01042021 BUSINESS

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MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021

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Govt pays ‘millions’ to solve land scam

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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HE government has paid “several million dollars” to a private developer to “bring order out of chaos” and secure the homes of several hundred families who were swindled in a massive land scam Carl Bethel QC confirmed to Tribune Business the government has purchased more than 250 lots from Arawak Homes in the Sir Lynden Pindling Estates area as a means to safeguard persons who - rather than acquiring their properties from the developer - had purchased them from unscrupulous fraudsters who did not have title to the land they were selling.

Disclosing that the government is seeking to bring closure to the fall-out from a three-decade fraud that has impacted hundreds of lives, and cost millions of dollars in legal fees and other

• AG: ‘We’re bringing order out of chaos’ • Over 250 lots bought from Arawak Homes • Resolution now awaits survey’s completion

CARL BETHEL QC

SIR FRANKLYN WILSON

FRANON WILSON

costs while leaving many unsuspecting Bahamians out-of-pocket, Mr Bethel said it had hired a surveyor to ensure what exists on the ground matches approved plans for the area’s development.

“The government purchased all lots on which there were homes or parts of houses,” he explained of

the settlement mechanism agreed with Arawak Homes.

“We’re trying to bring order out of chaos, and it’s a long and fraught process.”

Asked how much the government paid to acquire the lots, Mr Bethel replied: “I would only say several million. It was several good million, but less than $20m.

I really don’t want to put

a figure on it, but it was around $9m or so to the best of my recollection. The money is to be paid over time.”

The attorney general warned, though, that final resolution was facing “some delays” that had forced the government to hire a land

Govts reversal over ‘substance’ file compliance

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE government made an abrupt about-turn within 48 hours in extending the deadline for corporate Bahamas to comply with “substance reporting” demands by one month to end-January 2021.

Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, sent Tribune Business confirmation of the extension just two days after he informed this newspaper on New Year’s Eve - the original compliance deadline - that “there are no plans” to give thousands

MARLON JOHNSON of businesses more time to submit their filings.

However, the Ministry of Finance subsequently told the private sector that penalties stretching to administrative fines of $150,000, or $1,000 per day

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‘Blind’ attorney fails to overturn sanctions

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN attorney has failed in his bid to overturn Supreme Courtimposed sanctions relating to his management of a $30m estate despite arguing he is “legally blind”.

Justice Indra Charles, in a December 29, 2020, ruling, blasted Gregory Cottis’ “brazen and consistent noncompliance” with orders to turn over all records relating to Raymond Adams’ estate

to the court-appointed judicial trustee.

Attorneys for Robert Adams, Mr Adams’ son and one of the estate’s beneficiaries, cited 11 alleged breaches of the Supreme Court’s Orders by Mr Cottis as they accused him of deliberately “obstructing” the work of the successor trustee to cover-up his “incompetence.... and hold the estate hostage to his own illegitimate attempts to recover more than his legally entitled compensation”.

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Atlantis returns some staff to furlough status

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ATLANTIS last night confirmed it has had to place multiple workers back on temporary furlough with effect from today due to “unfavourable occupancy forecasts” for January 2021.

The Paradise Island mega resort, in response to Tribune Business inquiries, said “the lack of adequate airlift” and surge in COVID-19 infections in key US source markets were “compounding factors” that had forced it to return some of the 2,500 staff it recalled for December’s opening to furlough status.

This newspaper has obtained a message sent

by Horatio McKenzie, the Atlantis executive director for human resources with responsibility for food and beverage workers, warning staff that some will had be placed back on temporary lay-off with effect from today.

“As you know, the effects of the global pandemic in our major markets have continued to have an effect on our hotel operations,” Mr McKenzie wrote. “In this regard, our occupancy percentages for January are not forecast to be favourable.

“In light of the current environment, and the forecast decline in our occupancy levels, we have no choice but to return several of our food and beverage team members to furlough status effective January 4, 2021, until further notice.

“We will continue to monitor the occupancy forecast closely and, as it improves, we will roster our team members accordingly.” While January was traditionally a slow month pre-COVID-19, falling between the Christmas holidays and the peak winter season ramp-up, Atlantis last night indicated that it was grappling with pandemic events beyond its control.

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THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 4, 2021, PAGE 3

Lock-out criminals by true client verification

BY DEREK SMITH

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HERE is little doubt that 2020 drove individuals and businesses of all sizes to financial, human, technical and strategic limits. Corporate leaders were stretched to either “pivot or perish”. In 2020, company strategies were tested, frameworks were challenged and, in many cases, resources strained and depleted.

These changes must be considered as supervised financial institutions (SFIs) prepare

to complete annual risk assessments as prescribed by their regulators.

Chamber chiefs ‘hopeful’ COVID’s worst now over

Deloitte & Touche’s Dr Patchin Curtis and Mark Carey, in their presentation Risk assessments in practice, said: “Risk assessment is all about measuring and prioritising risks so that risk levels are managed within defined tolerance thresholds without being over-controlled or forgoing desirable opportunities.”

I am a proponent of the view that risk assessments are equally important to both SFIs and designated non-financial businesses and professionals (DNFBPs). This is not only because the Financial Transactions Reporting Act’s section five requires every financial institution to take appropriate measures to identify, assess and understand its risks, or carry out a risk assessment and document its findings while keeping the same upto-date and available for review. It is also because both regulated and nonregulated entities should be acutely aware of their vulnerabilities and dangers while simultaneously advancing their strengths

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

FAMILY Island Chamber of Commerce presidents are viewing The Bahamas’ 2021 economic prospects with cautious optimism amid hopes the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic may be over.

Ken Hutton, Abaco’s Chamber of Commerce president, said he was looking forward to a “really good year” and is “hopeful” that COVID-19’s peak may have been passed.

“A lot of the second homeowners can come back and start rebuilding, and that is really the engine of the economy here. So I’m getting a lot of calls already for people who are looking for prices and they need to come back and start rebuilding. I think it’s going to be good,” Mr Hutton added.

He remains concerned, though, about the absence of documented details on the Hurricane Dorian tax breaks extensions that were announced by Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for finance, in the Senate.

“The biggest thing that we need to find out is we still don’t have any clarity on the extension of the exemptions; we have nothing in writing,” Mr Hutton said. “As of Thursday, we still don’t know whether places like the food store and other businesses are going to be charging VAT (value-added tax) or not.”

“Well, you know what, we can operate like the exemptions are in place. But what

RETAILERS who participated in the initiative to encourage Bahamians to shop at home over Christmas say the returns exceeded expectations, ShopLocal’s director told Tribune Business.

Alannah van Onselen said her company, Bahamas HandPrint, had a “good Christmas” with early indications from other businesses involved suggesting ShopLocal went “better than expected” even though

BISX adds new listing to mutual fund roster THE Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) has added another listing to its investment funds roster.

The exchange, in a statement, said the Multi Strategies Leveraged Income Fund has completed its listing process. The fund is incorporated as a Bahamian-domiciled International Business Company (IBC) and is licensed under the Investment Funds Act 2019.

Ivan Hooper, The Winterbotham Trust Company’s chief executive, said: “Another strong year working with BISX’s team in listing funds on the exchange, particularly in a year in which we had to overcome challenges brought by the COVID-19 epidemic.

“Our listings continued, and continued smoothly, this time ending the year with the listing of the Multi Strategies Leveraged Income Fund, another fund listing with UCAP Bahamas acting as investment manager, and another example of the importance managers are giving to listing their investment vehicles.

“As the administrator with most funds under administration in The

Bahamas, and the main sponsor of listed funds with close to half of fund-related listings, partnering with BISX has become a key component of our offering and a key enhancer in our ability to attract funds to The Bahamas. Continuing our services and ability to list during these times is key to the success of the industry.”

Keith Davies, pictured, BISX’s chief executive, added: “BISX is pleased at the investment that we have made into our relationships with financial services providers such as Winterbotham, and their work at demonstrating to their clients the valueadded benefits of having a listing on a regulated stock exchange.

“We look forward to the continued growth of our fund listing facility, and to other services of the exchange as we continue to grow and evolve into 2021.”

The Winterbotham Trust Company served as the BISX sponsor member that brought the Multi Strategies Leveraged Income Fund to the exchange.

The investment decisions will be made by UCAP Bahamas, and The Winterbotham Trust Company has been appointed to serve as the fund’s administrator.

the experience and training for your compliance professionals, otherwise you would be doing a disservice to your business. What is evident is the apparent omission of qualifications that are normally used synonymously with the attainment of degrees. Risk and compliance professionals, and human resources professionals, often grapple with the balance and definition of qualifications when evaluating the skills needed for their entity’s compliance function.

According to David Schwartz, president and chief executive of the Florida International Bankers Association: “Too few universities have developed curricula that can produce professionals capable of stepping into high-demand compliance roles.”

I agree with Mr Schwartz and, further, submit that experience and tailored training are key components of qualifications in our compliance world. Experience is measured not only in terms of length of time in the industry, but also the

types of experiences and functions executed during that time.

Throughout this series I will address the key aspects of risk assessments, inclusive of regulatory guidance, risk categories, risk analysis and the institutional benefits of deploying a robust risk assessment programme.

I implore companies to use this crucial time to align their risk policies with business strategies, and ensure they are better prepared to deal with the next big disruptor.

NB: Derek Smith Jr is the compliance officer and money laundering reporting officer (MLRO) at Higgs & Johnson, and former assistant vice-president for compliance/money laundering reporting officer (MLRO) at an international private bank. His professional career started at a ‘big four’ accounting firm, and has spanned over 15 years including business risk management, compliance, internal audit, external audit and other accounting services.

‘SHOPLOCAL’ EFFORTS BEAT EXPECTATIONS

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

happens if they’re not? All of a sudden the business owners who are supposed to be charging VAT have this huge VAT liability?

“Not only that, but based upon how the legislation is, if they have to be charging VAT then the price stickers have to reflect that, which means places have to close and completely retag everything.”

Cheryl de Goicoechea, Long Island’s Chamber president, said that as long as the island remains COVID-19 free economic activity will continue to pick up. She added: “We have a lot of visitors here now and a lot of people coming back and forth. So, hopefully, things will continue to stay good and businesses can operate because most businesses are open now.”

Joe Rahming, president of the South Andros Chamber of Commerce, said: “I think that starting with the opening up of the country, it should bring and restore what we had in the economy.”

He has his hopes pinned on the island’s bonefish lodges reopening and bringing in visitors that represent the “lifeblood” of the economy of South Andros.

and opportunities.

For the avoidance of doubt: Every risk cannot be predicted with complete certainty. Notwithstanding this fact, risk assessments allow businesses to strategically identify, assess and prepare for any danger, hazards and other potential disasters that could derail their goals and objectives.

Additionally, risk assessments can be used as a tool to assess and understand a company’s human capital capacity, shortfalls and the needs of their present compliance functions.

Brienne Bryson, in her white paper published on January 7, 2020, wrote: “Nearly as important as understanding the risk to an institution is understanding the staffing expertise and resources needed to adequately mitigate that risk.

A lack of experienced and qualified staff may directly affect an institution’s ability to mitigate and manage the risks identified in risk assessment.”

Do not let your annual enterprise risk assessment remain devoid of assessing

everything is relative due to the economic devastation inflicted by COVID-19.

Suggesting that ShopLocal has given local businesses the boost they needed coming out of COVID-19 restrictions, she said: “I think people definitely got the message of what [shopping at home] does to the economy and how it helps, how it’s sort of your way of giving back to the community.”

Ms Van Onselen said there were even hopes that ShopLocal can be sustained for the rest of 2021, adding that she has no intention of

Restaurants: Closure reasons must be valid

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

ELEUTHERA and Exuma-based restaurants say the government must show valid reasons for closing them down after it gave permission for Fish Frybased eateries to open in time for New Year’s Eve. Stephanie Mariscal, owner/operator of Sweet and Savory Takeaway on Eleuthera, said her takeaway-based business has not really changed during the pandemic. She added: “I don’t do any seating.

So we’ve been been open for the most part this year, aside from the first lockdown.”

The latest changes to the government’s Emergency Powers Orders, released on December 30, gave the goahead for Fish Fry-based restaurants on Eleuthera and Exuma to re-open.

They, too, can now operate inside and outside dining provided occupancies are kept to a maximum 50 percent of available seating with spacing at a minimum 30 square feet per person.

Ms Mariscal added: “I have a mobile truck. I can

stopping the campaign now.

She said: “The reality is that it has to be sustained into next year, because so many companies have had a terrible 2020.

“Christmas sort of puts a little bit of oxygen into the system. But the reality is this whole mindset of Bahamians does need to change, and they need to know that when you can shop at home you should shop at home.”

Acknowledging that no ShopLocal participants were “thriving” yet, Ms Van Onselen said: “I think that there is an aspect of people who weren’t able to

travel and they were home, or they did shop at home and they couldn’t go away to travel to Miami for three days and come back. I think that that was a definite issue.

“But the whole sort of heart and essence of the ShopLocal movement is really to educate Bahamians on reasons why it’s important to shop at home.

So it’s an ongoing movement and I think it was a strong campaign. I think we did a good job. I started to see the message out there.

Influencers were doing a good job on social media.”

move my truck but I don’t.

I’m actually parked in front of a grocery store.” Asked how she would react if the government again has to close down restaurants, she said: “If it happens we won’t be upset about it if that’s what needs to be done.

“But, of course, we would hope that there’s a good reason to do so. If cases are on the rise, and if they find out places like mine are contributing to the spread, we would be on board with whatever they decided to do. But if there was no reason to do it, then that would be a different story.”

Stephan Hall, general manager of Haulover Bay Bar & Grill Restaurant in Exuma, said the latest changes were geared

towards Fish Fry restaurants as that complex is still closed on Exuma.

“They never reopened the Fish Fry since they allowed our restaurant to re-open, but our restaurant has gotten a real blow this year with the COVID-19.

I haven’t hardly had any customers this year at all, because we were closed most of the time,” Mr Hall said.

“We have been closed from March. There were hardly any tourists. Now we’re starting to pick up a couple of tourists as they come. I serve the tourists more than anything else, and they were not allowed to come. So that disadvantaged me a lot.”

PAGE 4, Monday, January 4, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Govts reversal over ‘substance’ file compliance FROM PAGE ONE for ongoing non-compliance, will not be incurred for those submitting their “economic substance reports” by month’s end as it sought to unclog the “log jam” caused by hundreds of companies seeking to file at the last minute.

“We recognise that many persons have not yet completed their reporting, and the government thought it prudent - given this is the first time it is being done, and persons’ understanding of the process - to give them an extra 31 days,” Mr Johnson said yesterday of the Minnis administration’s lastminute change of heart with respect to an extension.

“I don’t know if we had any system issues. We had a log jam of persons seeking to become compliant at the end of the month, and like any system if the numbers exceed capacity we will have some issues. Our systems are functional and working. In any first iteration you will have these issues but, by and large, from what I’ve been told the system is working robustly with no technical issues.”

This represents an aboutturn from the position Mr Johnson set out on New Year’s Eve, when he said the government had no intention to extend the year-end deadline. “The original deadline was September,” the acting financial secretary said.

“The government has given a three-month extension to the original deadline already. As of today, there are no plans to extend the

PHILIP GALANIS deadline.” That stance, though, altered in a hurry.

“The Ministry of Finance wishes to inform the public that all companies or partnerships operating under the Companies Act, International Business Companies Act, Partnership Act, Partnership Limited Liability Act and the Exempted Limited Partnership Act should ensure that they have submitted their economic substance reports by no later than January 31, 2021,” its statement said.

“Reports submitted by January 31 will not incur a penalty. Sole proprietorships do not need to submit an economic substance report.”

Tribune Business revealed last Thursday how hundreds of Bahamian companies were involved in a frantic scramble to meet the 2020 year-end deadline to comply with the reporting obligations imposed by the Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act 2018.

This law, part of legislation passed to meet the European Union’s (EU) demands that Bahamas-based companies have a physical presence

and conduct real business, earning income and making expenditures in this nation, for the first time requires all incorporated entities and legal partnerships to complete a so-called “substance reporting form” and obtain an “entity identification number” (EIN).

The Ministry of Finance clarified at the weekend that companies or partnerships that already possess a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), as a result of being VAT registrants, do not require an EIN, but many firms - distracted by the fallout from COVID-19 and trying to ensure their survival - were caught off-guard by the need to complete and submit their declaration by year-end.

Rick Lowe, Nassau Motor Company’s (NMC) operations manager/director, who last week voiced frustration over repeated unsuccessful attempts to download the “substance reporting form” from the Ministry of Finance’s website, yesterday said many in the private sector believe this latest “red tape” is merely a step towards the imposition of corporate income tax in The Bahamas.

Agreeing that the monthlong reporting extension “makes sense”, Mr Lowe said he had still been unable to obtain the actual form that must be filled out and submitted to the Ministry of Finance. “There’s supposed to be a tab to click on their website to allow you to access the form,” he added.

“Some people I spoke to said it’s there, others said it’s not. Ours isn’t.

“Everyone was complaining about this substance

reporting. Nobody knew about it at the end of September. It’s just crazy. More red tape. A lot of people feel it’s setting them up for corporate income tax. Everything is pointing in that direction.

They need either more tax revenue or less spending, and they keep choosing the ‘more tax’ option.”

Philip Galanis, the HLB Galanis managing partner, who last week revealed his firm and other accountants were encountering challenges in filing their clients’ substance declarations “on a timely basis” due to problems connecting with the Department of Inland Revenue’s (DIR) electronic portal, yesterday hailed the government’s decision to give the private sector an extra month’s extension.

“Needless to say I’m very pleased that the government has extended the filing deadline. It’s the most prudent thing, and it’s a decision that will benefit the government and stakeholders in the private sector,” Mr Galanis told Tribune Business.

“There was quite a bit of angst, and many companies I spoke to were not even aware they had to file.

This gives everyone a bit of breathing room and coolingoff period to identify what needs to be done.”

Mr Galanis said it was “a tremendous windfall” that companies “will not have to incur that cost” of fines and penalties that could have been levied upon them for failing to meet the year-end reporting deadline.

He added: “It gives us an opportunity to access the system and get the information filed on a timely basis.

What is critically important is the [government’s] system is able to handle the heavy workload with all the filing

taking place. All the bureaucratic impediments have to be overcome. That’s critically important.”

Mr Johnson, though, argued that the last-minute compliance rush - not the Department of Inland Revenue’s system - was to blame for any technical problems experienced with submitting “substance” declarations.

He also reassured that the extended deadline will not create any issues for The Bahamas in meeting its obligations to the EU. “This is well within the discretion of the government,” he added, “and the intent is to get it done within the time period. The extra month gives those persons who are non-compliant time to do so. This is the first time it is being done, and understandably there are persons questioning whether they are eligible for this process.

“I feel fairly confident this is the final extension, and I encourage all those businesses that fall into the definition of eligible businesses to comply and work alongside their financial and legal experts to get it done.

I would hasten to guess that many of them are in compliance already.”

Mr Johnson said the yearend “substance reporting” filing for 2021 will likely be a smoother process because companies will be much more aware of the deadline, and their obligations and responsibilities.

He confirmed that the latest annual reporting imposed on corporate Bahamas was part of this nation’s commitments to the EU in order to escape the 27-nation bloc’s tax “grey” list and/or blacklist, with the country agreeing to “ensure there is appropriate

substance in our corporate registry”.

Khrystle RutherfordFerguson, the Chamber of Commerce’s chairman, also called for the government to extend the “substance reporting” deadline just prior to the move’s confirmation.

“There are some concerns with the portal itself, and there needed to be some clarity around what to do if the business had a TIN, and what to do if the business needed to register to get an EIN. There were some technical points that needed clarification,” she said.

“There also were some challenges with regard to businesses being able to use the portal for registration and accessing the relevant tab that applies to their particular business. We would encourage anything that can be done to extend the deadline, because it does present a challenge for many businesses and this is not a situation where businesses do not want to be in compliance.

“All businesses want to comply with the requirements. However, to do that requires some extra time for others. Also, there needed to be some clarification around the different classes of businesses that fall within the Act. Because the Act identifies the fact that you have to register.”

The Ministry of Finance statement added: “Companies and partnerships operating in The Bahamas that are 100 percent owned

by Bahamian citizens and residents are required to submit an economic substance report but do not have to satisfy the economic substance requirements of having premises, an adequate number of employees and an adequate level of expenditure.”

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THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 4, 2021, PAGE 5

Will a phoenix rise from the flames of 2020?

BLACK SWANS ENJOYING OUTSIDE ACTIVTRADES WEEKLY ByCARLOALBERTODECASA www.activtrades.bs AFTER a black swan event dominated this year, could 2021 see the phoenix rise out of the flames?

2020 is a year that will be long remembered, despite many of us wishing we could forget it ever happened.

The coronavirus pandemic, which first emerged in China, exploded exploded across the world and what started out as a health crisis quickly also became a financial one.

Financial markets suffered the first major hit in March, once investors realised the gravity of the situation and became aware of the impact of the pandemic bringing lockdowns on the global economy.

That led to a major sell-off of stocks and of all asset classes tied to risk and saw investors flee to safe havens such as bullion.

In the months that ensued - and owing to the intervention from central banks - stocks staged

a recovery. NASDAQ dominated this phase, with shares in Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Tesla posting massive rallies.

In November, the news that multiple vaccines had proven effective against COVID-19 and safe to use gave further fuel to the global stock markets rally, with US indices jumping to record highs.

The following month, investors turned cautious once again, mostly on the back of reports of a new spike in COVID cases and a new strain of the virus spreading in the UK. Yet the S&P 500 and Nasdaq still managed to hit a fresh high before the year’s end.

But what will be the main market drivers for 2021?

There might be more downsides caused by the continued fallout from the

pandemic and we can certainly not exclude new, unpredictable risks: the so called “black swans”.

All we can do is to take a look at the factors that we are able to predict.

Among them there are various that could boost stock markets.

First, central banks will likely stick to their ultra-expansive monetary policies. Ultra-low interest rates will support the appetite for stocks as investors seek higher yields. This could generate some distortion and could exacerbate rallies on some stocks but at the moment there is no clarity on when, or even if, this will end.

Moreover, after the plunges in GDP that most countries have suffered in 2020, there are expectations of a sharp recovery in 2021. The majority of macroeconomic data has indeed signalled a recovery in the second half of 2020 and most analysts are expecting this trend to continue.

Another positive element is the likelihood of a deescalation in trade tensions.

The election of Joe Biden as the next US President improves the chances of a smoother relation between the US and both China and the EU. And finally, after almost five years of debates and discussions, Britain and the EU have agreed the terms of their split. A relatively friendly and constructive post-Brexit partnership between the two blocs would certainly benefit both sides and would help to boost optimism on financial markets.

These factors, in conjunction with any potential fiscal stimulus, will be crucial for the market in 2021. Their development holds the key as to whether a sharp recovery is indeed possible in the next 12 months.

Black swan permitting, of course.

THE CENTRAL BANK OF THE BAHAMAS

Sand Dollar firms expanding to nine THE Central Bank says a total of nine firms will likely be approved to start distributing Bahamian digital dollars, thereby significantly increasing their availability to the public, by early 2021.

The regulator, in a statement, said three institutions - including a credit union and commercial bank - were currently undergoing cyber security assessments of their systems in a bid to join the six already approved to integrate the digital currency - the Sand Dollar - into their mobile wallet platforms and start distributing them to clients.

“Businesses and individuals who have already selected a digital payments provider can expect that the Sand Dollar will be available within the same environment in which they have enrolled once their providers complete systems upgrades,” the Central Bank said, adding that a website dedicated to the digital currency will launch today.

“Early enrolment with a digital wallet provider ensures that the users will have immediate use of Sand Dollars as soon as

JOHN ROLLE the feature is enabled by their wallet provider. Sand Dollar-authorised financial institutions (AFIs) are being encouraged to disclose their product development timelines. This will provide customers with awareness as to when this digital currency activation would be completed.”

The Central Bank explained that enrolled businesses and individuals will be able to transact, and send and receive funds with any other digital wallet, once the transaction is in Sand Dollars. However, it added that some payment providers have adopted a two-phased approach to product development.

This will make the Sand

Dollar available within their own networks before such networks are fully interoperable and linked to third-party wallets. Crossplatform interoperability should be achieved for such providers during early 2021, the Central Bank said. Some providers, though, expect they will be fully interoperable with third-party Sand Dollar wallets upon the initial product launch.

The Central Bank also pledged to accelerate public education around digital financial services in early 2021 to coincide with the Sand Dollar roll-out. It said this campaign includes today’s launch of the www.

SandDollar.bs website.

The public relations campaign, the Central Bank added, will begin to ramp up during the 2021 first quarter once digital currency access is enabled across multiple mobile wallet platforms.

The regulator said it will unveil more details on the Sand Dollar’s regulatory environment, including minimum interoperability and financial inclusion standards, this month.

PAGE 6, Monday, January 4, 2021

Govt pays ‘millions’ to solve land scam FROM PAGE ONE

surveyor to determine whether what exists on the ground in Sir Lynden Pindling Estates today - in terms of the lots acquired from Arawak Homes conforms to the so-called “Pinewood plan” that was approved to guide the area’s development. He said the survey would be completed this year.

With the government paying for the lots upon which homeowners have effectively built illegally, given that they did not purchase from Arawak Homes as the land’s rightful owner, The Attorney General’s Office issued a notice just before the New Year urging those impacted to provide it with more information “in order to regularise property title issues” for those impacted.

Some are likely to oppose the use of millions in taxpayer dollars to compensate a private developer, especially with the Public Treasury strained to the limit amid COVID-19’s economic devastation, but the government is likely to argue that was no better alternative to keeping hundreds of Bahamian homeowners and their families secure in their homes and avoiding the potential loss of their biggest investment.

It is unclear, though, whether any compensation will be forthcoming to persons who purchased lots from the fraud’s perpetrators but never built on that property as they would seem not to be covered by the government’s settlement with Arawak Homes. The Public Treasury, under evergrowing daily pressure, will likely seek to minimise its and taxpayers’ exposure.

Arawak Homes executives confirmed to Tribune Business the nature and extent of the settlement agreement reached with the government to resolve the title fraud that has ensnared a 156-acre tract of land it owns in the Pinewood Gardens/Nassau Village area, just south of Charles W Saunders Highway, for some three decades.

Tavares LaRoda, its inhouse attorney, said: “There were over 250 houses and buildings impacted. The land on which they built structures is subject to transfer. It’s in excess of 250 lots.”

Sir Franklyn Wilson, the developer’s chairman, disclosed that efforts to settle the mess created by rogue land sellers and their attorney enablers had spanned three administrations. He revealed that they began under the last Ingraham government, when Byron Woodside, the Pinewood MP and minister of state

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with responsibility for land, approached Arawak Homes over a land swap.

A similar solution was proposed for a land dispute that erupted in the Bozine Town area. Sir Franklyn said Arawak Homes was prepared “from a corporate policy point of view to entertain the proposal” for a land exchange that would resolve all parties’ issues, but Mr Woodside was unable to meet its request for “a Cabinet conclusion” that would show the solution had the government’s full backing.

The initiative was then picked up by Mr Woodside’s successor as Pinewood MP, the ex-minister of state for investments, Khaalis Rolle. Mr Rolle was able to provide “evidence of a Cabinet conclusion”, and the Christie administration established a Cabinet committee headed by Hope Strachan, then-Sea Breeze MP, to negotiate a resolution with Arawak Homes.

“Eventually we came to an understanding where the government acquired a substantial number of lots in Pinewood Gardens,” Sir Franklyn said, explaining that the Minnis administration had followed through on the work done by its two predecessors.

However, those responsible for the fraud perpetrated on unsuspecting Bahamians whose numbers are far in excess of the 250 lots acquired by the government have never been held to account. They include the Smith, Smith & Company law firm, which handled the various conveyancing transactions involving the 156 acres, and a Mr Robinson, who controlled one of the companies involved.

The scam exploited the Quieting Titles Act. It started by putting forward

two “front men”, in this case John Sands and Thaddeus Johnson, to claim some connection to the targeted property, such as having farmed it in the past. A Certificate of Title is then sought under this Act, with the “front man” usually being controlled by the scheme’s architects, who stay out of the picture until the title certificate is obtained.

To obtain a title certificate via the Quieting Titles Act, parties using this mechanism must advertise their move in the official government gazette (newspaper) so that neighbouring landowners and others who may claim ownership of the subject property are informed and can contest the move.

This was not done in either the John Sands and Thaddeus Johnson cases, with the perpetrators falsely certifying to the Supreme Court that this process was followed so they could obtain title certificates to a property already owned by Arawak Homes.

Once the title certificates were in their possession, those behind the Sir Lynden Pindling Estates fraud immediately “washed” or laundered the title through a series of transactions that on-sold it to companies such as Horizon Systems, Bahamas Variety Company and CB Bahamas.

They then started selling the property to unsuspecting low income Bahamian buyers, often for prices below market value, who did not equate “a sweet deal” with a potential scam.

Many were also suckered in by relatives who vouched for the bona fides of those promoting the scheme, while others did not think to - or could not afford to - hire attorneys to conduct title searches on the property.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

THURSDAY, 31 DECEMBER 2020

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:

CLOSE

CHANGE

2092.46

3.37

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

0.16 -139.14

-6.23

(242) 323-2330 (242) 323-2320

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.15 33.05 2.00 1.84 2.39 6.00 6.75 4.10 8.01 4.50 6.16 12.77 3.64 6.85 10.88 8.44 15.08 4.25 9.26 15.21

52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 0.67 1.62 1.67 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.75 3.50 5.90 11.06 2.10 4.60 9.60 7.50 13.00 3.25 8.15 14.00

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Benchmark Bahamas First Holdings Limited Bank of Bahamas Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Cable Bahamas Commonwealth Brewery Commonwealth Bank Colina Holdings CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Bahamas Limited Focol Finco J. S. Johnson

SYMBOL AML APD BBL BFH BOB BPF BWL CAB CBB CBL CHL CIB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FCL FIN JSJ

LAST CLOSE 4.15 32.12 1.62 1.84 1.67 6.00 6.61 2.80 4.75 3.59 5.90 11.26 2.46 6.75 10.41 8.40 13.75 3.94 8.50 15.20

CLOSE 4.15 32.12 1.62 1.84 1.67 6.00 6.61 2.99 4.75 3.59 5.90 11.26 2.41 6.75 10.39 8.40 13.75 3.94 8.50 15.20

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGR1180375 BSBGRS950320 BSBGRS950304

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.72 100.64 100.64

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.72 100.64 100.64

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Bahamas First Holdings Preference Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Bahamas Class A Focol Class B

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 97.72 100.64 100.64

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.72 100.64 100.64

SECURITY Fidelity Bank (Note 22 Series B+) Bahamas First Holdings Limited

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BGRS FX BSBGR1180375 BGRS FL BSBGRS950320 BGRS FL BSBGRS950304

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.19 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (0.05) 0.00 (0.02) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME

2,000 50

250 45

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 0.000 0.110 0.070 1.760 0.369 -0.438 0.140 0.184 0.449 0.722 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.203 0.939 0.631 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

VOLUME

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.020 0.030 0.000 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.000 0.120 0.220 0.720 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.120 0.200 0.610 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 17.4 34.5 N/M N/M N/M N/M 17.9 -6.8 33.9 19.5 13.1 15.6 23.6 14.5 16.1 11.5 16.9 19.4 9.1 24.1

YIELD 4.10% 3.92% 1.23% 1.63% 0.00% 0.00% 3.93% 0.00% 0.00% 3.34% 3.73% 6.39% 18.01% 0.89% 3.16% 2.86% 3.93% 3.05% 2.35% 4.01%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

MATURITY

6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 5.22% 4.31% 4.30%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 13-Oct-2037 25-Sep-2032 25-Sep-2030

THE TRIBUNE

Britons flying home to Spain caught in post-Brexit red tape MADRID Associated Press BLAME COVID-19 travel restrictions or Brexit but whatever the cause, some British citizens trying to return to their homes in several European countries this weekend have been barred from boarding flights.

Airlines refused documents that before Brexit had been valid proof of the Britons’ status as residents in Spain, Italy and Germany, although Spanish authorities claimed that the issue had been resolved by mid-Sunday.

Their ordeal came amid heightened travel restrictions due to a coronavirus variant that has been blamed for faster contagion in the UK and highlights the bureaucratic complexities resulting from Britain’s departure from the 27-nation European Union.

Both Spanish and British authorities said Sunday that the green-colored certificate of EU citizenship with a foreign national identification number issued by Spain is still valid for British citizens residing in Spain under the bilateral provisions that followed the UK’s withdrawal from the bloc on Dec 31.

But the travelers say British Airways and Iberia, which are part of the IAG group, have been refusing to let them board for the past two days.

Iberia said in a statement late yesterday that a communication from Spain’s border police on Jan 1 had created “some confusion” and that it was later clarified. British Airways didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Around 300,000 British citizens are registered as permanent residents in Spain, although before Brexit, many more had been living full or part-time in the country without officially registering.

Patricia Moody, a 69-yearold retiree who has called the southern Spanish town of Zurgena home for nearly four years, was among a group of at least nine people unable to board a Madridbound BA/Iberia flight from London’s Heathrow Airport on Saturday.

Moody said she and her husband, who she says needs to see his doctor back in Spain, have spent 1,900 pounds ($2,600) on getting tested for the virus, traveling to the airport and booking new tickets after they were refused boarding. Their second attempt was also futile.

“Throughout all the

months of negotiating Brexit, we were always assured that nothing would change for us,” she said.

Referring to the airlines and authorities in both countries, she added: “It’s horrendous and we are suffering because of their incompetence.”

Following the discovery of the coronavirus variant in the UK, many European nations have banned all travel from the British isles except for their own nationals and UK citizens with residency rights.

Travelers to Pisa, Italy, and Berlin have also reported similar hurdles in boarding planes operated

by Ryanair and Lufthansa despite carrying documents that had been accepted by the Italian and German governments, respectively.

Matt Bristow, a spokesman for the British in Germany association of residents in that country, said: “This appears to be a case of UK airport staff not knowing what documents to accept or applying the rules more stringently than the German border police would.”

Spain has been rolling out a new system to register permanent foreign residents called TIE but it’s suffering a backlog due to the high number of requests.

Authorities told AP that proof of application for the TIE and the “green certificate” for EU citizens were still valid to travel for British residents under the new health restrictions in place until Jan 19.

“This should not be happening,” said the UK embassy in Spain said in a Facebook post. “The Spanish authorities have today re-confirmed that the green residency document will be accepted for travel to return to Spain, as stated in our travel advice.”

But Sam Dakin, a 32-yearold English-language teacher based in Barcelona for the last four years, and his partner, who has been in the Spanish city for eight years, said they needed more assurances before they could rebook flights.

The couple had been blocked from flying Saturday morning despite carrying their certificate and then were refused boarding on another flight Saturday evening that British Airways had initially said they could take.

“Just because the government adviser said that we could travel, we don’t know whether that will happen when we turn up at the counters,” Dakin said. “We just don’t know where we’re going to get answers.”

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that GREGORY SPIRD GEORGE of #4 Woods Drive, Albany, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 4th day of January 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.37 4.43 2.13 198.39 176.73 1.69 1.85 1.77 1.24 8.39 10.26 7.23 12.80 12.81 10.81 10.00 8.98 11.79

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.65 1.79 1.75 1.05 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Preferred Income Fund Leno Growth Fund Leno Diversified Fund Leno Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.37 4.43 2.13 198.36 173.98 1.69 1.79 1.77 1.05 8.39 9.88 7.23 12.33 12.80 10.20 N/A 9.28 11.86

YTD% 12 MTH% 3.76% 4.43% 1.54% 2.56% 2.12% 2.59% 1.65% 2.39% 4.34% 9.82% 1.65% 1.95% -3.06% -2.22% 0.80% 1.17% -12.30% -11.81% 0.64% 0.98% 1.19% -3.63% 4.20% 5.04% 2.63% 7.68% 3.68% 3.93% -4.89% -4.62% N/A N/A -0.50% 3.70% -3.80% 4.10%

NAV Date

31-Oct-2020 31-Oct-2020 30-Oct-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 31-Oct-2020 31-Oct-2020 31-Oct-2020 31-Oct-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020

MARKET TERMS

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks

Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity

52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks

Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity

Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume

Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price

Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume

Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week

Change - Change in closing price from day to day

EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths

Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today

NAV - Net Asset Value

DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months

N/M - Not Meaningful

P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | CAROLISLE 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

LEGAL NOTICE International Business Companies Act (No.45 of 2000) PORTOGALO INVESTMENT FUND LTD. (the “Company”) In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, (No.45 of 2000) PORTOGALO INVESTMENT FUND LTD. (the “Company”) is in dissolution. The date of commencement of the dissolution is December 31st, 2020. Ida Walkyria da Costa Breyer is the Liquidator and can be contacted at Av. Lucio Costa 3600, B1, Apt 1801, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro,CEP 22630-010, Brazil. All persons having claims against the above-named company are required to send their names, addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to the Liquidator before January 29th, 2021.

Ida Walkyria da Costa Breyer Liquidator

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 4, 2021, PAGE 7

‘Blind’ attorney fails to overturn sanctions FROM PAGE ONE Mr Cottis had been administering Mr Adams’ estate for 15 years, after the Canadian resident of Cable Beach’s Sulgrave Manor passed away at the age of 73 in 2004. However, his son, Robert, has launched legal action against the attorney, who resigned from his role on May 10, 2019, and was replaced

by EY accountant, Igal Wizman, as court-appointed Judicial Trustee.

The matter has been set for trial over a four-day period from March 2-March 5, 2021, but Robert Adams and his attorney, Christopher Jenkins of Lennox Paton, argued “there would no longer be any prospect of that trial date being met” if Mr Cottis was freed from the court’s sanctions.

This, they argued, would remove all leverage over Mr Cottis when it came to complying with multiple Supreme Court Orders to hand over documents related to his administration of Raymond Adams’ estate.

Previous non-compliance,

Robert Adams and his attorneys argued, had occurred despite Mr Cottis being represented over the course of the action by two QCs, one of whom, Sir Brian Moree, is now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the other being Damian Gomez, former minister of state for legal affairs. Another attorney who acted for him is now-Supreme Court justice, Loren Klein.

Mr Cottis’ bid to overturn the sanctions was supported by a November 22, 2020, affidavit from Anthony McKinney QC, who exhibited a letter from Dr William Smiddy, from the Miamibased Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, asserting that the attorney was “legally blind” due to retinal detachments and surgeries in both eyes.

As a result, Mr Cottis was “unable to perform his usual duties” with the restoration of at least some vision likely to “take at least another month”, leading to his application for sanctions relief that did not go down well with the other side.

“The plaintiff (Mr Adams) vehemently opposes the

application and asserts, in a nutshell, that Mr Cottis, a member of the Bahamas Bar and no stranger to litigation, has failed to give a good reason for the failure to comply when he has a legal team and administrative staff,” Justice Charles recorded. “In addition, Mr Cottis has intentionally and consistently breached orders of the court.”

Noting that Mr Cottis had consistently failed to “file and exchange” documents relating to Robert Adams’ complaint, despite the other side being in full compliance, Justice Charles noted: “Mr Cottis has been ordered to provide disclosure of the documents relating to the administration of the estate on three separate occasions and has not complied with any of those orders.”

The first order, made on August 22, 2018, required Mr Cottis - some two years before the blindness issue arose - to hand over all books and records relating to the estate’s administration to Mr Wizman in his capacity as judicial trustee.

Mr Cottis subsequently

resigned from his position on May 10, 2019, but Mr Wizman complained in his report to the Supreme Court about the attorney’s non-compliance. Mr Gomez, acting for Mr Cottis, argued that his client has been experiencing eye problems since December 2019 and that this had prevented him from complying with the Supreme Court orders.

But, using the arguments put forward by Mr Jenkins, Justice Charles’ judgment said: “As is detailed in the numerous judicial trustee’s reports, Mr Cottis has continually obstructed, delayed and complicated the work of the judicial trustee in administering the estate, a process itself only necessary because of the incompetence displayed

by Mr Cottis and his late coexecutor, Mr Manzi, and Mr Cottis’ conduct in holding the estate hostage to his own illegitimate attempts to recover more than his statutory entitlement for remuneration over the course of the administration of the estate of Mr Adams’ father, which administration has been ongoing since 2004.”

Mr Jenkins “asserts that the inevitable conclusion that must be drawn from Mr Cottis’ consistent misconduct in these proceedings (not to mention the conduct that caused these proceedings to arise) is that Mr Cottis’ noncompliance is intentional”, Justice Charles added.

“Mr Jenkins submits that Mr Cottis has brazenly and continuously ignored the directions of the court. He submits that to grant relief in such circumstances would undermine the administration of justice, as Mr Cottis has provided no good reasons for failing to adhere to the orders of the court, and would encourage litigants to disregard both general orders of the court and one of the most serious sanctions of the court....

“Mr Jenkins further submits that it is a fair conclusion to reach that Mr Cottis has no confidence in his case and seeks to delay the litigation indefinitely.”

Agreeing with these assertions, Justice Charles ruled: “As the evidence unfolded, it is plain that Mr Cottis has had a long and blemished

history of non-compliance with court orders, as well as non-cooperation with the judicial trustee.

“As Mr Jenkins correctly submits, there is no reason to suppose that this conduct may change and every reason to surmise that this conduct is part of an intentional strategy to delay the action from proceeding......

“I therefore agree with Mr Jenkins that to grant the relief from sanctions in the face of such brazen and consistent non-compliance would not be in the interests of the administration of justice. Orders must be obeyed, otherwise the rule of law tends to be undermined,” Justice Charles added.

“The breaches have not and cannot - be blamed on Mr Cottis’ legal team. Were relief to be granted, the March 2021 trial dates would be compromised and any extended deadline would, in all likelihood, also be compromised, given Mr Cottis’ past conduct. Another trial date in 2021 (of four days) would be an impossibility.”

weekly benefit, argued that such statements were “inaccurate”.

Denying that the government was “holding up” unemployment benefits, the

Ministry explained it had implemented a policy where it was offsetting ex-gratia payments workers are still receiving from their employers against the $100 benefit.

This means the government-funded unemployment benefit will only make up any difference between employer-funded payments and the weekly $100 that workers would otherwise receive if they had zero income sources.

The Ministry of Finance added that with COVID-19’s economic fall-out dragging on much longer than anticipated, and tax and other revenue streams down by at least 50 percent compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, it had no choice but to conserve dwindling financial resources while still providing needy Bahamians with much-needed assistance.

Atlantis returns some staff to furlough status FROM PAGE ONE While asserting that “Atlantis Paradise Island is not closing”, the resort confirmed in a statement that it was “experiencing lower occupancy levels for January attributed to several compounding factors such as the lack of adequate airlift and the recent surge of COVID-19 in key markets.

“As a result, team members in several divisions are on temporary furlough for a few weeks. It is also not unusual for the resort to adjust staffing needs according to occupancy levels,” Atlantis added. “Both team members and the union have been notified of this decision. Atlantis remains extremely optimistic about its February and March bookings, and looks forward to The Cove reopening on February 11.”

This episode, though, illustrates just how the reopening of the tourism and hotel industry, and the rebound of the wider economy, will not simply be a smooth upward trajectory

amid COVID-19 but, instead, likely involve a series of bumps in the road.

US COVID-19 cases have now passed the 20m mark, with deaths at over 350,000.

Atlantis’ latest staffing moves also came after one of its senior executives gave a relatively upbeat forecast about the property’s nearterm prospects, saying it enjoyed a “better than anticipated” Christmas season and was looking ahead to improving numbers in the 2021 first quarter.

Russell Miller, the Paradise Island mega resort’s executive vice-president of hotel operations, told Tribune Business that occupancies for the holiday period exceeded expectations.

He added: “Numbers are coming in better than we originally thought. Guests are very happy; they are very excited to be here.

They like the fact that it’s not that usual, hustle and bustle with the crowds.”

Meanwhile, Baha Mar said it will continue to pay its several thousand workers who are still furloughed

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that DEBORAH ANN GEORGE of #4 Woods Drive, Albany, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 4th day of January 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

ATLANTIS PARADISE ISLAND 30 percent of their base salary for an extra 30 days and pledged to report on a further benefits extension by end-January 2021.

Graeme Davis, the Cable Beach mega resort’s president, in a New Year’s message to staff said it was also continuing to lobby for furloughed workers to receive the government’s $100 weekly unemployment benefit.

He wrote: “For those individuals who are not called back in our first phase, we understand that this kind of uncertainty is extremely difficult to live with. To that end, we are providing up to a further 30 days at 30 percent of base compensation as an ex gratia payment.

“Furthermore, we will continue to pay insurance premiums necessary to maintain health insurance,

life and accidental death and dismemberment (ADD) insurance coverage. We are still in discussions with the government to try to add their financial assistance benefit on top of the ex gratia payment. Unfortunately, we have not been successful to date. However, we are not giving up our effort to lobby on your behalf.”

The government, though, previously said furloughed workers still being paid part of their normal salary by employers will not receive the full weekly unemployment benefit in a bid to conserve “scarce resources”.

The Ministry of Finance, in a statement designed to push back against Baha Mar’s assertions that furloughed staff were being treated unfairly through not receiving the full $100

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that MARGO ALLIA SCARLETT of Johnson Park Road, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 4th day of January 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 4, 2021, PAGE 9

UK ABOLISHES ‘SEXIST’ TAX ON WOMEN’S SANITARY PRODUCTS LONDON Associated Press BRITAIN on Friday became the latest country to abolish the so-called “tampon tax”, eliminating sales taxes on women’s sanitary products.

The move was widely praised by women’s rights advocates as well as proponents of the country’s departure from the European Union.

Treasury chief Rishi Sunak had committed to ending the widely

the economic orbit of the European Union.

Under EU law, nations cannot reduce the rate of value-added tax on menstrual products below 5% as they are deemed to be luxury items and not essentials. Ireland is the only EU country that does not charge a levy on sanitary products as its zero tax rate was in place before the EU set its floor.

“Sanitary products are essential, so it’s right that we do not charge VAT,” said Sunak. “We have already rolled out

BRITAIN’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak leaves Downing Street in London. Treasury chief Sunak has committed to ending the widely unpopular tax on women’s sanitary products, but the change could only take effect Friday Jan 1, 2021, after Britain had finally left the economic orbit of the EU. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP unpopular tax on tam- the change could only pons and sanitary pads in take effect Friday after his budget in March but Britain had finally left

free sanitary products in schools, colleges and hospitals and this commitment takes us another step closer to making them available and affordable for all women.”

Britain officially left the bloc’s vast single market for people, goods and services at 11 pm London time on Thursday, giving it greater scope to set its own laws. A new UK-EU trade deal will bring new restrictions and red tape, but for British Brexit supporters, it means reclaiming national independence from the EU and

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 67° F/19° C Low: 44° F/7° C

TAMPA

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Clouds and breaks of sun

Partly cloudy

Times of sun and clouds

Mostly sunny and pleasant

Partly sunny, a shower and t‑storm

Mostly cloudy

High: 78°

Low: 68°

High: 75° Low: 65°

High: 74° Low: 65°

High: 75° Low: 66°

High: 77° Low: 64°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

81° F

67° F

78°-64° F

77°-65° F

79°-65° F

78°-62° F

N

almanac

E

ABACO

S

N

High: 75° F/24° C Low: 63° F/17° C

7‑14 knots

S

High: 73° F/23° C Low: 52° F/11° C

7‑14 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 75° F/24° C Low: 56° F/13° C

E S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

W

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

W

N

uV inDex toDay

TONIGHT

High: 67° F/19° C Low: 49° F/9° C

High: 74° F/23° C Low: 62° F/17° C

MIAMI

High: 75° F/24° C Low: 56° F/13° C

7‑14 knots

KEY WEST

High: 71° F/22° C Low: 63° F/17° C

Statistics are for Nassau through 1 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 81° F/27° C Low .................................................... 63° F/17° C Normal high ....................................... 78° F/25° C Normal low ........................................ 66° F/19° C Last year’s high ................................. 83° F/28° C Last year’s low ................................... 72° F/22° C Precipitation As of 1 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 0.00” Normal year to date ..................................... 0.17”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 78° F/26° C Low: 68° F/20° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 69° F/21° C

N

High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

11:22 a.m.

11:59 p.m.

2.8 2.5

5:08 a.m. 0.0 5:52 p.m. ‑0.2

Tuesday

12:14 p.m. ‑‑‑‑‑

2.6 ‑‑‑‑‑

6:07 a.m. 0.1 6:42 p.m. ‑0.2

Wednesday 12:58 a.m.

1:12 p.m.

2.5 2.5

7:11 a.m. 0.2 7:37 p.m. ‑0.3

Thursday

2:00 a.m.

2:13 p.m.

2.7 2.4

8:19 a.m. 0.2 8:34 p.m. ‑0.4

Friday

3:02 a.m.

3:16 p.m.

2.8 2.3

9:28 a.m. 0.1 9:32 p.m. ‑0.5

Saturday

4:04 a.m.

4:19 p.m.

3.0 2.3

10:33 a.m. 0.0 10:31 p.m. ‑0.6

Sunday

5:03 a.m.

5:19 p.m.

3.1 2.3

11:34 a.m. ‑0.2 11:28 p.m. ‑0.7

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 70° F/21° C

N

S

E

W

4‑8 knots

S

3‑6 knots

ANDROS

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

tiDes For nassau

6:56 a.m.

5:34 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

11:06 p.m.

11:06 a.m.

Last

New

First

Full

Jan. 6

Jan. 12

Jan. 20

Jan. 28

CAT ISLAND

E

W

its rules. They pointed to the abolition of the tampon tax as an early positive change from Brexit.

Britain’s treasury has previously estimated the move will save the average woman nearly 40 pounds ($55) over her lifetime.

“It’s been a long road to reach this point, but at last, the sexist tax that saw sanitary products classed as nonessential, luxury items can be consigned to the history books,” said Felicia Willow, chief of the Fawcett Society, a women’s rights charity.

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 70° F/21° C

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 72° F/22° C

N

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 68° F/20° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 70° F/21° C

4‑8 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 80° F/27° C Low: 71° F/22° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS RAGGED ISLAND High: 80° F/27° C Low: 70° F/21° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 81° F/27° C Low: 70° F/21° C

N

N E

W

E

W

H

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 71° F/22° C

S

S

4‑8 knots

6‑12 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday:

WINDS NW at 7‑14 Knots NW at 7‑14 Knots SW at 4‑8 Knots N at 7‑14 Knots SSW at 4‑8 Knots NNW at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots WSW at 4‑8 Knots WSW at 6‑12 Knots NNW at 7‑14 Knots NNW at 7‑14 Knots NNW at 7‑14 Knots SW at 3‑6 Knots NNW at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots WSW at 3‑6 Knots SSE at 4‑8 Knots WNW at 4‑8 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots SW at 6‑12 Knots WSW at 4‑8 Knots NNW at 6‑12 Knots S at 4‑8 Knots NW at 4‑8 Knots SW at 4‑8 Knots NNW at 7‑14 Knots

WAVES 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 0‑1 Feet 0‑1 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 3‑6 Feet 2‑4 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet

VISIBILITY 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 77° F 77° F 76° F 77° F 79° F 79° F 80° F 80° F 77° F 77° F 79° F 81° F 78° F 79° F 80° F 80° F 80° F 80° F 79° F 79° F 78° F 78° F 79° F 80° F 79° F 79° F

PAGE 10, Monday, January 4, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

BRITAIN’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at a press conference in 10 Downing Street, London. Johnson has warned that more onerous lockdown restrictions in England are likely as the country reels from a new variant of the coronavirus that has seen infection rates soar to their highest recorded levels. The UK is in the midst of an acute outbreak, recording more than 50,000 new coronavirus infections a day over the past five days.

Photo: Heathcliff O’Malley/Pool/AP

UK’s Johnson warns of more lockdown measures as virus soars LONDON Associated Press BRITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned yesterday that more onerous lockdown restrictions in England are likely in the coming weeks as the country reels from a new coronavirus variant that has pushed infection rates to their highest recorded levels.

Johnson, though, insisted he has “no doubt” that schools are safe and urged parents to send their children back into the classroom in areas of England where they can. Unions representing teachers have called for schools to turn to remote learning for at least a couple of weeks more due to the new variant, which scientists have said is up to 70% more contagious.

The UK is in the midst of an acute outbreak, recording more than 50,000 new coronavirus infections a day over the past six days.

Yesterday, it notched up another 54,990 cases, down slightly from the previous day’s daily record of 57,725.

The country also recorded another 454 virus-related deaths to take the total to 75,024. According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the UK is alternating with Italy as the worst-hit European nation.

“We are entirely reconciled to do what it takes to get the virus under control, that may involve tougher measures in the weeks ahead,” Johnson said in an interview with the BBC. “Obviously there are a range of tougher measures that we would have to consider.”

Johnson conceded that school closures, curfews and the total banning of household mixing could be on the agenda for areas under the most stress.

London and southeast England are facing extremely high levels of new infections and there is speculation that restrictions there will have to be tightened to bring the virus under control. In some parts of the British capital and its surrounding areas, there are more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 people.

Johnson’s Conservative government is using a tiered coronavirus restrictions system. Most of England is already at the highest Tier 4 level, which involves the closure of shops not selling nonessential items and places like gyms and recreation centers as well as a stay-at-home instruction.

“What we are using now is the tiering system, which is a very tough system, and alas probably about to get tougher to keep things under control,” he said. “We’ll review it and we have the prospect of vaccines coming down the tracks in their tens of millions, offering people literally life and hope.”

Keir Starmer, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, urged Johnson to bring in further national restrictions in the next day or so though he stopped short of calling for the closure of schools as he said he didn’t want to “add to the chaos” that is likely to emerge today.

“The virus is clearly out of control,” Starmer said.

YOUR

“We can’t allow the prime minister to use up the next two or three weeks and then bring in a national lockdown which is inevitable.”

Starmer also said it’s unavoidable that more schools will close and urged the government to come up with a plan both for students and for working parents.

One area the UK has moved quickly is on the vaccination front. It was the first to begin vaccinating people over age 80 and health care workers on Dec 8 with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. Last week, regulators approved another vaccine made by Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca that is cheaper and easier to use than the Pfizer vaccine.

Hundreds of new vaccination sites are due to be up and running this week as the National Health Service ramps up its immunisation program with the OxfordAstraZeneca shot. Officials say around 530,000 doses of the new vaccine will be in place today as the country moves towards its goal of vaccinating two million people a week as soon as possible.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered at a small number of hospitals for the first few days so authorities can be on the lookout for any adverse reactions. Hundreds of new vaccination sites — at both hospitals as well as local doctors’ offices — are due to launch this week, joining the more than 700 already in operation, NHS England said.

In a shift from practices in the US and elsewhere, Britain plans to give people second doses of both vaccines within 12 weeks of the first shot rather than within 21 days, to accelerate immunisations across as many people as quickly as possible.

“My mum, as well as you or your older loved ones, may be affected by this decision, but it is still the right thing to do for the nation as a whole,” the government’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said in an article for the Mail on Sunday newspaper.

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019