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VOLUME:115 No.74, MARCH 8TH, 2018

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CLASSIFIED TRADER: CARS, CARS, CARS & MORE CARS

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WHAT A STINKER WELCOME BPL: NINE TO TATTOO FAIL DRUG DEBUT TESTING

Damning report reveals extent of problems at WSC

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net AUDITOR EY has painted a damning picture of the Water & Sewerage Corporation in its audit report of the institution, portraying a corporation awash with irregularities.

In particular, the debacle of the Gladstone Road Waste Water Treatment Plant (GRWWTP) is exposed. Despite a budget overrun of more than 80 percent, not since September 2016 has work been performed on the incomplete project, which was expected to receive and treat waste water from Baha Mar and return it for irrigation purposes.

Senior WSC

officials were alarmed by how the project had gone off the rails, with former Chairman Leslie Miller saying in a 2016 WSC board meeting that the project had not been publicly declared “a stinker” only because it was “out of sight”.

“If this was out there like the (government) building next to the Paul Adderley (building) this would have been a headline long time,” he said. “God only bless us it is behind God’s back and you cannot see it.”

The plant, initially budgeted at $9.6m with a completion date of 2014, has cost taxpayers at least $17m so far, EY said.

SEE PAGES SIX & SEVEN

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

NINE employees at Bahamas Power and Light were terminated this week after taking part in random drug testing, Bahamas Power & Light Chairperson Darnell Osborne confirmed yesterday.

Mrs Osborne did not provide any details on the firings, insisting it was not company practice to divulge such information.

However, The Tribune understands 41 employees were subjected to the testing and nine workers failed.

SEE PAGE TWO

VAT CASH ‘FUELLED IMMORAL SPENDING’

COOPER BLASTS GOVT ON OBAN

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

EXUMA and Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper railed against the $5.5bn Oban Energies deal proposed for Grand Bahama, telling the House of Assembly Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has “embarrassed” the Bahamian people by parading a “convicted criminal” as a partner with the government for the investment.

He said Bahamians are asking if the government

is “engaged in something untoward” and “selling” the country’s reputation for a “bowl of porridge.”

He also scoffed at Oban’s claim that it will grow the country’s gross domestic product by 10 per cent per annum, saying this has never happened even with large hotel projects such as Atlantis and Baha Mar. “Oban wrote in yesterday’s papers that the deal will grow the country’s gross domestic product by over 10 per cent per annum Mr Speaker,” Mr Cooper said.

SEE PAGE FIVE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE ROYAL Bahamas Police Force held its first mini tattoo at the Tom “The Bird” Grant Park in Yellow Elder Gardens. There were performances by the RBPF Police Band, K-9 unit, motorcycle unit, fire department and mobile unit. Pictured is Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson with Andrew Sweeting, of St Augustine’s College. For more, see page eight. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

TURTLE SLAUGHTER: THREE HELD

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

POLICE have arrested three people – two men and a woman – in connection with the brutal killing of a Loggerhead turtle on Grand Bahama.

A video of the turtle’s death went viral on social media, sparking outrage from animal activists and calls for a Royal Bahamas Police Force investigation.

The 41-second video shows a man repeatedly crushing the turtle’s head with a hammer

THE TURTLE before the attack. while the animal tries to escape.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force said officers in West End arrested the three suspects for breach of the Fisheries Act. “Reports are that on Wednesday March 7, shortly after 8am, police

received a complaint of a video circulating on social media with the capture of a Loggerhead turtle which is an endangered species,” a statement from police said.

“As a result, officers of the West End Division arrested three persons in connection with this matter, two males and a female. Officers also retrieved 11 bags of turtle meat and one turtle shell.”

The suspects will be arraigned in the Magistrate Court in Eight Mile Rock later this week, police said.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE THREE

AS the former Christie administration committed an “immoral” fiscal travesty while in office between 2012 to 2017, the government’s direct debt mushroomed from $3.9bn to over $6.5bn, Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest revealed in Parliament yesterday.

This increase of over $2.6bn represents a rise on average of $529m each year, the deputy prime minister said.

Despite $1.5bn in new revenue generation from introducing value added tax SEE PAGE NINE

IF ONLY I’D THOUGHT OF THAT

SEE PAGE TEN

PAGE 2, Thursday, March 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Z M A J 0 0 1 N O Y L N LISTEN TO WIN, O E N U IB R T E H T IN Y L N O S E U L AND LOOK FOR C THIS YEAR’S THE SECRET SOUND WILL BE PLAYED ONCE PER SHIFT ILY BETWEEN 6 AM – 10 PM DA

100 JAMZ SECRET SOUND IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BEAUTY SHACK

THE BAHAMAS Power and Light Headquarters

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

BPL: NINE FAIL DRUG TESTING from page one

www.dunkinbahamas.com @dunkinbahamas

It was further explained by a source close to the matter that the possibility of random drug testing is featured in employee contracts, and the penalty for test failure is termination.

Yesterday, the wife of one of the terminated employees railed against the company for what she

felt was an unfair dismissal motivated by pressures to downsize.

“My husband was one of those who were let go,” the wife said.

“He been there for 10 years; he may come home and smoke a lil’ joint, but he doesn’t have an addiction.

“Where we’re at as a country,” she continued, “if someone smokes a lil’ bit of marijuana and they are not harming anyone, if we’re trying to keep people off the streets, we

should offer counselling.

“What bothers me more than anything is the way it was handled. I’m sure some of those executives (at BPL) after work have a glass of wine, it’s the same thing.”

The wife further claimed the group of workers who were fired were sent home but told to return in ten to 20 days to collect their last pay cheque.

She said her husband is a father-of-three and the dismissal will put a strain on the family’s finances.

TWO ACCUSED OF OVERSTAYING THEIR TIME IN THE BAHAMAS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net TWO people were charged in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court yesterday in separate incidents for overstaying their time in the Bahamas.

Johnny Pierre, 26, of Haiti, appeared before Magistrate Charlton Smith in Court Two where he pled guilty to overstaying and was ordered to pay a $300 fine or serve two months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

According to the particulars given in court, Pierre admitted to having arrived illegally in the Bahamas by boat from Haiti in October 2017. He remained in the country without legal status, and was reportedly found working at the time of his arrest.

Pierre paid his fine and was turned over to Department of Immigration officials.

In a separate matter, Leidy Mirelys Guerrero Ortiz, 22, of the Dominican Republic, was also charged with overstaying.

According to the particulars given in court, she arrived in the country from Colombia via Cuba and was admitted to Nassau on November 25, 2017. She was granted visitor’s status for a period of seven days.

Ortiz did not seek to

JOHNNY PIERRE, of Haiti, and Leidy Ortiz, of the Dominican Republic, are escorted to court to face the charge of overstaying.

Photo: Denise Maycock/ Tribune Staff extend her visitor’s status and had overstayed her time by more than three months at time of her arrest.

She pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine or serve three months in prison. Ortiz paid the fine. Both she and Pierre were flown to New Providence to be detained at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre before being deported.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 8, 2018, PAGE 3

Seven people rescued as they are swept off Glass Window Bridge

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net SEVEN people had to be rescued from waters off Eleuthera yesterday after being swept off the Glass Window Bridge by severe sea swells.

The incident came after several other life-threatening circumstances were reported at or near the bridge this week.

According to Chief Superintendent Stephen Adderley, officer in-charge of the Eleuthera Division, the incident occurred shortly after 8am, when island officials announced the temporary suspension of a government sponsored ferry service due to sea-conditions.

CSP Adderley said the group elected to crossed the bridge by foot despite several warnings, resulting in yesterday’s incident.

All seven people were recovered from waters to the west of the bridge and transported to a clinic in Lower Bogue, Eleuthera.

CSP Adderley told The Tribune: “As you are

QUEEN’s Highway in Eleuthera now divided by fast-moving water. aware, it’s been announced that there (are) some issues at the bridge. The persons involved in (yesterday’s) incident opted to go against the word of those in authority.

“They were attempting to cross from the southern end of the bridge to the northern end. It was determined that no person should cross; whether by boat, car or on foot. We halted passage all together.

“This group of persons managed to get on to the

bridge and shortly through their passage, there was a massive wave that was strong enough to knock them over into waters on the Caribbean side of the bridge.

“Thankfully persons were near the bridge around this time to aid in their recovery. We have said and will continue to say to persons, now is not the time to sightsee and take pictures. This is dangerous. The bridge is closed. Stay away.”

In the wake of the severe

sea swells, residents, in conjunction with government officials, organised a ferry service that transported residents from Gregory Town Dock to the Glass Window Bar and Grill, a restaurant just south of the bridge, at a cost $10 one-way or $20 round-trip.

This is the ferry service referenced by CSP Adderley.

The service is being operated as a part of island’s ongoing ferry schedule.

The Glass Window

DARVILLE: WHERE IS SAFETY REPORT?

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

DR Michael Darville, former Minister for Grand Bahama, is criticising the Minnis government for not tabling and making public a report on the safety assessment study undertaken in communities near the industrial park in Grand Bahama.

The study, conducted by the Antea Group of the Netherlands, was undertaken in February 2017 when the Christie government was still in office.

Dr Darville – who was minister of Grand Bahama at the time and had commissioned the study – said he had read the preliminary report that had been submitted to the Christie administration before leaving office.

He noted that the safety assessment was the second

phase of studies done in the area, and was in keeping with recommendations outlined in a Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation report of an environmental health risk assessment study of the area completed in December 2015.

“Prior to leaving office, I read a preliminary report and today government has not tabled the report from the Antea Group which speaks specifically about the safety mechanisms that are of concerns with the people of Pinder’s Point and Lewis Yard,” Dr Darville said during a recent interview.

“So here it is a year later, and I remember the criticisms we had, and the report has still not been tabled for public knowledge where the people of Pinder’s Point, Lewis Yard, and Mack Town can review what are the safety factors

that may be detrimental to their existence in close proximity to industrial plants,” he said.

Last December, Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson confirmed that the government was in receipt of a final report of a safety assessment from the Antea Group which was under review by the government.

He also noted that the government had allowed persons who had expressed concerns about the report to meet with the Antea Group to voice their issues before the submission of the final report.

The Grand Bahama Environmental Association (GBEA) does not accept the findings of the safety assessment report.

Of the 3,000 residents in the affected communities, a GBEA representative claims that the report does

not adequately address the safety concerns of the area and recommends the relocation of only one percent of the people.

Mr Shuffel Hepburn, of GBEA, said that the study indicates that only six homes are in the dangerous buffer zone.

“There are less than 30 persons inclusive of adults and children who live in these homes presently. The study calls for only these homes to be relocated.

This amount represents a mere one percent of the 3,026 persons now living in the industrial park,” he said.

Mr Hepburn said that the government had relocated thousands of teachers and students from schools near the industrial plants.

The GBEA has been calling for the relocation of all persons in the surrounding communities near the industrial park.

TURTLE SLAUGHTER: THREE HELD from page one

The RBPF also issued a strong warning to the community that anyone in breach of the Fisheries Act will be arrested and taken before court.

Acting Director of Marine Resources Edison Deleveaux told The Tribune that one of the men arrested was a fisherman and the person seen slaughtering the turtle in the video.

The other two individuals were “associated with (a) restaurant,” he said.

The Bahamas National Trust also released a statement on its Facebook page regarding the incident.

“We have seen the distressful video of the illegal

FIREARM FOUND

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A FIREARM found in the business area of Freeport was turned over to the Central Police Station, police reported.

According to ASP Terecita Pinder, a citizen discovered a .38 revolver in the area of Logwood Road and took it to police.

In a second incident, she said that officers of the Drug Enforcement Unit acting on information discovered a black pistol along with two rounds of .9mm ammunition in the area of Winchester Circle.

ASP Pinder said no arrest was made in the matters and investigations are continuing.

killing of a Loggerhead turtle on Grand Bahama.

We are relieved to say that arrests have been made, and the offenders are now in police custody. Thank you all, for your concerns and making sure your voices were heard.

“On (Wednesday morning) one team of officers proceeded to West End where the man seen in the video killing the turtle was arrested.

“He was then taken to the business establishment in Freeport where the turtle was killed.

“Here, another team of officers had already searched the establishment and found turtle meat in the freezer and on the floor.

“Additionally, the shell of the turtle was found behind

the establishment. The owners of the establishment were also arrested and along with the West End resident are being charged with possession, sales and purchase of turtle. Turtles have been protected in the Bahamas since 2009,” he said.

Activist Sam

Duncombe told The Tribune she was encouraged to see Bahamians condemning the brutal and illegal act.

“I am devastated for the poor turtle. What a horrific end. If only Bahamians would rise to the occasion for all the issues we face.

Together we can make a huge difference,” she said.

Bridge has not been officially reopened since Sunday, when it had to be closed due to large and dangerous swells.

That same day, four people were injured as they attempted to climb rocks on the side of the bridge.

Then on Monday, police said they were searching for a 19-year-old American man who was reportedly swept out to sea at Queen’s Bath, near the bridge. The teen, Johnathan Brusso of Michigan, was still missing yesterday. Police said his father is on the island as officials continue their search.

The bridge is considered a vital commercial link between the northern and southern parts of Eleuthera.

Works Minister Desmond Bannister earlier this week announced the government is considering the construction of a new $30m bridge to replace the current pathway.

Mr Bannister said while officials are open to evaluating the bridge to determine its structural soundness, plans for a new bridge can no longer be delayed.

“We need to budget this year to construct a real bridge,” he said.

PAGE 4, Thursday, March 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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Forensic audit needed for PMH TODAY The Tribune sends out an SOS requesting information that might lead to the Public Hospital Authority locating its missing ambulances.

Between November, 2012 and May 2016, the Public Hospital Authority (PHA) received 15 new ambulances at a total cost of $2,541,187.

Presently, of that 15 the new PHA board can only locate six ambulances in New Providence and two in Grand Bahama. And of those six in New Providence, three are out of commission awaiting parts. They have been waiting for these parts for three months.

However, it was soon discovered that not only had the PLP government left the new government with a $12m debt in accounts payable, but Friendly Ford had not been paid for a year. No wonder the ambulances, for want of unpaid bills, still sit idle awaiting new equipment to get their engines turning over again.

It has been suggested that the payment for these ambulances was made through National Insurance. Maybe someone at NIB could contribute information that might help solve the mystery.

It is estimated, based on population and demand for ambulance service, that about eight to 12 vehicles in running order are needed for New Providence.

As for Grand Bahama, three to four vehicles are required. At present, Grand Bahama has only two vehicles on the road.

In November 2012, the Public Hospitals Authority commissioned five new state-of-the art ambulances at a cost of $1.14m. The boast at the time was that with this acquisition The Bahamas became one of only two Caribbean countries to acquire the latest technology in ambulances. The ambulances, according to then PHA chairman Frank Smith, were equipped with engines that could withstand the “high sulphur grade diesel” sold in The Bahamas. In addition, he said, the new engines would suffer fewer mechanical difficulties with this feature. It would be interesting to know if these are the engines that have now broken down.

At that time – 2012 – then Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez revealed that many of New Providence’s ambulances had been kept in service longer than the international standard of three years. He said that, with the exception of five ambulances purchased in 2011, the ambulance fleet was comprised of vehicles purchased between 2002 and 2006. However, since 2008 the need for ambulance service had increased with demands in 2011 being almost 50 calls a day.

Despite this, PHA and EMS services were criticised when it was revealed that – like now – many vehicles were out of service for lack of repair. In February 2012, The Tribune was told that two ambulances had broken down while rushing patients to hospital — leaving the service with only one ambulance for that day. It was revealed that between 2010 and 2011, EMS personnel responded to 400 shootings and 500 stabbings. It would be interesting to know what the count is today — and with millions spent, only three ambulances are now available.

The ten new ambulances arriving in Nassau on May 1, 2016, at a cost of $1,401,187 was said to be the first instalment of 25 new ambulances allocated as part of PHA’s “health system strengthening initiative”.

If this is so where are all of these ambulances being hidden? So far, only six have been located in Nassau, and of those six, three are out of commission awaiting parts, presumably from Friendly Ford, which still awaits payment for past orders.

Our recommendation ­ is that a forensic audit should be undertaken immediately of every department of this public hospital and its outlying clinics.

From what we hear it would be wise to audit all government departments. This should be the first decision a new government makes on taking over from a former administration so that it knows early exactly what problems to expect.

A forensic audit is strongly recommended for the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Bahamian Bonaparte EDITOR, The Tribune.

For export only EDITOR, The Tribune.

THANK you, Editor, for allowing me to express my serious concerns. I am eternally grateful.

There seems to be an arrangement or some unspoken plan to use The Bahamas as the dumping ground for countries or companies.

Especially recently, there have been a plethora of food stuff and other items sent to The Bahamas that has been discarded by countries or companies. Why is this allowed to happen?

There are many items in the food stores that has on the labels, “for export only”. We can easily conclude that the products are inferior. Actually we can conclude that The Bahamas is the dumping ground for “garbage”. This begs the question, is there anyone in government who monitors these things?

How come the government is so naive or compromised to the extent

that it is allowing its people to be taken advantage of so much. I am sure our heath is being compromised.

There can be no explanation why the Bahamas Government would allow this practice to continue.

The possibility exists that meat may have bacteria concerns and canned goods that would not be allowed to be consumed in their country are allow to be sent here.

The Ministry of Health cannot be that unconcerned or compromised to allow this practice to continue. How come only stores “over the hill” carry these products?

It is sad that we are so gullible. The only thing that seems to turn this government on is increasing unemployment and destroying the quality of life as we once knew it.

Who in the government has the integrity or pride to say that this is in fact happening and something will be done, or are we to expect some more spin

from the many highly paid propagandists?

Are we being used as guinea pigs? Is this intentional? How unconscionable can we be?

Not that I expect anyone to do anything, but the members of government must know that their families are eating this garbage too.

Finally, I am stunned that journalists do not see any merit in investigating this or reporting it, because I am positive that they all know. I guess the priority is still to sell to the public that someone stolen from the government.

I conclude that I am still unafraid, especially since I have discovered a place called “freedom”, dare to be me and unafraid to die.

I fear Jesus Christ only, all others are powder puff.

misnamed “Caribbean side”. Then I turned the page to find Penny Bee’s excellent letter “Where the sea meets the facts”.

I take my hat off to Penny Bee for telling it as it is - Glass Window, Eleuthera and our

Commonwealth of the Bahamas are NOT in the Caribbean Sea. Thank you, Penny! You deserve a standing ovation.

Laser focused!

IVOINE INGRAHAM Nassau, January 31, 2018.

W.

Proud of Penny EDITOR, The Tribune.

ON page 3 of today’s Tribune, I scoured the lengthy report on the “$30M BRIDGE” at Glass Window, and breathed a sigh of relief that there was no mention of the

PAUL C. ARANHA Nassau, March 7, 2018.

FRED Smith, Esquire, QC, needs to be reminded of the very arduous lesson that French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte found out the hard way in 1812. With his Grande Armée (the largest in the history of war at that time) he had all of Europe at his feet but then he overplayed his hand and invaded Russia only to be rebuffed and humiliated.

Napoleon remarked at the time that the mighty could go from the sublime to the ridiculous very quickly.

Hubris will get the better of Smith before too long as he continues to overplay his hand in his contretemps with the government over the legal status of some Bahamas-born, Haitian descendants of illegal immigrants, to whom the Constitution does not extend any immediate automatic right to remain here.

Smith seems to have negotiated a Faustian bargain that has taken him from advocacy to attack mode. Instead of pushing for thorny constitutional issues to be resolved through the courts he has decided that he will override the Cabinet and make his own immigration and foreign policy. This is a parlous position to take.

He now runs the risk of alienating an important constituency that could help him achieve his goals.

There is a community of influential Bahamians who hold no state office or rank in any civil society organisation but who are a part of a whispering army that holds tremendous sway with politicians in the shaping of national policy.

These kitchen cabinet boosters found sympathy with Smith when he railed against a system that had removed his client from The Bahamas before the client’s claim to remain here could be adjudicated.

The government, influenced by these boosters for sure but dictated to by a court order, got his client back here from Haiti to have his day in court. That is when Smith began to descend from the mighty sublime into ridicule.

His latest absurdity is that he is acting to undermine the lawful policy of our government by calling on the government of Haiti to abandon international law and refuse to accept the repatriation of its own citizens who are expelled from a sovereign state in which they had no legal leave to reside, or at best their

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net status was in question.

Mr. Smith ought to know that even the United Nations High Commission for Refugees comes down on the side of The Bahamas in this debate. They have lent the imprimatur of the UN to our exercise of repatriation in the past.

The Haitian government recognises the issue of their citizens being expelled from other countries. For a long time, they had an official cabinet level portfolio called the Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad. Their brief was to deal with all manner of issues affecting their diaspora, repatriation being one.

They tacitly recognised that less than 10% of their population at home and abroad have the required documentation (birth certificates, passports, baptismal records, etc) to prove that they or their parents are Haitian nationals and so there is normally only a cursory vetting of their diaspora expelled from the US, Canada, France, Turks and Caicos and, yes, The Bahamas.

Prime Minister Minnis is doing his best to thread a very difficult needle. He must be given credit for tackling the problem headon. The court has now thrown a spanner into his plans and so Cabinet will have to make new public policy on the fly depending upon the eventual ruling in a case that will likely end up in the Privy Council, if Smith has anything to say in the matter. And he definitely will.

Smith is a Queen’s Counsel and he obviously knows that when a matter is sub judice, it is off limits to public discussion. But still he persists and, to be fair, he has been winning a few battles, but the fog of war seems to block his view on how we as a country diffuse a complex immigration kerfuffle that is 50 years in the making.

Rights Bahamas, the group that Smith heads, and all other Bahamians should insist that we treat those persons detained by the state in a humane fashion. The Immigration Department must follow the law when it comes to removals. Get new arrivals before a judge in the stipulated timeframe or get them to sign waivers to take the fast-track back home.

Most Bahamians find it difficult to accept that given

the tenacity of the Haitian diaspora here, they didn’t have outreach programmes on the airwaves and on social media to remind savvy young people born here of their need to apply for citizenship on their 18th birthday.

The Prime Minister gave adequate notice to all to get their house in order before the end of last year or face the consequences. Rights Bahamas could have joined in the campaign to remind those affected that enforcement action was coming.

Instead, Smith chose to invite Haiti to create a diplomatic incident by refusing to accept its own citizens that we repatriate.

As a descendent of the first back republic in the western hemisphere, Smith needs to remind his audience of the similarities in Haitian and Bahamian citizenship laws.

A person born in Haiti does not automatically receive citizenship. A child, regardless of where they are born, is considered Haitian if either their mother or father is a native-born citizen of Haiti.

Then Haitian law gets more convoluted.

According to their 1987 constitution there is a prohibition on dual nationality.

The Haitian constitution automatically cancels Haitian citizenship the moment a Haitian takes a foreign nationality. The only exception is for a child with Haitian parents born outside Haiti who may acquire and hold the citizenship of their birth country as well as Haitian citizenship.

The catch is when that child turns 18, the Haitian constitution forces him to renounce one of these nationalities.

In our laws, a child born here to Haitian parents is Haitian exclusively until his 18th birthday at which time he can apply to become a Bahamian. If he accepts our citizenship he would automatically lose his Haitian nationality.

Fred Smith is skating on thin ice and he could lose the best friends he could ever wish for: those Bahamians willing to entertain his hare-brained, publicity grabbing stunts and give him the benefit of the doubt.

Fighting for the rights of others to remain here is one thing, trying to embarrass us on the international stage is another thing all together.

THE GRADUATE Nassau, March 7, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 8, 2018, PAGE 5

Cooper blasts Govt on Oban from page one “This of course makes very little financial connect for me and maybe they should have consulted their consultants on this issue.”

The opposition’s finance spokesman said the country’s economy has never grown that much in a single year, adding this claim raises more concerns about the wherewithal of Oban.

He also recounted the various revelations about Oban Energies which have been reported in the press since the heads of agreement was signed two weeks ago. At that ceremony at the Office of the Prime Minister, Peter Krieger, Oban Energies’ non-executive chairman, signed what was said to be the heads of agreement for the deal.

It was revealed by the Nassau Guardian that Mr Krieger did not sign his name, but Satpal Dhunna’s, the company’s president.

The Minnis administration has said the signing was a “ceremonial” one.

Mr Cooper said it appears there are two heads of agreement, one signed

by Mr Krieger and another, tabled in the House by Dr Minnis, signed by Mr Dhunna.

“We have never seen Satpal Dhunna, we do not know when he might have signed these heads of agreement,” Mr Cooper said.

“Though if the heads of agreement tabled in this place in accurate, it was signed on February 19, the same day Krieger signed the other agreement.”

He questioned why Mr Dhunna has not surfaced publicly, and wondered if the investor has even visited The Bahamas.

Earlier in the day, House Speaker Halson Moultrie did not allow Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin to raise the matter in the House.

Before the sitting yesterday, Picewell Forbes, Leader of Government Business in the House, Central and South Andros MP, met with the Speaker and verbally notified him of Mrs Hanna Martin’s intention to raise concerns of the oil refinery and storage deal.

While it is unclear what was said in the meeting, when Mrs Hanna Martin attempted to speak on the issue her efforts were thwarted by Speaker Moultrie. He said not only was there no written notice given, but that it was foreseeable her remarks would be provocative and controversial. He added the matter had only been discussed five to ten minutes before yesterday’s sitting.

Speaker Moultrie said: “With respect to the matter the honourable member for Englerston is seeking to raise, if we examine rule 51(1) a member may propose to the Speaker that a critical matter of immediate public importance be submitted to the House for discussion. The member proposing the matter should present to the Speaker at least one hour before the time fixed upon the sitting of the House a written statement of the matter proposed to be debated.

“If the Speaker determines that it is in order he shall so inform the House.

“Now based on the issue that was discussed with the Speaker in the presence of the member for South and Central Andros only five to 10 minutes before the sitting of the House and there was no written statement.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

CHESTER Cooper MP in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Photo: Yontalay Bowe The chair is of the view that the matter is premature. It is provocative and controversial and it is the ruling of the chair that leave is not granted at this time and the proper procedure should be followed as was discussed.”

Following this, as he left the House of Assembly, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said he plans to “enumerate a lot of things” regarding Oban Energies when he makes his presentation during the mid-year budget debate.

He was tight-lipped, refusing to speak on the matter or comment when he was pointedly asked whether he was still confident in the controversial deal.

He said: “About the Oban issue? (I will comment) when I speak during my mid-year budget address, I’ve told you that before and that still holds.

During the budget address, I will enumerate a lot of things and I will speak about Oban.

“I will speak about Oban issues then, okay?” he said in response to another question about his confidence level on the deal.

Moments before Dr Minnis dodged questions on the matter, Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest, as he wrapped up his

mid-year budget contribution, said the government would “by any means necessary” revive Grand Bahama’s economy.

The comment drew gasps from some seated MPs while others mumbled various comments. It was a surprising remark considering recent revelations which have gone public regarding Oban officials.

“Mr Speaker, the Grand Bahama economy is obviously very near and dear to me. The move that the government is making with respect to the Grand Bahama economy are not only intangible but they are tangible,” the minister of finance said.

“Mr Speaker I have heard a lot of commentary in the last couple of weeks about our efforts to move the Grand Bahamian economy forward. But as I said to a reporter, he who feels it knows it, Mr Speaker, because the Grand Bahama economy has been allowed to go to a level it has never ever been and it requires bold action in order to revive it.

“So, Mr Speaker, we are committed to revive Grand Bahama by any means necessary and, Mr Speaker, we are making progress in that regard,” Mr Turnquest said.

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PAGE 6, Thursday, March 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

What a stinker from page one

Long Island MP Adrian Gibson, the current chairman of the WSC, tabled EY’s report in Parliament yesterday and said it would be sent to police.

Investigators identified Merlene Poitier as one of the shareholders in the contracting company for the GRWWTP project, Nassau Island Development (NID). EY reported that she works in the law firm of Deputy Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis, with Mr Gibson saying yesterday she is believed to be a secretary there. The company’s other shareholder is identified as Anthony L Ferguson.

Highlighting the relationship with NID and Mr Davis, EY uncovered an email in which the company lobbied “for a WSC employee to receive a promotion”.

Mr Davis subsequently reported the request to WSC’s General Manager Glen Laville, saying in correspondence: “The case is compelling could you look into and resolve?”

In the last week, Mr Davis has repeatedly emphasised he has not seen EY’s report and was not given a chance to respond to its revelations that may concern him.

He repeated this yesterday.

As he tabled the report, Mr Gibson said NID appeared to have an “angel” on its side.

He said notwithstanding the recommendations from the then board, management and consultants to terminate NID’s contract and/or not make any additional payments, countless board minutes and emails show that the recommendations were “overruled”;

ADRIAN Gibson in the House of Assembly yesterday. that there were “external influences and manipulation”; that they were able to “evade termination.”

In a March 9, 2016, board meeting, it was stated that the board and management had been directed to “seek a cost and completion strategy”; and to “continue (the) engagement of NID,” he said.

Among other things, the contractor of the incomplete project did not secure a performance bond as is required during tendering processes, investigators said, noting requirements in this regard were continually

relaxed on the apparent advice of senior government officials.

Twice payments were ordered for NID over senior public servants’ considerable objections.

In the first instance in 2014, former WSC Chairman Lester Cox ordered the WSC to “make an advance payment” of $1.2m.

But EY said: “WSC management resisted and explained the amount the contractor had been paid to date was substantially more than what was reflected in the construction progress and that making the

Photo: Yontalay Bowe advance payment would negatively impact WSC’s ability to manage the project.”

Mr Cox, in various emails, appeared irritated that senior officials questioned the requests.

In one email to Mr Laville he said: “We sat in the meeting at 10am with the JV and I am amazed that we are still discussing while the project is at a standstill. Maybe I did not make the minister’s request clear so I repeat. FACILITATE THE PAYMENT so that this project can come to a completion.”

The report does not specify what minister Mr Cox was referring to, but Mr Davis was the minister of works with responsibility for WSC at the time.

In another instance, several months before work was halted on the project, $1m was ordered paid to NID. EY said the payment “circumvented all internal controls of the corporation and severely handicapped WSC’s ability to adequately manage NID”.

That $1m, EY said, was not included in the project’s overall $17.3m cost tag, meaning the project had a budget overrun of “approximately 91 percent” if it were to be included.

Colin Higgs, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Works, was among those not in support of the $1m payment.

On April 26, 2016, he wrote to former State Minister of Finance Michael Halkitis and former Financial Secretary Simon Wilson, saying: “When it came to my attention that an officer in the MOF (Ministry of Finance) was directed to request my ministry to facilitate payment of $1m to NID for the competition of works related to the GRWWTP, I made known to you my reservation for making the payment without consultation with WSC management and documentation to support such a payment.

However, despite this, the payment was made… In my opinion, the $1m payment to NID compromises WSC’s management of the GRWWTP contract and puts them, the project manager consultant and consultant QS in the challenging position of having to reconcile with the contractor outstanding payment for works completed and to account for a substantial sum one money that was provided to the contractor on account to undertake works that are not yet completed or stated.”

Mr Higgs continued: “This payment, in my view, results in the project being at a high risk of failure to complete within the recommended and Cabinet approved $2.8m… I have now been provided with documentation to sign as chief financial officer MW&Ud (Ministry of Works and Urban Development) to approve the $1m payment. I wish to go on record as not supporting this transaction.”

In addition, EY said WSC raised concerns about NID’s relatively low score on the “technical aspect” of the bid during the tendering process. The contractor received a score of 71.5 when the minimum acceptable score is 70.

“Although WSC raised concerns about the low

score, the contract was ultimately awarded to NID with the understanding that they would partner with another firm to bolster their technical capabilities,” EY said.

As for the performance bond, EY said: “NID was unable to secure the 200% bond (eg, $15m) required by the tender, which would typically have disqualified them from the bid. NID was first given permission to secure a 25 per cent bond and was awarded the contract. Although the contract was awarded in March 2013, the contractor continued to struggle to secure the bond through June 2014. Finally, the contractor was ultimately allowed to seek a bond worth only 10 per cent of the original contract value.”

EY said WSC management consistently blamed the project’s budget-overruns and delays on ATS Chesters Engineers, a thirdparty contractor hired to manage the day-to-day progress of the project.

Management took “little to no responsibility themselves for what one executive tabled the ‘worst project I have ever been a part of’,” EY said.

Management blamed ATS Chesters Engineers for selecting NID “despite technical shortcomings” and for misleading the corporation about the overall costs associated with the project, according to EY. “When asked why WSC wasn’t more involved with daily project management and why so much reliance was placed on third parties to supervise a project of this scale, WSC management consistently referenced a lack of expertise and shortage of resources,” EY said.

In a board meeting on February 23, 2016, Mr Miller and Mr Laville are highlighted discussing the project.

Mr Laville said: “Let me paint a very realistic picture: the agreement and rates that we have with Baha Mar will not cover the cost of operating this plant and satisfying the debt, so we are going to be in a losing situation from the time we start off.”

Yesterday evening, Mr Gibson told The Tribune decisions related to the project are “forthcoming”.

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 8, 2018, PAGE 7

DANGEROUS MATERIALS USED IN ELEUTHERA WATER TANKS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

WHEN a whistleblower partnering with a local firm to provide water services to Eleuthera residents alleged that “improper and dangerous materials” were being used to line tanks, Water & Sewerage Corporation’s General Manger Glen Laville dismissed the concerns and never shared them with the board of directors, auditor EY found during its audit of the corporation.

The Eleuthera Naval Base storage tanks were to store water that would readily be supplied to residents of Eleuthera.

The tanks were supposed to be completed in December 2014 for $1.4m, although the contract was never tendered.

“Instead, it was awarded to Treasure Coast Development and Construction (TCC), an entity owned by one Glenn Lowe,” WSC Chairman Adrian Gibson said in Parliament yesterday, before he tabled the audit. “TCC was involved in a joint venture with a US-based company, SRT Solutions, a company which EY said actually ‘had the expertise to perform the tank lining and refurbishment’.”

Although $730k has been spent on the project so far, three of the four tanks remain inoperable, according to EY. Mr Laville received an email from a whistleblower connected to SRT Solutions in 2014 alleging that TCC was “attempting to use improper and dangerous materials to line the tanks.”

But, EY said, “GM Laville dismissed the allegations as convoluted and instructed Deputy General Manager Robert Deal to simply review documentation from Mr Lowe.”

GLEN LAVILLE “Up to this point, TCC had already been paid approximately $360k and suffered numerous project delays,” EY said.

“When asked why he didn’t require Internal Control & Compliance to perform an investigation into the allegations, GM Laville stated he didn’t consider it necessary. WSC management never notified the (board of directors) of the allegations.”

EY said WSC’s management could not recall who recommended TCC for the contract or “how they knew that these works were necessary”.

Mr Gibson in Parliament said the dangerous materials allegedly used “could have caused injury and/ or death to the people of Eleuthera”.

He said the whistleblower has been deported twice. He also stressed that the health of the residents of Eleuthera “has not and will not be placed at risk, because the tanks in question was never placed into service”.

EY also reported that TCC’s owner, Mr Lowe, “bragged about having personal connections with former DPM Davis.”

And despite the WSC’s board

terminating its contract with the vendor because of its “repeated failures and missed deadlines”, it was revealed during a board meeting discussing their decision that the “ministry has requested that we give consideration to rescinding the termination letter”.

The report said: “Further, EY identified emails from Mr Lowe to former DPM Davis pleading with him to instruct WSC to withdraw its termination letter in March 2017. A meeting was held between the Ministry of Works, TCC and WSC in March 2017. Although GM Laville claimed he could not recall the outcome of the meeting, EY observed evidence that WSC extended a final opportunity to TCC to complete the project by the end of May 2017. TCC was unable to meet the deadline and WSC is currently seeking options to call the performance bond.”

EY said that TCC “continued to receive funding for the project, including a $112k advance payment in May 2016, two years after the awarding of the contract” despite numerous project delays and allegations.

In addition, EY has highlighted conflicts of interest at WSC, revealing that Deputy General Manager Robert Deal and Assistant General Manager Cyprian Gibson failed to disclose their business relationships with Exuma & Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper, even as the companies for which they were shareholders conducted business with the corporation.

“EY identified a conflict of interest whereby Assistant General Manager Cyprian Gibson, DGM Deal and the owners of a WSC vendor, Chester Cooper, are shareholders together in IEHL, a real

estate holding company,” EY said. “Mr Cooper is an owner of BAF Global Group Limited and its subsidiary, Cash N Go, which provides bill collection services to WSC. Cash N Go has been a vendor for WSC since 2013 and has been paid approximately $150k to date.

“IEHL is a real estate holding company that was formed in 1997 and has a loan from Mr Cooper’s company, BAF, with an outstanding balance of approximately $430k.

Both AGM Gibson and DGM Deal are guarantors on the loan. Further, IEHL is the entity developing a subdivision down as Southern Dreams in New Providence.”

EY said it had evidence that WSC installed a new water water main for the Southern Dreams subdivision in 2013 for $32k.

“Additionally,” the firm said, “EY observed email communications in July 2015 whereby IEHL engaged a WSC vendor, Apex Underground Utilities, to perform construction-related services for the Southern Dreams subdivision. The proposal for the works is addressed to AGM Gibson, who negotiated with the vendor on IEHL’s behalf.

“Although IEHL was formed prior to the engagement of Cash N Go as a vendor by WSC, neither DGM Deal nor AGM Gibson disclosed their business relationship with Mr Cooper to HR or their supervisors.

Mr Deal did advise GM Laville of his ownership interest in IEHL in 2013 when internal approvals for the works to be completed at Southern Dreams were being discussed but never disclosed Mr Cooper as a shareholder.”

EY said it discovered documentation suggesting

Mr Gibson was involved with Mr Cooper and BAF on another entity, Navy Lion Investments, a developer of the subdivision McAllen Estates.

Mr Gibson performed administrative duties on behalf of the entity, including “negotiating with WSC contractor (Sentinel Drilling) on behalf of Navy Lion for construction services,” EY reported, adding that McAllen Estates received a “new water main in 2013 at a cost of $13k to WSC”.

Elsewhere, EY highlighted communication showing government officials intervening in the day-to-day operations of the corporation in questionable ways.

In one case, Mr Davis instructed officials to pay $3.5k to Wellington Brown of Ocean Development International Contractors.

In an interview with EY, Mr Deal said: “Mr Brown was sent to WSC by DPM Davis to be given any work that was available.

“Mr Deal further said that the quality of Mr Brown’s work was not up to par but WSC felt that they had to continue to engage Mr Brown due to DPM Davis’ requests.”

In another instance, EY highlighted an email from WSC’s Deputy Chair, Audley Hanna, who said in an email to former Prime Minister Perry Christie and Mr Davis that they needed to “deal with these FNM cronies in Water & Sewerage.” Mr Hanna was the contractor involved in the controversial Bahamas Agricultural & Marine Science Institute dorm that burned down after he failed to secure insurance for the building.

In another instance, EY highlighted former WSC Chairman Leslie Miller mentioning the then upcoming election in

his rationale for awarding a contract to Island Site Development (ISD) despite objections from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

The matter concerned a construction project to improve water supply infrastructure in South Andros, EY said.

The project was sought under the loan programme the WSC has with the bank.

In August 11, 2016, CDB wrote a letter objecting to ISD receiving the contract, saying it did not satisfy qualification requirements.

The bank recommended that the contract go instead to the lowest evaluated bidder that satisfied qualification criteria.

However, in a subsequent letter, Mr Miller said: “Please be advised that the government of The Bahamas is completely satisfied with the works done by ISD and their financial viability.

Therefore, we are not in agreement with your decision to reverse awarding the contract to them and hereby request the ‘no objection’ to the award of the contract to ISD be given as directed by the board. As you might be aware, this is the election season in The Bahamas and we are seeking to ensure that the economic pie is shared among all deserving contractors and in this case, it is ISD.” The CDB subsequently responded with a “no objection” to the contract being awarded to ISD. In another instance of interference, EY highlighted an email from former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and WSC Chairman Bradley Roberts in 2012 in which he advised WSC’s management team to stop disconnecting the services of people in Abaco because “there (was) a bye-election currently underway” in that constituency.

‘FRIEND’ OF WSC MANAGER GIVEN $3.2M CONTRACT

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A WATER & Sewerage Corporation employee, described as a “close friend of” General Manager Glen Laville, secured a lucrative $3.2m contract with the corporation despite being fired twice, auditor EY said in its report.

The contract was for engineering services and it was awarded to ACO JV (joint venture) for which Mario Bastian, the former WSC employee, is a 33 per cent owner.

In a report tabled in Parliament yesterday, EY said Mr Bastian was hired in 1987 and had his employment terminated in 2006 “due to an undisclosed conflict of interest”, though “lack of trust” was the reason highlighted on his employee file.

However, he was rehired in 2010 when Mr Laville became general manager, but was fired again when Bradley Roberts became chairman. Mr Roberts had encouraged his dismissal in 2006.

EY said: “Despite having worked 22 years cumulative for the corporation, Mr Bastian’s retirement benefits and pension were awarded based on 30 years of service.”

This contradicted the direction of then Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, who auditors said had instructed that he “be retired in the public interest” and that his “entitlements should be paid on actual years served and his pension bridged as appropriate”.

Elsewhere, the report revealed that Mr Laville allegedly altered water quality standards relating to a Blue Hills expansion project.

“In May 2005, WSC retained Consolidated Water (BAHAMAS) LTD (CWCO) to supply water to WSC from a reverse osmosis desalination plant on a build, own and operate basis. Under the agreement, CWCO was responsible for designing, building, commissioning and operating the plant at its own expense as well as producing water that met

all quality standards and requirements established

by WSC. “An amendment to this contract was executed in August 2011 to expand the Blue Hills Plant to obtain additional water for public consumption.

Subsequently, WSC began receiving a high volume of complaints due to red, rusty water. As a result of the complaints, WSC retained RosTek Associates in April 2013 to perform. Forensic contractual review of the original contract as well as the amendment for the expansion of the plant.”

RosTek’s investigation concluded that water quality standards in the

original contract were removed.

Said EY: “Specifically, this amendment eliminated the requirement for a minimum total hardness of the water of 50 mg/I which was part of the plant performance guarantees requirements referenced in the original contract. RosTek noted that this is a significant deletion since this water quality parameter is a factor in the calculation of the Langelier Saturation Index.”

EY said in explaining the decision, Mr Laville said it was planned that a corrosion inhibitor, SeaQuest, would be used and would mitigate the red water

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“However, the inhibitor was ultimately never

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“When asked why, GM Laville

stated that it simply ‘fell through the cracks’,” the auditors reported.

PAGE 8, Thursday, March 8, 2018 THE ROYAL Bahamas Police Force held their very first Mini Tattoo at the Tom “The Bird” Grant Park in Yellow Elder Gardens. There were performances by the RBPF Police Band, K-9 Unit, Motor Cycle Unit, Fire Department and Mobile Unit.

Pictured are kids of the Yellow Elder community.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune

TASTE OF TATTOO RBPF DELIGHTS CITIZENS WITH A SPECTACULAR SHOW

THE TRIBUNE

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 8, 2018, PAGE 9

Turnquest: 865 fewer people in public sector

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest pushed back yesterday against the claim of major public sector firings under the Minnis administration, saying 865 fewer people were employed in the public sector between June and December 2017. He said some of them retired, some had their temporary contracts expire and some were terminated.

“My point is that despite the fiction being perpetrated by the idle and indolent crew on the opposite side, there have been no widespread firings by the government,” he said.

In January, the Department of Statistics reported

that government jobs decreased by 2,555 between its most recent surveys in May and November of 2017.

This was widely interpreted to mean that most people no longer employed in the public sector during this time period were let go as part of the Minnis administration’s effort to streamline the sector. Following that

Department of Statistics’ report, Attorney General Carl Bethel said the reduction allowed the government to save about $75m.

Mr Turnquest, nonetheless, provided statistics yesterday that painted a different picture.

He said: “We are systematically addressing the issue of temporary and

contractual staff and the government is doing its best to place these contractual workers in areas where there is legitimate need.

However, given our fiscal situation – and our still pressing need to recruit and retain professional skillsets into the public service – we will continue to review the status of all temporary employees and be judicious and fair in our dealings.

“In June 2017, the first full month after this government came to office––and after the increase in staff by over 2,000 in the final year of the former government, the treasury payroll processed salaries for 20,177 employees. In December of 2017, the treasury processed salaries of 19,312 employees – for a net downward movement of 865 fewer employees.

nearly a year into assuming office.

While the government discovered $150m in commitments that must be paid including $63m for NHI and the prescription drug plan along with $7.5m to Arawak Homes, Mr Turnquest said the Minnis administration also paid out $54m in the first half of 2017-2018 to satisfy the previous bills.

Among these was $13.2m in respect to 573 prior-year transactions across ministries and departments; $13m owed to the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation; $5.6m for unpaid bills from the Department of Customs reform and modernisation project and $3.8m for the Fox Hill Community Centre among other exorbitant fees.

Nonetheless, he said 2.5 percent growth is expected this year and 2.2 percent is

projected in the following year.

According to Mr Turnquest, the former Progressive Liberal Party government’s handling of the state was “shoddy” at best.

“When I mentioned that we faced a bare cupboard last May, I was not speaking in jest, for there is no humour in the fiscal morass that we inherited – and the one that so severely constrains the room in which we have had to manoeuvre.

“Indeed our government walked into a most challenging environment in respect of the management and administration of public sector finances,” the East Grand Bahama MP said.

Mr Turnquest said the previous government also engaged in “shameless and extravagant” pre-election

spending.

“As we quickly discovered upon coming to office, that spree left us with virtually untold millions in unpaid overhang commitments with which we must now deal. Indeed their overhang is of an order of magnitude that may well be unprecedented.

“To date we have been able to ascertain just over $200m in such commitments. Unfortunately, it appears that this is not the end of the story as new unpaid commitments continue to surface. Such irresponsible behaviour by a government solemnly and faithfully elected by Bahamian citizens is simple unconscionable.”

Other questionable matters he said is the claim that the former government committed $18m to support the printing of the Bahamas Handbook and in-room

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest yesterday.

“Of that 865 downward movement, some 222 would be persons retiring and moving to government pensions. The remaining movement of 643 would largely reflect expired temporary contracts that the government chose not to renew, as well as resignations and terminations that are part of natural attrition in the government.

“My point is that despite the fiction being perpetrated by the idle and indolent crew on the opposite side, there have been no widespread firings by the government.

The majority of the 2,000 plus persons brought on by the former government – and almost all of the necessary professional full-time staff recruited by the former government – continue to remain in the employ of the government. And, as we sort

through the legitimate needs of the public service, we will give the current contractual staff in good standing the opportunity to fill those slots where there is legitimate need, ever mindful of the fact, however, that we are compelled to rationalise costs were there is no case to continue spending money.

This we must do as the stewards of Bahamian taxpayer money.”

In January, the Department of Statistics reported that the number of people employed in government or government corporations was 38,435, down from 40,990 from last May. Both numbers are far more than the 19,312 people for whom Mr Turnquest said the treasury processed salaries in December. The reason for the discrepancies was not clear yesterday.

tourist guides, but only paid $500,000 towards the bill.

“The former administration did not put this work out to contract nor send it to Cabinet for approval. It is now left up to the government to sort this matter out and investigate the $17.5m that is supposedly owed.”

Any number of consultants were also brought on some not having Cabinet approval nor working through the required procurement process, with ill-defined roles among other things, Mr Turnquest said.

“A Public Treasury where the senior staff could get no assistance obtaining critical equipment, or get approval for much needed staff – despite millions of dollars being frittered away.

All because we suspect the treasurer was prepared to tell the former administration to follow the rules.

“A revenue enhancement project initiative and team costing at the time more than $1m a month to run including expensive foreign consultancies without any evidence of Cabinet approval.

“Despite all of the hoopla around the Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival festival, the Ministry of Finance had engaged an accounting company which had not been through the resources of the carnival festival and which has been holding on to bills from last year,” Mr Turnquest said.

Moving forward Mr Turnquest said the government intends to transform state-owned enterprises, introduce new public procurement legislation, improve the ease of doing business and revitalise the Grand Bahama economy in order to achieve long-term economic growth.

VAT CASH ‘FUELLED IMMORAL SPENDING’, SAYS MINISTER from page one

in 2015-2016, the debt still increased, Mr Turnquest said, suggesting this exorbitant spending ate up the new tax income brought on by binge spending on the nation’s proverbial credit card.

In the first full fiscal year of VAT, recurrent revenue went up by $261m from the previous year as would have been expected, but rather than use the new income to pay down on the debt, he said the former government ramped up spending on programmes and services of so-called discretionary spending by $302m.

As these circumstances remain challenging to the government, the deputy prime minister said the Minnis administration is still picking up the pieces

WOMEN’S WEEK EVENTS TO COBCLUDE WITH MARCH ON SATURDAY UNDER the theme ‘Press for Progress’, a week-long series of events marking Women’s Week and International Women’s Day will culminate in a march on Saturday.

March organisers Equality Bahamas said this year’s events focused on bodily autonomy and creating a culture of consent.

The public is invited to Eastern Parade at 9am to join the Press for Progress march to The Dundas grounds on Mackey Street where a Tiny Talk Speaker Series and Expo for Women and Girls will immediately follow.

Speakers include STRAW Inc’s Therene Cunningham, Donna Nicolls of MEmancipation, University of The Bahamas’ Tingum Collective poets, and multidisciplinary

artist Jodi Minnis.

EB Director Alicia Wallace said: “We’re excited about the workshop and activity options we have planned for the day, and creating a resource village for women and girls.

“We have more than a dozen organisations and practitioners offering free sessions in their areas of expertise. Women and girls at the expo will be able to take a yoga class, practice self-defence, learn how to grow their own food, and access helpful tools for their mental health.”

Lifestyle coach Melissa Major will be at the expo to engage women and girls in conversations about health coaching and the path to better living. She is also facilitating a workshop at 11am.

“I’m looking forward to presenting on the benefits of clean eating for long term health and also this is a great opportunity to empower women on how to be their own health

advocate,” Mrs Major said.

The speaker series, expo, and workshops will run until 3pm.

Entry and participation is free, and food and drinks

will be available for purchase throughout the day, Ms Wallace said.

Francine Russell of Afromation and The Heritage Partners said, “When I heard about the event, I

knew I had to add my voice.

I think it is important for us to have community events that allow women to realise their value and to reach their real potential, and have fun at the same time.”

PAGE 10, Thursday, March 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

JEFF BEZOS, founder of Amazon and the richest man in the world.

I

T’S official. As of this week, Jeff Bezos, age 54, is the richest man in the world and the first on Forbes magazine’s richest people list whose net worth tops $100bn.

For anyone who has spent the last 20 years under a rock studying whatever lives under rocks, Bezos is the founder of Amazon.

He also owns FedEx and by the way, bought The Washington Post for $250m in 2014. The story of how Bezos revitalised the Post and made the 140-year-old paper relevant to the digital world and a younger population that was catching most of its news on Facebook could take up this whole page. That sliver of Bezos’s empire is fascinating, especially to anyone with a journalism background and goes a long way in explaining why Bezos is the richest man in the world. But that is not what today’s little piece is about.

This is a tale of four

By Diane Phillips successful people with vision. There are hundreds more. Notably missing are Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk and Paul Allen. In case Mark, Warren, Elon or Paul, you happen to be reading tribune242.com, please know that you deserve your place in the Hall of Visionaries as soon as it is created.

Everyone knows your stories, though I confess when I met Paul Allen I was the one who must have been under a rock because I did not know at that time who he was (co-founder, Microsoft) and he was so polite he pretended my ignorance was charming or quaint or one of those words that can

Now why didn’t I think of that?

mean “out of it”. Like when you say “How charming of you to be wearing those Birkenstocks to a formal wedding.”

What is it about these people that makes them see things in a way we never thought of until they do it and then we say to ourselves “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Here is what it is not – it’s not about their formal education which is all over the place. Bill Gates went to a private high school and on to Harvard. But the man who bumped him off the top of the Forbes’ list, Jeff Bezos, went to Palmetto High in southwest MiamiDade, a public school with

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a ranking that places it squarely in mediocrity.

Sara Blakely, who grew up in Clearwater, Florida, wanted to be a lawyer like her father but scored too low on her entrance exams and instead, invented SPANX, the slimming line of undergarments and body wear that makes belly fat vanish and women feel good.

Then there is Gordon “Butch” Stewart, founder of Sandals, the most successful all-inclusive resorts in the world and the bestknown brand linking romance, sun and sea with luxury. As for education, Butch Stewart once told me this story. He was a young man in his native Jamaica losing money in his first hotel attempt.

Struggling to make ends meet and wanting to impress his well-known father, young Butch picked up the phone in desperation and called his old childhood friend, George Myers, who had relocated to The Bahamas and was now top exec at Resorts (precursor to Atlantis). He was hoping for a secret that would unlock the mystery of success that had alluded him and showed little signs of doing otherwise.

“I can’t tell you what I do or how to run a hotel,” Myers reportedly told him.

“But if you come to The Bahamas, you can shadow me for a weekend and see if it helps.” Butch did and it was, he said years later, “the best education you could ever ask for.”

Four brilliant people who have each created an empire that bears their style. Spanx creator Blakely parlayed her entire savings, $5,000, into the phenomenal sensation of the un-girdle - panties, bras, tank tops – that slim and win. She still jumps up on the boardroom table to try on a new product, see if it works, test for bumps or wrinkles or discomfort and she does not mind if there is a male member of the review team in the room.

Bill Gates did so well when everyone told him he wouldn’t that he and wife Melinda quit as billionaires and now dedicate themselves to making the world a better place. Their foundation has already

given over $35bn, more money than many national budgets.

As for Butch Stewart, the affable, gregarious man alternatively referred to as the Cupid of the Caribbean, Daddy Cool or the Master of Marketing, the once struggling novice hotelier heads an empire with five brands and 24 properties in seven countries and more coming on stream all the time. Sandals Resorts International and its subsidiaries and related companies are among the most awarded and respected names in the hospitality industry.

What do each of these four examples have in common? They love life.

They had a vision and they held it as tightly as a mother to a newborn. Stewart’s vision was probably the most straightforward and least complicated but not easy to pull off. Add luxury to all-inclusive which at one time was considered down market. Then market to couples and ensure romance, sea and sand are visual and real. Every Sandals or Beaches is on a beach in a sun-soaked climate, subliminal links to love, excitement and luxury.

Blakely’s vision was also about romance, just not as direct. First it was love yourself. She knew women would pay more for less body, pulling on a panty and immediately losing a dress size. What diet could not do fast enough, SPANX could.

Bill Gates’ vision catered to the ever-increasing desire to save time, building software that would allow the user to do everything with a click or rotation, comprehensive computer life and work management.

Yet when it comes to vision, it is hard to top the behemoth Amazon created by the world’s richest man. Jeff Bezos originally wanted to name the company Cadabra. It started out as a book seller in 1994 and for the next few years failed to make money. People wondered how it stayed afloat or why. There were bookstores everywhere with cozy coffee shops and vast aisles of accessories.

What did Bezos know and when? Where are all those bookstores now? Expensive bricks and mortar displaced by an assortment on a screen.

The late Jackson Burnside was the first person I knew who ordered books on Amazon. He foresaw where the company was headed long before its plan was obvious. Little by little, buying clothes, food, accessories, music on Amazon crept into more of our lives, closets and cabinets. One clothing store that closed

down in Nassau late last year said if anyone asks what happened just tell them Amazon. It is hard to comprehend just how massive Amazon is. One source says Amazon adds 485,000 new products a day. Who keeps track? Another says it handles 368 million products while a different source says 480 million.

By comparison, a Walmart Supercentre offers 142,000 products. So why don’t they ever have exactly the one I need? Anyway, Amazon is very friendly to those who buy, far less so to those who sell, a goodwill stream that could use some improvement if it is going to maintain the fervor and favour it now enjoys (not that Jeff Bezos needs a tip from me).

So next time someone says, “I have an idea,” and you think “That’s crazy, it will never work,” remember the woman who was so sure women would pay to look slim that she spent her last $5,000 on it, or the man who tested the e-commerce and cloud computing appetite with books and became the richest man in the world this week, or the man who said software would drive the future and now spends his life giving away money and finally our own Gordon “Butch” Stewart, the hotelier unafraid to ask a friend what to do and more than half a century later has 10,000 names on his payroll and still goes fishing with his friend who lives near him in New Providence.

Vision, it’s an amazing thing that defies the rules, disrupts the present and opens worlds.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT FRED SMITH, QC

Like it or not, Fred Smith, QC, has become the conscience of the nation. He is opening our eyes that for too long looked the other way when abuse took place, when people lived in fear, when round-ups were routine and innocent people were stopped, asked for papers, or doors were burst open in the middle of the night by authorities seeking illegals and storming in without a search warrant.

Maybe we did not appreciate how extensive the abuse or corruption was.

Maybe we assumed the innocent would be free.

Mr Smith’s passion for the rule of law has made all of us a little less comfortable. Though the exposure makes it all very raw, in the long term it will make for a better, more just, better respected and a safer Bahamas for all who call this beautiful and magical archipelago home.

CAVES VILLAGE Premium Office Space for Lease 1,081 sq.ft. 2 open plan areas, conference, reception, kitchenette, bathroom and IT closet. $4,233.92 pm inc. CAM + VAT 1,056 sq.ft. 4 offices, conference room, reception, kitchenette and bathroom, IT closet. $3,696.00 pm. Inc. CAM + VAT Contact Mr. Simon Chappell on 327 1575 or 477-7610 Email: simon@cavesvillage.com

THE TRIBUNE

BID FOR MORE TIME FOR APPEAL A MAN sentenced to

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

20 years for killing a man in the course of a botched armed robbery six years ago is seeking more time to appeal his sentence.

Errol Knowles stood before Court of Appeal President Hartman Longley, fellow appellate Justice Jon Isaacs and acting appellate Justice Sir Michael Barnett for the commencement of the appeal of his sentence for murdering Heuton Lloyd Jr on May 12, 2012, after he tried to rob him of his Honda Accord.

However, his attorney Ryszard Humes submitted he was not in possession of certain transcripts concerning the matter and that he would be unable to proceed

yesterday.

Nonetheless, Justice Isaacs noted Knowles was “ostensibly out of time” to launch his appeal and that he did not see where the court was in receipt of an application concerning an extension of time application.

Mr Humes then indicated he would be making such an application in light of that fact.

The matter was adjourned to April 30 to deal with the application, and should it be successful, then the substantive appeal.

In 2016, a Supreme Court jury unanimously convicted Knowles of murdering Lloyd in May 12, 2012. He was subsequently sentenced to 20 years for the crime.

According to reports, Lloyd was seated in his red Honda Accord around 2am on Key West Street when Knowles and

another individual, Rashad McPhee, tried to rob him at gunpoint.

Lloyd was shot multiple times after resisting the robbery attempt.

In his statement to police, McPhee said Knowles ordered Lloyd out of his car at gunpoint.

Lloyd exited the car, but reached for his waist, causing Knowles to shoot him.

McPhee said Lloyd ran away, but Knowles ran after him, shooting him five more times in the process.

McPhee said a few days after the murder, Knowles said he would kill him if he told anyone about the incident.

Nonetheless, the jury returned an 11-1 guilty verdict against McPhee for murder. They convicted him by the same count of the attempted armed robbery.

Thursday, March 8, 2018, PAGE 11

DELAY IN SENTENCE CHALLENGE AS SUSPECT IS TAKEN ILL

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE substantive appeal for a man seeking to contest his 45-year sentence for murdering a former ‘most wanted’ suspect seven years ago was adjourned by a month because the appellant is ill.

Appellate President Sir

Hartman Longley, Justice Jon Isaacs and acting appellate Justice Sir Michael Barnett adjourned Rolin Alexis’ appeal concerning the 2011 murder of Deslin Nichols after his attorney Stanley Rolle said his client is unwell and was thus unable to attend yesterday’s proceedings.

Mr Rolle said he wasn’t sure what the nature of the

illness was, but that in any event, his client did not wish the appeal to proceed in his absence. He subsequently requested a three to four week delay.

The appellate judges acceded to his request, and set a new date of April 19 for Alexis’ appeal.

A Supreme Court jury convicted Alexis of Nichols’ murder in May 2015.

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Bridgette Francis International College Planning & Consulting is a Christian-based organization that matches individuals with scholarships and affordable universities’ matching opportunities worldwide and assesses students’ prospects starting from Grade 9. It was founded in honor of Bahamas National Hall of Fame inductee, the late Oscar Francis . Bridgette is the first Bahamian selected to the prestigious Americas Geographic Group of the International Financial Planning Association and the first Bahamian to be conferred with International Partnerships Recognitions by Several American Public Universities, a Canadian Public University, and a Canadian Public College at the same time.

PAGE 12, Thursday, March 8, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

New section enacted in Freedom of Information Act for whistle blowers

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net PROTECTIONS for whistle-blowers in the Freedom of Information Act 2017 (FOIA) were brought into force this month.

FOIA Section 47 came into operation on March 1, according to a notice tabled

in the House of Assembly yesterday.

There is still no date as to when the entire legislation will be revised and fully enacted, according to Attorney General Carl Bethel, who reiterated last night the government’s commitment to consult with regional experts on full implementation.

Section 47 reads: “No person may be subject to any legal, administrative or employment related sanction, regardless of any breach of a legal or employment-related obligation, for releasing information on wrongdoing, or that which would disclose a serious threat to health, safety or the environment, as long as he, acting in good faith, and in the reasonable belief that the information was substantially true and disclosed evidence of wrong-doing or a serious threat to health, safety or the environment.”

Wrong doing, according to the act, includes but is not limited to: the commission of a criminal offence; failure to comply with a legal obligation; miscarriage of justice; or corruption, dishonesty, or serious maladministration.

The previous Ingraham administration passed a FOIA shortly before the 2012 general election, however there was no date for enactment. The incoming Christie administration then overhauled the legislation, and conducted an extensive public consultation process.

The former Christie administration passed a FOIA in Parliament in February.

However, only part one and sections of part five and eight of the legislation have been enacted, allowing for the appointment of an information commissioner and repealing the 2012 FOIA. Activists have expressed concern over the stalled pace of the legislation and a collective of 20 civil society organisations issued a statement calling for the government to consider recommendations for revisions but ultimately move ahead with full enactment.

Yesterday, Organisation of Responsible Governance Executive Director Matt Aubry noted the timeliness of the enactment was confusing but protections were welcome.

He stressed the need for full public education campaigns both within the private sector and the wider public in order for persons to take advantage of the protections now available to them.

Mr Aubry said a test of the government’s commitment to FOIA and transparency in governance will be reflected in the upcoming budget cycle, and whether adequate resources are given to achieve stated goals.

ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

Shanty Town Task Force on their way to Abaco MINISTER of Labour Dion Foulkes, along with a delegation of six persons from the Shanty Town Action Task Force, will travel to Abaco on Sunday to view the unregulated housing developments

commonly known as shanty towns in Abaco.

The delegation will visit the area of The Mud in Marsh Harbour that was recently destroyed by fire along with the Sand Bank

and the Farm in Treasure Cay. A joint inter-ministerial meeting will be held on Sunday afternoon at the Office of the Prime Minister.

Persons travelling will include Acting Permanent

Secretary Cecilia Strachan; senior representatives of the Royal Bahamas Police Force; the Department of Social Services, the Department of Labour; the Ministry of Public Works and Bahamas Power and Light.

RESIDENT outside her home after Shanty Town fire.

S. Korea leader sees more obstacles ahead to disarm N. Korea

TEMPLE CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL

ENTRANCE EXAMINATION 2018-2019

Temple Christian High School will hold its Entrance Examination on Saturday, March 24, 2018 at the school on Shirley Street from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for students wishing to enter grades 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Application forms are available at the High School Office. The application fee is twentyfive dollars ($25). Application forms should be completed and returned to the school by Friday, March 23, 2018.

For further information, please call telephone number: 394-4481/394-4484.

SOUTH Korea’s president said Thursday that many “critical moments” still lie ahead to end the nuclear crisis despite North Korea’s recent outreach to Seoul and Washington.

Moon Jae-in spoke before two senior Seoul officials headed to the United States later Thursday to brief officials about the outcome of their recent visit to North Korea.

The Seoul officials said North Korea offered talks with the United States over normalising ties and denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. Seoul said the North also agreed to suspend nuclear and missile tests during such future talks.

Some experts question how sincere North Korea is about its reported offers, citing what they call its track record of using past disarmament talks to wrest aid and concessions while covertly continuing its bomb program.

According to the South Korean officials, North Korea said it has no reason to possess nuclear weapons as long as military threats against the country are removed and its security is guaranteed. That’s the same position North Korea has long maintained to justify.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 8, 2018, PAGE 13

DIVE INSTRUCTOR RISKS EXTRA YEAR IN JAIL WITH APPEAL

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A SCUBA diving instructor with just five months left to serve in prison on firearms related offences is challenging a previous firearms related conviction, though he currently faces the risk of serving an additional year in prison if that appeal is unsuccessful or if he decides not to go through with his appeal.

Diego Hepburn appeared before before appellate President Sir Hartman Longley, fellow Justice Jon Isaacs and acting appellate Justice Sir Michael Barnett yesterday seeking to challenge his 2014 conviction for possession of an unlicenced firearm, for which he was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

He was subsequently granted bail in 2014 pending his appeal of that conviction to the Court of Appeal, which was never heard.

At the start of yesterday’s hearing, however, the appellate judges told Hepburn should his appeal fail, he would have to serve the full year he was sentenced to in 2014, thus negating the prospect of him being a free man on August 11, his

expected release date from serving a two year sentence he was givein in August 12, 2016 concerning similar charges.

Hepburn then expressed his reluctance to proceed with his appeal in light of that revelation. However, the appellate justices then said if he abandons his appeal now, the 2014 sentence will take effect from that time, and will essentially have the same effect as if his appeal was dismissed.

Sir Michael, in particular, noted had his appeal been heard in a timely fashion, the delay of which was no fault of Hepburn’s, the present issue might have not arisen. Additionally, the former chief justice noted Hepburn’s bail pending appeal for the 2014 matter was “a meaningless bail”, since he is currently incarcerated on the 2016 conviction.

Hepburn’s attorney Ian Cargill, submitted that in in light of the injustice that has occurred to his client, in that he has waited four years for his appeal to be heard through no fault of his own, there would be no injustice in having his 12-month sentence reduced to where he could be released on August 11.

Mr Cargill sought to appeal only the conviction, because if he formally appealed the sentence, the Crown would cross appeal on the grounds that the 2014 sentence was too lenient, something the appellate judges noted.

However, Crown prosecutor Kristan Stubbs responded by stating the 12 month sentence should not be varied, and that it was a lenient sentence given the evidence that was adduced during the trial. She further stated that based on his submissions, Mr Cargill was making an appeal against Hepburn’s 2014 sentence, and if so, he would have to follow the proper process to

give the Crown the opportunity to respond.

Justice Isaacs in particular concurred with Ms Stubbs’ view, as he noted the court is currently dealing with an appeal against conviction, and not one against sentence, and that there are no applications before the court concerning the latter.

Ms Stubbs further stated that regardless of whenever Hepburn’s appeal should have or could have been heard, he still would have had to face the possibility of serving the 12 months in prison. She also suggested that Hepburn’s situation was not unique, as some

matters on appeal take years before concluding.

However, Mr Cargill maintained there would be no injustice in his client being released in August.

The matter was subsequently adjourned to March 29.

Hepburn, of Old Cedar Way, Yellow Elder Gardens, was arrested in August 17, 2013 along with three other people after police found a 9mm pistol in the car he was riding in.

According to the evidence, police went to Imperial’s restaurant on Carmichael Road around 2.20am after getting a tip that someone in a silver

Hyundai Accent had a gun.

Officers subsequently met up with the car and ordered the occupants to get out of the vehicle.

However, officers said they became suspicious when the passenger in the backseat left fidgeting.

Officers found nothing illegal on the passengers when they searched them.

However, they found a loaded gun hidden under the back seat.

Hepburn denied the charge during trial. However, he acknowledged that a gun was found, but said he did not know where it came from.