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PM: I regret finger gesture Christie cites challenge of dealing with ‘assaults of untruths and distortions’

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

AFTER nearly two days of intense backlash over sticking up his middle finger during a public event in response to unsubstantiated claims against him, Prime Minister Perry Christie expressed “regret” for his behaviour, saying it is “not what I’m like”.

The Prime Minister, 73, insisted that in hindsight he would not have made the obscene gesture, as he suggested that it might have caused embarrassment not only to the nation, but also to his family.

In making a personal statement to the House of

Assembly yesterday, Mr Christie questioned how those in public life ought to react in the face of “egregious assaults of untruths and distortions”. He said such instances become “exceedingly difficult” when his wife and children are attacked in a manner that goes to the root of their existence.

This was the springboard for the major part of Mr Christie’s explanation for his shocking actions on Monday night at a Progressive Liberal Party event and came after he was the subject of much ridicule.

It also led Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis to call for Mr SEE PAGE THREE

PRIME Minister Perry Christie expresses regret for his finger gesture in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Photo: Peter Ramsay/BIS

FARMERS across the country were said to be at breaking point as they battle livestock challenges, including deaths of pigs, allegedly due to contaminated and poor quality feed from the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation’s Gladstone Road Feed Mill.

While farmers claim that gross mismanagement at Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) is responsible for hundreds of livestock deaths since Hurricane Matthew last October, one insider has confirmed that 40 adult hogs and scores of suckling pigs at the Gladstone Road Agricultural Centre (GRAC) piggery have died within the past two months.

The BAIC Feed Mill has been shut down for nearly three weeks, intensifying the economic hardship experienced by

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

LORETTA: CREDIBLE CANDIDATES PROP UP ‘WEAK’ MINNIS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

OFFICIAL Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner said yesterday that more “credible” Free National Movement candidates like Brent Symonette are propping up the “weak” and “indecisive” leadership of Dr Hubert Minnis in an effort LORETTA Butler-Turner to make the party appear to be a speaks in the House of better option than the ProgresAssembly yesterday. sive Liberal Party.

She also told The Tribune that Mr Symonette, the country’s former deputy prime minister, faces a “huge uphill battle” when trying to improve the performance of the FNM’s leadership team.

Her comments came a day after Mr Symonette revealed that he is seeking the FNM’s nomination to run in the St Anne’s constituency in the upcoming general election. Mr Symonette represented the area from 2007SEE PAGE SIX

WATER AND SEWERAGE CORP DEFICIT GROWS TO $147 MILLION

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

AUDITS show that the Water and Sewerage Corporation continues to function with significant operating losses, recently accumulating a deficit of $147 million, according to the latest reports tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday.

The reports show, howev-

er, that the performance of the company has improved significantly in the past five years with respect to reduction of the non-revenue water (NRW) that is produced in New Providence, a key financial issue for the company.

Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly Dr Bernard Nottage tabled the reports for 2012 to 2015 yesterday.

It’s the first time this term that the government has tabled these reports even though officials are required by law to table them annually.

The 2015 report, prepared by Baker Tilly Gomez, said: “The corporation has incurred significant operating losses in recent years and further losses are projected for the future. As SEE PAGE SIX

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By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

COURT HEARS BANKER WAS ‘STABBED 33 TIMES’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

DOUBLE THE BACON DOUBLE THE CHEESE

FARMERS BLAME ‘CONTAMINATED’ CORN FROM BAIC FEED MILL FOR PIG DEATHS

SEE PAGE SIX

ROSEWOOD OPENING DELAYED TO 2018 THE OPENING of the Rosewood Baha Mar hotel appears to have been delayed by several months until Spring 2018, Tribune Business has discovered.

The 200-room Rosewood, which is owned by prospective Baha Mar purchaser, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), announced its opening date via an official press release this week.

In January, Graeme Davis, CTFE’s top Bahamasbased executive, said both the Rosewood and the SLS Lux would be completed in time for Baha Mar’s ‘grand opening’ in November/December, 2017.

Tribune Business was told that Mr Davis was in New York yesterday to meet with Rosewood.

• FULL STORY, SEE BUSINESS

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Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

A MAN on trial in the Supreme Court for murder will have an opportunity to speak to what led him to inflict more than two dozen stab wounds on a banker.

A forensic pathologist testified yesterday that the wounds were unlikely to have been caused by a painting knife.

The prosecution in the case of 26-year-old Lamar Albury called its final witness yesterday, Dr Caryn Sands, a pathologist with more than 18 years medical experience, to speak to the December 23, 2015 autopsy she performed on the body of Devince Smith.

During that autopsy, Dr Sands found some 33 stab wounds and cuts to the victim’s head, neck, shoulder, back and extremities.

The neck wound would have caused Smith’s death within minutes of receiving the injury, the 12-member jury was told yesterday.

Albury, who is alleged to have murdered Smith SEE PAGE SIX

PAGE 2, Thursday, March 2, 2017

YAMACRAW PROPERTY PRICES ‘DECREASING’ DUE TO ‘MOUNTAINS OF GARBAGE’

THE TRIBUNE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A LOCAL real estate broker has expressed concerns that the property values of homes in the Yamacraw constituency are “steadily decreasing” due to “mountains of garbage” throughout certain portions of the area’s main road.

The realtor, a resident of Port New Providence who wished to remain anonymous, said homes located in her community, as well as those in the nearby Palm Cay, Treasure Cove and Twynam Heights areas are in danger of being devalued due to “mounds of garbage” located “all along Yamacraw Road.”

She also claimed that realtors such as herself have become reluctant to take their clients to view their potential investments out of fear that the clients may be turned off by the unsightly debris, adding that “it’s gotten to the point where realtors are just not going east.”

The realtor said while the Yamacraw Beach area “has always been a dumping ground,” the issue really came to a head following the passage of Hurricane Matthew.

She said following the category four storm, the downed trees, branches and bushes located along the side of the road were pushed back by heavy equipment,

“There are mountains of garbage. I mean 20 feet high of dead trees, appliances, mattresses, and just little bits and pieces of litter in every three or four lots is what you see.” revealing the “endless litter and waste” previously hidden by the dense shrubbery to the point that each plot is now looking like a “landfill.”

Now, the realtor claimed that “mountains” of garbage, consisting of mattresses, appliances, derelict

vehicles, as well as dead animals can be “clearly seen” while driving along Yamacraw Road.

Director of Environmental Health Melanie McKenzie, when contacted yesterday, said she is aware of the situation, as well as “100 other complaints of a similar nature,” and is trying to address them all.

However, Ms McKenzie said the issue isn’t as simple as just removing the debris, as she said that cleaning up without finding a permanent solution “just creates more of a problem because people are going to continue to do it.”

Meanwhile, Yamacraw MP Melanie Griffin, also contacted by The Tribune yesterday, maintained that

GARBAGE dumped in the Yamacraw area. following the passage of Hurricane Matthew, officials conducted a “massive cleanup” in the Yamacraw constituency and the surrounding areas.

“This is exactly what they’ve done since the hurricane, is exactly that,” the realtor said in response.

“What was the fallen trees that were now dead, they have come with heavy equipment, taken down all the dead trees, they’ve pushed all the dead trees anywhere from 30 to 100 feet back from the road and piled all the debris up, so it’s now built a mountain.

“So they have done that since the hurricane, but all it’s done is expose all the litter that was in the bush that you couldn’t see before, so they’ve in essence made it worse.”

She added: “Obviously the dumping has been occurring for years, because pushing back the bush is showing it.

“There are mountains of garbage. I mean 20 feet high of dead trees, appliances, mattresses, and just little bits and pieces of litter in every three or four lots is what you see.”

The realtor, who said she has 25 years in the business, explained that the issue was having adverse effects on the property value of residences, as well as efforts to sell homes, condos, and properties in the area, and also expressed concerns that residents “may not be aware that their investments are tanking.”

“For me, a realtor, I can’t get people to these communities without passing what you saw in the pictures,” she said, referring to images forwarded to The Tribune.

“So how can I sell a $2m house in Port New Providence or an $800,000 condo in Palm Cay when just a mile before I turn into the community, this is the neighbourhood, this is the neighbourhood that I’m selling?

“And it’s gotten to the point where realtors are just not going east. The values, for example in Port New Providence where a beach front condo would rent for $5,000 or $6,000 a month they’re now renting for $3,000 - $3,200 because they’re just not desirable.

“We would expect that our communities that we

paid half a million to $2m for would remain at a certain value. But now because of the state that has become Yamacraw Road and the further eastern part of the eastern road, it’s just considered a dump.”

The realtor also said she is “ashamed” to carry clients or personal acquaintances in the area, which she said has become dubbed “the new eastern ghetto.”

“People are actually making fun of us in the other communities,” she added.

“In my job as a real estate agent I go to a lot of events, events for high end developments for out west and on Paradise Island, and people who don’t know that I live out east would make comments like ‘who would ever go out east, it’s a big dump.’ And I’m ashamed and it’s sad because Yamacraw Road used to be a very pretty place with all the Casuarina trees, and I get it. It is a big dump.

“I won’t even invite people to my house during the day because I’m ashamed.

Because there is no way to get to my community, there is no way to get to Winton Heights, no way to get to Palm Cay without seeing that.”

Ms McKenzie, when contacted, told The Tribune that the Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) is looking into the matter, however, she said officials are working to address the root of the matter as opposed to just providing temporary relief.

“My difficulty with cleaning it without doing the proper investigations, is that the problem does not desist,” she said.

“It continues and in fact it gets worse. Because when you clean it there’s more space for people to dump, there’s nothing put in place to prevent people from dumping, so all of that has to be dealt with.

“They dump it there with the expectation that you’re going to move it.”

THE TRIBUNE

Minnis slams PM’s ‘show of self pity’

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie’s “half baked” explanation for sticking up his middle finger at a public event “was not good enough” and his speech in Parliament yesterday was “another disgraceful show of self pity and political spin,” according to Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis.

In a statement that was released hours after Mr Christie expressed regret in the House of Assembly for the obscene gesture he made at a public meeting Monday night, Dr Minnis said instead of real contrition, “we got the usual song

“We got the usual song and dance from the prime minister who is trying to spin his disgraceful transgression into public empathy.”

Dr Hubert Minnis and dance from the prime minister who is trying to spin his disgraceful transgression into public empathy.”

Mr Christie was the subject of much ridicule and criticism on Tuesday after he ‘flipped the bird’ during a PLP event Monday night during an explanation of his

response to allegations that he owned condominiums appropriated from his position of power.

In the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Christie expressed regret for his actions and said it was his hope that all who attended the event and witnessed his conduct now know that it was something “I wish I didn’t do.”

However, Dr Minnis said Mr Christie did what no leader should do, he “allowed his emotions to get the best of him” in a public setting.

“His gross and inappropriate act has offended the Bahamian people, and they have demanded a public apology from the prime minister. What they got

Thursday, March 2, 2017, PAGE 3

FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis.

from him today in Parliament was another disgraceful show of self-pity and political spin,” Dr Minnis said.

“Instead of offering an unequivocal apology, the prime minister said if he were given the opportunity, he would simply not make the crass gesture again. But this is not good enough.

This is not an apology to the Bahamian people.

“This is not what leadership looks like.

“This is the action of what has come to define

the leadership of Perry Christie – smoke and mirrors.”

Dr Minnis said the Bahamian public deserves more from Mr Christie and echoed his call for the prime minister to resign.

“The Bahamian citizenry asked for a public apology, and instead, we got the usual song and dance from the prime minister who is trying to spin his disgraceful transgression into public empathy,” Dr Minnis said.

“Having served in public life for 40 years, the prime

minister should know better! But clearly his halfbaked display in Parliament is just the latest insult we are forced to witness for the week.

“How much more embarrassment must Christie bring to his office before he does the right thing and resigns?

“In the prime minister’s bumbling attempts to attack me, he has shown the country and the world at large who he really is and the embarrassment he has become for this nation.”

Prime Minister: I regret finger gesture FROM PAGE ONE Christie to “get the hell out” and resign from office.

He and several religious leaders also demanded an apology from Mr Christie.

Yesterday, Mr Christie asked for indulgence during the morning session of Parliament to give an explanation for ‘flipping the bird’ earlier this week.

The obscene gesture was made in response to rumours that he was the owner of condominiums, which were allegedly appropriated through his position of power.

“Mr Speaker, I want to make a personal statement with respect to me as Prime Minister and as a member of Parliament for the Centreville constituency,” Mr Christie said.

“It has to do with the responsibilities of leadership, the defence of family (and) the necessary balance that should take place when all factors are taken into consideration.

“Firstly, I should indicate that in my public life I have been guided by an obligation to ensure that members of my family are not embarrassed by my conduct. Secondly, there are relatives of mine who are senior religious personalities.

“But I have an obligation to ensure that whatever I do, whatever I say, whatever actions I take into consideration, the esteem that they have for me and really put very basically, never to do things as best we can to cause them any degree of embarrassment. I particularly have an obligation to my family.”

He continued: “I don’t know how in the face of the most egregious assaults of untruths and distortions one has to react and respond. It is exceedingly difficult when one’s wife and children are attacked in a way that goes to the root of their existence.

“Then there is the obligation to the office that I hold that, notwithstanding the natural urge to defend even with one’s life, you have an obligation to the office of the country that is tied to future generations of Bahamians in terms of the example that you should be seeing and the standards that you should be seen to adhere to. It becomes sometimes a very exacting experience to constantly remind oneself of the competing and conflicting obligations.

“There is a Shakespearean dictum ‘To thine own self be true’. So when I ask myself on proper reflection if I had the opportunity to speak in that place, at that time, on that occasion for the reasons I was speaking would I do that again? The answer is no,” the Prime Minister also said.

“The reason why I said I am speaking to the exclusion of all considerations is that there are significant numbers of young people who have been emboldened by what I have done.

PRIME Minister Perry Christie arrives at the House of Assembly yesterday.

bers? Where are the right thinking people, where are these people who respond?

Why do they remain quiet?

What is it about Christian charity or the lack of it that stops right thinking persons from making interventions in public places and saying that what you said about that lady is not right. It’s not the right thing to do.

What you said about that child is not right. It’s not the right thing to do. Where are they?’

“This is the kind of public discussion as we approach general elections that we should have where we agree to standards, common lines of civility, because I apprehend that if we don’t we are going to release scars that will have a permanent impact not just on the lives of people who are innocent, but potential leaders of this country who may decide that this is not what they should be doing.

“Mr Speaker, I really

stand to express my regret to indicate specifically as it is related to specific attacks by specific individuals that I have seen my family respond in magnificent ways where they have invited people into our home who said bad things, had meetings with them and where the spirit of forgiveness is put before everyone.”

He also said: “I would hope that those who may have been offended by it who were present would accept that that is a matter that I would not have wished that I did and for those who are people in our country who would wish to understand what I did would accept my deepest expressions of regret.”

On Tuesday, Dr Minnis said the Prime Minister’s

behaviour was “foul and has no place in the public domain”, adding that Mr Christie had become “unhinged”.

“I, along with all rightthinking Bahamians, was shocked and horrified by the public embarrassment displayed by our Prime Minister,” Dr Minnis said at FNM headquarters.

“This behaviour, to my knowledge, is the first and hopefully the last time a sitting prime minister of our God-fearing nation, (will) publicly curse at Bahamians by using such profane gestures.

“And our Prime Minister must know that regardless to where he is, he represents the Bahamas and should behave accordingly,” Dr Minnis said.

“And I don’t want them to believe that is me.”

‘Regret’ Mr Christie went on to question why Christian charity is not displayed more in instances where personal attacks have been made on public figures and their families.

“Many times I ask, ‘where are right thinking people when people go beyond the political definitions to attack family mem-

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PAGE 4, Thursday, March 2, 2017

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,

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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Is Justice Bain to be punished for non-recusal?

A REQUEST for Justice Rhonda Bain to recuse herself from certain cases – one of which involves the Prime Minister - coupled with her application to have her nearing retirement date extended for another two years, comes within the same time frame as government’s attempt to pass the Interception of Communications Bill, 2017. These clashing interests have now started a conversation — a conversation questioning the extent of the judiciary’s independence from that of the executive.

The proposed Interception of Communications Bill provides for the improvement of technical devices for the better tracking of criminals and “in the interest of national security.” It assures Bahamians that permission for surveillance of our privacy without our knowledge can only be given by a Supreme Court judge with no possibility of political interference from government.

Attorney-General Allyson Maynard Gibson has described the proposed Bill as a “very important tool in the fight against crime, much of which is gang related, transnational and involving guns and drugs. Experts,” she said, “advise that without this crime fighting tool, drug trafficking, gun trafficking and other transnational and gang related crimes will increase and the police will be hampered in their ability to detect and investigate these crimes and prosecute the criminals.”

This Communications Bill, she said, “will enable the Police, with the permission of a Supreme Court Judge, to lawfully intercept electronic communication of any kind, once certain clearly defined conditions are fulfilled.”

The Bill, she said, “enhances protection of the privacy of law-abiding citizens because it is the Supreme Court (not the Executive) that makes the determination that the communications may be intercepted. This is the first time that Bahamian law places this authority solely in the hands of the independent judiciary.

The Supreme Court will ensure that adequate checks and balances are in place to protect the rights of privacy on the one hand and combat crime (including cyber crime) on the other.” Any suggestion that this is a “dangerous spying Bill” is false,” she said.

Among those arguing against the rushed enactment of this Bill without public participation, is Fred Smith , QC, who has pointed out that the Bill gives police officers warrants to “secretly” enter homes and businesses to seize communications and install interception devices within them.

“Right now,” he said, “when the police execute a search warrant, you have to be present at your home but Section 8 of this bill provides for an entry warrant and with that they can gain access to your possessions, and your home to secretly get your postal articles, to install and to maintain an interception device or to go in and maintain an interception device when you aren’t there.”

Government is relying on convincing Bahamians that their privacy will be safe because the investigative permission given under the Act will be under the independent supervision of a Supreme Court judge.

However, how independent can the judges be from the executive when one considers the case of Justice Rhonda Bain? That is the question now being asked by many Bahamians.

On February 9 the Cabinet Office con-

firmed that Chief Justice Sir Hartman Longley had reached the age of retirement, but that the Governor General, acting on the advice of the prime minister, after consultation with the leader of the Opposition, had extended his term for another two years.

We knew nothing about Justice Rhonda Bain’s nearing retirement date until Sir Hartman announced it at the opening of the New Year Assizes. He said that his term expired in February and Justice Rhonda Bain’s in April. He also informed the public that she too had applied for an extension. Justice Roger Gomez also retired on January 25, having had no problem with getting government’s executive branch to give him a two-month extension from last November. But there has been no word on Justice Bain. The hovering question is: Why? In January lawyers for Prime Minister Perry Christie — one of three persons responsible for whether Justice Bain’s application for extended tenure be granted — filed a motion in the Supreme Court asking that Justice Bain recuse herself from hearing an ongoing judicial review into allegations that Lyford Cay resident Peter Nygard illegally increased the size of his property.

The motion was filed on behalf of Mr Christie in his capacity as minister responsible for Crown land. It was argued that while Justice Bain awaited an approval of her application to extend her tenure as a Supreme Court judge, she could not be perceived to be impartial in hearing an ongoing judicial review into the Nygard case. They demanded that she recuse herself.

Justice Bain found “no merit” in the Prime Minister’s argument and dismissed it.

In a 40-page ruling, she reminded the Prime Minister of the independence of the judiciary from the executive, stressing that cases are distributed by the Chief Justice - a role that cannot be “usurped by the Prime Minister”.

The Court of Appeal supported her position. Our judges deserve great credit for standing strong against the executive’s attempt to trespass on their territory.

However, such an attempt does not encourage Bahamians to believe the Attorney General’s assurance that permission for surveillance of our privacy without our knowledge can only be given by a Supreme Court judge with no possibility of political interference from government.

Such words ring hollow in view of the seeming unfair advantage being taken of a capable, principled judge, who like the other judges, deserves the extension of her term of office. Certainly the Bench needs her talents.

If this can be done to a judge of this standing, what chance has an ordinary Bahamian to protect themselves from government intrusion should it decide to side-step a judge?

It would seem that the decision for her ouster has been made, because, as far as we understand the Prime Minister has not approached Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner for consultation on Justice Bain’s request.

According to the constitution “if a Justice wishes to extend his/her tenure, the Governor General, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, may grant leave to do so up to, but not exceeding 67 years, which is the mandatory age of retirement.”

The referendum on web shops EDITOR, The Tribune.

BEFORE we all forget didn’t the PLP in 2013 call us to a referendum on Web Shops and whether we wanted a National Lottery?

There was no precondition that the Referendum was not binding .... but look what happened?

Legalize web shops 60.71% voted against.

For National Lottery 59.56% voted against.

Incredibly Christie & Co turned the results upside down and went ahead and approved legalising Web Shops .... alleging the Referendum was not binding. When the PLP says they created 27,000 + jobs 10,000 of those were against the will of the people who voted in the

2013 Referendum against Web Shops ..... remember that on Election day.

For this Referendum Christie made a total mockery of the Constitutional process - he seems to like doing that - 2017 Boundaries Commission.

J ENNIFER SMITH Nassau, February 24, 20l7.

Making sense of PM Perry Christie’s obscene gesture

EDITOR, The Tribune IT took Sir Lynden O Pindling a quarter of a century to be dubbed the worst leader in modern Bahamian history - surpassing the infamous United Bahamian Party government under Sir Roland Symonette and Sir Stafford Sands, the socalled white oligarchy.

With Pindling, the Bahamas’ once stellar reputation wallowed in muck and mire before the watching eyes of the international community. Pindling is often credited for creating the black middle-class, but he did this by building on the economic foundation of the two main industries introduced to the country under the auspices of the white oligarchy: finance and tourism.

For all the chatter of Pindling being the father of the modern Bahamas, one is hard-pressed to name one single sustainable industry he created. The Bahamian economy was essentially propped up by drug money during the 1970s and 1980s.

Without the proceeds of the drug trade, probably half the Bahamian population would’ve starved to death.

Accordingly, it is no mere coincidence that the precipitous decline of the drug trade has coincided with the decline of the Bahamian economy. Christie has been Prime Minister for nearly 10 years - 15 years fewer than his late political predecessor and mentor.

He has succeeded during that short span to surpass Pindling as the worst PM in history. He is arguably the worst PM/leader in the Caribbean.

With Pindling, you knew who were his political foes.

You knew the FNMs and disgruntled PLPs and other opposition rivals who were being systematically harassed and persecuted.

Everybody knew who were being punished and victimised. Pindling did not mince words when railing at his opponents. He called names, as per his condescending ridicule of his former Cabinet members, Carlton Francis and FNM founder Sir Cecil WallaceWhitfield in public. Under Pindling, democracy was more theory than practice.

Whereas Pindling was conspicuous in chastising his rivals, Christie is more inconspicuous and unassuming. The Christie spin

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net doctors have done a yeoman’s job at spinning the narrative that Christie is a benign, tolerant leader, who persistently turns the other cheek in the face of harsh criticisms. If the current PLP dispensation has taught us anything, it has taught us that Christie is subtle in dealing with his foes. This one aspect of his leadership makes him much more dangerous than Pindling. While PLP lackeys and sycophants continue to hail Christie as a tolerant PM, he has either directly or indirectly unleashed his political dogs at his rivals.

Before our very eyes, democracy is being stunted and the Constitution, a document that is hailed as this nation’s supreme law, is being trampled on by Christie and Co, as per the late boundaries report.

While staunch supporter Canadian Peter Nygard enjoys preferential treatment by the PLP, outspoken critics and rank-and-file FNMs are being routinely and systematically threatened and victimised as if they are illegal immigrants. Apparently, Nygard has far more rights than these Bahamians under this PLP government that sold this country a bill of goods about believing in Bahamians. The February 28 edition of The Tribune is alleging that a Supreme Court judge was harassed by well-known PLP operatives. The newspaper further alleges that the judge has recused herself from a high profile case involving prominent PLP operatives, due to the alleged harassment. Christie has either wittingly or unwittingly created an atmosphere where this type of Gestapo behaviour is not only tolerated, but downright encouraged.

Members of the press have not been exempted.

In late 2015 PLP operatives launched a barrage of cyber attacks against Nassau Guardian Managing Editor Candia Dames.

The libelous attacks were obviously in response to Dames’ hard-hitting articles in National Review that takes the PLP to task over its blatant mismanage-

ment of the economy, its embarrassing failure to effectively address the murder crisis and the plethora of scandals that seems to surface every other month.

Who can forget the private email correspondence of Save the Bays members being read in Parliament by an MP who values his soft paying job more than his constituents?

Who can forget Nygard going into the heart of the Over-the-Hill community to personally challenge the Rev. CB Moss? Who can forget a popular FNM Face booker that received an unexpected visit by police officers at her home? Her crime? she publicly criticises the PLP. Or who can forget a popular FNM activist who was taken into custody over a degrading rap song, even though the Constitution allows for freedom of expression and speech?

Nygard was seen on a video railing at the PM and nothing happens. A Bahamian writes a rap song, albeit vulgar and demeaning, and an FNM activist, who solemnly swears he had absolutely nothing to do with the infamous recording, is taken into custody like a common criminal. This while some 600 Bahamians are being murdered on our streets. Anyone who believes that these people believe in Bahamians has got to have their heads examined.

There is simply no easy way to criticize this government with impunity. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If this government is this bad now, what will it be like if given another term?

The thought of Christie receiving another term as PM is downright scary.

Christie is obviously becoming desperate, as he can sense the pervasive anti-PLP mood in the country. When he raised his middle finger at a PLP meeting in Fox Hill, it was an obscene gesture to his opponents. Deaf people interpret it as the F-bomb.

It was another example of his blatant disregard for the Bahamian electorate.

The Bahamian people had better wake up and smell the coffee before it’s too late.

T HE WHISTLEBLOWER Nassau, February 28, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 2, 2017, PAGE 5

ATTORNEY KEOD SMITH APOLOGISES IN CONTEMPT HEARING

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A LAWYER yesterday offered an apology and explanation that he never intended to impugn the professional reputation of a judge through a series of affidavits he created in support of a recusal application from an ongoing judicial review to which he is a party.

Keod Smith and his lawyer, Elliot Lockhart, QC, appeared before Justice Rhonda Bain for the start of his contempt hearing to show cause why he and his then lawyer Derek Ryan should not be committed to prison concerning a series of affidavits filed by Mr Smith in January 2014.

Only Mr Smith was present in court by the time the matter was called yesterday. Mr Ryan was a no show.

Mr Lockhart, at a previous hearing in December 2016, had asked for the court to indicate precisely what the allegations were against his client.

The judge referred the lawyer to the 10 offensive paragraphs in the fifth affidavit filed by Mr Smith, then five paragraphs that were in the sixth affidavit and another five in the seventh affidavit filed.

Mr Lockhart, during the two-hour hearing, then went through each of them before an adjournment was granted to March 1 to allow Mr Smith to produce a defence, witnesses and/ or evidence that said that the accusations were not contemptuous.

When the matter was called yesterday, Crown attorneys Loren Klein, Darcell Smith-Williamson and Hyacinth Smith appeared in amicus as a neutral party to the proceedings.

Mr Klein offered the court a number of authority cases for considering including that of the Court of Appeal decision of Maurice Glinton, QC, who was, in October 2015, fined $15,000 for his words and actions during an extradition appeal that he

contended were not contemptuous.

After the submissions on the law concerning contempt/committal proceedings, Mr Lockhart called Mr Smith to produce his defence as had been ordered by the court.

Mr Smith said the affidavits in question had been prepared at the time when he represented himself in the judicial review proceedings that included Prime Minister Perry Christie, Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis, Minister of Transportation Glenys Hanna-Martin, the Town Planning Committee and Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard whose residence, Nygard Cay, is the subject of said judicial review.

“Did you have assistance of counsel when you made these?” Mr Lockhart asked.

“Not at the time,” Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith said his memory was not the best but recalled being directed by the court to re-file documents.

View “At the time the affidavits were made, did you have a particular view of the proceedings?” Mr Lockhart asked.

“Yes. I was of the view that as a private citizen I should not be subject to judicial review and had filed an application to be removed,” Mr Smith said.

He was asked if he had made an application for Justice Bain to be recused.

Mr Smith said he did but asserted that he was not represented at the time and that Mr Ryan’s firm was eventually instructed to represent him.

“When he got involved, he was of the view we should make an application for it (the recusal) to be withdrawn,” Mr Smith added.

“Did you move the application for recusal?” Mr Lockhart asked. Mr Smith said he did not.

“Were these affidavits

“I still do wish to offer my apology to Justice Bain and this court for any and all matters set out from those affidavits.”

Keod Smith ever read into the record on your behalf?” his lawyer asked. Mr Smith said no.

“Did you ask that they be expunged?” Mr Lockhart further probed.

“Yes and by that time Mr Ryan had been replaced

by Norwood Rolle,” Mr Smith answered.

Mr Smith said the creation of the affidavits at the time were for the purpose of having the matter placed before any other judge due to conflicts “in my mind.”

“I did not think. I wanted to exercise my right to have Justice Bain recused based on conflicts I’d accessed in my own head,” the lawyer stressed.

“Did you at anytime give instructions that upon (expunging) of the affidavits, you were prepared to give an apology to the court?”

Mr Lockhart asked.

“Yes I did. I thought it would be proper to offer the court my apology for whatever parts I would’ve done that amounted to scandalising the court,” Mr Smith said.

“I still do wish to offer my apology to Justice Bain and this court for any and all matters set out from those affidavits,” Mr Smith added, while stressing that they were not “calculated to do anything to diminish the court.”

In the afternoon session of the proceedings, Justice Bain referred Mr Smith to the notice of appointment of Mr Ryan’s firm filed to the court and parties in the proceedings on November 11, 2013.

Obie Ferguson was also named as his lawyer on the appointment, but he acknowledged that the affidavits in question bore the signature of Mr Ryan’s firm.

However, Mr Smith said

neither Mr Ryan nor Ferguson aided him in preparing the affidavits.

“Do you recall when you filed a summons for this court to recuse itself?” the judge asked.

Mr Smith said he did not but acknowledged that the notice to withdraw the recusal application had not come until September 2014.

Decisions In January 2014, Mr Smith had filed a series of affidavits claiming that Justice Bain should recuse herself from a judicial review proceeding as she had allegedly made a series of decisions based on her affiliation with the Free National Movement.

Ten months later he attempted to withdraw the applications for the recusal of Justice Bain.

He alleged the judge once worked under former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, that she was appointed to a high-ranking position in the Attorney General’s Office because

of her ties to the FNM and that her two sons were fathered by a person he claimed is a close friend and advisor of Mr Ingraham.

Mr Smith claimed that Justice Bain had made several rulings in favour of attorney Fred Smith, QC, who in the past had been affiliated with the FNM, and “can only be explained as coming about as a result of her bias.”

Mr Lockhart claimed in December that the contents of the documents were not contemptuous and were either a matter of public record or could be proven if his clients were given adequate opportunity to do so.

He also said that Mr Ryan should be absolved from the proceedings because although his law firm’s name appeared on the affidavits, they had been created and filed by Keod Smith.

The current committal proceedings stem from a judicial review application filed by the Save The Bays – formerly the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay –

which is challenging an application by Peter Nygard to further develop his Mayan-themed development in Lyford Cay and gain a lease for Crown land reclaimed from the sea without official approval.

The coalition claims that over the last 30 years, Nygard Cay has nearly doubled in size as a result of construction works undertaken without the appropriate permits and in a manner that had caused significant damage to the surrounding environment of Clifton Bay. Fred Smith, QC, Romauld Ferreira, and Dawson Malone appeared for STB yesterday.

Gia Moxey appeared with Mr Lockhart.

Tommel Roker held watching brief for Wayne Munroe, QC, who also appears for the Crown in this matter.

The hearing was adjourned to March 6 at 2.30pm to allow Mr Lockhart to respond to the authorities supplied by Mr Klein and give closing submissions.

PAGE 6, Thursday, March 2, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

WATER AND SEWERAGE CORP DEFICIT GROWS TO $147 MILLION FROM PAGE ONE

at December 31, 2015, the corporation’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by $26,424,745 and it has an accumulated deficit of $147,048,897.

“The corporation is dependent on funding from the government and it is anticipated that such funding, via government’s subsidy, will continue to be made valuable at a level to allow the corporation to adequately maintain its operations.

“In the fiscal year 2015, the corporation received $24,684,167 from the government of the Bahamas in the form of a subsidy to assist with the cost of operations.”

Although average staff costs remain a financial issue for the corporation, WSC blames its financial problems primarily on “low” tariffs, which it says are “well below cost recovery levels.”

There hasn’t been a tariff increase on WSC’s services since 1999.

In its 2012 report, the corporation said the “tariff is outdated and too low” for it to cover its “reasonable operating costs.”

The low tariff demands regulatory reform, WSC says, although it is unclear if such reform is anticipated given the political sensitivity of the matter.

Despite such challenges, the corporation’s reduction in NRW meant that the WSC’s pre-subsidy loss in 2015 was “15 per cent lower than in 2014.”

“Over the past decade, WSC’s financial performance has gradually worsened and pre-subsidy loss has grown each year (with the exception of 2009),” the corporation said, adding: “This downward trend was arrested in 2014.”

“NRW is the difference in the amount of water supplied and the amount of water billed to consumers.

“High levels of NRW lead to the need to increase the amount of water produced/supplied and to higher operating expenses.”

In 2013, Miya Water, a company with FROM PAGE ONE sometime between December 19 and 21, 2015, can remain silent at his trial or elect to given testimony under oath.

He also has the right to call witnesses in his defence to the murder allegation.

Smith’s partially decomposed body was found shortly after 2.30pm on December 21, 2015 at his St Alban’s Drive apartment.

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

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

expertise in water efficiency solutions, began implementing a strategic plan to reduce NRW in New Providence over a period of ten years.

“The initiative has already resulted in over 2.5 billion gallons of water being saved, which in turn allowed a significant reduction in water production/ supply while meeting increased demand,” the corporation said.

“The reduction is an important achievement since NRW greatly affects our financial performance.

NRW decreased from 9.1 million imperial gallons per day in 2012 (56 per cent of water supplied) to 5 million imperial gallons per day (37 per cent of water supplied) in 2015.”

In addition, in the period covered by the audits, WSC has experienced a reduction in complaints, decreasing from 8,413 in 2012, to 7,428 in 2013 to 6,102 in 2015.

Some aspects of WSC’s operations

have been less impressive than NRW and complaints reduction over the past five years, however.

For instance, despite a desire to reduce the company’s “employees per active water connection” rate to “5 staff per 1,000” by 2018 in order to improve productivity, the corporation’s staffing level has remained mostly stagnant over the past five years, with the corporation reporting “7.4 staff per 1,000 active water connections” in 2015, up from 7.1 per 1,000 in 2012.

“This will be addressed as we continue to implement our organisation restructuring strategy though it may require short-term increases in the number of staff,” the corporation said.

The corporation has also continually failed to meet its target of addressing 95 per cent of complaints within 48 hours.

“In 2015, we addressed the following percentage of the complaints we received within 48 hours,” the corporation said.

“Seventy-eight per cent of water leak complaints, 53 per cent of other water complaints, and 85 per cent of sewer complaints.”

BANKER WAS ‘STABBED 33 TIMES’ New Providence Volleyball Association.

Albury has denied the charge against him.

Cordell Frazier and Anya Allen are prosecuting the case for the Crown while Michael Hanna is representing Albury.

Last week Monday, the jury heard that Albury allegedly confessed to his relatives that he had fatally stabbed the banker, who had hired him to do a paint job at his apartment for an upcoming holiday gathering, when the victim allegedly made a sexual advance at him.

The following day, Smith’s

FROM PAGE ONE 2012.

“I didn’t hear Mr Symonette’s statement (about returning to frontline politics as a candidate for the FNM) and I’m probably speaking from a position of not being fully knowledgeable about his acceptance of the position, but I do believe that given the many opportunities myself and people like Mr Symonette have had in trying to bring the party and the leadership to where it needs to be, I think he has a huge uphill battle ahead of him,” Mrs Butler-Turner told The Tribune.

“While I find it interesting that he has determined to become a part of the FNM’s candidates, I’m not totally surprised given the fact that I believe at this juncture the FNM finds itself in a very difficult position and all that appears to be happening is that (the) weak and indecisive leadership of Hubert Minnis is perhaps being substantiated by more credible candidates in order for them to be a viable option in the upcoming election.

“I think there are a lot of internal

housekeeper testified that in the three months she had known Albury, the accused had been to Smith’s apartment on three occasions and on two other occasions, the accused and Smith were seen in the victim’s Jeep drinking.

In yesterday’s proceedings, Mr Hanna asked for the pathologist to be shown the crime scene photos exhibited in the case.

Dr Sands was referred to an image of blood and broken glass from a figurine and was asked by Mr Hanna if a person could be cut from being assaulted with such an item.

LORETTA: CREDIBLE CANDIDATES problems in the party and Mr Symonette has been trying to resolve that.

It’s my opinion that maybe he needs to try and join and become a part of the internal strife the FNM is going through.

“I imagine a person of his stature who held the high office of deputy prime minister probably feels that he can help to elevate the profile of FNM by joining again.

“The difference between Mr Symonette and others who are considered high profile is he has parliamentary experience, a lot more than Minnis and others. On paper people may have a good resumé but people could be extraordinary in private life but that doesn’t always translate to a high level of competence once in public service,” Mrs Butler-Turner told The Tribune.

In the last year, Mr Symonette has at times been critical of Dr Minnis’ performance as party leader.

He endorsed Mrs Butler-Turner for

“It would cause blunt force trauma (but) a blunt edge won’t give you a cut or stab,” the pathologist said.

Dr Sands was asked if the wounds found on the deceased could have been inflicted by a paint knife.

“With enough force you can cause injury with a paint knife but not a stab wound,” she said.

“These wounds are cutting wounds. I don’t know if a paint knife can do that. I won’t say that it can’t, but I don’t think it’s likely,” the pathologist added.

The case resumes today at 10am before Senior Justice Vera Watkins where the defence is expected to begin its case.

leader ahead of the party’s convention last year. He did not, however, publicly support the decision of her and six others to oust Dr Minnis as leader of the Official Opposition last December.

Shortly after the actions of the “rebel seven” FNM MPs, the FNM rescinded Mrs Butler-Turner’s nomination for the Long Island constituency.

She has said she plans to run in the area as an independent candidate.

Last week, the Long Island MP forecast that it was “very likely” the PLP will be returned as the government unless splintered opposition forces can put the future of the country before their own egos.

Mrs Butler-Turner told reporters outside Parliament that the path to achieving a unified opposition is “very straightforward” but was blocked largely by the leadership desires of all persons involved.

She maintained that, despite the protestations of other groupings, the only team that she has not had formal talks with was the FNM.

FARMERS BLAME ‘CONTAMINATED’ CORN FROM BAIC FEED MILL FOR PIG DEATHS FROM PAGE ONE farmers last year as they have to purchase feed at

retail prices from local distributors, essentially paying double the cost for half the amount.

It has also highlighted systemic failures at the BAIC Feed Mill, which does not have a feed analyst or nutritionist on site.

“They ordered some corn from the US,” the insider claimed. “Due to the system in terms of payment protocol, the corn was sitting up on the dock for a period of time which caused it to turn rancid - improper storage.

“When corn turns rancid you get toxins, alpha toxins which lead to inferior food quality, poor palatability, and it will interact with other nutrients of ration or feed formulation. Essentially you’ll have a primary problem but also secondary problems.”

The insider continued: “When animals consume it, (how well they fare) it depends on their immune system. In sows, female pigs, on their gestation period, they’ll be pregnant but the piglets will die inside her and she will get sepsis, it will infect the mother and then she will die. So you’ll lose the piglets but you will also lose the mother.”

Unlike American feed, product supplied by the government is not insured and there is no accountability for errors that can have potentially far-reaching impacts on the country, The Tribune was told.

The insider further alleged that officials knew that the feed was compromised but decided to “take a gamble” due to the heavily politicised nature of the sector, which saw more than half of the staff at the corporation replaced by non-technical political placements.

“You have over 22 persons there who are mostly hired through political favours, so they just there for a job. But

when you’re dealing with meat for human consumption, you should take this seriously,” the insider added.

“It’s an applied science and it’s so important for a country.”

Stakeholders interviewed

by The Tribune have indicated that the problem faced by workers in the agricultural sector stems from a complete lack of industry expertise at the executive level, and a total neglect of the sector by the government.

Devastating While most of the farmers interviewed by The Tribune spoke on the condition of anonymity, 53-year-old Dennis Cates yesterday railed against the gross mismanagement of the feed mill and the failure of successive governments to effectively consult with farmers for the advancement of the industry.

“It’s been a devastating impact on the farmers,” Mr Cates said. “The powers that be think we’re incompetent, that we’re illiterate. I don’t know why they think it is that farmers are so uneducated and incompetent that we can’t run a farm or know what’s good for our animals.

They don’t even have an analyst at the feed mill. No feed mill should be run without someone to analyse the product.

“After the hurricane, we purchased a lot of feed from them and it killed our animals. They were supposed to close it down then, but they continued. Now its killed 40 adult hogs and 40 pig sucklings, GRAC at the piggery - this is since January. So the feed had to have been given to them right before that.”

Mr Cates added: “It doesn’t happen in one day; pigs are the hardest thing to kill. Pigs can eat rat poison and live. It has to be something given to them over

a long period of time. Just about all the farmers with livestock have experienced it to some degree.

“I’ve watched this industry evolve and watch it dissolve, and the issue is simple things. If they would just consult the farmers and work with the farmers ... there is no assistance. All that rhetoric about feeding the nation and food security, it’s the greatest bunch of malarkey,” Mr Cates said.

“I watch these people bamboozle us, every government, like we little children.

That ain’t fair and that ain’t right. Our society is suffering and if the ports close we in trouble.”

According to Levarity Deveaux, president of the Bahamas Livestock and Agricultural Farmers Association (BLAFA), farmers in the country appealed to Prime Minister Perry Christie three years ago. As a result, a comprehensive overhaul was ordered with BAIC to become the chief means of delivery for the Abattoir, the Fish and Farm Store, and the Feed Mill.

While the intent was to make the delivery of goods and services more efficient, Mr Deveaux wrote to The Tribune in December, instead it became worse.

“The Abattoir is frequently down and the response is just as slow to make repairs,” Mr Deveaux said. “The inventory at the Fish and Farm Store is in short supply. The Feed Mill is failing so badly that BAMSI does not use its feed. When it has feed, the quality is bad and cannot be verified. This affects our production of food.

“When we compare what we are paid for our products with what consumers pay or with what imported products sell for, we feel abandoned and betrayed by successive government policies,” he added.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 2, 2017, PAGE 7

TRAFFICKING ACT CHANGE WILL BRING LEGISLATION IN LINE WITH UN STANDARDS

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE House of Assembly yesterday moved the second reading of an amendment to the Trafficking in Persons Prevention and Suppression Act 2008 to bring the legislation in line with the current standards of the United Nations.

According to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell, the change to the act will also ensure that all involved in related offences are punishable by the law.

Parliament enacted the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Act in 2008 in response to the rise in trafficking in persons who were subject to modern day slavery tactics.

Mr Mitchell said: “The reason that that act was passed was an effort to ensure that the Bahamas remained compliant with international norms and efforts to combat activity which exploited persons for material gain and preyed on persons seeking to improve their circumstances.

“This is important for us and something, which up to that point, people did not appreciate.

“What you often hear is described in other countries as modern day slavery. So even though in this country slavery was abolished in 1834, there is no form of slavery in the sense that we understood it.

MINISTER of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell speaks in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna

“There is a modern form of slavery where men and women are trafficked, brought into a country, kept in servitude and their travel documents withheld and women are often put in positions where they engage in prostitution under duress and it is this activity - and children are also vulnerable to this to be in labour against their will and taken away from their parents - so this was the activi-

ty that this act was designed to criminalise and the fear is still that it can exist in plain sight.

“So a woman could be working for example in someone’s home and everything appears to be quite normal, but that woman or man is not receiving a proper salary, documents are withheld, hours of work are beyond what is allowed by law and they are shut off from their family and

REMEMBERING HOBBY HORSE HALL RACE TRACK

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

JUSTICE DEPT: SESSIONS SPOKE WITH RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR IN 2016

ATTORNEY General Jeff Sessions. paign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false.”

Sessions had more than 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors last year in his role as a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and had two separate interactions with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, the department said.

One was a visit in September in his capacity as a senator, the department said, and the other occurred in a group setting following a Heritage Foundation speech that Sessions gave during the summer, when several ambassadors — including the Russian ambassador — approached Sessions after the talk as he was leaving the stage.

Revelations of the contact, first reported by The Washington Post, triggered calls from members of Congress for Sessions to back out of any involvement in the FBI’s probe.

“If reports are accurate that Attorney General Sessions — a prominent surrogate for Donald Trump — met with Ambassador Kislyak during

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

PRESIDENT of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana David Granger, retired Brigadier general, and several of his ministers arrived in the capital today for a three-day state visit.

According to Prime Minister Perry Christie in the House of Assembly yesterday, this is the first state visit since 2003 when then President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa called on the Bahamas.

Delegation General Granger, the current chairman of CARICOM, will arrive in New Providence at 12.10pm today by private plane and Mr Christie along with his Cabinet are expected to meet the delegation.

A joint honour guard of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Royal Bahamas Defence Force will be formed to await his inspection once he arrives.

The Guyanese president is then expected to pay a courtesy call on Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling.

Nationals

IVAN James, who has chronicled nearly 200 years of horse racing in the Bahamas, presented a copy of his book to the University of The Bahamas President, Dr Rodney Smith on Monday.

Mr James, the lead official of the Arawak Downs Race Course Company, a group dedicated to the revitalisation and re-establishment of horse racing in the Bahamas, has compiled a collection of memories “The Life and Death of Hobby Horse Hall Race Track”.

The 78-year-old former hotelier started to write the book in 1999, after nearly two years of research.

“I compiled so much information, some that I had forgotten over time, and it all went into this book,” Mr James said.

“When you look at it, the Hobby Horse Hall race track was the first sporting seat of the Bahamas - (there was) no Junkanoo, very little football and there was some cricket.

“This was an industry and it is interesting to know that most of our royal Governors played an integral part in this industry.

Horse racing was so important to our country; the story of our nation is almost predicated on the story of horse racing,” he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions had two conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign season last year, contact that immediately fueled calls for him to recuse himself from a Justice Department investigation into Russian interference in the election.

Sessions, an early supporter of President Donald Trump and a policy adviser to the Republican candidate, did not disclose those communications at his confirmation hearing in January when asked what he would do if “anyone affiliated” with the campaign had been in contact with the Russian government.

Sessions answered that he had not had communication with the Russians.

Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said Wednesday night that “there was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer.”

That answer did not satisfy Democrats who even before Wednesday had sought his recusal from the ongoing federal investigation and had raised questions about whether he could properly oversee it.

Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, accused Sessions of “lying under oath” and demanded that he resign. Other Democrats called on him to step aside from the investigation.

In a statement Wednesday night, Sessions said, “I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the cam-

friends. So the trafficking in persons act was passed to distinguish from the business of smuggling, which is moving people in to countries across borders for a price.

“But these people are essentially free to do what they want to. That is not what trafficking of persons is designed to deal with.”

Section three of the TIP Act, Mr Mitchell said, is to be amended.

“By the insertion immediately after the existing words ‘or attempts to engage in’ with the words ‘organises engagement in or directing another person to engage in’ so when the section is amended the act will read as follows ‘whoever engages in or conspires to engage in or attempts to engage in organises engagement in or directing another person to engage in’ that’s the new active part ‘or assists in or otherwise facilitates another person to engage in trafficking persons shall on conviction’ and then the penalties follow.”

“The amendment to section three of the TIP Act is in keeping with article five paragraph two of the United Nations protocol to prevent suppress and punish trafficking in persons especially women and children supplementing the convention against transnational organised crime,” Mr Mitchell said.

“So what it ends up being is at all stages of the physical aspects of this crime and mental aspects of this crime at all stages of it the law it is now covered so those who are actually doing the act and those who are encouraging the act and those who are organising the act and those who are directing the act (are punishable). So everybody will be covered.”

The Bahamas ratified the UN protocol on September 26, 2008.

STATE VISIT FOR PRESIDENT OF COOPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA

the campaign, and failed to disclose this fact during his confirmation, it is essential that he recuse himself from any role in the investigation of Trump campaign ties to the Russians,” said Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

“This is not even a close call; it is a must,” he said.

Asked by reporters Monday about the prospect of a recusal, Sessions said, “I would recuse myself from anything that I should recuse myself on.”

At the confirmation hearing in January, Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota asked Sessions about allegations of contact between Russia and Trump aides during the 2016 election.

He asked Sessions what he would do if there was evidence that anyone from the Trump campaign had been in touch with the Russian government during the campaign.

Sessions replied he was “unaware of those activities.”

Then he added: “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn’t have, did not have communications with the Russians, and I’m unable to comment on it.”

Flores, the Justice Department spokeswoman, said that response was not misleading.

“He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign — not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee,” she said in a statement.

Later in the evening, General Granger is expected to meet with his nationals who reside in the Bahamas.

On Friday, a trip to Freeport, Grand Bahama, is scheduled for the Guyanese president and his Cabinet and a state dinner will follow at 7pm at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel once they return to the capital. The Guyanese officials are scheduled to leave the country on March 4. Mr Christie said it is his hope that the country will join him in welcoming the officials to the Bahamas.

PAGE 8, Thursday, March 2, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

FNM ANNOUNCES NORTH ANDROS, BERRY ISLAND CANDIDATE AT RALLY THE Free National Movement launched the candidacy of North Andros and Berry Islands hopeful Carlton Bowleg (right) at a rally in North Andros on Tuesday night.

At the event, FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis said his party, if elected, would address the concerns of area residents, including repairing the track and technical building at the North Andros High School, repair infrastructure and upgrade water lines, among other pledges.

In the Berry Islands, Dr Minnis said his party would build a new administrative complex and clinic, upgrade the island’s school and look into building a new government dock.

He also said a government led by him will launch “a major youth entrepreneurship programme” to help to develop the skills of thousands of young entrepreneurs.

“We will help to equip thousands with business and management skills, such as how to save and handle money; how to reinvest and scale-up their business; how to market their products and services,” Dr Minnis said.

Photos: Yontalay Bowe

“I was actually looking forward to going into the Hospital.

I described it to my husband as a Ritz Carlton experience.”

INDIRA

MY DOCTORS HOSPITAL AMBASSADOR For More My Doctors Hospital Stories, visit www.mydhstory.com

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 2, 2017, PAGE 9

GOVT COMMITTED TO FINDING ‘PRIVATE SECTOR SOLUTION’ FOR LANDFILL THE New Providence landfill (above) and Minister of the Environment Kenred Dorsett (right).

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net ENVIRONMENT Minister Kenred Dorsett yesterday said the government is committed to finding a “private sector solution” for the management of the New Providence landfill as the government continues to oversee the facility in the interim.

His comments came on the sidelines of a press conference to announce the completion of legislative drafts for the permanent recognition of both the Ministry of the Environment and the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection.

It has been reported previously that the Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) had taken over management of the landfill after the company contracted to remediate the site pulled out.

“We have taken over the landfill temporarily,” Mr Dorsett said.

“It is not something that my ministry or the department wants.”

While he insisted that public pronouncements on Renew Bahamas’ withdrawal will be made by his office in the coming weeks, his team is now focused on how best to manage the facility until other arrangements are made.

He added that his office has come across several proposals with regard to the management of the site, however, discussions with a Bahamian consortium has been the most serious and lengthy.

“We have been in discussion with the Bahamian consortium for the better part of about nine months now regarding, in the first instance we focused on green waste and as a result of what has transpired with Renew, they have had discussions with the technical department on whether or not they can provide some long-term systems in terms

“We have taken over the landfill temporarily. It is not something that my ministry or the department wants.”

Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett of the overall management,” he said.

“So, we are reviewing matters that they have put before the (Department of Environmental Health Services) and looking at their proposals, as well as others who have submitted proposals.”

The Southern Shores MP said throughout discussions, his focus has remained on getting long-term remediation at the site in the “shortest possible time,” and as a result, he has instructed his staff to format the best structure where interested parties can make proper presentations to the government, allowing them to conclude this matter in the near future.

Renew Bahamas, contracted in 2014, withdrew its services last October after the company’s Chief Executive Michael Cox reported several incidents of widespread theft, shootings and tyre slashing, combined with the loss of electrical power in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

At the time, however, Mr Cox hinted that Renew Bahamas’ decision was partially the result of the government’s failure to properly engage with the company over a strategy/ plan to resolve the landfill’s problems, adding that Hurricane Matthew had brought the two sides’ strained relationship “to a head.”

Mr Cox also said the company’s request to the Christie administration for post-hurricane support and other assistance had yet to result in a meeting, and suggested this indicated that it

wanted Renew Bahamas’ contract “to die.”

Through that controversial contract however, Mr Dorsett said the government saved itself millions, with all overhead expenses being covered by the company in its failed bid.

Mr Dorsett said while the deal didn’t pan out, the government saved a large portion of the resources usually budgeted for its operations at the property in years past.

As it relates to the draft Ministry of Environment Bill 2017, Minister Dorsett noted that the bill, which is open for public consultation over the next two weeks, outlines the functions of the ministry proper, makes provision for an Environmental Administration Fund and an Environmental Advisory Board.

The Environmental Ad-

ministration Fund will receive deposits from grants bestowed on the Ministry, while the Environmental Advisory Board will be comprised of representatives from the public sector, civil society, institutions of research and education and non-governmental organizations.

Additionally, the Environmental Planning & Protection Bill, 2017 will create a new Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP), which will have the overall responsibility for regulating matters relating to environmental policy, planning and protection, and will be under the control and management of a director general who will have the technical responsibility of the DEPP. Mr Dorsett also suggested that with the creation

of DEEP, the role of the BEST Commission will be integrated into that new office.

He added: “The legislation provides a transparent and clear framework for environmental impact statements, environmental impact assessments, environmental management plans and the issuances of certificates of environmental compliance.

“The legislation provides for appropriate penalties for infractions; penalties up to $120,000 or two years of imprisonment or both.

“For companies that commit environmental offences they may be penalized up to $15million dollars or up to 25 years and imprisonment or both.

“The DEPP will promote environmental awareness to

educate the public on environmental matters, climate change and concerns in an effort to promote best practices and protect the environment, social, economic and sustainable development.

“The DEPP will be responsible for notifying the general public of any environmental incident and giving directions as to measures to be taken to protect the environment and ultimately for human health and safety,” he said.

Mr Dorsett added that the DEPP will also focus on providing and reporting information on the state of the environment, while regulations will follow the legislation for advancing standards for industry and practices to protect the environment.

RECONSTRUCTION OF FIRE-DAMAGED BAMSI DORM ‘COMPLETE BY SEPTEMBER’

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE reconstruction of the firedamaged dorm at the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Sciences Institute will likely be fully completed by September, Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray has said.

Mr Gray, in a recent interview, said he has been advised that a contract has been issued for the reconstruction of the dorm, and that the reconstruction process should likely take “between six and eight months.” He said while he is not sure whether construction has started, all of the “groundwork” is finished.

Mr Gray also said construction on the other buildings at the North Andros site is about “98.99 per cent complete,” and that he expects construction on the rest of the buildings to be completed by the end of this month.

He also said that the unavailability of the fire-damaged dorm “did not impact in any way the smooth running of the school.”

AGRICULTURE Minister V Alfred Gray.

“So there have been no classes, no student who was not able to be accommodated,” he said. “So everything is normally operational and we look forward to that position continuing.

He added: “The rest of BAMSI is about 98.99 per cent complete. I think the rest of the buildings will be com-

pleted by the end of March. That’s the deadline we have, and I’m looking forward to with tip-toe anticipation to that completion at the end of March.”

BAMSI is a major government initiative established in an effort to reduce the country’s reliance on food imports. The school opened to students in September 2014 even though the campus was not finished.

The institute held its first graduation ceremony on July 7 of last year, graduating some 23 students.

The fire-damaged dorm, which was constructed by contractor Audley Hanna of Paradigm Construction, sparked controversy when Minister of Works and Urban Development Philip “Brave” Davis revealed that it was never insured.

Mr Davis had previously said in the House of Assembly that at the time of the fire, the contractor’s all-risk insurance policy had lapsed due to nonpayment.

In July 2015, Mr Davis said the destroyed dormitory would not be repaired until all other BAMSI buildings had been completed.

PAGE 10, Thursday, March 2, 2017

SPONGING IN THE BAHAMAS THE Bahamian sponge industry is believed to have been started by a Frenchman, Gustave Renourd, who was wrecked in the waters of the archipelago in 1841.

He exported sponges to Paris and the trade was further developed by his son-in-law, Edward Brown.

Although payment was not substantial, the advent of the sponge industry opened the door for former slaves and liberated Africans following the abolition of slavery in 1838 to have more access to money.

A Blue Book of Statistics dating back to 1843 shows that 132 bales of sponge were exported.

While at the London Fisheries Exhibition in 1883, Commissioner for the Bahamas A J Adderley reported that the Bahamas had a “brilliant assemblage of the ocean’s treasures that represent the fishing industries of the Bahama Islands”. He referred to sponge as “by far the most important marine product of the Bahama Islands”.

By the late 1850s, Bahamian sponges were comparable to the best from the Mediterranean and plentiful enough to demand a new mass market.

During that period, the average annual report reflected exports of 250,000 pounds from the Great Bahama Bank, nicknamed ‘The Mud’ in Andros.

Soon the sponging industry expanded to the shallows south west of Eleuthera and Acklins Bight, causing exports to rise to 625,000 pounds a year by 1870 and one million pounds by 1900, worth £100,000.

At its height, the sponge fleet consisted of some 600 vessels.

The peak of the sponge industry came in 1917 with 1,010,239 pounds exported at a value of $400,578. According to records of the estimated world production of sponges in 1935, the Bahamas was ranked third largest.

However, three hurricanes in 1926 diminished the production of sponges. Another issue was the overfishing of the beds and the practice of hooking juvenile sponges. Those factors led to the introduction of the Agricultural and Marine Products Board Sponge Amendment Rules in 1937, which monitored fishing of under-developed sponge and introduced a closed season.

In late 1938, a fungus obliterated 99 per cent of the prized sponge beds and the industry collapsed, putting thousands of Bahamians out of work. The sponge industry was resurrected in the 1950s, although the export numbers were less compared to the industry’s heyday.

According to more recent figures, in 2011, the value of sponges exported from the Bahamas was $540,000 (61,500 pounds), a decline from the 2006 peak, when sponge exports totalled $1.065 million (111,500 pounds).

KEESHA BETHELL

THE TRIBUNE

Revival of the sponging industry

A million-dollar project aimed at promoting new harvesting and business practices will allow a once thriving Bahamian enterprise to captalise on a natural bounty.

Keesha Bethell reports

L

AST month, the Inter-American Bank (IDB) launched a $1.118 million project geared toward revitalising the once prized Bahamian sponging industry with a specific aim to boost the local economy and decrease unemployment numbers, particularly on the island of Andros.

It was a move that Lynward Saunders, one of two presidents of the Bahamas Commercial Sponge Association (BCSA), hopes will resurrect the industry that once served as a driving force behind the Androsian economy.

“It would help boost the economy a little more in terms of dollar value,” said Mr Saunders, who lives in Mangrove Cay. “From the Association part of it, I think it’s a good thing and I think it is good to educate people how to do it (sponging) because the sustainability is important and learning about value added is important. So the project is a good thing.”

According to an IDB project memorandum reported by Tribune Business in February, 2016, the BCSA, which acts as the industry’s representative body, will be given resources “to purchase and install processing equipment” in the Androsian settlements of Mangrove Cay and Red Bays. The BCSA was formed about a year and a half ago, according to Mr Saunders. His BCSA copresident lives in Red Bays, North Andros.

Meetings with the IDB regarding the revitalisation project began around the time of the BCSA’s establishment. “About that time, we were discussing how we [were] going to increase our membership fee to get everyone onboard,” Mr Saunders told The Tribune. “The IDB has implemented some things … they are going to have to educate the sponge fishermen or persons who want to get involved in the industry like the marketing and exporting and what have you. So the relationship has been there from the beginning and I think it’s a positive thing.

“I think it’s a lot of growth if we continue in that regard.

Once the sponge fishermen understand where they want to carry their industry, then most of it relies heavily on the sponge fishermen to drive it to where they want to carry it. The IDB, they are just giving us the tools.

There were three launches in the early part of February.

It was one in Nassau, one in Mangrove Cay and one in Red Bays.

“The launch was a positive thing for it. It showed that they are actually going to go through with it. The IDB is about to bring over the consultants to start the programme of educating and some other things.”

The IDB memorandum also pointed out that Bahamian spongers were “not capturing the full value of their product” due to a fragmented and disorganised supply chain, plus the absence of processing and marketing functions to enable them to “access higher-value markets”.

“In the existing supply chain model, spongers harvest sponges and sell them at a low price to a consolidator/ export business that processes them and sells them at a much higher price,” the IDB memorandum said. “Since the spongers are neither involved in processing nor are linked to a final customer buyer, they do not benefit from the higher end-price of the sponges ... These value chain issues are the second problem facing the industry.”

The million-dollar project is designed to benefit 660 people on Andros - an island where more than half the households live on under $20,000 per year.

The memorandum revealed that Bahamian spongers will be directed towards more sustainable harvesting practices, a move that will benefit 1.4 million hectares of sea floor. According to the memorandum, 200 to 250 Andros-based sponge fishermen will adopt new harvesting and business practices if the project hits its objectives.

And, in opening new export markets for their products, the IDB is hoping that

sales to foreign countries and domestically will reach $200,000 and $175,000 respectively when the threeyear project is completed.

“Nature provides income and employment for 80 per cent of the inhabitants of Andros,” the IDB memorandum said. “Approximate-

“The milliondollar project is designed to benefit 660 people on Andros - an island where more than half the households live on under $20,000 per year.” ly 1,645 full time jobs and 8,000 part-time jobs rely on the island’s natural capital.

Environmental degradation in the Caribbean means that available natural resources on Andros are likely to become more valuable, if they are properly protected.”

Describing sponges as “a key form of natural capital in the Bahamas”, the IDB memorandum added that they were “an important source of income for low-income populations who harvest and sell them”.

“The project expects to have 200 direct beneficiaries who are spongers in Andros, and 440 indirect beneficiaries, who are the spongers’ families,” the IDB sai”d. The island of Andros has approximately 7,500 inhabitants,

and the average household size is 3.2. Approximately 53 per cent of households have an income of less than US$20,000 per year.

“Sponging is a physically demanding activity and, according to the BCSA, approximately 10 per cent of full-time spongers in Andros are women. It is expected that women could participate in processing the sponges when merchandised sponge processing occurs lower in the value chain,” the bank added.

• COMPETITION Since the project aims to give spongers more access to the final buyer, it means the revitalisation project could pose a threat to sponge exporters like Tsakkos “Peter” Pantelis, a Greek whose family business in sponge export in Nassau dates back to the 1960s. His grandfather, with whom he shares the same name, turned to sponging a few years after moving to the Bahamas from Greece in the 1950s.

When Mr Pantelis took over 22 years ago, he moved the business from West Bay Street. Today, the family company, Bahamas Sponge Exporters, sits at 17, Deans Lane in a quaint yellow building with white trimming. According to Mr Pantelis, over the past decade while sponge production has been consistent, the demand has been low due to a number of factors, including competition from Cuba and synthetic sponges.

Mr Pantelis does not go sponging but purchases his product from Androsian

spongers once he receives word that there is available merchandise. He then flies to Andros and selects the sponges he wants, before making payment. The sponges are shipped to Nassau within three days and brought to Deans Lane, where it is grated and clipped before being sorted according to size, quality and type.

The sponges are then laid out to dry in the sun in the back yard before being packaged for export.

Wool, Hardhead and Grass are the types of sponges Mr Pantelis purchases, Grass being the most popular.

He admitted that his primary market includes European countries like Greece and France. “I don’t remember having Bahamian clients ever,” he says. “There has never been an interest for it here in the Bahamas”. Aside from that, he says more profit is made through selling sponges in bulk internationally.

The frequency of his travel to Andros depends on a number of factors. “When Hurricane Matthew came, the fishermen could not go out for more than one month,” he said. “It also depends on what the fishermen are interested in going after.

There are some fishermen who only fish for sponge. At other times, fishermen who normally fish for lobster, turn to sponging during off season.”

Mr Saunders is the proprietor of Andros Island Sea Sponge, a Bahamian-owned company. The company takes pride in providing “sus-

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 2, 2017, PAGE 11

ABOVE AND RIGHT: Getting the sponge ready for packaging in Andros.

PHOTO: www.androsislandseasponge.com NORTH ANDROS sponger Fritzgerald Taylor.

tainably harvested fine Bahamian sea sponge”. Additionally, the company works closely with local sponge fishermen, operates its own boats and exports sponge worldwide. “Andros Island Sea Sponge is my company,” Mr Saunders says proudly.

“I jumped on board with the IDB to help with [this] project.” He currently exports to Greece, the United States, Italy and Canada. Expansion to Turkey, India and China is anticipated.

Although BCSA members in Mangrove Cay number about 15, Saunders says interest is growing. “The association [is] going to try to help the locals to add value to their sponge and educate them on the same,” he said. “Sustainability, too, is important to the sponging industry. So it will help them in that area, too, in educating them how to harvest their sponge properly and how to add value to them after they bring them to the boat or if they want to go further into packaging and marketing, how to add value to that area.

“Packaging, labouring, exporting - all of those would be helpful to the sponge men providing if they want to go into that area and it doesn’t have to be a sponge fisherman to go into that part of the sponging industry because some sponge fishermen are only interested in harvesting and selling them as raw material. But there are other business venture persons who want to get into the marketing and exporting as I do.”

The IDB document also indicated plans to increase the sales price of sponge to bring more profit to sponge fishermen. It read, “It is expected that through the project, spongers who work with the Bahamas Commercial Sponge Association will increase their sales price from $.60 to $1 per sponge, an increase of 40 per cent.”

• PROFITS But according to Mr Saunders, spongers can make nice profits now, even without the increase.

“Well I understand that,” he said. “But they are probably getting more than that now if you really calculate it in terms of how they handle their product and how they add value to them. For example, if they (spongers) cut their sponge and they bring it to market, that means the sponge would [be] valued a little more than if they just hook it from the bottom because it leaves the root to the seabed and it doesn’t cause the merchant to work as hard.

“So it would cause the merchant to work less and that would make it more valuable because the merchant doesn’t have to pay someone to do that. So it’s a learning process and they can make more if they follow those guidelines.”

In addition to explaining the importance of harvesting, the BCSA president gave a breakdown of sponge pricing.

“With the Grass Sponge, from $0.65 to maybe depending on the quality of the sponge, it could go up

to $0.90, maybe a $1. For the Hardhead, it is a very small sponge. It could go from $0.25 to maybe $0.75 depending on the size. The Wool … that can go from $0.75 to, maybe depending on the size and the quality, $5 to $8.

“And you have Yellow and Reef sponges. Reef sponges are very low grade; they are very soft sponges. The Yellow is more in the middle [in terms of value]. We don’t get many of the Yellow. So,

“Sustainability, too, is important.

So the BCSA will help them in that area, too, in educating them how to harvest their sponge properly and how to add value to them after they bring them to the boat or if they want to go further into packaging and marketing.”

Lynward Saunders technically speaking, them raising the sponge price from $0.60 to $1 wouldn’t make that much of a difference.”

He added that spongers can make a hefty profit if they use the right practices and go to sea every day. “If they are really the serious ones - when I say the serious ones, those are the ones that sponge every day - they

SPONGES drying in the sun at Bahamas Sponge Exporters on Deans Road. could make up to about $3,000 to $5,000 a month,” he says. “If they really go out there and work.

“But it’s [also] according to expenses. You have to look at all that. They have expenses like gas expenses and what have you. And it depends on who they sell to because some people pay more than others.”

Mr Saunders remains optimistic about the project and what it has to offer spongers once a major challenge is overcome and new methods are embraced.

“The challenges would probably be to change the way they are doing business in sponging,” he says.

“The sponge fishermen, they are used to this old way of sponging [which] has gone down the generations for at least over 100 years. They have done it the same way, the same way. In terms of new technology, because there are some things you may have to do differently in order for it to be more feasible as time goes on and the challenge is that I hope that the sponge fishermen change in that area and in that direction.”

• EXPANSION There are currently 75 spongers in Mangrove Cay, two or three of whom are women, but only 15 have sided with the BCSA thus far, although interest is growing every day, according to Mr Saunders.

“The majority of them depend on the sponges because

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the sponge doesn’t have seasons, but the other (fishing) industries, they are seasonal,” he says. “So they rely basically on the sponging industry to keep them going.”

He believes that it is an adjustment that will catch on with time. Although the IDB’s revitalisation project is expected to span three years, he believes more time may be required for spongers to really benefit.

“I think it could work,” he said. “Three years time, I think we need more time depending again on where the

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune staff

sponge men want to carry the organisation or the industry. “It would need more time. I think the three years is a good time for training and, once that happens, you might see companies come into the industry to do processing and do other export [to] those gift stores all over the world.”

Presently, Mr Saunders says sponging in the Bahamas is concentrated on Andros on the settlements of Mangrove Cay and Red Bays. “Ninety-nine per cent (of sponges) come from An-

dros, particularly Mangrove Cay and Red Bays. More so in Mangrove Cay,” the BCSA president said.

Eventually, he hopes the revitalisation of sponging will expand throughout the country.

“There are sponges all over the Bahamas,” he said, “from Acklins to Grand Bahama. The whole chain of the Bahamas has sponges so it’s a lot of areas in Bimini, Abaco, Eleuthera, Long Cay and Acklins. So there are sponging abundance in those areas.”

PAGE 12, Thursday, March 2, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

STUDENTS TAKE ON THE WILDS OF ANDROS FOR GGYA AWARDS THEY were out of their comfort zone. The pitch black night disguised the landscape of the Andros’ pine forest near Captain Bill’s Blue Hole.

Crackling sounds of the undergrowth and “spooky” nocturnal animals voicing their displeasure with the intruders sent heart beats racing.

Depth perception was a guessing game. In the distance, camp fire lights beckoned. A slight change in direction and minutes later they disappeared.

The occasional whistles and shouts pierced the air during the four-hour trek, a reassuring reminder that there were others out there picking their way through this thick, green, seemingly never ending blanket of trees.

For nine participants from Government High School (GHS), this pursuit of a Silver Award from the Governor General’s Youth Award (GGYA) taught discipline, teamwork and patience, among other characterbuilding virtues.

The school saw the number of its participants double this year. At least one educator is keeping her fingers crossed that GGYA could broadly impact the school’s culture for the better and begin to replace national images of school violence in the wake of a violent stabbing on campus last month.

“This shows the public that despite the negativity being portrayed, there are good students at GHS who want to be a part of a positive organisation that builds character,” the school’s unit leader, Monique Cooper, said.

Since 1995, Ms Cooper had been involved with

A BREAK for fishing.

the internationally recognised, self-development programme, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

The educator has seen firsthand participants’ positive transformation in personality, fitness level and maturity.

Presently, the school has 45 participants working to achieve their Bronze Award.

There are 25 at the Silver level and 10 out to obtain the Gold. “I think students see the necessity [of the Award].

It brings unity,” said Ms Cooper.

Open to those aged 14 to 24, the Award helps youth and young adults develop vital skills for life and for work, including confidence, commitment and resilience.

To achieve a Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award participants must complete increasing time requirements in community service, physical recreation, skill development and adventurous journey (hiking and camping outdoors).

For some, like GHS 11th grader Makil Adderley, the adventurous journey is the fun part. But the hiking component came with chal-

QUEEN’S College students check the route. lenges. He said the Silver qualifying expedition was an experience in patience and tolerance. A student athlete and an “outdoorsy” type, he had to slow his pace to accommodate other members from his unit.

“Some people couldn’t walk as fast as me. Some had heavier bags,” he said. “We had to balance that out. I had to let them catch themselves.

It’s about teamwork. You’re only as strong as your weakest link so we had to work together.”

It was a similar experience for Ashton Cleare, a 10th grader at C R Walker.

“We had some group members who were straggling all the way in the back. Do you know what it is to sit down and wait for your other group members and keep a pleasant attitude when they finally arrive?” he asked.

“This taught me patience.”

Although the expeditions are not timed, unit leaders say campers race to arrive early to choose the best spots to pitch their tents. Additionally, less time spent hiking, leaves more time for socialising.

One hundred and fifteen participants and 14 leaders

ABOVE: Nassau Christian Academy was one of eight units taking part.

RIGHT: Participants from A F Adderley and C R Walker on Andros. from eight units - A F Adderley, Aquinas, C R Walker, C V Bethel, Government High, Nassau Christian Academy, Queen’s College and St John’s College - spent last weekend covering 30 miles for those pursuing a Silver Award and 50 miles for those on a Gold practice hike. The three-day, twonight expedition saw the group depart Nassau early on Friday, aboard the Bahamas Fast Ferries vessel, Sea Wind. Arriving in Fresh Creek on Friday afternoon the contingent stopped at Captain Bill’s Blue Hole before trekking through the Bahamas National Trust Park. Unit leaders admit night hiking undeniably test your skills as well as your nerves.

“It was pitch-black all you could hear was the chickcharnie coming,” said a halfjesting, Clint Johnson, a 12th grader at Aquinas College pursuing a Silver Award.

“We saw some things crawling around on the ground.

We jumped a couple times.

We shouted and blew the whistle to make sure we were going the right way, but we had fun though. When we arrived at the camp site we were too happy. We had to work together to accomplish our goal.”

The contingent arrived at Ball’s Campsite around 9pm. After a cold night hunkered down on the forest floor, they broke camp early on Saturday.

In 11 groups of four to seven participants they trekked to Central Andros High, covering miles of dusty roads amid monotonous pine landscape with backpacks weighing between 20 to 30 per cent of their body weight.

“This weekend tested us,” said Nassau Christian Academy twelfth grader, Tye Forbes. “But I was confident in myself and my group members that we did the right map work and were on the right path.” He credits the programme with imbuing him with a sense of commitment to himself and others.

“Before, I used to quit many things. I used to play soccer. I quit that. I used to play tennis, but I didn’t like to pick up the tennis balls, so I quit that, but after a talk from my dad and joining GGYA I started pushing myself to see things through,” said the Silver Award level participant. “In your group you have your role and your weight to carry. You can’t quit. You’ll let the whole group down.”

An intense and dynamic first-hand education, GGYA’s adventurous journey components have allowed participants like Aquinas College’s Sha-na Rolle and Kevette Todd, of CV Bethel High School, experience life

FOUR Aquinas College participants.

THE EXPEDITION gets the thumbs up from two adventurers.

A QUARTET from Government High School.

in other parts of the Bahamas.

“I had never been on a Family Island until I joined GGYA. This is the second island I’ve been to with the programme,” said Rolle, an 11th grader who completed her Bronze qualifying expedition in Eleuthera. “I got to see just how beautiful the Bahamas is, the pink sand from Eleuthera and now seeing a blue hole in Andros.”

Todd, a 12th grader, is a Gold level participant. Her

first Family Island trip was also her first experience on a boat.

“GGYA provides a very interactive experience filled with unique opportunities,” she said.

“I’ve always heard persons talk about GGYA. I wanted to experience it for myself so it was the first programme I joined when I reached grade 10. Every hike I think, ‘Why?!’ The feeling of accomplishment after, that’s what keeps pushing me.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 2, 2017, PAGE 13

SAVE THE BAYS YOUTH ENVIRONMENT AMBASSADORS STUDY CORAL REEF REGENERATION ON a recent Saturday, off a stretch of beach with sand so fine and waters so sparkling it could be the iconic Instagram image, dozens of young Bahamians were hard at work.

Members of the Youth Environment Ambassadors (YEA), a programme funded and operated by Save The Bays, were learning that sometimes what man takes away, humankind can make good again – they were witnessing that even with fragile coral reefs, there can be new life.

The YEAs were learning about and observing the reef ball initiative at Paradise Cove Beach Resort, Grand Bahama. Reef balls, made of a highly porous concrete and silica, are the most effective design module for artificial reefs and provide a safe, ecofriendly home for sustainable marine life. Hundreds of thousands of reef balls, each capable of producing up to 500 pounds of biomass a year, are deployed in 70 countries, not only attracting marine life they were designed for, but the adoption programmes funding the regrowth of endangered corals.

Barry Smith, who spearheads the Grand Bahama reef ball project, told the youth environment ambassadors that thanks to funding through the adopt-a-reef initiative, the local programme has entered its second phase, rescuing and, where practical or feasible, replanting endangered reefs.

“This is all about coral rescue and replanting and requires harvesting imperiled coral that would be at risk of death within the next 12 months and planting them in a cement plug and transplanting the coral on the reef balls so that they can grow

CLASS ACT – Youth Environment Ambassadors, a program funded and operated by Save The Bays, includes formal academics and hands-on experiences. YEAs meet every other Saturday for four months and those who qualify in knowledge and leadership at the end of each series graduate with a certificate in environmental stewardship. and flourish,” he said.

YEA Coordinator Rashema Ingraham said seeing something that faced destruction but could be saved and regenerated inspired hope on many levels.

“Over the past three years, the YEA programme has exposed young Bahamians to the good, the bad and the ugly of the environment,” Ms Ingraham said. “But of all the projects we have seen, studied or helped, the reef ball programme is likely the most exciting because it demonstrates that even as we watch our own reefs get swallowed up by dredging that should never be allowed, or by careless anchoring by boaters or as reefs die off from natural causes, there is hope. We humans have a role to play in creating artificial reefs and funding removal of endangered reefs and replanting. It’s long, it’s tedious but it works and that is what is critical. Learning that you really can create a living artificial reef that attracts hundreds of marine animals and where they can thrive has to be the very top of the top of the good.”

The YEA programme is so popular that the demand to participate far outweighs the number of spots available.

Classes are held every other Saturday for four months with academics followed by field studies and hands-on experiences.

“Since its inception, the YEA programme has opened the eyes of more than 200 young Bahamians.

They have trekked through wetlands, studied industrial waste management, learned about renewable energy and spent hours exploring underwater life,” said Save The Bays Chairman Joe Darville. “These young men and women have the awesome task of becoming the future stewards of our environment and this programme has sensitised them to how delicate the balance is and what it will take to ensure the beauty and majesty of this country is preserved for future generations.”

REEF RELIEF: Barry Smith, left, shows participants in Youth Environment Ambassadors how reef balls work to attract marine life. Smith is with Paradise Cove in Grand Bahama which spearheaded the island’s adopt-a-reef program. Hundreds of thousands of reef balls are deployed off the coasts of some 70 countries and are believed to be the best and most effective artificial reef design. Funding for the program also provides the means to dissect sections of endangered reefs and replant them in protected areas.

PAGE 14, Thursday, March 2, 2017

MINISTRY GIVES 90 YOUNG PEOPLE A ‘FRESH START’ NINETY young people have been given a new lease on life and start intense training this week with the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture’s Fresh Start Programme.

For the next four months, participants, ages 17 to 25, will be engrossed in a training schedule that includes skills training, Bahama Host, inter-personal skills and more. They will have the opportunity to be placed into the public and private workforce on an internship. Most past participants received full term employment upon successful completion of the programme, making it one of the most successful programmes of the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture (MYSC).

This year, MYSC sent out 820 applications and received 600 completed applications. All 600 applicants were interviewed, leading to 90 young persons being chosen for the programme.

“This is one of the ministry’s signature programmes; it answers the question employers have put before us - are young people really ready for the workforce?” said Carla Brown-Roker, Fresh Start Programme coordinator.

“Many of them lack employable skills - soft skills and hard skills. Since 1993 (when the programme began), this programme has blossomed over the years and in the last several years, we have ushered in skills training through institutions.”

Fresh Start was once just a job readiness programme, but Mrs Brown-Roker said MYSC found that the young people needed to be given skills that would allow them to be assigned directly to a workplace after training.

Participating institutions include the University of The Bahamas, Synergy Bahamas, BTVI, Full Scope Vision, Coaters of the Caribbean, and Bahamas Institute of Business Technology, formerly Success Training College.

Synergy Bahamas is of-

DIRECTOR of Youth K Darron Turnquest.

fering office procedures and receptionist training courses, as well as Microsoft Office Excel and Word.

Kenneth McPhee of Full Scope Vision will lead mixology classes, while Coaters of the Caribbean offers a butler programme for the hospitality industry.

Bahama Host, skills training and personal development, will continue until the final three weeks when they are sent to internship.

“Seminars are held every Friday and we are preparing the participants to be able to answer what employers say are lacking in young applicants; which is an absence of the soft skills and actual skills,” said Mrs Brown-Roker.

“Soft skills include being responsible, considerate, being honest, being respectful of others and authority, and taking initiative. Very often if a young person is given a chance for employment you find that the slightest thing causes them to lose the job and when we track it, we find it comes under areas of soft skills such as not calling in sick or communicating properly with the company.”

“It was a golden opportu-

nity for youth division because we can assist them in improving their current situation, and helping them to secure another job because many of them have already received training and just needed work as soon as possible,” she added.

“Every single applicant can be connected or be assisted in some form.”

Fresh Start is also being held in Grand Bahama and is slated to begin in the Family Islands in the near future.

THE TRIBUNE

JONICO PRATT, spoken word artist, delivers a stirring motivational poem to Fresh Start participants, while Senior Youth Officer Ingris Sears-Deveaux, who presided over the opening ceremony, looks on.

All Photos: Felicity Ingraham

CARLA Brown-Roker, Fresh Start coordinator, converses with a Synergy Bahamas representative.

KENNETH and Keisha McPhee of Full Scope Vision, programme trainers.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that STACY LUBIN of Shirley Street, P.O. Box 19013, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 2nd day of March, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

FORMER Fresh Start participant Charles Seymour came to share advice on how to keep a job after the programme.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 2, 2017, PAGE 15

LOCAL Boy Charters guests on the Wahoo in Hope Town, Abaco.

KEEP checking the Bahamas Sport Fishing Network (BSFN) expert page for fishing reports throughout the Bahamas: this will be helpful in tracking the “hot spots” and providing advice on gear and fishing methods being used.

For a sample of the spectacular fishing to be had in The Bahamas, expert advice, tournament dates and results, informative features and photo galleries visit the BSFN page at tribune242.com or www.bsfn.biz or on Facebook - Bahamas Sport Fishing Network.

BSFN slideshows can be found on USA Today’s website in the Travel section at experience.usatoday.com.

A BIG Yelloweye Snapper taken by Team Fin Addict.

LOCAL boy Deek on the Yellowfin Tuna.

GUSTO Charters Captain Travis found a nice Black Grouper on Sunday.

CAPTAIN Tweedie, of Tweedie Deep Sea Fishing and Guide, on the Yellowfin Tuna near Eleuthera.