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VOLUME:114 No.55, FEBRUARY 9th, 2017

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New seat after boundary shift St Barnabas formed and Montagu is renamed Freetown

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net VOTERS can expect a new constituency named St Barnabas and the renaming of the Montagu seat to “Freetown”, according to the draft order tabled

by Prime Minister Perry Christie last night.

Mr Christie tabled the House of Assembly Revision of Boundaries and Redistribution of Seats Order 2017 during the evening session of the Lower House, but only six copies were distributed to parliamentarians due to a copying error.

The report did not include any information on voter registration numbers, or the average number of

voters per constituency to provide justification for the boundary changes.

The order, once made by Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling, will give effect to the recommendations outlined by the Constituencies Commission in its boundary report.

The new seat, St Barnabas, consists of two polling stations from Centreville, two from Bain and Grants Town, three from Englerston, one from Fort Charlotte, and three from Mt Moriah. It is bordered

by Farrington Road, inclusive of Lightbourne Ave, Maxwell Ave, and Haven Ave, Wulff Road, East Street and Thompson Blvd.

SEE PAGE SIX

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL IS PASSED DESPITE ROLLINS BROADSIDE

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE House of Assembly passed the revamped Freedom of Information Bill last night, hours after Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins launched a scathing critique of the legislation, saying the Christie administration’s track record during this term in office is proof of the government’s

“bogus” attempt to portray it as transparent and accountable with its last minute push to pass the law.

As debate on the FOI Bill continued in Parliament yesterday, Dr Rollins said if the government was serious about giving Bahamians access to information, FOI would have been a priority on the legislative agenda.

SEE PAGE SIX

DOUBLE THE BACON DOUBLE THE CHEESE

MEMORIES STAFF ‘PAID LESS THAN THEY WERE ENTITLED TO’

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Memories Resort in Grand Bahama started the payout process for hundreds of former hotel workers on Wednesday at the Bain Building, in downtown Freeport.

Some were not happy with the payout amounts and complained that payments were less compared to that which they are SEE PAGE EIGHT

POLICE OFFICER ATTACKED DURING MORNING RUN SHOOTS MAN DEAD

THE BODY of a man is taken from the scene early yesterday morning after a police-involved shooting on Bamboo Boulevard. Four men reportedly tried to assault a police officer during his morning exercise. Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander said that two men in a vehicle with bullet holes believed to be connected to the shooting turned themselves in to the South Beach Police Station.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/:Tribune Staff

By SANCHESKA DORSETT allegedly “accosted” the ton Fernander said two ing exercise in this general Tribune Staff Reporter officer during his morning suspects turned themselves area on Bamboo Boulevard, sdorsett@tribunemedia.net run. into officers at the South when a small vehicle pulled The incident took place Beach Police Station a short up beside him and four A POLICE officer shot around 5.30am in the South time after the incident. males exited the vehicle and killed a man early Beach area.

“Sometime around all armed with handguns,” Wednesday morning afOfficer-in-Charge of the 5.30am, a member of your Chief Supt Fernander said. ter the suspect, along with Central Detective Unit, Royal Bahamas Police SEE PAGE NINE three other armed men, Chief Superintendent Clay- Force was doing his morn-

$5M BUDGET FOR CARNIVAL LIGHTBOURN NOT BACK WITH AS GOVT CUTS CONTRIBUTION MINNIS ‘IN THIS LIFETIME’

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM Minister Obie Wilchcombe said yesterday it is time for the government to stop “investing money” into Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival and “hand over” the yearly celebration to a “private entity”.

Speaking with reporters outside the House of Assembly yesterday, Mr Wilchcombe said the government will spend “considerably less” on Junkanoo

Carnival this year but if he had it his way “we would not have to spend anything at all”.

However, Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis told The Tribune that the government has budgeted $5m for this year’s event.

For the inaugural festival, the government spent $11.3m, going over its initial budget of $9m, with the total cost of the first carnival $12.9m, with the rest covered by sponsors.

SEE PAGE SIX

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

MONTAGU MP Richard Lightbourn pushed back yesterday against “baseless” tabloid and social media reports that claim he is dissatisfied with Loretta Butler-Turner’s performance as leader of the Official Opposition and is seeking to reunite with Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis.

While he said he is satisfied with Mrs Butler-Turner’s leadership, he admit-

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ted however that there have been “issues” connected to Mrs Butler-Turner’s choice to appoint Rodney Moncur to the Senate.

Asked if he is having discussions with Dr Minnis or his team about a possible reunification, he said: “Not in this lifetime.”

Mr Lightbourn added: “I saw The Punch had a story about it on Monday and (Facebook page) ‘Bahamas News Ma Bey’ had on this morning. It’s nonsense.”

SEE PAGE 13

PAGE 2, Thursday, February 9, 2017

Online registry launched in Berry Islands

THE TRIBUNE

KRASHAN Simms holds a birth certificate for her baby, Deshanna Wynder, issued by the Registrar General’s Department through online process in the Berry Islands last week. Registrar General (Acting) Deidre Clarke Maycock, third left, conducted the launch.

Photos: Gena Gibbs/BIS RESIDENTS in the online registration and Berry Islands can visit the certification in North AnAdministrator’s Office to dros. obtain copies of birth, marAt the Bullock’s Harriage, and death certificates bour launch, along with the without having to travel Registrar General and the to Nassau after the Regis- Administrator were Darian trar General’s Department Creary, Deputy Registrar; launched online registra- Elaine Lightfoot, Chief tion and certification at Medical Records Officer; the Government Complex, Christopher Hinsey, BTC Bullock’s Harbour, last Senior Manager/Operaweek. tions for Andros and Berry The Department also Islands; Talbot Collie, BTC registered the births of Vice-President, Family Ischildren under three, who lands; Cardinal Rolle, Chief were born in Nassau but Councilor for Berry Isnever recorded. Launch- lands; ASP Dennis Brown, ing the initiative was Reg- Officer in Charge, Berry istrar General (Acting) Islands District; Norma Deidre Clarke Maycock, Fynes, Registrar General’s with the assistance of Is- Department Assistant Suland Administrator Mar- pervisor; and Desiree Edlon Leary. wards, Registrar General’s It follows the launch of Department Clerk.

CARLOS and Shanell Gale have their marriage certificate issued

by Registrar General (Acting) Deidre Clarke Maycock, second left.

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Thursday, February 9, 2017, PAGE 3

Holocaust survivor urges an end to prejudice

HOLOCAUST survivor Eva Schloss pictured as she speaks about her life to 650 high school students at the Melia Nassau Beach Resort.

Nico Scavella joins 650 students for a rare opportunity to hear haunting tales of World War Two persecution and prejudice

A

HOLOCAUST and ultimately moved to survivor yester- the Netherlands after the day encouraged annexation of Austria by Bahamians not Germany, led by dictator to hold prejudicial or dis- Adolf Hitler. The Nazis criminatory views towards invaded the Netherlands in any one group of people, as 1940, and Mrs Schloss said she recounted the anti-Se- almost immediately there mitic actions taken against were “restrictions” against Jews by Nazi Germany that Jews. led to her imprisonment as “We had to wear the yela part of what is considered low star, we were not on to be the worst genocide in public transport, we had to history. leave our schools and go Eva Schloss, best friend to Jewish schools, we were and stepsister of famed not allowed to go out after 8 Holocaust diarist Anne o’clock, we had to buy food Frank, called on Bahami- from particular shops, and ans far and wide to “treat it became difficult to get each other like human be- food, so that became very, ings”, adding that her per- very hard,” she said. “Then sonal experiences during they started to pick up peothe Holocaust only add em- ple from the streets. Once phasis to her view that “it you wore the star, they doesn’t make a difference knew you were a Jew and if you have a different reli- they just disappeared. So it gion, different colour, come became very, very scary.” from a different country”.

In 1942, she said about “I’ve noticed there’s lots 10,000 young people beof different churches here,” tween the ages of 16 and 25 Mrs Schloss said to a full received the call-up notice room of students at the to be deported to Germany.

Melia Nassau However, she Beach Ho- ‘There’s still said “many tel. “People parents,” inshould visit terrible prejudice, cluding Anne each other in there are terrible Frank’s fachurch, and wars going on, ther, Otto, as see that basiwell as her cally we’re people are being father, Erich all just the killed, and very Geiringer, same. There’s often for the “decided they just really wouldn’t send one race, the same reason the young human race, the Holocaust people”. and it doesn’t happened, for Mrs Schloss make a difsaid she was ference if you prejudice against 13 when Mr have a differ- people who have a Geiringer ent religion, different religion, told her and a different her famcolour, come are different races, ily that they from a differ- and this is really would go into ent country. hiding, but what we fight “So it is imwould do so portant that against.’ in pairs: Mrs we treat each Eva Schloss Schloss with other like huher mother, man beings Elfriede, and that’s all that matters, and Mr Geiringer with her that we’re humans, and brother, Heinz. Mrs Schloss that’s it.” said the rationale given by Around 650 pupils from her father for the decision nine primary and high was “if we are in two differschools in New Providence ent places the chance that listened attentively to her two of us will survive bestory. comes bigger”.

Mrs Schloss, 87, was On her 15th birthday in born in Vienna, Austria, 1944, and after two years of

STUDENTS from a variety of high schools in The Bahamas pictured as they are addressed by Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff hiding and constantly moving to “about six or seven different hiding places,” Mrs Schloss and her family were captured by German soldiers and taken to the Auschwitz concentration camps.

She and her mother managed to survive the ordeal after being rescued by Soviet troops in 1945, but her father and brother did not.

She was also informed that Anne Frank, her elder sister Margot, and their mother Edith Frank had perished in the concentration camps, with Mr Frank as the lone survivor from that family.

Recounting her ordeal, Mrs Schloss lamented the prejudicial conditions she faced growing up in Austria, and ultimately those that led to the eventual persecution of some 2.7 million Jews during the Holocaust.

“Austria is a Catholic country, and I had Catholic friends and suddenly I was not allowed to play anymore with those kids,” she said. “And I was nine years old and I couldn’t understand why am I different, what difference does it make? We have to accept that we’re all human beings and we all have to live together.”

She added: “When I came back from Auschwitz, everybody was saying never again … those were terrible atrocities, that (should) never ever be repeated.

But now certainly 70 years later, unfortunately, it’s not the same of course, but it is similar.

“There’s still terrible prejudice, there are terrible wars going on, people are being killed, and very often for the same reason the Holocaust happened, for prejudice against people who have a different religion, are different races, and this is really what we fight against.”

Nonetheless, Mrs Schloss expressed optimism that prejudice and discrimination are both issues that are being prioritised the world over.

“I think people are aware of it more now and talk about it,” she said. “Before it was just prejudice and that’s it. But now it’s a subject, it’s taught in school, so I have great hopes that we’ll get over it. And there’s lots of mixed marriages.

In London you see a lot of mixed marriages, and I think eventually people will accept each other.”

Mrs Schloss also went on to describe her friendship with Anne Frank while growing up in Amsterdam prior to the war. Mrs Schloss eventually became

Anne’s stepsister after Mrs Geiringer married Mr Frank after each lost their spouses to the Holocaust.

“She was quite different from me,” Mrs Schloss said of her deceased friend and stepsister. “You have heard she left her home in Germany when she was four years old, so she had not experienced prejudice and bullying, but I had already experienced in Vienna and Belgium, prejudice against me because I was a Jew. “I was shy but she was very much outgoing. She was a big chatterbox. Her nickname was ‘Mrs QuackQuack’ because she never stopped talking.

“We knew each other for two years, we saw each other daily, she went actually to a special school, Montessori School, and I was in the ordinary school, but after school we met daily every day, and she took me up to her apartment to meet her family because I couldn’t speak Dutch yet, and her father and mother spoke German, which was a great help to me.

“But later when we had to go away into hiding, I never ever saw her again.”

Anne Frank was a German-born diarist and writer who gained fame posthumously following the publication of ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’, which documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944, during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. She died at 15.

Students attended the private presentation from Genesis Academy, Lyford Cay International School, Meridian School, Queen’s College, Simpson Penn Centre for Boys, St Andrew’s School, Willie Mae Pratt Centre for Girls, Windsor Preparatory School and Xavier’s Lower School. They were able to ask plenty of questions to satisfy their curiosity.

“I felt great about the encouraging words she said,” said a student of the Willie Mae Pratt Centre for Girls.

“I was encouraged to know that she never gave up. It made me realise that I have to be grateful for what I have. The time and things that she lived through, I don’t think I could survive that so it really encouraged me to never give up and always, always keep hope.”

The programme was organised by the Nassau Jewish Community. Mrs Schloss will speak at a free public forum ‘Beyond the Diary’ this evening at the Melia, at 6.30. nscavella@ tribunemedia.net

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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,

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‘Bring ’em in, suck ’em dry and throw away the husk’ LAST YEAR, we wrote two editorials, each inviting Prime Minister Christie to tell Bahamians whose side he and his government were on in the dispute between Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian and the Beijing owned EXIM bank and its construction company.

Of course, we did not expect, nor did we get an answer. However, despite the weather vane continuing to tip towards Beijing, we had hoped that The Bahamas would win in the end with the developer.

And so we were as shocked as Dionsio D’Aguilar, a former Baha Mar director, when it was learned that while the prime minister was ostensibly negotiating with Mr Izmirlian and Beijing for the completion and opening of Baha Mar, behind the scenes, his government had given CCA – the construction company blamed for the breakdown of the Baha Mar project – permission to move manpower and equipment from the unfinished Baha Mar site to start work on CCA’s $200m Pointe project near the British Colonial Hotel. When asked if this project, considering its track record at Baha Mar, would be completed on time, the new owners assured the press that it would, indicating that as they owned the project, it would meet its deadlines. For us, this was indeed a loaded answer. At the time, we wondered if in fact the core of the problem at Cable Beach was that the construction company and its backers did not own Baha Mar, but would have liked to have had it under their full control. Was this the object of the exercise that has led to the chaos that we see today? Was this the reason for the indifference displayed by EXIM bank when complaints were made to it about its construction company’s non performance — after all if this were a true investment, the bank should have been very concerned about a non-functioning construction company on a project for which it was now losing money.

Baha Mar was scheduled to open in December 2014. In January, it apologised for the delay, saying it would not be ready for guests before March 27, 2015.

Three days before this date, hotel officials announced the opening had been delayed again to early May due to ongoing construction. Completion dates had been fixed by CCA, the foot-dragging construction company. The developer had expended a large investment training staff to fill the many jobs on the site.

Large sums were spent on advertising for the trend-setting resort, even bookings were being accepted. A lavish wedding had been planned for what was billed as the most glamorous resort in Paradise. In the end, everything had to be cancelled.

What promised to be the prize of the Caribbean had failed. The publicity was such that it is doubtful that if and when the hotel opens it will be able to recapture the enthusiasm that it had first generated.

Mr Izmirlian took the problems he was having with CCA to the Prime Minister. He told him that his back was to the wall and that something would have to be done urgently if the hotel were to meet its obligations.

Feeling he was not getting the support he expected, an exasperated developer said he did not believe that Mr Christie was doing what was best for the Bahamian people.

In his opinion the “votes of The Bahamas will decide how they feel about the actions of the government” in the whole transaction. Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell, angered by the remark, suggested that anyone who did not conform with the values of The Bahamas should take the necessary

steps to find some other county in which to live. Deputy Prime Minister “Brave” Davis agreed, saying that the office of the prime minister ought not to be disrespected.

We are certain that many foreign investors took note. For us it recalled our early days of attending the House of Assembly when we were shocked by a comment made by the late Sir Stafford Sands on the treatment of investors. “We bring ’em in, suck ’em dry and throw away the husk,” he remarked. Was this what had happened to this young, enthusiastic investor?

Mr Izmirlian in a desperate attempt to save his $3.5 billion dream filed for bankruptcy court protection in Delaware. “The general contractor,” he said at the time, “repeatedly has missed construction deadlines.” Unable to open, he said, “the resort has been left without a sufficient source of revenue to continue our existing business.”

Mr Christie was miffed, claiming that Mr Izmirlian had gone behind his back, and pulled a fast one.

Now we learn that while Mr Izmirlian was desperately crying for help to save his resort, staff and creditors, Heads of Agreement were quietly being signed on June 18, 2015 by the Christie government and the CCA, for the latter to start work at the Pointe. Although, it is claimed that CCA was not to start work at the Pointe until Baha Mar had been completed, Baha Mar was left idle and the Pointe started to take on life. If one were to examine who holds certain contracts at the Pointe, it will be easy to put the jig-saw puzzle together and have the answers for such preferential treatment. One investor was prepared to deal, the other was not.

Eleven days later, Mr Izmirlian filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware to save his investment. EXIM Bank and CCA, claiming that as the site of the complaint was in The Bahamas, The Bahamas should be the jurisdiction in which the case be heard. The Christie government agreed, claiming that to do otherwise would flaunt Bahamian sovereignty. In the end, The Bahamas government made an expensive mockery of our sovereignty.

Meantime, Deputy Prime “Brave” Davis was in Panama extolling the skills of CCA. The occasion was CCA’s opening of its Latin American Regional Headquarters in Panama City.

Said Mr Davis in praising CCA, which by now had walked off the job at Baha Mar to undertake its own investment: “This expansion evidences the fact that success comes only to those whose goals are so strong that obstacles act only as the investor.” He acknowledged CCA’s contribution to the Bahamian economy and commended CCA for its resourcefulness, expertise and professionalism. “For The Bahamas, we are grateful for the contribution of CCA in our efforts to improve our economy through foreign direct investment, the creation of jobs, and the provision of training opportunities. As the financier, investor and builder of the Baha Mar project, CCA has helped create thousands of jobs for the Bahamian people and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for local businesses,” he said.

We have failed to find any truth in Mr Davis’ statement. “Finances, dedication, network capability, and other resources are major assets of CCA; and these assets accomplish the seemingly impossible,” he continued in stating what today has been styled as “alternative facts.”

We hope that whenever the election date is called upstanding Bahamians will rescue their country from the clutches of the unprincipled.

The new voter register EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS we seemingly continue to show national disinterest in registering to exercise our most valuable Constitutional power, I refer to the Parliamentary Act, and wonder was there a serious mistake in the process?

The Act seems to suggest that prior to the closing of the old Register on reaching its fifth anniversary there should be a Register to immediately take its place so you have continuity. There is a provision that allows for an application to

extend the creation of the new Register but again that request must be applied for prior to the expiry of the old Register.

If my reading is correct the current push to get the Register larger is totally a waste of time as the time allotted to creating a new Register expired in November, 2016.

In practical terms, this means who were registered in November 2016 are registered to vote in the 2017 Election not a soul after correct me Parliamentary Commissioner.

I recall in November ’16

the then total registered was under 30 per cent.

Our Police had better seriously prepare for a possible repeat of the slowness of the Election results being announced as we experienced for the referendum. General Elections are highly political - people are highly energised; do I need to say more.

Mr Parliamentary Commissioner make sure those fax: machines work!

T HUDSON Nassau, February 5, 2017.

Questions over FOIA EDITOR, The Tribune.

ON the eve of the expected passing of the Freedom of Information Act, there is an expectation that we will have access to the information that will validate or discredit what we have been hearing from the present administration about what is going on in our nation; particularly the Baha Mar project and whatever agreements this administration has entered into with the Chinese government and those who operate on behalf of that regime. I wanted to include the last administration in the mix, but the leader of the previous administration seems to have had a thing for not keeping secrets.

My thinking took a serious paranoiac turn when I read of the possibility that there may not be an agreement after all between this government and the Chinese, hence no documents to be sealed by the courts.

To make my letter effective, I am taking the path that Prime Minister Christie would take when he wants to explain something to us, and my assumptions are based on the premise of “Perhaps there is no agreement” and even if the FOIA is passed we will never find out many of the things that we only suspect at the moment. Questions like, “How much land have we given to the People’s Republic of China?”

This may sound like a simple question, but the fact that Chinese persons do not really own land in a socialist state, is something we need to consider as a “Christian nation”. We are “unequally yoked” to put it mildly. We serve One God and the Chinese people serve many, and the fact that the Chinese government have not treated our Christian brothers and sisters well in China is something we should be concerned about.

Is the Christie administration aware that the Christian Church in China has to pay tithes to the Chinese government? Do we understand that any land that is transferred to them becomes the property of the Chinese Communist State? Are we bringing a curse upon ourselves?

This administration always has an answer for us, but it is going to be up to the Bahamian people to

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net get the questions right.

How many members of Parliament and their families have business links to the Baha Mar project and whatever projects that are connected to it?

Are all of the fees and taxes associated with those activities paid up, or are they getting similar exemptions like CCA? Why is Minister Jerome Edward Fitzgerald in the lead on most commentary regarding anything and everything that the Prime Minister should be speaking about? Has he been picked by the powers that be as the next Prime Minister and/or leader of the Progressive Liberal Party?

The comment of him being the next Prime Minister has been making the rounds, but the source of that comment is not from the Party itself.

Are we really on the eve of getting some of the answers we are seeking? Or will we go down the road again where our politicians attempt to cry for another chance and do a dance at the same time? Does anyone know if the people of The Bahamas still own the property known as the Cable Beach Golf Course, which was left to us in perpetuity by the previous owners? Or are all of the members of the status quo about to go quiet again?

Perhaps the most pressing question, on the eve of the possible passing of the FOIA is, “How much money has been spent in our nation by the Chinese Government and who have they spent it with? – outside of the Baha Mar project.”

There are a host of questions that will not be answered for us, and since we are entitled to those answers as citizens of this nation, we are going to have to make some choices.

Those choices will affect all Bahamians who come after us, much more than we are being impacted now.

Do we care enough to proceed? Will our children and grandchildren be cursing our names and places of burial in the years ahead because of what we allow at this time in our history?

The Chinese are not here to help us, they are a God-

less nation that serve many gods that are inferior to the God we serve, but if we continue on this road, we will become their servants and they will realise their true goal of establishing a presence off the Eastern seaboard of the United States of America.

However, the Chinese presence here is not our real issue. We are going to have to face what I call the “Republican response” to what we are allowing, and President Trump has some peculiarities that are feared; even by the PRC. We forget that it was a Republican administration under President Ronald Reagan that allowed drugs to be transshipped through our nation, a couple of decades ago, and they (the Americans) never apologised for anything.

I am always reflecting on how that event affected the life of Lynden Oscar Pindling and what kind of Prime Minister he could have been if not for the Iran-Contra Affair (the drugs that were shipped through our nation were used to finance an American sponsored “ skirmish”).

It could have turned out better for him and us.

Everyone wants a piece of The Bahamas, but the major players in the game have no aversion to wanting it all and even though that may not be possible it does not stop them from wanting a measure of control over where they have interest or money invested.

Our leaders seem oblivious to this reality as they give away the future of this nation for shortsighted gains. At this stage of the game, we are not really interested in jobs, but opportunities to create jobs that are in the best interest of the responsibilities we embraced in 1973.

I think it was Norman Solomon who warned that if we were not careful we would become “hewers of wood ( or maybe stone) and toters of water”; he could have been a prophet, if we look at how things are going now.

EDWARD HUTCHESON Nassau, February 7, 2017.

More letters on page 24

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 9, 2017, PAGE 5

Problems in flight for two Western Air planes

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net INVESTIGATIONS are underway into separate incidents involving two Western Air aircraft that experienced problems while in flight on Tuesday.

Civil Aviation authorities were at the Western Air hangar in Freeport yesterday, inspecting the aircraft and speaking with the pilots, mechanics and airline officials.

Western Air has a fleet of five 33-seater SAAB 340 planes. Sherrexcia Rolle, vice president of operations and general counsel at Western Air, said that their operations have not been affected as three aircraft are still in service.

Ms Rolle said that reports of a crash landing at Grand Bahama International Airport (GBIA) on Tuesday

THE SCENE on Tuesday after a Western Air plane crash landed at Grand Bahama International Airport. were inaccurate. “The pilot aircraft to make an abrupt landed the aircraft and was swerve on the side of the proceeding as normal with runway,” she explained. both landing gears down.

According to reports, The left (landing) gear mal- the incident happened functioned and caused the around 5pm, just after the

plane had taken off from GBIA on its way to Nassau, with 33 passengers and three crew onboard.

It was reported that the aircraft experienced technical challenges and was forced to make an emergency landing. It skidded off the runway some 200 feet into the bushes.

Ms Rolle said that the aircraft had flown from Nassau to Bimini flawlessly, and from Bimini to Freeport. “It had taken off from Freeport when, three or four minutes into the flight, the pilot noticed some indication of an issue with his electrical system, so he communicated with Air Traffic Control and followed their instructions to fly around the tower to confirm that the gears were down,” she said.

“And he made a precautionary decision to return to the airport. He actually

landed the aircraft and they proceeded to go down the runway and was making that first turn when the left gear seemed to malfunction,” she said.

Earlier that day, Ms Rolle said another pilot had made the decision to shut down one of the engines after noticing an issue with the oil pressure during a flight from Freeport to Nassau with 20 passengers and three crew onboard. “Basically, the captain shut it down. But the SAAB 340 can fly with one engine, and so the decision the pilot made was the right one,” she said. Ms Rolle said the aircraft continued in flight and landed safely at its destination.

She said that Western Air are also conducting their own internal investigations into the incidents, in addition to the independent investigations that are being

conducted by Civil Aviation. “The people we have working on the aircraft are very experienced in the region and have been working with SAAB 340 for 20 and 25 years.”

Ms Rolle said Western Air has been working collectively with Civil Aviation and all officials to understand exactly what happened. “More than anything, we want the public to know that we remain committed to providing safe and reliable service. We put a lot of work into our maintenance programme and they are thorough with scheduled and non-scheduled maintenance.

“It was one of those situations where there was no indication of any issue and … we are continuing to investigate. But service is continuing as usual and our operations are not affected,” she said.

HALKITIS CONTINUES TO DEFEND VAT COMMENTS AT CONVENTION

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

STATE Minister of Finance Michael Halkitis has maintained that when he made his controversial Progressive Liberal Party convention speech where he spoke of value added tax collection and spending, he was speaking within a “broad context” in support of good governance to show the Christie administration’s improved financial footing.

More than two weeks ago, Mr Halkitis delivered his fiery “Where the VAT money gone” address to scores of PLP supporters in

response to critics who have questioned how the tax was spent.

While it was well received

by PLPs gathered at the Melia Nassau Beach Hotel, it landed Mr Halkitis in the hot seat as calls were reignited for the government to fully give an account of the VAT revenue. Some critics also called Mr Halkitis disingenuous for suggesting that VAT had paid for initiatives that the government had borrowed money to carry out.

However, yesterday he moved to again explain the context of the convention speech, suggesting it was a response to those who have taken a “narrow view” of

the matter.

He said: “It was a privilege of mine to speak at that convention and on the first night my aim was to give an account of this administration’s financial stewardship over its term in office taking into account the history and philosophy of the Progressive Liberal Party.

“That is our commitment to education, commitment to equality, the commitment to access to healthcare, our commitment to adequate social security, our commitment to broadening of the economic base (and) how did our reform of the revenue system (through) implementation of VAT being the main re-

CUSTOMS STAFF ASKED TO SIGN PAYMENT AGREEMENT UNIFORMED officers of the Department of Customs are being asked to individually sign documents outlining that they want to be paid sums agreed to by the Bahamas Customs and Immigration Allied Workers Union.

According to a statement released by Minister of Labour and National Insurance Shane Gibson yesterday, the money will be paid no later than the end of March.

Mr Gibson said: “The minister for the public service is in receipt of a petition from uniformed officers of the Customs Department seeking the pay-

ment of ‘the sums agreed upon via the negotiation of the union and government negotiating teams.’

“The government of The Bahamas has set aside the relevant sums. Any uniformed officer of the said departments who wishes to be paid may make written application for payment through your respective Human Resources Departments.

“Upon receipt of the written request, the payments should be made in your next pay packet or no later than March 29, 2017.”

The Tribune understands the officers are being asked

to make a written application for the payment because their bargaining agent reportedly claimed the employees signed a petition to be paid these sums “under duress.”

Only those who request payment will be paid.

Last month, after receiving a petition signed by more than 130 customs officers who asked that they be paid money agreed to by the BCIAWU, Mr Gibson said he recommended that the officers be paid.

He said this was despite the union not concluding and signing an industrial agreement with the government.

form, how did that comport with our philosophy.”

He also said: “As a result of the reforms we have improved our financial position and we can meet the needs of governance in a better way. We can service our debt including debt payment and interest payment and we are in a better financial position to arrange financing for capital investments.

“I gave examples on all of these and spoke of how the government was able to undertake capital works to address long standing deficiencies.

“Because of our improved financial position we can provision for Na-

tional Health Insurance.

“I say all of that because there has been some response to my address because I sought to deliver it in a particular way. But as I said before I stand by everything that I said. Because of our improved financial position we were able to go to a bank and arrange financing for Bahamasair without a government guarantee and when I say ‘that’s where the VAT money gone’ it is because of our improved position we can arrange the financing for the aircraft that were delivered ahead of schedule and advance monies to Bahamasair for that.

“The reaction to my speech was as if I was giving

an exhaustive list of every single thing that the VAT money would have gone to and wanted to speak within a context of what we sought to do with the reform to put us in a better position for good governance and show some results of what we did.

“Some have taken the narrow view that you said you borrowed the money.

Mr Speaker I was speaking within a broad context of supporting good governance,” Mr Halkitis added.

He said he was looking forward to this year’s midyear budget debate, suggesting that further proof would be presented on VAT expenditure during this time.

PAGE 6, Thursday, February 9, 2017

New seat after boundary shift

THE TRIBUNE

ST BARNABAS FORMED AND MONTAGU IS RENAMED FREETOWN

from page one Mr Christie explained that the Montagu seat name was changed to reflect the ancestral history of a major part of the constituency, pointing out that the Freetown seat was included in the 1968 and 1972 elections.

The number of seats in the House of Assembly, as previously reported, has increased from 38 to 39, and are divided as such: 24 constituencies in New Providence; five constituencies in Grand Bahama and Bimini; and ten constituencies in the Family Islands.

At the end of last month, the number of registered voters was around 88,000, lower than it was at this same time last election season.

Due to the low figures, House Speaker Dr Kendal

Major told The Tribune recently that the commission used data from the 2010 census that had been extrapolated in a 2016 report prepared by the Department of Statistics, to guide recommendations.

That report, prepared by the Census Section, projected a population increase of 6.9 per cent on New Providence.

Meanwhile, according to the draft boundaries report, Centreville and Bain and Grants Town were projected to have the largest constituencies, and of those figures, there were 12,849 and 12,337 persons aged 18 and older respectively.

According to the order, Bain and Grants Town was cut down from 14 polling stations to ten, with one

polling station added from Fort Charlotte. The constituency was formerly bordered along Nassau Street to the west, but the additional polling station is bordered by Boyd Road, Tyler Street and Infant View Road.

Centreville went from 14 polling stations to 12, taking three polling stations from Bain and Grants Town that are bordered by Wulff Road, Market Street, and Taylor Street.

The Constituencies Commission is comprised of Dr Major; Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs, vice-chair; government members, Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis and Jerome Fitzgerald; Mr Chipman; and House clerks Maurice Tynes and David Forbes.

DR Hubert Minnis examining the new boundary map yesterday.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL IS PASSED DESPITE ROLLINS BROADSIDE from page one

“This legislation gives no right to the public to access the transparent bidding process and the right to know who bids (or) for how much they bid and who receives government contracts,” Dr Rollins said.

“There is nothing in this bill that would have guaranteed the public the right to know all the bids made to purchase the 51 per cent share of BTC in 2010 or why it was that the main bidder was allowed to enter the bidding process after the bid deadline had already passed.

“Nor does this Bill guarantee a right to know the terms of the purported buy back of two per cent of those shares since the PLP came to office.

“This FOI Bill does not create a requirement for the government to advertise all public service job openings and the criteria

He said there remained 206 unanswered questions on the House agenda, further proof of the government’s blatant disregard for transparency.

Dr Rollins went on to coin the phrase “full of it,” saying this should be used in reference to FOI. His harsh criticisms of the Bill at times sparked several heated exchanges from Progressive Liberal Party members of Parliament, including Marathon MP Jerome Fitzgerald, Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell and Pinewood MP Khaalis Rolle.

Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP Philip “Brave” Davis and Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin were also forced to stand on points of order to refute claims made by Dr Rollins.

for the available jobs. We need laws that mandate the public listing of all job vacancies to guard against the corrosive effects of politics in the civil service.

“This bill gives too much power to the executive branch of government, particularly via wide ranging powers of exemption by the minister responsible, and makes the cost of appealing a refusal to grant access to any information unnecessarily costly by requiring that such an appeal be decided in the Supreme courts instead of the lower courts - magistrates courts.

“The bill creates too much potential for political victimisation in relation to the information managed by creating allowance for him to be removed due to misbehaviour with no definition of what misbehaviour is,” Dr Rollins said.

“The penalties for creating an offence under this

bill are much too lenient.

A $10,000 fine is easily payable by anyone who stands to lose hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars or political power if certain information is disclosed to the public. This bill under Section 17 allows the government to withhold from the public data regarding the number of work permits or citizenships granted to foreign nationals in any given time period.

“This bill is absolutely worthless in the absence of campaign finance legislation which requires donors and any donations being made of $1,000 or more to be matters of public record. Many of the decisions of government would be more readily understood if the public was made aware of the source of campaign funds donated to political parties.”

He also said: “When the government misleads the

public by saying we’ve had four credit downgrades in less than two years simply because of Hurricanes Joaquin and Matthew and not their reckless spending to support friends, family and lovers we can better understand why our country’s credit rating has fallen to junk bond status under their watch.

“This government is not about providing Bahamians with the facts, Mr Speaker, this bill is not a Freedom of Information Bill, it is a ‘full of it’ bill designed to have the people believe that they did something that the prior Free National Movement administration did not do.

If they believe so deeply in transparency and accountability, Mr Speaker, the Bahamian people would expect that this legislation would have been brought to the House as the first piece of legislation debated in 2012.”

Prior to these remarks, Dr Rollins pointed to the Bay Street development, The Pointe, saying the allowance of 400 to 500 work permits for foreign workers in the development’s heads of agreement raised questions of the ratio of Bahamian workers to Chinese workers.

Among a litany of accusations, some of which had to be withdrawn or expunged from the record, Dr Rollins also questioned whether a business connected to Mr Fitzgerald’s family had been directly impacted

by Baha Mar’s bankruptcy in 2015.

The Marathon MP denied the assertion saying that while his father’s business has been in brokerage for about 40 years, he had no interest in these dealings.

The FOI Bill now moves on to the Senate for debate before it is passed there.

$5M BUDGET FOR CARNIVAL AS GOVT CUTS CONTRIBUTION

from page one

cused the government of adopting other countries’ culture, instead of investing more funding into the Bahamas’ premier cultural event, Junkanoo.

Mr Wilchcombe said the government has proved over the past two years that carnival does have traction and can have a “major financial contribution” to the Bahamian economy. He said it

Last year, the total cost was $9.8m with a government subsidy of $8.1m.

Since its roll out in 2015, Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival has faced backlash from critics about the amount spent on the festival compared to the financial return. Some have also ac-

is time for the government to “pass it on”. He also said Junkanoo Carnival will not be cancelled because of the impending general election.

“The country does not stop right before elections, that is ridiculous. I would like to see it move more into the private sector now, government has done what it could do, it has established it, its has proved that it does

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have marketability so allow now for the private sector to come in and purchase the franchise,” Mr Wilchcombe said.

“We will spend considerably less (this year). I am operating on the premise that we don’t have to spend anything. I am operating on the premise that the private sector will take it over and pay the government a franchise fee. We will own the franchise but certain standards must be maintained but allow for it to be run by the private sector.

We should not be doing it, we started it, we invested it, now it’s time for us to hand

it over and we get a franchise fee, but the private sector should take it over.”

Mr Wilchcombe said the money the government has spent in the past can now be used for “the refurbishment of the Dundas (Performing Arts Centre), the refurbishment of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and creating new programmes that will assist the arts.”

The government has been highly criticised for hosting the event and not making a profit.

Last year, Bahamas National Festival Commission Chairman Paul Major said the festival has never been

and will never be about turning a profit on investment, contending that no variation of the event hosted around the world has generated a profit for the host nation.

He said the success of the festival must be measured by the thousands of persons that benefit from the event indirectly.

Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis has previously said that his party will “privatise carnival” and invest the country’s money into Junkanoo and other cultural events if elected in the next general election.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 9, 2017, PAGE 7

Deputy PM: Johnson attacked judiciary to start career in politics

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip Davis yesterday accused former Bahamas Bar Association President Elsworth Johnson of attacking the Bahamian judiciary in a bid to jumpstart his political career as a candidate for the Free National Movement.

Mr Johnson was ratified as the FNM’s standardbearer for the Yamacraw constituency on Tuesday.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Davis said: “In launching his political career, Elsworth Johnson seemed intent on proving immediately to his new colleagues in the FNM that he can match them . . . and that he is determined to have politics change him, rather than bring change to politics.”

He added: “He announced his bid for the Yamacraw constituency not with an engaging appeal to those Bahamians who reside there, but with an attack on the Bahamian judiciary, whom he accused of being heavily saturated with “political interference”.

“He said a judge was cussed out – which would be outrageous, of course, had it happened – but it didn’t,” Mr Davis continued.

“He said the police should be free from politics, but of course it is his party that seeks to limit the terms of the police commissioner,

after the PLP changed the law to guarantee the commissioner could act without worry of political interference.”

On Tuesday night, Mr Johnson suggested that the country’s judicial system is heavily saturated by “political interference,” adding that this 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.

Mr Johnson also said that the Royal Bahamas Police Force that he once knew no longer exists, and that its current manifestation was also under the influence of politics.

Responding yesterday, Mr Davis said the public has learned to expect neither “professionalism nor accuracy nor conscience” from the Minnis-led FNM. He remarked that Mr Johnson has discarded any credibility he had with “recordbreaking speed”.

Yesterday, Mr Davis continued: “The fact is, Bahamian judges work hard to uphold their duties, and they do so with an impartiality and dedication that should be admired, not undermined.

“Mr Johnson, stop trying to impress your fellow FNM politicians for a moment, and spare a thought for how your comments may be perceived by the many stakeholders in our

FOULKES GIVES BACKING TO JOHNSON BID FORMER Free National Movement Chairman Dion Foulkes has endorsed Elsworth Johnson, the former president of the Bahamas Bar Association, who was ratified to run in Yamacraw for the party on Tuesday night.

Mr Foulkes had expressed interest in 2015 in running again in the eastern New Providence constituency, where he was beaten in 2012, and had been recommended for nomination by the Yamacraw Constituency Association.

“I remain totally committed to the Free National Movement and I fully support the leadership of Dr Hubert Alexander Minnis,” Mr Foulkes said yesterday.

“Last year, the FNM turned 45. We are now 45 years old. Our founders, and those who succeeded them, went through a lot over the years. Plenty sweat and tears, and even some blood. Many of us and thousands throughout our country have worked hard and

suffered much for this great institution. We will not be moved. We will serve the Bahamian people another 45 years – and more.

“As the PLP continues to run our country into the ground, more and more people are realising that the only answer is an FNM government. It gives me great pleasure to endorse the candidate for Yamacraw, Elsworth Johnson. He has my full support,” Mr Foulkes added.

On Tuesday night, after he was ratified by the FNM, Mr Johnson 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.

He 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.

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ELSWORTH JOHNSON, FNM candidate for Yamacraw. justice system.

“There are many Bahamians working hard to improve the judiciary, and to improve its functioning and reputation, and their achievements should be acknowledged and celebrated – instead, you paint a picture of a nation whose judges are tainted by politics.

“That you would drag judges into the political arena and try to damage our nation’s reputation in an attempt to score cheap points is a very debased way to begin your political career.”

Mr Davis explained that differences of interpretation that exist between the legislative and judicial branches of our government are currently being worked through within the framework of the Constitution.

He added: “Mr Johnson knows this, of course. But he’s making a bet – a bet that fake charges and manufactured outrage will earn him currency with his new boss, Hubert Minnis, who never met a political attack he didn’t like, and proves every day that he views accuracy as optional and credibility as unnecessary.”

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

PAGE 8, Thursday, February 9, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Memories staff ‘paid less than they were entitled to’ from page one entitled under the labour laws.

This comes after five months of uncertainty as the resort operator, Sunwing Travel Group, sought consent by hotel owners for hurricane restoration for its reopening of the 500-room property in Lucaya.

Failing to reach an agreement with its landlord, Hutchison Whampoa, Sunwing was required to vacate the property on January 29, which resulted in the redundancy of more than 400 workers.

Employees began arriving at the payout centre from 8am, waiting in line for the doors to open at 9am to collect their redundancy cheques.

At 11am, the queue of workers had stretched across the parking lot on the northern side of the Bain Building on West Mall Drive. The process was slow and some people had been waiting outside for

ANTHEMICA DUNCOMBE, who said she was relieved after months of uncertainty. three hours.

Employees with the surnames starting with letters A-F were scheduled to collect their payments between 9am and 11am, and those with the surname starting with the letters G-L were to collect their cheques from

11am to 1pm.

A female supervisor, who did not wish to be named, claims that her redundancy cheque was short by $2,800.

“As a supervisor, I am supposed to get one month’s pay for every year of service, but I was only paid for three weeks. I am a mother and every dollar counts,” she said.

Another female employee who worked in the Food and Beverage Department was told she was not entitled to redundancy pay because the resort had recognised the last date of employment on October 7 - when Hurricane Matthew hit the island last year.

This puts her employment period three or four days short of one year, but she is disputing that.

According to the country’s labour laws, a person must be employed for a period of one year in order to be entitled to redundancy pay.

The woman claims that she was employed over a year and said that her last

SEVEN MIGRANTS HELD

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Immigration officers apprehended seven illegal Dominicans discovered at a resort in Freeport, Grand Bahama, on Tuesday.

Acting on information received, officers went to a resort in the Caravel Beach area, where it is alleged that the men were preparing to take steps to be smuggled into the United States. On arrival,

the officers saw seven men hiding in bushes near a canal. They attempted to flee on foot, but were quickly apprehended by officers and taken to Immigration headquarters.

Immigration officer Napthali Cooper reported that the men claimed to have left the Dominican Republic five days ago by boat and arrived in Freeport on Sunday. Two had Dominican passports, which did not have a Bahamian immigration admittance stamp.

Mr Cooper said that

one man admitted that he paid $1,300 for the boat ride from the Dominican Republic, while the others claimed to have only paid for fuel for the boat trip.

This is the second group apprehended within a week on Grand Bahama. Last Wednesday, seven Dominicans - six men and one woman - were also discovered at a resort in Freeport.

This latest group will be flown to New Providence, where they will be detained at the Detention Centre to await repatriation.

date of employment should have been on October 17, when she received last pay cheque from the resort.

“I got NIB paperwork from the resort which stated that my last pay cheque was on October 17, and I got (a) Christmas bonus. In our contracts, you are only entitled to the Christmas bonus if you have been employed with the company for 12 months or longer, and now they (the resort) telling me I am not entitled to redundancy,” she said.

The NIB paperwork, she said, had also specified that October 17 was the temporary fixed date until the reopening date of December 30.

Anthemica Duncombe has been employed at Memories since January, 2014, and was relieved to have finally received some word after months of uncertainty.

“I learned about the redundancy payout in The Tribune three or four days ago, and I felt relieved because I think it is about time they finally met with us and pay

us off,” she said.

Also standing in line was Charles Jones, who was employed for nearly two years at the resort. “I was excited when I thought the hotel was actually opening back up, but now I heard we are going to get pay and … they are not re-opening right now,” he said.

He said the payout process was slow, and felt that it could have been better organised. “I was out here for three hours,” he said.

Asked his feeling about being unemployed, Mr Jones said: “It’s rough and you need a job. But I guess … you just have to have faith.”

Leslie Lightbourne, a veteran trade unionist, was happy that the workers are getting paid their money.

“I came out to assist those who might have questions concerning their entitlements under the law. And I am learning that some workers did not get the full amounts, and that the resort is using the hurricane date as the cut-off date for employment which has affect-

ed some persons in terms of their employment period at the resort,” he said.

He explained that when the resort issued the last pay cheques on October 17 and indicated that it was closing temporarily, it meant that it would be reopening. He stressed that the issue concerning the last day of employment must be cleared up.

Mr Lightbourne, who is also the Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) candidate for Pineridge and the party’s spokesman for labour, said that some tweaks need to be made to the Employment and Industrial Relations Acts.

“The DNA wants to make sure there is fairness and equality in the labour laws, and there are some adjustments we intend to make when we become the next government,” he said.

The resort will resume payouts today to former employees with the surnames starting with the letters M-S from 9am to 11am and T-Z from 11am to 1pm.

MOXEY MISSES OUT ON PLP NOMINATION

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

SENATOR Julian Russell will represent the Progressive Liberal Party as its candidate for Central Grand Bahama at the general election after being selected from among two others by the party’s Candidates Committee.

Ginger Moxey and Astwood Lewis Jr had also made application to the party.

Ms Moxey, president and CEO of Immerse Bahamas, received a call from Prime Minister Perry Christie

late on Tuesday night. He informed her of the Candidates Committee’s decision to select Mr Russell.

Ms Moxey had publicly announced her intention to run for the seat on December 30 when spearheading a voters’ registration drive in Freeport.

In a statement yesterday, Ms Moxey said that she thanked the Prime Minister for the courtesy of calling her soon after the decision was made. “I assured him that I accepted the decision and my support for him and the party has not diminished at all,” she said.

“To the contrary, this pro-

cess has afforded me the opportunity to form new friendships and restore old ones. I will continue to advocate for the empowerment of Grand Bahamians whether in private or public life.”

She thanked those in Central Grand Bahama who encouraged and supported her, particularly the first-time voters who helped energise her campaign.

“I now invite all those who supported me to join me and give their full support to Julian Russell as he makes his bid to win the Central Grand Bahama seat for the PLP,” she said.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 9, 2017, PAGE 9

CHIEF Superintendent Clayton Fernander speaks to the media after yesteday’s police-involved shooting.

A POLICE car blocks off the scene early yesterday morning on Bamboo Blvd after four men reportedly attempted to assault a police offier during his morning walkout. One man was shot dead at the scene.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

POLICE OFFICER ATTACKED DURING MORNING RUN SHOOTS MAN DEAD from page one “The officer being in fear for his life, produced his service weapon and fired shots.

“As a result, one of the culprits was fatally shot.

They got back into the vehicle and drove off.

Shortly after, two young men showed up at the South Beach Police Station in the vehicle, which had gunshot damage. We have them in custody and they are assisting police

with respect to the investigation.”

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

PAROLE RECOMMENDATIONS NOT REVEALED TO THE PUBLIC

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

CABINET has approved recommendations from the Parole and Re-entry Steering Committee concerning rehabilitation of prisoners, National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage said yesterday.

The recommendations, submitted to Dr Nottage last September, have not been disclosed to the public.

Outside the House of Assembly yesterday, Dr Nottage said: “The recommendations from the parole committee (have) been approved by the Cabinet and it has given me the authority to appoint an implementation committee which will now look at what steps needs to be taken to introduce probation into the system.

“In itself that means the determination that the government has made as part of its fight against crime is to put emphasis on the rehabilitation of offenders generally. A couple years ago we passed the Rehabilitation of Offenders Bill to allow us to reduce the time required for expunging records. This is another step

in that process.”

Next, Dr Nottage said he will “formally appoint the new committee and give them a deadline by which to produce the legislation, some of which they’ve already given to us and set up the system. Our goal is to try to reform young men so we can reduce the rate of recidivism and violent crime”.

The implementation process should take a few months, Dr Nottage said, given that it will involve “the hiring of new people for rehabilitation and training.”

“It’ll be months but we have a commitment to it,” he said.

The Parole and Re-entry Steering Committee was chaired by Paul Farquharson, the former commissioner of police and Bahamas high commissioner to London. Retired Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez and Reverend Patrick Paul, a past president of the Bahamas Christian Council, were also named to the Steering Committee.

“The importance of this parole policy framework cannot be understated because more and more, we are recognising that prisons are exacerbating criminal

behaviour, not curbing it,” Dr Nottage said last year.

“We know that 95 per cent of the current inmates at the Department of Corrections will rejoin our communities across The Bahamas over the next ten years (and) so it is not a matter of whether these inmates will return to Bahamian society. The real question is how will they return to Bahamian society.

Rehabilitation starts at the moment of arrest and does not end upon release. So we must also find innovative and effective ways to continue to engage offenders after they have left the prison walls.”

PAGE 10, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017

NORWEGIAN CRUISE SWITCH Minnis TO CUBA ‘NOT A DRASTIC CUT’ FOR BAHAMAS, SAYS MINISTER

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net TOURISM Minister Obie Wilchcombe yesterday fired back at a Tribune Business report that indicated that Norwegian Cruise Line was swapping regular calls on Nassau and Freeport of the Norwegian Sky for an overnight stay in Havana, Cuba, arguing the report did a disservice to the expansion being observed in the nation’s cruise product.

The Ministry of Tourism also issued a press release on the matter last night, saying while the Norwegian Sky will begin calls to Havana, Cuba in 2017, dropping Freeport from its scheduled four-day voyage to The Bahamas from May to the end of 2017, the ship will still call on Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay during its three-day itinerary and Great Stirrup Cay on its four-day voyage.

Addressing members of the press outside of the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Wilchcombe said the longstanding relationship between the noted cruise brand and The Bahamas remains “good”.

He contended that the decision made by the cruise line does not signal a drastic cut to its overall operation in The Bahamas, but just shifts one line from the Bahamas to Cuba.

The West End and Bimini MP said Norwegian Cruises has opted to merge the Cuban product to its overall Caribbean model by amending several stops.

Tribune Business on Wednesday reported that Norwegian, in a statement issued to the media, said 25 four and five-day cruises of the Norwegian Sky during

the second half of 2017 will now enjoy “an overnight stay in Cuba’s historical and culturally-rich capital of Havana”.

In response on Wednesday, Mr Wilchcombe said: “From time to time, there will be changes and rotations, and we understand that, but as far as we are concerned we have a good relationship with Norwegian and we intend to keep that along with other cruise lines.”

He said The Bahamas will continue to service the cruise line’s major vessels, as Cuba is at this time unable to host them.

Mr Wilchcombe said Cuba’s inclusion into the plan acts as another step towards a unique multi-destination marketing plan being discussed and outfitted by several Caribbean tourism destinations.

“Cuba is part of the Caribbean such as Jamaica, such as the Dominican Republic and others, and we are working always with them on the multi-destination marketing.”

Mr Wilchcombe added that the region was progressing in the direction of a multi-destination marketing scheme because of its mutually beneficial nature.

He said: “.... You will begin to see even more of that now because during the CTO meeting last week, which I chaired, we were talking more of the PrivatePublic-Partnerships because where we are going to be going, the future requires greater cooperation with all stakeholders in the Caribbean, that includes governments and the private sector.

“So we will be seeing more of the sharing, more of the multi-destination marketing, more of the general advertisement that will incorporate the entire

Caribbean; so as opposed to promoting one island, we will be promoting the entire Caribbean - the Caribbean will be doing that,” added Mr Wilchcombe.

According to Norwegian’s website, at least two other Norwegian cruises are currently operating ventures to or through The Bahamas.

Both the Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Star are operating, in part, in the Bahamas over the course of 2017.

In summer 2018, Norwegian Gem will set sail for The Bahamas and Florida each Saturday from New York City.

Additionally, in winter 2018/2019, Norwegian Escape will remain in New York, while the Norwegian Breakaway will return to New York from Europe and will also sail seven-day Bahamas & Florida cruises from Manhattan during winter 2018/2019.

To that end, Mr Wilchcombe chided the media, saying the press ought to have done a better job representing the reality of the matter.

“Remember, we just signed the major agreement with MSC and, of course, the major development in Ocean Cay. Royal Caribbean has just announced another expansion to their development in Coco Cay. Carnival is about to make a major announcement and sign the arrangement with the government of The Bahamas for Grand Bahama.

So all the major cruise lines, Disney and all those others, are still in The Bahamas and will still be here,” Mr Wilchcombe said.

When asked if these expansion efforts by other cruise brands could give the impression to Norwegian that it was being forced out

of the Bahamian market, Mr Wilchcombe said that line of thinking would be a misrepresentation of the situation.

“I think we have to be careful of what is being said now,” said Mr Wilchcombe.

“In fact, I don’t think it is what it is. In fact, as far as I am concerned, Norwegian has a great relationship with The Bahamas, continues to come to The Bahamas, will continue to call on the port of Nassau and other islands of The Bahamas; that is a part of the agreement and I think it will continue.”

Meanwhile, Free National Movement Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest branded the news of the cruise line’s decision to redirect the Norwegian Sky from Nassau and Grand Bahama to Cuba as a continuation of a “death spiral”.

In a statement, the East Grand Bahama MP said the Progressive Liberal Party has dragged the economy, specifically the tourism industry, “into the garbage”.

Mr Turnquest added that the closure of hotels around the country and mounting unemployment numbers in the tourism industry stands as “constant reminders” that something is off.

“This change in destinations will mean that The Bahamas will lose out on 25 cruises, which make stops in both Nassau and Freeport, in the second half of 2017.

“This will have major negative impact on our tourism industry. We will experience a loss of customers, a loss in revenues, and profits and an increase in our national debt.”

Mr Turnquest added that his party, if elected, will make every effort to revitalise Nassau and Freeport so that cruise lines do not opt to leave.

THE TRIBUNE

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017 PAGE 11

condemns media ‘laziness’

of top US newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post.

WHILE emphasising the “There is a reason that important role the press editorials typically do not plays in well-functioning have bylines, as editorials democracies, Free Na- are the opinion of a jourtional Movement Leader nal,” he said.

Dr Hubert Minnis offered “But when editors or a blizzard of criticism of reporters write extended the national media during commentary under their a speech at the Bahamas byline this is something Press Club’s monthly meet- very different. ing on Tuesday night.

“They become column“It is understandable, but ists as well as editors and sometimes all too easy a reporters, blurring the temptation, for journalists line between these two to cover the drama of poli- roles. It is about the opintics at the expense of cov- ion of these individuals ering issues of policy,” Dr and not that of the journal Minnis said. for which they are writing.

“This is a worldwide re“This raises questions ality. Journalists often get about the objectivity and caught up in a ‘he say, she credibility of the reportsay,’ back and forth. The ers and editors who endrama of politics and gov- gage in such commentary. ernment can be I believe that an interesting. But ethical standard ‘Despite the there is much of journalism is more to public ideas in my breached in this affairs.

Torchbearers regard.”

“There is a Dr Minnis speech, I tendency, somealso lamented times a laziness, believe that that parts of on the part of it was under his speech desome reporters, livered last to ignore issues reported in week during the of policy be- terms of the Torchbearers cause it requires significant Youth Associamore work and tion convention in-depth re- policy were not covsearch to report directions ered more exon such issues. offered.’ tensively by the I applaud those press. of you who go He noted, for instance, the extra mile in reporting the news of the day, that the FNM is considand offering context and ering creating magnet background. I find that the schools in the areas of business sections of the two STEM education, culture, leading dailies often have arts, business, entrepremore in-depth reporting neurship and tourism.

His party’s youth dethan their front pages. I understand that many media velopment and social establishments are under- intervention strategies staffed. Still, you have an may involve the estabobligation to be as diligent lishment of a Youth Deas possible in your report- velopment Centre and he argued that money ing.”

Dr Minnis spoke out used to pay for carnival against what he said is should be redirected to a an “increasing tendency youth entrepreneur proamong some reporters and gramme.

“Despite the ideas in editors in The Bahamas to engage in extended com- my Torchbearers speech, mentary and opinion in the I believe that it was unprint and broadcast me- der reported in terms of the significant policy dia”.

He contrasted this directions offered,” he with print publications said.

DR HUBERT MINNIS, leader of the FNM as he addresses members of the Bahamas Press Club at The Hilton.

MEMBERS of the Bahamas Press Club pictured as Dr Hubert Minnis, leader of The Free National Movement, addresses them at The Hilton.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

MARVIN DAMES, FNM candidate for Mt Moriah, watches on during the Bahamas Press Club meeting.

PAGE 12, Thursday, February 9, 2017

Conviction to stand in firearm possession case

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was told yesterday that he should have offered sworn testimony in his defence if he had, in fact, panicked when a former Defence Force marine, to whom he had given a ride, pulled out a gun and began firing shots and were moments later pursued by police.

Steven Wemyss and his lawyer, Ian Cargill, appeared in the Court of Appeal seeking an approval of Wemyss’ extension of time application concerning his appeal against conviction for possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

Officers responded to reports of gunshots near the Hot Spot on Faith Avenue around 2.40am on October 6, 2014. They allegedly saw Phillip Adderley and We-

myss leaving the area in a white Honda Accord. Adderley, the passenger, was allegedly firing shots into the air as the car sped away.

He had completed a tour of duty at the Defence Force base shortly before the incident.

Police eventually stopped the car and found a 9mm pistol with its serial number erased and five rounds of 9mm ammunition in the glove compartment. The car belonged to Wemyss, who worked as a bellboy at Atlantis.

Wemyss denied any involvement or knowledge of the weapon but remained silent at his trial before Magistrate Samuel McKinney. He and Adderley were ultimately convicted and sentenced to two years at the Department of Correctional Services.

In yesterday’s appellate hearing, Mr Cargill said the appeal had been filed out

of time by a mere 13 days only due to the inability of Wemyss’ family to raise the necessary funds to retain counsel to argue his appeal.

“Once his mother was able to find the funds, he was able to instruct counsel,” Mr Cargill said.

“You don’t need funds to file an appeal, you can file an appeal by yourself,” Justice Dame Anita Allen countered.

“For the average person, they don’t know,” the lawyer said.

“Everyone is presumed to know the law. What else can be said if you’re told that you have seven days to file your appeal,” the appellate president said, adding that the law was clear in requiring the magistrate to inform the convict that they can assert their right to appeal on the condition it is done within a week.

“I’d say there wasn’t an inordinate delay,” the law-

yer said.

“What are the prospects of success if the extension is granted?” Dame Anita asked.

Mr Cargill said there was no evidence at the trial which suggested the appellant had custody of the firearm. “The magistrate inferred that because he didn’t stop right away that he knew of the gun,” the lawyer said.

“Wasn’t the case done on the fact that it was a joint enterprise?” Justice Roy Jones asked.

“We say the appellant didn’t know of the firearm until it was drawn and fired and he eventually stopped.

He did not run and he remained at the scene,” Mr Cargill answered.

The lawyer was asked if the co-accused had given sworn testimony and he said yes. “But the magistrate found that it was the passenger who fired the muzzled shots,” Mr Cargill added. He said the appellant had denied the offence.

“So what are the prospects of success of the appeal?” Justice Stella CraneScott asked.

“He was not in possession of the firearm,” the lawyer said.

“But it was in the car being pursued by police, the car being driven by the appellant,” Justice CraneScott said.

All three judges queried why Wemyss did not seek to immediately distance himself from the actions of the co-accused when they were stopped by police.

Mr Cargill said his client panicked.

“And say nothing at your trial?” the appellate president asked.

Mr Cargill said that people react differently in sudden, stressful situations.

“Didn’t the evidence say that the car was stopped at a dead end road?” Justice Jones probed.

“I don’t know that it was,” the lawyer said.

“Your client did not make an answer to the charge. I accept that he had a right

THE TRIBUNE

to remain silent but it called for an answer,” Dame Anita said.

“He was the driver of the vehicle,” Justice Jones added in agreement.

“If you remain silent, there may be consequences, depending on the evidence, and in this case, the evidence called for an answer,” the appellate president said.

Mr Cargill said that even though Wemyss remained silent, his defence was made in cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses, when it was confirmed that the shots were fired from the passenger’s side of the vehicle.

The appellate court did not call on Crown respondents Eucal Bonaby and Randolph Dames to respond to the submissions when they made their decision.

“We’re satisfied the appeal has no prospects of success. We refuse the extension and the conviction and sentence shall stand,” the appellate president ruled.

KYLE BRUNER, who was shot dead while trying to stop a woman from being mugged.

TRANSCRIPTS UNAVAILABLE IN BRUNER KILLERS’ HEARING

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

TRANSCRIPTS were still unavailable yesterday when three men, who were previously spared the death penalty for the murder of American sailor Kyle Bruner, returned to the Court of Appeal for a status hearing.

Craig Johnson, 24, Anton Bastian, 23, and 25-yearold Marcellus Williams appeared in the appellate court for a mention hearing concerning the Crown’s challenge to Justice Indra Charles’ decision to impose a 45-year sentence for Johnson and 40-year sentences for his fellow convicts instead of the ultimate punishment on the law books

that had been sought at the penalty phase of their trial in May of 2016.

The trio, meanwhile, intend to contest their convictions.

However, all legal parties present at yesterday’s mention hearing were still without the transcripts from the trial.

Dame Justice Anita Allen said that the court reporting unit requested an additional two weeks to complete the request, resulting in the matter being further adjourned to March 16.

In November, 2015, a jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts for Johnson, Bastian and Williams for Bruner’s murder. The men were further convicted with 32-year-old Jamaal Dorfevil on two counts of armed robbery as they were alleged to have held up two women with a firearm, robbing one of $150 cash, her $3,000 handbag and the

other of cash, a handbag and an iPhone.

Justice Charles had been urged by the Crown to sentence the three to death for their role in the events that led to Bruner’s fatal shooting on May 13, 2013.

Instead Johnson was sentenced to 45 years imprisonment for murder and 12 years for each of the two counts of armed robbery of which he was convicted.

Bastian and Williams received 40 years for murder and 12 years for armed robbery.

Their sentences were ordered to run concurrently from the date of conviction.

They were credited for the time spent on remand. All three have been in custody since May 2013.

Attorneys Ian Cargill, Roberto Reckley and Christina Galanos appeared for the trio in the appeal while Eucal Bonaby and Randolph Dames appeared for the Crown yesterday.

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 9, 2017, PAGE 13

RICHARD LIGHTBOURN, MP for Montagu, is pictured during the FNM convention prior to the decision of the ‘Rebel Seven’ to nominate Loretta Butler-Turner as leader of the Opposition.

LIGHTBOURN NOT BACK WITH MINNIS ‘IN THIS LIFETIME’ from page one

Suggesting the rumours have been circulated by people loyal to Dr Minnis as a way of creating a narrative of conflict among the dissident seven, he said: “There have been no discussions whatsoever.”

As for Mrs Butler-Turner’s selection of Mr Moncur, a controversial talk show host, to be appointed to the Senate, he said: “There are one or two issues there. A number of people weren’t pleased. And that may not have panned out the way it

was anticipated.”

Asked about the Official Opposition’s performance since its coup that ousted Dr Minnis as leader, he said: “I don’t think we’ve had a chance to show our full colours at this point.

We’ve only been to the House a couple of times, although it’s been ’bout two months.”

The Tribune recently revealed that Mrs ButlerTurner’s decision to canvass support for an “organic grassroots movement” came as a shock to some of her fellow dissident MPs. One FNM MP, who

spoke on the condition of anonymity, accused Mrs Butler-Turner of repeatedly making premature political statements and of speaking on behalf of the other six members without prior consultation.

Asked yesterday about the level of consultation he’s had as a member of the dissident bloc, Mr Lightbourn said: “Everything is discussed on occasion and any leader is going to have to make a decision without discussing it with everybody but on the whole I think we’re on the same page.”

PAGE 14, Thursday, February 9, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Tourism expert launches textbook for schools ANGELA Cleare, a veteran figure in tourism in The Bahamas, has published her second book, designed to be a textbook for schools, on all aspects of the sector.

Ministry of Tourism personnel, representatives of various business sectors, family and friends gathered at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel on Monday to celebrate the launch of ‘Business of Travel and Tourism in the 21st Century; A Caribbean Approach’. The event was sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, in which Mrs Cleare served in senior posts for over 30 years.

Mrs Cleare explained that her inspiration for writing the book came from social studies teachers. They had welcomed her first book, ‘History of Tourism in The Bahamas: A Global Perspective’, but urged her

to produce a work book for the classroom since she said there is such scarcity of information on tourism in the Caribbean.

A certified travel counsellor (CTC) and certified hospitality instructor (CHI), Mrs Cleare sees her book as a contribution to the youth of the nation.

“The book is about these young people. We want to teach them that tourism is everybody’s business … whether they become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, whatever, they’re still in the tourism business,” she said.

Sharon Poitier, the Assistant Director of Education (Humanities/Social Sciences), referred to the publication as “a remarkable blueprint for the study of tourism”. She added: “Teachers have often opined that it was so difficult to find all of the

information required to teach units on tourism.

Mrs Cleare has successfully filled that void. She is to be congratulated for this comprehensive, teacher-friendly overview of the growth and development of the tourism industry.”

During the celebration, Cleare took the time to recognise contributors who played a part in making the book a success - Joan Albury, Stuart Bowe, Jeritzan Edwards Outten, E John Delevaux, Maxine Esdaille (the African Diaspora Heritage Trail Bermuda Foundation chairman), Kerry Fountain, Errington Fyfield (St Kitts), Lynn Gape, Dr Judith Gobin (Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad and Tobago), Stephen Hector (Sandals, Jamaica), David Johnson, Eleanor Phillips, Benjamin Pratt, Ruthann Rolle, Dr D Gail Saunders, Dr Andrew Spencer, Ellison Thompson, Vernice Walkine, Vincent Vanderpool Wallace, Philip Weech, Craig Woods, Dr Peter C Yesawich and Gary Young.

“I’m happy that these tourism icons have produced interesting case studies or articles to really bring home the significant aspects of tourism,” Mrs Cleare said. “They are all well-respected experts in the industry, and I am truly indebted to each of them”.

She also praised her editors Elizabeth Mackay and Monique Hepburn.

‘Business of Travel and Tourism in the 21st Century: A Caribbean Approach’ focuses primarily on the Bahamas and Caribbean territories, but also includes global tourism insights and statistics. Mrs Cleare acknowledged the contribution of the World

ANGELA Cleare presenting the Minister of Tourism with the book and a fruit basket for his support and contributions.

Tourism Organisation, the World Travel and Tourism Council, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation and the Research Department of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.

“We talked about some of the experiences in the Caribbean, both positive and negative,” she said.

For example, the secrets of Butch Stuarts’s success in making Sandals the top brand in the Caribbean and the amazing sustainable development achievements of the Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad are explored. On the other hand, environmental issues facing the region are among the

negative issues discussed.

“Unless we take care of our wonderful assets, people are not going to come anymore.”

Sir Arthur Foulkes, in his review of the book, congratulated Mrs Cleare and her contributing partners and noted “I believe this will be not only an indispensable textbook for teachers and students and a handbook for investors and others directly involved in the industry, but also a publication of interest to all of us who are in one way or another affected by the industry. I am particularly pleased to see the attention paid to ecotourism and the relation-

ship between the industry and the environment.”

Obie Wilchcombe, the Minister for Tourism, said that Mrs Cleare has given her entire professional life in service to the tourism industry and that she served with distinction and honour in every major executive and administrative arm of the ministry. He placed an order for books to be distributed to Ministers and Directors of Tourism of the Caribbean who were visiting the Bahamas for Caribbean Marketplace at Atlantis.

The book is available online at www.lulu.com and at all local bookstores.

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 9, 2017, PAGE 15

PAGE 16, Thursday, February 9, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

PLP chairman again hits out at ‘compromised’ Pintard BRADLEY Roberts has again hit out at Michael Pintard, the Free National Movement’s candidate for Marco City, calling the former senator “compromised”.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Progressive Liberal Party chairman also criticised FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis for his “silence” on the controversy surrounding Mr Pintard.

Mr Pintard resigned as FNM senator and chairman in 2016, after it emerged that he was involved in an investigation into an alleged murder plot connected to Lyford Cay resident Peter Nygard.

This week, he told The Nassau Guardian that this would not have a significant impact on his election bid.

“However I beg to differ,” Mr Roberts said. “This amounts to conveniently sweeping this scandal under the proverbial carpet.

“The reasons behind Pintard’s resignation still exist today as it did back then and no amount of fluff or deflection

from FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis or Michael Pintard himself can change that; both men bury their heads in the proverbial sand to their own peril and that of the FNM. Minnis remains suspiciously silent on the resignation and ratification of this embattled individual. Without explanation to his party or the public at large Dr Minnis has brought trouble into his camps once again and now seeks to have the good people of Marco City caught up in the fiasco.

“For a man who proposes anti-corruption legislation if he becomes prime minister, Dr Minnis is a joke, is duplicitous and cannot be trusted.

“There must be more involved to warrant such a move by the FNM leader. At whose directive is Dr Hubert Minnis making such reckless decisions?”

Mr Roberts also branded Dr Minnis a “puppet with no moral compass” that does not have control of his party.

“The Bahamian people cannot take the risk of having a

person of this ilk, judgment and temperament in control of their government and country,” Mr Roberts said.

Mr Pintard has maintained that his decision last March was not an admission of guilt and that he would not allow the PLP to make him a scapegoat in the scandal involving Mr Nygard and his billionaire neighbour Louis Bacon.

He has also dismissed recent concerns over the controversy.

“I think it is important that it is litigated so that all of the facts in the matter would come out,” Mr Pintard told The Nassau Guardian this week.

“I have absolutely no concern on a civil level, on a criminal level, as I am not at the centre of any particular issue related to that.

“While political figures may attempt to put me at the centre, I am not.

“So I have absolutely no concern, and I don’t think it would have any major, any significant, impact on my [election] bid, and so, no, I am not concerned FNM candidate for Marco City Michael Pintard. in that regard.”

READERS RESPOND TO NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE REPORT AFTER Norwegian Cruise Line announced it was swapping regular calls on Nassau and Freeport for an overnight stay in Havana, readers voiced their concerns on tribune242. com.

Well_mudda_take_sic said: “And so it begins. So long Bahamas.”

Stapedius had this to say: “We are a day late and a dollar short. The government is never ahead of the game. A shabby city, with no tours and no entertainment. What do we expect?”

There was this from Gotoutintime: “Beginning of the end!”

Economist wondered

what the government’s plans were: “Nothing surprising here. We knew that this was coming. The question is what does the government have planned to continue a flow of tourists or an industry to take the place of tourism? Over the last thirty years Cuba has been restoring its historical buildings while we tear ours down.”

Alex_Charles asked:

“Why is anyone bothered?

You guys haven’t heard Perry aye? We have 32,000 jobs man, we will be straight.”

But Sheeprunner12 said: “Why do we waste time with cruise ships/visitors?

80 per cent of the passengers do not come off the ships, the average spend per passenger is $70.00. The government has to absorb tens of millions of costs beyond the tens of millions of concessions per year. So, in the end, is this sector really worth the investment in the infrastructure (water, electricity, ports, roads), and personnel (police, marines and immigration) to police these cheap visitors?”

“From the moment I got to the door, the staff at Cancer Treatment Centers of America made me feel so comfortable.”

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And TheMadHatter offered this: “Remember our unattractiveness did not just start four years ago. So remember that when you think about marking “X” next to crab or torch.”

There was a lively reaction to FNM South Beach candidate Jeffery Lloyd’s plan to implement a pilot programme to separate the education of boys and girls.

Publius wasn’t impressed: “Few things are more infuriating than the reckless, inappropriate use of ‘studies show’ to try to prove someone’s often inane and offbase points of view. Lloyd has a distinct penchant for presenting himself as knowing far more than he actually does. And since he

pronounces the consonants in his words, many believe him. This is his ‘immediate’ plan for education? Then he does not have a clue as to what the actual and immediate problems are with our educational system and the way we approach education therein.”

But Banker had this to say: “I totally concur with separating the students.

Girls become more assertive and boys become less distracted. Marks have been shown to go up when the genders are separated. The internet is full of scholarly articles (I just read one from the University of Michigan) that shows marks are higher when genders are separat-

ed. Education is at a crisis point in The Bahamas, and anything is better than we currently have. I think that a lot of the naysayers here are stroking their own egos and trying to ring their own hollow bells by shooting down a practical idea.”

And there was this from DWW: “I support the idea of trying it. It certainly can’t be any worse than the current situation. At least he is trying and working new ideas new ways and hopefully better ways and ideas.

You can’t cry for change and then cry foul when the change happens.”

• Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 9, 2017, PAGE 17

THE STERN of the sunken ship El Faro. The former chief engineer of the container ship that sank in a hurricane killing 33 sailors said yesterday that evidence from the ship’s “black box” shows a crew working hard to keep it afloat.

SAILORS FOUGHT TO THE END TO KEEP EL FARO AFLOAT IN STORM JACKSONVILLE Associated Press

THE former chief engineer of a container ship that sank in Bahamian waters during a 2015 hurricane killing 33 sailors said yesterday that evidence from the ship’s “black box” shows a crew working hard to keep it afloat.

Mark Gay, who served aboard the El Faro years before its final journey, became emotional at times during testimony before a US Coast Guard investigative board in Jacksonville as he talked about the ship’s lost crew.

The El Faro sank on October 1, 2015, after losing propulsion in Hurricane Joaquin while travelling between Jacksonville and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Search crews found the El Faro’s wreckage near Crooked Island in 15,000 feet of water, but no bodies were ever recovered.

The ship’s voyage data recorder was recovered last summer, which captured audio of the conversations on the ship’s bridge as its engines stopped and water flooded a cargo hold.

Transcripts show that Captain Michael Davidson

said he had lost the plant, which Mr Gay said meant the propulsion system, about an hour before he is heard calling crew members to abandon ship.

At the same time as he lost the plant, Capt Davidson tells his fellow crew members on the bridge that the engineering crew was reporting that water was pouring through ventilation ducts down below.

For Mr Gay, who worked in the same engine room years earlier, indications from the transcripts show that everyone was still doing their jobs even as a category three hurricane was battering the ship with 30foot waves and high winds.

He said the water entering the room through the ducts would not have deterred their efforts.

“You have a lot of good people doing whatever needed to be done to get this thing going and get out of harm’s way,” he said.

“I’ve been in conditions where things go wrong in a hurry and you have to make decisions fast. To me, they were doing everything they could to hold on.”

At about 7.30am on October 1, Capt Davidson rang the ship’s general

alarm, preparing the crew to abandon ship. “Tell em we’re goin’ in,” he says as the alarm bell rang, according to the transcript. Moments later he yells out that the bow of the ship is down.

“Throw all your rafts in the water,” Capt Davidson said as the ship slipped further into the water. “Stay together!” He was heard trying to soothe the frayed nerves of a frightened crew member before the audio cuts off.

Glen Jackson, whose brother Jack Jackson died on board, has attended all of the Coast Guard hearings. His family is one of the few of the 33 El Faro crew members who have not settled legal claims against the ship’s owner, TOTE Maritime, Inc. “It’s ruined my life. My brother and I were tight,” he said during a hearing break. Mr Jackson said he hopes the investigation will lead to safer work for the nation’s mariners.

“Ninety per cent of everything we buy, eat and wear comes by ship. And there are a whole lot of American men and women out there at sea, and they deserve to have a safe working environment.”

PAGE 18, Thursday, February 9, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 9, 2017, PAGE 19

LOCAL Captain Travis put his guests on the Wahoo.

LUKE Maillis had some happy clients in Long Island this week.

KEEP checking the Bahamas Sport Fishing Network (BSFN) expert page for fishing reports throughout the Bahamas: this will be helpful in tracking the “hot spots” and providing advice on gear and fishing methods being used.

For a sample of the spectacular fishing to be had in The Bahamas, expert advice, tournament dates and results, informative features

THE “Permit King” with a splendid Tarpon in Abaco.

and photo galleries visit the BSFN page at tribune242. com or www.bsfn.biz.

BSFN slideshows can

THE ‘Zebras’ are still biting. Luke Maillis had some happy clients in Long Island this week.

be found on USA Today’s website in the Travel section at experience.usatoday.com.

AUSTIN Long was deep-dropping off Grand Bahama at the weekend and hooked some nice Queen Snapper.

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