02082017 news

WEDNESDAY i’m lovin’ it!

HIGH 83ºF LOW 69ºF

The Tribune Established 1903

24/7 BREAKING NEWS ON TRIBUNE242.COM

VOLUME:114 No.54, FEBRUARY 8th, 2017

Biggest And Best!

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

Port Lucaya go-ahead despite Memories blow - Business

Kids sent home after school raid

‘PROLIFIC OFFENDER’ IS SHOT DEAD OUTSIDE HOME

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A “PROLIFIC offender” was shot multiple times and killed early Tuesday morning while standing in front of his home, police said.

The shooting of 23-yearold Benjamin Anderson of Ida Street took the country’s murder count to 20 for the year, according to SEE PAGE EIGHT

Guards tied up as latest robbery hits C C Sweeting

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net TWO security officers at C C Sweeting Senior High School were tied up and held at gunpoint while four masked men robbed the school of cash and electronics before leaving them gagged and bound for nearly four hours.

The robbery took place shortly before 2am Tuesday and marked the third school robbery in Nassau in less than a week, according to Education Director Lionel Sands, who said it will cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair “extensive damage” to the schools.

In addition to the latest robbery, Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean said early Monday morning four armed men robbed two security guards at Anatol Rodgers High School of a car and personal items. In addition, Mr Sands said the suspects stole a brand new security system from the school, worth a little over $10,000.

A few days earlier, Mr Sands said C H Reeves Junior School was also vandalised and security guards there were also tied up and robbed.

ACP Dean said police are unsure if the robberies are related.

SEE PAGE EIGHT

33 PASSENGERS ON BOARD AS WESTERN AIR PLANE CRASHES A WESTERN Air plane carrying 33 passengers yesterday crash-landed at the Grand Bahama International Airport.

According to reports, the aircraft experienced technical challenges and was forced to make an emergency landing. It skidded off the runway into bushes.

The incident happened shortly after 5pm just after the plane had taken off from GBIA on its way to

Nassau. The flight originated in Bimini and had made a brief stop in Freeport.

A passenger on board said: “When we take off from Freeport, we had to land back. We had an emergency landing ... we had to land. We ended up through the bush. Now we are on the runway waiting for a ride to come. Fuel leaking from the plane and everything else.”

SEE PAGE THREE

ELSWORTH JOHNSON, the Free National Movement’s newest ratified candidate, speaking last night after being selected to run in Yamacraw at the next election.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

FORMER BAR ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT TO RUN IN YAMACRAW FOR THE FNM

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Bahamas Bar Association President Elsworth Johnson has suggested that the country’s judicial system is heavily saturated by “political interference” as he vowed, over the coming days, to disclose the “irregularities” present in this branch of government.

The Free National Movement’s (FNM) new candidate for Yamacraw went on to insist that political involvement has resulted in disrespect of not only this system but of judges, who are regarded as the highest and most distinguished officers of the court.

Meanwhile, FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis used his time before a raucous crowd of supporters to hit

out at Prime Minister Perry Christie, branding him the “master of disaster” whose pronouncements on Baha Mar should not be believed or trusted.

The comments came during the official ratification of Mr Johnson at the party’s headquarters on Mackey Street last night.

“I have decided not to be silenced and idle when the very human dignity of the person is under threat,”

Mr Johnson said. “Wait a second, you hear what they saying about judges?

You hear how they cuss out Justice (Indra) Charles?

Listen to me: once a judge acted honourably and there is nothing about their person that would cause them not to be able to serve, how in the hell you could tell the judge or threaten the judge?”

SEE PAGE TWO

PLP ACCUSED OF ‘GERRYMANDERING’ CONSTITUENCIES

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday accused the Christie administration of “gerrymandering the constituencies,” one day af-

ter House Speaker Dr Kendal Major confirmed that the long-awaited Constituencies Commission report had been completed.

In a statement released to the press Tuesday, Dr Minnis said despite the Progressive Liberal Party’s best efforts, this ad-

ministration “cannot stop the will of the Bahamian people,” insisting that the electorate has grown tired of the administration’s futile endeavours and are now ready, more than ever, to vote them out of office once an election date is chosen.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

“After missing numerous constitutional and self-imposed deadlines, the PLP’s Boundaries Commission finally submitted their report to Government House on Monday,” Dr Minnis’ statement said.

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Wednesday, February 8, 2017

FORMER BAR ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT TO RUN IN YAMACRAW FOR THE FNM

THE TRIBUNE

FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis, deputy leader Peter Turnquest and candidates who have been ratified by the party - including newest candidate Elsworth Johnson.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff from page one “Why do I say this you may ask? It is when the very organisation responsible for ensuring equality and fairness for all before the law is it not feared, the judicial system, then what is the ordinary average man that that organisation is designated to protect to think? It is a serious concern of mine and I know that my party will facilitate the desires that I espouse.

At a time when we should be celebrating thousands of young people graduating from high school and university we are instead proudly highlighting the number of young men that are being incarcerated.

There is much work to be done. There is no time for carnival. All the tiny winy going on on around here must be stopped.”

He also said: “You call a magistrate down in Mayaguana and say we got it wrong (and) this one got it right so this is how you do it? You got to think I’m stupid.

“Now we have the issue of who will be the next Attorney General and I want to say it publicly. The bench is in a tizzy. Lawyers are in a tizzy. The selection of judges in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas should always be as far as possible insulated from political interference. We are going to prove some things in the coming days. We’re going to go and address and to disclose the irregularities in the judicial system.”

Mr Johnson told supporters that the Royal Bahamas Police Force that he once knew no longer exists. Instead he suggested that the organisation was also under the influence of politics.

“There was a time when the older officers dreamed of a Police Staff Association because it was intended to ensure the dignity of the officers. Now they got the Chairman of the Staff Association walking the street.

I want to say to the police department that your job should always be insulated from political interference, but if you want your rights

to be ensured, the FNM is prepared to speak on your behalf.

“I want to speak directly to the prison officers and we know that we have a gang problem and we are going to have to deal with that. But we understand the difficulties that you face. We are prepared to address your issues. Come with the FNM. “I want to say to my colleagues who are in the Attorney General’s office that you deserve to be treated with dignity and the respect that you deserve and judges are not to be disrespected.

Attorney General’s office, come with the FNM.” The official announcement that Mr Johnson was the FNM’s newest candidate came shortly after he tendered his resignation as Bar Association president. In a letter to the Bar Association, Mr Johnson said after much prayer and consideration, he made the decision to resign from the post effective Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at 5pm.

“I take this opportunity through you to express profound gratitude to the distinguished members of Bar Council and members of the Outer and Inner Bar,” the letter read. “My services to the Bar were enriched by the unselfish support of our members by way of their kind advice, support and constructive criticism.

“I also wish to thank members of the judiciary,led by the Hon Sir Hartman Longley, Chief Justice, for their kind guidance and support of the Bar during my tenure. I have truly been blessed by God to have had the opportunity to serve the Commonwealth of the Bahamas through such a distinguished Association.

I remain committed to the philosophy and guiding principles of the Bar and it is my intention to continue to provide service to the Bar.” For his part, Dr Minnis said the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) in a single term have nearly destroyed the economy of the country.

He said the Christie administration has refused to tell the truth on Baha Mar, resulting in the government’s

failure to make public the sealed resort documents or table its heads of agreement in Parliament.

He said: “We now know that there is no final signed deal for Baha Mar. Christie and the PLP misled the Bahamian people about this deal. They thought they could use smoke and mirrors to confuse us.

“Don’t trust whatever you hear about Baha Mar from Christie or (Attorney General) Allyson Maynard Gibson, whose family is supposed to have stores in the resort. Don’t forget the many times Christie told us that Baha Mar was about to open. It hasn’t happened yet. They are saying Baha Mar will be opened in stages. Now where you think they got that from? Any so-called opening you see soon will be a public relations stunt. Don’t forget the many times he told us a deal for a new owner was just around the corner.

“Listen very carefully to this: the people who supposed to be buying Baha Mar said they won’t sign a deal until the construction is completed. So, who is paying the many hundreds of millions needed to complete the construction?

Will the government of the Bahamas pay - or guarantee the hundreds of millions to complete Baha Mar? Is this where our VAT money is going to?

“Perry Christie is the master of disaster. The PLP are the masters of disasters.

Christie and the PLP have, in a single term, nearly destroyed our economy. We are now at junk bond status with one credit rating agency because of the lack of financial discipline by the PLP, and because of the mess the PLP made of Baha Mar. Every time the PLP touched the Baha Mar project, they created even more of a disaster. Year after year they did not tell the truth about Baha Mar. They had all kinds of side letters to one head of agreement dealing with Baha Mar. These letters didn’t see the light of day until the FNM tabled them in the House of Assembly,” Dr Minnis also said.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 8, 2017, PAGE 3

33 PASSENGERS ON BOARD AS WESTERN AIR PLANE CRASHES from page one

Another passenger told ZNS News that they were first made aware of the difficulties after the pilot announced that he had to return to GBIA shortly after takeoff.

Onlookers told ZNS News

THE CRASHED Western Air plane yesterday.

Northern Edition that the plane landed on its side and skidded off the runway at the rear of the airport.

While no one was severely injured, The Tribune was told that two passengers were taken to hospital to receive medical treatment for minor injuries.

CONCERN at the scene after yesterday’s crash. Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

FNM wants to find land for Junkanoo theme park

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE Free National Movement has proposed to “identify” Crown land for the establishment of a Junkanoo theme park in a bid to “foster, protect, and promote the cultural expression” of the Bahamian people if it is elected to office this year.

Additionally, the FNM plans to commit “additional resources” to the junior and senior Junkanoo parades throughout the country, as well as the promotion of an annual Goombay Summer Festival.

And, the FNM plans to establish a Ministry of Culture specifically for the preservation and promotion of the “full cultural expression” of Bahamians.

The aforementioned is contained in the party’s election platform, Manifesto 2017, in a section that deals specifically with culture.

The FNM’s emphasis on culture is in line with FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis’ previous declarations that he would absolve the FNM from having to fund Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival should his party become the government.

In an interview with The Tribune last year, Dr Minnis said while the FNM would not cancel the event should it come to power, it would seek to “privatise” the annual festival and instead invest the country’s money into Junkanoo and other cultural avenues while also focusing on “ad-

vancing our own identity”.

Others in the wider Bahamian community have also accused the government of adopting other countries’ culture, instead of investing more funding into The Bahamas’ premier cultural event, Junkanoo.

“The Free National Movement is aware that the way individuals or groups see and define themselves and how other individuals or groups see and define these individuals is formed through the socialisation process and the influence of social institutions,” the party said in its Manifesto 2017.

“The FNM firmly believes that it is imperative that developments in the area of culture be done as a means of providing the Bahamian people, particularly young Bahamians, with opportunities for the full and unbridled understanding and expressions of our history and heritage.

“The FNM therefore considers that it is vital to legislate the establishment of a Ministry of Culture to provide a regulatory framework to foster, protect and promote the full cultural expression of our people.”

The proposed Junkanoo theme park will include a cultural village, workshops, shop space for souvenir sales, native food and drinks, IMAX video presentations of past parades, guided tours and a museum.

Other initiatives proposed by the FNM towards the further development of Bahamian culture include mandating that heads of agreements with various

hotel industry partners contain a provision to “accommodate local cultural artisans and musicians within their premises,” and increasing funding to the Oral History Department at the University of the Bahamas.

Others include the construction of a national museum of Bahamian history and culture and establishment of a national arts council; investments in the restoration and augmentation of public landmarks and monuments; the expansion of the cultural sector to encompass music, film production, visual and performing and literary arts, and reopening the Bahamas film studio in east Grand Bahama.

Agriculture The FNM’s plan also includes a section on its proposals to enhance the country’s agriculture and fisheries offerings.

Core among those is the party’s proposal to effectively rename the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Sciences Institute (BAMSI) subsequent to it being made to function as a National Agriculture and Fisheries Research Institute (NAFRI) under the “auspices” of the University of The Bahamas.

The party also said it would legislate policy to “establish, equip and appropriately staff” BAMSI in that regard.

Other initiatives include providing farm land, tractors, refrigerated trailers, computers and business services to Bahamian farm-

DEPUTY PM CRITICISES FNM PLAN TO PRIVATISE BPL

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis was critical yesterday of the Free National Movement’s intention to privatise Bahamas Power & Light, likening it to the party’s controversial decision to sell the Bahamas Telecommunications Company during the Ingraham administration.

In its recently released party platform, the FNM said it would privatise BPL and ensure that the utility provider is owned by Bahamians through majority shareholding.

Reacting yesterday, Mr Davis, the minister of works, said: “That’s their mantra. They don’t take on challenges. They try to divest themselves of challenges. I’d just trust that the Bahamian people recall that they divested themselves of BTC and look at the process that they did it, it went for a song and a dance.

“We don’t believe in divesting ourselves of our national assists particularly because it’s a strategic necessity to our well-being.

We need to have some input with respect to something so important.”

The Christie administration has repeatedly criticised the 2011 sale of BTC as a “give away.” Last November, the government moved a resolution in Parliament to establish a select committee to probe the sale of BTC to Cable & Wireless Communications.

The Ingraham administration sold a 51 per cent stake of BTC to CWC for $210m in 2011. After the Christie administration assumed office in 2012, the Progressive Liberal Party negotiated to have two per cent of CWC’s shares placed into a foundation.

Nonetheless, privatising the former Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), now rebranded as BPL, has long been a part of the FNM’s agenda.

As former State Minister for Environment Phenton Neymour said in 2008: “We recognise that there are a number of initiatives that are necessary at BEC, and we feel that it may be best for the Bahamas that we look at BEC, look at what is demanded of it, look at what the Bahamian people require, and see how best we can deliver that. It would, in our opinion, require private sector involvement.”

Last year, the government entered into a management services agreement with PowerSecure to manage BPL for five years.

Among other things, the purpose of the partnership was to reduce costs for customers and improve the reliability of the company. A rate reduction bond was also intended to replace the company’s legacy debt, enabling investments in infrastructure.

So far, however, the company has continued to be plagued by the problems that have drawn strong criticism over the years.

ers to support the industry; upgrading the mail boat services and packing house to facilitate inter-island trade, and providing tax incentives and concessions in a bid to promote “sustained production and packaging to ensure a continuous supply of quality products to customers.”

With regard to fisheries, the FNM proposes to legislate policy to mandate the installation of GPS trackers on all boats granted fishing licenses in an attempt to “eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Bahamian waters,” as well as creating additional protected ma-

rine areas with a view to “achieving the stated national goal of protecting 20 per cent of national seabed by 2020.”

“The (FNM) is concerned about both the high

level of dependency that Bahamians have on imports to feed themselves as well as the negative impact that this has on the country’s balance of payments,” the FNM’s plan noted.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, February 8, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

jrolle@tribunemedia.net

FNM RATIFIES ELSWORTH JOHNSON

Published daily Monday to Friday

Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207 TELEPHONES

News & General Information Advertising Manager Circulation Department Nassau fax Freeport, Grand Bahama Freeport fax

(242) 322-1986 (242) 502-2394 (242) 502-2386 (242) 328-2398 (242)-352-6608 (242) 352-9348

WEBSITE, TWITTER & FACEBOOK www.tribune242.com

@tribune242

tribune news network

Vatican conference challenges China on organs VATICAN CITY (AP) — Participants at a Vatican conference on organ trafficking challenged China on Tuesday to allow independent scrutiny to ensure it is no longer using organs from executed prisoners, saying Chinese assurances aren’t enough to prove the transplant programme has been reformed.

Sparks flew in the afternoon session of the meeting as China’s former vice health minister, Dr Huang Jiefu, sought to assure the international medical community that China was “mending its ways” after declaring an end to the prisoner harvesting programme in 2015.

“I am fully aware of the speculation about my participation in the summit,” Huang told the conference, citing “continuing concerns about the transplant activities”.

He provided scant data to rebut critics, however, showing only two slides indicating an increased number of living and deceased donors in recent years and China’s recent efforts to crack down on black market transplant activities.

Huang first publicly acknowledged the inmate harvesting organ programme in 2005 and later said as many as 90 per cent of Chinese transplant surgeries using organs from dead people came from executed prisoners. He has spearheaded a reform effort and pledged that China put an end to the programme in 2015. But doubts persist that China is meeting its pledge, given its lack of transparency, the severe shortage of organ donors and China’s longstanding black-market organ trade.

Huang’s colleague, Dr Haibo Wang, stressed the sheer impossibility of trying to fully control China’s transplant activity since there are one million medical centres and three million licensed doctors operating in the country. As a result, China proposed at the Vatican meeting that the World Health Organization form a global task force to help crack down on illicit organ trafficking.

Dr Jacob Lavee, president of Israel’s transplant society, insisted in response that WHO be allowed to conduct surprise inspections and interview donor relatives in China.

“As long as there is no accountability for what took place ... there can be no guarantee for ethical reform,” he told the conference in a heated exchange.

He was joined by Dr. Gabriel Danilovitch, from the UCLA Medical Centre, who challenged the Chinese delegation to declare straight out if prisoner organs were no longer used.

Haibo countered that he and Huang spent the past 12 years battling critics in-

side China and out to reform the sector, and said China shouldn’t be singled out for spot WHO inspections.

The back-and-forth underscored the controversy over China’s participation in the conference, after critics sent letter to organizers and Pope Francis warning that Chinese attendance amounted to a Vatican whitewash of its past practices.

Organisers, however, stood firm in their invitation and even came to China’s defence in trying to prevent TV cameras from covering the Chinese presentation.

“Are they doing any illegal transplantation of organs in China? We can’t say,” said Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. “But we want to strengthen the movement for change.”

The Vatican conference is part of Pope Francis’ efforts to crack down on trafficking in humans and organs. China’s participation also conveniently corresponded with his efforts to engage Beijing in hopes of improving diplomatic relations. China’s foreign ministry, however, played down the diplomatic significance of Huang’s presence.

It’s unclear how effective a WHO organ trafficking task force would be, given that the UN agency is completely reliant on countries to provide health information and statistics and rarely collects or independently verifies data provided by governments.

China has long been criticized for its lack of transparency in public health.

During the global outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome more than a decade ago, for example, China initially covered up the epidemic. By the time China began to acknowledge the true scale of the outbreak, SARS had spilled across Asia and to North America.

More recently, China has been criticised for not quickly sharing details of its expanding bird flu outbreak. WHO, now run by China’s Dr. Margaret Chan, has largely refrained from criticizing the country’s efforts and has endorsed its organ transplant reform process.

China aside, WHO is typically loath to criticise member countries. During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, for example, it delayed for months declaring the biggestever epidemic of the lethal disease to be a global emergency, fearing it would offend the affected countries. It also refrained from publicly slamming Brazil last year when the country initially refused to share virus samples from its Zika outbreak.

By Nicole Winfield and Maria Cheng of the Associated Press

Straight answers EDITOR, The Tribune.

I READ with frustration the awkward responses of the state minister for finance Michael Halkitis when asked to account for his “where the VAT money gone” speech at the Progressive Liberal Party’s recent convention.

Even though Mr Halkitis tried to make the point that VAT is deposited into the consolidated fund and is used (along with other government revenue) to help pay for goods and services that the government requires and to help fund various projects, at the end of the interview it was obvious that he was playing politics when he listed in that fiery speech how the VAT money had been used.

I suppose no one should be surprised that a politician wouldn’t miss an opportunity to play up to a crowd of supporters at a party’s convention. This is not new or particular to the PLP. What I do find surprising though is that on an issue as sensitive as the country’s finances, especially VAT, Mr Halkitis didn’t see the folly of playing politics on such a serious matter. What

an insult to the Bahamian public.

What hasn’t helped Mr Halkitis’s case is the fact that the government declared that the proceeds of VAT would be used to pay down the national debt and reduce the fiscal deficit.

That has clearly not been the case – just take a look at the most recent Central Bank report.

If it’s the case that all tax revenue must go into the consolidated fund and it’s hard to determine exactly how VAT revenue is being spent, why would the PLP make such an explicit promise to the public? Framing it in that way suggests that it is possible to track its use.

Doesn’t this just sow unnecessary confusion?

It also doesn’t help that, despite the “success” of VAT, the nation has been downgraded to “junk” status by Standard and Poor’s because of its fiscal condition, and that in turn has sparked serious fears about the stability of our currency.

Instead of playing semantics, the government must do a better job of accounting for how all revenue, not only VAT, is being spent, and explain why, after a very successful VAT imple-

mentation and collecting more than $1 billion (more than expected), the state of the country’s finances remains a critical concern.

Perhaps the VAT report promised by Prime Minister Perry Christie this week will shed some much-needed light on the matter. We will see.

It is also not helpful when the only response that the opposition has is to criticise, rather than explain how they would be more accountable.

In the absence of transparency, the public (and media) will be left to draw their own conclusions – accurately or otherwise. And based on recent events, and what is readily available for public consumption, is it any wonder that the government’s fiscal responsibility is being questioned.

Every Bahamian has felt the impact of this sluggish economy (some more acutely than others), and every Bahamian deserves and has the right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. It has nothing to do with party politics. It’s called accountability.

EWC Nassau, February 3, 2017

Wrong on Majority Rule Day EDITOR, The Tribune.

TALKING fool is a very serious thing.

A cold dish of trash talk was served up a few weeks ago by fellow letter writer Bruce G Raine, who obviously marches to a drumbeat that is out of step with the historical record.

It is fair to say that Mr Raine is not a fan of Majority Rule Day. In his mind it’s much ado about nothing. The factual record, however, seems to states otherwise. To quote former US Vice President Joe Biden, Majority Rule Day was a “Big Fracking Deal”.

Mr Raine posits that January 10, 1967 was not the first time the majority black population voted. In this, he is being intellectually disingenuous. It was the first time that the majority of the black population voted and the outcome reflected that fact.

We therefore celebrate an act of the majority and not an act that certain privileged members of the majority had been allowed to participate in.

Another of his leaky theories is that as far back as 1832 some blacks were afforded some of the same rights and privileges that all whites enjoyed in the Bahamas at that time. That is morally offensive and Mr. Raine ought to know how ludicrous a statement it is.

As far back as the 1600s in the United States there were so-called “free blacks” who owned land and some even owned slaves. But it would be a stretch to try to extrapolate from that statement that blacks as a whole were free from the 1600s.

He then hits us with the twisted logic that black people were electing members to the House of Assembly for 134 years before Majority Rule Day. What he conveniently leaves out is that there were hardly any black candidates vying for those offices. Some blacks voted out of threats of retribution from corrupt white merchant/politicians. And Mr Raine seems to take a giant bottle of “white-out” correction fluid to the prohibition on women in the political process.

Mr Raine needs to be schooled in history as he totally misunderstands the singular importance of the role played by Sir Etienne Dupuch in landing a fatal

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net blow that brought down a key racial barrier. Sir Etienne’s bravery cannot be viewed in a time vacuum.

Sir Etienne’s campaign was on-going. As a journalist he reported on the injustices he saw all around him.

As a politician he campaigned to change things.

As a man of faith with a high moral threshold he showed us righteous indignation. His actions in 1956 helped pave the way for Majority Rule Day. It removed the obnoxious practice of discrimination against black people in public places such as hotels and certain restaurants but it no more ended the effects of racism than desegregation of the buses and lunch counters did in the US. Mr Raine is wrong if he believes that Bahamians of every race, creed, sex and ethnicity cannot find something to celebrate in Majority Rule Day. Majority Rule rendered their country safer, more prosperous, more equal, less apprehensive and more democratic.

Why wouldn’t they want to partake in that?

Mr Raine reminds me of the voices of dissent we heard from certain quarters of the United States when that country declared a holiday in honour of civil rights champion the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Some refused to see how the life and times of Dr. King help in forging a more perfect union in the US. It led to relative domestic tranquility. It is still a work in progress but the holiday allows all Americans, and even non-Americans to reflect on all that Dr. King lived and died for.

I can agree with those who believe that the Progressive Liberal Party has tried to hijack MRD and turn it into a political event. This is wrong. If the UBP never disbanded they would today recognize that their future was as tied up with MRD as their past had been.

Many of today’s proud FNMs marched in favour of majority rule in the 1960s and we all know some of today’s hard core PLPs who 50 years ago wouldn’t be caught dead with a “PLP All The

Way” flag in their hand.

People grow and they change.

For useful instruction, we can look across the ocean to South Africa, home of the world’s hero, the late Nelson Mandela. Blacks had voted in internal homeland elections in South Africa in the past but it wasn’t until April 27, 1994, their Majority Rule Day, that South Africa lived up to its true potential.

Theirs is a multi-ethnic society where the economy grew from $135 billion in 1994 when majority rule was established to $323 billion today when all races participate in the economy and more money is spent on education than was spent enforcing apartheid.

Just as interesting is the preamble to the South African constitution that says a lot about honouring the past as a guide vane to the future: “We, the people of South Africa, recognize the injustices of our past; honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; respect those who have worked to guide and develop our country, and believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity”.

While our own creed is less poetic, majority rule day, is equally important for us a moral compass.

Mr. Raine should open his mind to the spirit of MRD and embrace it for what it is. It is our statement to the world that the majority of us (black, white, Latino, Asian) support democracy. That the majority of us believe in this country. That we, acting in the majority, vow that we will never let unjust laws, hate speech or political sanctions turn one of us against another.

Interestingly enough the forefathers didn’t define what the majority consisted of.

Poor whites were in that majority alongside rich blacks.

Christians and non-believers helped form that majority.

And I know as fact that rich white women saw common ground with poor black women, creating their own majority on gender issues.

Stop seeing black when you hear the word “majority”, Mr Raine. Think of fairness instead.

THE GRADUATE Nassau, February 7, 2017.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 8, 2017, PAGE 5

‘Delay Junkanoo Carnival until after election date’

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest yesterday called for the government to postpone or delay the third annual Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival until after the general election, warning that the event could only be perceived as “vote buying” if staged during the election cycle.

Responding to questions placed by The Tribune, Mr Turnquest also suggested that the 2017 festival could be held early, but acknowledged that this was an unlikely possibility given logistics surrounding the multi-million dollar event.

A stakeholders meeting is set for Friday, according to Minister of Youth Sports and Culture Dr Danny Johnson, who told The Tribune that organisers will outline the way forward, inclusive of setting a date, based on those talks.

“It should definitely be after,” Mr Turnquest said.

“We have to be careful that it is not seen as an electioneering event. It ought not to be a rally of sorts paid for by the Bahamian people.

“It’s in the best interest of transparency, good governance, and sticking to the true tenants of the Parliamentary Elections Act for this event to be postponed, or even held early, because in the heat of the election cycle for the government of the day to put on a carnival party with the Bahamian tax payer dollar, where they are parading themselves as giving out concessions, that can only be seen as electioneering and vote buying.”

The Constitution mandates that a general election be staged every five years.

The last election was held on May 7, 2012.

In 2015, the inaugural festival took place on May 7-9 in New Providence, and the 2016 Carnival kicked off on April 15-16 in Grand Bahama and on May 5-7 in New Providence.

The third annual festival was previously expected to be the year that Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival would generate a profit.

DANCERS on the street during last year’s Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival Road Fever Parade.

Ahead of the inaugural event, the Bahamas National Festival Commission’s Chairman Paul Major told those attending the National Conclave of Bahamas Chambers of Commerce that the economic impact would increase by 20.5 per cent over the 2015 version.

At the time, Mr Major unveiled projections showing that a $5.323m ‘loss’ on the government’s initial $9.323m investment in the 2015 carnival will be transformed into a $1m ‘profit’ by 2017.

Following criticism over the profitability of last year’s event, the BNFC has clarified that the event was an economic stimulus exercise focused on reducing government investment and increasing revenue, adding that the commission’s mandate “has always been to

significantly and positively impact” the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The Tribune was unable to confirm the budget for this year’s event. Mr Major did not take questions from The Tribune when called yesterday, but stated that he had “nothing to report”.

In 2015, the government spent $11.3m on the inaugural festival, going over its initial budget of $9m, with the total cost of the first carnival $12.9m, with the rest covered by sponsors. Last year, the government’s subsidy was $8.1m.

The BNFC has promised to make public the independent audits conducted on the 2015 and 2016 festivals, but those reports have not yet been released.

In July last year, the Department of Statistics officials announced that the

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

overall unemployment rate was 12.7 per cent after a 2.1 per cent decline, with officials pointing to Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival “related activities” accounting for some of the improvement.

That survey covered the reference period of April 25 to May 1, 2016.

The FNM has pledged to privatise the annual festival if elected to government, and direct investment into Junkanoo and other cultural events.

In an interview with The Tribune, Dr Johnson pointed out that the BJC festival was already being privatised, and that the government’s investment was intended to spark job creation, economic stimulus, and to expand the creative platform for young Bahamians.

Dr Johnson spoke of his

plans to use his platform as minister of culture to evolve the current calendar to year-round cultural activities similar to his ministry’s efforts in the sporting sector.

Dr Johnson said: “It’s already being privatised already, the investment was really for job creation, economic stimulus, and to expand the creative platform for young Bahamians, particularly the song writers. I think they’ve done that so now our part of handholding is over, it’ll slowly come to an end. We have a lot less to do, really a lot less to do.

“It’s just to get it started was heavy, but now we’ll find all the groups are able to do much more themselves. We think the creative energy that they have and the market we have here is a huge market place

and I think they’re going to take advantage of it right away,” Dr Johnson said.

“Some would like to see us have a jazz fest, I’m looking forward to that,” he said.

“All of these things we think we have just what we’ve done with sports where we have year-round sports action and looking forward to having a calendar in a few years where every month you have a major festival that can give us year-round cultural activities.

“Literacy festivals, art festivals, film festivals, etc, not just one thing,” Dr Johnson said. “I’m going to take the responsibility to evolve what I will call yearround cultural activity, as the minister of culture, to demonstrate why we need that investment and why we’re going to go with it.”

FITZGERALD: SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS PLAN OUTDATED

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net EDUCATION Minister Jerome Fitzgerald yesterday criticised Free National Movement South Beach candidate Jeff Lloyd’s proposal to implement a pilot programme to separate the education of boys and girls in classes and schools, calling the plan “outdated”.

He also said it was proof that Mr Lloyd “hasn’t taken the time really to do his homework” on the issue.

Mr Fitzgerald, speaking to reporters outside Cabinet, said although Mr Lloyd’s proposal was “amusing,” he was “somewhat disappointed” in his proposition, adding that had Mr Lloyd done his homework, he would have realised such a proposal would not work and that there is “no research to show that it works now”.

The Marathon MP said the focus should instead be on “differentiated teaching” and “training teachers to understand how to deal with different kids differently because they all learn differently in the classroom”.

Mr Fitzgerald also extended the invitation to Mr Lloyd to meet with him, Education Director Lionel Sands and the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology “so they could properly educate him on what’s happening within the public school system”.

On Monday, Mr Lloyd, who has been referred to

as a likely education minister by Leader Dr Hubert Minnis if the FNM gains control of the government, said the party plans to “immediately” implement a pilot programme that would see boys and girls separated within classes as well as within schools between the 6th and 7th grades.

At the time, Mr Lloyd said he believes “boys and girls learn differently”, that “young men and young females” advance at “different paces,” and that studies have shown that young adults thrive “better” in single gender classes.

To bolster his point, Mr Lloyd referred to him having the “benefit” of going to St Augustine’s College when it was an all-boys school, and also him serving as the executive director of the Youth Empowerment and Skills Training (YEAST) Institute programme, which he said was “phenomenally successful”.

Mr Lloyd also told The Tribune that he is not a proponent of sex education for students but favours family life classes instead.

In response, however, Mr Fitzgerald chided Mr Lloyd for proposing such an “old” remedy that hasn’t been proven to improve “academic output” amongst students. “Again I was somewhat disappointed that Mr Lloyd hasn’t taken the time really to do his homework on this particular matter, because had he done so he would’ve understood an known that prior to (former Education Minister) Alfred Sears and during

Alfred Sears’ time as minister there was a pilot project at Stephen Dillet where they separated boys in the primary school and followed them over a couple of years,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“He would also know if he did his homework, that separating boys and girls does not improve their academic output. In fact at the end of the day it’s actually the instruction that the boys have that improves them. So it’s a question of the teacher understanding that boys learn differently and making sure that the instruction that is given is geared towards boys being receptive to that,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“And so there’s something that’s called differentiated teaching, and that’s really where we should focus our attention and that’s where we have been focusing our attention in the Ministry of Education, training teachers to understand how to deal with different kids differently because they all learn differently in the classroom.

“That’s really where the focus is,” he added. “This old, outdated thing about separating, it doesn’t work, there’s no research to show that it works now, and I would just invite him as I said to do his homework, because a lot of the stuff that he’s been saying quite frankly is amusing to many who are in the educational system, and at the end of the day these are the people who he’s saying that he wants to lead.

“So invite him if he wants, I would arrange for a meet-

ing for him to come in and meet with the director and the PS and those who are responsible for the shared vision for Education 2030, so they could properly educate him on what’s happening within the public school system. And then that way he won’t be out in the public

making these statements, which really, as I said those of us and the educators are really finding quite amusing to be honest with you.”

Mr Lloyd has previously called for the re-establishment of the YEAST programme.

He founded the institute

in the late 1990s to help atrisk young men. However, funds for the programme were removed by the FNM in 2009, then led by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, just after the global financial crisis, which began in 2008.

WORK

NOTICE

Pinewood Boulevard, Buttonwood, Sugar Apple Street, Willow Street, Jacaranda Street,Thatch Palm Street The Water and Sewerage Corporation advises residents, the public and its customers of Pinewood Boulevard, Buttonwood, Sugar Apple Street, Willow Street, Jacaranda Street and Thatch Palm Street and surrounding areas that improvement works will take place on Wednesday, February 8th, 2017 which may affect water supply to the aforementioned area.

Works are scheduled to begin at 10:30 PM and are anticipated to be completed by 4:00 AM. During this period, there may be some interruption in water supply, road closure and detour around the work area.

The Corporation apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciates your support as we work to improve our services.

Tel: (242) 302-5599 or Toll Free (242) 300-0150 Find out more on

or our website www.wsc.com.bs

PAGE 6, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2017 PAGE 7

PAGE 8, Wednesday, February 8, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

‘Prolific offender’ is shot dead outside his home from page one The Tribune’s records and marked six homicides in seven days this month.

The killing took place shortly after 7am on Ida Street.

Officer-in-Charge of the Central Detective Unit, Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander said police are still unsure of the circumstances surrounding the shooting and have no motive at this time. However, he said, because the victim was a “prolific offender” there are “many different scenarios for why he was killed”.

“What we know at this time is a young man was standing on Ida Street in front of his home when a vehicle pulled up and a male exited and shot him,” Chief Supt Fernander said.

“The man then jumped back into the car and drove off in an unknown direction.

We do not know the motive for the killing but the victim is well known to police and

has been questioned for a number of serious matters over the years. The lifestyle of this individual is generating so many different lines of inquiry, but we will find out what happened.”

On Sunday, a day after 26-year-old Terry Marshall of Carmichael Road was shot to death while playing dominoes on Faith Avenue, Chief Supt Fernander said police are “aggressively investigating” all of the crimes in the country. Police, he said, are working “hard” to ensure that the Bahamas is safe for everyone.

“We are following leads in respect to all of the shootings. I just want to ensure members of the public that the police are out there, we are doing some things and we will continue to try and make the Bahamas safe for everyone,” Chief Supt Fernander said on Sunday.

“We are aggressively out there. A number of persons are being arrested and charged and we are saturating these areas and we

encourage members of the public to come forward with information to assist us.

It’s not only the police that fight crime; we have to hold hands to curb this crime situation. We have to come together to ensure everywhere is safe. We will aggressively go after persons who continue to wreak havoc in our society. We will continue to target them, we know the prolific offenders and we are charging persons but they are in and out of prison and they are continuing their old ways.”

Police have also identified the man who was shot to death on Durham Street last Friday as 21-year-old Kurt Bradley Ariste, of Wulff Road.

There were 14 homicides in January, according to this newspaper’s records.

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

Funeral Service

MR. JEFFERSON WILLIAM “Bill” PINDER of Winton Estates, Nassau, The Bahamas, died peacefully at his home on Sunday Evening 29th January, 2017 at 9:30 p.m. After a long illness in the presence of his family.

A Funeral Service will be held at St. Anne’s Anglican Church, Fox Hill Road, Nassau, on Saturday, 11th February, 2017 at 3:00 p.m.

Reverend Father Hugh Bartlett will officiate and interment will be in St. Anne’s Cemetery, Fox Hill Road, Nassau.

He was pre-deceased by his wife, Ethlyn Virginia “Jean” Pinder; his father, William Bertice Pinder and his Mother, Emma Remelda Pinder-Magraw.

He is survived by his two sons, William Craig Pinder and Richard Perry Pinder; his grand-daughter, Alice; brother, David John Pinder; in-laws, Ruby Collins, Doris Anderson, Yvonne Knowles, Alexander C. Knowles Jr. Patrick A. Knowles, Geoffrey W. Knowles, Charlton V. Knowles, Deborah S. Knowles, Julianna Green, Richard Anderson Sr., Shirley Knowles, Amarylis Knowles, Patou Regent, Rosa Knowles and Linda Knowles; nephews, Stephen Collins, Colin Pinder, Richard (Rick) Anderson, Brian Anderson, Michael Knowles, Andrew (Andy) Knowles, James Knowles Jr., Roman Knowles, Olivier Knowles, Ryan Knowles, Christian Knowles, David Knowles and Mathew Green; nieces, Joanne Aranha, Cindy Woodward, Gina White, Lisa Butorak, Karen Leonard, Michelle Knowles, Trishka Wiethuchter, Vanessa Knowles, Bianca Carter, Daniela Knowles, Amanda Knowles, Brittany Green and Marissa Knowles.

A host of other relatives and friends including, Ruth Moushabeck, Jean-Jacques Goulet, Marsha Stewart, Bruce Stewart, Karen Aliata, Robert and Linda Brown, Claire Brown, Julia and Steve Motti, Johnny Brown and Mary Knowles, Joanne and Thierry Lamar, Lori and Braden Dawson, Joan Albury and Wellington King.

Beloved caregiver, Emily Ibasan Ramirez and beloved housekeeper, Delores Rolle.

Bill had an extraordinarily colourful and diverse life. He was born on October 4th, 1931 to parents, William Bertice Pinder, a hospital Lab Technician and Later Bleach Manufacturer and Emma Remelda Pinder (Nee Darville) A Sunday School Teacher and Dress Shop Owner. Bill attended Queens College High School in Nassau where he was Head Boy and Excelled in many team sports such as Rugby, Softball and Swimming. A born athlete, he and his team won many rugby championships in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s.

Bill married his High School sweetheart Jean, ( Nee Knowles) on December 26th, 1951 together they had two sons: William Craig Pinder and Richard Perry Pinder.

Bill together with his father Bertice founded Blanco Chemicals Limited In 1950, a company that is still thriving today and run by son Perry. Bill’s diverse life included many extracurricular activities notably stage perormances with the nassau operetic society where he played many lead singing roles in reprised broadway musicals such as Carousel, Oklahoma and his most famous signature role as Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof. Bill was a skilled spearfisherman and spent many of summer weekends boating and diving with his closest friend the late Sidney Brown and Sidney’s sons Robert and Johnny. He will be dearly missed by all.

With special thanks to the entire staff at Blanco Chemicals who Bill commanded so much love and respect throughout his life.

Also a special thanks to his personal caregiver, Emily Ibasan Ramirez and his housekeeper, Delores Rolle who gave him such loving care during his long illness.

A very special thanks to Dr. Ian Kelly, Dr. Duvaughn Curling, Dr. Theodore Turnquest, Rene Roth and her nursing team with a special mention of thanks to Melinda.

Finally a very special thanks to the doctors, interns and nurses at Doctors Hospital who did an amazing job during his numerous hospital visits.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The Dundas Centre For The Performing Arts, P.O. Box N-8808 or to St. Anne’s Anglican Church, P.O. Box N-1569, in Memory of Mr. Jefferson William “Bill” Pinder.

DR HUBERT MINNIS, leader of the FNM, speaking at the ratification of Elsworth Johnson last night.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

PLP ACCUSED OF ‘GERRYMANDERING’ CONSTITUENCIES from page one “The PLP has spent many months gerrymandering the constituencies to try to save their political futures.

Now it is long past time for the report to be tabled in Parliament by the prime minister.

“Whether the PLP wants it or not, this election is around the corner and the Bahamian people will finally have a say on their future,” said the Killarney MP. Dr Minnis went on to urge Prime Minister Perry Christie to put forth a timeline for the upcoming election.

He added: “Once the commission’s report is tabled in Parliament, the embattled prime minister should immediately put forth a timeline for this election.

“For the Bahamian people it cannot come soon enough, they are tired of the PLP’s empty rhetoric and broken promises and have demanded the election be called now.

“Try as they may, this PLP government cannot stop the will of the Bahamian people. When the bell is rung it is the people who will decide their future, and the FNM trusts the people.”

He added that once the PLP is out of power, the people will finally have their time and the new FNM government will work every day to serve them.

The report was slated to be delivered to Governor General Dame Marguerite

Pindling either Monday or yesterday morning. The document is expected to be tabled in Parliament this week.

Dr Minnis’ statement on the Constituencies Commission’s report comes one day after he, in a separate statement, blasted the Christie administration for ignoring the country’s unrelenting crime “epidemic”.

In that statement, released Monday evening by the party, Dr Minnis lamented that the inaction by the Christie administration has propelled the Bahamas to the region’s top spot for the “crime’s economic cost” index, according to a new Inter-American Development Bank report.

The Killarney MP said crime has cost the country $434m, roughly five per cent of the annual gross domestic product.

“This is a cost of over $1,000 per person each year,” stated Dr Minnis.

“With an already struggling economy we need immediate action to address this growing trend, or we will continue to realise the negative impacts of the crime epidemic.

“This PLP government can continue to try and ignore the problem all they want, but even foreign countries can see the depth of the crime problem.

“Several countries have previously issued travel advisories warning their citizens about the crime rate, and this negatively impacts our precious tourism economy.

“However, most Bahami-

ans, with the exception of the PLP, feel the creeping encroachment of this crime epidemic in our streets and neighbourhoods.

Bahamians cannot ignore it like this government does,” he added.

Dr Minnis said empty rhetoric, broken promises and more excuses by the PLP will not fix the problem.

“We must have a concrete plan to address crime in The Bahamas,” he said. “The FNM has a comprehensive plan to work together with law enforcement and our communities to rip it out at its roots.

“We will develop a strong plan that will properly train and equip our police; we will collaborate with church leaders and educators who know their communities, and we will bring them together with social workers and community leaders to address the problem.

“Our goal will always be to empower the people, not ignore them.

“We will work every day to make all our communities safe and secure for Bahamians because they deserve nothing less from their leaders.”

The country marked its 20th homicide for the year on Tuesday after a man was shot on Ida Street, off Balfour Avenue around 7.40am. He later died in hospital.

Six people have been murdered so far this month, following 14 homicides that were recorded in January, according to The Tribune’s records.

KIDS SENT HOME AFTER SCHOOL RAID from page one In the latest robbery, ACP Dean said four masked men “jumped the fence” at C C Sweeting and tied up the security guards before raiding the campus.

The guards were discovered bound and gagged around 6am by other security officers who came to relieve them of their duties.

“The four men jumped over the fence and held the guards at bay,” ACP Dean said. “They robbed them of cell phones and cash and then searched several classrooms in the school.

“It is unclear what the men took, it is still early in the investigation. The men were not harmed but were taken to the hospital to be checked up. They were examined by doctors because they were shaken up. These

are not young men, they are elderly persons. That is why we must get these persons. These guards are the people who give their life for country and make this sacrifice when many of us are sleeping so we must do all we can to find these persons.”

In a short statement, the Ministry of Education said that C C Sweeting closed at 11.30am Tuesday due to a “major break in at the school.”

Meanwhile, Mr Sands said the suspects “extensively damaged the school” and also stole about $2,000 in cash.

“We fear these men are targeting schools, for what reason, I don’t know,” Mr Sands said.

“A similar thing happened at Anatol Rodgers and at C H Reeves. At Anatol they took down the security cameras and took

them with them and just as we were trying to recover, this happened. We are getting extra security but it is a terrible feeling that these men who put their lives on the line are just sitting ducks.

“These cowards are robbing these schools around two and three am when the schools are most vulnerable. This is thousands of dollars in furnishing, and now we have to also replace a brand new security system valued at over $10,000 that was not even a month old.

“We still have not determined the extent of the damage at C C Sweeting but I can guess it will be in the thousands as well.”

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

THETRIBUNE TRIBUNE THE

Wednesday, February 8th,8,2017, Wednesday, February 2017,PAGE PAGEA9 9

TECHTALK • HOWARD Webb, the retired English referee who worked the 2010 World Cup and Champions League finals, will move to New York and manage Major League Soccer’s development of video technology for onfield officials.

Webb will start March 1 as manager of video assistant referee operations of the Professional Referee Organization, which supplies MLS officials. MLS, which announced the hiring Tuesday, will test video assistant referees during preseason matches and hopes to extend the test to regular-season games during the season’s second half.

A SELECTION of robot faces, from futuristic comic book to life-like newsreaders, on display during a press preview for the Robots exhibition at the Science Museum in London. (AP)

500 YEARS OF ROBOTS

INSPIRED by his belief that human beings are essentially terrified of robots, Ben Russell set about charting the evolution of automatons for an exhibition he hopes will force people to think about how androids and other robotic forms can enhance their lives.

Robots, says Russell, have been with us for centuries — as “Robots,” his exhibit opening Wednesday at London’s Science Museum, shows.

From a 15th century Spanish clockwork monk who kisses his rosary and beats his breast in contrition, to a Japanese “childoid” newsreader, created in 2014 with lifelike facial expressions, the exhibition tracks the development of robotics and mankind’s obsession with replicating itself.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s unstoppable Terminator cyborg is there, as is Robby the Robot, star of the 1956

film “Forbidden Planet,” representing the horror and the fantasy of robots with minds of their own.

There are also examples of factory production-line machines blamed for taking people’s jobs in recent decades; a “telenoid communications android” for hugging during long-distance phone calls to ease loneliness; and Kaspar, a “minimally expressive social robot” built like a small boy and designed to help ease social interactions for children with autism.

“When you take a long view, as we have done with 500 years of robots, robots haven’t been these terrifying things, they’ve been magical, fascinating, useful, and they generally tend to do what we want them to do,” said Russell, who works at the science museum and was the lead curator of the exhibition.

And while it’s human nature to

be worried in the face of change, Russell said, the exhibit should help people “think about what we are as humans” and realise that if robots are “going to come along, you’ve got a stake in how they develop.”

A total of 100 robots are set in five different historic periods in a show that explores how religion, industrialisation, pop culture and visions of the future have shaped society.

For Rich Walker, managing director of Shadow Robot Company in London, robotics is about what these increasingly sophisticated machines can do for humans to make life easier, particularly for the elderly or the impaired.

“I’m naturally lazy and got involved so that I could get robots to do things for me,” Walker said.

His company has developed a robotic hand that can replicate 24 of

the 27 natural movements of the human hand.

As humans have a one per cent failure rate at repetitive tasks, committing errors about once every two hours, the hand could replace humans on production lines, he said.

Walker concedes further erosion of certain types of jobs if inventions such as his are successful, but says having repetitive tasks performed by automatons would free up people to adopt value-added roles.

“The issue is to rebuild the economy so that it has a holistic approach to employment,” he said.

This in turn leads to questions, raised at the exhibition as well as by the European Union, of whether or not robots should pay taxes on the value of their output as part of the new industrial revolution.

Associated Press

SKIING AIMS TO CATCH UP FAST WITH NEW TV GRAPHICS AT WORLDS

“They know it is important,” WHEN Lindsey Vonn competes in the Couder said of the skiers, whose opening event at next week’s world skiing representatives on the FIS Athletes championships, television viewers will Commission were the first he conget their first look at some new on-screen technology. sulted.

Graphics will include dynamic speed For a sport routinely sending men checks throughout a skier’s run, they will and women hurtling down a mountain at 120 kph (75 mph) and more, show acceleration out of the toughest it has lagged behind in TV presencorners, and they will count air time, plus tation, Couder said. launch and landing speeds, on big jumps.

In World Cup races this season, It’s all part of a project that has been on-screen graphics are limited to two years in the making, and it starts noting racers’ speed at a static point with the women’s super-G on Tuesday as and listing a stack of intermediate the International Ski Federation seeks to use the two-week championships in time splits.

St. Moritz, Switzerland, to connect with They are colour coded with a young fans raised on video game visuals. green light for the fastest racer and “This is the future, this is also a marred when a time trails the leader. keting tool, this is entertaining the TV A TRANSPONDER is attached to “We are late in Alpine skiing,” world,” Emmanuel Couder, the project the French official said. “For me, the back of France’s Guillermo leader, told The Associated Press. this is just the beginning. The opFayed’s ski boot. (AP) Transponders will be attached to the portunities are huge.” back of a racer’s boot — the safest spot One signature feature on the to place the gadgets which are similar in size to an old men’s downhill course in St. Moritz — a steep start known as “Free Fall” — allows for a count from 0-100 cell phone.

They will collect, process and transmit real-time kph (0-60 mph) when racers push out of the gate.

Couder thinks the technology can help improve data for broadcasters to use in the speed events of downhill and super-G, including the downhill runs in safety by letting organisers analyse racers’ speed and Alpine combined. trajectory at the biggest jumps.

The transponder does all the work to ensure instant “With this transponder in future, we could simulate on-screen info, Couder said in a recent interview. the perfect course setting,” he said. “We should never “The design had to be fully integrated otherwise it stop the natural evolution.”

For pure entertainment, the graphics are expected would be rejected,” he said. “If you send the data live and you calculate and treat them afterward, then it’s to be added next season to broadcasts of World Cup too late. The delay is not acceptable.” races, including in technical disciplines of slalom and Couder has been working with official race timers giant slalom, and at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“I hope so,” Couder said. “We are already in contact Swiss Timing, whose Longines watch brand is a longtime FIS sponsor, for two years on the Alpine Live with Olympic Broadcast Services.”

Data project. FIS passed a rule making it mandatory for racers to wear the transponder.

Associated Press

THE hologram of French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon. (AP)

FRENCH CANDIDATE USES HOLOGRAM ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL FRENCH presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon can’t be in two places at once.

But the 65-year-old hardleft hopeful is trying his hardest thanks to advances in technology.

As Melenchon held a rally in Lyon on Sunday, a hologram of him was projected by satellite to crowds in Paris.

Critics called it a headlinegrabbing gimmick that obscures his firebrand politics.

Associated Press

• FRENCH journalists are teaming up with American internet giants Google and Facebook to fight propaganda and misinformation online, mirroring similar efforts already underway in the United States and Germany.

French daily Le Monde says it is one of eight media organisations working with social networking site Facebook to fact-check questionable content ahead of France’s upcoming presidential election.

At the same time, nonprofit First Draft News said Monday it was working with Google’s News Lab is to launch CrossCheck, a verification project aimed at helping French voters “make sense of what and who to trust online.”

Google and Facebook have been under increasing scrutiny over their role in speeding the spread of hoaxes, conspiracy theories and propaganda — sometimes referred to by the catchall term “fake news.”

• A PRIVATE liberal arts university in northwest Ohio is adding competitive video gaming to its athletic programmes, joining an association of about 30 other schools across the country that offer so-called eSports.

Lourdes University President Mary Ann Gawelek has been advocating for an eSports program at the Sylvania school since she assumed office last July.

“In order to participate in eSports you have to have the mental ability and critical thinking skills to do game-playing in general, you have to have developed the ability to function on a team, and you have to have a competitive nature that drives you toward success,” Gawelek said. “It links well with a liberal arts education.”

Lourdes is set to become the first member of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic conference to offer an eSports scholarship programme. It will compete against fellow schools in the National Association of Collegiate eSports, which formed just last year.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 8, 2017, PAGE 11

DELIGHT FOR JESSICA AS SHE WINS CAR JESSICA Perpall was the winner of a recent holiday giveaway held by Chances.

She walked away with a Hyundai i10 as a prize.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff

Customers at Chances protest in dispute over betting prizes

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A SMALL number of disgruntled customers protested outside Chances headquarters on Tuesday, alleging that the gaming establishment is refusing to honour bets placed on its betting machines, with winnings ranging from $1,000 to as high as $36,000.

Chances, however, said that the bets were not valid because they were placed after the games had already started which goes against the universal rule for betting.

Scott Dickinson, who bets regularly at Chances, claims to have won over $10,000 as a result of bets placed on college basketball on Saturday night.

“I place bets all the time and I don’t think it is fair if I place a bet and the machine acknowledged my bet and I win, that I can’t get paid,” he said. “The machine acknowledged my bet and I won $10,500.”

Mr Dickinson, who took a screenshot of his winnings, said Chances refused to pay him and locked his account.

“I did not even have access to go on my own account, I don’t feel it is right.

“That money could help me a lot because things are rough with me right now, and I really could use the funds,” he said.

Vashawn Morley said his brother had also won a large sum of money on Saturday after placing bets on the machine.

“I feel it is an injustice because the machine decides if you are a winner or loser. The rules are integrated in the machine and if the machine acknowledges that you win, they can’t go against the machine,” he said.

“He decided to lock the

account and said it is pending review, and wipe everything off the account.

So it is his rules verses the machine rules, and it is not fair,” he complained.

When The Tribune contacted the Gaming Board, a female employee reported that no complaints had been filed against Chances concerning the matter.

The Tribune then contacted Chances and spoke with Raymond Culmer, owner, who said the gaming house had issued a statement on its Facebook page concerning claims by some customers.

The statement read: “Two days ago, five of our patrons placed large bets on a game that had already been played. Our team mistakenly left the line on the board. We discovered this error and voided all bets that were placed at a time after the game had started.

“These customers became irate and demanded that they be paid. Chances advised them of the universal rule that states that for a bet to be valid it must be placed before an event is started. Chances returned the amount of money they betted and encouraged them to lodge a complaint with the Gaming Board, if they felt we were wrong.

Instead they threatened to blackmail Chances with bad publicity if we didn’t pay them. We refused,” the company said.

“This afternoon we contacted the Gaming Board who informed us that no complaints (were) lodged and no enquiries about the matter (were) made.”

The statement further claimed that the five customers in question are seasoned sports book players and knew that they were not entitled to be paid.

Chances said that when the company unlocked the

customers’ accounts and it noticed that they continued to place bets today.

Lionel Morley, a spokesman for the group, said they intend to pursue the matter civilly in the courts against Chances.

He claims that some seven or eight persons were affected, some of whom had won $36,000, $10,000, $7,000 and $1,000 in bet winnings.

“This is not the first time this has happened,” he claimed. “And we are calling on government of the country that it cannot make legislation to collect tax on backs of Bahamians and leave them out to defend for themselves,” Mr Morley said.

“Mr Culmer says he does not recognise the win because some of bets came in late, but he recognises the losses. We have to protect the marginalised and those who make the sacrifice to gamble,” he stated.

“Sometimes their light turned off or they can’t pay their mortgage, and they make the sacrifice …to take a chance…and we say this cannot be fair.”

Mr Morley stated that a couple a months ago he filed a complaint with the Gaming Board on a separate issue, and is still awaiting the findings.

“Chances has all rules for gaming there on its website.

As long as the machine accepts the bet, the machine recognise that the bet is on time. We intend to pursue this civilly in courts, but we want to highlight what is happening because… number house change the rules at the ninth hour.

“These young people stay in those computers and study these picks. They should not be disenfranchised and denied their winnings. We intend to pursue this as long as it takes,” Mr Morley said.

MAN ADMITS ASSAULT WITH INTENT TO RAPE WOMAN

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who pleaded guilty yesterday to attacking a woman intending to rape her will return to the Supreme Court later this week for sentencing.

Davardo Percy Knowles, 34, was due to stand trial before Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs on a charge of assault with intent to commit rape

concerning an incident that took place on October 31, 2014, at an establishment in downtown Nassau.

Knowles pleaded not guilty to the charge when he was formally arraigned in the Supreme Court on April 10, 2015.

However, he changed his plea when his trial was set to begin before a jury yesterday, resulting in the judge directing the ninemember panel to convict

him of the charge.

The unrepresented accused was remanded to the Department of Correctional Services until Friday, February 10, at 11am for his sentencing hearing. He faces up to life imprisonment for the Halloween attack, which left the victim with facial bruises when she put up a struggle.

Stephanie Pintard and Anishka Hanchell represented the Crown in the matter.

PAGE 12, Wednesday, February 8, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Lawyer says work for Nygard was only getting permissions

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net AN attorney was adamant yesterday that her legal representation of Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard merely concerned getting permission from the government for him to be able to remove built-up sand from his marina and not any other works.

Melissa Hall returned before Justice Rhonda Bain to continue her testimony as part of committal proceedings for Mr Nygard concerning his alleged breach of an order during an ongoing judicial review to determine whether the fashion designer had illegally increased the size of his property.

The Lyford Cay resident was not present in the Ansbacher House courtroom during her testimony as he had been excused from the proceedings on Monday after his lawyer Elliot Lockhart, QC, successfully applied to Justice Bain for him to be excused from the scheduled proceedings until March 2.

Fred Smith, QC, and lead lawyer for Save The Bays, resumed his questioning of Ms Hall about the contents

of her affidavit - sworn on March 20, 2015 - concerning a meeting with Director of Physical Planning Michael Major in relation to an excavation permit she had sought on Mr Nygard’s behalf.

With the permission of the judge, the witness was shown an exhibit that concerned a response letter from Mr Major in relation to a request for a variation of the excavation permit she had received on Mr Nygard’s behalf.

The exhibit was an illustration of Simms Points, now known as Nygard Cay and the area in which works would be permitted to be done that was reportedly attached to the December 5, 2014 response from Mr Major.

“Would you agree that Nygard Cay is at the western most tip of New Providence?” Mr Smith asked.

“Yes,” Ms Hall said.

“And has a section on the north and south side?” Mr Smith asked.

“I believe so,” the witness said.

“And you enter it from the eastern side?” Mr Smith further probed. Ms Hall said yes.

“I put it to you that the inlet in Mr Nygard’s marina

is on the eastern side of his property,” Mr Smith said.

“I’m not certain about that but it appears to be based on this,” Ms Hall answered.

“And you agree these are the directions based on the plan?” Mr Smith asked.

The witness said yes.

Mr Smith asked the lawyer if it was the plan that “removed condition J from the original permit that was granted.”

When the witness expressed uncertainty, Mr Smith asked her if she applied for the dredging permit.

She said yes.

“Where did you think your client was going to dredge based on the plan?” the attorney asked.

“In the marina,” Ms Hall said.

In re-examination, Mr Lockhart asked for the witness to be shown “CPL508P”.

“Are you familiar with this?” Mr Nygard’s lawyer asked.

“No I am not,” the witness said.

“Did you at any point receive a permit for Peter Nygard?” Mr Lockhart asked.

“No I did not,” Ms Hall said.

She also said, when asked, that she had information concerning an application for a permit for Nygard Holdings Ltd. “Have you seen the original copy of the letter?” Mr Lockhart asked.

“I believe so,” the witness said.

“Are you able to say if the plan was in fact attached to the letter?” Mr Lockhart asked.

“No, I’m unable to say,” Ms Hall answered.

“You did not act for Nygard Holdings Ltd at anytime did you?” Mr Lockhart asked. The witness said no.

“When you had your consultation with Keod Smith, were you consulting on behalf of Peter Nygard or Nygard Holdings Ltd?” the lawyer probed.

The witness said it was the former, adding that Nygard Holdings Ltd was not a part of the discussions she had with him.

“When you spoke to Eric Gibson, did you speak to him in relation to Peter Nygard or Nygard Holdings?” the QC asked.

“We’d never spoken about Nygard Holdings,” Ms Hall answered.

Mr Lockhart then asked for the witness to be shown

“CPL-50P” and asked if “these emails relate to that permit?”

“Yes,” Ms Hall answered.

Mr Smith was allowed to re-examine Ms Hall.

He asked her if she agreed that “CPL-508P” relates to “CPL-50P,” concerned the permit she had applied for on her client’s behalf.

“I cannot be certain of this permit. The contents of the letter do relate however,” the witness answered.

“Do you accept this is a mere typographical error?”

Mr Smith asked.

“I cannot be certain because this is a different permit number,” Ms Hall said.

“Who do you think the permit was giving permission to go and dredge?” Mr Smith asked.

“Nygard Holdings,” the witness said, adding that she had no idea why the permit was issued to the aforementioned company.

Mr Smith asked the witness if she queried the matter with Mr Major when she had first received the permit.

“I relied on his expertise and consultation with the Attorney General’s Office,” the witness said.

Mr Smith asked her to explain then the contents of the Dec 5, 2014 letter refer-

ring to the permit she had asked for and had received.

“It does refer to the application for the permit I received but the reference number was different. As you know, I’m not the only attorney who represents Mr Nygard,” Hall said.

Mr Smith suggested to the witness that the permit didn’t give Mr Nygard permission to dredge in the area in question.

Ms Hall agreed with the suggestion and added: “My instructions were the dredging would take place in the marina area.”

The Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay, now called Save the Bays, has waged a long running court battle with Mr Nygard over the construction/development activities at his Lyford Cay home, which stem from allegations that the activities have led to substantial growth of the property.

The group claims that the Lyford Cay resident has almost doubled the size of his property, from 3.25 acres to 6.1 acres, since he acquired it in 1984, by allegedly reclaiming Crown land from the sea. The advocacy group has alleged that Mr Nygard achieved this without the necessary permits and approvals.

APRIL TRIAL DATE SET FOR HAITIAN POLITICIAN, EX-COUP LEADER

HAITI’s President Jovenel Moise sits with his wife Martine during his swearing-in ceremony at Parliament in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, yesterday. Moise was sworn-in as president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a struggling economy and a deeply divided society.

(AP Photos/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Jovenel Moise sworn in as Haiti’s new president

By DAVID McFADDEN Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Jovenel Moise was sworn in yesterday as Haiti’s president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a chronically struggling economy and a deeply divided society.

The 48-year-old entrepreneur took the oath of office in a Parliament chamber packed with Haitian lawmakers and foreign dignitaries from countries including the US, Venezuela and France. He smiled slightly as the Senate leader slipped Haiti’s red and blue presidential sash over his left shoulder.

In his inaugural address during the day of prayer and platitudes, Moise gave a rough outline of his government’s priorities and pledged to bring “real improvements” to the economically strapped nation, particularly the long-ne-

glected countryside.

He urged unity and promised to strengthen institutions, fight corruption and bring more investments and jobs to one of the least developed nations in the world.

“We can change Haiti if we work together,” Moise said to applause on the grounds of what used to be the national palace, which was one of many buildings obliterated during a devastating earthquake that hit outside the capital in January 2010.

There’s little expectation among citizens that Moise’s new government can overcome Haiti’s deep problems of poverty and economic malaise in the next five years, but he does have a majority in Parliament and some are hopeful the businessman-turned-politician will make steady advances.

“What we still really need in this country are the basics: working hospitals, better schools and security. I think it can be done,” said

Maxime Cantave, owner of a car wash and propane business in the Port-auPrince district of Delmas 48.

Nearby, Charles Bichotte agreed but said he’d wait and see if Moise was sincere with his various vows.

“We’ve heard so many pledges from our presidents but here we are, still struggling,” said the houseplant vendor.

Robert Fatton, a Haitianborn politics professor at the University of Virginia, described the many challenges facing Moise as “herculean.”

“He has to revive domestic production, increase foreign and local investments, rebuild the moribund agricultural sector, create a sense of national solidarity, and generate a sorely lacking political stability,” he said, adding that all this will have to be achieved amid diminishing international assistance.

But Fatton suggested that Moise might actually ben-

efit from citizens’ low expectations of political leaders following many years of broken promises and failed policies.

“If he manages to deliver a modicum of change he may restore a sense of hope for the future,” he said.

The Tuesday inauguration was the concluding step in Haiti’s return to constitutional rule a year after ex-President Michel Martelly left office without an elected successor in place amid waves of opposition protests and a political stalemate suspending elections. A caretaker government was quickly created to fill the void and pave the way for elections.

While Moise won a November 20 election redo with a dominating 55 per cent of the votes cast, his critics suggest he did not gain a mandate as barely 20 per cent of the electorate bothered to go to the polls. The results withstood challenges by three of his closest rivals. That election

victory came more than a year after Moise topped an initial vote in 2015 that was eventually thrown out amid suspicions of fraud.

Senate leader Youri Latortue, who led the swearing-in ceremony Tuesday and leads a party allied with Moise’s Tet Kale faction, told the new president that lawmakers were “ready to cooperate with you for the benefit of the country”.

A businessman from northern Haiti, Moise had never run for office until he was hand-picked in 2015 to be the Tet Kale party candidate by Martelly.

Some critics viewed Moise’s ascent with suspicion, suggesting Martelly was using him as a proxy.

Moise dismissed the criticism in an interview last year with The Associated Press, saying Martelly will still be a valued adviser but he is his own man. During his Tuesday speech, he thanked Martelly for choosing him as the Tet Kale can-

MIAMI (AP) — An April trial date has been set for a former Haitian coup leader and recent senator-elect charged in a US drug trafficking case.

A federal judge set an April 3 trial date for Guy Philippe at a brief hearing Monday.

Philippe previously pleaded not guilty to drug smuggling and money laundering conspiracy charges that carry a maximum life prison sentence.

Philippe was flown to the US last month after his arrest in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince during a live radio show.

Supporters say the 48-year-old Philippe is innocent and blamed his arrest on political foes.

Philippe was recently elected to the Haitian Senate, which they claim should give him immunity from prosecution.

A former police chief, Philippe led a 2004 uprising that ousted thenPresident Jean-Bertrand Aristide. didate.

Moise comes to office with an unresolved judicial investigation hanging over him. Late last month, a Haitian judge questioned Moise about a confidential report leaked during campaigning that suggests he might have laundered money and received special treatment to get loans in years before he ran for the country’s highest political office.

Moise asserts all of his business dealings have been above board. He has blamed rivals for trying to “create instability” in the deeply divided nation with a long history of political tumult and damage his reputation before his swearingin ceremony.

The judicial examination into Moise is ongoing and it is unclear when it will be resolved. Moise asserted Tuesday that the “justice system will never be used for political persecution” under his administration.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 8, 2017, PAGE 13

NASSAU FLIGHT SERVICES SALUTES EMPLOYEES AT ANNUAL AWARDS EVENT

EMPLOYEE of the Year (above wing) Ira Sawyer, centre, a Nassau Flight Services IT technician, stands with (from left) Ricardo P E Rolle (Nassau Flight Services general manager), Idena Burrows (Nassau Flight Services board director), Lorraine Armbrister (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Aviation), Valarie Wallace (BTC vice-president of employee training), William Seymour (Nassau Flight Services deputy board chairman), George Watson (board director), Jennifer Johnson (Nassau Flight Services board director), and Plato Thompson (Nassau Flight Services deputy general manager) at the company’s annual Employee of the Year Awards at Holy Trinity Activity Centre.

EMPLOYEE of the Year (below wing) Mordina Ferguson, a ramp servicewoman, centre, with executives and two family members (from left) Ricardo P E Rolle (Nassau Flight Services general manager), a family member, Idena Burrows (Nassau Flight Services board director), Lorraine Armbrister (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Aviation), a family member, Valarie Wallace (BTC vice-president of employee training), William Seymour (Nassau Flight Services deputy board chairman), George Watson (board director), Jennifer Johnson (Nassau Flight Services board director), and Plato Thompson (Nassau Flight Services deputy general manager).

Photos: Raymond A Bethel Sr/BIS

RODNA FENELON-JOHNSON, Nassau Flight SerLORRAINE ARMBRISTER, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport vices duty manager, left, presents Most Outstanding and Aviation, presents the Employee of the Year award (above wing) to Family Island Employee award to Kavera Moncur, a RICARDO P E Rolle, Nassau Flight Services general manager, left, preramp serviceman. sents The Chairman’s Award to Esmond Johnson, duty manager.

Ira Sawyer, an IT technician.

PAGE 14, Wednesday, February 8, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Cracking the code to great education

DISCOVERY Education visited T G Glover Primary School to demonstrate coding for the modern classroom.

Lauren Conn, senior manager of international partnerships at Discovery Education, was on hand to assist students at the school during the visit.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff