02252020 NEWS

MONDAY TUESDAY Chicken @ Breakfast

i’m lovin’ it!

HIGH 81ºF LOW 72ºF

The Tribune Established 1903

24/7 BREAKING NEWS ON TRIBUNE242.COM

Biggest And Best!

VOLUME:117 No.65, FEBRUARY 25TH, 2020

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

WOMAN: HOW DANCE HELPS TELL STORY OF ABUSE

Robber shot dead in sting operation

Police tipped off to Mackey Street raid shoot two suspects

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net POLICE shot and killed one suspect and wounded another after one of the men opened fire on officers who foiled an armed robbery at a Mackey Street bank yesterday morning.

At the scene, Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash told reporters officers received intelligence a robbery was going to occur at the Royal Bank of Canada

branch. “The information was checked by officers, hence officers acted on that information – came to this location,” CSP Cash said.

“Based on the intelligence of the officers, they saw a vehicle fitting the profile as described by the information. The officers engaged that vehicle. As the officers engaged, two persons emerged from the suspected vehicle.

SEE PAGE THREE

‘THIEVES USING PLASTIC BAGS BAN TO SHOPLIFT’

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net SUPER VALUE president Rupert Roberts yesterday defended the food store chain’s new packing policy, stating the rule was introduced to safeguard against theft which has increased since the government’s ban on single-use plastics.

A new Super Value notice informing customers that “groceries must

be packed in bags before leaving the store” sparked outrage on social media yesterday. When contacted, Mr Roberts said the purpose of the new policy is to deter shoplifting.

“Groceries are not to go out loose in a shopping cart,” he told The Tribune.

“It’s because customers are shopping the way they always shop. They put the groceries in the shopping SEE PAGE THREE

THE CAR riddled with bullets outside a Mackey Street bank yesterday after police were alerted to the raid Photo: Donavan McIntosh

PM ORDERS CREATION OF ‘ILLEGALS’ STRIKE FORCE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has instructed Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson to form a “strike force” targeted at aggressively pursuing undocumented migrants throughout the country.

Charging that “we must take our country back”, Dr Minnis said Bahamians could no longer be second-class citizens while doubling down on his long held position that the issue of undocumented migrants could no longer continue.

He suggested the issue had created a strain on the country’s social services and health resources.

The prime minister has repeated similar comments in the past but in these

PM Dr Hubert Minnis newest comments yesterday at Parliament, he said there would be focus on ensuring people applying for work permits follow the rules of procedure.

He also said that foreigners granted work permits would be replaced where it was found Bahamian understudies had not been trained to take over those

roles. Dr Minnis said immigration officials would also ensure non-Bahamians did not capitalise on jobs locals were equipped to do. “…We must strengthen and enforce our immigration policies. We must pursue illegal immigrants aggressively. This is the Bahamas and Bahamians are first and Bahamians will and must remain first,” Dr Minnis said while wrapping up debate on the 2019/2020 mid-year budget debate.

The budget was passed in Parliament yesterday.

“I have given the minister with responsibility for immigration (Elsworth Johnson) the task of establishing a strike force whose mandate will be to aggressively pursue illegals both throughout New Providence and the Family Islands and through our

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FIVE

inside

FACE-TO-FACE

DR KING READY TO SHAKE THE POLITICAL THRONE

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PETER YOUNG

A SHADOW STIRS AS PEOPLE SEEK A BETTER LIFE

SEE PAGE TEN

PAGE 2, Tuesday, February 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

THREE CHARGED WITH COPPER THEFT AT BTC

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ALBERT LEATHAN, Marvin Leathan and Charles Michael Richardson outside court yesterday.

Photos: Vandyke Hepburn

THREE men have been charged in the Freeport Magistrates’ Court in connection with copper theft at the Bahamas Telecommunication Company in Grand Bahama.

Charles Michael Richardson, 29, of Gladstone Road; Albert Leathan, 45, of McLeans Town and Marvin Leathan, 44, of Chippinghill Drive, appeared before Magistrate Rengin Johnson on Friday.

The three men were charged with stealing and conspiracy to commit stealing. Charles Richardson

was also charged with abetment to commit stealing.

They all pleaded not guilty.

Bail was denied and they were remanded in custody at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until April 20.

In other court matters, Tyrone Dames, 26, of Point Lookout Drive, was charged with fraud.

Dames appeared before Magistrate Charlton Smith.

He was charged with fraud, possession of a fraudulent document, and uttering a fraudulent document.

He pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to six months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Man, 32, jailed for robbing John Bull on Paradise Island

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A 32-YEAR-OLD man was sentenced to almost five years in prison yesterday for robbing a jewellery store on Paradise Island of over half a million dollars worth of high-end watches last week.

Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt sentenced Antoin Harvey to four-anda-half years behind bars for robbing John Bull’s Paradise Island store of $541,850 worth of Rolex watches on February 15.

In handing down the sentence, the judge scolded Harvey for his actions.

Harvey told Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt that the armed robbery was an “honest mistake” on his part and that he was pressured to do it to because he needed money to pay the bills.

However, she said such an assertion was “unacceptable”, as there can never any justification for such a crime.

Harvey’s sentencing came after he pleaded guilty to one count each of stealing from a shop and causing damage stemming from

the February 15 incident.

He denied a single count of conspiring to steal from a shop, however, and will stand trial over the charge.

According to the facts read by the prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent Barrington Miller, on the date in question, a woman reported that she was about to close the John Bull store in Coral Towers at Atlantis sometime around 10.55pm when two males, one of whom was Harvey, entered wearing orange and red Hawaiian shirts and brown hats.

One of the males produced a firearm, causing the store’s employees to flee to the back of the store. The male wearing the red Hawaiian shirt subsequently produced a tool and smashed two showcases.

The watches were stolen by the suspects who then fled the store in a southern direction.

According to police, the showcases are estimated to be worth some $21,321.89.

During the sentencing, the chief magistrate noted that he faced a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. However, she took into consideration that Harvey pleaded

guilty at the first opportunity and did not waste the court’s time. Thus, she said she was obliged to give him a “discount” for his early plea.

“I must do it, as a matter of law,” she said.

Nonetheless, she said what served as clear aggravating factors was that he deliberately went to Paradise Island and threatened the Bahamas’ key industry by robbing a store in the country’s “premier” tourist destination.

Making the crime more “egregious”, the chief magistrate said, was that that over $500,000 worth of Rolex watches were stolen that have not yet been retrieved and returned to their rightful owner.

“So what does that mean?

Someone has to bear the cost of the watches,” she said.

Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt consequently gave Harvey a two-and-ahalf year discount, but still sentenced him to four-anda-half years in prison for his actions to send a “clear, clear message” that “crime does not pay”.

Harvey returns to court on May 13 to stand trial for conspiring to rob John Bull.

ANTOIN Harvey outside court yesterday

Photo: Donavan McIntosh

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, February 25, 2020, PAGE 3

THIEVES USING PLASTIC BAGS BAN TO SHOPLIFT, SAYS SUPER VALUE BOSS from page one cart and they’re just walking outdoors with the carts as though the cashiers are not sitting there.

“It’s a new day (and) new system (so) thieves are taking advantage of it. They go in and shop and they come and try walk around the cash registers, trying to get behind the cash registers and trying to get out of the door. When the security grabs them and says ‘Where is your (receipt) tape?’ they got no tape. They just throw the cart of groceries at him and leave.”

Mr Roberts said

incidents like this, which have occurred “frequently” recently, have contributed to the food store chain’s stock shortages increasing from one to six percent since the plastic ban took effect on January 1.

He said he believes thieves think “it’s their time now” and intentionally take advantage of the new system because of all the changes surrounding it.

“We’re having a lot of prosecutions,” he said. “It started increasing after the hurricane (last September) and then with the plastic ban it just went wild. “...The police are coming in and taking our cashiers

out in handcuffs for pushing for their friends and relatives. One in Cable Beach struck up the groceries and it came to one hundred and something and 25 cents and he gave the cashier 25 cents and he walked out with the groceries. The security had to chase him and nail him down in the parking lot and call the police and charge him with stealing.”

Mr Roberts insisted the new policy is not to force customers to pay for bags, but to prevent potential law breakers from trying to cheat the system.

Describing how the new policy will be enforced, he added: “Groceries can be

Robber shot dead in sting operation from page one “One armed man opened fire on the police. The police, being in fear of their life, opened fire on that suspected person after alerting him that they were officers.

Of course, several of the officers were in uniform and one or two in plain clothes. The officers again opened fire subsequently fatally wounding one of the suspected persons. Another suspect was shot who was transported to the hospital and is undergoing medical attention.”

When The Tribune arrived on scene, a black Acura with no licence plate was seen riddled with bullets. The deceased suspect was inside the vehicle. CSP Cash was unable to give the names or age of the men, but said a weapon was found on the scene and no police or civilians were hurt.

This is the second time this month an incident like this occurred. On February 11, police said two men entered Portraits-aLa Sawyers photo studio dressed in white jumpsuits and claiming to be window cleaners.

They then allegedly duct taped the

proprietor and a worker and tried to steal a large sum of the cash.

Police shot and wounded a suspect during the incident.

Two men have since been charged in connection with the matter, accused of trying to steal more than $200,000 from the photo studio.

Last week, suspects robbed a jewellery store on Paradise Island of luxury watches.

There have also been a string of armed robberies and home invasions reported since the start of the year.

Yesterday, CSP Cash said police have identified some of the rings responsible for thefts, and have identified suspects they want to question for ongoing investigations.

When asked if police were concerned about an apparent increase in these type of crimes, CSP Cash said: “There is concern from officers, but I can tell you we are relentless in what we do. We are currently investigating several of these matters. As a matter of fact, we can say to you that we have already identified several possible suspects who are on the run... and we are asking the members of the public to assist us in locating these suspected persons.”

Since 1892 Bahamians have been protecting the environment with the passage of the Sea Gardens Protection Act, which prohibited dredging or removal of coral, sea fans or other organisms from the seabed.

Donate today to BPAF | 242-698-1152 or 437-2168 | www.bahamasprotected.com

packed in bags, buckets, laundry baskets, pillow cases (or) reusable bags. It’s just that we’re trying to stop them from going out loose.

“We’re trying to stop them from walking by the cash registers and walking around the cash registers.

You see there’s no way of telling what’s paid for and what’s not paid for unless they’re in bags.”

When asked why Super Value doesn’t offer customers cardboard boxes to pack their purchased items in, Mr Roberts said while he does not have the exact figures, he knows for a fact that the stores would not be able to meet the demand.

“We have thousands of cardboard boxes, but (to accommodate customers) it would (have to) be in the millions and we don’t have them. We only have thousands of cardboard boxes to offer the customers.”

Still, Mr Roberts said the company has not received any more resistance from customers because of the plastic ban.

“They have accepted that we have a ban and they’re not going to pay 25 cents (for a plastic bag),” he said. “…We’re only selling in 13 stores $14,000 of plastic bags a week at 25 cents, but if they were really buying plastic bags, it would be

something probably close to $500,000 a month.”

Insisting the system would only work if people cooperated and brought their reusable bags with them when shopping, he added: “That’s the way we’re going to eventually have to encourage and force consumers to do it.

“It has to be done right or it’s going to be costly. We don’t want this increasing the cost of living four or five percent by theft increasing that much. We have to work with security (and) work with police in eliminating this theft and this attempted theft (because) it has to be stamped out.”

CHIEF Superintendent Solomon Cash, right, talks to the media after one person dies and another is in critical condition when police were tipped off about a planned robbery at a bank on Mackey Street yesterday.

Photos: Donavan McIntosh

He added: “We have some information that there may be some rings operating and again we have identified several of these rings.”

He also said police have

been monitoring local banks and will continue to do so. He warned civilians to stay out of the way when police are engaging with suspects.

“What we want to say

to private citizens that if they see the police engaging in any activities that we ask them to remove themselves because who knows when we deal with suspected persons most

of the time in the process of them trying to evade law enforcement they might just open fire to prevent us from capturing them,” CSP Cash said.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, February 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

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

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

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

Published daily Monday to Friday

Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207 TELEPHONES

News & General Information Advertising Manager Circulation Department Nassau fax Freeport, Grand Bahama Freeport fax

(242) 322-1986 (242) 502-2394 (242) 502-2386 (242) 328-2398 (242)-352-6608 (242) 352-9348

WEBSITE, TWITTER & FACEBOOK www.tribune242.com

@tribune242

tribune news network

Immigration sense or election trail rhetoric?

IMMIGRATION was in the Prime Minister’s sights yesterday – though his target was not always clear.

First, the straightforward – PM Dr Hubert Minnis wants to clamp down on the employment of illegal migrants.

No work permit, no job. Encouragingly, the focus is not just on the issue of the worker but also on the employer.

Clamping down on the worker without a permit can mean the employer just goes and finds another illegal worker – it doesn’t mean a Bahamian gets a job.

That is of course something the government should be doing already – after all, employers who pay out for work permits legally are being undercut by competitors who don’t play by the rules.

If one employer is gaining an advantage by breaking the rules, that’s not fair on the law-abiding business.

Unfortunately, some of Dr Minnis’ other points were a little rambling – or a little out of touch. His talk of a “strike force” to “aggressively pursue illegals” sounds destined for court battles. After all, “aggressive” pursuit must still be legal, and tempered by due process.

Dr Minnis also returned to the plan mooted last month by Director of Labour John Pinder to revoke work permits if employers fail to appoint and properly train apprentices. He complained of “investors, bankers, etc, who bring individuals to our shores on contracts for three, four years with the commitment that they will train Bahamians to take over such jobs. In six years they are still here, eight years they are still here, nine years they are planning for residency, displacing Bahamians”.

At the time of Mr Pinder’s comments, we wrote that the threat was a blunt instrument and called for a dialogue between the government and the business community. Alas, Chamber of Commerce director Peter Goudie said he had tried to arrange a meeting with Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes on two occasions but to no avail. As Mr Goudie said: “We have never heard a word from them on this subject.”

Former immigration minister Branville McCartney noted last year that such a plan is “good in theory, but very onerous in practice”, pointing at the difficulty to find qualified local pharmacists and the heavy costs involved in hiring a foreign worker and an understudy too.

Mr McCartney has walked the walk, having looked at similar plans as minister, but now believes a “case-by-case basis” is more appropriate.

Certainly, the proposal sounds good on the election trail that Dr Minnis is now treading upon. Jobs for Bahamians is an easy thing to shout – and pointing at foreigners who don’t have a vote anyway is an old populist political trick.

But what will it achieve? How will it affect domestic workers? What if an understudy moves on?

Things should of course be done the right way – permits should be in place for those who are working and a structure there to get Bahamians into work.

But that structure is bigger than just an understudy policy – it involves the education system, finding people willing to take on the role in the first place and more. It also involves talking. Perhaps we should start with that.

Let the courts decide THE allegations against Peter Nygard continue to cause reverberations around the world. The New York Times is the latest to report on the lawsuit filed against Mr Nygard over claims of sexual assault and rape. It also shines a light on what has been a long-running dispute between Mr Nygard and his neighbour, Louis Bacon.

What may be little known to the world at large is no secret to Bahamians – the dispute between the two billionaires has long simmered and been played out at times in legal battles.

Some – such as PLP chairman Fred Mitchell – have suggested this simply boils down to a fight between the two billionaires. Mr Mitchell points to claims of payments made by Mr Bacon for secret recordings of Mr Nygard or to find alleged victims. He also repeats his one-eyed view that no Commission of Inquiry is necessary – as called for by The Tribune – into Mr Nygard’s dealings in The Bahamas including into allegations he paid politicians and police officers, but one is needed into Save The Bays and Fred Smith, QC. If he was truly interested in getting to the truth on all sides, we can’t help but wonder why he wouldn’t want probes into both.

But here’s the truth of matters – we are in a process of claim and counterclaim. A series of allegations have been made against Mr Nygard. The Times also reported on two sisters who claimed they were sexually assaulted but then recanted their claims, and now say they were promised money and coached on their stories.

What was the incentive for these two women to change their stories after they had taken the immense step to make their allegations?

This is what the court process is there for – to hear all sides and determine the truth.

As Fred Smith, who is involved in the litigation, says, the alleged victims “will have their day in court”. That’s as it should be. We should all want to get to the truth – to ease the path to justice in future, and make sure we root out any corruption that is revealed.

God forbid we should dismiss the allegations against Nygard because of a boredom over the endless NygardBacon row. If at the end of this journey, a jury decides there are numerous confirmed allegations against Nygard, how could we sleep peacefully if we had not investigated and reported these matters.

We look forward to the court hearings.

Much cheaper options EDITOR, The Tribune AS someone with an electrical engineering background, I found the description of the problems and goings on with the new power generators unbelievable and almost risible if not for all the money being wasted.

First of all it’s amazing, according to your article, BPL didn’t follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for the cooling system. I’d love to know what it was.

Secondly Clifton Pier plant sits at the edge of the sea and closed loop coolant systems using salt water have been around for ages so no need to drill all these deep holes. Many of the world’s nuclear power generators are located near shores for this reason. (This can raise other issues, of course, eg Fukushima, but that are not germane to this particular situation).

And even if that, for some reason, were not

an option, a modern high efficiency reverse osmosis installation only dedicated to supplying fresh water coolant to the generators would probably have cost a fraction of what BPL will have ended up spending drilling and pumping and filtering - even assuming they can reach an adequate an reliable volume of water, which is questionable.

HUBERT HAUCK Nassau, February 23, 2020.

Unwanted invasion EDITOR, The Tribune RE: Observation of illegal immigrants agitating for Ownership/Bahamian people’s Crown land.

A few hours ago, while having lunch at a local fastfood eatery in downtown, Nassau, I was accosted by a customer, wanting to discuss the caption and actually the concept of caption was his idea. After I told him that people like him needs to write the papers more often, so that the nation could see some of how the people are feeling about this invasion, especially of Caribbean nationals, etc. He was not convinced that he ought to write, but that I should write for him, since I had done so before. Okay I will write with what you have to say, okay he said.

This is his account. I am a middle aged man as you can see. Yes, I see. I have been around as I worked on numerous cruise ships playing music and travelling the entire Caribbean. What

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net I saw there, those people watched their culture as a hawk watches over her young. Not in this country, The Bahamas. The music for example, you cannot play Bahamian music in no country of the Caribbean…and The Bahamas is not in the Caribbean, but the North Atlantic Ocean, with Bermuda as you know, probably. This is not the case in The Bahamas, you can literally play anything, any kind of music and some that I have been hearing has profanity as the lyrics… which used to be against the law. Even on public service jitneys, some of the drivers plays them and could care less who adult, old person, or children hears the songs.

I want to shift a bit about the Crown land situation in our country, and how the illegal immigrants put the government in court

trying to get legal possession of land referred to as Crown land, land owned

by The Bahamian people.

This is the only country in the world, where such a thing can happened. There is no way in the world, you could come here, or in any other country as an illegal foreigner and sue the government for possession of the people’s Crown land… and what is more serious, and the courts entertain applications put forward by lawyers. Sir, I wanted to say more, but, please ask them to print what I just said, we are disappointed in the government and the entire system, that is allowing these immigrants to do what they do to the Bahamian people.

Editor, there you have it, coming out of the mouth of another disgruntled Bahamian taxpayer.

FRANK GILBERT (For) Disgruntled Bahamian Nassau February 22, 2020.

Time to end licence chaos EDITOR, The Tribune

HAVING just licensed three vehicles this week, I suddenly realized why there has been such an outcry about people driving uninsured vehicles. I can’t remember what year it was that we changed from all vehicles being licensed in March each year, but that was the start of the problem with unlicensed vehicles.

I had one vehicle with its insurance year ending in November, when the car was purchased, another ending in July, when it was purchased, and yet another ending in a few days from now.

Why, one might ask, did the Attorney General of the day, not think to mandate

(in law) that a vehicle’s insurance MUST coincide with the licence year of the vehicle, which is itself tied to the birth month of the owner, for private vehicles anyway. How hard would that have been? So now I have a licensed vehicle with its insurance expiring on 8th March 2020, but the licence doesn’t expire until Feb 28th 2021. If I choose not to renew the insurance, I can take the chance and just coast until next year.

And hope I don’t run into anyone or get stopped by the cops.

Can the powers that be not sort this out now, so we can end the chaos. Change the law if needed, but also mandate that the insurance

cannot be cancelled unless the vehicle is sold or satisfactory evidence provided that the vehicle is no longer on the road. The insurers can very easily prorate the premium, and the mandate should also be to cover the vehicle to end of the owner’s next birthday month.

I was delighted to hear the Minister saying that vehicle licensing would soon be exclusively credit/ debit card based. And he expected higher revenues, so I imagine he is anticipating that more vehicles will be licensed when this happens!

MONKEEDO Nassau, February 21, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, February 25, 2020, PAGE 5

WE WON’T SPEND MONEY UNWISELY, SAYS MINNIS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

AFTER facing backlash over the government’s decision to increase travel benefits for Cabinet ministers and their spouses, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said tax dollars will not be spent irresponsibly.

Speaking at Parliament, Dr Minnis said the government remained committed to transparency and would report to Bahamians how it chose to spend public funds.

He said: “…I know

what it’s like to be short of change and short of funds.

We have made a commitment to elevate the poor and under privileged.

“We have made a commitment to protect the account and the finances of the people. We will never ever make a decision that is not transparent and is not in the best interest of the people.

“We will never be irresponsible and spend the people’s money wild and that is why we account to this Parliament and to the people of every dime that we spend.”

“I would never waste and abuse my own personal funds and this government certainly would not do it with the people’s money,” he continued.

Last week, Dr Minnis was criticised for the tone he took in the face of questions over the travel benefits increase.

Dr Minnis made the comments at a press conference at Sir Lynden International Airport following his trip to Barbados to attend a CARICOM meeting. “...I was placed in an embarrassing situation as prime minister of the

country when I travelled to Brussels only to discover that they did not accept cash,” Dr Minnis said at the time. “They did not accept swipe card. You needed a chip. I had to borrow a card from someone else to pay a bill.

“And we had an ambassador in the same situation and could not pay bills and I was almost pressured, (and) I was to a point, where the ambassador was in a compromised position.

I was about to call Jamaica for assistance to pay our bills and you worried about $100?”

Before making these comments Dr Minnis told reporters that records would show that officials’ spouses have not been taking advantage of the benefits. “…You check the records and you would find that I don’t think one Cabinet minister’s spouse has taken advantage of that,” he told reporters last week.

“And you would find, in most instances, that Cabinet ministers travel by themselves and not only that but what you don’t know is on many occasions Cabinet ministers, including

myself, travel with insufficient funds and use my own credit card to pay government’s bills.

“That happens regularly so we always have to travel with our own cash and our own credit card.”

The new travel policy, which was implemented by Cabinet last year, allows for ministers’ spouses to go on additional trips, including a $100 daily per diem.

The policy also increases ministerial per diem from $80 to $100 per day for domestic travel and $150 to $250 for international travel.

PM orders creation of ‘illegals’ strike force from page one

streets and various job sites.

Bahamians who employ illegals will and must be prosecuted. We cannot continue being a lawless society if we are to protect our citizens.

“Jobs are first and foremost for Bahamians. I find it very difficult and I could not understand and still don’t understand the day when investors, bankers etcetera bring individuals to our shores on contracts for three, four years with the commitment that they will train Bahamians to take over such jobs.

“In six years they are still here, eight years they are still here, nine years they are planning for residency, displacing Bahamians.

I find it difficult that my nationals cannot obtain the knowledge to take over the job and since I know that my nationals can and do have the knowledge to take over the job, the fault must be with the trainer.

“We ought to aggressively ensure that successive planning is first and foremost and in the absence of individuals not being trained,

that trainer had failed and must be replaced by a new trainer so that they do not establish foundation within our country and take further jobs away from Bahamians.”

Dr Minnis said he had difficulty understanding how foreign contractors had taken advantage of large construction jobs, competing with locals in the market.

“I also find it very difficult to accept individuals come to our shores as employees on jobs. When I look five years later these individuals establish their construction company and compete against Bahamians for our jobs. I am embarrassed sometimes as I walk about and see the amount of individuals that speaks a different language than I do, but yet have big contracts within our country.

That must stop.

“Bahamians first. Bahamian citizens are likewise responsible. We have a responsibility to inform the government as to such activities and we have a responsibility of not hiring individuals unless there is document of them being here or allowed to be here.”

The prime minister said it was important the situation be handled to prevent the Bahamas from following in the steps of Turks and Caicos, which is now “swamped” with undocumented migrants. He said the situation had deteriorated to a point where locals had taken matters into their own hands, arresting migrants and apprehending them for authorities.

“I would not like to see us reach that point and therefore I urge Bahamians, you must not hire illegals and you must report such illegal activities.

“And for those who bring individuals on work permits you must ensure that they have proper accommodations. We will not continue to allow shantytowns for individuals to break the laws in our country yet we do nothing and if a Bahamian adds anything on to his or her home without the relevant permit we break it down.

“I ask a question who is this country for, are we second class citizens in our own country? We will no longer be second-class citizens in our country.

And we asks the courts to

WE must take our country back, says Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis work with us, fix our problems because today it’s me tomorrow is you. Soon they will build a court right next to the Supreme Court. “…We must take our country back.

“Work permits cannot and should not and will not be obtained within our country unless they have been renewed.”

He said to ensure the rules are followed, officials plan to do regular audits on

work permits to ensure they are issued while individuals are out of the country. Dr Minnis said if officials discover there is a violation of the policy they will be dealt with accordingly.

“Our social services can take no more. Our health system can take no more.”

He continued: “I remembered while working as a physician at the Princess Margaret Hospital in charge of senior personnel

obstetrics and gynaecology it was not unusual (and) it was very frustrating to the staff and demoralising for out of 10 deliveries within our wards, nine were the illegals and one was the Bahamians. It was not unusual, Mr Speaker, that our wards, our beds were filled with illegals while Bahamians stood aside (or) sit on the benches waiting.”

Editorial View - Page 4

PAGE 6, Tuesday, February 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

GOVT TO GIVE LAND FOR PRE-SCHOOLS ON FAMILY ISLANDS

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE government wants to give Crown land to certified educators who are seeking to build pre-schools in the Family Islands, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis revealed in the House of Assembly yesterday.

The move, according to the prime minister, will seek to address the shortage of school facilities in the country needed to educate

students at pre-school level.

“We recognise that in the Family Islands that there may not be adequate facilities and therefore, to assist the Family Islands, the government is inviting all of those individuals with knowledge and certification to teach our preschoolers,” he told the House yesterday.

“Once certified, those in the Family Islands, apply to the government and we will give you the Crown land.

We will give you the land to

build your schools. We will allow you to build duty-free even with the equipment, duty-free.

“In addition to that, Mr Speaker, after building, we will pay you $700 per month per student… So, Mr Speaker, we want to ensure that the playing fields are level .... It is essential that the Family Islands have the same benefits of New Providence.”

Noting that the government is committed to helping the poor, Dr Minnis

also said his administration wants to make pre-school education free for all to ensure those in disadvantaged communities are afforded the same educational opportunities as the “wealthy”.

“We have a society today, Mr Speaker, where those who can afford proper preschool education are given pre-school education,” he said. “That is not the society that I want to live in…No, Mr Speaker, we’re levelling

the playing field to ensure that those who do not have it will have the same advantage of those who can. “… Why should we run the 100-metre dash and those that have money start at 80 yards and me with none start at the starting line? It’s an unfair advantage so, the government recognises that (and has) decided to make pre-school education free for all.”

He continued: “(But), we also recognise that the

government does not have sufficient schools, buildings and facilities to accommodate (them). We recognise that.

“Therefore, we have asked individuals who have such facilities in the private sector, once they are accredited and meet the standard - apply and students, each student, they would be paid by the government of The Bahamas $700 a month to ensure that our students are properly educated.”

We can get jobless figures down to 6%, insists Minnis

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

EXPANDING the tourism sector will help us reduce unemployment, says PM Dr Hubert Minnis

only path to rapid employment is the construction of a very large resort. Fortunately, the economic model that assumes this is not the only path to rapid employment in the tourism sector.”

He continued: “Many may be surprised to hear that there is an existing property with wonderful amenities and 6,300 vacant rooms that sits empty every night in the Bahamas.

“Here is how we make that property visible.

There are approximately 18,000 hotel rooms available in The Bahamas for the accommodation of visitors.”

The prime minister said annual occupancy of these rooms hovers at around 65 percent or an average 6,300 rooms vacant every night throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

He said some assume that maximum average annual occupancy of hotel rooms across the Bahamas cannot exceed 65 percent and when that level is reached, the country needs to start looking for new investments.

This assumption is completely wrong, Dr Minis said.

“We need to remind the sceptics that not so long ago, properties on Paradise Island with more than 1,000 rooms regularly ran occupancies of 85 percent year round. Those sceptics also need to digest the fact that cruise ships arrive in the Port of Nassau with near

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis insisted that six percent unemployment by next year is achievable, adding officials planned to do this by expanding the tourism sector alone.

This expansion, however, will not feature building more hotels, Dr Minnis told Parliament yesterday.

Earlier this month the prime minister predicted the national unemployment rate would drop to six percent or less by the end of 2021.

But Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis expressed scepticism, accusing Dr Minnis of making the statement as a political strategy.

Yesterday, Dr Minnis hit back describing Mr Davis as a leader lacking vision or imagination.

“I have heard and read commentary that it is highly improbable that we can get unemployment down to six percent,” Dr Minnis said.

“We need to think boldly and with greater vision and imagination, which is lacking in the leader of the Opposition and his visionless party.

“We need to rethink and innovate when it comes to economic model that some rigidly propose for tourism development. We need to update our thinking about the economics of tourism.

“According to some, the

100 percent occupancies year round.

“We must focus even more to make the adjustments to move the occupancy needle beyond 65 percent. Let’s just suppose, we move hotel occupancies from 65 percent to 85 percent, not 100 percent. Eighty five percent occupancy would mean an additional 3,600 rooms occupied every night in the Bahamas.

“That is equivalent to filling a property one and half times that size of Baha Mar every night.”

“An additional 3,600 rooms occupied every night at double occupancy would mean an additional 438,000 annual stopover visitors with an average length of stay of six nights. “… That’s why I am confident that Free Town will achieve 8m visitors,” Dr Minnis continued.

“With each visitor spending the average $1,500 per visit, moving occupancies from 65 percent to 85 percent would mean an additional $657 million in incremental visitor expenditure in the Bahamas.

“When we look at the data showing the number of direct, indirect and induced jobs that would be created by such an outcome, the six percent level of unemployment is achievable from tourism sector expansion alone and without building one more room in the Bahamas.”

‘TYPICAL - INSTALL FIRST, PLAN LATER’ THE news that BPL is racing against time to have its new $95m electricity plant ready to meet peak summer demand, after issues with its cooling system plans, prompted a lively reaction on tribban, not to worry, the years une242.com. of contamination will clean Proudloudandfnm said: “Typical Bahamian govern- itself. If ever a country ment operation. Install first, has demonstrated that it should not be a country, plan later . . .” well that would be us here Chucky referred to in the Bahamas. So much this quote from the story: corruption, incompetence “And, besides the chaland stupidity, we would lenges in penetrating the all be better off if USA rock, this newspaper was would just take us over. also told that decades of We simply do not have oil spills and other BPLe to operate a related pollution at Clifton bunability ri The Tthe And Best!

Pier means that the water Biggest country.” ne bu TestriAndby After The Netherlands pulled the wells toTheup Best!

OBITS demanded that The Bahadate isBiggunusable because it INSIDE mas implement a corporate contains multiple forms of The eeTrikbenudne income tax at 9 percent waste and harmful chemiW or higher as the price to cals,” and had this to say: “Government is always the escape tax non-cooperation Watch the “blacklist”, Concerned799 worst polluter. But thankfilm - every posted this comment: fully we have a plastic bag agonising, A1MAIN

Established 1903

WEDNESDAY i’m lovin’ it!

HIGH 92ºF LOW 78ºF

A1MAIN

Established 1903

THURSDAY

THE PEOPLE’S

4 No.208, SEPTEMBER

AKIN 24/7 BRE

UNE ON TRIB G NEWS

242.COM

PAPER: $1

20TH, 2017

The privileged

$1

BUSI NESS

4 No.118, MAY

VOLUME:11

242.COM

VOLUME:11

i’m lovin’ it!

HIGH 88ºF LOW 73ºF

UNE ON TRIB G NEWS

AKIN 24/7 BRE

11TH, 2017

OFFICIAL SOURCE

TORCHED!

CLASSIFIED TRA

DER: CARS, CAR

S, CARS & TECH

Photo: Terrel

FNM roa PLP fired as

OH, AND THERE’S AN ELITE WATER LIST TOO

es Revealed: Nam list and on the eliteowed what they

not be officials could T to press time. reached up

By AVA TURNQUES to sources Reporter of According .net Tribune Chief matter, as tribunemedia close to the Wells has since aturnquest@ Mr Progres- Monday his accounts FOUR former Cabinet paid $9,000 on balParty an outstanding ARNOLD sive Liberal more than with $8,600.

FORBES ministers owedat Bahamas ance of some also said as $62,023 The source Forbes was one $20,000 each Mr Light, with Power and in arrears of Monday the company former minister as of July, in talks with balance over settle the Mr for some $60,000 a list obtained to three-month period. a according to PLP Mount

by The Tribune.and Collec- Forbes, former MP, was appointed The Credit 2015, listing of Moriah in January the tions Department and board to Cabinet served as MPs, senators the period and previouslythe Bahamas of for chairman members revealed Industrial 31, and ending July State Minister Agricultural . that former of Works Corporation the “do not Others on are: former in the Ministry owed BPL list Dr disconnect” Arnold Forbes Health of $62,023.14.

by The Minister former Tall The list obtained delin- Perry Gomez, Leslie Miller, Tribune contains of six Pines MP Youth Minister of former quent accounts Cabinet minis- former Johnson, Dion former PLP PLP MPs, Dr Danny Village MP ters, two former Tourism DR DANIEL entities, and Nassau , two private Cabinet min- Smith, former JOHNSON Obie Wilchcombe one sitting $24,413 Town MP Minister South Beach MP and former ister: Bamboo Hamilton State Renward Wells. who owed Cleola of Mr Wells, $3,703.96 at former Minister Damian Affairs $9,277.07 and locations - for Legal two separatetotal – did not Gomez.

SEE PAGE EIGHT $12,981.03 in yesterwant to comment other former day, and the

T

By AVA TURNQUES Reporter t Tribune Chief ibunemedia.ne aturnquest@tr Sewerage WATER and Chairman Corporation yesterday Adrian Gibson existence the confirmed disconnect” of a “do not by scores list populatedthe governof elites at utility owned to ment he pledged provider as on crackdown a initiate accounts. delinquent told The Mr Gibson l “confidentia Tribune the 221accounts, list” held total of with a combined the period $175,000 for2017. ending June he plans He said that corporathe to direct all persons tion to notify arrears owing excessive or face debts to resolve n. disconnectio a list confi“There is the Long dential list,” Island MP said. think would “In fact, I s corporation that all the year or two, in over the last and more particularly year, there May of thisclose attenhas been that list by tion paid to t with the managemen changing the a view to lists usually way those operate. this con“As it stands, a number has fidential list on it, and of persons it’s being really and trulypersons by used to notify or letters. courtesy call that as the I can say toothe corporachairman of to direct tion I am going owing that all personswho are excessive arrears EIGHT SEE PAGE at the end of

DR PERRY GOMEZ $24,498

LESLIE MILLER $42,219

DION SMITH $9,275

RENWARD WELLS $12,980

BPL WHO RUNS is quite willCRUNCH DAY OVER utilityto operator from it “walk away”

e Staff

W. Carey/Tribun

ide winHE rs to landsl E AS ATION FOR CHRISTI

ing

By NEIL HARTNELL Editor $25m, five-year maximum t contract et Tribune Business ibunemedia.n BPL managemen nhartnell@tr and Minnis if the board wish it to go. on Power & BAHAMAS board will administrati which will The meeting,PowerSecure Light’s (BPL) by meeting” hold a “crunch e today, be attendedand their attorneys key with PowerSecurlikely crit- executives is viewed as the from the US, with the outcome whether the to determining whethermake and ical in decidingas manager. sides will “kiss latter remainsTribune Busi- two separate. up” or Multiple - SEE BUSINESS yesterday US FULL STORY ness sources that the confirmed

HUMILI AFTER 4O YEARS LOSES HIS SEAT

seats: Encaptured four Island and Cat were spent under to South Aners’ dollars administration. glerston; 1,900 votes and San Salvador; Christie the win with is evidence 2017 the as well as Exuma DORSETT Mr Christie’s 1,875.

He said if there”, the new dros VIRGIL ELECTION Islands.

By SANCHESKAReporter to the unofBy KHRISNA Reporter seat, Fox According the the Ragged of “criminality et Tribune Staff from the Parwill allow SPEAK An additional being reDeputy Chief bunemedia.n ficial results Registration government course.

THE PEOPLE nemedia.net sdorsett@tri PAGE 4 was still its kvirgil@tribu his Hill, law to take to press time. and liamentary , Mr Chipman after ON’ decounted up his parMoments DNA ‘TO GO PAGE 5 IN a surprisingat the Departmentout of 12 pollas the na- This marked the worst in AFTER leadinglandslide defeat party won seven maiden speech MinLOSE humbling leader, Dr Prime Min- ing divisions in the former ty to a stunning feat for a governing Mr tion’s next PLP BIG NAMESPAGE 7 dealing a parapolls, outgoing that under recent history. victory and to the ProgresChristie lost PLP stronghold, while will nis promised victory came MPS ister Perry Bahamians The FNM’s won five. lysing blow Party last night, years the Centreville his watch, YOUR PROJECTED his seat in last night by Christie a rocky five PAGE 9 to fear from Mr Christie sive Liberal In 2012, have nothing , pointing to despite contwo challengPrime Minister constituency representing SO FAR incoming that included the Centrevilleeighth declared government after leadership, said won the RESULTS 14 he votes Minnis 40 25 the PAGE Dr Minnis’ of a fracn, which Dr Hubert more than stituency for time with have abused victimisatio tional” “im- es to the area for to unofthat those who trust “have continued reports ultimately consecutive He defeated is “unconstitu MORE COVERAGE of years, according party and the post “wrong”.

PAGES 2-18 positions 2,950 votes. moral” and to unofficial tured to fear”. ficial results. candidate Ella removal from has held Opsomething to thousands of According able his at the Mr Christie 1977 and the FNM’s of the Official FNM was Speaking by 1,349 votes at the Q House today. results, the stunning defeat of leader in the House of won all the Lewis the seat since a pledged that jubilant supporterslast night, ment Mr Christie leader of Dr Minnis on will give to pull off securing a mas- position has been Liberal Party time. polling division in E Sports Centre but one administrati Terrance of the PLP, constituencies. Assembly. a long fought National MoveProgressive “This was victory is not the Free also announced his General 34 of 39 a 2012. sive Reg1997. it ry the Auditor since released but Prime ment leader be sworn in as the resources former is yours,” Although he the loss, The Parliamenta did battle, The about his seat to that he will fourth prime Bastianto probe how taxpay- istration Department re- mine - the victory thousands Minister lost Movement statement did not speak full election last Dr Minnis told on the carThe Bahamas’ at Govern- needs Christie not release 5pm Free National packed with the and po- Mr minister at SEE PAGE SIX sults last night, in from the of FNMs (FNM) candidate Reece nival grounds. people’s time numbers coming litical newcomer agency around “This is the and I who secured government from the and I am your servant Chipman, 11pm. However it apSEE PAGE THREE unofficial numbers, the PLP only of the conpeared that “The outcome trust according to vention did not inspireBahalast Mark Humes in the results, said coming afor confidence that’s “obvious” mian electorate but think sweeping defeat residents unofficial is it that I ROLLE have stood behind us now and they night ter Fort Charlotte

By RASHAD Reporter told him party would winning the the party has a wonderful repeatedly lead- the Tribune Staff stand the any a better chance rebuild and emedia.net could not he been victori- opportunity to rrolle@tribun of the country per- election had itself,” he said. leadership for for- ership despite their ous in the PLP’sadding that reengineer longer, him.

AS HE called SEE PAGE SIX RASPBERRY Minister Perry sonal affection for was pro- race in January, made a mistake” mer Prime who ICED TEA “the party resign as leader Mr Sears, Mr Christie.

Free NaChristie to Liberal in choosing to lose to the Al- jected Movement’s (FNM) of the Progressive last night, the tional Party (PLP) said he saw fred Sears

DAMIAN GOMEZ OBIE $3,413 WILCHCOMBE CLEOLA $4,911 HAMILTON they owed $6,118 list and the amount since that date. disconnect” BPL “do not made or further debt incurred named on the NINE individualsdo not include any payments July. The sums

PUT SOUTH ISLANDS T ON MARIA ALER

POLICE LAUNCH E FOX HILL OFFENSIV

A1MAIN

FRIDAY

i’m lovin’ it!

HIGH 91ºF LOW 80ºF Volume:114

No.215, SEPTEMBER

WEEK END: A

JOUR NEY WHIC

H FULFI LLED

A MAN’ S DREA

MEAL

65 9

SANDWICH

Incl. VAT

KING.BS

WWW.BURGER

ASSAU

/BURGERKINGN

PAPER: $1

Friday, September

Weekend

29, 2017

FOR THE CURE Page 21

Living the dream From Andros to the

boardroom Interview, pages 4&5

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

MS

CHRISTIE

HURRICANE

LEADER TO RESIGN AS PARTY

INSURANCE:

?

Are you Covered

Covering The Bahamas for 40 years.

Nobody Does it

safeas well as of homicides A DORSETT guarding the residents

By SANCHESKReporter in Fox Hill. et Tribune Staff walkabout bunemedia.n During a Acting prepared. live national sdorsett@tri er Fox Hill on Tuesday, ROLLE During a Ferguson Commission his office

By RASHAD Reporter ACTING Fergu- Commissioner and address from Dr Minnis Tribune Staff Anti-Gang of Police Anthony emedia.net yesterday said the Inveslast night, Maria is rrolle@tribun Tracing and announced dev- son establishment of two Firearms Unit will operate fore- said: “Hurricane the potentially Bahamas tigation WITH we the DetecMaria another hurricane that separate Royal anti-crime out of the Central the cast for Hurricane Force storm to pass astating monitor.”

(CDU) while projecting the Baha- must carefully Though most Police aimed at eliminating tive Unit SEE PAGE 11 units counthe He added: near the Southeast in Prime was spared gang activity morning, of mas Friday Hubert Minnis of the Bahamas the number try, reducing Minister Dr of those SEE PAGE TWO and is urging residents be vigilant islands to

wrenching, awful second.

Then give up Eugene’s killer

Better!

MENT INSURANCE MANAGE LIMITED. INSURANCE

BROKERS &

AGENTS

om

ntBahamas.c

ceManageme

Woodside.

Photo: Yontalay

Nassau & Bahama

Islands’ Leading

Bowe

VIDEO OF PM’SAT VISIT ONLINE OM TRIBUN E242.C

EXUMA ELEUTHERA 242.336.2304 ABACO 242.332.3211 GRAND BAHAMA NEW PROVIDENCE 242.350.3500 242.367.4204 242.394.5555

(BAHAMAS)

Dr Hubert MinPRIME Minister Kendera Woodside, nis meeting murdered Eugene the mother of

this Yes I feel for y our countries.than I can say.” more ensure has a responsibilit one mother said he will Each citizen information Dr Minnis provided to and whatever that forward. medical attention is is pregnant. the composure. said he felt the fam- has we must bring among us.” who after feel live Dr Minnis Mrs Woodside, the grieving and days makes me Three These criminals who emphasised country’s he “You can see of those pushed the ily’s pain. “What through,” Mrs Minnis, that her appearis that most during murder that violent crime into ROLLE she’s going someI, even worse

By RASHAD Reporter not a pain “I assured her that the family the yard, struggle with spotlight yet again, them was doctor, to will have we see in Tribune Staff ance before called on women said. today (Friday) we to look the national as a medical emedia.net acute. rrolle@tribun come my my years political move,one day this week time her pain remained live a life, medical personnel she’s pregand comforting cried.

“He ain’t even to wear blackfor murder victims.

Dr THE hugs her because sure that Prime Minister wife God,” Mrs Woodsidegive my upon after in mourning I’m calling words of I have to make infant are and his a baby. I could my really nant.

“As a mother, Hubert Minnis couldn’t answer “He’s right now just for because I this,” her and her unborn will also make take all mothers can stop Patricia Minnis that consumed breath be right here. They well and we sure the believe mothers who was tearful both as baby to ts to make body. the questions my yesterday arrangemen Minnis, personnel out who Mrs said medical eight- my heart my only son. They Kendera Woodside have our sons on a too for her son, killed times. “We birth and as they necessary her and see her “This after she grieved of them at my daughter from the safety who was still with look almost shoot (the house) with would’ve delivered most knowing we cradle basis to ensure infant.” year-old Eugene, men we are to me with regular they inside four days ago. people ain’t tell- and What they do to my family? so they are closer patients,” Dr becomeWe have to speakshould of her and her unborn PAGE TWO SEE them. are my former “Why these bringing my son me. they do to us? st by pro- them. I think all women week me? I they we ain’ carry one day this ing me they she cried between What Minnis, a gynaecologi “The message “Why they wear black what’s happening in a baby.” tried to right now?” fession, said. the entire Bahamas 29 years, He’s Dr Minnis and mourn Eugene’s Rose- live screams as must send to this alone.

Tonio Woodside, family at theirEugene wife even is the police can’t fight console the consoled his home where on father, struggled to maintain bud Road a stray bullet as he was shot by did his homework. he Monday as

Nassau & Bahama

www.Insuran

Islands’ Leading

Newspaper

PLP CASUAL HIRES COST EXTRA $10M

OMY AG WARNS ECON ER’ IN ‘GRAVE DANG

99

THE PEOPLE’S

gardening art theatre music film books fashion food culture RACE

29TH, 2017

e n u b i r The T

ALFRED SEARS URGES

7

: KARA WAN

CEO AS ATLA NTIS LEAV ES ROLE

“What about all the Dutch tax haven activities? If all the past co-operation has only brought us blacklists, perhaps it’s time to review past regulations and agreements with a view to dialing them back and clearly the promise of ‘do this and you will not get a blacklist’ was a promise that was never kept.”

And there was this from Banker: “We could have a corporate income tax rate of 4% and stay out of a lot of trouble with the rest of the world. It is currently at 5.5% in Barbados, and half of the Canadian top 100 companies have an office there. Plus it would add a lot of money to the coffers, and maybe stay the exit of Canadian banks from the Bahamas.”

he told Parto In June, cost the ROLLE such liament of

By RASHAD Bahamians $10,149,738. by the Carib- Tribune Staff Reporter so alarmed Action Task rrolle@tribunemedia.net increases was comes after bean Financial draft The revision more than

By NEIL HARTNELL Editor Rolle, minForce’s (CFATF) BRENSIL et Tribune Business services he included that were not The Bahamas ibunemedia.n report on his staff ister of public nhartnell@tr 1,700 workers Gen- that he instructedaddressing and National Insurance, in his original count.

December Progressive THE Attorneyslammed to begin work on June.

Amid the said between 2017, the criticism May flaws from early eral yesterday

by Liberal Party’sadministrablasted the 2016 and in the nation’s the ballooned Mr Bethel deficiencies adminis- public purse laundering of the of the Minnisof its firings anti-money former Christie to tackle $16,532,738 because on’s tion because “entirely unacfailing administrati regime as SEE PAGE SIX they had tration for with the Christie service ceptable”, warning “in great known weaknesses of new public period. hiring during that put The Bahamas necessary urgency.

BUSINESS workers danger”. told Trib- FULL STORY - SEE Carl Bethelhe had been une Business

Newspaper

Nassau & Bahama

Islands’ Leading

Newspaper

f the dogmas o to r a e sw to d Being boun The Tribune The Tribune A1MAIN

Established 1903

A1MAIN

THURSDAY

The Tribune

4 No.103, APRIL

VOLUME:11

UNE ON TRIB G NEWS

242.COM

t!

Biggest And Bes

i’m lovin’ it!

HIGH 84ºF LOW 70ºF

AKIN 24/7 BRE

FRIDAY

OBITS

20TH, 2017

INSIDE

A1MAIN

Established 1903

TUESDAY i’m lovin’ it!

HIGH 91ºF LOW 81ºF

4 No.202, SEPTEMBER

UNE ON TRIB G NEWS

THE PEOPLE’S

PAPER: $1

12TH, 2017

VOLUME:11

WOMA N

UNLIVEABLE

WOME N OF SUBST

ANCE AND BEAUT

Y TAKE ON THE

UNIVE RSE - SEE

TRADER: CAR

S, CARS, CAR

S & TECH

Fitzgerald sought millions from Baha Mar

242.COM

t!

Biggest And Bes

AKIN 24/7 BRE

CLASSIFIED

SEE LEAKED EMAILS INSIDE

ated Minister’s repe contracts requests for sed and deals expo INVESTIGATION

FIREFIGHTERS TACKLE MAJOR NEW BLAZE AT LANDFILL

A DORSETT

By SANCHESKReporter et Tribune Staff bunemedia.n sdorsett@tri

Weekend

i’m lovin’ it!

$1

OFFICIAL SOURCE

HIGH 92ºF LOW 79ºF Volume:114

No.152,

2017 JUNE 30th,

SPECIAL A TRIBUNE

medical treatment.

SIVE Liberal were obtaineda from a ther’s PROGRES The emails Bradley EMAILS leaked following of China Con- by The Tribune Party Chairmanout at his highdata breach (CCA) Roberts lashed story in December of CCA struction America’s colleague Vinthat from the breach former party night, accusservers show2013, Jerome lighting by a San Francisco cent Peet last North Anto servers China Construction as early as was seeking ing the former Islands MP hacker.

Fitzgerald of dollars eventually paid 24 bitcoins dros and Berry enemy” $24,000) secure millions trucking, and (the equivalent of of being a “political an independin brokerage, to their servat Baha who mounted because he to have access it aplimousine contracts showing a resat in Cabinet ers restored; however, ent campaigna nomination forwarded leaked emails Mar while he of Educathat emails ONE of the Education, Sciwas denied party.

Minister of as the Minister and Tech- pears relating to personnel quest from or d, Jerome Fitzgerald. from the governing tion, Science Tribune has to, to PLP supand Technology were compromise ence Speaking CCA The The at Baha in nology, a rally in North officials at porters at night, Mr Robagent for Limolink despite top they were not learned. which his Bahamas. You are encourcontradict the saying at from Andros last is war” as faThe emails this week de- Mar clientele with a reference by the hack if erts said “this company was writes, “I vote aged to get of Viacom Minister, who his office to concerned the crowd toPerry Mr Fitzgeraldinterior ma- limousine president urged time. using 18, he free the the ever May feel that Dr nied dated to himself am aware arrive miliar. with regard the you wish. Please In an email for incumbent that a vote “Also Izmirlian terials have began to really we direct contracts me personally adding business from the mul- 2013, sent to Mr to contact with for the contact Gomez, hotel. I would or his family resort. be limousine meet with or have your agents Peet is a vote Mr Fitzgerald, Cur- for the it if we couldbro- are ready to Managing for Mr he ti-billion dollar - the Pro- by Porter, Shelly appreciate anytime,” National Movement.SIX Porter our Free official Mr Quentin people Fitzgerald copied, your Mr your SEE PAGE Party MP tis and Alarice Fill his appointed Director directly.”

1st 2013.” writes. gressive Liberal we really ker for June - appears also Mr Fitzgerald indicates a request TWO & THREE “As indicated cusSEE PAGES for Marathon start brokerage $20,000 He then makesfor limoufor readiness to cater to highend to be requesting Mar, only Baha Mar’s and trucking services and of Mr Izmirlian are the official Baha from and at month tomers project a Sarkis services of Baha Mar of re- sinehe touted the level original developer the ex- the as the brokers citing Izmirlian, were necessary remain for the property. penses that cost of his fa- cord to cover the Healthcare hisMarsh Harbour a tortured ROLLE Centre has missed deadBy RASHAD Reporter tory, one of of shoddy Tribune Staff emedia.net lines and claimsall without rrolle@tribun ip, ity. of- workmansh ENT clear accountabil GOVERNM ed the anyThe facility’s original bankrupt. ficials commissionHealththe contractor went of Marsh Harbour n in Abaco yesConstructio care Centre centre began it as a longIngraham terday, touting to the island healthcare under the former awaited boost on. adminisin and the Christie Health administrati Christie adhealth centre When the e Staff tours the new tration’s National came to power, RASPBERRY Perry Christie the W. Carey/Tribun Insurance plans. and Ado- ministration renovating Photo: Terrel ICED TEA PRIME Minister it spent $1m SIX Abaco yesterday.

Like the Child Smith PAGE SEE Robert lescent and that was the (CARS) Complex ed last year, commission

HEALTH CENT MARSH HARBOUR

RE OPENS AT LAST

Friday, June 30, 2017

BAHAMIAN PROJECT Pages 20&21

Picture perfect

WEEK END: SENIO

N ARRIV ES

prom Fashion, pages 14&15

Christie denies claims on spending PROM SEASO

FORMER PM TELLS OF LAST TALK WITH NOTTAGE

WELLS

By RICARDO Reporter Tribune Staff nemedia.net rwells@tribu

G concern ADMITTIN Bernard Notin over what Dr have battled last tage may his isolation during Prime Minisdays, former yesterday for ter Perry Christie admiration the expressed forth by the effort put security to former national the build-up minister in election. the May general from his Breaking away since being public silence office in hisof voted out month, a last toric fashion Mr Chrishis visibly troubled portions of his tie detailed with last conversation and longfriend childhood colleague on time political Thursday.

Centreville The former Nottage as Dr MP saw “fought tehis someone who throughout naciously” he loved and life for thosetrait he said he a supported, up to their saw on display . last conversation PAGE SIX SEE

IS • FORMER PM BY DAVIS TRIBUTE TO LEGACY OF ‘DISAPPOINTED’ FNM ALLEGATIONS COLLEAGUE • SAYS GOVT DID NOTHING WRONGT OVER $8M PAYOU

ROLLE

By RASHAD Reporter Tribune Staff emedia.net rrolle@tribun

Nottage’s DR Bernard forever be will “footprints the Bahamian etched on tal landscape” developmen work as a forthrough his of the Bahamer president of Athletic mas Association s, the Bahamas Association , the Medical Association and as a afMinDoctors’ Union consumer FORMER Prime the reminister for health and was to accept when I ister Perry Christie fairs, education, into a defeat, as I did security, Opposipictured yesterday. W. was in arrears, sponsibility for it in response to national who Terrel Photo: Philip “Brave” airport tenant described recent resigned,” he said levelled e Staff tion Leader as the criticism recent Carey/Tribun on from accusations Mr Christie in Davis said Wednesday. questions on 71, died administrati e spending, misfea- moves made by the government pandering at his administration Dr Nottage, the Cleveby a party of irresponsibl WELLS at a “misstep” thought

By RICARDO Reporter Wednesday He will receive sance and cronyism. that weeks. never any he was “disap- to its base. maintained Tribune Staff “There was land Clinic.

He also said allegations being I was acceptin arrangenemedia.net relating Mr Christie part that by the rwells@tribu gova state funeral announced, of documents would on my y for any degree Per- pointed”around by the new be irrethat a review two controversies secments to Prime Minister tossed any ing responsibilit of criminality,notion to the press the FORMER condemned ernment concerning matters as to these his administration of according the whatsoever of term and yesterday last Office much his spending that absolve ry Christie retary for the and prove as noth- sponsible Minnis administra- transpired during Anthony is bare’ is just is wrongdoing efforts by the his government in Prime Minister, that ‘the cupboard prime minister.at accusations from of the FNM’s rhetoric slogans.” tion to portray as he challenged Newbold. “political political slogans.”

Hitting back Minnis adminislight, SEE PAGE SIX ing more than challenges I have SEE PAGE THREE a negative leader to carry out a of the the controvermembers of the the govern“One the nation’s te examination of who led the $8m to tration concerning of more thanclean up as the person led the government “dispassiona sial pay out and who record”. interview at one vendor for hurricane to an ment off of $1.2m During a lengthy home on Thursand the write his Cable Beach defended his day, Mr Christie

• CALLS FOR REVIEW OF DOCUMENTS

- BUT SOME DEADLINE TODAY NDING DISCLOSURES OUTSTA

$

20

ANY LARGE PIZZA SPECIALTY

(INCL. VAT)

TASTE INDULGE YOUR

BUDS.

be abandoned.

it must Hurriis so devastated the island as Ragged Island remained on home has Minnis warns with those whohomes last week. “Every The Minister Dr Hubert en Rag- discussion battered their has been destroyed. has been health facility on storm-strick Min- cane Irma Prime teachers’ residence no water. destroyed. The and safety conditions to deteriorate, urged the 18 been has been destroyed. The is no light. There is HEALTH he smell the school will only continue destroyed. There about, you can yesterday as The in the afterged Island Minnis said to evacuate “As we walkcarcasses, dead animals. deister Dr Hubert on the island reduced will stench of dead of the individuals remaining residentsIrma, which has them REPORT that we get of rubble and SPECIAL health conditions Russell, math of Hurricane it’s essential there to piles Words: Khrisna W Carey teriorate and Dr Minnis said. only most structures Pictures: Terrel island unlivable. Dr Minnis to leave the for off this island,” rendered the bly reluctant stay here,” saw for the understanda home, expressing concern “They cannot as Many were and a delegation and days ever known through said after he damage left by Irma they’ve ripped place hurricane of their residences, first time the Five monster will have about the safety personal belongings. behind. We by the smell after the Category island.

“They are concerned may have lefthere and the Defence exacerbated of all esmaterials they the small southern same physical condition, destruction dispatch a vessel and at the still whatever The island’s l carcasses and the id. e Defence Force nce the cleanup gly urge those

PAPER: $1

Weekend

Seniors go big for

IGHT AS RS IN THE SPOTL

TERS yesFIREFIGH a large blaze terday battled Providence at the New three weeks Landfill, nearly a massive that after tackling city dump fire at the nearly a month. burned for Charge of Fire Officer in Chief SuperinServices, Evans said tendent Walter is “not confire the the current any way to this nected” in and at previous blazedo not know time officials the fire. Howwhat caused t Minister ever Environmen told rehe Kenred Dorsett that the site porters at “sabotage” in said suspected the fire. He relation to the team he “instructed”to have the of firefighters “before and blaze extinguished day” today nomination Baha Mar’s certainly before Friday. opening on started shortly The blaze and Wednesday after 3am officEvans said Chief Supt battle the fire to but ers expect another day for at least wind is a “huge” he said the factor.

SEE PAGE SIX

ROBERTS: PEET A ‘POLITICAL ENEMY’ FOR ANDROS BID

W1WEEKEND

THE PEOPLE’S

entertainment puzzles film fashion gardening art books theatre

no master The Tribune A1MAIN

Established 1903

WEDNESDAY HIGH 85ºF LOW 69ºF

4 No.99, APRIL

VOLUME:11

UNE ON TRIB G NEWS

242.COM

t!

Biggest And Bes

i’m lovin’ it!

AKIN 24/7 BRE

THE PEOPLE’S

PAPER: $1

12TH, 2017

IT’S MAY 10

SPORT S: REGUL

ATORS TAKE THE

LEAD IN MPBA

CHAM PIONS HIP

SERIES

Prime Minister rings the bellrace for election

traditions. just a short ROLLE “Earlier today,present ParBy RASHAD Reporter the while ago, Tribune Staff officially disemedia.net liament was Christie said. rrolle@tribun Mr of Perry solved,”seat in the House “Every PRIME Minister the prover- Assembly is now vacant. the to you, Christie rang morning, “It is now left beloved bial bell yesterday that the 2017 citizenry of our who will announcing be held on nation, to decide in the next election willMay 10. fill those seats In doWednesday, address, givof Assembly.

His televisedOffice of the House you will also be dethe ing so, en live at the came mowho will form the BahaPrime Minister, Commis- ciding of Police government five years. ments after Greenslade, for the next that mosioner Ellison as provost mas “You will make in what ns in his capacity decision proclamatio and pray marshal, readHouse of As- mentous hope fair elecoutside the Governor Gen- I earnestly be free and Pin- will following a spirited sembly from Marguerite Let tions eral Dame Parliament. peaceful campaign. dling dissolving said he is but the forthcoming Mr Christie election will us contestwith all the vigour confident the and will fol- elections fair at our command.” be free and and peaceful SEE PAGE TWO low a spirited is consistent that campaign political with this country’s

TERED 170,000 HAVE REGIS NG DAY AHEAD OF POLLI

with correctnow engaged the voter ROLLE ing and editing it of its

By RASHAD Reporter register, ridding Tribune Staff ised errors. emedia.net much-public enough staff to rrolle@tribun “We have “We 170,000 peo- do this,” Mr Hall said.certiJUST over sure it’s to vote have to make after tople have registered 10 general elec- fied some 14 daysdate.” for the May ry Com(Tuesday’s) tion, Parliamenta Hall said day’s accordance with the In Elections missioner Sherlyn ry pubParliamenta yesterday. what he de- Act, Mr Hall will give in of This follows of the election a “mad rush” notice as statlic scribed to vote this week, of newspapers people registering place in conthe last day ing the date, times when on Monday, and registration. 172,000 peo- stituencies papers must be were nomination There to vote in the delivered. ple registeredelection.

SEE PAGE THREE 2012 general ry Regis The Parliamenta Department istration

THE ELECTION

race is under

ARCHER PLP IS OMAR CONVICTED ARCHDEACON SAYS ITS LIFE’ OVER THREATS ‘FIGHTING FOR

way - as pictured

MINNIS CALLS FOR ON DECK ALL HANDS VIRGIL

in this cartoon

from Jamaal

Rolle.

host JOHNSON Deal” with

By LAMECH Reporter “The Real

By KHRISNA Reporter A BROWN Ortland Bodie, Archdeaet Tribune Staff Deputy Chief bunemedia.n

By SANCHESK said this elecnemedia.net Reporter con Palacious “difficult” for ljohnson@tri kvirgil@tribu et Tribune Staff Sr was tion will be and the FNM Move- sdorsett@tribunemedia.n of OMAR Archer both the PLP is no FREE National convicted Dr Hubert N Archdea- and at this point there how yesterday senment Leader to harm a ANGLICA gauge said said the threatening way to “properlygo.”

Minnis yesterday“all hands con James Palacious officer through need that the Progres- the results will came one ior police his social media FNM will vote the Pro- yesterday Party appears a post to two years ago.

His comments on deck” to Party gov- sive Liberal its life” Deputy Prime nearly he to be “fighting for neither day after Phillip “Brave” page 45-year-old Nassau gressive Liberal of office as that The ernment out Day, May and predicted party nor the Ministerpredicted that the Village resident appeared Davis in the heralded Election SEE PAGE SEVEN Movement PLP will win 30 seats that will bring the governing 10, as a day Free National in next SEE PAGE TWO dur- will win 30 seats change. spoke at month’s general election.

Dr Minnis on conference as a guest ing a press Appearing SEE PAGE THREE

ES OVER BPL BANNISTER WORRITHE LIGHTS ON ABILITY TO KEEP

energy. solar, to produce of agreeof Works The heads the governMINISTER said challenges, Desmond Bannister ment requires to “address concerns” pressed certain and BPL delayed today marks which he suggestedof docu- he has “serious Power and ment and consistent WHILE with Bahamas to “keep the reliable of electricity on the for both sitsubmission the deadlineformer parlia- the tell- supply Providence, Light’s ability are chal- lights on this summer,” of island of New ting and to file financial ments. the abiliAmong these the lack will include finans mentarians Public Discloing The Tribuneprevent the whichmeet the requirement with obtaining may ty to disclosures, Chair- lenges from spouses, cial records in situations reliability from fulfilling of the project.” sure Commission the instalLaroda told requireoper- government This involves supporting man Myles yesterday that particularly Mar all the necessary they may have all to lation “of The Tribunestill some that wherebank accounts prior ments in the Baha re necessary ated there were He said there heads of agreement.he is al- infrastructu g”. marriage. that SEE PAGE FIVE are “outstandin yesterday, to also some unwillingHe added n at new, alIn an interview in his dis- was ready “looking including and apprehensio said ways,” Mr Laroda some persons ness SEE PAGE THREE ternative cussions with to make who are required they exthe disclosures,

Nassau & Bahama

Islands’ Leading

Newspaper

The Tribune A1MAIN

Established 1903

WIPEOUT: Prime

799

MONDAY

MEAL

65 9

SANDWICH

Incl. VAT

KING.BS

WWW.BURGER

ASSAU

/BURGERKINGN

Nassau & Bahama

Islands’ Leading

Newspaper SHOPPING & PRINCE CHARLES tnassau.com SAUNDERS BEACH | www.pizzahu TEL: 603-3333

CENTRE

Nassau & Bahama

Islands’ Leading

Newspaper

i’m lovin’ it!

AKIN 24/7 BRE

UNE ON TRIB G NEWS

242.COM

est!

$1

THE TRIBUNE ATTORNEY Fred Smith declared yesterday that Peter Nygard’s alleged sexual assault victims “will have their day in court.”

His statement came after Progressive Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell decried the influence money has in Bahamian politics after a New York Times revealed how billionaire Louis Bacon and his associates spent millions to push sexual assault allegations against Mr Nygard.

The Times story, published over the weekend after a months-long investigation, highlights numerous examples of Mr Nygard’s alleged sexual misconduct but argues the case has been complicated by Mr Bacon’s financial involvement in the lawsuit, which was filed in New York.

The report said Mr Smith created a non-profit organisation to support sexual assault victims. He and Mr Bacon then donated to that organisation and Bahamian lawyers and investigators working the case were then paid through that nonprofit, the article said.

Citing ongoing court proceedings, Mr Smith declined to discuss details of the New York Times report, which revealed his extensive role in the lawsuit against the fashion mogul.

He noted he is involved in various litigation with Mr Nygard both locally and abroad.

“I confirm that I represent a number of victims who allege that they have been raped and sexually brutalized by Mr Nygard,” he said in a statement to this newspaper. “That case is being conducted by the firm of Dicello, Levitt and Gutzler, and Lisa Haba In New York. The horrific allegations that have been made against Mr Nygard are matters that I understand are currently before the police in the Bahamas.

“Given that all of these matters are currently before the courts and police, I do not think it appropriate of me to comment on any of the details in the New York Times story. It is for the courts to decide on the veracity of the plaintiffs in each of the cases and not me. The victims will have their day in court.

“I am grateful that the media in the Bahamas, the New York Times and many other International journalists are reporting on these important matters.

“The truth will out! As you know Mr Nygard has

Tuesday, February 25, 2020, PAGE 7

Nygard’s alleged victims will have their day in court, says Smith been convicted of contempt of court in the Bahamas on four occasions and there are bench warrants out for his arrest, as he has refused to appear in court in the Bahamas since January 2019 for his days in court!

“As you are aware, it has been painfully difficult to conduct litigation against the previous government, Mr Nygard and Keod Smith in relation to the many court matters in our courts. I note that the article in the New York Times refers to other victims from abroad that have also independently come forward with their stories of sexual abuse.”

According to The Times,

people tied to Mr Bacon gave associates of Mr Nygard “generous incentives to build an abuse case against the Canadian –– Cartier jewellery, a regular salary or a year’s rent in a gated community”, with smaller payments filtering to some of Mr Nygard’s accusers.

The Times said it spoke with two women who initially claimed they were sexually assaulted but later recanted their statements, saying they were allegedly “promised money and coached to fabricate their stories”.

In a separate statement, Mr Mitchell said the report shows “that this is a fight

in the nature of a vendetta between two billionaires in Lyford Cay. The Progressive Liberal Party and the Bahamas is simply collateral damage in this wider dispute”.

Mr Mitchell highlighted instances mentioned in the article of Mr Bacon spending money to achieve his ends. These include $1.5m allegedly paid to Livingston “Toggie” Bullard and Wisler “Bobo” Davilma to secretly record five meetings with Mr Nygard; $6m to a Texas security firm “to push American law enforcement officials to investigate” the fashion mogul for sex trafficking; $60,000 to a woman to find

ABOVE: PETER NYGARD, left: Louis Bacon and below: Fred Smith

alleged victims and $500 per week to that woman; a $9,000 watch to one witness; and payments sometimes of $150 or $350 to two sisters coached about what to say about Mr Nygard.

“We remind PLPs that this matter came first to the attention of the House of Assembly when a whistleblower connected with the Save the Bays phoney environmental group revealed to the PLP that some $8m or so were funnelled through that organisation to destabilise the PLP as opposed to them confining themselves to their charitable objectives,” Mr Mitchell said.

“The issue tied to the money is that this is how wealthy foreign money distorts information and manipulates vulnerable Bahamians during election campaigning. One of the local press has called for a Commission of Inquiry into the allegations in the writ.

The PLP does not believe there is any need for such a commission. What is needed is a commission to investigate Save the Bays, Fred Smith, and the monies supplied by the Bacon interests and whether or not Save the Bays acted within the confines of its charitable mandate,” he added.

Editorial View - Page 4

RENOVATION OF GB JUSTICE CENTRE IS COMPLETE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE multi-million dollar renovation at the Garnet Levarity Justice Centre is complete with significant construction, security, and technology upgrades, and the addition of a third Supreme Court in Grand Bahama.

Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson toured the courthouse building yesterday. He said that restoring the building to its intended state is “a significant achievement for the government”.

Maxwell Quant, of Noula Investment Construction Company Ltd, is the contractor. The keys were turned over on February 20.

Mr Thompson said the building is practically “brand new”, with a new roof, a/c system, and windows that can open, which were major issues for judiciary staff in Freeport.

Mould infestation due to a leaky roof posed a serious health concern for staff and the public. And the lack

of proper functioning a/c system was also a concern.

“This really is a brand new building, and we are only awaiting the arrival of furniture which we expect should be here in the next few weeks,” said Mr Thompson.

“There have been considerable upgrades of this building; a new roof was put on that will prevent leaking.

I worked in this building (as an attorney) for many years and I had experience with the challenge it had (as it relates to the mould).”

Mr Thompson also noted that significant security upgrades have been put in place for judges who will no longer have to pass the public or the cell block to get to their offices.

Additionally, the building has been painted and also outfitted with new hurricane impact windows and the columns have been replaced and brought back to their original grandeur.

“It is one of the buildings you see when coming from the airport. And so, it really is a welcome upgrade,” he said.

On the point of a third

PAIR DENY FAILING TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

TWO people yesterday denied allegations allegations they failed to report suspected child abuse.

Daryl Rolle and Kime Rolle both denied claims they did not report

suspected child abuse when arraigned before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans.

Given their not guilty pleas, the senior magistrate adjourned the matter to April 30 for trial. Both accused persons were granted both $5,000 bail ahead of their trial.

Supreme Court, the minister noted that it is something that attorneys have been advocating for many years.

“Freeport court activity has increased and an additional Supreme Court is significant because that will move matters much quicker to help with the backlog,” he explained.

Contractor Max Quant

sought an extension for renovations of the Justice Centre after workers could not meet the initial deadline last September due to Hurricane Dorian.

“We had asked for an extension to January 20, and since that time the chief justice came from Nassau and made a whole lot of changes they wanted to the Supreme Court and so we

MINISTER Kwasi Thompson

had to do that and we completed it and turned over the keys on February 20,” he said.

Mr Quant said that all the courts have been upgraded with state-ofthe-art technology that will allow teleconferencing with persons on remand which will also save the government money of having them brought to Freeport.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, February 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

I

T TAKES a lot of guts to start your own political movement. Many people have complaints about the system of government. People call in to the talk shows, they make their social media posts and they speak out at town meetings.

Some people will complain to whoever will listen. But how often does someone take a bold step and actually form their own group and seek the support of the Bahamian people at the election polls? Very few have… and hats off to those who have put themselves on the line in this way.

The Bahamian society can be harsh, judgmental and difficult to persuade to make a change, as much as people may complain.

Dr Kevin King knows this.

Yet in 2018, he introduced the Kingdom Government Movement (KGM). He refers to it as “The Voice of Change” and on Friday, March 20, he will introduce his first set of candidates.

Eventually, the KGM will present a full slate of candidates who will contest every seat in the country. KGM sets out to become the first organisation to successfully upset the two-party trend that has defined the political culture of the country and come up with a win.

The KGM has a vision to accomplish certain things if elected, within the first 30 days in office. They include: reducing VAT from 12 percent, back to 7.5 percent; calling for a referendum to replace the Westminster system with a parliamentary republic system; calling for a referendum to replace the monarchy, Privy Council and Governor General as head of state; introducing a new Bahamian land ownership policy; implementing new, affordable housing systems; implementing new manufacturing, industries and renewable energy platforms.

So, what does it take to make such a bold move?

Kevin says it was God himself who gave him the instruction to create the KGM with a philosophy to “uphold the preamble of the Constitution of the Bahamas, which recognises the Bahamas as a Christian Nation under the supremacy of God”.

It’s not the first time he has received a Divine message. He first started hearing the voice of God speak to him at the tender age of eight and ever since, he has been listening to the voice that has allowed his life to unfold in a miraculous way. He was born in Nassau to Olive Louise King, nee Stubbs and he is one of eight siblings. His ancestors include Gabriel Nairn and Ophelia Ramsey of the Cove, Cat Island, and he is the grandson of Alfred King of Knowles, Cat Island and Maude King of Adelaide Village. He spent most of his childhood in Adelaide. Even to this day, Adelaide is still a quaint, sleepy village with beautiful natural habitats around.

He also spent some of his formative years in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

“I used to go out to the pine yard by myself and sit down,” Kevin recalls of his childhood.

DR KEVIN KING, pioneer in natural medicine in The Bahamas, received gifts from around the world including one from Professor Viktor G Lizogub, Director, Ministry of Health, Ukraine (left).

Our own Dr King ready to shake the political throne “I was in tune with nature. Birds and insects would come around. Sometimes, I would be there hours on end. My childhood nickname was Gubby. My brothers and sisters would say, ‘Gubby gone into the wilderness’. Once I was finished my chores, that’s where I would go, and God would speak to me.”

When Kevin was in primary school, he would find moments to be alone to pray.

When kids would go out at playtime, he would stay in class, and close the windows so that he could commune with God alone. He cherished opportunities to have conversations with God. “That continued all through my life,” he shared.

“I was a part of every Christian movement that I could be growing up. As an adult, I was ordained as a prophet and a pastor. I have travelled all over the world ministering. It consumes me.”

As a minister, Kevin made history when Messianic Jewish Ministry International, Hebrew Torah Institute and World Prayer Towers appointed

him as the director of a new World Prayer Tower established in The Bahamas. It happened during a special dedication service at Bethany Assemblies of God where he was anointed with oil by Rabbi Daniel Jeshurun Vargas, founder and executive director.

Kevin grew up in the Anglican and Catholic churches, and came under the tutelage of Father Caldon in Adelaide, Bishop Michael Eldon, Father Brennan, Father Pestaina, and Father Richardson. Later on he attended the Assemblies of God, guided by Pastor Ferguson, Gilbert Roberts, Ernie Deloach, Bishop Jonathan Carey, Bishop Sobig Kemp, Pastor Roberts, and Bishop Ross Davis. He attended many Bible schools including West Indies College in Mandeville, Jamaica. He also sang in many gospel groups. To date, he has studied numerous religions all around the world.

In the 1980s his studies also took him to the US and there, he worked

in sales and moved up the ranks to management. He also worked in the restaurant business and even served as a bodyguard at one point. Kevin appeared in television commercials and he also frequented WEDR, where he learned radio announcing from Leo, Jimmy G, and Super Jerry Rushing. He returned home and worked in sales for ZNS radio and television in Grand Bahama. For a while, he pursued his interest in law and studied with “brilliant attorneys like Stephen Wilchcombe, Moses A Hall, Fayne Thompson and Kenneth Lewis”.

By the 1990s, Kevin decided to change his profession. He took up medical studies at Concord Career Institute in Miramar, Florida. He was at the top of his class and was doing well when he said the voice of God spoke to him. He was instructed to study natural medicine and provide the people in his home country with this service.

He took a big leap of faith and answered the call.

He studied natural medicine in Sri Lanka, The Philippines, Hong Kong, Canada, Ecuador, New Mexico, India, Australia, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

He has been a practicing physician for nearly three decades and is considered

the pioneer of natural medicine in The Bahamas.

He has had clinics in Freeport, Abaco and Nassau simultaneously.

Kevin has been knighted

by St John’s of Jerusalem Knights of Malta for his success in Alternative Medicine. He was also knighted by The Orthodox Order of Saint John under Prince Michael of Russia for his worldwide humanitarian services. In 2004, he was commissioned by the college of Bishops to the nations.

In the same year, Kevin became an International Diplomat and was presented to former Prime Minister Perry Christie

by His Excellency Charles Henry McWilliams, and his credentials were presented to then Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell. He belongs to many world organisations in health and science and he has lectured to thousands throughout North America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

Kevin was elected as the Chairman of the World Organization of Natural Medicine at a world congress in Quito, Ecuador. He has met with world leaders and Heads of State of many countries around the world, both on diplomatic missions and advancing the cause of Alternative and Natural Medicines.

His latest calling, the KGM, he seeks to “enlighten the people of The Bahamas on its philosophies of governance; in that it is NOT a movement of politics with all the nefarious nuances inherent in the party affiliations that is the basis of the Westminster system”.

“Kingdom Government is a righteous movement that has a purpose of purity to enact real and lasting change for the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, at a time when it is necessary and needed the most,” he said.

“It is not a political party but rather a Paradigm of Progress. We accept this mantle of responsibility in abject humility with an edict of Divine service to the people of this country.”

On April 6, 2018, Kevin made his inaugural speech.

By October of the same year, he officially launched KGM in New Providence and in Grand Bahama.

Samuel Johnson serves as the chairman and Calvin Greene is the national campaign manager. For more information on the Solutions Campaign which will release its candidates this March, visit kingdomgovernmentmovement.org or contact Dr Kevin King at sirkevinking@live.com, or call 810-2694 or 434-2831.

STOREWIDE CLOSING SALE

EVERYTHING MUST GO!

Lace Caps, Solo Remi, Xpression Braids, Brazilian Remi Bundles, Crochet Hair, Cosmetics Jewelries, Mink Lashes and so much more

Store Hours:

9:00am - 5:30pm Located #65 Collins Ave (In Island Luck Building

DR King has represented the country at natural medicine councils around the world for the last 30 years

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, February 25, 2020, PAGE 9

TWO CHARGED WITH SEPARATE MURDERS

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

JAVARDO Adderley yesterday

Photo: Donavan McIntosh

TWO men were charged in a magistrate’s court yesterday over allegations they are behind two of the country’s most recent murders.

Javardo Adderley and Berlin Belfort, were charged before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt in connection with two separate murders that took place last week.

Police claim Belfort murdered Kevin Storr on February 17, while Adderley, aka “Four, Four”, murdered Valdez McKinney the following day.

Concerning Storr’s murder, according to initial reports, shortly before 8pm, the deceased was standing in front of a home on Toote Shop Corner off East Street, when a Honda vehicle pulled next to him.

An armed man emerged from the vehicle and

shot the victim before getting back in and speeding away. Paramedics were called, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Concerning McKinney’s murder, shortly before 10pm, the victim was sitting at the rear of a home on Wilson Track, when he was approached by a gunman, who shot him before running away. Paramedics transported McKinney to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Neither man was required to enter a plea to the charges and their matters were adjourned to later dates for them to be served with their voluntary bills of indictment.

Bail was denied and they were each remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim, or until such time as they are able to obtain bail from the Supreme Court.

BERLIN Belfort yesterday

Photo: Donavan McIntosh

Sister denies she knows the Fox Hill shooters

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN yesterday denied a defence attorney’s assertions that she knows who the perpetrator of the 2013 Fox Hill mass shooting really is but is afraid to call his name because of his notoriety as a member of a “dope gang” in the community.

Euphemia Davis, the sister of two of the victims, rejected Geoffrey Farquharson’s assertions that she has “known for years” that the December 2013 crime was actually committed by David Nichols aka “Spy”, who was shot and killed by police some time ago.

Ms Davis further refuted Mr Farquharson’s claims that Nichols, his brother Deslin aka “Limbo” and his dope gang were members of Ms Davis’ Junkanoo group, and that Deslin used to run a dope shop from inside her own house.

Mr Farquharson had asserted that the shooting in question was, at the time, the latest in a long-running “dope gang war” in the Fox Hill community ever since Deslin Nichols was shot and killed.

Mr Farquharson said Ms Davis, who has lived in that community her entire life and has admitted that she knew David Nichols, knows who was involved in that war.

Instead, Mr Farquharson asserted that Ms Davis “withholding” what she knows has led to three men, his client included, being charged while the public, the court and the jury are in the dark about what really happened.

“That’s why we can’t get the guilty people before the court, because people like (Ms Davis) will not give the court the information they need to solve these cases,” he charged.

Mr Farquharson’s assertions and Ms Davis’ denials came during Peter Rolle’s, Jermaine Curry’s and Justin Williams’ trial concerning the December 27, 2013 shooting at Freedom Park before Justice Deborah Fraser.

Williams, Rolle and Curry are accused of murdering four people - Claudezino Davis, Shaquille Demeritte, Eric Morrison and Shenique Sands on that date.

They are also charged with attempting to murder Janet

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

Davis, Samuel Ferguson, Chino Davis, John Davis, Jermaine Pratt and Leroy Taylor.

According to reports, around 6pm, occupants of a small, dark vehicle opened fire in the area just behind the basketball court where several people were gathered.

Davis was pronounced dead on the scene while 10 others were taken to hospital. Demeritte, Morrison and Sands later died in hospital of their injuries.

Taking the witness stand previously, Ms Davis recounted how she had to seek professional help to get over seeing blood oozing out of Morrison aka Bonafide’s ears “like water” moments after his body was sprayed with bullets during the mass shooting.

Ms Davis said she also needed counselling to get over seeing one of her brothers, Claudezino “Zino” Davis, killed right next to her, and another brother, Chino “Tunde” Davis, shot in the face from the gunfire.

At the time, Ms Davis also said a man by the name of Danny Ferguson, a fellow Fox Hill resident whom she grew up with and knows from being on Freedom Park, was on the park that night. Ms Davis said at the time, Mr Ferguson was on his phone.

At some point, Ms Davis said Mr Ferguson came off his phone and moved from

where she and the others were over to the Junkanoo shack. Shortly after he did that, about 15 to 20 minutes later, the shooting started.

According to Mr Farquharson, Mr Ferguson received a call from someone who warned him to leave the park because the shooting was about to take place.

Ms Davis said as a result of what she observed from Mr Ferguson that night, she said she told police that they should check the man’s phone.

Additionally, Ms Davis’ cross examination revealed that her cousin’s son, whom she calls her nephew, was also on the park that night and seated on the bleachers. Ms Davis said her ‘nephew’ told her that he saw the shooter, and that the shooter was a person named “David”.

While testifying previously, Ms Davis said she knew “David”, but does not know his last name. She said she does not know his age, but said he appears to be younger than her.

Yesterday Mr Farquharson first asked Ms Davis if she had seen Mr Ferguson since the 2013 incident. Ms Davis said yes in response.

However, when asked if she ever asked Mr Ferguson who it was that called him that night, Ms Davis said no.

The same response was given when Mr Farquharson asked if she ever

checked with the police to see if they had questioned on him, as well as if she ever followed up with the police to find out if they had checked Mr Ferguson’s phone as she asked them to.

Thus, Mr Farquharson questioned how Ms Davis could assert that the incident in 2013 was so traumatic if she didn’t even check with police to find out who it was who called Mr Ferguson to warn him to leave the park because it was about to get shot up.

In response, Ms Davis said: “You leave it in God’s hands.”

“There’s no justice in this system. The murderers go free,” she asserted.

Justice Fraser reminded Ms Davis that she was in a court of law, where “fairness and justice for all” is guaranteed.

However, Mr Farquharson asserted that a part of the reason why the guilty might go free is “because the witnesses don’t tell the police the real story”. He said witnesses instead go to court and testify about “all kind of foolishness” while remaining mum on who actually committed the offense in question.

Mr Farquharson then shifted his line of questioning towards the Nichols brothers, and how in her statement, Ms Davis told police that her nephew saw David Nichols shooting up the park.

In response to one of Mr Farquharson’s questions, Ms Davis said she knew what had become of David Nichols—he was shot and killed by police in front of his own home some time ago, according to Mr Farquharson.

Thus, given that Ms Davis admitted to telling police that her nephew told her he saw David Nichols on the night in question, Mr Farquharson charged that Ms Davis knew for years that William, Rolle and Curry are not the people who shot up the park.

Mr Farquharson then asked the woman if she ever followed up with police to see if they investigated David Nichols as the shooter. In response, Ms Davis suggested that doing so would have been an exercise in futility, as police have yet to bring a case against the persons who killed a relative of hers two decades ago.

“Why follow up? My cousin get kill 21 years ago.

His case never came up.

Why follow up?” she asked.

However, Mr Farquharson asserted that the real reason she did not follow up was because she knew that David Nichols was

Deslin’s brother, and that Deslin Nichols and his gang were members of her group in a Junkanoo shack in Fox Hill, which according to the evidence is affiliated with the Original Congos.

In response however, Ms Davis snapped back by saying: “My mommy kids, we help the society.

We don’t break the society down. We try to build people children up. We don’t break them down.”

Nonetheless, Mr Farquharson asserted that Ms Davis was well aware of the fact that Deslin Nichols was a “dope dealer” and that other dealers killed him over turf in the Fox Hill community. As Ms Davis has lived in the community all her life, Mr Farquharson asserted she was on that turf when the shooting happened.

“Whatever they do that’s not on me,” came the reply.

However, Mr Farquharson insisted Ms Davis is “afraid” to call the names of the dope dealers actually involved in the case. “…You know who the murderers are but you’re scared to call their names,” he insisted.

The case continues.

St.Cecilia’a Chirch 2019 Annual Bazaar & Raffle Winners Saturday February 22, 2020

PAGE 10, Tuesday, February 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

VE DAY CELEBRATIONS WILL BE A PROUD TIME FOR ALL THE annual Remembrance Day ceremonies in The Bahamas during November to mark the end of the First World War in 1918 are an important part of the calendar of the nation’s public events. They are always conducted with due solemnity, dignity and respect for the fallen.

Events here are traditionally modelled on those in Britain where other important military occasions, critical times and key moments are likewise commemorated or celebrated – for example, most recently, the 75th anniversary last year of the D-Day landings.

It has now been announced officially in London that in May there will be a series of events to mark the same anniversary of the

victorious ending, in Europe, of the Second World War – VE Day on May 8, 1945. Hitler had committed suicide the week before and the war in Europe was over, though the conflict in the Pacific against Japan continued until August.

According to press reports, there will be a mixture of official and community events – parades, church services, concerts, a flypast of the Red Arrows and a tea party for veterans together with themed events in St James’s Park in central London based on life in Britain during the war, and street parties across the nation to replicate the spontaneous and impromptu ones 75 years ago.

Interestingly, the victory speech

by Britain’s war time leader, Winston Churchill, will be broadcast

The

Peter Young column IN this column last week, I referred to the admission

by Germany’s President at the commemoration of the Second World War bombing of Dresden that far-right extremism was on the rise again in his country and elsewhere in Europe. The sad evidence of this came all too soon last Wednesday with a deadly racist assault in the town of Hanau near Frankfurt.

A 43-year-old German far-right extremist, who had posted online his hatred towards people of other origins, religion or appearance and had called for certain ethnic groups to be ‘completely annihilated’, shot dead nine people in two bars frequented by immigrants who had gathered there to smoke a pipe known as shisha or hookah traditionally found in Middle Eastern and Asian countries. Most of the victims were of Kurdish descent. This was the third attack by right-wing extremists in Germany during the past nine months.

With the nation struggling

to contain a growing wave of home-grown extremism that has been stoking ethnic tensions, this incident has been roundly condemned

by Germany’s political leaders, with Chancellor Merkel calling racism and xenophobia a poison.

For his part, the interior minister said the growth of the right-wing and of deepseated racism threatened Germany’s security and its democracy and he urged all politicians to make a stand against Islamophobia and extremist violence.

It seems this was partly in response to accusations that extremist views, which were strictly taboo for years, were becoming more open to public discussion in the nation’s political climate – with the increasingly influential AfD party (Alternative for Germany) now being called the political wing of the extreme-right.

It comes as no surprise that, since Germany opened its borders in 2015 to an estimated 1.5 million refugees from the Middle East, high unemployment levels

in public spaces nationwide at 3pm on May 8 which has been declared a bank holiday.

These events are particularly important this year because, such is the march of time and the dwindling number of veterans, it is likely this will be the last occasion that VE Day and the sacrifice made by millions during the world’s bloodiest conflict in history will be marked in a major way.

On a personal note, all this takes me back to the 50th anniversary of VE Day in 1995 when I found myself in charge of the civilian side of the commemorations and celebrations and reporting to ministers about the organisation of a suitable programme. It was a tough job but a thoroughly rewarding experience.

CHURCHILL’S speech will be heard Among a wide range of events, my team memorably recreated the Buckingham Palace balcony scene when The King, Queen, both Princesses and Winston Churchill had appeared in front of

cheering crowds on May 8, 1945.

Of course, this time in 1995, only The Queen, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret were there.

Their presence on the balcony was a deeply moving occasion that was greatly appreciated by the huge crowd who cheered vociferously and at length, with masses of people stretching from outside the Palace itself right down the Mall.

For everybody there, it was surely a poignant but proud moment to reflect on how Britain had survived this most destructive of wars – and, while remembering those who had lost their lives, also to offer thanks for the nation’s ultimate victory. I have no doubt the events this May will be similarly appreciated by all concerned.

A shadow stirs as desperate people seek a better life have led to simmering resentment of immigrants who face discrimination in the labour market together with the threat of violence.

That does not, in my own view, necessarily mean immigration per se is against the interests of a receiving country nor is it an argument against larger, richer and more stable nations offering harbourage to others on humanitarian grounds - and no reasonable person could justifiably argue there should be no immigration at all.

Britain, for example, has a proud history of offering a safe haven to those suffering persecution in their own countries, from - to cite just two instances - the Huguenots in France in the 17th century to those, especially Jews, escaping Nazi tyranny

at the time of the Second World War. But that is a far cry from so-called economic migrants descending en masse in an uncontrolled manner on a prosperous and ordered country like Britain in the quest for a better life there.

I believe any nation has to control its borders in order to protect its own citizens and their rights in an ordered society that provides services and amenities to sustain their way of life.

This, of course, applies as much as anywhere to The Bahamas in its efforts to control illegal immigration from Haiti. Common sense dictates the quality of life and level of services which migrants seek in another country may be threatened if the existing systems become overwhelmed by large numbers of people from elsewhere making demands that are unsustainable in the receiving country.

Immigration was a crucial factor in the debate about Britain’s departure from the EU. A fundamental requirement of the

THOUSANDS of people take part in a funeral march in Hanau, Germany at the weekend bloc’s single market is the free movement of people because the EU is based on the notion that national loyalties are transient as European integration increases. This, of course, opens up controversy about the existence of the nationstate and the difference between patriotism and

nationalism. But that is a discussion for another time.

For now, given Germany’s size and strength – both politically and economically – it must be in the interests of all that its political leaders, who acknowledge the danger of extremism to the nation’s democracy, will succeed in containing it.

WHEN CIVIL SERVANTS CLASH WITH ELECTED POLITICIANS TO anyone who has worked for the British government as a civil servant, UK press reports about a current row between a new Home Secretary (Minister of Interior equivalent), Priti Patel, and her permanent secretary makes fascinating and intriguing reading. Reportedly, they do not work well together and she is trying to have him removed. The issue goes to the heart of governance under the Westminster model and is equally applicable here in The Bahamas.

For it is a matter of who is ultimately in charge – an elected minister pursuing the government’s policy agenda or the civil servants advising the minister and responsible for implementing policy and providing continuity.

Ms Patel has also been accused of bullying and belittling staff and has, allegedly ‘created an atmosphere of fear’. She denies any of this and claims, in turn, that not only is she the victim of malicious gossip but that the permanent secretary has for some time been obstructing ministers. She has accused staff of dragging their feet over important issues like the government’s new immigration proposals and in coming up with ideas for tougher policing of climate change activists known as eco-warriors. If that is indeed the case, it is clearly unacceptable in any government. It looks to me that some in the UK press are covering this with some glee, though

the Home Office itself has issued a placatory statement denying, in effect, that a serious problem exists.

However, weekend reports suggest the Prime Minister is considering a reshuffle of permanent secretaries and a purge of senior civil servants.

In a representative democracy a minister is elected by the country’s citizens based on his party’s manifesto and is accountable to them so that he or she can be removed at the next election. Some people think MPs should always represent their constituents’ views while others believe they should act without fail in the national interest – and still others consider that for a government to function effectively MPs should vote along party lines. Be that as it may, ministers are also accountable to Parliament and, most importantly, they are public figures who are widely known and are subject to press scrutiny. This is essential as a check and balance on the actions of a government and an important element of democracy because, if policy was in the hands of an appointed meritocracy in the form of the permanent civil service without oversight or direction by ministers, the public would be unable to determine who exactly is responsible and therefore accountable.

So this is another reason that for democracy to work, decisions of ministers must prevail. But all too

often the upper echelons of the civil service become entrenched, unaccountable and self-important bureaucrats -- no longer politically neutral and impartial as traditionally they are required to be.

They may regard themselves as more important than elected politicians whom they see as transient beings (reshuffled or voted out at the next election) and, anyway, no longer enjoying public esteem.

Largely self-regulating, their primary purpose is often their own survival and they are sometimes seen as a ‘protected species’. So these days it takes a strong minister to push through the government’s policies in the face of possible bureaucratic inertia and officials who try to find reasons why something cannot be done.

But, if the working relationship goes wrong, it is the permanent secretary who has to quit, not the minister.

As one observer put it, Priti Patel is demanding but in that role you have to be.

The feebleness of elected representatives in the face of engorged civil servants was amusingly parodied in the hugely popular BBC TV series Yes, Minister in which career officials attempt to thwart the wishes of elected politicians. It depicts civil servants as manipulating and undermining their ministers, who are looking for publicity and praise while civil servants are lusting after power. It was a brilliant series, but for some people a bit too close to the truth for comfort!

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, February 25, 2020, PAGE 11

Weinstein convicted of rape and sexual assault NEW YORK Associated Press HARVEY Weinstein was yesterday convicted of rape and sexual assault against two women and was led off to prison in handcuffs, sealing his dizzying fall from powerful Hollywood studio boss to archvillain of the #MeToo movement.

The 67-year-old Weinstein had a look of resignation on his face as he heard the verdict that could put him away for the rest of his life. The charges carry up to 29 years behind bars. “This is the new landscape for survivors of sexual assault in America, I believe, and it is a new day. It is a new day because Harvey Weinstein has finally been held accountable for crimes he committed,” District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said. “Weinstein is a vicious, serial sexual predator who used his power to threaten, rape, assault and trick, humiliate and silence his victims.”

Weinstein’s lawyers said they will appeal. “Harvey is unbelievably strong. He took it like a man,” defence attorney Donna Rotunno said. “He knows that we will continue to fight for him, and we know that this is not over.” Another of his lawyers, Arthur Aidala, quoted Weinstein as telling as his legal team:: “I’m innocent. I’m innocent. I’m innocent. How could this happen in America?”

HARVEY Weinstein on his way into court yesterday The jury of seven men and five women took five days to find Weinstein guilty of raping an aspiring actress in a New York City hotel room in 2013 and sexually assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in 2006 by forcibly performing oral sex on her.

He was acquitted on the most serious charges, two counts of predatory sexual assault, each carrying up to life in prison. Both of those counts hinged on the testimony of “Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra, who said Weinstein barged into her apartment, raped her and forcibly performed oral sex on her in the mid-1990s.

Judge James Burke ordered Weinstein taken to jail immediately. Court officers surrounded Weinstein, handcuffed him and led him out of the courtroom via a side door without the use of the walker he relied on for much of the trial. The judge said he will ask that Weinstein be held in the infirmary after his lawyers said he needs medical attention following unsuccessful back surgery.

Sentencing was set for March 11.

The sexual assault charge carries up to 25 years in prison, while the third-degree rape count is punishable by up to four years. (The jury acquitted Weinstein of first-degree

rape, which requires the use of force or the threat of it, and found him guilty of third-degree rape, which involves a lack of consent.)

The verdict followed weeks of often harrowing and excruciatingly graphic testimony from a string of accusers who told of rapes, forced oral sex, groping, masturbation, lewd propositions and that’s-Hollywood excuses from Weinstein.

In addition to the three women he was charged with attacking, three more who said they were attacked by Weinstein testified as part of an effort by prosecutors to show a pattern of brutish behavior on his part.

The conviction was seen as a long-overdue reckoning for Weinstein after years of whispers about his behavior turned into a torrent of accusations in 2017 that destroyed his career and gave rise to #MeToo, the global movement to encourage women to come forward and hold powerful men accountable for their sexual misconduct.

“Weinstein with his manipulation, his resources, his attorneys, his publicists and his spies did everything he could to silence to survivors,” Vance said after the verdict. He saluted the women who came forward, saying they “changed the course of history in the fight against sexual violence” and “pulled our justice system into the 21st century.”

KOBE AND GIANNA HONOURED WITH PUBLIC MEMORIAL LOS ANGELES Associated Press KOBE Bryant’s wife remembered him as a devoted father and husband who arrived early for school pickups and wrote heartfelt cards and letters.

Rob Pelinka, Bryant’s longtime agent and closest friend, recalled getting a text from the NBA superstar moments before he was killed last month in a helicopter crash. The message asked for help in securing an internship for another friend’s daughter.

Michael Jordan called Bryant “a little brother” and said when he died, “a piece of me died.”

Bryant’s athletic achievements were only part of the reason that 20,000 Lakers fans gathered yesterday for a public memorial service at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The event offered another chance to honour Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and the other seven victims of the crash with tears, memories and laughs.

“I couldn’t see him as a celebrity, nor just an incredible basketball player,” Vanessa Bryant said. “He was my sweet husband and the beautiful father of my children. He was mine. He was my everything.”

The mourners included Lakers legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson plus current NBA players Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis and James Harden.

KATHERINE JOHNSON DIES AT 101 Associated Press KATHERINE Johnson, a mathematician who calculated rocket trajectories and earth orbits for NASA’s early space missions and was later portrayed in the 2016 hit film “Hidden Figures,” about pioneering black female aerospace workers, has died. She was 101.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said on Twitter that the NASA family “will never forget Katherine Johnson’s courage and the milestones we could not have reached without her. Her story and her grace continue to inspire the world.”

Johnson and other black women initially worked in a racially segregated computing unit in Hampton, Virginia, that wasn’t officially dissolved until NACA became NASA in 1958. Signs had dictated which bathrooms the women could use.

“Our office computed all the (rocket) trajectories,” Johnson said in 2012. “You tell me when and where you want it to come down, and I will tell you where and when and how to launch it.”

In 1961, Johnson did trajectory analysis for Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 Mission, the first to carry an American into space. The next year, she manually verified the calculations of a nascent NASA computer, an IBM 7090, which plotted John Glenn’s orbits around the planet.

30 INJURED AS GERMAN DRIVES CAR INTO CROWD BERLIN Associated Press A MAN intentionally drove a car into a crowd at a Carnival parade in a small town in central Germany yesterday, injuring around 30 people including children.

The driver, a 29-year-old German, was arrested at the scene in Volkmarsen near Kassel, about 280 kms south of Berlin. He is being investigated on suspicion of attempted homicide.

About a third of those injured were children, who had come to watch the parade.

KOBE Bryant fans flocked to the public memorial in Los Angeles where Vanessa Bryant, left, and Shaquille O’Neal addressed the audience

FEARS CHINA VIRUS MAY BECOME TRUMP’S 36-HOUR INDIA VISIT A PANDEMIC AS IT SPREADS FAST PUTS PAGEANTRY BEFORE POLICY SEOUL, South Korea Associated Press

AHMEDABAD, India Associated Press

THE new virus yesterday took aim at a broadening swath of the globe, with officials in Europe and the Middle East scrambling to limit the spread of an outbreak that showed signs of stabilising at its Chinese epicenter but posed new threats far beyond.

In Italy, authorities set up roadblocks, called off soccer matches and shuttered sites including the famed La Scala opera house. In Iran, the government said 12 people had died nationwide, while five neighbouring countries — Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Afghanistan — reported their first cases of the virus, with all those infected having links to Iran.

The number of people sickened by the coronavirus topped 79,000 globally, and wherever it sprung up, officials rushed to try to contain it. “The past few weeks has demonstrated just how

PUTTING pageantry before policy, President Donald Trump basked in India’s welcoming embrace on a day that featured a mega-rally with cheering crowds, a mutual admiration show with his counterpart and a sunset tour of the famed Taj Mahal.

Trump used Day One of his whirlwind 36-hour visit to India to reaffirm close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tease progress on a trade deal down the road. But the day was largely devoted to a trio of enviable photo-ops: the largest rally of Trump’s presidency sandwiched between visits to a former home of independence leader Mohandas Gandhi and the Taj Mahal.

In his first hours on the subcontinent, Trump received the adulatory reception that has eluded him on many foreign trips.

More than 100,000 people

SUMO wrestlers arrive at Shin Osaka railway station in Osaka quickly a new virus can spread around the world and cause widespread fear and disruption,” said the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely, yes,” Tedros said, but “for the moment we’re not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this virus.”

“I have spoken consistently about the need for facts not fear. Using the word pandemic now does not fit the facts but it

may certainly cause fear,” Tedros said, speaking in Geneva.

He said a WHO expert team currently in China believes the virus plateaued there between Jan. 23 and Feb. 2 and has declined since. The team also said the fatality rate in China was between 2% and 4% in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and 0.7% outside of Wuhan.

Clusters of the virus continued to emerge outside China, including in Qom, an Iranian city where

PRESIDENT Trump and Melania Trump outside the Taj Mahal packed the world’s largest cricket stadium, nearly all of then wearing white caps with the name of the event, “Namaste, Trump.”

But miles away in the capital of New Delhi, police used tear gas and smoke grenades to disperse a crowd of clashing protesters hours before Trump was due to arrive, as violence broke out over a new citizenship law that excludes Muslims.

Anti-Trump street demonstrations also erupted in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Gauhati.

Trump opened his rally speech in Ahmedabad by declaring that he had traveled 8,000 miles to deliver the message that “America loves India, America respects India and America will always be faithful and loyal friends to the Indian people.”

He praised India as a place where different faiths “worship side by side in harmony” and made no mention of the new law that is raising fears that the country is moving toward a religious citizenship test.