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The Tribune

Volume:115 No.60, FEBRUARY 16TH, 2018

Established 1903

Weekend

THE PEOPLE’S history weddingsPAPER: puzzles garden$1 ing

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Friday, February 16, 2018

THE ISLAND PREACHA Pages 4&5

Inagua’s secrets

WEEKEND: PHOTOGRAPHER CAPTURES THE BEAUTY OF INAGUA

Artist captures beauty of island pages 8&9

Lawful killings Bahamas National Trust Art

Exhibition at the Current over

the weekend. Photo: Terrel

W. Carey/Tribune Staff

Officers justified in shooting two men dead

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net THE jury in a coroner’s inquest into the shooting deaths of Jeffrey Smith and John Aristotle found yesterday their deaths were “lawful” and committed in “self-defence”.

Nearly a half hour after being excused by Coroner Jeanine Weech-Gomez to deliberate on a verdict of lawful or unlawful killing, the four women and one man jury was unanimous in the agreement that three police officers, on August 15, 2015, lawfully killed the men while acting in self-defence.

The interests of Smith and Aristotle were not represented by an attorney and no family members attended the proceedings on their behalf.

According to court records, the remains of both men were identified

by family members, but once proceedings were announced, none of those people could be located.

The officers involved, Police Corporal Anton Sweeting, Police Corporal Maurice Arthur and Police Constable Benson Miller were represented by attorney Bjorn Ferguson.

Mr Ferguson told The Tribune after the verdict was handed down, that he and his clients were immensely grateful the jurors delivered justice in such a profound way.

Mr Ferguson said: “My clients are extremely elated that this cloud of suspicion that they had to live under for over two years has finally disintegrated and they can now move on with their lives.”

He added: “All outstanding questions have now been answered and we hope closure is found.”

SEE PAGE THREE

FERGUSON: OUR FOCUS IS FIGHTING CRIME

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Anthony Ferguson was yesterday noncommittal about rising concerns of increased fatal shootings by the police, insisting the Royal Bahamas Police Force adheres to its mandate to prevent and detect crime.

Less than two months

into the year there have been six fatal policeinvolved shootings, the most recent two incidents occurring within a 24-hour period.

The frequency of these incidents has raised concern, with some questioning whether there is a mandate by the police to shoot criminals with intent to kill.

SEE PAGE THREE

THE SCENE of the August 15, 2015, police-involved shooting, in which Jeffrey Smith and John Aristotle were killed.

GREEN LIGHT FOR $25M GB OFFICES

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A GOVERNMENT complex now subject to a $25m capital raising was approved just 24 hours before last year’s general election, its developer yesterday branding the timing “unfortunate”.

The May 9, 2017, deal with PPP Investments & Construction also triggered a $4.4m “advance interest payment” from the Government to the company - a sum equivalent to 20 per cent of “initial construction funding” - one day before

the former Christie administration was resoundingly voted out of office.

The agreement, for the construction of a new administrative complex in Eight Mile Rock, was among the public-private partnerships (PPPs) heavily criticised by the current government.

However, Alecia Bowe, attorney and a director of PPP Investments & Construction, told Tribune Business yesterday “there was no reason not to sign” the agreement.

She suggested the furore over the timing could have been avoided if the Christie government had moved

quicker to approve the venture, explaining that she and PPP Investments & Construction had been negotiating and finalising the documents from November 2016.

Mrs Bowe, an attorney with Karam & Missick & Company, said she was able to prove to the Minnis administration that the project was not a ‘back of the envelope’, last-minute deal by providing them with “all the correspondence” exchanged between herself and the Attorney General’s Office.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

CHARGE THE ROOM? THAT’LL DO NICELY

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

SYDNEY MILLS, left, and Natasha Stolove outside court yesterday where they faced fraud charges. Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

TWO Canadian exotic dancers were yesterday fined $1,000 by a magistrate for using the room key of a man they met at the Atlantis resort to fraudulently obtain over $4,500 worth of meals, drinks and merchandise from various outlets at the Paradise Island destination.

Natasha Stolove and Sydney Mills, both adult entertainers, avoided a custodial sentence after SEE PAGE FIVE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

DAVIS FORGIVES MOULTRIE - BUT ANGRY AT FNM

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said he has “forgiven” House Speaker Halson Moultrie for the personal attacks he launched in the House of Assembly last week, but said he remains appalled by Free National Movement MPs who appeared to justify the Speaker’s behaviour Wednesday.

“Even the Speaker came along and said that he was wrong,” Mr Davis said during an outdoor meeting at the PLP’s headquarters last night.

SEE PAGE SIX

IT’S ANOTHER FINE MESS IN THE HOUSE

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Friday, February 16, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

OFFICERS dressed in vest presentated by the US Embassy along with other equipment for DEU, Strike Force and Marine Support unit.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

US donates ballistic equipment to help the fight against crime

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE United States Embassy in Nassau yesterday handed over more than $245,000 in ballistics equipment to the Royal Bahamas Police Force that is expected to assist in the fight against crime.

James Denver Herren, US Embassy chargé d’affaires, said the equipment was transferred to the

RBPF to protect officers who participate in interdiction operations under OPBAT – Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos.

The gear is worth $245,287.35, an official said and includes vests which inflate in water and helmets among other equipment.

Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson said during a brief ceremony at police headquarters that the equipment would without doubt enhance the

capabilities of the police.

Mr Herren said: “Everyday, around the world a line is drawn between chaos and calm. Standing on that line are the men and women of law enforcement. People who have made a conscious decision to place their lives on the line to defend the calm, protect the innocent and enforce the law. This is a noble cause.

“Here, Bahamian and US law enforcement officials come together in this noble

pursuit. However, they take it one step further.

Instead of merely defending the calm or remaining on the line, they descend into the chaos to prevent crime, curb the flow of illegal firearms, and reduce the demand for illicit drugs.

“It takes a combined effort by a diverse group of stakeholders from both sides to achieve success against the criminal groups operating within and between our two countries.

“There is no doubt that the criminal networks are transnational, operating between our two countries, putting all of our citizens and our security at risk.

Arrests in the Bahamas remove criminals from your streets and from ours. For that reason, we are bound together as partners, and we want to ensure that our partners have the protective gear and equipment needed to stay safe and effective.”

In 2017, he said, OPBAT

operations led to the seizure of 915 kilograms of cocaine, nearly 57,000 pounds of marijuana and 15,580 marijuana plants, leading to the arrest of 148 drug traffickers.

“These are tangible results, demonstrating the merits of our joint operations. Our combined efforts have reduced the flow of illegal drugs and increases public safety and security for both of our nations,” Mr Herren said.

UNITED States charge d’affaires Denver Herren and Commissioner Anthony Ferguson at the police HQ yesterday for a presentation to the police force, below.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, February 16, 2018, PAGE 3

A CRASHED vehicle at the scene of the August 15, 2015, police-involved shooting that left two men dead.

Lawful killings

from page one

According to the testimony of Corporal Sweeting, the three officers while on patrol during the early morning hours of August 16, 2015, responded to calls of an armed robbery near East Street and Robinson Road.

Corporal Sweeting said reports indicated a white vehicle was reported stolen at gun point.

He said the unit met a vehicle that matched that description and attempted to stop the car using horns and sirens.

The officer testified that this attempt was ignored, and the vehicle took off at a high rate of speed, at about

70 miles to 80 miles per hour in the area of Claridge Road.

Police reports of the incident said it was at this point Smith and Aristotle, concerned with another armed male, crashed into a tree.

Corporal Sweeting testified that three men exited the vehicle with weapons.

He added that upon seeing the weapons being brandished by the men, being in fear for his life and the lives of his fellow officers, he opened fire.

Smith and Aristotle were pronounced dead at the scene.

A pathologist report later concluded that Smith died of a gunshot wound to the head, while Aristotle died as a result of gunshot

wounds to the torso and extremities.

Experts also submitted that those wounds were consistent with gunshots sustained by shots fired from a distance.

A third man, Haylay Lightbourn, was transported to hospital and survived the altercation.

James Colebrooke, an officer attached to the Crime Investigation Unit, testified that five weapons were recovered from the scene and examined, however investigators could not say which gun fired what shot.

The Coroner’s Court does not determine guilt or make any findings or suggestions of criminal, civil, or disciplinary liability.

The role of the court is to determine who the deceased was, how the deceased died, when, where and by what means.

Coroner Weech-Gomez said who Smith and Aristotle were, how they died, when and where were all determined throughout the inquest and the jury was only to deliberate on by what means.

The pace of inquests into police-involved shootings has been called into question in recent weeks.

Former Court of Appeal President Dame Joan Sawyer this week expressed a level of concern over the growing length of time between police-involved shootings and the coroner’s hearings.

Dame Joan suggested turmoil is being allowed to fester on both sides in the absence of “clear-cut facts which only the law can offer.”

There have been six fatal police-involved shootings this year, with the two most recent occurring within a 24-hour period.

Since November 2017, there have been 11 fatal police shootings, according to The Tribune’s records.

Last December, Attorney General Carl Bethel called the lack of inquests into police-involved killings and in-custody deaths “distressing” and “unacceptable”.

At the time, Mr Bethel said the Minnis administration would deal with the matter aggressively, as he

revealed there were about 28 police-related deaths that require an inquest, most of which were “just there”, languishing in the system.

His comments came on the heels of a Tribune special report which analysed legacy issues facing Coroner’s Court, the Coroner’s Act and handling of police matters by the legal system.

Mr Bethel said he would meet officials of his office and Coroner Weech-Gomez to determine whether administrative or legislative fixes are necessary to address the problem.

However, to date, there have been no further recommendations made on the issue.

FERGUSON: OUR FOCUS IS FIGHTING CRIME from page one

“Are there any concerns about citizens of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas being robbed (or) being killed? I think once that question is answered then we have a fair position,” Commissioner Ferguson said yesterday when he was questioned about the concerns.

Earlier, he told The Tribune: “I don’t want to comment on matters that are being adjudicated before a constituted court of law. The police mandate is to prevent, detect crime and arrest persons who commit crime and I think that is the other half. Anything else outside of that is in another spectrum. I will not be one of those who crosses over and I am going to be responsible for my mandate.”

A senior police official, not authorised to speak publicly, suggested the process which occurs after an officer shoots a suspect may leave the RBPF open to serious problems.

Apart from matters being referred to the Coroner’s Court, as is the case with all police shootings, the official said there are no set rules that dictate an officer involved in a fatal shooting be placed on leave pending the outcome of investigations or that those involved be subject to psychological evaluation.

The decision to place an officer on leave is left up to the discretion of the police commissioner who will

make such a choice based on the circumstances surrounding an incident.

On Wednesday, former Court of Appeal President Dame Joan Sawyer urged officials to “speed up” coroner’s inquests into such cases to foster “the needed peace”.

In an interview with The Tribune, Dame Joan expressed concern over the growing length of time between police-involved shootings and the coroner’s hearings.

She suggested turmoil is being allowed to fester on both sides of the divide in the absence of “clear-cut facts which only the law can offer”.

Since November 2017, there have been 11 fatal police shootings, according to The Tribune’s records.

Reflecting on those numbers, Dame Joan said those figures paint a bleak narrative because they are not juxtaposed with statistics of how such matters were resolved.

“How do you say it, justice delayed is justice denied,” Dame Joan said.

“I’ve seen these matters first-hand, so I know the pain involved. So when I speak, that is where I speak from. You can’t have the narrative continue as is because the public will get exhausted when they don’t see the end results.”

She continued: “We need to bring speed to the system so that when we hear (police-involved shootings), we think fair and justice.

Not leaning one way or the other, just the thought that no matter what happened

or how it happened, that it was resolved and the matters of fact presented.

“To get to it, address it, and allow the resolution to happen; you understand what I’m saying, resolution means a true peace.

“By the time they get to (cases), only the family remembers. The public has already moved on and forgotten.

“I wished the system addressed these cases in a faster fashion. I always operated with the view that you have to clear the deck particularly in these matters because you want to advance the thought of peace on both sides.

“Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Earlier this week, National Security Minister Marvin Dames dismissed concerns over a spate of fatal police-involved shootings.

His comments came after two men were shot dead by police in separate incidents Sunday and Monday.

Mr Dames insisted officers are responding in-kind to what they encounter on the streets. He said the

process has always been and continues to be transparent.

He insisted police are not in the business of “arbitrarily taking people’s lives,” and that whenever someone is wounded or killed by police, it must be justified.

Mr Dames called on Bahamians to recognise that modern-day officers are no longer operating in the Bahamas of the “70s and the 60s,” stressing that police now encounter more assailants who are inclined to engage them with firearms.

Mr Dames, a former senior police officer, said the public should avoid getting lost in statistics of police-involved shootings and take a critical look at the circumstances in which they occur.

In the two most recent incidents earlier this week, police shot and killed men said to have a criminal history. Police said a man killed on Sunday was engaged in a drug deal and opened fire on officers, while the man fatally shot Monday produced a knife and advanced towards them.

COMMISSIONER of Police Anthony Ferguson.

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PAGE 4, Friday, February 16, 2018

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,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jrolle@tribunemedia.net

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

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

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The increased isolation of America WE make no apology for returning in these columns to the issue of parochialism in some of the mainstream US media at a time when so many parts of the outside world are in turmoil.

Their obsession with domestic news almost to the exclusion of international developments that can affect America’s interests is not new. But an added factor is the attempt of certain media outlets to secure the downfall of President Trump as being unfit for the highest office in the land.

Detailed examination of his every move in the search for ammunition against him results in their overall news coverage becoming even more unbalanced, and this has left many Americans who derive their information from the television as well as the press ignorant of what is going on globally. A noteworthy exception, however, is the One America News network which is beginning to fill that gap.

Knowledge of international affairs determines people’s attitudes towards the rest of the world. But lack of it can result in disinterest. It seems many Americans do not care much about sustaining the liberal international order that was created after the Second World War and which has been maintained up to now through US global leadership.

They do not understand that people in democratic Western countries owe their prosperity, security and way of life to the success of this world order – together with the avoidance of major conflict among the great powers – and that in today’s interdependent world the threat to it is probably greater than at any time since the height of the Cold War. Thus, the US’s continued engagement with the rest of the world - using its political, economic and military power together with its unmatched cultural influence - is essential in order to protect the security and prosperity of the West and also to meet new challenges and to take advantage of emerging opportunities.

Despite the extent of its existing involvement, including a military presence in some 150 countries, there is a danger of the US retreating into isolationism with a President who makes no bones about always putting America first and who even pulled out of the Paris Accord on climate change. So it is all the more important the American public should be aware of global issues that could become threats.

A brief tour d’horizon of current international developments shows a host of problems and trouble spots which could have widespread repercussions further afield, including the Caribbean given its close links to and reliance upon the USA. The two Koreas have been in the

headlines for some while and there is regular media coverage of the Brexit negotiations as the European Union and Britain struggle to agree terms for the latter’s withdrawal from the bloc.

But how many people in the US are aware of the desperate Rohingya refugee and human rights crisis in Myanmar, including accusations of genocide, or the ethnic violence and humanitarian disaster currently affecting millions in the Congo or the situation in South Africa involving the forced resignation of the President of a country still vulnerable to dangerous political upheaval?

How much publicity has there been about the apparent military defeat of ISIS with the help of US Special Forces or the dangerous confrontation between Israel and Iran with the latter’s nuclear threat, as well as the danger of clashes on the ground in Syria between US and Russian forces?

And then there is the tragedy on America’s doorstep of the failed socialist state of Venezuela with hyperinflation and a major exodus of its citizens to neighbouring Colombia. Meanwhile, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, there is the ongoing threat of its further expansionism in Ukraine and in the Baltic and China’s aggressive activity amid conflicting maritime claims in areas of the South China Sea. All these issues continue to cause major concern.

Both North and South Korea have been in the news most recently because of the Winter Olympics and Kim Jongun’s charm offensive including joint participation in the Games and the visit of a high level delegation from Pyongyang followed by his call for further reconciliation. It is unclear whether there is any link between this thaw in relations and Mr Trump’s tough stance on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and his warning of overwhelming military force. But the US should surely now talk directly to Kim Jong-un about stopping his nuclear programme and removing the threat of the use of nuclear weapons which would cause widespread and unthinkable devastation.

Since we in The Bahamas are dependent on others for our prosperity and security primarily through our financial services industry and tourism and our reliance on our American neighbour, we need to follow international developments that may affect both us and the US, especially when our interests do not necessarily coincide – for example, in relation to climate change and the rise of ocean levels which would be catastrophic for us as a small island state.

So, even if the US media tends to give less priority to global affairs than is advisable, we, for our part, should keep ourselves informed about what is going on in the rest of the world.

Speaker’s non-apology EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE Vote of No Confidence brought by the erstwhile “Magnificent Four” of the new PLP, led by our leader, the Hon Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, QC (PLP-Cat Island, Rum Cay & San Salvador), against the Speaker of the House of Assembly, has been debated and defeated. Of course, no sensible observer of this whole exercise expected such a motion to succeed in view of the excessively large majority commanded by the governing Free National Movement in the House.

The Speaker, in my considered view was dead wrong from a constitutional and legal position when he suspended Mrs Glenys Hanna-Martin (PLP-Englerston) without first moving a motion, as is required by the Rules of the House. He was also wrong when he suspended three members of the new PLP for simply walking out of the chamber, even though they bowed towards the chair before leaving. The entire episode, including the crude and totally out of order gratuitous tirade by the Speaker.

Now that this exercise

has been completed, I would hope that the collective House can now move on to the business of the people of this wonderful nation. It is to be noted, however, that at no time, did the Speaker, in fact, in my view, apologise, he merely stated from his Mount Olympus that: “All is forgiven”. What manner of men and political mice have we elevated to the halls of parliament. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H BODIE Jr Nassau, February 15, 2018.

Stagnation of The Bahamas EDITOR, The Tribune, I WOULD appreciate my letter being published as an open letter to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Dear Sir, The government is thinking about taxing non-voters a little bit more.

The obvious benefits encouraged previous governments to do the same so that taxes, fees, and duties in areas where they fall primarily on visitors have ramped up over the years.

The problem is that foreigners don’t have to pay Bahamian taxes. They can just stay away, and spend their money elsewhere.

The result has been that while world and regional tourism has increased considerably over past decades, it has not in The Bahamas. The Bahamian economy, and therefore wages, profits, and government income, has stagnated in real terms.

Similarly popular reasoning also led previous governments to protect Bahamians from foreigners working in The Bahamas.

While it is indeed true that foreigners are taking jobs that Bahamians could do, the problem is that the people who are putting Bahamians out of work are overwhelmingly outside the borders of The Bahamas, and therefore cannot be controlled by immigration officers, work permits, or duties that are intended to provide Bahamians with work.

Ironically, all these efforts not only don’t work, but they harm Bahamians by giving them a false sense of security, raising their cost of living, and making them less competitive.

The nature of the Bahamian economy is that it is dependent on a totally free world market in which every foreign buyer decides for him or herself on how and where to spend their money. This not only affects

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net those working directly in the tourism industry, but also includes seemingly unconnected businesses that survive from the money tourism workers spend, and everyone else who is paid with tourism derived taxes, i.e. teachers, nurses, and other government workers and contractors. Everyone is in the tourism business, and there is no viable, or foreseeable economic alternative.

Sovereignty only provides the ability to make our own decisions. It does not offer any protection in the medium to long term from competition in an export dependent economy like The Bahamas that will live or die by the value of its services in the international markets in which it operates.

Justice, fairness, and what is reasonable are irrelevant. Improving a little, or a lot, are meaningless terms. The only measure that counts is the value for money of our product compared to what is offered by our competitors.

The Bahamas must stop considering itself an island with a very wide moat around it. It is not.

Pressure for taking the easy way out, and providing immediate gratification to voter groups, must be weighed against the damage that traditional policy has done to the country. If well intentioned decisions are actually working against the national interest why would we keep doing the same thing?

To break out of this long running vicious circle, and the related squabbling over crumbs, the focus needs to be firmly placed on growing the economy, and that can only be done by upping our national game in comparison to the countries that are taking our customers. It means teamwork,

and a laser like focus on the only metric that counts; international competitiveness. This has to be the everyday message, and twice on Sundays.

There must be no timidity, or being thrown off course by accusations of heartlessness or anti-Bahamian policies because there is nothing more heartless and antiBahamian than failing to produce the national income to finance good healthcare, properly educate our children, and to create the job opportunity to raise a family on.

Leadership has to provide the direction and co-ordination to a brighter future. A future that can only be built on a deliberate positioning of The Bahamas in the competitive world of which it is an integral part.

Only then can every citizen know what needs to be done, and act accordingly.

No leader has the power to protect his people; he can only lead the people to protect themselves.

FRIENDLY ADVICE Nassau, February 15, 2018

Pride in Over The Hill EDITOR, The Tribune.

Re:Putting A New Face On Over-The-Hill.

The Tribune, 23 January, 2018.

GREAT idea and a nice photo op for the pols and civil servants. But where are the photos of local residents who have enough pride in themselves and their community to help clean up their own rubbish?

KEN W KNOWLES, MD Nassau, January 25, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, February 16, 2018, PAGE 5

SYDNEY MILLS, left, and Natasha Stolove.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

Charge the room?

That’ll do nicely from page one pleading guilty to 11 fraudrelated charges stemming from them fraudulently obtaining $4,588.70 in assorted items by using Emiliano Alaniz’s Atlantis room key between January 13 and 15.

Magistrate Samuel McKinney also ordered the Toronto natives to split the bill in reimbursing Mr Alaniz the funds they fraudulently used – amounting to $2,294.35 each. Failure to pay the fines would result in nine months in prison, the

magistrate said.

Both Mills and Stolove were accused of fraudulently obtaining $3,170 in drinks from the Sip-Sip Bar on January 15; another $115 from that bar on January 13; $444.25 in meals from the Nobu restaurant on January 15; meals in the amount of $135 from Olive’s restaurant; drinks from Aura nightclub worth $105; meals from Plato’s restaurant worth $60; meals from the Marina Pizzeria worth $24.22; merchandise from Discover Atlantis worth $17.73; drinks from the Cascade Bar and Grill

worth $12.50; and drinks from Starbucks worth $5.

And upon incurring a debt at the Mandara Spa on January 15, the two also fraudulently obtained $500 in credit.

According to a summary of the facts read by the prosecution, when Mr Alaniz returned to Houston, Texas from Atlantis, he discovered a number of charges had been made to his room that he did not authorise. He suspected Mills and Stolove were responsible as he invited them to his room for drinks one night.

He contacted the Central Detective Unit (CDU) on the matter, and inquiries were consequently made at Atlantis. Those inquiries revealed how Mills and Stolove were both seen with his room key at numerous outlets throughout Atlantis, signing his name and room number to get meals, drinks and merchandise.

The two were ultimately arrested and cautioned in connection with the matter.

It was then that they admitted to using Mr Alaniz’s card without his permission, but said they obtained only $2,539.36 worth of food,

CASH FOR GOLD RAID APPEAL LOST

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of a man seeking to contest his 15-year sentence for the role he played in the fatal armed robbery of a Cash for Gold employee in Grand Bahama five years ago.

Former appellate president Dame Anita Allen, with Justices Stella Crane-Scott and Roy Jones, dismissed Harrison Walkins’ appeal concerning the January 19, 2013 armed robbery and murder of Christopher Outten at Deadman’s Reef.

According to the evidence

YOUR

given during the trial, Outten and his wife, who were employed at US Gold/ Cash for Gold in the Jireh Plaza, had left the store around 4pm They stopped at the automated teller machines of two banks before heading home.

Upon arrival at their residence, Outten was approached by a masked gunman and ordered to lie down. His wife escaped and ran to a neighbour’s house for help. When she returned, she found her husband had been shot.

Walkins along with Zhivargo Collie, aka Shawn Collie, Valentino Bethel and Natario Walkins were all found guilty on

conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Natario Walkins, Bethel and Collie were further convicted of murder and armed robbery.

On January 22, 2015, Walkins was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for conspiring to rob Outten.

He later appealed his sentence via a notice of appeal that contained five grounds, which included that inadmissible evidence was wrongly admitted; that the verdict was unreasonable and could not be supported having regard to the evidence, and that the sentence is “grossly disproportionate” having regard to the mitigating factors and exceptional circumstances of the appellant,

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and constitutes inhumane and degrading treatment in breach of article 17 of the Constitution.

All of Walkins’ grounds ultimately failed, according to the ruling, and the appellate judges noted that while there was a fifth ground in his notice of appeal, “no arguments or submissions were advanced in relation to that ground; and that ground similarly failed.”

“It was for all of the above reasons that we dismissed the appellant’s appeal, and affirmed both the conviction of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and his sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment,” the ruling said.

drinks and merchandise with his room key.

Two unknown males who were often seen with Mills and Stolove and who are alleged to have also made fraudulent charges on Mr Alaniz’s card, are still being sought by police.

Yesterday, Mills’ and Stolove’s attorney Alex Dorsett stated while it goes without saying the Mr Alaniz ought to have his funds restored to him, his clients acknowledged their improper actions and were remorseful for what they did.

Adding his clients had not wasted the court’s

time by pleading guilty at the first opportunity, Mr Dorsett thus asked for the magistrate to exercise leniency in sentencing the pair.

Magistrate McKinney noted Mr Dorsett’s pleas in mitigation and stated he was not minded to impose a custodial sentence on the two. However, he ordered they reimburse Mr Alaniz the total amount of money they fraudulently obtained from him, as well as pay a $1,000 fine.

Upon satisfying the fine, the two will be released and turned over to immigration officials.

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PAGE 6, Friday, February 16, 2018

PINTARD: SPEAKER DID GO TOO FAR

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Youth, Sports and Culture Michael Pintard, one of seven parliamentarians who were absent for Wednesday’s vote of confidence in House Speaker Halson Moultrie, said yesterday Mr Moultrie “went too far” in some of his comments last week.

However, he said he would have sided with the majority had he been present for the vote.

“While I did not agree with some of what he said, I thought he went too far on several of those matters, but I would have supported his staying on given the fact that he has demonstrated he is apologetic and his comments were out of character,” the Marco City MP said.

Mr Pintard declined to discuss the matter further, saying: “I believe we should be talking about issues that directly concern my constituents. People are having challenges addressing the mortgage situation, for instance. I’m not prepared to have a whole lot of time discussing this matter.”

Nonetheless, Mr Pintard’s critical comment makes him one of just two Free National Movement (FNM) parliamentarians to express such a view on the record, joining Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine who said last week’s parliamentary session represented an “alltime low.”

Other parliamentarians - who attended the earlier sitting of the House on Wednesday but were absent for the vote in the

evening – reached by The Tribune yesterday said they had important engagements Wednesday that explained why they missed the event.

Mr McAlpine, for instance, noted he announced his support for the speaker when he gave his speech.

“I had a previous arrangement but I stood up and gave my view in the House,” he said. “I could not support the motion (of no confidence) being brought at that time by the opposition.”

Long Island MP Adrian Gibson said he had to take a 2.15pm Bahamasair flight to Long Island for “constituency meetings”.

As for North Eleuthera MP Ricky Mackey, he said he needed to celebrate Valentine’s Day with his wife.

“Absolutely I support the speaker,” Mr Mackey said.

“My reason for leaving, and I indicated the support of the speaker to the leader the Leader of Government Business Renward Wells, was yesterday (Wednesday) was Valentine’s Day. I’m married for 31 years and I want to be married for 32. I had to travel back to Eleuthera and to be home for Valentine’s I had to leave at 3.”

Pinewood MP Rueben Rahming was also absent for the vote, but he expressed great support in Mr Moultrie during an earlier contribution to the debate on Wednesday.

He, Central and South Abaco MP James Albury and Free Town MP Dionisio D’Aguilar could not be reached by The Tribune yesterday. They were all also absent for Wednesday’s vote.

McAlpine ‘free to speak out’

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said the Free National Movement respects the right of Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine to speak his mind, adding he did not feel the latter lashed out against the governing party during his address in the House of Assembly on Wednesday.

Instead, Mr Turnquest said yesterday he believes Mr McAlpine’s remarks were an attempt to bring “balance” to the House debate.

Mr McAlpine chided the governing party on Wednesday, saying the FNM seemed to be operating like the former Christie administration.

While he said he did not support the Official Opposition’s no confidence motion in House Speaker Halson Moultrie, he said “dishonourable conduct” took place in Parliament.

He said: “How can an establishment that is to be so nationally high bring us to an all-time low? How does a place with supposedly honourable men and women display such dishonourable conduct?

“The message the people are conveying is that they’ve seen this movie before. The cast might presently be different but the plot, the scenery and the performance are very vivid and familiar.”

When asked his personal thoughts on Mr McAlpine’s remarks, Mr Turnquest told The Tribune: “You know everybody has an opportunity to speak and to speak their minds. Fred made his contribution, and we respect that.

“No I don’t think he was

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest. lashing out at the party.

I think he was trying to create some balance in the debate. And you know, he did it in his own style and we respect that.”

During Wednesday’s session the governing party passed a motion affirming its confidence in Mr Moultrie as Speaker. Twenty-six MPs supported this vote, the four opposition members voted no, seven government MPs were absent and one, Deputy Speaker Don Saunders, abstained from the vote.

When asked by reporters if those seven FNM MPs did not attend Wednesday’s vote to send a sort of message, Mr Turnquest dismissed the notion.

He said: “No, not at all.

Not at all. All of them gave excuses. They either had to go back to their island district or they had other commitments that they had to attend to.

“As you know, yesterday was a very busy day, a lot of things going on. You know, contrary to popular belief, we don’t stop the business of the country for these kinds of events. We have to

continue to do what we’re doing, and that’s what we’re focusing on.”

Mr Turnquest was also asked if he believed some of the sitting members were in disagreement with Mr Moultrie’s comments.

Mr Turnquest said: “Not at all. I think that the vote yesterday was unanimous, in terms of the support behind the Speaker. And I think that reflects the confidence that we all have as a caucus in the Speaker.”

When asked his personal take on Mr Moultrie’s comments, Mr Turnquest said: “In order to answer that question you have to go back to the beginning. That is that the House is a House of rules.

“While you know from the outside it might look like it’s a free-for-all, there are rules that govern our conduct. And paramount among them is a deference and respect for the Speaker.

And so when the Speaker is speaking, nobody speaks.

When the Speaker is speaking, nobody leaves the chamber. When the Speaker is giving instruction, you listen.

“And for years now, not just in this session but in the last five years that I’ve been sitting in Parliament, I’ve noticed this sort of disrespect if you will for the position of Speaker.

“And so we have this rowdiness that goes on.

We’re all human, and sometimes we react in different ways. So I think the Speaker was attempting to assert his authority in the House. I think he did that.

He expressed some remorse for some of the comments that he made, I respect that.

“But at the end of the day we as parliamentarians have to respect the authority of the Speaker in order

THE TRIBUNE

that we have an orderly debate and that we don’t get into personal diatribes which can then lead to escalating feelings that can go outside of the House.

“And that is the whole idea of the rules of the House, is to ensure that the members speaking speak to the Speaker, rather than to individuals, and that we stay away from any kind of personal invectives that may cause personal injury.

“And so again, I think the Speaker handled himself well. He may have made some comments that may have been in his own admission a bit personal, and he has apologised for those, so we leave it there.”

Mr Turnquest was also asked by The Tribune if he believes the Minnis administration is living up to its promises thus far.

“Oh, absolutely,” he said.

“Again, we’ve become a sort of an ‘instant’ kind of generation, but it doesn’t happen that way unfortunately.

“And so we are doing a lot of work behind the scenes trying to get this economy back on a right footing and growing, trying to get social order back intact with respect to crime and housing and education and all of these things that have an effect on the quality of life. We’re doing a lot of work.”

Last week, while defending his decision to name and suspend Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin from the House, Mr Moultrie launched into personal attacks against members of the PLP, former House Chief Clerk Maurice Tynes and hit out at the nationality of the foreign wife of PLP Leader Philip Davis.

He apologised for the remarks on Wednesday.

DAVIS FORGIVES MOULTRIE - BUT ANGRY AT FNM from page one

“So, we forgive him because he asked for it, but the majority of right thinking Bahamians are perplexed and appalled by the fact that the governing members, save and except for (Pineridge MP Frederick) McAlpine, who was not brave enough to go all the way, said that the Speaker was right in his actions.

“Do these men have a moral compass?”

He also said: “They made the debate about (Glenys) Hanna Martin when the real issue was the Speaker’s behaviour. Hanna Martin had already been sanctioned, even if unjustly. Her matter was not before the House. It was the Speaker, who has been found guilty, guilty, guilty!”

On Mr Moultrie, he said: “The Speaker has put on a new coat! He has apologised and, if I am to go to God to ask forgiveness for anything, I must forgive him. So, I forgive him, but I have to walk circumspect in that place because under that fresh coat remains the weak foundation, rotten beams, and sagging roof.”

Mr Davis claimed FNMs were silenced from speaking out on the matter of Mr Moultrie, adding: “…

Across the front bench the face of defeat was clear.

“The Minnis government proved to the country that they are not prepared to uphold what is right, what is decent, what is just and fair for our people!”

Despite accepting the Speaker’s apology, Mr Davis continued to bash him at yesterday’s rally, saying he “crushed democracy and insulted the hardworking staff of the House”.

Meanwhile, last night Exuma MP Chester Cooper, the party’s deputy leader, raised concerns

about the multi-billion Grand Bahama energy project Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis spoke about Wednesday.

Mr Cooper said the prime minister’s communication was an attempt to distract people from the main matter at hand, which was a motion of no confidence in the Speaker, put forth by the Official Opposition.

“What is the track record of this business in this environmentally sensitive industry?” he asked. “I googled it and it looks like a relatively new company to me?

“I also want to take this opportunity to ask this government where in the current budget is this $90m they say they won’t affect government borrowing this year,” he said, referring to a resolution moved in the House earlier this month.

“I checked the budget book again, you know. And I still don’t see it. The IDB said this money was approved by the organisation under the last administration.

But the last administration never went to Parliament to approve that borrowing because VAT was on the right track. Now they’re borrowing again, after promising that, that astronomical deficit they blamed on the PLP was the last of it for this fiscal year. I want the minister of finance to know that we’re watching you.”

The loans from the InterAmerican Development Bank will finance some $90m in projects in support of coastal management, airport infrastructure and various skill development initiatives.

The government has stressed that the resolution is not new borrowing and will not add to the government’s debt levels because the facility was approved by Parliament during the 2017 budget debate.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, February 16, 2018, PAGE 7

A POST-disaster facility set up by Colonial Group International.

CGI TO HOST HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS EXPOSITION FOR nearly a decade, insurance giant Colonial Group International, a Bermuda-based insurance conglomerate with global operations, has taken the terms disaster preparedness and customer service to a higher level with its temporary, portable, post-disaster business continuity office facility for its Bahamian clients.

The facility allows the insurance provider to open its doors to customers within 36 hours of a natural disaster with up to 30

agents ready and available to accept claims, process cheques and provide accessibility to funds.

Beneficiaries of the programme will be customers of the three insurance providers which fall under the CGI umbrella: Security & General Insurance, Atlantic Medical Insurance and Colonial Pension Services (Bahamas). On Monday, February 26 between the hours of 10am – 2pm, the general public is invited to an open-house business interruption exercise. The

event will expose the facility in its fullest capacity with giveaways for attendees.

According to CGI’S vicepresident of property and casualty for the Caribbean region, Marlon Graham, the idea for the facility was born to service clients in hurricane-prone countries.

“We call it a business interruption exercise,” Mr Graham said. “In any event that our offices that are in trouble after an event whether it be catastrophic hurricanes, fire, flood – our clients will be serviced from

this facility within 36 hours of the disaster.

“It’s a place where you can come and bring your claims and get your money to start rebuilding. We want to make sure that our clients are well taken care of immediately after a disaster.”

The three-unit-facility is a stand-alone, self-sufficient unit with its own power generation equipment, along with an air handling and control system. Customers can be serviced in the comfort of a clean, cool

environment, where there is a minimum of 12 fresh air changes per hour and an air conditioning system.

General manger of Security and General Insurance, Paulette Turner, said the event on February 26 will be one that the general public will find to be an interesting experience.

“Our business units will all be set up,” Ms Turner said. “Anybody doing business with CGI on that day, can do their business in the facility. People will get a glimpse into how the facility

will operate after an actual disaster. You will see a full office in terms of tables, desks, computers, laptops, phones and printers.

“Our clients will see that our phones and our systems will remain up and running in the time of disasters. People may think that information will be lost or that it will take time, but they will have access to everything because we have a backup system. Once our facility is set up, everything will be made available at their fingertips.”

$4bn oil refinery project a ‘game changer’ for GB

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net THE $4 billion oil refinery project will be a “game changer” for Grand Bahama, Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said yesterday.

According to the East Grand Bahama MP, the multibillion dollar project will create 1,200 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs.

He also discussed the low-cost lots the Minnis administration will be offering to boost access to affordable housing.

Mr Turnquest spoke to reporters on the sidelines of an event held at the Bahamas National Trust.

“Certainly this is a game changer for East Grand Bahama,” Mr Turnquest said of the Oban Energies project.

“We have an oil storage facility up there already.

And so, this doesn’t represent any new risk per se to the area.

“We… understand that the technology that will be used in the construction of this facility is going to be based upon the latest available technology. Very modern, with self-scrubbing features that will ensure that any emissions from the plant are within acceptable ranges.

“The opportunity that exists for the further development as a result of this investment (is) tremendous.

“If you were to just look at the BORCO facility and what it represented to the development of the Freeport area, when it was in the actual refining business, you would understand…what kind of economic impact that had on the development of Grand Bahama.

“All of the chemical engineers and the mechanical engineers and all those trade and technical skills that exist in Grand Bahama came out of that development.”

Mr Turnquest continued: “We anticipate the same kind of effect on East End residents and on Grand Bahama as a whole, with respect to this project as they take advantage of training opportunities and experience opportunities to

develop new careers and to expand their careers based upon the training that they already had from these facilities and what they’ve gone on to do since then. “(East End is a) very beautiful area, very pristine, and we certainly want to protect that, but we also want to ensure that we create opportunities for (those) residents, and for the island of Grand Bahama, and by extension the Bahamas, into areas that are non-traditional, that will help us to diversify this economy.”

When asked to pinpoint what local resources will be used in development, Mr Turnquest said the government wishes to use local technical and industrial skills.

He added: “To the extent that there are local materials that can be used in the construction, we certainly want to take advantage of that.

“We know that there are Bahamians who possess unique talents, have access to products and techniques, and we want to make sure that we encourage any foreign direct investment that may enter this country to utilise those to the max, so that we retain as much as we can locally of the investment dollar, and we build up the expertise, the experiences, of our local tradespeople so that they can then turn around and export that skill to other countries that may be doing some other kind of projects.”

In terms of benefits to the Grand Bahama economy, Mr Turnquest said: “The promoters of the investment have projected up to 1,200 people to be involved in the construction, 600 permanent jobs thereafter. So if you do the math…it’s a very significant opportunity.”

Meanwhile, when asked about the government’s plan to offer low-cost lots to prospective homeowners, Mr Turnquest said the government is working hard to ensure everyone has the opportunity to own their own home.

“Particularly…we are working on the inner-city to create real opportunities for development in these

areas, so that these Bahamians have an opportunity to have a good quality of life in their indigenous communities, and create sustainable economic opportunities as a result in a safe environment.

“This is a multi-faceted project. We’re looking at it in a very holistic way.”

Mr Turnquest also dismissed concerns that these properties will only be located in urban areas.

He said: “We are looking at a country-wide approach to this. In New Providence,we’re looking at an island-wide approach.

“The government still has ownership of some Crown land areas that it’s able to develop, and we’re looking at those to be a part of this programme, to ensure again we give opportunities for a diverse group of housing options, in as much of…New Providence as (possible).”

When asked if there are any commercial options in the land deal, Mr Turnquest replied: “It’s primarily focused around residential, but I’m sure that as you build communities, the private sector will take advantage of the opportunity to create entrepreneurial opportunities for themselves.”

When pressed about zoning, Mr Turnquest said the matter is not in his portfolio. However, he said: “(Personally) I certainly do hope we would create some zoning laws around these neighbourhoods to assure that we create liveable communities with all of the commercial infrastructure that is necessary to make a complete community.”

PAGE 8, Friday, February 16, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

It’s another fine mess in the House AFTER a “vote of no confidence” that the governing Free National Movement government shrewdly turned into an amended “vote of confidence”, the status quo remains in the House of Assembly.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE We all had an idea how the votes would come down in the House of Assembly with respect to the Official Opposition’s proposed vote of no confidence. What we didn’t expect, however, was the blatant partisanship that meant an amendment was added to make it a farcical “vote of confidence”.

Instead of defending the unprecedented actions of the Speaker, Mr Halson Moultrie, we were once again treated (some say “bored to tears”) with speeches from Members of Parliament (who should know better) on how the Speaker had “restored the honour, dignity and respect to the High Office of Speaker”.

Let’s get one thing straight; the Speaker did no such thing.

What he did do was lash out in a way never before seen by another occupying his station, and bring disrepute to the chair in the process.

In a speech from the chair last week, the Speaker was on the attack, personal,

and petty in his remarks.

Bahamians delivered Look, we all get the an overwhelming superpicture. majority to the FNM as It’s well remembered how punishment to the PLP the former Progressive Lib- party for their many eral Party (PLP), when in transgressions. government, had at their Amongst those transgresdisposal a deputy-speaker sions - and one that stands in the form of former out to this day - is the way Nassau Village MP Dion former PLP MPs and MinSmith who, when he occu- isters used the hallowed pied the chair, was vicious, halls of the House (and the partisan and immunity it extremely rude ‘We didn’t elect a afforded them) to the fledgling to behave like FNM Oppo- new government imbeciles. sition at the to live in the The episodes time. past, we elected a were too many We all can to count. recall Smith’s new government Fast forward cutting remarks to have a better eight months and curt tone future. That later, with the with Opposisame type of tion Members, better future behavior on including the doesn’t include display, and dismissive way wasting “the it’s no wonder many felt he Bahamians are often handled people’s time” upset with this our new Prime on trifling new governMinister, Dr grievances.’ ment and its Hubert Minnis, antics. when he was To be sure, I merely Opposition Leader. don’t even blame Moultrie So Bahamians, to a for the entirety of this degree, can understand why mess. Blame, in this case, is the FNM would (falsely) also reserved for the FNM believe “now” was “pay- MPs and ministers who sat back time”. there like lap dogs and basiFor the record, “payback cally professed, ‘We een do time” was actually May 10, nuttin wrong!’

2017.

They are the “cloakers”.

That’s when the One by one they stood up

SPEAKER of the House Halson Moultrie. and barked about the old “PLP did this, and the PLP did that” not realising that most of us are now living in 2018.

To paraphrase Janet Jackson, “what have you done for us lately... except borrow all kinda money?”

We didn’t elect a new government to live in the past, we elected a new government to have a better future. That better future doesn’t include wasting “the people’s time” on trifling grievances.

And I should probably mention, lest the skewed numbers in the House cause the FNM to “get it twisted”: In spite of the PLP being reduced to almost a bare minimum, they still have a lot of support in this country. You could even argue that when a political party is decimated the way the PLP was last election, anyone from that group that survives is what we would call a “Teflon Don”.

Their voices matter, too.

Just to tidy things up (and keep it real), my personal thoughts on Halson Moultrie’s return to the

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

Speakership is that now that he has ‘walked through the valley’- if past is prologue- he should be a better Speaker.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T Back in the day, at the legendary Priory Grounds, I remember the Speaker as a basketball player. Yet (another) victim of my famous jump shot, he would often “carry on” the way he did in the House last week.

As a self-styled referee, he was often caught screaming, “I don’t care if you disagree, you ga respect my call!”

After a few “animated” disagreements, he became well versed in the rules of the Priory.

So if there’s any consolation, the new Speaker, in my mind, is a person who is a servant to the rules.

And having realized he was dead wrong for having “getting in the flesh” and acting out the way he did, will finally adjust his behavior accordingly.

I can’t say the same for the MPs who defended him.

There was no acknowledgment on their behalf of the things that Moultrie did wrong, of the persons he wronged. There was no acknowledgement of Miriam Emmanuel’s wrong, of the things she said that was wrong.

One by one, they identified themselves as persons we need to “watch out for” because their shameless fealty - and loyalty to Party - is something Bahamians no longer trust.

My eyes, however, are on the (magnificent?) seven MPs that “chose” to be absent for the vote. They are the ones to keep an eye on; they, like Freeport MP Frederick McAlpine, didn’t sanction buffoonery. They are in the clear.

The ones that sang Moultrie’s praises without rebuke, including the Prime Minister, should watch out. There’s no way that 34 FNM MPs will be returned to their positions after the next election, and one by one, with their servile disposition, they are already, kindly, weeding themselves out.

READERS RESPOND TO HOUSE ROWS READERS have been posting their reaction to the stories making the news on tribune242.com. After House Speaker Halson Moultrie apologised for his attacks in the House of Assembly, Truism said: “The persons aggrieved still have no confidence in the Speaker. His statement after the vote further demonstrated his lack of grace and decorum.”

Tetelestai wasn’t impressed: “So, that ungracious, hubris-filled drivel is his version of an apology?”

Birdiestrachan had this to say: “The FNM members have stooped to a new low by blaming the controversy on the PLP – they are supposed to be grownups. The Speaker says he is a minister of the gospel, he has brought reproach, too many bitter words came out of his mouth. Mr Speaker, bitterness starts in the heart.

Grownups accept responsibility for their actions.

Small, mean-spirited people do not.”

The lone FNM voice who failed to back the Speaker was Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine, who said the events of February 7 took

the parliament to an “alltime low”.

But Pocoloo responded with this: “McAlpine is just another sideshow and a good talker. If he really opposed the Speaker he would have voted with the PLP.” Tribune Business reported that Bank of the Bahamas had provided further evidence that its $167.7 million bail-out may provide the foundation for a sustainable future, with half-year profits nearing $2 million.

John asked: “And so where are the naysayers who said it was a waste of time trying to save this bank? Busy buying BoB shares . . . wanna bet? There value will probably triple by years end as long as the current board and proper management remains in place. BoB is now Central Bank compliant.”

To which DonAnthony responded with: “Don’t

break out the champagne yet. At the current profitability rate BOB is at best fairly priced, probably a bit overpriced. Net income for the first half of year was only 1.5 million. Extrapolated out for the year only looking at 3 million net income for 43 million shares outstanding. That is an EPS of just .07 cents. At a PE multiple of 12 (more than generous with no dividend payout, only looking at a fair value share price of .84 cents). The current price is only $1 but, as you can see, that is overvalued at current profitability. Without a drastic increase in net income for the second half of the year, forget about this stock appreciating at all much less triple-fold.”

BahamasForBahamians had this to say: “The bad debt was moved from the company . . . to another company. If we account for the costs to service that debt, which is still a taxpayer responsibility, this profit would probably be wiped out. This is just a publicity stunt.”

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

PAGE 10, Friday, February 16, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Davis joins calls for permanent appointment of chief justice

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net OPPOSITION Leader Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday called on Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis to act immediately to confirm someone for the substantive post of chief justice amid heightened concerns from the judiciary.

Mr Davis’ comments follow an internal letter to members of the judiciary from senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis characterising the failure to fully confirm the vacant post as a “blatant attack on the judiciary”.

Magistrate Rolle-Davis further called on fellow judges to “abandon” their schedules for a meeting of solidarity next Tuesday at the Supreme Court building, similar to action staged in Jamaica.

The letter, dated February 13, was circulated widely on social media and reported in The Nassau Guardian.

Yesterday, Mr Davis explained that he was consulted by Dr Minnis ahead of the appointment of former Chief Justice Sir Hartman Longley as Court of Appeal president in December.

“The PM did consult me of the appointment when he chose to appoint Chief Justice Hartman Longley to the Court of Appeal, and I made inquiries about who then will be chief justice and he said that he’s gonna search, he didn’t have anyone in mind at the moment, but that he wanted the next justice to be acting until he made up his mind.

“I said it can’t be for long, he (Dr Minnis) said no he didn’t anticipate it being that long and he recommended Stephen Isaacs and I accepted that. So he’s had some time to consider I would have thought by now

LEADER of the Opposition Philip ‘Brave’ Davis. he and I would be talking about either confirming or if he had any other person.

But I have not been engaged as yet.”

He added: “It would be an untenable position to just allow this to remain for much longer. We can’t let this go on too much longer, we got to get it sorted out right away. At the end of the day it’s his (Dr Minnis) choice, we can make recommendations, we can discuss it. If he makes a recommendation that I’m not happy with I can give my reasons but I have already accepted the appointment of Stephen Isaacs, if I think he’s suitable to act then it follows I would support a full confirmation.”

The Bahamas Bar Association, in a letter to Attorney General Carl Bethel this week, expressed “deep-seated concern and alarm” that Dr Minnis has failed to recommend

someone for the substantive post of chief justice.

The letter, dated February 13, came the same day The Tribune reported some senior lawyers are concerned about the matter. Maurice Glinton, QC, Alfred Sears, QC, and Wayne Munroe, QC, have all told The Tribune Dr Minnis’ appointment of Justice Stephen Isaacs as acting chief justice should be remedied immediately.

Kahlil Parker, president of the Bar, told The Tribune he did not authorise the public release of his letter to Mr Bethel, and he declined to discuss the matter further when contacted.

Magistrate Rolle-Davis also declined comment when contacted yesterday.

The magistrate’s letter read: “This is a blatant attack on the judiciary, the office of chief justice is a sacred post which is protected by the Constitution.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff “... What the government seeks to do is undermine the third arm of the government, it means that the chief justice at any time can be taken out of office and done away with,” Magistrate Rolle-Davis’ letter continued.

“We must be our brother’s keeper, anyone of us can be treated in this same callous manner. If we allow the government of any day to treat the judiciary as if it was not independent or impartial to the whims of politics as politicians go and come.

We must stand together to fight this ongoing disregard for justice, fairness and integrity.”

Last year, the president of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Sir Dennis Byron, criticised Guyana’s history of filling top positions in the judiciary with people in “acting” roles, arguing such circumstances

are beyond “what ought to be acceptable in a modern democracy where respect for the rule of law is maintained.”

Controversy also continues to rage in Jamaica where critics have warned that Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ appointment of an acting chief justice impinges on the independence of the judiciary.

When contacted on Tuesday, Attorney General Carl Bethel noted this is not the first time an acting chief justice has been appointed in the absence of a substantive office holder. “Under the PLP, Sir (Philip) Telford Georges was appointed acting CJ initially,” he said.

Sir Philip served as chief justice between 1984 and 1989.

Yesterday, attorney Fred Smith gave his full support to the judiciary to bring an end to a practice he says has

been undertaken by successive governments.

“There are equal branches of government and the chief justice is the head of the judiciary and they are all equally important in our constitutional construct,” he said.

“You never see a PM being appointed for a six-month period to see how he or she performs, one is either appointed or not appointed, and the practice by both the PLP and FNM for decades of appointing acting judges or magistrates for six months, or 12 months, and in some cases, up to 18 months, undermines the independence of the judiciary.

“It effectively takes away the guarantee in the Constitution that a judge would have security of tenure to protect the judge in his or her ability to act without fear of reprisal by the executive,” Mr Smith said.

‘DON’T HURT LONG ISLAND TO SPITE MP GIBSON’

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

A LONG Islander yesterday appealed to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis not to begrudge the island out of spite for its MP Adrian Gibson, expressing fears over its depressed economic climate.

Bernard Adderley, 61, expressed dissatisfaction over the level of focus given to the island by the government in view of promises pledged on the campaign trail.

Mr Adderley, a former local government chairman, worked closely with both former Free National

Movement MPs Jimmy Knowles and Larry Cartwright but left the party to endorse PLP MP Alex Storr in the 2012 election.

He campaigned for the FNM during the last election working to flip a decimated base, he claims, was in shambles due to the controversy created by the previous representative Loretta Butler-Turner.

However, Mr Adderley noted the cries of the islanders remain the same as it appears they have again been ignored by a party they ushered into government.

He lamented an increasing exodus of the island’s

labour force, and pointed to pressing issues such as upgrades for Long Island’s main airport, a tariff on mailboat fees, and exorbitant energy costs.

“We can’t recover,” Mr Adderley said. “There is nothing there to recover from. If you see the government don’t make some in roads with the energy costs in this country no investor is coming here to do that.

No one is coming from where you paying 15cents per kw of power, to come to a place where you paying 30 cents plus surcharge.

Energy and operating costs is too high.

“If they could bring the power under control the

money you save on power you can put five or six more people to work to bring unemployment down. I know they got a lot of things on their plate but you have to start somewhere because the PLP only have four people, but they looking to chew you up as much as they could.”

He continued: “I’m not going to ridicule the government but I feel some emphasis should be put on Long Island, the saving grace of the government for years and years, and I don’t feel we’ve gotten our fair shake with previous governments. We just keep voting FNM and don’t get nothing. We are industrious

people and it feels like all successive governments were scared to open the gates for Long Islanders to come home.

“We’ve been trying to get one government tariff in place for years, the PLP couldn’t get a tariff in place,” he said.

“The poor people on the island ain’t making no money, the mailboat can charge you any amount of money they want to charge you. These are things the Ministry of Transport should have already addressed.”

He added: “The recall system, they made a pledge they were going to do it.

These are the things that

affecting us, if we can’t get it from the political parties we elect we want to know what are they intending to do.”

Shortly following the general election, Long Island MP Adrian Gibson expressed disappointment in not being appointed to the Cabinet, telling The Nassau Guardian that his constituents also expressed similar views.

The Tribune understands it was expected the 32-yearold MP would be given a “seat at the table” and a portfolio that included Family Island development.

Yesterday, Mr Adderley suggested Mr Gibson’s public comments had drawn the ire of Dr Minnis.

“Nothing is happening, everybody in Long Island trying to figure out when they gonna do something or what they gonna do. He (Mr Gibson) is not in the clique with the government, that stupid statement. Dr Minnis had him in the black book from then.

“Don’t beat us with that stick, we want to know through some way and means what they intend to do, we can’t get it from him (Mr Gibson) because he don’t know himself.

We want to know are they going to extend the airport runway and remain there.

The seawall is another situation, when are they going to award whoever is going to do the work?

“And we need some injection somewhere to jumpstart the island, to get people back to work. If we don’t do something there won’t be anybody left on Long Island, there’s no labour force. Everybody leaving.”

“Our population in the last election was very low,” Mr Adderley added.

“I want to let them know they have to say something and do something, as far as businesses are concerned.

There is actually nothing happening.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, February 16, 2018, PAGE 11

POPE UNDER FIRE FOR SUPPORT OF CHILEAN BISHOP

ZACK KING, left, comforts friend Mychal Bradley in front of 17 angels representing those who died in Wednesday’s shooting. Photo: Taimy Alvarez/South Florida Sun-Sentinel

A community mourns PARKLAND, FLORIDA Associated Press

NIKOLAS Cruz jumped out of the Uber car and walked toward building 12 of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, carrying a black duffel bag and a black backpack. A man inside the school spotted Cruz, and knew he was a former student. A troubled kid. The man radioed a coworker, and within a minute heard gunshots.

The 19-year-old was wearing a maroon shirt, black pants and a black hat. The man, whose name was blacked out from a sheriff’s affidavit, told detectives Cruz was moving “purposefully”.

He slipped into the building, entered a stairwell and extracted a rifle from his bag, authorities said. He shot into four rooms on the first floor — going back to spray bullets into two of the rooms a second time — then went upstairs and shot a single victim on the second floor. He ran to the third floor, where according to a timeline released by the Broward County Sheriff’s

Office, three minutes passed before he dropped the rifle and backpack, ran back down the stairs and quickly blended in with panicked, fleeing students.

Florida State Sen Bill Galvano, who visited the third floor, said authorities told him it appeared that Cruz tried to fire point-blank out the third-floor windows at students as they were leaving the school, but the windows didn’t shatter. Police told Galvano that it was not that difficult to open the windows.

“Thank God he didn’t,” Galvano said.

From the time Cruz entered the building until the time he left, only six minutes passed. During that brief time, he shot more than two dozen students, 17 of them fatally.

After the rampage, the suspect headed to a WalMart and bought a drink at a Subway restaurant before walking to a McDonald’s.

About 40 minutes later after leaving the McDonald’s, a deputy saw him walking down a suburban South Florida street and grabbed him. He didn’t put up a fight.

The details of Wednesday’s carnage at the Parkland, Florida, high school emerged a day later from witnesses and law enforcement reports.

Among the dead: assistant football coach Aaron Feis, slain while shielding students from bullets; Joaquin Oliver, a student known for his unique look and who once dyed his hair bleach-blonde with tiger stripes; Alyssa Alhadeff, an avid soccer player and student; and 35-year-old geography teacher Scott Beigel, who helped students enter a locked classroom to avoid the gunman only to be shot himself.

Among the at least 1,000 people attending a candlelight vigil near the school Thursday night, some openly sobbed as the victims’ names were read aloud.

Dressed in the school’s red color, some held flowers while others wielded signs asking for action to fight school violence, including gun control. “Kids don’t need guns. No guns under 21,” read one sign.

At one point during the

vigil, some in the crowd began shouting, “No more guns! No more guns!”

Ernest Rospierski, a teacher at the school, took several bracing breaths at the vigil as he talked to a reporter about the horror in the school halls.

“Bang bang bang - all of a sudden the shooting stopped,” he said. “I looked down. He was reloading. I yelled run. And then I ran behind as many kids as I could.”

Authorities have not described any specific motive, except to say that Cruz had been kicked out of the high school, which has about 3,000 students and serves an affluent suburb where the median home price is nearly $600,000. Students who knew him described a volatile teenager whose strange behavior had caused others to end friendships with him.

Cruz was ordered held without bond at a brief court hearing. He wore an orange jumpsuit with his hands cuffed at his waist.

His attorney did not contest the order and had her arm around Cruz during the

short appearance. Afterward, she called him a “broken human being”.

Cruz was under a suicide watch, said Executive Chief Public Defender Gordon Weekes.

Officials were investigating whether authorities missed other warning signs about Cruz’s potentially violent nature.

He had been expelled from the school for “disciplinary reasons,” said Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, who said he did not know the specifics.

One student said Cruz had been abusive to his ex-girlfriend and that his expulsion was over a fight with her new boyfriend.

Cruz had worked at the Dollar Tree store in Parkland, the retail chain said.

Two federal law enforcement officials said the Smith & Wesson M&P15 .223 was purchased legally at Sunrise Tactical Gear in Florida.

Cruz passed a background check and legally purchased the assault weapon from a licensed dealer in February 2017, a law enforcement official said.

RAMAPHOSA SWORN IN AS SOUTH AFRICA PRESIDENT CAPE TOWN, South Africa Associated Press

CYRIL Ramaphosa became South Africa’s president with a message of clean government and inclusiveness on Thursday, stirring the hopes of many South Africans that he can reverse a corrosive period of decline and division under his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa, a lead negotiator in the transition from apartheid to democracy in the early 1990s, was elected by jubilant ruling party legislators anxious to shed political limbo and get the leadership of the country back on track.

In an indication of the challenges facing Ramaphosa, the two main opposition parties did not participate in the

CYRIL Ramaphosa being sworn in as South African President, in Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday. Photo: Rodger Bosch/AP National Assembly vote, speech to lawmakers in arguing it was a sham process a chamber that had been because the ruling African the scene of heckling and National Congress party was sometimes scuffles during tainted by its association with appearances by Zuma, who corruption scandals during resigned late Wednesday after protracted discussions the Zuma era.

Even so, the 65-year- with ANC leaders who told old Ramaphosa delivered him to step down or face a a measured, conciliatory parliamentary motion of no

confidence.

“I will try very hard not to disappoint the people of South Africa,” Ramaphosa said soon after he was nominated as an unopposed presidential candidate and elected by his party. He said the issue of corruption and mismanagement is on “our radar screen” and that one of his first aims is to meet rival party leaders so that “we can try and find a way of working together.”

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng presided over the parliamentary election as well as a separate swearing-in ceremony for Ramaphosa, who had been Zuma’s deputy and in December was narrowly elected leader of the ruling party over Zuma’s ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Noting the celebrations by

the ruling party legislators after days of national anxiety over whether or when Zuma would resign, the robed chief justice said: “I’m trying to adapt to the environment.

I’m not used to it. In a court of law, no singing is allowed.”

While Ramaphosa has consolidated his control of the ANC in recent weeks, he still faces the delicate task of removing compromised figures from the old administration as part of his anti-corruption drive while trying to avoid alienating ruling party factions that could try to undercut him. He must also restore the reputation of the ANC, which fought apartheid and has been in power since Nelson Mandela was elected South Africa’s first black president in the first all-race elections in 1994.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Thursday that Pope Francis meets frequently with victims of sexual abuse, seeking to defuse a mounting scandal over his unbridled support for a Chilean bishop accused by victims of witnessing and ignoring their abuse.

Spokesman Greg Burke said Francis meets in private with victims individually or in groups several times a month to “listen to them and try to help them to heal their serious wounds”.

Yet at least one Chilean abuse victim, Juan Carlos Cruz, wondered if Francis had really heard what they said, given Francis’ dismissal of Cruz’s complaints that Chilean Bishop Juan Barros covered up his abuse. During a recent trip to Chile, Francis repeatedly called accusations against Barros by Cruz and other victims slander and said he was certain of Barros’ innocence.

CHEESEBURGER OFF THE HAPPY MEAL MENU NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald’s is taking cheeseburgers and chocolate milk off its Happy Meal menu in an effort to cut down on the calories, sodium, saturated fat and sugar that kids consume at its restaurants.

Diners can still ask specifically for cheeseburgers or chocolate milk with the kid’s meal, but the fast-food company said that not listing them will reduce how often they’re ordered. Since it removed soda from the Happy Meal menu four years ago, orders for it with Happy Meals have fallen 14 percent, the company said.

Hamburgers and Chicken McNuggets will remain the main entrees on the Happy Meal menu.

FLU SHOT ONLY 36 PERCENT EFFECTIVE NEW YORK (AP) — The flu vaccine is doing a poor job protecting older Americans and others against the bug that’s causing most illnesses.

Preliminary figures released Thursday suggest the vaccine is 36 percent effective overall in preventing flu illness severe enough to send a patient to the doctor’s office.

There’s only been one other time in the last decade when the flu vaccine did a worse job.

Most illnesses this winter have been caused by a nasty kind of flu called Type A H3N2. The vaccine was only 25 percent effective against that type.

PAGE 12, Friday, February 16, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

With love to Marathon

MARATHON MP hosted a Valentine’s luncheon on Sunday for elderly residents at the Bahamas National Trust.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff

FROM left, MP for Marathon Romauld Ferreira, Norma Hall, Bentley Hall and Alesha Hart.

ROMAULD Ferreira MP with Marathon resident Enola Burt.