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JANUARY 23, 2017
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‘32,000 extra jobs since 2012’ PM: Statistics show success of govt despite challenges By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net SEEKING to energise supporters as the party gears up for its first convention in eight years, Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday declared that his administration has created nearly 32,000 jobs this term. Mr Christie said the figure was supported by data released from the Department of Statistics, and evidenced that the country was on the path to recovery notwithstanding the devastation wrought by two major hurricanes. He made the statement during a speech to supporters at a prayer breakfast at the Melia hotel to mark the start of the Progressive Lib-
eral Party’s (PLP) 52nd national general convention. “No matter what they say about the Progressive Liberal Party, let the statistics put out by the Statistics Department speak for us,” Mr Christie said. “We have created since we came to power, notwithstanding the challenges of the economy, over 31,000 jobs. “Near to 32,000 jobs and counting, and we did not count the 1,500 that will be hired between January and February right in this complex here, and by December will be up to 3,000, we’re not counting them, but they will be counted,” he said, referring to anticipated hiring from the Baha Mar resort’s planned opening in April. SEE PAGE TWO
PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party leadership contender Alfred Sears, QC, yesterday expressed confidence in his ability to mount a “quiet revolution” at the party’s upcoming convention to unseat incumbent leader and Prime Minister Perry Christie, despite recent “acts of desperation”. Acknowledging that party optics put him at a disadvan-
tage, Mr Sears explained that while his leadership platform resonated well with many supporters, they were not vocal due to fears of victimisation and reprisal. He pointed to the massratification exercise staged by the party last week, and said hundreds of stalwart councillors have been appointed just before the threeday event, where he plans to challenge Mr Christie for leadership of the party. SEE SIX
THE Ministry of Aviation & Transport’s indifferent approach to an “overflight” revenue sharing agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration has cost The Bahamas’ cash strapped Public Treasury potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in fees. In 2006 the FAA began charging “Enroute” fees for aircraft using its domestic airspace and those foreign carriers whose 511,000 flights pass through Miami Oceanic (ZMA) airspace – consisting of the sovereign, but FAA controlled, airspace of The Bahamas’ archipelago - on routes between Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, SEE PAGE FIVE
MARINES CLEARED OF CUBAN ABUSE ‘VICTIMISED’
By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net ONE of five Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) marines previously accused of allegedly abusing a group of Cuban migrants at the Detention Centre in 2013 has claimed they have been “victimised” as a result of the allegations, charging that they have been overlooked for promotions and isolated to various “outposts” despite being cleared of all charges. The RBDF marine, who spoke on condition of anonymity in an exclusive interview with The Tribune, said the five marines have SEE PAGE THREE
SEARS SEEKS ‘QUIET REVOLUTION’ IN CONVENTION LEADERSHIP VOTE By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
S’ GUI DE INS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN FLYOVER FEES LOST BY PLP
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PRIME Minister Perry Christie speaking at his party’s pre-convention prayer breakfast at the Melia. For more photographs, see page two. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
ATTORNEY APOLOGISES FOR CALLING BAHAMIANS ‘HATEFUL’ By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
ATTORNEY Fred Smith, QC, apologised on Sunday for saying Bahamians are “hateful” towards foreigners and for describing the country as “very racist” during a private meeting of the Coral Beach Condominium Association
in Grand Bahama. Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell, who has long engaged in a public warof-words with Mr Smith, revealed Mr Smith’s statements during a House of Assembly session last week, calling them “hateful, deceitful, ungrateful, dishonest and unpatriotic.” In an audio clip of the
meeting which circulated last week, Mr Smith told the crowd of foreign condo owners: “It’s a very difficult environment to live in. You’re all white for the most part and it’s a big problem for a lot of the black Bahamians that you’re down here. Believe it or not, they want your money, they want SEE PAGE 12
MINISTERS GUILTY OF CHILD CRUELTY By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
TWO ministers will return to the Magistrate’s Court this week for sentencing, having been found guilty by a magistrate on Friday of giving a 15-yearold boy liquor to get him drunk. Magistrate Andrew Forbes presided over the trial of Arsenio Butler, 30, and Devin Sears, 28, concerning an incident alleged to have occurred between January 31, 2014, and February 1, 2014. SEE PAGE 13
PAGE 2, Monday, January 23, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
‘32,000 extra jobs since 2012’ from page one
THE PROGESSIVE Liberal Party prayer breakfast attendees at the Melia.
“So the country has every indication before them that we are on the path to recovery as a country and notwithstanding Hurricanes Joaquin and Matthew, we have been able to by the grace of God begin our recovery from the devastation of those hurricanes. “When we go into convention we will be mixing with our brothers and sisters from the islands,” he said. “Let us leave our convention united in spirit. Recognising that oceans separate us, but that this spirit of which I speak connects us as Bahamians, connects us as Progressive Liberal Party supporters, and connects us as citizens who are going to empower the candidates for the PLP to win the next general election and go on to continue to serve the people of The Bahamas in the best possible way.” According to official figures released by the Department of Statistics, the number of employed persons grew from 160,650 in May 2012 to 192,385 in October 2016, the last time the Labour Force Survey was carried out, representing an increase of 31,735 employed persons. The latest Labour Force Survey, released last month, also indicated the unemployment rate between October 24-30, 2016 was 11.6 per cent, a 1.1 per cent decline from the last review in May of that year. The decline came as hundreds of Bahamians gained employment in the construction sector after Hurricane Matthew’s devastating impact. Critics have accused the department of including temporary jobs in its tally and DOS officials could not assess the quality of the jobs created in the time between the two most recent surveys, such as whether they are likely to be stable jobs. However, Leona Wilson, the acting director of the DOS, admitted in December that an unemployment rate decline would not have taken place if it were not
THE PROGESSIVE Liberal Party pre-convention prayer breakfast at the Melia. Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff for the construction jobs list of all of the individucreated in the wake of the als, the new employees the powerful storm, Hurricane companies start to contribMatthew. ute for between May 2012 The Christie adminis- and May 2014? tration’s 52-week job pro“Mr Speaker you know gramme also contributed what we came up with? We to the unemployment rate had 43,000 persons who decline, benefiting mostly companies began paying young people, although of- contributions for the first ficials were unable to say time since May 7, 2012. Then how many people have we did a cross-reference as been employed through the we said ‘hold on a second programme. now’ because there were The PLP’s 30,000 jobs some persons who came off boast was first introduced the payroll and we did the in Parliament during the exercise and we got 13,000. 2014/2015 Budget Debate So 13,000 from 43,000 by Labour and National leaves 30,000. So we had apInsurance Minister Shane proximately 30,000 persons Gibson. between May 2012 and May Mr Gibson had told par- 2014 who are employed toliamentarians that he ob- day who were not employed tained the employment prior to that time.” information from the NaMr Gibson later clarified tional Insurance Board’s that the job figures he an(NIB) contribution records nounced in the House of at the request of Deputy Assembly were a “mixture” Prime Minister Philip of previously unemployed “Brave” Davis. Mr Gibson people and those who were said the collection of NIB employed, but had transcontributions was one of “a ferred to new companies few ways we can tell how from their current jobs. many jobs are operating in Two weeks prior during The Bahamas.” his 2014/2015 Budget Com“A new company would munication, Prime Minister have to register for Nation- Perry Christie confirmed al Insurance and then as to parliamentarians that you have various employ- during his administration’s ees being hired by various first two years in office, lacompanies who have to pay bour market conditions imcontributions for them,” Mr proved slightly with 2,600 Gibson said in June 2014. jobs added to the Bahamian “(Mr Davis) asked me, workforce. why don’t you go to NationMr Christie explained at al Insurance, ask them for the time that employment a list of all the companies figures, which covered six that registered since May 7, months of the year 2013 up 2012, ask them for a name to November, resulted in a list of the persons who com- lowered jobless rate. That panies took off their payroll rate, he said, fell to 15.4 six months prior to May 7, per cent from 16.2 per cent 2012 and then give me the overall.
BODY FOUND AFTER FIRE THOUGHT TO BE EMIGRANT FROM BAHAMAS HUMAN remains discovered in a home gutted by fire in Erin, Ontario, during the early hours of Wednesday morning are believed to be those of Alexya (Lexy) Solomon, 58, who moved to Canada from The Bahamas about 40 years ago. Family in Nassau were awaiting the results from The Centre of Forensic Sciences, where the remains were sent for further analysis. The smouldering ruins of the two storey-log home was discovered at 9:15am by the vet who arrived to keep an appointment for the horses on the farm. The heavy fog and rain and the fact that the house sits about 200 feet from the road, in a heavily wooded area, made an early detection difficult. When the vet arrived all that remained was smouldering ruins. The car was in the garage, but the truck that was parked near the home had “bubbled because of the intense heat.” The vet set off the alarm with a 911 call. There was no sign of the dog, which was believed to have perished in the flames as well as the birds that were in the home. The horses – four horses and a pony — whose stables were a distance from the home, were unharmed. They had not been fed that morning, but friends were now caring for them. There was no sign of Ms Solomon. However, it was confirmed that she was at home that night, because a friend had talked with her over the phone at 8:30 pm. Friends speculate that her wood stove on the first floor, located just below her bedroom, might have been the cause of the blaze. They
ALEXYA SOLOMON remember helping to cut wood for the stove with the onset of winter. A friend said that police have said that with only smouldering foundations remaining the cause of the fire might never be known. Ms Solomon, a riding enthusiast, left for Canada about 40 years ago to follow her equestrian dream. There she met her future husband, Robert Sharpe, a professional equestrian. They later held clinics at the Camperdown ranch in Nassau, where she used to ride before leaving for Canada. In Canada, she was a fixture on the hunter/jumper A circuit for many years, beginning when she and her now ex-husband owned a farm in Hillsburgh. Lexy Solomon was the daughter of the late Norman Solomon, and his first wife, the late Eleana Esfakis. She is survived by her two sons, Alexander Sharpe and Austin Wells, a 2-year-old granddaughter, Hilija; a sister, Andrya Shulte and two brothers, Sean and Spencer Solomon of Nassau. Mrs Shulte left for Canada on Sunday.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, January 23, 2017, PAGE 3
Valley Boys to sue over Junkanoo By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE Valley Boys Junkanoo group plans to take legal action against the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence (JCNP) over the change in the 2017 New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade results, after the Roots Junkanoo group was declared the official winner of that event. JCNP Chairman Silbert Ferguson told reporters on Friday that the change was due to an error in allocating the appropriate penalties, adding that attorneys representing the Valley Boys informed him by letter that the group is “going to proceed with legal action” against the JCNP. The Valley Boys had previously been declared the unofficial winners of the parade. At Friday’s press conference at JCNP headquarters, Parade Management Team (PMT) Chairman Anthen Mortimer announced that Roots, with an overall positioning score of 81.58, and a 1.33-point penalty, were the official winners of the New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade. Valley Boys consequently received a second place finish with 80.23 points and a 1.50-point penalty. The Shell Saxons Superstars, which had previously placed third in the unofficial results, dropped to fourth place with a total of 77.17 points and a 1.83 point penalty, while One Family moved into third place with 79.91 points and a 1.17 point penalty.
THE VALLEY Boys in action during New Year Junkanoo. Genesis Warhawks came in fifth with 67.96 points and a 5.50-point penalty. Mr Ferguson explained on Friday that Roots initially received fourth place after being assessed a penalty of 6.33 points, which he said came from two persons carrying a costume. Mr Ferguson said that the judge that issued the penalty “did not register the costume or the costume name, they just gave them a penalty.” However, Mr Ferguson said that unless officials are able to identify the costume in question, the penalty would have to be removed. He added that the penalty that was levied against Roots is referred to in the JCNP as an individual penalty (I-penalty), which would not affect the group in its entirety. If it did, he said it would then be a group penalty (G-penalty). However, he said that the I-penalty was “moved from the I-position to the group
position,” thus affecting Roots directly. “So it moved, the Roots group originally if you look at the scores, you can basically see here that Roots has won the raw score; 82.92, that is the initial score of all the groups before any penalties,” he said. “They won the parade. But when you give them a five-point penalty, a 6.33, they drop to fourth. Now the (Independent Review Committee) adjudicated and they removed the penalty, and once they removed it, it pushed them back where they were supposed to be. “And that’s why all of the other groups don’t have a challenge because all of the groups saw it the same time. It was an I-penalty and everybody knew it. “The reason we could not go and move the penalty, is because once the unofficial results are read, the only way for you to change them is to protest them, which
they did – they protested and that is going to take us to January 15. And so it’s unfortunate that that has happened, because an Ipenalty, it would have gone against the costume.” He added: “Whoever the costume is, if they were winning and they lost five points, then they don’t win. But that five points in the costume context, would have only probably moved .25 points away from that group in that bracket, because it’s only five per cent. But when you move it directly from the group, one point matters in these parades. If you could see these scores, these are 80, 81, 82, 83. One point eats you up.” Transparency Indirectly addressing the decision by Valley Boys to take legal action against the JCNP, Mr Ferguson insisted that the organisation is confident in the transparency of its operations,
pointing to the JCNP’s accommodation of all Junkanoo groups in its decision making process, as well as the establishment of an Independent Review Committee to review the JCNP’s rules and procedures, as well as adjudicate disputes. “Every Junkanoo group is a member of the Junkanoo Corporation,” he said. “We all participate at this level. There is no rule that leaves this table unless all of the groups agree. Our parades cannot start unless all of us agree. “…This is a process,” he added. “We don’t just jump up and say this is it, that is it. We don’t go in a back room and do this. Every Junkanoo group has observers at every point in our parades. They have observers at the gates to observe what is going on in other groups, they have observers in the tally room when they add up all the scores, so everybody is privy to the information. “This is the first time in Junkanoo history over the last seven years that groups have the ability to see everything. But at the end of the day we still have disputes. Our job moving forward is as we finish every parade season, we try to make ourselves better for the next season. “Last year, most of you will be aware that the JCNP spent nine months in the court of law with the Roots Junkanoo group, so this year we put on our battle gear again to sit again. We are very confident in our rules and the way that they were administered, and all of the groups sitting here know that they were ad-
MARINES CLEARED OF CUBAN ABUSE ‘VICTIMISED’
from page one
all been removed from the Carmichael Road Detention Centre as a result of the scandal, adding that he has been stationed to “work at these outposts where no one sees me, I don’t see anybody,” despite being cleared of the charges in August 2016. The marine also claimed that while the trial was going on, the five marines were eligible for promotions, but had to watch in dismay as “junior persons skipped us, and senior persons told us we can’t get promoted because of that Cuban thing.” As a result, the marine claimed that the five “aren’t awarded the same opportunities as everybody else.” The marine said he and his embattled colleagues “still love the job,” mainly because despite the missed promotion opportunities, they are still focused on being able to “move on, move forward and get what we deserve to get.” In May 2013, five Cuban detainees were allegedly physically abused to a severe degree, following an attempted escape by seven Cuban detainees from the Carmichael Road facility. The government subsequently ordered an investigation into the alleged abuse of the detainees, which took the form of closed disciplinary hearings at the RBDF base at Coral Harbour. Three independent observers – retired Justice Cheryl Albury, former RBDF Commander Leon Smith and Bahamas Christian Council President Rev Dr Ranford Patterson were subsequently appointed by the government to sit in on the hearings. Then, after more than three years after the disciplinary hearings were launched, attorney for the
five marines Wayne Munroe revealed earlier this month that the marines had been cleared of the charges, and that the marines were found to have used force not outside of what was appropriate under the circumstances. “During all that none of us got promoted,” the marine told The Tribune. “We were all eligible for promotion. We didn’t get promoted at all. We watched junior persons skip us, and senior persons told us we can’t get promoted because of that Cuban thing. We all got removed from the detention centre, we can no longer work there. What else can I say? “I honestly couldn’t care less about how people treat me, but when you see you’re being victimised for something you didn’t do, you kind of wonder where is the innocent until proven guilty thing. Even though we won the case, but when you’re still being treated by the (RBDF) command as if you’re guilty anyway… “…. One of the senior guys who is up for promotion, he is the most skilled person on paper in the defence force right now. The only person who had more training than him retired. A second senior person in this situation, he is the most skilled person the defence force has. When I say skill I’m talking about military tactics, weapon skills, he’s a military guy. “He’s very skilled and well trained, trained by the US, multiple courses in the United States, military, navy, he has all his documents, all his papers. I think he’s a commando also. He now works on a boat. He can’t work anywhere now that deals with weapons. They have persons who replaced him can’t even hold his shoes, so judge wearing them.” The marine also claimed
that after being removed from the Detention Centre, he was almost made by senior RBDF officials to “clean the yard” of an unspecified outpost, an attempt he claimed was thwarted by him “complaining to senior persons.” “…I was going to leave the job if I had to do that, because I am well trained also,” he added. “But that’s the kind of treatment we saw, because they literally left me alone where I work at these outposts where no one sees me, I don’t see anybody. No one talks to you, when I say no one I’m talking about senior command – no senior command talks to you, you can’t look forward to promotion. Nothing like that. “So my thing is we might have won the case, but all we have right now is a job. We aren’t awarded the same opportunities as everybody has, even after being cleared of this stuff, and we’re getting treated dead bad right now because of what’s going on.” He added: “I’m fit. I watched fellas three and four hundred pounds, junior to me - they’re now senior to me. They can’t carry weapons because they don’t know how to use one, but this is the person who’s senior to me. “Yeah, they got promoted because they wasn’t in a scandal. I’ve never been in no scandal and I’ve been on my job for 13 years. Now all of a sudden I’m in a scandal. And these things follow you, man.” Despite missing out on the promotions and being relocated, the marine said he and his colleagues still have “high morale” and are still “devoted and motivated” to work for the RBDF. He also said he personally did not have a major issue with being removed
from the detention centre, as he said contrary to what some may believe, being stationed at the Detention Centre isn’t exactly for “lazy” people. “I don’t mind if I don’t go back down there, I couldn’t care less if I go back there because like I say you’re going to work hard if you go back down there,” he said. “Down there ain’t no picnic. In the night time, the posts where we work now, ain’t nothing happening down at these posts, but at the Detention Centre you can’t go down there sleepy. Your eyes have to be wide open or you’ll have another incident where someone try to (escape) again. “You could imagine you working there in the night time, and you watching these fellas watching you? It’s 10 of them, they have nine sleeping and one out standing up by the fence watching you waiting for you to close your eye. Disciplined. And when that one get tired he go and tap the next one. They watching you all night. You’re watching them but they’re watching you. They’re letting you know the minute, the second you dip your eye, they’re out of there. Trust me, them fellas don’t play. “But our morale on the job, we love our job, other than not being promoted. That was the only thing that happened to us. Nobody scorned and picked at us. Only at first we had a little bit of backlash from other people in the defence force. But other than that, only the promotion we missed. The marine also said he neither he nor his colleagues had an issue with the proceedings into the matter. “We were all satisfied with the outcome, we were all satisfied with the case, we were all satisfied with the decision, we all think we got fairness, and we’re
BUSINESS OWNER SHOOTS TWO MEN ON HIS PREMISES By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
TWO men were shot at a business on Thursday evening in Freeport, Grand Bahama after the owner allegedly discovered them on his premises. According to police reports, the incident happened shortly after 10pm at a business on East Beach Drive. Inspector Terecita Pin-
der reported that the business owner, along with his son, saw three men on the property. The man told police that two of the men approached him and as a result he discharged his licensed shotgun, injuring both males. EMS personnel took the men to the Rand Memorial Hospital. Insp Pinder said the businessman and his son are assisting police with their investigations into the matter.
all of the opinion that the defence force – say what you want to say about them – but they were very fair, the person who heard the case, our captain who heard the case, he was very fair. “The prosecutor, he was stern but he was also fair. We all sat with each other and we all agreed on that.”
ministered properly. Now if they have some irregularities, it’s our job to get back here and straighten out the irregularities.” However, Mr Ferguson seemed to take exception to the Valley Boys’ decision to pursue legal action against the JCNP, suggesting that groups facing the same issues the Valley Boys group is facing with the JCNP still manage to “win with this same system.” “You could win up to five, six, seven parades in this same system. But when you lose it’s a challenge. I have a problem with that. I understand clearly the emotions of Junkanoo. I am a 46year veteran. I have been through all of the levels of Junkanoo. “I understand the emotions, and especially when you have been declared the unofficial winner and there is an error. And I just want to say that the JCNP takes a lot of heat because we are ultimately responsible. But I think this year we will expose all of what has caused us to get to this point. I think it’s time that we stop taking all the hits, and the persons who sit and make these decisions, I think we have to make them accountable to the public. Because what has transpired, what is BH17_AllTheBahamas_1colx3.5 1/ happening right now should have never happened.”
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The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”
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Trump, amid combative start, pledges to rise to moment WASHINGTON (AP) — After a combative start to his presidency, Donald Trump delivered a more unifying message Sunday and sought to reassure Americans he was ready to begin governing a divided nation. Trump began rolling out his plans for diplomatic outreach, speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and announcing plans for early meetings with Netanyahu and other world leaders. He thanked top law enforcement officers for their service and support. And he swore-in a group of aides, telling them he believed they were ready to rise to a daunting task. “But with the faith in each other and the faith in God, we will get the job done,” Trump said in a ceremony in the White House East Room. “We will prove worthy of this moment in history. And I think it may very well be a great moment in history.” Trump’s reassurance came after a day marked by global protests against his presidency and his own complaints about media coverage of his inauguration, a combination of events that made for a contentious first full day in office on Saturday. But even as the White House tried to forge forward, the president’s aides continued to defend the president and his press secretary, both of whom tore into journalists for accurately reporting that his swearing-in ceremony drew a smaller crowd than President Barack Obama did eight years ago. On Sunday, a top adviser said the Trump administration was supplying “alternative facts.” “There’s no way to really quantify crowds. We all know that. You can laugh at me all you want,” Kellyanne Conway told NBC’s “Meet The Press.” She added: “I think it’s actually symbolic of the way we’re treated by the press.” Trump on Saturday declared he believed “it looked like a million and a half people”. But ridership on the Washington’s Metro system didn’t match that of recent inaugurations. As of 11am Friday, there were 193,000 trips taken, according to the transportation service’s Twitter account. At the same hour eight years ago, there had been 513,000 trips. Four years later, there were 317,000 for Obama’s second inauguration. Conway also declared that Trump will not release his tax returns now that he’s taken office, breaking a promise he made during the campaign. As a candidate, he said he would release his returns after an IRS audit was completed. Every president since 1976 has released the information, but Conway said she does not believe Americans care whether Trump follows suit. “He’s not going to release his tax returns. We litigated this all through the election. People didn’t care,” Conway said on ABC’s “This Week.” Trump’s advisers have set Monday up as the president’s first major day of action on his sweeping campaign promises, but as of Sunday night, it appeared as though his team was still making decisions on what moves to make. Some congressional Republicans had expected Trump to sign orders over the weekend, but those never materialised. Trump campaigned on a very specific
18-point plan for this first day in office. If he follows it, he could sign executive orders on immigration, trade and national security. Trump has pledged to scuttle trade deals such as a pending Asia-Pacific agreement and overturn Obama’s executive order deferring deportations for 700,000 people who were brought into the country illegally as children. He’s due to begin formally discussing his agenda Monday at a meeting with a bipartisan group of congressional leaders. Trump’s early call to Netanyahu was aimed at signaling his support for Israel and a new start in a relationship that became increasingly fraught during the Obama administration. Trump described that conversation as “very nice.” White House officials said Trump “affirmed his unprecedented commitment to Israel’s security.” The leaders agree to meet at the White House in early February. Trump announced that he’s set up meetings with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. “We’re going to start some negotiations having to do with NAFTA,” he said of his meeting with Mexico, along with immigration and security at the border. Trump has promised to build a wall along the length of the southern border and insisted that Mexico will pay for it. The new president showed he was clinging to some of his pre-presidential habits. He responded to Saturday’s protests on Twitter, offering a scattershot response. In one tweet, he sarcastically denigrating the public opposition and then defended demonstrators’ rights a short time later. “Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn’t these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly,” Trump tweeted early Sunday morning. Ninety-five minutes later, he struck a more conciliatory tone. “Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don’t always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views,” the president tweeted, still using his personal account. The dueling tweets marked his administration’s first response to the more than 1 million people who rallied at women’s marches in Washington and cities across the world. Hundreds of protesters lined the street as Trump’s motorcade drove past on Saturday afternoon, with many screaming and chanting. The Washington rally appeared to attract more people than attended Trump’s inauguration on Friday, but there were no completely comparable numbers. Regional transportation officials tweeted on Sunday that 1,001,616 trips were taken on the rail system on Saturday. Metro spokesman Dan Stessel had said that on Friday, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, just over 570,000 trips were taken on the rail system. Trump, whose 12th wedding anniversary was Sunday, also attended a reception for law enforcement officers and first responders who helped with his inauguration. He singled out the work of FBI Director James Comey, to whom he offered a handshake and hug. Jonathan Lemire of the Associated Press
Bahamas issues EDITOR, The Tribune. SO a black man, Archdeacon Palacious says precisely what a white man, Richard Lightbourne basically said and there is cheering? You mean we have gotten that stupid? Social Scientists will admit The Bahamas has probably some 120,000 too many people living here the majority undocumented could be as high as 115,000. PM on passing the baton - slip of tongue or foot in mouth you choose, but as I see it he could be heading to precisely what happened
to Sir Lynden but in Christie’s case he could probably lose his seat also. Boy, what an end to a political career. Get out now, sir, save the embarrassment. Matthew clean-up - sorry Minister Gibson you numbers do not jive... Also the Employment numbers don’t jive... selectively taking in high employment islands. Junior Roberts and Sebas and Numbers cash - yes an unknown amount of money is being played now more than a year ago since Christie & Co made it legal after We said “No” but then costs have gone up because of VAT. Mr
Roberts VAT from you to us is 7.5% but not the total VAT what we pay that’s 35%, sir. Street lighting - who is in charge? Please go around the island and correct the many poles whose lights have been out for far too long ... light deters crime, Ms Pamela at BP&L. International survey in Tourism media where are the best beaches? Of the top 25 beaches not a single one was in The Bahamas....a given in the past. W THOMPSON Nassau, January 11, 2017.
Unrighteous Palacious DITOR, The Tribune. IN the interest of fair play, the Venerable Archdeacon James Palacious needs to join Richard Lightbourn in the penalty box for his recent insensitive public outburst. The Archdeacon is familiar with the need for nuance and diplomatic language to sell complex or sensitive issues to a wide audience. He ascends the pulpit weekly to sell the miracle of a virgin birth, resurrection, transubstantiation and other such knotty articles of faith. It was ironic then that he used the occasion of Majority Rule Day to lecture the 85 per cent of the population who are black that their fertility rate is too high. Not content when this first land mine exploded around him, the Reverend gentleman went further, linking the high birth rate of blacks with irresponsible social behaviour, opening up a chicken-and-egg moral hazard. His intentions may have been honourable, of course, but are hardly defensible. He came across as shaming one group of people and creating the impression that only blacks have too many babies they cannot afford. We are left to assume that he got this from a higher authority. Or that he is arrogant and judgmental. If you whistle, I’ll point to many white Bahamian women who have large families they cannot support and yet who continue their baby making ways, in tandem with their black cousins (and sometimes even for their black paramours). Of course, in raw numbers blacks out number
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net whites so it stands as fact that there are more black kids running around than white ones. And the poverty numbers are greater with blacks but are no less severe or burdensome for whites. As the old folks reminded us, catching hell ain’t reserved for one colour, only they substituted “hell” for a word better depicting the posterior of one’s anatomy. Teenage pregnancy is nothing new, neither are large families forged without the financial security of a two-parent household. In fact the church pews have for a long time been filled with large families. Back in the day, large families translated into many hands to work the farm or the family business and then to provide security in your golden years. What the Archdeacon did speak to was the gaming of the social safety net system by too many of our black and white neighbours. What was meant to be a last resort, courtesy of the taxpayer, has become for some an entitlement with children used as pawns to increase their haul in the Treasury rip-off game. It the past it was the wider family, neighbours and yes, the church who carried this burden for those with too many children that they couldn’t feed, clothe, house, educate or otherwise support. Young girls who found themselves in a family way were sent to live with mama dem on the island. No child must ever go to bed hungry in this country, of course. But we must en-
sure that our limited social service budget is not being exploited by the cold-hearted and, dare I say it, fraudsters, thugs, users and vagabonds disguised as parents. The Archdeacon, glaringly, didn’t drop licks on the men who share parental responsibility for these babies. The establishment of paternity must be a prerequisite for accessing nonlife-threatening or life-sustaining social services. Here’s a novel idea that will cause great consternation among some church folk. Let’s teach real sex education in public and religious schools – R. M. Bailey and C. R. Walker as well as St. John’s College and St. Andrew’s. Let’s give out birth control pills and condoms along with prom gowns and tuxedos, if the parents agree. Let’s get parents and grandparents, teachers and preachers to take their collective heads out of the sand and stop the backward thinking that only black, or poor, or fast, or hardheaded and disobedient girls have babies they cannot afford or even want. Let’s have a healthy talk about sex. But let’s add in poverty and class and privilege, and all skin colours, and opportunity and education and health and welfare. We need Richard Lightbourn to rejoin the discussion provided he leaves his tube-tying sutures at home. The Archdeacon should come too, if he can control his solecism and, like Richard, atone for his indecorous language. THE GRADUATE Nassau, January 15, 2017.
Rebel confusion EDITOR, The Tribune.
AS a Bahamian who is concerned about the leadership of my country, I am constrained to ask who is in charge of the “Rebel seven” and the DNA “Coalition”, if there is one? We know that Dr Minnis is the leader of the FNM, but there seems to be some disagreement as to who is the leader of the “new bold coalition”. One day Loretta ButlerTurner says that there is a
new coalition coming, but then the next day Bran McCartney says that there is no such coalition forming. Who is right? Who is leading the Official Opposition in the Parliament if the leaders of the two houses can’t even agree on whether they talked about forming a coalition? This is mind-boggling. If they can’t agree on whether they have talked then how do they think they can be a real opposition in the up-
coming election? Every day it becomes more and more clear that this move by Loretta was fool hearted and that she is not a leader. She blamed Dr Minnis for not being a good Leader of the Opposition, but she has proved from Day One that she is even worse. Every move she has made has failed. It is time for her to step up or step down. CONCERNED Nassau, January, 2017.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, January 23, 2017, PAGE 5
Hundreds of millions in flyover fees lost by PLP from page one Atlanta, New York, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, Central America and Mexico. According to documents obtained exclusively by The Tribune, while the FAA has been collecting $58.75 a mile in “En route” fees as mandated by the US Congress for flights that use our strategic airspace – which has been redesignated by the FAA as Miami Oceanic (ZMA) – the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) commented that the FAA was only able to have the first “official dialogue” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March, 2014, after submitting its “Air Navigation Service Provider Proposal back in 2006”. A former high-ranking official with the FAA commented that “I always found it fascinating that the US has to unilaterally resolve and to co-ordinate airspace issues — which lie in the heart of your nation’s geographical borders – while your Government takes years to respond to our proposal!” This agreement has suddenly taken on a new sense of urgency with President Obama’s visit to Cuba and the re-opening of diplomatic relations between the two nations. In July 2015, representatives from the Air Line Pilots Association, Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (Private Aircraft) Air traffic Controllers Association, American Airlines, Delta, Jet Blue Airlines, Southwest, Federal Express (FEDEX), New York Port Authority, the US Department of Defense, United Airlines & United Parcel Service (UPS) along with experts from the FAA who make up the Eastern Regional Task Group concluded in their final draft report that “the airspace structure is not aligned to the current demands of air transportation,safety nor capacity without significant investment in infrastructure and improvements in airspace structure”. “A critical priority,” states the report,” is to address the estimated 40,00070,000 additional overflights that will have to be accommodated through the increasingly crowded and complex Miami Oceanic Airspace (ZMA) Sectors 40 & 60 for new flights between US and Cuba.” Another seasoned industry source said: “I’m delighted that the PLP has stopped the FAA from charging Bahamian airlines to fly in our own nation. But it’s just typical for Bradley Roberts and Glenys Hanna Martin to be jumping up and down like they’ve just won the powerball lottery when in reality they should have stopped the
FAA charging our airlines which everyone knew about in 2006 - not 11 years later. “To the best of my knowledge, we have never delegated the FAA with the authority to tax the citizens of our sovereign state; even going as far back as 1952 when the FAA was first delegated to provide air route traffic control services to our archipelago. In fact, when Sir Lynden Pindling stated his government’s acceptance of our succession to the Chicago Convention in 1975, there is no record of him ever delegating this responsibility either,” said the source. “What I find unforgivable is that the PLP has allowed thousands of planes and ships belonging to ‘foreign carriers’ to transit our sovereign air-space and the seas of our sovereign nation for free since 1973. If this is how the PLP claims they’re ‘putting Bahamians first’, I want to be a foreigner from here on!” he remarked. In contrast to the footdragging of the Bahamas government, The Times of India reported that the International Airline Transportation Administration (IATA) estimates that airlines from British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Air Asia, Ryan Air, Air France, Cathy Pacific, Emirates, Ethiad, Lufthansa, Jet Airways Caribbean Airlines, South African Airways, Ethiopian Airways, Delta, American, United, Jet Blue, FedEX, UPS, China Airlines, China Southern Airlines and hundreds of others spend tens of billions on route navigation fees with 180 nations around the globe.
Robert Poole Jr, director of transportation studies at the Reason Foundation, states in his report, “Solving Air Traffic Control Funding Crisis”, that “The Bahamas is one of only 20 small and relatively poor countries in the world Benin, Brunei, Comoros, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lesotho, Monaco, Namibia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, Swaziland, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu - that don’t charge for ATC services.” Just how valuable could The Bahamas ATC overflight fees be? In order to arrive at a reasonable determination one must first recognise that the airspace and internal waters of our archipelagic state - beginning just offshore Miami & Ft Lauderdale stretching for hundreds of miles to the tip of Cuba; East to Hispaniola bordering Puerto Rico airspace near Haiti & Dominican Republic; Northward up beyond Abaco to
WOMAN DIES WHILE SNORKELLING POLICE are investigating the death of a woman from Florida who died after snorkelling on Friday. According to a report from police, shortly before noon, two women visitors were snorkelling in waters off Rose Island when one of them reportedly lost consciousness. The woman was taken to shore and given assistance, police said. She was later taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead. Officers are also investigating two armed robberies that occurred on the weekend. In the first incident, shortly after 8.30pm on Saturday, a woman was robbed of cash by three men. According to police, the victim was
standing outside a business on Blue Hill Road when the three men approached, armed with a handgun, and stole cash and a cell phone before fleeing on foot. Shortly after 3am Sunday, two gunmen robbed a man of his car. The man had just arrived at his home at Golf Course Boulevard when two men with a handgun approached. They stole his silver vehicle, license plate number 301028. One of the suspects escaped the scene in the victim’s car while the other fled in a white Kia Rio. Anyone with information on these crimes is asked to call police at 911, 919, 5029991 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS.
THE AIR traffic boundaries of The Bahamas, above, and, below, figues showing the yearly revenue received by a number of countries around the world from overflights of their territory. New York Oceanic airspace and finally West where it interfaces with the US Domestic Airspace and the US Air Interdict Defence Zone (AIDZ) just off the coast of Florida - straddle some of the most key air routes and sea lanes connecting The Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Central America, Mexico, Europe, Latin America to Miami and the southern US. Secondly, let’s take a look at what other nations are charging with comparable levels of traffic. Take Sri Lanka, it says it will generate US $10m a year from
the 100 fights that cross its territory each day; while Afghanistan says it will generates a respectable US$33m in overflight fees. Ukraine hit the jackpot after negotiating a revenue share deal. In its first year, it netted more than US $200 million from the 150 flights that crossed its strategic airspace on the way to Asia each day. Before, that is, that air corridor was closed to all flights after the Malaysia flight disaster. According to The Times of India, Iran’s corridor in the Middle East helps it generate a US$237m a year from 350 daily flights which safely pass over its territory in the Middle East. By comparison, Ireland’s Aviation Authority, which handles 90% of the flights crossing the Atlantic, takes
in an impressive US$173m a year from 900 aircraft which pass over this strategically located nation on their flights between Europe and the USA. Pakistan was so upset when it discovered that top officials had failed to bill thousands of foreign carriers whose flights had been using its airspace since 2012, that it brought charges against its CAA for negligence. Russia, on the other hand, seems to have its act together. EuroControl believes that Russia generates at least US$511m in overflight fees from European long haul airlines using Siberia’s polar route on their way to Asia, which doesn’t include payments from Asian airlines flying to Europe. And last, but by no means least, The Bahamas. With over a thousand flights crossing our territorial airspace each day and the FAA charging rates double that of Ireland’s Aviation Authority, this must be a mind boggling figure. Yes, it is! The Bahamas gets nothing. That’s because for the past five years our government has failed to conclude an agreement with the relevant US authorities on a proposal which has sat in limbo since 2006. “WeMarch” co-founder John Bostwick commented: “I don’t fault any government for delegating the FAA with responsibility to provide air route traffic control services to our nation. “It’s such an immense,
highly sophisticated and capital intensive undertaking, made even more so by the political ramifications and immense liability we would face if we ever made an inadvertent error.” However, what concerned Mr Bostwick was “that the PLP appears to
have sold the sovereign ownership of our nation’s airspace and internal waters to the Americans for free for decades. Who could be unable to reach a revenue share agreement when you’ve had the proposal lying on your desk for almost five years?”
PAGE 6, Monday, January 23, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
‘PM should shuffle less and deal with crime more’ By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement officials accused Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday of being more concerned with “shuffling” than with addressing concerns Bahamians may have about the safety of schools and communities. A stabbing incident at Government High School (GHS) last week caught the attention of many in the country, promoting worry and a debate about longstanding crime problems. While the FNM’s candidates for Mount Moriah and South Beach, Marvin Dames and Jeffery Lloyd, said they visited GHS on Friday to meet with staff and students of the school, they attacked Mr Christie during a press conference on crime yesterday for not directly addressing the incident. The FNM spent more time criticising the PLP than it did discussing its own crime plan. However, Mr Dames said the party wants to “develop a zero tolerance attitude to all crimes,” place emphasis on law enforcement train-
ing and deal with “intelligence on the highest level.” However, Mr Dames did not reveal many specifics of the FNM’s plan, out of fear the Progressive Liberal Party would steal these ideas. In terms of school safety, Mr Dames said metal detectors must be placed at entrances to every junior and senior public high school in the country, adding that there must be better screening of students as they enter school premises. He added that “professionally trained security officers” should be engaged to supplement the police presence in schools and the better use of technology like CCTV is required. “The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has become obsessed with optics and have clearly chosen political mileage over the welfare of our country’s citizens,” Mr Dames, former deputy commissioner of police, said. “On the day that social and traditional media were ablaze with images of lost youth attacking each other, pledging commitments to cowardly gangs who poisoned the minds of our children and a sense of dread sank in as errant reports
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made the rounds, the PLP chose to have a huge party, bussing in supporters and using the national broadcaster as a propaganda tool to cover their failed leaders in glory as the nation cowered behind closed doors. “I was aghast that as a student (lay) in the Princess Margaret Hospital nursing stab wounds, reportedly inflicted by other children, there was not one word about the incident from the prime minister of our nation,” Mr Dames added. “Instead of using the national platform to reassure a terrified citizenry, the prime minister took to the stage and to what he does best when he has no clue what to do: shuffle, shuffle, and more shuffle. I was mortified that as exhausted police officers and teachers worked to reassure the fragile confidence of the security of our schools and neighbourhoods, the Minister of National Security (Dr Bernard Nottage) basked in the adulation of his supporters without uttering one word about the situation in our schools and on our streets.” For his part, Mr Lloyd said when he and Mr Dames visited GHS on Friday, they
discovered that out of 900 students, only 32 showed up, most of them prefects. “They expressed their own deep and traumatised concern for the state of their school and the fact that on many, many occasions there are fights on the campus,” he said. “Students advised us when we met with them in individual groups that they saw this (stabbing incident) coming. Just the Monday before and the Tuesday and the Wednesday they had fights on the campus.” Mr Lloyd added: “Where is (Mr Christie) in the wake of this tragedy? Where is he in the face of this terror that is consuming our schools? Is he busy campaigning for his precious post as PLP leader for this week’s convention? Or is he off somewhere once again shuffling to the Junkanoo beat? Why has he failed to address the nation or at least visit the campus of the Government High School in the aftermath of these heinous events?” Although Mr Christie made no direct mention of the GHS incident during his public appearances last week, he did discuss crime generally during an event marking the opening of the
Office of the Public Defender. On Thursday, he said he had spent most of that day in a conference with the Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage, State Minister for National Security Keith Bell and Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, receiving security briefings and discussing crime challenges. PLP MP Arnold Forbes was on site at GHS on Thursday after the stabbing incident. Speaking about the FNM’s plans to get a handle on crime, Mr Dames said: “We will not be introducing any form of selective policing. We’re not going to cherry pick what we deal with. We’re going to give the police the freedom to carry out the laws of the Bahamas. We’re going to develop a modern, efficient crime fighting machine; well trained. We’re gong to spend a tremendous amount of time and resources and energy on training our law enforcement officers across the board to ensure that they are capable or more capable and they are confident in the execution of their duties and know ex-
actly what they are doing when called upon. We will work closely with community partners to change the culture of violence in our communities. “ . . . We’re going to deal with intelligence on the highest level . . . we’re going to introduce a national intelligence component that you’ve never seen before. We have one now but there’s no legislation governing what they are doing and do we know what they are doing? What exactly is their mandate? We are going to articulate the mandate of a real NIA (National Intelligence Agency) that will effectively make inroads into the trafficking of illegal firearms, alien smuggling, drugs and every other form of criminality that continues to erode this country.” He said the party will also “empower” communities so they can be an “an integral part” of the crime fighting machine. “I don’t want to give too much because they may postpone this election into next year and take some of our ideas and introduce it into their plan and say they got the real deal,” Mr Dames said.
SEARS SEEKS ‘QUIET REVOLUTION’ IN CONVENTION LEADERSHIP VOTE from page one
Scores of supporters filled the grounds of the party’s headquarters last Thursday for the ratification of 16 candidates – the majority of whom were senior incumbent MPs, including Mr Christie. On stage, those candidates all expressed their full support of Mr Christie as party leader, and his return as prime minister for another term. However, Mr Sears insisted that “God is still in control,” adding that he believed in the fairness and sense of justice of PLP delegates, stalwarts and supporters, and their ability to assess tactics critically. “It is an act of desperation,” he said. “It is an act
ALFRED Sears at the Progessive Liberal Party pre-convention prayer breakfast at the Melia. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff of desperation which is being witnessed by the entire Commonwealth of The Bahamas. That on the eve of a convention, one which ought to have taken place each year, which has not taken place for eight years, that on the eve of this convention you would have the appointment of stalwart councillors, hundreds of stalwart councillors. Mr Sears said: “But I believe in the fairness in the sense of justice of the people who comprise this party, that the stalwarts the delegates will see it for what it is and that is why I see myself as David where the opponent appears to have every single advantage, but
God is still in control.” Mr Sears spoke to The Tribune on the sidelines of the party’s prayer breakfast to mark the start of its 52nd national general convention, under the theme “He’ll do it again”. The PLP has not held a convention since 2009, and Mr Sears has maintained that the party’s best chances of re-election are with him at its helm. He rebuffed previous suggestions that a leadership change would have a destabilising effect on the party so close to a general election. However, PLP Deputy Leader Philip Davis yesterday said he did not expect to see a change of lead-
As you approach a new day, a new month, and the New Year, determine to succeed, move forward, be wise, and always believe in yourself.
~Betty Taylor ~ Original Author
ership at the end of this week’s events. “I don’t see any new leader emerging from this convention,” Mr Davis said. “I think that it is good that we can all gather all together in one place in conclave to chart the course for the next five years because this is not just a convention to elect leaders but also to set the course for the general election and to craft our plans for the next five years. “I’m satisfied that we have been re-energised at the end of the day . . . this is about the PLP, it’s not about any individual and we will stay together.” The PLP’s convention begins Tuesday and continues until Thursday, January 26. Reflecting on his “listening tour” to ten Family Islands over the past two months, Mr Sears also underscored that there was widespread “disquiet” throughout the country over the state of affairs and its unsustainability. “We cannot and should not continue to do the same thing with the consistent downgrades that we have,” said Mr Sears, who charged that Family Island residents have become internal migrants in their search for a living wage. “We need to better incentives Bahamians to realise that unfinished portion of the quiet revolution and that is the economic transformation, diversification of our country and most especially where Bahamians own the productive sectors of our country. “That is not a position that is opposed to foreign investment,” he said. “It is a position which recognises that sustainable development is only possible when there is a strong, robust national capital - which means that Bahamians must own it. “Bahamians will be here in good times and bad times, the foreign investor is only here for comparative advantage so it is this disquiet that provides us with an opportunity to get back to the core values of the PLP.” Mr Sears added: “This is an historic convention because the Progressive Liberal Party has an opportunity to reframe itself to be more consistent with its core values, to be more attractive to younger Bahamians and to expand its base which will improve its chances of being re-elected and my leadership will offer that.”
the stories behind the news
insight@tribunemedia.net
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2017
Why The Donald’s way is not everyone’s way
W
hat many said could never happen, has happened. On Friday, Donald Trump was sworn in as 45th President of the United States. Starting with the election on November 8, a fair portion of the world expressed astonishment and dismay at his elevation to the presidency. Even as inauguration day approached, they could hardly believe that an upstart like this, breaking all traditions, would really take office. Even those who favoured him admitted that his victory was a surprise. Perhaps so did Trump himself - although he would never admit it. Donald Trump is the leading example of that famous Frank Sinatra hit “I Did It My Way”, whether you like that way or not. The first president who never held elective or appointive office or served in the military; the first to create virtually his own party by not only attacking Democrats as near traitors but also shattering the leadership of his own Republicans; the first to degrade females to a locker-room sexual joke; the first to dismiss leading black politicians and the entire Muslim world, and the first to use his inaugural address to claim that America was in a state of “carnage” that only he could fix, and to dismiss the “elite establishment” of Washington in whose heart he was speaking. Despite the undeniable charm of his wife and daughters, his image was not helped by many blank spaces visible along the parade route and thousands of unsold inauguration tickets. It is something of a miracle that the man who claimed the loyalty of bluecollar, working-class Americans could be a capitalist of inherited wealth who lived in the vast and vulgar gold-tinted splendour of a Fifth Avenue penthouse and Mar-a-Lago, the largest mansion in Palm Beach. We have to admire his chutzpah in overcoming this paradox, and in ignoring the impression given by the literati of Western Europe that he is a throw-back troglodyte spawned by America’s primitive society - a view
“This new president’s first words were more vindictive and pugnacious than designed to soothe bitter passions. ‘Put America first,’ he kept saying. Yes, but what kind of America?” in fact shared by much of US academia. For a calmer view, consider the complexities of the United States itself, the nation that actually elected this oddity by unquestioned democratic procedures without any of the fraud endemic in other nations. Followers of Hillary Clinton will not let us forget that she won the popular vote by some 2.8 million votes. True, but they never mention another statistic: leaving out the votes from two populous states, California and New York, Trump would have won by about three million ballots. As I have written before, the United States are two nations with vast cultural differences that spill over into politics. On the two coasts are found the smarty-pants intelligentsia, breeding Meryl Streep uttering her ultraliberal fulminations in Hollywood, and the Harvard-New York-Washington network of “the best and brightest” along the Atlantic seaboard. Quite separate is the lumpen proletariat in all the wheat fields and rust-belt cities in between. Their denizens have been distorted by much of the media, but now we can read interviews with folks far from racist, sexist, bible-thumping reactionaries, just ordinary people who deplore Trump’s extremist rhetoric but ask the same questions about the state of the nation. It’s certainly arguable that federal bureaucracy has gone too far and would have gone further under Hillary, that the Environmental Protection Agency has stifled growth with nitpicky environmental regulations, that the 1,200 pages of the Dodd-Frank Act will leave banks tied in red tape rather than improving service to the public, and that there are better solutions for health treatment than ‘Obamacare’. Unfortunately for his backers, much of Trump’s image as a potential national leader was deeply stained by the
Richard Coulson looks at what the inauguration of President Trump might mean for the US and the Bahamas
President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photos)
events one day later. Even the rightwing Wall Street Journal reported that over 200,000 rainy-day marchers flooded Washington streets on Saturday to demonstrate for women’s rights, with tens of thousands more throughout the country and abroad - a rebuke unprecedented for a brand-new president, with signs it may continue. The political/cultural split across the US is not merely geographical, it cuts across every shade of opinion that we see published daily. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman bluntly calls Trump both corrupt and incompetent, and The New Republic says his inauguration was another “day of infamy”. Every supporter of civil, racial and sexual rights uniformly loathes his proposals and tells us that he has no interest in reducing poverty, inequality or global warming. By contrast, the late Bill Buckley’s National Review believes he is on the right track, and investment advisers tell their clients he will introduce steady economic growth and a wide range of solid stock market choices. The two sides of America seem to be talking past each other. A president, particularly in his inaugural address, is expected “to bind up the nation’s wounds” as Abe Lincoln memorably said, but this new president’s first words were more vindictive and pugnacious than designed to soothe bitter passions. “Put America first,” he kept saying. Yes, but what kind of America? As for every new president, his more extreme projects will inevitably be eroded by simple bureaucratic inertia and the pressure of countervailing interests. He may never expel seven million undocumented immigrants or build an impenetrable wall along the whole Mexican border (much less get Mexico to pay for it), or withdraw from NATO. But whether or not he accomplishes these aims, he certainly boasts about them and they will influence his policy decisions. What will be the effect on the Bahamas of this surreal new administration, where only a tiny fraction of over 600 executive positions has been filled? Probably not too great. When Mr Trump finally gets time to think about our little country, he will be shrewd enough to appoint a genial Ambassador, of considerable wealth, very likely a black capitalist, who will fit smoothly into our existing power structure without rocking the boat. Tourism from the US will surely not suffer from the kind of affluence bound to flourish under a Treasury headed by millionaire Goldman Sachs alumni. A quick Trump flight over from Palm Beach for a round of golf at Albany would be an easy move, importing a host of high-spending celebrities. Since he has doubtless used offshore financial centres in structuring his own fortune, he is unlikely to press over-hard the Obama campaign to catch every untaxed US dollar of unearned income, thus easing the strain on the business of our financial sector. On the negative side, he and his embassy may not vigorously support our long-campaigning activists who battle for female equality or greater recognition of the LGBT community. It’s pretty clear that those concerns are just not on his personal radar. The real message for us is simply the fact of Mr Trump’s campaign. Here, as in the US, a rank newcomer to politics, a maverick blessed with energy and imagination, could overwhelm our established parties in barely a year. Listen, Messrs Christie and McCartney and Dr Minnis. • Richard Coulson is a retired lawyer and investment banker born in Nassau and from a long line of Bahamians. He is a financial consultant and author of A Corkscrew Life - adventures of a travelling financier.
PAGE 8 MONDAY, January 23, 2016
Email: insight@tribunemedia.net
Trump, trade and the Caribbean
T
RADE between the US and other countries of the world, particularly China, was a major plank of Donald Trump’s campaign for the Presidency. He regarded all the trade deals as inimical to US interests. So, is there reason for Caribbean Community Common Market (CARICOM) countries to worry about their trade relationship with the US under the Trump Presidency? Let’s examine the facts, by starting with what Trump has said. On his own website, he has stated quite categorically that he will withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has not yet been ratified; tell Mexico and Canada – the US partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement – that he wants to renegotiate the deal; instruct the Treasury Secretary to label China a currency manipulator and tell the U.S. Trade Representative to bring trade cases against China, both in this country and at the WTO. In his election campaign, he also attacked global trade deals, calling the WTO a “disaster” and said the US would “pull out” of the Genevabased body if Washington was not able renegotiate the rules on major issues like tariffs. CARICOM as a collective is hardly likely to be a focus of the new President’s perspective on trade. One very good reason is that the US enjoys a significant balance of trade surplus with CARICOM countries collectively. In 2014, the US trade surplus was $3.24 billion, rising to $4.17 billion in 2015. Only two CARICOM countries have trade surpluses with the US and in both cases the surpluses are declining – Trinidad and Tobago’s surplus slipped from $3.58 billion in 2014 to $1.8 billion in 2015; Guyana dropped
World View
By SIR RONALD SANDERS from $131.4 million in 2014 to $63 million in 2015. CARICOM countries, except Suriname, enjoy access to the US market for a narrow range of products under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) which was expanded by the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTA) in 2000. Haiti benefits not only from CBERA but from a number of other specially designed trade preferences in the HOPE Act and the HELP Act. But, even with these, Haiti still experiences a trade deficit with the US ($367.6 million in 2014 and $190.5 million in 2015). However, it is obvious that CBERA provides important benefits to the US. As the USTR reported to Congress in December 2015, “the value of US exports to CBERA countries grew (by) 2.5% in 2014, exceeding the growth rate for total US exports which grew by 2.1%”. It is clear, therefore, that the US has no reason for regarding its trade in goods relationship with CARICOM countries as anything but beneficial. The most significant threat to the US-CARICOM trade relationship (in goods and services) comes not from CARI-
COM states, but from the US itself. That threat it is the withdrawal of correspondent banking relations (CBR’s) from Caribbean banks by US banks. The threat, in its extreme form, is that if CBR’s are withdrawn from all banks operating in the Caribbean, CARICOM importers will be unable to pay for US goods and services causing: (a) diversion of trade away from the US; (b) a decline in US exports; (c) loss of employment and revenues associated with such exports; and (d) decline in US influence in the region. In relation to trade in services, the withdrawal of CBR’s will have a direct effect on millions of US tourists (air and sea) for whom the Caribbean is a highly desirable holiday destination. It would also cause a decline in Caribbean tourism to the US; and significantly reduce the use of many US services such as Universities, hospitals and doctors by Caribbean people. t a secondary level, even if Caribbean countries employ more expensive means of paying for goods and services from the US (by going through distant third countries), the rising costs will adversely affect
A
Therefore, it is in the interest of the US to strengthen its trade relations with CARICOM and, in this context, to ensure that the barriers to trade (including the withdrawal of correspondent banking relations) are lifted.
President Donald Trump, above centre, accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, above right, arrives for a White House senior staff swearing in ceremony in the East Room of the White House. (AP Photos) the quantum of imports from the US and purchase of services, therefore, revenues and jobs in the US will decline. Further, if trade in goods and services between the US and CARICOM countries is allowed to decline, the US would lose the influence it presently enjoys in the region. That influence would flow to countries with which stronger economic relationships are forged. This would be destructive to the collaborative relationship between the US and CARICOM countries over a range of areas, including security (terrorism and drug trafficking); political support in the international community; containing the flow of economic refugees; and maintaining the Caribbean as a nearby, safe and affordable destination for a large number of Americans. Therefore, it is in the interest of the US to strengthen its trade relations with CARICOM and, in this context, to ensure that the barriers to trade (including the withdrawal of correspondent banking relations) are lifted. With regard to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), all countries need a rules-based system for international trade. These rules protect markets from unfair trade practices that could displace national producers; they provide remedies for correcting
trade violations (albeit not always effective for small countries, as Antigua and Barbuda knows in its 14year contention with the US over Internet Gaming); and they permit crossborder access to markets in a structured and agreed manner. The WTO, and the rules-based system over which it presides, are essential safeguards against chaos and conflict at a global level arising from trade. What is more, the US uses the dispute settlement machinery of the WTO more than any other country, and has benefitted from its peaceful arbitration of conflicts. Indeed, Mr Trump has himself said, as pointed out earlier, that he would instruct the U.S. Trade Representative “to bring trade cases against
China at the WTO”. With regard to investment, US investment in CARICOM countries has been declining steadily, and particularly after the recession that began in 2008. The major new investment has been EXXON Mobil’s recent oil exploration in Guyana. Yet, the CARICOM region is one of the most peaceful in the world and is safe for investment. Four of the 14 CARICOM countries have Bilateral Investment and Protection Treaties (BITs) with the US, and all would be interested in concluding such treaties. Additionally, all CARICOM countries have Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) with the US for the automatic provision of tax information, and 12 of the 14 countries have signed InterGovernmental Agreements to comply with the US Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). CARICOM countries also offer generous incentives to US investors, including tax holidays and full repatriation of profits. On the face of it the countries of CARICOM represent an area in which the US enjoys a consistent trade surplus in goods that contributes to US revenues and employment. The area has been a source of revenues for safe and secure investment. Therefore, there is every benefit for a Trump administration not only to maintain and enhance trade with CARICOM, but to lift the barriers to trade, including the withdrawal of CBRs by US banks, and increase the level of investment which has proved to be mutually beneficial. These are arguments that CARICOM governments and the private sector – at every level - have to lay before the Trump administration as early as now. Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com • (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are his own).
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THE TRIBUNE
Monday, January 23, 2017, PAGE 9
Send hardcore criminals to Family Island prison
Former Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Thompson concludes his series on policing in the Bahamas by examing the rehabilitation of offenders. IT is now called the CorThe Correctional Serrectional Services Depart- vices Act of 2013 replaced ment, but the colloquial a 70-year-old piece of coname - Fox Hell Prison - lonial legislation and made will probably always remain efforts to bring the prison with us. up-to-date with current reImprisonment is a justi- alities. It made sweeping fied punishment for crime. administrative changes and And the prison environ- provided for a review board ment must make it clear to with full access to the facilidetainees that their incar- ty. It also sought to improve ceration is truly a punish- rehabilitative services. ment. However, that does Fox Hill prison was built not mean they should be in 1953 to house 700 insubjected to inhumane con- mates, but at times the popditions. ulation grew to over 2,000. International human And cells are often overrights organisations and crowded, with inadequate their local counterparts sleeping and toilet facilities. have often been critical We have been told about of conditions at Fox Hill sexual assaults on younger Prison. Inmates and former inmates and the beatings inmates, lawyers and prison they receive if they refuse. officers have talked about Our street gangs also operthese terrible conditions in- ate inside the prison, where cessantly. there is the constant fear of They have existed for being attacked by rival gang decades and there has members. We used to hear been little of cell phones sustained ef- ‘A mass escape of used by incarfort by any drug violent criminals cerated government lords to run to implement from Fox Hill their networks sufficient re- could seriously on the outforms - deside, although spite several impact national measures have attempts. since been security and These matters damage our vital taken to stop are usually this. We are out of sight, tourist industry.’ aware of the and out of corrupt pracmind. tices of a limited number of The Bahamas ranks high correctional officers, who in the world for the ratio of have been caught supplying citizens incarcerated on a illegal drugs. per capita basis. For most The prison has long been of us, payback is more im- a “hell hole” and a disasportant than rehabilitation, ter waiting to happen. But and throughout most of Fox groups such as the Bahamas Hill’s history recidivism Bar Association and the was high, although it has re- Bahamas Christian Council cently been reduced. have often remained silent
on this issue. The latter group waged a successful battle against two referenda recently, but cannot find the strength to speak out on this, and other important social issues, including the failure of Members of Parliament to declare their assets as required by law. We like to hold ourselves up as a Christian nation yet we continue to ignore the decidedly unchristian and inhumane conditions at Fox Hill Prison. As early as the mid-1970s, then Commissioner of Police Salathiel Thompson made recommendations to the Prime Minister for improvement of the Prison Service. Mr Thompson was acting on knowledge gained from police officers who, while on training in the UK, had the opportunity to visit what were then called Borstal institutions for young offenders. I was one of those officers. Borstal institutions focus on training and rehabilita-
Paul Thompson is the quintessential policeman. His career spanned the modern development of The Bahamas - from colonial times to the challenges of nationhood. Born in a small farming village in Trinidad, he was recruited by the Royal Bahamas Police Force in 1951. He spent most of his time on the force in the Criminal Investigation Department, retiring in 1981 as an Assistant Commissioner. He then began a second career as head of security for the Paradise Island Resort & Casino, returning to the police force as a civilian training officer in 1998, and in 2002 was appointed general manager of Wemco Security. Five years later, he set up his own security company - Paul Thompson & Associates. Now in his 80s, he remains active in security work.
THIS WEEK IN THE TRIBUNE Tuesday Woman and Health weekly advice on taking care of your mind and body and women making waves in The Bahamas Plus comment from Nicole Burrows and sporting mischief and mayhem with Inigo “Naughty” Zenicazelaya Wednesday
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tion so that inmates can fit into society more easily after they are released. Commissioner Thompson was impressed with the information received from officers like Albert Miller, Errington Watkins, Courtney Strachan and myself. He agreed that the programme could play an important role in prison reform in the Bahamas. One of his key concerns was the fact that all of our prisoners were being held on New Providence, the national capital. A mass escape of violent criminals from Fox Hill could seriously impact national security and damage our vital tourist industry. So he recommended moving the Maximum Security Prison to a Family Island, where prisoners convicted of serious crimes could be isolated from the main population centre. At the time, the Canadian government had expressed some interest in assisting this project. The existing prison at Fox Hill
would then be converted into a Borstal-type institution where inmates would be taught trades such as carpentry, masonry, mechanics, auto bodywork, plumbing, welding, etc. And jobs would be provided for the discharged inmates. In the early 1980s, Prime Minister Pindling met with former senior police officers (including myself) to discuss the rise in crime. I presented the Borstal proposal at that meeting, but it was never acted upon. I believe this proposal is still relevant today - perhaps even more so, as we are in a better position with the existence of the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute, which could provide classes for inmates. Rehabilitation of prisoners is critical for an orderly society, but it is not possible in an overcrowded, violent and inhumane environment. Perhaps now is the time to move the hard core offenders to an island like Inagua, where there is
already a Defence Force base to provide support to the prison staff. This would also help to create jobs on the island.
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PAGE 10, Monday, January 23, 2017
GAIN AN EDGE A NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
GAIN AN EDG
A NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON HIGHER EDUCA
Why diversified education is key to social equity R OCHELLE Smith had prayed long and hard about what she wanted to do with her life. She was in the 11th grade and a decision regarding the trajectory of her life needed to be made. She would inform her mother tonight. As she reluctantly approached Mrs Smith, she could sense the exhaustion. Mrs Smith worked hard both parents did, for they wanted the best for their children. “Mummy, I’ve made a decision. I want to do hair and nails.” Vexed, Mrs Smith replied, “Girl you crazy aye! All that money we plunking out to put you in private school and you say you wan’ do what?! Girl you better get out my face and pray about what to do with your life!” Rochelle retreated, heartbroken, despondent, but was determined to make her mother proud. She prayed long and hard and decided to pursue medicine. As Bahamians, we know this story all too well. We give our children the best education because we have hopes that they will become doctors and lawyers. Carpenters and massage therapists should only be the alternative when medical
THE TRIBUNE
Failure to have both TVET and traditional academics available in all school programmes is a disservice to our children and country, says Remiska Wildgoose, English instructor at BTVI
school does not work out. Unfortunately, as a society, we place white collar jobs on a pedestal. Our educational system separates the students with “great potential”, and for those students we give our best. However, countries such as Finland, whose educational system rivals most, shows that 45 per cent of students choose a technical track as opposed to the traditional academics*. What if Joshua, who can take a car apart and put it back together, or Gabrielle, who can paint nails like artwork on a canvass, had the opportunity early on to be seen as a success for who they are, as opposed to the expectations that society projects onto them? For students like these, technical vocational education and training (TVET) is first choice. While there are still changes needed to be made in our educational system, embracing the fact that
TVET is a first option for some is an important step towards progression. The child that is talented with their hands is just as intelligent as the child who aspires to pursue medicine. Social equity begins with us, for the carpenter and the doctor both end up contributing to the society as a whole. Thus, failure to have both TVET and traditional academics available in all school programmes is truly a disservice to our children and ultimately our country. At this pivotal moment, there is no simple answer to solve our social and economic ills. Nevertheless, one of our answers lies in placing diversified education at the forefront. All countries, especially developing countries, need balanced development through all of the educational sectors in order to make significant progress in terms of national development (Bennell,1996). We must see beyond 2017
REMISKA WILDGOOSE and look to 2027, when our educational system produces more than enough qualified, visionary citizens who could build a world class resort that would rival most. Implementing TVET programmes and having a
well-diversified educational system is one small but significant step towards longterm economic prosperity in our nation. While further investment into developing our educational system may not pro-
TECHNICAL vocational education and training is important to help students, says Remiska Wildgoose.
duce instantaneous results, it is an alternative that will make a tremendous difference. For many students at the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute, TVET is their only choice because it is what they love. As leaders, teachers, and parents, it is incumbent that we continue to embrace TVET as an alternative at all levels so all individuals can become valuable contributing members of society. Stories like that of Rochelle, whose name has been changed for the prupose of this article, are much too common. Like so many others, medical school did not work out. In the end, she still pursued what she loved - beauty trades. Sources *Mark Phillips (2012). Why should we care about Vocational Education? **Bennell, P (1996). General versus vocational secondary education in developing country: A review of rates of return evidence. The Journal of Development Studies. “Gain An Edge” is a weekly collaboration of the Lyford Cay Foundations, Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute and University of The Bahamas aimed at promoting a national dialogue on higher education. To share your thoughts, email gainanedge@tribunemedia.net.
THE TRIBUNE
Monday, January 23, 2017, PAGE 11
McCartney: Crime continues to threaten our way of life DEMOCRATIC National Alliance leader Branville McCartney has lamented the country’s crime problem, predicting that with a violent start to 2017, the stage was set for another record breaking year. “As it was in the previous years, crime and the fear of crime continue to threaten our very way of life,” Senator McCartney said in a statement released on Sunday. “Gang affiliations, initiations, attacks and retaliations seem to now be a part of our daily conversations and the systematic eradication and extermination of young men in communities has become the norm. “Even as local police continue to work tirelessly to address some of the issues impacting our communities
BRANVILLE MCCARTNEY, Leader of the Democratic National Alliance.
FORMER POLICE OFFICER AND BROTHER CONVICTED OVER COCAINE FIND AT AIRPORT By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net A FORMER police officer and two others, including the officer’s brother, were convicted on Thursday in connection with a $64,000 cocaine seizure at the Lynden Pindling International airport in 2013. Toni Sweeting, 27, who had been dismissed from the police force in 2013, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. Her brother, pageant coach and
franchise owner Delano Sweeting, was sentenced to four years in prison and another man, Conrad Campbell, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. The three were arrested on April 19, 2013. Their trial was delayed numerous times, and they were repeatedly denied bail. On the day in question, DEU officers, acting on information, arrested Culmer and her brother after they were found with 3.275 lbs
of cocaine at the LPIA Departure Lounge. The officer was on duty at the time. Sgt Shakiel Riley arrested Culmer in a restroom at the airport. She testified during the trial that Culmer struggled during the arrest when her phone rang and she rushed to answer it. “The police got me. The man them got me,” Culmer was alleged to have shouted into her cell phone as she resisted arrest, moments after a package of cocaine dropped from under her skirt, Sgt Riley testified.
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“Fuelling Growth For People”
they continue to be impeded by government interference, a judiciary struggling to keep pace with the growing needs of the country and a prison system which for all intents and purposes has become a factory for the criminal element, turning low risk first time offenders into prolific, hardened criminals. Coupled with major reforms in these areas the DNA has, and will continue to advocate for the widespread reform of our criminal laws and penal code, including those relative to the enforcement of capital punishment. “This year and well into the future we cannot continue to treat the country’s crime epidemic as we have in the past. It cannot and must not be business as
usual. The status quo must be no more. Instead we must tackle the problem from all sides, both the social and legislative aspects must work together to create synergy, harmony and an abiding respect for the rule of law.” According to The Tribune’s records, there were 11 homicides in the first 18 days of 2017. However in 2016, overall serious crimes fell by 26 per cent, the most significant year-to-year drop since 2004, according to statistics released by Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade earlier this month. This included a 24 per cent drop in murders, falling from a record 146 in 2015 to 111 in 2016, according to police statistics.
PAGE 12, Monday, January 23, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
Attorney apologises for calling Bahamians ‘hateful’ from page one
you to spend it, but they don’t like you. “The fact is that The Bahamas is a very racist, very xenophobic, nationally insecure and a very hateful place to foreigners.” In a statement to The Tribune over the weekend, Mr Smith said his comments “sounded horrible towards black Bahamians” when “taken in isolation.” “However, those who know me know that I do not have a bone of hate or discrimination in my body,” he said. “I do not like my feelings being hurt. Very dear
FRED SMITH friends have reached out low human beings I humbly to me and have expressed and respectfully apologise. their hurt. In addition, I do I would not want to hurt a not want to hurt anybody soul. else’s feelings. In addition, “I am no stranger to racfor my offence to my fel- ism and discrimination.
My experiences are the genesis of my vocation as a defender of human rights. Growing up in Haiti as a foreigner, in an Arabic environment we were discriminated against. “When, in my early teens I lived in Nassau and went to Saint Thomas More, Xavier’s College and St Augustine’s College, I was discriminated against by many as being Haitian simply because I spoke fluent Creole.” He added: “In 1967, I was sent off to an all-white, all English, all boys, all aristocratic boarding school. Discrimination was rampant in England in the 1960s and
‘70s. I was beaten down as a wog, a n****r, a Paki, a coon, a blacky, a Brillo pad head and for being Bahamian. Therefore I am deeply sorry that I have caused offence to black Bahamians.” Nonetheless, Mr Smith accused Mr Mitchell of taking his words out of context. He said his comments were not relative to “all black Bahamians,” but rather a “specific group of black Bahamians intent upon victimising a specific group of foreign residents who are white.” The condominium community in Coral Beach, Freeport has long been a source of controversy. To Mr Smith, the genesis of the controversy lies in the alleged failure of Bahamian condominium owners to pay their maintenance and power bills. Mr Smith said these Bahamians have tried to “undermine and remove the current board of directors led by (Canadian) Bruno Rufa, who has for many years been successfully cleaning up Coral Beach and put it on a sound financial footing for all of the owners, including the Bahamian ones. “Regrettably, this group of Bahamians have used their political, immigration and police contacts to cause trouble for the board of directors and have obstructed the proper management of the affairs of the Coral Beach,” Mr Smith said.
“Unfortunately, the Freeport Immigration Department and Minister Mitchell have allowed themselves to be used by this group. They have caused great disruption to a peaceful and harmonious community at Coral Beach.” Mr Smith said he is not “anti-Black” or “anti-Bahamian.” “I am a proud Bahamian,” he said. “I love my Bahamas. I have never and do not have another passport. I have nowhere else to go. I constantly strive to make our Bahamas better.” Mr Smith also accused Mr Mitchell of misleading the public when he referred to him in Parliament as a “naturalised Bahamian” who has been “given shelter in this country.” Mr Smith said his father was born in Andros and his mother in Jordan. As British subjects, they lived in Haiti. “So, even though I was born in Haiti, I was born a British subject, like Fred Mitchell,” he said. “Based on our Constitution, like all Bahamian citizens born before 1973, on July 10, 1973, I became a Bahamian citizen, just like Fred Mitchell. No ifs, ands or buts about it.” Mr Smith represents Canadian citizen Bruno Rufa, a homeowner at the Coral Beach Condominium Association, who has been accused of working in The Bahamas illegally.
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THE TRIBUNE
Monday, January 23, 2017, PAGE 13
School stabbing ‘was not gang-related’ By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
POLICE Commissioner Ellison Greenslade has denied claims that Thursday’s stabbing incident at Government High School was linked to gang-related activities, insisting that the students involved were “wannabes”. During a recent interview, Commissioner Greenslade maintained that the incident, which left a teenage boy in critical condition in hospital and injured
two others, evidenced the countrywide struggle with healthy conflict resolution. The teen who was most seriously injured, he said, was now in stable condition. He said the argument was started by two groups shouting gang slogans at each other, but insisted that it was immature and not tied to actual gang activity. He provided an update on the matter on the sidelines of a ceremony to mark the completion of two jointtraining courses coordinated with the United States Embassy and Jamaica’s
Constabulary Force. “The most important update is no loss of life, despite lots of things being said (Thursday) due to excellent work by people who responded…the child most seriously injured is stable and is going to be okay,” the commissioner said on Friday. “Unfortunately all this is, is a reflection of what we have always said. People that do not know how to resolve conflicts, young people, middle-aged, and old. Here we have children in our schools that know each other very well, and if
they had been allowed, possibly would have killed each other and that is very sad. “Yes, it stemmed over silly gang slogans, gang talk, someone screams out some silly name of a gang, the opposing side screams another name, and then you have a big fisticuff.” He added: “Just unruly, wannabes little kids, with younger kids it’s fashionable to say crazy stuff.” Commissioner Greenslade called the subsequent flood of erroneous reports on social media disappointing, and stressed
that the incident was localised to GHS. “We are satisfied that teachers, students, guidance counsellors, did everything correctly. We’ve had assessments post the incident and I’m hoping to get an update soon that will point clearly to who those perpetrators were and I’m not going to ignore what they did. “I don’t want to mislead the Bahamian public, measures have always been in the school. We have been proactive for years now in working very closely with
the director of education, the Bahamas Union of Teachers, guidance counsellors and principals on a very intimate level. “In this instance there was an officer on the premises who was well known, has good authority, and assisted, but this spontaneous outburst, this anger between these young people, got out of control very quickly. “So no need for alarm and this nonsense of schools being overtaken is absolute rubbish. I think we’re going to be fine.”
MINISTERS GUILTY OF CHILD CRUELTY from page one
JEFFERY LLOYD, FNM candidate for South Beach, speaking at a press conference yesterday. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
LLOYD HITS OUT AT MEDIA WHILE OUTLINING AMBITIOUS AGENDA By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
FREE National Movement candidate for South Beach Jeffery Lloyd articulated an ambitious agenda for transforming education in the country during an FNM press conference yesterday. FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis has referred to Mr Lloyd as a likely education minister if the FNM gains control of the government. Among other things, Mr Lloyd called yesterday for greater compensation packages for teachers. “If we can afford to spend $30m on a jump up and shake down carnival in the street over the course of two years, and again this year, surely, we can find the money to pay teachers better, recruit the best students to be teachers and properly resource our schools,” he said, however he miscalculated the amount spent on the event thus far. According to the Bahamas National Festival Commission, the Christie administration has spent $19.4m for the event over the past two years. The remaining funding for Junkanoo Carnival, $3.3m, has been injected by sponsors over the past two years, according to figures from the BNFC. Nonetheless, Mr Lloyd said there must be more investment in educational infrastructure. He said he visited the Government High School (GHS) last week Friday following a stabbing incident the day before. He said he concluded that GHS should be demolished, adding that a vice-principal of the school told him they “lease the property to rats.” “We must invest in our schools - build more classrooms, better schools, and properly equip them with the vital resources they need, including but not limited to: computers, libraries, books and learning tools,” he said. “And, please do not tell me that these exist at large in our public schools. I have been touring them and they are woefully and inadequately outfitted.” Mr Lloyd said the FNM would make pre-school mandatory for all children beginning at age 30 months. He also called for the re-establishment of the Youth Empowerment and Skills Training Institute (YEAST) programme. Mr Lloyd founded the institute in the late 1990s to help at-risk young men. However, the programme was de-funded by the FNM, then led by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, at the dawn of the global financial crisis of 2008. Mr Lloyd said a revamped YEAST programme would cater to
young men, young women and their parents. Media criticism When asked whether the FNM has examined costing issues associated with their plans, Mr Lloyd explained they would pay for it by rooting out corruption - but not before criticising the media for what he called disproportionately harsh coverage of the FNM. “Let me say for a moment a few words to my beloved brothers and friends in the media,” said Mr Lloyd, who recently resigned from his position as a talk-show host at Star 106.5FM. “You have occupied a default negative position towards the Free National Movement and I consider it to be unfair. Let me tell you why. There is a challenge that is now on the way to the PLP and it is reported by the media as a challenge. A challenge is exercised in the FNM, oh the FNM is all up in disarray; a constitutionally prescribed exercise in which any member of the FNM could challenge any position in our convention is
all of a sudden a big controversy and some kind of anarchy in the party. You have several persons who are contesting at any given time to be chosen by the party to be ratified. They have it in the PLP; we have it in the FNM. But when we have it in the FNM, oh big controversy. “Mind you, my brother in Exuma, a sitting member of Parliament is displaced by a new person, but if that was the FNM… Now, you talking to me, I’m the grandfather of the media in this country. Take a small page, a little bit of respectful lecturing from me this evening.” Mr Lloyd added the country is ripe with corruption and “t’iefing”. “It is estimated that nearly 20 per cent if not more of our natural resources by way of money is just seeping out through the door. We are looking at anywhere between $300 and $400m dollars,” he said, adding that cutting down on such “waste” will help the party find the money needed to pay for its ambitious education plan.
Both faced a count of child cruelty where it was alleged that they gave a teenage boy alcohol “in a manner likely to cause injury to his health.” Butler, a pastor-elect, had been separately charged with indecent assault, after it was alleged that he put his hand down the teenager’s trousers. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges in their first Magistrate’s Court appearance in February 2014. Magistrate Forbes, in October 2015, determined that a sufficient case had not been made by the Crown for Butler to answer to the charge of indecent assault when considering the second of two statements given to police by the complainant. The alleged assault was only referred to in the second statement. During testimony, the complainant and police were at odds about where the statement was taken. The magistrate discharged Butler of the assault charge. In a 12-page ruling on Friday, Magistrate Forbes denounced an attempt by the Crown that urged him to revisit his decision to discharge Butler due to insufficient evidence. “It is noted at this point that a remarkable event occurred which this court has never before witnessed; a letter was directed by the
Crown to the court clerk inviting this court to reconsider its verbal ruling advising that it had discharged the defendant Butler of the indecent assault charge,” the magistrate said. “This is clearly inappropriate as the avenue open to any aggrieved party is to file an appeal. Further, is this not an infringement of the separation of powers and why would the executive seek to direct the court to its findings given its rights of appeal?” Butler and Sears were convicted of child cruelty. “The defendant Butler recounted, having spoken to the virtual complainant’s mother, offering to take him out, he noted that it was late but the virtual complainant remained adamant he still wished to go out,” the magistrate said. “That he obtained the assistance of Mr Sears and that they left and went to the residence of Mr Sears so that he could change and return to church to collect money and then onto McDonald’s restaurant and then to a drive-thru he thought was a convenient store where they obtained juice. He denied that he ever caused the virtual complainant to chug any alcohol or anything for that matter. He suggested that the virtual complainant was making very scurrilous remarks about his teachers at school and schoolmates and he wanted to keep the
young man engaged. “There was blanket denial under cross-examination to any suggestion offered. Likewise, the testimony of Mr Sears mirrored that of Mr Butler and again a blanket denial of any wrong doing, or observing any wrongdoing. He also suggested the virtual complainant was leading them on the drive as he, nor Mr Butler were familiar with the streets of New Providence.” Magistrate Forbes ruled that the pair’s evidence was not convincing. “If one accepts all they have said, two adult men elected to transport a minor out after 11pm. It is clear they were irresponsible. And then suggest that the minor was somehow leading them in this foray. The evidence of the virtual complainant coupled with evidence of the virtual complainant’s mother and the opinion of the doctor suggest that he was plied with substances which caused the effects that were observed,” the magistrate said. “This court accepts the evidence of the virtual complainant that he was given alcohol by these two individuals, the reasons are unclear but this court accepts that he was provided the substance by Mr Butler and Mr Sears,” Magistrate Forbes ruled before convicting them of child cruelty. The matter was adjourned to Tuesday.
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Conflict resolution safety tips
EVEN though conflict is a normal and necessary part of healthy relationships, the mere fact that persons are sometimes unable to come to a resolve, is mind bothering. With the understanding that individuals aren’t expected to agree on everything at all times, it is imperative that they learn how to deal with conflict— rather than avoiding it. When conflict is mismanaged, it can harm any relationship. But when handled in a respectful and positive way, conflict provides an opportunity
Police advice
upon that too often in the Bahamas, people are losing their lives because of this particular social ill. Therefore, listed below are a few Conflict Resolution Safety Tips
By CORPORAL MAKELLE PINDER
for growth, ultimately strengthening the bond between individuals. However, based on the daily acts of violence that occur in our little country, it clearly indicates that how we handle our anger and how we deal with other
people who are angry can make the difference, between managing conflict effectively and having conflict end in violence. As we hear about the various statistics as it pertains to the lack of conflict resolution, it can be agreed
Unhealthy Responses to Conflict: • An inability to recognize and respond to the things that matter to the other person • Explosive, angry, hurtful, and resentful reactions. Quick to resort to the use of weapons and profanity. • The withdrawal of love, resulting in rejection, isolation, shaming, and fear of abandonment. • An inability to compromise or see the other person’s side. • The fear and avoidance
of conflict; the expectation of bad outcomes. Healthy Responses to Conflict • The capacity to recognize and respond to the things that matter to the other person. • Calm, non-defensive, and respectful reactions. • A readiness to forgive and forget, and to move past the conflict without holding resentments or anger • The ability to seek compromise and avoid punishing • A belief that facing conflict head on is the best thing for both sides. • Remember that conflict is a normal reaction, therefore choose your battles, and learn how to walk away. With the mental ability to
ignore ignorant people and senseless conversations. • Compromise, and think before you act and speak. • Life does not have a restart button. Remember that life does not have a restart button, therefore choose your battles wisely. If applied, the safety tips provided can minimize your chances of becoming a victim. Nevertheless, should you fall prey to any criminal act, Call the Police as soon as it is safe to do so. If you come across any suspicious person(s) or have any information pertaining to any crime, please do not hesitate to contact call the police emergency at ‘919’ or Crime Stoppers at 328-tips (New Providence), 1-3008476 (Family Islands).
Davis urges patience over power failures By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip Davis yesterday forecast that persistent electricity challenges will give way to affordable and efficient supply within the next six months as he urged Bahamians to continue to exercise patience with embattled service provider Bahamas Power & Light (BPL). Notwithstanding public outrage over recent outages, Mr Davis, the Minister of Works, maintained that there has been “tremendous” improvement since the American company PowerSecure signed a fiveyear management services agreement with the former Bahamas Electricity Corporation last year. He declined comment when asked when the government would publicly disclose the agreement, which officials have said is worth as much as $25m. “We do appreciate the exasperation and I want the Bahamian public to continue to be patient with us,” Mr Davis said. “I think we ought to recognise that there has been tremendous improvement because lights are not off for any interminable amount of time. “The problems are being identified quickly and being addressed just as quickly. The challenge as I’ve said is that we have a very aged infrastructure and it’s going to take time and capital to have them all replaced and back in service. “So we are assiduously working. I think within the next six months you will see
DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis at the commissioning and unveiling of Bahamas Power and Light’s new 6,000KW power plant in Harbour Island last year. all what they are doing now without power for more will come to fruition and we than 12 hours, was reportwill have a more affordable edly caused by equipment efficient energy company.” failure at the Windsor Field Since taking the helm last substation. February, PowerSecure’s In a press statement reefforts at restructuring the leased Friday, the company cash-strapped utility pro- said the outage was an “unvider have been marred by foreseen” failure and adisland-wide power outages vised that it was conducting in the capital, and on some a secondary review of all Family Islands. primary substations on the Last week’s outage, island to assess the funcwhich left some customers tioning of key equipment in western New Providence post Hurricane Matthew.
BPL COMPLETES PROBE INTO RECENT OUTAGES By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Power & Light (BPL) has completed its investigations into recent power outages on New Providence. An outage on January 17 was caused by a bus bar failure at the Windsor Field substation, according to BPL’s executive vice president Kenneth Kocibua in a press statement released Friday. “The failure was unforeseen as we recently completed thorough assessments of all substations following Hurricane Matthew and problems that were evident, at the time, were addressed,” the statement said. In light of the surprise failure, BPL is conducting a secondary review of all primary substations on the island to assess the functioning of key equipment, the company said. BPL added that the power outage experienced on January 13, 2017, was total system shutdown by the company. “An investigation into the shutdown determined
that third party damage to an underground cable was directly linked to the total loss of generation, transmission and distribution networks on the island,” BPL said. “BPL is now working closely with that third party to review its operations to prevent a similar occurrence.” The company said: “BPL understands its customers’ frustration with regard to outages and have been implementing improvements to increase reliability in New Providence and the Family Islands. These include making good use of the energy efficient 80 MW of power provided by the Aggreko engines, a new generating plant in Harbour Island, and the ongoing installation of new 33 kV underground cables between Blue Hills Power Station and the Big Pond Substation to increase transmitting capacity. “The company assures customers that further improvements will take place in 2017 and going forward to ensure BPL’s delivery of its commitment to provide reliable and affordable power for its customers in New Providence and the Family Islands.”
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