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T H E P E O P L E ’ S PA P E R

Being Bound To Swear To The Dogmas Of No Master

JANUARY 18, 2017

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‘Passing baton is not up to PM’ Sears says choice of successor is delegates’ decision

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

RESPONDING to Prime Minister Perry Christie’s assertion that he will “pass the leadership baton when the time is right,” Progressive Liberal Party leader hopeful Alfred Sears, QC, said yesterday that decision “is not up” to Mr Christie.

Appearing as a guest on “The Revolution” with host Juan McCartney, Mr Sears said “one man” cannot determine when it is time to change the leadership of the PLP. He said that choice is made by the “members, stalwarts and delegates” who have waited years for “the change they are asking for.”

Last week, after addressing a crowd of supporters at Southern Recreational Grounds after a march to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Majority Rule, Mr Christie suggested that there would be a leadership transition in the PLP at the “right” time.

“As one generation goes out a new generation come in,” Mr Christie said. “...To those of you who aspire, we recognise that just as Sir Lynden Pindling passed the baton to Hubert Ingraham and then it was eventually passed to myself, the baton will be passed.

The only thing I can tell you is, at the right time.”

SEE PAGE THREE

$1

SEE BUSINESS

MINNIS CALLS FOR BOUNDARY REPORT TO BE TABLED TODAY

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday urged the government to table the delayed Constituencies Commission report in Parliament when it meets today.

However, House Speaker Dr Kendal Major, who is also chairman of the commission, told The Tribune SEE PAGE SIX

ONE DEAD, THREE WOUNDED AS GUNMEN OPEN FIRE IN THE GROVE

MUNROE LIKELY TO BE RATIFIED FOR PLP TICKET

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE Progressive Liberal Party is expected to ratify several candidates tomorrow night, with party insiders telling The Tribune that well known attorney Wayne Munroe is reportedly among those to be placed on the PLP’s ticket to contest the next general election.

The noted Queen’s coun-

sel, insiders said, is to represent the organisation for the Montagu constituency.

The Tribune also understands that Clifford “Butch” Scavella, former Royal Bahamas Defence Force commodore, is also slated to be ratified for Central and South Eleuthera.

Other candidates are said to include: attorney Glendon Rolle in Long Island, Minister for Grand SEE PAGE THREE

THE BODY of the victim of last night’s shooting is taken away from the scene in The Grove.

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net A MAN was shot to death and three others were wounded after two gunmen opened fire on a group of men standing on Second Street in The Grove last night.

The killing - the tenth this year according to The Tribune’s records - extends

the murderous start to the year. Police have not identified the victim.

According to Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander, who is in charge of the Central Detective Unit, the incident happened around 7.30pm, when a dark vehicle arrived where the men were standing.

“Two men exited that vehicle and fired a number of shots. As a result, four adult

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

males were shot. One died on scene (and) the three other victims were taken to hospital by private vehicle. They are presently being attended to by doctors at this time,” Chief Supt Fernander said.

“We can’t say the nature at this time, but we have officers who are at the hospital following that line of inquiry. We are unclear at this time of the motive of this shooting. As you can

see you have uniformed officers and detectives on the ground; some are doing some door-to-door inquiries to see whatever information we can retrieve.

“We are also appealing to residents in this area if they have any information to please come forward and assist with advancing this investigation.”

SEE PAGE SIX

NUMBER OF BAHA MAR APPLICANTS ‘ALARMINGLY LOW’, WARNS LLOYD

PAIR SPARED DEATH PENALTY FOR THEIR ROLES IN DOUBLE MURDER IN ANDROS

FORMER Baha Mar Leadership Development Institute Executive Director Jeffery Lloyd yesterday called reports that an estimated 1,500 people applied for or inquired about jobs at the once stalled Cable Beach resort on the first day of the process “alarming” and “significantly low”.

Mr Lloyd, the Free National Movement’s South

TWO men were spared the death penalty yesterday in the double murder and kidnapping of a Department of Immigration officer and his girlfriend in Andros.

Zintworn Duncombe, 28, and James Johnson, 22, appeared before Justice Indra Charles to learn their fate for their respective roles in the murder and kidnapping

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

Beach candidate, said the pairing of the $3.5bn project’s past failures and the Christie administration’s extensive involvement with the resort’s recovery has deterred potential applicants.

On Monday, Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, told The Tribune that the company’s website careers. bahamar.com and “social media and Facebook” saw SEE PAGE SIX

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

of Shane Gardiner and his girlfriend, Tishka Braynen, in 2013.

Duncombe, who was found at trial to be the mastermind behind a plot to take gambling winnings from the immigration officer and his girlfriend, was sentenced to 60 years imprisonment at the Department of Correctional Services.

Johnson, an accomplice to the killings, was SEE PAGE FIVE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, January 18, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Workshop aims to help move away from paper health records

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PROUD mothers Kamia Rolle and Leah Treco holding their babies – Kyla Rolle was the first girl and Landon Treco the first boy born at Doctors Hospital in 2017.

MEET THE FIRST BABIES BORN IN THE NEW YEAR BABY Landon Blaize Treco is already keeping up with his big sister Layla.

She was the first girl born at Doctors Hospital in 2015 and on January 4, he became the first boy born at the hospital for 2017.

Every year, Doctors Hospital teams up with Lowe’s

Wholesale and Johnson and Johnson to provide a special gift to the mothers of the first boy and first girl born at Doctors Hospital in the New Year.

Proud mother Leah Treco brought baby Brandon up to the Maternity Department to visit with the team that helped him come into

the world and meet this year’s other special baby.

The first baby born at Doctors Hospital in 2017 was actually a girl – Kyla Alexis Rolle. She arrived on January 3 and was brought back for the special visit by her proud parents Kamia and Lynden Rolle.

THE country’s public health sector took another step forward toward offering more efficient and integrated healthcare services yesterday with the launch of a workshop on the Integrated Health Information Management System.

The government signed an $18.4m contract last August with AllScripts and their partner, Infor Lawson, for Integrated Health Information Management System (IHIMS) propriety software.

After years of the public health sector having a predominantly paper-based system, it is expected to take years before the IHIMS system is fully implemented throughout the country.

The current system is a hindrance to best healthcare practices, critics say, for it includes no centralised location from which all the records of public hospital patients could be retrieved.

“Regardless of where you go for healthcare,” Prime Minister Perry Christie said at yesterday’s event, “your records will follow you.

“Today we are in the process of waving goodbye to the duplications and inefficiencies associated with maintaining different records for the same patient simply because he or she may be seen at different public clinics or hospitals within our archipelago; it is not only inefficient, but dangerous. We are minimising the danger inherent in the system.”

Mr Christie said the transformation of the record keeping and integration process is connected to his government’s pursuit of National Health Insurance (NHI).

“The involvement of NHI consultants and others in the planning and procure-

HERBERT BROWN, Public Hospitals Authority managing director, at the authority’s opening ceremony for their Integrated Health Information Management System (IHIMS).

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff ment stages of this effort “You go to PMH right speaks to the Public Hospi- now, the medical records tal Authority and my min- department, the size of it is istry looking ahead to the probably 50x70. In time to launch of the first stage of come, that storage departthe NHI programme,” he ment will no longer be needsaid. ed because everything now Given the benefits of is stored and you could get such a system, PHA Man- your records electronically. aging Director Herbert “With this system, a docBrown provided a response tor can be at home 3am and to questions over why the he gets a call from one of his system was not introduced junior staff saying he has a sooner. patient in front of him. Well He said cost and quality all the doctor has to do is go concerns delayed the intro- onto his computer, log on duction of the system. and be able to access that “It took long because we patient’s record. wanted to find the right “Could you imagine the strategic partner,” he said. significance of that because “There are many medical in many instances to begin records systems out there the treatment process, the but they were not the right doctor must have access to ones. We have been search- your records. You may have ing for a strategic partner allergies, you may have cerfor almost ten years now tain conditions he must be and so yes it has (taken) aware of before he could long. Secondly, it cost a lot start to give you medicaof money. tions. This is significant for “At the end of the day, this our country. And it doesn’t system will cost us almost matter where you are, so if $19m and that does not take you went to Mayaguana and into consideration the addi- you got ill, and the nurse or tional equipment we need to doctor in that area saw you provide because we have to and they have to transfer enhance equipment technol- you to PMH, when you get ogy on the Family Islands so there, your record is already it is a very costly system. in the system.”

SOME of those attending the launch and opening ceremony of the Integrated Health Information Management System (IHIMS) at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church Community Centre.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 18, 2017, PAGE 3

Smith: An insult to suggest convention won’t be fair

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Cabinet minister George Smith yesterday dismissed the suggestion that the Progressive Liberal Party’s convention will not facilitate a fair process, saying it is an “insult” to assert that stalwart councillors can be easily persuaded to vote in favour of any candidate.

He said the stalwarts, which make up the majority of the party’s delegates with voting power, aren’t “lambs being led blindly” to side with a particular challenger. Anyone who believes this, Mr Smith said, is doing a great disservice to those who form the backbone of the PLP. While Mr Smith said he believes Prime Minister Perry Christie will be reelected to lead the party, he predicted that former Attorney General Alfred Sears will receive a “considerable” number of votes.

He said this is expected to better position the attorney for another leadership run in the future.

He was responding to former PLP MP Philip Galanis who earlier this week told The Tribune that Mr Sears will not receive a fair shot during the party’s convention next week.

Mr Galanis went on to

PROMINENT Attorney Alfred Sears addressing the Bahamas Press Club earlier this month on the role the media plays in the development of society.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff explain that in his view the odds are in favour of Mr Christie, who he predicted will remain party leader following the highly anticipated political event. He said

Mr Christie has the ability to appoint any number of stalwart councillors.

Mr Sears is the only challenger so far to publicly announce his intention to

challenge Mr Christie for the party’s top post.

“The stalwarts are people who have given meritorious service to the party. The delegates aren’t a

bunch of lambs being led anywhere blindly,” Mr Smith said. “These are senior, mature and aware people who have toiled in the midday sun for this party.

These are the people who keep the party stable and solid as a rock.

“There is a myth that anyone could dictate to them.

But to think this way is really an insult. People who believe that they will follow anyone blindly are paying a great disservice to the party.

“People will decide whether they want him (Mr Sears) or if they want to stick with Mr Christie. I believe that Mr Sears’ biggest problem is he is not a seated member of Parliament. For many there are questions over how this will work.”

National discussions regarding the PLP’s leadership race were reignited after Mr Christie spoke on Sunday of his energy and eagerness to serve another term in office.

On Monday, Mr Galanis told The Tribune: “I believe that at the end of the day the odds are in favour of Mr Christie winning because of the way that the election process is designed. That is that the leader of the party has the ability to appoint a number of stalwart councillors, many of whom may feel ingratiated to the leader and therefore sup-

port him.

“I think, however, that there is a tremendous amount of dissatisfaction in the public domain with respect to the body of politics in general that relates to the PLP, the Free National Movement and the dissidents of the FNM and the DNA. I think people generally are really tired of the petty politics that they see ensuing in this country and really want leaders who are more dedicated and prepared to address the real issues in this country of which there are many.

“I am not prepared at this point to say that Mr Christie’s continued leadership of the PLP will hurt it in the elections, (but) what I do think would happen is if the people can see new leadership at various levels of the party - that is chairmanship, the leadership and also among the candidates who will be offering for the general elections - they will be more inclined to support the PLP.” “I think that generally people are really frustrated because the FNM is extremely fractured, well the entire opposition is fractured. So the people generally feel that they are really choosing between the lesser of all evils and not necessarily the best of all options,” he said.

‘PASSING BATON IS NOT UP TO PM’ from page one

Mr Christie has been the leader of the PLP since 1997 and plans to remain leader heading into the next general election.

“I have travelled the Commonwealth and been to about nine islands so far and just returned from a meeting in Bimini with the stalwart counsellors and delegates and I believe I have every assurance that within the PLP as in the wider community, there is a hunger for change and a recognition that the way we have been doing things is not sustainable,” Mr Sears

said on Tuesday.

“In a democratic organisation it is not the leader, it is the constitution which controls the position of leadership. It is not to be given as a gift with one person passing the baton.

It is the members and the stalwarts, counsellors and the delegates who will determine when and how the baton will be passed. For the past eight years, they have not had what the constitution of the organisation demands, that every year there should be a national general convention.”

The PLP has not held a convention since 2009.

Last week, Mr Sears said

the PLP’s greatest chance at winning the next election is with him as leader.

In an interview on Hot 91.7 FM’s “Morning Madhouse” with host “C-Note”, Mr Sears said it is time to for the PLP to “bench” Mr Christie and put him “in the game.”

Mr Sears said he still remains confident, after meeting with stalwarts and branch executives, that he will be the next leader of the PLP and the country’s next prime minister despite the odds being stacked against him at the party’s upcoming convention.

The PLP’s convention will be held from January

MUNROE LIKELY TO BE RATIFIED FOR PLP TICKET from page one

Bahama Dr Michael Darville for Pineridge, the area he currently represents, Senator Alex Storr in Elizabeth, real estate agent Reneika Knowles in Killarney and Senator Cheryl Bazard in the newly added constituency of St Cecilia.

The ratifications are expected to occur at an event beginning at 8pm Thursday at the PLP’s headquarters on Farrington Road. It is expected to be the party’s final round of ratifications, party Chairman Bradley Roberts said last week as the organisation prepares for its national convention on January 24 to 26.

At this time, Mr Roberts said he will offer himself again to act as the national voice of the party.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Rob-

erts said he made this decision after colleagues asked him to stay on as the party’s chairman to strengthen its arsenal ahead of the election later this year.

Mr Roberts said he was unsure of whether anyone will come forward to contest the post at the convention.

“I am offering again for chairman,” he told The Tribune yesterday when he was contacted. He was asked whether he expected his position to go uncontested.

“We are a democratic organisation. There is a time set aside. If anyone who is interested has declared and there is a first and seconder then they can offer.”

He also said: “After giving consideration, my colleagues have asked me to stay on and we have an election year on our hands so I have decided to stay on

until we get over this hurdle.”

Questioned if this was a suggestion that he could step down as national chairman after the election, Mr Roberts said: “I don’t know. Tomorrow I may also go home to my heavenly father. Who knows what tomorrow brings?”

So far only former Cabinet minister Alfred Sears has made public his intention to challenge Prime Minister Perry Christie for the leadership post of the PLP. Labour Minister Shane Gibson, who is also convention chairman, said last week that lingering questions on various national issues, including Baha Mar, will be discussed at the highly anticipated event.

Party officials have also pledged to accept whatever the outcome of the event might be.

POWER OUTAGE FOR MORE THAN 12 HOURS

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

SOME residents in western New Providence were without power for more than 12 hours yesterday, as Bahamas Power and Light Company Ltd battled a “substantial” problem at its Windsor Field substation.

The power outage started yesterday morning and lasted well into the night, with some residents reporting that they were without power from as early as 7.30am.

According to BPL’s Corporate Communication’s Manager Arnette Ingraham, teams were troubleshooting all day, without success, to reconnect the entire portion of the island.

She said it was not known

why the equipment failed, adding that this would be investigated later as priority was on reconnecting customers.

“It’s a substantial problem,” Mrs Ingraham told The Tribune last night. “It’s almost like a computer board failed. They have been troubleshooting all day.

“We have tried to put many people on different circuits, but some residents, based on proximity to a substation, they are still without power and that is a substantial number of people. They are out there and doing a number of things to get the power on.

“However, we can get power to people that is the priority right now. Investigating why it failed, which we don’t know right now,

will be done later.”

On its Facebook page early yesterday morning, BPL attributed the problem to a “cable fault”.

Areas affected included Coral Harbour, Delaporte, Charlotteville, Sandyport, Cable Beach, Westridge Drive, Gambier and Love Beach, with customers expressing their anger and frustration at the company’s response to the problem.

At around 2pm, the company said crews were on site at the Windsor substation and in the process of completing repairs. It said once this was done, customers who were without electricity would be restored.

However the challenges continued throughout the evening and residents remained in darkness.

24-26.

So far, only Mr Sears has announced his intention to challenge Mr Christie for the party’s top post.

Last year, the prime minister said he is “not at all” concerned about Mr Sears’ bid to challenge him for the leadership.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, January 18, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

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Heavy price paid for ‘sovereignty’ THERE are varying opinions about the first signs that Baha Mar might be starting to move towards a long delayed opening.

Whatever the outcome, the tinsel and bright lights have dimmed over a project that three years ago promised to be the most spectacular resort in the Caribbean.

Although it will reopen sometime in the future — time still uncertain — it will never have the glitz and glamour promised at its first scheduled opening in December, 2014. It was then that the public learned that something had slipped when a new opening was rescheduled — and missed — for the spring of 2015. By May 2015 it was clear that the future was bleak. The dream was gradually fading into a misty sunset. By June 2015, the resort, about 97 per cent complete, had filed for voluntary liquidation under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy court of Delaware. “The financial consequences of the repeated delays by the general contractor, and the resulting loss of revenue” was the reason given.

All construction stopped and the resort has laid dormant since then. Instead of remaining an independent bystander — as prime minister Ingraham did when Brookfield Asset Management took over Atlantis from Kerzner International, also involved in a chapter 11– Mr Christie sided with the Chinese in agreeing that if Baha Mar’s case was heard in a US court it would have been a breech of the Bahamas’ “sovereignty.” As a result it was transferred to our court system, which offered no chapter 11 that would have given a troubled company time to gather its forces, pay its creditors, and start again.

From that moment on it has been a downward slide behind a screen of secrecy. The developer has always blamed the closure on the Chinese construction company which it was forced to hire as the condition of the loan from the ExportImport Bank of China for the construction of Baha Mar. Apparently wherever the Export-Import Bank goes so goes China Construction America and CCA Bahamas.

Sarkis Izmirlian, the developer of Baha Mar, has always blamed the CCA Bahamas for deciding the opening dates for the hotel, but never delivering on its promises. There was heavy investment in training staff and international publicity to prepare for the openings. Bookings were made - even a large wedding had to be cancelled at Baha Mar –ostensibly the fault of CCA and its failure to deliver on

the dates it had promised. About 2,000 Bahamian employees had to be laid off.

Now at long last there is movement and Prime Minister Christie is euphoric – the 2017 election is approaching and he needed to at least get Baha Mar’s doors open and Bahamians hired before then.

Although pleased that at last there is movement, few agreed with Mr Christie who described the outcome as “one of the most brilliant set of negotiations ever done in advancing the cause of the Bahamas”.

However, most would agree with FNM deputy leader KP Turnquest, who told Tribune Business that the prime minister has “put the Bahamas through a traumatic period that was unnecessary, and caused almost irreparable damage to this jurisdiction’s reputation as a safe investment destination.”

If Mr Christie and his government had taken a hands off approach in the summer of 2015 and let the Chinese and Mr Izmirlian argue their positions in Delaware, many believe that Baha Mar would have been open and flourishing by now.

Bahamians would have been employed, tourists would be filling the resort and Standard and Poor would not have found it necessary to look at our worsening economic position and write the Bahamas off as “junk.”

Bahamians are now complaining that Baha Mar will be exempted from paying VAT. We agree with contractor Stephen Wrinkle who told Tribune Business that it was normal for such tax breaks. However, as Mr Wrinkle pointed out that in the case of Baha Mar, the benefits - Bahamian employment and greater GDP growth - “outweighed” any revenue foregone.

Mr Wrinkle also observed that the Bahamas was now in a position where Baha Mar had to be completed and opened at almost any price, and that China had to be incentivised to finance this to prevent a $3.5 billion “white elephant” emerging at Cable Beach.

He added that having “hitched their wagon to the Chinese pony” in opposing Baha Mar’s original developer, Sarkis Izmirlian, the Government now had little choice but to bow to Beijing’s demands.

When one calculates the losses over an almost three year period while this white elephant at the western end of New Providence remained closed, Bahamians indeed have to decide whether the heavy price they were forced to pay for their “sovereignty” was worth it.

Bahamian churches EDITOR, The Tribune.

OVER the past decade I have been watching the steady proliferation of churches throughout the Bahamas. This is particularly evident in the capital of Nassau, the island suffering most from social unrest, violence, poverty and poor educational development.

While I find no issues with the increases made within the religious community, I must, however, admonish them to do more within their immediate communities. After all, The Bahamas was founded on Christian principles.

Based on my current observation, churches nowadays seem to be larger than life edifices used solely for Sunday worship and closed throughout the week, as if the Sabbath was the only day to worship.

These days you can’t seem to travel two blocks within an inner city, and not observe a massive church or the groundbreaking of one in the making. Think about this for a second, all churches contain a cross section of the community with a plethora of qualifications and skill sets inter alia (teachers, nurses, doctors,

tradesman, business owners, and accountants).

Why not use this massive resource pool to assist in providing a much needed assistance throughout the immediate communities, a few day of the week.

Consider this, an after school programme for three hours a day (one member per hour) could provide an invaluable resource to help already struggling communities battling the grips of crime, poverty and poor education levels. Churches can, need and must do more to assist. After all was it not Jesus that entered the temple of sinners to teach the gospel? Why not the church? A perfect example of how a church could assist a community would be the Great Commissions Church led by Bishop Walter Hanchell. This church in my view epitomises community assistance, based on its ongoing commitment and service to helping those in need. Every opportunity I get, I do my best to assist this organisation because they truly make a difference not only in Christian Ministry but in the development of the community as well.

Imagine if 50 per cent of

the churches within The Bahamas dedicated it’s time, efforts and bountiful resources (i.e. its congregation) to mirror the efforts of the Great Commissions Church, the country would see immediate changes overnight. Regardless of affiliation, both political and religious, we all can agree that the country must take immediate steps to deviate from its current trajectory, and who better to lead the charge than the church.

With this, I send a clarion call to all churches and its many members to initiate much needed after school and adult development seminars using its knowledgeable and skilled congregants to aid in the development of our struggling but resilient Bahama land.

This, I believe would create a dual benefit by allowing churches the opportunity to assist more in nation building while helping fulfil their primary goal of advancing the word of God to all they encounter.

Concerned citizen and proud, proud Bahamian.

CLIFFORD WILLIAMS Nassau, January 13, 2017.

The $100m fishing question EDITOR, The Tribune.

HAVING spoken with many fly fishing guides, lodge owners and international fishermen, I can say the following with absolute certainty.

What a handful of guides, V Alfred Gray and the Bahamian government have unleashed on The Bahamas will cost The Bahamas dearly. Most likely in the hundreds of millions of much needed dollars for these communities. Yes, hundreds of millions of dollars!

Let me begin by saying that in many small island communities the bonefishng industry is by far and away the main economic driver of the local economy.

This is especially true in Andros. And Abaco. And Acklins. And Crooked Island. And Eleuthera. And Cat Island.

There are legitimate complaints about this new law.

It is unorganised and unclear on how to comply.

This is voiced by college educated people who successfully navigate regulations as part of their jobs. The idea that two or more fishermen in a boat must have a Bahamian guide is downright crazy. Most everyone agrees this is horrible. How could Gray and the government get it so so wrong?

Some second home owners are considering selling out and going somewhere more friendly. Note the word used, “friendly”. It has a value.

Many shop owners on the Out Islands count on the vacation home owners to boost their meager bottom lines, or allow them to just break-even each year, in this very difficult period of trying to do business in The Bahamas. It is very difficult to do business in The Bahamas. This is a fact. No business person argues with this statement. It is always the politicians who claim otherwise. On the business person’s side is the World Bank Ease of Doing Business report, which has had The Bahamas sliding in rank each year in recent memory.

No matter what we think

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net of the World Bank, is this something to cheer?

What should be abundantly clear is this: a temporary civil servant in a supposed democracy is allowed to push forth his view and those of his confidants into law. Going against the prophetic voices which saw just this catastrophe coming.

Yes, we are the laughing stock. Yes, this is a catastrophe for those of us on the Family Islands who depend on the money the fly fishermen bring. For our lodges, for our guides, for our restaurants, for our food and gift shops, for all of that money which would be circulating in our community.

We have allowed our very way of life to be threatened by a bureaucrat.

We can’t even patrol our national parks, and now we are going to harass our tourist fishermen under the guise of caring about our resource. Get real. This law, which will cause hundreds of millions of dollars in lost, clean revenue to the Family Islands has already to this day caused millions in losses. This is a fact spoken to by every lodge owner and every guide I know. This was an anti-democratic attack against the people of The Bahamas. The opinions of the vast majority of the so-called “stakeholders” were ignored. This wasn’t just about protecting the resource. Despite the well spoken warnings that this would give us bad publicity, Gray and his advisers went ahead with this ill-fated scheme, immediately and substantially causing unnecessary and significant harm to our already fragile economy.

This bone-headed law will do nothing to protect the resource, and everything to discourage the world-class savvy traveller from coming to visit, and spend, in our country.

What is worse is that this was done with either ignorance or malice. One or the other. Both should be condemned as unaccep-

table from a civil servant.

I was told today by a lodge owner that some of their most loyal fishing organizations said their clients are cancelling their trips to The Bahamas and opting for Cuba, the Yucatan and Belize specifically because of these new regulations. Hey, Mr Gray. Do you have any idea how hard it has been to get these customers to come here? Do you have any idea?

The black eye that our fragile tourism industry has just sustained by the actions of Minister V Alfred Gray, the government of The Bahamas and a handful of short-sighted fishing guides is nothing short of criminal.

The damage has been done. It will not be easy to regain the client base that we have struggled so hard to achieve.

The only reasonable course of action is to demand the resignation of V Alfred Gray, specifically for the measurable damage this anti democratic legislation has already caused, and the further harm it will undoubtedly cause without benefiting the resource it was ostensibly written to protect.

By insisting on Gray’s resignation, and holding this action up for the world to see, we will be sending a message. People must see The Bahamas as a friendly place to come, enjoy, and to spend their hard-earned dollars.

I am absolutely appalled that a handful of people could so quickly destroy what took so long and cost so much to create. I have watched many of these bonefishing lodges from their inception. Bahamian people. They have struggled against an unhelpful government to achieve what has benefited so many Bahamians. And now this?

We are allowing this government to get away with murdering our livelihoods.

Want something to march about Bahamians? Get rid of Gray, and maybe the others will start to take us seriously.

VERY CONCERNED Nassau, January 15, 2017.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 18, 2017, PAGE 5

44 TRAFFIC FATALITIES RECORDED IN 2016

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A TOTAL of 44 people died as a result of traffic fatalities in 2016, with Bahamians accounting for over 90 per cent of that figure, according to the latest Royal Bahamas Police Force crime statistics.

However, last year’s traffic fatality statistics represent a decrease in the number of traffic related deaths when compared to 2015, which recorded 55 traffic

related deaths, the most in a year since 2009 when 56 people were killed.

The statistics, released by Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade last week, show that of the 44 who died from traffic accidents, 40, or 91 per cent of that number, were Bahamian.

The other four were Haitian nationals.

Males accounted for the majority of traffic related deaths in 2016, with 38 (86.4 per cent) dying in 2016 as opposed to six females (13.6 per cent). The deceased in-

cluded 13 between the ages of 36 to 45, the most to die from any age group, followed closely by 12 between the ages of 18 to 25.

According to the statistics, 25 of those who died were drivers, eight were passengers, five were pedestrians, five were motorcycle riders and one was a bicyclist.

The 44 people were killed in 40 separate accidents.

New Providence saw the most traffic fatalities with 18, followed by Grand Bahama with 11, Abaco and Eleuthera with four apiece,

Pair spared death penalty for their roles in double murder in Andros from page one

sentenced to 55 years imprisonment for his part.

Duncombe, Johnson, Daniel Coakley, 28, and Cordero Saunders, 26, were all unanimously convicted of double kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery on March 29, 2016.

The Crown had sought the death penalty for Duncombe and Johnson.

Gardiner and Braynen were killed after a failed plot to take $8,000 in gambling winnings from the immigration officer. Braynen, of Cargill Creek, and Gardiner, who lived in Love Hill, both in Central Andros, were reported missing around 1.45pm on November 24, 2013. Gardiner had recently been assigned to the island. On December 21, 2013, police in Andros discovered the remains of a man with “items related to a female.”

At a hearing in November, the prosecution argued that the case met the “worst of the worst” threshold set out in the 2011 amended Penal Code for the discretionary death penalty to be imposed.

Darnell Dorsett said the victims, based on the testimony of Terrel Mackey, were taken to Newbold Farms where Duncombe and Johnson, armed with handguns, demanded money from Gardiner.

“Duncombe shot Shane Gardiner in the head when Gardiner maintained that he had no money. Braynen started screaming and Duncombe shot her to the head execution style,” the prosecutor added.

Ms Dorsett reminded the judge that the pathologist said that based on Gardiner’s wound, his death was not immediate and so there was evidence of suffering.

“They were taken in the dead of night to a very eerie place of Newbold Farms.

There’s no lighting at all in that area. We urge the court to take into consideration these two contributing members of society were taken hostage and one month later, hog hunters happened upon their remains. But for the grace of God, their remains may

ZINTWORN DUNCOMBE

JAMES JOHNSON

have not been found, leaving the affected families without closure,” the prosecutor said.

She said the court also had to consider whether there was a prospect of reform for the convicts and stressed that there had been no expression of remorse from either Duncombe or Johnson which, according to psychiatrist Dr John Dillard, is the first step to rehabilitation.

Jerone Roberts, one of two lawyer’s for Duncombe, argued that the case did not warrant the imposition of the death penalty as it did not fall within the “worst of the worst” threshold set out in prior rulings by the Privy Council.

Mr Roberts also stressed to the judge that the psychiatrist could not definitively say that the two convicts were beyond reform, which is a hurdle the Crown must get over in order for their application to succeed.

The judge yesterday acknowledged the 2011 amendment to the Penal Code, which followed the Privy Council’s decision in the Maxo Tido case, which notes that only certain types of aggravated murder are currently punishable by death. These include murder of a law enforcement officer; murder of a judicial officer, including judges, registrars and prosecutors; murder of a witness or juror; murder of more than one person; murder committed by a defendant who has a prior murder conviction; and murder in exchange for value.

The amendment further provides that any murder committed in the course of/or in furtherance of a robbery, rape, kidnapping, terrorist act, or any other felony is punishable by

death, with no explicit requirement of intent to cause death.

She also said she had to consider the case on its own merits and whether the circumstances determined it to be the “worst of the worst” and “rarest of the rare” as well as their reasonable prospects for reform as presented in a probation and psychiatric report given to the court.

“As I’ve stated before that the facts of the case are chilling, gruesome and cold-blooded,” the judge said.

Justice Charles said the circumstances of the case did meet the “worst of the worst” threshold. However, concerning the second factor she had to consider, she said that as the psychiatrist could not definitively speak to their prospect for reform, coupled with their relatively unblemished records prior to the date of conviction, she could not impose the death penalty.

Ultimately, Duncombe and Johnson were respectively sentenced to 60 years and 55 years imprisonment for the murders.

All four convicts were sentenced to eight years incarceration for the kidnapping, 10 years for the attempted armed robbery and 15 years for the conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Their sentences, which will run concurrently, will take effect from the date of conviction.

Duncombe, Saunders, Johnson and Coakley, who all maintain their innocence, were each represented by lawyers Ian Cargill, Moses Bain, Donna Major and Terrel Butler.

Patrick Sweeting assisted Ms Dorsett in prosecuting the case.

and Andros, Long Island, and Cat Island each with one.

Most of last year’s fatalities occurred on a Saturday, with nine deaths. There were seven on a Sunday and Monday, six on a Friday, four on a Wednesday and Thursday and three on a Tuesday.

The traffic fatalities also occurred mostly between 4pm and midnight, with 17 recorded during this time, and then from 12am-8am, which saw 15 fatalities.

Eight fatalities occurred between 8am and 4am, the statistics showed.

Additionally, most of the deaths took place in July, when six people died.

March, April and October each recorded five deaths, while May recorded four.

In terms of a demographical breakdown of the figures, the number of traffic accidents with serious injuries stood at 93 for 2016, just one more from the 92 recorded in 2015. However, there were 2,155 traffic accidents with minor injuries in 2016 as opposed to the 2,047 recorded in 2015.

There were also 7,610

“damage only” traffic accidents in 2016, up 106 from the 7,504 in 2015.

There were 1,168 “hit and run” traffic accidents in 2016, up 140 from the 1,208 recorded in 2015.

Last year saw 1,543 reported traffic offences.

There were also 17,330 fixed penalty notices issued in New Providence in 2016, and 19,224 issued throughout the country.

According to the statistics, 15,855 are matters out to court, while 500 are matters for re-summons.

SECOND MAN ACCUSED IN COCAINE CASE

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A SECOND man was arraigned in Magistrate’s Court yesterday in connection with a $250,000 cocaine seizure that occurred last week in western New Providence.

Desno Scott, 43, of Faith Avenue appeared before Magistrate Andrew Forbes facing a count each of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply and conspiracy to possess dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

It is alleged that he and 40-year-old Avery Sergeant were a part of a drug trafficking plot and were found in possession of cocaine with intent to supply on January 10.

According to police reports, around 3.30pm, Drug Enforcement Unit officers acted on a tip, which led them to Skyline Drive.

Police allegedly observed a man with a large plastic bag in his hand run from a silver coloured Nissan Note vehicle into the nearby bushes. The vehicle with two men inside then sped off, according to earlier police reports. After a short foot chase the officers caught the suspect who ran into the bushes and found him with five taped pack-

DESNO SCOTT, 43, outside Magistrates Court where he faced charges in connection with a recent cocaine seizure.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff ages of cocaine.

The suspect was subsequently arrested. The other two suspects abandoned the vehicle after it crashed in the nearby area.

Later that day, Drug Enforcement Officers conducted a search of an apartment occupied by the suspect and found eight additional taped packages of cocaine.

The estimated weight of the drugs is 20 pounds and estimated value of $250,000.

Like Sergeant at an earlier arraignment held on January 13, Scott yesterday denied committing any crime when called on to an-

swer the allegation.

He returns to Magistrate’s Court on March 13 for the start of the trial.

As the magistrate did not have the discretion to consider bail on the charge, Scott was remanded to the Department of Correctional Services to await trial.

However, he was advised of his right to apply for a bail bond in the Supreme Court.

The pair could face a fine and/or seven years imprisonment if convicted.

Both have retained attorneys Ian Cargill and David Cash to represent them.

Supt Ercell Dorsett is prosecuting the case.

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Don’t miss next month’s lecture when Rheumatologist Dr K Neil Parker talks to us about “Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Thursday, February 16, 2017.

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PAGE 6, Wednesday, January 18, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

LITTLE PROGRESS IN FNM TRIBUNAL OVER REBEL SEVEN’S ACTIONS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Free National Movement has gone silent on the status of its tribunal investigation into the dissident seven MPs, although the tribunal is expected to update the party’s Central Council on its investigation during its monthly meeting on the last Thursday of each month, according to a source familiar

with the matter.

When contacted, senior FNM officials have been tight-lipped about the investigation, often expressing a desire to not prejudice the investigation.

Nonetheless, one wellplaced source in the party told The Tribune yesterday that party officials feel no pressure to “rush” to complete the investigation quickly, fearing that any such decision would only cause the

controversy to flare up again at a time when the party wants to focus on the next general election.

“To deal with it now,” The Tribune’s source said, “gives unnecessary publicity and puts (Loretta Butler-Turner) in the forefront.

The whole row will be in the papers. We prefer to let her self-destruct. (The tribunal) ain’t in no rush.

If she decides to nominate herself against the party (as

an Independent), then she would automatically kick herself out of it.”

The source said an announcement of the tribunal’s decision could come “after the election.”

The FNM has not revealed which party members comprise its tribunal.

The FNM has never expelled a member from the party before. Nor has it ever completed a disciplinary proceeding. Some mem-

bers of the party, including chairman Sidney Collie, has acknowledged that implementing the disciplinary process for the first time with such a high-profile case poses a challenge.

The Tribune’s source said it is even doubtful the tribunal will meet the “rebel” seven to discuss their actions with them.

One of the dissenting seven, St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman, appeared to be un-

concerned with the disciplinary proceedings yesterday.

“October 2 is the last time I’ve been in the FNM headquarters,” he said, repeating the line when asked if he would participate in a hearing before the tribunal.

“Why do I need to go back there? What the FNM does doesn’t matter to me.”

Mr Chipman recently revealed he is considering running as an Independent candidate in St Anne’s.

MINNIS CALLS FOR BOUNDARY REPORT TO BE TABLED TODAY from page one

CHIEF Superintendent Clayton Fernander speaking at the scene of last night’s shooting.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

ONE DEAD, THREE WOUNDED AS GUNMEN OPEN FIRE IN THE GROVE from page one He said police have not ruled out the possibility of this murder being connected to any of the previous nine recorded so far for the year.

Last night’s shooting follows a weekend of bloodshed in the capital. Two men died and another man was left recovering in hospital after three separate shootings.

On Sunday, around 2am, police said they received re-

ports that the body of man was lying in the road on Finlayson Street, off Poinciana Drive. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a lifeless man on the ground with multiple gunshot injuries to the body.

He was pronounced dead on the scene. Police have not identified the victim but The Tribune understands he is 29-year-old Raynor Davis, of Flemming Street.

Hours earlier, police were on the scene of another killing, this time in the Kemp Road area. According to

Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean, around 9am on Saturday the victim was walking near Strachan’s Corner when the occupants of a Honda Fit vehicle pulled up and fired several shots at him, killing him.

He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Anyone with information on any of these incidents is asked to contact police at 911 or 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 328-TIPS.

FOOD & NON-ALCOHOLIC

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yesterday that the report remained incomplete. An election cannot be called until the report is complete and is tabled in the House of Assembly. “(There is) really nothing to report. Nothing has changed. Still waiting,” Dr Major said in a message to this newspaper.

Asked if he could say when the report would be tabled, Dr Major said: “At this point I am not aware.”

Last week, he said in Parliament that he was “disappointed” the commission had not completed its report. He revealed that several factors, including low voter turn out and “contention” among members, delayed the progress.

At the time, he explained that the contention among the rank and file of the commission was sparked by the leak of information from deliberations into the public domain and published in local newspapers and social media. This, he said, was certainly displeasing. He said it had been the commission’s intention to table the report at the first sitting of the House, which was last week Monday.

Meanwhile, in a press statement yesterday, Dr Minnis slammed Prime Minister Perry Christie over the commission’s failure to complete the report, saying he should finally admit to his failures and allow Bahamians to judge his government on his leadership.

He said: “Crime on the rise, the secret Baha Mar deal still sealed, no Boundaries Commission report, credit rating downgraded to

junk status, failing schools – and all the Bahamian people get is silence and no plans from the embattled prime minister and his Progressive Liberal Party government.

“For the past four and a half years, the Bahamian people have only heard empty rhetoric and broken promises from the PLP government and now that we have entered the election season we continue to expect to hear more empty rhetoric. The prime minister should finally stand up and admit to his failures these past four and a half years and finally allow the Bahamian people to judge his government on their leadership or lack thereof these past four and a half years.”

He continued: “It is time for the embattled prime minister to finally give the people the opportunity to vote for new leadership for this our country. The first step is to finally table the Boundaries Commission report in Parliament on Wednesday after many delays these past few months.

The Bahamian people deserve to see what constituencies the PLP government have drawn to try and save their political futures. The Bahamian people are ready to hold this PLP government accountable for their failed leadership and the lack of action on the key issues facing our country,” Dr Minnis said.

“Bahamians know they deserve better and understand that we will never see any progress on the key issues affecting our country while embattled Prime Minister Christie remains in charge. It is time to finally

allow the Bahamian people to decide which direction they want their country to move in – continuing down a route of failure under the PLP or a new direction and leadership under the FNM. “We know that Bahamians want the government returned to them and the only way for this to happen is under new leadership with the FNM. When the PLP is removed from power this next election, the people will finally have their time and the FNM will work every day to serve them,” Dr Minnis also said.

The Tribune reported last month that the commission intends to create a new constituency in New Providence.

It is understood that portions of Englerston, Centreville, Bain and Grants Town and Fort Charlotte will be redrawn to reconstitute St Cecelia.

This constituency was eliminated before the last general election and divided among Bain Town, Englerston and Centreville.

In December, FNM Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest told The Tribune the Constituencies Commission missed its self-imposed deadline to submit recommendations for boundary changes. At the time, he speculated that the report would not come until 2017.

The MP speculated that the deadline had been missed because the governing side was still mulling over additional constituencies in a bid to bolster support in tough areas.

Mr Turnquest is a former member of the commission.

He was recently replaced by St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman.

reported by Mr Sands to the initial launch of the LDI project in 2013, Baha Mar’s initial hiring phase, Mr Lloyd said his team was bombarded with far more applicants when they promoted far fewer jobs.

“Their returns on their actions this week is significantly low compared to what was done in 2013,” said Mr Lloyd. “When we were advertising 150 positions there were over 5,000 people who responded - the return was massive. We went into communities and thousands showed up to seek employment opportunities.”

Mr Lloyd remarked that

the “less than significant response” illustrates that Bahamians, particularly youth are “disgusted, disappointed and distrust everything the PLP are involved with”.

“I don’t need to guess with this,” Mr Lloyd added.

“A project of this magnitude should captivate everyone. In a country where the unemployment rate is where it is at, you’re telling me that those persons without jobs aren’t pushing to get these new jobs?

“No one is convinced with this project. People don’t believe that it will open successfully and be safely contracted in the 13week window proposed. No one wants to go near this because the government has jilted everyone once intrigued by it.”

Last month, Prime Minister Perry Christie said Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), the new owners of Baha Mar, were working on a phased opening for the second quarter of 2017.

“The hirings are to facilitate the phased opening of 1,800 rooms at the conference and casino hotel, the casino, convention centre and golf course, and employment of up to 3,300 by August 2017, and 4,300 by December 2017, when all companies have been completed and opening,” the prime minister said.

CTFE will invest $200m in “pre-opening festivities, development of family amenities, entertainment and offshore island facilities and demolition and redevelopment of the former Crystal Palace Hotel,” Mr Christie said.

Resort officials are “very optimistic” that the resort will hit its April 21 “soft” opening date.

VENDORS NUMBER OF BAHA MAR APPLICANTS WANTED! ‘ALARMINGLY LOW’, WARNS LLOYD from page one

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over 1,000 applications and over 500 inquiries respectively as of 4.30pm that day.

By yesterday, Mr Sands told Tribune Business nearly 4,500 applications had been received, a response he described as “overwhelming and extremely encouraging”.

The first day’s level of applications surprised many involved with the project, with Mr Lloyd commenting that the current status of Baha Mar leads many to believe that the resort will not succeed.

Comparing the numbers

PAGE 8, Wednesday, January 18, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Terreve College keeps status after judicial review

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

TERREVE College was successful in its judicial review case against the Department of Public Service, maintaining its status as an approved private tertiary institution on the list of schools recognised by the department.

The institution, which caters to 30 per cent of public servants, was removed from the list in June 2016 as a result of policy changes implemented by the Department of Public Service.

The judicial review application was heard over a course of five dates before Justice Ian Winder. Closing arguments were held in October 2016, and a ruling was handed down on January 5, 2017.

Robert Adams and Zia Lewis appeared on behalf Terreve, and Kirkland McKay and Petricelli Edwards appeared on behalf of the minister of public service.

Justice Winder ruled in favour of Terreve College and ordered that the decision to revise the policy be quashed. Dr Donald McCartney, executive chairman of Terreve College, and owner Terrence Archer, held a press conference on Tuesday at the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce to reveal the outcome of the judicial review, and to inform the public of the school’s current status as an approved institution.

“We are back to the status quo,” said Dr McCartney, who explained that the Department of Public Service changed its policy and were demanding some things of Terreve College and the other small institutions that were unreasonable.

“It would have appeared that…there was one standard for the University of The Bahamas and another standard for the private institutions,” he said.

Due to policy changes, Dr McCartney said that Terreve, which had an articulation agreement with institutions in the US, was requested to

go and negotiate an articulation agreement with those other institutions to reflect a four-year period. The department also wanted Terreve to have the logos of those institutions on its degrees.

Dr McCartney said: “Well, other institutions have articulation agreements and you don’t see any logos from any other institutions on their degrees, so why make it difficult for the private institutions in The Bahamas?”

Secondly, Dr McCartney stated that the timeframe placed by the department for compliance to the policy changes was unreasonable.

“The department has every right to change its policy because they are the ones dealing with institutions, but as the justice pointed out, if you are going to make a change it must be reasonable,” he said.

At one point, he said Terreve was given 21 days to comply. “That was certainly unreasonable particularly when dealing with institutions abroad,” Dr McCartney said.

He explained that when Kaiser College, with whom the college had an articulation agreement, learned about the issues with the Department of Public Service, the institution would not deal with them until the matter was sorted out.

“Terreve was caught between a rock and a hard place, and we couldn’t get articulation as the department was requesting us to do. And so Terreve was caught in no man’s land because of the unreasonableness of the timeframe given and the fact they went ahead on June 16, 2016 and declared Terreve as an unapproved institution,” he said.

Dr McCartney said the word spread like wildfire throughout the community and Terreve had no other choice but to seek a judicial review.

“The justice quashed the June 16 circular that said we were unapproved,” he explained.

Attorney Adams had argued that to change the department’s policy as it related

to approval, for government purposes, of local institutions and their courses and thereafter remove Terreve off its list of approved institutions was both procedurally unfair and unreasonable.

Counsels for the respondents argued that the decision that Terreve complained of was not susceptible to judicial review.

Justice Winder noted that “not only was the decision amenable to judicial review, but it was also procedurally unfair as no advance notice of the intention to revise the policy of the Department of Public Service was given to Terreve and as the decision was likely to affect the business interest of Terreve, such notice should have been given”.

It was further noted that Terreve had a legitimate expectation that the substantive benefit that came from being on the list of approved institutions would continue, as it had continued for some ten years and that if the said benefit would be withdrawn, a fair procedure would be followed which would involve consulting Terreve and providing grounds for the decision to withdraw the benefit.

The school was also awarded its reasonable cost.

Even though a ruling was made in favour of the college, reestablishing Terreve’s status as an approved institution, Dr McCartney said it does not mean that the Department of Public Service cannot pursue changing its policy.

He believes that the matter could have been resolved with a meeting of the minds.

“There are only 10 private institutions in the country, put them around the table and discuss it and determine the way forward,” he said.

“We did not have to go this route, it could have been done around the table. But, unfortunately, some of us in society who have a little power abuse it.

And when there is abuse of power where you have fair judicial system you make your appeal to them,” said Dr McCartney.

THETRIBUNE TRIBUNE THE

Wednesday, January 18th, Wednesday, January 18,2017, 2017,PAGE PAGEA9 9

TECHTALK

CUBA SEES EXPLOSION IN

INTERNET ACCESS

T

WO days before Christmas, Luis Gonzalez received a little Chinese modem from Cuba’s state-owned telecommunications company.

The 55-year-old theatre producer connected the device to his phone and his laptop computer, which instantly lit up with a service unimaginable in the Cuba of just a few years ago — relatively fast home internet.

“It’s really easy to sit and find whatever you need,” Gonzalez said as he sat in his living room updating his Facebook account, listening to Uruguayan radio online and checking an arriving tourist’s landing time for a neighbour who rents rooms in their building in historic Old Havana.

“Most Cubans aren’t used to this convenience.”

Home internet came to Cuba last month in a limited pilot programme that’s part of the most dramatic change in daily life here since the declaration of detente with the United States on Dec. 17, 2014.

While Cuba remains one of the world’s least internet-connected societies, ordinary citizens’ access to the internet has exploded over the last two years. Since the summer of 2015, the Cuban government has opened 240 public Wi-Fi spots in parks and on street corners across the country.

Cubans were previously restricted to decrepit state internet clubs and hotels that charged $6-$8 for an hour of slow internet.

In a country with an average monthly salary of around $25, the price of an hour online has dropped to $1.50, still steep but now well within the range of many Cubans with private income or financial help from relatives abroad.

The government estimates that 100,000 Cubans connect to the internet daily. A new feature of urban life in Cuba is the sight of people sitting at all hours on street corners or park benches, their faces illuminated by the screen of smartphones connected by applications such as Facebook Messenger to relatives in Miami,

PEOPLE use a public wifi hotspot in Havana, Cuba. Home internet came to Cuba in December 2016, in a limited pilot programme that’s part of the most dramatic change in daily life since the declaration of detente with the United States. (AP) Ecuador or other outposts of the Cuban diaspora. Connections are made mostly through access cards sold by the state monopoly and often resold on street corners for higher prices.

The spread of connectivity has remotely reunited families separated for years, even decades. It’s fueled

“In my dreams, I’d like for the internet to be seen like arts and culture, and, as such, to be free for the whole population, just like access to education has been for the last 50 years.”

David Vasquez, director of online magazine Cachivache Media the spread of Airbnb and other booking services that have funneled millions in business to private bed-andbreakfasts owners. And it’s exposed Cubans to a faster flow of news and cultural developments from the outside world — supplementing the widespread availability of media spread on memory drivers.

Cuban ingenuity has spread internet far beyond those public places: thousands of people grab the public signals through commercially available repeaters, imported illegally into Cuba and often sold for about $100 — double the original price. Mounted on rooftops, the repeaters grab the public signals and create a form of home internet increasingly available in private rentals for tourists and cafes and restaurants for Cubans and visitors alike.

On the official front, Google and Cuba’s state-run telecoms monopoly Etecsa struck a deal last month to store Google content like YouTube video on servers inside Cuba, giving

people on the island faster, smoother access. While the explosion of internet in Cuba has taken place alongside the process of normalisation started

by Obama in 2014, it’s unclear how much better relations have speeded up Cuba’s move online.

Obama said in announcing detente that he welcomed “Cuba’s decision to provide more access to the Internet for its citizens,” but neither Obama’s team nor Cuban officials have detailed whether that decision was directly linked to negotiations to restore diplomatic ties and began negotiations.

What is clear is that Cuba began to dramatically increase access about six months later when the government began opening Wi-Fi spots around the country. For many Cubans, the start of home internet in December is potentially even more significant, breaking a longstanding barrier against private internet access in a country whose communist government remains deeply wary about information technology undermining its near-total control of media, political life and most of the economy.

The pace of change in Cuba often depends on the state of relations with its giant neighbour to the north: both tensions with the United States and leaps forward like Obama’s visit to Havana last year have prompted crackdowns by hardliners worried about the government losing control. While President-elect Donald Trump’s administration has promised to take a harder line on Cuba, both opponents of President Raul Castro’s government and those advocating closer relations favour more access to information for ordinary Cubans.

The home internet test programme selected some 2,000 residents of Old Havana to receive free connections for two months before a planned expansion and the start of billing for

the service. Gonzalez said he would be able to receive 30 hours of his 128 kilobyte-per-second connection for $15, with the price increasing for faster connections, with 30 hours of a 2 megabyte-per-second connection available for $115.

That’s far slower and wildly more expensive than internet in most of the rest of the world.

In the Dominican Republic, for example, a full month of relatively slow 2 megabyte-per-second internet, a speed most people would consider reasonable for applications such as streaming video, costs a little more than $20.

Cuba depended on slow, expensive satellite internet until 2013, when it opened a fiber-optic cable to Venezuela that connected the island to the global online infrastructure.

Cuba says that its still-high internet prices are a result of costs imposed by the U.S. trade embargo on the island.

Independent observers blame the costs on political decisions to limit access, and on the cash-strapped socialist government’s widespread use of its monopoly power to extract as much money as possible for goods and services considered luxuries.

Many young people hope that the spread of access in recent years is the start of Cuba seeing internet more as a necessity and a right, like the free education and health care guaranteed by Cuba’s socialist system.

“In my dreams, I’d like for the internet to be seen like arts and culture, and, as such, to be free for the whole population, just like access to education has been for the last 50 years,” said David Vasquez, the 27-yearold director of the online magazine Cachivache Media. “It’s very hard to know what the future will bring.”

ANDREA RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press

THE Nintendo Switch is a console that also serves as a hand-held gaming device. (AP)

NINTENDO SWITCH CONSOLE UNVEILED

NINTENDO is trying to Switch it up. The Japanese video-game company revealed details Friday about its hotly anticipated Nintendo Switch, a video game console that also serves as a hand-held gaming device, during a global rollout on ‘ZELDA: Friday.

Breath of The price in the Wild’ – the U.S. will one of the be $300, a bit console’s above the new $200 to $250 games. that analysts were expecting.

It will de-

but March 3. The Switch is the first major hybrid console/hand-held gaming device.

“Nintendo Switch is a new way to play,” said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime at a packed event in New York, where several hundred reporters tried out games including the fantasy game “Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and the fighting game “Arms” on the device.

The Switch features a large handheld controller designed for both hands that works with the console.

You can also snap off the sides of that controller to serve as separate left- and right-hand remotes, which Nintendo calls Joy-Cons, for twohanded play — sort of like Nintendo’s older Wii controllers.

But there’s more to the Switch’s Lego-like tricks. You can also slide a flat screen resembling a tablet out of the main console and attach the Joy-Cons to it, and suddenly you have a new independent hand-held

gaming device.

All that makes it possible to use the Switch as a regular handheld, put the display on a table, or use a TV screen as a monitor.

Nintendo is promising an immersive, interactive experience with the Switch, including online play and letting you use the remote controller for games that don’t require constant attention to a display.

Nintendo officials in Japan used the Joy-Cons to play a gun-duel game. Motion sensors offer tac-

tile feedback from games, such as feeling virtual water poured into a virtual cup. In another game, characters’ arms swirled out during combat when players punched the air while holding the controllers.

“It’s a totally new kind of game,” said Kouichi Kawamoto, who oversaw “1-2-Switch,” a gun-duel game that requires players to look each other in the eye. “It’s about having fun with communication.”

YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer

• BAIDU INC., which operates China’s most popular Internet search engine, said Tuesday it has hired a former Microsoft executive and artificial intelligence specialist to improve its competitiveness in the field.

The Beijing-based company said Qi Lu was named group president and chief operating officer in charge of products, technology and sales. Qi, who has a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University, previously was Microsoft Corp.’s global executive vice president.

“With Dr. Lu on board, we are confident that our strategy will be executed smoothly and Baidu will become a world-class technology company and global leader in Ai,” said Baidu chairman Robin Li in a statement.

• FACEBOOK says it’s introducing measures to tackle the spread of fake news in Germany, months before the country holds a national election.

The social network said Sunday the investigative media group Correctiv will be its first outside fact-checker in Germany and it’s working to bring aboard other media organisations. It said updates to make it easier to report fake news will be introduced shortly in Germany.

Facebook last month launched plans to focus on the “worst of the worst” offenders and partner with outside fact-checkers and news organisations, including The Associated Press, to sort out true news reports from made-up stories.

• THERE’S a new thrill on the streets of downtown Las Vegas, where high- and low-rollers alike are climbing aboard what officials call the first driverless electric shuttle operating on a public U.S. street. The oval-shaped shuttle began running last week as part of a 10-day pilot programme, carrying up to 12 passengers for free along a short stretch of the Fremont Street East entertainment district.

The vehicle has a human attendant and computer monitor, but no steering wheel and no brake pedals.

Passengers push a button at a marked stop to board it.

The shuttle uses GPS, electronic curb sensors and other technology, and doesn’t require lane lines to make its way.

• THE waste from discarded electronic gadgets and electrical appliances has reached severe levels in East Asia, posing a growing threat to health and the environment unless safe disposal becomes the norm.

China was the biggest culprit with its electronic waste more than doubling, according to a new study by the United Nations University. But nearly every country in the region had massive increases between 2010 and 2015, including those least equipped to deal with the growing mountain of discarded smartphones, computers, TVs, air conditioners and other goods.

On average, electronic waste in the 12 countries in the study had increased by nearly two thirds in the five years, totaling 12.3 million tons in 2015 alone.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, January 18, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Why Bahamian beaches are safe from the excavators

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VERY now and then we work ourselves into a frenzy based largely on hearsay and conspiracy theories. Eventually the controversy du jour settles down and is forgotten until the next time.

There are several of these perennially contentious issues, but the one I want to discuss today is aragonite.

At the recent ‘We March’ protest downtown, activist John Bostwick argued that our almost inexhaustible aragonite resources could solve our economic problems. And hackles were raised a few weeks ago when American news reports seemed to suggest that Florida officials were about to steal Bahamian sand for their beaches.

A couple of years ago, union leader John Pinder and others made the preposterous claim that aragonite exports could not only pay off our national debt but give every Bahamian a $50,000 cheque. “We’re talking about moving from being borrowers to lenders.

What China is to the rest of the world, the Bahamas could be to the Caribbean,” Pinder said confidently.

At the same time, lobbyist Kay Smith was touting a $50m investment in East Grand Bahama to mine aragonite for export and manufacturing. She did not reply to my recent email asking about the current status of that grandiose project. Meanwhile, the government has said it is investigating the whole aragonite issue with a view to updat-

ing all the rules for resource when local newspapers reextraction in The Bahamas. ported that Florida officials Aragonite is a fine lime- were considering the use of stone sand that precipitates Bahamian sand to shorenaturally out of sea water. up their eroding coastline.

There are massive quanti- Outrageous and shocking, ties on the Bahamian sea- we said. How dare they take bed, among other places. our sand to rebuild their The name actually derives beaches? How would this from the Spanish town of affect our own beaches?

Molina de Aragón, where And how could the governthe rock type was first iden- ment possibly contemplate tified in the such a treach18th century. ‘Outrageous and erous act?

It has been shocking, we said.

Environused mainly ment Minister for industrial How dare they take Ken Dorsett purposes - to our sand to rebuild had to insist capture sul- their beaches? How that nothing phur emisof the sort was sions in would this affect under considenergy pro- our own beaches? eration.

He duction, as And how could also repeated a soil conprevious stateditioner in the government ments that the agriculture, government possibly as a base for contemplate such a was undertakbioplastic maing a compreterials, as an treacherous act?’ hensive review ingredient in of all extracglass and cement produc- tive industries in the country. tion and as an additive in In 2014, the Prime Minlivestock feed. It can also be ister said he had advised used for sand applications - the Bahamas Agricultural as in playgrounds, acquaria and Industrial Corporation and beach restoration. to explore the possibility of The latest chapter of the state-run mining operations aragonite controversy bub- for aragonite. The corpobled up earlier this month, ration “has been commis-

OCEAN CAY, a 95-acre man-made island situated on the Great Bahama Bank in the northern Bahamas, is the site for the extraction of aragonite. sioned to report on how we forced it to close. In 1984, do it and how we get par- Florida-based Marcona ticipation. How can we use Ocean Industries took over this sand and aragonite for the lease and held it until industrial purposes or even 2000, when it was bought re-nourishment purposes.” by the AES Corporation.

But, as with most things AES wanted to triple the the Prime Minister says are size of Ocean Cay to build forthcoming, no information a liquified natural gas and has been provided on this is- desalination plant at a cost sue in more than two years. of $550m. The main goal Interest in mining Baha- was to supply imported gas mian aragonite goes back to to South Florida by underthe 1960s. Bimini’s Lerner sea pipeline. That project Marine Laboratory had the was never approved. And first concession, but turned it in fact, energy markets have over to Union Carbide, which changed so dramatically sold it to the Dillingham Cor- over the years that the AES poration, a California-based plant today would be a huge engineering and construc- white elephant (or stranded tion services company that asset) if it had gone ahead. is now out of business. The A Bahamian company idea then was to supply mil- called Sandyport Developlions of tons of pure Bahami- ment (owned by Tony Myan aragonite sand to cement ers) leased Ocean Cay in and glass manufacturers on 2009 for $7,500 a year, and the US east coast. But it had began small-scale mining to be extracted and hauled operations soon after. Myto market cheaply enough to ers secured an interest in compete with other sources the mineral from a group of supply. of American entrepeneurs, Dillingham had rights in who determined that, if four Bahamian areas total- properly processed, marine ling over 8,000 square miles aragonite could have an ap(one of those concessions plication as a filter in the has since been turned into plastics industry. In 2012, a national park). It was es- Myers sold his single biggest timated that exports of 10 consignment of 15,000 tons million tons a year would at $50 per ton (with the govnet the Bahamas a yearly ernment getting $2 per ton in royalty of about $600,000. royalties) to a start-up comEarly environmental stud- pany called US Aragonite. ies concluded there was no But within a couple of years reason why the relatively oil prices fell, other plastics sterile aragonite drifts on manufacturing processes the edges of the banks became more cost-effective should not be mined, pro- and US Aragonite went bust. vided the operation was In 2015, the government properly monitored. leased Ocean Cay to MSC Several miles south of Bi- Cruises for a private island mini, Dillingham created destination. Construction is a 95-acre sandpile called starting now, according to Ocean Cay by pumping Investments Minister Khaaldredge slurry across two is Rolle, but there are no small islets. The cay was the plans to export aragonite. “I company’s aragonite mining am not aware of any marine base until market conditions aragonite being sold in the

US for any industry over the past two years,” former US Aragonite principal Gary Miller told me recently.

“Demand and value has to be created by each industry along with supply chains and distribution contracts. Without these, Bahamian aragonite will never be a commodity in the US market.”

There has been talk of using Bahamian aragonite for beach restoration in the US since at least the mid1980s, when Florida began projecting the depletion of its available offshore sand deposits. In 1990, coastal engineers imported a small amount of Bahamian aragonite to restore the beach at Fisher Island south of Miami Beach. It takes about a million cubic yards to fill an average-sized beach. At the time of the Fisher Island project, the export price per cubic yard was $8. A cubic yard in sand volume equals 1.17 metric tons in weight.

In 1993, the Miami Herald reported that “beach restoration projects along the Dade and Broward County coasts since 1970 have stripped sand from hundreds of underwater acres along their coasts …

So officials are scrambling to find a fresh sand supply … But federal import rules, endangered species laws and the sheer costs of mining the ocean floor so far away present daunting obstacles.”

And last year, new US legislation authorised the Army Corps of Engineers to study the potential of using foreign sand, such as aragonite from The Bahamas, to widen shorelines and protect coasts from hurricanes.

There are many obstacles to this proposal, including a ban on spending federal money on US beach projects that use foreign sand.

Non-US-flagged vessels are also prohibited from bringing foreign sand to Florida.

Whether or not these obstacles are surmounted, we can all rest assured that noone will be driving a tractor onto our beaches to excavate sand for export.

What do you think? Send comments to lsmith@tribunemedia.net or visit www. bahamapundit.com

Hall’s missteps highlight Civil Service succession issues

T

HERE is a huge succession problem at the upper levels of our civil service - likely due to poor education and hiring standards over the years. That’s one of the reasons retiring senior officers are often rehired on contract (there are other reasons we won’t go into here).

The poster child for this problem is Parliamentary Commissioner Sherlyn Hall. He holds a statuary post under the Parliamentary Elections Act. He can be removed from this post if his actions are in breach of the Act, the Public Service Act/Rules or General Orders.

The decision to remove him otherwise would be at the discretion of the Prime Minister, I am told. A case for disciplinary action, outside actions that are considered criminal offences, would have to be made to the Public Service Commission for this to happen.

Hall was promoted due to longevity, after the retirement of the previous com-

missioner. But he is clearly not up to the job. Evidence for this lies in his poor handling of the gender equality referendum earlier this year (which included the confusing and delayed release of results) and his obstruction of women trying to register to vote (which led to a protest movement called Too Sexy to Vote). Hall blamed power outages and fax machine failures for the chaotic referendum result issues, but National Security Minister Bernard Nottage (who is responsible for elections) declined to criticise his performance at that time.

More recently - and despite the fact that voter registration levels are at an historic low - Hall defended his right to turn away any woman who did not meet his arbitrary dress code (men were not mentioned). And this was despite the fact that a voter’s card requires only a head and shoulders shot for identification.

This is what the law says: “to have two identical copies of a photograph taken of

him/her by the revising officer, and being of such size as determined by the revising officer, portraying the head and shoulders of the person facing the camera.”

In this case, Nottage felt obliged to respond to public outrage, saying no-one had the right to refuse to register a citizen to vote based on arbitrary standards or dress codes. But reports of people being turned away continued unabated, and it often took up to two hours for those who were able to register.

The Parliamentary Commission’s mission includes the following statement: “To afford every eligible Bahamian the opportunity to be registered and to vote in free and fair elections.”

I daresay that having an incompetent like Hall in charge of our upcoming electoral process is not a good thing. Brace yourself for a whirlwind.

What do you think? Send comments to lsmith@tribunemedia.net or visit www. bahamapundit.com

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 18, 2017, PAGE 11

Cancer Society in need of new office after hurricane

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Cancer Society of Grand Bahama is in need of a new office space or building in order to continue the important role it plays in the fight against the disease and helping sufferers in Grand Bahama.

The organisation’s office in the Pioneer’s Professional Plaza in Freeport was severely damaged during Hurricane Matthew in October.

Lorine Miller, president of the Cancer Society of Grand Bahama, is appealing to corporate Grand Bahama and the public to assist the non-profit organisation with a building or office space to operate from.

“The building we have been in for more than 15 years was destroyed, and so we are displaced and in need of a building or a space to operate and hold meetings. And so we are appealing to the public for help because we do not want to have to close our

doors after 40 years,” she said.

The Cancer Society was established by an Act of Parliament in 1976, and celebrated 40 years of existence in the Bahamas last year. The Grand Bahama branch was established in 1986.

Ms Miller noted that there are 12 affiliate branches in Grand Bahama. She said that US Too, a cancer support group for men, also operated from their office in Freeport.

“Persons cannot come to us for help right now, and we would like if a home could be donated, but would gladly accept a building or space to operate out of,” she said.

In addition to the hurricane damage, last week thieves broke in and trashed the office.

Ms Miller stressed that the organisation relies solely on fundraising and donations to help people with cancer and that people visit the office daily for various things. “We provide potcaths that patients need for chemotherapy treatments;

purchase plane tickets for patients to fly to New Providence for treatment; assist in providing funding for bone scans; and provide accommodations to patients and a family member at our Healing Centre in Nassau,” she said.

The organisation also educates the public about cancer by providing brochures and important information about the disease.

Even though the Cancer Society is without an office in Freeport, the staff continues to assist by providing women with mammogram screenings at the Sunrise Medical Centre. “Because we do not have an office anymore, my office manager had to hit the streets in her car to deliver the results to persons at their homes and at work,” Ms Miller said.

She said that cancer is prevalent in Grand Bahama. “We have 12 rooms at our Healing Centre in Nassau, and 50 per cent of those rooms are booked with persons from Freeport,” she reported. “So struggle is real with cancer and the fight continues, and to educate

ASTWOOD TO STAND AS INDEPENDENT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama resident Lewis Astwood Jr is running as an Independent candidate for Central Grand Bahama in the upcoming general election.

Mr Astwood Jr is the son of former minister of works, utilities and immigration in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Lewis Astwood Sr, and the late Dorine Martin, a former maid at the Jack Tar Hotel, in West End, Grand Bahama.

He was educated in Grand Bahama, TCI and Canada. A committee to elect Mr Astwood Jr has been formed in Grand Bahama.

He is urging Bahamians to vote for individual men and women who they know will fight for policies that are in the best interest of Bahamians.

“Let us put politics aside for a moment. This is not about the PLP, FNM, or DNA. When we vote, we must vote for individual men and women who we know will fight for policies that will allow us to feed, cloth, shelter ourselves, and to live and work with dignity. This time, it must not be business as usual.

This time, it’s about making available to all Bahamians the opportunity to move from poverty to prosperity,” he said.

Mr Astwood Jr said that Central Grand Bahama and Eight Mile Rock are long

LEWIS ASTWOOD JR overdue for a facelift.

“I…pray that you would find some hope, strength, and courage to stand with me, walk with me, and fight with me for a better life for our families and ourselves.

This is not the time to be weak in mind, body and soul.”

Mr Astwood Jr said he will never be afraid to fight for a better life for the Bahamian people.

According to a committee spokesman, Mr Astwood Jr is known in the Eight Mile Rock community, where he has helped many people.

“He has not just come on the political scene, but has been present for a number of years. He has done much for the people in the Eight Mile Rock area, which falls under the Central Grand Bahama constituency,” said the spokesman.

“We have been working throughout the community assisting the residents where possible. We hope that Lewis Astwood is the man to be elected for Central Grand Bahama in the upcoming general election.

Not only is he a servant of the people, he is a leader with a vision.”

The committee believes that service above self should be heavily considered when candidates present themselves as representatives of the people.

A spokesman said: “While many are attempting to gain ratification to run in the upcoming general election, what should be considered most is: What have they done for the people they wish to serve?”

The spokesman stated that Mr Astwood Jr has spoken publicly in the past about a number of issues he would address if elected.

The committee revealed that Mr Astwood Jr has helped many through his food programme over the past nine years, as well as distributed clothing to needy persons in the Eight Mile Rock community.

“He hasn’t just started working in the community he hopes to represent. This is a programme that still exists today,” the spokesman said.

Mr Astwood Jr has also established an organisation, ‘Building Men for the Future (BMF)’ speaking to young men and women about how to become productive citizens of the country.

He established the first school for the blind in Eight Mile Rock, which was started in his own building. Mr Astwood Jr would pick up and drop off students to the institution.

The school has since been moved and is currently located in one of the rooms at Ruby Swiss Restaurant.

LORINE MILLER, president of the Cancer Society of The Bahamas’ GB branch.

Bahamians about the dis- the organisation since the though the Hope Ball Comease and prevention.” implementation of Value- mittee holds gala fundraisMs Miller noted that Added Tax (VAT) and said ing for cancer, none of the there has been a drastic the organisation has to hold proceeds are given to the decline in donations to events to raise money. Al- Cancer Society.