01122023 BUSINESS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) chief executive yesterday warned the utility’s base tariff rate must ultimately increase to offset “diminished returns”, adding: “The sooner, the better.”

Shevonn Cambridge, reassuring that no such hike is imminent, nevertheless told Tribune Business it is “a necessary adjustment” that must be implemented for future financial stability given that BPL’s margins continue to be squeezed by rising input costs that have only worsened amid the current spike in inflation. No timelines for such an increase have been set, and he added that significant work over a six-12 month period would be required to determine the appropriate base tariff to set. However, Bahamian businesses and households, already facing an up to 163 percent increase in the fuel charge component of their electricity bill during this summer’s peak

demand, will be less than thrilled about the prospect of another rise no matter how far away it may be.

“The bottom line is that we’re going to have to look at our rates and make the necessary adjustment,” Mr Cambridge told this newspaper, confirming he was referring to BPL’s base tariff. “If you look at what’s going on around the world with other utilities that would seem to be the course to take.”

Asked about the timing of any base tariff increase, he replied:

“Obviously the sooner the better, but even the work to get that done requires some time. You’re looking at six to 12 months easily. I’m not saying, though, that it will happen in six to 12 months. I don’t want to see that in a headline.”

BPL’s bill is split into two components, each accounting for around 50 percent of the bill. While the fuel charge is supposed to be a 100 percent pass through of such costs to the

Bahamian charters fear of ‘devastating impact’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN charter operators yesterday warned that being cut-off from the US due to the dispute over this nation’s overflight fees regime will have “a devastating impact” on their ability to survive.

Golden Wings Charter and Island Wings, in their respective submissions to the US Department of Transportation, voiced fears they will both suffer “significant financial harm” if the federal agency was to impose sanctions blocking, reducing or partially impeding their access to

the American market and clients.

Major US airlines, including the likes of Jet Blue, American Airlines and Delta, are urging the Department of Transportation to do just that unless their complaint over The Bahamas’ allegedly “unjust, discriminatory and anticompetitive” overflight fees structure is addressed to their satisfaction.

And, while the Bahamian government yesterday pushed back against their accusations, branding them untrue and demanding that the complaint be dismissed, the US carriers were joined by Spirit Airlines, which blasted this nation’s

Broker integration vital to end $50m Customs loss

By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters

THE Ministry of Finance yesterday asserted that broker “integration” with Customs’ systems is vital to eliminating more than $50m in annual revenue losses amid a continuing dispute over whether such requirements are lawful.

Kwasi Thompson, former minister of state for finance, reiterated his argument that the Customs regulations must first be amended to mandate that all brokers connect to its Electronic Single Window (ESW), known as Click2Clear, via

electronic data interchange or EDI.

This, though, contradicted the Ministry of Finance’s position that the Customs comptroller has wide-ranging powers to determine the manner and

Bahamas to US airlines: Respect our sovereignty

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Government yesterday accused major US airlines of seeking to use The Bahamas’ sovereign air space without paying for it through “empty arguments” and “attempting to inflame lawful conduct”.

The Bahamas, responding to allegations that its overflight fees regime imposes “unjust, anti-competitive and unreasonable” charges on US-based carriers, sought to turn the table on its accusers by asserting that they want to force this nation into the very conduct they are accusing it of by “discriminating against all airlines other” than themselves.

Urging the Biden administration’s Department of Transportation to dismiss the industry’s complaint, which calls for sanctions to be imposed on Bahamian airlines flying to the US unless the dispute is satisfactorily resolved, the Government argued that the sector has no standing to bring the current action.

While it bases much of its claim on the Air Transport Agreement between The Bahamas and the US, the Government is arguing

it cannot do so because the two parties to the deal are the respective national governments - not the airlines. The Bahamas is also asserting that the Department of Transportation has no jurisdiction to hear the complaint as the dispute resolution procedures in the Air Transport Agreement must be used first to address any grievances.

Taking the position that US passenger and cargo airlines are trampling on Bahamian sovereignty in their bid to avoid paying one cent for frequent use of this country’s air space, the Government’s legal filings said they “do not - and cannot - dispute that every airline, including Bahamian airlines, pay the identical charges when flying over Bahamian air space”.

The Government’s filings with the Department of Transportation warned that “the positive aviation relationship” between The Bahamas and the US will be “jeopardised” if the federal agency ignores the dispute resolution process in the Air Transport Agreement. And, should it determine to impose sanctions on The Bahamas, this nation will “reserve its own rights to

REGISTRAR

By

OFFICIALS from the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) will travel to the Cayman Islands next week to “finalise the migration of data” to a new online portal as efforts to digitise its companies section ramp up.

Jomo Campbell, minister of state for legal affairs, addressing the opening of the new legal year said work to digitise the Registrar General’s Department is an ongoing

process. “The Registrar General’s Department is currently digitising the corporate registry with BRAC Informatics Centre (BIC), an international service provider of digital services based in the Cayman Islands,” he confirmed.

“The Registrar General’s Department, in fact, travels to the Cayman Islands next week to meet with BIC to finalize the migration of data from the current systems at the Registrar General’s Department to a brand new companies portal that will be more user friendly, where persons will be able to utilise

various services provided by the Registrar General’s Department at the touch of a button.”

Mr Campbell also hailed The Bahamas’ achievement of perfect compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) 40 anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing recommendations, and the country’s de-listing from the European Union’s (EU) money laundering blacklist.

Referring specifically to the FATF process, he added: “In November 2022, an expert evaluation process, which began in May, culminated with the

approval of The Bahamas’ fifth follow-up report.

“Three plenary meetings, ongoing communications and discussions from May 2022 to December of the same year resulted in the assessors’ recommendations to upgrade The Bahamas’ compliance for the final two recommendations; those being recommendation 18 as it relates to NPOs (non-profit organisations), and 15 as it relates to new technologies, from partial compliance ratings with to compliant ratings.”

Mr Campbell continued: “The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force

(CFATF) plenary approved the follow-up report, and sent it out to the FATF global network of quality and consistency review.

“In late December 2022, the CFATF assessors’ recommendations was sanctioned by the FATF global network of members. The Bahamas’s fifth followup report was released on December 22, 2022, by the CFATF. The Bahamas’s fifth follow-up report documents the analysis of The Bahamas’ progress in addressing the technical compliance deficiencies identified in the published 2017 mutual evaluation

report and revisions of the FATF recommendations.

“We are proud to announce that we as a country have now attained technical compliance ratings of ‘compliant’ and ‘largely compliant’ in all 40 FATF recommendations as they relate to international anti-money laundering, counter terrorism finance and proliferation standards. With this The Bahamas becomes only the second jurisdiction in the Caribbean and wider Americas to attain this ranking, and the sixth in the FATF global network.”

The year’s start is the perfect time to turn a new page, which is probably why so many people make New Year’s resolutions. It feels like a fresh start, and a great opportunity to change bad habits and establish new routines that will help spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual growth.

Resolutions are, of course, much easier to make than to keep and, usually by the end of March, many may have abandoned their pledges and have settled back into old patterns despite good intentions.

Why we make resolutions

The New Year sometimes leads people to bite off more than they can chew, causing perceptions of success to vary when it comes to achieving these resolutions. Some of the most common resolutions include: Weight loss; a healthier diet; exercising regularly; better financial choices; quitting smoking; attending church more often; and spending

more time with family. During the first few days, you will probably feel confident and highly motivated simply because you have not faced any discomfort as yet. However, if you do, remind yourself exactly why you are doing this.

Choose a realistic goal Be sure to make your goals realistic rather than drastic. Choosing an achievable goal also gives you the opportunity to plan exactly how you are going to meet it. Select just one and focus your energies on that rather than spreading yourself too thinly. Taking on too much, too quickly, is a common reason why so many New Year’s resolutions fail.

If you start working towards a goal without a plan, you may quickly find yourself giving up when faced with obstacles. For example, if your goal is to run three times per week, what will you do if you have missed four days in a row because of an injury? How will you proceed? Likewise,

starting an unsustainably restrictive diet, overdoing it at the gym or radically altering your normal behaviour are proven ways to derail your ambitions. Small, incremental changes will ultimately help you reach your larger goal quicker.

Avoid repeating past failures

If you try to attain the same goals you have set in the past, spend some time evaluating your previous results. Which strategies were the most or least effective? What obstacles did you face? Consider changing the approach, or make slight alterations to make it more feasible.

Be patient with yourself. Remember that those unhealthy habits you are trying to change probably took years to develop. Therefore, do not expect

to change them in a matter of days, weeks or months. Understand that working towards your resolutions is a process. Even if you suffer a misstep or two, it is OK. You can simply restart and continue onwards. Remember that this is not a race to the finish; it is a journey.

Keep working on your goal Keep that inspiration alive by continuing to work on your goals, even after suffering setbacks. Doing a little of something is better than doing nothing. If your current approach is not working, reevaluate your strategies and think about what is causing you to falter (such as stress from work or home life) and devise a plan to cope with it effectively. Do not view relapses as a failure, as the path towards

your goal will not always be a straight one, and relapses are learning opportunities. By understanding the challenges you face on this journey, you will be better prepared to deal with them in the future. Until we meet again, fill your life with memories rather than regrets. Enjoy life and stay on top of your game.

NB: Columnist welcomes feedback at deedee21bastian@gmail.com

ABOUT COLUMNIST: Deidre M. Bastian is a professionally-trained graphic designer/brand marketing analyst, author and certified life coach

DEIDRE BastiaN By

NASSAU RECEIVES 157K CRUISE PASSENGERS SINCE NEW YEAR

NASSAU Cruise Port (NCP) yesterday said it has received more than 157,000 passengers in the 11 days since the New Year while setting a single-day record last week.

The Prince George Wharf operator, in a statement, said it received a post-COVID record of 26,410 passengers that represented an uptick from 25,393 passengers a few days prior. Since cruise tourism restarted in July 2021, Nassau Cruise Port added that it has seen a steady increase in traffic with 1,592 vessel calls todate. It has recently enjoyed several days at full capacity with six ships berthed at the same time.

“The New Year has just begun, and we are already seeing high volumes of passengers visiting Nassau, which is great news for the Bahamian families that rely on cruise tourism. This is indicative of a strong rebound in the cruise industry, with climbing occupancy rates, and these passenger volumes have a positive impact to the tourism industry in The Bahamas,” said Michael Maura, Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive.

“Geographically, The Bahamas is blessed, not only with sun, sand and sea, but also with proximity to the major homeports in the US, and Nassau is the busiest transit port in the world. Nassau often caters to repeat cruise travel clientele, and this year will showcase more exciting offerings downtown with the completion of the cruise port. This is an exciting time, and a very exciting and encouraging start to 2023.”

Nassau Cruise Port received more than 3.2m passengers in 2022, and said it now aims to welcome more than 4m this year. Its facilities, when a $300m transformation is completed, will include a 3,500-person capacity amphitheatre, a Junkanoo museum, authentic Bahamian retail and food and beverage spaces, and new entertainment and event spaces.

The addition of its sixth berth allows Nassau Cruise Port to accommodate the largest ships in the world, it added, and tens of thousands of passengers to experience The Bahamas each and every day.

WESTERN UNION RESUMES LIMITED MONEY TRANSFERS TO CUBA

By MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press

WESTERN Union said Wednesday it has resumed remittance services between the U.S. and Cuba in a limited capacity after two years of the essential economic lifeline being severed.

The company stopped the money transfers in 2020 after then President Donald Trump tightened longstanding U.S. on Cuba. The Biden administration has loosed a handful of the Trump-era restrictions, including remittance payments, but has still left many in place.

"The close connection between our U.S. customers and their families living in Cuba, together with the role our services play in helping create better lives, are inextricably linked,"

said Gabriella Fitzgerald, president of Western Union North America. "We are delighted to offer this critical connection once again for our customers."

The test phase is being rolled out in select locations in Miami, and transfers can be sent to three government-operated banks in Cuba — Banco Popular de Ahorro, Banco Metropolitano SA and Banco de Credito y Comercio.

Western Union said payments cannot be sent online, a widely used

alternative, and money can only be transferred in dollars. Payments are also limited to $2,000 a day, and money must be picked up with a Cuban ID card, Fitzgerald said in a news release.

The reopening of remittance payments could offer Cuban families key economic support during a time of record economic crisis in the Caribbean nation, one of a number of factors fueling a migratory exodus from the island.

NASSAU Cruise Port says it has three berths that can facilitate the largest cruise ships in the world.

BAHAMAS TO US AIRLINES: RESPECT OUR SOVEREIGNTY

compensation for wrongfully imposed” penalties.

Achieving a positive resolution is critical for the commercial health of multiple Bahamian airlines that fly to the US, including the likes of Bahamasair and Western Air, given that their American counterparts are calling for such access to be either fully blocked or “curtailed” unless this nation reforms its overflight regime (see other article on Page 1B).

Air transport connections between The Bahamas and US are critical to this nation’s economy, both for the transport of commercial cargo as well as access by stopover tourists, 90 percent of whom are American while many others transit through the US. This country cannot afford for such links to even be remotely threatened.

The US airlines, too, will not want to endanger their routes to this nation given the relatively high load factors typically enjoyed via visiting tourists. The Bahamas’ US proximity also means that fuel costs are minimised, thus helping to control one of the aviation industry’s greatest expenses and keep profits and margins relatively high. With much at stake for all sides, a negotiated outcome rather than a legal one still appears more likely.

Pointing out that the overflight fees are a critical financing mechanism for building the necessary infrastructure and capacity, including both technical resources and staff, for The Bahamas to ultimately over safety and oversight management of its sovereign air space, the Government blasted: “The joint complaint is the members’ attempt to use Bahamian

sovereign airspace without paying it. “

“The members (US airlines) may not, and cannot, challenge The Bahamas’ right to charge the airlines for the cost to use its airspace by conjuring a discrimination claim based on a contract between the US and The Bahamas –they are not parties to that agreement.”

The Government, which is being represented by Florida-based Becker & Poliakoff, a law firm that Ryan Pinder KC, the attorney general, once worked for, defended the present overflight fee regime - which sets charges at between $8.50 to $51.60 per nautical mile based on a plane’s weight - as “consistent with the governing agreement and identical for all airlines using Bahamian air space”.

“The members do notand cannot - dispute that every airline, including Bahamian airlines, pays the identical charges when flying over Bahamian airspace. The members receive no disparate treatment. There is no support for the members’ claim that they pay double, urging the Department [of Transportation] to accept the empty argument that they already pay the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) for flying over The Bahamas,” the Government continued.

The Bahamas’ upper air space above 6,000 feet has been managed by a combination of the US and Cuba, the former being responsible for around 75 percent, since 1952 under a deal struck with the then-colonial power, the UK. However, The Bahamas subsequently gained independence in 1973 and became a sovereign nation, and has moved in recent years to assert this sovereignty when it comes

to controlling its own air space.

The Bahamas has agreed management contracts with both the US FAA and Cuba for them to continue oversight of this nation’s air space until this country builds sufficient capacity to take over the provision of air navigation services through the Bahamas Air Navigation Services Authority (BANSA).

The overflight fees regime is key to financing this ambition, and the Government yesterday asserted the charges comply with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines. “The Bahamas also has difficulty funding the development and maintenance for the air navigation services (ANS) facilities,” it added, citing the high interest costs associated with the country’s $11bn-plus national debt and frequent hurricanerelated damage.

Pointing out that The Bahamas had consulted with aviation and other stakeholders before implementing its overflight regime, the Government yesterday said the FAA had agreed to charge this nation an $80,000 fixed annual administrative fee for its services and waive the air navigation fees as part of a ten-year management deal.

This, the Government, argued resulted in a 10 percent discount to what the FAA had charged airlines using Bahamian air space with this saving fully passed on under the newlyimplemented overflight regime. “Before the Air Transport Agreement, the

FAA controlled Bahamian air space and collected overflight fees (called enroute fees) from all commercial airlines at a rate of $61.75 per 100 nautical miles regardless of what the aircrafts weighed,” The Bahamas said.

“For the [US airlines] the FAA waived the fee if the flight originated or landed in the US. After executing the Air Transport Agreement, commercial airlines no longer pay the FAA the enroute fee. Instead, airlines pay the overflight fees to BANSA, which are lower than the fees previously charged by the FAA.”

Pointing to the FAA discount’s impact, the Government added: “In the Notice of Intent, the annual average cost for external service providers was $23.7m. The FAA’s waiver of air navigation services fees caused that cost category to reduce from $18.1m to $5.6m.

“The overflight fees decreased from the range of $10 to $61 per 100 nautical miles to the range of $8.50 to $51.60 per 100 nautical miles. The decrease is approximately a 10 percent discount. In other words, The Bahamas passed on to all airlines the savings from the FAA waiver.”

Tackling the discrimination claims head-on, the Government denied the US carriers’ assertion that they are being ‘double taxed’ by paying both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and The Bahamas the same fee for air navigation services that the latter does not provide.

“There is no discrimination,” the Bahamas

asserted to the US Department of Transportation.

“The overflight fees charged by The Bahamas are uniform. Regardless of where the commercial airline originated, the charges are identical: $8.50-$51.60 per 100 nautical miles.

“In other words, the charges for the members are identical to every other airline, including Bahamian airlines, Canadian airlines and British airlines who fly over Bahamian airspace. If the charges the members (US airlines) must pay are the same rate, there can be no discrimination.......

There is no way to avoid the core fact: a foreign sovereign that treats everyone the same cannot be liable for discrimination. That is the case here.”

The Government said the US airlines were not “double taxed”, as they claimed, and were pushing a flawed argument. It added that prior to the deal with the FAA, the aviation overseer waived the then-$61.75 per 100 nautical miles fee for aircraft that took off or landed in the US, thus benefiting its own carriers.

And the payments made to the FAA’s Trust Fund, as referenced by the airlines, came from taxes levied on domestic travel but not to international destinations such as The Bahamas. “The members, therefore, are not paying into the Trust Fund based on their routes over The Bahamas, and even if they were, the Trust Fund does not support The Bahamas infrastructure. There is, once again, no double payment,” the Government argued.

“The members provide no evidence that BANSA is charging for the services provided by the FAA, and cannot do that here because the Department does not have jurisdiction and the members lack standing to do so. But even if this were the proper forum, BANSA reduced the charges from the range of $10 to $61 per 100 nautical miles to the range of $8.50 to $51.60 per 100 nautical miles because The Bahamas entered into the ANSA (air navigation services agreement).

“The overflight fees are also less than that what the FAA charged the members – a uniform $61.75 per 100 nautical mileswithout accounting for aircraft weight. Therefore, the members pay less now because BANSA scales to aircraft weight what to impose as user charges and overflight fees for overflights (not a flat fee). But BANSA also excluded the cost charged by FAA and charges the identical rate for every airline flying over The Bahamas,” the Government added.

“It appears the members should focus their angst at the FAA and the US rather than The Bahamas and BANSA. The Members’ ire is that..... BANSA has not agreed to waive the fees for flying over The Bahamas like the FAA had done. The members ask the Department to force The Bahamas to discriminate against all other commercial airlines in favour of them by charging the members less than what every other airline pays.”

F&B Manager Bartender Landscape Manager

‘SOONER THE BETTER’ OVER BPL BASE RATE INCREASE

utility’s end-consumer, the base rate tariff is intended to cover all other expenses such as labour/payroll; parts and maintenance; and capital expenditure.

The latter is also intended to generate BPL’s profits. However, many observers have argued that the cause of the utility’s financial strife can be traced back almost two decades to the first Christie administration, when the late Bradley Roberts and Al Jarrett, in their capacities as then-minister and chairman respectively, cut BPL’s base tariff rate to a level where it was selling electricity below the cost it took to produce it.

The then-Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) was able to claw back some of the base rut cut under the subsequent Ingraham administration when it was headed by executive chairman, Michael Moss, but it was unable to recover all the lost ground due to concerns about the impact on companies and households struggling with reduced employment and income

following the 2008-2009 financial crisis and recession.

Asked yesterday whether BPL was still producing electricity below cost, Mr Cambridge replied: “I don’t think they started off selling below the cost of production, but there’s been increases in all the inputs and the necessary adjustment on the back end has not been made. Over time the returns have diminished to the point where we have to address it.” Any base rate increase, though, would have to be approved by both BPL Board and the Cabinet.

The BPL chief, meanwhile, said “there isn’t much room for change” to 2023’s rolling quarterly increases in the utility’s fuel charge. His comments came after Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, revealed that the industry had advocated that the utility extend this initiative over a longer period to allow for lower hikes and thus minimise the impact.

While Bahamian resorts have factored BPL’s fuel charge increases into their budgets for 2023, Mr Sands told Tribune Business:

“We’re working with BPL to increase the period at a lower rate so the end result will be the same but there will be less impact.”

Mr Cambridge, while confirming such a request was made, said BPL had rejected it as it had limited room for manoeuvre in raising sufficient financing to repay $90m owed to its fuel supplier, Shell, and the Government. “They mentioned it, but we pretty much came to an understanding on that.

I think they understood our position,” he added of the hotel industry.

“All that was taken into consideration when we came up with the glide path strategy. There’s not much room for changing. At present we’re right on track with our projections and forecasts.

The good news is we’re not changing up, but we’re not changing down as well. Everything is moving just as the forecast indicated. We have bills to pay and it’s a pass through.”

Mr Cambridge reiterated that BPL and the Government were hopeful that early warning of the rolling fuel charge increases, which

were unveiled on October 4 last year, would give companies and households sufficient time to take action that mitigates the impact. They are also hoping that the hikes will be sufficiently short-term enough to enable customers to withstand the impact to their finances.

Consumers who use less than 800 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month are presently paying a 14.5 cents per kWh fuel surcharge, while those consuming higher than this threshold are paying 19.1 cents. The former category will see that figure increase by two cents per kWh to 16.5 cents for the three months between March and May 2023, with a further jump by the same magnitude to 18.5 cents for the six months from June 1 to end-November 2023.

As for businesses and high energy user, who the Government is hoping will

bear the greatest burden, their fuel charges are set to increase by 4.3 cents per quarter. It will leap to 23.3 cents per kWh for the March to May period, and then to 27.6 cents between June and August, before declining slightly to 25 cents during September to November.

The sharp fuel charge increases, which some have estimated will see overall customer bills rise by up to 80-90 percent during summer’s June to August peak consumption, are necessary to pay outstanding debts owed to both Shell and the Government.

This resulted from BPL holding the fuel charge at 10.5 cents per kWh for an extended period of time even though its fuel costs had significantly increased because the Government elected not to execute the trades (purchases) to acquire low-cost volumes that would gave further supported BPL’s existing fuel hedge.

Mr Cambridge, meanwhile, said “nothing has

changed” with regard to BPL’s proposed $535m rate reduction bond (RRB) refinancing and the potential deal with Shell North America for New Providence’s baseload generation. Both transactions thus remain on hold, or in abeyance, with the former unable to proceed due to unfavourable global interest rates as a result of recent hikes.

The BPL chief, though, conceded that “the time has passed” for when the utility’s legacy debt needed to be refinanced. With this as pressing and urgent as ever, he said: “We’re looking at a number of options. Nothing is off the table. That’s as much as I can say on that at the moment. As soon as we can get it done, we will. It’s something that is being actively worked on. Management and the Board are exploring a number of options and I wouldn’t want to pre-empt that.”

• Reinforces company goals and vision to all direct reports and continually implements this strategy into overall communications. Supervises, directly and/or indirectly, all Security/Surveillance team members including: selection, training, work direction, safety, communication, counseling, disciplining, performance evaluations and records.

• Oversight and training for emergency response procedures such matters as fires, bomb threats, power outages, and other serious matters or emergencies. Directs and monitors the security and safety of customers, employees, facilities, and grounds.

• Reviews security/surveillance investigations concerning all incidents and issues taking place on property and makes necessary reports and notifies the Assistant COO.

• Checks all security/surveillance reports for accuracy and completeness and ensure timeliness.

• Ensure compliance with department and Company policies and procedures.

• Create and update weekly department schedule.

• Continually evaluate Team Members for alertness, appearance, and proper performance of duties.

• Observes, supervises and instructs shift officers in the performance of their duties.

Determines personnel requirements and makes assignments at the beginning of each shift. Ensure effective onboarding and training for Security/Surveillance Officers.

• Provide security and protection for customers, team members, property and assets.

Reacts promptly to disturbances where Security/Surveillance is required.

• Maintain a high level of confidentiality

• Be familiar with all Chances web shops throughout the Bahamas.

• Takes appropriate action, when required, of individuals suspected of illegal activities. Perform related duties as assigned by management.

Who are We Bahamas Air Navigation Services Authority is the premier Air Navigation Service provider in the Bahamas. We provide reliable and quality air navigation services through a proficient workforce, servicing the global community. We are dedicated to being the regional leader in air navigation services.

Position Overview

The Legal Counsel will provide a wide range of legal services connected to the operations and administration of the Bahamas Air Navigation Services Authority (“the BANSA”). Among the primary functions are providing legal advice and counsel to management, the Director, and the Board of Directors; conducting legal research; drafting legal documents; reviewing authority action for legal sufficiency; and representing BANSA in civil litigation and administrative hearings.

Duties may include but are not limited to:

1. Provides sound and timely advice and direction to the Director, management and the Board on any legal matter related to BANSA, its functions and operations.

2. Undertakes legal sufficiency reviews of BANSA’s programs, policies, procedures, and practices to ensure compliance with institutional priorities and statutory obligations—including legislative initiatives of the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAA-B) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).

Performs or supports due diligence, negotiations, requests for proposals and contract development for proposed commercial transactions and manages associated documents.

Implements, tracks, and monitors legal aspects of strategic organizational initiatives.

Defines budget and other resources necessary for the optimal provision of legal services.

Collaborates with management in respect of labor relations matters, including assisting with industrial agreement negotiations.

Supports the HR function by managing high-risk, complex employee matters, including overseeing judicial and administrative proceedings.

Drafts new and amended legislation, regulations, notices, etc., as required by BANSA.

• Degree from an accredited law school.

• At least 3 years of responsible experience in the practice of law—preferable in a government or aeronautical setting.

• In good standing with the Bahamas Bar Association

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in dealing with sensitive, complex, and confidential issues and situations.

Competence Requirements:

• Capable of maintaining quality while working under pressure and adhering to deadlines.

• Demonstrate ability to work independently and largely unsupervised.

• Methodical and organized with a high level of attention to details.

• Professionalism and adherence to good work ethics.

• Results and performance driven.

• Team player.

Interested persons must require surveillance experience, certification, training, communication skills, attention to detail, ability to work independently and should apply at Jarol Investments Limited Head Office, Prince Charles Drive (Across from Restview) between the hours of 9am to 5pm. Or send your CV to careers@chancesgames.com Subject: Assistant Security Manager – Your Name

Jarol Investments Limited is seeking to fill the following position: Assistant Security Manager (Nassau)

Bahamian charters fear of ‘devastating impact’

overflight charges as “nonsensical” and alleged they were a key factor in why it currently does not fly to this nation.

“Spirit supports A4A’s (Airlines for America’s) complaint and agrees that the charges recently instituted by The Bahamas are unjust and unreasonable. These anti-competitive fees are a significant reason as to why Spirit does not currently serve The Bahamas,” its attorneys told the US Department of Transportation.

“Spirit agrees with A4A that the fees charged by The Bahamas are completely disproportionate to the services provided. Spirit understands that the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) provides most air traffic control services for The Bahamas, so it is nonsensical for The Bahamas to charge such high fees for services that they do not provide.

“The fees charged by The Bahamas breach the Air Transport Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, which states that user charges ‘shall be just, reasonable, not unjustly discriminatory, and equitably apportioned among categories of users’.”

The Government yesterday rebutted much of

these claims in its own submissions (see other article on Page 1B). And the two Bahamian charter operators urged the US federal agency to take no action that would impair their US access and ability to operate their respective businesses.

Jason Maddux, attorney for Golden Wings, wrote: “Golden Wings is a small, family-owned and operated Bahamian air carrier. It operates on demand charters utilising Piper Navaho Chieftain aircraft with a maximum capacity of seven passengers and 450 pounds of baggage.

“Golden Wings typically operates charters to various points in The Bahamas, other Caribbean islands and south Florida. During 2022, Golden Wings operated a total of 30 charters to the US. For such a small operation as that of Golden Wings, access to the US charter market is critical. Accordingly, any curtailing or suspension of Golden Wings’s authority to serve the US could have a devastating impact on the carrier’s continued vitality.”

Asserting that Golden Wings had no knowledge of the issues involved in the dispute, he added: “A4A’s fight is with the Government of The Bahamas, and that is where it should remain...... Without going into the weeds on political and legal issues that are beyond such a small operator as Golden Wings, it is

important to keep in mind that Golden Wings and many, if not most, of the Bahamian carriers named in the joint complaint are not similarly situated to A4A’s members as far as operations are concerned.

“It is laughable to compare Golden Wings, with its seven-passenger, 450 pound cargo capacity Piper Navaho Chieftain fleet, to A4A’s members and their fleets of hundreds of aircraft carrying 100plus passengers and tens of thousands of pounds of cargo.

“If A4A was so concerned with eliminating unjustly discriminatory actions by a government, it would not be asking the Department to impose such a draconian sanction as the curtailing or suspension of operations to the US by a small, family-owned and operated on-demand charter carrier like Golden Wings. Again, A4A’s fight is with the Government of The Bahamas, and that is where it should remain.”

Echoing its counterpart, Island Wings wrote: “Bahamian and US air taxis are critical to transportation between the US and the hundreds of islands and cays forming The Bahamas, almost all of which are too small to receive large aircraft service from A4A members and Bahamasair.

“Island Wings is owned by an individual Bahamian citizen and operates only

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Lead Math Teacher Needed.

A pre-eminent, well-established, independent, international school in Nassau is seeking a full-time qualified MATH TEACHER. Candidates should have sound classroom experience; a passion for innovative education; a professional attitude towards work; a friendly and cooperative disposition; a willingness to work in a team environment; a determination to grow professionally; and strong communication & organisational skills.

Successful candidates will be required to:

● To provide strategic leadership for the development and management of MATHS throughout the school.

● To identify areas for improvement linked to the School Improvement Plan and local and national initiatives.

● To develop and monitor schemes of work for MATHS across the whole school and ensure successful implementation which meets curriculum requirements

● To provide, monitor and evaluate the use of resources related to MATHS.

● To have an overview of and contribute to the planning and delivery of continu ous professional development and training related to MATHS.

● To monitor, assess and develop the roles of the class teachers in MATHS.

● To develop strategies for the use of MATHS to promote new teaching methods and improve learning throughout the school and monitor effectiveness in raising standards of teaching and learning.

● To monitor and evaluate pupil progress throughout the school in MATHS and set goals for MATHS across the school.

● To provide opportunities for working with parents and give specialist advice on MATHS.

● To arrange and promote MATHS curriculum activities within the school.

two small aircraft, a Cessna 208 and a Piper PA-23, to and from the US. Few of its fellow air taxis are significantly larger, and like them, Island Wings would suffer significant financial harm if the Department were to limit, suspend or revoke its US-Bahamas operating authority.”

Island Wings, which has been operating for more than 25 years, is based in Long Island and was founded by president and director of operations, Marty Fox, who runs the business with his son, Alexander. Writing on their behalf, their US attorneys said: “Passengers and shippers in both countries that rely on air taxi service also would suffer greatly if this bilateral, small-aircraft transport system were to be restricted by government action.

“Just as in several US states, territories and other jurisdictions for which the Department oversees transportation policy, air taxi service between the US and The Bahamas cannot be adequately replaced

by surface transportation. Island Wings is too small to address effectively the legal and political issues raised by A4A; it can only monitor them with apprehension and look forward to an amicable resolution by the governments involved.

“But it observes that the same BCAA (Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority) and IRS fees and taxes applied to A4A members

and their passengers and shippers on US-Bahamas itineraries, as set forth in the attachments to A4A’s complaint, apply to Island Wings and its customers. If anything, these fees and taxes take a proportionately larger ‘bite’ out of both countries’ air taxis and their customers than is the case with large aircraft operators.”

BROKER INTEGRATION VITAL TO END $50M CUSTOMS LOSS

FROM

format in which import/ export entries are submitted.

“The Customs Management Act explicitly gives the comptroller the authority to require the submission of Customs documents in a format designated by him or her. This means that there is clear legal authority for this requirement,” it argued.

Mr Thompson, though, remained unconvinced. While acknowledging that the Customs comptroller “does have wide powers”, he argued these still did not extend to where he/she could mandate that brokers “integrate” with Click2Clear unless the Act and accompanying regulations were changed to require it/

“Their powers clearly are subject to the regulations and are exercised by the regulations,” the Opposition’s finance spokesman said.

“Has the comptroller or the minister amended the regulations? The changes described can only come if the regulations are amended.... The previous government in 2019 amended the regulations to mandate the use of

Click2Clear. If the Government wants to change that, amend the regulations.”

The Ministry of Finance, meanwhile, denied that it was directing brokers and importers to use specific third-party software providers to fulfill the “integration” requirements or that the cost involved would force small operators out of business. It added that too many persons were submitting erroneous entries via Click2Clear and, in so doing, were costing the Public Treasury significant revenue.

Surveillance Officers (Nassau)

Monitor operations to ensure compliance with safety or security policies or regulations. Observe individuals’ activities to gather information or compile evidence.

• Operate surveillance equipment to detect suspicious or illegal activities.

• Discuss performance, complaints, or violations with supervisors. Monitor establishment activities to ensure adherence to all gaming regulations and company policies and procedures. Observe gaming operations for irregular activities such as cheating or theft by employees or patrons, using audio and video equipment. Report all violations and suspicious behaviors to supervisors, verbally or in writing.

Act as oversight or security agents for management or customers. .

• Be prepared to work within a shift system

Retain and file audio and video records of gaming activities in the event that the records need to be used for investigations. Perform other related duties as assigned by Management.

“The Click2Clear system is designed to facilitate electronic data interchange or EDI,” the Ministry of Finance added. “EDI or the sending of an electronic file for processing dramatically lowers the cost of operation for both the broker and Customs. As of June 2022, less than 10 percent of the transactions submitted to Click2Clear were by EDI.

“Instead, they were submitted by way of the user interface (UI). A UI entry is a time consuming and error prone way of submitting entries. Independent estimates have placed the potential annual revenue loss from errors in submitting entries by UI at more than $50m.

“The most recent estimate was provided by a consultant firm engaged by the previous administration, so the need to improve Customs processes to eliminate leakage is non-political and has bipartisan support. The Government must act to recover this lost revenue, and recovering this revenue loss by administrative means, in a high inflation environment, is more practical than simply just increasing import duty rates.”

Suggesting that EDI “integration” will also produce greater efficiencies and reduce the cost associated with clearing imports, the Ministry of Finance said: “EDI submissions, while reducing revenue losing errors, are also quicker, which means that the importer can get his goods released by Customs much faster. A submission, which can take days to prepare under UI, can be done in hours through EDI.

“This is why Bahamian software vendors have been building EDI systems for Customs brokers and importers for a number of years prior to the full automation of the Customs processes. Many of these systems are now so sophisticated that no manual intervention is required for the import clearance process with invoices being submitted into the company or broker’s EDI electronically.

“As part of this transition, the Ministry of Finance previously advised the broker and import community that it would be making available free two different versions of an EDI system. A version for licensed brokers, which is now being rolled out, and a simplified version which would focus on commonly imported consumer goods, which is designed for persons who seek to do their own customs entries.”

However, Customs brokers yesterday said that while there may be no mandate to use certain software providers, the limited time, complexity and cost meant they had little choice but to turn to one of those recommended by the Ministry of Finance.

Kenneth Gibson, chief executive of Five Star Brokers, told Tribune Business

the “system is not a plug and play” and finding his own software developer is tootime consuming. “It is what it is. They’ve been saying that we are not mandated to purchase one of their preferred vendors, but what other options are there at this point?” he asked. “We didn’t have enough time to find one and there are only three providers in the market when they announced it to us.

“We just didn’t have time to find one at this juncture, and I have been doing my own research since October of last year, so we are stuck with one of their vendors.”

Antoine Brooks, managing director at Island Traders Shop & Ship, said he had chosen one of the Ministry of Finance’s preferred software vendors and had scheduled training yesterday. “I’m wondering where is the free system the Customs Department promised us? We have no choice now other than to buy one of their preferred vendors because at this stage we have to or close up shop,” he added.

Mr Thompson, meanwhile, said the Ministry of Finance statement had ignored the costs that will be incurred by Customs brokers as well as the monthly fees that they will have to pay to use the software. “Many brokers complain that the ‘free version’ is not workable,” he argued.

“The ‘free’ integration system means nothing to a licensed broker because a broker who uses this ‘free’ system will not be able to service their clients adequately as it cannot accommodate the average home consumption declaration which is 30 or more lines. The simple fact us that they are requiring Customs brokers to implement a computer system. The fact of the matter is that the Ministry of Finance’s implementation has lacked clarity and caused much confusion.”

THE PUBLIC HOSPITALS AUTHORITY IS INVITING VENDORS INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE UPCOMING MPC#17B TENDER FOR MEDICINES AND RELATED ITEMS 2023

Jarol Investments Limited is seeking to fill the following position:

Interested persons must require surveillance experience, certification, training, communication skills, attention to detail, ability to work independently and should apply at Jarol Investments Limited Head Office, Prince Charles Drive (Across from Restview) between the hours of 9am to 5pm. Or send your CV to careers@chancesgames.com

Subject: Surveillance Officer – Your Name

US OFFICIAL WARNS OF RISKS POSED BY HEAVY ELECTRIC VEHICLES

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer

THE head of the National Transportation Safety Board expressed concern Wednesday about the safety risks that heavy electric vehicles pose if they collide with lighter vehicles.

The official, Jennifer Homendy, raised the issue in a speech in Washington to the Transportation Research Board. She noted, by way of example, that an electric GMC Hummer weighs about 9,000 pounds (4,000 kilograms), with a battery pack that alone is 2,900 pounds (1,300 kilograms) — roughly the entire weight of a typical Honda Civic.

“I’m concerned about the increased risk of severe injury and death for all road users from heavier curb weights and increasing size, power, and performance of vehicles on our roads, including electric vehicles,” Homendy said in remarks prepared for the group.

The extra weight that EVs typically carry stems from the outsize mass of their batteries. To achieve 300 or more miles (480 or more kilometers) of range per charge from an EV, batteries have to weigh thousands of pounds.

Some battery chemistries being developed have the potential to pack more energy into less mass. But for now, there’s a mismatch

in weight between EVs and smaller internal combustion vehicles. EVs also deliver instant power to their wheels, making them accelerate faster in most cases than most gas-powered cars, trucks and SUVs.

Homendy said she was encouraged by the Biden administration’s plans to phase out carbon emissions from vehicles to deal with the climate crisis. But she said she still worries about safety risks resulting from a proliferation of EVs on roads ands highways.

“We have to be careful that we aren’t also creating unintended consequences: More death on our roads,” she said. “Safety, especially when it comes to new

transportation policies and new technologies, cannot be overlooked.”

Homendy noted that Ford’s F-150 Lightning EV pickup is 2,000 to 3,000 pounds (900 to 1,350 kilograms) heavier than the same model’s combustion version. The Mustang Mach E electric SUV and the Volvo XC40 EV, she said, are roughly 33% heavier than their gasoline counterparts.

“That has a significant impact on safety for all road users,” Homendy added.

The NTSB investigates transportation crashes but has no authority to make regulations. For vehicles, such authority rests largely with the National

Employment Opportunity: President

The Organization: Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc. (“TWCF”) is a global nonprofit foundation created by Sir John Templeton in 1996 in Nassau, The Bahamas. The Foundation supports a diverse group of researchers to discover new knowledge, develop new tools, and launch new innovations that make a lasting impact on human flourishing. The current grant portfolio of the Foundation comprises over 200 projects in more than 40 countries. TWCF is committed to a five-year strategy focused on innovations that enable human flourishing. Flourishing is a holistic concept that includes physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. Over the next five years, the Foundation will support a range of projects across three distinct stages: Discovery, Development & Launch. The Foundation facilitates partnerships with leading organizations across many sectors. Templeton World Charity Foundation has an annual grant payout of approximately 40M USD. The team consists of 12 employees today and 6 external advisors. In recent years, the foundation has established itself as a leading philanthropy that bridges the gap between fundamental scientific research, practical tools, and public action. For more information about Templeton World Charity Foundation and its active initiatives, visit our website at www.templetonworldcharity.org.

The Role

As President of the Templeton World Charity Foundation, the President is responsible for all aspects of the Foundation’s philanthropic activities as well as effective stewardship of its financial resources. The successful candidate will be required to reside in Nassau, The Bahamas, and will play a critical role in building and leading TWCF’s strategic philanthropy. This also includes an innovative perspective in maintaining and strengthening Sir John Templeton’s donor intent. This President will report to the Board of Trustees and will have responsibility, in accordance with its governing documents, for the day-to-day operations of the foundation.

Specific Responsibilities:

As the leader of a dynamic and global organization, the President plays a crucial role in effective governance of the Foundation including across: (1) organizational leadership and development, (2) philanthropic grant-making, (3) financial stewardship, (4) engagement with the board and the family members as well as other stakeholders of the organization and (5) public communications and awareness of the foundation.

Organizational Leadership and Development:

• Lead a world-class interdisciplinary and distributed team of programmatic staff, business professionals, and technical experts.

• Continue to develop skills and capacities of team members.

• Work with service providers across various technical and business functions to ensure efficient delivery of services to the foundation.

• Serve as a mentor to business and programmatic staff to support the development of the next generation of foundation leaders in the Bahamas. Grantmaking:

• Continue to execute the foundation’s five-year strategy with a thoughtful approach to donor intent, while also applying innovative and creative approaches to respond to new opportunities. This includes supervision of the leadership of three main programmatic divisions of: (1) Discovery, (2) Development, and (3) Launch.

• Act as the Chief Grants Officer in maintaining a high standard of grants, including application of robust development, review, and approval processes. For most large grant proposals, this means working with the foundation’s Grants & Programs Committee for approval.

• Oversee administration and review of approved grants and programs.

• Enable organization-wide learning about the impact of foundation activity at an individual grant and portfolio level.

• Establishing productive connections among researchers, policy makers and practitioners in areas relevant to the foundation’s strategy.

Financial Stewardship:

• Although the President is not directly responsible for the investment decisions of foundation’s endowment, the candidate will be expected to have oversight of all aspects of including financial, tax and charter compliance and administrative functions.

• A number of these functions may be outsourced and for such functions the President will be responsible for managing the external services contracts and reporting on the same to the Board of Trustees and the TWCF Executive Committee. As such, the candidate will need a level of financial literacy to be expected of a senior executive. Oversight of the annual institutional planning process, ensuring that program plans for each TWCF purpose area are clear, accurate, of the highest quality, and in accordance with Sir John Templeton’s donor intent. Engagement with the board and the family members as well as other stakeholders of the organization:

• Through forward planning and clear communications, the President should ensure smooth alignment and coordination with the board on the strategy and operations of the Foundation. This means working with the Chair of the Board to facilitate meaningful dialogue and decisions for the Board of Trustees.

• Create an active engagement and open dialogue with the family members, the trustees, and other external stakeholders.

• Effective coordination with other foundations created by Sir John Templeton, including the Templeton Religion Trust and the John Templeton Foundation. Working with the board and family members to continue to evolve a thoughtful understanding of donor intent.

Communications:

• Representation within multiple distinct communities including: philanthropy, non-profit, academy, policy - locally in the Bahamas and globally.

• Thought leadership in areas related to the foundation’s mission through written and video communications.

Required Qualifications and Skills

This job is open to a wide variety of backgrounds. The President should ideally embody the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:

Professional Qualifications

A Master’s Degree, or higher, in a discipline related to the work of The Foundation.

• A PhD and familiarity with research will be helpful but is not a prerequisite.

Competencies

Setting strategy

A demonstrated sympathy, understanding of and curiosity towards Sir John’s Donor Intent. This includes an understanding of the purposes and management of TWCF.

• The successful candidate will have concrete and specific experiences in as many topics relevant to TWCF as possible.

• Solid understanding of strategic planning, research and evaluation issues and methods, and an ability to apply this knowledge in a foundation.

An ability to think strategically about philanthropic investment across a range of fields and disciplines.

Ability to utilize data analytical tools for evaluation and knowledge dissemination.

• An ability to bring a global perspective and to place TWCF on the map across continents.

Leading teams

Demonstrated management experience, budgeting and planning skills, and internal team building skills.

Ability to inspire trust, to organize teams, and to sustain a positive, productive working environment.

Executing for results

• Demonstrated skills managing a charitable grant making entity; familiarity with the management of organizations with international compliance responsibilities will be helpful but not a prerequisite.

Ability to manage multiple lines of work simultaneously, and to be timely in meeting deadlines.

An attitude of active stewardship of the financial resources.

• Skills and experience in designing and adapting systems for management of resources, time, and other assets important in achieving foundation objectives.

Influencing and relationships building

Demonstrated ability to manage relationships with the Board, Board Committees, other charitable institutions, grantees and professional colleagues diplomatically and effectively.

• Ability to generate and deliver clear and persuasive verbal and written communications.

• Demonstrated success in collaborative work with both external and internal colleagues.

An outstanding relationship builder, with a capacity to establish broad and diverse connections to a global community.

Personal Attributes

• Passionate commitment to the vision and mission of Sir John Templeton and strong interest in the topics that are funded by TWCF. This includes an interest and comfort in engaging in spiritual discussions across different religions and beliefs as well as an interest in the concept of free markets and entrepreneurialism.

Humility and willingness to work within defined operating and governance principles, established by the Foundation, that should not be changed.

• Curious mindset, willingness to keep learning, inquisitive, ability to ask the right questions with strong critical thinking skills.

• A humble spirit and a desire to benefit others through service, a real team player with an inclusive approach to the team.

Qualified candidates only should submit CV and a cover letter to hr@templetonworldcharity.org. Applications will be accepted until January 20, 2023.

Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Even apart from EVs, the nation’s roads are crowded with heavy vehicles, thanks to a decadelong boom in sales of larger cars, trucks and SUVs that’s led to extreme mismatches in collisions with smaller vehicles. But electric vehicles are typically much heavier than even the largest trucks and SUVs that are powered by gasoline or diesel.

Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said he, too, is concerned about the weight of EVs because buyers seem to be demanding a range of 300 or more miles per charge, requiring heavy batteries. Setting up a charging network to accommodate

that may be a mistake from a safety perspective, Brooks said.

“These bigger, heavier batteries are going to cause more damage,” he said. “It’s a simple matter of mass and speed.”

Brooks said he knows of little research done on the safety risks of increasing vehicle weights. In 2011, the National Bureau of Economic Research published a paper that said being hit by a vehicle with an added 1,000 pounds increases by 47% the probability of being killed in a crash.

He points out that electric vehicles have very high horsepower ratings, allowing them to accelerate quickly even in crowded urban areas.

EMERA INCORPORATED (“Emera”)

Notice to Holders of Depositary Receipts DIVIDEND

NOTICE

A dividend of CAD $0.1725 per Emera depositary receipt (CAD $0.69 per common share of Emera) will be payable on and after February 15, 2023 to depositary receipt holders of record as at February 1, 2023. Dividends will be subject to applicable withholding tax.

NOTICE is

P.O Box EE-17090

NOTICE is hereby given that

of P.O Box N7147

Bahamas is applying to the Minister

Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization

of The

a

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 12th day of January, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

JENNIFER Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board speaks during a news conference, Oct. 3, 2019, in Windsor Locks, Conn. On Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, Homendy, the chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said she is concerned about the risk that heavy electric vehicles pose if they collide with lighter vehicles.

Photo:Chris Ehrmann/AP

hereby given that DAVID HAGAN of

#10 Monastery Park, Nassau, The 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, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that ANNELENE SAMA JUNCO of P.O. Box EE-17090 Monastery Park, Nassau, The 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, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

SAMANTHA WHITNEY BRAVE

Cowpen Road West, Nassau, Bahamas, The

responsible for

as

citizen

Bahamas,

COMPUTER BREAKDOWN SOWS CHAOS ACROSS US AIR TRAVEL SYSTEM

By DAVID KOENIG AND MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer

THOUSANDS of flights across the U.S. were canceled or delayed Wednesday after a system that offers safety information to pilots failed, and the government launched an investigation into the breakdown, which grounded some planes for hours.

The Federal Aviation Administration said preliminary indications “traced the outage to a damaged database file.” The agency said it would take steps to avoid another similar disruption.

The breakdown showed how much American air travel depends on the computer system that generates alerts called NOTAMs — or Notice to Air Missions.

Before a plane takes off, pilots and airline dispatchers must review the notices, which include details about bad weather, runway closures or other temporary factors that could affect the flight. The system was once telephone-based but moved online years ago.

The system broke down late Tuesday and was not fixed until midmorning Wednesday. The FAA took the rare step of preventing any planes from taking off for a time, and the cascading chaos led to more than 1,300 flight cancellations and 9,000 delays by early evening on the East Coast, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told a news conference that the problems “led to a ground stop because of the way safety

information was moving through the system.”

After the failures were fixed, he warned that travelers could continue to see some effects “rippling through the system.”

Buttigieg said his agency would now try to learn why the system went down.

Longtime aviation insiders could not recall an outage of such magnitude caused by a technology failure. Some compared it in scope to the nationwide shutdown of airspace after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

“Periodically there have been local issues here or there, but this is pretty significant historically,” said Tim Campbell, a former senior vice president of air operations at American Airlines and now a consultant in Minneapolis.

Campbell said there has long been concern about the FAA’s technology, and not just the NOTAM system.

Many of those systems “are old mainframe systems that are generally reliable, but they are out of date,” he said.

John Cox, a former airline pilot and aviation safety expert, said the aviation industry has talked for years about trying to modernize the NOTAM system, but he did not know the age of the servers that the FAA uses.

“I’ve been flying 53 years. I’ve never heard the system go down like this,” Cox said. “So something unusual happened.”

According to FAA advisories, the NOTAM system failed at 8:28 p.m. Tuesday, preventing new or amended notices from being distributed to pilots.

PUBLIC NOTICE

The

NOTICE is hereby given that ANALIANEN M. GARCIABULLARD of P.O Box N-16707 Blair Estates, Nassau, Bahamas, The 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 12th day of January, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby

MARIO HAGAN of

The Bahamas

2.760.00 0.0000.020N/M0.72% 2.462.31Bahamas

BFH 2.46 2.460.00 0.1400.08017.63.25% 2.852.25Bank of Bahamas BOB 2.61 2.610.00 0.0700.000N/M0.00% 6.306.00Bahamas

Fund BPF 6.30 6.300.00 1.7600.000N/M0.00% 9.808.78Bahamas Waste BWL 9.75 9.750.00 0.3690.26026.42.67% 4.502.90Cable Bahamas CAB 4.26 4.260.00 -0.4380.000-9.7 0.00% 10.657.50Commonwealth Brewery CBB 10.25 10.250.00 0.1400.00073.20.00% 3.652.54Commonwealth Bank CBL 3.58 3.580.00 0.1840.12019.53.35% 8.547.01Colina Holdings CHL 8.53 8.530.00 1,0000.4490.22019.02.58% 17.5012.00CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank CIB 15.99 15.990.00 0.7220.72022.14.50% 3.251.99Consolidated Water BDRs CWCB 2.93 2.930.00 0.1020.43428.714.81% 11.2810.05Doctor's Hospital DHS 10.50 10.500.00 0.4670.06022.50.57% 11.679.16Emera Incorporated EMAB 9.52 9.610.09 0.6460.32814.93.41% 11.5010.06Famguard FAM 11.22 11.220.00 0.7280.24015.42.14% 18.3014.50Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Limited FBB 18.10 18.100.00 0.8160.54022.22.98% 4.003.55Focol FCL 3.98 3.980.00 0.2030.12019.63.02% 11.509.85Finco FIN 11.40 11.400.00 0.9390.20012.11.75% 16.2515.50J.

15.76 15.760.00 0.6310.61025.03.87%

100.00100.00BGS: 2015-1-7Y

100.00100.000.00 100.00100.00BGS: 2014-12-30Y

100.00100.000.00 100.00100.00BGS: 2015-1-30Y

100.00100.000.00 100.00100.00BGS: 2015-6-7Y

100.00100.000.00 100.00100.00BGS: 2015-6-30Y

100.00100.000.00 100.00100.00BGS: 2015-10-7Y BG0407 100.00100.000.00 93.7093.70BGRS FX BGR121138

BSBGR1211386 93.7093.700.00 100.0089.08BGRS FX BGR127149 BSBGR1271497 89.7289.720.00 94.8093.36BGRS FX BGR134140

BSBGR1341407 93.9493.940.00 100.71100.01BGRS FL BGRS70023

BSBGRS700238 100.71100.710.00 91.9191.91BGRS FX BGR127139

applying to

Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for

naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas,

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, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that LOVENA ANETTE CLECIDOR of Cordia Street, Foxdale, Nassau, Bahamas, The 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 12th day of January, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

BSBGR1271398 100.00100.000.00 92.6792.67BGRS FX BGR131239

BSBGR1312390 92.5592.550.00 90.9890.98BGRS FX BGR132249 BSBGR1322498 90.9590.950.00 94.8094.80BGRS FX BGR134140

BSBGR1341407 93.9493.940.00 100.39100.39BGRS FX BGR138230

BSBGR1380306 100.39100.390.00 96.8496.84BGRS FX BGR138240

BSBGR1380405 96.1096.100.00 100.32100.32BGRS FL BGRS81035

BSBGRS810359 100.66100.660.00 100.34100.34BGRS FL BGRS81037

BSBGRS810375 100.17100.170.00 100.57100.57BGRS

2.582.11 2.583.48%3.87% 4.883.30 4.884.49%5.32% 2.261.68 2.262.74%3.02% 205.22164.74 190.45-6.40%-6.95% 212.41116.70 169.68-20.12%-15.15% 1.761.71 1.762.49%2.79% 1.941.78 1.935.71%7.96% 1.881.79 1.863.39%3.91% 1.030.93 0.93-8.94%-9.55% 9.376.41 10.107.82%9.00% 11.837.62 13.4413.58%15.81% 7.545.66 7.712.57%2.83% 16.648.65 13.25-20.10%-19.25% 12.8410.54 12.03-4.50%-4.64% 10.779.57 10.59-0.55%-1.61% 16.279.88 16.27N/AN/A 11.228.45 11.223.00%25.60% 14.8911.20

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Public is hereby advised that I, NORELL R. WILLIAMS of #226 Ghana Circle, Elizabeth Estates Subdivision, P.O Box EE17981 Nassau, The Bahamas, Mother of GENESIS COLLEEN MARISKA WILLIAMS A minor intend to change my child’s name to GENESIS COLLEEN MARISKA CAREY If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

A BAHAMIAN real estate firm celebrated its 100th anniversary year with an invite-only event at the Lyford Cay Club to recall its founder’s role in developing that community.

HG Christie staff, clients, friends and partners gathered to celebrate the company’s century-long legacy following its founding by Sir Harold Christie 1922. The evening was the final event in year-long anniversary celebrations commemorating the company’s 100th year.

John Christie, HG Christie’s president and managing broker, praised his team’s efforts for making 2022 a recordbreaking sales year to coincide with the 100th anniversary. “Since joining the company in 1993, my mission has been to revolutionise the way we do real estate” he explained, “that has meant introducing technology and innovation.”

HG Christie marked its 100th year with several initiatives that included launching a campaign of philanthropy that touched organisations throughout Bahamian society, the re-opening

of its Abaco and Grand Bahama offices following Hurricane Dorian, and the launch of its documentary on the company’s origins and its founder, Sir Harold.

“This has been a whirlwind of a year,” said Mr Christie. “As a team, we’ve achieved so much, not just in this past year but since the very beginning, and so having the opportunity to celebrate those major milestones has been great.”

To open the evening, guests, who included former prime minister Hubert Ingraham and former deputy prime minister, Brent Symonette, were welcomed by a traditional Junkanoo rush out. They were also treated to a menu of cocktails, live food stations, hors d’oeuvres and live performances from the National Youth Choir and international band, Classic Airwaves.

“I am exceedingly proud of our entire staff, and I’m deeply grateful for our many clients, the relationships we have made and continue to maintain and, of course, the many wonderful milestones I know are waiting for us as we walk into the next 100 years,” Mr Christie said.

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HG Christie enjoyed a record-breaking sales year in 2022. Pictured L to R are Anya Mousis, estate agent, Nassau; Travis Delva, estate agent, Nassau; Paola Christie, special events co-ordinator; John Christie, president and managing broker; Ewa Mellor, estate agent, Grand Bahama; Daren Seymour, estate agent, Nassau; Elizabeth Garcia, administrative assistant, Grand Bahama; Beth HiggsMabon, management/accounts/compliance, Nassau; and Gabriella Suighi, marketing manager, Nassau

Photos:HGC/Barefoot Marketing HG Christie chief executive, John Christie, is shown alongside his wife as they welcome guests to the company’s 100th anniversary celebrations.

FORMER prime minister, Hubert Ingraham, was among the invited guests. He is photographed alongside his wife, Delores.