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VOLUME:115 No.61, FEBRUARY 19TH, 2018

HO US E & 16 THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

INSIGHT: STAMPING OUT CRIME CAN BE A DIRTY JOB

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SOME of the hundreds who attended the Labour on the Blocks job fair in Grand Bahama.

Photo: Denise Maycock/Tribune Staff

Hundreds left WEEK-LONG JUNKANOO FESTIVAL waiting hours in GB jobs fair

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net HUNDREDS of job seekers attended the “Labour on the Blocks” job fair in Grand Bahama over the weekend in hopes of finding employment and to be registered in the Department of Labour’s databank.

Men and women stood in long lines under the hot sun, some with umbrellas, for about six hours on Saturday at the Susan J Wallace Community Centre and Park. The long queues were a painful indication of

how bleak the employment situation in Grand Bahama is, said Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine.

While officials have touted the success of the initiative – Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes has said about 800 people have been hired from previous job fairs – Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip Davis has complained Saturday’s event was held at a poor location, and questioned if it was a public relations exercise as opposed to offering tangible employment opportunities.

SEE PAGE FIVE

THE 2018-2019 Junkanoo season will be expanded from the “traditional two parades” to more than a week of activities, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Michael Pintard said Friday.

Mr Pintard and Silbert Ferguson, Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence chairman, also discussed the potential development of a National Junkanoo Commission.

This organisation would function as an “overall governing body” for Junkanoo.

Mr Pintard and Mr Ferguson spoke to The Tribune on the sidelines of the National Junkanoo Conclave, a three-day

MINISTER of Youth, Sports and Culture Michael Pintard. long forum that allowed stakeholders to give their perspectives on the cultural event.

Of his vision for the 20182019 Junkanoo parades, Mr Pintard said: “We are going to move beyond the traditional two parades to having a full festival.

“You will see certainly more than a week of continuous activities that provides opportunities for revenue

generation for communities as well as the groups.

“It’s conceivable you will see activities, whether it is Roots, Genesis, One Family, Saxons, Valley or Colours, that persons will be able… to go and engage in cultural activities with various groups and in various communities.

“And so, a tourist does not have to narrow their travel to the two days that people have been accustomed to. They can come at any point and experience our cultural festival.”

Mr Pintard continued: “Secondly, we have agreed already in (Thursday’s) session, that we should have a Junkanoo song competition that will be properly incentivised.

SEE PAGE 11

QUESTIONS RAISED OVER REFINERY DEAL

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

AHEAD of an anticipated signing of a heads of agreement today, the Progressive Liberal Party is raising questions about Oban Energies, the company involved in a proposed $4.5bn oil refinery project for Grand Bahama, asking if the developers have their funding in place.

Stakeholders in the company have been pitching

their business to successive administrations for years.

Under the last Ingraham administration, despite an approval in principle between the company and that administration, the project stalled because the administration was not satisfied it had sufficient evidence of the company’s funding.

In an interview with The Tribune last year, Peter Kreiger, the managing director of Oban Energies, said its previous efforts

were derailed by the global downturn about a decade ago.

Nonetheless, PLP Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday its failure to progress under his predecessors caused concern in the Christie administration.

In a video he posted to YouTube on the weekend, PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell elaborated on concerns the former administration had about the proposal.

SEE PAGE THREE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

THREE DIE IN WEEKEND MURDERS

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

POLICE are investigating the circumstances surrounding two separate shooting incidents that occurred in the Pinewood area between Friday and Saturday, one of which resulted in one person dying on the scene and another in hospital.

Their deaths push the country’s murder toll to 15 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records. Both shootings, which occurred within a 24-hour window, sent five people to hospital – including one of the men who died – three of whom were said to be in stable condition.

SEE PAGE THREE

ABACO SUFFERS POWER CRISIS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A WEEKEND-LONG power outage sparked by a blown pump was yesterday said to have caused “havoc” for Abaco and its tourist economy.

SEE PAGE THREE

PAGE 2, Monday, February 19, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

ANGER OVER BLACK PANTHER’S RATING

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PATRINA Farquharson, who works with children and charitable groups, is raising money to take young people to see “Black Panther,” the cultural phenomenon hailed for its rare and empowering portrayal of blackness on the silver screen.

But there is a problem: the movie is rated T, meaning children below 15 are prohibited from watching it in theatres.

Unlike in some countries, where children are allowed to watch PG-13 movies under adult supervision, regulations here say no child under 15 can watch a Rated T film in theatres, even if accompanied by an adult.

Ms Farquharson, who is already raising money in a bid to book-out a theatre for children, said this is disappointing in light of the cultural significance of the film.

“All children, from eight onwards in the public schools that I’ve been working with, have the maturity to understand this movie,” she said.

“Black Panther” portrays its black actors and actresses in the non-stereotypical role of superheroes; not gangster, drug-dealer, slave, or mere source of comic relief.

A SCENE from Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther”.

Despite its fictional setting, the movie, Ms Farquharson believes, enables young people to imagine greater possibilities for themselves in a world that often prompts them to think only of their limitations.

“As far as I know, there isn’t anything they shouldn’t see in that,” she said. “I believe it’s important to see the possibility of thinking ‘what if.’ If the rating could be reworked for this movie, I would be very happy. That would enlarge the group of children we can give the opportunity to see this. What’s important for me is I’m Bahamian but Asian. When I work with kids in the city, I think they think people who look like them don’t have a right to be successful; they expect for us to be successful because we’re not black.

It’s important to see people

like them can do anything.”

Tavarrie Smith, a youth leader who planned to take a group of young people to the theatre to see the movie as well, said the matter highlighted the outdatedness of this country’s film rating system.

“While I understand that The Bahamas can be very conservative in its values, we live in an age of social media, digital technology and evolving social norms,” he said. “Our ratings should reflect the times in which we live, especially by empowering parents to be better parents. No one is advocating for a change in the rating system that exposes children and teenagers to unnecessary violence, language and sexual themes - but for a rating system comparable to time and age in which we live. Our children will see these films with or without parental consent, the internet has already made that possible so why not allow our rating system to consider ‘parental guidance’ rather than outright exclusion for films with strong content. This story is about ‘access’ for me, I just want children to have access to seeing themselves on the big screen in such a positive way.”

The movie, which opened over the weekend, is a box office smash, with international reports indicating global ticket sales will total an estimated $387m by today.

THE TRIBUNE

THREE DIE IN WEEKEND MURDERS from page one

This comes after another man was killed early Friday morning, after being found stabbed to death at Potter’s Cay Dock.

According to police, shortly after 8pm Friday, a group of men were gathered under a car port at a residence on Saffron Street, Pinewood Gardens, when two men armed with firearms drove up to the

POLICE at the scene of a stabbing at Potter’s Cay dock.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

residence on a scooter.

The two gunmen subsequently fired shots in the direction of the men, hitting all three of them before fleeing on foot.

One of the men was confirmed dead on the scene.

Paramedics were called to the scene and transported the other two men to hospital in serious condition.

A short time later, a second victim was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Approximately 24 hours later, three men along with others were attending a post funeral event on Buttonwood Avenue in Pinewood Gardens when the occupants of a silver coloured Nissan March pulled up and fired shots in the direction of the crowd, injuring them, before speeding off.

The victims were taken

to hospital and are listed in stable condition.

Police said they are following significant leads in the matter and “all efforts are being made” to arrest those responsible.

On Friday morning, a man was found dead with stab wounds on Potter’s Cay Dock.

Police said they received a call that a man was found unresponsive at a stall on Potter’s Cay Dock shortly before 5am.

Officers, along with EMS personnel arrived on the scene and attempted to deliver CPR, but were unable to revive him.

He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Anyone with information on any of these incidents is asked to call police at 919, 502-9991 or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 328-TIPS.

QUESTIONS RAISED OVER REFINERY DEAL from page one

“...We knew about the proposal and had some concerns about the proposal, about whether or not there’s any market demand for this, secondly whether the people who are involved in this actually have the funding or financing for this because they may in fact be shopping the project around,” the former minister of foreign affairs said.

“Having said that we want any project to succeed in Grand Bahama because God knows the situation is so dire in Grand Bahama.

The FNM’s own supporters are saying this is the worst it’s ever been in the history of Freeport under this FNM government. So now they are desperate to get something done, we hope the project is real, we want the jobs, but we don’t want a situation where you have a project that is not going to come off the ground and is really just being used to

get permission from the government so they can go shopping around the project.

“We will be watching it very carefully to see whether it’s real and we won’t do what the FNM did and try to sabotage it, we will try to give critical support so that a real project come off the ground.”

Former PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts, in a statement, questioned how the project can produce 600 “direct jobs” as Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced in the House of Assembly last week.

He said: “Buckeye (the owner of the former BORCO) located in the Lewis Yard and Pinder’s Point areas has a storage capacity of 26 million barrels and can berth up to eight vessels. I am further advised that Buckeye receives, stores, tests and distributes fuel oil, diesel, jet fuel and gasoline.

Buckeye also performs inline fuel blending services to meet customer

specifications, provides laboratory services, third party storage and can facilitate transshipment operations between super tankers. It is the largest fuel storage terminal on the island of Grand Bahama and one of the largest fuel storage facilities in the Caribbean.

“This facility employs a mere 160 persons, including non-Bahamian staff.

Statoil (the former Burma Oil storage facility) located in East Grand Bahama has a capacity of seven million barrels used primarily for the storage of crude oil but employs a mere 60 persons.

“Given the above data, I am obliged to ask the Prime Minister Minnis to explain to the public how and why a four million barrels storage facility utilising the latest in state of the art equipment and industry technology would need to employ 600 persons when Buckeye terminal that is seven times larger at 28 million barrels in storage capacity employs only

160 persons? The numbers simply do not add up but if the prime minister has access to additional information that the general public is not privy to, he is more than welcome to share the same with the Bahamian people.

“I go further. If Buckeye cannot see the economic feasibility in recommissioning the oil refining component of their facility, what business opportunities exist to justify the construction of another oil refinery? Buckeye’s Crude Distillation Units (CDU) and associated support Utilities Department were both mothballed and significantly downsized for economic reasons. The global petroleum market simply could not support the continued viability of those two departments.

Again, PM Minnis must have some information he is holding close to his chest and I invite him to share this information in the public interest,” Mr Roberts said.

ABACO SUFFERS POWER CRISIS from page one

Residents and persons who spent the weekend on Abaco said the island was being subjected to ‘rolling blackouts’ of two hours with power, then four hours without, as Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) worked to speed up the arrival of a replacement part from Arizona.

Abaco was without power “all day Friday”, and islanders once again predicted dire consequences for its second home and tourist-based economy, with visitors said to be “leaving left, right and centre”.

“The power in Abaco went from 8am Friday morning,” one Abaconian, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Tribune. “It was out all-day Friday. Since then it’s been on for two hours, off for four hours.

“We have tourists leaving left, right and centre; they’ve had enough. This is prime time for tourism in Abaco and it’s creating havoc here. They need to

get it sorted.”

Mike Lightbourn, Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty’s president, who had just returned to Nassau after spending a weekend in Abaco, described the power outages as “a pain in the a**”.

“We had two hours on, four hours off,” he said.

“Those who don’t have stand-by generators are in trouble. The restaurant where I had breakfast this morning had to leave the door open and couldn’t do certain things because of the lack of electricity.

“The quicker they get it fixed, the better. I’m sure places like Hope Town, where it would have been hopping with people, it makes it more difficult for them. It’s something that happens a lot and just upsets people.”

A posting from The Abaconian newspaper, shared on social media among residents, said BPL officials were blaming the power outages on a blown cooling system pump at the island’s Wilson City power plant.

McMahon Campbell,

a BPL communications officer, said this resulted in “a complete shut down” of BPL’s main power generation facility on the island on Friday.

He revealed that the incident happened just after the replacement pump, which had been ordered months ago, left the Arizona supplier to make its way to The Bahamas. It had been ordered to replace the current, blown part, and was said to be “custom made to be a better fit for Abaco’s systems”.

Mr Campbell said a special flight had been arranged to bring the two

3,000 pound pumps, one of which will be a backup, to Abaco. The flight was expected to arrive at 11pm last night, and BPL is hoping to resolve the situation by this afternoon.

Alive to the reputational damage and fall-out, BPL last night announced a meeting tonight at Abaco’s Anglican Parish Hall at which it will “discuss the incident over the weekend and plans for the summer”.

“In an effort to serve you better, the chief operating officer (Christina Alston) and BPL team wants to address your concerns,” the notice read.

Monday, February 19, 2018, PAGE 3

A BODY is taken from the scene in Pinewood Gardens on Friday.

PAGE 4, Monday, February 19, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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

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SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jrolle@tribunemedia.net

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

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Tug of war between Trump and FBI LAST Saturday had the potential to be one of the great news days of 2018, and it delivered on that promise. In the continuing, deepening battle between Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the US Department of Justice and the FBI on one side and American president Donald Trump and his scarred administration on the other, last Saturday could have represented a home run for either side.

In the end, a referee might have called it a draw.

Like most big city dailies with aspirations for national significance, The Washington Post faced a dilemma when measuring up the biggest stories of the day. Mueller and his investigative team delivered a major result with the announced indictment of 13 people and three companies for criminally interfering with the 2016 US presidential election. A lot of Russians were included in the indictments.

Not that he or his supporters likely care, but the indictments appear to lay bare yet another Trump bit of misdirection. For over a year, Trump has dismissed the claims of Russian interference in the US election as “fake news”, perpetuated by Democrats looking for any excuse to delegitimise his victory in the presidential race.

Not only is it now obvious that the Russians under KGB-trained leader Vladimir Putin did exactly what they had been accused of doing, but earlier in the week, some of America’s most respected senior intelligence officials had issued a public call to arms by advising that the Russians are actively preparing for even more skullduggery, presumably also in support of the Republican party and Trump, in the coming congressional elections this November.

The Post ran the following banner headline on the top of its Saturday front page: “Russians indicted in 2016 election interference.” While the main story detailed the Justice Department charges, a second item reported that “what the President calls a ‘hoax’ turns out to be real.”

So how could Saturday represent a no decision in the media for the president?

Just below the top story, the Post chose to run another story that could have major implications for all the issues in the stories running above it.

The Post headlined “FBI failed to act on warning about Fla suspect” in the tragic massacre in a Broward County school which claimed 17 lives. Nikolas Cruz, the shooter, a disaffected, mentally unbalanced young man with a history of threats and bizarre behaviour, had been tipped to the FBI on a public hotline six weeks before last week’s horrific shootings, but the Bureau had not apparently acted on the information.

To the agency’s credit, the FBI readily admitted its failure, rather than adopting the far more common Washington response of stealth, subterfuge and cover up.

Some Republican legislators are predictably already calling for the resignation of FBI’s newly Trumpappointed director Christopher Wray.

But whatever fate has in store for Wray, it seems unlikely that Trump, his administration and his acolytes on Capitol Hill will miss this opportunity to further attempt to impugn the integrity and competence of the FBI and the Department of Justice.

The more the Trump team attacks its accusers, the greater is the likelihood they will hit on an issue that might resonate with voters and instill some doubt as to the truthfulness or objectivity of Bureau or Department findings in matters touching more directly on the president, such as the Russia election tampering probe.

Two other stories that came out on Saturday might persuade Trump to reflect a bit. In one, it was revealed that son-inlaw Jared Kushner has never received the proper security clearance for the types of highly classified information to which he has regular, daily access. Perhaps chastened by his perceived laxity in dealing with alleged wife-beater Rob Porter the previous week, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly will supposedly now restrict information access for people like Kushner whose foreign contacts put them in a questionable security clearance category.

In the other news item, a former Playboy model revealed she had received money to conceal a lengthy affair with Trump soon after he married Melania.

But does anyone really care? Who can still be shocked or offended by this president? Perhaps we will find out in November.

Parliament tit-for-tat EDITOR, The Tribune.

WE have had three one term governments since 2002. One of the reasons for this has to do with the politicians’ disconnect with the electorate. They do not understand the things which matter to the people, like jobs and the desire for visionary leaders who could take the country to the next economic and socially secured level.

The current drama in the House of Assembly regarding the Speaker et al does not help the FNM chances of re-election, and it looks like the ruckus in the House will persist up to the next general election

– as long as the present Speaker is allowed to continue on. This is bad news for the FNM as voters are not impressed by the hullabaloo, and it will erode the peoples’ favour in the FNM - as it is unproductive and will bear no promising fruit. So, the present administration is on track to be another one term government in The Bahamas.

It looks like another: You touch one-you touch all crew; even if the one touched deserves to hit the road in the public’s interest. FNM leaders have forgotten the lessons of 2012-2017. That’s their business.

I am disappointed in Speaker Moultrie, because

he has tried for decades to be an elected member of the House of Assembly, and in 2017 – the people of Nassau Village has given him that opportunity. He has shown that he is just another tit-for-tat and butter-for-fat dude who is more concerned about servicing his big-fat ego rather than the people’s business. FNM parliamentarians, who support the Speaker’s selfish, distasteful, and unprofessional behaviour in the House of Assembly, also deserve condemnation.

Shame on you’ll!

DENNIS A DAMES Nassau, February 14, 2018.

Where’s the Bahamians?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

CABINET took a break and I suggest wasted their time visiting The Pointe site at the British Colonial as they did not discover that there are very, very few Bahamians working on the construction as we speak.

PM says 70% of the workforce has to be Bahamians - go to first floor of the garage and look down and reality will hit you if there are three-four Bahamian construction workers

that is a lot. Yes, the drivers of the ready-mix trucks are Bahamian but they are subcontractors of China State and do not count.

I totally agree with the writer Ms Pamela Burnside - the gross ugliness of the design of this hotel is extraordinary and sends a warning to me - God help us when the SymonetteBethell group puts their proposal for the harbour front on their Tropical and east property. God help us!

Where is the Special Architectural Committee for the City of Nassau?

I don’t think this new design was ever put to the public by Physical Planning to comment - the design that was still ugly more inclined to copy the stern of a cruise ship and was so commented on.

Oh, Minnis-FNM taking credit for The Pointe now?

W THOMPSON Nassau, February 14, 2018.

Is the US snubbing The Bahamas?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT seems as if our neighbour to the North, the United States of America, is snubbing our nation. We have been without a substantive Ambassador for many years, under both President Obama and now under the Hon Donald J Trump. The other day, the USA Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, had bilateral meetings with the Heads of Government of several Caribbean and South American, inclusive of the Prime Minister of Jamaica.

We have an “Ambassador” to Washington, the Hon Sidney Collie, but the USA has yet to send us its counterpart.

The Bahamas is supposed to be a “close partner” with the USA but, for some strange reasons, we have no Ambassador, despite one being nominated several months ago, and no President of the USA has, publicly, paid a visit to The Bahamas. Why? I suspect that we are out of favour with the Trump

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net Administration and that the recent advisories by the USA’s State Department is a shot across our bow.

Human trafficking and the drug smuggling trade into the USA, through our hard to police boarders, are sore points in improving our relationship. The other day the USA warned its citizens to avoid Fish Fry and other venues in New Providence “after dark”.

The FNM administration was quick to condemn that advisory and we have seen no marked improvement in that locality. The ongoing case of Jean Charles does not bode well for the international perception of The Bahamas and our reputation for observing basic “human rights”.

Our seeming inability to deal with illegal immigration and migration (usually into the USA) must be addressed by this incarnation of the FNM

government. We have not demonstrated the political will to address these issues due, no doubt, to political reasons. If we are to improve our bilateral relations with the USA, the PM and our Foreign Minister need to seek a timely meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office. If the Jamaicans are welcomed into the orbit of the USA why not The Bahamas?

Another difficulty is the way and manner in which both the vanquished OLD PLP and the now large and in charge FNM administrations have embraced the Chinese government and its alleged state sponsored/ owned business development entities here in New Providence. Is this posing a potential security risk to the USA? I think so and we are, indeed, suspected by the USA, possibly, and others, of being in bed with the Chinese. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau, February 8, 2018.

The face of misogyny EDITOR, The Tribune.

GLENYS Hanna Martin single handedly took on the thirty-four at every sitting of the current session of the House of Assembly.

She was doing such a good job fighting for the little man, that Halston Moultrie, the Speaker, of the House of Assembly decided to help them. He descended into the arena, took up his sword with a view to slaughter her. When the Leader of the Opposition attempted to rescue her, the Speaker viciously attacked his dear wife. But the Speaker claims that he is not a misogynist. He insisted that he was merely enforcing the House rules, even though

Glenys Hanna Martin and company were exercising their right to leave the House of Assembly.

Rightfully, the Leader of the Opposition moved a no confidence vote in the Speaker for putting on the boxing gloves to help the 34. Of the 38 sitting Parliamentarians, 26 supported the Speaker to show gratitude for his help in attempting to quiet Glenys Hanna Martin.

The Speaker must apologise to the Leader of the Opposition and his wife publicly, privately and individually if he hasn’t already done so. What the Speaker did in the House of Assembly was to apologise to the members of the

House of Assembly for his “out of character moment”, which is not allowing the opposition to do what they are supposed to do, that is, to oppose the government in the best interest of their constituents. We hope that these “out of character moments” do not recur as this particular “out of character moment” has rendered the Speaker Guilty of misogyny and misology in the court of Public Opinion.

Mr Speaker has to do the honourable thing and resign.

ENGLERSTON VOTER Nassau, February, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, February 19, 2018, PAGE 5

We need work - now from page one

Mr McAlpine shared similar concerns.

“It was a good idea getting a better sense of the people who are still seeking employment in Grand Bahama,” Mr McAlpine, a Free National Movement MP, said yesterday. “I don’t know that we can say the job fair was a success because to see those numbers were disheartening - it tells you how bad things are in Grand Bahama.

“I would rather see less people coming to the job fair, but to see those hundreds of people, perhaps maybe as high as 1,000, seeking jobs does not speak well of what’s happening in Grand Bahama from an economic perspective.”

He said location chosen for the job fair was not the best, as job seekers had to stand outside for hours.

“We should have been a little more considerate of people,” he said. “Persons having to stand in the sun for hours from one to five hours was a very bad thing to do.

“I was taking water to people and making sure they were comfortable and talking to people as well.

They were disappointed because there were not

MINISTER of Labour Dion Floulkes at the jobs fair.

20 companies there, and of 2,500 persons (from the the reality was that these civil service) without seekare companies in Grand ing to find jobs for them, Bahama, with exception of what hope is engendered by Baha Mar, that many per- these job fairs sponsored by sons have already given the government? “. . . The exercise in their resume to, so maybe it Freeport was demeanwas just to receive data.

“The question that needs ing and degrading to our to be asked is how many people,” Mr Davis said. “It persons were hired on the insults the intelligence of spot. I have not heard of our people because even anyone being hired on the in their desperation to find work, they all know that spot,” Mr McAlpine said.

For his part, Mr Davis these job fairs will produce said those attending the little in terms of concrete job fair were dealt with in work.”

Mr Foulkes and Minister a “demeaning” way, as he questioned the point of the of State for Grand Bahama Senator Kwasi Thompevent.

“Having fired in excess son attended the event,

which aims to establish an electronic databank and get people in contact with employers.

There were representatives of some 12 organisations and companies at the event.

Among them were officials from the Freeport Container Port, Grand Bahama Shipyard, Grand Bahama Airport Company, National Workers Credit Union, University of the Bahamas, Baha Mar, Rev/ Aliv, Freeport Ship Services, Pelican Bay Resort, Pineyard Technical Centre, Candid Security and Global Tech.

Mr Foulkes walked about the park and spoke with some of the job seekers.

“We know there is an unemployment problem here and this event was well publicised, and we gave flyers to each MP to give out in their districts,” he said.

“The main thing about this is the databank; we have a central databank we paid a lot for, and we set up a desk to assist persons in creating an email. Some are getting an email for the first time in their life - they will be in our system forever.”

Mr Foulkes said the Department of Labour through the databank would be able to assist employers seeking individuals for specific job positions at their businesses and keep a record of those that are unemployed.

“If an employer is looking for a clerk or receptionist of a particular age, the candidates will immediately pop up in the databank, and we can we send them out to that particular business,” he explained.

Grand Bahama’s unemployment rate stands at 12.1 per cent, down from 12.5 per cent. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis recently said that while there was a slight decline in the figure, many

transformations which affect the human resources make-up of its Reservations Department, he said.

Last month it was revealed the country’s unemployment rate stands at 10.1 percent, according to the Department of Statistics’ Labour Force survey results.

The total number of employed people has increased by 3,575, but this was not enough to balance out the number of new graduates entering the

resulted in 800 becoming gainfully employed.

In a statement, Mr Foulkes said the labour initiatives for the month of January “are a great jump start to actively engaging and connecting eligible job seekers with the appropriate job opportunities making for an easier process for job seekers and employers”. He added that the Department of Labour’s facilitation of these types of initiatives “will continue into the year as we hope the goal of decreasing levels of

unemployment will be successfully achieved through these programmes”.

Meanwhile, Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis complained yesterday that hundreds of people were forced to stand outside in the “hot sun” at a job fair in Freeport on Saturday that was sponsored by the government.

“Having fired in excess of 2500 hundred persons without seeking to find jobs for them, what hope is engendered by these job fairs

are still unemployed on the island, however he believes the unemployment figures are trending in the right direction.

Mr Thompson was pleased with the turnout on Saturday and expected that some persons would be hired at the end of the day.

“I am extremely happy with the turnout today. There are hundreds of people out here which speaks to a couple of things: it speaks to people’s hope that there are some positive things that are going to happen in GB. It does also, though, speak to the fact there are still too many people unemployed,” he said.

Mr Thompson believes the initiative is necessary for Grand Bahama.

“I congratulate the minister of labour for this important initiative, and I am hopeful that out of today’s event ... we see some positive effects,” he said.

Another job fair is scheduled for Saturday, February 24 in New Providence at the Golden Gates Park, opposite Golden Gates Assembly Church, Carmichael Road from 11am to 3pm.

Previous job fairs were held in Bain and Grants Town and the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

sponsored by the government?” he asked. “If these exercises are to continue, at the very least we recommend a more humane approach in an appropriate venue other than outdoors on a playing field. The jobs fair in Freeport and the one planned for Nassau (later this) month seem to my colleagues and me a shameless public relations exercise to cover up for the FNM’s inability to create jobs. The exercise in Freeport was demeaning and degrading to our people.”

FOULKES CONFIRMS FIVE MADE REDUNDANT AT MELIA

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FIVE people have been made redundant at the Melia, according to Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs.

Labour Minister Dion Foulkes said he had been notified of the firings in due time, as the Employment Act requires.

The redundancies come as the resort initiates digital

work force.

To address the unemployment problem, the Department of Labour has launched an initiative called “Labour on the Blocks”.

Last month, more than 400 Bain and Grants Town residents visited the Sarah Ingraham Park at Hospital and Cambridge Lanes which sought to register job seekers in the department’s data base. More than 1,000 people have been registered so far through the initiative, which Mr Foulkes says has

AK-47 RIFLES AND AMMO SEIZED BY POLICE POLICE seized two AK-47 rifles, dozens of rounds of ammunition and marijuana from a home on Market Street on Friday.

Shortly before 8am, officers from the Drug Enforcement Unit, acting on information, conducted a search of a home on Market Street and recovered the two highpower assault rifles, 71 rounds of ammunition, two pounds of marijuana and 15.4 pounds of hashish.

One adult male was taken into custody and is expected to be formally

charged this week.

• Police are also looking for a man who robbed a woman at gunpoint Friday night.

Shortly after 8pm, a woman had just arrived at her residence on Carmichael Road when she was approached by a man with a handgun, who stole her handbag containing cash and other items, before fleeing on foot.

Investigations are ongoing.

• Police discovered a quantity of suspected cocaine in an abandoned building in North Bimini,

a senior police official reported.

No arrest has been made in connection with the discovery which made shortly after 3pm on Thursday in the Alice Town area.

According to Supt Walter Henderson, officers from the Bimini Division went to an abandoned building on Queen’s Highway where they found a clear plastic bag containing a quantity of suspected cocaine.

He said the drugs have an estimated street value of $750.

Police are investigating the incident.

PAGE 6, Monday, February 19, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Smith to challenge ‘immigration abuses’ on international stage

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net RIGHTS Bahamas president, attorney Fred Smith has pledged his organisation will file a suit against the government before two international human rights bodies, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission, over what he characterised as repeated abuses by the Immigration Department.

In a statement to the media following Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hilton’s ruling on the government’s stay application in the high-profile matter of Jean Rony Jean-Charles on Friday, Mr Smith became emotional as he explained his motivation for defending human rights.

“I fight for rights in The Bahamas because having

ATTORNEY Fred Smith. Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff been born in Haiti,” he said, in Germany against the “having grown up in Haiti Jews during Nazi rule and having experienced before World War II, a human rights abuses there, repeat metaphor he uses I’m not going to allow my to illustrate the importance country, The Bahamas, to of an intervention to what become a little Haiti.” he claims is an escalating Mr Smith again echoed abuse of power. parallels to fascist practices He charged he would do

everything in his power to block a similar situation to occur in The Bahamas, or for it to become a militarised dictatorial state as seen in Haiti’s past.

“I’d like to send a message to the government Rights Bahamas is going to take these cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Commission,” he said, “to sue the government internationally on the basis that even though the Supreme Court of The Bahamas has again, and again, and again, and again, and again, in dozens of cases continue to affirm the right of every person to due process in The Bahamas, (the Department of) Immigration continues to simply ignore the Constitution, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Immigration Act, and the judgments of the Supreme Court.

Mr Smith continued: “We cannot in The Bahamas allow an organ of government, the Immigration Department, to continue to ride roughshod over everybody’s rights. It’s no longer an immigration issue. The yellow bus stops you and you and you, all of us, at the bridge on Paradise Island, at every roundabout on the roads.”

Mr Smith maintained his advocacy that people born in The Bahamas to foreigners be granted citizenship, barring extreme circumstances like links to terrorism.

“And we should stop arresting people born in The Bahamas, people belong where they are born,” he added.

“How perverse is it that our government should be giving thousands of work permits to Haitians born in Haiti to come and work in The Bahamas, when they

are hunting people born in The Bahamas of Haitian descent and expelling them illegally back to Haiti, does that make any sense? I say no.”

The Bahamas government was previously called before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for a hearing on the impact of its November 2014 policy, and conditions at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

The IACHR requested the county adopt precautionary measures to “safeguard the lives and integrity of detainees held at Carmichael Detention Centre, including providing better hygienic conditions, medical treatment for detainees, reducing overcrowding, access to legal assistance, and allowing civil society organisations access to Carmichael to monitor conditions”.

JUDGE GRANTS PARTIAL STAY OF JEAN RONY RULING

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

SUPREME Court Justice Gregory Hilton granted a partial stay of his landmark ruling in the case of Jean Rony Jean-Charles on Friday, releasing the government from his order to grant the Bahamas-born man status pending its appeal of his judgment.

Legal counsel for the government, and Mr JeanCharles, both expressed satisfaction outside court, with attorney Fred Smith, QC, noting his client’s status has effectively been returned to the same state prior to his arrest, detention, and expulsion from the country last year.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Carl Bethel said the “operative part” of the

ruling had been stayed and said the government was “happy” it was not bound to grant any immediate status pending a resolution from the Court of Appeal.

Mr Bethel maintained it would be contrary to the government’s public duty if it is mandated to grant status, and suggested the substantive matter may remain an issue for the government whether its appeal

is successful or not.

In court on Friday, Justice Hilton ordered Mr Jean-Charles was not to be arrested, detained or expelled and is allowed to support himself until the appeals have been determined. His full written ruling on the stay application will be made available on Monday.

“As we are concerned,” Mr Bethel said, “(Justice

Hilton) he stayed the operative part of his ruling which was the ruling that we should upon application issue forthwith such status that the applicant will be permitted to remain and seek gainful employment.

He has basically stayed that part, save and except the issue of a person should be able to support themselves while they are going through a legal process and at the end of that making some kind of application.

Mr Bethel continued: “So we are happy on that point that in substance the government is not bound to grant any immediate status pending the resolution of the Court of Appeal hearing in this matter. We were directed to do something forthwith and not more than 60 days after his return.

“The other aspects of the order such as the (travel) document which was already complied with, (Mr Jean-Charles) he’s in the Bahamas and the question of the reasonable costs that is de minimis (a Latin term for insignificant). We think in substance the heart of the order that would have been most challenging to the government, has effectively been stayed that we are not mandated to grant status.”

The government sought a full stay of Justice Hilton’s ruling, in which the judge ordered the government to immediately issue a travel document to allow Mr Jean-Charles to return from Haiti to The Bahamas, and be reimbursed for that cost by the government; and to grant him “such status” that would “permit him to remain in The Bahamas and to legally seek gainful employment” no later than 60 days after his return.

Justice Hilton found that Mr Jean-Charles was “unlawfully expelled” from The Bahamas after having been detained at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre from September 18 to November 24, 2017, in breach of his rights guaranteed under Article 25(1) of the Constitution.

Mr Bethel has previously explained Mr Jean-Charles’ case has placed the

government in a position not covered by law or the Constitution; however, notwithstanding those gaps, he said the government will not seek to amend existing immigration laws before a determination is made on its appeal.

The attorney general again urged the country to exercise restraint and let the law take its course following Friday’s ruling, and he urged the public to “allow the legal system to work its magic one way or the other” for the betterment of the country.

Mr Bethel said: “Once the appeal is over that may well be an issue that we will have to look at whether we win or whether we lose the appeal, because we have to look at the fact that someone presents something and we will see where we go with that. To be mandated to grant status is contrary to our public duty and our public duty is to consider all of the relevant information once an application is made.

“Once an application is made, the state has established precedence of procedures to decide appropriately in its own discretion what is the fairest or right or most correct way to deal with the matter, so we are satisfied with the outturn today.”

For his part, Mr Smith said he was “very pleased” Justice Hilton maintained his judgment, a move he considered to be a very powerful statement on constitutional rights.

“Basically what the judge has done is to put Jean Rony back in the position he was before he was arrested, detained, and deported in August last year, unlawfully. That is all this judgment sought to do, I want to emphasise this judgment is about due process.

Mr Smith continued: “It is about immigration following the procedures set out in the Immigration Act, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Constitution. It’s very simple, it’s not complicated, it’s not sophisticated.”

THE STORIES BE-

The casino world of Saipan

D

R Marty Rohringer was ending a graveyard shift at the lone hospital on Saipan, the exceptionally remote US island, when four Chinese men arrived with a body.

The figure they had with them — a middle-aged man, also Chinese, naked but for his underwear — was unresponsive, and had clearly suffered severe trauma. As an orderly lifted him on to a gurney, the four men indicated in broken English that he had fallen from a hotel-room balcony.

Rohringer began to evaluate the man under the ER’s harsh fluorescent lights. His skin was pallid and turning blue, and it was obvious that he could not be revived. One of the men who’d arrived with the body started to mime chest compressions: Was there really nothing to be done?

Rohringer pronounced the man dead just before 8am on March 22, 2017. Already, the medical staff suspected that the story of his fall was a lie.

The hospital had been inundated with patients from a construction site a few blocks away on this speck of rock among the Northern Mariana Islands, in the deepest part of the Pacific. To get a sense of Saipan’s isolation from the Lower 48, imagine flying from Denver to Honolulu.

Then fly that far again.

Then go farther still. Saipan (population 48,000) is nevertheless American soil, with US dollars, US mail, and US laws. But the place has seemed less and less like America since 2014, when a Chinese casino operator arrived and — with neartotal impunity — turned Saipan into a back door to the US financial system.

At a temporary storefront, the company, Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd., was somehow handling more

In the distant waters of the south west Pacific a tiny island struggling to survive found salvation in investment from abroad. Both its skyline and its economy were forever altered with the building of a giant Chinese-owned mega casino. The story of Saipan may be thousands of miles away but for many Bahamians it provides an intriguing insight into our own recent experience.

Starting today The Tribune serialises an article by Matthew Campbell of Bloomberg Businessweek. It’s different - but fascinating. than $2 billion a month in VIP bets. And at the construction site, it was building a gargantuan casino with a crew of hundreds of Chinese, scores of them working illegally on tourist visas. So many labourers were getting hurt that Rohringer’s colleagues began keeping an unofficial spreadsheet, separate from standard hospital records: a grim catalogue of broken bones, lacerations, puncture wounds, dislocated limbs, and eyes penetrated by flying metal. The dead man Rohringer saw was not, of course, a tourist who’d stumbled over a railing — he was a builder named Hu Yuanyou, and he’d plummeted from a scaffold. His colleagues hadn’t called 911; instead, they’d pulled the work clothes off his broken body in a clumsy attempt to obscure his identity. The less that outsiders learned about the casino, the better.

Hu died building what’s become, on paper, the most successful gambling operation in history. In the first half of 2017, table for table, Imperial Pacific turned over nearly six times more cash than the fanciest gaming facilities in Macau, which themselves dwarf the activity in Las Vegas. And that was before Imperial Pacific opened its lavish megacasino in July.

Given Macau’s status as

a hub for industrial-scale money laundering, the Saipan figures have left gaming veterans astonished that they could be generated on US soil, under Washington’s ostensible oversight. Eight casino executives and analysts interviewed for this story, all with extensive experience of the Asian gaming trade, said they saw no way such volumes could be generated legitimately. Asked if there could be a benign explanation for such instantaneous success at a casino more than three hours’ flight from any major city, on a drowsy island where the best hotel is a 1970s-era Hyatt, one of the executives burst out laughing.

Per capita, there’s almost certainly more Chinese money moving through Saipan than anywhere else in the world. The unprecedented flow of capital has allowed Imperial Pacific to operate in ways that would be unthinkable within the 50 states. When laws have become inconvenient to the company, they’ve been flouted; when the requirements of its contract with the government have become onerous, they’ve been removed; when legislators have tried to interfere, they’ve been ignored. Imperial Pacific has made millions of dollars in payments to family members of the territory’s

governor, Ralph Deleon its runways, bombers could Guerrero Torres. Remark- reach Tokyo. The battle for ably, the company has also the island was ferocious, enjoyed the support of a and at its conclusion, rather gold-plated roster of Amer- than surrender, thousands ican politicos. Its advisers of Japanese soldiers and and board of directors have civilians hurled themselves included former directors from a promontory that’s of the CIA and FBI and been known ever since as former governors of Mis- Suicide Cliff. sissippi, New York, and In the morning, Saipan Pennsylvania. revealed itself in some of the In a written response to most blinding sunlight I’ve questions from Bloomb- ever experienced. At 46.5 erg Businessweek, Imperial square miles, the island is Pacific said it has “strived just smaller than San Franand [is] committed to cisco, a dot in the semicircle comply with local and of undersea mountains that federal laws” and that stretches from Indonesia it “categorically denies” to Japan. Inland Saipan is impropriety in its deal- verdant, with thickets of ings with the government. coconut and papaya trees Torres’s office said that all climbing limestone hills. changes to But most laws or poli- When laws have locals live cies were along the undertaken become inconvenient flat western “with the to the company, coast, amid intent of they’ve been scruffy strip achieving malls and flouted; when the economic car dealergrowth ships. The requirements of its within the contract with the population boundaries is a mix of of the law”. government have old-stock ImpeChamorbecome onerous, rial Pacific’s they’ve been ros, as overnight most native domination removed; when islanders are of Saipan has legislators have tried known, and generated migrants to interfere, they’ve deep unease from the among the been ignored. mainland island’s citiUS, many zens, many of whom are of them the sort of amiable convinced that their home oddballs who might otherhas been bought. The com- wise move to Key West. pany, they believe, set out For visitors, Saipan’s to take over a little piece of chief charm is the combiAmerica, politicians and all. nation of Americana and Given the billions of dollars the exotic, such as Little at stake, it’s not surprising League games with snack someone would try. What’s stations of taro and breadshocking is that, so far, it fruit. “Exotic” cuts both seems to be working. ways, of course, and sevI landed in Saipan in eral businesses offer Asian September, well after tourists access to American midnight and thoroughly eccentricities, like assault disoriented. Just a few rifles. “Experience the hours earlier, I’d flown out thrill of firing a real gun,” of Hong Kong on a vector reads an advertisement southeast over the Pacific; for a local shooting range. now I was disembarking “In Saipan, it’s legal and is into tropical warmth and guaranteed by the United the familiar scene of a US States Constitutions 2nd Customs and Border Pro- Amendment.” tection checkpoint. Many After World War II, the of my fellow passengers US claimed Saipan and its were Chinese, and as they sisters, eventually formwaited for immigration ing the Commonwealth agents to arrive, I went to of the Northern Mariana swipe my passport at one of Islands. But the place had the automated entry kiosks. little economic purpose.

Three of the government In the 1970s, to encourage machines had been paid for development, Washington

by Imperial Pacific. exempted the CNMI from In my rental car, I cir- minimum wage and immicled the airport parking lot, gration laws, and major searching in the darkness retailers rushed into Saipan, for the road into town. On eager to label as “Made in the periphery, I could just USA” clothing sewn by make out a series of squat workers making $2.15 an concrete structures — Japa- hour. The industry eventunese bunkers from World ally collapsed, taking with War II. In 1944, American it Saipan’s tax base. A 2011 forces sweeping the Pacific cash shortage was so severe identified Saipan as an that the hospital ran out of essential conquest: From bedsheets.

Isolated, out-of-options municipalities have often turned to casinos for economic salvation, but Saipan’s heavily Catholic voters had long opposed the idea at the ballot box.

Structurally, the CNMI government resembles an American state: bicameral legislature, supreme court, branches of the Democratic and Republican parties. But in practice, politics is dominated by two prominent families, one of them the Deleon Guerreros. Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres was among those who voted against a casino proposal in 2013, when he was president of the senate.

Not long after the vote, with money stresses intensifying, Torres and several other politicians flew to Hong Kong and Macau for what they called a fact-finding trip to reconsider the casino option. Whatever facts they found changed their minds. They returned to Saipan, introduced a bill authorising a casino concession, and passed it with little debate. When a local activist gathered signatures for a repeal, the legislature passed the measure again under a different name, rendering the petition meaningless.

Two companies bid for the project. The first proposal was from a group connected to a facility on a nearby island. The second was from Imperial Pacific, and it seemed too good to be true. Despite having no experience in casino operation or construction, the company offered to spend $3bn on a megaresort out of all proportion to Saipan’s economy—Macau on the Mariana Trench.

Saipan’s elected officials subjected the bids to only glancing due diligence. They hired a group of experts to scrutinise the proposals, but when one of them, a gaming executive named Shaun McCamley, found a major red flag — that people listed as consultants had not had serious discussions with the company — the government seemed untroubled. (Imperial Pacific disputed this.) In August 2014, the company won the bid in exchange for a $15m annual fee and other fixed payments — enough revenue to pull Saipan back from the economic brink.

For the lifeline, Imperial Pacific extracted extraordinary terms: a 25-year monopoly on the casino trade and a deal to pay no gambling-specific taxes.

Virtually whatever money the Chinese generated at their tables, they could keep.

PAGE 8 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2018

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

Stamping out crime can be a dirty, risky job

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

A

RE we hard to please as a people?

For the last few years, the cries have been similar: What is the government going to do to stop the scourge of crime? How are we going to be made to feel safe again in our communities?

Now, all of a sudden, it seems people are finding their religion because a few criminals were shot and killed by members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. The Minister of Security and Commissioner of Police are being questioned about excessive force by police officers.

One has to wonder if some in our society are just hardwired to complain and would do so regardless of what is done on their behalf. However, the debate that ensued after the sixth police-involved-shooting took place last week seems trivial at best.

For a moment, imagine being one of these police officers that wake up every day and leave their families, not knowing if they will return home. Officers of the Royal Bahamas police force face this reality every day.

With the savage nature of our criminal prototype – who has no regard for woman, children, senior citizen or family – you would hardly wish to think of being face-to-face with the everyday possibilities had that been your job. We have a hard enough time trying to protect our own.

Imagine if we had to protect and serve communities,

BULLET holes in a car at the scene of a police-involved shooting in Carmichael. notwithstanding our own criminals than one slain Code, outlines such paraminnocent Bahamian. eter whereby police can use needs for self-preservation.

We would be deluded to deadly force.

It is very hard work that “Any person may, with is too often underestimated think that criminals labelled “armed and dangerous” are or without warrant or other and taken for granted.

Nonetheless, last week’s willingly going to be appre- legal process, arrest and debate was a much-needed hended when confronted by detain another person who break from the previ- police. Realistically, that is has committed a felony, and ous week’s nonsensical not today’s version of the may, if the other person, having notice or believing discussions of Parliament criminal element.

Of course, we do not that he is accused of felony, playground fighting, and at least in part, related to a welcome an environment avoids arrest by resisthot button issue which we for police officers to patrol ance or flight or escapes can all sink our teeth into – our communities laying a or endeavours to escape brand of street justice that from custody, use any force fighting crime.

Certainly, Commissioner doesn’t abide with our laws. which is necessary for his Ferguson could not hold However, this is serious arrest, detention or recapback his confusion over business, and once they are ture, and may kill him, if he what all the fuss was about doing their duties within cannot by any means otherwhen he was pressed for his the parameters set forth in wise be arrested, detained the Penal comments on the matter law, they deserve our fer- or re-taken,” Code states. of officers killing suspects. vent support.

Article 103, sections “Whoever is duly authorHis sentiments were clear – better to have six less one and two, of the Penal ised by warrant or other

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff legal process to arrest or taxpayer’s all-expenses paid detain a person for felony vacation for these thugs, may, if that person has and I, for one, sleep much notice or believes that a safer at night knowing that warrant or other legal pro- good police work makes cess is in force against him, a murderous bandit sleep justify any force which is with one eye open. necessary for his arrest, However, we hope that detention or recapture, and the Bahamian populace may kill him, if he cannot is inclined to reflect on by any means otherwise be history. arrested, detained or reCrime has been an issue taken, although in fact the that two successive governfelony has not been com- ments arguably changed as mitted by the other person, a result of what the public or although in fact no felony perceived as a lack of has been committed.” action.

As far as we are conNow, that we can see cerned, it is fine time that intel being transformed into the criminals have some- results, the police need our thing to fear while they support and cooperation – wage their bloodthirsty not our conspiracy theories. war on our streets. EveContinue to protect and ryone knows that jail is a serve this nation.

A SIMPLE WAY TO BOOST THE BOTTOM LINE - TRAINING

By DR BARBARA RODGERS-NEWBOLD

2018 is fully underway and by now many of us have reviewed last year’s performance, outlined our goals for this year and recommitted ourselves to our New Year’s resolutions. It’s an exciting time of the year filled with endless possibilities. We are teeming

with new ideas, armed with lessons learned from past mistakes, and optimistic this year will be better than the previous one.

For me, it’s a time for personal introspection, releasing the past and embracing new opportunities. For businesses, however, it is generally a time to begin focusing on ways to improve

performance and increase productivity and profits.

If you are an astute businessperson, no doubt you have already begun strategising on how to accomplish your goals.

From experience, I will venture a guess that primary among those goals for many managers and businesses, is increasing your bottom line; and the strategy on how to

achieve this is one I believe worth delving into. For many, it will be cutting costs by eliminating unnecessary spending and reducing overhead expenses, options one certainly cannot ignore.

For others, the focus may be on debt reduction, collection of outstanding receivables, or even expanding or diversifying the business operations.

But, whatever strategy you decide to use to improve your performance in this New Year, there is one more option you may want to consider that can be just as effective and rewarding.

That option is investing in employee development training to enhance your employees’ performance and productivity.

Experience has repeatedly demonstrated to me the difference a trained employee makes on the level of productivity and efficiency in an organisation. It is the difference between being simply “functional” on the job and being a producer, an initiator or an innovator.

Having served as a training consultant, I have listened to employers lamenting the gap between employee competency and the skills needed in the workplace. Yet, while the concept of increasing performance through employee training is not a novel idea, many companies continue to overlook it in deference to the more expedient cost cutting options. For many managers, training is not always a priority as long as the employee can perform the basic tasks on the job; but, if increasing your bottom line is the goal, it should be!

While many employers and employees openly acknowledge that little attention is often given to employee development training, they will generally agree the positive impact of training on organisational performance and staff productivity can be far reaching.

Recently, I spoke to a group of people from various professional backgrounds on the importance of employee development training and was surprised to find there are still people who view training as adding only to the personal knowledge base of the employee undergoing the training and therefore beneficial only to that employee. My first thought was – wouldn’t knowledgeable employees be one of the primary ways by which companies can enhance performance?

While training does benefit employees by increasing their knowledge and skill sets, it also increases the company’s level of in-house expertise, necessary for increasing competency and overall proficiency. Training involves learning new skills and building capacity through the acquisition of practical and tacit knowledge. The decision to provide development training for employees should be regarded as a human capital investment to enhance performance, efficiency, and bottom line results.

Another common complaint on employee development training is the risk in training staff who can leave the company and use that knowledge to enrich another, sometimes competing, organisation. I acknowledge this is a valid concern. But I quickly counter this by reminding employers the pendulum swings both ways. The risk of losing qualified employees to a competitor is an inherent risk in doing business.

But just as an employee is free to seek other pastures, so are employers free to recruit qualified and competent employees.

So, as you embark on your business strategies and goals for this year, begin by reviewing the skills you will need to achieve those goals.

Analyse your employees’ strengths and weaknesses and identify the training needed to fill any skill or competency gaps. If you are interested in increasing productivity, growth and efficiency, my advice is to begin by boosting your employees’ capacity and skills through development training! Consider investing in the people on whom you are relying to make it all happen – your employees.

Dr Barbara RodgersNewbold is the Country Head for the University of The West Indies Open Campus Bahamas, a former corporate training consultant and part-time college/ university lecturer. She can be contacted at brodgersnewbold@ gmail.com

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

INSIGHT

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2018 PAGE 9

Firing up a furnace in an igloo – the OAS

A

NEW report has been produced on the Organization of American States (OAS), a body that began with ideals appropriate to the geo-politics of the 1940s.

Those old ideals were enshrined in a Charter that now traps the Organization and immobilises it.

Over time, the organisation has become contentious, unconstructive and increasingly irrelevant to the peoples it was ostensibly created to serve, not because of the actions of Caribbean countries but due to the desire by a few powerful countries to coerce the OAS into adopting positions aligned to their national foreign policy agendas.

This latest report entitled, “Rebuilding Hemispheric Consensus: “A Reform for the Organization of American States” is written by Ben Raderstorf and Michael Shifter, of the Inter-American Dialogue, a US-based think-tank on issues in the Western Hemisphere.

The report is well-meaning, and its authors have impressive credentials on North American and Latin American matters, but very little on the Caribbean except for Cuba and Haiti which have preoccupied the US for decades.

Little surprise, therefore, that they misunderstand, almost entirely, the participation of Caribbean countries in the OAS and how they view the organisation.

This is how the authors regard the Caribbean in the OAS: “Some Caribbean states have taken a transactional approach, looking to leverage their votes in the Permanent Council and the General Assembly to secure development assistance, whether directly through the organisation or from a donor state looking to influence votes. This was the functional impact of Petrocaribe, Venezuela’s

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

ambitious energy assistance programme, which helped Chávez bolster his coalition of allies.”

Remarkably, the report makes no mention of big countries in the organisation that pressure or threaten smaller countries into supporting their positions. Nor does it admit that some smaller countries leverage their votes in pursuit of cosy relations with big nations.

It seems the authors ingenuously believe that only Caribbean countries bargain with their votes.

If this is truly their belief, they should rewrite the history of all international and regional organisations which, from their beginning, have been active fora for vote bargaining and influence-buying.

This surprising naivety apart, the report suggests that Caribbean countries’ interest in the OAS is only in its development pillar.

They state that “eliminating the development programmes would be a non-starter for a number of member states, especially in the Caribbean”, and they proceed to recommend eliminating them anyway, but with a sop.

And here’s the sop: “the OAS should seek to transfer these programmes to other institutions, including the Inter-American Development Bank (which would first require accession to membership for some countries) and the Caribbean Development Bank, or negotiate their replacement. In exchange for supporting this move, Caribbean countries could even negotiate an increase in development aid.”

The entire proposition is

of course, far-fetched and illusionary. But what is disturbing is the underlying proposition that Caribbean countries get “development aid” from OAS member states. Development aid to the Caribbean has been dwindling for many years from the US and other large countries in the Hemisphere, and where such aid is still available it has been concentrated in two countries, Haiti and Jamaica.

In any event, donor nations prefer to offer aid bilaterally and not through international and regional organisations where they get no leverage over the recipient nation.

The authors would have done better to note that aid is also “transactional” for some countries and used as leverage for support or influence.

Also, the authors would have benefitted from consultation with Caribbean representatives and not just, as they admit, staffers in the Secretary-General’s office and meetings that did not include representatives of even one Caribbean organisation.

Had they consulted Caribbean representatives, they would have learned that many Caribbean countries want to see the OAS reformed, but not by tinkering at its edges or by plastering-over its deep fault lines.

What is more, contrary to the report’s assertions, the Caribbean, is not about development only. Caribbean countries have contributed meaningfully to the OAS’ work in democracy, security and human rights.

Most Caribbean countries have an outstanding record in these areas,

superior to many others.

So, while the Caribbean strongly supports the development work of the OAS, it also wants to see democracy and human rights respected and upheld in all member countries, bar none.

The biggest achievement of the OAS over the last three years was assisting with the peaceful transition of the government of Haiti in 2016 when Michelle Martelly’s term of office ended with no elected successor and the country was on the brink of civil disorder. I, as a Caribbean Ambassador and Chair of the Permanent Council, had the honour to lead the OAS team that helped the process.

Further, the Caribbean made significant contributions to the formulation of the Santiago Commitment on Democracy adopted in 1991 (the precursor to the Inter-American Democratic Charter) and the subsequent programme of work for the promotion and consolidation of democracy.

Today, the Caribbean’s work in the OAS on multidimensional security has been pioneering.

As for finances, while contributions from member states decreased

from US$46.7m in 2012 to US$27.5m in 2016, the Caribbean is the only region that voluntarily increased its contributions.

The OAS requires rootand-branch reconstruction.

Its Charters are outdated and not fit for purpose in today’s complex world; the relationship between the Secretary-General and the Permanent Council, consisting of senior representatives of member governments, is not defined, allowing for confusion and sometimes mischief; and its objectives urgently need to be re-negotiated and recast for relevance to the peoples of its member countries.

But, few are willing to open that Pandora’s box.

Some governments are content with the organisation being susceptible to manipulation by those who leverage power, or they are terrified that real reconstruction would produce an organisation with very different – even though more relevant – objectives.

Anyone attending a meeting of the Permanent Council – the supervisory body for the implementation of collective government decisions – would be alarmed that

much of its time is takenup with ceremony and not substance. They would be equally alarmed that meetings of the Permanent Council are streamed live on the Internet, precluding any meaningful negotiations on serious issues. Instead, Council meetings become grandstanding events where the business of closed-door, earnest diplomacy and negotiation is abandoned for screen performances in satisfaction of narrow, national agendas. No wonder the Secretary-General takes little account of it and acts as he wishes.

Many Caribbean countries recognise that, the OAS requires urgent reconstruction to avoid its irrelevance. Right now, its activities are akin to firingup a furnace in an igloo.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the OAS. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own.

PAGE 10 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2018

INSIGHT

GAIN AN EDGE A NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

GAIN AN EDG

A NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON HIGHER EDUCAT

Lifting the burden of education costs FOR the tender age of 18, Tyric Mcphee is a mature young man. His mother never complained about paying the tuition and fees to attend the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI), but Tyric “knew it was a struggle”.

After his first semester at BTVI in fall 2016, the young man who is studying towards an Associate of Applied Science degree in Office Administration, applied for the work study programme and was successful. It was the beginning of relieving his mother of a financial burden.

“When registration came, my mom would pay half, but as a work study student, I easily can pay the balance of the payment plan. My mom was pretty shocked and relieved. She was probably expecting me to rely on her. The money helps with books, supplies and my balance. I even have some money left over at times,” said a grateful Tyric.

Work study students work for a maximum of 20 hours per week and are given a weekly stipend. The programme is designed for current students who maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 and are not currently receiving scholarship assistance from another source.

For Tyric, the experience

Police advice

By SERGEANT 3150 NATHALIE RANGER

over the past year has benefitted him beyond financial aid.

“It’s been a good experience. It helps financially, but the knowledge gained in the Technical Services department has been beneficial, especially as I want to pursue Information Technology after Office Administration,” he said.

Applying for financial assistance Financial assistance is available to students via BTVI’s Financial Aid office and private scholarship applications can be collected from the Fund Development office. Also available are Ministry of Education (MOE) applications that can be obtained and submitted to its Scholarship and Loans division.

Private scholarships require a completed application and supporting documents, proof of financial need and a statement of goals and aspirations.

Donors ultimately decide who is awarded, based on their established criteria.

Financial Aid applicants must meet similar criteria and apply before March 31 for the fall and October 31 for the spring semesters.

Applicants must: • Be Bahamian citizens • Enrolled in one of the Associate of Applied Science degree programs • Be a current or transfer student with a minimum 2.75 GPA • Exceptions exist for Family Island students enrolled in certificate programs. Selection is done by a scholarship panel.

In what areas are financial aid and scholarships granted?

Students may pursue any trade offered at BTVI while on financial aid or MOE scholarship. Some private scholarship donors specify trade areas based on: • Area of interest • An organisation’s needs, mission or goals • Existing skills gap: One example is a company that realised it had been heavily dependent on importing skilled labourers from

MANAGER of BTVI’s Technical Services, Wellington Bain, is seen here in discussion with Office Administration student, Tyric Mcphee, who is a work study student in his department.

Photo: Shantique Longley another country, so it sponsored a specialised training programme for employees to attend BTVI. What is the range of scholarship funding I can receive?

• BTVI private scholarship donors have historically invested from $200 to $1,200 to assist with purchasing books, equipment and uniforms.

Tuition covered has also varied from partial $500 to $1,500.

• MOE scholarship amounts vary based on the programme.

Do scholarships and/ or financial aid include equipment, books and/or uniforms?

• BTVI Financial Aid - No. • MOE - Yes. • Private scholarship awards vary, ranging from full scholarships (covering all of the above and tuition) to tuition-only.

Do recipients have to repay donors by working for their organisations for a period of time?

Recipients are not bonded to donors.

During these

economically challenging times, there is clearly hope for students pursuing technical education. BTVI’s goal is to offer ‘Affordable Excellence’ via a variety of options from traditional financial aid to scholarships.

“Gain An Edge” is a weekly collaboration of the Lyford Cay Foundations, the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute and University of The Bahamas aimed at promoting a national dialogue on higher education. To share your thoughts, email gainanedge@tribunemedia.net.

TIPS FOR PARENTS TO HELP STOP VIOLENCE IF we want to stop violence, we need to understand what causes it in the first place. Young people who carry out acts of serious violence are often

experiencing deep-rooted problems. The majority of youths in custody are themselves victims of abuse.

Some experience suffering and violence at home; the struggle many of these children have experienced so early in their short lives is a key factor in their violent criminal behaviour.

The number one cause of youths becoming criminals and a nuisance to society is poor parenting.

Kids start developing their sense of self as babies, when they see themselves through their parent’s eyes. Your tone of voice, your body language, and your every expression are absorbed by your children.

Your words and action as a parent affects their selfesteem more than anything else.

Parents, how involved are you in your children’s lives?

How well do you think you know them? Do you attend regular parents teachers association (PTA) meetings? Or better yet do you know the names of your children’s teachers? How about their friends and their friend’s parents? Do you know what your kids are doing after school?

We have been hooked onto our phones, or social media or somewhere else while we should have been paying attention to our children. Parenting is a skill which must be practised diligently – it is one of the most challenging jobs in the world to raise a problemfree child who is a proper balance of morals, values and discipline. Each child is different and so is the parent. The idea of rearing a child differs from parent to parent.

Are you too carefree as a parent, giving your kids the power to decide everything?

In such cases, kids become their own masters, going to bed late, getting up late, and doing absolutely everything at their will. Due to hectic lifestyles and both parents working, no one does the work of disciplining the kids as life is already chaotic. If this is how your kids live their lives, this is what they will do when they visit their aunt or cousin. They simply wouldn’t know how to behave appropriately.

Discipline is the only way your kids grow up knowing right and wrong. And parents need to do some real hard work to raise kids who know how to behave properly. There will be times when kids will test

the parents by breaking rules, hence parents need to establish and clearly communicate the consequences of breaking those rules.

Parents, are you giving your children any of your time? Guilty of being glued to your phone’s screen when your child is demanding you play with him/her?

Got an official call and cannot listen to your child telling you about his/her day? Stop! Your children don’t just need food or money from you, they want to speak to you, share their experiences and sometimes need to hear your comforting words.

Communication is the only thing that will strengthen your bond. Your children want you to hug and spend time with them.

Kids may inadvertently perform odd behaviour to attract parent’s attention.

At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.

Put your children on a schedule. Kids are more likely to pick up negative activities or fall into the wrong crowd when they are not on a schedule. Afterschool programmes such as subject lessons is a great option to ensure your child has an advantage in class.

Other options such as sporting teams, music and band participation are also great options. I know as parents you get so busy trying to provide the best for your little darlings that you just don’t view these things as important, but an involved parent is a more informed parent and it lessens your children’s chances to succumbing to peer pressure, experimenting with drugs, becoming teen mothers and getting involved with gang activities. Children who are properly cared for become more competent and independent adults.

Speak life into your children labelling children as lazy or dumb and using these words in public can significantly hurt a child and lower his/her selfesteem. Likewise, if you criticise your kid’s efforts or look down upon him/ her by comparing with others achievements, then your child may develop feelings of jealousy and resentment.

Do not fulfil every wish that your children has every parent wants the best for their children, and some can practically

afford almost everything a child desires. Do you reach out to your pocket the moment your child sets his/her eyes on a new toy or a new dress? Hold on! Buying everything your kid lays their finger on is again a sign of bad parenting. Such kids fail to understand the value of money. They will demand anything from you anytime expecting you to present it to them, whatever your circumstances.

Even after they grow up, such kids end up hopelessly on financial fronts and are unable to level responsibilities. Sometimes, this need may provoke them to steal, lie or become rude. We must set good examples and be a positive role model in our children lives. Be the person we want your kids to be.

Parents, let’s raise good productive children • Do not turn a blind eye when your child is doing wrong • Do not start disciplining your children at the adolescent stage. At this stage, their mind-set is already developed and is open to peer pressure.

• Start discipline at the toddler stage • Have structure in your child’s life • Know their whereabouts at all times • Do not leave your children uncared for to be at risked. Get involved with every aspect of their lives.

• Give your children a strong foundation of discipline and godliness.

• Boost their self-esteem • Set limits and be consistent with your discipline • Make communication a priority • Tell your children that you love them and show that your love is unconditional • Teach them that manners, respect for themselves and others will take them through the world • Be more aware, attentive and alert, let’s get more involved. After all your children are a reflection of you.

Let’s make The Bahamas a safer place to live, work, visit and play.

Please visit the Royal Bahamas Police Force Website at www.royalbahamaspolice.org or Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ rbpforce for Latest News, Daily Crime Reports and additional Crime Prevention Tips.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, February 19, 2018, PAGE 11

Week-long Junkanoo festival from page one “The prizes will be substantial so that we will be able to produce a range of songs you will hear in the parades at the end of the year, in the summer, etc.”

Mr Pintard also said that recommendations have been made to make the festival more participatory.

In terms of more female leadership and participation in Junkanoo, Mr Pintard said: “The commitment of this administration is that the country is governed better when the majority of its citizens are playing a role.

“In terms of the gender divide, I believe women are… 51 per cent of the population. To the extent that their point of views are not reflected in the final decision-making is the extent to which we are diminished in what we’re doing.

“And so it’s important to increase the role that women play at the highest level of decision making, in culture in general (and) Junkanoo in particular.”

Mr Pintard also called for more youth involvement and leadership in the festival.

“There is a difference in generational view of these kinds of parades, and young people tend to be quite innovative in their thinking.

“They are able to integrate other things they are involved in like new technology, new media, into Junkanoo, to take it to a whole other level.

“And they can design things, both in terms of approach to parades and festivals as well as costumes, that would attract their peers — (who) happen to be the majority population of the country.”

When asked about the National Junkanoo Commission, both Mr Pintard and Mr Ferguson provided context for this development.

Mr Pintard said: “The Junkanoo community as well as other stakeholders in Junkanoo believe that there is a need for us to continue to develop Junkanoo (firstly) so that it can become a revenue and employment-generating mechanism. “(Secondly) that it continues to be an important tool in terms of national development (and]) outreach initiatives in the community. “(Thirdly) we believe that we also need to get the public to appreciate the role it plays in solidifying our identity as a people.”

Mr Pintard continued: “In order for Junkanoo to play the role we desire it to play, it’s important to have a number of full-time persons who are concentrating on making sure that the potential of Junkanoo (is reached) in the domestic market as well as its influence in the international market.”

While Mr Pintard commended the efforts of the current stakeholders, he acknowledged: “More is needed.”

He continued: “The view today…is that a Junkanoo Commission or Junkanoo Authority that has the overall responsibility…would give this community an opportunity to realise its potential more effectively.

“So a decision (has been made to create) …a committee that would have the ability to put together draft legislation, a draft structure, and terms of reference, for such a commission or such an authority.”

Mr Pintard added the size of the commission will be decided at a later date.

Meanwhile Mr Ferguson underscored the importance of the Junkanoo groups in these decisions.

He said: “None of this can happen unless the Junkanoo groups agree. (They) are not here.

“The last voice on this will be whether they agree

BRIAN ADDERLEY, NAGC member and chairman of the Valley Boys, speaking at the Junkanoo conclave.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff in total. We agree in principle here.”

Of his hopes for the 20182019 parades, Mr Ferguson said: “We go for gold every time… (but) nothing makes this Junkanoo happen unless there is funding for it.

“If the commission is going to bring the funding, then we move. But like I said earlier, it’s only the opportunity.

“Don’t bring me the analogy of carnival and the Festival Commission when you give them $10m to start. Give Junkanoo $10m and see what we could do.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PAGE 12, Monday, February 19, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

MORTIMER AND GAME OF THRONES PRODUCER AT MOVIE EVENT PRODUCERS and directors who have mastered the art of filmmaking will help boost production standards in The Bahamas through the Movie Masters series presented by the Ministry of Tourism’s Film Commission and the University of The Bahamas set to begin tonight.

The Film Commission and UB have partnered to allow accomplished film producers and directors to share their knowledge and experiences with Bahamian filmmakers.

The effort is intended to inspire filmmakers to create content and enhance their level of production.

VINCE GERARDIS, left, and Kareem Mortimer.

Among the produc- co-executive producer of ers taking part in the “Game of Thrones,” which event are Vince Gerardis, has won more Emmy

Awards than any other prime time television show, and Marcus Nispel, a producer and director of films such as “Conan The Barbarian” with Jason Momoa and “Pathfinder” with Karl Urban.

The visiting producers will discuss the business of film and television production at UB’s Performing Arts Centre this evening at 6pm. Bahamian producers and directors Kareem Mortimer, “Cargo,” and Maria Govan, “Rain” and “Play The Devil,” will be panelists on Wednesday at 6pm.

“We have a wonderful opportunity to pull

information from very noteworthy people who are well regarded in the film and television business,” said Clarence Rolle, general manager of the Ministry of Tourism’s Film Commission. “We want to enlist many others to help us grow film in The Bahamas so that we can have a vibrant industry and so that our filmmakers become exporters of highquality entertainment. It’s something that will help to expand our economy’s performance.”

“My Father’s Land,” a Bahamian film, will be shown as the official

opening film of the Traveling Caribbean Film Showcase in Nassau. A reception will take place after the movie.

All the screenings, which will take place at UB’ Performing Arts Centre, are free to the public. Films will be shown in Nassau from February 19–21.

Screening times are from noon to 9pm on Feb 19 and 21 and from 10am to 6pm on February 20.

The visiting producers will also be part of a public forum in Grand Bahama at Pelican Bay Resort on Wednesday, February 21, at 6pm.

Appeal court allows extradition move

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE Court of Appeal has ordered extradition proceedings to continue against a man wanted in

the United States on a drug charge after dismissing his appeal of a Supreme Court judge’s decision not to transfer the matter to another magistrate on the grounds of alleged bias.

Appellate judges Jon

Isaacs, Stella Crane-Scott and Roy Jones, in a written ruling, ordered Roscoe Thompson’s extradition proceedings be remitted to the Magistrate’s Court for continuation of the committal hearing, and that

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the stay of those proceedings pending the Court of Appeal’s ruling on the matter be lifted.

Noting Thompson “may not be entirely comfortable” with their decision, the appellate judges said they found “no error of principle” in Supreme Court Justice Bernard Turner’s decision to refuse Thompson’s application to remove his case from before the magistrate on the ground of apparent bias.

The judges further charged that Thompson established nothing before them to find Justice Turner fell into error when he did not accede to Thompson’s recusal application.

The US government wants Thompson for an alleged conspiracy to distribute dangerous drugs – some five kilos of cocaine – within its borders, which it says are extradition offences.

The charge was filed against the Wemyss Bight, Eleuthera, native in September 2007 and the extradition request filed in January 2012.

According to the ruling, the extradition proceedings began on February 11, 2014, before then acting Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes, now an acting Supreme Court judge.

At the close of the Crown’s case against Thompson, his attorney made a no-case to answer submission, to which the Crown responded. The matter was adjourned for roughly a month for the magistrate to consider the submissions.

On May 13, 2016, the magistrate ruled there was a case for Thompson to answer, and he consequently committed Thompson to prison to await his surrender to the US without enquiring if he wished to lead a defence.

Within 20 minutes of the error being brought to the magistrate’s attention by Elliot Lockhart,

QC, who was holding brief for Thompson’s attorney Murrio Ducille, the magistrate revoked his ruling, cancelled his order to commit and advised Thompson that his bail continued. The magistrate then set July 6, 2016, as a court date.

On the adjourned date, the matter did not continue due to the indisposition of Thompson’s counsel.

However, on May 18, 2016, Thompson applied to the Supreme Court for an order pursuant to Section 51(1) (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code to move his case before another magistrate.

Justice Turner heard the matter and refused the relief sought by Thompson after finding the magistrate showed no bias nor deprived the applicant of a fair hearing.

Thompson then appealed Justice Turner’s decision on one ground, namely that Justice Turner “erred in law” via his ruling despite the magistrate’s “obvious pre-determined position” towards the matter, demonstrated by him committing Thompson “without having heard his defence”.

Mr Ducille contended the magistrate, via his actions, demonstrated that he “formulated views, premature or otherwise, about the evidence or about the case for the appellant.”

Crown prosecutor Anthony Delaney submitted in turn that the fact the magistrate acted immediately to rectify his error “would not lead a fair minded and informed observer to conclude there was a real possibility or real danger that the magistrate was biased”.

The appellate judges said however that while extradition proceedings are not entirely similar to a preliminary inquiry of a trial, “sight should never be lost” that extradition proceedings “do not play by the exact same rules as a trial or a preliminary inquiry”.

The ruling further noted that the role of a magistrate in such proceedings is “merely to determine whether the evidence adduced in support of the charge discloses an extradition offence and would be sufficient to warrant the trial of the fugitive for that offence”.

“At first blush, it would appear that the magistrate failed to consider the appellant’s case at the close of the respondent’s case but that is to ignore the fact that counsel for the appellant made a no case to answer submission on behalf of the appellant,” Justice Isaacs said in the ruling. “By doing so, he was given the opportunity to make representations to the magistrate as to why he should not be surrendered.

“I readily accept that the magistrate should have gone further following the decision on the no case submission to enquire of the appellant if he wished to lead a defense; and if the response was in the affirmative, to take any evidence the appellant may have wished to place on the record for use at his trial in the requesting state.

“Nevertheless, the magistrate adjourned the proceedings for the purpose of the appellant putting his case before the court; hence, he has not lost that opportunity to do so.”

The appellate judges also noted that while everyone is entitled to a fair hearing by an impartial tribunal in accordance with Article 20(1) of the Constitution, allegations of bias are raised “too often by persons dissatisfied with decisions of a court”.

Ultimately, the appellate judges found that nothing had been established by Thompson to cause them to find that Justice Turner fell into error when he did not accede to Thompson’s application to remove his case from the Magistrate’s Court.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, February 19, 2018, PAGE 13

Investigators probe videos of wreckage

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE legitimacy of videos purportedly showing discovered parts of the Piper Aztec plane that crashed in waters off Andros last month is being investigated, the Air Accident Investigation Department’s Chief Accident Investigator Delvin Major said on Friday.

Three cellphone videos were posted by a user on Facebook around 10pm Thursday and have been widely shared on the platform, with more than 1,000 shares up to press time.

The videos appear to show the outline of some kind of craft in the water, as onlookers observe.

The user who posted the videos said: “They said only 5 per cent of the plane that went down in North Andros was found, but yesterday locals went to site and found the whole plane and the engines. They also found human bones. If one of y’all family members was on this plane, this plane would of been up out of the water.”

Mr Major, however, said the officer-in-charge of an Andros police station told him no one has reported the matter to him.

“I’ve already notified the NTSB (National Transport Safety Board), the manufacturers of the plane and the insurance company of the possible salvage and told them to be on standby until we get confirmation so if it is the remains of the plane we can coordinate and determine if there are

A CLIP from a video circulating online purportedly showing wreckage. human remains as well. I’m the crash. just sitting waiting for word It has since been revealed from police on whether this that the pilot lacked the report was accurate.” required licences to charter The plane crashed on flights.

January 17 as it headed Investigators also believe to Nassau from South weather may have played a Andros. Six people died in role in the crash.

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PAGE 14, Monday, February 19, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

65 feared dead in Iran plane crash INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP Short Term Consultant BH-L1045 Government Digital Transformation to Strengthen Competitiveness Project design consulting support Consultancy Objective:

To gather the necessary data and information to elaborate the POD and annexes related to operation BH-L1045 Government Digital Transformation to Strengthen Competitiveness.

Main activities:

The consultant based on the information provided in the operation Project Profile will undertake the following activities: - To interview with managers and officials of the GOB nstitutions that manage the most relevant government procedures in the country. In particular, those related to business activities, property, identification, taxes, health, social services, education and transportation.

- To collect data on the list of government procedures those institutions are responsible for and a description of the necessary steps to complete those procedures. For those institutions that offer online access to their services, to document thepercentage of government procedures managed onlineannually.

- To interview with the representatives of the private sector, in particular the main Chambers of Commerce and other sectoral business associations in order to identify how the government bureaucracy presents an obstacle to their business activities.

The information should include the type of procedure, a description of how it is conducted, and the cost associated to its completion. In addition to the information related to the costs of inefficiency, the consultant will collect information about potential overcosts while dealing with the public administration.

TEHRAN, Iran Associated Press

AN Iranian airplane brought back into service only months ago after being grounded for seven years crashed Sunday in a foggy, mountainous region of southern Iran, and officials feared all 65 people on board were killed.

The crash of the Aseman Airlines ATR-72 was yet another fatal aviation disaster for Iran, which for years was barred from buying necessary airplane parts due to Western sanctions over its contested nuclear program.

Its nuclear accord with world powers allows it to get those parts and the country has made deals worth tens of billions of dollars for new aircraft.

However, President Donald Trump’s refusal to recertify the deal has injected uncertainty into those sales while Iranians still fly in aging aircraft.

The ATR-72, a twinengine turboprop used for short-distance regional

FAMILY members of plane crash victims weep in the village of Bideh, southern Iran, yesterday.

Photo: Ali Khodaei/Tasnim News Agency via AP flying, went down near its Aseman Airlines spokesdestination of the southern man Mohammad Taghi city of Yasuj, some 780 kilo- Tabatabai told state TV meters (485 miles) south of that all on board Flight the capital, Tehran, where it EP3704 were killed. It took off. had 59 passengers and six It wasn’t immediately crew members, the stateclear what caused the run IRNA news agency crash, although weather reported Sunday night, lowwas severe. Dense fog, ering the toll to 65 from an high winds and heavy snow initially reported 66. in the Zagros Mountains “After searching the made it impossible for area, we learned that rescue crews in helicopters unfortunately ... our dear to reach the site, state tel- passengers had lost their evision reported. lives,” Tabatabai said.

FIVE KILLED IN RUSSIA CHURCH SHOOTING MAKHACHKALA, Russia Associated Press

A GUNMAN opened fire with a hunting rifle on churchgoers leaving a service in Russia’s Dagestan region, killing five people and wounding four others, then was shot and killed by police, authorities say.

The shootings took place

Sunday evening in Kizlyar, a town of about 50,000 people on the border with Chechnya.

Four people died at the scene and a fifth died at a hospital, regional Interior Ministry spokesman Ruslan Gadzhiibragimov said.

The gunman was a local resident, and his wife has been detained for

questioning, he said.

The motive for the attack was not immediately known.

Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim region between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea. Following two separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya, an Islamist insurgency spread to Dagestan.

- To interview with representatives of the civil society and collect information about their experience when dealing with government procedures. Information to be gathered includes: how was the relationship conducted (online or in-person, how many steps required and how long did it take to get it completed

Deliverables:

- Report including all data and information collected.

- Excel document with the Vertical Logic Matrix filled the required data related to the indicators included.

Contract Duration: 3 months Qualifications:

- Academic Degree / Level & Years of Professional Work Experience: Bachelors Degree. 3 years of professional experience.

- Languages: English and Spanish.

- Areas of Expertise: Public administration, functioning of the Government of The Bahamas, data collection.

- Skills: Research, people skills

Supervision:

The consultant will work under the supervision and guidance of Alex Veyrat (IFD/ICS) and Miguel Porrúa (IFD/ICS).

Please email resumes to: cof-cbh@iadb.org Deadline: Wednesday, February 21, 2018 - CONVENIENCE, PERFORMANCE & STYLE -

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THE TRIBUNE

Monday, February 19, 2018, PAGE 15

LYFORD CAY FOUNDATION READY FOR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS LYFORD Cay Foundations’ online scholarship application for college abroad is now open.

All applications must be completed and submitted online at www.lyfordcayfoundation.org by March 19 at 5 pm.

Nathaniel Rolle is one of the 31 scholars who was awarded a scholarship in 2017. Just a few years ago, he was a student at C V Bethel Senior High School seeking to become an aviation technician. He spent hours researching his future career and available scholarships. He applied for a Lyford Cay Foundation scholarship and was awarded a TK Foundation

technical scholarship. This May, Mr Rolle is scheduled to graduate from Southern Arkansas University Tech with a certification in aviation mechanics.

Scholarship awards range up to $15,000 per year and are renewable given a minimum grade point average is maintained. Thanks to the Rogers family, special awards valued up to $25,000 are also available for first generation college students studying in Canada.

Individuals interested in applying are invited to attend an application help session at Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture on Wednesday, at 6.30pm or on Tuesday, March 6, at 6.30pm.