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IMF projects 13.9% unemployment rate as economy recovers By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE International Monetary Fund projects a 13.9 percent unemployment rate this year, still higher than the pre-pandemic rate but a notable decline compared to 2020 and 2021 when the rate was estimated to be 25.6 and 18.1 percent respectively. To address revenue issues, the IMF
recommends the government gradually bring value added tax rates “close to the regional average of 15 percent,” further reduce tax concessions and consider corporate and personal income taxes for large businesses and high earners. The projections and recommendations are contained in the IMF’s Article IV Mission statement published at the end of the visit to a member country. SEE PAGE THREE
THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday subtly signalled that The Bahamas must introduce new and/or increased taxes to hit fiscal targets that include a 25 percent revenue-to-GDP ratio before the next general election is due.
The fund, in a statement on its Article IV consultation with The Bahamas, while praising the Davis administration’s “well-calibrated” plans to eliminate persistent Budget deficits and boost tax enforcement warned that this needed to go “hand-in-hand” with tax policy reforms.
FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
- SEE PAGE EIGHT
WORK ‘ALMOST COMPLETE’ ON NATIONAL TRADE POLICY By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said work on a national trade policy is almost complete, adding he was hopeful the matter would not get “hijacked” by arguments that there were attempts to push a free movement agenda that has for years clouded World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations. Mr Halkitis told the Senate yesterday that while the government wanted to diversify the Bahamian economy, trade was much more than the WTO. SEE PAGE THREE
...AND FUND CALLS FOR TAX INCREASE By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
FACE TO FACE: OFFERING YOUNGSTERS A SAFE SPACE
WORDS TO BRING A SMILE STUDENTS were in the spotlight yesterday for World Poetry Day - with grade nine class members pictured reciting a poem at LW Young Junior High, where Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin was in attendance. See PAGE TWO for more. Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
COMMISSIONER: I’M RETIRING THIS YEAR By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
POLICE Commissioner Paul Rolle confirmed yesterday that he will be retiring from the police force this year after nearly 40 years of service, ending months of speculation about his future. Commissioner Rolle made the revelation to reporters on the sidelines of a charitable event hosted by
POLICE Commissioner Paul Rolle yesterday. Photo: Racardo Thomas/ Tribune Staff the RBPF yesterday. The police chief said he plans to meet with Prime
Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis on Thursday to inform him of his retirement plans. “I met with the team this morning and I could say to you that I do intend to make my exit from the police force at some point. I will have 40 years and so I’m looking down the 40-year mark and I’ll make a decision on that in due course,” Commissioner Rolle said yesterday when asked about his future on the force. SEE PAGE FOUR
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
DPM: ‘PROMISING’ PROPOSALS FOR GRAND LUCAYAN
By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
DEPUTY Prime Minister Chester Cooper has indicated that proposed master plans presented to the Lucayan Renewal Holdings board so far by hotel bidders for the Grand Lucayan resort look “promising.” SEE PAGE FIVE
PETER YOUNG: HOW CAN CONFLICT IN UKRAINE BE STOPPED?
- SEE PAGE NINE
PAGE 2, Tuesday, March 22, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
STUDENTS of Grade 9 reciting a poem as LW Young Junior High celebrates World Poetry Day yesterday.
Photos: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
Minister joins students for World Poetry Day By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net GLENYS Hanna Martin, Education, Technical and Vocational Training Minister, joined students at LW Young Junior High School yesterday to celebrate World Poetry Day. Under the theme “Poetry: An Expression of the Soul”, students recited a variety of poems to commemorate the occasion. Hope Strachan, Ambassador and Permanent delegate to UNESCO, read the remarks from the director of UNESCO cluster office for the Caribbean, noting that the organisation first adopted March 21 as World Poetry Day intending to support linguistics diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard. “In this sense, the World Poetry Day is the occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions, and identity of poetry recitals; promote the reading, writing, and teaching of poetry; foster the conversions between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting
EDUCATION Minister Glenys Hanna Martin speaking at LW Young Junior High yesterday. while raising the visibility of poetry in media,” she said. Ms Hanna Martin told students the importance of art and that “the creative imagination is a place of freedom”. “It has no boundary - your creative imagination has no boundary and it belongs exclusively to you,” she said. “Only you have your creative imagination. I urge you to tap into your creative energies and inspire, touch, move, excite the human spirit…”
She added: “As you know this is World Poetry Day and that might sound insignificant or off the wall or maybe boring, so to speak, but it’s very important because this causes us to celebrate our creative spirits as human beings - it draws upon the intangibles. I don’t know if you know what the intangibles are. It’s that part of being and make up that you can’t see or touch and fuels our spirits. Now we’re flesh and blood, but we’re also heart and soul.”
LW Young principal Deborah Thompson yesterday.
GRADE 9 student Abigael Sylvestre recites a poem yesterday.
ROAD CLOSURES THE Royal Bahamas Police Force has announced the following road closures in New Providence as a result of the visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge this week. On Friday, the following streets will be closed to vehicular traffic: Bay Street between Charlotte and East Streets; Parliament Street between East Hill and Bay Street and Bank Lane between Shirley and Bay
Streets. Between 9am and 1pm, no parking will be allowed on Bay and Parliament Streets. The following traffic diversions have also been announced: from 5am to 1pm, traffic travelling east on Bay Street will be diverted north on Navy Lion Road, east on the wharf to East Street, south on Frederick Street and Bank Lane.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, March 22, 2022, PAGE 3
Green light given to treat coral disease AFTER more than a year, the government has given the green light for marine conservationists to treat corals infected with stony coral tissue loss disease as well as to study and better understand its spread. Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is the deadly and relentless plague ravaging the country’s reefs like a forest fire. Earlier this month, conservationists sounded the alarm at a press conference at The Bahamas National Trust about the issue. This breaking news is being celebrated after backlogged research permits had sidelined action by the country’s own worldrenowned scientific experts and local environmental groups for over a year, a press release from conservationists said. “It’s like Christmas came early – we’re so pleased the government is partnering with us on this life-saving work,” said Dr Craig Dahlgren, executive
BNT executive director Eric Carey. Photo: Donavan McIntosh/ Tribune Staff director of Perry Institute for Marine Science (PIMS), a Bahamas-based research non-profit on the frontlines of the Caribbean coral crisis. “This country made history when it established the world’s first land and sea park more than half a century ago. Together, we’re ready to make history again and tackle SCTLD with everything we’ve got.” According to the press release, “science across the country came to a halt” after the new Biological Resources and Traditional
Knowledge Act was passed in 2021. “Government adopted the new legal framework to capture value from commercial innovation and ensure research involving the country’s natural resources benefits Bahamians first and foremost,” the release noted. “But the consequent implementation of the Act has, until now, been fraught with political turmoil and bureaucratic peril. This created a quagmire for local non-profits, mom and pop businesses and both national and international environmental organisations hoping to do economically and environmentally critical and time-sensitive science and conservation work. “But now there are signs of hope for transitional permits while the Cabinet has undertaken to revise the law to aim at its original intent — to capture monetary value through patents where commercially possible while simultaneously promoting, not blocking,
conservation-oriented, nonprofit scientific research and ecosystem restoration.” Eric Carey, BNT executive director, said the groups hope the permits scientists received last week “are a harbinger of much more science and conservation approvals to come” and reiterates the government’s leading role in all environmental and economic issues. With permits in hand, a coalition of environmental non-profits are set to begin broad-sweeping SCTLD monitoring, evaluation, and treatment across The Bahamas. Scientists now hope the government will soon allow samples to be sent to state-of-the-art international analytical laboratories which is a key tool in speeding humanity’s ability to stop the spread. Alongside government staff, Perry Institute marine biologists will work as fast as possible to heal infected corals using an antibiotic paste and prevent the extinction of coral species
from The Bahamas. Given the severity of the crisis at hand, the Perry Institute has also co-led the establishment of a living coral “gene bank” to preserve Bahamian corals in Atlantis’ aquarium. To date, the Perry Institute has secured sustainable project funding upwards of $1m USD with more to come. “The gene bank is a groundbreaking opportunity for us to save corals from SCTLD and for The Bahamas to fully establish itself as the global leader in coral science and restoration,” Dr Dahlgren added. “We’re excited to work closely with the government, already-committed philanthropic funding, and Atlantis so see this project through.” SCTLD was first discovered off the coast of Miami in 2014. Five years later, Dr Dahlgren’s team at the Perry Institute confirmed its presence off the southern coast of Grand Bahama. The disease, which is so fatal it can wipe
out a 200-year-old coral in less than two months, has already caused far-reaching and irreversible damage to Bahamian coral reefs – the lifeblood of the nation’s blue economy. Coral reefs are the nation’s chief tourism and fisheries asset, valued at up to $135m USD per square kilometre. They also protect coastlines from storm surges and erosion, reducing wave energy by about 97 percent, conservationists say. In the three years since SCTLD first spread to The Bahamas, it has wiped out corals over more than 100 square miles of reef across the country: nearly 50,000 football fields worth of dead coral. The highly contagious disease has been identified offshore of at least six major Bahamian islands to date and scientists are linking its spread to ballast water from commercial shipping vessels and cross-contamination by recreational and commercial boating.
IMF PROJECTS 13.9% UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AS ECONOMY RECOVERS from page one The body urged the government to reprioritise its public spending by addressing civil service pension reforms and improving efficiency among civil servants so it could spend more on health and education. The IMF said the country’s health and education spending is “well below regional peers.” The Bahamas’ GDP fell by 14.5 percent in 2020, one of the steepest declines in the region. “Coupled with an uptick in construction activity, output is estimated to have expanded by around five and a half percent last
year. Real GDP growth is estimated at around six percent this year, although a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels is not expected before end-2023,” the IMF said. The pandemic has deepened the country’s medium-term growth challenges and public finances have deteriorated, according to the IMF. “Education gaps have increased given the varied quality and access to remote learning. Private investment and employment will take time to recover. Additionally, the economy will have to contend with lasting effects of the pandemic on travel preferences as well as broader shifts in technology
and climate risks,” the report said. While the government has pledged to provide relief to people and businesses through increased investment and tax cuts, the IMF warned its fiscal space for this has been eroded, with public debt close to 100 percent of GDP. “A re-intensification of the pandemic cannot be discarded,” the IMF said. “With about 40 percent of the population fully vaccinated, the emergence of new COVID-19 variants could prolong the pandemic and induce renewed economic disruptions. Alternatively, rising cases in source countries could dissuade travel and lead to a
renewed decline in tourism. “Higher food and oil prices, including because of the effects of the war in Ukraine, could erode consumer demand and impose a particularly heavy burden on the vulnerable. In addition, a sharp rise in global risk premia could limit the ability to place new debt and further strain public and private balance sheets. Natural disasters related to climate change are a continuous risk. On the upside, the global recovery could prove stronger than is currently anticipated, which would help support tourism.” The IMF said the government’s goal to achieve a one and a half percent
of GDP fiscal surplus over the medium term is well-calibrated. “The authorities have invested considerable resources in strengthening tax administration with a goal of increasing the revenue-to-GDP ratio to 25 percent,” the IMF said. “Measures include the re-establishment of the Revenue-Enhancement Unit and an updated property tax roll. The envisaged overall surplus would be consistent with rebuilding fiscal buffers and putting public debt-GDP on a decisive downward path towards the debt target of 50 percent, as laid out in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.” When contacted for
comment yesterday, Labour Minister Keith Bell said an unemployment rate of 13.9 percent would be reasonable considering the pandemic. “I think that would be reasonable given the circumstances we find ourselves in,” he said. However, he said he prefers that the country gets a more accurate perspective from the annual Labour Force Survey or other scientific analysis. “I don’t know how much you really could say because it’s like fishing in the dark. It seems fair, but it’s like fishing in the dark if you don’t know what the numbers actually are. It has to be scientific,” he said.
WORK ‘ALMOST COMPLETE’ ON NATIONAL TRADE POLICY
from page one
He also said the government wanted to ensure consumers were not subject to price gouging at stores due to inflation. Regarding inflation, he said there is little that can be done in the short-term. He made the comments during debate of the midyear budget in the upper chamber. “For many years we’ve been working on a national trade policy and that is almost complete,” Mr Halkitis said yesterday. “That is going out for more consultation and what we want to do is every time we talk about trade, unfortunately the argument seems to get hijacked by WTO and free trade and free movement and then for
years, I think we are in the 22nd year of trying to join, for one example the WTO. “But trade is much more than that. Trade is much more than the WTO. “We have our Caribbean partners. We have partners in Latin America, partners in Europe and then you have your Brexit - you have your agreement with the Europeans and then you have to have an agreement in place with the UK. “Our view is that trade is important and so we have to have a coordinated approach to it and my view is that our job is to ensure that our local actors, the business people, become aware of opportunities that might exist for them and so it is not seen as an agenda to push some sort of free movement. That’s what becomes the subject of
NINE MORE COVID CASES
THE country’s COVID19 case count has risen by nine, bringing the total to 33,230 since the start of the pandemic. Only 65 of those cases are active, however. According to the latest
data from the Ministry of Health, six people are in hospital with the disease, one of whom is in the intensive care unit. There have been 787 confirmed COVID-19 deaths.
SHOOTING VICTIM IN HOSPITAL A MAN is in critical condition in hospital after he was shot on Rupert Dean Lane yesterday morning. While details of the incident were limited up to press time, police said
“quick response” by officers resulted in a man being arrested. A firearm was also recovered. The suspect is assisting police with their investigation into this matter.
debate. “But how do we convince people that to be able to freely trade with partners around the world it’s a good thing with protections in place for a small economy? And so, we think it will allow for the diversification of the Bahamian economy that will allow for us to use the digital economy, e-commerce etc, for Bahamians to take advantage of and it’s a discussion that we will be having in the weeks and months ahead.” Back in 2020, a prominent World Trade Organisation advocate said he doubted The Bahamas will ever join WTO, adding: “You can
lead a horse to water, but can’t make it drink.” Carey Leonard, the former Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) in-house attorney, told Tribune Business he was “disappointed, but not surprised” that Elsworth Johnson, then Cabinet minister with responsibility for the WTO negotiations, had told the House of Assembly that the Bahamas nation would not achieve full membership within the next five years. He argued that the result of “kicking the can further down the road” would only be to erode The Bahamas’ economic competitiveness
and result in it “slipping further behind the rest of the world”. Regarding consumer pricing, Mr Halkitis said the government wants to assist store owners with bottlenecks to make business smoother. “In the shortterm little can be done,” he said, regarding inflation. “We have been in discussion with some wholesalers to see how, if there is anything in terms of government processes to see if there is anything that we can’t do to smooth any bottlenecks so that their businesses may be improved. “Our view is to empower the Consumer and Prices
Commission to ensure that we avoid any sort of gouging that uses an excuse of unrest to unfairly hike up pricing, but we are a small economy in an increasingly integrated global economy and the world is still a very dangerous place. “So, when you think it’s peace and safety and COVID is behind you and you are looking in the right direction and things are starting to pick up, there is an outbreak of war and then the response to it is a global sanction programme that all of it taken together causes disruption and uncertainty which is just as bad.”
PAGE 4, Tuesday, March 22, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
Commissioner: I’m retiring this year
from page one Asked if he plans to leave the force this year or in 2023, he replied: “This year.” He also said: “I have said that we all serve in the police force for 40 (years) and I’m nearing that time. I’m looking forward to that. I will meet with the prime minister on Thursday, and I guess I’ll have a conversation with him and let him know. I have discussed already with my family, basically my wife, and at some point, but you know I have some vacation and we will see how that goes.” Rumours that Commissioner Rolle was leaving the police force surfaced late last year after the Davis administration took office. However, the police chief dismissed the claims, telling reporters in December that he had no plans to leave the force any time soon. “I’m 56 and the Police Act says you could work until you’re 60, and the Pension Act says 65,” he said during an OPM press briefing at the time. It is widely expected that Deputy Commissioner Clayton Fernander will succeed Commissioner Rolle after he retires, however this has not been confirmed. DCP Fernander is one of several senior officers who were controversially ordered to take vacation leave in 2019 under the Minnis administration.
The high-ranking officers were subsequently given assignments at different government ministries which they thought were beneath their roles and experience. However, DCP Fernander and two other senior officers were returned to the frontlines of the force after the 2021 general election. DCP Fernander served as acting police commissioner last week while Commissioner Rolle was out of the country on police business. “Last week, I visited, at the invitation of the Crown Prince of Dubai, the World Police Summit that was held in Dubai and had an opportunity during this visit to look at some of the policing initiatives that they are doing there and also share some of what we are doing in The Bahamas,” Commissioner Rolle said yesterday of his trip. “You know Dubai is only one of the countries in the United Arab Emirates and although they are making progress in development, there are things that we can learn from them and there are things that they can learn from us. “But we also had persons there from Canada and the United Kingdom and the United States, all sharing information and so I have had an opportunity to look at their real crime time centre there in Dubai and the way things are done there,” he added.
POLICE Commissioner Paul Rolle yesterday.
The police chief made the remarks yesterday when asked for an update on the April 15, 2021, shooting, which is considered to be the deadliest shooting in recent times. Police previously said several suspects were believed to have left town following the incident. Another person of interest was also said to have died
since the incident, it was revealed in October. Yesterday, Commissioner Rolle said police have not been able to move forward with the case due to insufficient evidence. He also appealed to people with any information on last year’s shooting to contact police. “We have had persons in custody, some of the main
Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff
OFFICER ‘SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION’ IN INVESTIGATION INTO MASS SHOOTING By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
NEARLY a year after six men were killed in a mass shooting on Jerome Avenue, Police Commissioner Paul Rolle said officers are still searching for information to advance their investigations into the killings.
suspects that we had, there was insufficient evidence to proceed with charging before the court and they were subsequently released,” he said. “So, if persons have more information to help us advance this investigation, then I would encourage them to bring that information to the police and help us to advance this
investigation.” This comes as officers continue their investigations into a recent spate of armed robberies in the capital. The latest incident happened over the weekend when a woman was shot in her face during an armed robbery. Police said the woman had just arrived at her home in Pinewood Gardens when two armed men approached her, demanding her to give them her blue Suzuki Swift. The woman tried to evade the gunmen, but ended up getting shot in the face before the suspects took the vehicle. Commissioner Rolle told reporters yesterday no one is in custody in connection with the incident. However, he said officers are hopeful that those responsible will soon be captured and brought to justice. He said: “We continue to do our investigations with that and hope to bring these perpetrators to justice. We are concerned when we see things like this happen. I believe this is the second incident now where, particularly, a female was shot. I have said to the media a couple of weeks ago and expressed my concern with these increased robberies and people being followed home and I again want to re-echo (to) persons to be aware of their surroundings, especially women and men as well when they’re moving home, but these
youngsters are preying on the weaker vessels.” Asked yesterday if armed robberies are on the rise in the country, the police chief only said: “Armed robberies come in spouts. Sometimes, you would have a spike and we have seen recently a spike so you have peaks and troughs and so with those four incidents, we have had a couple of persons with these web shops.” Yesterday, Commissioner Rolle also cautioned Bahamians against retaliation, saying violence is not the proper solution to resolve disputes. This comes after Deputy Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander revealed last week that some of the country’s recent murders were retaliation killings. “This whole issue of retaliation has to stop,” Commissioner Rolle told reporters yesterday, “and I’ve been saying for a while those persons like to settle their disputes themselves and that’s not the way civilised society behaves and when you have disputes, you should go to the court first and not try to resort strictly to violence. That mindset of Bahamian people has to change and everybody who lives in The Bahamas and we want to keep The Bahamas safe for everybody.” According to this newspaper’s records, there have been 30 murders recorded so far for the year.
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THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, March 22, 2022, PAGE 5
‘Distressing’ hardship at Port Lucaya Marketplace By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net DEPUTY Prime Minister Chester Cooper said the lack of visitors at the Port Lucaya Marketplace and the economic difficulty being experienced by straw vendors there is very distressing. The minister of tourism, investments and aviation is in Grand Bahama meeting with the five hotel bidders for the Grand Lucayan resort, which is just across the street from PLM. He, and Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey, spent an hour talking with the vendors individually at booths on the western end of the marketplace. Among the concerns shared with Ministers Cooper and Moxey were the lack of sales due to low visitor arrivals and cruise ships to the island, as well as the discontinuation of the NIB stipend and food vouchers they were receiving from Social Services. “I want to thank Mr Moxey for bringing me here to the Port Lucaya Marketplace and brother Lorenzo McKenzie to see for myself what is happening here, and it is heartbreaking what I see here,” Mr Cooper said yesterday. “We have been here for about an hour, and I believe I may have seen two tourists. And this simply is not enough to support this economy here, and to help all the vendors who come out every day seeking to make a living. “We talked a lot during the GB Business Outlook about some of the longterm things we are doing, but this is of immediate concern. “People are hurting; they are not making sales, and the economy here hasn’t rebounded. Yes, we are selling the hotel; yes, we are building the airport, but these are longer range things. We want to figure out how to get more money in people’s pockets.” He said the vendors also expressed additional concerns regarding assistance from the government.
DEPUTY Prime Minister Chester Cooper and Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey at Port Lucaya Marketplace yesterday. “There was concern expressed about the lack of social assistance. But in speaking with the people, they want to make their way. They do not want to sit around getting hand-outs. We recognise that we have an obligation to provide more social services for the people here. But what I heard today was not that. I heard they want to make a living, they are resourceful and resilient people, and they want to work hard, and I want them to know the government will be working to see how we can generate that level of activity for them.” Concerned straw vendor
DeAngelo Armbrister said he is tired of promises. “I cannot spend promises. I can’t spend talks. I need to see something,” he said. “They knew the concerns of Grand Bahamians when they were campaigning,” he said. “They cut off our National Insurance benefits - this administration did that. When it is time to increase their travel budgets and salaries they never stop to reassess. But, when it is something to benefit the people that put them there, they have to stop and reassess.” The government’s unemployment assistance
programme expired on December 31, 2021. In February, an official said it is up to the Cabinet to decide whether it will be continued. Straw vendor Netra Rigby, a single parent of three, said she cannot pay her booth rent. “We cannot pay our bills and feed the children. I have shop rent to pay monthly, and I cannot even pay that. I have to go out there trying to find money elsewhere to pay booth rent that is not right,” she said. Mr Cooper indicated that both he and Ms Moxey are talking with and encouraging all cruise lines calling to
Nassau to also make calls to Freeport. “We are also going to be meeting with the cruise lines that come here, as well as the tour operators, to see how we can get more tourists to this location,” he said. Mr Cooper was pleased by the quality of products being offered by straw vendors. “Having walked through today, we see good, quality and variety products and a good authentic experience, and the warmth of vendors is just stunning. “Their resilience despite very difficult circumstances was very touching. And,
Photo: Andrew Mills/BIS therefore, we knew that this existed, and we have been able to see first-hand today. “But one of the important things is that we want to let Mr McKenzie, and vendors know we recognise the urgency of this matter. And we will see how we can expedite the work in talking with our partners, particularly the cruise lines. “We want to get cruise visitors and the tourists off the ships, and we have to tell our story better to cause that to happen. So, over the course of the next week, we will ramp up that process and see how we can make more waves to PLM,” he said.
DPM: ‘PROMISING’ PROPOSALS FOR GRAND LUCAYAN from page one
A meeting with bidders started on Sunday and continued yesterday. Mr Cooper and the board of Lucayan Renewal Holdings will decide which of the five investors vying to purchase the hotel property in Lucaya is the best fit. “I am positive of what we saw so far,” he told reporters yesterday. “We saw some bidders yesterday (Sunday), and we saw one this morning and I can tell
you it is promising. “There are credible bidders at the table who have a master plan already for the hotel. So, these people are not just talking. They are truly interested in what they see here. They see the product, they see the possibilities, and they have a vision for the future of this property and the future of Grand Bahama.” Mr Cooper, who is minister of tourism, investments and aviation, said there is also talk about collaborating with Port
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Lucaya Marketplace, and some of the other nearby properties. “So, I think this has been very positive for the discussions. And I am cautiously optimistic that we will do a deal on this property in the best interest of the Bahamian people.” He anticipates that there will be at least 500 jobs during the construction phase. “At the end of the process which is going to be 24 months out for the opening of the first phase, we will
see more people employed on a permanent basis. I think in the interim having the construction jobs, and getting the momentum going again, is going to be important.” When the PLP came to office, Mr Cooper expressed grave concerns over the Grand Lucayan purchase deal negotiated by the Minnis administration. He called the proposed sale an “egregiously bad deal” and said it was worse than previously thought. Mr Cooper revealed after
the FNM government had pumped over $150m into the Grand Lucayan property, the group at the table wanted a loan from the government to develop the property, which they were only interested in developing during the second half of the decade. The Minnis administration purchased the hotel for $65m in August 2018. In March 2020, Royal Caribbean and the ITM Group signed a heads of agreement with the government to purchase the hotel and
redevelop the Freeport Harbour. Last December, it was announced that the deal had been cancelled. The Davis-Cooper administration is looking for an investor, not necessarily with deep pockets, but with a sustainable vision for the hotel and the island of Grand Bahama, Mr Cooper said. In January, Mr Cooper said the government hopes to sell the hotel property for $150m once it secures a buyer.
PAGE 6, Tuesday, March 22, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
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Economy bruised by pandemic, but recovering THROUGHOUT the pandemic, we have been aware of the economic effects hitting our country, without perhaps always being able to put a precise number to them. One of those numbers was the rate of unemployment – with the Labour Director in February last year suggesting that about 40 percent of the country was unemployed, even as the Labour Minister at the time, Dion Foulkes, suggested that unemployment was “way down” with people getting back to work. The official count was effectively suspended, as were the provisions of the Employment Act which mandated that companies had to pay full severance to those sent home for 90 days. So with furloughs, unemployment assistance and the lack of a solid count, it was hard to see exactly how deeply our country was affected – and continues to be hit. In today’s Tribune, it is reported that the International Monetary Fund projects a 13.9 percent unemployment rate this year – about one in seven people without a job. That’s higher than before the pandemic – but significantly improved on the past two years, with 2020 particularly seeing a rate of 25.6 percent, or one in four people without a job. It is important to take note of such numbers, because they show how far we have come, and how far we still have to go. Are we improving? Yes. But one in seven people will not feel that improvement just yet. The other side of it is that at the same time our gross domestic product (GDP) also took a hit – down by 14.5 percent in 2020, one of the biggest drops in the region. Again, that shouldn’t be a surprise – as an economy with such a large share dependent on tourism, when the flights stopped coming, so did the money.
And our debt doesn’t help matters – with our public debt being about as much as our GDP. In other words, we owe as much as we make in a year. That’s not a healthy position to be in. Labour Minister Keith Bell says the figures from the IMF sound about right, but wants to wait for the annual Labour Force Survey to be sure. That’s sensible, but this does give us a snapshot of how our economy is faring. There are more positives too, with the IMF praising the government’s “well-calibrated” plans to eliminate persistent deficits and boost tax enforcement – a pat on the back for Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and his team. Then there are the negatives – with the IMF dangling the prospect of more taxes to increase the ratio of revenue to GDP. That won’t be a welcome thought – and as long as unemployment remains high, it will have a limited effect. Those out of work won’t contribute much in tax – they’re having enough trouble as it is to get by, so any tax affecting them won’t help anyone. Getting more people back into work and expanding the tax base would be the ideal goal – even if the IMF doesn’t sound patient enough for that. Overall, it is an incomplete picture, but an encouraging one showing that we are moving away from the greatest impact of the pandemic, even if that journey will be a long one. There is, however, one thing all of us can do to help. With the prospect of more waves of the virus still to come – Europe is presently experiencing a surge – we can make sure we are fully vaccinated and fully boosted. That in itself might help reduce the effect of any future waves – and we need only look at these figures to see what that might mean for our economy.
Governor General successor EDITOR, The Tribune.
THERE is serious significance of who will the Prime Minister nominate to follow HE Cornelius Smith as Governor General or will he allow Smith to continue for a further term through the 50th anniversary of Independence and on and the anticipated Referendum on whether The Bahamas stays a Realm State or graduates to a Democratic Republic. Names are being thrown around who PM might choose — one or two I have heard are certainly far fetched to say the least - I hope there is enough just reasons for the “exclusion in consideration“ of any religious personality seeing that would in so many ways divide rather than unify which is so much the
most important job description of who holds this ceremonial office. Dates...HE Cornelius Smith was sworn in on June 28th, 2019 so his term is four years... that brings you to the eve of July, 10th 2023, in fact days before July 10th and all that “politically means”.... the question is a simple one will PM Davis leave HE Smith or choose one from the PLP to bring in the 50th anniversary? My bet..he will appoint a new Governor General who will oversee as Her Majesty’s representative the 50th anniversary which certainly will involve the presence of a “royal”. We cannot forget there is division between the FNM and the PLP over this so basic passing, Independence — the FNM still say
Independence under us — okay – compare how under an FNM Government little celebration occurs. Will June, 2023 bring a surprise name? So far Davis’ nominations have followed a pattern direct obvious influences of certain backroom staunch PLP’s.... really nothing changed. Could the nominee be under 60 years?.... not from political life? That would be a breathe of fresh air and representative of where the majority are, in age - young certainly under 75 or even 80 plus years. By the way in passing that will mean we will have living four Governors General.. getting expensive! JOAN SIMMS Nassau, March 20, 2022.
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Crocodile tears, bogus sympathies EDITOR, The Tribune. IN recent times two young Bahamian women lost their lives in horrific circumstances before their toddlers. We all mourned their passing and made calls for justice and amendments to the law. After a few weeks those events are just a passing memory. Truly, the dead will bury the dead... Candlelight vigils have their place in the grand scheme of things and we mourn along with the loved ones and relatives of the deceased. In the case of the young BahamianHaitian young woman shot and killed through Miami Street a few months ago, she left behind a young toddler allegedly fathered by the man accused of her shooting. The child was allegedly present when the event took place. According to the police the female deceased had made a complaint to them about her alleged boyfriend. Apparently that complaint was withdrawn. Now we have a case where another young mother allegedly hanged herself while lodging at a Cable Beach property in the presence of her own toddler. According to news reports that particular young woman has also made a complaint to the police about domestic abuse. She also allegedly withdrew that complaint. Her life was, obviously, not an easy one as she had been abandoned and placed in foster care at a young age. Despite that, she had grown into a young woman and was well on the way, according to her friends, to getting her life together. Now, her toddler has been taken in as a ward of the state, but he will never grow up knowing his birth mother. Because both matters are under ongoing investigation I will refrain from commenting on these two horror incidences at this time. Over the course of my career as a lawyer and community activist I have seen and heard of many cases involving domestic and mental abuses. Many relationships are toxic in the extreme and often times could lead to all sorts of drama. Few of us are lucky enough to be exempted
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net from the repercussions. Either we ourselves are victims or even perpetrators. It seems, however, that it takes tragic acts to bring these matters to the attention of the wider public and to jump start a national dialogue on domestic abuse and mental health issues. By that time it is too late for meaningful intervention of concrete action by the police. Then the crocodile tears start to flow and candles are lit and held at solemn vigils. Over the years, a lot of talk has been done about the necessity of putting in place measures to eradicate or reduce incidences of domestic violence and mental abuse, whether self-induced or generic. We have talked about the construction of shelters and facilities for such victims and persons for eons but, so far, precious little has been done while the unwelcome statistics continue to climb. Some ignorant like Bahamians have routinely sought to blame the police and everyone else except themselves for domestic abuse and increasingly acts of gender based violence. If one is in a toxic environment or in a relationship with a man or a woman where there are constant arguments and resort to physical violence I advise, strongly, that that person exit that relationship regardless of the financial consequences. If your partner were to physically extract harm on you or where serious threats of death or harm are made, even if just once, report that matter immediately to the police and do not withdraw any complaints made. Few politicians listen to mere civilians because once elected they believe that they know it all whereas many of them actually know next to nothing. A half way facility should be constructed at the state expense in New Providence; Abaco; Grand Bahama and The Exumas to offer abused and battered persons a safe place while they recover and get their lives back in order. It is also now clear that The
Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre has outlived its capacity and needs to be expanded and additional professional health care workers and professionals injected into the mental health care system. Persons who are charged with domestic abuse should be denied bail and offered a speedy court hearing. In my extensive experience as a criminal defense, I have seen and handled cases where the male charged with domestic and physical abuse would be hauled before the courts and almost immediately be granted bail with the admonition not to have any contact with the complainant or witnesses. Shortly after their release on bail the very first person that they would contact with all sorts of bogus promises that they have ‘changed’ and will not do it again. Many of our women are vulnerable to such nonsense, especially if it comes from the father/s of their child or children. The complaint is then withdrawn and it is all lovey-dovey again until the next vicious assault or beating, any one of which could result in death. Relatives and siblings often know of these toxic relations and try their level best to encourage ‘victims’ to get out of these relationships, but are told to mind their own business or that they are unaware just how much the victim loves the abuser or that for the sake of the child or children they opt to stay put. It is becoming all too common to hear the news or to visit social media sites for disturbing news about victims of domestic abuse and gender based violence. Another disturbing trend is the unabated spike in alleged murders. New Providence has become a killing field and at the drop of a hat it seems as if someone is prepared to extinguish a life due to any number of mostly criminal factors. We seek to ascribe blame, but we are all guilty in one way or the other. The time for crocodile tears and bogus sympathies are over. Let’s put the pedal to the metal and bring some degree of decorum and sanity back to national life. ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau, March 21, 2022.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, March 22, 2022, PAGE 7
HAIRCUTS AND HELPING HANDS FROM POLICE OFFICERS By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
RESIDENTS of Unity House on East Street were pleasantly surprised yesterday after members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force stopped by to donate grocery items and cleaning supplies as a part of its community outreach efforts. Some residents were also treated to makeovers, which included haircuts, when The Tribune visited the home. Speaking to reporters at yesterday’s event,
Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle said it was important for the force to give back and provide support for elder care workers who volunteer their services. The initiative also comes as the RBPF celebrates police month and 181 years of dedicated service to the country. “As we celebrate our police month, 182 years, we chose to come to you today as we will be visiting one of the other homes this afternoon as well that will also be the beneficiary of similar gifts,” the police chief told
A MAKEOVER for senior citizens yesterday.
TWO FACE MURDER CHARGES By PAVEL BAILEY
TWO men were arraigned in Magistrate’s Court on separate murder charges yesterday. Raphael McKinney, 29, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson Pratt on charges of two counts of murder for the deaths of Roage Bryan and Delton Brennen. He is accused of being responsible for the shooting deaths of both victims on Thompson Lane on March 13. The chief magistrate informed the accused he was not required to enter a plea due to the nature of the offences and that the court would proceed by way of a voluntary bill of indictment. During the hearing, McKinney pleaded with the court for protection as he claimed that while he was in custody he was beaten by other men. McKinney, who is an asthmatic and an amputee who lost his right leg, also alleged that these men threatened to kill him, putting him in fear of his life. He said he was put under further emotional strain from the recent shooting death of his twin brother and told the court he was still mourning the loss. In response, the chief magistrate told the accused that he would have to inform a Bahamas
Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) official of these matters and to request medication for his asthma from them. Magistrate Ferguson Pratt also told the accused to apply to the Supreme Court for bail. Until then, he was remanded to BDCS. McKinney’s case was adjourned to July 26. Another accused, John Ricardo Thomas, of Church Hill Avenue, also appeared before Chief Magistrate Ferguson Pratt on murder charges in the death of Garth Hall. Police said Hall was shot several times about the body while on Fifth Street, Coconut Grove. The victim was repairing his vehicle at the time. When officers responded to reports of the shooting around 2pm, they found Hall lying on the ground next to his vehicle suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Hall later died in hospital. Chief Magistrate Ferguson Pratt informed the accused that he was not required to enter a plea due to the charges against him and that the court would proceed through a Voluntary Bill of Indictment. Thomas was also told that he would be remanded to BDCS until his next court appearance His case was also adjourned to July 26.
AMERICAN ACCUSED OF FIREARM OFFENCES By PAVEL BAILEY AN AMERICAN was arraigned yesterday after he was found in Bimini in possession of nine firearms as well as extended magazines and ammunition. Cary Allen Chappel, 51, of Texas, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson Pratt on over 25 counts of firearm, ammunition and magazine charges. On March 13, police arrested the accused and several other suspects at South Bimini International Airport who were allegedly found in possession of firearms hidden in various boxes. The contents
of the boxes included nine 9mm pistols, one silencer, one glock magazine, three 9mm magazines, one M-4 magazine, seven black magazines, 50 .40 hollow tip rounds, 17 .40 rounds, two extended 9mm magazines and 157 rounds of 9mm ammunition. Chappel informed the court that he was partially deaf in his left ear, but told the magistrate he should still be able to hear her. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him including several importation and possession charges. The accused was granted bail in the amount of $60,000 ahead of his trial in September.
MAN ON INCEST CHARGES By PAVEL BAILEY
A MAN was arraigned in Magistrate’s Court on charges of committing incest with his three-yearold daughter. The 26-year-old father appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson Pratt on charges of incest, indecent assault and cruelty to children. The prosecution said between February 24 and 26, the accused abused his three-year-old daughter by means of unlawful sexual
intercourse. In court, the accused was informed that he would not be required to enter a plea and that his case would proceed by means of a voluntary bill of indictment. However, he told the court that he was unaware of the charges against him. The chief magistrate told the accused that he was denied bail and that he would be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. His case was adjourned to July 26.
residents at Unity House yesterday. “These are our seniors and you find that they are housed in these facilities and these are for the most part volunteers and I believe National Insurance (Board) and the government might give them something but I will encourage all persons in our community to do a little bit because these persons, they all have needs and some of them are not able to work for themselves and in some cases, the family has to go to work and don’t have persons to take care of them so what we want to do is try to relieve some of that pain for the operators.” Unity House founder, Rev Janet Smith-Butler was tearful as she expressed gratitude to the RBPF for their donations. “Thank you all… I do appreciate you,” she said. Commissioner Rolle said the police force also planned to donate similar items to several other senior citizen and children’s homes throughout New Providence this week.
ONE of the senior citizens in the spotlight yesterday as she gets a new look. Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff
PAGE 8, Tuesday, March 22, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
Offering youngsters a voice and a safe space ELIZABETH Thompson was busy doing what she did best – working as a prosecutor for the Bahamas Government. She had the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to society by bringing suspected criminals to court to be tried. What she did not know was that her caring personality would attract many victims of crime to her office to pour their hearts out. They found a space of solace and a listening ear, and she was always willing to provide it. “I had a black beanbag chair in my office in the old Post Office building,” she recalls of her years as a prosecutor. “Some of my most meaningful work was to work with children who were neglected and abused. I met many child victims of abuse. Some have walked into my office and sat on that beanbag, just to talk, after an abuser was
convicted. Preying on children is very common, sadly. I know many grown men and women who were also abused as children.” This is a societal ill that Elizabeth could not turn a blind eye to. As an attorney, she had the opportunity to serve the Bahamas in several significant capacities. But somehow, deep down she always knew that her purpose of helping victims of abuse was not over. She understood that abuse could happen to anyone,
anywhere… and even as a child, she saw instances of abuse. Elizabeth’s early years were spent schooling first at Queen’s College and then at St Andrew’s School. She was the youngest of four siblings. She then left the Thompson household and headed to Connecticut, USA where she attended Kent Boarding School. Tertiary studies took her to Carleton University and then the University of Buckingham. She came home with her law degree and passed the Bahamas Bar,
Funeral Service for VERONA ANN SEYMOUR, 71 of Azara Court, will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022, at The Church Of God Of Prophecy, East St. Tabernacle, East Street North. Officiating will be Bishop Hulan A. Hanna, assisted by other Ministers of the Gospel. Interment will follow in Woodlawn Gardens Cemetery, Soldier Road. Due to current Government regulations in respect of Covid-19, masks and physical distancing are required. Verona was preceded in death by her Parents: Delegal & Mayrona Seymour. Verona’s loving spirit is remembered by her Siblings: Marilyn SeymourMajor, Retired Sr. Asst. Commissioner Steven Seymour, Michael Seymour of Palm Beach, Florida, Carlton Seymour, Sharon Ferguson of Cleveland, Tennessee, and Caryla Josey of Delray Beach, Florida; In-laws: Lenox Major, Deborah (Ferguson) Seymour, Barry Ferguson, and Carla (Mitchell) Seymour; Uncle in-law: Vanderson Ferguson; Nieces: Maelynn and Dr. Marvell Seymour-Major, Sharona Ferguson, Chelsi Seymour, Symone Ferguson, Celine Seymour, Aja Cartwright, Lenora Brown, and Lisa Stubbs; Nephews: Steven Jr., Ichael, Brentley, Marques, Vachaen and Carlton Jr. Seymour, Arlington Ferguson, Ashton McKenzie, Lenox Jr., and Leonard Major; Grand-nieces and grand-nephew: Shaelynn Davis, Marques Bryson Seymour, Mariama Ford; Special Cousins and Friends: Janet Lundy, Mavis Campbell, Frank Ritchie, Marcellus Taylor, Dr. Rhonda Chipman-Johnson, The Rt. Honourable Perry Christie and Mrs. Bernadette Christie, Paula Hanna, Renee Chase, Janice Minus, Sharon Poitier, Haldane Chase, Maurice Tremblay, Chris Edusei, Dr. Nelson Clarke, Mrs. Iris Pinder; Cousins: Norma, Barbara, Audrey and William Allen; Sandra Stewart, Daphne and Clyde Nixon, Margueritte Bethel, Clyde Knowles, Delores Rolle, and Austin and Jan Knowles; Katherina Kleckley, Tony Josey, Freddie and Jean, David, James, William and Kyong, Peter and Sonya, and Paul and Denise Seymour, Marie (Mickey) Jones, Beatrice (Bebe), Carol, Virginia (Tootsie) Seymour, Lisa and Kenneth Terry, Ret. Asst. Commissioner of Police Melvin Lundy and Mrs. Dell Lundy, Lefred Lundy, Robertha Lundy, Willamae Bowleg, Meneria and Donald Burrows and Leamorn Seymour; Godchildren: Pastor Darryl Ferguson, Stephan Christie, Dr. Jahzreel Thompson, Ayinde Roach, Brickell Stuart, Phillippa Thompson, Sherise Toote, Kieran Chase, and Keno Dean; Loyal Caregivers: Jacqueline Johnson and Nelta Deucieus; Other Relatives and Friends: Barbara and Fr. Rodney Burrows, Patricia and Douglas Collins, Dr. Earla Carey-Baines, Permanent Secretary Sheila Carey, Paulette and Leon Jacobs, Thomas Carey, Wendy, Janeen (Champ) and Greg Jones, Crystal Newland, Krivoy Smith, Kendra and Kyra Knowles, Judy Maycock, Joy Ross, Lisa Berkley, Malinda Hepburn and William Hepburn, Patricia Seymour, Cynthia Seymour-Sacco, Eve and Isaac Seymour, Pamela Moultrie, Maria Seymour, Antoinette Seymour; Lavern and Pastor Randy Curtis, Lynette and Donovan Gardiner, Lynden and Ingrid Seymour, Pam Burnside, Kelsey Dorsett, Cyprianna McWeeney, Andrea Major, Paula Grace Anderson-Suarez, Janet Donnelly, Dr. Marie Sairsingh, Anthony Rolle, Oliver Lynch, Canon Atma Budhu and family, High Commissioner to London Ellison and Mrs. Kim Greenslade; The Government High School Class of 1967 and 1968; members of the McMaster University Class of 1973; The families of the Centreville Community including the Kennys, the Elliotts, the Munnings, the Mitchells; The Dannottage Neighbourhood, especially Denise, Kermit and Ashley Graham and Brittney Storr, the Staff of Neoplastic Cytology Laboratory; The University of The Bahamas, the professors, lecturers and staff of the School of English Studies, especially Dr. Craig Smith, Ziette Culmer, Sophia Ferguson and Dr. Mayuri Deka. If you are able, the family would appreciate it, if you would wear an Ankara fabric, African Wax Print fabric or Kente cloth accessory in honour of Verona. May Her Soul Rest in Peace! Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians & Crematorium, #44 Nassau Street (TODAY) Tuesday March 22nd from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and at the church on Wednesday March 23rd from 10:00 a.m. until service time.
ABOVE: Elizabeth Thompson, attorney, advocate to end abuse, professional guardian, author and mother. RIGHT: The book Hayly Stems the Tide - written by Elizabeth Thompson, edited by Lor Bingham, illustrated by Gaurav Bhatnagar. BELOW RIGHT: Elizabeth Thompson and from Elizabeth to Queen Elizabeth - the young Elizabeth presenting Queen Elizabeth II flowers during her Royal visit to The Bahamas. then began practising as an attorney at law. After years of service to her country, Elizabeth relocated to the USA in 2014, where she continued to raise her four sons, who are now adults. As a Bahamian American, Elizabeth had the opportunity to find meaningful work in the United States, backed by her life experiences and professional qualifications. During her career, she represented The Bahamas at numerous conferences and seminars as a speaker in the field of anti-money laundering and white-collar crime. She has also worked in the financial services sector. “I began working with autistic children, and I worked in shelters for victims of domestic violence,” she shared about her move to America. She is currently a Registered Behavioral Technician, a Florida-certified Advocate for the empowerment of survivors of domestic violence, and a Florida certified Professional Guardian qualified to act for and on behalf of vulnerable adults. Elizabeth had started and stopped writing a book to help stop abuse or to help victims of abuse for years. But when she heard of the death of four-year-old D’Onya “Bella” Walker, she was moved to tears… and action. She completed her first book to address abuse and she is now working on another. The book is entitled “Hayly Stems the Tide”. Eleven year-old Hayly is a brave, determined, confident little girl who enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She lives in the quaint, waterfront town on Mount Vernon. Hayly, an avid reader, loves spending weekends at the local bookstore and coffee shop where she learns about her rich heritage. Hayly’s world is turned upside down when she finds out her best friend is a victim of child abuse and it’s up to her to make sure that the person responsible is made to pay. There will be a few obstacles along the way, but Hayly will not let them deter her. “I decided to write the book after Bella’s death,” Elizabeth said. “I was deeply affected by how she was reportedly brutalized at the hands of her mother’s boy-friend. Writing the book was triggering for me in some respects. I could recall instances of inappropriate comments while I was on summer jobs as a student… or made by church folk who should have known better.” Her book not only shares the story of Hayly and her best friend. It also provides resources at the end of the book. There are emergency contact numbers, including hers, as she currently works a crisis hotline for abuse victims. It lays out what should be considered appropriate
remarks made from adults to children, and what are inappropriate – all in easy language for the child reader. The book targets parents and their children ages 11 and up, but Elizabeth points out that it is up to the parent to decide when the topic is reasonable to address with the child, seeing that perpetrators pay no attention to age. The book also explains what is appropriate and inappropriate touching, and gives a list of likely trusted adults to turn to. The book is dedicated to her four sons: Dafidi, O Morenikeji, Hayley and Seth. “As children I protected you from the very start, held you so tightly and fondly, struggling oftentimes to create space to reflect on the gift of your presence amid the chaos,” she says to her boys. “Words cannot describe how proud I am of the men you all are and have become. You are the four stars in my night sky who always shine brightly, illuminating my path, keeping me honest, encouraging me motivating me to be better than the day before. I am in awe of you, thankful to the Universe for allowing me to guide you.” By creating this first in what will hopefully be a series of books, Elizabeth extends her heart beyond her children, to children everywhere. Her creative name is Akosua Maat – a sobriquet that allows her to connect with her African roots, her diverse cultural heritage, and mastery of her spiritual self. “I created this work to offer youngsters a voice… to create a space for them,” she explained. “For those who have had their innocence taken away from them, for those who have survived their childhoods despite being neglected and abused by adults who should have loved and cherished them. While the characters and tale are fictitious, the
challenges presented are all too true and real for far too many of our young girls and boys. Sadly, too many of us adults can recall an improper remark or inappropriate touch as children that we should never have been exposed to. Too many of us see the thieves of our innocence living amongst us as though their actions did not matter. I hope that this book encourages youngsters and adults to be courageous and daring. I hope it encourages a youngster to speak up if he or she has been molested, verbally abused, or physically assaulted by anyone, especially a family member.” Bahamian Doctor Rochelle Williams said the topic Elizabeth chose was hard, but that she was happy that she took on the challenge to write about it. Florida Attorney Ken Ferrell said although the book deals with an uncomfortable topic, Hayly Stems the Tide “is the start of a movement in children’s books – one that creates space for discussion around such topics as child abuse and molestation”. Elizabeth has created a website not only for the purchase of this book, but also as a safe space for children or adults to reach out confidentially for support and encouragement: akosuamaatcreative.com. She has just launched the book and already, she has gotten hits from people wanting to talk about their situation. To her young readers, Elizabeth says: “If an adult has frightened you, hurt you or made you feel alone… or made you feel so badly you wish you’d turn to stone, tell a person you can trust and please, do it right away, like Hayly did for her best friend Cree, to keep the tide at bay.” If you are in The Bahamas and wish to report child abuse, call 422-2763. You can also find “Hayly Stems the Tide” on Amazon and Kindle.
How can conflict in Ukraine be stopped?
THE TRIBUNE
IT is beyond belief that this can really be happening. Such was the anguished reaction of a friend after watching last week the most recent television coverage of the horror taking place in Ukraine. Not easily shocked, he found the situation there appalling and distressing; in particular, the latest footage of the destruction of the city of Mariupol with the shelling of schools and hundreds trapped under the rubble of a bombed theatre where they had taken refuge. The conflict in Ukraine is a human tragedy – the worst fighting in Europe since the Second World War more than seventy years ago - unfolding inexorably before the eyes of the rest of the world. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called the latest actions of the Russians “vicious and barbarous attacks on innocent civilians”; and, for Europeans, it is close to home in a country sharing borders with four member states of the EU. It is all the worse for being man-made, unprovoked and avoidable – a Kafkaesque nightmare that did not have to happen. It is also beyond any logical reasoning because by his invasion Putin has ensured the proud country of Ukraine can never be absorbed peacefully into Russia’s sphere of influence, which was his declared objective. The Russian leader’s huge public rally in Moscow last week was a sickening display of lies and hypocrisy. He repeated the fiction about “a special military operation” – rather than an invasion and war - to liberate Ukraine from neo-Nazis and nationalists and portrayed Russia as a besieged fortress under attack from the West. He is living in an alternative reality and using
IN THE midst of so much horror in eastern Europe, it is good to be able to take note of a happier event last week. This was Commonwealth Day on March 14. A special multi-faith service was held in Westminster Abbey in central London which was reported to be a wonderful celebration of all the Commonwealth stands for. The Queen missed the event but, according to Buckingham Palace, her absence was not due to illness or on doctors’ orders but rather that she was pacing herself as she prepares for the memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh at the end of this month. The entire service was themed around The Queen’s seventy years as Head of the Commonwealth and, despite her absence, her heartfelt annual message called on Commonwealth member states to “draw strength and inspiration from what we share, as we work together towards a healthy, sustainable and prosperous future
Tuesday, March 22, 2022, PAGE 9
“double-think” when words have an opposite meaning – as George Orwell famously warned about in describing language that deliberately obscures or distorts meanings. But lying comes easily in Russia as people in Britain discovered most recently in the Novichok poisoning scandal in the city of Salisbury in 2018. Putin will no doubt have wanted to counter the recent warning on social media by the Hollywood actor and former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, about Russian misinformation and propaganda in relation to Ukraine. On a video link, he told the Russian people that Ukraine did not start this war but “those in power in the Kremlin did” and, addressing Putin directly, said “you started this war and you can stop it”. With the invasion in to its fourth week, more and more commentators and historians are expressing views about the West’s lack of constructive and effective diplomacy following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. As I wrote last week, policy-makers at the time, who seemed more interested in playing hardball without
taking account of Russian concerns, pursued the expansion of NATO against the advice of experienced observers. This expansion did not, of course, include Ukraine which has not joined the organisation. But in recent months, when Russian troops were massing on the border, Western diplomacy seemed to concentrate more on warning Putin of the serious consequences of invading - and an insistence that Ukraine had the right to decide whether or not to join NATO - rather than offering assurances that it would not do so, which has now turned out to be the case. But, of course, none of this can justify Putin’s unacceptable aggression. In studying the background to all this, an internet search shows that none other than Dr Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, wrote in 2014 that Ukraine had always been seen as a part of Russia but it had a complex history and, as a nation, had always been split between its eastern and western parts, with the latter only being incorporated into the USSR in 1939. He said that a wise policy for the Western allies would be to get the two parts of Ukraine to seek reconciliation and cooperate with each other as a single country which should act as a bridge between East and West. It should not join NATO but should pursue a posture comparable to Finland whereby “that nation leaves no doubt about its fierce independence and cooperates with the West but carefully avoids institutional hostility towards Russia”. Dr Kissinger went on to remark that US policy-makers by and large did
not understand Russian history or psychology. For many, all this is now academic and the present horrific conflict has to be dealt with as it exists. The supply to Ukraine of military equipment will continue and most people surely understand the stance of Western leaders in refusing to be involved in a no-fly zone because of the danger of a direct clash with Russia that could lead to a nuclear war. But the terror inflicted on the Ukrainian people is getting worse as the invaders have changed tactics after the initial strong resistance of Ukrainian forces and have been targeting civilians more and more – with, reportedly, more than 900 Ukrainian citizens killed and, according to the UN, 10 million people forced out of their homes and displaced. If the war is drawn out further and develops into one of attrition, public demand for some form of new and different action by the West to try to stop the fighting will surely grow, with pressure on NATO to be more proactive without engaging directly with the Russians. So, many will welcome the news that there will be a NATO summit meeting in Brussels on March 24 to be attended by President Biden. A compromise peace plan is needed for an end to hostilities, and the possibility remains of achieving this with the help of China. Meanwhile, new peace talks are under way, but the British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, is quoted as saying that these may be a smokescreen or diversion on the part of the Russians to give them time to regroup - for, she asks, if they are serious about peace, why are they continuing indiscriminately to bomb civilians?
for all” (see full text on this page). The core message remains - as always – unity, cooperation and friendship. While the Commonwealth has evolved from the days of Empire, it is a voluntary organisation that has grown from eight nations at the beginning of The Queen’s reign to a current tally of 54. It is a family of 2.6 billion people across six continents and some 60 per cent of its people are under 30. The Commonwealth represents a rich diversity of traditions, experience and talents. It is built on shared values, a common language, historic cultural and sporting links, democratic principles and the rule of law which underpin established trade and investment connections within the organisation. Members of the Commonwealth benefit from a plethora of civic bodies and charities helping one another in every sphere and a notable example of mutual assistance was how the Commonwealth rallied round to help Tonga
in a variety of ways after the eruption of a volcano in that island nation earlier this year. There is also widespread technical cooperation, including scientific and educational exchanges – and The Bahamas, classified as a Small Island Developing State, gains from cooperation in relation to climate change. This is an important issue for the Commonwealth given that 23 of its 54 members are classified the same. It is also interesting to note that The Bahamas should benefit from a new scholarship scheme announced by the Prince of Wales for students from small island nations. Some people may have noted current political tensions arising from a handful of member states, including Uganda, Tanzania and India, which abstained from the recent UN vote condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But Commonwealth Day is not about political matters. It is rather a celebration of the
organisation’s endurCommonwea lth Day Mes ing strengths which sage fro Q The Queen proIN this year ueen, Head of the Com m Her Majesty The monwealth o f m y Platinum motes – and this is ure to renew Jubil symbolised well by always be d the promise I made ee, it has given me ple evoted in se asin 1947, that the Commonwealth rvice. Today, it my life wil l Games. The event connected Cis rewarding to observ e o m a m m o o n dern, vibra wealth that takes place every and traditio nt an com n four years and will advances o with the great social, bines a wealth of histo d f cu o ry u lt r u ra ti m l and e. T be held in the city taller is a cr edit to all w hat the Commonwea technological of Birmingham in lt h h stands ev o have bee We are no er England in July, throughout urished and sustained n involved. m b y y our relation life, I have with the baton ing what th ships an enjoye e relay coming to diversity of relationships built ac d the privilege of h d, earth ro e ss Commonwea th The Bahamas communitie lth have m e great reach and s. ea nt to peop early next month. Our family le and As a local cooperation of nations continues to an b e d a fr p ie o ndship. It is int of connec celebration of pursue com ap tio m Commonwealth ryone with on goals and the com lace to come together n, m th o e n o go p p o o d, providing to rtunity to Day, it was notetesting times serv ev inspiration , it is my hope that yo e and benefit. In th eworthy that this from what w u ca n d ra w strength ese a healthy, su year British e share, as w and stai e High CommisAnd on this nable and prosperou work together toward s s fu sp tu ec re ia l day for ou for all. include the sioner Sarah r fa and the Co Commonwealth Head mily – in a year that Dickson visited m w s resolve to su monwealth Games – of Government Mee ill R M Bailey ti I ng p h p o o p rt and se e we ca ensure the Senior High Commonwea rve one another, and n deepen our good in our School where world for m lth remains an influenendeavour to any generat she not only ions to com tial force for e. explained to the students what the Com- Minmonwealth is all about but ister of Education, also participated in a dem- Glenys Hanna Martin, covered fully in The onstration of the cooking of and the Minister of State, Tribune, including some guava duff. The event was Zane Lightbourne - and it nice photographs, the folalso attended by both the was good to see that it was lowing day.
THE PETER YOUNG COLUMN
ARE NUREMBERGTYPE TRIALS LIKELY? A NEW dimension to the has said specifically that the Ukraine conflict has arisen blockade and destruction which seems so far to have of Mariupol will be rememescaped much scrutiny by bered for centuries as a war the US media. A petition crime. calling for the creation of Gordon Brown has a new international tribu- stated publicly that the war nal to investigate Putin and has seen the indiscriminate those around him over the bombing of civilians which invasion went live on March is against international 14. Two former British law, as well as breaches Prime Ministers, Gordon of humanitarian ceaseBrown and Sir fires together John Major, are ‘Gordon Brown with nuclear among some has stated threats as a 150 academform of blackics, lawyers and publicly that the mail. It was politicians who war has seen the essential, he have signed indiscriminate said, to ensure the petition there was a to establish a bombing of day of reckonlegal system civilians which ing for Putin modelled on is against whose forces the Nuremberg were delibertrials of Nazi international law’ ately targeting war criminals civilians with after the Second World missiles fired at hospitals War, which took place after and other public buildings, a decision was taken by the schools and apartment Allies in 1942 to punish war blocks. In addition to the crimes. It has been reported atrocities in the besieged that the petition has already city of Mariupol, which received more than 800,000 is apparently seen by signatures. the Russians as strategiIt is the case that the Inter- cally important because national Criminal Court is it provides a land coralready investigating Putin ridor from Crimea, they for alleged war crimes in have been accused of Ukraine and is collecting shelling a convoy of cars evidence. But, from what I carrying civilians fleeing have read, the ICC’s powers the fighting. are limited in so far as it Mr Brown added that cannot pursue the crime of the petition’s authors have aggression without a refer- asked world leaders – most ral from the UN Security of whom have already Council which Russia would strongly criticised Putin veto. Last week, President over his illegal invasion Biden called Putin a war – to hold him personally criminal for the first time, accountable for the reckas has Boris Johnson as well less and indiscriminate use as President Zelensky, who of firepower.
COMMONWEALTH DAY - A TIME TO CELEBRATE
PAGE 10, Tuesday, March 22, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
SMITH: DEAL WITH CITIZENSHIP BY CONSTITUTION By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
GEORGE Smith, a former Progressive Liberal Party Cabinet minister, does not want the Davis administration to address unequal rights to citizenship through ordinary legislation. Attorney General Ryan Pinder has said the administration plans to address the issue. The plan has the backing of former Prime Ministers Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie. Mr Ingraham told the press last week he is convinced the Davis
administration will address the issue. Mr Christie agreed that a referendum on the matter should be avoided. The Minnis administration pledged to address the matter through ordinary legislation, but never did. Mr Smith, who was part of a delegation involved in 1972 discussions about the Constitution, said because the document is the supreme law of the land, ordinary legislation should not be used to nullify its provisions. Efforts through a referendum to change the Constitution to equalise citizenship rights for men
and women failed in 2002 and 2016. “The reality is the Constitution is the supreme authority of the country,” Mr Smith said. “It’s the ultimate law of the country. Both Mr Ingraham and Mr Christie acknowledged, so both PLP and FNM acknowledged, the way to deal with these matters is through a constitutional amendment. “I’m of the view that you shouldn’t try to bypass the Constitution by simply talking about amending the citizenship legislation.” Mr Ingraham said he only had a constitutional referendum because he wanted
to make it difficult for his successors to reverse the change. Mr Smith could not say if providing equality through ordinary legislation would be illegal. During a Rotary Club speech in 2017, then Attorney General Carl Bethel argued that the government could solve unequal rights to citizenship by amending section six of the Bahamas Nationality Act, removing the words a “minister may at his discretion cause the minor child of a citizen of The Bahamas to be registered as a citizen of The Bahamas upon application”
and replacing them with “the minister shall cause the minor child of a citizen of The Bahamas to be registered as a citizen of The Bahamas upon application.” Meanwhile, Attorney General Ryan Pinder recently told The Nassau Guardian that the government will not abandon its Privy Council appeal on a landmark citizenship Supreme Court ruling. “The government decided to appeal the ruling as the nature of the decision requires the ultimate court to make a determination,” Mr Pinder said, according to the local daily.
“The government continues to develop citizenship legislative proposals for the Cabinet to consider. Until a decision is made whether to alter the ruling or verify the ruling through legislation, the appeal will continue.” Last June, the Court of Appeal affirmed a Supreme Court decision that Bahamian men can automatically pass citizenship to their children regardless of whether their child is born out of wedlock to non-Bahamian mothers. The case was brought by Wayne Munroe, the recently appointed National Security Minister.
Frequently Asked Questions 1. Q: Why did the Central Bank make the decision to discontinue brokerage services to the public? A: The Central Bank is aligning its securities market operations with best international practices and to accommodate recent reforms that allow government debt securities to actively trade over BISX. Underlying costs to the financial market around these services will be more transparent, and encourage further customer-oriented improvement in services and pricing efficiency.
PROSPECTUS
PROSPECTUS THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS THE GOVERNMENT OF THE THE BAHAMAS BAHAMAS REGISTERED STOCK 2023 ISSUECOMMONWEALTH OF B$87,410,000OF ISSUED UNDER THE PUBLIC DEBT BAHAMAS REGISTERED STOCK 2023 ISSUE OF B$87,410,000 ISSUED UNDER THE PUBLIC DEBT MANAGEMENT ACT, 2021 th MANAGEMENT 2021 2022 March, Prospectus Date: 17ACT, Prospectus Date: 17th March, 2022 Issuer: Bahamas Government Open Date: 22nd March, 2022 (9:30 a.m.) nd March, th Issuer: Central Bahamas Open Date: 2224 20222022 (9:30(3:00 a.m.)p.m.) Registrar: Bank Government of The Bahamas Close Date: March, th th Registrar:Central Central of The Bahamas Close Date: 2430 March, 20222022 (3:00 p.m.) Organizer: BankBank of The Bahamas Settlement: March, th th March, Minimum: First Int. Pmt: 3030 September, Organizer:$100Central Bank of The Bahamas Settlement: 2022 2022 th Increment: $100 Calendar: Actual/365 Minimum: $100 First Int. Pmt: 30 September, 2022 Increment: $100 Calendar: Actual/365 Central Bank of The Bahamas must be in receipt of all applications and funds before 3 p.m. on 24th March 2022.
UnitofShare Tenor Interest Interest Canmust Grow/ Central of The Bahamas be in receipt all applications and funds before 3 p.m.Maturity on 24th March 2022. Security ID Bank Issue Size Shrink? (B$) (Years) Fixed Payment Interest Can Grow/ Unit Share Tenor Interest Security ID Issue Size BGR151023 87,410,000 Yes 100 1 3.15% Maturity 30-Mar-23 Payment Semi-annual Shrink? (B$) (Years) Fixed 87,410,000 BGR151023 87,410,000 Yes 100 1 3.15% 30-Mar-23 Semi-annual 87,410,000 Instructions for participation in this Initial Public Offering are outlined below for: Existing Investors: Instructions for participation in this Initial Public Offering are outlined below for: pplication: Complete the electronic application form. Sign and submit the application form to the Existing Investors: Markets Unit IPO email address domesticofferings@centralbankbahamas.com with the Application: subject Complete the electronic+ “Client application form.(e.g. SignBRS andApplication submit the for application formApplicants to the will “BRS Application” Name” John Doe). Markets Unit IPO email address domesticofferings@centralbankbahamas.com with thehours. receive an acknowledgement within four hours of submission, during normal business subject “BRS Application” + “Client Name” (e.g. BRS Application for John Doe). Applicants will receive anE-Passport; acknowledgement YC/ID: (1) Bahamian or within four hours of submission, during normal business hours.
KYC/ID:
yment:
Payment:
(2) NIB Smart Card paired with one of the following: Bahamian Driver’s License, National (1) Bahamian E-Passport;Residence or Identity Card, Permanent Permit, other National Passport, or Spousal Permit. (2) NIB Smart Card paired with one of the following: Bahamian Driver’s License, National Identity Card, Permanent other National Passport, or bank Spousal Subscription payments mayResidence be madePermit, electronically via commercial orPermit. digitally via Sand Dollar in accordance with the user’s wallet limit. Settlement instructions asbe follows: Subscription paymentsare may made electronically via commercial bank or digitally via Sand Dollar in accordance with the user’s walletWire limit.Information: i) Bank Settlement instructions are as follows:Central Bank of The Bahamas Beneficiary Bank: Wire Information: BIC:i) Bank CBBHBSNS(XXX) Account: Account 1315010051 Beneficiary Bank: CBOB CentralGeneral Bank of The Bahamas Branch Code: (if applicable) BIC: 10000 CBBHBSNS(XXX) Details: Name + NIB1315010051 Number + BRS Application Account: Applicant CBOB General Account (e.g. John Doe NIB#12345 BRS Application) Branch Code: 10000 (if applicable) Details: Applicant NameSand + NIBDollar NumberInformation: + BRS Application ii) Central Bank Digital Currency (e.g.Receiver’s John Doe NIB#12345 BRS Application) Direct payments to Custom Name (alias): CBOBBanking@sanddollar.bs
ii) Central Bank Digital Currency Sand Dollar Information: Securities will be awarded in accordance with the Central Bank’s priority-based auction Direct payments to Receiver’s Custom Name (alias): allocation method, with first priority given to individuals applying for $250,000 or less. All CBOBBanking@sanddollar.bs other applicants—individuals greater than $250,000 and institutions—will be classified as Allocation: Priority Securities will be awarded in accordance withastheneeded, Central depending Bank’s priority-based auction Level 2. Allotments may be prorated, on the total value of allocation method, with first priority given to individuals applying for $250,000 or less. All subscriptions. other applicants—individuals greater than $250,000 and institutions—will be classified as Level 2. Allotments maythe be capacity prorated, to as grow needed, on the total value of Grow/Shrink: EachPriority security in this offering has or depending shrink based on total subscriptions subscriptions. received for each tenor. The entire offer also has the capacity to grow or shrink, commensurate with overall demand. The issuer maintains the right to cap the offer, at its sole Grow/Shrink:discretion. Each security in this offering has the capacity to grow or shrink based on total subscriptions received for each tenor. The entire offer also has the capacity to grow or shrink, commensurate with overallwithin demand. The issuer maintains the right tothe cap settlement the offer, at its sole efunds: All refunds will be disbursed three business days following date. discretion. ertificates: Successful applicants will receive an electronic copy of their allotments, via email, within three days following settlement. Refunds: business All refunds will be disbursed within three business days following the settlement date.
llocation:
(The Central Bank discontinued the provision of physical bond certificates effective July 2020.)
Certificates: Successful applicants will receive anInvestors: electronic copy of their allotments, via email, within three New business days following settlement. Broker dealers: New investors may participate through a BISX registered broker dealer, a list of which may (The Central Bank discontinued the provision of physical bond certificates effective July 2020.) be found at: https://bisxbahamas.com/broker-dealers/. New Investors: Broker dealers: New investors may participate through a BISX registered broker dealer, a list of which may 10th February, 2022 be found at: https://bisxbahamas.com/broker-dealers/.
Market Notice
Discontinuation of Public Brokerage Services Historically, the Central Bank of The Bahamas (Central Bank), in its capacity as Registrar and Transfer Agent for Bahamas Registered Stock (BRS) and Treasury Bills (TB), facilitated primary and secondary market access to these securities to the general public. In an effort to better align its activities with international good practices, effective 1 January, 2023, the Central Bank will cease to offer such services to the general public. The scope of services offered to the general public will unwind throughout 2022, with the following key dates: 1. Effective 1st March, 2022: The Central Bank will cease to onboard new investors for Bahamas Government securities. This means that new entrants into the Bahamas Registered Stock or Treasury Bill market will be required to do so through a BISX-registered broker-dealer, a list of which can be found at: https://bisxbahamas.com/broker-dealers/. 2. 1st April, 2022 through 31st December, 2022: All existing Central Bank Bahamas Government security clients will be required to transfer administration of their portfolios to a BISX-registered brokerdealer. The Central Bank will contact existing clients directly to advance this initiative. 3. Effective 1st January, 2023: The Central Bank will cease to provide securities trading services on behalf of security holders, as these services will be available through BISX-registered broker-dealers with direct access to BISX and the Bahamas Government Securities Depository. The Central Bank will engage with broker-dealers throughout the process to coordinate a smooth transition for investors.
2. Q: How does this policy change affect me as an investor? A: Investors will benefit from a more transparent and mature financial market process. However, the impact on individual investors will depend on whether or not he or she intends to buy and sell (trade) securities on a recurring basis. If you have already purchased government securities and intend to hold those securities to maturity, generally this change may not affect you. 3. Q: I already own government securities purchased through the Central Bank and do not plan to sell them or purchase more. Do I need a broker? A: No. You only need to engage a broker if you plan to sell all or part of your holdings, buy more securities, or make changes—such as your name, address, or bank account number—to your custody profile after 31st December, 2022. Otherwise, your holdings may remain in the Central Bank’s custody and you will continue to receive your interest and principal payments, as usual. 4. Q: I already own government securities purchased through the Central Bank and intend to purchase more over time. Do I need a broker? A: Yes, beginning 1st January, 2023. 5. Q: Who are the broker-dealers? A: A list of BISX-registered broker-dealers may be found at: https://bisxbahamas.com/brokerdealers/ 6. Q: Can I trade over BISX without a broker-dealer? A: No. All trades over BISX must be executed by registered broker-dealers. 7. Q: Will I need to open a brokerage account with a broker-dealer? A: This depends on the scope of services offered by your selected broker-dealer. We encourage investors to contact the registered broker-dealers to determine which services best suit their needs. 8. Q: If I transferred my holdings to a broker-dealer, will the investment details (Security ID, interest rates, maturity date, etc.) change? A: You will not transfer securities to a broker-dealer. Under no scenario do broker-dealers hold securities. Government securities are custodied by the Central Bank in the Bahamas Government Securities Depository (BGSD), which it owns. Engaging a broker is needed only to buy and sell securities or to make changes to your customer profile in BGSD. 9. Q: Is there a form for investors to complete to transfer all holdings to the broker-dealer? A: You will not transfer securities to a broker-dealer. However, if you need to change your “broker of record” from the Central Bank to one of the BISX-registered broker dealers, the selected broker will provide the relevant documents. 10. Q: Will I receive full face value for my holdings if I do not wish to change my broker of record and redeem my total position before 1st January, 2023? A: Beginning 1st January, 2023, the only change to the redemption process relates to where an existing Central Bank customer goes to redeem his or her holdings. An existing Central Bank customer wishing to redeem securities before 1st January, 2023 may continue to approach the Central Bank. After that date, all customers must redeem securities through a BISX-registered broker-dealer. Securities are traded over the secondary market on a best price basis plus accrued interest. 11. Q: What will happen to my holdings if I do not change my broker of record by 31 st December, 2022? A: Nothing. The securities will remain in the Central Bank’s custody in the BGSD. You will receive your interest and principal payments, as usual. However, if you ever need to redeem all or part of your holdings or make changes to your customer profile before maturity, you will be required to do so through a BISX-registered broker-dealer. 12. Q: Will interest and principal payments come directly from the Central Bank or indirectly through the broker-dealer if I engaged a broker? A: It depends on the arrangement you make with the selected broker. If you open a brokerage account with the selected broker-dealer, interest and principal payments may be transferred to the broker-dealer, which will make those funds available to you, in accordance with the brokerage agreement. Alternatively, you may arrange with the broker-dealer to have interest and principal payments transferred directly to your bank account by the BGSD. 13. Q: Will interest and principal payments be impacted? A: No. There will be no changes to the terms of the issued securities. Interest and principal payment frequency and amounts will remain unchanged. 14. Q: Should I be expected to pay fees on transactions such as subscriptions, redemptions, and transfers? A: You should refer to the fee schedule of the selected broker-dealer. 15. Q: Will Central Bank remain the Registrar and Transfer Agent of Government issued securities? A: Yes. Central Bank owns the Bahamas Government Securities Depository (BGSD), which is where all Government securities are recorded. 16. Q: Does the broker-dealer have a minimum investment amount? A: The minimum investment amount to open a brokerage account with a broker-dealer may range from $0 to B$5,000. However, please refer to your selected broker-dealer for details. 17. Q: Can an investor have multiple broker-dealer relationships? A: Yes. Investors may have more than one broker-dealer relationship. 18. Q: Can existing investors continue to purchase government-issued securities through the Central Bank? A: Investors may continue to purchase government-issued securities through the Central Bank until 31st December, 2022. Following this date, he or she will be required to conduct such transactions through a BISX-registered broker-dealer. 19. Q: What is the difference between the Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX), the Bahamas Central Securities Depository (BCSD), and the Bahamas Government Securities Depository (BGSD)? A: BISX is a domestic securities exchange where local public companies and governmentregistered securities are listed, and traded by registered broker-dealer members.
For assistance, please contact us at domesticdebt@centralbankbahamas.com Tel. (242) 302-2620 or (242) 357-4881 (WhatsApp)
BCSD is a private centralised security depository, registrar, and transfer agent for securities issued by organisations other than the Bahamas Government. It assists client companies by managing relationships with their investors.
To escalate customer service issues, please contact bankingmanager@centralbankbahamas.com or dg@centralbankbahamas.com.
BGSD is the centralised security depository, registrar, and transfer agent for Bahamas Government-issued securities only, and is wholly owned and operated by the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
THE TRIBUNE
Mariupol holds out against Russians LVIV, Ukraine Associated Press
AS MARIUPOL’S defenders held out yesterday against Russian demands that they surrender, the number of bodies in the rubble of the bombarded and encircled Ukrainian city remained shrouded in uncertainty, the full extent of the horror not yet known. With communications crippled, movement restricted and many residents in hiding, the fate of those inside an art school flattened on Sunday and a theatre that was blown apart four days earlier was unclear. More than 1,300 people
were believed to be sheltering in the theatre, and 400 were estimated to have been in the art school. Perched on the Sea of Azov, Mariupol has been a key target that has been relentlessly pounded for more than three weeks and has seen some of the worst suffering of the war. The fall of the southern port city would help Russia establish a land bridge to Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014. But no clear picture emerged of how close its capture might be. “Nobody can tell from the outside if it really is on the verge of being taken,” said Keir Giles, a Russia expert at the British think tank Chatham House.
IN this photo taken by mobile phone released by Xinhua News Agency, a piece of wreckage of the China Eastern’s flight MU5735 is seen after it crashed on the mountain in Tengxian County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region yesterday.
132 ABOARD CRASHED AIRLINER IN CHINA BEIJING Associated Press
A CHINA Eastern Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board crashed in a remote mountainous area of southern China yesterday, officials said, setting off a forest fire visible from space in the country’s worst air disaster in nearly a decade. More than 12 hours after communication was lost with the plane, there was still no word of survivors. The Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement that the crash occurred near the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi region. The flight was traveling from Kunming in the southwestern province of Yunnan to the industrial center of Guangzhou along the east coast, it added. China Eastern flight 5735 had been traveling 455 knots (523 mph) at around 30,000 feet when it entered a steep dive around 2.20pm local time, according to data from flight-tracking website FlightRadar24.com. The plane stopped transmitting data 96 seconds later. Local villagers were first to arrive at the forested area where the plane went down and sparked a blaze big enough to be
seen on NASA satellite images. Hundreds of rescue workers were swiftly dispatched from Guangxi and neighbouring Guangdong province. The plane was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, the CAAC said, correcting earlier reports that 133 people had been on board. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an “allout effort” by the rescue operation, as well as for an investigation into the crash and to ensure complete civil aviation safety. Relatives of crew members arrived at a China Eastern office near the Kunming airport where the plane took off, state broadcaster CCTV reported. On Monday night, an Associated Press journalist saw police officers and security guards patrolling outside the office with flashlights, ordering journalists to leave. At a hotel near the airport, about a dozen people, some in jackets identifying them as members of China’s aviation agency, huddled around tables and read documents. State media reported all 737-800s in China Eastern’s fleet were ordered grounded.
JACKSON ‘WILL DECIDE CASES WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR’ WASHINGTON Associated Press
SUPREME Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson pledged yesterday to decide cases “without fear or favour” if the Senate confirms her historic nomination as the first Black woman on the high court. Jackson, 51, addressed the Senate Judiciary Committee at the end of her first day of confirmation hearings, nearly four hours almost entirely consumed by opening statements from the panel’s 22 members. Republicans promised pointed questions over the coming two days, with a
special focus on her record on criminal matters. Democrats were full of praise for President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee. With her family sitting behind her, her husband in socks bearing George Washington’s likeness, Jackson stressed that she has been independent and transparent in her nine years as a judge, and that she is ever mindful of the importance of that role. “I have dedicated my career to ensuring that the words engraved on the front of the Supreme Court building — equal justice under law — are a reality and not just an ideal,” she said.
Tuesday, March 22, 2022, PAGE 11
US: MYANMAR REPRESSION IS GENOCIDE WASHINGTON Associated Press
A FIREFIGHTER looks at the destruction caused after shelling of a shopping centre in Kyiv, Ukraine, yesterday. Photo: Rodrigo Abd/AP fears grew that the number Over the weekend, Borrell said. Moscow had offered safe could be far higher. Mariupol had a prewar For those who remain, population passage out of Mariupol — of about one corridor leading east conditions have become 430,000. Around a quarter to Russia, another going brutal. The bombardment were believed to have left west to other parts of has cut off Mariupol’s in the opening days of the Ukraine — in return for electricity, water and food war, and tens of thousands the city’s surrender before supplies and severed com- escaped over the past week daybreak Monday. Ukraine munication with the outside by way of a humanitarian flatly rejected the offer well world, plunging residents corridor. Other attempts into a fight for survival. before the deadline. have been thwarted by the “What’s happening in fighting. Mariupol officials said at least 2,300 people have Mariupol is a massive war Those who have made it died in the siege, with some crime,” European Union out of Mariupol told of a buried in mass graves, but foreign policy chief Josep devastated city.
VIOLENT repression of the largely Muslim Rohingya population in Myanmar amounts to genocide, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday, a declaration intended to both generate international pressure and lay the groundwork for potential legal action. Authorities made the determination based on confirmed accounts of mass atrocities on civilians by Myanmar’s military in a widespread and systematic campaign against the ethnic minority, Blinken said in a speech at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. It is the eighth time since the Holocaust that the US has concluded a genocide has occurred. The secretary of state noted the importance of calling attention to inhumanity even as horrific attacks occur elsewhere, including Ukraine. “Yes, we stand with the people of Ukraine,” he said. “And we must also stand with people who are suffering atrocities in other places.”
SPORTS PAGE 12
TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022
Shamar earns Subway Player of the Game By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
S
hamar Burrows and the Dalhousie Tigers claimed their third consecutive Atlantic University Sport championship and now look ahead to joining the best programmes in Canada at the U Sports Final Eight next month. Burrows earned Subway Player of the Game honours after he sparked the Tigers’ 84-78 win over the UPEI Panthers Sunday night at the Scotiabank Centre in Toronto, Canada. The fourth year guard finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds - both team highs. The Tigers completed a fourth quarter comeback for the second consecutive game en route to the title. The Panthers got off to a fast start when they took a 24-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and maintained a 49-35 lead at the half. The Tigers began to chip away at the advantage in the third. Burrows scored 12 of his 19 in the
Burrows and Dalhousie Tigers claim their 3rd straight AUS title, qualify for U Sports Final 8 second half en route to the comeback. They outscored the Panthers 21-14 in the third and trimmed the deficit 63-56 headed into the fourth. Dalhousie won the fourth 28-15 to complete the comeback, win their third-straight banner and sixth title in the past seven championship tournaments. The Tigers have now won eight AUS championships (1996, ‘09, ‘11, ‘15, ‘16, ‘17, ‘19,’20, ‘22). For the tournament, Burrows averaged 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game on 49 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from three-point range. He opened the tournament with just four points, six rebounds, six stealsand three assists in an 86-69 win over the Acadia Axemen
SEE PAGE 13
SHAMAR Burrows
Charlton, Page 15
SPRINTER SHATALYA DORSETT QUALIFIES FOR CARIFTA By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net SHATALYA Dorsett came to town and demonstrated that she’s ready for the journey to Kingston, Jamaica, for the return of the CARIFTA Games over the Easter holiday weekend. On Sunday at the RedLine Youth Time Trials at Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, the Grand Bahamian speedster clocked 24.57 seconds to dip under the under-17 girls’ 200 metre qualifying time of 24.58. It was the only standard attained during the one-day meet that came on the heels of the completion of both the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations and Government Secondary Schools Sports Associations High School Track and Field Championships over the previous three days. But fellow Grand Bahamian Zion Campbell came within three tenths of a second of achieving the under-20 boys’ 200m standard. He won the race in 21.18, but was just shy of
SEE PAGE 14
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXER AMRON SANDS SQUARES OFF THIS FRIDAY By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net AMRON Sands is set to return to the ring for the first time in just over a year. Sands (11-1, 9 KOs) is slated to face undefeated Christian Thun (7-0, 5 KOs) of Schwelm, Germany in an eight round super heavyweight bout, Friday March 25 at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Sands and Schwelm will be the co-feature bout on the Mohamed Mimoune vs. Caesar Francis card. Thun, 30, made his debut in 2018 and has opened his career with a series of dominant performances. Most recently, he pulled off a one-round knockout of Keenan Hickmon on November 19, 2021. He has held the International Boxing Organisation heavyweight title since a
November 2020 win over Mirko Tontor. In his last appearance, the 27-year-old Sands suffered the first loss of his professional career. Sands suffered a thirdround TKO against Alexis Garcia of the Dominican Republic March 12, 2021 at the Hotel Catalonia Malecon Center in Santo Domingo, The Dominican Republic. It was Sands’ second consecutive fight in the Dominican Republic. On February 20, 2020 he won by an eight-round unanimous decision over Christian Galvez. Sands trains out of Kissimmee Boxing Academy under the tutelage of coaches Rashad Mays and Jose Ramos. He fights under the Dibella Entertainment banner and is managed by Kevin Dever. After earning silver at the 2014 Independent
AMRON SANDS, of the Bahamas, is set to return to the ring for the first time in just over a year this Friday, March 25, at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Cup in the Dominican Republic, Sands moved to Florida in search of
better training facilities. He also won first place at the 2015 Florida State PAL
Boxing Championships and 2016 Sugar Bert Promotions Title Belt National
Qualifier. According to BoxingScene.com, this weekend’s undercard will feature several undefeated prospects. The boxing show is expected to be headlined by Marsellos Wilder (5-2, 2 KOs), the younger brother of former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. He will take on Eric Abraham (6-13, 3 KOs) in a six-round cruiserweight bout. Other bouts on the card include Najee Lopez (3-0, 3 KOs) vs Anthony Stewart (6-1-2, 4 KOs); Jusiyah Shirley (3-0, 3 KOs) vs Javonni Bemett (1-0); Darrelle Valsaint (2-0, 1 KO) vs Jorge Martin Garcia (13-81, 3 KOs); Jaycob Gomez (2-0) vs Pedro Hernandez (7-10-1, 2 KOs); Daniel Blancas vs Andre Graham (2-1) and Jan Paul RiveraPizarro (22-7) against an opponent to be named later.
Top-seeded NC State Purdue flexing muscles women beat Kansas as it seeks elusive State, reach Sweet 16 Final Four berth By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer
By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Wes Moore admitted being a bit nervous for how North Carolina State might manage the emotions of playing for the final time on its home court. Instead, the top-seeded Wolfpack used the moment to offer one last impressive show to the fans on the way to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. Kayla Jones scored 18 points to help top-seeded N.C. State beat Kansas State 89-57 in yesterday’s second round, earning a fourth straight trip to the tournament’s second weekend. Raina Perez and Diamond Johnson each added 15 points for the Wolfpack (31-3), who used a dominating secondquarter performance to earn a 12th
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NC State’s Kayla Jones (25) reacts after a 3-point basket during a college basketball game against Kansas State in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament yesterday. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
PURDUE is using its extraordinary size to push around opponents, dominate the boards and get to the free-throw line over and over as it seeks its first Final Four berth in over four decades. The Boilermakers’ frontcourt combination of 7-foot-4 Zach Edey and 6-foot-10 Trevion Williams causes matchup issues for just about any team in the country. Purdue has outrebounded its first two NCAA Tournament foes 83-61 and has outscored them 60-13 from the foul line. It’s pretty much going the way Williams predicted.
“Every game’s going to be physical,” Williams said before the Boilermakers’ first-round victory over Yale. “I just think if we go in and embrace the physicality of the game, we’ll be fine. Just use our size advantage as best as possible, being smart, just being disciplined.” That sets up an interesting matchup Friday when the third-seeded Boilermakers (29-7) meet the tournament’s biggest surprise in No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s (21-11). Saint Peter’s features 6-7 forward KC Ndefo, who led the nation in blocks last season and ranks second among all active Division I players in career blocks.
Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway offered the quote of the tournament so far when he was asked after a second-round victory over Murray State how his players stayed calm when the Racers tried pushing them around. “I got guys from New Jersey and New York City,” Holloway replied. “You think we’re scared of anything? You think we’re worried about guys trying to muscle us and tough us out? We do that. That’s who we are.” Through the first two rounds, Purdue has 18 more free throws made and 29 more attempted than any other team in the NCAA
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THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, March 22, 2022, PAGE 13
Pakistan shock West Indies for 1st World Cup win in 13 years HAMILTON, New Zealand (AP) — Off-spinner Nida Dar took four wickets for 10 runs as previously winless Pakistan beat the West Indies by eight wickets yesterday in a match shortened to 20 overs per side at the Women’s Cricket World Cup. Pakistan’s battery of spin bowlers came into its own in sticky conditions at Seddon Park to deal a blow to the West Indies’ hopes of reaching the semifinals. The West Indies managed only 89-7 from its 20 overs and Pakistan surpassed that total with seven balls to spare, led by opener Muneeba Ali’s 37 from 43 balls in her first innings at the tournament. Pakistan captain Bismah Mahroof made 20 and Omaima Sohail 22 in an unbroken partnership of 33
for the team’s first win at a World Cup in 13 years. “We wanted that one badly,” Bismah said. “We know we have been doing well but we didn’t cross the line and win one. Now we want to think ahead and move forward in our efforts.” Torrential rain fell for much of the day and deep pools of water collected on the outfield. The rain abated about an hour after the scheduled start at 2pm and the ground staff worked to dry the ground and to allow a 40-over match to begin by 7pm. The pitch had been covered and protected from the rain but it still was altered by the conditions; it gripped and turned and batting was difficult, made harder by a damp outfield
that yielded boundaries reluctantly. The West Indies’ powerhitting game almost was neutralised by those conditions. Opener Deandra Dottin scored 27 from 35 balls with five fours before becoming Dar’s first victim. The remainder of the innings contained only five more boundaries. Dottin hit three fours in the third over, bowled by the medium pacer Diana Baig, and helped the West
Indies to 19-0 at the end of the four-over play. But the West Indies’ momentum slowly ebbed as the Pakistan spinners bowled with accuracy, taking advantage of any turn. The West Indies lost wickets regularly — three wickets in consecutive balls in the 16th and 17th overs — and wasn’t able to keep runs flowing. They were 38-2 after 15 overs and the team 50 came up in the 13th over. After 15 overs, they were 62-4 and the last five overs saw the addition of only 27 runs. The West Indies’ defence began promisingly when Hayley Matthews bowled a first over maiden. But from then on Pakistan was able to keep up a steady run rate with singles. There were no more maidens and Pakistan was able to take
singles when batters hit to fielders inside the circle. There were only six boundaries in the innings. “Once I got in I realied 110 to 115 would have been a good target,” West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor said. “Somehow we just couldn’t get to there. “When we played Bangladesh the spinners trumped us a bit and we couldn’t rotate the strike and the same thing happened today.” The West Indies came into the match in third place behind unbeaten Australia and South Africa. Its loss yesterday sets back its hopes of reaching the semifinals and brings India, New Zealand and Bangladesh back into top-four contention. Australia and South Africa meet today.
Maxey scores 28, leads the 76ers past Heat PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, including nine in a row during a crucial stretch, and the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers — without stars Joel Embiid and James Harden — beat the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat 113-106 last night. Shake Milton had 20 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 18 for Philadelphia, which pulled within 2½ games of the Heat in the standings. Embiid sat out with back soreness and Harden with left hamstring tightness. Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo had 22 and Kyle Lowry 20 for Miami, which lost for just the fifth time in 20 games. LAKERS 131, CAVALIERS 120 CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James scored 38 points in a triple-double and sparked memories of his time in Cleveland, leading Los Angeles over the Cavaliers. It was James’ only visit home this season — other than the AllStar Game last month — and the star from nearby Akron thrilled fans who warmly welcomed him back. James played 11 seasons in two stints with the Cavs, trying to get back to the playoffs for the first time since he left in 2018. James added 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his 105th career triple-double and sixth this season. Russell Westbrook and D.J. Augustin added 20 points apiece for the Lakers, who came in tied for ninth in the Western Conference. Darius Garland scored 29 and added 17 assists for Cleveland, which came in leading Toronto by one game for the No. 6 spot in the East. The Cavs play the Raptors on Thursday night. NETS 114, JAZZ 106 NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant had 37 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Brooklyn beat Utah for its sixth win in seven games. Bruce Brown added 22 points for the Nets, who stayed in sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Nic Claxton, starting for ailing cent
By RIZWAN ALI AP Sports Writer LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan recovered from dropped catches to restrict Australia to 232-5 and deny Usman Khawaja a second consecutive century on Day 1 of the third and final test yesterday. Fast bowler Naseem Shah, the only Pakistan change from the second drawn test at Karachi, picked up 2-36 to lead a fightback in the last session after Australia won the toss and opted to bat on another slow and low-bouncy wicket. Cameron Green was unbeaten on 20 and Alex Carey was not out on 8 when bad light stopped play two overs before the scheduled close. The Pakistan-born Khawaja, who scored 160 and 44 not out at Karachi and 97 runs in the opening test draw, fell for 91 when Babar Azam plucked a brilliant one-handed shin-high catch in the slip. Khawaja batted for nearly 5-1/2 hours for his resilient 219-ball knock before he tried to flick offspinner Sajid Khan (1-65) to mid-wicket. But the ball spun away sharply and took the thick outside edge of the bat. “I was a little bit sick (and) got some medication in between the breaks,” Khawaja said. “I was just telling myself, ‘Keep going. Go as long as you can. Keep pushing through.’ ... Could easily have gone harder, played a big shot, got out for 20 or 30. I felt horrible today, so it was actually a win getting 90.”
SHAMAR FROM PAGE 12 PHILADELPHIA 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, left, goes up for a shot against Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro, centre, in the second half last night in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Andre Drummond, made all five shots and scored 11 in the Nets’ 38-point third quarter that broke open the game. Claxton finished with 15 points. Donovan Mitchell scored 30 for the Jazz, who had their threegame winning streak snapped. Jordan Clarkson added 19 and Mike Conley had 18 points and seven assists after sitting out a victory Sunday at New York to rest his right knee. BULLS 113, RAPTORS 99 CHICAGO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine each scored 26 points and Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds as Chicago beat Toronto. DeRozan shot 11 for 14 as the Bulls snapped a three-game losing streak and remained in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Fred VanVleet scored 19 on 7 for 22 from the field and 3 of 12 from 3-point range. Chris Boucher had 19 points and 10 rebounds. MAVERICKS 110, TIMBERWOLVES 108 DALLAS (AP) — Reggie Bullock scored 18 points with a clutch 3-pointer late after missing four games for personal reasons, and Dallas defeated Minnesota in a game delayed briefly because of a leaky roof. Luka Doncic had 15 points and 10 assists, the final one setting up a 3 by Dorian Finney-Smith from the same right corner where Bullock connected moments later. Dwight Powell scored 22 points on 8-of-8 shooting for Dallas.
The Mavericks avoided their first three-game losing streak since December and pulled within a game of Utah for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 points for the Timberwolves, who had a four-game winning streak stopped with just their second loss in 12 games. They missed a chance to move within a halfgame of Dallas for the fifth seed. HORNETS 106, PELICANS 103 CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier each scored 17 points and Charlotte came back to beat New Orleans for its fifth straight win. Miles Bridges added 15 points and Mason Plumlee had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who trailed most of the second half and overcame 17 turnovers. CJ McCollum scored 27 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 24 points and 18 rebounds for the Pelicans, who took an 84-76 lead into the fourth quarter. TRAIL BLAZERS 119, PISTONS 115 DETROIT (AP) — Brandon Williams scored 23 points and Ben McLemore added 21 as the patchwork Portland Trail Blazers ended a four-game losing streak by beating Detroit. Detroit, which trailed by 23 in the third period, took a 106-105 lead on Luka Garza’s free throw with 5:02 to play before Portland responded with a 7-2 run. Cade Cunningham had two key turnovers down the stretch, and Brandon Williams’ layup put the Trail Blazers up 116-112 with 47.8 seconds to go. The teams combined for an NBA season-high
90 free throws. Portland had lost 10 of 11 and was missing its top seven scorers this season. Cunningham and Saddiq Bey scored 25 apiece for the Pistons, who lost for the sixth time in seven games. CELTICS 132, THUNDER 123 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 36 points in Boston’s victory over Oklahoma City. Tatum has scored 30 or more in his last three games, extending the streak on 11-of-19 shooting against Oklahoma City. Jaylen Brown added 25 points and Grant Williams scored 20. Tre Mann set a Thunder franchise rookie scoring record with 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting and 7-of-12 from 3-point range. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, back in the Thunder lineup after being held out of Sunday’s loss to Orlando, added 31 points. ROCKETS 115, WIZARDS 97 HOUSTON (AP) — Christian Wood set career highs with eight 3-pointers and 39 points as Houston used a huge late run to rally past Washington. The Rockets trailed by 23 in the first half but slowly trimmed the deficit before going on a 16-0 spurt over the last minute of the third quarter and the first four minutes of the fourth to take the lead. Wood made eight of nine attempts from 3-point range, connecting four times in the fourth quarter.Kristaps Porzingis had 22 points, 13 rebounds and tied a season high with six blocks for the Wizards, who lost for the seventh time in eight games.
RUSSIA LOSES 3RD SOCCER RULING AT CAS AHEAD OF WCUP PLAYOFFS LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The Court of Arbitration for Sport yesterday dismissed a third request by the Russian soccer federation for urgent rulings to freeze FIFA and UEFA decisions before World Cup playoffs begin this week. The latest challenge was against a decision by FIFA leaders on March 8 to award Poland a bye into a playoff bracket final
PAKISTAN RECOVERS TO RESTRICT AUSTRALIA TO 232-5 IN 3RD TEST
scheduled next week without having to face Russia. The latest dismissal confirms Poland will host either Sweden or the Czech Republic next week with a place at the World Cup tournament in Qatar at stake. All three teams had already refused to play Russia. Previous CAS rulings this month rejected the Football Union of Russia’s requests to
freeze bans on its teams imposed by FIFA and UEFA since the country’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Russia sought emergency interim rulings from a senior CAS judge pending full appeals which could be heard and judged in the weeks ahead. Russian athletes and teams have been banned from competing in multiple sports because
of the war. Belarusian athletes have also been banned because their country has been an ally of Russia. Ukraine is also in the World Cup playoffs and its scheduled game against Scotland was postponed by FIFA until June. Ukraine or Scotland will advance to face either Wales or Austria, who play in Cardiff on Thursday.
in the quarterfinal. He followed with 14 points (7-12 shooting from the field), seven rebounds and three steals in an 87-85 win over Memorial in the semifinals. The Dalhousie Tigers were back on the court in Atlantic University Sport play and Shamar Burrows delivered a weekend of career scoring performances to extend their win streak to seven. Burrows concluded the regular season with his best series in back to back games to open the month of March. Burrows finished with 27 points on an efficient 11-15 shooting night from the field en route to a 100-74 win over the Acadia Axemen. The following night in game two, he finished with 26 points on 10-15 shooting from the field in an 82-67 win over the UNB Red Bombers. On the season, Burrows was named a second team AUS All-Star, was third in scoring for Dalhousie, averaging 14.8 points per game in his 13 appearances this year, shooting 73 percent. He led the Tigers in rebounding with 6.7 per game. With the win, the Tigers earned a spot at the 2022 U SPORTS men’s basketball championships, hosted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, April 1-3. “This championship provides fans with an unique opportunity to experience university basketball at its highest level by witnessing some of the most talented student-athletes from across the country, Championship Committee Chair, Jon Krywulak, said. “We look forward to welcoming athletes, coaches, and spectators for what will surely be a competitive and highly entertaining event.” In their last Final Eight appearance, the Tigers ended just short of their ultimate goal, but finished as the second ranked team in all of Canadian collegiate basketball.They finished with the silver medal at the 2020 U SPORTS Final 8 Basketball Championships, the best finish in programme history.
PAGE 14, Tuesday, March 22, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
NCAAs: Coach K’s farewell tour extended through next weekend By JIM LITKE AP Sports Columnist MIKE Krzyzewski’s farewell tour was thisclose to over. Duke trailed Michigan State 70-65 with 5:10 left to play Sunday and there was next to nothing he could do about it. “I’m an Army guy,” recalled Krzyzewski, who played for Bobby Knight at West Point and started his coaching career there. “But it looked like our ship was sinking.” From the moment in June when Krzyzewski announced his 42nd season would be his last, it was bound to be all about him. And really, how could it be otherwise? Coaches have always been the enduring stars of the college game and no one since John Wooden lit up the firmament like Coach K. Now imagine being a kid in a Blue Devils uniform
NCAA
FROM PAGE 12 Tournament. The Boilermakers’ plus-11 rebound margin ranks behind only Kansas and North Carolina among teams in the Sweet 16. Purdue’s prowess in the paint has provided an effective complement to Associated Press AllAmerica second-team guard Jaden Ivey, who is averaging 20 points through the first two rounds. The Boilermakers went 33 of 46 from the freethrow line Sunday in an 81-71 victory over Texas. That marked the most free-throw attempts and makes Purdue had posted in a single game since 2002, when the Boilermakers went 35 of 46 from the line
and watching that light flicker. “We can either lay down,” freshman Paolo Banchero recalled thinking, “or turn it up.” Duke responded with a 20-6 run the rest of the way. The 6-foot-10 Banchero steamrolled Michigan State’s Joey Hauser on a drive to the biggest bucket of the night for a 75-74 lead. Jeremy Roach followed with a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to four with 1:16 left. Krzyzewski won’t officially become a spectator until this one last run through the NCAA Tournament ends with a loss, but he’s already learning to enjoy the view. “You guys were terrific, man,” Krzyzewski told the players sitting alongside him after Duke notched an 85-76 win over the Spartans to advance to the Sweet 16 and a matchup with Texas Tech. “I’m so — I’m really proud to be your coach.” in an 84-75 triumph over Illinois. “We lived at the freethrow line,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. Edey has drawn seven fouls in each of Purdue’s last two games and is 15 of 22 on free throws. He has more free-throw attempts than anyone remaining in this tournament. And he’s done all that while playing just 17 minutes per game. The tag-team substitution approach Purdue uses with Edey and Williams enables both to stay fresh. Edey has averaged 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds thus far in the tournament. Williams has played 21 ½ minutes per game and matched a season high by scoring 22 points against Texas. “I kind of took my time and got to my move, just doing what I do best,
DORSETT FROM PAGE 12
the qualifying mark of 21.15. Both competitors are looking forward to returning for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ Final CARIFTA trials April 1-2 to solidify their appearances on Team Bahamas going to Jamaica. “I felt it was great, but I know I could have ran faster,” said Dorsett, a 15-year-old 11th grader at Sunland Baptist Academy. “I just have to better my start and my ending because I like to cruise through the line. After leading from start to finish, Dorsett was never really challenged, as the second place finisher Bayli Major of Red-Line Athletics, followed in pursuit a distance behind in 26.04. Payton Knowles of Unique Athletics was third in 36.75. Having already attained the standard in the 100m in another meet, Dorsett got a double dose of victory in this meet, claiming the 400m title just before the 200m. But her winning time of 57.95 in the one-lap race was short of the CARIFTA standard of 55.48. “In the 400m, I cruised the first 300m and just ran the last 100m,” she said. “I should not have done that. I should have started running from the break.” After producing the fastest qualifying time of 10.64 in the preliminaries, Campbell opted not to contest the final, which was won by Fast Forward’s Zachary Evans in 10.84 over Unique Athletics’ Michael Cartwright (10.98) and Swift Athletics’ Logan Major (11.02). But Zion Campbell came back in the 200m and pulled through in 21.18 to hold off a showdown with Swift Athletics’ Carlos Brown, who did 21.43. Red-Line Athletics’ Shimar Bain was third in 21.64. Although it was off CARIFTA standard, Campbell said he was pleased with his performance. “I know that I have the potential to run the qualifying times,” said Campbell, adding that he will make it happen at the CARIFTA trials. “I know what I have to do and I’m going to be prepared for the task when I come back.” Swift Athletics’ head coach Andrew Tynes said not only will Campbell be prepared to run, but he doesn’t want anybody to count out Brown. He noted that coming off a hamstring injury, Brown is progressing very well and will be prepared to run.
Coach K has been hoarse since the tournament started, but he insisted on making a point. “It had nothing to do with coaching in those last four or five minutes,” he said. “It all had to do with heart and togetherness.” That might be overstating the case, since talent is a more reliable measure of success than emotion. But not in every case. Just ask 10th-seeded Miami, which handcuffed Auburn’s Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler — both likely NBA lottery picks — en route to the day’s biggest upset, a 79-61 beatdown of the No. 2 Tigers. “It’s the first time that we got it handed to us,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We didn’t know how to respond.” Or for that matter, 11thseeded Iowa State, which tipped No. 3 Wisconsin 54-49 in Milwaukee, just a fast hour’s drive from the
Badgers’ campus in Madison. Wisconsin had Johnny Davis, the Big Ten player of the year, a hard-earned reputation for taking care of the ball — a nation-low average of 8.4 turnovers per game — and a frenzied crowd behind it. But the Badgers ominously gave the ball away eight times in the first half alone and didn’t shoot much better. Davis was 0 for 7 from 3-point range and his teammates weren’t much better, just 2 for 15. “Shot the ball uncharacteristically poor today. Turned the ball over. We’re No. 1 in the country in fewest turnovers. Today,” coach Greg Gard summed up, “we were not.” If it’s any consolation, two more Big Ten teams joined the Badgers in heading for the exit. Seventh-seeded Ohio State pulled within 60-58 of No. 2 Villanova with just under six minutes left
and then went colder than cold. Instead of panicking, the Wildcats got two turnovers and cranked up the defence, pulling away to a 71-61 victory as the Buckeyes missed six of their final seven shots from the floor. Coach Jay Wright has been quietly building a Coach K-calibre programme, having won national championships in both 2016 and 2018. That kind of continuity pays dividends. “This is what happens when you play great teams and it’s happened to you before, and you can fight through it.
If you haven’t done it, it’s hard, you can panic,” Wright said. “But all these guys have been there.” Houston, a Final Four team last season, should have been able to rely on experience. Instead, the fifth-seeded Cougars lost their two best players, guards Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark, to seasonending injuries and were forced to retool with three transfers. But Taze Moore stepped up with 21 points and Jamal Shead added 18 in what turned out to be a comfortable 68-53 win Sunday over Illinois.
PURDUE’s Trevion Williams celebrates during the second half of a second-round NCAA college basketball tournament game against Texas Sunday, March 20, 2022, in Milwaukee. Purdue won 81-71. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) getting to my jump hook,” quality frontcourt players Williams said afterward. “I of various sizes. kept it simple more than The Boilermakers anything.” reached a regional final Painter has shown in 2019 with a lineup that throughout his Purdue included 7-3 center Matt tenure that he can produce Haarms. JaJuan Johnson
was 6-10 and a lean 221 pounds but earned Associated Press All-America first-team honors in 2011. Caleb Swanigan, who’s 6-9, was a first-team All-America selection in 2017. “A part of Purdue’s identity is their size,” Texas coach Chris Beard said after his team’s loss to the Boilermakers. “Coach Painter’s teams always seem to have some of the biggest players in college basketball.” None of those other big men ever reached a Final Four, something that has eluded Purdue since 1980, when the Boilermakers were led by consensus AllAmerica centre and No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Barry Carroll. This year’s team has a great opportunity to end the drought.
The Boilermakers are the top seed remaining in the East Region. A victory over Saint Peter’s would send the Boilermakers to a regional final against either No. 4 seed UCLA (27-7) or No. 8 seed North Carolina (26-9). Purdue has a 57.4% chance of reaching the Final Four, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, which gives only Kansas and Gonzaga better odds. Even so, the Boilermakers are taking nothing for granted. “You’ve just got to be prepared and you’ve got to be locked in,” Williams said. “It all goes to the small things, those little things, boxing out, rebounding, hitting free throws. That stuff means so much more this time of year. It’s about understanding what’s on the line.”
“He will be okay,” Tynes said. “So will the other athletes from Swift Athletics, who have the ability to make the team. One of his Swift Athletics’ athletes was Ishmael Rolle, who also came close in the under-17 boys 100m in running 11.20, which was off the qualifying standard of 11.02. Red-Line’s Tumani Skinner was second in 11.33 and Swift Athletics’ Johnathan Rogers was third in 11.34. DTSP Wolfpack’s William McKinney took the under-17 boys 200m in 23.07 with Red-Line’s Morgan Moss second in 23.24. McKinney’s teammate Dana Rolle was third in 23.06. Fast Forward’s Paige Archer took the tape in the under-20 girls’ 100m in 11.84, which was off the qualifying standard of 11.69. Star Trackers’ Amari Pratt placed second in 12.19 and RedLine’s D’Arjha was third in 12.39. Asya Stanislaus of Quick Step was quicker than her rivals to the finish line in the under-20 girls 200m in 25.76. The Carifta standard is 23.95. Lydia Clarke (26.26) and Aliyah Marshall (26.82), both from STSP, got second and third. Red-Line Athletics’ president and head coach Tito Moss said although the meet came off, there were a number of hiccups that he had to endure up to the 11th hour before it was finally agreed that the meet will take place at the TAR National Stadium and not the Track and Field Stadium as originally planned. “I’m glad that we got the meet off. I’m holding this meet for the development of the youth in the country, but right now I’m upset because of the round-around in determining our location, which ended up costing us more money than we had bargained for,” Moss said. “I’m just glad that with all of the things that transpired in the past 20 hours, we were able to pull it off. The kids were excited and the parents came out to support their children and they enjoyed the meet. We also had some athletes in from Grand Bahama, which helped to boost the competition.” Th meet was designed for the younger age group competitors and many of them took advantage of the opportunity to compete, this time with a lot more fans in the stsnds cheering them on. Red-Line’s Jazmyn Demeritte dominated the under-7 girls division, winning the 60m in 12,00 and 120m in 23.46. Swift
DUKE head coach Mike Krzyzewski yells to his team during a college basketball game against Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
SWEET 16 FROM PAGE 12
SHATALYA DORSETT, left, and ZION Campbell. Athletics’ Javardo Musgrove took the boys’ 60m in 12.29 and the 120m in 24.00. Unique Athletics’ Tanaz Davis was a double threat in the under-9 girls division, winning the 150m in 22.94 and the 300m in 57.19, while Beginners Track’s Kamona Dormeus captured the under-9 girls 75m in 12.70. On the boys’ side, Swift Athletics’ George Brown shined in the 75m in 11.95. But Another Level’s Dontae Maycock was a little swifter in the 150m taking the crown in 23.83 ahead of Brown’s 24.15. Swift got a 1-2 punch from Jude Ferguson (58.03) and Pachino Sherman (1:05.96) in the 300m. Kenneth Wilson provided some excitement for the T-Bird Flyers by snatching the titles in the boys under-11 100m in 15.04 and the 200m in 31.41, while Cassaddy Pratt of Beginners Track prevailed in the girls sprints in 14.57 in the 100m and 30.17 in the 200m. Ariel Thompson, also of Beginners Track, doubled up in the girls under-11 400m in 1:12.61 and the 800m in 3:14.47. Swift Athletivcs’ Patreco Sherman took the boys’ 400m in 1:09.29 and Ronald Simon of Beginners Track took the 800m in 2:51.65. Brianna Bottle of 3pa Stallions swept the girls under-13 100m in 13.12 and the 200m in 27.36. Swift Athletics’ Lavario Ferguson clocked 12.94 in the 100m, but had to play second fiddle in the 200m in 26.95 as his teammate Jireh Woodside nipped him
at the line in 26.67. Their teammate Justin Shepherd was third in 29.63. Boost Athletics’ Symiah Strachan won the under-13 girls 400m in 1:05.05 and teammate Damali David won the 800m in 3:08.52. Arjay Roberts was the winner of the boys’ 400m in 1:03.33 and Swift Athletics’ Patrero Sherman came through first in the 800m in 2:45.12. There was also a sweep of the sprints in the under-15 division. 4D Stallions’ Darvinique Dean clinched the 100m in 12.92 just ahead of Red-Line’s Madison Moss (12.95), and they produced the same results in the 200m with Dean coming out on top in 26.58 over Moss’ 26.73. Swift Athletics’ Rolinny Labranche took the boys’ 100m in 11.72 over Red-Line’s Jaden Clarke, who did 12.51. Labranche also got the 200m in 22.98 with Red-Line’s Aiden Curry coming in second in 23.85. Deborah Cassy of 4D Stallions triumphed in the girls under-15 400m in 1:02.81 over Road Runners’ J’Kaiyah (1:03.58) and Red-Line’s Eagan Neely took the boys’ 400m in 53.84 with Shevano Nixon second in 55.25. Red-Line’s Maddison Major won the girls 800m in 3:01.56 over teammate Symiah Crawley (3:01.59). Their teammate Quincy Rolle won the boys’ race in 2:25.05. Fast Forward’s Kennise Major won the 400m hurdles in 1:14.57 and Red-Line’s Morgan Moss claimed the boys’ race in 59.61.
straight win. N.C. State shot 55% and made 9 of 19 3-pointers, romping to a 35-point lead at one point in an emotional finale at Reynolds Coliseum. “I think they just go out and play,” Moore said. “They love playing the game and they play so well together and they just get lost in the moment, and don’t think too much.” By the end, all 13 players who entered the game for N.C. State had scored. And they spent the minutes following the final horn standing at midcourt to take in the cheers and acknowledge the crowd before heading out to face Notre Dame. The matchup of Associated Press second-team All-Americans Elissa Cunane of the Wolfpack and Ayoka Lee of the Wildcats never truly materialized due to foul issues. But the Bridgeport Region’s headliner instead showed off its deep roster by getting production off the bench and continuing to roll anyway. Camille Hobby provided a tough performance off the bench in relief of Cunane, scoring eight first-half points while avoiding picking up cheap fouls defending Lee. And that helped the Wolfpack stay on course, leading to a 12-0 burst that began with Lee on the bench. “Coach Moore always talks about just being ready,” Hobby said. “I was ready for that moment. At practice, it’s what we do every single day.” N.C. State ran out to a 31-15 lead on Johnson’s transition 3-pointer followed by Perez’s jumper with 5:29 left before halftime, while Kansas State managed just one basket during a 10-minute stretch. That lead reached 20 before halftime and the ninthseeded Wildcats never got closer than 13 in the second half. “I think Wes has got the depth, the offense, to score with anybody in the country,” Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie said. Freshman Serena Sundell scored 17 points to lead Kansas State, which was trying to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002. But the Wildcats shot just 39% and made 7 of 25 3-pointers. The Wildcats scored on three of five possessions to open the game, then hit their long drought after Sundell’’s layup for a 7-3 lead. “We got off to a good start,” Mittie said, “but part of that start, also the pace got away from us a little bit.”
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, March 22, 2022, PAGE 15
SILVER SWEET
SILVER GLORY: 26-year-old Devynne Charlton won her first senior global medal with a silver in the women’s 60m hurdles as she matched her Bahamian national record of 7.81. Charlton was knocking on the door to her major breakthrough after she placed sixth in the final of the 100m hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last August, following her eighth place finish in the 60m hurdles at the World Indoors in 2018. With the pair of medals, the Bahamas finished in a six-way tie in the standings with Brazil, Spain, France, Portugal and Ukraine. Ethiopia topped the list with four gold in their total of nine medals. Although the United States had a total of 19 medals, they came in second in the gold rush with three. Jamaica, with three total medals, only amassed one gold for 12th place.
DEVYNNE Charlton with her parents David and Laura Charlton and coach Rolando Greene.
TWO-time Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo, left, shares a special moment with hurdler Devynne Charlton at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
SILVER medallist Devynne Charlton, of The Bahamas, gold medallist Cyrena Samba-Mayela, of France, and bronze medallist Gabriele Cunningham, of the United States, pose on the podium of the women’s 60 metres hurdles at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, on Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photos/Petr David Josek)
PAGE 16, Tuesday, March 22, 2022
THE TRIBUNE
GOLDEN MOMENT TWO-time Olympic 400 metre gold medallist Shaunae Miller-Uibo can now be called the World Indoor 400m champion. Using her tall, lanky 6-foot, 1-inch frame to her advantage in lane six in Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, at the 2022 World Indoor Championships on Saturday, Miller-Uibo negotiated her way out front and stayed on top to stop the clock in 50.31 seconds, just 0.10 shy of the North American, Central American and Caribbean area record she set last year. It was her first gold, but her second medal. (AP Photos/Darko Vojinovic)