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Davis lays down new challenge for election TV debate with Minnis

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis said he is willing to participate in a national televised debate with Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

Dr Minnis, however, did not reply when asked moments earlier if he would debate Mr Davis.

The men had just finished attending an event

SEE PAGE EIGHT

SUSPECT HELD IN DOUBLE SHOOTING

A MAN is dead and another is in hospital after a double shooting last night on John Road off Hospital Lane.

Assistant Superintendent Audley Peters said shortly before 7pm, responding officers met a man lying on the ground with apparent gunshot wounds to the chest.

yesterday marking the opening of the new Macfit360 facility in Cable Beach when reporters surrounded them.

“I’ve said it before, that I am (willing to debate),” Mr Davis said. “If he wants to, I am here. I was asked before whether I would be prepared to debate the Prime Minister on a national stage, I said yes and I am, and I asked you to ask him whether he is prepared to.”

SEE PAGE THREE

SEE PAGE SEVEN

BRANVILLE BITES BACK AT GIBSON OVER DEBT

IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL - BUT NOT ALL CAMPUSES READY

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

WHILE public schools in Abaco, Eleuthera, Exuma and New Providence will welcome students back to the classrooms for in-person learning today under a hybrid model, not every

HURRICANE SET SHAUN ON A MISSION TO SERVE

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

campus will be ready to accommodate pupils.

At a press conference yesterday, Ministry of Education officials explained how the hybrid model will work, allowing students to attend school on a reduced schedule while they are

THE DNA’s former leader yesterday said the Prime Minister was “as quiet as a lamb” while slamming the “amazing” response to his law firm’s action against the Water & Sewerage Corporation.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

SEE PAGE FOUR PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis takes a moment to test out the facilities during the grand opening of the Macfit Gym yesterday.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

CAVALIER LIQUIDATOR EYES SPURS BOSS’ HOME

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE $20m home belonging to the chairman of one of England’s top Premier League soccer clubs has emerged as a potential major recovery source for Cavalier Construction creditors.

Multiple sources have revealed a $1m “retention

TOTTENHAM duo Daniel Levy and Joe Lewis. payment” was purportedly due to the failed Bahamian contractor on the residence it was building for Daniel Levy, Tottenham Hotspur’s

principal, at the Albany development in south-western New Providence.

Retention payments represent monies that are withheld from contractors until a project is finished and/or any defects have been remedied, and this sum represented five percent of the construction value related to Mr Levy’s home.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

HARRY AND MEGHAN HAVE MADE THEIR BED

SEE PAGE NINE

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, February 23, 2021, PAGE 3

DAVIS LAYS DOWN NEW CHALLENGE FOR ELECTION TV DEBATE WITH MINNIS from page one

Mr Davis, who hosted a press conference at the PLP’s headquarters last week, has contrasted his accessibility to the press with that of Dr Minnis.

He said: “You know what’s so interesting? I’m here standing up responding to your questions and I can’t remember ever seeing y’all ask him questions.

Don’t you think it’s time for him to be answering y’all?”

Mr Davis also criticised Dr Minnis’ weekend national address.

“I think disappointment is putting it mildly,” he said.

“Bahamians today are suffering and they need to hear words of hope and inspiration to assure them that this government is doing something to get them out of the misery that they are now enduring.

“No such plan or vision was articulated by the Prime Minister yesterday.

“The time has come for the Prime Minister to stop looking out for himself, and start looking out for the Bahamian people.

“When I say looking out for himself, he’s more engaged in an attempt to find ways and means to re-elect himself or have

himself re-elected than finding the solutions for the problems that our communities are enduring today.”

Mr Davis was asked if Bahamians deserve public disclosures about the health of those vying to lead the country that is similar to the transparency that usually characterises presidential politics in the United States.

US presidential candidates usually release official assessments of their health.

“Health is always a question,” Mr Davis said. “I don’t know whether there are any issues of health relating to (the Prime Minister) or I and if there are any questions, they can be asked but I’m not aware that the Prime Minister has any issue that we ought to be concerned about. I don’t have any that I could be concerned about. I have none of the diseases that usually afflict the Bahamian people, so I know that my last health bill was clean, and I have no issues with my health.”

Mr Davis was diagnosed with COVID-19 last year and recovered from the disease in a US hospital after a brief stay in Doctors Hospital.

He turns 70 in June and Dr Minnis will be 67 in April.

PLP leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis at the opening of the Macfit Gym yesterday.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

CULMER AIMS FOR DAVIS SAYS CANDIDATES COMMITTEE MCALPINE SEAT WILL DECIDE IVER VAUGHN MILLER

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL government representative in Grand Bahama thinks he is the best choice to run on the Free National Movement’s ticket in Pineridge, as the party interviews candidates in Nassau to replace incumbent Rev Frederick McAlpine.

A well placed FNM source told The Tribune several prospective candidates were being interviewed in Nassau over the weekend, including local government councilor and Grand Bahama Power employee Kendal Culmer.

When asked yesterday if he was being interviewed as a hopeful for Pineridge, Mr Culmer said, “Yes I am. I entered the race thinking I am the best candidate to be chosen. I think through my work in local government it shows that I am ready to serve.

“I am the local government representative for Marco City and after the hurricane and during the restoration and now the pandemic, I think I answered the call of those persons in Marco City. I can now take that over to Pineridge as their MP.” On Sunday, Mr McAlpine told The Tribune he was aware of the reported interviews to find a new FNM candidate for the area and expressed displeasure that the party has not formally told him he is not getting a nomination.

Asked how he felt about the situation, the outspoken MP said: “I don’t feel any way about it you know, because they have to do what they have to do and that’s fine... At the end of the day it speaks that they are not bold enough to contact me or to say anything to me then that speaks to their integrity as an organisation. And also to their cowardice, not mine.”

Asked if he will offer as an independent candidate, the Pineridge MP said that decision will be made at a later date after he has discussed it with his family.

“They’re the party, they’re the organisation.

I am one man. If you ain’t running me, tell me you ain’t running me. I ain’t ga kill you for that, it’s your party, you’re the leadership but I am not going to

say what I am going to do until they say what they are going to do,” he said.

When contacted yesterday, FNM chairman Carl Culmer would not comment on the Pineridge nomination process.

Pressed further and asked about a list of named interviewees, he said, “No comment, I am not commenting on that either.”

In addition to Mr Culmer from Marco City, six others said to be considered for the Pineridge nomination including Raquel Beneby-Hart, assistant to Minister Kwasi Thompson in the Office of the Prime Minister, Grand Bahama; educator Frazette Gibson; and April Gow, a businesswoman.

They were all tight-lipped when contacted.

“I, unfortunately have no comment at this time,” Ms Gow said when asked about her being a prospective candidate for Pineridge. “I respect the process. Being an FNM, I am loyal to my party and the process.”

When she was contacted, Ms Gibson chuckled before responding. She offered no comment, either.

“I have no comment at this time. I am a little shocked that I am getting a call, but I have no comment at this time,” Ms Gibson said.

Ms Beneby-Hart also declined comment.

Pineridge is not the only FNM seat up for grabs in Grand Bahama. Recently former Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest sent a message to his East Grand Bahama Association members to say he received a call from Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis telling him that he would not be on the FNM ticket to represent East Grand Bahama. He later released a statement saying he had decided to withdraw his candidacy.

He resigned from Cabinet recently over a fraud claim in a lawsuit which he has denied.

This situation reportedly did not sit well with many FNMs and a new candidate has not been chosen as yet.

There are 14 more FNM candidates to be ratified and these include candidates in areas represented by the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and also Elizabeth represented

by Dr Duane Sands which is carefully being watched by most politicos.

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis said criticism of Golden Isles MP Vaughn Miller does not “go to the root of whether he will be nominated or not.”

He was speaking to reporters after touring the new Macfit360 facility near Cable Beach yesterday.

Sources have told The Tribune that Mr Miller is favoured to get the nomination in Golden Isles.

The likely nomination has been heavily criticised by some PLP supporters and residents of the constituency.

“The negative views don’t go to the root of whether he will be nominated or not,” Mr Davis said when asked about the

matter. “Whether he will be nominated or not is a question that will be made by the Candidates Committee based on the fact, first of all, that he is now an incumbent, secondly, that he meets what we need for that particular constituency. I know him to be a man of compassion. He is a caring individual. Those are the qualities that we are looking for in candidates so he meets those criteria.”

Mr Davis said the negative views, which have been expressed through the media and a petition, “just demonstrate the robust democracy we have in our party”.

“There are always views being expressed, some are passionate, not passionate but I don’t think Vaughn Miller has anything to concern himself about because it’s the process,”

he said. “Once you engage in a democratic process, you will have views being expressed, some hurtful, some not hurtful but at the end of the day democracy will prevail.”

Mr Miller admitted to The Tribune earlier this month that he has not been as visible a parliamentarian as he would have liked.

“In terms of going throughout all the constituency, that has been a challenge,” he said. “It’s a very big constituency. Have I been as visible as I wanted to be? No. And of course, the process of moving from FNM to PLP was challenging because being in the governing party puts you in a more favourable position to assist people. Once you’re no longer in that group, everything changes and that’s one of the consequences of moving.”

Many PLP supporters in the constituency favour the party’s previous standard bearer Michael Halkitis, but Mr Halkitis has been nominated to run in St Barnabas this cycle.

The Free National Movement’s candidate in the area is Brian Brown, a Coral Harbour resident and the chairman of the party’s constituency branch since 2010.

Mr Brown recommended Mr Miller for the constituency in 2017 after Kenyatta Gibson withdrew his candidacy.

Mr Miller resigned from the FNM in December 2019 and joined the PLP last September.

Mr Davis could not say yesterday when the PLP will have its next ratification exercise.

However, he said: “By (the) end of next week we should have all done.”

PAGE 4, Tuesday, February 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL - BUT NOT ALL CAMPUSES READY

from page one

still expected to engage in learning activities when not on campus.

It has been mandated that not more than 50 percent of the student population is at school at any one time to limit the number of people in one physical space.

While the exact number of schools unable to open today was not revealed, a few area superintendents listed a number of institutions and when they would be open. Construction work was one of the main reasons given, among others, why all schools on the aforementioned islands will not reopen for face-to-face learning today.

Education Minister Jeffrey Lloyd pointed to COVID-19 and funding issues to explain why repairs are still continuing.

“When those constructions were allowed many of the schools were able to complete those repairs and to the extent where funding wasn’t available those schools that were impacted were not able to complete their repairs.”

Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) president Belinda Wilson told The Tribune that 11 schools in New Providence will not open for face-to-face learning because of “incomplete school repairs”, or renovations that have not been addressed as yet.

In western New

Providence alone, seven schools will not be opening out of 12.

Students of Naomi Blatch Preschool, Yellow Elder Primary School, Gambier Primary School, Sybil Strachan, The Centre for the Deaf, T G Glover, and Gerald Cash Primary will not report to campus today.

For these schools, learning will continue virtually.

Theophilus Claridge, district superintendent of the Southern New Providence Secondary School District, said Anatol Rodgers students will report to campus on Friday with grade 7 and 10 students while R M Bailey will see 10th graders on campus that day.

He also noted L W Young and T A Thompson schools

Bethel: Govt ‘close’ on bill to replace COVID restrictions

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel says his office is close to completing a post-Emergency Orders Bill that will replace current COVID-19 restrictions.

He said the Bill will create an advisory committee to suggest protocols that fall in line with the constitution and suggested the move will ensure society returns to normal following the expiration of the COVID-19 restrictions.

Speaking in the Senate yesterday, Senator Bethel said such a bill was difficult to draft, but when complete will meet the “constitutional standard”.

He did not give a timeline of when the legislation will be finished.

“On the issue of the emergency orders, the government is and my drafts person has been working very hard on crafting a bill that will fill the void, if you will, between the Health Services Bill and the need for this constitutional order,” said Mr Bethel.

“The idea is that the Bill, and we are in the very final stages of it, is going to be carefully crafted.

“Anything that is done must be reasonably justifiable, which is the constitutional standard for ordinary everyday conduct legislation, government actions, etcetera.

“So, everything is being based and premised on the phrase that it is ‘reasonably justifiable’ in the circumstance so we are very very close to having a post-Emergency Orders Bill and that will allow the Prime Minister to have an advisory committee (with) opposition members,

will not open today due to construction still on-going.

Instead, they are set to welcome students on campus in about two weeks.

Parents were encouraged to communicate with schools and visit their platforms for more information.

Director of Education Marcellus Taylor said a contingency plan is built into the hybrid model in the case of an outbreak.

“We have face-to-face instructions going on in North Andros but we had a suspected case of COVID19 about two weeks ago.

What happened then was we closed the school, but the students just transitioned to virtual because virtual was already in place.

So it’s this spectrum that

we have in place of ways in which we deliver education it goes from face to hybrid to virtual,” he said.

“When safety is a concern we move towards the virtual. When safety becomes less and less of a concern we move towards face-to-face and so whichever of those three modalities appears to be the most appropriate for the time that is the modality. It might not be a whole island. It might be a particular school depending on the circumstances.”

Deputy director of education Sharon Poiter said schools are putting in place a means of providing an assessment of where students are in their studies when they return to classrooms.

TOTAL CASES

“They’ve looked at the timetables and they will tweak those timetables.

They’ve come up with what we would call an intervention plan. So those students who have not been able to access, they will be given instruction at the point where they actually are,” she said.

Schools closed last March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ministry of Education switched a virtual platform.

Schools reopened after the summer break last October, however schools in New Providence, Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma were teaching virtually until given the go ahead to begin phased face-to-face learning today.

TOTAL DEATHS

8,471 179

NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES SUNDAY 9 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE GRAND BAHAMA ABACO

TOTAL TESTS

66,595

5 3 1

HOSPITALISED

14

CASES IN ICU

1

7,181

NINE NEW CASES CONFIRMED ON SUNDAY ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel is pictured. government members, work and thought is going medical professionals on into it.”

Ahead of Mr Bethel’s it, to advise the minister so that in a sense the political remarks, Senator Fred directorate on both sides Mitchell raised concern would have a say at the about penalties incurred advisory committee level under Emergency Powers and of course there would Orders.

He said: “My pet peeve is be parliamentary oversight.

“So, we’re trying to craft of course the application of a house firmly under the the laws connected with the jurisdiction of normality pandemic rules that we are that is guided by ordinary now under and the harshconstitutional principles of ness with which this has being reasonably justifiable come against people who and that has input on all can hardly afford given the situation in which they find sides at every stage.

“That should be forth- themselves.

“The most obvious case coming. As soon as it is completed of course it was the case of the fella goes to Cabinet. Cabinet who got fined $750 for sellwill have to approve it, but ing coconuts and again the we’re trying to come up Parliament, people in the Parliament have raised with a new framework.”

He added: “Nobody, these issues, but it appears nobody wants the con- as if the justice system is tinuation ad infinitum of incentive to it.

“To the point where from emergency orders, but it is a difficult work of draft- a political point of view ing because we’re trying where we are now saying, to create something that is and I think it also came from going to be effective, ser- the other side where perviceable, efficient and most haps something has to be done to absolve ex post facto importantly responsive.

“Now with regard to those people who found responses to threats as in themselves getting criminal when they occur and also records as a result of the responsive to civil society rules under this pandemic so and its legitimate concerns, that remains a concern.

“I say again the courts it’s to strike a balance and I can tell you that a lot of must be primarily concerned with justice and if there is no justice then there will be a lack of confidence in the courts and there will be no peace.”

In response, Mr Bethel said he believed the issue was “ameliorated somewhat”.

However, he said there was a question to be answered of what can be done.

“On this question of penalties, I believe that with the ticketing offences that it has been ameliorated somewhat, but it is a question to be determined at some point what will happen in terms of the earlier days in terms of persons who would have been charged. So, we will get back on that issue as well.

“Perhaps I think we can look at it in terms of the overall and when we can get this bill ready and we are very close, we can look at an overall resolution that will bring closure to a number of these issues.”

The current state of emergency and Emergency Powers Order will expire at the end of May.

THE country recorded nine new cases of COVID19 on Sunday, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 8,471.

There are five new cases

in New Providence, three in Grand Bahama and one in Abaco. According to the Ministry of Health, 15 people are in hospital fighting COVID-19 with one

patient in intensive care.

One hundred and seventy-nine people have died from COVID-19 while 15 deaths are under investigation.

WELLS: MORE NURSES FOR FAMILY ISLANDS PLANNED

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Renward Wells said yesterday his ministry plans to send additional nurses to the Family Islands to administer COVID-19 vaccines once doses become available.

He also added that nurses are currently undergoing additional training to ensure they are adequately prepared to carry out the jabs.

“These folks have been used to giving vaccines – I mean just the regular flu vaccine, measles, mumps.

These are persons who are trained,” he told reporters.

“These are clinically trained individuals who are already in the system and obviously, we want to be able to ensure that we don’t have any wastage in regards to the deployment of the vaccine so there is a little more additional training taking place and I assume if we had gotten the Pfizer vaccine we would’ve had to have done even more training but all of that is in train and the Bahamian people could be rest assured that this government, as we’ve said, we have a detailed plan that we put out in regard to what we’ve already sent to the World Health Organisation to just let them know that we are prepared to receive the vaccine and deploy it to the Bahamian people.”

On Sunday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis revealed officials are in the final stages of completing the National COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan in preparation for the arrival of the first doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which are expected to be in the country soon.

Additional details on vaccine shipment was expected to be sent to officials yesterday.

While Mr Wells did not give any new details on the matter, he said discussions with several COVID-19 vaccine manufactures remain ongoing.

He also said The Bahamas is expected to receive a portion of some 500,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India which is expected to be distributed to countries in the region.

“Well, we are in discussions on all fronts—the WHO, the African front, the Indian front—and procuring vaccines directly from the manufactures and the Bahamian people will hear some more from us,” he said.

“India I believe had offered 500,000 doses to the entire region. The Bahamas will get some of that but we’re also interested in purchasing directly from the Serum Institute of India. We would have spoken directly to that and hopefully over the next day or two, we will have even better news for The Bahamas.”

Asked if politicians will be in the first priority group to receive the vaccine, Mr Wells said the ministry does not have any plans to include political figures in the first grouping.

He noted: “I will say that it is not our intention to offer it to politicians in the first group but the reality is this, politicians have to take it and so does the Prime Minister so we are more interested in vaccinating our frontline workers, those persons involved in our armed forces and the Prime Minister would have said during his speech yesterday – he laid out a plan that as to who will get the vaccine.”

The minister was also asked if vaccines will be made available to undocumented migrants.

However, he replied: “The reality is we have a schedule as to who is going to get the vaccines. We’re

going to start with those initially, front line workers, those over 65 but you know as apart of the whole UN process, undocumented migrants show up the hospital to receive all kinds of care but in any event, most of the times, undocumented migrants are not the individuals who come forward other than in circumstances where they absolutely need medical care. So, once the government of The Bahamas would have covered its populations, its Bahamian citizens and residents, I think we will be looking as to how we will meet the requirements of everyone in country.”

According to Dr Minnis, several vaccination sites have already been identified in New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands ahead of the vaccine’s arrival.

However, unlike New Providence and Grand Bahama, everyone on the Family Islands will be vaccinated at the same time and the schedule will not follow the prioritised group rollout as previously announced.

Yesterday, Mr Wells expressed confidence in the government’s vaccine distribution and deployment plan. He also said there will be sufficient healthcare workers on the various Family Islands to vaccinate citizens who are willing to receive the jab.

He said: “We’re going to deploy persons in the Family Islands. We already have nurses, doctors throughout the Family Islands. We have also brought on others on board as a part of the whole vaccination programme into the Ministry of Health and those persons will be deployed to the requisite Family Islands to vaccinate an entire island whenever it is that we do touch down in that particular island for all those persons who want to be vaccinated.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, February 23, 2021, PAGE 5

Women praised for bravery in accusing Peter Nygard THE first women to come forward and expose Peter Nygard’s alleged international sex trafficking ring are being celebrated for “their incredible bravery in the face of unimaginable odds,” becoming the inaugural recipients of Rotary International’s Action Group Against Slavery Hero Award for Outstanding Courage.

The award will be officially presented to the women – from The Bahamas and America – by the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery (RAGAS) in an online ceremony on Wednesday at 3pm.

The group’s board of directors, representing the

US, UK, Australia, South America, Africa and Asia, “voted unanimously to honour the strength and resolve displayed by these survivors, which inspired so many more to come forward,” a press release noted.

“Speaking out as a victim of sex trafficking is always incredibly difficult,” said RAGAS global chairman Dave McCleary. “That these survivors found the resolve to do so having been (allegedly) mercilessly victimised in a jurisdiction where the perpetrator held considerable social and political sway, and where many of them continue to be stigmatised and targeted

for their honesty, is beyond amazing.

“In our view, they represent a shining example of outstanding bravery in the face of unimaginable odds; an example which inspired many more survivors across the globe to come forward and which, ultimately, toppled one of the largest and most sophisticated sex trafficking rings ever exposed to date.

The Anti-Slavery Group, and Rotary as a whole, want to recognise, celebrate and offer our full support to these and other survivors of the (alleged) Nygard sex trafficking operation.”

According to an indictment filed by the Southern District of New York last

December, Nygard allegedly participated in a “decades-long pattern of criminal conduct involving at least dozens of victims in the United States, The Bahamas and Canada, among other locations.”

He has been charged with one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, three counts of sex trafficking of a minor and by force, fraud or coercion, one count of transportation of a minor for purpose of prostitution, two counts of transportation for purpose of prostitution and one count of transportation for purpose of prostitution and illegal sexual activity.

The indictment said Nygard “and others known and unknown, including employees of the Nygard Group, used company funds, employees, resources, and influence to recruit, entice, transport, harbour and maintain adult and minor-aged female victims for Nygard’s sexual gratification and, on occasion, the gratification of Nygard’s personal friends and business associates by, among other things, sex trafficking, interstate and international transport for purposes of engaging in prostitution and other illegal sexual activities, and related offences.”

The assertions in the

indictment largely mirror the allegations in a classaction lawsuit filed against Nygard in New York earlier in 2020.

Formed in 2013, RAGAS provides information about, and promotes ways for Rotarians around the world to engage and support anti-slavery and human trafficking projects, programmes and campaigns; supports and publicises the work of anti-slavery and anti-human trafficking organisations and supports campaigns that highlight illegal activity and seek to bring justice for those offended.

The group has attracted support from Rotarians in some 65 countries.

MINISTRY BUILDING RENAMED TO HONOUR SIR ORVILLE TURNQUEST THE Ministry of National Security building was officially renamed in honour of former Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest during a special ceremony yesterday.

While giving the keynote address, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis praised the many achievements of Sir Orville and commended him for his great contributions to Bahamian society.

Given his exemplary service to the country, Dr Minnis said it was most appropriate that Sir Orville be recognised and celebrated by having the new Ministry of National Security building renamed in his honour.

“Sir Orville Turnquest dedicated his life to public service and to the betterment of our Commonwealth,” Dr Minnis said yesterday. “Hailing from Grants Town and rising to

the upper echelon of the legal profession, Sir Orville struggled for decades to help to secure democracy in The Bahamas.

“Like other freedom fighters, he lent his talents and energy to help to deepen and broaden our democracy. He made various sacrifices for the sake of country and the kind of country he wanted for all Bahamians.”

He added: “He served in a number of areas in public life, including as Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs and as Attorney General and Deputy Prime Minister.

He was knighted in 1995.

In 2018, he was awarded the Order of the Nation. It is fitting that this building is named in honour of one who has given such service to The Bahamas throughout his lifetime.

“And those of you who will work in this building

and walk these halls, may you follow the inspiration of Sir Orville who remained steadfast in his commitment to our national good.”

According to Dr Minnis, the Orville A Turnquest National Security Building will play an essential role in the strengthening and further coordination of the law enforcement agencies.

He said: “This four-story, 70,000 square-feet modern structure is comprised of an east and west wing to accommodate each of our armed forces. Many men and women have fought over the generations to help to build and to secure our Bahamas.

“May this new structure also stand as a testament to the dedication of generations of those who served in our armed branches.”

Yesterday’s exercise follows the opening of the Royal Bahamas Police

THE CEREMONY to mark the renaming of the Ministry of National Security building yesterday.

Photo: Racardo Thomas Force Real Time Crime Centre last week.

“The ongoing reform of the criminal justice system is another essential element in addressing crime,” Dr Minnis also said.

“We have begun the process of expunging records for first time nonviolent offenders. There will be other reforms that will be necessary to make our criminal justice system

more effective, fairer and more just. Even as we are tough on violent offenders, our criminal justice must also be committed to restoration and rehabilitation.”

MITCHELL SLAMS COURT DELAYS WITH 2013 SHOOTING STILL UNRESOLVED

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

SENATOR Fred Mitchell has raised concern about the time it takes for matters to close in the judicial system, noting how the trial into the killing of four Fox Hill residents in a 2013 mass shooting has still not reached resolution.

Claudezino Davis, Shaquille Demeritte, Eric Morrison and Shenique Sands were killed in the December 27, 2013 Fox Hill

mass shooting at Freedom Park.

Several people were gathered in the area awaiting Junkanoo results at around 6pm when the incident occurred.

One of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene while several others were taken to hospital in private vehicles and an ambulance. Three later died in hospital of their injuries, according to earlier reports.

In the Senate yesterday, the former Fox Hill MP drew attention to the fact

that years have passed and families still seek closure.

“I wish to remind the Attorney General of the case that happened, and I raise this because we were just on Freedom Park on Saturday,” Mr Mitchell said. “Rotary did a salute to peace on Saturday and the park was chosen because on the 27th of December 2013, four Fox Hillians were gunned down just after Christmas.

“It has now been going on eight years since that happened and we can’t get

a trial and as I said there, they started a trial but due to the pandemic in August the trial stopped (in the middle) and now they have to start all over again.”

He continued: “Of course the farther away you go from the date the quality of evidence deteriorates and the issue is always that if you don’t have some resolution, this was a meeting about peace, if you don’t have some resolution some justice, there is not likely to be peace.

“So, I appeal to you to

see if that matter can be brought on and some resolution be brought to that particular case for those four people who lost their lives in December on Freedom Park in Fox Hill.”

Three men have been charged in connection to the incident.

For his part, Attorney General Carl Bethel said the courts needed some anti-COVID-19 upgrades.

Mr Bethel said: “On this question of the Fox Hill matter and if I may say so jury trials have now

resumed in the Supreme Court.

“Much effort was made by the learned chief justice to secure the plexiglass and just a week or so ago maybe two weeks, we’ve also approved additional finance funding for the full installation of plexiglass in all of the Magistrates’ Courts that are active.”

He said both New Providence and Grand Bahama courts were the focus as they saw a higher number of cases than those in the Family Islands.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, February 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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Time to catch up with rest of the world WHO wants a national televised debate for the next election?

That’s the prospect being suggested by PLP leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis – and it’s one that while often mooted over the years has never come to reality.

Look around the world of course, and you’ll see such debates are a fixture of election campaigns. Indeed, when a leader doesn’t show up, it often counts against them with voters, as they are seen as not wanting to be asked questions about their positions.

There is a sense that they most often benefit the challenger rather than the incumbent – but that’s really only the case with a new face on the scene who might not be familiar to viewers and who might only be discovering their policies for the first time.

That’s not the case here in The Bahamas – with Mr Davis a long-familiar face in the PLP and a former Deputy Prime Minister. Neither he nor Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis are fresh faces – Mr Davis turns 70 this year, and Dr Minnis turns 67.

What debates do serve, however, is that buzzword that was so popular in the last election, but which has been so poorly served since – transparency.

A debate allows policies to be rigorously discussed, not just wrapped in fancy campaign packaging and gloss and delivered without any real exploration of the problems a policy might have.

Too often, campaign commitments get brushed off or a diminished version of the policy is pointed to as meeting a promise, when the promise was for far more than was delivered. Having a leader commit, in front of the public, to meet a promise and be seen to be saying those words on camera can be far more binding than a line in a manifesto.

There are questions of course about how such a debate would be held – who would moderate, which leaders would participate, who would be asking the questions and so on. In the age of COVID-19, there would be a question over whether an audience would be present at the debate or whether it would all take place virtually.

But the most important question is whether it would serve the voters. When

election time finally comes around, voters deserve the clearest answers and the opportunity to ask the toughest questions of those who want their support.

Election debates shouldn’t just be a suggestion at this stage – they should be a long established part of the campaign scene.

Isn’t it about time we caught up with how the rest of the world makes wouldbe leaders answer our questions?

Failing grade

The news that schools are reopening today is welcome for parents – but why on Earth are so many schools still closed?

A number of buildings were not ready for reopening – with construction work being the main reason given. What has the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Works been doing all this time?

With schools closed down for so long, why has necessary construction work not already been carried out?

The length of time children have been out of schools has been longer than the summer break when most construction gets done – and if funds were available to build footpaths then why weren’t they available first of all to fix what was necessary in schools?

At this point, everything should have been completed and standing in readiness for when the go-ahead was given for children to return.

We can well understand the cases where work has been needed to accommodate the extra space children need for social distancing – but work such as repairing roofs or walls or air conditioning and plumbing should have been wrapped up a long time ago.

So while we welcome the return to schools where it can be done safely – we also feel sorry for those parents and children who see other students getting back to the classroom while they’re still stuck at home managing as best they can with virtual learning.

It isn’t fair for those students – and frankly they deserve an apology.

Vaccines and outright lies EDITOR, The Tribune.

THERE is a lot of furore and outright lies going on with the roll out of the COVID vaccine.

When we were children we were all given our numerous vaccines we had no say in the matter. That’s because our parents trusted the doctors, scientists and the experts.

Now the world is in a staggering health crisis like nothing any of us has ever seen. Not since the Spanish flu of 1919 has anything of the scope of COVID been such as an existential threat not only to our health but also to our very civilisation.

Enter the internet and social media where everyone is suddenly an expert on every conceivable

subject. Why trust Dr Fauci a highly qualified scientist/ physician when the likes of Trump is available for scientific nuggets of wisdom such as ingest bleach?

The trouble with the internet/social media it spreads a myriad of lies from people who know absolutely nothing about the subject matter they are espousing. Then you have the regular man or woman on the street who are bombarded with totally contradictory information/ advice. Who to believe? If you have not been lucky enough to get a first class education how can you filter out the truth?

This morning I had a conversation with a fairly bright guy who said to me “do I think COVID even

exists”. Mind boggling.

In a nutshell that defines what’s wrong with the internet outright liars and charlatans have a platform where their bizarre ideas are giving a credence as well as an audience.

What did Dickens say in his 1844 novel a Christmas Carol as the ghost of Christmas present drew back his cloak and exposed the two children the boy and the girl? He said the boy is ignorance and the girl is want.

Here we are 176 years on and the boy is still alive and well! Ignorance is a blight on this strange little world we inhabit.

THE REALIST Nassau, February 22, 2021.

Weekend magazine EDITOR, The Tribune.

I AM an avid reader of the Weekend Magazine which forms an important part of my weekend reading.

Regular articles by Brother Paul C Aranha are enjoyable, informative and very well written. He is a National Icon and treasure.

Kudos to him and keep up the good work.

Stay weekend.

Jr

safe.

Great

ORTLAND H BODIE, Nassau, February 20, 2021.

Stay away from bells, Dr Minnis EDITOR, The Tribune.

IN DECEMBER 2011, Andrew Holness was a 39-year-old rookie Prime Minister of Jamaica in the job just over a month when he made the disastrous decision to call an election 12 months early.

Holness had been given the job when Bruce Golding unexpectedly resigned, rolling the wicket to install Holness as his successor.

The wily Portia Simpson Miller outwitted the greenhorn PM with the oldest political rope-a-dope trick in the book. She goaded him into an early election that she then won decisively.

The “Holness Hustle” is regarded as teachable political subterfuge. Holness stubbornly ignored the advice of his party’s elders, including the late Edward Seaga who begged him to wait until summer 2012 when the dour mood of the country would improve as Jamaica’s athletes prosecuted the Olympics in London. Had he waited he would have basked in the glory of Usain Bolt’s three gold medals, going to the polls when Jamaicans were on cloud nine.

There is speculation now that Hubert Minnis may be pondering an early run at the polls. History cautions him to keep his cards close to his chest and run out the clock.

The choice of when to call an election is perhaps the single most important decision a prime minister makes.

Prime Ministers wait until their parliamentary time is up or for when economic conditions and their personal or the party’s popularity leans towards a sure win, before they go to the polls.

An early election now could send a signal that Minnis doesn’t expect the economy to get better any time soon or that his heretofore successful management of the Covid pandemic will somehow backfire.

LETTERS

letters@tribunemedia.net Calling an election to preempt bad economic news might indicate that the PM has something to hide. The PLP assume that his June budget will have crippling austerity measures and new taxes to pile on already weary, broke voters.

One can see how it is convenient for the PLP to peddle this gunk. We are in a fix, much like the rest of the world. Minnis didn’t cause the pandemic neither did he stop the tourists coming, but it falls on his government to steer us out of these twin evils.

The PM knows that voters are not stupid. They don’t expect miracles. But they do want to know that their pain is understood and that their government has a plan to make things better.

Minnis has a plethora of good news that point to why he should go the distance. No matter how much the PLP protest, Minnis’ Covid strategy is working.

Our rate of infection has slowed. Deaths from Covid are down and he has been able to slowly open up the economy. In stark contrast, our Caribbean cousins in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Jamaica have had to implement new harsher curfews due to rising infection rates.

We can curse the Competent Authority until we are tired, but his bitter medicine has saved lives and there is no greater responsibility that a prime minister can have.

Minnis’ run of good news continues. We can all reasonably expect to be vaccinated by summer.

Now, Minnis needs to roll out his strategy to get tourists back and the economy firing on all cylinders.

Austerity is not the answer when the tourists return. The government

needs to spend money to stimulate the economy mostly through the kind of infrastructure projects that Minnis has deftly been rolling out around the Family Islands.

Brave Davis ought to know that our economy is nowhere near disaster. With no tourists around, our food bill, our imported energy bill and the billions that leak out of our economy by individual Bahamians shopping in Miami were all down in 2020, music to the Central Bank Governor.

Love him or loathe him, Peter Turnquest did us a favour when he lined up funding from the IMF, the IDB and private sources last year to give us the cushion to service our foreign loans this year.

Minnis must now turn his full attention to the Ministry of Tourism because it is clear that they need new thinking. Why, for instance, are we spending money on television ads in the US at a time when their government is discouraging foreign travel?

Minnis let Davis get under his skin last summer when he allowed Bahamians to go to Miami for short visits. Taking advice from Brave proved wrong then and it will be disastrous now.

Election talk could all be a head-fake that Minnis is running on Davis to swing him and the PLP, a big distraction that will have them depleting resources and dreaming of an early election.

Hope is a powerful stimulant to run on and the tide is turning in Minnis’ favour.

Jab vaccines into 300,000 Bahamian arms and get a million tourists here by next May, and Minnis will have a clearer path to re-election than he does today.

Time longer than rope, Prime Minister. Just ask Andrew Holness.

THE GRADUATE Nassau, February 22, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, February 23, 2021, PAGE 7

SUSPECT HELD IN DOUBLE SHOOTING

THE SCENE of last night’s shooting, above, and, right, Assistant Superintendent Audley Peters briefing the media.

Photos: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff from page one “A distance away, officers found the body of another male with gunshot wounds to the head. “That victim was assisted to the hospital via a EMS unit and it is our understanding at this moment that that victim has succumbed to his injuries,” ASP Peters said.

The victim who was shot to the chest was taken to hospital by a private vehicle however his condition was not known up to press time.

ASP Peters said the men were pursued by their shooter/s. One body was found on a pathway and another body was on the

verge on the street.

He said police were following leads and a man was in custody assisting with the investigation.

While the victims’ identities were not known up to press time, ASP Peters said both men appeared to be between 30 to 40 years old.

“We want to assure the members of the public that officers will continue to do their best in assuring our presence on the street to quell these conflicts between individuals and also to assure them that we are working on the information we are receiving from them in taking firearms off the street,” ASP Peters said.

No weapons were found at the scene, but police did find spent pistol cases, he added.

Asked if the incident was gang-related, ASP Peters said it was too early to say, adding police have to do a “victimology” to determine motive.

This comes after a Grand Bahama man was fatally shot to the head on Sunday night, becoming that island’s first homicide for the year. The victim is said to be Omar Penn, aka “Punch”, who survived at least two previous murder attempts.

The country’s murder count stands at 18 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.

MAN GUILTY OF OVERSTAY SAYS HE FLED UNCLE’S KILLERS

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A JAMAICAN man, who claimed he fled his home country to avoid being targeted by his uncle’s killers after he witnessed the murder, was charged in the Magistrate’s Court with overstaying his time in The Bahamas.

The 34-year-old man appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis after he was found in

the country over the allotted time granted to him by an immigration officer.

He was arraigned alongside another Jamaican man, Shawn Millington, 33, who was also charged with the same offence.

The court was told that a team of immigration officers questioned the men while they were conducting an exercise in the Carmichael area on February 11.

When officers approached the 34-year-old and Millington, neither of them was able

to produce legal documents or show proof of their status in the country. As a result, they were arrested and taken to the Detention Centre for further processing.

Checks of the system revealed the first man entered the country legally in April 2019 and received an extension to stay until June of that same year. The prosecution said the man resided in the country one year, seven months and seven days after his visa expired. The court was told

MAN JAILED FOR HAVING GUN

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was yesterday sentenced to two years in prison after he admitted being in possession of a loaded gun last week.

Shannon Rahming appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after officers found a .9mm pistol containing three rounds of ammunition on him on February 17.

He pleaded guilty to possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition during his arraignment.

The court heard officers acting on information went to Joe Farrington Road where they approached the accused and informed him that he would be searched in reference to dangerous drugs and firearms. During the search they discovered a black Smith & Wesson pistol with three bullets in its magazine.

Rahming was subsequently arrested and taken to the Elizabeth Estates Police Station, where he admitted the offences in an interview

SHANNON Rahming at court yesterday.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff offence. with police.

Alton Percentie Jr, 18, During the hearing, Rahming said he was going to and a 17-year-old male turn the gun in but “ended were accused of robbing a up getting charged” before woman of $14 cash, a $100 handbag, $250 Samsung he had a chance.

In response, Magistrate cellphone and a pair of Forbes told him it was bluetooth earpods on Feb“not acceptable under any ruary 17. The prosecution circumstances for anyone argued Percentie also disto have a handgun.” As a honestly received the items result, he sentenced Rah- that same day.

During their arraignming to two years at the Bahamas Department of ment, both teens denied the allegations and their case Correctional Services.

Meanwhile, two teen- was adjourned to May 10 agers appeared before for trial.

In the meantime, the Magistrate Samuel McKinwere each ney after they were accused youngsters of committing a similar granted $5,000 bail.

$200 FINE FOR MARIJUANA

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A FISHERMAN who was found with over two ounces of marijuana was yesterday fined $200.

Elijah Smith was arrested after officers found $170 worth of Indian hemp in his bag on February 20.

He pleaded guilty to one count of simple possession during his hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes.

The prosecution said Smith was one of the fishermen onboard a Dominican vessel intercepted by members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force last weekend. The court was told that officers went to the RBDF’s Coral Harbour base after the accused was found with 14 joints and a quantity of loose marijuana. They subsequently arrested Smith and took him to a nearby station. When he was questioned in custody, he told officers he bought the drugs

to smoke to help calm his anxiety attacks.

After accepting his guilty plea, Magistrate Forbes noted the maximum penalty for dangerous drug possession was five years.

In view of that fact, he asked Smith to think about how much more anxiety he would end up experiencing if he were sentenced to time on remand and urged him to avoid engaging in illegal activities. He subsequently fined Smith $200 or two months behind bars.

that the second man, Millington, also travelled to the country legally in July 2018 and was given permission to reside here until December 2018. He overstayed his welcome by two years, two months and seven days.

During the hearing, both men pleaded guilty to overstaying. The 34-year-old claimed that he came to The Bahamas because he had witnessed his uncle getting murdered and the alleged killers had threatened to take his life so he would

not testify against them. He explained that in Jamaica, when you “see something, everyone expects you to keep your mouth shut”. He said once a person speaks to the police, they have to leave the community for their own safety.

Millington on the other hand, claimed he stayed in the country on an expired visa because his girlfriend became pregnant and gave birth to a still born baby. He said he planned to return to Jamaica and apply

for the proper documents, but claimed the pandemic made it difficult to return home.

After listening to their explanations, Magistrate Rolle Davis fined the first man $1,500 or nine months in prison and Millington $2,000 or 10 months behind bars. He said after the fines were paid or the sentences were served, both men would be handed over to the Director of Immigration for deportation.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, February 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

The rage of Hurricane Andrew set Shaun on a mission to serve ELEUTHERA is emerging as a leading island in The Bahamas due, in part, to an organization committed to strengthening the community, connecting the island and planning for the future.

The One Eleuthera Foundation has found a way to be just that - a strong foundation for the island and its residents to grow and thrive - together.

It has been so successful many people throughout the country have heard of One Eleuthera. Its motto sets the tone for a mantra the entire country should follow - “Working Together to Own and Sustain Our Economy”.

The idea was conceived by an Eleutheran whose passion for community is rooted in his own experience as an island boy. Shaun Donavon Ingraham was born and raised in Tarpum Bay. There, members of the nuclear and extended family, neighbours and everyone in the community operated as a collective - likely as a means of survival.

But in that classic way of life, children learned the value of hard work and togetherness.

“The best thing about growing up in Tarpum Bay was that I developed deep relationships that taught me the importance of community,” Shaun said.

“The adage ‘it takes a village’ was proven to be true; aunts, uncles, neighbours and teachers all contributed to raising you. One thing of note is that my parents made sure their children had very diverse and practical handson-training and experiences to empower and shape us.

Summers and weekends, we were encouraged to work along with different tradespeople and professionals in our community. My brothers and I would apprentice with carpenters, mechanics, plumbers, masons and others, learning all we could. To this day we all have a valuable and wide repertoire of skills and trade-related knowledge that we can thank our parents for.

“My parents were both very humble, giving people. In particular it was my mother, God rest her soul, and her untiring example and drive to give back and make life easier for others that was my greatest example.”

Ruth and Gordon Carey not only made sure their children developed useful trades, they also made sure they had the life skills that would broaden their horizons and help them succeed beyond the beautiful aquamarine borders of Eleuthera.

Shaun is succeeding and his work is being recognized around the world. He is CoFounder and Chief Executive Officer for One Eleuthera

Foundation (OEF). It is a collaboration of different community members and organisations, all recognizing the island’s challenges, opportunities and assets and have committed to developing a comprehensible, sustainable plan for the island. It is led by a Board of Directors and staff members. A Shared Vision for South Eleuthera, which was first commissioned in 2010 by Friends of Lighthouse Point to develop a sustainable plan for Lighthouse Point and other special heritage and conservation sites on Eleuthera, inspired the formation of One Eleuthera.

The One Eleuthera Foundation believes Eleutherans should own their own economy and sponsors a variety of programmes designed to accomplish this goal. Programmes have also been designed specifically for preserving heritage and culture; promoting the health and wellness of Eleutherans and protecting the environment and its natural resources, with

SHAUN Ingraham speaking to graduates of CTI upon completion of their trade skills programme. a focus on conservation and sustainability.

One of OEF’s great accomplishments is the establishment of the Centre for Training and Innovation.

CTI has a Learn and Earn Programme, where students attend courses a few days a week and work in a trade to learn a marketable skill while earning a stipend. The first 22 students graduated in June of 2017 in areas such as construction, farming, hospitality and landscaping.

CTI’s Workshops and Certificate Courses have also become popular, with residents taking advantage of

subjects like grant writing, project management, general computer skills and software training. Through CTI, the One Eleuthera Foundation now operates the only technical and vocational training facility and training hotel on Eleuthera. The training hotel has 16 rooms and a training restaurant.

In light of the COVID -19 pandemic, a significant push was placed behind farming and food security projects, launching capital projects and expanding an online Virtual Campus through the CTI. Under Shaun’s leadership, OEF is making significant strides on the local and national arena. Because of OEF’s work, Shaun served as a member of the committee advising the government on the country’s National Development Plan. The foundation is now recognized at a regional level by the InterAmerican Development Bank as a viable model for socio-economic development.

Over the past few years, Shaun has been invited to share OEF’s model throughout The Bahamas, in Barbados and in the US. The OEF model he has created will not only continue to strengthen Eleuthera’s island economy, but also spur social innovation in other Bahamian, Caribbean and Latin American settings.

Consider that it all started with an island boy with big dreams to help others, starting in his own community, then taking his passion and letting it drive him all around the world. Next month, Shaun will receive the Community Impact Award from his Alma Mater, Emory University. This is a new category award and Shaun will be the first recipient.

“Within the Emory family, the Community Impact Award is one of the most significant awards that an alum can receive; it has been a privilege to witness all that Shaun and his faithful team have accomplished over the years,” noted Corrine Abraham, an Associate Professor for Emory’s Neil Hodgson Woodruff’s School of Nursing who has brought students to Eleuthera for the last fifteen years.

“I see this award as not so much a reflection of my work, but the work of dozens of people over the years who

CELEBRATING nine years of one team and one vision to unite, strengthen and plan for the sustainable future of Eleuthera and its residents

THE OFFICIAL handover of an ambulance by the One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF) to community volunteers for emergency response transportation in Northern Eleuthera. have given of their time and resources to make OEF a reality,” Shaun reflected.

Emory’s Community Impact Award is given for advocating for and effecting change within a specific community; addressing critical social, economic, health, or environmental needs throughout society; pursuing passion projects that benefit the greater good; and driving change through significant philanthropy.

In November 2020, Shaun received the prestigious Heart of Rotary award “for dedicated service to Rotary and “service above self”. In 2017, he was awarded the Ministry of Tourism’s National Cacique

including his church youth group, Pathfinders, and Key Club.

He cemented that passion with education. He earned his Associates of Arts Degree in Psychology/Sociology at the College of the Bahamas, Bachelors of Arts in Sociology at Florida Southern College in Lakeland Florida, and his Masters in Divinity at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Shaun found his calling for social work in 1992 in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, a monster storm that devastated islands in the Bahamas, including Eleuthera, before hitting southern Florida. Working

NURSING students from Emory University visit the OEF campus to volunteer and conduct training with local community nurses. award for Sustainable Tourism.

“Growing up on the island, I engaged in a lot of servicebased activities, which I found to be enjoyable and rewarding,” he shared.

Shaun spent his formative years at Tarpum Bay All Age School and then Preston A Albury High School. All along, he found himself happily immersed in service clubs

with the Methodist Church at that time, he coordinated on-the-ground efforts on Eleuthera for many local and international organizations including The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Rotary International, the Presbyterian Church and others.

It was a storm that changed his life: “My path was really launched by the opportunity I had as a young adult to serve in the Methodist Church as a Youth Pastor and then in other ministries including helping to develop Methodist Habitat. This was the incubator and the first exposure I had to serving on a much larger scale.

“It was during this period of my life in August of 1992 that Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane slammed The Bahamas and US leaving death and destruction. The Presbyterian Church, Rotary, The Methodist Church and a few other organizations partnered to bring help and relief. Although tragic, it was an experience that taught me that I was cut out for disaster relief work.

“I volunteered for days at a time, travelling and living in areas with no running water or electricity and swarms of mosquitoes. Going there knowing I would be able to help somebody get food, water, clothing, and medicine or get back into their home was exhilarating and fulfilling for me. Most days I’d work around the clock just making sure people were taken care of. In fact, I’d really have to make an effort to pull myself away from the work.

That’s where I discovered my great passion, which was obviously around construction and building; building physical buildings but also metaphorically building communities, and building and rebuilding people’s lives. It was then I realized that what I was doing, I could do forever without getting fatigued or tired. It was at this point in time - where my greatest passion met The Bahamas’ greatest need - that I found my vocation.”

As life progressed, Shaun continued with disaster relief and economic and social development efforts for numerous national, regional and international development organizations.

His work took him to more than

SHAUN Ingraham receiving the Peter Christie Heart of Rotary Award for service above self and dedicated service to the Bahamas Rotary Club. a dozen countries in Africa, South East Asia, North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, including in roles such as consultant in Disaster Response, Habitat for Humanity International, consultant in the Organization of American States Project: “Expanding the Socio-Economic Potential of Cultural Heritage in the Caribbean” and Assistant to Grant Coordinator for Rotary International’s Haiti Earthquake Response at the 2010 earthquake.

He has been involved primarily with Disaster Relief and Management and Community Development. As a Disaster Consultant, he has led several teams in relief efforts. Some of his disaster experience includes response to the South Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Haiti Earthquake, and Hurricane Ivan in Grenada. He has worked for agencies like Habitat for Humanity, New Providence Community Church, Food for the Hungry, Rotary International and the World Council of Churches.

He has served as Charter President of the Rotary Club of Eleuthera and CoFounder and past Director of the Open-Heart Foundation in Nassau, Bahamas, as well past president of Civil Society Bahamas.

Shaun has blossomed into a social entrepreneur, and his greatest work to date would be felt right on the island of his birth. He has helped incubate numerous social enterprises including: Methodist Habitat; Island Journeys; South Eleuthera Emergency Partners; the One Eleuthera Cooperative Credit Union Limited; the Centre for Training and Innovation (CTI); Eleuthera Arts and Cultural Center and the One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF).

Through the Eleuthera Feeding Initiative, a private/ public partnership with OEF, the National Food Distribution Task Force and Harbour Island Food Bank, $2 million dollars was raised in order to consistently feed thousands of residents and families in Eleuthera at the peak of the crisis. In the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, One Eleuthera helped over 2,000 people, taking them in as evacuees from Abaco and providing food, shelter and employment.

“Part of the learning for us between Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19 is that nothing beats preparation,” Shaun said.

“We must continue to focus on strengthening our emergency response capabilities and resources to ensure efficiency and a quick response.

Our plan is to work closely with our strategic core partner South Eleuthera Emergency Partners (SEEP) to help them become the leader in managing and responding to on-island disasters and emergencies, and to ensure they are adequately equipped even before they occur.”

His island upbringing and family support sustained him through it all: “I have two sisters and five brothers. We are all very close and support each other. Starting out as a young man, I leaned very heavily on my family for the support to travel abroad and serve alongside global organizations on an international scale. I couldn’t accomplish what I did without family support. They always had my back and still do. It was these life-changing opportunities that gave me the experience, connections, and skillset I needed that weren’t available locally.

“Most of all, it was my parents who influenced me and my wife Sandra who supported me. I also had some great teachers and mentors along the way like Dr. Reg Eldon and others who helped me bridge the gap as a small-island boy moving to “the big city of Nassau.”

My entire family, including aunts and uncles were really instrumental in instilling this life-of-service concept within me. It is a life I know I was born for.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, February 23, 2021, PAGE 9

Harry and Meghan have made their bed and now they have to lie in it THE sad saga of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is in the news again.

But the plethora of global reports have, by their allencompassing nature, tended to obscure what has actually happened to bring them to the world’s attention once again. Simply put, in response to Prince Harry’s recent confirmation - following a year of reflection - that he and his wife will not be returning to royal duties, The Queen has stripped them of their honorary military and other appointments and their royal patronages.

So the extended process of their withdrawal as working members of the Royal Family has come to an end.

Their demise as official royals is complete.

In January 2020, Harry announced that he and his wife were standing down as full-time senior royals.

He declared that, while continuing to support The Queen, they wanted to balance their time between Britain and North America, to become financially independent and to take on a new “progressive role” as well as launching a charitable entity in their own name. In response, The Queen issued a statement saying she was deeply disappointed that Harry and Meghan wished to step back from royal duties and there should be a transition period of one year for reconsideration. So the door was left ajar in case of a change of heart.

In reaction to Harry’s confirmation a year later of his and his wife’s departure from royal life, it seems Buckingham Palace were left with no option but to issue another statement last week - this time saying that, while The Queen and members of the Royal Family were saddened by this decision and that Harry and

The Peter Young column Meghan remained much loved family members, being non-working members of the family meant that they could not continue with certain duties.

Thus, it seems The Queen has stood firm in making clear they could not pursue their fortunes in the US and be ‘quasi-working royals’ while also using their royal titles for commercial gain since business careers were incompatible with the impartiality required of those in public service.

It was also made clear that by stepping away from royal work it was not possible to continue with any of the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service and, equally importantly - by being ‘half in and half out’ the couple could not function properly on a dayto-day basis since it would be impracticable to give the level of commitment required when living in faraway California.

These responsibilities and duties include the honorary military appointments and royal patronages held by the Duke and Duchess; for example - to name just a few among many - Captain

General of the Royal being forced to relinquish Marines and Patron of the honorary titles; in particuRugby Football Union and lar, given his own army both their roles with The service that included a tour Queen’s Commonwealth of duty in Afghanistan, Trust. All of these will now his official involvement in be redistributed among the military associations and working royals. But the patronages, though his couple are set to retain their involvement in the Invicofficial titles of the Duke tus Games - a version of and Duchess of the ParalymSussex. pics for injured His actions They reacted remain puzzling military perto this by issuing sonnel which their own state- to many people he helped to ment declaring in Britain. They set up - will a commitment say he owes not be affected. to their duty and But others say: service to the everything well, what did UK and around to his family he expect? It the world and - his identity, was his own offering their choice to step continued sup- status and down, go in to a port to the wealth - but any form of exile in organisations California and sense of duty they have to give up his or obligation represented former life in regardless of arising from the process. their official his privileged His actions role - ending remain puzthe statement birth seems to zling to many with the words have gone out people in Brit“We can all live of the window. ain. They say he a life of serowes everything vice. Service is to his family universal”.

- his identity, status and This has been seen as wealth - but any sense of a graceless and unseemly duty or obligation arising response, with many com- from his privileged birth mentators regarding the seems to have gone out of sting in the tail about ser- the window. He has shown vice being universal as contempt for the rules the couple thumbing their and regulations that have noses at the Palace in a pet- shaped his life and for a ulant manner. grandmother who, it is said, Not only is this disre- showed him notable affecspectful, but it is absurd and tion and indulgence and almost laughable to seek who has now acted with to draw parallels between considerable restraint and the couple’s limited charity kindness, particularly by work and the enormously not removing the Duke and effective and varied public Duchess of Sussex titles. service in so many differIt is surely the case that ent forms - together with the couple’s international the wide-ranging, hands-on appeal and success in support given to thousands America will continue to of charities - that The depend on their royal status Queen and other members and connections. Despite of the Royal Family have claiming to seek privacy, carried out over so many they are living their lives in years. a blaze of self-induced pubSome say Harry will have licity and seem to want to been extremely upset at enjoy the prestige deriving

AUSSIES DIGGING IN AGAINST THE SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT AS NEWS emerged last week of a row between the Australian government and Facebook, I thought for a fleeting moment that I might have been perceptive in writing in my last column about the threat to democracy of the Internet tech giants. But then I read that this particular battle over a new Australian law to make them pay for news content had been rumbling on for a while so I had covered the subject last week purely by chance.

Now, Facebook’s decision, in reaction to the proposed new legislation, to ban in Australia all domestic and foreign news content from its platform has taken the row to a whole new level. There has been widespread consternation in response to the media giant’s removal of such news, but this has been made worse by Facebook’s additional move to block the public from seeing pages run by, for example, state health departments, emergency services and charities.

Apparently, for some years the Australian government considered there was an imbalance between the tech giants and the media, with the former dominating the latter. There was also the issue of the loss to the tech firms of the media’s advertising revenue. Google is the dominant search engine in the country and has

been described by the government as a near essential utility, and with little market competition. A majority of Australians rely as well on social media for their information, and Facebook, which also likes to be seen as a forum for ordinary people across the world to connect with one another for free, ranks as a top source of news. Thus, the purpose of Australia’s new law seems to be to enforce a code of conduct in relation to the content the tech firms carry as well as forcing them to pay newsrooms and other media outlets for the journalism they produce and which is shared on the firms’ sites.

So this dispute is not just a fight over who pays for journalistic output. It is also about power and control of information. Facebook has been accused of modifying and manipulating the news on its platform, of spreading disinformation and of censoring free speech as well as, for example, carrying Chinese propaganda. It has also been criticised for selling details of its 2.7 billion active users to advertisers.

In a democracy, it is self-evident there have to be rules and procedures to enable society to function properly and to protect the public. Publishers and editors in the traditional media are required to operate within the law and, if necessary, can be taken to

court. The tech firms, based thousands of miles away, should be governed by comparable constraints and ought to operate within the confines of a code of conduct.

In addition to Australia’s planned laws to enforce such a code and make tech giants pay for journalistic content, there seems to be a global backlash, with countries joining together to clip the wings of these firms and to legislate on the issue. Canada has apparently vowed to make Facebook pay for the news material it receives and Google is said to be in negotiation with several countries about payment.

Reportedly, Microsoft is in agreement with Australia’s proposed new law and the EU is tackling illegal and harmful content on online platforms and the question of the use of customers’ data, while in the US the tech giants have been facing questions in Congress about their dominance.

This whole issue appears to be mainly about limiting these commercial giants in a world where companies are becoming stronger than governments. So it is surely a welcome development that countries are increasingly aware that uncontrolled and unaccountable monopolies are incompatible with an ordered society and good governance - and that their activities need to be curbed.

from being royals together with the privilege and money that goes with this and brings celebrity status.

Although there are obvious differences, some now see an eerie similarity between all this and the life and times of Edward VIII who abdicated in 1936 to marry an American divorcee. He was, of course, Governor of The Bahamas during the Second World War. But later, as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, they resided mainly in France and for the remainder of their lives were at odds with the rest of the Royal Family.

Back to the present. In addition to the end of the one-year review period, the final straw that appears to have brought matters to a head, is the Duke and Duchess’ ‘tell all’ interview with Oprah Winfrey due to be shown on US TV on

March 7. This has contributed to the rift with the family which has intensified at an emotional time with the hospitalisation of the 99-year-old Prince Philip. But it is interesting to read in the UK press that The Queen will deliver a televised “Celebration for Commonwealth Day” message just 24 hours before the Oprah interview is aired.

An appearance with such a famous television host is likely to bring back memories of the famously critical interview given by Princess Diana to BBC TV in 1995 that became a serious embarrassment to the Royal Family. Those who continue to revere The Queen for selflessly dedicating her long life to duty and public service can only hope that next month’s interview will not turn out as badly.

Graveside Service For Donell Shantell Johnson, 43

#3 Goombay Drive, Jubilee Gardens who died on Sunday, February 7th, 2021 will be held at The Western Cemetery, Nassau Street, New Providence, on Wednesday, February 24th, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Officiating will be Apostle Delton D. Fernander, assisted by other ministers of the gospel.

Left to cherish her memories are her husband: Whitney Anthony Johnson; mother: Sheila Williams; daughters: Destiny Johnson and Whitney Ashleigh Johnson; one son: Carmello Johnson; sister: Dawn Frazier; brothers: Don Taylor Jr., Stanley Taylor and Raymond Roxbury; aunts: Patrice Williams, Audrey Rolle, Loraine Taylor, Donette Williams, Minister Diane B. Williams J.P, Patsy, Dorothy and Gertrude Russell, Ena Williams, Joyann Davis, Judy Rolle, Barbie Rolle; uncles: Superintendent RBPF Vincent Williams, Pastor Franklyn Williams J.P, Minister Mike Rolle and Gregory, Fred “Chicken” Taylor, Ken, Charles Dean; cousins: Reginald, Donte’, Dianthe’, Vincent Jr, Donella, Janet, Donnell and Gus Jaruregui, Jeffery, Floyd, Barbara, Betty, Natalie, Albert, James, Nellie, Jimmy, Rose, Harry, Lorraine, Sandra, Shervette, Shervine, Kenny, Caroline, Lenord, Margaretta, Father Ansylum, DeWayne, Derrick, Virgil, Rocellia, Gloria, Clayton, Fredrick, Thephilus, Theodore, Kirk, Peter, Nyoshi, Michelle, Rosemary, Enishka, Clendia, Crystal, Marsh, Audrey, Natasha, Stevana, Johniesha, Tatyana, Felicia, Kenria, Bernadette, Kristen, Bradyna Dandra, Dawana, Deandre, Edward, Vincent, Carl, Eugene, Kennedy, Carl, Gregory, Barkley, Kendrick, Patrick, Christopher, Johnathan, Rashad Thomas and Brithe, Renee Jones, Alfred Taylor, Jessiah Taylor; mother-inlaw: Alice Bullard; sisters-in-law: Denise JohnsonRolle, Thia Robinson,Charlene, Charnessa, Charma, Maria Curtis, Ella Curtis; brother-in-law: Charles Johnson; godmother: Williemae Taylor; godfather: Noel McPhee; numerous other Relatives and friends including: Calpurnia Campbell, Latoya Johnson, Samantha Pratt, Etegra Symonette and family, Ormanic and Felix Bien Aime and family, Melissa Allen- Maynard and Basil Allen-Johnson and family, Juliette SmithMonroe, Sybilene Clarke-Knowles, Dean Ruth Sumner, Elvardo Thompson, Phillippa Moss-Collie, Anastasia Brown, Tyrone Coakley, Shirley Arnett, Virgina Allen and family, Michelle Seymour and family, Sybil Brown and family, Linda Strachan and family, Edward Dean and family, Andy Clarke and family, Jubilee Gardens Community, Faculty of School of Social Sciences, Faculty of School of Education, Administrative Support Staff of University of the Bahamas, Dr. Showalter Johnson and Commonwealth Embassy Online Church, Group of 10; special thanks to: Apostle Delton Fernander and the New Destiny Family.

Viewing will be held on (TODAY) Tuesday in the Legacy Suite at Vaughn O. Jones Memorial Center Mt. Royal Avenue and Talbot Street from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, February 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

BOEING PLANES WITH ENGINE THAT BLEW APART SHOULD BE GROUNDED

IN this image taken from video, the engine of United Airlines Flight 328 is on fire after after experiencing “a right-engine failure” shortly after takeoff from Denver International Airport on Saturday.

Photo: Chad Schnell/AP

COVID DEATHS IN US PASS 500,000 TOTAL THE COVID-19 death toll in the US topped 500,000 yesterday, all but matching the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined.

The lives lost, as recorded

by Johns Hopkins University, are about equal to the population of Kansas City, Missouri, and greater than that of Miami; Raleigh, North Carolina; or Omaha, Nebraska.

And despite the rollout of vaccines since mid-December, a closely watched model from the University of Washington projects more than 589,000 dead by June 1.

The US toll is by far the highest reported in the world, accounting for 20 percent of the nearly 2.5 million coronavirus deaths globally, though the true numbers are thought to be significantly greater, in part because of the many cases that were overlooked, especially early in the outbreak.

TRUMP LOSES TAX RECORDS COURT BATTLE IN A significant defeat for former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to step in to halt the turnover of his tax records to a New York state prosecutor.

The court’s action is the apparent culmination of a lengthy legal battle that had already reached the high court once before.

Trump’s tax records are not supposed to become public as part of prosecutors’ criminal investigation, but the high court’s action is a blow to Trump because he has long fought on so many fronts to keep his tax records shielded from view.

The ongoing investigation that the records are part of could also become an issue for Trump in his life after the presidency.

VIRGINIA TO SCRAP DEATH SENTENCE State lawmakers gave final approval yesterday to legislation that will end capital punishment in Virginia, a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people in its long history than any other.

The legislation repealing the death penalty now heads to Democratic Gov Ralph Northam, who has said he will sign it into law, making Virginia the 23rd state to stop executions.

Virginia’s new Democratic majority, in full control of the General Assembly, pushed the repeal effort, arguing that the death penalty has been applied disproportionately to people of colour, the mentally ill and the indigent.

BOEING has recommended that airlines ground all 777s with the type of engine that blew apart after takeoff from Denver this weekend, and most carriers that fly those planes said they would temporarily pull them from service.

The US Federal Aviation Administration ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of the aircraft after one of its flights made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport Saturday as pieces of the casing of the engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4000, rained down on suburban neighborhoods. None of the 231 passengers or ten crew were hurt, and the flight landed safely, authorities said. United is among the carriers that has grounded the planes.

FAA administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement on Sunday that based on an initial review of safety data, inspectors “concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for

the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes.”

Dickson said that would likely mean some planes would be grounded — and Boeing said they should be until the FAA sets up an inspection regime. Japan ordered the planes out of service, while noting that an engine in the same family suffered trouble in December.

Boeing said there were 69 777s with the Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines in service and another 59 in storage. United had 24 of the planes in service; it is the only US airline with the engine in its fleet, according to the FAA. Two Japanese airlines have another 32 that are being pulled while Asiana Airlines grounded nine, seven of which were in service, until Boeing establishes a plan to fix the problems. Korean Air said it was discussing whether to ground 16 aircraft, six of which are in service.

Protests grow amid Myanmar threats YANGON, Myanmar Associated Press PROTESTERS gathered in Myanmar’s biggest city yesterday despite the ruling junta’s threat to use lethal force against people who join a general strike against the military’s takeover three weeks ago.

More than 1,000 protesters gathered near the US Embassy in Yangon despite barriers blocking the way, but left to avoid a confrontation after 20 military trucks with riot police arrived nearby. Protests continued in other parts of the city, including next to Sule Pagoda, a traditional gathering point.

Factories, workplaces and shops were shuttered across the country Monday in response to the call for a nationwide strike. The closings extended to the capital, Naypyitaw.

The junta had warned against a general strike in a public announcement Sunday night on state television broadcaster MRTV. “It is found that the protesters have raised their incitement towards riot and anarchy mob on the day of 22 February. Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life,” the onscreen text said in English, replicating the spoken announcement in Burmese.

The junta’s statement also blamed criminals for past protest violence, with the result that “the security force members had to fire back”. Three protesters have been fatally shot.

Trucks cruised the streets of Yangon on Sunday night, blaring similar warnings.

The protest movement, which seeks to restore power to the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and have her and other leaders released from detention, has embraced nonviolence.

The nationwide strike was dubbed Five-Twos, for the five number twos in the numeric form of Monday’s date.

ANTI-coup protesters flash the three-fingered salute during a rally near the Mandalay Railway Station in Mandalay, Myanmar, yesterday.

“I am joining the 22222 nationwide protest as a citizen of the country. We must join the protest this time without fail,” said 42-yearold Zayar, who owns a bottled water business in the capital. “So I’ve closed down my factory and joined the demonstration.”

Zin Mi Mi Aung, a 27-year-old saleswoman, also joined the strike.

“We don’t want to be governed by the regime,” she said as people marched and chanted behind her.

“We will fight against them until we win.”

Thousands of people gathered in the capital’s wide boulevards, many on motorbikes to allow swift movement in the event of any police action.

Reports and photos of protests in at least a dozen cities and towns were posted on social media.

Overhead views, some shot from drones, showed massive crowds in six cities appearing to number in the tens of thousands.

There were pictures of a particularly colorful event in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, where scores of small red hot-air balloons were set aloft. A bigger one was adorned with a drawing of the three-finger salute adopted by the anticoup movement. The city is famous for its annual hotair balloon festival.

In Pyinmana, a satellite town of Naypyitaw, police chased people through the streets to arrest them.

Reports on social media, including from worried family members, said police had arrested 200 people or more, mostly young people, and sent them to a military base. If confirmed, it would be the biggest mass arrest

since the protests started.

The general strike was an extension of actions called by the Civil Disobedience Movement, a loosely organized group that has been encouraging civil servants and workers at state enterprises to walk off their jobs. Many transport workers and white collar workers have responded to the appeal.

On Saturday, a General Strike Committee was formed by more than two dozen groups to provide a more formal structure for the resistance movement and launch a “spring revolution”.

The ominous signs of potential conflict drew attention outside Myanmar, with the US reiterating that it stood with the people of Myanmar, also called Burma.

Secretary of State Antony

Blinken said on Twitter the US would take firm action “against those who perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the restoration of their democratically elected government”.

“We call on the military to stop violence, release all those unjustly detained, cease attacks on journalists and activists, and respect the will of the people,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Twitter.

On Sunday, crowds in Naypyitaw attended a funeral for the young woman who was the first person confirmed to have been killed in the protests, while demonstrators also mourned two other protesters who were shot dead on Saturday in Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city.

AG NOMINEE TO PRIORITISE TACKLING EXTREMISM WASHINGTON Associated Press

MERRICK Garland, President Joe Biden’s attorney general nominee, vowed yesterday to prioritise combating extremist violence and said his first focus would be on the insurrection at the US. Capitol as he sought to assure lawmakers that the Justice Department would remain politically independent on his watch.

A federal appeals court judge who was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court in

2016, Garland appeared Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee and is widely expected to sail through his confirmation process with bipartisan support.

“The attorney general represents the public interest, particularly and specifically as defined by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States,” Garland said. “I do not plan to be interfered with by anyone.”

Garland will inherit a Justice Department that endured a tumultuous era under Trump — rife with political drama and controversial

decisions — and that faced abundant criticism from Democrats over what they saw as the politicising of the nation’s top law enforcement agencies.

“I have grown pretty immune to any kind of pressure, other than the pressure to do what I think is the right thing, given the facts and the law. That is what I intend to do as the attorney general, I don’t care who pressures me in whatever direction,” he said.

Early in the hearing, Garland faced questioning about his plans to handle specific investigations and

politically sensitive cases, like the federal tax investigation involving Biden’s son Hunter Biden, and the special counsel’s inquiry started by William Barr, while he was attorney general, into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, which also remains open.

Garland said he had not spoken with Biden about the investigation into his son. He said he had agreed to the nomination as attorney general because the president had vowed that “decisions about investigations and prosecutions will be left to the Justice Department.”