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VOLUME:116 No.88, MAY 1ST, 2019

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

ALICIA WALLACE: BISHOP’S RIGHT BUT WE NEED ACTION

300 BAMSI payment records go missing

LION FISH EXPLOSION TRACED TO TAIWAN

SEE PAGE 11

Lost paperwork hindering audit

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE completion of the audit into the Bahamas Agriculture & Marine Science Institute has been prolonged as the auditors hunt for information concerning hundreds of disbursements, BAMSI chairman Tennyson Wells said yesterday.

Auditors from Pannell, Kerr & Foster International have been performing analytics on BAMSI’s accounting data and procedures.

“They’ve been trying to verify that the cheques and

wire transfers were used in connection with the goods and services they should’ve been used for,” Mr Wells said. “They sampled 900 [disbursements] but they couldn’t locate cheques and supporting documentation for 300 of those. Auditors advised us that they don’t feel comfortable dealing with the issue until a significant number of those cheques are located.

“When they were trying to finish the audit three, four months ago and couldn’t locate any information on the cheques or wire transfers they went to the

LUCAYAN MANAGERS AGREE SETTLEMENT

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Lucayan managers have agreed to voluntarily separate from the resort with a total payout of $4.4m, Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar announced yesterday, signalling the end of an at times contentious battle between stakeholders.

The payout breaks down to $3.7m from the government and approximately $700,000 from a Family Guardian Insurance annuity, which the 91 managers are entitled to tap in to.

BROTHERS IN GRIEF

SEE PAGE THREE

The issue had dragged on for more than seven months and Grand Lucayan’s board and the Minnis administration had previously taken a position that, in committing an extra $500,000 of taxpayer monies over and above what BHMA members were due according to law, they were not prepared to go beyond a $3.1m-$3.2m offer.

There are 114 middle management staff, which the minister said was a lot more managers than needed. He said they could expect to begin receiving payouts at the latest in the second week of May. SEE PAGE FIVE

MARINES of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force held a prayer service at Government House yesterday to remember their comrade, Petty Officer Philip Perpall, who was killed on Sunday. Full story - Page 2 Photo: Letisha Henderson/BIS

COOPER IN CLASH ‘FEARS FOR MY MEN ON REVENUE STATS AS SHOTS RANG OUT’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

EXUMA & Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper bashed the government’s fiscal policies yesterday, saying its latest fiscal report proves the failure of the Minnis administration’s strategies.

His statement came after the Ministry of Finance released a report on the

government’s budgetary performance during the first nine months of the fiscal year.

With less than three months left until the end of the fiscal year, the government has obtained $1,689.1 bn of its projected $2,648.7 bn revenue.

“It is astounding to learn that the government is $1 billion behind its projected SEE PAGE FIVE

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

TESTIMONY in the Coroner’s Court inquest into the police shooting death of 20-year-old Deangelo Bodie Wallace continued yesterday, with a jury being told responding officers were greeted at the scene by a “bareback man” running for his life.

Police Superintendent

Dereck Butler, whose unit was first to arrive at the Saturday, May 16, 2015 scene, said he and his officers fanned out across both McCullough Corner and Spence Street, attempting to identify the source of what Police Control Room suggested was, “someone with a machine gun in Fort Fincastle trying to kill a man”.

SEE PAGE THREE

SANDS DEFENDS CARE FOR BIMINI VICTIM TECHNOLOGY

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands yesterday defended the efforts made to save Alain Perez’s life after he was shot in Bimini over the weekend amid allegations by a friend of the victim that “inaction”

by Bahamian officials and an “under-equipped” clinic contributed to his death.

A mystery gunman shot the Cuban-American man

VICTIM: Alain Perez multiple times in his torso when he opened the door of his condo on Sunday

around 1am. Perez opened the door after hearing knocking, his roommate told police. Perez lived just opposite the popular Resorts World Bimini.

When the victim was transported to the Bimini clinic, Dr Sands said a consultant physician trained in advanced trauma life support attended to him. She cared for the 47-year-old for roughly one hour and 50 minutes, the minister said.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE SEVEN

FUTURISTIC TRANSPORT TO TAKE OFF

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, May 1, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

THE ROYAL Bahamas Defence Force held a prayer and healing service at Government House yesterday to remember their comrade, Petty Officer Philip Perpall.

Photos: Letisha Henderson/BIS

PM leads prayers for murdered marine as colleagues grieve

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has extended condolences to the family of murdered Royal Bahamas Defence Force Petty Officer Philip Perpall, calling the incident a terrible tragedy. The prime minister also urged the church to pray for the soul of the marine and for his loved ones.

“I offer my condolences also to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. I also ask you to pray for the other members of the force who witnessed the killing of a fellow officer,” Dr Minnis said in remarks to attendees of Voice of Deliverance Ministries’ 37th annual general assembly at the church on Monday night.

“This is a terrible tragedy. Let us continue to pray for peace in our land and for all of those who are victims of crime and for their families,” he continued.

According to National Security Minister Marvin Dames, the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s investigation into the killing is progressing and officers should be coming to the public in short order.

He also said police were speaking to a number of people in connection with the incident, when asked if anyone was still in custody.

On Sunday during a press briefing, Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson said a person of interest was assisting police with investigations.

At that same briefing, Mr Dames said officials were looking at establishing a body separate from police to look into changes that needed to be made to enhance security measures.

He was asked yesterday when this would come into effect, but gave no sure date.

PO Perpall was shot multiple times by a lone assailant in

the guard room as he took a break with other marines around 2.30am Sunday and died on the scene.

“As a government when we came into office one of the things that we recognised given the world that we are living in today and we see what is taking place all around us, security as it relates to government buildings in particular in many of our countries have not been robust enough,” the minister told reporters yesterday.

“So one of the things that we recognise is that we have to change this and so I’ve had a team working on a policy in relation to security at government buildings to ensure we bring the requisite security that is needed to protect these buildings to the forefront and they have not yet completed their work, but should be completing their work shortly and so we should be bringing that to the fore real shortly.

“After having said that, immediately following this incident I would have met with the commissioner of police as well as the commodore of the defence force. The defence force has the responsibility for the protection of all government buildings and I had directed the commodore with immediate affect to do an immediate assessment of key government structures throughout the country and apply whatever resources needed to ensure that we don’t have a recurrence of an incident like this.”

He also responded to Progressive Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis’ criticism that PO Perpall’s death calls into question security at all government buildings in the capital and those on Family Islands where diplomats are stationed.

“Well last time I checked they

were the government about two years ago, what have they done?

“As I said before we have been taking measures to ensure that we put a permanent fix in place to ensure that Bahamians as well as visitors alike are safe. The leader of the opposition now has become an expert on security but during their tenure two years ago we had the bloodiest period in the history of this country and so he is no expert on giving advice in that regard.”

“Just yesterday I had an opportunity to spend some time with the family. This family is no stranger to me. As a matter of fact the deceased is the brother of my brother-in-law, the deceased’s brother is married to my sister. I know this family and so our hearts go out to them.

“I don’t want to get into any political wrangling over this,” Mr Dames also said.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 1, 2019, PAGE 3

300 BAMSI payment records go missing from page one bank for the information and it has been a long process getting info. Certainly, I would say the banks have not been as cooperative as they could be though I understand they’ve started to assist.”

In analysing the disbursements, the auditors will review supporting documentation, invoices, documented approvals and whatever information is needed to ensure the transactions were legitimate and proper. The missing cheques and the lack of supporting documents for some

payments is a huge concern, Mr Wells, pictured right, said, one that has already forced BAMSI to adjust its internal controls and make personnel changes.

“We have appointed a new acting financial controller,” he said. “There was shake up in the financial section and human

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net LABOUR Minister Dion Foulkes confirmed yesterday that he has signed the strike certificate for the Water and Sewerage Management Union — and therefore both Water and Sewerage Corporation unions are now in possession of strike certificates.

This paves the way for strike action at the water provider.

WSMU president Ednel Rolle and Bahamas Utilities Services and Allied Workers Union (BUSAWU) president Dwayne Woods held a joint press conference yesterday afternoon to express thanks to their members and the Ministry of Labour for the achievement.

The union presidents also confirmed that they both have meetings with the corporation set for May 7 to negotiate key outstanding issues.

For WSMU, this is primarily the signing of an industrial agreement. For BUSAWU, the three major issues include the “failure” of the corporation to “adhere to the promotional procedure,” WSC’s “failure” to post an organisational chart displaying which positions are filled, and the breach of an agreement that concerns union member’s leave from WSC. Mr Woods, who represents the line staff, told reporters yesterday that he is “going to the table in good faith” and with optimism.

He also said he hopes the present relationship between the union and WSC can be enhanced to the point “where the strike certificate will not have to be used”.

Contention has been brewing between the unions and the WSC executive board for some time.

When asked if WSC executive chairman Adrian Gibson is sympathetic to union concerns, Mr Rolle suggested “ego” is part of the problem and added the

BUSAWU president Dwayne Woods yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/ Tribune Staff chairman “does not see a lot of people as his equal”.

On Monday, Mr Foulkes announced his decision to certify the strike vote for BUSAWU. However, he noted he was seeking legal advice regarding the WSMU strike vote and promised to make a decision on WSMU later that day.

Speaking to reporters outside Cabinet on Tuesday, Mr Foulkes said: “I just want to give an update on the (WSC) situation. Yesterday I signed the strike certificate for the line staff union. And today, this morning actually, I signed the strike certificate for the managerial union.

“I had discussions with the Attorney General’s Office, also with the director of labour, and also with

the executive chairman of [WSC] to come to a determination. And we thought that that was the right thing to do. But notwithstanding the fact that both strike certificates have been issued, I want to encourage both sides to please sit down and talk, to give a little bit, and see if you can reach a resolution to the issues on both sides.”

Mr Foulkes said there has been an improved relationship between the unions and WSC executives and he is hopeful an amicable resolution to issues can be reached.

During the press conference, Mr Woods said: “It is our hope that we can enhance the present relationship to the point where the strike certificate will not have to be used, as

resources section because the auditors felt the cheques and documents should’ve been available.

You shouldn’t be running around months looking for these things. The information should be right there.”

Mr Wells said a couple of people in the finance department have resigned

during the course of the audit investigation, though he wouldn’t say if they were pressured to leave.

The BAMSI audit is expected to cost less than $100,000.

The release of the audit was expected months

ago. Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells, who at the time was minister of agriculture, said last year that it would be ready

by June 2018.

Editorial View - Page 4

Unions told they have the right to strike - but say they don’t want to use it

advised by the minister of labour.”

When asked what the likelihood of his union taking any form of industrial action is, Mr Woods said it is “all up to the corporation,” adding his union is “extending the olive branch.”

“We are here and we are here extending the olive branch, although they may say we don’t or we are disingenuous, we want them to know that we are extending the olive branch from the depths of our heart.

“But we have problems.

And you can’t expect us to extend the olive branch today and then you create a bone of contention tomorrow and then you make it look like the union is the villain.”

When asked if there is a timeline before the union makes a decision to take action, Mr Woods said WSC has already sent out an invitation for a meeting, which is scheduled for May 7.

Mr Rolle, meanwhile, addressed the controversy surrounding his union’s strike poll. Last week, Labour Director John Pinder said WSMU did not have the two-thirds majority vote required for a strike certificate.

“I think the ministry looked at the law, when they looked at the law they realised the union is in its rights,” Mr Rolle said. “And what I admire about them is when they [found] out they as wrong, they fixed it and they issued our strike certificate and there’s honour in them. I so hope that the

chairman understands what honour is.

“Now, our issue is only one issue: the signing of the industrial agreement. Now I hear the chairman still making his rounds, arguing the point about this industrial agreement. Since our first press statement on April 12, it is now April 30, I’ve only asked him to do one thing: present the evidence to the public.

“That’s all I’ve asked him to do. If you say, two years you’ve had a position, you have all your data, you have all your facts, present it to the public. Let the public agree with your position. That’s all I ask him to do. Nothing else.

And he fails to do that.

Then do the honourable thing like the ministry: sign the industrial agreement.”

FEARS FOR MY MEN AS SHOTS RANG OUT, COURT IS TOLD from page one Supt Butler said his unit, while in the area of a dirt road between the two named roadways, was approached by a partially undressed man who suggested he was the man being chased and was in need of police assistance.

Supt Butler said in the midst of this interaction, however, officers made visual contact with the armed assailant who, upon seeing officers, retreated in an easterly direction along Spence Street.

Supt Butler said his unit, inclusive of Assistant Superintendent of Police Alexander Pierre, Detective Constable 2790 Jara McPhee, Sargent 771 Kenneth Greenslade and Police Constable 2823 Jahmal Rolle, the interested parties in the inquest, pursued this armed assailant on foot, leaving Supt Butler to retreat to his vehicle alone.

It is understood that at this point, the group of officers encountered the deceased and at least three other males, who engaged them in gunfire.

Continuing his testimony yesterday, Supt Butler said he drove his unmarked police cruiser over to Mason’s Addition with a view to corner the armed assailants, but in the process of doing so, lost sight of his unit.

A visibly shaken Supt Butler fought back tears

as he recounted the ordeal yesterday, telling the court he feared he had lost everything after hearing a “rapid succession of rounds”.

He said the unit went in only with guidance provided by the Police Control Room and the information provided at the scene by the unnamed male in search of safety. He said these two accounts quickly gave way to a terrifying ordeal that left him forever shaken.

Supt Butler added that his unit was pinned down in a dark area, where he heard one single round followed by continuous high-powered rounds.

“If I hear one, one, one shots, then I know that my officers have a fighting chance. But when I hear [continuous machine gun fire] then I know.”

With tears dripping down his face, he told the court: “I felt like I was by myself… like I had lost everything…

I thought anything could’ve happened.”

Supt Butler was one of three officers to take the

stand yesterday, all of whom give an account of their involvement with either the pursuit of the armed assailants during the morning in question, or their role in the investigations following the gun battle between police and the group of armed men.

Woman Constable 3334 Brianna Mackey testified that she interacted with two complainants brought into the Central Police Station following the incident.

Throughout her testimony she indicated that these two complainants suggested to police that their lives and property were, in some way threatened by the deceased and others.

Specifically, WC 3334 Mackey said one of the complainants identified the deceased by his alias “Fingers.” and named him as the assailant who had stuck a gun in his back moments before police arrived.

WC 3334 Mackey said following her interview of these two complainants at

the Central Police Station, the men were transferred to the Central Detective Unit’s University Drive offices for further questioning.

According to reports, officers were responding to gunfire in the area of Fort Fincastle and Mason’s Addition when they encountered the deceased, with three other men.

Two of the men were

arrested after the incident and a fourth man was, at the time of the incident, still being pursued.

“Quick action by police has resulted in the arrest of two suspects who opened fired at them and the fatal shooting of another suspect who also opened fire on police,” a police report relating to the incident noted.

Police said they

recovered a Glock pistol from the deceased, and an AK-47 assault rifle that was dropped by one of the men who was arrested at the scene.

The officers are represented by attorney K Melvin Munroe, while Anishka Missick sits as marshall in the inquest.

The case will continue today before Coroner Jeanine Weech-Gomez.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, May 1, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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

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Time to stop the rot at BAMSI THE long wait for answers over what has been going on at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Sciences Institute (BAMSI) goes on.

Readers would be forgiven for sighing in frustration whenever the name BAMSI is mentioned.

First, there was the saga over the fire that destroyed a building at the site – with the contractor building the dormitory having no insurance.

Then the promised audit of the institute rumbles on and on. Calls for audits into BAMSI go back as far as 2014, while Minister of Agriculture Renward Wells was saying it would be done by June of last year. Summer came, summer went, no sign of the audit.

At the start of this year, BAMSI chairman was talking about the “ridiculously favourable” contracts handed out ahead of the 2017 election and warned ominously of documents having been lost or destroyed.

Mr Wells told of contracts being handed out worth $50,000 to $80,000 with increases built in every year and an extra year’s salary if the contract was not renewed.

Now, in today’s Tribune, we hear the auditors are still hunting for information on hundreds of disbursements.

Mr Wells says documentation for 300 cheques is still missing – showing little progress in that regard since January.

Regardless of who is or is not in government, one thing should be a constant: good bookkeeping. This is the people’s money. Not the FNM’s, not the PLP’s, but the people’s – and anyone who has

purposefully destroyed documentation to cover up payments that should not have been made is undermining the country itself and should be held to account.

It is disturbing that the audit team has reportedly had trouble over a lack of cooperation from banks too. If this money was paid out through proper channels, then those authorities should be able to get confirmation from the banks of the cheques paid out. That’s not an area where privacy should be an issue – this is simply asking did you clear a cheque from us to an account?

That step should not be needed, of course, that information should be readily at hand in any organisation – but in the absence of such good bookkeeping, it’s a step we hope the banks will assist with swiftly.

Between the circumstances surrounding the fire and the lackadaisical checking of insurance for the contractor, and the claims of bumper contracts being handed out, it’s hard not to think that BAMSI has been regarded as a money tree for some.

Members of the previous administration have spoken of BAMSI as a good part of the PLP legacy – we’ll see if that’s still the case when – if ever - the audit finally reports.

When that time comes, we hope names will be named for anyone who destroyed documents or approved excessive payments. And it would benefit us all for procedures to be put in place to prevent such things ever happening again.

Keep up the good work EDITOR, THE Tribune I THOUGHT that your readers might be interested in this article by a young Turks Islander after a visit to The Bahamas. His name is Drexel Seymour and he says: I BELIEVE by now everyone knows that my favourite place in the world is the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). Naturally, there are times when I get frustrated with the way things are done in this country and I feel like packing up and moving away but I concluded that no matter where you live, there will be situations in your environment you do not like.

Over the past week and a half, I spent much time in The Bahamas and I must say, the Bahamas has many things right when it comes to their number one industry. By the way, I am not disrespecting my birthplace, I think there is room for improvement and we can learn from others.

Arrival at the airport From the moment you arrive at Immigration and Customs, you truly feel welcome to the Bahamas.

I made two separate trips over the last two weeks; they politely welcome me to the Bahamas.

Travelling airport

from

the

As you travel from Nassau airport, the place is well landscaped and

cleaned. This is a great first impression for any visitor coming from the airport to the hotel.

Friendly people I know many countries in the Caribbean like to brag about who has the friendliest people. I have travelled to quite a number of Caribbean countries, but I got to give this prize to The Bahamas. I believe the Bahamians are very sincere in their friendliness to a point where it is engrained in their culture. I know we in the TCI also like to brag about this accolade.

I believed we used to be the friendliest people, but somehow, we have changed.

Perhaps it is because many of us are now prospering and we are only thinking about ourselves. I wish we can go back to how we used to be.

Great customer service One can be friendly and still provide poor customer service. Well in the Bahamas, I have experienced friendlessness and great customer service simultaneously. They go the extra mile. They don’t “point and tell you [to] go there.” they take you there. They check on you regularly to ensure you are OK. Some of us serve customers and only remember them when it is time to pay.

Culture is prevalent Their culture is prevalent no matter where you go. All

you hear is the Bahamian accent from the airport, to the restaurants, to the hospitals. When you are in The Bahamas, you know you are in the Bahamas no matter how many different nationalities are there. It appears that even the “outsiders” have assimilated into the Bahamian culture.

Conclusion Perhaps some of you reading this may think otherwise, but every time I visit The Bahamas, the treatment is consistent. I know TCI receive awards for the best beach and best island but as an outsider visiting The Bahamas, I am not afraid to say this, but the Bahamians got it right when it comes to promoting tourism. Yes, there are other issues in The Bahamas but the experience I encounter far outweigh any other issues. Keep it up Bahamas.

There are so many lessons that we can learn from you.

DREXWELL SEYMOUR

(Drexwell Seymour is from the Turks and Caicos Islands. He was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting at age 19 and a MBA in Finance at age 20. In 1992 at age 22, he took and passed all four parts of the CPA exam. He is currently part of a credit union exploratory committee and hopes to have credit unions established soon in the Turks and Caicos).

Agreed, our customs duties are too high EDITOR, The Tribune THE pugnacious Pierre Dupuch strayed off the metaphorical reservation.

Again.

Mr Dupuch galloped into town to mount a defence of supermarket boss Rupert Roberts when no slight or aspersion was ever cast his way.

Dupuch engaged in his favourite sport – jumping to conclusions. He took more offence at who he thought was asking Mr Roberts to evolve in his thinking on the World Trade Organization (this writer) than he did at what was actually said.

A lot of Dupuch’s confusion appears to stem from the fact that even he is perplexed on the substantive issue. Says he, the argument that The Bahamas must join the WTO in order to eliminate import duties is not true. Indeed. Were that to have been the argument then it is back-to-front.

On the one hand there was never a plan to completely do away with customs duties. Only Hong Kong and Macau have done that. On the other hand, a country generally lowers import duties as a precondition to joining the WTO. To us, high customs duties are a means of funding the government. To the rest of the world it is a penalty tax that hurts exporters who sell their goods to us because it makes their products more expensive for Bahamians.

Mr Roberts admitted as much in a follow-up remark where he defended high duties on imported toilet paper which allow his domestic made rolls to appear cheaper. In other words, he can’t produce a competitive product, so for him to stay in business the government must tax competing imports.

His homemade product is actually more expensive to produce than the imported brands which benefit from economies of scale.

Mr Roberts is obviously a fan of protectionism. A

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net consensus of economists indicates that protectionism has a negative effect on economic growth.

The WTO believes that high import duties are unfair especially in light of the fact that Bahamian exporters sell just under $600 million a year.

We import about $3.5 billion giving us a whopping trade imbalance. Between five and ten percent of what we export is lobster which is generally allowed into foreign markets at or near duty free. A pound of exported Bahamian lobster is often cheaper in Florida than it is in Nassau.

We can all agree that our local fishermen would suffer if other countries increased the duty they charge for our crawfish to be landed in their ports.

Same goes for our local beer manufacturers whose share of exports, though tiny now, could grow.

Dupuch points out that on his ministerial watch Family Island farmers had a surplus of peppers and that Mr Roberts saved the day by buying the lot. Perhaps it might have been better for the farmers and for our trade imbalance if those peppers were exported to the US or the EU. They charge a weighted average import duty of anywhere from 0.1 to 2.1 percent on our agricultural exports.

Dupuch also makes a factitious rebuttal about foreign investment in the supermarket business to try and mock the argument in favour of cross-border partnerships.

Dupuch’s challenges with math notwithstanding, he posited that if a foreign partner buys 45 percent of Mr. Robert’s Super Value conglomerate, that minority stake would give the foreigner control over the 55 percent Bahamian majority owner.

What Dupuch also

ignores is the fact that if Mr. Roberts values his business at (say) $500 million, then the foreign partner would have to pay Roberts $225 million for 45 per cent of his company.

A cursory check would reveal that despite Perry Christie’s Houdini style logic, the foreign partners who invested in BTC did so for control.

In the end, Dupuch sees eye-to-eye with this writer on the point that our customs duties are too high and that this is pushing up the cost of imported merchandise which is just about everything we consume.

His point about car dealers making less in profits on the sale of a vehicle than the government takes in taxes is a red herring. Buy a car in Florida and it’s likely the taxman there rakes in more than the dealer also.

That business model is based on trade-ins, used car sales and parts and service.

With customs duties high, we all agree that the pilloried “little man” is being squeezed.

If we drastically reduce customs duties the government has three tools to work with – grow the economy, reduce expenditure and find new tax options.

I refer Mr Dupuch to a chart which lists all countries by the weighted mean average of the import duties they charge. We are number two on that list at 18.5 percent, behind only Bermuda. Hong Kong is number 180 at zero percent. The US averages 1.66 percent duty and Canada is lower still at 1.52.

Regionally, Trinidad and Tobago averages 8.6 percent duty and Jamaica 10.8. Our Caricom neighbours are members of the WTO and they have lower customs duties than we do.

Their VAT rate is 12.5 and 16.5 percent respectively, they have robust supermarket competition and they both export peppers.

THE GRADUATE Nassau April 29, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 1, 2019, PAGE 5

Cooper and Turnquest clash over revenue stats LEFT: Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest; right, Deputy leader of the opposition, Chester Cooper.

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

from page one revenue target with only three months left in the fiscal year,” Mr Cooper said. “It’s inconceivable that this administration budgeted so poorly. That value added tax was raised by 60 percent, yet that the government is on track to fall short of its forecast collection by hundreds of millions of dollars is a failure of epic proportions. It is a failure that with three quarters of the year passed, only 63 percent of revenue has been collected.

The minister of finance knows full well that there is no windfall expected in the last few months of the budget year that will get them close to the target amount. It is clear and apparent

by their own admission that this administration botched the implementation of VAT and other taxes due to poor modelling and a lack of consultation.”

To date, the government has brought in 56 percent of its projected $1.061 billion VAT revenue. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister and Finance Peter Turnquest said the transition period granted to the hotel and construction industries and consumer adjustment to the VAT increase is responsible for this lag. During this fiscal year the government allowed the construction and hotel industries to levy VAT at the previous 7.5 percent rate on their pre-booked business.

Mr Cooper said: “Whose fault is it that hotels and others

were given a grace period to implement VAT because the government failed to understand many of their commitments were made with the understanding that VAT would not be hiked?

The FNM is shamefully piling taxes and fines on the backs of the poor and a struggling middle class to simply appease ratings agencies and the IMF. The FNM is disgracefully starving capital expenditure and neglecting infrastructure in order to hit a deficit target that no one in this country asked for…Now the minister of finance suggests that next year, the budget targets are expected to be met. If they were so off with this budget exercise, why on earth would anyone believe they will craft a more realistic budget next year?”

LUCAYAN MANAGERS AGREE SETTLEMENT

THE GRAND LUCAYAN from page one “I am delighted to announce today that we have come to an arrangement with the managers union at the Our Lucayan,” the minister told reporters outside Cabinet yesterday morning. “We have a deal.

“So there are approximately 91 managers that are included in the deal that may alter somewhat and we have agreed to pay them $3.7m.

“They have other funds that are in an annuity with Family Guardian, which they will be entitled to tap in to as well so that will take the total payout to $4.4m.

So this is a good day for Grand Bahama.”

He continued: “It allows these employees to go home with a lump sum and to prepare for the upcoming employment opportunities that are going to present themselves with the Carnival port and the Royal Caribbean acquisition of the Grand Lucayan.

So the government is marching ever closer to

the disengagement from this acquisition and as far as I know everything is proceeding according to planned with that process, so this is a milestone.

“I must compliment and thank Obie Ferguson (chief negotiator) and Kirk Russell (vice president of the BHMA) who were on the other side. We had good and fruitful discussion and I am glad we are now able to come to a conclusion.”

The minister also offered advice to the managers yesterday on how they should proceed.

“Spend your money wisely and prepare yourself for the other opportunities that are going to present themselves in the next five to six months.

“So as the government marches toward a sale this is a natural outcome of that process and when we hand over the hotel to the new owners we will complete the disengagement of all of the staff and then the new owners will commence the reengagement of who they would like to have or hire new staff.”

As for the completion of the Grand Lucayan’s sale, Mr D’Aguilar said the process is still a long time from completion.

“That’s a process that involves due diligence, an acquisition and then a handover period. So there are milestones and deadlines, but as we get closer to those then I think I’d be in a position to concretise them.

“But right now, they’re going through their due diligence and rather than commit myself to a date as you would all like me to do, I think I would leave it vague and fuzzy for now,” he said.

In late March, Lucayan Renewal Holdings Ltd signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Royal Caribbean Cruises and the ITM Group for the purchase of the Grand Lucayan resort for $65 million and the redevelopment of the Freeport Harbour.

The Minnis administration purchased the resort from Hutchinson Whampoa for $65 million last year.

Mr Turnquest criticised Mr Cooper in a response statement yesterday.

He said: “The opposition spokesman for finance, Chester Cooper, is the modern day Rip Van Winkle – having been asleep through the disastrous run of the Christie/Davis team – is now awake and suddenly talkative regarding the fiscal affairs of the country. Because he was asleep between 2012 and 2017, he clearly missed the billions of dollars in deficits occasioned by the Christie/Davis team. He missed the four downgrades. He missed the failure to implement fiscal responsibility legislation.

He missed their utter lack of effort in turning the country around.

“But alas, the member for

Exuma and Ragged Island is now awake. He gets regular reports on how the people’s money is spent and how it is earned that was never done. He has gotten a fiscal strategy report as part of the now implemented fiscal responsibility legislation. He has witnessed the turn-around of the country’s credit rating profile. He has seen the local and international reports that point to a country that is finally seeing a strengthening economy and a stabilising fiscal situation. He has witnessed a $40 million third quarter surplus. He is watching the current government pay off hundreds of millions of dollars in old bills and still managed to reduce the country’s deficits.”

The new fiscal year begins on July 1.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, May 1, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

RIGHTS BAHAMAS TO FOCUS ON CONDITIONS AT DETENTION CENTRE

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

CONDITIONS at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre and the impact of government policy on migrants and their descendants will be the focal point of activists’ petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) next week.

Rights Bahamas, in a joint request with the Washingtonbased group Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, will seek to expand on their 2015 appearance, arguing that inhumane conditions at the detention facility have persisted despite precautionary measures.

The group submitted a summary of their presentation to the IACHR last week. “The current information available to petitioners suggests that detainees at Carmichael Road Detention Centre and the ‘safe house’ set up for women and children continue to suffer from overcrowding, poor

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net WATERKEEPERS Bahamas yesterday joined the chorus of activists calling for stronger environmental laws in the wake of revelations over dumping

by Carnival Cruise line.

Rasheema Ingraham, the group’s executive director, said the incident highlights the need for more legislative action.

She said: “We are going to have more cruise ships wanting to have private destinations in The Bahamas so we will have more traffic through our waters.

Urgently we definitely need to focus solely on environmental laws or a legislation that affects the movement of ships or any type of large passenger vessels.

“We’ve seen manifestos and the charter of governance talking about environmental laws that they’re going to enact but this is 20 years later. We’ve had consecutive government changes and no attention has been given to environmental legislation.

But we’ve had the sales of private islands or communities and we’ve had the increased level of agreements with cruise liners and other vessels whether they be for commercial or passengers.”

Ms Ingraham said the country should also move in the direction of releasing beach notices so the public can be aware of the water conditions on a regular basis.

“You [can] have high levels of sewage or faecal coliform [present] where persons can get sick from that. If you have people who are snorkelling or swimming and they’re exposed to that…you will find that with small children, older children or people who

nutrition, lack of hygiene facilities, and no access to medical or legal supports,” the presentation’s summary read.

“Former detainees also report that the guards at Carmichael Detention Centre were aggressive and verbally abusive and used physical counts as a means of control and abuse,” it continued.

“Individuals detained at Carmichael in 2017 report that conditions at the safe house for women and children are equally inhumane and that women and their children are vulnerable to sexual violence.”

The group references affidavits from former detainees that were used in habeas corpus applications to secure their release.

Among them are accounts from Haitian Fanel Gassant, who was arrested and detained while awaiting a decision on a spousal permit, and Jamaican Kediesha Bent-John, who is married to a Bahamian, and was detained with her 11-year-old daughter.

The two are currently suing

the government for damages alongside more than 15 former detainees, whose writs detail claims for assault, battery, false imprisonment and breaches of constitutional rights.

To provide an overview of the current situation, activists also plan to cover: frequent immigration raids and round-ups; deportations of people born in the Bahamas; the demolition of shanty towns; children being turned away from school due to lack of documentation; and ongoing threats to human rights defenders.

The group refers to the draft Nationality, Immigration, and Asylum Bill released last month, but notes it contains a provision that would prevent people born in the Bahamas from becoming citizens if they are 19 and older, and provisions that maintain differences in passage of citizenship based on gender.

“Migrants and Bahamians of foreign descent who are detained at Carmichael Road Detention

Centre are not guaranteed access to counsel or the right to be heard before deportation,” the group’s summary read.

“Attorneys for detainees have been blocked from meeting clients and have been forcibly removed from the centre. Similarly, petitioners are concerned about the lack of appropriate procedures for the screening of persons with a legitimate claim for refugee status, asylum seekers, those at risk of refoulement and persons at risk of statelessness.”

At the hearing, activists will request the IACHR conduct an on-site visit to gather information on the effect of government policy on migrants and their descendants, including direct testimonies and a visit the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

The group also plans to ask for the IACHR to: request information from Bahamas government on how the proposed NAIB is compatible with the state’s obligations under international human law; provide country assistance

undersigning and implementing human rights training protocol for officials, including the role and protection of human rights defenders; and conduct further monitoring.

Requests for the government include: revise the draft NIAB to ensure its compatibility with international human rights law; stop arbitrary arrests and halt detentions and deportations until policies are aligned with international law; use detention only as a last resort with clear limits on the length of detention; ensure children are not barred from school due to lack of documentation, that their rights to education are not dependent upon the migratory status of their parents; and engage regularly with civil society.

The RB delegation will include: Stephanie St Fleur, RB president, and committee members Louby George, Fred Smith, Joseph Darville, Alexandria Levarity, Wislande Geffrard and Dawrin Miguel Thompson, along with Kacey Mordecai, a programme officer at RFK Human Rights.

Activists call for stronger laws to counter dumping ONE of Carnival Cruise’s ships

have cuts on them they can get sick from being exposed to those things and whatever [pollutants are] in the water,” she said.

“Our beaches are our prime attraction... [we need notices] because there is so much that can happen. If there was a large outbreak, are our hospitals now prepared to handle these things? Do we have sufficient doctors on staff who

would be able to identify and treat whatever type of illness that may arise from that exposure?’”

The executive director said she has received backlash in the past from “the people in charge” for trying to bring awareness to the public about water conditions.

Ms Ingraham said: “I think it’s a fault on both parts. A fault on our part because maybe we did not do a very good job with letting the public know the type of work that we were doing. But also, a fault of the persons in charge not wanting the public to have

an outcry or react to the fact that these are some of things that happen in our country.

“Some of these things happen because we allow them to happen or we are the culprits ourselves. If we are not aware of the things that are occurring that we can prevent or the things that we are doing that we can stop and then we see something like this is happening, we wouldn’t know that this would have been the result.”

Waterkeepers Bahamas monitors 20 beaches throughout Grand Bahama, Bimini and New Providence now including Montagu

Beach, Saunders Beach and Goodman’s Bay. The organisation tests the waters biweekly during the swimming months starting from April until about the end of October. From November up to the end March, the group tests once a month.

The public can keep up to date with the biweekly results by visiting their Facebook page, Waterkeepers Bahamas.

Two weeks ago, this newspaper reported how Carnival Corporation broke international environmental laws many times in Bahamian waters, according to a

newly-released court mandated report.

The report, which covers April 2017 to April 2018 and was prepared by a US court-appointed monitor, reveals how Carnival illegally dumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of treated sewage in Bahamian waters along with more than 8,000 gallons of food waste.

And in December 2016, the Princess Cruise Lines, a subsidiary of a Carnival Corporation, pleaded guilty to seven felony counts related to vessel pollution and efforts to conceal that pollution, one count of conspiracy, four counts of failure to maintain accurate records and two counts of obstruction of justice. The cruise line had to pay a $40 million criminal penalty, the largest ever for deliberate vessel pollution.

The dumping violated the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) which specifies how food waste and sewage must be disposed.

The US government has extracted millions from companies over the years by aggressively enforcing compliance with MARPOL, but it is not clear whether the Bahamas has the legislative framework in place to do the same.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 1, 2019, PAGE 7

Sands defends efforts made to save Perez from page one

In that time, the physician made contact with air ambulances in New Providence and the United States. However, Dr Sands said the victim would have needed to be accepted at a hospital before the air ambulance was dispatched.

“The patient was shot multiple times to the torso and it is conceivable that he had life - well he did indeed have life threatening injuries and he succumbed from these injuries,” Dr Sands said yesterday morning ahead of the morning Cabinet meeting.

“She [the doctor] would have made contact with ambulances from New Providence and air ambulances from the United States. There is a protocol that is followed by air ambulances from the United States. They require admission acceptance at a hospital.

“In the hour and 50 minutes or so that she was caring for him, no acceptance or admission to hospital in the United States was obtained and as such the air ambulance service was scrambled from New Providence to bring him to Doctors Hospital.

“Unfortunately the patient succumbed before the air ambulance arrived.”

Dr Sands called this a “horrible tragedy,” but said there was a lot of speculation circulating.

“We would like to obviously optimise every single health facility not just for tourists but also for Bahamians. Bear in mind in an archipelago we have 98 clinics around the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

“Those 98 clinics, we try to standardise the care that’s provided and we have a hub and spoke model so that there’s different capacities.

“We are trying to strengthen the capacity in other hubs so that we can respond to the majority of issues that arise. Again this is very unfortunate but whether or not any change in equipment would have made a difference in this gentlemen’s outcome, I think we don’t have enough information to answer that.”

MAIN picture: Alain Perez.

Inset, Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands.

The government also released a statement yesterday, offering condolences to the victim’s family but stressing the right protocol was followed in this case.

“Mr Perez was seen by a board-certified physician and medical team at the Alice Town Community Clinic on Sunday, and received the appropriate treatment,” the statement noted. “Air ambulances from Florida and Nassau were also contacted.

Advanced trauma life support protocol, a programme for medical providers in the management of acute trauma cases, was followed by the physician and medical team, but unfortunately Mr Perez succumbed to his injuries.

“As a destination we welcome millions of visitors to our shores annually, and the Bahamas takes any incident affecting a visitor very seriously. This remains a very active investigation by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, which is using all available resources to bring this matter to a conclusion.”

However, Alex Morlote – who identified himself as a family friend of Perez — gave a differing account of what transpired during treatment at the Bimini clinic.

He raised the concerns

on CBS Miami’s Facebook page.

The post has garnered lots of reaction, with some expressing fear about future visits to Bimini.

Attempts to reach Mr Morlote by The Tribune were not successful up to press time.

“We became aware of the attempt on our friend’s life after leaving the casino in Resorts World Bimini and knocking on the patio door of his condo,” Mr Morlote said in the post written on Monday. “An armed man in civilian clothes, who identified himself as an officer of the law in The Bahamas, came around the corner of the condo to question our intentions and informed us of the recent attempt on Alain’s life. Our friend and brother had already been taken to the Bimini clinic in critical condition.

“We were escorted by a uniformed police officer to the under-equipped Bimini clinic. We were denied access to enter the building by the same escort, the only law enforcement presence at the location of the victim after an attempted homicide.

“From the time he was shot until the time we arrived at the clinic, there were already attempts made by others to have

GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY AT CLIFTON HERITAGE PARK

A GROUND breaking ceremony for the establishment of a Lucayan Village at the historic Clifton Heritage National Park hs taken place. The ceremony marked the first in a series of events that are intended to revitalise the heritage, history and culture of Lucayan, European, and African ancestors.

At the ceremony, Shonel Ferguson, MP and chairman of Clifton Heritage Authority, said: “Bahamians felt this was important enough for them to arouse themselves and get into the consciousness of our nation and say this is worth fighting for; this is worth saving.

This piece of property is costing the Bahamian

people $24 million. That’s how you invest in your history when you believe in your history.”

“As we build, we invite you to watch the work as it happens and volunteer.

We will have your name recorded in the book for all ages that you helped to build the Lucayan Village.

Your grandchildren and great grandchildren will know that you helped.”

him transported to a trauma facility via private air assets. Based on our understanding of the events that followed, the air assets were not cleared by Bahamian authorities to land for Alain’s immediate evacuation from the island.”

Mr Morlote said he contacted the US Coast Guard in Miami to request immediate medevac, but was informed that they were not authorised to fly during hours of darkness to Bimini.

He then contacted the US Embassy in Nassau.

“The person assigned to the phones for the night received my report and tried to contact the duty officer. The duty officer was unreachable. I asked

to escalate the situation and contact the regional security officer for the embassy and was told that the duty officer would do so when he was reached.

I asked for whoever else who served in the embassy with authority to make a call for immediate medevac to be contacted. There did not seem to be a protocol in place for when the duty officer does not answer his phone. I was also informed that the Bahamian authorities had yet to submit a report to the US Embassy that an American citizen was in critical condition and needed life-saving support.

“Within the hour, our friend and brother, Alain Perez, was deceased. His last breath left his body

along with the beautiful soul we all knew and loved.”

Mr Morlote said the next time he heard from the US Embassy was when he called them to follow up at 12.11pm the same Sunday afternoon, but he wasn’t given much information.

They simply stated that they were aware of the situation, he said.

Mr Morlote further raised concern that there had been no indication of a homicide on the island for those there and there was no increase in security protocol.

He said neither was notice given to the visitors that there was an “obvious threat to human life”.

He further urged people to make their own judgment on the matter.

“Consider your decisions when allowing your teenage children to travel to the island without a competent adult. Communicate this tragic story with your elected representatives.

Enhance Alain’s family’s ability to put the pieces of the story together and reach the conclusion they deserve.

“Expose the Bahamian government for their inaction. Expose the US Embassy for their incompetence. An American citizen was left to die,” he wrote.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, May 1, 2019

B

ISHOP Simeon Hall recently called on the church to take a stance against sexual violence, specifically including acts within families and marriage. He made a distinction between the desire for sex and the attempt to gain power which leads to sexual violence. Hall also correctly made the connection between the dehumanisation of women and failure to see us as valuable people, noting society must value women in order for sexual violence rates to go down.

We need more leaders of the church to not only “boldly decry” sexual violence, but to implement

THE TRIBUNE

The

Alicia Wallace

column

programmes and policies that address the issue and support survivors. Hall encouraged women to report to the police, seek medical care, and take their time to heal. These are all important to hear, particularly for women who have been taught their wellbeing is worth less than the reputation of male relatives.

Many churches have men’s groups and women’s groups. Are they

talking about sexual violence, making a distinction between sex and rape, making members aware of available resources, and advising of the support they can expect from the church and its leadership? They need to do all of this, but also to sensitise members to the issue and encourage them to support survivors and refrain from trying to silence them for any reason, biblical or otherwise.

Welcome words but we need action too A troubling part of Hall’s statement, however, was his comment about Bahamian women accepting and promoting “a low self-image of themselves and other women”. It is not clear exactly what he meant, but it appears to be a form of victim-blaming — pointing to women’s own behaviour or beliefs as contributing factors.

It is important to understand that nothing women do outside of perpetrating acts of sexual violence is a cause of sexual violence.

Self-image could mean appearance in which case I emphatically state that nothing about a woman’s appearance is a cause of rape, whether she looks a certain age, wears a particular outfit, is visibly differently-abled, or seems to earn a low income. There

What The Bahamas could learn from Istanbul

is no such thing as asking for sexual violence.

Self-image could also refer to sense of self including abilities and value.

Again, this is not a cause of sexual violence. It is, however, important to separate perceptions of women (including our perceptions of ourselves) from the value of women as human beings and as contributors to family, society, and economy in a system rigged to extract our labour in excessive amounts without appropriate compensation or consideration to the need for change.

Men do not just need to learn to take rejection. They need to respect women and recognise us as human beings. They need to be taught about consent and agency which is our

ability to make decisions on our own. It is critical we all understand consent where agreement to participate in a specific activity is given freely and enthusiastically without coaxing and can be withdrawn at any time, whether or not the activity has started.

Some structures function to limit us and force nonconsensual activities such as the belief that men are entitled to the bodies of their wives and wives are biblically bound by a one-time consent rule. These cause harm on multiple levels and are contributing factors in the high rate of sexual violence in The Bahamas.

People look to the church for direction, and the leadership needs to stand up and provide it in ways that create change.

EVERYWHERE I went in Istanbul, from restaurants and hotels to convenience stores and specialty boutiques, the people were friendly and helpful.

CITIES all over the world welcome people to visit, tour, indulge in what they have to offer and they each have unique characteristics. I have just spent a few days in Istanbul, Turkey and could not help but imagine what it would be like if Bahamian islands — Nassau and Grand Bahama in particular — took a few lessons from it and moved to become vibrant cities that capture and hold attention outside of the typical tourist attractions.

Everywhere I went in Istanbul, from restaurants and hotels to convenience stores and specialty boutiques, the people were friendly and helpful. There were definitely a lot of people trying to entice visitors to come into their restaurants, sometimes becoming insistent that they at least look at the menu. We are all too familiar with people vying for tourist dollars in areas of high competition. Aside from that, people seem to understand boundaries.

When a visitor had their fill of the conversation, they let it go easily and without offence. When in the mood for more chatting, it is not uncommon to be offered chai without obligation to

make a purchase. Store owners enjoy having chai with customers, asking for opinions about the city, and encouraging shoppers to bargain with them.

I stayed ten minutes away from Taksim Square and the busy Istiklal Caddesi (Street) which sees over six million people on any given weekend. It would be inappropriate to compare it with Bay Street, but it certainly sparks imagination as to what could exist in downtown Nassau. There is a very small window in which the street is not completely filled with people.

In fact, people walk in the street like it is there for that purpose, and cars rarely bother to try.

Imagine the portrayal of people moving through Manhattan in movies and multiply it by one thousand. That is Istiklal Street — crowds, movement, shopping, buskers and restaurants. Loaded potatoes, kebabs, a broad range of sweet treats, and mastic ice cream are available on every block. From about one o’clock in the afternoon, the street is full of life and does not seem to quiet down until the wee hours of the morning. Even late on a Monday night, nightclubs are open

and families are out having dinner. There is something for everyone, so locals and visitors alike spend time walking the length of Istiklal and ducking into the side streets to find hidden gems. A week would not be enough to explore this area that appeals to locals and tourists alike.

In Istanbul, it is easy to pick out a visitor. I kept a map of the Caribbean on my phone to show people The Bahamas because about half of them had not heard of our island nation. Some did not even know about the region, and I quickly realised that Cuba was the best entry point for describing our location. People showed genuine interest in life in other parts of the world, a desire to visit when they heard about other countries. It also became clear many of them had never seen a black person before, and this made for an interesting experience. Some wanted to take pictures, some wanted to touch my hair and some just wanted to know my place of origin.

Even with a language barrier, I managed to have some interesting conversations with openly curious people who enjoy hosting.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, May 1, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Venezuela rocked as Guaido urges uprising

DEM0CRATS VOW TO ENFORCE SUBPOENAS

CARACAS Associated Press

WASHINGTON Associated Press

OPPOSITION leader Juan Guaidó took a bold step to revive his movement to seize power in Venezuela, taking to the streets yesterday to call for a military uprising that drew quick support from the Trump administration but also fierce resistance from forces loyal to embattled socialist Nicolas Maduro.

Violent street battles erupted in parts of Caracas in what was the most serious challenge yet to Maduro’s rule — kicked off with a video shot at dawn of Guaidó, flanked by several heavily armed national guardsmen, urging a final push to topple Maduro.

In one dramatic incident during a chaotic day, several armored vehicles plowed into a group of antigovernment demonstrators trying to storm the capital’s air base, hitting at least two protesters.

Still, the rebellion, dubbed “Operation Freedom,” seemed to have garnered only limited military support.

Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said the Trump administration was waiting for three key officials, including Maduro’s defense minister and head of the supreme court, to act on what he said were private pledges to remove Maduro.

He did not provide details.

The dramatic events began early yesterday when Guaidó, flanked by a few dozen national guardsmen and some armored crowdcontrol vehicles, released the three-minute video shot near the Carlota air base.

In a surprise, Leopoldo Lopez, Guaido’s political

DEMOCRATS are steeling for an extraordinary fight with President Donald Trump as the White House stonewalls congressional oversight demands in the aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

In the latest case, Trump, his family and the Trump Organization have filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank and Capital One attempting to thwart congressional subpoenas into his financial and business dealings, asserting the requests are out of bounds.

That comes as Trump’s treasury secretary is declining to produce the president’s tax returns, Attorney General William Barr is threatening to back out of his agreement to appear this week before the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee, and former White House counsel Don McGahn and other officials are being encouraged not to testify before Congress.

“He’s prepared to fight us tooth and nail. And we’re prepared to fight him back,” said Maxine Waters, the chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee. “He obviously has something to hide.”

The standoff pits the legislative and executive branches against each other in a constitutional showdown not seen since the Watergate era. Neither side is expected to back down.

From Trump’s perspective, since Mueller finished his report on Russian interference into the election, there’s no further need to investigate. It’s a view largely backed by the president’s party in Congress. But Democrats say it’s their duty to conduct oversight even as they are also confronting the limits of their own enforcement powers.

mentor and the nation’s most-prominent opposition activist, stood alongside him. Detained in 2014 for leading a previous round of anti-government unrest, Lopez said he had been released from house arrest by security forces adhering to an order from Guaidó.

“I want to tell the Venezuelan people: This is the moment to take to the streets and accompany these patriotic soldiers,” Lopez declared.

As the two opposition leaders coordinated actions from a highway overpass, troops loyal to Maduro fired tear gas from inside the adjacent air base.

A crowd that quickly swelled to a few thousand scurried for cover, reappearing later with Guaidó at a plaza a few blocks

OPPONENTS to Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro face off with Bolivarian National Guards in armored vehicles who are loyal to the president, during an attempted military uprising in Caracas yesterday.

Right: An anti-government protester walks near a bus that was set on fire.

from the disturbances. A smaller group of masked youths stayed behind on the highway, lobbing rocks and Molotov cocktails toward the air base and setting a government bus on fire.

Amid the mayhem, several armored utility vehicles careened over a berm and drove at full speed into the crowd. Two demonstrators, lying on the ground with their heads and legs bloodied, were rushed away on a motorcycle as the vehicles sped away dodging fireballs thrown by the demonstrators.

“It’s now or never,” said one of the young rebellious

soldiers, his face covered in the blue bandanna worn by the few dozen insurgent soldiers.

The head of a medical center near the site of the street battles said doctors were treating 50 people, about half of them with injuries suffered from rubber bullets. At least one person had been shot with live ammunition.

Later, Lopez and his family sought refuge in the Chilean ambassador’s residence in Caracas, where another political ally has been holed up for over a year. There were also reports that 25 troops who had been with Guaidó fled to Brazil’s diplomatic mission.

SYNAGOGUE ATTACKER HAD 50 UNFIRED BULLETS CALIFORNIA Associated Press

THE man accused of attacking a Southern California synagogue fired only eight to 10 of the roughly 60 bullets he had before his weapon jammed, prosecutors said Tuesday.

John T Earnest, 19, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder in the shooting that happened during a Passover service at the Chabad of Poway synagogue. One woman was killed and three people wounded, including the rabbi.

Earnest was arrested shortly after the attack with 50 unfired bullets, a tactical vest and helmet, prosecutors said during his arraignment.

At the hearing, a bespectacled Earnest stood behind a glass panel, wearing blue jail clothes and showing no apparent emotion. He uttered only one word — “yes” — to waive his right to a speedy preliminary hearing.

The judge scheduled a status hearing for May 30 and denied bail, calling Earnest an extreme threat to public safety.

Earnest was an

JOHN T EARNEST accomplished student, athlete and musician whose embrace of white supremacy and anti-Semitism has dumbfounded his family and others who thought they knew him well.

He made the dean’s list both semesters last year as a nursing student at California State University, San Marcos. In high school, he had stellar grades, swam on the varsity team and basked in the applause of classmates for his piano solos at talent shows.

Earnest apparently became radicalised sometime over the last two years. He is also charged with arson in connection with an attack last month on a mosque in nearby Escondido.

Owen Cruise, 20, saw Earnest every day during senior year at Mt. Carmel

High School in San Diego when the two were in calculus and physics together.

They were also both in the school’s amateur radio club.

Earnest’s piano performances drew audiences to their feet.

His father, John A. Earnest, is a popular physics teacher at Mt. Carmel, where he has worked for 31 years.

“The way John T. acted is not representative at all of the way he was raised,” Cruise said. “They are an outstanding family. Some of the finest people I’ve ever met.”

The suspect’s parents said their son and five siblings were raised in a family that “rejected hate and taught that love must be the motive for everything we do.”

“To our great shame, he is now part of the history of evil that has been perpetrated on Jewish people for centuries,” the parents said in their first public comments. “Our son’s actions were informed by people we do not know, and ideas we do not hold.”

The parents, who are cooperating with investigators, refused to provide legal representation to their son, and he was represented by a public defender.

IT’S STILL ONLY WORTH $10 A CANADIAN $10 bill has won the top prize in an international banknote competition. The bill, featuring Canadian civil rights activist Viola Desmond, beat 15 other banknotes to win the International Bank Note Society award. The Bank of Canada won the award over new currency issued by Switzerland, Norway, Russia and the Solomon Islands.

Desmond, a black businesswoman from Nova Scotia, stood at the forefront of Canada’s early civil rights movement when she refused to vacate a whites-only area of a theatre in 1946.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 1, 2019, PAGE 11

PAN-AFRICAN AWARD FOR MOTHER PRATT

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

LION FISH INFESTING BAHAMAS LINKED TO TAIWAN

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net RESEARCHERS have found genetic links between invasive lion fish terrorising Bahamian waters and the species native to waters around Taiwan.

The genetics study undertaken by North Carolina State University was published earlier this month, and could be the answer to how the venomous fish came to infest the warm waters of this region.

Graduate and undergraduate students made genetic comparisons of two native lionfish regions in the Pacific and five invading regions in the Atlantic.

According to New Atlas, researchers used sequenced samples from two mitochondrial DNA genes, and found the best match was between the

lionfish in The Bahamas and those in the waters around Taiwan. “Some of these invaders rapidly adapt to new surroundings,” said Martha Burford Reiskind, research assistant professor of applied ecology at NC State.

“What are the genes that allow them to successfully invade? Can we make better predictions so that invasive species like [lionfish] are eradicated before it’s too late?”

There are currently more than one million red lionfish infesting American waters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“A native of the Indo-Pacific region, it was unknown in American waters until the 1980s when they began to appear and spread in large numbers,” the New Atlas report read.

“Early DNA analysis indicated that all of the invaders were descended from only a few individuals, suggesting

that the fish were the result of a few private collectors dumping their aquaria into the sea.”

The report continued: “However, the lionfish is anything but benign – at least, in the Americas. In its normal Pacific habitat, it’s a placid creature that hunts and is hunted, but the invading fish have both a voracious appetite (not to mention venomous spines) and can lay 30,000 eggs every five days that quickly scatter on the sea currents. Worse, the lionfish will gorge itself with enormous quantities of prey, but has no natural enemies in its invaded waters. It’s also so alien that the native fish ignore it until it eats them.”

According to New Atlas, the research team also probed whether invading lionfish were a hybrid of two other lionfish species. The study did not find any evidence but the hypothesis has not been ruled out.

FORMER Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia “Mother” Pratt will receive an international humanitarian award from the New Pan-African Movement (NPAN) for her commitment to community building throughout the years.

Mrs Pratt will be awarded the 2019 Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Lifetime Achievement Award and a NPAN certificate as a 21st Century Pan-African “change agent”.

The award is given to notable individuals in recognition of their accomplishments as well as their exceptional service to a country.

Mrs Pratt, pictured right, said she feels humbled and believes there are other deserving Bahamians who could have won the award, but she gives “God thanks for her space”.

“I’m humbled by it… you wonder sometimes if your own people remember and so when international and other countries can recognise you it’s really a humbling experience. I’m so thankful and I’m grateful to the people who nominated me as well,” said Mrs Pratt.

She added her aim in life was to “help others because we only pass this way once”.

“If you don’t help someone, your life would be a failure. If someone can say, because she came and spent time with me, I’m a better person... that’s what is important.

“The Bible says it’s more blessed to give than to receive so whenever you have a giving heart you will

receive. It will come back in so many different ways and so it’s about helping others and reaching out to those less fortunate than you are,” Mrs Pratt said.

In a press release issued last week, Princess Moradeun Adedoyin-Solarin of Nigeria said this special award is in recognition of all of Mrs Pratt’s hard work over the years.

“Also, your selfless efforts to help others through your relentless contributions in your community and beyond, whereby bringing about a better quality of life for everyone. All these links into the key role your country, [the] Bahamas, played in breaking the chains of Apartheid in South Africa and the eventual freedom of our global hero Dr Nelson Mandela, the ‘Madiba’ himself,” the statement read.

Alizé Utteryn, CEO and founder of AlizéLaVie Media, nominated Mrs Pratt to the New Pan-African Movement for the award.

The statement added: “After our due research and findings, with very strong support from one of our NPAM Ambassadors Dr Debbie Bartlett of CEO Network and the Economic Emancipation Movement, EEM, we have been able to identify your numerous achievements as an astute politician in community development and nation building over the years.

“We discovered you as a phenomenal woman of substance, articulate personality, kind and amiable character, elder stateswoman, philanthropist and global thought leader.”

The NPAM board of trustees is made up of authentic royals and descendants of African monarchs across Africa.