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As PM prepares for Trump’s Florida meeting... RELATIVES QUESTION BROTHER’S JAIL DEATH

China Embassy blasts US ‘lies’

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

CHINESE officials in The Bahamas say they are confident the people and government of The Bahamas will see through the fabrications and “irresponsible accusations” put forward by the United States, referring to planned talks between US President Donald Trump and various regional leaders including Prime Minister Hubert Minnis.

In response to questions raised by The Tribune following the meeting’s announcement by the White House on Tuesday,

Haigang Yin, Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in The Bahamas, accused the US government of trying to “disintegrate solidarity and cooperation between China and other developing countries”.

He also fired back against the “predatory economic practices” label the US has placed on China’s activities in the Caribbean, dismissing it as completely baseless, unreasonable and contradictory to the facts.

The US statement on the high-level talks noted that President Trump will meet with the leaders of The Bahamas, the Dominican

PHOTO/AHTIKAL FOR BIG RADIO ONLINE

DISNEY’S DEAL WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS

SEE PAGE FIVE

POWER supply has finally been restored at several businesses in Freeport following an investigation conducted by the Grand Bahama Power Company into a “fake” energy saving device that was allegedly sold to many business owners and residents on Grand Bahama by a local contractor.

The Tribune learned that power was restored around

6pm to the seven fast food businesses - three Burger Kings, three KFCs and one Pollo Tropical - that were disconnected a week ago due to suspected electricity theft.

The businesses owned by the Cooper family were forced to operate on emergency generators pending the outcome of an investigation into a complaint filed by the GBPC after a meter audit revealed suspected electricity diversions at several businesses.

SEE PAGE 11

RELATIVES of a Haitian man who died at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services last month are demanding answers over the cause of his death.

The death of 36-yearold Amos François was not reported to the media, officials insisting yesterday there was no legal requirement to announce inmate deaths at the facility to the public.

When contacted yesterday, a Haitian embassy spokesperson identified the deceased as a Haitian citizen. However, his sister Gina François claims he was born in The Bahamas but had never applied for citizenship.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

POWER FIRM WARNS OVER BOGUS DEVICE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

BUJU’S BACK REGGAE star Buju Banton’s comeback performance in Kingston, Jamaica, is being hailed as legendary by fans and critics. See Friday’s Weekend for first-hand accounts by Bahamian concert-goers.

DISNEY Island Development Ltd, the company set to construct a multimillion-dollar cruise facility in South Eleuthera, will receive hefty exemptions to carry out the project that would otherwise result in millions added to the public purse.

What appears to be a “most favoured nation” clause also accompanies the exemptions as Disney also will be entitled to receive any benefits not specifically mentioned in the agreement that may become available to any other cruise SEE PAGE THREE

OUTRAGE AT SHOTGUN SHARK KILLING

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS National Trust executive director Eric Carey wants authorities to investigate a “sickening” shark killing captured on film.

In a video circulated on Facebook yesterday, two men are seen shooting a shark in the head with their shotgun. It is not clear where the video was filmed or how the shark was

THE DEAD SHARK captured, but ropes can be seen tied around the shark’s tail. Someone can be heard

in the video laughing after the shark is killed and viewers are given a close-up shot of the dead animal. In a separate video, the dissected remains of the shark are seen on shore.

Mr Carey said yesterday: “This was a criminal act because sharks are protected so we are going to encourage the Department of Marine Resources to carry out an investigation.

There are people identified

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE TWO

DIANE PHILLIPS SO MUCH WATER, SO LITTLE IDENTITY

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Thursday, March 21, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Outrage at ‘sickening’ shotgun shark killing

THE DISTRESSING scenes, captured on video, of the shark shooting

from page one on the video and we’re hoping the police and the Department of Marine Resources will look into that. People need to be prosecuted for these illegal acts.”

He added: “Sharks have two main values to us, one is the ecosystem value because they are critically important for maintaining ecosystem health as top predators so it’s important that we have a healthy shark population if we’re going to have an overall healthy fisheries population. Just as important is the value they bring to tourism. Shark tourism is worth $115m a year. We understand the fear that Bahamians have of sharks because we grew up with a fear of sharks, but a lot of Bahamians are earning a lot of money off of shark tourism and we know we need to do a bit more education so people understand it doesn’t make sense to kill an animal like that.

“This large tiger shark is worth tens of thousand over its lifetime when you consider its touristic value so it’s unfortunate that something like that is killed because of an irrational fear that people have when you

balance it against what the economic potential of an animal like that so we’ve very disappointed and distressed at the senseless killing of such a majestic animal.”

Health Minister Dr Duane Sands was among many who expressed outrage at the shark killing on social media. “Why, why, why?” he wrote on Facebook as he shared the video. “Why is it necessary to kill this magnificent creature? Surely this sends the wrong message to our children and to the world.”

Some Bahamians have got in trouble before for filming their attacks on protected species. In March 2018, three people were arrested after their killing of a sea turtle was captured on camera.

The turtle was struck at least 13 times and was left bleeding and in pain.

The BNT called on authorities to investigate that incident. A magistrate conditionally discharged the suspects, however, ordering them to perform 500 hours of community service and to attend a voluntary intervention programme at the Magistrate’s Court. Activists complained that the sentence was too lenient. According to law, the penalty for killing sharks can be $5,000.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 21, 2019, PAGE 3

from page one line or their affiliates under the Hotels Encouragement Act and its regulations.

While tabling the heads of agreement yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis seemed to slam critics of his administration who suggested there was motive behind the government’s decision to sign the HOA in a closed-door meeting two weeks ago on March 7.

According to the prime minister, the process has been one of openness and good governance. He told the lower chamber that in the past, various agreements by other governments were never tabled in the House and others remained sealed from public view for years.

As the tabled agreement that outlines Disney’s terms of work and the state’s obligations, Dr Minnis said no construction or work can be done until an environmental impact assessment is complete to the satisfaction of the government.

The projected investment by the developer is estimated between $250m and $400m.

Once complete and over a 25-year period, the project is expected to provide an $805.1m increase to the Bahamian GDP and a $357.5m increase in Bahamian government revenues.

There was some confusion yesterday regarding the heads of agreement as the version given to the press did not include the concessions.

However, once inquiry was made to the House of Assembly yesterday which handles copying and disseminating documents tabled to the press, The Tribune was advised an updated version would be sent out.

It is unclear what version was tabled by Dr Minnis yesterday.

“Mr Speaker before I close,” Dr Minnis said, “I just want to point out that there was some concern about us making the announcement first in Eleuthera. We thought it was appropriate as Disney has sought Eleuthera, we know that it was suffering for a very long time and we thought it was appropriate that they should have been the first to hear the changes that were coming.

“I think moving forward investments that affect certain islands within The Bahamas out of respect they should know what is happening to their island.”

He continued: “So I do not apologise to anyone for respecting the population of South Eleuthera.

“Our administration

Disney gets ‘most favoured nation’ clause in HOA deal

is pleased that this development will bring sustainable development, jobs and economic opportunity to communities in South Eleuthera that have struggled economically for decades,” Dr Minnis said earlier in his address to Parliament.

“In keeping with our commitments to good governance, inclusive of transparency and accountability, the government through the press announced the signing of the heads of agreements.

“Because the agreement directly affected the good people of South Eleuthera, we conducted a town hall meeting to highlight significant elements of the agreement. The response was overwhelmingly positive. The same day, the government issued a press statement with many of the details of the agreement made public.

“In a subsequent press statement, we announced that the full agreement would be laid on the table of the House of Assembly at the earliest possible date, which is today (yesterday),

because the House did not meet last week.

“I am pleased that this agreement is being laid on the table of the House today (yesterday), which is in record speed.”

The exemptions contained in the agreement are fairly standard.

It stipulates that Disney will be exempt from customs, excise and stamp duties on imports and exports of all construction plants, materials, furnishings, machinery, equipment and supplies for the project’s development.

This is provided that the developer is not exempt from any customs or stamp duties upon consumable stores – except for water, fuel and lubricants.

Additionally, the HOA said Disney is exempt from real property taxes from the date of the acquisition of the property and the date of the least for 20 years, including after the date the cruise facility opens for business. The concession will only stand provided that the exemption from real property tax may be granted for further 10-year

periods if the property has been well maintained and refurbished by the developer.

Further, the developer will not have to pay any tax, assessment or imposition upon or against revenue derived from operations upon the project and its amenities.

Exemptions from customs, excise and stamp duties will also apply to potable water, fuel and lubricants brought to the property for use during construction, operations, for cruise ships or passenger boats.

There also will be no business licence fees or similar impositions for ship based operations.

Disney is also entitled to receive any benefits, not specifically mentioned in the agreement, that may become available to any other cruise line or their affiliates under the Hotels Encouragement Act and its regulations.

The document further binds Disney to produce at least 30 percent of the energy demand of the project.

Additionally, in collaboration with the minister responsible for Crown land and other relevant government agencies, Disney will lease the seabed for a term of 50 years.

The heads of agreement even incorporates an anticorruption clause.

“Each of the parties agree that is has not performed and will not perform in connection with the heads of agreement any act for the purposes of improperly influencing any act or decision of any public official or any other person, including any public official to do or omit to do any act in violation of his or her lawful duties or to use his or her influence to affect any act or decision of any government or public enterprise or for the purpose of obtaining an improper or unfair business advantage,” it read.

An act in the heads of agreement is defined as a making an offer whether directly through intermediary any payment or offer or promise of payment or anything of value. It went on to define an act as receiving any payment or offer or

promise of payment or anything of value.

Last week, Opposition leader Philip “Brave” Davis suggested the deal was shrouded in secrecy, as it was not made known immediately that the agreement was signed on Thursday, March 7.

Instead, Dr Minnis announced two days later during a town hall meeting in Eleuthera that the deal was done.

Following this, government statements were released outlining some features of the agreement.

The deal allows for the conveyance of 190 acres of land along the southernmost point of the property — a $6.29m value — to the government for establishment of a national park.

Core elements of the proposed project, according to a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister, include low density development and sustainable design, public access and economic opportunities for Bahamians.

Under the HOA, Disney has ensured a minimum of 120 Bahamians will be employed directly during the construction of the project.

The OPM’s statement said the cruise line will also create “as many as 150 permanent, sustainable jobs with health benefits in a range of positions for Bahamians once construction is completed”.

Disney also committed to aim for an overall ratio of 80 percent Bahamian workers to 20 percent nonBahamian workers during the life of the construction phase of the project.

‘WHAT WE SEE IS A REPEAT, OR WORSE, OF CASTAWAY CAY’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

ACTIVISTS slammed the heads of agreement tabled in parliament yesterday between Disney Cruise Lines and the government as a realisation of “our worst environmental, economic and societal fears.”

A joint statement from Casuarina McKinney, of BREEF, Sam Duncombe, of reEarth, Joseph Darville, of Save The Bays, and Rashema Ingraham, of Waterkeepers Bahamas, expressed dismay at the deal.

They branded the deal as a “betrayal” that does not seem to have any “real economic opportunities” for Bahamians.

“It is a betrayal of the promises made of the economic future to the people of South Eleuthera, and a betrayal of the very mandate of transparency and openness on which this government was elected,” the activists noted. “Conspicuously absent from the document are the sections enumerating concessions made by the government.”

The document initially disseminated yesterday to the press in the House of Assembly did not contain the concessions granted to Disney. However, when inquiries were made, the full document which outlined concessions was later sent to this newspaper. It is unclear why this occurred.

“What we see described in this HOA, is a high

volume, high impact project encompassing not only massive infrastructure, but substantial and irreversible alteration of the natural surroundings at Lighthouse Point,” the joint statement continued. “What we see is a repeat, or worse, of Castaway Cay, where Disney quite literally manufactured an artificial beach, dredged an enormous channel, and turned what used to be a pristine island of stunning beauty into an amusement park that bears virtually no resemblance to the rest of The Bahamas.

“What we see in this HOA is Disney excluding Bahamians from any real economic opportunities as the company stipulates it will not only construct but also operate all dining and beverage, merchandise and retail, spa, aquatics and

recreational facilities at Lighthouse Point.

“In this HOA, we are finding out for the first time that Disney will be leasing the seabed for the next 50 years to build a $250-million-dollar pier, a half-a-mile long, which will dominate the view from their proposed national park.

“What we don’t see is a commitment to applying

the highest, internationallyrecognised environmental standards, independent of corporate interests and ‘cruise port standards.’

“What we don’t see is any assurance of public access and a level economic playing field on which Bahamians can effectively compete for tourist dollars. What we don’t see is any assurance that bringing 12,000 - 20,000 people

to one of the most treasured and fragile sites in the Bahamas can create more than 150 jobs, at best.”

The statement also questioned where the protections were for Bahamian entrepreneurs and

the environment in the document.

“Now we see why this document was signed in the dead of night, away from the eyes of the press and the Bahamian people at large,” the statement added.

PAGE 4, Thursday, March 21, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

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

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

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

Published daily Monday to Friday

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The question’s there - is the prize enough?

THE tabling of the Heads of Agreement for the Disney deal in South Eleuthera gives us all the chance to see the devil in the detail.

All told, the investment will be between $250m and $400m – and the government projects that to bring a rise of $805.1m to the Bahamian economy over 25 years, and an extra $357.5m in government revenues – or $14.3m a year on average.

Of course, questions have already been raised in response to the tabling.

Environment groups in particular have said the deal is the realisation of their worst fears.

“What we see is a repeat (or worse) of Castaway Cay, where Disney quite literally manufactured an artificial beach, dredged an enormous channel and turned what used to be a pristine island of stunning beauty into an amusement park,” campaigners said yesterday.

More than that, they also pointed the finger toward how much Bahamians themselves will benefit from the deal.

Disney has promised 120 jobs for Bahamians during construction and “as many as” 150 jobs for Bahamians after that, including a commitment of using 80 percent Bahamian workers during the construction phase.

Campaigners in response are asking is that it? In return for a 50-year lease on the seabed and the construction of a $250m pier, they are asking that if up to 20,000 people a year are being brought to the location, shouldn’t The Bahamas be expecting a little more in return?

Looking down the list of the exemptions provided to Disney reinforces that thought. No real property taxes for at least 20 years, longer if the location is

properly maintained, no tax against its operational revenue, and more.

Some of these are familiar – exemptions to customs, excise and stamp duties during construction is an enticement used by the government before, but it also extends to operations and to cruise ships and passenger boats. There are also no business licence fees for ship operations.

There’s also the catch-all clause – that if someone else in a similar line of business gets a better deal later on, then so does Disney.

So how much of this is essential to draw in the investor? How much is the price of doing business? On balance, is the reward enough for the amount we forfeit?

Residents of Eleuthera are in need of jobs, that’s for certain, and for those who have been long out of work this will represent a lifeline we sincerely hope they can grab on to.

But campaigners are right to ask the question of government as to whether enough is being done for the Bahamian people in such a deal – and why the agreement doesn’t include more protections for entrepreneurs and the environment.

One other note – the PM doubled down on his decision to announce the deal first at a town hall in Eleuthera, saying he did “not apologise to anyone for respecting the population of South Eleuthera”.

Keeping everyone waiting for the full details – including the campaigners who have been long wanting answers – does make us wonder if he respects the population elsewhere, who might have trickier questions for him to deal with.

Mitchell’s insight behind solar deal EDITOR, The Tribune KUDOS to Hon Fred Mitchell for the insight when he was Foreign Minister of persuading the UAE to make the $4million donation and yesterday the largest solar generating unit was opened officially - of course the Minnis government made no mention or reference to the work of Mr Mitchell - would never expect that.

Comments during the ceremony - 30% reusables by 2030? Why by 2030 that’s more than 10 years time…

AFTER PLP leader Philip “Brave” Davis claimed Bahamians have been “deceived” by the government over the relocation of the General Post Office, readers posted their responses on tribune242.com.

TigerB said: “Brave say the PLP is concern about the long delay . . . . hummm real interesting . . . . the same group of people who didn’t even do anything on their watch . . . these guys are full of it. No matter how long it takes, it’s progress. People ain’t stupid as they make them out to be. I don’t even live there and to me that is better late than never . . . maybe others see it differently.”

Realitycheck242 asked: “So what if there is a

surely Nassau it should be the highest priority as it is on Nassau the highest BPL bills are - the most people live and suffer from BPL and even with the Wasilla engines costs will be the same - for at least two-years they will run on Bunker C…yes still have those surcharges!

Interesting comment was….Energy reform is one of the key goals monitored and supported by the Prime Minister’s delivery Unit in OPM…can someone explain that if this project - total solar was managed

delay? At least this government will deliver a new post office. Something the PLP failed to do in five whole years. Most large scale renovation projects have delays especially when there are items to be imported all the way from China.”

That prompted this agreement from TigerB: “Agreed Reality, when the smoke is all cleared only thing matters is better working conditions. It’s what the workers deserve,

by Minister Ferreira and his technical people like Dr Rhianna Neely-Murphy - very highly qualified and dedicated to solar - clean environment and cost effective.

Why should we see paying for 10-years bills for bunker C from BPL? Solar Now should be the cry from OPM Delivery Unit not waiting 10 years! Roughly $10,000.00!

Thanks BPL! T K COAKLEY Nassau March 19, 2019. nothing more, nothing less.”

Consolidated Water, the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s main supplier, warned it expects a “significant improvement” in the state-owned utility’s repayment of $16.1m owing to it at end-February 2019.

Well_mudda_take_sic had this to say on the issue: “It is not in our national security interest to become overly dependent on Consolidated Water, a US publicly listed corporation, for potable water. A sufficient supply of potable water to meet our country’s needs is simply not something we can do without.”

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

The world has lost a noble, courageous, saintly man EDITOR, The Tribune.

MSGR. Preston Moss’ first impact on my life happened when he and Sister Madene Russell advised my late Father (Sir Clement) that, as a 15-year-old student, I should attend Barry College, then an all girls Catholic College. Frequently, when I saw Msgr.

Moss, he would remind me that, as a Freshman at Barry, I carried the cross during a significant outdoor procession. He encouraged me, as he did others, to recall my duty to carry to the world the redeeming message of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. A conversation along this line last year, was my last engaging encounter with Msgr.

Moss.

There are some exceptional people who leave a lasting impression on one from the first encounter.

Occasionally, one finds that everyone else agrees that person is extraordinary.

Msgr. Preston Moss was that kind of person.

I remember hearing adults speak, with pride and excitement, about then Fr. Moss, and other Bahamians who had been ordained to the Holy Orders. It was a time when it was important to reinforce that Bahamians could lead The Bahamas, in every arena. He let his light shine among people so that we could “see” how to live a godly life, including how to carry our crosses.

Everyone, I’ve spoken with describes how he made you feel like you are the most important person in the world. When speaking, you had his complete attention, received encouragement and felt that he cared about you.

Msgr. Moss was an extraordinary teacher.

I remember driving, as a teenager, on weekdays, from our home in Adelaide to St. Anslem’s 6.30am Mass, to listen to his lessons from the Bible, as he made the Word

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net relevant to everyday life.

When the Catholic church integrated popular music into the liturgy, Msgr.

Moss was there – Sister Annie used to sing and beautifully play the guitar with others at St. Joseph’s.

Young people filled the pews on Sunday.

In encounters with Msgr. Moss, whether from the pulpit, at home, in hospital, at a graveside, with family, or a chance encounter, he exuded the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I’ve been present when priests have been judgmental and condemnatory about someone who they saw as “an awful sinner”. Msgr. Moss would say something loving, kind and gracious about the person – a child of God. It wasn’t that he turned a blind eye to misdeeds, his point was that we’re all sinners, and, but for the grace of God, we might be worse than the person about whom judgment was being expressed. It was his mission to show mercy and forgiveness and to encourage the person to redemption, through God’s saving grace.

As a selfless nation builder, Msgr. Moss left no stone unturned. With Archbishop Burke, he expanded Catholic churches across The Bahamas, making these sacred spaces authentically Bahamian. Catholic schools continue to play an important role in quality, values-based education – key to developing citizenship. He unceasingly demonstrated the power of God’s saving grace every human being, made in God’s image, is worthy of love and respect. By his actions, not just his

words, he made clear the importance of ministry to orphans, widows, prisoners and immigrants fleeing economic and political persecution or simply looking for a better way of life. Every one of us (through ancestors) were captives in a strange land.

As well as recalling how our forebears suffered, physically and mentally, we must show mercy to those now in the same position. Soup kitchens, prison ministry, youth ministries, and other much needed outreach ministries, were established wherever he served.

He was a scholar, who many people felt should be the first Bahamian Catholic Bishop. A paragon of humility, he never sought praise. When praised, he gave God the glory and pointed to other people, to whom he gave the credit.

There was never any question in my mind that Msgr. Moss saw every person as a child of God and worthy of respect. I also felt that he accepted a personal responsibility to encourage Bahamians, and others, to develop fully our God given gifts and potential. He saw it as his duty/ responsibility to “open up” the Bible as holding lessons for us to follow, for complete human fulfillment. He wanted The Bahamas to be the best little country in the world, not because we were rich in terms of material things, rather, because we were rich in what ultimately matters – relationships with God, each other and the environment.

He was like yeast, essential for flour to become bread.

The Bahamas and the world have lost a courageous, noble and saintly man and role model. May he rest in peace.

ALLYSON MAYNARD-GIBSON Nassau March 20, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 21, 2019, PAGE 5

BAHA MAR, left, and the Thomas Robinson Stadium, above, benefited from Chinese money.

As Minnis prepares for Trump meeting, China blasts US ‘lies’ from page one Republic, the Republic of Haiti, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia on Friday to reaffirm the US’ strong friendship with and commitment to these countries, and signal the importance of the Caribbean to the hemisphere.

The statement also noted that President Trump will discuss his vision for the US’ diverse relationships in the Caribbean and the potential opportunities for energy investment, with a view to discuss his willingness to work with Caribbean countries to strengthen security cooperation and counter

China’s “predatory economic practices” in the region.

To that end yesterday, Mr Yin argued that China, through good cooperation with Caribbean countries under its Belt and Road Initiative, has cultivated mutually beneficial outcomes for all sides. He contended that China has effectively realised common development by fully leveraging complementary strengths.

“China-Caribbean cooperation has created a large number of local jobs and strongly boosted the host country’s development and improved people’s livelihood,” he said.

Speaking to specifically to The Bahamas, Mr Yin said: “Our bilateral cooperation has been very fruitful. The Thomas Robinson Stadium is a grant project from China, which is now being used to host international and regional sport events. The Airport Highway has been built using concessional loans from China. Baha Mar has been completed and created over 5,000 jobs for Bahamians and contributed substantially to the economy of The Bahamas.”

He added: “Facing the fabricated lies and irresponsible accusation, we have faith in the people, with whom rests the final

APP TO HELP TRACK GARBAGE COLLECTION SET FOR RELEASE

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net THE Ministry of Environment will be releasing an app that will allow users to track garbage collection, Director of Environmental Health Services Melanie McKenzie said yesterday.

Although Ms McKenzie could not say when this app will be released, she did confirm that on April 1, a schedule detailing the boundaries and dates for garbage collection will be published. She added this schedule will also provide the public with the sanitation companies’ names and their phone numbers.

Ms McKenzie’s comments came in the wake of a Graham Avenue resident complaining about garbage collection in his neighbourhood. The resident, Reginald Eldon, said after residents went nearly two weeks without collection, they were informed that two different companies were contracted to collect garbage on either side of the narrow street.

Mr Eldon expressed dissatisfaction at this arrangement, citing one half of the neighbourhood has experienced regular garbage collection while the other half has suffered garbage build-up and offensive stenches.

“The people that I talked to at the ministry said the garbage is now being handled according to boundaries and that… my side of the road is on one boundary and that side of the road is on another boundary,” Mr Eldon told The Tribune yesterday, pointing to the opposite side of the street. However, he noted how narrow the road is.

“I’m just pleading for some understanding to make sure we have garbage collected at least once a week and we know what day that is,” he continued.

“The permanent

secretary (of environment and housing) told me that they’re going to publish in the papers the outline of where the routes are and which days we’re going to be serviced, and that’s going to come shortly…she said it is being worked on.”

Ms McKenzie confirmed to The Tribune yesterday that DEHS does have a boundary system for garbage collection in place.

“A boundary is a boundary,” she said. “I mean no matter where the boundary was, some roads would have, the left would belong to one contractor and the right would belong to someone else, yes.

“If there is an issue with it, it’s not with the boundary, it would have to be that (the resident) didn’t get collection.”

Ms McKenzie affirmed that a schedule is coming and announced the app.

“We’re releasing a schedule…April 1,” she said. “It shows you the boundaries and the schedule….it also gives you the name of the company and their phone numbers.

“And the ministry will be releasing an app, that you can go on the app and actually touch on and see where you are and when your collection date is. But I don’t know the date of release for that one.”

Mr Eldon sent a letter to this newspaper on March 18 detailing the frustration residents of Graham Avenue have experienced with garbage collection.

“Prior to the recent change in contracts Graham Avenue was served efficiently and well in the early hours of Monday mornings (between 2 – 3am). It was dependable and orderly,” Mr Eldon wrote. “Since the change was introduced and new contracts issued and additional garbage trucks were assigned it has been a nightmare.”

Mr Eldon said the community went 13 days

without garbage collection.

On the 14th day, a garbage truck came and collected the rubbish.

“The very next day another (different company) garbage truck came.

All of the bins in the neighbourhood were empty. I personally talked with the driver of the garbage truck who told me he was following orders and I should call the office.”

Mr Eldon added another seven days without garbage collection passed. “On the eighth day, a garbage truck came and all garbage bins were pulled from the holding areas as is the custom now.

However, the men working on the truck told us that they were only collecting garbage from the left side of the road and even though they had pulled our bins out, they refused to empty them.

“My two neighbours also spoke with the men asking them to take their garbage, but to no avail. I’ve purchased gallons of bleach and Pinesol to help deal with the stench.”

Mr Eldon added he contacted officials in the ministry and was assured that the garbage would be collected on March 18.

That day, he said, “a garbage truck came through Graham Avenue.

We were all excited until they informed those of us living on the right-hand side of the road that they were only there to collect garbage from the residents on the left side of the road.

“My neighbour rolled her garbage bin over to the left-hand side of the road, hoping she could out manoeuvre the garbage collectors, only to have the men on the garbage truck roll her full and running over garbage bin right back to her side of the road and there they left it.

When The Tribune visited yesterday, Mr Eldon noted the garbage on his side of the street had been collected that morning.

judgement. We are confident that the Bahamian people and government will not be misled.”

The United States and China have been locked in a trade dispute for much of the past year, with both sides issuing export and import tariffs on goods. Despite several rounds of negotiations, the two sides have not been able to come to a resolution on how to end the dispute, leaving small developing states dependent on their goods and services caught in the crosshairs.

Meanwhile, PLP chairman and Senator Fred Mitchell yesterday urged the Minnis administration

to have the US government make clear its change in policy related to bilateral relations between countries like The Bahamas and China.

In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Mitchell contended that the Obama administration encouraged The Bahamas’ budding relationship with China, referring to the country as a “reliable source of capital.”

“They raised no security concerns with us,” the former minister of foreign affairs said. “The problem is the US is not a source of development capital.”

PAGE 6, Thursday, March 21, 2019

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net DECLARING the Overthe-Hill programme noble and well-intentioned, Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants president Gowon Bowe said yesterday the verdict is out on whether its tax concessions component will prove “fit for purpose”.

Yesterday, The Tribune reported that not many residents in the Economic Empowerment Zone have sought to benefit from available concessions. In fact, only 17 have applied thus far. The concessions would allow them to bring in construction materials duty-free and be exempt from real property tax.

Mr Bowe said yesterday: “If you don’t have the resources to invest, concessions are not beneficial because you can only access them when you are actually being waived from costs you would normally incur when investing. So if I don’t have the capital to do the investment, the benefit of concessions doesn’t materialise.

“Look at a development like Baha Mar that got a lot of concessions. It had significant amount of capital coming in. Using that same example, say you’re trying to go into the inner-city, you still need persons with capital within that inner-city in

THE TRIBUNE

A6MAIN PAGE 6, Wednesday, March 20, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

GRAND LUCAYAN BUYERS DOWN TO ‘THREE OR FOUR’

Bowe: Too early to judge Over-the-Hill initiative

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

GOWON BOWE order to take advantage of the concessions. The objective of stimulating economic activity in the area may not involve granting concessions but might involve activities to drive investment in the community that incentivises people outside the community to participate in the community.

“I understand the desire is not to allow persons who are already well off to take advantage of this programme but there has to be an element of not cutting your nose to spite your face for it to succeed.”

Government officials note the Over-the-Hill programme involves more than tax concessions, and aims to holistically transform the

historically impoverished area.

Mr Bowe praised the government’s Small Business Development Centre programme, another one of the Minnis’s administration’s major initiatives, highlighting its structure and governance while noting it has attracted hundreds of interested applicants.

“The SBDC structure that is about ‘counseling’ small businesses is the key,” he said. “Funding is a challenge but most small businesses fail because they do not maintain proper accounting records, do budgets and business plans, have marketing strategies and the formal things that bigger business do. They don’t need the complexities of larger businesses but need the structure and formality.

“I believe the Bahamas Development Bank and Bahamas Venture Fund struggle with delinquencies because they promote the funding and not the mentoring. SBDC was set out to be an incubator and that is my optimism on its greater likelihood of success.”

THE government has narrowed its list of potential purchasers for the Grand Lucayan down to “three or four” out of 60 interested bidders, according to Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar.

Mr D’Aguilar also revealed that government personnel were presently “negotiating quite closely” with the handful of unnamed, short-listed bidders.

The Freetown MP said that the government, now in critical negotiations to sell the property and conclude voluntary separation

from page one Some said their homes or businesses do not need to be renovated. People like August Stevens, owner of a mom-and-pop store in Masons Addition, want to renovate their property but won’t because they don’t own the land. Others like Mr Moss said the concessions are too limited to address problems that have locked their families into a cycle of poverty for generations.

For their part, government officials note hardly three months have passed since the Economic Empowerment Zone went live in late November and officials are preparing to ramp up their education campaign to encourage more people to take advantage of the concessions.

“People are calling in, we’re receiving numerous calls,” Samita Ferguson, head of the Overthe-Hill Unit at the Office of the Prime Minister, said yesterday.

“We didn’t have a target of how many (applications) we wanted by a certain point. We are speeding up in our public education.

We are working on a commercial. We will make sure it’s spread through social media. The environmental monitors we have hired will be very strategic because when they walk about in the zones they will be able to pass out flyers or get names or numbers of persons that would be interested in tapping into the concessions.

“We have also tapped into the Urban Renewal Centres so applications can be found there.” Ms Ferguson said some who called her unit have been directed to the Small Business Development Centre, which, among other things, can provide financing to small businesses and may be a better fit for their needs.

Government officials also stress that the Overthe-Hill programme is bigger than tax concessions.

The government wants to create a food market for native products in the area; eliminate outside toilet use by 2025; create an auto-mechanic cluster that eliminates roadside mechanics in residential areas; build a multi-purpose community centre that offers care for children, the elderly and opportunities for counselling and construct a sports complex, among other things.

“The concessions part of the Over-the-Hill programme is just one part of a much broader programme that is really geared towards addressing different needs,” one OPM official said.

“There are other things going on within the programme. It’s a multi-layered

packages talks with some managers at the resort, did not want show its “entire hand” in the press.

“Yes, (negotiations are) proceeding very, very well,” he told reporters yesterday. “I am quietly optimistic something will happen very shortly; we’ll wait and see.”

He added: “We’re in the negation phase so we’re a little… we’re hedging on what we can disclose and not disclose, but its for a reason.

“We are negotiating. We don’t want to show our entire hand in the press. I know you’re anxious for information, but we are doing the best that we can to negotiate

and to keep you as informed as we can.

“When its done, we’ll let you know. We’re focused on probably three or four; we are negotiating quite closely with them so I am quietly optimistic,” he added.

Meanwhile, addressing those ongoing negotiations with managers at the resort seeking a way out, Mr D’Aguilar yesterday said stalled discussions had been jump-started by “fruitful” talks between legal representative for the managers, attorney Obie Ferguson, and himself.

“I met with the union yesterday, they are progressing very well,” Mr D’Aguilar told reporters. “We are in the negotiation phase, so

I rather not negotiate this in the press.

“It’s a negotiation and were waiting for the negotiation process to complete, but it is moving, we’re talking, everything is going well,” he added.

Mr D’Aguilar’s comments come on the heels of a recent Tribune report which revealed a $9.2m on operations and payout spend by the government at the resort since it acquired it last year.

A high-ranking government official on the request of anonymity confirmed $6m in taxpayer dollars was spent on operational costs and $3.2m paid to line staff who opted to receive voluntary separation packages.

However there has been no money expended on capital works projects.

The figure sharply falls below Progressive Liberal Party deputy leader Chester Cooper’s estimation last Tuesday that $14m in taxpayer funds has been used since the government temporarily took over the hotel.

He called the exercise a “frolic” as the PLP doubled down on criticising the government’s handling of Grand Lucayan employees and the execution of the plan to sell the resort. He further called for greater accountability in the spending of tax dollars.

PM’s initiative only attracts 17 applicants

TOP: TREVOR MOSS, 53, is renovating his tire shop but has not sought concessions from the government to do so, saying the cost of buying duty-free materials to equip his business is still too costly. He said he would be better helped if the government removed duties off tires.

LEFT: AUGUST STEVENS, 46, owns a convenience store on Masons Addition. He said he would like to renovate his shop, but he will do so only if his landlord gives him first preference if he decides to sell the property.

RIGHT: Pete Poitier said he wants to renovate his home, especially the inner structure, which has become “drop down.” However, he said even with concessions, “the money ain there.”

HOW The Tribune reported the story yesterday. programme that is the first of its kind on this scale.

The concessions, in terms of the application process, it hasn’t been three months yet. It’s kind of like an aircraft carrier, it takes a while to turn. We are collecting data, we are monitoring and we are happy with the progress but it takes time.”

Meanwhile, more than 70 standpipes have been

GN-2198

repaired in the zone, which stretches from Nassau Street to Collins Avenue and from Delancey Street in the north to Wulff Road in the south. The remodelling of at least two parks, the Father Marshall Cooper Park in Mason’s Addition and McPherson Park on Hay Street, has been completed and free Wi-Fi will be installed in those areas

soon in an effort to tackle the digital divide on the island, officials said.

Still, the tax concessions, first mentioned

by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis while he was in opposition in 2014, have been the most touted part of the Over-the-Hill programme since its inception. Several town-halls, broadcast by ZNS, have

been held to discuss the concessions.

Mr Moss, 53, owns a tyre shop on Meadow Street and was one of the few residents who has heard about the concessions.

“I spoke to Travis (Robinson) recently and told him nobody feeling nothin’ no more,” he said, referring to the area’s MP. “Everything is foreign, the foreigners get

all the real opportunities but there is nothin’ for the small man.”

Mr Moss is renovating his business. He wants to add a restroom and create a waiting area so customers can watch TV and enjoy airconditioning while he fixes their tyres.

It is the kind of improvement and expansion of property that the Overthe-Hill programme aims to facilitate. But Mr Moss said he has not sought out the available tax concessions. “That ain’ helping me,” he said. “You have 14 percent duty on the tyres, a $3.50 environmental levy tax, then you have 12 percent VAT, all on tyres. If you really want to do something for the small businessman, give us exemptions on that.

“Even occasional exemptions on duties or VAT would help.”

Dr Minnis in opposition said a Free National Movement government would exempt Over-the-Hill residents from customs duties on imported materials.

That idea was later curtailed – technocrats feared it would cause substantial tax revenue leakages because it would be too difficult to prevent goods bought by retailers within the zone from being sold to merchants outsize the zone.

The government’s subsequent decision to exempt duty only on imported materials used for construction, equipping and completing buildings is seen by some residents in the zone as too limited to make an impact and may explain why only few people have applied for the concessions, Mr Moss said.

“Lots of people come and when you say, ‘this is the price of the tyres,’ they roll back out because they don’t have the money,” he said. “If we could bring in tyres duty-free, I could reduce the average price of tyres by 30 or 40 percent. Only me one work here. I want to bring in someone but I can’t. I work seven days a week. Sometimes I tired. I work here from 8am to 10pm, 11pm at night every day. I suffered a mild stroke in February 2017 because I was overworked but had little time to recover before I had to get back to work and I’m still struggling.”

CAMPBELL DEFENDS SIZE OF UNITED NATIONS DELEGATION

FOULKES CALLS FOR ‘GIVE AND TAKE’ IN SALT TALKS

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

AMID tenuous negotiations between Morton Salt (Bahamas) and the trade union representing its linestaff, Labour Minister Dion Foulkes has called for a process of “give and take,” urging the two sides to move closer to a resolution.

In an interview with reporters yesterday, Mr Foulkes pleaded for peace as he begged those involved in the negotiation to let cooler heads prevail.

On Sunday Jennifer Brown, president of the Bahamas Industrial, Manufacturers & Allied Workers Union (BIMAWU), told Tribune Business the union — which represents around 100 line-staff at the Morton Salt operation — was disappointed by the company’s recent decision to employ part-time workers

on the weekend shift. She blasted the move as a “tit for tat” tactic, one she said the BIMAWU would file a trade dispute over.

According to Ms Brown, this latest setback in a long-line of mishaps at the operation came to a head when full-time workers recognised that last weekend’s schedule was made-up exclusively of part-time workers.

She alleged that regular workers were never asked if they wanted to work, a move taken as payback for recent shortfalls in “tonnage” output at the company.

“They’re upset they’re not getting the tonnage they usually get, but what they expect if our workers are disgruntled,” she said on Sunday.

“We will be filing a trade dispute on that. They claim they are working on a counter-proposal. It’s been two weeks now. We have been negotiating for over a year. We are not signing for

a 1.5 percent wage increase. That’s an insult. I don’t care what kind of pressure they apply, we’re not accepting that,” she added.

Meanwhile, addressing the matter yesterday, Mr Foulkes said he was awaiting a report on the dispute from the director of labour.

Nonetheless, seemingly bothered by with the ordeal, Mr Foulkes called for peace, stressing that entering negotiations with an attitude of “give and take” would be the only way to reach a resolution.

“I know for the workers in Inagua things are rough; I know that. But the government is very empathetic to the plight of the workers, and the most I can say at this point is I want both sides to give and take,” he said.

“As the minister of labour, I have to stay in the middle. I cannot take sides on any of these issues,” he added.

SOCIAL Services Minister Frankie Campbell at the UN.

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net SOCIAL Services Minister Frankie Campbell said yesterday 70 people in a delegation that recently travelled to a women’s rights conference in New York either paid for their own expenses or were assisted by private sector donors.

The large group attended the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) at the United Nations headquarters last week.

The minister said despite the importance of attending the event, there were some who attempted to stir confusion.

“We are thankful for the

financial assistance from the private sector and I want to pause here because while I was away I understand that there was some attempt to cause confusion about who paid for who and who didn’t pay for who,” Mr Campbell said in the House of Assembly yesterday.

“Let me state for the record that 70 of the persons that were a part of the delegation were either self-funded or assisted by others. So I want to take this opportunity to thank the private sector who assisted in funding for some of our younger persons especially Generali Insurance, which supported five of the staff members from the Department of Gender (Affairs) the opportunity to participate.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 21, 2019, PAGE 7

RELATIVES QUESTION BROTHER’S DEATH IN JAIL from page one

Ms François said: “I don’t live in The Bahamas. We just lost our mother seven months ago, tell me how I’m supposed to feel when after just losing my mom, my brother dies and no one will tell me how.

“I can’t plan his funeral because they won’t release his body.

Nobody has yet to let us know.

We want to honour his life, and it seems really fishy.

“How is it you care? On their website, it says they care about the safety of those in your care, and he suddenly dies and nobody is telling us anything.”

Mr François was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to prison in 2014, and died on Feb 13.

The matter is now before the

coroner, according to Minister of National Security Marvin Dames and Acting Prison Commissioner Charles Murphy.

“From time to time you will have deaths at the prison,” Mr Dames said. “This is not something new if somebody dies, unless there is some suspicion around it.

“There is nothing that would have given the indication it was something suspicious. But in all deaths, be it suspicious or not, it becomes a matter of the coroner.

We would have followed all of the protocols, and it is before the coroner.”

Yesterday, Commissioner Murphy confirmed Mr François’ case is the first death at the facility for the year, and refuted claims the family was not contacted by prison officials as he explained

protocols regarding deaths in custody. He did not provide any details concerning the matter, stating only it was before the coroner.

“When an inmate dies at the prison,” Commissioner Murphy said, “we call the doctor in, we verify the death, we call the police and we call the coroner in. At the same time, we seek to find the relative of the person, sometimes finding out exactly who the relative is poses a problem, but that is the protocol.

The family is always informed.”

For his part, Mr Dames continued: “If circumstances were as such that something untoward or suspicious happened that’s a difference, but you have people at the prison who may have illnesses or diseases that are known.

“Now if it’s something that’s

suspicious or ought to be a matter of public record then those steps would have been taken. If someone was found with a wound or hanging from the cell, that’s different.

“There are persons who are incarcerated sometimes who have been incarcerated for a while with terminal diseases and they die, and their family may not want it to be put out there.

“If it’s something we feel is newsworthy, then we’d put it out,” he added.

Yesterday, Ms François explained a relative was notified from a family friend on the same day that her brother died but contact was not made until days later.

“They never called us, we called them first,” said his sister.

PAIR FACE MURDER CHARGE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

TWO Grand Bahama men accused of attempted murder were arraigned in the Eight Mile Rock Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Matthew Gibson, left, 22, and Robert Celestin, right, 20, both of Pinedale, Eight Mile Rock, appeared before Magistrate Gwen Claude on two counts of attempted

Woman denies swindling her employer of $200,000

DAWN Bethel yesterday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A 54-YEAR-OLD woman was charged with 76 counts of fraud yesterday over allegations she swindled her employer out of more than $200,000 over the last year, then used some of the money to pay for real estate.

Dawn Bethel was charged before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt with defrauding Forsythe’s Communications Centre Limited of $211,489.16 between March 1, 2018 and March 8, 2019.

It is alleged she also attempted to defraud her employer of another $2,000 just last Thursday.

Then, between July 5, 2018 and March 5 of this year, she allegedly paid $5,844.52 towards lot 15, block 26 in the Chesapeake subdivision in Grand Bahama, with the sum representing

the alleged proceeds of crime.

Bethel, the company’s accounts clerk, was further charged with forging multiple Scotia Bank cheques, drawn on her employer’s account, and made payable to herself, in the total amount of $24,549 between March 15, 2018 and March last Thursday.

Altogether, police alleged between March 1, 2018 and last Thursday, Bethel knowingly had in her possession some $252,478.16 which represents the proceeds of crime.

The South Beach resident denied all of the charges. The matter was subsequently adjourned to April 16 for a status hearing on whether the chief magistrate will hear the matter or transfer it to one of her magisterial colleagues.

Bail was denied and she was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) in the interim.

murder. It is alleged that on February 10, at Hanna Hill, EMR, the accused men intentionally shot two men.

Gibson and Celestin were not required to enter a plea to the charges and were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in New Providence.

The matter was adjourned to May 1 when a preliminary inquiry will be held.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

Ms François lives in the United States, but said she has another brother who lives in Nassau.

She continued: “Never once did they call to let us know that he had passed. It has been four weeks almost five weeks now and we still have not heard anything more at all. No one from that place has called me back.

“After finding out, of course we bombarded their office with phone calls, and still then no one has contacted us to tell us how a healthy 30-something-yearold man, who I spoke to a week before, how he died.

“How does that happen, how?

When I contacted them they said, ‘I’m sorry for your loss and we’re still investigating,’ still figuring it out, no one has called to give an update.”

PAGE 8, Thursday, March 21, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

So much water, so little identity T

HE Bahamas is defined by its waters. In Nassau, in Georgetown, Exuma, in Treasure Cay, Abaco, in Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera, in almost every island, we land at an airport, hop in a car, head to town and come across our first view of the sea and our breath is taken away. We see the water and our heart races, our spirits revive. We know in an instant why we live in this land of high prices and difficulty in getting a driver’s licence renewed. We drink in that view and we just know. There is no place like this on Earth. Astronaut Scott Kelly agreed. From space with Exuma below, he declared the waters of The Bahamas the most beautiful in all the world.

We say the same thing.

We call our waters stunning, breathtaking. We

have a dozen descriptions for them – turquoise, aquamarine, bluer than blue, clear as gin, sparkling as diamonds. What we don’t have for them is a name.

The most beautiful waters in the world are officially part of the Atlantic Ocean.

Just tossed in along with the dark waters off the New England coast or New Jersey or North Carolina. Nothing against those places. They each have their charm. But lumping our waters in with the rest of the Atlantic is like saying that bottle of 1959 Dom Perignon is a dinner beverage.

The waters of The

Bahamas are a national treasure. They deserve an identity of their own.

Commodore Tellis Bethel, Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, historian and author, has formally proposed to government that the internal waters of The Bahamas be named the Lucayan Sea. The proposal makes all the sense in the world and I cannot imagine what is taking so long to make it happen. It will not change any of the current names of bays like Montagu or harbours like Elizabeth Harbour or Moriah Harbour in Exuma. It will only create an identity for

the waters as defined or delimited by the Archipelagic Waters and Maritime Jurisdiction Act which established our internal boundaries in 2008.

Commodore Bethel has spent his life sailing the seas of his native country. From his first job as a bellboy aboard a cruise ship to his current with responsibility of overseeing the patrolling of the waters that make up 90 percent of the country’s mass, his life has centred on the sea. He is a deep sea diver as well as a pilot and holds a Master’s degree from the Royal Naval Institute in the UK. Bethel believes there are two purposes for naming the waters the Lucayan Sea. The first is to create a “distinct identity for the beautiful waters of The Bahamas which is true to the history and heritage of The Bahama Islands and the Americas, and of which all Bahamians can be proud.” The second is to act as “a tribute to the life and legacy of the original inhabitants of these islands - the festivalsful Lucayans,” a population eradicated by genocide but respected for its peaceful nature. He proposes that a foundation be created to manage and preserve the waters, much as the Bahamas National Trust does the national parks of

the country. While Bethel’s idea of a foundation or trust is aimed at keeping the concept almost sacred, the reality is that the first new sea in the world and especially the most beautiful sea will explode in a thousand commercial ways. TripAdvisor, Expedia, airlines and travel agents will be all over it. Book your next vacation…Airbnb, Home Away, VRBO will all be able to boast located in the pristine Lucayan Sea. Cruise lines will offer specials, be the first to sail the Lucayan Sea. There will be hats, belts, straw bags, t-shirts. Bethel would like to see the copyright guarantee that the use of the name contribute to a preservation fund. All that would be in the hands of lawyers and the like but the concept is a winner and only needs a champion in the Cabinet.

Sources on both sides of the aisle have told me they are in favour of the name. After all, the Caribbean Sea was named for the Carib Indians. Why should the waters of The Bahamas, and, in fact, Turks and Caicos which is geographically in the same officially defined space, not be named after the peaceful inhabitants of the land that was the birthplace of the new world.

Think of it this way: you

wouldn’t let your child grow up without a name, why let that which gives you the greatest sense of who you are, that which sets your country apart from all others around the world, go unnamed?

Naming the waters is not difficult. All the research has been done and the way has been cleared. It is simply a matter of declaring it so and advising maritime authorities so they can include the name in relevant hydrographic and nautical publications.

Coordinates would also be published on the UN Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea website to specify to the international community the area of water to be named the Lucayan Sea. The publication on that website provides public notice of The Bahamas’ intentions.

The Bahamas can also advise the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office of its intention along with a request for guidance. In short, the country has full authority for naming of waters so what are we waiting for? Sorry, did I repeat myself? Let me put it this way. What ARE we waiting for? Oh I know, someone to step to the plate and take the lead.

Who called who stupid?

ON THE lighter side, the headline on last week’s column, “Hey you, stupid, turn off your cell phone” next to a photo of my husband walking our daughter down the aisle (a runway actually over a pool but, ok, it was a wedding picture for sure) will forever live on in infamy. While I am happy to have contributed to the laughter by describing my husband’s phone going off in the middle of the ceremony and his fumbling and standing to try to turn it off when it would not behave no matter how hard he pressed off, and the whole ceremony had to stop cold, I never did and never would have called

him stupid since he is anything but.

The headline was taken from another part of the column referring to what a flight attendant was thinking when someone ignored instructions to turn off all electronic devices before take-off and he was getting even by leaving them until

the very last second to offer a choice of pretzels or miniature chocolate chip cookies.

Ignoring a flight attendant’s instructions, now that’s stupid. By the way, the infamous cell phone call – it was someone from Japan trying to sell gold. To my husband?

Now, that was truly stupid.

And a word of thanks AND for all of you who were touched by the column on Michael Wells, a quadriplegic who, despite having cerebral palsy since birth, has made the most of his life and his brain, authored eight

books of short stories and been an inspiration, thank you for all the beautiful notes you sent. Michael’s new book will be out in a few weeks and available in the parking lot across from PMH A&E.

WE NEED MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES, SAYS MP CHIPMAN

BY RIEL MAJOR

CENTREVILLE MP Reece Chipman petitioned the House of Assembly yesterday to establish a Ministry of Natural Resources.

He also called for the enforcement of the law relating to the Sovereign Wealth Fund and its relatable purposes.

In a press release issued yesterday, the backbench MP highlighted the belief that utilising natural resources in the public interest can bring considerable wealth, job and food security, sustainable ecological development, as well as increased domestic and global business and innovations to the country.

“Today in accordance with Rule 54 of the House of Assembly, Centreville brings a petition on behalf of the Bahamian people to the House of Assembly.

It has been decades since a petition has been filed in the House on behalf of the Bahamian people,” the statement read.

Mr Chipman, pictured below, said observers can’t find any evidence of sustainable extractions and consumptions, contract transparency, fair distribution, accurate revenue tracking and dependable record management in support thereof in the public interest.

“We cannot find any strong regulatory framework, or competent institutional bodies for heightened good governance to protect, preserve and transparently manage the country’s natural resources and related revenues in the public interest.”

The statement added: “We believe with a strong

regulatory framework and transparent controls, the proceeds from the extractives sector will significantly aid in greater parity financially, socially and environmentally in the public interest.”

Mr Chipman said he abided by the rules and presented the House of Assembly clerk with the petition seven days prior to his presentation and also presented the clerk with the petition containing 25 signatures from citizens of The Bahamas.

“It’s been decades since a petition was brought to this House, so which party can boast true representation of our people, taxation but no representation leads to devaluation of who we are as Bahamians, and a deviation of generations. A sad state of affairs in Bahamian politics,” said the press release.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 21, 2019, PAGE 9

Video footage of two fatal shootings go viral TAYLOR STREET KILLING

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net VIDEO footage depicting Sunday’s two fatal shootings has gone viral on social media, sparking outrage at the level of brazen, violent crime in the country.

The first video is a 15-second clip depicting the moments right before two men were shot, one fatally, in broad daylight at the Fox Hill roundabout. Although the shooting itself is not visible on camera, both suspected perpetrators, who were riding a moped, can be seen in the video.

The second video is surveillance footage from Sunday night’s suspected armed robbery of a business on Taylor Street, Nassau Village. Three perpetrators, possessing at least two guns, enter the establishment and threaten two men. One was shot on-camera.

“They shot my husband,” a woman can be heard saying in the background of the 59-second clip.

Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash said on Tuesday the Nassau Village victim is a Chinese national with Bahamian residency.

He also confirmed police are in possession of the Fox Hill video, adding officers are finding it “quite helpful” to the investigation.

CSP Cash made these remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a homicide that occurred on Wilton and Market Streets on Tuesday.

When asked if police are aware of the video showing the suspects in the Fox Hill shooting, CSP Cash replied: “Yes, yes, that is a video that’s in the possession of the police. How it got out in social media, we are unaware of that. But yes, we have that video in our possession.

“That video was quite helpful to the investigation in assisting us in proving who these persons were responsible for that latest homicide in Fox Hill,” he added.

In the video, the people recording can initially be heard calling toward a man with a guitar, who is walking along the path inside the roundabout toward the street.

In the distance, the moped carrying the two suspects can be seen approaching the area. The driver is wearing a white t-shirt and helmet while the second man wears a black hoodie and shades.

The moped swiftly passes the man with the guitar and moves out of frame.

And then, shots are fired.

The jovial conversation of the men recording is instantly replaced by shouts and gasps. At least seven shots ring out before the video ends.

WANTED for murder: Pedreito Johnson-Mejias, aged 19.

Police later confirmed that two men were shot.

One died at the scene and the other is in hospital. At the time, CSP Cash added that officers from the Mobile Unit were patrolling the area when the incident occurred and actually witnessed the shooting.

Officers pursued the moped through Fox Hill to the Blueberry Hill area.

There the suspects escaped into bushes opposite a church. Police later recovered the moped and helmet.

Relatives identified the deceased as Jovardo Thompson, 26.

Regarding the Nassau Village victim, CSP Cash said: “I can confirm that the ID has been completed and he is a Chinese national who has residency in the Bahamas.”

The second video begins with this victim mopping tiles behind the store’s counter.

The gunman, dressed in a blue hoodie with a black cloth covering his face, barges in and immediately points the gun directly at the victim.

In a tense moment, the victim raises the mop, his only weapon of defence, at the gunman.

The victim slowly walks toward the gunman, who angrily shoves the mop away. The victim lowers the mop, however the gunman fires anyway, shooting him in the side.

The victim staggers and slowly sinks to the ground.

The perpetrator grabs the man by the back of his collar, points the gun to the back of his head and then drags him across the floor.

As this occurs, another perpetrator, whose face and neck are covered in white t-shirts, enters the camera’s frame. He forces a second man in the establishment into the area by the counter.

The first gunman initially points his weapon at this second man, before turning to drag the victim who was shot in the opposite direction, eventually forcing him to his feet and taking him out of the frame.

Both gunmen wore gloves. The shooting victim

was taken to the hospital where he later died.

• YESTERDAY, the Chinese Embassy in Nassau urged the Bahamian government to take “further measures” to protect both locals and foreigners in the wake of the recent murder of a Chinese national in Nassau Village.

Xiang Song, 40, was shot during a suspected armed robbery at a shop on Taylor Street, Nassau Village on Sunday night. He was taken to hospital where he later died.

Song was the father of a one-year-old child and had lived in The Bahamas for several years, Haigang Yin, charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy, told The Tribune yesterday.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Michael Johnson yesterday confirmed that Song was the proprietor of the business involved in the incident.

Mr Yin also noted the embassy has been in contact with both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and police and is “urging” government agencies to investigate the matter and “bring criminals to justice” as soon as possible.

“We also noticed that tragic news,” Mr Yin noted in a statement released to The Tribune yesterday.

“The embassy had met the family of the victim on March 19 and expressed our deepest condolences.

The embassy is now providing all necessary assistance to the family.

“The embassy has contacted the foreign ministry as well as the (police), urging the relevant departments to investigate this case and bring the criminals to justice ASAP. “Also, the embassy has urged the government of the Bahamas to take further measures to protect the people, including the locals and the foreigners in this country.”

Anyone with information related to these or any other matters is asked to call police at 919, 5029991 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS.

FOX HILL ROUNDABOUT KILLING

PAGE 10, Thursday, March 21, 2019

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net THE Court of Appeal has ordered that a Supreme Court judge will determine whether Ministry of Works Registrar Omar Archer’s appeal of his conviction for threatening a former assistant commissioner of police in a social media post should be reinstated.

The appellate tribunal of Jon Isaacs, Roy Jones, and Sir Michael Barnett said the lower court will decide whether to revisit Mr Archer’s appeal of his threats of harm conviction for what he said about former Senior ACP Leon Bethel on his Facebook page in 2015.

In doing so, the appellate judges disagreed with the stance adopted by then Chief Justice Sir Hartman Longley—now the Court of Appeal’s president—that the Supreme Court did not have the requisite power to reopen an appeal it struck out for want of prosecution.

Sir Michael was thus of the view that the appellate court should itself reinstate Mr Archer’s appeal as it has “all the power” the Supreme Court had on the application to restore, and that not doing so would be an “inefficient use of valuable judicial time” and an “abdication” of their responsibilities.

However, Justices Isaacs and Jones dissented by asserting that the matter of whether Mr Archer’s appeal should be reinstated should be left up to a Supreme Court judge to determine after having heard “full submissions on the issue”.

Mr Archer had posted on his page that he remembered being poked by the senior officer and his colleagues 10 years earlier while studying at the University of the West Indies and that he would “pull” the senior policeman’s file.

At the time, Mr Archer also said the senior officer should adjust the surveillance cameras at his home in a better angle.

On April 11, 2017, after having spent 24 days in

THE TRIBUNE

Supreme Court to decide if Archer gets new appeal police custody in relation to that matter and another case, Mr Archer was convicted and sentenced to time served for the offence of threats of harm.

Mr Archer appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, having filed a notice of appeal on April 26, 2017.

After doing so, Mr Archer’s legal representatives, Callenders & Co, received a notice from the Supreme Court that his appeal was set down for May 8, 2017.

However, an affidavit by Callenders & Co attorney Martin Lundy stated that there was a huge mix-up with the record of appeal; the wrong record was sent, and on May 3, 2017, Callenders & Co received a call from the Supreme Court registry which gave them a new date for the hearing as May 16, 2017.

That date was not convenient for counsel, so a new date was agreed: June 16, 2017.

However, on May 9, 2017, Callenders & Co received a record of appeal from the Supreme Court that contained a notice of hearing which showed that the date for Mr Archer’s appeal was still listed as May 16, 2017.

Mr Lundy, who had carriage of the case, was out of office until May 19, 2017, and was not aware that the appeal was moved back until he subsequently got a

OMAR ARCHER pictured at a previous hearing. call from the court registry advising that Mr Archer’s appeal had been “struck out for want of prosecution”.

According to court documents, the matter was struck out because Mr Archer and/or his attorneys did not show up on the date the matter was set to be heard.

A week after the matter had been struck out, Mr Archer applied for an order reinstating his appeal via a summons to the chief justice. That matter was heard

by Sir Hartman on June 12, 2017, who stated that

the court was ‘functus officio’ (of no further official authority or legal effect) after striking the appeal out for want of prosecution, and thus had no jurisdiction/power to reinstate the appeal.

In fact, after Mr Archer’s attorney stated the nature of the appeal, Sir Hartman immediately said: “The only problem I have is jurisdiction.” However, Sir Hartman indicated that if he indeed had the necessary jurisdiction he would have exercised it in the manner requested by Mr Archer.

Mr Archer’s attorney Fred Smith, QC, subsequently appealed the former chief justice’s decision, questioning whether a Supreme Court judge has the power to reinstate an appeal that was dismissed for want of prosecution before a final order had been made in relation to same, and whether Mr Archer’s right to a fair hearing as provided under Article 20 of the Constitution was breached.

Furthermore, Mr Smith asserted that there was no evidence before the court at that time to suggest that Mr Archer’s and Mr Lundy’s absence was “intentional” or “contumelious”, as there was a misunderstanding between Mr Lundy and the registry about the dates for the hearing.

But in any event, Mr Smith asserted that Mr Archer’s and Mr Lundy’s appearance would not have mattered because the appeal would not have been able to proceed and be heard because Mr Archer’s attorneys did not have the full record of appeal from the Magistrate’s Court at the time.

The appellate judges ultimately concurred with Mr Smith’s submissions, with Sir Michael in particular asserting that “having regard to the myriad of circumstances that may

present itself to the court, no inflexible rule can be adopted to fetter the exercise of the court’s inherent jurisdiction to reopen or reinstate an appeal which has been struck out.”

Conversely, Sir Michael said the primary issue is whether doing so is “necessary for the purposes of justice” or to ensure justice is done.

“Whether to restore an appeal is the exercise of discretion, Sir Michael said.

“It is a balancing exercise which must be exercised unfettered and having regard to the facts of a particular case.

“The failure to attend was a mistake; the application to restore was made promptly after the mistake was discovered that the appeal was dismissed; there is no suggestion that the appeal is wholly without merit; if the appeal is not restored (Mr Archer) will be visited with a criminal record and criminal sanctions without having his right to appeal determined on its merits through no fault of his own but simply because of the fault of his counsel; (Mr Archer) will have no meaningful redress against his counsel for their mistake and the Crown or the public can assert no prejudice by having the appeal restored.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 21, 2019, PAGE 11

THESE devices, illustrated above, are simply boxes consisting of bogus wiring, says the Grand Bahama Power Company from page one The family, which had maintained their innocence at the outset in the matter, had warned on Sunday that if power was not restored within a reasonable time they would be forced to shut down the businesses, which collectively employ close to 500 workers. They could also lose their franchise licences depending on the outcome of the police investigation.

On Wednesday morning, a sign was placed on the door at Burger King on East Mall notifying customers that it was closed for business and apologised for the inconvenience.

It is not known exactly how many employees are employed at the location, and efforts to reach the Coopers or their attorney Carlson Shurland, proved fruitless up to press time.

The restaurant is one of the seven businesses which were under investigation by police.

The Coopers - which have been operating several successful franchise businesses for about 50 years in Freeport - denied any wrongdoing, and claimed that the controversy involved their use of energy conservation devices they had purchased from a legitimate contractor who had installed them.

The Coopers were not the only business owners subjected to an investigation. Sav Mor Drugs, operated by ArK Investments Limited, was also disconnected by GBPC over suspected electricity theft. The owner, like the Coopers, had also been detained and questioned by police in the matter.

When The Tribune visited Sav Mor on Wednesday morning, the pharmacy and variety store was still open, but running on emergency power generators. The loud engines from the mega generator could be heard as customers continued to pour into the store.

Sav Mor Drugs, operates the largest pharmacy services on the island and caters to many customers.

A woman who identified herself as the store manager confirmed that their power supply was off, but would not comment any further.

When asked to speak with the owner, the woman went to make inquiries, but returned saying that the owner was not available. It was not known whether power had also been restored at Sav Mor last night.

It is believed the supposed energy saving device had been installed in many businesses and residences on the island by the contractor who is a licencee of the Grand Bahama Port

Power firm warns over bogus device

THE GRAND Bahama Power Company HQ Authority. However, no one has been able to find or locate or track down the contractor since allegations of electricity theft at several businesses surfaced last week following a recent metre audit conducted by the GBPC. Closure of the businesses in question could have resulted in hundreds of job losses on Grand Bahama, which is already plagued with a high unemployment rate of around 12 percent.

Minister of State for Grand Bahama Senator Kwasi Thompson on Tuesday said that government was concerned over the matter and was eager for all the parties to find a resolution in the matter.

Following an investigation, GBPC reported the devices purchased by the businesses and residents are “fake energy saving devices and metre bypasses”.

“Recent investigations undertaken by the GBPC have revealed several residents and businesses have purchased an alleged ‘energy saving device’ from a local company, according to a statement issued on Wednesday.

“Through our investigations and discussions with affected customers, GBPC learned that these businesses purchased what they believed was an energy

saving device from a local company. These businesses were a victim of fraud and were in fact either connected directly to GBPC’s power system via a metre bypass, or the metres were tampered with to underread actual usage. These devices are not energy saving devices,” it read.

The company noted that at every location inspected

by GBPC and the Royal Bahamas Police Force in the presence of the owners, it has been shown that all the devices are simply boxes consisting of bogus wiring with red or green lights, some with small unconnected LCD screens and sand filled canisters pretending to be capacitors in some instances.

“These fake boxes do nothing but act as a smokescreen for the dangerous diversion of GBPC’s electricity supply and bypass of our meter infrastructure.

“All customers with these fake boxes installed throughout the island have been obstructing GBPC electricity supply without paying for the electricity consumed. The devices shown on social media and referenced in news reports are not the devices that have been installed in businesses and homes in Grand Bahama,” the company stated.

GBPC explained that installations to divert GBPC’s electricity supply and bypass metering infrastructure are extremely

dangerous to business owners, homeowners, occupiers, their workers, and the public at large.

“Safety of the public and

our workers is our first priority. Therefore, the non-compliant installations must be rectified as soon as possible,” the company said.

The company stated that it does not know the number of fake devices and non-compliant installations on the island.

GBPC indicated that it will continue to be the leading proponent for the adoption of energy savings and renewable energy on the island, and will continue to provide its customers with the support they need to legitimately reduce their energy costs.

Customers are reminded to never disconnect electricity equipment without the help of a licensed electrician with the power supply isolated at the pole

by GBPC. GBPC urges the public to report any suspected wiring and electrical system irregularities without delay in order for them to address serious safety issues. The company said customers can call their 24-hour hotline on 352-8411 or toll free at 242-300-4826.

PAGE 12, Thursday, March 21, 2019

By JEAN TWENGE Professor of Psychology, San Diego State University

A

SK a teen today how she communicates with her friends, and she’ll probably hold up her smartphone. Not that she actually calls her friends; it’s more likely that she texts them or messages them on social media.

Today’s teens – the generation I call “iGen” that’s also called Gen Z – are constantly connected with their friends via digital media, spending as much as nine hours a day on average with screens.

How might this influence the time they spend with their friends in person?

Some studies have found that people who spend more time on social media actually have more face time with friends.

But studies like this are only looking at people already operating in a world suffused with smartphones. They can’t tell us how teens spent their time before and after digital media use surged.

What if we zoomed out and compared how often previous generations of teens spent time with their friends to how often today’s teens are doing so? And what if we also saw how feelings of loneliness differed across the generations?

To do this, my co-authors and I examined trends in how 8.2 million US teens spent time with their friends since the 1970s. It turns out that today’s teens are socializing with friends in fundamentally different ways – and also happen to be the loneliest generation on record.

After studying two large, nationally representative surveys, we found that although the amount of time teens spent with their friends face to face has declined since the 1970s, the drop accelerated after 2010 – just as smartphones use started to grow.

Compared with teenagers in previous decades, iGen teens are less likely to get together with their friends. They’re also less likely to go to parties, go out with friends, date, ride in cars for fun, go to shopping malls or go to the movies.

It’s not because they are spending more time on work, homework or extracurricular activities. Today’s teens hold fewer paid jobs, homework time is either unchanged or down since the 1990s, and time spent on extracurricular activities is about the same.

Yet they’re spending less time with their friends in person – and by large margins. In the late 1970s, 52 percent of 12th-graders got together with their friends almost every day. By 2017, only 28 percent did. The drop was especially pronounced after 2010.

Today’s 10th-graders go to about 17 fewer parties a year than 10th-graders in the 1980s did.

Overall, 12th-graders now spend an hour less on in-person social interaction on an average day than their Gen X predecessors did.

We wondered if these trends would have implications for feelings of loneliness, which are also measured in one of the surveys.

THE TRIBUNE

Teens have less face time with friends – and are lonelier than ever

Sure enough, just as the drop in face-to-face time accelerated after 2010, teens’ feelings of loneliness shot upward.

Among 12th graders, 39 percent said they often felt lonely in 2017, up from 26 percent in 2012.

Thirty-eight percent said they often felt left out in 2017, up from 30 percent in 2012. In both cases, the 2017 numbers were all-time highs since the questions were first asked in 1977, with loneliness declining among teens before suddenly increasing.

As previous studies have shown, we did find that those teens who spent more time on social media also spent more time with their friends in person.

So why have in-person social interactions been going down, overall, as digital media use has increased?

It has to do with the group versus the individual.

Imagine a group of friends that doesn’t use social media. This group regularly gets together, but the more outgoing members are willing to hang out more than others, who might stay home once in a while. Then they all sign up for Instagram. The social teens are still more likely to meet up in person, and they’re also more active on their accounts.

However, the total number of in-person hangs for everyone in the group drops as social media

replaces some face-to-face time.

So the decline in face-to-face interaction among teens isn’t just an individual issue; it’s a generational one. Even teens who eschew social media are affected: Who will hang out with them when most of their peers are alone in their bedrooms scrolling through Instagram?

Higher levels of loneliness are just the tip of the iceberg. Rates of depression and unhappiness also skyrocketed among teens after 2012, perhaps because spending more time with screens and less time with friends isn’t the best formula for mental health.

Some have argued that teens are simply choosing to

communicate with their friends in a different way, so the shift toward electronic communication isn’t concerning.

That argument assumes that electronic communication is just as good for assuaging loneliness and depression as face-to-face interaction. It seems clear that this isn’t the case. There’s something about being around another person – about touch, about eye contact, about laughter – that can’t be replaced by digital communication.

The result is a generation of teens who are lonelier than ever before. theconversation.com

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 21, 2019, PAGE 13

JOENEL’S APPEAL FOR HELP TO PAY FOR HER KIDNEY OP

By RIEL MAJOR A TEENAGER is seeking donations to help pay for a needed kidney transplant.

In February 2013, Joenel Humes was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease.

Unfortunately, Ms Humes, 19, does not have any medical insurance and all expenses must be paid out of pocket.

She now is in need of $100,000 to cover her medical expenses and has started a GoFundMe page to generate donations.

Despite the lupus diagnosis, Ms Humes is still hopeful and in good spirits, but tired.

Ms Humes said: “I’m tired of being sick, and tired of being in and out the hospital.

“I just want all two of my kidneys back, but if it isn’t possible, I’m still thankful for the one I have now.

“I thank God I’m alive every day. I want to thank everyone for donating thus far because without them I won’t be able to get my transplant.”

Ms Humes is currently in hospital due to a low blood count and a bacterial infection in her stomach, according to her mother Sherea Newbold, who said her daughter is

LEFT to right: Lisa Pugh BFN, Petula Carter Pure Water Systems, Roland Solomon BFN, Recena Skully BFN, Maureen Williamson BFN and Cardinal Butler BFN.

WATER DONATION TO ASSIST BAHAMAS FEEDING NETWORK

mentally fine, but trying to stay focused and trust in God. Ms Newbold said: “Any help they can get will be greatly appreciated.”

On her GoFundMe page, Ms Humes wrote: “After three years of not having any horrible flares, I am now experiencing trauma that has me constantly hospitalised. As a result of lupus attacking my organs I am

now on dialysis. It is my greatest desire to receive assistance as much as possible to receive a kidney transplant and the proper medical care that is needed for me to combat this illness.”

Ms Humes raised more than $900 up to press time. Donations can be made at https://www.gofundme. com/2qjv3n-kidneytransplant?utm_ source.

PUREWATER Systems Ltd recently donated a K5 filtration drinking water system to the Bahamas Feeding Network.

The reverse osmosis system is certified to remove contaminants from water, the company said.

“With this donation PureWater Systems has ensured that the Bahamas Feeding Network has 500 gallons of

pure potable drinking water on demand and at its disposal before any need for a filter cartage replacement,” a company representative noted in a press release.

“The Bahamas Feeding Network will no longer need to be concerned with lugging five-gallon bottles of water into the Bahamas Feeding Network as PureWater Systems will

service and maintain its K5 system.”

PureWater Systems is the authorised dealer in the Bahamas and Caribbean of its filtration systems through its distributorship licence agreement with Kinetico Incorporated, headquartered in Newbury, Ohio, a leading manufacturer of a full line of top quality water treatment systems, the company said.

PAGE 14, Thursday, March 21, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

ITALIAN BUS DRIVER ABDUCTS 51 CHILDREN AND SETS VEHICLE ON FIRE MILAN Associated Press

described him as a 47-year-old Italian citizen of Senegalese origin and said he told authorities he wanted to vindicate Europebound migrants who have died in the Mediterranean Sea but did not plan to hurt anyone.

However, prosecutors said the suspect, identified as Ousseynou Sy, made preparations that showed his actions were premediated, such as buying a canister of gasoline and restraints on Tuesday.

He also sent a video to friends in Italy and Senegal indicating plans for a bold action and with the message, “Africa, Rise up,” they

A BUS driver in northern Italy abducted 51 children and their school chaperones yesterday, threatening the hostages’ lives for 40 minutes and setting the bus on fire at a Carabinieri blockade.

Officers from the national police force broke windows at the back of the bus to reach the passengers and got all of them out without serious injuries before flames destroyed the vehicle, authorities said.

The driver was apprehended and treated for burns. Prosecutors

said. Sy was being investigated on suspicion of kidnapping, intention to commit a massacre, arson and resisting law enforcement, with terrorism as an aggravating circumstance since the event caused panic. Prosecutors said they have found no evidence of Islamic radicalization or ties to extremists, saying it appeared the bus driver acted alone.

Chief prosecutor Francesco Greco praised the Carabinieri for moving swiftly to block the bus and remove the children.

“They carried out an operation that we see in films with special agents,” Greco said.

“Thank goodness, because by then the intent to massacre had ignited, and the man was starting to set fire to the bus, as he did,” he said.

Milan’s provincial Carabinieri commander, Luca De Marchis, said that the bus was ferrying two classes between school and a nearby gym in Cremona province, some 40 kilometers from Milan.

The driver threatened the passengers, telling them “no one would survive today” as he commandeered the bus, De Marchis said.

Italian news agency ANSA quoted one of the students as saying the driver everyone’s

phones and ordered the chaperones to bind the students’ hands with cable ties, threatening to spill gas and set the bus ablaze. ANSA said the chaperones only loosely bound several students’ hands with the zip ties, not everyone’s.

One of the middle school students described his terror in an interview with La Repubblica TV, his face obscured due to his age.

His name was not given.

“We were all very afraid because the driver had emptied the gas canister onto the floor (of the bus.) He tied us up and took all the telephones so we could not call the police,” the student said.

REMAINS OF PILOT KILLED IN WWII ARE FINALLY HOME

NZ BANS ALL ‘MILITARY’ WEAPONS CHRISTCHURCH Associated Press NEW Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today announced an immediate ban on sales of “military-style” semiautomatic and automatic weapons like the ones used in the attacks on two mosques in Christchurch that killed 50 worshippers.

“Every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned,” she said.

Ardern’s announcement comes less than a week after the killings, as more of the dead were being buried. At least six funerals took place yesterday, including one for a teenager, a youth soccer coach and a Muslim convert who loved connecting with other women at the mosque.

SALT LAKE CITY Associated Press

CHILDREN perform a haka during a visit to Christchurch earlier today.

Foreign aid on way

to cyclone-hit Africa NEW YORK Associated Press

INTERNATIONAL aid has started trickling into the east African countries of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi to ease the humanitarian crisis created by floodwaters from Cyclone Idai .

Relief efforts that were initially stifled by airport closures slowly gained steam Wednesday and foreign governments began pledging aid to help the region recover from the worst flooding in decades.

“Everyone is doubling, tripling, quadrupling whatever they were planning,” said Caroline Haga of the Red Cross in Beira, Mozambique, referring to supplies and aid workers. “It’s much larger than anyone could ever anticipate.”

The United Nations allocated $20 million for a humanitarian response to the crisis. The European Union released $3.9 million in emergency aid, while the U.K. pledged up to

A WOMAN does her laundry near a mountain where a mudslide caused by Cyclone Idai killed people in Chimanimani. $7.9 million. Neighboring Tanzania’s military airlifted 238 tons of food and medicine.

The United Arab Emirates plans to provide $4.9 million to Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, the Emirates News Agency reported yesterday, citing the Emirates Red Crescent. Norway said it was

providing $700,000. The US Agency for International Development said it deployed disaster experts to Mozambique and provided $400,000 in emergency funding. The African Union Commission will give $350,000, according to its chairman.

Matthew Pickard of the humanitarian organisation CARE said

the response to Idai has been similar to prior natural disasters.

Local authorities and international non-governmental organizations worked their way to the area in the first days, with additional aid destined to arrive soon after.

The catastrophe of the flooding and the inability to access some areas has limited the ability of some to see the scale of the cyclone.

But, Pickard said, as those details become clearer, aid will spike.

“Over the next few days we’ll learn just how big it is,” he said by phone from Lilongwe, Malawi.

Sacha Myers of Save the Children, described rising floodwaters, “rivers and dams bursting their banks” and a death toll in the hundreds that was destined to climb.

She was awaiting the arrival of a cargo plane carrying 51 tons of emergency supplies, but said getting them where they needed to go remained difficult with roads washed away or submerged.

THE remains of a World War II pilot shot down in Germany have arrived back in his home state of Utah, where they are expected to be buried. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield’s remains are set to be buried today, 74 years to the day of Hadfield’s crash.

Hadfield, from Salt Lake City, was piloting a bomber plane from France to Germany just months before the end of World War II when it was struck by antiaircraft fire and crashed somewhere near the German city of Dulmen.

Hadfleid was 26 during his last bomber mission, meant to obstruct German troop movement as Allied forces crossed the Rhine River two days later.

A German researcher found evidence of a crash site in 2016 in HulstenReken, about 10 miles away.

It was Hadfield’s plane.

Hadfield’s remains arrived in Utah on Tuesday.

“I didn’t think that after 74 years he would come back, and I would be here to see it,” said Mary Ann Turner, Hadfield’s daughter Turner was two years old when her father was killed.

A DNA analysis confirmed the remains belonged to Hadfield and his crew members. “It gives me peace that I haven’t known my whole life,” Turner said.

The excavation team also recovered Hadfield’s officer wings and his ID tag, which Turner now has.

Now, Turner’s relatives and friends are gathering in an unforeseen reunion to pay respects to the war veteran. Hadfield will be buried today — the anniversary of his death — in Bluffdale Veterans Memorial Park cemetery. The funeral will begin at 11am, three seconds before the time of day that the plane crash was recorded, Turner said.

POLL: MORE AMERICANS WANT HARVARD PROFITS FROM EARLY IMMIGRATION TO STAY THE SAME PHOTOS OF SLAVES, SAYS LAWSUIT CALIFORNIA Associated Press

A GROWING number of Americans say immigration levels should remain the same or increase, according to a major US survey, a shift that comes as the Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement.

At the same time, the latest data from the General Social Survey — a widely respected poll that has measured trends on American attitudes since the 1970s — shows a growing partisan divide on the topic over the past decade.

The 2018 survey was released this week and shows 34 percent of Americans want immigration levels to be reduced, down from 41 percent in 2016, according to an analysis by The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and GSS staff.

That’s compared with 23 percent of Americans who

PRESIDENT TRUMP want more immigration, up from 17 percent in 2016.

Forty-one percent say they want immigration levels to stay the same.

It’s the first time since the survey question was first asked in 2004 that more Americans want immigration to remain the same than to be reduced.

The survey is conducted every two years, and the question was last asked before President Donald Trump took office and made it harder for people to immigrate to the United States.

Trump — who made immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his election campaign — has repeatedly called for a wall on the US-Mexico border, and his push for wall funding last year drove the federal government to a monthlong shutdown that furloughed hundreds of thousands of government workers.

The administration enacted a travel ban for citizens of mostly Muslim countries, including Iran and Yemen, that has torn many families apart. And officials last year separated immigrant parents from their children to prosecute illegal border crossers, a move that sparked an international outcry.

“People are more tolerant of immigration than the president and the far right would have us believe,” said Louis DeSipio, a political science professor at the University of California, Irvine.

BOSTON Associated Press

HARVARD University has “shamelessly” turned a profit from photos of two 19th-century slaves while ignoring requests to turn the photos over to the slaves’ descendants, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday.

Tamara Lanier, of Norwich, Connecticut, is suing the Ivy League school for “wrongful seizure, possession and expropriation” of images she says depict two of her ancestors. Her suit, filed in Massachusetts state court, demands that Harvard immediately turn over the photos, acknowledge her ancestry and pay an unspecified sum in damages.

Harvard spokesman Jonathan Swain said the university “has not yet been served, and with that is in no position to comment on this complaint.”

At the centre of the case

RENTY, a South Carolina slave who Tamara Lanier said is her family’s patriarch is a series of 1850 daguerreotypes, an early type of photo, taken of two South Carolina slaves identified as Renty and his daughter, Delia. Both were posed shirtless and photographed from several angles. The images are believed to be the earliest known photos of American slaves.

They were commissioned

by Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz, whose theories on racial difference were used to support slavery in the

US The lawsuit says Agassiz came across Renty and Delia while touring plantations in search of racially “pure” slaves born in Africa.

“To Agassiz, Renty and Delia were nothing more than research specimens,” the suit says. “The violence of compelling them to participate in a degrading exercise designed to prove their own subhuman status would not have occurred to him, let alone mattered.”

The suit attacks Harvard for its “exploitation” of Renty’s image at a 2017 conference and in other uses. It says Harvard has capitalized on the photos by demanding a “hefty” licensing fee to reproduce the images.

It also draws attention to a book Harvard sells for $40 with Renty’s portrait on the cover. The, called “From Site to Sight: Anthropology, Photography, and the Power of Imagery,” explores the use of photography in anthropology.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 21, 2019, PAGE 15

ISAAC TAKES TOP PRIZE IN WRITING COMPETITION

ENTRANTS for the essay competition organised by The Ministry of Education in collaboration with The Nassau Institute. Left, winner Isaac Choute; right, runner up Angel Knowles.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff ISAAC Choute of CI Gibson Senior High School scooped first prize as overall winner at last week’s awards ceremony for the third annual national essay competition organised by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with The Nassau Institute. Runner-up was Angel Knowles of Temple Christian Senior High School and Megan Thompson of Kingsway Academy came third.

At the presentation, which took place on Friday at C C Sweeting

Senior High School, each received an inscribed trophy and shared a cash prize of $1,000 together with a trophy for producing the best essay from their individual schools, and the overall winner will attend a three-day economics seminar in Atlanta, Georgia in the summer under the auspices of the Foundation for Economic Education.

A total of 76 students, including one from the Family Islands -- Central Eleuthera All Age

School - took part in the competition which was held at Anatol Rodgers Senior High School in February. Those who wrote the best essay for each school were given a trophy and all entrants and their teachers received an individual certificate of participation. The teachers were also presented with plaques to mark their role in coaching the students.

Proposed originally, and partly funded, by The Nassau Institute

think tank, with the Templeton Religion Trust as the main sponsor, this third annual competition was a joint venture with the Ministry of Education which was responsible for the detailed arrangements. It was open to pupils in both private and public high schools enrolled in Business Studies programmes. Participants were required to write an essay in their own words under examination conditions on a subject based on the book “Economics

in One Lesson” by the renowned American economist Henry Hazlitt.

Addressing the gathering during the presentation of prizes, former British High Commissioner Peter Young and praised the students for the high standard of their work. He also paid tribute to those concerned in the Ministry of Education for arranging another successful essay competition.