01272023 NEWS, SPORT AND BUSINESS

GET OUT OF HAITI

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has ordered all diplomatic personnel in Haiti to immediately leave the country as soon as security conditions permit, citing the rapidly devolving and unstable conditions there.

The order comes amid reported violent gang killings of police officers and protests in Haiti.

“The Prime Minister has ordered an immediate involuntary

departure from Haiti of all diplomatic personnel or as soon as security conditions permit,” a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.

“Up to this time, there was a voluntary departure order in place and all staff at the embassy chose to stay. Per the new instructions, they are to leave for home as soon as conditions permit.”

‘WE’LL SEEK TO MODIFY SHANTY TOWN COURT ORDER’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis revealed he has spoken to Attorney General Ryan Pinder who is now seeking to go back to court to get clarity on an existing shanty town injunction and to try to modify it to ensure officials can stop the growing numbers of illegal developments in the country.

The country is currently experiencing a spike of

BAHAMIAN COMPANIES OWED BY FTX ARE NAMED

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

MULTIPLE Bahamian companies identified as FTX creditors yesterday asserted that the purported sums owed to them were minimal to non-existent.

A “verified creditor matrix”, filed late on Wednesday night in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, suggested that the collapsed crypto currency exchange was indebted to companies across the Bahamian economic spectrum as well as the Government. Potential creditors ranged from small and micro businesses, such as plant shops, design studios and security firms, to the likes of BISXlisted companies such as Bahamas Waste and FTX. Also included in the 116page list were Bahamian auto dealers, such as Sanpin Motors and Omega Motors, plus major resorts and highend communities such as Baha Mar, Margaritaville and Albany.

WATSON ‘NOT BEING PAID’ FOR ZNS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net.

PRESS secretary Clint Watson vehemently denied claims that he has been appointed as a consultant at ZNS, insisting that he is only helping the stateowned broadcaster upgrade its news department. Mr Watson said the assignment was not a paid one and added that part of his job as press secretary includes assisting Bahamas Information Services and ZNS as needed.

illegal migration from Haiti and Cuba. Nearly 400 Haitian migrants are detained in Inagua after they were

caught on a vessel in Bahamian waters this week. Another group of Haitian migrants landed on Andros this week.

The recent influx of migrants from Haiti comes after months of increasing social and political turmoil there.

Central and South Abaco MP John Pinder had previously said the government must act now to deal with unregulated shanty towns in Abaco as the issue is about to reach a “boiling point”.

As embassy staff stopped by police and Bahamasair crew unable to leave airport, Bahamians are urged...

A WOMAN and her daughter running past a burning barricade set up by protesting police in Port-auPrince, Haiti, and, left, protesters inside the courtyard of

Get out of Haiti

steps out of an abundance of caution.

The statement said this “is only a temporary measure” in view of recent developments in Haiti that require “a corporate security and intelligence assessment and restaging”.

The statement said that all Bahamian diplomats are safe. The statement continued: “This morning the Chargè reported that they had been stopped by Haitian police and relieved of their vehicle and weapons. This is part of a protest by the Haitian National Police against their own authorities.

“There also is a report of five Bahamians from Bahamasair who landed at Port-au-Prince Airport who were unable to leave the environs of the airport. They are all safe and well.

“The security situation appears less stable over the past three days in the country, and we are taking

“The pattern of security concerns is one of ebb and flow and these withdrawals are sometimes necessary to regroup. The security forces in our country have been alerted to these developments.”

The Associated Press reported that outraged rebel police officers “paralysed” Port-au-Prince yesterday in protest of a slew of killings of police officers by Haitian gangs.

More than a hundred protesters blocked roads, shot guns into the air, and broke through gates in the capital’s airport and the Prime Minister’s house, with tensions escalating throughout the day, AP reported.

“Gangs have killed at least ten officers in the past week; another is missing and one more has severe bullet wounds, according to the Haitian National Police,” AP reported.

“Video circulating social media — likely recorded by gangs — shows the naked and bloodied bodies of six men stretched out on the dirt, their guns laying on their chests. Another video shows two masked men who are smoking cigarettes from the dismembered hands and feet of the dead men,” AP said.

This comes after a protracted period of violence and tension in Haiti after its President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home by armed men in July 2021.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said once conditions improve, a team will be sent back into Haiti without further announcement.

BELL RESISTS UN CALL TO SUSPEND DEPORTATIONS TO HAITI AS SITUATION SPIRALS OUT OF CONTROL

DESPITE calls from United Nations officials to suspend deportations to Haiti, Immigration Minister Keith Bell said The Bahamas has “a job to do” to ensure that officials protect the country for Bahamians.

The Bahamas is facing an influx of Haitian migrants. However, United Nations Secretary General António Gutierrez on Monday called on governments to consider halting deportations as the situation there spirals out of control

Speaking on the sideline of a Labour on the Campus event, Mr Bell recognised the duty of the secretary general, but made it clear what the government has to do.

“The United Nations obviously they seek to ensure that there is harmony, there’s unity among all nations, so obviously that is his job.

We in The Bahamas have a job to do to ensure that we protect The Bahamas for Bahamians. It’s as simple as that. The Bahamas as all governments have consistently said we cannot absorb these persons who come in The Bahamas illegally,” he said.

“If you want to come to The Bahamas as a tourist or want to work, then there is a process. If you follow that process, you may be granted access to The Bahamas.

“If you come here illegally and unlawfully, then, of course, there has to be swift justice. We will not tolerate, nor will we support reasonably anyone coming into The Bahamas from undocumented or illegal means you will stay in the jurisdiction you will be deported.”

He also shared doubts that The Bahamas would sign on to provisions allowing for free movement when asked about CARICOM’s freedom of movement or labour within the region.

“I know you’re talking about a treaty – I think the Treaty of Chaguaramas and the (free) movement of people through the Caribbean. The government of The Bahamas, both PLP and FNM, has consistently not signed on to those specific provisions. I do not foresee in the very far future that we’re going to support a free movement throughout this country of anyone.”

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the crisis in Haiti poses a substantial threat to The Bahamas due to an increase in irregular migration. He spoke earlier this week at

the opening session of the heads of summit meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

During his remarks, Mr Davis stated: “With the support and leadership of Haiti, collectively, we can, through CELAC and other regional organisations, help Haitians build a path out of crisis.”

Asked if there was frustration with the international community over addressing Haiti’s issues, the labour minister listed some of the factors that needed to be considered when helping countries.

“I will not say it there is frustration and you would have seen all around the world where first world developed countries, superpowers go into these countries where they need help — where there is a genocide or there is this civil war and the like. When you go into these countries you have to ensure first of all, what is your objective? What are the objectives of you going in? And what would be your exit strategy?

“Haiti has political instability, economic deprivation, and complete social collapse. So you are talking about a myriad of challenges and problems. That problem can only be addressed at the international level and so it isn’t a matter of frustration.

“It’s just a matter of how we’re going to address these issues and challenges and then determine how we can help, but Haiti has 12 million people, The Bahamas cannot under no circumstance, support any illegal and unlawful entry of persons from Haiti and that has extended to Cuba where we’ve had an exponential growth in illegal migrants coming from that country. We will not tolerate it.”

SEEK TO MODIFY SHANTY TOWN COURT ORDER’

Mr Davis was asked yesterday about the shanty town issue on the Family Islands, in particular for an update about an injunction that was put in place stopping demolition of the communities.

He stated: “I know that I’ve spoken to the attorney general. He is now seeking to go back to court to have a clarification on what the effect of that injunction is and to modify it to ensure that we are able to do what has to be done to affect and stop the growing numbers of shantytowns in this country.”

The prime minister was in Argentina this week where he represented the region at the Seventh Summit of Heads of State and

Government of the Community of Latin American and the Caribbean States (CELAC) as chairman of CARICOM.

While there, he said the crisis in Haiti poses a substantial threat to The Bahamas due to an increase in irregular migration.

Yesterday, Mr Davis said he thinks the international community has heard his “cries”. “I made that intervention. The prime minister of Haiti was present and we discussed the issues of what’s occurring now in Haiti. The challenge is, as I pointed out to my fellow heads, until we fix Haiti, this will continue to happen. It is a humanitarian crisis there. People are desperate, and migration and desperate and dangerous migration will continue.”

He added: “The new policy of the United States government, which I had a conversation with the vice president about a couple of weeks ago, it’s also something that’s also pulling the Haitians from making that dangerous trek to try to get to (the) United States.

“Because they don’t quite understand the policy that has yet been announced and if this was also confirmed to me by talking with the Haitian delegates at the conference. So there has to be an education about what it means. I had a conversation yesterday, again with the deputy secretary of state of the United Nations, Mr Brian Nichols, discussing this issue and we are working on solutions to get these things done.”

The prime minister recently met with US Vice

President Kamala Harris at the White House to discuss a number of issues facing The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean region, including human smuggling.

Asked to respond to some local critics who don’t think the government is doing enough to stem illegal migration, Mr Davis said: “Maybe they could tell us what else we can do, but we know that we are doing all that we can. Last year, we repatriated over 3,500 Haitians back to Haiti. There were about over 40 incidents of our Defence Force intercepting vessels and returning them over the last year and for this year the Defence Force has already interdicted many of them and sending them back home. “They’re going to continue to come. As long as

the conditions in Haiti persist, we’re going to have people trying to get out of Haiti and if you speak to them most of them are not coming trying to get to The Bahamas. They are trying to get to the United States of America. And as they come into our waters, because of our international treaties we are bound to process them and return them as quickly as we can. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

He said there has to be education in Haiti about what the options are to leave the country to have a better life.

“I think it has to start in Haiti and that’s why it’s very important to try to get the institutions of Haiti back up and running and we need to build capacity in Haiti again, so that people

can understand that the government of the United States is willing to accept up to 30,000 migrants from the countries Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and another one, Cuba.

“They just need to understand the process. And that requires them, getting to understand it, they get to understand it by people telling them and educating them as to what that process is and then they can engage that process.”

Last December, the US government broadened a programme that allows some Haitian migrants to live and work in the country without fear of deportation. However, the migrants must apply for Temporary Protected Status as those who go to the US illegally will not qualify and may face deportation.

‘WE’LL

from page one

A POLICE officer tries to calm down another police officer dressed in street clothes as he tries to enter the police headquarters during a protest to denounce bad police governance, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, yesterday. Photo: Odelyn Joseph/AP

IMMIGRATION Minister Keith Bell pictured yesterday.

Photo: Moise Amisial

from page one

ARMED police officers stand with weapons drawn in front of the police headquarters in Port-au-Prince yesterday.

Clint Watson ‘not being paid’ for ZNS help

He was asked to respond to reports circulating online earlier this week that claimed he was working at ZNS as a consultant in addition to maintaining his role as press secretary.

He denied the claims during a press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday.

“I am the press secretary

at the Office of the Prime Minister. That has not changed. That is what I do,” he told reporters.

“ZNS is going through an improvement and upgrade in their news department. They’re pulling on expertise from myself, having been able to have done a successful term with Eyewitness News. I’m assisting them and helping them to be able to do that.

“As press secretary, BIS and ZNS are a part of our portfolio. It comes under the Office of the Prime Minister. So I’m doing what I do every day trying to fulfil my job description.”

When asked if he thought the move represented a conflict of interest, Mr Watson replied: “There is no interference. We’re not interfering on that level.”

He added: “We’re trying

to help them with the upgrade and restructure. We play by the same rules. We’re just trying to help out.”

Mr Watson, who had previously worked at ZNS and Eyewitness News, also claimed that he has never shown favouritism to any media company and does not plan to do so anytime soon.

“Whenever you call me

for a story or information, I assist you. I don’t give anyone preferential treatment,” he said.

“The press office is here to assist all of you. Had there been concerns before, people would’ve mentioned them before, I have assisted other organisations and I have assisted before and there has never been any concern or an issue.

“We try to operate with

integrity. We will continue to serve you here at the press office and that doesn’t come with favouritism or anything of the sort. We will continue to try and do our best to serve the media to make sure that we have under this administration, been able to better your conditions, better your opportunities and we will continue to do just that.”

SEARCH CONTINUES FOR HAITIAN MIGRANTS WHO LANDED ON ANDROS ON WEDNESDAY

ROYAL Bahamas

Defence Force Commodore Raymond King said search efforts remain underway for some 60 Haitian migrants who were on board a vessel that illegally

landed in South Andros on Tuesday.

He vowed that officers will not leave the island until they are found.

Commodore King said based on intel the RBDF

received, some 100 suspected migrants were reported to be on board the Haitian sloop that ran aground in The Bluff area. Forty-one were apprehended by authorities on

Funeral Service for Oraleen Joyce Maycock, 81

of Canary Terrace, Monastery Park and formerly of Duncan Town, Ragged Island, will be held at 10:00 a.m. (TODAY) Friday 27th January, 2023 at Christ The King Anglican Parish, Ridgeland Park. Officiating will be Rev. Fr. Dwight Rolle. Interment will follow in Woodlawn Gardens Cemetery, Soldier Road.

Family and friends left to cherish fond

memories of Oraleen and longing to see her again, include, Children: Wanda Maycock, Lucinda (Michael) Rolle, Geneva Copeland, Sandy Maycock, and Marvin (Kaniella) Maycock; Siblings: Emmett, Joseph, and Juanita Munroe; Grandchildren: Devinn Cartwright, Alexander Copeland, Je’kyle and Acacia Rolle, Erinn Hanna, Ashton, Dannay, Kandise and Maliah Maycock; Great granddaughter: Krystal Maycock; Sisters-in-Law: Mary Jane Moxey, Maxine Maycock, Julia Munroe and Patricia Munroe; Brothers-in-Law: Clement Maycock and Marcus Moxey; Nephews: Clinton, Jed Sr., Sean Sr., Kevin, Dion, Kayle, Wayne, Oran, Omar, Decarlos, Jamal and Wayde Munroe, Dave and Doswell Coakley Jr., Lester, Daniel, Mark & Dr. Marlon Moxey, and Patrick Maycock; Nieces: Terecita Ward, Padrey Lockhart, Sherece, Miranda, Kimberly, Robyn, Chackanta, Ghandia, Dr. Indira, and Shade Munroe, Nicole Thomas, Tina Barry, Desiree Moxey, Shantel Fowler, Gia Lockhart, Joyann Wallace, Jermaine Basden, Dr. Ailsa Cherubin, Renea Bastian, Deidre Moxey, Thea Albury, Altrice Munroe, Melaushena Nixon, Beverly, Darlene, Sheena, and Susanne Maycock and Keysha Maycock-Laroda; Grandnieces and grandnephews, too numerous to mention; Other Family and Close Friends: Nelson and Verlene Moxey, Hazel Chipman, Dr. Rhonda ChipmanJohnson, Hubert “Tony” and Roxanne Chipman and family, Monique Delancy, William, Ellery, Elkenny and Dr. Freeman Lockhart, Sheena Pinder, Angela and Orion Munroe, Cypriana Munnings, Gelita Wilson, Constance Lewis, Stephanie Pintard, Christine Maycock, Patrice Lusa, Lisa Fowler, Ethel Smith, Suziemae Lockhart, Barbara Pinder, Merle Johnson, Maria Daxon, Lemuel, Etienne and Cephas Maycock Jr., Elvita Lockhart, Dr. Locksley Munroe, Dr. Lomar Munroe and the staff of The Southern Community General Clinic, Wendell and Fayneta Smith and family, Yvette Morris, Lee Armbrister, Althea Davis, Edith Wilson, Monique Robinson, Janea Taylor, The children of Arthur and Rose Maycock, Charmene Wallace, Willemina Smith, Charmaine Tucker, Ariminta Watson, Ephraim and Ernestine Joffre, Cleo Rolle, Carolyn Wallace, Eliza Wallace, Rosalie Foulkes, Enamae Flowers, Constance Bethel, Tanya Hunt Major, Gerald and Iris Cartwright, Pastor Dean Wells, The Rivers family of Alabama, The Hicks, Robison and Copeland families of Atlanta Georgia, Rev. Father I. Ranfurly Brown, Father Dwight Rolle and the clergy, ACW and congregation of Christ The King Anglican Parish, The Monastery Park community and the entire community and descendants of Ragged Island.

May Her Soul Rest in Peace!

There will be NO viewing at the church.

Wednesday and the remaining migrants remain at large.

“Those 35-foot sloop vessels traditionally carry about 45 to 60 migrants on board. We were reliably informed that there were 100 persons on board that vessel,” he said during a press briefing yesterday.

“We now know that we are looking for 60. We would apprehend two thirds of that amount. We would’ve (seen) using the drone technology those persons deep in the (wooded) area and so we try to reacquire their locations this morning and so the balance, we are monitoring but we won’t leave until we extract those persons.”

Commodore King said that while the RBDF has been largely successful over the years in interceptions of migrant vessels, “one landing is too many”, adding that lessons have been learned from the incident.

“We have analysed the last incident. We’ve looked at the gaps from aircraft reconnaissance patrols, areas where our vessels patrols and lessons learnt,” Commodore King said. “And we realise we have to exercise great organisational agility.

We have to be as agile as those transnational criminal networks operate and we need to shift and reposition our surface and air assets appropriately based on what we see in the shift made by those criminal organisations.”

“The assumption (must be) that every vessel departing from Haiti is destined for The Bahamas and so we must remain resolved.”

This latest apprehension comes after the United States Coast Guard (USCG) intercepted a vessel with 396 Haitians on board near Cay Sal Bank over the weekend.

The intercepted migrants were turned over to the RBDF and later taken to Inagua for processing.

They are expected to be repatriated within a week’s time, according to immigration officials yesterday.

Their illegal travel to The Bahamas comes as civil unrest and political turmoil continues to mount in Haiti.

Local government officials have already warned that there could be an “explosion” in migrant arrivals not only from Haiti, but other neighbouring countries in the days ahead.

Just on Tuesday, 18 Cubans were found in

ABANDONED vessel which is believed was carrying about 100 migrants was found on the rocky shoreline of South Andros on Tuesday. Defence Force officers have since apprehended 41 migrants but are still looking for 60 more, and have vowed to not leave the island until all have been found and detained. Photo is

waters near Cay Sal Bank by the USCG. They were turned over to the RBDF.

The same day, immigration officials on Cat Cay, Bimini took seven Cubans into custody.

When asked yesterday if he believed the RBDF had enough resources to deal with the influx, the RBDF chief said no country has all the resources it needs.

He said this is why it’s so important to develop regional partnerships to share intelligence and resources.

“At this moment, what we have is adequate but as we continue to decentralise, there is a strategic plan. We will have to recruit more,” he said.

“I’ve placed before the

government a package to acquire additional safe boats. We’re in the procurement process to acquire a second roll on and roll off vessel, a 62-metre patrol craft.

“I’ve placed a package to acquire additional aircraft. There is an infrastructural upgrade package that we are completing now for the government to seek funding from public private partnership investments.

“But as we continue to build on, we will need additional manpower.”

Last year, the Department of Immigration repatriated over 4,000 migrants, which was said to be the largest number of repatriations in the country’s history.

PRESS secretary Clint Watson speaking at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday

Photo: Moise Amisial from page one

from a screen capture rom a video that made the rounds on social media.

Teacher seeks counselling while parent is expected to be charged

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE parent involved in the recent incident at Central Eleuthera High School where a teacher was allegedly almost attacked has been arrested and will “hopefully” be charged, said Belinda Wilson, president of the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) yesterday.

On the sidelines of an event at the Ministry of Education, Mrs Wilson said after a series of meetings with education officials and law enforcement on Wednesday, one parent has been arrested, with the affected teacher left traumatised and seeking counselling.

“There were a series of meetings yesterday (Wednesday). The parent has been arrested and there is a meeting today with the

district superintendent and the principal. I have also been in contact with the police and the acting director (of education),” she said.

“So we are going to ensure that parents realise and know that the school is not a free for all. If there is a problem, if you’ve been called to a parent-teacher conference then you come and you conduct yourself accordingly,” Mrs Wilson said.

“I hope that this parent is charged and gets the full extent of the law that is in this instance,” she said.

About the teacher that was allegedly almost attacked, Mrs Wilson said:

“She is traumatised and she actually said that she thinks she is going to take some time off. She has sought medical attention and some counselling. So it’s serious, it’s traumatising and we

don’t take it lightly.” Mrs Wilson’s comments come after a principal and teacher were allegedly almost attacked in the principal’s office at Central Eleuthera High School after being called to a parent-teacher conference to discuss the behaviour of the parent’s child in class.

“She never touched the teacher, but she burst into the principal’s office, she did not have permission to be on the campus in the first place, she bypassed security and police and entered the principal’s office without being invited and she picked up an object to hit the teacher with. The principal was able to intervene,” Mrs Wilson said. Mrs Wilson recommended that both the parent and child involved in the incident seek

professional counselling and intervention.

“The parent, she needs some parenting classes, she needs to go and get some conflict-resolution. Because even after all of this it’s alleged they were on Facebook and they’re putting insults on Facebook against the teacher and even her son has now sent out a voice note,” she said.

“The child is a 15-yearold. This child has been in numerous incidents and he has really shown a lot of rudeness and we believe he should also get some counselling and intervention,” Mrs Wilson said.

“We have had a lot of instances like this previously, but it has slowed

down and I believe the police being on the campuses now, along with them gathering intelligence and assisting the security officers, I think that should minimise incidents like this,” she said.

In view of this recent incident, as well as another incident at Patrick J Bethel High School in Marsh Harbour last week, where there was some inappropriate touching that is still being investigated, Acting education director Dominique McCartney-Russell offered some advice for parents and students on school campuses.

“We want to encourage our children when they get into their spaces with their

classmates that they ought to know how to behave with one another. We encourage them with good social practices. We want them to ensure that they do not touch any other student inappropriately, no form of touching that would warrant us investigating,” Mrs Dominique McCartneyRussell said.

“And for our parents, we encourage our parents to always have conversations with their children. You know learning starts at home and so we believe that parents should ensure that children also know what is not appropriate in any environment and that is for our girls and our boys,” she said.

MOE TO ADDRESS TEACHER MORALE AS MANY FEEL UNAPPRECIATED

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Education plans to implement recommendations aimed at improving teacher morale based on findings from a survey of some 755 public school educators and literature research.

The Teachers Morale Committee Report, released yesterday during a press conference at the Ministry of Education, provided some short, medium and long-term initiatives with expected timelines of 12 months to three or more years.

The recommended initiatives are based on nine months’ worth of work from the Teachers Morale Committee which during that time prepared the “We Care. You Matter!” Survey with the help of the Planning and Research Section of the Ministry of Education. In partnership with University of The Bahamas, members of the committee also prepared a literature review on teacher morale.

Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin stressed the importance of the findings from the report and mentioned some of the key recommendations and initiatives planned for improving teacher morale.

“We know that education is the key to our national development, and that in this regard, our teachers are central. Understanding this critical role and cognizance of the challenges faced in the educational system, we determined to zoom into the core issues and bring about solutions to seek to redress what we anticipated was the dampened morale of many of our teachers,”

Mrs Hanna Martin said.

“A committee was formed, and one of the first steps was to conduct a survey of our teachers, as you’ve heard, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds responded. The findings were an eye opener and contained the cries of our teachers. The survey sought to discern the full gamut of the issues which impact teacher productivity and self-fulfilment,” she said.

“The results of the online survey, when coupled with a literature review of similar views expressed by teachers in the region have placed before us some hard truths about how teachers feel about their jobs, and what they feel should be done to improve their capacity to function. We know for instance, that of the 755 teachers who responded to the online survey, more than 50 percent of them reported that they did not feel appreciated,” Mrs Hanna Martin said.

“However, most teachers, 76.3 percent, reported that they still felt motivated to do their jobs. That tells you something. Additionally, 79.4 percent of the respondents indicated that they were satisfied with their jobs, and 84.9 percent of respondents revealed that they enjoyed their jobs. So it’s a strange mix there happening,” she said.

“However, the educators also reported not feeling respected, a lack of adequate resources and they cited the need for policy reform in areas such as

performance, assessment documents, opportunities for advancement, improved domicile incentives for Family Island postings and the need for class size reductions and teacher mentorship,” Mrs Hanna Martin said.

“Concerns were also expressed about human resource challenges. And that’s another story, for another day and poor school leadership, appropriate staffing, obsolete curriculum, mental health support, communication from the teachers were also singled out as inadequate, as well as physical resources and a lack of parental involvement. The need for timetabling and other training and additional professional development opportunities were also identified for address,” she said.

“Perhaps the most profound recommendation emanating from the report, in terms of the financial sustainability of teachers, is the commitment to bring teacher salaries in line with top tier professionals, such

as engineers, physicians and attorneys. It was the view of the committee that this is a very concrete and necessary step in the right direction,” Mrs Hanna Martin said.

Acting education director Dominique McCartney-Russell added: “The recommendations have been endorsed by Cabinet and so we are in the process now of making concrete, things that are initially abstract, but wanting you to know that they are very much grounded in the realities that we have heard and many of us have experienced ourselves. And so we will be moving diligently to remain within the timeframe and you will be informed as things are accomplished.”

The full 141-page Teachers Morale Committee Report is available for the public at ministry education bahamas.com

The Teachers Morale Committee commenced its work in January 2022. A series of meetings were held and it was agreed that research was necessary to draft recommendations for

improving teacher morale. Recommended shortterm initiatives expected to be implemented within 12 months include a letter of appreciation for all teachers from the education minister, vouchers of at least $250 to improve classrooms, teachers being allowed to submit proposals for professional development, and a digital suggestion portal and request space.

Two to three year recommended medium-term initiatives include double increments for high performing teachers, media highlights of teachers, teachers’ voice talk show, partnerships between schools and corporate Bahamas, a programme for teacher empowerment, partnerships with businesses for professional development, and strengthened human resource functions within schools.

Long-term goals include better teacher salaries on par with professionals, classes within the public service and an increased budget for In-service Training Awards.

THE BAHAMAS Union of Teachers president, Belinda Wilson.

The Tribune Limited

UN envoy

hopes for

approval of force to combat gangs

THE UN special envoy for Haiti said on Wednesday she heard “caution” from the United States and Canada about possibly leading an international armed force to help Haiti combat gangs but not “a definite ‘No’.”

Helen La Lime expressed hope that the UN Security Council will deal positively with the issue of the force requested by the Haitian government. She said at a new conference that an international armed force would be a partner of the Haitian National Police “that would go against the gangs”.

She spoke a day after the United States and Canada showed no interest at a Security Council meeting for deploying their security personnel despite renewed appeals from the UN and Haiti for help to end worsening violence in the Western hemisphere’s poorest nation. They are the two countries most often mentioned as possible leaders of an international force in Haiit.

US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the council that “Haiti must address its continued insecurity challenges,” and he encouraged the international community to support its efforts.

Canada’s UN ambassador, Robert Rae, said the world needs to learn from all previous military interventions in Haiti, which failed to bring long-term stability to the country. He said it’s key that in the future solutions “must be led by Haitians and by Haitian institutions”.

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the country’s Council of Ministers sent an urgent appeal on October 7 calling for “the immediate deployment of a specialised armed force, in sufficient quantity”, to stop the crisis caused partly by the “criminal actions of armed gangs”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued the appeal, and La Lime repeated it on Tuesday as more than three months later, no countries

have stepped forward.

La Lime said there was widespread concern in the Security Council on the worsening security situation in Haiti. She told the council Tuesday that “gang-related violence has reached levels not seen in years”. Homicides and kidnappings increased for a fourth straight year in 2022, she said. She said the 1,359 kidnappings last year was more than double the number in 2021, averaging roughly four per day. Killings were up a third to 2,183, touching all segments of society, including a former presidential candidate and the director of the National Police Academy.

La Lime said the Security Council’s unanimous adoption in October of a resolution imposing sanctions on individuals and groups threatening peace and stability in Haiti starting with a powerful gang leader, and sanctions imposed by the US and Canada are having an impact.

On the political front, she said, a “National Consensus Agreement for an Inclusive Transition and Transparent Elections” signed on December 21 by a broad range of political, civilian, religious, trade union and private sector officials was a positive development that calls for elections by February 2024.

But she stressed Wednesday that the crucial missing element is a specialised international military contingent to support the police.

In the Security Council “there is a lot of concern, and I think there is recognition that help is needed,” La Lime said. “The sanctions continue to do their job, and there is a recognition that it’s time to sit down and deal with this issue of the force. So, my hope is that the Security Council will do that.”

By EDITH M LEDERER Associated Press

Rentokil: No raccoons are killed

EDITOR,

I WISH to respond to a letter you have featured in your letters to the Editor, The letter claims that we are trapping and killing raccoons. That is incorrect. We offer a catch and release service and relocate alive raccoons to a non-urban environment out west. (The eastern side of the island is

currently where a population explosion appears to be happening). We do in fact refuse to carry out any harm to the raccoons when asked and only agree to capture them alive and our technicians relocate them.

We use tins of sardines as the bait and no poison of any kind is used. I think it’s important to correct an important error such as this and be given that right of reply as soon as possible.

MARK MCCLUSKEY General manager, Rentokil, The Bahamas, January 26, 2023

Mental illness or possession

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE print media published some months ago a tragic incident involving a mentally ill individual who was put down by law enforcement officers in New Providence. I believe that it was in December that the Senate rubber stamped the Progressive Liberal Party’s Mental Health Bill (2022), which repealed the Mental Health Act of 1969.

The state is cognisant of the alarming number of Bahamians battling health illness, and has decided to put in place legislative safeguards to protect them from abuse. The PLP had made the moral decision in seeking to protect those who are not mentally fit to protect themselves. However, I believe that in many instances in The Bahamas, persons who are exhibiting signs of mental disorder are possessed by malevolent spirits (or demons). This is not to suggest that mental illness is not a legitimate ailment. Many Bible seminaries in the US and Great Britain offer courses in psychology. For years, however, Christian fundamentalists have been very distrustful of psychology and psychiatry. For example, the late Dave Hunt in his The Seduction of Christianity argued that the modern field of psychology is rooted in the anti-Christian ideology of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. Hunt alleged in his volume that psychoanalysis is a religion hidden beneath a scientific verbiage. According to Hunt, science can deal with such things as nutritional deficiencies or chemical imbalances in the brain, but it has nothing to say about the mind.

Another prominent evangelical opponent of psychology was the late Dr Jay

Adams, who employed an entirely biblical approach to counselling dubbed Nouthetic counselling. Psychology is often linked with Christian counselling. Two examples of this would be Dr James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Dr Gary R Collins, whose Christian Counselling volume is widely distributed throughout the church. While both have come under fire by critics of psychology, the Christian Research Institute in the US published a four part article, titled Psychology and the Church by Bob and Gretchen Passatino. The Passatinos sought to present a middle ground synopsis of this controversial subject. In any case, Bahamian psychologists are adept at diagnosing mentally ill individuals as suffering solely from a mental illness, often without any considerations to demonic involvement. This brings to mind famed Christian apologist C S Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, which is a fictional correspondence between two demons, Wormwood and Screwtape. Screwtape offers his inexperienced nephew, Wormwood, practical advice on destroying human beings without being detected. Modern psychology’s major shortcoming is its unwillingness to recognise the reality of the spiritual realm and its massive influence in the physical realm.

Many of the “mentally ill” persons I have personally encountered seemed to have been demon possessed. I know that this is an awkward topic in our increasingly human secular nation. The topic of demon possession is mentioned (indirectly) in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 16 regarding the apostate King Saul. Throughout

the synoptic Gospels and Acts in the New Testament, the activity of demon possession increases exponentially. The proliferation of demons in the New Testament is due to the arrival of Jesus Christ, Who in Matthew 12:29 overpowers the strong man, Satan. In a sense, they were flushed out of hiding like cockroaches fleeing from Baygon spray. Two thousand years removed from the First Advent, we remain in the New Testament epoch. Hence, the continued proliferation of demons, even in The Bahamas.

Concerning the “mentally ill” Bahamians I have encountered, their symptoms were eerily similar to the Gadarene demoniac in Mark 5 and the soothsayer demoniac in Acts 16. I’ve seen many of them wandering the streets and talking to themselves. Many of them resort to using alcohol and illicit drugs as coping mechanisms. When inebriated, the signs of demonic possession becomes more pronounced. Many of them are homeless and lack gainful employment. And many of them are suffering from some form of post dramatic disorder due to some tragic event in the past, like being molested as a child; a family member being murdered or catching a spouse in a compromising position. These individuals are in dire need of spiritual deliverance and counselling - something that humanist psychology is woefully unable to offer. I’m afraid that the PLP’s Mental Health Bill does not fully address the issues involving mental illness and the possibility of demon possession.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama January 26, 2023.

A YOUNGSTER singing during the “Labour on the Campus” event at Government High School yesterday. Photo: Moise Amisial

Three separate shootings leave four wounded and one dead

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

POLICE are investigating three separate shootings that left one man dead and four others in hospital.

In the most recent incident, a 43-year-old man was shot on Johnson Road around noon yesterday. Police said the victim, a resident of the area, was near his home when he was approached by a man he knew. The man shot him

multiple times. The victim was taken to the hospital by EMS, however, he died a short time later.

Police say they are following significant leads into the matter.

The second incident occurred shortly before 5pm on Wednesday.

Police said the victimsthree men ages 53, 32 and 29 - were patrons at a sports bar in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, when a man known to them fired gunshots

in their direction, which resulted in them receiving multiple injuries.

The victims were taken to the local clinic and later airlifted to New Providence for further medical assistance.

Shortly after the incident, the suspect was arrested.

Then, shortly after 8pm on Wednesday, there was a shooting on West Street in Nassau.

According to reports,

a 28-year-old man was standing in the front of a residence on West Street, when he was approached by the occupants of a dark coloured Nissan Cube and a white Toyota Rav-4 and subsequently shot. The victim was taken to hospital by EMS and is listed in stable condition.

In other news, three men were arrested on Wednesday for armed robbery.

Police said that shortly before noon on Sunday,

January 22, a man and a woman were robbed at their home in western New Providence.

Reports indicate that two masked men, one of whom was allegedly armed with a handgun, entered the home and locked the homeowners into a bathroom. They were then robbed of cell phones, electronic equipment, and jewellery.

Acting on intelligence, officers attached to Operation Ceasefire arrested the

men on Wednesday at their respective homes and confiscated the items with an estimated value of $20,000. Police are questioning the men in connection with a number of incidents that have occurred in western New Providence. Investigations into the matters continue. Anyone with information that might assist police should call 919 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS {8477).

GB ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY CELEBRATE 115 YEARS WITH A WEEK OF EVENTS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PI Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc in Grand Bahama marked the sorority’s Founders’ Day with a week of activities celebrating 115 years of sisterhood and service.

To commemorate the special day, President Yvonne Pearson said the Chapter organised several activities, including a forum on Female Leadership; a Mix and Mingle social with the Divine Nine; and a community service day focused on “uplifting our community.”

The day of service started with members potting seeds for a vegetable garden at Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Academy (MSSCA). And assisting a handicap gentleman in the community by constructing a ramp for his wheelchair as well as cleaning up the front of his property.

Ms Pearson said both will be ongoing projects for the Chapter.

“We couldn’t have completed the projects without manpower from our brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. she said.

Special thanks to Mr Devon Wilson, Senior Master, and Technical Drawing teacher of MSSCA, and Mr Dominic Bain, a maintenance worker of MSSCA for planning and constructing the ramp.”

The week, she said, culminated on Sunday with members of Pi Upsilon Omega Chapter worshiping together at Mary Star of The Sea Catholic Church followed by an elegant brunch at Dolphin Cove.

Desiree Joseph and Liyah Forbes, co-chairs of the Founders’ Day Committee, said the service projects fall under the sorority’s international programme initiative, ‘Uplifting Our Local Community.’

“We look forward to these ongoing service projects,” they said.

Pineridge Urban Renewal coordinator Sophie Williams commended the Chapter for installing a concrete ramp and carrying out some landscaping work and debris removal at the home of Mr Vincent Bullard, who is disabled.

“We are grateful that the sorority, with the assistance of the fraternity, was able to assist Mr Bullard who is wheelchair bound, and a senior citizen.

“This is a critical area where persons are in need. So, we extend our thanks to them for this wonderful gesture, and look forward to working with them in the future,” Ms Williams said.

According to Ms Forbes, Mr Bullard needs another ramp, with which the Chapter would gladly assist him.

Ravanno Ferguson, director of education for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, said they were pleased to be of assistance to their AKA sisters.

“It is a great initiative by our sorority sisters as part of their Founders’ Day activities, and so we jumped onboard when they asked for our assistance and look forward to working with them on future projects like this,” he said.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., was founded on January 15, 1908, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. It is the first and oldest Greek Letter organisation established by nine African American college women. Today, the organisation is comprised of more than 325,000 members in 12 countries around the world.

Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) is looking for passionate and highly-qualified educators to join its faculty. LCIS is an accredited, globally recognised educational institution offering the International Baccalaureate from 18 months to 18 years. The school celebrates 60 years of academic excellence in The Bahamas this year.

We are seeking to hire a/an:

• EAL Teacher

• IB Business Teacher

• IB Diploma Coordinator

• IB French Teacher

• IB Humanities Teacher

• IB Marine Science Teacher

• IB Math Teacher

Successful candidates will have:

• BA in Education required, MA preferred

• A minimum of 3 years’ experience

• Proficiency in using technology

• IB MYP Coordinator

• IB PYP Teacher (3)

• IB PYP Coordinator/Assistant Head of Lower School

• IB Science Teacher

• IB Spanish Teacher (3)

• IB Visual Art & French Teacher

• IB Visual Art Teacher (2)

• Sailing Instructor

• International work/living experience

• Experience in inquiry-based, interdisciplinary pedagogy

Teachers at LCIS benefit from competitive salary and benefits packages. The school is also committed to the ongoing professional development of all faculty and staff.

To apply, please send a résumé and cover letter explaining why you are a match for LCIS to jobs@lcis.bs by Friday 10 February To learn more about our school, please visit www.lcis.bs

EDUCATING THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW

ABOVE: Ravanno Ferguson of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, is seen assisting with some landscaping work at the home of Vincent Bullard in Pineridge.

ABOVE left and right: Members potted vegetable seeds for a vegetable garden at Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Academy as part of their week of activities to commemorate the sorority’s 115th Founders’ Day celebrated on January 15.

CELEBRATING FOX HILL’S BEST

MEMBERS of the Fox Hill Charitable Organisation (FHCO) recently celebrated its Second Anniversary Praise and Thanksgiving Service. This was also an opportunity to honour outstanding members of Fox Hill.

Founder, president and executive director Dr Ricardo Taylor commended his fellow members for an eventful and successful year of charitable work, representing Fox Hillians.

He said: “I truly believe that by the grace of God, and through the humility and H.E.A.R.T. of FHCO, we have experienced

exponential growth, experience, expansion, and exposure.

“By way of our outreach program and initiatives, our efforts have taken us literally from our local community here in Fox Hill, on the island of New Providence, The Bahamas, to the Province of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to attend the Conference of Youth (COY17) and the Conference of Parties (COP27) for three weeks, from November 1 to 21, 2022.

“Additionally, the FHCO’s efforts and outreach have also taken us to Port of Spain, Trinidad, to attend the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN)’s 14th Biennial General Congress for four days from December 1 to 4, 2022.”

FHCO held a service on Thursday, January 19, at St Paul’s Baptist Church, Bernard Road, Fox Hill.

During the service, several people were presented with certificates and gifts of appreciation.

The service was moderated by Reverend Sherelle Saunders, and the sermon

was brought by Bishop Rev Dr J Carl Rahming, pastor of St Paul’s Baptist Church. Speakers and participants included: Rev Fr Noel Clarke, priest, St Anselm’s Roman Catholic Church; Dr Jacinta Higgs, president, Akhepran International Academy; Dr Anthony Hamilton, president, Civil Society Bahamas; Senator Barry Griffin representing Fred Mitchell, MP for Fox Hill; Deacon Althea Carey, pastor, Coke Memorial Methodist Church; Rev Hartman Nixon, pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church; Rev Stephen Sterling, pastor, Word of Hope Discipleship Ministries and Dr Ricardo Taylor.

Special acknowledgement was made to a number of people who were the original keepers of the torch of memories and commemoration of the people of Fox Hill, including: Juannianne Dorsett, Shonel Ferguson, Clarence Ferguson II, Berylmae Wright, Johnny Bullard, Sheila Knowles, Maurice Tynes, Liliymae Gaitor and Celeste Lockhart.

AZERBAIJANI MAN FINED OVER $2K FOR OVERSTAYING AND TWO COUNTS OF FRAUD

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

AN Azerbaijani man was fined in court yesterday after he admitted to defrauding two stores in Atlantis of a collective $340.95 and to overstaying in the country.

Ruslan Mehdiyev, 35, represented by Geoffrey Farquharson, stood before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson Pratt on charges of overstaying and two counts of fraud by false pretences.

Between January 19 and 20, the defendant defrauded Graycliff Cigars and Sundry Store in the Atlantis resort of $132 and $208.95 respectively by means of a guests account.

It is further said that the defendant overstayed in the country for a period of three months after arriving on October 13, 2022 on a supposed 14-day stay.

While the defendant said that he was initially unaware of the second fraud charge, after consulting with his new attorney he pleaded guilty to all three charges. Mehdiyev also apologised to the chief magistrate for his actions.

Mr Farquharson said his client has no priors in this jurisdiction. The attorney further said that the defendant is terrified of being sent to prison and asked that the court be lenient by only imposing a fine on him.

In view of this the chief magistrate imposed a fine of $1,500 for the overstaying charge or one month in prison. Mehdiyev further faced fines of $350 and $450 for the two fraud charges with each carrying a day’s prison sentence should he fail to pay.

Upon payment of his fines the defendant was told that he would be turned over to the Department of Immigration.

FOX Hill Charitable Organization’s Board of Directors. From left, Philandra Bain-Wood, assistant, secretary; Audrey Symonette, vice president; Doralin Albury, chaplain; Dr Ricardo Taylor, founder, president and executive director; Deborah Cash, assistant chaplain & public relations officer; Stephan Walkin, treasurer; and Lillian Flowers, secretary.

PICTURED with Deborah Cash, Dr Ricardo Taylor and Lillian Flowers are, clockwise from top right, Clarence Ferguson II, former president of Fox Hill Community Development Centre; Miriam Wright, receiving on behalf of Berylmae Wright, original surviving mother of the Fox Hill Mothers Club; Johnny Bullard, (second from right) former chair of Fox Hill Festival Committee; and Jauanniann Dorsett, Former Member of Parliament for Fox Hill.

Saying goodbye to little Loki

EVERYONE tells you they’re old, they’ve lived a good life, it’s time. They use the word time as if there were a place on the clock that says time to be born and time to die.

But the reality is that even when it’s time to say goodbye, you wish for a little more time. When it comes to pets, time is your friend in the beginning, the cute and cuddly puppy stage when they lick your face and everything they do seems funny. Time is your friend in the middle years when you’ve grown comfortable with each other. They know what time they are going to be fed and what time they go to bed, even if they don’t think of it that way. Experts tell us that, in fact, dogs do not have a concept of time, but no question they know habit

By Diane Phillips

and routine.

‘We had extra time. And yet when the time came, it still felt like the alarm had gone off too early, at the wrong time, though for her it was right. She was done. She had given us all she had to give and had outlived anyone’s expectations.’

Then comes the latter chapter when the clock ticks and the heart races and you never know what month, day or week is going to be the moment time runs out. Time ran out this week for our little Loki, a 4lb bundle of love in a silky terrier. The black in her fur gave way to silver as she aged, but we hardly noticed unless someone else mentioned that she was aging. She didn’t walk so much as bounce and that, too, changed, to a slow

prance. I don’t remember a time that she did not sleep with us. She thought of the bed as hers as much as we did and would often run to the door telling us it was time to call it a night.

That, too, changed in the end. For the last few weeks of her life, she wanted to sleep alone, first on the floor of the room, then in the hall on a straw plait runner. She was blind and had failing kidneys. The vet had given her three to six months. That was a year and a half ago. We had extra time. And yet when the time came, it still felt like the alarm had gone off too early, at the wrong time, though for her it was right. She was done. She had given us all she had to give and had outlived anyone’s expectations.

They say pets are like

ONE LETTER’S JOURNEY THAT TOOK IT ROUND THE WORLD

THIS slightly whimsical

note from a reader – “Flying to the moon these day does not take very long… Two envelopes posted from France, December 5, 2022, arrived Nassau January 23, 2023.”

Through no fault of The Bahamas post office, the wayward letters’ journey took them from France to Amsterdam, though it is not clear how anyone could mistake Bahamas and Amsterdam except that they both have A’s in their

name but so do thousands of other places so hardly an excuse.

From Amsterdam, the travelling letters made their way to Surinam in South America.

From there, they went back to Amsterdam. Because they were registered mail (imagine if they weren’t), the individual was able to track them down through international intelligence, snaring the wandering words from the whimsy of their accidental

tour arranger and lassoing them into her hands this week.

In the 49 days, the two envelopes were crisscrossing continents they could have gone to the moon and back 16 times and had a day to spare.

Hard to believe, but the first time a manned crew landed on the moon, the journey took four days, six hours, and 45 minutes. That was in 1969. Today getting to the moon takes only three days.

family. No, they are not LIKE family. They are family. We got Loki when she was just a babe in arms, brought home by our daughter who could not be without a dog even in college.

And so when Loki took her last breath and uttered the gasp of death, my husband was by her side, rubbing the back of her now shrunken and tiny head. We had taken turns all morning. I left and he stayed by her side. We buried her later that day in a deep round grave behind my office, near the lake. There is a circle of stones around the spot and a purple and green Moses of the Bulrushes plant on top

in the centre. We said goodbye. And we cried because the little soft piece of fur that used to annoy me no end when she slept between us would not be there anymore. The little four-legged creature who followed me everywhere would not be there to trip me up when she got between my feet in the kitchen.

The house felt empty that night.

Here’s what I wished.

You’ll understand if you lost a pet that was family.

You wish you had spoiled them with more treats instead of sticking with the special diet that the vet recommended even though you knew the vet was right

and the special diet worked. It prolonged their life and provided a better quality of life, but how much damage could a few treats here and there have done? It’s not as though we would have been ignorant enough to give her cooked bones. You wish you had taken them to the beach more, cuddled more when they got older, didn’t pronounce her name with a question mark at the end of it like lokeee very time she tripped you in the kitchen. You wish, I wish, she had died without pain. We will adjust because they were right. It was time. She is at peace. Goodbye little Loki, goodbye.

A CUDDLE for little Loki.

‘Labour on Campus’ Initiative seeks to assist students entering job market

THE Ministry of Education and Technical and Vocational Training, and the Department of Labour along with stakeholders including Government High School’s Class of 1983 are addressing the country’s skills gap.

These groups hosted the initial “Labour on Campus” event—a series of career/ job fairs to assist 10th and 11th grade students to prepare for the job market—at Government High School yesterday.

Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Training Glenys Hanna-Martin thanked the Department of Labour for its efforts. She also extended thanks to the members of GHS Class of 1983 for their partnership in the programme. She said, “Numerous studies have shown that over the last 10 years there [has been] a skills gap in the economy which indicates that while opportunities exist many Bahamians are not equipped to take advantage of these opportunities.

“The result is that the rationale now manifests to import labour whilst our people stand on the margins and watch.

“This state of affairs is not only unacceptable but it is a manifest anomaly, it instigates frustration, ferments anger, strips away human dignity and breeds a weakening of morale.

“This is destabilising and represents a failing in national policy. It is our duty as policy makers to ensure that the first and primary beneficiaries of economic wealth and opportunity in The Bahamas are our people.

“It is our duty to guarantee that despite the pressures of globalisation and our own national challenges that the Bahamian people are the subjects and

not the objects of economic development.

“This can only be achieved by focused and uncompromising commitment and by dogged and aggressive action to bring about the desired outcomes for our people.

“The struc tural inequities in our country must be tackled and we must have the courage and resolve to do so. It is also mandatory that the rights of workers are ardently protected and promoted,” she said.

TWO MEN CHARGED WITH DEFENCE FORCE OFFICER’S MURDER

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THREE men were charged in court yesterday in connection with two separate murders, including the death of an RBDF officer.

Briantino Fox, 26, and Jerome Stuart, 20, represented by attorneys Alphonso Lewis and Geoffrey Farquharson, both stood before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson Pratt on a murder charge.

It is alleged that around 2am on January 18 in Fox Hill, the pair shot and killed 30-year-old marine seaman Alvarez McCoy. According to police reports the victim was found in his burgundy coloured Nissan Cube suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. McCoy was taken to Doctors Hospital where he later died.

As the charge against them is an indictable offence neither accused was required to enter a plea in court. They were informed that their matter would be

transferred to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

The accused were also told that as the judge lacked the jurisdiction to grant them bail they had the right to apply for it though the higher court. They will be sent to prison until then.

Following this the defence’s legal counsel indicated that both their clients, who live in the same residence, had been on remand for five days before their court date. After apologising for his client’s appearance in court, Mr Farquharson explained that neither defendant’s families had access to their apartment to retrieve their belongings since their arrest. He further claimed that the home was still cordoned off.

In response the Chief Magistrate said that the court was not inclined to intervene, but told the defence that once investigations were done the suspects’ families should have access to the house. Fox and Stuart’s VBIs are set for service on May 10.

The other man, Godfrey Minnis, 35, also appeared before Chief Magistrate Ferguson Pratt on a separate charge of murder.

It is alleged that on March 18, 2022, Minnis attempted to cause the death of 35-yearold Philip Moxey. While Minnis had previously been arraigned for the attempted murder of Moxey on June 20 of last year the charge had been upgraded to murder after the victim died on January 15.

After informing the judge that he was on bail in connection with this same incident before coming to court Minnis made inquiries into the upgrade in his charge. The accused was then told that although he is denied bail at this time he had the right to apply for it through the higher court.

Before being taken to prison, Minnis was allowed a brief moment with his girlfriend in court. Service of Minnis’s VBI transferring the matter to the Supreme Court is also set for May 10.

TWO MEN GRANTED BAIL IN CONNECTION WITH $100K INAGUA DRUG BUST

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO men were granted $30,000 bail in court yesterday after allegedly being found with $100,000 worth of cocaine uncovered on a mailboat in Inagua last week.

Clayvone Seymour, 57, and James Dean, 65, both of Matthew Town, Inagua, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson Pratt. There they

faced charges of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply and conspiracy to possess dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

It is alleged that on January 21 in Inagua the accused were found by police with 11.25 lbs of cocaine. A search of their mailboat uncovered the drugs, which have an estimated street value of $100,000, in a freezer box concealed under seafood items.

In court, both accused pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutor ASP Davis had no objection to bail, but asked that conditions be attached.

Bail of $30,000 with one or two sureties was granted to each accused on condition they sign in at Matthew Town Police Station every Monday and Wednesday by 7pm. The accused are expected to return to court in Nassau for their trial dates on September 12, 13 and 14.

STUDENTS of Government High School entertaining with music and singing yesterday during the launch of the Ministry of Education’s ‘Labour on Campus’ - a series of career/job fairs to assist 11th graders in preparing for the job market.

Photo: Moise Amisial

TOP Left: Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Training Glenys Hanna-Martin yesterday adressing stakeholders at the launch of the ‘Labour on Campus’ initiative.

TOP Right: Minister of Labour Keith Bell and Glenys Hanna-Martin visiting various job booths providing info career opportunities.

Photos: Moise Amisial

Blood bank still low as call made for donations

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

OFFICIALS from Princess Margaret Hospital’s blood bank are appealing to the public to donate blood as supplies remain low.

This comes after Public Hospitals Authority managing director Dr Aubynette Rolle revealed earlier this week that the country’s blood banks are in a “critical” state.

A PHA blood drive will be held this Saturday from 10am to 4pm at the Mall at Marathon.

According to officials yesterday, people aged 17

and up can be screened to give blood once their health is in good condition; 16-year-olds can also donate blood, but only with parental consent.

Krystal Bain-Symonette, a senior technologist at PMH, explained how the process works during a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday. “The blood donation process is a relatively simple process,” she said. “Once you come into the blood bank, you confirm that you would have had a meal close enough to the time of donation. We give you a health questionnaire form

– it’s called the donor health questionnaire.”

“I know a lot of persons, especially those who come regularly, it’s a little bit tedious for them to fill out the form, but it’s important for us to have that information as it helps us to identify those donors who are ineligible at that time.

“And that form is also important because it gives us consent to use that blood for the treatment of patients and once you fill out the questionnaire, we do a pre-donation health screening. We check your blood pressure. We check your hemoglobin, and we

check your pulse, and we ask questions related to the questionnaire.” She said once this process is complete, individuals will be sent to donate a pint of blood.

Only 70 percent of people actually pass the general health screening to donate a pint of blood, she said.

People ineligible to give blood include those with high blood pressure, below normal hemoglobin or other health related reasons.

“We also have to defer based on sometimes travel history, sometimes based on the medication the person is on and we also have to

consider questions related to lifestyle factors,” Mrs Bain-Symonette added.

Men who have sex with men are also not considered to be eligible to donate blood.

When asked the reason for this, Mrs Bain-Symonette replied that this was the global standard.

“Some countries are relaxed on that but we follow standards set by the World Health Organisation and they have maintained that particular point of deferral so we will follow those guidelines until otherwise indicated,” she added.

With respect to people with tattoos, she said

they can donate blood, but added that they are deferred for a period of 12 months.

The call for blood donations follows an investigation being launched on the death of Kenise Darville.

Mrs Darville posted a gut-wrenching video on Facebook on January 11, where she claimed doctors at PMH waited several days after she was admitted before informing her that she needed to make an urgent plea to friends and family for blood donations.

The mother died on January 19, after being admitted only two weeks earlier.

POLICE INVESTIGATING AFTER COPPER THEFT IN FREEPORT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama police are investigating the theft of copper cable wires worth $24,000 at a business in

Freeport.

The incident took place between January 20 and 23, when some unknown persons reportedly stole 600ft of 100x24 copper cable wires from a business on East Sunrise Highway.

Police are asking anyone with information that can assist them with locating the suspects involved to contact police at 911/919 or the nearest police station.

In other crime news, several migrants were arrested

in Eight Mile Rock when they were reportedly discovered with over $10,000 in cash.

While on routine patrol on Tuesday, officers attached to the Rapid Response Unit arrested five

Haitian men, ages 42, 37, 38, 27, and 28, sometime after 11pm in the area of Martin Town, Eight Mile Rock.

Officers observed the occupants in a black-coloured Nissan Note acting suspiciously.

During a search of the men and the vehicle, officers confiscated over $10,000. The men were taken into custody and later handed over to the Bahamas Department of Immigration for further investigation.

Stakes rise as Iran can fuel ‘several’ atom bombs

DUBAI

Associated Press

IRAN has enough highly enriched uranium to build “several” nuclear weapons if it chooses, the United Nations’ top nuclear official is now warning.

But diplomatic efforts aimed at again limiting its atomic programme seem more unlikely than ever before as Tehran arms Russia in its war on Ukraine and as unrest shakes the Islamic Republic.

The warning from Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in response to questions from European lawmakers this week, shows just how high the stakes have become over Iran’s nuclear programme. Even at the height of previous tensions between the West and Iran under hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran never enriched uranium as high as it does now.

For months, nonpro-

liferation experts have suggested Iran had enough uranium enriched up to 60 percent to build at least one nuclear weapon - though Tehran long has insisted its programme is for peaceful purposes. While offering

a caveat on Tuesday that “we need to be extremely careful” in describing Iran’s programme, Grossi bluntly acknowledged just how large Tehran’s highenriched uranium stockpile had grown.

“One thing is true: They have amassed enough nuclear material for several nuclear weapons, not one at this point,” Grossi said.

The Argentine diplomat then referred to Benjamin Netanyahu’s famous 2012 speech to the United Nations, in which the Israeli prime minister held up a placard of a cartoon-style bomb with a burning wick and drew a red line on it to urge the world to not allow Tehran’s programme to highly enrich uranium.

While the 2015 nuclear deal drastically reduced Iran’s uranium stockpile and capped its enrichment to 3.67 percent, Netanyahu successfully lobbied thenPresident Donald Trump to withdraw from the accord and set up the current tensions.

“You remember there was to be this issue of the breakthrough and Mr. Netanyahu drawing things at the UN and putting lines - well, that is long past. They have 70 kilograms

of uranium enriched at 60 percent. ...The amount is there,” Grossi said. “That doesn’t mean they have a nuclear weapon. So they haven’t proliferated yet.”

But the danger remains. Analysts point to what happened with North Korea, which had reached a 1994 deal with the US to abandon its nuclear weapons programme. The deal fell apart in 2002. By 2005 and wary of US intentions after its invasion of Iraq, Pyongyang announced it had built nuclear weapons. Today, North Korea has ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads that are capable of reaching the US.

Iranian diplomats for years have pointed to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s preachings as a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran wouldn’t seek an atomic bomb. However, Iranian officials in recent months have begun openly talking about the prospect of building nuclear weapons.

Talks between Iran and the West ended in August with a “final text” of a roadmap on restoring the 2015 deal that Iran until today hasn’t accepted.

Iran’s mission to the UN,

REMEMBERING: 20 YEARS SINCE SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA TRAGEDY

responding to questions about Grossi’s remarks, insisted in comments to The Associated Press on Thursday that Tehran “is prepared to stick to its commitments within the framework of the (deal) provided the other parties do the same.”

“The Iranian nuclear programme has never been about making nuclear weapons and enriching has nothing to do with deviating from it,” the mission said, despite Iran accelerating its enrichment after the deal’s collapse.

Iranian state television separately quoted Mohammad Eslami, the head of the country’s civilian nuclear

FLORIDA Associated Press

NASA marked the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy with somber ceremonies and remembrances during its annual tribute to fallen astronauts on yesterday.

More than 100 people gathered under a gray sky at Kennedy Space Center to remember not only Columbia’s crew of seven, but the 18 other astronauts killed in the line of duty. NASA’s two shuttle accidents account for more than half of the names carved into the black granite of the Space Mirror Memorial; plane crashes are to blame for the rest.

None of the Columbia astronaut family members attended the morning ceremony. But Zvi Konikov, a local rabbi, recalled how Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, asked him before the flight how to observe the Sabbath during two weeks in orbit with multiple sunsets a day.

1,

Chawla, commander, Rick D Husband, mission commander Laurel B Clark and Ilan

From

left (top row),

“Ilan taught us a powerful message. No matter how fast we’re going, no matter how important our work, we must pause and think about why we’re here on Earth, and that’s what we’re

programme, as saying Tehran would welcome a visit by Grossi to the country.

As Iran’s rial currency plunges further to historic lows against the dollar amid its crises, Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian also have made unsupported claims about American officials agreeing to their demands or frozen money abroad being released.

At the State Department, the denials about Iran’s claims have grown more and more pointed.

“We’ve heard a number of statements from the

doing today. We pause to recall the memory of all those courageous souls,” said Konikov.

Columbia was destroyed during reentry on February 1, 2003, after a piece of fuel-tank foam came off and punctured the left wing during liftoff 16 days earlier. The shuttle broke apart over Texas, just 16 minutes from its planned Florida touchdown.

NASA managers dismissed the impact during the flight despite the concerns of others. A similar blunder led to the loss of shuttle Challenger during liftoff on January 28, 1986, killing all seven aboard, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

The Apollo 1 launch pad fire claimed three astronauts’ lives on January 27, 1967.

Because of the clustering of these three dates, NASA sets aside the last Thursday of every January to commemorate its fallen astronauts. At space centers across the country, flags were lowered to half-staff, with ceremonies held along with spaceflight safety discussions.

Like NASA’s earlier tragedies, Columbia’s loss

Iranian foreign minister that are dubious if not outright lies, so I would just keep that broader context in mind when you point to statements from the Iranian foreign minister,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Monday in a response to a question. Price and others in President Joe Biden’s administration say any future talks with Iran remain off the table as Tehran cracks down on the months-long protests after the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained in September by the country’s morality police.

was avoidable, said former shuttle commander Bob Cabana, now NASA’s associate administrator.

“When we look back, why do we have to keep repeating the same hard lessons?” he said. “I don’t ever want to have to go through another Columbia.”

Besides Ramon, Columbia’s last crew included commander Rick Husband, pilot Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark.

A ship’s bell pealed after each of the 25 names were read as the ceremony drew to a close.

Bob and Diane Kalander interrupted their sailing trip from their home in Jamestown, Rhode Island, to Florida’s Key West to honor the lost shuttle crews. Their daughter and her boyfriend joined them at Kennedy.

“It’s fading from people’s memory,” Diane Kalander said. “There’s been a deemphasis on space because people say, ‘Let’s worry about problems on Earth as opposed to the future.’ We’ve got to look toward the future.”

INTERNATIONAL Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi, right, speaks with with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, left, during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, March 5, 2022. Iran has enough highly enriched uranium to build “several” nuclear weapons if it chooses, the United Nations’ top nuclear official is now warning.

Photo: Associated Press

THIS undated photo released in June 2003 provided by NASA shows STS-107 crew members aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. On February

2003, the seven crew members were lost as the Columbia fell apart over East Texas. This picture was on a roll of unprocessed film later recovered by searchers from the debris. From the left (bottom row), are mission specialist Kalpana

Ramon, payload specialist.

the

are mission specialist David M Brown, pilot William C. McCool, pilot; and payload commander Michael P Anderson.

Photo: NASA/AP

SPORTS

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHILE he didn’t get to play professional basketball, Jeff Walcott was happy to see his son Sebastian Walcott’s dream of playing professional baseball come true.

Walcott, one of the former outstanding local basketball players turned baseball coach, watched as Sebastian signed his name on his pro contract with the Texans Rangers during the first of the four deals acquired by the International Elite Sports Academy.

“It’s an exciting time for us,” Walcott said. “He’s going to the Dominican Republic for about three, but as a family, we’re elated. It’s four or five years in the making, but we’re so happy to finally get this deal with the Texan Rangers.”

Even though they watched their son progress from he started playing T-ball at the Junior Baseball League of Nassau, Walcott said it wasn’t until he started playing in the 12-andunder division that they started to take notice of his future.

“My wife and I never really wanted the pro route. We always believed that education should come first,” said Walcott, of his wife Yael. “But then when he started to develop, we saw that he had a chance and so we decided to take the chance.”

Now that he’s fulfilling the dream of playing pro ball, the elder Walcott instructed his son to keep his head high, stay focussed and commit to the sport that he says he loves.

“We will be watching him, we will be encouraging him, and we will provide the support for him,” he said. “But we want him to continue to love the game and once he does that, he will continue to have success.”

Sixteen-year-old Walcott, who plays shortstop and third base, said he was ecstatic when the deal came through for him.

“I saw it as a new opportunity to become a major leaguer, which was my ultimate goal,” he said. “When I realised that I can now have an opportunity to become a Hall of Famer, I’m even more encouraged to push my career.”

While his first stop will be in the Dominican Republic, Walcott said he’s looking forward to heading to the Arizona Spring training camp where he will be able to perform to determine where he will end up playing.

“They are expecting a lot from me. They expect for me to be a leader and to be on top of my game,” he said. “I expect the same or myself because this is what I wanted to do all along.”

To the younger players still left in the academy, Walcott encouraged them to “continue to work hard and put your mind to it”. He said anything is possible, if they believe they can achieve it.

“At 16 years old, for me to get this pro contact, I’m just happy,” Walcott said. “I just want to go there, have some fun and enjoy the game.”

Walcott said he is also happy with the other three players who were

Riley has ‘great experience’ at Korn Ferry tournament

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT wasn’t the performance he anticipated, but Cameron Riley said he was thrilled to have been afforded the opportunity to participate in his first Korn Ferry tournament.

In the last of the two tournaments played in The Bahamas, Riley failed to make the cut in the Great Abaco Classic that was played this week at the Abaco Club in Abaco.

“It was a great experience at the Abaco Golf Club,” Riley said. “I’m really thankful to the Bahamas Professional, Golf Association, bdGlobal Sports and the Korn Ferry Tour for bringing on such a great event and for having me participate in the event.

“It was an eye opener for me, seeing that level of competition and seeing the weakness of my game. I came back the second day and turned in a respectful round, but the first day really threw me off course.”

Despite his results, Riley said he enjoyed himself and he will definitely be back for another shot at it when the tour returns to The Bahamas in 2024.

The Great Abaco Classic followed the Great Exuma Classic that kicked off the Korn Ferry’s 2023 Tour at the Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Course where Devaughn Robinson also missed the cut.

The 23-year-old Riley, using his long-time Florida A&M Rattler team-mate and close college friend Mahindra Lutchman as his caddie, said he just has to believe in his ability to play at this level of competition.

“Even though they might have more resources and access to certain places and things to get better, just knowing that my game is on the same level as their own, the only thing missing was a little more experience, was just a confidence booster for me.

VETERAN

MARATHONER TO RAISE FUNDS FOR MD PATIENT

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Veteran marathoner Ebbie Jackson wants to do all she can to help raise funds to assist those dealing with cancer.

This weekend, Jackson, a 16-year survivor of cancer, will be competing in the half marathon of the Life Time Miami Marathon and Half before she heads off to Toyko to compete in another marathon. She will then travel to Boston in April.

She has teamed up with Melissa Major, a 21-year survivor of NonHodgkins Lymphoma, who has formed the MD Patient Navigation, which is designed to help survivors and caregivers on the challenges associated with life during and after cancer treatment.

Over the course of the year, Major will host a series of community survivorship events and programmes, including;

- A No Survivor Alone series that will take place on the first and third Saturday of every month.

- A survivorship online meetup where survivors can meet on Zoom or Google.

- A meet the expert quarterly panel discussion for local experts to provide relevant information from prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and support, to end-of-life care.

- A Cancer Symposium that will feature internationally renowned clinicians, scientists, researchers, and health professionals presenting and discussing the latest evidence and perspectives on issues at the intersection of diet, nutrition, physical activity and cancer risk and survivorship.

- A Monitoring and Evaluation programme or event that will be followed with an evaluation and report with a view to improving future programmes, events, or financial performance.

Jackson is encouraging persons to join her by donating any amount starting from $6, to any amount that contains the number six, to the fund that will assist Major in achieving all of her goals during the year. In return, Jackson will be competing in a series of marathons that will be earmarked towards the MD Patient Navigation.

“The purpose of doing these marathons is to raise money for the programme,” said Jackson, an ophthalmologist by profession, who operates Palmdale Vision Centre.

“We know that just about every family has been affected by someone who is afflicted with cancer and so we just want to help ease the burden.”

On the same day as the marathon on Sunday, Ebbie and her husband Theodore Jackson will be celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary as the happy couple begin their quest to start the year long drive to assist the programme.

While she’s not a competitive runner, Major said she supports Jackson every step of the way in her endeavours and, together, they have joined hands to encourage persons to give back to any charitable organisation.

“I’ve already done over 20 marathons and almost that same amount of half marathons,” said Jackson.

“It showed that I can go out there and compete with these guys as well. I know I have been putting in the work and doing the right things, so in due time, I know everything will fall into place. I just have to keep grinding and keep my head up and trust in God, who put me in this position in the first place.”

Acknowledging that he knows “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, Riley said it will take some time for him to get to the level of the top competitors in the tournament, but as long as he stays committed and dedicated, he feels he can do it.

Looking back at his performance in the tournament, Riley said he knew exactly what went wrong.

“My driver got me in trouble this week,” he pointed out. “Each time I was hitting it, I wasn’t hitting it as normally do. I hit a lot of trees and hazards. I just needed to correct that because the other parts of my game were solid.

“No one’s ever perfect and you can’t ever be perfect in the game of golf, but a lot of my strength is my driver. I usually hit it far and straight, but a lot of shots went far, but they were not straight.”

As long as he can stay consistent, which he feels will come with a little more experience, Riley said he will be a force to reckon with.

“That’s what I need to work on.” he proclaimed. “That driver got me in a lot of trouble.”

Riley will go back to the drawing board and prepare for his next tournament on the APG Tour season where he will be heading to Palm Strings, Florida in the middle in February. He might play in another tournament at the beginning of February.

“In golf, it’s hard to have a set schedule because some events take precedence over others and so it

SEE PAGE 13

NAVIGATION

“It’s now my life and if I do it for a worthy cause, then I’m all for it.”

Persons wishing to assist the MD Patient Navigation can contact Major at 242-557-1693, or email melissa@ mdpnav.com. They can view her programme on the website www. mdpnav.com

Major has advanced her cause by working with notable experts in their field including Susan Roberts, the founder of the Cancer Society of the Bahamas, the late Dr. John A. Lunn who contributed to medical research and advancing health care in The Bahamas, the former US Ambassador Ned L. Siegel co-founder of the Bahamas Breast Cancer Initiative Foundation, Dr. Steven Narod a world-leader in the field of breast and ovarian cancer and the team of local Oncologist in the Bahamas.

She is a member of The Bahamas Country team for the development of a National Cancer Registry and the development of a National Cancer Control Plan. Committee lead for the Healthy Bahamas Coalition Cancer Awareness under the Ministry of Health. Melissa’s current memberships include - The Alliance for Professional Health Advocates and Academy of Oncology Nursing Navigators (AONN), Florida Oncology Navigators Network and Komen Navigation Nation.

Major is a mentor and wellness authority who works with individuals to help them with food and lifestyle changes. She holds several certifications from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, American Association of Christian Counsellors, Reiki Shoden Practitioner and Mad Dogg Athletics. She is also a 2015 Bahamian Icon Award Nominee for Humanitarianism.

EBBIE Jackson

MELISSA Major

REGULATORS, MILLIONAIRES WIN DOUBLE HEADER

THE Leno Regulators and the Mekaddish Millionaires won the New Providence Basketball Association’s double header played on Wednesday night at the AF Adderley Gymnasium.

In the men’s division in the feature contest, the Regulators held off the Zulu Media Marketing 7-66, while the Millionaires nipped the Discount Distributors Rockets 99-97.

REGULATORS

72, ZULU MEDIA MARKETING

66: Cruz

Simon finished with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists to lead a balanced scoring attack for Leno in the win.

Hakeem Walkes had 13 points and two rebounds; Alexander Rolle had nine points, three rebounds and two block shots; Kemsey Sylvestre had eight points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks; ; Chico Francis had seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks; Alex Joseph also had seven points with three rebounds and Zachary Pennerman added six points with three assists.

Judino Wilson scored a game high 21 points with eight rebounds, three steals and two assists in a losing effort.

Selwyn McKenzie had 14 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds; John Bryant also had 14 points with four rebounds and two steals and Kriston Marshall had 10 points, 11 rebounds and two steals.

MEKADDISH MILLIONAIRES 99, DISCOUNT DISTRIBUTORS ROCKETS

97: Joshua Burrows got a slam dunk with 35:70 seconds left on the clock to push the Millionaires to a 99-94 decision as they went on to secure the win.

With 25:00 left, Torrez Basden completed a three-point play to cut the deficit to 99-96 for the Rockets. Keith Rolle had a chance to seal the deal with 2.9 seconds, but he missed the threepointer for Discount Distributors as Mekaddish held on for the win.

Burrows finished with 32 points, 15 rebounds, five steals and two assists in the win as he led a balanced scoring attack for the Millionaires.

Preston Ferguson had 19 points, four steals and three rebounds; Travjuan Alleyne had 15 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and two steals; ChadVaughn James had 12 points, five rebounds and four steals; Clayton Miller had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Dauran Marshall chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Quebell Martin scored a game high 38 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks in a losing effort. Keith Rolle had 15 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists; Terrano Oliver Sr had 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals and Johnstone Fleuridor added 13 points with three rebounds and two steals.

TONIGHT’S SCHEDULE

7 pm Rebels vs BIBT Great Whites (DII).

8 pm Caro Contractors Shockers vs Tucker Boys (D1).

Saturday’s schedule

7 pm RC Liquors Eagles vs Produce Express (DII).

8 pm Discount

Distributors Liquors Rockets vs TMT Giants (D1).

BASEBALL DREAM COMES TRUE FOR SEBASTIAN WALCOTT

SEBASTIAN Walcott is shown with his parents and coaches from the I-Elite Baseball Academy.

able to sign their contacts out of I-Elite. He noted that they all went through the process over the years and now they are heading off to fulfill their dreams.

One of I-Elite’s coaches, Albert Cartwright, called Walcott a real

“special” player.

“He’s one of them that comes around every so often,” he said. “I’ve been watching him for so many years and I always felt that he will be a kid to reckon with.

“He’s definitely put in the work to be a priority with these guys in

the organisation, so it’s going to be fun to watch him continue to grow as he does some special things.”

Another I-Elite coach, Geron Sands, feels that Walcott will become one of the best players to come out of the I-Elite programme.

“Over the years, what he has

done from a 12-year-old to a 16-year-old is tough to beat in comparison to the other guys,” Sands said. “We have had many greats who played this sport, but I believe that he will be one of the greats, not just from The Bahamas, but the entire world.”

RILEY HAS ‘GREAT EXPERIENCE’ AT KORN FERRY TOURNAMENT

FROM PAGE 12

takes some adjustments,” he said. “I think I will mostly play the first APG Tournament and then play a number of tournaments on the schedule that will run through to November.

“Whatever opportunity comes in between, I will take advantage of it. So, I’m excited about it. I’m looking forward to it.”

While this was Riley’s first time playing in the Korn Ferry Tour, this is his

second year on the APG Tour.

“I played very well last year,” Riley said.

“I placed 15th on the points list, so I played pretty well on that, but the Korn Ferry is a step up from there and so I have some work to do there, but I’m very comfortable playing on the APG Tour.”

Having been treated like royalty, Riley said he’s still flabbergasted about the Korn Ferry Tour, which he felt was the best event he’s

participated in so far.

“It was just such as great honour to represent my country, The Bahamas, at the tournament too,” he summed up.

Riley also got a chance to team up with about four players on the tour as they hosted a golf clinic for residents of Exuma on Saturday.

“Seeing the light bulb go off in their heads, showed that there’s a lot of potential for the game in the future,” he said.

“I went to the beach that night and I saw some of the kids practicing their swing. That just made me so excited to see what the future holds for The Bahamas.

“It was a heartwarming experience for me.

“I loved every moment of it.”

No doubt, he only wished his scores were much better than they were.

Riley, coming of his collegiate experience two years ago, helped FAMU to some

of its best results as they captured their first MEAC championship in school history and surged into the NCAA Regionals in 2021. Riley won the BCGCA HBCU Invitational with rounds of 69-69 to finish -4. He finished fourth in the APGA Collegiate Ranking as one of four Rattlers in the top five, earning entry into Advocates Pro Golf Association (APGA) events this summer and to the Korn Ferry Qualifying Tournament that fall.

Garland scores 26 as Cavaliers race past Rockets 113-95

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON (AP) — Darius Garland scored 26 points and Evan Mobley added 21 as the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the short-handed Houston Rockets 113-95 Thursday night despite missing Donovan Mitchell.

Garland, the fifth overall pick in the 2019 draft who turned 23 on Thursday, also had nine assists and four rebounds for the Cavs.

“Darius has continued to grow,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “This is a place where we’ve seen him grow the most is understanding the moment, understanding each game and how it’s different and what it takes from him to be a tone-setter.”

The Cavaliers led by 26 at halftime after scoring 74 points in the first two periods. The Rockets cut it to 22 on a basket by rookie Jabari Smith Jr. with 9½ minutes left in the third. But Cleveland scored the next 10 points, with 3s by Garland and Dean Wade, to extend the lead to 89-57 midway through the

quarter.

“Everything has been that hunt for consistency,” Bickerstaff said. “We’ve had leads before and we get a little lax and loose with the ball and things like that.

“But I thought they had the right approach for the majority of the game tonight.”

The Rockets ended the quarter with an 11-3 run, with five points from rookie TyTy Washington, but they still trailed 97-74 entering the fourth.

Tari Eason opened the fourth with a tip-in shot for the Rockets before Garland and Cedi Osman made consecutive 3-pointers to push Cleveland’s advantage to 103-76.

The Cavaliers scored five straight points, capped by a 3 from Wade, to make it 111-89 with about 3 1/2 minutes left, and Cleveland’s starters sat down after that.

Mitchell sat out for the fourth time in five games with a groin strain. He returned Tuesday night after missing three games, but aggravated it near the end of that game to keep him out Thursday.

Mitchell, who ranks ninth in the NBA by averaging 28.3 points a game, was named a starter for the Eastern Conference in next month’s NBA All-Star Game.

Eason had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Houston. The Rockets were without Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate and Kevin Porter Jr. as they lost their second straight since snapping a 13-game skid Monday night.

The Rockets, who have the NBA’s worst record at 11-38, committed 22 turnovers and made just five of 21 3-pointers. Jalen Green, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, was 2 of 9 for six points after scoring a career-high 42 points in Houston’s win over Minnesota on Monday.

“They’re one of the best defensive teams in the league, so the fact that they forced 22 turnovers wasn’t super surprising since going in knowing we didn’t have three of our main guys who handle the basketball,” Silas said.

TIP-INS Cavaliers: Kevin Love sat out

with back spasms. … Wade scored 15 off the bench. ... Jarrett Allen had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Rockets: Gordon missed the game with right knee soreness. … Tate was out as part of injury management after returning from an ankle sprain. … Porter missed his eighth straight game with a bruised left foot.

ALL-STAR MITCHELL

In the wake of Mitchell’s selection as an All-Star game starter, Bickerstaff raved about how he’s approached his job in his first season in Cleveland after an offseason trade from Utah.

“I think it’s the respect piece and just a compliment to the job that he’s done,” Bickerstaff said.

“To be able to come into a completely new environment and quite possibly have the best year so far in his career says a lot about him.”

UP NEXT Cavaliers: Visit Oklahoma City on Friday night.

Rockets: Visit Detroit on Saturday night.

CLEVELAND Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, left, lays up a shot past Houston Rockets centre Alperen Sengun during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, in Houston. (AP

Photo/Michael Wyke)

CHICAGO

DeRozan (11)

ROZIER AND PLUMLEE LEAD HORNETS PAST BULLS 111-96

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

(AP) — Terry Rozier

scored 28 points, Mason

Plumlee added yet another strong performance with 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Chicago Bulls 111-96 on Thursday night.

Gordon Hayward scored 17 points, and LaMelo Ball returned from a threegame absence due to a sprained ankle and wrist injury and chipped in with 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to overcome a horrible 2-for-15 shooting night.

Plumlee, meanwhile, was 9 of 9 from the field, continuing a remarkable run in which he is averaging 17.5 points and 11.2 rebounds over the last 14 games while shooting a 75.8% (94 of 124) from the field.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford said the biggest difference is Plumlee’s game this season is he’s more confident in his free throw shooting and is attacking the basket more aggressively, trying to draw contact instead of avoiding it.

Plumlee shot 39.2% from the free throw line last year and eventually changed from shooting right-handed to left-handed.

He’s shooting 66.6% from the line this year with his left hand.

“He has such good instincts, he’s faking and creating contact versus the film I watched last year, he wasn’t going into contact as much,” Clifford said. “... He’s taking the ball hard to the basket, and he feels good about his free throw shooting. To be able to do what he’s done (switching shooting hands), I’m not sure many people can do that.

“He was in here all summer doing it, so he’s got confidence.”

Plumlee is even shooting his jump shots left-handed, although he doesn’t attempt many. But he buried a 14-footer with 1:30 left in the game to put Charlotte up by 12, screaming excitedly at the Hornets’ bench prompting his teammates to jump out of their seats and wave towels.

“He works on it every day, so it’s about time he took one,” joked Rozier. Said Plumlee: “Just felt

good. Low clock, stepping into it. It felt good.”

DeMar DeRozan had 28 points for the Bulls, while Zach LaVine finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, but was quiet in the second half.

Patrick Williams had 15 points, but Chicago’s threegame win streak came to an end. The Bulls built a 55-47 lead at halftime behind a balanced attack while holding the Hornets to 39.5% shooting the first half.

But the Hornets battled back to tie the game at 71 late in the third quarter behind Rozier, who tied a franchise record with five third quarter steals while turning the momentum with six straight points.

Charlotte began to pull away in the fourth quarter, building a 97-88 lead behind a 3-pointer from Ball and a driving layup by Plumlee.

Ball and Plumlee combined for 18 points in the fourth.

The Hornets had lost seven of their last nine games, but played an inspired second half, particularly on defence. They limited to the Bulls to 5-of24 shooting from the field and outscored Chicago 34-17.

“There are going to be those nights where we didn’t shoot the ball well at all from the 3, we just didn’t,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.

“We have got to find just more desperation. We have got to become more desperate, and I think there are times where we are just not desperate enough and that is what it is going to take.”

VROOM VROOM

NASCAR drivers Bubba Wallace, Kurt Busch and Tyler Reddick took in the game from courtside as the part of “crossover night.”

All three drive for the 23XI NASCAR team co-owned by Hornets owner Michael Jordan and driver Denny Hamlin.

TIP INS Bulls: Only received 11 points from their bench. Hornets: Outrebounded the Bulls 52-43.

UP NEXT Bulls: At Orlando on Saturday. Hornets: Host Miami on Sunday.

Randle scores 37, Knicks rally to beat Celtics 120-117 in OT

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer

BOSTON (AP) — The Knicks are a young team that’s still learning how to string together victories.

They’re hoping to bottle several lessons from their latest outing. Julius Randle had 37 points and nine rebounds, and hit the free throws that gave New York the lead for good in a 120-117 overtime win over the East-leading Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

Jalen Brunson added 29 points, seven assists and a game-ending blocked shot for the Knicks, who have won two straight. RJ Barrett had 19 points and Immanuel Quickley finished with 17 points and five rebounds.

“We held our own,” Barrett said. “We played together and we played hard. We got the good result.”

Boston’s Jaylen Brown had a chance to put the Celtics ahead with 7.6 seconds remaining, but misfired on two free throws, forcing the Celtics to foul.

“Just got to be better,” Brown said. “Tonight was just a rough game and I’m a better basketball player than I played today. Those two free throws embodied the whole game for me.”

Jayson Tatum, who was voted an All-Star game starter for the third consecutive season prior to tip-off, finished with 35 points and 14 rebounds. Brown added 22 points and nine rebounds for Boston, which has lost three straight for just the second time this season.

New York led by 13 in the fourth quarter but scored just four points in the final 5:26 of regulation to help the Celtics send the game to OT.

Randle said he never saw

The Tribune is seeking an enthusiastic Sports Reporter to add to its team.

Candidates should be passionate about sports and have a talent for writing.

Preference will be given to candidates with training in journalism.

Duties will include live coverage of events, interviews with athletes and senior figures in the sporting world, both locally and internationally, and more.

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panic in his teammates’ eyes during the Celtics’ comeback.

“Just poise,” he said. “We’ve been in those type of situations all year. So I feel like we’re getting more and more comfortable in those situations.”

Boston scored the first five points of the extra frame. New York responded by scoring the next six, taking a 116-115 lead on Barrett’s 3-pointer from the wing.

“I didn’t have a good shooting night, but I was ready to take that shot,” Barrett said. “I feel like we’re getting more comfortable in those situations.”

Brown nudged the Celtics back in front with a driving layup out of a timeout with 24 seconds remaining. Randle’s two free throws then put New York back in front for good at 118-117. Boston had a final chance to tie but Brunson blocked Malcolm Brogdon’s 3-point try.

Tatum hit his first five shots of the night. He struggled in the second and third quarters but had 11 in the fourth quarter to lead Boston’s rally. The Celtics struggled to find an offensive flow throughout, shooting 41% with 13 turnovers.

FRANTIC FINISH

The Knicks outscored the Celtics 33-25 in the third quarter and took a six-point edge into the fourth.

The lead grew to 102-89 on a pair of free throws by Miles McBride with just over seven minutes to play. The Celtics charged back and had a chance to win it regulation, but Tatum missed a 19-footer and Robert Williams had his follow shot blocked as time expired.

TIP-INS Knicks: Randle had a driving, one-handed dunk over Tatum late in the third that was part of a 14-5 run to put

New York in front 87-78. . … Outscored the Celtics 48-42 in the paint. … Evan Fournier missed his second straight game (personal reasons).

Celtics: Dropped to 18-6 at home, with three of those defeats coming in overtime. ... Marcus Smart sat for the third straight game with a sprained right ankle. Interim coach Joe Mazzulla said he is wearing a special sock to help reduce swelling. He remains day-to-day. … Boston hit 7 of their first 9 attempts from the field and led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter. They finished the period by hitting 5 of their final 18 shots and held a 60-58 halftime lead. … Tuesday marked the Celtics’ 6,000th regular-season game.

UP NEXT Knicks: Visit Nets on Saturday. Celtics: Host Lakers on Saturday.

BRAZILIANS WIN AUSTRALIAN OPEN MIXED DOUBLES TITLE

TENNIS MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Brazilian pair of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos beat India’s Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Friday to win the Australian Open mixed doubles title in Mirza’s last match at a Grand Slam tournament before she retires.

Mirza, who has won six Grand Slam doubles championships — three in mixed, including the 2009 Australian Open — will retire next month after a tournament in Dubai.

Mirza was emotional at the trophy presentation.

“Disclaimer, if I cry it is happy tears,” Mirza said. “I don’t want to take away the moment from Matos-Stefani who have deserved this.”

The 36-year-old Mirza first appeared at a Grand Slam tournament 18 years ago in Melbourne, when she was beaten by eventual 2005 champion Serena Williams in a third-round match.

“I’ve had the privilege to come back here again and again, and win some tournaments and play some great finals,” Mirza said. “Rod Laver Arena has really been special in my life and I couldn’t think of a better arena to finish my career at a Grand Slam.”

Mirza was 14 years old when she first partnered Bopanna on court.

“It’s truly special for me to play along with Sania,” the 42-year-old Bopanna said. “Unfortunately we couldn’t get the title, but thank you so much for what you have done for Indian tennis.”

The Brazilian pair took a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker and Mirza and Bopanna fought back to 3-2, but that was to be the last points the Indian duo took.

They missed two overheads in a row, including Mirza’s shot into the net on set point.

Stefani and Matos broke Mirza’s serve in the fourth game of the second set to go up 3-1, with the break point coming after a lengthy exchange between the teams.

Stefani and Matos are undefeated as a team, having won all seven matches together at the United Cup and at Melbourne Park.

Stefani said an invitation from Matos to play together on her return from a serious knee injury provided inspiration as she completed her rehabilitation last year.

“It was about Wimbledon-time last year and he asked me how I was doing,” she said. “I was doing rehab . . . that was a big motivation for me to keep working hard and keep getting closer to coming back.

“Now here we are, winning our first Grand Slam together in Australia in this beautiful court . . . it’s a dream come true.”

In women’s doubles, the top-seeded Czech team of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova will play Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibaharabeat in Saturday’s final.

Krejcikova and Siniakova beat ElenaGabriela Ruse and Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-2 while the 10th-seeded Japanese team beat the No. 2-seeded American pair of Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff 6-2, 7-6 (7).

Bulls forward DeMar

passes the ball around Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) as Hornets forward P.J. Washington (25) watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

NEW York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) drives to the basket to score as Boston Celtics centre Al Horford, right, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, in Boston. (AP

Photo/Steven Senne)

BOSTON Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives toward the basket as New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

MATCHDAY: MAN CITY V ARSENAL IN FA CUP; LEIPZIG CAN CUT GAP

A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Friday:

ENGLAND Manchester City hosts Arsenal in the FA Cup, but it is a match that could have a wider impact on the race for the Premier League title. Leader Arsenal is five points ahead of reigning champion City, having played one game fewer. A win at the Etihad Stadium would strengthen belief that the Gunners can sustain a title challenge. But victory for City could provide it with a psychological boost in the second half of the season.

SPAIN Espanyol visits Almeria seeking a third straight win in the Spanish league to continue moving up the bottom half of standings. Consecutive wins at Getafe and over Real Betis at home have lifted it out of the relegation zone and into 13th place. Espanyol striker Joselu Mato has scored 10 goals, second in the competition only to Barcelona’s Roberto Lewandowski and his 13.

GERMANY

In-form Leipzig aims to put more pressure on Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich with a win at home over Stuttgart. Marco Rose’s team can cut the gap to just a point before the rest of the 18th round. Bayern, which started the year with two draws, hosts Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. Leipzig is full of confidence after drawing with Bayern 1-1 then routing last-place Schalke 6-1 away. But Stuttgart has shown signs of improvement since Bruno Labbadia’s return as coach.

FRANCE

Fifth-place Rennes will be in a confident mood for the trip to Lorient after beating league leader Paris SaintGermain in the previous round of games.

Rennes needs a win to keep in touch in the race for third place and a spot in the Champions League qualifying rounds. Rennes is without its best striker, Martin Terrier, for the rest of the season as he recovers from knee surgery but bolstered its attack by signing Cameroon forward Karl Toko Ekambi from Lyon. Seventh-place Lorient, meanwhile, is trying to keep top scorer Terem Moffi amid interest from Marseille and Nice. Moffi’s 12 goals this season put him one behind league top scorer Kylian Mbappé of PSG.

Guardiola’s protege Arteta is now Man City’s biggest threat

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — It wasn’t so long ago that Mikel Arteta was widely considered a Manchester City manager-in-waiting.

Now Pep Guardiola’s former assistant has emerged as the greatest threat to his mentor’s Premier League dominance after deciding to go it alone at Arsenal.

“I am pretty sure if I would have left before, he would be here and he would be the best,” Guardiola said Thursday. “But I extended the contract, I am sorry, and he didn’t wait, so it could not happen.”

The two men go head-tohead on Friday in the fourth round of the FA Cup at City’s Etihad Stadium with potentially wider-reaching consequences in the context of the title race.

Arsenal is five points ahead of defending champion City at the top of the standings after an outstanding start to the campaign, which has seen the London club win 16 of its 19 games in the league and lose once.

While only a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup is at stake in the match, it could provide a psychological advantage to the winning team.

Victory for Arsenal would be further evidence of its title credentials and ability to hold off a City challenge. For City, a win would be a statement of intent — particularly ahead the league meeting between

the teams next month. Guardiola last week warned his players that Arsenal would “destroy” them if their performances didn’t improve in the second half of the season. And while there have been doubts about Arsenal’s ability to maintain a title challenge after failing to even qualify for the Champions League since 2016, City’s manager has repeatedly described the league leaders as the team to beat.

“When the team make 50 points it is because they have been the best, and they are,” Guardiola said.

“We have to prove how far away or how close we are and the best way to notice is to perform our best

level. Otherwise, against a team at that level, it will be difficult.”

Arsenal’s success has been influenced by Guardiola, even if the Spanish coach has dismissed the suggestion that Arteta is his protégé.

Arteta’s first coaching role came when Guardiola invited him to be part of his backroom staff at City in 2016 and he went on to help the club win two titles, two League Cups and the FA Cup. There was a growing sense that he would one day succeed the City manager, but in 2019 he took over at Arsenal, returning to the club where he ended his playing career.

“I know he went to his club, the team he dreams of,” Guardiola said.

“He’s a supporter, for the fact he played there, he was a captain there. “He loves the club. I remember when we were together here when we score goals he jumps a lot and celebrates except against one team.

“One team every time we score a goal, I jump, look back, and he was sitting there.

“It was Arsenal. It was that moment I said, ‘That guy likes Arsenal.’”

Arteta did not enjoy immediate success in his first managerial job, with his position looking in jeopardy after Arsenal

lost three straight league matches at the start of last season.

He has relied on the patience and faith of the club’s board, who have backed him financially in the market and given him the power to rebuild a team.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Arsenal CEO Vinai Venkatesham spoke of the club’s strategy under owner Stan Kroenke.

“Our ownership are rock solid behind the club, they have a long term vision around where they’d like to take the club to and they give us the confidence to be able to make long-term decisions,” Venkatesham said. “And we knew that to turn the club around from where it was when Mikel joined to where we wanted to take it, as much as we’d have loved to have clicked our fingers, we knew that wasn’t realistic. We knew it was going to take some time.”

While Arsenal has been rewarded for its patience, Guardiola credits Arteta’s ability to convince the club he could revive its fortunes after going without the title since 2004.

“I know him and how he works, how he is able to seduce the board, the hierarchy, the sporting directors, the players,” Guardiola said.

“Sometimes you need more time than you expect. He relies on the club and the club rely on him.

“That’s why they have had the results that they have had.”

VINÍCIUS SCORES, MADRID BEATS ATLETICO IN EXTRA TIME IN COPA

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer

MADRID

(AP) — Vinícius

Júnior’s day started with him being the target of an apparent hate crime.

It ended with the Brazil forward scoring a goal to help Real Madrid secure a spot in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey.

Vinicius scored late in extra time to seal a 3-1 come-from-behind win over Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

The buildup to the game between the two fierce rivals was marred after a dummy of Vinícius was hanged from a highway bridge early Thursday, along with a banner with the words “Madrid hates Real,” drawing condemnation by both clubs and soccer officials across the nation.

“There is only one Madrid, everyone knows it,” Vinícius said on Twitter after the match.

In another post, he wrote: “Vini LOVES MADRID.”

Vinicius, who was also targeted by racist chants from Atletico supporters earlier this season, put the finishing touch on an intense, back-and-forth match. After the

game finished 1-1 in regulation, Karim Benzema had put Madrid ahead in the first half of extra time with his seventh goal in seven matches since the World Cup.

“There wasn’t anything different for Vinícius, he was focused on the

match, he wanted to play,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “What happened was lamentable, but it’s in the past.”

It was a peaceful atmosphere among fans inside the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, and the few hundred Atletico supporters who had tickets for the match celebrated early as Álvaro Morata put their team ahead in the first half. But substitute Rodrygo equalised for the hosts late in the second half to force extra time.

Atletico played most of extra time with 10 men after defender Stefan Savic was sent off with a second yellow card with the game still tied 1-1.

Atletico was trying to beat Madrid away for the first time since 2016.

Madrid is back in the Copa semifinals for the first time since 2018-19, having last won the competition in 2013-14.

It was eliminated by Athletic Bilbao in the quarterfinals last season.

Atletico was trying to reach the last four for the first time since 2016-17. Its last Copa title was won in 2012-13 in a final against Madrid.

The Copa was the only title Atletico had a realistic chance of winning his season, as it is in fourth place in the Spanish league and was eliminated from the Champions League and Europa League.

Atlético coach Diego Simeone complained about the refereeing, but said he was proud of how his team competed.

“We gave everything we had,” he said. “We have been making it difficult for Madrid, that makes us proud, the team competed to win.”

Madrid struggled to break through the Atletico defence early on, and the visitors were a constant threat on counterattacks.

Morata, a former Madrid player, put Atletico ahead from close range after a cross from the right by Nahuel Molina in the 19th. Rodrygo equalised with a neat run in the 79th, getting past four Atletico defenders before firing a shot from inside the area past goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Benzema, who had to leave France’s Word Cup squad because of an injury sustained just before the tournament, scored with a low shot from inside the area in the 104th minute, and Vinícius found the net to secure the victory after

a breakaway just before the end, with his scoring run starting from near midfield.

Defender David Alaba was back in Madrid’s squad but Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eden Hazard were not available for Ancelotti.

ATHLETIC ADVANCES

Athletic Bilbao reached the semifinals for the fourth straight season with a 3-1 win at Valencia. Iker Muniain, Nico Williams and Mikel Vesga scored for the Basque Country club, which was runner-up both in 2020 and 2021 and lost to Valencia in last season’s semifinals.

Valencia, which lost last year’s final to Real Betis, has been struggling recently, with only one win in its last five matches in all competitions. The team coached by Gennaro Gattuso had made it 1-1 thanks to an own-goal by Athletic defender Óscar de Marcos.

On Wednesday, Barcelona edged Real Sociedad 1-0 and Osasuna defeated Sevilla 2-1 in extra time to make it to the semifinals for the first time since reaching the final in 2005. The draw for the semifinals will be on Monday.

MANCHESTER City’s head coach Pep Guardiola. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson) ARSENAL’s manager Mikel Arteta. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

ARSENAL players celebrate at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Emirates stadium in London, Sunday.

(AP Photo/Ian Walton)

REAL Madrid’s Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal during the Spanish Copa del Rey quarter final soccer match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Thursday. Real Madrid won 3-1.

(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

FTX’s Bahamas creditors say minimal sums owed

insignificant as they were probably related to vehicle servicing work.

Confirming that the crypto exchange had been a major vehicle buyer before its 16-month stay in The Bahamas came to an end, Mr Albury said: “They bought cars from Executive Motors and Omega. I think we might have gotten paid. They don’t owe me for any cars. All cars are paid for before they are delivered.

“It’s probably for service work. If they owe us anything it might be for service work but nothing big. I recall my son, who handles Omega, saying there was some money from FTX to sort out payment on the vehicles. We do not release vehicles before they are fully paid for. I know for sure they don’t owe us for any vehicles.”

Mr Albury revealed that his dealership is working with the Bahamian provisional liquidators for FTX Digital Markets, the local subsidiary, to examine and value the vehicles acquired/owned by the failed crypto exchange given that they represent a useful source of recovery for the crypto exchange’s creditors and former clients.

“We’re trying to organise to take a look at the vehicles out there,” he added.

“I know from one company [Executive] they purchased about 20 vehicles, and from

Omega I’m not sure how many, four or five. They came and sucked up a lot of vehicles that were waiting around to satisfy their needs. They were a good customer and bought a lot of vehicles.

“We’d given them credit for doing maintenance, so any money owed will be for service work not for the vehicles themselves. I have to know you to release a vehicle without full payment. It saves me every time because of the policies we have in place.” Mr Albury said realtors had also informed him there is “more reality” now in western New Providence’s real estate market after FTX had inflated prices with its $256m buying spree.

Meanwhile, Franklyn Butler, Cable Bahamas’ president and chief executive, described the BISX-listed communications provider’s inclusion in the creditor matrix as “a non-issue” and suggested that, up to December, it may have owed FTX monies rather than the other way around.

“When we looked at in December, we owed them. They didn’t owe us; they had a credit balance with us,” he revealed. “In fact, we only think it’s an ongoing issue post-January. It’s a non-issue, even with January.”

Francisco de Cardenas, Bahamas Waste’s managing director, also told this newspaper that any sums owed to his company by FTX were

miniscule. “I would say right now that it’s insignificant,” he said. “I didn’t even know we were doing any business with them. Maybe we were servicing the homes in Albany; I don’t recall. If I find out anything different I’ll let you know.”

Mr Ray’s team, in legal filings last night, acknowledged that the creditor list released on Wednesday night may not be fully accurate. It added that the names were obtained from FTX’s books and records, and were released to notify “as many stakeholders and potential stakeholders as possible”.

“The matrix is intended to be very broad for service purposes, and includes parties who may appear in the debtors’ books and records for any number of reasons. As a result, inclusion of a name on the matrix does not necessarily indicate that the party is a creditor of any of the debtors,” they added.

One major issue to be resolved is whether Bahamian companies and individuals owed money by FTX are creditors of FTX Digital Markets, which is under provisional liquidation before the Bahamian Supreme Court and ran the crypto exchange’s business from this nation, or of the 134 entities under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware.

And another matter that the courts, possibly in both

jurisdictions, will have to resolve is whether recovered assets are trust assets - meaning they were being held on behalf of, and belong to, FTX clients - or company assets owned by the crypto exchange and thus due to creditors. This newspaper understands that the Bahamian provisional liquidators will file for Supreme Court recognition of the co-operation agreement with Mr Ray shortly.

Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, yesterday said he has “no idea” how much FTX owes the Government in outstanding taxes even though multiple ministries including his own, the Ministry of Works and Utilities, the Prime Minister’s Office and local government were all included in the creditor matrix.

FTX’s business would have been zero-rated for VAT purposes, so any outstanding taxes would likely to relate to the 10 percent levy on its $256m real estate purchases ($25.6m) and real property taxes. Also among the creditors named was Clement Maynard & Company, the Bahamian law firm of Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC, the former attorney general, who was FTX’s local legal representative, plus Deltec Bank & Trust, which held 17 accounts linked to the crypto exchange.

A broad cross-section of the Bahamian economy was represented. Among the companies named was A+ Pest Control, whose owner/operator said it never did any work for the failed multi-billion dollar crypto exchange. Julian Robinson told Tribune Business that while he had received a letter from the Bahamian provisional liquidators asking for invoices if FTX owes his company money, that he never did any business with it and this has to be a mistake.

“I got a letter from them, but we never did any services for them. I don’t know how we got on their list. But maybe they could clarify on some property we may have done that was done for an employee of FTX, but not for FTX. That may help us to understand how this all came about,” he said.

“The joint provisional liquidators keep asking me to send in my invoices, but I don’t have anything in my records that indicates that I did any work for FTX, so I will leave that as is.” Auto repair shops, such as Automated Services on Pyfrom Road, and Battery and Tyre Specialists, were also included in the creditor list.

A Bahamas Battery and Tyre representative said: “It was a very small amount, but they paid us off in full. It was probably around $1,000. It wasn’t much. We

THE WEATHER REPORT

sold tires and batteries to a few of their vehicles.”

Other corporate names included

Bahamas Airport Advertising, which previously handled display advertising at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA), Bahamas Environmental Group and Dowdeswell

Sreet-based Bahamas Asset Tracking Ltd.

Nkosi Symonette, owner/ operator of Sign Island, said that while not owed monies by FTX her company did work for the failed crypto exchange in the past. “They were not a huge contributor. It was nothing major at all. A few t-shirts here, an installation. They were kind of consistent but nothing huge,” she added. Even Eleuthera-based companies made the creditors’ list in the shape of Rainbow Bay-based BJ’s Transfer and Storage. Caribbean Landscape, Commonwealth Enterprises, Cable Beach-based Design Strong Studios, Elite Safety and Fire Protection, Falcon Security Company, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas), the Glinton, Sweeting & O’Brien law firm, Hardins Security, Long Watch Security Firm & Consultants, Pharma Choice, Pam’s Plants, Ports International and Platinum Pineapple were also shown as having dealt with FTX.

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

SNACKS PROVIDERS SEEKING MORE SUGAR, SALT TAX DETAIL

AN ICE cream parlour yesterday said it is “getting into the swing” of things for 2023 despite talk of the Government implementing new taxes targeting sugar and salt.

Shaquile Coleby, co-owner of Pulpy Frozen Desserts, told Tribune Business that the New Year has started

well and added: “Right now, we’re just focusing on the walk-in customers. We do marketing and stuff on social media. I mean, we attract lots of students and stuff, but the walk-ins are our real customer base.” As for the possibility of a sugar and salt tax, he added: “I honestly haven’t done a lot of research on it. I think I just heard about it on Wednesday.” Dr Michael Darville, minister for health and wellness,

earlier this week said the Government plans to implement new legislation that will tax sugar and excess salt as well as try to eliminate trans fats being imported into The Bahamas. He unveiled the plan while explaining the importance of health and wellness in the fight against chronic non-communicable diseases, which have a high prevalence in The Bahamas according to a recent survey. “I’m so pleased to say

that in the last Budget I put in a new line item for health and wellness, and very soon I will be launching my health and wellness initiative,” he added.

“It will extend for our workers in the Department of Public Health and the PHA and, by extension, to all ministries and hopefully, very shortly, we will be able to get to the grassroots. It’s important for us to preach health and wellness because

we did a STEPS study that was completed, and it clearly indicated where we are as a nation in terms of our health.

“We have the highest incidence of obesity in the region. We have the highest incidence of diabetes and hypertension. We have the highest incidence of renal failure and we must do better as a country.” Whether this will put a halt to Mr Coleby’s

expansion ambitions for 2023 remains to be seen. He said:

“I think we plan on launching some food items on the menu, along with a few promotions and possibly going to the Family Islands to do some pop-ups, so it’s looking really good for 2023.”

A Savory Snacks representative, speaking under condition of anonymity, said business is “up and down” with commerce just starting to pick up for the New Year.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that MAXENE DUPELOR of Unison Road, Carmicheal Road, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of January, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that CHINIKA ANTOINE of Carmicheal Road, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of January, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

Hayward backs bid to ‘reimagine’ GBPA

interests of all parties including city residents and GBPA licensees.

“The Prime Minister in the most part is absolutely correct. Grand Bahama is in desperate need of progressive and transformational change. I want to thank Prime Minister Davis for having the vision and initiative to drive this process, which I support,” Mr Hayward told Tribune Business

“A new vision for the island can only come about through collaboration with, and investment from, top international partners that have deep experience in cutting-edge sustainable development projects, and which can bring global strategic relationships, a balance sheet and masterplan necessary to create an equitable, sustainable and prosperous future for the island and the country that will exceed all expectations.

“Such a plan will also require a strong local partner with the local knowledge and international expertise that will be invaluable to any international blue-chip investor that is serious about taking on such an ambitious challenge. The Haywards provide this.”

Signalling that he and his family intend to remain fully involved in Freeport, whether through the GBPA or outside, Mr Hayward did not identify the “blue chip investor” or “international partners” he was referring to. However, he has been heavily involved with the multi-party deal to develop a Six Senses resort at the 30-acre Barbary Beach site previously owned by Marriott.

That agreement features Weller Development, which is spearheading the largest US urban regeneration in Baltimore via the 235-acre Port Covington site, and Pegasus Capital Advisors, the

$10.6bn private equity group focused on investing in sustainable projects and the only such group accredited as a fund manager by the Green Climate Fund. Multiple Freeport-based sources have previously suggested this partnership could lead to bigger things beyond Six Senses.

“I believe the transformation of Freeport and Grand Bahama, created by a new partnership already proposed to government, is an opportunity that can attract billions of dollars in investment, create thousands of jobs and deliver the expertise and infrastructure for The Bahamas to build a truly climate-resilient future. More on this exciting development to come,” Mr Hayward said yesterday, while providing no names.

“As Bahamians and long-term stakeholders in Grand Bahama, the Haywards also want to see substantive change. Since being re-included as beneficial owners of the GBPA in 2020, we have brought investment that led to the $250m Six Senses luxury resort; $30M flagship Doctors Hospital facility; Blue Action Lab that is fundamental in developing the blue and green economies, and training Bahamians for careers in a climate resilient future; the internationally renowned, Earthshot Prizewinning reef restoration program Coral Vita, to name just a few. More are in the pipeline including an ambitious masterplan for change that we hope to be able to announce soon, which will have significant positive impacts for Grand Bahamians at every level.

“We want to form a deep partnership with the Government to reimagine and revolutionise the GBPA so that it is once again a true public-private partnership and a world-class organisation that represents the interests of all stakeholders

and that Grand Bahamians and, indeed, all Bahamians can be proud of.”

The Prime Minister, on Monday, issued a prepared statement issued through his spokesperson in response to Tribune Business inquiries concerning the Government’s efforts to effect ownership and leadership changes at the GBPA.

“Grand Bahama over the many years has failed to live up to its true promise and potential. And we are are in discussions with the Port Authority for the purposes of identifying a path towards putting Grand Bahama on the right track to enable it to fulfill its full potential and promise,” Mr Davis said.

Multiple Tribune Business sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Prime Minister and his administration last year

effectively gave the Hayward and St George families an ultimatum to either find a private buyer for their GBPA ownership interests (split 50 percent each) or the Government would find one for them.

Philip Davis KC and his advisers are understood to have become convinced that drastic change is needed to break the status quo and revive Freeport after a near two-decade decline, given that it is potentially the best source of higher economic growth for The Bahamas due to its available land, location and tax-free zone status.

However, this newspaper understands that, while moderating its stance somewhat since the ultimatum, the Government has not given upon on its Freeport ambitions. There is talk that

the Government itself may now seek to acquire the GBPA or, more likely due to the Public Treasury’s cashstrapped state, seek to gain control of Freeport’s regulatory and quasi-governmental functions.

The GBPA, while described by some as a ‘regulatory shell’, still possesses considerable powers that include business licensing, building code and environmental enforcement, city management, and the power to levy fees and service charges together with the operation of a free trade zone that offers multiple forms of tax relief to investors.

However, its incomeearning assets have been transferred to Port Group Ltd. These include the 50 percent equity stakes in DevCO and the Freeport

Harbour Company, likely to be the two families’ most valuable assets, together with interests in multiple other companies such as Freeport Commercial & Industrial, another major landowner. Should the Government seek to take over the GBPA’s regulatory powers, one source said it would amount to an “abrogation” of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and raise multiple legal issues that would have to be addressed. Among these, they added, would be the provision that requires four-fifths (80 percent) of licensees to approve the devolution of quasi-governmental authority to a local government-type entity.

Corporate chiefs: Global growth prospects bleakest for 12 years

GLOBAL growth prospects are the bleakest in 12 years, corporate chiefs have admitted, although those in The Bahamas and wider Caribbean are slightly less pessimistic than many of their global counterparts. The PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accounting firm, yesterday unveiling its 26th annual survey of global chief executives, found 62 percent of those interviewed in this nation and the wider region believe world economic growth will decline over the next 12 months. This was mildly more optimistic than their counterparts elsewhere, with PwC revealing that 73 percent of chief executives fear declining economic growth over the next 12 months.

The accounting firm said this was “the most pessimistic chief executives have been regarding global economic growth since we began asking this question 12 years ago”.

“Those expectations represented a stark reversal from the last Caribbean participation in the survey, conducted in 2020, when a similar proportion (69 percent) thought economic growth would improve,” PwC said. And its survey also showed that 30 percent of Caribbean chief executives fear their companies will not be economically viable if they continue on their current path - a finding that was consistent with global trends.

Prince Rahming, territory leader for PwC Bahamas, said in a statement: “As revealed in this year’s global CEO Survey, there is a general consensus of the risks and threats facing organisations globally, and the Caribbean is no exception. Threats such as inflationary increases and climate change affects us all.

“In The Bahamas, while we have experienced a rebound in tourism

following the relaxation of COVID protocols, we are by no means immune to the realities expressed by global chief executives and local businesses would do well to reevaluate their business models in order to thrive in the coming years. There has to be a duality in how we mitigate such threats and short-term risks and how we reinvent our business to ensure longterm sustainability.”

The survey results found that the confidence Caribbean chief executives have in their own companies’ growth prospects declined by more than 40 percent, with less than half being very or extremely confident compared to the survey conducted in 2020 where almost 80 percent were either somewhat confident or very confident about their firm’s prospects for revenue growth over the next year.

While cyber and health risks were the top concerns

for Caribbean chief executives the last time they participated in the survey some three years ago, the economic downturn’s impact has assumed priority, with inflation (50 percent) and macroeconomic volatility (36 percent) leading the risks weighing on corporate leaders in the short-term –the next 12 months – and over the next five years.

Some 26 percent also feel financially exposed to climate change, which will rise to be the top threat over the next five years. Cyber risks have fallen to just 14 percent, although they will become a priority for 26 percent in the medium term.

In response to the current economic climate, Caribbean chief executives said they are looking to cut costs and spur revenue growth. Some 62 percent reported reducing operating costs, while 58 per cent moved to diversifying product and service offerings, and

44 percent raised prices. A further 66 percent said they do not plan to reduce the size of their workforce in the next 12 months. The majority – 84 percent –indicated they do not plan to reduce staff salaries and benefits with the priority being to retain talent and mitigate workforce attrition rates.

Climate change risks featured more prominently, ranking third (26 percent), as a shortterm risk over the next 12 months for Caribbean chief executives. They see climate risk impacting their cost profiles (68 percent), supply chains (58 percent) and physical assets (38 percent) in a moderate to very large extent.

Recognising how vulnerable the Caribbean is to climate change and the impact it will have on business and society in the near and long-term, a majority of chief executives have already implemented – or

Five-year verdict delay an ‘embarrassment to justice’

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March 24, 2016, was heard on June 27, 2017. I pause to observe that, astonishingly, the ruling on that summons was not delivered until March 22, 2022. This delay of almost five years is horrendous. It is an embarrassment to the administration of justice in this country.”

He added that “the explanation or excuse given by the judge” in her ruling was that “regrettably, the extensive renovation to the Garnet Levarity Justice Centre during most of 2019, [and] the disruption caused by Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic are events which greatly interfered with the court’s writing schedule”.

Sir Michael, though, did not buy this. “With respect, the explanation proffered cannot possibly justify a delay of five years,” he asserted, seemingly sticking to the concept that justice delayed is justice denied. The Ocean Reef’s owner first initiated legal action against Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) some seven-and-a-half years ago, on May 13, 2015, in relation to the alleged theft of monies supposed to deposited for the benefit of its employees’ pensions.

It claimed that a former employee in its accounts department, Daviea Armbrister-Carroll, between October 2009 and June 2014 stole some 66 cheques and 15 CIBC FirstCaribbean International banker’s drafts

that were supposed to be deposited at Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) as pension fund contributions by instead diverting them to her personal account with the latter.

The cheques and banker’s drafts were worth $88,754 and $26,735, respectively, making for a total $115,489.

Ocean Reef’s owner alleged that Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) had “converted the said cheques and banker’s drafts to their own use and wrongfully deprived the plaintiff of the same” thereby causing it damage.

The BISX-listed bank responded on June 1, 2015, by using the same tactics that were ultimately the subject of Justice HannaAdderley’s ruling by seeking to have the claim struck out. However, just over two months later it was granted permission to withdraw the strike-out bid and it filed a defence on August 21, 2015.

Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) alleged that, under the Bills of Exchange Act, it had not dealt with Ocean Reef’s monies because the cheques and banker’s drafts had been rendered “nullities” by Ms Armbrister-Carroll’s alterations and thus “ceased to be valid”. It added that it had received the funds “in good faith and without negligence”, and accused the resort of the latter by arguing that it had failed to safeguard itself against the pension contributions’ potential theft.

Full trial of the case, originally scheduled for March 7-8, 2016, was rescheduled

are in the process of implementing – initiatives to reduce their companies’ emissions (52 percent), in addition to innovating new, climate-friendly products and processes (44 percent) or developing data-driven, enterprise-level strategies for reducing emissions and mitigating climate risks (38 percent).

Despite an increasing number of countries now having some form of carbon pricing, a majority of respondents (64 percent) still do not plan to apply an internal price on carbon in decisionmaking. Roughly the same percentage (60 percent) have already implemented – or are in the process of implementing - initiatives to protect their company’s physical assets and/or workforce from the impact of climate risk.

for June 20-21 that same year, and Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) was ordered to comply with all case management directions by March 25, 2016. However, just one day before that deadline, the bank filed its second strike-out bid on much the same terms as the first one.

Justice Hanna-Adderley declined to dismiss Ocean Reef’s case on the basis that it had made out issues that needed to go to a full trial.

On this point, at least, she was backed by Sir Michael and his fellow appeal judges in a unanimous verdict, with the Court of Appeal finding that her decision “cannot be faulted”.

“In my judgment, rather than filing this appeal, it would have been a far better use of judicial time to have had the trial proceed as scheduled and complete the matter,” Sir Michael wrote. “It is not without significance that, on the same day that it applied to strike out Geltex’s claim, Fidelity issued a notice to adduce documents at the trial. This step by Fidelity is consistent with the judge’s view that evidence was necessary to determine the issues raised in the pleadings....

“In this case, Fidelity requires the production of the cheques and bank draft to prove that they were materially altered..... This, in our judgment, cannot form the basis of a strike out application. Accordingly, the judge’s decision to exercise her discretion to dismiss the strike out application made after the trial date had been fixed is not plainly wrong.”

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warns US airlines: ‘You won’t bully Bahamas’

alled on the US Transportation Department not to allow the industry to “run roughshod” over The Bahamas’ Air Transport Agreement with Washington, D.C.

“The members showed that they want the Department to engage in an amorphous hunt for a contract breach that has nothing to do with the Act. This last grasp requires The Bahamas to submit this reply to address the new and errant points the members have raised,” the Government said of the US airline industry.

It accused the sector of “all but abandoning their attempt to claim discrimination” against The Bahamas, with the airlines now arguing that the complaint should remain before the US Transportation Department on the basis that this nation’s air navigation fees are “unreasonable”.

“That attempt does clarify that the members are groping for a way to convert a contract claim into a claim under the Act. That attempt must fail else the Department will find itself expanding its jurisdiction to resolve all contract disputes under the Act without there being discrimination,” the Government’s filing argued.

“The next flaw in the members’ argument is their invitation to label The Bahamas’ actions under the Air Transport Agreement and Air Navigation Services Agreement [with the US government] as discrimination while tacitly admitting that all air carriers pay identical rates for receiving the same services.

“The members point to the fact that The Bahamas would collect less from air carriers who land and take off in The Bahamas than what it collects for [transit] fees. Even in that argument, the members cannot identify any air carrier paying different rates for receiving the same service. But the members also ignore that [transit] charges are $0.0043 per nautical mile and ton versus the charges for air carries that land and take off are $0.0099 per nautical mile and ton,” it added.

“All air carriers taking off and landing in The Bahamas pay the identical

rate, and all air carriers flying over The Bahamas pay the identical rate. The Members’ argument is therefore wrong; all air carriers pay the identical rate for the identical services. There is no discrimination between the charges for flying over The Bahamas and the charges for landing or taking off from The Bahamas.....

“There is no way to construe the members’ argument other than recasting their discrimination claim as a plea for help to bully The Bahamas into surrendering its sovereignty by acquiescing to jurisdiction for claims the members have made under the contracts.”

With fees levied on aircraft transiting Bahamian air space some 2.3 times’ lower than those for counterparts that land and take-off, the Government added: “The members also raise the Aviation Trust Fund but offer no facts to show that there is discrimination based on the members paying into the fund. The arguments presented by the members amount to using the Act to bully The Bahamas into surrendering its sovereignty.

“The Department should not encourage the members to run rough shod over the Act or Air Transport Agreement. The failure to allege a discrimination claim is fatal to the complaint... The Act is not for the members to beat up The Bahamas for a perceived unfairness – they must show discrimination.”

The dispute has potentially serious ramifications given that the US Department of Transportation, if it finds in the US airlines’ favour, could go to the extent of totally barring Bahamian airlines such as Bahamasair and Western Air from flying to the US or reducing such access. However, it is likely there is too much at stake for all parties to go to such extreme sanctions.

The Bahamas, in 2021, signed a 10-year deal that outsourced management of 75 percent of its air space above 6,000 feet to the FAA, with the US agency agreeing to waive the air navigation fees it previously levied for using this country’s air space.

The Bahamas subsequently imposed its own air navigation services charges in a bid to generate revenue sufficient to fund the development of civil aviation safety and oversight in The Bahamas, and associated regulatory functions. This will thus eliminate the need for Bahamian taxpayers to fund this, saving the Public Treasury millions of dollars per annum at a time when it is coming under increasing fiscal stress. However, arguing that these fees should only cover the cost of providing the service, the US airlines are alleging there is no justification for “the tens of millions of dollars” that The Bahamas is collecting given that it is just paying, at most, $80,000-$100,000 to the FAA. They claim this “runs afoul” of global best practice and agreements, plus the US International Air Transport Fair Competitive Practices Act 1974.

The Bahamas has established a sliding scale for its air navigation services fees that ranges from $8.50 to $51.60 per 100 nautical miles based on the aircraft’s weight. Several observers have privately suggested to Tribune Business that the US airlines are seeking to bully The Bahamas by placing no value on the worth of this country’s sovereign air space. They believe the sector is longing for a return to the days when The Bahamas earned not a single cent in revenue from the aviation industry’s use of its air space, which sits on key Atlantic and other routes between Europe and the western hemisphere and North and South America.

The FAA used to waive air

navigation services fees for planes that took off and/or landed in the US after passing through Bahamian air space, thus giving them free use of this country.

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Appeal justice backs Condo Act reform call

Such reforms would need to be drafted by the Attorney General’s Office, approved by Cabinet and then brought to Parliament for debate and passage into law, with both the Supreme Court and now Court of Appeal asserting that it is a matter for the executive and legislative branches to remedy.

Justice Klein, in his original verdict, asserted that “only the Quieting Titles Act has been productive of greater mischief in the law of real property” than the Law of Property (Condominium) Act 1965. “The claim also illustrates the unique complications that can arise from transactions involving the peculiar legal estate of fee simple ownership of property in a multi-storey building,” he wrote in his judgment.

“It is apparent that the Condominium Act has not kept pace with the mischief which has been generated by some of its provisions. These

difficulties are strikingly illustrated by transactions involving the sale (or resale) of units, which seemingly cast an onerous burden on a prospective purchaser to ascertain that the building and units comply with near exactitude to the Declaration and registered plan.

“It has been left for the courts to attempt to ameliorate some of these issues by resorting to common law and equitable principles on a case-by-case basis, which has not always produced a uniform approach. The time may well have come for there to be a review and revision of the Act benchmarked on other jurisdictions to address the unique issues that have developed regarding condominium title.

“It is noted, for example, that modern condominium legislation in Canada and elsewhere provide for what is called an ‘estoppel certificate’ to be provided by the (condominium) association to the purchaser of a resale unit, providing information in relation to

the condominium and unit which creates an estoppel in favour of the purchaser, and removes some uncertainty out of the transaction.”

Appeal justice Isaacs’ backing came in a ruling where himself, along with appeal justice Stella CraneScott, upheld Justice Klein’s earlier verdict that Belitza Marling Sagaray Silva “was not entitled to avoid or rescind” her July 19, 2018, agreement to purchase penthouse 901 at Ocean Place for $4.1m or recover the $410,000 deposit that had been paid.

She had sought to withdraw from the deal amid fears that Replay Destinations (Bahamas), the developer, was unable to provide good title to the unit due to a “discrepancy of some 1,300-plus square feet between the penthouse’s actual size and what was recorded in the statutory Condominium Declaration containing the certified architectural drawings and building plans. While “containing 6,165 square feet of living

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space..... the Declaration registered under the Condominium Act described it as comprising 4,801 square feet”. However, Replay viewed it as a blatant attempt to renege on the deal and refused to return the deposit.

Michael Scott KC, representing Sagaray Silva, argued before the Court of Appeal that Replay could not provide his client with good title because its 6,165 square feet encroached on common areas identified by the Declaration of Condominium. However, Raynard Rigby KC, acting for the developer, argued that such inconsistencies did not necessarily “invalidate a conveyance of the unit”.

Justice Klein found that “the parties got what they bargained for” in finding for Replay, and Appeal justice Isaacs found: “It would appear that the parties recognised and accepted that there may be inconsistencies between the area of the unit being sold and its unit entitlement, and the

statutorily described unit as found in the declaration.

“It would seem odd that with the understanding that the unit was larger than described in even the amended Declaration, and the appellant nevertheless entering into the bargain to purchase the unit, that she could then seek to renege on that bargain based on that discrepancy.”

As for the size differences “annulling” the Declaration of Condominium, Appeal justice Isaacs wrote: “I agree with the judge that it could not have been the intention of Parliament to nullify a Declaration merely because a unit in the condominium that was being resold did not match the description contained in the original conveyance....

“In as much as I am satisfied that a valid conveyance can be created despite inconsistencies in the description of a unit, I am unable to agree with Mr Scott’s contention that the renovations to the unit, even if such renovations trespassed on common

property, vitiated the efficacy of the validly created Declaration.”

He was backed by appeal justice Crane-Scott, who wrote that Sagaray Silva knew she was buying a unit larger than that set out in the Declaration of Condominium when she signed the sales agreement. “Both parties were (as the judge found) also aware that an amendment to the Declaration would at some stage be required to address the increased square footage of Unit 901 and to adjust its unit entitlement in the common property,” appeal justice Crane-Scott said.

However, Appeal Court president, Sir Michael Barnett, in a dissenting minority view argued that Replay should have been required to repay the deposit with interest. “At the time of the purchaser’s termination of the contract, the vendor could not deliver title to a unit of 6,000 square feet. Much of that square footage was part of the common property to which the vendor, Replay, did not have title,” he wrote. “The purchaser was, in my judgment, entitled to rescind the contract. The 2005 Declaration as amended did not give the vendor title to the 6,000 square feet. At least 1,000 square feet was common property under the 2008/2010 Declaration. The vendor could not have title to that property unless and until the Declaration was further amended, which had not happened at the time of the termination or even at the time of the trial.”

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Hayward backs bid to ‘reimagine’ GBPA

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A HAYWARD family member yesterday pledged “an ambitious masterplan for change” to create “thousand of jobs” in Freeport as he backed efforts “to reimagine and revolutionise” the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA).

Rupert Hayward, grandson of former GBPA co-chair, Sir Jack Hayward, in a statement responding to Tribune Business inquiries said he agreed with the Prime Minister that Grand Bahama is “in desperate need of progressive and transformational change”.

Speaking after this newspaper revealed revealed the Government is exploring its options over how to bring about Freeport’s revival through what some believe could be the greatest

FTX’s Bahamas creditors say minimal sums owed

•

transformation in the city’s management since its founding treaty, the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, was signed in 1955, he indicated that the Hayward family intend to play a central role in this by acting as a Bahamian partner for “blue chip” foreign investors.

While providing no specifics, Mr Hayward told this newspaper he has already submitted “a new partnership” proposal that “can

attract billions of dollars in investment [and] create thousands of jobs” for Freeport and the wider Grand Bahama to the Davis administration.

The Government is presently examining whether change at the GBPA is best achieved through either a private buyer acquiring the Hayward and St George families’ ownership interests, the Government doing itself or the regulatory and

• Impact ranges from plant shops to mega resorts

• BISX-listed firms also named in ‘creditor matrix’

• Failed exchange’s former attorneys included

quasi-governmental powers being devolved back to Nassau.

Mr Hayward’s statement indicated he is seeking to restructure the GBPA and its relationship with the Government such that the latter has more say over Freeport’s running and future through “a true Public-Private Partnership” that represents the

SEE PAGE A19

Gov’t warns US airlines: ‘You won’t bully Bahamas’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Government Wednesday warned the US airline industry that it will “not bully The Bahamas into surrendering its sovereignty” over assertions that this nation’s air navigation fees are excessive and unjust.

The Davis administration, firing back at the sector’s latest salvo in filings with the US Department of Transportation, argued that the carriers were making “last grasp” allegations and changing the basis of their claim because they cannot show that The Bahamas’ charges are discriminatory against them under American law.

It asserted that Airlines4America, whose members include the likes of American Airlines and Jet Blue, had been unable to identify any instance where US carriers paid higher fees than competitors for the same service because no such discrepancies existed. Carriers taking off and landing in The Bahamas pay the same air navigation fees, the Government added,

while those transiting Bahamian air space did likewise via a separate charging schedule.

The Davis administration also accused the airlines of hunting for a non-existent contract breach that does not fall under the US law their initial claim was based on, the US International Air Transport Fair Competitive Practices Act 1974, and

SEE PAGE A21

Five-year verdict delay an ‘embarrassment to justice’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE APPEAL Court’s president yesterday slammed the five-year delay in issuing a verdict on a $115,489 pension theft dispute as “an embarrassment to the administration of justice in this country”.

Sir Michael Barnett, while upholding the original ruling by Justice Petra Hanna-Adderley, described the wait for her judgment as “horrendous”. He added that the judge’s “explanation or excuse” - blaming the delay on disruption related to Hurricane Dorian, COVID-19 and renovation work at Freeport’s Garnet Levarity

Justice Centre - “cannot possibly justify a delay of five years”. Fidelity Bank (Bahamas), the BISX-listed commercial lender, had sought for the second time to strike out the claim against it by Geltex Trading Corporation, owner of Freeport’s Ocean Reef Yacht Club & Resort, on the basis that the case was “scandalous, frivolous and/or vexatious”, an “abuse of the court process”, and created no reasonable course of action against it.

Sir Michael, who has been a frequent critic of lengthy waits for Supreme Court verdicts, wrote: “The strike out summons of

SEE PAGE A20

Appeal justice backs Condo Act reform call

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

AN APPEAL Court justice this week backed calls by a Supreme Court counterpart for reforms to the Condominium Act that will remove potential obstacles to the resale of units in such complexes.

Appeal justice Jon Isaacs, in a majority verdict involving the $4.1m purchase of a unit in Paradise Island’s One Ocean, agreed with Supreme Court judge, Loren Klein, that the Act must be changed so that “inconsistencies” between apartments and their

description in the Declaration of Condominium to do not collapse sales agreements. Referring to Justice Klein’s original ruling, which was upheld, he wrote: “The judge set out his view that perhaps it is time that the Act be revised to address matters such as the re-purchase of units and their inconsistencies with the description in the Declaration.... I join with the judge in expressing the hope that the issues confronted in this case are reviewed and addressed as soon as is practicable.”

By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters

MULTIPLE Bahamian companies identified as FTX creditors yesterday asserted that the purported sums owed to them were minimal to non-existent.

A “verified creditor matrix”, filed late on Wednesday night in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, suggested that the collapsed crypto currency exchange was indebted to companies across the Bahamian economic spectrum as well as the Government. Potential creditors ranged from small and micro businesses, such as plant shops, design studios and security firms, to the likes of BISX-listed companies such as Bahamas Waste and FTX.

Also included in the 116-page list were Bahamian auto dealers, such as Sanpin Motors and Omega Motors, plus major resorts and high-end communities such as Baha Mar, Margaritaville and Albany. No sums were posted as to what was owed the Bahamian, or any, creditors with some local firms questioning the list’s accuracy and asserting that they never performed any work for FTX.

Fred Albury, the Auto Mall chief, of which BMW dealer Omega Motors is part, told Tribune Business he was confident FTX owed no money on the estimated 24 vehicles it purchased from his group. Any outstanding debts, he added, were likely to be relatively

Pledges ‘ambitious masterplan for change’ in Freeport

• Billion-dollar proposal in ‘to create thousands of jobs’

• Backs PM on city’s ‘desperate need for transformation’

RUPERT HAYWARD

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