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VOLUME:114 No.73, MARCH 7TH, 2017

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WOMAN: WALKING IN PARADISE TO SUPPORT CANCER CRUSADERS

Smoked out Residents facing a week out of Jubilee Gardens homes

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

RESIDENTS in Jubilee Gardens will have to wait at least five to seven days before the evacuation order is lifted and they are “safely” allowed to return their homes, Minister of Environment Kenred Dorsett said yesterday.

At a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister on Monday, Mr Dorsett said firefighters do not expect the fire at the New Providence Landfill to be extinguished for another five to seven days.

He said firefighters are battling two different types of fires, one at the landfill and a forest fire in the surrounding areas.

Residents in Jubilee Gardens were forced to evacuate their homes on Sunday after a massive fire at the landfill blanketed the community in thick, black hazardous smoke. On Sunday, the fire also threatened some homes in the area, however overnight reports indicated that no houses were burned or destroyed.

When The Tribune arrived on the scene yesterday, the visibility in some parts of the community was still very poor.

The fire also spread overnight, according to Fire Services Chief, Superintendent Walter Evans, who said the blaze threatened several buildings on Fire Trail Road, including one farm contain-

FIREFIGHTERS work to tackle a forest fire near the landfill yesterday.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

ing around 60 to 80 pigs, and fire fighters had to create a barrier around a gas company on Gladstone Road to prevent an explosion.

The fire also crept into the yard at Aquinas College high school on Sunday night but was extinguished before any damage could be done.

The school is closed until further notice.

“I want to advise the people of The Bahamas of the two major obstacles we are having because of the dry weather,” Mr Dorsett said.

SEE PAGE THREE

THE ONGOING fire in the areas of Gladstone Road and the landfill last night.

PM: MISTAKES MADE FOR YEARS OVER LANDFILL

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie said mistakes have been made for “over a generation” when it comes to handling solid waste material at the New Providence Landfill, adding yesterday that he will now play a direct role in his government’s newest effort to address the problem.

His comment came during a press conference at his office where he and other officials discussed the New Providence Landfill fire that has forced nearby families to evacuate as authorities struggle to deal with its unprecedented scope.

Amid talk about the government’s ongoing process to select a partner to manage the landfill, Mr Christie was asked to reflect on his administration’s initial attempt this term to address the issue, namely, its agreement with Renew Bahamas, the company that pulled out of its contract with the government less than three years into their partnership, citing numerous challenges.

Critics of the administration have found fault with the government’s landfill policies in the wake of the SEE PAGE FIVE

‘THIS IS THE WORST IT HAS EVER BEEN’

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

“THIS is the worst it has ever been,” residents in Jubilee Gardens told The Tribune yesterday as toxic smoke continued to blanket the community, making conditions unlivable and forcing residents to relocate temporarily.

The massive blaze that started in bushes behind Fire Trail Road and spread quickly to the New Providence Landfill and surrounding areas on Sunday moved into its second day of burning with no end in sight.

Hundreds of residents were forced to evacuate after the smoke made areas impassible and the air unfit for breathing.

SEE PAGE SIX

GOVT: SARKIS MISLEADING PUBLIC OVER BAHA MAR

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunmedia.net

THE government yesterday accused former Baha Mar developer Sarkis

Izmirlian of misleading the public with inaccurate, unpatriotic and unsubstantiated claims in a bid to conceal his failures and detract from current progress.

Mr Izmirlian’s company

BMD Holdings issued a press release on Sunday that criticised completion efforts, accused the government of spreading misinformation about the resort’s progress, and

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

insisted that alleged set backs evidenced the ex-developer’s proposal was superior to the government’s track.

SEE PAGE SIX

PAGE 2, Tuesday, March 7, 2017

THE ONGOING fire in the areas of Gladstone Road and the landfill last night.

THE TRIBUNE

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

FIREFIGHTERS in the Jubilee Gardens area yesterday.

FIREFIGHTERS at work tackling the blaze yesterday.

BLACK smoke from a fire beyond Aquinas College in a junk yard filled with old cars.

LESLIE MILLER, the MP for Pine Hills, speaking alongside Prime Minister Perry Christie at a press conference yesterday.

AQUINAS COLLEGE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE THE Catholic Board of Education (CBE) has advised that as a result of the ongoing fire at the New Providence Landfill, Aquinas College will remain closed until further notice.

Aquinas College did not open yesterday.

CBE is in contact with the relevant authorities and will continue to monitor the situation carefully, a statement from the board said.

“The Catholic Board of Education’s main objective is to ensure that our students, administrators and

teachers return to safe and healthy school environments that are conducive to teaching and learning,” CBE said.

The group urged parents to listen to local radio stations and refer to the school’s website for updates.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, March 7, 2017, PAGE 3

Financial aid is considered for residents hit by blaze

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE government is “very seriously considering” providing financial assistance to residents who have been adversely affected by the massive blaze at the New Providence Landfill, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced yesterday.

At a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Christie said damage assessments have started and the government will do “whatever it takes” to ensure that residents who have been afflicted by the fire “are returned to sense of normalcy in the shortest time period”.

This includes, but is not limited to, painting homes that have been discoloured, as well as deodorising and repairing roofs or structures that were damaged by the fire.

Residents in Jubilee Gardens were forced to evacuate their homes on Sunday after a massive fire at the landfill blanketed the community and surrounding areas in thick, black hazardous smoke.

The Tribune understands

that two homes received minor fire damage, but no one was seriously hurt during the blaze.

“With respect to the discomfort and danger faced by the residents of Jubilee and the other residents affected, the government of The Bahamas must obviously make an assessment on the impact of individual families and individual homes both from the point of view of help and if they have been affected, the extent of which they have been affected,” Mr Christie said.

“To the extent that premises were affected, whether discolouration as a result of the smoke, whether inside fumigation, what we would want to do and to give very serious consideration to making that assessment and having the ministry co-ordinate an effective restitution, restoration process by way of assisting the residents to normalcy. Meaning getting in there and whatever remediation process that should be initiated inside of the home, to restore it to what it should be.

“Even with respect to painting outside the home

if that has been affected.

The government will in fact involve itself in that process to ameliorate the situation for people and to bring them as quickly as possible back home,” Mr Christie said.

“It is with that kind of possible commitment that would be based on the assessment that is underway.

The government will take further steps to ensure that the families that are affected will have some form of restoration back to normalcy.”

Minister of the Environment Kenred Dorsett echoed the prime minister’s sentiments and said that assessments are underway and should be completed shortly.

“We want to be able to provide relief to the residents of Jubilee and Victoria Gardens particularly when it comes to deodorising those homes to make sure that the smoke is contained,” Mr Dorsett said.

“There are some homes we believe may have limited damage from the fire, some of them have been blackened already and so we will do a comprehensive assessment.”

“We are fighting a fire at the dump site and we are fighting a forest fire that requires a different specialty and a different approach.

“We will probably be experiencing smoke for the next five to seven days. That is how long it will take to put this out. It will not be an easy fix and while we will be

bringing thousands of loads of fill, there will be smoke emanating from the area for at least five to seven days.

“We are still not recommending people return to their homes in Jubilee Gardens. The wind changes direction throughout the course of the day but from what I have seen I do

not think the changed their far in terms in their homes,” said.

RESIDENTS FACING A WEEK OUT OF JUBILEE GARDENS HOMES

FIREFIGHTERS tackling a fire in woodland yesterday.

NO WASTE DELIVERIES TO DUMP SITE UNTIL AT LEAST WEDNESDAY

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE New Providence Landfill will be closed to incoming waste until at least Wednesday, Environment and Housing Minister Kenred Dorsett said yesterday.

Waste collectors are advised not to bring waste to the site until further notice following the large fire at the dump, which officials said spread to the landfill from a nearby area.

“Temporary facilities where 20 or so bins (will be made available) for emergency situations only will be used,” Mr Dorsett said, asking the public to bear with the problem.

“We cannot bring new waste because it would only exacerbate the problem and extend the time we want to use to control the smoke,” he said at a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister.

Yesterday, Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin said at least 13 families in the Tall Pines constituency were evacuated from their

homes and received temporary accommodations at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium following the fire, which started on Sunday.

Those families represented 54 people, comprising 34 adults and 20 children, she said. Temporary accommodation will be made available on a first come, first served basis.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez said no medical emergencies occurred as a result of the fire, although there were reports of the Princess Margaret Hospital being overwhelmed by people who inhaled smoke.

“This incident went by very smoothly,” Dr Gomez said. “There were no serious illnesses as a result of the fire. No one was admitted to the hospital because of the fire. There were people there with anxiety and raised blood pressure as a result of that.”

Prime Minister Perry Christie said assessments must be made to determine what other health-related monitoring is required by people who may have come into contact with the fire.

police have advise thus returning to Mr Dorsett

Threat Superintendent Evans said while the landfill fire does not remain a threat for the people in Jubilee Gar-

PRIME Minister Perry Christie pictured yesterday. dens, the smoke has grown overnight and there is also a concern with “flying embers.”

“This is not a one- or two-day operation,” the Fire Services chief said. “If people believe this fire is going to be extinguished in one day that is not the case.

“Our strategy was to ensure homes were not destroyed and that worked well for us. We understand that people work hard for their homes and now that the threat of fire has been minimised, we now have to address the smoke concern and there has been some improvement.

“The colour of the smoke has changed from the dark colour to the light colour which indicates that some progress has been made,” Supt Evans said. “The homes are no longer under the heavy threat of fire. We had fires in the vicinity of Aquinas College and also the Bahamas Youth Camp but efforts were made to extinguish these fires. We also had smoke travel a quarter

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff mile past the (Department of) Customs warehouse.

TEMPORARY MOVE The physical flames on the FOR INLAND REVENUE landfill have spread to a wider area and we are using THE fire at the New our resources to ensure we Providence Landfill has provide relief to the resicaused the temporary dents.” relocation of the DepartSupt Evans reiterated that ment of Inland Revenue’s the fire did not start at the Gladstone Freight TermiNew Providence Landfill. nal (GFT) office to the Officials believe the masmain office at The Shops sive blaze started as a bush at Carmichael, Carmifire off Fire Trail Road. chael Road.

He said the high winds The GFT will operate have contributed to the normal business hours. rapid spread of the fire and For more information call fire fighters are battling (242) 461-8050 or the Call “Mother Nature” as well as Centre at (242) 225-7280. the blaze.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, March 7, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

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Dump fires are too dangerous to trust to foreigners THE current Christie administration rose to power on a theme of Bahamians first but when it comes to appointing people and awarding contracts, the track record has been anything but Bahamians first.

The reality is that foreigners have been hired for nearly everything, from creating a Stronger Bahamas to providing legal counsel for the government itself.

Now the Prime Minister has a real problem on his hands and we believe the time has come to let Bahamians prove they can solve it.

The problem is that the dump is on fire, not for the first time. The dump on Harrold Road has been burning off and on for decades, but Sunday’s blaze fuelled by high winds was among the worst. On the ground, residents of Jubilee Gardens and Flamingo Gardens were scurrying and fleeing in panic, searching for safer ground just to be able to breathe, some tragically leaving pets behind. Volunteers tried to reach the elderly who could not escape the billowing, choking smoke on their own. Rescues bordered on heroic.

The scene was one of terror.

People who left with nothing but the clothes on their back wondered what they would come home to at the end of the day or however many days it would take until they could return. Many left with little but the hope that their homes would not be scarred beyond repair by smoke damage. If they lost everything because a dump had been mismanaged for decades, where would they live? What would they do? They left in a hurry filled with fear and trepidation.

That was the scene on the ground.

In the air, incoming flights with hundreds of passengers aboard were not simply shocked at seeing what looked like an island on fire. They could have been in danger. Landings were compromised and difficult with large commercial jets having to crab just before landing to put down safely because of the gusting, high winds. Pilots could be heard radioing air traffic control pleading with them to open Runway 9 that had been closed for more than a week (maybe longer) for repairs.

Pilots who could barely see through the thick, billowing, black smoke were being forced to land on a runway that would have been difficult even with full visibility because of the wind direction.

Nearly crosswind landings with winds coming straight at the side of an aircraft are dangerous at best. Crosswind or broadside landings under extremely poor visibility are far riskier than any pilot wants to experience. One small plane skidded off the runway, causing the airport to close for about an hour at midday on a busy Sunday. Another plane bounced back up before landing safely.

Commercial airline pilots pleaded but to no avail.

We do not have enough information to

address the problems with Runway 9. But we do know there are solutions for the dump.

A local group who have spent their lives dealing with trash and waste management have come together to form a consortium to manage the dump and convert it into a proper landfill. They represent companies with a total of hundreds of staff members committed to the Bahamas. Many of those staff members live in the very areas impacted by underground fires that explode in recurrent blazes and choking smoke at the dump.

The companies who are forming the consortium have the wisdom to do what needs to be done and they should be given the opportunity. This is the business they have been in and are in today. They use the dump daily. Their livelihoods depend upon its smooth operation. Further, they have the willingness to do it and they are not going anywhere else if things don’t work out. Unlike the last two foreign companies brought in, they will not sell out to another company weeks after a contract is awarded and then desert the dump and vanish because it is too tough a job or does not generate the kind of revenue they were hoping.

Bahamian companies will be in it for the long haul. One of the companies is publicly held and Bahamian shareholders could participate depending upon the business plan.

The Prime Minister knows he has to get the dump problem solved before Baha Mar opens. Photos like those that appeared in both daily newspapers yesterday could drive away business as fast as threats of terrorism. Business that goes away is a lot harder to win back than new business is to lure. We believe the solution is right in front of his eyes if only he will open them to see that Bahamian companies can achieve and perform with expertise.

We urge the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Environment to prove Bahamians first and let the Bahamian consortium take over the dump effective immediately, allowing for that consortium to bring in any other foreign expertise, should they deem it necessary, to assist with a remediation programme. There is precedent for this. In Grand Bahama, the landfill is so clean it is said you can eat lunch at the site and, though foreignowned, the Grand Bahama landfill is fully managed and operated by Bahamians.

If they can do it in the Second City, why not the First? Surely the Prime Minister cares about the health of those on the ground, the safety of those in the air.

Awarding a contract for the management of the Nassau dump to the local consortium is clearly the least expensive solution at hand, the most practical, the most promising and incidentally, allows the government to keep its promise. Bahamians first.

Clear the secrets, clear the doubts EDITOR, The Tribune.

BAHA Mar – does Cheng-Fook Enterprises own the property or…

Clear positive signs that finally we will see Baha Mar, however, there is no doubt many legal questions of ownership - Licensing who is employing have to be answered and not further shrouded in Court secrecy.

(1) To obtain a Hotel License you are required to show ownership.

(2) To obtain numerous Liquor Licenses you have to show ownership.

(3) To employ people your Company has to be registered and then registered at NIB. (4) To carry out business, which clearly the Bahamas company of Cheng-Fook are, you require as a foreign

company Central Bank approvals and Business Licences.

(5) Thousands of Bahamians are going to be or have already signed employment contracts - are they compliant with Bahamian law?

If all of the above are satisfied, then why does Justice Winder still hold the secrecy over the contracts?

What is being hidden?

I did notice the numerous notices liquidating numerous Sarkis Izmirlian companies related to Baha Mar which means I presume what they owned has been transferred to someone or does it?

Every resident and Bahamian prays that finally after almost 19 years this jinxed project will rise like a phoenix and be a success, but ...

unsavoury.

Did you see Fox Business last week? I would certainly suggest to Graeme Davis to tone down the clichés and hyperbole, Baha Mar has a long way to get level with their primary competitor Atlantis. The public needs to check SLS group ... unsavoury I suggest.

If Cheng-Fook Enterprises are in full ownership no contracts - no Heads of Agreement should be held in secrecy. The Opposition has the obligation to insist they are made public. What has Christie to hide?

He did achieve a remarkable achievement, but there is this secrecy. Transparency kills allegations, sir.

T MURPHY Nassau, March 6, 2017.

The Privy Council Mimic Men EDITOR, The Tribune.

IN 1967 Trinidadian Nobel Laureate V. S. Naipaul published his brilliant novel, The Mimic Men, which wove a sad narrative about the colonial mindset embedded in many of those colonised by the British.

The protagonist in this fictional story is a politician from a small island in the Caribbean educated in Britain who returns home, finds fame and fortune only to run afoul after a coup and is ostracised back to England. He has an identity crisis. Mimicking the British becomes a means of survival.

After watching the parade of our legal elites fawn and gush over a group of judges from England who got to spend a week in the sunshine away from the cold and damp of London’s winter, I couldn’t help but feel that mimicry is how we convince ourselves that we are doing a good job.

This was not the first time that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, a construct of Monarchy that serves, admittedly reluctantly, as our final court of appeal, has met here.

About a decade ago they were invited here for what was their first ever sitting outside of London.

With all the fuss and bother that our legal luminaries exerted over them you would think that Her Majesty the Queen herself was in fact presiding over the sittings.

It was nauseating to see.

Undoubtedly, it cost us taxpayers a pretty penny of VAT money. For starters, since the government invited them here are we to assume that the government picked up the tab for their premium cabin flights, room and board and sustenance?

And there was no pub lunch for these Lords. Oh no, we splashed out for a black tie dinner on Paradise Island that must have

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net set the Treasury back tens of thousands of dollars for meals and fancy drinks alone. All the while the Chief Justice is begging for money to fix broken copying machines, leaky roofs in his courthouses and to hire a few more staff. No VAT money for that.

What was particularly amusing was that the President of the Court of Appeal, Dame Anita Allen, a learned woman with serious credentials, could not see the irony of sitting with her fellow Bahamian justices in her court bedecked in ceremonial wig and gown (in this heat) all the while welcoming her unrobed guests who appeared quite relaxed in the more appropriate coat and tie.

We in the former colonies tend to mimic the symbols and the trappings of the former colonial masters, long after they have abandoned them. The Brits realized back in 2011 that they had to modernize everything from the monarchy, to their parliament and ultimately their courts. Only in criminal cases are English judges and lawyers required to wear robes and wigs.

The Privy Council meets in the Supreme Court Building in Parliament Square in London. This is a stately heritage site dating back to 1912. It drips pomp and circumstance.

But if you go inside to where the Law Lords actually hear appeals, including those referred from the Bahamas (they don’t hear cases from the UK), you find a more relaxed atmosphere.

The judges there don’t don wigs and gowns. They wear business suits, as do the lawyers who plead before them.

Sprawled on the carpet in front of their bench is the ancient motto of England.

In old French (the official

language of England at the time) the judges look down on the words “Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense”. Translated it means “Shame on him who thinks evil of it”.

You’ll find this inscribed on everything from the British coat of arms to their passports.

Fittingly, as they dispensed with the full regalia of a bygone era, the Lords seem to have thrown down a gauntlet that they don’t care what anyone thinks of their relaxed protocol.

If only we could say the same for their Bahamian hosts who spared no expense to impress the more casual Brits. Perry Christie stopped what he was doing (campaigning) to meet with them. Hubert Ingraham showed up for the big black tie dinner in their honour.

Perhaps, as lawyers, they were obliged to show their respect to the High Court.

But a more casual affair out on a verandah by the sea in front of palm trees, with soft rake ’n scape in the background would have been more appropriate.

And conch fritters, grouper cutlets, cracked lobster and goombay punch would have been more authentic -- and less expensive.

Just maybe, instead of mimicking what the British used to do, we could start our own legal tradition of dispensing justice in a dignified but less formal manner.

While they are at it, our best and brightest legal minds could come up with a compelling case to ditch the Privy Council and finally embrace the Caribbean Court of Justice. I believe that you will find unanimous agreement for such a move from the now tanned, wined and dined Law Lords who will have stories to tell of the mimic men and women they met in the “colony” this winter.

THE GRADUATE Nassau, March 5, 2017.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, March 7, 2017, PAGE 5

McCARTNEY URGES RESIDENTS TO SUE THE GOVERNMENT

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney yesterday called for people adversely affected by dump fires to launch a “class action suit” against the Christie administration for its “failure” to adequately remediate the recurrent fires at the New Providence Landfill.

Mr McCartney, a strong proponent for the remediation of the Harold Road dumpsite, also lamented the “travesty” that was Sunday’s massive fire, charging that with the various options available to the Progressive Liberal Party to deal with the matter, “this should not have been a question today.”

Mr McCartney also criticised successive governments, but particularly the Free National Movement (FNM), for failing to utilise the $23.5m it borrowed from the Inter-American

Development Bank (IDB) in 1999 to implement a solid waste disposal project in New Providence and 10 Family Islands.

He also criticised the Christie administration for its inaction over a $650m Stellar Energy waste-to-energy proposal, charging that “had that contract come to fruition, we would not be having this dump problem today”.

On Sunday, Jubilee Gardens residents were forced to evacuate their homes after a massive blaze broke out at the city dump, sending plumes of choking smoke billowing over parts of New Providence. Police have said that fire started at another location and later spread to the landfill.

On Sunday afternoon, fire chief, Superintendent Walter Evans reported that some residents had already sought medical attention from smoke inhalation. He also said there was an excess of 20 to 30 homes in nearby areas that were threatened

by the blaze, however no homes have been destroyed by the fire.

Voicing his disdain during a press conference at his law office on Village Road yesterday, Mr McCartney referred to the FNM’s failures after receiving the multi-million dollar grant from the IDB in the late 1990s to alleviate the ordeal.

At the time, then Finance Minister William Allen said the total cost of the solid waste disposal project was $33.5m; the $10m difference was to be government counterpart funding.

In particular, the project promised to provide a hazardous waste disposal site adjacent to the Harold Road landfill, institutional support for the agency executing the disposal and an environmental health education and awareness programme. The project also promised to provide for disposal facilities in Abaco, Andros, Bimini, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Great Exuma, Grand Bahama, Inagua,

Long Island and San Salvador, according to The Tribune’s archives.

According to IDB officials, certain “public policy recommendations” were issued as a result of that project, which included “financial sustainability of a landfill, environmental sustainability, and raising awareness of education among Bahamians of the importance of proper solid waste management.”

“Nothing was done,” Mr McCartney said yesterday.

“The Bahamian people are paying back that loan and to date have paid in excess of $15m with no results.

You and I pay that loan back today, and what do we have? A dump that’s burning, people are getting sick, people have to evacuate the homes, businesses have to close. That’s what we got, for the $35m. Where did the $35m go?

“I’m pointing fingers because I have to help pay that money back. Just like we want to know where the

VAT money gone under the PLP, I want to know where the $35m gone under the FNM.” The city dump has been plagued with recurring fires for years. Renew Bahamas was engaged by the government in 2014 to manage the landfill and help address the matter.

However, Renew Bahamas pulled out of that deal last year claiming low profitability. The government has still not clarified the circumstances surrounding Renew’s withdrawal.

“Every year this time the dump burns,” Mr McCartney said. “This ain’t nothing new. But you had all the PLP ministers and Prime Minister out there (on Sunday) scratching their head like they lost, lost as the day is long. The PLP has done nothing in relation to remediating or fixing this dump.”

He added: “Couple months ago when the dump was burning, I put out a call from this office for a class action suit against the gov-

ernment. I reiterate that call again. Persons have lost their homes, persons are having health issues, as a matter of fact the values of the homes are being devalued tremendously.

“So I go back to that call that I made months ago for a class action suit against this government for those persons who have been affected by the dump.”

Last April, FNM Tall Pines candidate and attorney Donald Saunders said several residents of that community were planning to take legal action against the government and “whatever parties necessary” as a result of the recurrent fires at the landfill site.

Additionally, residents expressed their frustration to The Tribune about the frequent fires at the time, with one person outlining her plans to leave the country to avoid struggling with major health issues brought on as a result of heavy smoke in western New Providence.

Minnis: My FNM will deal with landfill site problems

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday admitted that he is not at all pleased with the way the former FNM administration handled the legacy problem of the New Providence Landfill.

However, he contended that the brunt of the burden should be laid at the feet of the current Christie administration for not being able to alleviate the situation.

While insisting that the FNM he now leads is fully prepared to address the issue of recurring fires at the city dump, Dr Minnis on Monday said he would be the first to admit he was “not happy with how it was dealt with” in the past.

He was referring to how past FNM administrations, led by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, handled substantial grant funding provided to the Bahamas by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) in the mid to late 1990s.

Dr Minnis spoke to reporters at the entrance of the Jubilee Gardens Subdivision, flanked by his party’s Mount Moriah candidate Marvin Dames and Tall Pines candidate Don Saunders.

“It was a matter that was

being dealt with, but obviously not to our satisfaction,” stated the Killarney MP. “I would admit that and we still have the issue, so we have to deal with it appropriately and have more accountability as we move forward.”

He added: “That is why you see I have these (new candidates) here. So as one moves on, you have continuity and a complete understanding.”

Clarifying the point of IDB funding, Dr Minnis stated that financing provided was to be used to construct plants throughout the Bahamas and not just one modern facility in New Providence.

Despite his assertions on the matter and attempts to distance himself from the previous FNM administrations, Dr Minnis stopped short of clarifying what happened to millions of dollars granted to the Bahamian government of that time.

When pressed on the issue, Dr Minnis said the focus should be on the Christie administration currently serving the Bahamian people, adding that the government’s lack of effort over the last five years should anger residents in proximity of the landfill.

“The problem is still not resolved. So once problems have not been resolved,

would you be happy? No I am not happy.”

Dr Minnis continued: “Be assured that the FNM will resolve this issue. You cannot repeatedly have fires in the area; the residents, the quality of their life deteriorating and the residents continuously exposed to this.”

Dr Minnis said once elected, his government would not spare any expense to resolve the issues at the dump, asserting that the “long-term” plans being considered by his party would address the dump.

“The dumpsite, you cannot approach it just dealing with a few episodes. You must have long-term planning.

“But the long-term planning cannot just be at the dumpsite itself, the longterm planning must be at the educational level and must also begin at the home so that you are separating materials so that you can commence recycling.

“There are certain collection of garbage that should not be a part of the dumpsite and that is a part of educational, separation and recycling, so we will have to move into those areas and we are prepared to do it.

“We are not looking at cost, cost is one thing but life is another and to me, life and quality of life is much more important than cost,” Dr Minnis said.

PM: MISTAKES MADE FOR YEARS OVER LANDFILL from page one

recent fire, highlighting the Renew Bahamas experience.

“The reason why I am now engaged in the matter is because I need to have clearly a coordinated and integrated approach to the right set of decisions being made,” Mr Christie said.

“Clearly as a government we have an obligation to our citizenry to learn from mistakes that have been made in the past and over a whole generation mistakes have been made with respect to solid waste. We have a real challenge because we’re an island nation and as we grapple with New Providence we must bear in mind that the growing sophistication of destinations like Bimini, Harbour Island in itself feeding North Eleuthera, Exuma, that there is going to be a requirement for effective management of solid waste disposal sites in these islands and we cannot tarry any longer with respect to having a management team with expertise and resources under contract by way of partnership with us because the challenge for this country is that we have to duplicate resources in all the islands where our people live.

“You can anticipate therefore that I shall be directly involved with the minister in moving this process very quickly to a con-

clusion,” Mr Christie said.

For his part, Environment and Housing Minister Kenred Dorsett defended the government’s Renew Bahamas decision - even saying he viewed the partnership as a success.

“When we ventured into the relationship with Renew we indicated that it was a pilot project,” Mr Dorsett said, adding that the company’s service was provided “at no cost to the people of The Bahamas”.

“The National Energy Task Force, which was assembled by the prime minister when we were looking at the whole energy sector reform looked at the issue of waste-to energy,” he added.

“At the time government had over 67 unsolicited proposals for waste-to-energy.

That task force which was headed by my (Permanent Secretary) Camille Johnson and the Member of Parliament for Bamboo Town who was then the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Works (Renward Wells) made a recommendation that wasteto-energy would not be something that they would recommend the government look at but we needed immediate attention to recycling and remediation of the landfill.

“Renew was selected out of that process and by and large we feel that the project was very success-

ful,” Mr Dorsett continued. “Indeed, throughout the Caribbean region they commended us for being the country that created the first large scale commercial material for recycling facility. But with the fire that then consumed that MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) a few years ago, things went downhill for Renew.

And as they admitted to the public, their fiscal regime was not which allowed them to sustain itself.”

Renew Bahamas was awarded its contract without the government putting out a public tender via a specially designed request for proposal (RFP), a fact that drew criticism at the time the contract was awarded.

With respect to its newest effort to a solution to the landfill’s woes, Mr Dorsett said the administration is in discussions with a private company not only to execute a remediation plan prepared by the engineering firm Caribbean Coastal Services Ltd, but to also fund the scheme through a private public partnership.

“Whomever is selected, it’s going to be a two-fold approach: operations and remediation,” Mr Dorsett said. “The full scope of remediation is incredibly vast, obviously dealing with a 400-acre footprint of a landfill with some constructed cells and some dump areas.”

FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis speaking after conducting a follow-up assessment of Jubliee Gardens yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

NOTICE

TO FORMER EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYEES OF SOCIÉTÉ GENERALE PRIVATE BANKING (BAHAMAS) LTD. AND ITS RELEVANT SUBSIDIARIES

_______________________________________

Re:Surplus of Bahamas Group Employee Pension Fund (“Pension Fund”)

We, CIBC TRUST COMPANY (BAHAMAS) LIMITED, the Trustee of the Pension Fund, hereby give notice of the position of Former Employees (being those whose employment was terminated prior to 30th November 2016) and Employees (being those who remained employed on 30th November 2016, but not after that date) in relation to the surplus of the Pension Fund.

Former Employees, please be advised that, pursuant to sections 6 and 11.1 of the Pension Fund Plan Rules, you have received your full entitlement under the terms of the Pension Fund and are not entitled to further payment.

Employees, please be advised that you have received your initial entitlement under the terms of the Pension Fund and will be granted a share in the surplus of the Pension Fund, after the annual audit has been completed. Please note that the purposes of the audit are, inter alia, to account for all of the expenses incurred in the administration of the Pension Fund and to arrive at the correct figure representing the funds available for disbursement as surplus thereof. We assure you that we are making every effort to work with the auditors to expedite the completion of the audit. Accordingly, we ask for your continued patience and undertake to keep you updated as matters progress.

CIBC TRUST COMPANY (BAHAMAS) LIMITED Goodman’s Bay Corporate Centre West Bay Street P.O. Box N3933 Nassau, Bahamas Tel: 356-1800; Fax: 322 3692

PAGE 6, Tuesday, March 7, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

BLACK smoke pours from a fire beyond Aquinas College in a junkyard filled with old cars yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

‘This is the worst it has been’ from page one

The city dump has been plagued with recurring fires for a number of years, however many residents told The Tribune yesterday “it has never been this bad.”

Julie Johnson, an area resident for 12 years, said she never expected the smoke would “get this bad” and she cried when she was forced to leave her home not knowing what she would return to.

“Last night it was really, really bad, we evacuated around 3pm and we did expect it to get this bad,” she said on Monday. “This is the worst we have ever seen it. The smoke was horrible we couldn’t breathe.

“Thank God for (Tall Pines MP) Leslie Miller.

He was walking through telling everyone to evacu-

ate and helping people out, I must say Leslie and (his daughters) Leslia and Yasmin - they did an awesome job. When I came back this morning, I was crying to see the back yard. My back yard was on fire. I was so scared to think I was coming home to nothing; that is how bad it got. I am relieved that my house is still standing but this is horrible,” Ms Johnson said.

Another resident, Renna Hudson, said it is time for the residents to come together and demand change.

She said if the government cannot remove the dump, officials should condemn Jubilee Gardens and “buy the homes back” from affected persons.

“We evacuated Sunday night, my family and I. It has been horrible for many, many years. We have complained and nothing has

changed. My family has been admitted to hospital and has made several trips to the emergency room because of these same fires,” she said.

“This is the worst it has ever been. The people of Jubilee need to come together and let the government know, now is time. Do not come around because it is election time and you want my vote, Jubilee people need help. I can’t even put it into words, this is the worst I have ever seen it in Jubilee,” Ms Hudson added.

“Are we going to wait until people drop down dead? This is the time that everyone needs to come together and get it right.

This dump needs to be removed, if this is not removed then move Jubilee, shut Jubilee down. Condemn the homes, buy the

homes back from the people and allow the people to move,” she said.

Ingrid Forbes, a mother of four including a disabled son, said she was afraid to return home after evacuating on Sunday because she feared her entire house would be gone.

“This the worst I have ever seen it and I was very afraid to come home and find my house gone. It is still here but it is damaged,” she cried.

“I don’t even know what to say. I have been here 12 years and this is the worst.

I slept by my daughter and came home to my house partially burned. I cannot describe it. I tried to hose down my house, I hosed down the roof and then this big ball of flame came in my yard and I was afraid, I couldn’t see anything, this is the worst it

has ever been.”

Yesterday, Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin said at least 13 families in the Tall Pines constituency were evacuated from their homes and made to receive temporary accommodations at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

Those families represented 54 people, comprising 34 adults and 20 children, she said.

Temporary accommodation will be made available on a first come, first served basis.

Sunday’s massive fire spread overnight, according to Fire Services chief, Superintendent Walter Evans, who said the blaze threatened several buildings on Fire Trail Road and fire fighters had to create a barrier around a gas company on Gladstone Road to prevent an explosion.

However no homes have been destroyed from the fire, according to officials.

Renew Bahamas was engaged by the government in 2014 to manage the landfill and help address the matter of recurring fires, however the company ended its services in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

Since then, The Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG), a consortium of 10 Bahamian waste management groups, has submitted a proposal to take over the operations at the landfill. Prime Minister Perry Christie has confirmed that two companies, both Bahamian, have submitted bids to run the dump. Mr Christie, who toured the affected areas on Sunday, said the matter should be resolved shortly.

FIREFIGHTERS TACKLE HUGE BLAZE CLOSE TO HOMES IN FREEPORT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FIREMEN battled a massive forest fire in windy conditions for four hours yesterday afternoon to extinguish flames that came close to homes in a nearby Freeport subdivision.

Due to strong winds, flames spread quickly burning a large area of the forest from Balao Road to the west, near the junction of Sergeant Major Road and Settler’s Way. The fire also came close to the Sunrise Laundromat, across the street from the new $6 million state-of-the art fire station, which has almost been completed.

The cause of the fire is not known and investigations are underway into the incident.

According to reports, sometime around noon the fire department dispatched two units after receiving

calls from concerned residents in the Heritage Subdivision about a bush fire that was threatening homes in the area. Smoke caused poor visibility on Settler’s Way. By 4pm, the fire was contained.

According to an officer, the flames along the road were extinguished before the after school rush hour around 3pm.

“The way the wind was blowing to the west worked in our favour and sped up the (burning) process, and we were able to strategically deal with it,” said the officer.

While investigations are underway, fire officials are advising the public to refrain from burning trash on their property.

“We are in the brush fire season; it is dry and does not take much for a fire to start around this time,” said the officer, warning that it only takes one ember.

“We are advising the

public not to light any trash around their property, especially if it is near the forest or a dense wooded area.”

It is suggested that residents living near wooded areas create a margin of at least 50ft to 100ft around their property to protect their home in the event that there is a fire.

The officer said it is important that the margins are kept clear and free of debris.

He said that residents should contact Sanitation Services to remove debris from their property.

“In dealing with the fire today we encountered a lot of hurricane related trash, dead trees and other materials in the bushes, dumped by persons cleaning their property and renovating their homes after the storm.

“We found a lot of those debris which fuel fires, so we are asking persons to dispose of their trash properly,” he said.

THE NEW Providence landfill still smouldering yesterday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

FIRE chief Assistant Superintendent Walter Evans yesterday. Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

GOVT: SARKIS MISLEADING PUBLIC OVER BAHA MAR from page one

However, in a statement yesterday, the government said Mr Izmirlian’s comments demonstrated a “persistent and unpatriotic attempt by the failed project developer to mislead Bahamians, detract from the tremendous accomplishments made by the stakeholders along with government in turning the project around, and to conceal the fact that BMD failed and then failed to recover from failure.”

Mr Izmirlian’s comments follow an announcement from Rosewood that it will not open its resort at Baha Mar until 2018, and pointed out that the Hyatt brand has not given a firm date as to when it will open at the re-

sort. Both brands have confirmed their involvement.

The government yesterday argued that suggested delays or staggered opening dates of independent operators did not detract from construction progress, or the scheduled soft opening next month.

The statement maintained that the mega-resort’s soft opening of its casino, casino hotel, convention centre and golf course was still on track, adding that both the convention centre and golf course have been operational intermittently for specific events.

“It is simply a reflection of the commercial realities that exist,” the statement read, “due largely to the state in which the hotel was left by the former developer

after filing for bankruptcy, and the need by these brands to ensure that they are in a position to meet the qualitative expectations of their clientele when they do open.”

The government and Mr Izmirlian have been locked in a bitter, public war of words over the mega-resort’s embattled track to completion since the ex-developer applied for Chapter 11 proceedings in 2015.

It was a move that saw Mr Izmirlian ousted as developer and the resort placed into provisional liquidation.

The government’s statement read: “Whilst BMD continues to claim that it is ‘ready, willing and able’ to purchase the resort, the government has never seen a credible offer at all from

BMD, nor any evidence of funding, and apparently neither have the receivermanagers as part of the Supreme Court supervised process for the sale of Baha Mar.” It added: “The irresistible inference, indeed the inescapable conclusion must be that there is no such funding and therefore BMD’s motivation to continue to ventilate these issues in the press is little more than petulant annoyance in not having succeeded in delaying the project indefinitely in Chapter 11 proceedings in the US.” The government’s statement furthered that Mr Izmirlian’s call for liquidators to pursue legal action against Baha Mar’s general contractor China Construc-

tion America (CCA), ignored the fact that - even if successful - the proceeds of any litigation would have been payable to CEXIM Bank under its security and not to Bahamian creditors.

The government underscored that: the resort’s construction is on track under the direction of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, a world class hotel and casino operator; former Bahamian resort employees were paid severance in full; more than 90 per cent of Bahamian creditors were paid in full, with the balance received significant compensation on their claims; and the resort is engaged in recruitment for more than 1500 jobs.

“BMD had no evidence,” the government statement read, “and still today, has

no evidence to suggest that Baha Mar would have opened sooner, had the Chapter 11 plan been left to continue over 1,000 miles away in Delaware, and with contested legal proceedings being pursued against CCA in England.

“The fact-free assertions of BMD and Mr Izmirlian are contradicted by their own admissions when they filed for bankruptcy.

Their failure and missteps slowed the project down, but thankfully, Baha Mar is now in safe hands. The government has worked tirelessly with all of Baha Mar’s key stakeholders to ensure that it will be a success for the Bahamas and its people. The government looks forward to the opening of the resort in April.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, March 7, 2017, PAGE 7

MPs file appeal against boundaries case ruling

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net OFFICIAL Opposition members of Parliament yesterday filed a motion in the Court of Appeal to reverse Supreme Court Justice Ian Winder’s previous decision to reject their application to start judicial review proceedings over the Constituencies Commission’s report on constituency boundaries citing several issues where they believe the judge erred in his ruling.

In new documents filed in the appellate court, Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn and Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins argued that Justice Winder did not apply the correct test for deciding whether the judicial review should be granted on February 21. The men said the judge treated their initial application as if it were a full hearing or a judicial review, when he should not have.

Attorney Michael Scott is representing them.

Last month Justice Winder ruled that the applicants had poor prospects for success and failed to provide sufficient evidence to show they had an arguable case.

At the time, the judge said they suffered from “several fundamental challenges,” leading Mr Scott to insist that the Official Opposition MPs would take the matter to the Privy Council in

MICHAEL Scott speaking to the media at a previous court appearance - with Dr Andre Rollins and Richard Lightbourn watching on.

London if necessary.

“The learned judge failed to apply the first rule of statutory or constitutional construction, namely to give meaning and effect to all parts of a section or clause: in particular he failed to give meaning and effect to the time provision in Article 70 of the Constitution: the learned judge ought to have held that since the commission’s report was not produced within five years of the previous report, the report was not one within the meaning

or contemplation of Article 70,” the motion said.

“The learned judge applied the wrong test to the application before him. Instead of directing himself to consider whether there was an arguable ground for judicial review with a realistic prospect of success (the test for leave), he treated the application as though it were a full hearing for judicial review, which was a procedural error causing disadvantage to the applicants.

“The learned judge, in-

stead of concentrating upon either of the two main points relied upon by the applicant (the time and the gerrymandering points) wrongly approached the question before him as one merely involving his views as to whether the commission was right.”

The motion continued: “The learned judge failed to apply Article 70 (2) of the Constitution, which essentially directs the commission to decide proposed boundary changes by reference to the requirement of

keeping constituencies approximately equal in size, and which by inference disallows purely party political advantage as a basis for proposing boundary changes: there was and is an inescapable inference from the evidence before the learned judge that the commission must have proposed the changes for party political reasons.

“At least there was a good arguable case to this effect.

Had the learned judge correctly directed himself by reference to Article 70 (2),

he would have given the applicant leave to proceed to a full judicial review of the process which led to the report on this ground.

“The learned judge rejected the time submission made by the appellants on the basis that if it were correct, there could never again be a valid commission report - the absurdity argument - but this was wrong and failed to give meaning and effect to the use of the word ‘interval’ in the Constitution.

“On the true construction of Article 70 (1), if a report is not produced within five years, then a new five year interval commences.

“The respondents argued that the report was a valid report within the five year interval (plainly wrong as a fact) and it cannot be a valid report in the second five year interval because it would be an abuse to produce a report so long before the end of the second interval, for an election in 2022 and this would be an act which no reasonable Boundary Commission could perform. This is the inevitable or flawed consequence of upholding the report.”

The MPs added that paragraph 16 of the previous ruling was “irreparably flawed,” saying Justice Winder completely misunderstood the appellants’ time submission on the meaning of Article 70 (1).

CONTEMPT CASE AGAINST LAWYER ADJOURNED

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE continuation of contempt proceedings against a lawyer who faces committal for scandalous accusations of bias against a judge has been adjourned by two weeks.

Keod Smith and Gia Moxey, associate of Elliot Lockhart, QC, appeared before Justice Rhonda Bain yesterday for responding submissions to be heard on why the former member of Parliament 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 absent, as he was when the matter began last week on March 1.

Also absent from the proceedings yesterday was Mr Lockhart. Ms Moxey explained that Mr Lockhart’s mother died on Sunday, resulting in his absence from court.

However, when she proceeded to argue submissions that had been filed in the matter, she was slipped a note by Mr Smith who was seated behind her. She informed the judge that Mr Smith wished for an adjournment of the proceedings given the serious na-

ture of the matter.

The judge, who offered her condolences to the absent counsel, granted an adjournment until March 20.

Last Thursday, Mr Smith took the stand and offered an apology and explanation to Justice Bain that he never intended to impugn the professional reputation of the 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.

He also absolved Mr Ryan of having any involvement in the preparation of the affidavits.

In January, 2014, Mr Smith 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 (FNM).

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, a former Progressive Liberal Party MP,

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 2016 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 Mayanthemed 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

FAST FOOD MANAGER’S KILLER TO TAKE APPEAL CASE TO THE PRIVY COUNCIL

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN convicted of the throat-slashing murder of a fast food restaurant manager will contest the Court of Appeal’s upholding of a jury’s verdict to the country’s highest court, London’s Privy Council.

Simeon Bain, 45, appeared in the Claughton House courtroom yesterday seeking conditional leave to appeal the appellate court’s January 2016 decision to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

The request was granted.

On May 2, 2013, Bain was unanimously convicted of all the charges he faced, except attempted robbery, concerning the September

19, 2009 death of 21-yearold Rashad Morris.

Morris was kidnapped from the Charlotte Street location of Burger King and taken to the Tonique Williams-Darling Highway location, where he had been the manager.

He was ordered to open the safe. After failing to do so, he was stabbed in the restaurant’s parking lot before his throat was slashed. Bain denied charges of murder, robbery, attempted robbery, housebreaking and kidnapping.

Immediately after his conviction, the case’s lead prosecutor, then Director of Public Prosecutions Vinette Graham-Allen, announced the Crown’s intention to seek the death penalty.

However, on July 30 Justice Indra Charles sentenced Bain to life imprisonment on the basis that the case did not meet the “worst of the worst” threshold set by the Privy Council.

Bain, and law firm Callenders & Co, challenged the conviction and sentence to the appellate court on multiple grounds, including that he should have had legal representation in his murder trial.

Bain chose not to be represented by counsel during his murder trial.

While the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction and determined that the case met the worst of the worst legal threshold for the imposition of the death penalty, Bain’s sentence was reduced to 55 years.

environment of Clifton Bay. Fred Smith, QC, and Dawson Malone appeared for STB yesterday.

Tommel Roker held

watching brief for Wayne Munroe, QC, who also appears for the Crown in the judicial review.

Crown attorneys Lor-

en Klein, Darcell SmithWilliamson and Hyacinth Smith re-appeared yesterday in amicus as a neutral party to the proceedings.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, March 7, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Christie flips out and sets filthy tone for the election A

T the now infamous Progressive Liberal Party outdoor branch meeting in Fox Hill, Prime Minister Perry Christie said: “On account of a lunatic who was saying I should deny I own this condominium, dis what I tell him.” Then the middle finger went up.

In the aftermath, the Prime Minister, and his pom-pom-waving cheerleaders Alfred Gray and Jerome Fitzgerald, changed the focus of the story to poor Perry who family always gettin’ talk bad about.

What on earth does the middle finger Christie pushed up in the Fox Hill air have to do with his family?

If you happen to be a person who can make that connection, I believe you need the same pharmaceutical intervention as the Prime Minister and his court-side dancers.

Seriously, was Chris- THE SCENE in Jubilee Gardens as Prime Minister Perry Christie visited to assess tie drinking when he told the effects of the fire at the New Providence landfill and, right, the Prime Minissomeone with his middle ter’s one-finger salute during a speech last week. finger to ‘F-off’? He did apyou have pear to be a bit unbalanced muttering (physically and otherwise), Junkanoo with awkward arm gestures, hat Davis bobbing from left foot to who says right foot like a drunkard. it’s too Or did Christie just walk risky to

By NICOLE BURROWS by some lit-up weed-heads give up on under the big rubber tree at the outdoor meeting, after nis on the basis of his bad the biggest, cruellest joke in the PLP. which he too was consumed English. That’s where these the nation. And I’ll say that “We are in by the herb? Or, maybe the men are going to begin their every week until Election not radical finger gesture was campaign to remain in gov- Day 2017 if I have to keep trouble,” simply Christie appealing ernment? Effectively telling saying it, if it gets you any he says, to the Fox Hill nature of their supporters and poten- closer to understanding it. “because the crowd in front of him, tial supporters that Min- They’re not interested in we recogthe rowdy, ill-mannered, nis speaks bad and that’s all fixing what’s wrong in your nise what uncouth among Progres- you need to know to vote us country, because what’s a great work sive Liberal Party support- back in? wrong keeps them where ers ... the type of people you Probably half the peo- they are. Don’t you get it, we have done.” swear came straight out of ple whose votes Chris- Bahamians?

Apart the jungle and into the city. tie and Davis are seeking Over the weekend, ChrisYou see, all the ‘duttiness’ speak equally tie went out to Jubilee from the shameless pilferis coming out as bad English Gardens to stand up and ing of Bible-speak, this now. No holds ‘These men are or worse Eng- look at the dump fire, as sentence defies comprehenbarred.

All a joke. They lish than Min- if his presence there one sion and logic. Recognising guns are loadnis. You expect Sunday afternoon could your own work done as a ed. A general are the biggest, them to make change everything or any- reason for you not being in election is upon cruellest joke a distinction? thing about the dump or the trouble is insane. It makes us. The politi- in the nation.

Did Christie toxic fumes Bahamians in no sense. But Davis thinks cally rabid will and Davis sud- the vicinity have to breathe it makes sense. Davis also do anything to And I’ll say that denly forget whenever the dump ignites. thinks he speaks better keep power. every week until that the nation- While those people who’ve than Minnis. Is Bravest And they will Election Day al average in been complaining for dec- Davis really talking about appeal to the English pretty ades now have to find other someone not being able to nastiest traits 2017 if I have much tells the places to live, Christie will speak properly? Is he in any of the nastiest to keep saying world that the go back to his Cable Beach position to talk about anypeople among it, if it gets you language we home with clean central air, one in this way, when we us if that is who speak in the electronic and armed se- can hardly understand the they believe any closer to Bahamas isn’t curity ... and Flow TV. But words leaving his mouth will give them understanding it.’ even English? the idiots he appeals to will as he chews and swallows them? Now there’s a pot the votes they There are more want to vote for him again. calling a kettle black if ever need to win the next gov- non-native speakers in othFor Jesus’ sake, if you ernment. You’re about to er countries who speak bet- have to squat in the yard to I saw one.

As for Christie and his see how low and filthy they ter English than Bahamians take a crap every day, and can be. for whom English is a first your member of Parliament middle finger, in the same After all this time Hu- and only language. That never sees to it that this is way he never actually apolbert Minnis has been talk- is what Christie and Davis a valid health concern and ogised for showing it to the ing in public spaces, giving should be talking about at that it is addressed by giv- world, you Bahamians betinterviews that make the this point, not Minnis’ bad ing you indoor plumbing ter not apologise for not least educated among us English. But, of course, that - aka, a pot to piss in (and voting for him, or any of cringe with embarrassment type of discussion is not po- a window to throw it out) the other ridiculous men on account of his recurrent litically expedient and only - then you must be out of (and slightly less ridiculous hijacking of the English showcases their failures in your cotton-pickin’ mind to women) of his political party. That middle finger geslanguage, only now Chris- the realm of education. give him and his colleagues tie and Philip Davis find it If Christie, Davis et al your political support. He ture goes right along with important to call Minnis were serious about the gov- can’t even help you get the entitlement these men out on his bad English as if erning and leadership job at your faeces into the most have to do anything to their he just started speaking this hand, shouldn’t they start appropriate disposal hole, people while expecting no way yesterday. So impor- off their campaign with but you want him to run repercussions or offence to tant was it that Christie and something more meaning- your country ... again ... for be taken. If you’re over 30, Davis made Minnis the cen- ful, say, maybe a real action a third time? Are you truly maybe you remember that old Bahamian song with tral theme of their presen- plan to battle crime? These this crazy? lyrics “say what ya like, do tations. Their big opening men are a joke. They are Then, in the other corner, what ya like, I still gat you play was to tear down Min-

goin’ my way.” That’s Christie and the PLP - yesterday, today, and forever. And if you want them to keep doing to you what they’ve been doing to you, middle finger madness included, then you go their way and not hold them accountable.

Alternatively, if they curse you, you don’t remain quiet, you answer back. Yes, you can actually answer back. Being quiet is what got us here, where they feel so entitled to do as they please with nothing to answer for.

Rounding off a week of absolute PLP poppy-shows, party Chairman Bradley Roberts says he expects that a minimum of $4 million will be needed for PLP campaigning leading up to the 2017 general election.

All this money that is about to be spent to convince people why they should vote for people who deceive them and disrespect them. Donothing people to comprise another do-nothing government.

Four million dollars on campaign paraphernalia and incidentals, when the dump burns and citizens and residents - and firefighters without the necessary protective gear - are smoked out of their district.

Four million dollars when Bahamians are still owing BEC for power supply they hardly got.

Four million dollars on t-shirts, signage, rum and commercials when people still can’t live in their homes since the last hurricane.

Any sitting government that can raise millions to campaign to win authority again but can’t find ways to take care of its people’s daily, basic, health, education and safety needs; to pay down the fiscal deficit; to reduce government debt and spending, couldn’t possibly be serious about providing good leadership for the people. If the sitting government had any sense or clue, it would use $4 million plus to help pay for what the Bahamian people need most rather than flyers, banners, posters, tshirts, liquor and radio ads in order to win the people’s approval.

The day a political party does that - literally puts its money where its mouth is is the day everyone should vote for them to be the new government.

• Comments and responses to nburrows@ tribunemedia.net

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM SINGAPORE’S DEVELOPMENT SINGAPORE is often admired for the progress it has made since becoming an independent island nation in 1965.

It is now one of the most developed countries in the world.

We need to remember that when Singapore attained independence about a year after Jamaica, their legendary leader, Lee Kuan Yew, visited Jamaica to study the Caribbean country’s educational establishment and industrial incentive legislation.

This would tell us that, in the early 1960s, Jamaica was more developed than Singapore. Not today though, not by a very long shot.

I am only singling out Jamaica for comparison because that is the country with which I am most familiar. However, the comparison could be made with very many countries around the world.

There are many reasons for the great progress made

View from afar

By JOHN ISSA

by Singapore. However, to try to discuss all or even what I think are the main ones would need the entire newspaper. I will therefore mention just one.

In Singapore, when an individual or company has to apply for a permit or approval in order to carry out some activity whether it be to construct a building or operate a business or for that matter, do anything which needs a government approval or permit, the law provides that if it is not approved or rejected with reasons being given within a specified time, approval is automatic.

Just imagine the speed

at which development and growth would take place in the Bahamas if we had a similar law.

Just imagine how much productivity would leap upwards if the time wasted chasing up permits and approvals was eliminated or even severely reduced.

Just imagine the change of mood of Bahamians who have to deal with the bureaucracy.

I respectfully suggest it’s worth trying this approach in the Bahamas. What have we got to lose?

• John Issa is executive chairman of SuperClubs.

He is writing regularly in The Tribune.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, March 7, 2017, PAGE 9

Govt accused of withholding health report

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE government is being accused of withholding from the public an epidemiology report undertaken nearly 30 years ago on the health effects of the industrial plants in Grand Bahama.

The Pinder’s Point Lewis Yard Environmental Committee (PPLYEC) said that keeping the report a “secret” amounts to negligence on the part of the government.

The epidemiology study conducted in the late 1980s was the first of its kind undertaken by the government in response to health complaints by residents, as

SHUFFEL HEPBURN well as students and teachers who attended schools near the plants.

In the report obtained by The Tribune, eye, skin, and gastro-intestinal disorders were found to be associated with industrial pollution by companies in the Freeport Industrial Park.

The emissions from the plants have been an ongoing issue for many years by residents in the Pinder’s Point, Lewis Yard, Hawksbill, Seaco Town, Hunters and Mack Town communities.

Complaints were of eye, skin, and nose irritations, respiratory problems, and vomiting.

PPLYEC member Shuffel Hepburn, who grew up and lived in Pinder’s Point, was pleased that the report has surfaced because it proved what they and residents had been saying for many years.

“With the report, we are able to prove that there are health risks, and that the risks have been there from the outset,” he said.

“It was very negligent on the part of the government to hide the results of the study in which 500 persons participated, some of whom are no longer with us today.

“We feel strongly that many of the deaths and illnesses… could have been prevented if government had been forthcoming with the report to the residents.”

The study was conducted, with the support of former Health Minister Dr Norman Gay. The study’s chief investigator was epidemiology expert Dr Farhat Mahmood.

Mr Hepburn said: “Dr Darville (minister for Grand Bahama) tabled the PAHO/WHO study of health and environment risk assessment of Pinder’s

Point and surrounding communities in the House of Assembly, and he was quite pleased to say there was no health risk to residents living near the industrial plant.”

“The (1980s) epidemiology report says otherwise, and we are very pleased that the report has now surfaced; we were trying to find that study for quite a while,” he said.

Mr Hepburn stressed that the PPLYEC will continue to press for the relocation of residents in the affected communities.

The group had held demonstrations at the government complex, the Grand Bahama Port Authority, and the Industrial Park on February 14, 21, and 28, re-

spectively.

“We are determined to continue to go out and raise awareness to this issue,” he said, noting that demonstrations are spiritual, involving prayer and singing songs.

The PPLYEC plans to hold a town meeting on March 14 at Upper Zion Baptist at 7pm. Mr Hepburn said there will be a video presentation of testimonials by residents.

Dr Darville continues to stand by the report recently prepared by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) World Health Organisation (WHO).

“I stand by those reports until someone else can bring scientific evidence to refute (it),” Dr Darville had previously said.

MAN CLAIMS SEXUAL ADVANCE LED TO FATAL STABBING

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN testified yesterday of how accepting a “compliments to the season” Hennessey drink from a banker who hired him to paint his apartment spiraled into a scuffle and stabbing after the banker allegedly made a sexual advance at him.

The trial of 26-year-old Lamar Albury continued in the Supreme Court yesterday afternoon where Albury was asked by Senior Justice Vera Watkins to indicate whether he would remain silent at his trial or elect to give testimony under oath concerning the death of Devince Smith, who was found lifeless in his St Alban’s Drive apartment with 33 stab wounds on December 21, 2015.

The Crown closed its case against Albury last Wednesday with the evidence of forensic pathologist Dr Caryn Sands who testified that the wounds, including a slit throat, were unlikely to have been caused by a painting knife.

“I’ll take the stand,” Albury told the judge when informed of his options.

The Chippingham resident was asked by his lawyer, Michael Hanna, if he knew the deceased.

“Yes,” the accused said.

“I met him on a job. I was distributing my number looking for work. I do carpentry and painting.”

“Did he (Smith) have your number?” the lawyer asked. ‘Yes sir…by me dishing out my number,” Albury said.

Mr Hanna then asked the accused about a phone call he received.

“I got a call from Scotia Bank saying they had some dry wall to do (but) when I called back the job was already taken,” the accused said.

Albury’s attorney asked his client about December 19, 2015.

“Did you see Mr Smith on that date?” Mr Hanna asked.

“I received a call from Devince Smith saying he needed a paint job done,” the jury heard from the accused.

Albury said he went to the job around 5pm.

Hanna asked: “How did you get there?”

“The deceased picked me up from my residence,” the accused said.

Albury was asked if he had done previous jobs for Smith at the apartment and he said “yes”.

“And you were satisfied with your pay?” the lawyer then asked.

“Yes, sir,” Albury said.

Albury said during the drive from his Chippingham home to Smith’s apartment, they were conversing.

“He was asking me what my goals are in life, if I have children, if I have a girlfriend,” Albury said.

“At the time did you have a girlfriend?” Mr Hanna asked. “Yes,” the accused said.

“Did you kill Mr Smith?” his lawyer asked.

“No, sir,” the jury heard.

Albury is alleged to have murdered Smith sometime between December 19 and 21, 2015.

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

Smith was a sports coach

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

Albury maintained his not guilty plea to the murder charge when the trial began on February 20.

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

On the first day of trial, the jury heard that Albury allegedly confessed to his relatives that he 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 second day of trial, Smith’s 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.

“You heard your father testify in court,” Mr Hanna asked Albury yesterday.

“I told my father I went to do a job for the deceased.

The deceased tried to hold me down and rape me,” Albury claimed.

“He tried to rape you?” his lawyer asked.

Albury said yes, adding that when he resisted, Smith allegedly tried to hit him with a vase in the head.

“He kept constantly trying to hold me down and I used my painter’s tool to defend myself against the deceased,” the accused said.

Mr Hanna asked his client to backtrack his story to their arrival to the apartment.

“We pulled up by his house, went inside, he offered me a cup of Hennessey as compliments to the season. I took it and then he showed me where to paint,” Albury said.

Albury said he was asked to get beer for Smith whom

he said was wearing a brown shirt and blue pants.

“When I reached upstairs to bring the beer, he was sitting down against the bed with the sheet over him with his laptop,” the jury heard.

Mr Hanna asked Albury if he had seen Smith undress and the accused said he did not.

“What happened next?” the lawyer asked.

Albury said he placed the beer on the stand and went to do the job he was hired to do, but was called back by Smith.

“I looked back and he tilted the laptop in my direction. When I saw it, I told him ‘this ain’t my type vibe, I don’t like man.’

That’s when he reached out to grab my privates. I stab him once or twice to get away,” the court heard.

“What frame of mind were you in?” Mr Hanna asked.

“I was shocked,” Albury said. “I was in fear for my life. I was traumatised. This never happened to me before and I didn’t know what to say.”

The accused said he washed his face, got his tools, washed off his fingerprints, jumped the wall of the complex, went home and spoke to his father.

“So you told your father and brother you were defending yourself from sexual assault?” Mr Hanna asked. The accused said yes.

Albury was cross-examined by Ms Frazier who asked him how long he had known Smith.

“Three to four months,” the accused said.

Albury then denied knowing Royann Cooper, Smith’s housekeeper and that the three of them, when not at Smith’s apartment, would go around driving and drinking.

“How often did you go to Devince Smith’s house?”

Ms Frazier asked.

“About four times, only to do a job,” the accused said. Albury agreed with

Frazier’s suggestion that the apartment was well kept.

“Do you usually go to paint your client’s house at 5pm?” the prosecutor asked.

“I make an exception for some clients,” the jury heard.

“What colour paint did you take?” Ms Frazier asked. Albury said he brought white paint with him, which was going to be used on the Crown moldings in the front room and bedroom of the apartment.

“Isn’t it correct that Devince Smith never made any sexual advances at you on the prior occasions?” the prosecutor suggested. Albury said she was correct.

“Do you always smoke ‘beedies’ at your client’s home?” the prosecutor probed. Albury said Smith told him it was okay to do so.

“Prior to your coming there, did he ask you for a girl so he could have sex?”

Ms Frazier asked. Albury said yes.

Ms Frazier suggested to Albury that in his voluntary record of interview in police custody, he made no claim that Smith made a pass at him.

“It’s shameful for me to say so I held that back,” Albury claimed.

“You said the deceased showed you porn? It was no gay porn correct?” the prosecutor asked.

“I didn’t even see what it was. I didn’t scan so long for it, I just bounced back,” the accused said.

“Did you leave?” the prosecutor asked.

“I tried to go but he tried to hold onto me,” Albury said.

The accused was asked if Smith only tried to attack him with one vase. Albury said yes.

“At the point that he attempted to hit you, was that the point you pulled out your painter’s knife?” Ms Frazier asked. Albury said yes.

“Where did you first

stab him?” the prosecutor asked. Albury said in the neck while they struggled.

“How long did the fight last upstairs in the bedroom?” Ms Frazier further probed.

The accused said he couldn’t recall the length of time.

“You said the first injury was in the throat, did you inflict anymore injuries?” she asked.

Albury claimed Smith rushed at him again “so I started defending myself.”

The accused denied that Smith was running away from him. However, he conceded that Smith had no weapon.

Albury was asked why

were the chairs in the living room overturned if the scuffle occurred upstairs and Smith collapsed at the base of the stairs.

The accused said when he left Smith there, he could not say if he was still alive and that Smith might have overturned the chairs.

Albury conceded that he turned himself in with a lawyer 14 days after the incident.

However, he claimed that he hold his relatives what happened the day after and not December 29 or December 30 as the jury heard.

Albury did concede that he burned the clothes he wore on that day.

The case resumes today.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, March 7, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

DNA leader says FNM tried to poach candidates from his party

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney yesterday accused the Free National Movement of attempting to poach several of his party’s candidates, one of them being Deputy Leader Chris Mortimer, ahead of the 2017 general election.

The former Bamboo Town MP, at a press conference called to highlight the government’s failures related to the New Providence Landfill, said the record would show that DNA has constructed the best team to govern the country, highlighted by the FNM’s reported pursuit of Mr Mortimer as well as DNA Golden Isles candidate Stephen Greenslade.

Mr McCartney, seated next to Mr Mortimer when he made the claim, said it was now clear that the FNM was in panic mode as several of the party’s candidates have withdrawn their 2017 election bids.

“That is what (Dr Hubert) Minnis and his boys have been trying to do when it comes down to the candidates of the DNA - and they say that the DNA is a non factor,” exclaimed Mr McCartney.

While Mr McCartney didn’t offer any timeframe of this attempted poaching or more details of his claims, he added: “We have seen that many of (their) candidates had difficulties with the party, and we have also seen where the leadership of the FNM has been after candidates in the DNA. “They have tried with Golden Isles over and repeatedly, that is with Stephen Greenslade. They have been after the man left, right and centre.

“They have been after the deputy (Christopher Mortimer) left, right and centre in Sea Breeze. They have been after quite a number of other members of the DNA. “You know why, because their slate of candidates can’t compare to the DNA’s slate of candidates. And they say that the DNA is a non-factor.”

Mr McCartney also scoffed at the reasons given by the members of the FNM that have withdrawn their candidacy.

On Friday, in a statement released through the party, Kenyatta Gibson announced plans to end his campaign in Golden Isles.

The surprise announcement came on the heels of claims by Progressive Lib-

BRANVILLE MCCARTNEY, leader of the DNA. eral Party Chairman Brad- Gibson said his move to end ley Roberts Thursday night, his campaign had “nothing in which he indicated that to do” with Dr Minnis or sources familiar to him had his leadership of the party. informed him of Mr GibHowever, of the issue, Mr son’s plans to quit the elec- McCartney said on Montion race. day: “They need to say why When contacted by The they dropped out, many of Tribune on Sunday, Mr them dropped out because

of the leadership of Hubert Minnis.

“Some dropped out not because what they said publicly.”

Mr Gibson was the fourth FNM candidate to call it quits on their campaign.

Howard Johnson, the

party’s South Beach candidate; Leonard Sands, the party’s Bain and Grants Town candidate and Walt Saunders, the party’s MICAL candidate have all withdrawn bids in their respective areas for various reasons.

NURSING STUDENTS ‘BEING DENIED TRAINING’ AT RAND

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

TERREVE College in Freeport is claiming its nursing students are being denied access to training at the Rand Memorial Hospital due to the continued delay in the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the Public Hospitals Authority.

The registered nursing programme has been a part of Terreve’s academic studies for the past two years and was approved by the Nursing Council of the Bahamas.

Terreve College requested an affiliation with the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) six months after the commencement of the programme.

Terrence Archer, founder of Terreve, said that the students had completed all of their preliminary courses and were prepared to go into the Rand Memorial Hospital to start their practicum in 2016.

But an unsigned MOU is preventing that from happening, and the students’ studies have been suspended.

PHA Managing director Herbert Brown told The Tribune that the PHA is in receipt of a MOU with Terreve College, but said he is awaiting directives from the Department of Public Services.

However, Mr Archer said he believes that Terreve is being “punished” for pursuing a judicial review case against the Department of Public Services last year.

He disagrees with the

PHA managing director who stated that he is not under any obligation to accept students of Terreve College for training at the Rand.

“Terreve College differs with the position taken by the managing director and asserts that he is under obligation to accommodate any Bahamian student who attends a registered, approved, and accredited institution within the Commonwealth of the Bahamas,” Mr Archer said.

“Terreve College stands on the principle that any public teaching facility in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas funded by the taxpayers cannot be denied the right of access to those facilities. To hinder Bahamian students just because they attend Terreve would be unjust, unfair, wrong, and downright prejudicial,” he stressed.

Mr Archer stated that Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau and Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport are the only two hospitals in The Bahamas that provide training for both foreign and local nursing students.

“Terreve College’s request was nothing new or out of the ordinary. The government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas is mandated by law to ensure that its citizens are provided for in several areas of national life. Two of these crucial areas are education and health care,” he said.

Mr Archer stressed that all citizens and residents must have an equal opportunity to improve themselves without prejudice.

“It does not matter whether Bahamian citizens or residents choose to attend Terreve College or any other legitimate edu-

cational institution within The Bahamas, they are entitled to the same courtesy extended to students who come from foreign countries to The Bahamas to do their practicum at the two teaching hospitals in The Bahamas,” he said.

Mr Archer stated that Terreve College is an accredited institution, registered with the Ministry of Education, and approved by the Department of Public Service.

The college is in the process of making application to the National Accrediting Agency of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (NAACOB).

Mr Archer said Terreve College has had to “fight tooth and nail” for its survival from its inception.

“When Terreve College, as an institution void of personalities, fought for what

it felt was right, punitive action was taken against it.

Despite the punitive action taken against it, Terreve College must legitimately do what it must do,” he said.

In June 2016, the Department of Public Service removed Terreve College from its list of approved private tertiary institutions recognised by the department after implementing policy changes.

The college, which caters to 30 per cent of persons employed in public service, brought judicial review against DPS in the Supreme Court. On January 19, 2017, Justice Ian Winder delivered his ruling in the matter and ordered that the decision to revise the policy be quashed, which returned Terreve back to the status quo as an approved institution on DPS list of recognised institutions.

MONEY LAUNDERING REPORT HIGHLIGHTS BLACK MARKET FOR SMUGGLERS

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

A UNITED States report on money laundering and financial crimes has pinpointed an alleged black market for “smuggled cigarettes and guns” coupled with money laundering trends, including the purchase of real estate among other things in The Bahamas.

The 2017 report further highlighted that drug traffickers and other criminal organisations take advantage of the large number of international business corporations and off shore banks registered in the Bahamas to launder money despite the existence of transaction reporting requirements.

Given the deficiencies prevalent in the financial services sector, the US report called on the government to place a greater emphasis on enforcing and implementing an anti-money laundering regime.

“The major sources of laundered proceeds are drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, gaming, and human smuggling,” the Bureau for International and Narcotics Law Enforcement Affairs Money Laundering and Financial Crimes March 2017 report read.

“There is a black market for smuggled cigarettes and guns. Money laundering trends include the purchase of real estate, large

vehicles, boats, and jewellery, as well as the processing of money through a complex web of legitimate businesses and IBCs registered in the offshore financial sector.

“Drug traffickers and other criminal organisations take advantage of the large number of IBCs and offshore banks registered in The Bahamas to launder money, despite CDD and transaction reporting requirements.

“According to a 2013 report by the IMF, the Bahamas is a ‘major offshore financial centre.’ The offshore sector consists mostly of branches or subsidiaries of global financial institutions. The IMF report notes that, while oversight of the financial system has improved, the Bahamas is still recognised as a significant tax haven.

For example, The Bahamas does not disclose in a public registry information about trusts and foundations, maintain official records of company beneficial ownership, require that company accounts be placed on public record, or require resident paying agents to tell the domestic tax authorities about payments to non-residents.”

The report continued: “Casino gaming is legal for tourists and The Bahamas has four large casinos, including a casino in Bimini that draws in customers from the United States via a ferry service to and from Miami. The $3.5 billion Chinese Export-Import

Bank-funded Baha Mar Casino and Resort on New Providence Island did not open as scheduled in 2015 or in 2016. When completed, it will be the largest casino in the Caribbean.”

The government should continue to provide resources and training to its law enforcement, judicial, and prosecutorial bodies in order to investigate and prosecute money laundering, the report said.

“The Bahamas should further enhance its antimoney laundering regime by criminalising bulk cash smuggling; continuing implementation of the National Strategy on the Prevention of Money Laundering; establishing a currency transaction reporting system; and implementing a system to collect and analyse information on the cross-border transportation of currency.

“It also should ensure beneficial ownership information of all entities licensed in its offshore financial centre is available upon the request of law enforcement authorities and kept up to date,” the report said.

This comes after another US report highlighted the Bahamas government’s “intimidation of non-governmental organisations” and efforts by the government and authorities to inhibit “free speech through criminal libel laws” as problems for The Bahamas in its latest human rights report.

That human rights report also referenced alleged cases of immigration officials

soliciting bribes from migrants and alleged beatings of migrants and prisoners in

custody.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration

has said the report had “inaccurate” and in some cases “incomplete” information.

THE TRIBUNE

Red Cross Fair

Tuesday, March 7, 2017, PAGE 11

THE 76TH Annual Red Cross Fair was held on Government House lower grounds on Saturday, with Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling in attendance.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

MOBILE

APP

Take us with you Everywhere you go!

PAGE 12, Tuesday, March 7, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

DAY two of the fire in the area of Fire Trail Road and Gladstone Road. While residents of Jubliee Gardens and surrounding areas have evacuated their homes, firefighters, police officers and defence force officers have been hard at work to ensure the safety of the area.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

THE ONGOING fire in the areas of Gladstone Road and the landfill last night.

THE NEW Providence landfill still smouldering yesterday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

A FIREFIGHTER hard at work yesterday trying to extinguish the fire in woodland.