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EMBARRASSED Former Speaker laments Parliament shutdown and ‘egos put before people’

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net FORMER House Speaker Dr Kendal Major says the abrupt adjournment of the House on Wednesday is “grossly unfortunate”, insisting government should not have been caught in an “embarrassing” situation.

As parliamentarians gathered on Wednesday House Speaker Halson Moultrie voiced his frustration over his staff’s exposure to COVID-19.

The Speaker said his concerns were brushed off by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis in a one word response of “noted” while

he was ignored by Leader of Government Business Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells.

He went on to warn government that he was ready for “war’’ if that was what it wanted while revealing that the House had not been sanitised following confirmation that a senior staff member had tested positive for COVID-19.

The Tribune contacted Dr Major yesterday when he said he felt the incident should not have happened in a democratic Parliament.

“I thought the Speaker was correct in his frustration,” the former House Speaker said.

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL pathologist told a Coroner’s Court the country needs a national mass fatality plan to better respond to natural crises after seeing the devastation left behind in Abaco by Hurricane Dorian.

Dr Kiko Bridgewater’s comments came during the resumed inquest before Coroner Jeannine WeechGomez yesterday into the presumed deaths of people reported missing following the massive storm in 2019.

SEE PAGE THREE

SEE PAGE FIVE

repairs at the airport and its Control Tower. He also said the jobs of the 60 airport employees are secured.

Also in attendance was Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar, who noted the airport acquisition will put the number of airports owned in The Bahamas by the government to 30.

“Freeport is probably the last large or substantial airport in the Bahamas that was not owned by the government, and this Minnis-led administration is of the view this airport, SEE PAGE FIVE

SEE SPORTS

LESSONS LEARNED IN DORIAN DISASTER

TAKE-OFF FOR NEW ERA AS GOVT BUYS AIRPORT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Government has purchased Grand Bahama International Airport, finally acquiring ownership of the most substantial privately-owned and operated airport in Freeport, with an 11,000ft runway – for $1.

At the official contract signing held at the airport yesterday Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis indicated the government will invest $1.5m for some initial rebuilding and

AYTON AND SUNS INTO PLAYOFFS

MANDATORY TESTING NOT ON OUR MENU

VISIONS IN VOGUE

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

ARTIST Nicole Collie Jamison is catching international attention - with her work to feature in the pages of Vogue magazine this summer. Pictured is one of her pieces of work, showcasing her surrealist style. See today’s Weekend section for the full story.

GAMING BOSS BEATS OFF $1M LAWSUIT

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CRAIG Flowers’ FML web shop chain has defeated a $1m constructive dismissal claim by a former senior executive who was found to have “abandoned” his post following a probe into “irregularities”.

Justice Keith Thompson, in an April 20, 2021, verdict found that Deyvon Jones, FML’s former chief

CRAIG FLOWERS operating officer, was not terminated but instead “never returned to his

employment” after an investigation was conducted into a scheme to allegedly inflate his compensation payments from the web shop chain.

The ruling details how Mr Jones and two colleagues obtained permission to form a company, Blue Star Holdings, which was to manage FML’s 19 “express stores” from November 1, 2017.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

A MANAGER of a local restaurant has denied claims that staff of the well-known eatery will be terminated if they do not receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Jamal Bain of the Pink Octopus in Palm Cay said he had no knowledge of the claim contrary to what has been circulating on social media.

SEE PAGE FOUR

DIANE PHILLIPS: TAKING ELITISM OUT OF SPORT

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Friday, April 30, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

FRENCH OFFICERS WORK ALONGSIDE COMMANDO SQUAD MEMBERS of the RBDF Commando Squadron have been taking to the sea for training.

A one-day training exercise was held earlier this month at the Defence Force Base.

On April 16, defence force personnel trained alongside French counterparts from the French ship FS Dumont D’Urville.

The began their operation with French divers conducting pier surveys alongside jetties.

This was followed by a French beach landing craft being deployed, with RBDF Marines on board and briefly departing the harbour to simulate an insertion operation.

Members of the Commando Squadron unit proceeded to the Armored Passenger Vehicle to conduct a room clearance exercise on board HMBS Coral Harbour.

The operation was videotaped by the RBDF in collaboration with French combat camera personnel, along with aerial coverage by a drone deployed by Swift Tactical Systems.

The FS Dumont D’Urville is responsible for rendering humanitarian assistance to Caribbean countries in times of natural disasters. They conduct offshore assistance as well as anti-pollution operations.

Photos: Able Seaman Fredrick Russell/

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 30, 2021, PAGE 3

Lessons learned in Dorian disaster from page one Dr Bridgewater, who was a member of the Dorian mass fatality response team, said he, along with other colleagues, travelled to Abaco several times after the storm to examine the bodies of victims.

He said between September 2019 and March 2020, there was a total of 60 remains recovered, one of which was deemed not to be human.

Dr Bridgewater, a pathologist at the Princess Margaret Hospital, said officials would examine human remains where they were housed – in a single 40-foot refrigerated trailer located next to the Marsh Harbour clinic.

He said some of the bodies were received in different preservation states, meaning some bodies were well preserved, while others were skeletonised.

In some cases there were only body parts, like a forearm or skull.

“Of the 59 human remains examined, there were 50 adults, six children and three of uncertain age.

Thirty-seven were identified as male, 20 were females and sex for two could not be determined,” he told the court.

He added that the cause of death for 28 victims were “likely drowning”, while for the other 30, the cause of death was labelled as “undetermined”.

However, he said, officials believe that one victim may not be deceased based on information received from police.

This was in relation to a male forearm that was found attached to a woman, who were determined to be first degree relatives, meaning parent and child.

According to Dr Bridgewater, five victims were presumptively identified based on the “presence of identification” on the bodies.

THE EXTENSIVE damage and destruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian in The Mudd, in Abaco, after Hurricane Dorian.

These included Duvernat Sainjusmat, Jeffrey Danis Sr, Iscarne Carmilus, Wilner Casseus Paul and Emmanuel Saintil.

Others presumed to be dead based on the names written on their body bags are Dereck Joseph, Louis Bossuet, Walter Cyntelia.

Meanwhile, among those positively identified

by DNA analysis includes

James Capron, Jeffrey Danis, Melida Almazie, etc.

Out of the 59 bodies recovered, 54 of those were buried by the government in its mass burial exercise held last May. The remaining five victims were buried by family members. They were identified as Alisha Liolli, Lachino Dean, Donna M Johnson, Ralph Kemp, Lorelda Woodside.

Mrs Laguerre-Alteme told the court that the last time she spoke to her husband was on August 31, the day before Dorian.

The Abaco resident said he told her he would stay with his sister who lived in Murphy Town.

However, Mrs Laguerre claimed when she asked her sister-in-law about her husband’s whereabouts after the storm, she told her that she never saw him because he never came by the house.

Meanwhile, Mrs Laguerre-Taylor, daughter of the victim, testified how she urged her father to leave the house while speaking to him on the phone the morning of the storm.

“I asked him where he was and he told me inside the house and he said the hurricane was bad,” she told the court. “I told him I would come for him because we have a car.”

However, Mrs LaguerreTaylor claimed that her dad never got the chance after

waters surged through the house, forcing him to seek shelter in the roof.

“He called us back and said he was inside the roof and I told him he cannot stay in the roof… but he said he could not come down because the water was rising,” she said.

The Abaco resident told the court her dad was not a swimmer and said she believed he died because he could not swim.

Asked if she submitted DNA to police to assist them with locating her father, Mrs Laguerre-Taylor replied that she did, but noted that she has not as yet been contacted by police of a match.

Michael Dawkins Jr also gave testimony via Zoom yesterday regarding his father, Michael Dawkins, Sr. Mr Dawkins, who was living in New Providence at the time of the storm, recalled how he travelled to Abaco to search for his dad after not receiving word

While testifying yesterday, Dr Bridgewater said the team’s experience in Abaco taught them several lessons and gave several recommendations that could help strengthen the country’s disaster response should another crisis occur.

One such recommendation includes the implementation of a national mass fatality plan

that incorporates all stakeholders, including police officers, defence force officers, funeral directors, pathologists, counsellors and others.

Dr Bridgewater said training exercises centred on recovery efforts will be needed to allow for a faster and more organised response to natural disasters.

He added that a national

forensic morgue separate from the one at PMH also needs to be established and fully staffed and budgeted by the government.

According to the pathologist, there is also a need for a mobile temporary mortuary unit outfitted with examination tables and a temporary body storage refrigeration unit which can be transported by sea.

FAMILIES TELL OF TRYING TO FIND LOVED ONES

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net SEVERAL witnesses testified in the Coroner’s Court yesterday about their efforts to find missing loved ones after Hurricane Dorian passed in 2019.

Among them were Maline Laguerre-Alteme and Natasha LaguerreTaylor, who both testified about the missing status of their loved one, Alphonse Laguerre.

They were are among several people who gave testimony via Zoom yesterday for the Coroner Court’s inquest into the presumed deaths of people reported missing after Hurricane Dorian.

Mrs Laguerre-Alteme, wife of Mr Laguerre – with the aid of an interpreter – recalled how her husband refused to leave their home in The Mudd with her and their daughter for shelter at a local church in Marsh Harbour before the storm.

from him during or after the storm.

Mr Dawkins said he had initially instructed his relatives on the island to locate his father’s whereabouts, but told the court they had no luck.

Asked what he saw when he arrived at his father’s home, he replied that the roof was off and the windows were gone.

Mr Dawkins said he believed his father was killed after the woman who was living with his father told his mother that he was taken out to sea during a storm surge.

Clarice Swain also filed a missing person’s report after efforts to locate her son, Melik Moultrie were unsuccessful.

Ms Swain told the court she was on vacation during the time the storm hit.

Ms Swain said after not hearing from her son, she contacted her cousins to find him.

But she said her cousin had informed her several

days later that her son had passed away.

Ms Swain said she was told her son’s body had been collected by officials and placed in the trailer but added she did not know what they did with the body.

However, in response, Coroner Jeanine WeechGomez insisted that if her son’s body was found, he would’ve been released to her.

The coroner said she wanted to dispel the perception that police were trying to keep her son’s body away from her.

“Don’t believe everything you hear…They would’ve never withheld your son’s body if he could’ve been identified,” she told Ms Swain.

Emily Bethel also testified during yesterday’s hearing. Mrs Bethel said she filed a missing report on October 2019 after she was unable to locate her aunt and uncle – Juanita Lowe and Lee Roy Lowe – after Dorian hit the island.

Mrs Bethel said the last time she saw them alive was around 5.30 pm on August 31, 2019.

However, Mrs Bethel said that after the storm, she was later told by her son that the house was gone, with only the foundation left.

Mrs Bethel claimed that she saw a picture of her aunt’s body lying on a flatbed truck, but was not questioned on the issue during yesterday’s inquest.

Asked if any DNA samples were taken from relatives, Mrs Bethel replied that her mother, her aunt and uncle’s eldest sibling, submitted DNA the same year.

However, she said they have not yet heard back from police on the matter.

Dorian hit Abaco on September 1, 2019, as a Category Five storm.

The storm’s official death toll is 74, however many believe more people remain missing.

The inquest continues today at 10 am.

POLICE SAY ‘COULD BE MORE THAN FOUR’ INVOLVED IN KILLING

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

POLICE now believe more than four people were possibly involved in the brazen ambush and murder of six men two weeks ago at the intersection of Jerome Avenue and Chesapeake Road.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Solomon Cash made the revelation yesterday adding that

police have no suspect in custody.

Further, he said, none of the recently released wanted posters were who police were looking for in relation to this cash as police were still trying to identify the perpetrators.

“As much as I would release now, (is) we’re still currently conducting the investigation,” he said.

“We are following some leads, but we’re not in the position at this moment

to release identity of suspects.

“We suspect that there are four persons involved at this time… but it could be more.”

He added: “And that is based on our surveillance that we recovered.

“I don’t want to put a number to it. This investigation is still ongoing.”

Supt Cash said police would not be releasing any CCTV coverage of the killings which have been

recovered during their investigation.

“At this time because of the sensitive nature of the investigation there’s some information we’re not going to be releasing at this moment,” he said.

The April 15 killing is considered to be the deadliest shooting in recent times.

The deceased include Renardo Bastian, also known as “Crack Teeth”, Travis Cooper, Maurice

Pinder, Kendal Lord, Delano Smith, and Dequant Brown, according to relatives and close friends.

A woman and two-yearold girl were also injured in the shooting incident. The toddler, D’Lani Smith, and the female had been identified as the daughter and girlfriend of Delano Smith.

The mass shooting occurred in the moments after the men were released from police custody for firearm possession.

As the group pulled up to the intersection in a silver coloured Honda Inspire, a white Kia SUV trailed behind them. Four men said to be wearing black then emerged from the SUV, using high powered weapons and handguns shot at the victims.

Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle has previously stated “there is no information to suggest that the police were in any way involved in this shooting”.

PAGE 4, Friday, April 30, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Mandatory testing not on our menu from page one

The Tribune contacted the restaurant and spoke to Mr Bain after a post on Facebook claimed staff were being forced to be vaccinated within ten days or not return to work.

The post also claimed the establishment would not accept a COVID-19 antigen test, adding a PCR test was required before the start of shifts “for those who chose not to take the free vaccine. May 4th is your due date to see your doctor, read and become inform(ed) and make an inform(ed) decision. Pink Octopus won’t accept an antigen test.”

However, Mr Bain told The Tribune that as it stands it was a recommendation that staff either take PCR tests or get the vaccine.

Asked if workers would be fired if the vaccine was not their choice, he said: “No, not from my knowledge, there is no email from my desk, no What’sApp message, definitely not any message from my phone or from my laptop telling employees that they have to or else they are terminated. I have no knowledge of that.”

He added: “They have a choice because what we do, we are trying to move into trying to get our employees vaccinated because they work around our guests that travel from different countries and they are being vaccinated.

“So, we recommend that they actually have a PCR test or an antigen test or if they want, they can take the vaccine.

“But, moving forward everyone is going to at least have a test or a vaccine in order to be working in the

‘ENCOURAGE WORKERS’

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is advising the business sector to encourage their workers to be vaccinated so as not to “jeopardise the economic progress” of respective businesses.

Taking the COVID19 vaccine, he explained will help in reopening the economy.

“I want to send a message to the business sector to kindly encourage all our employees to become vaccinated. If your employees are vaccinated and one individual enters your premises who has evidence of COVID, you need not close your premises.

“If one of your employees is not vaccinated and has COVID and the remainder of your employees are vaccinated, you need not close your premises. However, if the employees are not

vaccinated and an individual enters your premises who has evidence of COVID, then your business is subsequently closed down temporarily for cleaning, plus jeopardising your economic progress.

“So, I want to again encourage you to advise all your employees to become vaccinated, and to those who are not I encourage you to have them take a COVID PCR test weekly so as not to jeopardy the remainder of your employees.”

Vaccination centres are opened throughout the country. The country continues to record new COVID-19 cases, with New Providence leading in the number of new infections.

The Bahamas is administering the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine.

World Health Organisation experts have given an assurance that the vaccine is safe and are still recommending the use of the jabs.

TOTAL CASES

TOTAL DEATHS

10,389 198 NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES WEDNESDAY 40 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE 35 GRAND BAHAMA 4 ANDROS 1

TOTAL TESTS

86,545

HOSPITALISED

hospitality field or any other hospitality field because they are working around persons who are already vaccinated or who already tested negative and then us having to work not knowing if they are positive with COVID or anything. So, we recommend that they have a weekly PCR test or an antigen test if they can get it or the vaccine.”

Asked about the ten-day deadline that was referred to on social media, Mr Bain said: “Like I say, I am answering your questions from the knowledge of what

I know from my superiors but there was no mention of persons being terminated or what so I can’t really agree to that, or I don’t have an answer for that.”

From his personal viewpoint, Mr Bain said workers in the hospitality field will need to get the vaccine or submit to regular testing.

“For me personally, this just my personal view of it, us not knowing who has COVID or who don’t have COVID or have no results. We don’t have no type of knowledge who

hasn’t or who doesn’t have it. So we just recommend that our staff, or I would recommend that our staff, protect themselves by at least knowing that they test negative for COVID or at least have (vaccine) to protect themselves against it.”

Earlier this week, Labour Director John Pinder said employees have the right to file trade disputes in instances where employers deem it mandatory for workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Mr Pinder said the Department of Labour has

showed that there were 1,133 cases in April.

The number also reflects the 86 new cases added to the overall count when official revealed on April 24 that due to continuous data cleansing of the COVID-19 database and collaboration with reporting laboratories additional cases were added to the total.

The confirmed COVID19 cases not previously

reported for New Providence (32) were orginally tested between January and mid-April, 2021, and the confirmed cases for Grand Bahama (54) were orginally tested between September-December, 2020.

The previous month, March, saw 440, new cases.

Currently, the overall number of cases in the country is 10,389 with 53

in hospital. Three of these cases are in the Intensive Care Unit.

The death toll stands at 198, the latest casualty a man from Bimini. He died on April 25.

A local infectious diseases expert earlier this week again urged Bahamians to not let their guards down and become relaxed with current health protocols, insisting that the country’s fight with the novel coronavirus is far from over.

Director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Ministry of Health, Dr Nikkiah Forbes’ comments came after organisers of an event held over the weekend were cited nearly $100,000 for breaching COVID-19 orders.

53

CASES IN ICU

3

received calls from employees at a Nassau company and an establishment in Andros indicating there were efforts to force them to receive the shot.

Mr Pinder said he spoke to both employers.

The controversy surrounding mandatory vaccination by employers was sparked when another restaurant Sushi Rokkan, co-owned by Michael Scott, QC, and his wife, mandated that employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine by June 30 or they may face reassignment or termination

RECOVERED

9,442

unless there is a valid medical reason.

Mr Scott justified his position by saying: “I don’t want guests to come for sushi and leave with a COVID dessert.”

But the Pink Octopus manager noted he is not going to pressure individuals.

“I wouldn’t pressure anybody to do something that they feel as if it isn’t right to them and then we have a few person who work here who have like sugar, like diabetes, and other little underlining issues.”

APRIL SEES HUGE SPIKE IN CASES COMPARED TO PREVIOUS MONTH

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net MORE THAN 1,100 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the country this month alone, representing a tremendous spike when compared with the previous month.

As of April 28, the most recent data up to press time by the Ministry of Health

Several videos of the event were widely circulated on social media, showing hundreds of people closely huddled together, with many seen not wearing masks while partying.

“We continue to see an increase in hospitalisations and we are challenged because of staff shortages because we have had a number of persons that have retired from the healthcare field and so that has caused some strain as it relates to staffing,” Dr Forbes told The Tribune recently.

“We are not at full bed capacity, but we don’t want to get there and… to prevent COVID from spreading, we do need the public health measures to be followed and we all

have to follow the public health measures and if there are gatherings, they can become super spreader events and they themselves can worsen the outbreak.

“So, in order to beat COVID, we all have to follow the public health measures, we need a robust vaccination programme that vaccinates many people as soon as possible and we need a robust strong public response to identify cases, put them in isolation to stop the spread, do contact tracing and put the contacts in quarantine and do follow up testing.”

Chief Superintendent Zhivago Dames, officerin-charge of the COVID Enforcement Unit, said large social gatherings continue to be a cause of concern for officials.

JAMAICA LIFTS UK FLIGHTS BAN AS of tomorrow, the travel ban Jamaica instituted on flights to and from the United Kingdom due to a prevalence of COVID19 cases will come to an end.

The ban, instituted as part of the measures under Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Act, officially expires today, according to a press statement from Jamaica’s Tourist Board yesterday.

The ban brought travel between Jamaica and the UK to a halt and was done as part of the island’s efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Several countries around the globe have also been forced to institute similar travel bans as a part of their COVID-19 management measures.

However, with the global deployment of COVID19 vaccines there has been an increase in confidence as it relates to travel and tourism.

Speaking on the significance of lifting the ban, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said: “On Saturday May 1, Jamaica will reopen its borders to international visitors from the United Kingdom.

“This will enable the critical gateways of Heathrow and Gatwick airports, to have transit for passengers coming through and who are fully compliant with health and safety protocols required for international travel.”

Minister Bartlett also said: “Jamaica’s position at this time is critical in relation to the opening up of the summer tourist season and in fact, the importance of enabling the diaspora, particularly the strong British clientele that have always come to the island.

“The lifting of the ban is also against the background of the improved vaccination programme in

the UK and the fact that pretty close to 50 percent of UK residents have received their second dose of vaccinations.”

Since reopening its borders last June, Jamaica has welcomed approximately 1.5 million visitors under the island’s robust health and safety protocols.

“The opening of the borders is important in the context of not just Jamaica’s tourism but Caribbean tourism, as so many of these countries benefit from transiting through Jamaica for British and European nationals.”

He said the ban’s removal is important against the background of the recent call by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation urging a review of the categorisation of Caribbean countries by the UK. Jamaica’s decision to reopen flights with the UK will be welcome news for British expats here in The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 30, 2021, PAGE 5

Take-off for new era as govt buys airport from page one the gateway into Grand Bahama, should be owned by the government,” he said.

GBIA was owned and operated by the Freeport Harbour Company, which is part of Hutchison Port Holding of Hutchison Whampoa Group. The facility sustained extensive damage during Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.

The Bahamas Airport Authority will officially take over the airport in May, said Dr Minnis, who revealed that a Special Purpose Vehicle or SPV, which is known as the Freeport Airport Development Company Ltd, has already been formed by the Office of the Attorney General.

“I am pleased to announce today that we are delivering on our commitment to purchase the Grand Bahama International Airport. Through the Airport Authority, The Bahamas owns 29 other airports, all at various stages of development,” he said.

“While this Airport in Grand Bahama was almost completely destroyed by Dorian, our commitment is steadfast in the rebuilding of the Grand Bahama International Airport as a world-class facility.”

According to the prime minister, plans are to develop a modern facility that is designed and built to be resilient and meet the weather conditions that are experienced during the frequent storms that affect Grand Bahama. He added the new facility will also enable the return of US pre-clearance.

Referring to the current 63 employees of the Grand Bahama Airport Company, Dr Minnis stated that through the purchase, the government ensured that all who want to be would be properly engaged by the Airport Authority, with the appropriate compensation packages.

With the official turnover date slated for May 31, he said the contracts to the employees being re-engaged will be issued during the week of May 24.

He confirmed the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the redevelopment of the airport is underway, and will be issued in the next three months.

Dr Minnis stated the

government has engaged International Consultants Leigh Fisher to be transparent in the redevelopment of the facility, and in awarding a contract to a new management partner.

“We are pleased that there is high interest in the airport development and continue to receive many inquiries for the redevelopment of this airport, he said.

He revealed at least five Bahamian entities have already approached the Government to be on PPP for the facility before the release of the Request for Proposal.

“The redevelopment of this facility will result in a turn-key operation, inclusive of design, financing, and construction, utilizing local talent for a state-ofthe-art facility for Grand Bahama. Final costs are not yet determined and will be driven by the RFP process, Dr Minnis said.

“Our expectation is that our partners, working closely with the Government under a public-private partnership arrangement (PPP), will bring the resources to the table without the Government having to inject any significant capital other than the facilities we are purchasing today.”

He said that the expressions of interest should be responded to via the RFP that will be released by the Department of Aviation. There will be no

THE SIGNING of the agreement with the Freeport Harbour Company yesterday.

Photo: Yontalay Bowe/BIS negotiations before the recommendations of the selection committee.

Pending the redevelopment of the airport – which spans 2,500 acres, Dr Minnis said the government will invest approximately $1.5m to rebuild the Customs Warehouse, carry out the elevator and structural repairs to the Air Traffic Control Tower, and secure office space for the Airport management team and airlines.

He further revealed the Special Purpose Vehicle or SPV, which is known as the Freeport Airport Development Company Ltd, will

FORMER SPEAKER LAMENTS PARLIAMENT SHUTDOWN AND ‘EGOS PUT BEFORE PEOPLE’ from page one

“I thought he was correct on principle. I think the result of his actions, though, was unfortunate. I think it was unfortunate that it had to have gotten to that point to shut down the House and conduct no business.

I think that was grossly unfortunate and ought not to have happened in our democracy.

“The case of COVID is a proper reason to sanitise and shut the House down and protect the staff and the members. That’s appropriate. The process of what happened is what concerns me; the fact that he had to chastise the Prime Minister and the leader of government business in their presence. They just sat there like children being scolded and he went on to close the House down for a day that he chose. It was embarrassing and ought not to have happened.”

Dr Major said a deeper appreciation for governance would have prevented such an embarrassing situation from occurring.

“The Prime Minister and the government ought not to have allowed themselves to be caught in such an embarrassing position,”

he said.

Asked if it was because most of them are novices to Parliament he said: “I’m not sure if it’s the fact that they are inexperienced. I was inexperienced. I think it’s more of a common sense and a temperament of the persons elected who have an understanding and a respect for their duties and recognise that they put people first before egos and before a position.

“So I think if there was a deeper appreciation or the overwhelming need to govern that would have taken precedence and would have avoided such an embarrassing situation. There should be a meeting of the minds and that could only happen between the Speaker and the Prime Minister. I think they should work out their differences and move on.

If not, we are going to be faced with a dissolution of the House very shortly. It cannot continue.”

Asked why he thought the Prime Minister and House Speaker might not be getting along, the former House Speaker said he didn’t want to speculate, but whatever it is, the matter should be resolved in the best interest of the Bahamian people.

“I don’t want to speculate

on that,” he said. “Only they know the answer to that. All I know is that we are suffering as the Bahamian people and the citizens ought not to suffer.

Whatever it is, they have to deal with it, get past it and for the greater good move on.”

Like the sitting Speaker, who has tried vehemently to have his position made independent, Dr Major too feels the Speaker of the House of Assembly should be an independent role.

“Fundamentally, I think the Speaker should be independent,” he said. “It is not presently set up that way, but fundamentally and philosophically, yes, I agree with the independence of the Speaker. My concern is how it plays out.

“Despite how independent the Speaker needs an understanding and a comity between himself, the government leader and the Prime Minister. They have to get along. If they don’t get along, whether he is independent or not, nothing is going to get done and the Bahamian people will be short changed.”

Dr Major said it’s not so much the law, but the spirit of the law and the ultimate intent of people working together for the common good.

source the financing. Additionally, passenger facility and other user fees, as well as the revenues to be generated in operating this facility, will service the debt of the Company, he added.

“In many ways, this will almost mirror the current business arrangement that exists with Nassau Airport Development Company and Lynden Pindling International Airport where that facility has little to no cost to the people of The Bahamas,” the Prime Minister said.

“We are paying the Freeport Harbour Company $1 for this airport facility.

Additionally, we are paying approximately $1m to assist in staff severance costs,” he said.

The Freeport Harbour Company has invested $1.6m to convert the Fixed Based Operation or FBO into a new temporary terminal and has been subsidizing the monthly operating costs of this facility. After the transfer date, and until the new PPP is identified through the RFP process, Dr Minnis said the Government has committed to continue to carry these costs.

Speaking on the hotel sale in Grand Bahama, the

prime minister said they are committed to ensuring the continued revitalisation of the Grand economy.

“Grand Lucayan Hotel is evidence of our full commitment to this island, he said.

We did not allow the Grand Lucayan to permanently close and purchased the hotel with a view to handing it over to a purchaser with a plan to revitalise this island’s tourism product,” he explained.

Dr Minnis stated that they delivered on their promise and signed a Purchase Agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and the ITM Group.

“We are in the process of finalising this deal and hope to return soon for the full turnover of the hotel. This airport will play an integral part in the success of that overall development,” he added.

“Royal Caribbean and Carnival have announced and will move forward on the development of their port project once COVID is behind us and cruising returns. Critical to all of this is the redevelopment of your international airport.

This redevelopment will significantly boost stopover arrivals to Grand Bahama,” he said.

Sarah St George, acting chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, also brought remarks, recalling that the airport’s long history dates back to 1958.

PAGE 6, Friday, April 30, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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Published daily Monday to Friday

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Learning lessons with hurricane season coming THE country needs a national mass fatality plan.

That was the recommendation of a local pathologist, Dr Kiko Bridgewater, at the Coroner’s Court yesterday amid the ongoing inquest in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.

The plan would allow the country to better respond to natural crises – and the doctor should know. He was part of the response team after Dorian, and travelled to Abaco several times to examine the bodies of victims.

Those bodies were taken to a 40ft refrigerated trailer, where they were inspected. Dr Bridgewater said from the lessons learned that we need a faster, more organised response to natural disasters – and that we need a forensic morgue to be established, as well as a temporary body storage refrigeration unit.

A faster response would indeed be welcome – which begs the question why is none of this happening right now?

Hurricane Dorian hit Abaco and Grand Bahama in September 2019.

Since then, we have had one full hurricane season last year and we’re headed toward the start of the hurricane season this year.

Why are we still talking about the lessons that we’ve learned instead of putting those lessons into practice?

Dr Bridgewater offers some excellent ideas – a number of which would need significant funding, so where is the budget allocated to improve our hurricane response effort?

If, heaven forbid, another storm the size of Hurricane Dorian comes our way this season, will we be even one bit better prepared than we were in 2019 to deal with the storm itself or its aftermath?

Will we again be loading bodies into a refrigerated trailer with all the lack of dignity that goes with that, and the fear of whether the bodies will be safely preserved?

Will we again leave families waiting for months on end for the identification of bodies so relatives can make peace with the outcome for their loved ones?

In today’s Tribune, you can read some of the personal stories told by relatives, such as the family whose father called to say he was seeking shelter in the roof but the water was rising, or the mother who said she was told her son’s body was

in the trailer only to be left uncertain as to what happened to the body.

These are the horrors suffered by people on the ground in the midst of the storm or dealing with its terrible repercussions – and we cannot say this wouldn’t happen exactly the same way again.

It is one thing to learn lessons, it is another to act upon them – and we have waited too long to make changes already.

The next hurricane season is just over a month away – the time to act is long past, but every day we fail to do so is another day closer to disaster.

Parliament embarrassment Yesterday, we said that the situation involving Parliament being shut down was a mess. In today’s Tribune, former Speaker Dr Kendal Major goes one step further and calls it “embarrassing”.

He’s right, of course. Our democracy deserves better than this.

Dr Major backed current Speaker Halson Moultrie, saying: “I thought the Speaker was correct in his frustration.

I thought he was correct on principle. I think the result of his actions, though, was unfortunate. I think it was unfortunate that it had to have gotten to that point to shut down the House and conduct no business. I think that was grossly unfortunate and ought not to have happened in our democracy.”

It is unfortunate - and in truth, while we sympathise with Mr Moultrie for the situation he was faced with, it really should not have reached the stage where he shut down Parliament prematurely either - that was a step too far.

It shouldn’t have happened in the first place, of course. Mr Moultrie wrote to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Renward Wells, the leader of government business, to warn them about the situation involving staff having been exposed to COVID-19. He got a oneword answer from Dr Minnis, “noted”, and not even that from Mr Wells.

Well done, Dr Major, for speaking up on the subject. It’s more than Dr Minnis and Mr Wells have done. Neither has given an explanation to the Bahamian people.

They should – and without delay – and this fiasco should never happen again.

Your views online Readers on tribune242. com have been posting their responses to the stories making the news this week.

• After Chamber of Commerce chairman Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson said Royal Caribbean’s decision to home port in Nassau “is our chance to shine” and become the region’s top destination “by choice” post-COVID, John responded with this: “Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but what are the safety protocols for cruise ships that port in The Bahamas? If there is some sort of emergency on the ship, say a virus outbreak, does that ship return to its (Bahamas) home port? And when there is say a corona outbreak on a ship does those numbers be included in the stats for The Bahamas?

And if there is a lockdown or cease from sailing order by, say, the CDC, will those ships ‘port’ in The Bahamas and will crews be allowed shore leave? This was a big issue during the pandemic because there wasn’t sufficient dock space for many ships to port in Florida. So many had to ply the seas and come to ports in the Bahamas to change crews, refuel or stock up on supplies.”

• Restaurant owner Michael Scott, QC, whose staff note sparked the debate over “mandatory” vaccines, said: “I don’t want guests to come for sushi and leave with a COVID dessert.”

That prompted this comment from DillyTree: “Mr Scott, I am a frequent customer and while I applaud your wish to keep your guests safe, I’d suggest taking the requirement one step further and require ALL of your GUESTS to show proof of a vaccine or negative testing prior to dining. What’s good for the goose . . . Let’s make this an equal opportunity process than just a onesided bottom line option.

Same requirements for everyone. The more people vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to ‘normal’.

C’mon, let’s not be selfish!”

Bobsyeruncle agreed: “Good point. His nonvaccinated customers

could still leave with their COVID dessert, served up by other COVID carrying customers.”

Themessenger had this to say: “As your employer I might not have the right to mandate your being vaccinated, but I can sure as God made little apples demand that you and anyone else wishing to enter my establishment provide me with a negative COVID test result less than five days old in order to enter. Obviously for the staff those weekly tests would be at their own expense, no brainer really, weekly testing at your own expense or free vaccine twice.”

• The Consultant Physicians Staff Association has again raised concern over the lack of consultation between healthcare workers and the government on the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hrysippus said: “We are in the midst of a pandemic.

It would make sense to consult with epidemiologists but I doubt that the country has one. The physicians were not consulted? Well neither were the plumbers or mechanics, so what?”

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

It has to stop EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT has been some months since I have written a letter to the press. However, several articles in yesterday’s newspaper “jook up ma vexation”, so here goes!

In the first beginning, I am a born and bred ‘true true’ Bahamian, fashioned by the stellar role model of a widowed mother who constantly demonstrated the benefits of independence, self sufficiency, and hard work. These were the assets that developed the Bahamian pride and confidence that fortified the resilient citizens of a colonial Bahamas, who functioned and strived in a community setting.

Fast forward to Bahamian Independence in the 1970s – a time when our society was catapulted from total dependence on a colonial master to being the masters of our own fate.

Much can be said about the pros and cons of Independence, but one thing is unfortunately obvious for the purpose of illustrating today’s letter – the shackles of slavery have clanked their way into the 21 century dragging too many of us along with a pathetic attitude of dependency!

Why do we continue to approach “foreign” entities with head hung down and hat in hand to ask: “Please sir, may I have some more of my own tings?” How we get so? This is totally unacceptable in this day and age, and it has to stop!

For years I have railed against this sorry state of affairs. There are much too many examples of abject servitude and subservience to “foreign” in this country.

Too often and too readily, members of the “powers that be” seem afraid to negotiate with testicular fortitude from a desired position of strength as sovereign Bahamians in order to let those who have the privilege of visiting our shores KNOW THEIR PLACE! I have never been a fan of the cruise ship industry and their “all for them, and lil bit (maybe) for us”

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net modus operandi! Crumbs from the massa’s table time dun long been gone, but it seems like plenty “politrickcians” ain get dat memo since we continue to bend over backwards to prostitute ourselves for couple dollars, slick talk, pretty pictures, and grand promises. I am so very sick of it all, and it has to stop!

For the naysayers out there who are ready to jump up and down saying that without cruise ships we cannot survive, just “res ya nerve” because you are not seeing the bigger picture here. We continue as a people to be too shortsighted and easily blinded and bamboozled by dollar signs, craving instant unsustainable fixes (in five year election time increments) instead of relying on deliberate analysis of the quid pro quo for our long term sustainable benefits. In all things, proper balance should always be the defining force.

The fact that Disney has partnered with the Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce and SBDC to open a business incubator on Eleuthera and hand out $5,000 grants (magic number these days it seems) all around should give us reason to pause since One Eleuthera has been operating very successfully to help Bahamians on that island for years. However, before partnering with their own, we would rather jump in bed with “foreign” and blindly follow their lead, not seeing their obvious motives revolving around Lighthouse Point.

They need that location to make those same mega millions that they are happy to throw us some tiny scraps from since they have earned much of it whilst siphoning off the benefits of our country – and we still too fool to realise that we are begging them for our own tings! This foolishness has to stop!

Here’s the thing about

“foreign” that irks me: even here in the 21st century, slavery is alive and well with countless examples, unfortunately, to illustrate it! “Foreign” feels they can tell us what to do because they assume we are inferior and they are automatically better than us because they hold purse strings to dangle before our greedy ‘politrickcian’ eyes!

Here is my message to ‘foreign’(‘politrickcians’ take note): Do not come into my country with the attitude that you are better, know better, and can do better, just because you can flash dollar signs! In The Bahamas your worth is negligible when weighed in a Bahamian balance that is firmly anchored by the infinite wealth of its people and its environment which we, the people, must fiercely protect as OUR patrimony! These are the assets that should always be considered first and foremost in any negotiation, and if you are not prepared to walk behind or beside us in an equitable agreement, then, please, feel free to sail away to other shores!

Whilst the situation with Disney and Lighthouse Point festers on the one hand, the other hand is also the cause of my next “infuriation” resulting from the present ongoing Royal Caribbean Group and the “throw the Bahamian Toby Smith under the bus” Crown Land travesty!

Why is there even a question of where the balance should lie between a Bahamian’s inalienable rights to Crown Land versus that of “foreign”? All Bahamian entities that are a part of this disgraceful and dishonourable affair should hang their heads in shame! I am sick of it, and it has to stop!

Where is “We March” – now sufficiently scuttled in a senate seat – when needed, as the five year cycle of “election coming” draws nigh, intensifying stupidity and the total dissipation of common sense?

PAM BURNSIDE Nassau, April 29, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 30, 2021, PAGE 7

Former Immigration chief testifies in wedding case

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A FORMER chief executive officer of the Department of Immigration yesterday testified that she could not recall interviewing a Bahamian-Jamaican couple who were accused of entering into a fraudulent marriage, without her interview sheet.

Betty Bain made the comments when she was cross-examined by Frederick Smith, QC, in an ongoing civil case revolving around the alleged rape of the Jamaican woman by a chief immigration officer over six years ago.

Norman Bastian was accused of sexually assaulting Claudia Edwards Bethel on December 15, 2014. At the time, it was reported that he took her to his home and forced her to have sexual intercourse with him.

Mrs Bethel previously waived her anonymity in an interview with The Tribune last year. She also launched a civil suit against the government after her rape case was tossed out of court years ago.

Mr Bastian was never convicted of the offence.

When he was interrogated in 2014, he claimed Mrs Edwards Bethel paid

Mario Bethel to enter into a fake marriage, with their vows exchanged shortly after she first arrived in The Bahamas in early 2010.

Betty Bain who worked at the Department of Immigration as a chief executive officer and office manager from 1997-2012, was the woman who interviewed the Bethels when they were applying for Mrs Edward Bethel’s spousal permit.

Yesterday, she swore in her April 20 affidavit to stand as her witness statement and evidence in chief in the proceedings.

When Mr Smith asked her if she had “specific recollection” of interviewing the couple, Mrs Bain who is now 73, said she did not remember the interview, but knew she conducted it since she recognised her handwriting and signature on the interview sheet.

“So, you would have difficulty in remembering what was said or not said at that interview correct?” Mr Smith asked the woman.

“Well looking at the interview sheet, I remember because of my handwriting and my signature. But if you call the person’s name to me I’m unable to say (whether) I did that interview,” Mrs Bain replied.

Mrs Bain said immigration officials would “usually” use an interview sheet as a guide which would have them question the foreign spouse first and then the Bahamian spouse to confirm the relevant information.

“What I’m asking you is do you have any specific recollection of that happening or are you saying that as a result of the interview sheet?” Mr Smith then asked.

“I can’t remember the interview, but I know what the department normally requires, and the interview sheet is right here, and we question the foreign spouse and then we question the Bahamian spouse,” Mrs Bain replied.

Mr Smith then referenced paragraph six of Mrs Bain’s affidavit, where it stated that she interviewed the Bethels “regarding inter alia how they met and how their relationship developed”. He also asked her if she could recall which person told her what during the interview without referencing her interview sheet.

When she said she could not, Mr Smith said the interview did not differentiate between what was said by Mr and Mrs Bethel because it was “carefully crafted to avoid saying who said what”.

MAN ASSAULTED EX-GIRLFRIEND

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 23-YEAR-OLD man who assaulted his former girlfriend during an argument was yesterday ordered to compensate her for her injuries.

The man – whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of his former partner –- was arrested after the woman told police he “caused one of her teeth to fall out” when they got into a physical altercation on February 27.

He pleaded guilty to one count of assault when he appeared before Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain.

The court was told that a few days after the incident took place, the complainant told police she was at the accused’s residence when messages came to her phone that he happened to see. The prosecution said the messages made the accused angry so he began to beat her about the body which “caused one of her teeth to come out”.

After the woman filed a complaint, the accused was arrested. When he was questioned in police custody, he admitted to grabbing the woman during the argument.

Yesterday, he told the magistrate he did not hit his ex-girlfriend in the mouth.

Instead, he claimed, her

tooth fell out after he “turned her face”. He also said the incident only happened because he was “angry and frustrated.” He insisted that he was sorry for his actions.

In response, Magistrate Swain told the accused he should not be hitting a woman. She also said she was not convinced the accused was truly remorseful for his actions. As a result she fined him $500 or three months in prison for the offence.

Magistrate Swain also ordered the man to compensate his ex-girlfriend $2,000 for her injuries. She said if he didn’t, he could risk spending an additional 30 days in prison.

DRUG COUNSELLING ORDERED

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 22-YEAR-OLD man who said he smoked marijuana to get “a good sleep at night” must attend drug counselling classes for a year to avoid spending six months behind bars.

He pleaded guilty to one count of simple possession during his arraignment before Deputy Chief

Magistrate Andrew Forbes.

Police arrested Secil Adderley after they found eight grams of Indian hemp on him on April 22.

During the hearing, Adderley told the magistrate he bought the marijuana for his personal use but hid the joints when he saw the officers approaching him because he was afraid. He also said he only bought the drugs because he got a

“good sleep at night” after smoking marijuana as the hallucinogen “put him to bed”.

After listening to his explanation, Magistrate Forbes granted the defendant a conditional discharge on the agreement he would attend drug counselling for 12 months. He warned him if he failed to comply with the conditions of his release, he would be sentenced to six months in

RIFLE SEIZED BY POLICE OFFICERS GRAND Bahama Police say they discovered a high powered weapon believed to have been used in a serious incident on the island.

According to reports shortly before 6pm on Wednesday Flying Squad officers, acting on intelligence, proceeded to a track road in the back of town community.

There they discovered in bushes, a black garbage bag wrapped in duct tape, containing an AK-47 high powered rifle with 20 live rounds of ammunition.

The rifle was collected by officers of the Scenes of Crime Unit for processing.

Further inquiries revealed that the weapon is suspected to have been used in a serious matter that is under active investigation in Grand Bahama.

Meanwhile, another weapon was also recovered on another occasion on the same day.

Police said shortly after 10pm officers of the Rapid Response Unit, while on mobile patrol in the area of Sergeant Major Road

and Man-O-War Circle, observed a group of males standing in the area of the park.

The group of males upon seeing the officers fled the area. Officers became suspicious and checked the area from where the group of males had fled. They discovered a black 12 gauge shotgun with five rounds of ammunition and a plastic container with seven foil wraps of suspected marijuana.

Investigations into both matters are continuing.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

In response Mrs Bain stated: “I didn’t have to go into detail. From my handwriting I know I interviewed the couple (so) I didn’t have to go into detail and say I interviewed Mrs Bethel first and Mr Bethel second”.

Mr Smith said he was “having a difficulty” with Mrs Bain’s response because paragraph six of her affidavit said she interviewed the couple, but she was stating she had “no recollection of interviewing them other than the handwritten note”.

“I put it to you that your affidavit appears to suggest that you in fact have specific recollections of an interview when you do not.

Is that correct?” Mr Smith stated.

“I cannot remember the actual interview sitting in the front of them, but from my interview sheet handwriting and my signature I did the interview, I asked them the questions and I honestly wrote what was told to me,” Mrs Bain replied.

During the cross-examination, Mr Smith also asked Mrs Bain if she agreed that there was “no offence under the Immigration Act of a marriage of convenience or a fraudulent marriage” enforced up to 2012 when she retired. He also asked

her if she was ever told to have a “heightened scrutiny in respect to what might be referred to as marriages of convenience”.

In response, Mrs Bain said she could not recall being instructed to do so.

She also said she didn’t have the authority to tell someone she was interviewing that they had to make sure their marriage was not fraudulent.

Instead, she said she would normally conduct an interview to the “best of her ability” before the person’s application would be submitted to the director of immigration for his consideration.

Mr Smith then posed another question: “As the chief executive officer of the Department of Immigration, were you aware of a policy whereby the applicant of a spouse who was a citizen of the Bahamas would not be given a spousal permit if you – or anybody else in your department after investigation – suspected that the marriage was one of convenience or fraudulent?

In response, Mrs Bain stated: “Well, sir, if we have (a) suspicion or adverse report on an application, we would send that for further investigation by the investigation Department of Immigration.”

Yesterday, Mr Smith also argued that the second paragraph of Mrs Bain’s affidavit was “misleading” as it stated that she joined the Immigration Department as a chief executive officer, despite the fact that Mrs Bain was insisting she was just an executive officer “in” the department.

“I came up the rank,” she said. “I was an executive officer, then the next rank was senior executive officer, then the next rank was chief executive officer.

That doesn’t mean I was in charge of the department.

I’m sure you are familiar with position titles in the public service. The positions are given to us, the titles are given to us, but that does not mean that we are in charge of the department,” she explained.

In his closing statement, Mr Smith asserted: “It’s very important in this case for us to try and determine who said what and whether or not what you wrote down was accurate and that’s why I’m going through your affidavit which I put to you gives the appearance of you having an actual recollection of an interview which you don’t, correct?

“I don’t, but I know this is my handwriting,” Mrs Bain replied.

The hearing continues on May 3.

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A 27-YEAR-OLD man was arrested after a shooting incident in the Freeport area.

Superintendent of Police Terecita Pinder reported that on Tuesday police were called to the Coral

Road area near a business establishment shortly before 6pm to investigate reports of gunshots.

She said officers of the Criminal Investigation Department also responded.

Shortly after noon on Wednesday CID officers arrested a male resident of Canary Drive.

She reported officers then went to an area on Westminster and King Neptune Drive, where a silver 9mm pistol, with three rounds of ammunition, was recovered. The suspect is expected to be arraigned before the Magistrate Court in connection with this matter later this week.

MAN ARRESTED AFTER FREEPORT SHOOTING

PAGE 8, Friday, April 30, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

JOSHUA WEECH, left, 14, of Capstone Academy, the only Bahamian to make it into the gold fleet at the Optimist NA Chamionships, and, below, inner city kids get a shot at a private tennis club.

Taking the elitism out of sports

THERE are some sports that only the wealthy will ever be able to afford, like polo. Despite polo’s best efforts to convince a dubious public that it is not just the sport of kings, the reality is that with a team switching horses several times during a single match and each horse running what Forbes estimates to be $45,000 not to mention the costs of the athlete riding it, polo is never going to be everyman’s sport.

But the field around other sports once considered elitist is changing and in The Bahamas you do not have to look very far to see and applaud

By Diane Phillips

the changes. In tennis and in sailing, the playing field is levelling rapidly as coaches and instructors reach deeper into the inner city to find talent and students respond.

You can see it any Thursday afternoon at Montagu or race weekends, the changes right before your eyes. What you can’t see is the impact

those changes are making on young people’s lives.

Those young sailors are not just getting better at reading the wind. They are maturing, learning sportsmanship and gaining self-confidence. Those young tennis players are not just getting better at thwacking a ball back with topspin;

Death Notice For Arrie Drucilla Bastian Evans, 80 of #36 Falcon Crescent, Eastern Estates and formerly of Mangrove Cay, Andros died at Doctor’s Hospital on Thursday, April 22nd 2021.

She is survived by her children: Marcus, Kayman, Maston Jr., Dorin and Leon Sr. Evans, Gayle Evans Davis, Claudette, Shantell, Natheira Evans, Anthony Bastian, Reno Rigby, Mark and Don Pinder, Lindburgh Stuart, Barbara Pinder, Laura Stuart, Lavander Bain, Janice McKinney; son-in-law: James Davis; daughters-inlaw: Traci, Renita, Daphne, and Jenny Evans; other relatives and friends including: Anamese Newbold, Isamalene Bowe, Barbara Bastian, Catherine Sweeting, Maude Adams, Mavis Humes Williams, Dorothy Bastian and many others too numerous to mention.

Arrangements for the funeral service are being finalized and details will be announced at a future date.

they are playing at prestigious clubs and aiming for scholarships.

The playing field is levelling in once elitist sports where the wealthy wore all white on a tennis court or sailed one-design boats that cost a whopping gulp and both sport and the people who participate in it are better for it.

Take Gabriel Newbold, for instance. “He came to us as a very shy youngster, who stuttered and felt uncomfortable around others he didn’t know,” Robert Dunkley tells me. “Within a short time, I had him helping me with presentations to groups like Rotary. The selfconfidence, knowledge and discipline he has developed through sailing have helped him tremendously and today he is with the Maritime Academy where he is studying and working towards his Master Mariners License (Captain of a ship).”

Dunkley is the director of the Bahamas National Sailing School, a non-profit run out of the Nassau Yacht Club and Royal Nassau Sailing Club in conjunction with the Bahamas Sailing Association. More than 2,000 students have gone through one of its programmes over a 10-year period. Joshua Weech started sailing when he was eight-years old. Today, at 14, he is the only Bahamian sailor to ever make it into the Gold Fleet at the Optimist North American Championships. He’s competed in two Optimist North American Championships, the Optimist World Championship and South American Championships in 2019 and is The Bahamas’ top Int’l 420 sailor. Another standout, Paul de Souza is training, aiming for the next Summer Olympics. He’s on the sailing team at the College of Charleston on scholarship along with two other Bahamians from the Bahamas National Sailing School, Brent Burrows and Christopher Sands. Three others, Spencer Cartwright, Tristan Eldon and Jaxon Parker, are on sailing scholarships at other universities.

About a third of the sailors are female. Ivanna Seymour started in her early teens and fell in love with the sea. She graduated from St Augustine’s

College, went on to Holland College on Prince Edward Island in Canada to earn her Bridge Watch rating certification.

The next year, she became a deck cadet on the MV Legend of Dean’s Shipping, a year later she joined Campbell Shipping, did 36 months of sea time, went on to earn a degree in the UK in Nautical Science.

Now with a Chief Officer Unlimited License, she is a ranking officer with Royal Caribbean and intends one day to be the first female captain of one of its ships.

Back on land, coach Cory Francis enlists support of people like Kit and Lesley Spencer to run a weekend tennis programme that gives kids from his home turf of Saxons Valley the opportunity to play at courts from Lyford Cay to the Nassau Lawn Tennis Club.

It’s a fascinating concept – the kids, ages seven to 13, are driven to their different sites by police in those big black SUVs usually reserved for high-ranking officers.

Two coaches donate their time to the tennis experience and supporters like the Spencers help make it happen. You may remember Kit Spencer from the fund-raising that resulted in the National Tennis Stadium when he and Tommy Turnquest pounded the pavement looking for donations, funding the construction of one court at a time.

On a recent Saturday at the hideaway historic Lawn Tennis Club, the oldest clay courts in continuous play in the Western Hemisphere, Spencer said he was impressed by the positive energy and appreciation.

“The kids really seemed to enjoy the experience.

After the training sessions were over, they swept the courts and cleaned the lines in the same way our members do. One even asked for a mop as she thought their shoes had left some clay dirt on the floor of the ladies changing room.

One of the girls had seen the library of old books in the ladies changing room and politely asked if she might have a book to take home and read. This was of course granted but unfortunately most of the books are not really that suitable for seven to 13-year-olds.

Apparently, Harry Potter

would be a favourite.”

To be honest, sports are so broad-based in The Bahamas that I had never given a thought to one being more elitist than the other, seeing as how we don’t have polo, until the phone rang one day and it was Mike Sands. When Mike Sands - former twotime Olympian track star, head of the BAAAs, first Bahamian president of the NACAC - calls, I listen.

He said he was following my campaign (it’s not just mine, Mike) to make sailing the official national sport but he did not think it qualified because not every kid can do it. He cited baseball in the US being the official American sport because baseball fields are everywhere.

Here’s my rebuttal to Mike, whom I will always respect and admire. Wrong, Mike. It’s less expensive to buy a fleet of small boats that all schools can share for a rotating sailing programme than it is to build a baseball field or stadium or put a track course at every school. Not every child has to own a boat, they take turns sailing in a fleet of boats. There’s certainly enough water to sail in and last I checked, admission to that was free.

So for all those truly wellmeaning, but doubting like Mike Sands who believe sailing is too elitist to become the official national sport, despite the fact that Sands helps with the sailing school’s programme, think about what it has done for those kids in college on sailing scholarships, for the 2,000 who have learned discipline and teamwork and a love of the sea. Think about Gabriel Newbold or Ivanna Seymour who one day may be the first female captain of an Oasis class ship.

Here’s how Dunkley put it: “It is living proof that sailing is not just for the wealthy but for ALL Bahamians. All these youngsters need are caring parents and the knowledge that Bahamas National Sailing School and sailing clubs throughout the islands are there for them. It is not a matter of money.”

But still happy to hear from you any time, Mike.

Will always hold you in high regard.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 30, 2021, PAGE 9

A HEALTH worker takes a nasal swab sample of a woman as others wait to test for COVID-19 in Hyderabad, India, yesterday.

Photo: Mahesh Kumar A/AP

India sets new record as virus runs rampant NEW DELHI Associated Press INDIA set another global record in new virus cases yesterday, as millions of people in one state cast votes despite rising infections and the country geared up to open its vaccination rollout to all adults amid snags.

With 379,257 new infections, India now has reported more than 18.3 million cases, second only to the United States.

The Health Ministry also reported 3,645 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 204,832. Experts believe both figures are an undercount, but it’s unclear by how much.

India has set a daily global record for seven of the past eight days, with a seven-day moving average of nearly 350,000

infections. Daily deaths have nearly tripled in the past three weeks, reflecting the intensity of the latest surge. And the country’s already teetering health system is under immense strain, prompting multiple allies to send help.

A country of nearly 1.4 billion people, India had thought the worst was over when cases ebbed in September. But mass public gatherings such as political rallies and religious events that were allowed to continue, and relaxed attitudes on the risks fed by leaders touting victory over the virus led to what now has become a major humanitarian crisis, health experts say.

New variants of the coronavirus have partly led the surge.

Amid the crisis, voting for the eighth and final phase of the West Bengal

state elections began Thursday, even as the devastating surge of infections continued to barrel across the country with ferocious speed, filling crematoriums and graveyards.

More than eight million people are eligible to vote in at least 11,860 polling stations across the state. The Election Commission has said social distancing measures will be in place.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party have faced criticism over the last few weeks for holding huge election rallies in the state, which health experts suggest may have driven the surge there. Other political parties also participated in rallies.

The state recorded more than 17,000 cases in the last 24 hours — its highest

number since the pandemic began.

Starting Wednesday, all Indians 18 and older are allowed to register on a government app for vaccinations, but social media were flooded with complaints the app had crashed due to high use, and once it was working again, no appointments were available.

The vaccinations are supposed to start Saturday, but India, one of the world’s biggest producers of vaccines, does not have enough doses for everyone. Even the ongoing effort to inoculate people above 45 is stuttering.

One state, Maharashtra, has already said it won’t be able to start on Saturday.

Satyender Jain, health minister in the capital, New Delhi, also told the Press Trust of India news agency

on Thursday that the city doesn’t have enough doses to vaccinate people between 18 and 44.

Since January, nearly 10 percent of Indians have received one dose, but only around 1.5 percent have received both required doses.

Yesterday, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters that the country is facing an “unprecedented” surge with over three million active cases that have pushed the health system close to collapse, causing acute shortages of oxygen and other hospital supplies.

Help is coming from overseas. “There’s been an outpouring of, let’s say, assistance from various countries,” Shringla said, adding that over 40 nations have pledged to send assistance.

The White House said the US will send more than $100m worth of items, including 1,000 oxygen cylinders, 15 million N95 masks and 1 million rapid diagnostic tests. They will begin arriving Thursday, just days after President Joe Biden promised to step up assistance. The US and Britain have already sent a shipment of medical items.

France, Germany, Ireland and Australia have also promised help, and Russia sent two aircraft carrying oxygen generating equipment, Shringla said.

Meanwhile, the US has advised its citizens to leave India. An alert on the US Embassy’s website warned that “access to all types of medical care is becoming severely limited in India due to the surge in COVID19 cases”.

INCENTIVES ADDED TO VACCINE DRIVE FREE beer, pot and doughnuts. Savings bonds.

A chance to win an all-terrain vehicle. Places around the US are offering incentives to try to energise the nation’s slowing vaccination drive and get Americans to roll up their sleeves.

These relatively small corporate promotion efforts have been accompanied by more serious and far-reaching attempts by officials in cities such as Chicago, which is sending specially equipped buses into neighborhoods to deliver vaccines. Detroit is offering $50 to people who give others a ride to vaccination sites, and starting Monday will send workers to knock on every door in the city to help residents sign up for shots.

Public health officials say the efforts are crucial to reach people who haven’t been immunized yet, whether because they are hesitant or because they have had trouble making an appointment or getting to a vaccination site.

“This is the way we put this pandemic in the rearview mirror and move on

with our lives,” said Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner.

Meanwhile, more activities are resuming around the US as case numbers come down. Disneyland is set to open Friday after being closed for over a year, while Indianapolis is planning to welcome 135,000 spectators for the Indy 500 at the end of May. Still, rising hospitalisations and caseloads in the Pacific Northwest prompted Oregon’s governor to impose restrictions in several counties, and her Washington counterpart was expected to follow suit.

Demand for vaccines has started to fall around the country, something health officials expected would happen once the most vulnerable and most eager to get the shot had the opportunity to do so. Now the vaccination drive is moving into a new, more targeted phase.

“This will be much more of an intense ground game where we have to focus on smaller events, more tailored to address the needs and concerns of focused

communities,” Stack said.

Nationally, 82 percent of people over 65 and more than half of all adults have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But while vaccinations hit a high in mid-April at 3.2 million shots per day on average, the number had fallen to 2.5 million as of last week.

As demand slows to a trickle at mass vaccination sites such as stadiums, some state and local governments are no longer asking for their full allotment of vaccine from Washington. And many large vaccination sites and pharmacies are letting people walk in, no appointment necessary.

Chicago officials are planning vaccination sites at festivals and block parties and are working with barber shops and hair and nail salons to pair free services with vaccination.

The slowdown in the US stands in stark contrast to the situation in the many poorer corners of the world that are desperate for vaccine.

Private Service For

Velma Bain, 86 of Apple Street off Rolle Avenue, will be held at Woodlawn Gardens, Soldier Road on Saturday, May 1st, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Officiating will be The Rev. Fr. Scott Brennen assisted by The Ven. G. Kingsley Knowles and The Rev. Canon Atma Budhu.

Viewing will be held in the “Celestial Suite” at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd., Robinson and Soldier Road on Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

PAGE 10, Friday, April 30, 2021

THE TRIBUNE