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DEMOLITION DAY

Govt teams move in to tear down structures in Abaco shanty town

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Ministry of Works spearheaded the demolition of 45 “incomplete and unoccupied structures” in The Farm shanty town in Abaco yesterday, a move that human rights activists quickly condemned.

“The government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas remains firm in its resolve to ensure that the health hazards and hazardous conditions that unregulated communities foster are dealt with decisively and effectively,” the ministry said in a statement.

Human Rights Bahamas, whose legal director Fred Smith is contesting the government’s shanty town actions in court, said it was “unfortunate that the government would choose to create yet another humanitarian crisis on the island of Abaco”.

The organisation added: “Hundreds of people already lost homes in the tragedy of Hurricane Dorian, and even more in the illegal demolitions by the government that followed.

“On the front page of today’s newspapers, the SEE PAGE THREE

MINISTRY HITS BACK AT VENDORS’ COMPLAINTS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources has called recent claims made by Potter’s Cay Dock vendors, who lost their stalls to a destructive fire earlier this month, “misleading”.

Several vendors told The Tribune on Wednesday they have yet to receive the promised assistance from the government since the April 11 blaze and further accused the Minnis administration of “dragging their feet” on the issue.

Vendors also claimed the government pledged to have an assessment carried out of the area, but has not yet done so nor made it clear when rebuilding will begin in the area.

Yesterday, the ministry labelled their comments as “misleading”, insisting that communications were made relating to all of the vendors’ concerns about the way forward.

“The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources noted the comments made by vendors at Potter’s Cay Dock to the media and SEE PAGE FIVE

PEOPLE watch on as the bulldozers move in to tear down buildings in The Farm shanty town in Abaco yesterday, in this image taken from video circulating on social media.

VACCINATION MOVE ...BUT NURSES WARN IS SHOT IN THE ARM IT’S FAR TOO EARLY

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said he thinks allowing fully vaccinated travellers to The Bahamas without a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test will make the country a more attractive destination for visitors.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced that this vaccination perk will come into effect on May 1. He also said fully vaccinated travellers within the country also will be exempt from test requirements when travelling to and from New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Exuma and Eleuthera.

SEE PAGE FOUR

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Nurses Union says it disagrees with plans to remove the COVID-19 testing requirement for fully vaccinated travellers believing there is no guarantee people won’t contract or spread the virus even after receiving two

doses of the vaccine.

This comes after Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced on Wednesday that fully vaccinated people can travel to The Bahamas without a negative COVID19 RT-PCR test starting May 1.

He also said fully vaccinated travellers within the country will be exempt SEE PAGE FOUR

KAISER WIN IN $28M FRAUD CASE

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

SKY Bahamas’ former financier was yesterday “elated” the Supreme Court upheld the default judgment obtained against its principal over an alleged $28m “bogus loans conspiracy”.

Michael Scott QC, the attorney for Fred Kaiser, said he will now seek judicial direction for “an assessment of damages” for

CAPTAIN Randy Butler was criticised for “delaying tactics” in the case. his client after the Supreme Court’s deputy registrar scolded Captain Randy

Butler for “delaying tactics” in battling the claims against him and the airline.

Carol Misiewicz, in yesterday’s ruling, refused to set aside the default judgment entered against Captain Butler, Sky Bahamas and Aviation Oversight Group on January 25, after finding they twice waited until “the 11th hour” to seek Mr Kaiser’s permission for extra time to file their defence.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

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THE SLOW BURN OF CHANGING MARIJUANA LAWS SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Friday, April 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Waterspouts spotted amid freaky weather

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net TORNADIC waterspouts were sighted across New Providence and other parts of The Bahamas yesterday.

Department of Meteorology duty forecaster Sonovia Sears confirmed sightings of the freaky weather and explained what caused it.

“We did have some waterspouts that occurred at various points around New Providence along with some Family Islands according to footage that we have seen,” she said.

“That was due to a frontal boundary that was across our area that is sluggishly making its way southward of New Providence. That is what was actually giving that weather in combination with some level moisture. That is what

gave rise to what we had.

“Right now we have a caution in place for boaters to be on the lookout for waterspout activity. There is a high risk of waterspout activity.”

Ms Sears said forecasters expected the weather to continue throughout last night and possibly into today as that frontal boundary makes its way across the area.

Footage of one waterspout was caught on cell phone video and circulated on social media yesterday.

In the video, a man is heard exclaiming about a “tornado in South Beach”.

The bad weather also caused power outages in the eastern part of New Providence yesterday.

There have been many unscheduled power outages in New Providence and the Family Islands in recent times which Bahamas Power and Light has

related to severe weather conditions and problems at the Blue Hills and Clifton Pier Power Stations.

BPL’s communications director, K Quincy Parker chalked up the latest power outage to lightning.

He said: “BPL would like to advise that customers in eastern New Providence would have experienced brief outages in the Winton area due to a lightning strike.”

Shortly after this, electricity supplies in areas of western New Providence went out as well. BPL teams had not determined the cause of the outage when The Tribune inquired.

Mr Parker continued: “We have reports of an ongoing outage in the western area. A team is on site and as soon more information is available we will send an update.”

At press time, power in many of the affected areas had been restored.

SOME of the heavy cloud formations over New Providence yesterday as freak weather brought heavy rains and even waterspouts.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 23, 2021, PAGE 3

Immigration denies officer raped woman in detention

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE Department of Immigration has asserted that there is “no substance” to an allegation of inappropriate conduct by a male officer against a female migrant who was detained at the department’s safe house.

In a press statement last night, the department said an investigation by its Corruption, Complaints and Intelligence Unit along with the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Sexual Offenses Unit was concluded in the absence of the woman submitting a complaint.

The statement noted that the woman denied there was any inappropriate conduct toward her.

The woman has demanded her immediate repatriation, officials said.

However, they did not state when she would be released to return home.

“The Department of Immigration wishes to

advise that it has investigated an allegation of inappropriate conduct of a male immigration officer toward a female migrant, which conduct is alleged to have occurred at a Department Safe House,” the statement said.

“The investigation, headed by the newly appointed assistant director of immigration with responsibility for corruption, complaints and intelligence assisted by officers of the Sexual Offences Unit of the Royal Bahamas Police Force have determined that there is no substance to the allegation.

“To be certain, the female migrant, the subject of the alleged inappropriate conduct, has made no complaint of, and denies the occurrence of, any inappropriate conduct. Further, the female insists on her immediate repatriation.

“The matter is closed.

There shall be no further comment from the department.”

On Wednesday, The Tribune reported that a

high-ranking government official confirmed there was an investigation underway into an allegation that a Surinamese woman had been allegedly raped by an officer stationed at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

The source confirmed that while the woman was to be deported this week, officials decided against it to ensure the matter was fully and properly investigated.

The next day, a sister of the woman said that she admitted in a telephone conversation of being victim of an alleged rape.

Based on that conversation, the sister, speaking on behalf of other relatives outside the country, said they were concerned about her welfare and demanded answers as to why she had been detained for several months following what was thought to be the end of a prison sentence over an immigration infraction.

The sister told this newspaper the woman from Paramaribo, Suriname had

completed that term last August and it was their contention that her detainment was unlawful.

Numerous inquiries on the matter were made to officials, but they were ignored.

Yesterday, Human Rights Bahamas said attorneys who worked along with the organisation were preparing to submit an application to the court for the woman’s release.

HRB also revealed plans to report the incident to international human rights groups.

“We further call upon the authorities to justify their continued detention of the victim, as relatives allege, she has been held without legal justification for several months. If the government cannot show lawful cause for holding this individual, they must release her immediately,” HRB said in a statement to The Tribune.

“Attorneys that work with HRB are now representing the victim and are preparing to go before the

courts to secure her release from custody. They intend to bring an application to that effect shortly.

“In the meantime, the authorities are warned not to seek to further harm, abuse or intimidate this victim. Any such attempt will be exposed, both nationally and internationally, and swift and severe action will be taken through the courts.”

It continued: “This is a very serious matter and the government does not have the option of simply burying their collective heads in the sand. We remind them that the conditions at the Detention Centre and the treatment of inmates are already the subject of international scrutiny and Precautionary Measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

“In due course, HRB will report this matter to the IACHR, as well as to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and

our other international partners.”

This is not the first allegation of rape involving officers of the Department of Immigration or Detention Centre.

In 2013, a Florida watchdog group alleged that a 24-year-old Cuban woman was raped and impregnated while at the holding facility.

However local officials said at the time that the woman, who had been deported to Cuba, never made a formal complaint.

The next year a Jamaican woman, 28, claimed she had been sexually assaulted when she was released into the custody of an immigration officer on December 15, 2014.

A criminal trial into the matter was tossed out of court by a judge after the magistrate determined that the alleged victim’s testimony was not credible.

However the woman has since filed a civil suit against the government seeking at least $1m in damages. That case has not yet concluded.

GOVT TEAMS MOVE IN TO TEAR DOWN STRUCTURES IN ABACO SHANTY TOWN from page one managing director of the Disaster Reconstruction Authority is quoted as saying there is a severe housing shortage on Abaco.

Yet the government – in the absence of any urgent need to take drastic action – is choosing to compound this crisis further, forcing more people into the streets, or the bush, or who knows where.

“Meanwhile, these homes are being destroyed at the very moment when the fate of this community is before the courts and awaiting the judge’s ruling.

“We are supposed to be a constitutional democracy that operates according to the rule of law. What is the point of having courts as a forum for settling disputes if the government is just willing to ignore the judicial process, proceed according to the formula that ‘might makes right’ and ruin people’s lives without lawful justification? Just because you have a bulldozer does’t mean you have to use it.”

Mr Bannister told a ZNS reporter that the structures destroyed yesterday were under construction and that officials ensured that buildings affected by a court order were not touched.

He warned that without

government action, thousands of people would soon flock to the area, jeopardising the health of “every single person on this island.”

He said the way the structures were being built could cost people their lives and create serious health challenges.

He said the structures lacked a foundation to ensure stability.

“If we have another storm in Abaco, with tough winds, those structures would fly away like sailboats,” he said. “They are very, very dangerous structures. So the building control officer and his team from the Ministry of Public Works worked closely with the police, closely with other authorities on the island.

“It is critical that everybody understands that these unregulated buildings must go. Persons cannot live in this type of squalor, they cannot live in these dangerous conditions and they cannot be permitted to continue to create more dangerous conditions.”

Mr Bannister said he has been assured that people who have “regular standing in The Bahamas and who want to be able to live in reasonable conditions, can make appropriate representation and seek accommodations.”

ONE of the buildings being demolished in this image from video footage.

The recent heightened activity in the Farm has begun to worry people like Dina Lafrance, a 37-year-old woman who has lived in the area for 12 years and who said she is puzzled by the government’s commitment to eradicating the shanty town given the difficulty many still experience following Hurricane Dorian.

“I’m not going to fight against it,” she said. “It was wrong, but are those people working? Where is the

help? Where are the people going to stay? Do they have somewhere to go? We have children who are in school, they are getting affected by this as well. How are they going to concentrate when they don’t have a home to go to or when they know their home is going to be destroyed?

“A lot of people will be homeless. I work in Abaco now, just started working here, trying to catch myself, now they drop this bombshell

on us. I don’t know what I am going to do. If push comes to shove, my kids would have to head to Nassau until I could do better while I continue to find answers.”

Earlier this month, law enforcement descended upon the shanty town in a joint sting operation, confiscating generators, food supplies, personal items, illegal contraband and arresting several residents for various alleged infractions.

At the time, officials said “illegally constructed” access roadways were closed and signs written in English and Creole were erected.

Signs were also posted on illegally erected buildings which warn inhabitants of the legal prohibition of any new construction, and of the intention of the government to demolish all of the illegally constructed buildings, the ministry said earlier this month.

MORE THAN 3,000 HOMES STILL NEED DORIAN REPAIRS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

MORE than 3,000 homes across Grand Bahama and Abaco still need to have repairs completed post-Hurricane Dorian, according to Katherine Smith, executive director of the Disaster Reconstruction Authority.

Ms Smith said some 3.5 million cubic yards of collected debris also needs to be reduced and sorted.

She gave the update at a groundbreaking ceremony this week for a new $1m Bahamas Red Cross Centre in Grand Bahama.

Ms Smith commended the Bahamas Red Cross and its partners for their assistance to Grand Bahama and Abaco following Dorian.

She indicated that efforts are focused on recovery and reconstruction.

“The impact of Dorian was so significant and is still very much ongoing,”

she said, releasing the latest DRA statistics.

She reported that there is a need to complete repairs of 3,735 homes between Grand Bahama and Abaco.

“Marine clean-up has to take place as second homeowners return to the mainland of Abaco. And while some debris has been removed from the McLean’s Town Dock, work must continue on the marine front, particularly in East Grand Bahama,” she added.

Ms Smith stressed there is a severe housing shortage, particularly for public officers and renters in Grand Bahama.

She added that critical infrastructure at the airport and hospital has to be replaced.

“We must now move toward recovery and reconstruction. The move toward recovery and reconstruction can only happen with the help and assistance of NGO organisations, like the Red Cross, and many NGOs that have supported

the work in our community by taking on projects like this new building to be constructed,” Ms Smith said.

“We cannot underestimate the work of the Bahamas Red Cross throughout this country,” she said.

The construction of the new Red Cross centre is underway following the recent demolition of the old two-story building structure after some six decades.

Bahamas Red Cross officials, joined by the Canadian Red Cross Society, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, gathered at the Jobson Avenue site on Tuesday to break ground for the first phase of two of three building blocks.

A 2,300 sq ft administrative office building and the second block, consisting of a warehouse and commercial kitchen totalling 900 sq ft, are expected to be completed in November at a cost of some $700,000.

Funding for the first phase project was made

available through the Canadian Red Cross Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent.

For the second phase, some $300,000 in funding is needed to construct a 1,700 sq ft multipurpose hall that will double as a shelter if the need arises.

Terez Curry, president of the Bahamas Red Cross Society, said, “The ceremony signifies the closing of the largest disaster recovery project undertaken… but also brings a new day through the establishment of new infrastructure to support the needs of Grand Bahama.”

She said the previous two-story structure that was built in the 1960s was damaged mainly during Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and again during Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

Ms Curry explained that structural assessments revealed major concerns and recommendations were made for the building to be

demolished.

The building was torn down on January 13. A new three-building block was designed by Architectural Design Ideas. Pinnacle Investment Construction is the general contractor.

She said Pinnacle was among the nine bid submissions, seven of which met the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s requirement. A building permit was granted

by GBPA on February 10.

The Port Authority had donated the land in the 1960s for the Red Cross in Grand Bahama.

Phase one is expected to be finished in the next seven months, and efforts are underway to acquire funding for phase two of the project.

Ms Curry also highlighted the tremendous assistance made by the Bahamas Red Cross in Grand Bahama and Abaco following Hurricane Dorian.

She reported that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red

Crescents societies and the Bahamas Red Cross shelter programme have assisted in rebuilding 500 homes under a homes-repair programme, 13 homes for persons with disabilities, and an additional 10 homes for persons who needed assistance with roof repairs. And for the rental assistance programme, they assisted 235 families, with a $700 rental allowance for six months, totalling $4,481,700 spent on shelter assistance.

Additionally, Ms Curry said the Bahamas Red Cross contributed $2.1 million through funds it raised directly to complete 210 homes between GB and Abaco.

She also stated that the Livelihood programmes in Grand Bahama successfully assisted 78 micro-small businesses, providing funding totalling $342,000, and through a partnership with the Small Business Development Centre assisted 25 business, providing funding totalling $100,000.

PAGE 4, Friday, April 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

PLANTING TREES FOR EARTH DAY THE Ministry of the Environment and Housing hosted several events and activities commemorating Earth Day 2021.

One event was a tree planting ceremony at CI Gibson Senior High School in the Marathon community yesterday.

Minister of the Environment and Housing Romauld Ferreira was in attendance and delivered brief remarks during the school’s assembly.

Mr Ferreira was joined by school principal Herbert Oembler and 12th grade students Shavann Pierre and Nel-Eisha Woodside at the tree planting ceremony held on the school grounds.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/ Tribune Staff

VACCINATION MOVE IS SHOT IN THE ARM

from page one

This comes after the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) increased The Bahamas’ health notice from level three to level four, citing a very high level of COVID-19 in the country. Consequently, the health agency advised travellers to avoid all travel to The Bahamas.

Mr D’Aguilar said he believes the vaccination incentive will make the country more attractive and that will counter the US level four advisory.

“Remember now, almost every country in the world is in level four,” he said. “I think it’s 80 percent — all large proportion of persons — and you know the country that is not in level four and clearly they’re not going to put it in level four, is the United States.

“I mean they’re far worse than we are, so if you are travelling from the United States to The Bahamas and you’re looking at their level of COVID compared to our level of COVID, our country is way safer than theirs and 93 percent of our foreign visitors come from presently... from the United States.”

While some observers think removing the test requirement is unwise, the minister pointed to the advantages of the vaccine reducing the chances of spreading the virus and being hospitalised.

for and go online and get a visa. What we’re finding is the PCR test five days prior to arrival is causing a lot of stress.

What is happening is that persons go and get the test, they have to wait for the results.

“They have to upload onto the site. They have to wait for us to respond to them and all of this is causing a lot of consternation to travel and we feel that once you get the vaccine the need to go through all of this bureaucracy, for a lack of a better word, in order to enter the country

will make The Bahamas an attractive destination while at the same time maintaining what we feel is a safe environment for persons to come into the country.

“We feel that you know certainly the removal of the PCR test and the acceptance of the vaccine will help us in our climb back to what we used to be at.

Now it’s probably going to take quite some time for us to get there. If I had a crystal ball I would say 12-24 months for us to return back to the 2019 levels…..

we’re only back to about 25-30 percent of what we used to have. So we still got a long way to go.”

He said forward bookings are looking “far more robust than they have been”, but “it’s all relative”.

With a 2019 record of 7.2 million tourists, he said the country is still “substantially down off that number” but slowly starting to trend upwards.

“I’ve spoken to a number of the hotels and they are saying that they’re encouraged by their summer bookings and so you know I’m encouraged that the comeback is coming.”

Asked if this is one step closer to making it mandatory for travellers to The Bahamas to be vaccinated, the minister answered the government is not going to make that decision yet and made it clear the government is not forcing anybody to take the vaccine.

He said: “When we were younger, we were required to get the mumps and rubella (MMR), smallpox vaccination and everybody had their vaccination cards.

Is a vaccination against us one day going to fall into that category – I don’t know.

“I mean all of our kids have these little vaccination cards. Certainly we want to protect our population, but we’re not at that time yet.

“What private companies decide to do, they will obviously be guided by the law and they will be guided by what their policies are.”

people are still getting and contracting the virus so you don’t let your guards down.

It’s better to be safe than to be sorry, “ Ms Williams added.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that it had reports of nearly 6,000 “breakthrough” COVID-19 infections out of more than 77 million fully vaccinated people, suggesting such infections only affect a small percentage of inoculated people.

The union president also advised the Minnis administration to follow the example of other countries which have set out certain recommendations for fully vaccinated people wanting to travel to other destinations.

She referenced the CDC’s recommendation that vaccinated people still get tested three to five days after travel among other things.

“The CDC has even given recommendations for fully vaccinated people because there are still risks from before and after travelling. Before you arrive in the United States and after

you travel, they say get a viral test three to five days after travelling. They also say while you’re traveling, wear your masks over your nose, avoid crowds, stay six feet away etc.”

She also said that Bahamians need to be fully educated about COVID-19 vaccinations to ensure that they do not get the impression that vaccines will completely protect them against the virus.

To date, more than 21,000 people in The Bahamas have received their first dose of the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine since the country began its vaccination campaign in mid-March. The AstraZeneca vaccine is said to have a 76-79 percent efficacy rate.

Yesterday, Ms Williams told this newspaper: “Even though you’re vaccinated, you could still be exposed and convey this virus to someone so all of that, people need to be educated about this virus and vaccinations and we have not been seeing a lot of that happening.”

With the nation now battling its third wave, Ms

Williams said it’s important for Bahamians to continue following all the health protocols and not become relaxed with the rules that are meant to keep Bahamians safe.

Asked how nurses are coping with this new wave of infections, she said there is still some exhaustion among workers as they have never fully recovered from the two COVID waves.

“At this point, they were burnt out from last year.

They haven’t really had a real break because they’re not only taking care of their patients but also their loved ones and so nurses were impacted all around—their social life, their private lives were impacted,” she said.

Since March, The Bahamas has seen an uptick in positive cases, with total infections now at 9,926 after 58 new infections were recorded Wednesday. Of those cases, 504 are still active.

Meanwhile, 50 people are said to be in hospital sick with the virus.

Health officials have recently linked the spike in cases to international travel and a relaxed adherence to the current rules.

NO CANADA FLIGHTS FOR ANOTHER 30 DAYS

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar indicated that after speaking to Air Canada’s senior vice president yesterday it appears flights from Canada won’t be resuming at least for another 30 days.

In February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the country’s main airlines (Air Canada, WestJet, and Sunwing) were cancelling all services to Caribbean destinations and Mexico — so called “sun destinations” — until April 30.

Mr D’Aguilar’s revelation yesterday, just days away from the anticipated flight resumption date, is another blow to The Bahamas’ struggling tourism industry.

Mr D’Aguilar also questioned why Canada’s ban on the Caribbean region continues while none was applied to their neighbours to the “The science is showing that when you get vaccinated you have a 100 percent chance that you will not get so sick that you have to end up in a hospital – that’s the first advantage,” he told reporters yesterday.

“The second advantage is that you reduce by 80 to 90 percent your ability, if infected, to spread it on to somebody else. So the benefits of getting vaccinated are huge. You don’t get sick and you reduce substantially your ability to spread the virus to other persons.

south, the United States.

“It seems as if the flights from Canada won’t be resuming at least for another 30 days, but you know we find it odd that the Canadians would ban flights to the Caribbean and not ban flights to the United States and the United States, as I’ve said from a COVID standpoint, is in a far worse position than the Caribbean,” Mr D’Aguilar said.

“So something is going on there that we don’t quite understand. So what Canadians are doing is simply flying to the United States and getting on to a connected flight to The Bahamas.”

US Homeland Security tweeted on April 20 that the United States is continuing restrictions on nonessential travel at the land borders through May 21 to “deter the spread of COVID-19” and “protect our citizens”.

Another tweet read: “We are guided by science and public health

“Now that is what the science is showing and that’s why the CDC is saying once you get vaccinated you’re fairly free to travel and that we are piggy backing off that science, that getting vaccinated gives you substantial benefits as it relates to travel.”

He added the test removal for vaccinated individuals will help improve tourism numbers.

“Right now we have a regime in place where you have to get a PCR test five days prior to arrival in The Bahamas. You have to pay

data and engaged in discussions with Canada and Mexico about easing restrictions as health conditions improve.”

Since March 2020, the CanadaUS land border has been closed for nonessential travel. Canada is currently grappling with COVID cases. According to Reuters, the country’s province Ontario, has “expanded and extended a stay-athome order”.

As for flights from the UK, the minister said he thinks those flights will not resume until “probably a little bit later”.

“I mean British Airways has mentioned dates... repeatedly and been unable to meet those dates,” he said.

“Remember now, our flight is tied in with Cayman and Cayman presently is, I think, still banning all visitors to their country. So until that flight — London, Nassau, Cayman — can resume we’re kind of in a hiatus.”

...BUT NURSES WARN IT’S FAR TOO EARLY from page one

from the testing requirements when travelling to and from New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Exuma and Eleuthera.

Vaccinated people will also get other benefits, like participating in indoor dining.

Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, BNU president Amancha Williams said she didn’t believe the move was a “smart decision” on the government’s behalf and added that now is not the time for the country to let its guard down against the COVID-19 threat, especially numbers catching the virus are rising.

According to Ms Williams, the uptick in both new cases and hospitalisations has placed a strain on the nation’s healthcare system—something she said shows why it’s so important for the country to still have certain COVID preventative measures in place.

However, by removing the current COVID entry requirements for vaccinated people, Ms Williams said the government is taking a

TOTAL CASES

TOTAL DEATHS

9,926 194

NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES TUESDAY 58 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE 42 GRAND BAHAMA 11 BIMINI & CAT CAY 2 ABACO 1 EXUMA 1 ANDROS 1

TOTAL TESTS

83,696

HOSPITALISED

50

risk that could potentially create problems for the nation later down the road.

“I think we need to still take precautions until we see our way out from this third wave,” the union president said. “We have to remember that as a country that we can’t guarantee anybody nothing. We are

CASES IN ICU

4

RECOVERED

9,158

on trial and error and we don’t know the behaviour or reaction of this vaccine and so there are still precautions to be taken and we must do an ongoing survey so we can know how this virus behaves with the vaccinations.

“We’ve been seeing reports in the US that

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 23, 2021, PAGE 5

Ministry hits back at vendors’ complaints

from page one wishes to clarify for the public that claims made were misleading,” the statement read.

“The ministry met with vendors and representatives of both vendor associations on the morning following the fire – 12th April, 2021, with a view to plan the immediate response to the fire and the way forward.

“A request for proposals for the clean-up of the site was submitted through the government’s eProcurement Portal on Wednesday, 14th April, 2021 upon receipt of the incident report from the Royal Bahamas Police Force Fire Branch. Responses to the request came almost immediately.

“Before the contract for the clean-up could be awarded and executed, the vendors along with outsiders, including political personalities, began clean-up of the site. Debris remains in the water behind the stalls and will be removed as a part of the clean-up exercise.”

In the statement, the ministry also spoke of plans to have an assessment carried out of the area as was previously noted to the affected vendors.

Officials said this will be conducted by structural engineers attached to the Ministry of Public Works and could take “a few weeks” to be completed.

“This report is critical in determining what the safety implications are for the site as some of the supporting steel in the causeway may have been compromised by the fire,” officials continued.

“This report is also critical to service providers such as Bahamas Power and Light, the Water & Sewerage Corporation, Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and REV Cable Bahamas as they must be assured that the area is safe for the installation of their equipment.

“It was also agreed by the vendors and government officials that we would build back better and use the new stall design as the template for the future redevelopment of Potter’s Cay Dock.

Further, as a temporary solution, Mr Matthew Rolle suggested an alternative short-term location for the vendors in the area near the former Produce Exchange.

“This idea was accepted by all the vendors present, including Mr Dwain Bastian, who went on to request that he be allowed to set up operations in the

CLEAN-up under way after the fire at Potter’s Cay dock this week. area where the reefer coolers are located. At no time was it ever suggested by the ministry that vendors be relocated to the building that housed the former Produce Exchange ‘next to chemicals’ as Mr Bastian stated.”

“The ministry advised the vendors that given the fact that there remains a number of unoccupied stalls at Potter’s Cay Dock, we would speak to the lease holders of those stalls about allowing the affected vendors to occupy them temporarily.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff The vendors are fully aware of this situation.”

The ministry said officials have no intention to see “displaced vendors” left out of work, they must also do their due diligence to ensure that all the proper protocols are followed

before rebuilding begins.

“Most importantly we pledged financial support in helping vendors rebuild their stalls and will commence once we get the all-clear from the technical teams,” the ministry added.

TAXIS AND VENDORS WARY OF ‘BUBBLE’ PROPOSAL

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

WITH cruise ships set to arrive in June, a proposed exclusive “bubble” arrangement between the vessels and tour operators at Freeport Harbour is not sitting well with local taxicab drivers and straw vendors.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line expects to begin sailing to the island on June 12. It will be the first return of a major cruise line since the shutdown in March last year due to the COVID pandemic.

The Tribune understands a notice was sent out about a proposed bubble arrangement allowing only cruise passengers who purchased tours to leave the ship on buses to their respective tours and return to the ship.

Passengers not purchasing tours would not be able to leave the ship to take a taxicab or go to the straw market and the stores at the harbour or Port Lucaya Marketplace.

When contacted for comment, Grand Bahama Taxicab Union President Harold Curry said he was made aware of such an arrangement, which would exclude some 600 taxicab drivers on Grand Bahama from moving cruise passengers at the harbour.

Mr Curry spoke with cruise officials via Zoom on Wednesday about the matter and is hopeful some agreement can be reached for the benefit of taxicab drivers at the harbour.

“I just came out of a Zoom meeting with the cruise ships and they are telling me now they are going to work with taxi drivers to try to get taxis included they said they will get back to me,” he said.

“We had a problem with

that proposed arrangement…in June about operating in a bubble and that passengers could not come off the cruise ship if they did not purchase a tour.

“Anyone who did not take a tour would have to remain on the cruise ship, and that meant…. that only passengers booked for a tour would come off the ship and go straight on the tour bus to be taken to the Garden of the Groves or Taino Beach at Bahamas Adventures, or snorkelling.

If you are not in the bubble, then you remain on the ship.”

Mr Curry explained that those passengers would not have the chance to come off the ship and go to the straw market. He said cab drivers would not be getting any jobs.

“We think that would be unfair to taxi drivers and straw vendors because we were just advised by the Ministry of Tourism during the pandemic about protocols, and they know we were living up to the required protocols for taxis to have plexiglass separation, hand sanitizers, wearing masks, and gloves,” he explained.

He also noted that they have reduced their carrying capacity to half, just like the tour buses. And some cab drivers have already been vaccinated, Mr Curry said.

“So (we wanted to know) why we are not being treated the same as the tour buses when we are doing the same things, and some of our drivers have already taken the vaccine?” he said.

“We were wondering why we were eliminated from moving the tourists.”

Mr Curry stressed that there are some 600 taxicab drivers on Grand Bahama who are anticipating the return of the cruise ships.

“These cab drivers ain’t

work for over a year-anda-half and something got to be wrong with that (arrangement).”

Mr Curry said he reached out to Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson at the Prime Minister’s Office in Freeport, who turned him onto Grand Bahama tourism official Steven Johnson.

“Mr Johnson put me onto the vice president of the cruise ship and we arranged a meeting. So, they are working on some kind of agreement to make sure taxicabs can also be included when the cruise ships come in June. Right now, it is looking good moving forward.”

Mr Curry said he is waiting for cruise officials to get back to him.

Straw vendor Grace Maycock said that they are struggling to survive.

She represents more than 60 straw vendors at the harbour.

She said that a bubble arrangement will only benefit the cruise ships and tour operators.

“That is going to affect us tremendously,” said Ms Maycock. “From last year we were out of a job. We are hardly making ends meet; we are just struggling.”

She said vendors have been experiencing hardship for the past two years.

“We were out of work for six months after Dorian.

Then, the pandemic came, and a lot of people ain’t catch themselves yet.

“And here it is, we are looking forward to really going back to work, and then we hear it is going to be a bubble, and only passengers that book tours will be able to come off the ship and go straight onto the tour bus and straight back on the ship, while the other passengers will remain on board the ship.

TRIAL DATE TO BE SET FOR FORMER MINISTER

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Cabinet minister Elma Campbell will be given a date for the start of her trial early next month.

Last year, the former Free National Movement senator, along with her son, Che Chase, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, charged with a number

of fraud related offences after they were accused of defrauding the Ministry of Tourism of $1.2m.

The mother and son were charged with Damalus Curry who was also arraigned on one count of money laundering.

During their initial court appearance, all of the accused denied the allegations brought against them and the case was adjourned to March 2020

for a status hearing.

However, this action was delayed due to the restrictions imposed on the Magistrate’s Court at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the trio returned to court yesterday, their matter was transferred to Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes.

Campbell, Chase and Curry return to court on May 5 for a fixture hearing.

“What about us straw vendors out here and the store owners and other folks depending on passengers to come off the

ship to spend a dollar with us?

“What they are proposing to do will affect the entire sector and the

majority of persons in the tourism sector. We want the government to intervene so that we can get the benefit too,” she said.

PAGE 6, Friday, April 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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Shanty town buildings knocked down - but what now?

THE video footage is striking. As people stand by watching, the bulldozers move in, tearing down building after building.

The structures fold like paper, ripped apart easily by the heavy machinery, leaving just planks and plywood and debris in their wake.

A total of 45 structures were torn down, described as “incomplete and unoccupied”.

If the effort was to look like a dynamic government taking action, well it perhaps satisfies those who think there should be no place for shanty towns.

However, one question lingers, and a simple one – what happens next?

If we presume that those houses were going to be occupied at some point, that means probably in excess of 100 people are now homeless.

Now, for those who don’t have the right to be there, perhaps that’s the outcome you want to reach – but do we honestly think that simply tearing down the buildings makes the people magically disappear as well?

Elsewhere in today’s Tribune, the executive director of the Disaster Reconstruction Authority, Katherine Smith, talks about more than 3,000 homes across Grand Bahama and Abaco still needing repairs after Hurricane Dorian.

She stressed that there is a severe housing shortage.

That being the case, if carpenters and electricians and roofers and builders are going to come from New Providence to help fix these 3,000 homes, where are they going to stay?

That’s why these buildings are going up in the first place – because those who are actually taking on the work, whether they’re entitled to be in The Bahamas or not, are putting up somewhere they can stay while they do so.

Pulling the buildings down isn’t going to fix the bigger picture. Where are the accommodations for the legal workers?

For that matter, how many of those in shanty towns are legal workers anyway?

In past studies, significant numbers of those living in shanty towns in The Bahamas have had a right to live and work in the country.

Without tackling the question of what happens next, all that will take place is people will find somewhere new and start building again – and in a few weeks,

a few months, we’ll be back in the same situation.

One person watching the demolition summed it up. Dina Lafrance has lived in the area for 12 years and said: “I’m not going to fight against it. It was wrong, but are those people working? Where is the help? Where are the people going to stay? Do they have somewhere to go? We have children who are in school, they are getting affected by this as well.

How are they going to concentrate when they don’t have a home to go to or when they know their home is going to be destroyed?

“A lot of people will be homeless. I work in Abaco now, just started working here, trying to catch myself, now they drop this bombshell on us. I don’t know what I am going to do. If push comes to shove, my kids would have to head to Nassau until I could do better while I continue to find answers.”

She’s not the only one left looking for answers – and as long as there’s a void of help for those entitled to be there, or support for those who are trying to rebuild, there’ll be the likelihood of another shanty town springing up.

Knocking down buildings is only treating a symptom. The problem is still there.

Costly delays

If Sky Bahamas was as late taking off as its chief, Captain Randy Butler, is at fighting court claims, it’s a wonder it ever got off the ground at all.

The latest bumpy landing for Captain Butler sees the Supreme Court uphold a judgement against him with the court’s deputy registrar telling him off for his “delaying tactics” in battling the claim against him and the airline.

The case sees the company’s former financier, Fred Kaiser, “elated” with the next step being the assessment of damages. Mr Kaiser claims he was defrauded of $28m via sham loans – and the case triggered the resignation of Peter Turnquest as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance even though he is not named as a defendant in the writ and denies allegations in the document.

There’ll be more to come from this case – we suspect Captain Butler will need to ensure he submits his documents in a more timely manner in future.

Vaccine dilemma EDITOR, The Tribune.

SOCIETY and governments around the world are going to have a major dilemma with the COVID vaccine.

Unfortunately, due to ignorance and the internet’s uncanny ability to make lies into truths, large swathes of society are refusing the vaccine.

This will have an enormous affect on how in the near future societies will function and how their economies will fare.

Unfortunately, but inevitably, the poorly educated countries will have a far higher percent of persons reluctant to take the vaccine.

If you look at the UK as an example of a well-educated country 43.5 million of the population of 68m have been vaccinated. They are vaccinating basically from the oldest down so within a few months crucial herd immunity will be achieved.

The UK a few months ago was getting 2000 plus deaths. Everyday it’s now down to less that 50 a day so the Facts prove the vaccine is working.

If you talk to people

here and ask them if they are taking the vaccine the response is always the same: “Man I don’t trust that stuff!” Their opinion is not in any way based on scientific data or facts it’s actually based on something they heard from a friend or something they read on their phone/social media.

Facts should matter, not hearsay. We have one employer already here stating if his staff do not get vaccinated, they will be terminated. This will be the tip of the iceberg.

How can Atlantis and Baha Mar allow unvaccinated staff to mingle with their tourists? It is not going to happen. What they and other employers will do within the parameters of legality is make their employees lives very difficult.

The obvious one is at the employees’ expense they will insist on weekly COVID tests. Hit them in the wallet. From the perspective of the Bahamas and our economy tourism is our life blood. We may be able to survive for a year or so without tourists but long term it’s literally a disaster to this society. Obvious

effect will be enormous increases in civil disobedience and crime.

Without money and food people will get desperate. If you were a tourist from the USA or Europe, would you contemplate a holiday in the Bahamas if you were aware that most of the local population is not vaccinated? Whether the population here like it or not the COVID vaccination, whilst not being enforced here as yet, your life will become so difficult you will have to take the vaccine. If societal pressure here does not force the issue, I predict within one year you will be denied any right to take an international flight. Worldwide 930 million people have been vaccinated and the adverse side effects are minimal. If you examine the issue of blood clotting the Johnson vaccine had six cases in 6.8 million doses as a comparison if you smoke tobacco, you are statistically 1,750 more likely to get blood clots from smoking than the vaccine! Again, a Fact and it really should matter.

THE REALIST Nassau, April 21, 2021.

West worst for police to serve EDITOR, The Tribune.

ALMOST a week ago, eight people were attacked by hitmen in a well-coordinated shooting, only two people survived, and six others killed, marking this incident as the second recorded mass shooting since 2013 and a similar incident that was reported back in the early 1960’s when the Bahamas was under the British Crown.

When it comes to the response of the police, the populace has been let down yet again as we hear another halfhearted statement and flimsy set of excuses.

The RBPF has promised to investigate the flow of automatic AK rifles and AR-15 rifles that have been seen with gangs and lead an island wide manhunt for the people responsible for the murders, but the public is not being informed on the progress of both of those investigations.

In fact, if the manhunt isn’t making much progress on arresting the suspects, then the public support of arms trafficking investigations won’t work. Meanwhile, another man has been stabbed to death over the weekend; whilst reports of police brutality, corruption and the political witch hunt against other political figures is increasing in frequency, causing public support to crumble further and further for the officers.

One has to look inward and say this harsh truth: Is the RBPF only good for writing traffic tickets and charging people for minor offences rather than defending the streets against serious crimes of smuggling guns and saving lives?

Unfortunately, this appears to be the case. Arms trafficking and drug trafficking is a very lucrative business in the Bahamas’ local black market.

Apparently, this grim statement holds true in the Western Hemisphere and certain parts of the world as well. In fact, with the exception of Canada, every police department from America to Argentina and Brazil is only good for handing out parking tickets and handling domestic disputes and never for serious crime fighting. Worse, it is claimed that some police officers are committing some of the injustices by unjustly killing people for racial reasons, excessive use of force and working with criminals themselves.

For Americans, if you do become a part of NYPD or any police department in the big cities then you’re stuck with pulling someone over with DUI violations; domestic disputes between disgruntled couples or friends, booking someone

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net to the station for other misdemeanors. When it comes to more serious offences like gangs, murder, political corruption or smuggling, it’ll never be approved for you to investigate and be solved by those who are willing to clean up the streets.

If someone became an FBI agent or joined any other federal agencies outside of the CIA, then you’re also facing the same issues except on a national scale.

You’ll be writing national security reports to your supervisor in the office space, monitoring individuals with various small-time offences and giving out PSAs at your local community or schools about drug abuse or cybercrimes. Once again, you’re not allowed to go after major crimes or to stop domestic terrorism, as it usually happens with mass shootings when the FBI and ATF fails to intervene before the suspect can carry out the attack.

The only form of arrest they can get right is stopping foreign terror groups from carrying out attacks but that’s just it. Groups like the Neo Nazis and other associated extremist militia groups are constantly ignored and put on the back burner while they plot out potential targets.

If you’re a Mexican citizen or any country south of the USA and want to fight to protect your communities from the Drug Cartels, then you’re better off joining the military rather than the Police (or not at all). If you took the chance to join any Municipal, State or Federal Police branch; not only are you stuck with extreme corruption but being a police officer is virtually a suicide mission for not just you, but your family.

You’ll be outnumbered, outgunned and ill-equipped almost daily in your service against multiple fully equipped and well-established paramilitary drug trafficking organisations and run the daily risks of being betrayed by your own officials. The worst thing you’ll ever have to deal with is Plato o Plomo, which simply involves taking the cartel money to bribe you or they’ll kill you and your entire family. It’s no different in certain parts of Colombia, Venezuela and in Brazilian favelas.

Generally, being a police officer is one of the worst jobs that anyone can have in the Western Hemisphere. People join up to aid their communities and safeguard their homelands, but what is the use of protecting others at this point?

Any form of corruption and bribery can instantly negate any progress against crime

or terrorism and put innocent people at great risk.

Drug trafficking and illegal arms trafficking are two of the biggest killers in the big cities and the money from the black market are also the reason why law enforcement in almost every country in the Western Hemisphere is in shambles, both in police policies and in logistical support in the fight against serious crimes and national security threats.

Now compare our broken law enforcement to Europe and most of Asia. Most of these issues we see in the US and Latin America doesn’t exist there.

That’s because those countries both have a mostly stable and orderly society with a properly organised national police force rather than hundreds of smaller sheriff departments whose standards and policing vary from state to state.

For example, France and many European nations have a Gendarmerie, a military police branch that retains both traditional law enforcement with military training and strict standards and operating procedures.

This usually results in a highly professional force that holds people far more accountable, but the one thing that makes European law enforcement effective in controlling violent crime today in that region is that the policy makers will allocate the necessary resources and allow the officers to combat the threat without the fear of being compromised most of the time.

Law enforcement is even more effective in most of Asia, not just because of the higher social standards and policing practices, it’s because some of those nations aren’t afraid to issue death sentences to people that committed some of the worst crimes anyone can think of. As a result, policing Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul and almost all of China, Saudi Arabia and most of Indonesia and Malaysia is significantly easier than most places because many criminals are too afraid to break laws or if they do and they end up getting a very long prison sentence or face the death sentence.

Maybe it’s time to admit that our Western brand of law enforcement is a living testament of failure in enforcing laws and protecting the public against serious crime and domestic forms of terrorism. As for the Bahamas, the only way to abandon this destructive path is to change both the culture and the police system to high standards and zero tolerance to failure and corruption.

AMMAKA RUSSELL Nassau, April 20, 2021.

THE TRIBUNE

28-year murder sentence quashed

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE Court of Appeal yesterday quashed the 28-year sentence of a man who was found guilty of trying to kill another man over five years ago.

After delivering their decision, the appellate panel of justices said the man is to be retried before another judge in the Supreme Court at the earliest convenience.

In 2015, Joseph Dickerson was accused of shooting another man multiple times at close range. During his trial, the victim’s father testified that he saw Dickerson shoot his son.

Dickerson maintained that he was not in the area at the time of the shooting and insisted he was being framed by the

victim’s father who he alleged was a criminal “who had been shot previously” and came from a criminal family.

Despite his defence, Dickerson was convicted of attempted murder two years later and sentenced to 28 years imprisonment in February 2018.

He recently appealed his conviction on the grounds that the circumstances of the case made the verdict unsafe and unsatisfactory.

He also argued the prosecution’s failure to disclose the antecedents of their two key witnesses to his defence counsel “greatly” impacted the fairness of his trial.

Yesterday, Justices Roy Jones, Milton Evans and Carolita Bethell quashed Dickerson’s conviction and sentence after ruling that the jury had a right to

be informed of the “true facts” in the “interest of justice”.

In their judgment, delivered by Justice Evans, they noted: “Before the case was put to the jury for their deliberation all parties concerned knew that the complainant and his father both had antecedents. This was consistent with the evidence of the applicant which had been challenged by the Crown as a lie.

“In not allowing the evidence relative to the antecedent reports before the court, the learned judge deprived the applicant of the central plank of his defence. The way the matter was left, it was open to the jury to believe that the applicant was lying when he said (the father) had antecedents and that there was no real evidence

that any of the witnesses had a criminal background as alleged by the applicant.”

Justice Evans said it was important to note that “in the absence of that evidence,” it was possible for the jury to assume Dickerson was being dishonest when he stated that the victim’s father did have antecedents.

“As such the absence of that evidence was doubly prejudicial to the applicant in a case which turned on the credibility of the witnesses,” he stated. “...In the circumstances as I have found them I would grant the extension of time within which to appeal; allow that appeal, quash the conviction and sentence and order that the applicant be retried as soon as is practicable before a different Judge of the Supreme Court.”

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

He further contended the judge’s directions on inconsistencies and discrepancies were insufficient which made the jury’s verdicts in his matter unsafe.

On Wednesday, Court of Appeal Justices Jon Isaacs, Maureen Crane-Scott and Roy Jones quashed Demeritte’s sentences and convictions.

They also said they would hear from both Crown and Defence counsel to determine whether would be appropriate to order a retrial for the case.

While the panel said the learned judge was correct to reject Demeritte’s nocase submission, they ruled his directions during the course of the proceedings were “deficient”.

In their judgment, the panel noted: “While the jury were given the customary directions on the various matters which might affect the testimony of witnesses, they were not given the usual direction as to what the judge meant by an inconsistency or a discrepancy; nor were they told that it is not unusual to find inconsistencies or

discrepancies in the evidence and that they may arise for any number of reasons and that they may not necessarily mean that a witness is lying.

“It is evident that the judge’s directions were deficient in that not only were both terms used interchangeably by the judge himself, but neither term was properly explained, and ultimately, the jury was left with little guidance as to how they would begin their task of identifying an inconsistency or a discrepancy in the evidence if such had indeed arisen.”

Justice Crane-Scott, who delivered the judment, said no part of the general direction on inconsistencies and discrepancies suggested that a jury could be instructed to set aside a piece of evidence that they may have doubts on, if one witness said something to cause them to doubt the testimony of another witness.

“Such an instruction would clearly be erroneous in law because it is not for the judge, but for the jury (as judges of the true facts in a criminal

case) to determine for themselves what they make of any inconsistencies or discrepancies they find to have arisen, and to decide what evidence they reject or accept as true,” she stated.

“To the extent that the judge’s direction erroneously infringed that basic principle, it was a misdirection and wrong in law.

Given the many material inconsistencies and discrepancies which arose on the evidence and given the misdirections of law and inadequacies in the judge’s summing-up which we have highlighted, we have serious reservations about the safety of the jury’s verdicts which we find to be unsafe and unsatisfactory.”

Friday, April 23, 2021, PAGE 7

HAYWARD DORSETT, charged with unlawful sex and possession of child pornography. He was brought to court on Wednesday.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

MAN ACCUSED OF SEX 58-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE OVERTURNED WITH 13-YEAR-OLD A MAN, convicted of murdering one man and attempting to kill two others, had his 58-year prison sentence overturned in the appellate court recently.

In April 2016, Deiondre Demeritte was accused of fatally shooting Calvin Thompson. He was also accused of wounding the victim’s cousin and a “lady friend” during the incident.

Two years later, Demeritte was convicted of one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to 58 years for murder and 28 years for each count of attempted murder. All of the sentences were ordered to run concurrently from the date of his conviction.

Within days of being sentenced, the appellant filed a notice of appeal. In his re-amended grounds of appeal that was filed at a later date, he argued the judge’s decision to reject his no-case submission was “erroneous”.

THIEF ADMITS STEALING $672 OF CAR PARTS

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 28-YEAR-OLD man who admitted stealing $672 worth of car parts from a man’s vehicle was yesterday remanded into custody before his sentencing.

Police arrested Derico Bowe after he stole two front headlights out of Brian Newman’s Nissan Note on April 19.

He owned up to the offence during his hearing before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis.

The court was told that Mr Newman had realised that someone had stolen parts from his car that was parked in front of his residence around 6.35am that morning.

After he reported the matter, police acting on information came across the accused and arrested him. He was then taken to the Elizabeth Estates Police Station where he admitted the offence.

The court was told Bowe also took the officers back to the scene and pointed out how he was able to steal the headlights. The prosecution said the parts were never

recovered because Bowe admitted to selling them for a “quick sale”.

During the hearing, Bowe begged for leniency and said he was willing to compensate Mr Newman for the headlights. However, Magistrate Rolle Davis noted the accused was currently on bail for another offence of a similar nature. As a result, he said he would defer Bowe’s case to April 27 for sentencing.

The accused was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional services until then.

COMMUNITY SERVICE OVER FAKE CAR DISC

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 28-YEAR-OLD man who was caught driving a car with a fraudulent inspection disc was yesterday ordered to complete 50 hours of community service.

Phillip Dawkins was arrested after police found a fake Road Traffic Department disc attached to his vehicle on April 20.

He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a forged document

when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt.

During the hearing, he told the magistrate that he had recently bought the car and had no prior knowledge of the disc being fraudulent before he purchased it. He also stated that he only had the vehicle for two months and asked the magistrate to be lenient as he was not aware he was in violation of the road regulations before he was stopped by officers.

In response, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt told Dawkins the simple offence

could have caused him to get a criminal record. She insisted that he had to do due diligence to make sure he knew the individual from whom he had bought the car.

As a result, she granted him a conditional discharge on the agreement he would complete 50 hours of community service at a place that would be determined by the Department of Welfare and Rehabilitative Services. Dawkins was also ordered to regularise the inspection disc on his vehicle.

MAN ACCUSED OF HIRING SOMEONE WITHOUT PERMIT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN man accused of breaching the Immigration Act was charged in Freeport on Wednesday.

Barry Smith, 52, who appeared before Magistrate

LaQuay Laing, was charged with employing someone without a work permit.

According to the prosecution, the accused was found in Freeport carrying out work with an undocumented immigrant who did not have a work permit.

Smith told the judge he

was not aware that the Haitian man did not have a work permit.

He pleaded guilty to the charge. Magistrate Laing convicted Smith and fined him $750 or, in default, he would serve three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A 19-YEAR-OLD male resident of Grand Bahama accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl and possessing a pornographic video of the minor was charged in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Hayward Ray Ricardo Dorsett, of Holmes Rock, appeared before Magistrate LaQuay Laing, charged with unlawful sex and possession of child pornography.

He was represented by Carlson Shurland.

Dorsett was accused of having unlawful sex with the girl between April 13

and April 14 in Freeport.

He is also accused of having child pornography on his cellular phone in relation to sexually explicit videos of the minor.

Dorsett was not required to enter a plea to the charge as the matter will proceed by a voluntary bill of indictment, and the matter will be transferred to the Supreme Court.

Magistrate Laing informed the accused that her court did not have jurisdiction to grant bail, however he can apply to the Supreme Court for pretrial release.

The case was adjourned to July 28. He was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

SLOW BURN

PAGE 8, Friday, April 23, 2021

FIRST New York made headlines a few weeks ago, (as we mentioned in this very column) with the legalisation of medicinal and recreational marijuana (cannabis).

This week on Tuesday, April 20, 4/20 no less, yes I appreciated the irony immensely, I saw Texas follow in New York’s gargantuan footsteps by pushing for legalised medicinal and recreational marijuana.

With nearly a dozen pot policy reform bills currently under consideration in the Texas legislature, Democratic Rep James Talarico took advantage of the 4/20 high holiday on Tuesday as an opportunity to promote his recent move to get the ball rolling on Texas cannabis legalisation.

While the cannabis community was reveling in its celebration of the plant, Talarico turned to social media to share the news of a bill he filed last month.

“Happy 4/20! I’ve filed legislation to legalize cannabis, expunge past marijuana convictions, and use the new tax revenue to fund early childhood education.”

Talarico posted on Twitter this past Tuesday.

THE TRIBUNE

A Comic’s View

By INIGO ‘NAUGHTY’ ZENICAZELAYA

According to the latest polling by the Texas Tribune, 60 percent of Texans support the full legalisation of marijuana, while only a paltry 13 percent said it should be completely illegal.

Talarico also mentioned how persons have been reaping the medicinal benefits of cannabis for centuries, to treat a host of maladies, including chronic pain, depression, and addiction.

Talarico also commented on the commonly held notion that cannabis is a gateway drug to more dangerous substances has been thoroughly debunked.

Posting another strong message on social media via Twitter Talarico said: “In fact, medical research suggests alcohol and tobacco are far more dangerous to our health than cannabis.”

Another portion of Talarico’s message that didn’t go unnoticed by the masses,

was the fact that the legalization of cannabis is part of ending the racist war on drugs that continues to target communities of colour.

Touching on the fact that Black and Latino Americans are four times more likely than White Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession even though both groups consume marijuana at the same rate.

While others in the region continue to drag their feet, we can become the New York or Texas of the Caribbean.

It’s clear Jamaica is playing politics just like us.

If we can get legislation passed in a timely fashion we can have the industry poised to go on line full stream as soon as the world returns to normalcy in 2022 as predicted.

Proper taxation on both medicinal and recreational cannabis would be

a welcome addition to the treasury.

Additionally it would enhance the tourism product and experience.

All while remaining completely in step with growth of legalised cannabis globally.

FACT CHECK, FOR GOD’S SAKE

I have been saying for the longest we may be the most gullible nation on the planet.

We only need to look to social media for the various “fake news” stories that are passed off as ‘truth’ for proof.

Recently we’ve seen alleged philandering MPs, to a quartet of rogue police officers allegedly committing a cache of heinous offences, to missing persons who aren’t really missing, to warring political third parties and the list goes on and on.

Shared continuously

by irresponsible persons looking for “likes” and “shares” on social media platforms, these “stories” have gained a life of their own and unfortunately take the toll on a persons reputation long before anyone decides to do an ounce of fact checking.

Another sterling example of this locally was the viral sharing of a Facebook post claiming that Netflix has removed all Christian movies, shows and specials from its streaming service.

One user alleged with authority that the all “Christian & Biblical content” had begun being cancelled as of March 30.

A tiny bit of “fact checking” by yours truly revealed that the story originated in 2016.

Yes, in 2016 Netflix actually issued a statement to USA TODAY confirming that it is not removing Christian movies from its streaming service.

The claim that Netflix is removing all Christian

content originated from an article based purely in satire.

“Netflix to remove all Christian content after complaints from Muslims” published March 29, 2016, on the site News Thump.

On the top of News Thump’s site reads “UK Spoof News and Satire.”

Further disclaiming in its about section that the site aims to mock absolutely everyone, eventually.

There are penalties for this type of foolish behaviour on social media, whether in good fun or not, there is far too much of it and it needs to be stopped.

Law suits in the form of libel, slander and defamation of character, and I welcome the enforcement of such penalties by the Cyber Crimes Unit of the RBPF. Moving forward let’s READ AND RESEARCH BAHAMAS or face the consequences.

ACM CONFERENCE TOMORROW THE Anglican Church Men (ACM) of the Diocese of The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands will come together virtually for the 47th Conference and 2021 Annual General Meeting tomorrow, from 9am.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Your faith is a gift from God. Use It!” The scripture verse for this conference is Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved by faith. This is not your own doing. It is a gift from God.” Participation includes registrants from both countries, and participation expected by member of the Anglican Church Men of the West Indies.

Featured speakers include Casey Bethel of Georgia, and Dr Hilgrove Lightbourne from the Ministry of Health. The day will start with prayers Fr Dwight Rolle (rector at St Ambrose Church).

The conference began with the Theophilus Glinton Pre-Conference Breakfast on April 17. A special guest, Kevin Bonnet from Guyana, spoke about IVF, infertility and the social and psychological pressures created when there are difficulties conceiving a child.

Anchoring the event was Deacon Kristopher Higgs (assigned to St Barnabas) on how we are called to be more than conquerors as men.

A panel included past branch president from Holy Cross CJ McKenzie with past council presidents Kevin Ryan, Everette Mackey and Dwight Gibson.

The breakfast paid tribute to Theophilus Glinton who died earlier this year, while serving as chaplain of the ACM. The conference will also provide an opportunity for the annual general meeting and the election of officers.

For more information on the conference, visit the Anglican Church Men’s Facebook Page.

TEMPLE CHRISTIAN CLARIFIES TWO-DAY CLOSURE

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net AN administrator at Temple Christian School has clarified that the school has not returned to a virtual learning method, as the institution has been doing so for some time, nor is its two-day closure due to COVID-19 cases.

The school sent out a notice on Wednesday advising parents of COVID-19 cases in the families of some students and one case in the faculty. The school is closing today and Monday, but not due to the virus but instead due to an advisory from Bahamas Power and Light which affects the elementary school campus.

Samuel Rutherford, administrator at Temple Christian School, sought to clarify an earlier report on the school’s closure, explaining that it is due to a scheduled disruption in power.

He said, “We sent out two letters on the first day. The first one which is COVID related, whereas we would have had a switch in the classes that came next week, we are going to allow the ones that are presently home to remain home for the additional week and then the classes that are on campus this week they will stay on campus next week.

“That is to address that COVID-19 concern. However, there is a closure due to BPL, which we have no control over, and that is just

for Friday and Monday, but it only affects the elementary campus, not the whole school. BPL called us and provided documentation that they’re doing some fibre optics that needs to be done and that they needed two days.

“They really wanted to do it today (Thursday) and we said no way these parents have children that need to be accounted for etcetera, etcetera, so they agreed to do it starting tomorrow, (Friday).”

Even though Temple Christian does not have a generator, the absence of energy from BPL will not hamper learning as for the two days off campus, Temple Christian’s students will learn via virtual platforms.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 23, 2021, PAGE 9

US football owners badly misread fan culture in England

By ROBERT BUTLER, Director of the Centre for Sports Economics and Law, University College Cork BARELY two days after it was unveiled, the European Super League (ESL) is dead in the water. All six of the English clubs who made up the 12 founding members of the proposed breakaway competition pulled out, following loud opposition from everyone from the FA to UEFA to the UK government to fans.

With the owners now hastily apologising and trying to make amends, the ESL founder and Juventus chairman, Andrea Agnelli, has conceded defeat.

There is much discussion about what exactly the owners of these 12 clubs were hoping to achieve with their ESL announcement, but it surely wasn’t this debacle. One aspect of this story that is particularly noticeable is that American owners figured heavily in the English end of the breakaway, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United all controlled from the US. While England and the US have a lot in common, the design and administration of field sports is not one of them. This very short-lived super league has demonstrated just how big these differences are.

PLACE POWER

The franchise model of the US is as much about cooperation off the field as it is competition on it. Things that would be unconscionable in England are commonplace in the US. Relocation is probably the best example.

Beginning in 1936, the National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams have also been called the Cleveland Rams and St Louis Rams. Most recently, the NFL’s Oakland Raiders have shifted to Las Vegas

(they also had a stint in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s).

And it doesn’t end with American football. In baseball, the Salt Lake City Trappers were forced to move several hours away to Pocatello, Idaho in 1993 and then Ogden, northern Utah in 1994. This was because the Portland Beavers, who played in a superior league, did a deal with Salt Lake City officials to move to the city and use the Trappers’ baseball park.

The Beavers renamed as The Salt Lake City Buzz, and following several more name changes, they are now known as the Salt Lake City Bees.

English football fans do not tolerate this kind of thing. In June 2012 the Malaysian owners of Cardiff City announced that the club would be changing from their traditional blue jerseys to a new red kit, emblazoned with a dragon rather than the bluebird that had first appeared in the 1960s.

Outrage immediately ensued from the supporters. The blue of Cardiff, first worn around 1908, was not for changing. A statement issued by the club at the time, focusing on broadening the club’s appeal to “international markets” and “major and significant” investment, did nothing to appease the fans. The red jersey had to go.

Following two and a half years of pressure from fans, Cardiff City announced on January 9 2015 that the “club will wear a blue home kit and red away kit next season (2015/16)”. The crest was also going to be redesigned to feature the traditional bluebird. So much for Welsh dragons.

Around the same time, Hull City supporters entered a protracted battle with the Allam family, which owns the football club. Hull’s chairman, Assem Allam, a

‘The idea that six clubs, all members of the oldest set of interconnected leagues in the world, could simply walk away from nearly 140 years of tradition, league design and competitive behaviour as well as unravel 70 years of European competition by moving to a system with no promotion or relegation, was never going to work.’

British-Egyptian industrialist, was seeking to change the name to Hull Tigers.

After more than two years of protests and disagreement, a vote confirmed that the change had been resisted. The fans had won again.

What both owners apparently failed to appreciate were the historical roots of these clubs, stretching back more than 100 years.

Supporters have deep emotional attachments to club colours or names that are intertwined with customs, habits and ways of behaving.

WHY THE ESL GOT RELEGATED

The owners of England’s big six clubs seem to have made a similar mistake on a massive scale. The idea that six clubs, all members of the oldest set of interconnected leagues in the world, could simply walk away from nearly 140 years of tradition, league design and competitive behaviour as well as unravel 70 years of European competition by moving to a system with no promotion or relegation, was never going to work.

The sanctity of promotion and relegation is what sets European football apart from most American team sports. A super league in which the biggest teams automatically took part would have had devastating consequences for domestic leagues: weakened teams, meaningless fixtures, reduced attendance demand – the list goes

on.

While the fallout from this is yet to be known, almost everyone agrees that European football needs to change to reflect the modern game. There are too many international commitments for players, and the group stages of the Champions League have become largely uncompetitive. This is down to both the seeding of the draw

by UEFA and the large number of top clubs in the

competition, many of whom appear every year, since three or four clubs from each league qualify each season.

However, the new Champions League system that is due to begin in 2024-25 looks like a move even further in this direction. It will expand the competition in a way that will make it possible for two or three more big clubs to qualify even if they don’t finish in the top four places in their domestic league the previous season (or win the previous year’s Champions League or Europa League).

It means almost twice as many European matches each year and moves closer to a system in which the biggest clubs are always guaranteed to qualify – though clearly not guaranteed enough from the perspective of

the breakaway 12. It is not clear whether they these teams will now accept this system or insist on further negotiations with UEFA. Whether the collapse of the ESL could now change the direction of travel to reduce the dominance of the top clubs in this system is an interesting question.

The fabric of the game and the wishes of supporters throughout Europe should be protected, though there is not much sign of opposition to the Champions League reforms.

At any rate, UEFA and the breakaway clubs are co-dependent and will inevitably have to come back together. The European Super League was not the answer but it may still act as the catalyst for a way forward.

• Originally published on theconversation.com

PAGE 10, Friday, April 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

A united front? World leaders pledge cooperation on climate WASHINGTON Associated Press THE leaders of Russia and China put aside their raw-worded disputes with US President Joe Biden yesterday long enough to pledge international cooperation on cutting climate-wrecking coal and petroleum emissions in a livestreamed summit showcasing America’s return to the fight against global warming.

Neither Vladimir Putin nor Xi Jinping immediately followed the United States and some of its developed allies in making specific new pledges to reduce damaging fossil fuel pollution during the first day of the two-day US-hosted summit. But climate advocates hoped the high-profile — if glitchridden — virtual gathering would kickstart new action by major polluters, paving the way for a November UN meeting in Glasgow critical to drastically slowing climate change over the coming decade.

The entire world faces “a moment of peril” but also “a moment of opportunity,” Biden declared, speaking from a TV-style chromeblue set for the virtual summit of 40 world leaders.

Participants appeared one after the other onscreen for what appeared to be a mix of live and recorded addresses.

“The signs are

unmistakable,” Biden said.

“The science is undeniable.

The cost of inaction keeps mounting.”

Biden’s new US commitment, timed to the summit, would cut America’s fossil fuel emissions as much as 52 percent by 2030. It comes after four years of international withdrawal from the issue under President Donald Trump, who mocked the science of climate change and pulled the US out of the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord.

Biden’s administration this week is sketching out a vision of a prosperous, clean-energy United States where factories churn out cutting-edge batteries and electric cars for export, line workers re-lay an efficient national electrical grid and crews cap abandoned oil and gas rigs and coal mines.

But Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell dismissed the administration’s plans as costly and ineffective.

“This is quite the one-two punch,” McConnell said in a Senate speech Thursday.

“Toothless requests of our foreign adversaries... and maximum pain for American citizens.”

At the summit, Japan announced its own new 46 percent emissions reduction target and South Korea said it would stop public financing of new coal-fired power plants, potentially an important step toward

persuading China and other coal-reliant nations to curb building and funding of new ones as well.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, one of the leaders shown watching summit proceedings in the coronavirus pandemic’s familiar Brady Bunch-style multibox conference screen, said his nation would up its fossil fuel pollution cuts from 30 percent to at least 40 percent.

Travel precautions under the pandemic compelled the summit to play out on livestream, limiting opportunities for spontaneous interaction and negotiation. Its opening hours were sometimes marked by electronic echoes, random beeps and off-screen voices.

But the summit also marshaled an impressive display of the world’s most powerful leaders speaking on the single cause of climate change.

China’s Xi, whose country is the world’s biggest emissions culprit, followed by the United States, spoke first among the other global figures. He made no reference to disputes over territorial claims, trade and other matters that had made it uncertain until Wednesday that he would even take part in the US summit. And he said China would work with America in cutting emissions.

“To protect the environment is to protect

productivity, and to boost the environment is to boost productivity. It’s as simple as that,” Xi said.

Putin and his government have been irate over Biden’s characterisation of him as a “killer” for Russia’s aggressive moves against its opponents, and he is under pressure this week over the declining health of jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny. But he made no mention of those disputes in his own climate remarks.

“Russia is genuinely interested in galvanizing international cooperation so as to look further for effective solutions to climate change as well as to all other vital challenges,” Putin said. Russia by some measures is the world’s fourth-biggest emitter of climate-damaging fossil fuel fumes.

Climate efforts in recent years have proved a forum where even rival world leaders want to be seen as putting aside disputes to serve as international statesmen and women, even though the cumulative output of fossil fuel emissions is still hurtling the Earth toward disastrous temperature rises.

The pandemic made gathering world leaders for the climate summit too risky. So Biden’s staff built a small set in the East Room that looked like it was taken from a daytime talk show.

Biden and Vice President

Kamala Harris joined Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House climate envoy John Kerry at a horseshoe-shaped table set up around a giant potted plant to watch fellow leaders’ speeches.

The format meant a cavalcade of short speeches by world leaders, some scripted, some not. “This is not bunny-hugging,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of the climate efforts. “This is about growth and jobs.”

The Biden administration’s pledge would require by far the most ambitious US climate effort ever, nearly doubling the reductions that the Obama administration had committed to in the Paris climate accord.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was one of many allies welcoming the US return after Trump..

“I’m delighted to see that the United States is back, is back to work together with us in climate politics,” Merkel declared in her virtual appearance. “Because there can be no doubt about the world needing your contribution if we really want to fulfill our ambitious goals.”

Pope Francis contributed a video from the Vatican, saying, “I wish you success in this beautiful decision to meet, walk together going forward and I am with you all the way.”

The new urgency comes as scientists say that climate change caused by coal plants, car engines and other fossil fuel use is worsening droughts, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters and that humans are running out of time to stave off catastrophic extremes of global warming.

Leaders of smaller states and island nations buffeted by rising seas and worsening hurricanes appealed for aid and fast emissions cuts from world powers.

“We are the least contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, but the most affected by climate change,” said Gaston Alfonso Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda. He called for debt relief and more international assistance to recover from storms and the pandemic to prevent a flow of climate refugees. His people he said, are “teetering on the edge of despair”.

Long-time climate policy experts, no strangers to climate summits with solemn pledges, watched some speeches with skepticism.

After Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro promised an end to clearcutting in the Amazon, Dan Wilkinson of Human Rights Watch’s environmental programmes noted, “It is going to be hard for anyone to take it seriously until they actually start taking steps.”

...BUT THE OCEANS ARE STILL FILLING UP WITH PLASTIC

HONOLULU Associated Press A CREW returned from the northernmost islands in the Hawaiian archipelago this week with a boatload of marine plastic and abandoned fishing nets that threaten to entangle endangered Hawaiian monk seals and other animals on the uninhabited beaches stretching more than 1,300 miles north of Honolulu.

The clean-up effort in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument lasted three weeks and the crew picked up more than 47 tons (43 metric tons) of “ghost nets” and other marine plastics such as buoys, crates, bottle caps and cigarette lighters from the shores of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The monument, the largest protected marine reserve in the US and one of the largest in the world, is in the northern Pacific Ocean and surrounded by what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — a huge

gyre of floating plastic and other debris that circulates in ocean currents. The islands act like a comb that gather debris on its otherwise pristine beaches.

The ecosystem in the monument is diverse, unique and one of the most intact marine habitats on Earth. But the beaches are littered with plastic and nets that ensnare endangered Hawaiian monk seals — of which there are only about 1,400 left in the world — and green turtles, among other wildlife.

The crew removed line from a monk seal on the expedition’s first day.

With virtually no predators, the islands are a haven for many species of seabirds, and Midway Atoll is home to the largest colony of albatross in the world. There, the land is littered with carcasses of birds that have ingested plastics and died.

The cleanup was organised by the nonprofit Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project, which partners with federal agencies including

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Kevin O’Brien, president of the new organisation and a former NOAA employee, said the work is expensive but important.

“Talking to some of these folks that are up there for the monk seal camps every summer, they’ll talk about specific nets that have been there for several years,” O’Brien said. “So a trip like this where we’re able to yank pretty much everything we see can have an impact.”

The latest expedition focused on the shorelines of the various atolls, and a trip later this year will remove nets from the reefs that surround the islands.

A NOAA study estimated that the shores of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands accumulate about 57 tons (52 metric tons) of debris each year. An analysis of the upcoming reef removal is expected to estimate the total amount of debris that gathers on

both the beaches and the critical reef ecosystems that surround them, giving researchers a more complete view of the problem.

The crew of 12, which included people from the marine debris project, federal agencies, the state of Hawaii and a local university, removed debris from Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, Midway Atoll, French Frigate Shoals, and Kure Atoll.

Matt Saunter, president of the Kure Atoll Conservancy, was among those working on the expedition. He’s spent more than a decade doing monthslong field work on Kure Atoll. He rode out the first nine months of the coronavirus pandemic isolated there with a small crew and returned in November to a new world.

He said being back on his “home away from home” in a new role was a unique experience.

“I definitely always wanted to remain involved with work being done in the monument, but I thought maybe I

could try it at a different capacity,” Saunter said.

“We basically visited all the different islands in a short time frame, so I got to see all the different wildlife and how they nest differently and the different types of vegetation this time of the year, and the different state that the beaches are in.”

While on Kure, which is managed by the state of Hawaii and has a yearround team of workers, the crew dropped off new staff and picked up one to return home. They also resupplied the remote field camp.

The Kure field crews had about 13 tons (12 metric tons) of debris collected over three years, and it was ready to be picked up when the ship arrived.

The marine monument is also a valued Native Hawaiian cultural site, and Hawaiian ceremonies were conducted each day of the trip. The cultural protocols honor the islands and seek permission to work in this rarely visited part of the world.

“Papahanaumokuakea is one of the most amazing

landscapes on Earth, central to many Native Hawaiian narratives — a place where nature and culture are one,” said Athline Clark, NOAA’s superintendent for the marine monument.

“It sustains the most vulnerable Hawaiian wildlife species, and nearly all of its habitat is used by seabirds, turtles and seals for critical nesting, burrowing, basking and pupping.”

The monument is also home to the famed World War II Battle of Midway, where researchers recently found sunken Japanese warships that were lost in the fight.

Most of the debris that was brought back will be incinerated and turned into electricity that powers homes and businesses on Oahu.

Some of the gear will be set aside for student recycling projects, and a number of the fishing nets will be taken to Hawaii Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research for a study that’s trying to identify the sources of this fishing gear.

PAGE 18, Friday, April 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ENRICO ZOILO RIO of P.O. Box N-1272, Wild Tamarind Cay, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of April, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 23, 2021, PAGE 19

Stocks end lower after report on Biden’s tax proposal Associated Press A REPORT that President Biden, pictured, will propose a hefty tax increase on the gains wealthy individuals reap from investments triggered a stock market selloff yesterday afternoon that left indexes broadly lower.

Investors who earn $1m or more would have to pay a 39.6% tax rate on any capital gains, nearly double the current rate for Americans in that income bracket, according to the report by Bloomberg. A separate surtax on investment income could boost the overall federal tax rate for wealthy investors as high as 43.3%, the report said, citing unnamed people familiar with the proposal.

The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, wiping out an early gain.

The benchmark index gave up nearly all of its gain from the day before, leaving it on track for its first weekly loss in five weeks.

The selling was widespread, with every sector in the S&P 500 closing lower.

Technology stocks, banks and companies that rely on consumer spending, accounted for much of the skid. Treasury yields held mostly steady.

“The things that the market is going to react to are the unknowns,” said Andrew Mies, chief investment officer of 6Meridian.

“The knowns are the economy is good and improving, earnings are good and vaccinations are going pretty well in the United States. The things the market doesn’t know are tax policy, both at the corporate and individual level, and what the Fed is going to do in the next 12 to 18 months.”

The S&P 500 lost 38.44 points to 4,134.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 321.41 points, or 0.9%, to 33,815.90. The Nasdaq slid 131.81 points, or 0.9%, to 13,818.41.

The S&P 500, which set a record high on Friday, started the week with a two-day slide before closing higher on Wednesday. It’s still down 1.2% for the week.

Smaller company stocks also lost ground. The Russell 2000 index gave up 7.01 points, or 0.3%, to 2,232.61.

Stocks have rallied in recent weeks amid a string of encouraging reports on hiring, retail sales and other economic data. COVID-19 vaccinations and massive support from the US government and Federal Reserve are fueling expectations for solid corporate profit growth as more businesses reopen after being forced to close or operate on a limited basis due to the pandemic.

The last round of stimulus from the government helped lift retail sales, and investors now have to weigh other proposals in Washington, including possible changes to tax laws and a proposed

$2.3tn infrastructure package that Biden has called for spending over eight years.

Washington aside, investors are focusing on earnings as the bulk of companies in the S&P 500 spend the next few weeks reporting their financial results. Wall Street is hoping to get a better sense of just how much companies in various sectors are benefiting from the economic recovery. They are also listening for clues on prospects for the recovery to continue as vaccine distribution rolls on and people try to return to some semblance of normal.

AT&T rose 4.2% after reporting results that beat expectations, helped by higher wireless phone charges as well as the success of its streaming service HBOMax. Equifax jumped 14.9% after also reporting strong results.

Union Pacific fell 2.4% after the railroad operator reported a 9% drop in profit.

The broader market has had a choppy week of ups and downs as Wall Street digests earnings and tries to gauge how much and how quickly the US and global economy will recover through 2021.

“It’s not a clear time in the market,” said Jay Hatfield, CEO and portfolio manager at Infrastructure Capital Advisors. “You’re in a trading range until you get some more clarity on the global recovery.”

The US is showing solid signs of recovery, while Europe and other parts of the world lag behind. That will likely change as soon as more vaccines are distributed internationally, Hatfield said.

Credit Suisse dropped 3.6% after the Swiss bank announced it would issue more stock to help it recover from the losses it suffered because of the implosion of a hedge fund earlier this year.

Credit Suisse had been a primary backer of Archegos Capital Management, which collapsed last month after several of its bets went sour.

Investors got a bit of good news on the economy when the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing for unemployment fell again last week. Unemployment claims were 547,000, the lowest point since the pandemic struck and an encouraging sign that layoffs are slowing.

The yield on the tenyear Treasury slipped to 1.55% from 1.56% late on Wednesday.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that LEONORA ZOILO RIO of P.O. Box N-1272, Wild Tamarind Cay, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of April, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ARTEMIO DUENOG RIO of P.O. Box N-1272, Wild Tamarind Cay, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of April, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, MONOAH ONIAS WALKINE, of Nassau Village, Alexander Blvd, P.O. Box CB-11661 New Providence, The Bahamas, intend to change my name to MANOAH ONIAS WALKINE. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, VICTOR DAMES, of Hillside Park, Jean Street, New Providence, The Bahamas, intend to change my name to VICTOR IANCELOT BULLARD. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

THURSDAY, 22 APRIL 2021

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:

CLOSE

CHANGE

1953.06

5.06

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

0.26 -139.40

-6.66

(242) 323-2330 (242) 323-2320

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 5.15 33.05 1.50 2.90 1.89 6.00 6.96 3.60 6.01 4.05 6.16 12.00 2.75 7.00 10.71 9.00 14.60 4.25 8.97 16.00

52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 1.46 1.62 1.50 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.25 2.75 5.00 9.75 2.10 4.90 9.50 8.00 13.00 3.42 8.15 15.20

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Benchmark Bahamas First Holdings Limited Bank of Bahamas Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Cable Bahamas Commonwealth Brewery Commonwealth Bank Colina Holdings CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Bahamas Limited Focol Finco J. S. Johnson

SYMBOL AML APD BBL BFH BOB BPF BWL CAB CBB CBL CHL CIB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FCL FIN JSJ

LAST CLOSE 5.00 32.12 1.46 2.90 1.59 5.50 6.96 3.25 4.30 2.90 5.67 9.75 2.57 7.00 11.34 9.00 14.00 3.99 8.35 15.50

CLOSE 5.00 32.12 1.50 2.90 1.59 5.50 6.96 3.53 4.30 2.90 5.67 9.75 2.52 7.00 11.29 9.00 14.00 3.99 8.35 15.50

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGRS780222 BSBGRS760240 BSBGRS870288

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.65 100.00 100.86

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.65 100.00 100.86

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Bahamas First Holdings Preference Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Bahamas Class A Focol Class B

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.00 100.50 100.66

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.97 100.66

SECURITY Fidelity Bank (Note 22 Series B+) Bahamas First Holdings Limited

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BGRS FL BSBGRS780222 BGRS FL BSBGRS760240 BGRS FL BSBGR870288

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.28 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (0.05) 0.00 (0.05) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME 2,000 1,000

175 3,915

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 0.000 0.110 0.070 1.760 0.369 -0.438 0.140 0.184 0.449 0.722 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.203 0.939 0.631 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

VOLUME

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.020 0.030 0.000 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.000 0.120 0.220 0.720 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.120 0.200 0.610 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 20.9 34.5 N/M N/M N/M N/M 18.9 -8.1 30.7 15.8 12.6 13.5 24.7 15.0 17.5 12.4 17.2 19.7 8.9 24.6

YIELD 3.40% 3.92% 1.33% 1.03% 0.00% 0.00% 3.74% 0.00% 0.00% 4.14% 3.88% 7.38% 17.22% 0.86% 2.91% 2.67% 3.86% 3.01% 2.40% 3.94%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

MATURITY

6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 4.44% 4.50% 4.33%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 22-Sep-2022 18-Jan-2024 26-Apr-2028

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.40 4.44 2.15 201.90 184.85 1.69 1.83 1.78 1.24 8.49 10.26 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.81 10.00 10.20 13.79

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.67 1.73 1.75 1.03 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Financial Conservative Fund Leno Financial Aggressive Fund Leno Financial Balanced Fund Leno Financial Global Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.40 4.44 2.15 201.90 184.85 1.69 1.75 1.75 1.03 8.49 10.03 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.05 N/A 10.20 13.79

YTD% 12 MTH% 0.38% 4.56% 0.04% 1.37% 0.20% 2.56% 3.47% 3.47% 10.86% 10.86% 0.72% 0.80% -2.20% -1.87% -0.37% 0.01% -2.48% -11.52% 1.76% 1.76% -1.97% -1.97% 4.91% 4.91% 5.28% 15.75% 0.05% 3.96% -0.35% -6.34% N/A N/A 8.60% 8.60% 11.90% 11.90%

NAV Date

31-Jan-2021 31-Jan-2021 29-Jan-2021 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Mar-2021 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020

MARKET TERMS

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks

Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity

52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks

Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity

Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume

Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price

Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume

Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week

Change - Change in closing price from day to day

EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths

Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today

NAV - Net Asset Value

DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months

N/M - Not Meaningful

P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | CAROLISLE 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

PAGE 20, Friday, April 23, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Ex-minister: ‘Use carrots, not stick’ over COVID jabs FROM PAGE 24 “probably not going as well as we would like” given that the country remains months away from achieving the so-called “herd immunity” threshold of having 85 percent of its population inoculated.

While The Bahamas needs thousands more vaccine doses beyond the 20,000 received recently from India, and the $100,000-plus it is acquiring through the COVAX facility, Dr Sands said obtaining the required volume was down to conditions “beyond our control” as export bans and hoarding by wealthier countries impact this nation and countless others.

“It’s going as fast as it can given the limitations and circumstances,” Dr Sands said of The Bahamas’ vaccination roll-out, “but we need many, many more doses of vaccine, and we don’t have any knowledge of when we’re going to get them.

“In part from

circumstances beyond our control, it’s not going as well as we’d probably like if we’re going to reach 85 percent completely vaccinated in a few months. With the number of doses we have it’s been a very smooth rollout, and the logistics have been good. What’s missing is additional doses.”

The Bahamas has already received its first 33,000-dose tranche from the COVAX initiative to go with the 20,000 provided by India, and government officials anticipate receiving a similar-sized batch before May’s end. However, Dr Sands added: “That doesn’t really allow us to vaccinate 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 a day.

“There also remains considerable vaccination hesitation. It’s a significant concern everywhere, but it’s one best dealt with by education, dialogue and respectful exchanges but certainly not coercion and certainly not mandating vaccines for people afraid or hesitant.

“It’s better to use the

carrot than the stick clearly.

That’s the goal. Give some carrots to people who might say they’re a little bit reluctant.” Dr Hubert Minnis sought to use such “carrots”, or incentives, to encourage Bahamians to take the COVID-19 vaccine during his House of Assembly presentation on Wednesday.

Detailing the benefits that will accrue to fully vaccinated (those who have taken two doses) Bahamians, apart from being able to travel around the country without having to take a COVID-19 PCR test, the Prime Minister said: “Once individuals are fully vaccinated, individuals can participate in a closed environment, once all within that closed environment are fully vaccinated.

“The mask would not be necessary and they can participate within that environment. That means indoor dining can resume for those individuals who are completely vaccinated. It also means from

a cultural perspective that those like myself who participate in Junkanoo, once we are all vaccinated, we can work within the Junkanoo shacks among us all vaccinated individuals.

“This is important because it allows within an enclosed restaurant or wedding facility, once all are vaccinated, it also means that the cultural events that we had yesterday where individuals in restaurants and weddings would have Junkanoo rushing through the environment, that can occur once all, including the Junkanooers, are vaccinated and therefore we can commence some form of normal life.”

Much focus has been placed over the past week on whether it should be mandatory for Bahamian workers to become vaccinated if they are to continue in their present jobs and positions.

The controversy was sparked by Sushi Rokkan, an Old Fort Bay Town Centre restaurant owned by Michael Scott

QC and his wife, informing its 40-strong workforce that valid medical grounds were the only acceptable reason for not taking the vaccine.

Employees who refused to do so for other reasons could be reassigned to other roles or lose their jobs entirely, workers were told.

This resulted in Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, saying that forcing Bahamian workers to take the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of their continued employment would “take us back to 1942” and the Burma Road riots. He also likened the move to the industrial conditions that produced the 1958 general strike.

Mr Ferguson said: “The question of the vaccine: I heard the chairman of the Hotel Corporation, a government entity, made an announcement that he is going to make it a requirement for persons who want to continue to work....... it’s mandatory for them to take the vaccine. I just want to

go on the record by stating categorically that is an illegal act.....

“No one... The constitution of The Bahamas does not permit for anyone to give that instruction, and have that kind of influence, with the physical situation of the individual. That’s a no-no. Disregard that because it doesn’t make sense.

“That will take us back to 1942, when the employer could tell you what to do, when to do it and how to do it no matter what the situation is. We are not going to go back to that, nor are we going back to 1958. We cannot go back to 1942 or pre-1942. We just cannot go back to 1958.”

Dr Minnis said earlier this week that The Bahamas is expected to receive 33,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine before the end of May through the World Health Organisation’s/Pan American Health Organisation’s COVAX facility. He said 22,000 vaccines have been administered to date.

Hotelier in warning: Vaccination LEGALISATION BIDS BOOST OUTLOOK rates a ‘competitive tool’ FOR US CANNABIS INDUSTRY FROM PAGE 24

& Caicos and further south in the Caribbean where they are much further ahead in vaccinating the general population but particularly the front-line and hospitality staff, that’s becoming a big competitive thing.

“The Maldives is supposed to be sending out a press release saying 70 percent of their hospitality staff have been vaccinated, and they and Alaska are giving the vaccine to visitors. I think what is happening is that the vaccination rate is becoming a competitive tool,” Mr Alnebeck said.

“We’ve been pre-occupied with the debate on whether it is legal to make vaccination mandatory or not. We should focus on getting as many people vaccinated as we can. Once you have to be vaccinated to go to the Fish Fry it’s an easy choice, isn’t it? Or if you don’t have to be home by 11pm because you’re vaccinated it’s an easy decision.”

Mr Alnebeck voiced optimism that The Bahamas can catch up even though its present vaccination rate is lagging many of its peers.

“There is no question we are behind, but this is a marathon, not a sprint,” he added. “There is always an opportunity to catch up, and a lot of people hesitant to get the vaccine, when they realise they can travel freely in The Bahamas, that will drive

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the numbers up.

“Then it’s up to the Government to purchase enough so we don’t get into the position of there being more people wanting to get vaccinated than there are vaccines. The more we can encourage our population, and particularly people working in the hospitality industry and front-line workers, to get vaccinated, the quicker we can get those numbers up the more attractive we’ll be for travellers and we’ll be safer for ourselves.”

Mr Alnebeck’s comments echo those of Kerry Fountain, the Out Islands Promotion Board’s executive director, who told Tribune Business earlier this week that Bahamians are endangering their jobs, incomes and families through resistance to taking the COVID-19 vaccine.

Warning that this improved resort performance could be undermined by the latest surge in COVID-19 infections in The Bahamas, Mr Fountain reiterated that the pace and strength of the tourism industry’s rebound - and that of the wider economy - remains dependent on keeping case numbers “under control” as well as the continued vaccine rollour here and in major tourism source markets.

“We have the benefit that the positive trajectory will continue as long as we can keep the COVID-19 pandemic under control,” he told this newspaper. “We know we have challenges because of how the US is experiencing a fourth surge, and we in The Bahamas are experiencing a third surge.

“It’s very important that the distribution of the vaccine, and the pace at which the distribution is done in the US and in The Bahamas, it’s very important those persons who have access to the vaccine step up to the plate and get it done.

“I see on the news and in the dailies [newspapers] there’s talk of some companies wanting to make it mandatory for workers to get the vaccine, and I see they are facing some headwinds from a legal perspective.

“What I’m seeing from here [in the US] and reading, the state of Alaska, if you visit their destination they state they will be providing you with the vaccine as a visitor regardless of whether you are a visitor.

While in The Bahamas we are debating whether or not to take the vaccine, their destination is giving out the vaccine because it gives them a competitive advantage,” Mr Fountain added.

“On the one hand we have to ask ourselves: Do we want to be legal, or do we want to take the vaccine as a way of bringing income to the family household? Do we continue to say we don’t want to take the vaccine because it’s my legal right but, at the same time, you’re not giving your place of employment a competitive advantage?

“If we don’t have a competitive advantage, and the hotels, restaurants and tour vendors are not making money, they’re going to close shop. We have to decide where we want to be. Do we want to live to the same standard, or do we want to go back on the employment [unemployment] line.”

LOS ANGELES Associated Press

UNCLE Sam gave marijuana lovers more reason to celebrate this week as a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives passed a bill that would make it easier for cannabis companies to do business in states where sales are legal.

The vote on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act took place a day before April 20 — or 4/20 — the unofficial holiday that commemorates all things marijuana.

The cannabis industry is making strides in other ways as well. Since the November elections, several states, most recently New Mexico and Virginia, have taken steps to legalise marijuana sales for adult recreational use. Others, including New York, New Jersey and Arizona, have also gone that route. And more states are expected to follow suit.

“From a policy perspective, state by state, municipality by municipality, there’s more political will to legalize, which is going to help bring on more markets and add to the sales we have,” said Jason Wilson, banking and cannabis expert at exchange-traded funds provider ETFMG. The flurry of states legalizing cannabis prompted analysts at Cowen to update their forecast for the US recreational cannabis market to $41bn by 2025, an increase of $1bn from Cowen’s previous forecast.

Including illicit and medical marijuana sales, analysts expect the total market for

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ANDRÉ JUNIOR PRÉDÉLUS, of Nassau East South, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 23rd day of April 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that BRITTENEY ASHANTY JOSEPH, of Key West Street, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 23rd day of April 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that TASHANA VICTORIA MYLES, of Doris Johnson Estates, Carmichael Road, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of April 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that JAMES SERVEUS, of Pinedale Wulff Road, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of April 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

cannabis in the U.S. will climb to $80bn by 2025 from a projected $65bn this year.

Another bright spot for the industry: robust demand. Adult recreational marijuana sales climbed sharply in the first three months of this year in California, Massachusetts, Illinois and a few other states that have been allowing such sales for at least a year.

Sales in California, the nation’s biggest legal cannabis market, jumped 36.4% to $1.2bn in the first quarter versus a year earlier, according to industry tracker Headset. In Michigan, sales skyrocketed almost fivefold to $232.07m, while Colorado’s sales more than doubled to $439.7m.

All told, 16 states allow marijuana sales to adults now. Some of the recent converts, including New Mexico and New York, are not expected to begin allowing sales until next year.

All but a few states already

allow some form of access for medical use.

Cowen’s analysts expect that Connecticut and Rhode Island will be next to legalise adult-use cannabis.

The industry is eager for changes to federal laws that limit cannabis companies’ access to banking and other services. Progress at the federal level would also help drive cannabis stocks higher, said Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments.

“The environment has been ripe ever since the last election, but the catalyzing move for bigger jumps in stock prices is going to be total federal approval,” Bassuk said.

Cannabis stocks surged last fall after voters in New Jersey, Arizona and three other states cleared the way for expanding legal sales of marijuana. Medical and adult-use cannabis sales combined jumped 58% in the US last year to about $19.2bn, according to Cowen.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, FLORENCE FULLERTON ROKER of Murphy Town, Abaco, The Bahamas. Parent of RAMIYAH GABRIELLE CYNTHIA FULLERTON A minor intend to change my child’s name to RAMIYAH GABRIELLE CYNTHIA O’BRIEN If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that TRENAE SIMEON, of Russell Town, Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 16th day of April 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

$28m ‘sham loans’ judgment upheld against Sky’s Butler FROM PAGE 24 “My client is elated, and he’s grateful for the excellent and succinct judgment of the registrar. He hopes at last that justice will be served.

“Subject to their [Captain Butler’s] right of appeal, the next steps will be to get directions to proceed to an assessment of damages” against Mr Kaiser and his two companies, Alpha Aviation and Advanced Aviation. It is at this stage that the former Sky Bahamas financier will place all evidence, including accounting and other technical issues, before the court in a bid to be awarded due compensation.

Michael Horton, the attorney for Captain Butler and Sky Bahamas, indicated to this newspaper there will likely be an appeal but did not confirm this as he has yet to discuss the deputy registrar’s verdict with his client.

“I’ve got to take Mr Butler’s instructions on that.

The matter is still afoot,” he said. “We’re not finished with the registrar yet.

There are opportunities for taking the matter further.

It’ll be developing, I’m sure.”

Captain Butler could not be reached for comment before press time last night, despite Tribune Business making multiple calls and sending text messages to him.

Ms Misiewicz, noting that Mr Kaiser had served legal proceedings on Captain Butler and Sky Bahamas on November 19, 2020, said the duo had 28 days - until December 17 last year - to file a defence to the claims against them.

Mr Horton filed “appearances” for them and Aviation Oversight Group with the Supreme Court on December 4, 2020, but did not communicate with Mr Scott until the December 17 deadline day when he asked that his clients be given until end-January 2021 to file their defence.

Mr Scott gave Captain Butler and his attorney “a considerable extension” until January 22, 2021, together with “the explicit warning that no further extensions would be agreed”. However, the former Sky Bahamas principal and his attorney again waited until that deadline was upon them before

requesting “further and better particulars” of Mr Kaiser’s allegations via five pages of questions.

Mr Scott entered the judgment in default of defence against Captain Butler and Sky Bahamas some three days later, sparking their efforts to overturn it. Mr Horton, during the hearing before Ms Misiewicz, argued that the default judgment “was premature and therefore irregular” because the call for more details on the case against his client had not been addressed.

However, the Supreme Court’s deputy registrar ruled that this assertion “does not avail them” because Captain Butler and his attorney had failed to comply with Supreme Court rules governing how “further and better particulars” must be sought.

Turning to Captain Butler’s argument that he was unable to instruct Mr Horton on his defence because he had caught COVID-19 and was quarantined on Andros, Ms Misiewicz added: “I do not see how he or the other defendants were able to instruct their attorney on the extensive questions

contained in the ‘further and better particulars’ summons but not be able to give instructions on any kind of defence.

“Furthermore, it is notable that nowhere in the Butler affidavit is there set out the barest outline of a defence or any grounds of a defence. I was concerned by the serious allegations in the statement of claim. However, the Butler affidavit does not even condescend to contradict or challenge the allegations of fraud, conspiracy or breach of fiduciary duty.

“In point of fact, the submissions by Mr Horton do not address or assert any form or shade or character of a possible defence.

He says that the lack of particulars ‘unfairly prejudices’ the defendants but does not show how they are prejudiced.”

Finding that “there have been multiple delays” caused by Captain Butler and his attorney failing to file a defence within the time allowed by the Supreme Court’s rules, Ms Misiewicz said: “Having obtained, at the 11th hour, an extension of time to file, they again delayed until the last day of the agreed

Friday, April 23, 2021, PAGE 21 extension to act.

“But this time it was not to file a defence as they should have under the agreement. Rather, it was to take a fresh step of filing a summons for further and better particulars. This latter step, being in clear contravention of the rules, could only be seen as a further delaying tactic and not, in all of the circumstances, to be a bona fide step in uncovering some ambiguity or unclear facts arising on the pleadings.”

The claims by Mr Kaiser that he was defrauded of $28m via sham loans triggered the resignation of former deputy prime minister and minister of finance, K Peter Turnquest, even though he was not named as a defendant in the original writ.

Mr Turnquest, who like Captain Butler is vehemently denying the allegations in that document, was described as “a director and manager” of both Mr Kaiser’s companies, as well as “owning and/or controlling and/ or managing” Sky Bahamas. The former deputy prime minister, however, is not named in yesterday’s default judgment ruling nor the earlier filing.

Mr Kaiser, whose main business interest, Alpha Technologies, agreed in 2004 to pay some $36m to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after pleading guilty to tax fraud, is alleging that Captain Butler and Mr Turnquest engineered a decade-long conspiracy

that lasted until 2017 “to enrich themselves” by defrauding his companies while concealing their activities.

The statement of claim, which has been seen by Tribune Business, alleges that the duo “dishonestly caused” Alpha Aviation and Advanced Aviation to “pay away” $20.68m and $5.917m, respectively, to Sky Bahamas via “some kind of bogus loans”.

No particulars were given to describe how the scheme worked, although Mr Kaiser’s companies alleged that Mr Turnquest and Captain Butler then used “some 39 fraudulent invoices and/or book entries, and for no adequate consideration”, to drain away some $3.8m paid by Alpha Aviation to Aviation Oversight Group via 39 separate cheque payments between February 2008 and July 2016.

A further $3.026m was also alleged to have been siphoned off by the duo “as at December 31, 2017, to AOG Maintenance Ltd, a company that owned Sky Bahamas’ maintenance hangar at Lynden Pindling International Airport.

Mr Kaiser and his companies, making it clear that they have come for the monies they believe are due and owing, are seeking a Supreme Court Order that an accounting be done to determine what is outstanding and that this money subsequently be paid to them.

Target ‘big boys’ first with corporate taxes FROM PAGE 24 tax burden by directing profits and revenues away from higher tax jurisdictions.

Still, Mr Leonard, now a Callenders & Company attorney, argued: “The Bahamas needs to come up with its own scheme, and I’d definitely come up with a corporate income tax but initially limit it to companies

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making above $5m or $10m a year in net profit....

“It cuts out the small business people and simplifies the auditing and oversight procedures for the Government. You’re dealing with fewer companies, and companies making that money usually have audited financial statements. That would be a good place to start for the government.”

Focusing on higher-yielding, but a smaller number of, companies would simplify the costs and administrative burden for government and the private sector, Mr Leonard argued, and allow the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) time to develop the necessary collection and oversight expertise.

“For us, a massive effort in one go is not going to work,” he told this newspaper in warning against a blanket corporate income tax implementation. “Put corporate income tax on

LEGAL NOTICE

CORAL REALTY CORP. Company No. 302656 (In Voluntary Liquidation) NOTICE is hereby given pursuant to Section 204 (1)(b) of the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 that CORAL REALTY CORP. is in voluntary liquidation. The voluntary liquidation commenced on 20th April, 2021 and Louisa Yockney of Floor 3, 32 Mahuhu Crescent, Auckland 1010, New Zealand been appointed as the Sole Liquidator.

Dated this 21st day of April, 2021 Sgd. Louisa Yockney Voluntary Liquidator LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE Ripple Investment Holdings Ltd. In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, Ripple Investment Holdings Ltd. is in dissolution as of April 22, 2021 International Liquidator Services Ltd. situated at 3rd Floor Whitfield Tower, 4792 Coney Drive, Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

every company and it’s overwhelming. Doing a limited number of large companies who have audited accounts is much easier for you to get up to speed on.

“This will be a whole new ball game for us, but I don’t see any way out of it.

We need to get on with it in a way that is easy for us to implement and cheap for us to implement.”

Mr Leonard said his $5m or $10m initial threshold would capture most BISX-listed firms; the oil companies; banks and a large number of financial services providers; the likes of Freeport’s major industrial firms; and others.

“That would be where the big money comes from in my estimation,” he added.

“If you go chasing after the small companies the oversight is phenomenal, and it will be very difficult for the government to monitor, certainly at the beginning. I’d

go after those that generate the most and require the least amount of work from the government.”

However Mr Galanis, while acknowledging that the Biden administration is seeking to close off all tax avoidance loopholes by US multinationals amid efforts to raise its corporate tax rate to 28 percent, advocated a completely different approach.

He reiterated calls, often made previously, for The Bahamas to form an alliance with other Caribbean territories and IFCs and seek to “influence” Washington DC’s stance “before it gets out of hand”.

“We’ve got to get on with it, and move that ball forward rather than be dictated to,” Mr Galanis argued. “I don’t think it necessarily means we have to get out ahead of it by implementing some form of corporate income tax.”

The Bahamas’ proximity to the US means that undermining this nation could impact the latter’s own national security, he added, saying: “If we become a basket case like some other countries, or a failed state, that is no good for anyone.”

The Biden administration’s stance is a marked change from the position taken by its Trump predecessor, which was more focused on allowing sovereign nations to set their own tax rates and opposed to European efforts to impose a so-called “digital tax” on US multinational giants such as Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple.

However, the newlyelected Democratic government sees a global minimum corporate tax as critical to preventing such companies from minimising their tax burden via creative structures that shift profits and revenues to low-tax

nations such as The Bahamas and other IFCs Its view, like that of the OECD and high-tax European nations such as France and Germany, is that a global minimum will prevent a so-called “race to the bottom” on tax rates.

Pascal Saint-Amans, head of tax administration at the OECD, told the UK’s Guardian newspaper: “What the US has put on the table … [is saying] we want the rest of the world to follow, we kill tax havens. The game is over. Let’s move to a minimum agreed level.”

HELP WANTED: Full-time,

live in care giver with at least 5 years experience caring for elderly, hearing impaired person with limited mobility.

Must be CPR certified and able to cook with specific dietary restrictions. Light cleaning required. Must be an experienced driver with valid driver’s license for more than 5 years and own a vehicle.

Contact:albejon@comcast.net

PAGE 22, Friday, April 23, 2021

WORKER WELLNESS KEY TO CORPORATE HEALTH FROM PAGE 23 advertised. It helps to strengthen ties with the community, fulfills corporate social responsibility and keeps staff fit all at once.

9. Encourage people to take the stairs rather than the elevator.

10. Encourage employees to take their vacation leave, and to remain at home if they are ill for the full duration of their recovery.

11. Encourage employees to use the Employee Assistance Programme if they are feeling overwhelmed and need to talk to professionals. Human resources should also develop a reputation for confidentiality and care for the team, so workers feel encouraged to address their concerns with this department.

12. Provide training for managers on how to create and maintain a healthy and safe workspace for employees.

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Royal Caribbean home porting ‘a red letter day’ THE Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) president has hailed Royal Caribbean’s decision to home port in The Bahamas as “a red-letter day” for the country and multiple local businesses.

“The return of cruise lines marks a red-letter day for the country,” said Ian Rolle. “Not only are we welcoming cruise vessels back to our shores after more than a year of lockdowns, but also enabling tremendous new opportunities for businesses of all sizes across the archipelago to participate in such a massive provisioning project.

I’m certain it is a venture many of our business leaders have dreamed of for decades.”

While Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas vessel will home port in Nassau, refuelling and provisioning for its sevenday voyages will be done in Freeport over a six-month

A ROYAL CARIBBEAN SHIP period that begins with the first sailing on June 12.

The GBPA, in a statement, said the arrangement had resulted from extensive discussions between itself, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Grand

Bahama Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) and the Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board.

It added that this was designed to ensure businesses of all sizes across Grand Bahama had an opportunity to benefit from resupplying Adventure of

the Seas and meeting the needs of its passengers.

The GBPA suggested that “hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of Bahamian businesses” could benefit.

“What has been accomplished on behalf of the Bahamian people is an extraordinary achievement, and only possible through extensive collaboration between the Government of The Bahamas, non-governmental organisations and private sector organisations,” said Mr Rolle.

“All efforts are to be applauded.”

Mick Holding, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce’s representative, said Royal Caribbean’s home porting in The Bahamas will create opportunities for multiple businesses, especially in Grand Bahama, to rebuild post-COVID. “Many businesses in Grand Bahama have suffered tremendous losses since Hurricane Dorian,

and continue to face challenges through this time of COVID. The Royal Caribbean home porting project presents a chance for our community of businesses to rebound in our local economy and embrace a new, international client opportunity,” Mr Holding explained.

Those involved in Royal Caribbean’s home porting project have planned a Zoom conference for all Grand Bahama businesses on Monday, April 26, beginning at 1pm. Representatives from the cruise line, government, GBPA and Grand Bahama Chamber will answer questions and provide details on how businesses can register plus the essential requirements to participate.

Persons interested in attending the zoom meeting can visit http://bit.ly/ homeportgb to register and receive login details.

INSURER GROUP AIDS STUDENTS’ LEARNING A BAHAMAS-based insurance group has presented tablets and laptop computers to multiple schools to aid student learning.

The CG Atlantic companies, which include Security & General Insurance, Atlantic Medical Insurance and Coralisle Pensions Bahamas, presented tablets to pupils at Centreville and Palmdale Primary schools, as well as laptop computers to The Centre for the Deaf and Erin Gilmore School for

the Blind.

Jeffery Lloyd, minister for education, in thanking the group and its representatives, said as many as 50 percent of students did not have a smart device or Internet access in March 2020 when the COVID19 pandemic struck. This prompted the Ministry of Education to reach out to corporate Bahamas for help.

Annastacia Francis, CG Atlantic Medical & Life’s vice-president of health, said: “We heard the call

JEFFERY LLOYD, minister of education, CG Atlantic officials and students show the devices donated to Centreville and Palmdale Primary Schools, as well as The Centre for the Deaf and Erin Gilmore School for the Blind. and so, today, we’re here to donate laptops and tablets. It was important for

us not only to assist the Ministry of Education, but we wanted to ensure that

we were also assisting the members of our immediate community.”

‘Clear signal’ by Q3 on $100m overseas investments re-start FROM PAGE 24

is relaxed, but at least we’ll be able to provide a clear signal as to where we are and other timing.

“It’s really beginning to have the clarity around the outlook and seeing how the outlook is shaping up. That will provide us with the backdrop for our determination.” Overseas securities portfolio and property investments, via the ICM, were a growing and popular means prepandemic for Bahamians to diversify and seek greater returns potentially available in foreign markets.

However, this avenue - which also facilitated Bahamian Depository Receipt (BDR) offerings by local broker/dealers in investment funds - was closed off on May 4, 2020, in a bid to conserve the external reserves that support the one:one fixed exchange rate peg with the US dollar amid the drying up of replenishing inflows amid the tourism industry shutdown.

The move was one of several measures imposed by the Central Bank to save an estimated $300m worth of external reserves, with the others including a bar on dividend repatriations by the Canadian-owned commercial banks; a relaxation on bank foreign exchange sales to the public; and the National Insurance Board (NIB) liquidating its overseas investment holdings.

“Before the pandemic we saw the ICM steadily strengthening,” Mr Rolle

told Tribune Business. “I believe we were on track to very easily be at $100m or more a year in activity.

When one wants to look at allowing the market to regain its footing, we want to be able to accelerate the growth that was evident.

“I think portfolio investment will become dominant..... The growth was driven by increased investment in financial savings activity.” The Central Bank’s 2019 annual report revealed slightly less, but still growing activity, than that estimated by Mr Rolle.

Bahamians made overseas capital investments worth some $49.5m in 2019, a 17 percent increase on the prior year’s $42.3m.

Confirming that The Bahamas’ foreign currency reserves remain “buoyant” and are “holding up better than expected” at above $2bn, aided by the government’s mammoth foreign currency borrowing over the past year, Mr Rolle added that the Central Bank still expects a drawdown when citizens and residents resume travelling this summer.

“They’re holding up quite buoyantly. The reserves are still above $2bn. Up to this point they are holding up and it is better than expected,” he said. “Spending demand remains very much driven by income earned in the economy.

Until the income situation of persons strengthens we will not see the same level of demand strengthening for foreign exchange.”

While the calendar year’s first quarter traditionally sees a lower level of foreign exchange demand, Mr Rolle said this normally increases towards mid-year as Bahamians head abroad on vacation. That spending was absent in 2020, but with the present easing of travel restrictions he acknowledged “there is expectation that there will be some

reduction in reserve levels”.

Turning to The Bahamas’ economic recovery prospects, the Central Bank chief added: “The critical point is we believe we’re going to have to get beyond this present period of challenges with how we manage COVID-19, and once beyond this the level of confidence should increase faster.

“We’re still in a period of expected gradual recovery, and we will not be fully recovered until we get into next year and the overlap with 2023. So much has to happen favourably on a consistent basis over that period so we can line up with these expectations....

“Recognising the progress the US is making with vaccinations, we are also going to have to be an attractive destination for tourists, so managing The Bahamas’ side of the pandemic becomes even more important as confidence in the US economy increases,” Mr Rolle said.

“We certainly have to be mindful that government travel advisories do have an impact. The US and European countries are looking at what the COVID-19 situation is like in countries and destinations for travel.

We have the pressure on ourselves to manage the situation, and at the same time we have challenges of access to the vaccines, which makes it more difficult in terms of the near-term outlook.

“I think we have to manage it very carefully.

I think it’s still within our grasp to manage, and to be tighter in terms of how we address the situation if we need to, and to recognise there may need to be some trade-off in the short-term to focus on how we position the country for moving forward.... Given the timing, we do have the opportunity to manage things to our advantage if we choose strategically.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 23, 2021, PAGE 23

WORKER WELLNESS KEY TO CORPORATE HEALTH

M

OST would agree that employee health and well-being is a topic that receives far too little attention in the standard work environment. But amid this global pandemic, worker wellness has become a daily conversation because workplace COVID-19 spread is real.

We spend most of our waking hours at work, and do not always take into account the impact those hours have on our psychological and physiological well-being. Human

resources professionals try to stress that “self-care” is good for both the employee and the bottom line. The company’s goal must be to foster healthy minds, bodies and spirits within each team member. Here are 12 useful suggestions for making this possible: 1. Publish a workplace wellness newsletter highlighting the best fitness, nutrition and educational content found on the Internet. The more people know, the greater the likelihood they will make wise and healthy choices.

2. Offer high quality

snacks and provide plenty of water in the building. Put the right choices in front of employees. Give options such as natural sugar and almond milk for tea and coffee.

3. Hold a workplace “healthy chef” competition, where recipes are shared and departments become excited about eating and preparing healthy foods.

You may also wish to bring a health-focused chef to facilitate this. This can also be tied to programmes such as “the biggest loser challenge”.

4. Hold an office health

fair, with free screening and testing. Bring in the health professionals, and allow each team member to get medical advice at no cost to themselves.

5. Assess your ergonomics. Ergonomics is the science of designing work tasks (and work spaces) in a way that limits stress on the human body. For office workers, this means things such as keyboards designed to minimise the risk of repetitive motion injuries such as carpal tunnel, screens that minimise eye strain, and chairs that minimise back pain.

6. Remind people to get flu shots and encourage them to take all relevant vaccinations. Post a list of locations near your office offering flu shots and COVID-19 vaccines on the company bulletin board.

In fact, it might be easier to simply bring in a team of medical professionals to have them vaccinated.

7. Convince your staff to form a sporting league, and encourage as many as possible to become engaged and active. Golf, bowling, swimming, softball, basketball - all will keep the bones agile and the body fit.

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 65° F/18° C

TAMPA

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

A shower; breezy in the morning

Mostly cloudy with a shower

Breezy with periods of sunshine

Humid; breezy in the morning

Partly sunny with a stray t‑storm

Clouds and sun with winds subsiding

High: 83°

Low: 72°

High: 85° Low: 74°

High: 86° Low: 71°

High: 84° Low: 70°

High: 83° Low: 69°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

90° F

72° F

92°-76° F

95°-75° F

94°-68° F

86°-67° F

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 78° F/26° C Low: 73° F/23° C

8‑16 knots

S

WEST PALM BEACH High: 82° F/28° C Low: 75° F/24° C

8‑16 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE E

W

FREEPORT

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 76° F/24° C

N

S

E

W

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 70° F/21° C

MIAMI

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 76° F/24° C

7‑14 knots

KEY WEST

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 78° F/26° C

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 72° F/22° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 75° F/24° C

N

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 75° F/24° C

N

S

E

W S

6‑12 knots

uV inDex toDay

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

5:10 a.m.

5:41 p.m.

2.7 2.7

11:35 a.m. 0.0 11:55 p.m. 0.0

Saturday

6:03 a.m.

6:33 p.m.

2.8 3.0

12:23 p.m. ‑0.3 ‑‑‑‑‑ ‑‑‑‑‑

Sunday

6:54 a.m.

7:23 p.m.

2.9 3.2

12:51 a.m. ‑0.3 1:10 p.m. ‑0.6

Monday

7:44 a.m.

8:13 p.m.

3.0 3.5

1:45 a.m. ‑0.6 1:56 p.m. ‑0.8

Tuesday

8:33 a.m.

9:03 p.m.

2.9 3.6

2:37 a.m. ‑0.7 2:44 p.m. ‑0.9

Wednesday 9:24 a.m.

9:54 p.m.

2.8 3.6

3:30 a.m. ‑0.8 3:32 p.m. ‑0.9

Thursday

2.7 3.5

4:23 a.m. ‑0.7 4:23 p.m. ‑0.8

10:16 a.m.

10:47 p.m.

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:40 a.m.

7:36 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

4:09 p.m.

4:25 a.m.

Full

Last

New

First

Apr. 26

May 3

May 11

May 19

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 75° F/24° C

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 76° F/24° C

N

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 75° F/24° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 75° F/24° C

6‑12 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 83° F/28° C Low: 76° F/24° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures

H

SEE PAGE 22

CAT ISLAND

E

W

6‑12 knots

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 82° F/28° C Low .................................................... 70° F/21° C Normal high ....................................... 82° F/28° C Normal low ........................................ 70° F/21° C Last year’s high ................................. 89° F/32° C Last year’s low ................................... 76° F/24° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 3.20” Normal year to date ..................................... 5.76”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

8. Participate as a company in every marathon, “fun run” or walk

| Go to AccuWeather.com

TONIGHT

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 71° F/22° C

IAN FERGUSON BY

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS

are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

RAGGED ISLAND High: 82° F/28° C Low: 76° F/24° C

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 75° F/24° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 86° F/30° C Low: 77° F/25° C

N

E

W

E

W

N

S

S

7‑14 knots

8‑16 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday:

WINDS NE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots NE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots NE at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots NE at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots NE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots

WAVES 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑6 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑6 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 4‑7 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet

VISIBILITY 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 79° F 80° F 81° F 81° F 83° F 85° F 80° F 80° F 80° F 81° F 80° F 79° F 81° F 81° F 80° F 80° F 81° F 80° F 79° F 79° F 80° F 79° F 80° F 80° F 85° F 83° F

business@tribunemedia.net

FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021

$4.86

$4.86

$4.88

$4.93

$28m ‘sham loans’ judgment upheld against Sky’s Butler

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

S

KY Bahamas’ former financier was yesterday said to be “elated” that the Supreme Court has upheld the default judgment he obtained against its principal over an alleged $28m “bogus loans conspiracy”.

Michael Scott QC, the attorney for Fred Kaiser, told Tribune Business he will now seek judicial direction for “an assessment of damages” to be awarded to his client after the Supreme Court’s deputy registrar scolded Captain Randy Butler for employing “delaying tactics” in battling the claims against him

• Airline’s financier ‘elated’ at Supreme Court verdict • Now readies to move for ‘assessment of damages’ • Appeal likely as deputy registrar slams ‘delay tactics’

FRED KAISER and the airline.

Carol Misiewicz, terday’s ruling, to set aside the judgment entered Captain Butler,

CAPT RANDY BUTLER in yesrefused default against Sky

Bahamas and Aviation Oversight Group on January 25, 2021, after finding they twice waited until “the 11th hour” to seek Mr Kaiser’s permission for extra

time in which to file their defence to his allegations.

Ruling that they were “in clear contravention” of the Supreme Court’s rules, Ms Misiewicz also dismissed assertions contained in a letter from Captain Butler’s attorney that COVID-19 and his client’s location in Andros were disrupting their ability to craft and file a defence on time.

Mr Scott, when contacted after Tribune Business obtained a copy of the verdict, said of the outcome:

SEE PAGE 21

‘Clear signal’ by Q3 on $100m overseas investments re-start

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Central Bank will “be able to provide a clear signal” by the 2021 third quarter on when it will ease restrictions preventing Bahamians from making up to $100m per year in overseas investments.

John Rolle, its governor, told Tribune Business that ending the 11-month Investment Currency Market (ICM) closure, which is stopping locals and residents from investing in international securities and real estate, remains “tied to the signs we see” on the return of critical foreign currency inflows into The Bahamas.

Disclosing that these inflows do not need to return fully to preCOVID-19 levels for the Central Bank to relax its

• Foreign securities, real estate buys ‘tied’ to inflow returns • Governor: ‘So much has to happen favourably’ on recovery • Warns more restrictions may be needed for COVID battle

JOHN ROLLE grip, Mr Rolle said that while the Central Bank will complete its “review” of existing restrictions by the July-September quarter this does not necessarily mean there will be an immediate easing in that period.

And he warned that “so much has to happen favourably on a consistent basis”

Ex-minister: ‘Use carrots, not stick’ over COVID jabs

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A FORMER Cabinet minister yesterday added his voice to those opposing mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, telling Tribune Business: “Better to use a carrot than a stick.”

Dr Duane Sands, who stepped down as minister of health just last year, told Tribune Business that education and “respectful dialogue” were the best mechanisms for overcoming what he acknowledged was “considerable hesitation” among many Bahamians

DR DUANE SANDS over becoming inoculated against COVID-19.

He also conceded that while The Bahamas’ vaccine roll-out had gone smoothly to-date, it was

SEE PAGE 20

Hotelier in warning: Vaccination rates a ‘competitive tool’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A PROMINENT Bahamas hotel executive yesterday reiterated warnings that this nation’s relatively slow vaccine rollout threatens to undermine its competitiveness versus rival tourism destinations.

Magnus Alnebeck, the Pelican Bay resort’s general manager, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas must focus on “getting as many people vaccinated as we can” - especially hospitality industry and other front-line workers - rather than become bogged down

in arguments over whether inoculations should be made mandatory.

Pointing out that the Maldives and other rival destinations are promoting how many of their tourism industry workers have been vaccinated to-date, while also giving jabs to visitors, he added: “The more we can drive up the rate of people wanting to get vaccinated the better off we’ll be.

“The official statistic is we are at two percent [of the population getting their first jab], and that’s one of the lowest in the region. You look at places like Turks

SEE PAGE 20

for The Bahamas to meet projections that its economy will have fully recovered from the pandemic by late 2022/early 2023.

The Central Bank governor said it was “critical” that this nation bring its third COVID-19 infection wave under control as rapidly as possible if the tourism rebound is to be sustained and accelerated, and indicated that The Bahamas may have to make short-term sacrifices for longer term gain by reimposing more restrictive measures to bring the latest outbreak under control.

Revealing that there will be no immediate lifting of overseas investment

restrictions, Mr Rolle told this newspaper: “We’re committed to reviewing the policy later this year. It remains tied to the signs we see in terms of the return of [foreign currency] inflow activity on the foreign exchange side - not a full return, but the trend we’d expect to see in terms of improvement.

“We anticipate we’d be able to complete that review as we move into the middle of this year and the third quarter, and by the third quarter we’d have completed that review.

It’s not to say that in the third quarter the position

SEE PAGE 22

CAREY LEONARD

PHILIP GALANIS

Target ‘big boys’ first with corporate taxes

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas should initially only target companies generating more than $5m or $10m in annual net profits with a corporate income tax, a well-known attorney is arguing.

Carey Leonard, the former Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) in-house attorney, told Tribune Business that excluding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the tax net would make such a tax “simpler and cheaper” to implement while the government built-up the capacity required to administer and eventually collect it from all companies.

Arguing that there is “no way out” for The Bahamas given US backing for a global minimum corporate tax rate, Mr Leonard argued that this nation needed to develop such a structure for its own purposes rather than have it imposed by the likes of the G-20 industrialised nations or the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

However, other Bahamian financial services professionals have warned against rushing to capitulate to the renewed global push for harmonised corporate income tax rates.

Philip Galanis, the HLB Galanis & Company managing partner, instead told this newspaper that The Bahamas needed to form an alliance with other

Caribbean international financial centres (IFC) to warn the Biden administration about the great harm it could inflict upon itself by turning these countries into “basket cases”.

The former MP and senator argued that “not only the economy but democracy” in The Bahamas would be undermined if financial services, arguably the most important industry second to tourism, was wiped out or had its competitiveness severely blunted.

The case for not jumping into corporate income tax was strengthened earlier this week after Ireland blew a hole in what had previously been an emerging global consensus by saying it will resist efforts to set a global minimum rate if they undercut its competitiveness.

Pascal Donohoe, the Irish finance minister, said he would support a global agreement that allowed “appropriate and acceptable tax competition” between states with his country keeping a rate that is significantly below the 21 percent called for by US president, Joe Biden, and his treasury secretary, Janet Yellen.

Ireland has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the European Union (EU) at 12.5 percent, which has proven attractive for digital multinationals such as Apple and Facebook when it comes to minimising their

SEE PAGE 21