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‘No’ vote group to sue for funds

TWO MEN KILLED IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net TWO men became the country’s latest homicide victims in separate stabbing and shooting incidents on Sunday.

According to police reports, shortly before 1am officers were called about a physical altercation outside of a nightclub located on West Bay Street.

SEE PAGE THREE

Citizens for Justice vows to take govt to court this week

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net CITIZENS for Justice, an activist group, has said it will take legal action against the government this week hoping to force it to provide public funds to the constitutional referendum’s vote “no” campaigns.

Attorney Paul Moss, who represents the group, said yesterday that Citizens for Jusitce (CCJ) may request an injunction to prevent the government from continuing to fund the YES Bahamas campaign until the group’s matter is heard - or might even ask for an injunction on the referendum itself.

With the vote set for June

7, opponents are becoming restless over Prime Minister Perry Christie’s failure to respond to their requests for funds even as the vote “yes” campaign continues to receive money.

In a letter to Mr Christie sent on April 21, Mr Moss set the deadline for the government to make provision for vote “no” funding at April 29, last week Friday.

His actions came after Constitutional Commission Chairman Sean McWeeney told The Tribune last month that the government should provide equal access to public funds to both the vote “no” and vote “yes” campaigns, citing precedents in Ireland.

SEE PAGE SIX

AG SEEKS TO EASE CALL FOR TV SAME-SEX FEARS DEBATE ON VOTE

AMID growing concern that the fourth Constitutional Amendment Bill could lead to same-sex marriage if passed in next month’s referendum, the Office of the Attorney General released a statement last night to allay those fears.

The statement said it is not possible for judges to interpret bill four as giving people the legal right to samesex marriage in the future.

“While it is the role of judges to interpret the Constitution and statutes, they must do so according to established legal rules,” the statement said.

SEE PAGE SIX

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A GROUP opposing three of four Constitutional Amendment Bills that are part of the upcoming gender equality referendum has invited the YES Bahamas Campaign to debate on live television.

Pastor Cedric Moss, of Think Bahamas! wrote a letter to YES Bahamas’ Co-chairs Senate President Lady Sharon Wilson and former Senate President Lynn Holowesko on Sunday to participate in joint SEE PAGE SIX

THE BAHAMAS All Star Band performing at the annual Red Cross Fair at Government House grounds at the weekend. For more photographs from the event, see page 16.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

MINNIS: GOVT HIDING BEHIND RED TAPE OVER MPS’ FAILURE TO DISCLOSE FINANCES

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr Hubert Minnis said yesterday that the government should stop using bureaucracy as a shield against enforcing laws.

Dr Minnis has called for Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson to take

action against officials who have not filed their declarations in accordance with the Public Disclosure Act. His statement yesterday came in response to Mrs Maynard-Gibson’s reaction last week when she told reporters there is a process for determining how to prosecute people under the Act. She said despite cur-

rent calls from Dr Minnis for prosecution to be initiated, “this process has not commenced from the proper people from whom it should commence”.

It’s unclear to whom she was referring.

Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) Chairman Myles Laroda has said that the decision to prosecute for non-disclosure rests

with the Office of the Attorney General.

According to the Public Disclosure Act, “a prosecution for an offence under section…13,” which concerns public officials making declarations as required under the law, “shall not be instituted without the written consent of the attorney general”.

SEE PAGE FIVE

KENNEDY CENTRE MONITORING ROW OVER USE OF EMAILS

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

AN international advocacy agency said it is now monitoring the dispute concerning parliamentarians using their privilege to disclose confidential informa-

tion of private citizens in the House of Assembly.

Save The Bays (STB) Chairman Joseph Darville wrote to three international advocacy agencies last month in an effort to bring global attention to the “deplorable treatment” of environmental activists in the

Bahamas by the Christie administration.

In an April 8 letter addressed to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International and the Robert F Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights, Mr Darville said the more re-

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cent attacks have taken on a more personal formant.

In a response from the RFK Centre, obtained by The Tribune, the advocacy agency on Saturday acknowledged receipt of Mr Darville’s letter.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

PAGE 2, Monday, May 2, 2016

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Attorney General ‘happy where she is’ amid chief justice talk

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Allyson Maynard-Gibson said she is content with her current post as she sidestepped rumours that she may be appointed chief justice.

In a recent interview, Mrs Maynard-Gibson told The Tribune that she was happy and loved her present role and responsibilities.

She said the selection of the next chief justice would be determined by the prime minister, adding that it would be inappropriate to comment on the matter while the position is cur-

rently filled.

Her statements were in response to speculation that Chief Justice Sir Hartman Longley is expected to demit office soon, and that Mrs Maynard-Gibson was being considered to replace him.

Mrs Maynard-Gibson said: “We have an excellent chief justice in Sir Hartman Longley. He’s hard working, he’s smart, he’s very intelligent. And again like all of our judges his integrity is beyond reproach. He’s a zealous patriot for anyone to see the judiciary in our Bahamas flourish. So I’m so happy that he’s there and he’s doing very well.

“I have the privilege of serving as attorney general

under this administration.

I love going to work every day, I enjoy every minute of my day.

“I enjoy working with the people that I’m working with, who are working very hard to impact positively the lives of everybody in our Bahamas. And what we’re doing in Swift Justice and the Registrar General’s Department is working and people are beginning to feel it and they’re saying so.”

She added: “So I tell you, I love what I’m doing, and the question of the chief justice is a matter solely for the prime minister, and I am a happy attorney general.”

The chief justice, the highest post in the judicial

system, is appointed by the governor-general after recommendation by the prime minister.

This is the second time Mrs Maynard-Gibson was rumoured to be a likely candidate for the post; the first was in 2014 following the resignation of former Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett.

On April 24, Bahamas Bar Association President Elsworth Johnson called for more objectivity in judicial appointments - particularly with regards to the office of the chief justice, and stressed that the selection process should be “fair and free from any political bias.”

ATTORNEY General Allyson Maynard-Gibson did not deny rumours over her possible appointment as chief justice, saying only that she was happy with her present role.

TWO MEN KILLED IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS

from page one

When police arrived on the scene they saw a man suffering from apparent stab wounds to the body.

The victim was rushed to hospital where he later died of his injuries.

A man is in police custody assisting officers with their investigation into the incident.

Moments earlier, shortly after midnight, police were on mobile patrol when they saw smoke emanating from a vehicle in the parking lot of the old City Meat Market building located off Market Street north.

Police searched the vehicle and found the lifeless body of a man with apparent gunshot wounds.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are searching for a light blue Honda vehicle that was seen leaving the scene.

The two killings occurred less than a week after a gunman opened fire at a public park off Baillou Hill Road last Tuesday night.

Shortly after 9pm in the Sunshine Park area, a man with a handgun got out of a white Honda Legend and fired several shots into a crowd of people before speeding off in an unknown

direction. As a result, five men and a woman, ranging in age between 18 and 25, were shot.

The victims were taken to hospital by ambulance. One of the men died shortly after arrival.

The two killings that occurred on Sunday took the country’s murder count for 2016 to 44 according to The Tribune’s records.

Despite the fact that nearly 500 homicides have been recorded during the Christie administration’s term thus far, Minister of State for National Security Keith Bell last month said he does not believe the government’s crime-fighting

strategies have failed.

“It has not failed,” he said outside the Senate. “With any strategy, you have to make adjustments.”

He added that Prime Minister Perry Christie and National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage were engaged in discussions with Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade to make “some changes” to the government’s crime fighting initiatives.

While in opposition, the Christie administration campaigned on a promise that it had the solution to violent crime and murders while the Ingraham administration did not.

FOUL PLAY NOT SUSPECTED AFTER BODY FOUND IN FREEPORT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE body of a man was discovered in the Freeport area on Friday morning.

According to police reports, the victim was found inside a vehicle on Forrest Avenue off Queens Highway

sometime around 9am.

The man’s identity was not released and police do not suspect foul play.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Police also reported that a 23-yearold Freeport man was arrested after he was allegedly caught by police with a firearm in his possession.

Officers of Operation Turf Sweep

were in the Garden Villas area around midnight on Friday when they searched a male resident of Frobisher Circle.

They found a 9mm pistol, with one magazine containing seven 9mm rounds of ammunition.

The man was arrested and taken into custody. Investigations are continuing.

POLICE INVESTIGATE SUSPECTED DROWNING AT PALMETTO POINT POLICE in Eleuthera are investigating the circumstances surrounding the apparent drowning death of an adult male from Palmetto Point that occurred on Saturday.

According to police, shortly after 11am, the victim was on a fishing trip in a boat along with another man in waters off Governor’s Harbour when he fell overboard.

The victim was immediately pulled from the water in an unconscious state and taken to shore.

Despite extensive CPR efforts, officers reported that the victim was pronounced dead by the island’s medical doctor.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

Investigations are ongoing.

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PAGE 4, Monday, May 2, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

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Judge to decide whether Constitution supreme “WHO IS that woman?” snarled a Bahamian man with the curl of the lip.

That woman happens to be Supreme Court Justice Indira Charles of St Lucia.

A woman with a wealth of experience in the legal profession in the Caribbean, she was sworn in as a justice of the Bahamas Supreme Court in January 2012.

Mrs Justice Charles has now been called upon to adjudicate on what will probably be the most important constitutional case in our history. She must decide whether our Constitution is supreme, or whether a private citizen’s rights can be trampled into the dust by parliamentary privilege at the whim of a member? Has a citizen the right to appeal to the courts, even though parliamentary privilege has been invoked? Is the long-established principle that no one is above the law, including MPs, to be overturned?

“I do not make orders lightly,” Justice Charles told the Crown’s lawyer as he argue that the hearing was no longer necessary in view of the recent developments in parliament. “If there’s going to be an application to discharge,” she said, “it has to be heard in full. An injunction has been granted, a return date is the 12th of May. The injunction comes to an end on May 12 unless there’s an application for it to be renewed, correct? I’m willing to shuffle around cases to accommodate this because this is a matter of urgent attention not only to The Bahamas but to the Caribbean.

“Is Parliamentary privilege absolute if someone complains that their constitutional rights have been infringed upon, bearing in mind the walls of Parliament is sacred? Is the constitution the Supreme law of the land?” the judge asked.

These are the important constitutional principles that she has to decide and she will tolerate no cutting of the corners — not even for the Attorney General’s office.

This question arose during last month’s budget debate when Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald read from private e-mails exchanged between members of Save the Bays (STB) in its fight to protect the seabed, now part of the Nygard property at Lyford Cay, and Jaws Beach for the public. Mr Fitzgerald later tabled the environmental group’s private e-mails in the House. His action was supported by Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell, and other parliamentarians, who threatened to release more of STB’s private documents.

However, Save the Bays moved to the courts immediately and on March 18 were granted an interlocutory injunction against Mr Mitchell, Mr Fitzgerald and Attorney General Allyson MaynardGibson, restraining them from further disclosing the group’s confidential information in Parliament. This is the injunction to which the judge referred, and which she refused to lift at the request

of the Attorney General’s office, until she had heard the arguments from both sides.

In a writ filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday, the applicants, Coalition to Save Clifton and Zachary Hampton Bacon, claim that the government, acting through Mr Mitchell, Mr Fitzgerald and Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller, obtained private and confidential emails and attachments belonging to the applicants and disclosed confidential information contained in this correspondence during the course of parliamentary proceedings on March 15 and 17.

Mr Mitchell, Mr Fitzgerald and Mrs Maynard-Gibson are named as respondents in the case.

The Save the Bays (STB) case against Nygard and his lawyer Koed Smith, now in court, has dropped into the shadows as PLP parliamentarians attempt to show

by STB’s private documents that the Nygard case is just a plot to overthrow the Christie government and has nothing to do with saving the beaches at Nygard Cay for the public. Shocked by the court preventing them from further dissemination of STB’s confidential documents, Mr Fitzgerald moved a resolution, approved by the House, to be sent to the House Committee on Privilege “for the examination and determination of whether the judge, attorney Fred Smith, QC, and Ferron Bethel should be held in contempt of this honourable House and that the Committee on Privilege be properly funded to obtain independent legal advice if necessary concerning this attack on our democracy and report back to the House at the earliest opportunity.”

Speaking to reporters outside Cabinet, Mr Fitzgerald recently warned members of the environmental group to “batten down” because a “category five” hurricane was on its way, as he threatened to table “every single” email and bank statement in his possession if needed “to protect his integrity and parliamentary privilege”.

He has now been restrained from carrying out that threat until the whole matter is fully aired in the Supreme Court and decided on by – “who is that woman?” – Yes, that woman is Supreme Court Justice Indira Charles of St Lucia, whose name at the end of this case could be etched into Bahamian history.

Yes, readers, this case is important to all of us. It might well be classified as a “category five” hurricane, but in our opinion at the end of the day we wager that many parliamentarians will be running for cover and looking for shelter.

So this is indeed a case to watch. And, yes, it is a judge by the name of Indira Charles who will be sitting on the Bench, and who will make the final decision. So, by the looks of things, it’s time to buckle up your seat belts and settle in for a rough judicial ride.

Equal rights comparison around the world EDITOR, The Tribune.

WHILE our country has our own morals and standards I thought that it would be interesting to compare our laws on equality to those of the rest of the world so that our people could decide what nations they think we should group ourselves with from a legal and moral perspective.

Countries which do not allow women equal rights to pass citizenship:Bahamas, Iran, Lebanon, Mauritania, Sierra Leon, Togo, Bahrain, Barbados, Iraq, Jordan, Liberia, Libya, Nepal, Oman, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Brunei, Kribati, Madagascar, Qatar, Swaziland, Burundi, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Denmark, Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden.

Countries that al-

low same-sex marriage:Belgium, Brazil, Finland, France, Portugal, Luxembourg, Scotland, South Africa, United States, Argentina, England/Wales, Ireland, Norway, Uruguay, Canada, Greenland, The Netherlands, Spain.

The above information was obtained from www. pewforum.org Pew Research Centre According to various sources, including World Atlas; there are 196 countries in the world. Based on the above, 27 do not allow women equal rights and 22 allow same sex marriage.

Of the 27 which do not allow women equal rights, only two are not predominately Muslim.

I find it fascinating that many of our religious leaders seem to be adopting the moral ethos of Muslim rather than Christian nations.

As for same-sex mar-

riage, it is equally clear that the granting of equal rights to women does not automatically give rise to provisions allowing same-sex marriage.

Clearly, legislators only pass legislation that is in keeping with the prevailing moral attitudes of the country and the people they represent.

As such all this discussion about equal rights and same-sex marriage is political and moral foolishness.

Can we please keep the discussion limited to the real issues.

Vote “Yes” and ensure that among other rights your daughters have the same rights to pass citizenship as male children born in The Bahamas to illegal immigrants can obtain.

LORI LOWE Nassau, April 29, 2016.

Bearing the progressive mantle EDITOR, The Tribune.

PARADOXICALLY, Pastor Cedric Moss is both correct and incorrect. In an Op-Ed published on April 16 in The Nassau Guardian, he wrote that we are having a “dishonest debate” about “gender equality”.

This is true, but not on the grounds that Pastor Moss provides. Pastor Moss advises Bahamians not to vote to remove the constitutional provisions that allow for inequality between Bahamian women and men because we are “equals before God.” But this is disingenuous reasoning. The Constitution we have was not created by God. It was created by men (and I am using this latter term both literally and metaphorically).

It is, therefore, imperfect, containing so-called “disparities” that allow for the unequal treatment of Bahamian women and men.

We are at a critical juncture where we, as a people, can have genuine input on the type of Constitution we would like to be governed by. Is it one that promotes equality regardless of whether a person is born male or female?

Or is it one that continues to entrench differential treatment based upon whether someone is born a baby girl or a baby boy?

And this is where Pastor Moss and others of his ilk are (indirectly and perhaps unknowingly) correct. We are not talking about gender equality here. We are talking about the equality of the sexes; of Bahamian women and men. Sex and gender, for all their interchangeable usage in our every day talk, are not the same. Sex is biological; gender is not. People are born with certain physiological characteristics that classify them as a particular sex. In

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net the alleged debate we are having, this equates to our use of “women” and “men”/ “female” and “male”.

Gender, on the other hand, is not strictly about whether you have male and/ or female sexual organs. It is about how you identify, how you perform the roles that are assigned to you by society based upon certain notions of femininity and masculinity. It is, in effect, a social construct.

I will thus concede Cedric Moss and others like him some ground. We are not having a debate about gender equality. This referendum is not about making “genders” equal. As a society contemplating change to its Constitution in the 21st century, we are being resolutely cautious. We are proposing change based upon the equality of the sexes, of those who are biologically “men” and “women”.

We are not, it must be pointed out, deciding whether to amend the Constitution to reflect the equality of people based on sexual orientation (which is why it is so difficult to understand the misinformation (panic?) that is being generated around Bill No. 4).

Where I steadfastly disagree, however, is that this is not a debate about equality. It is first and foremost an issue of equality – the equality of all Bahamians, whether born a baby girl or a baby boy, now and in the future. We are being given the power – and most importantly the responsibility – to decide whether we want inequality between women and men to remain enshrined in our Constitution.

Make no mistake about it.

The citizenship “dispari-

ties” of which Pastor Moss speaks are much more than mere “differences” between the sexes.

These “disparities” translate into differential treatment of Bahamian women and men in various areas of the law. The differential treatment of people based upon the sex they are born into is inherently unequal and unjust. If we (rightly) contend that a person should not be treated unequally to another because they are born black, white, hearing impaired, blind or insert-any-other-characteristic-you-can-have-at-birth, why would we think that it is just to treat a person as a non-equal because she or he was born into a particular sex? It is illogical.

Finally, I want to be clear, should we vote “yes” on June 7th, we are doing so not because we have anything to prove to the outside world (ah, finally, Bahamians are up to speed with the rest of the “modern” world when it comes to removing legally sanctioned inequality between women and men from their constitution; ah, finally, Bahamians are making their domestic law reflect important international treaties they have already ratified in this area).

No a “yes” vote on June 7th is about proving to ourselves that we have what it takes to bear the “progressive” mantle that we were given at Independence. It is about carrying forward the flame of “free” that we have fought for since then.

It is about bearing witness to the fact that we are all created equally in the image of God and that we, as a people, can reflect and recognise this in our Constitution.

KRISTY A BELTON, PhD Nassau, April 29, 2016.

Parliamentary privilege EDITOR, The Tribune.

Re: The Case Of The Purloined Emails.

The Tribune, April 27, 2016.

NO one is above the law ---- except, of

course, for some of the privileged few who actually make the laws.

KEN W KNOWLES, MD Nassau, April 28, 2016.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, May 2, 2016, PAGE 5

Families of Grand Bahama murder victims wait for justice

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE mother and sister of murdered British visitor Edgar Dart said their entire family has been left deeply affected by his death in Grand Bahama two years ago and want closure.

April 8 marked two years since the shooting death and robbery at the family’s home in Freeport, and there has been no arrest in the case by police in Grand Bahama.

The Dart family is one of several whose grief is exacerbated by unsolved cases in Grand Bahama.

John Hepburn also wants closure in the case of his slain brother, businessman Sedrick Hepburn, who was also shot dead two years ago.

And after eight long years, Claudia Pedican, widow of Vincent Pedican, also wants whoever is responsible for her husband’s murder brought to justice.

The Tribune contacted the office of Senior Assistant Commissioner Emrick Seymour for an update on these outstanding murder cases.

He did not return calls placed to him on Thursday and Friday concerning the status of the three cases.

“I kind of wonder what the police are doing,” said Mrs Pedican of her husband’s case. “Every now and then I check, but there are no satisfying answers. I feel so hurt. I feel like the police may be doing the best they can, yet I feel not enough is being done.”

The Dart and Hepburn families have not received

EDGAR DART any further updates either on their loved one’s cases.

Speaking from her home in Exminster, England, Virginia Redfern said: “It is just so sad for us as a family because it affected all of us.

I was not there at the time, but my mum was there, my nephew who is my brother’s son; my other nephew who is my sister’s son was there; and my brother’s sister-inlaw and his son were there.

They all saw Edgar shot you can imagine the impact that had on the family, it is just huge really,” Dart’s sister said.

Sometime around 7am on April 8, 2014 three masked intruders broke into the family’s home, tied them up with duct tape and robbed them. There was a struggle with the thieves and Dart, 56, was shot while trying to protect his family.

Dart’s 13-year-old son, George, his mother, Joy, brother Colin, 55, his brother’s wife, Allison, and their 15-year-old son Luke, and relative Pip Poole, all from Britain, were also there.

“I was lucky not to be there,” said Mrs Redfern.

“The other (family) members that were there, they won’t visit. But I feel I need to visit (Grand Bahama) for my mum and my dad who built the house there, and also for my brother because I just know he would not want me not to go back because the chaps have done such a terrible thing.”

Mrs Redfern said her brother loved The Bahamas and always took his son whenever he went to visit his mother in Freeport.

“I think it is a very difficult thing really. They (the

suspects) just got away really,” she said.

“It’s just no security cameras anywhere. If maybe (there was one) at the bridge (near the home) maybe they (the police) stood a chance.

I think the police work very hard, but they (the suspects) are gone,” she said.

She described Dart as “a great brother.”

“He loved The Bahamas and the people and that was the sad thing, and he loved fishing there. He was a huge fisherman and also brought his little boy, George, since he was a baby, who hasn’t got his father anymore that is very, very sad.”

Dart’s mother does not blame The Bahamas at all for her son’s murder.

“The police were amazingly kind to me when Edgar was murdered,” said Joy Dart. “For the first several weeks there were a few leads, and we were hopeful but nothing has happened.”

Mrs Dart hopes that anyone with information that can help the police will come forward.

“Everybody would like closure, and for those responsible to stand up and take whatever is coming. I know they did not come to murder my son, but they did.

“I don’t want him to be forgotten really. And although one person was murdered, my life was ruined in Freeport since it because only one of my children will come and visit me there because of what happened.

The young people who were there had been affected really badly.”

Despite the tragedy, Mrs Dart said it hasn’t turned

her away from Bahamian people. “Most of them are lovely people,” she said.

Sedrick Hepburn Meanwhile the Hepburn family is also still waiting for closure.

“We want to find out what really happened and who did it,” Mr Hepburn said. “When we call the police they say it is still being investigated, but that there is nothing right now.

“I think something should have happened by now. Next month is going to be two years and our family is still waiting for closure.”

Sedrick Hepburn, a 47-year-old heavy equipment businessman/operator, was gunned down while taking his routine daily walk in the Fortune Bay Drive area.

His girlfriend and their two children were walking ahead when Hepburn was ambushed and fired on multiple times.

His brother said: “You think every day what really went wrong, who did it, and until an arrest is made you have a concern. My father is still upset about it; it hurts him every day because he talks about it all the time and wonders if any headway is being made by police. We would like closure and it would be a relief not just for us, but to the entire Grand Bahama community.”

Mrs Pedican is appealing to anyone who has information concerning her husband’s murder to please contact the police.

Her husband, a part–time security officer for 15 years at the Eight Mile Rock High School, was found

dead on November 23, 2007 after he went missing during his night shift.

There was a break-in at the school’s administration building and sometime around 6.50am the next morning Pedican was discovered missing. His vehicle was found abandoned miles away in the Hawksbill area, and his body was later discovered on a service/ track road in the Lucaya area.

His widow said police also found her husband’s wallet and cellular phone somewhere in the Eight Mile Rock area.

“No one knows anything and the police can’t come up with any satisfying information,” she said.

Mrs Pedican said she misses her husband of 38 years and has even contemplated acquiring assistance from foreign investigators.

“The children and the grandchildren also miss him. He was such a joy to us and someone come and snatched that away from us.”

“I am here without any information. I don’t have anything from police I can go forward with. I would like to ask anyone who may know of anything to please give the information to the police,” she said.

Another unsolved case is that of American Anthony Welch, who was found brutally murdered in his Albacore Drive home in January 2014.

Welch, a 47-year-old former Mississippi investor, was discovered bound with duct tape and stabbed multiple times about the body.

No arrests have been made in the case.

MINNIS: GOVT HIDING BEHIND RED TAPE OVER MPS’ FAILURE TO DISCLOSE FINANCES

from page one

The Act says that when someone fails to make a declaration or the PDC is not satisfied with a declaration that is made, the commission should report the matter to the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.

Then, either the prime minister or the opposition leader could, under the Act, publish the commission’s communication in Parliament.

Either one could also provide the information to the attorney general or the commissioner of police.

The penalty for not disclosing information as required under the Act is a $10,000 fine and/or two years in prison.

It is unclear if Dr Minnis has received a report from the commission or whether he will formally exercise his legal power to provide that information to the attorney general and the commis-

sioner of police.

Nonetheless, Dr Minnis reiterated his call for an independent PDC that is “properly staffed and funded.”

“This will allow them to demand true transparency from members of Parliament,” he said in a

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statement. “We also need to create an independent public prosecutor with no oversight by the attorney general to ensure that politics is taken out and that all cases are properly investigated.”

“The attorney general and the PLP government now want to try and hide be-

hind toothless red-tape that requires no action. These same special interests have failed to pay attention as the Bank of The Bahamas gave out unsecured loans while at the same time the government gave many contracts to their friends and family and kept them hidden from the Bahamian

people.

“Bahamians deserve full disclosure and accountability from their government. Instead they get a government that continues to (flout) rules and ignore the law as they focus on enriching themselves, rather than serving the people.”

PAGE 6, Monday, May 2, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

‘No’ vote group to sue for funds

from page one

Mr Moss said the same in his letter to Mr Christie, which he sent to the media over the weekend.

“We noted that the executive government launched a ‘yes’ vote campaign and appointed noted persons in the Bahamian community to promote such a result,” he wrote. “Sir, this and the government’s posture in this regard stands in stark contrast to democratic principles applicable to constitutional referenda as recognised, for example, in the Irish Supreme Court decision McKenna vs Taoisearch…which have come to be euphemistically described as ‘the McKenna Principles.’ In his opinion

in that case, Hamilton C J said ‘the use by the government of public funds to fund a campaign designed to influence the voters in favour of a ‘yes’ vote is an interference with the democratic process and the process for the amend-

ment of the constitution and infringes the concept of equality which is fundamentally to the democratic nature of the state.’”

Mr Moss said he is concerned that a judge may set a hearing for the case at a date near the referendum or

after it, hence the possibility that he would make an injunction request.

This is not his preference, he said, adding that CCJ wants the referendum to proceed as scheduled but believes the government would welcome an injunction since “the referendum will fail.”

“Even though the Constitutional Commission has said that there should be equity amongst the players, we have not seen the government move in this direction,” he said, referring to Mr McWeeney’s comments.

“Private groups are trying to perform the herculean task of having to fight not only the ‘yes’ campaign but also the Constitutional Commission that’s mas-

cord, repeatedly, that their only intent in passing these amendments was to give men and women equal rights.”

The fourth bill seeks to end discrimination based on sex from the Constitution, by inserting the word “sex” into Article 26. However several groups, pastors and even politicians oppose this bill and have accused the government of trying to advance the gay “agenda”

under the guise of gender equality. The other three bills deal with issues of citizenship.

In response to the argument that amendment four could be used to “overrule the Bahamian law that says marriage is between a man and a woman”, the statement from the Office of the Attorney General said this bill cannot change the Matrimonial Causes Act. “The Matrimonial Causes Act says that in the Bahamas, in order to be legal, a marriage must be between a man and a woman.

Nothing in amendment four could or would change this law.

“Amendment four would prevent new laws and ac-

tion by the state that discriminates against men and women, but it would not affect the Matrimonial Causes Act because it is a pre-independence law that was expressly ‘saved’ by the Constitution. Article 26(4)(c) of our Constitution states that the non-discrimination provisions of Article 26 do not apply to laws from before 1973.”

Some staunch opponents of bill four believe if a case in support of gay marriage is taken through the courts all the way to London’s Privy Council, this country’s highest court of appeal, the English court would rule in the favour of same-sex marriage.

However, the statement dismissed this theory as

well.

“Although nearly every country in the Commonwealth already has the right to non-discrimination on the basis of ‘sex’ in their Constitutions, the Privy Council has never interpreted this provision to create a right to same-sex marriage in any of those countries for which it remains the final court of appeal.

“All countries in the Commonwealth that do allow same-sex marriage have very different constitutional provisions from the Bahamas or passed specific laws permitting it.”

The statement also addressed worry that the fourth bill would allow transgender people to marry those of the same gender

they were assigned with at birth.

“Sex in amendment four is defined as ‘male or female,’ and that means male or female at birth. There are settled cases in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth that state that the law only recognises a person’s sex at birth for the purposes of marriage.

Thus, a person born a male cannot marry another person born a male. What matters is what is on your birth certificate.”

The Office of the Attorney General urged people to attend the public information sessions being conducted by the Constitutional Commission.

The referendum is set for June 7.

from page one

the view that the best voter is an informed voter and we should therefore do our best to educate voters about the four bills they will be voting on,” Pastor Moss wrote.

“In keeping with this view, I thought it would be beneficial for voters across the Bahamas to hear simultaneously from the YES Bahamas campaign as well as those on the vote ‘no’ side.

“Therefore, this week I

communicated with representatives from both Citizens for Justice and Save Our Bahamas (groups who oppose some of the referendum questions) to find out if they were interested in engaging in two publicly broadcast discussion events on the four bills with representatives from both the YES Bahamas campaign and the three vote ‘no’ campaigns. For various reasons, both Citizens for Justice

and Save Our Bahamas declined.”

“Accordingly, I am now writing to invite both of you or any two representatives from the YES Bahamas campaign to participate with me and another representative from Think, Bahamas! in these two public discussions on the four bills.”

Pastor Moss proposed that both sides sit down for a two-hour televised round-table discussion hosted by veteran JCN journalist Wendall Jones and a public town hall meeting held at the College of The Bahamas to be hosted by a female journalist that would be broadcast live on radio.

“Since you are aware that the government is currently only funding the YES Bahamas campaign, I propose that the YES Bahamas campaign through the government take responsibility for the costs related to these events,” he added.

“There is no cost for me and the other representative of Think, Bahamas! to participate. We can mutually agree to the dates and rules for both events, and I’m open to modifying any aspect of this proposal to ensure your participation.”

The gender equality referendum will be held on June 7 and three of its questions deal with the transfer of citizenship.

The first Constitutional Amendment Bill seeks to give Bahamian women who are married to foreign men the right to pass on their Bahamian citizenship to any child of that union no matter where that child is born.

The Constitution currently says that only Bahamian male citizens by birth have that right.

Bill two as written would allow a Bahamian woman married to a foreign man the right to secure for her husband the same access to Bahamian citizenship as a Bahamian male has in relation to his foreign wife.

However this would not be automatic and applicants would have to satisfy certain conditions.

Bill three would grant any unmarried Bahamian man the right to pass on his Bahamian citizenship to any child he fathers with a foreign woman with proof of paternity.

Bill four seeks to end discrimination based on sex.

Think Bahamas! supports bill one and opposes the other three.

MEMBERS of a ‘No’ vote group during a Prayer in the Square rally recently against the gender referendum.

querading as performing an education campaign but is trying to get a ‘yes’ vote.”

It’s unclear if the government intends to provide funds to the vote “no” campaign.

Asked about this last week, National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage, who has responsibility for referendums, told The Tribune he will address the matter at the next House sitting.

Senate President Sharon Wilson, nonetheless, confirmed two weeks ago that government is providing funds to the vote “yes” campaign, although she said she did not know how much has been provided. Mrs Wilson is co-chair of the YES Bahamas campaign.

Another vote “no”

group, Save Our Bahamas, made a request last month seeking $100,000 of public funds.

Last week, the group’s spokesmen, Kevin Harris, told The Tribune it would give the government another week to respond to its request before pursuing other action.

At a pastors’ forum at Evangelistic Temple two weeks ago, Marco City MP Greg Moss told those gathered not to get their hopes up believing the government would give them public funds.

He said while a judge would rule the government’s failure to do so “unconstitutional” a judge would likely neither grant an injunction nor award costs to the winning party.

ATTORNEY GENERAL SEEKS TO EASE SAME-SEX FEARS

from page one

“They are not free to ignore the language of the amendment or the will of Parliament.

“In the case of amendment four, Parliament made sure to define ‘sex’ as ‘male or female’, so no future court could interpret ‘sex’ as ‘sexual orientation’.

“And members of Parliament stated on the re-

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MONDAY, MAY 2, 2016

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

B

OTH national dailies reported on April 12 as headline stories that Sarkis Izmirlian had made a new bid to the principal financier of the Baha Mar development, the Chinese Export-Import Bank to resume his role as the principal developer and owner of the development.

The new offer, we have been told, has been launched on the basis that Izmirlian would provide the necessary funding not only to make sure that Exim Bank would not be required to take a discount or a “haircut” on its debt but that all unsecured creditors would be paid off.

In addition, Izmirlian promises to provide the financing for the completion and opening of the development and the re-employment of all of the Bahamians who were terminated.

The new offer, we are told, follows a “positive meeting” with Prime Minister Christie the previous week.

This latest offer sounds too good to be true but it deserves consideration.

It is not at all surprising that the original developer of the Baha Mar development maintains an avid and, perhaps, even a consuming interest to be reinstated as the developer/owner to enable him to complete the development and to see it opened, even though as some close associates of Mr Izmirlian would maintain, that he has been given the “cold shoulder” by both Prime Minister Christie and the Exim Bank, Baha Mar’s financier to the tune of an estimated $2.5 billion throughout the process of the liquidation and receivership.

Mr Izmirlian’s continued interest is driven by two compatible and complementary forces; firstly, the insatiable desire to see that his grand vision or dream is realised under his leadership. Mr Izmirlian’s pre-

‘

Izmirlian deserves a second chance with Baha Mar

Ishmael Lightbourne makes a plea to the government to broker a deal over the stalled mega resort for the good of the country dicament is comparable to that of Moses, the original leader of the nation of Israel, who had borne the burden and the heat of the wilderness or desert but was not permitted to cross over into the “Promised Land” but only view it from afar.

Like Moses, Mr Izmirlian has been the brainchild of the development from conception through design and subsequent development to virtual completion, but only to be cast aside, like a refugee or an exile, by the uncompromising legal processes which ultimately led to the appointment of receivers.

The second force that drives Mr Izmirlian’s passion to be reinstated is the financial motivation. It has been said that Mr Izmirlian has invested up to $1 billion in the development and the cold and harsh reality of a receivership in all likelihood would mean that he would lose every dollar of his investment. That prospect is a very harsh and painful realisation for any investor, but in a Bahamian context, to lose $1 billion is almost unimaginable.

It is interesting to note that one of the dailies stated that “The Prime Minister was yesterday said to have performed a ‘180 degree U-turn‘ in his relationship with Sarkis Izmirlian,” presumably in meeting with Mr Izmirlian and the Prime Minister is being strongly urged to support this latest proposal from the original developer. It can be said equally, that Mr Izmirlian himself has performed a “180 degree U-turn” or has undergone a “Damascus Road” conversion from his original launching of the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings in the United States to his present bold

The prospect of losing his entire investment is both unthinkable and unconscionable. No Bahamian would wish this on his worst enemy. However, the business case for the successful outcome of Mr Izmirlian’s new proposal is daunting and may border on being unrealistic and unattainable.’

offer to hold all creditors both secured and unsecured harmless from financial loss or any discount on their debt.

When the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings were launched in June, 2015, by Mr Izmirlian, it was clearly intended for him primarily, to remain as the Debtor in Possession, to be allowed by the Bankruptcy Court to reorganise the businesses which were heavily debt burdened and to seek relief from creditors. Such creditor relief would normally include, as a minimum, the deferment of debt and more than likely renegotiation of indebtedness so that creditors would be paid, eventually, less than 100 cents on the dollar.

I

t is, to say the least, an unenviable position for creditors, especially unsecured creditors, to be in but the uncomfortable reality is that creditors must either voluntarily accept the discount in the debt up front or be forced to accept a discount or a complete write off of the investment in the case of unsecured creditors and the owner, Mr Izmirlian.

Against this somewhat austere backdrop, which was possible under the Bankruptcy Proceedings, the current Izmirlian proposal to hold creditors harmless from financial loss and to provide funding for completion, opening and initial operation of the business is a sizable difference in the financial undertaking that Mr Izmirlian is prepared to assume.

The new Izmirlian proposal deserves a fair hearing given his substantial stake in the development and given his passion to see it consummated. But the other stakeholders must be concerned as to the motivation for this new focus and even more concerned as to the certainty and his financial capacity or ability to meet the funding requirements driven by this new proposal. The question must be asked what has provoked this staggering development by Izmirlian

from the Bankruptcy Petition in June, 2015, to this amazingly new offer to hold all creditors harmless from financial loss?

The difference between these two positions is enormous.

This “epiphany” or grand awakening, supposedly on the part of the Prime Minister and Izmirlian, was presumably driven by the harsh reality experienced by both during the past year. In the case of the Prime Minister, time is the No.1 enemy in that the longer the receivership drags on without any possible sale in sight, and no prospect for the completion of the development, the opening of the resort and the re-engagement of the thousands of Bahamian workers, the prospects for meaningful turn around in the economy and for economic growth remain an elusive dream, which becomes a nightmare as the 2017 General Elections fast approach.

As regards Izmirlian, his nightmare is even more imminent in that he has already lost leadership/ownership of the development and more than likely could lose his entire investment of $1 billion. This all begs the question whether the Exim Bank has experienced a similar awakening, given the fact that its $2.5 billion debt is not being serviced and that time, too, is not on their side because the longer the matter remains unresolved, the interest accruing on their debt - which I would conjecture would be in the range of $200m per annum - along with the debt itself are impaired and would be partially irrecoverable.

The three principal stakeholders, Mr Izmirlian, the Exim Bank and the Bahamas Government, are bound to experience irretrievable losses the longer this matter remains unresolved.

Notwithstanding any missteps or any errors in judgment made by Mr Izmirlian, I am sympathetic to his cause and to his plight given that Baha Mar is his creation and given his extreme financial exposure if the receivership is to run its course.

He deserves a second chance. The prospect of losing his entire investment is both unthinkable and unconscionable. No Bahamian

would wish this on his worst enemy. However, the business case for the successful outcome of Mr Izmirlian’s new proposal is daunting and may border on being unrealistic and unattainable. I say that because his new proposal assumes that he would not only take over the existing estimated $3.5 billion investment but must find additional financing which could be estimated to be an additional $1 billion taking into account the estimated cost for the completion of the development, which has been stated at around $600m (at the high end), working capital for approximately six months along with debt servicing costs.

That would push the total investment cost to around $4 billion to $5 billion and the question that emerges is whether such a heavy, upfront investment could be justified and is recoverable from the expected operations of the resort. In other words, would the expected returns from the operations justify this huge initial investment cost or valuation and is it possible that the new proposal from Mr Izmirlian could inflict even greater losses than he has already experienced, if the operation of the resort cannot generate the kind of returns needed to service the substantial debt?

The Izmirlian proposal therefore requires careful evaluation and verification.

The stakeholders, over the past year, have promoted and have been engaged in complex legal proceedings, including Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Compulsory Liquidation and now Court appointed receivership, in the hope of a resolution, the main elements of which would be the satisfaction of creditors, the completion and eventual opening of the development. These legal proceedings are not only time consuming but expensive. The final initiative, the receivership, may ultimately find a buyer and a new owner, but the likelihood of satisfying creditors, both secured and unsecured and obtaining the ultimate goal of opening the development on a timely basis, is doubtful.

It is readily acknowledged that the stakehold-

ers have conflicting objectives. The government, and by extension the people of The Bahamas, need the Baha Mar development to be completed and opened as soon as practicable.

The Exim Bank needs the security of their $2.5 billion investment. Izmirlian wants to resume his role as owner and developer to be allowed to bring his dream to realisation and to protect his investment, which in the present circumstances is probably irrecoverable. The receivership will not accomplish all of these objectives because its primary objective is to satisfy the needs of the Exim Bank and there is no certainty that even that objective could be met entirely, let alone meeting the obligations to unsecured creditors.

The new proposal of Izmirlian provides an opportune time to jumpstart the negotiations among the principal stakeholders including the Exim Bank, Izmirlian and the Government. From the Bahamian perspective, not only is this too big to fail, but it is also too big to be allowed to be placed in mothballs when thousands of our Bahamian brothers and sisters remain unemployed and unable to meet their commitments and the country’s economy continues to flounder with low growth … I would urge therefore that the negotiations be restarted and that the Izmirlian proposal be given serious consideration; he deserves no less given that he has already invested approximately $1 billion in the development and has spent the last 13 years of his life putting the pieces together.

The Izmirlian credentials, especially his consuming and driving passion together with the experienced management team that he has assembled, for the completion of this project and getting it opened in the shortest period of time, in my view, are already in place and could be mobilised easily to get the job done. I would therefore urge the government to be the facilitator in bringing the stakeholders together with the ultimate objective of getting this development completed and opened and operating in the shortest time.

PAGE 2 MONDAY, MAY 2, 2016

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

Reforming the education system is vital for future development Your Say

By ROCHELLE DEAN

EDUCATION is the universal process of imparting knowledge, values, skills and attributes which can be beneficial to an individual and their surroundings. Learning is the process of adopting knowledge, values and skills.

If this concise definition pertain, then it is safe to say that The Bahamas has access to education but as a nation it is not learning.

Education is essential to the economic growth of The Bahamas. The country’s education system is considered a colonial legacy leftover that emphasises rate memorisation, learning random facts and preparing children to pass an exam - the means of sorting who gets to go on. The Bahamas must now look at and desire an educational system that fosters deeper learning, 21st century skills and critical thinking as we plan to compete in the global arena and progress toward development.

Education is a formal process, while learning is an informal one.

These key factors have impacted the quality of our education system and, as a society, has weakened our nation.

The Bahamas must get back to the real discussions and have a national dialogue about our education system and its reform.

The focus of our policy makers must be a quality education system which qualifies how each child learns and how it assists our children in finding new ways to excel.

Learning determines the future of culture of a class-based or non classbased society, of freedom or slavery, of economic opportunity or stagnation, of entrepreneurial success or spreading dependency of national progress or decline, of prosperity or poverty.

The quality of our learning, more than any factor, will shape the future of our nation.

Schools in The Bahamas have always been the centre of educational processes in our society; however, many

‘

Education is a formal process, while learning is an informal one. These key factors have impacted the quality of our education system and, as a society, has weakened our nation. The Bahamas must get back to the real discussions and have a national dialogue about our education system and its reform.’

of these schools and educational institutions have become businesses and modern, regulatory complexities have forced most schools to put business above learning. This is a disaster for education and the future of our society.

Learning needs to be measured. It is important to identify the learning levels in The Bahamas as well as in other countries regionally and in other developed countries. The Bahamas must form a learning metrics task force that works rigorously on new measures of learning which will determine the policies that impact the education system of its people.

When the focal point is learning, school is used for students who learn best in the schooling environment.

Every student can learn: it’s up to our

leaders in the public and private sectors to aid in finding the ideal learning environment.

Parents must again be seen as experts in their children’s learning style and encourage full participatory engagement by student, parents, teachers and leaders.

Schooling is the complete opposite of what learning represents. Schooling stamps out difference; it introduces unrealistic competitive measures and specialises in weeding out children along the way. The Bahamas can no longer continue with the same old approach if it continues with the generalisation that education is the key to development.

The Bahamas must desire an educational system that allows its citizens to be able to contribute and participate in the international market but can also boost its domestic market.

The focus of the education system should be on learning. If the emphasis is on schooling, students are forced to participate in school regardless of whether they are successful. This is the beginning of producing a chaotic society.

Teachers must be able to identify learning styles and foster placement according to how children learn or we will continue to be a failing nation due to a failing education system. The Bahamas can no longer revel in a few passes at the expense of the masses.

The Bahamas must recognise that while its education system was efficient for past times, the country must now look at new ingenuitive ways of educating itself. Education reform is imperative to economic growth. It’s essential to the country’s progress.

If we do not alleviate this form of poverty Bahamians will develop themselves another land, another region and another country. Poverty alleviation is about education reform.

Rochelle R Dean is a Bahamian scholar, research fellow and peer-reviewer and a theory writer of economics presently completing a Bachelors of Science dual degree in economics and public administration with Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia.

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EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

Today

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2016 PAGE 3

THIS WEEK IN The Tribune Tuesday

Thursday

Insight - Ishmael Lightbourne urges a second chance for Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian.

Woman and Health - weekly advice on taking care of your mind and body and women making waves in The Bahamas

Obituaries and Religion, a weekly review

Business - BEC has warned of severe consequences if activists succeed in an injunction amid environmental concerns.

Plus comment from Nicole Burrows and sporting mischief and mayhem by Inigo “Naughty” Zenicazelaya

Sports - The Grand Bahama Shipyard Cruisers and Athletico Bahamas have been named champions of their respective basketball divisions.

Wednesday Tribune Tech - a weekly look at what’s new in the world of technology

Plus the latest properties for sale and rent in the Home Buyers’ Guide

Plus Larry Smith’s forthright Tough Call column

Young Man’s View - trenchant opinion from Adrian Gibson on the hot topics in the country ‘On da Hook’, a weekly look at fishing in The Bahamas Friday Weekend - a 28-page section devoted to the best in arts, music, fashion, food, books, entertainment, gardening, animal matters, fitness, history and interviews

Sports - The Finish Line, a look at the local sports scene, by Brent Stubbs Plus A Comic’s View - Naughty’s unique take on the week in The Bahamas Saturday The Tribune’s Top 5: a A special video review of the week’s top stories by Khrisna Virgil on www.tribune242.com Every day in The Tribune, news, business, sports and Classifieds Trader.

Plus breaking news and updates on your mobile-friendly tribune242.com

A world according to Trump

D

ONALD Trump’s Foreign Policy speech on April 27 did not once mention the Caribbean. The Caribbean should be grateful or there might have been a price tag for his attention.

He did say, after all, that: “The countries we are defending must pay for the cost of this defense – and, if not, the US must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves.” Whew!

And, he was talking about US friends in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) such as Britain, France and Germany. In the same breath in which he said these countries would have to pay the US for defending them, he also said: “America is going to be a reliable friend and ally again”. It seems, therefore, that in a Trump-America, there is a dollar tag for the US to be a “reliable friend and ally”.

It’s a shame that he did not say anything, in his much vaunted Foreign Policy speech, about Latin America except for a reference to the Presidential plane, Airforce One, being “disrespected” in Cuba.

The regret about his not talking about Latin America is that we still don’t know how his now notorious “wall” between the US and Mexico will be built and how he expects Mexico to pay for it.

The truth is that Trump’s speech was a jumbled text obviously written in part by persons trying desperately to set out a real foreign policy and Trumpisms. Trumpisms won the day causing any sensible thoughts to perish. Witness, for instance, the perfectly sensible statement that: “The world must know that we do not go abroad in search of enemies, that we are always happy when old enemies become friends, and when old friends become allies”. And, contrast it with the Trumpism: “Some groups will never be anything but our enemies”.

‘

Those groups, alas, appear destined to always be enemies and spits in the face of the speechwriter’s attempts to make “friends” of “old enemies”.

What was significant about this speech is that Trump read it from a teleprompter - something that he frequently mocked Hillary Clinton for doing.

Anyone, who has endured the constant Television coverage of Trump’s town hall meetings and his participation in the so-called Republican debates for the party’s Presidential nominee, knows that his thoughts are unconnected and his vocabulary is limited. He could not speak the more erudite passages in the text written by a scriptwriter.

Apart from the obvious Trumpisms, which he really means, the rest of the text was merely obligatory – something he had to say to show that he has some kind of foreign policy.

Here’s an example of the speechwriter as against Trumpism; the speechwriter’s words in arguing for a more transparent and principled approach to foreign policy were: “The best way to achieve those goals is through a disciplined, deliberate and consistent foreign policy”; and here is the Trumpism: “We have to be unpredictable and we have to be unpredictable starting now”. The two ideas contradict each other.

Contradiction and inconsistency were the hallmarks of Trump’s foreign policy speech which could have left no one with any sense that, should he make it to the White House, the world will be a safe place. That sense of alarm was summed-up in this sentence: “We will no longer surrender this country, or its people, to the false song of globalism.” In other words, multilateral approaches through organisations, such as the United Nations and the Security Council, are “false”; unilateralism and an all-powerful US that bends the world to its will is the chosen Trump-

The best way to achieve those goals is through a disciplined, deliberate and consistent foreign policy”; and here is the Trumpism: “We have to be unpredictable and we have to be unpredictable starting now”. The two ideas contradict each other.

path, reflected in the telling declaration: “We will spend what we need to rebuild our military. It is the cheapest investment we can make.

We will develop, build and purchase the best equipment known to mankind.

Our military dominance must be unquestioned”.

And he showed his contempt for the notion of global warming when he attacked Barack Obama’s military policy and threw in the scornful observation: “Our military is depleted, and we’re asking our generals and military leaders to worry about global warming”. That, incidentally, was the only reference to climate change which threatens the existence of small island states such as those in the Caribbean.

The speech was much more an assault on the policies of the present Obama administration than it was a description of a credible foreign policy for the most powerful and pervasive nation on the planet. At the end of the speech, we knew less about where a Trump Presidency would take America and the world than we knew from his many outrageous statements before it. And, those statements included: building a wall to keep out Mexican rapists; banning Muslims from entering the United States; winning victories to make America great again; forcing China, India, Japan and Vietnam not to compete in trade with the US; carpet bombing and water boarding enemies such as ISIS. His speech did have a ring of authoritarianism about it for everyone, including the business community of America. The impression of autocracy was encapsulated in the following statement: “NAFTA (the North America Free Trade Agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico), as an example, has been a total disaster for the US and has emptied our states of our manufacturing and our jobs. Never again. Only the reverse will happen. We will keep our jobs and bring in new ones. There will be consequences for companies that leave the US only to exploit it later”.

It seems, businesses will have to conform to the dictates of a Trump government; their freedom will be constrained and failure to comply will have untold consequences.

America will be a different place if this comes to pass; so will be the world.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www.sir-

ronaldsanders.com The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College, University of Toronto. The views expressed are his own.

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

PAGE 4 MONDAY, MAY 2, 2016

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

Historic moment as cruise sets off for Cuba

PEOPLE take photos as Adonia leaves port in Miami yesterday en route to Cuba. After a half-century of waiting, passengers finally set sail on Sunday from Miami on the historic cruise to Cuba. Carnival’s Cuba cruises, operating under its Fathom band, will visit the ports of Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba.

Photo: Patrick Farrell/The Miami Herald via AP MIAMI Associated Press PASSENGERS set sail Sunday from Miami on an historic cruise to Cuba, the first in decades to depart from a US seaport for the communist island nation.

Carnival Corp.’s 704-passenger Adonia left port at 4:24pm, bound for Havana.

Carnival’s Cuba cruises, operating under its Fathom brand, will also visit the ports of Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba on the seven-day outing. Several Cuba-born passengers, among hundreds of others, were aboard, it said.

The cruise comes after Cuba loosened its policy

banning Cuban-born people from arriving to the country by sea, a rule that threatened to stop the cruises from happening.

Restarting the cruises was an important element of a bid by President Barack Obama’s administration’s to increase tourism to Cuba after the Dec 17, 2014, decision to restore diplomatic relations and move toward normalisation.

The most recent such cruise, from another US port, was in 1978.

When it first announced the cruises, Carnival said it would bar Cuban-born passengers due to the government’s policy. But the Cuban-American commu-

nity in Miami complained and filed a discrimination lawsuit in response. After that, the company said it would only sail to Cuba if the policy changed, which Cuba did on April 22.

Carnival said the Adonia will cruise every other week from Miami to Cuba. Bookings will start at $1,800 per person and feature an array of cultural and educational activities, including Spanish lessons, Carnival’s website says.

Seventy-three-year-old passenger Rick Schneider told The Sun-Sentinel that he had waited decades for the chance to make the journey. He bought a Cuban flag for the occasion,

which he waved from the deck at protesters who opposed the cruises.

He said he once passed up taking a ferry trip to Cuba in 1957, adding “the time is now”.

The cruise is among the many changes in US-Cuban relations since a thaw between the former Cold War foes began in late 2014. The thaw also led to a historic, two-day trip to Cuba in March by Obama, who met with Cuban counterpart Raul Castro and others.

The Cuban government says the shift in policy removes prohibitions enacted when Cuban exiles were launching attacks by sea after the first Cuban revolution.

On Sunday, Arnold Donald, Carnival’s president and CEO, said the company worked and prepared to make the cruises a reality despite the challenges.

“Times of change often bring out emotions and clearly the histories here are very emotional for a number of people,” Donald told reporters.”

The Miami Herald reported that a boat carrying some activists protesting the trip to Cuba was nearby in Florida waters before the ship’s departure Sunday. The report said the boat pulled away before the Adonia set sail with an expected Monday arrival in Havana.

Mary Olive Reinhart, a retired parks service ranger, told the paper that she and some friends from the Philadelphia area were drawn to the voyage by the adventure of it all.

The Fathom brand said on its website that the trip was authorised under current people-to-people travel guidelines of the US government and would include meetings with artists, musicians, business owners and families — along with Cuban shore excursions to traditional sites.

“It’s exciting to go places where we’re forbidden. For me, I want to be at home in the world — the whole world,” she added.

Calling All High

STUDENTS

SCHOOL S1BACK TO SCH OOL

2 0 1 5

•

S U P P L E M E N T

HEAD GIRL ASHLE Y THOMPSON WITH HER PRIZES JOHN'S COLLE GE GRADUATION AND CEREMONY. PHOTO AWARDS AT THE ST : PETER RAMSA Y/BIS

Every year in August THE TRIBUNE publishes a popular Back to School supplement as a guide to the following academic year.

In the supplement we feature the profiles of high school students across the Bahamas and Family Islands.

We want profiles from as many schools and students as possible to make this guide essential and informative.

Profiles must include 1. Name 2. Age 3. School 4. Grade 5. Parent name or names 6. Goals and aspirations, prizes won and honours awarded

7. Name of college they will be attending (if attending) Plus a suitable photograph in .jpeg format (graduation or any other image).

How to submit profiles Email to back2school@ tribunemedia.net with ‘Back To School’ in the subject field and photos in .jpeg format.

By post to Back To School, The Tribune, Shirley Street & Deveaux Streets, PO Box N-3207, Nassau.

By hand to The Tribune office The deadline for the profiles is June 30, 2016 and there is no cost involved. For any questions please contact Tribune Features at 5022373 or 502-2387 or 502-2411.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, May 2, 2016, PAGE 7

Injunction over emails remains despite challenge

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net THE answer as to whether parliamentarians can use their privilege to disclose confidential information of private citizen has far-reaching implications beyond The Bahamas, a Supreme Court judge said on Friday.

Justice Indra Charles made the statement at a hearing in which representatives from the Office of the Attorney General sought to have the judge set aside an injunction that seeks to prohibit respondents, including Marathon MP Jerome Fitzgerald, Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell and Attorney General Allyson MaynardGibson, from appropriating, publishing or disclosing e-mails, even in Parliament, belonging to Save The Bays (STB) members.

The injunction lasts until May 12, a date fixed for a full hearing on constitutional arguments.

Loren Klein, who appeared for the attorney general, said the current injunction was unnecessary given recent developments in Parliament.

Though she was not opposed to hearing the Crown’s application on May 4 as requested, Justice Charles asked: “What’s wrong with maintaining the status quo?”

“I’ve worked in other jurisdictions,” she said. “I’ve been very open with all parties. I’ve sent you articles and two cases which

AMONG those named in the injunction preventing disclosure of emails belonging to Save The Bays members are Jerome Fitzgerald, left, and Fred Mitchell.

I relied upon to make the order. If injunction is too harsh a word, maintaining the status quo may be better. But I will not be able to discharge the order not hearing the arguments,” the judge stressed.

She recommended that both parties meet and identify the constitutional issues to be addressed and coordinate with the court.

“I do not make orders lightly,” the judge added.

“If there’s going to be an application to discharge, it

has to be heard in full, as I said. An injunction has been granted, a return date is the 12th of May. The injunction comes to an end on May 12 unless there’s an application for it to be renewed, correct? I’m willing to shuffle around cases to accommodate this because this is a matter of urgent attention not only to The Bahamas but to the Caribbean.”

Justice Charles said the issues at hand are obvious and will be expanded upon

by both parties.

“Is parliamentary privilege absolute if someone complains that their constitutional rights have been infringed upon, bearing in mind the walls of Parliament is sacred? Is the Constitution the Supreme law of the land?” the judge asked.

The matter was adjourned to May 12 for the constitutional motion but the judge said she would be available to both parties beforehand if needed.

“Were some private

KENNEDY CENTRE MONITORING ROW OVER USE OF EMAILS from page one “On behalf of Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, we want to thank you for the information shared in your letter dated April 8, 2016 concerning the situation of the organisation Save the Bays and several sitting members of the Bahamas Parliament,” said Wade McMullen, managing attorney of RFK Partners for Human Rights.

“As you are aware, our organisation works to achieve Robert F Kennedy’s dream of a more just and peaceful world. We believe in the important role civil society has to play to achieve a more democratic society.

“Therefore, we will continue to closely follow the situation as we work to obtain further informa-

tion, including from the Bahamian government, to have a more complete understanding of the issues at stake.”

STB has come under fire by members of the Christie administration after court documents filed by the group in early March alleged that Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard employed two “gang members” to carry out crimes against those who opposed further development at Nygard Cay. On March 9, four STB directors - Mr Darville, Romi Ferreira, Fred Smith and Louis Bacon - and Rev CB Moss, who is not a STB member, filed an affidavit

by Florida investigator John Joseph DiPaolo detailing Mr Nygard’s alleged connection to Livingston “Toggie” Bullard and Wisler

“Bobo” Davilma, the two men in question.

In recent weeks, members of the PLP have attempted to portray STB as a political faction disguised as an environmental group. Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald described STB as an organisation that purports to have one function when in fact it has political motivations, reading emails from members of the group in the House of Assembly to further his point.

The group obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court prohibiting respondents, including Mr Fitzgerald, Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell and the attorney general from appropriating, publishing or

Ferron Bethell.

A resolution was moved in Parliament last Monday by Mr Fitzgerald to determine whether Justice Charles, Mr Smith and Mr Bethel should be held in contempt of the House.

It was seconded by Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, who also called on the Bahamas Bar to examine the conduct of officers of the court who are involved in this matter as the courts had been dragged into the “mire”.

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disclosing e-mails, even in Parliament, belonging to STB members.

The injunction lasts until May 12, a date fixed for a full hearing on constitutional arguments.

Representatives of the Office of the Attorney General sought to have the judge set aside the injunction in a hearing last Friday.

However, Justice Indra Charles said she would not discharge the order without hearing full constitutional arguments to whether parliamentarians can use their privilege to disclose confidential information of private citizens because the matter has far-reaching implications beyond The Bahamas.

emails disclosed in Parliament?” the judge asked the Crown.

“Those are among the legal issues that has to be ventilated,” Klein said.

Justice Charles granted the injunction on April 21.

The applicants in the matter were the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay (Save The Bays); Zachary Bacon, the brother of hedge fund billionaire Louis Bacon, a resident of Lyford Cay, STB Director of Legal Affairs Fred Smith and lawyer

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‘THE PEOPLE’S PAPER’

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THE TRIBUNE

Monday, May 2, 2016, PAGE 9

YOUNGSTERS JOIN IN THE FUN AT BONEFISH POND CELEBRATION

FUN in the water at Bonefish Pond National Park for Earth Day celebrations.

THE Bahamas National Trust (BNT) and many partners celebrated Earth Day with a family fun day at Bonefish Pond National Park.

Each year, Earth Day - April 22 - marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Earth Day is now the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year.

Visitors to the park were able to talk to representatives from the BNT, Adventure Learning Centre, BREEF, Dolphin Encounters,

Atlantis Water Features and the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation about their programmes.

The Water & Sewerage Corporation and the Department of Marine Resources also joined in, and Minister of the Environment and Housing Kenred Dorsett got off a plane and came straight to the park to celebrate Earth Day. Participants enjoyed snorkelling, kayaking and hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. The US Embassy sponsored an educational scavenger hunt.

YOUNGSTERS splashing about in the water during Earth Day events.

SUSPECT FACES COURT ACCUSED OF MULTIPLE SHOOTING IN PUBLIC PARK

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 23-YEAR-OLD man was arraigned in the Magistrate’s Court on Friday in connection with a shooting incident at a public park off Baillou Hill Road Tuesday night that left one man dead and five people injured.

Meko Edgecombe of Park Close appeared before

Magistrate Constance Delancy.

Six charges were made against him.

It is alleged that he unlawfully killed Mekenes Polard and attempted to kill Chilico Knowles, David Fernander, Lawrence Farrington, Javaughn Charlton and Sharariah Newton.

The incident took place shortly after 9pm in the Sunshine Park area.

Edgecombe was not re-

quired to enter a plea and has been ordered to return to court on May 31 to be served with a voluntary bill of indictment.

At times during Friday’s arraignment, he expressed confusion over the nature of the charges, although he eventually said he understood them.

He told the magistrate he is a vegetarian, and she said she would make note of that.

DUTCH WOMAN AND JAMAICAN HELD OVER DRUGS TWO women, one from Amsterdam and the other from Jamaica, are in custody following the seizure of a quantity of dangerous drugs at the Lynden Pindling International Airport on Friday, According to police, around 3.30pm, officers from the Drug Enforcement Unit acting on information conducted a search of a suitcase at LPIA, where they uncovered just over three pounds of ecstasy pills.

The two women were subsequently arrested and taken into custody.

Armed robberies Police are seeking the public’s help in locating the suspects responsible for two separate armed robberies that occurred on Saturday.

In the first incident, shortly after 1am, a woman had just pulled up to her home located at Williams Way off St Vincent Road in her silver coloured Honda Torneo car, license number 255318, when two men approached in a white car.

One of the men, armed with a handgun, demanded cash and robbed her of her vehicle before speeding off.

Then shortly before 4am, a man was walking on Dumping Ground Corner, when a man armed with a handgun approached and robbed him of cash before fleeing on foot.

PAGE 10, Monday, May 2, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THE CHILDREN AT RANFURLY

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he Ranfurly Homes for Children has been a safe haven for thousands of Bahamian children since 1956. The Home provides a safe, structured environment for children who have been orphaned, abused, neglected or abandoned.

YOU can make a difference in the lives of the children at Ranfurly. With your support children can have nutritious food, warm beds and a safe environment where they can discover the joy of being children. For years the children living and learning at Ranfurly have made great social and academic strides.

Their further development requires additional support in the form of a Transitional Home, planned for construction on the Ranfurly property.

This residence will cater to teenagers and young adults who are beyond school age, but need accommodation while they find work and gain independence from the Home.

We look forward to your continued support in this worthwhile endeavour.

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For more information visit: www.ranfurlyhome.org Please “Like” us on Facebook Ranfurly Home for Children, Mackey Street P.O. Box 1413 Nassau, Bahamas 242-393-3115

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, May 2, 2016 PAGE 11

Red Cross

YOUNGSTERS on one of the rides at the Annual Red Cross Fair at Government House.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

COTTON candy being prepared at the fair.

Annual Fair A DONKEY ride for one youngster during the event.

A GENESIS Junkanoo group dancer performing during the annual Red Cross Fair.

PM PRAISES ROLE OF FINANCIAL SECTOR

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

WHILE speaking at the opening of the ninth biennial UK-Caribbean Forum in Freeport, Prime Minister Perry Christie told the gathering he believes that The Bahamas and the Caribbean have a well-regulated financial services sector with a role to play in the world based on tax competition.

It is important, he said, that the sector continues to exist and grow.

Mr Christie delivered the keynote address on Friday evening to some 150 delegates from the UK and the Caribbean during the opening held at the Grand Lucayan Resort.

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom Philip Hammond and Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, secretary general of CARICOM, also made brief remarks.

The delegates were involved in two days of exhaustive talks on topics such as energy, migration, education, security and foreign policies. Discussions were also mainly centred on the financial services industry and the impacts of derisking.

Representing The Bahamas in the talks was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell.

In his address, Mr Christie noted that the financial services sector has served the region well and expressed his concern about the impact of de-risking.

He said: “We think that tax competition is misnamed tax avoidance or tax evasion. We believe that we have a well regulated financial services sector with a role to play in the world based on tax competition, on a respect for privacy which is important for both

personal security and good investment practices.”

Mr Christie pointed out that the financial services sector in Caribbean countries serve two purposes: developing the growth of capital which eventually goes back to the developed world, and producing the growth of the middle class in countries in the region.

“It is to the greater moral good then that the sector should continue to exit and flourish,” he said.

On the issue of de-risking, the prime minister noted that strictures on banking have become so severe that banks in developed countries no longer want to do business with local banks in the region.

“The risk of doing business and the policing of the ‘know your customer’ requirement exacts too high a cost on them.

“The result of the banks in the major markets taking what they claim is a business decision will be that our local banking system may be cut off from the rest of the world. That will be again in my view strongly reckless and an immoral result,” Mr Christie said.

“This requires the intervention of the governments of the developed world to act to correct the problem.

It is really bad for business,” he stressed.

Another important issue he raised is the question of how to deepen economic relations between the Caribbean and the UK from aspects like the movement of people, and how business people and citizens can access business and cultural opportunities in EU markets.

He also said there is an urgent need for assistance from the UK in the area of national security and the issue of illegal firearms coming from the US into the Caribbean region.

A ZIPWIRE was part of the entertainment on offer.

PAGE 12, Monday, May 2, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Drug awareness: a parent’s guide

PARENTS please open your eyes, because based on the daily occurrences that transpire here in the Bahamas, as it pertains to drug addiction among our youth, it is imperative that parents educate themselves about the obvious warning signs of drug use. By doing so it will give them an idea as to whether or not their child has fallen prey to this social ill.

For this reason, The Royal Bahamas Police Force is aware of the fact that drug awareness provides a reality check and source for parents to understand the issues their children are experiencing.

Additionally, it is important for parents to understand that children are bombarded with opportunities, from egging to shoplifting. Experimenting,

Police advice

By CORPORAL MAKELLE PINDER

using and abusing drugs is every parent’s nightmare.

However, recognising the signs and behaviour of drug use and working with your child, is better than going through drug rehabilitative treatment programme later.

In view of this, parents must realise that their biggest advantage when dealing with issues such as drug addiction is communication and setting high family values, along with equipping themselves with the necessary tools to combat this

prevalent issue.

Therefore listed below is a parent’s guideline to Drug Awareness.

Where Do You Start?

Drug awareness education for your child should begin and continue at home, enhanced through classroom education and promoted by law enforcement. Make sure you are open and honest with your children – let them know experimenting and using drugs are not accepted

practices within your home.

Utilize resources from schools, churches and community groups to provide accurate information, since parents need to know as much about drugs as their children do! Finally, look to local law enforcement agencies who often speak at public meetings and in schools.

Additional resources can also be found on the internet.

What Is Out There?

Learning about drugs is easiest when they are classified into 4 categories: Hallucinogens: Block the brain’s pain receptors.

Time and movement seem to slow. Speech is difficult to understand and users hallucinate. Physical effects include loss of appetite, dilated pupils, increased heart rate and sleeplessness.

Stimulants: Makes the heart beat faster which results in elevated blood pressure, blurred vision, dizziness, and anxiety or sleep deprivation. Stimu-

lants may cause stroke or heart failure. Taken orally, injected or inhaled. Common names: Speed, Crank, and Crystal Meth, Cocaine (crack).

Depressants: Same effects as alcohol – slurred speech and altered perception of reality. Many are in colourful pill form large doses often results in convulsions or death.

Narcotics: Addictive drugs that reduce pain, alters the mood and behaviour may induce sleep.

Excessive amounts suppress the ability to and can cause coma or convulsions.

Common names: Opium, Morphine, LSD, Demerol, Hillbilly, Heroin and Marijuana.

What Do You Look For? Sight: Look at your child - are their eyes flushed red?

Are the pupils overly constricted or dilated?

Are there strange burns on the mouth or fingers? Do long sleeves hide marks? Nosebleeds?

Smell: Most drugs leave

telltale smells. If you notice smells on the breath or clothing - be concerned!

Be cognitive of overused breath fresheners or heavy perfumes to mask smells.

Sound: Listen to what your child says (or doesn’t say) and laughs at. Silence should be a clue!

If grades start slipping, be aware of possible drug abuse. Other indicators include skipping school, quitting extracurricular activities and loosing motivation, new friends, defiant and prefers to hang out on the blocks rather that engage in positive activities.

Should you need more information on Drug Awareness or if you have information pertaining to any crime, please do not hesitate to contact the police at ‘919’ or Crime Stoppers at 328-tips (New Providence), 1-300-8476 (Family Island or If you know of Individuals who may be in need of counselling and emotional support please contact the Department of Social Services hotline number at 322-2763.

BEC bribe suspect ‘just a scapegoat’, claims lawyer

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net THE lawyer for Freddie Solomon Ramsey, accused of taking a $300,000 bribe, told a Supreme Court jury on Friday that his client is nothing more than a scapegoat in the Alstom SA/BEC bribery scheme.

Wayne Munroe, QC, made the remark during his closing address to the ninemember jury that is expected to decide Ramsey’s fate concerning four counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and 14 counts of bribery.

Ramsey, 79, is currently on trial before Justice Bernard Turner and is accused of having committed the 18 offences between 1999 and 2003.

He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Mr Munroe on Friday described his client as a “scapegoat” who, he said, was set up by Mark Smith, an American, who played on his client’s prior relationship with Smith’s father to further his own agenda.

“We like to think black people (are) crooked,” the lawyer said.

“We’d like to think the Cabinet of The Bahamas chose one company over the other so there must be something crooked. It cannot be that we as a country was bullied into anything,” Mr Munroe said.

He said that the average individual would not believe that a smaller country like this one could be bullied by an OECD country that blacklisted The Bahamas during the period that the Inter-American Development Bank DA-12 contract was being decided.

“But nice white people don’t do that. It’s that mindset that we have. It’s a bad mind-set,” Mr Munroe said.

The bribery allegations are related to a widespread scheme involving tens of millions of dollars in bribes to countries around the world. They were brought to light in 2014 in a US Department of Justice report, which said that Alstom SA allegedly paid more than $300,000 to a BEC board member to influence contracts between 1999 and 2003.

The jury previously heard from Smith, an admitted bribe taker, who received immunity from prosecution in exchange for giving testimony. It was revealed in court that Alstom SA had written letters intended for then Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and then Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson as the company wanted BEC officials to reconsider the bid it felt was going to be rejected.

The jury also saw a letter Alstom SA received from then BEC Assistant General Manager Patrick Hanna in December 2000, who took issue with the French company’s attempt to discredit another bidder or the evaluation process and noted that the letters “are in direct contravention of the tender process”.

Inspector Deborah Thompson, of the Central Detective Unit, has testified that Ramsey denied having any involvement in the bribe scheme during an interview in which 101 questions were put to him in the presence of his then lawyers Roger Minnis and Khalil Parker.

FRED Ramsey outside court last week. .

Mr Munroe said the Crown’s case against his client rested on the words of an admitted bribe taker.

“You will only have his word for these communications over the phone and facsimile,” the lawyer said.

Mr Munroe said it was Smith’s evidence that Ramsey used his connection with Mr Watson to inevitably get Alstom the contract.

“The police took a statement from the former DPM but chose not to call him. So there’s no corroboration of evidence that Ramsey went to Watson. Ramsey voted with the (BEC) board not once but twice and the minutes of the board meetings show that. So use of influence where? Assistance where?” the lawyer put to the jury.

Mr Munroe said if Ramsey had in fact met with Alstom and Smith in Florida, the travel information could easily be obtained.

He also said none of the cheques shown to the jury were originals in order to prove that they were, in fact, alleged payments.

Mr Munroe claimed the police did not do a thorough investigation because they did not look into whether there really was a Cabinet committee that undertook an investigation into this DA-12 contract.

He also reminded the jury that they put a question to a board member on why the decision was overturned.

“The one man who could tell you wasn’t questioned at all,” Mr Munroe said.

The case is expected to conclude today when Justice Turner gives a summation of the evidence before excusing the jury to deliberate on verdicts for the 18 offences.

Ramsey is on $40,000 bail and is represented by Mr Munroe, Tommel Roker and Bridgette Ward.

Garvin Gaskin, acting director of public prosecutions, is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Cordell Frazier.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, May 2, 2016, PAGE 13

Why can’t my tenants pay their own water bills?

BOOKS BRING A SMILE TO FACES OF YOUNGSTERS

THE Brighter Bahamas group donated books to students of the Willard Patton Primary School.

The school will use the books for their reading programme with Rotary Clubs.

We've heard you, We've Listened, We've Responded.

Landlords, you no longer have to pay for your tenants water bill. Â The renter can pay for their own. Why not give your tenants permission to apply for their own account today?

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JEHAN UNWALA, executive director of Brighter Bahamas, and Karen Major, of Rotary Sunrise, are pictured with students from Willard Patton Primary School after donating books to the youngsters.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

(242) 302-5599 | wsc.com.bs

The College of The Bahamas and The Island Luck Cares Foundation invites you to attend the Launch of

Island Luck Cares Foundation Half Million-Dollar Endowed Education Fund and Entrepreneurship Training Programme The College of The Bahamas is pleased to announce its partnership with OWN Bahamas and the Island Luck Cares Foundation. The Launch will provide information on how students can apply for four-year scholarships to study a Business Degree Programme at The College of The Bahamas (COB) valued at $5,000 per year to cover tuition, books, fees and other related expenses.

Information will be provided on the Small Business Development for Entrepreneurs programme at COB, a practical course focused on how to start a new business. The course highlights key issues such as marketing, sales, finance and legal requirements.

Island Luck Cares Foundation will also provide details on its High School Scholarship Programme.

All potential students, parents and guardians are invited to attend.

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016 | 6:00 p.m.

Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre Auditorium The College of The Bahamas Oakes Field Campus For more information, call: 302-4594 or email: adjuah.cleare@cob.edu.bs.

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THE TRIBUNE