaying the VAT due to be paid at a later date, giving the construction of Baha Mar Ltd a break in cashflow in order for all monies available to be fully dedicated to finish the project as soon as possible and leaving the collection of taxes that are due until later. This only means that, for the Government, the first priority is to finish the project and open the resort. Therefore I am very surprised by the comments made by politicians who are also business people and should know how VAT works, especially Dionisio D’Aguilar and Branville McCartney. But the most important question is still unanswered: is this Baha Mar Ltd VAT exemption really something new? The truth is no, it’s not new because Baha Mar Ltd was enjoying this prior to Chapter 11 and I am surprised that Jerome
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net Fitzgerald did not mention this as he well knows this through his family customs brokerage as it was one of the two main customs brokers for Baha Mar Ltd, the other being Elite Logistics with Jude Smith. Some, of course, may argue a conflict of interest for Mr Fitzgerald in this. First, every company which reaches an agreement with the Government in a multi-year project normally puts in a clause to safeguard it from new taxes and tax increases during the term of the agreement; that is use in every country internationally and is common in all contracts with governments during the duration of the project because it changes the overall cost. I worked on projects during Hubert Ingraham’s second term in office and in another during Perry Christie’s first term: in both we had to claim back the increase in taxes and the Government quickly refunded those monies. For example in Mr Christie’s first term there was an average increase of 10 per cent in customs duty in 2004; therefore we filed a claim during Mr Ingraham’s third term requesting the refund of that on all customs duty paid that had the increase, and again it was well documented the the Government quickly paid those funds without disputing a single claim once they had reviewed and agreed with the supporting paperwork provided. In the agreement between Baha Mar Ltd and the Government, at the time of Mr Ingraham’s third term, this common clause that safeguards Baha Mar Ltd from any new tax and any tax increase during the project was included. Therefore when VAT was introduced from January 1, 2015, Baha Mar Ltd’s lawyers questioned if VAT was applicable. Due to the special nature of VAT not being a direct tax, the Government considered that the clause was not applicable as it was a tax on the final consumer - Baha Mar Ltd’s clientele. However it admitted that
Crazy rules at RBC EDITOR, The Tribune. HAVE no fear, the ridiculous is alive and well and it lives within the Royal Bank of Canada! Recently, the firm I work for decided to update their signatories (of which I am one) for their company accounts. The list of acceptable proof of address/identity as provided by RBC is as follows: 1) Current bank statement from another financial institution confirming the noted address (not older than three months) 2) Most current voter’s card 3) Yellow NIB card 4) A confirmation letter from the bill owner along with a copy of his/her identification. As a permanent resident, I do not have a voter’s card, nor are any utility bills in my name, rather they appear under my husband’s name and the yellow NIB card is no longer valid having been replaced by the new blue cards.
So I supplied a copy of my new NIB card, plus my MasterCard statement and my bank statement - both from RBC as I am an RBC customer. To my great surprise, none of this was acceptable as the new NIB cards don’t show your address (even though the old cards were handwritten and the address was written down as advised by the individual, these are preferable) and RBC will not accept RBC statements as proof of address, despite the fact that RBC has been able and willing to issue credit cards, bank loans and open accounts for me under this same address! Watch out Alice, I’m coming down the rabbit hole! So what pray tell what do I do? RBC has basically told me they have no faith in their own documentation that lists me as residing in San Souci and they won’t accept my NIB card. What they will accept, however, is a letter from my hus-
band, stating that I live at the address that appears on all my RBC bank documentation plus a copy of a utility bill and a copy of my husband’s identification to accompany said letter! All this required from an RBC customer of over 40 years! To say I was angered and humiliated by having to have my residence confirmed by my husband doesn’t even begin to express how I feel! Once again, Royal Bank of Canada has proved that it is unable and unwilling to think outside of the box and customer service is a thing of the past! If you can’t accept your own documentation RBC, things have come to a very sad state indeed. Thank you for making me feel so valued and trusted! COLLEEN DUNKLEY Nassau, January 6, 2017.
it provokes a cashflow burden on Baha Mar Ltd that may be protected by the clause in the agreement. Under these talks between Baha NMar Ltd’s lawyers and the Government, when VAT was introduced it was agreed that Baha Mar Ltd would have a break in VAT, meaning they did not have to pay VAT but must account for the VAT debt as VAT deferred. Therefore, as Mr Fitzgerald’s family customs broker firm well knows, all VAT payable to the Customs Department due after January 1, 2015, was recorded but not paid to customs on all main shipments as Baha Mar Ltd was exempt, but VAT was paid on all small shipments and airway bills, FedEx, DHL, UPS, that were submitted on behalf of Baha Mar by the mail shipper, because they were not aware of Baha Mar Ltd’s VAT delay payment agreement. Some subcontractors that were not aware also paid VAT on imports. This agreement put an enormous accounting challenge on Baha Mar Ltd as there was VAT paid to be deducted, VAT owed mainly to Customs, and also VAT exemptions, for example between Baha Mar Ltd and its operating subcontractor, Melia. In other words VAT paid, VAT deferred and VAT zero. There was a need to file properly monthly all these VAT distinctions in a short time, and all companies in the Bahamas went through this accounting challenge. Baha Mar Ltd faced a bigger challenge due to its efforts to account properly for the different VAT particulars from the beginning that most companies did not have. And all this was from before Chapter 11. Therefore, now that the lead construction company has changed from Baha Mar Ltd to CCA and the VAT must be paid by the new owner, it is understandable that CCA received a break in VAT, the same as Baha Mar Lfd already had, as its first priority is to finish the resort and let the new owner deal with VAT. FACTS AND FIGURES Nassau January 10, 2016
LGBT rights and US foreign policy EDITOR, The Tribune. I READ the shock and awe on the recent UN Resolution but it seems it has missed your readers that it has been an “official Foreign policy position” of the outgoing Obama Administration to promote and cause acceptance of the LGBT Agenda globally there is a full ranking Ambassador travelling the world promoting this. All Humans have Rights - no country should cause and create preferred Constitutional Rights for any grouping you then discriminate. LGBT Rights must not be pushed down our throats and in no sector of The Bahamas should preference be accorded to any particular grouping over another. It is regretted it is being noticed in a certain ministry with a heavy recruitment seemingly of persons who seem to be LGBT sympathetic. W THOMPSON Nassau, January 4, 2017.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, January 11, 2017, PAGE 5
House Speaker disappointed as boundary report still not completed By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net HOUSE Speaker Dr Kendal Major, who is also chairman of the Constituencies Commission, is “disappointed” that the group has not completed its report, while revealing that several factors, including low voter registration numbers and “contention” among members, delayed its progress. Speaking in the House of Assembly on Monday, he explained that the contention among the rank and file of the commission was sparked by the leak of information from deliberations into the public domain and published in local newspapers and social media. This, he said, was certainly displeasing. Dr Major announced that if needed, the commission would labour over Parliament’s break to finish its report. He said it was the commission’s intention to table this document at the first sitting of the House in January, which was Monday. “You may have seen and heard some press state-
ments,” Dr Major said on Monday. “I just want to clarify and indicate that it was the intention today to deal with matters as it relates to the report and obviously that didn’t happen much to my disappointment. However, the chair anticipates and will continue to anticipate the report from the governing members and also the opposition members with respect to recommendations as we move forward. “I have noted that this is a very unique situation in this session because of some mitigating factors, one of which is there had been a leak of some proposed information that made it on social media and in the dailies, much to the chagrin of the chair and it certainly undermines the process and makes this somewhat unprecedented that we who are sworn to secrecy somehow in our deliberations on matters such as this were leaked to the public. “So that has caused great contention within the rank and file of the commission and it is important that you note that the chair was certainly displeased about that.”
He continued: “Secondly, there has also been a change in membership with the apparent revocation of the member for East Grand Bahama (Peter Turnquest) and the new member the member for St Anne’s (Hubert Chipman) there has been a slowing of the process and that also had been unprecedented in that regard. There is no fault there, however, it is what it is. “And thirdly the low voter turnout is a factor. So I am advised that we are above or there about 500 persons a day but there is a greater capacity or opportunity for more persons of the public to be registered. The Parliamentary Registration Department has said they would like the report as soon as they are able to do so. So I want all members to set an example by registering yourself without delay and to encourage those other persons that you influence to register as soon as practical as there are many opportunities for all persons to register at the many centres throughout our Commonwealth.” Mr Chipman replaced Mr Turnquest on the committee after Long Island MP
SPEAKER of the House of Assembly Kendal Major. Loretta Butler-Turner was eliminated before the last voted as the new leader of general election and dividthe Official Opposition in ed among Bain Town, EnParliament. It came after glerston and Centreville. In December, Mr Turnshe and six other Free National Movement (FNM) quest told The Tribune the CommisMPs submitted a letter of Constituencies no confidence in Killarney sion missed its self-imposed MP Dr Hubert Minnis to deadline to submit recommendations for boundary lead them in the House. The Tribune reported last changes. At the time, he month that the commis- speculated that the report sion intends to create a new would not come until 2017. The MP speculated that constituency in New Provithe deadline had been dence. It is understood that por- missed because the governtions of Englerston, Cen- ing side was still mulling treville, Bain and Grants over additional constituenTown and Fort Charlotte cies in a bid to bolster supwill be redrawn to reconsti- port in tough areas. He maintained that there tute St Cecelia. This constituency was was not enough information
to make a scientific decision on any boundary changes due to low voter registration. The commission used data from the 2010 census that had been extrapolated in a 2016 report prepared by the Department of Statistics, to guide recommendations. The Constituencies Commission is comprised of Dr Major; Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs, vice-chair; government members, Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis and Jerome Fitzgerald; Mr Chipman; and House clerks Maurice Tynes and David Forbes.
SEARS: BEST CHANCE OF PLP VICTORY IS WITH ME AS LEADER By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net FORMER Attorney General and Progressive Liberal Party candidate for Fort Charlotte Alfred Sears, QC, said the PLP’s greatest chance at winning the next election is with him as leader. In an interview on Hot 91.7 FM’s “Morning Madhouse” with host “C-Note”, Mr Sears said it is time to for the PLP to “bench” Prime
Minister Perry Christie and put him “in the game”. Mr Sears said he still remains confident, after meeting with stalwarts and branch executives, that he will be the next leader of the PLP and the country’s next prime minister despite the odds being stacked against him at the party’s upcoming convention. “A party’s primary objective is to win the election and the party will have to make a determination during convention: ‘Is the PLP
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best able to win the next general election under the incumbent or under myself of some other person?’ Well, the chances of the PLP being re-elected are far better with me than with Mr Christie,” Mr Sears said on Monday. “If your star player is not making the shots, do you let the star player stay on the court with the almost certainty that they will lose the game or do you put the star player on the bench and bring in the back up? I’m
that back up player coming in at the clutch time. We are all a part of a team and the stalwarts, I have no doubt that they love the party and the country more than any one individual and they have to make an honest assessment.” The PLP’s convention will be held at the end of this month. So far, only Mr Sears has announced his intention to challenge Mr Christie for the party’s top post. Last year, the prime min-
ister said he is “not at all” concerned about Mr Sears’ bid to challenge him for the leadership. In fact, Mr Christie said “his record” and his “value” would ensure his reelection at the party’s convention. Last year, Mr Christie laughed off speculation that he may be ousted as leader of the PLP by the Fort Charlotte candidate because of voter frustration with the current administration.
“No, I am not concerned,” Mr Christie said previously. “What I have done for the people of The Bahamas and what I have done for the Progressive Liberal Party and its supporters, will enable them to see the value, my value as prime minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.” The convention will be the first the PLP has held since 2009, although the party’s constitution mandates that such an event be held every year.
PAGE 6, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
$3.5m in contracts issued for hurricane repairs By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net CONTRACTS valued at some $3.5m have been issued for labour and material to repair homes damaged by Hurricane Matthew last year, Labour Minister and Hurricane Czar Shane Gibson told Parliament on Monday. Mr Gibson also revealed that the response to the loan programme for public officers and employees of the government for hurricane related repairs has been “overwhelming”, to date totalling $24,109,165. He said this number was equivalent to 5,128 loan approvals. In addition, Mr Gibson said the government has spent $10m on clean up activities up to December and $1m to remove debris in Grand Bahama. Mr Gibson added that just under $300,000 was spent in North Andros and almost $40,000 in Central Andros. He said: “The door-todoor assessments of private homes is virtually complete. Nearly 10,000 assessments have been conducted. This was truly a mammoth task particularly in New Providence and Grand Bahama. “Some persons may have been inadvertently missed and I advise those persons
SHANE GIBSON
to contact the technical unit in New Providence at 376-8911 or 376-8932, that is the persons whose homes may have been inadvertently missed during the assessment. Persons in Grand Bahama who require assessments can contact the Department of Social services or Urban Renewal. “Remaining technical assessments of homes affected in the Central Andros district were completed by Friday, December 9, 2016. We are satisfied that all impacted houses in Central and North Andros have been assessed. “Mr Speaker, the voucher programme for material for qualified homeowners to carry out repairs is progressing very well. To date vouchers valued at just over $1m have been approved to over 664 persons as follows: New Providence, 219 at a cost of $460,000, Grand Bahama 428 at a cost of some $764,000 and North Andros, 17 at a cost of some $23,100. That’s a total of 664 homes for vouchers at a cost of just over a million dollars. “I must add that most of the homes in North Andros actually require building and material. That’s why you see a low number of vouchers actually issued in North Andros.” He said signed agree-
ments are in place with participating suppliers on New Providence, Grand Bahama and in North and Central Andros. “Mr Speaker, a considerable number of residences qualify for assistance with labour and material. In these instances NEMA provides the materials and small contractors are engaged to carry out the repairs. The issuance of contracts for labour and material is well underway thus far contracts valued at some $3.5m have been issued . . . “ he said. “I think I mentioned before we completed 554 assessments and what we do in Andros and New Providence is that we issue letters of intent for the contractors to verify the amounts and once the amounts are verified they are brought back to us to be executed. And so Andros even though we only have five homes under contract, we have already issued 69 letters of intent that are given to the contractor. “So some 229 contracts have been issued for cash value of some $3.5m. I wish to stress that this number represents signed contracts for repairs which are either in progress or about to commence. The process of negotiating and issuing contracts is ongoing,” Mr Gibson said.
22-YEAR-OLD MAN GUNNED DOWN YARDS FROM A CHURCH from page one
Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean said police have very few details surrounding Monday’s
homicide and appealed to the public for assistance. “Shortly after 9pm, police received information that shots were fired in the Blue Hill Heights area,” ACP Dean said.
“When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered the lifeless body of a male lying on the floor in a pool of blood in the rear of the residence near a church. We are still try-
FUNERAL SERVICE DORIS KATRINA BULLARD, 99 of #486 East Street, South, will be held on Thursday, 12th January, 2017, 11:00 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Boyd Road. Monsignor Alfred C. Culmer, assisted by Deacon Peter Jones will officiate. Interment will follow in St. Joseph’s cemetery, Boyd Road. Doris is survived by two special nieces, Patricia Coakley and Pamela Thompson (Earl) and nephew, Fred McKinney; numerous other nieces and nephews; grandnieces and grandnephews including, Damian Coakley, Robert and Kendrice Coakley, Rudolph Cleare, Earl Jr. and Tammie Thompson, Davinia Thompson, Dion and Carlene Thompson, Patria and Pete Armbrister, Mark Humes, Rochelle Swaby, Debra Thompson; numerous other grand and great grand nieces and nephews; many cousins including, Francita Forbes and family, John Gordon and family, Norma Gordon and family, Mae Rivers and family (South Carolina), Edwina Culmer and family (New York), Millicent Thompson, Ernest, Joseph and Marye Fernandez (Miami, Florida), the children of the late Rev. Elijah Newbold, Stanley Newbold and David Newbold (Pompano Beach and Miami, Florida); a sister-in-law, Miss Betty McCartney (Miami, Florida); numerous godchildren among whom are Kemuel Collymore (Cleomie), Marcia Virgill, Beverly Nairn, Norma Williams, Beverly Edwards, Ed Smith and Denzel Taylor; Other relatives and cherished friends include: Mrs. Eileen Dupuch Carron and family, Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Munnings and family, Mr. Etienne Dupuch, Jr., and family, Hon. & Mrs. Pierre Dupuch and family, employees of The Tribune, Lady Laurie Miller & family (Freeport, Grand Bahama), Mrs. Hazel Chea, Mrs. Edna Chase and family, Mrs. Gloria Crawford, Mrs. Patricia Carey, Mr. & Mrs. Romeo Farrington, Mrs. Delores Darling, Dr. Rhonda Chipman-Johnson, Mrs. Dorothea Strachan, Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Allens, Dr. Jassett Maragh (Miami, Florida), Mr. & Mrs. Oliver Hassell (Chicago, Illinois), Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Sands and family, Basil Bullard and family, the McCartney family (Miami, Florida) - especially Diana Neely and Patricia McCartney, Reda McPhee and family, Lenora Daniels, Trudy Sands, Melanie Miller, Benedictine Sisters of Saint Martin Monastery, Monsignor Alfred Culmer, Monsignor Preston Moss, the Parish Community of St. Joseph - especially the Ladies Auxiliary, Mr. & Mrs. Asa Ferguson and family, the Coakley family, Barbara Foster, Naomi Tajah Foster, Claudia Denis, Mr. & Mrs. General Taylor, Maria Ajero, Mrs. Hazel Estwick and family, Mr. Alva Smith and family, Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Burrows, Miss Eleanor Allen, Mr. Lionel Symonett, and many others too numerous to list. Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians #34 Nassau Street, on Wednesday from 12:00 noon to 6:00p.m. and at the church on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until service time.
ing to determine what happened that led to the killing and we need anyone who knows anything or may have seen anything to reach out to us.” It is believed the man was fleeing his assailants when he collapsed. People were practising in the nearby Trinity Assembly City of Praise off Tonique Williams Darling Highway when they heard gunshots. Police have not identified Monday’s victim but The Tribune understands he is 22-year-old Carlos Adderley. The murder came days after a man was brutally
beaten to death with a hammer. That killing took place shortly before 10pm on Friday near Golden Isles Road. Police said they received information that two men were fighting off Carmichael Road. When officers arrived at the scene they found the lifeless body of a man with blunt injuries to the head. The victim was pronounced dead on the scene. According the preliminary reports, the victim was involved in an argument with another man at the back of his residence which
led to him being struck multiple times with a blunt object, believed to be a hammer. A short while after the incident, police said an adult male turned himself in and is being questioned in connection with this killing. Police have not identified the victim, but The Tribune understands he is Nado Joseph. Anyone with information on any of these incidents is asked to contact police at 911 or 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 328-TIPS.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, January 11, 2017, PAGE 7
BRADLEY ROBERTS, Fred Mitchell and Valentine Grimes at the Majority Rule march.
Photo submitted by reader
SENATOR Rodney Moncur at the Majority Rule march.
PM: Majority Rule was for all Bahamians from page one
It appeared that some of the participants were bused in from their various constituencies, as buses emblazoned with the faces of PLP MPs Michael Halkitis, Jerome Fitzgerald and Ken Dorsett were at the ceremony site. Senators, parliamentarians and representatives from various unions and civic organisations all took part in the march; however, Free National Movement Leader (FNM) Dr Hubert Minnis and Official Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner were noticeably absent. Dr Minnis took part in the We March protest. The Prime Minister said he had hoped the opposition would be more “mature and sensible” on such a significant day for not just the PLP and its supporters but the entire Bahamas. “The responsibility for those of who are politicians, who are in government, who are in opposition, is to recognise that we must not dumb our country down,” Mr Christie told the massive crowd gathered after the march. “We must understand that we have a responsibility to address the issues that confront our country constructively, sensibly and in a mature fashion,” Mr Christie said. “The people of this country would expect me, Loret-
ta Butler-Turner, even Dr Hubert Minnis to be sensible. To understand that Majority Rule was for all Bahamians, to understand that Majority Rule was for white Bahamians as well as black Bahamians, to understand what this day means to the people. To understand that whatever The Bahamas is facing, there comes a time when issues of sovereignty, issues of national progress, issues of having a national plan that we can all adhere to come first and to avoid stop, review and cancel. We must be able to put behind us and put country first because in the final analysis the message remains the same. I want the year of the 50th anniversary of Majority Rule to be one in which we will resolve to attack the problems in our country, whether housing, social services, unemployment, whatever it is we must resolve to do more.” Mr Christie reassured the crowd that the government is not asleep at the wheel and promised that more jobs are coming in 2017. He also urged Bahamians, young men in particular, to assist the government in putting an end to the high number of murders. “I have gone to many of your colleagues’ funerals. I have spoken in churches where I said ‘the brother who has been killed is a victim and the brother who killed him is a victim also.’ When our fathers gave us Majority Rule, it came with the view that the Bahamas
PRIME Minister Perry Christie during the march to mark 50 years of Majority Rule. was a place where we are our brother’s keeper, where we didn’t have a disregard for human life,” Mr Christie said. “This conclusion to be a part of gangs, this urge to inflict violence on one another contradicts all that I have said about what this country represents and what it should be. We must not allow ourselves to conclude that the problem is our neighbour’s problem, all of us must resolve and
accept that what is happening in our country is unacceptable and is a danger to our civilisation and it must be stopped by all of us. We are not sleeping at the wheel and we are not talking politics. We are talking governance and we want the people to know we are not going to compromise on giving them the service they need, the jobs are coming.” Mr Christie also hinted that he would not be giving up leadership of the PLP
Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff
anytime soon, telling the crowd “just as Lynden Pindling passed the baton to Hubert Ingraham and then to myself, the baton will be passed but the only thing I can tell you is, it will be passed at the right time”. A gospel concert began after Mr Christie’s remarks featuring Bishop Lawrence Rolle, Shaback, Rahming Brothers, Golden Gates Praise, Rachel Mackey and others. This was followed by a
cultural show and concert at Arawak Cay from 4pm to 8pm featuring the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Royal Bahamas Defence Force Band, Her Majesty’s Prison Band, National Children’s Choir, National Youth Choir, Stileet, Geno D, Veronica Bishop and DMac. The historic day closed out with a Junkanoo rush out and fireworks at Arawak Cay, from 8pm to midnight.
MARCHERS honour to mark the 50th anniversary of Majority Rule yesterday, above and below.
PLP supporters in praise and worship at the Gospel concert.
‘BLACK PEOPLE BREED TOO MUCH’ SAYS ANGLICAN ARCHDEACON from page one
on man. Give me a break, give yourself a break. God didn’t put you here as any baby machine, he put you here to be a productive citizen of this country. That is what we need.”
Archdeacon Palacious also criticised the Bahamian people for “relying too much” on the government and not taking “responsibility” for their “own lives and actions”. “We blame the government for our own failures ...We complain about what the for-
eigners doing to us, what the white man doing, what the Chinese doing. Unfortunately, many of us are doing it to ourselves. The Chinese don’t have our girls pregnant over the hill,” he said. “They aren’t robbing us, they aren’t killing us. We are the ones who are doing
it to ourselves. We need to take personal responsibility for where we are right now. (Sir Lynden) Pindling already dead. Sir Roland (Symonette) already dead. They dead. We are here. We are the ones here that have to make sense of all of this. This day would mean noth-
ing if we cannot show that we are better off. We need a zero tolerance for the bunch of excuses we make. There is so much more to be done, that mission of Majority Rule is accomplished but the struggle goes on.” Archdeacon Palacious also said he is “dismayed”
that the 2016 gender equality referendum did not prevail and he is disappointed that on the 50th anniversary of Majority Rule, that the “majority of the people in the country still do not have some fundamental rights under the Constitution”.
PAGE 8, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
Majority Rule Day March
THE MARCH to mark 50 years of Majority Rule yesterday.
Photos: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, January 11, 2017, PAGE 9
We March Bahamas
MEMBERS of the We March Bahamas protest march yesterday.
FORMER Court of Appeal President Dame Joan Sawyer speaking at the march yesterday.
SONIA KEMP, mother of Shequille Demeritte, who was murdered in 2013.
TAXI driver Doyle Roberts speaking at yesterday’s march.
Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
PAGE 10, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
Protest signs at We March Bahamas SOME of the signs on show at the We March Bahamas protest.
Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
THETRIBUNE TRIBUNE THE
Wednesday, January 11th, Wednesday, January 11,2016, 2017,PAGE PAGEA9 11
10 YEARS OF THE
APPLE CEO Steve Jobs holds up an iPhone at the MacWorld Conference in San Francisco in 2007. (AP)
FEW people realised it at the time, but the world shifted fundamentally a decade ago when Steve Jobs pulled the first iPhone from Apple’s bag of technological tricks. “Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything,” Jobs declared as he paced across a San Francisco stage. It obviously wasn’t an empty boast. We all know now that Jobs’ “magical product” has reshaped culture, shaken up industries, put computers in billions of pockets and made it possible to do just about anything with a few taps on a screen. Besides its then 3.5-inch touch screen, the first iPhone featured a browser for onthe-go web surfing and built-in apps to check email and get directions. GOING MOBILE Apple has sold more than 1 billion iPhones since its debut, spawning millions of mobile applications and prodding other technology companies to make similar smartphones that have become like phantom limbs for many of us. We use iPhones and their copycats to instantly share video and pictures with friends and family from almost anywhere. We use them to figure out where we are going. We use them to find the best deals while shopping in stores and to pay for stuff at the checkout stand. We use the phones to a hail ride, to tune instruments, to monitor our health and help find our next jobs.
iPHONE
APPLE PROVED A PHONE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD Phones have gotten so smart that they even talk back to us via helpful digital concierges such as the iPhone’s Siri and the recently introduced Assistant on Google’s Pixel phone. “IPhone is an essential part of our customers’ lives, and today more than ever it is redefining the way we communicate, entertain, work and live,” Apple’s current CEO, Tim Cook, boasted in a retrospective that the Cupertino, California, company posted on its website. ROADKILL IN ITS WAKE The iPhone’s revolutionary touch screen doomed the BlackBerry, another once-popular internet-connected phone. Mobile phones and their tablet cousins triggered a downturn in personal computer sales that is still unfolding. An estimated 219 million desktop and laptop computers shipped worldwide last year, down from 264 million in 2007, according to the research firm Gartner Inc. Meanwhile, nearly 1.9 billion mobile phones shipped last year, up from 1.15 billion in 2007. All told, Gartner estimates about 5 billion mobile phones are currently in use around the world compared to 1.3 billion PCs. The eroding popularity of PCs
A HUGE HIT ... AND THEN A STALL The iPhone’s success helped make Jobs a revered figure for many, and one whose October 2011 death was mourned around the world. The device has established Apple as the world’s most profitable company with earnings of $45.7 billion on sales of $216 billion during its latest fiscal year. (Prior to the iPhone’s release, Apple posted an annual profit of $2 billion on sales of $19.3 bil-
lion.) Its stock-market value is hovering around $635 billion, thanks to a split-adjusted stock price that’s risen by nearly a factor of 10 since the iPhone’s debut. Lately, though, the iPhone appears to be losing some steam. People are keeping older models for longer before upgrading or switching over to competing phones that run on Google’s Android software. Apple suffered its first-ever decline in iPhone sales in its last fiscal year, causing the company to miss its revenue projections and hitting Cook with a 15 percent pay cut . Most smartphones now run on Android, partly because Google gives away the software. That has helped iPhone rivals woo price conscious consumers, especially outside the U.S., with phones that are much cheaper than the iPhone, whose latest models now cost more than $649 to $849. In his statement, though, Cook promised the iPhone is “just getting started. “The best is yet to come.” MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer
VOLVO GETS REAL WITH SELF-DRIVING
TECH JEANS LEAD THE WAY TIRED of having to constantly check your cellphone for directions? French startup Spinali Design has created jeans that will vibrate on your right or left hip to let you know which direction you should head. A chip embedded into the waist is connected to an app. Just enter your destination ahead of time. Of course, a smartwatch can do that, too, but why get something that can do more? The technological capabilities of the jeans are limited to directions. However, the company also has bikinis that will buzz when you’re out in the sun too long and need to apply more sunscreen lotion. You enter information on
spurred shake-ups at powerful tech companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Hewlett-Packard and Dell, none of which adapted nimbly to the mobile world unleashed by the iPhone. Then-Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer scoffed at Apple’s glassand-metal gadget, telling USA Today in April 2007 that “there’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.” Microsoft wound up squandering the $7.6 billion that it spent to buy phone maker Nokia in a futile attempt to catch up to the iPhone. Ballmer stepped down as CEO three years ago and was replaced by Satya Nadella, who introduced versions of Microsoft’s popular Office programs that worked on Apple’s iPad — a tablet based on the iPhone.
your skin type and SPF level of your sunscreen into an app. The chip then monitors the sun rays. Spinali says the chip should last four years even with constant use and will turn off automatically when wet to avoid damage. The jeans cost about $100, and the bikinis about $140. Associated Press
HÅKAN SAMUELSSON, President and Chief Executive Officer, Volvo Cars Corporation AB, right, talks with the Hain family of Gothenburg, Sweden with the Volvo Drive Me XC90 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Monday. (AP) VOLVO Cars is putting real people into its self-driving cars to better learn how they’re used. Volvo said Monday it has chosen the first of around 100 families who will use its self-driving cars around Gothenburg, Sweden, starting this year. Volvo wants to see when people engage and disengage the autonomous driving capabilities and what sorts of things they like to do when the car is driving itself.
Volvo plans to expand the programme to London and China, and eventually to the U.S. Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson said it’s important to engage real people in the development of Volvo’s self-driving cars, which it expects to sell by 2021. “If this is going to be a commercial product, it has to be a credible product that people trust,” he said. Associated Press
TECHTALK • ETHIOPIA says it will launch a civilian satellite into orbit in three to five years to better predict weather conditions and for remote sensing activities inside the country. The announcement comes after a severe drought left more than 10 million people hungry and killed several thousands of animals in the past two years. Ethiopia is among a number of African countries with growing space ambitions. The spokesman for the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Technology, Wondwossen Andualem, says the country likely will launch the satellite from a facility in China. It is not clear how much the project will cost and whether it will have military uses. • THE head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency says the country needs to be able to return fire during a cyberattack, including the ability to disable equipment that’s being used to target Germany. Hans-Georg Maassen told German news agency dpa in an interview published Tuesday that it’s necessary “for us not just to be purely defensive.” Maassen, who heads the BfV agency, said Germany “needs to be able to attack the enemy in order to stop him from attacking us further.” The BfV is responsible for counter-espionage and doesn’t operate outside Germany, so acquiring offensive electronic warfare capabilities would mark a departure for the agency. Maassen’s boss, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, recently proposed an overhaul of Germany’s security apparatus in response to the threat of terrorism and state-sponsored hacking. • TWO of Boston’s most venerable institutions are teaming up to create an online database of hundreds of thousands of Roman Catholic Church documents to help people trace their family histories. Officials from the New England Historic Genealogical Society and the Archdiocese of Boston said Tuesday that the digitised parish records of baptisms, marriages, confirmations, ordinations, first communions and other pivotal life events will help people better research their ancestors and how they came to Boston. The documents span 1789 to 1900 and come from all the parishes in the Boston Archdiocese. The organisations say it’s the first time a significant number of sacramental records from any U.S. diocese have been digitised on this scale. The project could take several years to complete and cost up to $1 million.
PAGE 12, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
Fund launched to help former marine contest attempted murder conviction By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
FRIENDS of a former US marine they believe was unfairly tried and convicted for attempted murder are raising funds to cover the legal costs that would allow the ex-soldier to contest his conviction in the Court of Appeal. John Heath Henry, who has American and Bahamian citizenship, was convicted by a Supreme Court jury in March 2016 concerning the shooting of Jonathan Rahming on December 30, 2014 at Current Island, Eleuthera. He appeared before Justice Bernard Turner four months later in July and
was subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison for the incident. He was advised of his right to appeal both conviction and sentencing, which Travis Granfar, a US based attorney and personal friend of Henry, is seeking help to do according to a StartSomeGood account set up to raise $7,500 by the end of the week to retain new counsel to argue the appeal. “Myself and three other Baha’i attorneys, including highly experienced criminal defence attorneys, have reviewed John’s case and believe he did not receive a fair trial under Bahamian and international law,” Mr Granfar said in the project description.
“I am working with John’s family to appeal his conviction and have launched this campaign to help his family raise money to retain competent counsel in the Bahamas for John’s appeal. “I knew John during his time volunteering for the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Programme organised by the Baha’i community in the Bahamas. I spent many months working alongside John and know him to be a kind, humble, honest, self-sacrificing soul.” The US attorney contends that his friend’s case has strong grounds for a successful appeal, saying: “John’s lawyers presented no evidence, called no witnesses and gave John con-
tradictory advice.” A police search team found Henry hiding under a Ghillie blanket - a type of camouflage - on a cliff on Current Island on January 2, 2015. He allegedly told police that Rahming charged at him while wielding a cutlass and he shot him in self-defence. When asked for the location of the gun, Henry said that he had thrown it in a swamp. He elected to remain silent at trial and called no witnesses in his defence. Henry was convicted in March 2016 by a majority verdict of 8-1. Justice Turner, in giving his ruling on sentencing, said he had considered the favourable probation report and character witness testimonies as well as the relative youth of the convict. “But I also have to impose a sentence sufficient to express society’s intolerance and abhorrence for violent and criminal activity, in particular criminal activity involving the use of a firearm,” the judge stressed. “This matter is one in which a firearm was used. It is one in which it was fired twice. Had both shots missed the virtual complainant, it still would have been an offence of attempted murder. It is a given that the difference between attempted murder and murder is nothing other than the outcome. The intent is to kill.” The judge recalled evidence that Henry tried to
HEATH John Henry at an earlier court appearance. evade arrest and was only Henry’s alleged attempted caught by police when they theft of Rahming’s billy detected movement in the goat where the victim rearea in which he had cam- portedly struck Henry beouflaged himself. fore turning him over to his “This matter is a some- guardians. what inexplicable incident Henry was sentenced as the attempt on the life to 15 years imprisonment of Jonathan Rahming, by from the date of conviction, a person who he consid- March 23, 2016. ered something of a friend, He was told that if he other than a previous inci- maintains good behaviour dent according to the evi- at the Department of Cordence, came entirely out of rectional Services during the blue,” the judge added. his incarceration, authori“The only explanation for ties at the prison may rewhich he was, according to lease him after having John Henry, the convict’s served two thirds - 10 years reference to Jonathan Rah- - of his sentence. ming having beat him up The StartSomeGood some eight years earlier.” online account titled “Fair The incident eight years Trial For John Henry” had prior to the shooting at raised $5,840 from 44 supCurrent Island concerned porters up to press time.
FORMER POLICE OFFICER DIES AFTER REPORTEDLY ATTACKING FAMILY MEMBERS By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
POLICE are investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of a former police officer after he reportedly attacked family members, fell to the ground and died in a home on Wilson Street in Nassau Village on Monday morning. According to Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean, the deceased had been “acting very violently” for the past
week until his death sometime around 8am on Monday, which was when police were notified. ACP Dean said on the morning in question, the deceased’s violent behaviour climaxed, prompting relatives to try to calm him down and restrain him. However, ACP Dean said the efforts by family members only resulted in a domestic argument in which, he was told, the deceased began “attacking male and female residents of his family.” At one point during the altercation, ACP Dean said the deceased “fell to the ground and succumbed to his injuries”. ACP Dean said when police arrived at the scene, they found “the lifeless body of a male lying down” in the residence in question with “no visible signs of injuries” to his body. ACP Dean said an autopsy would have to be performed to determine the exact cause of death. However, he said, police would have to conduct further investigations before classifying the man’s death as a homicide or otherwise. “We do not know that yet, but we are in the preliminary stages, we are interviewing people,” ACP Dean said when asked how the death would be classified. “A number of people we met on the scene, so we have to talk to determine who might have actu-
ally been involved, and who could give a better picture of what is happening, the state of this young man this morning. “But we are getting reports that he was just acting very violently, relatives tried to calm him down and he attacked them.” When asked by a reporter if the deceased was or is a current member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), ACP Dean said: “We are receiving information, we have to check our files, but sometime ago he resigned from the RBPF.” Nonetheless, ACP Dean said Monday’s incident highlights the need for persons to constantly monitor the mental health and stability of family members who may exhibit unusual or uncharacteristically aggressive behaviour. “We don’t want to say something attributed to this case, but we can speak generally and tell you that we have to pay attention to our family members,” ACP Dean said. “Particularly those who may have mental challenges, we are asking the public to don’t take that for granted. Make sure that they’re taking their medication if need be, make sure that they get some treatment if you see some abnormal signs. It could start from a child that we see some things, do not take these things for granted.”
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, January 11, 2017, PAGE 13
Public Hospital Authority deficit rises under the PLP By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Public Hospitals Authority’s deficit increased between 2011 and 2014, according to financial statements tabled in the House of Assembly. National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage tabled the audits for the periods ending June 2012, June 2013 and June 2014. It is the first time the Christie administration had tabled such statements for the PHA since the start of its term, although the law mandates that such statements be tabled annually. Nonetheless, the audits conducted and tabled were not designed to provide an opinion on the “effectiveness of the (PHA’s) internal controls.” The 2012 audit was conducted by Grant Thorton while the subsequent ones were conducted by Baker Tilly Gomez (BTG). Of the most recent audit, BTG said: “…As at June 30, 2014, the authority’s current liabilities exceed its current assets by $23,109,897 and that it has an accumulated deficit of $83,241,629. These conditions, along with other matters as set forth…indicated the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the author-
ity’s ability to continue as a going concern without the continued support of the government of the Bahamas.” As of June 2012, the PHA’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by $18,627,997, bringing the accumulated deficit for the period up to the $73,041,576. And as of June 2013, the PHA’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by $28,770,082, bringing the accumulated deficit at that time up to $73,179,802. Meanwhile, it is unclear what the status is of a forensic audit expected to be performed on the PHA. Prime Minister Perry Christie said in 2015 that his government would order another PHA forensic audit. His comment at the time came after Princess Margaret Hospital’s internal auditor and external auditors, including Grant Thornton, HLB Galanis and Co, and UHY Bain and Associates raised red flags about the operations of the PHA. The UHY Bain forensic audit, for instance, suggested a culture of slackness and corruption was pervasive in the PHA. Since Mr Christie’s statement in 2015, it’s unclear if any subsequent forensic audit has been conducted.
DR BERNARD NOTTAGE, MP for Bain and Grants Town, and National Security Minister.
MIAMI DOLPHINS HELP OUT GRAND BAHAMA CHILDREN’S HOME By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
THE Grand Bahama Children’s Home has received several generators and toys as a result of separate donations from the Miami Dolphins and the Bahamas Tourist Office in Plantation, Florida. Nuvolari Chotoosingh, Sports Tourism Manager at the Ministry of Tourism, and a team from the tour-
ism office in Freeport, presented the donations on behalf of both organisations at the Children’s Home on Monday. The Miami Dolphins had visited Grand Bahama in November and saw the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew. The National Football League organisation had sent a number of shipments of relief items to assist residents on the island. Mr Chotoosingh said
the shipment of generators was the final shipment sent. “We were able to get things sorted out with the help of Bahamas Customs, the Defence Force and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and were finally able to distribute items to the Children’s Home this morning. This represents the completion of a donation by the Miami Dolphins,” he said.
Mr Chotoosingh also said that the Bahamas Tourist Office in Plantation had conducted a toy drive leading up to the holiday season for youngsters at the Home. Enzy Jones, administrative assistant at the Children’s Home, said they are grateful for the donations. “We are delighted to receive generators and toys for the children for the New Year. We are very thankful to Miami Dolphins, Ministry of Tourism, and
to NEMA which assisted,” she said. Tammy Mitchell, warehouse manager of NEMA in Grand Bahama, said the items were kept safely at NEMA’s warehouse and secured until they were able to be distributed. “We have been assisting every government agency in that process, and we are finally glad to see that this step for the Children’s Home have been completed with the donation of generators and toys
today,” she said. Ms Mitchell said that NEMA has been distributing widely on the island. “Since the hurricane we have visited every home of the aged and given supplies. We visited the Children’s Home more than once, and the Boys and Girls Columbus Home,” she said. “We have also distributed materials, supplies and equipment from McLeans Town to West End on a number of occasions,” she said.
PAGE 14, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
$1,000 FINE FOR DRUGS POSSESSION By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
A MAN was fined $1,000 on Monday after he pleaded guilty to possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply. Kevin Keith Roberts, 21, appeared before Magistrate Andrew Forbes facing the charge with Newry Joseph, 20, concerning a marijuana seizure by police on January 5. While Joseph pleaded not guilty, Roberts took responsibility for one ounce of marijuana allegedly found in their possession when they were pulled over by police who were on mobile patrol. When taken into custody at the Drug Enforcement Unit, Roberts declined to answer questions put to him, resulting in him being charged, Supt Ercell Dorsett said. Roberts’ lawyer, Ian Cargill, asked the magistrate to be lenient with his client, who had no prior convictions and did not want to waste the court’s time or resources in going to trial. Before passing sentence on Roberts, Magistrate Forbes lectured him on the dangers of drug trafficking in addition to facing criminal prosecution. The magistrate said that many of the murders recorded in the country were connected to the drug trade. Due to his early plea of guilt,
his youth and lack of antecedents, the magistrate fined Roberts $1,000 instead of imposing a custodial sentence for a crime that could have seen him receive a heavier fine and/or seven years’ imprisonment. However, Magistrate Forbes said if Roberts does not pay the $1,000 penalty, he will spend 12 months at the Department of Correctional Services. The police prosecutor was asked if he intended to proceed with the case against Joseph. Supt Dorsett said that that was the Crown’s intention. The matter was further adjourned to April 7 for his trial. However, Joseph, aka Travis Moxey, went on to be charged separately with “deceit of a public officer” where it was alleged that on the same date, he “made a false statement to Constable 3305 Miller with intent to prevent the course of justice.” Joseph admitted to giving police the alias Travis Moxey. His fingerprints that were in the system for another matter under his real name led to him to being charged. He was given a $500 fine or six months’ imprisonment. Joseph was told that he would be remanded to the Department of Correctional Services to await his April 7 trial, but had the right to apply for a bond in the Supreme Court.
TWO BAHAMIANS, TEN HAITIANS DETAINED By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net TWO Bahamians were arrested after 10 illegal Haitian immigrants were discovered at a residence in the Freeport area on Friday night. According to reports, immigration officials received information that the group of Haitians were preparing to be smuggled into the United States. Immigration officer Napthali Cooper reported that around 9.30pm a team of officers along with the police went to a residence in Hudson Estates after receiving information about a group of Haitians residing there. Mr Cooper said a search revealed six men, two women and two minors. He said two Bahamian men, one of whom was the homeowner, were also arrested and taken into custody, along with the 10 Haitians. “The Bahamian homeowner appeared surprised at the num-
ber of persons discovered in his home, even though he lived there,” Mr Cooper said. He said that none of the immigrants could produce proof of their legal status in The Bahamas, and told officers that they had recently travelled to Grand Bahama from New Providence. Further investigations, he said, revealed that the group was waiting to be smuggled to the US and had reportedly paid an unnamed individual for the trip. Mr Cooper said the Immigration Department is considering bringing charges against the group and homeowner in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court. He warned that the Immigration Department wished to advise the public that it is an offence to harbour illegal immigrants. “The Immigration Department is committed to investigating all such reports and will haul all persons before the courts who are found to be harbouring illegal immigrants,” Mr Cooper said.
A COLLAGE of images from the Still Standing After The Storm Hurricane Relief Concert.
Hurricane Relief concert success in Port Lucaya By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
THE Still Standing After the Storm Hurricane Relief Concert and Food Drive at Port Lucaya was a success and food items collected benefitted the local Salvation Army and Red Cross organisations in Grand Bahama. The event, which featured a showcase of local talent and art, was organised by Mackey Media, in conjunction with Port Lucaya Marketplace and The Uppercut Band & Friends. Persons attending the concert were asked to bring a donation of canned goods or a bag of food items in aid of the food drive to assist feeding programmes of the Salvation Army and Red Cross. A significant cash donation was also presented to the Salvation Army by Erika Gates. A large cross section of the community supported the concert and food drive and enjoyed the performances by Bahamas International Mass Choir’s Rake ‘n’ Scrape Gospel, acoustic gui-
tarists Derek Gape and Steve Persuad and vocalists Tony Lowe and Friends. Afrika Karamo Miller played the violin and artwork by Steffon Grant was auctioned off. Well-known Bahamian artist “Roachie”, who now lives in Britain where he is a performing artist, also performed his song “Champions Overcome”, and called on Bahamians to help their fellowman and make the Bahamas a better place for all. David Mackey, programme coordinator, said the idea for the event came about from his experience working on television ads and campaigns. “I spent two days at and with the Grand Bahama Red Cross both in their branch facility and on the road as they made deliveries of KFC chicken meals to needy recipients far and wide. To see the look on the faces of those receiving meals that they lacked the means to get for themselves was beyond heartwarming. “Hence, I was inspired to devise a means of support that those who could not write big cheques
Summit Academy is a small, independent school serving a culturally diverse student population. The school offers an international curriculum to students in preschool through sixth grade (with an expansion to seventh grade in the fall of 2017). We are in search of passionate, dynamic teachers to join our growing smaller, smarter school. HANDING over funds at the concert in Port Lucaya.
Substitute teacher required: • Third grade teacher needed to cover maternity leave (March-June 2017) • Required for the 2017/2018 academic year: • Lower Elementary School Teacher (Grades 1-3) • Middle School Teacher (Must be able to teach grades 5-8) • Part-time Middle School Math Specialist (Grades 5-8) • Learning Assistant (Grades 1-6)
Applicants: • Must possess a minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Education and a Teaching Certificate from an accredited university or a Bachelor's degree in the relevant subject area with a Teaching Certificate • Should have have at least two years teaching experience • Must present at least two professional references, a character reference, copies of degrees, statement of educational philosophy and a recent passport-sized photo with application form • Are expected to contribute to the school's extra-curricular program Application forms may be downloaded or completed online at the school's website (www.summitacademybahamas.net). Kindly ensure that the application is returned with a covering letter and a statement of your educational philosophy. Applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. on February 10, 2017. Incomplete application forms will not be considered. Please note only short-listed applicants will be contacted for an interview. No phone calls please.
could contribute towards stocking the empty pantries of the Grand Bahama Red Cross and the Salvation Army (also assists with feeding hungry persons on the island) within their means.” Mr Mackey said the event, which was held November 19, generated so much food that the Salvation Army and Red Cross representatives asked: “How do we get all this food out of here?” “Many thanks to the security at Port Lucaya who got a large wheelbarrow and pushed several loads of food to the vehicles,” he said. Mr Mackey also thanked all the participants and performers who volunteered willingly towards the cause of feeding the hungry. “No one received cash for their efforts,” he said. Also participating were Joseph Darville, one of three cohosts, along with Brooke Grant and Yolanda Hanna. Mr Darville, a member of Save the Bays, said he was excited to be a part of the initiative and talked about climate change and how The Bahamas is being affected.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, January 11, 2017, PAGE 15
Majority Rule Day Concert
VERONICA Bishop performing at the Majority Rule Day concert at Arawak Cay.
LADY E on stage during the Majority Rule Day concert.
Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
STILEETO giving an all-action performance at Arawak Cay.
PUZZLE pictured at the Majority Rule Day concert at Arawak Cay.
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GENO D in action at the Majority Rule Day concert.
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