01132017 business

friday, january 13, 2017

business@tribunemedia.net

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‘Very distressing’: Govt’s 4,500 civil service growth

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Christie administration’s expansion of the civil service by a net 4,500 persons since taking office was yesterday branded “very distressing” by a leading governance campaigner, who said it had failed to produce improved public services.

Robert Myers, a principal with the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), said he was “mystified” why the administration was expanding the size of government when the Bahamas needed just the opposite.

Governance reformer ‘mystified’

by Govt size rise At time when Bahamas needs ‘complete opposite’ Expansion implies $50-$70m Gov’t wage bill rise Arguing that the Government should instead be “shrinking” the public sector, he questioned whether Baha-

mian taxpayers were receiving value for money from an enlarged civil service, given that service delivery and efficiency had shown no signs of improvement.

The extent of the civil service expansion under the Christie administration was revealed earlier this week by the minister responsible for the public service, Shane Gibson, in a House of Assembly address on moves to ‘regularise’ employees on temporary contracts.

Mr Gibson said 1,513 persons had retired from the public service during the period May 2012 to December 2016, which represents the Christie See pg b4

BAHA MAR construction project

Baha Mar damage to investment standing ‘almost irreparable’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Prime Minister’s self-congratulation over the Baha Mar dispute outcome was yesterday slammed by the FNM’s deputy leader, who argued that the Government had “caused almost irreparable harm” to the Bahamas’ investment reputation.

K P Turnquest told Tribune Business that the Opposition’s assessment of the Baha Mar resolution “differs significantly” from the Prime Minister’s, who described it as “one of the most brilliant set of negotiations ever done in advancing the cause of the Bahamas”.

The FNM deputy leader, in particular, said the Government’s intervention in the court proceedings to oppose the Chapter 11

KP: Govt intervention hit investor confidence Bahamas reputation ‘will take some time to recover’ But FNM ‘won’t stand in way’ of Baha Mar opening bankruptcy filing by the original developer, Sarkis Izmirlian, had sent an especially chilling message to other potential investors in the Bahamas.

Mr Turnquest said his discussions had revealed that possible investors were “concerned” the Government may take similar action against themselves, and See pg b5

KFC managers take strike vote

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) president has renewed calls for the Government to force employers to negotiate new industrial agreements “within a reasonable period of time”, following a strike vote by Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) middle managers.

Obie Ferguson alleged that the two-year failure by the Bahamian franchisee, Restaurants (Bahamas), to conclude a new agreement with members of the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Union (BHMA), a TUC affliate, had prompted the vote.

Arguing that his members had been waiting “well over two years”, Mr Ferguson told Tribune Business: “They took a strike vote See pg b6

TUC chief blames 2-year failure to obtain new deal Urges Govt to force employers to treat more quickly

Obie Ferguson

The Bahamas’ new fly fishing regulations could drive away 90 per cent of visiting anglers, research has shown, with affecting a market of “major significance” that generates almost 10 per cent of this nation’s stopover visitors.

A 2016 report for the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which used the Bahamas as one of two ‘case studies’ in its analysis of the economic impact produced by recreational fishing, found that 90 per cent of foreign anglers only came to this nation for the fishing.

Should the new regulatory regime have the impact some in the industry fear, and make recreational fishing by foreigners in the Bahamas too bureaucratic and cumbersome, it could undermine a tourism market that contributes $411 million to national gross domestic product (GDP).

And, providing further evidence

Bahamas ‘laughing stock of fly fishing’ Guide captain says business has dropped 50% Rival territories ‘eating our lunch’ Trips fall from 23 to two; lodges off 35-45%

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Minister of Labour and National Insurance Shane Gibson.

New fly fishing regime may hit 90% of market

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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Nine of every 10 anglers only visit Bahamas for fish Sector’s $411m GDP impact of ‘major significance’ Creates twice as many jobs as commercial fishing of recreational fishing’s importance to the Bahamian economy, the FAO report said it generated five times’ the GDP impact, and twice as many jobs, as this nation’s commercial fisheries sector.

While commercial fishing was estimated to produce an $80.114 million GDP impact, and 9,300 jobs, based on 2013-2014 data, recreational fishing was found to sustain 18,875 direct and indirect Bahamian jobs.

Using data produced by an See pg b4

The Bahamas was yesterday labelled “the laughing stock” of the fly fishing industry, with one local captain and fishing guide revealing his business has declined 50 per cent over the past year.

Captain Tom Albury, founder of Ondaflycharters, told Tribune Business that the Bahamas was losing its fly fishing business to countries such as Cuba, Belize and Mexico, having done itself no favours with the new regulations.

“Cuba is killing us. We have a lot of stepping up to do. Places like Cuba, Mexico and Belize are eating our lunch,” said Captain Albury.

“We’re the laughing stock of the fly fishing industry within the world right now. I have seen my business go down 50 per cent in the past year.”

He added: “Right now there is a mass exodus of people that don’t want to come to the Bahamas. Last January, I had almost 23 trips. I got calls for two trips this January, and neither one panned out.

“As independent guides we were starting to feel the slowdown since March last year.

The lodges weren’t feeling the slowdown because most of them were booked a year out. Now they are starting to feel what we felt. Some of those lodges are now down 35-45 per cent year-to-date. You do that across the rest of the year and it might be a pretty shabby year.”

The new fly fishing regulations came into effect on Monday. They require anglers above the age of 12, and who wish to fish in the flats, to apply for a personal angler’s license and pay a set fee.

Non-Bahamians will have to pay $15 for a daily license; $20 for a weekly license; $30 See pg b5

PAGE 2, Friday, January 13, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

How to deal with disruptive workers Every workplace and executive can attest to having at least one employee who continually gets under their skin, wreaking havoc in the office and undermining the authority of managers and leaders. Yet for a variety of reasons, these individuals - despite their errant ways - are protected and secure in their jobs.

The truth is that such ‘difficult employees’ often come packaged in various forms.

Exhibit A defines the employee with a high skill level, but whose attitude consistently disqualifies them from being counted as civil.

They usually carry with them a strong odor of arrogance, and demean the less qualified or skilled. They know that their crucial role in the company provides them with sufficient leverage and license to be overbearing.

Exhibit B defines the employee who has such great interpersonal qualities, and is so well liked, that the fact they have nothing else to offer is always overlooked.

Every workplace has that person at the boardroom table who has little or nothing to contribute outside of a warm smile. They are helpful, kind and will bring cheer to the office, but lack any form of technical competence.

Exhibit C defines the employee who relies soley on relationships and connections for job security. They may be capable of producing, but refuse to make an effort, leaning on the safety net provided by someone indebted to them for some personal or professional reason. Sometimes they pompously parade through the office, touting their clout.

Here, then, are suggestions for managers when confronted with these employees, so they can prevent the company from being pulled into an endless vortex of ineffectiveness and frustration:

1.

Start listening to the employee. Much of the behaviour may result from years of failure to hear what they are actually saying.

2.

Provide clear behavioural feedback. Each time an issue arises with the employee, be sure to immediately engage in constructive coaching to address the adverse behaviour being demonstrated.

3.

Learn to document.

Every meeting, coaching exercise and in-

fraction, be sure to have a consistent log of what transpired and what resolutions were achieved.

4.

Be consistent. Do not let things slide.

Every positive behaviour must be rewarded, and every negative action must be addressed.

Establish and carry out the consequences for each action. Positive and negative, be certain to let the employee see a level of consistency.

5.

Do not speak ill of the employee. Too often, the level of frustration becomes so high that the manager/leader finds every opportunity to bad mouth and lambaste an employee. This often takes the relationship with this employee into a state of ‘no- return’.

People always talk, and the employee will always hear what has been said.

6.

Manage your own emotions and remain as positive as you can.

Convince yourself of the fact that everyone has potential, and every employee can be salvaged.

Look past their faults and try to focus attention on things they do well.

7.

Follow the company’s disciplinary processes and be courageous. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for an employee is to release them. A change in environment may be just what the doctor ordered to help them turn around. Be brave.

• NB: Ian R. Ferguson is a talent management and or-

ganisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@ coralwave.com.

Patrick Strachan

Sea Beach Estates, Yamacraw Shores, Seagull Gardens, Silver Gates Subdivision, Coral Breeze Estates and Westridge Estates.

Mr Strachan is a past president and Paul Harris Fellow member of the Rotary Club of West Nassau.

He is also president of the Cat Island Sailing Club Association, and a member of the Salvation Army Board of Advisors.

Bahamian realty firm enjoys 20th birthday A Bahamian realtor yesterday said it was celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Pat Strachan Realty Sales Ltd was founded on January 2, 1997, by its manag-

ing dirctor, Patrick Strachan, a four-time Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) president.

Located at No. 7 S.I.G. Court, Winchester Sreet

west, the firm specialises in real estate sales, appraisals, rentals and land development.

Pat Strachan Realty Sales said it focuses on lots

priced between $100,000$150,000, and homes in the category between $200,000 to $500,000.

It acts as the exclusive listing company for Southern Ridge Subdivision, and has marketed and sold properties in Winton Heights, Twynam Heights,

Ian ferguson

Front Row (L-R): Shanteena Simms, Dwan Deveaux, Jonnique Beadle, Nowé Harris-Smith, Sheena Beastie. Second row (L-R): Lottis Knowles, chair, school of communication and creative arts; Davinia Blair, vice-president of institutional advancement and alumni affairs; Keisha Oliver, University of the Bahamas’ assistant professor and visual arts programme co-ordinator; Leah Davis, Scotiabank senior manager of marketing & PR; Rachael Allahar, Scotiabank’s manager of marketing programmes.

Scotiabank partners with University over calendar Scotiabank has partnered with the University of the Bahamas’ (UB) Visual Arts Department to bring its 2017 calendar theme, ‘Everything Bahamian’, to life through 12 captivating images.

The UB submitted a portfolio of images produced by

Visual Arts students, and 12 images were selected for inclusion in the calendar.

Besides rewarding the winning students, Scotiabank also made a donation to the the Visual Arts Department at the university.

Leah Davis, Scotiabank’s senior marketing manager, said: “We are excited to build on our existing partnership with UB, and so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such talented young artists.

“At Scotiabank, we focus our efforts on how we can help support our communities in the most meaningful way. We are proud of this partnership with the University, and the opportunity to help young people become better off, specifically in areas like arts and education.”

Led by assistant professor Keisha Oliver, the university’s visual arts pro-

gramme co-ordinator, the two-week project engaged students, who produced and captured original responses to the theme.

“This partnership has been one of the department’s major experiential projects to engage students outside of the classroom,” said Ms Oliver.

“This opportunity has really pushed the creative envelope for our students. It allowed them to take their creative process more seriously, whilst learning from industry professionals. The students are looking forward to developing their photography skills and working on similar projects in the future.”

The final calendar features a range of authentic images created by Jonnique Beadle, Dwan Deveaux, Minolta Butler, Sheena Heastie, Shanteena Simms and Nowé Harris-Smith

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THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 13, 2017, PAGE 3

‘Major improvement’ in Christmas revenue

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Several Bahamian retailers yesterday reported “encouraging” Christmas sales, with one labelling the festive period as a “major improvement” over 2015.

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) chief executive, Leon Williams, described holiday sales as “encouraging” for the incumbent communications provider.

“Christmas sales were encouraging this year,” he said “We kicked off Christmas with our first ever Black Friday Sale, selling more than 6,000 devices. As a part of our Christmas campaign ‘Live in the Moment’, customers were eligible to win a variety of prizes including 12 cars, lifetime service, jewellery, mobile devices and so much more.

“Just in time for Christmas, BTC launched ‘Flow to Go’, essentially providing the entire country with free ‘Flow TV’ on their mobile devices. Customers are trialling the new service until the end of January. Our stores are fully restocked and we look forward to a promising first quarter.”

Jason Watson, Automotive Industrial Distributors’ (AID) vice-president of operations, told Tribune Business of Christmas 2016: “It was a major improvement over December 2015.” Apart from automotive and outdoor power equipment, the company also sells housewares.

Another local retailer told Tribune Business: “I think we made out pretty good. I think we were up maybe 2 per cent over last

BTC CEO LEON WILLIAMS

AID sees significant sales rise compared to 2015 BTC chief: Festive period ‘encouraging’ for carrier year. I can’t really put my finger on what that is, but we were up and that’s a good thing for business.”

Many Bahamian retailers generate a significant portion of their annual sales revenue during the busy Christmas shopping period. While some retail segments have reported steady sales, and even a decline over the previous years, others yesterday confirmed that trade was on the rise over the Christmas period.

Bahamian exports off 27% during early 2016

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Bahamian goods exports declined by 27 per cent year-over-year for the 2016 first quarter, according to data released yesterday by the Department of Statistics.

The report said the drop to $78 million was led by the ‘crude minerals, inedible except fuels’ and ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ categories, which decreased by 77 per cent and 58 per cent respectively.

“The categories that contributed the [most] to the exports are ‘chemicals’, which totalled 41 per cent, and ‘food and live animals’, which totalled 15 per cent,” the Department of Statistics added.

Meanwhile, total goods imports into the Bahamas for the first three months of 2016 fell by 14 per cent compared to the year before, hitting $641 million.

“The groups that had the largest decreases over the same period [in 2015] were ‘chemicals’ and ‘miscellaneous manufactured articles’, which declined by 34 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively,” the Department of Statistics said.

And imports down 14% at $641m “As it relates to major groups of merchandise, the category of ‘machinery

and transport equipment’, which totalled $136 million, accounted for 21 per cent of the imports. This was followed closely by ‘food and live animals’, which totalled 20 per cent of all imports.”

Entrepreneur taking sheep tongue to stores A Bahamian entrepreneur has enabled sheep tongue to reach the shelves of local food stores, after finding a way to make it consumer friendly.

David Turnquest, owner of The Original Souse House, said the idea of Premium Processed Sheep Tongue came from watching his mother, Rachel, “battle” with the meat for more than 20 years.

He decided to give Bahamian cooks an easier way to prepare the dish,and applied the philosophy: “Uncover a problem, create a solution, you can create wealth.”

After looking at the sheep tongue preparation process as a problem, he decided to reduce the preparation time from three hours to 30 minutes.

Revealing that he had little money to make premium processed sheep tongue a reality, Mr Turnquest said: “I was told to formulate the

idea. Someone saw the potential and they were moved to give to me, my company.

They helped get me started.

“There is no more boiling, peeling or cutting up.

You can go from my package straight to the pot to cook.”

Premium Processed Sheep Tongue is now a product of Premium Processed Foods. Mr Turnquest said the raw sheep tongue form has to be de-skinned, which calls for an hour-and-a-half to two hours of boiling.

This eases the removal of the coarse out covering of the tongue. After the sheep tongue has been peeled and cut up, the meat then goes through a vacuum process where the thick layer of fat produced in the cooking is stripped off.

Mr Turnquest says that all this heavy work is now done for the consumer, after his ‘ready to cook’ idea took three years to develop from inception in September

2009. It is now being sold in food stores throughout Nassau, Freeport and Abaco.

“One package costs $35 and serves five 16-ounce cups of souse. You save from $20-$40, because the average price for one 16 ounce cup is anywhere from $1215, depending on where you buy it,” he said.

Mr Turnquest’s ultimate goal is to have the pre-packaged sheep tongue accepted and enjoyed worldwide. The challenge is to achieve product certification by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“Sheep tongue has allowed me to have a sustainable cash flow. We now have other products, Bahamian products that have been identified that can do 10 times more,” he added.

Advising potential Bahamian entrepreneurs, Mr Turnquest said: “You first have to understand what your objectives are, and then always remember that your business is as successful as the plans you have for it; your life is as successful as the plans you have for it.”

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PAGE 4, Friday, January 13, 2017

New fly fishing regime may hit 90% of market From pg B1 online survey of 486 foreign and domestic anglers, conducted by Marsh Harbour-based V. d’Shan Maycock, the FAO report found: “It is evident from this study that the recreational fishing sector in the Bahamas is of great economic significance, generating annual expenditures of $527 million and contributing more than $411 million to the overall country’s GDP. The sector provides more than 18,000 jobs either directly or indirectly.....

“Recreational fishing and other related activities assist in generating ‘new money’ into the Bahamian economy. Although the recreation fishing sector only accounts for just under 10 per cent of the overall tourism sector, its economic

impact is of major significance.

“Creative entrepreneurs, the Government, policymakers and existing businesses can take advantage of the economic opportunities that exist from the recreational fishing sector.

This can include revenue generated from taxi fares, lodging, restaurants, other recreational activities, fishing, etc. If lost, this would have a significant impact on the country’s economy and the sector as it is estimated to contribute more than $411 million to the country’s GDP.” The FAO study, and survey results, are required reading for Bahamian policymakers, given the concerns expressed by a significant section of the fly fishing industry about the potential deterrent impact

‘Very distressing’: Govt’s 4,500 civil service growth From pg B1 administration’s term in office, with 6,015 persons appointed over that time.

Taking these statistics at face value, they mean that the public service has expanded by a net 4,500 persons during the Christie administration’s term in office, and at a time when the Bahamas’ fiscal position has become extremely

strained and beset by credit rating downgrades.

Taking $12,000 as a crude ‘average salary’ for Bahamian civil servants, Tribune Business calculations show that the 4,500 ‘new hires’ have added a collective $54 million to the Government’s annual civil service wage bill. If $15,000 is taken as the average salary, the total increase becomes $67.5 million.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS IN THE SUPREME COURT Common Law and Equity Division

of the new regulations. The requirement that there be a guide for every two anglers is seen as especially restrictive.

“Results from the survey indicate that those who visit to fish come for the primary purpose of fishing, not for other tourism activities,” the FAO report said of the Bahamas’ angler market.

“Based on their responses, 91 per cent said if they were not allowed to fish, they would not have made the trip, while 5 per cent said they still would have made the trip and another 4 per cent was unsure.”

Anglers were estimated to spend $4,608, or $1,536 per day, on an average three-day trip to the Bahamas, putting them in the higher-yielding stopover visitor category. They also tended to stay in this nation longer, with almost onethird of survey respondents saying they were in the Bahamas for six or more days.

And anglers are also frequent visitors to the Baha-

mas, with 64 per cent of survey respondents coming to this nation between one to three times per year. Some 15 per cent visited the Bahamas between four to six times’ per year, with 13 per cent coming more than six times annually.

“The top three visited islands for recreational fishing included Abaco (36 per cent), Grand Bahama (30 per cent), and Bimini (21 per cent),” the survey said.

“Eleuthera, Andros, Exuma and Long Island were the next four most frequently visited, and the less frequently visited islands included Inagua, Acklins, Crooked Island and Berry Islands.”

The FAO report called on the Bahamas to treaty recreational fishing as a separate segment, distinct from the rest of the tourism sector, so that it could be properly monitored and its economic benefits maximised.

“Anglers tend to be largely a tourist group account-

ing for just under 10 percent of the annual stopover visitors to the Bahamas,” the FAO report said. “Out of those that fish in the Bahamas, 89 per cent are visitors, 6 per cent are second home owners and 5 per cent are residents of the Bahamas.

“It is recommended that this sector be recognised as separate and apart from the overall tourism sector for future management, decision making and policy updates. Currently, recreational fishing is categorised as an activity under tourism. The Department of Marine Resources only issues licenses for tournaments and boats used in the sector. For the most part, the Ministry of Tourism only collects data for arrivals of stopover visitors to determine what activities they intend to participate in while visiting. However, no information is collected on overall expenditure by these guests....

“By not clumping it as a mere activity in the tourism

industry, recreational fishing - both offshore and flats fishing - should be categorised as a separate industry for proper accountability and monitoring of this sector to determine growth rates, patterns, actors involved and its economic value and impact....

“Information gathered in future studies should also assist with research and marketing efforts that will help to improve the sector for optimal benefit to the recreational fishing industry and Bahamian economy.”

The FAO report said some 8,389 jobs were generated by the Bahamian flats fishing industry, and 10,486 by the offshore variety.

Flats fishing was estimated to contribute $182.7 million to this country’s GDP, and offshore fishing a further $228 million.

Commercial fishing, in contrast, generated $68.001 million and $69.727 million in export sales for 2013 and 2014, respectively.

The data indicates where at least a portion of the $1 billion Value-Added Tax (VAT) revenue ‘windfall’ has gone - on expanding the size of the Government and public service, as opposed to narrowing the deficit and paying down the $6.778 billion national debt.

With the 2017 general election fast approaching, the pace of public service hires is likely to further quicken, as MPs lobby to find their constituents jobs in the hope of securing their votes.

And the 4,500-strong

public service expansion will also further strain the Government’s unfunded civil service pension liabilities, which are currently covered by taxpayers in every year’s Budget.

The KPMG accounting firm previously disclosed that unfunded public sector pension liabilities, which it currently estimates at around $1.5 billion, are set to increase to $2.5 billion by 2022, and $4.1 billion by 2032, unless essential reforms are enacted.

Mr Myers yesterday told Tribune Business that while the likes of ORG understood the need to ‘regularise’ civil service employees who have been on temporary contracts for up to two decades, the Bahamas was growing the wrong part of its economy and workforce.

“In the same vein, we’re mystified as to why there would be an increase in government employment, and expansion of the Government, when what is in fact needed is a shrinking,” he told this newspaper.

“That’s very distressing, especially as there’s been no emphasis on creating any level of accountability within the civil service and the public sector. That has to change. We’ve got to become more efficient and accountable in government.”

Other fiscal hawks were equally alarmed. Rick Lowe, an executive with the Nassau Institute thinktank, said the civil service was becoming so large that the private sector was strug-

gling to finance it through taxes paid to the Government.

“They keep on increasing the size of the civil service, while making it harder and harder for private sector to grow,” Mr Lowe told Tribune Business.

“Sooner or later, it’s going to topple over. It’s completely unsustainable. It gets to the point where the civil service is so large that the public sector cannot pay for it, and sooner or later it’s going to collapse in on itself.”

Mr Myers said that ‘smaller government’ in the Bahamas “doesn’t necessarily mean people losing their jobs”.

Instead of adding to the public service as a way to keep unemployment under control, the former Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chairman said the Government instead had to facilitate an environment in which the private sector could thrive.

This, he explained, would enable there to be a “reallocation” of jobs from the public to the private sector, with workers switching into the latter rather than simply being made redundant.

“An expansion of the civil service at this point tells me that someone has completely lost the plot,” Mr Myers told Tribune Business.

“What we should be doing is the complete opposite.

“We should be shifting workers. It’s not a retraction; it’s a realignment, and in doing so you’re creating accountability and efficiency. We’ve got to start getting these people to understand that. It cannot be business as usual again.

We’re headed down a very dark path unless we reevaluate our thinking on how the Government does business.”

Mr Myers argued that the Government should seek to outsource and privatise services that could be performed more efficiently by the private sector, with the main objective being to create entrepreneurial opportunities and employment for Bahamians.

He argued that improved governance, and greater accountability and transparency, required not just ‘buy in’ from the political class, but the upper echelons of the civil service, including ministry, department and agency heads.

Revealing that he was treating the country and its government as a business called ‘Bahamas business’, Mr Myers explained: “If you look at the Bahamas as a business, and are tasked with fixing it, any good, self-respecting businessman and woman will go in there and compare income to expenditure, then start to understand where you can get greater efficiency and performance, and how you can cut costs. That’s what needs to happen.”

While the Christie administration had expanded the size of government, Mr Myers said it had likely produced little to no benefits for most Bahamians in terms of more efficient and effective public services.

“We’ve expanded government, but are getting no greater services or efficiency from it,” he told Tribune Business. “What are we paying for? There are more people, but are we getting more or better services? I would argue no.

“What are we hiring these people for, on top of the fact we’re spending way more than our income. It’s a poor reflection, and inversely correlated to where we should be. In an environment where we should be shrinking government, why are we expanding it?”

2016/CLE/gen/00998

IN THE MATTER OF Property comprised in a Mortgage dated the 19th day of August A.D., 2003 between Demetrius Turnquest and Gale Turnquest to FirstCaribbean International Bank (Bahamas) Limited recorded in Book 8770 at pages 367 to 383 at the Registry of Records in the City of Nassau in the Island of New Providence.

AND IN THE MATTER of a Mortgage Action pursuant to Order 77 of the Rules of the Supreme Court 1978.

BETWEEN

FIRSTCARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL BANK (BAHAMAS) LIMITED AND DEMETRIUS DESMOND TURNQUEST AND GALE LOUISE TURNQUEST

NOTICE

Plaintiff First Defendant Second Defendant

TAKE NOTICE that it was ordered on the 25th day of November, 2016 by The Honorable Mrs. Justice Guillamena Archer-Minns of the Supreme Court that the service of the NOTICE OF ADJOURNED HEARING OF THE NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT; scheduled for Tuesday, the 17th day of January, A.D. 2017 at 9:30 a.m. in the morning before The Honorable Mr. Justice Guillamena Archer-Minns at the Supreme Court in Chambers situate in the Ansbacher Building, East Street North, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas in the said action be effected on you by way of this advertisement.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the said NOTICE OF ADJOURNED HEARING filed herein on the 6th day of January, A.D., 2017 can be collected from the Chambers of the Plaintiff ’s Counsel as set out below.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that you must within fourteen (14) days from the publication of this advertisement, inclusive of the day of such publication, acknowledge service of the said NOTICE OF ADJOURNED HEARING by completing a prescribed form of Acknowledgement of Service which may be obtained on request from the Plaintiff ’s Attorneys whose name and address appear below, otherwise Judgment may be entered against you without further notice.

DATED this 6th day of January, A.D., 2017 HALSBURY CHAMBERS SUITE# 548, VILLAGE ROAD NORTH HALSBURY COMMERCIAL CENTRE NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS ATTORNEY’S FOR THE PLAINTIFF

THE TRIBUNE

to advertise today in the tribune call @ 502-2394

COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS

2016 CLE/qui/00074

IN THE SUPREME COURT Common Law and Equity Division

THE MATTER of The Quieting Titles Act, 1959 AND IN THE MATTER of ALL THAT parcel or lot of land being Lot Number Four (4) of Bilney Allotments which said piece parcel or lot of land is bounded NORTHWARDLY by Shirley Street and running thereon Fifty-seven and Fifty-three hundredths (57.53) Feet EASTWARDLY by a portion of Lot Number Three (3) running thereon Seventy-eight and Eighty-six hundredths (78.56) Feet SOUTHWARDLY by Lot Number Thirteen (13) running thereon Fifty-seven and Fifty-three hundredths (57.53) Feet and on the WEST by Bilney Lane running thereon Eighty and Fifty hundredths (80.50) Feet and situated in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas AND IN THE MATTER of The Amended Petition of Stacey Algreen NOTICE STACEY ALGREEN, the Petitioner, claims to be the owner of the unencumbered in fee simple estate in possession of the piece parcel or lot of land hereinbefore described and has made application to the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas under Section 3 of the Quieting Titles Act to have the title to the said piece parcel or lot of land investigated and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted by the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Copies of the Amended Petition and the Plan of the said piece parcel or lot of land may be inspected during normal office hours in the following places:1.

The Registry of the Supreme Court in the City of Nassau on the Island of New Providence; and 2.

The Chambers of James M. Thompson, Jr., Budget Building, Shirley Park Avenue, Nassau, N.P., The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that any person having dower or right to dower or an Adverse Claim or a claim not recognized in the Amended Petition shall on or before the expiration of Thirty (30) days after final publication of these presents, file in the Supreme Court and service on the Petitioner or the undersigned a statement of his claim in the prescribed form verified by Affidavit to be filed therewith.

Failure of any such person to file and serve a statement of his claim on or before the expiration of the Thirty (30) days after final publication of these presents will operate as a bar to such claim.

Dated the 6th.. day of , December, A.D., 2016.

James M. Thompson, Jr. Counsel & Attorney-at-Law Budget Building Shirley Park Avenue Nassau N.P., The Bahamas Attorney for the Petitioner

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 13, 2017, PAGE 5

Baha Mar damage to investment standing ‘almost irreparable’ From pg B1 seek to strip their developments of agreed incentives and assets if they did something it did not like.

“I think our interpretation or assessment of this deal differs significantly,” the east Grand Bahama MP said of the Prime Minister’s comments.

“He’s put the Bahamas through a traumatic period that was unnecessary, and caused almost irreparable damage to this jurisdiction’s reputation as a safe investment destination.”

Mr Turnquest was referring to the Government’s intervention in summer 2015 to oppose Mr Izmirlian’s bid for the Chapter 11 process to be given recognition in the Bahamas by the Supreme Court.

Many observers, including former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, believe the Government should have stayed out of the court

battle, and left it to be treated as a commercial dispute between Mr Izmirlian and the Chinese entities, the China Export-Import Bank and China Construction America (CCA).

The Christie administration, though, argued that its intervention was based on ‘sovereignty’, and that a dispute involving Bahamian assets and hundreds of Bahamian creditors should be dealt with by this nation’s courts, rather than the Delaware bankruptcy court.

It also justified its move on the grounds that the Government was the second largest unsecured creditor behind CCA, while the involvement of public land and some $1.2 billion in tax concessions in the project also required intervention.

While this may have been a valid argument, many observers interpreted the Government’s intervention as evidence that it was ‘in cahoots’ with China’s Baha

Bahamas ‘laughing stock of fly fishing’ From pg B1 for a monthly license; and $60 for an annual license.

The regulations also require a foreign vessel wishing to fish in the Bahamian flats to obtain the usual sports fishing permit, with each person on the vessel also holding a personal license.

The regulations also ban commercial fishing in the flats. Anglers are only al-

lowed to catch and release when catching bonefish, permit, snook, cobia and tarpon. And a Conservation Fund for the management and protection of the flats and fisheries resources in the Bahamas will be established.

As reported by Tribune Business, when the proposed regulations were first unveiled, they created considerable controversy and effectively a divide between

Notice of Appointment of a Liquidator under Section 204 of the BVI Business Companies Act.

PRIMAX SERVICES CORPORATION (In Voluntary Liquidation) Company No. 581531 NOTICE is hereby given pursuant to Section 204, subsection (b) of the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 that the Company is in voluntary liquidation.

The voluntary liquidation commenced on 17th November 2016. The Liquidator is Sergej Schmidt, C/O Landstrasse, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Dated 17th day of November, 2016.

Mar interests to oust Mr Izmirlian, especially given that its re-election prospects were heavily tied to the project’s prior completion and opening.

They contrasted the Government’s approach to Baha Mar to the Ingraham administration’s ‘hands off’ approach to Brookfield Asset Management’s takeover of Atlantis from Kerzner International, which involved a court battle among the latter’s creditors.

While Mr Izmirlian’s Chapter 11 recognition bid was technically flawed, and the China Export-Import Bank would likely have won the case by itself, the Government’s eagerness to intervene in a private, commercial dispute and remove an investor it had long backed was certainly noticed by the international investment community.

Mr Turnquest told Tribune Business that investors coming to the Bahamas needed to feel they were “protected in a free market”, and able to seek redress for any grievances through this nation’s investment and court processes.

“I remain steadfast in

my position that this is a commercial transaction,” he said of Baha Mar, “that should have been allowed to run its course through commercial litigation.

“I don’t think there was a need for the Government to get involved in it, and it caused damage to the Bahamas’ reputation as an investment destination, costing millions of dollars in tax revenues for the period it was closed and displacing 2,000 Bahamian employees.

“The damage that has been caused, in our view, has been unnecessary, and it will take some time to recover the reputation of this country internationally,” the FNM’s deputy leader added.

“The impression out there in the investment community is that the Government intervened, rightly or wrongly, in a commercial transaction, and that brings a level of concern among investors, many of whom feel vulnerable investing in an international destination.”

Mr Turnquest admitted he had “no evidence” that the Government’s handling of the Baha Mar dispute

the 400 local guides and the lodge owners.

Despite the controversy, Bahamas Fy Fishing Industry Association (BFFIA) president, Prescott Smith, in a recent Tribune Business interview described the regulations “one of the biggest pieces of legislation to come about since 1967”, arguing that “closing the loopholes” will increase foreign currency earnings for Bahamians.

But Mr Albury told Tribune Business: “I don’t think anyone is against licensing or that sort of thing, but the enforcement is horrible.

“If we can’t enforce things, then don’t make us the laughing stock of the world. It’s absurd. In Abaco alone you’d need at least 10 boats and 10 officers. With the state of our economy that is not going to happen.”

had cost the Bahamas any foreign direct investment (FDI) projects or dollars.

Yet he added: “Speaking to several potential investors, it is a concern.”

The FNM’s unsurprisingly negative assessment of the Christie administration’s agreement with the China Export-Import Bank and Baha Mar’s new owner, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), is arguably premature given that no details have been publicly released for anybody to conduct an impartial assessment.

However, there has hardly been an avalanche of FDI projects and inflows injected into this nation in the Baha Mar dispute’s aftermath.

Apart from the project at Children’s Bay Cay and Williams Cay in the Exumas, other announcements have included the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) transformation of

Ocean Cay; the proposed Carnival cruise port in east Grand Bahama; and Hutchison Whampoa’s $300 million Phase V Freeport Container Port expansion.

While the Children’s Bay project is showing signs of moving forward, the MSC development is still largely in the ‘pipeline’ phase.

There has also been little substantive movement on the two Grand Bahama investments.

Mr Turnquest, meanwhile, pledged that the FNM would “not stand in the way” of Bah Mar’s opening under CTFE, and the creation of thousands of jobs for Bahamians.

“The opening of this project is a good thing,” he added. “We might not like the deal as has been done, and what it contains, but we certainly won’t stand in the way and begrudge Bahamians being put back to work.”

to advertise today in the tribune call @ 502-2394

NOTICE

NOTICE

LONG & LING LIMITED

WILLIAMSON HOLDINGS LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) LONG & LING LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a) WILLIAMSON HOLDINGS LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 9th January 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas Dated this 13th day of January, A. D. 2017

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 9th January 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas Dated this 13th day of January, A. D. 2017 _________________________________ Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

(Signed) Sergej Schmidt Voluntary Liquidator

_________________________________ Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE

EVER ACCURATE HOLDINGS LIMITED

FAITHFULNESS LIMITED

EGAS LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) EVER ACCURATE HOLDINGS LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a) FAITHFULNESS LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a) EGAS LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 9th January 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 9th January 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 9th January 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas Dated this 13th day of January, A. D. 2017

Dated this 13th day of January, A. D. 2017

Dated this 13th day of January, A. D. 2017

_________________________________ Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

_________________________________ Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

_________________________________ Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE

BMK HOLDINGS LTD.

RAPIDA LIMITED

REFINE CITY LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) BMK HOLDINGS LTD. is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a) RAPIDA LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a) REFINE CITY LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 9th January 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 9th January, 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 9th January 2017 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Leeward Nominees Limited, Akara Building, 24 de Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 13th day of January, A. D. 2017

Dated this 13th day of January, A. D. 2017

Dated this 13th day of January, A. D. 2017

_________________________________ Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

_________________________________ Leeward Nominees Limited Liquidator

_________________________________ Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

PAGE 6, Friday, January 13, 2017

KFC managers take strike vote From pg B1 last week.

“They voted for a strike on the basis that it has been well over two years that they have been trying to get KFC management to sit down and negotiate a new industrial agreement.

“It is open to them at any time, once I advise them to legally withdraw their labour. They have not, nor the Ministry of Labour, seems able to get them [KFC] to come to the Labour Board to begin the process of negotiation.”

Mr Ferguson added: “We filed a trade dispute and had several dates set for conciliation but, at the end of the day, something always happened and the union was unable to sit down with the employer.

“When there is a failure to negotiate a new industrial agreement, then obviously one of the options available to the union is to strike but, before you strike, ensure that all workers are legally protected if and when there is a strike.”

Ash Henderson, Restaurants (Bahamas) marketing director, confirmed to Tribune Business that the company was aware of the strike vote, but it had no comment on the matter at this time.

Mr Ferguson, meanwhile, urged the Government to do everything necessary to ensure industrial disputes were resolved fairly.

“We call on the Government to do what is necessary over general disputes, which involve the creation of new terms and conditions,” he said.

“The Government should ensure that the process is done fairly, and the Government ought to act as an impetus to cause the employer to begin the negotiations within a reasonable period of time.”

LEGAL NOTICE

Financial companies lead US stocks lower; oil rises AP Business Writer – Banks and other financial companies led U.S. stocks modestly lower Thursday, wiping out much of the market’s gains from a day earlier.

Phone companies, real estate, utilities and health care stocks eked out gains. Energy, technology and other stocks that posted big gains in the weeks after the November election lost ground.

Hess slumped 4.8 percent and chipmaker Micron Technology fell 2.1 percent.

Banks, which moved sharply higher through much of the postelection rally in November and December, were hurt by a drop in bond yields, which can push down interest rates on loans, squeezing banks’ profits.

“The market has been running pretty nicely this year, so this is just a little bit of a pullback, a little bit of a consolidation,” said Troy Logan, managing director at Warren Financial Service.

“Anything that has run well postelection has pulled back somewhat today.”

The Dow Jones industrial

NOTICE

NOTICE

TAC Investment Fund Ltd. (the “Company”)

In Voluntary Liquidation

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, No.45 of 2000, the Dissolution of TAC Investment Fund Ltd. has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the dissolution was the 28th day of December, 2016.

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, (No.45 of 2000), IMD Investment Fund Ltd. (the “Company”) is in dissolution. The date of commencement of the dissolution is January 12, 2017. Luciane Ribeiro Moreno is the Liquidator and can be contacted at Rua Afonsa Braz, 747, AP 41D, Vila Nova Conceição, CEP 04511-011, São Paulo – SP, 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 February 10, 2017.

[Signed] Diogo Lisa De Figueiredo Liquidator

Luciane Ribeiro Moreno Liquidator

t. 242.323.2330 | f. 242.323.2320 | www.bisxbahamas.com

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,921.06 | CHG -0.18 | %CHG -0.01 | YTD -17.15 | YTD% -0.88 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.25 17.43 9.09 3.55 4.70 0.12 8.22 8.50 6.10 10.60 15.48 2.72 1.60 5.82 9.31 11.00 9.00 6.90 12.25 11.00

52WK LOW 2.50 17.43 8.19 3.50 1.77 0.12 5.50 8.05 5.50 7.72 11.91 2.18 1.31 5.60 6.70 8.56 6.12 6.35 11.81 10.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

900.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 106.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 105.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 105.50 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol ICD Utilities J. S. Johnson Premier Real Estate Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class E Commonwealth Bank Class J Commonwealth Bank Class K Commonwealth Bank Class L Commonwealth Bank Class M Commonwealth Bank Class N Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00 100.00

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS FAM FBB FIN FCL ICD JSJ PRE CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 17 (Series A) + Fidelity Bank Note 18 (Series E) + Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB17 FBB18 FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-3Y BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0103 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

113.70 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.02 3.91 1.93 169.70 140.34 1.46 1.67 1.56 1.10 6.96 8.50 6.30 9.94 11.21 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.41 1.61 1.52 1.03 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

LAST CLOSE 4.06 15.85 9.09 3.52 1.77 0.12 5.60 8.50 5.83 10.50 11.93 2.12 1.60 5.82 9.31 10.95 8.74 6.75 11.93 10.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01 LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 100.00 108.72 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 4.06 15.85 9.09 3.52 1.77 0.12 5.60 8.50 5.83 10.50 11.93 2.07 1.60 5.82 9.31 10.95 8.74 6.75 11.93 10.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.11 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00

108.29 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

-0.43 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund FG Financial Preferred Income Fund FG Financial Growth Fund FG Financial Diversified Fund FG Financial 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

VOLUME

535 2,200

538

VOLUME

NAV 2.02 3.91 1.93 169.70 140.34 1.46 1.66 1.56 1.07 6.96 8.50 6.30 9.80 11.13 9.63

EPS$ 0.029 1.002 -0.144 0.170 -0.130 0.000 -0.030 0.607 0.430 0.450 0.110 0.102 0.080 0.300 0.520 0.960 0.820 0.294 0.610 0.000

DIV$ 0.080 1.000 0.000 0.210 0.000 0.000 0.090 0.300 0.220 0.360 0.490 0.060 0.060 0.240 0.400 0.000 0.330 0.140 0.640 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 140.0 15.8 N/M 20.7 N/M N/M -186.7 14.0 13.6 23.3 108.5 20.3 20.0 19.4 17.9 11.4 10.7 23.0 19.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

YIELD 1.97% 6.31% 0.00% 5.97% 0.00% 0.00% 1.61% 3.53% 3.77% 3.43% 4.11% 2.90% 3.75% 4.12% 4.30% 0.00% 3.78% 2.07% 5.36% 0.00%

NOTICE

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 13th day of January, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that NELTA CHARITABLEIMBERT of Weybridge Road, P.O. Box N-7060, New Providence, 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 6th day of January, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

MATURITY 19-Oct-2017 31-May-2018 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2017 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD% 12 MTH% 3.91% 4.21% 3.71% 3.98% 2.43% 2.71% 4.73% 5.64% 5.70% 7.66% 3.56% 3.91% 2.22% 2.79% 2.80% 3.18% 2.99% 2.26% 4.35% 4.69% 4.13% 4.28% 4.22% 4.64% 6.19% 3.43% 2.77% 2.98% -3.66% -3.90%

NAV Date 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225

NOTICE is hereby given that WIDNEL SAINTIL of Fort Fincastle, North Street, New Providence, 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 13th day of January, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

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

INTEREST 7.00% 6.00% Prime + 1.75%

MARKET TERMS BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

Logan said.

“Tomorrow is the big day for a lot of the big banks,” he said. “They’ve run up pretty nicely postelection and through this year.”

PNC Financial Services Group lost $2.85, or 2.4 percent, to $117.93, while Zions Bancorporation fell 95 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $42.97. JPMorgan Chase shed 84 cents, or 1 percent, to $86.24.

Companies issuing earnings forecasts also grabbed investors’ attention Thursday.

Hess slid 4.8 percent after the oil company said it will take a $3.8 billion charge in the fourth quarter. The stock fell $2.99 to $58.85.

Other companies making news also lost ground.

Mylan fell 1.4 percent on news that rival CVS slashed its price on a generic version of Adrenaclick, a lesser-known treatment similar to EpiPen, which can cost more than $600. The version that CVS will is selling costs about a sixth of the price of Mylan’s EpiPen. The stock shed 51 cents to $36.77.

NOTICE

MARKET REPORT THURSDAY, 12 JANUARY 2017

average slid 63.28 points, or 0.3 percent, to 19,891. The average had briefly been down more than 183 points.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 4.88 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,270.44. The Nasdaq composite snapped a seven-day winning streak that delivered five consecutive record highs. On Thursday, the index fell 16.16 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,547.49.

The market’s slide came as investors looked ahead to several weeks of companies reporting their latest quarterly results. That begins Friday, when several major banks are due to report earnings, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

The latest drop in bond yields weighed on bank stocks Thursday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 2.36 percent from 2.37 percent late Wednesday.

Beyond that, some traders may have also been selling bank stocks to lock in the sector’s recent gains ahead of Friday’s earnings releases,

NOTICE is hereby given that SHAVANO LAWRENCE ESTIMA of Washington St., Nassau, Bahamas is

International Business Companies Act No.45 of 2000

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT (No.45 of 2000)

THE TRIBUNE

NOTICE International Business Companies Act No.45 of 2000 NORFOLK INVESTMENT FUND LTD. (the “Company”) Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, No.45 of 2000, the Dissolution of NORFOLK INVESTMENT FUND LTD. (IBC No. 169571 B) has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the dissolution was the 23rd day of December, 2016.

Cristiano Freire Amorim Liquidator

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 13, 2017, PAGE 7

Pay gap between college grads and everyone else at a record WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans with no more than a high school diploma have fallen so far behind college graduates in their economic lives that the earnings gap between college grads and everyone else has reached its widest point on record.

The growing disparity has become a source of frustration for millions of Americans worried that they — and their children — are losing economic ground.

College graduates, on average, earned 56 percent more than high school grads in 2015, according to data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute. That was up from 51 percent in 1999 and is the largest such gap in EPI’s figures dating to 1973.

Since the Great Recession ended in 2009, collegeeducated workers have captured most of the new jobs and enjoyed pay gains. Noncollege grads, by contrast, have faced dwindling job opportunities and an overall 3 percent decline in income, EPI’s data shows.

“The post-Great Recession economy has divided the country along a fault line demarcated by college education,” Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, said in a report last year.

College grads have long enjoyed economic advantages over Americans with less education. But as the disparity widens, it is doing so in ways that go beyond income, from homeownership to marriage to retirement.

Education has become a dividing line that affects how Americans vote, the likelihood that they will own a home and their geographic mobility.

The dominance of college graduates in the economy is, if anything, accelerating.

Last year, for the first time, a larger proportion of workers were college grads (36 percent) than high school-only grads (34 percent), Carnevale’s research found. The number of employed college grads has risen 21 percent since the recession began in December 2007, while the number of employed people with only a high school degree has dropped nearly 8 percent.

Behind the trend is a greater demand for educated workers, and the retirement of older Americans, who are more likely to be high school-only graduates.

The split is especially stark among white men. For middle-age white men with only high school degrees

— the core of Presidentelect Donald Trump’s support — inflation-adjusted income fell 9 percent from 1996 through 2014, according to Sentier Research, an analytics firm. By contrast, income for white men in the same age bracket who are college graduates jumped 23 percent.

Long after the recession ended, many young college graduates struggled to find well-paying jobs in a slowly recovering economy, and stories about graduates working as coffee shop baristas abounded. But data collected by the New York Federal Reserve suggests that trend has faded as the economy has improved.

Yet few experts think the solution is simply to send more students to four-year colleges. Many young people either don’t want to spend more years in school or aren’t prepared to do so.

Already, four in every 10 college students drop out before graduating — often with debt loads they will struggle to repay without a degree.

Rather, labor economists say, many high school grads would benefit from a more comprehensive approach to obtaining skills, especially involving technology, that are increasingly in demand.

“If the only path you offer them is a traditional college path, they’re not going to be successful,” says Harry Holzer, an economist at Georgetown University.

Helping lift high school graduates’ skill levels is critical, given the many ways they are lagging behind their college-educated peers: — They’re less likely to have a job. Just two-thirds of high school-only grads ages 25 through 64 were employed in 2015, down sharply from 73 percent in 2007.

For college graduates in the same age group, employment dipped only slightly from 84 percent to 83 percent.

— They’re less likely to be married. In 2008, marriage rates for college-educated 30-year olds surpassed those of high-school-only grads for the first time. And women with college diplomas enjoy an 8-in-10 chance of their first marriage lasting 20 years, according to the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics. That’s double the odds for women with just high school degrees.

— High school-only grads are less likely to own homes.

Sixty-four percent are current homeowners, down from 70 percent in 2000.

By contrast, three-quarters

N O T I C E EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION FRANCE LIMITED ________________________________________________ N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION FRANCE LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 11th day of January, 2017 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said Company is R.W. Rice, of 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway, Spring, Texas 77389, U.S.A. Dated the 13th day of January, 2017 HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company

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R.W. Rice Liquidator 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway Spring, Texas 77389 U.S.A.

of bachelor’s degree holders are homeowners, down slightly from 77 percent in 2000, according to real estate data firm Zillow.

— A college-educated worker is now more likely to belong to a labor union than a high-school-only worker is, according to Pew Research Center. Unions have played a key role in raising pay for members. Yet just 6 percent of workers with only a high school degree now belong to one. Public employee unions, which often represent teachers and others with college educations, have generally maintained staying power while large industrial unions have deteriorated.

— College grads are more likely than high school-only graduates to contribute to a 401(k)-style retirement plan, according to research by Christopher Tamborini of the Social Security Administration and Changhwan Kim, a sociology professor at the University of Kansas.

College grads contributed 26 percent more even when members of both groups had similar incomes and access to such plans, their research found.

Participation in 401(k)style plans requires decisions — whether and how much to contribute and how to invest — that can become barriers for the less educated. That contrasts with traditional pensions, which automatically enrolled everyone eligible and provided

Asia Howard poses for a photo at St. Johns River Park at sunrise, in Jacksonville, Fla. Howard was stuck in mostly retail and fast-food jobs after graduating high school, unable to get a job in banking, a profession she prized for its steady hours. After further developing her career and computer skills, she landed a job in mortgage lending that paid nearly double what she earned in previous jobs. Howard is now studying for an associate’s degree in business administration at Florida State College at Jacksonville. (AP Photo) defined benefits. But traditional pensions have been rapidly phased out.

— College graduates are more likely to move to find work than high-school-only workers are, says Enrico Moretti, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley. Companies tend to recruit more broadly for high-skilled jobs than for low-skilled work.

“College graduates are essentially in a nationwide labor market,” Moretti said.

All of this contributed to a sharp political split in the presidential election.

College graduates favored Hillary Clinton by 9 percentage points. Non-college grads chose Donald Trump by 8 points, according to

NOTICE

EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION FRANCE LIMITED

____________________________________________

Creditors having debts or claims against the above-named Company are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned c/o P.O. Box N-624, Nassau, Bahamas on or before 13th day of February, A.D., 2017. In default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made by the Liquidator.

Dated the 13th day of January, A.D., 2017.

R.W. Rice Liquidator 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway Spring, Texas 77389 U.S.A.

exit polls. That was the largest disparity between the two groups on record since 1980, according to the Pew Research Center.

“These are some of the largest (demographic) shifts in recent years,” said Jocelyn Kiley, an associate director at Pew. The gap is most pronounced among whites: Nearly two-thirds of white non-college grads voted for Trump, compared with just 45 percent of whites with college degrees.

Some of these trends might eventually reverse themselves if more high school grads acquire the skills needed for higherpaying work. Though many middle-income jobs don’t

require college, nearly all require some post-high school education or training.

What Holzer calls the “new middle” includes such health care jobs as X-ray technicians and phlebotomists, as well as computercontrolled manufacturing and some office occupations, like paralegals.

A typical X-ray technician, for example, earns nearly $60,000 a year and needs only a two-year degree, according to government data.

And these “new middle” positions are typically the same jobs for which employers have complained that they can’t find enough qualified people to fill. Labor experts say the U.S. educational system is failing to help young people acquire such skills.

If they know where to look, high school graduates can choose from among numerous options for vocational skills training — from two-year programs to online courses to for-profit schools.

Yet many aren’t likely to get much help from high school guidance counselors.

Joseph Fuller, a professor at Harvard Business School, says counselors increasingly focus on things like substance abuse, discipline and standardized testing, rather than on career advice.

Nor do U.S. high schools funnel students into the kind of on-the-job apprenticeships that exist in some countries. Instead, Fuller says, U.S. apprentices are typically older workers upgrading their skills in areas like construction. The average age of an apprentice in Germany is 17, he notes; in the United States, it’s 27.

N O T I C E EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION TURKEY (ONSHORE) LIMITED ___________________________________________ N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) EXXONMOBIL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION TURKEY (ONSHORE) LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 11th day of January, 2017 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said Company is R.W. Rice, of 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway, Spring, Texas 77389, U.S.A. Dated the 13th day of January, 2017 HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company

PAGE 8, Friday, January 13, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

GOP leaders look to early health care bill, details vague WASHINGTON (AP) — Under mounting pressure from Donald Trump and rank-and-file Republicans, congressional leaders are talking increasingly about chiseling an early bill that dismantles President Barack Obama’s health care law and begins to supplant it with their own vision of how the nation’s $3 trillion-a-year medical system should work.

Yet even as Republicans said they will pursue their paramount 2017 goal aggressively, leaders left plenty of wiggle room Thursday about exactly what they will do. Their caution underscored persistent divisions over how to recraft a law they’ve tried erasing since its 2010 enactment, plus their desire to avoid panicking the 20 million people who’ve gained coverage under Obama’s overhaul or unsettling health insurance markets.

In an interview with conservative radio host Mike Gallagher, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the initial repeal and replace legislation will be “the primary part of our health care policy” and would be followed by other bills.

Later, he told reporters at the Capitol that while Republicans will work quickly, “We’re not holding hard deadlines, only because we want to get it right.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the early repeal bill would “begin to make important progress.” He said Republicans “plan to take on the replacement challenge in manageable pieces, with step-by-step reforms.”

He set no timetable.

“Repealing and replacing Obamacare is a big challenge. It isn’t going to be easy,” McConnell added.

The leaders spoke a day before the House plans to give final approval to a budget that would shield the forthcoming repeal-

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Republican-led Senate is poised to take a step forward on dismantling President Barack Obama’s health care law despite anxiety among some GOP senators that they still haven’t come up with an alternative. (AP Photo) and-replace bill from a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

Stripping Democrats of their ability to endlessly delay that bill — a tactic that takes 60 votes to thwart — is crucial for Republicans, who have just a 52-48 edge in the Senate. That chamber approved the budget early Thursday by a near party-line 51-48 vote, drawing a Twitter thumbs-up from Trump.

“Congrats to the Senate for taking the first step to

important thing is when do you get 218 votes in the House and 51 votes in the Senate,” the majorities needed for passage.

“He’s not a creature of this place so there’s always a bit of a learning curve,” said the No. 3 Senate GOP leader, John Thune of South Dakota.

Obama’s law, which he considers a trophy of his soon-to-end presidency, has provided health care subsidies and Medicaid coverage for millions who don’t get

“Congrats to the Senate for taking the first step to #RepealObamacare now it’s onto the House!” #RepealObamacare — now it’s onto the House!” the president-elect tweeted.

Trump, who enters the White House next Friday, has pressed Republicans in recent days to act quickly on annulling and reshaping Obama’s law. GOP leaders seem to be taking his urgings to heart, though some have suggested his desire for speed doesn’t match Congress’ vintage lack of agility.

Asked how quickly lawmakers could send Trump a bill, No. 2 Senate Republican leader John Cornyn of Texas said, “The most

insurance at work. It has required insurers to cover certain services like family planning and people who are already ill, and curbed rates the sick and elderly can be charged.

GOP leaders hope to use their first bill to void and rewrite as much of Obama’s law as they can, but so far they’ve provided little detail. Cornyn said in a brief interview Wednesday that the early legislation will “push some of the responsibility and resources down to the states and give them more flexibility,” such as for Medicaid.