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VOLUME:116 No.15, JANUARY 16TH, 2019

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ALICIA WALLACE: TOO EASY TO BLAME FAILING FAMILIES

‘Throw it out - witness lied’

Defence insists evidence shows Smith’s innocent

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE lead attorney for former PLP Senator Frank Smith has called on a judge to throw out the case against his client, as he branded the key witness in the matter a liar whose claims cannot be used as evidence that would safely lead to a conviction.

Keith Knight, QC, Smith’s lead attorney, said Barbara Hanna is “untruthful” and “manifestly unreliable” as a witness, and asserted that Chief

Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, as the tribunal of both fact and law, cannot rely on a witness “who has a clear motive to lie”.

Mr Knight asserted that Mrs Hanna’s incentive to lie emanated from a meeting with Health Minister Dr Duane Sands, leading to her giving a statement to police incriminating Smith, to Dr Sands unilaterally approving a $1.9m contract for her cleaning company, to her testifying against Smith the same month the contract commenced.

DEPUTY Prime Minister KP Turnquest yesterday slammed “false rumours” of a 35 percent currency devaluation and second VAT hike as “unpatriotic” for threatening The Bahamas’ economic stability.

Turnquest blasted the spread of such claims as

A DAY after insisting he had no knowledge of a probe uncovering collusion by employees to defraud the government of nearly $450,000 in a department under his purview, Education Minister Jeff Lloyd told The Tribune the matter is under “active” investigation.

He also said a reform process is underway at the Ministry of Education, including an overhaul of its accounting department.

However, it remains unclear who is investigating what Auditor General Terrance Bastian deemed SEE PAGE FIVE

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net POLICE have sought assistance from “international partners” after radio servers at ZNS were hacked for ransom on Monday.

National Security Minister Marvin Dames told reporters yesterday the incident was a first for the country, but added law enforcement officers have been anticipating such an attack as it followed global cyber-crime trends.

Up to press time, engineers at the public broadcaster were working to restore data from

SEE PAGE THREE

“irresponsible” given that they could “shake the confidence” of both consumers and Bahamian businesses in the economy’s prospects.

He warned that it could also “cause concern internationally”, given that it may be picked up by foreign investors and companies conducting business with The Bahamas.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

ZNS CYBER ATTACK WAS PREDICTED

DEVALUATION? THAT’S JUST TOTAL RUBBISH

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

AUDITOR’S REPORT NOW THERE IS ACTION

SEE PAGE TWO

FORMER PLP Senator Frank Smith arriving at court yesterday. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

FELIX TO SUE OVER UNIVERSITY SACKING

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE University of The Bahamas has fired Professor Felix Bethel, setting the stage for a potentially ugly legal battle. Mr Bethel, scheduled to teach a class last Saturday, was denied entry to the university’s Michael Eldon Complex.

He returned on Monday with union representatives only to face seven police officers who denied

SACKED: Professor Bethel him entry again. His lawyer, Wayne Munroe, QC, intends to file a trade

$168K - YOU CAN GIVE IT TO CHARITY

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

dispute alleging wrongful and unfair dismissal.

Mr Munroe said he would also file an action declaring breach of the Employment Act. He said a defamation claim could follow. The 69-year-old professor was denied the chance to clear out his office, he said. The university wrote that it will send his items in packages, behaviour Mr Munroe considers defamatory.

AN anonymous international donor has bestowed more than $168,000 to five Bahamian charities, in an act described as “a gift of generosity straight from the heart”.

The Bahamas Feeding Network, Ranfurly Homes for Children, Every Child Counts, Humane Society of Grand Bahama and the Exuma Humane Society yesterday received $33,773.50 each.

SEE PAGE FIVE

SEE PAGE TWO

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

PAGE 2, Wednesday, January 16, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

JOSEPH DARVILLE, above, from the Humane Society and L Alexander Roberts, below,from Ranfurly Home, at yesterday’s presentation.

ANONYMOUS doner bestows $168,000 to five Bahamian charities. Pictured, from the left, are Eldri Ferguson-Mackey, DPA partner; L Alexander Roberts, Ranfurly Home administrator; Philip Smith, Bahamas Feeding Network Executive Director; Diane Phillips, DPA president; Joseph Darville, Humane Society Grand Bahama President and Dr Colin Archer, Every Child Counts in Abaco representative. Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff from page one The funds were from the proceeds from a property sale in Exuma.

“The woman who donated the funds inherited property in Exuma,” said Judith Hurlock of Seahorse Realty, who handled the sale.

“She had it for years and when she sold it, she said she had never been to The Bahamas, would probably never come here and she did not feel it was right for her to keep the money.

“She said she would feel better knowing that the money from the sale of the lots went to charities that help children and animals.”

Ms Hurlock and others presented the donor with information about various local charities and the donor eventually selected five — three of which are based in Family Islands.

The cheques were presented yesterday during a press conference held at public relations firm Diane Phillips and Associates.

Anonymous donor gives more than $168,000 to five Bahamian charities “It’s not often that someone gifts a country in a way that benefits thousands of people who might otherwise be hungry, hundreds of children, and who knows how many pets,” said Diane.

“But that’s exactly what happened, and this is one of the best good news stories of the year.”

Representatives from each of the organisations, except the Exuma Humane Society, were present yesterday.

Ranfurly Homes for

Children administrator L Alexander Roberts said the organisation currently cares for 30 children.

Mr Roberts said while the orphanage does get a grant from the government, the organisation is “totally dependent on the kindness and generosity of individual donors and corporate sponsors for about 80 percent” of expenses.

Dr Collin Archer was also present as a representative for Every Child Counts in Abaco, an educational and life skills development

programme for children with special needs.

Dr Archer noted the institution is in the “final throes” of building a group home for special needs adults and said the funds from this donation will “go a long way” toward that home.

“The Bahamas Feeding Network prepares up to 3,500 hot meals every week for people who are hungry in this country — and that’s almost 20 percent of the population, we are sad to say,” Mrs Phillips said.

“God bless this woman and let her know The Bahamas welcomes her with open arms if she ever changes her mind and wants to visit,” BFN executive director Philip Smith said in the press release.

Humane Society of Grand Bahama president Joseph Darville said the economic challenges on the island have affected people’s abilities to take care of animals — noting in the last year the organisation has taken in over 1,000 dogs and cats that

have been abandoned and abused. He also said the organisation does not receive a stipend from the government.

“When (Mrs Phillips) called me and asked if I could come to Nassau to collect a cheque for the (HSGB) and told me how much it was, I thought I was dreaming,” Mr Darville said.

“God bless this wonderful woman, whoever she is, wherever she is. We just want to say thank you,” he added.

ZNS ATTACK FOLLOWED GLOBAL CYBER-CRIME TRENDS from page one

backups after refusing to meet the hacker’s demands for $18,000 in incremental bitcoin payments or negotiate further.

“This is the world that we’re living in today,” Mr Dames said outside Cabinet. “This is certainly the first of its kind that would have been reported here in The Bahamas, where we had the radio servers of ZNS hacked for

ransom. This is a common occurrence now around the world and the police are currently investigating this particular incident.

“This is something that in our planning that we have certainly been anticipating and as an organisation we’re working assiduously to equip the police force for these types of modern day challenges.”

He added: “We are currently working with our international partners to determine how do we address this particular issue as it

relates to ZNS. So the police are on top of it, we just have to see where it ends up.”

It is unclear whether the radio servers were seized by a group or a lone hacker.

Employees discovered they were shut out of ZNS’ radio servers sometime before noon on Monday, according to Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas chairman Mike Smith. “We are making good progress,” Mr Smith said yesterday. “We’re not going

to pay any kind of ransom, and our managers have been meeting all morning and in process of restoring critical areas. We have to duplicate some things and we have to reorganise some systems but we will be able to get back, I wouldn’t say to normal but certainly be able to operate in spite of the challenge.”

Mr Smith revealed the hacker initially asked for a ransom of $50,000 in incremental bitcoin payments, but engineers “chewed

him down” to $18,000. “We have some backups, and the backups that we have we are reorganising,” Mr Smith said yesterday. “(The hacker) he was asking us to buy bitcoin for him. Initially it was $50k then our IT men said it was a lot of money and chewed him down to $18k but he wants it done incrementally.”

Mr Smith added: “But you don’t deal with them, you’re not sure they are going to give you the password back.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 16, 2019, PAGE 3

Smith defence team urges judge to throw case out from page one “Some people lie for a reason,” Mr Knight said.

“Some people just lie. It appears to me that she falls in the category of those who, on occasion, are untruthful for a reason. And on other occasions, she’s just untruthful for no discernible reason. But either category she falls in, she’s untruthful. And so then how do you rely on her?”

Conversely, Mr Knight said there is evidence to prove Smith is an “innocent man,” pointing to Mrs Hanna’s failed bid at securing a $2m contract to clean the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre around the same time she was allegedly paying him $5,000 per month for him helping her secure a $500,000 cleaning contract.

To his client’s defence, Mr Knight asserted that a “dishonest person” would have taken advantage of that situation to “enrich himself” by ensuring Mrs Hanna got the $2m contract, just so he or she could tax her even more money on the back end because they would have known she’s a “willing participant.”

“Almost four times the amount (of the $500,000 cleaning contract), and yet, he did not do anything to help her to get that contract?” Mr Knight asked.

He asserted that based on Mrs Hanna’s evidence, it was chronologically impossible for Smith to have assisted her in getting a $500,000 annual contract with the PHA, as according to her, she first met with Smith in March 2016, months after the contract had already been issued as of January 2016.

And based on that submission, Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt questioned exactly when did Smith’s alleged “assistance” occur, and also when and how he allegedly extorted Mrs Hanna, as according to the defence, no evidence has been led to suggest a consequence if Mrs Hanna did not meet Smith’s demands.

However, Mr Knight further asserted that if the Crown relies on evidence, Mrs Hanna is actually an accomplice in the matter to some degree, given that, according to the prosecution, she paid $5,000 per month to Smith for his assistance in procuring a contract with the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) to conclude the alleged bribery transaction.

And based on that, Mr Knight submitted, Dr Sands should have never approved the $1.9m contract, because according to the health minister, and if Mrs Hanna’s evidence is to be believed, she was an accomplice.

FORMER PLP Senator Frank Smith yesterday.

The submissions came during the first day of Smith’s criminal trial since it adjourned late last year. He is charged with one count of extortion, 12 counts of obtaining, one count of attempted extortion and one count of bribery.

It is alleged the former PHA chairman, between April 2016 and April 2017, demanded and obtained $5,000 per month from Mrs Hanna, knowing he was not lawfully authorised to do so.

He is also alleged to have attempted to extort another $5,000 from Mrs Hanna. And concerning the bribery charge, it is alleged that he solicited $5,000 a month from Mrs Hanna for helping her to get a PHA contract.

However, Mr Knight submitted yesterday that based on Mrs Hanna’s evidence, she met with Smith in March of 2016, after being referred by then Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis. By that time, PHA’s board had already passed a resolution to award Mrs Hanna’s company the contract, which occurred on December 23, 2015. And based on other evidence adduced during the trial, Smith’s power and influence in those

KEITH KNIGHT, QC.

discussions came to an end on that date.

As a result, Mr Knight asserted yesterday that Smith could not have assisted Mrs Hanna in getting that contract, and consequently, the bribery charge could not be made out. Similarly, Mr Knight submitted that his extortion charge could not hold up because there is no evidence to suggest that Smith demanded anything from Mrs Hanna, or specified any consequence she would suffer if she did not comply.

The defence is currently seeking to have Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt throw out the 15 charges against Smith.

But concerning Mrs Hanna, the virtual complainant in the matter, and upon whose claims the Crown’s case is dependent, Mr Knight asserted that whenever her testimony could be tested by the rigours of cross examination, she “came up short” as a credible witness.

Particularly, Mr Knight noted that when Mrs Hanna first took the witness stand, she declared that she felt as if she was being “used” to testify in the matter. At the time, she said while she could not say who was using her, she felt she was at a disadvantage by testifying in the trial. She also expressed her disdain for being involved in the matter by repeatedly saying “I don’t want to be here” while seated in the witness box.

Yesterday, Mr Knight noted that when Mrs Hanna made those statements, it “stunned” the entire court and caused many to look

GRAND BAHAMA POLICE APPEAL FOR WITNESSES OVER SHOOTING

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

POLICE in Grand Bahama are following significant leads into the island’s first murder for 2019 and are appealing to persons to come forward with any information that can further assist them.

Lester Eugene Adderley, 58, of Hawaii Avenue, Freeport was shot on Sunday while at East Atlantic Drive. Assistant Commissioner of Police Samuel Butler, officer-in-charge of Grand Bahama, said police are working diligently to bring closure to the matter.

“When you talk about the criminal act of murder it is a life that has been lost and can never be recovered, and the police department is working diligently, and we are following significant leads into that,” he said.

He stressed that no one has a right to take a life.

“Life is very precious and the loss of life creates a whole lot of grief,” said ACP Butler.

Referring to murder statistics for the northern Bahamas in 2018, he noted that murder was reduced by 31 percent in the region in 2018.

“Any life lost is a concern to the police department.

We had six occurring in Grand Bahama, four in Abaco, and one in Bimini.

“We are pleased we were able to suppress it in 2018, and we look to further reduce murders in 2019,” ACP Butler said.

“We had six senseless killings (in 2018) and we are following some significant leads into our first murder for 2019, and we look forward to bringing some closure to that event,” he said.

According to reports, shortly after midnight on Sunday, January 13, police received a report of gunshots in the area of East Atlantic Drive. When a team of officers arrived they saw a man’s body on the ground at the former Gwen’s Plaza.

Adderley was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.

ACP Butler appealed for information on this or any other crime.

“We appeal to the community to connect with the police department. We know there are some things happening on the ground in our community as it relates to criminal behaviour.

“We know they are well aware of what is going on and we ask you to speak to the police department as some of these events can be circumvented with the public’s help,” he said.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff upon her sympathetically and think in their minds, “poor Barbara Hanna.”

Mr Knight also noted that her statements at the time were not in response to a question; rather, he submitted that the woman was “bearing her soul” and “removing a burden.”

However, Mr Knight said on the last day she gave evidence, Mrs Hanna changed her position and stated that she wasn’t being used in the matter, and that such a “stark contradiction” has not been explained. Thus, he questioned what it was

that led her to change her mind, “alter her feelings,” and undergo such a “transfiguration”.

In highlighting another instance, Mr Knight noted that the “simple question” put to her in cross-examination, “Do you know Edgar David Hanna?” yielded the response: “I don’t recall.”

Mr Knight noted that at the time that question was posed, Mrs Hanna was seemingly frustrated from testifying. However, Mr Knight questioned how was it she could not recall the name of her spouse of 20 years.

Nonetheless, the Jamaican attorney noted that later on in the trial, Mrs Hanna said she could not ever forget Mr Hanna’s name.

“They (the Crown) have tendered a witness who contradicts herself, she lies, even on herself,” Mr Knight submitted. “…But there is a reason for lying on herself, the defence is saying.”

Mr Knight further asserted that the Crown has now been placed in a position where regardless of how the case is interpreted, there “ought to be a concession” by the Crown as “ministers of justice.”

“The lead prosecutor should rise and concede,” Mr Knight said. “That is what the practice calls for.

And that is what I expect.”

PAGE 4, Wednesday, January 16, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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Real transparency, real accountability

THERE are times when a question is raised by politicians of The Tribune: why do we have to be so critical?

Running the country isn’t easy, they say. Do you know how hard it is to get things done, they ask. We often agree that there are big challenges – cutting the crime rate, trying to get people back into jobs, building the economy.

Then we come to the current farrago over an audit report into possible fraud at the Ministry of Education.

A substantial amount of work by the Auditor General uncovered $450,000 of the public’s money – that’s mine and yours – being spent unethically. The payments were made as honoraria – normally given to staff who perform extra duties – but were made without the proper approvals, without the proper justification letters including costs, clearances and so on. In one instance, one assistant accountant was given 43 such payments totaling $125,505.82 in 44 months. At a time when the government talks about feeling the pinch and needing to keep a close watch on spending, you would think that such a report would be welcomed.

Instead, it sat on a shelf gathering dust.

Three months after it was sent to the clerk of the House, it still hadn’t been tabled. It’s possible MPs didn’t even know the audit existed.

The House Speaker, quoted in today’s paper, goes on to say that one of the problems might have been that the House didn’t have enough copies of the report.

Not enough copies? Is it too out of line to suggest that in this age of digital files the House might invest in that fancy new technology known as a printer? Or why can’t the report be made available as a digital file for MPs to read on their computers, their iPads, their phones?

More than that, on Monday, when asked by The Tribune about the report, Minister of Education Jeff Lloyd said he knew nothing about it.

Let’s row back a little to the time when Mr Lloyd was still campaigning for his seat and on the election trail was railing against the “culture of slackness, dishonesty and corruption” in the political ranks in The Bahamas and insisting that under the FNM “slackness and moral turpitude will not be tolerated”.

Well, if leaving an auditor’s report on the shelf for three months or failing to distribute reports because you can’t find a way to a printer isn’t slackness, we don’t know what is.

Transparency was also a buzzword on that election trail – so here’s a suggestion, let’s be truly transparent.

On the government website is a section for publications, reports and other resources – under the reports section, a single lonely road traffic audit report is the only document added to the section in the whole of last year.

Why can’t we have a system where as soon as that report is delivered from the Auditor General, a note is published to say that it has been received?

Let the public track in real time when reports are received – and how long it takes the government to do anything about them. If there is a gap of months – as with this report – between its arrival and any action, then let the public see that clearly, with every item that the government has to deal with. That’s the way to ensure real transparency, and real accountability.

As for Mr Lloyd, after protesting on Monday that he knew nothing about that report, yesterday he said that it is under “active” investigation.

There’s not a lot that looks very active about this particular piece of government work – so rather than excuses and hasty moves to make up for lost time, how about looking at the whole system to ensure this never happens again?

This isn’t one of those big challenges - it’s just treating the people with the respect they deserve.

The year when we build each other up EDITOR, The Tribune LAST week all of the newspapers front pages were ablaze with both the commissioner of the police force Mr Anthony Ferguson and the minister of defence Mr Marvin Dames touting the success in the reduction of crime in 2018, especially the decrease in the murder rate. I might have missed it and stand to be corrected but not once did I hear them give thanks to God for the hand he had in the country’s fight against satan’s onslaught on our youth.

Not once did I hear mention of the many prayer warriors that spend days and nights on their knees crying out to the lord to have mercy upon our country and to save our young

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net people from the devil’s attack on the nation. In 2018 while various factions were protesting with marches and threats of strike these prayer warriors, these saints were praying fervently that all issues would be resolved amicably.

In December 2018 the hurricane season came to a close with no major hurricane not even an intense storm. Was this is a coincident that crime fell so dramatically and there were no major storms?

2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people who are called by my name will humble

themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2018 was a breakthrough in what is in store for us this year.

Prayerfully this is the year of healing. This is the year when we will do more in embracing each other in having each other’s back.

This is the year when neighbours will go back to being neighbourly. When we will build up and not tear each other down. Let 2019 be a year of cleansing for us so that we may receive all of the bounty that is in store us.

Have a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

ANTHONY PRATT Nassau January 13, 2019

Why we should listen to the conch EDITOR, The Tribune One last question...

Hey, you there. Ever t’ought about what you puttin’ in yer mouth?

Who said dat? Who is asking dat question?

Right here, man. Right here on your spoon.

Stop jokin’, man. Where you is?

Who you is?

In yer spoon. I is yer conch an’ you better listen before you eat me.

Well hail Mary mudda o’ Jesus.

I been gettin’ too much sun. Heat mussee gone to my head.

Got to be so if my conch talkin’.

No, brother. You is OK. Is me an’ my kind who is sufferin’.

Dis ain’t good. I hearin’ things.

I betta go see one doctor.

No! No! You is doin’ fine, but me an’ my brothers and sisters need you to listen. T’ings is getting real bad for me and my family.

What you mean getting’ bad?

You cost more than you did when I was a boy, but everything cost more now-a-days. You still taste the same though, an’ every year is plenty new pile o’ conch shell in The Bahamas, ‘specially in Nassau.

True, true, my man but, if you look close, you’ll see dem shells are smaller dan they used to be.

You buy one conch recently?

Yeah, man. It look OK to me, though my granddaddy say is a sin and a shame what passin’ for conch dese days. Say when he was a boy, conch was twice as big an’ dey was so scornful you didn’t need a boat to get a meal.

Most places you could wade off da shore in da shallow water and

fine enough conch to eat or to fish wit’. I feel he probably was exaggeratin’ dough, ‘cause he always talkin’ about the good ole days.

Always, “Back in my day…”

He might be exaggeratin’, but I’ve lived long enough to werify that dere use to be plenty, plenty conch all over dese islands.

(Aside: I truly mussee had too much sun today. I can believe I havin’ a conversation wit’ my conch salad.) Well, how old you was before you…before you… you know, before you end up in my dish?

Almost 40 years. Seen over 450 full moons before my demise. You have any idea what it mean to be a conch? Any idea? Anyone ever teach you about my people?

About my story?

No. All I know you is good to eat an’ yer slop make good bait for fishinin. An’ is one more thing…Your worm is good for…

Boy, hush yer mouth. Da chirren are listenin’. Be quiet, man, an’ listen. I gat a story to tell you.

I gonna learn you about conch.

Put me down, pull up your chair, an’ listen good. I goin’ to learn you.

Ve been around since before Columbus. Before da Arawaks.

Ve been here before people was on Earth. Ve is peaceful herbivores, eating grass an’ algae an’ stuff like that. Ve never bother anybody an’ before people started eatin’ us, other creatures like sharks, loggerhead turtles, stingree an’ whip ray eat us. T’ings were in balance dough. Nature kep’ everyt’ing in balance an’ wasn’t too much of us or too little.

Even when da Arawaks come to da Bahamas an’ started catchin’ us, t’ings stayed in balance. It

wasn’t too many o’ dem and, besides, dey respected nature an’ live in harmony wit’ it. But when dem people start to come from cross the ocean…dat’s when t’ings start to change—not jess fer us, but fer everyone.

Vat you talkin’ ‘bout?

Vell, dey killed off the Arawaks and, once dey started settling the islands, most had no respect for other livin’ t’ings. No idea about balance an’ how everything is connected. Once dey start to multiply, once all dem tourists started comin’, an once dey could export stuff to the United State easy, everyt’ing gone haywire, especially fer creatures like grouper, crawfish, and conch. Too many people look fer short-term gain. Some don’t know how long it takes for me to get from being my mama’s egg to being a mama myself. An’ some who do know better don’t care. Dey just want the money or, like you, just like to eat conch.

How long it does take before you could lay eggs?

At least six years. An’ to make matters worse, a conch may look like a nice juicy full grown conch wit’ a beautiful flare lip who probably had plenty children when it got caught, but the truth is, unless my lip is about a half inch thick, I may not have laid any eggs yet.

Dat means hundreds of thousands, even millions, of conch eggs never get to hatch. No egg, no conch. No conch, no salad. No salad, unhappy you. Is because of overfishin’ dat I pretty sure dat for every 10 conch there was 20 years ago is only one now.

An’ you know what the most sinful thing is, plenty o’ my relatives got taken before they even

grew a lip. In fact, most of my children’s lips was just startin’ to form when they got snatch off the bottom. Some fool even believe that big conch wit’ no lip is different species than conchs wit’ lips.

Some you all people fool now.

(Mutters: I don’t know if this is really happenin’, but I wish did conch didn’t have no lip. Den it couldn’t talk.)

Hey…I hear dat. It may not make sense to you, but t’ink about it, since when conch could talk? T’ick lip. T’in lip. No lip.

Anybody ever tell you about conch talkin’? My friend, dis is a special occasion. You were chosen to be a conch ambassador. Chosen to help spread the Gospel of the Conch. And dis gospel is pretty simple wit’ only eight commandments, not ten like what Moses bring down from da mountain.

Lawdee, lawdee be. Now dis conch talkin’ ‘bout the Bible. I gattee wear a hat vhen I out in da sun and, if dis nonsense keeps up, I better go see a couple of doctors.

Listen, man. Dese commandments are very important. You ready?? Listen well.

Only eat conchs that have a lip a half inch thick. Learn about and follow fisheries laws. Get to know the person you buy conch from. Ask him or her about the size of the conch they catch. Tell them what I have told you. If they don’t care, find a new vendor. Do the same for restaurant and shack owners. If they don’t know if their conchs are coming from a reliable source, boycott them. If you see people taking conch without thick lips, tell them to stop. If they don’t stop, report them. Learn all you can about conch. Go to meetings. Join and work with groups

that support the BREEF and the BNT. Uhh? Beef? BLT? You juss makin’ me hungry.

No, man. Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation, BREEF, and Bahamas National Trust, BNT. Stop interruptin’ an’ lemme finish.

The last two: Encourage government to set up conservation areas where conch can breed and where people can’t take conch from.

Spread the word. Tell your children, all your family and all your friends. One more ting: Dis sound complicated but, believe me, it make sense: If people ain’t careful, there ain’t gonna be enough conchs for yer children and grandchildren. Dey will hear yer stories about how sweet I was to eat.

Dey’ll see me on TV an’ internet. Maybe at the aquarium or in books, or in songs. But Dey won’t get to enjoy me. Not only dat, if dere aren’t enough conchs around, or if I go extinct, dere ain’t gonna be any conch fishermen or women. No jobs. It’ll be a crying shame. A national and natural tragedy. Believe me. Believe me. By da way, my name is Mosesetta Strombus, what’s yours?

Simon Peter James is my full name.

Ahh. Apostolic… Ve gonna make a good team.

I gonna try do as you say but, afta all dis talk, I have one last question.

What is it?

I hungry. Dead hungry. I could eat you now??

CHRIS MINNS Exuma Bahamas January 12, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 16, 2019, PAGE 5

Professor to sue University of The Bahamas over his sacking from page one Mr Munroe said he may seek as much as $250,000 in damages for his client.

The reason for Mr Bethel’s dismissal was unclear yesterday. His termination letter did not provide a cause, according to Mr Munroe.

The university issued a statement that said: “The University’s Office of the General Counsel has advised that the university offers no comments in the public domain on any matter involving the confidential contractual affairs of a former employee.”

Some students have been alarmed by the sudden events. One wrote on Facebook: “So for my (Politics) 313 Monday & Wednesday Felix Bethel 6pm7pm class. We really just about to accept this? No explanation. No warning. No nothing (sic).”

Observers have speculated Mr Bethel’s dismissal springs from a highly-publicised controversy involving a student who accused him last year of making indecent comments about her body during a class.

But Mr Bethel said to his knowledge no official investigation was ever launched into that matter; Mr Munroe said the

matter is not referenced in the termination letter.

The professor of 45 years is known for brashness. He prides himself on bluntness that some may find offensive. Yesterday, he said the university’s top two officials, President Rodney Smith and Provost Linda Davis, have longtime personal grievances with him which he feels led to his termination.

He recalled being a prominent critic who called for the firing of Dr Smith during a plagiarism controversy that culminated in Dr Smith’s resignation in 2005. However, he said the pair repaired their relationship in 2014 when Dr Smith returned as university president.

He said relations between them frayed last year when he requested financial support from the university for an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s death.

“I went to Rodney David Smith,” he said. “I said ‘brother, the PLP’s victory of April 1968 coincided with King’s assassination in April 1968. This an opportunity to be a part of a great celebration.’ ‘Bethel that’s a great idea,’ he said, ‘a great idea.’ He said put together a budget. We did. We got zero, zero, nothing

THE REASON for Mr Bethel’s dismissal was unclear yesterday. from him and it hurt me but with the help of Philip Stubbs, pastor at St Michael’s Methodist Church, we did a celebration, a service of thanksgiving for the life and witness of Martin Luther King Jr. “When they asked me to speak at the event, I’ll tell you what I said, I said ‘ladies and gentlemen and brothers and sisters in Christ, I want to thank Rodney David Smith for all that he has done and all that he has not done to make this event the success that

it has been today. That was blow number one. I also said, ‘beloved, I have to share with you one little secret, I am the real president of the University of The Bahamas. I can show my face anywhere in the world, thank you very much.’”

That event was broadcast live on ZNS, and Mr Bethel believes it upset Dr Smith.

Mr Bethel said his issues with Ms Davis go back to 2003 when he was accused and charged with “making threats of

death” against her. That year he became incensed about being denied increments and he held her responsible, he said. The pair argued about it. He recalled a verbal attack he launched against her but denied using threatening language.

“I went through the court system for two years,” he said, “at great cost financially and to my health, which eventually ended with a nolle prosequi.”

The Tribune asked him about the woman who accused him of making indecent comments in class. He could not say if the university investigated the matter. But he said not long after the claims surfaced, the president’s office sent him a letter indicating the university found a technicality with his contract: he did not sign one for the upcoming year. He said he was nonetheless scheduled to teach classes this term.

The current circumstances have left him with little desire to return to the university as a lecturer, he said. The university offered him $69,000 for the period from January to July. A father of 20 children, he found this tempting, he said. However, he said he has decided to seek more money to which he believes he is entitled.

Auditor’s report under ‘active’ investigation The Tribune A1MAIN

TUESDAY

from page one “egregious acts” by workers in the Department of Education, as Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle, who heads the Anti-Corruption Unit, told this newspaper the unit was not looking into the findings of the report. We were directed to inquire with the ACP by the Financial Crimes Unit of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

“I didn’t request the audit, the audit has to go to them (education officials),” ACP Rolle said. “Any complaints from there have to come from the minister. So if he doesn’t have it, you know we don’t have it.

“I guess at some point he’ll write to the commissioner and then he’ll decide where he wants to send it.

But nothing has reached to me yet.”

The report covered the period from July 1, 2014 to February 28, 2018, and was sent to the Ministry of Education in September last year but not tabled in the House of Assembly. It is expected to be tabled today.

As to why the report was not tabled in the three months following its release essentially causing it to be withheld from public view is also unclear.

While Mr Bastian confirmed it was sent to the chief clerk of the House in September, The Tribune understands while a junior staffer signed and received the auditor’s report, it never reached the head clerk.

When asked about this, House Speaker Halson Moultrie said this was not an effort to suppress the report. He said it has been consistent practice for reports to be tabled in a timely manner once they are received by the lower chamber.

“I suspect it may be tabled tomorrow (Wednesday) if he has received the full complements of copies because what has been happening is we have been receiving like one or two copies from the Auditor General and when the documents are tabled members are asking for copies and we usually have to then go take the documents apart and make copies of them,”

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Auditors uncover $450k bonus fraud

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

A DAMNING report from the Auditor General’s probe into the Department of Education has uncovered collusion among employees to defraud the government of nearly $450,000 by manipulating a system for stipends and honoraria.

The report covered the period from July 1, 2014, to February 28, 2018, and was sent to the Ministry of Education in September last year but not tabled in the House of Assembly.

While a House official confirmed the report is expected to be tabled tomorrow, Education Minister Jeff Lloyd told The Tribune yesterday he had no knowledge of it.

CONCH CRISIS: WE WERE WARNED

Meanwhile, one official said there was a “shakeup” at the ministry in the aftermath of the report’s findings.

During this special probe, Auditor General Terrance Bastian said a team observed what appeared to be several irregularities perpetuated by staff members using an array of honoraria codes.

The report defines honoraria as being granted to officers who are required to perform extra duties in addition to their normal duties for a specified period.

While the director approved these payments, there was no accompanying formal approval from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and the

HOW The Tribune covered the story yesterday.

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

“THIS is not a surprise,” is how BREEF executive director Casuarina McKinney-Lambert responded to reports that The Bahamas’ conch population could be wiped out in ten to 15 years.

According to Ms Mckinney-Lambert, the environmental organisation has long been “sounding the alarm” about the reality of conch decline.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, she called for the country to “chart a new path” toward a more precautionary approach to sustaining resources.

To reverse the tide of low conch population in particular and spur increased reproduction, Mrs McKinney-Lambert suggested the implementation of “effectively managed” replenishment zones and for the nation to “address the issue” of illegal harvest by poachers and local fishermen alike.

SEE PAGE NINE

Mr Moultrie said. “So we have requested of the Auditor GeneralFIASCO that he provide ‘AIRPORT’S at least 40 copies to the CAN’T BEofREPEATED’ House Assembly so that each member can receive a copy in addition to the one being tabled. I hope that is COPS WITH I SAW the procedure and if there MARVIN is any delay that may MISSING have caused the delay.”

He added: “All HACKERS of the HIT ZNS AND DEMAND RANSOM audits that were presented to the speaker have been AUDITOR General Terrance tabled up to this point in Bastian FACE-TO-FACE LIFE RESET time.”

UNDER THE BAHAMIAN SUN Mr Moultrie further explained that in most cases, reports would be left at the reception desk and 50 then passed on to the clerk. +VAT Following this interview with Mr Moultrie, Mr Lloyd was asked if he intended to refer the fraud case to police, to which he responded: “Yes”.

He was also asked if any changes were made to the manner in which stipends and honoraria were handled based on the report.

“Complete reform of the processing and the procedures in the Accounting Department, complete.

And a reform process (is) underway throughout (Ministry of Education),” Mr Lloyd said.

“It’s slow. It’s tedious. It’s inevitable.”

Asked whether anyone was fired or reassigned, Mr Lloyd said: “This stuff is under active investigation. I say no more.”

During this special probe, Mr Bastian said a team observed what appeared to be several irregularities perpetuated by staff

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister yesterday estimated that an investment worth “tens of millions” is necessary to prevent a repeat of the Christmas “black eye” suffered by Nassau’s main gateway. Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business he had challenged all Lynden Pindling International Airport stakeholders “to do their homework to

SEE PAGE THREE

improve the overall experience” following the delays experienced by aircraft and passengers alike.

Admitting that the Christmas period “wasn’t pretty”, Mr D’Aguilar said that among the reforms being eyed is a “slotting programme” where private planes are given specific takeoff and landing times during the airport’s three peak periods annually. Whether “optimal use” was made of runways over Christmas is also under review.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

A MAN says he was at the Central Detective Unit in December when he saw a “disoriented” Marvin Pratt - the missing man police have denied taking into custody. Full story - Page 5.

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

HACKERS are demanding an $18,000 ransom from the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas after taking control of servers at ZNS. BCB chairman Mike Smith confirmed to The Tribune the organisation’s servers were hit sometime before noon yesterday forcing broadcasters to work

manually to deliver the evening news. He did not disclose the amount of the ransom, but sources at the organisation have confirmed the sum to be just

under $20,000. Mr Smith noted the hackers were internationally-based.

“Our servers have been hacked,” Mr Smith said, “and we’ve brought in the police and IT advisers and other people to seek to assist us, but we have a very serious problem where people are seeking to get a ransom.”

Mr Smith added: “All the servers are down, so

SEE PAGE SEVEN

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members using an array of honoraria codes.

The report defines honoraria as being granted to officers who are required to perform extra duties in addition to their normal duties for a specified period.

While the director approved these payments, there was no accompanying formal approval from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public service as is required. This meant there were no project justification letters including cost, financial clearance, virement of funds and appropriation transfer warrants provided by the Department of Education.

A virement is an administrative transfer of funds from one part of a budget to another.

“Since staff were able to perpetuate a fraud to the tune of $448,230.68 using the honoraria description it would be reasonable to ascertain that other unethical uses of other codes could have been used,” the report, dated September 12, 2018 noted.

In one instance, an assistant accountant received

EDUCATION Minister Jeff Lloyd 43 honoraria payments of $125,505.82 in 44 months.

At a separate time, another accountant received $61,113.18 in 32 instalments in 20 months while those with lesser jobs including a general service worker received nine honoraria payments of $12,650 in 17 months.

There were at least 12 instances where this happened.

Auditors further noted a finance officer was signing on behalf of the head

of department and authorised ten virements from the salary block totalling more than $2m for the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years.

There were also instances where auditors found that individual staff members received over $10,000 and as much $125,505.82 in honoraria payments in “unreasonable” time periods. A head of department also authorised $1.3m over two years.

Editorial comment - Page 4

PAGE 6, Wednesday, January 16, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

CABINET MAY MAKE NHI DECISION BEFORE BUDGET

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

CABINET could make a decision on the future of National Health Insurance before the next budget cycle, according to a hopeful Health Minister Dr Duane Sands.

Dr Sands told reporters outside the Churchill Building yesterday the current trajectory of the NHI Authority made it likely the entire process could be completed by the end of the fiscal year.

“I believe that certainly,” Dr Sands said, “when you say year, it is hoped that you’re talking fiscal year, not calendar year. Because obviously that anniversary has serious implications so if we are able to complete this process before budget then obviously

we can make some important decisions.”

The authority’s consultation period ended just before Christmas, and it is now compiling a report for the Minnis administration on the outcome of talks with healthcare professionals, the private sector, trade unions and Bahamian public.

The next step in the government’s NHI plan, according to Dr Sands, is for the Cabinet to determine how, when and what form the scheme should take to achieve its healthcare objectives.

“Dr Robin Roberts, chairman of National Health Insurance Authority, would have said that they are just about done and they are in the process of starting the preparation of their report for the ministry, but most importantly for that report to then

move on to Cabinet,” the Elizabeth MP said.

“We believe that a reasonable timeline for determining when Cabinet can slot the NHI team into their schedule will be sometime in February, but that is obviously up to the prime minister and the secretary to the Cabinet to determine exactly when the National Health Insurance Authority will have an audience with Cabinet.”

He continued: “But it is at that point that the most important decisions will be made. So they would have polled civil society, they would have polled employers, unions, a number of individuals and they have moved this along tremendously. So once all that information is presented to Cabinet, Cabinet will have an opportunity to consider

it to weigh it and to make a final decision.”

A proposed expanded contributory scheme was announced by the NHIA in October, and it was recommended that the salaries of every employed Bahamian will be subject to a deduction of about two percent each month as a means to pay for universal healthcare coverage for all, including children, elderly, and the unemployed.

The NHI policy paper outlined several timelines: including April to July 2019 for the launch of the standard health benefit and NHI expanded coverage; July 2019 for a sugary drink tax and national wellness programme; a January 2020 launch of the employer mandate/two per cent deductions for businesses with 100 or more employees; and January 2021

employer mandate expansion for all employers and deadline for all grandfathered private insurance plans.

Yesterday, Dr Sands said: “We are seeking to be transformational in our approach to this country and what that means is we look at things critically and make a determination as to what are the root causes that need to be addressed, and then change them. It generates a tremendous amount of conversation, some controversy, and sometimes that conversation gets very loud but that’s how you build a country.”

He added: “And if we were not dealing with difficult controversial issues then the likelihood is we would not make a whole lot of progress in improving what is happening in this country.”

Sands: We’ll have to work hard to solve any impasse

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net HEALTH Minister Duane Sands has said the government and Bahamas Nurses Union will have to “work aggressively” to move beyond the current impasse in negotiations.

Speaking to reporters yesterday outside Cabinet, Dr Sands referenced the ongoing discussions with the union and also addressed rumours that Princess Margaret Hospital

staff did not receive overtime pay for December.

Last month, BNU members overwhelming voted in favour of a strike.

When asked if he is concerned that nurses will use their strike certificate in the near future, Dr Sands replied: “As I’ve said repeatedly when we get to the point of an impasse that any aggrieved party believes that industrial action is the only option or the preferred option, then the public certainly doesn’t benefit and the most

important stakeholder in this whole situation are the patients, the patients, the people of The Bahamas.

“And I think that we have to work aggressively to try and figure out how you get beyond an impasse.”

The Health Minister also referenced deadlocks in other countries, such as the ongoing United States government shutdown.

“In the most wealthy country in the world, the government is shutdown now and there doesn’t seem to be an ability to reach a

DR Duane Sands and, inset, BNU president Amancha Williams. compromise so it suggests that this can happen and that sometimes you need to come at it from a different angle, sometimes walk away from the table for a bit and then approach it again.

“These are contentious, serious issues. There is a lot of passion, people believe the positions that they have taken and we should— while we may disagree, we should try not to be disagreeable.”

One major source of contention between the government and BNU is a proposed new shift system, which was to be implemented last month but was postponed indefinitely due to intense pushback from the union.

When asked if there were any updates regarding those discussions, Dr Sands said he spoke with BNU president Amancha Williams earlier yesterday morning.

“There are other issues that we are talking about, looking at conditions in certain facilities and so on and so forth, and so yes that is an issue that remains on the table and we believe that effective dialogue should move that forward,” he said.

Dr Sands could not say whether the ministry would be able to develop a failsafe plan that would prevent nurses from withholding services, but ultimately highlighted nurses’ importance to healthcare.

“There is no such thing as a failsafe plan. Nurses are an important part of the healthcare team. They always have been, they always will be. And so, to imagine that you can move forward without nurses is a nonstarter. Full stop.”

The health minister also responded to reports that PMH employees would not receive overtime pay this month.

“There was a memo that was circulated over the weekend, suggesting that there would be no overtime paid for overtime worked in December,” Dr Sands said.

“I can say to you categorically that the staff — nurses, line staff, etc — will be paid their overtime. This was an aggressive response to try and reduce challenges with deficits by individuals without the ratification of the senior management.

“So, let me say it again, overtime worked during December will be paid this month.”

NOT MY AREA - CAMPBELL DODGES RAPE QUESTIONS

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

SOCIAL Services Minister Frankie Campbell yesterday dodged questions from the media over his ministry’s efforts to address the six percent increase in rapes last year.

Outside Cabinet, Mr Campbell rebuffed further inquiry from reporters, insisting the alarming trend was not under his remit, going so far as to push their microphones away.

“Someone told me earlier this year that of the 12 months in the year,” Mr Campbell said, “spend the first six months of the year minding my business and the next six months staying out of other people business and I’ll be fine.

“Don’t ask me about rapes,” he continued. “Try to keep me out of other people’s things. I like to talk about myself, don’t ask me about rapes.”

When pressed further, Mr Campbell said: “You’re talking about crime prevention.

“Social services is about poor people who need food, people who need social assistance. Let’s talk about that.”

He added: “You could see I’m trying to avoid that, I don’t avoid talking to you but I want to stay in my lane.”

The subject of sexual assault, particularly marital rape, has been a controversial one for this administration with the former Social Services Minister Lanisha Rolle coming

MINISTER Frankie Campbell under fire after she said spousal rape was a “private” matter.

Last month, attorney Marion Bethel said the 12 percent hike in reported rapes from 49 cases in 2017 to 55 cases in 2018, indicated the government’s failure to take the matter seriously.

Ms Bethel, who currently serves on the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEDAW), stressed the issue was not simply a police matter but an “overall government social problem” that required a multi-sector approach. She noted the government is obligated under the CEDAW convention to prevent rape.

In a later interview, Mr Campbell acknowledged his administration’s CEDAW obligation, as well as his ministry’s inter-sectional role; however, he maintained it was not his place to respond to questions put to him by reporters yesterday morning.

“I said to them I don’t

want to speak on rape results,” he told The Tribune, “crime and crime prevention issues. If you want to speak to me about social assistance sure, but try not to (lure) me into other areas.

“We’ve had sufficient issues where one minister is impinging on another minister or two ministers on the same issue are saying different things.”

He pointed to an interview conducted at the recent Junkanoo parade, in which both he and Carl Bethel were asked about the government’s track to criminalise marital rape via amendments to the Sexual Offences Act in separate interviews.

“My aim and objective is to where possible allow a minister responsible for his area to address his matter,” Mr Campbell told The Tribune.

“As an aspiring politician, I’m conscious to avoid controversy where I can because I’m aware there are people who are looking for it.

“I’ve always been frank and forthright,” he continued, “all I said to them was allow me to speak to the core functions of my ministry. If they want to take it out of context that’s them.

“It’s not for a lack of sensitivity or not being concerned about the issue but I believe if we are talking about crime and crime prevention (national security).

If you’re talking about the support system afterwards, sensitising for the question of empowerment that’s me.”

THE TRIBUNE

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net AVIATION regulators are “quite close” to the introduction of new pilot licencing requirements, Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said yesterday.

In an interview with reporters outside of Cabinet Mr D’Aguilar said industry officials were preparing to launch the new requirements on the heels of the work currently being done to “frustrate” illegal charter operators within the industry.

He also revealed officials were presently consulting with industry stakeholders to clearly identify what they are willing to work with moving forward.

“Obviously you don’t want to completely kill commerce by air,” the Freetown MP said. “I mean, it is a very important component of our economy and... we want to ensure the travelling public are in planes and piloted by pilots who are properly licenced and have all the necessary qualifications.”

The sector has undergone intense scrutiny in the wake of a fatal plane crash off the coast of Andros a year ago. The January 17,

Wednesday, January 16, 2019, PAGE 7

New pilot requirements ‘quite close’, says minister 2018 accident reignited concerns about the aviation sector’s longstanding “hacker” problem which officials have since vowed to address.

A report into that crash portrayed the pilot, Darren Clarke, as a rulebreaker who experienced anxiety flying in non-ideal conditions and who was not qualified to fly the doomed aircraft. After the crash, which killed six people, the Air Accident Investigation Department recommended Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority “increase its surveillance and oversight of the general aviation sector and put in place policies to reduce the high incidence of unauthorised commercial operations.”

The fallout prompted a pledge by the Civil Aviation Authority to clamp down on illegal charter operations by embracing technology, involving law enforcement and increasing surveillance

to identify and prosecute unregulated operators.

The Piper Aztec involved in the crash was USregistered in the state of Delaware. Sources indicated the pilot had a US licence, which required a medical examination every two years, but none had been conducted since 2014.

Mr D’Aguilar, in the days after the incident, described the issue of illegal charters as “unacceptable,” asserting the practice was allowed to continue due to “decades of neglect”.

Addressing the status of the new regulations yesterday, Mr D’Aguilar said: “We do want to ensure that everybody is properly licenced before they fly a plane for Bahamians moving within the islands.”

“So I think (Charles Beneby, the Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority’s director general) is very close to saying something, I just need to find out what and when.”

TOURISM and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar

Mr D’Aguilar, when reminded that tomorrow would mark the one year anniversary of the ill-fated Andros flight, commented: “We all are very mindful of that date. I was hoping that we would be able to roll something out prior to that date and I am hoping that we are, if we are not going to meet that deadline that it is very close. But I know, as I’ve said, there has been a lot of work done on how best to regulate this industry, properly regulate this industry without crushing the conduct of commerce by air.”

He said despite the push to implement new regulations, there needs be a level of focus given to ensuring that what is proposed does not bog-down the sector with legal push-back and judicial reviews.

“So, it is always a lot more difficult than you think,” he told reporters.

RUNWAY LIGHTS REROUTED TO MARSH HARBOUR

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

REPLACEMENT runway lights earmarked for Acklins and Crooked Island have been rerouted and used to address lighting issues at the nation’s second busiest airport – the Leonard M Thompson International Airport in Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

Bahamasair last week announced it had dropped flights to Treasure Cay, Abaco due non-functioning runway lights at Marsh Harbour.

While addressing the issue outside of Cabinet yesterday, Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said he expected to

have the matter fully addressed this week.

He told reporters he had instructed officials at the Airport Authority to forgo lighting upgrades at airports in Acklins and Crooked Island and to utilise those supplies in Marsh Harbour.

Mr D’Aguilar said: “Given the fact the Marsh Harbour is the second busiest airport in the country, I directed him to take those uninstalled lights destined for Acklins and Crooked Island and put them into Marsh Harbour.”

This process is expected to be done either this week or next week.

“I am a little annoyed to have to say that it was allowed to deteriorate to that level, so I’ve

instructed the chairman of the Airport Authority and the general manager of the Airport Authority to give me a report on all the airports, the status of all the lights and to ensure that situation, certainly at our second busiest airport, is not repeated,” Mr D’Aguilar said.

When pressed on why the situation had been allowed to go unaddressed prior to Bahamasair’s announcement, Mr D’Aguilar took a shot at his predecessor, Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin, insisting he bought into her claim that the runway lights across the country had been examined before she left office in May 2017.

“I am assuming that every airport has the appropriate lighting,”

he contended. “But it is not just simply that they have the lighting, but is all the lighting working?”

In a follow-up question, Mr D’Aguilar was asked if he had authorised a review of runway lighting equipment since coming to office, to which he responded: “Yes. they are (in place).”

He continued: “(Officials) are in the process of doing that. I am told … by the general manager of the Airport Authority that everything is working, but you know, sometimes that is not the case.

“Certainly Marsh Harbour is an example of, hey, over 50 percent of the lights are not working.

How was that allowed to happen?

That is a management issue that we need to address and we are addressing that,” he added.

Bahamasair’s new daily flight service to Marsh Harbour from Nassau leaves at 4pm, and its flight from Abaco to the capital leaves at 4.55pm. It is unclear when flight schedules will return to normal.

• Last night, Bahamasair issued a statement, saying that the runway lights in Marsh Harbour are now working. The airline said it would resume its normal schedule tomorrow.

The statement also said that screening checks in Miami have resumed normal operations, but passengers travelling either direction are urged to arrive three hours before departure as issues remain with the current US government shutdown.

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THE TRIBUNE

PAIR IN COURT OVER MURDER CHARGE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

Willow Tree Avenue, Pinewood Gardens after receiving reports that a man had been shot. Upon their arrival, officers discovered a man with injuries to his body.

Paramedics were unable to revive the man and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Shortly afterwards police said they took a 29-year-old man of Kennedy Subdivision into custody in connection with the incident.

Neither man was required to enter a plea to their respective charge and the matter was adjourned to April 15 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Bail was denied and they were remanded into custody in the interim. They have a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

TWO men were charged in a Magistrate’s Court yesterday in connection with the country’s second murder of the year.

James Arthur Thompson, 30, and 23-year-old Robert Arthur were charged before Magistrate Samuel McKinney in connection with Joel Russell’s murder on January 10.

Thompson is accused of murdering Russell, who was also known as Joseph Russell, while Arthur is charged with being an accessory after the fact.

According to reports, shortly after 11pm on Majority Rule Day, police responded to

Memorial Service For MR. ST. GEORGE RIVIERE, 76 affectionately called “George”

of Treasure Cay, Abaco and formerly of Northend, Marigot, Dominica, will be held on Thursday, January 24th, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. at Full Gospel Assemblies, Treasure Cay, Abaco, Bahamas.

FUNERAL SERVICE FOR

Mr. St. George Riviere, 76 affectionately called “George”

of Treasure Cay, Abaco and formerly of Northend, Marigot, Dominica, will be held on Friday, January 18th, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. at Grants Town Wesley Methodist Church, Baillou Hill Road & Chapel Street. Officiating will be Rev. Charles Carey, Rev. Lester Ferguson and Rev. Dr. Colin Archer. Interment will follow in Lakeview Memorial Gardens, John F. Kennedy Drive and Gladstone Road.

Left to cherish his memories are his loving Wife: Joyce; Children: Kathleen, Lauren, Conrad, and Georgena; Stepchildren: Vernard (Tanya), Greer and Dionne Coleby; Son in law: Wynton Smith; Grandchildren: Klaus, Lelia and Wynton Jr.; Step grandchild: Chase Coleby; Sisters: Rosie Mills, Robertha Sylvester, Windith Henderson, Eula Brown, Mild Penderleaf; Brothers: Matthew, Emery, Desmond, Rogerson, Gifford; Sisters in law: Mary, Julia, Euthalie “Jean”, Lucia and Sylvia Riviere, Jacqueline Burrows, Valdarene Major, Eurydice Dean, Sandra Kincaid, Julie Dean, Antoinette Dean, Theola Dean; Brothers in law: Edmund Sylvester, Patrick “Jockey” Henderson, Roger, Leslie, Colin and Edward Dean, Euric Burrows, Holland Major; Nieces: Vanessa, Glenda, Maritza, Kay, Dorna, Sandy, Ruthlyn and Rochelle Frank, Rita, Rachel, June, Shirley, Herma, Lucia Blaize-Jones, numerous others including the daughters of Eula Brown and the late Robinson “Crusoe”, Sonnyboy and Lockhart Riviere; Nephews: Winston, Reynold, Brian, Marlon, Mevyn, Dwayne, Shurland, Carl, Ron, Layne, Sean and Clyde; Riviere, Allan Brown, Rohan Wenty Mills, Stephan Sylvester, Brett Henderson, Ackee, Clifford, Randy White, Truman, Nyrie, numerous others including the sons of Eula Brown and the late Robinson “Crusoe”, Sonnyboy and Lockhart Riviere; Cousins: Glennie, Veronica, Welbon, Peterson, Grace, Madelaine, Matty, Bonelia, Othney, Herma, Ade, Stagson, Bevin, Adler, Alcott, Audwin, Reynold, Louisa, Julien, Sybil, Susan; Godchildren: Judith Prince, Wendawn Miller, Sherann Swain; Other relatives and friends: Doris Evalette Riviere, Maggie Cornish, Doris Jackson, Joseph and Beryl; Norris and family, Jeffrey and Kay Cooper and family, Sylvan McIntosh, Rudy and Terry Rolle and family, Carol and Janet Laing, Ferdie and Florence Sawyer and family, Allan and Velma Kornkoff and family, Wendell and Avis Miller, Rev. Charles and Vernell Carey and family, Freeman and Anna Mae Thurston and family, Richard and Beverley Hinds and family, Leroy and Audrey Robinson and family, William Sands and family, Roselyn Saunders and family, Benson Joseph and family, Nelson, Iris Smith and family, Neacker Knowles and family, families of the late Leonard and Inez Knowles, families of the late Leonard Thompson, families of the late Clifford and Sylvia Knowles, Veronica Archer and family, Nadeen Beneby and family, Veronica Saunders and family, Evelyn Archer and family, Daphne Louis, Ruth and Robert Lightbourne, Donnie and Marina Moss, Vyrona Archer and family, John and Francoise Hedden, Patrick Bethel and family, Nick and Daphne Miaoulis and family, Lynden Newbold and family, Phil Bailey and family, Lenny Smith, Donald Thompson, Chee a Tow & Associates, Roland John, Sherman and Royann Swain, Musgrave family, Hamlet family, Laville family, Bellot family, Garraway family, Butler family, Shillingford family, Prince family, Shirley Singh and family, Benoit family, Roberts family, Mills family, Ruthie Key and family, Newbold family, Hon. Edison James, Cyril Dalrymple, Clem Fingal, James Greer, Riviere & Associates Abaco staff, Riviere & Associates Grand Bahama staff, Riviere & Associates Nassau staff, Abaco Chamber of Commerce, Treasure Cay Home Owners Association, Treasure Cay Amenities, Rotary Club of Abaco, Port Council Local Government District, Aldersgate Methodist ribune NorthofAbaco The TAssociation Church family, Bahamas Land Surveyors, Bahamas Dominica Association, The Tribune Treasure Cay community, Bahama Palm Shores community, Treasure Cay Golf OBITSClub Gang. Numerous other relatives and friends too many to mention. INSIDE une The eeTrikebnd W In Lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to, The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation or Abaco Cancer Society.

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THE “breakdown of the family” has been blamed for everything from national examination results to the murder rate.

There is generally no data to support the claims when they are made, but we largely agree something is wrong with the home environment. The family is a small, foundational unit that helps to shape many other groups, so it is logical to assume it affects them, doesn’t it?

Canon Norman Lightbourne pointed to the failures of the family at a church service last week. He mentioned other issues including unemployment and corruption.

He talked about the need for change, but noted that “until we deal with home and family life, our efforts will be to no avail”.

The family is the first community we come to know and often struggles to measure up to societal standards. It is expected to lay a foundation, teaching right from wrong and preparing children to become productive members of society. Families are supposed to meet the basic needs of its members, including food, shelter and clothing. Members of a family support one another. Older members are to be watchdogs of the younger members. The family has a name and it is to be protected. The fear of shame encourages members to police one another and, at times, give the impression of a functionality that does not exist.

The family is more than household. It is a school, a church, a courtroom, a clinic and a jail cell. Its functions seem to have no end.

More and more is added to the list while less and less time is being spent together as a unit due to the demands of work and other responsibilities. We make demands of families, not fully understanding what they are, because society does not want the responsibility and we all want our jobs to be done when we leave. When we get home, we — especially women — have another shift. We have to manage the family.

The burden of keeping the family together, happy and healthy generally falls to women, expected to do whatever it takes, always putting the family unit before self. When children are harmed or involved in crime, people ask: “Where was the mother?” When they look unkempt, they ask for the mother’s whereabouts. Mothers are called to schools for meetings with teachers about behavioural issues. Wives are held accountable for the misdeeds of spouses. Women, in many cases, head their households or are otherwise responsible for its function and maintenance. When we say the family is not doing its job, we often mean women are not doing what we expect of them as wives and mothers.

What is the family?

Though we know the family can take many shapes and forms, we talk about it as if there is only one, or one type is superior to all others. The nuclear family is understood to be the “traditional” structure with two parents and their children. It is seen as the ideal structure for religious and financial reasons. Other family structures include single-parent, extended, blended families. We, of course, have a mix of these types of families.

In school, my friends and I noted more of our parents were divorced or separated than married and living together. Though we were taught about the different types of families and had to draw our own family trees, many students assumed that nuclear families were the norm and, even if we were in the majority, those of us in other kinds of households were outsiders. There were just as many students in single-parent and extended families as there were in nuclear families, if not more, but there was still the sense that something was wrong.

In many ways, some of us felt like we were part of two different family structures because of how we spent our time. Some spilt their time between parents and one parent remarried. In some of those cases, the step parent had a child. For others, more time was spent at grandparents’ or close family friends’ houses than at home because of parents’ work schedules. When asked to name our family structures, we wondered how “family” was defined. Was it based on the place that had all of our things, or the place we spent more of our waking hours?

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By AVA TURNQUES to sources Reporter of According .net Tribune Chief matter, as tribunemedia close to the Wells has since aturnquest@ Mr Progres- Monday his accounts FOUR former Cabinet paid $9,000 on balParty an outstanding ARNOLD sive Liberal more than with $8,600.

FORBES ministers owedat Bahamas ance of some also said as $62,023 The source Forbes was one $20,000 each Mr Light, with Power and in arrears of Monday the company former minister as of July, in talks with balance over settle the Mr for some $60,000 a list obtained to three-month period. a according to PLP Mount former Tribune.

by The and Collec- Forbes, MP, was appointed The Credit 2015, listing of Moriah in January the tions Department and board to Cabinet served as MPs, senators the period and previouslythe Bahamas of for members 31, revealed chairman and Industrial ending July State Minister Agricultural . that former of Works Corporation the “do not Others on are: former in the Ministry owed BPL list Dr disconnect” Arnold Forbes of Health Tall $62,023.14.

by The Minister former The list obtained delin- Perry Gomez, Leslie Miller, Tribune contains of six Pines MP Youth Minister of former quent accounts Cabinet minis- former Johnson, Dion former PLP PLP MPs, Dr Danny Village MP ters, two former Tourism DR DANIEL entities, and Nassau , two private Cabinet min- Smith, former JOHNSON Obie Wilchcombe one sitting $24,413 Town MP Minister South Beach MP and former ister: Bamboo Hamilton State Renward Wells. who owed Cleola of Mr Wells, $3,703.96 at former Minister Damian Affairs $9,277.07 and locations - for Legal two separatetotal – did not Gomez.

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Sewerage WATER and Chairman Corporation yesterday Adrian Gibson existence the confirmed disconnect” of a “do not by scores list populatedthe governof elites at utility owned to ment he pledged provider as on initiate a crackdown accounts. delinquent told The Mr Gibson l “confidentia Tribune the 221accounts, list” held total of with a combined the period $175,000 for2017. ending June he plans that said He the corporato direct all persons tion to notify arrears owing excessive or face debts to resolve n. disconnectio a list confi“There is the Long dential list,” said.

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29TH, 2017

Living the dream

From Andros to the

WEEK END: A

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Watch the film - everyat Restview Memorial Mortuary Viewing will be held in the “Serenity Suite” agonising, win ide dsl lan to and Crematorium Limited, Robinson and Soldier Roads on Thursday from g, FNM roars wrenchin PLP fired as cond. ful seFriday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and at the churchawon from 8:30 a.m. until service Then give up time.

Eugene’s killer Photo: Terrel

W. Carey/Tribune

BPL WHO RUNS is quite willCRUNCH DAY OVER utilityto operator from it “walk away”

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By NEIL HARTNELL Editor $25m, five-year maximum t contract et Tribune Business bunemedia.n BPL managemen nhartnell@tri and Minnis if the board wish it to go. on Power & BAHAMAS board will administrati which will The meeting,PowerSecure Light’s (BPL) by meeting” hold a “crunch e today, be attendedand their attorneys key with PowerSecurlikely crit- executives is viewed as the from the US, with the outcome whether the to determining whethermake and ical in decidingas manager. sides will “kiss latter remainsTribune Busi- two separate. up” or Multiple - SEE BUSINESS yesterday US FULL STORY ness sources that the confirmed

CHRISTIE AS HE HUMILIATION FORAFTER 4O YEARS LOSES HIS SEAT

seats: Encaptured four Island and Cat were spent under to South Aners’ dollars administration. glerston; 1,900 votes and San Salvador; Christie the win with is evidence 2017 the as well as Exuma DORSETT Mr Christie’s 1,875.

He said if there”, the new dros VIRGIL ELECTION Islands.

By SANCHESKAReporter to the unofBy KHRISNA Reporter seat, Fox According the the Ragged of “criminality Tribune Staffunemedia.net from the Parwill allow SPEAK An additional being reDeputy Chief ficial results Registration government course.

THE PEOPLE nemedia.net sdorsett@trib PAGE 4 was still its kvirgil@tribu his Hill, law to take to press time. and liamentary , Mr Chipman after ON’ decounted up his parMoments DNA ‘TO GO PAGE 5 IN a surprisingat the Departmentout of 12 pollas the na- This marked the worst in AFTER leadinglandslide defeat party won seven maiden speech MinLOSE humbling leader, Dr Prime Min- ing divisions in the former ty to a stunning feat for a governing Mr tion’s next PLP BIG NAMESPAGE 7 dealing a parapolls, outgoing that under recent history. victory and to the ProgresChristie lost PLP stronghold, while will nis promised victory came MPS ister Perry Bahamians The FNM’s won five. lysing blow Party last night, years the Centreville his watch, YOUR PROJECTED his seat in last night by Christie a rocky five PAGE 9 to fear from Mr Christie sive Liberal In 2012, have nothing , pointing to despite contwo challengPrime Minister constituency representing SO FAR incoming that included the Centrevilleeighth declared government after leadership, said won the RESULTS 14 he votes Minnis 40 25 Minnis’ the which PAGE , Dr Dr Hubert more than of a fracstituency for time with have abused victimisation ional” “im- es to the area for to unofthat those who trust “have continued reports ultimately consecutive He defeated is “unconstitut MORE COVERAGE of years, according party and the post “wrong”.

PAGES 2-18 positions 2,950 votes. moral” and to unofficial tured to fear”. ficial results. candidate Ella removal from has held Opsomething to thousands of According able his at the Mr Christie 1977 and the FNM’s of the Official FNM was Speaking by 1,349 votes at the Q House today. results, the stunning defeat of leader in the House of won all the Lewis the seat since a pledged that jubilant supporterslast night, ment Mr Christie leader of Dr Minnis on will give to pull off securing a mas- position has been Liberal Party time. polling division in E Sports Centre but one administrati Terrance of the PLP, constituencies. Assembly. a long fought National MoveProgressive 39 “This was victory is not the Free also announced his General a 2012.

1997. it sive 34 of ry Regthe Auditor since released but Prime leader he as resources ment the former is yours,” Although The Parliamenta did battle, loss, be sworn in The about the his seat to that he will fourth prime Bastianto probe how taxpay- istration Department re- mine - the victory thousands Minister lost Movement statement did not speak full election last Dr Minnis told on the carThe Bahamas’ at Govern- needs Christie not release 5pm Free National packed with the and po- Mr minister at SEE PAGE SIX sults last night, in from the of FNMs (FNM) candidate Reece nival grounds. people’s time numbers coming litical newcomer agency around “This is the and I who secured government from the and I am your servant Chipman, 11pm. However it apSEE PAGE THREE unofficial numbers, the PLP only of the conpeared that “The outcome trust according to vention did not inspireBahalast Mark Humes in the results, said coming afor confidence but that’s sweeping defeat residents unofficial it is “obvious” mian electorate think that I ROLLE have stood behind us now and they night ter Fort Charlotte

By RASHAD Reporter told him party would winning the the party has a wonderful repeatedly lead- the Tribune Staff stand the any a better chance rebuild and emedia.net could not he been victori- opportunity to rrolle@tribun of the country per- election had itself,” he said. leadership for for- ership despite their ous in the PLP’sadding that reengineer longer, him.

AS HE called SEE PAGE SIX RASPBERRY Minister Perry sonal affection for was pro- race in January, made a mistake” mer Prime who ICED TEA “the party resign as leader Mr Sears, Mr Christie.

Free NaChristie to Liberal in choosing to lose to the Al- jected Movement’s (FNM) of the Progressive last night, the tional Party (PLP) said he saw fred Sears

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By RASHAD Reporter ACTING Fergu- Commissioner and address from Dr Minnis Tribune Staff Anti-Gang of Police Anthony emedia.net yesterday said the Inveslast night, Maria is rrolle@tribun Tracing and announced dev- son establishment of two Firearms Unit will operate fore- said: “Hurricane the potentially Bahamas tigation WITH we the DetecMaria another hurricane that separate Royal anti-crime out of the Central the cast for Hurricane Force storm to pass astating monitor.”

(CDU) while projecting the Baha- must carefully Though most Police aimed at eliminating tive Unit SEE PAGE 11 units the counHe added: near the Southeast in Prime spared was morning, gang activity the number of mas Friday Hubert Minnis of the Bahamas try, reducing Minister Dr of those SEE PAGE TWO and is urging residents be vigilant islands to

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Dr Hubert MinPRIME Minister Kendera Woodside, nis meeting murdered Eugene the mother of

this Yes I feel for y our countries.than I can say.” more ensure has a responsibilit one mother said he will Each citizen information Dr Minnis provided to and whatever that forward. medical attention is is pregnant. the composure. said he felt the fam- has we must bring among us.” who after feel live Dr Minnis Mrs Woodside, the grieving and days makes me Three These criminals who emphasised country’s he “You can see of those pushed the ily’s pain. “What through,” Mrs Minnis, that her appearis that most during murder that violent crime into ROLLE she’s going someI, even worse

By RASHAD Reporter not a pain “I assured her that the family the yard, struggle with spotlight yet again, them was doctor, to will have we see in Tribune Staff ance before called on women said. today (Friday) we to look the national as a medical emedia.net acute. rrolle@tribun come my my years political move,one day this week time her pain remained live a life, medical personnel she’s pregand comforting cried.

“He ain’t even to wear blackfor murder victims.

Dr THE hugs her because sure that Prime Minister wife God,” Mrs Woodsidegive my upon after in mourning I’m calling words of I have to make infant are and his a baby. I could my really nant.

“As a mother, Hubert Minnis couldn’t answer “He’s right now just for because I this,” her and her unborn will also make take all mothers can stop Patricia Minnis that consumed breath be right here. They well and we sure the to believe mothers who was tearful both ts to make the questions yesterday as babyheart out my body.

Mrs Minnis, our sons who arrangemen medical personnela They Woodside said my son. eightKendera have on only for her son, killed times. “We birth and as they necessary her and see her “This my my daughter too after she grieved of them at from the safety who was still with look almost shoot (the house) with would’ve delivered most knowing we cradle basis to ensure infant.” year-old Eugene, men we are to me with regular they inside four days ago. people ain’t tell- and What they do to my family? so they are closer patients,” Dr becomeWe have to speakshould of her and her unborn PAGE TWO SEE former them. these me. my son women proare “Why st by I think all week they do to us? carry me? I they bringing my we them. ain’ one day this ing me they she cried between What Minnis, a gynaecologi “The message “Why they wear black what’s happening in a baby.” tried to right now?” fession, said. the entire Bahamas 29 years, He’s Dr Minnis and mourn Eugene’s Rose- live screams as must send to this alone.

Tonio Woodside, family at theirEugene wife even is the police can’t fight console the consoled his home where on father, struggled to maintain bud Road a stray bullet as he was shot by did his homework. he Monday as

PLP CASUAL HIRES COST EXTRA $10M

he told Parto In June, cost the ROLLE such liament of

By RASHAD Bahamians $10,149,738. by the Carib- Tribune Staff Reporter so alarmed Action Task rrolle@tribunemedia.net increases was comes after bean Financial draft The revision more than

By NEIL HARTNELL Editor Rolle, minForce’s (CFATF) BRENSIL et Tribune Business services he included that were not The Bahamas bunemedia.n report on his staff ister of public nhartnell@tri 1,700 workers Gen- that he instructedaddressing and National Insurance, in his original count.

December Progressive THE Attorneyslammed to begin work on June.

Amid the said between 2017, the criticism May flaws from early eral yesterday

by Liberal Party’sadministrablasted the 2016 and in the nation’s the ballooned Mr Bethel deficiencies adminis- public purse laundering of the of the Minnisof its firings anti-money former Christie to tackle $16,532,738 because on’s tion because “entirely unacfailing administrati regime as SEE PAGE SIX they had tration for with the Christie public service ceptable”, warning “in great known weaknesses hiring of new that period. during put The Bahamas necessary urgency. workers BUSINESS danger”. told Trib- FULL STORY - SEE Carl Bethelhe had been une Business

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THERE are many different types of family.

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We can talk about the perfect nuclear families of two parents and their children, but can we ignore the relationships the children have with other family members through sharing the same physical space, meals, conversations and values?

Can we discount the impact of the people raising children in the absence of their parents? These can be grandparents, aunts, uncles and older cousins. They can also be babysitters, teachers, youth group leaders and neighbours. There was a time when a “village” raised a child. Today, we do not want to navigate shared responsibility, nor do we want to incur debt, so we sometimes forbid children from receiving kindness.

Independence has become a goal for many individuals and families. We want to function on our own and are often prepared to “go without” to ensure we owe no one and can keep our business to ourselves.

The family can be a source of confusion. There are so many, operating in vastly different ways, that it should not come as surprise that they are producing people as varied as the family units themselves.

Why isn’t it working?

The family is supposed to do quite a bit of work. If they function the way we expect them to, we should automatically have better societies. Communities would be stronger. There would be less crime.

Academic performance would increase.

Everyone would be happy. That is what we are supposed to believe. The truth is the family was never a miracle-working unit that produced citizens on its own. In the making of a person, there has always been more than one input. We now have more than ever before and most of those inputs do not recognize themselves as such, so they do not acknowledge their responsibility.

Elders talk about days gone by when people were more willing to give and receive assistance. Neighbours watched out for each other’s children. People lived in smaller communities and this made it easier to have relationships, for example, between teachers and parents. It was easier to communicate regularly, and there was less stigma around needing, asking, and receiving. Now, it seems no good deed goes unrecorded. Pride and the quest for independence are difficult to manage when a person needs help, but that help is likely to be broadcast on Facebook or shared in Whatsapp groups to shame the recipient or draw applause for the “good samaritan”.

We are not spending much time at home. Parents want their children to be well-rounded and unstuck from electronic devices, so they are enrolled in a range of activities. One income is generally not enough for a family, so parents work full time jobs. When they get home, there is barely enough time to get through homework and have dinner. Weekends aside, there isn’t much time for molding perfect citizens. Children are being molded in a number of spaces outside of the home.

Society has to recognise its responsibility in producing the next generation. We can try to put it all on the parents, but the hours do not add up and we end up with the same complaints.

While it has a role to play, just as many other social structures do, we have to stop making the family the scapegoat. Personal independence can be an impediment to growth. Our own desires for praise and the lengths we are willing to go to get it, including embarrassing others, creates a barrier. Aside from personal responsibility, we need to push for better social support systems. They are underfunded and nonprofits cannot bridge the gap.

The family, the community and public services all have a role to play in social development and they can all use some work.

THE TRIBUNE

CONNECTICUT Associated Press IT’S ONE o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon in Wallingford, Connecticut, and about 20 children are watching a screen at the front of the room as they take turns navigating challenges and collecting virtual currency to unlock powers, outfits and pets for their characters.

The game they’re playing has some similarities to the online battle game “Fortnite”. But the kids aren’t fighting one another — they’re racking up points for participation and good behaviour in their classroom at Dag Hammarskjold Middle School, where their teacher is presenting a home economics lesson with help from Classcraft, a fantasy-themed educational programme.

“It’s actually a lot of fun,” said 13-year-old Caiden McManus. “The pets — that’s my favourite thing to do. To train the pets, you gain as many gold pieces as possible so you can get the new outfits and stuff.”

Peek inside your average classroom these days, and you’re likely to see teachers using apps, websites and software that borrow elements from video games to connect with students living technology-infused lives.

By all accounts, they’re fun to use, and studies have found that some can be effective. But there is also scepticism about how often students who use them are better educated, or just better entertained.

Dag Hammarskjold consumer sciences teacher Gianna Gurga said she had been looking for a way to get more out of her students. Students have been more motivated and performed better in her classes since she began using Classcraft in spring 2017, she said, and she has signed up a handful of other teachers in the school.

“My kids are so addicted to it in the best way possible,” Gurga said.

In one session, the classroom filled with suspenseful music as Gurga began rapid-fire questioning. With each correct answer, chosen

Wednesday, January 16, 2019, PAGE 9

Why US classrooms are starting to resemble arcades

FIFTH grade student Ashlynn De Filippis, left, works math problems on the DreamBox system as teacher Heather Dalton, centre rear, works with other students in class at Charles Barnum Elementary School in Groton, Conn.

Photo: Michael Melia/AP from multiple choices on the screen, students gained points that could be used for avatar upgrades, privileges like listening to music in class, and a competition against other classrooms.

The available characters -- warriors, mages and healers -- each have different powers and must collaborate to succeed.

Points are awarded for class participation as well as good behaviour, but the kids can also be penalised, as was the case for one of Gurga’s seventh-graders who told a classmate to “shut up”.

A middle school in New York City, Quest to Learn, was the first public school to fully embrace gamebased learning when it opened nearly a decade ago. The Manhattan school, developed by game theorists with the Institute of

Play, has been closely followed since by researchers hoping for hard evidence of results from technologyinspired gamification.

In the last school year, 43 percent of Quest to Learn’s students were up to state standards on the state English test, compared to 41 percent citywide, and 29 percent of its students met state standards on the state math test, compared to 33 percent citywide. But advocates say standardised testing alone does not tell the story. Outside studies have shown growth in soft skills such as collaboration, creative thinking and empathy, according to Ross Flatt, director of programs and partnerships for the Institute of Play, a nonprofit studio that uses game design principles to develop new learning experiences.

To help educators

identify programmes with promise, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Research and Reform in Education launched a website that rates math and learning programmes based on how they meet evidence standards for effectiveness under federal education law. The centre’s director, Robert Slavin, said there are some programs that have shown positive impacts but on average improvements are small.

“When people talk about technology transforming everything, it may in the future, but it’s not there yet,” Slavin said.

Some question whether the graphics, videos and sounds in so many programs are doing harm by teaching students to pursue the rewards.

“Part of life is figuring out how to learn to love

things and how to persevere in things even when it’s not extrinsically motivated,” said Christopher Devers, an education researcher at Johns Hopkins who said his review of the evidence suggests that on balance, games-based approaches tend to influence students in negative ways.

One of the better known programs, DreamBox, teaches math by offering a series of problems that can grow increasingly challenging as the student enters correct answers. The program, which began as an app for consumers, entered the school market in 2011 and last year had 2.6 million student users. The company charges a fee of $7,500 per school building per year.

DreamBox CEO Jessie Woolley-Wilson said the programme is intended as an aid for teachers who can’t be expected to personalise learning for two dozen students simultaneously.

“Let’s figure out a way to support a way to deliver the best teaching, and allow the learning guardian to get back to art of teaching,” she said. “Technology can deliver that math personalisation in a way that can give the learning guardian actionable insights.”

In Groton, Connecticut, early users of DreamBox reported anecdotal evidence of improved outcomes and schools are now using it district-wide.

In Heather Dalton’s fifthgrade classroom at the Charles Barnum Elementary School, students spent the first half of a recent class working individually on DreamBox with headphones on. Information about their level of mastery of fractions was sent to Dalton’s laptop, but the students were most excited about the short video-game rewards they received between levels and the coins they gathered for upgrades to their avatars.

“There’s a lot of learning,” Dalton said, “but it feels like a game to the kids.”

GROCERY ROBOTS DETECT SPILLS - WITH SOME FAR-OFF HUMAN HELP

By MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press A WHEELED robot named Marty is rolling into nearly 500 grocery stores to alert employees if it encounters spilled granola, squashed tomatoes or a broken jar of mayonnaise.

But there could be a human watching from behind its cartoonish googly eyes.

Badger Technologies CEO Tim Rowland says its camera-equipped robots stop after detecting a potential spill. But to make sure, humans working in a control centre in the Philippines review the imagery before triggering a cleanup message over the loudspeaker.

Rowland says 25 of the

WILLIAM Rucker and his grandson, Justice, say hello to a robot named Marty as it cleans the floors at a Giant grocery store in Harrisburg, Pa. Photo: Matt Rourke/AP robots are now operating at certain Giant, Martin’s and Stop & Shop stores, with 30 more arriving each week. Carlisle, Pennsylvania-based Giant says it has two robots now working at

stores in the state, and plans to expand to all 172 Giant stores by the middle of this year.

The chains are all part of Dutch parent company Ahold Delhaize.

The robots move around using laser-based “lidar” sensors and pause when shoppers and their carts veer into their path.

The googly eyes are fake, but each robot has eight cameras — some directed down at the floor and others that can see shelves. Rowland said the robots can eventually be repurposed to help monitor a store’s inventory.

A robot observed yesterday at a Stop & Shop store in Seekonk, Massachusetts, alerted store associates to a price tag that had fallen in one aisle, and a tiny sprig of herbs in another. After moving along for a few minutes, it returned to the scene of each spill and waited until an employee pushed a button to acknowledge that

the debris was picked up.

It’s not the only robot that US shoppers might spot this year. Walmart and Midwestern supermarket chain Schnucks have deployed robots that help monitor inventory.

A union that represents Giant and Stop & Shop workers says it’s keeping an eye on Marty. It remains to be seen what the groceries will ultimately use the technology for.

UFCW President Marc Perrone said in an emailed statement that the “aggressive expansion of automation in grocery and retail stores is a direct threat to the millions of American workers who power these industries and the customers they serve.”

BOY, 3, LOVES NEW 3D PRINTED ARM FROM FAMILY FRIEND

ROBERT NOYES, 3, who was born without half of his left arm, sits with Ray Buckland, who created Robert’s prosthetic arm with the help of a 3D printer, at Buckland’s home in Price, Utah.

Photo: Sean Estes/AP PRICE, UTAH Associated Press A THREE-YEAR-OLD boy in central Utah and his mother are ecstatic about a new prosthetic arm that a family friend made for them on a 3D printer after extensive research, practice and more than 80 hours of printing.

Prosthetic arms for people like Robert, who was born without half a left arm, can cost up to $12,000, even after insurance, mother Brandi Noyes of Price told the Deseret News.

As he grew up she started asking around about other solutions that would be more affordable.

She eventually found Ray Buckland, who owns a 3-D printer and uses it to create things like a spatula, an ice cream scooper and a handle for a broken can opener over the last four years.

“He was on board immediately,” she said.

He did extensive research online and it took 80 hours of printing time for the machine to create it, but the materials only cost about $25.

“To me, this is what all this was about,” he said.

“As he bends his arm, it brings the fingers in so he can grab something and pick it up and put it down.”

The boy tried it on for the first time shortly before Christmas, and it worked.

He hasn’t stopped smiling since.

“He wants the world to know he’s got two hands,” Noyes said. “The first thing he wants when he wakes up in the morning is his arm.

And he gets disappointed when I have to take it off of him at night. It has to be where he can see it.”

He’s developed more confidence and a fast friendship with Buckland, who he calls “Papa Ray”.

“I’d seen that little boy’s look on his face when he got this, and I said that’s what it’s all about,” said Buckland.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, January 16, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

PRISONER ESCAPES BUT IS SOON CAUGHT

ANDY TAYLOR, left, and Shaquan Ewing were charged with armed robbery in Grand Bahama.

Photos: Vandyke Hepburn

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

Two face charges of armed robbery in GB

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net TWO men were charged with armed robbery in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Andy Taylor, 24, and Shaquan Ewing, 23, both of Freeport, appeared before Magistrate Charlton Smith.

It is alleged that on January 8,

the two men, while armed with a handgun, robbed Jabars Restaurant and Bar of $130 cash and stole a green Gucci handbag containing a leather wallet, white Apple iPhone and a Bahamian passport, together valued at $1,971, which was the property of Fernandez Floret.

Taylor and Ewing were not represented by counsel during their arraignment. They were not required

to enter a plea to the armed robbery charge.

Magistrate Smith said they were denied bail but informed them that they could apply to the Supreme Court for bail. They were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until April 11, when they are expected to appear in Court One before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson.

A PRISONER escaped the Department of Correctional Services on Saturday, but was quickly captured and returned, National Security Minister Marvin Dames said yesterday.

The identity of the prisoner has not been disclosed.

The escape is under investigation. Mr Dames said there is no reason to be concerned about future prison breaks.

Escaped prisoners typically face further prison time.

In August 2018, an armed robbery convict was sentenced to three years after pleading guilty to a thwarted escape plot.

Over a two-month period the man, Mario Taylor, 36, used steel from a bathroom to cut a hole in his cell’s ceiling. He was sentenced to three years for attempted escape and two years for causing damage to the prison. The sentences are to run concurrently.

In January 2006, a small group of prisoners

carried out a deadly escape at Her Majesty’s Prison, as the facility was then known, that left one prison officer and an inmate dead.

Convicted murderer Forrester Bowe staged an escape from the maximum security wing with convicted rapist Barry Parcoi, convicted murderer Neil Brown and convicted armed robber Corey Hepburn around 4am on January 17, 2006. Brown was shot dead during attempts to recapture him.

Bowe and Parcoi were injured during the incident as well, but they were quickly captured by authorities.

Hepburn, on the other hand, escaped and led police on a two-week hunt before he was recaptured in an apartment building on Coral Harbour.

The men were later found by the coroner in May 2006 to be jointly responsible for the killing of 13-year prison veteran Corporal Dion Bowles during their breakout.

Bowe was found dead in his cell in October 2014.

SINGLE LANE CLOSURES ON EAST BAY STREET FOR SEVEN DAYS MOTORISTS travelling on East Bay Street have been warned to expect single lane closures as roadwork resumes on the street today.

The Ministry of Public Works/Bahamix released a statement notifying motorists of scheduled milling and paving works for East Bay Street, which will start today from 9.30am to 2pm, for seven working days.

Remedial work will be done between Mackey Street and Fowler Street followed by the removal of the road way between Fowler Street and Montagu Shores.

The statement advised

motorists to prepare for single lane closures for the duration of the works or to avoid the area entirely if possible.

The public has also been warned to expect traffic delays, detours and interruptions in water supply on Meeting Street as work continues on the road.

The Water and Sewage Corporation said work is scheduled for Meeting Street between Blue Hill Road and Nassau Street daily until January 25.

Both WSC and Bahamix apologised for any inconvenience caused by the projects.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 16, 2019, PAGE 11

May faces no-confidence vote after crushing Brexit defeat LONDON Associated Press

BRITISH lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal with the European Union yesterday, plunging the Brexit process into chaos and triggering a no-confidence vote that could topple her government.

The defeat was widely expected, but the scale of the House of Commons’ vote — 432 votes against the government and 202 in support — was devastating for May’s fragile leadership.

It followed more than two years of political upheaval in which May has staked her political reputation on getting a Brexit deal and was the biggest defeat for a government in the House of Commons in modern history.

Moments after the result was announced, May said it was only right to test whether the government still had lawmakers’ support to carry on. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn quickly obliged, saying May’s government had lost the confidence of Parliament.

Lawmakers will vote today on his motion of no-confidence. If the government loses, it will have 14 days to overturn the result or face a national election.

Although May lacks an

overall majority in Parliament, she looks likely to survive the vote unless lawmakers from her Conservative party rebel.

Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which props up May’s government, said it would support her.

“The House has spoken and the government will listen,” May said after the vote, which leaves her Brexit plan on life support just 10 weeks before the country is due to leave the EU on March 29.

May promised to consult lawmakers on future moves, but gave little indication of what she plans to do next. Parliament has given the government until Monday to come up with a new proposal.

She faces a stark choice: Steer the country toward an abrupt “no-deal” break with the EU or try to nudge it toward a softer departure.

Meanwhile, lawmakers from both government and opposition parties are trying to wrest control of the Brexit process from a paralyzed government, so that lawmakers by majority vote can specify a new plan for Britain’s EU exit.

But with no clear majority in Parliament for any single alternate course, there is a growing chance that Britain may seek to postpone its departure date while politicians work on a new plan — or even hand

the decision back to voters in a new referendum on EU membership.

“If you can’t resolve the impasse here in Westminster, than you have to refer it back to the people,” said Labour Party lawmaker Chuka Umunna, who supports a second referendum.

May, who had postponed a vote on the deal in December to avoid certain defeat, had implored lawmakers to back her deal and deliver on voters’ decision in 2016 to leave the EU. But the deal was doomed by deep opposition from both sides of the divide over UK’s place in the bloc.

Pro-Brexit lawmakers say the deal will leave Britain bound indefinitely to EU rules, while pro-EU politicians favor an even closer economic relationship with Europe.

The most contentious section of the deal was an insurance policy known as the “backstop” designed to prevent the reintroduction of border controls between the UKs Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland Assurances from EU leaders that the backstop is intended as a temporary measure of last resort completely failed to win over many British skeptics, Two and a half years after the referendum, Britain remains divided over how, and whether, to leave the EU.

EXTREMISTS CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEADLY ATTACK ON NAIROBI HOTEL NAIROBI Associated Press

EXTREMISTS stormed a luxury hotel in Kenya’s capital yesterday, setting off thunderous explosions and gunning down people at cafe tables in an attack claimed by Africa’s deadliest Islamic militant group.

Witnesses reported seeing several bodies.

“It is terrible. What I have seen is terrible,” said Charles Njenga, who ran from a scene of blood, broken glass, burning vehicles and pillars of black smoke.

Al-Shabab — the Somalia-based group that carried

A CIVILIAN is helped by paramedics in Nairobi. out the 2013 attack at the nearby Westgate Mall in Nairobi that left 67 people dead — claimed responsibility for the carnage at the DusitD2 hotel complex, which includes bars,

restaurants, offices and banks and is in a well-to-do neighborhood with many American, European and Indian expatriates.

Authorities sent special forces into the hotel to flush out the gunmen believed holed up inside. Late last night, about eight hours after the siege began, Interior Minister Fred Matian’i said that all of the buildings affected by the attack had been secured and that security forces were mopping up.

“I would like to reiterate that the situation is under control and the country is safe,” he said.

‘HELLO, DOLLY!’ ICON CAROL CHANNING DIES AT 97 NEW YORK Associated Press

TRIBUTES poured in to honour the life and career of Carol Channing, the three-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy star who delighted American audiences over 5,000 performances as the scheming Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway and beyond after she died yesterday, aged 97.

Besides Hello, Dolly!, Channing starred in other Broadway shows, but none with equal magnetism. She often appeared on television and in nightclubs, for a time partnering with George Burns in Las Vegas and a national tour.

Over the years, Channing continued as Dolly in national tours, the last in 1996, when she was in her 70s. Tom Shales of The Washington Post called her “the ninth wonder of the world.”

UK Prime MInister Theresa May facing defeat yesterday.