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VOLUME:114 No.64, FEBRUARY 22nd, 2017

Biggest And Best!

BEACH SOCCER: BAHAMAS MARCHES ON TO QUARTER-FINALS

Judicial review bid is rejected Supreme Court refuses challenge over boundaries

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net SUPREME Court Justice Ian Winder yesterday refused an application by Official Opposition members seeking to start judicial review proceedings over the Constituencies Commission’s report on constituency boundaries, ruling that the applicants had poor prospects for success and failed to provide sufficient evidence to show they had an arguable case.

However, Justice Winder said it was “regrettable and unfortunate” that the Constituencies Commission failed to produce its report

in the time laid out by the constitution.

Michael Scott, the attorney representing Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn and Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins, said he will appeal Justice Winder’s ruling within a week, adding that they will take the matter to the Privy Council in London if necessary.

Their application suffered from “several fundamental challenges”, Justice Winder said.

With respect to the claim that the boundaries report was late and should therefore be declared void so that the 2012 order on

STARS TURN SPOTLIGHT ON YOUNGSTERS

MOTHER of murder convict Stephen “Die” Stubbs yesterday accused Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage and the government of allegedly scapegoating her son to distract from their dismal performance on crime this term.

Nathalie Stubbs, 77, alleged that her son campaigned heavily for the

DAME JOAN ‘SUSPICIOUS’ OF INTERCEPT BILL TIMING

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Court of Appeal President Dame Joan Sawyer has questioned the timing of the proposed Interception of Communications Bill (ICB) and said she found it “suspicious” that it was being introduced “long after the creation” of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

The remarks were contained in a letter shared on We March Bahamas’ Facebook page, said to be written by Dame Joan. We March Bahamas is planning a protest for today at 4pm against the legislation.

Amid growing pushback, last night Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson again defended the need for the bill but announced that her office will lead a “period of public consultation” on the legislation.

SEE PAGE SIX

ROLLINS SAYS FITZGERALD HAS ‘SOLD HIS SOUL TO DEVIL’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

SEE PAGE THREE

EDUCATION Minister Jerome Fitzgerald has “sold his soul to the Devil”, Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins said yesterday, adding that the “bumps” on his “big nose” are “devil horns”.

Dr Rollins’ remarks to reporters came outside court after a Supreme Court justice rejected his application for judicial review of a House of Assembly draft order on constituency boundaries.

SEE PAGE SIX

‘DIE’ STUBBS’ MOTHER SAYS SON CAMPAIGNED FOR PLP

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) prior to the 2012 general election and was promised jobs for himself and others.

She contacted The Tribune with the allegations to rebut perceived suggestions that Stubbs was ordering hits from behind bars - an allegation she believes was promulgated by Dr Nottage during his parliamentary address on the escalating murder rate last week.

SEE PAGE FIVE

MP MAY HAVE FNM FUTURE

A GROUP of students from the Down Syndrome Centre played beach soccer with some of the top players from The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States yesterday. The youngsters took part as the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship were being held at Malcolm Park in Nassau. See page two for more.

Photo: Lea Weil

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FORT Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins could still have a future with the Free National Movement (FNM), the party’s Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest said yesterday.

Despite Dr Rollins’ involvement in the ousting of FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis as leader of the Official Opposition and repeated criticism of the Killarney MP over his leadership abilities, Mr Turnquest told The Tribune the party is not in the business of turning people away.

SEE PAGE SIX

PAGE 2, Wednesday, February 22, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

YOUNGSTERS at the Malcolm Park stadium yesterday.

Photos: Lea Weil

STARS TURN SPOTLIGHT ON YOUNGSTERS A GROUP of students from the Down Syndrome Center got a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to play beach soccer with some of the top players from The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States yesterday.

A total of 17 children and adults who have the genetic disorder attended the Bahamas Beach Soccer Foundation Clinic at the new stadium at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility and received one-on-one training from the soccer stars who are in town for the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Champions.

Students took turns shooting at goal and learned some passing drills before playing a full game in the stadium.

The oldest student, 48-year-old Sonya Davis, said she had the time of her life. “It was awesome,” she yelled excitedly after the hour-long session ended. “I scored nine goals.”

Throughout the session, the students laughed and

gave each other high fives when someone would successfully complete a task.

Waydell Hepburn, 28, said she wants to become a soccer player. Her friend, Joy Turner, 48, shared the same goal. “It was fun,” said Waydell.

The younger students also enjoy the activities and were all smiles as they interacted with the players who were equally as excited.

President of The Bahamas Down Syndrome Centre Cheryl Newell said the opportunity to interact with the beach soccer players was good for the students.

“They had a great time.

Just feeling important enough to be asked to come to something special like this and for people to take the time to embrace them and connect with them is great. And I’m happy that they got to have some fun while getting a little exercise as well.”

Newell said the group will be out at the stadium this week to cheer on Team Bahamas and all the other

players who they played with on Tuesday.

Starting striker for Team Bahamas Lesley St Fleur said he was grateful for the opportunity to work with the group. “It’s great to be there for the kids and show them some skills,” St Fleur said.

Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) Head of Competitions Josep Ponset congratulated St Fleur and other players who joined the community effort.

“The kids love it,” he said. “We love to share with them what we love, beach soccer. But it is about more than just the game; it is about connecting with the community and leaving something behind when we leave, hope and inspiration.”

The training session was organised and funded by BSWW with help from the Bahamas Football Association and the Local Organising Committee.

The CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships continue until Sunday.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 22, 2017, PAGE 3

Wells says boundary changes favour FNM

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Cabinet minister Tennyson Wells yesterday challenged all Free National Movement (FNM) members “actually vying for a seat” to be wise and take advantage of the recently announced boundary changes, which he said “favours” the FNM. He spoke to The Tribune shortly after Supreme Court judge Justice Ian Winder rejected an application by Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn and Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins to hold a judicial review of the boundaries report tabled in the House of Assembly earlier this month.

Mr Wells said the effort mounted by two “nonFNMs” only confused members of the electorate on the status of their constituency placements.

“It is time to move ahead,” the former agriculture and fisheries minister said.

“Politics is one thing, the

legal position is another. In this new age of Bahamian politics you have to cover both ends, and their actions basically delayed efforts for many persons in Opposition actually vying for a seat.”

Mr Wells added that the FNM could now go ahead with plans to capture several constituencies that were, in past elections, considered “unwinnable”.

“For the first time in a while, the FNM has shots at winning Fort Charlotte, Bain and Grants Town, Tall Pines, Mount Moriah, St Barnabas, it was once St Cecilia, and even West End and Bimini. All of this is possible, because of how the PLP cut the new boundaries,” he added.

“The FNM now has an inside track to several of these PLP strongholds and the time being wasted on this entire exercise could be used to build a better footing in these areas, instead of placing voters in a position of confusion and worry over whether the boundaries could change yet again.

“Perry (Christie) weak-

ened Fort Charlotte, Mount Moriah and Bain and Grants Town to build up this St Barnabas constituency and strengthen his bid for re-election in Centreville. Instead of the legal proceedings and distractions, this is the time for those candidates to get on the ground and work those new boundaries.”

Polling stations When compared to the boundaries constituted for the 2012 general election, the new Bain and Grants Town boundaries were cut from 14 polling stations to ten, with one polling station added from Fort Charlotte.

When analysed, the polling divisions removed from the Bain and Grants constituency were in the top 10 of margins of victory for PLP. Polling divisions five, seven, 10, 13 and 14 all saw the PLP win over the FNM by an average of 111 votes. The narrowest margin of victory came in polling division 10, where the PLP captured the station by 61 votes.

Of the remaining nine

stations, the PLP won on average by 62 votes. In two cases, the PLP won by single digits, in polling division four by seven votes and polling division nine by a single vote over the FNM. The polling station added to Bain and Grants Town comes from a constituency the PLP struggled to win, losing the majority of polling divisions but holding on to the seat based on the popular vote.

In 2012, the FNM won seven of the 13 stations in Fort Charlotte.

Polling division four, which was moved to Bain and Grants Town, was only won by 45 votes. That marked the fifth highest margin of victory among the six polling divisions won by the PLP in Fort Charlotte.

In Mount Moriah, the constituency lost a total of five polling divisions between the new St Barnabas and Tall Pines - one, five, 11, 13 and 14.

The government reconstituted polling divisions five, 13 and 14 to St Barna-

“It is indeed both regrettable and unfortunate that this commission, charged with such an important constitutional duty, would permit the constitutional limits imposed by Article 69 of the Constitution to be exceeded. Notwithstanding this lapse, however, the court cannot hold that there is a realistic prospect of successfully quashing the commission’s report on the basis of non-compliance with the five-year time limit,” the judge said.

Justice Winder said the purpose of the constitutional provision on constituency boundaries is to ensure that boundaries are reviewed from time-to-time, not to make boundaries permanently fixed should a report be submitted outside the time limit.

As for the MPs’ claims of gerrymandering, Justice Winder said the evidence they provided did not support the accusation.

Although a controversial letter from St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman - in which he alleged that the report he signed as the Official Opposition’s representative on the Constituencies Commission differed from what Prime Minister Perry

Christie later tabled in Parliament - was submitted to the court, Justice Winder said he was not satisfied that this letter permitted him to “look behind the unanimous report”.

He noted that Mr Chipman never specified in his letter the ways in which the report he signed differed from what Mr Christie tabled.

Justice Winder said although a hearing for leave for judicial review is not the same as a substantial hearing of the case, “the more serious the allegation or the more serious the consequences if the application is approved, the stronger must be the evidence before a court will find the allegation proved on the balance of probabilities”.

A key element of establishing a case for gerrymandering, that of intent, is difficult to establish based on the facts of the case, Justice Winder said.

“Can it be shown that the commission so altered the boundaries with the effect of weakening the opposition and strengthening the governing party’s position?

Can it be said that the commission, consisting of not

only the government, but a justice of the Supreme Court and an appointed opposition member would unanimously and intentionally alter the boundaries to strengthen the incumbent government?

“In fact there’s no evidence of deliberations of the commission at all or anything to demonstrate this necessary element of intent. Having regard to the make-up of the commission and the fact that the report was unanimously signed by all of its members, (this) demonstrates that the changes to the boundaries which have been proposed by them was not done with the intent of gerrymandering.

“On the evidence before me, there’s no realistic prospect, therefore, of the applicants successfully arguing that a judge ... and the opposition member Mr Chipman, together with the government members, unanimously and intentionally altered the boundaries to strengthen the incumbent party.”

Outside court yesterday, Mr Scott, Mr Lightbourn and Dr Rollins said Justice Winder’s ruling was disappointing but not un-

JUDICIAL REVIEW BID IS REJECTED from page one

constituencies could be made extant, Justice Winder sided with the government, saying that the “simple failure” to comply with a procedural requirement like time limits does not necessarily invalidate any executive action.

Courts approach such matters by looking at the totality of circumstances that lead to a failure to comply with such procedural requirements, including making a determination of whether non-compliance was intentional or not, he said.

Justice Winder said the logical conclusion of the applicants’ submissions is that having exceeded the fiveyear threshold, “the commission can no longer ever report as the delay already occasioned will only continue to grow”.

“It would be an absurd result for the entire Constituencies Commission to become inoperative as a result of the exceeding of the period laid down in Article 70, resulting in our boundaries becoming permanently fixed to its 2012 state,” he said.

ROBERTS DEFENDS COMMISSION

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvigil@tribunemedia.net

AFTER the Supreme Court’s ruling to reject the request for leave to begin judicial review proceedings of the Constituencies Commission’s report, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Bradley Roberts defended the group’s work, saying it was “disappointing” that there were attempts to hinder this constitutional requirement.

Mr Roberts called the efforts of some Official Opposition members of Parliament to have the parliamentary order on constituency boundaries reviewed a “frivolous and vexatious” attempt at testing the country’s supreme law.

Shortly after Justice Ian Winder delivered his ruling yesterday, Mr Roberts issued a statement saying the governing PLP will continue to be respectful of the rules that govern the country.

He said: “The Bahamas Supreme Court ruled today that the 2017 (Constituencies Commission) report which passed in the lower house on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 meets all legal requirements, and in doing so, denied the petitioners’ challenge.

“The work of the boundaries commission, a joint

and bipartisan political effort, is intense and at times contentious in nature. In recent times, governments led by both major political organisations have been more transparent and responsible in this exercise, which is essential to the electoral process.”

He continued: “Despite the inevitable disputes, the effort features close consultation between parliamentarians of opposing parties, taking into careful consideration the constitutional guidelines of voter registration in relation to population size and the fair distribution of voters.

“The Progressive Liberal Party was disappointed that mischief makers attempted to extend their political activism beyond the legal remit and objectives of the (Constituencies) Commission in an attempt to frustrate this necessary constitutional requirement.”

“Nonetheless, the Progressive Liberal Party has always been and will continue to be respectful of the rule of law as it is the great and ultimate equaliser regardless of however frivolous and vexatious the intent in testing our supreme law.

“It is our hope that this will be the posture of all concerned,” Mr Roberts said.

The plaintiffs, Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn and Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins, were represented by attorney Michael Scott. They argued in documents filed last week that the draft order tabled in the House of Assembly

by Prime Minister Perry Christie last week should be declared void and that the 2012 order on constituency boundaries should be made extant, meaning applicable to the 2017 general election.

bas; they won five and 13.

Additionally, when looking at Mr Wells’ claim of Mr Christie strengthening his bid for re-election, the numbers do show that the transfer of polling stations five, seven and 14 from Bain and Grants Town to Centreville does aid the Prime Minister; as the stations yielded the top three margins of victory for the PLP in the Bain and Grants Town area during the 2012 general election.

Those were the only additions to a Centreville area which saw the removal of polling divisions two, three, four, seven and 11; five stations that ran toward the middle of the pack for the PLP during the 2012 campaign.

Additionally Mr Wells argued that the FNM could secure West End and Bimini, not on numbers but based on a the present condition of Grand Bahama and Bimini.

“They took a polling division out of West End and placed it in Central Grand Bahama. While

that looks good on paper for the FNM, we all know that Obie (Wilchcombe) has won that area consistently by large margins.

You have to speak to those persons about their conditions, the lack of change and the fact that all the PLP has done for them is talk.

“That is what I am going on. That is my hunch there. Voters are tired and the FNM has to play on that.

“It is the same thing in Eleuthera and Andros. In Eleuthera, James Cistren and Hatchet Bay are PLP strongholds. The new cuts move them from the north to the south. That is the PLP’s way of basically conceding the north and doing all they can to secure the south. The FNM has to get in there now.

“In Andros, everything they promised has stalled or failed,” he said.

Mr Wells concluded that if advised correctly, the FNM could win 29 to 31 of the 39 seats being contested in the upcoming general election.

MICHAEL Scott at Ansbacher House. expected.

Mr Scott said if necessary, he would have provided the court with additional evidence. He said

he believed such would not have been required during a hearing for an application for leave to begin judicial proceedings.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, February 22, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

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Trump concerns and confounds A MONTH into his four-year term as president, Donald Trump has turned Washington on its collective ear.

He is already in a shooting war with the national press. He has evidently decided to govern as he campaigned - with little regard to the consequences of his words or actions. Suspicions abound about what may be the truth of his relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin’s cohort of loyal oligarchs.

Trump’s allies and supporters plead for time for settling down. World leaders, having little practical choice, seem to be watching warily. And a significant domestic resistance is growing. Town hall meetings with congressmen and women in their home districts reflect profound disagreement with the new president’s course. There is talk of a left-leaning tea party movement.

It is not hard to imagine the despair Barack Obama must feel as he witnesses his successor’s attempt to dismantle most of his signature achievements. But history is unlikely to judge Obama as harshly as Jimmy Carter. Nonetheless, there are parallels between Obama and Carter, most notably in the sphere of foreign affairs.

Both men departed the presidency as foreign nations offered concessions to their successors. Even as Russia welcomes US participation in multi-lateral peace talks on Syria now that Obama has left office, Iran stage-managed the release of the US Embassy hostages to coincide with the dawn of the Ronald Reagan presidency in 1981.

The comparisons with Reagan will flatter the new US President. Trump, so well known for his snarky, acerbic and often mean-spirited dismissal of his critics and opponents throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, has spoken highly of Reagan, who he appears to genuinely admire.

A case could already be made that with his blunt, unscripted manner on the campaign trail, via Twitter and now in office, Trump may have already supplanted Reagan as The Great Communicator.

He has certainly connected with millions of American voters in a fashion his opponents could never match, and this was clearly a factor in his election success.

And like Reagan, Trump is naming what appears to be a mixed bag of cabinet officers and senior advisers to sup-

port his presidency. The most ominous of these selections appeared to be former General Michael Flynn, now also the former National Security Adviser after his forced resignation last week; right-wing polemicist Paul Bannon as Senior Adviser, and as Attorney General, Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, whose commitment to civil rights seemed so shaky the Senate denied him a federal judgeship more than 30 years ago. Other cabinet appointments have attracted similar disapproval, even disbelief.

Certainly a stalwart of all eight Reagan years was George P Shultz as Secretary of State. Coming to Washington from the executive suite of the massive international construction firm Bechtel, Shultz settled in as a calm, steady voice in an administration beset with self-induced scandals such as laundering and redirecting US foreign assistance money to support a highly questionable insurgency in Central America.

There may be some similarity between Shultz and Trump’s Secretary of State nominee, Rex Tillerson. As CEO of Exxon-Mobil, Tillerson has certainly had a lot of international business experience, particularly in energy-rich environments such as Russia and the Middle East. Tillerson’s respectful “listening mode” at a recent G-20 foreign ministers meeting in Europe was encouraging. Washington observers have begun to express the hope that Tillerson will moderate Trump’s international impetuosity.

Another bright spot in the new administration may be Defence Secretary James Mattis, a former general who won easy Senate confirmation and has, like Tillerson, started sagely and quietly in otherwise raucous Washington, DC. As the Trump era approaches its second month, it will be important to remember that the key is what politicians actually do, and what they can accomplish, not what they say. No one yet knows what Trump will do beyond the opening salvos designed to demonstrate his fealty to his campaign promises. But clearly, the president is a man who lives to do and say what he pleases. He is entering an office where those freedoms have traditionally been more circumscribed than almost any other in public life. It is not unreasonable to wonder how happy he will be in office.

Baha Mar impact EDITOR, The Tribune

I COULD only shake my head reading The Nassau Guardian article “IMF: Baha Mar to spur growth into 2018 and 2019” from Friday about the International Monetary Fund economist’s comments on the Bahamian government.

What a damning review of the government’s involvement in Baha Mar. As we begin 2017, our fears are being confirmed: even though the Prime Minister has falsely claimed a deal to sell Baha Mar to Chow Tai Fook has been completed and even though the same construction company that promised that the resort would open in 2015 has said they will be able to open

less than five per cent of the resort at the end of April, the IMF says that the effect of Baha Mar won’t be felt on the economy until 2018 and 2019!

That’s a long time to wait, especially if you are one of the many unemployed in the Bahamas.

To make matters worse, what I have heard from experienced hotel managers is that some of the big revenue sources at Baha Mar - their convention centre use for meetings and group reservations - will likely not be fully booked until 2019, at the earliest. Since these events are planned years in advance, and Baha Mar presently has no ability to take reservations, this seems like the sad reality at Baha Mar. Given the

amount of issues that have been caused by the Prime Minister’s friends at the construction company and the Chinese bank, and the resulting negative press, all we can do is hope that anyone will want to come to Baha Mar. When you hear Prime Minister Christie brag about his role in Baha Mar as he prepares for the election, remember that we wouldn’t have had any of these issues if Christie hadn’t teamed up with his Chinese cronies to create a situation that has yet to benefit Bahamians, and likely won’t in the next four years.

DISAPPOINTED Nasssau February 20, 2017

Bahamas in crisis EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE Bahamian people this year 2017 will have the opportunity to select which political party that will solve the crisis on Crime, Education, unemployment, seven billion debt problem, Standard and Poor downgraded to junk status of the Bahamas economy.

It is my sincere hope that the political party is able

to share a vision on how to diversify The Bahamas economy, to reduce the dependence on providing food from the United States to improve local Bahamian farming to supply hotels and food stores. It would be also important for the political parties to stop corruption by having an anticorruption Bill added to their party platform to be introduced and passed to

stop corruption in Government. I wish the Bahamian people God’s blessing. The voice of the people will speak loud and clear in the general election this year.

My thoughts, heart and prayers with the Bahamian people and their children’s future.

PEDRO SMITH Nassau, February 20, 2017.

Minnis’ ship is sinking EDITOR,The Tribune.

THE Bahamas finds itself in a bit of a quandry!

The Bahamian people are tired of the present government but there is no ‘real’ opposition to vote for.

In a previous article submitted to you several months ago, I suggested that the Leader of the Opposition should have retired from that position to eliminate the infighting that threatened to destroy the FNM. I also stated that it was the patriotic thing to do, as only a united FNM would be able to oust the PLP. In that same article I stated that if he would not step down then he would have no one to blame if the PLP

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net won again but himself.Now look at the confusion that has broken out in the FNM. In my opinion, there is only one way to rout the PLP in this next election and that is for Minnis to resign as leader and have the deputy leader become leader of the Opposition (Peter Turnquest). The new leader of the Opposition must then open his arms and welcome Loretta Butler Turner back into the fold of the FNM and allow her to run in a seat she should be able to win.

They must then allow the DNA to have four or five

seats uncontested by the FNM. This would allow the DNA, with their limited resources, to survive as a separate party and reunite the FNM under a new leader.

The PLP literally would not be able to withstand the tsunami of support for the opposition parties.

The fact is I know that Minnis won’t resign, his interest is not in what’s best for The Bahamas. His psychotic desire to be the captain of a sinking ship at any price will cost him and this country dearly.

Let’s continue to see how this poorly scripted drama unfolds.

JB Nassau, February 20, 2017.

It takes one word from Baha Mar EDITOR, The Tribune.

FINALLY the fact that our mismanaged dump that spews poisons and toxins into our air and water table is being taken seriously by our Government.

Why? Not because NHI will have to pay for all the illnesses caused by breathing in pollution, but because Baha Mar

doesn’t like malodorous, poisonous fumes on their property affecting their guests.

After planned protests

by RABL, many, many letters to Minister Dorsette, town hall meetings, meetings with the (then) Opposition and on-line petitions among other means, something may be finally done about this malicious health

threat.

For the foreigners’ sake.

Luckily for us Baha Mar does not like crime either...

SA Nassau, February 21, 2017.

PS Thank you Baha Mar! Can I send you a list? We hate the garbage and illegal dumping too!

Unite against Spy Bill EDITOR, The Tribune.

FINALLY, there is an issue that all opposition forces seem to agree on.

Namely, that the government’s Spy Bill is reckless and dangerous and violates the fundamental rights of we the citizens of The Bahamas.

This is the perfect opportunity for all of them to unite and speak with one voice against this oppressive PLP government

and its illegal spy agency, Chinese riot gear, phone taps, etc. This is not the Soviet Union nor Cuba.

Dr Minnis and Branville McCartney and Loretta, etc. must form an ‘Alliance for Freedom’ that defends the public against these attacks on our civil rights and liberties as laid out in the Constitution written by the Fathers of this Nation.

The “We March” leaders are holding an event at

Arawak Cay to protest this undemocratic Bill and that would be a perfect opportunity for a show of unity. I expect all opposition leaders to be present with a large entourage. I will see them there.

Now is the moment. This is the issue. An election victory for a united opposition is a foregone conclusion.

CAPTAIN JACK Nassau, February 21, 2017.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 22, 2017, PAGE 5

Murder suspect ‘familiar’ with man he is accused of killing

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A JURY heard yesterday of the familiarity between a banker and a man he hired to do maintenance work at his apartment who is accused of murder.

Royann Cooper told the court she was a housekeeper and had known murder victim Devince Smith for four years having done work for him at his apartment.

Asked by prosecutor Cordell Frazier if she knew the vehicle that Smith drove, Ms Cooper said a white GMC Jeep.

“Do you know a Lamar Albury?” the prosecutor asked.

The witness said yes, adding that she had known him for about three months.

“How often did you see him?” the prosecutor asked.

“About five times,” the witness said.

‘Where did you see him?”

Ms Frazier then asked.

“Riding around with Devince Smith or at Devince’s apartment,” Ms Cooper said.

Albury, 26, sat behind his lawyer Michael Hanna as Ms Cooper gave her evidence.

It is alleged that Albury murdered Smith sometime between December 19 and 21, 2015. Smith’s partially decomposed body was found at his St Alban’s Drive apartment in western New Providence.

Police were alerted to the apartment after relatives, who had not heard from the victim, went to his home and found him dead in the living room.

Smith was a sports coach and was employed at Pictet Bank & Trust Ltd. He was also a former president of the New Providence Volleyball Association.

Albury denies the murder charge he faces.

“When was the first time you saw him (Lamar)?” the prosecutor asked.

The witness said she could not recall the specific date. “But I saw him a day he was fixing Devince’s furniture,” she said.

“And the other occasions?” the prosecutor asked.

“Riding around inside the Jeep drinking,” Ms Cooper said.

“On how many occasions did you see Lamar Albury at Devince Smith’s home?” the prosecutor asked.

“Three times,” the witness said.

Mr Hanna, the accused’s lawyer, offered no cross-examination for the witness.

Prior to the housekeeper being called, the jury heard testimony from crime scene detective Constable Leonardo Dean who said that on December 21, 2015, around 3.30pm, he went to the scene of an alleged homicide on St Alban’s Drive.

He was given information and instructions from a superior officer and when he went into unit six of the complex, he observed a deceased male clad in black shirt and blue jeans that were pulled down to his ankles.

The investigator said he also observed shoe impressions with suspected blood, blood on the walls leading upstairs, broken glass on the floor, items scattered across the master bedroom floor and a computer notebook covered in blood.

The detective said he photographed all of his observations and areas pointed out to him throughout the scene.

The jury also heard from Detective Corporal Davon Frazier who said that on December 23, 2015, he went to the Rand Laboratory and spoke with forensic pathologist Dr Caryn Sands. She conducted an autopsy of a man with multiple injuries

to the head, neck, shoulder and extremities.

Cpl Frazier said he photographed the injuries of the deceased male and that the pathologist collected a tube of blood, a container of muscle tissue, liver and bone, an anal swab, a penile swab and an oral swab that she handed to him in a sealed biohazard bag.

The bag was handed over to the police forensics laboratory for analysis, the jury heard.

Also giving testimony was Charlene Smith, who said that she last saw her brother alive on December 6, 2015, after he came by her house and they chatted for a few minutes.

She said on December 21, 2015, she received a call and went to her brother’s condominium on St Alban’s Drive. She handed over her key to police and when they opened the door, she saw her brother’s body on the ground.

The witness, who became emotional, said she identified his body at the morgue the following day.

Mr Hanna asked the witness if her brother was ever married.

“No sir,” the witness said.

“He had any girlfriend?” the lawyer asked.

“Yes he did because he had a son,” the witness said.

“Did you know him at any point to be gay?” Mr Hanna asked. The witness said no.

On Monday, the jury heard that Albury allegedly confessed to his relatives that he fatally stabbed the victim who hired him to do maintenance work at his apartment before a holiday gathering when the victim allegedly made a sexual advance towards him.

The trial resumes today at 10am before Senior Justice Vera Watkins.

Anya Allen is assisting Ms Frazier in prosecuting the case for the Crown.

‘DIE’ STUBBS’ MOTHER SAYS SON CAMPAIGNED FOR PLP from page one

PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts rejected the campaign claims yesterday, telling The Tribune that he had no knowledge of any connection between Stubbs and the organisation’s 2012 campaign.

Stubbs was arrested at the Ridgeland Park home he shares with several relatives on May 31, 2012. He was sentenced to life in prison in October, 2013, along with two other men, for the 1999 murder of Constable Jimmy Ambrose at the now-closed Club Rock Disco.

Ms Stubbs and her son’s girlfriend, Jacqueline Miller, yesterday emphasised that the case was now before the Privy Council in London.

“He (Dr Nottage) have my child name all over the paper, say my child put a hit out, (Stubbs) he’s been in jail for almost five years,” Ms Stubbs alleged.

While giving a speech on crime initiatives last week, Dr Nottage named several active gangs and brandished photos of several men as leaders of these groups who are behind prison bars.

One of the photos, according to Ms Stubbs, was her son. From The Tribune’s viewing of the image, it is unclear who the men in question are.

However, Dr Nottage did

not name Stubbs during his statement on several anticrime strategies, in which he admitted the recent spate of killings are affiliated with people connected to “gangs, drugs and guns”.

Ms Stubbs further alleged: “My son worked for them to win the election, they promise to give him (a) job and hire people to work. He been all over the place with them, you just know he’s bad now?

“When they (PLP) take over the election in 2012, they say they had everything straight, they had all kind of signs all over the place about the FNM. “When Ingraham was prime minister, Orville (Tommy) Turnquest was minister of national security, they never did that to nobody. They (PLP) can’t get the crime together, why call my child name?

“I had four family get kill in this, I had a son get kill, I had four family get kill and one ain’t bury yet ... “ Meanwhile, Ms Miller, 36, maintained that her boyfriend has not been found with anything illegal while in prison and also believes Dr Nottage was referencing Stubbs during his speech.

“The prison guards never found him with a phone, never found him with anything illegal,” Ms Miller alleged. “Five years and he’s not had no problem in the prison so why is it that you can assume that?

BRISTOL WINES HIT

BY BREAK-INS

EXECUTION KILLING APPEAL TO BE HEARD IN APRIL

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

EDWARD Gardner, vicepresident of Bristol Wines and Spirits, said yesterday he was “very concerned” about the number of break-ins in Exuma in the past few weeks after the company’s office in Gregory Town was robbed twice in one month.

Mr Gardner told The Tribune there have been an increased number of armed robberies in Exuma and even in broad daylight.

“Two weeks ago, around 10.30am, the store was robbed. Two men barged in with a handgun and a knife and held up the store,” Mr Gardner said. “They took off with the register but they did not get a lot of money because it was too early in the morning and there weren’t a lot of sales yet.

“Then a month earlier someone broke in the back window of the store and stole some cash. I do not know whether this is isolated or not but this kind of thing does not happen in Exuma so people are concerned.”

The Tribune also understands that the Exuma Beach Resort was robbed of thousands of dollars in cash and food on Sunday. It is the second time the resort has been robbed. However Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean said he had received “no reports” of increased robberies in Exuma.

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN contesting his conviction for the paid execution of a banker will have his appeal heard in seven weeks.

Janaldo Farrington, 26, appeared in the Court of Appeal for a status hearing concerning his challenge to a jury’s verdict concerning the murder of Stephen Sherman five years ago.

His lawyer Murrio Ducille confirmed to Justices Dame Anita Allen, Stella CraneScott and Roy Jones that the matter was ready to proceed as skeletal submissions had been filed and only a date needed to be fixed.

The substantive appeal hearing was adjourned to April 12. Justice Jones will not be hearing the matter, as he was the trial judge in Farrington’s case.

Sherman, an assistant manager at the Royal Bank of Canada in Palmdale, was shot in the head when he pulled up to his Yamacraw Shores home on the evening of February 17, 2012.

He was robbed of his cell phone before being shot. His niece, who was in the car with him, was also robbed.

Renee Sherman, the victim’s wife, along with Farrington and Cordero Bethel, both of Pinewood Gardens, were charged with

NATHALIE Stubbs and Jacqueline Miller visiting The Tribune yesterday.

“Parents can’t control things they want him to May, 2012, Ms Stubbs contheir kids so how could I do, all of a sudden he’s the tacted The Tribune to deny reports attributed to a repcontrol boys who on the worst criminal?

This is not the first time resentative from the Minroad, who I don’t even see, I Ms Stubbs or longtime girl- istry of National Security don’t even hear from?”

She further alleged: friend Ms Miller have con- that Stubbs was orchestrat“They know his case com- tacted the media to defend ing murders on the street ing up in the Privy Council, Stubbs against similar alle- from behind bars.

“How can you scandalise this is prejudicing his case gations and to proclaim his and say my son in prison also. He was campaign- innocence.

Following his arrest in and giving orders for people ing for them, doing all the

conspiring to commit murder.

Farrington and Bethel were also charged with Sherman’s murder and two counts of armed robbery while the widow was charged with aiding and abetting the murder of her husband. All three denied the charges.

During trial, the widow and Bethel were acquitted of their respective charges on the direction of the judge, leaving only Farrington to answer to the charges against him because of a confession that he gave to the police on February 24, 2012.

On October 8, 2013, before excusing the jury to deliberate on a verdict for the four counts Farrington faced, Justice Jones told the 12-member jury that “the case stands and falls on your acceptance or rejection of the confession statement”.

Having deliberated on the evidence in the case for three hours, the jury returned with the unanimous guilty verdicts on the two charges and a third charge of armed robbery concerning Sherman.

The jury was split 8-4 on the other armed robbery charge concerning Sherman’s niece, but the majority guilty verdict was accepted.

In May, 2014, Farrington was sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing.

YOUR

to get killed?” Ms Stubbs asked at the time. “How my son could be doing it?”

“That means to say that the prison is slack,” she continued.

“I thought better than the national security man to say something like that. He listened to the lies what the people them telling him.”

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

PAGE 6, Wednesday, February 22, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Dame Joan ‘suspicious’ of intercept bill timing from page one She said this decision was made because of concerns that the public is being “misled very substantially” about the content of the proposed legislation.

Meanwhile in her letter, Dame Joan said she found it interesting that Mrs Maynard-Gibson would be so “gung ho” to push the legislation when the senator has argued in several cases where she took a difference stance.

According to the letter, Dame Joan also said as presently drafted, the bill also appears to go behind the veil of attorney client privilege.

On Monday, Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis also critcised the bill saying the timing of the introduction of the legislation so close to the next general election raises questions about the government’s motives.

Dr Minnis said the leg-

islation was being “rushed and rammed down the throats” of the Bahamian people.

Last night, Mrs MaynardGibson said much of the debate over the issue has been partisan.

She said the Interception of Communications Bill has two main purposes: “To ensure that the police have a critical crime-fighting tool in their arsenal, by modernising the law that allows the police to intercept the planning and execution of serious crimes, including drug and gun trafficking, cybercrimes and other criminal activities; and the second is to add a new privacy protection for Bahamian citizens, so that from now on, independent judicial review would be required before a citizen’s communications could be monitored or intercepted.”

She also said that in her consultations with various people and groups, “the more people learn about the legislation, the more they support it.”

“That is because all Bahamians who are concerned about crime and security want to ensure that our police have a legal path to intercepting the communications of criminals,” Mrs Maynard-Gibson said.

“They also understand that the Listening Devices Act, first passed 45 years ago, long before electronic and digital communications became commonplace, did not keep pace with modern technology.

“In addition, contrary to many of the concerns that have been raised, the legislation adds, rather than removes, protection for private citizens. It does so by adding new protective steps - a judge in the Supreme Court must grant the police permission to intercept any citizen’s communications, if the judge finds that reasonable suspicion is justified and the Supreme Court sets a time limit for the duration of the interception. Any extension beyond that time limit must be granted by the

Supreme Court.

“And the Supreme Court can also give instructions as to how and when those records should be destroyed when the threat is removed.

These new protective steps safeguard citizen privacy in a way that meets concerns raised in a recent Privy Council case on the Listening Devices Act, which specifically recommended that consideration be given to providing greater protections to Bahamian citizens.”

She added: “Because we are concerned that the public has been misled very substantially about the content of this legislation, we have decided to add a period of public consultation, which will be led by the Office of the Attorney General. During this period, we will work with civil society to ensure that Bahamians will have an opportunity to learn about and review the legislation, have their questions answered and their concerns addressed.”

The Interception of Com-

munications Bill will provide for the “interception of all communications networks regardless of whether they are licensed as public or not.”

The bill says this will include telecommunications operators, internet providers and postal services.

Under the current draft, the commissioner of police, or someone acting on his behalf, would have to petition the attorney general to make an “ex parte” application to a judge in chambers for an interception warrant.

Critics have said the bill can impede civil liberties if enacted without public consultation.

Last night, leading civil society group Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) welcomed the Attorney General’s announcement.

“ORG commends the Attorney General for recognising the value of public education and engagement in such an important bill which may carry implica-

tions for privacy, freedom of expression, and the effectiveness of law enforcement,” a statement from the group said.

“Open processes and consultation in the development of legislation not only improves the quality of rules and programs but also encourages compliance and reduces enforcement costs for both governments and citizens. It increases the free exchange of information allowing both the government and people to be better informed.

“As an organisation committed to responsible, accountable, and transparent governance ORG believes that a country is best served when members of all sectors of society - government, civil society, private industry and the public - collaborate for the betterment of the nation. We hope that this announcement is the beginning of a substantive dialogue between these sectors on the concerns and merits of this bill.”

ROLLINS SAYS FITZGERALD HAS ‘SOLD HIS SOUL TO DEVIL’ from page one

His comments also came a day after Mr Fitzgerald told reporters that he would not be surprised to see the MP on “Dowdeswell Street” waiting to be picked up by a political party.

Mr Fitzgerald also called Dr Rollins a “political prostitute extraordinaire”.

They two men frequently clash in the House of Assembly and sparred verbally in Parliament last week.

They were once colleagues in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) before Dr Rollins quit the organisation in 2015.

Dr Rollins said yesterday: “Of all people, of all the politicians in this country to say (I’m a political prostitute), he’s the last one that should utter that type of accusation. Mr Fitzgerald, and notice I never put the word honourable in front of his name, he is not an honourable man; if there is any of us in that Parliament that is guilty of prostitution it is one Jerome Kennedy Fitzgerald.

ANDRE ROLLINS, Fort Charlotte MP, speaking in the House of Assembly.

“He has sold his soul to he and his family should was prepared into the fuel the Devil. He has sold his be ashamed of him. Je- leak and completed in Febsoul on the altar of politi- rome Fitzgerald won’t be ruary, 2014, but was not cal and financial greed and ashamed of himself because released until more than a he has no shame. If he did, year later, prompting some he wouldn’t have allowed to accuse the government of the poor innocent people he suppressing the document. claims to represent to walDr Rollins also hit out low in contaminated water at Mr Fitzgerald for signfilled with toxins that can ing a controversial nolle cause cancer and death.” prosequi, which discontinDr Rollins was referring ues a prosecution, in 2012. to the Rubis fuel leak in In December that year, Mr the Marathon constituency, Fitzgerald entered the nolle which Mr Fitzgerald repre- in the case of George and sents.

Janice Hayes, who were The leak of some 30,000 charged with possession of barrels from a Rubis sta- an illegal firearm and amtion was first reported in munition. Before she was October 2012. Area resi- appointed Attorney Gendents and activists accused eral in 2012, Allyson Maythe Marathon MP of being nard-Gibson represented silent in the face of health the couple. fears over the issue.

“He would not have beAn independent report come mysteriously an act-

ing Attorney General for all of 24 hours and found a stack of cases in the Office of the Attorney General and pulled out one belonging to the former clients of the substantive Attorney General and decided to enter a nolle prosequi on behalf of the Attorney General’s former clients,” Dr Rollins said.

“Mr Fitzgerald is not the kind of man or politician that we need in our House of Assembly and the people of Marathon know it. That big nose you see Mr Fitzgerald have, those bumps on that nose, those are not acne bumps, those are devil horns coming out of that big nose of his. Nothing wrong with having a big nose but the devil horns, that’s the problem. And so, I under-

stand y’all laughing but I’m serious with this.

“He has sold his soul to the Devil many times over and he will do anything to try and survive in this country,” Dr Rollins said. “You see me, I don’t need to stay in politics. I am in politics because I love this country and I want to see it improve.

He is in politics simply to promote his own selfish self-interest. That is why he stayed silent while his people suffered with all the gas leaking under their homes.

Mr Fitzgerald should be ashamed of himself but alas, the man has no shame.”

In an interview on Monday, Mr Fitzgerald also said Dr Rollins has squandered his opportunity as a member of Parliament.

edly criticised Dr Minnis and his leadership abilities. He has also said he would “not seek re-election” under a Dr Minnisled FNM. A disciplinary tribunal has been convened to look into the MPs’ actions and Dr Minnis asked the members to resign from the party after their coup.

“The member for Killarney may not be the leader of the Opposition but he is still the leader of the FNM and I would say this: it is said in the past that Mr Perry Christie, the right honourable member for Centreville, was prepared to swim in his vomit to return to the PLP,” Dr Rollins said last week. “Well, I will tell you this for the record right now: I would never swim in any vomit but if I have to get back in the FNM and run in the next election to make sure that the PLP has no

chance, no chance whatsoever of regaining power, let me tell you something, that is something I would be prepared to do.

“I am FNM. Having said that, if I go anywhere I want the member for Montagu to go with me. I want the member of Central Grand Bahama to go with me. I want the member for North Eleuthera to go with me.

I want the member of St Anne’s to go with me and I want the member for South Abaco to go with me.”

Edison Key, member of Parliament for South Abaco, said he “appreciated” Dr Rollins’ comments but said he “would not be going back to the FNM with the present leader” at the helm.

Meanwhile, Dr Rollins also said he believes if all the opposition members put their egos aside, the “FNM will have the ability to put this country on the right path.”

MP MAY HAVE FNM FUTURE from page one

“To the extent that Mr Rollins wishes to participate in the Free National Movement (and) certainly he has the skills, I am sure we can utilise and we will see if we can use it,” Mr Turnquest said.

“We are in the business of building a party and a country. We are not in the business of running anyone away or turning anyone who wants to support our mission away.”

However, the East Grand Bahama MP said the final decision would come at the discretion of Dr Minnis.

Last week, Dr Rollins said he was prepared to “get back in the FNM” if that’s what it took to ensure the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) did not win the next election.

While making his contribution in the House

of Assembly last week, Dr Rollins said despite all that has happened, he considers himself to be a member of the FNM and his main objective is to make sure the party, led

by Dr Minnis, becomes the next government of The Bahamas.

Dr Rollins’ statements contradicted comments he made in December, when he said Dr Minnis “would be an absolute failure” as this country’s leader.

The Fort Charlotte MP was among seven FNM members of Parliament who submitted a letter of no confidence in Dr Minnis last year, forcing the Killarney MP to be removed as Official Opposition leader in the House of Assembly.

The “rebel” MPs voted to have Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner replace Dr Minnis.

Since that move, Dr Rollins has said repeat-

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 22, 2017, PAGE 7

Journalist turned candidate focuses on youth and sports

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net SPORTSCASTER Gerrino Saunders, who has thrown his hat into the political arena as the Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) candidate for St Barnabas in the upcoming general election, said he is tired of the cry for sports development in the country.

Mr Saunders, a former reporter at The Tribune and now the sports editor at the Jones Communication Network, said: “It’s (sports development) a far cry from where it should be. So the only way to effect change is to get in there and then I can be able to make some policy changes. Hopefully if the DNA wins, they will allow me to focus on youth, education and sports.

“If the youths are there, we can educate them and once they are educated, they can take advantage of all of the sporting opportunities that are available in addition to obtaining the athletic scholarships in the progress.”

Mr Saunders, 44, was ratified on Monday for the new seat of St Barnabas after he started campaigning in Englerston where he lives.

“Once they introduced the St Barnabas constituency, they kind of threw all of the parties into a mix there,” Mr Saunders said.

“We had Stephanie Lightbourne (who) was working in the area, but she had taken a break for a while, so I picked it up.

“But she returned over the last few months and because she had already put in a lot of work, we decided to let her run and I will get St Barnabas, which still has a lot of people that I was campaigning with in Englerston.

“I still have a lot of family members and friends

that live and work in the St Barnabas constituency.

On the walkabouts, we are well received and people are falling in love with the DNA’s plans how we intent to get the young people of the streets.”

Through his job, Mr Saunders said he has been able to monitor the local sporting scene and noticed the inefficiency that exists.

He explained how he hopes to make a difference if he is elected as the member of Parliament.

“Once we get the kids into schools on scholarships, we are going to have a problem where we funnel them into their professional careers and we can make wealthy Bahamians out of them, just for playing sports,” he said.

As one of the youngest members vying for the DNA, Mr Saunders said he is not fully set up with his headquarters. He intends to utilise the building on the corner of Blue Hill Road and Cordeaux Avenue, just opposite the National Insurance Board.

During his acceptance speech at his ratification on Monday, Mr Saunders said the party would be looking at improving the status of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

“We believe that the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture is under achieving with a large part of its portfolio. Seemingly taken over by the Ministry of Tourism,” he said.

“We understand the role that the Ministry of Tourism plays, but these are sporting events and they should be spearheaded by the Ministry of Sports. I’m not quite sure why that is happening, but we will address that.”

Additionally, Mr Saunders said he would like to see more power disseminated to the position of the

GERRINO SAUNDERS, DNA candidate for St Barnabas. director of sports and other officials in carrying out their designated duties to effect the necessary changes in the ministry.

“We will also require more from the various sporting federations,” he said. “A number of the federations are doing quite well. I don’t want to name any, but there are others struggling.

“While we will increase the funding for the federations, we will require more of them and will be specific in what is required of them.

Once we set our policies, we would want them to work

along with us in achieving our goals.”

In reference to the University of the Bahamas, Mr Saunders said the DNA would increase the funding already allocated to the institution for sports development and the requirement of athletes with scholarships.

“We will be looking at using the millions that the government is wasting on our young athletes in sports development,” he said.

While he lauded the Urban Games that will take place on Saturday at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, Mr Saun-

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff ders said the DNA would like to see a greater trust placed on the inner city with more activities.

Mr Saunders said the party would immediately name sailing and track and field as the dual national sports with cricket getting an honourable mention because it’s not as nationally played as the other two.

At the high school level, Mr Saunders said the party wants to upgrade the competition by revamping the current programme and introducing properly certified trained coaches with weightlifting programmes

and trainers to assist in their development.

And with the night leagues in the majority of the sports struggling for survival, Mr Saunders said the party would work on creating a semi-professional league for basketball, where businesses can buy the teams, and also introduce a national track and field circuit around the various islands where the athletes can be paid for their participation.

Mr Saunders is a former track athlete, who also played basketball in his prime.

MORE THAN 20,000 REGISTERED TO VOTE IN GRAND BAHAMA

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

OVER 20,000 Bahamians have now registered to vote on Grand Bahama with another 6,000 to 8,000 on the island remaining to be registered.

Reno Smith, assistant commissioner at the Parliamentary Registration Department in Freeport, reported yesterday that 20,227 people had registered on the island as of February 15.

“We are now in the 20,000-plus range and registration is going very well,” he told The Tribune.

Voter registration has picked up “tremendously” on Grand Bahama, and Mr Smith reported that the department experienced a major boost in registration last Friday.

“Some rumour was start-

ed that last Friday was the last day to register and that helped tremendously. We have not been able to move from our desk and we are constantly busy,” Mr Smith said.

He reported that Central Grand Bahama has the highest number of registered voters, 4,479 up to February 15. East Grand Bahama is second with 4,436; Marco City with 4,265; Pineridge with 3,658 and West Grand Bahama and Bimini with 3,389 voters registered.

Mr Smith expects the numbers to increase because there are 10 outlying voter registration stations open throughout the island.

He said registration stations have been set up at some government schools, and at Christ the King Education Hall in Freeport; at St Stephen’s Anglican Church in Eight Mile Rock;

and at Mary Magdalene Anglican Church in West End. “We have put our mobile registration on hold at this time … and we are asking people to go the outlying stations to register,” Mr Smith said.

He said the department is planning to conduct voter registration at the Circle Mall and at the domestic and international terminals at the Grand Bahama International Airport, where people would have their passports with them while travelling.

Mr Smith said that arrangements are also being made to have special registration held at the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute in Grand Bahama.

The assistant parliamentary commissioner said officials are trying their best not disenfranchise any Bahamian who comes in to

register.

“The Bahamas is for its citizens and we trying to do whatever we can to assist those persons who are not coming with all relevant documents, and we refer them to the appropriate government agencies to assist them in getting their documents and to come back to us in time,” he said.

Mr Smith said people who have lost or destroyed passports are referred to the Passport Office to get a certified copy and bring it in.

“We are doing everything we can do to assist qualified Bahamians to register for this upcoming election.

“We love the fact that Bahamians are beginning to come in droves. We have about six to eight thousand left to register on the island, and we believe we will able to have them registered in short order,” Mr Smith said.

READERS RESPOND TO BAHA MAR CHIEF’S CRIME CONCERN AFTER Graeme Davis, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Bahamas president, suggested that if the Christie administration is unable to control crime, it could have a negative impact on the country’s tourism product, readers on tribune242.com gave their reaction.

Alfalfa said: “Well maybe now that the Government’s ‘Ace in the Hole’ investor is complaining about the crime and city dump, something will be done. Just fixing the dump would be a major achievement. Fixing crime, on the other hand, a miracle.”

There was this from Honestman: “The ‘war zone’ level of murder and other serious offences is a worry

to all of us not just potential owners of Baha Mar!” In Tribune Business, Consumer Protection Commission chairman Jerome Gomez queried whether new banking licenses were required to boost competition.

The_Oracle responded with: “To hell with the fees, branch closures and layoffs have the public standing in line for literally hours! Banks are to be avoided like the plague!

Someone ought to sell sandwiches and bottled water to people standing in line! That and the staff all seem to be multitasking and therefore following up on nothing! Missing bank cards, credit cards, wrongly printed checks, banks have become a crap shoot!

Tellers and staff must go home feeling as if they’ve run a marathon every day!

Betcha the service is better in Barbados or wherever the hell they’ve moved the HQ to.”

Bogart said: “Not more but fewer are required. The catchment area given the small population cannot support more. Banks need to make money from customers to operate and grow

and given the limited pool on this fixed in size land mass - island, supporting x amount of sources –banks can make money to operate and turn a profit, hence more licences will cause chaos. We have already too many banks forcing market share to be cut in many slices and fees, etc being increased to cover operating expenses and profits - plus segments being shipped overseas to lower operating expenses. Banks here have been allowed to do all sorts of things without care and concern for the public and customer.”

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

PAGE 8, Wednesday, February 22, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

What sort of Bahamian benefactor is Peter Nygard?

A

Nassau Life

PROMINENT column in the Freeport News on February 13 reminded me of the amazing qualities of Peter Nygard - enough to get him sanctified as our patron

By RICHARD COULSON saint.

“Peter Nygard and his family have been a blessing showing him self-injecting to The Bahamas,” wrote a brawny arm (with what?) columnist Nathaniel Lew- to prolong his 72-year old is. “I know with authority, life, tangible results of his courage and conviction that efforts in the Bahamas are Peter Nygard and his family invisible. In 2013, when will continue to be a bless- Prime Minister Christie ing.” He is so close to us, first introduced rigid stem “he is more than just a in- cell legislation, apart from vestor. He is family.” foreign interests he referred One wonders of which to studies by two local hosfamily he speaks. Is it the pitals and our Christian one wife whom Nygard di- Coalition in hopes that vorced many years ago? Or we might become a world the seven children he sired leader in this field; he made from four women, one of no mention of Nygard. whom resulted in years- In 2016, at a symposium long child support litigation held here, our Chief Mediin the Ontario courts? cal officer Dr Glen BenOr is it the bevy of grade eby joined Professor Joshua B starlets with whom he sur- Hare, of the University of rounds himself, as shown in Miami Stem Cell Institute, multiple photos found on in bringing stakeholders Google, including the late together, including four Anna Nicole Smith, the vo- or five local facilities such luptuous beauty whom an as the successful Okyanos unforgettable Tribune front Cell Therapy Centre in page displayed cuddling Freeport; again the Nygard with Shane Gibson, now name made no appearance. our Minister of Labour?

There’s no doubt that the Mr Nygard can live whatev- Finnish-born entrepreneur er romantic life he chooses, who, early, moved to Canbut one wonders how well ada is a self-made success that sits with our thousands in designing and marketof devout Christian citizens. ing sportswear and womEnjoying his celebrity-stud- en’s clothing, as his Slimfit ded life, he can jeans are insimply dismiss ‘His lifestyle of ternational the sexual har- non-stop publicity hot-sellers assment suits among many in Canada and only arouses other creathe United public concern tions. Despite States reportoccasional lawith his suspect ed in a 2010 bour disputes influence over the Forbes magain his Canazine article.

PLP government, dian offices, Columnhis privatelyist Lewis cites beginning with owned enterexamples of his infamous “We prise Nygard “selfless altru- got the country International ism” that this has given him back” film clip “giant of a a probable man”, “incred- showing him in billion dollar ible human 2013 entertaining fortune. In the being” and early 1980s, he Mr Christie, “humble phihere Jerome Fitzgerald arrived lanthropist” virtually unhas bestowed and other Cabinet known, buyupon our couning what was try. Our ben- ministers.’ then called efactor’s most Simms Point significant contribution, as in a sealed auction from the reported by the star-struck guardians of Shirley Oakes writer, is his support of stem Butler (Sir Harry’s daughcell therapy, even having al- ter) who lay in irrecoverlegedly made a donation able coma after an automoto the Progressive Liberal bile crash. He beat another Party (PLP) for research.. bidder who, by interesting In fact, his contributions coincidence, owned the to this promising branch of same Point House later sold medicine (though still not to Nygard’s neighbour and certified in the US) have present nemesis, American been more hype than real- Louis Bacon. ity. Aside from self-proSince Nygard’s unspoiled moting videos on YouTube five-acre Nygard Cay penin-

sulas had never been part of the Lyford Cay estate, it was not subject to restrictive design rules, leaving him free to build the looming architectural vulgarity of mixed Mayan-Polynesian style, of which I was once given a full tour, using a jeep-wide track to reach the top floor.

Again, there’s no doubt that Nygard Cay became a centre for nubile nymphets romping to deafening music and, to be fair, for Bahamian athletes practicing their volleyball skills and for entertaining underprivileged youths. His lifestyle of non-stop publicity has been hardly more bizarre than other wealthy eccentrics who have settled here, and only arouses public concern with his suspect influence over the PLP government, beginning with his infamous “We (sic) got the country back” film clip showing him in early 2013 entertaining Mr Christie, Jerome Fitzgerald and other Cabinet ministers. In the same year, he received an injunction to stop accreting new seafront land to his property, an injunction that has never been enforced and was still being litigated at a hearing two weeks ago.

The principal litigant has been the Bahamian incorporated charity Save the Bays, partially financed by Mr Bacon, who has had his own success in creating a major hedge fund and receiving conservation awards from The Audubon Society.

Somehow, Mr Bacon, who rarely appears in public, has run afoul of vocal segments of Bahamian public opinion. Nygard’s legal counsel Keod Smith, also serving as imaginative publicist, produced countless Facebook scenes naming Bacon a “racist”, claiming his great grandfather owned slaves and was a founder of the Ku Klux Klan (Mr Smith recently lost his appeal from a verdict for defaming a local judge and is being pursued for legal costs.)

Education Minister Fitzgerald’s famous explosion in the House of Assembly last March claimed that Save the Bays was using Bacon’s megabucks to “destabilise”, even “overthrow”, our government, backed up by Minister Fred

Mitchell’s dire warning of some $8 million transferred here to finance this fanciful insurrection. Neither gentleman has produced a shred of evidence for this hysteria. Even worse, after Mr Fitzgerald appealed a Supreme Court decision prohibiting him from disclosing the confidential papers he brandished to the House, the Attorney General stepped in to defend him - in my opinion a blatant misuse of public funds for private protection.

This pattern of PLP attack for Mr Nygard’s benefit has been followed by more examples of his friendly ties to the ruling party. In the transcript of a recent Save the Bays v Nygard hearing, corporate counsel for his company, and once a shareholder, was disclosed to be Zarina Fitzgerald, a partner of Higgs & Johnson and wife of Mr Fitzgerald.

While she and her firm are perfectly entitled to represent any company in good standing, can it be coincidence that of the hundreds of qualified local attorneys, Mr Nygard chose one linked

to the very Cabinet minister who uses his political position to vilify Nygard’s opponents?

The transcript also disclosed that Mr Nygard’s “agent” for managing Nygard Cay was Eric Gibson, brother of minister Shane Gibson and authorised to negotiate property permits for the Cay. The Gibson brothers appear to have other dealings with Nygard, in the heart of downtown Nassau. The key property for developing derelict eastern Bay Street is the long-vacant Union Wharf site, finally sold very quietly a couple of years ago to a Barbados company called Galaxy Group. Although the true owner has never been named, a November 2015 press report revealed that the Bahamian director was - surprise Eric Gibson. Real estate insiders learned that Galaxy was a front for Nygard, as financier of the reported $10 million purchase price.

Having approved the sale to a foreign company, government should have demanded development of the

site, but its valuable 3.9-acre waterfront acres remain silent behind locked gates - a visible rebuke to Mr Christie’s continual promises to renovate the surrounding zombie zone of decaying buildings.

It is a pity that Mr Nygard does not apply his undoubted talents as fashion designer and salesman to spread his business to the Bahamas. He could divert a small percentage of his garment production from Asia to Nassau and Freeport, opening a Nygard store and teaching many Bahamians a new trade. Given our higher wage scales than China or Sri Lanka, this would of course increase his operating expenses - but apparently his vaunted generosity to our country does not extend to reducing his profit margin on our behalf.

• Richard Coulson is a retired lawyer and investment banker born in Nassau and from a long line of Bahamians. He is a financial consultant and author of A Corkscrew Life - adventures of a travelling financier.

THE THETRIBUNE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 22,2017, 2017,PAGE PAGEA9 9 Wednesday, February 22nd,

INTERNET-BEAMING BALLOONS TO OUTMANOEUVRE SHIFTING WINDS?

FOR its next trick, an internet-beaming balloon factory spun out of Google believes it can outmanoeuvre the wind.

In doing so, the four-yearold “Project Loon” says it will be able to bring remote parts of the world online more quickly with a smaller fleet of the balloons than it previously thought.

Engineers involved in the eccentric project, a part of the X Lab owned by Google’s corporate parent Alphabet Inc., say they have come up with algorithms that enable the high-flying balloons to do a better job anticipating shifting wind conditions so they hover above masses of land for several months instead of orbiting the earth.

X now expects to need fewer balloons to fulfill its goal of delivering internet service to billions of people living in unconnected regions in the world, ranging from small villages in Africa to the woods of California.

The need for fewer balloons should lower Project Loon’s costs and accelerate plans to start selling internet-services subscriptions to

TECHTALK • IN A nod to its past as well as its future, WhatsApp is adding a “status” feature that lets users tell their contacts what they are up to.

It’s not a new idea — WhatsApp started out as a way for people to let their friends know what they are up to — at work or available, for example. Messaging, now the app’s main function, was added later.

But it’s also a sign that the Facebook-owned app is expanding the amount of features it has, just as Instagram, another Facebook subsidiary, has been doing over the years.

Users will be able to post photos or videos as status updates.

WhatsApp says the status posts will be end-to-end encrypted, just as its messages are. That means only the parties who are communicating can see the messages, not an outside party or even WhatsApp.

A PHOTO from Google’s Project Loon launch event in 2013 – Photo: Doug Coldwell. consumers and businesses.

The X lab, like other parts of Alphabet that are funded

by Google’s highly profitable digital advertising network, is under pressure to start making money on its own.

The Alphabet subsidiaries operating outside Google, a hodgepodge of far-flung projects, have lost a combined $7.1 billion during the past two years. In an acknowledgement of their lofty goals and risky nature, Alphabet CEO Larry Page calls them “moonshots.”

Astro Teller, who runs the X Lab, declined to provide a specific timetable for when Project Loon might start selling internet access plans.

Meeting with reporters Thursday at X’s headquarters in a former shopping mall in Mountain View, California, Teller said the project hopes to team up with a telecommunications provider within the next few months to begin testing how well the balloons’ new navigational system will work.

He likened the newly developed algorithms’ objectives to “a game of chess with the wind.”

If the algorithms prevail in their metrological battle, Project Loop hopes to need only 10 to 30 beams floating about 60,000 feet above the earth to transmit high-speed internet signals to a target

market, instead of up to 400 balloons orbiting around the globe.

Keeping the balloons in smaller clusters will also make them easier to locate and retrieve once they descend back to land after several months in the stratosphere, Teller said.

Project Loon has been doing most of its testing recently in South America, although Teller said that isn’t necessarily where it will team up with a telecommunications provider to determine the effectiveness of its wind-defying technology.

Since launching in New Zealand in 2013, the balloons have traveled 19 million kilo-

ATLANTA EYES TEST TRACKS FOR SELF-DRIVING CARS

SELF-DRIVING vehicles could begin tooling down a bustling Atlanta street full of cars, buses, bicyclists and college students, as the city vies with other communities nationwide to test the emerging technology.

Atlanta would become one of the largest urban areas for testing self-driving vehicles if plans come together for a demonstration as early as September.

Nationwide, 10 sites were designated last month as “proving grounds” for automated vehicles by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

They include North Carolina turnpikes, the eastern Iowa prairie and a Michigan site where World War II bombing aircraft were produced in a factory built by automobile pioneer Henry Ford. Atlanta isn’t on the list, but city officials nevertheless hope to make an impact.

Backers of driverless cars say they could be part of a broader effort to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, something President Donald Trump has pledged to do.

As roads and highways are rebuilt, “we think it would be very, very wise to build modern infrastructure with 21st-century capability in mind,” said Paul Brubaker, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Alliance for Transportation Innovation.

Self-driving vehicles, he said, “should be a national priority.”

The Trump administration hasn’t revealed its approach to the technology, but two U.S. senators this month announced a bipartisan effort to help speed deployment of the vehicles on the nation’s roads.

A DRIVERLESS shuttle bus retraces its tracks while on display at the Riverside EpiCenter in Austell, Ga. (AP) Republican John Thune of South Dakota and Democrat Gary Peters of Michigan said they’re considering legislation that “clears hurdles and advances innovation in selfdriving vehicle technology.”

Atlanta has sought proposals from companies for a demonstration of an autonomous vehicle on North Avenue later this year, city documents show.

The street, which connects the Georgia Institute of Technology campus to some of the South’s tallest skyscrapers, would be among the busiest urban environments yet for such testing.

In Atlanta, city officials say a key goal is to create optimal conditions on North Avenue for such vehicles to operate.

The goal of September’s demonstration is to show how such a vehicle would navigate in realworld traffic, though a driver will be inside and can take the controls if needed, said Faye DiMassimo, an Atlanta official involved in the North Avenue project.

“We still think that autonomous vehicles are sort of ‘The Jetsons,’ right?” DiMassimo said.

“When you looked at all the information, you realise not only is this here and now, this has been in development for quite some time.”

North Avenue would first be equipped with devices and sensors, enabling vehicles to communicate with traffic signals and warning self-driving cars of red lights or treacherous conditions such as snow or ice, the city documents show.

Cameras would provide live video of traffic, and computers would analyse data on road conditions, concerts or other events likely to clog streets.

Security is a key concern, however.

“Imagine if these vehicles were hacked. Imagine if the system that controls them were hacked,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. “I don’t think our society is going to want a robot glitch or a software hack to be responsible for mass deaths,” he said.

“If we sanction robots controlling these vehicles without really knowing the risks, I think the technology will go under when the first major catastrophe befalls us.”

Court’s group worked with California transportation officials as they developed rules for testing vehicles developed by Google and other companies.

Now, Court and others are watching to see how often human drivers must take over to prevent accidents as vehicles are tested in California.

JEFF MARTIN, Associated Press

metres, or nearly 12 million miles, according to Project Loon.

Alphabet frames Project Loon as a noble endeavor striving to enable people currently without reliable internet service to tap into the vast reservoir of knowledge, entertainment and conveniences available online.

But it could also enrich Google by expanding the potential audience that can query its search engine, watch video on YouTube, correspond through Gmail and click on digital ads. ‘

MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer

OFFICIALS TO ‘POKEMON’ MONSTERS: GET A PERMIT TO ENTER PARKS “POKEMON GO” monsters can roam virtually wherever they please, but they’ll need a permit to get into Milwaukee County parks.

At the height of the game’s popularity last summer, the large crowds it attracted to one Milwaukee park left county officials at a loss for how to deal with the sudden influx of players and the trash they left behind. With more augmented-reality games in development, the permitting process Milwaukee County set up puts it at the forefront of an emerging challenge for government officials who want to regulate them.

“We’re prepared for all of them now,” said County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman, who wrote the proposal setting up a permitting process that County Executive Chris Abele signed on Feb. 10.

Other places where officials are looking at how to handle such games include Illinois, where lawmakers are considering requiring companies to remove sites from games when they receive a request to do so. The bill pending in the Illinois Legislature is a response to heavy foot-traffic last year at a suburban Chicago park with protected dunes.

Kate Edwards, the executive director of the International Game Developers Association, said in an email that local and state regulations haven’t been on developers’ radars because there haven’t been any “that specifically affect game content or design.”

IVAN MORENO, Associated Press

• A NEW supercomputer at a federally funded research centre in Wyoming will do important work for a wide range of Earth science research. Among upcoming projects: — Researchers at the University of Wyoming are simulating air currents around the spinning blades of wind turbines, data that could help make wind farms more efficient. Wyoming ranks among the top states for wind energy potential and within a decade could be home to the nation’s biggest wind farm, the 1,000-turbine Chokecherry and Sierra Madre project under development by The Anschutz Corp., which traces its roots to the oil industry.

— University of Delaware and federal scientists are modeling how the sun produces solar flares, blasts of radiation through space that can threaten satellites and even the power grid.

— A study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research will research how mimicking the effects of a volcanic eruption by deliberately putting sulfates into the atmosphere could work to counter the effects of climate change.

• A New Zealand judge on Monday upheld an earlier court ruling that flamboyant internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and three of his colleagues can be extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges.

The decision comes five years after U.S. authorities shut down Dotcom’s filesharing website Megaupload and filed charges of conspiracy, racketeering and money laundering against the men.

If found guilty, they could face decades in prison.

Dotcom, who lives in New Zealand, has been fighting extradition in a case which has moved with glacial slowness at times. And Monday’s decision won’t be the last, with the case likely to be appealed up to New Zealand’s Supreme Court, a process that could take another year or two.

U.S. prosecutors say that Megaupload raked in at least $175 million, mainly from people using it to illegally download songs, television shows and movies.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, February 22, 2017

UNIVERSITY of The Bahamas president Rodney Smith.

ELGIN SMITH, VP and chief information officer.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

THE TRIBUNE

Meeting reveals goals for university planning

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE University of The Bahamas (UB) has started four “key initiatives” expected to realign the concept of tertiary level education in The Bahamas over several years, according to some of the institution’s top academic, financial and management officials.

With the view clearly set on institutional accreditation, strategic planning, data management and capital works, the contingent led by UB President Dr Rodney Smith yesterday laid out plans and concepts all geared toward “aggressively” making the institution more “viable and competitive”.

Dr Smith, who chaired a “media information meeting”, said while the initiatives currently being undertaken by UB often take other institutions several years, his team is ready to get them done in a shorter time.

Dr Smith confirmed that UB has begun the process necessary to become accredited at both national and international levels. At the local level, UB is working through procedures as laid out by the National Accreditation & Equivalency Council of The Bahamas (NAECOB).

At the international level, UB has initiated an application for accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Dr Smith asserted that SACS’ accreditation is one of the “most stringent” accrediting bodies in the United States, and perhaps the world, due to the number of global institutions seeking its accreditation - a group that includes the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Expounding on the progress of the application process with SACS, Dr Danny Davis, UB director of strategic planning, strengthening and accreditation, indicated that the university has already completed the candidacy portion of the application process.

According to Dr Davis, the candidacy portion of the process acted as an initial security checkpoint, giving way to an even more stringent check system that takes into consideration “every small detail” of an institution’s make-up.

This element, according to both Dr Smith and Dr Davis, stands to reason as to why it was critical for UB to take on all four initiatives simultaneously.

Officials maintained that the acquisition of this accreditation will ensure that the university raises and maintains standards of quality and accountability across all levels of the institution.

As it relates to school’s strategic plan, Dr Smith added: “As we grow our graduate programmes, we will also attract graduate students to the Bahamas for advanced degrees. For in-

stance, we intend to create what I call hybrid graduate studies.

“For example, we are a small island developing state, an archipelagic country, with resources not found anywhere else in the world.

“We have the opportunity to offer graduate studies in small island sustainable development, allowing graduate students the opportunity to spend a semester at the Gerace Research Institute in San Salvador, a semester at the Cape Eleuthera Institute, a semester at BAMSI and finally a semester at the GTR Campbell Small Island Sustainability Research Complex at the main campus here in Nassau, completing either a master’s thesis or a doctoral dissertation.

“This kind of symbiosis, allows a most beneficial relationship between graduate studies, scientific research, and access to international grant sources.”

Additionally, UB has already rolled out plans for a complete overhaul of its data managements concepts.

UB VP and Chief Information Officer Elgin Smith said the implementation of a $3m data system, referred to as the banner system, will redefine how the school handles everything from cloud storage for students to financial services offered to paying parents.

Officials said the system is designed to “enable the most critical needs and processes in an institution” such as UB. The group added: “It will definitely take the university to the highest level in terms of how we serve our students, how we attract talent and how we manage our finances and all other administrative issues. It will also move us towards paperless transactions.”

With phase one of the new system already being studied by staff at UB, the complete service is expected be rolled out in parts over the next two years.

Lastly, as it relates to capital works projects, UB officials confirmed that they are progressing on plans for a 1,000-bed residence hall complex at the Oakes Field campus.

According to Dr Smith: “This new building will do much more than provide necessary housing for our growing main campus. It will help to make this campus more internationally appealing as we provide degree programmes that will be of interest to international students.”

He added: “For too long we have essentially been a commuter campus. Having students live on campus will be a real investment in developing the type of thriving campus life that distinguishes other universities.

More importantly, creating a residential campus will increase retention and progress toward graduation.”

The University of The Bahamas was chartered on November 10, 2016.

ASHLEY THOMPSON EARN’S COLLEGE DEAN’S LIST HONOUR ASHLEY Thompson, daughter of Colin and Lynette Thompson of Nassau, Bahamas, has earned the distinction of being named to the Dean’s List for the 2016 fall semester at the College of Saint Benedict (CSB) in Minnesota, US. Ms Thompson is a sophomore integrative science and pre-occupational ther-

apy major at CSB. To be included on the Dean’s List, students must have a semester gradepoint average of at least 3.80 and have completed 12 credits for which honour points (A, B, C, etc) are awarded. Students included on the Dean’s List cannot have any “unsatisfactory” or “incomplete” grades for that semester.

THE TRIBUNE

Junior achievers give their backing to Lupus 242 FEBRUARY is Junior Achievement (JA) month in The Bahamas and this year, the group’s executive has selected Lupus 242 as the organisation’s official JA Cares partner.

The non-profit group will receive part proceeds from JA Bahamas’ annual steak out set for March 4.

Over the past two years, Lupus 242 has worked directly with two JA companies - the BEC Fuse and BEC Volts - to raise awareness and team up for fundraising initiatives.

Lupus 242 vice-president, Shonalee Johnson, sees the connection between JA and the lupus community growing and strengthening in the years to come.

“We are pleased to join forces with Junior Achievement Bahamas to continue to push our platform of raising lupus awareness,” Mrs Johnson said. “This relationship started out with young achievers and their advisors reaching out to our organisation after one of

their own members was diagnosed with lupus and later passed away. The Achievers genuinely wanted to learn more about the disease and were determined to help us in our mission to advocate for persons in the Bahamas living with lupus.

“This most recent partnership with JA Bahamas’ governing body speaks to the organisation’s commitment to providing achievers with opportunities to be well-rounded citizens. We are grateful for their generosity and we wish them much success during JA month.”

More than 5.5 million people around the world live with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease brought on by genetics, environment and hormonal imbalances in the body. Common symptoms include debilitating pain, fatigue and unexplained flare-ups impacting random parts of the body especially internal organs.

With entrepreneurship, financial responsibility and

career planning at the core of the programme’s objectives, JA leaders and advisors used the month to create networking opportunities for the students.

Already, the youth-based initiative has held a series of events under the theme ‘Solving Tomorrow’s Problems Today! to commemorate the month - including speech competitions, an open house exhibition and competition, the annual church service, job shadowing and a college and career fair. The BahamaJAC conference is scheduled for February 24-26.

Philip Simon, Acting Executive Director and Vice-Chairman of Junior Achievement Bahamas, said the organisation has existed locally for almost 40 years and has played a significant role in entrepreneurship, financial literacy and economic training for thousands of current and former Achievers. “The principles of JA bode very well in the overall devel-

FROM left, Christine Campbell; Dr Robin Roberts; Dr Sandra Dean-Patterson; Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin; Phedra Rahming; Lester Ferguson and Terry Fountain.

GRIFFIN LAUNCHES PROJECT TO RECLAIM OUR BOYS MINISTER of Social Services and Community Development Melanie Griffin recently launched the Reclaiming Our Boys Project - an initiative which was called for under the National Strategic Plan To Address Gender-Based Violence.

“Far too many of our young men and boys are dying and far too many families are crying,” Mrs Griffin said at the launch. “This project will put in place measures to address the high levels of violence by reclaiming the young men and boys that have fallen prey to violence; discouraging a future life of violence for boys, and promoting healthy forms of conflict resolution for them.”

The Reclaiming Our Boys Project was launched with a special three-day workshop designed to address the high levels of violence in the country, which are mainly affected by Bahamian young males aged 18 to 25 as both victim and perpetrator.

The workshop “Let’s Take Back Our Boys” was hosted by the Department of Gender and Family Affairs along with United Nation’s Women (UN Women) Senior Programme Specialist Gabrielle Henderson; Tyrone Buckmire, workshop consultant; and Dr Robin Roberts from the National Task Force To End Gender Based Violence.

Participants included doctors, psychiatrists,

SOME of the participants in the Reclaiming Our Boys Project.

teachers, counsellors and youth leaders who spent three days receiving training specifically in dealing with youth, which the United Nation deems as those between 16 and 30. They also shared experiences and were given insight on how to truly impact the lives of those in this most vulnerable group and save them from killing or harming one another.

“Recognising that strong, inclusive and equitable nations are created when women and girls, and men and boys partner equally to address the social challenges facing societies, we stand firmly behind the ideas undergirding this project,” said Mrs Griffin.

opment of our country’s youth, from kindergarten to high school and beyond,” he said.

“We recognise and celebrate the many corporate sponsors, volunteers, staff and supporters in the private and public sectors who have made this programme possible throughout the Commonwealth. But most importantly, and collectively, we remain committed to positioning our students for future success.”

On the donation to Lupus 242, Mr Simon said: “Partnering with a group like Lupus 242 is a way for us to show our achievers the importance of giving back and it allows them to learn, at a very early age, what it means to have empathy for others beyond just a corporate social responsibility in business.”

Lupus 242 was established in 2012 to provide awareness, education and support. In May, the group will commemorate Lupus Awareness Month in The Bahamas.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017, PAGE 11

PICTURED wearing purple to represent lupus are achievers from JA Company KEY$ with JA’s Scholarships Coordinator, Erica Morris.

Ride For Hope

PAGE 12, Wednesday, February 22, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

THE RIDE for Hope 2017 was held in Eleuthera on Saturday, with riders travelling to take on the annual event.

Photos: Dante Carrer